Page 5 of Forging Bonds: Part One

"Well, I want to find out who officially owns House so that I can possibly approach them about buying it," I explain as soon as I've managed to wrangle my brain and get it back on track. "If it looks like they're going to want to keep it, and they aren't going to be willing to sell it to me, then I don't want to bring it up or make them aware that this place exists. Which is probably a really selfish thing of me to do actually, now that I hear it out loud, so I'm going to amend that to I want to find out who owns it officially and then go from there."

Reed nods, "That makes sense. We'll figure it out. Whoever owns this place obviously isn't aware that they do because they haven't been back here in the whole time that you've been coming here."

I nod, "I would actually guess that they hadn't come back for a long time before that. It was in serious disrepair when I first arrived. I think the only thing that was keeping it standing was the magic of House itself. If it weren't for that, then it would have just been a pile of bricks. When I first turned up here, it looked like what you would expect a four-hundred-year-old house that had been abandoned to look like. It was falling apart, and I probably would have never stepped foot inside because it looked like it would fall down at any second, but I was being hunted, and I didn't really have a choice."

"How many times did you visit before it started to change?" Raiden asks me curiously.

"By the next morning, it was functional. It had a working kitchen, bathrooms, and a bedroom. Everything was still old and not necessarily in my style, but the shell of the house was suddenly a livable home," I explain. With a smile, I add, "I thought I had been kidnapped and was in a different house. Ethel ended up explaining it to me, well, as much as she explains anything."

"That's pretty crazy," River says with a grin.

"If that's the case that, then not only would that definitely mean that no one had been here for years, because otherwise it would have been in better condition when you found it, but it would also mean that you being here did something to the magic to allow it to repair itself and even to change itself to your taste," Raiden replies thoughtfully. "I have no idea what it means, but I don't know enough about sentient houses. I can look into it if you would like?"

I start to nod and then frown, "I do want to look into it, but I think we should probably focus on the Choosing and finding a Warrior Team that we can talk to, just in case."

Raiden nods and runs a hand through his hair, a worried look coming over his features, "Shit yeah. We absolutely need to focus on that first."

"I was thinking that if we do manage to translate the extinct supernaturals book," Doc starts, "then we could read up on the supes in there, and since there weren't that many, we should be able to at least familiarize ourselves with what to look out for so any signs that Neith has we will recognize, and then be able to help her with what supe she is."

"Yeah, that's a good idea actually," Ransom agrees.

"Are you thinking that my supernatural is going to come out during the trials?" I ask Doc, a thread of excitement going through me at the prospect.

He nods, "I think it's probably likely. In late bloomers, it tends to be a stressful event that triggers their supernatural side to finally make an appearance. I know that you have died twice, but since then, you've givenyour magic to the ward, and you've said that you can feel it a couple of times, so I think that the Choosing might trigger something."

I contemplate it for a moment, "It's entirely possible. You're right. I do feel it a lot more than I ever have, but I don't know whether that's because I'm aware that it's there, whereas before, I've always been told that I am human, so anything that I felt or that happened that was odd I just wrote it off as a 'me' thing."

"I can see your reasoning, but I think that it's that side of you getting stronger," Reed counteracts thoughtfully.

"If you are up for it, I think we should try and coax some of your magic out," Evander suggests, "even if we just manage to get a small amount out, it would be better than nothing."

"What about HID and who we are going to assume is the blue fucker finding out about me not being dead and therefore being a supernatural?" I ask.

"Fuck," River curses. "This is so much more complicated than it would usually be."

"We'll talk to Ty," Van says. "I'm sure that he isn't just going to go along with it without figuring out some way to help. Participation may be mandatory, but I am hoping that since they've brought a human into a supernatural event, that we'll be able to do something to ensure your safety."

I nod, "I hope so." Shrugging, I add, "It is what it is, and there's fuck all that we can do to stop it. The only thing I can do is make sure that I am prepared as possible and that I train my ass off. Fortunately for me, I'm not starting from the beginning because that would be a fucking nightmare."

"You don't sound as worried as you should be, or rather as the rest of us definitely are," Griff observes.

I shrug, "I'm used to being in dangerous situations and besides, this one is going to help me save someone who means a lot to me. If I'm beingcompletely honest, although I am nervous, my excitement for the challenge easily overrides everything else."

Van nods, "Yeah, that definitely isn't something that has changed. You always used to run toward danger or a challenge instead of away from it."

I grin, "It's more fun that way."

He chuckles, shaking his head before he says, "My original point that I was trying to make when I brought up the house before you derailed the conversation in a way that only you can was that Griff told us that you wanted to look into it and I think that if it's possible after the Choosing, we should come back here and see what we can find out. If shit hits the fan again, though, I promise that we will come back here as soon as we can."

I nod, "I would really like that, thank you."

"Good," Doc smiles. "We should really get going. Niamh is waiting for us."

"Oh shit, yeah, give me a moment. I just need to say goodbye to House and Ethel."

"No problem," Doc replies as he loads something else into the van, and the guys do the same.

River and Ransom follow me back into the house to grab more stuff and then head back outside. I honestly had no idea that we brought so much stuff with us.

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