Page 12 of Forging Bonds: Part One

"Did you see anything about sending them back in your research?" he asks curiously.

"Actually, yeah," Griff replies, "we've just got to thank them and tell them that we no longer need their assistance, and they will go back home."

"That's pretty fucking cool," Doc replies as he turns to his kelpie.

I do the same, pulling a face because he's only just got here, "Well, I guess you should go back. We're heading home now anyway, so we will see you there," I say to Mael, he snorts softly and then rests his giant head against mine and I stroke the side of his face.

"Neith, you should probably focus on sending all of them, not just Mael," Ransom reminds me.

I nod, "Good point. I'll wait until they're all back from chasing River around."

Within moments, River arrives with the rest of the herd.

He frowns, "We've got to go, haven't we?"

Evander nods, "Yeah, but don't forget that they live at our house, and that's where we're going, so we can see them again soon."

River's expression clears, "Oh yeah, I forgot that for a moment. How do we send them back?"

Griff explains what we have to do, and River nods before he stands up on Reath's back and does a front flip off of it just because he can.

The guys all turn to the kelpies and begin to thank them, sending them home.

Stroking Mael's nose, I mutter quietly, "I really hope that I get this right and manage to send you all home." He nudges me gently, and I get the feeling that he has a lot more confidence in me than I do. "Thanks, Buddy. Alright,here goes." I call on that place of magic and then raise my voice so I can ensure that the entire herd hears me, just in case they need to hear the words to be released or something. "Thank you for coming when I called. I won't ever take this amazing gift for granted. You may go home."

To my utter amazement, they all disappear, and the guys and I are once again left alone in the vast grounds of House.

"That was so fucking cool," Raiden grins.

"It was," Doc agrees, looking just as excited as River. "And now we know that it doesn't matter if we're in a different country they will come."

"Yeah, I am glad that we confirmed that while we had the chance," Griff agrees.

"Alright, let's get back in the van and head to Naimh's place finally," Evander says.

"You guys go ahead. I just need to head back inside and say goodbye again. Ethel made me promise," I say with a smile.

"No problem," Van says with a smile.

I quickly make my way across the now trampled grass and jog up the steps. The door opens for me as I approach, and I smile.

"Thank you, House," I say as I walk through and then head back to the kitchen. As soon as I walk, I say happily, "It worked, Ethel! Well, it kind of worked. I ended up calling all of the kelpies instead of just Mael, but it was so cool."

Ethel's voice is full of warmth as she says, "Ah, you focused on the kelpies as a whole when you called them, didn't you?"

I balk slightly, her knowledge throwing me off, but I really shouldn't be surprised, so instead, I nod, "Yeah. But I didn't realize that it was possible to do otherwise. I would have been more careful with my intent."

She chuckles, "It's a common mistake to make, not all supernaturals are capable of calling the herd Dear. I might even venture that it has become a forgotten gift."

"What do you mean?" I ask curiously.

"Oh, don't mind me, the ramblings of an old skull," she replies. Changing the subject, she asks, "Are you off then?"

I sigh. I know from previous experience that if I push her and start asking her more questions that, she will just end up going on some far-fetched rant that makes absolutely no sense and will completely distract me from what I was wanting to know in the first place. It's usually not until hours later that I remember that I was asking her something.

"Yeah, we're off. You know, one of these days, you're going to tell me how you came to be here and how you know the things that you do," I say, somewhat optimistically.

She hums in a non-comital kind of way, "Bye, Dear. I hope that you come back sooner than last time. I think House is planning to get the last rooms done for your men."

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