Page 52 of Celestia, Year Three

"Oh fuck!" Finn cursed and pulled out his phone, tapping on the screen for the calendar. His eyes widened, and he swore again.

"It's today," Finn announced. We all gawked at him, and he ruffled his pink hair as he sighed.

"I normally remember, but with the fourth Trial...it flipped me off my game. Hunter gets pretty anxious and has a short temper close to the date. It's not his fault. It's just a coping mechanism for him."

"Grumpy..." I mumbled, feeling bad that we'd neglected the signs.

"It could also be because he switched to his phoenix form during the Trials. That could have easily triggered memories too. Hunter isn't the type to reach out when he's struggling with something," Caio disclosed, and Cairus nodded in agreement.

Orion crossed his arms in thought. "I agree. With the Trials and Celestia getting hurt, that could have brought another wave of anxiety for him."

"There's also another thing," Caio admitted.The three of us looked at the twins who looked at each other hesitantly.

"What? He did burn the house down, didn't he? Arielle burns everything she finds when she's angry," I stressed, knowing not to piss off my familiar.

Magnor and I had a few occasions during my rebellious teen years and boy, I was thankful she'd had only two angry outbursts and that Magnor had been home for both of them.

Let's just say we wouldn't have had a home left.

"The tension kind of amplified when they realized Celestia was blessed marked," Cairus said.

"Huh?" the three of us asked in unison.

Orion furrowed his brow in confusion. "Why?"

"Ya, why? Sure, I get maybe all of you could have been upset because we hadn't really disclosed it since we were dealing with the Trial shit and Darkness, and well the fucking stress of everything, but it's not like we didn't tell you guys on purpose," Finn defended.

Caio and Cairus nodded, giving the three of us sympathetic looks.

"We know." Caio smiled.

"Not everyone can see the whole picture guys. Also, remember their races are a little different than ours," Cairus added.

"What do you mean?" I asked

"Phoenix shifters value mating like any of us, but if their current interest is suddenly taken, they won't pursue and go into depression instead," Caio revealed.

"Wait, what? Is that true? I never dealt with that with Arielle," I argued.

"Arielle is a special case. She's a hybrid. Her harpy side would influence that sensation. Not to say she wouldn't be depressed, but the harpy side of her would be okay to move to another mate. Harpy shifters can have multiple mates with no problem, but phoenixes are a lot harder and invest their hearts into a mate when they've gained interest," Cairus replied.

"You mean, for example, if Arielle was a full phoenix and Noah and Gabriel met her at the same time. If Noah ended up officially dating Arielle, Gabriel would back off?" Orion questioned.

"Yes," Cairus and Caio said together.

"Does that mean Hunter's backing off?" I asked in despair.

The thought of losing him since I was at Alpha Pure was there, but I assumed it would never happen because Hunter was really understanding.

However, if this is a phoenix thing, did I fuck everything up without realizing it?

"I don't think so. It's just his instincts kicking in," Caio defended.

"Also, with his brother's death anniversary and worrying about whether you're okay or not...I think it just got to him, and his only outlet was snapping at Theo who's dealing with his own stuff."

"Did you guys try to talk to him?" Finn suggested.

"Yup, but he's kind of closed off when it comes to personal stuff. He opens up to you, Finn, because he's known you for years. Celestia would have a better shot at finding out what's going on than any of us," Cairus replied.

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