'It that you, old man?' Wyrm projects into Duff's mind, lowering his head. Duff remains silent as he deliberates the best course of action and Wyrm yips and and yelps with seeming laughter. Duff hated that sound. 'Of course it's you,' Wyrm insists, 'Any ordinary beast would have fled by now!'

Duff's posture relaxes and his body melts into the shadows enveloping them. He slides beneath and past Wyrm, reforming further into the alley in his lupine form. Duff looms over him, his markedly larger body eclipsing Wyrm's true form—a considerably more lithe species. Duff leers at him, brewing and dragging out his silence until Wyrm shifts in discomfort.

'Why are you skulking here, worm,' Duff drones.

'Your humor is as dry as ever,' Wyrm derides, already displeased, 'Why else? Fulfilling our purpose!'

'You might be eager to slink to their designs,' Duff spits his words as if they were unpalatable, 'To be a mindless pet. I follow my own will.'

'And yet...' Wyrm sings, his tone gleeful, 'You have a new partner! And,' he pauses again with his yipping laughter, 'She's already forged at least two links and remains unmarred even after such a display. You've really outdone-"

As Wyrm smugly babbles on, Duff generates a foul aura and Wyrm's hackles raise as it reaches him. He begins to growl but his body quivers, cowering as a potent mix of fear, shame, despair and anxiety weigh on him. When Duff rises to his feet Wyrm flinches.

'Tell that rancid, devious sham,' Duff snarls, striding toward Wyrm with unhurried steps, 'To back off,' Duff pauses just next to him, intensifying his aura just enough that Wyrm cannot conceal his shivering, 'Or I will expose every one of you myself and extirpate that travesty she calls family.' Without another word between them, Duff shifts back into an owl and flits to his perch making no effort to flee or conceal himself.

Bound

Plucky, mild notes ring as gently as the breeze brushing through the plaza, a welcome sound to Tia and Ifani after a long day of practice. Albert's tune is slow but soothing and both girls appreciate it silently, lounging beneath Tia's favored tree and staring aimlessly as they listen. The notes aren't particularly loud, produced from a simple lap harp which was among a number of smaller instruments Albert keeps in his oversized satchel. Despite the pleasant afternoon, Tia's mind still lingers on their intruder and his effect on her. She sighs, making up her mind.

"Albert," Tia questions and he hums in response while keeping his eyes on the chords, "Do you know anything about... memory loss?"

"You need to be more specific," Albert answers, Ifani simultaneously imitating him and his tone.

All eyes jump to Ifani, grinning at him and seeming pleased with herself. Albert pauses his melody and tries to leer at her but finds himself unable to stifle his smile. He continues plucking away at his instrument while Tia continues.

"It was really small at first," Tia explains, her face scrunching as she continues, "I felt like I was forgetting something important and my head felt fuzzy if I tried too hard to remember, so I let it go. But it got worse when I saw him."

"Him... who...?" Albert asks, tilting his head.

"That creep you chased down?" Ifani questions, garnering surprise from Albert as he glances between them. Tia nods, pressing her lips together. 

"When I saw his face, I remembered... talking to him I think?" Tia shrugs, uncertain what it is she saw, "But it made me feel really terrible and I think there's a lot more I can't remember." Albert sets his instrument aside and Tia watches the ivory markings of his form frame his face, Albert running what he knows through his mind. The marks fade when he's finished. 

"It sounds like you've had a memory, or memories, bound," Albert explains.

"Bound?" Tia echoes, still quite unfamiliar with magic terminology.

"Someone with a Binding manifestation," Albert specifies, "A kind of mental magic, bound these memories deep within your mind, cutting off your access to them."

"Someone can do that...?" Tia gasps in disbelief. 

"It's a nasty trick," Ifani cuts in with a scowl, "Most mental magic is," her eyes move back to Albert, catching his pout and snorting, "Yours is different! You don't mess with other people's heads."

"Then how do I..." Tia glances to Albert with a confounded and disconcerted expression, "How do I get them back?"

"Well," Albert sighs, "Usually you need the caster to release the effect or at least someone with the same ability. But," he gives her a serious look, "You don't know what what kind of binding it is."

"What kind?" Tia questions, a growing feeling of alarm knotting her stomach.

"Which aspect," Albert clarifies, "Certain emotions and memories are tied to different mental aspects. I have a binding manifestation but it works differently than most others—I can only bind my own memories. You need a caster of the same aspect as the one who bound you to release it."

"How many mental aspects are there?" Tia asks in a higher tone, quickly seeing her options drying up.

"Thirteen," Albert answers hesitantly.

"Oh..." Tia squeaks, her gaze dropping as she considers this seemingly insurmountable task, "Well, can I force myself to remember?"

"I wouldn't suggest it," Albert answers with a grimace, "I don't know what kind of damage that might cause."

"Albert's right," Ifani adds, "You looked half-dead just from seeing his face!" 

Tia deflates, closing her eyes and her shoulders drooping. Ifani and Albert glance to each other at this reaction. Albert can see Ifani's determination already, her eyes resting on Tia again touched by concern. Albert dons the gentlest of smiles, loosing a huff before speaking again. 

"Give me a bit of time to look into it," Albert states with confidence, Tia's wide eyes eyes flitting to him, "There's likely another way to work around it."

"What?" Tia gasps, rushing to deny him, "Y-you don't have to do that! Answering my questions is already enough."

"What are you talking about?" Ifani scowls at her, "Some bastard cut off your memories and you just want to drop it?"

"I mean, no," Tia answers, tripping over her words and furrowing her brows, "I just- I mean you two have helped me enough already!" she twists her hands together in her lap, feeling ingratiated, "It's-It's my problem, you have no reason to-"

"Tia," Albert interrupts gently, Tia meeting his eyes, "We want to help. That's what friends do." Tia's eyes well up instantly and as she looks to Ifani too, she finds the same concern and certainty.

"Okay," Tia responds with almost a gasp and gives them both a grateful smile, practically leaking exuberance, "Thank you!"

"So..." Albert looks to Ifani, "What's this about Tia chasing someone down?"

"Some asshole broke into our room," Ifani complains readily.

"What?" Albert gapes. Tia listens only faintly, wondering what she could do to thank them. Just sitting here with them so casually felt like more than she could ask for.

"And then Tia shoots out the window after him like a total badass!" Tia laughs at her description, "Swooping after him across the compound," she gestures with her hands and then looks to Tia, "If you're half that agile in a fight, our unit might just work out!"

"Well, she really does have the ideal build," Albert slides right into his explanation, "For merlin features! These falcons specialize in hunting other birds," Tia still finds herself trying to figure out a way to thank them as he rambles, "Skilled in tail-chasing and even harassing larger raptors! Her father was too large for those kinds of tactics, taking more after-"

"Oh!" Tia exclaims suddenly, Albert falling silent as they both look to her, "My dad, that's right!" 

"You're dad...?" Albert questions, both teens at a loss.

"Y-you're both helping me out so much," Tia tries to explain, "So as a thank you... um. We all have tomorrow off before we leave the valley and I've heard everyone talking about visiting their families. I-I don't know what your plans are but..."

"But...?" Albert echoes. 

"But," Tia continues with a measure of uncertainty, "If you want, you're both more than welcome to drop by the manor?" Tia offers looking between them, "Ifani can meet my dad before we leave, if she still wants to," Albert's brows shoot up and Tia wonders if she's overextended herself, "Unless that's too weird?"

Ifani springs up and paces rapidly, flapping both hands before her face, and Tia sucks in a breath, looking to Albert with an apology readied. Yet Albert is grinning. After a few more paces, Ifani turns back to them and her excited expression surpasses even Tia's exuberance a few minutes earlier.

"Nothing to say to me?" Felicity questions, crossing her arms at him and looking uncharacteristically vulnerable. A crippling wave of pain washes over Allen and he squeezes his eyes shut. He clears his voice before speaking but keeps his eyes averted.

"You've grown so much!" Allen breathes and forces a smile, "How have you been?"

"How have I been??" Felicty glowers at him, trying to meet his eyes but he keeps directing them elsewhere.

"Who th' fuck is 'at?" Euan whispers to Tia.

"My aunt," Tia answers to all three of them.

"Suddenly you're pretending to care?" Felicity speaks harshly and Allen winces, "I can see nothing's changed. You still can't even look at me!" her eyes graze over the children before landing back on Allen, "This was a waste of time." Felicity pivots and departs as suddenly as she had arrived.

"What was that!" Tia questions her father and Allen deflates into his chair. Wordless, he simply shakes his head. 

"Weel, 'at's enough drama fur me!" Euan proclaims, rising to his feet, "Good seeing ye again, moggy senior!" Rather than using the door, Euan melts into a shadow with a wave. Ifani, Albert and Tia all eye each other before shuffling up themselves.

"Yes," Evelyn is equally deflated and bitter over Felicity's brief visit, "It's getting late, you ought to return," Allen follows them to the manor steps after a dejected sigh. Albert and Ifani wait by the gate for Tia to say her goodbyes. 

"Before you go," Allen looks to Evelyn before speaking, "You should know there are people trying to find you."

"Trying to... find me?" Tia questions with furrowed brows. Evelyn presses her lips together, not having wanted to alert Tia. 

"We don't know why yet," Allen is grim, "But the king is looking for a 'white-haired, dark shape shifter'," Tia's astonishment is instant and he places his hands on her shoulders, "Your grandmother and I are working on this end to learn more, to redirect them, but you still need to be extremely careful."

"Dark... shape shifter...?" Tia questions, remembering her resonance within the shadow plane as the fog lingers on the edge of her mind.

'Tia don't...!' Duff urges her.

"Hush!" Tia demands.

Tia brings her hands together, as if cupping something, and with shaking fingers she concentrates on what she had felt in the plane. She feels a power gathering and a shadow darkens between her palms. A gasp grazes past her lips and she drops her hands away, feeling a pang of pain in her head. Evelyn grows pale but Allen steadies her swaying until the headache passes. His eyes slide back to her friends, chatting by the gate.

"I want you to know how proud I am of you," Allen shifts the subject and Tia blinks, "You're growing so quickly and not just your skills or strength. You've made wonderful friends!" Tia tears up and musters a smile, "You hang on to those two."

"But not Euan?" Tia teases, extracting a chuckle from her father. His smile fades before he continues. He hugs her again.

"And please," he whispers so Evelyn can't hear, "Read your mother's letter." Tia's breath catches and she can feel herself growing resentful. She pushes the feeling down, knowing this was her last moment with her father for some time, squeezing him desperately instead.

"I'm sorry we didn't get to spend more time together," Tia knits her brows at her grandmother with endearing eyes and Evelyn's irritation crumbles at Tia's near pout.

"Oh, come here!" Evelyn gestures and Tia's face lights back up, hugging her grandmother with almost equal fervor, "Please be careful, Tia," Evelyn entreats her into the embrace, "You are so precious. To me, to your father. We would be lost without you!" Evelyn holds her at shoulder length, tears dusting all of their eyes.

"Oh! I had an idea," Tia peeps, making sure she is turned toward the mansion as she peeks into her cloak, "Duff, I know you can travel through the shadow plane," she gives him a hard look and he huffs, "Would it be feasible for you to deliver letters directly between us? So we can share information about this... search for me." 

'Oh, am I allowed to speak now?' Duff snarks, earning him a half-pout half-scowl. Evelyn and Allen blink at each other, waiting to hear his answer. Tia can sense his false anger give way to bubbling mirth, his laugh echoing in her mind. 'Yes, it's feasible,' Duff finally answers, 'That's surprisingly well thought out, coming from you.'

"Well?" Evelyn prods into the silence, watching her make faces into her cloak.

"He said yes," Tia answers, still leering at Duff, "Amid being rude."

"What are you doing??" Ifani shouts from the gate and Tia jumps. Tia gives another smile to Allen and Evelyn, squeezing them both into a brisk half hug before turning and running down the steps. She pauses at the bottom to wave.

"I'll send you a letter every week!" Tia shouts before sprinting after her friends.