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29thDay of Xenar

128 I.E.

The majority of the Peacekeeper's Temple was made up of training grounds outside in the cloister, while the interior was taken up by living and eating quarters. There was a fairly large wing devoted to providing small, secluded spaces for people to get away from their problems to meditate or otherwise be alone, whether they were part of the order or not. The Red Sashes, the highest members of the Order, would often take anyone seeking help with their problems into these rooms to have a quiet chat with them in the hopes that their troubles could be solved through talk and meditation.

Though such services were available to the dwarves, their devotion to Lumine, the Lightweaver, and their pride made it difficult for them to seek outside help. Few dwarves found their way into the Temple, even though their doors were always open.

That didn't mean there wasn't any end to the issues that the Order had to deal with. Being such a close-knit family so far from the rest of their kind meant there were always disagreements between different parties. The isolation had created a miasma of tension that perpetually floated over the temple. For the most part, the Red Sashes only had to deal with a few petty disputes that had blown up into arguments between members.

Nothing had been so serious as to cause a feud amongst the sect's monks in the entire Order's short history, yet Arion knew that the matter he had been summoned to deliberate on could threaten to tear them all apart. The monk let slip a disappointed sigh as he slid the shoji open and was greeted to the sight of both the Hibana and Kangae families in the room.

Inside the room were the four members of the Kangae family: Sato, Akahana, Fyrin, and his twin Odinty. They were seated across from Marida and Hannen Hibana, and all of them sat cross legged on floor cushions. Sionache was no where to be seen, though Arion could only guess it was for everyone's safety. Fyrin had grievously injured her several years prior, and they were all afraid of what Sionache might do now that her psionic powers were beginning to awaken.

Arion could sense the tension from quite a distance away, even as far off as his chambers from where Asuran had retrieved him. When Arion had expelled Fyrin from the Order of Peacekeepers, he did so with one caveat. The cub could rejoin at anytime provided that he apologized to the Hibana family and that they agreed it was alright for him to return. Arion assumed that since he was called in, one or both of those conditions had yet to be filled by the parties involved. Asuran wasn't able to deal with the situation, but Arion didn't blame him for his lack of experience. It was a touchy issue, one that even he wasn't looking forward to dealing with.

"Master, shall I wait outside?" Asuran asked when he'd finished escorting Arion to the room where the two families were waiting.

"No, I'd prefer if you'd stay," Arion said, casting a sidelong glance towards Marida. The female ursar regarded him with a cold look, one that he couldn't read.

_It would be simple to read her mind and figure out what she's thinking,_he thought, but dismissed the thought before it could take root.

Asuran knelt down on a cushion, facing the rest of the ursar that had gathered.

Marida whispered something into Hannen's ear, and her husband nodded his head. Arion cleared his throat, drawing their attention to him.

"These rooms were not built to contain your secrets, Marida," Arion said. "If it is relevant to this matter, then it shall be shared openly." Turning to look at Sato and Akahana, he added, "And spoken without any repercussions."

Arion walked over and crossed his legs to sit down on a soft pillow. He sank into the cushion like it were made of a cloud. He breathed out heavily, and shut off his psionic abilities as well as his empathy. If there was going to be anyone of rational mind in the room, it had to be him. Tensions were high enough between the two families since the fight between Fyrin and Sionache, and he needed to be calm and in control. He couldn't allow others' emotions to interfere with his duty.

There was a long silence that was broken only by the quiet trickle of the stream of water cascading down the rear wall. Both families stared at each other, until Marida finally decided to speak.

"Fine, I'll say what's been on my mind," she said, "I don't want that godless hellion running around in this temple anymore." Marida pointed a finger accusingly at Fyrin, and his muzzle wrinkled into a snarl.

"Marida, I understand you're emotionally upset but please keep the personal attacks out of this. We can be civil, after all," Arion reminded her.

"There's little need for civility when dealing with an animal," she replied. "His actions of late are a threat to everything we have worked towards as a sect. If we truly want to embrace any sort of Enlightenment, then we need to recognize Fyrin for the danger he poses to us."

"I do not understand why we have to be put up as the bad ursar here," Akahana said. She was brown furred, unlike her mate, and she kept her ebony hair trimmed short. Though her hands were resting in her lap, she was clenching her fists hard and appeared ready to pounce on Marida.

"No one is calling you bad or anything of the sort," Arion said.

Akahana turned to him and said, "You may not be, but they are." She shot an icy glare at Marida. "She's got the whole temple believing Fyrin is a heretic and has been saying that Sato and I should be expelled as well. She believes that's the only way that Fyrin will ever leave the temple grounds."

"Marida, is this true?" Arion asked. He lightly tapped a finger on his knee, awaiting her response.

"Yes," Marida said, unashamed of what she had done. "Fyrin will never leave this place as long as his parents are here. They need to go, for the good of the Order."Marida crossed her arms defiantly, but did not elaborate any further.

"Why do you feel that's the best course of action?" Arion asked. He looked to Hannen, wondering what his take on the matter was. He loved his wife dearly, and wanted nothing more than to make her happy. It often went without saying that he agreed with her on most matters, especially those involving Sionache.

"The Precepts of Xen state not to strike another living being with malice in one's heart. Fyrin has broken that precept many times, and that sends the wrong kind of message to the rest of the order."

"And what kind of message would that be?" Sato asked. He struggled to keep his voice even, but even his patience was beginning to crack.

"That it is okay to violate our rules, because there will be no consequence even after multiple infractions." Marida held up a paw and counted off her fingers. "He injured Sionache and countless others only a couple years ago. He frequently runs out into the city and attacks innocent people. He cannot be controlled, not by his parents nor his former masters." She glared in Arion's direction. "And finally, it is clear to everyone in the temple that he is itching for another fight so he can maim even more people."

Arion sat in silence, considering her words. He begrudgingly admitted that Marida had a point: Fyrin's actions couldn't be tolerated.

But would it be best for the cub if he wasn't around to receive the help he needs?

He looked up and met Marida's eyes as they bored into his sockets. She was a traditionalist that upheld Xen's teachings to the letter. It was all because she wanted her daughter to grow up safely and in the same manner that she herself had grown up, like all the females in her family.

When no one else was willing to continue the conversation, Odinty said, "You know as well as anyone that I've not been around the temple, not long enough to have learned anything more than bits and pieces of what my twin has done. So I want to know what was so terrible about what he did to your daughter that he cannot rejoin the Order? Sionache is not permanently injured."

Marida balked at him. "You can't honestly believe he belongs here? You know better than anyone else that he's a trouble maker and he'll hurt anyone he can because he thinks it's fun." She leered at Fyrin. "That one isn't right, he lives off of fear."

Fyrin snarled, and said, "Oh yeah? Is that why you're so terrified right now?" He nostrils flared and he licked his lips. "You are scared of me, aren't you, you old hag?"

"What did you just say!?" Marida rose from her seat.

Sato put a hand on his son's shoulders. "Fyrin, that was uncalled for."

"As long as she's throwing insults at me, I'd say the old bat has it coming."

"Why you insolent little-"

"Enough!" Arion snapped, his voice bouncing off the bare walls of the room. "All of you, sit back down and stop it right now. If you want this issue resolved, then you'll do it civilly and with respect to one another. Perhaps it was a mistake to allow you to speak so openly to one another, because it's clear that the problems we're faced with run deeper than it first seemed." He rubbed his eyes and said, "We're all we have here in this country, and there's no reason we should be turning on one another."

The ursar muttered their apologies and sat back down. Arion knew this was going to be a tough issue to deal with as soon as Asuran had come to him, but he didn't expect the situation to be so volatile.

"To answer your question Odinty," Hannen said once they were all calmed down, "He broke Sionache's nose and one of her arms, and knocked her unconscious with a blow to the back of the head. All of this during a spar, where such excessive violence isn't necessary. We were fortunate that Sionache didn't bleed internally from the head injury."

Odinty looked horrified by the description of Sionache's injuries, but then he said, "There's no way those injuries could have been as bad as you say. She's fine! Fyrin wouldn't hurt her like that. Never!"

"Of course he would," Marida told him, then tapped the side of her head. "You're twins. You're connected, aren't you? You should know the truth of Hannen's words."

Odinty turned to look at his twin, who was busy staring daggers at Marida, and remained silent. Fyrin cocked his head slightly to glance at his brother, as if he'd just been poked in the side by his twin's finger, before going back to looking forward.

A psionic bond between twins... not even I can hear what they are saying, Arion thought. Twins were thought to be born from a single person, and were looked at like two sides of the same coin. This gave them a strange mental connection, something only identical twins shared. Developing as an empath in the womb alongside another person was believed to be the cause.

The room had fallen silent, and Arion's ears flicked as he caught the faint sound of a small pebble falling in the water with a plop as it hit the surface. He began to wonder what Odinty was searching for, and what Fyrin was sharing with him. Would the berserk cub even tell his brother the truth of what had happened? Or would he remain silent and try to act like the victim?

Arion wasn't willing to put deception past the young cub. Sionache herself had grown up around the same time as Fyrin, and even though she adhered to the teachings of the temple she would not hesitate to engage in subterfuge if necessary. Someone of Fyrin's caliber would likely use deceit as a calling card.

After a moment, Odinty hung his head in shame.

"Of course, I was right," Marida said triumphantly.

Arion cleared his throat. "Be that as it may, we're getting off topic here, so let's deal with that first and leave these self-serving grudges aside." He laced his fingers together and rested them in his lap. "Sato, you want Fyrin back in the Order because you want him to learn how to control his emotions and to learn patience, is that correct?"

"Yes, Master Arion," Sato replied, "It's as I told you before. The only reason I agreed to have Fyrin removed was because of what happened to Sionache. I wouldn't have allowed it if not for that." He looked to his cub and added, "He needs to learn restraint, and he won't learn that while he's out in the streets fighting."

"Then I must ask the Hibana family if they feel that this is what's best for Fyrin. Do you think it's wise to let the cub run amok and hurt other people, or would it be in his best interest for him to be here to learn restraint?"

Before Marida could say anything, Hannen said, "I do agree that retraining Fyrin would be the best way for him to learn how to control his rage. But I don't feel it'll happen in a reasonable time frame. He's just too young. I don't want him around my daughter, but at the same time I won't sleep easily knowing that this cub is out there doing to other people what he did to Sionache."

"Marida?" Arion asked, waiting for her response.

The ursar just crossed her arms and said, "Just do whatever Hannen says to do."

Curious. Why would she agree with her mate? Arion wondered. It's usually the other way around.

"Fyrin, do you want to return to the Order?" Arion asked as he turned to face the cub. "Do you want to once again take up the mantle of the Peacekeepers and learn to adhere to the Precepts of Xen?"

"I was wondering when you'd get to me," Fyrin grumbled as he stood up. "I don't know why you're wasting your time with this crap. The only reason I'm even here is because I was dragged here against my will. If it were up to me I'd be out on the streets, looking for someone else to pummel into the ground."

"Besides, why would I want to come back to your order? Why would I want to be a part of your special little sect when I can be my own ursar? When I can be free? I love the feeling I get when cornering some scared little dwarf. Its exhilarating. You'd all know that if you didn't block it out and avoid contact with other kinds of emotions. However, all of you," he swung his arms around the room at all the other ursar, "You all think I'm a monster because I fully embrace all my emotions, because I'm not afraid to feed on those emotions."

"Fyrin, no one here thinks you're a monster," Asuran cut in, breaking his long silence. "Only your actions that harmed Sionache and others would be considered monstrous in the eyes of some."

"I won't go back to your pathetic little Order," Fyrin said, standing with his hands on his hips. "And I challenge each and every one of you to try and convince me otherwise."

"Fyrin, sit down," Akahana pleaded, "You're making a scene."

"It's a little late for that," Marida told her.

"Enough, Marida," Hannen hissed.

Sato tugged at his son's arms and pulled him back to the ground. "That's enough Fyrin. We're not here to convince you of anything, because this matter is not up for discussion. You will rejoin the Order if the Master allows it."

"Then why ask me in the first place?" Fyrin shouted, pulling away from his father's grasp.

"Because I am deciding what is best for you," Sato said and let out a heavy sigh. "I agree with Hannen in one regard: Fyrin is too young. He's too young to be making major life decisions for himself. So I'm going to be making them for him."

"That's not fair!" Fyrin roared. He was about to stand up again when Odinty gripped his shoulder hard enough to make him wince in pain.

"Just listen to what father has to say," Odinty said. "Enough of this childish ranting." His voice was flat, maintaining an even but commanding tone throughout. He didn't make eye contact with anyone, and continued to look down at the tiled floor. When he was sure that Fyrin wasn't going to do anything rash, he released his grip and allowed the cub to sit down.

"Akahana and myself will determine what is best for Fyrin," Sato continued, as if his son's outburst hadn't happened, "And right now, regardless of what Fyrin _wants,_what he _needs_is discipline. And he won't learn that on the streets. He needs to learn these things here in the temple. If he doesn't learn to quit acting like a barbarian, he'll continue to hurt other people or risk getting himself killed one day."

Arion swung his gaze around to look at Marida, who was about to open her mouth to make a retort, but one look at him silenced her. He'd had enough of her derailing remarks and he wasn't about to let her continue on in such a fashion.

"What about Odinty!?" Fyrin protested, "How is it fair he gets to run off to go and do what he wants but I can't? We're the same age!"

"But you're not the same person, Fyrin," Asuran reminded him. "You may be twins, but you're both very different."

"Fyrin, the reason we allowed Odinty to train with the Lightweavers is because monkhood is not his calling," Sato told him. "He has a gift for magic that you don't have. That's something he can't learn with us in the Order. He's studied hard to get where he is. He's learned everything he needs to get by in life, and will continue to do so through their guidance and wisdom."

"So you're playing favorites. I knew it! I knew it ever since we came to this damn country," Fyrin screamed. "I knew you always liked him better than me!"

"We're not playing favorites, Fyrin," Akahana said, her voice still maintaining a strained calm despite her child's fury, "We're doing what we know is best for you. You can be who you want and do whatever you please one day too. But only after you've learned to control yourself."

Even with Arion blocking out his empathy, he could feel the flood of rage pouring off of Fyrin. Everyone in the room could feel it, and Arion's ears flicked when he heard Asuran shuffling a little, clearly bothered by the sensation. However, no one looked as sick as Odinty did.

The connection the twins shared because of their similar blood meant that Odinty felt every ounce of anger and indignation that his twin felt. It looked like the cub was about to throw up from the feeling. It wasn't natural, and Arion decided that enough was enough. It was time to put an end to things.

Before he could say anything, the shoji slid open and Sionache rushed into the room.

"Sionache, what are you doing here?" Marida asked, rising from her seat to meet her daughter. Arion noted that she appeared to be maneuvering herself to stand between Fyrin and her daughter.

The ursar didn't answer. She was busy glaring at Fyrin. Her gaze was so intense that even Fyrin's intensity began to wane when he noticed her. Arion quickly made sure she wasn't exerting any psionic powers over him, and was surprised when he found that she wasn't. Fyrin appeared to be genuinely afraid of her.

"Mother, did you forget everything the Peacekeepers have taught us?" she asked. Marida began to rattle off a quick list on the spot and Sionache told her to stop. "What do we learn about forgiveness?"

Marida opened her mouth a few times and stopped, thinking. When she realized what her daughter was getting at, she said, "You can't honestly want to forgive this heathen?"

"It's not my place to judge him mother, nor yours. That's what the Order teaches and frankly," she said, shaking her head, "I'm disappointed you'd have forgotten so quickly." Sionache cleared her throat and said, "The fourth precept states to forgive those who have transgressed against us, because to be humble is the key to Enlightenment."

"Sionache, please speak more respectfully towards your mother," Hannen cautioned her.

"Why do you want to forgive Fyrin?" Arion held his paw up, bidding silence from the rest of the ursar. He needed to maintain order before the conversation could be derailed any further. Looking back, he could see that Fyrin had averted his gaze to avoid meeting Sionache's eyes.

He really is scared of her.

"Because that's what a Peacekeeper should do," she stated, then added for good measure, "Plus now I can control him. He can't do to me what he did before."

"Ah, so that's why Sionache did it..." Asuran muttered to himself, nodding his head. "You showed everyone in the Order that you can beat the Master in one-on-one combat. You had to prove you'd gotten stronger."

Arion had to admit that he had a point. Even if Fyrin hadn't been there to watch what happened, no doubt he would have heard about it in passing from one of the other ursar. Perhaps, he thought, it would explain his behaviour in response to Sionache's presence.

"Your daughter is right," Odinty said to the Hibana family. "It would be a violation of the Peacekeeper's teachings if we didn't forgive Fyrin and try to give him a second chance. How can a monk gain Enlightenment without following their most basic precepts?"

"He is correct in that regard," Hannen conceded.

"Fyrin, have you anything to say?" Arion prompted the cub, but the younger ursar just shrugged his shoulders and refused to look at him.

No one else chose to speak up, and the room was quiet. Asuran tilted his head slightly to hear better, but there was nothing to listen to but silence.

Arion cleared his throat. "Then I shall deliberate on this matter and give you all my decision in one week's time. We shall meet here again on the tenth day of Nova. Is that understood by all parties present?" There was a low murmur of agreements throughout the room. Arion stood up and added, "Our meeting is adjourned."

One by one the ursar began to leave. As Marida stepped past him, she said, "I hope that you will make the right choice."

"I do not require a reminder," Arion said as he faced her.

Marida came to a stop and pursed her lips in thought. "May I speak freely?"

"You don't need to ask."

She opened her mouth as if she were about to say something, then paused. With a deep breath and fists clenched at her sides, she said, "You may have the training to be the headmaster here, but you lack the skills to lead this sect. You are far too young, _Master_Arion, and your inability to properly deal with situations will lead our Order to ruin." She stepped closer to him and whispered, "I know nothing has changed. You will do what you think is best regardless of what either my family or the Kangae's think. Just as you always do."

"I'm... sorry that you feel that way," Arion said hesitantly.

"I know you are," Mairda said sadly, and left.

As she walked away, Arion wondered if he should say something. Any other headmaster of any other sect would have been appalled by her manner of speaking and what she said. He also didn't want to further exacerbate her mood. It had been a stressful day for all involved.

She is merely exhausted and emotional, Arion reasoned, trying to dismiss the thoughts. She has always questioned me before. It's good to have another perspective on things, even if it can be trying.

After Marida walked away, Arion looked down and say Sionache still standing by, watching him intently. He thought she was trying to read his mind, but he realized she wasn't.

"Is something the matter?" Arion asked.

Marida whirled around and called out. "Come along, Sionache!"

With a huff, the cub ran on to catch up to her mother, but not before sending out a message to Arion via telepathy. <You'll decide what's best in the end, right? I don't like Fyrin for what he did but I can't judge him for it.>

<Sionache, you're still very young, and your behaviour is admirable,> Arion began, <But what Fyrin did was very terrible, and the only reason I'm considering allowing him back into the Order is because I agree that he deserves a second chance.>

<I hope you'll give him the opportunity then.>

Scratching at the back of his head, Arion sighed. It felt as if the whole order suffered from a fever for being cooped up together for so long. He hoped that whatever decision he made would end up being one to resolve as much conflict as possible between the two families.