CassieQ

The next day, Malik sat down with Chihiro and Shuza for breakfast and Chihiro told Malik that they were thinking of a good place for Shuza to play. “What’s wrong with the fountain?” Malik asked. “The fountain is the best spot to play, but that also means that a lot of other entertainers like to gather there as well. We got lucky yesterday and we’ll check again when we leave here, but if there are a lot more performers, that not only means less attention for Shuza,

Let's see. Mid-40s female, not married, no children, happily donning gay whale earrings. Yeah, I'm pretty sure people are making some assumptions about that. Like I give a damn. The accent thing is the one that people (mostly patients) like to comment on. When they find out that I grew up in the South, they all want to know why I don't have a Southern accent. They almost sound mad about it. I did have a Southern accent. I worked on training it out of my voice while I was in elementary school because kids teased me about it. Moving around a lot helped too. It still creeps in sometimes, especially if I've been around certain family members or drinking. A few weeks ago, it slipped back in when I pronounced the word "oil" and the coworker that heard pestered me to say it again for days afterwards. Also, I will still use "Bless your heart" as a polite way to say "You absolute idiot" which is great time for the Southern drawl to kick in a little bit.

When I was in PT school, we went to visit a hippotherapy center to learn some more about it. We were all supposed to ride the horses. They asked for someone who had ridden before to go first and I had a few times during vacations and such, but getting up there with no saddle or reins or basically anything to hold onto except the animal itself, was an experience.

They both want to reach the mountains, they might just go about it different ways We'll have to wait and see. Thanks for reading and commenting.

I'm sure that wherever Rhaelce is, he's unhappy. Far from home, still grieving his sister, split off from the group and scared of someone he used to trust. Malik will have to figure things out too, but he's not dealing with things alone. Thanks for reading and commenting.

Powers need limitations. It's not fun otherwise. Shuza is great. I just love him. Thanks for reading and commenting.

Thank you for reading and commenting. It was a lot of fun to get the boys out of the woods and into "the real world".

The fire talent becomes a larger part of the story for sure, but Malik's struggling without his friend. Thank you for reading and commenting.

I liked the sad, cozy vibe of this chapter. Thanks for reading and commenting.

Different people have different feelings about Rhaelce. You're not the first to distrust him and his motivations. There's a lot more to explore with Malik and his powers and maybe even mountains in Book 2. Thanks for reading and commenting!

I enjoy reading your comments, and especially this one. If you want to take your metaphor one step further, you can look at Nyrra who hated Malik from the beginning for being different. Rhaelce accepted him enough to stand up for him against his family, and save him at his own expense. But once Malik was too different, and Rhaelce saw something he couldn't understand or accept, he abandoned the person he once stood with. That kind of betrayal is going to be hard to come back from. Thank you for reading and your comments! I hope to see more of you in Book 2.

I love a good cliffhanger just a much as I love a messy break-up. Answers to their relationship is coming up with Book 2. Thank you for reading and commenting!

I'm a sucker for a dramatic ending. I hope you enjoy Book 2. Thank you for reading and commenting!

Hope reigns eternal. We'll have to see what Book 2 has to reveal. Thanks for reading and commenting.

Rhaelce's feeling for Malik have grown strong...but fear is also a strong emotion. And I (unfortunately?) do like a nice cliffhanger ending. Book 2 is starting today. Thanks for reading and commenting!