"It's fine." It wasn't something they could put off forever--it was dangerous to have anyone with magical ability go without at least a minimal amount of control over their power--but another day was fine. The necklace would prevent anything bad from happening in the meantime.

Though he doubted anything would. "Mayako...I don't think you need to worry. Your power..." He thought of how best to explain this; until he started teaching her about magic, the reasoning wasn't going to make much sense. "I don't think it's terribly dangerous. Unlike mine, it shouldn't be too difficult to control."

"I-- I . . . I hope so . . ." Mayako trailed off.

Worst case scenario, Fenix was wrong and there were complications. Best case scenario, he was right. Either way, Mayako knew he had some manner of similar power and knew how to control it. If anyone could help her, it was him. A long silence persisted, though. Mayako's thoughts now had little to do with powers. In fact, up until Fenix showed up at her door, she hadn't been thinking about them at all.

"D-do y-you . . . do you think Emma's really going to leave?" Mayako said, her voice squeaky and on the brink of cracking just at that thought alone.

Mayako hadn't the slightest clue how well Fenix knew Emma. She knew they spent a lot of time together, and often went on ahead together when Mayako was just going to stay and man the fort--or tent, usually. Maybe that meant they were close. Maybe that meant he even knew Emma now a little better than she did. That . . . that was a horrible thought, but for now it didn't matter. What mattered what that Emma said she planned to leave, and Mayako was scared to death of the idea. Maybe even more frightened by it than she was the idea of herself sprouting wings.

"She sounds serious." Not that it necessarily meant anything; for all Fenix knew she was just blowing smoke because she was impatient and didn't want to sit in any one place for long. It was hard to get a good read on her, though; today she seemed more concerned with not wanting to get too attached to this place, whereas yesterday she was all anxious to prove that she could take care of herself. As far as he could tell, she was serious both times.

"Maybe she doesn't know yet herself." That was the best guess Fenix could come up with. A lot was going through Emma's head, and that was going to change her perspective constantly. Right now, she seemed to want stay at least until Mayako was doing better. Later, who knew? Maybe she'd stay a little longer, until he and/or Mayako left again. Or maybe she'd take off even sooner.

"Yeah . . . sh-she . . . she really did . . ."

Mayako wrapped her arms around her legs and clutched her knees to her chest. That answer made her feel worse--but then again, what should she have been expecting? Asking a question like that, Mayako should have known that she'd just feel even worse when the answer was presented. For that reason alone, she didn't feel any ill for Fenix for being the bearer of bad news.

"I-- I hope she stays," Mayako sighed.

She pressed her forehead against her knees and took a deep breath. It was terribly difficult to put words to these feelings. Emma was complicated, but and it seemed all feelings for and about her were also intensely complicated to match.

"I hate the idea o-of her g-going out a-a-and getting herself hurt. I just want her to be happy and healthy. She deserves to be happy and healthy. B-but she just . . . she doesn't even try . . ."

"...Not everyone knows what makes them happy." That was true enough. He wasn't sure what made him happy himself. At least, not in the general, life-fulfilling way Mayako was talking about. He knew individual things that could make him happy, but he wasn't sure what he'd consider a happy life yet.

It made him think of his mentor. As much as he hated to admit it, he was definitely happier when he was around. "Even then...not everyone is happy being safe." He wasn't sure he'd travel for forever, but he had trouble seeing Zach settling down.

"...You've both gone through a lot. Maybe she's just trying to find a way to be happy again."

"I-- I just . . . I don't understand," Mayako whimpered, "H-how could anyone be happier by . . . by j-just . . . running out and . . ."

She stopped right then and there, took in a deep breath, and tried to wish away the fact she'd ever given voice to that thought.

"I'm sorry."

Fenix and his mentor ran out into the world to explore and adventure and all the like. Mayako had nearly forgotten that. Now she lacked the will to look Fenix in the eyes, knowing that she'd nearly said something horribly insensitive. Apologies or not, she felt even worse.

Fenix shook his head. "No, it's fine. You already know what makes you happy." That was the difference between Emma and Mayako's attitudes towards all this: Emma was still searching for it, but Mayako was trying to protect it. She didn't want to lose the last friend she had left.

"Maybe you should talk to Emma about it. It's hectic here, but you can have a little more privacy than when we were on the road." He suspected Emma didn't realize just how attached to her Mayako was. He hoped that maybe they could come to understanding.

"...Actually, I'm still trying to find it myself. He made traveling fun, but whether it's what I want to keep doing..." He shrugged. It was never something he'd given much thought, he'd just always followed his lead. Now that he was on his own, he'd have to decide for himself what he wanted to do in the long run.

Mayako nodded her head some. "O-okay. I'll . . . I'll . . . yeah. I'll talk to her tonight. I-- I just . . . I know how she can be sometimes."

She sniffled one last time. Mayako had fortunately stopped crying, but was now on the verge of going to a different state of upset. Now she was starting to feel a bit angry--a natural progression of feelings from her previous want to break down and cry. Because it was true: Mayako knew exactly how Emma could be, and she was, at best, a brat. At worse, she was outright cruel. Anymore, Mayako could count on a single hand the amount of times she paid heed to thoughts of anyone else around her, which was honestly just the worst. Especially since Emma could be so impulsive.

Had Mayako not started to get upset over this, she might have asked Fenix about that last statement. Chances were, though, it was going to come up later . . .

"Wh-what if she died?" Mayako asked rhetorically (because, in truth, she didn't even want to know what would happen), "She probably hasn't thought about that at all."

Maybe that's a thought he never had, either . . .

"Perhaps she hasn't. The road can be risky." Barring their brief adventure into the magical lab where Emma got her necklace, they'd had a fairly safe journey. But even discounting bandits, bigots, and other human-born cruelties, there was still nature to worry about. Sometimes the worst thing thing that could happen to a traveler was simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time. A storm while at sea, an avalanche near a mountain, a tornado on the plains...adventurers learned to watch the skies, but no one could accurately predict the weather all the time.

But while Emma might have been impulsive and immature, she wasn't an idiot. She might've underestimated the risks, but he doubted she was overlooking them entirely. "Or perhaps she...no, nevermind." He shook his head; that was not something he wished to say in front of Mayako.

Given her history, perhaps she considers that an acceptable outcome.

Fortunately, before Mayako could press him on what he was thinking, there was a knock at the door. "Hey, lunch is ready!" Alicia called through the door.

"Alright." He turned to Mayako. "You still have any room? You should get as much food as you can. I think it's mostly soup, though."

Truth be told, Mayako was going to press Fenix for his thoughts. He trailed off there, contradicted himself right in front of her. She was curious. It was for the best that Alicia knocked on the door to inform them of lunch.

"S-- um . . . y-yeah," Mayako stuttered.

She wiped the last few tears away, took one more deep breath, and sighed. It was true, she needed to eat. She'd spilled her guts and was feeling a little better now, so the only option was to move on. Get something in her system and feel that much more better. That way, she could confront Emma tonight. It was going to be like a good soul trying to walk through the fires of hell. Emma was a stubborn person who anymore saw only the negative aspects of life. Mayako had to be strong for tonight.

"Um, I," she put her hands on her hips and tried to look strong and defiant, anything to contradict her puffy cheeks and reddened eyes, "How do I look?"

"Like you just got done crying," Fenix responded.

But then he smiled slightly. "Fortunately, there's going to be a bunch of kids clamoring for attention out there so I doubt anyone will notice." Meals were a little loud, needless to say. It didn't help that lunch came right after their lessons, which meant a lot of pent up energy.

When she was ready, Fenix would open the door and head for the tables. Several tables pushed together provided the feeding area for the children, while a single table proved adequate seating for the "adults," to apply the term loosely. They weren't separated by more than a few feet of empty space, but it at least allowed the more mature people present to converse.

Mayako slumped her arms and shoulders and puffed out her lower lip, pouting at Fenix shooting down her attempts of looking strong and confident.

"Well . . . I-- okaaay," she said.

It wouldn't take a trained eye to tell that she was trying to hold back a smile there. Fenix shooting her down wasn't take nearly as bad as it looked. In fact, her whole attempt at looking strong and confident was partially a joke, anyways. And so, Mayako wiped her eyes with cloth, fixed the room, walked a tiny bit, and got her breathing back to normal. She may have looked like someone that just got done crying, but Mayako was determined to at least not look like she was about to start crying again.

"I'm ready."

"Shelly, don't play with your food! James, please stop shouting." While serving the food (soup in this case) Val was also busy attempting to keep some semblance of order among the children. There was only so much that could be done, though; so long as they each got their fair share of the food and no fights broke out it could be considered a victory.

She gave an apologetic look to Emma she set a bowl of soup in front of her. Porridge was actually a better word to describe it; it was thick, and it had to be to serve as a meal in and of itself. Though meals at the church were rarely spectacular by any standards, they were at least competently cooked.

When she spotted Fenix and Mayako approaching, Val gave an energetic wave, hoping she'd get to set next to Fenix. Alicia and Shana were already sitting down; the former gave a small wave herself, while the latter was too intent on her food to be distracted at this point.

Emma was barely cognitive when a bowl of thick soup was set before her. The sound of it setting upon the wooden table snapped her back, brought her attention up to Alicia, which was little more than a blank stare. She felt like she'd lost hours of her life, but also felt loath to care. It was days like today that Emma regretted getting out of bed. Maybe tomorrow would be better. Emma acknowledged Alicia with a nod, then leaned forward, took her spoon, and ate silently.

Once Mayako was back in the room, she took to sitting next to Emma without word or warning--a silent defiance of all the ill feelings she was having about her friend. Emma looked up, confused, but said nothing, instead returned to blowing off every bite before eating.

"D-does it ever calm down around here?" Mayako asked Fenix before there was any silence worth breaking. Even now, the church was hectic as can be.

Fenix sat down, grateful for a meal, and began eating. For the moment he ignored Mayako and Emma, not wanting to butt into their little dispute. If there was one thing he'd learned being around here, it's that he didn't want to get between to females who were potentially fighting.

It wasn't long before Mayako drew his attention. He glanced at the children for a moment, as though just noticing they were there. "Not really," he replied. "If you want calm, you have to find some a secluded spot." He paused, eating a bit more before he figured he'd throw her a bone. "I can show you one later if you'd like."

Not long after that, attention would be drawn to two people entering the church. One was Seth, who set a pair of swords (one wooden, one real) down near the church's entrance. The other, however, was someone Mayako, Emma, and Fenix had not seen yet since arriving.

The first thing to notice was that he was huge. While not actually quite as tall as Fenix, he was easily at least twice as wide, a width that was all muscle. Black hair was pulled back into a short ponytail, and he was dressed in a Cizokian samurai's garb. And he, too, put a pair of swords down when he entered.

Also, he only had a single arm; the other was missing just above the elbow.

"Well, well! It's about time you made it back here," he greeted boisterously. "These kids have been worried sick about you."

"I would have thought you'd be long gone by now, Juto," Fenix replied, seeming a bit surprised to see the man even though he was told he was here earlier. "But it's good to see you doing well. You seem to be getting along fine now."

Juto's size was even more noticeable when he sat next to Fenix--especially as Fenix was noticeably larger (or at least taller) than everyone there, save perhaps Seth.