Following his meeting with Ayane and Rikyuu, Pavan was left wondering what to do with himself for the rest of the day as he flew over the woodlands at the foot of the mountains. Things had grown quiet ever since they had defeated P.A.C.E, and while in his mind he knew it was wrong to think so… He found he missed the rush the experience had given him, fighting evil and racing to the rescue like a superhero in a comic book…

And it was at that thought he had an idea.

During the battle with P.A.C.E, they had encountered something akin to the Phoenixes themselves; an enigma to the world, living in the mountains, far from society. A pair of dragons - a father and his son, who like himself, both harnessed the powers of the wind. He did not know what the source of the pair's power was; he remembered something about them possessing high levels of 'Galrum' that Avory had mentioned.

The science of it all, of course, was mostly over Pavan's head. He had no real patience for that sort of thing, preferring to leave it to better minds than his own. But, it had helped in forging a kindred spirit between Pavan and the son, Shiryu - especially when they found out that Shiryu somehow gained power just by being near Pavan himself.

This much, Pavan had understood at the time; he was, himself, a living source of raw Galrum, as opposed to Shiryu or Ranshiro who innately harnessed it. They were not elementals - not like him, but they were fellow free birds - metaphorically speaking - and masters of the wind. Even more so than himself, in fact; he had seen Shiryu command the wind in ways even Pavan himself was not capable of…

But he wanted to know… So, Pavan's mind was made up.

Pavan had to double back to Ayane's place to get his bearings, heading west to travel back to the first place they had met Shiryu. From there, he recalled the direction they had travelled to reach Shiryu's home; he had to double-check the nearby rock formations and peaks, making sure he had the right direction and correcting himself if he felt that he was off course.

“I think it was…" he muttered to himself, ascending over another hill before he saw it. “Ah! There it is!" he exclaimed.

Before him lay the home of Ranshiro and his son. A terrace farm, well-concealed in the mountains, with various crop fields and open pastures for their livestock. He remembered the last time he had been to this farm, seeing the various crops they had and seeing how far along they had come.

Not that he really knew what the pair were growing there on their farm; he was no expert on crops. The leafy greens that he saw first were one such example. Were they lettuce or cabbages? And the green leaves of the root vegetables planted further along; were those beets or carrots? He did not really know the difference, having not been to many farms in his life. If nothing else, he could at least tell the crops were growing well; Ranshiro knew his farmwork.

'Though how the bloody hell he manages this farmland without stepping on and crushing his crops, I may never know,' he thought to himself, remembering how huge Ranshiro had been…

When they had rescued Ranshiro from P.A.C.E, it had taken Volcan and Ayane - in her power armour - to move him; he was a giant, standing twice the height of Volcan who was the tallest among the heroes when they had come there. Standing beside Ranshiro, the fire phoenix looked small by comparison.

Not that Shiryu was any less huge, though considerably smaller than his father he was still towering over many of them at seven feet tall. Yet, by contrast, Shiryu had been so innocent and good natured, like a little boy playing in the park with his friends… Yet despite that, Pavan could not forget how powerful Shiryu had been, creating gale-force winds with a single flap of his wings, and even forming a mini tornado over his arm that had ripped into a P.A.C.E cyber soldier like a drill, tearing the cybernetic nightmare to shreds with a single punch.

'Hard to believe such a giant cinnamon roll is able to kick so much ass,' the wind phoenix thought with a snicker as he began to descend, seeing the house drawing closer.

With a rush of air, Pavan slowed his approach and landed gingerly outside the door to the house. He took a moment to straighten his shirt before approaching, and knocking gently on the oversized door…

He did not expect that the door opened outward, not inward, nor did he take into account that his arrival might be alarming to someone not accustomed to receiving visitors… His only warning was the thundering steps that came from inside the house; if not for his speed, he'd have been swat like a fly when the door swung out. As it was, he missed the door by a hair and elicited a “Yeep!" as he moved.

The massive figure stepped out and was already growling, a swirling gust around his claw as he quickly looked around his farm until his eyes fell upon Pavan, to which he started to calm down and dispel the wind in his claw.

“Ah… you are one of that red phoenix's friends." He stated pointedly. “Pardon the reaction. We were not expecting visitors today."

Pavan gave a nervous chuckle as he looked up at Ranshiro. “It's probably my fault. Considering how we all first met, I should've called ahead… Oh, wait, you guys probably don't have a phone up here, do you?"

“No… but you could have at least sent a letter." Ranshiro pointed out.

“Do you even have a postal code?" Pavan asked, giving Ranshiro a confused look.

The larger dragon tilted his head in confusion. “…Nnnno. Whatever for?" He queried.

“Well you use postal codes for the mailing system to-" Pavan stopped, and then waved both his hands. “Nevermind. We can figure it out later," he said, and then cleared his throat. “Anyway… Sorry to drop in unannounced. I wanted to check in on you guys; see how you're all doing since that..." he cleared his throat, “little 'incident' with P.A.C.E."

“Ah. I see now." Ranshiro answered, then gave Pavan a slow nod. “We have recovered well enough since the incident. In fact, I believe facing such adversity has helped in my son's attentiveness when it comes to his training."

Pavan perked up. “Yeah? He's doing okay then?"

“Dare I say, his focus has improved significantly." The large dragon answered. “I suppose having a hand in rescuing me helped spur on his drive to further perfect his prowess."

“Well… At least some good came of it then!" said Pavan. “Where is he anyway?"

Ranshiro jerked his head back toward the house. “He is out in the back currently meditating and channeling the wind around him." He answered. “I was in the process of making his favourite meal before you showed up."

“Oh. I probably shouldn't go bug him then," said Pavan. “Although… That does bring up another thing I wanted to come talk to you guys about. Something kind of… Personal."

“Oh? And what might that be, young one?" Ranshiro asked, then he shook his head. “Perhaps you should come inside. It would be rude to make you stand out here demanding answers from you."

“Oh, uh. Sure, thank you," Pavan replied, nodding to Ranshiro.

The dragon stepped aside, allowing Pavan to step into the house. He took a moment to study the interior, feeling small with the oversized furniture - built to suit the occupants. Ranshiro shut the door gently behind him once they were both inside, then lumbered to a small kitchenette and took a pot of bubbling food off a wood burning stove to let it simmer down before returning to Pavan.

“Now… what is it you wish to inquire about?" He asked.

Pavan cleared his throat, and took a moment to bring his thoughts together - something he wasn't normally prone to doing… But he was serious about the favour he was going to ask from Ranshiro and his son.

“It's a big ask, but… Can I train with you and your son?"

This made Ranshiro arch an eyebrow at the young phoenix and cross his arms in front of his chest. “You wish to learn our ways…?" He asked, intrigue and skepticism present in his tone. “What would you have to gain from learning from us? You are already a master of the wind, are you not?"

“When we were raiding P.A.C.E's base," Pavan explained, “I saw your son do some amazing things. Things I didn't even know could be done with the power of the wind… In the end, I… Well, I think he did more for that mission than I did. I'd come on that mission voluntarily, and all I could really do was," he pantomimed with his hands as he spoke, “zippity-do-dah all over the place, singin' Ozzy Osborne - yeah I'm fast, sure, but what good's being fast if all you can do with it is make a pest of yourself?"

“But Shiryu, I saw him do some amazing things with his power," said Pavan, “things that… I just can't do, or don't know how to. He brought a freakin' typhoon into that tunnel where we broke in, blowing down P.A.C.E's guards like dominoes. Then, oh man," he exhaled. “I saw him make a drill of pure air around his fist, and take out one of P.A.C.E's cyborgs - big mean buggers stronger even than Volcan, that I don't think I could even hurt, let alone take their bloody heads off with a punch."

He looked up at Ranshiro as he continued. “I may never need to use them… But I want to learn how to wield the wind the way Shiryu did. If danger finds my friends again, and they need my help, I want to be more than just a handsome, music-savvy diversion."

Ranshiro listened intently to Pavan's explanation, finding some merit to what he was saying, yet still his expression remained skeptical. “I see now… You wish to be more useful to your friends should another situation arise like those armoured individuals that kidnapped me." He summarized, then slowly shook his head. “That, I'm afraid, might not be the kind of training you are comfortable with…"

“What do you mean?" Pavan asked, slightly downtrodden.

Ranshiro gently lifted a claw and created a gentle swirl of air around it, holding it steady in front of him. “The way we utilize our control of the wind is vastly different. For our species to use the wind as we see fit, it requires focus, a calm mind and a level head." He said. “My son is… gifted, to say the least. He may not behave like someone of his age, but his innate control over the wind is far greater than mine ever was at his age."

He then vanquished the wind and pointed at Pavan. “You, however, and I do not mean this in any derogatory way, come off as impatient, wild, and possessing a very short attention span. I understand your reasons for wanting to improve, but I cannot see you being able to control the wind as we do. Rather, what I feel would be best for you is if you find a way to increase the potency of your wind powers in a way that better suits your style."

Pavan took a few seconds to consider the dragon's words. “I mean, that makes sense… But how else can I learn if not from someone more experienced than me?" he asked.

“You have seen the things my son can do. Perhaps use that as a stepping stone to start you off." Ranshiro offered.

Pavan thought back to when he and Shiryu had fought side-by-side in P.A.C.E's fortress, and the things he had seen Shiryu do with his powers… Pavan wasn't sure he could ever learn to do that - to wield the wind that the wind dragon had… But, despite his disappointment at being turned down by Ranshiro, he understood the reasoning. For now, he just had to find his own way.

They heard a door opening, and both looked over to see a tired-looking Shiryu stepping into the house. His demeanour perked up though, when he saw Pavan in the living room with his father, his ears perking right up and a big smile stretching across his face.

“Oh hey! You're that windy bird that helped rescue my Dad!" He said, lumbering over and picking up Pavan in a tight hug before he could protest. “How have you been?"

Pavan let out an oof as Shiryu embraced him, surprised by his strength. “I'm doing okay," he replied in a slightly strained voice, returning the embrace as much as his smaller stature could allow. “My name was Pavan, by the way. Good to see you again, Shiryu."

“Put him down, son. You're going to snap him like a twig at this rate." Ranshiro remarked calmly.

“Oh! Sorry!" Shiryu replied, quickly dropping Pavan and backing up a couple of steps. “So whatcha come here for today, Mr. Pavan? DId you come to play or something?" He asked eagerly.

'If this kid were any sweeter, he'd put a diabetic into a coma,' Pavan thought, smiling. “Just wanted to see how you and your dad were doing, since we last met up," he replied. “Your dad tells me you're doing really well on training too?"

“Mhmm, I am!" Shiryu excitedly announced. “I wanna make sure I can kick every bad guy's butt that tries to hurt my Dad again, so I'm really, reaaaaally trying my best to work on my powers."

“Well, good on ya, mate," said Pavan, nodding in approval.

Shiryu tilted his head in confusion. “...What's a mate?" He asked. “And… Where's everyone else? If you're here, then I thought everyone else would come by too."

“Uh, well, a 'Mate' has multiple meanings depending on the context, but how I'm using it is just another word for 'friend' or 'buddy'," explained Pavan. “Bit of my British side came out with that; sorry. But think of it as a term of endearment."

“And anyway, to your second question, well… Vinge went back home to the Yukon," he turned toward the house's north wall, gesturing outward with his hands. “Waaaay the heck north of here, on the other end of the mountains. As for the others, I don't know what Korban and his partner or the twins are up to, and Tsume, Obsidian and Lighris all have their day jobs to do. With P.A.C.E gone I imagine they're all trying to get back to normal - or, as 'normal' as people like us can be," he added with a shrug.

“Meanwhile, Rikyuu, I saw him earlier today; he's apparently out looking for his… Sister? Cousin? Something like that - she's like him, but that's really complicated," he shook his head. “But I had some free time, so I decided to come out to see how you guys were doing." He left out that he'd hoped to learn from them too, since he and Ranshiro had already discussed that; best not to get Shiryu excited for a training partner if Pavan wasn't going to be one.

“Oh." Shiryu answered, staying quiet for a moment before he piped up again. “Well, next time bring them along. I'd love to play with you guys all together instead of just one on one."

“Shiryu…" Ranshiro cautioned his son, then gently gestured toward their kitchen. “You must be exhausted after your meditation. Go to the kitchen. I have made your favourite."

“Oh yummy!!" The younger dragon exclaimed, quickly stomping into the kitchen to serve himself.

Ranshiro sighed and pinched the bridge of his snout with his claws. “...Why did the gods give me such a handful to work with…?" he asked under his breath.

“I think he's a great kid," Pavan offered. “He's such a sweetheart; as far as I could tell, everybody liked him - and rightly so. Being mad at him feels like being mad at a puppy."

“There is no question that he is a gentle soul," Ranshiro agreed. “I just wish he wasn't so delayed in his development… He still behaves as if he were a child despite just leaving his adolescent years…" He explained. “It has admittedly tried my patience every day, but in the end, he is still my son, and I must fulfill my duty as his father to ensure he is ready for the outside world when the time comes…"

“Wait, leaving his adolescent years?" Pavan echoed, surprised, certain that Shiryu would be younger than him, but Pavan was only eighteen... “How old is he?"

“We recently celebrated his twentieth birthday a month before the armoured men attacked us," Ranshiro answered.

'He's twenty?!' Pavan almost screamed in his mind, taken aback to find out that Shiryu was older than him. “Um… Wow. Okay, I was off the mark," he finally said.

“If you thought he was younger, I assure you that you wouldn't be the first," Ranshiro said, watching his boy walk to the table and tuck into his food. “The unfortunate thing is… I don't know why he is the way he is, only that I must work even harder to take care of him."

“I'm no therapist so, I wouldn't know either," Pavan replied, lifting a hand to rub the back of his head, looking over at Shiryu. So innocent… Yet, already aging into adulthood.

Ranshiro sighed softly. “...Is there anything else we can help you with, young Pavan?" He asked, looking out of the corner of his eye at him.

“N-No, I suppose there isn't anything else," he said, sighing. “Well, I'll leave you guys to dinner then. Was good seeing you again."

Ranshiro nodded gently, lumbering over to the door and holding it open for Pavan. “Safe travels, Pavan." He bade him. “And remember what I suggested to you."

“I will," Pavan replied with a nod, heading for the door. “You two take care, eh? Next time I swing by, I'll drop off a letter first, so I don't surprise you again."

“Much appreciated." The large dragon replied with a short nod.

With a final nod, Pavan stepped through the door and walked away from the house to open ground. There, he spread his wings and fanned out his tail feathers, summoning the wind around himself, and letting it gather under his wings. He hopped in place twice, and then on the third, he soared into the air with a whoosh, soaring into the sky.

Ranshiro watched Pavan take off until he was almost out of sight, then turned and shut the door behind him as he re-entered his home. “Interesting little creature…" He muttered as he went to the kitchen to check on his son.

…Only to find an empty seat, a half-eaten bowl of stew on the table, and the back door ajar.

Ranshiro's eyes widened in alarm as he rushed toward the door, bursting through it just in time to see Shiryu already in the air and speeding off in Pavan's direction. He called out to his son desperately, but his words fell on deaf ears, able to only watch as his son flew as fast as he could away from their home.

Pavan hummed a little to himself as he flew onward, unaware of the being following him until Shiryu was close enough that his voice beat the wind to be heard by Pavan. “What the fu-?" he tilted his head down, looking upside-down to who was following him. “Wha- Shiryu?" he asked.

“Hey Mister Pavan!" Shiryu shouted as he caught up to him, flying with his back facing the ground and looking right back at Pavan with a smile. “Where ya going? I thought we were gonna play together!"

“Oh… Cripe," said Pavan. He hadn't actually agreed to do anything with Shiryu, but now it seemed the rather childish dragon wanted to spend time with him. He tried to think of some excuse to send Shiryu home - preferably before his dad came rushing out looking for him - Ranshiro would be a lot harder to explain than his son if anyone happened to see them.

Besides, Pavan thought, who could say no to that face?

“S-Sure, I was just removing myself so that you could have lunch - didn't want to interfere," Pavan explained, having to call over the wind to be heard. “What did you want to do?"

The phoenix then felt Shiryu push him with his large claws, giggling playfully. “Tag! You're it!" He hollered before he suddenly flapped his wings and shot ahead of Pavan, easily overtaking him.

'Blimey; how does such a big'un move so fast?' Pavan asked, before he grinned. “Think you can outfly me? You're on, kiddo!"

With a burst of wind, Pavan raced after Shiryu, soaring like a missile in pursuit of him. As he closed the distance, the Wind Phoenix dove, and angled his approach to come up at Shiryu from below, certain he had him as he raced toward him with his hand outstretched.

However, the Wind Dragon pulled a fast one on Pavan. Without even looking at his general direction, Shiryu stopped and let Pavan fly up ahead of him, blowing a raspberry at the phoenix as he stumbled to recover before he took off in another direction, beating his large feathered wings quickly to gain more speed.

“Cocky draggie!" Pavan called before taking off after Shiryu again.

This time, Pavan began flying in a wider berth, racing in a circular motion like a barrel roll that made it harder for Shiryu to watch him. The dragon seemed oblivious to Pavan's tactic as he kept flying straight forward at breakneck speeds, but as the phoenix drew closer, he picked up on a detail on Shiryu that he had never noticed until just that moment. There was a layer of wind energy around Shiryu's wings, and he hadn't flapped them at all once he had achieved maximum speed. It was almost as if he was in a permanent glide, yet he wasn't losing any altitude.

'Ah, so that's how he's doing it,' said Pavan. 'Generating lift, pushing aside the air around him to remove resistance, and pushing himself with it like me. Not bad… But wait 'till he sees this.'

With that, Pavan began racing onward again, keeping pace with Shiryu as he formed a wind tunnel around himself, and directed the wind to push him even stronger than before. And, true to his character, he began singing as he relished in the challenge.

“There goes the siren that warns of the air raid! There goes the sound of the guns sending flak!" he sang, still flying in a barrel roll pattern, with Shiryu watching him as he sang and flew in tandem. “Out for the scramble we got to get airborne! Got to get up for the coming attack!"

Shiryu was confused as to why Pavan was singing, looking at him oddly at first, but then his eyes started to widen as he continued to watch what he was doing, blinking a few times to make sure he wasn't seeing things. Then, he was startled when Pavan suddenly raced out of his view - he could still hear the Wind Phoenix singing - although he couldn't make out the lyrics anymore - not that he knew the song; every time Shiryu tried to look where he heard Pavan, the wind phoenix was gone from his sight so suddenly he might have been invisible.

Shiryu frowned slightly, not understanding what Pavan was doing, but he knew he had to counter it if he didn't want to get caught. “Let's get faster then!" He exclaimed, beating his wings and straightening out as much as he could. His speed then began to pick up with each wing beat, even causing him to squint with all of the wind rushing past his face as he continued to speed up more and more.

Yet somehow, Pavan was still keeping up with him; he could hear the wind phoenix singing, reaching the apparent chorus of the song. “Ruuuun~! Live to fly! Fly to live! Do or die!" Suddenly Shiryu heard Pavan above him. “Won't you-"

He looked up, and again Pavan zoomed out of sight. “Ruuuun~! Live to fly! Fly! To! Live! Aces-"

At that, Shiryu noticed movement below him, and Pavan came up in a blur, arms raised and legs pressed together to make himself as sleek as possible as he raced across Shiryu's flight path - nearly close enough to cause the two to collide in midair. “HIIIIIIGH!"

“WHOA, HEY!!" Shiryu exclaimed, nearly losing his momentum as he veered out of the way. He grunted and flapped his wings harder, going faster and faster, until a faint cone was starting to form in front of Shiryu's nose. “You're not… going to catch me!" he said through grit teeth as he pushed himself to go faster.

With that newfound drive, Pavan began to fall behind as he and Shiryu raced over the mountains, no longer able to keep pace with the Wind Dragon despite Pavan's best efforts.

'Dang it, I'm losing him!' Pavan thought, but no matter how much he called upon the wind and how much he used it to propel himself, he couldn't keep up with Shiryu…

Then, Pavan's wind tunnel dissipated, and he began gliding toward the ground, fighting to catch his breath; he didn't realize he'd been holding it. It didn't take long for Shiryu to notice Pavan was no longer following him…

After waiting a few seconds to see if he'd appear, he doubled back and eventually saw the wind phoenix sitting on a plateau, holding his chest. The dragon gently landed in front of Pavan, panting a bit himself but still holding himself up despite the fatigue.

“Are you alright?" He asked, concerned. “Did I go too fast for you?" He further inquired innocently.

“Y-Yeah… Unfortunately," said Pavan, trying to collect himself. “I… Don't know how you did it, but… You were actually exceeding the speed of sound there, Shiryu. But me… I just… I can't go that fast."

“...I was?" Shiryu asked, either ignorant to the fact he was flying beyond mach 1 or he just never noticed.

“Yeah… You probably couldn't see it, but when something breaks-" he paused, looked at Shiryu's face, seeing his expression. Then, Pavan's face turned to utter incredulity. “...Wait… Did you… Did you not know you could do that?"

“Nnnnnoooo?" Shiryu answered. “I just kept using more wind energy to keep moving faster and faster. I mean… We were playing tag. I wasn't gonna let you catch me that easily." He added with a little giggle.

“...Well, crap," he said. “Seems you're actually able to summon more power from the wind at a time than I can… And I'm the elemental." It was starting to become clear to Pavan what Ranshiro had meant about his son being gifted… The childish dragon had an aptitude for elemental power that was certainly beyond what his age or limited experience would normally allow…

'Or, maybe I just need more work,' Pavan thought.

“Well, I mean yea I can fly fast, but you did that whole tunnel thing. I couldn't even see you." He said as he spread his arms apart to emphasize his point. “How'd you even do that? It's like you were… I dunno, a sideways tornado."

“Oh, that? I was just doing a barrel roll," explained Pavan, “It's usually done by aircraft, where they maneuver like they're flying on the outside of a barrel." He picked up a pebble, and summoned a small torrent of wind to send it flying in a similar fashion to what he was doing before, saying “Whoop, whoop," as it went spinning away.

“As for why you couldn't see me," Pavan went on, “I can only guess that it's because you aren't an avian like me, your eyes aren't as keen as mine. Though, to be fair, when I'm going full-tilt, I do kind of… Meld with the wind itself, almost like I'm part of it, so I'll appear as little more than a blur to most."

“...Huh." Shiryu remarked, then looked down at his own claw for a moment. “Like how I make my Tornado Drill attack…"

Pavan sat up, sensing a chance to sate his curiosity. “That's how you do it?" he asked, “Just gather the wind energy around your arm? But how did you make it so… Condensed? It almost looked solid when you saved Volcan that time - not like it was air, but an actual solid object."

Shiryu looked at Pavan curiously, then back at his claw for a moment before he gave Pavan a shrug. “I just… spin air around my arm super duper fast and it just appears." He answered. “I dunno how I do it, I just… do it."

'Well that's just annoyingly unhelpful,' Pavan almost said, but kept it in his head. “Well… You got a talent there, big guy," he said with a sigh.

Then, sneakily, Pavan smiled and shot up, rushing over to Shiryo and poking him in his pudgy belly. “Tag!" he exclaimed.

“Ack!!" He shrieked as he was poked, holding his belly and looking at Pavan before grinning. “Oh it's on!" He announced as he shot up and swiped at the Phoenix.

Pavan dashed away, and the two engaged in a merry game of chase; Shiryu, despite apparently being faster in the air, was not as nimble as Pavan was on the ground.

Shiryu was giggling regardless as he gave chase, his larger body making him slower than Pavan, but that didn't stop him from having fun chasing down his friend. It helped even less that Pavan acted so silly all the while, singing, whooping and performing acrobatic feats not unlike something that might've been seen in a circus show.

“Hehehe! Stop, you're too funny!" he cried out, still laughing and having to stop to hold his sides from laughing so hard.

Pavan stopped in front of the laughing dragon, sharing in the laughter for a moment. “Hehe… Maybe Ayane's right; I could totally be a performer," he remarked.

“I'd come to see your shows for sure!" Shiryu remarked, calming down and wiping his eyes as he had been crying from laughing so hard. “So… What else do you wanna play?"

“I dunno," Pavan replied, shrugging. “I came out here just hoping to maybe get some pointers on improving my wind powers… But, your dad doesn't feel I could really take to the type of training he offers."

“...Well…" Shiryu trailed off slightly, looking up at the sky towards the clouds overhead. “I mean… if I can do it, I don't see why you can't." He remarked, offering a light-hearted smile. “My focus wasn't very good when I first started. I used to get so easily distracted by everything around me, at least until Dad was taken away."

Pavan chuckled. “Yeah, I'm kinda the same way. I can't stand sitting still for too long - it just makes me antsy," he fidgeted where he sat, as though in emphasis. “Maybe that's why Ranshiro doesn't think I could do it… Maybe someday, but… I just cannot sit still; like I always say, gotta stay on the move to keep my groove~"

“I think you just need something like what happened to me, happen to you." Shiryu offered. “That's what helped me with my focusing problem."

Pavan grimaced and rolled his eyes. “Eeehh, preferably not. My entire reason for going after P.A.C.E was to prevent them from finding my dad," said Pavan. “He's… Well, until I met all my new friends in that ordeal, he and I, we're all we had. Unfortunately, my mom's on the other side of the world, in India; I've only spoken to her like, once or twice in my life," he sighed, unhappily.

“Can't you just…fly over to see her?" Shiryu asked. “You use the wind like I do. Can't you have it help you fly far, far away?"

“You make it sound so easy… But we're talking about the other side of the world, Shiryu. Even if I could fly full speed all the way there, it'd take me days, weeks maybe, and I'd probably collapse from exhaustion before I made it halfway over the Pacific Ocean."

“Oh… Well… Maybe one day you can make it happen." He offered, then his ear twitched and he looked behind him slightly. “We uhm… I should probably go back home. I kinda snuck out to chase you and Dad's probably getting worried again…"

“Wait what?" Pavan asked. “You followed me without telling him? Oh boy," Pavan rubbed the back of his head. “I really hope he's not too mad… Alright, come on," he added as he stood, and brushed the dirt from his clothes. “Let's get going."

Shiryu nodded, flapping his wings a few times to gain a bit of lift and take off. “...Race you back!" He suddenly exclaimed before turning and taking off toward his home, leaving behind a massive gust of wind as he zoomed away.

Pavan smiled, and got into a running start. “I'm going to get you this time!" he called before he launched himself into the skies with a whoosh from the air around him, chasing the dragon all the way back to his home…

~~~~~

Back in Unity Falls…

It was almost closing time at Skilerain Auto. Lighris stepped out from the shop floor wiping his hands on a rag and humming the song that had been playing on his stereo just before quitting time. Once his hands were free of the grease, he walked into the designated 'staff area' - which was ironic considering he was the shop's only employee, and put his hands under the dispenser for the hand cleaner.

The motion-detecting dispenser dropped orange-scented fluid into his hands, and he began spreading it over his palms as he moved to the sink. With a nudge of his finger, he turned on the faucet and let warm water run over his hands, watching the orange cleanser and lifted grease and oil flow down the drain.

Unfortunately, his day wasn't over yet. He wanted to go home, but he had some work still to do. Drying his hands on a paper towel, he walked over to the vacant receptionist counter and sat down in front of the computer. From there, he reached for the television remote, and switched on the wall-mounted TV opposite the counter, flipping through channels until he found the sports network, and stopped.

“Hey, Ultimate Combat is on," he said and set down the remote, only half paying attention to the TV as he turned on the computer and opened up a spreadsheet to do his daily auditing.

On the television, the announcer was just introducing the fighters for the night. It was the middle-weight class fighters. It was early in the season for Ultimate Combat, with only a few matches having happened so far as they made their way to the middleweight championship.

 Two fighters were being introduced as the match was about to begin; one from Brazil - introduced as Ademir Rocha, a male Jaguar, twenty-four years old, and then displayed his career record; five wins, two losses, no ties. A practitioner of Brazilian Vale Tudo; a mixed martial art. But by his record, he was a small fish in a relatively large pond, Lighris thought.

His eyes moved over to his opponent, a Human named Minato, with black hair, with a Japanese name but displayed with a Canadian flag - introduced as Minato Sugiyama, thirty-five years old, followed up with his career record. This one caught Lighris' attention; not only was he over ten years older than his opponent, but he had a substantially better record; twenty-eight wins, with only two losses, and he was even holding the current title of middle-weight champion. He was a practitioner of Karate, Shaolin Kung Fu, and old style Muay Thai; a versatile arsenal indeed.

“Oh geez," said Lighris, certain that the odds were against the Jaguar. “This Ademir guy is going to get crushed. Tough luck with the rookie going up against a reigning champion in the early game…"

Both combatants met at the center of the ring, with the referee giving each fighter a quick rundown before allowing them to interact. Minato smiled and held his fist toward Ademir, offering a respectful fistbump to his opponent and wishing him a good fight. The jaguar was hesitant at first but eventually stretched out his fist to meet Minato's, before reverting to his raised fist position in preparation for the fight.

The human male adopted his own fighting stance and prepared for combat, with his leading arm outstretched and his palm open, and his reverse arm held by his face as a means of protecting it. The two combatants circled one another for a few seconds, before Minato stepped in with the first strike, swinging his leading wide to feint his opponent and strike at his abdomen while he was distracted.

The Jaguar, even though his experience paled compared to the human's, was fast - as befitting his species. Even though he fell for the feint initially, he reacted quickly to the second punch, slapping it aside and throwing out a retaliatory strike in the span of a half-second, his fist heading for Minato's face; his hand held by his face sparing him from a direct hit, but still suffering a graze even as he dodged the rest of the way back.

The human then frowned slightly as he looked back at his opponent, eying the fist he narrowly dodged before taking up his stance. He almost looked disappointed, ashamed even, of his opponent before he exploded into action again, this time slapping one of the jaguar's hands out of the way and jabbing his nose with the same hand, then low-kicked his leg into a jumping corkscrew kick across his cheek, landing almost perfectly in his stance again and ready to counter his opponent after he recovered.

Ademir rushed in, this time attacking with a flurry of punches, each one aimed at a different spot. Midriff, chest, face, forehead, midriff again, face, chest, thigh. Again, he was fast, but the human had a formidable guard against the Jaguar's assault, only taking a couple of hits to his midriff before he parried a shot to his face and countered with a heavy straight punch square on the forehead, causing his foe to see stars for a moment.

The jaguar recoiled, shaking his head to clear it before rounding on Minato again, guard up as the human came in again, successfully blocking several of his punches before he found an opening to strike back again. This time, Minato took the attack head on, Ademir's fist connecting with his cheek and causing him to recoil from the attack. Minato then slowly turned his head back at his opponent, now frowning angrily at him as he wiped the blood away from a cut on his lip with his thumb, then punched his fists together as a means to taunt the jaguar to hit him again.

The jaguar stared in disbelief at him, looking briefly at his glove and then back at Minato, seeming unable to believe that the human had just taken a punch from him so easily. The audience around the ring was starting to quiet, wondering why the fight had suddenly slowed down so much.

Again, Minato taunted him to attack, tapping his face with his fist before beckoning him with a finger. The jaguar snarled, and rushed in; in this, he made a mistake, drawing back his arm too much and telegraphing exactly where his next punch was going.

In one swift motion, Minato grabbed the fist as it came at him, and used his other arm to undo the strap on the glove, all while turning and poking the jaguar with two fingers at his solar plexus. Then he let out a “KIAI!" as he performed a one-inch punch, sending the jaguar onto his back with unbelievable force while ripping the glove he was still holding onto in his other hand off of Ademir's hand.

He then lifted the glove and shook it a few times, causing several small metal objects to fall onto the arena at his feet from the glove before tossing it back at his fallen opponent, shaking his head disapprovingly. The audience's cheers immediately turned to booing, and the referee was quick to act, declaring the jaguar disqualified…

Lighris, watching the spectacle unfold, eyed the screen curiously. “How did he know those quarters were in the glove?" he wondered aloud, “And furthermore, how'd he take those punches without dropping? No one's that tough…"

There was more going on here than met the eye… And Lighris wasn't sure he liked the implication.

Several days later, at Degra's house…

It had taken the better part of a day for Volcan to awaken from his coma. He awoke to familiar surroundings, in a room he hadn't seen in years but knew well, for it had been the room he had slept in back when he was a child. He remembered it well, and knew even before she came in that he was in the home of his mother, Degra.

The female phoenix explained everything to him, as she had heard it from Rikyuu and Obsidian. This helped fill in the blanks for him, as Volcan couldn't remember everything that had happened… The last things he could recall was his attempt to flee into the forest, only to be caught by Avory and his sister… But everything went dark after that, except for one moment of excruciating pain… And then darkness again.

He remembered nothing of his visit to the home of Boswell MacAingeal - the patriarch of his clan. But he knew it had to have been by Boswell's power that Volcan was still alive now; based on what his mother had told him, by all rights, he should not have survived…

Yet, Volcan's dreams were troubled, night after night… He could still hear that voice, like some phantom memory. Hearing its whispers in his mind, promising harm to everyone he loved and telling him, time and again, that he could not stop it from emerging… Indeed, he hadn't stopped it; it had overtaken him, dominated his mind and body, and attempted to hurt his friends…

He'd been too weak to stop it…

He'd put everyone he cared about in danger… Stewing in these dark thoughts night after night eventually made him realize he didn't want to be a burden to anyone anymore. So, leaving a note for his mother to tell her he was going back to what passed for his home, he left in the night as she slept, flying off into the night and heading back to Unity Falls… Back to his tower, where he could be alone.