Kieran insisted. “No. I dragged you out here and talked your ear off a bit. Paying is the least I can do. Besides, I asked you to lunch, it is only gentlemanly for me to pay.” He explained. Kieran walked her back to his car, and considered her question as he got into the car. “It’s okay. It’s a good question.” He assured her. “Let me think for a moment…” He turned on the ignition and put in his seatbelt. 

“I didn’t [i]need[/i] to talk to you, but I wanted to ask for your help. People who use magic…” He paused, knowing that he couldn’t easily explain that there was a whole different world out there where they were being persecuted. It might be a bit too much. “Are fighting a war.” He said. “Most people around here choose to believe it doesn’t exist, and that is fine. However, some who do know about it think it is unnatural, that it is wrong. I am not fond of war, but I believe that everyone has the right to…what’s the American way, again? Ah… right, Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” 

“Having someone around who could heal people would change the outcome of many fights. But please understand, Anabelle, I would never force you to aid our efforts. But… the people who hunt down magic users would want to use your abilities as well. You need to be prepared to defend yourself, to know what sort of threat is out there, whether you choose to join the fight, or run.” Had Kieran been one of the spirit mages who was helping the non-mages, Anabelle would be in a very different situation. They would have forced her to heal all of their injured, tipping the scales greatly. Hell, there were some mages who would force her to come back with them and heal the magic injured, but Kieran didn’t believe that force would ever yield the vision he saw. 

The car pulled up in front of the hospital once more, and Kieran sighed. “I know that this is a lot to take in. If you have questions, let me give you my number.” He pulled out a pad of paper from the center console and jotted down the number for her. “Like I told you before, I am in and out of town, and we don’t have cell service where I live, so if I don’t get back to you right away, I’m not ignoring you at all.” He explained, giving her a small smile. He handed her the number, and took a deep breath. “Is there anything else I can do for you, any other questions I can try to answer?” He asked.

-.-

Devon’s family history was very different from Rhys. While Rhys had been the only one with magic, and living in a family where the people couldn’t understand what she did, Devon had not one but two parents who could use magic as well. He didn’t specify what exactly they could do, and Rhys didn’t ask. It must have been difficult to not know where they were. Rhys felt comfort in the fact that her family was most certainly at home, doing what they had always done. But for Devon, it had to be difficult to know that his parents were putting themselves in danger to protect themselves. Rhys gave a slight nod when Devon said that he believed they were fine. “You have a good point.” She said.

They continued to walk for a while longer, until Rhys found that her water was empty, and she was getting pretty tired. The hot sun certainly didn’t make trekking through the forest any easier. “Can we take a break, shortly?” Rhys requested in the middle of the afternoon. “There is a stream, up ahead a bit.” She pointed off in a vaguely straight and left direction, and then turned her gaze towards Devon, “I mean, I think there is…” She added.

True to her word, the pair was able to find water if they followed Rhys’ lead. When they got to the stream, Rhys was able to fill up her water once more, and then sit beneath a shady tree for a short while. “Are you hungry?” She asked, opening up her bag once more. Rhys wasn’t really used to set meals anymore. She ate when she was hungry, and she always ate a little less than what she wanted, to make sure she would have more for later. 

“What do you know of… the fighting?” Rhys asked. “I’ve been trying to keep my head down, and I haven’t seen much of anything that’s been going on as of late…” She trailed off a little, unsure if Devon would be cross with her for nor taking an active role. She wasn’t in control of her abilities enough to be able to help, she didn’t have a clue where to even go, and she was terrified. They were all things that had kept her from getting involved thus far in the combat.