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Description
Adon felt his eyebrow twitch as a cluster of girls broke out in another burst of giggles.  He glanced toward the clock for what seemed like the millionth time since Kirandin had shown up.  His eyes followed the second hand as it neared its goal.  'Five...four...three...two...

Ding ding!

"Thank the gods...I mean, homework is to read pages fifty-three through sixty.  Natalia...you stay," he said tiredly, his eyes drifting from Natalia's shocked expression to where Kirandin was fidgeting.  This conversation was not going to be fun.

After all the students had filtered out of the classroom (Naomi had promised to check up on Natalie later before she could be persuaded to leave), Adon was left with two girls in the room, one looking at him expectantly and the other refusing to look at him at all.  Kirandin started to make her way over to him, but he made a quick motion for her to stop.  Surprisingly enough, she did.  "Adon, who's the kid?" she asked, her eyes darting from Natalie to Adon and back a few times.

Adon ignored her quite pointedly.  "Natalia...come here," he commanded.

She remained motionless in her seat, her eyes fixed on her desk.  "Natalie.  I'm going to be late to my next class, Mr. Smith..." she said softly.

It was on the tip of his tongue to tell her to leave and be done with it, but he wanted to keep what little control he could over the situation.  "Natalia, just come here.  You were keen enough on answers this morning, and I'm obviously not going to be able to keep them from you any longer..." he said, his voice taking on a slight hint of a grumble.

Kirandin looked at the redhead curiously.  "Really?  Why?  Is there something that I shouldn't be telling her?  Is she important enough to tell?  Who is she?  Hell, on the subject of questions--" she said, starting to get worked up again.

"Hush, Kirandin.  You'll get your answers in a minute.  You're a big girl--you can wait, can't you?" he asked sarcastically.

Kirandin bristled at this.  "Oh shut up, Adon!  You're the same age as the rest of us, damn it, so stop acting all superior!" she snapped.  However, she did calm down.

In spite of herself, Natalie felt her gaze rising.  "All the rest of you?  What do you mean?" she asked in a little voice, more to Kirandin than Adon.

Kirandin looked at Natalie thoughtfully for a moment, then shot a wicked look at Adon and opened her mouth to answer.  Before either one of them noticed that he'd moved, Adon was across the room and had a slim hand over her mouth.  "Don't you dare, Kira.  I can understand you being upset, but don't be rash.  ...Rasher than usual, anyway.  And stop trying to bite me!  I worked for a pet shop for awhile here, so I'm impervious now!" he said, feeling that twitch working its way up again.  He was really starting to hate the female population.

Kirandin finally just shoved him away.  "I have every right to be mad!  You ran off ten years ago!  I don't care how long we live, ten years is a long time!" she started.

"Wait, what?  How long you live?  Hang on...I never asked you your age, did I?" Natalie interrupted, looking at Adon with some interest.

Adon shrugged.  "Wouldn't have mattered if you did.  I would have said 21.  That's about how old I am equivalently, anyway..." he muttered.

Natalie chose not to comment on that.  "Does her being here mean that you won't lie to me anymore?" she asked hopefully.

He was silent for a moment.  Then, "I'll tell you what you deserve to know."

She nodded, satisfied with this.  "Why?"

Kirandin grinned and butted in.  "Because if he doesn't, I will.  He wants to be able to tell things from his point of view, I'm sure of it..." she explained.

Natalie looked Kirandin over and up and down.  "Who are you to do that, anyway?" she asked, her natural curiosity coming out a bit.

For the first time, it seemed that Kirandin was at a loss for words.  "Uh...Adon?  What relation am I to you?" she asked him, her eyes refusing to meet his.  "You never did tell me what you decided..."

Adon, too, looked thoughtful.  "She's my...little sister, I think.  Where we're from, familial roles are chosen based on relationships rather than blood, so it's all rather subjective," he explained, as if this was all very natural.

Natalie did her best to look poised and not as confused as she felt.  "Wait, wait, wait...  Where are you from?  Why are you here now?  Why did you...run off, I guess?  What's actually going on here?" she asked, each question she asked sparking more in her mind.

Kirandin nodded vigorously.  "Yeah!  I need to know some of those answers, too!" she put in, glaring daggers at Adon.

The late bell rang.  Adon looked from one questioning face to the other and sighed.  "All good questions and all ones that I can't answer here, unfortunately.  Natalia, when are you needed at home?" he asked.

Natalie frowned slightly in thought.  "Um...it's just me and my older brother tonight, so if I can get his permission, I can stay out as late as I need to, I s'pose," she said slowly, as if going through the night's plans in her head.

Adon nodded.  "I'll call him and see what I can do.  Your phone number is in the school's database?" he asked mildly, not telling her that he already knew it by heart.

She nodded, then stood up hesitantly.  "Um..?" she managed after a moment, looking at him for direction.

He walked over to his desk, then pulled out a scrap of paper, which he quickly scribbled an excuse on.  "Here's a pass.  Go to your next class, and I'll have Kira come find you after school," he instructed, handing her the slip.

She nodded numbly, wondering to herself if these strange people really going to help her at all, and gathered her things

Kirandin watched her go silently before striding over to the door and shutting it behind the retreating girl.  "So..." she began, turning back to Adon.  "Her name is Natalia?"

Adon nodded noncommittally.  "Natalie, actually.  I just prefer Natalia," he said stiffly.

Kirandin walked up to him until they were only a few inches apart, then poked him soundly in the chest.  "Please don't tell me that you've turned into some kind of human-loving pedophile over the years, Adon," she said wryly.

He actually cracked a smile at that.  "Don't worry, Kira.  I haven't had any romantic feelings in years," he replied, setting both hands on her shoulders and pushing her back a step.

"Huh.  I never knew that you had any ever," Kirandin responded thoughtfully.  "Who--"

Adon shook his head. "It was of no consequence.  At any rate, I believe that you were murderous at the moment, not inquisitive," he reminded gently, going back to lean on his desk again.

Kirandin blinked.  "Ah, right.  Murderous.  Um...  Oh screw it, Adon.  You know very well that no one can stay mad at you very long.  If you don't sweep 'em off their feet, you just give them that 'I'm smarter than you' look until you make 'em feel stupid that they were mad you.  It's not fair, you know that?  Your people skills continue to amaze me every day..." she mused, much calmer now that attention was being paid to her.  "Who is she, though?" she asked, watching as Adon pulled out the phone and started to dial.  "And why do you know her phone number by heart?  More importantly, why doesn't she know that you know her phone number by heart?" she asked again, frowning at him disapprovingly.  He merely waved at her to be quiet.

After a few rings, someone answered on the other end.  "Hello?"

Adon put on his best pleasantries voice.  "Mr. Walker, I presume?"

A silence for a few moments.  "The younger one, yes.  I'm speaking to..?"

Adon put a smile into his voice even though his face was perfectly solemn.  "Adon Smith, Natalie's history teacher."

"Is she in any trouble?  Why are you calling?" he asked on the other end, his voice tinged with worry.

"Ah, no, no," Adon replied soothingly, "She's just a little behind where I'd like her to be.  I was wondering--is there anything important that your family has planned tonight?  I'd hoped that I'd be able to keep her after school a bit to help her catch up...I'll make sure that she's fed if our meeting runs overtime."

A very long silence on the other end.  "I really don't feel comfortable letting my little sister hang out with her male teacher for very long after school.  All due respect and all that, though."

Adon's phone was just loud enough for Kirandin to hear most of the conversation, and she smiled like the cat who'd caught the canary at that comment.  Before Adon could stop her, she pressed the speaker button.  "Hullo, brother-of-Natalie!  This is Adon's kid sister who's come to annoy him today.  Let me assure you that I'll be with them tonight, and if I were to find out that my darling older brother was molesting fourteen-year-old girls, I'd castrate him myself!" she said just a little too cheerfully.  "So don't worry, I'll keep Natalie extra-specially safe from my brother.  If he tries anything on her, I'll kick his sorry ass!"

"...I don't think that I trust Natalie with you, either," he responded flatly.

Click.  One of the connections severed.  "I'm...sorry about that," Adon said, clearly flustered.

"No problem.  Does she really need help?"

Adon didn't even need to lie this time.  "Yes.  Quite a bit of it."

"Well...why don't you three stop by our house first.  I at least want to meet you before I let you within ten feet of my sister after school hours," he said.

Adon ran a hand through his hair.  "Yes, I suppose that that's fair, and responsible even.  I'll be sure to do that.  Goodbye...Mr. Walker."

"Sam.  I'll see you this afternoon, Mr. Smith."

Click.

Description
Adon felt his eyebrow twitch as a cluster of girls broke out in another burst of giggles.  He glanced toward the clock for what seemed like the millionth time since Kirandin had shown up.  His eyes followed the second hand as it neared its goal.  'Five...four...three...two...

Ding ding!

"Thank the gods...I mean, homework is to read pages fifty-three through sixty.  Natalia...you stay," he said tiredly, his eyes drifting from Natalia's shocked expression to where Kirandin was fidgeting.  This conversation was not going to be fun.

After all the students had filtered out of the classroom (Naomi had promised to check up on Natalie later before she could be persuaded to leave), Adon was left with two girls in the room, one looking at him expectantly and the other refusing to look at him at all.  Kirandin started to make her way over to him, but he made a quick motion for her to stop.  Surprisingly enough, she did.  "Adon, who's the kid?" she asked, her eyes darting from Natalie to Adon and back a few times.

Adon ignored her quite pointedly.  "Natalia...come here," he commanded.

She remained motionless in her seat, her eyes fixed on her desk.  "Natalie.  I'm going to be late to my next class, Mr. Smith..." she said softly.

It was on the tip of his tongue to tell her to leave and be done with it, but he wanted to keep what little control he could over the situation.  "Natalia, just come here.  You were keen enough on answers this morning, and I'm obviously not going to be able to keep them from you any longer..." he said, his voice taking on a slight hint of a grumble.

Kirandin looked at the redhead curiously.  "Really?  Why?  Is there something that I shouldn't be telling her?  Is she important enough to tell?  Who is she?  Hell, on the subject of questions--" she said, starting to get worked up again.

"Hush, Kirandin.  You'll get your answers in a minute.  You're a big girl--you can wait, can't you?" he asked sarcastically.

Kirandin bristled at this.  "Oh shut up, Adon!  You're the same age as the rest of us, damn it, so stop acting all superior!" she snapped.  However, she did calm down.

In spite of herself, Natalie felt her gaze rising.  "All the rest of you?  What do you mean?" she asked in a little voice, more to Kirandin than Adon.

Kirandin looked at Natalie thoughtfully for a moment, then shot a wicked look at Adon and opened her mouth to answer.  Before either one of them noticed that he'd moved, Adon was across the room and had a slim hand over her mouth.  "Don't you dare, Kira.  I can understand you being upset, but don't be rash.  ...Rasher than usual, anyway.  And stop trying to bite me!  I worked for a pet shop for awhile here, so I'm impervious now!" he said, feeling that twitch working its way up again.  He was really starting to hate the female population.

Kirandin finally just shoved him away.  "I have every right to be mad!  You ran off ten years ago!  I don't care how long we live, ten years is a long time!" she started.

"Wait, what?  How long you live?  Hang on...I never asked you your age, did I?" Natalie interrupted, looking at Adon with some interest.

Adon shrugged.  "Wouldn't have mattered if you did.  I would have said 21.  That's about how old I am equivalently, anyway..." he muttered.

Natalie chose not to comment on that.  "Does her being here mean that you won't lie to me anymore?" she asked hopefully.

He was silent for a moment.  Then, "I'll tell you what you deserve to know."

She nodded, satisfied with this.  "Why?"

Kirandin grinned and butted in.  "Because if he doesn't, I will.  He wants to be able to tell things from his point of view, I'm sure of it..." she explained.

Natalie looked Kirandin over and up and down.  "Who are you to do that, anyway?" she asked, her natural curiosity coming out a bit.

For the first time, it seemed that Kirandin was at a loss for words.  "Uh...Adon?  What relation am I to you?" she asked him, her eyes refusing to meet his.  "You never did tell me what you decided..."

Adon, too, looked thoughtful.  "She's my...little sister, I think.  Where we're from, familial roles are chosen based on relationships rather than blood, so it's all rather subjective," he explained, as if this was all very natural.

Natalie did her best to look poised and not as confused as she felt.  "Wait, wait, wait...  Where are you from?  Why are you here now?  Why did you...run off, I guess?  What's actually going on here?" she asked, each question she asked sparking more in her mind.

Kirandin nodded vigorously.  "Yeah!  I need to know some of those answers, too!" she put in, glaring daggers at Adon.

The late bell rang.  Adon looked from one questioning face to the other and sighed.  "All good questions and all ones that I can't answer here, unfortunately.  Natalia, when are you needed at home?" he asked.

Natalie frowned slightly in thought.  "Um...it's just me and my older brother tonight, so if I can get his permission, I can stay out as late as I need to, I s'pose," she said slowly, as if going through the night's plans in her head.

Adon nodded.  "I'll call him and see what I can do.  Your phone number is in the school's database?" he asked mildly, not telling her that he already knew it by heart.

She nodded, then stood up hesitantly.  "Um..?" she managed after a moment, looking at him for direction.

He walked over to his desk, then pulled out a scrap of paper, which he quickly scribbled an excuse on.  "Here's a pass.  Go to your next class, and I'll have Kira come find you after school," he instructed, handing her the slip.

She nodded numbly, wondering to herself if these strange people really going to help her at all, and gathered her things

Kirandin watched her go silently before striding over to the door and shutting it behind the retreating girl.  "So..." she began, turning back to Adon.  "Her name is Natalia?"

Adon nodded noncommittally.  "Natalie, actually.  I just prefer Natalia," he said stiffly.

Kirandin walked up to him until they were only a few inches apart, then poked him soundly in the chest.  "Please don't tell me that you've turned into some kind of human-loving pedophile over the years, Adon," she said wryly.

He actually cracked a smile at that.  "Don't worry, Kira.  I haven't had any romantic feelings in years," he replied, setting both hands on her shoulders and pushing her back a step.

"Huh.  I never knew that you had any ever," Kirandin responded thoughtfully.  "Who--"

Adon shook his head. "It was of no consequence.  At any rate, I believe that you were murderous at the moment, not inquisitive," he reminded gently, going back to lean on his desk again.

Kirandin blinked.  "Ah, right.  Murderous.  Um...  Oh screw it, Adon.  You know very well that no one can stay mad at you very long.  If you don't sweep 'em off their feet, you just give them that 'I'm smarter than you' look until you make 'em feel stupid that they were mad you.  It's not fair, you know that?  Your people skills continue to amaze me every day..." she mused, much calmer now that attention was being paid to her.  "Who is she, though?" she asked, watching as Adon pulled out the phone and started to dial.  "And why do you know her phone number by heart?  More importantly, why doesn't she know that you know her phone number by heart?" she asked again, frowning at him disapprovingly.  He merely waved at her to be quiet.

After a few rings, someone answered on the other end.  "Hello?"

Adon put on his best pleasantries voice.  "Mr. Walker, I presume?"

A silence for a few moments.  "The younger one, yes.  I'm speaking to..?"

Adon put a smile into his voice even though his face was perfectly solemn.  "Adon Smith, Natalie's history teacher."

"Is she in any trouble?  Why are you calling?" he asked on the other end, his voice tinged with worry.

"Ah, no, no," Adon replied soothingly, "She's just a little behind where I'd like her to be.  I was wondering--is there anything important that your family has planned tonight?  I'd hoped that I'd be able to keep her after school a bit to help her catch up...I'll make sure that she's fed if our meeting runs overtime."

A very long silence on the other end.  "I really don't feel comfortable letting my little sister hang out with her male teacher for very long after school.  All due respect and all that, though."

Adon's phone was just loud enough for Kirandin to hear most of the conversation, and she smiled like the cat who'd caught the canary at that comment.  Before Adon could stop her, she pressed the speaker button.  "Hullo, brother-of-Natalie!  This is Adon's kid sister who's come to annoy him today.  Let me assure you that I'll be with them tonight, and if I were to find out that my darling older brother was molesting fourteen-year-old girls, I'd castrate him myself!" she said just a little too cheerfully.  "So don't worry, I'll keep Natalie extra-specially safe from my brother.  If he tries anything on her, I'll kick his sorry ass!"

"...I don't think that I trust Natalie with you, either," he responded flatly.

Click.  One of the connections severed.  "I'm...sorry about that," Adon said, clearly flustered.

"No problem.  Does she really need help?"

Adon didn't even need to lie this time.  "Yes.  Quite a bit of it."

"Well...why don't you three stop by our house first.  I at least want to meet you before I let you within ten feet of my sister after school hours," he said.

Adon ran a hand through his hair.  "Yes, I suppose that that's fair, and responsible even.  I'll be sure to do that.  Goodbye...Mr. Walker."

"Sam.  I'll see you this afternoon, Mr. Smith."

Click.