Lessons

Alexis' hand trembled in Leonardo's grasp.

He leaned in and kissed her once again, though this time his lips only swept softly over her forehead. "You can do this," he murmured and squeezed her palm reassuringly.

Together, they followed the Youngster into the kitchen. The Warrior's gentle grip and his kiss, more than his words, gave her the courage to face the group ahead.

Her peers-dragons and Guardians both-would laugh if they knew she felt such trepidation. To them, mortals were at best children. Beings in need of guidance and protection. Most immortals did not afford humans the concept of honor—much less worry about besmirching it. They would no sooner fear this gathering than a flock of sheep.

But none of them followed a single clan for centuries, observing their rise and fall as the pages of history turned. Nor formed familial ties with those they were bound to protect. They did not know of the Hamatos and their selfless acts.

Or the indescribable way Leonardo makes me feel with a glance.

Alexis shook her head.

Who is the greater fool?

Pushing the uncomfortable thought aside, Alexis forced herself to concentrate on the task at hand. Someone or something had frightened one of her charges—the one who could least afford such emotions.

This can not be allowed to continue.

The conversation paused and everyone stared as Leonardo guided her through the arched entryway of the bright, homey kitchen. He led her to a table with seven other adults seated around it and politely pulled out the remaining empty chair. With a tilt of his head, he indicated she should sit while he fetched another.

Alexis swallowed her dread and gave a respectful nod, sinking gracefully into the seat. Since she didn't need much physical sustenance, she hadn't spent any time in this particular room or at a Western dining table. She peered around curiously, noting the yellow cupboards mounted on the wall; the small cooking appliances lined up on the counter; and the larger stove. It all looked bizarre, so different from the ancient fires of Japan.

Around her, the talking resumed and she focused her attention surreptitiously on the young mother-to-be seated across from her. Morgan remained tightly wound despite a bright forced smile. She shivered, though heat radiated from her body.

The Guardian watched intently as Raphael shifted closer to her until their sides nearly touched. A strange low rumble, almost a sort of hum emanated from him.

What does that mean? Is it some Feyian custom or a human one?

She knew much of the Feyian culture but this sound didn't mesh with any of her knowledge. The dragon tilted her head, puzzled. The noise was familiar. She'd heard it herself somewhere before, but couldn't place the exact circumstances. Her brow furrowed.

It wasn't a growl, exactly—though the tone was deep and resonating. No one else mentioned it, however, so she decided not to inquire but to wait and ask one of the others later.

Perhaps the Youngster? He doesn't seem to mind my questions.

In fact, Michelangelo had already been helping her adjust to the twenty-first century. He introduced her to the television; setting up a small screen for her to observe in the dojo. He also supplied her with some programs—a diverse selection of favorites from across the family.

Since Alexis only needed a couple of hours sleep a night, he probably intended them as some form of distraction or entertainment while the household rested. But she gleaned a number of intriguing insights from the shows. Lessons, for instance, on human customs and behaviors associated with their most devoted loved ones.

Or, to put it in more simply in her newest language—'dating'.

Surprisingly, the best examples were among Splinter's favored programs. The learned sensei referred to them as 'day-time dramas.' The name made her nervous. She wasn't at all certain she was supposed to watch them in the evenings, but she had little other time to devote to the project.

According to them, human courtship involved a lot of angst. The females swung from standoffish to sexually aggressive, with the matrons often being worse than the younger generation. The males hardly remained monogamous. And both genders made many seemingly random decisions leading to a myriad of avoidable negative situations.

Since aloof behavior came somewhat naturally to Alexis, she tried that technique first. But it didn't fly well as a relationship tactic with the Warrior. During the last few days, he didn't press for attention as the men in the programs did. He let her go her own way, giving her 'space' and leaving her frustrated.

She sighed. Perhaps the 'sitcoms'—which Michelangelo assured her were okay to view while lying down—would offer more useful information. What she had observed so far, however, did not bode well for romantic relationships. Most of those couplings still tended to end in disaster.

Those types of shows did illustrate more common, day-to-day family type circumstances, though, like... meals. This breakfast resembled several she had watched with the mortals breaking their nighttime fast and chatting as if food were the only thing on their minds.

Alexis frowned.

This isn't right, is it?

When the Youngster interrupted her 'social interaction' with the Warrior, his words carried the urgency of a serious discussion underway, but this looked... normal.

Morgan's false bravado fooled no one, yet the family brushed off the seriousness of her scare. Even Splinter passed a plate of toasted bread topped with some sort of salted spread around the table, pausing to scold Michelangelo for taking too many before the Feyian girl had a chance to select her slice.

Alexis didn't realize it was all a deception until Leonardo returned with a stool and slipped into the flow. The tension in his muscles told her he was extremely troubled, yet he joined in the casual conversation with a rare jest.

No, deception is the wrong word.

This was a delicately orchestrated symphony of reassurance.

Morgan's feverish warmth gave the game away. At the first sign of peril, the young Feyian once again unintentionally shifted her child into Shadow. The others were attempting to ease the threat level so Morgan would withdraw from the danger zone. Hopefully, before any other 'creatures' got interested.

Moon Mother, please let her brother be paying attention on the other side of the barrier. The Shadow realm is the one place I cannot defend them.

Anxiously, Alexis glanced around the table. The entire family was focused on the effort and she couldn't think of anything to add. The girl did not trust her enough to be soothed by any action of hers. She swallowed a growl as frustration made her want to bite something.

Some Guardian I am. I have to come up with a more permanent way to keep her safe. Preferably out of Shadow for good, or at least for the foreseeable future.

Were she still welcome at home, Alexis would seek the Oracle and ask for answers. The ingenious seer— her father's oldest advisor—could be consulted by any member of the court at need and his mind was one of the sharpest she knew.

He could come up with a plan to safeguard my family with his eyes closed.

Alexis sighed. She had forsaken that right when she fled the cradle of dragonkind. However, an equivalent mind sat close at hand. Perhaps not a seer, but one with an undeniable stake in her clan.

The Wise-one.

Her eyes slit and her intense focus shifted to Donatello. He was listening to the others dote on Morgan and stealthily running his health scanner on her under the table. Feeling her gaze, he glanced Alexis' way and raised a brow ridge in question.

Yes, I must speak to him about it.

Donatello mouthed the words 'after breakfast' at her while giving a jerk of his head toward his workspace. A tingle ran down Alexis' spine. She checked her shields but they were perfect. He could not have heard, yet he intuited her request. She gave him small half-bow of respect and acknowledgment before he turned his attention back to the shivering Feyian.

With a mental sigh, Alexis turned her focus outward. If she could not help the girl directly she could at least address the root cause of Morgan's fear. The idea that something evil had infiltrated their home unnoticed made her hackles raise—leaving her with a very peculiar feeling in human form. She rolled her shoulders to damp down the rising scales and tilted her head, listening closely.

Water. Small creatures scampering about. Workmen several stories above—nowhere near the access lines for the lair. Echoes of vehicles. Deeper vibrations of underground trains.

Nothing felt out of place.

Inhaling, Alexis searched the air for the scents of known enemies. Donatello's brilliant invention to improve circulation did an admirable job of keeping the overwhelming smells of the sewer system outside their home, but above the faintest remaining odors of mildew and rot, she caught a whiff of something stronger.

A touch of sulfur tainted the breeze.

Involuntarily, every muscle in her body tensed as dark blue scales flashed past her mind's eye.

No. Not here. He can't be here.

Alexis' consciousness exploded, inundating every inch of their home seeking the source. However, the sour taste of mental corruption she feared remained absent and there were no further hints as to the intruder's identity.

Leonardo did not miss her change in posture. His psychic guard came up and his stance became alert. His team, well attuned to his body language followed suit, even as they kept up the flow of casual conversation.

:Is there danger I cannot see, love?:

His thought was sharp with concern. For one awful moment, Alexis worried he had read her frightened rush of emotion and saw the blue dragon.

Even if he did, it would mean nothing.

The Warrior shot her an anxious glance when she did not answer right away, but she drew a deep breath and calmed her racing heart, regaining enough composure to reassure him.

:Not at this moment. There was a scent. Something... that should not be. But I found no other trace. If we wish to resolve the incident, we need to question the one who saw it.:

Leonardo nodded slightly, acknowledging Alexis' response but didn't give his team the signal to stand down until her eyes faded from alert gold back to their more mundane brown. Whatever his shay'el'esque smelled startled her and anything that unsettled a dragon was best to be wary of.

Across the table from him, Morgan sighed. "Thanks, guys. I appreciate the attempt to keep breakfast low-key, but I guess we have to discuss this sometime. It's just, I really don't know how to describe what happened."

"Take events one step at a time," Splinter advised. "You left the kitchen to fetch us. What did you encounter next?"

"The first weird thing appeared when I stopped at the dojo door to check everyone's location."

"Define weird?" the dragon requested.

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Leo suppressed a smile as Alexis voiced the question; proud she had accepted his reassurance it was ok to do so.

"In this instance, an unusual or unclassifiable event," Donatello replied without missing a beat.

"Air brushed past my face. Like a breeze. But it was looking at me"—Morgan laughed self-consciously and Raphael wrapped a protective arm around her shoulders—"That sounds odd but it was alive, somehow."

"Intelligent wind?" Raph asked.

Alexis' eyes brightened and she relaxed somewhat from her stiff upright posture. Leonardo leaned forward eagerly. The Guardian recognized this phenomenon.

"Did the wind harm you, my child? Or merely startle you into fleeing?" Splinter asked.

"It didn't hurt me. It-it warned me."

"What did it say?" Leo prompted.

"It wasn't words, exactly. It pointed out a... thing was stalking me."

"What kind of thing?" Donnie inquired.

Morgan shuddered. "I- I don't know. It- it- it almost got me. The moment I realized it was there I became paralyzed with fear."

"It's ok, angel. We ain't gonna let anything happen to ya," Raph soothed.

"Where it moved, all the energy that guides me disappeared. Everything went foggy like the room had been erased. It blocked every escape route. I couldn't call out. I couldn't reach Brenna. It was like 'darkness' personified."

Leonardo swallowed a sharp hiss as memories of his vision battle with the shadow man sprang to mind. The near touch of that monstrous being had caused terror to course through his body. Only his training and a greater concern for his entire family's safety had kept him from freezing.

Splinter also seemed to recognize the description. The fur on the back of his neck rose and his ears twitched. A sure sign the Master was disturbed.

"How did you get away, sis?" Michelangelo asked.

"I- I didn't. I couldn't move. I couldn't think. Something else drove it off. Something angry and hot. There was actual fire, I think."

Leo's stomach churned and his hands balled into fists under the edge of the table where the others wouldn't see. If his premonition were coming true, a dark evil stalked their family. One that could easily destroy the clan. And it had targeted their most vulnerable member.

I'm not ready. My light alone will not be enough to stop it!

His shields faltered and more than a little of his panic seeped out. Morgan's face snapped towards him as if he'd shouted his fears aloud and Alexis snarled.

Unbidden Leonardo turned toward the dragon. Her face contorted into a mask of anger and her aura blazed forth wrapping him in power and light—just as her lantern had done in his vision. Their energy combined in a brilliant flash of blue and gold. Together, he and the guardian were incandescent.

I was never meant to fight such darkness on my own.

The binding set Leonardo's heart aflame and Alexis' fury warmed his chilled blood. Unconsciously, he leaned toward her although the others drew back in shock.

Morgan squeaked and squinted at the light, burying her head in Raph's chest. Leo twitched guiltily and pulled his aura back, throwing a mental shade around his sister as he did so. He pushed a warning to Alexis.

:Careful, love. Morgan can't see.:

Alexis's eyes widened and instantly she dimmed to a barely there glimmer, though anger still twisted her expression. "Apologies, little one. Enraged I am by such peril. My best, I shall do not to impede your sight further."

"Thank you," Morgan sighed as she sat up and wiped her eyes.

Donatello eyed Leo and the Guardian keenly but directed his question toward their father.

"What was it, Sensei?"

Splinter shook his head. "I know not, my son. I met such a beast once before... in a nightmare. I had not considered that particular dream a premonition. I must examine it with new eyes."

Alexis jerked as if stung and pulled her intense gaze from Leo's. "You are a seer?"

"The ability runs in our family," Splinter said with a nonchalant shrug. "Though I am the first in many generations to experience it."

Leonardo used the distraction of his father's words to firm up his shields and bring his emotions back in line. It took more effort than he would like to smooth his expression and keep his aura from embracing hers just a few feet away. But if he left them in contact he would not be able to concentrate on anything else and damn the danger at hand.

Taking deliberately slow breaths, Leo stared hard at the top of the table. Was this what his father had feared would happen if he took a mate? That his feelings for Alexis would become so strong he forgot family and duty and honor? Perhaps. And if his shay'el'esque were any other the concern might be justified.

But Alexis understands my responsibilities to the clan. As our Guardian, she shares them.

Which could also be a problem. The dragon's rage had not been triggered by Morgan's description but by his own feeling of helplessness.

Is her mind mired in such intense confusion? It would account for her distance these last few days...

He didn't dare touch her thoughts right now to ask. But he didn't believe her oath and his position were at odds. What they needed was time. Time together. To hone their focus. To learn to see past the brilliance of their combined souls.

Time is something we rarely have to spare.

"Do you recognize the creature, Alexis?"

Donatello's question brought the leader's attention abruptly back to the conversation.

"Many things it may be," Alexis said. "More information I need to give it a name."

"This is crazy," Raphael fumed. "How are we supposed to protect Morgan if we don't know what it was?"

"We ask the others who saw it."

"What others?"

"The sylph and the salamander."

"Salamander is at least a word I recognize," Casey Jones said, "Those are lizards, but what's a sylph?"

Alexis tilted her head and regarded the human mortal critically having almost forgotten he was there. He fidgeted under her gaze, wiping sweaty palms on his jeans, but bravely did not break eye contact. She hadn't had a chance to spend much time with him, a fact which needed to be remedied. She was, after all, Guardian to the family as a whole.

From the Warrior's tales, he might be an amusing companion.

She opened her mouth to explain, but Splinter spoke first. "If I remember my mythology correctly, sylphs are spirits of the air."

"Those are real?" Donatello blurted in surprise.

Alexis gazed at him askance. "A Dragon and one of the Fey sit at your table, yet this question still you ask? Spirits they are not, but some grain of truth most legends have."

"Wait, wait, wait," Michelangelo interrupted, waving his hands dramatically. "You're saying everything supernatural is real?"

"Most things, Youngster. In some form," she qualified.

"Vampires?" Michelangelo challenged, "Are they real?"

"Seen, have you not, the savage ferocity of a Feyian at war? Pointed are their teeth and live they do beyond the Shadow. Easy to identify the origin of that tale."

Michelangelo nodded like the thought had occurred to him but he had to ask anyway.

"Werewolves?"

Alexis blew out a frustrated breath.

Why is he being so dense?

"Again, this you have seen. The Huntress is large, can be understood when she wishes, and while a fox she resembles many others of her kind appear wolf-like."

Suddenly, Mikey's expression twisted in horror and Alexis' brow furrowed in concern. The Youngster had always been upbeat and full of zeal about their foes before now.

"Zombies?" he asked.

Leonardo winced. Worried by the Warrior's previous panic and his strange reaction to her natural rage, Alexis could not bear any more confusion. She touched his mind.

:Zombies? This word I do not know. What kind of creature are these?:

:They are dead bodies, usually of loved ones, reanimated with no mind or soul and a single desire to kill and eat the brains of the living. Mikey loves horror movies and obsesses over all types of fantastic and supernatural stories, but zombies are his personal nightmare.:

Alexis' expression softened. "No," she answered Michelangelo aloud. "Solely fear this is, personified. No species I know fit this description, though undead there are. Ghosts and such."

"Ghosts?"

"This is hard to believe? Surrounded us, mere days ago, your ancestors did."

"Enough, Michelangelo," Splinter said, rapping his walking stick on the floor next to his chair. "You can pursue this conversation later—if the Guardian has any patience for it. Now we must determine the danger which has already invaded our home."

"If sylphs ain't spirits, what are they?" Raphael asked.

"Immortals of a kind, but weaker. Elements sustain them, though live they do on this mortal plane so pollution has eroded them."

"Elements like chemical components?" Donatello inquired.

"I believe Alexis is referring to a much older usage of the term," Splinter said. "The four constants of the physical universe: air, water, fire, and earth."

"Divisions they are of magical energy as well," Alexis said.

"So sylphs control air?" Donatello asked. "I guess that explains the wind. Can they handle any other elements?"

The Guardian shook her head. "Limited beings are these. Mastering another requires greater innate ability, infinite patience, and time. Born I was to flame, yet two hundred years it took for me to gain basic control of wind. And centuries more to gain mastery."

"So it didn't send the fire."

"No, most likely the salamander that was."

"I'm guessing we ain't talking about lizards now," Casey said.

"Actually, real salamanders are amphibians of the order Urodela," Donatello pointed out, "But in folklore, they are often ascribed fantastic and sometimes occult qualities—usually to do with fire."

"Correct," Alexis said, "Flame elementals these are. Named your mortal beasts were for their resemblance."

"Are they dangerous?" Leonardo asked.

She shrugged. "Danger there is in all power. Some control more of the energy than others. But as with any race, the threat lies in how they use it."

"How do we get rid of them?" Raphael demanded.

She regarded him with a furrowed brow, "Ask them to depart, I can. Force them, if I must. But why make them go? Like the Feyian they do or guard her they would not."

Raphael did not answer. He grunted an acknowledgment and pulled Morgan into his lap, wrapping his arms around her tight. Alexis understood his irritation. The uncertainty surrounding the attack made him suspicious of anything unknown.

"Let's not get derailed here," Donatello said. "How do we find them to ask about the intruder? Do they speak a language we can understand?"

"Summon them I can, and translate as well—but come they may not without magical coercion. And this I do not wish to do. Shy, they are. Fear they do the slavery of a master mage's power."

"Slavery?" Morgan repeated in horror.

"Many of their kind are forced into servitude. Tortured and starved by the unscrupulous for personal gain though never have I treated one such."

"What can we do to put them at ease?" Leonardo asked.

Alexis smiled, touched by his compassion for the feelings of an as yet unknown life form, though she knew he would not approve of her solution when he finally understood it. She drew a breath and faced him squarely.

"Offer them I will, a sort of"—she grunted a bit in frustration—"What word is there for an irresistible consumable?"

"A treat?" Leo suggested.

"A treat," she agreed, "To show them I mean no harm. The salamander is the braver of the two and more likely to risk showing itself, but only for something rare. "

"Do you need help getting it?" the Warrior asked.

"No. Summon it here and now, I can." Alexis glanced around the gathered faces then narrowed her eyes at Raphael. "If they appear, make no violent motions. Anger will cause them to fight or flee."

"Listen to her, Raph," Donatello warned. "I don't want to be treating you for burns."

Raph snorted. "I ain't makin' any promises, but as long as they behave I'll sit tight."

Leonardo sighed and gave Alexis a brief nod. The grudging answer was probably the best she was going to get in the form of agreement from her red-banded clan-brother. And since Leonardo had technically agreed to her plan there was no further reason to delay.

Alexis stood and leaned over the center of the table. She curled her hands together into a hollow above the surface and called a shimmering translucent bubble of air to enclose the dangerous element. As she drew back, it remained floating in place.

She closed her eyes to hide the tell-tale flash of gold from the Warrior and a flicker of light began to form inside the iridescent sphere. This wasn't at all like the warm orange ball she conjured in the tunnels for illumination. This was an intense distillation of her own magical energy. A white-hot teardrop imbued with her aura.

Leonardo sensed the moment she offered bits of herself and snapped upright so fast his stool fell backward to the floor.

"Alexis, no! There has to be something else you can give it."

The others bolted to their feet in reaction.

"Be seated!" Alexis growled. "Frighten, you will the one we wish to lure."

Most of them obeyed, but Donatello ignored the command, leaning in close to examine the light while Leonardo hovered at her elbow with a pained look in his eyes.

"What is it?" the Wise one asked.

"Starfire," Alexis said. "The spark of creation. The purest form of flame."

"No," Leonardo countered, "It's a piece of your soul."