The Weaver sat cross-legged on the air, twisting the threads of reality around her, just as she had been taught. She picked at the loose strands, viewing the possibilities, choices, and consequences. She focused extra hard to not be distracted by the boy's voice calling, "Guess what?" "What?" A girl's voice called back. "Chicken butt!" The girl huffed. "You're SO IMMATURE! Come ON!" "HA HA!" The Weaver scowled, pulling more threads around her to block out the noise, but it was too late. The girl had wandered into her room, and the Weaver lost her hold over the threads, floating to the ground. The girl flicked her curly black hair behind her head, widening her big blue eyes. "See anything interesting?" "Meatloaf for dinner," The Weaver mumbled, "But Mom's almost out of eggs. Go make yourself a boiled eggs for lunch and we can have sandwiches instead." The girl's eyes widened. "Ew. Meatloaf. Cal, do you want a boiled egg for lunch? We have to make boiled eggs so Mom can't make meatloaf." "Sure, as long as I don't have to make them myself." "I don't wanna make them either. Thora, you make them." "Nah, Mom will know I knew about meatloaf. Lidy, you've got to do it. You're the innocent one." "But-" "Would you rather have meatloaf than do a bit of work? Besides, I'm busy." Thora, the Weaver, reached behind her head and tightened her ponytail. She pointed her finger at a fly buzzing by her little sister's ear and it fell to the ground frozen in a chunk of stasis. Lidy flinched, blinking. "A-alright. I'll do it." Thora smiled. "Good. Make me one, will you?" "Yeah, yeah, I will." Lidy ran down the stairs. Thora was about to go back to her Weaving when she saw Cal glaring at her, arms crossed. "What?" "I don't like it when you do that." "Kill flies?" "Threaten us." Thora laughed. "I wasn't [i]threatening[/i] you. I was [i]killing a fly.[/i]" "With stasis. Right after telling her to do something. You trying to remind us how powerful you are? You're too much like Aunt Mara." "What's wrong with that? Aunt Mara can see the future and do all kinds of cool things." "But she doesn't care who gets hurt as long as she gets her way." "What? Says who? Aunt Mara is trying to make the world better for [i]everyone.[/i] I'm sixteen, you're eleven. You don't know what you're talking about! Don't be ridiculous! I... don't you remember how scared we were, all those years ago when the Hive captured us? With this, I could've killed them all." She closed her fist, feeling the ice between her fingers. "We wouldn't have to be afraid, ever again." "But we did it TOGETHER!" "And we can STILL do it together if you would just LISTEN TO ME!" Thora shouted, ice shattering. Cal stood his ground. "You might scare Lidy," He hissed, "But you don't scare me." He stalked off, ignoring her angry shout of, "Well, that's brave coming from you! Am I the one who still sleeps with a [i]stuffed dinosaur[/i] at night?" Thora slammed her door, scowling. They were such a distraction from her focus. They didn't understand. They weren't special and powerful like she was. She resumed her Weaving. Hmm. A possibility where Cal and Lidy revolted against her and she had to kill them. She inspected the thread. She needed to stop that from happening. She needed to make sure they understood so they would follow her, even if it meant scaring them. As long as they didn't try to get between her and her power. Her frown grew. Her own mother would side against her? Could she trust anyone? Thora decided she didn't want to see any more. She got out her sketchbook and started drawing absentmindedly. She heard Mama saying downstairs. "Oh, Lidy, I was going to use those eggs for meatloaf... nevermind, it's alright. We'll have sandwiches." Thora smiled. Then she heard footsteps coming up the stairs and Mama opened her door. "Thora? What's this?" Thora glanced over and saw that she'd picked up the fly. "I found it in a glass of water and froze it for fun," Thora lied. Mama didn't know about her stasis yet, and she wanted to keep it that way. It would be her element of surprise if she ever needed to defend herself. Mama would think she was a monster if she knew what Thora was doing to protect her family. "It feels... wrong." Thora snatched the frozen fly and threw it in the trash. "It's just a fly. How's work going?" "You already know, don't you?" "A [i]consiserate[/i] person would ask anyways." Thora gave her a charming smile she'd learned from the man she'd gotten her smile from. Uldren Sov. That's who her dad used to be. And, well, as gentle and goofy as her dad was, the Prince had been powerful. There were so many things he could have done with his light if he had accepted it. "Well, it's mostly good news. More Cabal and Eliskni are rallying behind Misraaks and Caitl now that the Traveler has chosen guardians from among them as well. Their Ghosts are different from ours but still Traveler-made. But our enemies are becoming more and more united under the Black Fleet as well. We've handled a lot, but... we still have all the biggest challenges left, it seems." "Probably. That's how it usually goes." [i]And that's why Meryx is teaching me Stasis, because I need to protect my family from what's coming.[/i] "But we'll be prepared this time. You should see the Cabal Titans and all the trouble they're getting up to. And the Eliskni hunters- whew. They sure know how to blend in. What next, Vex warlocks?" Thora giggled. "The Vex can't do magic. They have no soul. Magic is an attunement between the soul and the innate world around you. Didn't they ever teach you that when you were in training? It's also why the vex can't be good. Nothing can be good that doesn't have a soul. A soul is an attunement to good. It's also an attunement to emotion and preference. Basically, it's what makes us human." "Oh, so you actually pay attention at training." "Of course. I love it. I actually [i]want[/i] to be a techeun." "Oh, I see." Mama grinned. "That would make a difference, wouldn't it?" "Yeah." Thora raised a hand, slowly clenching it into a fist, making a phantom bird appear and fly around the room. Mama watched in awe, murmuring, "I could never do that." "You can still do that knife trick." "True." Mama floated her knife up in the air, startled as Thora made a grab for it with her own force. They wrestled over it for a second, laughing, before Thora won. "You're really mastering it," Mama's face turned serious. "Just make sure it's not mastering [i]you.[/i] That's what happened to my older sister..." "I know, I know. You've told me before." Thora gave the knife back. "I'm in control. Aunt Mara is teaching me everything I need to know." "I'm glad. Mara is wise. She'll know how to avoid the dangers." "Well, it is easier when you know what those dangers are. Careful when you go to wash the dishes, by the way. Cal forgot to clean up the water he spilled. You might slip." "Are you supposed to tell us things like that?" "Mmm, technically, no. But what's the point of being able to see the future if I can't protect my family?" "That kind of power changes people. But you're still you." Mama hugged Thora. "I better go wash the dishes. I have to go back to the Reef tonight to train a new batch of corsairs." "Tell them they aren't as bad as your kids." "Oh, I tend to tell them they're not as good as my kids. You three are amazing." "Thanks, Mom." Thora watched Mama jog down the stairs, thinking she was right, Thora and her siblings were amazing. Thora herself was the Weaver, binder of icy futures, Lidy was the mediator and peacemaker that kept them all together, and Cal, despite his young age, was already pretty far into Crow training- the Crows were Mara's elite spies and hunters, a program Prince Uldren had run before his death and resurrection as, well, Crow. Thora's dad. He'd decided to take up his position as spymaster again after the defeat of Eris Morn all those years ago when they were welcomed back to the Reef, although he still staunchly insisted that he was a different person. Thora had seen him in her visions. He was the same, just not so misguided and anxious. "Thora, I have your boiled egg!" Lidy yelled from downstairs. "Coming!" Thora hurried downstairs. Her whole family was looking at her. "What?"