The story so far: 

----Aija, Zuri, and Ze are three friends, who were working at the Pristine School at Innermost. Aija gets involved with the Ytai first, leading Zuri and Ze to them as well. Zuri falls in love with Nala (Lalana), who is Ytai, and works with Thieron. Aija and Ze are captured by Thieron, of H'eon, when they were at the Hospital - Aija was at the Hospital with Kuna of R'ies and Zuri to stop a Harvest; Ze was there to visit his sick student Xan. Xan, a student at the Pristine School, gives up his soul to Thieron, and Xan, is released by Aija. He then settles into the body of a kitten that Aija found at the Hospital, and is taken to where Thieron resides. Aija wills Xan to talk; he can speak now with his own voice. Thieron has bound Aija to himself, and Nala has bound Ze to herself. Aija, Xan, and Ze tried to escape by trying to board a Terra Turbo-Train but weren't successful because of the bonds. Thieron incapacitates Ze when he tries to use his powers against them to escape. 

----Luka works for Thieron(Ah'n), along with Lalana (Nala). Luka found Aija first at her school, teaching the kids. He seems to care for her. Luka's feelings for Aija only seem to be increasing with time. He's worried about Thieron finding out. 

----Luka, Nala, and Ze go to Ba' diur's place to ask him to deliver a message to Var-Inu, leaving Thieron and Aija alone at home.

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****27.1 - Thieron****

She was right next to him. 

Something about her presence made him feel self-conscious. And they were the only ones home. 

Aija had gotten better at cooking. She turned the stove off, removed the pan of soup, and placed it on the table. 

Thieron was still angry with her for releasing the In'ealk. She had been so pleased with herself she had smiled at him every time she saw him. It drove him crazy. He had almost hit her that night. Almost. Then he'd pulled her close in anger. He had felt her breath on him; looked into her grey eyes. And he had just lost his motivation to raise his hands on her. There was strength in her quiet defiance. She took his fury and replaced it with calm. She did it so insouciantly; it left him dazed. 

Often, she reminded him of her. The same kindness and strength shined in Aija's eyes, and it left Thieron stunned. 

His wrath had ebbed into anger. He still couldn't show it to her. 

Aija sat at the table. He served himself dinner and went to the couch. He switched on the DigiScreen when his Scroll beeped, a text from the Mansion. A strong soul was spotted at the Old Sea Drive, and Thieron was the closest to it. 

If they were seeking out more souls, Alton must have found the location of the second Àvo. He must be preparing himself to use both. Where would he use the second one? Had Alton found another planet? No, he was too focussed on the Earth – it involved personal reasons. 

Taking on one was stressful enough. And, R'ies on Earth was gearing up to tackle Alton. They would give them a fight for sure. Why would he shift focus now? 

Thieron's eyes focused on Aija. She would try to be a hindrance again. But he had to take her if he wanted to go. How could he keep her distracted? 

Thieron had admitted to her he was Ah'n. He had even explained to her about it. He wasn't sure if it had been the right thing to do, but she wasn't going anywhere. She wouldn't be able to tell anyone. She was stuck with him for a long time. 

"Stop being so proud of yourself," he growled when she smiled at him again as he washed the plates. "It's just one soul. We have thousands more." 

"Still, it's one soul saved from being used for your evil plans," she smirked. 

"That soul is now lost. It'll wander in loneliness for eternity and turn into something demonic. You've cursed it." 

Her smug smile dissipated. 

"Just because you think you did something good doesn't necessarily mean it was the best decision." he reprimanded her. "You're doing things without understanding their implications." 

"Well, I'm only trying to protect my fellow humans, whom you're trying to destroy!" she yelled at him clearly as upset with herself as she was with him. 

"You can't!" he yelled back, his anger fuelled by hers. He dropped a plate back into the sink and washed his hands. "Don't be under the illusion that you can save yourself from this. You can't. We are ahead of you in this. It's a matter of weeks before we get the Àvo in our hands. What will you do or the R'ies do that you haven't done in the past hundreds of years?" 

"I won't let it happen!" she screamed at the top of her voice. 

Thieron was glad there were no houses near them for miles. 

"What will you do?" his voice was threatening. "Even if you release each soul I Harvest from now on, you can't stop this from happening. We have enough souls for using two Àvo." 

Not to mention two Od' ro In'ealk – the Priority souls; they were worth at least five hundred regular Àvo souls, each. But he didn't tell her that, naturally. 

She looked desolate. The fire in her eyes didn't dim, though. 

She screamed at the top of her voice and threw the plate in her hand to the floor. It broke into several little pieces, and Thieron didn't miss the small jolt of electricity still humming in the air between them. 

Aija stared at the broken plate, shocked. She looked once at Thieron and then stormed off up the stairs, fuming. 

He stared silently at her, surprise taking over his anger. The electricity had come from her, not him. How long before she realized it? He looked at the bond around his wrist, astonished. He hadn't been expecting it. 

She had apparently surprised herself more with her anger. 

Thieron's lips were laced with half a smile, regardless of his surprise. He found it hilarious for some reason. Aija obviously grew up in a very peaceful household and probably never had to get as furious as she had moments ago. 

Aija had discovered her angry side. And, Thieron found it funny. 

He picked up the pieces of the broken plate and threw them. His mood had lightened just as quickly as his anger had brewed. He washed the remaining dishes and switched off the DigiScreen. 

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Thieron hadn't slept much the previous night. Aija and Ze had somehow thought they could succeed in escaping. He was glad he had decided to bond both of them. It would have turned out to be a tricky matter otherwise. They didn't understand when to give up. 

And Ze had used his powers in front of them, finally. Thieron knew he was practicing every night after he thought Thieron had slept. Thieron's hearing was far superior, and he could hear Ze even though he was trying his hardest to not make a sound. 

The house was rather quiet with Luka, Nala, and Ze not present. He had sent them to Ba' diur to send a message to Var-Inu. He needed those items sooner. 

Thieron lay on the couch, thinking of what to do when Aija discovered she shared his affinity for lightning. That she could probably create it like him. He rolled about a bit and finally settled on his tummy, thinking of the Ker'zan and Àvo. 

Sleep took him in slowly. 

Thieron was back in the forest of his people, in the same spot as he'd been last time. Aija held something in her hand. He didn't see what it was. This time she looked slightly different. Her long hair was cut short. It only reached her chin. Still, she was just as alluring. 

Thieron found that he couldn't look away from her. She smiled at him and threw the object in her hand into the air. This time he saw that it was a spherical object. He gasped as it burst into iridescent light mid-air. 

He woke with a start. He sat up as he heard a startled gasp beside him. 

His eyes rounded as he took in what had just happened. 

Strands of long black and red hair were scattered around him. They were on him, on the couch and on the floor. His eyes met Aija's, who was sitting on the floor beside the couch, scissors in her hand. The new kitten was on her shoulder. 

His hands went to his hair. Locks of it fell to the couch. 

His mouth fell open. 

She had chopped off his hair.

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