Robin stepped back, fitting the last small piece of the statue into place, almost like a puzzle. He and Bert had been working on the statue for hours, with Bert helping find pieces that fit together and handing them to Robin to fix. Bert observed Robin carefully, as if he, too, wanted to learn the magic Robin welded.

"Wow," Bert said, his voice full of awe as he looked upon the giant bird statue, of what appeared to be a bowing eagle, before them. "You actually did it."

Bert let out a surprised laugh and turned to look at the ladies who had emerged from behind the window to join them outside.

Holly's face was hard to read. Her focus was on Robin, not the statue, and her eyes were filled with curiosity as she search both him and the statue before her.

Margo, on the other hand, looked ecstatic. Her eyes were filled with awe as she walked up to the statue. She carefully placed her hand on the bird's beak and slowly ran her fingers over the statue's face, as if petting it.

"It's even more amazing than I could have imagined," Margo said, choking back tears. She slowly lowered her forehead against the head of the bird and let out a slow breath.

"I don't know if you realize what you just did..." Bert said, watching Margo with a smile. "But you just reconstructed the heart stone of the greatest sorcerer to ever live on the Great Plains.

"The ancient warrior Thunderbird." Margo murmured.

"He died hundreds, if not thousands, of years ago... it's truly amazing, you were able to fix it..." Holly said, her eyes carefully drifting along the smooth lines of the ancient statue before them.

"I've never heard of him," Robin said, as he inspected the statue more carefully.

"The story goes," Margo explained, turning to face Robin, "a long time ago, there were only magicians in the world, each person gifted a singular talent at birth, nothing more, and nothing less. However, one day, Nanabozho was chasing an evil group of magicians who had stolen his food. Thunderbird saw the chase and used his magic to create large stones to trap the magicians and retrieve the food for Nanabozho. In gratitude, Nanabozho stole the magicians' powers and gave them to Thunderbird, making him the first sorcerer to ever exist, and those men, the first to be without any powers.

Nanabozho also offered him some of his food with Thunderbird, but Thunderbird refused, asking instead for a wish. Thunderbird was not a warrior at the time, nor a great magician, and Thunderbird was afraid to fight for his tribe in an upcoming battle. He wished to be the most powerful warrior, so the girl he loved would marry him when he returned. Nanahbozo agreed to his wish, and taught Thunderbird to create a sorcerer's heart stone. Nanabozo told Thunderbird to give the stone to his love, telling her to take care of the stone as she would take care of his heart, and in doing so, the stone would magnify his powers. Thunderbird used this stone to make a large statue and gave it to her as a farewell gift. She took care of it, and Thunderbird's magic increased, and he fought in many battles, becoming one of the greatest warriors in Great Plain's history. However, years later, he returned to marry his beloved, only to find her and his family dead from an illness that had spread among his tribe. His heart stone shattered into a million pieces, much like his heart did that day. Without the stones power and those he loved, he succumbed to the same illness shortly after."

"That's..." Robin glanced at Holly, who was still looking intently at the statue. "Such a tragicstory."

"All love stories end as sad stories," Holly mumbled. "Most people stop the story at the happily ever after, but that is never truly the end of the story, is it?"

Robin noticed Margo exchange a look with Bert as he also stepped toward the statue, putting his hand on the bird's beak.

"Love stories or sad stories... what is life if not the act of experiencing all stories?" Bert said, running his hands down its beak. "Just because they end sadly, doesn't mean they aren't worth experiencing. All stories lead to another story, which leads to another one. That is life."

"That's true, I guess..." Holly muttered, glancing at Robin before changing the subject. "I've never heard of a heart stone being able to be fixed once it's broken... Have you, Margo?"

"Never," Margo said, turning her attention to Robin. "I wonder about the extent of this ability. Did you simply put the pieces back together, or is it fixed? Would it still be able to function as a heart stone?" Margo turned her gaze to Holly. "If only Thunderbird was alive, and we could find out."

A look passed between the two of them, and Holly shook her head before turning around.

"If only," Holly whispered. She raised her voice as she headed back to the cave door. "Robin and I should head back soon. Jo will be worried. Stop by soon, Margo. Jo misses her aunt and uncle."

Robin awkwardly smiled at Bert and Margo before jogging to catch up to Holly.

"Yes, I'll try to stop by much more often," Margo called back to her. "Give your apprentice and Nanahound a hug from me. And Robin, one last thing..."

Robin turned and looked at the magical pair as they stood before the old statue, the large bird casting a dark shadow on the two.

"No more killing the spiders in the corners of her house, please. They are there for a reason."

Robin paused for a moment, confused, before slowly nodding in agreement. Feeling both frightened and confused as to what she might have meant by that.