"Who here has no quarrel?" Kayle's gaze ran over each of us in turn.

"Likely you or Addric," Laene grumbled off to my right.

"While he can be an ass, I'd prefer not to see my brother struck...in much the same manner I'd prefer not to see you harmed, Esayr." Kayle leveled his sturdy blue gaze on me. It was always startling to see him serious when usually he was filled with laughter.

So his quarrel is with me. I nodded, accepting my responsibility in the circle. Who was I to say I hadn't caused harm despite the fact that I believe my anger was justified. "Understood."

Addric shrugged, "Aside, from dissonance trawled up in the wake of this outburst I have no quarrel. I will mediate," he crossed his arms over his chest, "Who shall begin."

All of us turned to look at Kados --unanimously-- the one of us who needed to explain the most.

Addric's eyebrows shot sky high, but he kept commentary to himself.

Kados had the good sense not to argue.

"Start with what you've done wrong brother. Then help us to understand your hurt."

"I've broken a sacred trust amongst our group. You," Kados turned to me, "entrusted us, made us the first true Riniere in asking us to accompany you while you met your mate, and in only a matter of days I've created a fracture. I talked about matters that were struggles that only those in this circle had a right to know because I was angry and I couldn't come to terms with it here in your presence. I am sorry for the hurt I have caused and the trouble it will bring us. By the light of our Gods, I ask your forgiveness. What can I do to fix what I have done?"

"I ask only for understanding, and to be able to come to you for advice without judgment for the struggles that I am facing and might continue to face in my future, however it unfolds," Laene was first, as the one most likely harmed by Kados' actions.

"Breaking away from the things that consume me has always been hard, but you and these relationships here are more important than those things that will come to pass in the future that I feel consumed by. I will offer you council to the best of my abilities as a friend and a member of your Riniere, not clouded by the aspects of my job or the sway of others thoughts."

Laene stepped forward into the middle of the circle and extended his hand, noting his acceptance of the terms. When Kados stepped forward they grasped forearms in a tight embrace. In unison, they repeated words we'd learned long ago, "And so it is finished. Let it be known, we've solved our quarrel and mended our souls."

Laene stepped back into the outer circle. Before Kados had a chance to step away, I stepped up to him. "We are, all of us, stressed for reasons we haven't brought to this group. I offer understanding for our circumstances and merely ask the same. I have no quarrel with you in this regard," I reached toward him and he grasped my arm quickly.

"We are here to be relied on, maybe we've forgotten it after so long spent without trouble," Kados smiled, sadly. His eyes still looked haunted, but the fact that he could meet our gaze helped to lift my spirits and likely the rest of our group. We repeated those same old words and I stepped back into the ring.

Kayle waved a hand, "I have no quarrel with you."

Addric nodded, satisfied. "This fracture is merely a symptom. The underlying issue is a hurt. What has hurt you, brother?"

Kados took a large steadying breath, "This...everything I do is something close to my heart. Moreso than many things, and I will readily say that I get too attached to these things. I get attached to these things because I want happiness. Not just for myself or my brother as those go hand in hand, but for all of us in this room and those outside of it as well, to a lesser degree. While I find the study interesting, it doesn't compare to the thought that I could help tie the threads of our entire group. That is what I think of when I devote all that I have to my studies...I think of us. I had wanted your happiness, Laene, to such a degree that it blinded me to your struggles. It doesn't excuse what I've done, merely helps you understand how it has occurred."

The revelation wasn't shocking, but it made my chest constrict. Kados was an enigmatic creature most days, but the fact that he thought of us when he worked on one of the few things that ever captured his attention, and the thought centered around helping us find our happiness as well was moving.

Laene stepped forward again, "It is a matter close to many of our hearts. I am sorry that the struggles I faced have stepped on that and made you feel as if I didn't appreciate the work and effort you've put in. Every day I see it in your eyes and the long hours you're gone from our friends. You are working tirelessly on a Temani Bercari that has defied all expectations and more than anything I am grateful for what you have done and what you have found for me. I...have things that worry me, more so now than I ever anticipated. I assure you I had never expected this response from myself, but I am terrified because of the matters of my upbringing."

"You fear it will be like your parents? You fear you'll lack that bond?" Addric asked aloud

Laene nodded silently, uncomfortable rehashing some of the matters he had thought he'd come to terms with and would never have to relive.

"You are as much a piece of your father as you are your mother," Addric had meant to console him.

"And what if in the end, I am my father?" Laene stared at the textured flooring, "What if I drive her away? I don't think I could bear it."

"You are not your father, but you are Val'Dornn. The fact that you are worried enough to have this reaction is telling enough." Kados' voice was level laced with understanding now that he had, had the opportunity to have these conversations.

"What if she doesn't love me?" Laene's voice was quiet.

"Then she'd be a fool and you're no fool, so I know that outcome couldn't be true," Kados was sure. One of the things he brought to our group --for good or ill-- was a blinding surety. He was brash and fiery, but when he leveled his judgment you couldn't help but feel that it was true, and despite all of his faults, he was a remarkably good judge of character.

"Do you feel heard and understood?" Addric's voice cut through the moment.

Kados nodded and then stepped back into the ring.

There was a moment of silence while we waited to see who would step into the circle next.

Kayle stepped into the ring and turned to me, "My brother is a fool. I have seen what he said, plucked it from his mind and I understand and agree with your anger, Esayr. He was unjust in his fury and lashed out. However, you of all people can feel the air about him and the things he hides. I have caught hints of it in his mind, despite the fact that he tries to bury it deep. I want you to know that had I been in your position I would have struck him too, but he is my brother and the things he's hiding scare me. I worry for him."

I nodded. Truthfully, I worried for Bask as well, along with all the other males who'd gone down to Earth before me. They were dealing with many more questions of self-worth than I was. It was a remarkably cruel hit to our psyche when we felt we were deemed unworthy by our Gods. "I understand. I will do what I can to ease his pain and smoothe over the issue this has caused. I understand he'd come to ask about me before this had occurred," I turned to Kados.

"He had wanted to congratulate you," he murmured.

The revelation bit. "I will apologize and speak to him. Despite the situation, I believe he's a good male and he doesn't deserve the dark feelings that surround him."

Kayle nodded and we intoned the sacred words.

"This is a symptom, Esayr. What is the hurt that has caused this issue."

I'd thought I'd gotten free. I'd thought that was the end of our mending. My heart jumped into my throat. I didn't want to air out the struggles that had caused me to question my validity as Addy's mate. But, Addric's gaze had always been more perceptive than anyone ever tended to give him credit for.

Kayle stepped out of the circle, leaving me alone there, agonizing over matters that made me feel like I didn't deserve the gift the Gods had thought to give me, matters that made me feel like a lesser male. But if I couldn't speak to these males, whom I had made into the first true Riniere of our generation, whom I considered more than family to me, who could I talk to? Who could help me categorize these roiling emotions and this self-doubt that I had planted like a seed and was growing into my heart and soul as we spoke?

We stayed there in that room for far longer than we ever anticipated. The night changed from one of mending. We said those sacred words enough times and turned into a night where we addressed the struggles we were facing. We all weighed in on each other's troubles and helped to lift the burdens from our brothers' shoulders in any way we could.

We spent the night there, in that room. And come the new day cycle I felt like I could breathe again. It's interesting how you get used to it, and only notice the weight you'd been carrying only after it's been lifted.

*****A/N*****

This part was harder for me to pull out. I'd actually intended to cut to Addison in this part, but then it came to my attention that I might be doing these boys a disservice by not touching on how they solve conflicts amongst their groups.

I give advice to some of my friends, and again I'm only human, but one of the things I like to highlight is that in any relationship --friends, lovers, what have you-- its a relationship that's a two-way street and to thrive it will take open communication. It's important to hear and be heard. So, I wanted to do this part justice in any way that I could. Not only because I love these sweet boys with all my heart, but also I feel like it's important to see this especially on the male side of the romance novel spectrum.

Anywho, hope you all are having a lovely day. I'll be starting college classes soon and going to a certification class weekly. I'd thought I was done with college but lemme tell you and English degree had slim pickings for jobs despite what the teachers told me :P. Learn from me. Do a trade skill instead. It's more useful.

JK do what you love and don't hold back,

Layla