late-night talks

While Lily is sleeping at his place James sneaks over to the girl's dorm and finds Serena's room with ease, which much to his luck is accessible from the outside.

After finding her room's location he uses magic to fly up to her window, a blue energy burning underneath his feet to keep him in the air while he knocks upon seeing her sitting on her bed, wearing only a pink shirt and panties from what he can see.

She jerks her head around and sees him flying outside her window.

She steps over to it and opens it wordlessly, letting him fly inside.

"Hey sorry about the late-night visit, but I left something in my jacket. Where do you have it?" He asks once he lands inside her room, the girl looking worse than when he left her earlier.

"It's gone." She says, sitting back down on her bed.

"As in trash or what do you mean gone?" James asks.

"Burned. By your brother." She says emotionlessly.

"Are you alright? He didn't. hurt you, did he?" James asks, looking at her shocked.

"No. I wanted to return the jacket and ask if you can prove your story earlier. Because I was always told that my parents were assassinated and taken from me, when they returned to get me. He bumped into me and warned me after burning your jacket." Serena says tearing up.

"I'm sure your parents intended to." James tells her, placing a hand on the girl's shoulder before joining her on the bed, the girl looking at her hands while fumbling with something.

"Here. That's what you came here for right?" She asks, placing the two pieces of the pendant in his palm with shaky fingers.

"Yes. But I'm not concerned about that at the moment. Please, I know you probably don't believe me, but I want to help. I don't know how though." He tells the girl gently, putting the items on a chair in reach from his position.

"You are helping." She says, starting to cry and looks to him again.

She scoots closer and cries into his chest, grabbing onto him fiercely. "I miss them. I didn't want them to leave me." Serena cries, James holding her carefully.

"Everyone made mistakes during that time." James sighs exhausted.

"You too? Do you regret healing me after what I did?" She asks weakly.

"No." He says firmly.

"I tried to kill you. For nothing." She cries sorrowfully.

"You didn't know any better. That seems to be going around at the moment, believe me." He says, rubbing her back soothingly.

"I'm sorry. I am blinded with anger." Serena tells him, gripping onto his shirt with all her might, nearly ripping it to pieces.

"What do you plan to do about it?" He asks, looking down at the girl in his arms.

"I don't know anymore. I trained so hard to kill you and your family, but now I learn I never had a real reason to. My family chose to fight you after you saved them." Serena sighs emotionally drained.

"You should probably go. You have better things to do than listen to your enemy cry." Serena says, rubbing her eyes with her forearm while pushing off his chest and getting up.

"Serena. Let me help." He says looking up at her with hope.

"What do you want to help me with? I have nothing now. I'm all alone and no goal to work for anymore." Serena says quietly.

James grabs her hand and pulls her onto the bed, pushing her down on it with him above her, Serena not even fighting against his grip on her wrists and looking up at him with an empty stare.

"Then find a new goal or build your own family. I'm telling you, giving up is not a choice." James tells her, while staring into her eyes.

"Why would you care? Why haven't you killed me yet?" She asks solemnly.

"Because you are innocent in this. My father stared this hatred you're trapped in and I don't want to lose any more people in it." James tells her.

"What do you want me to do?" She asks.

"For now? Recover. Come to terms with what happened. And once you're ready, find your own way or ask someone for help." James tells her, getting off her, brushing through her full red hair, which is out of its usual braid.

"Promise me." James says expectantly.

"Promise what?" She asks, remaining lying on the bed.

"Promise you won't give up on finding your own way." He says.

"And when you have, then you can return this." James tells her, putting the pendant pieces in her hand before moving back to the window.

"I... want that." She says nodding.

"Good. If anyone asks, none of this happened by the way. You surprised me while sparring. That's our story." He tells her, opening the window.

"And if my brother approaches you, tell me." James says, looking back at the girl who gets off the bed and joins him at the window, nodding in acceptance before he jumps out and she closes the window behind him.

Serena goes back to her bed, picking up the two pieces of the crocodile pendant and holds one in each hand firmly while lying down to sleep.

"Find my own way." She says to herself, staring into nothingness and soon falls asleep.

After leaving Serena's room James thinks about heading to his intended location, the simulator but decides against it, instead making his way back to his apartment before spotting a curvy figure standing guard alone.

He walks over to her and she turns to face him when she hears his footsteps, looking at James surprised to see him there.

"What are you doing here?" Miranda asks.

"I don't know. Just passing by." He says.

"Are you here to seduce me?" Miranda asks teasingly.

"No, although I have thought about it." He replies jokingly.

"So what happened?" She asks, feeling something is on his mind.

"Too much. Just too much. The demons of my past are haunting me. I'm talking figuratively." James says, looking at the stars above them.

"How's Lily?" Miranda asks.

"I think she should be fine and better off knowing my brother isn't as dreamy as she thought." James replies, Miranda stepping closer to him, joining him in looking at the stars above them.

"And the person you don't want to get in trouble?" She asks looking at him out of the corner of her eye.

"I hope she will be OK. But I can't tell in all honesty. I'm trying to help though." He says with a shrug.

"I would like to help if you'd let me. After all I am the teacher." Miranda offers.

"I need to handle this. But thank you. That's very kind of you." James thanks her, rubbing the back of her hand with the back of his as they are standing beside each other. The green haired woman smiling lightly.

"I better go. The others will probably want to train again tomorrow." James says, lingering for a moment before heading back to his apartment and crashing on his couch.