Mana Pool Snippets - Keystone

Part 6

“Yeah, about them,” Robert said. “I may be late in the game, but did they transform?”

Andrea nodded. “They did. It wasn’t easy. But I wanted them to come and explain.”

And again with the porcupine totem, Katie didn’t notice Morgan and Beth approaching the old wood doors and pulling them open. Katie and Robert looked up in shock.

*****

Scott walked from the house to the patio after hearing the news. Keeji walked beside him. “Still wondering why they are here?” the husky said.

“I’m still wondering why they haven’t started a fight,” Scott said. “You’re my totem, you’re supposed to know what I think. Remember?”

Jonathan and Brenda didn’t want to go with him, for obvious reasons, and kept Jacob from going too, even though Jacob wasn’t the most hurt from the outbusts from the Livingstons. Scott looked at the closest window to the patio if they were looking, but sadly weren’t.

The patio is the landmark location the same for Cliffhangar Port. Unique. Katie’s great grandmother was a dedicated gardener and had an affection for recycling junk. The iconic lights—plain lightbulbs inside clear Mason jars strung up on power cables screwed to the wood trellis—made up over half the winery’s advertisements. The tables and chairs were all steel, handmade years ago. The floor was mosaic stone, hand laid by Grandmother Walsh. Used wine barrels doubled as flower, herb and vegetable garden pots, stools and short tables for the lounge seats along the low railroad tie barrier.

The patio was the one and only party hotspot and visitor destination to enjoy a glass of wine or two. But seeing the Livingstons on the patio with Katie and Arana, it became a hotbed for an impending fight.

Except, the parents appeared ashamed.

“Holy crap,” Keeji said.

“I see,” Scott said.

The parents sat at one table. Both were terrans. Their tails stuck through the chair’s back, unmoving. The same under-skin armor plating on their arms and legs and the elongated elf ears all terrans share. No doubt they have their mana hearts.

The stark change was their body fat. Morgan and Beth looked able to run the LA Marathon without a drink of water. Their hair had no signs of grey, replaced with life from when they were young. They both looked strong, and hopefully felt strong. Their shirts and pants looked loose and big telling Scott they haven’t shopped since. They looked from Katie to Scott, and as Scott got closer, both parents haven’t had a haircut yet.

Neither of them looked pleased with the results.

On the table before them were their totems. A bald eagle with a Celtic tattoo, different from Arana’s and similarly placed on its chest, and an orange and white bobcat, the Celtic tattoo splayed on the right side of its face.

“Morning,” the eagle said first, sitting on an empty chair’s back. “I was looking forward to meet you as well. Andrea told much about you and Katie.”

“As do I, sir,” the bobcat said, laying on the table with both paws under her.

“Well this is a surprise,” Scott said with a attentive tone in his voice. “What’s going on?”

“I told them to come,” Andrea said. “I wanted and it took me a long time to convince them.”

Scott blinked. “Guess so.”

Arana arrived and landed on the trellis, looking down at Morgan and Beth.

Beth shook her head while pulling back her hair with both hands. “This is insane, Andrea. I don’t want to be here. I—“