Chapter 1: Catch-Up

Sean and Megan were five and four years old when this story last stopped. The years following Megan's rescue of Sean were relatively peaceful for the Flynn Clan. That 'peace' lasted twelve years, until Sean was Seventeen and Megan was sixteen. That is where I will take up the tale of this saga. The intervening twelve years were kind to everyone in the Flynn Clan, mostly.

Other Wizards and Sorceress' visited the Flynn Clan over the years. Some were invited for specific training sessions. Some invited themselves, and received various degrees of welcome. The incident of the Wizard that returned home with third degree burns, sunburns, on his feet, ensured that future uninvited guests were very polite. Those sunburns were not an accident, and happened on one night, in December. The word spread and common courtesy became a watch word for any Magi visiting the Flynns.

A unanimous vote of the Americas Council delayed Megan's and Sean's ascension to the Council until they are eighteen and nineteen. The reason given was their immaturity. The immaturity cited was their lack of respect for visiting Wizards. The cause of the immaturity was blamed on them remaining with the Flynns in Sean's case, and Megan remaining with her birth parents. Their immaturity was the public reason for their delay. Many speculations were made in the Wizards network and support groups about the real reason. The most popular was the reluctance of two Wizards on the Council to relinquish their exalted position. The Council also voted that Sean and Megan must perform a quest prior to their ascension. Neither of them cared about the delay and requirements. They weren't particularly excited about dealing with the council members and, in their opinion, the longer that unpleasant task was delayed, the happier they would be. They even discussed never doing the quest so they would never have to deal with the council.

Cory and Lian, the Irish and Oriental Magi, understood their young students reluctance. They also instructed them in their responsibilities to mankind.

During one training session, the four of them were discussing the delay. The subject of Sean's and Megan's reluctance to ascend to the Council joined the conversation.

Lian scolded them angrily, saying, "We four are not like other men and women. Are your abilities yours? Do you have a purpose in this life? What if Cai Lun had decided he wanted to sleep the day he invented paper? What if Gutenberg decided the printing press was too much trouble? What if Leonardo Di Vinci decided it was too dangerous to set his ideas to paper? Men are using his ideas to this day, five centuries later, to solve problems. Each of us are born to serve mankind to the best of our ability. Considering a different path because some have lost their way is not acceptable."

"She's right," Cory said with a sigh. "The Americas Council is nearly as bollixed up as the European Council, but they're all we have."

"Well, maybe our path is to change this whole Council system," Sean said stubbornly.

"That may be so, Lad," Cory replied sadly. His words carried the weight of his years one hundred eleven years, even though he only looked about twenty. "None of us knows where our path will lead or what burdens we will bear. But, if you think of doing away with the Council, you must also think of what will replace it. The Councils of the world, great and small, fill a need. If you do away with them, the need will remain and must be filled."

"Who would lead the Magi if the Councils did not exist?" Lian demanded. She really got upset when someone suggested not meeting their responsibilities.

"Maybe the answer is, the Council needs to be led a different way," Megan said reluctantly.

"And what other way would they be guided?" Lian persisted.

"They need to follow The Dream," Sean retorted stubbornly.

"How should they do that?" Lian shot back. "Getting guidance from the Dream is dangerous."

"It is only dangerous if they don't listen," Sean said softly, with a haunted look in his eyes.

Their training continued when Sean refused to explain his statement.

Cory and Brennan became permanent residents in the Cavalla household for a few years. Cory felt he had to stay close to Megan for her training and to protect her. There was minor issue of Cory often becoming confused. There were many times that he couldn't remember if he was the teacher or Megan was the teacher.

Brennan and Ava got married in 1983. It was a double marriage. Pappy and Laoshin decided to join them in marital bliss. Laoshin moved in with Pappy in his apartment attached to the Flynn's barn. A new apartment was built next to the barn located at the Cavalla's for Brennan and Ava. Lian and Udit didn't get married, but whenever you saw one, the other wasn't far away. That relationship created some uncomfortable situations. I will not be discussing those situation in this story. Even a fictional privacy is better than nothing.

Pete Sandoval changed jobs to the Yavapai County Sheriff's Department in 1985. He learned that he would need to change districts to another part of the state to accept another promotion. It is a common practice in military and quasi-military organizations like law enforcement, to move a person that is promoted to senior staff or officer ranks. Pete refused to leave the Bradshaw Mountains. He got the promotion to Lieutenant as part of the move to the Sheriff's Department, and kept his pension from the state. Pete's title is Captain when this part of the history begins.

Ben Cavalla and Susan Sandoval continued improving efficiencies at the Yavapai Medical Center. The hospital received many local and national awards for patient care and efficiencies. Federal mandates were the only inefficiencies that couldn't be overcome.

Liz Cavalla, Ben's wife, professed to be a stay-at-home-mom, but her RN licenses were kept current and she became the default care giver for that part of the mountains with the help of Sheila Begay, BB's wife.

BB, Pappy and John Palladian took care of nearly everything on the ranch. John also helped Sean and Megan as a 'Sniffer', someone that can smell a Brujo or anyone being influenced by one.

Martha Flynn's role as Sean's Adopted Mother, and mentor for Sheila, Liz, and Susan, only intensified over the years. All three girls, thirty something's, had good mothers. Their mothers 'raised 'em right, ' as one of their more elderly mountain neighbors described them. They knew how to be responsible. They knew how to be good parents and how to efficiently run a household. Let's just say that Martha was like, an advanced course for a Master's Degree on those subjects.

Seth Flynn remained the benchmark for the man that Sean strove to be. Sean's tasks were important, but he never lost sight of the fact that his first task was to learn to be a man. Any ethical, or moral decision, has to go through a person's moral sieve. Most people's moral compass is constantly under construction, and evolve their whole lives. In Sean's case, all he had to ask himself was, 'What would Poppa do?'.

Sean's thirst for knowledge was matched by Megan's. Both Magi had daily lessons in the pursuit of improving their talents. Each of them had chores they were required to complete each day. They both also had time each day to pursue private interests, such as physics, or biology. The fact that they needed to take yearly tests to prove that they were being home-schooled adequately, was almost laughable. Both were far, far beyond what was expected at the various grade levels. So, they took the tests and purposely missed enough questions to place in the ninety percentile, but not perfect. They didn't want to be noticed.

Seth, Martha, Ben and Liz insisted that both Magi have a record of successfully finishing an accepted course of education. They knew that Sean and Megan wouldn't need the documentation for their life's work. They also knew that people could become isolated from common men when working at uncommon jobs and wrapped in layers of protection. If you doubt that, think of how our politicians relate to the 'common man.' The parents vowed to ensure the 'kids' had a firm foundation in what it meant to be human. They wanted Sean and Megan to really understand the hopes and dreams of the men and women that made up the society they would live in. The documented education, acquired at the supposed pace of their peers, was one of the tools the parents used to accomplish their goals.

Sean and Megan were both changed by the rescue on Mount St. Helens. They were still children, albeit powerful children; but they were more cautious, now, in everything they did. Lightning had to be forced to accept separation from Sean when the young Mage needed to go someplace where Lightning wasn't allowed. Birds and other animals were constantly close by when they went walking or riding.

Sean was quieter, or more focused. He was still a boy and, after a while, began laughing again. He eventually began playing his practical jokes on other people too, but he was different. He still laughed when a joke was successful, and even when the joke was turned on him. His laughter didn't last as long and didn't seem as boisterous as it had before he was captured. He wasn't satisfied with his lessons either. Each lesson learned was immediately explored to find variations for how it could be used for attack or defense.

Megan's demeanor didn't change as much as Sean's, but it did change. She was a lot more protective of Sean. She got very upset anytime he was unexpectedly out of her sight. Sean and Megan were shopping with Liz and Martha about a year after the rescue. Sean went down a different aisle. Megan, noticing that he wasn't where she expected him to be, panicked. The result was an earthquake in Prescott. Martha was able to calm her by demanding Megan to reach out and feel where Sean was. Megan felt Sean in the next aisle and calmed down.

The energy that had poured through Megan at the volcano, had changed her physically. Sean subjecting her to the energy of water converted to energy had changed her brain before the rescue by increasing the number of vessels servicing the back part of the brain. They thought the extra veins and arteries were needed to handle the extra energy they were handling. The same thing had happened to Sean before he was captured and he had more vessels too. The energy Megan handled at the volcano was more than either had tried to handle before. Her brain was nearly encased in layers of vessels. Megan's resulting headaches took nearly a year to subside.

About eighteen months after the rescue, a bobcat walked into the Flynn's yard while Megan was sitting on the porch steps with Sean. The cat touched noses with Lightning, ignored Queen and the two barn cats, and sat down facing Megan.

Megan cocked her head to one side, meeting the cat's gaze. "What does he want," Megan finally asked.

"I think he's waiting for you to decide if you want him to stay with you," Sean replied thoughtfully.

"You mean, kind of like Lightning?" Megan asked.

"Well, yeah, I think so," Sean said. His uncertainty was not normal and it bothered him.

He was curious though. Sean was used to having animals around him. Sometime he forgot they were there until someone mentioned all the animals around. He could feel the cat's friendliness towards him but the cat's attitude towards Megan was much more.

"Did you call him?" Megan asked. "Did you asked him to come for me?"

"No, I didn't even know he was there until he walked around the barn," Sean said defensively. That, in itself was unusual. "Maybe you called him."

"I can feel the animals and sometime it even feels like I know what they are thinking, but nothing like what you do. I can't call animals," Megan protested.

Brennan was sitting on the porch behind them. He was smoking a briar pipe and reading a book while rocking in the shade of the porch. He had looked up when the ranch yard became quiet. He tensed slightly when the cat had stopped in front of Megan but had relaxed when the cat sat. The conversation between the two Magi was interesting. Brennan had learned to expect these two to do the unexpected and handle any situation that arose. Their hesitancy in the current situation was surprising.

"He could be a gift, Lass" Brennan said thoughtfully after another puff on his briar.

"A gift from who, Bren?" Megan asked curiously.

"Why, a gift from God," Brennan explained with a shrug, as if that explained anything.

Sean and Megan looked over their shoulders at Brennan. Their expressions made it obvious what they thought of his idea.

Brennan held up his hand in defense and said, "Just my opinion. You don't have to accept it and you're welcome finding a better answer."

The Magi thoughtfully turned back to look at the cat.

"I do know that you never want to turn away a gift from God," Brennan added. "He bestows his gifts rarely and always for a reason." He puffed on his pipe again before saying, almost under his breath, "And seldom for the reason you think."

Sean glanced back at Brennan, considering his words.

The only hint Megan gave of hearing his words was a slight nod of her head.

"Well, if you're going to stay around then I'll need to call you something," Megan said thoughtfully. "Do you like Fluffy for a name?"

The cat coughed and looked away.

"Lass," Brennan said laughing. "I don't think your friend was impressed."

"I've never had a cat. I don't know what to call a cat," Megan complained. "How about Tiger?"

The cat looked at her, coughed again, shook it's head and looked at Lightning.

"Fine, fine," Megan complained when Brennan and Sean started laughing at her attempt to name the cat. "We have all the Gaelic names around," Megan said in a huff. "Another will have to do. Your name is Duncan. Take it or leave it."

The cat stood, leaned forward, and licked Megan's cheek.

The laughter had ceased.

"Now, that's not natural," Brennan muttered.

Sean chuckled and, shaking his head said, "What's natural? I'm hungry. Let's get something to eat."

Sean got up and walked into the kitchen. Megan, Lightning, and Duncan followed him in.

"Sean," Liz yelled when the bobcat entered the kitchen. "You're not supposed to bring wild animals in here!"

"Don't look at me. He belongs to Megan," Sean replied with a shrug of his shoulders.

"That's Duncan, mom," Megan said. She looked over her shoulder and said, "Duncan, you can lay over there with Lightning. He's got food and water."

The dog and the bobcat walked towards the corner. The cat stopped for a drink of water before lying down.

"Um, ah, do we own a bobcat now?" Liz asked uncertainly.

"I'm not sure," Megan answered. "What do you think Sean?"

Sean looked at the cat with its head resting on Lightning's flank and watching them. "I don't think you own him. I think he's more like a friend that's going to stick around for a while," he said thoughtfully.

And, that's how Megan ended up with an animal friend. Some may call him a familiar, if they believed in witches and such.