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Eden figuratively held her breath as she kept a wary eye on Harry's rhythmic breathing. After a few tense minutes of uneasy silence she exchanged a grateful glance with Quez before sinking down to her knees and fairly panting from exertion.

Harry's school term had ended and it was now the Winter Solstice holidays- whatever the humans were celebrating those as nowadays- and her adorable Light was still working just as hard as he had been while his school had still been in session. Well, Eden amended mentally as she rose to her feet and prepared to ward off yet another nightmare-memory, Harry is actually working harder now because he longer has classes to sit in and do repetitive, time-consuming worksheets for. Eden steadily held against the nightmare-memory while Quez swirled around and unleashed a windy lightning attack at it, which caused it to disperse into wisps of black ether. Eden then unleashed her Breath on the persistent tendrils of black ether, summarily banishing her foe into the depths of the 'negative zone' that Eden had created to host everything she felt inappropriate for her beloved Light's mind to hold.

Oh, Eden would never withhold something from her Light should he ask her directly, but she was a Guardian Force. To Eden, mentally safeguarding her Light was just as paramount as safeguarding him in battle- triply so as her Light was currently precariously navigating the slippery slopes of an all-consuming vortex of insanity. A single misstep right now could send him tumbling down into the roiling waters below and Eden was fairly certain that she would not be able to save him from himself if that were to happen.

Regularly sparring with the two Potentials had helped only slightly more than it hurt, all things considered.

It helped in that their natural abilities to ground a Sorceress's powers- well, Sorcerer's powers- automatically helped bleed off excess built-up power simply due to proximity- and that ability only became more efficient when they sparred with Harry. 'Grounding' was a talent that some people were simply born with- they had existed for as long as people had, according to the Bards from Eden's pre-GF childhood. Back in the times of the Divines, prior to the Rebellion of the Renounced, those with the in-born Grounding talent were usually sought after as teachers or healers. As far as the pre-GF Eden had known the population was divided among the Sorceresses, the Grounding-capable, and the rest of the population.

Truthfully Eden thought that the so-called Blue Witches that Harry had learned about were women who were born with the potential to be a Sorceress and also carried an equally strong Grounding trait. She hypothesized that if the two opposite inborn traits were of roughly equal strength than a third option would appear.

But that was purely speculation on Eden's part.

At any rate, the two Potentials are both strong and capable. Eden thought as she walked a slow circuit around the perimeter of Harry's mindscape, her eyes trained on the shadowy areas just beyond, seeking to see if the nightmare-memories would seek to try to slip passed her defenses yet again. They both have a firm, instinctive grasp of a Knight's need to understand that their Sorceress is carrying too much power and it needing to be bled off of them, in order to lessen the strain on the Sorceresses mind. Eden wrinkled her nose. Sorcerer's mind. Hyne I keep forgetting that!

Quez huffed a chirp that sounded suspiciously like a laugh as the smaller GF made one more circuit in the air before settling down on a nearby rock.

Eden tossed Quez an amused look, but resumed her patrolling. However, being so close and yet so far from two of his Potential Knights causes my Light an extreme amount of emotional- and therefore mental- strain. Eden sighed and went to join Quez on his rock. I really wish they'd just Bond already so that the Knights would be properly connected to my Light and consequently be able to Ground him even without constant close proximity or the need for sparring. The excess magic being bled off would decrease the- nearly ridiculous- amount of mental and emotional strain my Light in under and the bled off magic would also buoy the two Knights. With his Empathy and Earth Magic I am not entirely certain of what will happen exactly, but I imagine those traits would only enhance the traditional Knight's Bond.

Eden's mental ruminations were cut short as a small spiral formed in the darkness just beyond the light of the mindscape. Before it even finished forming both Eden and Quez were on their feet and battle ready.

Nothing would disturb Harry's rest. Not on their watch.

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Harry sighed and rubbed his forehead firmly, trying to drive back the encroaching migraine.

Garden closed for almost a month for the Winter Holidays. The last two weeks of December and the first two weeks of January, no matter which dates that happened to encompass.

For Harry it was bittersweet. Not quite enough time to justify a trip to Trabia, but long enough for his thoughts to wander. So he endeavored to keep himself busy by doubling the amount of studying he had been doing during term. Having been at Garden for a little over a year he could predict most of the essays his Instructors would be setting in the coming term- especially as he had filched and then copied Xu's class syllabi, Xu being a class rotation ahead of him- so he was steadily working through what amounted a semester's worth of research papers and other academia-related things so that he could concentrate more on honing his weapon's skills.

If he could double up on his weapons proficiency he could potential take the SeeD Exam next December instead of the spring after next.

Harry sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose irritably as he tried to will away the now roaring migraine that had been gradually mounting behind his eyes. It had been a few days since he had left his room for more than bathroom breaks- he had instant ramen and the small, cheap microwave that he'd bought in Balamb a few months back on a weekend- and he was really starting to feel the strain. Harry wasn't even sure if Almasy had stayed for the break, but he had seen Leonhart around a few times. As his migraine started to make him feel like his eyes were about to liquefy and slide out of his sockets to form piles of agony on his Tactics III textbook, Harry nearly cried. Logically he knew that most of the strain was because he was a freaking Sorcerer and he needed Knights and on top of that he was a Hyne-dammed Empath stuck inside a building full of adolescents and it was only a matter of time-

The teen tried to corral his errant thoughts, tried to put his problems back into the neatly labeled boxes he'd made for them, but this time they were not so easily shoved aside. Harry knew that he needed to get a better grip on himself- knew that he had his final round of psych evaluations coming up just after the holidays- and if he failed them that was it. He would never be able to become a SeeD. Harry's file already noted that he had a moderate anxiety disorder with some depressive tendencies, but SeeD was structured in such a manner that that was alright- it just limited the types of missions he would be cleared for. Since SeeD wasn't a full-on military, just a mercenary force there were a lot of things that they could work around or with that a traditional military couldn't or wouldn't.

There were days when his anxiety bubbled angrily just underneath his skin, amplified by his Empathy and his Sorcerer powers and it was all he could do to force himself out of his bed and down the crowded Garden halls to his lessons. But some days the shining promise of being able to one day be sent out on missions by himself or with just a few others wasn't enough to buoy him into action and he'd steal out of the dorm and hide in the training areas all day.

Lately it had been a bit easier to deal with such thoughts- the promise of Leonhart or Almasy and his posse finding him and dragging him into a sparring match or off to get food being enough of a steady fixture in his thoughts to help keep him grounded, but-

-who would ever want you? A Sorcerer. A freak. The voice sounded much like his Aunt Petunia and Harry- who hadn't thought about the spiteful woman in years- reached for the memories of his Mom or Eden or Quez but they slipped through his metaphoric fingers and the next thing Harry knew he was sliding down, down, down into the chaotic depths of darkness that was born of his fear and weakness.

Shut up. Shut up. SHUT UP. He shouted at the raging tempest as he clapped his hands over his ears and squeezed his eyes shut, trying desperately to block out the Hyne-dammed noise.

Harry had slipped so deep inside the darkness that existed within his own thoughts that he hadn't been able to hear Eden's panicked shouts for him to snap out of it; nor had he heard Quez's worried screeching as the two GFs were caught off-guard by the sudden onslaught of darkness and despair that unexpectedly and viciously washed over Harry's mind, swathing it in a deep mire of twisted shadows and half-formed nightmares.

Eden had been on the verge of borrowing some of Harry's Earth Magic and fully materializing when the door to his room burst open and a slightly wild-eyed Seifer Almasy burst inside.

"What the fuck, Westron!" Almasy snarled, but Harry's vision wavered and the last thing Eden saw was the horrified look on Almasy's face.

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Cid Kramer stood patiently observing through the one-way glass as Seifer flipped through the pages of a magazine disinterestedly, sneaking quick glances at the sedated form of Harry Westron about twice ever minute or so. Squall, on the other hand, sat on the right side of the occupied Infirmary bed, a textbook open on one knee while he balanced a spiral notebook on his other one, shifting restlessly every few minutes and glancing at Westron less often- but no less concernedly- than Seifer was.

Squall's always been more patient than Seifer, even when they were both small children. Cid smiled a bit sadly at the reminder before retuning his attention to the sedated Cadet on the only bed in the private room.

Westron's small form- he hadn't really grown into himself just yet, still in that horrid stage of transition between early teen and true adolescence- was nearly dwarfed by the crisply white sheeted bed. The IV apparatus and the monitoring equipment situated near Westron's right side only making the Cadet seem much smaller than he already was. After nearly an entire day of randomly giving Doc Kadowaki near heart attacks Westron's physical condition had finally stabilized.

The fact that that had occurred shortly after Seifer had managed to sneak himself and Squall inside the room was not lost on Cid. As a matter of fact that was the final confirmation that had Cid needed to make up his mind.

There were also the wings that had sprouted from the agile Cadet's back to consider. Wide, feathery things full of an array of colors that Cid hadn't even realized could manifest on a Sorceress. The colors of a Sorceresses wings were usually muted, muddy things that resembled bone or other un-lovely things. Westron's wings, however, were not only beautiful they were eerily angelic.

Despite all the evidence that said it should be impossible, Harry Westron was a Sorceress- well, Sorcerer, Cid mentally corrected himself.

More than that, Cid had a pretty good guess as to whom Westron had inherited his powers from.

Cid had been a Galbadian soldier once upon a time, during the height of the Sorceress War when Sorceress Adel had been trying to subjugate all of Terra under her absolute rule. After the Mass Desertions of the Sorceresses who had flocked to Esthar to join Sorceress Adel prior to her true nature being revealed most of Galbadia and the Holy Dollet Empire had been deeply resentful and suspicious of Sorceresses. While Dollet was a bit more tolerant towards the Sorceresses who had remained loyal- not to say that they weren't watched closely, because they were- Galbadia had taken a different approach.

One that the general public had never been appraised of- not even to this day.

The current 'lifetime president' of Galbadia, Vinzer Deling- how Cid loathed the man- had the mastermind. Using his cunning mind and his silver tongue the future president convinced a group of like-minded, overtly militant group of people in power that to prevent Sorceress Adel from acquiring more Sorceress powers they needed to implement the Failsafe Strategy.

Cid's blue eyes grew stormy as he remembered how Edea spoke of what horrors had occurred during the time the Strategy was being implemented.

They took young girls from everywhere and forced them to be nearby while the soldiers and scientists executed any Sorceress they could find over the age of seven. They then would take the girl that was chosen as the Successor and put her through extreme training, attempting to effectively brainwash the girls into being entirely, unquestionably loyal to Galbadia. Young men were brought in and either forced into being Knights or executed. Cid carefully pushed back the bile that formed in his throat as he stared sightlessly at his children, lost in his memories of Edea's recollections of those dark times.

The scientists had sterilized any of the Successors, a twisted form of control as what good was a woman who could bear no children? A Sorceress, at that? Who could possibly want them for more than a momentary fling?

However, the Strategy did not work quite as the masterminds had hoped.

The Knight Bonds were forced to form under duress and the magic was far more complex and intricate than the scientists had realized. Within a year the small company of Sorceresses had dwindled down to just two as the Knights either killed their Sorceresses- as the magic compelled them in order to end her suffering, brought on from the deepest, darkest part of her mind that rebelled against being caged like a beast- or another's Sorceress, whose Knight then took revenge.

The two Successors who were left grew stronger and stronger and their training grew more brutal in order to 'keep them under control'.

Yet one can only push magic so far before it snaps and when it did it did so magnificently.

Unfortunately the fallout ended with the two remaining Successors being captured by Sorceress Adel's forces. Just before they reached one of the Entry Points to Esthar, however, they were attacked by both militia forces and monsters, which had allowed the girls to escape. The two had run as fast and as far as they could, but eventually one girl lost her Knight to a sneak attack by a monster and then Edea's Knight had killed her to prevent her from harming Edea, but lost his life in the process.

Overburdened- physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually- Edea had screamed, long and loud before her world had blacked out and there had been only blissful unconsciousness. When she had awoken it was to sadly understanding blue eyes framed by gold-blonde hair.

Edea had spent the winter with Layla Westron and her Knight. The blonde Sorceress had helped Edea heal and regain her internal balance and Edea would never forget the way it felt when Layla power had settled over her, the woman's Shielding abilities settling over the weary girl like a warm, fuzzy blanket on a snowy day. Warm and welcoming and gentle the power had soothed Edea's very soul.

It had been one of Kent's friends- one that he had met on his Journey- who agreed to take Edea in that following spring. Though Balamb Town was comfortable and safe Edea had never felt quite as at home there as she had in her mentor's humble home in the Trabian Mountains.

Edea had never been overly forthcoming about the next chapter of her life, but Cid knew that she had met a woman named Sienna and the woman had become Edea's Knight.

While Knight Bonds were universal in some aspects, the emotional relationship that the Bond was based on was important. There were Bonds between lovers or based on familial love or even based on mutual greed, as disgusting as that sounded. The emotions of both the Sorceress and the Knight laid the foundations for how solid, how profound, and how devoted the Bond manifested as.

Actually, Sienna was still Edea's Knight.

Cid had been a Galbadian soldier, and in his time as a soldier he had become close friends with a man named Martine.

Martine had a little sister named Sienna.

Cid and Martine had been Galbadian soldiers- soldiers who were taught to fight without magic, using technology as magic was considered evil and something that needed to be destroyed.

The first time Cid had met Edea it had been as a favor to Martine, but as time passed and the Sorceress War raged on Martine grew more and more concerned for Sienna's well-being. When Cid had decided not to re-enlist, he had become friends with Edea, who he usually hung out with while Martine spent time with Sienna whenever they were on leave. When Edea had hesitantly asked him how he felt about relationships one night while they were in the kitchen preparing dinner while Martine and his sister were out fetching a movie for after dinner, Cid hadn't really felt the need to lie.

"I don't really feel the need to find a romantic partner." Cid told his friend with a self-depreciating smile. "I know it makes me weird and strange, but the most I really want is someone to have dinner with and discuss things with. Maybe occasionally sleep next to." He'd blushed brightly under her interested stare, shrugging his shoulders awkwardly. "Sex- well, it's just not for me, I guess."

It had been the next day that Edea and Sienna had sat him down and explained that Edea had too much power to be effectively grounded by one Knight, and how Martine had been getting progressively more vocal about Sienna's close friendship with Edea.

"We can't tell him that she's my Knight, no one would really believe us if we did, anyways." Edea had explained tearfully, her head nestled on her friend's shoulder. "He thinks that something else is going on- and it's not- but he'd kill Sienna and me before he allowed people to believe that his sister was bent." Edea had sniffled and gazed at Cid broken-heartedly. "I am a lot like you in that I just want a companion, not a lover, really. I want to take care of children who have been left orphaned by this stupid war. I just want to live without constantly being afraid!" At that point she'd burrowed her face deeper into Sienna's shoulder and the other woman had given Cid a steady, level look.

It had been pretty easy to figure out his plans after that. Sienna was the First Knight, of course, and her connection to Edea was far more acute, but Cid and Edea's friendship had allowed for a much less acute but still equitably secure Knight Bond to each other. When they had gone to open the Orphanage, Sienna had come along as the cook-slash-assistant housekeeper. When the White SeeD ship had been completed Sienna had gone with Ellone to begin with, Edea joining them later once Balamb Garden had been ready to open.

So, really, with himself being a Second Knight to a Sorceress who had a female First Knight, the possibility of a male Sorcerer wasn't entirely out of the question.

He had noticed the boy's power, of course- it was rather difficult not to when one had felt the magic of a Sorceress as intimately as a Knight had. Not quite as acutely as a First Knight would have, as his connection with Edea had grown weaker from their years apart, but Cid had still known that the boy would need at least two Knights, possibly even a third, though that was nearly preposterous. It hadn't really connected until recently- Cid blamed his plethora of other concerns and lack of sleep- but he highly suspected that this young man was the Successor of the sorceress who had saved his Sorceress all those years ago.

One of the chairs screeched as Seifer went to stand up, snapping Cid's attention back the room in front of him. He smiled a little as Squall gave Seifer the same annoyed look he'd used to give the blond when Seifer would come up out of the ocean and drip saltwater all over the brunet, who always tried to stay away from the water but would invariably end up soaked one way or another.

Usually through a series of taunts or random ambushes by the mischievous blond.

Cid smiled softly, fondly at the children he'd helped raised before he turned and exited the observation room, nodding genially at Kadowaki on his way passed her.

I'll give them a week. He decided as he punched in his security code into the elevator's pop-up keypad. If Harry hasn't formed a Bond by this time next week, then I'll intervene. The poor boy is already on the brink of mental collapse or I would let them have more time to resolve things on their own.

Seeing one of Garden's Security forces waiting by his office door Cid internally groaned and pushed his thoughts of the boys in the Infirmary from his mind.

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Harry came to in fits and starts, disoriented by turns and feeling as if he had utterly forgotten his own name. He had 'awoken' several times before he finally managed to find his way back to his internal dreamscape and connect with Eden and Quez, both of whom were extremely worried.

"My Light!" Eden all but screamed in relief when he materialized, using her wings to glide to him and sweep him up in a warm embrace. "My Light you're alright! We've been so worried!"

"Wh-what happened?" Harry rasped, leaning weakly into Eden's hold and vaguely noting Quez's worried chirrups as the feathery avian-like GF settled near his back.

"Your mind buckled." Eden whispered brokenly, her hands shaking even as she ran her fingers through his hair. "Your mind buckled and I and Quez could barely hold on. Your Knights came when your magic called to them; they saved you, My Light."

"No." Harry whispered, horrified. "That's impossible- I can't- they can't-nonononno-" Harry began to shake and his body began to warp and turn translucent even as he clutched onto Eden's arms, his eyes teary and blown wide with terror.

A wave of something passed through the dreamscape. It was…nullifying. It caused the surroundings- which had been dreary and frothing at the badly-patched seams to stabilize and there was the barest hint of a voice on the winds that swept through and calmed the rapidly developing hurricane that was born of the shattered pieces of Harry's mind.

Harry had no idea how long he sat there, cradled in Eden's embrace but slowly- ever so slowly- the pieces began to float and rejoin each other. The ground slowly became earth and then grassy and then the trees once again took shape. The sky's gray finally gave way to stormy blue and the fire that had been eating at the edges flicked out before morphing into the sun. Light- warm, brilliant, soothing, healing- light rained down on Harry's skin and slowly the aching weight of unadulterated agony that had been pressing relentlessly against him lessened.

As he felt himself shift back into a functioning sort of state of mind, Harry finally took note of the fact that all of the feathery appendages that were present were not purely Eden's or Quez's. "What?" He asked confusedly, his head still muddled and fuzzy.

"Like I mentioned, My Light." Eden replied patiently, maneuvering them from their knees to a more comfortable seated position as the lake began to reform a short ways away from them. "Your mind, it buckled. Your Earth magic tore free at the same exact moment as your Sorcerer powers peaked and your Empathy was unable to deal with all the generations of muddled emotions that came with your full awakening. Fortunately your bond to your two Potentials was strong enough to call the nearest one to you, though your wings manifested as a way for your Knights to have a much better chance to bleed off your excess magic. I can sense them near me- us- but since you haven't opened your eyes I cannot be sure."

Harry buried his face in Eden's shoulder and cried. "I can't Eden." He whispered shakily. "I can't. I'm a freak. I can't face them-"

"You are not a freak!" Eden raged, her Breath flooding the area. "You are a young powerful, man. You are unique, but you are not unnatural for it!" Eden waved her hands around and pushed her Light back so she could look into his eyes properly. "You are My Light. Are you really going to give up on me, your Mom, your Earth parents because you are afraid to open your eyes and accept help from those who are meant to be your brothers?"

"Brothers?" Harry asked weakly.

"Knight bonds have several outcomes, but there is always a deep emotion that supports and buoys them." Eden explained gently, tugging Harry back to her breast "My First Knight was-" Eden's breath hitched and she tried to push through it. "-he was my mentor. My father in all but name. My Second Knight was my lover." Eden's eyes dimmed and she smiled softly. "That's all I really remember. The nature of those bonds. I can feel the nature of the two Potentials in reference to you. Those two are familial based."

"That….makes me feel a bit better." Harry admitted weakly. "I mean I admit that I can admire a nice male form, but eventually…..well, I want a family someday."

"There's nothing wrong with that, My Light." Eden soothed gently, her fingers gently scratching Harry's scalp soothingly. "But there is also nothing wrong in growing and changing your mind."

Harry snuggled tighter to Eden and just took a while to rest there. After he felt somewhat calmer and ready to face life he spoke. "What now?"

Eden's hands did not pause in their gentle ministrations. "Now you wake up." She whispered in a gentle tone, threading her Breath into the softly uttered words.

Harry's green eyes snapped open for the first time in a week.

"Why hello there, sunshine." The voice of Seifer Almasy drawled from Harry's right. "About time." Papers rustled and Almasy's blond hair and light green eyes came into existence above Harry's motionless body. "How about some water and story time, eh?"

"Whatever. Don't be an ass, Seifer." Squall Leonhart muttered from somewhere on Harry's other side.

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