It was a beautiful autumn day. The air was cool, but the sun cut through a few scraps of cloud to bathe the earth in warmth. The trees were an explosion of colors: gold, orange, russet brown, bright red, deep purple, and the last fading traces of green. The pond was blanketed with a multicolored sheet of fallen leaves. Around the water, along the paths, and spread over the tiny green hills were crowds of people: families with small children, pairs of teens kicking a football between them, loners walking their dogs, and joggers taking laps of the small park. Jake wished he could enjoy it more.

His phone buzzed in his pocket. Straightening from his slouch on the bench, Jake pulled it out. 'Fancy a coffee? I'm not far now,' the screen read.

'Make it black. I'm at a bench by the water.' He hit send and then slumped back. He tried to get caught up in the joyful atmosphere that surrounded him. He watched a little boy, no older than two, toddling about on the grass to the cheers of his parents before dropping clumsily onto his bottom. Jake smiled wistfully, but all he felt inside was nervous.

He didn't realize he had spaced out until he felt a tap on his shoulder. He felt his magic snap to life inside him like a tiny firecracker and the hand jerked back. Jake whipped around. "Sorry," he said sheepishly.

"Why so tense?" James chuckled in his deep, smooth voice, wiping his hand on his jumper. "You'd think I'd have learned to use a stick by now." His dark eyes and equally dark face were lit with amusement.

Jake's expression fell flat, and he turned back to staring across the pond. "I'd probably just blow up the stick," he said darkly.

James claimed the other side of the bench, passing over one of the paper cups he carried. "Come now, it's not as bad as all that." When Jake merely grunted and sipped morosely at his coffee, he reached over and clapped a hand on his shoulder. Jake was ready for it this time and didn't react. "See? You're perfectly fine. Although I notice you're still wearing contacts."

Jake shrugged. "Better safe than sorry." He kept his artificially brown eyes on his beverage.

James had always been a sensitive person and knew when to change the subject. "It's been month. How are you liking Cardiff?" he asked with a smile, his eyes scanning the idyllic park scene.

"It's been… nice. Strange, living on my own again after so long. Very happy to have a bathroom to myself."

"I think those complaints are aimed towards Sara, not me or Xavier," James reminded him. "And your job?"

"Waiting tables isn't exactly thrilling work, but sometimes simplicity makes for a good break. I've done enough high intensity jobs before to have earned it."

Jake could feel James eyeing him. A sensitive nature also meant perceptive. "But something's still bothering you," he stated.

Instead of answering, Jake began chugging the coffee. His mind was fixed back at his apartment. When he'd left it, the place had been a mess of books, crudely crafted timelines, and notes tacked everywhere. He had been reluctant to leave it at all, even to meet his friend. Coffee now finished, he got up to throw it away. When he returned, he reclined back and remained silent.

What Jake loved most about his friend was how easy it was to be around him. Even if James could probably see the guilty nerves boiling under Jake's skin, the dark-skinned man said nothing about it. Instead he settled back himself, kicking out his long limbs and relaxing. They both watched the clouds go by, then a train of bikers zipping past, and then a small flock of ducks alighting on the leaf-choked pond.

No matter what happened, Jake would miss this. He would miss James, as steady a friend as he'd had in many years. Sara and Xavier too, with their boundless energies that could erase his long loneliness for a time.

"I was born in Wales, you know," Jake said suddenly.

"Really?" James looked over at him, considerable surprise on his face. It was impressive that he didn't follow up with the question of when. The three of his friends knew that Jake was much older than he looked, but he had never told them just how old. That was often how it went; enough generalities for people to make assumptions, but never all the details. The details were where things got ugly.

Jake nodded. "Yes. Farther north, but close enough. I felt like something was calling me back. Calling me home."

"I know that feeling."

"Do you ever think of going home? Finding your family again?"

James's large eyes grew somber and his posture slumped. "All the time. I want to go back to them more than anything, but I know that can't happen. Things are…well, people like us can't just go back to normal, can we?"

Jake felt a bit of a chill and the day grew a bit darker. A cloud had very suddenly scurried across the sun. Jake looked quickly at his friend's eyes but saw nothing. If they had flashed gold, he had missed it. He swallowed hard, but the obstruction in his throat didn't go away. "I'm sorry," he said hoarsely.

"Don't," James said, waving as if to bat the apology away. The sadness immediately cleared from his face and the gentle smile was back. Jake wasn't the only one skilled in putting up a front. "There will be more of us again, one day. You'll see," he said reassuringly.

Jake's thoughts went back to his apartment, and the research that lay unfinished, calling to him.

Calling him home.

"You're right. There will be. I'll make sure of it." He swore it.

"Even someone as powerful as you can't make promises like that."

"You'd be surprised."

A/N: Welcome to the second installment of Immortal's Encore! Many thanks to my wonderful beta NightsAnger for the edits and advice. Chapter One coming soon.