Mind of War (On Hold)

Reminiscing

Kai was enjoying eating dinner at the Valor residence. Although, he had to admit that it was strange being here while Song was not home. She had went out hunting Shadows and then she was going to spend the night at Free's house. He was glad that Free and Song were such good friends, they're the same age and have many similar interests.

Mr. Valor clearing his throat, "So, Song says that there are some things that you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Yes, but I didn't mean to kick her out of her house," he laughed.

"No problem, she needed to get out. And she likes spending time with Free, since they're the same age they find much in common."

"I was just thinking about that, too. Well, I've been thinking about a lot of things recently. I like being a Shadowhunter, however, I'm really interested in settling down."

"I know what you're saying and nothing is wrong with that. You'll be twenty next year, and to settle down with a family is the greatest honor. Availability and stability is key. When I was growing up, the Shadows were not like how they are now. I hunted them when I was young, then by the time I was a teenager, I became interested in security. From there I became a security officer, and I've been promoted up through the ranks. At your age I was also thinking about doing something that would provide for a family and leave me time to be with my family."

"Would you ever hunt again?"

"If I need to, I will. After Cadence and I got married, my parents got infected and being up in age, they didn't have the physical strength to resist. They died shortly after. I wanted to hunt again, but after talking with Cadence, we decided that it would be better if kept my job because of its stability. I wasn't a bad hunter, just an amateur. She was the professional."

"I've been hunting for so long, I don't know what else I would do. It just seems like having both parents as Shadowhunters is really hard."

Mr. Valor laughed, "It is and for my family it was out of the picture. Cadence had grown up a Shadowhunter, that was her life, not mine. Hunting was just a hobby for me. Onyx's parents had a hard time, they did not want to move from the city to the SSS, so they ended up leaving Onyx on his own for periods of time at a young age. Often times we would keep him over, but he was quite responsible even as a young child."

"Speaking of Shadowhunting, I really wanted to talk to you about Free. I really like her, and I'm starting to like her more than just a friend. You're like a father to me, what should I do?"

"Well, first, you have to be careful with matters of the heart. You don't want to play with a woman's feelings at any point in time. Make sure you're looking at her with the right eyes. Make sure you're looking past the pretty eyes, shiny hair, full lips, and stuff like that. Is she honest? Will she have your back? Does she respect you, listen to you, trust you? Study how she does things."

"Study how she does things?" Kai was quite puzzled.

"Yes, if she can't cook for herself, what makes you think she'll be cooking for you," Mr. Valor laughed, "but no really, if she's genuinely nice to other people, you can expect that she'll be nice to you. Things like that. Then you have to do some soul searching. Once you find her worthy, the big question is are you worthy? Do you deserve her? If you're honest, the answer will be no at first. But fear not, let her see you work. That's how women make men better."

"That's a lot to think about, but I think I can get ready."

"Tell me Kai, are Free's parent available for you to talk to her father and mother?"

"Her parents got infected, they struggled with it for years before it overtook them," Kai replied.

Mr. Valor shook his head, "That's awful, so many children have been displaced by these Shadows. I find that, the closer we are to the root of our being, righteousness, the harder it makes it for us to be infected. We have to have certain things in our character in check: respect, love, unity, patience, charity, faith, and most importantly as a people we have to follow instructions. So, many people get caught not following the system. We were informed years ago, during the times of night that the Shadows are out to keep our doors and windows locked and closed. So many people have lost their lives because they didn't follow that instruction."