Moving Forward

The High Council

Luke's POV

Victor and I surprised by the fact that Kota and the others requested a meeting with the Lead Team and the High Council. With the two of us training to join the High Council with Cupcake, we were included in the meeting. I wasn't sure how much help we would be but I was willing to give it my best shot. We had both learned a lot since coming to Boston and quite a bit of it about the Academy. I believed that Kota would have several questions we would be better at answering. I wasn't being egotistical, Vic and I knew where they were coming from because we had been in their place a few months previously.

"I asked the High Council to set in on the meeting," Foxy informed them. "Some of the answers you are seeking will be better coming from them. They younger members may help all of us to understand each other's perspective better." I looked at the large screen, picking out all in attendance. There was the Mr. Ericsons, Shan, Foxy, Kota, Nate, North, and Silas. On our side were Sven, Colt, Cupcake, Uncle James, Victor, and me.

"That is fine," Kota assured her. "We mainly want to know about teams and families."

"Luke and Victor will tell you what they know about teams first, you can ask your questions once they finish." Colt spoke, "they had their own questions when they first came here."

"I will start," Victor volunteered. "I will be honest with you; neither Luke nor I knew we would be living with Academy members. As far as we were concerned, we were done with the Academy. Sven insisted we train to defend ourselves with Raschel even though we weren't on a team. He said everyone should be able to protect him or herself and he was right, we should be able to. Once we learned that Sven was a member of the High Council and that Princess was training to be one, we asked if we could be on her team. We had been watching them and it was nothing like the Blackbourne Team, she wasn't spending twenty-four seven with her team and she wasn't running all over the place. It turned out that she didn't have a team and may never have one, she was okay with that. Because of this, she and the Lead Team chose who the next Lead Team would be. The Toma Team was chosen because she gets along with them and they are dedicated, they believe in what they are doing and it helps that the Henshaw twins are related to the Ericsons." He paused to sip some water before continuing. "The dynamics of our team is different; we are equal and make decisions together. We do only Intel and that is only for the Lead Team, we like it that way. We are encouraged to be normal teenagers, to make outside friends and to become involved in activities. We are expected to form our own opinions, to make our own choices and to be ourselves. We do not cater to another team member to boost his or her ego, especially not at the expense of our own. Yes, we have rules but they are rules we have agreed on together. While we live together, we each have our own personal spot and no one enters it without our permissions." He sent a smirk my way. "Luke choose a tree house and we worried he would freeze during the winter. Colt got him a propane heater, Shan and Foxy got him an Arctic sleeping bag, Sven had electricity run to the tree house, and Chel and I got him a stack of thermal blankets. He bought himself a Keurig, a stock of hot chocolate and mugs for visitors and himself. The point is, he never asked or expected us to help; we chose to do it on our own. He planned to do it on his own even though it would take him awhile."

"I love my tree house," I did my best imitation of North's scowl, only to have everyone laugh at me. "My turn," I took over. "First we do not call them Mr. Ericson, Miss Ericson, and Mr. Nighthawk, they are Sven, Cupcake, and Colt. They are part of our family. My main concern was hours and being grounded, I didn't feel it was right that I had so many authority figures. Sven explained that it is our parents or legal guardian's place to punish us, not our teams. That you follow the Team Lead out of respect and that is why the team must choose the one they wish to lead them. A member chooses what missions they will do, no one decides for them. If there is a head of the family, it is the Team Lead. At no time is a member expected to report their every thought or actions to another member as if they are reporting their sins to a priest. Teams usually consist of members who are close in age, removing the older sibling taking control. At no time does the Academy require you to lie to your authority figure or commit illegal acts. At no time do we financially support other team members, not even the so-called head of the family. We are allowed to have days off to spend with friends who are not part of the Academy, to learn new things that are not beneficial to the team. An example: Victor and I are learning to play the banjo. We do not intend to ever play it professionally or as a cover in a mission; we just want to play 'Dueling Banjos'. Not everything we do have to be for the Academy, we are allowed to do things for our own pleasure."

When everyone looked towards Raschel, she paled. "Don't look at me; I don't know the first thing about how a team works."

"Nonsense, my dear," Bjorn chuckled. "You seem to be doing well with these young men; they haven't run away screaming yet."

"Fine," she snorted. "I never discussed their former team with them; I didn't think it was important. We all interact with each other differently. I don't want them to act as servants, I want them to tell me when they have an idea or know a better way of doing something. We are a TEAM, meaning we work together to solve a problem or accomplish a task. We don't know all the answers, we aren't experts in every subject; we are learning as we go. We have our own interests. Some we share with each other and some we don't. We support each other in everything we do, but we don't hurt ourselves in the doing. We don't have forceful personalities, so we don't clash, we can discuss anything without an argument. If they are mad at me, I expect them to tell me and I do the same. They aren't here to cater to my every wish and I'm not here to do the same for them. We try new things together, broadening our horizons. If I need time alone, they let me. We don't have to be glued to each other's side, it makes it more interesting when we aren't. We are getting to know each other, who we are deep inside, not who we want the other to be. We don't have to be perfect, I think our flaws make us more interesting. While there are times I need special help due to my problems, they never hesitate to give it to me. Victor and I have an exam; Luke is asking us our study questions. Luke has a test, Victor and I am providing the labor and eat whatever he is cooking."

"Fish soup," Victor made a face.

"Shush you," she lightly smacks him and I snicker. "Are we a family? We are getting there; we are in no rush and are having fun along the way. Will they return to your team once they finish college? Nope, they are mine now and I am keeping them. You blew it."

"She has it wrong," I corrected her mistake. "Victor and I know she would pine for us if we ever left and as the Southern gentlemen we are, it is our duty to keep the world safe from her being in public without supervision."

"That is mean," she glared at me. "Just for that, you are uninvited to my High Tea. No scones and tea cakes for you."

"What," I did a double take. That couldn't be right. "You can't un-invite me, who will eat the tea cakes with you if I am not there?"

"Colt, dad," she smiled sweetly at them. "Would you care to join me for tea and sweets? Like old times?"

"Are you having the scones with the blackberry jam?" Colt asked in return.

"Of course," she grinned cheekily, "can't have a High Tea without them."

"Lemon cakes," Sven inquired.

"I do hope Victor and I are included," Uncle James butted in.

"I give up," I held my hands up in surrender. "You win," I turned to look at the screen. "I lied; we are the ones who can't live without her. She keeps us on our toes and makes sure we are never bored." I turned back to look at her. "Can I have High Tea now?" I whined, causing her to giggle.