Being a Hero

Chapter 23

The song for this chapter is "It's Time" by Imagine Dragons.

"Stay committed to your decisions, but stay flexible in your approach." –Tony Robbins

*Kevin's POV*

I went in search of Isabella once we got home. She'd made me promise to tell her all about the firefighting exercises before I left. Will found her in the dining room first. I paused in the doorway and camouflaged out of habit.

"Hey, guess what I got you?" Will asked, holding something behind his back.

Isabella's eyes lit up as she looked up from her homework. "A souvenir?!"

"You know it," Will said with a grin. He brought his hand around to set his surprise on the table. It was a unicorn made out of some type of rock. Most of it was a glossy black, but smudges of dark pink dappled the creature's body like a normal horse's markings might.

I grinned. Will was getting better at that. He'd been making little figurines for Isabella since the team first formed. She'd shown me a picture of her collection once. She had everything from a rough koala bear to a delicate quartz butterfly with crystal clear wings.

Isabella made a squeal of delight that I knew from experience she would deny making later. "He's beautiful!" She carefully ran a finger down the sculpture's mane and back. Then she reached into her backpack and pulled out a chunk of grey granite flecked with quartz. "Think you could make him a friend? Horses are herd creatures. So, I imagine unicorns would be too. I don't want him to get lonely." She gave him her best pleading face.

He caved with a laugh. "You bet." This was part of their routine too. Will would bring back the most interesting rock he could find, and Isabella would do the same from the forest around her home. Having already shaped one unicorn, the second emerged quickly, though it was a bit rougher due to the type of rock. "There you go!" He set the second unicorn next to the first.

"Thanks, Uncle Will!"

"I'm not your uncle!" Will half-heartedly yelled over his shoulder as he headed into the kitchen.

I waited a moment longer, watching as Isabella stroked the new unicorn. The granite sculpture shook its head and stamped a hoof before going still again. Isabella beamed.

"You ever going to tell them?" I asked, un-camouflaging and stepping into the room.

Unphased by my sudden appearance, Isabella frowned. "I dunno. It's kind of a useless power, and super limited. I'd run out of small enough pieces to bring with me eventually."

"Your power is not useless!" I insisted, careful not to raise my voice and alert Will in the kitchen.

Isabella looked away, glancing at the clock on the wall. Her eyes widened. "Oh! Did you want to do that thing today? I think we have time to make it there and back before dark. You can tell me about the cute firefighters on the way."

I rolled my eyes. "Sure. Let me go change real quick. Meet you at the bus stop after you tell your mom?" I subtly hinted.

"Yeah. I'll go tell her. Try not to take 30 minutes to get ready this time."

"What? I have to make sure no fur's showing when I go out in public."

She laughed. "Just wear your hoodie. A cold front's coming in tonight."

"Aw. I knew this early spring was too good to be true."

25 minutes later, we both stood by the bus stop at the bottom of Haven Cyber Security's long driveway. Across the road from us sat a row of camping and hunting shops and a gas station. There was even a place to rent a canoe or kayak for the lake in the reserve. The whole bus ride into the city I told Isabella about the day and my disappointment at not being much help with fires.