"Back To You" (Aqualad x OC)

Part Ten

The bell rang as they opened the door to the Trading Post, light and welcoming.

"Hey!" Miiyahbin waved to both of them for a moment, before attending to the few customers mingling around the store, searching for their groceries or gossiping with Grandmother. Kaldur was mysteriously drawn to a tiny yipping on the other side of the store.

"Huskies?" Emma asked, coming close enough to see what was in the box that a customer was holding.

The woman smiled tiredly, "They've been weaned and trained by their mother, but my husband and I can only keep so many. You're welcome to take one!."

"Grandma says I can't have one," Miiyahbin pouted, "They're too loud, or something." She pretended to use her braid as a mustache, trapped between her nose and her pursed lips as she leaned on the counter, watching the action.

Several customers, including Kaldur, were enamoured with the puppies, holding them, petting them, cooing at them.

Emma sighed, and took out the brand new envelope from Bruce. There was still tons left in the envelope he'd first given her. The man had no concept of how much money could buy.

"How much?" She asked the woman with the box.

"Oh no, I couldn't-"

"Hannah, don't be ridiculous, take the money," Grandmother said sternly.

"Fifty dollars?" Hannah ventured. Emma gave her the five hundred left over for last week. Fate knew the rest of Moose Factory needed it more than Emma and Kaldur did.

Emma and Kaldur sat on the steps of the Trading Post with their groceries and Kaldur's new puppy, waiting for the morning crowd to die down so that Miiyahbin could come out and train with them.

"What are you gonna name her?" Emma asked, biting into an apple.

Kaldur held up the puppy towards the sky. She wasn't quite big enough to bark yet, but she yipped, in that high-pitched way huskies did, tongue lolling out of her mouth.

"Sidekick."

"That's Justice's name," Emma butted in.

"His middle name," Kaldur reminded her. No one ever calls him that, so they won't get them confused. Besides, you didn't let me finish: I'm naming her after Justice."

"Oh," Emma paused to wipe some apple juice from her chin, "I'm sure he will be honored."

Sidekick yipped in agreement, licking Kaldur's cheek and scrabbling against his coat to get sat the grocery bags, which, aside from a medium-sized bag of dog food, also contained several strips of bacon.

"No," Emma said firmly, hiding it behind her legs. "Later. Maybe."

"Finally!" The door was blown open, and Miiyahbin all but fell down the stairs to squeeze in between Kaldur and Emma. "So. Grandma said you two were going to train me to be a Midayo?"

Emma put her hand on Miiyahbin's arm in an effort to help the younger girl calm down. "We can help you hone your powers, but there are some things that, as outsiders to your people, we won't be able to tell you or help you with."

"Are there some things about the Midayo that you can tell us, to help us understand?"

Miiyahbin took a deep breath in, to clear her mind and calm down.

"For as long as anyone can remember, the Midayo have been the protectors of the Cree people, blessed by the spirits with the incredible powers of the elements.

"I haven't experienced all of them yet, but Grandma says that their powers change with the seasons. Right now, in the fall, it's air. In the winter, it'll change to water, though, I guess it'll be more like ice," She chuckled. Kaldur did too.