Tempering

"Heya brother! Me and the noobie are here, I think I see your car."

He spoke as he exited the car and made his way towards Kennedy. The moment Apona would follow he would click the button on his car keys and lock the car up. Looking at the church before them he took in a deep breath.

"So you are sure this is the place? A bit quaint but whatever, sometimes things are bigger on the inside." He said while shoving his hands into his pockets.

"It's all part of the game, my brother. We're part of a group that prides itself on communicating as inefficiently as possible."

He flashes a quick grin.

"We'll cut through these sons of bitches like a hot knife through horseshit."

Realizing that Apona is here as well, Nixon turns and addresses him.

"Would you mind if your mentor and I talk for a second? We've got something to discuss. Thanks."

He takes Kennedy about twenty feet away.

"There's something new. We've got a Hallow."

"I will be back in two seconds kid."

He said while his brother dragged him off, he dismissed what he said about the hollow for a moment before the news finally hit him causing him to do a double take.

"We have a hollow!? How the fuck did that happen, when we first bought the place you scanned the area with your sight what the hell do you mean that we have a hollow? Last time I checked hollows do not appear that suddenly out of nowhere. Are you sure you did not pull a favor with one of your contacts or something?"

Nixon shrugs indifferently.

"I was taking a shower, when suddenly, it's raining magic. Hallelujah. And unless you put a little something extra in my coffee this morning, we've just got ourselves a genuine miracle here."

He turns to the church, and spreads out his arms.

"The brothers approached the city, and lo! Their first miracle! From the very sewer dregs, they caused pure mana to spring forth! And there was a great rejoicing from amongst the faithful."

He stares at the church, and continues.

"Tell me about this kid, though. What's his story?"

"I think we just have formed a basis of a new religion, now got to get the type writer unpacked and jot down your fist tome. But we have a hollow? Damn... That is a contested resource we need to secure that sanctum as soon as possible. I don't want a flood of rif-raff sniffing after our resources."

He said while looking back the apprentice for a moment, that was when he switched to high-speech.

"The kid is a cop, he was in a fighting tournament and got clocked in the face. When he was out though he saw a vision, standing in a golden arena with heroes and gods calling his name. They presented him with a trophy, tall, and golden. He signed is name and the next thing he knows they whisked him off to a hospital. Real fucking miracle that I found him, the job sent me down there to represent the insurance company. They are still new to contracting with the police so they wanted me to make an appearance. Low and behold I went to talk to the kid... Found him playing with the lights, clamped him down real quick, gave him the whole dramatic revelation and told him not to experiment with his new found glory quite yet."

Nixon nods in agreement as Kennedy is speaking.

"Good. We'll go in and take care of what's ours right now. And then, we can see what..."
he trails off as he looks over at Apona

"...the officer wants to do from here. Did he mention a name to you?"

Apona Ao nodded absentmindedly as his mentor headed off with his reflection. He looked up at Archimedes, who had resumed his perch on his head, "Is he a familiar too?" The owl hooed an amused laugh and rapped the top of Apona's head with his foot. "No, he is as much a familiar as you are. I believe the word you would use is 'Twins'." Apona nodded. "Okay, thanks!"

Kennedy's outburst shook him from his thoughts. He looked up at Archimedes again and asked, "What's a Hallow?" The owl preened himself as he answered matter-of-factly "It's a wellspring of magical energy." Apona sighed, "Oh thanks, now I understand." His familiar ignored the sarcastic remark.

Listening in to the strange language that he understood for some reason, Apona asked, using the same speech, "What is this language called again..?"

The Hawaiian decided to join the two older mages and extend a hand, "By the way, name's Apona Ao. Pleasure to meetcha!"

Kennedy smiled as Apona made his way to the group.

"This is Apona, my apprentice. Apona this is my brother Nixon he kinda is rough around the edges but I can vouch for him."

He said while grinning looking back to his brother.

"I still can't believe we lucked out, a fucking hollow that is like a one in a million chance, trust me I know these things."

Suddenly his eyes went wide when he realized an important detail.

"You know high speech!?"

Nixon's face freezes when he realizes that Apona understood everything that they had been saying. Rallying quickly, he seems to remember his manners.

"A quick learner, officer "Apona." I'm impressed. My name, as my brother says, is Nixon. It's a pleasure to meet such a quick learner. Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to get this business with the council over with. Then we discuss how we can work together for our mutual enlightenment."

He inclines his head, and starts walking towards the church.

"High speech..? Uhh... Yeah I guess I do. It just feels... natural." He smiles at Nixxon. "You can just call me Apona. And thanks, I consider myself more 'lucky' than 'quick'." Archimedes clears his throat obviously. "Oh! And this is Archimedes. My Family." "Familiar, is the word you are looking for." Archimedes quipped. "Oh yes..."

"It'd be a pleasure to work with you!" He smiles, motioning towards the door. "Well let's check this Consilium out before it closes!"