Summer in Balamb came with baking heat that only the ocean could really cool, but Nodwydd didn't mind. It also came with the most breathtakingly beautiful night sky he could hope to see, and he got to see it almost every night. The Planter got very close, with all the activity and people dancing, and whenever he was due a break Nodwydd preferred to slip outside and enjoy the relative silence for a few minutes under the stars.

In the two months since Kiel had been attacked, his life had settled into a new rhythm. Work from sundown to sunrise at the club, five nights out of seven. Nights off he went to shows most often, either with or without a date. At around seven in the morning he presented himself to Bella's inspection before she left for work, and watched Kiel all day - a few hours of which were now occupied in taking him to and from the dojo, and in attending classes there himself. Having been Zell's student, Nodwydd was the most skilled member of the dojo - even above the sensei, and was quickly recruited to help teach. But the dojo had a strict air of discipline about it that Nodwydd alone could not convey, and so the sensei didn't quibble when Nodwydd explained that it was that discipline Kiel really needed.

Once out of the dojo, Kiel quickly returned to street clothes and street attitudes, and their afternoons were spent along the beach - sometimes with Chai, when the other man could wrangle an afternoon free. Then at five Nodwydd took Kiel home before Bella got there, and when Bella returned Nodwydd headed back to his flat to catch his few hours of rest before starting his work shift at the club again.

He enjoyed working at the club, he really did - his only job was to make sure everyone had fun and nobody stepped on anyone else's toes. And when he wasn't putting his combat training to good use, he really enjoyed meeting people and dancing, and occasionally even getting to work as a second drummer for live bands that sometimes played the club. But while the heat of so many people dancing so energetically in such an enclosed space never bothered him, sometimes the smell of all that exertion did. So when he was given his fifteen minute breaks every four hours, he generally went outside. The salt-tang of the sea wasn't his favorite scent either - but he'd gotten used to it, and otherwise the air was beautiful. Night-jasmine was heavy in the air now, and Nodwydd rested against a handy lamp-post (currently broken, affording no block to the brilliant night sky), breathing deeply of the floral scent and drinking a soda, and enjoying the relative quiet for a few minutes before heading back into the fray. Summer vacation had started, and the club had never been busier.

Afterward, Nodwydd believed he must have half-dozed or something, not to hear the footsteps approaching. Whatever the reason, he was yanked from his reverie in quite a literal way - someone tripped over his legs, and their flailing arm caught him on the shoulder and gripped hard.

"Whoa!" he cried, grabbing the hand that had caught his shoulder. He might be incautious, but he wasn't stupid - and this was the docks. He got quite a solid punch in the stomach for his startled response.

"Let go of me," came a low, threatening female voice. "Or I'll make you regret it."

Blinking, Nodwydd complied. It didn't really matter. He had absolute faith in his ability to defend himself. "You did grab me first," he pointed out mildly. "I was just resting here."

"What a place to take a nap," said the woman dryly. "Not interested in the whole 'long life' idea? " She peered at him in the dim night. "Or did you fall off the circus train?"

Nodwydd looked down at himself. He'd gotten used to the look in recent months - loose white hide pants fringed at the outer seams, bare feet, and a silver armlet on his left upper arm decorated with turquoise and an eagle's feather. There were eagle feathers in his hair, too, which was currently tied back with a strip of white leather that matched his pants. It meant his nickname at the club was 'Chief', but the important thing as far as his employer was concerned was that he was recognizable on sight and by nickname - it prevented a lot of trouble when the rowdier kids were told 'the Chief would come down there' if they didn't behave.

The only thing Nodwydd particularly cared about was the fact that the gear provided an explanation for his black hair and pale skin that didn't in any way connect to their true origins. And it was comfortable. He pointed across the street to the club's entrance. "No circus," he said, "though sometimes it feels like it. I'm on a break, and thought to catch some air. What about you?"

"Meeting my girlfriend," replied the woman shortly. "With all that white I thought you were her for a second."

Girlfriend? thought Nodwydd briefly. No wonder she'd be edgy. She'd just mistaken him for her girlfriend, and being that wrong tended to unnerve. "Well, I won't keep you," Nodwydd replied.

"You're right, you won't," said the woman cheerfully, then waved past him. He turned to see a woman coming up the street - taller than most with dark hair, and yes, a lot of white. From the cut Nodwydd guessed her to be a chef at one of the restaurants or hotels nearby.

Nodwydd half expected the women to do one of those romantic jog-to-meet-and-hug sorts of greetings, and was somewhat surprised when they settled for joining hands and walking off. He shrugged and sighed; a sad thing to be in love and not want to show it. But he'd already overstayed his break, so he gave it no further thought but returned to the noise of the club.

* * * * * *

He kept an eye out after that, and the woman showed up with decent regularity if he timed his breaks correctly - and since he always enjoyed meeting new people, he had no problem deciding to do just that. Her name was Hilde Fleissig, it turned out, and she was an engineer from the shipyards. She was pretty in a rather fascinatingly tomboyish way - her dark red hair always kept clipped short, and her clothes always functional, heavy, and casual. She was willing to talk to him if her girlfriend was late, but not if she was on time. Nodwydd supposed that was reasonable; he himself could only stay as long as his break lasted.

He debated asking her to join him for coffee exactly once, for about five minutes. Hilde had a girlfriend, and didn't really seem the type to be flexible on that point. But she did interest him, even if he couldn't really say why. Perhaps just because she was different from his usual circle; at nineteen Hilde was remarkably capable, forthright, and mature - and that was not something he could say of most of his acquaintances.

Chai enjoyed teasing him about it, at least at first. "Joining the other side?" he asked one night after a show.

Nodwydd looked startled. "Other side?" he asked. "Chai, I've never been on any side."

Chai raised an eyebrow. "Is it nothing to you, then?" he asked, affecting great hurt and suffering. "I know there've been others...though I have to admit losing you to a woman is just a little insulting."

"Excuse me?" Nodwydd asked, genuinely surprised for a moment, until he realized his friend was joking. "I'm not going anywhere," he chided. "Hilde's been with the same girlfriend as long as I've known her...which is, admittedly, not that long - but I don't really think guys are her type."

"Well, that could be a problem," said Chai dryly, then sighed and jammed his hands in his pockets. "That's part of the annoyance of it, actually." he said at last. "I mean - Kiel knows me, we hang out together...he's a good kid, Noddy. I really like him. But you're taking Hilde to his party and not me. Kiel doesn't even know Hilde. You barely know her."

Nodwydd hung his head at that. "I know," he agreed softly. "I wish I could, you know. Take you with me too - Kiel likes you too, even if you don't run fast enough or play hard enough for him. It's just..." he took a deep breath and blew it out again, resigned. "Chai...Kiel's mother barely tolerates me. I can't give her any reason to shut me out. I don't like it, not at all, but she's got to believe I only like women or she'll do everything in her considerable power to keep Kiel away from me. And you're caught in the middle of that, and I'm sorry."

"She does know she's going as your pseudo-girlfriend, right?" Chai asked curiously, letting his anger go.

Nodwydd nodded. "She's as blind as Bella, I think. She thinks I only like men. Why people put these blinders on...!" He sighed. "But yes, she does know. She thinks Bella is terribly archaic and provincial, but I imagine meeting her will cure that."

"Oh, really," Chai replied dryly. "I think Bella's archaic and provincial too. And I don't like humoring her, except that the idea of Kiel being locked up in a house all day with such a woman appeals to me even less."

"She's not like that, Chai. It's personal, not general." Nodwydd's lips thinned. "It's very personal. If she knew I liked men as well as women, she'd believe I want Kiel."

Chai looked stunned. "What's his birthday you're going to?" he asked. "His eleventh? She thinks you'd take her eleven year old boy?"

"She would, if she knew I don't make distinctions," replied Nodwydd flatly. "That's why she can't know. Kiel is the whole reason I came to Balamb at all."

"All right, all right," Chai waived. "I understand. I don't like it, but I understand." He paused. "Is it all right if I get him a birthday present? I'd hate him to think I forgot him, just because his mother's a bitch."

"Of course you can," Nodwydd avowed. "I'd make sure he got it, too. But Bella's not a bitch, Chai. She's just...well, you have to understand where she's coming from. She's not a bad person."

"Like hell she's not," Chai spat with sudden venom. "Not a single thing you've said about her tells me anything redeeming about her, except that somehow she's managed to have a son who thank Bahamut doesn't listen to a word she says." He snapped his mouth shut, his eyes glittering with anger, and got a hold of himself. "Enough. Let's go shopping, Noddy. I want to try to find something that'll keep Kiel busy for a while."

* * * * * *

Nodwydd grew more and more quiet as they walked, the bag of presents swinging gently at his side, but Hilde didn't press him about it. Their friendship was still too new to press, but she knew Nodwydd wasn't very good at keeping secrets.

He knocked on the door of the house at the end of the row, and an older woman with her brown-gray hair tied back in a simple ponytail answered it with a frown and a sigh. "Nodwydd," she said quietly. "I should've expected you would turn up. Well, you can help set up then. Who's your friend?"

"Bella, this is Hilde Fleissig," Nodwydd said politely. "Hilde, this is Bella - Kiel's mother."

"Pleased to meet you," Hilde greeted, though she wasn't at all sure she was. There was enough tension in the air to vibrate.

Bella held out her hand, and Nodwydd handed over the bag. "Noddy, you'll handle getting them served. Don't get crumbs on my carpet."

Hilde had to blink; Nodwydd simply nodded his head and went to the kitchen as ordered - leaving her alone in the hall with Bella. Letting her confusion show on her face, she asked, "What can I do?"

"You're a guest," Bella replied calmly. "Make yourself at home. As much as you can; Kiel has a few friends even with Nodwydd's interference, and they're a rowdy lot. Tell Nodwydd if you want cake or ice cream."

Isn't Nodwydd a guest too? Hilde wondered. Bella's calm assumption that Nodwydd was her servant - and Nodwydd's acceptance of that - made the whole situation feel very wrong. She wondered if Chai knew anything about this. She wondered what Bella meant by 'Nodwydd's interference'.

She really wondered if she should have accepted Nodwydd's offer to come to the party.

Kiel was, it seemed, an entirely normal eleven year old boy. That was, he ran and shrieked and took advantage of his birthday status to cause an unholy din. But when Nodwydd - who'd finally run out of ice cream and cake to serve - came out and said Kiel's name quietly, the boy calmed down considerably.

"You know your mother doesn't like you tracking footprints on the furniture," Nodwydd admonished gently. "Even birthday boys need somewhere clean to sit down, don't they?"

Kiel nodded, a bit regretfully, but didn't get the chance to reply. Bella entered the room and glared until Nodwydd backed up a few steps. "I'll thank you to leave the parenting to me, Nodwydd ab Llew," she snapped. "Now go and get the polishing cloths, there's footprints on my dining room table and don't think I don't know how they got there, Kiel Dincht!"

Hilde froze, wide eyed. But Nodwydd simply nodded - a bit unhappily - and left, presumably in search of the requested cloths. Kiel looked wounded.

"I'll help," Hilde offered, to break the tension. It was Kiel's birthday, after all. Punishments should wait until tomorrow. But Bella looked shocked.

"No, no, of course not," she reassured. "You're my guest, Hilde. Guests don't clean house."

Hilde couldn't help it - she opened her mouth to demand what Nodwydd was, then, but Kiel surprised her by suddenly plowing into her and hugging her waist fiercely.

"Aunt Hilde!" he squeaked. "I haven't seen you in days! You gotta tell me everything you've been up to!"

Hilde blinked. She was pretty sure she'd never laid eyes on him before today - but Bella seemed satisfied, and went off in search of Nodwydd - grumbling about the footprints on the table.

"What was that about?" Hilde asked quietly, realizing the situation had to be very strange if she had to get a clarification from a preteen boy.

"Mom doesn't like Noddy," Kiel said quietly. "Don't talk about him to her, don't get in the way. I tried, it just means she gets meaner to him. I don't know why. You're his friend or he wouldn't have brought you - just don't make it worse, okay?"

"It would be hard to see how," Hilde replied, dry but equally quiet. "You're sure?"

Kiel nodded solemnly, bright blue eyes wide. "Trust me. Hey, you wanna ask mom if I can open presents? Did Noddy bring me a present?"

"Bag of them, from me and him and Chai - you've got a lot of friends." Who weren't here. Hilde frowned. There was a lot she wasn't being told, wasn't there.

Kiel grinned. "Chai got me a present?" he asked. "Bet I can guess that one. If Noddy helped, I got a neat hackeysack. An' if he didn't, I probably got stage makeup or something. Hey, maybe I got those neat cat lenses that make your eyes look all weird!"

"Why wouldn't Chai come to the party then?" Hilde asked.

"Cos he's Noddy's friend-friend," Kiel replied solemnly. "Mom's got enough to yell at Noddy about. I dunno what the problem is. Chai's kinda girly but he's cool. Mom's just odd about some things. Funny she likes you."

"I'll go ask her if you can open presents," said Hilde firmly. And then, she resolved, she was going to go find where Nodwydd was and have a talk with him.

It took her all of five minutes to realize it would be impossible. Nodwydd was kept completely busy - gathering trash, hunting down other guests that Bella couldn't see when their parents came to call, and in general making sure the children didn't trash the house or each other. It took less than ten minutes for Hilde to notice that Bella was adept at finding a job for Nodwydd to do just when he looked able to say hello to Kiel.

But finally, the other boys were gone and it was just the two of them left in the house. And then, only then, did Bella relent. Nodwydd was allowed to sit down next to Hilde, and present the gifts he'd brought.

Hilde had all she could do in pretending to be civil. She wanted to take Bella by the shoulders and give her a good solid shaking as she demanded an explanation. But she didn't know enough yet - not least why Nodwydd would submit to this sort of treatment in the first place.

The gifts were for the most part not that expensive; Nodwydd knew very few people with large incomes. From Chai, a small pouch of hackeysacks in different colors. From Darrel, another occasional companion, adventure comic books involving huge robots fighting, which Kiel cooed over for a solid ten minutes - much to Bella's dismay. And from Hilde, who'd had to be guided by Nodwydd as she'd never met Kiel before, a soccer ball.

It could not have made Bella happy when Kiel carefully set the ball down and grinned at Nodwydd. "What did you bring me, Noddy?" he asked, evidently expecting something wonderful and extravagant. Hilde was by now certain that if Nodwydd had done anything of the sort, Bella would throw a tantrum.

Nodwydd didn't pretend that his gift was anything of the kind. He reached down into the bag he'd brought and lifted out a small potted cactus. Bella's lips pressed together, but Kiel only looked puzzled.

"It's a test," Nodwydd explained. "You told me you wanted a dog, Kiel, but dogs require a lot of care and time." He smiled and set the cactus down by Kiel. "If you can keep this little cactus alive - and sun and a little water every few weeks are all it needs - then perhaps you're old enough to handle having a dog."

"If he does, it's staying at your apartment," snapped Bella. "Kiel is far too rambunctious to have a pet."

Nodwydd looked down, chastised, but Kiel picked up the plant and regarded it solemnly. It was, not surprisingly, a cactuar cactus - the variety that most resembled the cactuar plant-men, and that was doubtless the reason for Bella's annoyance. Bright blue eyes regarded it, and Nodwydd, and then Kiel grinned. "So how long do I take care of it before I can have a dog?"

Nodwydd's smile was transparent delight. "Oh...maybe a year. Maybe until you get your black belt. It's hard to say, you know. There's a maturity level to consider, isn't there?"

Hilde glanced over at Bella, and saw a woman hanging on to her temper by a thread; evidently she felt that Nodwydd was usurping her position as parent, and there might be justification for that. But if there was going to be an explosion she didn't want to hang around for it. Lightly, she touched Nodwydd's knee - just enough to catch his attention.

Nodwydd lost his smile when he saw Bella's expression - and so did Kiel. Kiel actually adjusted his grip on the plant so that he wouldn't drop it - as if he worried that his mother would take it away from him. And that caused Nodwydd's expression to harden - and Hilde decided she'd had enough of this house and this situation. "Noddy, I need to get to work," she said, lying baldly - she had the day off, and Nodwydd knew it.

"Then you'd best get going, it's a long way to the docks," interjected Bella quickly, and with a little sigh and a shrug, Nodwydd gave in.

"I have to go," he told Kiel, and the boy nodded.

"I know. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" Flashing an annoyed look at his mother, Kiel continued, "And I'll have the thank-you notes written."

"Tomorrow, then," Nodwydd replied, and left the house. Barely had his feet crossed the threshold when the door closed firmly behind him - not quite a slam, but certainly enough to get the point across.

"What was that all about?" demanded Hilde as they walked back to the docks. "And why on earth didn't you warn me? That woman's pure venom, Noddy. Why did you let her order you around, as if you were her servant?"

Nodwydd was staring at the ground as he walked, his hair - untied, since he wasn't working - falling around his face and over his eyes. "Because I wanted to see Kiel on his birthday," he said sadly. "I'm sorry you got caught in it."

"Does Chai know you let that woman treat you like a servant?" Hilde demanded. "Noddy, Kiel is a very sweet boy, and more alert than I'd normally give an eleven year old credit for being, but there is no reason for you to put up with being walked on like that."

"I am not leaving Bella to raise Kiel alone," said Nodwydd flatly. "She needs my help, and Kiel needs me. And I'm not going to let my own ego get in the way of what they need."

Hilde just stared at him for a moment, then resolutely closed her mouth - evidently feeling that she wasn't getting anywhere and that further argument was pointless. Instead, somewhat resigned, she sighed. "Well, at least you had a reason. Not a very good one, mind you, but any reason's better than none."

* * * * * *

"So, how'd it go?" asked Chai, sipping at an icy treat. Nodwydd was currently busy racing Kiel along the shore.

Hilde glared. "What do you mean, 'how did it go'? Why didn't you warn me Bella would treat him like her personal slave? The place was poisonous!"

Chai looked surprised, then concerned. "Her what?" he asked. "I've never been to Kiel's house, Hilde."

"Her. Slave," snapped Hilde. "The whole time we were there, Bella had Noddy running around and doing things for her like he was her servant. And he did it! Everything she told him to do, he did. How could you not know? Aren't you his friend?"

"I've always thought so," growled Chai. "But I'm telling you right now I never heard word one from Noddy about this."

"Well, maybe you can talk some sense into him about it," Hilde snarled. "I sure didn't have any luck."

Chai didn't look any happier. Biting off his words, he said, "If you tried to talk to him and it didn't work, I doubt I'll have much better luck. Noddy can be very stubborn if it's anything to do with Kiel. What'd he say when you talked to him?"

"That he wasn't going to let his own ego get in the way of what Kiel needs," snorted Hilde. "He doesn't have an ego."

Chai sighed, evidently trying to calm down. "No. He doesn't. But he is very stubborn once he's made up his mind. Damn right I'll talk to him, Hilde, but I doubt it'll do any good. If he didn't fight this at the time, he's not going to fight back just on my say-so."

"We've got to do something about this," said Hilda firmly.

"Agreed," nodded Chai, doing a good job of hiding his anger. "Only not with Kiel around. The boy's got enough to worry about already, there's no need to put him even further into the middle than he already is."

"Agreed," nodded Hilde, just as Nodwydd and Kiel came running up the beach. Laughing and giggling and both more or less breathless, Nodwydd caught Kiel in a flying tackle perhaps fifteen feet away from their friends, pitching both of them into the sand hard enough to spray Hilde and Kiel liberally - and their ice treats.

"Spitting sand again!" teased Nodwydd. "You'll have to do better than that if you want to outrun me."

"Pthp Yeah, well I can't - pthp - do half the - pthp - stuff you do anyway, - pthp! pthp! - Noddy," grumbled Kiel, spitting sand off his tongue. "Hyne this stuff tastes awful. You'd think it'd at least taste like salt."

"Would you like some that tastes like flavored ice?" asked Hilde dryly, holding out her ruined treat.

Nodwydd looked deeply chagrined. "I've coated you both - I'm sorry," he apologized. "What did you have? I'll go get new ones for you - and I'll tackle Kiel when he's farther away."

"I'll go," said Chai firmly, gathering up Hilde's treat cup with his own. "I could use a stretch anyway. You three go wash the sand off."

"Next one's on me then," said Hilde sweetly. "Can't have you doing all the running around."

Nodwydd just blinked at the pair of them. "Should I ask what that was all about?" he inquired.

Hilde grinned evilly. "I believe the line is, 'if you don't know I'm not going to tell you'," she said.