Blaze blinked, still looking in Kale's direction as she nailed a 1k trick off a rail. She seemed a little confused, but thought about it as she turned back to the game.

Kale had long sense fallen off a cliff. He glanced at the screen and blinked, "Well look at that. The sure programed you well." he complimented, "You could be a pro."

"Pro?" Blaze asked.

"Professional." Kale explained, "You might just be able to beat Rosen." Apparently that was a big thing, beating Rosen.

Blaze blinked and then shrugged. "That's hardly fair," she noted.

Kale blinked, "Why wouldn't it be fair?" he asked.

"If I became 'professional' at this, then no one could beat me," Blaze replied. "Once I master the muscle memory, then the only thing I need to think about is adapting to fit the current situation."

Kale chuckled, "If that's the case, we won't ever have to worry about money." he teased her, "Can you learn everything from muscle memory?"

"... Whatever can be learned from muscle memory," Blaze replied.

Kale blinked, "You'd probably kick my butt at basketball then." he sighed, glancing back at the screen.

"... I don't know basketball," Blaze replied, looking a little confused. "I have to learn something before I can do it."

A grin slowly spread of Kale's face, "What else don't you know?" he asked innocently.

Blaze frowned as she thought about it. "... Well, most of what I know is combat related."

Kale nodded, "Well it's good to know I can be better than you at most things for the first couple of tries." he teased with a small chuckle.

Blaze blinked, not really getting what was so amusing. "Other people say it takes the fun out of it; using muscle memory instead of thinking."

Kale shrugged, "I say use the tools in your toolbox. I don't have your muscle memory but I'm a quick thinker. To each his own, right?" he replied easily, "I don't think one's more 'fun' than the other."

"Huh," Blaze replied like she had never thought about that before. "I guess so," she decided after a moment. "Of course I wouldn't ever know for sure since I can't 'turn off' the muscle memory."

"Then take my word for it." Kale replied with a smile, "It's better to be happy with what you have then spend your life wondering what it would be like to have what others have." he winked at Blaze.

Blaze looked at Kale for a long moment. Then she turned back to the screen, but not before she blushed lightly. She nodded. "I hear that drives even normal people crazy," she replied. "Life isn't fair, but that's okay. That took me awhile to learn; since it can't be learned with muscle memory."

Kale let out out a little snort as he continued to smile. He glanced at her every once in awhile as she continued to kick his butt.

Over the next week, Kale continued to go on his nightly raids. The group had left sweden and was now headed to Germany with fresh ground for Kale to cover. He continued to supper with Blaze and even showed her a bit of Basketball. He was definitely good.

James did a remarkable job of completely steering clear of Yue for the entire week. She never saw so much as a glimpse of him. Wolfe seemed to be ignoring her for the most part, though that wasn't so unusual. The woman continued to check in on her from time to time.

Laurel's father continued to drift through stages, some days he was calm even with Laurel's presence and other times he was just as violent as when he first came. His sickness was just about healed though, the strong medication working wonders. Laurel was mostly the same, still defensive when Raven discussed issues related to her father, but she broke out a smile once in awhile while they chatted about other things. She seemed to be relaxing ever so slightly.

"Oh a whole," Bee told Raven as they ate in the kitchen, "I think he's getting better. But it's a long process." she sighed.

Blaze was unusually happy, which was understandable. She seemed to find something to fill every moment of every day as she started to learn about things other than fighting. She didn't look like she was going to let the extra time go to waste. One day she was busy baking and that night Kale came back to find some home made rice krispee treats with chocolate chips in them outside his door.

If Yue was upset, she didn't let on about it. For the most part she was her normal grumpy self, keeping mostly to the daily schedule she had set out for herself.

"That's good to hear," Raven replied, more chipper than he had been in a long time as he grabbed another pancake for himself.

In the morning Blaze found the now empty plate with a neon green sticky note on it. On the sticky note was a smiley.

Bee watched him with a smile, "At this rate, maybe we can have some real progress before Nic gets back." she nodded.

"Why does it matter if Nic gets back?" Laurel suddenly asked from the doorway. Bee blinked at her, she hadn't seen her come in.

"You're late," Raven announced to Laurel even though she wasn't. "Hurry up and eat something and then get ready."

Laurel blinked and went over to the food. Once she had picked out things she could eat, she took a seat and stared at Bee. "Why does it matter?" she asked, clearly not dropping the topic. Bee shifted a little, glancing at Raven. She wasn't sure how Laurel would react.

"... Well, don't you want them to meet?" Raven asked. "I thought you wanted your father to be able to meet all the friends you made by the time they arrive."

"He wouldn't like Nic." she stated quietly, "He hasn't liked anyone for a long time.". She seemed to ponder something for a moment, chewing. "But... I suppose Nic wouldn't like him either. And I think Nic would be mad at me." she sighed.

"Hey," Raven said, trying to get Laurel's attention. "No negative thoughts today."

Laurel glanced at Raven before she went back to eating, or rather, picking at her food. After a long moment she murmured, "Not that it matters... I won't be seeing him for a long time."

Bee blinked, "What do you mean?" she asked quietly.

"He said he won't come visit and I have to stay with my father. Even if he's getting better he still needs me... family comes first." she stated quietly but firmly, staring at her food. Bee frowned.

"Eat up," Raven tried to encourage Laurel. "You'll need your strength."

Laurel stared at the food for a bit longer before giving in and taking a few bites. "How long are you staying?" she suddenly asked, glancing up at Raven with confused eyes.

"Staying?" Raven asked, a little confused.

"... My father needs long term care." Laurel replied slowly, "You won't be here forever."

"You don't plan on keeping him in this shack the whole time, do you? - No offense," Raven added to Cong as Cong walked in.

"None taken," Cong replied with a morning sigh. He had mostly recovered from his illness, but his body and mind were still weary.

Laurel shook her head, "No. Once he's recovered enough I'm taking him home." she stated simply, not looking at Cong.

Cong didn't have any comment as he quietly helped himself to some breakfast.

"Home?" Raven asked. "Where's that?"

"Once he's settled..." Laurel continued, not acknowledging Raven's question, "I'll go see my mother."

Bee's eyes widened, "Laurel!" she exclaimed, she'd been told enough to know that wasn't a good idea.

Like usual, Cong stayed out of everyone else's way.

Raven was surprised, and he didn't try to hard to hide it. But he said nothing as he recovered. "... You seem like you've made up your mind," he noted quietly. "But there's no sense in fretting about such a distant future. Especially when today will be so much fun."

"It's not so distant." Laurel said blandly but she looked up at Raven, not understanding his last statement.

"You and I are going to meet up with some old friends," Raven explained to Laurel with a smile.

Laurel suddenly looked very suspicious as she eyed Raven. "What friends?" she asked warily.