"Well...I've got to say...your son took it a lot better than I thought he was going to."

Adagio nodded, bearing a somewhat prideful look as she did so.

"Indeed. I was rather impressed with how mature he was being about the whole thing."

A nostalgic, and even somewhat affectionate look crossed Adagio's face, no doubt signalling her return to fond memories of those days. Sunset stayed silent, giving her time to enjoy the moment for the time being. But, when it finally finished, she watched as the elder Siren got up from her sofa, making her way instead to the fridge of the nearby open kitchen of the apartment. After looking around it's contents for a few moments, Adagio smiled before pulling out a tall green bottle of some kind, before then looking to Sunset.

"Care for some wine?"

To that, Sunset raised a hand.

"Er, no, thank you. I don't really think I'm old enough. At least, by this world's standards."

Adagio chuckled.

"Well, I most certainly am. So, if you don't mind...?"

She left the question open, and Sunset understood, giving her host a nod of permission soon afterwards. Adagio then busied herself with looking around the various cupboards, before finally finding a suitable wine glass. After pouring herself a modest portion of the beverage, she took a brief sip, bearing a look of slight satisfaction as she did so, before heading back to her sofa. Once sitting back down, she let out a contented sigh, swirling the wine around in her glass while keeping her eyes focused on Sunset.

"I will confess, I was quite happy with how things turned out. Forte was still close to me, even after a revelation as big as the one he'd just heard. And after hearing about his Father, and how he fell in battle...well...I suppose that was what started it."

Sunset raised an eyebrow.

"Started what?"

Looking to her, Adagio developed her infamous smirk, before giving the former unicorn her answer.

"Even taking aside the fact that I was his Mother, I knew the boy was special. And no son of mine was going to spend the rest of his life as a simple forest hermit. So, the decision was made."

She took another sip before continuing.

"You see...one of the most notable turns in my son's life was when, for the first time, we decided to venture away from the wilderness after so many years, and finally return to civilisation. Or at least, what those days considered civilization."

Looking down at her drink, Adagio returned to her nostalgic expression.

"And Forte...never before had he been so excited."

Far from the edges of the great forest, beyond rivers and streams, far from any semblance of wild or untamed country, there was a city. While far smaller in scope than what most modern minds would think of when they heard the word "city", this was nevertheless, for the time, a massive place. Surrounded by stone walls, this place, situated between the coastline and the vast plains, was abuzz with activity. Travellers, merchants and adventurers from all walks of life, from East to West, came here, filling the markets, or simply admiring the ancient sculptures that littered the streets. It was the kind of place where you truly felt you could find anything and meet anyone, good or bad.

Into this huge and bustling place, walked the Sirens. Adagio, Aria and Sonata strode in through the front gates, accompanied as usual by Forte. The boy had grown a fair bit since the day when he had first learned of his Mother's true identity, and now, he was right on the cusp of manhood, though still retained a lot of his boyish good looks. But, for him, all that mattered was that, in his eyes, this city was the most extraordinary place he had ever been to. Never before had he laid eyes on so many people, so many different things. And immediately, he rushed off, staring wide-eyed at the vendors and their wares, at the high stone walls, at the city guards and their glistening armour. Adagio, regarding the boy, couldn't help but seem amused by his antics.

"Stay close, son. This is your first time in a place like this, and I don't want you getting lost."

Only the sound of his Mother's voice snapped Forte out of the trance-like amazement the city had placed upon him, and, as always, he heeded her. Jogging lightly, he made his way over to her, and together, the four of them started to make their way further and further into the city in earnest. As was expected, the three Sirens earned themselves a fair amount of interest from the eyes of many of the men they passed, and, as per usual, they returned the glances with flirtatious looks of their own. Forte, for his part, also seemed to be experiencing a few interested looks from some of the young girls of the place, though in his innocence, he had no clue as to what they were staring at. Eventually, and after much time had passed, Adagio stopped, looking at a particular vendor.

"Ah! Now this is more like it!"

The other three stopped, finally seeing what she was looking at. It appeared to be a stall full of fine-looking clothing, many of them of an exotic variety, no doubt from places far afield in the world. Adagio, followed shortly by her sisters, was quick to examine the wares, feeling the fabric between her fingers and looking, for the most part, quite satisfied.

"Very nice."

The merchant himself, an older man, regarded the three young-looking girls before him with a toothy grin.

"Ah, I see you have fine taste, my ladies. I managed to procure these fine specimens from many leagues away, far in the East. I trust they are to your satisfaction?"

Adagio studied him closely, seeing the familiar tell-tale signs of someone trying desperately to make something appear more impressive than they really were. But, ever the actress, she kept her smile, placing the clothing down for the moment and speaking up in a sweet-sounding voice.

"Thank you, but I was wondering, are there any other vendors of such attire in the city?"

The merchant, understandably, seemed disheartened by such a request, but, rather than seem like a sore loser, he too continued to wear a false smile as he answered Adagio.

"Indeed. You will find one in particular a few streets down from here. Just at the edge of the market quarter."

Adagio nodded, showing at least some appreciation, before gesturing to her sisters and Son. Together, they made their way off, all while the merchant at last had leave to look annoyed by this turn of events. Though they travelled in silence, the four of them continued to make headway into the city, passing more and more vendors, each with something interesting to sell. Eventually, they happened upon the street they had been directed to, but, sadly for them, it appeared to have been blockaded, with some sort of dispute raging on the other side that the city guards were trying to put down.

"Well...no luck there, it seems," Sonata commented.

Adagio nodded, but, through the corner of her eye, she spotted a less-populated street, which was really more of a larger-than-normal alleyway than anything else.

"I think we can get in through there."

The others turned in the alley's direction, and nodded in agreement, after which they began to follow their leader. As they moved further in, there were indeed fewer people here, and it was a good deal quieter. But, as the pressed on, seeing the people they did encounter, many of whom seemed to just be leaning against walls, it suddenly occurred to the Sirens that this was a less-than-savoury crowd. But, ever they walked, until finally, they were stopped. A group of about three of the locals stepped out in front of them at the end of the alley, bearing ragged attire and looking, for lack of a better word, dangerous. Adagio, not seeming unnerved in the slightest, stopped in her tracks, and stood there as the first of them finally spoke up.

"Well well, boys. What do we have here? A lovely little present for us, wandering in here for the taking, perhaps?"

Placing a hand upon her hip, Adagio raised an eyebrow at the man's bravado, casting a glance in the direction of her sisters. They too gave her a similar smirk, and, unbeknownst to the men, the red pendants they bore started to glow slightly.

"Oh dear! Whatever shall we do?" Adagio said, faux concern in her voice.

The gang leader chuckled.

"Oh, I'll tell you what you can do, beautiful."

He took a step forward, as did his cohorts, and the Sirens, for their part, knew how this was going to go down, and they cleared their throats in readiness. However, what they had not expected was for Forte, at that very moment, to step out ahead of them, getting in-between them and the men. Immediately, Adagio looked genuinely worried.

"Forte! Wait!"

But, for the first time, the boy did not listen, and instead, his eyes narrowed at the thugs before him.

"I think you need to walk away and leave them alone."

To that, the men looked the smaller lad over, eventually bursting out into laughter.

"Oh look! A hero! How sweet!"

The others laughed in similarly-mocking fashion, but, after seeing that the boy did not back down, they stopped, looking to him with more seriousness.

"You don't want to be here, boy. Step aside, and we'll forget you ever tried to pull anything this stupid."

But Forte stayed where he was.

"I said...leave."

And here, the gang leader looked to him with no smile, no sense of amusement, not even a hint of mockery. The air turned colder all of a sudden, and the other two men stood beside their leader. Adagio stepped forward, ready to intervene, but was halted by Aria, who grabbed hold of her arm. The elder Siren looked to her sister with scorn, only for her expression to soften once more as Forte spoke up again.

"This is your last warning. Leave...or else."

That was the last straw, as the older man looked to the boy with utter rage in his eyes. He raised his hand, drawing it back and balling it up into a tight fist. Adagio saw this and looked on with horror, terrified at what was going to happen to her boy. But, before she had a chance to do anything, the man brought his punch forward, but, to the shock of everyone there, Forte actually caught it. His hand had been raised and he had the man's fist in his palm. The man, needless to say, was startled by this, but even more so at what happened next. Forte narrowed his eyes and pressed his hand together, tightening his grip on the man's hand. The latter soon found himself getting to his knees, screaming in pain, especially when the sounds of bones could be heard snapping.

"DON'T JUST STAND THERE!!! KILL HIM!!!"

The other two, at long last, leapt into action, drawing what was clearly daggers from their belts. Forte reacted immediately, letting go of the first man and reaching for his own belt. There, there was a weapon of his own, the very sword Adagio had given to him a few years back. The sword of his Father. The blade was drawn, and in an instant, Forte used it to block the blow of the first dagger, and as the man holding it took a step back, Forte then blocked the second blow from the third man. They looked to one another, surprised by this, but after composing themselves, they struck again. Unfortunately, the fared no better this time, and while they lashed out with all speed, Forte was faster, dodging, weaving and blocking every attempted strike they made.

As for the Sirens, they watched all of this, utterly awe-struck at what the boy was doing. Nowhere was this more apparent than with Adagio, who stood there, mouth agape at the feats of agility her son was displaying. And on and on he went, matching blow for blow against the brigands that were fighting him. However, no fight can last forever, and soon, after understanding at last that they had no chance against the boy, the two cohorts simply stared blankly at one another, before dropping their daggers and fleeing for their lives. As for their leader, he at least got to his feet again, nursing his broken hand, and screaming after them.

"You cowards! Get back here!"

But they did not come back, and so, the thug leader, turned to Forte, narrowing his eyes.

"You...you righteous little bas-!"

But, sadly, he wasn't able to finish his insult, as Forte quickly brought a fist of his own right into the man's face, sending him flying backwards. Slamming into a nearby wall, the man slumped to the floor, clearly unconscious. The Sirens stood amazed by what they had seen, and Aria and Sonata slowly turned their eyes to Adagio. Gradually, the elder Siren took a few steps closer to her son, her voice slow and unsure.

"...Forte?"

The boy turned to look upon his Mother, but, soon afterwards, looked downwards, to the sword in his hands. He stared at it for at least a minute, until finally, he looked back to Adagio. And when the Siren looked upon him, she saw a look she had never known on him; that of certainty. And when he smiled to her, that feeling was reflected in his voice.

"Mother. I think...it seems...I must become a warrior."