“Taliesin Thornwell!” He bellowed and Tal flinched at the sudden noise. Mr. Moreno pulled him into a hug and sobbed dramatically. “Katy told me my top star is injured. What were you thinking, Taliesin!? We’re close to winning the finals and you-“ He examined the boy and gasped at the sight of the bandaged ankle. Tal feared for a moment that his coach would pass out. “You can walk, dear, can you? Please tell me you can walk.”

Mr. Moreno was a good guy, really. He was obsessed with ice hockey and winning the league but he only meant well. Right now, even though it didn’t seem so, he was actually worried about Tal. He could see it in his eyes. He saw pain in them, pain and recognition. Mr. Moreno had been one of the best players in his team before suffering an injury. He’d needed surgery for his knee and was told to never go on the ice rink again. He once told the team that he had been depressed for a long time until Mr. Hemlock invited him to be a coach at his Academy. That must have been how they met. Mr. Moreno would never admit it but Tal was sure that there was more to their story. He neglected the thought for now and wanted to reply when Katy shot him a deadly glare and talked to Moreno for him.

“No,” she said firmly. “He cannot and should not walk. “His ankle could be broken but we don’t know for sure because he doesn’t let me call an ambulance.” Mr. Moreno considered her words. He smiled at Tal and ruffled through his hair. Tal winced when his coach touched the wound by accident. “Smart boy. If there’s no diagnosis they can’t ban you from the game next Saturday for the semi-finals.” “Mr. Moreno! Don’t encourage the boy!” “We need him to win the season!” “Ice-Hockey can’t be more important than his health!”

“What’s going on here?” Tal was so distracted by Katy and his coach’s bickering that he didn’t notice someone else walk in. His heart sank when he looked up at Mr. Hemlock. The director’s gaze was fixed on Tal and he asked with his eyes if the boy was okay. Tal nodded and Mr. Hemlock turned his attention to the other two. “Mr. Moreno is only thinking about winning a stupid game and he won’t admit that Taliesin isn’t in the condition to play.” “That’s not true. But I will let him play if he wants to. I know how important it is. You don’t.”

The coach huffed and glanced at Mr. Hemlock before moving away from the other man. He avoided looking at him now which made it even more obvious that he was distancing himself. Tal could tell that Mr. Hemlock was a little taken aback but he seemed used to it. He had always noticed that these two behaved weirdly around each other. He couldn’t be sure but Tal believed that maybe they had been a couple once but then broke up on bad terms which made everything awkward. Or they were just two colleagues who didn’t particularly like each other. Tal had asked Mr. Hemlock once if they hated each other and the director said he could never hate him. “Though I think he has every right to hate me.” He’d seen the sadness in his eyes then and decided to let the topic drop.

Mr. Hemlock sat down next to Taliesin and examined him from head to toe. Tal feared the worst. “Katy what is your evaluation?” “Oh well certainly,” She cleared her throat and moved closer to point at Tal’s injuries. “Possibly broken, definitely bruised ankle, gash on the head with a mild concussion. While I treated him he almost passed out, what was it? Three times. Which is exactly why I have reason to believe,” she turned towards the coach and pointed angrily at him. “That Taliesin is in no condition to play ice hockey or any type of sport or even go to classes for what it’s worth!” Mr. Moreno opened his mouth to reply but Mr. Hemlock silenced him with a single hand gesture.

“Tal.” He looked up at the director and bit down on his lip. He hated to see him worry and he hated to cause trouble. He knew what would follow now and he didn’t want to hear it. “This is the last season.” He croaked. “It’s my last chance to play. Director, please.” “He can rest for the week.” Mr. Moreno now intervened to help Tal out. He smiled at the boy. “The team can manage the first two periods on their own. Tal can rest in the meantime and we’ll get him on the ice for the last period only. And, should he really not feel well to play, he will stay on the bench, I promise that.” He glanced over at Katy. “You can have a look at him before the game. If you don’t think he should play he won’t but let’s not make hasty decisions. Tal is right, it’s his last season with us.”

“Please.” Tal played nervously with his fingers. Mr. Hemlock locked eyes with Mr. Moreno and for an awfully long moment there was silence. “You have to promise that he won’t get hurt.” “I can’t promise that. It’s ice hockey.” “Paul.” The coach shrank upon hearing his first name and Tal thought he had heard something break inside of him. “I can’t promise that…” He repeated. It seemed as if he wanted to address Mr. Hemlock by his first name too but couldn’t. Once again the usually confident coach shrank. “Then he won’t play.” No.

“I promise!” Tal quickly said. “I’ll rest for as long as I need and during the game, I’ll be careful. I promise it, so please let me play. I won’t get hurt; Please.” Tal hoped that Mr. Hemlock could hear how desperate he was. He needed to play this game. Ice hockey meant a lot to him. His team maybe not so much but his coach and the ice did. He was going to leave the Academy in a few months and never return. This was his last chance to prove himself and his last chance to enjoy the games. He wouldn’t give up easily.

Mr. Hemlock’s eyes were full of worry and sadness. Tal hated himself for getting hurt. He was causing this grief. He was making Mr. Hemlock feel bad. The only person who ever cared for him and he was sad because Taliesin couldn’t spend one day without getting into trouble. This week had been a real mess with everything about Nik going on and his weird teleportation adventures. He had never felt so bad for being in pain but when he looked up at Mr. Hemlock he almost broke down. “I’m sorry, please…”

He pulled Tal into a warm embrace and rested his chin on Tal’s head. He made sure not to touch the wound. “We’ll have a talk about this, Taliesin. You’re coming over for dinner today and you better have a good explanation for these injuries. I don’t like the way you’ve been behaving this week.” He exhaled shakily. “I’m worried about you.” Tal closed his eyes and leaned his body against Mr. Hemlocks. He nodded and held onto his coat. Such hugs were rare and as much as Tal pretended to not want them he actually really liked them.

Mr. Hemlock, Scar and his Coach were the only people Tal would ever allow to be that close to him. He had his fair share of abusive family members throughout the years and enough bullies beating him up that he hated and couldn’t trust physical contact. Mr. Hemlock had been the first adult man he had trusted to touch him after his last foster family and it had taken a whole year. The director had never pushed him since he knew about his past but Tal had noticed how relieved he had been when they hugged for the first time. “You can trust me.” He had promised back then. And Tal knew that he really could. Mr. Hemlock would never hurt him.

Suddenly Tal remembered the dark robes and how that one man kissed the other. More fractions of his memories flooded his mind and he drew away. Was it really another nightmare or did he actually fall into a cave? Tal calmed his heartbeat and tried his best to focus on Mr. Hemlock in front of him.