Benjamin Greenbloom has aged well over the last five years. He's grown taller, happier, and more outgoing than all those years ago. He wasn't the only one who's grown well over the last years, Guinevere became more womanly, taller, she and Ben were practically the same height at this point. Her hair becoming longer than when she was ten, now she constantly had to have her hair up in a ponytail. In fact, everyone grew over the years, Barnabas and Vita both started to become gray in the hair, older in general, and Barnabas was even trying to grow a goatee, the results were rather mixed amongst the family.

Then, there was Twigleg. The little manikin, who was immortal until Ben meets his untimely demise, he does not age, he doesn't grow old, he doesn't get wrinkles like the older Greenblooms, nope, he was the same as he was five years ago. Same height and everything. Even Sorrel and Firedrake, whom they've seen repeatedly over the years, grown more. Firedrake's horns becoming longer, his eyes always getting a new little spark in them every time. Sorrel's fur becoming more adapted to the cold mountain air, being thicker and bushier. Just little things about them changed.

All and all, it made Twigleg rather curious at times watching his once young master grow older and older each day. Being a slave to Nettlebrand, another previously thought to be immortal being, Twigleg has never seen an age progression so fast, it baffled and scared him. Ben will soon become 'master' then he will become 'old master' and finally-

Twigleg sucked in a deep breath and knocked his tiny fist against his skull. He did not want to think of that. Yes, humans age, so quickly, and were rather fragile as well, of course, that means a lot coming from someone who is the size of a coke bottle, but it was true. Ben once broke his arm when he was twelve because someone convinced him to climb a tree to the top. It scared Twigleg seeing the X-ray of Ben's broken arm, of course, it healed with time. It also made Twigleg more curious about Ben's friends.

'Friends'. Twigleg didn't care for Ben's 'friends' nowadays. Ben didn't have many. There was Justin, some kid in his math class, apparently someone who doesn't want to do his own work as he, according to Ben, likes to cheat off of Ben during class. That's how they met and oddly became friends. Ben, at the start of the year, became frustrated and called Justin out in the middle of a test as loud as possible. Surprisingly, Justin decided after that that he and Ben became friends. It was... an odd relationship the two had.

Then, there was Atticus. Nobody really knew Atticus, not even Ben. Twigleg met him once, and only once. When Ben invited him over for dinner. Twigleg, who had been hiding during dinner, had such a bad vibe from the man. He was rather old, too old to be hanging out with a fifteen-year-old. Atticus was twenty-one, at least, that's what he told them, but it wasn't true. He was lying, Twigleg didn't know how he knew that in all honesty, maybe it was the fact that the moment Atticus stepped through the door it made Twigleg's head and body itch. Twigleg knew one other thing that caught him off guard: The professor hated Atticus almost instantly.

After dinner, Twigleg had left for a few moments to catch some flies around the house to eat, when he came back it was only Barnabas and Atticus alone in the dining room, everyone else had run off to do something real quick. Twigleg didn't hear much of their conversation, all he heard was the end which was Barnabas saying,

"-If you don't get out of my house right now, I will light you on fire where you stand."

Then, that was the last he ever saw of Atticus. Just the man heading for the door. Ben had come back with his backpack, confused as to where Atticus went. Barnabas just patted Ben's head, and then after that, they had a long talk about Atticus. Barnabas only told Ben: "He's too old to be hanging around a teenager, I don't trust him, Benjamin. Please don't hang out with him anymore."

Twigleg honestly believed Ben would listen to the professor, and never see Atticus again, but, that wasn't the case. Turns out Atticus isn't one to give up so easily. The professor tried the police, but there was nothing they could do about it, as every time they came by, Atticus was gone so there was no proof. Of course, because they both went to school with each other it was almost impossible for Ben to not see the older man. Honestly, it made Twigleg wonder why the professor didn't get a restraining order against the other, but it hasn't come to that yet.

Twigleg softly exhaled as he looked up at the daylight peeking through the curtains of the windows in the dining room. Twigleg yawned loudly as he helped himself to some flies and gnats for his breakfast.

During the summer the flies and gnats were plentiful, however; during the winter seasons, Twigleg often had to rely on Ben to get him crickets or mealworms from the local pet store. One time Ben came back from the mall with Guinevere, and he had somehow managed to get Twigleg a lollipop with a cricket right in the center of it. It was yummy but way too sweet for Twigleg, It took him a month to finish that treat.

Zooming back into reality, Twigleg happily went back to eat the fly he caught. The fly was plump, so it should satisfy him until lunch time.

"Good morning, Twigleg." Vita greeted him as she walked into the kitchen, turning the kitchen light on, she huddled warmly into her robe as she started to make coffee.

"Good morning, Mrs. Greenbloom. Did you sleep well?" Twigleg responded as he hid his mouth behind his hand as he chewed the rest of his fly up.

"Twigleg, we talked about this. You can call me Vita, you know." Vita told him softly, She sat down beside him as she waited for her coffee to brew. "Ben and Guinevere should be waking up here shortly," Vita observed softly as she looked outside at the dawn slowly rising.

"It's almost six, they won't be up for another hour. Shame I can't come along with them to school. So much has changed over the years!"

"Hm. I guess so. They don't bring you along?" She asked him as she lightly patted his hair.

"I have to be a secret, remember? I can't be seen, especially in a big school like theirs."

"What? I'm sure they would have brought you along if you just asked," Vita told him softly as she suddenly got up to make her a cup of coffee.

"I'd just be hiding the whole time, it's no fun really." Twigleg shrugged weakly as Vita came back with her coffee.

"I'll raise you this, what fun is being alone?" Vita questioned him softly as she smirked behind her mug. Twigleg crossed his legs where he sat and only looked at her, she simply smiled at him as she blew on her hot drink to cool it down. Twigleg couldn't help but frown at the question given to him, he wasn't alone. He still had Ben and Guinevere, yeah, they both had human friends, but he wasn't alone. He just didn't see them as often as he used to. That's all.

The sound of bubbling was all that could be heard as a woman simply stood over her brewing cauldron, humming softly, the woman walked over to the cupboard pulled out a large mason jar of what looked like fine red sand. Walking back over to the bubbling cauldron, she dumped the entire contents of the jar into her brew. The brew, that was once an ugly green turned cherry red and eventually the liquid melted, turning the contents into the gritty sand. Grabbing the mason jar, she filled it up to the brim with the sandy brew, and silently she put the mason jar down, sealing it with a lid. She loudly clapped her hands together.

"Useless! Get down here and clean this mess up!" The woman finally spoke as she marched to the basement door and opened it, screaming to the upstairs.

"As you wish." A man's voice simply puts it as the figure emerged down the stairs and over towards her. The man said nothing else as he started to put the fire out from under the cauldron.

"Are you going to ask?" The woman asked him rather bitterly as she held the jar protectively.

"I guess I could. What's the plan this time?" The man asked disinterestedly as he gently grabbed a bucket of water from a nearby sink.

"Well, I'm glad you finally asked," She put it plainly, if not snobbishly towards the other as she held the mason jar close to her chest. "The Dragon's are out and about if you haven't guessed it by now. One found in Scotland, two found in America, and three in Russia. Of course, the people only plainly put it off as a hoax, except for one who got an up close and personal with the one dragon and Scotland, but, they're none of my concern for now. No, my real goal has been the silver dragons."

"It's only a miracle why..." The man sarcastically put it as he started to move the cauldron cautiously off of the logs. Still touching the hot metal with gloved hands, the heat clearly not bothering him as he continued to push the cauldron away.

"Hush. The silver dragons are just what I need. I'm old and dying, I can't keep burning the candle at both ends to just survive. These bodies, they aren't strong enough to keep me stable," The woman looked up at the ceiling of the basement as she suddenly moved her shirt up, showing an old rotten scar, blackened, maggots festering on the wound that lay just below her breast. "If I were human, I'd be dead ten times over."

"If you were human, you would have gone to the hospital to care for that wound, like a normal human would have, instead of letting it rot, fester, and just become all out nasty." The man simply huffed bitterly towards the woman as he now started to pick up the smoldering fire logs with little to no problem.

"I said. Hush." She ordered bitterly as she dropped her shirt down. "It doesn't matter. This body is dying at a faster rate than I can heal it. I need a stronger body I need the body of a dragon rider!"

"Sooo... The boy from Scotland?"

"No, you fool! I'm talking about Benjamin Greenbloom. He's the one whose body can help me, I can live forever in his body, I'm sure of it, but, there's another reason I need his body. That's for the dragons. If I can get my hands on their horns. Dragon horns may make gold, but, powdered, and put into a brew. Then you got the elixir of life right there," She breathed out softly as she held the mason jar close to her like it was her lifeline. "I've been only barely getting by with rhino horns, elephant horns, and practically any animal with a horn... but it never worked, the wound still stays; because only a dragon horn can help me maintain my life. Plus, it'll be nice to be able to get my hand on a dragon tooth as well. Those will be helpful for... 'Other' projects." She shrugged as she finally placed the mason jar down.

"So, what's with the red dehydrated Kool-Aid in a jar?" He asked her as he finished putting away the logs.

"This... Is for Twigleg. To distract from me, you see, I need to get close to Benjamin, and with a proper distraction, then I can get all I need to make the brew I need in order to steal Benjamin's body," She muttered as she held her head proud and high in the air. "No matter... Continue cleaning up, I have been planning to do. When you are done, I will need you for other chores."

"Of course, Celeste,"

Grabbing her mason jar she hurried off upstairs, leaving the man behind to clean up the mess. With a smile, she placed the jar on her table. Walking over to her living room, she paused and groaned out, holding her wound tightly in her fist.

"Cursed half-blood!" She groaned lowly as she lifted her shirt up once more. "I'll be picking maggots out of this wound all week..." She breathed out as she lowered her shirt once more. "Zenith!" She cried as she marched to the basement door once more.

"Yes, mistress?" Zenith asked as he opened the door, leaning tiredly against the doorframe as he just looked at her up and down. He had one arm draped over his head against the wall while he had his legs crossed.

"Go into town..." she paused and grimaced before grabbing her wallet out of her back pocket and shoving some money into his hands. "Get me some rubbing alcohol, tweezers, and..." She paused to think.

"A lizard to eat those maggots off of your chest?" He asked with a smirk, his pearly white fangs poking out of his mouth ever so slightly as he laughed at his own joke.

"Idiot! You will stop making fun of me this instant!" She snapped as she suddenly slapped him across the face. "... Syringes... I need syringes."

"Making me look like an addict. I see. Consider it done." He rolled his eyes as he looked at the money and pocketed it. "Anything else?"

"No. That will be all." She sneered at him.

He only chuckled as he shut the door to the basement.

"What are you laughing at?" She demanded as she followed his movement towards the door. Zenith grabbed a scarf off the rack and started to wrap it around his neck as he only looked at her.

"You've literally made a poison that can kill men in under milliseconds, I've seen you two one man into a- I don't know what... congealed mass of body parts, I guess. Yet, you need rubbing alcohol to kill the pest currently festering under your skin at the moment. I just find it rather amusing,"

"Any brew I put on my skin will cause me to deteriorate and decompose faster than I already have. You know this," She growled as she put her index finger right in his face.

"I know. I also find it funny how out everything to cause you to shut yourself in, is the very vampire you used to create me. "

"... I do not fear the half-blood."

"You haven't left this house since you found out he's been out and about again, looking for you. So... I guess I do have a question. You have plans on distracting Benjamin, what about the vampire? Hm?"

"Just get what I asked, Useless." Celeste snapped before turning and walking into the living room. Zenith only shook his head,

"As you wish, Mistress."

"And go to the store out of town! The last thing we need is for you to run into that vampire so soon. You're not ready to take him on."

"... As you wish."

Ben loudly chewed on his breakfast cereal, as he sat in the school cafeteria. He could have eaten at home if he hadn't forgotten to set his alarm for the morning. Taking another spoonful of cereal into his mouth, he let out a startled yelp when milk started to drip down his chin. Grabbing napkins, he quickly started to wipe the milk off of his chin, before he went back to chewing.

"Having a little trouble keeping your food in your mouth?" Came a familiar sultry voice. Atticus was now in front of Ben, one leg crossed over the other as he watched Ben. His blue eyes having an odd spark behind them as he watched Ben. Atticus had a rather nice, if not older looking, gray three piece suit, er-... two piece suit, as it seemed the man was missing the jacket. On each hand, he had three big bulky rings that made him look way older than he truly was. Ben found himself transfixed on one of the rings on Atticus's hand. It seemed to be a dragon that wrapped around his finger.

"Having a little trouble respecting my father's wishes?" Ben finally challenged back as he shoveled another spoonful in his mouth, breaking his gaze away from the ring.

"You haven't told me to go away, tell me, and I'll leave you be," Atticus smirked as he rested his head against his open palm just watching Ben eat. Ben chewed his cereal, and just shook his head at Atticus with a sigh.

"You don't want me to go away. I know you don't," Atticus smiled as he lightly gave Ben a punch in the arm. Ben only gave Atticus a smile before shaking his head softly at the older man.

"What can I say? You're too interesting and mysterious for me to turn away," Ben continued to smile as he downed his milk and stood up. "Now, Mr. Noel, if you don't mind. I have to go and get to class. Good day." Ben finished as he turned and threw his empty plastic bowl out.

"Mysterious and Interesting? Huh, that's a first." Atticus hummed out as he silently toyed one of the bulky rings, twirling it around his middle finger absent mindedly. Looking forward, paying the other students no mind as he just daydreamed off as he continued to twirl the ring, he only smirked proudly to himself as an idea sprung into his mind. "I know what I have to do." Getting up from his seat in a hurry, Atticus briskly walked towards Ben, seeing Ben at his locker, sitting on the ground reading, Atticus saw this as a perfect moment to talk to him, he had to stop when he felt someone tap his shoulder. Turning around, rather irritated, he saw it, Guinevere.

"Hello, Mr. Noel, nice weather we're having today, isn't it?" Guinevere asked him rather smugly before he could answer, she felt the need to continue, "Yes, it's perfect, if you don't like the sunlight that is. All the clouds blocking the sun so thickly you'd think it's night time-"

"Ms. Guinevere, is there anything you need?" He asked her, his voice clearly having a bit of a bite to eat.

"Oh, no, no. I just wanted to strike up a conversation with you."

"Is that so?" Atticus asked as he leaned against a nearby locker looking her up and down.

"Yes, you know, Mrs. Flitz's band class has started learning how to do a new song?"

"Uh-huh."

"The vampire waltz."

"Yep, Got it."

"Oh, I'm not done."

"Why would you be?"

"I know what you are."

"Really?! I couldn't tell by all the jokes you were just making a moment ago!" Atticus feigned surprise rather dramatically towards her. "Seriously, Ms. Greenbloom. Back. Off. You know nothing about me." Atticus found himself snapping at her in a deadly tone as he made sure he and she were eye level with one another. They maintained eye contact for a good ten seconds with one another until Atticus was the one to break away, deciding to talk to Ben later he just wanted to get away from her. So with his back turned, he walked the opposite way from Ben, much to his dismay, he really wanted to talk to Ben.

"You're a monster, is what you are." Guinevere suddenly snapped. It felt like the whole hallway just went on pause for a moment as everyone stopped what they were doing to look at the two. Harsh whispered broke out amongst the other students. Atticus felt his head slowly turn around to look at her, the girl had gull. There she stood bravely before him, head high, daring him to respond to her brazenness.

"Well... Ms. Guinevere, I'm sorry you see that about me. I'm honestly just trying to finish something I started a very long time ago. I wasn't aware that was such a horrible thing to do." Atticus spoke softly to her before turning, his head down as he walked away from her. Atticus wasn't exactly lying, he was only there to finish something he started a very, very long time ago, and Ben was the key to finishing what he started, and he wasn't going to lose him. Not again.