A/N: I'm so sorry for the long wait everyone, but life has been a bit tough lately. I've been stuck in multiple states of procrastinating, but finally pushed myself to start writing again.

Also, I did go back and rewrite chapter 10. If you have not read it already, please do so, as the previous version is no longer relevant. (If you still want to read it, I left it on my DeviantArt account).

Chapter 11

Mesmerized by Butterflies

The legendary Festival of Wishes was a full moon away when I returned to the Crag Realm to mingle with the kitsune twins. While playing with them, I gradually wondered about the tribe forbidden to be spoken about in Halcandra. The wonders quickly took the full capacity of my head, screeching to be let out, leaving me with the need to ask about it.

"Dianthus, Dahlia…" I began, slightly uneasy, "I know I'm not really allowed to ask, but…what exactly is this tribe on which you spy?"

"That's something we've tried to figure out for certain for our entire lives!" Dahlia responded. "We have a good friend who knows them better than we, but he doesn't know why they're here of all places."

"So, you found out about them from someone else?" I inquired.

"He states he's a former member of them, but he left when the two emperors became enemies. He also claims he knows the Guardians fairly well." replied Dianthus.

"We befriended him as kits, when we were separated from our parents. He found us orphaned and raised us, and we occasionally visit him to thank him." explained Dahlia.

"Hmm…sounds like someone to whom I'd like to speak." I thought aloud.

"Well, on the topic of that, there happens to be a special occasion close to his residence within the next week!" said Dahlia. "We can introduce you to him then, if you'd like."

"Then it's a deal!" I agreed.

"We'll let him know about you beforehand." said Dianthus.

Six days following, I returned to this location with permission from the Guardians. However, I didn't tell them exactly to what I was up, only that the kitsune twins "had something special to show me." Nonetheless, they accepted my request, although I noticed that Chenoa had a…suspicious look on her face right after. I pretended not to notice, though; I only questioned it silently. But upon returning, the kitsune weren't in sight. For a moment I wondered if they got lost on the way. Just in case, I flew higher to get a better view. Yet I still couldn't find them…instead, I noticed two mysterious figures in short distance. Curious, I turned invisible and descended in their direction. Upon closer inspection, they both looked somewhat…familiar.

Both figures had vibrant hair, brown fur, pointy ears with colored stripes, large eyes, and were dressed in long robes and beast-hide vests. The masculine-looking figure had short white hair, ivory eyes and ear stripes, and wore a dusky-violet robe with a pearly trimming. The more feminine figure had long, lustrous black hair, slate-grey eyes, soot-black ear stripes, and a longer, crimson robe trimmed with the color of obsidian. She also wore a string of various fangs around her neck. But their ears…for some reason, they looked so much like Magolor's. Yet to me, that was the only similarity to him. I wasn't sure what to think of these two, but they must've been here for a reason. When they weren't looking, I turned visible again.

It didn't take long before the man noticed me. I tried to act like a normal wild Greater Doomer- afraid. He approached me, and I flew away to a high rock, watching him carefully. The woman then followed his gaze. I stared at them, eye to eye, for several minutes before realizing they probably weren't any danger. I slowly descended, and the man pulled a small, pointy-fingered hand out of his long sleeve. I landed on it, and then the woman pulled a hand out of her sleeve. It was then when I realized it had a paw-like padding on its palm, as well as tiny claws on its fingertips. She pointed to a dark shadow trailing behind her…in the shape of another, multi-tailed creature. She then winked at me.

Now I knew who these two were.

"Are you going to take me to him?" I questioned.

Both nodded, and we began travelling to whatever was to come, carrying me in the fashion of royalty's pet.

It didn't take long before we came across another realm of a name unknown to me. The sky had grown dark with a bright white, ringed planet visible in its plain view. In all the years I've travelled to the Crag Realm, I've never seen anything like it, so beautiful, yet a tint eerie. On the ground, a series of steep cliffs covered in crevices and crannies all over were ahead. It seemed that a rather large one at the closest, yet distant, cliff's base was our destination.

As we continued travelling, many animals gathered on the rocks, watching us closely. There were a few that particularly caught my eye: spherical birds with red-pink feathers, teal eyes, and small orange wings. From that same book that taught me about Doomers, they must've been my species' cousin- Lesser Doomers, better known as Pixie Doomers. Previously, I've seen them in pictures from the book, but never in person. Even though they were often found in Halcandra and the surrounding dimension, I never wanted to risk being found by Nightmare to see one. But seeing them now, they were very pretty with shining feathers in the lunar planet's light. Despite this, I tried not to stare at them, unsure how they would react.

Dahlia and Dianthus stopped at a slight distance before the large crevice, which appeared as more of a cave up close. In a cranny just above it, a small face peeked out- the face of a Lesser Doomerling, having violet feathers and pale green eyes, unlike an adult. It seemed rather curious about us, but as it crawled out to get a better view, it landed on a loose chunk of stone, which broke under its weight. It fluttered its wings rapidly but couldn't keep in the air and came tumbling down after the stone chunks. Out of impulse, I used my telekinetic power to grab him, catching him safely before he hit the ground. I set him onto the ground, not wanting to scare him further by lifting him back up to the cranny.

Suddenly, a warrior-like man with dark yellow hair appeared out of the dark of night, rushing over to the Doomerling. He scooped him up in his floating, arm-free hands and then looked over to us, fright in his blue eyes. I could've sworn I heard him whisper "I've been caught…" just then. Dahlia and Dianthus then approached him, frightening him further.

"What do you two want from me!?" the man blurted out.

Dianthus only responded by sticking his arm out with me still resting on his hand. I wasn't sure what he meant by this, so I tried to, once again, act normal and oblivious. But as he held me this way, I noticed the Doomerling eyeing the kitsunes' silhouettes. He then gazed up at the sky, squeaking loudly, and somehow, I understood every word:

"Mama! Uncle and Auntie are in disguise again!"

At that moment, another face revealed itself from a crevice in the rocks, this one being of an adult Lesser Doomer. She stared down at us, first focusing on me, then on the disguised kitsune twins. She looked slightly angered and spat a dark pink energy ball at each of their silhouettes. Each fox let out a surprised squeal before transforming into their true forms, and Dianthus dropped me in the process.

"Dianthus? Dahlia?" the man gasped. "What a relief! You two startled me!"

"Ugh, don't get mad at us now," grunted Dahlia, "We were only trying to have a little fun!"

"You know those two likely think I'm dead, right!?" he scolded the twins. "If they find out I'm not, who knows what they'll do to me, for the love of nebula!"

"Look, we didn't mean to frighten you Augustus, we just wanted to impress our little friend here!" Dianthus argued.

The man gazed at me suspiciously. I, too afraid to say a word, let out a neutral squawk.

"So, this is the bird you told me about…" he spoke in a calmer tone.

The kitsune trotted over to him. "Birdy, this is Augustus, our caretaker." Dahlia introduced him. But this seemed to get under Dianthus' fur and skin.

"Dahlia, can't you ever remember anyone's name!?" he snapped at her.

"Why do you think I remember your own, brother!?" she shouted back.

The two got into a real argument seconds later, while the man, Augustus, floated up to the crevice with the adult Doomer, placing the Doomerling back with her. He then came over to me.

"Don't mind them, little fella." Augustus offered me his hand. "This happens quite a bit; it's a thing with siblings."

"The name's Lucky. I'm pleased to meet you!" I stuck out my wing and let him shake it.

"So, you can speak like a person too." Augustus picked up on the spot.

"It runs in my entire family!" I told him proudly. "Well, when I had them, that is…"

"Are you an orphan?" he inquired.

"They were all killed by Dark Matter, about ten Halcandran years ago. The Guardians of Nebula took me in…I assume you know about them, right?

Augustus chuckled. "Of course I do! And I'm sorry about your loss…I know how it feels."

"Why? Did you lose your family too?"

"It's a long way back, Lucky." He spoke as he took me into his hands and to the cave at the base of the cliff. "I was once a member of the Galaxy Soldier Army, when it mainly consisted of two races, known as Galaxy Wizards and Galaxy Mages. Both races got along well for centuries, until one day, when they became great enemies. Rather than focusing on battling Dark Matter, they took hate out on each other."

"How long did this go on?" I questioned.

"Ever since I was a boy. And then one day, my life was torn apart. I was married at the time, and both me and my wife hated the thought of fighting our former friends. She was expecting a child whom I never got the chance to meet. It was when a legion of demons was unleashed by Nightmare, and I had to go and fight them. I, along with several other mages, were victorious, but it didn't last. When the last of the battle's dust settled, the emperor of the wizards appeared on the battlefield, ready to finish us off."

"Was that who of Dianthus was in disguise?" I interrupted.

"It was indeed, and Dahlia was dressed as his wife. The emperor finished us off…all but me. Yet I was still injured badly. I woke up in the chamber of the Guardians of Nebula, where they told me to never return once I recovered if my wish was to be at no more war with the Galaxy Wizards. And so, I came here, abandoning my sister, wife and future child forever, and embracing the mystical creatures found here in the Dusk Realm."

"Did you ever think of returning?"

"To this day, I don't think anyone would recognize me…my wife died of poisoning several years later, my sister is likely dead since she was a warrior, and my child never knew me." Augustus sighed. "Besides, I believe I'm better off here anyway. The kitsune twins- they're practically my children."

I nodded in understanding, but inside, couldn't believe it- I was anything but alone, it seemed, when it came to losing family. But him having to abandon them first…I couldn't even imagine the pain.

"Also, the mother Doomer thanks you for saving her son." Augustus mentioned. "He's one of five; I think she'd like if you can help watch over them all."

"Um, alright, although I'm not that experienced with babysitting…" I answered in slight embarrassment.

"Don't worry about it; I'm sure you'll do fine." he laughed. "Maybe you can learn something from it, too."

Augustus directed me to the nest, where the mother Doomer was tending to her young. She wasn't one bit startled when I entered, nor did she take her eyes off her Doomerlings, who were all huddled together and gazing outside the crevice.

"It seems I don't need as much help right now," she confessed through squeaking, which I could still understand, "All of them are ready for the big event."

I didn't want to startle her or anything with the fact I could speak like Augustus, so I squeaked back "I was never really told this, but what is this big event?"

"Oh, it's beautiful!" she chirped. "It's when all the lunaflies emerge and take to the skies with their new wings!"

"Lunaflies?" I wondered aloud.

"They're a kind of butterfly that mainly comes out at night." She pointed to a small pod on the side of the crevice wall, which at first, I thought to be just fungus.

Just then, the lunar planetoid seemed to glow even brighter. "Hold on, it's starting!"

A dead silence fell upon the land. The cliff began to glow with spots of dark blue, as did the chrysalis on the crevice wall. A voice filled the silent air with words I did not understand, but the voice sounded very familiar and river-smooth. I knew the words' singer but kept her name to myself.

As the liquid song filled the night, we all stared at the chrysalis on the wall. It glowed brighter and brighter, and then burst open. Outside the pale blue shell was a large insect with crumpled lavender wings streaked with teal. Its wings fluttered and straightened, and soon enough, the lunafly fluttered about the crevice, celebrating its new body. It flew into my face even, giving what the singer often called a "butterfly kiss." It then flew out of the crevice, where hundreds upon hundreds more were starting to take to the air. The river voice kept singing as the lunaflies flew in its direction, dozen after dozen.

Before we knew it, the lunar sky lit up with dazzling flashes of lavender and teal. It was too beautiful for even the most descriptive words. I was mesmerized. Just then, another butterfly flew into the crevice…but not a lunafly. This butterfly had rounded yellow wings outlined in pink rather than pointed violet wings with teal streaks. It fluttered over to me and landed on my head. And then I heard a deep whisper in my ear:

"Tell, and they will not believe,

They will not see thou has seen me."

Those words sent a deep shiver through my wings and stung my Lucky Patch, even deeper than the liquid song by Chenoa. And it took me a long time to figure out what that voice's words meant by heart.