The sun was setting and Youko took her inside so that she wouldn't get cold. Summer was over and with the swords woman wet clothes and hair she could easily catch a cold, or something worse. Inside the temple foyer, lanterns and candles were being lit by Kuronue, who tried to look angry about it but Rirī could tell he was faking and it made her smile at him. From what she could tell, he wasn't angry at her for the other night when they fought over the sea pirate who betrayed them. He wasn't acting hostile towards her; he was his usually grouchy self.

Youko carried her down the hall into a large open room, well lit with lanterns and candles; even a few lamp weeds were blooming along the beams. Dusty cushions were placed around a large flat table that was littered with lit candles, a lantern and even more lamp weeds. Rirī's breath caught in her throat at the sight of it all, almost unaware of Youko setting her on one of the cushions at the table, which was surprisingly soft and comfortable. The inside was certainly better than the outside. she looked at the table and noticed there were bowls of food on the table as well and her mouth started watering at the sight of the steam coming off the vegetable beef pot dish and rice.

"You two did all this yourselves?" She asked in awe.

"No. It was like this when we found it." Kuronue said sarcastically as he sat across from her.

She shot him a playful glare as Youko sat to her right at the head of the table.

"Well I'm impressed. This is all very nice-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Was working on it all day. Can we eat now?" Kuronue interrupted.

Rirī shot him a fiercer glare but Youko held up a hand to stop her from saying anything to the bat demon. Though his act was serious, she could tell he was hiding a smile.

"Let's eat." He said in a warm voice.

They began to eat their meal, Kuronue finishing before anyone else and was impatient in getting a conversation started.

"So we're training her, right? When are we starting that?" He asked.

"Tomorrow." Youko replied, taking a sip of is tea.

Rirī quickly looked to see that she had missed seeing her own tea cup and smiled, taking it from the table and sipping it, smiling at the flavor of roses and jasmine.

"Tomorrow? Doesn't she need to learn to walk again?" Kuronue asked, looking at the swordswoman as if she were a toddler.

She made a face back at him and went back to her meal.

"That's part of her training. But she also needs to exercise her power, to get comfortable with it." Youko stated, setting his tea down again and picking up his chopsticks.

Rirī looked up from her bowl of food, putting the food she was lifting with her chopsticks back into her bowl as she looked at Youko curiously.

"Comfortable?" She asked.

"Your energy is useless if you don't know how to use it. To do that, you need to be comfortable with your powers." Kuronue explained, lifting his scythe. "Like when you use a weapon. You have to respect it, but also be comfortable with it as an extension of yourself."

Rirī nodded in understanding, amazed by the wisdom that just came from the usually brash bat demon.

"You could only summon your energy when the situation was dire. You need to be able to summon your power whenever you will it." Youko added.

She nodded again and looked at her food a moment in thought.

"That makes sense."She mumbled, then looked up at Youko in concern. "But how can I do that? I don't even know how I did it before; I just followed instinct."

"That's alright. We will get into all that tomorrow. For now, you guys should finish eating so we can go to bed." Kuronue said, stretching and laying back on the floor.

Rirī smiled at the bat demon's actions and nodded, going back to her meal. She was nervous about tomorrow. What if her energy was as strong as they hoped and she still wouldn't be able to stop Yomi? Or what if it was so powerful that she couldn't control it and she destroyed Kuronue and Youko? An image of her power striking Youko materialized in her head, making her wince physically in shame and pain.

A hand rested over her own and she looked up. Youko was giving her a gentle, reassuring smile, squeezing her hand slightly.

"It will be alright. We will work with your power and make sure you're safe." He said.

She smiled back and returned to her food, trying to keep the little bit she had already eaten down. She still had trouble keeping a good amount of food down without getting sick. And as grateful as she was for Kuronue's cooking (who knew that he could cook?) the food was too rich for her shrunken stomach. Youko was finishing his food already and Rirī bit her lip as her stomach growled for more food even though it couldn't handle much more. She took a sip of her tea and sighed, hoping that would help ease the grumbling her stomach was making, but it didn't. Youko looked over, sensing her unease.

"Rirī, you don't have to eat anymore. Its alright." He said gently.

Kuronue immediately sat up before Rirī could say anything.

"Yes she does! I worked hard on that meal!" He yelled.

Rirī nodded and looked back to Youko.

"He's right. I can't be rude." She said.

"Rirī, honestly it wouldn't be good for you to eat this much food. from what I observed the other night, your stomach shrank while you were in possession of the pirates. They obviously didn't give you anything to eat. Look at her, Kuronue, she's really thin. If she eats too much she will be sick and really hurt herself." Youko said, looking between the two.

Rirī nodded and Kuronue practically threw himself back on the floor with exasperation.

"But I worked so hard!" He cried.

"And it's very good. It's just too rich for-"

"Ooooh now it's too rich!? You two can cook from now on! I'm going to bed!" Kuronue interrupted Rirī angrily, standing up and storming into the hallway where she assumed his quarters were.

She sighed in frustration, resting her now aching head on her hand, her arm propped up on the table.

"What's his problem?" She grumbled.

Youko chuckled, setting his empty bowl and chopsticks on the table.

"Looks like he missed you more than I thought." He said.

She frowned and glared in the direction Kuronue disappeared.

"Well he sure has a funny way of showing it." She mumbled grumpily.

Youko smiled and stood, offering a hand to help her up.

"Come on. He'll be alright if you don't finish. Besides, I still have more to show you." He said.

There was a light in those gold eyes that made Rirī catch her breath and try not to blush. She smiled and placed her hand in his, letting him help her to her feet. She was dizzy but she wanted to prove that she was getting better, trying hard not to clutch at his hand too desperately. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her against his chest, his nose nuzzling her hair and puffing his breath against her scalp, making her squirm and giggle, unsure if it tickled her or if it felt weird, making a chuckle rumble in Youko's chest.

"Do you think you can manage a few feet if I helped you?" He asked gently, his eyebrows drawn in concern.

Rirī glared at his worry and stood straighter, leaning off of him and ignoring her dizziness.

"I can manage a few miles, let's go." She said stubbornly, making Youko huff and roll his eyes playfully.

He took her hand and slowly lead her down the hall that Kuronue disappeared down. The closest room to the dining room was shut, and Rirī assumed that it must be Kuronue's room. They passed another room, though this door was open, and she was able to see a door that lead to the outside was open, many plants blooming in the moonlight.

'Definatly Youko's room.' She thought with a smile.

They passed his room though and continued until they came to the end of the hallway to a closed door. She felt Youko next to her, practically radiating excitement. She looked up at him as he took a few breaths to calm himself, then he looked down at her, his eyes sparkling in the moonlight and his smile broadening. Without a word he turned to the door again and slid it open.

Inside was an entire wall covered in lamp weeds and other beautiful glowing plants on the ceiling so that they looked like stars. A sleeping mat was on the floor, covered in furs a a luxurious looking fur pillow. The mat had roses and orange lilies at the head and foot, lamp weeds intermingled in them so that they glowed beautifully. Rirī gasped in awe of the room, then turned to Youko, who was watching her, a loving smile on his face.

"Youko, its beautiful.." She breathed.

He smiled and his arm around her shoulders tightened.

"I'm glad you like them. But that isn't all." He said, chuckling when her eyes bugged out at her words.

"More? Youko what more could there possibly be?" She exclaimed.

He grinned and led her to the other side of the room. She had a door to the outside, just like Youko's room did, expect her's wasn't open.

Yet.

"This is the last of it though, don't worry." He teased, making her give him a playful glare.

He reached his hand out and opened the door and Rirī gasped in amazement.

Lilies that shone like the moon bloomed in a small garden outside her door, their silver petals glowing with their own light. They made the stars and moon seem more alive and closer to her than ever before, her heart feeling like it was soaring from her chest.

"Youko.. This... This is exquisite." She breathed in a voice much weaker than before.

He put an arm around her shoulders and kissed the top of her head.

"You like them?" He asked.

"Oh, Youko, I love them." She whispered, leaning against his chest as she gazed on her silver garden.

"I'm glad." He whispered into her hair.

He helped her down the small wooden deck onto the dirt path of her garden, the earth cool and coarse under her feet but she didn't care, too awed by the beauty around her. Now that she was closer to the beautiful plants, she saw roses growing among the silver lilies, far lovelier than the ones he had grown for Sophie at the Collins' estate. She reached out and caressed the blossom with her fingertips, the velvet petals soft to the touch.

"I remembered you had said when you were young you saw roses as lovely as mine. I wanted to give you some that surpassed even those." He told her.

"They're the most beautiful roses I've ever seen! And these lilies! They're phenomenal!" She exclaimed, though her voice was a whisper.

"They're Gekko Nikko lilies, a plant I had bred myself. At night they glow like the moon, but during the day they become orange like the sun." He told her.

"That's amazing." She said, looking on the unique lilies in wonder.

"They are quite special." He said, though he was looking down on Rirī with the same look of awe that she was giving the lilies.

"Rirī,"

She looked up and met his eyes, her breath stolen away by his gaze, her heart pounding in her chest. he smiled gently at her wonder-struck expression, gently brushing away a strand of hair that fell into her face, his hand lingering a few moments longer than necessary over her skin.

"Do you value your life now?"

The question through her off for a moment, then she gave him a small smile, embracing him as tight as her weak arms would allow.

"Yes. You taught me that all life, even my own, is worth protecting." She said into his shirt.

He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed her against him, nuzzling his face into her hair and sighed, almost with relief.

"Good." He said.

"Do you value your life?"

He opened his eyes, not expecting her to return his question. He remembered earlier that day, on the waterfall, when he said that his life didn't matter. His chest tightened in shame at the memory.

"I do. I always have, but I have days where I don't always feel that way." He said, looking away, even though his face was hidden in her hair.

"That's okay. Everyone feels that way sometimes." Her sweet voice replied.

Youko felt the breath he had been holding release from his lungs in relief at her understanding and he held her tighter.

"Rirī.." He breathed her name into her hair, his voice quiet and vulnerable.

Her arms held him tighter and her face pressed into his chest. He kissed her hair and pulled away to look at her face, happy to see a loving, caring look across her features. He caressed her cheek lovingly and smiled as she closed her eyes to savor his touch.

His touch, which should be fear for it was the touch of a monster, and this beautiful, strong human leaned into his caress, trusting him with her life, her heart. And as a bandit that coveted precious things, he vowed to protect his most precious treasure and her life with his own. He smiled as she opened her eyes again, the brown orbs shimmering with tenderness and love. He bent closer to her, meaning to kiss her when she pressed her head against his shoulder, and he silently cursed himself for forgetting she had walked a good distance, even though it wasn't on her own.

"Here, let's get you to bed. You've overworked yourself today." He said as he moved to pick her up but she quickly lifted her head and shook it.

"No I'm well enough to walk, love. At least as far as my bed is." She said with a small laugh.

She didn't want him to keep worrying and fussing over her, and if he kept picking her up, he was bound to see the marks the shackles left on her wrists and ankles and she wasn't sure how he would react to those. He didn't know anything that happened to her when she was in the pirates clutches and if he saw the marks, he would probably assume the worst. She didn't need to give him another reason to look at her like she would keel over and die. He hadn't noticed them thanks to her wrist wrappings, which were crusted and colored in blood anyway, and long pants.

He nodded and helped her walk back to the wooden deck of the temple, lifting her up onto it so she didn't strain her already tiring muscles.

"That wasn't so bad," She said smiling up at him as she leaned forward into his chest. "It was great practice. I barely needed to lean on you."

He smiled a proud smile down at her, moving her hair from her face again, a habit he picked up as soon as he learned she didn't like her hair in her face.

"You did very well, Rirī. You should be walking again in no time." He said.

She beamed up at him happily.

"Thank you, Youko." She then blushed, remembering all of his amazing gifts. "For everything."

He smiled and leaned down to her and she closed her eyes, waiting for him to press his lips to her's, her breath held, for she didn't trust it not to be sporadic. She felt his lips press softly against her forehead between her eyes and she hid her disappointment, instead focusing on the lingering kiss he was giving her forehead, loving the warmth of his lips against her skin. When he drew away she still found herself breathless, even though he didn't kiss her lips.

'No wonder he's so legendary..' A sensual part of herself purred, making her blush at her own thoughts, mentally shooing them away.

"Anything, Rirī." He whispered tenderly, his hands caressing her cheeks lovingly. "I love you."

She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tight, nuzzling her face into his chest.

"I love you too, Youko."

He tightened his arms around her lovingly and kissed her hair.

-RK-

"Hey! Human! Wake up!"

Rirī groaned as Kuronue pounded on her door with his loud fist, sitting up and rubbing her eyes sleepily. from what she could tell it was before dawn; about three hours or so before sunrise. she fixed her sleepy glare at the still loud door being banged on.

"Kuronue what the hell do you want?" She growled, sitting up.

When he didn't answer she huffed in frustration and got dressed, then shakily walked over to the door, using the wall for support. Her legs still burned from the night before but she bit her lip in determination and opened the door to yell at the bat demon, but he wasn't there. She sighed in irritation, for now she would have to go find him and demand why he woke her up at this ungodly hour. She turned and shut her door and turned around again to make her way down the hallway when she came face to face with Kuronue. She screamed in surprise and fell to the floor on her bottom.

"Damn, I was just going to say good morning." He grumbled, looking down at her with a frown.

"Sorry, you really startled me." She said breathlessly, forgetting her resolve to yell at the bat demon for waking her up.

"Well, come on. You need to eat breakfast so we can start your training." He said, then, using his demonic speed, vanished from Rirī's sight.

The swordswoman groaned and pulled herself up, using the wall for support. She looked down the hallway and saw that the dining room lanterns were already lit, for the end of the hallway was glowing with light. Continuing to use the wall for support, she walked to the dining room. At the same seat she sat at the night before was a bowl of rice and a cup of steaming tea.

Rirī frowned at the rice, deciding that maybe she should tell the two demons about her new distaste for rice. Of course then she would have to explain why and she wasn't sure if she wanted to relive the memories of being on the pirates ship in the windowless room. Sighing she sat down and forced herself to eat a few bites, knowing that she should be grateful for any food at all. She drank her tea quickly to wash down the texture of the rice and grimaced until she could no longer taste or feel it. She decided she was done eating for the morning but frowned as she realized she didn't know where the kitchen as or where to put her breakfast bowl. Deciding they wouldn't be too mad at her if she left it, she stood and made her way to what appeared to be the back door, a door behind her seat at the table. She had some difficulty opening the door; it kept snagging and stalling along the rudders. But she managed to get it open enough for her to crawl through. Once on the wooden deck that appeared to wrap around the whole temple, she closed the door behind her and looked out into the dark forest.

The sun was barely coming up in the distance, and she realized she guess wrong on the time and that she must not have gotten enough sleep. On the other end of the temple, where her room was, she saw the glowing lilies already begin to turn orange. She was beginning to wonder where Youko was when she sensed movement in the woods in front of her. Realizing it must be Youko and Kuronue, she pulled herself up to her feet and wobbled into the woods, occasionally leaning against a tree for support. Movement flashed at her left and she followed, sensing they were slowly making their way around the temple to the front through the woods. Rirī struggled with the decline, for she came to a steep hill, and her weak legs almost gave out under her. She grasped onto branches and tree trunks to keep from tumbling into the darkness before her. She felt a tingling in her bones and looked up, sensing someone there but they suddenly vanished, their presence moving to another tree. A different presence moved along the woods to her right at the exact same speed, maybe faster. what amazed her though was that she couldn't hear them, or see them, but she knew that they were there.

"Okay you two, I don't know what it is you're doing but I know you're there so come on out." She said grumpily, still mad she woke before the sun.

Suddenly, Youko and Kuronue appeared before her, Kuronue hoping to scare Rirī again but she simply frowned at him, disappointing him. However it was short lived, for there was business to discuss.

"Good, so your awareness is already developed, even if it is only minor. Based on this test, I think you'll be an ass kicking human in no time." He said to her, in a voice that was almost encouraging, for Kuronue at least.

"Yes, the fact that she was able to pinpoint our locations so easily is very impressive for a beginner. of course we will have to do these exercises more frequently with increasing difficulty in order for the skill to develop properly." He said, looking at Rirī proudly, but she simply glared at them both.

"Is that why you guys woke me up so early? To test a theory you had?" She grumbled, her voice tired and irritated.

"You're not much of a morning person, are you?" Kuronu teased, earning a sharper glare from Rirī.

"I am when it's actually morning." She said.

Youko laughed at the two but mostly at Rirī.

"You best get used to it, love. This is how your training will be for the next few months." He said.

Rirī's eyes bulged.

"Months!?" She exclaimed.

"Normally it will take time for you to learn to fight with your Spirit Energy. A few months is actually a minimum estimation of this period of training, assuming everything goes smoothly. It takes years for most humans to master." Youko explained.

"But lucky for us, you're not like most humans, so we should practically fly through this." Kuronue said, flapping his wings slightly.

Rirī sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"You guys are expecting too much from me. I hadn't even heard of Spirit Energy before and now you expect me to master it in a few months?" She asked.

"Don't doubt yourself. I have witnessed your power and a few months is more than enough time for your training." Youko assured her, placing a hand on her shoulder a they followed Kuronue back to the front of the temple.

Rirī gave him a half hearted smile, not really sure if he really thought that or if because she was different in their eyes from other humans that they just assumed too much of her.

"Now then, let's get started." Kuronue said, walking up the rocky uphill path to the temple.

"What are we doing now?" the swordswoman asked.

"Walking. Remember, you need to get the hang of it, so we'll be walking all day." Kuronue replied.

"Inside the temple?" Rirī asked hopefully.

"No." Rirī's face immediately fell. "We will be hiking around the temple and through the woods to get a better look at our surroundings. You'll need to be comfortable around here." Kuronue explained.

She nodded and glared down at her bare feet.

"You better work today." She scolded them.

Suddenly her hair was pulled back from her face and shoulders and she felt Youko tying her hair back with something.

"There. That should do." He said, more to himself.

She reached her hand back curiously and her fingers felt a smooth flower stem and a large blossom that he had grown into her hair to hold it from her face. She felt Youko touch her curious hand and she smiled.

"Thank you." She whispered gratefully.

"It will do until I can go buy you a proper ribbon." He said but she shook her head.

"Oh no, Youko this is far more precious and beautiful than a ribbon. Thank you so much, it means more than you could know." She insisted, turning to look at him.

He gave her a gentle smile and caressed her cheek.

"You're welcome." He said, then moved to help her walk up the steep dirt path when Kuronue gave a heavy sigh.

"You guys are so slow." the bat demon groaned.

"Well I am still learning how to walk." Rirī said with a glare.

"Youko, you can't help her. How is she supposed to learn if she keeps relying on you?"

Youko looked up at the bat demon like her was strange.

"Kuronue, I'm not so sure-"

"Come on, lets get moving. She did fine alone this morning. She can manage." Kuronue said, standing in front of the temple doors.

Youko sighed and shook his head, kissed Rirī's hair then vanished, reappearing next to the bat demon, the two looking down at her from the top of the hill.

"Now that you don't have Youko slowing you down, hurry and get up here so we can go." Kuronue said.

Rirī glared at her feet and took a deep breath.

'I can do this. I used to climb mountains for fun. this should be easy.' She thought to herself.

She moved forward abit but stumbled, quickly catching herself with a gasp. Kuronue groaned in irritation and she suddenly became very determined to get him to shut up. She crouched down and suddenly bolted up the slope, her toes and feet getting cut up by the rocks but she kept going, not stopping until she reached the top where Kuronue and Youko stood waiting for her. When she did reach the top, 'in less than a minute', she proudly thought, her legs were burning in pain from the strain she put on them and she was panting hard. She stood tall, smirking at their shocked faces.

"How- how was- that?" She asked through her panting.

Neither demon said anything for a moment, still processing her sudden speed Kuronue suddenly broke into a grin that made Rirī frown.

'This couldn't be good.'

"Great! You're doing better than we thought! Now, keep it up. We won't be coming back til dusk!" He said, turning to march right of the temple towards the woods.

"What?" Rirī cried.

Youko turned to her, giving her a sympathetic look.

"It's a lesson. You have to conserve your energy and use it wisely. Physical Energy and Spirit Energy go hand and hand." He explained.

"But he was rushing me!" Rirī protested.

"Another lesson. You cannot let your opponent anger you into acting rashly. Focus on the task at hand and how to get it done efficiently." He said, smiling softly as she glared at the ground then up at the bat demon.

"So basically he is going to be rude to me all day but use training as an excuse." She grumbled.

"Something like that." Youko said with a sigh.

"Hey! I said let's go! Come along my Pupil, come along! You don't need to be so slow!" Kuronue called, changing his voice so he sounded like a serious sensei but he really sounded ridiculous.

Rirī sighed and rolled her eyes, walking forward shakily, but steadier than earlier that morning.

"Fine. I'll ignore- whatever the hell it is he's doing and focus. But I swear, after this is over I am going to make him suffer." She said in a growl like voice.

Youko chuckled as he walked ahead of her.

"I wouldn't expect anything different."

-RK-

One thing was true: The longer they walked, the more Rirī's walking improved. And she would be moving effortlessly by now, if she had a pair of shoes. The temple was on a mountain and the rocky terrain of the forest was making her feet bleed from cuts and scrapes. She had decided that when this was over she was ripping off the bat demon's wings and beating him to death with them. Though she knew it was for training, Kuronue would taunt her and drive her mad. And Youko... The damn fox was laughing along with him!

'Forget focus! My 'task at hand' is getting my hands on those two and ripping them apart!' She thought angrily.

She wondered why they hadn't noticed her feet but she remembered that they couldn't have smelled the blood from them because lately she always smelled like blood thanks to the stains in her clothes from the bullet wounds. Eventually the bleeding stopped once they got on top of a path along a hill, the dirt turning the open wounds into nasty scabs. Each step was still torture, regardless.

It was late afternoon when Kuronue finally stopped.

"Alright, Rirī, time for a break!" He called from up ahead.

She grinned and stopped walking, moving to sit down when his shout stopped her.

"Not there! Up here!"

"You can't be serious!" She shouted with a glare.

"Come on! Get over here my little pupil!" He called with a wave.

It took her ten minutes to catch up with them, they were so far, and when she finally sat down, Kuronue jumped up.

"Alright! Break is over. Come along pupil." He said, walking away, Youko following silently.

"What?!" Rirī yelled.

"No need to get fussy, pupil. You're the one who took so long in the first place. Now come along, we've got a lot of ground to cover." He said cheerily, as he and Youko took off again.

Rirī let out a yell of frustration.

"Stop calling me that!"

But they kept going, leaving her behind to stomp after them amidst the trees. This time she lost sight of them. She tried sensing their auras like she did that morning but she had lost too much energy to trace them. Where ever they went they were far away. Her stomach growled and she stumbled along weakly, her body trembling in exhaustion. She nearly fell and she grabbed onto a tree to rest a moment.

'I wish I could say that the are being unfair about this, but really they aren't. They're going out of their way to train me and I keep feeling sorry for myself.' She scolded herself.

She felt more energy come to her and she pushed herself off the tree, making her way towards the direction they disappeared.

'I wonder if I will be able to defeat Yomi once my training is completed. I don't look forward to fighting him but I also have no desire to run away from him the rest of my life either. I want to be able to live my life peacefully and I wont be able to do that as long as he is alive.' She thought.

Up ahead she saw Youko and Kuronue standing on a hill, waiting up for her. She hurried up, or tried, stumbling only slightly and jogged to them, panting.

"You're getting stronger. Kuronue's training is helping you after all." Youko said with a proud smile.

The bat demon scoffed.

"Of course it's working! It's my training strategy after all!" Kuronue said.

Rirī rolled her eyes, a small smile playing on her lips.

"Are we done yet? I'm getting tired and hungry." She said.

"So whiny. Don't you think this training session was pretty easy? You barely know a thing about Spirit Energy and you are just getting the hang of walking. And it's almost sundown!" Kuronue scolded, turning and continuing walking.

"Don't worry, Rirī, we will be stopping shortly. Won't we Kuronue?" Youko said in a voice that didn't sound like it was asking, but was ignored by Kuronue.

Rirī nodded, mentally sighing.

'If I thought this was hard, wait until the real training begins...'

A/N: Greetings again everyone!

I suppose these next few chapters could count as 'filler chapters' because nothing too exciting happens in them. But we do have development on Rirī and Youko's relationship. Why won't they just kiss already!? It's obvious they want it to happen.

This chapter also concludes book 5, if anyone is still going based on the books. I wrote the note books so long ago though that I don't know if I will keep with the book system. They way this book ends doesn't make too much sense to me but i was a different person then. Maybe you lovelies will see what I've forgotten.

Feedback is always welcome, and a million thank you's to the new followers and favorites and the last review I got made me so happy thank you so much TiaKay! I realized I should really start thanking reviewers properly and publicly so you all know that you're loved. Because you truly are.

Until the next chapter my lovelies!

~Galinia