Izo was unsure what to make of the shinobis around him. Wind Master avoided him as much as possible as he noticed. Ice Master, who took him on as his apprentice, told him to give him time. Rock Master insisted on keeping Izo around based both on how he fought with Tall Master and then healed him. Tall Master's apprentice, Haru, a stocky ice demon who fought more like Tall Master than Ice Master did. Stocky Apprentice seemed stoic and on his own, almost worshiping his master and gleaning any fighting knowledge he could from him. Make Up Master unnerved Izo once he found out the make up he created was from his own blood. Wind Master's daughter and apprentice was the only woman in the crowd, but of age with Izo much to his surprise. She was ocean demoness, apparently like her mother had been. Her mother had also been a shinobi, having trained Wind Master as her own apprentice. Izo concluded that had had interesting results.

Izo recalled his first night in the shinobi camp, sleeping with one eye open in his tent. He kept his ice dragon close, ready to call on it should anyone come into his tent, especially the Wind Master who might hate him. Or the others for that matter.

The next morning, he had kept mostly to himself, watching and waiting for clues on how to fit in with them. Ice Master and Rock Master wanted him there, and Rock Master's lead kept them enthralled from what he could see. They followed the pecking order, that was for sure. Tall Master did seem to like him the slightest bit after their fight, which meant the Stocky Apprentice took a liking to him as well.

When they broke camp, Izo made sure to get his things together first and then help the others. He helped Ice Master with his things and then the rest of them were ready to go away on. Izo stuck with him, still staying watchful of each of the others. The next few days as they traveled, he kept quiet and kept his distance.

Finally one night, when he was on watch duty by the camp fire, he noticed the Ocean Apprentice slipped out of her tent. She nodded over at him and then jerked her head towards the woods. He held up his hand, showing her she had five minutes to come back before he came looking for her. It took her less than five minutes to come back, yet she did not go straight back to her tent. She waltzed over to him, sitting down next to him by the fire.

"So when are you planning to actually talk to any of us?" she said, sitting down next to him. She was playful by nature. She sat down next to him, closer than he expected, digging her toe in light powder of snow at their feet. "Too scared?" she teased. Her voice had a similar lilt to her father's. He said nothing, looking at the camp fire. "My da did say to stay the hell away from you, or else," she commented, rolling her eyes. She scooted a little closer to him, closer than he would have preferred. He moved over away from her. "You don't seem skilled enough to seduce anyone like your ma apparently can," she said softly. She bent her upper body closer to him. "How old are you?" she asked, studying him. "Elves age slow, but humans and demons fast. Great Mother knows how fast like angels are."

"Seventeen now," he said, trying not to think how useless his birthday had been a month ago. He had been up in the North when it happened. If Maeshu knew, she had not cared.

"Really? What day?" she asked, cocking her head to the side. He named the date. "Why, that just happened! And puts you at just a merely seven months younger than I," she commented. "Better age gap than the one between my parents had been," she added in a softer voice. "My ma was at like seven years older than my dad. She took him on as her apprentice, even though it's better to take someone who is at least similar in elemental ability to yourself. She was an ocean demoness you see. But maybe it was pity, or attraction, or desperation to build up the numbers of the shinobi," she mused.

Izo studied her. "What happened to your mother?" he asked in a hushed voice. He worried she might be too loud, might wake someone else up.

"Your grandfather," she dead panned. "I wasn't with them at the time. A child shouldn't stay with the shinobi, so I was staying with my ma's ma. When I was older, I was to become my ma's apprentice like. Yet this was what I heard from my da. By the time your grandfather had amassed power up here and took over, then the shinobi stepped in. The masters at the time drew straws and half of them went to attack 'King' Ichiro, and the other half stayed behind. Just before the half that went with my ma left, the old leader named Risho as the new leader and told them if they failed, to go into hiding." She shrugged. "The ones who went were slaughtered, my da came and got me, and took me into hiding with them. He took me as his apprentice so I could stay with them, even though I was a bit young for that yet."

He looked at her, almost stunned. "We had no idea he was alive, let alone up here using my sister's name to take over."

Ocean Apprentice shook her head. "How could you?" she asked. The wolf demons he recruited barred anyone from leaving the north or intercepted letters that we sent. We hadn't much any break from him until he heard you had the prince and went after him."

"No one's going to take over like that ever again up here," he insisted. "That's why I volunteered to stay up here."

"You going to protect us all, is that it?" she teased. He shook his head. "How were you trained?" she asked curiously.

"Well, with my father..." he began, sharing about his training with her.

He found it easy to speak to her. He did worry about the possiblity of her father disapproving of her seeking him out like this. It did seem like she was just interested in company with someone her own age.