"Have you guys seen Zephyr anywhere?" I asked as I stepped into the tavern early the next morning. "I can't seem to find him."

Diane was the first to respond. "Not since a couple of days ago. Why? Shouldn't he be with you?"

"Well…" I hesitantly stepped further into the room, tucking some hair behind my ear. "I think he's been avoiding me. He's never done something like this before, so it's starting to worry me." I glanced around the room, where it was obvious that there had been some hard drinking last night. Ban was still asleep halfway between the floor and a chair, Harlequin was slumped over his pillow in the middle of the room, and Gilthunder and Howzer - who had both become regulars along with Griamore - were leaning against a table from the chairs they had never vacated the previous night. In fact, the only ones awake were Diane - who still looked kind of groggy and must have just woken up - Meliodas and Gowther. I doubted that Gowther ever actually drank - or slept for that matter - anyway, so it wasn't surprising.

"Why would Zephyr-kun be avoiding you?" Meliodas' curious voice sounded from where he had been keeping busy on the other side of the room.

"I have no clue! I just…" My gaze fell to the floor in my dejection. " He started acting weird as soon as Helbram woke up, and left shortly afterward. I don't know why he would do that, though. He never seemed to have a problem with Helbram before… And I'm trying to deal with a lot of stuff right now, and his disappearance only makes matters worse, you know? I'm used to Zephyr always being around for advice and support, so it's weird with him not being around."

"Hmm…" Meliodas tapped his chin in thought. "Perhaps since you guys are together all the time, he just needed some alone time? Whatever reason he's gone, I'm sure you don't need to worry; he can take care of himself."

"M-Maybe…" Sighing, I glanced out the window. "I hope you're right…"

Zephyr sighed in annoyance and boredom as he watched couples chirp on and on about how good the sweets shop was in front of him. He had spent the past couple of days people watching, and was altogether bored with it. All the humans ever seemed to do was gossip and eat. And when he wasn't being chased by excited children, he constantly seemed to be getting under the feet of the construction workers. No one even batted an eye at him at this point as long as he stayed in the right parts of town.

The fox shade stood up and continued on his way, deciding that there was nothing of interest here. He wished that he could use the shadows, but his leg still hurt from the battle, so he didn't dare. Normally it would've healed by now, but the healing magic that had covered the whole area had only irritated the wound. It turned out that light-based healing didn't work so well with a shadow-based creature.

He limped around the town, wandering at random, and tried to see if there was anywhere he hadn't explored yet. Occasionally, he would glance towards the city gate, where he could sometimes glimpse the top of the Boar's Hat. What was Zinnia doing right now?

He shook his head and let out a huff of frustration.

What does it matter? It's pretty obvious that she doesn't need me. Every time that she finds someone else she just clings to them and forgets about me. He clicked his tongue. It's like I'm just some kind of throw away friend. The one that's always there so they're taken for granted. Whenever she does anything - goes anywhere - she assumes it's a given that I'll be there with her. But as soon as she's given a chance to do something special, does she turn to me? No!

He sighed, thinking back to how it had not only been this way with Helbram, but with Zinnia's old friend, Kay, as well.

Let's see how she does without me for once. I'll bet she hasn't even noticed that I'm gone yet. She always just assumes I'm in her shadow. Well I have my own life, you know!

At this moment he was glad that he was a fox shade and that no one could hear him. That meant that he could shout as loudly as he wanted and wouldn't get a single odd look. Well, other than the ones from children. But he got those anyway, so he didn't really care.

He quieted his tone. And ever since she revived Helbram-san, being around either of them… It's just… He remembered the nasty feeling of wrongness that he had felt as soon as his friend had started using her powers to tamper with the other fairy's connections. He had ignored it at the time, hoping that it would end once she stopped using her power, but it still lingered. In fact, when Zinnia had introduced Helbram to the Sins, the feeling had gotten much, much stronger, only weakening when Helbram went back upstairs. He had started to wonder how no one else noticed. It was like a combination of walking through cobwebs, hearing nails scraping against a chalkboard, and smelling something rotting all at once. It was hundreds of times worse than the weirdly vague and unsettling feeling that he rarely felt from Hawk. How had no one else felt it?!

But perhaps they had, somewhat. Yesterday, while he had been hiding out at Merlin's lab, Zinnia and Harlequin had come in to seek Merlin's advice about Helbram. He had been worried about being spotted, but no one had seen him, and Merlin hadn't given him away. And while he had been hiding in silence, he had heard about how the fairy had been acting weirdly. Zephyr suspected that this had to do with the feeling he was having.

And yet, even though Helbram was acting strange, Zinnia seemed to trust him and wanted to spend time with him. And the other day, when Helbram had woken up… That look Zinnia had given him, the way she had responded to his return...

Zephyr narrowed his eyes, chastising himself. He was most certainly not jealous of the green fairy! He had just been dead, for crying out loud! But still…

He suddenly felt pain crash through his muzzle. He had been so deep in thought that he had run right into someone. And that someone had not moved an inch from the collision.

"Oh! Zephyr-chan! There you are. Zinnia's been looking for you."

He looked up to find that the one he had collided with was Diane, who was currently human-sized, but nonetheless quite dense. She didn't seem bothered by him bumping into her, and was instead smiling at him. Harlequin stood at her side, Chastiefol nowhere in sight.

Ack! Of all the people to run into! He folded his ears back and flicked his tail.

Diane spoke again, tilting her head. "She's been really worried about you. Where have you been?"

He stepped back, not wanting to deal with this. Had this been any other time, he would've just jumped into a shadow and disappeared into the city. As it was now, they would easily catch him if he ran. He tried to think quickly. I-I've been busy. I already told Zinnia that I wanted to explore the city. One tends to find different tasks and errands when they're exploring.

Harlequin narrowed his eyes. "But for three days? What could you possibly have been doing for three days?" He crossed his arms. "And why haven't you returned at all during that time?"

While Zephyr held the Fairy King in high regard, he was quite annoyed with him at the moment. Why couldn't people just mind their own business like Merlin? She hadn't cared in the slightest about what he was going through when he had shown up asking for a place to stay. She had just told him to not get underfoot. But these people…

Is it wrong to do my own thing for once? He questioned in annoyance. You guys are all free to go off on your own and do whatever you want, but as soon as I do, people start to worry. Why is that?

This gave them both pause, and Harlequin unfolded his arms.

Zephyr continued, lashing his tail. Why? Because I've never done it before? Because I'm always in Zinnia's shadow - literally? I'm my own person, you know! I should have the same freedoms as everyone else - I should be treated the same as everyone else… He drooped slightly, thinking about how he was always just treated as an extension of Zinnia, even by the fairy herself. He knew that he was taking out his anger on them, but he couldn't help it. These weren't things he could say to his friend. While he had left because of the strange feeling, that wasn't his only reason for staying away. Why can't I just be seen as an equal…? It's not my fault that most people can't hear me… I didn't choose that. I didn't choose to be born a fox shade, but because I was, I'm only seen as a companion or some sort of pet - not a full person of my own. She doesn't even listen to my opinion half the time. If only we'd been born the same… Suddenly remembering who he was talking to, he went quiet, looking away in embarrassment. I have my reasons for not returning at the moment. I'll come back when I feel like it.

While Diane looked sad and sympathetic, Harlequin seemed to have a realization slowly dawn on him. He looked up at the fox, about to say something, but stopped, gaze flicking to Diane, and shutting his mouth.

"You're your own person, Zephyr-chan," Diane told him, trying to brighten. "But you didn't even tell anyone where you were going. We're all worried about you - even Hawk-chan!"

I doubt that.

"Either way, you should come back. At least for long enough to let everyone know that you're okay and that you haven't run away."

Taking a long, quiet breath, Zephyr dipped his head in resignation. Fine. But I'm going nowhere near Helbram-san. His tail trailed along the ground as he stood up.

"Why not?" Harlequin tilted his head slightly, confused.

Zephyr just shook his head. His snout wrinkled at the thought of returning to that awful feeling that swathed the entire area around Zinnia and Helbram, particularly when they were together. I'd just rather not. Oh, and please don't tell Zinnia any of what I've said.

A cool breeze brushed across me as I swung my legs back and forth slowly. I was currently sitting in some of the lower branches of a tree, gazing at Liones from afar. From this distance, not even the movements of people could be seen.

"What's wrong, Zinnia?" Helbram floated next to me, giving me a concerned look.

"Can't get anything past you, can I?" I gave him a sad little smile.

"Nope!" He sat on the branch next to me, mimicking the movements of my legs. It was a very human thing to do, but I had picked it up over the years, and Helbram seemed to find it funny.

"It's just that, now that you're back and the Sins have cleared their names and everything, I had thought that things would be better, and that I'd be happy…"

"But…?"

"But I'm not. And it's not just because of Zephyr. I feel like something's coming. Like this isn't quite the ending of everything. It's just too… peaceful. Too clean of an ending."

"Is it wrong to be peaceful? Do you want to keep fighting?" Helbram seemed confused.

"No, that's not it…" I just couldn't seem to find the words for the unsettling feeling I had. It was like a story book that had been closed was about to open again. But, then again, I had felt a similar feeling multiple times throughout my life and nothing had ever come of it. It was similar to that feeling someone gets when it's windy out, leaves blowing everywhere, and a storm's coming. The feeling like something's about to start - but it almost never does. "It's probably nothing."

"Hmmm…" He looked back toward the city. He didn't look convinced in the slightest.

I looked over to Helbram, taking a moment to appreciate the fact that he was here. It was so nice to have a long-time friend back. We had been spending much of our time together over the past couple of days, and I was actually surprised that he hadn't been trying to hang out with Harlequin a ton. I mean, sometimes they would hang out, but not nearly as much as I would have expected. Helbram seemed quite content to spend his afternoons with me instead, talking in the attic and exploring the woods a little ways away from the city. He would occasionally mention going into town to observe people or to help with repairs, but I would quickly change the subject. I doubted that that strategy would last much longer, though.

"What, do I have something on my face?" He gave me a weird look.

Was I staring?! I blushed and quickly looked away. "N-No. Just lost in thought."

"Oh." He suddenly squinted, looking towards the Boar's hat. "Is that…?" He held up a hand to shield his eyes from the sun. "Harlequin and Diane? Leading Zephyr-kun?"

I quickly slid off the branch, floating a few inches closer. "I think… it is! Come on!" Without thinking, I snagged Helbram's hand and flew towards the tavern.

It was only when we arrived that I realized that Helbram's hand was in my own. I quickly snatched it away, red-faced, to see Zephyr narrowing his eyes as he looked from me to Helbram. Harlequin was also looking between the two of us, but I had no idea what he was thinking.

"Zephyr, you're back!" I flew towards the fox and wrapped my arms around him in a tight embrace. He was rigid for a moment, but after a second he melted into the hug. "Why were you gone for so long? I was worried sick." I buried my face in his plush fur.

He didn't stop me. After a moment, though, he pulled away and gazed into the distance, refusing to look at me. As you can see, there was no reason to worry about me. I'm fine. He took half a step away.

"What's wrong?" Everything he did just made me worry more. Where had he been? Why had he left? What had made him stay away?

Nothing. He stood up and swished his tail. I'm going inside. And so he swiftly made his way up the steps and into the tavern, slipping into shadows just long enough to pass through the door without opening it.

"What's wrong with him?" I looked back to find Helbram not looking nearly as worried as I was, holding his arms behind his head and leaning back slightly.

"I have no idea…"

Harlequin and Diane exchanged a look, but they, too, went inside, leaving me and Helbram in our own baffled company.