Disclaimer: I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) in this emotional time… especially for the one who needed a stern talking to.

~保護者~

"Conflictions"

~保護者~

Things seemed to have calmed down with Myriu, at least for the moment, now that she had been talked to (though Shadow still kept some of his senses trained on her just in case). Toru was in the kitchen cooking something, attempting to focus on something unrelated to the situation with his sister. The sun was well on its way to setting by now, and Shadow had just put Lia to bed. She had eaten early and was tired no matter how much she'd tried to say otherwise. It had taken an hour-long war of wills, but she'd finally passed out… much to his relief. After checking on Soren (the kid was still gaming, reminding Shadow of his promise to buy him more games sometime), he retreated to his room.

Except, it seemed that life wasn't done fucking with him, yet. He barely had time to sit down on the bed before a wave of nausea crashed over him. He'd learned his lesson about throwing up in the toilet thanks to the fact that he specifically threw up black blood, perhaps purely because existence hated him. And because of his fucked-up biology.

When the nausea began to intensify rather than subside, he did the only thing he could really think of and teleported to somewhere out in the dense forest surrounding his home. Somehow he managed to appear in an area where there were no animals immediately present. He wound up on his hands and knees in the damp grass, stomach heaving. It went on for a time before, finally, thankfully ending.

Coughing, Shadow spat out what remained in his mouth and shakily moved away from the nastiness he had created. Already, it was eating away at the grass and dirt. The fact that he could hear the sizzling and faint bubbling was utterly disgusting in his book. Teleporting out of earshot was the logical next step, so that was what he did. He would have gone straight home, had he not been undecided yet about whether or not he was feeling better.

As much as he hated how damp it was out here right now, Shadow remained seated in the grass. This time, he was properly sitting with his back against a tree, just focused on breathing. Or he was. Right up until a new anomaly in his life decided to make itself known. His fangs began inexplicably aching, almost like he'd bit too hard on something… despite having bitten nothing at all. He sort of grimaced at his usual piss-poor luck, but that slight movement of his lips managed to cut them on the aforementioned fangs just a bit. They absolutely should not have been sharp enough for that to happen. Sharp, yes, but so sharp that a slight brush against them would cut? Absolutely fucking not.

"Yo." A voice said from above him. "You recently came into possession of a bunch of powers you didn't have before, yeah?"

Shadow's right ear flicked and he looked up. Who the hell?

The da Asani known as Saethrim gave an easy wave and dropped to the ground near Shadow. "I suppose that it must be you. I can practically feel the strands of your lineage."

"What the hell are you talking about? Shadow muttered.

"You're related to the God of Death," Saetrim explained. "And I happen to know that you recently came upon several powers, one of which seems to be affecting you right now. Your fangs seem a bit sharper than they need to be for tearing into meat."

For now, Shadow came to the conclusion that forgoing his usual suspicious nature was warranted. If only because he could easily sense how ancient and intelligent this stranger was. In a lot of ways, the guy reminded him of that magical being (the one who had revived Lia and Soren) too, though this early on he couldn't quite place why beyond their apparently shared species. He didn't pay it much attention, anyway. "...Yes," he reluctantly admitted after a pause.

"Let's get two things out of the way, then," Saethrim said. "First, you're a Black Arms… or, well, mostly. Second, you now have a power referred to as vampirism. These two things together are going to give you a heavy predisposition for blood. That make enough sense?" Though this information had Shadow scowling, he reluctantly nodded. Saethrim took a seat and tapped on his thigh. "First thing's first, how long do you think you've had this power?"

After a long pause, Shadow admitted, "I don't know. Random powers began appearing hours ago. It could have been around then that this one showed up."

"Gotcha." Saethrim teleported a knife into his hand and cut the palm of his other, letting the blood drip onto the grass between them. "Aside from obviously watching me cut myself, what does the blood make you feel? Any different?" Shadow watched him do this and immediately felt a sudden but thankfully slight pang of hunger that was doomed to be ignored. He quickly looked away without answering. "Judging by the fact that you didn't jump at it or at me, I'll assume you've either got a strong will or the desire for blood isn't too intense right now. Or a combination of both… not that it matters. You got lucky on that front."

"Lucky?" Shadow dared to ask. He didn't know anything about vampires aside from having vaguely heard about them from TV here and there, meaning he knew he really needed to learn what he could right now.

"Depending on how bad you might've gotten it, there's a chance I would've had to bury your face in the dirt just now," Saethrim answered with a shrug, flicking his hand and tossing the blood off it as his wound closed up. "Some vampires or beings with similar eating habits literally can't control their desire for blood and feeding."

Fucking fantastic. "Fine," Shadow muttered, not knowing what else to say to that.

"So, starting from the top. Vampirism grants you the ability to gain sustenance through blood. It's vaguely possible that you could also feed on souls or the energy from people's powers, but I'm gonna go out on a limb and say you can't," Saethrim shrugged. Shadow opted to just listen for now, though he remained unhappy about what he was hearing. "It'll take time to figure out how often you need to feed and how much you'll have to have. No way to tell until the time comes."

"I'm not eating like that," Shadow muttered in refusal. "I will stick with what I can already eat."

Saethrim shrugged a second time. "Up to you. I won't try to sway you one way or another. I'm here to give you what I know. Just be prepared for the possibility that you will have to. You might not be able to eat most regular foods anymore." Shadow muttered a vague curse under his breath but didn't waste time with an argument. "The next important thing is sensitivity to sunlight. Judging by us being outside before it's actually dark out, the sun won't kill you, but you may find it more irritating than before."

That was probably something he could live with. Shadow wasn't overly fond of sunlight, anyway. "Fine," he said again.

"The other major important thing you might be vaguely interested in is the potential for learning different kinds of magic only vampires and similar beings can learn. If I'm not mistaken, I jotted down some notes ages ago, so I can find those, make a copy, and bring them to you if you'd like?" Saethrim raised an eyebrow. "Of course, I'd include other relevant information, but magic usually gets people all giddy inside."

"I do not get 'giddy'," Shadow corrected. Then he said, "Reading those would be preferable. I would rather know what I can than be entirely in the dark."

Saethrim nodded easily. "Yeah, smart move there. I'm sure you can handle the concern of feeding desire, but if you ever need help, I'm sure I can facilitate that. I've come across some vampires in the past, and only some tried to kill me."

Shadow inclined his head slowly. "What else can you tell me?" he asked after a pause, following his line of thinking from before.

The da Asani tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Well, you might be able to turn into mist or something like a bat… maybe even just a tiny hedgehog? Wouldn't that be ironic?" Saethrim tilted his head. "The point is, you might be able to do that for transportation, and for the sake of your dignity, let's hope the tiny hedgehog thing is false." Try though he might to hide it, a small snicker escaped him at the idea.

Crimson eyes rolled. "I somehow highly doubt that will come to pass," he grumbled.

"Not gonna lie, it would be hilarious," Saethrim laughed, rolling onto his back. "The red bits of your fur on a tiny black hedgehog just sounds so damn good."

"Fuck off," Shadow huffed.

It became apparent that he was trying harder now to hold back the laughter before Saethrim ultimately got control of himself. "Ahem, anyway, is there anything else you need to know? I've got a person or two to track down and throw through some asteroids."

"Anything else you can tell me immediately," Shadow huffed. "This is no small matter, and I have to be able to explain as much as possible to several people."

Saethrim's jovial smile weakened a little. "One really big thing you need to be aware of is the potential of a vampiric state. As you know, surely, beings of Light and Darkness have certain forms they can achieve. This won't be entirely unlike those, but you likely will struggle with aggression and other things that aren't in your normal personality. People you know that you care about might not be as recognizable to you, at least not immediately. You have to avoid feeding on people, and I cannot stress it enough. If the desire is there, with how damned strong you are, some might not be able to stop you."

Now tense, Shadow was quick to demand, "Can this state be controlled?"

"In time," Saethrim said. "And it will take time. These are all-new powers and new desires for you. You're not going to get it right the first time, maybe not even the second or third. Just do your best and strive to control it and yourself in that state, and you should be fine."

Shadow was quiet for a time as he pondered all of this. Eventually, he decided he had one last question. "...How did you know I am Black Arms?" he finally asked.

"Easy, I know Black Doom," Saethrim said with a smile. "Their entire race is considered mythical, which is the type of creature I had a part in watching over."

Mythical? As intriguing as that thought was, Shadow was more startled by one thing. So much so that he couldn't stop himself from questioning, "You know my father?"

Saethrim suddenly leaned forward, as if trying to prevent someone from hearing. "I had to. He was never the most pleasant, but I helped ensure that people didn't fuck with the Black Arms, among other things."

"Father made no mention of meeting anyone like you," Shadow frowned. "Much less accepting any manner of help regarding anything."

"Why would he have?" Saethrim gently challenged.

"Because he has always been… strangely honest with me," Shadow eventually explained, but only after giving the question some actual thought.

"Maybe you should ask him," Saethrim said. "Tell him Saethrim told you to."

"Do not blame me if that causes him anger toward you," was the huffed response.

The man chuckled a little. "What's he gonna do about it?"

"Try to stab you, knowing him."

Saethrim stood and stretched. "I could stab him seven times before he ever reached me," the man replied coolly. "Not that he isn't strong, though."

Unbothered by the assertion, Shadow shrugged. "I know. I saw the difference in strength already."

"That answer the majority of your questions?" Saethrim asked.

"For now," Shadow conceded. Since he wasn't feeling sick anymore, he went ahead and stood up.

Saethrim glanced back toward the nearby house, which he assumed was Shadow's, and raised an eyebrow. "You've got an awful lot of people in there."

"I'm aware," Shadow responded with an almost-sigh. "It has been necessary."

"If it wasn't for the three kids, I'd try to offer a place for everyone to have some more space," Saethrim said. "But… it's a lot harder to move children around. I would hate displacing them."

"I am working on plans for expansion," Shadow suddenly revealed. "It will not be like this much longer, if all goes well."

A smile broke out onto Saethrim's face again. "Sweet. Need any help, just call. People have discovered that I'm pretty good at moving things around."

Shadow inclined his head a little before asking, "How am I supposed to 'call'?"

"I can't be the one to think that far," Saethrim said, putting his hands on his hips. "You've got contacts that know me." He shifted his head a little. "Smells like a forge, if that tells you anything."

Realizing that this guy somehow smelled his contact with Li some time ago, Shadow's eyebrows raised slightly. "...You need to meet Marthal sometime," he found himself saying. "He is perhaps the only person who smells even better than you seem to."

"We'll have to test that theory, then," Saethrim said. "Either he's got a particular semi-Immortal power, or he's some sort of creature with incredible senses. Very few things outrank me in those regards."

"He is some manner of cat yokai," Shadow shrugged. "A half-breed, he has said."

"I surely will need to meet him then." Saethrim smiled. "Haven't seen a ton of half-breeds."

"I will attempt to facilitate a meeting when possible," Shadow offered after a moment. He knew Marthal well enough to know the cat would be similarly curious, so he wasn't averse to asking. "However, I need to return home, and he is indisposed at the moment. It can be handled another time."

Indisposed? "Alright, then. You go on home. I've got some stuff to handle as I mentioned before," Saethrim said.

Shadow did little more than nod before teleporting back home. Heedless of the food Toru was working on, he grabbed the man by the arm and did something he'd never done before. That is, he all but dragged Toru along to the bedroom. Toru didn't think much of being pulled away, flicking a thread to the knobs of the stove to keep things from burning down as they moved. Almost as soon as the door was shut Shadow quickly demanded, "Put up your barrier. This is urgent, and I do not want the children overhearing."

The moment he heard Shadow speak, the chameleon created the barrier around them both. "What's going on?" he asked, blinking once.

Despite having not really stopped to process all of this himself, Shadow released Toru and walked to his nightstand to grab his communicator. It took no real time for him to digitize his memories of the interaction he'd just had and copy them onto the device, then toss it over to Toru. "Watch this," he muttered. "I don't even know where the hell to begin."

"Wait-" Toru caught the communicator and began playing the video. "Who the fuck even is this?"

"Irrelevant," Shadow said. "It is what he says that matters right now."

The chameleon wordlessly watched the rest of the video before blinking. "The hell happened in the last fifteen minutes?"

"That," Shadow responded lamely, having no real explanation beyond what was on the screen.

"Fuckin hell," Toru groaned.

"He gave no indication of when this would truly start to become a problem," Shadow muttered. "That is an issue in and of itself."

Toru frowned deeply, tossing the communicator back. "He makes it sound like it could just randomly happen."

"And he attempted to see if it already was," Shadow reminded him with a frown. He put the communicator back on the nightstand and sat on the edge of the bed, arms tightly crossed. After a pause, he reluctantly admitted, "My fangs have begun hurting. I don't know if that is a sign or not."

"We'll have to wait and see," Toru said with a shrug. "For now, we should try and stay pretty close to each other."

"He told me to avoid being near people," was the softly growling response. The growl was purely one of frustration and was quickly cut short.

"Well, fuck that," Toru said. "Worst case scenario, you bite me."

"That would be objectively bad," Shadow answered with a glare. "That could have unintended consequences neither of us know about."

Toru raised an eyebrow. "Well, if nobody is around you, what will happen?"

Shadow let out a heavy, aggravated sigh. "I don't know. And this is precisely why I hate being uninformed about things."

"He seemed pretty sure there was nothing else concerning to know about," Toru said easily.

That is easy enough to assume, but that does not mean the assumption is correct, Shadow thought unhappily.

"So… who exactly was this guy? He knew you're related to Kaden and Black Doom, but… you don't have the damndest clue as to who he is?"

"That may not be entirely true," Shadow revealed slowly. "Something about him seemed… familiar, in the vaguest sense of the word. I have digitized memories from some of my earliest years, but so far none of the ones I have scanned contain him."

Toru crossed his arms, tapping his foot. "Hm…"

"It is possible Father knows," Shadow soon said. Then it occurred to him the slight error he'd made and he elaborated, "Black Doom. He is ancient. One of the first non-existential semi-Immortals to appear. They may have encountered one another before. The man, Saethrim, felt ancient as well."

"Then let's bother Black Doom," Toru said easily. "I want to know more before we just listen to all of this."

Although he doubted his father would come back to a place like this just to answer a question, the fact that the sun was about half set by now meant it was possible for him to be willing. Black Arms thrived in darkness, and the shadows outside were certainly getting deeper. "Fine," he muttered, giving up on the idea of refusing before it even truly took hold.

As much as he didn't want to deal with the complicated mess that was that part of his family right this minute (and though they had reconciled rapidly during their last talk things very much were still complicated for now), he went ahead and used his connection to the Black Arms hive mind to call out to his father. The call echoed through the hive endlessly until it reached the man in question, and then all the voices were summarily silenced.

Mere seconds later, Black Doom appeared in front of him. "What?" was the simple demand.

Shadow already had his communicator ready, screen paused on a clear image of Saethrim's face. "This man," he said, hoping to get this over with quickly. "Do you know him?"

Black Doom's face was inscrutable. He was silent for a strangely long moment before gravely inclining his head. "I remember him. As vexing as he often presented himself to be, he proved… useful now and then. It is his intervention that led to me finding you when the rotund flea first stole you."

What? Unsure what to make of that, Shadow mostly skirted around the matter. ...Mostly. "That does not sound like you," he replied. "You do not accept help from anyone, much less outsiders."

"He is different," Black Doom dismissed. "There are beings higher than myself. Once, he was among their ranks. He was one of their most ancient, appearing only very shortly after races like ours did. It was his role to maintain order among so-called 'mythical' or 'mystical' beings, to protect them, and so on. The theft of the firstborn of the leader of one such race caught his attention swiftly. I did not like him, nor had I ever knowingly allowed him to set foot among the hive. But your abduction forced me to act with him and not against. You were an infant when you disappeared. I was… ...desperate. I did what needed to be done to bring you back."

"Would you trust him again if the need arose?" Toru dared to ask.

Dark eyes glanced his way. "Should it become necessary," Black Doom allowed.

"And he knows what he's talking about?" Toru pressed further.

"Yes," was the simple reply. Then Black Doom ordered with strange calmness, "Tell me why you both care to know these things."

How were they even supposed to explain this? Shadow still hadn't fully processed any of it, due in large part to the fact that he hadn't had time to just yet. As he'd said to Toru not long before, he had no idea where to begin. Which sort of left him with only one idea. Again. "Will you forgo your dislike for technology long enough to see for yourself?" Though he frowned and crossed his arms, Black Doom nodded. Shadow opened the video again and handed it over.

Almost as soon as it was over, Black Doom let go of the device, though he kept it levitating long enough for it to drift safely onto the bed. With the sort of boldness rarely seen except with parents handling their children, he reached out and pushed Shadow's upper lip up for a second. Shadow, naturally, yanked himself away, but Black Doom had seen what he'd wanted to. "They are sharper," he confirmed with a scowl. "Your fangs have always been ideal for stabbing into and tearing meat to eat, as both your lineages favor a carnivorous diet. However, now they are capable of easily slicing as well. Ideal for drawing blood without necessarily removing flesh."

"That has been established," Shadow pointed out with open unhappiness.

"Silence," Black Doom ordered, but not harshly. For once, Shadow didn't react to being told what to do by rebelling. He, at least for now, closed his mouth and waited. "You wish for an explanation, do you not? Listen and I will tell you what I can."

"Fine."

Satisfied, Black Doom continued. "Vampires possess the ability to subsist on the life force of other beings. There are three distinct methods of feeding. That your fangs have changed proves you require blood. Whether you will need the blood of sentient beings or will be capable of surviving off animals, as well as whether or not your food sources need to be alive or can be dead, cannot be determined merely by looking. The same is true of how much blood you will need and how frequently. As for the bites themselves, many beings I have encountered are under the impression that vampire bites always change the victim, provided said victim survives being fed off of. This is untrue. No one you bite will change unless that is your intention. Am I understood so far?"

"Yes," Shadow said, smothering a sigh. He suddenly felt like a child again, being lectured for doing something stupid and not grasping the consequences for being caught. Though what it was he had done in this vague memory was long lost to him.

"Other falsehoods," Black Doom said, "include vampires having no shadows, no reflections, and no souls. That they are undead and can always be killed by sunlight. That they will not appear in 'photos', are weak to sunlight, fires, silver, and wooden stakes, and that they are never awake during the day. These are all untrue. Vampires are living beings. Sunlight can kill or weaken some, but not all. Being alive, they possess souls, reflections, and everything else people believe they lack. Weaknesses to fires and wood depend on individuals. You are weak to neither. That does not change because of this. And the idea that a mere metal causes them harm… It is laughable at best."

Well that was good to know. Shadow felt weak enough already these days without anything actively making it worse. That makes this slightly less undesirable… I suppose. But barely.

"So how can we prepare for him feeding?" Toru asked with a raised eyebrow. A lot of this was good news, but it didn't exactly prepare them for potentially inevitable events.

"Unless it is your intention to send him away, keep him in this room. Using your Darkness to trap him should be sufficient. He does not know yet how to properly wield his own, much less how to use it to break through someone else's. It will be enough to keep him in one location for now." Black Doom looked at Toru. "However, he will need to feed. More likely than not, he will slip into an altered, vampiric state when the need for blood arises. He will not be able to return to himself until he has been fed enough and has subsequently rested."

"Is there an issue with Shadow feeding off me?" Toru pressed. "If not, I'll just handle it that way."

Shadow tossed him an instant glare, but soon looked away. I did not agree to this.

"There would not be," Black Doom responded, "in theory. The only risk would be blood loss, in the event that he requires a lot of sustenance. However, you are a chameleon with clear access to your race's Darkness. Your regeneration is active along with that, I would assume. Given that, you should heal fast enough not to perish from even a heavy feeding."

Toru thought this over for a moment. "Alright. Honestly, that's good to know. We can handle the situation more directly in that case."

"Indeed," Black Doom agreed.

"What else can you explain?" Shadow soon asked. "Anything you know could prove useful."

His father crossed his arms again. "Aside from your fangs, there may be other physical changes, particularly when you enter a vampiric state. Most vampire's eyes glow dully in the dark, and for some their pupils become slits like an animal's. Given that your eyes aren't already different, you either will not experience changes in them at all, or it will only happen in that altered state."

"Is that something to be concerned about?" Toru questioned.

"No. But it is a warning sign. Witnessing these changes will tell you that a lapse into that state will occur soon."

That was something good to know, Toru supposed. "Gotcha. What else?"

"Mental changes will occur as well," Black Doom warned. "Vampires are cold, calculating creatures. Some have personalities that can only be described as predatory, though I do not think that will be the case for him. Nevertheless, his manner of thinking and behaving will be markedly more dangerous and violent than normal. The best way to avoid him harming those you both are close to is you. You are his partner, meaning he cares for you. Those emotions will carry over more and more each time he goes into that state, for each time that he does he will be more and more capable of recognizing you."

Toru blinked once. "That's pretty good." Shadow just frowned and continued listening, carefully filing all of this information away.

"Your power and speed will be useful as well," Black Doom informed him. "Once turned, vampires find their attributes enhanced. Strength, agility, intelligence, and more. You will be the best option at handling him on this front as well."

"Neat," Toru said.

Far from it, Shadow moodily disagreed.

"Bites do not automatically turn victims," Black Doom continued, "but it can be done if he ever chose to while in that state. You will both need to be mindful of this."

"Oh," Toru murmured.

Shadow spoke back up. "I highly doubt it would be possible in my case… but Saethrim mentioned something about magic."

Black Doom inclined his head. "Vampires often do learn magic. 'Blood magics', as many old races know it. Those who can learn such magics gain high resistances to a variety of other magics as well, and can develop their own spells provided they know how to. As for your particular case…" He paused, thinking. "You have a strong magical heritage, albeit not from me. It is not entirely out of the question." Toru only blinked at this news, frowning in thought.

"One final warning," Black Doom said. "I see the rebellion in your eyes, Shadow, but this is not something you can will yourself to avoid. Like it or not, you will be forced to feed like this from now on. With the potential exception of meat, you will most likely be unable to eat any 'normal' food. Biting and drinking blood is something vampires find pleasurable, whether you want to accept it or not. That ache in your fangs is the desire to bite. That and other symptoms cannot be ignored forever."

Shadow glared once more, but this time managed to hold his tongue before just immediately saying something harsh. He waited until the urge to do that anyway passed before pressing, "There is nothing else?"

Despite what he'd just said, Black Doom abruptly recalled one more thing. He glanced at Toru. "A final warning for you as well. Particularly when they have not learned control yet, vampire bites are often rough, harsh, and painful, even for beings of your degree of strength. Be prepared for that, though it will in theory improve with time as he regains control of himself. And be aware that often their bites paralyze their victims. Until he learns how to prevent that, you may be rendered incapable of movement while he feeds."

Toru shrugged a little. "Alright."

"If there are no other questions, I am leaving. I do not enjoy this planet."

The chameleon gave a sort of wave. "Alright. See ya." Shadow merely traded a look with his father before the older man vanished. Toru then turned to Shadow and shrugged. "So, do you think you can eat?"

"No," Shadow muttered, unhappy as ever.

Toru clicked his tongue. "Damn. Was hoping you'd be able to."

Shadow smothered a sigh. "Why?" he asked.

"I was cooking before you dragged me in here," the chameleon chuckled a little.

"I'm aware. Go back to it, if you want." Shadow moved his communicator back onto the nightstand and laid down.

Toru walked over to Shadow and offered a small smile. "Look, we'll figure something out for all of this. I promise." As he spoke, he laid down on what was essentially his side of the bed now.

"I don't see how," Shadow admitted, tugging his pillow under his head a bit further. "This is far from a normal problem."

"I'm pretty sure that we can handle it," Toru said easily.

"Pray tell," Shadow grumbled.

The chameleon shrugged. "I dunno how, but we will."

Shadow started to say something, but stopped when he felt his earlier nausea suddenly returning. He didn't immediately feel like he was going to hurl this time, but he still prepared to teleport away again at a moment's notice. Suddenly, Amy's complaints about morning sickness many years past made far more sense to him. If he could have continued living with barely any knowledge of what nausea felt like, he would have been happy. I hate this. It took a few seconds for the feeling to pass enough for him to reply. "You are too optimistic." He gave himself another second to take in and then let out a small breath. "You can go back to your cooking. You don't need to stay."

Toru chuckled a little. "I'm gonna stay here with you for a bit. The food is basically done, anyway," he said with a shrug. Shadow just nodded and closed his eyes. The chameleon stayed by Shadow, grabbing one of the hedgehog's hands. "I need to ask you one thing."

"What?" Shadow mumbled after a few seconds.

"I… Does my coming and going a lot bother you?" Toru asked slowly, his tone far quieter than usual.

Honestly, Shadow had to think about that one. "Only at times," he eventually admitted. "When I am not… handling my emotions well."

Toru didn't exactly know how to process this information. On the one hand, it was a lot better than what Myriu likely would have said. On the other, however… the fact that it bothered Shadow at all bothered him. "I'll try to stick around a little more. I lived most of my life on my own, so adjusting to the fact that I… pretty much live with you now is taking longer than I expected."

"It takes time," Shadow sighed. "I understand that. I had to learn the same thing."

"Yeah…" Toru murmured. "I really don't wanna upset the people that I care about any more than I have," he admitted.

Sickness be damned, Shadow rolled over to face Toru properly. "Then continue working on doing better, as you have been. That is all that I ask."

Toru smiled a little to Shadow. "I will." A swift movement brought him face to face with Shadow as he hugged the hedgehog. "Now… you need to rest some more. When you wake up, we'll figure out this whole situation a little better and make sure you're good to go, alright?"

"I did not give you permission to be demanding," Shadow replied with a touch of false snark. But he nevertheless pulled one of the thinner blankets over himself.

"I didn't ask for permission," Toru countered easily with his smile growing. "I'll see you when you're up, alright?" Shadow just nodded and closed his eyes again. He really did need some sleep. And, honestly... right now, he was too comfortable to be doing anything different.

~保護者~

I don't know how to help you, the Aether thought to itself as it laid curled up on Wave's shoulder. I wasn't ready for this… any of it. I'm sorry, Wave.

The Aether was handling the situation a little better than the Hexan, but… that didn't mean it wasn't in pain as well. With their bond, it felt everything she felt, and that meant this situation with her father brought it a whole level of pain it wasn't even aware was possible. Handling all of this was… hard.

"...Hey, Wave?" it asked cautiously.

"Yeah?" Wave sighed. By now, she'd returned to her brother and was in a guest room with him while he slept. As such, she kept her voice down.

"I… wish I knew what to do to help," the Aether admitted softly. "I don't really understand everything, but… yeah."

"It's okay," Wave murmured. "This isn't your fault." She reached up to cup the Aether in her hands and move it around so that they could look at each other properly. "Are you okay? You've been quiet today."

"You're… upset," the Aether said, leaning and curling up into one of her hands. "I'm upset, too."

With gentle fingers, Wave used her free hand to pet her companion softly. "It's been a rough day, hasn't it?" she murmured.

The Aether ruffled its "feathers" in response to being petted. "A little… but I mean… you went through a lot."

"Yeah. It's not… been great." Wave sighed softly, looking at her brother for a moment. "I just don't know what to do. There's nothing I even can do, but I just… I don't want to have to accept that."

"Yeah…" The Aether climbed up her arms and snuggled up against her neck. "I wish I knew more. I feel like maybe I can do something, but at the same time I can't."

"I'm sorry you've been dragged into all of this," Wave murmured. "Feeling sad and scared for the first time isn't ever pleasant, I imagine. That's what those emotions are called, but the way. Naming them sometimes helps a bit."

"It's okay." The Aether looked up at Wave. "I just wanna make sure you're okay."

"It's hard to be okay," Wave admitted softly, "when this sort of thing happens. That's my dad, you know…? He's all me and Alec have left."

The Aether nodded a little and curled up tighter. "Hey, Wave?" Wave leaned back in her chair with a vague, questioning hum. "Should we… try to sleep?"

"Logically, I would say yes. But I don't know if I'll be able to." Even as she said this, Wave stood up and moved to the small couch on the other side of the room. She gently placed the Aether onto a pillow before laying down.

That's something I can help with, the Aether thought, growing just enough to curl up against her body as it begun radiating the energy it was named for to try and relax Wave.

Sure enough, the swallow's eyes soon drifted shut. "Bugger," she softly chastised, but with a slight smile. "You're pretty resourceful, I guess, huh?"

The slight smile was reciprocated by Aether as it slowly drifted off as well. Thanks…

~保護者~

It could probably be said that reunions were meant to be emotional affairs. Happy, sad, angry, maybe some combination of two or more of those… But that wasn't true here. Jet didn't dare let any negative emotions rise up in him again so soon after he'd gotten his behavior under control. And as for happiness… Well, he couldn't just give his old teammate the satisfaction right away.

He appeared beside the albatross silently. Had his intention been to remain unnoticed, it would have been accomplished easily. Instead, Storm spied him straight away"You look the same as ever," he commented.

Looking over, Jet scoffed quietly. "What happened to the beard?"

Storm stroked his chin in a thoughtful manner. "S'pose the universe deemed fit for me to grow a new one." He quirked a brow at Jet. "Why, you sayin' I'm old?"

"It can be said that I left it open for interpretation."

"Heh." Storm smirked, crossed his broad arms. "Good to see the rest of you hasn't changed too much, either."

Jet indulged in an eye-roll. "You continued to mellow out after we last spoke, it seems."

"Yeah, livin' in a hut was pretty good for me, I s'pose," Storm agreed. "Helped me kinda focus on the crap that actually mattered to me that I still had, not just stuff that was already gone. Plus, it was pretty peaceful out there, right up until I was thrown into lava."

Like your girlfriend… Kanari, was it? That was better left unsaid, Jet decided. So were the words lingering on the tip of his tongue, but in the end he let them out regardless. "Wave and I buried what we could. It was just a strip of cloth and a bit of your stuff."

"Still better'n nothing," Storm decided. "Where'd you guys take them to? By my girl?"

"Yeah. Wave figured it was what you would have wanted." Jet turned his head away. "She thought you might be happier that way."

"Still as much of a softie as ever, huh…? Sheesh. And here I thought she might have grown out of that." In spite of his words, Storm was smiling to himself. But that smile faded when he asked, "You ain't here for a lengthy chat, right? I know that look in your eyes. You've got something important to do."

Of course, Storm was right. Jet did still feel a bit bad about it, though. "We'll talk more another time," he promised with a sigh. Stretching his senses just a bit behind them, he picked up on Wave, what he presumed to be Alec, and the Aether asleep in a room. They were safe for now, and she was calmer. That was arguably good, but didn't ease his concerns much."There's a lot that needs explaining."

"Explanations can wait. I know enough to get the gist of what's going on and who we're up against. Wave's filled me in a good bit." Storm crossed his broad arms. "Focus on dealing with whatever you've got going on, and on doing what you can for her. Got it?"

"Yeah." He raised a hand in farewell. "See you."

Jet vanished without waiting for a reply and appeared in the palace. Specifically, he arrived on the top floor where the royal family's rooms always were. Walking into the room Lucas had been staying in, he gently picked up the sleeping child. He teleported away with his son in his arms. In an instant, he had appeared on Gardenia right beside Cosmo. His arrival was, of course, immediately noticed and her projection of her non-tree form faded into view. "Hello, Jet," she greeted warmly. "Have you come to see Cadora? He's asleep on the other side of my trunk."

Jet stifled a sigh. "No. I can't stay. It isn't safe for anything living here."

Her smile faded. "...Yes, I suppose you're right." She reached over and carefully took Lucas when he held the boy out to her. "That energy that latched to you so long ago is active again, isn't it? I've heard some things regarding your recent struggles."

"It's active," he confirmed quietly. "I'm sorry, but I need both of them to stay here for now. I can't be around them to keep them safe, and New Babylon has been attacked once already."

"Don't apologize, Jet. I understand, and I don't mind." Large leaves formed under Lucas and transported him safely to the grass to continue sleeping. "I'll tell them both an age-appropriate version of what's going on, and that you'll come back for them as soon as you can."

"Thank you. For all of this." Jet took a step back. "I need to leave. The longer I'm here, the more likely the Void will do something or that Nareish will notice this place."

"I understand. I will see you soon?"

With a small nod, Jet stole one final glance at his son before vanishing.

~保護者~

Eila was… at a loss for words. She could almost still feel where her arm had been petrified. She couldn't do a damn thing to Nira, and couldn't save Han fully. In a way, she felt like so much of this was her fault, even though logic said that couldn't be the case. The woman had her face buried in a pillow, despite how hot it made her skin feel. The pillow was wet by this point.

She almost didn't notice that Cyril had somehow entered her magically created space. Almost. Eila lifted her head up and glanced back at him before just dropping back into her previous position. "Go away…" she murmured past the pillow.

Cyril walked over to the bed and let out a gentle sigh. "Eila, please talk to me," he pleaded.

"Please just leave," she groaned softly, pulling her blanket over her head. "I just wanna be alone."

"No," Cyril said gently, pulling back the blanket and holding onto one of her hands. "I can't just leave you here to sulk. You've been doing so good lately, and for that to bug you so much… What's going on?"

Eila let out a long sigh and sat up. "I… really just wanted to help…" Cyril nodded slowly, though he could feel she wasn't done. As such, he motioned for her to continue. She did, surprisingly. "I hate the thought of someone else going through what I did… doing the things I did. Having to live with all of that." Her eyes grew a little unfocused, but she kept talking. "I was… afraid of someone else living that way. I wanted to stop it from getting any worse, but I couldn't."

Cyril wrapped his arms around her in a hug. "I'm so happy to hear that from you," he said quietly.

This statement seemed to return her focus and she looked at him in obvious confusion. "Huh?"

The finch held her a little tighter. "When I first met you… you were so scared and alone. You were afraid to be near anyone. You thought everyone hated you. Now here you are, trying your best to stand up for people you don't even know. Just thinking about how much progress you've made in this short time brings tears to my eyes."

Eila didn't know how to respond. For the second time today, she was at a complete loss for words. You're… proud of me? Her eyes were drawn to the sight of the Light sprite that had chosen to follow with her when she visited the Realm of Light. The thing fluttered near to her and somehow she understood. You're… both… proud of my growth. She tried so hard not to cry, but the sensation was so overwhelming that it slipped out of her control and spilled forth. She clutched Cyril and murmured under her breath, "Thank you so much…"

The finch was all too happy to facilitate what was obviously tears of joy, holding her just as close as he had before. "You're the one to thank. You made the progress. You did this. You made us proud." He flinched slightly at the way her claws suddenly sprang out, but he realized easily that it wasn't intentional and she was just overwhelmed. Not like I can't heal it after, anyway, if she accidentally leaves a mark.

I'm so happy that I made someone proud...

~保護者~

A flash of Light pierced the blackness of night with painful suddenness. It preceded the sound of a body plummeting through the canopy of the trees deep within the wilds of the Highlands. Whoever was falling crashed into a multitude of thin branches before managing to catch themselves in a thicker one. A reptilian hiss of pure irritation escaped him as he pulled himself up. He was very, very high off of the ground above a small cluster of Hollows. That wasn't something he had a desire to deal with without a weapon.

The chameleon took a moment to slowly flex their fingers and examine their hands. I shouldn't be here. I was melted into nothing. Frowning, he checked over himself further. The outfit he'd been wearing when he'd died by his son's hand had been restored as well. He was wearing fully black clothes, specifically socks, pants, a long-sleeved shirt, a separate hood, and a mask that covered his face below his eyes. Those eyes were onyx in color, and so dark that when he yanked his hood up they could barely be seen. His whole face was concealed in the shadows, just the way he preferred.

Now certain that he was fine, he moved from a sitting position and into a crouch. His skin stood out against the wood of the branch, but only because it was such a dark purple as to nearly be black itself. He eyed the rumbling, pacing Hollows below. They expect me to fall and provide them with a meal. Typical. It was too bad for them that he wasn't stupid enough to be clumsy here.

With the speed and grace of a highly-trained shinobi, he blurred through the trees on his way out of this apparently infested area. Leaping from branch to branch, the man soon found himself by a disturbing sight. This was the location of Hyale, he knew it was, but this place… It was in ruin. Burnt and destroyed and abandoned. What the hell happened here? Dropping out of the tree he was currently in, he landed in a crouch on the ground before beginning to walk.

Before long, he located the tree where his own home had once been located and laid his hand on it. There was nothing left of the building, or indeed most of the tree itself. Just a jagged, angry section of its trunk. The thing was so hard and dead it was practically fossilized. What the hell… Confusion and irritation over the latter emotion blended together, prompting him to remove his hand.

Turning on his heel, the man stalked away toward the village's graveyard. He didn't care about most people who were buried there. Only one potential grave prompted him to enter the space. It was well-maintained, unlike the rest of the village, but showed signs of having faced similar destruction in the past. That it had been fixed up was a matter of respect and honor toward lives once lost. Such a thing could only be expected.

A few people had been here somewhat recently, it seemed. Traditional gifts rested atop and in front of stone markers, ranging from hand-carved wooden toys to small knives to alcohol to plants and ceremonial herbs. He gave no shits about any of this, though one bottle in particular looked palatable. It was casually swiped on his way by.

Soon enough, he reached a marker that truly caught his attention. While he didn't care to read the full paragraph of symbols, he read more than enough to get the gist of it. Graves of ancient heroes had been moved to a more secluded, secure location and this stone was explaining where to go to visit. It listed off names, as well. Notable ones even, like Kaiten and Saito, two brothers who had made quite a name for themselves during his parents' time.

None of them mattered. Only one name held any true significance to him. He didn't survive, then… Scowling, he popped open his newly acquired beverage and downed close to half the bottle. Fucking hell. I'd anticipated the opposite. Once more, he turned on his heel and walked away, returning to the ruins of his homeplace and debating where to go from here.

Rather than getting the chance to make a choice, he was soon met with the sight of Aniko appearing. She had her blade in hand, but recognition seemed to come across her face and she shifted it in a far less threatening position. "Who are you?" she asked calmly.

Turning his head, the man gave her a bored look. "No one relevant to you. Leave me be." He resumed walking away, taking another drink as he went. After a beat, he stopped, drained the remainder of the alcohol, and discarded its container in the grass by his feet. He then turned to face her and demanded, "Explain the look in your eye. We have never met, yet you look at me as though we have." His previous indifference was abruptly gone, replaced by a dark suspicion that sharpened his tone.

"You remind me of my partner in appearance," Aniko murmured slowly.

This earned a scoff. "Mere coincidence," he dismissed. He turned away and resumed walking away, silently venting his annoyance over his lack of shoes as he went. If only he'd been wearing them when he'd died… but there was no changing it now.

Aniko didn't allow him to get too far from her. "Hey, did you ever have children?"

He glared at her from under his hood. Nevertheless, he didn't really avoid answering her. "One."

"Who?" she suddenly demanded.

"What concern is it to you?" he demanded in return.

"Because it might be my partner," the woman answered with a vague bitterness to her tone.

Her words caused him to aim a much harsher glare in her direction. "My son is dead." Saying nothing further, he spun around on his heel and once again began to walk away from her.

"God fucking- What is his name?" Aniko questioned, exasperated. "Who is your son?"

He muttered something derogatory under his breath, then spun around on his heel to face her once more. "Humor me," he murmured with venom in his tone. "Tell me who you are speaking of."

Aniko pinched the bridge of her nose. Don't do something stupid. Don't say something stupid. "Shei."

Short-lived emotion flashed through those dark eyes, then he was scowling. "My son is dead," he repeated. "I saw the grave for myself."

"Actually, that's pretty wrong," a different voice said from one of the trees. Armaris smiled down at them both. "Shei's completely alive."

He subtly turned his head to look at her, but mostly kept his eyes focused on Aniko. After all, she was plainly irritated, and she posed a bigger and more immediate potential threat. Keeping her in view was wiser. "Pray tell," he mumbled, torn between refusing to believe them and being tentatively optimistic.

"Aniko, let's just prove it to him," Armaris said with a bright smile. "He's back at your house, right?"

Aniko nodded slowly, watching the man as well. "Yeah." The man looked back and forth between them for just a moment, plain distrust in his eyes.

Armaris motioned for the man to follow. "C'mon. Worst thing that happens is for you to find out it's a lie. Best thing would be to find out that he's still alive. No real downside to following, honestly. We'll even let you walk behind us, so that we can't just attack from behind or something stupid like that." Aniko glanced at the cat, a touch irritable that she would just volunteer them both for such a risky situation.

The man frowned, the expression unseen within the shadows cast over his face by his hood. "Fine. But no matter the outcome, I am not staying."

She shrugged. "Alrighty. C'mon, then," she said, tendrils of Darkness sprouting from her back and pulling her through the woodland around them with Aniko soon following her. The man followed silently behind them, arms crossed and attention almost immediately drifting elsewhere despite his distrust of them.

Armaris continued to lead the way until she arrived at the home in question. She perched on the roof and used her tendrils to dangle over the doorway, calling out, "Hey, Shei, can you come outside for a second?"

Though he'd been asleep in his and Aniko's room (all of his internal struggling had left him very tired), her call woke Shei up enough for him to respond. He soon wandered into the front room, rubbing his eyes with an arm as he tried to wake up fully. "What?"

She smiled brightly at him. "Can you come outside?" she repeated. Stifling a yawn (an action made very obvious by the fact that his mask was pulled down for once), Shei wandered over. The woman wasted no time in giving him a hug and calling out, "See, he's alive!"

Shei was quick to angle his face away so that none of his skin touched her, but didn't hesitate to hug her back with an arm. His gloves were thankfully still on. "Who are you talking to?" he asked drowsily. "Aniko is well aware that I'm not dead."

"Your dad," Armaris answered with a smile. Shei stiffened and quickly looked around but, upon seeing no such person, fixed her with a quizzical expression. The cat leaned just a little closer and whispered, "I think he was just revived. He may have already left, though."

"There is no one here aside from us," he agreed slowly, careful to keep his head angled away from her as she moved. Then he carefully added, "And there is no reason why my father would have been revived. He was not a cruel, wicked man, but he was not objectively 'good', either. The latter quality has been the reason for every other revival so far, from what I have seen."

"Then maybe this is the time to help him be good," Armaris posed. "Do you think it's possible?"

"Perhaps. I can't say for certain." Shei cautiously pulled himself away from her just enough to pull his mask up and eliminate the threat he had been skirting around this whole time. "I was around eight when he died, and I never knew him well. I don't know what changes he may be capable of, if any."

Armaris frowned briefly in thought. "I think it's possible," she said gently. "I mean… he doesn't act at all like some of the other evil chameleons we've seen. He's nothing like them."

"How long did you even see him?" Shei dared to ask. "You do not seem to have been gone long. There is only so much you can judge from a short encounter.

"Do you trust me?" Armaris asked, as opposed to answering his question. Shei eyed her for a heartbeat or so, then nodded. "Then trust that I know what a bad person is like. He's not one."

"Why does this even matter to you?" Shei asked her with a frown.

Armaris shrugged. "He was revived for a reason, so why shouldn't we try to help him out?" Shei answered with his own shrug after a pause. The cat pulled back and smiled. "C'mon. If you trust me, at least give this a chance."

Shei sighed soundlessly. "You will not accept a 'no', will you?" Without really waiting for an answer, he continued, "I am not unwilling. Just… cautious."

The cat smiled brighter. "I have an idea, okay?"

"What is it?" Shei asked her.

"Ryuji knows what it's like to have to make a full one-eighty in life, yeah?" Armaris posed. "Maybe he can help." That made Shei stop and think. She had a pretty fair point, after all. The cat flashed another bright smile before leaping off the porch and rushing off within her shadows to find Ryuji.

With a silent huff, Shei looked at Aniko. "Are you alright?"

The woman was forced to admit, "I have not been well as of late."

"As I have seen," Shei murmured. He took her hand and guided her fully inside, then to a seat. "Are you willing to discuss it?"

Aniko was quiet for some time before openly saying, "I am scared." Still not being used to speaking vocally (albeit not technically, since it was with his mind), Shei canted his head to nonverbally indicate his desire to be told more. The woman fell silent once more for quite some time before finding the words. "I am afraid that my family will be taken from me, and that I will be able to do nothing about it."

Shei abruptly recalled his ability to "talk" and thus did so. "Things are improving," he told her. "It is slow and things are still not ideal, but they are getting better. I understand your worries, but you do not need to let them consume you."

Aniko turned her gaze to the floor. "It's not just you."

"They have improved with our son as well. Armaris has had a positive impact, do you not think?"

The woman gripped her head in her hands. "Everything evil is wanting his Darkness to overtake him and we've been shown time and time again that we can't do a damn thing about it!"

"We will figure something out," Shei murmured, looking away. "I refuse to stop trying. I know you will not give up, either."

"I don't want to, but I'm not sure of what to even do," she murmured softly.

"Nor am I," he admitted. "However, it is important that our uncertainty not be allowed to devolve into hopelessness. We will do our son no favors if we cannot stay strong for him."

"It's so hard to be hopeful," Aniko admitted in return. Shei sighed soundlessly and nodded in agreement. Silence ensued for a short moment before Aniko extended a hand to him. Shei reached out and took her hand gently into his own. The woman stayed silent and simply held his hand in return, pulling it close to her. In response, Shei moved to wrap his free arm around her shoulders. For now, it was the only comfort he could give.

~保護者~

Lia stepped outside of Shadow's house and walked right up to the only other person out there, despite having never truly met them. In her mind, this person couldn't have been any different from her uncle Espio, and as such there was no reason in the whole wide world for her to be cautious. "Hi, Mister," she greeted sweetly. "How come you're not inside with everybody? Are you shy like my brother? 'Cause you don't have to be. Everybody's nice, promise." Even Myriu, even though she's been kinda mad and doesn't want to play. Maybe he'll play instead?

Caer didn't initially look over at her, focused on something a long distance away. However, he soon glanced over with a soft smile. "I'm not shy, but I appreciate that regardless. I came outside because I feel like I sensed something, and I'm probably about to go check it out."

A disappointed pout made its way onto her face. "Oh. I guess you can't play then." Lia scuffed the toe of one of her shoes in the grass. "Be careful, Mister, okay? You're Toru's Daddy, so you have to stay safe or else he'll be sad."

The older man chuckled softly. "I will. For now, head back inside, okay?"

"Okay, I will. Bye, bye!" Lia promptly dashed inside with all of her usual energy.

Caer laughed a little and made sure the door was fully closed before teleporting away. I sensed someone, I'm sure of it. The man appeared in the highlands and glanced around briefly before following the sensation, rushing to where he could feel them. He eventually slowed to a stop and called out, "Hey, someone here?"

A knife answered his call. It sailed through the air, only to stop and hover a hair's breadth from his left eye. "Leave me be," was the irritated response from one of the nearby tree's bushier branches. "I am tired of being interrupted."

"I actually figured I'd come and introduce myself," Caer said, unperturbed by the knife hovering by his eye. He hadn't even shifted upon seeing it, simply raising an eyebrow. "Name's Caer."

"I don't have any desire to know you." The knife flew back to where it had come from, and the same chameleon Aniko had earlier encountered dropped out of the branch. "State your business swiftly. I am leaving."

Caer thought about a potential way to say this without immediately revealing his intentions before simply shrugging. "Honestly, I just wanted to help you get away from habits you may have that were brought on by the Darkness us chameleons have."

"Not interested." The man tucked away his knife and turned to leave.

"You got kids?" Caer questioned. "People you care about?"

"My son can handle himself. He proved that thoroughly once already."

"Do you think he wants you in his life?" Caer pressed.

"Unlikely," was the somewhat indifferent reply, "considering that he is the one who ended mine."

"Why did he do it?" Caer questioned suddenly. "What happened?"

"His powers were immense. I sealed them, but it caused one final explosive release of energy." The other man idly picked a twig off his shirt, as though he was merely discussing the weather and nothing any more serious than that. "I was melted."

"Well, is he alive right now?"

"Yes. That changes nothing."

Caer chuckled a little. "Did you try to see if you could be in his life?"

"He does not need me," was the simple reply. "It is unnecessary."

"You're wrong," Caer said. "It's not about needing you. It's about you being there because you're his dad."

Eyes a touch narrower, the other chameleon slanted a dry glare in Caer's direction. "He will not care. He is grown and does not need me, nor would he have any reason to desire my presence. I will do my duty to ensure his continued safety when my intervention is warranted, but he has no reason to need or want anything further."

"Did you even try to ask?" Caer challenged. "You might often be surprised by what people think."

"Why ask when I know the answer?" the man responded. "This is not the closely bonded relationship you seem to think it is. There is no love here. His needs are met, and his life is protected. That is all I care about." Despite his words, his eyes strayed in the direction of Hyale for the barest of moments before he looked away and turned to leave.

Caer rolled his eyes a little. "You're a bad liar. If you think you might like to be in his life, just say the word. I'm always around and I can help you with it." He then shrugged a little. "If you'd like to, that is."

"You have no reason to offer such things, nor have I any reason to believe or trust you." The man began walking.

"I don't need you to believe or trust me," Caer said. "Do you want to be in the life of your kid or not?" he challenged.

Immediately, the man whirled on him. "Why do you even care?" he demanded.

"Why shouldn't you?" Caer questioned in return. "I'm here because I want chameleons affected by their evil Darkness to be able to change and live happily. I'm just offering my help so you can get what you want out of this."

He was met with an angry stare. True to his nature as a chameleon parent, the man's protective instincts flared up without delay, causing him to speak further whether he had originally intended to or not. "My son is safest apart from me. I don't care about my happiness. I care about his life. That's all that matters. Nothing else."

"And why is he safest when he's apart from you?" Caer asked.

"His mother," the man muttered. Though that was a big reveal in and of itself, he gave no further identifying information and left it at that.

"I know a little about that," Caer revealed in return. "Not your situation. One of my own." The man frowned at him, arms crossing. "Look, I don't know your situation as a whole, but I am willing to bet that it would actually be better if you were in his life."

"She will kill him as she did with all the others," was the harsh response. "I saw their corpses with my own eyes. I will not allow him to suffer the same fate by breaking her fucking rules."

"Then don't live by her rules," Caer returned just as harshly. "Are you going to let her decide how you live your life, or will you choose your own path?"

"This was never about my life, understand?" the man snapped. "I don't give a damn about that and I never will. I care that he has a chance to live his."

Caer's eyes flared briefly. "Then do him a goddamn favor and help him deal with that woman if she dares to come back! Be his father!"

"I deal with her as much as I can whenever she arrives, but she is not someone I can stop," the man hissed. "Virtually nothing aside from her creator can. What can be done is done every time, but staying away is the only thing that keeps him alive!"

"Then I'll just have to prove you wrong, won't I?" Caer suddenly challenged. "There is certainly a being in existence that can deal with her."

Dark eyes glared with sudden hatred, and the man's hands balled themselves into tight fists. "When you learn of something that can kill Malevolence, let me fucking know." With that said, he spun around on his heel and began stalking away.

"And what if there is something that can?" Caer challenged immediately, following the other man.

"There isn't," was the bitter reply. "Even Immortals avoid it at all costs, that alone is proof enough. Even if that wasn't the case, they, the Faein, and others like them have long since forsaken our kind. So long as the threat is only posed to someone of our race, they will never give a damn and they will certainly never help."

Caer scoffed a little. "How much do you know about what's going on right now?"

To his credit, the man didn't deny the truth. "Nothing. I was returned to life not even an hour ago."

"Then don't make assumptions," Caer said. "You haven't even seen the things I've seen in the short time I have been alive again. Blows everything you just said out of the water."

"I don't care what you think you know," was the muttered response.

"I watched one of the Faein come and soothe one of our kind," Caer suddenly cut in. "When that kid would listen to nobody else, she came and helped."

"They were content to let our race be massacred," the man retorted bitterly. "Our people were slaughtered while they sat by and did nothing. Why would they change that behavior now?"

Caer groaned openly. "You're making assumptions again. Maybe they never changed and you just don't know the situation."

"And maybe I still don't care what you think," the man hissed. "You assume much as well. What I have gotten from you are guesses, beliefs, and second-hand accounts. There is no proof."

"Fine. I'll just bring proof," Caer said easily.

The man scowled again. "Pray tell."

Caer smiled. "I've got my ways. Not gonna let this slide."

"You have no reason to bother," he scoffed. "We don't know one another, nor are we in any way allied. You're wasting both of our time. Why continue pretending to give a damn?"

"Are you gonna keep assuming my intentions or will you listen for five damn seconds?" Caer questioned. "I want to help any of our people stuck in the ways our Darkness leans."

This earned a derisive scoff. "You're wasting time," he reiterated.

Caer shrugged. "We'll see about that, now won't we?"

"You're a goddamn irritation." Despite this, the man stopped waking and turned to face him fully. "What did you say your name was? I wasn't paying attention. Didn't give a damn."

"Name's Caer," Caer said easily.

"...Haru," the man introduced after a short pause.

Caer gave a smile. "Nice to meet you, even if you won't say the same. If you happen to need anything, I'll do my best to keep my presence open for you."

"Don't bother. I don't need anyone." Haru turned his head away to look off into the distance. "Or anything."

"You think that now," Caer said. Haru just muttered something under his breath and resumed walking away yet again. Caer resumed after him as he had all the times prior, adding one final thing. "By the way, I assume you know where your son is, right?"

"I saw the home for a moment," Haru responded simply.

"You should attempt to speak to him," Caer said, suddenly turning away to leave as well. "Who knows what you'll discover?"

Haru was quiet for a few seconds before admitting, "I intend to. At some point."

"When you do, see if he remembers me. I'm kinda curious, since I haven't gotten to be in the highlands much recently," Caer called.

"Yeah, fine, I'll ask." With that said, Haru blurred into motion and vanished into the forest.

Heh, I didn't get stabbed. Much better this time around, Caer thought to himself, teleporting away. Seems like a fairly good guy, even if he's under the influence of his Darkness to a concerning amount. I think there seems to be enough there to sway him back on the right path. I sure as hell hope I'm right.

~保護者~

12,266 words this time. Many thanks to Blazing Wind as always for all of his help and support. Hope you enjoyed. Posted (at about 8:20 p.m.) 09-14-21.