"Shaggy…" Vincent breathed his name, more questioning in tone.

"What is it, Vincent?" Shaggy said, sadly.

"Shaggy, we need to have a discussion about that friend of yours." Vincent demanded in a very soft, but stern tone.

"Her name is Daphne." Shaggy told him quietly. His soft, brown eyes closed as he breathed a painful sigh.

"...Daphne refuses to listen to me."

"What, man?" Shaggy said, his voice was slightly doubtful. "why wouldn't she listen to someone like you?"

It was a moment that provided him with a few minutes of introspection.

Oh, come off it, Scrappy there's no truth to that werewolf story

He looked at the warlock incredulously.

"I take back what I just said." Shaggy said, sounding fearful. He spent a few more seconds of silence mulling over reasons why Daphne would refuse his assistance. "Now, Mr. Ghoul, it's like this," his voice caught in his throat, and he gulped. "It's not like we didn't bother to warn her about the wolfsbane or anything-"

"How are you feeling?" Vincent asked, abruptly cutting Shaggy's sentence short.

He sounded a little irritable.

"I'll be fine," Shaggy said, growing light headed again. "Daphne didn't know any better."

He wiped a tear from the corner of his eye.

Beside him sat Scooby.

It didn't matter whether his arms were swathed in thick bandages. Trembling from fatigue he raised his sore arms up wrapping them around the great dane's neck.

He sobbed loudly.

Overwhelmed, he buried his face in Scooby's fur, drying his eyes. "we're sorry, sir," he said, swallowing another painful gasp of air. "we're sorry about all of this."

A short silence was shared between them before Vincent answered. "I know." his voice was distant and toneless. Though Shaggy wasn't sure if he sounded sincere. His own desire to yell in a tone so threatening he'd shudder. "I was only trying to prevent this from happening." died in his throat the moment he saw Shaggy and Scooby's troubled expressions.

He made no attempts to sound pleasant.

He did provide them with a cursory warning after all.

It was their escape from certain danger that had eluded him. To owe their gratitude to a child who lifted the curse of the waning full moon.

Daphne who was devoured by cold moonlight.

Had been spared.

Her friends' lives had been spared.