I never wanted there to be a gap this long between chapters, but life got very... intense for a couple weeks. Writing became damn near impossible. Something happened that occupied my time for a couple weeks but things are back to normal. Me, the mister, and the baby are all well so fear not. This chapter is shorter than my usual, I apologize, but I wanted to get something posted for you. I plan to have another chapter written and posted by the end of the weekend if all goes well. I do hope you all continue to enjoy this story and what's to come!


Lunafreya awoke for the fourth time that evening she decided that sleep was a fruitless endeavor. The inside of the tent was still dark, and she wondered how long away the dawn was. She still had a throb behind her eyes and the tension had spread through the muscles in her neck. Hissing still surrounded the camp, as well as what she assumed was the sound of the Iron Giant dragging its immense cleaver behind it as it paced around the border. At least the haven held. She knit her brows as she thought of Hammerhead, and closed her eyes to whisper a short prayer for its citizens. She looked over at Noctis was not surprised to find him fast asleep, watching the steady rise and fall of his chest for a few moments before sitting up, stretching and rolling her shoulders to try and ease some of the tension in her neck before reaching for the clothing she had purchased in Lestallum to dress, unzipping the tent to slip out.

The fire was dim but still crackling. The chair previously occupied by Gladiolus was empty, though she recognized Crowe's braids, hair rustling as she bounced her leg. She cleared her throat as she stood, offering her shield a light wave when she turned towards the sound.

"Hey Sparkles. Couldn't sleep?" The Oracle shook her head, and with a wave of Crowe's hand sat in the chair beside her previously occupied by Gladiolus. She noted the seat was still warm, and a long stick was on the ground in front of her.

"Gladiolus recently retire for the evening?" she inquired.

"Just a little while ago. Figured that's what woke you up."

"What's the hour?" She pulled her phone from her pocket, face illuminated as the screen lit up.

"Four."

"Aren't you tired yourself?" Crowe couldn't help the smile at her charge's concern for her, and shifted slightly in her seat,

"Tired? Yeah. My ass sore from this damn chair? Yeah. But like hell if I can sleep with that two meters away." She pointed to where the pacing daemons. The perimeter of the haven was fairly lit from the pacing bombs, and Lunafreya noticed a humanoid form further away from the others, and she wondered if it was merely her imagination causing illusions from the nearby foliage. "Before you worry I can have the big guy take my bike and I'll pass out in the back of that fancy-ass car you guys have. Looks cozier than a tent anyway." She offered, holding up a palm to forestall any suggestions for sleep from Lunafreya.

"I can take a turn as watch, if that's your concern." She offered regardless, uncurling her knit fingers and resting her hands on her knees. "Not quite fair that you and Gladiolus are the only ones to keep watch over the haven."

"Neither of us could sleep. Trust me, I have no qualms kickin' someone awake if I'm ready to go into a coma for a few hours." She forced a laugh, sighing at the end and shifted in her chair again before standing, complaining how stiff she felt.

"I could help ease your tension." She offered after a couple seconds of silence, eyes trained on the figures pacing across from her. She winced when the Iron Giant grew tired of dragging its cleaver and began another assault on the haven, the throbbing behind her eyes intensifying and she wrestled her urge to rub at her temples.

"Nothing a little pacing won't fix. Thanks though." The new movement garnered most of the attention of the bombs who began to concentrate on the edge of the haven Crowe was closest to, hovering back and forth as she paced the hissing growing louder and two of them trembling, and beginning to inflate. One of them had nearly tripled in size, eyes rolling back as it began to quiver more violently.

"Back up, quick!" Lunafreya shouted, images flashing behind her eyes of a devastated city and charred corpses. Crowe backpedaled away from the perimeter, eyes fixed on the bombs that were inflating.

"Tell me their name is just some cheeky moniker 'cause they look like those cartoony bombs in kid shows."

"I fear otherwise."

"Guess its time to test this haven…" Crowe reached an arm out towards Lunafreya, digging her fingers into her upper arm as her hand clamped around her and tugged her backwards. Crowe side-stepped and lifted an arm, covering her face and turning her back towards the daemons a moment before they were forced to cover their eyes from the sudden flash. Both were knocked back by a rush of scalding air. Both let out a deep grunt as they impacted the ground, Lunafreya immediately curling onto her side and clutching her ribs, pathetic wheezing gasps escaping her throat as she strained to find her breath. Crowe yelped when she hit the ground, shifting to a groan as the pain across her skin registered. She pressed her forehead against the ground after rolling to her knees, arms curled and held away from her body to keep them from touching anything and trying to figure out how to tear this damn shirt off her back. "Luna?" she looked over to see the Oracle on her side, "Hey… Luna…? C'mon, talk to me." She groaned through shaky breaths. Her body refused to move to check on the young woman, words difficult to form as pain began to overwhelm her every sense.

"I… I'm okay." She managed to gasp out after air finally filled her lungs. The effort of such a deep breath made her ribs protest, and she turned to look at her arm which was beginning to sting. With the dim firelight she could see a discoloration on her skin, and looked up to Crowe, gasping when she noticed the state she was in. "Let me help you." She whispered. The tents around them were rustling and she ignored everyone stumbling from them to investigate the source of the chaos, tuning out their voices to find her light, hands reaching towards Crowe,

"I'll be fine." Lunafreya ignored Noctis's voice asking if she was all right, and his friends asking them what happened.

"I can help." She could see the blisters forming on Crowe's skin, and the charring on the back of her shirt. She didn't offer a second protest as Lunafreya's hands lightly cupped her face, the gesture dropping the hand that had reached for her shouder. She pressed her forehead lightly against Crowe's and whispered a prayer. Crowe felt the mind-altering agony sparking across her nerves begin to fade. The pain soothed to an annoying tingling sensation, her tensed limbs relaxing and she felt as if she could collapse right into the woman's arms. "How do you feel?"

"Better… a lot better. Shit. Those sparklefingers of yours save the day again! What about you?" she inquired. Lunafreya managed a smile, focusing her breathing through her nose to keep it leveled. She nodded at Crowe and felt a hand on her shoulder,

"What the hell happened, you okay?!" She turned to look up at Noctis, eyes wide and hair sticking in odd angles. He had only pulled on his boxers, the rest of him bare and she flushed despite herself and squinted hard to reorient her mind.

"I-" she looked around briefly at the others, her first urge to insist she was all right. "I admit I think my arm is burned a bit. Though not as badly as Crowe, please check her first. She protected me when one of the bombs exploded." She explained, looking over at her shield who was assessing herself.

"I go to bed for ten minutes and you blow yourself up just to prove what a badass you are?" Gladiolus teased, "did good. Princess barely has a scratch on her." He added quickly, crossing his arms over his chest and smiling, "did good. Official Shield now! Got the scars to prove it."

"I did the best I could but there is always a degree of scarring. They may fade a bit-" Lunafreya interjected,

"You did fine, and the scars are barely noticeable it seems... Thanks. You don't look unharmed though." She noted how stiff she was holding herself, and the way she was hovering her arm away from her body the way she had been a moment ago. "Lemme see that," she reached out towards her wrist, gesturing for Lunafreya to let her assess her arm. She did so after a moment of hesitation, a sharp intake of breath through her teeth at the contact with the sensitive skin. Noctis had knelt down beside her, and watched Crowe checking her arm, the woman tisking after a moment and pulling her phone from her pocket to use the flashlight. Now illuminated she saw the deep red covering most of her arm, and withdrew her grip,

"Shit. Can't you cure yourself or something"

"I'm afraid not."

"Well that's about as fair as playing poker with a toddler! And the fuckin' Astrals want you to help them?" she rolled her eyes, and sighed. "We got anything lying around that'll help?"

"I purchased some supplies when we were in Lestallum." Ignis offered after a yawn, feeling guilty that he could yawn of all things as he looked at the injured pair. He did a quick scan of the area around him and noticed there were far fewer bombs than before, and the Iron Giant was nowhere to be seen. "Quite odd… it appears our guests have left."

"Probably fucked of if they were evaporated by the asshole who wanted to blow up." Crowe replied.

"It… it appears so." He left into his tent, and emerged with a bag, from which he pulled out several objects. "Noctis, I purchased some drinks perhaps you could convert this into a potion for the Lady?"

"Yeah, if that's what she needs." He reached out for it, channeling his magic after pulling the tab to keep the can from exploding. He had learned the hard way as a child not to convert these energy drinks while still sealed. "Here," he held it out to her but Ignis was quick to reach for it. Lunafreya noticed the way his brows were knit, and the muscles of his jaw stood out matching the clear tension in his neck. With the potion back in Ignis's hands she noted the way his fingertips dug into his upper arms and knew trying to tell him to relax would be a fruitless waste of energy and turned her attention back to Ignis, knowing allowing him to tend to her would ease him.

"Potions work better when applied directly to a wound, when the injury is external. Drinking them is more beneficial when one has injuries such a fracture, or a disturbance to the soft tissues. Prompto, could you please get me a clean bowl from my cooking set?" he asked. The blond man nodded, glad for the chance to move purposefully rather than bounce and place and fight the urge to drive everyone to their wits end by pacing. He fetched the aforementioned item, holding it out with a shaking hand to Ignis. He poured some of the potion into the bowl, soaking pads of nonwoven gauze before reaching for a bottle of clear liquid, "it is merely sterile water but it may still sting the sensitive tissue. I do apologize." She wanted to comment this was not her first time on the receiving end of first aid, but bit back the poor excuse of reassurance and simply nodded at him. She winced slightly as he carefully poured the water over her burn, patting at it and applying the potion-soaked gauze and wrapping her limb.

"It tingles a bit." She remarked as the pain faded replaced by the cool sting of the potion. "It feels quite a bit better. Thank you." She smiled at him. "and Crowe… thank you. You got severely burned to protect me."

"Hey I'm your shield right? S'what I'm for!" she gave her a thumbs up, and Lunafreya couldn't help but frown.

"Does not mean that I wish for you to be injured on my behalf."

"So… you're both okay?" Prompto asked, arms crossed in front of his chest, bouncing on his heels.

"I feel quite a bit better, thanks to Crowe and Ignis." She assured, and Crowe echoed her sentiments be it less eloquently stated. She let out a yelp from startle and pain as Noctis pulled her into his arms, Prompto nearly tripping over one of the camp chairs as he flinched away from the pair at her yelp, deep lines etching his face as he frowned at her reaction to the Princes attempt to embrace her. He hoped that it wasn't his picture of them sharing a bit of affection that caused her reaction, drumming his fingers against his arm as he kicked himself for being so intrusive to their little moment at the dock.

"Stop scaring me like that." Noctis whispered against her hair, squinting his eyes shut to prevent the burning from blossoming into tears.

"Ribs…" she whimpered. She flushed when she realized she said the word aloud, and how quickly Noctis withdrew his arms from her, and she folded her arms around herself wishing for the privacy of their tent. The subsequent silence from everyone only made her cheeks burn deeper. "I'll be all right I just aggravated them a bit." She tried to offer. Prompto winced again, and wished that it had just been his picture, and found himself pacing around near the chairs.

"Perhaps drinking a potion would not be unwise." Ignis suggested, looking up at Prompto, "and please. Cease your pacing, the daemons seem to like it." He stopped in place, turning to look at the bombs who had clustered together on the edge of the haven closest to him, and dropped himself into a camp chair and bounced his legs instead.

"How are you shaking the damn rocks with your legs?!" Gladiolus asked, walking a few paces away from Prompto before he felt the urge to punch him just to get him to stop being so damn restless, he was feeling tense enough as it was without Prompto threatening to drill a hole into the ground.

"You've already spent one curative on me. How many did you purchase?" Lunafreya answered when Ignis made a second offer of potion, not allowing his friends to provide Lunafreya an excuse to neglect herself, recalling tales Noctis had shared about her tendencies.

"I purchased them for this very type of situation." Ignis answered back. "It matters not how many I purchased, what matters now is that you need one."

"Save it for a day one of us is more gravely injured. I can brave a bit of tenderness." She offered back. Ignis pushed his glasses back up his nose when he lifted his gaze from the bag he had been reaching into and shrugged.

"You are as stubborn as Noctis is seems," he smiled lightly at her and sighed. "I have an adequate supply if that is your concern, but I shall not force something upon you."

"Maybe you should…" Noctis nudged her lightly. He wasn't sure giving her a flirty excuse to use the potion was wise in her fragile state.

"You saved us a few curatives by fixin' up Crowe. I think you earned that second potion." Gladiolus commented.

"He has a good point." Prompto agreed, speaking even faster than usual.

"I know I'll sleep a hell of a lot better knowing you aren't curled up in a pain ball in that tent." Crowe added. "And it's not like cans of hyper-sweetened caffeine are expensive. We can afford some more once we get low." She added. Prompto was nodded his agreement, and had gone from bouncing his legs to a light tap of his foot as he occupied his hands with his camera.

"If anything take one to be your normal glowy photogenic self so I can snap a picture of our two badass mages surviving a daemon explosion." He balanced his camera in his lap as he made a wide energetic gesture with his arms, making a lout boomwith his voice.

"If you're all going to insist." Lunafreya sighed, and looked up at Ignis to nod at him.

"You're a part of us too Luna…" Noctis assured her when he saw the stiff way she was sitting, and the rigidity in her hand when she reached for the can to pass to Noctis to imbune with whatever magics it took. She found it quite curious he could creature a curative, yet couldn't tap into these white powers to heal more directly. She held her curiosity to herself, not wishing for him to feel guilty at the state of either herself or Crowe. He handed her the can and she sipped at it, and wondered if she had ever drank something so sweet since she was a child.

"Is this thing pure sugar?" she asked, and happily sipped it again, enjoying the way the bubbled tickled her nose almost threatening a sneeze, a pleasant acidic tang hitting the back of her tongue.

"You like the taste of those things? Always hated them." Gladiolus commented, wrinkling his nose. "Figured you would chug the thing."

"The bubbles make that a bit difficult." She answered back, and turned her attention back to her drink. Several sips later she pressed the back of her fist against her mouth, trying to control the burp caught in her throat, and Crowe barked a laugh beside her, slapping her hard on the back which caused a second, much louder, burp. Lunafreya slapped her hand over her mouth, cheeks burning and the heat spreading to her ears. The others chuckled at her, and she turned a glare to Noctis who was giggling beside her. "I'm sorry?" she apologized, and pressed the can back to her lips to focus her attention back on drinking her potion.

"Oh hell Sparkles, it's just kinda funny gettin' to see you be a person." Lunafreya smiled at that, and was happy to find the potion had taken effect quickly. A few more large sips, and a third suppressed burp later, and she was handing Ignis the empty can to place with the one he had used earlier to bandage her to recycle later.

"Should we try to get some more sleep?" Prompto asked, back to bouncing his legs.

"Pretty sure I'm not sleeping…" Crowe replied, any grogginess washed away from the combination of panic and pain.

"Rest will help finish your healing. I did what I could, but you should also rest to allow your body to heal what I could not." Lunafreya counted, and nodded when Ignis echoed her sentiment.

"Fine. But no bitching if watching shit on my phone keeps you up." She pointed.

"I have an idea to help us all sleep a little better," Prompto spoke up, "why don't we move the tents a little closer together and leave the flaps open?"

"Not an unwise suggestion." Ignis responded, and the others quickly voiced their agreements. Even Lunafreya could not argue with the idea, despite her own insecurity at the thought of not having a barrier to hide behind.

"Okay before we go to bed can I ask the question we're all wondering? What the hell actually happened?!" Gladiolus interrupted, astonished that no one else was prodding the two now that they had been tended to and appeared far less panicked than when they first burst out of their tents in response to a flash bright enough to wake them up echoed by a sound that he swore would have his ears ringing for a month.

"Fuckin bomb lived up to its name. Blew up, and the haven is probably why we just got burned and not got dead." She explained. "I think it scared off the Iron Giant and turned the other bombs into ash. Hey, silver lining!" she threw her hands up to punctuate her explanation.

"So they just sit there hovering all night then just decide, eh, I'll go all boom." Prompto inquired, shrugging to mimic the imaginary bomb. Crowe nodded, a bit embarrassed to admit her aching butt almost got them killed by prompting her to pace. She glanced at Lunafreya and was relieved that the princess provided no commentary.

"These things make no sense." Gladiolus complained, gesturing at the bombs. He counted them for the forth time since coming out of his tent, and was glad that the number was not rising. "Well I'm gonna try to pass out. I don't have the ability to coma like Noct but I'm pretty damn tired. You sure you two are okay?" he asked. Lunafreya nodded and Crowe gave him a thumbs up. He returned the gesture and climbed into his tent, keeping the flap open as Prompto has suggested, said man following his friend equally eager to attempt sleep and put this night behind him, convinced the light of day was all they needed. Ignis checked on the two women as well, and requested to inspect Lunafreya's bandage before he felt satisfied that he could return to his own tent.

"I must admit now that the worst of the fright has worn off I'm quite tired." Lunafreya admitted, and gestured to their tent. They were too tired to pull the tent closer to the others, but did leave the tent flap open. Crowe had gone to lay down as well, the fire gently crackling and fading as the bombs continued to hiss around them, the muffled voices and sounds coming from Crowe's phone a welcome addition to provide anything to listen to other than the daemons.

"How you feeling?" Noctis asked once they had both collapsed onto their sleeping bags.

"Sore, but quite a bit better." She answered, deciding that pretending she was in better shape than she was would only lead him to prodding her until she admitted her true state. "Crowe protected me from a lot of the heat but I hit the ground a bit hard so my ribs were not pleased with me." She clarified. "though the potion did help. Thank you for making them for me."

"And your arm?"

"Unless I actually think much on it, I don't even notice it. Ignis did quite a lovely job."

"Yeah he's spent too long taking care of my sorry ass to not figure out how to cook and do first aid. Especially with Gladiolus being my swords trainer. Lots and lots of first aid needed." He chuckled. "Ignis once begged him to take it easy on me so he'd have a break from patching me back together!" he chuckled.

"Prompto stop moving those damn legs of yours before I make you sleep outside!" Gladiolus's voice shouted suddenly. The noise registered with Lunafreya before the words did and she sat up sharply, gasping and covering her ribs for a moment. The pain eased nearly as fast as it appeared but Noctis was quick to sit up and wind his hands around her waist, clasping them in her lap as he gently tugged her until her back rested against his chest.

"You okay?" asked again, and felt the nod of her head before she let more of her weight lean against him. "It's okay…" he whispered, pressing his lips to her neck with how stiff she felt in his arms. The gesture didn't help her relax, and her fingers curled around his tighter,

"The tent flap." She whispered, so low she could hardly hear herself. He began to draw back from her, but her fingers gripped him tighter. "Don't…" she pleaded. "I'm sorry I'm so… tense. But that doesn't not mean I don't want your arms around me." She whispered, chewing on her bottom lip. "Let's lie back down." She asked. Noctis helped guide her back down. It took some awkward shuffling but they had their bed rolls touching so he could nestle her in his arms, his knees tucked behind hers and her back pressed against his chest. He felt a bit too warm curled so close to her, but was willing to deal with the discomfort if it meant she was content.

"We should tell my dad Crowe earned her Shield badge officially today." He stated.

"I cannot argue that." She hoped the pale pink scars would fade in time, but tried to force the thoughts from her mind and focus on the pattern of Noctis's breathing, the way his fingers tickled her skin as they trailed up and down her arms. She closed her eyes, trying to block out the flash and the image of Crowe's burns melting into the charred bodies she saw in that leveled city back in Tenebrae, trying not to humor the nightmares that threatened to plague her mind of what may have happened to Hammerhead should they be attacked again. Her mind drifted to times she felt safe, and happy. And a little boy in a wheelchair in the sylleblossums fields of Tenebrae filled her thoughts.

"Remember when we were children and playing outside, you wanted to play tag but couldn't yet stand? I tried to tell you I was quite content to sit outside with you but you insisted that you wanted to play and as soon as you stood up Umbra pulled on your pant leg to try and get you to sit back down but you fell instead?" she chuckled at the mental memory.

"Yeah I scraped up my knees… your mom fixed it and we went back inside to watch a movie while our parents made us some hot cocoa and popcorn." He remembered how terribly that afternoon had started, how helpless he had felt. But then his Luna had turned it around and it was one of his fondest memories of a time untainted by the Empire.

"When this is all over… I'd love to lie in a bed with you with no one stalking outside the door, treating ourselves to all the popcorn and hot cocoa our stomachs can handle while binging movies for the entirety of the day." She suggested, smiling at the images that were replacing her dark thoughts. She wanted to reach for this dream for the future, of a day as a normal couple lying in a bed enjoying each other's company.

"I think that's a promise I can keep." He chuckled, kissing the crown of her hair, desiring such a normal life with her without the taint of fear looming over them. Where she could indulge herself in whatever she wanted. To dictate her own days. He wanted to kiss her regardless of who was looking, and hold her whenever the thought took him. To link hands, exchange words, and whisper things to make her blush hard enough to set fire to her ears.

"I love you." She whispered,

"Love you too." Her eyes trained on the open tent flap and she twisted in Noctis's arms so she was facing him, forcing a gap between them. She reached her hand to stroke his cheek, giving him a smile to try and erase the furrow in his brow. She held herself up slightly on her forearms so she could lean into him and kiss him to prevent his protest before settling onto her side, her hand reaching for his and gripping it tight. Noctis bit his bottom lip, debating trying to reassure her about his friends but took it as a small victory she was willing to keep the tent open at all and closed his eyes.

When Noctis finally emerged from the tent it was to the sight of a nearly fully packed camp. When he had first awoken he laid on his back, frowning but not surprised to find Lunafreya had already gotten up. His night had been plagued with vivid terrors of daemons plaguing Lucis, of Hammerhead on fire, blackened frames are cars burning in the middle of the road and havens cracking open as daemons flooded unchecked to attack hunters trying to find sanctuary in the dark. He looked at the haven expecting to find a large crack down the middle, the runes protecting the place split open but with a sigh found them still intact with their distinct faint glow. His eyes scanned around and saw the ground around the northern edge of the haven was charred, and Noctis couldn't help the brief jolt of terror as he wondered what would have happened had the magic around the haven not protected them.

"He has finally joined the living." Ignis remarked,

"Was a little worried I was gonna need to check your pulse." Prompto added, giving the groggy prince a wink and a thumbs-up gesture, which Noctis replied to with a middle finger. He stretched, feeling his lower back and left shoulder pop, groaning with relief.

"I saved you some breakfast Noct. Nothing fancy," he explained and handed him a plate of toast and eggs. He felt a little guilty eating while everyone was working and stopped Gladiolus from packing up the tent he shared with Lunafreya, insisting he would pack it himself once he ate his meal. He washed the food down with some cold coffee, foregoing sugar and powdered creamer to just get the caffeine into his system and not hold them up anymore.

"Luna… you have a minute?" Noctis called over to her between taking another bite of toast topped with cold scrambled eggs.

"Of course." She answered, smile dropping when she noted the tension in his shoulders. She sat down next to him. Her eyes watched the others milling about the camp, packing things up. It was second nature to tune her focus to their conversations, but Noctis's voice pulled her attention back to him after he had swallowed his bite.

"With everything… I think it's time to make that covenant with Ramuh." He explained. "After Hammerhead and last night… something is just… wrong. I was having nightmares all night, kinda like when I was a kid after the crystal chose me." He continued. He shoved another bite of food in his mouth to avoid interrupting what he expected to be protests from Lunafreya, and was surprised to see her give a slight nod of her head.

"The Crystal chose you. If you feel that it is time, I shall awaken him for you. But I will need time to pray." She answered him, folding her hands in her lap, head bowed slightly.

"How long do you need?"

"It is difficult to say." She grimaced, "but it will take time."

"We can pack up the car, unless you think it'll take long enough we should stay put." She shook her head, assuring him she doubted that such a length would be needed. The idea of remaining at the camp while the others packed put her ill at ease, but Noctis assured her that what she was doing was important enough that she need not feel guilty. He got up with a light groan, rubbing at the scar tissue on his lower back before approaching his friends. "Hey… guys." They all turned to him, pausing in the midst of their various tasks.

"Sup?" Gladiolus asked.

"I need to make the covenant with Ramuh. And Luna's gonna need some time to pray before waking him." He explained.

"You ready for that?" Prompto asked with a frown.

"It's what we're out here to do, right?" he answered back. Prompto winced, and occupied himself by shifting the weight of his bag and chair on his shoulder, muttering about getting his things to the car and would return to help with the rest.

"You feel you are ready to begin these covenants, would you not rather more royal arms prior?" Ignis inquired, but Noctis shook his head in reply and explained to his friends as he had done to Lunafreya. Ignis pushed his glasses up his nose before standing to lift his bag over his shoulder, cooking equipment gripped in his other hand. Gladiolus swore and walked after Prompto. Noctis winced at the new tension in his friends, and hoped it would fade once this first covenant was forged. Hell, maybe they'd all have a bit more confidence with an Astral on their side. "Crowe, can watch over Luna while she prays? I'll help pack up your stuff."

"Yeah, sure. S'my job, right?" Crowe gave a thumbs up and a grin, "beats carrying all the heavy shit all the way to the car." She added.

"Hey, you arms," he noted, pointing at her. Crowe quirked a brow and looked down at her arms, turning them over and tilting her head,

"Yeah? They're arms."

"The scars… they're pretty much gone." Crowe's brows lifted with this line, and inspected her arms closer.

"Shit, you're right. Except for a couple small pink spots you'd never know… man, Sparkles is a miracle worker." She marveled at the smoothness of the skin on her arms as she traced her fingers over where her burns had been the night before, and pondered over the state of her back. She rolled her shoulders and twisted in exaggerated motions but felt no burning or tugging she would expect from tight scar tissue. "You go pack the stuff up. I'll keep her safe." She assured him, making a shoo gesture before turning to see where Lunafreya had knelt down, her hands on her lap and head bowed at the edge of the haven, her back to the others. She walked over to her and sat down a couple paces away, opening her mouth to announce her presence but the rigid posture and quiet whispers coming from the Oracle changed her mind.