Questions, Answers, and Curiosities

"You know, it's really fucking misleading to say you found my dad when all you have is a name, date of birth, and an address that may or may not be current," Sebastian griped to his younger sister, leafing through the legal documents his sister provided him.

Maru sulked. "Hey, I stole those documents from mom's secret filing cabinet in her room," she stated, defending her efforts. The bespectacled woman pursed her lips before adding, "Isn't it strange that mom has records of a paternity test for you?"

Sebastian lay his head back against the wall and exhaled audibly. "I'm not shocked, actually," he admitted, rolling a pen through his fingertips. "Mom was probably trying to get her soon-to-be-ex-husband to stick around and raise his damn kid. Even with the proof that I was his, the jerk didn't take responsibility."

"Please don't refer to yourself that way," Maru pled with a sigh. "I heard from Mom that you and Dad fought this morning, but -"

The dark-haired man shook his head. "I'm just so done with it all, Maru," he confessed sadly. "I honestly believed for a second that Demetrius was trying with the whole Solarion Chronicles thing on his birthday - as painful as that was to DM. And I stupidly got my hopes up…" Sebastian shrugged, resting his elbows on his knees. "After today, I'm starting to wonder if we ever really left square one."

"I don't really understand his way of thinking all the time," Maru verbalized as she slid her back down the wall to join her brother on the floor. "But Mom really chewed him out when she asked him to explain what happened," she informed Sebastian. "And he told her what was said and didn't think there was much wrong with his actions at first." Maru cringed slightly at the memory. "I don't think I've ever seen her so furious with him when she spelled out how wrong he was..." She chuckled under her breath and ribbed Sebastian gently. "Apparently she had moved the coffee pot, by the way."

Sebastian sniffed in amusement. "Of course, she did." He could not help but smirk at the irony of it all. Robin had a bad habit of getting into a cleaning spree and moving things that had a place of their own out in the open. His obsidian eyes glanced back down at the papers in his hand. "Do you really think he's still in ZuZu?" Sebastian inquired his sister.

"Hm…" Maru replied pensively. "While single people tend to move more often those who are married or have children, it doesn't hurt to start with this address." Taking the documents from him, she flipped through to one page. "Though the address here isn't the same as the one where the paternity test results were mailed. See?" She pointed to each to emphasize the difference. "I found both places using online maps," Maru explained. "Apparently Jesse moved across town after he and Mom split. She stayed in the apartment they had previously shared for a while before she had to move out and find something more affordable."

Shane,

I have this crazy new idea that I want to involve you in... It's called "Clothing Therapy".

Please come to the Mayor's house today to see what it's all about.

Love, Emily

The poultry farmer could not help but read this short, simple note he found in his mailbox this morning repeatedly. One word stuck out to Shane. "Love?" he read Emily's whimsical handwriting anxiously. Did Emily mean that the way he hoped she did? Would it really be okay to ask her out? His dark eyes glanced down at the pastel bouquet in his grasp. "Ho, boy…" he muttered under his breath as he approached the mayoral mansion with its ivory siding and contrasting roof and front door. Tucking the flowers away in a bag he brought especially for the occasion, Shane knocked on the slate-colored portal before entering the Mayor Lewis' house.

When Shane stepped into the main room of the manor, the man discovered that he was not the only person invited to Emily's event. It made sense that the Mayor was present, since this was his home, but Shane also spied Robin, Abigail, Clint, and Violet while Emily stood at the front of the room next to a mysterious red curtain. As Shane understood it, the Mayoral Manor was supposed to be a secondary gathering place for the town after the community center, but Lewis seldom used it as such. Not that he particularly cared to sit and eat a meal with the prick.

Shane walked up and joined those gathered up front, beside the enormous dining table that the Mayor never actually used to host guests. The man greeted his landlady. "I didn't know you were invited too or I would have walked with you," he disclosed with an amused chuckle.

Violet turned her head and whispered to Shane behind her hand, "I have no idea what this is, but this seems really important to Emily." Her cobalt eyes scanned him over. "You're clean shaven!" When helping him choose a few new pieces for his wardrobe in ZuZu yesterday, Haley had not-so-subtly informed him that kissing a man with an unkempt beard was like kissing sandpaper and if Shane respected her sister at all, he would shave before asking Emily out. But he did not want to give away his intentions and steal the thunder from this clothing therapy experience.

But then Abigail joined in the hushed conversation. "And wearing something other than your old Joja uniform!" the amethyst-haired woman added, prodding his shoulder as if to make sure Shane was real.

Shane began to stutter out an excuse when Emily brought everyone's attention to the front of the room with a greeting. "Welcome to clothing therapy!" the chipper woman exclaimed, before she began pacing around like a motivational speaker to ensure she could see all her guests. "You're probably wondering… what is 'clothing therapy?'"

The sapphire-haired woman paused beside the crimson drapes. "I'll try to explain," she began. She held one hand over her heart as she stepped forward, "So many of us are struggling with personal issues…" Her usually smiling face became serious for a moment. "Things holding us back from living how we want."

"It's important to me that everyone has a free and happy life…" Emily asserted honestly, "so I came up with a new kind of therapy to help people achieve that." The woman returned to her place next to the cloth panels and a huge smile. "It's based on the amazing power of self-expression. Self-expression is a wonderful healing tool, did you know that?"

There were a few nods in the room, so Emily turned toward her makeshift dressing room and gesticulated toward it to emphasize the fabric's importance. "Behind this curtain, you'll find rack and racks of clothes. There's endless options to choose from!"

Her finger swept across the room, making sure to address each of her guests. "Your job is simple: find the outfit that truly speaks to you and put it on." Emily beamed with delight. "Feel confident in yourself and your choice. You all have a unique style to share with the world!"

"Violet, you're up first!" Emily informed the farmer. The pastel-haired woman laughed nervously before stepping forward into the dressing room. It took a while for the woman to decide, but she emerged from the dressing room in dark wash jeans torn at the knees, a tank top which matched her hair color and sported a deep v-neck with a fitted leather jacket over it. Her usually side-swept bangs were braided and fastened out of the way with floral-shaped pins into a messy bun.

"You look cool, Violet," Abigail reacted enthusiastically, ogling the agrarian's new look.

Emily looked thrilled. "What a fun mixture of styles! Now go outside with confidence and show the world!"

Violet hesitated but indicated her understanding and strode outside in her new attire.

"Okay, everyone gets a turn!" Emily announced, but she did not have to tell Robin twice as the red head went straight for the dressing room.

Clint, on the other hand, who still lingered in the back corner, groaned an "Oh no…"

Robin could be heard giggling on the other side of the red screen and a few minutes later, materialized in an elegant green dress with mint-colored accents. "Beautiful!" Emily commented gleefully.

"Oh my!" Mayor Lewis remarked as Robin shook out her hair and raised the skirt of the dress theatrically past her ankles.

"Let's see what Demetrius thinks…" the ginger-haired woman laughed as she went out into town to show off her more feminine side.

Mayor Lewis threw up his hands in surrender. "Why not…" he muttered to himself as he became the next participant in Emily's therapeutic experiment. "Hehe… not bad!" he chortled to himself as he found the garments he wished to wear. After some initial sounds of trouble, the mustached man eventually appeared looking like a pimp - cane and all. Shane grimaced at the purple pants, cape, and enormous hat to match, but made sure that Emily did not see his reaction. Lewis even wore a false mustache over his natural one to complete the look.

"Lookin' sharp!" Emily praised. Shane could not help but wonder if she recognized the style and was simply being polite or genuinely had no idea. Either way, the old man went out into town dressed like that and Shane was not about to stop him.

Abigail volunteered next with a "Me next!" and a loud clatter could be heard behind the heavy cloth panel that for a while, Shane wondered if maybe she had accidentally knocked down some of the Mayor's kitchenware.

But, to his surprise, the suit of armor that stumbled out from the dressing room was the source.

Emily practically glowed with pride. "Very nice!" she complimented the younger woman.

Abigail, who initially seemed overjoyed, quickly changed her tune. "It's sweaty in here…" she grumbled, but she decided to at least try and go outside for a bit. Luckily, today was not nearly so hot as the day before.

Emily had to coax her next participant. "Clint? You're up!"

The blacksmith trembled with anxiety. "M.. Me?" he croaked pitifully. He swallowed, trying to dampen his dry mouth. "Okay, Emily. I'll do it," Clint agreed hesitantly before he closed the panels behind him to change.

Shane was surprised by the look Clint chose. He had a loosely fitting polka dot shirt with pink shorts and a black beret.

"Aww! Cute…" Emily tittered in response, which seemed to deflate Clint instantaneously. The man sighed before joining the others outside where any passerby could see him.

The woman in charge of the occasion turned to her last client. "Shane, can you wrap things up for us?" Her warm eyes looked him over. "Then again, it looks like you dressed up for today!"

Shane stiffened at first but exhaled slowly to calm himself. "No, it's okay," he said. "I didn't really pick out these clothes." As all those before him, the tenant farmer disappeared behind the crimson curtain to peruse his options. Emily was not kidding when she mentioned the variety of clothing. No wonder this "closet" took up nearly half of Mayor Lewis' house.

When Shane's eyes fell on one ensemble, shining with metal loops and covered in a gratuitous number of straps and belts. He had always wanted to try the goth look if only just once but had never been able to experiment with it when he participated in gridball. Now was his chance. Taking a bit of hair gel from a small table, he spiked up his hair and once he discovered there was a tube of black lipstick, he applied it to his lips. Shane completed the look with a pair of chunky leather boots with thick soles before he presented himself for Emily's scrutiny.

"Shane, it's a new side of you we've never known about," Emily observed happily. "That's great!" Unlike the others, however, Shane lingered in the Mayoral Manor hoping to speak to Emily alone. To his surprise, Emily did not try to kick him out to "show the world his new look."

Instead, she began to chat with him. "Well, that went very well," the red-clad woman declared, sighing with relief. "I just hope this experience helps everyone break out of their shells a bit," Emily articulated hopefully.

Emily's eyes met his. "Shane…" the aspiring fashion designer began, "um…" Shane noticed Emily looked unusually bashful in that moment and was about to ask her about it when Clint burst back into the house.

"I couldn't do it! I don't wanna break out of my shell!" the beret-wearing blacksmith cried; his eyes wide with fright.

Emily jumped at the sudden outburst and the volume of Clint's wails. The portly man stared between the two and his mood turned on a dime from frightened to depressed. "...Oh," he uttered awkwardly, averting his gaze. "I… I guess I'm interrupting something here, aren't I?" He turned back toward the door, forgetting to retrieve his blacksmithing attire. "I understand. I'll leave now…" He scoffed at his own cowardice. "Congrats, Shane."

"I hope I didn't pressure him to try something too suddenly," Emily lamented quietly. Then she knit her brows, "I wonder what the congratulations was about?"

"It's uh… probably because he saw these behind my back," Shane informed her.

When Emily turned to face her companion, her gaze was filled with a stunning bouquet of flowers. Her eyes grew wide with shock, "Shane…"

The hopeful man did not waver this time. "I don't want to chicken out like I did the other day, so please hear me out, Emily," the man began, using the bouquet as a shield as much as an offering. "I know I'm still on my recovery journey - or whatever you wanna call it. But lately I've noticed that even when the whole world was dull and grey in my eyes, you always shined so bright that I could make it through the day." Shane scuffled the toe of his thick boot soles on the floor. "And even now that I'm starting to see the world around me in color again and things don't look as bleak, you're still the person I most look forward to seeing each day."

"What I'm trying to say is I want to get closer to you. I want to be more to each other than two friends who swap stories at the bar." He lowered the flower arrangement to finally meet Emily's gaze before he posed the question. "So, Emily… will you be my girlfriend?" The shakiness in Shane's voice was audible as he extended his arms to properly offer the sapphire-haired woman the flowers.

Emily touched Shane's wrist gently and lowered his arms as she accepted the bouquet. Her red lips pulled back in the brightest smile Shane had ever seen. "I've been waiting for you to ask me that for a long time, Shane." She giggled as she rested the flowers in the crook of her arm. "I would love to be your girlfriend!"

Shane flushed slightly as Emily leaned over and kissed his cheek. "I… didn't expect to be dressed like this when I asked you out," he acknowledged bashfully. "Haley helped me pick out the other outfit."

His new girlfriend smirked. "Oh, I knew those clothes had Haley's signature style written all over them." She tugged at one of the decorative metal rings on his shirt. "I like this better, it's more 'you.'"

"Even though I've never worn something like this before?"

Emily nodded. "You shared a part of you with me today that no one else has ever seen," she imparted thoughtfully. "And it shows your willingness to be honest and vulnerable with me." She raised the arm cradling the flowers. "How could I not accept those kinds of feelings when I want to get to know the rest of you, too?"

Shane grinned from ear-to-ear for the first time in at least a decade. The muscles in his face objected at the unusual exertion not long after, but he could not care less so long as he was with Emily.

Violet made a good-faith effort to wear the clothing as she walked a lap around Pelican Town and congregated outside the Mayoral Manor with the others. The pastel-haired woman figured they should all wait to go back inside until Shane had come out to parade around in his therapeutic clothing, but he did not walk about town like everyone else. Violet stepped into the house to ask, "What gives?!" when she found Emily and Shane kissing in the doorway.

The woman blushed and slinked to one side to sneak past the busy couple so as to not disturb their moment. Violet grabbed her clothing before giving the newly minted couple her sincere congratulations and took her leave as soon as possible.

Violet texted Sebastian to see if he was available to hang out while she attempted to catch a sturgeon, but he regretfully informed her that he was pressed for time on a deadline and that he and Maru were working on something else in their free time.

*I just want to make sure you're okay after everything that happened yesterday.*

Sebastian replied. *Yeah, Maru's been helping me with some things. Turns out she's not such a terrible sister when you give her a chance. Don't tell her I said that, though.*

Violet laughed. At least something good came out of all this mess. *It's our little secret.*

So, while the cultivator did not get to spend more one-on-one time with Sebastian, after a long day of fishing in the mountain lake, Violet had enough fish to earn herself a nice bounty of gold. The only other downside, even after all her efforts, was that she had not reeled in a sturgeon. The amateur angler decided she would have to visit Willy for advice on catching the giant fish tomorrow. It was far too late in the evening to pay a social call.

Maru noticed that Harvey was acting peculiar the instant she came in for work. Usually, the doctor greeted her with a friendly grin and tried to chat her up about the previous weekend, but today the mustached brunet did not even seem to notice his assistant's arrival. She approached the counter from the customer side so not to startle Harvey too much.

The nurse then realized the state of Harvey's attire. His white lab coat, which was usually starched and wrinkle-free, appeared as if it had been pulled out of a dryer half-way through its cycle. His green tie hung loose around his neck and his hair was molded to the shape of his hand, as if he spent hours propping his head up with his hand as he poured over important documents and his locks simply succumbed to the greater force.

"Doctor Harvey, are you feeling ill?" Maru solicited her boss, bending herself over the counter slightly to better peer at Harvey's face.

Harvey jumped in surprise at the question. "Maru!" he exclaimed. "How long have you been standing there?!"

The young woman straightened her stance, "I only just arrived." the nursing assistant answered, hanging up her belongings on her designated hook. "But you look a bit under the weather…" she observed aloud.

Doctor Harvey shifted in his seat behind the service counter uncomfortably. "I… don't know how much I should say," he responded with a sigh. "Though I suppose ultimately, this could affect you, too."

That last detail caught Maru's attention. "Did something happen?"

Adjusting his glasses, the brunet glanced her way. "I… got a job offer of sorts." Before Maru could ask any clarifying questions, Harvey provided more details. "It would be temporary. Only for a season or two." He paused before adding, "Overseas…"

Maru's eyes widened in understanding. "With the war effort?"

Harvey grimaced, "Not officially." The medic looked somewhat pained by his own answer.

Pulling her uniform from her bag, Maru draped the clothing over her forearm. "Is that the part that bothers you so much?"

"Not entirely," the medical professional professed. "If I end up treating patients from both sides, that's okay with me from a doctor's perspective." He paused briefly, as if still deciding how to word his next statement. "I can't say all the villagers here would agree with that, but I took an oath when I became a doctor and I intend to keep that promise."

Harvey shook his head. "No, what bothers me is that I have a responsibility here and I can't just up and leave Pelican Town for half a year. Especially on such short notice." He tugged at the edge of his mustache nervously. "There's also the real and present danger associated with close proximity to an active battlefield."

"How long do you have to decide?"

"Till the end of the season."

That's so soon. Maru reflected, now more cognizant of her employer's dilemma. "I can't speak for the safety aspect, but if it makes you feel any better, I think I could handle the clinic while you're away. So long as it's okay to hire a little help to do the filing and such."

Harvey's dark eyes rested on Maru. He knew she had the degree to handle most of the health concerns relevant to the villagers here in Pelican Town. It was not that Doctor Harvey did not trust her ability, he just never wanted to foist too much responsibility on his assistant too early.

"I've… actually been meaning to ask you for more responsibilities for some time now, anyway," Maru admitted, twisting the fabric of her uniform between her fingers. "I don't think filing and testing samples are the only things I'm capable of doing around here. I've been bored, honestly."

Her boss' heart sank. The last thing Harvey wanted was to drive Maru away. "Why didn't you say so earlier?"

Maru shrugged, "It never seemed like a good time to bring it up." She tilted her head toward the back room, her straightened hair swaying with the motion. "I'm going to go change. We can discuss all my new responsibilities when I'm done."

On Wednesday morning, Violet only watered the mutant crops, knowing that Shane would take care of the rest. She spied the little red flag on her mailbox in a vertical position, so she went to inspect the receptacle. The first note was from Emily, in which the seamstress informed her volunteers that they were permitted to keep their clothes from yesterday's therapy session. Violet was glad, because the attire was too warm for Summer, but she hoped the outfit might see use in the Fall.

There was one other item in the mailbox, but Violet decided it must be a mistake. It was a postcard from NuNu City with no return address or signature, though it was addressed to Fairy Rose Farm in light purple ink. On the lines meant for the sender's message, only one word was written in black ink: "Test." The agriculturalist tossed the note in the trash before heading for the beach to meet with Willy.

The walk was pleasant this early before the heat made the air stifling. Violet arrived right as the shop was opening for the day. "Morning, Willy!" the farmer greeted the fisherman. Before asking for advice, she decided it would be polite to buy something, so she bought a few pieces of bait, despite having plenty in her bag.

"Fishin' for anythin' in particular?" Willy inquired with a twinkle in his sea-grey eyes.

Violet was grateful the fishing enthusiast brought it up so she would not have to find a way to bring it up herself. "Sturgeon, actually," the amateur fisherperson returned. "Do you have any tips?"

Willy cackled, "Them ol' fish are crafty. You're more likely t'hook 'em on rainy days than not. But they'll bite any day, just not as often." He tipped his salt-stained cap to her. "Best o' luck."

The woman thanked the seafarer for his time and ventured back outside to check her crab pots before stopping by Clint's to pick up her steel axe. As she walked toward the shallows between the eastern and western beaches, Violet heard soft piano music coming from Elliott's cabin.

It was a bittersweet tune, like a person looking back on their life after a lost love. She could not help but appreciate the conflicted emotions she experienced from such well-harmonized chords. Violet did not want to interrupt the music, so she entered the house quietly, allowing Elliott to continue in peace. The man pressed down on the keys gently, stringing together a beautiful array of sound until finally the music faded.

When he finished, Violet approached him, taking care to make a bit of noise so she did not startle him when she spoke. But Elliott turned to face her even before she stood beside the cushioned bench. "Ah… I thought someone was there."

Elliott tucked his tawny hair behind his ears as he rotated his whole body to sit facing the farmer.

"That was wonderful…" Violet breathed appreciatively. "I haven't heard anything like it before." The melancholy nature of the tune stirred up some old memories for her, before things got bad with Kyle. For a while at least, they might have been happy together. But those memories were so tainted by what happened afterward, they became imbued with anger and sadness.

The poet beamed coyly. "Thank you. I'm not very good, but it's fun to play something of my own creation." He glanced out the southern window of his tiny house toward the sea, "I thought it would help me sort through my feelings."

"I assume this has to do with your former fiancée?" Violet mused aloud as she sat on the piano bench next to her well-mannered friend.

"Your observations are astute, Miss Violet," Elliott stated, slightly embarrassed to have been so transparent.

Violet scoffed at the idea. "I see it more as a compliment on how well your music conveys emotion," she told the amateur composer. "It reminded me of looking back on my own relationship."

Elliott smiled weakly. "Ah, yes. I suppose we share our history of heartache, too." He stole a glance at the Violet. "Though I am flattered that my music was able to convey their meaning so clearly without a word." He laughed after another thought crossed his mind. "Though I do pride myself when it comes to words of expression."

The author sized Violet up before asking, "Do you ever feel that the space you inhabit is stifling?"

"You want a bigger house?"

Elliott shook his head. "What I meant is that I'd like to get away from this dark, musty self-imposed prison and experience a little bit of real life… that's all," Elliott clarified, gesturing to his tiny beach shack. He heaved a heavy sigh. "Sorry I'm complaining like this. I just need someone to talk to now and then."

"It's okay, I think I get it," Violet assured her friend. "What you need is a change of scenery!" the farmer proclaimed, hopping to her feet. "You know, I need to make a quick stop at Clint's, but after that I'm going to head up to the mountain lake to fish." The pastel-haired woman extended the invitation. "Do you care to join me?"

"I suppose I have yet to explore the natural wonders of the mountainside," Elliott admitted thoughtfully. "Alright, Miss Violet. I shall accompany you. Perhaps a change of pace will do me some good."

Sebastian sat at his computer, nibbling at the eraser-end of a pencil as he combed through his current code. So far, he did not see any potential problems, prompting Sebastian to run the program to see if it worked as it should. He leaned back and waited, smiling with satisfaction as the numbers he expected appeared across the screen. "Sweet," he chuckled in a low voice.

"Did you eat something sugary?" a voice queried the glow of the computer screen.

"Krobus?" Sebastian called out cautiously, hoping the voice belonged to his old friend.

"Good evening, Nelir!" the small shadow greeted his human companion. "I'm sorry for not showing up for so long. I have been in hiding. You can never be too careful with the dwarf assassins nearby." The glowing lights in his orbital sockets flickered back and forth.

"Dwarf assassins?" Sebastian repeated nosily.

Krobus bobbed his head. "Yes, the war may be over, but that does not mean the little beasts have stopped hunting down my people whenever they get the chance!" he hissed before finally settling down at the table. "Could I get some more of that water you made me last time?" the shade-creature requested.

Sebastian shrugged. "Sure thing," the programmer obliged, grabbing a clean cup, and imagining it full before handing it off to his guest.

The fiend crowed with delight as he sipped the cool drink. Sebastian pulled up a stool to the table to sit across from Krobus. "Other than hiding from assassins, how have you been?"

"Business has been slow," the silhouette complained, though the comment did not stop his smiling. "Monsters have not been keen to buy things lately, with all the activity around here. Most of them have been keeping a low-profile like me."

"The activity?" Sebastian hoped to get more answers out of Krobus this time.

Krobus giggled. "Between the Ocean's daughters, the Forest Mother, and you, Nelir, a lot has been happening around here!"

Sebastian looked slightly embarrassed. "I guess word travels fast around town, huh?"

The shadow smirked. "I pride myself knowing these sorts of things," he informed his human friend, sipping his magically produced water.

Leaning forward, Sebastian dared to pose his own inquiry. "I was able to stop some creatures from attacking Violet in the mines, but not all of them," he began to explain. "Do you know why, Krobus?"

The silhouette leaned his head to one side. "I would need more details to see if I can offer any wisdom…"

Finally, he might get some new information out of the friendly humanoid. "Admittedly, it was a really bad attempt at a spell," Sebastian confessed, "but I got the stone golems in the darker caverns in the mines to stop attacking me and my friends. Nothing else was affected, though. They still tried to fight us just the same as before."

Krobus' orbs widened. "Oh, the Wanderers," the shadow ruminated aloud. "They are - what is the best way to say this?" the living darkness wondered to himself. After a moment's consideration, he decided upon an answer. "They are bodies without a mind - without a driving force to instruct them," he elucidated. "The minds left their physical form so abruptly that a portion of the magic within the beings remained in the flesh. One that flesh decayed, it imbued the rock or soil or plant matter with that same force. Thus, the Wanderers were created."

"But how are they walking around if they have no thoughts of their own?" Sebastian probed. "And what does that have to do with what I did?"

"Patience, Nelir!" Krobus scolded the human playfully, taking a large gulp from his mug. He then continued, realizing that he held Sebastian's full attention. "The Wanderers obey the last command they are given," Krobus told the young sorcerer. "As far as I am aware, the last order they were likely given was 'protect our homeland from intruders' or something similar." The specter gestured toward Sebastian. "That is why they tried to attack you and your friends."

Krobus pushed his cup back toward Sebastian and politely gestured for a refill. The magic-user obeyed and granted the shadow his request. "So, when you issued a new order - their previous tasks were overwritten. They can only do one thing at a time, you see."

"So, I… reprogrammed them?" Sebastian clarified in amusement.

Contemplating the word, Krobus nodded in agreement. "Yes, I suppose you did. You exerted enough willpower and energy to issue new commands." The monster looked up at Sebastian. "The older the command, the weaker its hold on the Wanderers. I imagine it's been at least a few centuries since someone last tried to use them. I suppose anyone with an inkling of magical ability could have done it at this point."

Sebastian's heart sank. "It really wasn't that big a deal, then?" he asked sadly.

Krobus shook his head, "I'm afraid not, Nelir. But it did get the magical beasts talking about your heritage. Perhaps you are one of us somehow!"

The rookie sorcerer frowned. "I thought you mentioned that you and your people were technically dead."

"In a way, that is true," Krobus admitted. "But there was at least one survivor that we know did not perish the way the rest of us did…"

"So the mystical gossip circle thinks that survivor might be my dad?" Sebastian clarified. Maybe he would find out more about his dad, after all. "My mom seemed to think my dad was human, but I guess that could be part of all the stuff she's hiding from me," he thought out loud sourly. "Has this survivor ever gone by the name 'Jesse?'"

Krobus shook the top half of his body. "I do not think so," the shadow answered honestly. The ethereal fiend was about to continue when something caught his attention. "Is that plant… glowing?" Krobus queried, indicating the mutant plant on the windowsill.

Sebastian turned to look at it. "Yeah, Violet gave it to me," he answered. "It's a blueberry bush that grew after watering it with the water I can make."

The shadow's eyes expanded into moon-like discs. "Could I eat the berries?" Krobus whined like a child asking a parent for candy.

"They aren't safe for human consumption," Sebastian informed the shadow. "But I don't know how they would affect you. If you're willing to take the risk, I guess..."

Krobus burst out of his seat and carefully lowered the plant to eye-level so that he could collect a handful of berries. The shadow popped them in his mouth and Sebastian saw his companion's eyes turn into tiny slits as he munched the fruit.

The voice that came from Krobus' body was three octaves higher than normal. "They're delicious!" he squealed, hungrily harvesting another handful of the wine-colored edibles. Within seconds, the plant was picked clean.

"Do you have more?" Krobus questioned desperately.

Sebastian hesitated. "I mean… I think Violet technically has more on her farm," he answered honestly. "I'd have to ask her if she would be willing to give them to you."

Krobus closed the gap between his human friend and himself and held Sebastian's shoulders while the man was still seated. "I will buy them at a handsome price!" he offered. "Are the berries the only crops like this?"

"I think there were some hops, too…"

A rumbling, satisfied chortle escaped from the dark. It was the lowest sound Sebastian had ever heard the monster utter. The sound reverberated in his bones. "If we can make ale out of those hops…" Krobus purred with pleasure at the idea. He shook Sebastian gently. "Please ask your mate about these magical ingredients!" he pleaded with the human sorcerer. "I must have them!"

"V-Violet isn't my mate!" Sebastian protested, but the silhouette would not listen.

"Ask her, Nelir! I beg you!"

"Sure. I'll ask her for you," Sebastian promised the shadow. "I could also introduce you sometime soon, if you want."

Krobus, back to his usual self, smiled happily. "I would like that!" he indicated in a sing-song tune. "Please leave a note for me and I will come as soon as I'm able."