sinceDisclaimer: I only own my OCs.

Sorano: *confused* You are having a chapter take place around Halloween...and it is the end of February?

Authoress: *upset* I meant to wait for near Halloween to post it...but I didn't want people to have to wait that long.

Tolax: *frowns* So what you are saying is that you have been sitting on this for months and haven't bothered to post this?

Authoress: *chuckles nervously* Heh...*runs*

Del: *smirks* Let the hunt begin. *all chase Authoress*

Chapter 12: The Night Hunter

October 30, 787

Nero's 1st P.O.V.

I knew that, at times, people looked at my organization as a dark gray organization, especially among the two organizations that worked around Dawn City. The one truly neutral organization, Equinox, was a guiding light for the people who had problems and needed a fair resolution. They had been around for a while now.

Then, a new guild planted root in the mountains just south of the city. Jackal Fang. When I had first heard the name, they seemed to be destined to be like every other light guild I had met in my time. Loud, brash, and would think that they already owned the world. However, that changed when Anu came for Melody.

Oh, people had tried before to take her. Even Paralex showed interest in relieving me of her. But, I couldn't. The contract from the biological parents of Melody clearly said that I could not simply give away or sell her, nor could I offer her freedom on my own. So, seeing no way around it, I simply made sure she was as comfortable here at Crypt Veil as she could be and that none of my members messed with her. It wasn't hard to do that though, as all the members here saw Melody as a sister.

So when the dog interrupted my review of the guild, since I had just returned that morning from a trip to one of our satellite buildings, I was honestly quite surprised and nervous. Nervous, because I knew the past of Anu. He was deadly and, honestly, still quite young...though old for his previous profession. His determination when he asked for the contracts binding Melody inspired the thought in my mind at how to circumnavigate the restraints binding me from the contract.

Plus, that circumnavigation allowed me to truly study Anu Biskaln. I wasn't disappointed. So, letting Melody go to him was one of the easiest choices I ever made. And I have not regretted it in the slightest. Melody still comes by to visit every once in a while along with her guildmates and they seem like a perfect environment for Melody to be in.

With the treaty our three organizations have to help each other, Dawn City has slowly seen a prosperity boom. Heck, Halloween was tomorrow and, last year, the dog started a tradition of having a parade to show off the town, and his guild, and the festival that surrounded that event brought in a fair amount of money to the town that helped us grow.

I had even heard rumors that Dawn City was being thought about as a location for the Grand Magic Games that had started happening. It would certainly help the city. However, I knew that it would bring too much focus to the city, and the guild helping it was trying to stay out of as much of the news as possible. Very hard to do that if guilds started coming from all over and stayed here. Oh well. Anu did work hard to keep Dawn City growing.

The sound of someone walking in caused me to look up to see Adrian coming up to me. He was supposed to be finding out any last-minute information about an auction we were going to be attending in Gallowstown. We have been looking for some special ethernano protection runes for some time and this auction was supposed to be selling them.

Of course, this was a black auction so we had to investigate each one deeply to make sure that we would not be taking part in things that were too illegal. While I would allow members of the guild to purchase illegal items, like the ethernano protection runes, I would not allow my members to be seen near the location of an auction where human slave trafficking occurred.

While before, my guild would anonymously leave hints with the Rune Knights to hopefully take down the auction, there was a new option in town to help deal with them...and one that could succeed in that better.

"What is it, Adrian?" I asked.

He nodded toward me in greeting before speaking. "I just returned from Gallowstown. Through some information I got from a reliable source, this auction has a high chance of having slave transactions involved. My source wouldn't give me more, but given the chance, I thought I would report it to you."

Well shit. I wanted those runes too. But, I had powerful allies that I would anger if I even thought about going to the auction after getting that information. So, since I did like my allies, I took out my comm lacrima and sent a pulse through it. It didn't take long for the image of Anu to appear through it. "Nero, what can I do for you?"

Given the paperwork I could see on Anu's desk, and the lack of whiskey to be seen, I had a feeling that Anu got behind on his paperwork again. "Behind on your work again?"

The glare that Anu shot me, as I continued to smirk, told me I was right. "I wouldn't be if Team Everfall hadn't taken out three mountainsides trying to track down a dark guild three weeks ago. I don't mind the effort, but taking out three mountainsides means a lot of paperwork for me...especially with us trying to stay out of the public eye.

"So the mountains are still standing? That must be something good." I said, trying to make the mutt feel better.

He sighed. "That's one of the few positives I have. Richard should be returning from helping to repair the mountains in a few hours. His help cut down the paperwork I have to do in half." he then looked up. "But, you didn't answer my question. What can I do for you?"

Well, we did have our plans to prepare for the celebration tomorrow. Better to get them moving quickly. "I've just received information about a black-market auction that has a chance of having humans as part of the available items for purchase. I can't do much about it but I figured your guild might have a hand in checking it out."

The hard look that Anu had when he was presented with a serious situation came to him before he nodded. "I'll send Team Poison Song. They should be able to complete the mission and return in time for the big events tomorrow. I'll keep you informed."

"As expected." Was my response to him before I turned off the lacrima. The mutt may be lazy at times, but when things got serious, he was one of the most dependable people I have ever met.

"Sir," I turned to Adrian as he started talking. "what would you like for me to do now?"

"Inform the rest of the guild that we will not be going to the auction, and also have the rest of them continue preparations for tomorrow. The citizens of Dawn City are expecting a spectacle and we shouldn't disappoint them."

Melody's 1st P.O.V.

I hummed to myself as I put away the glassware from this morning. Sorano, wanting to take a break from her training, was in the back cooking lunch for the day. The shepherd's pie was smelling good already. My only focus of today was to make sure that drinks remained filled for everyone…,well everyone except for Anu. While I knew it wasn't his fault for most of the paperwork, there was still too much in his office and he had to focus on getting a large amount of his paperwork done.

"Hey Melody," I turned to look at Del, who was sitting at the other side of the bar. "how's that training of yours been going?"

I sighed at that. While the training itself seemed to be going alright, I still felt an urge from my other half to take over when I let my guard down a little. The siren was too dangerous to be let out and I was not going to risk my guildmates, or anyone else in the valley during my practice runs, to try and keep her in check. Those abilities of mine would have to stay hidden for now. I didn't have control and, with my magic, that was a risk to other people. "Slowly but positively Del," I answered her.

The dragon slayer sighed but smiled. "You'll get a handle on it, Melody. If anyone can it's you." She then seemed to look around before her eyes went wide. "Shit I forgot I was going to go on a mission with Constantius and Edorin! Got to go." She then bolted out of the guild doors. I guess she was going to meet them in the valley. Eden and James had already left on a mission earlier this morning to Crocus. So, Edorin and Del needed a mission. Constantius had come to me not long after I got down here this morning and asked to take the request with the two Team Everfall mages. Well, at least it was going to be a quiet guild for Sorano and me today.

"Melody," I looked up and locked eyes with Erik as he and Narissa, my only two teammates at this point, walked up to me. "it's been a while since we went on a group mission and I think we need to."

While I did get nervous about going on missions, I knew that my team had my back. So, I nodded before peeking into the kitchen. "Sorano? I'm going on a mission with my team. Can you hold things down here until we get back?"

Sorano, in turn, peeked her head out from the food pantry before nodding. "Yeah, I can. Just make sure you all are back in time for the parade tomorrow. I'm pretty sure that the people of Dawn City might revolt if their favorite sound mage isn't in the parade."

I almost forgot about our Halloween parade. But, I knew that our team could push a mission and get it done in time to get back. "Will do Sorano," Narissa said from behind me before she grabbed my arm. I barely got a wave off at Sorano before the Giantess pulled me to the mission board. Immediately, I started to scan the board for a mission that we could do in time to get back tomorrow for the parade.

"Team Poison Song," Well, looked like Anu might have a mission for us. He rarely addressed us by our team name. It was usually when he was assigning us team missions. Well, good thing we were looking for a mission to go on. We waited for Anu to get down the stairs before he spoke. "I just got off the lacrima with Nero. The auction they were going to go to in Gallowstown is going to have slaves as a part of the auction. I need you three to go there and shut them down. The auction is tonight, so you should have time to wrap things up there and then get back to Dawn City in time for tomorrow. Will you take the mission?"

Since Erik was the team leader, then we had to wait for his response since this was to be a team mission. But, I didn't doubt what he was going to answer. "Yeah, we'll take it." Exactly what I thought he would answer. Being held against one's will was something that hit hard with all of us and, while I had the best time of it because Crypt Veil was forced to keep me, it was something that the three of us had to grow up with. The chance to help save someone from this fate was something we would always take.

So, once Anu gave us the information that he had, the three of us left the guild and headed toward Dawn City. Once we got there, we got our tickets and got on a train to Gallowstown. As the train moved across the tracks, however, I started to feel nervous. Being in an auction house where items were being sold off always made me nervous. It made me think of the contract that bound me to Crypt Veil for so many years before Anu destroyed it.

"Stop worrying Melody," Erik said causing me to jump slightly and focus on my two teammates. "Your contract is gone and we have your back." He then shook his head. "Now, we need to figure out what we are going to do."

Since I had gone to a few of these auctions with Crypt Veil, well the non-slave ones, when I was still with them, I had a feeling that there was just one way to go to get all three of us in there. "It might be best if one of us goes in as a slave collector. The rest of us will be your collection of slaves. It's the only way that the three of us can go into the auction together since we don't have a guild behind us like Crypt Veil normally did, and won't cause us to get any second glances."

Narissa and Erik both seemed to agree with my idea. "Sounds like a good plan." Narissa vocally agreed with me. I grew worried when she pointed at me. "Melody, I think you should be our collector for this."

Wha… "I can't do that!" I let out before shaking my head. "I can't be a collector they have to,"

"Tell those under them what to do and make sure that their will is getting done with an iron fist?" Erik interrupted me. Exactly! I couldn't do that. What were they thinking making me, "Anu hid some of his paperwork in the bar because he said that was the last place you'd look."

Anger surged through me at those words. "That mutt had better hope he's dead by the time we get back." I stayed angry for a few moments at that. The dog was always trying to get out of his work and I would make him….

Feeling eyes on me, I looked up to see Erik and Narissa staring at me with knowing looks. "And you said you couldn't get your will done with an iron fist." Narissa taunted me with that.

And I was trapped. Imagine that. A sound mage getting cornered by words. So, I let out a sigh. "Fine, I'll try as much as I can. Let's figure out how this is going to happen."

"Melody, did you go with Nero and Crypt Veil to auctions in the past?" Erik asked me.

"Yeah. According to Nero, I used to put off an air that caused others to hesitate in messing with us. I never really got what he was saying. I just stood there. Didn't even speak." What was he getting at?

Narissa must have picked up on something I didn't. "What did he have you do, as your job while there?"

I had to think about that for a minute. "Honestly, I was told to just stay silent and watch the people around us. See how they were acting and go from there. Why?"

"You'll just use what you saw with Nero and apply it. We'll trust you on that. Narissa and I can act the part of your obedient slaves pretty well." I hit Erik's knee at that. It was going to be so weird to be a 'slave owner' for this and I wasn't excited about it. But, my team was very supportive and I knew that they wouldn't let me down. Plus, as I thought about what I used to see when I was with Nero, ideas came to my mind that might just make this doable. When I took a glance at Erik, I saw that he was looking at me and smirking. No doubt that he was in my thoughts. This mission would go alright. I just had to believe that it would.

Zoe's 1st P.O.V.

It was cold. I couldn't feel my fingers and I was low on magic energy. Honestly, I just wanted to disappear into the bars that surrounded me.

I had never been outside of the community before and I hated this. The elders had always warned me about the outside world, and how the non-noms, people who weren't nomadic, were greedy and destroyed everything they touched. I didn't believe them. We couldn't know what all non-noms were like. Every chance I got, I snuck to the edge of our camps and into the towns. I watched as non-noms interacted with each other, played with each other, and helped each other. I thought that was the proof I needed. Non-noms weren't the same that we heard about in the stories. They were just like us.

But the night I went to tell my case to the council, was the night my hope died.

Flashback:

The sound of an explosion hit my ears. I flinched and turned to see my people running through the camp. Fires were dancing high in the skies and I could feel the fear that my people were feeling. I didn't waste a moment. I knew that we had just traded with another nomadic tribe to get an experimental portable heater. It would help us in our winter caves when we got there. But, the elders were worried about it and feared that it might explode. That the machine might anger the spirits of nature and cause them to destroy the object.

It seemed like the elders were right.

I could feel the heat of the flames licking my body as I moved to where the explosion was. Someone could be hurt and I had to help. I had to make sure that everyone was safe. The nature spirits, when angered, could wreak havoc on all who were in their sights.

When I arrived at the scene, my eyes widened. My people...people I grew up with and learned from, being slaughtered by laughing men and women non-noms. They were attacking us. I needed to save them. How dare they?

With a snarl, I launched at the nearest non-nom, activating my bone magic before piercing her neck. The child that I saved looked up at me. "Get out of here!" I yelled at him as I continued to move forward. These non-noms had messed with the wrong nomads. I didn't hesitate to slice into these monsters. The elders were right. Non-noms were monsters. They needed to be cut down, and I would make sure that my bones were covered in their blood to equal the blood they shed of my people.

Movement out of the side of my vision caused me to lash out with my bone. Instead of hitting the flesh of a non-nom, my bone protrusion struck against steel. My eyes locked with the sickly green eyes of a non-nom and a smirk was on the woman's face. I would destroy her. "Oh, you are different than these other mongrels. You'll fetch us a nice price on the markets."

"Your head will be my trophy to present the spirits tonight," I growled at her as we continued to clash with each other. Her blade and my bone struck against each other repeatedly and it was now that I was thanking old man Zion for his lessons in fighting. This monster in front of me was not making it easy for me to take her down.

After we separated from a stalemate, I tensed as I felt magic energy growing around her. "I think it's time to turn out the lights on this fight." A black smoke then seemed to secrete like a dark spirit from the non-nom and soon, the area around our fight went dark. I could, for now, just make out the outline of my enemy. "I'll make sure to take care of you quite well mongrel."

A growl slipped out of my throat as I activated my secondary magic. My name was Zoe Dragic, a descendant of the great ones that gave birth to our tribe, and the spirit of the Owl was entangled in my soul. This darkness was nothing. "You will die this night." Once my vision was enhanced by my patron spirit, I could easily slice at the non-nom, causing her to back away from me, which made her darkness magic dissipate.

At first, the monster looked surprised at my retaliation. However, as she stared at me, I could see a dark greed spirit enter her eyes as she seemed to stare into my own. "Oh, you are a jewel among jeweled mongrels. You will fetch a very high price."

There was no way that I would let this non-nom take me. I would make sure the take her head before I,

Pain flared in my head and I felt myself falling toward the ground. As my conscious spirit started to leave me, I could hear the screams of my people.

End of Flashback.

I sat shivering in this cage, the heated spirit of war had long since left my body. While I felt anger at the non-noms, I now thought about those non-noms that I used to study. Were all non-noms possessed by the evil spirits like the ones that attacked my people, who slaughtered them all? I couldn't think clearly as I sat in this cage. I knew that I was alone. The monsters who captured me and forced me to wear these iron restraints had caused me to become the sole survivor of my people. While a part of me wished to end my life, to keep these monsters from gaining anything from me, I knew that I had to live. I had to live to continue the rites of my people.

These people who had me caged, they were going to sell me soon. I could hear the chanting of numbers by the non-noms on the other side of the curtain. Before they could come for me, I sent a quick prayer to the great spirit of the future, Baishu. If he could deliver me from these non-noms, I would serve whatever being that delivered me from this hell for as long as I lived. I knew it was a risky prayer, since another non-nom, and a cruel one at that, could be the one to remove me from here. But, according to the elders, that was the risk that had to be taken when dealing with Baishu. He knew how the future would unfold and would make sure that the path before you was the correct one, whether you agree with it or not. But, from where I was sitting, anything would be better than being in this cage.

A shiver traveled down my spine as the non-nom who was selling the stuff, and would be selling me, walked backstage and stopped in front of my cage. He slowly grinned at me before he motioned to the stage. "Your audience awaits."

Narissa's 1st P.O.V.

As many times that I had been on missions with Melody over my time in Jackal Fang, I still couldn't get over just how easy it was for her to manipulate people with her sound magic. When the three of us had arrived at the auction, the guard who the hosts had hired to keep legal officials out didn't want to let us in. But, a few magic-enhanced words from Melody later we were walking in and the guard didn't seem any wiser to it.

People did stare in our direction, contrary to what we planned for, but as they did I was getting a sense of what Nero was talking about. Whenever people looked to us, and mainly at her, a suppressive wave seemed to come off of Melody as we walked. Maybe it was her nervousness, or maybe she was acting the part of a slave owner well. Either way, people never looked back at us after that wave came out. It was a good thing since we were attracting some attention.

Since we had arrived an hour before the auction began, Melody had led us toward the stage. Again, I got to watch our S class sound mage use her magic to convince a stagehand to get us a full listing of the items for auction. While Melody didn't show us the list, since it would look strange for a master to show the slaves what was on the auction table, I could tell that Nero's source was right about this auction at the brief flash of anger I saw on Melody's and Erik's faces. Erik was so lucky he could hear her thoughts.

"Well well, look at this." I felt a shiver travel up my spine as I turned to see some creep, who probably had money, looking over me before he traced a finger up my arm. "I wonder how many jewels it would take for your master to sell you to me, or at least rent me the use of your company. What I could do to that." His eyes were freaking me out and, if I wasn't undercover as a slave, then I would have already knocked this guy two sides of yesterday.

Erik, who was paying attention, let out a growl at the man. I knew that I didn't want to know what was going on in this creep's head. Something told me that it wasn't pretty.

It took a lot of self-control to not act surprised when Melody suddenly hit the top of Erik's head, and rather strongly, before she spoke. "You do not act that way to those above your class dog." She had decided, to help her in the act of being above us, that she would refer to us as dogs...since that was how she addressed Anu when she was angry with him. Erik shot her a look, probably out of reaction more than anything, before he made an act to look subdued.

"Well, lookie here, a proper slaveholder who knows how to handle her wares." The creepy man started to address Melody. "I am honored to make such a fine ack!"

The slimeball was cut off as Melody's hand was around his throat faster than I could blink. "My dear man, while my wares can be looked at, I did not permit you to address what is mine directly. They are nothing and to address them before you addressed me is inexcusable. That offense alone should give me the right to end your miserable maggot of an existence. Then, to impede that offense even further to touch what is mine." Melody paused a moment before she leaned in closer, her grip on the man's neck growing visibly tighter. "You do not mess with what is mine."

I could feel her magic lacing with fear as it reached the man. The way that his eyes widened, almost made me feel sorry for the creep. Almost. The man scurried out of the way faster than I thought possible and, as I turned to look at Melody, I could tell she was purposefully making a presence. The slow way that she stood up, the deliberate and challenging look to the people who had been attracted to that show, and instead of saying a word to anyone, she merely looked to the doors, that had just opened to admit the buyers, before she slowly led the two of us.

Seriously, even though she was nervous about this, Melody could act evil if needed. I'm pretty sure that everyone gave us a ten-foot space to walk through the doors. Once we were seated, it didn't take long for people to fill in around us and for the auction to begin.

Not a lot of interesting things seemed to be going out on this bid. Some ethernano protection runes, a few ceremonial knives, some magic weapons that were brought in, and things like that. However, I couldn't hold back my shiver as the last item was being taken off the stage. A dragonwood altar. Seriously, like we needed more of those damned things floating around circulation for creeps to use. But, we weren't here to stop that. There was a slave who was going to be sold and since the rest of the list seemed to have been gone through, since Melody was sneaking and leaving it exposed in her lap, then this last item had to be what we were waiting for.

"And now, ladies and gentlemen," The auctioneer started. The sound of wheels turning caused me to look at the left of the stage as something covered by a cloth was wheeled in. "the item that many of you have been waiting for is finally available. The sole surviving member of the nomadic Valheller people, a specimen who has been seen to use both bone magic and a rare owl takeover, feast your eyes upon the owl keeper!"

The sheet covering the cage was lifted and a growl threatened to come out of my throat when I saw the girl underneath. From the magic surrounding the cage, it looked like she was being forced to use her magic for the pleasure of these monsters. Before the auctioneer could even give a starting price, numbers were flying through the crowd. Ten million, twenty million, fifty million, three hundred million, and the numbers didn't seem to be ending.

Taking a glance at Melody, I could tell that she was struggling to hold back her siren. I had seen her do this a few times before, hold back her sirenic half. It wasn't hard to see parallels between this girl's situation and Melody's. I had heard of owl takeover magic. She was a mage that had a takeover that was inherited through blood, to a lesser extent like Melody's siren, and was being sold because of that uniqueness would echo to Melody's past.

After a bid of nine hundred million jewel was placed, and the auctioneer asked if there were any more bids, Melody slowly stood up. Before we came tonight, Melody explained that money was not the only collateral that people here could bid with. Those bids would come after the money bids died out. Since nine hundred million jewel was a lot to bid against, it wasn't surprising that no one else stood. "I have a bid," Melody said as a way to get the auctioneer's attention.

This seemed to excite the auctioneer. "Oh, a floor bid. What is it that you wish to bid?"

I knew the time of our attack was coming as Melody sent a glare at the auctioneer. "I bid the lives of everyone in this building in exchange for the girl. Give her to me, and you may leave here in custody, but alive. If you do not, I cannot guarantee your continued existence on the living plane." Laughter erupted from the people in the audience at her bid.

And that laughter turned to screams when Melody launched toward the stage, and we followed behind her. People were moving in a panic to escape the auction as we took the stage and defended Melody as she worked to free the girl from the cage. While the fighting was a blur, I did remember getting to knock out that creep from earlier. That made acting as a slave worth it.

Once the crowds died down, and the four of us were all that were remaining conscious in the room, Erik and I turned to where Melody and the girl were. With the owl and bone features gone, since the girl was out of the cage, I saw that she had long forest green hair and heterochromia eyes, the left ocean blue and the right the same color as her hair.

When the girl suddenly got on all fours in front of Melody, we all took a step back. What in the hell was this girl doing? "My thanks for rescuing me. The great spirit has shown favor to my future. My life is now in your control."

Uh….what?

It seemed like Erik was able to catch what she was thinking, though, and shook his head. "You have the wrong idea. We weren't here to participate in the auction, just to rescue you. We can't own you, even if you want us to."

But, the girl seemed adamant about it. "No, I swore to the great spirit that I would give my life to whoever was able to free me from that cage. You have done so and now I must enact my word that I gave the great spirit."

So, this was a matter of her beliefs. But, that couldn't happen. It was illegal to own people like this. How were we going to get this girl to understand that?

Melody, thankfully, seemed to have an answer. "Stand up and tell us your name." What was she getting at? Was she still acting like a slaveholder? A glance at Erik told me that he was just as confused as I was.

The girl seemed relieved at Melody's seeming order. "My name is Zoe Dragic. I use bone magic and owl takeover magic. I,"

Melody held up a hand, which caused Zoe to stop speaking before she spoke. "I am Melody Sirenaid, this is Narissa Odir, and this is Erik. From this day forward, as is our will, you will live your own life in the way that you must see legally fit." She then placed her hand on the shocked girl's shoulder. "You are lesser than no person and you are equal to all. Please, address even us as so and no order shall hold power over you unless you will it." I could feel Melody's magic interlaced in, and enforcing, her words on Zoe.

That was the way to do it. Melody must have realized that Zoe needed an order of release to keep with her customs and that sounded like the way to do so. Zoe looked gratefully at Melody. "Thank you, Melody. What should I do now, though? My people are no more and I am alone. You three are the first non-noms that I have interacted with that have shown me good."

Melody hesitated at that and I could tell that she was thinking. But, I knew what to do as soon as the girl asked that. "Well, if you would like, you could join our guild. We are members of a magic guild called Jackal Fang and everyone there is like us. You'll get along great with them."

Zoe looked nervous at that. "And your people, this Jackal Fang clan, will accept me?"

"Of course they will," I said. "If they took in us, then they'll love you." I then realized that, if we wanted to get back in time for the parade in Dawn City, then we had to get moving. But, I didn't want to rush Zoe.

Thankfully, Zoe was smiling when I was answering her. "I will gladly join your clan then."

Erik nodded. "And just so there isn't any confusion, you will join our team too?"

When the Zoe looked confused, Melody jumped in. "We have teams in the guild to help keep track of each other and to go on group missions with people we train regularly with, like our team here. We are Team Poison Song and we would like to have you on our team."

Zoe smiled again. "I would love to. How long will it take us to arrive at your...our clan's home?"

We explained to her where the guildhall was and she seemed very excited. That excitement grew when we told her that we would be meeting up with the rest of our guildmates at a parade in Dawn City, our guild's host town. Through the night and the next morning, Zoe dove fully into answering any questions that we had about her people and, in turn, we answered everything we could answer that she asked about what us 'non-noms' were like.

When we got to the parade, the mutt was ecstatic that we had another member and made a large spectacle of initiating Zoe at the kick-off of the parade. As I looked at Zoe next to me, for she was sharing my float with me this year, I felt like she was going to fit in very well around our guild. Who said that you couldn't get good gifts on Halloween?

Erik: *smirks* So, how much poison should I put in her?

Authoress: *bound and panicked* None!

Zoe: *ignoring Authoress* Maybe a little. We have to make sure she can continue typing and can breathe and see.

Erik: So just enough to make this enjoyable.

Melody: *walks in and grabs two* That is enough you two. I think our Authoress has learned her lesson. *narrows eyes* And if she hasn't then I won't stop you next time.

Authoress: *shivers* Yes ma'am.

AN: And here is the next chapter! I swear this is the last chapter that I have typed for this story for now! I didn't mean to keep this from you all for so long, but I get distracted easily and I have work. Not the greatest combination. So anyway, we now have Zoe Dragic as a member of the guild! Seemingly not used to interacting with people outside of her 'annihilated' clan. Thankfully, Melody picks up on this and makes quick work to help Zoe out of her predicament.

The next chapter will be introducing yet another member of the guild and this one will bring yet another new magic to our lineup. It should be pretty interesting to see where that is going to take us. Speaking on the next chapter though, here are the next chapters for your curiosity.

Chapter 13: Words of Expression

Chapter 14: Wish for a Sparkling Diamond

Chapter 15: ...(of course you will find out next time!)

And that is all for now. Until next time, please leave a review, or say hi, and I will get back to you. Until then though, catch you all later! *craving shrimp for some reason*