Chapter 26

Baring Gifts

"Well, fancy meeting you here."

The woman, who had been staring serenely at the dawn-lit landscape rolling past the window of the train, flinched at the sound of the voice. Her peaceful face distorted into a fierce grimace, hidden since her back was turned to the other woman though still reflected in the glass of the window, but she clamped down on her emotions before she turned to face the speaker. When she did, her expression was once again tranquil, but the other woman's bold smirk suggested that she had noticed the reflection.

"Well, Ageha Kurono, imagine running into you like this," Tsurara Shirayuki greeted her opponent, nodding politely. "What brings you out this morning? I would have figured that you wouldn't be one for early travel."

The succubus smiled sweetly in return, plopping down in the empty seat beside Tsurara despite the snow woman's frantic efforts to think of a way to fend her off. "Business before pleasure, I always say. I had something that needed taken care of, so I chose not to procrastinate. How about you? I would have figured that it the morning sun would be too taxing on your… fragile… complexion. Isn't it a tad too warm for you to come out of your village?"

Tsurara twitched, but her smile was locked in place. "I'm quite alright, but shouldn't you be concerned for your own skin? After all, I thought that your kind were creatures of the night. And the indoors, for that matter."

"Well, we have to leave occasionally… to hunt, you know." The succubus' grin bared her teeth. "Variety is the spice of life, and we just can't be satisfied with the same fare night after night. That's why we couldn't stand to be cooped up in the mountains, forced to scavenge on whoever happens to stumble by… not that there's anything wrong with that, of course!" Ageha laughed as the snow woman's icy composure began to crack, but Tsurara rallied, her lips pursed in a tight line.

"Yes, I can see that; after all, I'm sure that even your partners would get bored of you- I mean, it. It's hard work, maintaining a relationship for more than a week at a time." Now it was Ageha's turn to twitch, and her eyes were bright with anger that was otherwise concealed.

"Yes, but being able to put anyone who tries to leave in the deep freeze helps, doesn't it? Though, I imagine that puts a certain damper on your fun in the bedroom…"

"At least we can get them there without resorting to using charm magic." Tsurara glanced down at the red dress that, with heroic effort, restrained Ageha's buxom form. "Or tactlessness."

The masks slipped at the same moment, and the two mothers lunged for each other, openly snarling as they reached for each other's necks. When another passenger drew near, gaping at them as they walked past towards the restroom, the two halted their mutual assault, scooting as far away from their rival as possible. Even after the passerby moved on, they sat in silence for a long moment, both consumed by their distaste for their unexpected traveling companion. Finally Tsurara broke the ice once more, suppressing her ire in order to gain information. "So, you never did answer; what brings you out this way?"

"You didn't answer, either," Ageha pointed out petulantly. "But, if you must know… I've come to visit family."

"Spying on your daughter, then?" Tsurara murmured, glancing out the window haughtily as Ageha spluttered. Realization quickly dawned on the succubus, and she sneered at the other woman.

"Which is exactly what you're doing, isn't it?" Tsurara didn't immediately reply, but her wince was all the answer Ageha needed. "Shame, shame; you should have more faith in her."

"And why shouldn't I say the same to you?" Tsurara demanded, her normally-even voice growing louder, the succubus' words touching a nerve.

"Oh, I have plenty of faith in Kurumu," Ageha proclaimed, smiling proudly. "I merely wanted to witness her progress myself."

"Oh? And what is that box, then?" Tsurara pointed across the isle to the box the succubus had deposited in the empty seat there, atop her overnight luggage.

"Merely… educational tools," Ageha clarified, oblivious to the alarm in her rival's eyes. "And what about you? Are you saying you didn't bring anything that would be an unfair advantage for Mizore?"

"Unfair? Not at all." Tsurara covered her lie with a brilliant smile. "Just some perfume, that's all." She looked straight ahead, ignoring Ageha's fearful stare. With that, the conversation faded as both women gathered their resolve. The stakes had been raised, they knew, and they had no intention of allowing the other woman- or, rather, the other woman's daughter- to win this game. No, Tsukune would belong to their child… no matter what he thought at the moment.

And the train rolled on, bringing the pair closer and closer to their destination.

"G-Good morning, Tsukune!"

Tsukune blinked, realizing that, in his half-conscious stumble towards the stairs and the breakfast waiting at their bottom, he had nearly walked straight into Moka. One glance at her reddened face sent memories exploding through him, and his own cheeks blossomed scarlet as he looked down to the floor. "Ah, good morning."

The pair stood in awkward silence for a long moment, both unable to concoct a normal conversation after a night spent reliving the two hours they had shared together the previous day. They were rescued, just as they both started to stammer out a comment, by a shout from the foot of the stairs. "Come on, it's getting cold!" Kurumu shouted up the stairs, glancing up at them from the edge of the wall that separated the foyer from the kitchen.

"I don't see the problem with that," Mizore commented, stepping out of the common room. "I like my food a bit cooler."

"Coming!" Tsukune shouted, and, with a final quick glance to Moka, started down the stairs. Soon enough the four of them were gathered in the kitchen, digging into the meal that Kurumu had prepared for them.

"I have to say, Kurumu, I'm really glad you're taking extra turns in the kitchen. This is great!" Tsukune complimented the succubus, turning quickly to the other two girls. "Not that there's anything wrong with what you make, but I know that none of us would be too happy with me cooking." He laughed at his self-deprecation, and Moka nodded in relief. Mizore, on the other hand, shrugged; cooking was one arena in which she almost certainly couldn't win, but one had to choose their battles.

"I'm glad you like it," Kurumu purred, spearing one bite and holding it towards Tsukune's mouth. Her smile vanished as she noticed Mizore taking advantage of her distraction to steal a few morsels from the succubus' plate. "Hey!"

"So, Kurumu," Moka began with forced offhandedness, "have you decided what you're going to do with Tsukune for your turn?"

Kurumu hesitated, realizing she had been put on the spot. She glanced around the table, seeing that Mizore and Moka were watching her cautiously, while Tsukune stared off into the distance with a blush, carefully not meeting her eyes. She squirmed a bit in her seat, trying to figure out the best way to answer; she was certain that the others wouldn't like her idea, so it was best to keep it quiet. "I have a good idea, yes," she finally answered, staring boldly at the other two. "But… it's a secret."

"She's got nothing," Mizore stated, shaking her head, and, after a moment of consideration, Moka nodded.

'They have such faith in me,' Kurumu grumbled silently, frowning in irritation. Deciding to treat her rivals in kind, she glanced to Tsukune with a saccharine grin. "We could always do what you and Inner Moka were doing last night…"

Tsukune choked on the bite he had been chewing, his entire face burning red. The other two girls, however, paled. It took Kurumu only an instant to realize that the atmosphere in the kitchen had changed drastically, and she peered at her friends' faces to find that they were regarding her gravely. Kurumu had overstepped her bounds, she knew, but she couldn't help but resent them for their solemn severity at that moment.

Once more, she cursed her succubus powers; there was nothing she wanted to do more with Tsukune than what she and Mizore had stumbled upon him doing with the vampire, and the fact that she couldn't only made things worse. Maybe just one kiss… but that wouldn't be enough, either.

"Or maybe not," she offered brightly, tensing as she noticed Moka and Mizore sigh in relief. Tsukune, however, glanced around the room, not quite certain of what had transpired between the trio of girls. He opened his mouth to ask, but a sudden sound cut him off: a knock from the front door. Carefully pushing his half-finished meal away, he stood and moved to answer the knock, leaving his friends to work on their own neglected portions. Rounding the corner and stepping into the foyer, he reached out and took the door handle, swinging the door open and staring beyond.

"Morning, Tsukune!" Roy Cooper boomed in greeting, the large man wearing a bright smile that seemed to crack at the edges. Tsukune nodded in response, blinking as he noticed that the older man's shirt seemed somehow dressier than usual, and he wore a hat that covered the bald patch atop his head. "We, ah, brought you some company this morning." His eyes twinkled in sympathy as he motioned to the side, where the car was parked. "I think you might know them…"

"Tsukune?" Kurumu asked, stepping out of the kitchen with Mizore beside her. She hesitated as she noticed her mate-to-be staring out the door with a frozen mask of horror on his face. "Who is it?" she asked, stepping beside him, Mizore taking up his other side and looking out the door as well.
A moment later, the last of the group exited the kitchen, alarmed by the silence coming from the foyer. Moka gasped as she saw her three friends staring in soundless terror at whatever that lay beyond the door, their eyes shadowed and their faces gaunt. She rushed to their side, gazing beyond the door and Mr. Cooper, who had stepped aside in uncomfortable courtesy. "Oh, no…"

"Hello!" Ageha Kurono cheered, slowly making her way towards the door as she drug her suitcase behind her, waving energetically to the group staring from the doorway. Walking beside her with a wounded frown, Mrs. Cooper hefted a box and tried not to stare at the outfit that the other woman was wearing; she had thankfully not noticed Tsukune gaping at Ageha, but would surely come to the wrong conclusion if she did. The final member of that party brushed past the succubus with a faint smile, nearly upsetting the suitcase Ageha was tugging along. She nodded to the four teens, her eyes slowly brushing over Tsukune before falling onto her daughter. Even the snow maiden shivered at the cold intent in Tsurara's eyes, Mizore gripping Tsukune's sleeve tightly.

Swallowing loudly, Tsukune raised a hand to wave at the two mothers, forcing a smile onto his face. "Mrs. Kurono, Mrs. Shirayuki, so nice to see you! We weren't expecting you." He glanced at Kurumu and Mizore with an odd expression etched onto his face, but both girls shook their heads rapidly; they hadn't been aware of their mothers' impending arrival, either.

"Call me Tsurara, dear," Mizore's mother offered silkily, stopping a short distance away from the doorway. Her eyes glinted as she smiled sharply, staring incontestably into Tsukune's eyes. "After all, we're practically family." Beside her, Mr. Cooper paled, shooting a furtive glance back to his wife, who had stopped in her tracks, her eyes boring into Tsurara's back.

"Yes, you're much too formal, Tsukune!" Ageha declared, letting her suitcase collapse to the ground. She hopped onto the stoop, brushing past Tsurara with perhaps slightly more effort than necessary, her arms extended. "I'll be your mom too, soon enough, so give me a hug!" Before he could retreat or resist, his face was pulled downward into Ageha's soft, suffocating embrace, the succubus thoroughly enjoying his frantic attempts to escape while beside them Mr. Cooper's face darkened to match his rusty red hair.

"But… you two, don't you…" Mrs. Cooper stammered, staring in shock at the two mothers, her jaw refusing to close.

"So, this is where that creepy old man hid you. Not too shabby, really," Ageha commented appraisingly as she allowed Tsukune to fall backwards away from her chest, glancing over the exterior of the Resting Place.

"Yes, it should have plenty of room for us to stay the night," Tsurara noted, the words irrefutable and damning.

"Ah, come on in," Moka offered, motioning towards the common room. "I'm sure you're tired from traveling, and-"

"Much appreciated," the snow woman thanked the vampire, stepping inside and making her way towards the couch. "I am sure you would like to discuss our arrangements for the evening."

"Oh, be right there!" Ageha declared, glancing back at the fallen suitcase before turning to retrieve the box from Mrs. Cooper instead. "Tsukune, be a dear and take my things up to Kurumu's room, would you?"

"Oh, Mr. and Mrs. Cooper, you can come in as well and have some-"

"No thanks," Mrs. Cooper interrupted, her brilliant smile the brush behind which hid a tiger. "We really should go." She glanced towards her husband, who was surreptitiously watching Ageha carry her crate. He jolted as he felt the heat of her stare, prying his eyes away from where they had fallen and nodding his farewells to the inhabitants of the Resting Place.

"See you later!" he shouted, and his wife echoed his sentiments, her version far more ominous than her husband's. Together the pair returned to their car and drove back down the hill towards the gate, distance silencing the conversation that had begun the moment the car's doors had closed.

A few moments later, the four teens had joined the mothers in the common room, Tsukune wedged in between Ageha and Tsurara on the couch, Moka sitting uneasily in the chair while the two daughters stood near their respective parent, petulant fury and growing desperation painted across their faces. Tsurara sat serenely, effortlessly ignoring her child's distress, while Ageha gushed over Tsukune, complimenting him on his improving muscles as she ran her hands over him with, as every other person present would agree, entirely too much familiarity. Finally Moka made the first effort, mustering a smile and nodding to the two older women. "What brings you our way?" she tried heroically, ignoring the dismissive stares she received in reply.

"I merely wanted to check on my daughter's well-being," Tsurara yielded, folding her hands before her as she gazed down at the table, not noticing the rising color in Mizore's cheeks.

"And you couldn't do that by phone?" Mizore demanded, earning her a frigid glance that did not suppress her ire.

"Yeah, I was getting worried about my little girl," Ageha chuckled, patting her daughter's wrist as Kurumu trembled in anger. "After all, she isn't too old to need a little motherly guidance every now and then." The elder succubus looked up at her daughter, ferocious guile burning in her eyes.

"But how did you even find this place?" Kurumu wailed. "It's supposed to be a secret!"

"I only had to ask," Ageha replied indifferently with a toss of her hair, earning her a shocked stare even from the other mother. Feeling the eyes focused on her, she finally shrugged and continued. "It was merely a matter of asking the right person… the right way," she purred, as every other head in the room sank in exasperation, and, in a few cases, disgust.

"But don't worry," Tsurara offered, smiling towards Tsukune as she lifted a hand to rest on his shoulder. "We'll only be staying for a night, and you will hardly notice that we are here. That is alright, isn't it, Tsukune?" She smiled faintly, her eyes freezing his in place, and he was doomed to nod in coerced acquiescence.

"Yahoo!" Ageha cheered at that motion, flinging an arm around the boy's neck and squeezing him tightly. "We'll need to figure out the sleeping arrangements, of course, but that can wait. First, I wanted to unpack a few things, perhaps change out of these travel clothes… Kurumu, won't you assist me?" She turned a wide smile towards her daughter, but schemes danced in her eyes, and the younger succubus knew that the moment she had been dreading since she had seen her mother approaching the house had finally arrived. Still, there was nothing she could do but nod and follow Ageha towards the stairs, resigned to her fate.

"Now, Tsukune, Mizore tells me that you have expressed an interest in the cuisine of our village," Tsurara remarked diplomatically, subtly motioning her daughter to take the seat that Ageha had vacated. "I had thought that, as a way to repay you all for graciously allowing me for stay here for the evening, I would prepare for you examples of some of our delicacies. I brought the necessary supplies that I thought you would lack, and this way we can see if you have any favorites among our dishes. Hopefully Mizore can learn how to fix those, at the least." The elder snow woman glanced past Tsukune towards her daughter, who deliberately looked away from the rebuke.

"That would be great!" Moka commented, throwing herself into the conversation, which earned her a thankful glance from the boy sandwiched between the snow women. "We got to try a little when we visited before, but I'd really like to sample more."

"Very well." Tsurara nodded towards the vampire, standing up from the couch. "If you will excuse me, I would like to check your food stores, to see if there is anything I will need to go to town for. Mizore, if you would accompany me…?" There was a slight edge to her voice that made the request an irresistible demand, and so the younger snow maiden followed her mother with a final mournful glance towards Tsukune, leaving him alone with Moka in the common room.

The two sat in silence for a long moment, sharing a concerned stare that communicated more than any words they could manage at the moment. They both knew that this meant trouble, for themselves and especially for their friends, who were probably already being interrogated. Still, there was nothing they could do at this point but try to weather out the storm; they were unable to change anything. And so they sat in silence, their minds wandering down paths in search of the worst that could happen while Tsurara and Ageha were visiting.

It was hard to find the worst that could happen, since there were so many possibilities to choose from.

"So… how are things going with Tsukune?" Ageha asked innocently, heaving the box she had brought onto her daughter's bed as Kurumu closed the door behind them. The younger succubus paused, her barrage of questions aborted before they could launch, and she turned her head away as she gritted her teeth in frustration. Instead, she sighed and struggled to think of a way to respond, her face lowered.

"I've already told you. We went on a date… we went shopping, and swimming, and we had a great time! He said he enjoyed it, and I believe him! And-"

"And he didn't choose you." Kurumu flinched away from those words, but her mother shrugged. "He doesn't seem to have chosen anyone, which is good. Still… you didn't kiss, did you?"

"…No." The word was dragged out of Kurumu, and its emergence pained her to no end.

"And that's why I'm here," Ageha mused, her soft whisper protecting the words from her daughter's ears. "Oh well, plenty of time for that; there is a world of other things for young lovers like you to do, anyways!" She laughed lasciviously, running her hand over the crate. "Speaking of…"

Curiosity trumped caution, and Kurumu stared at the box, trying unsuccessfully to imagine what her mother had brought. "What's in the box?" she finally yielded, playing into her mother's hands.

"Just a few… presents that I thought you and Tsukune might enjoy." With all the flair of a stage magician, she undid the clasps binding the box and slid off the lid, revealing to her daughter the horrifying wonders inside.

"Mother…" Kurumu began, her voice trembling in a mixture of disturbed awe and twisted curiosity. She gazed down into the jumbled mixture, trying to make sense of what she was seeing. There was a high quantity of neon plastic that wobbled obscenely, and of black leather with shiny studs and zippers, and… was that a clown nose? She picked it up, noticing the twin straps leading away from its sides, and hurriedly dropped it. Definitely not a clown nose.

"You'll definitely need these; you just can't beat the classics," Ageha instructed her daughter, pulling several bundles of candles from the morass. A few CDs joined them a moment later. "And, I believe I got your size right, but if not you may have to make do for the time being." She held up a pair of panties that, Kurumu noted with a florescent blush, looked decidedly… unfinished. These joined the pile, and Ageha returned to rummaging. "Of course many of these things are too advanced for novices like you two, but at least you'll have them on hand once the novelty wears off. Personally, I- wait, what's this?" She pulled a small, thin shape from the box, staring at it quizzically. Kurumu inspected it as well: it was a small square of shiny silver foil, with what looked like a thin, wide ring trapped inside. Irritation preceded apathy on the elder succubus' face, and she shrugged as one of her fingernails extended, spearing through the middle of the ring. "Won't be needing that, now will we?" She turned a bright smile towards Kurumu, who knew all too well what her mother meant. Mizore was not the only one being pressured to produce the next generation of a dying monster race.

Shuddering, Kurumu turned her attention back to the box in order to avoid her mother's intense gaze. Her eyes fell upon one familiar object, and she moved her hand to pull it from the heap, the fingers hovering delicately over the foreign objects as she sought the safest route to the bottom before she finally surrendered and plunged her hand into the mass, tugging free the thing she had noticed. "Twister?" she asked, reading the label on the front of the box.

"It's not just the game you play, but how you play it," Ageha purred, staring at the box with a fond smile.

Sighing, Kurumu dropped the game back onto the heap, shaking her head in resignation. "Thank you for the thought, mother, but I don't need these things right now. Tsukune and I… our relationship hasn't…" She paused, pained by the thorned admission. "I'm not going to rush things, and kissing definitely comes before…" She waved a hand towards the box's contents. "Before that."

"And did you even come close to kissing him on your date?" Ageha asked quietly, watching her daughter's face carefully.

"Yes. Very," Kurumu admitted, her voice troubled. "But…"

"But you couldn't." Ageha shook her head as she leaned back against the bed, still peering intently at her child. "You remember what I said before about kissing, right?"

"That if Tsukune really loves me, then he won't be charmed." Kurumu stared at the floor in misery. "But, how will I know? I can't risk losing him just so that I…!" She met her mother's gaze, tears flowing free of their pools at the corners of her eyes.

Ageha looked at her daughter for a long moment before nodding. "Then you wait. But don't wait forever, Kurumu. He won't." She shook her head slowly, sadly. "Men like him have to have a push to do anything, except for the things you never expect. Still, it sounds like you two are a lot closer than before, and I am thankful for that, at least. But raise your head," she instructed Kurumu, extending a hand to lift her daughter's chin. "You are my daughter. As long as you remember that, you won't lose."

Kurumu chuckled weakly at her mother's feigned conceit, her eyes falling back onto the box. "Thanks, mom. I needed that. I-" She froze, finally registering the object that she absently had been staring at. Without a word, she grabbed at the item, holding it before her. This! This could work! She turned a swelling smile towards her mother, who nodded sagely, impressed by her daughter's selection. Such a thing would be perfect, in their situation.

And now Kurumu knew exactly what she and Tsukune would be doing for their time together this evening.

The young man in black walked up the hill with effort, his face in a tight grimace as he forced himself to take each step. He had suffered much in the past months, even after his short stay in the hospital, and knew that he had no business walking through this forest. Still, he had to go; he had to see him one final time, before it was too late.

His hand dipped towards his belt, and towards the vials he kept there. The elixir they contained had been designed to counteract the agony of moving, the feeling of his bones grinding together, but they would only work for a short while, and were expensive beyond that. He knew he had no business walking for this long, let alone over this uneven terrain, but still his desire pushed him onward despite the pain. It would not be that much further, and then he could return to his rest and recovery.

The house would only be a little further, he knew. He had bypassed the magic wards guarding it some time ago, and surely it would be just beyond the next rise. He could rest there as he waited for a final glimpse, one last look at the man who had changed his life so much in such a short time, and then he could turn his back on him forever. This was all he wanted, but he knew that now was his only chance, and so he marched on.

He was nearly there when he heard the voice from the trees above. "Well, well, well…" purred the watcher, drawing the young man's eyes skyward. The other man sat on the branch of a nearby tree, kicking his feet back and forth childishly as he beamed down at the intruder. This man had short blond hair, and wore the black suit and sunglasses of the Hell-King's protectors; he had expected as much, around someone so important to the Headmaster's plans.

"Fancy meeting you here," the guardian continued, his light voice free of apparent threat, though the golden eyes behind the sunglasses practically radiated menace. He made no move to hop down from the tree, looking quite relaxed where he was. "Of course, it figures that they would send you. After all, you know Tsukune pretty well, don't you?"

The young man tensed as another of the guardians stepped out from behind another tree a few feet away. If the first protector's face was free of aggression, this one's was heavy with it, his demeanor as black as his goatee and mustache. He stalked towards the intruder, a dark promise of violence in his gaze, and the young man had to restrain the urge to take a step back. He wouldn't retreat; these men wouldn't stop him.

"Shame that we can't let you see him. After all, the last time you tussled, you made quite a mess, y'know?" The blond guardian's smile spread even wider, and he leaned forward in his post, looming over the trespasser. He stared into the glasses the younger man wore, and his gaze was returned, two predators eyeing one another.

"Isn't that right, Hokuto Kaneshiro?"

Author's Note: Woot, finally! A chapter that I don't have to drag out of myself by the roots of its hair! This section practically wrote itself, though I admit I'd planned out the scene with the box months ago, and worked out the final section before the first words were typed. It is, I admit, a little short, but then again it is at least 2.5 times longer than many of the chapters of "Out of Nightmares," so… Now that I think about it, perhaps that isn't something I should be bragging about.

It's inevitable; as soon as I finish a story, and begin work on another, I glance back and realize how much work I should have put into that earlier tale. Writing is a sword that, typically, grows sharper over time instead of duller, and so we authors (and even those of us, like myself, who pretend to be thus, and are merely children dancing in an adult's clothes instead) find ourselves chased ever onward by shame of what lies behind us, shouting promises of revisitation or fighting to condemn the whole mess to the musty corners of memory. I tend to be of the sort that always intends to come back to my early works, to shine them and make them worthy of standing beside their younger siblings (so it was with my very first fanfiction, though that work still languishes, incomplete and begging for attention), and perhaps such revisitation will be the fate of "Out of Nightmares." But not for now, no… that would distract me too much from moving forward, and I have a long way to go before I can stop. Still, as much as the first story of this arc already embarrasses me, I am still amazed that it was completed in eight days; one day more than this chapter, coincidentally. Epiphany can be like that, an unbridled burst of creative energy that drags you along the ground, unwilling to let you take control or hesitate long enough for a proper polishing. So, one day I will return to refine "Out of Nightmares." One day.

I just pray that I don't end up saying the same about this tale when I make an equal amount of progress. If so, this will be the point when my older, wiser self kicks himself in the rear; I don't know if that image is sad or hilarious.

Aaanyways, next chapter: Kurumu's date, and more chaos (and insight) from the mothers. Before I said that two of the girls would be getting steamier times with Tsukune… can you guess who the second is? Although, not as steamy as the box might suggest, I'll admit; I don't intend to have to change the age rating on this thing for its sake. What does this mean for Mizore? Well, we shall see…

Ah, and one other thing of note: No, I did not misspell this chapter's title. That was totally intentional, and by now you should know why.

To conclude, once again I offer my thanks to my reviewers, new and old. If it weren't for you guys, I doubt I'd have the energy to drag myself out of bed at unholy (though thoroughly familiar) hours of the night to hammer at the keyboard, my stolen time of peace coming at the cost of sleep. Though, like anyone, I am warmed more by compliments than by critiques, I honestly appreciate your sincere evaluations of my work. As exemplified in the previous chapter, I am not above going back to make suggested changes it they fit better with my aims, and offer my gratitude for those suggestions. In any case, thanks for reading, and for your kind words.

And so that I shall not have to wait as long to receive them… it is time I return to blessed sleep.

~Wynn Pendragon

P.S.: I apologize to anyone I failed to respond to from the last chapter; I got swarmed at one point, and I am absent-minded enough to misplace my replies. While getting bombarded by messages is hardly a bad thing, I fear that I may have neglected someone in the mess; if so, I humbly ask forgiveness.