Chapter Thirteen: Jade Goes Through Puberty

Thanks to pussydestroyer69 (you know you're fucked up when god-damn pussydestroyer69 calls you 'ruthless'), justifyingReality413, readwritebeawesome, roxyxkarkat, ObsessiveFanFictioner15, Spider8reath, and a random, yet very excitable guest.

When Rose, John, Davesprite, and Jade finally exited the catacombs of Virgo's Keep, it was just beginning to break dawn across the land of Skaia. The birds were singing, the wind was blowing, and our heroes were still high as a fuck.

The bonecar was parked where they had left it, under the shade of a nearby tree. Quickly, everyone piled in and Rose gunned the engine.

"Hold on, guys." She said as she peeled out. "There's no time to lose!"

They drove through the Forest of Franklin, over a wooden bridge, through a stone tunnel and back to the City of Lakewater. Five minutes later, the group was sitting in the booth of a wizard pizza parlor, dining on some delicious wizard pizza.

"Do you ever think about hands?" John examined his own fingers "They're like… so fucking weird."

Jade was furiously ripping into a piece of meat lover's wizard pizza and was therefore indisposed to answer her friend's question. Rose, on the other hand, was busily plotting their course south. In order to reach the Bee Lord's lair in a timely manner they'd have to travel through the deadly Moonbear Desert and the famous Owl Bay, where the Fuchsia Kingdom ruled.

"I mean," John continued. "Is the thumb a finger or not? Do I have eight fingers or ten? Rose?"

"Hmmm." Rose reached for a slice of wizard pizza, careful to keep her maps clean.

"Are you listening to me?"

"Mhmmm."

"What do you think?"

"About what?"

"Oh never mind." John sighed. "It's not important."

Davesprite looked across the table at where John and Rose sat. They weren't acting like a couple of people who had just passionately kissed mere hours before. Rose was a little withdrawn, focused on her maps, whilst John watched her warily out of the corner of his eye.

Hadn't Rose been working and waiting for an opportunity to hook up with John? Now that Roxy was out of the way, surely she'd want to pursue a relationship. At the moment though, it didn't look that way at all.

"I'm gonna take a piss." Davesprite said, sliding out of the booth. "Rose."

"Hmmm?"

"Rose, come with me."

The witch looked up from her map, confusion reflection on her's, Jade's, and John's face.

"Uh… why would I go with you to the restroom? You don't even pee. You're a sprite."

"Just come on, Rose." Taking her by the hand, Davesprite pulled her from the booth and towards the restroom.

There weren't any type of health requirements for restaurants back in those days. The restroom at the wizard pizza parlor was a disgusting mess and most of the walls were covered in erotic graffiti, racial slurs, and a couple of phone numbers left by orc babes who were looking for a quickie.

Rose was not in the mood for this.

"Davesprite, what the hell is the matter with you?" She demanded once they were alone. "Why are we in this disgusting place?"

"Because I got some questions." Davesprite jabbed a stiff finger into Rose's chest. "Why are you giving John the cold shoulder?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Rose folded her arms and turned away. "John and I are perfectly fine. You'll be hard-pressed to find a couple of party members as close as we."

"I thought you and him were an item now."

"We… are. Kinda. I don't know." Rose sighed and messaged her forehead.

"What the fuck? Isn't that why you ruined his relationship with Roxy and smooched him back in Virgo's Keep?"

"I- I came to a realization then." Rose was suddenly nervous. She twisted her fingers anxiously as she spoke. "It appears as if my attraction to John was merely spurred by his infatuation with Roxy. Before then, I was unsure what my feelings were for him or even if I had any at all. When the Werecat rogue was here and I saw them together, I just got so... upset. I've never felt that way before about anything."

"Well what happened?"

"Well, now that Roxy is gone and I have John to myself, I don't really know how I feel."

Davesprite groaned.

"Holy shit. You have got to be the greatest bitch who ever lived." He shook his head. "You can't treat people like that. Don't you know anything? Friend aren't pets or toys that can be swapped out and played with for your enjoyment. I get it, you're a high and mighty witch with amazing powers, but you don't know anything about people or friends."

Sighing once more, Rose turned and leaned against the nasty sink, gazing into the grime-coated mirror. This was a bizarre scenario for the witch, one that, as previously mentioned, she had never been confronted with before. What made this situation even more strange was the fact that Davesprite of all people was the one talking sense.

"I am a bitch." She spoke, whilst staring into her own violet eyes. "And what I did to John is unforgivable. You're right." Rose turned back to Davesprite. "I'll make it up to him, I promise. I've just never attempted to have relationship like this before with anyone. I have to work up to it. Who knows? If we start small, maybe I'll fall for him the old fashion way?"

"You better. That dude's put up with a lot of shit because of you." As Davesprite spoke, a talking Red-winged Crow fluttered through the door.

"Oh shit." Said the Red-winged Crow, when he spotted Davesprite and Rose. "Uh… am I interrupting something."

"No. we were just leaving." Replied Rose.

"Good. Hurry up, because I got a date soon." The Red-winged Crow flew to the sink and perched on the edge. "There's going to be lots of sex. Also, the date's taking place in this nasty restroom so yall got to get the fuck out."

When Rose and Davesprite rejoined John and Jade at the booth, almost all the wizard pizza had been eaten. Judging by the mountain of crumbs around Jade's area and the ring of red, wizard pizza sauce around her lips, it wasn't hard to figure out who'd done most of the heavy lifting.

"Guys, we need to order another wizard pizza." Said the Weredog as soon as Rose and Davesprite reclaimed their seats.

"What?! You've already eaten like four!" Gasped Rose.

"Yeah. I know, but I'm still reeaaaally hungry." Jade hugged her middle for emphasis. "Please, Rose. I promise that I'll pay you back!"

"Alright. Fine." Rose summoned the wizard pizza parlor waiter and ordered another super meat lover's wizard pizza for Jade. After a few minutes the pizza arrived.

As Jade ravenously devoured piece after piece, John slowly reached out and attempted to yoink the tiniest sliver of a slice for himself. Suddenly, Jade snarled and lashed out, nipping at John's wrist with her sharp, Weredog fangs.

"Shit!" John gasped, quickly retracting his bloodied hand. "Jade, what the hell?!"

"Grrrrrrrrr." Growled Jade.

"Bad, Jade." Rose rolled up her map and bopped the other girl on the nose. "Very, very bad."

"She bit me!" John was furiously pressing napkins to his bleeding hand. "I can't belive it."

Jade shook as if she was coming out of a trance and looked from John's bleeding hand, to his white face, and to the half a dozen empty pizza trays sitting before her on the table. Rose, John, and Davesprite watched her warily.

Then Jade started crying.

"I'm sorry!" She wailed, shoving Davesprite out of the booth so that she could get out. "E-Excuse me, please."

The heroes watched the Weredog as she sprinted from the wizard pizza parlor and out the front doors. Davesprite floated off the ground and brushed himself off.

"Well, that was weird." He said, reclaiming his seat.

"Do you think she's okay?" Asked John.

Rose shrugged. She was stroking her chin and staring after her friend with a curious expression. Irregular eating habits, acts of violence, sudden mood swings. There was only one conclusion that Rose could reach based off of Jade's strange behavior.

"Guys," She said, slamming her palm on the table. "I think Jade is going through puberty."

"W-What?!" John spluttered.

"Puberty," Rose defined. "The change of life, the entrance to womanhood, the beginning of the end."

"Yeah. Yeah, I get it, but I thought Jade was well past puberty." John frowned. "Isn't she like… twenty something?"

"Weredogs mature at a different rate compared to other magical creatures and humans." The witch smoothed her map over the table once more and began to study it.

Davesprite, who had been staring after Jade this whole time, turned back to the table with concern evident on his orange, shaded face.

"Is there anything we can do to help her?" He asked.

Roes traced a line on her map before answering.

"I have… an idea, but I don't know for sure whether or not the effort will be worthwhile." She answered.

"Worthwhile? Rose, if it helps Jade then we have to do it." John leaned over her shoulder to examine the map as well and saw Rose trace a circle around one dot in particular. "What's Wooftown?"

"One of the most well-known Weredog settlements." Rose answered with a sigh. "It's one of the few places I can think of where we could take Jade to receive help. However, it is in the complete opposite direction of the Bee Lord's lair in the south."

"Well, we don't have any choice." Davesprite floated from his booth. "We're going to Wooftown."

With that decided, our group exited the booth again and made to exit the wizard pizza parlor through the front door. However, before they could make it, a sexy lady gnome burst from the bathroom followed by the Red-winged Crow.

"Aw come on, baby!" Cawed the crow as he flew after his girlfriend. "You know I was just playin!"

No one knows what that was about.

Anyways, Rose, John, and Davesprite found Jade sitting on the hood of their bonecar looking sad as fuck. She had her head buried in her knees, but looked up as her friends approached.

"Oh. Hey, guys." She said, wiping quickly at her eyes. "John! I'm so sorry. I don't know what came over me!"

"It's alright." Said John, still bleeding profusely. He patted her on the knee in what he hoped was a comforting manner. "I know it wasn't your fault now."

"It wasn't?" Asked Jade in confusion. She wasn't exactly sure how you could accidentally sink your Weredog teeth into your friend's hand.

"That's right, Jade."Agreed Rose with a nod. "We've identified your plight as puberty and decided to help you overcome it by traveling to Wooftown and seeking aid from the Weredogs who live there."

"Really?!" Jade's eyes lit up. "So that's what's wrong with me? Just the change of life? Do you think the Weredogs in Wooftown will be able to help me?"

"They'll certainly know more on the subject than us. If I'm being honest, the school of animal-tranformalia is one that I've explored to the minimal degree. This small detour might be educational for me as well."

"But…" Jade frowned. "Aren't you worried about going to fight the Bee Lord as soon as possible?"

"I- I think that can wait," Rose smiled slightly. "For a friend."

Jade broke into a wide grin, all traces of tears gone from her beautiful face.

"Aw! You guys!" Jade leaped from the bonecar and tackle-hugged her three friends, squeezing them tightly. "You are the best! Thank you so much for this. I'll make it up to all of you, I promise."

"Don't worry about it." Davesprite patted her on the back.

"Yeah. It's what friends are for!" Added John.

"Well, then," Jade pulled away excitedly. "What are we waiting for!? Let's go meet some Weredogs!"

Together, everyone piled into the bonecar, and then Rose peeled out, speeding off into the wilderness in the direction of Wooftown. John was once more sitting in the passenger seat, acting as navigator and manager of the radio. As he turned up the smooth-flowing jams of Holland Oat's latest hit single, he leaned over to Rose.

"Don't worry about this being too big a detour, Rose." He said, slipping his hand onto her knee. "We'll have Jade sorted out and be back on track in no time, trust me."

Rose looked away from the road momentarily, looking first to John's smiling face and then to his hand upon her knee. Her robe was open and her skirt had ridden up slightly. That meant there was skin against skin contact, the likes of which is not acceptable between two people claiming to be 'just friends'.

John's hand was cold against her leg and Rose shivered, but resolved not to order him to remove it. If she was going to figure out whether or not she could legitimately like him, then she'd have to get used to stuff such as physical contact. Plus, the longer the touched, the better it started to feel.

It had been a long time since Rose had done something this mundanely romantic with anyone. Well, she had kissed the Vampire Queen and John, of course, but this simple leg touch was just so… domestic. It was alien territory.

And maybe, just a little bit, she liked it.

Talk about confusing, amirite? One second she's claiming not to feel anything from John, then the next she's getting flustered over a simple leg touch.

Women! It's nearly impossible to understand what happens in that labyrinth of a brain they have. Seriously, it's like there's a little David Bowie in their heads, singing "Dance magic dance" on repeat as he's walking up walls and shit.

Don't get me wrong, I respect and love women. It's just that most men don't have the mental processing capacity to understand what the fuck is going on with them most of the time. If there's one thing I've learned from marriage, Rosie, it's that communication is key.

Anyways, as Rose drove and got felt up by John, Davesprite and Jade sat in the back seat in awkward silence. The sprite had been well-aware of his attraction to the Weredog pretty much the fist moment he saw her through the lenses of his binoculars. Now, when she was in distress due to the changes taking place in her body, he felt nothing but worry and affection for her.

"Hey, Jade." He reached over and tapped her on the shoulder with his ghost hand. "Whatever happens later, I don't want you to be scared. Like John said, we're your friends and that means we're here for you no matter, what?"

Jade smiled and nodded.

"I know. Thanks, Davesprite."

Davesprite swallowed.

"You, uh… Haha." He chuckled nervously. So fucking uncool. "You can call me 'Dave'. If you want, I mean."

"Dave." Jade repeated, feeling the weight of the name on her tongue. "Alright, is that what you want?"

"That would be nice, yeah. I mean, I guess. Whatever." Davesprite shrugged and turned away, sinking further into his seat.

What the hell was this crazy sprite doing? He was supposed to be the coolest, ghostly fuck around and here he was acting like a total loser, like a regular John. So what if he was called Davesprite or Sprite or douchebag all the time? That's what he was.

Jade leaned over and hugged him quickly, startling him.

"Dave it is." She said warmly. "You can keep calling me Jade if you want."

"Yeah. Yeah, no problem."

Then she pulled away, back to a respectable distance and returned to sticking her head out the window and enjoying the passing breeze as it flapped her lips. Davesprite smiled.

About an hour later, Rose brought the bonecar to halt just on the outskirts of Wooftown. Next to the main road was welcoming sign that read: "Welcome to Wooftown! The fluffiest town around!"

Jade was finally home and I'm talking like home-home, not that bullshit Sun Clan island that she lived on all her life. She was finally among people who were just like her.

"Come on, guys! What are we waiting for?!" The Weredog scampered out of the bonecar and sprinted full-speed into Wooftown. Rose made sure that the bonecar was properly secured, before walking with John and Davesprite at a much more reasonable pace.

"I really hope this works out." Said John a little anxiously. "Jade will be crushed if the Weredogs here are mean or can't help her or…"

"Or nothing." Davesprite cut him off. "This is going to work. It has to."

"Weredogs," Began Rose. "From what I know, are typically friendlier to their own kind and others. They're a loyal, honest, and spiritual people."

"Unlike Werecats who bake devilish pastries and dump you like a sack of useless stonenuts." Muttered John ruefully.

Stonenuts aren't actually a real thing. It's a prank that you pull on people where you give them a rock and tell them that it's a nut. Then you laugh when they try to eat it and end up breaking their teeth or choking on it. It was a cruel trick that works about sixty percent of the time every time.

I know that statistic doesn't make much sense to us now, but then again, back in those days there wasn't a whole lot that actually did make sense in a backwards fantasy world like Skaia. Just go with it.

And if anyone offers you stonenuts, don't trust them. They're sick fucks.

Anyways, Rose, John, and Davesprite caught up with Jade in the town square. All around, Weredogs of different sizes and breeds were walking around all over the place. Some were walking each other with leashes, playing tug of war with a dish towel, or just frolicking through a grassy park nearby.

Jade was blown away.

"I'm blown away!" She gasped, spinning in a slow circle. "I don't even know where to begin!"

"I think here is a good place to start." Said a bespectacled old man with a thin, curly mustache. "Welcome to Wooftown! Would you like a free sample of licorice?"

"Would I ever?!" Jade happily began munching on the free licorice, as the man continued to speak.

"Here in Wooftown, everything is beautiful and nothing hurts! We are an equal opportunity community, although we can't deny that we do have a high population of Weredogs." The man shook Rose, John, and Davesprite's hands in quick succession. "I don't like to be called mayor, even though that's my official title. You may call me Grandpa or just Jake if you want to be even more informal!"

"I love you, Grandpa!" Jade cried, hugging Jake around the neck.

The old man laughed whilst John and Rose exchanged pleased looks. Turns out that this detour seemed to be well worth the effort.

"Now, what can I do for you young travelers?" Asked Jake once Jade pulled away. "Are you looking for a good night's sleep? How about a warm meal? Some fresh clothes and supplies?"

"Those all sound lovely, uh- Jake." Rose said. "But we are on a tight schedule. Therefore we won't be staying long. The reason we came today is we seek assistance in a personal matter. It is my hypothesis that Jade," Rose gestured to her Weredog friend. "Is experiencing puberty."

"Oh! You don't say." Jake cast a glance around the town square. Then said: "Follow me."

Our heroes followed Jake from the crowded town square across the street to a large brick building, presumably Town Hall. After leading them to a private office, Jake shut the door and crossed to a handsome mahogany desk that was probably really expensive, but really tied the whole room together.

"Take a seat, young lass." Cheered Jake, patting the surface of his desk. Jade instantly hopped up and was examined by the mayor of Wooftown. "Go ahead and give me a big smile. Yes, like that. Now say grrrr."

Jake checked Jade's teeth, ears, nose, hearing, reflexes, memory, just about anything you can think. He ran a blood test for heart worms that came up negative, checked that she was up to date on her vaccinations, and finally slapped her on the back.

"Seems to me like you're a one hundred percent healthy Weredog." Jake said proudly, prompting Jade off of the desk. He handed her a lollipop and a sticker for being such a good patient.

"So what's the verdict, Grandpa?" Asked Jade around her lollipop. "Am I going through the change of life?"

Rose, John, and Davesprite, who had been standing and floating in the corner respectively during this process, watched as Jake began to pace. He stroked his mustache and then came to a stop before the group.

"Yes, Jade. I would say without the shadow of a doubt that you've reached that special age for all Weredogs where you start to notice some… changes. You'll become more aggressive," Jade cast an apologetic look at John. "You will become more sexually stimulated around people you're attracted to." Jade glanced at Davesprite, wondering if his ghostly self counted as a boy or not. "And finally, you'll start to notice a discharge of blood from your…"

"Alright, alright. I think we get it." Rose interrupted. "What can we do to help Jade through this transitional period?"

Jake smiled then.

"Well, quite a lot actually! Since Weredogs mature so late into their life, the process is much easier to understand and manage. There are two well-known and tested methods for alleviating the negative effects of pubescent growth." Jake counted off on his fingers. "Fucking or fighting."

Everyone was stunned into silence.

"I'm sorry, but… what?" Asked John in confusion.

"She can either bang another Weredog or beat one up, that will get all the hormones out of her system and improve her mood."

Jade considered her options, all there Weredogs that she saw walking around outside were pretty good looking in her opinion. However, she was the type of girl who valued an emotional connection over a physical one, therefore:

"Alright. Whose throat am I going to rip out?" She asked.

"You're in luck! We have around half a dozen other Weredogs in town with situations similar to yours!" Jake took her by the shoulder and guided her from the office. Her friends followed close behind. "I'm sure we could fit you into the strife program. We'll have that unbridled hormonal rage beaten out of you in no time. All you need to do is sign this form right here." Reaching into a desk drawer, Jake pulled out clipboard and passed it to Jade.

As the Weredog read over the form, Rose stepped up to her side.

"Are you sure that you want to do this, Jade?" She asked. "All of this is happening a little fast. Perhaps you should think this through."

"What's to think through?" Jade sighed the form and passed it back to Jake. "This will be easy, maybe even fun. Don't' worry!"

As Jake led the group out of town hall and back into the square, John adjusted his pace so that he walked next to Rose.

"Does this seem like a good idea to you?" He asked.

"I don't know honestly." Rose shrugged. "Let's look at the facts. Jake knows much more about Jade and her afflictions than we do, plus she seems to be into it herself."

"But don't you think it's dangerous for a bunch of excitable Weredogs to fight like this?"

"If you're worried about Jade being hurt, do not fret. She has beaten two out of the Four Evil Mages of Skaia, after all. She will be able to hold her own."

"Well, okay. If you say so. I'd just prefer it if no one got hurt."

"I'm sure it will be fine, uh- babe…" Rose cautiously reached out and laced her fingers with his. It was a rare sign of affection from Rose and her first purposeful attempt to establish their relationship.

John stared down at their fingers: his then hers, then his, then hers, over and over until it seemed to stretch into infinity. In the future, he would look back on this moment fondly, as one of the few where Rose showed him genuine, mutual, romantic affection.

It was real sweet.

Anyways, back on track, Jake brought Jade to the grassy park next to the town square where about half a dozen Weredogs were gathered. They were all about Jade's age, with the same obvious symptoms that had affected Jade.

One of the Weredog boys was gnawing on his own arm like it was a chicken leg, while a Weredog girl was humping the nearest tree so hard and fast that the damn thing caught fire and exploded, raining pinecones and bird's eggs onto the assembled crowd. One of the bird eggs flew into John's open mouth and he was soooo mad.

"Tickets to the Weredog fight!" Yelled a girl carrying a box labeled: 'give me money please'. "Only one gold piece per person."

"Why do we have to pay for this?" Demanded Davesprite. "It's completely out in the open. Anyone can walk up and see it. Also Weredogs are always fighting. This whole ticketing process is a superficial and inconvenient gesture."

"Hey screw you, pal. I'm trying to run a business here!"

"Fuck you and your business!"

"Why, you son of a…"

"Whoa. Easy there, Doglips." Said Jake, stepping in before the argument got out of hand. "They're with me."

"Doglips?" Davesprite repeated. "Is that really your name? Man, that really sucks."

"You suck. Being orange sucks." And then Doglips gave Davesprite a pair of upside-down middle fingers as she walked backwards into the crowd and disappeared.

"Bitch."

"Just ignore her, man." John pointed towards where Jade had joined the other Weredogs. They were all wearing boxing gloves and those padded helmet things karate people sometimes wear. "They're about to get started."

As town mayor, it was up to Jake to open up the fights with a little speech and an explanation for all those who did not understand why this was even happening.

"These young men and women Weredogs are going through the change of life. So to prevent them from being driven insane by their weird dog-genes, they're going to fight until all the sex and aggression is beaten out of them." Explained Jake. "Refreshments and merchandise are sold in the booth by Joshua. Give a wave Joshua so that everyone can see where they can pick up their limited edition Weredog's Puberty Fights t-shirt."

"Damn. I gotta get me one of those shirts." Said Davesprite.

John was currently experiencing major anxiety about this whole process. Everything was happening much too fast! They'd only just found out about Jade's affliction this morning and now she was expected to fight all these other hyped as shit Weredogs? It was all just too much.

However, there wasn't a thing to be done.

"Let the fight begin!"

Instantly the Weredogs, who were once stood in a single line, converged on each other in furious battle.

Jade faced off against another girl and waste no time in socking her repeatedly in the nose. The girl went down and Jade stepped over her to continue the fight. One guy took a swing at Jade, but she blocked and kicked him in the fun sack. He fell to the ground with a strangled yell and then Jade proceeded to do atomic leg drops on him over and over again.

"Take this, you punk ass bitch." Said Jade, then she did a leg drop on his spine and shattered his spine.

Seeing Jade as the most deadly threat, all the other Weredogs leapt at her. A cloud of smoke obscured what was actually going on, but fists, feet, stars, and curse words could be seen imitating from the cloud, giving the impression that whatever was taking place inside was really intense.

In eight sentences, it was all over. Jade stood victorious atop a pile of battered and bloody Weredogs, all of which were actually looking a lot better despite the wounds they sustained during the fight. Rose supposed that maybe Jake was right in saying that punching out their emotions could actually do some good.

"Wow, guys!" Jade cheered as she jogged over to her friends. "I feel so much better now. Nice t-shirt by the way, Dave."

"Who?" Asked Davesprite, casting about for this 'Dave' who apparently had a nice shirt. After a moment, it donned on him. "Oh, me? Yeah, heh, thanks."

"Do you really feel better? Like, no violent or sexual tendencies at the moment?" John was half-way hidden behind Rose, trying not to show fear in the face of the intimidating Weredog.

"Yup! I feel great actually!"

"Well then, I guess all's well that ends well." Rose said with a smile as she squeezed John's hand.

The couple smiled at each other and just before you thought they were maybe going to kiss, the chapter ended.

(post credits scene)

In the woods, outside of the City of Lakewater, an evil witch gave a low groan and began to stir.

It was Yahtzee, the evil witch who tried to take Roxy the Werecat's sanity back in chapter eleven. She was still alive and super pissed.

Out of the darkness, approached a cloaked figure and a hot-looking rogue.

"Who are you?" Demanded Yahtzee.

The rouge stepped forward. It was Damien, leader of the Cool Cats. The cloaked figure also pulled down his hood to reveal that he was that gross-ass Fish Baron of the Sea.

"We are friends." Gurgled the Fish Baron. "I believe you may be looking for some… revenge?"

TO BE CONTINUED.

"Oh, man!" Rosie exclaimed once the story was finished. "That Weredog fight was pretty anticlimactic, although it was still cool! Yahtzee, Damien, and the Fish Baron working together to take down the heroes of Skaia. How can this story get any better?!"

"Yeah, I know. I'm doing a really good job and this story is riveting and you like it," Dave put a finger to his lips. "Just remember to turn down the excitement a few clicks. We could get in trouble if you mom finds out I'm still tell you this shit."

"Why doesn't she want me to hear this story? I mean, besides all the obvious age appropriate stuff."

Dave sighed and shook his head. He really didn't feel like having that conversation that night.

"It just wasn't all wizard pizza and wizard battles, okay? Mom has a habit of remember all the bad stuff that happened and well… Well, that's not the way things are." Dave got up and made to leave. "If you take away one thing from this crap, remember this: No matter how dark things get, there's always a chance to smile."

"I don't get it."

"Yeah. Well, whatever. I tried. Goodnight."

Welp. Here I am doing this again. Hopefully we won't have another three week or so hiatus ever again. This chapter is one of my least favorites out of the bunch, but hopefully yall won't mind it as much.

I hope you had a merry chirstmas or holiday or whatever.

Thanks for reading. Happy New Year.
- Mike