The coming months were an adjustment for Larten. Word had spread quickly about a human child being found and raised in the mountain, causing Darren to become a bit of a celebrity. Many had decided to make the trek out to the mountain to see him for themselves. Gavner in particular grew quite fond of Darren, always bringing the boy gifts whenever he would come to give reports to the Princes. The first time Gavner visited, he had knocked on Larten's entryway, gaining the vampire's attention.

"Gavner!" Larten boomed. He went over and slapped his friend's back, smiling widely.

Gavner returned the smile. "Hello Larten."

"I did not know you would be coming," Larten said.

Gavner replied, "Technically, I'm not supposed to be. I'm not here on official general business."

Larten was about to ask about that when, from behind him, Darren started to cry. Larten turned and went to where he had laid Darren in his coffin. He picked up the wailing child and began rocking him.

Gavner stepped forward hesitantly. "Is that the child everyone is talking about?" he asked, "The boy in the snow?"

"Is that what they are calling him?" Larten asked, rolling his eyes. In his arms, Darren had stopped wailing and looked up at Larten, seeming to just be happy being held. He reached up with his hand and gripped part of Larten's cloak. Larten smiled down at the boy, then stroked his head.

Gavner was shocked. He had never seen this side of the grouchy, orange-haired vampire before. He had only ever come off as stiff and reclusive to him, but now, Gavner saw that there was a tenderer side to him, and wondered why Larten had never shown it more often.

When Larten looked back up at Gavner, he noticed Gavner staring at him with his head cocked to the side and a raised brow. "What are you looking at?" Larten barked.

Gavner cleared his throat awkwardly "Nothing," he said. "Sorry."

Things were silent for a moment, then Gavner asked curiously, "Where does he sleep?"

Larten sighed, "That is the one thing I cannot figure out. We have nothing that would be suitable for a child this small, so, he has been sleeping in my coffin with me."

"Oh, so you're willing to share a coffin with him?" Gavner retorted sarcastically.

"Darren does not snore," Larten deadpanned in response, causing Gavner to grumble under his breath.

"So why have you come then?" Larten asked.

"Oh!" Gavner remembered. He began rummaging through the bag he had slung over his shoulder. "I ran into Evanna a few months back, and she told me to bring this to you as soon as I could." He pulled out a box no larger than his fist. "She said you would need it."

Larten looked at the box in Gavner's hands, examining it closely. "What is in it?" he asked.

"I haven't opened it," Gavner said, "Evanna said you have to."

"Hold Darren," Larten said, and Gavner set down the box. Larten gently placed him in Gavner's arms and Darren stared at Gavner with his big brown eyes. Gavner began to rock the boy from side to side and turned his attention to Larten as he used his nails to cut the seal and opened the box. As soon as he did, the box began to shift and expand. Larten had seen Evanna's magic before, so he looked on with curiosity, but no surprise. However, Gavner was unfamiliar with the extent of Evanna's powers, and his jaw dropped.

The box grew four legs and slowly raised up while the box itself had shifted into a cradle. When it was done, there was a crib standing in the center of the room.

"That…But...it…." Gavner continued to gabble and stutter. Larten only smiled, shaking his head slightly.

"Of course," he whispered, turning his attention back to the cot. He wasn't surprised the witch would show such a gesture. Over the years, she had gifted him with a variety of convenient appliances, such as collapsible pots, bowls, and knives. However, this was more personal. There were engravings along the sides, depicting various dragons flying or laying on the ground. The trim along the crib was intricately carved and there was even a mobile hanging over the top. Evanna had never put this much work into one of Larten's presents before, and Larten made a mental note to visit her in the coming years to thank her.

When Gavner's shock wore off, he found his words once again. "She gave this to me months ago. You've only had Darren for a few weeks. How could she know?"

"Gavner," Larten chided, "You know of Evanna's abilities to foresee the future. This should not be surprising."

Gavner sighed and shuddered, "That always make me feel uneasy. I'd hate knowing the future."

In Gavner's arms, Darren gurgled and babbled. Larten took him back in his arms, but Darren continued to stare at Gavner and brought his hands to his mouth. Gavner smiled, making the baby giggle, and Larten could see Gavner's expression soften.
Larten walked Darren over to the cot and held him next to the mobile. Darren reached out and grabbed one of the dangling stars. The hanging figures twirled and softly clinked as they touched. Darren smiled and kicked his legs happily. Larten and Gavner both smiled down at him as he continued to swat at the mobile figures.

Since then, Gavner came and went from the mountain every few months on general business, always bringing back gifts for Darren and Larten. He's brought things like clothes and toys, and Darren also had gotten a lot more popular among vampires. They seemed to all flood in to meet Darren and probe Larten with the same questions: Where did he come from? How did he get here? Why was he left? What happened to his parents? On, and on, and on… Larten quickly grew tired of it and became irritated by any vampire who asked about Darren's origins. Larten began turning away vampires with their questions, refusing to answer any and all inquiries.

Even Seba had returned, visiting for a few months to study Darren. He was one Larten did not turn away and answered his former master's questions patiently and thoroughly.

"I must say," Seba had said his first night back, "I could hardly believe the news when Paris told me."

The two of them were seated in the Hall of Khledon Lurt, with Darren seated on Larten's lap. It had been 6 months since Larten found Darren in the snow, and he guessed that Darren was somewhere around 9 months' old.

"I know," Larten replied, "It is very mysterious. We still have no idea where he came from." As he spoke, Darren began to squirm and tried sliding off Larten's lap. Larten let him, standing Darren between his legs. He grabbed Darren's hands and bounced him up and down, a game that Darren loved. Darren giggled and pushed down with his feet whenever he touched the ground.

"I was talking about you," Seba corrected.

Larten looked at his former master in confusion. Seba only laughed. "Larten," he explained, speaking as if it were obvious, "you have refused for years to ever even take on an assistant, so I find it very surprising that you would so willingly take on the role of a parent to a child." Seba looked down at Darren, still enjoying being lifted up and down. "Though you seem to be taking to fatherhood quite well."

Larten didn't know how he felt about the word father being used in reference to him. Of course, he cared for Darren and he definitely wanted to consider Darren as his son, but the boy's origins gave Larten pause. It unsettled him not knowing where Darren came from. The mystery left him with just a sliver of paranoia and a deep instinctual dread-like if he got too close to the child, it would only end in disaster. There was an aura of danger surrounding the child, one that Larten had been trained to avoid, but there was a bigger part of him that felt inclined to protect and care for him. He had another strong inclination that if he didn't, then something bad would befall on the boy of snow.

Larten had pushed those looming thoughts aside over the coming months, eventually forgetting them. His focus was placed solely on Darren and his upbringing. While Seba stayed in Vampire Mountain, he spent a lot of time watching Darren while Larten was busy working. He wanted to study Darren a little more closely, hoping he'd find out more about who the boy was. Larten was relieved to be able to leave Darren with Seba, so he could focus only on his duties without worrying about Darren's crying or crawling around.

Time seemed to fly by the following few months. Seba told Larten of his decision to stick around for a few more years, claiming to want to study Darren further, but Larten had a sneaking suspicion that Seba had grown just as fond of Darren as Gavner had when they first met. Regardless, Larten was glad to have the extra help. Between working in the storerooms all night, and soothing Darren's crying most of the day, Larten found very little time to rest.

Larten had been in his quarters, getting ready to lay in his coffin for a few hours, hoping to get more sleep than he had recently. He fed Darren, laid him in his crib, and turned the overhead mobile to keep him occupied until he hopefully drifted off to sleep. It was as he turned around that he heard Darren's first word:

"Red."

Larten turned back around and leaned over the crib. As he gazed down at the 1-year-old, he saw that Darren had his red blanket-Gavner's most recent gift-gripped in his hands and brought it to his mouth. His eyes focused on Larten and he smiled. Larten smiled back. Darren had started trying to imitate Larten's speech, occasionally making similar sounds, so he had begun trying to teach Darren simple words. And Seba had begun to read stories to him. It had only been a few days and Larten hadn't been expecting Darren to learn so quickly.

Darren took the blanket out of his mouth and shook it around. "Red," he said again.

Smiling wide, Larten reached down and picked Darren up. "Very good," he complimented. Larten bounced Darren up and down and Darren giggled, dropping the blanket.

After that, Darren began talking a lot more, and by the time he was 3, he could speak in full sentences, but he had started to outgrow his crib. So, Larten had brought up a particularly small coffin for Darren to sleep in, but when he tried getting Darren to sleep in it, it had not gone well. The first night, after he and Darren had laid down and Larten had almost fallen asleep, he heard shuffling coming from outside his own coffin. The shuffling got closer until it was right outside and then stopped. He knew Darren was standing right next to his coffin. Slowly, he lifted the lid and was immediately met with a pair of wide, scared eyes.

"Darren," Larten sighed, "What is wrong?"

Darren was holding his red blanket-it had become his favorite- up so it was covering his mouth. Larten sat up, opening his coffin all the way. Darren looked back to his coffin and pointed. He mumbled something fearfully into his blanket, but Larten couldn't make out what he said, but he could guess.

"You do not need to be afraid of your coffin," Larten reasoned with the toddler, but Darren took no comfort. He continued to fearfully stare at his coffin.

Larten sighed and climbed out of his own coffin and placed a hand on Darren's shoulder, leading him back to his. As they got closer, Darren cried out and hid his face in Larten's leg, Larten looked down at the boy in confusion. He did not know what to do. If Darren did not want to sleep in a coffin and was too big for his crib, then what would Larten do with him?

He crouched down, so he could speak eye level with Darren, who was still clinging closely to Larten's leg. He pulled Darren away, but kept his hand on the boy's shoulder.

"Darren," Larten said, trying to stay patient, "You must sleep somewhere."

Darren brought his blanket back up to mouth and mumbled again. This time, Larten could make out a very quiet and muffled "Can I sleep with you?"

Larten sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Fine," he said, "Very well." Larten lead them both back to his coffin and Larten climbed in, Darren eagerly following. Once they were both settled in, Larten reached up to close the lid. As he did, Darren cried out, making Larten stop. He lowered his arm and laid back down. Darren, now satisfied, snuggled closer to Larten's chest and the pair swiftly fell asleep.

The following days were long for Larten. Darren took to sleeping in Larten's coffin with him, and Larten let him because he could not think of anywhere else for Darren to go. It got worse when Darren started having nightmares. He'd shift around in his sleep all night and wake up screaming and crying. By the fifth day of this, Larten was exhausted.

After waking up, he left Darren with Seba, who noticed how tired his former assistant looked. As Larten turned to leave, Seba commented, "Long day?"

Larten sighed. "I have not been getting much sleep," he groaned, "It is Darren. He has been having nightmares every night for the past few days. Most days he wakes up screaming and crying. Even when he does not, his constant shifting keeps me up."

"What do you mean?" Seba asked curiously.

"He did not take kindly to the coffin I gave him, so he has been sleeping with me in mine." Larten rubbed his eyes and groaned.

"Really?" Seba said. Larten could not see him, but he could tell Seba was smirking.

"He is terrified of the thing!" Larten explained. "Now I do not know where to put him. He is too big to sleep in his crib anymore and if he will not sleep in a coffin…" Larten let his sentence trail off as he yawned.

"Why not give him a hammock?" Seba suggested.

Larten looked at the old vampire in confusion. "A hammock?"

"Aye," Seba answered, "We have them in the back of the storeroom. They mostly end up going unused because most vampires prefer a coffin, but we do have them. Maybe it would be better suited for him."

They looked over at Darren, who was seated on the floor had begun playing with the building blocks Gavner had given him 6 months back.

"I will have to look for one," Larten said, turning his attention back to Seba, "How did I not know about them before?"

Seba shrugged, "We have not had a vampire request a hammock for years. Out of sight, out of mind."

Larten nodded.

"As for the boy's nightmares," Seba continued, "they will most likely pass. They are common for children his age. I would not let it worry you."

After leaving, Larten went to the storerooms and found a small box of hammocks tucked away behind the coffins. He pulled one out and set it aside for him to take back with him later then set to work on his daily duties.

At the end of the night, before checking on Darren and Seba, Larten went back to his quarters and switched out Darren's coffin for the hammock. He went back to Seba's quarters, where he found Seba sitting on the ground next to Darren, reading him one of the many stories he remembered Seba reading to him when he was his assistant. As Darren saw Larten come inside, he cried out excitedly, "Papa!"

He raced forward to give Larten a hug, and Larten picked him up, smiling wide. "Hello Darren! Have you had a nice day?"

Darren nodded eagerly, then gasped like he was remembering something, "Oh! Look what I made today!"

Larten let him down and followed the child to where he had been playing. Darren rummaged through the short pile of papers and markers until he found the one he was looking for, then held it for Larten to see. In Darren's hands was a crude drawing meant to depict him, Larten, and Seba together. Larten took the drawing in his hand and smiled. "This is very nice," he praised, and Darren beamed.

Darren then proceeded to show Larten all the drawings he did that day and by the end, Larten had the entire stack in his hands. As Darren passed him picture after picture, Larten continued to compliment the talentless but proud child. He spent the next few minutes admiring Darren's crude re-creations of various vampires he knew. He saw drawings of Paris, Kurda, Vanez, and many others in the mountain, but one particular drawing caught Larten's eye because this picture wasn't happy or depicting any vampire.

"Darren," he said, "what is this?" On the page in his hand was a figure resembling closely to a man, but with two white holes for eyes and razor sharp teeth.

Darren looked at the drawing fearfully, and Larten guessed, "Is this the monster from your nightmares?"

Darren nodded. Larten looked back down at the picture with curiosity. Darren often spoke of his nightmares, always claiming that the "bad man" was coming to take him away. Larten always assured Darren that he would not let anyone take him away, but he knew Darren was still terrified. Now he could get a closer look at who this mysterious monster man was, and this new insight brought a chill down Larten's spine. Vampires believed there was always hidden truth behind dreams and that if you could find the meaning behind them, it would give a new insight to your life.

Larten thought that perhaps there was some truth behind Darren's fear of being taken away when he saw what the shadowed figure in Darren's drawing was holding:

A red, heart-shaped watch.