Because I now knew how to get there, finding the Pole wasn't nearly as difficult. Sel had never been, so I had to wait for her to make her way up to the northern hemisphere so I could show her the way. When her distinctive silhouette appeared on the horizon I took off from the grove I'd been waiting in. When I got up to altitude Sel and I fell in stride next to each other. "So, how do we get there?"

"We fly north of course." After a moment she laughed. I'm sure she'd been caught between berating me or laughing and the latter had won out. "No, it's not that hard to find once you know what to look for." We flew north for a half hour or so before the workshop came into sight. When it did my eyes immediately locked on the crevasse. "Be right back."

Sel didn't have time to respond before I dove towards the crack in the ice. As I dropped I dismissed my wings and then gravity really took a hold. I slipped between the edges of the crack and enjoyed the feeling of falling face first towards the ground. As I fell down I'd heard more than a few startled gasps from the Yetis. It only made me chuckle. Before I'd have hit bottom I called my wings back and with one down stroke I was climbing back up. When I came up underneath the ice bridge I looped around it before coming to rest on the side of the crevasse that the main building occupied. No chance of flying being commonplace now.

My landing was met with gapes and general open mouths. Sel gracefully came in to land next to me, shaking her head as she did. "You are no better than Jack. Always needing to make an entrance, the both of you." She glanced up at the workshop. "Is that it?"

I nodded in confirmation. "Yep. That's the building every kid in the world has dreamed of seeing at least once. And we're having dinner there."

Sel chuckled as she started gliding up towards the building, the yetis parting to let her through. As I followed behind her I glanced at one of the fur balls. "You look like you're not used to daredevils." He - or she, I wasn't quite sure - garbled something in their language that I could neither understand nor pronounce. "Jack's been hanging around all winter. You shouldn't be that surprised." I patted he - she - it on the arm and continued following my roommate into the workshop's main building. When we got to the massive doors one of the yetis was nice enough to open them for us, unlike last time.

Jack had told us that we were all eating by the grand fireplace, where a table had been set up for us. I led Sel through the corridors of the huge building until we reached the center of the thing, namely, the globe. Sel gaped at it as much as me. It didn't matter that I'd seen it once before, it was still huge and still impressive. A voice broke us out of our trances. "There you guys are! Come on up!" It was Jack calling from the balcony that the fireplace occupied. Sel and I flew up, me a split second later as I had to call my wings. When we landed I saw that Tooth was already there.

"Story!" She leapt into a hug, which I gladly gave.

"Hey, girl! How are my little buddies doing?"

"Oh, the girls are doing fine. I keep finding them clustered around your drawing though. I can't keep them away!"

At that second the mini fairies that followed her around had noticed me and all but tackled me. "Hi, guys!" They buzzed around my face, chattering away. Tooth had taught me a few of their words before I'd left... a few meaning like three. But I could mostly make out what they were saying. "Alright, fine. I'll make a few for you guys." I giggled at them as glanced around at the others. They'd moved into their seats around the table, sitting comfortably. One mini fairy was perched on Jack's shoulder like a parrot. That one must be Baby Tooth.

Just then the ceiling opened and a cloud of Dreamsand descended. I looked at Jack. "How much you wanna bet that Bunny's gonna be the last one here?"

"Nothing because you're probably right." We both fell into a mild fit of giggles as Sandy came to land on the balcony, taking the seat between Jack and I as he did. "Hey, Sandy."

Sandy waved at everyone at the table as we said out hellos. A string of symbols appeared over his head. "I had a great Christmas so far, thanks for asking." I replied first, having been the subject in question. "Hey, so when does this thing start?" I asked the question to everyone at the table, not caring who answered.

At that moment a snow covered Bunny entered the room shivering. "Whenever North gets here." He immediately sat himself in front of the fireplace to thaw. I'd noticed that the seat nearest the fire had been left open, no doubt for him. North was the only person we were waiting for. "I'm really starting to get tired of North's wards. He keeps tellin' me that he'll adjust them so my tunnels can open up here, but every time, this happens."

"Starting? You've complained about that every time you come here." Jack was laughing at Bunny's aversion to cold and tendency to complain about it.

"Yeah, well next year the meeting's at the Warren, no matter what anyone says."

"Maybe next year we can have it at the Tooth Palace?" Tooth was trying to stop the bickering between the two. It wasn't hard bickering, just jokingly. I mean, Bunny and Jack were more or less friends now, but I still held a minor grudge against the Pooka.

"The more warmth the better as far as I'm concerned." Bunny seemed inclined to sit in front of the heat until the big man came to the table. I didn't blame him there. I used to spend hours sitting in front of the heating duct when I was mortal. That was one of the reasons I needed to move out. To quote Mr. Cold-intolerant over there, I was 'tired of cold'.

While we waited I took the time to check out my surroundings more, as I'd not been to this particular area on my last visit. Over to the side of the fireplace was a Christmas tree easily taller than my grandma's house. On it were the more traditional decorations. Strands of cranberries and popcorn crisscrossed in a carefully haphazard fashion. There were candles instead of twinkling lights, something no one did anymore because it was a 'fire hazard'. Among the garlands and candles hung round ornaments that I had no doubt were made of glass. Underneath it were a small number of beautifully wrapped presents, all more or less the same size and shape.

I turned to watch the globe for a little while, the lights twinkling as it turned. When the side showcasing the Americas faced me, I couldn't help myself. My gaze was drawn to the Michigan/Indiana state line. Was it my imagination, or were the lights there brighter? I was probably just focusing on them so they looked that way. My gaze moved to the general area that Burgess was located in. Okay, the lights were definitely brighter there. Which made total sense, I mean Jamie lived there. Of course they'd be brighter.

Footsteps sounded behind me and I turned to see North walking in looking well-rested. I'd say that as soon as he got back he'd gone to sleep. He spread his arms wide upon seeing all of us already there. "Merry Christmas!" I couldn't stop myself, my mind instantly supplied the phrase 'to all and to all a good night.' I mean, this was Santa, wishing us a merry Christmas... Don't lie, you'd do it to.

We all responded with our own 'Merry Christmas'es and North took the seat at the head of the table. Bunny got up from in front of the fire and took his seat across from Jack. North clapped his hands and a few of the Yetis brought out food, setting the platters of the table elaborately. When they took the covers of I gaped. This looked beyond delicious. I glanced at Sel and saw her almost drooling. That was enough to get me to shut my mouth. I tried to think of the last time Sel had had a meal this... home made. I couldn't.

We dug in. Now, it was Christmas, and we were eating with the Big Man himself... But we weren't the most refined eaters. Sel was probably the neatest of all of us. And Tooth. She was neat too. The rest of us sort of stuffed our faces. I'd have thought that North would have been Mr. Table Manners, but I got my first look at what he was like when he was a bandit. I guess being raised by Cossacks doesn't teach you that elbows aren't supposed to be on the table... or what utensils are for. Don't get me wrong, I was pigging out to. I never claimed table manners.

After dinner the yetis cleared the table and we moved to assorted armchairs near the fireplace. Bunny went to the one closest to it and Jack sat on the window sill. North went to the biggest chair in the place, conveniently next to the tree. I had a feeling it had been his for a long time, if the indent was any indication. However, he didn't sit. Sel curled up her tail and rested on it like a snake. I really envied her sometimes, like now, when she didn't need a chair. I'm lazy, okay? Tooth and Sandy found their places that I'm sure were their normal spots. I spied a chair near Jack and took it. At least I was near someone I knew I could talk to.

Once we were seated comfortably North rubbed his hands together eagerly. "Who is ready for presents?" I giggled a little along with Jack. North bent down and picked up the first gift. Without checking the tag he took a few steps towards Sandy and deposited the gift... which had golden wrapping paper. I glanced at the other gifts and, sure enough, they were wrapped in colors that pretty well matched their recipients.

As North grabbed the next gift - this one in pastels - I leaned towards Jack. "So what do we do with our gifts?"

"Brought or got?"

"Brought."

"After North passes out his, we take turns passing out ours. After everyone's done we open them. There're some exceptions - if it's a group gift."

I nodded. North came towards us with a gift wrapped in shimmering blue paper that has a faint snowflake pattern on it. Figures. Jack accepted it and North went back to the tree. I glanced around the group. Sel had gotten hers already - bright pink paper. I wondered how North knew her favorite color. Mine and Tooth's were the only ones left. He picked up one that had nearly every color on Tooth - without being gaudy. Which meant mine was last. I glanced at the lone gift under the tree. It was a cream color with what looked like black stripes on it. Why did I get stripes?

When North brought my gift over to me I realized they weren't stripes. The paper looked like the pages of an old book, complete with writing. I smiled a little as I started reading them. 'Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse...' Why wasn't I surprised?

I looked up to see that North had sat down in his chair. Bunny was walking around the circle handing out egg shaped... well I guess they wouldn't be called boxes... Anyway he gave one to every one. When he was done Tooth got up and handed everyone a small ornate box. Then Sandy went, handing out pouches with drawstrings. Obviously the gift giving went by seniority. Jack got up from next to me and flew up to the back of the tree, near the top. When he came down he held six boxes that looked made of ice. Show off. He deposited one to each person in the group, inspecting the lid before handing them out. When I got mine I saw that etched into the surface was each person's name.

When Jack sat down I caught Sel's gaze. By silent communication we decided I'd hand out mine first. Well, I had spent more time with some of them. I pulled the gifts out of my bag and set them on my chair. I was gonna go farthest away first, and closest last. I grabbed Tooth's and walked it over to her. When she took it she smiled and said thanks, like you're supposed to. The following gifts went the same way with little exception - except Sandy used symbols of course. When I sat back down I glanced at Sel.

She uncurled herself and moved to the center of our circle. "I have chosen to sing for all of you as my gift." She cleared her throat before beginning. Now, Sel had a beautiful voice, but she almost never sang. Unlike me who sang whenever a song popped into my head. I'd only heard her sing twice before, so I was as eager as everyone.

"Come, they told me,

Pa rum pa pum pum

A newborn king to see,

Pa rum pa pum pum

Our finest gifts we bring,

Pa rum pa pum pum,

To lay before the king,

Pa rum pa pum pum,

Rum pa pum pum

Rum pa pum pum."

As she sang one of my favorite Christmas songs ever, I swear, everyone in the room was feeling the same thing as me. In-story bliss. Everyone else was just hearing a Lillend sing, but I was getting what I was made for. I noticed that a few yetis and elves had stopped near the edges of the room to listen. The elves were dancing with each other while one or two of the yetis were crying happily. I smiled a little, trying to keep from laughing. The yetis, though big and tough looking, were really huge, fluffy saps.

When Sel had finished singing she once again coiled her tail and sat next to her pile of gifts. Everyone sat smiling happily for a minute or two after she'd stopped. Oddly, it was Sandy who broke the silence by clapping, which turned into a round of applause - added to by the elves and yetis. Sel just smiled and accepted the applause graciously. "I am glad you all liked my gift."

Tooth turned to her. "You have a beautiful voice!"

Sel smiled in return. "I do not necessarily need all of the credit. All Lillends sing well."

"Girl, you are too modest." I said from my seat.

"This coming from my roommate who is far to immodest." It was meant as a joke, as most insults were between those of us who lived at Jack's place. So I laughed, along with most of the room.

North smiled around the circle at us. "Is time to open presents!" The Guardians each picked up their gift from North. Sel and I followed their lead as they went around the circle, each tearing into the gift. The opening went counter clockwise around the circle, starting at North's right, where Sel was. As she opened her gift I noticed a small book. Sel squealed happily and had to physically stop herself from reading right then and there. North chuckled at her response. "I take it you like gift?"

"Most definitely. You could not have chosen something better for a Lillend." She placed the book under one of her coils so she wouldn't be as tempted.

Tooth tore into her gift and smiled at North. She held up her gift to show around. "Thank you, North." It was a compass with little jewels set into the points of direction.

"It will always point you to nearest tooth. I do not think you need it, but thought was nice gesture." He shrugged off her thanks like it was nothing.

"It's lovely."

Sandy opened his next and then so did Bunny. Jack opened his next to me and burst out laughing. "Same as last year, huh?" He up-ended the box and out rolled a tiny lump of coal. Upon seeing it, I started laughing too.

"Get yourself on Nice List and I will give you real gift." North was laughing, however, as he said it. I assumed this was a running joke as no one seemed put off by it.

"No promises."

Then it was my turn. I started ripping the paper off my gift. To be honest, I half expected a lump of coal myself. Before I opened it I glanced at North, who was watching eagerly. "When was the last time I was on the nice list?"

He frowned for a moment before stopping to think. "Two years old, I think. Why?"

I laughed to myself. "And that explains why you never came to my house. Alright then." I opened my box to find a sketch book. It was small, maybe eight by five. When I pulled it out and riffled through it I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was really good quality paper. And each page was slightly different. For different medias. I looked back at North. "What did I do to deserve this? I thought I was two the last time I was deemed nice?"

He shrugged. "Eh, most immortals do not count where lists are concerned. Jack, of course, is exception." He smiled at the boy next to me.

"Well, thank you. I love it."

"I am glad." He nodded before reaching down into his own stack of gifts to pull out Bunny's egg-thing. When he opened it he found a chocolate egg inside. He smiled happily and popped it into his mouth.

As Sel began to open hers Jack leaned over to explain. "Bunny gives everyone a personalized chocolate egg based on what they'd like the most. Tooth gets a tiny one with only a small percentage of it actually chocolate. I've gotten mint the past few years."

"Good to know." When the presents got to me again I opened my egg and almost started drooling. "How did you know white chocolate's my favorite!" I didn't wait for a response as the egg went instantly into my mouth. I had to restrain myself from moaning in delight. I'm a white chocolate nut, okay. Don't judge me.

"I did a little research." He winked at Jack who grinned back. Well, it was good to know they got along enough to conspire about Christmas presents.

Tooth's presents were spools of floss. I really should have seen that one coming. Sandy's were all bags of Dreamsand specifically made for immortals. We don't get Dreamsand from him in the normal way, it doesn't work the same on us. So these were guaranteed to work dreams and all. Jack's gifts were mini ice sculptures of their recipients. "They should last until next year, give or take."

Bunny was glaring at Jack. I looked at his and realized it was how he'd looked when he'd shrunk down to a normal rabbit. "Aw... You were so cute and fluffy!" I couldn't help myself. It's times like these that my inner girly-girl comes out.

"Thanks." Bunny's tone was laced with sarcasm as he put his sculpture back in it's box. Jack nearly fell off the sill in his laughter.

And then it was time for my gifts. North's I had rolled up and tied with a ribbon. When he unrolled it his eyes lit up. He turned it around to show everyone. He then turned to me. "Is beautiful!"

"I made one for everyone. Tooth and Sandy got theirs already. Jack and Sel got theirs back home."

"What about me!" Bunny looked at me indignantly.

"Well, if you'll wait your turn..." He sat back in his chair, placated.

Sel opened her box to find the bracelet I'd made for her... well it wasn't exactly a bracelet as it was for her tail. She smiled at me as she slid it onto her tail. "I take it that you made this?"

"Well I didn't buy it at the mall if that's what you're asking."

Tooth opened her gift next. Her mouth was as wide as her eyes as she pulled out the necklace I'd made. "Oh, Story... I love it."

"I thought you would." Then it was Sandy's turn. I watched eagerly as he took tare to open the box that contained his gift. Once he'd opened it he looked at it in confusion. He looked at me, a question mark appearing over his head. "Back when I was mortal, I used to get some really weird dreams. A few of them ended up becoming stories of mine. That's one of them. I figured what better gift to give to the Sandman than something that one of his dreams inspired." Sandy smiled at me as he carefully put the lid back on the box, flashing a string of symbols telling me that he'd read it later.

Bunny tore his wrapping paper off. I'd taken his and put a piece of cardboard on each side so it would lay flat. When he slid it out from between the two pieces he smiled approvingly. "Well, I'll say this. It's a lot better than the one I got from Jack." He turned it to show the others.

Jack opened his and pulled out a small piece of paper. Reading out loud, he said, "I owe you one awesome Christmas gift?" He looked at me.

I shrugged. "I figure you can cash that in whenever you wanna have a good time. I mean, I am the fun one here." I laughed a little at the end of my joke. I'll say this. Christmas with the guardians really was fun. It felt like family.

Before long, Bunny ran back to the warren, complaining about the cold as he did. Sel left pretty quickly too, said she wanted to get back home to make sure Del hadn't made any messes. Tooth had put on her necklace before leaving. She said she was gonna drop her gifts off at the Palace before going out 'in the field'. A few elves dragged Jack away a little after that. Apparently they'd taken a liking to him while he'd been there. Then it was just Sandy, North and myself.

North hauled himself up from his chair. "I will take gifts to my office." He waved mine around a little. "And hang this in place of honor."

"Aw, North you don't have to do that."

"I want to." He waved at Sandy as he left, going down the hall.

Sandy had begun to read my story once the guests had started leaving. He was still at it as I went and sat near him. "What do you think?" I'd always loved feedback on my stories. They're my babies, but I still like to know that others enjoy them too, you know? I was hoping that Sandy liked it, especially since he'd given me the idea.

He looked up from his place and smiled at me, symbols appearing. 'I like it. This was really based off a dream you had?'

I nodded. "Yep. About..." I paused to count. "... Five of my stories have started from dreams. This was the third, I think." He went back to reading it. I watched over his shoulder for a minute. "Thanks. For the dreams." He looked up questioningly. "I know it's your job and all, but... Especially the ones that became stories, they meant a lot to me." I pointed at the story he held. "That's why I gave it to you. As a thank you."

He didn't say anything for a minute... well, you know what I mean. But when he flashed the next string of symbols, a smile lit my face. 'It means a lot to me to know that your dreams were put to good use. Thank you for my gift, Story.' I giggled a little when I saw that the symbol he used for me was a book. It made perfect sense.

The next few months passed normally. Well, as normal as life can be for immortals. I hung out with Mosy a lot. A few years with her and I'd be an expert with my musing. I noticed differences between the two of us, though. As far as our style of musing went. I usually tried to go for artists and musicians, where as she went for authors. It worked fine for me, I mean, I was set with my own stories. However, she always got first dibs on street performers whenever we were out and about.

I spent a lot of time at Legends too. Shady always saved me a seat near the bar. Even if I wasn't drinking it was a good seat. I met a lot of interesting people there. I met elementals - watch out for the fire ones, by the way - the Leshy, Bloody Mary - ironically, she never touched the drink named after her - a few Rokurokubi, Anubis and Bastet, these twins who ended up being the Gemini twins, and hordes of other legends I didn't even need to be introduced to. There were a few who were less noticeable, and then those who had more obscure myths who I did need to be introduced to, but the vast majority gave my inner fangirl a run for her money.

I made friends with most of the bartenders - one was Goliath. Yes, the Goliath. He really wasn't that big. He was probably smaller than Shaq, but he was still plenty bigger than me. He was surprisingly nice too. Turns out he used to have horrible anger management issues, hence the David incident. He'd since figured out ways to deal with his anger though. No one wanted to make him mad regardless, and I sure as hell didn't blame them. One of the waitresses I instantly took to. Her name was Dollie and she was the little girl from the Isla de las Munecas myth, only she was about 80 years old so she wasn't so little. Don't get me wrong she looked 9, but she didn't act like it... sometimes, anyway. She spoke mostly in Spanish but she understood English perfectly.

And Legends wasn't too shabby on their selection of sustenance either. As far as drinks went, they had everything from Pepsi and Coke, to Johnny and Jack. From fruit juice to fae drinks. Food, they had from every country and culture, depending on the night. It was loud and colorful and downright claustrophobic on some nights. I loved it. And Annie was an awesome host. She was nice to everyone the moment they walked in her doors. She went to great lengths to accommodate everyone she could. There were space issues though, huge creatures couldn't fit. Del definitely wouldn't. All in all, Legends was definitely my first choice for a place to hang out.

By the time May was coming to an end, Seraphina was ready to build my house, I just had to give the word. And I was hesitating. I wanted my own place, yeah, but... I was so used to always having someone there. Even if I was sitting alone in a room, there was someone else in the house. I wasn't alone even if I wanted to be. Truth be told, I didn't want to become one of those loner immortals who shunned interaction and kept others away. I may be a hermit by nature but I'm a social hermit. Yeah Sel and Del would visit - well, once Del knew about it anyway. Yeah, I could always go out. Legends was always an option if I wanted social interaction, but... I couldn't help hesitating.

Every person has this moment. The moving out and moving on moment. Hell, I was immortal for Pete's sake! I shouldn't be this hung up on moving out. I wanted my house, sooo badly. I'd planned it down to the last detail. I'd gotten all the wards set up - they still needed to be activated of course, but they were in place. I had the location picked out, I even knew the exact elevation it was going to be at! I wanted to have my own place... I just didn't want to be on my own in it.

To be completely honest, one of the reasons I wanted my place to be in the redwoods was because it was way closer to the equator than the South Pole. I had to side with Bunny on one thing, I was tired of cold. I always did choose sun over snow if I had the choice. I think the only reason I dealt with Antarctica for so long is because my best friend lived there and had offered me a place. And then I'd made more friends there... But in the past year I'd made friends on my own, in places that weren't sub-zero year round. I was ready to move on... but I didn't want to let go.

Mid-June I'd decided that I'd put it off long enough. I was sitting with Sel in the library, both of us reading - big shocker, I know. I couldn't focus on my book though, no matter how hard I tried. It was like writer's block but for reading. It was reader's block. Finally I got up and put the book back. When I fwomped into my chair, Sel carefully placed her bookmark and gave me a look. "What is it, Story?" I sighed, not able to come up with a coherent answer. What was wrong with me? "In all of the time I have known you, you have never not been able to loose yourself in a book. What is the matter?"

"I'm gonna give Seraphina the go-ahead to build my place." I bit the inside of my lip and couldn't stop tapping my foot on the floor. I was jittery and antsy and I felt like I was being pulled in two different directions. Like I was being pulled between here and the redwoods.

"That is great. Everything is sorted out then?" Sel was genuinely happy for me. I wish I had the same confidence about all of this that she did.

"Yeah, everything's ready. I'm gonna be there when she's building. I have to make sure it's on a day she doesn't have to wrangle any storms, but we're good to go." My foot was still tapping.

Sel noticed. "Than why do you not seem as excited as you should be?"

I sighed, yet again. "I don't know. Maybe I'm worried about how Jack and Del are gonna take it? I know I don't have to worry about Korri, hell knowing her she'll have a party." Sel giggled a little. "It feels weird though. I've never lived alone, not once in 27 years. And I know that's not a long time, especially for us, but I feel like I need to fly the nest, so to speak. I feel like the last bird to leave, the one that's standing on the edge, wanting to fly off, but scared she'll fall on her own. But I'm not scared, just... Oh I don't know what I am!" I brought my hands to my face in frustration, leaning back in the chair as I did.

"Knowing you as I do... I think that the best course of action would be to jump. You can worry about falling if it happens."

I peeked between my fingers at her. "Thanks, Yoda." I sat forward, resting my arms on my knees. "You're probably right." I looked around the room. "I guess I should tell Jack and Del now huh?"

"I would wait until the building is done, that way you can not talk yourself out of it." She raised her eyebrows in a way that said 'because you know you would'.

"Yeah, yeah. Yoda knows all. I get it." I looked around once more before lifting myself from my seat. "Time to go and give the order, then. I'll be back when it's done."

"I will be waiting eagerly." I chuckled at her as I left the library and headed towards my room.

When I entered, I stopped just inside the doorway. My room wasn't gonna be my room anymore. I looked long and hard at the walls, at every inch of ice covered by art and photos. I glanced at my globe in the corner, still pulsing away, even with the few little specs of light. I looked at my trunk by the foot of my bed, the one that held my art supplies. Sel had given me that when I'd first moved in. I guess I'd have to give it back now.

I walked over to my bed and reached under, pulling out the suitcase and bags I'd used so long ago to bring all my stuff here. I stared at them for a little while, remembering when I'd last packed them. After a while I shoved them back under my bed. Now was not the time to pack, I could do that after my house was built. I went over to my closet and pulled out a change of clothes. After I'd changed I re-hung the one's I'd been wearing and grabbed the bag I usually took with me. In it I usually had a sketchbook of some sort, a handful of different art medias, my iPod, a spare set of clothes and about fifty bucks. A few times I'd packed other things, but that was the bare minimum I carted around with me these days. Even as an immortal, I was a pack mule. Most of us carried nothing but the clothes on our backs and any instrument that we may use to channel our powers. Most people were shocked by my bag.

As I left my room, I couldn't help glancing back. This might very well be the last time it looked like this. The next time I was here it would probably be to clean it out. Thinking about it like that wasn't as hard as I'd thought it would be. It wasn't the place I was trying to take with me, but the people. As stupid as it felt to think this way, I couldn't help but worry how everyone would get along without me there. As if I had made such an impact while I was there. Del had been living here for over a hundred years, and Sel had been there forever. My seven years were a blip. Maybe that was why I felt so weird about leaving. This had been my who life so far - as an immortal. But it had only been an instant for everyone else. Oh, well.

As I left Jack's place, fighting my way through the blizzard he had over the general area, I felt a little bad. I wasn't going to miss the weather in the slightest, even if I was gonna miss the guy responsible for it. This place had been my home. The first place that had ever really felt like somewhere I could belong... until recently that is. I know I was made to roam, and that was probably part of the reason I was wanting to leave and have my own place. But I still felt bad about what felt like me turning my back on my first real home. Well, to quote 'Meet the Robinsons', I've gotta keep moving forward.