They fed Rhode grilled cheese until she fell asleep on Daphne's threadbare couch. Her face looked younger in her slumber, as if her years of hardship had been erased.

Sabine pulled a knitted blanket over her. "She'll sleep well, with a stomach full of bread and cheese," she said. "Although I'm afraid I wiped you out, Daphne."

"It's fine; I'll stop by Folton's soon."

"Foltons?"

"A little flower shop, but the owner stocks fruit and snacks, too, probably just for me. We can go there sometime." She smiled. "That's where we first met."

"You mean, where I first ran into you and begged for your help?" Sabine asked playfully.

"Yeah, there." Daphne looked at Rhode as she snored on the couch. "I'm going to have to stock up if I'm going to have a guest staying here."

Sabine shifted uncomfortably and looked away. "About that," she said. "Can I stay the night?" She paused, and then her words came spilling out. "Just one night; I won't intrude. It's just my parents went away for a few weeks and my new house is all empty and lonely and I'd much rather be here--"

Daphne put a hand up to stop her. "Hold on!" she laughed. "You're going too fast."

"Sorry."

"But yes, you can stay here for as long as you want."

Sabine smiled and twisted one of her curls. "Thanks, Daphne. That really means a lot."

"Truth be told, I'm happy you're both here. It's much more fun to have people around rather than just cats," she said, giving the tortoiseshell kitty on her lap an extra scratch behind the ears to let her know her company was appreciated too. "My mom left for a bit. This beats being lonely."

Sabine sat down cross-legged on the floor in front of Daphne's chair. "My parents went to Europe. Without me," she said, rolling her eyes. "Your mom ditch you too?"

"No," she said, her mother's face bright in her mind's eye. "She went to fight in the War. I actually have no idea where she is now... or if she's safe."

Sabine put a hand on her knee. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine," she shrugged. "I'm just worried about her, you know? Especially since I don't know what she's doing."

Sabine gave her a small smile. "Maybe she's doing what we're doing. Fighting monsters. Saving the world."

Daphne couldn't help but smile back. "Saving the world? We can barely save a city."

"I don't know; I think we're making pretty good progress," she said, looking over towards Rhode's sleeping form. "Tomorrow we should see what Rhode can do. I have a feeling another friend will be good to have."

"Alright," she said, holding back a yawn. "Tomorrow. I'm going to bed now."

Sabine stood, and gave the cat on Daphne's lap a quick pet. "Goodnight, kitty. Goodnight, Daphne."

"Goodnight."

Daphne stood and brought the tortoiseshell cat with her to her cluttered bedroom, scratching her under the chin to keep her purring. She believed she slept best with a cat by her side.

And when she woke up to the same cat sitting on her chest, she couldn't help but smile contentedly. It wasn't just because of the cat, no; it was because today was another day she would spend with friends. The idea filled her up inside like sunshine. Witches were forbidden to interact with mortals, and for some reason, her mother never let her around other witches, so she had never experienced the joy of waking up and finding a friend still snoring with her feet in the air on the couch, or another making pancakes in the kitchen.

"Careful, they're hot," Sabine said, sliding a golden-brown pancake onto a plate. "You didn't have any syrup, so I mixed cinnamon, sugar, and vanilla in with the batter. Are they sweet enough?"

Daphne took a bite and her eyes flickered closed with delight. "These are amazing," she said through a mouthful of pancake.

"Good. I made a bunch, so Rhode can have some when she wakes up." She flipped another expertly onto a growing stack.

"If those are all for me, then I'm awake," Rhode mumbled from the couch.

"They're for you," Sabine answered.

"Then good morning, America." Rhode sat up. Her natural curly hair floated like a cloud around her head, though it was squished to the one side where she had slept on it. She shuffled over to the stove and began tearing up a pancake with her fingers. "Hot!"

"Be careful," Sabine said, but Rhode was already piling pancake into her mouth.

"Mm, blondie, you know how to cook!"

Sabine shrugged modestly. "Cooking is fun," she said. "Although I'm doing the best I have on rather limited ingredients."

"We can stop by Folton's later today. I'm hoping she still has oranges; next time we can have orange juice with our breakfast."

"Right," Sabine said, tapping the spatula on her hand. "But first, we want to train."

Rhode tossed another piece of pancake into her mouth. "What, train me? I already know how to fight those things."

"We just want to make sure it wasn't a fluke."

"So what, is this a test?"

"Not really," Daphne said. "We just want to make sure you're safe before we take you out to fight Reliqua."

Rhode finished her pancake and clapped her hands together. "I can hold my own. You got a baseball bat?"

Daphne didn't have a baseball bat, but after bargaining with one of the little boys down the street and parting with the twenty dollars her mother had hidden next to the box of backup power, Rhode came away with a weapon. The red metal was slightly dented, but Daphne thought it suited her.

In the park, she swung it experimentally. "Yeah, this'll be good for bashing in some monster heads," she said.

"Let's start with a tree, first," Sabine said. She unsheathed her sword, and Rhode smiled.

"That flimsy piece of metal is no match for me and my bat," she bragged, tapping it against her hand. "C'mon, you expect to kill the baddies with that?"

Sabine smiled back. "I do, and I expect to kill this tree faster than you."

"You're on, blondie." She looked at Daphne over her shoulder. "Ginger, you joining?"

Daphne raised her wand. "Let's do it."

"This tree is going down," Sabine said.

The girls attacked.

The tree didn't stand a chance.

Several hours and several destroyed and then healed trees later, all three girls stood, sweaty and exhausted, in the afternoon sun.

Rhode wiped her forehead on her jacket sleeve. "Fighting monsters is a workout, huh?"

"It gets worse when they move, and aren't, you know, trees," Daphne said, cleaning her wand on her sweater. "But I'm beat."

"Magic tires you out?" asked Rhode.

"I'm tired from jumping around, but I'm exhausted from all the magic I used," she explained. "While you can store and then draw magical energy from other sources, I'm using myself as the source right now. It's draining, literally."

"Are you okay?" asked Sabine. Her thin eyebrows were raised in concern.

"I'm fine." Daphne grinned. "But I'm hungry. Anyone up for a snack?"