"What the fucking hell is going on?" Willow demanded harshly.

After going into panic mode with the call from her father, Willow and Aiden had started tearing apart all the places they could think to look for Prophecy. The boys, Raja, and Bren had done the same, just as panicked as they were.

It hadn't been until it was nearly midnight and Willow had gotten a call from Bri that things had calmed down-slightly. Instead of Bri on the line, it had been Prophecy, asking for a ride home. The girl's parents had, of course, demanded answers but Prophecy had simply hung up after the first few.

So, seething, Willow and Aiden caught a taxi to Bri's and walked in. They found Bri sitting with her head in her hands on her living room couch. The cushions and floor around her had varying degrees of destruction. The areas closest to her in a three foot diameter were less damaged, but the farther out, the worse the damage. Many of the cushions were just black, charred pieces of material at this point. The distinct scent of sulfur and smoke filled up the entire apartment. A few tiny holes at Bri's feet in the floor were still smoking, bubbling from the sheer heat they had been exposed to.

Prophecy was pressed close to Bri, sitting on the couch. She was apparently putting out a shield to protect them both. Above them, a large fireball was spinning fast on it's axis, shooting off flames and sparks.

Before Willow could think, Aiden shoved her out of the way, raising a hand to catch one such flame and crush it in his hand. "What the hell?" he frowned, studying his palm in confusion.

"Baby? Bri?" Willow called out, suddenly very worried.

Bri let out a low wail, sobbing, and more of the fire began to shoot off.

"Shit," Aiden swore before planting himself as a firm shield. Oddly, all the fire shooting out of the fireball was heading straight for them. The attacks were predetermined and calculated. Aiden had his hands full, literally, diffusing the attacks. He put up a shield of cold air to stop them, but the flames burned too hot to be stopped in that manner. Left with no choice, he was forced to physical diffused them.

This fire was different. It wasn't like a hell hound's and it wasn't like a dragon or phoenix's either. He'd never come across a flame like this and it proved quite unruly. Buckling down, he closed off all other thoughts, focusing on ensuring no one else got hurt.

Bri sobbed again. "I-I'm sorry!" she hiccuped. "I'm so sorry...I can't make it s-stop!" she cried.

Prophecy hugged her aunt tight. "It's okay, Auntie Bri. It's okay," Prophecy murmured, brushing Bri's hair back to kiss her cheek. "Dad's got it," she promised firmly.

Slowly, over the course of three very tense minutes, the ball of fire ran out of flame to attack with. Bri slumped against Prophecy and Willow rushed past Aiden to get closer to them now that it was safe. "Oh my gods...You two haven't been hurt, right?" Willow mothered over then, lifting up their arms to check for any marks.

"We're okay, Mommy," Prophecy assured her. "We're just tired. It's been going on for five hours now..."

"What, exactly, is 'it'?" Aiden asked, panting to catch his breath.

"Bri, what is going on?" Willow stared at her friend in uncertainty.

"I...I..." Bri's eyes opened slowly and she looked ready to burst into tears again. Her gaze darted between Willow and Aiden, taking in their dressed-up appearence, but not focusing on it. Sucking in a long, shaky breath, she started to speak. "It's a baby," she whispered. "I'm pregnant," she explained.

Willow's eyes went round staring at Bri in shock and delight. "What?! But, that's wonderful, Bri!" she smiled. Her emotions were all jumbled up, but if nothing else she could be happy for her fri-

"It's Andre's," Bri admitted in a choked gasp.

Blinking, Willow leaned back slowly, staring into her friend's face. "A-Andre's?" she repeated again slowly. "What? N-no, he's..."

"We didn't mean for it...It just happened," Bri whispered, her dark eyes watery with tears.

"We should tell him then," Aiden cut in, nodding his head firmly.

Bri's eyes flew open fully, wide and filled with panic. "Tell him? No! No, I can't! Don't you realize how much this will ruin his life? He's happy now! I can't just take that away from him!" She was nearly screaming with the force of her emotions now, jerking up to her feet clumsily from the couch. "No! No!" she repeated, shaking her head wildly. "I ruined his life once and I won't let it happen again!"

"He deserves to know," Willow and Aiden said at the same time. They glanced at each other briefly, sharing an awkwardly look, before returning their attention to Bri.

"I get that..." Bri admitted in a suddenly soft exhale. "Do you really think I don't? But I...How can I rip a hole into his life, when it was just one night of stupid, drunken mistakes? He's got a little girl and a wife. She'll leave him...He'll loose everything he's worked and searched for so long now. I can't be the one to take that from him," Bri tried to explain to them, her voice shaking.

Prophecy shifted on the destroyed couch, stretching out stiff muscles after sitting for so long. "It's better if Uncle Andre doesn't know," she explained. "Or, at least for now. Auntie Bri's right. If she tells Uncle Andre now, his life will be destroyed."

"I am not finished with you, young lady," Willow snapped at her youngest. Prophecy quickly closed her mouth, sitting slumped on the couch. "You are not excused for running off. Helping Auntie Bri is not a valid reason to disappear like you did."

Prophecy stayed quiet, resting her hands in her lap. Aiden moved to sit beside her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "You know how dangerous the world is, honey. You know better than doing something this foolish. I know you do. You're a clever girl, Prophecy."

"...Right, back to Bri," Willow sighed. "Bri...how long have you known? Is this why you've been so distantly lately?"

Bri's cheeks flushed lightly, but she nodded. "I've known since about two weeks after we came back from that nightmare," she confessed quietly. "For the first week I was in shock...Since then I've been trying to get out of the Organization. I finally managed to get a reluctant agreement, just this morning...I've been a bundle of stress since then and I guess that's why all of this happened."

Aiden frowned. "I've never felt fire like that...I thought Andre was a half-vampire?" he murmured uncertainly.

"Yeah, he is. But his maternal uncle is actually a cherufe," Bri explained.

Eyebrows shooting up in shock, Aiden stared at her. "No kidding? Holy...That's definitely one you don't hear often anymore. Honestly, I thought they were a dying race."

"...They are," Bri confirmed. "From what Andre told me, years ago, his uncle was one of only four hundred in both worlds. Their birthrates seem to be lowering quite a lot too," she added.

"Cherufe?" Willow repeated, frowning. "I've never heard of that type of Other."

"The cherufe originated in Chile. It was a giant beast, shaped like a man and made of magma. It was seen as the reason for volcanic eruptions and earthquakes, even to the point of being feared enough to be granted sacrifices...But as humans learned more of science, less sacrifices were made and it became harder and harder for the cherufe to live. Now they are barely managing to hang on. They aren't as well-known among the Fire Others as the dragon or phoenix, which doesn't help their problems," Aiden explained.

"Kick-ass," Willow murmured under her breath. A magma man-beast, that was pretty crazy, actually...

"Exactly," Bri nodded quickly in agreement. "My, um, fire flare-ups have been happening now and again, but today was really bad."

"Yes, we noticed," Willow and Aiden muttered dryly. They glanced at one another again, shrugging.

Bri raised an eyebrow, intrigued, but now wasn't the time. She needed to get it through their skulls that it was better for everyone if Andre wasn't informed of this situation!

"I'm really tired," Prophecy broke in in a sleepy voice. She began to rub at her eyes, yawning.

"...I bet," Aiden sighed. "Using magic like that for as long as you have, is it any wonder you're tired? Here, sleepy bug," he murmured before pulling her up into his arms.

"...Cuddling helps," Prophecy smiled, pressing her face into Aiden's chest even more. "Love you, Dad."

"Love you too, sweetheart," he replied back softly, running his hand over the puff of her curls, to her head.

Willow glanced between Bri and Aiden, thinking. "Are you one hundred and fifty-five percent sure that you want to do this?" she stared hard into Bri's face. "My vote is to face the issue, not run away." Her gaze flickered over to Aiden, who tensed, but neither of them said a word. Around her neck, the soul-stone began to let off a slight chill.

Bri caught the exchange. Alright...so something's obviously happened between these two. "Yes, I'm sure," she answered with a much more composure.

Sighing, Willow ran a hand through some of her hair that was still up. "Fine," she gave in reluctantly. "I'll compromise. As long as I don't see Andre, I won't tell him. But if I ever come across him, I'm going to tell him the truth."

"...Good enough," Bri murmured tensely.

"What are you planning on doing from here on out?" Aiden inquired. "Prophecy very well can't be running off every time you have a off-shoot of power," he reminded both women.

They slowly turned their heads to stare at him, eyebrows arched. "You're right," Willow nodded. "Which means Bri's moving in with us."

Bri let out a long, resigned sigh. "Why did the baby have to have magic that's such a pain to manage?"

"Such is life," Willow reminded her steadily.

"Yep," Bri nodded her head, rising to her feet. "I'll start packing." Moving away from them, she went towards her bedroom to get ready.

Aiden watched her go, frowning. "Um, okay. I suppose it is one of the few realistic choices," he admitted.

"Yep, it's good," Prophecy agreed sleepily. Her eyes were drooping heavily.

"So I have the terrorist's approval?" Bri muttered, laughing under her breath.

Willow glared at her friend, but she couldn't really argue. "Looks like it."

"Let's just head home, alright? It's really late and this one needs sleep," Aiden sighed.

O O O

Max walked down the street, whistling under his breath quietly. His feet took him down the familiar path of narrow streets and back alleys. He wasn't quite in the black market, but it was pretty damn close. Shaking his head, he cracked his neck, rolling his shoulders. His senses were on high-alert, his posture relaxed and ready to move at a moment's notice. This was the kind of area you made sure to stay on your toes in, or you might end up lying flat on your stomach in a ditch.

His lips lifting into a quick, sardonic grin, he had to admire how much like this area of Tempus was so much like Victorian era London. Brick and cobblestone streets, many too narrow for even some of the tiny smart cars roaming in the markets nowadays. The whole section of the city was usually over-cast and grey, filled with shadows lurking in dark corners. An air of a sleeping beast just waiting to be awoke hung heavy around him.

Much like myself, eh, Nox? he sighed internally to his other self.

Something like that, Nox agreed evenly. He was tense though, more so than Max. Hey, man, keep on your guard, okay? There's something here...Something that feels a lot like us, Nox warned Max.

Tipping his head to the side in thought for a moment, Max nodded shortly. Alright. Thanks for the heads up. Continuing on, he turned a sharp right and found a short street. The main shop was settled in the very middle. Large glass windows with gold-trimmed lattice around the tops and bottoms. A sign with a brown background hanging above the heavy wood door with the plant-covered handle. The green and gold-finished lettering on the sign read "Vyne Enchantments and Medicines: Everything You Need from Hexes to Charms".

Shaking his head again at how silly and stereotypical the sign always seemed to him, Max stepped to the door. Glancing down to make sure the dial to the left of the door was on Blue, he pulled open the door and stepped into the quick flash of bright light.

Inside, he found the familiar haphazard set up of hundreds of bottles, boxes, herbs, and other miscellaneous items on shelves and hanging from the ceiling. But since he'd been coming here for quite awhile, it made sense he'd seen everything in this shop...Except that was new.

Max's black gaze narrowed as he took in the sight of a child standing behind the main counter of the shop. The child dipped his head in a quick bow, curls of strawberry blonde hair falling into his eyes. He reached up to brush the curls out with his right hand, revealing a hand and fingers covered in brown ink. "Hello, sir. If you need anything, please let me know."

The child looked about eight or nine years old, and he would have reached to Max's chest if they were standing next to each other. His eyes were a light teal color, but they appeared strangely muted. The edges of his cheekbones, jaw, forehead, and where sideburns would be were covered in brilliant flames, also made out of ink.

"Um...nice tats, kid, but who are you? I was just in here a month ago...Where's Ivy?" Max asked. Something about the kid made him very uncomfortable. Something old, dark, and familiar.

Is this what you were warning me about? Max asked Nox in his mind.

...Possibly. I'm not quite sure. Either way, we need to be careful. Things have changed greatly from the last time we were here.

"It has been a year since I came here, sir. Or, at least for me, in this individual dimension of the witch's. Mistress Ivy is currently out on a job. But I will help you as much as I am able," the child promised quietly. He shifted on his feet, his left hand coming up and patting at something that was hung around his chest.

Frowning, Max took a second to get his bearings. "Uh, alright. My name's Axel. What's yours, kid? Is your mom or dad around?"

"My dad does not exist here in any form other than Pain, sir," the child explained calmly. His dark eyes stared up at Max with knowledge beyond what any child should have to know. "My mom is currently resting after having to be descaled."

"I-what?" Max gasped, eyes wide.

Yellow lights lit up along the flames against the kid's neck and shoulder. Max blinked, completely lost. What the fuck is going on here?

The child grimaced, but kept speaking, his voice only a little breathless from the pain. "My name is Evan, sir. Again, how may I help you today?"

A small cry went up from very close by and Max jumped, eyes darting around for what had caused the sound.

Evan sighed, tipping his head down to stare at the bundle of cloth slung around his body. "Duffin, are you cold?"

Staring, unable to look away, Max watched as Evan lifted up a even younger child out of the sling. The baby's skin was made of eighty percent black and dark green scales. His left hand was a miniature dragon's claw, his right a human hand. His legs were scaled, but his feet were human. The left side of his face was human, but the right was dragon, complete with a slightly larger eye and a completely different pupil than a human eye. The baby's ears were very long and tipped, looking almost like miniature, sideways shark fins at the top, growing from his head. Instead of the earlobe being made of soft skin and circular in shape, it was made of thick, leathery skin that was cut into harsh, sharp angled lines. From the baby's back miniature dark green leathery wings, with black scales encasing them, were growing. The wings were only about the size of Max's palm each, but they were still quite noticeable, taking up most of the baby's back.

"Are you cold, Duffin?" Evan asked the baby, which looked to be about six months old or so, still quite tiny.

Duffin let out a small cry which, toward the end, started to transform into something much more similar to the scream of a dragon.

"Hmm," Evan murmured, staring down at his brother. "Okay, but just for a little bit," he told his brother in a firm tone. "It makes my belly ache."

As Max watched, feeling completely out of his depth, like he'd just stepped into a wonderland setting, Evan sucked in a deep, deep breath. As the boy exhaled, a thin stream of smoke trailed from between his nostrils and mouth. With his mouth open, it was possible to see that the glow of something hot was coming from within his body. His stomach-which was made up of branches, the edges of the trunk of a tree, and small sparks of fire and dying leaves-began to glow with a faint, warm light. Carefully, gently, Evan bundled Duffin back up into the sling. This made it so that Duffin was pressed into the warmth emanating from Evan's body.

Lifting his gaze up to the dark man's, Evan let out a sigh, more smoke letting loose. "Is someone in your family sick, sir?"

Blinking, jumping in fright from being snapped out of his daydreaming trance, Max let out a nervous laugh. "Huh? O-oh, um, heheh, no. I'm here to have a special type of potion made. An elixir," Max explained. He glanced at the bundle of the baby again, just as Evan's shoulder and hand lit up in a light green color. "Um...how old is your brother there? He looks like he's getting big. He must be, what, half a year already?"

Evan raised a brow, staring at Max with a indescribable expression. "In your time, my brother is a month old, sir."

"...I think I'm just going to stop asking about you, okay?" Max whispered in a tight voice.

Dipping his head in a slow nod, Evan continued to look expressionless. "Yes. I believe that is best, sir...You need an elixir? That is rare, sir. Very, very rare," Evan continued.

"Yeah, I know," Max cleared his throat, shifting on his feet awkwardly. "But I have one of the main ingredients for it," he quickly explained.

Nodding his head, Evan turned slowly. "That is good. I would not like it if my mom's blood had to be sacrificed to be used in an elixir. Not with what Mistress Ivy has planned. I assume what you've brought is at the very least equal caliber to dragon's blood?"

Shrugging uncertainly, Max nodded. "Yes, I do. I've got hybrid's blood."

Evan frowned, blinking, staring up at the man in shock for several seconds before nodding again. "Can I have it, sir?"

"...I didn't realize you knew how to make the elixir," Max murmured as he procured the vial of blood from an inner pocket of his coat.

"Time moves strangely here," Evan explained as he took the vial and started off. He glanced over his shoulder at the tall man. "Please, follow me. This way I can keep an eye on you and make sure that you do not do anything unwise."

There was something about this kid...something that was much too old for the boy's own good. A little hesitantly, he followed after the boy into a hallway behind the main part of the shop. In the hallway were a dozen different doors, all plain save a single gem, with different colors for each door. The boy opened up one that had a piece of amber carved into a diamond shape, motioning for Max to follow after him.

Past this door was a medium-sized room. In the middle of the far wall was a hollow carved out, with a chimney allowing the mist and steam in the room to escape. In the center of the hollow was a giant black cauldron, filled with a bubbling light blue liquid. The handle of a giant spoon, nearly as long sticking up out of the cauldron as Max's own arm, rest against one side of the giant bowl.

Surrounding the cauldron on all other sides was shelves packed to the gills with ingredients and other odd items. On the wall close to the door was a desk and chair, with bowls, cups, flasks, and even more tools laid out and scattered over it. On the middle of the table was a large book which was open. When Max glanced into it, it appeared to read similarly to a...cookbook?

Evan moved to the cauldron, using a three-step stool closer to allow him easier access to the top. The boy leaned over the open, gently boiling liquid, grabbing the handle of the spoon and giving it a few quick turns. From his mouth and nose, his own smoke trailed up and out the chimney. After another second, the boy turned to glance at Max, still on the stool.

"I do not have the ability of the witches to make a pact with familiars...Nor can I outright create one of my own...But Mistress Ivy has been teaching me ways that I can channel my magic and the off-shoot of power I gain from this curse as well." Evan let out a long breath, groaning in pain as parts of his body flared up with orange light. "...I think it's better...to have some sort of use for this than to just hurt me."

Once the light had faded and Evan had gotten a hold of himself, he stepped down from the foot stool. Moving around the room, he quickly began picking up certain things. The boy moved to the table and laid out his items. He turned the pages of the book a few times until coming across what he was looking for. Quickly, he started working.

Max stood awkwardly, leaning against the door. "Um...Ivy's never brought me here before. Why have you? What is this place?"

"You are the Ancient One, yes?" Evan asked in a distracted voice. "Mistress Ivy ordered me to keep a close eye on you if you ever showed. She said you were a disaster waiting to happen."

"...Thanks," Max muttered sarcastically. "I feel very touched."

"This is an alchemy atelier, a workshop that witches use often. I am learning to use it now, since Mistress Ivy is not always here." Evan was taking a dagger covered in...blood-or rust-slicing up a strange plant that secreted a dark purple substance from its stalks as he spoke. The boy then grabbed a flask and positioned it to gather up the purple blood-like substance. While the flask filled, he turned the page of the book a few more times and then rose to his feet.

He grabbed a small yellow flower, as well as a short section of chain mail. Using the flower, he began to weave it's stem through the chain mail links. Once finished with that, he grabbed a white, red, pink, and blue flower, doing the same. Setting it on the floor, he lowered down to his knees and leaned over the strange piece of metal and nature. "Duffin, I've made enough of a fire now, so I'm going to have to release it. You'll have to deal with just my own body heat, little brother."

Taking in a deep breath, bracing his hands against the floor, mindful of the baby in the sling, Evan opened his mouth wide. Fire; red, orange, with a brilliant white center to the flame burst forth. Evan tilted his head very slightly, angling the flame over the strange piece of art he'd made a second ago.

A line of sweat broke out along Max's temple, sliding down over his left eye. He nervously reached up to dab at the sweat, wiping it on his arm. The temperature in the room spiked for just five seconds, but hot hell was it a giant spike of heat. Max felt like he'd just put his entire body inside a working oven, the force of the heat very nearly a physical blow to his body. He fought not to cry out in startled fright.

In a very short span of time, Evan's mouth closed, stopping the flames. The boy let out a low hiccup, a few more puffs of smoke leaking past. Shaking his head, the boy rose to his feet, taking the charred...wait, no.

It wasn't charred. Hell, the chain mail didn't even look like it had been touched by the flame at all! The only thing that looked different was the white flower had turned black and withered. "The hell?" Max muttered under his breath.

Evan glanced at him. "We dragons, if we choose to, can decide what our flames burn away. I was burning away any evil presence that clung to this," he explained, holding up the chain mail for a second. "As you can see, there was a small bit, but only one flower's worth."

"...Why the bizarre piece to begin with?" Max asked, curious.

"Nature will overtake all of man's creations, in the end. Soldiers die upon the battlefields of human beliefs, morals, religions, and personal convictions. But it is, in the end, Gaia who welcomes them back into her arms, into the folds of her body to revitalize and begin anew the cycle of life."

"Um...that's deep, kid," Max mused, staring at the boy. "But what does that have to do with why you burned it?"

"The negative emotions of those long dead, especially those that never received a proper burial, tend to remain on the objects in their possession at the moment of passing. Armor is one such item to hold such things. Hence why I burned away what remained of the wearer of this chain mail's negative spirit and ill-wishes toward those still living."

Giving Max a hard look to let him know it was best for the man to be quiet now, Evan took the chain mail to the table. The flask of plant's blood was filled by this point. Evan moved the flask from beneath the steady drip of the plant. Grasping the plant, he twisted it violently, until the part of the plant that had been cut was ripped away. Sighing, he placed that part of the plant down on the table as well. "Hmm, let's see," he murmured in a distracted voice, flipping a few more pages in the book. "...Yeah. Alright. Good. I've got everything now," he declared happily. 

Gathering up all the items, he glanced down at the page of the book again for a few short seconds before nodding. Moving to the giant cauldron, he placed each item on the ground in front of it. Max watched, curious and uncertain. Evan leaned down carefully again, breathing out another short fire into the large, square block of a furnace beneath the cauldron. A few seconds later the bubbling inside the cauldron became more rapid, turning into a boil instead of a slow simmer. "That should be enough heat," Evan muttered.

Taking the plant's blood and chain mail, he climbed up the stool to the top of the cauldron. Sucking in a deep breath, he began to speak. As he spoke, his body began to glow bright red. His voice grew tight in pain and concentration. With each word, trails of light off of his body began to fall into the cauldron, turning the light blue liquid into a royal purple color.

"The soldier's body lies upon the ground," Evan said as he dropped in the chain mail. The purple liquid began to glow brightly, twisting and turning like a small whirlpool. "The plants twist their vines, choking out the life, draining the blood." The boy tipped the flask of plant's blood into the cauldron slowly. The liquid began to slow it's sudden rise in activity, turning a bright green instead of purple now. Sparks of yellow lights floated up from its surface instead of the lavender smoke from a moment before now. 

Evan paused, sucking in a breath. He was still glowing crimson and he looked pale, even with all the tattoos on his body. His breathing was a little shallow and very quick, panting like a dog that was too hot almost. A aura of black, inky darkness seemed to surround him, growing thicker and darker with each second.

This is bad...Nox muttered tensely. The kid was bad enough, but something's coming that's even worse, he warned Max worriedly.

Max turned his head quickly to glance behind him, senses on high alert with Nox's warning. Evan ignored the man, hurrying down from the cauldron, scooping up the plant he'd removed from it's stalk earlier. Ripping the remains of the plant into three pieces, he continued. "Guard us from the evils of the world." One, two, three. Each piece plopped into the cauldron with a quiet splash. 

Evan had to lean back away from the open cauldron fast, his free hand coming up to pull Duffin closer and also block the baby. The cauldron let out a loud roar, the liquid rising up into tentacle-like masses that moved around. The color changed from bright green to a darker, deeper green shade. 

Vines, Max thought in a daze, staring at the monstrous sight before him. It looks like vines are bursting forth.

"The rose's prick shall not slay the swallow." Evan was panting even harder now, his face slick with sweat. The red light around him was draining even more of his power and he couldn't hold back his whimpers of pain. "Let the blood of the fawn become the salvation of the lion." Opening the vial of blood, Evan gingerly tipped it to pour into the cauldron. The vine-like appendages of the liquid growled at him and snaked out to stop him. "Stay thy hand, Death!" Evan ordered, fighting to keep his voice as firm as possible.

Max grunted, raising a hand quickly to block his eyes as the blood-red light surrounding Evan grew too harsh to look at.

"Death may not pass these gates. Let nature renew thee in Her bosom. Life flows forth from thy lips, Reverent Child."

The vines screamed in rage and pain before dissolving into a thick, red liquid, like old blood. Another quick flash of a much less bright light and then the liquid was returning to it's original color. Sky blue, like a clear summer day, with just the smallest amount of a simmer to disturb it's surface.

Evan struggled to breathe, the red of his pain fading away. He sucked in a few deep, strangled breaths and held out his hand over the open cauldron. As if summoned, a vial, larger than the one Max had brought with him, slowly rose up out of the liquid. The vial was filled with the same thick, viscous, red liquid that had been in the cauldron a moment before. Gripping it tightly in his hand, Evan sucked in an steadier breath. "Your elixir is ready, Mr. Axel," he announced in a voice loud enough to carry to the man against the door. 

"Y-yeah," Max coughed to clear his throat. "How much do I owe you?"

"The total price will be 25,000 jen," Evan murmured.

"Christ!" Max swore under his breath. "Alright," he sighed in a louder voice. "Thanks, kid...You going to be okay?" he asked in worry. Evan's skin was super pale and pasty, and he looked like he was two seconds away from fainting.

"I will be fine, sir," Evan reassured him stiffly. "I'm not as suitable for this sort of magic, so it takes more out of me than Mistress Ivy."

"...Right," Max nodded, still feeling uneasy.

The sudden, clear sound of a bell echoed all around them. Max jerked in reaction, Duffin let out a small hiccuping growl, and Evan sighed. "More customers. Please, wait here, by the door. I will leave it cracked so that I can hear if you try anything. Mistress Ivy does not take kindly to thieves or those who mean any harm to the inhabitants here," Evan warned Max calmly. 

The boy came down from the stool and moved forward, passing by Max quickly, hand still holding the vial carefully. He opened the door behind Max and stepped through. Left on his own, Max leaned against the wall next to the cracked door. 

Nox shifted restlessly, freaking out. He came forward, red eyes flashing. "I do not like this, Max," he grunted aloud. "This thing...this feeling. It is...it is too much like us. Much more so than these boys...We are in danger if we are discovered," Nox warned darkly. 

You think so? Max murmured uncertainly. Nox was usually doom and gloom, but this was a bit much even for Nox. Well, we can't really leave, can we? We're stuck here until whoever or whatever is this newcomer leaves.

"I will stay in charge then...I can push this body further past the limits than you can," Nox decided.

Max didn't protest too greatly. Just don't break us, alright? There's too much at stake if you break something, Max reminded Nox tiredly.

"I know I'm a idiot, but you don't have to rub it in," Nox sighed heavily. "...I'll be careful."

That's all anyone can ask of you then.

Evan moved into the main shop, pulling up a smile for this new customer. In the pocket of his pants, he carefully slipped the vial of elixir, making sure to conceal his movements with the slight turn of his body. After all, it was impossible to know who could and couldn't be trusted in this line of business. Mistress Ivy had pounded into his head just how careful he had to be. "Hello. How may I help you today, sirs?" he inquired of the two young men, who'd walked in through the front door.

The first was tall, taller than the Axel man Evan was currently hiding, with hazel eyes and brown hair. He'd been warned about Axel by his mistress. She'd told him quite a lot about the man, information she should have had no access to. But she did. Which had to mean she had quite the powerful benefactor. 

Well, either way, Evan didn't plan to go against the witch. Acting out of turn would result in more suffering for his mother. The poor woman already suffered enough as it was. Closing his eyes for a moment, Evan had to reflect on just how unfair this entire situation was.

As part of a particular objective the witch had, the space inside her dimension moved forward and backward in time sporadically and with no real pattern. Every living thing inside it was affected differently, in varying degrees. Once someone stepped outside of the spell's reach, in this case the witch's dimension, the spell would revert everything to what the effects of time would be based upon the time outside. Evan had asked why this was, and the only answer he'd gotten from his mistress was that she needed more time.

Though, on the outside, it may have only been a month since Evan had come here, inside the witch's domain, it had been much, much longer.

For himself, he'd physically aged one year and mentally seven. His mother was roughly the same age mentally as before, but her physical age had shot up by about two years. 

Duffin was only a month old, but he'd grown by about six months. He seemed as developed as a month old baby would normally be as far as his mind and awareness of the world around him was concerned. But, from what Mistress Ivy and Evan had observed, he appeared to be much weaker than his scaled body would led to believe. Perhaps it was simply because he was a newborn, but Duffin showed an inability to do certain things most other infants his age would be able to do. He could barely grip someone's finger in his hand, and when he did, there was very little strength behind it. He had a very low body heat index and this caused many problems for the infant. 

Shaking his head quickly, Evan reminded himself that now wasn't the time to be worrying about himself or his family. For now, he had customers to attend to and a troublemaker to keep both safe and also advert from trying to harm others. 

How many years until little Eneida will be born? Evan found himself wondering wistfully. His mother had already decided on a name for her daughter they were all anxiously awaiting on. Part of him knew it was cruel...but another part of him thought it was even crueler to wish for this to continue for any much longer. How many more years or decades must pass before we are all allowed to be set free from this prison?

The second man to enter was of medium height, had short curly black hair,and dark hazel eyes. He was the first to speak, taking in the oddity that was Evan with a frown. "Hey, kid. What are you doing here?"

"I am offering to help you find what you are looking for here in this shop," Evan bit back sarcastically.

The first man let out a short laugh. "He got you there, Tveir. Pretty quick with the comebacks, kid?"

Evan kept up his smile. "Only when I feel they are deserved, sir."

"Shut up, Ein," Tveir muttered irritably.

"You can't be angry at a child, so you take it out on me? Very mature, little brother," Ein shook his head sadly.

"Shut up!" Tveir repeated in a much more forceful voice.

"Alright, alright," Ein raised his hands up to show he surrendered. "Simmer down now."

Listening in, Nox frowned. "Brothers, are they?" he whispered quietly.

It would appear so, Max commented.

Clearing his throat, Evan shifted on his feet uneasily. He was getting a uncomfortable feeling of menace, similar to his own aura, from these two men. "A-again, how may I help you today?"

"You work for the witch, right?" Tveir cut right to the chase. "We stopped by to complain. We bought a very expensive and supposedly high-quality poison from the slut, only for it not to work. We want a refund!" Tveir sauntered closed to the counter, glaring hotly at the small child.

Evan blinked, staring up at the man blankly for a few seconds. "Ah...Oh! Yes, I see. Was it perhaps that?" he motioned his hand to the empty bottle of poison behind him on the top back shelf. 

"Yes," Ein answered quietly. "It was the very same."

"I see," Evan nodded his head slowly. "...Well, I'm afraid that can only mean one thing. You see, that poison will kill anything or anyone who ingests it. There is n-" he paused, feeling the weight of the elixir in his pocket. Catching himself quickly, he changed up his words to carefully arise as little suspicion as possible. "-not many ways to counteract it. I personally only know of two," he cleared his throat. "It seems you were just unlucky. I cannot offer a full discount, but if you like I can return twenty percent of the amount you paid and grant you any 5,000 jen potion for free."

"Look here, little kid-" Tveir started, growling in outrage. How dare this insect try to cheat them?!

"Tveir!" Ein barked in warning, voice as cold and sharp as steel. Tveir flinched, stepping away from the counter quickly. Evan paled a little, but struggled to remain in control of the situation by appearing unaffected. Ein's eyes swept over the entire store, narrowing. He could sense something here...something that was uncomfortably familiar and set all his senses on high alert. 

 Nox tensed, readying himself for any possible moves from the enemy...

...Whatever was hiding in the shadows was something neither he or his younger brother could handle on their own. The best course of action was to retreat...for now. Hazel eyes flickering back to the light-haired boy with the bizarre tattoos covering his body, Ein dipped into a smooth bow. "I apologize for my brother's rude behavior and words. I thank you for the kind offer, but I fear we are in a rush today. I hope that we can take you up on the offer another time?"

Evan nodded jerkily, keeping himself prepared for any sort of surprise attack. "Sure," he agreed evenly.

Tveir glanced at his brother uncertainly before bowing his head in respect of his senior's decision. "I'm sorry," he apologized quickly.

"...No problem," Evan rolled his stiff shoulders.

"Have a wonderful day, little boy," Ein smiled sweetly before turning on his heel and leading the way out. Tveir was quick to follow, glancing back over his shoulder only once.

"We hope to see you soon again. Thank you for stopping by Vyne's Enchantments," Evan waved after them, saying the customary words. Once they were both gone, he let out a long, tense breath. 

"Holy shit," Max breathed out, leaning back against the wall heavily. Nox had retreated, now that it appeared they were in the clear. 

Letting out a tired chuckle, Evan glanced over his shoulder. "About the price of the elixir," he began, clearing his throat...

O O O

"Just so you know, I have your wedding already planned out," Bri announced as Willow came into the spare guest bedroom to check on her.

Stopping in her tracks, Willow stared at her friend. "I-what? What?!" she gasped, taken completely by surprise.

"I. Am. Done. Planning. Your. Wedding," Bri repeated very slowly, every word deliberate.

"When the hell did I say I was getting married?!" Willow hissed, hurrying to close the bedroom door behind her as she stepped further inside. 

"Oh, c'mon!" Bri rolled her eyes derisively. "You two are already married, right? So just hurry up and finalize things. I can't stand to see you two gazing at one another, trying not to get caught, all starry-eyed and sappy as fuck!" Bri growled. "At least some people have the option of getting their happily ever after. So why aren't you taking it? You're one of those lucky people, Willow. You've got a man who loves you, loves your kids-loves your life more than his, I might add! Sure, he's a idiot sometimes and fucks up, but what man doesn't?" Bri demanded in irritation.

"I-" Willow started to defend herself, but Bri cut her off.

"Please don't give me some bullshit 'But what if he doesn't really love me' excuse. The man's done nothing but everything you've asked of him and more. The past month he's tried to find every way he can to apologize and make up for the whole soul-stone issue. And, Willow, he's more than made up for it. At this point it's obvious he's doing all of this no longer as a form of apology but because he honestly enjoys it. He enjoys spending time with you, with your boys, with your daughter, with your dad...Hell, he even puts up with my sassy self and I know I am a pain in his ass. He's been an amazing help and a literal lifesaver of mine and everyone else in this house on more than one occasion," Bri continued to tell her friend the straight truth. 

After all, Willow was stubborn. If Bri didn't make sure to pound her points into Willow's head, nothing was ever going to come of this. 

"So, here's my advice. Admit what you feel and tell Aiden, alright?" Bri grumbled, glaring at her friend. "I swear, watching you two has been giving me headaches worse than this kid."

Mouth opening and closing several times as she tried to figure out just what to say in response to Bri's words, Willow sat down heavily on the edge of the full-sized bed with a soft thump. "Jesus, what happened to sugar-coating your words?" Willow mumbled through half-numb lips.

"I don't have time to be wearing the baby gloves with you, girl," Bri replied firmly. "You got to get your head out of your mind and stick it in your heart. Stop trying to force up walls and 'safe zones' around you, Willow. The guy wants in and he's proven that he won't betray you. Sure, he may fumble while holding your heart, but everyone makes mistakes. Hell, I'd probably be doing worse if I was in the same position as him right now," Bri muttered under her breath. 

Willow turned her head to stare at her friend. Her lips pulled up into a reluctant grin. "I'm sure you would," she teased lightly.

"Seriously, what do you feel for the guy? Do you love him? Do you just have a crush on him? Or is this just you wanting to fuck him?" Bri asked, raising one slim brow in inquiry. "'Cause if you're wanting to fuck him, I can get that. Us women get crazy when we're wanting a man and our brains get in the way of all the action."

Groaning, Willow ran her hands up the side of her head, bunching up her curls into her fists. "I...Honestly, it's all three?"

Bri shook her head slowly. "You got it bad."

"...I know," Willow sighed heavily. "Help?"

Bri smiled widely. "You willing to give in and admit I'm right?"

Rolling her eyes, Willow let herself fall forward to half-lean against Bri's side. "Sure," she offered.

"Well then. How do you plan to propose?" Bri probed.

Tilting her head, leaning back a little more, Willow pursed her lips in thought. What's the point of denying it, honestly? Bri's right. Aiden's not perfect and he messed up. But at least he admitted it and has been trying to make up for it. He could have just continued never telling me the truth...

"...Alright, spill. What sneaky ideas have you been planning?" Willow demanded, staring at her friend.

Bri smirked widely. "Why, I'm so glad you asked..."