The dove shuddered underneath our feet as I listened to Cybele and Raphael bicker in the cockpit, struggling to get the plane up in the air. Nocen hadn't been lying because there was a dead pilot waiting for them at the controls, and the body was moved into a storage compartment until it could be properly buried in Gabrian.

Cybele and Raphael would fly us back home and I pulled my legs up against my chest as they bickered, "you push that set of buttons there to activate..."

"No, you start by inserting the key here and here..."

"Wrong!"

"I've flown these longer than you've been alive, Raphael!"

With the two in the cockpit, it left Finn and I alone in the hanger, the dull glow of the lights casting a thin sparkle about the room before Raphael would push a button and splash us into darkness again.

The lights flickered back on as the engine rumbled and Cybele snickered, "What did I tell you?"

"Well, I suggested the keys earlier..."

"Let me pilot. You can assist." Her words made Raphael scoff, but from the lack of argument following, Cybele appeared to have gotten what she wanted.

I buckled up my vest with a deep sigh, twirling the charm on my bracelet. The demons had found us even though we'd hardly been in Ultrona for half the day. It hadn't taken them long to scout out our dove either, especially with Nocen's abilities to get places a hell of a lot faster than we could.

What if he'd found us with Matilda and the Benton Brothers? I swallowed, thinking of all the horrific possibilities. He could have taken my sister, and because she wasn't 'valuable' like I was, he could have killed her easily.

This was why I had to leave. They couldn't find her, and I had an odd feeling in my gut that maybe one day they would. I'd be there if they came for Matilda, and I'd have my meraki under control then. Whatever it could do, I would protect my family until they killed me.

Noxia wanted to turn me to the dark, but Karmen had said that I'd triumph in the light. But, she also said the future changed, didn't she? Maybe that wasn't a piece stuck to the fabric of my timeline.

Anything could happen and anyone could be dark. Look what had happened to Nocen and Finn, whatever their backstory was one brother had joined the night children and the other the light. Even family couldn't hold you together with dark temptations.

As Nocen mused, I was a china doll, and Noxia could crush me like a bug because my meraki wasn't developed. I didn't stand a chance if she took me at the right time. She wanted me trained to save her the time, but not fully so that I couldn't fight back. She thought that I might be able to win, to knock her off their her feet.

Finn strolled towards me, something in his hand that he stretched out towards me. I glanced up, the blanket from our previous ride in his hand. He gave me a sheepish smile, "just in case because I can't promise you that this flight will be smooth enough for either of us to dare retrieve it from storage."

This made my lips curve into a smile as I took it from his hand, feelings its fuzzy softness between my fingers.

"May I sit?" His eyes flickered to the empty seat beside me, and I looked up into his blue eyes before nodding my head. Finn took a seat beside me, crossing his arms over his chest,

Biting my lip, I scooted the blanket across my legs before draping the other half over Finn's as well. "Here you go." I didn't dare look into his eyes before I sat back, leaning against the wall. "It gets cold in here."

"I appreciate the generosity." I took a glance at Finn's profile, his lips forming a crooked smile as he saved me the embarrassment by looking towards the cockpit door. "Those two better figure out how to fly this dove home."

"I trust Cybele."

"Raphael?"

"Of course not." I laughed, making him chuckle as well. I licked my lips, turning to look at Finn. "So..."

"So?" He repeated, his face hardening. "Yes, I have a twin brother, and indeed, he is a demon."

"Just... how?" I shook my head in disbelief. "How did that happen? Because you're... you."

"It is a very long story." Finn took a deep breath, flashing an anxious glance to me. "I'll tell you if you'd like to know, but it isn't the happiest."

"I want to know if you'll share it with me." I offered him the smallest smile. The dove perched forward as I felt us begin to move, gaining speed.

Finn raised an eyebrow, "you'll have to keep your earmuffs off if you want to hear this one."

The engines began to roar, making me flinch but I dug my fingers into the blanket, gripping them tight as I nodded my head. "I can do that."

He offered me one of his pearly white smiles before clenching his jaw with a deep breath. "He became a demon before I became a guardian so this all occurred a very long time ago. Nocen was always angry because the older kids in our village liked to tease him relentlessly. He liked to spend time by himself so they were merciless and harassed him for it."

"Kids are mean." I replied.

"They can be." Finn glanced at me before he kept going, "so Nocen grew more angry and more withdrawn. There were some murders in a few towns around our area, which turned out to be a demon foraging. Nocen met him in the woods and the demon offered to turn him because his anger and inner darkness intrigued him. Nocen accepted the offer, became a demon, and visited me once to say that he was leaving. And, he was gone in a tornado of grey and silver."

"He just... left?" I batted my eyes in surprise, "he just joined the darkness and ran off?"

"Nocen was miserable in our village and he was hurt, so the dark at the time seemed like a better option than persecution in his own home." Finn clenched his teeth together, a dark look glimmering in his eyes. "So, he picked being a demon so that he could be powerful and feared. He wanted to hurt others just like they'd hurt him and he slaughtered a few of the boys who'd taunted him before the man that turned him took him back to the Hole, or at least that where I assume they went. I never asked and he wouldn't tell regardless."

He'd been bullied so severely that he'd chosen becoming a night child over staying in his home town. That was awful, terribly awful. I had some sympathy for the demon in my heart, but another question nagged at me.

"What about you?"

I visibly saw Finn freeze as he looked to me, eyes wide and clouded by some emotion I couldn't read. "What about me?"

"Your brother just... left you." I breathed, shaking my head. "What happened to you?"

Finn shook his head as he cracked his knuckles, a cold air about us nearly making me a shiver. "Story for another day." I watched as he bit his lip, resting his head against the wall with a deep breath. He drummed his fingers against his leg before brushing stray hairs from his forehead.

"I won't pry." I gazed at his face for just a few moments longer before turning my head away and smoothing the blaket on my lap. He hardly seemed in the mood to talk any longer, and I understood. Those memories must be painful and I would respect his privacy. He didn't owe it to me to spill all of his family drama, or trauma, because, who was I to him?

I blinked my eyes, searching for my ear muffs which were in one of these storage containers under my chair somewhere. Finn could have all the peace he wanted. "Earmuffs." Finn's voice made me jump in surprise as I looked back to him, his hand holding my headset as he looked into my eyes.

"I swear you people hide these from me." I smiled, taking them from his hand. Our fingertips brushed togther, his cold hand on mine as I pulled away to put the earmuffs on.

"I'll tell you one day if you want." Finn's voice stopped me and I froze, glancing at the golden haired guardian. His face was serious though there was a familar lightness in his features that made the tension between us ease.

"About you?"

"Yes."

I only smiled, "you don't have to if. I wouldn't want to force you to talk about hard things from your past, Finn. I mean, we aren't very close..."

"I'll tell you one day when we are."

His words made my heart stop beating in my chest as I nearly dropped my earmuffs, gazing at Finn as a smile spread over my face. "When we are?"

He nodded, raising an eyebrow. "I imagine us spending a frequent amount of time together, and unlike Raphael, I actually like to get to know the people who are in my life. I think us knowing each other better is inevitable. Don't you agree?"

"Let me think..." I pretended to contemplate his words before glancing at me with narrowed eyes. "You must never leave me with Reynolds again or I will never speak to you. Ever."

"Understood. I'll take you wherever you need to go, so Reynolds is out of the picture."

This made me smile, "good. Now we actually stand a chance because I couldn't forgive you otherwise if I had to spend another day with that babysitter." I looked up into his blue eyes as he laughed. "I think we will end up spending a lot of time with each other, you being my guardian and all. I won't be like Raphael either."

"Stratton!" Speak of the devil. He screamed through the door of the cockpit, making me roll my eyes. "Not needed or appreciated!"

"You are not very sociable, Raphael!" I replied with a laugh. "I am only stating the obvious."

"Well you can take the obvious and shove it up your..."

"Watch it!" Finn cut him off.

"Shay, don't make me come back there..."

"Stop bickering and help me fly the fucking plane!" Cybele yelled, making my eyes widen. That had to be the first time I'd ever heard her curse, and from the tone of her voice, she was very, very pissed. "If this dove crashes and burns because of you, Raphael, nothing in this entire world will stop me from strangling you when we are all dead!"

I covered my hand with my mouth to silence the laugh about to leave my lips as I glanced to Finn whose eyes were gleaming with an equal amount of amusement. He leaned over to me as he whispered, "she's real fun when she's angry."

"Finnigan!" Cybele's voice snapped like a whip, making him swallow as he raised an eyebrow to me as though to say 'evidence: item a'. "I will include you in Raphael's punishment."

"But, I'm your favorite." He chuckled.

"Since when did you become the favorite?" Raphael countered, but a loud and audible smack shut him up immediately. "Shit, that hurt!"

"Be a good copilot and push the damn buttons I tell you to! Now! Or I will hit a lot harder!"

I leaned over to Finn, muttering low under my breath so she wouldn't hear. "She reminds me a lot of Matilda, especially when she tried to attack you on the front porch."

That made him smile. "Yeah, she does. The women in my life tend to try and give me a piece of their mind." He looked to me, making me swallow as he gave me one of his crooked smiles. "You included, 8 Ball."

I rolled my eyes, "it was deserved."

"I'd just saved your sister from abduction."

Smiling, I put my headset over my ears, "fine, maybe I just needed a little attention."

Finn shook his head in amusement, making me laugh as we rode in the shuddering dove all the way back to Gabrian.