Everything was a crumbling disaster in the most beautiful way. Maddox's eyes filled with a mess of stairwells and stone walls, twisted metal clung together by worn bolts yet torn apart by tree branches and moss. It was one level of abandoned machinery after another, of a gorgeous factory until the entire world was a metal jungle challenged by a vicious nature. Still, its stark contrast of rusted metal seemed to make every color pop with a gorgeous swell. His eyes couldn't seem to take in the entire scene, yet he felt like he could spend years on end searching and never learn every last nook and cranny of the place.

Kadri's words echoed in his ears as he drew his eyes over the cavernous space, studying each mess of graffiti. "There's such a beauty to abandonment. No one really thinks about how broken glass catches the light better than a window. In fact, it shines. You just have to give it a chance."

Something about the idea brought a whole new light to Kadri's home, an abandoned factory on the outskirts of Alfheim's forest and the farthest thing from a society he could grasp. It was a creepy collection of hallways, but Kadri had spent every last effort putting it back together in a way only he could.

Maddox followed Robin up one of the industrial stairwells, wondering how an abandoned factory had somehow found its way into the middle of a society so clearly in love with handmade goods but found it less interesting as Robin yanked open a door.

Light spilled onto Maddox's face as he took in the new space, an assortment of paintings and art supplies scattered across the floor and stacked against the walls.

"Great." Robin's voice filled the empty space, shattering the calm serenity the place filled Maddox with. "I bet Kadri forgot he was supposed to watch us today. I mean, what are we supposed to do with all of this stuff?" Holding up a wicker basket of groceries, she plopped it onto the table and diligently began to strut around as if she owned the place.

"No, he never forgets when it's us." Kat piped up, following Robin's suit as he strolled through the odd collection of paintings and graffitied walls. "He's got his quirks, but he still cares about us." Maddox followed, dragging his eyes over each and every expertly crafted picture. His eyes fell on an image of a garden of sorts; plants spilling from pots and over railings, overtaking the yard until...

His breath caught. It looked exactly like the flowers Alex used to fill his garden with, his one chance to be outside, to feel the sun on his face. He couldn't do sports or go out with friends, but at least Alex had his garden. The plants were his friends, and as sad as it seemed, it would brighten his day when all of his hard work turned into fruits or vegetables or bloomed into the biggest flowers.

And Maddox had sworn he would keep it for him. After Alex disappeared, Maddox knew he had to keep that last bit of him alive until he came home, even if he never came home. Unfortunately, it was never his choice to make. His parents had hated that garden as soon as the bare patches of dirt ruined their perfect lawn, and destroyed it less than a month after his disappearance. They had claimed the plants were dying anyway, but Maddox knew better. They had torn apart the last piece of their son, and even if they hadn't seen it, they knew what they were doing.

Feeling his emotions well up, he turned away and let his eyes fall on an image of a woman that was hardly human. Every aspect of her was built from the forest around her; lips made of flower petals, skin formed from soil and eyes of sapphire. She was as stunning as she was real, as Kadri had described her. Her name was Annalihana, protector of Alfheim's forest, and never showed her face. Instead, she was found in the wind and the plants, prompting them to grow like a mother and watering them when the sun beat down. Kadri loved to claim how he was great friends with Annalihana, despite the nature guardians' tendencies to hate moonshadowers. Then a vine jumped off the wall and smacked Kadri on the head with a playful twitch before returning to its post. Maddox had laughed as Kadri realized he had just been betrayed by what he called a friend, while the vines twitched in a faint apology.

"I found him!" Robin piped up while a tower of canvases and empty spray paint cans tumbled to the ground. Standing in the centre of his mess, Kadri stared back at Maddox, bewildered as a dragon caught under a kitchen light. His hair was stuck up like a mad scientist, and his classic paint-stained sweatshirt was complemented by fleece pajama bottoms. Maddox felt the familiar smile creep across his face at the cartoon images of phoenixes and dragons as Kadri stumbled over his mound of junk.