The Meeting

"Victor Mortis, you have guests!"

The toddler raised his head at the mention of his name. The mistress of the orphanage stood at his door, a gentle smile on her tanned complexion. Victor blinked in response, his own silent way of affirming he heard her.

Hunching his shoulders, Victor focused on the toy dragon he held in his hands. As long as his memory stretched, he couldn't remember anyone actually interviewing him for adoption. Victor assumed it was because he was mute.

But, last week, the mistress had informed him that two men were interested in adopting him. His heart had nearly stopped- was he finally going to get a family?

"Oh, Matt, look at him!" a voice cried.

Victor flinched, staring at the two strangers that had entered his room. The tallest one, Matt, seemed to be in his mid-twenties, with dirty blond hair tumbling across his shoulders and grey-blue eyes. The man that had spoken, who appeared to be several years younger, was slim and dark skinned. They were both around six feet tall, and Victor felt the need to shrink back.

"Go see him, Umbra," Matt urged, playfully hitting Umbra on the back, "This is all you talked about on the way here. I know how much you wanted this."

Nodding almost tearfully, Umbra took careful steps toward Victor, who froze in shock.

"Dear, look what I brought you!" Umbra paused to shuffle through a Walmart bag. He pulled out a plush dragon, holding it out, "I got you another friend. Her name is Luna. Do you want to play with her?" He spoke softly and kindly, his baritone voice less intimidating than Victor once imagined.

Umbra knelt down, settling on the carpet in front of Victor. Victor cautiously reached his hand out, touching his fingers to the silky fur of Umbra's gift. The dragon had sequins on its eyes and wings, which caught the light and seemed to sparkle. It mystified Victor.

"You're going home with me today, did you know that?" Umbra asked, placing the toy in Victor's lap.

Victor nodded shly.

Umbra pointed at the plastic dragon Victor fearfully held onto. "Oh, he's cute. Does he have a name?"

Once again, Victor nodded.

"I'm glad he has a friend now, right? It gets lonely when you don't have friends. Victor, do you have any friends?"

Victor slowly shook his head, keeping his eyes lowered to the ground. Umbra may have been charming, but Victor was still plagued by a strong fear of people. He felt his throat tightening, a sense of anxiety flushing through his veins.

"Want to know a secret?"

Victor blinked. A secret? he thought, his childish curiosity getting the best of him.

"I'm going to be your familiar, Victor. I'm going to love you, protect you, and be your friend as long as I can. Does that sound fun?"

Victor nervously stroked the soft neck of his new plush dragon. He wasn't really sure what a familiar was, but from Umbra's description, it sounded lovely.

Victor finally met Umbra's eyes, and a hesitant smile came to his lips. His eyes may have been slitted like a cat's, but they weren't frightening. Victor could practically feel the warmth coming from his expression.

This was the start of a new life.

----

Victor gasped, waking up in a cold sweat. His heart pounded furiously in his chest--he hadn't thought of the day he was adopted for years. He had almost forgotten how it all began.

He glanced around him. Seraph had carried him to the couch, where he had apparently fallen asleep. The extra sleep had been beneficial, as the spinning sensation in his head had left.

Victor hugged his knees, squeezing his eyes shut. He could still see Umbra from five years ago, speaking to him for the first time. He couldn't forget the love in his eyes.

Sighing, Victor pulled himself off the couch, desperately rubbing his forehead.

He knew what he had to do.

Author's Note- //sobs
okay i lied,,,theres two more chapters. i had to split em up.

:) we're finally getting into some backstory. skipped a whole bunch (lolololololol), but heres one piece of this big puzzle