We found a small clothes store at the edge of town. It was locked, and no one was inside. Thanks to this, the clothes inside didn't have a speck of blood on them. I broke the door open, everyone following me inside. Noc stood beside me, unsure of what to do. Flarem and Svi started to look for clothes to put him in.

"You can look for clothes with Svi and Flarem if you'd like."

"I'm not sure what I'd look good in," Noc muttered, appearing to want my help.

"I'll help you look."

"Okay."

Noc didn't really look like he was into looking for clothes, though he knew he needed them. I looked on one of the racks. We were all struggling to find clothes that would fit him.

"What's your favorite color?"

"I don't have one. My only preference is nothing brown."

"Do you want to dress casually?"

"Preferably," Noc mumbled, barely audible.

"Long sleeve or short sleeve?"

"Long."

"Do you want shorts or pants?"

"Pants."

"Jeans?" I asked, hoping he'd say "yes." Svi and I wear jeans, so I want him to dress like us. I want to make him look similar to me, though there'll always be obvious differences. Flarem's pants are made of some stretchy material. They look comfortable, though.

"Sure."

I pulled out a pair of dark gray jeans and a long-sleeved, dark blue shirt. Noc looked with confusion.

"Is something wrong with it?"

"Blue? Won't it clash with my hair?"

"It'll go with your eyes. The clashing makes your hair pop, too," I reasoned.

"Why do you wear black? It makes you appear hidden. For Mom, it makes her hair stand out."

"Well, in my case, my eyes are what I want focused on."

"I guess. They do glow," Noc commented, shrugging.

"A changing room is over there."

I pointed across the store where a curtain was covering a small area. Noc nodded, taking the clothes and heading into the stall. Svi and Flarem walked over to me after.

"Did you find something?" Svi asked, a cheery look on her face.

"Yeah. He's putting it on. Did you guys have no luck?"

"I was looking in the wrong section... I was looking at girls," Flarem muttered, ashamed.

"And I was looking at adult," Svi murmured, also ashamed.

"Didn't you guys check first? And, Flarem, you didn't notice excessive amounts of pink?"

"My life sucks," Flarem whined, looking pathetic.

"Aren't you supposed to be the smart one?"

"I've learned that the more book smarts someone has, the less common sense... I lack common sense..."

"That explains a lot," I muttered. I felt a little pity for Flarem... Pity was on Svi's face, too.

Noc came from the flowing curtain. He stood in front of Flarem, Svi, and me. The clothes fit him nicely. I was satisfied with myself.

"Cri... Why'd you put him in such dark clothes?" Svi asked.

"What do you mean? Dark clothes look good. All three of us are wearing dark clothes..."

"It makes his bright hair stand out," Flarem said, an unsure look on his face. Noc started looking up at us for opinions, nervous of Flarem's.

"And?"

"It's a little weird..."

"I like that it shows off the hair. It's bright and fiery. He should be proud of it. It looks badass," I replied, patting his head. Noc looked slightly happy.

"How about the blue? Don't you think black would look better?" Svi suggested, Flarem quieting.

"Then nothing would match his eyes. You can't have standing out eye and hair colors. Well, unless it's all black. He shouldn't be in all black, though."

"I guess... What do you think, Noc?" Svi questioned, unsure of my choices.

"I like it. I also like my hair. I didn't see it until now."

Svi and Flarem were surprised with his decision. I felt pretty satisfied with myself. Noc's face was slightly flushed.

"Let's head back to the inn. I need to talk with Flarem when we get back."

"About what?" Flarem asked, extreme curiosity on his face.

"I'll talk when we get back..."

"Will you tell me when we get back, Cri?" Svi asked grabbing onto my arm.

"I'll tell you after Flarem and I talk. You should watch Noc."

"Okay."

We had a quick walk to the inn. Not much conversation took place, so I won't mention it.

We entered my room, as I didn't want Flarem seeing the mutilated corpse he created. The blankets on the bed were messed up, but nothing was wrong with the room. Luckily the massacre didn't spread here.

"Flarem and I will talk in the bathroom. It's the only other room."

"Okay. Let's go over there, Noc."

Svi motioned Noc to go to the bed. It was far away from the bathroom, so they wouldn't hear. Flarem and I went inside the bathroom.

"What do we need to talk about?"

"You can still hear your creatures, right?" I asked seriously.

"Yes. It's louder. I have a constant migraine now. I can't make out much of what they say..."

"I'm not sure if that's good or bad... Anyways, where are they?"

"They're congregated in the center of town."

"What about the children?" I questioned with worry.

"The demons are bordering them."

"I have an order you should give them."

"Aren't I supposed to create the plans? You've done a lot," Flarem complained, probably feeling useless.

"I'm not good at creating basic plans. I know what to do when it comes down to it."

"Let me guess... Are you planning on getting supplies and having them carried by the demons and older children during our travels?"

"That's correct. We need supplies of food, water, clothing, and weapons."

"They're at it. I left some keeping guard," Flarem told, looking proud of himself.

"Good. That's all."

"Okay."

We traveled back out of the bathroom. Svi was standing by the bed, looking at a sleeping Noc. I walked over to her, staring at Noc. He wasn't a loud sleeper. His sleep looked peaceful.

"He fell asleep right after you left to talk to Flarem."

"He's had a long day. We should let him sleep."

"Are we staying the night?"

"Why not?" I quipped.

Flarem walked over, also looking at Noc.

"Are you guys sure about keeping him with us? We aren't safe," Flarem questioned, slightly grinning when Noc mumbled in his sleep.

"It'll be fine. I'll just have to be a good protector. We should look over the weapons gathered tomorrow. We can find him something."

"Should we give him a weapon?" Svi asked, starting to feel nervous for Noc.

"He needs to stay safe. It's a necessity."

Flarem yawned, rubbing his eyelids. It caught my attention, as it was long and loud.

"I'm going to a room. I'm tired. I'll have to go to a new room. The other one has vomit in it..."

"I wonder who's fault that is."

"I blame you, Nocri. You should've come with..." Flarem complained, annoyed with me.

"You're twenty. You should be able to make simple decisions..."

"No common sense, remember?"

"Sadly..."

Flarem looked a little annoyed, but it was mostly covered by his drowsiness. I felt pity once more. Flarem left, gently closing the door on his way out so Noc wouldn't awaken.

Svi and I looked at each other. She had a smile on her face. I kissed her, then grinned myself.

"Want to get in bed?"

"Should we keep our clothes on? I don't know how having children works," I said, looking over to the innocent Noc.

"I don't see why."

"What if he wakes up before us?"

"Do you know anyone that gets up earlier than me?" Svi persuaded. It was working since I was in a romantic mood. I usually wouldn't do anything with her for weeks, since I was stressed, busy with work, or regularly not in the mood, but I just met up with her again after so long. I mellowed down with sex after we started dating. Maybe since we had a healthy relationship, while the other women were just getting me through everyday life. I think I was in more of a booze phase while I lived with Svi, as well.

"No..."

"Then we're good."

"Can we talk about Noc, first? We should probably go over certain things. I don't know about parenting..."

"You'll do fine, Cri. We can talk if you want," Svi replied, smiling.

"Let's sit on the other bed, first."

"Let's."

We sat on the other bed, Svi leaning on me. Her head was on my chest. I took the chains from her hair, throwing them on the ground and stroking my fingers through her blond hair.

"What weapon should we find him?"

"We could look for a short sword. My father taught me how to sword fight, basically," Svi suggested, and I thought it was a good idea.

"That'll work."

"You're sending me to turn into a demon. How about him? He'll be with me."

"I honestly don't know. I gave you an option since you can hold your own in a fight. He might need to go."

"We should ask him."

"I'm okay with whatever he chooses," I added though it'd be significantly harder to protect him without demonic power. Slight worry was on Svi's face. I continued brushing my fingers through her hair. It was smooth.

"We should pierce his ears like yours."

"That's something he'd have to want," I told, though I honestly did want him to get his ears pierced. He'd look somewhat like me. Svi appeared excited for what she was going to say next.

"Should I teach him how to bind someone in chains?"

"I don't think that's necessary."

Dissatisfaction was spread over her face. I definitely didn't want him learning some of her skills. Noc should stay away from torture methods...

"How about poison?"

"What about poison?" I asked with nerve.

"Should we build up his immunity?"

Svi was making me worried. I suddenly remembered her background... She was accustomed to this stuff. Assassination methods were taught to her at a young age...

"That's not necessary, either. I don't have any immunities, and poison never killed me. If there was an immunity for dragons, then I'd be all in."

Svi was disappointed once more.

"We should focus on practical lessons," I explained.

"Like fast killing methods? Maybe I could teach him how to blind someone."

I was nervous for Noc's future. Svi is definitely caring, but not a typical mother...

"No. Nothing like that. We should teach him basic skills, like cooking. We should make sure that he can read and write too."

"Oh. We'll need to buy some books."

"I think Flarem has some. I just have to make sure they're not on demon summoning," I said, sure I didn't want Noc summoning any of my kind.

"That'd be interesting to learn."

"He doesn't need to know about that..."

"If you say so."

Svi thought I was acting strange, but I was the one with common sense. I forgot that her behavior wouldn't be good to imprint onto a child.

"Should we let him drink?"

"Only a glass of wine occasionally. He can drink more when he's older. Do you understand children, Svi?"

Embarrassment shone in her eyes.

"Yes... I had a lot of freedoms when I was younger, though. My first time drunk was when I was ten..."

"I was sixteen," I muttered, sighing. Shame was on both of our minds. I couldn't hear her thoughts, but Svi's face gave it away.

"I'm sure we'll do fine, Nocri. Stay confident."

"Okay. We won't know until we try."

Svi pushed me further onto the bed, removing my shirt. Her lips were against mine. My arms snaked around her body, embarrassing her. Our bodies were warm against each other. I started taking off her shirt, throwing it away. I took off the rest of my clothes by myself, Svi doing the same. The clothes were scattered over the inn's floor. I wrapped my arms against her soft skin again. The blankets were thrown over us, and our mouths conjoined.