Stell woke to feel something warm wrapped around her. She pushed herself groggily from the ground to see a white shirt had been placed on her while she was asleep. Lifting the shirt in her hands Stell noticed it was Kabuto's, the warmth of her body still on it.

She felt her face burn hot at the thought of the shadow taking off his shirt and giving it to her while she slept through it all. Had it really been that cold out that he would do such a thing? Had he been shirtless the entire night? Was there a shirtless shadow walking around near her?

She let out a quick cry, throwing the shirt away from her and to the ground as she pushed herself away from it. She had shadow all over her again. She thought that she left that life back in Kespain with Arlin. Why was it following her back home?

A moan snapped Stell from her thoughts as she turned to see the others were still fast asleep. Tak and Unie were cuddling one another on one side while Carla slept with her hat covering her face from the sun while she had her arms tucked under her shirt. The necromancers were bunched together in their own group, the Familiars sleeping soundly near their masters. Tianlong was curled up on his own in one area near the camp grounds, his body lowering and rising as smoke rose in and out of his human nostrils.

Stell looked around for Kabuto, but couldn't spot him within a mile. Had he gone off to get some food? Was he looking for a new shirt now that she had touched it? Did he just leave without saying a word?

She shook the last thought away. He wouldn't do that to Tak. He was a shadow, but he wasn't like Alabaster. Alabaster would've killed Stell the moment he knew she did something wrong. Kabuto, however, let her live when he found out she helped Alabaster once. He even gave her his shirt when she was asleep. It was strange to say the least to see a shadow act so kindly to completely different kinds of people. Maybe the shadow was right. She didn't understand the other side of Kespain. She didn't understand a whole side of the shadow kingdom untouched by Alabaster's cruelty.

Grabbing the shirt as she stood, Stell looked to the forest line not too far in the distance and began trekking toward it, wondering if that was where Kabuto had gone off to. Pushing her way through sweet smelling bushes and beautifully colored trees, the sound of running water and splashing told Stell there had to be a body of water and something in it nearby.

When she poked her head out from behind a couple of delicious, light blue berried bushes, she spotted Kabuto on his knees before a flowing stream. The topless shadow was cupping water in his hands before splashing his face and taking a couple of sips. On his back, Stell could see scars crisscrossing all over his back and some around his arms. Did Alabaster do that to him as well? Did Alabaster target everyone he thought would get in his way, even his own kind?

Hesitantly, Stell stepped out from the shelter of the bushes and went to sit on her knees next to Kabuto. She didn't look at him as she held out his shirt to him awkwardly.

"Th-Thanks," Stell stammered.

"No problem," Kabuto answered coolly, taking his shirt from her hand.

The two remained silent for an uncomfortable amount of time. Stell thought about breaking the silence, but couldn't think of anything else to say. She should've apologized for acting the way she had when they began the journey, but it felt strange to apologize to a shadow. She never thought she'd ever say she was sorry to a shadow. But he did let her live, gave her his shirt, and even saved her life when he was correct to be suspicious of her. Why did she have to meet such a drastically different shadow than the ones who took everything from her? Why couldn't Kabuto be cruel so she'd be right to hate all shadows?

"I'm sor-" both Kabuto and Stell began at the same time, finally facing one another. Stell covered her mouth while Kabuto seemed to blush as he looked away. "You go fir-" they spoke at the same time once again. They looked away from each other again. The sound of a cricket chirping close by made the air feel even worse between the two. This was harder than Stell thought.

"I'm sorry," Stell jolted at Kabuto's sudden apology and looked back to him. He had put his shirt back on and was staring down at his reflection in the stream. A far away look could be seen in his green eyes, Stell recognizing the look as she had the same look when she was trapped in the Mallors' castle. "For everything." Kabuto went on, looking up at Stell. "I'm sorry you went through what you went through. I'm sorry you're first impression of shadows was of Alabaster, that's not what all of us are like, I can promise you that." he looked away again, staring at himself in the water.

"When I was little Kespain was completely different from what you saw during your years there," the shadow went on to explain, "we stuck to our kingdom and never bothered anyone else. We just wanted to live in our peaceful solitude without causing any trouble with any of the other kingdoms, especially Sefloria. But Alabaster killed our king and took the throne as his own." Stell looked to see the shadow clench his fist over his pants angrily. "I ran away from it all when he attacked. I left my family, my friends, my entire life behind when I should have stayed to help my people stop him. But I was a coward. So I ran off. I never heard or saw my friends again. My parents were killed the night Alabaster took over. I never even try to go home now. I can never face the one place I loved more than anything after I just ran off when they needed me most. I wish I could've prevented you from seeing what I saw the night he attacked. I wish you didn't suffer as much as you had at the hands of that tyrannical son of a bitch."

Kabuto let out a frustrated sigh and ran his hand through his hair. Hesitantly, still unsure about how to feel about all of this, Stell lifted her hand and gently placed it on the shadow's shoulder. It felt strange to feel pity toward the very thing that took her from her home, but he wasn't Alabaster. He seemed just as frightened as she was when it came to Alabaster. How many of his own people did Alabaster hurt?

After a moment of silence between the two, Stell snapped out of her sympathy and took her hand back. She looked to her own reflection in the stream, looking back at a completely different face from the one reflected at her back in Alabaster's castle. She remembered how weak she looked whenever she looked into a mirror, how each of her bones could be seen from her flesh. Her once baggy eyes were now cleared and the light had returned to their hot pink color. The dark clothing she was forced to wear now replaced with the white shirt and brown corset Thorne had made for her. Her once painful magic now strengthened from the use of her own pace and use. Her once lonely life now filled with people who knew her dark secret and still wanted to help her. All this beginning with Kespain. Part of her life may have died back in the shadow kingdom, but a new one began there as well. Maybe Kespain did have a brighter side to it.

"Look," Stell began, looking away from her reflection and Kabuto, "I'm still not sure how I feel about all shadows. You and Alabaster's family are the only ones I've ever known and there's more of them than there are you as far as I know." she looked back to Kabuto. "But... Since you're just as against Alabaster as I am... I'm willing to give other shadows the benefit of the doubt. I know we're naturally born enemies, but... I'd like to know how to help you stop Alabaster before he forces another one of my people to do forbidden magic. So, until Alabaster is stopped, I'd like to call a truce between you and I. After that, I'd like Kespain and Sefloria to remain at a truce and never bother one another again. Do you think you can make that happen?"

Kabuto looked to Stell for a moment before nodding his head contemptuously and held out his hand for the witch to shake. Stell looked at his hand before she narrowed her eyes at the shadow and held up her hand in a balled fist, a baffled look coming over Kabuto's face.

"What are you doing?" Kabuto asked, looking at Stell's fist. "What is this?"

"It's how my childhood friends and I would make a promise," Stell explained, "you do the same with your hand and gently bump my fist with yours. It means you mean the promise you made and that you will never break it, ever. If you break it, the Devil damns you with misfortune forever."

Kabuto looked to her skeptically at first, but did as the ritual asked and balled his hand up into a fist. He went to bump hers, but she immediately drew back her hand, looking to him seriously.

"Don't bump it," Stell demanded, "unless you mean it."

Kabuto stared on seriously at her, still holding up his fist as she held out hers once again. He let out a sigh before turning his gaze to Stell's fist and gently pressing his knuckles to Stell's. A sudden feeling Stell had felt the first time she made a promise this way came over her. She didn't know what the feeling was, but it always made her feel good knowing someone out there was either keeping a promise or a secret for her, never breaking it unless she allowed them to. As surprising as it all felt, she could feel the same trust in Kabuto upon pressing her fist to his. It brought back such happy memories that it even made her smile.

"Stell," Stell snapped away from her childhood memories at the sound of Kabuto's voice. The shadow had taken his hand back and was now looking at Stell with wide, stunned eyes. "Y-You were... Glowing."

"What?" Stell exclaimed, pressing her hands to her face and looking to the water, seeing a light blue light fading around her body. "Why is it so hard to control my stupid magic?" She cried out. "It makes me look stupid!"

Stell let out a frustrated sigh as she dropped her hands to the grass beneath her and calmed herself. Hopefully the Grimorie would teach her how to control her magic without letting her emotions get the best of her.

"I... I think it makes you look... Beautiful." Kabuto mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck as he looked away from her.

Stell blinked in surprise. She wasn't even embarrassed or angry at the shadow's comment. She actually felt flattered. By a shadow's words. "You think... I'm beautiful?" she asked.

"I... Uh... No- I mean, not 'no'... I mean... I never saw... Well, I just-" Kabuto fumbled with his words, losing his cool as he tried to find the right words to say.

"A shadow... Never called me... Beautiful before," Stell cut him off, running her fingers through her hair, "not even Arlin..."

Another awkward silence befell the two. Stell had never been called beautiful by anyone but the people in her town, but being called beautiful by a shadow, especially one that didn't force her to do anything for him, was something completely new. The Mallors always found some way to make her feel like a witchy hag. No shadow had ever been kind to her.

Tak and Unie's screams snapped Stell from the thought when the children ran past Kabuto and Stell and into the stream. Stell covered her face from the splash and looked to see the two wiping themselves in the stream, disgust all over their faces.

"What's gotten into you two?" Kabuto asked as he got to his feet.

"He was cuddling me!" Unie accused Tak, pointing to him furiously.

"Me?" Tak shot. "You were the one cuddling me!"

"You had your arm around me you pig!" Unie shouted as she stood to loom over Tak.

"You put your hands on me you cow!" Tak shouted back.

The children continued to argue while Kabuto and Stell shared a look. The shadow rolled his eyes before returning his glare to Tak as Stell looked to Unie. She understood the nymph's dislike in boys, but she'd grow up thinking completely different if she went on to be raised by her mother and Rapario.

"Now if we could only get these two to call a truce," Kabuto sighed before heading back to where everyone else was.

Stell remained for a little while until Tak and Unie began splash fighting, at which point she decided to let them tire each other out and went back to camp to find Tianlong standing over a dead buck. The stench of the dead animal made her gag and cover her nose.

"What is that?" Stell asked through her hands.

"Food," Tianlong answered bluntly, placing a foot on the buck's body, "don't even come near it, I caught it on my own so it's mine."

"I think I lost my appetite," Alia groaned, holding her nose while Farkas stared on hungrily.

"Harry and I only eat fruits and vegetables anyway," Thorne cringed, taking a step from the carcass.

"Are you going to eat it raw?" Kabuto asked.

"Of course," Tianlong replied, "a dragon is able heat food through its body, I don't need mortal made fire to heat up my meat!"

With a respected step back from Kabuto, the dragon began tearing into his catch. His arms in their usual dragon form and teeth huge and pearly. Stell looked away the moment the blood began splattering all over Tianlong's face. Tak and Unie had returned from behind, the fire mage brightening at the side while Unie watched in horrid disgust.

Stell immediately began leading the children away, offering to help them find food of their own while the dragon ate his breakfast. Kabuto offered to join while Carla turned herself into a bat and fluttered off to hunt on her own. The necromancers all went off in their group to get food as well, Farkas looking over his shoulder to Tianlong's food longingly.

Tak and Unie went on to argue about nothing as Stell began collecting delicious looking fruits from the trees and Kabuto hunted small animals. One red and green fruit hanging from a magenta and pink tree that looked perfectly ripe was too high for Stell to reach. She tried pushing herself up by her tip toes to grab it, but it was still just out of touch of her fingers.

When she decided it best to give up, a familiar hand reached up, grabbing the fruit and picking it from the tree's branch. Stell turned to see Kabuto standing behind her with the fruit in his hand and a few small dead animals in his other. The shadow offered her the fruit which she awkwardly accepted with a kind smile. They continued their scavenging, Stell quietly pointing out small animals scurrying around to Kabuto while he went on to help her retrieve fruit too high for her to reach. It was different from what she went through with the Mallors, but she actually liked it. It was nice to be treated so kindly by a shadow that was so helpful.

When the two gathered what felt like enough, they returned to camp where the entire buck had vanished, Tianlong sucking on one single bone. Carla was sucking out the juices from fruits in her bat form happily, shriveled up pieces of fruit lying next to her. The necromancers were chewing on strange plants while Farkas ripped into a winged squirrel. Kabuto, Stell, Tak, Unie sat near the group, Stell handing the children fruit while Kabuto shrouded his catches in his shadow to prepare them for consumption.

Once everyone had finished eating, Tianlong swallowing his bone whole, they all began continuing their way onward.

"You're not going to change back into a dragon?" Thorne asked Tianlong.

"There is a human village on the way there," Tianlong told the young necromancer, "unless you want more chaos, I will not return to my perfect form until we reach the mountain."

"It's not too far is it?" Stell asked hopefully.

"All we need to do is get past the village without any trouble and we should be there by nightfall." Tianlong answered.

The fated moment was arriving quicker than Stell had expected. She knew having the dragon would shorten their journey, but she wasn't sure if she was ready to meet the Grimorie. She wasn't sure if she was ready for this to be over. She had just made peace with a shadow and these people she traveled with had decided to keep her terrible secret from the rest of the world. She was even able to get a dragon to help her. Something she thought no one was ever capable of. The beast may have been prideful and only be thinking for himself, but he was still with her, promising to help her for saving his life. It was almost like she was dreaming. A frightening feeling now that she thought about it.

"Are you okay?" Kabuto's voice made Stell snap away from her thoughts and to the shadow.

"I'm fine," Stell lied, "just still a little tired I guess."

The shadow looked at her for a moment before returning to look ahead of him. Stell felt a twinge of guilt for not telling him the truth after they had made a truce, but she didn't want to admit to a shadow that she didn't want this adventure to end too soon. Truce or not, he was still a shadow.

After a while, Tak had accidentally kicked Unie's ankle from behind. The nymph turned and accused the fire mage of doing it on purpose. Tak then argued saying that she was the one with fat ankles too big for him not to kick. The two then began bickering once again, slapping one another as they went on walking with the group. Kabuto let out a frustrated sigh, finally leaving Stell's side to go pull the children apart and ordering them to knock off the childish flirting. The two immediately took offense, denying any romantic feelings for one another and going on about how ugly one another were.

"You two seem to be getting along better," Stell tore her eyes away from the scene to see Carla had replaced Kabuto's spot next to her. The vampire had her face shaded from the sun with her hat and gloves covering her arms. Stell wondered if the Grimorie knew of anyway to cure that so it wasn't too much trouble for the captain. Carla had a sly look on her face as she motioned her eyes at Kabuto, now holding Tak and Unie up off the ground by the back of their collars.

"We called a truce," Stell explained, "I think he's trying harder than I am, but I'm still weary about shadows."

"Oh, don't worry about him being a shadow," Carla waved a hand nonchalantly, "he's thinking of some gruesome things to do to the Mallors, their especially darker since you finally spilled the beans about what they did to you."

Stell looked to Carla confused. How did she know what Kabuto was thinking?

"Oh, did I forget to tell you?" Carla asked surprisingly. "I can read minds!"

Stell processed this new information for a moment before realizing a certain detail about that power. "You knew what I did this whole time?" she exclaimed.

"Well, duh!" Carla chuckled. "I could smell that fuck boy, Prince Arlin on you for miles. I had to read your mind to know how you two were connected. It's probably why we became friends so fast! I know what it's like to be forced into a one-sided relationship." a far away look came over the vampire's face as she looked to the ground. Stell didn't recognize the look as the one she got when she thought of Arlin. It almost seemed that whoever Carla was forced to be in a relationship with was someone she actually missed.

"Anyway," beamed Carla, breaking from her solumn stare, "with knowing what people are thinking, I can also see what they saw to get these thoughts. I see you saw Kabuto shirtless." she added with the same sly look as before.

"I was returning his shirt to him," Stell explained obliviously, "I guess I was shaking in my sleep, so he gave it to me to warm me up."

Carla giggled, confusing Stell. She wasn't sure why seeing Kabuto shirtless and him giving her his shirt was so funny. She had seen Arlin completely nude several times. Neither men she wanted to see unclothed in her life.

"I guess you're just too young to understand," Carla shrugged sadly after seeing Stell stare at her blankly. "Maybe after knowing him for a while, you'll grow to get it!"

"You're barking up the wrong tree, Moonsetter," Alia spoke up from behind. Stell and Carla looked behind them to the red-haired necromancer, Thorne walking next to her, their Familiars following close beside them. "They may be getting along right now, but they're born to hate one another no matter what."

"Have you ever seen a witch and shadow together?" Carla asked through narrowed eyes.

"Well, no," Alia admitted, "but there's a good reason for that. Shadows and witches stay away from each other because of how much they hate one another. Not to mention, Stell should focus on what Wendy has sent her here to do, not boys. They get in the way."

"But aren't you with Reuben because you want to get your boyfriend out of the Netherworld?" Thorne asked.

Alia's face went red before she shot a glare at her fellow necromancer. "No!" she shouted indignantly. "I joined Reuben to learn from my elder! And also, I made that pact with him like you, so I'm just as stuck with him as you are!"

"But you did ask Wendy how you could save a male friend from the Netherworld," Stell pointed out, "he has to be someone who means a lot to you."

Alia's whole face became a bright crimson and she clenched her fists tightly. Thorne chuckled at the older girl's embarrassment, causing Alia to shoot a death glare at her.

"Well what about you and Rodney?" Alia shot. "You two seemed to have hit it off!"

"That's because Rodney likes magic just as much as I do!" Thorne exclaimed. "Plus, you know I'm not the flirting one, that's Lilvyn's job!"

Before Stell could ask who Rodney and Lilvyn were, a cold and dark vibe came from in front of her. She and Carla turned their heads to see Reuben looming over all four of them with a dark look in his silver eyes. All four girls let out a cry, jumping back from the older man as he stormed to put his hands on Thorne's shoulders.

Tears then began streaming down his face as he shook Thorne viciously. "Thorne, don't you dare start thinking of boys too soon! You're too young, too beautiful! I won't stand idly by and watch you grow up too fast! Never date men ever, especially those with Elfen! Do you hear me, never trust men, daddy doesn't want you to!"

"For the last time, stop calling yourself daddy, it's creepy!" Thorne cried out. "I already have a daddy, I don't need another!"

"Don't you sass me!" Reuben ordered.

"This pointless mortal talk is taking precious time!" Tianlong interrupted. "I prefer to return home sooner than waste my time in this body!"

"I know dragons are very proud of what they are and all they stand for," Kabuto spoke, looking to the dragon and continuing on with the journey, "but why the rush to get back home? It's not going anywhere and it's not in danger."

This question shocked Stell coming from Kabuto. Out of all of them she would have thought Kabuto wanted to go home sooner than Tianlong.

"Dragons have a certain attachment to their home," Tianlong answered, "our bond to where we are born goes deeper than any mortal's. When we leave for an extended period of time, a voice calls us back to it. It's louder than the beating of our wings and grander than the fire within us. We are always called back to where we belong."

"Do you have any kin there as well?" Kabuto asked.

"I have siblings, a mother, and father," Tianlong responded, "but blood isn't why we are called home. Just because we are related by blood does not mean we belong together. Our souls are just attached to the place we call home."

"I take you don't get along well with your family," Stell thought aloud.

"I wouldn't know," Tianlong told her, "I do not necessarily spend time with my blood. We hunt and we'll battle train from time to time, but we don't share the same as your mortal bonds."

"Do you want your own family one day?" Stell asked, her curiosity getting the best of her.

"If you're asking if I'd like to mate, then no," Tianlong replied, "our kind will continue to grow, but I myself do not wish to have hatchlings of my own. Once they learn to climb, they don't leave us older dragons alone. I'd be ashamed to have my blood acting childish."

"Sounds lonely," Unie spoke.

"Dragons don't get lonely," Tianlong explained, "we're always hunting together, sleeping in the same nest, and we always return to where we belong. All we need is ourselves."

All the things she was learning of dragons made Stell want to know even more. She wanted to ask more questions about everything dragon's did. She wanted to know how they lived, what they believed in, and why they could never ignore the call back home. Wasn't flying much more exciting, especially as a dragon?

She wanted to ask these questions now and learn more while she had him close by. But before she could say a word, the ground below her was snatched from her as a net wrapped around her and her group. A cry escaped her lips, her body hitting against someone else's.

Once they stopped swinging in the air, Stell looked up to see that they were hanging from a rope wrapped around a tall sycamore type of tree with red leaves.

From the bushes, speedy footsteps closed in on the group from all sides. Jumping out from the darkness were shirtless, painted people with painted masks and leaves sticking out the top. In their hands were spears made from tougher wood than Unie's when Stell had first met her. The spears were sharper and made of a stronger looking stone as well.

"Savages," Reuben whimpered.

"Fuck." Carla spat.