"Do you hear that?", Seto whispers, breaking the silence. He's been following the 'palace guard' for quite some time after Phantom made his crazy accusations.

"Yes. Stay behind me", Phantom mumbles back, crouching down. A quiet, musical sound can be barely heard over the breeze rustling the tree branches. Neither Phantom nor Seto speak as they creep closer. They spend several more minutes sneaking through the forest union it become obvious that the sound is from some sort of flute.

      Phantom motions for them both to get down, and Seto follows his gaze past a tree and into a small clearing. A young boy is sitting with his back to them. He's playing a wooden flute and sitting with his legs crossed underneath him. What throws Seto off is the spiky, quilled tail that boy has. The prince has never seen a hybrid with a tail like that. The boy suddenly stops playing and spins his head around to look at the two strangers. Phantom and Seto both jump. They boys's eyes are a blank white without any pupils.

     "Are you looking for my dad?", the boy cocks his head, "You feel like a sorcerer. Lots of those come looking for Dad". The boy stands and walks over. A long white scarf on his neck trails in the dirt.

     "Uh, n-no, that's ok. We're just passing through", Seto stands up and backs away a bit. Abigail mumbles something in her sleep.

     "It's getting dark soon, so you have to come home. Dad says it's dangerous in he woods at night". The kid has no fear of seeing strangers, and grabs onto Phantom's hand to lead him. The guard shivers at the contact. Seto can't feel it without his magic, but Phantom can feel the demonic presence surrounding the kid. It doesn't make any sense. A possession, maybe?

     The six-year-old continues to chatter, eventually getting around to his name: Sorin. He's a sweet boy if not a little timid. The only reason he approached them is because he's used to people coming to see his dad. While Phantom can feel Sorin's demonic presence, Sorin can feel a weird magic around the guard and a very faint sorcerer aura around Seto and Abigail. It confuses him. Abigail is woken up by the commotion and is surprised to see the younger boy. She demands to be let down, and the two kids talk for the next ten minutes until they break out of the trees.

     Seto sees a small building appear first, but it's quickly followed by an entire town. Sorin keeps walking without any sort of introduction. He's let go of Phantom's hand, but he's clutching his flute in the other.

     "So...... is this where you were already heading to?", Seto speaks quietly so that only Phantom can hear him.

     "Yes, this is the place. I was tracking your old friend to get here, but this kid confuses me. He has the same.... energy".

     "I'm not really sure what you're talking about, but ok. What I don't get is why you keep calling this person my old friend. I've never been here before". Before Phantom can argue the point, Sorin yells and breaks our into a run.

     "Daddy! There are more people here to see you!". Sorin almost crashes straight into a man's legs with his sprint, but the kid is whisked off their feet my a strong pair of arms. Seto has to do a double-take when he see the stranger. For a moment, he saw black feathered wings, but they're gone when the prince blinks. The man is much taller then Phantom or Seto. He's obviously a lot stronger and built like a brick wall. They wear an old, black jacket over a white shirt. He looks like he could be only a few years younger then Seto's own dad. Sorin's dad has eyes the color of rusting iron. Phantom's brain lags behind a bit as he connected the dots. He has a son.......

"And who have you brought home this time, huh?", the man laughs, propping Sorin on his hip, "You're getting really good at finding sorcerer auras, aren't..... you.....". Seto stills when the man sees him and stops talking. Is that recognition in his eyes? The prince is sure the he's never met the stranger before.

"Hello Dark Angel. It's been a while", Phantom inclines his head in greeting.

      "Sorin, go find Mom, ok?", the man sets Sorin down as the boy runs off. A big smirk grows on his face, a boundless look of mischief in his eyes. "It's the flying rat! There's plenty of mosquitoes around if you're hungry. I never thought I'd see that Sorcerer squirt again!". The man moves so quickly that Seto doesn't have time to duck before he's put into a headlock. The much bigger man gives him a noogie as Seto struggles to escape. He certainly doesn't act his own age! Abigail laughs, and Phantom only growls at the insult.

      "L-Let me go", Seto shouts breathlessly, "I don't even know who you are!". The stranger pauses, confused, but then embarrassingly releases the prince.

     "Oh, yeah, that's right. You did die. Makes sense. You would have usually roasted me by now", he hums in thought, "My apologies, Prince Seto. You can call me Bodil. You and I went way back in your last loop". Bodil does a mock bow when he uses Seto's title. It would have been annoying from anyone else, but Seto finds himself almost expecting this behavior from someone he's never met.

      "Bodil! You know you're not suppose to talk about loops", Phantom huffs.

     "I think someone as old as me should be able to do what I want", Bodil crosses his arms with a feral smile, "Now, I'm pretty sure that your winged hamster said he never wanted to see me again. Something must gone really bad for him to bring you to me, Seto. So what do you need, old friend?".