Uncle Freddy sets the stage up while I sit with Lawson, going through the scene I did yesterday but Lawson's not exactly gifted at acting.

"Huh, you didn't think that the night we met outside the tavern," Lawson reaches out to tuck my hair behind my ear and accidently hits me in the face. "Sorry, I'm not good at this." I grin at him, ignoring how much my face hurts.

"Of course you're not good at this, you're a director and screenwriter, not an actor," He frowns at me and I tap the stage directions. "You literally decide what we act, I mean Cas clearly likes Azrael and if her only family wasn't in a magic crystal and needs her to get out, she would let herself go after him, not moments of weakness like the campfire scene. You created her character to be like that." Lawson keeps frowning at me.

"Yeah but you'd be doing the same thing for Holden, right?"

"Depends on how attractive the guy is." Uncle Freddy clears his throat and I smile at him as he stands in front of us.

"Okay guys, we have platforms instead of cubes to be safe after yesterday," He looks at his list. "First up, we have Dion auditoning for Cas and she'll sing first." Everyone claps and I climb onto the stage, taking a deep breath (Anxiety, don't stop me now).

"I'm going to be singing Journey To The Past," It starts playing over the speaker and I imagine it's just me as I begin. "Heart, don't fail me now! Courage, don't desert me! Don't turn back now that we're here. People always say life is full of choices. No one ever mentions fear! Or how the world can seem so vast on a journey ... to the past. Somewhere down this road I know someone's waiting years of dreams just can't be wrong! Arms will open wide," I open my arms as I climb up the platforms. "I'll be safe and wanted, finally home where I belong. Well starting now I'm learning fast on this journey to the past. Home, love, family. There was once a time I must have had them too. Home, love, family. I will never be complete until I find you." I stop and the music stops as I carefully jump off the platform. Everyone claps and Uncle Freddy smiles at me.

"Okay. Please read your Cas monologue." I take another deep breath and focus on Lawson for a second before starting.

"My parents abandoned me in a boat going down a river. So did Gregory's. Mrs Hastings saved us and raised us until we were ten when she died," I sit down and rub my forehead. "Gregory is the only constant in my life or at least he was until that stupid crystal ruined everything. If I had just listened to him about staying in the village, we'd be sitting drinking ale that he paid for with stories and songs," I stand up and cross my arms. "So, don't you dare say I don't care about this, that I don't have a stake in this, I need you so I can save my brother, you need me because I know my way through this forest. So, shut up and follow me before I hit you!" I walk off stage and sit beside Lawson again. Uncle Freddy smiles at Lavender.

"Next we have Lavender auditioning for Cas." Lavender bounces onto the stage and smiles at everyone.

"I'm singing The Worst Pies In London," The music starts and I share a look with Lawson as she starts to pace up and down the stage, her voice husky. "A customer! Wait! What's your rush? What's your hurry? You gave me such a...fright! I thought you was a ghost! Half a minute, can't ya sit? Sit ya down! Sit! All I meant is that I haven't seen a customer for weeks. Did ya come here for a pie, sir? Do forgive me if my head's a little vague. Ugh! What is that? But you'd think we had the plague. From the way that people keep avoiding! No you don't! Heaven knows I try, sir!" She gives me a particularly cocky smile as we all politely clap (We had a bet going she'd sing Fabulous or Popular). Uncle Freddy smiles at her, trying to hide his crunched up eyebrows.

"Your Cas monologue, please." Lavender tosses her blonde hair over her shoulder, hand on her hip.

"Do you know what sort of adventures we could have outside this village?" She points dramaticly to the side of the stage. "I have heard tales about dragons and drakons that way and the other way has cannibals that worship some demigod that promised them eternal live and men that turn into wolves at will. They need us, they'll pay us and we can come back to this village as heroes," She flops onto the platform, pretending to pick her nails (It's not in the stage directions). "What could go wrong?" She smiles expectedly at Uncle Freddy who nods slowly.

"Up next is River for Azrael." Lavender gets off the stage and River gets onto the stage.

"I'll be singing Dancing Through Life," He sits on the platform as the music starts. "The trouble with schools is they always try to teach the wrong lesson believe me, I've been kicked out of enough of them to know they want you to become less callow, less shallow but I say," He jumps off the platform and winks at Lawson and I. "Why invite stress in? Stop studying strife and learn to live "the unexamined life" Dancing through life skimming the surface gliding where turf is smooth life's more painless for the brainless why think too hard? When it's so soothing dancing through life no need to tough it when you can slough it off as I do nothing matters but knowing nothing matters it's just life so keep dancing through." He stops with a spin and we all clap. Uncle Freddy grins at River.

"Your Azrael monologue, please." River leans against a fake tree, examining his nails.

"The only reason I'm here, sweetheart, is to get money for that crystal," He pushes himself off the tree and smirks at everyone. "Now, if your friend, sorry, brother had listened to me and let me pick it up, you'd be halfway back to that village you call home, leaving these two alone in a chimera infested forest with me. So, you don't get to be high and mighty because your family is stuck in a crystal," He picks up a fake pepple and tosses it into the air. "Although I do give credit when it's due. The four of you saved me from the Shadows and I owe you so I'm going to follow you until I consider the debt paid, so get moving sweetheart. Dawn's in three hours and I don't like the sound of that howling," He walks off the stage and stops in front of me, lowering his voice. "Why do I have the feeling we're going to be co-stars?" He walks away and I notice Lawson not looking at me.

***

"Ladies, gentlemen and Charlie," Uncle Freddy starts after everyone auditioned and him and Lawson talk about casting. "We just have to scene test our Azrael and Cas. River and Dion first, then Lavender and Evan," I get up and climb onto stage with River behind me. "Can you do the campfire scene?" I sit down on a rock while River stretches out on the floor beside it and looks at me.

"You should get some sleep, sweetheart. They need one of us well-rested, Cas." I look at my nails with a sigh.

"For some reason, I can't sleep without Gregory's snoring. Gods, I'm such a mess," I put my head in my hands and he sits up and puts his hand on my knee. "Are you going to say something like 'you're not a mess'?" I peek through my fingers as he shakes his head.

"Oh, you're a mess, no doubt about that but you have every right to be a mess," He reaches out and puts my hair behind my ear. "I'd be worried if you weren't...Although I'm worried about the fact you aren't slapping my hand away." I reach up and put my hand around his, locking eyes with him.

"Maybe I need to do something before I completely lose it," I lean forward and he does too before I jerk away suddenly. "There's an ogre coming." We jump up and get off the stage. I go to sit beside Lawson to find his bag there instead. I sit beside the bag as Lavender and Evan get onto the stage. Uncle Freddy smiles at them.

"Can you do the...Research scene?" They both nod and sit on rocks facing each other. Evan pretends to drop something and Lavender looks up, unimpressed.

"You realise that this research means my brother's free and you get that bloody crystal right?" She glances up and Evan moves to the rock beside her, cupping her knee (Not in the stage directions). "Leave me alone, Azrael."

"That wasn't what you wanted at the campfire-" Uncle Freddy claps his hands as Evan's hand starts to go up Lavender's skirt.

"Evan, that's not in the script or with Lavender's consent. Now, get off the stage before I kick you off this production all together," Lawson gets up and has a hushed conversation with Uncle Freddy as he writes what I guess is the cast list. "The cast list is going to be on the door, wait until we are far away from the door before you look at the list please." Lawson smiles at me as Uncle Freddy puts the list up and gets far away from the door. Everyone else runs for the door while I wait for people to get away from the door so I can see. I eventually get to the list and read my name beside the name I had hoped to see, Cas Riverbend.