Fraltith padded through the soft moss of the UnderForest, following a line of huge ferns that curled inwards as if attempting to protect the dew on their tips. The sound of burbling water filled the silence, humming a melody to the gentle breeze's tune. Shadows cast by fluorescent light danced across his path, sometimes joined by brighter light that had traveled all the way down from Uppermost Canopy.

Occasionally the faint rustle of foliage or swoosh of a winged one's passing would accent the forest's song, and he would glance towards it. He tipped his head towards the soft sounds, letting them drift inside him and untangle the knots, sticky shadows, and everything else that had gathered in him from the day's events.

He was glad Davith had insisted he go to their secret spot while he explained why he'd abandoned his post and finished up his duties. After the clatter, constant "Fralith, is that you?", and Davith's "we will explain later", of the city above, the peaceful whispers and solitude down here were welcome.

Here he could think and sort through everything that had happened. And...he could see if the WillowWallowers nesting nearby dropped any feathers he could collect.

The burbling of the stream grew louder, more spread out as it widened under a large, arching root and into a deep pool bathed in a rare patch of sunlight. Honey-gold, pale green, light emerald brown ferns, and small grasses huddled eagerly around the pool, thriving off of the rich, clear water. A cluster of small boulders crouched over the water, casting a shadow where fish liked to hide.

Moss pressed in between his toes as he scrambled up the rock outcropping and settled himself on its edge, swinging his legs in time to the forest's song. Tilting his head up, he squinted at the break in the great VineNet hanging in between the enormous WonderTree trunks and the faint outline of a bridge set way up high near the canopy.

Compared to the WonderTrees around him and the VineNet, he was a tiny, miniscule ant; a small note in a five-hour symphony. Somehow, it comforted him. He wasn't important—wasn't going to be one day in charge of keeping the city set in the treetops free and thriving—and he could just enjoy the world the Eternal had created.

No one looked up to him as their role model. No one copied his example. No one hung off his every word. He was just him, Fralith, special only to those who loved him. Fralith, special to Davith.

A fish darted close to the surface, a white and yellow flash as it slurped up a bug resting on the water and retreated to the smooth, WaterSlime-covered rocks on the bottom of the pool. WaterGrass and PurpleRipple waved their green and purple tendrils at the fish as it passed them, cheerfully existing as they were.

He and Davith used to dive to the bottom of the pond and sift through the rocks for FireBacks. Whoever found the most two-clawed-six-legged-hard-shelled critters got to spice them—the easy job—while the other started the fire—the hard job. Bursting out of the water with handfuls of wiggling FireBacks, shouting his number, then looking over at his grinning at his brother, hair pasted to his face, was one of his fondest memories.

Was. Used to be. Words meaning the past and never again. But it was wrong— he could have more of these happy memories, not like before. Davith didn't hate him; he was back to being his Davith Before self, just a little protective and...shadowed.

They could go FireBack hunting and sit around a little fire, cracking shells with their teeth, sucking out soft, juicy meat, and throwing banter around in between. They could do that. It was possible.

If he stayed.

Inky tendrils reached up from his belly, threatening to steal the light in him. He shoved them down with a thought-stick, baring his teeth. If he stayed. He— couldn't stay. He'd told Ray-chel—and by extension, the whole family—that he would come back. Quickly. And he'd meant it, at the time. He'd wanted to come back quickly.

But now... How could he leave Davith, if he loved him? Leaving Mother was easy. She— she'd made it clear she didn't want him around. Leaving Ailith and Sylith was...harder, but he wasn't very close with them. Leaving Drao was...well, Drao had already left. And leaving Davith—the angry one—would have been almost okay, too. But leaving Davith—the one who loved him?

He...he...he couldn't do that. He didn't want to do that. But then what should he do? He couldn't be in two places at once. Couldn't be with two families at the same time. Choosing between them...it was impossible. Both loved him. Both cared for him and he cared for them.

"BEEP!" The bugs around him paused in their buzz, waited, then started again. He put his head in his hand, letting his injured arm hang loosely. Why was it so hard? Why did he have to choose?

"Beep?"

"BEEP!" He twisted around, hand flying to his waist where his knife used to be, wolf leaping into the air with a yelp and landing in a run.

A tall, scarred, man stood a few paces away, hands held loosely at his sides, brown sleeves dangling just past his wrists. At his waist, at least four knives—each a different length—hung, partially hidden by the dark green cloak draped around his broad shoulders.

Three raised, twisted scars raked over his left eye—mangling his eyebrow but not his eyeball—stark against his pale skin. Blond hair swooped to the left of his head, strands falling in front of his face as he tilted it to the side. "Beep?" Drao repeated, the beginnings of a smile lifting the corners of his lips.

Drao! It was Drao! He was— here? How? Hadn't he— He leapt to his feet and scrambled down the rock, running over to his old mentor and wrapping his arms around his waist. "Drao! You're— here!"

A low chuckle rumbled above him. "Yes, I am. It is good to see you, Fralith."

Whistling a HappyBird's call, he looked up with a grin. Drao was back, too! "It's been so long! I thought you were gone forever!"

Drao tipped his head, patting his back. "Until the Eternal comes to take me, I will not be gone forever from SecondHome. I visit when I can." His gaze dropped to Fralith's injured shoulder. "Fenzl told me you have been missing for almost a year now. Does this have anything to do with it?" He gently touched his shoulder.

How had— He shook the thought off. It's Drao. He notices things like that. Stepping back, he pushed hair out of his face. How much should he tell him? "A...little."

Drao's gaze softened, eyes so dark blue they were black filling with an old familiarity with sharing things close to the heart. "Ah. Is it safe where you have been?"

His mind flashed back to the bad men, then to the family laughing around the table. It was...safe. Maybe not all the time, but it was safe. "Yeah." PainBird muttered darkly in his ear. "...Mostly."

"Mostly?" Drao tipped his head to the side, fingers forming an opening to his question.

He nodded, searching his mentor's face. It was soft and kind as it always was, with the deep, steeled shadows reflecting back in his eyes. That gaze was always open, always ready to listen and offer guidance when needed.

He— could tell Drao everything. He could ask Drao where he should go. He would know what to do. Taking a deep breath and gathering his thoughts, he pushed them out of his mouth in a rush "I don't know what to do! Davith doesn't hate me any more but I found a new family on— another world and I love them and they love me and—and Davith loves me too and I love him to and— and— I don't want to choose!"

Heat pressed at the back of his eyes and he swallowed hard around the lump forming in his throat, shadows and light sloshing around inside his belly in one confusing mess. Saying it out loud made it so— so real and big that suddenly he couldn't not tell Drao everything else, from betraying Father, to finding BlueShirt's family—loving and being loved by them—to Mother hating him and Davith not.

When every last word had tumbled from his mouth, he wiped at his eyes and caught his breath. His insides felt empty and squishy, shadows all bled out and no more tears left to fill the space they left behind. It was...not exactly nice, but it was better. Just a bit.

Ha-ha, hakoo! called a bird from somewhere far off. It spread over the sounds of the forest like a blanket, muffling and dimming them even as it faded. He glanced towards the sound, but he didn't see any bird. Here, in the golden light, he couldn't see into the dark shade the VineNet cast on the forest floor.

A FlitFly buzzed past them, iridescent green body and eight pale wings flashing over the water. It alighted on a fern curling over the pond, legs clutching the delicate leaves.

Drao let a breath in a way so it rumbled out of him, dropping his hand from his neck, where he had been tracing a scar that ran from ear to ear. Turning his gaze towards him, expression soft, he said, "Have you asked the Eternal where you are called to be?"

Asked the Eternal? The dream of the Lion talking to him on the mountainside bloomed in his mind, the deep rumble of the Lion's voice echoing in his chest.

Seek me where you are and seek me where you will go. I am with you always.

Was that what the Lion meant? To ask him? Did that count as seeking him? He...was technically seeking his counsel, so maybe? He wiggled his toes, spreading his fingers wide and closing them quickly. "Will the Eternal answer?"

"The Eternal always answers. Whether we hear it is another question." Drao lifted his chin to the sunlight, dark eyes glimmering blue and contrasting to his rich blonde eyebrows. "He speaks in many ways, from a whispering of the heart or through the mouth of a mountain," He reached over and touched Fralith's chest, right above where his heart was, "but He always answers. Listen for Him with your heart open and do not let doubt cloud His answer."

"But how do I know it's Him?" he asked, tilting his head.

A faint smile twitched the corners of Drao's lips. "You ask, and you feel for the eternity behind His words."

Memories of the Lion fluttered to the surface, bringing sensations so deep and moving that he had no words to explain them. Was that what Drao meant he said eternity? Was it eternity he was feeling? He reached out and brushed his fingers through the feelings, rubbing them between his fingertips. Yes. It...it was. It had to be; there was no other way of explaining it.

So...if he listened and felt the eternity, he could...ask the Eternal about where he should go. It— it almost didn't feel right to ask such a question. The Eternal was— well, the Eternal! He was so big and long and powerful that He made everything and kept everything moving and breathing and— wasn't his question too small for the Eternal?

It was just a question about himself. A...really important question. A really big question for him. The Eternal— did love everyone and cared and guided them like a shepherd to one's goats. So...maybe He wouldn't mind answering just this one time?

But if He did answer, and he heard it, what if...what if He told him to leave Davith? Or his other family? Stomach twisting, hunched his shoulders, brows drawing together. "What if...what if the Eternal tells me to leave Davith? Or my— other family? I— don't want to leave either of them!"

Drao's gaze softened, shadows long hardened glinting in his expression. "No matter where you go, there will always be something left behind. SecondHome is my homeland, no matter that half my blood is Kenverite, yet they do not welcome me within their borders.

"It pains me much to leave them behind, but I have found much joy in lands elsewhere; much more than what SecondHome can offer." Drao looked at him, seizing his gaze with intensity. "You do what the Eternal tells you to. In the end, all things will be made right."

The words resonated through him, seeping into his bones and taking root like the WaywardTraveler's seed finally finding a place to sprout after its month-long journey. In the end, all things will be made right. He'd been ripped from SecondHome and tossed into the OtherWorld, burned and full of shadows.

It was bad—horrible, but...he'd found Tim and BlueShirt and everyone else that way. In the end, everything was alright. In the end, he'd found a new family. Leaving them or Davith would be bad, but— it could lead to something good in the end. His stomach settled down, untwisting and smoothing out its wrinkles.

"Okay." He rubbed his chest, taking a deep breath. He— could be okay with that. Straightening his shoulders, he looked up at Drao, an ache stirring under his belly. "Do you miss here, when you're gone?"

Drao nodded, outlining the shape of rolling hills and rippling grass that never reached the majestic heights of the mountains with his hands as he spoke. "Yes. I will always miss the majesty of the mountains and living in the shelter of the trees. There is nothing that can compare to them, out there."

Fralith nodded back. A mimmink thought flopped down on his feet, surprisingly heavy for its size. He listened to it chirp, words forming in his throat. "There aren't mountains in the other world, but the air is so thin like I'm on top of one." He curled his fingers over his chest. "I miss them a lot when I'm there."

"Oh, there are mountains there." Drao lifted his shoulders a little. "It is a big place, and you may be in a place where there isn't any."

Light flashed through him. How did he know that? "You've been there?"

Tracing the scar on his neck, Drao smiled, an air of mystery in its tilt. "I have lived there for a little while."

"When? Did— did you see the MetalEaters? They're so big and loud and they— eat people!"

Drao laughed, the sound loud and ringing. "Is that what you called them? It is a much more fitting name than MetalBeetles." He grinned, shaking his head slowly. "It is so strange that the people there allow themselves to be eaten like that."

Finally! Someone who agreed! Bouncing on his heels, he nodded emphatically. "It's really scary!"

"You've been in one?" Drao cocked his head, curiosity lifting the edge of his tone.

"Yeah." A shudder ran down his spine at the memory. "It makes digestive sounds and rumbles a lot—and it moves so fast!"

"That does not sound pleasant. Does it hurt you?"

"No, but it's still so weird!"

Drao nodded and the conversation moved on to LightTrees, the food, Rectangles, and everything else about the OtherWorld. They laughed and shared their experiences, comparing notes on what they learned and speculating on what their purposes could possibly be.

Drao knew much more than he did about the workings of the people's society—like the strange idea of stores and buildings that had eyes—but he knew more about the food and SillyBirds.

It was relieving, talking to someone who knew and experienced the same things, and made the HappyBird's call ring out inside of him. He wasn't alone in his confusion, and being able to tell someone about it was just— it lightened the weight of the shadows.

The other things—the decisions and the questions—could wait. For now, he could laugh and smile with Drao and not think about the shadows. Those would come in time because, in the end, everything would be made right.