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Dear Readers,

I 100% meant to post the last part of this chapter before I died for three months doing schoolwork.

P.S. Please forgive me.

XO Spooky

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          Ray cursed under his breath, trying to hold down his slippery snake of a cat while he brushed out a mat next to her tail. For a guardian with the mind of a human Ragdoll was still surprisingly stupid.

          He hooked the brush into the tangled cluster again, frowning as the cat slapped his hand with her hooked talons and growled. "Would you prefer scissors?"

          He mocked Ragdoll's scrunched frown, working at the knot again until the wrap of knuckles berated his door. His tranquility had lasted less than an hour since getting back from a mission with whining second years and he didn't have the patience to perform another exhausting chore for whatever was on the other side.

          "Hey Ray I know you're in there!"

          He recognised Draven's voice, putting his finger to his lips to silence Ragdoll so he could pretend he wasn't in.

          But another voice perked his attention, Káel's presence calling on some curiousity.

          "Ray, I've got something for you."

          With a deep sigh he stretched to his feet, catching the glint of mischief in his guardian's eyes as he placed the brush on a table. "If this disappears, it's a lion cut."

          With a quick pat down to disperse the hoards of cat fur plating his pants he went for the door, cracking it open just enough for the light in the halls to stab at his eyes. 

          Draven was front and center, blocking out most of the view with Káel at his side and peeking in with a smile undeniably devious at its roots. Ray held back a grimace, wondering if Káel ever looked in a mirror when he made that face.

          "What's up?"

          "Noodles has a present for you," Draven said, pushing Káel forwards a little and breaking off a bit of his confidence in the process. "He got yer cash."

          Ray blinked, eyebrows rising with confusion at the lack of context. "He got my what?"

          He dipped his gaze to Káel, noticing a nervous shake to his hands as he slipped one into his pocket. "For that sword... you know, the one you told me to get..." The teen carefully pulled his closed fist out, waiting for his open palm to disperse the loot.

          Ray didn't click in until Káel had let the contents of his hand tumble into his palm, the cold kiss of a couple coins and the rough scratch of candy bar wrapper nearly concealing the poking corner of an object that cast his heart to the darkest depths of hell and back.

          A zodraic battery.

          Somehow, through some unnaturally and unbelievable means the scrawny teen before him had dropped a zodraic battery in his palm, setting off a looping reel of swears in Ray's head as he slowly closed his palm to hide the gift.

          How on Earth had he gotten it?

          Ray tried to relax when he realised he'd frozen, removing his blank stare from Káel and quickly clearing his throat to slip the battery and coins in his pocket. He had too many questions running through his head to think properly at the moment and didn't feel like words would work under the blur of panic growing in his chest.

          With a swift motion he snatched Káel's shirt, dragging the boy in before Draven could react and slamming the door with a click. 

—————

          Káel tried to squint through the blackened expanse of Ray's room, the small shower of light from the door only illuminating a small part of the mudroom they'd been standing in before he vanquished it.

          He quickly fixed his shirt when Ray released it, giving the dark space in front of him a pinched glare as Ray made a quick light enchantment to illuminate their surroundings. "What was that for?"

          Ray gave him a wide eyed stare, still squeezing his butt pocket where he'd hid the zodraic battery. "What was what for?" 

          Káel pulled his arms up into a fold. "You dragged me in like you were about to shove me in a bag! Have you not heard of invitations? Like, can you come into my room for a second?" He sighed at Ray's blank look, taking a step towards the next sealed door leading out of the mudroom that Ray quickly blocked.

          He greeted Káel's confusion with a less than composed smile. "My room's messy. Here is fine."

          "Blondie's a bit on edge, think your uncle found him?" Phantom muttered, passing by the oblivious elite without a care to see for himself what kind of a mess his room was.

          Káel didn't pay his friend a glance, focused on the strange guy as he tried to find some comfort in leaning on the door. 

          Káel squinted as Ray smiled. 

          Or he was making sure he didn't have a chance of getting in.

          "So..." Káel started, catching a glimmer of relief in Ray's eyes as he went with starting the conversation.

          "What's up?"

          Káel tilted his head, trying to ignore Phantom's muffled talking as he snooped on Ray's stuff. "You're the one that dragged me in here."

          Ray opened his mouth without a word to fall out. With a nervous smile he put his finger up, pulling the zodraic battery into full view and opening his mouth as another stab at talking. This time a sound did fall out, the elite trying to pass off the soft whimper as a yawn while he avoided Káel's critiquing squint.

          With a couple deep breaths he rubbed his eyes, letting out another fake yawn as he slowly blinked at Káel. "Sorry, I was taking a nap, I'm a bit out of it." 

          Káel's frown didn't budge at the lie.

          "Anyways," Ray sighed, holding up the battery without paying it another glance. "Where on Earth did you get this?"

          "On Lumi..." Káel corrected, his posture relaxing to confusion at the flicker of fear in Ray's eyes. "Is something wrong?"

         Ray shrugged, waving his hands in an iffy motion. "It's just that these things are a bit illegal, so some warning is nice..."

          "Would have warned you if I had seen you for the past two weeks," Káel retorted, sticking out his palm and waiting for Ray to hand back his coins. "The point is, I got it for you."

          Ray's smile stiffened as he slowly nodded. "You really did..."

          "So how long until you can fix the telly?"

          Ray paused, leaning on the door even harder as he tried to revive the broken contraption called his brain. With an endless ribbon of secrets up his sleeve he'd grown fond of avoiding confrontations, even if Káel had gone through hell and back scraping up a destructive ancient artifact he didn't even need.

         Ray smiled, feeling his feet sinking one foot deeper into his grave. "I'm going to have to check a few more things, then I can give you an estimate." He held up the battery, which might as well have counted as his shovel at this point. "I'll also have to make sure this still works."

          "Oh it does," Káel cut in, his smirk half directed at Phantom as he walked back through the wall. "Trust me."

          "Then sit tight for the estimate," Ray said, shoving the battery back into his pocket with a little more composure to his posture. "Let me guess, it was in that room you were snooping around in."

          "Nope, my uncle gave it to me," Káel replied, the devious smile returning as he turned towards the door. He glanced over his shoulder just in time to see Ray's dropping smile, paying the elite a friendly wave. "He's looking forwards to my return trip too, so don't mess it up!"

—————

          Káel walked with a new spring of energy, even waving the elites goodbye after he'd pulled Puff from their suffocating cuddles. He'd done his part in getting home and now the rest was all up to Ray.

          "My, you seem happy," Phantom said, adding a skip to his step as he strolled alongside Káel in the dimmed halls. "I didn't think you were capable of joy."

          "That's cause I'll be going back home soon," Káel replied, a triumphant smile on his face. "Ray said the battery was the main issue with my return trip, and now that he has it I'll be back at my house in no time."

          "If Blondie is worth any trust," Phantom replied, his playful tone allowing the weight of his words to float right over Káel's rare spurt of optimism. "What's it like on Earth that makes it so ideal to return to?"

          "Well for one it has an Internet, and I can finally charge my phone to catch up on stuff."

          "Internet?"

          Káel grinned. "You wouldn't understand it if I tried to explain it, think of it as a library that isn't physical."

          "Ah, Nova has a few of those," Phantom replied, chuckling at the surprised lift to Káel's eyes. "I should show you around the place if I ever get the chance."

          "So long as you can get me back to my house at the end I'm game. I can show you around my town on Halloween or something."

          "Earth has always piqued my interest," Phantom said, looking down at Káel and Puff with a split second of ponderment. "What about people?"

          Káel gave Phantom a confused look. "Yeah, there's people."

          "No I mean friends, or fake family. You didn't mention any of that," he said, slowing with Káel as his mood fell to a contemplative silence.

          "Well... There's Sora, she's my friend."

          "Oh, your friend huh?"

          "Yes. My friend," Káel replied, giving Phantom a warning glare.

          After letting off a couple chuckles, Phantom turned his attention back to Káel. "Anyone else?"

          Káel paused, growing silent as he tried to think of anyone else he missed. If he was to believe Lady Samanthra's description of his uncle's golems then Brick was one, and Jeremiah wasn't from Earth either. 

          He talked to a few of the students in his school other than Sora, but in the small town where he even knew the principal's twin nieces, the weight of friendship had been cheapened by how tightly woven his community was.

          There, Sora had been the only one that ever popped into his mind at the mention of friends.

          But here, a number of people came to mind.

          His footsteps came to a stand still as a sinister weight pulled at his mind. For the first time he was confused in the worst way possible, no longer knowing what exactly he was trying to get back to.

          Homesickness was still heavy on his body, as it had been with every progressing day, but besides the comfort of an empty home and Sora stopping by almost daily there had to be something else that could justify it. Something else that fed the serenity of his mind when he lived in that tiny boring town.

          Phantom took the silence as a prompt to change the topic. "How about dragons? Does your homeland have any of those?"

          "In fairytales. They'd freak if they actually saw one," Káel replied, still deep in his own thoughts as Puff, who was curled in his arms, warbled questionably at him.

          "He said what about me?" Phantom said.

          Káel bit his cheek as a second haunting thought fell to his mind. "When I go back Staz can take care of you, I still need a response from him but I'm sure he'll be fine with taking you in."

          Puff whimpered, the mention of having to stay with Jeremiah's owner causing Káel's guardian to mirror his own emotions at the moment.

          "It's either that, or going to the Garaean Capital, or whatever it's called, would you prefer that? There's more friendly dragons there," Káel argued, Puff's sorrowful face squeezing his heart until it started to hurt. "Maybe I'll be able to visit you once in awhile, my uncle managed to get to Earth after all."

          Puff warbled weakly, shifting in Káel's arms to hide his face from the teen and sit in silence.

          "Sorry," Phantom sighed, taking a step to get Káel walking again, but a weight had clearly stuck to his dragging feet. "That conversation really headed for the worst."

          Káel breathed out a sigh, his mood cast so low he decided to get the final biting question out of the way. He glanced at his friend, hesitant at first to ask, still wondering if he even wanted to know the answer. But Phantom's attention to his stare forced it out.

          "What will happen to you when I go back?"

          "The seal is a mix of lumience and magic, so it can only function on Lumi."

          "So...?" Káel said, motioning for Phantom to elaborate, even if he knew what was next.

          "The stalking function will break and I'll stay here."

          "Stuck in a rock for all eternity?"

          Phantom shrugged. "I've had worse."

          Káel frowned, trying to think up something worse than being stuck in a rock all alone for a couple thousand years. It was certainly a fate worse than death to him. 

          "Maybe my uncle can break you out of the rock," Káel said, his smile ebbing away as Phantom's shoulders fell. "Or Lady Samanthra..."

          "Just put me back in that room before you leave and break the stalking function."

          "Why? I'm sure they could do it, they seem powerful enough," Káel argued, but Phantom shook his head.

          "I'm sure they could too, but why would they?"

          "Why wouldn't they?" Káel retorted, giving the halls a quick skim to make sure no one else was rushing to their dorms before curfew. "You've done nothing wrong."

          "Basing your judgement purely on experiences made with a person leaves no room for the experiences of their past. I've done nothing wrong since meeting you, besides helping you repair an incredibly illegal weaponized artifact. Puff has done nothing wrong since you saved him, besides trying to eat your hand. But the truth is, you've only known us for a couple months." Phantom replied, letting the thought sink into Káel. "The only person that will ever know beyond a reasonable doubt if they deserve their punishment is the person themselves." 

          "Well I'm sure being stuck in a rock for a couple thousand years is a good enough prison sentence if you've done anything," Káel said, lips pursed in discontent as he avoided looking at Phantom. "I don't care if you've done anything before and I'm sure there's more people like me."

          "More idiots?"

          Káel snorted at the insult, paying Phantom a playful grin. "If that's what you call your friends."

—————

          Truvius checked the clock, every passing minute grinding on his stress levels with the lack of a troublesome roommate. It was two minutes to curfew and after Lady Samanthra had placed her trust in him to take care of their foreign guest, he was feeling the responsibility of Káel's actions even more.

          The clock ticked.

          One minute.

          Just as Truvius rose to his feet, the door before him cracked open, Káel making it by the skin of his teeth and hardly showing any urgency at the close call. With a disappointed frown Truvius pulled his arms up to fold them across his chest, bearing down on the confused teen like a late night mother. 

          Truvius knew the look was working when Káel scrunched his nose in displeasure. "What?"

          "It's almost past curfew, where were you?"

          "Talking to Ray about my return trip," Káel replied, bending over to let Puff out of his arms and release the buildup of white dragon hairs sticking to his jacket. He tossed Truvius a neutral frown. "I'm going home soon."

          Truvius' heart sank a little at the words, his arms relaxing to their sides as he fought back a frown. "Oh."

          "I don't know when exactly," Káel continued, a lift of hope helping Truvius to nod in understanding. "Ray said he'd give me an estimate, so maybe a week or two."

          "That... sucks," Truvius muttered, catching Káel's confusion with a nervous chuckle. "For us I mean, not for you," he sighed, giving Puff a gentle rub as the dragon nudged his pant leg. " We're really going to miss you."

          "I'll see if I can swing by. My uncle got to earth somehow, so I'm sure he can get me to Lumi."

          Truvius smiled in understanding, Káel's naive optimism showing again with his promise. Getting to Earth temporarily was the easy part, with a number of known ancient rituals and artifacts granting the power. Going to Lumi temporarily was a different feat entirely. Most of the rituals and artifacts needed Lumience or magic, and Earth had neither if Káel's textbooks were anything to go by.

          Truvius knew that if Káel went back to Earth, he would never see his friend again and although he had accepted the possibility that Ray would find a way back, it still hurt to lose a friend.

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Quality Quip #23:

'Myth is much more important and true than history. History is just journalism and you know how reliable that is.'

~Joseph Campbell