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I'm currently rewriting this whole chapter, so the 1/5 parts will likely (hopefully) be cut down to 1/4 or 1/3. 

Cobalt needs to lose some weight, so I'm putting it through literary keto.

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          It had been well over two weeks when Jeremiah returned, letter in tow and a flurry of unwarranted head bats ready for Puff. Káel's guardian was not the only downcast individual however, Ray had disappeared again, and with him, Káel's estimate in getting home.

          Phantom had entirely given up on cheering up Káel after the first week had exhausted, his superficially joyous tone returning like a dead flashlight in a dark forest. 

          Káel sighed as he unfolded the letter, hoping his uncle wouldn't gloss over Puff for a third time in a row. His uncle wasn't the type to miss details unless he wanted to, and if he was purposely ignoring Káel's question then leaving Puff in his care wouldn't stand as a good idea. 

          He glanced at his roommate's empty bed with a disappointed frown. He'd asked Truvius as soon as the idea hit him, but along with being incredibly allergic to the drake, he simply didn't have the money to give Puff a good home.

          At least that's how he'd put it.

          With no hope in his mind Káel pulled his full attention to the contents of the letter, his smile dropping at the first line.

Dear Silly Nephew,

There is no need for me to partake in caring for your little furry friend, seeing as you will not be returning to Earth. As I said before, your kidnapper is lying, and this is the last I will repeat of it. I am well versed in most of this planet's new technology, and there is no Zodraic powered artifact in existence that can transport you between worlds. I'm still looking into how he captured you and I'm sure I will find an explanation to his devious ways, even if I must extract it from him with my bare hands.

Worry not however, I will wait until you have exhausted your friendship with this cretin to resort to my methods, seeing as your comfort and wellbeing is on the higher end of my priorities. Once again, take care of your seemingly loyal guardian, he'll be with you for awhile, at least until, or more accurately speaking, if, you are graced with a chance to use an ancient portal, or find some ludicrous way to coax a god into abiding to your wishes. Then and only then will you be able to return to the place you call home. Not to, as Earthly culture may put it, rain on your parade my dear nephew, but this is the truth.

Now, speaking of your return trip, you've kept that Zodraic Battery safe I presume? I must stress the fact that although broken beyond repair it was quite authentic. I'd hate to suddenly find myself in any sort of bothersome trouble because you were careless with it. Broken or not they are still illegal in most areas and I value my public image.

Anyways, I will return to my important duties now, I wish you the best. Try to have fun in your new home and don't dwell on your lost life on Earth, or your kidnapper's cruel lies. Be sure to give me a cue when I can finally get my hands on him.

Sincerely, your uncle, Staz

          "You have one charming uncle." Phantom's voice was heavy with apathetic amusement as he snooped over Káel's shoulder. "I almost feel sorry for Blondie... Almost."

          Káel sighed, folding up the letter and dropping it on the stack he'd created. He grabbed a bird and placed it on the windowsill for Jeremiah to nab, then grabbed a pencil and piece of lined paper.

Dear Suspicious Uncle,

If my kidnapper got me here, then I'll trust he can get me back. I appreciate the warning and the fact that you slightly care about my situation, but until proven otherwise I'll trust him on the matter, so please get back to me on if you can take care of Puff.

Also, how come you can't take me back? You've been to Earth a ton of times when I was there, so don't you have a sort of teleportation thingy too?

Lastly, can you tell me at least something about who exactly you are? I'll trust you ALOT more that way, because as it currently stands, you're a mysterious man sending me letters that popped around once in awhile to take care of me. I know Brick better than you, and he's an emotionless golem.

P.S. I do hope I'm not distracting you from your 'important' duties, and thank you for the Zodraic Battery, I haven't misplaced it.

Sincerely, your silly nephew

          Káel folded up the letter and locked eyes with Jeremiah, but the cat didn't jump to deliver the letter and tiresomely turned away to continue eating.

          With nothing else to do but wait, Káel distracted himself with blankly analyzing Phantom's clothing, tracing all the way up to his feathery hat until an idea struck him like a guillotine.

          "Phantom?"

          With a quizzical tilt of the head, Phantom drew his attention to Káel. "Yes?"

          "Would you take care of Puff?"

          "Pardon?" Phantom said, sticking half his hand through the closest wall and wiggling his fingers. "How?"

         "It's easy, just tell me how to break you out, and I'll find a way to do it before I go back home. It's the least I can do for all the help you've been." Káel smiled as Puff's ears lifted a little at the idea. "You and Puff get along and it beats Frigus-whatever in the Garaean Empire."

          Phantom sighed, unfolding his arms with defeat. "I'd love to tell you, and I would if I knew what the people who put me in here had used."

          "You don't know how they sealed you?"

          "Not a clue, the point of a cage is making sure its contents don't know how to get out," Phantom replied, folding his arms with a light sigh. "Figuring it out and setting up the ingredients could take months and if Blondie isn't a lying machine, you're going back soon."

          Káel sighed, biting at his cheek in contemplation. "It was worth a shot I guess..."

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          "Oh, she said that?" Káel muttered, trying to think back to his last combat class where Mrs. Vienta had told them to bring a sword. He was the only one that didn't have one strapped to his waist, bearing the brunt of Truvius' disaproval as they walked through the lush expanse of Cobalt's field.

          "Said there'd be Molves to," Phantom added.

          Truvius sighed. "Do you ever listen to the teachers?"

          "Sometimes, but I guess it's never at the right times. I've gotta work on that."

          "You've got to take school seriously," Truvius retorted, sighing as Káel snorted. "How are you even passing? I haven't seen you study once, and your super skills in lumience have vanished." Truvius whispered, trying to keep his calm tone from breaking. "And where do you keep disappearing to on the weekend? Are you okay?"

          "I'm teaching Puff how to fly with Alestra," Káel yawned, giving Puff a scratch as the dragon nestled in his arms. "Why do I have to take this place seriously anyways? It's not like I can use any of this information back on Earth."

          Truvius redirected his displeasure to the trees their class was approaching. "Do you honestly take it seriously back on your planet?"

          Káel grinned. "Nope, you got me."

          "I honestly don't know how your society functions," Truvius sighed, starting up a walk as Mrs. Vienta opened up a forest path for the class to squeeze into. He frowned as Jeremiah slipped past his legs and nearly tripped him, the sleuthing feline running ahead to where he'd caught a glimpse of Vera's fiery hair.

          "Easy, we don't have the motivation to function, so we kind of just roll with the punches until we hit a cliff." 

          Truvius grimaced at Káel's description. "Speaking of procrastination, has Ray gotten back to you yet?"

          Káel shook his head, an undertone of impatient depression gripping his face. "Not a peep."

           "I'm still trying to figure out how he got you here, that's a marvel in itself." Truvius put on a cheery smile to try and boost Káel's mood. "On the bright side we can spend more time with you to plan a farewell party."

          "Yeah, I guess," Káel frowned. "I'll be mobbed by the police and media when I get back anyways, I hope Sora didn't freak out too much."

          "Sora? Is that one of your Earth friends?" Truvius gave Káel a mischievous smirk. "Is Sora a she?"

          Káel did an exaggerated nod, his lips curving to a mocking smile that would make Phantom jealous. "She is, and she's also my friend."

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          Alestra kept a yawn from escaping as Mrs. Vienta explained the game her class would be playing. They would be split into teams, each member holding their own ribbon with a team flag to protect as they wandered the ruins.

          If capture the flag and tag with molves was all this class was cut out for, she was regretting not dropping it for another survival class. 

          Her gaze wandered the bleached ruins, half a dozen molves lazing in the roughed up ground around the teacher. It was the same course they'd played in when she fell through a loose patch of ground with Káel.

          When he did that thing.

          Her nose scrunched as she caught a glimpse of the boy, oblivious as ever to a person staring square into his back. Her gaze then fell to Puff, hardened lips softening like butter as the dragon noticed her with an excited warble.

          Although oblivious to most things, Káel still had a good taste in people.

          She crouched for the dragon to approach her, hand outstretched in welcome before a grey blur jumped the small creature with a yowl, Jeremiah pinning Puff to the ground and biting down on his scruff.

          Taken by surprise, Puff yipped at the spike of pain, rolling over in defense, and smothering the flailing cat with his thick white fur. When Jeremiah managed to squeeze out, he immediately turned to Puff and did his signature rapid face bat, the baby drake curling into a ball to hide his head from further assault.

          "Jay!" Káel turned at the commotion, trying to keep his harsh whisper quiet enough to avoid the teacher's attention while she talked. A short hiss escaped his lips as the cat batted Puff one last time, only jumping away from his prey when Káel shoved the feline away with his shoe. He quickly scooped up his trembling guardian, a deadly glare falling on his haughty cat. "One more time and I'm pouring your catnip down a potty hole."

          Alestra watched as Káel rose up again, listening to the last of Mrs. Vienta's speech as Jeremiah slinked into the closest bush to sulk. Káel certainly had a strange dialect, even she hadn't heard of catnip before.

          "I want everyone to team up in groups of five!" Mrs. Vienta called, her voice a notch higher for all the students that weren't paying attention to catch the order. "Don't just go for your friends, choose wisely!"

          Alestra watched as Talli grabbed Vera's arm, who in return waved over Truvius, who tapped Káel on the shoulder. She had to hold back a laugh as Káel looked over his shoulder at her with a prompting smile, the quickness of their decision definitely short on 'choosing wisely'. Nonetheless she got up, her silent acceptance sealed as she joined her team and faced a flurry of licks as Puff jumped into her arms.

          While she busied herself with the friendly dragon, her team grabbed their collection of blue ribbons, Káel dangling one out of her pocket and tying another to Puff's fluffy tail.

         Alestra stroked Puff in silence as the other teams collected themselves, a sense of unease tickling her neck as she watched the towering trees.

          The forest was strangely silent today. 

          "Alright, everyone ready?"

          Alestra jolted at her teacher's booming voice, fixing her attention to the woman who had found a shattered chunk of stone to pedestal on, a whistle raised to her lips with a playful grin. 

          "The winners will have the prize of skipping out on tomorrows grueling warmup! On the sound of my whistle the game starts and on it's second sound it ends. This is the meetup point."

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Quality Quip #24:

'Those that fear the monsters of the night have never faced the monsters so bold as to stand in daylight.'

~Anon