As always, you readers' words are so kind <3

We're slowly getting to the climax! :3

(Emphasis on slowly)

I hope you enjoy this chapter! ♥

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~No One's P.O.V.~

❧An hour later...❧

"We're back!" Lexi shouted into the log cabin of a home right after she opened the door. The trip had been a success, the handful of egg-white flowers gripped in Hornet's large hands as proof.

"Welcome back!" Dr. Diana called from the kitchen. She turned off the sink and dried her soapy hands. She glanced over to Mark, who quietly placed utensils onto the dining table. The doctor watched in amusement as he gently and meticulously placed each fork, spoon, and knife in a certain place and position. "I didn't know you knew table etiquette," she mused out loud, making Mark jolt at her abrupt words.

"O-oh, uh, yeah, I learned it from..travelling around the world, you know.." he mumbled, his voice getting softer as he continued his statement. Dr. Diana's eyebrows knitted into a frown. She sighed and shook her head.

"This family needs to be more optimistic," she grumbled as she walked towards the kitchen exit. "It's like you're all depressed or something."

"Hey!" Mark snapped. He was about to remind her of the reason he was so grim, but his vocal cords hitched at the sudden reminder. For a moment, he wondered if it was really okay to be this relaxed when God knows what happens to his little sister. By the time he opened his mouth again, though, the doctor had already left. He gritted his teeth for a second before saying, "I'm going out for a break!"

"Do whatever you want! Just finish cooking the rice!" she called back.

"Yeah yeah.." Mark mumbled under his breath as he headed towards the door in the kitchen that led outside into the woods.

~~~~~~~~~

"So, did you get it?" Dr. Dana asked as her greeting to the duo of people and Exceeds, clapping her hands together to get rid of whatever watery residue was left on her hands before actually looking up at them. Hornet inexpressibly lifted both of his hands to show the delicate white flowers resting in his palms. The dark-skinned woman eyes traveled from the palms of his hands to the man's dark blue eyes, which were still dull and empty from the little event that had happened back in the forest. She opened her mouth to ask, but then decided it wasn't worth it and instead said, "Looks like you're good for something, then." She paused and thought 'screw it.' "..I assume everything went well?"

"E-eto.." Lexi and Lector stammered in unison as sweat started to form on their fur. Sting looked down to the ground, guilt still churning in his stomach for what he did. His look of culpability did not go unnoticed by Dr. Dana, and it basically confirmed that something had happened.

"I don't have to patch anyone up do I?" she asked bluntly, half-hoping her bluntness would lighten up the grim mood.

"Oh, n-nonono, nothing happened," Lexi stammered, waving her paws. "We're all in one piece, hehe..." Lector sweatdropped at her response while Sting and Hornet avoided eye contact.

"Uh-huh..." the doctor responded slowly, clearly not amused.

"U-uh, a-a-anyways," Lector stammered, trying to change the topic. "You can make the cure for Sting now, hai?" Dr. Dana narrowed her eyes on the duo of boys, but sighed and shook her head. 'Men are idiots.'

"Yes, I can," she nodded, "and you're going to help me." Dr. Dana pointed towards Hornet, who perked up when he realized that he was the one being pointed at.

"M-me?" Hornet stammered.

"No, I'm pointing to the wall behind you," she rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Yes you, idiot. You're the one holding the flowers, after all." Sweat rolled down the red-haired man's forehead, and everyone else just looked at the doctor with a blank face. Her eyebrow twitched with annoyance and she said, "If you have time to stare at me with those stupid looks on your faces, THEN GO SET THE PLATES FOR THE TABLE!" Sting, Lector, and Lexi all jumped at the volume of her voice and saluted.

"H-hai!" they said in unison (except for Sting) and rushed to the kitchen where the dining table was.

"Where do they learn their manners.." Dr. Dana grumbled to herself before turning to Hornet, who was still awkwardly standing in place, his hands still full with the egg-white flowers. "Don't you go standing around either," Dr. Dana sternly said. "Help me move the dining table into the living room. We'll combine the coffee table with it." Without much choice, Hornet reluctantly nodded and they both headed into the kitchen. Dr. Dana made sure to glare at the trio who were placing plates before they could give Hornet one, but Hornet's eyes instinctively went over to the blond. He immediately looked away when their eyes locked onto each other's, though, so the raven-haired woman didn't give it much thought.

"Are you done setting the table???" she asked loudly. Sting, Lector, and Lexi were all startled by her sudden question.

"H-hai!" the Exceeds stammered a reply as Sting could not.

"Then go somewhere else and do something else!" Dr. Dana ordered. "Dinner isn't ready and we don't need you loitering around!"

"Yes ma'am!" The trio scrambled out of the kitchen without further delay.

"Sheesh, these kids.." Dr. Dana muttered and ran a hand through her sleek black hair. "Anyways, help me with the dining table, will you?" Hornet jumped at first, but he then gave a nod. Placing down the white flowers on the middle of it, he gripped one end of the circular wooden table.

"Everything is made out of wood.." Hornet muttered his thoughts out loud under his breath.

"Well, that's the one material abundant in this forest, don't you think?" Hornet jolted when Dr. Dana replied to his statement as she took ahold of the other end. "Now lift it up already."

"W-well, I mean, yeah," Hornet stammered, lifting up the table with quite some ease. "Y-you make your furniture?"

"Yes, I made this house too," Dr. Dana nodded. "Well, with my late husband helping me."

"Late?" Hornet frowned as he slowly took a step backwards, the silverware on the table lightly clanking as a reaction.

"We were young lovers back in the day," she explained, taking a step forward. "Young and stupid, but we sure as hell held affection for each other, even decided to make a house all for ourselves out here in the woods. Took us a while, but we were proud when we finished." She paused her movement. "...He died in a fire at a nearby village soon after, though." Hornet paled, and though he realized (or inferred) why the woman in front of him was a doctor, there was a more pressing matter with what she had just said.

"If you..don't mind me asking..what village was this?" he asked quietly. The brown-eyed woman gave him a quizzical look.

"Um, the village to the west? Can't really say I remember the name," she answered, continuing to move the table. "It was a big fire about 16, 17 years ago."

'Oh thank God,' Hornet let out an inaudible sigh of relief. The incident he was thinking about happened a couple years before, so it wasn't the same.

"Why?" Dr. Dana asked, raising one of her eyebrows over the other.

"I'm sorry, I was just thinking about a coincidence," the redhead apologized, continuing to walk backwards as well.

"Coincidence?" she inquired.

"Someone close to me...died in a fire too," Hornet responded slowly.

"Someone close?" Hornet looked down at the oak table.

"Yeah, um, my girlfriend, and...my son," he muttered quietly. There was an awkward silence between the two of them as they entered the living room, which had no signs of flying cats or a certain blond.

"..Certainly must have been hard," Dr. Dana sympathized in a soft tone, gently placing down the dining table next to the wooden coffee table that look almost exactly alike, the only difference being that its wood was a darker shade.

"Yeah," he muttered quietly, doing the same on his side. The spiky red-haired man rubbed his right arm, his fingers brushing over his shoulder, where a certain symbol was marked on him. "So..is there is anything else you need done, or..?"

Letting out yet another small sigh, Dr. Dana nodded. "Yes, actually." She gestured for Hornet to follow her as she walked back into the kitchen. Looking around to make sure a certain ravenhead wasn't in, she took ahold of the wooden handle of a knife that had been resting next to a wooden cutting board. When she held it out for the redhead, his dark blue eyes widened and he immediately took a step back.

"Are you sure..you want to give me that?" Hornet asked nervously.

"Dear, if I didn't trust you, I wouldn't have patched up those wounds you have," the doctor rolled her eyes. She then leaned in towards Hornet and muttered, "Or send you with that boy you're so interested in." Hornet's eyes grew as wide as plates as soon as he heard her words.

"I-I, w-w-who--??" Incoherent words blubbered out of his mouth in complete shock, making Dr. Dana rolled her eyes again.

God were people making her feel annoyed these past couple days.

"For a doctor like me, it's quite easy to notice body language," she explained in a bored tone, "but even then I'm surprised absolutely no one noticed." She gestured towards the knife held in her hands. "Now just take the damn knife." Anxious sweat rolled down Hornet's head, but he reached for the knife, his hand shaking as he slowly grasped the wooden handle. Dr. Dana frowned at how violent his hands were shaking. An inaudible sigh escaped her lips and, doing what she does best, she gently placed her other hand on top of Hornet's.

"It is alright. You may have done bad things in the past, but it is what you do now that define you," she murmured softly, making Hornet's eyes grow wide. Gulping down his fears, his hands slowly stopped shaking and he firmly gripped the handle of the knife. Letting out a small sigh of relief, Dr. Dana pushed her red-rimmed glasses up and said, "Now then, it's about time we make the little cure for Sting." She picked up the egg-white flowers from the table and walked towards the sink. Rolling up the sleeves of her white coat, she started washing the flowers. Hornet sweatdropped as she gently scrubbed the cluster of white blossoms.

"Um..what am I holding this for?" he hesitantly asked, glancing at the sharp knife in his hand.

"You," Dr. Dana replied, using her left hand to twist the cold water off while her other hand gripped the now-wet flowers. Flicking the small droplets of water from her hands, she placed the flowers on the wooden cutting that had sat beside the wooden knife now in the palm of Hornet's hand. "Can cut these, but make sure you're only including the petals. You can just cut off the stem and the stigma and all that."

"O-oh, okay." Hornet gave a nod and walked up to the cutting board. Taking in a deep but quiet breath, he started to chop the cluster of flowers before him. A few seconds of tension flew past them, and Dr. Dana decided to relieve the heavy atmosphere with something that had been bothering her.

"So, how did the journey go?" she asked, wiping her hands on a dry towel, "and please don't say 'fine,' your ruffled collar tends to say otherwise." Hornet stiffened at the question, but relaxed after a moment.

"Sharp eye you have there," he chuckled softly, shaking his head as he cut off another petal from the center. "The kid, uh, kinda tackled me, though he seemed to be in some kind of daze?"

"Really?" the doctor responded, amused as she opened one of her cupboards and started shuffling through it, pulling out a couple jars of various sizes containing different-colored liquids. "I told you you didn't have to go, didn't I?"

Hornet stiffened, the knife he was wielding stopping halfway through the stem of the white flower.

"...I wanted to," he replied, continuing his work after a small pause. A half smile tugged on his lips as he added, "The kid didn't know how to read a map."

"Seriously? When he's almost an adult already?" Dr. Dana eyes widen with surprise, though she wasn't looking at him. She then sighs and shakes her head. "I'm not sure whether that's pathetic or saddening."

"I think it's quite funny." A smile once again tugged on his lips. "He's so capable and powerful for a young Mage, and yet he finds it hard to read a map."

"It goes to show how much power is wasted on the new generation," Dr. Dana scoffs, but she was secretly glad the the redhead was finally cracking a smile. She thought it was about time.

"Yeah, but he seemed guilty the whole way back," Hornet nodded and then let out an airy chortle. "I admit, I felt bad for him, wanted to say it was okay; the poor boy looked like he had killed someone." His eyelids fell halfway. "He's strong, though, very strong. S'good quality for him. His parents must be...must be proud he's gotten so far." Dr. Dana raised one of her eyebrows over the other as she observed Hornet's eyes darken once more.

"..I'm sure you know by now he was not raised by humans, right?" Dr. Dana asked, carefully choosing her words as she poured in different liquids into a glass cup.

"Yeah, yeah...he, um, told me that he was raised by a dragon instead," the redhead mumbled, the movement of his blade starting to slow down. "God, I..I wonder what that does to a kid, not being able to grow up with a family..." The jar in Dr. Dana's hand stopped tilting halfway as the doctor absorbed in his words. She glanced towards a window in the kitchen, staring at the foliage beyond her home.

"...Although there are many people who have had to grow up without one, I think your definition of 'family' is wrong," the brown-eyed woman spoke softly. Hornet gave her a flummoxed look, but she answered him before he could even open his mouth. "Family is not defined by blood, but the love, care, and bond between each person. Perhaps these children grew up without anyone with a connection by blood, but..they grew up with someone familial, whether it be a dragon or not." She watched the leaves fall from the nearby trees. "I'm sure of it."

Dr. Dana placed the jar she was holding down and brushed a few strands of her black hair away from her glasses. Hornet, unsure of what to say, took a sharp breath in. The movement of his knife stopped as he let out a sigh. "Well, is this good enough?" He gestured towards the finely minced flowers. Dr. Dana shook of her wariness and smiled approvingly.

"Yes, those will do fine." She grabbed ahold of the wooden cutting board. She gently took the knife from Hornet, their hands making contact for a split second. Hornet coughed at the contact while Dr. Dana paid no attention to it. Instead, she used the dull part of the blade to slide the finely-chopped flower into her mixture. She then placed the board back on the counter and started stirring once more. After a couple seconds, she took a tiny sip of her creation. "That should do it," she nodded in approval. She then glanced over to the back door. "We should go find Sting," Dr. Dana said, basically dragging Hornet out of the kitchen before a certain someone came back.

The two left the kitchen, their eyes scanning the living room for signs of a certain blond. "He's not here.." Hornet muttered.

"I think I can see that," Dr. Dana responded flatly. "Perhaps they went to their rooms." She started walking towards the hallway with the cure in hand, and Hornet (not knowing what else to do) followed after her. The two walked in a half-awkward silence, and Hornet could feel tension rise in the air once more, though he wasn't sure if it was coming from himself or the doctor beside him. The doctor noticed the redhead's uncomfortable state and decided to ask something.

"So then," she said, mentally thinking about the number of times she's had to break the silence, "when are you going to tell him?" Hornet was a bit startled by the question, but as soon as he opened his mouth to ask what she meant, he realized what the dark-skinned woman was talking about.

"I..I don't know," he admitted as he stopped walking. "I'm not even sure it's really him. Are you really sure..?"

"I've already told you, I am absolutely baffled as to how no one has noticed yet," she replied, stopping her movement as well. "Do you even know the boy's last name?"

"...No." Dr. Dana placed her hand over her eyes as an attempt to facepalm.

"Oh dear lord," she let out an exhausted sigh, taking out her glasses to rub her eyes. "You know what, I give up. Talk to him for yourself and you'll see." Hornet gave her a confused look.

"If it were to be true, how will knowing his full name help?" he asked, completely puzzled. Dr. Dana facepalmed again, this time harder and with more exasperation.

"I-, I have no words," she grumbled. 'Your denseness alone should be enough to tie you with that boy.'

"What?" Hornet frowned.

"His name is Sting. He's a Dragon Slayer," Dr. Dana said, pronouncing each syllable slowly. Hornet furrowed his eyebrows in more befuddlement, but after a couple seconds, it got to him.

"Ohh, hehe.." Hornet rubbed the back of his head as his cheeks darkened to a light shade of pink in embarrassment.

It was then that Mark entered the living room and called out something he had to say.

"Dinner's rea--" he started to say, but he stopped cold when his eyes landed on the red-haired man in front of him. His dark brown eyes dilated with surprise, but they then darkened with hatred. Despite the churning emotions inside him, he took in a deep breath to calm himself. "Dinner's ready, so I'll start setting the table for the food," he said in an eerily even tone. Hornet frowned and only felt his sense of guilt grow with the emotionless expression on the ravenhead's face.

"If you've got time to be like that, why don't you give this to Sting?" Without warning, an unamused Dr. Dana tossed the cup filled with clear, white liquid. Mark, surprised, frantically tried to catch it, stumbling with the glass and making sure it didn't spill.

"O-okay..?" he stammered, not sure he had much of a choice. The cup now firmly grasped in his hands and his emotions recollected, he brushed past the redhead as he walked out of the living room and down the hallway. Even though their shoulders were only in contact for a mere second, both boys knew the emotions that were exchanged between the both of them in that one gesture; a warning for Hornet, and guilt for Mark.

As the young adult left the living room, he could feel his hands tremble, ripples forming on the surface on the liquid inside the glass as a result. 'More guilt, just what I needed,' Mark's voiced sneered in his own mind. His gaze pierced through the clear liquid in the cup he was holding as he mindlessly walked. 'Could you feel this guilt too? Is that why you let yourself get captured, little sis...?' Mark watched the liquid in his hands ripple with every step he took. The liquid he was supposed to give to a certain blond that was very special to his one and only sister.

'Help me Jessie, I can't understand...' Mark mentally pleaded, though he absentmindedly knew it was pointless.

'Why would you make yourself forget someone you loved again?'

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3342 WORDS LONGEST CHAPTER FOR ME E V E R!

Aanyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Things are about to go down soon, and I'm a little excited. :3

Until the next chapter my readers!