Mario sighed for what seemed like the third time in an hour. He was currently sitting in the guildhall watching as David and Brandon shout at each other. About David's stripping of course, as he was currently not wearing a shirt. Mario really wanted to leave but his instincts said he had to stay in a protected area. Every three to five years dragon slayers hibernated. It reset their bodies clock and there was a good reason why they hibernated. While in hibernation the dragon slayers internal magic would check every inch of their bodies to make sure nothing was wrong and that they were healthy, it also checked their magic for the same thing.

While the slayers were mostly unconscious occasionally they can have flashes of awareness. When a dragon pact is made, in this case there were four dragon slayers making a pact, their hibernation would sync, kinda. In their case there would be two awake for half the winter then they would switch. Being in a safe protected environment sped up the hibernation quite a lot, as the magic doesn't have to check for intruders regularly, which disrupts the check. Dragon slayer bodies take weeks to get ready for hibernation at that time they will feel weak and tired which can cause mood swings. So Mario has been a bit snappy recently.

Mario rubbed his temples, wondering how he was going to get the entire winter off so he can join Mitch, Colin and Bryan at their prepared place. He and Mitch are the oldest of the group with Colin and Bryan being the younger brothers, they had both been taken under the wings of the older slayers. Maybe he can just leave a note saying that he's going to be away for the winter rather than trying to come up with a fake reason that sounds plausible, as hibernation was a closely guarded secret between dragons and dragon slayers. They were super vulnerable when in hibernation as they can't really defend themselves and are at their weakest. Mario decided that he was going to just leave a note and leave the island quietly. That would probably be the best option, of course once he got back he would be playing 'Dodge the Lighting Bolt'.

Standing up Mario left the guildhall, not seeing the concerned glances that were thrown his way by the rest of the guild in the hall.

=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=

"What's wrong with pebble brain?" David asked when Mario left the guildhall, pausing in his argument with Brandon.

"I don't know." Ritchie answered from where he was sitting on his chair watching the argument. "He hasn't been himself lately."

"I know, he's stopped retaliating physically and magically to our arguments, and the retorts he comes up with, if he bothers to even reply." David told his guild leaders.

"He seems tired." Bjorn added his piece into the conversation from his place on a torch.

"He does, doesn't he?" Brandon said, crossing his arms, looking out after Mario.

"We'll talk to him about it when he comes back." Ritchie decided, nodding to himself.

"In the meantime, put a shirt on David!" Brandon shouted.

=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=

While that conversation was happening, Mario was packing what he needed, which was a couple of changes of clothes, some food for the journey and some money, among other things. Finding a pen and some paper Mario wrote his note, which basically came down to 'Hey, I'm needed elsewhere for the winter, unfortunately I didn't have enough time to request time off and it was essential that I leave as quickly as possible. Mario.' Hopefully that will placate his guild, probably not though. At least he has all winter to come up with an excuse with his brothers, as they referred to themselves. Grabbing his bag, Mario stumbled slightly, "Shit, I need to reach the others quickly."

Walking through the village he headed down to the dock, he took a quick last look around as this would be the last time he saw it for a while. He pulled up a hood of the cloak he wore to disguise himself slightly, he boarded a civilian boat to the mainland. The reason he disguised himself was so that he would be harder to track, he didn't want to bring anyone to the safe place and endanger his brothers.

Having taken his pills an hour before boarding the boat he wasn't throwing up due to motion sickness. He still felt sick but it wasn't as bad as it usually is. Sitting down on a seat and shutting his eyes, Mario leaned against the wall to rest until the boat reached land.

When the boat's captain messaged that they were near land, Mario opened his eyes and sat up straight. Waiting for the rest of the passengers to get off, he double checked that he had everything. Mario was one of the last people to get off the boat, taking a left he went down a side street and to a predetermined place to meet the others. It was decided that they should meet somewhere,before heading to the safe area to make sure everyone was there. It could mean disaster if one was missing. Their instincts would demanded that they find their lost pack mate, but they would be too weak and tired to actually do much, meaning two of them could fall into hibernation in an unprotected place causing the one that was awake to stress so much, that they also fall into hibernation just to protect their mind and body from overworking.

Finding the meeting place, Mario saw that he was the second last one. They were just waiting for Bryan to appear.

"Hey Mario!" Colin greeted, smiling at him. Mitch just nodded a greeting at him.

"Afternoon Colin, Mitch." Mario replied, stopping next to Mitch.

"Hey guys, sorry if I'm late." Bryan said, coming to a stop next to Colin, panting.

"You're just in time." Colin reassured Bryan, "Don't worry."

"C'mon it's time to leave, we have a schedule to keep to." Mitch butted in, turning around and walking off. Colin and Bryan followed him, keeping up a small conversation between them with Mario bringing up the rear. They walked through Atlantide using the back streets to avoid attention, each of them had a clock on with a hood obscuring their face. Once they reached the edge of the city they walked into the forest, sometimes backtracking or going in circles. While doing this exhausted them, they could only stop for short breaks as stopping to sleep could prematurely start their hibernation now that they were among pack mates. Eventually after walking through the night and halfway through the next day they reached the predetermined safe place.

He and Mitch had been out here a few months ago to prepare it for hibernation. The safe area was a cave deep underground. It was filled with canned foods for the winter and the slayers that were awake could hunt for food if they felt like it. There were also heaps of blankets to keep warm as a fire would be too risky as smoke can be seen from miles away. There is another part of this cave that they were very lucky to find. In the secret part of the cave was a hot spring. They hadn't told the younger dragon slayers wanting it to be a surprise. All in all though, the cave dubbed the 'Dragon Den' by the younger slayers, was ready for hibernation.

Climbing down the cave into the deeper parts, Mario and Mitch were grateful that they had arrived. As much as they loved their brothers, they can be a bit annoying and after one and a half days of them talking they were glad to have reached the den. Setting down their backpacks the brothers stretched glad to not be carrying them anymore.

"Come on, we have something to show you." Mario said, taking the lead and walking towards the hidden part of the cave.

"Ooh, there's a surprise?" Bryan asked, bouncing slightly in place.

"Yep." Mario replied, surprised that Bryan still had the energy to bounce. Walking forward he showed them the hot springs. "Ta-da!"

"Whoa!" Colin and Bryan gasped, excited.

"Lets go set up." Mitch suggested turning back to the main part of the cave. "Two of us will be dropping soon."

Back in the main chamber of the cave they spread out the blankets in a corner of the cave creating a nest. Once that was done they double checked to make sure everything was ready. Out of the corner of his eye Mario saw Colin stumble and catch himself on the wall. He leaned against it for a moment before standing back up. Apparently Mitch saw it as well and immediately he started ushering Colin into the nest.

"I think you're going to be one of the ones to go into hibernation first." Mitch said, getting Colin to lay down.

"I think so too." Colin admitted curling up next to Mitch. Mitch started to run his fingers through Colin's hair. Bryan came and sat on his other side, resting his leg against Colin's back.

Mario leaned back against the wall behind him and shut his eyes, waiting for the dizzy spell to disappear. "I think I'm the other one."

"Good." Mitch said gesturing for Bryan to go over and help Mario into the nest next to Colin. "At least this way there will be an older slayer awake to protect the others."

"Yeah, we might not get so lucky next time." Colin muttered from beside Mitch. Mario nodded in agreement as he let Bryan help him over to the nest and lay him down next to Colin. Colin tentatively grabbed Mario's shirt and leaned back against him. Mario gently wrapped an arm around him, bringing him closer.

"We'll have time to figure that out later. For now I'll get you guys some food, you'll eat then go to sleep as I expect that you'll probably fall into hibernation sometime during the night." Mitch ordered, standing up and heading towards the area that was dubbed as the kitchen. Bryan helped Colin and Mario sit up, not that they needed it but he needed to do something to feel useful rather than just hovering.

"Here you go." Mitch said handing them each a can of cold spaghetti and a fork. Tucking in Mario and Colin watched as Mitch walked the perimeter of the cave and the hot spring to make sure it was secured. When they finished their spaghetti, Bryan collected the empty cans and forks and brought them over to the kitchen area of the cave. Laying back down in the nest Colin curled up next to Mario, hand back to clutching Mario's shirts.

"What's wrong?" Mario asked gently, patting Colin's hair.

"I'm a little scared. I've never done this before." Colin admitted, blushing slightly.

"Me too." Bryan said, blushing as well. "We haven't done this before."

"Right, you guys have just finished your dragon maturity. In fact this probably would have happened earlier if it wasn't for the pact." Mario mused, tugging Bryan against him. Mitch had come back halfway through the explanation and sat outside the nest.

"Well we'll start from the beginning. You know that this happens every three to five years and that we are super vulnerable in it. Our instincts tell us to stay in a protected place as we are weak and tire easily. However if there is a pact you will need to be in seclusion with only them around." Mitch started explaining.

"The reason for this because the other slayers in the pact will become extremely hostile to anyone not in the pact as a way to protect pack members when they are vulnerable. That's why we are so far from civilization, we don't want to accidentally attack someone who means no harm." Mario continued.

"What about our guild mates?" Bryan questioned seriously.

"We would attack them as well, perhaps even more as we know they have magic they can use and are therefore dangerous, probably. We've never had this scenario happen before. Mario and I didn't want to risk anything." Mitch admitted, sighing.

"We'll be safe here, right?" Colin asked, gripping Mario's shirt tighter.

"Yes, especially now that we will have an experienced slayer on watch each time." Mario answered, yawning.

"Time to go to sleep, good night see you when you finish hibernating." Mitch said standing up.

"Bye!" Bryan said following Mitch's lead and moving away from the nest.

"Good night." Both Mario and Colin chorused.

=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=

Back at the guildhall the day after Mario had left, the guild was sitting around drinking, waiting for their leaders to appear.

"Has anyone seen Mario?" Ritchie asked as he walked into the hall, followed by his brother.

"No, we thought he was with you. I haven't seen him since yesterday morning." Kit admitted, frowning slightly.

"Well we can't find him on the island." Brandon said, sitting down in his chair while Ritchie sat on the table in front of his own chair.

"Have you checked his house?" David questioned.

"Kind of. We knocked on the door but no one answered." Ritchie answered, "He's also never at his house in the afternoon."

"I'll go quickly check." David said before leaving the hall and jogging over to Mario's house. Knocking on the front door, he frowned when there was no answer. Grabbing his key ring, David searched for the key that unlocked Mario's door. Finding it, he opened the door and walked in.

"Rock Face, are you hear?" David shouted through the house. Hearing no reply, he went to the kitchen. Looking around he saw nothing out of the ordinary until he came across the table. There was a piece of paper on it. Was it a ransom note? Nah, rock for brains was bad but he wasn't that bad. Picking it up, he read it. Scowling at what it read, he stormed back to the guildhall.

"He's gone!" David yelled, shoving the note at Ritchie.

Ritchie grabbed the note, reading it his face darkened slightly, before handing it to his brother. While his brother read it he said, "It seems that Mario was urgently needed elsewhere and will be gone for the whole winter."

"The whole winter?" Inmo asked, "Why would he need that long?"

"That's what we intend to find out." Brandon spoke for the first time since he read the letter. "Depending on the answer will decide whether he needs to play 'Dodge the Lightning Bolt'."

"It will indeed brother." Ritchie agreed, "We'll see you guys later, we have to meet with the other guild leaders." Standing up Ritchie and Brandon left the hall and walked towards the docks.

=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=

When they arrived to the meeting with the other guild leaders they saw that Bri and Michael were frowning slightly.

"Ah Ritchie, Brandon. Good you here, we have something important to ask you. Are you missing your dragon slayer?" Michael asked, getting straight into it.

"No, we were going to ask you guys the same thing." Brandon admitted, sitting on the other side of Bri.

"So something is going on with the dragon slayers, then." Sliver said aloud from between Bri and Michael, "I'm glad that I don't have any dragons slayers at the moment."

"So it seems, Silver." Michael hummed, leaning back against the wall in the dragon cave. "I've already tried to track Colin and Mitch but I'm getting nothing."

"When was the last time you saw them?" Silver asked, sitting forward slightly.

"We saw Mario yesterday morning. Today when we went looking for him David found a note at his house saying he was needed urgently elsewhere." Ritchie said, leaning on his brother, who just shoved him off.

"That was the same with Bryan. We found a note in his house when we went looking and couldn't find him." Bri agreed.

"That's similar to what happened with Mitch and Colin." Michael admitted, "They weren't in the guildhall and they were needed for a guild meeting. When we searched their rooms we found a note in Mitch's room saying that he and Colin would be gone for the winter."

"What's so important that they needed to leave for an entire season?" Silver asked rhetorically.

"We'll figure that out later, we should speak of easier topics first. Get them over and done with." Michael said before asking about if they were having any trouble in their guilds.

=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=

Mitch sighed as he watched as Mario and Colin officially began hibernation. It was easy to tell as their bodies curled closer to each other and their breathing slowed. Bryan shifted nervously next to him.

"Don't worry kid, we'll be fine." Mitch reassured, bumping Bryan's shoulder with his own. Turning around he went to go make dinner for Bryan and himself. Mitch was glad that he and Mario had come and stocked everything months earlier. Searching through the food Mitch found some jerky. "What kind of jerky do you want?

"What is there?" Bryan asked, walking over next to Mitch.

"Beef, duck, venison and snake." Mitch read out the options.

"I'll take the venison jerky please."

=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=

This is what happens for a few weeks. The guild leaders and their guilds searching for their missing dragon slayers, while Mitch and Bryan guarded Colin and Mario, with Mitch occasionally going out and hunting for food, since Mario was smart enough to bring a gas powered grill to cook on as a fire wasn't safe.

However the guild leaders had made some progress searching for the slayers and they were on the hunt for them.

=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=

"Four hooded figures were seen walking into the forest a few weeks ago." Ritchie informed everyone, as they walked towards the forest.

"Hmm, and they were never seen coming back out?" Michael asked, thinking.

"No, four went in and none came out." Brandon confirmed, ducking under a branch.

"It could be them but why are they in a forest to begin with? This place goes on for miles." Silver said, confused frowning where he was walking next to Bri.

"That's what we intend to find out. Michael, can you sense anyone?" Ritchie asked pausing to turn and face Michael.

Michael shut his eyes and spread his awareness out looking for any sign that they were there. "No, I can't sense anyone. Let me ask the spirits." Opening his eyes he went into the spirit world, however none of the spirits would answer him. Coming back he faced his fellow guild leaders and shook his head, "None of the spirits want to talk. Which is strange as they always want to talk and share other people's secrets. The fact that they don't want to talk about our dragon slayers is abnormal."

"Could the reason that they are refusing to talk be because they are close by?" Silver asked.

"I didn't sense anything in this forest." Michael told Silver.

"But what about underground? The reason the Wandering Coins get away with so much is because no one looks underground for us." Silver admitted putting his hands in his pockets.

"That's a great idea Silver, let me check underground." Michael says as he kneels down and puts a hand on the floor. He spread his awareness downward this time. Letting out a small sound he goes, "There's four people in a cave a couple of miles east of us."

"Let's go then!" Ritchie said heading east. The group chatted quietly until they reached the opening for the cave.

"Who wants to go first?" Silver asked, looking into the cave, "Actually did anyone bring a torch or something that makes light?"

"I'll be right back." Michael said before shadow travelling to get some torches. Once back he handed everyone a torch. "Now let's go." Taking the first step into the cave Michael was followed by everyone else.

"Everyone turn off the torches, there's light up ahead. We don't want them to know we're here." Brandon told the others as he turned his own torch off and put it away in his pocket, everyone else following his lead. Walking quietly they peeked into the part of the cave the slayers were in.

"I hate this." They overheard Bryan say.

"So do I, but you get used to it. Kind of." Mitch admitted before freezing in place, smelling the air. He turned towards the entrance of the cave, "Show yourself!"

As the guild leaders stepped into the light of the cave, Mitch grabbed Bryan's wrist and stepped slightly in front of him. If he didn't, Bryan would've attacked straight away. He wasn't fairing well either, it took all his self control not to attack.

"Leave." Mitch said standing tensed ready to fight.

"We're just here to find our lost dragon slayers." Ritchie told Mitch as he looked around the cave for Mario, spying the nest he saw that Mario and Colin were curled up, facing each other, their foreheads nearly touching.

"Well you found them, now leave." Mitch repeated, barely holding back his instincts that said to kill the intruder and protect his pack mates.

"No, we'll be taking Mario back with us, he can't spend the whole winter in here." Ritchie said as he started walking towards the nest, only to storm blink backwards as Mitch attacked him growling. Bryan also started growling as he moved into a fighting stance. Mitch paced back and forth, his glowing eyes watching every move the intruders took.

Michael pulled everyone backwards slightly. "Something's wrong. They are gone so far into their instinct that they don't recognize us. You can tell by their eyes glowing." Everyone turned and saw that both Mitch and Bryan had their eyes glowing.

"Mario and Colin should've woken up by now because of the commotion that's happening." Brandon pointed out.

"They're protecting them." Silver observed, "The only way we're going to get close enough to see what's wrong, is if we subdue Mitch and Bryan."

"Michael and I will take Bryan while you two take Mitch. Silver see if you can sneak around to Mario and Colin." Bri set out the plan.

"Of course love." Silver said before breaking apart from the group and headed in the shadows. After a quick and easy-ish battle they had subdued their respective opponent.

"That was easier and harder than it should have been." Michael observed Mitch and Bryan from where they were tied up.

"What do you mean?" Silver asked from where he was checking Mario and Colin.

"For some reason they are weaker than they're supposed to be and they fought much more dirtier. It's kind of like their feral." Michael explained walking over to the nest, the leaders following him.

"What's their condition?" Ritchie asked, kneeling down next to Silver.

"They won't wake up." Silver said bluntly, "Nothing I've done so far will wake them."

Mitch and Bryan had steadily grown more panicked they closer the intruders got to their vulnerable pack mates. Somehow they both managed to break their bindings and they lunged at the intruders. Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on the person, Michael saw it out of the corner of his eyes and managed to shadow travel everyone away in time. Mitch and Bryan landed where the guild leaders previously were. Mitch immediately spun around searching for them while Bryan checked to make sure nothing was wrong with Mario and Colin.

The guild leaders were back in the front of the cave, looking worried. They couldn't find anything wrong with Colin and Mario, they just wouldn't wake up.

"If it's a dragon slayer thing, maybe I could summon a dragon spirit and ask them." Bri said before getting the approval of the other leaders. Summoning a dragon spirit, it was reluctant to tell her why the slayers were acting this way, but gave in when it realized that Bri and the others weren't going to give up easily. When told what was happening Bri understood immediately. Dismissing the spirit she turned to her friends.

"What did they say?" Ritchie asked worried.

"The slayers are in hibernation." Bri answered looking towards Mitch and Bryan who were watching them intently.

"Hibernation?" Michael asks, thinking.

"Yeah, at the moment Mario and Colin are in hibernation while Mitch and Bryan guard them, by the looks of it." Bri said keeping her eyes on Mitch and Bryan, because of this she saw Bryan sway and Mitch steady him. "I think Mitch and Bryan are close as well which would explain why they were weaker but still fought as hard as they could."

"You're right. That would explain it." Michael agreed, "Let's leave and discuss this back in the dragon cave." Grabbing everyone he shadow traveled them back.

=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=

Now that the intruders were gone Mitch relaxed slightly and slowly came out of the haze his instincts sent him and Bryan into.

"Oh, shit." Bryan goes, "I attacked my guild leader."

"It'll be fine." Mitch said as he slowly sank down next to Bryan and leaned slightly back against the nest. "I think they figured it out anyway. If anything we should expect visitors every couple of days, they will want to check in on us."

"I hope we don't have to fight again." Bryan admitted leaning against Mitch.

"We shouldn't, if they know what's going on they will stick to the entrance. That fight was a bad idea though. It sped up our hibernation."

"What do you mean?" Bryan asked slightly panicked.

"Calm," Mitch said, "it means that there will be a period of time where we will all be in hibernation. You'll be the first as this is your first hibernation and I'll follow later."

"What if something happens while we're asleep?" Bryan questioned, fiddling with his shirt.

"I'm going to write a note to the guild leaders explaining that because we fought them we'll be going into hibernation earlier than expected and that we will be vulnerable. Hopefully they can set some sort of guard up."

=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=

The dragons turned out to be a goldmine of information, explaining everything about what a dragon slayer could and does go through in hibernation and how the dragon pacts work.

"Shit." Silver goes, "Does this mean we made things worse?"

"Probably." Ritchie admitted, crossing his arms. "I understand why they didn't tell us but at the same time if they did, none of us would be in this mess."

"Yeah," Bri agrees, "but their instincts told them not to tell anyone as they are vulnerable."

"We'll check up on them every couple of days, to make sure that nothing happens." Michael plans.

=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=

Every two to three days a guild leader would check on the slayers, never actually entering the cave fully. Everything was fine until a week later when Michael checked and Mitch was passed out on the floor holding a piece of paper. Looking around frantically Michael spotted Bryan asleep in the nest. Rushing over to Mitch, Michael checked him over. Finding nothing wrong with him, Michael concluded that both Mitch and Bryan have fallen into hibernation. Gently grabbing the paper in Mitch's hand he saw that it was addressed to all the guild leaders. Shoving the note in his pocket, Michael grabbed Mitch and dragged him to the nest. Placing him next to Colin, Michael smiled slightly at seeing Colin snuggle up to Mitch. Reaching into his pocket Michael grabbed the note and shadow traveled to the guild meeting that was happening.

"Hey Michael, how are they?" Silver asked from where he was sitting in the dragon cave.

"They've also fallen into hibernation. I found Mitch laying on the ground where he must have collapsed." Michael answered as he sat down next to Silver. "There was also a note in his hand that was addressed to us."

"Oh no, I hope he's okay." Bri said from where she was petting a dragon.

"What did the note say?" Brandon questions walking closer to Michael.

"I haven't read it yet." Michael said before opening the letter, "Let's see, 'Dear guild leaders, Bryan and I are sorry that we attacked you, however you guys have probably already figured out why we did. There is a problem though, because we attacked you Bryan and I will be falling into hibernation sooner than planned. This is bad as now we have no one to protect us when we are vulnerable. The plan was to switch about halfway through winter, but that's out the window now. We still have about a week before Mario and Colin even begin to wake where we will have no protection. I was hoping that you guys could set up some sort of guard just until Mario and Colin wake. Mitch'."

"I'm sure we can set up something." Ritchie said thinking, "Should we use members from each guild, or just leave it to us to protect?"

"Definitely members from each guild, we sadly don't have enough time to do it ourselves." Brandon responded.

"How long is each pair going to spend there, is the question?" Michael asked.

"David and Pat can go first for two days where they will switch with Jakey and Lucas, who will stay for two days as well before swapping with Bren and Kay who will also stay for two days. By then it would have been six days. We'll check in when they change, if Mario and Colin awake we'll leave them alone." Ritchie suggested.

"Hmm, maybe swap Kay with Kit, I believe that Kit would be a better fit." Brandon proposed.

"Yeah, I think that works better. Kay still needs more training and if Mario and Colin woke she might try and talk to them which would be bad if they react to others in the cave like Bryan and Mitch did." Bri agreed.

"Well it's settled then, I'll grab David and Pat and explain what's happening." Michael said, clapping his hands. Standing up he stretched and gave a small sigh, "I'll talk to you after I've done this."

=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=

Traveling to Divinus Magia, Michael snatched David and then traveled to Grimshade to grab Pat.

"Boss! What are you doing here? I thought you had something to do and why is he here?" Pat asked, startled at seeing Michael and David.

"I hope you're not doing anything Pat cause you're needed for the next two days, along with you David." Michael said to Pat and the suspiciously quiet David.

"What do you need us for midget?" David finally spoke up.

"There's been an issue that has come up with the dragon slayers." Michael explained as he herded them towards his office.

"You've found them?" David exclaimed quickly following after Michael, into his office.

"Yes, we have." Michael admitted, sitting on his chair. Pat and David stood in front of his desk waiting for instructions.

"At the moment they're . . . compromised to put it lightly and need protection. You and some others will be scheduled to look after them. You two will be the first. You are going to protect the slayers for the next two days." Michael instructed.

"What happened?" Pat asked worried

"I'll take you to them, that way I can show you as well as tell you." Michael reassured, "Gather close, it's time to go." Michael stood up and walked closer to Pat and David. Shadow traveling to the cave, Michael saw that the dragon slayers had moved into a puppy pile in the nest. Colin had moved to lay on Mitch who was on his back. Mario had his back up against Colin and Bryan was curled up in Mario's arms.

"Where are we?" Pat asked, spinning to get a good look at where he was.

"What's wrong with them?" David pressed, spying the slayers.

"They're in hibernation. It's a thing dragon slayers do every three to five years. When we found them we didn't know that. We made a mistake by trying to get closer and Mitch and Bryan attacked us. We managed to beat them and tie them up but they escaped and tried to attack again. I shadow traveled myself and the others away to the entrance. We eventually figured out what was going on and left. We would take turns checking on them every few days and as long as we didn't go past the entrance, they wouldn't attack. A few hours ago when I checked on them, I found Bryan in the nest and Mitch passed out on the floor. It turns out that they had used up the last of their energy fighting us and their hibernation started early. Meaning that until Mario and Colin wake up they are unprotected. That's where you guys come in, you need to protect them until they wake up." Michael explained.

"We can do that." Pat agreed, moving over to the nest.

=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=

The next two days were spent quietly watching Mario, Mitch, Bryan and Colin. Pat was worried about Mitch, he knew that Mitch was in hibernation and safe because of him and David guarding him, but he was still worried. He wasn't used to Mitch being so still and quiet.

David was in the same boat, he wasn't used to Mario being quiet. Usually he was loud because David goaded him into arguments. It was weird how quiet it was in the cave. David was worried, of course he wouldn't show it. He didn't want anyone to know that he cares, ya know.

Not much happened in those two days, just some quiet conversations between David and Pat comparing their guilds, magical abilities and some missions that they went on. When it was time to swap they were hesitant to actually leave. They knew logically that the others would be okay but they didn't like the idea of leaving them.

The next two that were let in on the secret were Jakey and Lucas. They were surprised that they were let in on the secret, given that one had low self confidence and the other had just joined the guild. Jakey and Lucas spent the next two days talking and doing a bit of training. When Bren and Kit took over, they went through the same routine of talking and training. Luckily for the guild leaders Mario and Colin woke up. Unluckily for Bren and Kit, they were too close to the nest when Mario and Colin woke.

Mario woke up to talking, but it didn't sound like Mitch or Bryan. Colin let out a mumble as he stretched slightly in Mario's arms. Mario tugged him closer and whispered, "Something's wrong. Someone is in the cave and they aren't Mitch or Bryan."

Colin moved away slightly and looked at Mario, his eyes starting to glow. "On three?"

Mario nodded slightly, eyes glowing as well as they both started falling into their instincts. "One, two, three."

On the count out three they both leapt out of the nest and took defensive poses in front of it. Scanning the cave they saw that there were two intruders. Mario started to throw rocks at the male while Colin stalked closer to the girl, calling upon the shadows he started to throw shadow orbs at her.

"Whoa, Colin, Mario. It's just us. Calm down, we won't hurt you." Bren said, dodging the rocks. If anything it just made them angrier and they attacked harder.

"I don't think they're listening." Kit panicked, running towards Bren dodging shadow orbs. She cried out in pain as an orb hit her on the shoulder causing her to fall.

"We should leave the cave," Bren suggested as he rushed towards where Kit had fallen down. He grabbed her hand and pulled her up. "It looks like they are protecting Mitch and Bryan. If we leave they shouldn't follow us."

Rushing towards the entrance, Kit called out, "We should tell the guild leaders that they've woken up." 

"Yeah, we don't want them to come and get us only to run into a protective dragon slayer." Bren confirmed rushing into the open.

Kit collapsed against a tree panting loudly, "God that cave is deep. Let's get back to our guilds."

=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=

Mario walked the perimeter of the cave looking for any more intruders. He could smell the many different scents in the cave. Five smelt like his guild leaders, David, Lucas and Kit, another three smelt like the other guild leaders Michael, Silver and Bri. He's pretty sure the other one is Jakey while the last two are a mystery to him. "Colin, do recognize these two scents?"

"Hmm? Let me see." Colin said as he walked over. Taking a deep breath Colin smelt the air. "It smells like. . . two members of my guild, Bren and Pat, you might know him as Trigger-finger."

"Why were they here? Mitch and Bryan should have also been awake when we woke, but by the looks of it they are deep in hibernation. Which means that something happened while we were asleep. Let's see if there is a note explaining what happened." Mario considered, heading towards the kitchen. Luckily for him there was a note on the table so he picked it up.

"What's it say?" Colin asked, trying to read over his shoulder.

"Hang on, I haven't opened it yet." Mario scolded Colin lightly before he opened the letter, "Let's see, 'Hey guys, I guess you're wondering why we were asleep when you two woke up. Well . . . there was a little incident. The guild leaders were searching for us and somehow found us. Bryan and I lost ourselves to our instincts and attacked them. Luckily they left quickly and somehow figured out what was happening to us, because of the short fight Bryan and I went into hibernation earlier than expected. I asked the guild leaders if they could set up a guard for us. If there are new scents in the area then they did set up a guard. That's about all, see ya when the winter is over. Mitch'."

"Huh, it seems that a lot happened while we were asleep." Colin observed from where he was draped over Mario's shoulder.

"Hopefully nothing else will happen this winter." Mario hoped, leaning back slightly into Colin.

=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=

It seems like fate heard Mario's hopes as nothing happened the rest of the winter, well except for the guild leaders checking in on them every couple of days which turned into once a week. Towards the end of the winter Mitch and Bryan woke up.

"I see nothing happened during your guys guard." Mitch observed, stretching his arms above his head. "Ahh, that feels better."

"God, I feel so much better after that nap. I had forgotten what it felt like to be not tired or weak." Colin exclaimed, bouncing up and down on the spot.

"Mhm, sounds about right. I always forget how it feels pre-hibernation, how weak, tired and easily irritable I am." Mitch agreed, watching Colin fondly as he bounced on the spot.

"What do we do now? Do we just go back to our guilds?" Bryan asks nervously.

"Yeah, we should. They'll be wanting to see us as soon as possible. I have a feeling that they won't be very happy with us. Oh well, at least we don't have to worry about hibernation for at least another three years." Mario said, "We should start cleaning up."

"Ugh," Colin scoffs as he walks towards the kitchen to check what food they have left. Mitch went to pack up the blankets in the nest, Bryan helping him while Mario checked around the cave to see if anything had been moved from where it was at the beginning of the winter.

"We'll have to come back multiple times just to remove everything here." Mitch told Mario, "Depending on his mood we could get Michael to help us. Though I have a feeling that he'll make us do it by ourselves anyway."

"Then why bother asking?"

"Because Mario, if he does agree we don't have to do multiple trips." Mitch drawled, as if he was pointing out the obvious, which he was.

"You have a point." Mario admitted, "Hey, you two done over there?"

"Yeah, the blankets have been folded and stacked." Bryan spoke from the other side of the cave.

"We still have enough food to last half of another winter." Colin revealed from the kitchn area.

"Good, Mitch and I will come back later to move everything. Come on, let's move it." Mario announced. They walked out of the cave and towards the edge of the forest. It took them a day and a half to get back into the city to the place where they had gathered a few months earlier.

"Right, it's time to go our separate ways. Good luck with your guild leaders!" Mitch spoke mockingly.

"See ya." Mario said, turning around and walking towards the dock. He heard Bryan repeat what he said to Mitch and Colin before they separated.

=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=

Stepping off the boat and onto the island, Mario won't admit it but he missed his guild. Walking to his house he tried to decide if he wanted to take a nap or if he should surprise his guild mates with his appearance. Obviously he wanted to surprise his guild mates, it actually wasn't that hard of a decision. Putting his backpack on his bed he left his house and took a less crowded way to the guildhall. Getting near the hall, he noted that his guild was rather loud. Walking up to the door, Mario paused for a moment before opening it and walking in. He noted in amusement that no one noticed him except for his guild leaders. He leaned back against the wall next to the door as he waited for someone to notice him.

In the middle of an argument with David, Kit goes "Even Mario would agree!" Catching Mario out of the corner of her eye she goes, "Right Mario? Wait!"

"Mario!" David said, whipping his head towards the door.

"Huh!" Inmo shouted in surprise as he too turned towards the door.

"How long have you been there?" Lucas asked having seen him before Kit.

"Not very long, don't worry you're not that observant." Mario reassured them.

"How was your nap?" David asks tauntingly.

"Great. Especially when there were others in our cave. It wasn't fun waking up only to immediately fall into my instincts." Mario said sarcastically, sitting down on his chair. "Luckily we don't have to do that for a few years, god it sucked."

"Wait, it doesn't happen every winter? Shame, I was hoping not to see your ugly mug next winter." David said, swinging his chair back.

Yep, Mario was definitely home. 

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Hey, thanks for reading my one shot! If it gets a bit weak towards the end its because I ran out of steam and didn't know how to end it. If you see any mistakes please tell me, but I'm pretty sure I caught them all. I think. Anyway tell me what you think of it!!