Reena sat in her chair at the Fern family dinner table. She sighed, picking at her food and pushing it to make it look like she'd eaten. Usually the dark haired fairy loved her mother's meatloaf, but today she didn't want it. She remembered eating dinner with Shade before, and those memories made it almost painful to take another bite. Reena leaned forward, crossing her arms and laying her head on the countertop. Mrs. Fern noticed something was off immediately. "Reena, sweetheart, what's the matter? You've barely touched your food." "Nothing. Nothing's wrong," she mumbled. "Wonderful meatloaf, Melanie," Sylvan told Mrs. Fern after she'd swallowed her first couple of bites of food. "Thank you, Sylvan. At least someone in this house likes my cooking." "I like your cooking!" Toby protested. When he spoke, his mouth had been chock full of meatloaf, and he accidentally spit some out in Sylvan's direction. The Gifted fairy recoiled. "Ew! Toby, that's revolting! Don't talk with your mouth full." Toby grinned after he swallowed. "Sorry. I guess it's just been a while since I've eaten actual food." He paused, as if deep in thought, then spoke again. "Could you open the windows and let some sunlight in, Aunt Melanie?" Mrs. Fern sounded surprised, but she still obliged. She moved to open then, and the sun's rays practically poured into the room. Toby spread out his arms and took a deep breath, letting the light hit him. "Oh," he murmured. "It still kind of works." "Freak," Rowan muttered under her breath. Kyle heard her, and as Reena thought, he was pretty mad. Her ginger haired cousin used his telekinetic abilities to stuff chunks of meatloaf down the back of Rowan's shirt. The girl shrieked, then turned around to face him, shaking with rage. "Why, you little-" Rowan shoved Kyle out of his chair, and he fell, hitting the floor hard. She jumped on top of him, and the two fought, both with magic and their own fists. Reena dodged a blazing spark of energy that Rowan released, and watched from her seat at the table. Their scuffle had temporarily relieved her of her gloom. Soon enough, Sylvan stood up and stepped between them, pushing the two far apart. "That's enough, that's enough!" Reena lost interest and looked towards Toby. He still had his arms out, standing by the nearest window. Sunlight was hitting his fingers, and his eyes were closed, his smile a peaceful one. "What are you doing?" she asked. Toby's eyes remained closed, but he still answered. "You know how trees produce chlorophyll to eat? Well, I can still do that." He opened his eyes. Their usual brown was tinted with green. "I don't really know why I can still do this, but...I might as well. I wasn't really in the mood for meatloaf anyway." The fight from before must've been sorted out, because Sylvan was close to the two of them, seated at her spot at the table again. "With a spell of that magnitude," she said, "there are parts of it that don't completely leave you at first." Reena's curiosity grew. "So-" Kara broke into her thoughts. The supposed Hybrid girl had been at the table before, but Reena had been doing her best to ignore her. "Is he...part tree, then?" Sylvan straightened her glasses thoughtfully. "For now, I suppose so." "Yeah," Rowan scoffed from where she was. "He's like one of your Flightless superheroes. Hey, Tree Boy, you got any apples I could borrow?" She laughed, her joke somehow funny to her. Toby opened his eyes out of annoyance. "I wasn't an apple tree, I was an oak, and don't call me that!" Reena sighed. Another fight. Rowan was in quite a mood today, but then again, when wasn't she in a mood? The girl turned away, but still eavesdropped on Sylvan and Kara's conversation from where she was. "What will Flit be like when he turns back?" Sylvan seemed distant. "I don't know. I've never heard of a person being turned into a dragon before, let alone what happens when they turn back. Whoever did it must've wanted that person to wreck havoc without meaning to. Oh, that's the worst kind of spell to cast. If it's meant to hurt the directly affected and other people, then it's never good." Reena picked some more at her meatloaf with her wooden utensil, then gave up when the pain in her heart grew to be too much. "I've lost my appetite," she murmured, leaving the room. "Reena!" Mrs. Fern cried. "Wait, Reena!" "Save it, Mrs. Fern. I'll talk to her."

Kara got up out of her chair and went after Reena, guilt about Shade building up inside of her again. "Reena!" she yelled. "Reena, come back!" There was the sound of hurried footsteps, and before Kara could even figure out what was going on, she was forcibly flung against a nearby wall and a knife was pressed against her throat. It was Reena. "Why do you have to bother me all the time?" she muttered. "Every time I see you, I end up being reminded of what you did. I should just disregard our laws and end your life. Maybe then Shade could be properly avenged." Reena tightened her grip on her knife. Before she could do anything else, Kara choked out a few words. "W-wait! I don't...understand." "Well, understand this!"

The fairy girl lifted the knife up and then brought it back down. Kara braced herself, but...no injury was ever inflicted upon her. Reena's hand shook, and then she dropped her weapon, tossing it to the floor. She released Kara too, who fell to her knees, coughing and gasping for breath. "I thought...killing you would make me feel better about all this," the girl said quietly. "I never should've thought that. Hurting you won't fix anything." She started to cry. "I just...really miss Shade. I've never been without him for so long before." Kara had regained her composure and say up. Her face was flushed and she was hesitant to move any closer to Reena. "I didn't kill him," she told her. "A demise beast did." "I know." Reena sat down on the floor, pulling her legs up close to her chest. When Kara didn't move still, Reena turned to look at her. "I'm not going to hurt you now." Kara eyed the discarded knife and then the other girl's face. "Are you sure?" "Yes." Reena waved her hand, and the knife on the floor shimmered, then burst into an array of colors before disappearing entirely. Kara sat up, surprised. "What did you do?" The fairy girl shrugged. "I destroyed it. I've got plenty of knives. I don't need that one, not anymore. I think if I used that one again, it would only remind me of the mistake I could've made." She sighed. "I don't have a lot of friends, and the family I do have is split up. I lost my father when I was little to a demise beast attack, then my older sister for the same reason. Now my brother's gone too. Lately...it's been too much." Reena buried her head in her hands. Her tears stung her eyes. She was tapped on the shoulder then. Turning around, she saw Kara looking back at her with a new understanding. "Reena, I'm sorry. I get it now, you've lost so many people and you don't want to lose anyone else." She sounded distant. "When I was around two years old, my mom left me and my dad. I don't know why, and my dad never really wants to talk about it." Her hazel eyes shined with faint tears, and she rubbed at them. "Anyway, you were the first fairy that I've ever met, and I'd like to stay friends, but I understand if it's too hard for you to do that." Reena considered this briefly, then shook her head, standing up. "No. You said it yourself. This isn't your fault, it was just me being stupid." She smiled slightly. "We're still friends. From now on, I'll only use my knives on real enemies." Kara smiled back. "Thanks." "You're welcome. It's what Shade would've wanted." The dark haired fairy suddenly looked down at the other end of the hallway. "Enough of this sappy stuff. Let's go back. The meatloaf my mom made is heavenly, and she won't keep it out there forever."