(My apologies as this isn't very well edited as it's finals week and I'm a little sleep-deprived. Also I know a few people have requested chapters for this book so I'm sorry I haven't fully gotten those up but I am working on them, I promise!)

Lucas sometimes hated being Brandon's "maid". Full stop. It was a haggle, especially when he was sick, and occasionally a nightmare. But after the visit to the vampires and the talk about Maya, he felt like at least some of the bricks in the wall he kept around him had been chiseled out.

Sure they didn't exactly get along on perfect terms all the time, but they didn't fight, just had disagreements that he knew annoyed both of them. He can't even remember what started this argument.

"Come on, Brandon, this is ridiculous!" Lucas followed the angel in question through the hole in the floor/ceiling, closing the trapdoor on habit behind him. He clutched a teacup full of toffee in his hand, being careful not to jostle it.

"Not my fault, not my problem." Brandon ducked out the door, immediately taking off into the air to dramatically soar around his house before settling onto the roof shillings. "Figure it out yourself. I'm not helping."

Lucas went up after him, feeling the urge to grit his teeth. He landed harder than he wanted on the roof and some of the toffee spilled out. "And why not?"

He could practically hear Brandon rolling his eyes. He reached out for the toffee cup and Lucas rolled his own eyes back, internally groaning as he handed it over. "Do you want me to explain everything to you?"

Lucas' mouth twisted. "Yes, because that's what friends do, you introverted fallen!"

Brandon sighed, taking his seat on the ledge of the roof. "We're not friends, you're my maid," he said simply.

"We're not friends, that's it? At all?" Lucas asked incredulously.

"That's right!" His voice pitched on the last word in his normal tone, sounding cheery with drips of bitter drizzling off.

"So I'm just your maid?"

"That's what I said." Brandon turned away to look out as the sun, raising his cup to his lips.

Lucas paused, a strange feeling turning in his stomach. He looked out beyond the whale, the impulsive-decision-making part of his brain kicking its way to the front.. "Fine. Then I quit."

Brandon paused, swallowing his sip of toffee and looked back at Lucas, eyebrow raised. "You quit?" He asked skeptically.

"Yes I quit."

"Oh really? Where will you go then?"

"I'll go to Mythspire."

Irritated, Brandon gripped his toffee cup and glared at the sun, pointedly away from Lucas. "I told you about Jackson-"

"I know you did," Lucas interjected, "but you know, at least he's more open with me than you are!" As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he wanted to grab them and shove them back in, but it was too late. Brandon didn't really react, but he could see his shoulders tense up just a little bit more and guilt started to weigh in.

Without another word, he flew off the whale and towards...anywhere else.

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Lucas sat cross-legged in front of a nicely dug grave, leaning with one arm on his knee while picking at the grass. Pierre was reclining in his bed, smiling relaxed up at him. He bobbed his head side to side, listening to the angel's recount intently.

"And after last time we visited, I didn't feel right going to the vampires, I don't know the way to Packhaven very well nor do I know them that good, that witch I met scares me a bit, and Brandon would've killed me if I went to the devil."

"Well I normally advocate for going to stay with our lord and savior the devil, especially when he's living in my house, but I'm honored you wanted to come see me!"

"Yeah you're a pretty cool skeleton." He frowned, holding up a dandelion. "I just wish he would actually treat me like a friend. I thought he was starting to, but then this happens and it's like we're back to the beginning. He dragged me all across the land to meet other mythicals so I can have friends, so why doesn't he count?"

"Maybe he's shy," Pierre mused in his thoughtful tone.

Lucas thought back on every instance of Brandon yelling and subtly insulting every person that set foot on the whale. "Introverted for sure, but I definitely wouldn't say he's shy."

"Well, it sounds like from your story that he just has a few walls up that you thought. You know, I saw this village once while I was going around the world that had 5 layers of walls around it!"

Lucas frowned, considering the skeleton's words. "You're right, Pierre."

He smiled happily. "I always am."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mitch stopped in his tracks, ready to head back inside from his balcony when he spotted a fallen out of the corner of his eye. He breathed in deeply, letting it out slowly as he took off his glasses and massaged the bridge of his nose, weighing the pros and cons of dealing with the issue at hand.

Setting the glasses on the table nearby, he transformed into his bat and flew up to where he was sitting (read: moping) on their castle roof, perched dangerously close to the edge.

"What are you doing here?" When Brandon didn't answer right away, he continued. "Jackson and Colin were tight-lipped about your last visit but I can tell you weren't exactly happy when you left."

"That's one way to put it. I'm looking for my mai- Lucas."

"Lucas? Why would he be here?"

He let out a sigh and Mitch wondered if that was the only expression he could make. "It's where he said he was going, but it appears not." Even monotone, he still manage to let in some bitterness.

Mitch transformed back and sat down beside him. The sun was still just high enough in the sky to cast an orange glow over the both of him while also battering them with low-whistling wind.

He didn't say anything else for a while, instead allowing them some fresh air and time to calm down before saying, "You know, Jackson's probably right."

"About what?" Brandon asked. He kept his eyes on the horizon, not looking anywhere near him.

"About you needing more friends. But that's not going to happen unless you're somewhat nice to the ones you currently have."

There was a pause and Mitch briefly wondered if his small scolding/speech had actually worked. He felt Brandon tense up next to him then suddenly bolting up. "Thanks I suppose then. Well! I'll be off!"

Before Mitch had time to process it, the fallen was gone. He groaned, running his hands down his face and headed back inside.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lucas lounged back against the house, eyes switching between watching the sky intently and gazing aimlessly at the grass around him. The sun was nearly set, but he couldn't have been gone that long. But when he ultimately came back to the whale, Brandon was gone which meant he'd probably want toffee when he came back.

So now he was staying up waiting. Again. He twisted his mouth around, picking out a blade of grass to twiddle around his finger. His eyes grew heavy, starting to close and he let him. Just a short nap is all...

"There you are."

Lucas jolted up, eyes flying open. He looked up to see Brandon standing at the edge of the whale, looking bored. The sky was dark and dotted with bright stars behind him, the sun gone far past the horizon. He climbed to his feet as the other strutted over, already heading towards the door. "Where were you?"

"I had to have an unpleasant conversation with a vampire since someone said they'd be staying there." Brandon shoved the door open, clambering inside and down into his area.

Lucas blinked, frozen in his spot for a few moments. He went after Brandon, gliding down into the room to land right next to him. "You were looking for me?"

He didn't look at him or give any visual acknowledgement he was there, instead laying down on his bed and staring up at the ceiling. "I wouldn't have to if you had been where you said you were going to be."

"I'm, sorry? I think?" Lucas said, stunned. A beat of silence went by that seemed like hours to him while he mulled over what had just happened. "Wait you said an unpleasant conversation. Do you mean with Jackson? Or the Drac guy, I guess."

"Not them, the other leader Mitch." He yawned, eyes quickly closing and his chest rose steadily. Lucas took that as his cue to leave and started to fly back up to his own room. As he did, he heard a low murmur that made him smile.

"Glad to see you're home."

(this was meant to be longer, but I don't have Mitch and Pierre's characterizations down quite right yet)