Worried and disgruntled feelings lingered in the village, shrouding it in a thin haze. The nightly clouds settled, silencing the once lively fountain that splashed through the clear skies. Hovering high above were the voices of concern and confusion resounding throughout each home. Careful hands tirelessly calmed the whines and cries, tucking and fixing clothes. Brushes glided across short hair and soft wings with a calm yet forceful hand. Glances shared between parents spoke a language only they could understand. The cold yet warm smell of the night filled their lungs as each family flew through the thickening mist, their wings paddling through the air.

  Rivia's father, Talq, stood outside his home, arms crossed and breath heavy. As each family landed before him, he welcomed the children while nodding at the parents with the same stern glance. The same spirit of uneasiness weighed heavily, with an added quietness filled with every creak of the floorboard. Rivia leads the children through the tight hallway that separates the bedrooms from the rest of the home. She gives her mom, Briva, a sneer before closing the door. Briva's sharp eyes roll away from her daughter's sight and fix themselves as she turns to greet everyone, where they all pass the small wooden table in the dining room and instead meet in the quaint living room. No one sat on the quaint couches. Instead, they used cushions and pillows. Fabric scuffs and scratches against the felted carpet as they make small talk.

  Still outside, Talq vainly searches for any sign of Atlan, only to have cold, dark clouds fill his view. Moist shivers travel down his hair as the rain pours. He looks at the lower part of town one last time before distraughtly joining the others inside. Spreading his wings, he whispers, "Wyhi-u"-feathers casting a small gust of wind that flows around him as he controls it with his hands. He and his wife glare at each other before he joins her at the head of the table. The villagers shift themselves to make space-feathers and arms bumping into each other and the table. The small two-sided effigy of their gods, Iyola and Huzaka-god of the moons and goddess of the sun, respectively-tips over slightly. An old man quickly fixes it, carefully setting it back in the center of the table.

  Before continuing, everyone joins hands and prays for their village's safety and their children's future. Wishes for happiness and clarity about what they should do next cast away the spirit of worry, freeing their minds. After they finished their prayers, the candles brightened the room as the rain outside drizzled. The clear mood helped everyone collect their thoughts as they attested that all the children's wings were in perfect health. Briva glances with Talq and nods as she stands, clasping her hands together.

  "Thank you all for coming," she grins softly. "We know our home isn't as big as Atlan's, but we'll make it work."

  A man looks around the table. "Where is he anyway? Shouldn't we wait for him before we start?"

  "He's out of town again," Talq sighs. "No one has seen him since we left the fountain." The other adults start clamoring amongst each other, filling the room with questions hidden in whispers.

  "He knows we have these meetings every week! He chooses now to go and do his job as chief?!" an old man shouts in frustration.

  "You know how he is-always ignoring tradition and doing whatever he wants. No wonder his 'kid' acted up today," a mother says.

  The clamoring coincides with what she says. Feelings stirred as they remembered who caused their worry. Talq hangs his head down irritatedly.

  "I'm glad you mentioned that Aerum," Briva frees her legs from her cushion and stands up.

  "We're all blessed that our kids escaped harm earlier, but we need to solve this before something worse happens."

  "Speaking of that," a young man asks. "Our kids already know to keep their distance, so why were they even playing near the fountain?"

  "Atlan never got that construction scroll for the playground, remember?" Briva remarks.

  "Oh, don't remind me," Aerum groans. "If my wings were still working, I'd get it myself. Those kiddies have been asking for it for about a month now."

  "So what do you suggest we do, Briva?" a mother questions.

  She replies with a sly smile. "What we obviously should've done before: kick those two back down to the lower world."

  The other adults clamor amongst themselves as the icy wind seeps in through a window. She smiles gleefully before glaring at Talq as he shoots up from his seat.

  "We can't do that, honey. That's not fair to them," he boldly asserts, staring at the many confused eyes staring at him. "I know what happened today was worrying for all of us, but we know why they're here. You think it's right to just throw them out over one accident?"

  The other adults look amongst themselves dazed until an older woman shifts herself from the table.

  "Then what were we supposed to do, Talq? Let them make more 'mistakes?' Let them continue to muck up our culture?!" she shouts. "Every time he brought them to our events-our prayers, our festivals-it was like he was forcing them into our community. But they're humans, Talq. No matter how much you force it, that's what they always will be: inferior beings that aren't even supposed to be here," she snaps back, using her cane to keep her up. The others shift towards her side of the table, separating themselves from him.

  "Arui has a point, Talq," Briva says, joining in. "You saw how Melody saved that redheaded menace today, using our magic. Hell, she even spread her arms out trying to copy our wings. Such a smart mouth for a pathetic leech."

  "Pathetic? What's pathetic is how uptight you all seem to get when it's about being an acistan," he shouts back.

  "What she said was rude, but where was this pride when Atlan first brought them all those years ago? Or when she babysit all our kids while we had to go to that conference? What's so different now?!" Talq shouts back.

  "You mean when they were even more defenseless than they are now?" a father asks. "We were fine with them then because we felt pity for them. If we knew Atlan was going to force them where they don't belong, we would've had him leave them in whatever backwater town they're from."

  "Maybe then he would spend more time doing his job and following our tradition," he scoffs.

  "Besides," his wife next to him continued. "We all know how your daughter feels about the redhead. I would hate to see her taken away for being a potential cross breeder."

  "Don't you DARE talk about my daughter that way!" Talq shouts back. His voice booms across the house, shaking the table and startling everyone.

  "So, do you understand me now, honey? Do you understand how the village feels now?" she retorts.

  He quietly sits back down, forcefully fixing the pillow under him as he drearily puts his head down.

  "....We should wait until Atlan comes back to make the decision," he mumbles.

  Briva looks at his defeated expression and tries to give him a comforting grin, but his tired eyes glare back at her. As the others continued the discussion, he could only wallow as he felt the cold air throughout the room. The rain seemed to pick up outside while the familiar haze ensnares him as his worries for his old friend and his children linger.

  ================================================================================

  A dim light emanated through the harsh storm, safeguarding itself with the spacious walls and rough stone of Atlan's house. The rushing rain confides with the wind to try to penetrate the defense, banging against the windows. Melody silently flinches, collecting herself as she picks up a pot filled with water. She slowly carries it to the stovetop, setting a piece of stunted wood from the fireplace. She sighs at its abnormal form, hearing the endless thuds of a knife forcing its way through something behind her.

  She takes a deep breath and flicks her thumb against her palm, casting a soft "'Fyi-u" that calls the sparks that fly from her hand to shoot directly towards the wood, catching it on fire. As it burns, the heat seams through the pot and escapes through the water with loud pops. She takes her eyes away from the well-kept stove in front of her over to Watcher; seeing him throw the small, blunt knife down on the vegetables surrounded by what seems like a sea of carrot shavings and celery leaves. With each swing, the knife tunnels through them, leaving irregular chunks in its wake.

  "Wa-cha-cha, you don't have to swing that hard! They don't fight back!" she chuckles as she yanks the knife from his hand. She calmly grabs a carrot, saying, "You have to take your time and cut it slowly like this." The knife slides through each cut, leaving soft and smooth pieces organized on the cutting board.

  "That'll take too long!" he whines, taking the knife back. "I'm just doing it the easier way!"

  He grabs a helpless celery stick, shifts it to its side, and holds the knife up, ready for its execution. He frees it as it pelts through, leaving totaled chunks sprawled across the cutting board. Seeing his big sly grin, Melody ruffles up his hair as she slides the other vegetables into the pot. "Whatever, you little weirdo. Just clean up your mess and go get the spell book from my room." He quickly shoves all the shavings into the trash can and rushes out of the kitchen, leaving Melody behind as she adds the seasonings to the pot.

  Her hand guides the spoon while stirring, wondering where their father, Atlan, could be. 'Maybe he's out of town again.' she thought. The memory of his discolored leg flashes in her mind, stopping her from stirring. She looks down as she starts to worry about him and walks over to the window facing the fountain. She stares directly, not noticing anything unusual. The downpour blurs her vision as she sighs and goes back to the pot. Watcher then rushes back into the room, tapping her on the shoulder.

  Melody quickly clears her worry from her face as she turns to Watcher with a bright smile. She puts the pot lid on top and leads him out of the kitchen and to the dining table, which has multiple thick wooden chairs with soft cushions. The pair set up the napkins, bowls, and spoons for dinner, with each of them looking out the main window, wary of the overbearing knocks of the rain. They softly pray to themselves for their father to come home, with both of them feeling a seed of doubt starting to grow its roots in their minds. They shrug it off as they share a smile and pull out a spell book named "Whim in Focus: Elemental Spells: Teacher's Edition."

  The introduction page has in bold letters, "CHILDREN UNDER 13 SHOULD NOT BE LEARNING MAGIC UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES UNLESS AUTHORIZED BY THE EOYA (Educating Our Youth Association)." They giggle together as Melody skims through countless other warnings and introductions until she finds illustrations of a figure casting fire on stoves, rocks, and a fire pit. A big red x covers a picture of two figures hurling fire at each other. She sets the book on the table for Watcher to glance at before she starts counting down.

  "Remember to take a deep breath first, Wa-cha-cha!"

  "I knoww Me-meeee!!"

  "Ok, 3,2,1!"

  "Fyi-u!"

  They both flick their thumbs against their palms, creating nearly identical balls of fire. While her hand completely controlled Melody's flame burns quietly, Watcher's bursts and crackles the second it's cast, forcing his to stay wide open.

  "Woah!" he exclaims. He uses his other hand to try and shape the flame, but it pops back into its raging self.

  "Hmmm, you said the right word this time and did the right breathing technique. Why isn't it working?" she asks before clapping her hands together to fizzle out the spell. "Maybe you're using too much whim."

  "But I am! I- I think. Dad says it's the same amount he uses," Watcher says back, slamming his hands together to fizzle his out.

  "And it's the right suffix too. If you cast 'Fyi-mi', you'd be like those carrots in the pot. Then again, even though it says on... This page. That 'mi' is only used in healing or support spells; that's kind of a lie. I tried it on that 'Wyhi' one by cutting it into 'Wy-mi' and that's how I-"

  She stopped her ramble as the ripe smell permeated the room.

  "Ah, the soup! Give me a minute, Wa-cha-cha."

  Melody launches out of her chair as she scampers towards the kitchen, leaving Watcher behind with his thoughts. He glances at the third seat before looking out the window again. Expecting only a blurry gray hue, he's surprised when he notices a dull blue light pulsating near the fountain. He sees a figure step out from under it, slowly walking away from it and out of his sight.

  "Me-me! I saw Dad!" he shouts across the house.

  "Where is he going!?" she shouts back.

  "Uhhh, he's going the other way. I can't see him," he shouts again.

  In the kitchen, Melody breathes a sigh of relief as she gets a third bowl from the shelf. She pours the soup and slowly strides to the table, with Watcher helping set the spoons and napkins. Melody pulls out small bottles of blue liquid from a shelf and sets them next to the bowl.

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  "I'll teach you the spell while we wait then." Melody says. "If you master it tonight, maybe you can go impress your girlfriend tomorrow."

  "Stoppppp!" Watcher says while trying to push her out of her chair, smiling uncontrollably. "I'm not- we're not- it's not like that!!"

  Their laughing and teasing echoes through the room, blocking out the rain from the outside. Melody's anxiety remained well-hidden, even as thoughts of her father and his wounded leg weighed heavily on her mind. She glances back at the window, catching sight of the figure leaning onto a tree, sending a flurry of leaves to blow into the wind. She keeps in mind its location as she fixes Watcher's hands for the spell. Outside their home, the rain continued to thunder and roar. The figure looks at their house one last time before spreading its wings to hover over the houses above, unbeknownst to the other villagers, hiding in the clouds.

  ================================================================================

  The noise from the living room settled as the conversation continued. A little boy who was peeking from the opening in the hallway ran back into Rivia's room, quietly closing the door behind him. Laughter and bliss filled the room as the older kids played a board game together, with little winged pieces and cards on top. It sprawled across the tiny table, forcing some to squish together and huddle around. They all rooted for their team to win. Little feathers fell like snow as two energetic kids zoomed around through the air, sometimes banging their heads on the roof. The babies sectioned off into a little playpen, smiling at each other while playing with tiny blocks. Every corner of the room was filled with noise and cheer except for one, where Rivia was sitting on her bed alone. She wasn't paying much attention to all the noise bolstering around her, as she quietly gazed out the rainy window.

  The little boy suddenly yells, stopping everyone and snapping Rivia out of her trance.

  "Hey!!", the little boy shouts. "They said they're gonna get the con- the con- the constwa-"

  "The construction scroll, Aiwi?" an older boy corrects him.

  "Yeah! That! And- and Wivia,"

  "Yeah?"

  "They-they said that the winwess wewo and- and Melowi, are leafving."

  Rivia's eyes widen as the room erupts in cheers.

  "Yay!! We're finally getting a new playground!"

  "We don't have to play in that big fountain anymore!!"

  She leaps off her bed and flies towards Aiwi, grabbing him by his shoulders. "What do you mean they're leaving? Leaving where? Why?"

  "Welllll, they- they said a lot of stuff, like they called them 'infer-ewo' beanings. And- and your dad seemed reawy mad."

  Rivia's voice shifts from worried to annoyed. "He didn't even mean to! It was because you guys threw that ball at him!".

  "It's not our fault he can't catch a ball!" the older girl says.

  "Wait, what does 'infer-eror' mean?" A little girl asks as she raises her hand.

  "I think it means they're stupid," another little girl laughed.

  "You hear that, Rivia? Your mom and the adults think the wingless weirdos are stupid!" A young boy yells out as he fails to stop himself from laughing.

  All the other kids continue to laugh, irritating Rivia until she turns towards the window. She shushes them as she notices a figure through the thick clouds. She squints as she cracks the window, her eyes being attacked by the roaring winds. All the other kids jump onto her bed and squeeze their heads to see. While they bicker about who gets a turn to see, the wind spreads its camouflage to expose Atlan's body, hunched over as its wings forcefully flap.

  "Why is he flying like that?" A boy asks. "Is he tired?"

  "Rivia? What's wrong?" A little girl questions.

  Rivia's eyes are wide open, entranced by the figure.

  "The rain doesn't look that heavy. He shouldn't be flying like that," she shakily states.

  "What if he's hurt? We have to tell the adults!" a little girl says.

  "Go tell them, Aiwi! Get everyone ready to go!" Rivia commands.

  "Awwwwwwwww. But we didn't get to finish our game." Aiwi whines as he rushes out the door.

  "Why are you overreacting, Rivia?" An older girl asks. "He's probably just hurt or something."

  "No, it's something worse," she flatly retorts. "Look at him again; no one flies like that, especially someone as old as Mr. Atlan."

  "I mean, I guess you're right. But everyone's already here. If he tries anything, my dad could stop him easily," she says smugly.

  Rivia rolls her eyes as she fixes her bed, glaring at the window as the figure comes closer and closer. As it approached, the house felt colder-shivering with confusion and fear.

  The rest of the kids rush in behind him, their faces filled with panic. They rush into their parents arms, clenching onto them..

  "We saw it! I think it's Atlan, but he's moving weird!" Rivia says.

  Talq's ears perk up as he raises his head. He wipes his eyes as they tighten and helps his face give off a stern expression.

  "I'll go stand guard at the door. Everyone else, get ready to go. It's raining too hard for anyone to go home," he commands.

  The thuds against the floor shook the house as everyone got their belongings and fixed the cushions. Parents comfort their scared children with strong but shaky hands. They work together to ensure everyone is safe and their wings are full and flourishing. They all move towards the back door, ready to evacuate. While everyone else talks amongst themselves about who's taking who, Briva and Talq meet in the kitchen, with him ordering some villagers to take a stand at the front door.

  "Honey, are you sure you and the others will be ok?" Briva asks, grabbing onto his arm.

  "We'll be fine," he stares blankly while shaking her off.

  "How can you still be mad about earlier? I wasn't trying to embarrass you," she says.

  "It's not about me, Bri. It's about those kids," he responds.

  "Look, I'm just thinking about our future. We all are. We know they're just kids, but we have a tradition to follow. And, I don't want that to ruin our village," she says, palming his head as she turns it to him. "Or...us."

  He looks at her pleading eyes, causing him to soften.

  "It won't, and neither will they," he says as he kisses her cheek.

  The sudden banging on the door halted their discussion, the sound echoing through the thin walls, making them jump.

  "Come on Briva, we have to go!" a young mother shouts.

  "I know!", she shouts back, hugging her husband tightly. "Please be safe, Tal."

  "I will.", he hugs back. Rivia quickly runs to him, squeezing him tightly before leaving with the others. One by one, the villages flew through the door into the harsh storm, holding the children tightly as they dived towards the lower part of town. Briva and Talq shared one last glance before she grabbed Rivia and shut the door behind her. He runs to the front, nodding in agreement with the other villagers as they swing the door open.

  The wind and rain fill the home with a howling breeze, where their eyes meet with Atlan's Drade-corrupted body, standing still on the landing pad against the storm. Its wings transformed from an utterly cloudy white to a decayed dark purple, with feathers rapidly shedding. Even with his armor covering its body, Talq could see its contorted, purple skin and clear white eyes. Before he could say anything, the body swung its arm towards his neck and tightened its grip. Its gauntlet begins to crack as its fingers force their way through the metal to reach his skin.

  "The...hell?!" he shouts before a young man shouts "Fyi-u" lighting a burst of flame from his hand to the gauntlet, causing the body to writhe in pain, breaking Talq free from its grasp. He flings himself back with his wings as the others charge ahead. A "Heil-mi" sings through the air as Talq pinches his wound, sealing it. He tries to catch his breath as he sees the body flail its limbs and arms around, trying to fight back. Its screech mimics Atlan's voice but with an unnerving hiss. It pops off a sharp chunk of its armor with dark webs coming from its chest to defend itself, slashing at the others. The loud booms and bangs of thunder and lightning fill the ears of the villagers who escape outside, overshadowing the cries and yells happening in the house. They slide onto the mainland with the fountain, dashing toward Atlan's home. The many knocks and bangs on the door alert Watcher and Melody, who quickly fizzle their spells and hide their books. Melody heads to the door, oblivious to the information she's about to learn.

  ================================================================================

  "Hello?" Melody creaks open the door. She's met with shivering and wet villagers, rushing inside before she can ask any question past her. As they dry themselves with Wyhi spells; they meet at the big table, taking over Watcher and Melody's spots and even sitting in the third spot reserved for Atlan, moving his bowl out of the way. The room fills with conversation as kids spread out and mutter with their parents, leaving Watcher to rush to the table.

  "Hey! That's our stuff!" he shouts, moving their bowls to the front, making sure nothing spills. "You can't just come in without telling us!"

  "This is the chief's home, young man. We're always welcome here," Arui says as she dries the babies' wings.

  "And what do we have the pleasure of everyone coming here?" Melody says sarcastically.

  Her comment causes everyone else to look down in worry, making her look around concernedly.

  "There's something wrong with Atlan!" a little girl shouts.

  "He was flying all weird!" another kid shouts.

  "Our daddies went to go stop him at Wivia's house!" Aiwi yells.

  The other kids and adults start talking over each other, overwhelming the room and Watcher and Melody's heads with different and concerning words about their father. Rivia realizes this and reluctantly tugs on her mom's shoulder. Briva feels her distress and stands up, silencing everyone as she clears her throat. She explains how he arrived late to their meeting, with him just coming a few minutes ago in a weird state. She continues telling them how Talq and the others stayed back to try and stop him, with her hands shaking and voice cracking with worry. After her explanation, Melody's worries grow, thinking the worst is happening to her father. The story at least comforts her that he's alive, but his strange demeanor keeps her confused. She only responds with a quiet "Ok" as she quietly walks to her room, slamming the door behind her. Watcher, on the other hand, runs to Rivia, continuously begging her to explain more.

  "What do you mean 'he looked different'? What did he look like?

  "I- I don't know! He was like, flying all weird, like a-, a-, I don't know," Rivia exclaims. "I'm sorry, Watcher."

  He looks down in sadness before hearing a door slam, with Melody stomping back into the room, with her handbag over her shoulder.

  "And where do you think you're going, young lady?" Arui exclaims. "Off to copy our magic and fly up into danger?"

  Some kids giggled in the back, being shushed by their parents.

  "...Yeah, I will," she snaps back. "And I'll do it better than the rest of you cowards."

  "Yeah! We will!" Watcher repeats, running to her side as he fixes his shoes.

  "Wait! It's not safe for either of you to go out. Why don't you just stay here?" a young mother pleads.

  Melody stays silent as her face lightens towards the mother before darkening as she glares at Briva. She turns around and opens the door, the roaring winds and rain flying into the room.

  "Whatever. You two can go off and get lost for all I care," Briva claps back.

  "No! Wait!"

  Rivia rushes to Watcher, holding onto his hand. Her hands cup around his ear as she begins to whisper.

  "The adults were talking about, well, kicking you two out."

  His eyes widen as she continues to explain.

  "Don't worry. They said they won't go along with it until your dad comes back, so if he's good you should be fine! Now, pretend I said something else!"

  "Okayyyy. I got it.", Watcher says with a smirk.

  "Don't worry, Rivia!", he shouts. "I'm going with Me-me! We'll be fine!"

  She looks at his big grin and Melody's soft thumbs-up and she walks away slowly, with a soft smile. She glides back to her mother, seeing the scornful looks of everyone there.

  "Well, see you all later." Watcher waves before being tugged out by Melody. Their stares follow his eyes until the door slams behind him. As Melody stretches his arm back to mimic wings, she questions him.

  "So, was your girlfriend talking to you about?", she says as she flaps her arms to cast "Wy-mi" calling a ball of wind to surround them.

  "Well, she said the adults want us to leave," he sighs. Melody's feet stop as she turns to him.

  "Ugh, I knew it.", she whines. "And I bet they blamed you for what their bratty kids did."

  "Well, at least they can't do it yet until Dad comes back. He won't let them!", he exclaims, running his fingers through the air bubble.

  "Yeah," she says, looking up at the clouded sky, "Hopefully he's fine."

  Watcher skips around her before noticing a bright orange light in the corner of his eye.

  "Me-me, look. Maybe there's something there," he says, tugging on her dress.

  She agrees and they run towards it, squinting their eyes as the shine of orange blends with a faint glimmer of blue from the staircase dims. Watcher grabs onto her wrist as they walk down, her spell fizzling as they go down. The rain and wind hiss into silence, leading them to a walkway surrounded by flowing water. Inside, they see a shrine surrounded by circles depicting the sun, surrounding a pedestal with an armband on top. Before they can say anything, they feel a voice echoing.

  "Who are you two???"

  Their heads shake in confusion. "Who are you?? And where are you?", Melody says as her arms pull Watcher closer to her, with him pushing back a bit.

  "Those voices....! Are you two Watcher and Melody?"

  They look at each other before Watcher shouts, "Yeah! And how do you know our names?!" his voice bouncing around. "And what happened to our dad?!"

  "I am Orius...And your father... Atlan.... tried his best to help me stop the Drade's arrival, but I failed him....And now your village is in danger."

  Their heads fall to the floor, with tears swell in their eyes.

  "Wait...What's a Drade, and what did it do to Dad?" Watcher winces.

  "He should've dealt with the spawn easily...But it seems someone else intercepted my plan ... But we must work on this one thing at a time..."

  Her eyes blazing, Melody pulls him into her embrace, the cold stone of the shrine a stark contrast to the heat of her anger and the tremor in her voice.

  "'We'? I accept your apology, but who said I'm...we are just going to follow you? Do you have a plan that'll actually work?"

  "..."

  "You will work with me...As it was your father's last wish. He also told me to protect you no matter the cost, and the only way I can do so is by sharing one of your bodies. Watcher's preferably, as I don't intend on intruding on your privacy."

  She glides her hand through her eyes, clearing both her nose and sight as she stomping her feet, tugging Watcher with her as she approaches the pedestal.

  "O..O...Ok...", he sniffles, clearing his eyes as his grip on her dress releases. He walts up to the pedestal before being tugged back by her.

  "Wait!" Melody shouts. "Spirit voice thing, before you do your little body share thing, you need to make a promise with me."

  ".......What do you wish for me to agree on?"

  "That you're telling the truth, 100%. For all we know, you could be the one that gave him that Drade virus or whatever it is."

  "...I assure you Melody, I am telling the truth....I've known your father for a long time, and I never disrespect the wishes of the deceased."

  "Fine then," she sighs, letting go of Watcher before crossing her arms.

  As his finger clasp around the armband, it pulses with a red glow, shifting from a dark red to a bright orange.

  "Watcher..... Do you fully consent to letting my spirit dwell within your body until we fulfill our pact?"

  "Yes. For Dad, I fully agree," Watcher says with a small nod.

  "Then I will cast the spell......"

  Orius' voice starts to shake the room, shifting and twisting the water around them. While he reciting, Melody intently watches from a distance, paying attention to every detail. The armband trickles up Watcher's right arm, surrounding itself with a sunset colored mist. It locates his shoulder blade, before planting itself right on top of it. Watcher lets out a deep breath before feeling a sharp needle singe his skin, forcing him to cry out in pain. Melody quickly sings a 'Heil-u' before chastising Orius.

  "You liar! You promised you wouldn't hurt him!" she shouts, as she glides her fingers across his forearm.

  "I apologize, Melody. I forgot how much pain the user feels the first time they put it on."

  "It's alright, Orius! I'm fine!" He says as he jumps back into the air, noticing how only his left arm goes up.

  "Why didn't you move your arm? Does it still work???" Melody asks, casting another Heil-u to check for more injuries before it pushes her hand down and slams its thumb on her forehead.

  "Sorry for being so rough, but this is how we'll have to communicate for now. I will keep our promise and only take control of his arm when needed."

  Her face scrunches up before peeling the thumb off. "Alright," she sighs. "Let's go stop that Drade thingy, Wa-cha-cha." She runs to his left hand as she pulls him to follow her.

  "Ow!!", he says, rubbing the sore shoulder. They leave the room, walking back up the stairs. While Watcher inspects the new armband, Melody's mind wonders what their father could've turned into. Not to mention what Rivia was saying about them being kicked out. She takes a deep breath as the pounding of the rain fills their ears once again. Flapping her arms and casting "Wy-mi," the pair walk to the landing pad in front of Rivia's house, prepared for their first encounter with Drade and their last moment with their father.

  End of Prologue II