James set Luna down gently as they reached the living section of the forest once again. Her ears flopped down as he pulled his hands away, and she reached out to grab his waist.

"But, my knight in shining armor is supposed to carry me…" she whined.

Jamie groaned. "You're impossible."

"Yes, you still love watching me shake my tail."

Frowning, Jamie looked her up and down. "I bet I could do a better job with cleaning your tail than James. Care to test me out?"

Snorting a laugh, Luna clung to him tighter. "No thanks, Jamie. Nothing could beat the hands of the man I was destined for."

Mender clapped James on the shoulder. "We probably shouldn't let them drink together. You might lose your wife."

"Or you would lose your sister to my growing family," James said with a wink.

"As if!" Jamie grumbled. "No, offense, James, but you aren't my type."

Letting Luna go, he crossed his arms. "Handsome, a better enchanter, and amazing in bed?"

Jamie snorted and doubled over laughing. "Too much!"

Luna giggled. "You did play that up a little much."

Mender snicked near his shoulder. "Even your wife questions your ability in bed."

James scowled at them. "At least I'm handsome and a better enchanter."

"But good in bed?" Jamie questioned. "That will be the day."

"I'm training him," Luna argued. "He's a lot of work."

"He's a man, what do you expect."

Now Mender joined him in frowning.

"I say we ditch them," James voiced. "Apparently Luna doesn't love me anymore."

"I guess Jamie doesn't love me either," Mender huffed.

Walking off, James didn't look back as both girls quickly tried to recover. Soft footsteps hurried after them, just before a pair of arms wrapped around his neck and a body landed on his back.

"Mush!" Luna yelled.

"Get off me!" he growled.

Jamie landed on Mender a moment later. "Carry me, brother!"

Mender shared a look with him before picking up his pace. "I have a question for you, James?"

Matching his pace, James scanned the forest and felt souls fleeing them. "What is it?"

"Does Luna have a leash for you?"

Snorting a laugh, Luna kissed James on the cheek. "I'm going to have one made."

Groaning, James now understood that it was going to be a long day.

A few hours before dusk, James brought everyone to a stop outside a broken down house that still had a useable basement. Mender and Jamie smoothed out the floor and stabilized the walls before everyone entered.

"This has been a great day," Luna voiced.

"For you, maybe," James huffed.

"Oh, don't be like that, Honey," she cooed while cupping his cheek. "I'll make it up to you tonight. You've been a good sport."

Jamie giggled. "You treated him like a dog all afternoon. How many times did you snap an imaginary whip at him?"

Glowering, James pulled away from his wife. Leaving the three of them together, he stepped out of the basement and back into the forest. The souls around the area kept their distance, apart from a lone vulture that landed near his side.

"You're not going to make fun of me either, are you?" he asked.

Shaking its head, the vulture hopped over and dropped two gold rings on the ground.

"Where did you get these?"

The vulture seemed to shrug before flying away. It was odd not being paid in feathers, but rings were not what he expected.

Picking up the gold bands, he found them to be rather plain. No gems were inserted, and they were smooth to the touch. He could use them for practicing his enchanting, but with a glance back at the basement, he shook his head.

She deserves something special. I'll wait for now.

Walking further into the forest, he came to a small clearing. Tall, green grass created a clean meadow. Moving to the middle, he smoothed out the grass as he laid down.

I didn't know friends made fun of each other so much. Is that normal? Am I upset over something so common?

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He didn't know what to think. He was sure that when he was a kid, he had other kids to play around, but it all seemed so distant. Almost like part of his life was fake.

What happened to my memories? Why did I not realize something so significant? What is wrong with my childhood?

"Are you okay?" a soft voice asked.

Popping an eye open, he found Luna sitting down by his side. "I don't know," he admitted.

Pulling her knees to her chest, she let out a shaky breath. "I'm sorry…"

He didn't answer as he closed his eyes again.

"I pushed you too far," she continued. "I've never had friends I could banter with before, and I made all of the jokes about you. I shouldn't have done that."

"That's not normal?" he asked.

A gentle hand touched his cheek. "No, James, it's not. Friends and lovers don't make fun of each other that much. Not for hours at least. Maybe once in a while, but not what we did to you today."

"I wouldn't know," he admitted.

The silence that followed was only distracted by the cool breeze blowing through the meadow. He could feel that Jamie was upset as well, while Mender was annoyed.

"You should know these things, James," Luna said.

"I don't." Shrugging, he added, "I don't know if I've ever had a friend before."

"How is that possible?" Laying down next to him, she rested her head on his chest. "Even I had friends as a child."

"I can't answer that." Opening his eyes, he rested his fingers between her ears. "My childhood feels fuzzy at best. I never realized it until my soul activated. Memories just aren't there."

"That's definitely not normal." Pulling away, she propped herself up on her elbow. "Do you remember your parents?"

"Yeah…" Frowning, he tried to recall his mother's face. It was hazy and unfocused. Something that shouldn't be a problem to recall felt distant.

"James?"

Shaking his head, he closed his eyes again and enjoyed the wind. "It doesn't matter, Luna. We're making new memories."

Laying back down on his chest, she hummed. "I like making new memories with you. I don't know how I lived without you."

"I'm not that great," James argued. "There are hundreds of people out there that don't mind demi-humans. I'm just the first you ran into."

"That's only part of it, James. You gave me everything within your power when we first met. Even though I didn't want anything to do with you and ran, you never stopped. I would have starved, or died of thirst if you had left me alone. And with how I was treating you, I wouldn't have blamed you. Once I realized how stupid I had been, I found myself wanting to be with you forever. I just wanted to feel a small fragment of the love you held in your heart."

Rubbing her ears, he felt Luna's tail start to bat his leg. "I don't understand this world."

"What do you mean?"

Sighing, he said, "I don't know why I was cast out. Why did I have to be destroyed? Why did my parents experiment on me? Why do I have a flock of vultures bowing to me and helping me each day?"

Whistling, Luna burrowed into him further. "That's a lot of heavy questions we have to figure out together. It's a good thing I'm going to follow you to the ends of the world."

"Thank you." Kissing the tip of her ear, he felt it twitch and smack him in the mouth.

"Don't tease me," she said with a giggle. "They are sensitive."

"I don't think I care," he joked. "They are mine to play with."

Humming happily, she leaned up and smiled. "All of me is yours, James. Like I said, I just wanted a sliver of your love, and now that I have felt your soul dancing with mine, I'm addicted."

"We should watch the stars tonight."

Crawling up to his mouth, she kissed him. "We should do far more than watch the stars."

"Oh? Are you here to seduce me?" he teased.

"Yes. Now kiss me back."

Mender glanced at the door to the basement minutes after Luna had left. "I hope she is figuring things out with him."

Jamie nodded by his side. "Yeah. I feel bad."

Sitting down, he pulled out a warm dish of food. "He doesn't seem like he's ever really been around people before."

Jamie hummed as she carved a disk of power. "He has more secrets than even our elders. Who would willingly live in the wastelands just to get answers?"

Mender paused with the fork partway to his mouth. "Jamie, we are going to be following him. What does that say about us?"

"I'm mostly following her. I mean, have you seen how toned her muscles are as she dances around while fighting?"

Groaning, Mender shook his head. "We really need to find you a girlfriend."

"I already found the love of my life…"

"Who is taken," he stated. "She doesn't want you that way."

Jamie paused in her carving. "I wonder if I team up with her and James one night if I could have her? I would have to please him too though…"

Setting down his plate, Mender threw up his hands. "That's enough out of you! Focus on your work and make sure you eat."

"Yes, dad—"

He didn't say anything as she cut herself off. Instead, he watched the tears come to her eyes before she returned the stylus and disk back to her ring.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"It still hurts," Mender whispered in return.

Nodding, she scooted up to his side and rested her head on his shoulder. "I wish we had met James before. I think he could have helped."

Closing his eyes, Mender sniffled. "We need to move on, Jamie. But don't you think for one moment that I'll forget. If James can give me a fraction of his power…"

"I feel the same way," Jamie growled. "Once we are strong enough."

"Yes. Only then."

Amber slammed her fist into the stomach of her enforcer, knocking him to the ground before he spilled his stomach over her shoes. "What the fuck do you mean someone took it?"

The man gasped for each breath as his partner spoke up. "It was the humans on High Street!"

Growling, Amber looked down at the man she punched. "You two let a bunch of no nothing humans take our goods?"

"Y-yes…"

Stepping back, Amber extended the claws from her fingertips. "Let me remind you why we don't back down to those human scum."

Before either man could react, she slashed them across their chests, ripping flesh and spilling blood. The wounds weren't lethal, but they would scar.

"Your replacements will be here in a few minutes," she told them. "You're relieved until I can think of what to do with you."

"But…Ma'am…"

Growling again, she walked away, leaving the two elves on the ground. She wouldn't let their families starve, but they needed to be punished. Their wives would understand that they needed to hide the coin she gave them.

Setting her course for the human district, she felt her anger bubbling up. She knew exactly which humans stole from her, and where they hid. It was time she reminded them that she was in charge.

Pulling her hood over her ears and face, she picked up her pace. Her tail was wrapped around her waist, hiding it from sight as she raced through the streets. It was going to be dark soon, and she needed to hit the hideout with enough time to get back.

Only a few lingering shoppers and workers were on the streets when she reached the human district. Her path took her deeper into the commercial area, where she found the front of the drug smugglers. Their shop sold clothes by the day, while they hid out in the basement below.

Shifting the hidden panel at the back of the shop, she opened the small hole leading into the basement. With a snort at how easy it was to find, she pulled out her present. It was already gift wrapped and ready.

Throwing it into the hole as hard as she could, she heard her gift bounce off the walls before startled shouts came from the hidden chamber.

"What the fuck is that?" a man shouted.

"Something's wrapped around it," another stated.

Amber's smile widened as she heard the paper unwrapping.

"What does it say?"

"Take this gift as from Q, a reminder that I run the streets."

"Oh fuck!" a woman screamed.

It was too late. Amber slammed the panel shut just as the bomb exploded. Poisonous fumes flooded the basement as she walked away. The men and women that stole from her would only last a few seconds, but they would at least have time to regret stealing from her.

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