5 months ter

  Location: Dónal office

  Φ Sitting over his desk, Dónal holds his hands against his head in full despair. “What am I going to do, what am I going to do.”

  Looking down at the paper in front of him, he says, “The delivery of those special goods will be any day now, and I don’t have the mao deal with them. Everyone has gone bae for Imbold they haven’t e back yet.”

  Due to his cowardice when all the workers asked for ara two months off during the Imbolc celebration, he said yes even though just like Samhain it left him to be the only worker left iation.

  “I SHOULD HAVE PUT MY FOOT DOWN!”

  Suddenly an idea pops into Dónal head which causes him to say, “Wait that might work.”

  Grabbing his hands, he puts them against his head and says, “No, this work is specifically supposed to be handled by the Tuatha de Dann oation, if I let them help it would be a vile abuse of my position.

  And when all the other workers do e back, what excuse am I going to use to expin what I have been doing? I could just keep them on leave, but that only costs more problems for me overall.”

  Rubbing his hands against his head even faster, Dónal screams, “CHARLES SAVE ME!”

  Looking around, I realize it is only me around, so I say, “It is not like I have any other option, and I have already broken our ws once what’s a sed time(Criminal logic). I just got to go with it!”

  -Break-

  A few days ter

  Location: Far east of the River Lúide, inside a nearby forest

  Φ In the middle of the forest Charles, Nero, and Mariana look at the projes of the omega owl and take down notes.

  Charles looks curious and ied, and Nero looks rexed as if the words being said make perfect seo him. At the same time, Mariana is shaking with frustration as most of it goes over her head.

  As her frustration reaches its max, Mariana sms her hands against the ground and screams, “I DON’T GET IT!”

  Charles looks at Nero and says, “It’s happening again.”

  Letting out a giant, sigh Nero says, “Just ignore her if you do she should get back to studying like normal.”

  As Mariana throws a fit beside them, she eventually notices they aren’t paying any attention to her, so she throws a rht at the Omega owl.

  This causes the omega owl, to run towards Charles's arms, ao turn around in frustration saying, “What’s wrong with you.”

  “Sorry I ’t hear your wines, I need you to spea-.” Before Mariana finish Charles throws some of the mud around right into her face.

  With a pyful smile, Nero says, “Oh sorry I don’t speak mud monster, so could you speak up!”

  A smile matg Nero appears on her face, and she says, “Well if that’s how you want to py it let’s go.”

  Pig up mud, Marina throws is directly at Charles.

  -Break-

  Location: Campsite

  As the three return from their day at work, Charles looks over to the two covered in mud, and says, “Bad job,” While stig up his thumb.

  “WE KNOW,” Both Charles and Mariana say in unison.

  Seeing all three kids at the entrance, Edward waves to them, and says, “How you guys doing?”

  Seeing Edward Nero, says, “Horribly!”

  “Well, that is strange sidering I didn’t see you guys at all during the castle stru today. But yet you do all led, so you finally tell me where you have all been scurrying off to?”

  Pointing at Edward, Mariana says, “If you ask too many questions we will be forced to ground you permaly!"

  With a piece of sweat, trig down his face, Edward says, “Ok, ok. I like being alive.”

  Turning his face to Charles, he says, “Where sharing stories over there, do you want to e along, I tell you more about our home try?”

  Charles putting up both his arms in joy says, “Yes.”

  As Charles walks away with Ghee both me and Mariaowards the other dire.

  Ever since Samhain, everyone around the campsite is a lot friendlier with each other and it isn’t as tense as it used to be. Now after work, a lot of people simply sit down and talk to each other.

  Talking with each other would have been hard if the beastkin were still around, but ever sihe end of the first month of the year all the beastkin have disappeared and things are like how they were when Samhain was going on with only Dónal around.

  And this has bes, like us getting to walk around the campsite all we want after work, but also things like this.

  In front of me and Mariana are buckets filled with water.

  Instead of the beastkin simply spshing us with water now buckets are simply left out for us to use to spsh ourselves.

  Walking away from the bucket, a woman by the name of Sandra says, “You guys are really dirty, what happened.”

  “HREW DIRT AT ME!”

  “MARIANA STARTED IT!”

  After letting out a little ugh, Sandra says, “Almost everyone has had a bath, so don’t worry about using as much water as you need.” With that, Sandra walks away.

  If this had been before Samhain, we would have all been fighting over who gets to use the most water, it would have been hell. But since all of us are on rather good terms, it is nice like this.

  Still, with every new victory, we get a new problem, like the girl o me. “So Mariana would you like to tell me what that whole freak out was about.”

  “It was about the fact that nothing is making seo me.”

  “When we first started you were ahead of both me and Charles but sihen you have steadily started to fall behind the both of us.”

  “Don’t you think I know that already! It is really just getting b and no loig in my mind. I ’t be like Charles who gets excited over every hing he sees, my passion is dying as we speak.”

  “I get what you mean, while he struggles to uand he stantly shows an i and is stantly excited while learning.”

  “Well, then what about you Nero, what makes you work so hard that you even surpass Charles's speed in learning.”

  With a thoughtful look, Nero says, “Simple, I would like to give both you and Charles a better life.”

  Surprised Mariana says, “Huh? That ’t really be your reason.”

  “It might be hard to believe but it really is all I think about. I noticed that by simply doing this little bit of studying I might one day be able to take all of us out of here and to somewhere a bit better.”

  Mariana blushes then she moves her fapletely out of the dire of Nero.

  ed Nero asks, “Is something wrong?”

  “NOTHING!” Mariana screams.

  “Ok then!?” Nero says surprised.

  Realizing something, Mariana says, “Well there is actually a question I want to ask you.”

  “Go ahead,” I say while using water to one of my dirty arms.

  “Do you think it is even necessary to still learn their nguage?”

  Stopping my a, I look at Mariana and say, “What are you on about you knoe have to do this?”

  “I know that, but in all hoy, we both know that the amount of Beastkin watg us has decreased drastically, ever since Dónal became the boss. The only thing keeping any of us here are the Merarks that are at certain points iation.”

  The fact that the amount of beastkin not only watg us but in general has dropped isn’t something that has escaped the notice of any of us. Quite probably due to Dónal’s shitty leadership.

  “So what Mariana, what do you want us to do try and run for it?

  Getting up and moving close to my face, she says, “That’s exactly it. We could all just make a break for it and run away. Animals are dumb we should be able to outsmart them.”

  “Stht there Mariana. Wonderbeasts are not like any other animals, they are fiercely good at hunting their prey. I know you didn’t have many on your isnd, but my has had to deal with lots of them and they aren’t easy.”

  “We could just learn their patterns instead, with that information we would be able to make a break for it. Dónal is inpetent, and we have a lot more allies than we used to so it could be possible.”

  “Theill run into a simir issue from before; we don’t know where the hell we are even going to go. For all we know we could run into another beastkin pntation that’s why using their nguage to gain info was our number orategy.

  We haven’t brought anyone else into our strategy due to safety issues, and I doubt any of them would be willing to bet their lives on an insane pn like that especially when we have other options.”

  “Still, we have an opportunity now that might iure. So shouldn’t italise on it?”

  “We made a promise to pick the safer option already, we ’t put Charles's safety at risk.”

  “For all we know Dónal might get transferred out of here because of his horrible leadership, and when that happens we could get someone a lot worse than him in his pd that would be the end of all our bes!”

  “We already discussed this, so why are you even turning this into a fight.”

  “Because I suck!”

  “Huh?”

  “I don’t get the material, and then when I struggle I make sure to ruin both you and Charles's tration. I was the one who proposed this p I am the one who is struggling the most it is so pathetic!”

  “STOP BEING A MORON!” Nero shouts at Mariana.

  Shocked by his loud tone Mariana instantly quiets down, and as she does Nero says, “You are the only reason I am even trying this hard, if it wasn’t for you giving me hope I wouldn’t even have tried to learn their nguage, I would deem it too dangerous and leave it at that.

  Not only that but thanks to you everyone iation has been able to bee friends, iire time we were here I haven’t been able to do anything of the sort.

  Charles and everyone else is a lot happier thanks to you, so shut your stupid fad don’t talk down about the person who gave me hope, you fool!”

  As Nero stops his rant tain his breath, him and Mariana just start to stare at each other, until both of them turn red.

  Suddenly Mariana jumps up and grabs a bucket of water, causio ask, “WHERE ARE YOU GOING!”

  “BACK TO THE HUT!”

  “WHY!?”

  “TO BATHE!”

  “HAVE A GOOD ONE!”

  “YOU TO!”

  As Mariana walks away Nero starts to take off his clothes, but then from behind him, he feels someone blow into his ear.

  Moving forward with a blush he turns around, and says, “Mariana what is that for!?”

  “Oh, I was just w if you wao take a bath with me?”

  As Nero goes bright red he says, “LIKE HELL I WOULD WANT TO.”

  “Well, that’s too bad see you,” Mariana says with a victorious smile.

  As Mariana leaves, Nero crouches down, and as he does a man named Pluso walks up to him and says, “Bath time, bath time. Huh, Nero what are you doing?”

  “CROUG DOWN!”

  Taken aback, Pluso says, “I know that, but why?”

  “Because if I stand up, a certain part of myself will bee very visible!”