► Dark Miasma ◄

As they entered, there was nothing but quiet, so they assumed that no one was home at the moment. Vox decided to leave his bag next to the entrance so that the others new, they were back. Then he helped Shoto get to his room. Celine was quietly following them with Snowball in her arms as she looked around in astonishment. Everything seemed so big and extravagant. It was intimidating yet comforting. It finally felt like she was starting a new life.

After arriving at Shoto's room, Vox opened the door and sat Shoto down on his bed. 'You should get some rest now' Vox worried. 'Yeah, I will. Don't worry. I'm just a little exhausted' the other assured. 'I'm just gonna wash up and then I will lay down' he added. 'Alright. I'll get you a bucket with clean water' Vox said. 'Okay. Thanks' Shoto replied. As Vox went out of the room, Celine had a look of guilt in her face which alerted Shoto 'Is something wrong, Celine?' he asked. 'I- I'm sorry. This is my fault...' she was dejected. 'No, Celine. It's not your fault. I just overdid it a little. I'm not hurt or anything' he calmed her. She felt a little better after hearing him say that, but she still wanted to do something for him 'Then. Can I help you with anything?' she asked. He thought for a moment 'Yes, you can. I want you to live a happy life from now on. Eat until you are full and wash up, so that you don't get sick. Also, don't forget to play a lot. That would make me very happy' he replied with a smile. Celine's face instantly lit up 'I can do that' she grinned. 'Thank you' he said. After about a minute, Vox came back with a bucket full of water. He used a water stone to fill it and a fire stone to heat it up a little. 'Thanks Vox. I'll be fine now. Can you help Celine and Snowball wash up, too?' Shoto asked. 'Already on it, pretty boy' Vox winked. Shoto only smiled and shook his head. Vox, Celine and Snowball went off to the bathroom where Vox poured water into a big bathtub and warmed it up with the fire stone. Celine only watched in amazement as it was the first time that she witnessed this kind of magic. While Snowball and Celine took their bath, Vox searched for some clothes that could fit her, since her's were ready for the trash bin. But, since there were no children in their household, he could only find one of his pullovers . It was A black one with with a turtleneck. 'Well, I guess she will be wearing a dress for now' Vox chuckled and went to bring her the 'dress'.

On his way there, he met Ike. 'Vox, you are back. How was your journey?' he asked. 'Yeah. It was... eventful. We brought someone with us. Just a little heads up' Vox answered. 'Oh. Is that why you are running around with a pullover in your hand?' Ike concluded. 'Yes, indeed. But, we will need to get her decent clothes, since she is a little small for ours' Vox replied. 'Her? Ah, so it's a child, I assume?' Ike concluded once again. 'You are smart as always. She is around ten years old. But, don't be surprised. She looks a little younger, since she never got enough nutrients to grow' Vox frowned. 'What? Ok... got it. You can introduce her to us later. I don't want to scare her by suddenly appearing in front of her' Ike voiced. 'Alright. Oh. She also got a little friend, but you'll see later' Vox added which made Ike tilt his head with a confused expression.

About half an hour later, they were heading to the kitchen after their bath. Snowball was now completely white. Vox had to change the water a few times because there was so much dirt in it's fur and Celine's hair. Her hair showed a beautiful blond now. 'I guess, that's why your name's Snowball, heh?' Vox realized. 'Pui' it sang. 'And you look like a princess now, Celine' he smiled. 'Really? Yey. I'm a princess in a big castle' she chimed which made Vox chuckle.

Upon arriving in the kitchen, they were greeted by Ike and Luca. 'So that's our newcomer, Ike told me about. Hello there. The name's Luca Kaneshiro. You can just call me Luca' Luca greeted. 'He-Hello. I'm Celine' she replied shyly while hiding behind Vox. Luca came a little too close to her, so she got a little scared. 'Oh, Luca. You shouldn't startle her like that. Give her some space' Ike scolded. Luca apologized while looking like an abandoned puppy and sat back on his chair next to the table. This time, Ike came a little closer, but not too close and kneeled down to her eye level. 'Hello Celine. My name is Ike Eveland. You can just call me Ike if you want. I hope we can become good friends from now on' Ike greeted. Celine felt much safer now and slowly moved from behind Vox to next to him. Ike's gaze wondered to Snowball which was still in her arms. He immediately recognized the fur ball. 'Is that one of the legendary quildren?' he asked in shock. 'I-I don't know what Snowball is' she responded confused. 'Wow. I always wanted to meet one. So your name is Snowball? It fits you very well. It's nice to meet both of you' Ike smiled. Both of them seemed happy and Snowball seemed to sense Ike's kindness since it hopped into his arm with a 'Pui'. That startled Ike slightly, but he soon started petting his new little friend. 'You are so soft my little friend' he complimented which little Snowball appreciated as it nuzzled itself further into Ike's arms. 'Snowball seems to like you' Celine laughed.

Seeing how sad Luca looked, Celine decided to go up to him. 'Excuse me ehm... Luca. Can I sit next to you?' she politely asked. His mood instantly changed and he happily agreed. Ike realized, someone was missing. 'But Vox, where is Shoto?' he wondered. 'Oh, he is resting in his room' Vox replied. 'What? Did something happen?' he worried. Before Vox could answer, someone else came through the kitchen door. It was Shu and Mysta. 'Hey guys. Did we hear right? Something happened to Shoto?' Mysta asked also worried. 'No no. He is fine. He is just a little exhausted. I'll explain it to you in a little bit, but first meet our new family members' Vox pointed into Celine's and Snowball's direction. 'Oh hello there. My name is Shu Yamino and this is Mysta Rias. Just call us Shu and Mysta. What's your name?' Shu asked with a big smile on his face. He just loved cuteness and well, they were both adorable. Mysta was just waving and smiling 'Hello Shu and Mysta. My name is Celine and this is Snowball' she once again announced. 'Alright. Now, that we all introduced each other, how about you tell us about your journey, Vox?' Ike demanded. Everyone was now sitting around the table as Vox told their story. Towards the end, he explained why Shoto was exhausted and told everyone about the artifacts.

As Vox had almost finished telling the story, Shoto slowly walked through the door. 'Hey guys. I'm back' he announced. While everyone greeted him, Luca rushed to him and ruffled his hair. 'Shotooo. Next time I'm also going on an adventure. You promised' he declared. 'Haha, calm down. We just came back from the last one. Don't worry. The promise is still valid' Shoto laughed. 'Good timing, Shoto. There's something I want to show you guys' Shu voiced. 'Oh. Did you finish, what you were working on?' Ike asked. 'Yes, I did' Shu reached into his pocket. 'These are charms, I made. I can connect them to you. In case something happens to one of us, the corresponding charms will rip depending on the severity and the place of the injury' Shu explained. 'They look like little people' Celine recognized. 'Haha, yes' Shu laughed. 'Let's say, someone gets hurt on his leg. If it's a cut, then the charm will rip on the same spot. If it's just pain, like a hit or something, then it will glow on that spot' he explained further. 'Wow. That's really useful. This way, we know when someone is in danger and can act accordingly' Mysta was astonished. 'Exactly' Shu replied. 'I just need a little bit of blood from each of you and drop it on the charm. It should be enough to use a needle to prick your finger. But we need to do it on five different charms so each of us can take one, since we are not always together. I didn't expect Celine's arrival, so I didn't make enough, but you shouldn't be in any danger to begin with' Shu finished. Everyone nodded and took their respective charms. Celine watched them in astonishment. Every time someone dropped blood on one of the charms, it lit up in a blue color. After they finished connecting their charms, they wrote their names on them and handed each person one of their charms.

'Alright. Now that we are done with that, we need to talk to you about something. Shortly after you two left, strange things started happening' Ike started. 'Strange things?' Vox asked. 'Yes. It started in the forest where Shoto and Shu first met in front. Animals started collapsing out of exhaustion' Ike continued. 'What? Exhaustion?' Shoto asked confused. 'Yes. I asked Mysta to look into it and apparently, there seems to be a dark mist that's slowly approaching our castle' Ike explained. 'Dark miasma to be specific' Shu added. 'What? We need to find out where it's coming from' Vox jumped up. 'Calm down, Vox. Sadly, we couldn't find out more than that just yet' Ike calmed him. 'Alright. That seems to be a job for the guild' Shoto lit up. 'Wow. Someone's eager, after just nearly exhausting himself' Mysta teased. 'Hey. That was different' Shoto responded half angrily and half embarrassed which made Mysta laugh. 'I should go alone for now, since I can use my earrings. It would be safer for all of us, since it seems like this is not a coincidence' Shoto suggested. 'I don't know. I don't like the idea of you going alone' Vox disagreed. 'Don't worry. It will be fine' Shoto assured. 'I agree with Shoto. Besides, there is so much paper work piled up that you need to look into' Ike agreed. Vox visibly didn't like the idea of working right after his fun trip. 'Fine. Let's talk more about this tomorrow and eat. I'm starving' he sighed. Everyone laughed and agreed to forget about such gloomy topics for the evening.