► Experiments ◄

It wasn't long until the sun started rising again. Since the campfire wasn't needed anymore, Shoto decided to put it out. He also arranged their belongings, so they would only have to put away their sleeping bags. After a while, Celine and Snowball woke up. 'Mm... Is it morning already?' she yawned. 'Yes. Did you sleep well?' Shoto asked. 'Yes, very' she smiled. 'Pui' her little friend agreed. 'That's good to hear. We will eat breakfast when Vox wakes up and continue our way back' Shoto voiced. 'Then, let's eat now, since I'm already awake' Celine jumped as Vox suddenly spoke up from behind her. 'S-Sorry. Were we too loud?' she cautioned. 'No no. It's time to get up anyway' he calmed her.

Half an hour later, they were already back on track in a slow pace.'Celine, can I ask you something?' Shoto carefully started. 'Sure' she sang. She was in a good mood. Probably because she finally got a new family. 'You used tracking magic to find us. Am I correct?' Shoto asked. 'Yes. But it suddenly didn't work on you anymore, big brother. Why?' she wondered. 'Well, it's because of this' he pointed towards his earring. 'Huh? How?' she was confused. 'It's an artifact. There is magic on it which can make me invisible and immune to tracking magic whenever I use it' he explained. 'Wow. So cool! Can I use it, too?' she beamed. 'I don't know, but we can find out' he took the earring off and put it in her hand. 'Do you feel anything?' Shoto questioned. 'Hm... No. Nothing' she answered. 'What, if you try putting some magic energy in?' he suggested. She tried to focus on the earring with the thought of becoming invisible, but nothing happened. 'Nope' she said. 'What about you, Vox?' Shoto turned towards Vox and handed him the earring. 'Me neither. I didn't feel any different like when I first held my katana' Vox shrugged. 'Well. I guess, that answers our question. Maybe it's bound to my soul or something' Shoto guessed. 'Oh. Too bad' Celine was visibly disappointed. 'Don't be sad. It's already rare for someone to have tracking magic. So be proud of it' Vox cheered her up. Celine's mood quickly got better. 'I am' she bubbled which made the two men laugh again. 'There is another thing I would like to try' Shoto implied. 'Yeah? What is it?' Vox asked. 'The scroll said that I become visible as soon as I get into contact with someone. But, what if I already am in contact with someone? Maybe it would not only make me invisible' Shoto hypothesized. 'Good idea. You are not only handsome, but smart as well' Vox winked. 'V-Vox' Shoto mumbled. 'Yeah. Big brother is handsome' Celine bragged. 'Wha- You two... Anyway, let's try it out. Give me your hand, Celine' Shoto quickly avoided the embarrassing moment and knelt down to reach his hand out towards Celine. She immediately took it and waited. 'Ok. Here we go' Shoto concentrated and both of them instantly became invisible. 'Woah. It works' Vox cheered. In the next moment, they became visible again. 'Hm. It felt a little different. Like something got drained out off me' Shoto pondered. 'Let me try with snowball for a moment. Is that ok for you snowball?' Shoto asked while opening his arms towards their little friend. 'Pui pui' it sang and jumped into his arms. 'Thank you' Shoto smiled and they also became invisible. Not long after, they became visible again. 'And? Did you feel anything this time?' Vox wondered. 'Yes. But, I was barely feeling any different' Shoto said and stood back up. 'Ok, Vox. Give me your hand. I want to try it with you' Shoto demanded. Vox only grinned and took his hand. Just like with the others, they became invisible on the spot. At that moment, Shoto suddenly felt heavy. As they became visible again, Vox instantly noticed that Shoto's complexion was different. 'Are you alright?' he worried. 'Yes. It's just... I suddenly felt weaker when we became invisible. I think, it depends on the size of the person or something. I should be fine for some time, if it's only snowball or Celine, but I don't know how long I can last with you' Shoto explained. 'Well. We were just experimenting anyways. There is no need for you to do that. Since I can protect myself pretty well. And- ' Vox moved a little closer to whisper into Shoto's ear. 'I would also like to know, how long you can last with me' he grinned. 'What do you-' after thinking for a moment, Shoto got struck by realization and his face became a bright red. He couldn't mutter a word. So he only avoided his gaze. It took him a bit to get his wits back together which gave him a puzzled expression from Celine and Snowball. 'O-Ok. Let's try one last thing' Shoto stuttered. 'What happens, if someone comes in contact with me when I'm invisible?' he wondered. He knelt back down and turned towards Celine, so he could avoid Vox. 'I'll hold out my hand and when I become invisible, you just grab it, ok?' Shoto instructed. 'Oki' she chimed. With that, he vanished in front of her and she waited for a moment to grab his hand, that was right in front of her. Shoto felt a little shock in his head and his invisibility slowly faded. As Vox saw how Shoto helt his head in pain, he instantly knelt down next to him to see what was wrong 'Shoto? What's wrong?' he worried. 'N-Nothing. It was just a slight pain in my head. I'm fine' Shoto assured. 'Ok. That's enough experimenting for today. What if you collapse on us?' Vox sounded a little angry at that point. 'Okay okay. I wasn't planning on anything else. I'm fine. Let's go' Shoto assured once again. He was telling the truth. The only discomfort, he was feeling, was the little energy that he lost. But, since it was for just a short moment, it didn't take such a toll on him.

A few more hours passed by as they continued. They arrived at the clearing, they stayed at when they started their journey. 'Let's take a break here. Celine, you and Snowball can go over there and play a little if you want' Vox suggested. 'Oki. Let's go Snowball' she happily agreed. 'Pui' Snowball followed. After the two took of, Vox turned towards Shoto 'Now... Isn't there something you wanted to tell me?' he implied. 'Something I wanted to tell you?' Shoto asked confused. 'I'm talking about you sensing demons' the other hinted. 'Oh. Yeah' Shoto scratched his head. 'How do I explain this...?' he contemplated. Vox patiently waited for his explanation. 'I told you about Ether and how he died next to me, right?' Shoto started with a sad expression. 'Yes, you did' Vox answered. 'I believe that this dagger' he took his dagger out of the shaft on his thigh 'contains Ether's soul' he continued. 'Wha- Why do you think that' Vox asked surprised. 'Well, when I woke up after 'that' happened, it was lying right next to me and I felt strangely connected to it' Shoto explained. 'Alright. Let's assume that's true. But, how are you able to sense the presence of demons?' Vox wondered. 'It's my dagger. Every time, a demon is somewhere close by, it get's very warm. But, it is different from demon to demon. For example, when I met you, it was very faint, but it was there' he finished. 'So, you already knew that I'm a demon, when you approached me...' Vox concluded. 'Yes. I'm sorry, I didn't tell you until now' Shoto apologized. 'Why are you apologizing? It's fine. It's not like you should tell someone, you just met, all your secrets' Vox laughed. 'That's true. Thanks' the other replied. 'So, do you know the reason for the difference in warmth?' Vox asked interested. 'My guess is, that it gets warmer, the more dangerous the demon is. I mean, in terms of hostility. For example, when it gets very hot, then the demon is out to kill me' Shoto explained. 'So, you must have felt it pretty often then' Vox concluded again. 'Yeah... There were cases where it wasn't warm at all, but I was so blinded by hatred that I didn't realize' Shoto's gaze dropped once again. 'How could I not realize?' his expression was now full of guilt again. 'Hey. Don't you remember what I told you? Stop blaming yourself...' Vox's heart was aching from seeing him like this again. 'I know. I'm trying. Maybe we should get going now, before it gets dark again' Shoto suggested. 'Alright. Celine, let's go' Vox called. 'Coming' she sang.

The rest of the way seemed to go by in a flash even though a few hours passed. They were about to exit the forest, but decided to plan ahead, in case they got 'surprised'. 'It's too dangerous for Celine and Snowball. We can't protect them if we might have to fight' Vox worried. 'Then let's do this: I'll use my earrings and no one gets hurt' Shoto suggested. 'Did you already forget what happened when you tried to use them on me?' Vox declined. 'Then, I'll use it only on Snowball and Celine. It's not that far, so I should be fine' Shoto was determined. 'Alright. But, if it gets too much, you stop using them immediately. Got it?' Vox gave in. 'Yes sir!' he saluted which earned him a chuckle from everyone. In order to make it easier for him to walk, he gave Celine a piggy back ride and held Snowball in his arms. 'Well then. We're off. See you in the castle' and with that they became invisible. Vox waited a few minutes, before he followed them. He was on high alert, just in case, but nothing happened. As he entered the castle walls, Celine came running towards him 'Big brother Vox, big brother Shoto needs help' she wasn't in panic, but rather concerned, so Vox followed her right away. He saw Shoto sitting on a bench with his head lowered. 'Shoto, are you alright? I told you not to use 'it' too much' he scolded. The other looked up and it was clear that he seemed very tired. 'I'm fine. I just need a little rest' he protested and tried to stand up, but stumbled. Vox quickly caught him. 'You can't even stand on your own. I'll support you, so let's hurry to your room' Vox pressed. Shoto just nodded and surrendered himself to him.