The serene silence was disturbed by the creaking sound of the old wooden door leading to the back yard of the house slowly being opened up. Using his right feet, Aiden agilely pulled the door before slipping in through the widening crack.

In his arm, he was cradling the little koala, Lily, who refused to let go no matter what. In the end, he had to come to a compromise and agree to carry her all the way to the already prepared breakfast table, where Granny and Number 3 was silently sitting watching the approaching brother-sister pair.

Seeing them approaching in such a manner, they subtly exchanged looks, already aware of what must be done.

Arriving at the table, Aiden walked up to an empty chair. Leaning in against her right ear, he gently whispered, his breath causing to tingle and evoke a multitude of emotions in the troubled girl.

"We are at the table, Lily. You have to let me go, you promised you will be a good girl."

Instead of obeying, Lily just tightened her grip. A muffled response could be heard.

"No. I don't wanna."

Smiling, he crouched down a bit, and slowly, carefully put the girl down to the chair while she kept her tight hold. The two dogs not missing a beat immediately walked over with a large meaty bone in their mouths and sat down at each left and right of the chair.

"Our two new friends will keep you safe, no matter what. You can relax sis, we are all here. Nothing bad will happen to you."

Slowly raising her head Lily peaked to the left and the right she noticed the two black mounds on her sides, carelessly chumming on their breakfast.

Both Granny and Number 3 kept silent while all this was going on, the same gentle and loving smile on their faces as they kept enjoying the scene in front of them.

After a few more moments, Lily managed to gather enough willpower to -albeit reluctantly-, but separate from his brother. She sat up on the chair, just noticing their smiling, cheeky gazes, causing her to immediately turn beet red from embarrassment, and try to hide in her small delicate hands.

This just made the scene turn even cuter, as while her face was indeed hidden behind her snow-white hands, the tip of her elongated ears were still red as a tomato.

While Lily was trying to fight and regain at least a bit of her composure, Aiden walked to the last empty chair, that was happened to be to the right of her Master and sat down on it.

When everyone was finally seated, Granny's contentedly hummed. Waving her right hand once, several trays appeared out of nowhere. Just as before, there were all kinds of food available, satisfying each of their diets.

Starting their breakfast ritual, Granny started filling her plate with a mixture of fruits and vegetables, just as usual. Aiden immediately went to the large meat pile that was conveniently placed in front of him, while Number 3 and Lily filled theirs with a bit of everything. A piece of meat, some veggies, a bit of red fruits, and a few slices of fresh bread. As the saying goes, variety is the spice of life after all!

For the next several minutes the only sounds were the silent and muffled munchings of the family. After a while, as Granny's plate was halfway cleaned, she coughed once to grab everyone's attention and with the same gentle smile, she spoke while looking at the kids.

"*Khm* So, Aiden and Lily, what are your plans for today?"

Hearing the question, Aiden put the half-destroyed remains of some red meat he was enjoying, and while looking at Lily he answered.

"Uhm, I am not sure, to be honest… You, sis?"

All gazes suddenly on her, Lily was once again red from embarrassment. Immediately trying to hide behind the safety of her palms. A few seconds later a squeaking, meek response could be heard.

"I… just want to be with… brother..." Hesitation caused her to stutter, she was afraid to voice her desires.

Both Granny and Number 3 gently smiled at her. In the end, it was her master, Number 3 that continued to discourse.

"Good! That is perfect! We would like both of you to set out to the forest after breakfast and gather a list of ingredients for us. Granny would like to get some herbs that she is running out of, and I also need a few rare materials. What do you guys say?"

Instead of giving an answer right at the moment, Lily looked at her brother, who simply smiled and nodded, causing her to turn red for the umpteenth time this morning. She weakly nodded back, unable to meet his eyes.

Aiden smiled at this, and faced her master, silently nodding, accepting the task.

"Excellent! Let us enjoy this bountiful breakfast then! After that we will give you children the list we would like you to look for today. Look them over and make sure to ask if there is anything you will not recognize. Also, while we very much would like if you could gather everything we ask today, don't overexert yourselves and instead come back home before evening, okay?"

After that, she turned towards her own plate, resuming her previous action at dominating a larger piece of meat.

A good twenty minutes later when their plates were emptied and their bellies were filled, they were sitting back, leaning against the backrest of their seats.

A small cough coming from Granny broke this tranquil moment. She pulled out a small piece of paper, handing it over to the ebony-haired boy.

"Aiden, this is the list for everything I would need."

"And these are the items I require, Lily." Number 3 followed suit and gave a list to the girl.

"There's a bit of everything in these papers, but you will be able to find most of them towards the north. Try to avoid venturing too deep, don't go too far away! There are countless horrors lurking in those depths, many you don't want to cross, believe me!" Granny continued, then as she walked over to Lily, she patted both dogs on the head and continued.

"Go now and prepare for the trip Lily. I will get your two new friends ready in the meantime!"

Silently humming, Lily rose to her feet and scurried back to her room. As she entered the room and closed the door, both adults looked at Lily, with a serious expression.

Number 3 spoke in a low tone, careful so Lily wouldn't be able to hear them.

"Be with her and try to cheer her up, okay? She tries hard, but what happened yesterday left a deep mark on her heart and soul. She blames herself for the tragedy that happened to that elderly couple."

"Yes, to be honest, you guys don't even really need to bother with the list, the most important part is that you spend the day with her." Granny chimed in.

Seeing their concerned expressions caused him to gently smile and nod his head.

"Sure, don't worry Granny, Master!"

Standing up, he walked towards the dogs, and looked at them. Unbeknownst to him, his eyes momentarily flashed, shining in their majestic golden luster, and his voice changed, donning a much lower, growling tone as he started to address them.

"Listen here you two. Follow and protect Lily from now on. Her safety and happiness are your utmost priority. Listen to her EVERY command. Got it?!"

Both hounds whimpered at the sight of him, and as if understanding his words, they nodded with their heads. In the next moment, they jumped up their feet and ran after their new master, the blonde girl.

As they ran after the girl, Number 3 couldn't help but ask.

"How do you do that, Aiden?"

Turning around, she looked at her Master with a quizzing look.

"Do what, master?"

"How do you command them so easily? It's not magic, it's something else. As if they instinctively recognize you as their alpha." She asked again.

Shrugging, Aiden could only helplessly smile.

"I.. don't really know. It's something I just noticed last night, but I'm still not sure what it actually is.... and how it works. Whenever I look at them, there's this subtle feeling at the back of my head, a sort of urge… a feeling. I give in to it, let it flow through my mind, and just talk to them."

"I see…" Number 3 spoke, stroking her chin, seemingly deep in thought. Looking at Granny she asked.

"What do you think? Is this an ability coming from the Ancient Dragon species? Or maybe something new?"

"Hard to say..." Granny spoke with a thoughtful expression. "We need to study it more, I think."

"Yes, that's true." Number 3 agreed to that notion, then turning her head, she looked at Aiden.

"We will work on this ability of yours more in the future, but now, go! Spend a day with Lily and try to heal her once again! Cheer her up!"

"You can count on me." Aiden answered with a bright smile on his face. Turning around, he walked towards their room.

His smile wasn't just because of the task his elders gave him, but because of the notification, he received from the system!