The 3 would return with a very large boar that Damon hunted with their help. It was the size of an elephant, a massive aggressive beast. Indeed, the wildlife in this area of the continent was something… Then again, Azanor had told the group of the giant Leviathans that inhabited what was now Veleno. So perhaps things in Ratier and the allied kingdoms were just rather tame compared to the rest of the continent.

They would drop off the catch at the back. It needed butchering still before it could be stored. Something Caleb apparently did. After that, they would head to the guest room.

“You sure took your sweet time.” Azanor stated with yawn, looking awfully bored. A thick book on his lap. For someone who claimed to do everything for the sake of entertainment, he sure looked bored. Though at this point, Kazius recognized that Azanor was honest about that… Or at least it was a small reason for what he did… but when it came to Eve, he just bent to what she wanted. Of course, he was already entitled to her soul due to their deal… So, there was no benefit to him doing what he did. There was a real main reason he must have.

“Kazius! Alice! Damon! Yay! I was worried!” Eve chirped goofily with a giddy expression. She seemed to be in a chipper mood. She too was holding a book, a black one with words that read ‘The Dark Arts’.

‘Why is Eve looking at something like that?’

“Buahaha! Sorry about keeping them so long. They were so determined, and it was so fun that I had a hard time stopping them.” Damon laughed out with a wide grin.

“I suppose as long as things were alright…” Azanor trailed off, acting dismissive.

“Azanor was suggesting we go look for you. He looked worried, but I told him you guys were just having fun! I was right!” Eve admitted innocently.

It was then Azanor would go wide-eyed, “Eve.” He would shush, clearly flustered to be exposed on caring about their wellbeing.

‘Is it a pride thing? He is a weird one for a Demon, yet he still seems worried about being exposed on caring about others… Then again, going against your nature was probably hard on him…’

Alice would smirk at him a little, “Awwwwwwwwww.” She would tease playfully.

“Good to know you care so much about us.” Kazius decided to join.

“Shut up…” Azanor grumbled, losing his composure a bit. A grumpy scowl gracing his face. He was normally the one to tease the others in the group, so he was likely not used to being teased.

Azanor would act huffy for a bit only to the smirk at the two. “Fine, laugh it up. I care about you. Big deal. I hope you know if you thought I was insufferable before… Now you’ve both done it. I will get you back and taunt you right back.” He chuckled out.

Kazius would laugh a bit, amused at the declaration.

‘Definitely a pride thing.’ He would confirm his prior thoughts.

“Bring it.” Alice mused back.

As this unfolded, Kazius caught Damon smiling too. He seemed awkward though, almost like he was feeling out of place… Then again, he may have been persistent about becoming their friend… But getting used to being around others when being shunned was likely a hard thing. It was easy to feel excluded when others had conversations like this.

“Well, you will have a hard time messing with us too much. With Damon around, he will sniff anything out if you try some sort of prank.” Kazius would state, purposefully wanting to make him feel part of the group. He was their new friend after all.

“I could pull one over him just like anyone else, no lies needed.” Azanor chuckled out, perhaps catching on, “You say what you want… But like I said, I am still recovering from the trip here… So don’t look down on me.”

At this Damon would perk up, laughing quite a bit in a hearty manner, “Hahaha! Is that so? I don’t know about this tricking stuff, but I sure want to have a spar!” He exclaimed in excitement. He did indeed love battling.

“You know what? Once I regain my strength, sure. At some point.” Azanor confirmed smugly.

“Great! You too, Kazius! I want to spar once I am done training you.” Damon exclaimed, clenching his hand into a fist in excitement. He seemed to be in a great mood.

“Sure… I intend to surpass you anyway.” Kazius admitted with a grin.

“But fighting friends is bad…” Eve stated in confusion to Alice.

“Don’t mind them… They are just goofing around.” Alice assured. She seemed to not be against friendly rivalries.

“Great! Well, there is no fighting on an empty stomach! I will make dinner.” Damon beamed, eager.

“You don’t have to make dinner for us all alone, we can help!” Eve chirped contently.

Damon seemed surprised at this, smiling wider at this. His expression was almost softer. “I would appreciate the help. We can get it done faster then.” He stated contently.

With that, they would go make dinner at the kitchen. It seemed Caleb had already butchered the kill so all that was left was prepping. That went by fast, Caleb stopping by sluggishly to grab food before heading to his room. Luna had not stopped by once though. Perhaps it was for the best though, since there was no incident during dinner.

It was time to rest… There would be more training tomorrow.

Kazius would lay down, thinking. He didn’t need as much sleep as Eve and Alice.

“Kazius.” Azanor could be heard whispering.

“Yeah?” Kazius would whisper back, confused, sitting up.

He would look at the other nearby beds, Eve and Alice were sleeping soundly. It was dark, but the two could see just fine. So, it was easy for Kazius to spot Azanor getting up and motioning him out of the room. He didn’t seem to want to disturb Alice and Eve.

The two would go for an evening walk. Considering that the townsfolk are Werewolves, there were some people up and about, but none came to bother them.

“Something has been bothering me for some time now… And our conversation earlier made me decide to talk about it.” Azanor finally spoke as they walked, the Demon toying with his cane per usual.

“Conversation?” Kazius questioned, confused. That was so vague… None of the conversations from earlier seemed to come to mind on what he could be talking about.

“About me… Seeing you as my friends… My power coming back later… and other things.” Azanor explained.

“Ah.” Kazius would acknowledge.

“That Werewolf friend of ours too…” Azanor trailed off, seeming uncharacteristically solemn.

“Azanor, you keep hopping around everywhere… Where are you doing with this. Get it together.” Kazius stated, attempting to understand his point.

‘I am so confused. What has him so worried? Why does he look like he is panicking? He looks almost pained…’

“I can’t have more people to care about, Kazius. I’m a Demon! I thought I was done helping mortals for free… Yet here I am again, finding myself caring about people. Last time I cared, I ended up locked up by my stupid brother for decades yet here I am again… I… ” Azanor finally would complain, groaning. He was normally such a sly talked yet he seemed to have trouble finding words.

“Wait, how is any of this my fault?” Kazius asked in confusion.

“Because! It is you! All you! I was fine just caring about Eve, but then you had to bring Alice… A descendant of that idiotic hero… And now we meet that goof with a big heart… He is the kind that normally I would make a deal with and prey on… He is so perfectly broken that he may as well be on a platter… Yet he is a friend I met because of you. At this rate I won’t ever beat my brother in strength. ”

“Your what?” Kazius asked in confusion, “Azanor, please. You don’t lie, but you sure are side stepping the point. Do you want to actually tell me?”

“I suppose… Look, I am sorry… Let me… Let me start from the beginning.”