Sizzy's profession was a quiet one. She lived alone and the dead used for her work rarely spoke. That changed quite a bit ever since Glavas arrived, however, and to her great irritation, the most frequently used word became "sorry".

"I'm sorry," Alma apologized for what felt like the hundredth time.

"Please, leave it be. It's okay," Glavas tried to reassure her.

"It's not! If it wasn't for me, you could've killed him!"

"It doesn't matter. Although he's a demon, he is not nearly as powerful as they usually are. It seems like his abilities are centered around souls and extracting them. In battle, I can always defeat him. So don't worry. If he comes again, I will make sure not to miss." He pat the girl on her shoulder and smiled. His confidence was so strong that it reached Alma's heart, slowly chasing all signs of fear and worries away. Since it seemed that she was taking the encounter well, Glavas turned toward Surdi. The young dragon was sitting on an old couch, which, according to Sizzy, was the softest place around the parlor. His entire being was wrapped in a furry blanket, letting only his face and horns peek out. "And how are you feeling?" the hunter asked.

"Better," the dragon muttered, and his hands reached out from underneath the blanket, grabbing a cup of fresh herbal tea that Sizzy made for him. According to her, the contents of it had calming effects and given Surdi's slowly subsiding panic, she was most likely right.

"Good. Just rest for now. If you want, we can stay here for the night, or if you don't feel safe, we can always head to my parents' place, alright?" The dragon nodded and kept on slowly sipping on the warm tea.

"Any news on the hand?" Glavas asked Sizzy, who was leaning over a short table. There, in a metal tray, lay the severed remnant of the demon's arm.

"Well, I can tell you that the owner is still very much alive."

"I meant anything besides that."

"Nope. This thing is a complete waste of time. Demonic in both flesh and blood. I can't even use it for anything. Other corpses wouldn't be compatible with it. The only thing that's even remotely useful would be the claws and the outer shell, but you blew most of that away when you shot him."

"Hmm... I see. That's a shame," Glavas sighed and collapsed into a big armchair. The loud thud it made suggested that it wasn't as cushioned as it appeared.

Silence filled the room, interrupted only by Surdi's unintentionally loud sipping. Nobody felt like saying anything. Alma knew that another "sorry" would probably not make the situation any better, and Glavas was too busy thinking about potential ways to kill a demon.

"Gosh, you're more boring than the departed!" Sizzy suddenly blurted and pushed her wheelchair out of the room.

"Where are you going?"

"Shush! Surprise." She gave Glavas a wink and then disappeared into the hallway.

"You shouldn't be alone in this house. It's not safe," the hunter called after her, but she quickly shut him up.

"I'm a necromancer, Glavie. I'm never alone."

The creaking of furniture could be heard for a moment before Sizzy came back again, this time, carrying a green musical instrument in her lap.

"Sizzy?!" Glavas' eyes nearly jumped out of their sockets. "I thought that after the incident, you..."

"Yeah, I really hated the sound of a hurdy-gurdy. Couldn't stand it. Reminded me of what happened. But after I took the Path of the Flame, I just kinda... you know, wanted to redefine my life. My hands are still fine. I can still play the music I used to love so much. So, since you guys are so sour after the demon encounter, I will play something for you." She grabbed the instrument and quickly glanced at Surdi. "Glavie isn't the only one who can do magic with music," she winked. "This song helps calm one's mind. It brings happiness. Not really usable for a hunter, but nothing helps my sessions with clients more than a little music to lift up the spirits. Figurative ones and literal ones."

[But I can't listen to music.]

"Says who?"

The boy rolled his eyes. [I'm deaf, remember?]

"And who told you deaf people can't listen to music?"

[How would I?]

Sizzy shook her head and approached the dragon. "Feel it." She gently grabbed his hand, waiting for a moment to see if she didn't spook him further. When he didn't seem to react, however, she slowly placed it onto the instrument. "Just feel the vibrations. Feel how they change. How they flow. And also, feel the magic behind it. You're a dragon. Your body will naturally take it in if you let it." She reached for the keys and the crank. With a single sharp movement, the music flew out of the instrument. Shivers ran down the dragon's spine, but he kept his hand on the gurdy. The sound was there. Nowhere to be heard, but in the silence around him, it suddenly felt like there was something. Something that he hasn't felt for so long now. He recalled the feeling of training magic with Glavas. How his own mana surrounded him, like a stream of a gentle river, carrying him away. It was so similar, and yet vastly different. Like the warmth of a fireplace reaching out to him, slowly grasping his arm, and then wrapping around his whole body, like a duvet, keeping the cold of a winter's night away. He closed his eyes and let the feelings carry him, moving his head from side to side to the rhythm. Glavas and Alma smiled when they saw the stress of the encounter visibly drop from his shoulders. The hunter's foot moved to the tempo of the song, tapping against the wooden floor, adding a beat. These impacts moved through the room like ripples on the perfectly smooth surface of the water, until they could even be felt even by the young dragon. He was suddenly somewhere completely different. On a meadow covered in tall grass, bathing in the warm summer sun, laughing with his friends by his side. It was a feeling of peace like he hadn't felt in such a long time. The beat was strong enough to move Alma too. She stood up from her chair and began swaying from side to side to the rhythm of the music, accompanying her simple dance with a loud humming and occasional snapping of her fingers. That night, despite everything, fear did not claim victory. It was joy and peace that took over the entire funeral parlor instead.

A trip back to Glavas' family home served as a prime example that Elkif was a city that never truly slept. Even with the moon high in the sky, and darkness seeping into the streets and alleyways, the elves were still up. The campfires lit in the outdoor storage spaces were painting the monotonous gray buildings in a warm hue of orange. Everything was quieter and more peaceful, but one could still hear the locals chatting, only at this hour, in a whisper. The previous nosey stares of the neighbors were gradually disappearing. Now, the people only looked at the trio, checking who is coming their way and if they mean trouble or not, and when they saw that it was just Glavas and a bunch of kids, they returned back to their conversations. In a sense, it felt as if the entire city was different now that the moon was watching over them. Alma pondered whether that was because of their prolonged stay, her own perspective changing after the encounter at the parlor, or perhaps because of religious reasons since the goddess would now be the one ruling the sky. The answer to those thoughts, however, remained in the stars.

"Glavas! You're late! Where the hell have you been?!" His father scolded him the moment he saw them approaching from the main street.

"Things got... complicated at Sizzy's."

"Have you argued again?"

"No. Quite the opposite actually."

"Ha! Well, that's great to hear! And I'm happy you lot made it back home before sunrise."

"Were you worried about me, old man?" Glavas smirked.

"What? You're the strongest hunter in Ezma! I was worried about anyone stupid enough to threaten you. Now come on and warm yourselves inside."

Glint's home seemed more like a hangar than a classing house. It shared the same shape and materials as most of the buildings around the Unode district but was at least four times as big. On the inside, however, it seemed to lack practically any walls. The dining room, living room, and kitchen were all connected in a single space. The only two areas that were separated by a doorway were the bedrooms. The rest of the free space was occupied by pretty much everything the family owned.

"Glavie!" His mother shouted the moment he appeared in the doorway and she ran over to give him a hug.

The children's jaws nearly dropped to the floor when they saw her. The middle-aged elf looked way more like a hunter than her son. Height-wise, she was even a bit taller than Glint. When she wrapped her arms around Glavas, she had no trouble lifting him up from the ground as well. Only this time, the hunter didn't seem to protest. The dark blue tank top she was wearing left exposed her massive, muscular arms.

"Wow, Glavas, you're a runt!" Alma spoke without too much thinking.

"Excuse me?!" His response came muffled by his mother's embrace.

"Hehe, yeah, out little Glavie never really grew much," Glint laughed and pat Glavas on his back.

"And yet he grew up so strong." Sina finally put him down. "And who are you two? Glint told me that Glavie wasn't traveling alone anymore.

"Oh boy, here we go again. Okay, let's sit down, alright? This will be a long story," the hunter rolled his eyes and pointed to one of the chairs.

The whole family settled down in the dining area. While the kids ravenously devoured several grilled fish, Glavas did his best to explain everything that had happened in the past year. How he met the children on his journeys and how he decided to save them. About their encounter with the Scalder and the mistake he did which led to Alma's broken fingers. About their trip to Rotler and what became of the city. The words still left his lips with inconceivable weight, yet he managed to get them out anyway. He detailed their travels during the period of his recuperation. How the children helped him overcome the aftereffects of his magic, and how eventually, he received the letter inviting him back home. But in addition to that, Glavas also didn't conceal the events that transpired in the funeral parlor. How he tried to mend his and Sizzy's friendship and how a demon that took Alma's soul suddenly appeared. Both Glint and Sina listened to his every word with so much attention as if they were about to write a test on it. As the story progressed, concern kept stealing more and more of their smiles, until they disappeared completely.

"Wow, that is... a lot to take in." Glint tried to be the first one to say something.

"You killed all those people..." His mother added.

"Yeah... I did. I'm not going to hide that."

"I can't agree with something like that, but... if I were in your place, and they were trying to take you from me... I think I would do the same."

"So would I. I think any good parent should fight for their children. That's just instinct," Glint agreed with his wife.

Glavas' pale face turned a few shades closer to red. "Well, I'm not really their parent. Just a... guardian. That's a better term."

"Well, call it whatever you wish, but you care about them, that much is certain."

The couple exchanged a few glances and nodded before finally returning to the conversation. "It's crazy what you all have been through. You can stay here if you want. You and the kids will always be welcome in Elkif, I hope you know that," said Sina and looked at the bedroom door across the room, which began slowly opening.

"Thanks, mom, but I think it will be safer if we keep moving. We'll be harder to track this way. Not to mention that out here, the demon could hurt you guys too. I don't want to risk it."

Glint sighed. "Well, it is your decision. Shame you will leave right after the Extinguishing though. Now, I would love to keep chatting, but we're all quite tired and there is someone else who we promised would get a chance to talk with you, so we should probably not usurp you for too long."

Glavas lifted his eyebrows. "Someone else? Who?"

"He came here a few days before you. Claimed to be your friend and was quite a kind soul, helping around Elkif with all sorts of work, so we've eventually allowed him to stay with us for a few nights. He also predicted your arrival pretty accurately." Sina gestured to the door behind Glavas and at the figure standing in them.

The hunter turned around, and an annoyed groan almost immediately escaped his lungs. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me. It's Clive fucking Featherfear."