"Dianite?" I asked. "Can you explain something to me?"

"Of course," the invisible god replied. "What do you need to know?"

I sighed. "I mean, it's pretty obvious that the others have been acting weirder lately. Spark's so mean and protective now, Mot isn't acting like the father he used to be, and Jeriah... Jeriah's gotten, if anything, less moody."

"What the adults told you was right," Dianite replied. "The war is taking their toll on them. Spark and Mot are probably worried about the battle. They each have a loved one on their side that they need to protect, after all. Spark fears for Ianite's safety, and Mot fears for yours."

"Then who does Jeriah love?"

There was a slight pause. "Nobody, Alyssa. Jeriah doesn't have any loved ones here. That's what makes him different from the others. More optimistic and more confident. Sometimes, love is a weakness."

"But so is the lack of love," I reasoned. "In different situations, of course."

"Everything has its pros and cons, you know. Nothing is truly without consequence." I could hear him gliding over to the window. "It's getting especially late. You might want to sleep now."

I snorted. "So I guess you're taking over as my parent now?" The words sounded angry, but I was in fact faintly amused by this idea.

"Well, someone has to. You're twelve, almost thirteen now. Can't exactly care for yourself at this point. Bad decisions are yet to be made, as you're still young." He lifted up the covers for me to tuck me in.

"Did you make bad decisions as a teenager?" I grinned at the thought.

He let out a soft laugh. "Everyone makes decisions like those at one point or another. Anyway, goodnight, Alyssa. I must be off now."

"Goodnight, Dianite." I heard a faint whoosh, and the air became chilled again. This had become a daily routine, and it had gone on for about a year.

Little did I know that it would never happen again.

All the adults were out somewhere the next day. Doing separate things, I think. Spark was collecting something that Lady Ianite had asked for, Mot was exploring faraway lands in search of a greater variety of food, and Jeriah was helping Redbeard build more ships. I had decided to tame a bunch of the ocelots running loose and keep them as pets.

I was near the front of my home, when I spotted one running up a hill. I reached into my bag of raw fish (which, let me tell you, smelled absolutely awful), and held out the fish to the nearby cat.

"Here, kitty," I said in a soothing voice, slowly approaching it. The ocelot, ready to run at any second, leaned over and timidly sniffed the food. With one worried glance at me, it began to nibble at the fish. Once it decided that it could trust me, it swallowed the rest of the fish. It immediately began to transform, its spots becoming larger and lighter, and the rest of its body becoming darker. The black-and-white cat rubbed against my leg affectionately.

"That's a beautiful cat," Dianite spoke, making me jump.

"What are you doing here? I thought you were only going to speak to me at night?" I looked around, frightened, to make sure nobody had witnessed that.

"There's nobody anywhere close to this, Alyssa. I was rather bored, and saw that you were taming cats." He reached out an invisible hand and stroked one of the cats.

"Oh, you like cats?" This was a fact that excited me, as I was living with a person whose natural enemy was cats.

"Cats and dogs are quite cute," he replied. "Can't exactly argue with that. Adorable, obedient creatures are what everyone here likes, after all."

"Am I adorable and obedient?" I joked, smiling at his vanished figure.

"You're certainly adorable, but I'm not sure about obedient based on how you typically respond to an order from the others," Dianite laughed. "Anyway, there's another ocelot next to the priest's house. Perhaps you want to go tame that one too?"

"Okay," I said, and gestured to the cat. "Come on, we're going to go get you a companion." The cat's tail rose into the air, and it happily jogged after me. I could feel the god gliding alongside me, and it gave me comfort to know that my friend was joining me in my normally dull everyday adventures.

After the walk to the priest's house, I was delighted to find the ocelot sitting just inside the wall. Its eyes lit up when it saw the fish I was holding, and slowly crept towards me. I was making an effort not to make any sudden movements, or the cat would run away.

"Here, buddy," I called softly. "Come get your fish. I won't hurt you, I pro..." I was cut off when someone shoved me. At the sudden movement, the cat's fur stood on end, and it dashed away.

"How handy," Dianite sounded faintly amused. After knocking me off balance, he proceeded to lift me up and begin tying up my hands and legs. He worked at an incredible speed, almost too fast for me to react.

"What are you doing?" I shrieked, desperately trying to wriggle away from the ropes.

"Funny how you aren't obedient when your father, the man you should trust, tells you to do something. Yet when the lord of chaos orders you to do something, you immediately do it! Funny how that works."

"DIANITE! STOP! I NEVER DID ANYTHING TO Y..." My mouth was covered, and tears were streaming down my face. Everything worked out so perfectly. He had lured me right next to the nearest nether portal, and nobody was around to hear my screams. I was going to die.

"I agree, you haven't," the god said calmly. The air shimmered, and he appeared, looking exactly like the Dianite I used to know. "But, unfortunately for you, I don't care about anyone. I have them gain my trust, and then I use them before tossing them away. Want to know what your role is, Alyssa?" He leaned down and smiled at me. "You're bait."