Stabby looks around him as he enters the room. It's built circular with a slightly indented middle and stone steps that lead to the six exits. He sees his mother in the center of the room, surrounded by eight purple crystals the size of daggers. She is meditating on the floor as a glowing circle, matching the color of the surrounding crystals, forms around her.

Noticing her children, she turns her attention to them. "Welcome to your home, child. Your slumber was pleasant, I hope."

Stabby nods excessively. "The room you put me in made me sleepy."

Her kind smile fills her face. "That's good to hear, I made that room exactly for that purpose."

Grisha enters the room, hands in his pockets. "On the topic of my room, can you stop letting people sleep in it? I would honestly enjoy being able to sleep without being interrupted at some point."

She responds, "I find it's a great bonding experience for you and your siblings."

Grisha rolls his eyes. "Yeah, if I don't kill them."

She chuckles. "Oh, I know, that's why I've made some precautions. It would be best to avoid that situation again."

She stands and straightens out her dress. "Anyway, enough with the pleasantries, let's get you a name, my child."

Grisha heads towards the steps. "Alright, I'm going to go take a nap."

Stabby, ignoring him, jumps up and down. "Oo! Oo! Can it be Stabby?"

She kneels in front of him. "That's a pleasant name, but we need something that will be fitting for a prince of shadows."

Stabby slumps forward, pouting, "Awww, but I like Stabby."

She raises his chin, "How about this, you can use Stabby as a name between you, your friends, and Grisha, and then we'll choose another name for everything else."

His face lights up, excitedly swinging his arms up and down. "Yeah! Yeah!"

She places her finger on her lips. "Well, let's see, what should your other name be... hmm..." Then raising her finger she says, "Oh, I know a name that would be perfect for you."

"What's that?" he asks, leaning forward as he waits for his new name.

"Pasha."

Grisha lets out a laugh. "That fits him perfectly."

The child mutters to himself, "Pasha... it's not as good as Stabby, but it is cute, so it fits me..." He yells out, "I like it!"

Her smile widens, causing her eyes to wrinkle. "I'm glad." The smile brings a warmth to Stabby's chest. She continues, "I'm sure you have a lot of questions, Pasha. So, now's your chance to ask them to your heart's content."

Stabby ponders for a while, before saying, "Oh, I know, why did brother take me away when the show between you and the angry people got good? I asked him the other day, but he said to ask you."

Grisha's eyes jerk open. "He remembers that... That kid's memory is going to get me killed."

She answers, "ah, well that show was for adults, not for little shade-lings," booping the child's nose. "So I had to ask Grisha to take you home. It was almost time for your great slumber as well. But, from what I've heard, he seemed to let you see another adult show, anyway." She looks over at her eldest son.

Grisha bounces up to a sitting up position. "Hey! It's not my fault, he snuck back."

She turns her gaze back to Stabby. "oh, sure." Now focusing back on her younger child, she asks, "any other questions?"

"What are those shadow guys I saw in our castle?" Stabby says, thinking back to the halls.

"Those are our citizens, the one's you saw are shades that chose to be servants in the castle."

"They seem nice."

She nods. "They are nice, aren't they? And since you like them, you'll be able to play with some of them soon."

He squeals, "Yaaaaay!"

She raises a finger. "Alright one last question, anything else you want to know?"

After contemplating again, he asks, his voice timid, "why did the scary mask guys attack us?"

"Well, I still don't know everything about that, but come here and I'll tell you what I know." She creates a layer of darkness above the dirt, sitting down and beckoning Stabby to do the same. "It's because you're special. The army of light has been trying to learn our secrets, so they sent out spies who learned it from... That traitor." Her voice deepens, and she tears at the ground, before taking a deep breath, and continuing. "They learned it from someone who both lied to and betrayed us. With that knowledge they sent out bounty hunters, like the ones in the mask, to attack you while you were young."

"Who betrayed us?"

"You will find out in time."

"Then, How am I special?"

"That's a secret."

The vague responses annoy Stabby, but he lets it go since he enjoys the company of his mother. He stands up, stretching his limbs out to show off his clothes. "Do you like the outfit I picked out?"

Examining what he was wearing, she nods, "You look very handsome, Pasha. Did you pick that out yourself?"

The boy places his hands on his sides triumphantly. "Mhm!"

Speaking loud enough that her older son can hear, she says, "Well, it's good to know that at least one of my children has a good fashion sense."

Grisha waves the remark away. "Aw, shut up."

"Your other siblings were supposed to be here by now, but they seem to be taking their time." The mother says, getting up off the dark blanket.

Grisha rolls onto his feet. "That's not surprising. They aren't known for their punctuality."

She waves her hand over the dark sheet, causing it to dissipate. "That's true. We may have to start our next ceremony without them." As she moves towards the glowing circle, Stabby feels something tighten around his legs.

Before he can react, something large restricts his waste, causing him to yelp. He looks down to see what's grabbing him as they drag him back towards a newly opened door. They have long scaly bodies, with a lack of limbs. Something blue tightens on his left leg, something yellow on his right, and something orange and black with protruding scales on his waist. Although he couldn't see the head of what is tightening around his stomach, he can see a long-parted tongue slip out of the mouths of the things on his legs. Snakes.

"He'sss adorable!" An unfamiliar feminine voice calls out from behind him. After pulling Stabby up the stairs, the snakes lift him into the air and release him, sending him falling to the floor. But before he hits the ground, two slim, but firm arms lock around him, somehow gripping tighter than the snakes did.

"I love him already," the form squeals, rubbing her face against his. Examining the person who just attacked him, he sees she has almond-colored skin, rounded eyes with thin sharp pupils, and wild short brown hair infested with small snakes. She's wearing a tan short-sleeved floaty blouse and light brown explorer pants wrapped with a belt, encasing a snake eye.

"Welcome Zmey, what took you two so long?" The dark mistress asks.

While the snakes nuzzle Stabby's arms, Zmey answers, "ssssorry about that, sssome assasssinss rudely interrupted our return." Her tongue flicks out between every other word.

Grisha rubs his eyes, yawning, "You too? Someone's getting real proactive."

The mother responds, "indeed," as she adjusts the crystals surrounding the ominous circle. Zmey places the child back on the ground as she talks to her mother. Noticing another presence, Stabby looks up to see a hulking figure lurking behind Zmey.

He wears a long black coat that covers his dark espresso skin, along with a metal belt with a large lock in the middle, a gas mask that sprays out dark mist as he breathes, and gray wings that sprout from his back. He nods, his pupil-less eyes staring deep into Stabby, before switching his gaze to the shadow mother, nodding again.

"Kazimir," she greets, nodding her head in return. Stabby waves at Kazimir. Grunting in response, he moves back into the shadows.

Zmey crouches down to the shade-ling's height. "I'm Zssmey, and that'sss Kazssimir. What'sss your name?"

Seeing the way she smiles is similar to his mother's, along with the fact she called him adorable, he feels safe to respond, "I'm Stabby!"

His mother and Grisha simultaneously correct him. "Pasha."

"That'sss a great name for him," Zmey says, locking the child back into her deadly embrace.

"Try to not kill him. You forget how strong your grip is when it comes to your siblings," The mother warns.

Laughing, Zmey releases the child, "Oh, right." She tries to give a hug to Grisha, but he refuses, walking back slowly. Slightly disappointed, Zmey calls to her snakes. They respond to the call and wrap around her, the big one lifting her and forming itself into a spring throne.

"What are their names?" Stabby asks, staring at the colorful snakes. Kazimir lets out a deep sigh from the shadows, and Grisha hides in his hands, muttering, "oh no."

Zmey's face contorts into a terrifying smile, her long tongue lashing around excitedly. "I've been waiting for sssomeone to assk that for ssso long." She speaks rapidly, barely leaving time for breathing, pointing out her snakes as she gets to them. "The ssspiky big one is Zssamok. He likess to eat rodentss and wrapping around people. The light blue one isss Yad. When he bitess, he's very difficult to get off. The yellow one iss Veverka. She likess to shoot out venom occasionally when she'sss playing, and while it's extremely dangerousss, I find it beautiful. Thisss one iss ..."

Stabby instinctively moves his head away from his sister, who aggressively shoves the snakes into his face, until a voice from across the room saves him.

"Relax, sister. We have things we must do, you can show the rest of them off at a later time." His voice clicks as he speaks.

He scuttles into the room, revealing his dark green, wiry frame. He has a head like a dragon mantis and long horns that sprout out from his cranium. His enormous eyes look around frantically, his head jittering around, and his oddly bent arms sporadically moving.

"I agree with Kir. I have business that I must return to." Another figure calls out, dropping from the dark ceiling. He wears a headdress adorned with a vulture's skull. His straw skirt and cape, decorated with bones scattered across them, are held in places by skulls on his shoulders and waist. Red face paint, possibly blood, covers his dark skin, and long sharp fangs protrude between his teeth.

Standing to his feet, a dracula parrot glides down, landing on his shoulder.

"Welcome, Kir, Adrik. It seems we're all here now," the mistress says. After acknowledging their mother, Kir greets the youngest child with a respectful nod, while Adrik greets him with a glance.

As the Mistress addresses her family, she waves Stabby over. "Now that we have all met my newest child, it is time for Pasha to start his training."

"Step into the circle, my child." Her arms open out, creating a path to the ominous circle glowing in the middle of the room.

"What's in the circle?" Stabby inquires, looking up to meet his mother's gaze.

The mother's voice becomes more firm, although still gentle. "No more questions. Now, go into the circle." Not wanting to upset her, he concedes, cautiously stepping between the purple crystals.

As he enters, the crystals emit a dim light that shines onto him, and the ground beneath him quakes. The crystals rise into the air, spinning around the shade-ling, gaining speed as they get higher. The mother closes her eyes, raising her hand to the crystals. As they reach the tallest point of Stabby's crown, she closes her hand into a fist. The crystals suddenly slam together, creating an explosion of purple mist. The smoke fades, and the child is no longer there.

Turning back to her children, the mother declares,

"With that out of the way... Let the familial meeting begin."