It would be hard to find Damon. Sure he was a man of stature and hard to miss, but he was nimble. He got so far so fast, a gust remaining in the air where he had dashed.

While they searched, Kazius successfully filled the group in on what had happened. Much to their horror. Especially Alice, who had been there during some of the conversations with Damon. He was already under so much mental distress… And now this? The full moon tomorrow had him upset enough as it is.

The situation did bring hope to some extent though. If Luna was the culprit behind the worse of Damon’s treatment, perhaps there was a way to change that with her gone. If Damon even wanted to still deal with the town after how they have treated him.

Still, they would first have to find the Werewolf. The way he spoke, it worried Kazius heavily. What if they couldn’t find him and then he did something reckless?

“Can’t you sense for his soul or something, Azanor? Find him.” Kazius questioned, abit demanding, but the situation was dire.

“What do you think I am?! Some sort of sniffer dog? I can’t sense him at this distance! I am not that type of Demon! I could only do something crazy like that with the soul of someone I have a contract with. That isn’t my expertise. I am a Demon, not a genie!” Azanor exclaimed, sounding panicked. Surprising for the Demon who was normally so calm.

“This isn’t good… We can’t be running around without any direction…” Alice would add in concern.

Kazius also felt that was the case. It was then he decided to try something… He would look at his shadow, worried about using something he still didn’t fully understand… Still, he needed to find Damon. With that. He would stop the wondering, making the others freeze too.

“Kazius?” Alice asked in confusion.

Kazius wasn’t sure if this would work, but… He would focus on the shadows around him. As if looking. It was hard since it was morning. The light made it a lot harder; he wasn’t even sure what he was even looking for or if he really was doing anything. He would close his eyes, concentrating further. Unable to see the shadows in the area all shimmering the more he focused. It was then he heard that voice again… The one he heard in the mountain when he nearly got blown away.

“By the river at the foot of Mount Cyklon.” Kazius would hear in his ear. Something that almost caught him off guard. It was the same voice that was his own yet not… That he heard at the mountain, but he had no time to dwell on it.

“He is near Mount Cyklon, near a river… So the side facing the valley, come on.” Kazius stated.

“How do you know that?” Azanor questioned.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Kazius would tease. After all, the Demon loved that phrase. That and ‘don’t worry about it’.

Azanor at this would make a face as if offended. “Alright alright, you got me there… Let’s move before that idiot does something stupid.” The Demon sighed out, showing concern for the Werewolf.

“Let’s cheer him up!” Eve exclaimed eagerly.

With that, the group would head off. Indeed, Damon was by the river near Mount Cyklon… Something that Reminded Kazius of the words of Vind…

‘So, he really would come cry and sulk by the mountain… Since he was a kid.’

Damon had yet to notice them, or if he did, he didn’t react. He was hunched over, staring into his reflection in the water. He looked miserable. Despite no longer crying, his eyes were red, showing he had cried quite a bit for some time.

“Oh Damon…” Alice would state in dismay at the sight.

“Please don’t be sad. I think Damon is a good friend and really nice.” Eve would add.

Damon would let out a sigh, not responding, seeming to be deep in thought, still just looking at the river.

‘Now that I think about it… He did say he looks just like his father… Is that why he is staring at his reflection? That can’t be good for him…’

Kazius would approach, sitting next to the Werewolf. He didn’t look at him, but instead at the river as well. Surprisingly enough, Azanor was the next to join, sitting at Damon’s other side.

“Who are you?” Azanor asked, the question confusing Kazius. Damon did not respond, but did seem to frown further at the question.

“I mean it, WHO are you? Because I know who I am… I know who my friends are… I know who those I care about are… But I am also a Demon… Yet I still feel things like love and the like… Something not typical for my kind… And despite things I’ve gone through, I’ve never lost myself to others… I know who I am… because I decide what I am. As do you.” Azanor would surprisingly speak up in a tone of understanding.

Kazius would smile a bit, speaking up as well. “Those people we fought back there… When we first met… They used to be my friends. They were like my brothers even; we grew up in the orphanage together and then became knights together… But they found out I’m not Human, something I can’t control… So then they decided they hate me and want to kill me… But now I have real friends… Including you… And when you don’t have a family, you can always make your own… Sure blood is important… But… In the end, it is up to you what you do.” He decided to add.

At this Damon would look all the more unsure, still looking at the water. It was so weird seeing someone so happy and loud be so quiet. It didn’t suit him.

“I was chased out by the people of my own kingdom because they were turned against me by someone who I thought I could trust. They called me all sorts of things, they wanted me executed… We… we may not know exactly the pain you are going through… But… We know who you are, Damon. We know your pain… We care about you…” Alice would speak up.

“You’re our friend!” Eve chirped out giddily.

“Our mentor.” Alice would add.

“A kind person that saved some total strangers despite one of them being a Demon.” Azanor would add.

“You are not your father… You’re an incredible person. You’re you… And you get to decide what that is… You can try to get others to see that… But if they refuse to see that, well that is their loss. They don’t deserve you.” Kazius would state.

Kazius was about to say something else, but he froze when he saw the Werewolf trembling. He shook, silent tears streaming down his face. It was then they would all be pulled into quite the bear hug. All 4 of them. Something the large male could manage quite easily due to his stature.

Many of them tensed at first, definitely not expecting a hug. Soon though they would return it. It was easy to tell, for the longest time, Damon just needed a hug. To hear such words, to have someone believe in him. Now he had 4 people that did believe in him and so much more.

“Thank you…” Damon would finally let out, stopping his shaking. He seemed to calm down.

“What are friends for? You big goof… Don’t run off on us like that anymore, okay?” Alice stated with a warm smile.

As they spoke, something happened. From Mount Cycklon a strong gust would come from the top of the mountain. Small leaves would fall in quite the spectacle. The group would admire the view, the wind carrying the foliage around in an elegant yet unnatural manner.

‘Vind must be happy for him too, huh… She did say she did always watch him when he was at her mountain and we are at the foot of it…’

Damon seemed to make a similar realization, or so Kazius thought. He would give the mountain almost a thankful look before looking back at the group.

“Thank you again…. I… I hope you know, what you’ve done… It means the world to me.” Damon admitted. “Alright! No more sulking! I will make the best of things! I am not alone… so… so…” He trailed off, clearly trying to pep himself up. “Okay… I can do this!” Damon stated, looking determined. Only to then make an awkward face, “I… I will admit though… I don’t really want to go home yet.”

“We don’t have to go home. We could camp out! Camping is fun!” Eve would exclaim happily.

“Are you sure? I bet the house would me more comfortable…” Damon trailed off.

“We’re your friends, we told you. We are here for you… If we weren’t willing to take a little inconvenience when you already have done so much for us… What kind of friends would we be?” Kazius pointed out. “We will camp out as long as you like. We were already doing so when we were traveling anyway… If you want to be out here during the full moon even, we don’t mind staying out here one more day.” He would add.

Damon at this seemed to smile more, genuine joy in his eyes. Kazius could tell how much their words meant. “Great!” He exclaimed, being his joyful self again it seems. “We should… We should… Can we go fishing?” He would ask in almost a pleading tone, the question being an odd one, a bit random even…

‘Maybe it was something he had wanted to do with someone for some time? Vargstam has a of water around… I do recall seeing families around here fishing together at times, since that was an activity even a child could do… He probably grew up seeing families doing things like that together… I suppose I understand, I remember seeing parents with their kids at the beginning of the coming-of-age ceremony… I was jealous too…’

“Sure. Let’s go fishing.” Kazius assured.