Talia's castle, it turned out, was little more than a stone-brick cottage built into the side of a muddy sloped hill. A small barn came off the side of the house, the front gaping wide open to reveal three baby mantas huddling near the far wall, their heads tucked under their wings in sleep. A stepping-stone path wound its way up to the front doorstep, small trees bearing plump pink fruits lining the walkway.

"C'mon, slow pokes!" Talia called, waving for the others to follow as she marched up the path to the doorway. She shoved aside a piece of pink cloth that acted as the buildings door and slipped inside, leaving the elders alone in the rain.

Tun looked at the building for a moment, then turned to give his sister a joking look. "You know, I wouldn't quite call this a castle. . ."

Tor smiled behind her mask and rolled her eyes. "You know, it was your idea to follow her; not mine." she leaned forward in her seat and carefully lifted the blanket-wrapped child in her arms. "So stop your complaining!"

"What!?" Tun asked with mock insult. "Me? Complaining? When have I ever complained about anything!?"

Tor smirked and stood up in the manta's saddle, careful not to let the child slip from her rain-soaked arms. "You complain more than the rest of the valley combined, and trust me, that's saying something!" Before her brother could respond, Tor hopped off the manta's back, landing on the muddy ground below with a splash.

Tun quickly followed her lead, bouncing out of the saddle and touching down on the forest-floor next to his twin. For a moment, neither elder spoke as they stared up at the stone building before them, then Tor broke the silence.

She glanced back at the manta who floated uncertainly in the rain behind them. "We'll be back, soon." she said softly and nodded up the path to the barn where the baby mantas slept. "I'm sure no one will mind if you stay in there for awhile."

The manta gave a small hoot of appreciation, then flapped its wings once, easily floating up the hill. It ducked its gold plated head beneath the lip of the roof and slipped inside, careful not to wake the trio of smaller creatures that huddled beside it.

Tor paused, watching the manta for a long moment, then turned her attention to the child in her arms. They still glowed, but the golden light was noticeably dimmer. Anyone just passing by probably wouldn't even notice. . . She winced as she looked up into the child's eyes. They still shone just as brightly as ever. . .

As if reading her mind, Tun pointed a thumb down at the child. "We're not really planning on bringing the kid inside, are we?" he asked uncertainly, kicking at a clump of grass with his already muddy boot. "They're a little. . . Uhh, you know, glowy?"

"I noticed. . ." Tor muttered then sighed, shaking her head. "But it doesn't feel right to leave them out here. . ." she glanced back over her shoulder into the dark, damp forest, her eyes narrowing into the shadow cloaked trees. "Anything could happen to them. . ."

"You're so paranoid!" Tun laughed, slowly shaking his head.

"Could be worse. . . I mean, I could be dead." Tor turned back to her brother with a small smile and stomped hard on his foot. She spun back to the house and took off, feet spraying mud up behind her. "Last one to the house is rotten crab-meat!"

"Oi!" Tun yelled, a grin spreading across his face as he launched into a run, chasing his sister up the winding path towards the stone-brick house.

In seconds, the two elders had crossed the muddy yard, Tun arriving only moments behind his sister. They shoved past the pink fabric door, nearly tripping over each other to be the first one inside.

"I win!" Tor laughed as she stumbled to a halt, readjusting the child in her arms so they wouldn't slip.

"How's that fair!?" Tun scoffed, failing to hide his own amusement. "You got a head start!"

"Hey!" Tor taunted and lifted the child up a few inches, making sure that Tun could see them. "I had to carry the kid!"

Tun paused for a moment, then looked away and lowered his voice dramatically. "I suppose it was a tie. . ."

Tor snorted with laughter and looked up, taking in her surroundings for the first time. They stood in a small room. A long table jutted out from the building's left wall, woven baskets of pink fruit strewn across the stone table-top. Leaning against the other wall was a long bench, its smooth rock surface decorated with elegantly sewn blankets. Tor glanced over at the back of the room and noticed another covered doorway quite like the one they had just walked through, the only difference being that this one's door seemed cleaner, the bottom not stained with mud and dirt. Clusters of small red candles decorated every surface of the room, driving away the darkness with their warm, comforting glow.

"Took ya' long enough!" Talia grumbled as she emerged from the opposite doorway. She shot a grumpy glance back over her shoulder, then hopped up onto one of the stone chairs that lined the table. "Anyways, Naomi'll be here in a bit. . . " she rested her chin in her crossed arms and leaned against the table, watching her guests silently.

The elders shared a confused look, then glanced back at the young spirit.

"Who?"

Talia's head perked up slightly. "Huh? Oh! She's my older sister. . ." she shot another glance back over her shoulder at the fabric covered doorway and shrugged. "She'll be here any second now--"

"TALIA!!!" the voice rang through the house like a clap of thunder, and the twins stepped back towards the door uncertainly.

Talia tilted her head to the side and jabbed a thumb over her shoulder. "That'll be her!"

"Talia!" the voice shouted again, not quite as loud this time, but just as furious. The fabric door flung back and a tall spirit stormed into the room. The spirit stomped up to the table, hands on her hips as she leaned down to glare at her younger sister. "Do you know what time it is!?" she shouted, the messy bun on top of her head bouncing as she yelled.

"Past my bedtime?" Talia asked, already sounding bored with the conversation.

"Well, that's an understatement!" the spirit cried in a shrill voice. "I was worried sick! When ma' and da' hear about this. . ." she trailed off and slowly looked up, noticing the twin elders cowering near the door, their eyes wide with shock. For a moment, the three of them stood in silence, watching each-other uncertainly, then the spirit, Naomi, gave her sister a blank look. "Who are they?"

Talia lifted her head from the table and shrugged. "Dunno, I found them pulling a kid out of a hole in the woods, and decided to take them home with me."

Naomi turned back to her sister, the shock on her face visible despite her mask. "You what?"

Talia's eyes widened innocently, and she threw her transparent blue hands up defensively. "Hey! You keep telling me I need to be nicer! They were gonna be stuck out there in the rain if I hadn't shown up, so I was nice and helped em' out!" she leaned forward in her chair. "So, really, it's your fault. . ."

Naomi inhaled sharply and flung her arm out, pointing to the doorway that she had come through. "Go to your room!" she hissed, eyes narrowing. "We'll talk about this tomorrow. . ."

Talia shrugged and hopped up, dropping the few inches from her chair to the ground. "Good luck with the beast. . ." she muttered softly to the elders as she walked past, making sure she was just loud enough for her sister to hear.

Naomi watched silently as the younger spirit walked through the doorway, shoving the pink cloth curtain out of the way as she went. Finally, as the fabric door settled back into place, Naomi let out a long breath, dropping down into the stone chair with a sigh. "I'm sorry about Talia. . ." she mumbled and shook her head, wiping a few strands of loose hair out of her eyes. "She means well, but she can be a bit much some times. . ."

"Got that right. . ." Tun muttered under his breath, earning him a swift kick in the shin from his sister.

Naomi gave a small, tired smile behind her mask and nodded to the elders. "Anyways, we don't really have any spare rooms. . ." she winced apologetically, fiddling with her fingers uncertainly. "But I suppose you two--" she glanced down at the child in Tor's arms and quickly corrected herself. "--Three, could stay in the barn for the night. . . It's not the best, but it'll keep the rain out."

Tor smiled and gave a small bow, quickly righting herself to keep the blanket wrapped child in her arms from slipping. "Thank you. . ." she mumbled awkwardly, and slowly stepped backwards out the door, nearly tripping over the wet, slippery steps as she went.

Tun snorted, lifting a hand to his face to keep from laughing. "Real smooth, sis. . ." he turned from his sister and gave Naomi a nod. "Sorry bout her. She's real formal. . ." he shrugged and stepped out into the rain, letting the fabric door flap back into place behind him.

"It's fine. . ." Naomi whispered, though the elders were already gone. She narrowed her eyes at the door and scratched the back of her head uncertainly. There was something about those two that seemed. . . Familiar? She sighed and stood up, walking slowly back through the quiet house to her room. She could ask them about it, tomorrow, she supposed. For now, though, all she could do was wait.