"Moon... I don't think we should do this." Sun whispers to his brother, who was too busy trying to tye a knot to fasten his cloak to hear him.

Sun gripped his own tighter. "Moon." He urged, "I think we should go back. Father will be mad!" Sun's voice came out in a hushed tone, as he looked around the two of them- as if their father would come out to get them just by name.

Moon rolled his eyes. "Oh hush, Sun." He started, "You know you want to sneak out just as much as I do." He said as he messily finished tying the knot. It was barely hanging on, but he didn't care since he tied it himself.

Sun looked around again. Thick brush and trees surrounded them. Birds chirped every now and then in the distance. "I do, but...." Sun groaned, "What if we get in trouble?"

Moon looked at him, stomping his foot down as he did. He had to look up just a little to make eye contactwith his brother, since he was a tad shorter- but he was growing. Wouldn't be long until he was the same height as Sun, anyway. "We're wearing the cloaks, remember? His stupid 'protection spell' won't detect us. Stop being a baby."

Sun pouted. "I'm not a baby..." He mumbled.

Moon took his brother's hand, marching deeper into the forest. "Then let's go. If we don't won't to get caught, we have to hurry before he returns."

Sun wined a bit, but didn't protest anymore as they walked. Sun was careful not to trip, watching his step as he tried to avoid anything that looked too dangerous. Moon on the other hand, just trudged on as he pleased. He'd step on as many fallen twigs and hop over as many logs as he could. Both, had never been this far away from their home.

"Moon, careful!" Sun yelped as moon jumped over a particularly large log while still holding his hand, and almost making him fall.

Moon grimaced as he watched his brother try to grab his bearings. "Sorry, Sunny..." He mumbled, looking down at his little dark brown shoes.

Sun dusted himself off while looking around. "It's okay- hey, look!" He said pointing to the barrier made by their father. Dark crimson magic twisted and swirled, silver and gold dust barely to be seen shined in the sunlight. All of this, only could be seen by the two of them. "We found it!" Sun said, feeling a little braver than before. He took his brothers hand again, and took the lead.

As they eased up to the barrier, the magic reacted. It coiled around itself in knots, as if saying 'you shouldn't be here'. Sun and Moon gripped their little cloaks tighter as they took another step closer. "Are you sure this is gonna work?" Moon mumbled to his brother. Even though he wouldn't say it, now that they were face to face with the barrier, he was feeling a little hesitant.

Sun fiddled with his cloak, making sure it covered him perfectly. "Father uses these cloaks all of the time." He started, "and I'm sure I cut them perfectly. I measured our heights and everything!"

Moon nodded. "You did do that." He glanced at the magic, which only had swirled around faster as they got closer. "What do you think is beyond it?" He asked out loud.

Sun frowned, thinking. "I... don't know." He looked at his brother. "What do you think is beyond it?"

"Something cool enough to keep us locked up in the house for all of these years. Father probably only wants to keep all of it to himself." Moon said bitterly. It was true, their father had prohibited them from stepping a foot beyond their yard. And he made sure they abided by it. Always.

Sun and moon had tried to leave once before, but they couldn't even get close because of the magic barrier that alerted their father as to what they were doing. They ended up grounded for a whole month. Now, they stood face to face with it.

"Stupid barrier." Moon mumbled, kicking a rock into it as he recalled the lack of snacks both him and Sun had been given because of it. The rock skipped along the dirt, until it disappeared within it crimson mist.

They both watched as it did, taking a breath and looking at each other. "Ready?" Sun asks his brother. Moon nods courageously, "Ready."

They both hold each other hand tighter, taking a moment to take yet another breath before finally stepping through. The mist felt... weird, making them close their eyes. They could feel it wrapping around them, almost as it it was trying to pull them back. They pushed forward. Everything felt so prickly... ticklish. Sun scrunched his face as the magic brushed across it. Moon fixed his hood so his cap underneath it didn't push it off.

Suddenly, the pulling stopped. As did the ticklish feeling. And both boys could feel the sunlight graze them once more. They giggled, a bubbly feeling coming over them at the thought of them actually pulling their little sneak away off. Neither had opened their eyes yet, instead relishing in the moment.

Finally, Sun speaks up. "Ready moon?" He asked his brother as he shifted is feet a bit in anticipation. Moon stepped a bit closer to Sun, almost stumbling a bit since his eyes were closed. Sun held his hand tighter so he didn't fall. "...ready." Moon said after a moment, bracing himself. Together they both counted down.

"3....2....1....now!"

It took a moment to adjust to their surroundings. Moon rubbed his eyes a bit as Sun just tried to blink away the blurriness.

And in front of them, they saw... forest. And around them. They both turned around in disbelief. They were on the other side of the barrier... they had made it arcoss, but...

"Are you kidding me!????" Moon bellowed, voice echoing far past the trees and then back to them.

Sun hushed his brother. "Moon, quiet. We don't know what's out here with us."

Moon stomped angrily. "No! There's nothing here!! Nothing cool at all!" His voice wavers, "Why would father... forbid us from nothing at all. Why would he... keep us away for so long." He becomes angry again. "It's stupid! Stupid, stupid, stupid!!!"

Moon huffs, finishing his tantrum. He looks over to Sun, who seemed angry as well. They both stood there for a moment, thinking.

"Maybe..." Sun starts, "Maybe if we keep walking-"

"We'll find something." Moon adds, looking at his brother. The spark was lit within the two again, and they looked forward.

Sun nodded. "Okay," He grabs his brother's hand once more. "I'll lead the way... uhm..." He looked around, "let's go... this way."

And on they marched. And marched. The sun sat high in the sky, almost taunting them as they traveled. Moon frowned, the light was beginning to aggravate him.

"We've been walking for ages," Moon grumbled, "and still haven't found anything... let's just go-"

Sun shushes Moon, pulling him closer as he practically shook with excitement. Moon frowns, following his brother's sight. He stills, and soon the bubbly feeling returns ten fold.

There, past a few bushes and trees sat a little house. Pretty flowers lined the walk way, and in the back they could see what looked like planks of wood neatly stacked on top of each other. A bird flew past them, rushing into a tiny red bird house that seemed like it was made just for it.

They turned to look at each other, grabbing onto their shoulders. "Sun, are you seeing what I'm seeing."

Sun vibrants with joy. "Definitely."

They found something! Maybe I was just a house, but it was definitely something! Moon looks over trying to peer past the brush. "Do you think there's more?" He asks his brother. Sun peers as well, "I... don't see any others." He says.

They both sneak a bit closer to get a better look. The steps leading to the door sparkled in the sun, as if it was magic. They paused. It was magic.

Without a second thought, the two boys rushed into the yard. They looked around as much as the could before they walked up to the door.

Sun turns to his brother. "Who do you think lives here?" Moon looks around some more, trying to see through the windows. The bird from the little bird house chirps, startling both of them.

"Definitely not father." Moon states, "Everything looks far too... happy."

Sun nods, silently agreeing.

They both stand there for a moment looking around and rocking on their feet.

"Wanna go check out the backyard?" Moon asks.

Sun grins, "Yeah!"

The two boys walk off, and the red bird hops out of her little bird house- following close behind them.

---------------------

You adjusted the straps of the many bags that hung on your arm. Potion hunting was a huge success, and you were carrying your treasure with a smile. You hummed quietly as you stepped on your walk way. The sun sat sweetly in the sky, but was beginning to lower. You'd have to start cooking soon if you wanted a decent meal tonight. You stepped on you porch, you shoes clicking on the surface.

You pause, setting down your bags.

Where's Jubie-

"Y/n!!!" Jubie, sensing your arrival- squeals as she swoops in from above you, landing on your hat.

Then, quickly she hopped on your finger as you held it out.

"Y/n!!!!therearetheseweirdlittleguys-wellmorecutethanweirdand-"

You laughed a little. "Slow down, Jubie. I can't understand you."

Jubie took a breath. "Two little things are in your backyard."

You frowned. "What?"

Jubie hopped a little before leaving you finger, "follow me!" She called as she took off, swooping behind your house.

With a flick of your hand, a wand popped into it. Better safe, than sorry. You thought to yourself. You weren't strong enough really to wield your magic without it. The only trick you had was making it pop in and out of you hands and you pleased... which was actually pretty useful.

You stepped off of your porch quietly, slowly moving to the back of your little house.

You could hear faint giggling and talking.

"Ugh... the bird's back." Someone grumbled- a child.

Another fit of giggling can be heard. "I think they're cute!"

You completely walk around the back, looking around. You pause.

You're poor fillyona's had been picked dry, and your watering can was missing. Jubie, was perched on the planks of wood you had bought. You look at her, distraught.

"They're over there!" She tells you.

You walk over to where your hose pipe was located. Your frown. Are those... cookies????

No, wait. More importantly-

"Stop!" You yelled, frightening the somehow animated cookies. One was holding your watering can, while the other had your hose pipe on full blast. Water was everywhere.

With a flick of your wand, you removed your watering can from their hands and turned off the pipe. You walked up to them, placing a hand on your hip. "What do you think you're doing!?"

They were both frozen in place, neither uttering a word. You take the moment to look at them closer. You'd never seen such puppets before. At least, that's what they looked like.

Puppets were like dolls that someone with enough magic energy could control. Though... these looked especially unique.

They were obviously modeled after cookies. One even had spinkles littering their... humps? If you looked closer, you could even see what looked like even smaller sprinkles being used as 'freckles' for their face. It looked like it was some sort of sugar or gingerbread mix.

Your eyes slid to the other one. Okay, this one's definitely modeled after a chocolate cookie. You thought to yourself. It had a what looked like a sugary version of a night cap on. Fluffy whipped cream, with some sort of fondue and little cookie stars was what the cap looked like it was made after.

But... neither actually smelled like cookies. Which made you think that they were just puppets.

You thought back to the kids you'd heard before. You frowned, looking around. "Okay, come on out!" You called around you, "I bet you guys were the one who ruined my flowers, too! Listen, you shouldn't even be here, the woods are dangerous!"

... no answer. You sigh, looking around some more. You couldn't see anyone past the trees.

Jubie swoops down, landing back on your hat. "Oh, look at what you've done! Now they're scared!"

You frown. "What are you-"

The sound of a whimper makes you whip your head back to the cookies. There, you see the two of them. Moving. All on their own. These were not puppets.

The one with the humps was on the brink of tears, the other was hiding behind them. "W-....we're sorry. We just thought they were pretty and-" they sniff, rubbing their eyes. The chocolate one refused to show you their face, instead pushing it into the sprinkled one's back.

Oh no. These were the children.

Before you can even try to console them, they burst out in tears. You were panicking.

"Hey- no, no, no... don't do that." You plead in a much gentler voice. "I didn't know you were- I mean... it's fine. I can always regrow the flowers." You give a shaky smile.

They look at you. "But... you sounded so mad." The sprinkled one tells you. "We messed with your water and stuff, too." The chocolate one quietly adds on.

You nod. "You did." They flich, watching as you lift your wand in the air. "Luckily, I can clean the water up pretty quickly." You give it flick.

Water from the watering can and the ground lifted into the air. You moved your wand, making it swish and swirl. And with a final flick, it popped- creating a rainbow of dew above you all. You smiled back at them. "There, problem taken care of."

Their mouths were hung open, tears vanishing in the sun just as the water did.

In one quick movement, they came up to you, barreling questions at you one after the other.

"How did you do that? Was that a new type of magic? Can you teach us? Can you lift us in the sky, too!?"

You back up a little with a small laugh. "Woah, woah... first, let's introduce ourselves. I'm Y/n, and this little bird on my hat here- is my familiar, Jubie."

The cookies- children, nod. It was obvious they had even more questions now... but thankfully, they decided to introduce themselves as well."

"I'm sun!" The sprinkled on says. "Moon." The chocolate one mutters.

You nod as well. "Okay, it's very nice to meet you Sun and Moon! Now, can you tell me how to contact your parents?" You smile. "I can send it by bird if needed. Jubie doesn't mind."

They pause, looking at each other. The tears start to return. "We... we don't know." Sun tells you. "We got lost, and..."

Oh dear. You looked at the sky, the sun was now much lower than before. You wouldn't be able to take them to the village if you tried. I'd be far too dangerous around a time like this.

You take a breath before looking at them. "That's okay! Let's... just get you two inside- I know you're not supposed to follow strangers and all... but we don't really have a choice in this situation."

Sun wipes his eyes again. "Why not?" He mumbles.

You frown. "Because that can be very dangerous." Did their parents not tell them that??

Moon looks at you from behind Sun. "What's a 'stranger'?"

You pause, frown deepening. "It's... someone you don't know."

Moon frowns, peering at you as he gripped Sun. "We don't know you." He pointed out.

You sighed. You'd definitely have to talk to their parents. Poor things were lucky they'd found you, and not someone... unsavory. "Just- are you two hungry? I can fix you something?"

Both Sun and Moon pop up, inching closer to you. "Food?" Moon mumbles. "Okay, let's go!" Sun cheers.

Yeah, you were definitely talking to their parents. Child safety is no joke, and for them not to teach their own children the simplest of rules is just-

"Oh, wait!" Sun exclames before he runs off. You're immediately about to call after him, but he comes back. Weird cloaks in his hand.

The energy that came from it felt... odd. Jubie felt it too.

"That's... a strong spell." She whispered.

You nodded as you guided the children inside your home. The sun was just about the set now, and you did not want to deal with things that came out into the forest when it did. You opened your door, guiding the children inside.

"You can wipe your feet here." You said, gesturing to the little mat at the door. The children looked at you, frowning in confusion.

You waited a moment, before slowly wiping your feet on the mat yourself. Both boys watched you do so, before trying their best to replicate it.

It's almost as if they were born yesterday. You thought to yourself, quickly going back to go fetch your bags that you had left on your porch. The boys stepped aside, allowing you to do so.

"What's that?" Moon asked, watching you as you set in down in your living room. He walked up closer to you, trying to get a look inside of the bags. You eyes caught a glimpse of Sun, shuffling his feet close by with the cloaks in hand.

You bent down a little, opening a bag a little for him to see. "Potions." You told him, standing back upright to look at Sun. "You can set the cloaks over there, and come over here if you want."

Sun looked at you, relieved with a smile. "Okay!" He said, setting the coats down to where you had pointed, before happily walking over to you to take a look inside of the bag as well.

"Father has bottles like these." You heard him mumble as he leaned over moon a bit to see. "Yours are weak, though." Moon added.

You frowned. Weak? You mean, yeah sure- the potions on their own couldn't really do anything. They had to be mixed together first. But weak?? These were high quality ingredients!

You placed a hand on your hip. "These can actually be really powerful, y'know? They just have to be mixed together- by an adult." You added quickly. You did not want them to think they could even touch potions. "You two should never touch these, by the way. You can really get hurt."

Moon frowned. "Can not. These look mid grade, at best. Father has far better ones than you." You watched in disbelief as Sun nodded in agreement.

Okay, now you were curious. Just who were their parents exactly? They were obviously not human, for sure. But then, what are they? You looked them over. Not a animin, or a Jin... Highly doubted they were fae, either.

Jubie hopped along your hat and landed on your shoulder. "As cute as they are, they... feel weird. I can sense it."

You hummed quietly in agreement, watching as the boys commented on the things in your bag that they could see without directly touching it.

That was another thing. Their energy. It's didn't feel right. Energy is what you're made of, no matter what species you might be. Your center- the core of who you were could be born of flame, wind, the earth, or water... light and dark also used to be cores, but those who had it died out centuries ago. Someone having a core like that nowadays is non existent. Which is nothing but a good thing. A core like that could be incredibly dangerous- it was.

But that's a story for another time.

Your core was made of earth. It was where you drew your power from- as all others with a core like yours did. You couldn't speak to animals. Well, except for your familiar. And that didn't count since anybody could do that if allowed. You couldn't talk to the plants, either. But... you could feel the life around you. A buzzing, you would often call it. A constant swarm of movement. You felt it in the trees. You felt it in the ground. You felt it in stone to moss. Mountain to pebble. And partially, you could manipulate it. Just like you had with the water. Except back then you had used just a simple floatation spell... having a core from the earth ment that's where you drew the power from to use the spell. It also had other benefits- which varied from person to person. Some could talk to plants or animals. Some could move stone and morph it how they pleased. You had the added little perk of being able to identify the energy of most things- telling if they were good or bad, poisonous or not. It tended to be really helpful when buying potions from a dealer.

Which brought you back to the boys.

You couldn't feel their energy entirely- but you could? It was almost as if you were looking at a mock version of someone's core. It was so close to normal, but something about it just made you uneasy.

You didn't know why.

You bent down to close back the bags, making the boys pout. "Come on," you told them as you made your way to the kitchen, "let's get you something to eat."

You decided to ignore the feeling you had. It was probably just your nerves after finding the two children... but, Jubie had mentioned it too. No, probably were just her nerves as well. You shook off what you deemed as the useless thoughts as you set your bags back down in the corner of your kitchen.

The boys watched curiously as you went to open your fridge. "Can we help?" You heard Moon quietly ask from behind you.

You turn around slightly to see him clinging to your side. Sun appears on the other side of you, doing the same. "Can we?" He asks.

You smile. "Sure, I don't see why not."

Sun slightly bounces in place as Moon tries to look in the fridge with you. They both watch as you pull out many vegetables and herbs. You close the fridge, setting it all on the counter. "Hold on." You tell them as you walk to your pantry, pulling out a sack of potatoes.

They patiently wait for you to return. And once you do, they're back to your sides.

"What are we making?" Sun asks. You catch moon trying to peer over the counter. "Soup." You stated. "You both go grab a chair so you can help."

Immediately, they go do as their told. You watch as they try to grab the chairs and pull it over. You take a moment to fetch bowls and a knife for you while they do.

By the time you set down everything you need, they have their chairs to the counter and are ready to help.

"Okay," you started, "First, we'll wash our hands. Then, I'll cut the vegetables... you two can put them in. Can you do that?" You asked with a smile.

They both nod their heads feverishly as they quickly scoot off the chairs.

The kitchen buzzes to life. And you all talk amongst each other as you work.

They ask you a lot of questions. Mostly about what you do, and what the village you go to is like. You smile, telling them that you had actually moved into your little home quite recently, so you didn't know much about the village itself yet. "Ah, but they do have great deals on potions!" You said at the end.

Moon made a face while Sun pushed on. "Where did you live before?" He asks.

You smile. "At the academy. Some people like to just stay there- it being close to the capital. I decided to leave after learning what I could."

"Was it fun?" Sun asks.

You paused. The question brought up memories you'd honestly rather not think about. "It was... okay." You said after a moment, deciding to smile in hopes that they wouldn't ask any deeper questions about it.

Sun hums, dropping a hand full of potatoes in a bowl. Moon slouches a bit, sighing. "We've never been to an academy." He grumbles.

You frown. "Well the academy teaches more advanced lessons... but surely, you've been to a magic school?" You asked them. It didn't make sense. He talks as if-

"We've never been to a 'magical school'." Moon mutters, frown deepening as he folds his arms. Sun looks over at him, worried. "Moon-"

"Father won't let us leave the house at all! He always says it's too dangerous! Well, we made it out here- and it's not like that all! It's fun!! You're fun!!" Moon bursts, and sun gasps quietly looking at him, and then you.

You set down the knife. "You've never left your house?" You ask incredulously.

"Well," Sun starts, poking at a potato that was hanging a bit out of the bowl. "We can play in the yard... but we've never seen a village or a academy..."

He frowns, while moon just continues to scowl. "We... ran off. We wanted to see what was beyond the barrier."

A barrier? You think to yourself.

"And we found you!" Moon blurts, holding out his hands towards you. He groans, "Can't we just stay here, with you? I don't want to go back if father is just going to ground us again."

Sun shrinks on himself. "I... miss him. What if we never see him or home again?"

Moon whips his head over to him. "T-that... that won't happen! He's probably gonna find us like he did last time."

"But..." Sun started, "We past the barrier. We used the cloaks. And look at how late it is." He looks out of a window from where he sat. Moon does the same.

Moon shinks in himself, too. "That... he's..."

You quickly catch the tears before they fall from both children. "Hey now..." You say, wiping their eyes. "I'm sure you're father is out looking for you right now, and he's definitely gonna find you. I'll make sure of it." After I have a strong word with him, that is.

The children look at you. Bobbing their heads in a small nod as they wiped their eyes with you. "Okay..." They mutter.

You smile, "Good, now let's eat- shall we?"

They boys look at you, confused. "We're gonna eat it raw?" Moon asks, rubbing his eyes one last time.

You grin. "Of course not, that'd be silly. We're gonna use a spell." You tell them, pulling out a piece of paper from a drawer.

They watch you as you put all of the ingredients in a pot with a broth, and close the lid. Then, you take the piece of paper, and tear it right above the pot.

Within a second, golden mist surrounds the pot. And they watch it heat up, bubbling sounds being heard from within.

After a minute you open the pot to reveal freshly cooked soup. The boys mouths drop. You grin, "A cook- Freddy, made this for me. It's a really useful trick, huh?"

The boys nod, and you hear their stomachs growl as you walk to pull out bowls and spoons for the three of you.

Jubie hops on Sun's head, making him giggle. "I'm gonna go finish my seed from earlier today, don't wanna waste anything!"

You chuckle, "Okay, come back once you're done." You tell her as she flies off into a different part of the house where her cage is.

Moon looks at you while helping set up the table, "You can understand it?" He asks, making sure to set his and Sun's bowls next to each other.

You set yours down on the opposite end, handing him two spoons next. "Well, yeah. You could too, if she allows."

Sun pops up from looking at the food in the pot, waiting on you to come over. "We can?" There's a glimmer in is eyes when he asks you.

You nod walking over to pick up the pot with a slight heave. "Yeah- but, you have to ask nicely." You set it down on the table.

Both Sun and Moon nod slowly, watching as you scooped big spoons of soup into their bowls. They didn't touch it, though. Instead, they waited on you to finish making yours.

The three of you sat down at the table, eating and making small talk every now and then. The boys had finished their food before you did. You gave Moon another helping- since he asked for it. Sun didn't want anymore, deciding he wanted to try talking with Jubie.

"Where did Jubie go?" He asked, leaning a bit on the table.

You thought about it. "She... actually might be sleeping. She does that a lot after she eats."

Sun slouched a little further. "Oh...."

Moon, was far to deep into his food to even hear the conversation. You smiled, "How about we play a game? I have a few."

Ah, that caught his attention. Moon looked up from putting yet another spoonful into his mouth. "Mah jame?" He asked, spoon clicking with his teeth as he talked. Sun perked up a little as he listened in.

You nod, setting your spoon in your bowl. You were done eating now. "Yeah, we can play it after I wash the bowls."

Moon quickly nods as he finishes his food. "I'll help. That way we can play faster." He puts his spoon in his bowl as well, and makes grabbing hands at Sun's. "Gimmie."

Sun covets it, shaking his head. "No, I can do my own." Moon frowns, "No you can't! You always leave stuff behind."

Sun frowns deeper. "I won't this time! I want to do it on my own!"

You stop the bickering before it gets any worse. "Boys... how about, we all do it together?" You offer.

They look at you. "How?" Sun asks, while he stops Moon from trying to sneak and take his bowl.

"Moon, you can clean them... Sun, you can dry them. I'll put them up after. Sounds good?"

The boys look at each other. Moon glances down at the bowl in sun's hand one more time, as if he was about to try and reach for it again. Sun holds it tighter.

Moon looks at you. "And we can play after?"

You nod, standing up. "Absolutely."

Moon slides off of the chair, pushing it back. He then picks up his bowl and takes it to the sink. You have to stop yourself from giggling as you watch him try to see over yet another counter. You take you chair, and set it next to Moon. "Here, you can use this."

Moon glares at you a little, mumbling something you couldn't hear. Even so, he gets in the chair.

Sun still hadn't let go of his bowl. You walk over to him, holding out your hand. "Drying them is a big job. Are you sure you can handle it?" You look at him as seriously as you can.

Sun's eyes shoot to yours. He nods, "Of course. Leave it to me." He tells you as he places the bowl in your hand, and marches over to the sink. He was on a mission.

He stops midway to get a chair as well. You help him.

The three of you quickly finish the dishes, the boys taking their jobs very seriously. Honestly, you don't think you've even seen a dish so clean and dry. "Great job," you tell them as you put up the last bowl. "I knew you two could do it!"

Sun practically radiates joy, while moon hides behind him a little. You hear a very small thank you fro him as he does.

The boys then hop off the chairs, pushing them back to the table as quickly as they could. They run back to you.

You smile guiding them to the living room. You sit them down on your couch, and then walk over too your bookshelf. On the top, you had few games you had collected over the years. They mostly sat and collected dust, so you were happy to finally put them to use.

You decide to pull out a favorite of yours. It was a simple game- first you set up the blocks in a tower, and each person would take turns pulling out a block. First one to make it fall loses, then the other players would duke it out for first place.

You explained the rules to the kids before playing. The first round you lost on purpose, choosing instead to help them from the sidelines. Sun ended up ultimately being the winner. Moon folded his arms.

"It's okay," you tell him, "Sometimes, you have to lose in order to learn how to win. Don't give up."

With that, a spark is lit in Moon's eyes. The second round starts. Sun loses first, making the tower fall on his third turn. He doesn't get upset, choosing to instead cheer Moon on as he faced against you.

You smirk, pretending to put in a good fight before losing. The boys cheer once you do, and laugh when you dramatically admit defeat.

After that, you let them play on their own. Something had been bothering you for a while now, and no matter how hard you tried- you couldn't shake it.

Jubie swoops in, and you hold out your hand for her to land on it.

"Something's wrong," She whispers, "That feeling I had is growing..."

You nod, frowning. "It's not their cloaks.... it's the connection to it. It's messing with the energy around it." You glanced at the cloaks in question. The magic around it was more prominent now, and all of the other energies around it was avoiding it like the plague. You'd never seen anything like it.

"Not just that," Jubie states. There's a fear in her eye. "But look, it's leading somewhere."

You look. Indeed the magic was leading somewhere, the trail going through your door. The feeling got stronger. And you were hit with a sudden sickness. Jubie watches you in worry.

You swollow down your nausea, instead choosing to walk over to the cloaks. You glance out the window. It was night now.

"Sun... moon, where did you get these cloaks?"

The boys hum, too immersed in their game. "It's Father's." Sun tells you after a moment.

You frown. That's impossible. No one could just make something like this. It had to be a relic of some sort... right? The magic, it felt far too-

A wave of energy bursts from the cloaks. And you almost topple over from the sensation of it hitting you. The boys look at you in worry. "Y/n... are you okay?" You faintly hear Sun ask.

You feel Jubie fly off of you, rushing to the boys. "Protect them," You tell her, "leave out the back door if you need to."

Moon looks at you, and then her. "What's going on?"

Another wave bursts, and you almost fall the down from sickness you felt. You were getting dizzy.

"Stay back!" You tell them, faintly feeling the vibration of them tryting to rush over to you. You look at them, they're speaking but you can't hear what they're saying. Your ears were ringing far to much. "Listen to Jubie, she'll make sure you're safe." You mumble. Your head was hurting so much.

The energy was so strong now. Something falls from outside, the feeling so strong that it shook the ground beneath you. You flick you wand into your hand, and glance at the boys. They looked as if they were trying to tell Jubie something... but you couldn't hear it.

You brace yourself.

The realization hits you far to late. Something wasn't pulling the cloaks....

It was the cloaks that been bringing something to you this whole time.

And It was here.

The door bursts open, and the dizzying feeling hit you ten fold. You loose you balance, falling to the ground. There's a shift within the air. The energy around you feeling far to heavy for you to handle. All other energies fled. It was just you, and the overwhelming presence you felt.

Jubie rushes to your side. She's saying something, but the ringing is all you can hear. And then, something else....

"Where..." a voice floods your mind, it sounded rough and so very angry. "Where are they."

You hold your head with your free hand. "W-what...?" You mumble out loud.

The lights flicker around you, popping all at once. The only illumination you had was the moon outside. And that soon, left you too.

A darkly color hand reaches through your door, cracking it's frame. "WHERE." Then another, "ARE." to your disbelief, two more slam through. "MY CHILDERN!?"

You hand unwillingly drops your wand. The pressure- their presence, was far to strong. Sun and moon rush to the figure, stopping them from coming any closer.

"No.... don't." You mumble out weakly, vision staring to blur. "Don't hurt them."

Jubie is still by your side, weak- but not as bad off as you. She couldn't sense- feel like you could.

And yet, she stands beside you. Ready to protect to her best of abilities if needed.

Sun and moon are still in front of the figure. You were trying focus on them the best you could. The ringing was starting to die down for some reason, but you didn't feel any better.

"Don't hurt them... they....." You can hear one of the boys say, only being able to hear it partly.

The figures eyes slide to you, deep red eyes swirled... fading, turning into a glowing gold.

You were too tired to speak anymore.

"Get your coats... we're leaving." The dark voice commands, looking back at the boys.

The boys feverishly tell it something, and the figure scowls. "They won't even remember you." It raises one of it's hands, and sickly as she looked- Jubie stands defensively in front of you. "That, I'll make sure of."

They boys plead, but it goes on deaf ears. Both you and Jubie are hit with a wave of magic. You fall completely down on the floor, eyes beginning to close.

Oh... you were so so sleepy.

You're vision goes in and out, and you catch glimpses of the boys retrieving their cloaks. They were crying. The figure, slid back outside.... and your vision blurs yet again. Sun and moon are now by the door, looking back at you.

Sun sniffs, wiping his eyes. "We... had a lot of fun with you." You hear him say. Moon doesn't even look your way, but he was gripping the cloak he had on so so tightly.

"No... don't...." You mumble out. Moon, looks at you then. He fiddles with his hat, and something drops onto the floor.

"Don't forget us. You have to fight it, you have to remember." He tells you. There's a gleam in his eyes, and his chest puffs out. "I know you'll find-"

"Moon!" A voice booms from outside. The boys look at you. Sun gives a sad small wave before leaving.

You catch a glimpse of Moon one last time before your eyes shut completely.