[center][h2]🌿[color=a36209] 🔥 Caelum Emberhart 🔥 [/color]🌿[/h2]
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	[color=7ea7d8]“Yes…”[/color] Magnolia replied softly. [color=7ea7d8]“Having to face this… [i]thing[/i] alone would be impossible.”[/color] She chuckled nervously and lowered her gaze to her feet, fidgeting all the while.

	Caelum maintained his soft smile and focused ahead, allowing his stride to match hers.

	She hadn’t quite caught his meaning, but she wasn’t wrong—not in the slightest. He didn’t have the faintest idea what the ash they were going to have to do, or endure, but there was no sense agonizing over the unknowable. Not now. Not when there was such good company to enjoy. Good company, and a pleasant nighttime stroll.

	[color=a36209]“Yes,”[/color] he replied, warm and low. [color=a36209]“It would be quite the daunting task.”[/color]

	Clearly, the pair could have reached the lagoon much faster if they’d chosen to engage their wings. But the fairy at his side wanted to walk—and honestly, so did he. It was nice to enjoy the beauty of the night, slowly, and with more company than just himself or the flame of his lantern.

	After a few brief stops at lanterns in need of mild attention, the two arrived near the edge of the lagoon some minutes later. Caelum turned his head to Magnolia as they padded closer to the water’s edge. His house was now only a stone’s throw away. Hers, still a fair distance across the lagoon—further still if one were to follow the bank.

	Caelum could almost make out the faint impressions of Loke and Muricle’s joyful steps, still embedded in the moist earth below. They had passed through mere hours ago—though somehow, it already felt much longer.

	[color=a36209]“Well,”[/color] Caelum said, finally ending the peaceful hush. [color=a36209]“Here’s me…"[/color] he gestured to his small hollow. [color=a36209]"If you don’t mind, I will just gather a few things of mine. Then, we will go break the news to Muricle—together. We can then grab whatever [i]you[/i] want to bring along, too…[/color] He trailed off for a moment. [color=a36209]"Or, we can just meet back at the hall…”[/color]

	He trailed off again, suddenly uncertain. He had always been so… resigned.

	[i]This[/i] feeling, however... was new, strange—and [i]exciting[/i].