Chapter 73: The Shift.

HELENA. 'Aaron is such a funny little boy." Luna said, actually bathing Tyrus. She seemed a lot more comfortable with Luna. 'The look on his face really got me. You're such a meanie Tyrus." I said, and Tyrus squeaked in response. 'Why can't she speak?" I was curious. It was just squeaking all day long. 'She was born that way. They weren't evolved to develop speech habits." Luna shrugged, pouring one last cup of water on her. She shook her hair, splashing the water off of it. 'Alright, We're done here." Later that night, we both left the room and into the kitchen. Aaron had spent so much time trying to figure out how to bathe Tyrus that he didn't make dinner. Then again, it was supposed to be my turn. And we couldn't find Aaron anywhere. Sigh. I grabbed mom's cookbook and started flipping. The wave of nostalgia came in like a rush of cold air. I remembered when she used to scribble in this book, and I'd asked her what it was. 'It's an ancient magical book of food my dear." That was her usual response. Now, I understood why she always said that. The book was indeed magical. I found a fairly easy recipe for spaghetti and meatballs, and decided to give it a shot. Around an hour later, a steaming hot pot of spaghetti, alongside a frying pan filled with meatballs, tomato sauce and juices, lay displayed in the kitchen. Let's see what Aaron had to say about this. 'Wow. It smells amazing in here." Luna smiled, walking into the kitchen with a very happy Tyrus. 'I can't wait to rub it in Aaron's face." 'Thanks Luna. Have you seen him anywhere? It seems like he's been gone for two hours." I said. 'He's probably out for a hunt. He liked to hide his embarrassment that way." She shrugged, walking closer to the stove. 'Careful Luna. I'm not done with the sauce." I said, and left the kitchen area. Aaron. Out on a hunt. I glanced at the forever ready wall clock at the right side of the living room. It was 10pm. Where the hell could he still be? 'Helena! We're hungry here!" Luna yelled from the kitchen, and Tyrus squeaked in response. I sighed, trying to ignore the feeling of dread building up in my chest. Me, Luna and Tyrus sat on the dining table, eating quietly. I gave myself a silent pat on the back. The food was amazing. I still had it. 'Helena." She called, with a tone of seriousness in her voice. I almost choked on my food. 'Yes?" I said, grabbing a cup of water. She paused, allowing me to calm down. 'We need to start searching for the scroll. The sooner we start, the better. I'm running out of time." She said sternly, gazing at her plate of spaghetti. I leaned back in my chair. 'Why don't we go tomorrow?" It was the weekend, and I'd be free. 'Hm. Sounds good. Are we going with Aaron?" She asked, forking down a piece. 'You haven't told him yet?" 'Was I supposed to tell him?" '...." How do I even think of telling him? 'I'll tell him when he gets back." She nodded in response, and we finished the rest of the meal in silence. After dinner, I decided to grab one of my books. It'd been a while since I read something and dived into the world of imagination. It was already 12am, and still no signs of Aaron. I was beginning to get worried. 'Helena, did you know Tyrus could do this?" Luna said, her blue eyes shining brightly under the moonlight. I had turned off the lights in the living room. I preferred to read with natural light, regardless of what time it was. 'Huh?" I said, glancing up from my book. Tyrus was floating in the air, squeaking happily. At one point, a blue mist followed her trail. It looked so magical. 'Wow." I mouthed. The darkness of the room added to the magical shine of her display, and I just couldn't take my eyes off. Tyrus stopped in mid-air, and assumed a meditating position. Her skin glowed brightly, illuminating the entire room. 'Tyrus, oh my God!" I said, laughing excitedly. She opened her eyes and squeaked happily, diving straight into my arms. 'She is a work of art." Luna remarked. 'Yeah, she is." I glanced down at her. Never would I have thought I'd be in such a situation today. 'Alright, it's time for bed." Luna said, clapping her hands. Tyrus jumped up, and followed her into their bedroom, leaving just me in the living room. My thoughts immediately went to Aaron. Oh for goodness sake, it was 1:30 am already. I had a very bad gut feeling that he was in trouble. I just hope he hadn't gotten into really bad trouble. The kind that made me shudder with fear. Or worse, the kind that could kill him. 'Can't sleep?" Luna said, startling me out of my thoughts. 'More like I don't wanna. I'm waiting for Aaron." I said, tossing the book aside. I couldn't even understand the words anymore. 'Aaron is fine. He's a reckless wolf, he's probably gotten into some crazy trouble." She said, sitting directly opposite me. 'Why don't we play a game?" I stared at her. A game? 'Nah, I won't be able to concentrate." 'Come on, we can play until he returns. As long as you wanna stay." She insisted, pulling out the chess board from the coffee table. Chess. It had been a while. 'Okay." I think we played for up to two hours, because I was knee deep in her defense when a shallow knock pierced through the silence and startled the hell out of me. I glanced at Luna, and she nodded, making her way towards the door. The door opened before she got there, and Aaron fell through, covered in blood, cuts, gashes, bruises, anything you can use to classify a very bad opening on the skin. His body was sizzling too, as if he'd just been deep fried. Cold shivers washed down my spine. 'Aaron!" I yelled, rushing to his side. He was knocked out cold.