Ezekiel woke up once everyone returned. Alejandra took him and Hraktar back home, with her fighter explaining what happened to the cleric as they drove. Ezekiel was asking plenty of questions as they pulled into the house, and they kept talking as they moved their conversation inside.

Alejandra walked through the door after Hraktar and Ezekiel. Rafael was there, to her surprise, doing homework at the table. She stared at her older brother, feeling herself crumble. “I thought you didn’t have time to come.”

Rafael gestured toward his homework. “What does this look like, Alejandra?”

She shot him a glare, but he went back to studying his textbooks. “Besides, nothing must have happened. I never got a prompt to roll.”

“Because your cleric fell asleep when we were ready to go. Tyler thinks combat from a distance doesn’t work. You’re not connected enough with Ezekiel.”

Rafael finally glanced up. “You fought today?”

“Yes. Phantom agrees to be an informant of sorts,” Alejandra said.

Rafael tilted his head to one side. “What’s Phantom?”

Alejandra stared at her brother again, trying not to cry. Phantom must have been a later addition to the campaign, even though it felt like he was always there. “He’s a bandit captain. We fought him today.”

“Oh.” Rafael tapped his pencil, his eyes returning to the textbook.

There was a knock on the door. They didn’t have many visitors. Alejandra opened it to see Tyler standing there. He smiled. “Hey, Alejandra. I was almost headed for the freeway when I turned around. Is Rafael home?”

“He is, yes.”

“Thanks.”

Tyler walked in, waving at Hraktar and Ezekiel. Tyler sat down across from Rafael, who finished writing out a problem before glancing up. “Hey.”

“Hello,” Tyler said. “We missed you today.”

Rafael sighed, setting his pencil down. “I know.”

“I’ve been giving this a lot of thought. A lot of things aren’t adding up. Not that long ago, I was in high school. I’ve seen you there as a sophomore. Not only that, but I have friends on the football team. Even friends with younger siblings who look up to you. Everyone you come in contact with says the same. You’re a good kid. Your head’s on straight. You have your future planned out.”

“Um…” Rafael scrunched his eyebrows together before looking at Tyler. “Thanks?”

“Don’t thank me. Compliments like that are earned. Which is why things don’t make sense. You know the dire situation these characters are in. Life or death, in a way. The Rafael I know would be among the first to figure out how to get them back.”

Rafael stared at Tyler. “I think you have way too high of an opinion of me.”

“Nah. I just think something is stopping you.” Tyler straightened, then pointed his thumb at Ezekiel. “We’ve figured out combat at a distance doesn’t work. The group needs you, Rafael. They’ve never been the same when you left years ago. None of them will admit it out loud, but they all feel it.”

“They just miss Ezekiel. They don’t miss me,” Rafael said.

Tyler narrowed his eyes at that. “Bullshit.” Rafael looked at him, surprised. “You, Derek, and Nick were inseparable back in the day. I thought nothing would come between your friendship. You were like brothers. Did Nick’s arrest really rattle you that much?”

Rafael said nothing. Alejandra felt like she was encroaching on something private. Something not for her. But she didn’t know how to step away from the conversation, either.

“Just come. Sooner rather than later. Everyone else has gotten to level two, and we don’t want Ezekiel to fall behind. If he comes for a fight when he’s at a low level, he might… he might die,” Tyler said.

Rafael glanced at Ezekiel, who was still talking with Hraktar, chuckling at something he said. Rafael sighed, then picked up his phone, scrolling.

“I… I do want to try, but…” Rafael scrolled again. “I have all day on the sixteenth free.”

Tyler raised an eyebrow, then took out his phone. “Of September?”

“Yeah.” Rafael scratched his head with his pencil. “Yeah, I can get work off.”

Tyler’s smile grew. “That’s fantastic. Yeah, I’ll put that in the notes. See if you can do any grinding with Ezekiel until the sixteenth.”

Rafael barely smiled before dropping again. He looked at his textbook without seeing it.

Tyler patted his arm. “Thank you for this. I’ll let the others know. They’ll be really excited.” Rafael grunted, but Tyler either didn’t hear or pretended not to. “I’ll let you get back to homework. I have plenty myself waiting for me.”

Rafael again kept quiet as Tyler waved to Alejandra, Hraktar, and Ezekiel. Rafael glanced at Alejandra. She found herself smiling, hoping for the same thing Tyler hoped for. A time when her brother had been so inseparable with Nick and Derek. So inseparable that not even bringing a little sister to a CCNC session could have changed anything. But Rafael’s hesitancy, and then the quiet way he returned to his homework, made Alejandra think that there would be a longer climb to that ideal.

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***

It was getting late on a Monday night. Evelyn and Clarissa were talking about her leveling up. They’d already added the extra hit points, but they had to make a decision about Clarissa’s druid circle. There were so many options for druids in what subclass they could take. Considering druids were one of the classes that got a subclass at level two, Evelyn and Clarissa wanted to make sure they got it right.

“Circle of the moon was a good choice in the Shrouded Domain,” Clarissa said, as Evelyn kept glancing through all the options that hovered in front of her. “But this Earth is completely different.”

Evelyn’s shoulders sagged. “Yeah. I know. We don’t even know what to expect, and it’s not like we have a Tyler equivalent to give us gentle nudges as to what might be useful for future encounters.”

Clarissa had her shoes off, hugging her legs. She looked out the window, looking regal with her tiara. Evelyn created this character when she was eleven years old, and now at almost sixteen, she still thought Clarissa was the coolest ever. Not that she would ever admit it out loud.

“I’m torn between Circle of the Moon and Circle of the Shepherd,” Evelyn said, looking at the long explanations of both. “Either would be an excellent fit for you.”

“I would like to try Circle of the Shepherd. It feels… right. For what I need to do.”

Evelyn’s pulse quickened. “You feel you need to do something right now?”

Clarissa said nothing, still looking out the window. Evelyn mentally chose Circle of the Shepherd. For the most part, Circle of the Shepherd gave the entire team certain buffs, which were necessary at such a low level.

The druid gave a gentle sniff, then stood up, her brows furrowing. “Evelyn.” She even said her name with regality. “Could I trouble you to go on a walk with me?”

Evelyn scrambled to her feet. “Of course!” She slipped on her shoes, but Clarissa kept hers off. Evelyn didn’t press it as they slipped out the front door. It was getting close to ten-thirty. No one stopped her from leaving. The druid fell silent as soon as her feet touched the rocks, turning toward the open desert.

“Can you drive a car?” Clarissa asked.

“No, not yet. I’m studying for it, but I won’t be able to until I’m sixteen in December.”

“That’s fine. It might spook her, anyway. Just follow me.”

Clarissa began walking, and Evelyn frowned, jogging a bit to catch up. “Wait. Spook her? What are you talking about?”

“I think a companion of mine is lost somewhere close. Scared. I’ve been sensing her ever since our fight with the thieves. Ever since I ‘leveled up’, as you call it.”

Evelyn’s heart skittered before it stopped. Her head whipped around to study Clarissa further, searching out any sort of clue. “Princess… is it…”

Clarissa shrugged. “I am most curious to find out.”

Evelyn slapped her mouth shut as her heart sputtered back to life. There was no way… not here. Not in Arizona. Not in real life. But a druid elf princess wasn’t supposed to be here either. And she realized the other component of Circle of the Shepherd. The ability to communicate with all beasts and many fae creatures without a spell or needing to be in wild shape form.

Evelyn kept up with her six-foot-tall companion, too nervous and excited to say anything. They followed the road until they got to a park about a half mile away from her house. She remembered this park for the swings. She would always go on them as a kid. It was the best way to pretend she could fly.

Clarissa held up a hand, and Evelyn stopped short. She didn’t want to mess this up for anything. The druid moved forward with careful steps, her bare feet touching the concrete.

“You are a far ways from home, aren’t you?” Clarissa called out to the silence. She walked forward, and Evelyn remained rooted at the spot. “Are you there, Moonsparkle? It’s alright. It’s me. It’s your Princess Clarissa.”

Evelyn’s jaw dropped as she saw a golden tail swish from beyond the covered slide. Her knees went weak as she saw a pure white horse peek over the edge and give a nicker. Evelyn’s gasp was tiny. “Oh. My. God.”

Clarissa held out a careful hand, smiling. “Hello, Moonsparkle. I missed you, my friend.”

Golden hooves seemed to glow, even in the lamplight. The golden mane and tail seemed to always be picture perfect. That beautiful unicorn inched her head forward, showing the golden horn. She remembered squealing so loud when Tyler told her that unicorns existed in the Shrouded Domain. Not only that, but with a little liberal interpretation of the rules, he could make it so that it could become Clarissa’s best friend and ride into combat with her.

“This is the best game ever!” she screamed at eleven years old. It was the moment she was hooked on CCNC. And she called the unicorn Moonsparkle just to hear Nick groan and cover his face.

And here, now, she saw the creature, standing there. “She’s real. She’s real. Oh my god she’s real,” Evelyn whispered.

Clarissa placed a gentle hand on the unicorn’s muzzle. It gave a snort, then leaned into it. “You’re scared, aren’t you? I know. It’s a new place.”

Evelyn’s jaw had dropped, leaving her incapable of further speech. Not that she had anything to say.

The unicorn nuzzled against Clarissa’s shoulder, and the druid hugged her. “It’ll be alright. You can take as much time as you need to get used to it.” Moonsparkle nickered, and Clarissa laughed. “The horseless carriages are noisy, aren’t they? And they smell horribly.” That got a small whinny. Evelyn stood as though the entanglement spell was cast on her feet. This was happening. She was seeing a unicorn in her actual real life.

Moonsparkle noticed Evelyn for the first time and gave a whinny before backing away.

“It’s alright. It’s alright, Moonsparkle. She’s my friend. She’s a good person.”

The unicorn calmed at that, but there was still a worried look in her dark eyes. Clarissa motioned Evelyn forward. “Come. Let her smell your hand.”

Evelyn bit back the desire to scream in absolute delight as she crept forward. The closer she got, the more aware of how deadly this creature was. The horn was razor sharp, despite its healing properties. Gold hooves, too, could trample her. She was both awed and terrified of this unicorn, and it all boiled into the feeling of absolute ecstasy as she reached out with a hand. She touched the creature, petting her nose. The unicorn closed her eyes, still standoffish, but letting Evelyn do this.

There were tears streaming down her cheeks. “I used to be obsessed with unicorns when I was younger.”

Clarissa raised an eyebrow. “Used to be?”

Evelyn let out a tiny laugh as she brushed her hand over the golden mane. “Still am. Completely obsessed.” There was another thought that entered her mind. All mythology pointed to the fact that unicorns only enjoyed being around females of a pure heart. She knew the female part, but she allowed herself to realize that maybe a part of her was pure.

Moonsparkle’s eyes snapped open as she spied something in the distance. It was a car driving by. Moonsparkle let out a whinny before bolting away. The unicorn was fast.

Evelyn reached out a hand. “No, wait.”

Clarissa caught her hand. “It’s alright. Moonsparkle will never be tamed. We both understand this. She knows I’m here, and I do too. It will take time, but eventually she will be comfortable enough for me to ride her in battle like before. This is not the last time we see Moonsparkle, I assure you.”

Evelyn was drying her eyes, trying not to be embarrassed. She met a real-life unicorn. Here, in Elmwood, Arizona. And she’d be seeing her again.