Palan lay on a bed with Raea sitting beside him. His body was covered in bandages, but the major injuries on his body had been healed: the two puncture wounds from the spikes, and Danger Noodle’s missing eye. Cleo ran out of kindness orbs, leaving Palan with no choice but to recover the old fashion way. Raea had tried to heal him, but there wasn’t even a trace of kindness left in her—she nearly set him on fire instead.

Palan had passed out afterwards, and Raea sent Cleo to make food while she watched over Palan. She gazed at him and sighed while drawing circles on his forearm. His body stirred and eyes flickered to the side, and she stopped her actions, sitting up straight while adjusting her wings so she didn’t squish them against the seatback. Palan bolted upright while Danger Noodle rose to attention. His head whipped around, and he made eye contact with Raea. His brow furrowed while his muscles tensed, but he relaxed as soon as he remembered Raea evolved. “You look different,” he said. He ignored the look Raea gave him and inspected his body.

Raea waited for him to finish his self-checkup before opening her mouth. “Palan,” she said and paused. Palan stared at her, waiting as she fidgeted. She sighed and shook her head. “Nevermind.”

The door to the room flung open, revealing a short lizardman with two bowls in her hands. Cleo walked up to Raea and handed her one before handing the other to Palan. She sat on the floor and reached inside her space, bringing out another bowl. “Where’s Sally?” Raea asked.

Palan pointed towards the ceiling. “Can’t you hear her?” he asked. Raea strained her ears and heard a very low warbling sound.

“Oh.”

The three began to eat their meal in silence. Cleo furrowed her brow as she glanced back and forth between her two friends. They had their heads buried in their bowls, both unwilling to look at anywhere else. “So…,” Cleo said, dragging her voice out. “Nice weather we’re having today, eh?” Her face fell when there wasn’t a reply.

Palan polished off his bowl and half-heartedly tossed it towards Cleo who caught it with her tail. “Yes, excellent weather,” he said. “I love it when it rains giant black fireballs.” He turned his head to look at Raea who proceeded to choke on her food. “I think another review of our powers is needed.”

“Not just a review of our powers,” Raea said after she stopped coughing. “We need to have an honest discussion about us and the white elephant in the room.”

“Mr. Bubbles?” Cleo asked and looked around.

“It’s just a saying,” Raea said. Cleo sighed and shook her head.

“What is there to discuss?” Palan asked as he lay down. His injuries weren’t major, but they weren’t minor either. He didn’t want to reopen them by moving around.

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“Everything,” Raea said and handed Cleo her bowl. “Can you go stay with Sally for a bit?” Cleo pouted but nodded. She stood up and turned around, walking out of the room. A massive layer of skin fell off of Cleo’s tail as she walked out of the door, causing her to stiffen. Her head whirled around, and she yelped. There were blue horizontal stripes on her tail which just finished shedding.

“I’m growing?” Cleo asked and blinked as her mouth fell open. “But I’m blue?” Her eyes widened as she seized her tail and brought it closer to her face. “What is this sorcery? Am I turning into a super adult? But I’m not even thirteen yet.” She frowned and bit her tail, making sure it was real. She ran down the stairs and out of the house and yelled for Sally as she climbed up the side of the building.

Raea and Palan stared at the skin Cleo left behind before staring at each other. It wasn’t clear who laughed first, but soon the two were howling with laughter. They continued to laugh until Palan suddenly winced as blood starting leaking through his bandages. Raea wiped away the tears that accumulated in her eyes and smiled at Palan. After exhaling, she regained control of her emotions and put on a serious face. She stood up and looked Palan, who was lying down, in the eyes. “I hate you.”

“Okay,” Palan said and nodded. He waited for Raea to continue.

Raea furrowed her brow as her fists clenched together. “You’re not even going to ask why?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“I’m not curious,” Palan said.

Raea ground her teeth and exhaled. “Why did you bring my sister back to the storage chest after she left?” she asked. Small black flames blossomed into life around her body, circling her.

Palan shrugged. “It was clear you wanted her to stay,” he said. “So I made her stay.”

“I never asked you to do that!” Raea said and stomped her foot. The flames around her grew bigger.

“So?” Palan’s eyes became colder as Raea’s voice grew louder. His back began to itch, causing his face to harden. “I can’t do things unless you ask me to? Do I need your permission to take a piss?” He got off the bed and stood up, glaring at her face to face. Raea’s brow furrowed as she took a step back. “Didn’t you say I was your equal?”

“You killed my sister,” Raea said, her voice cracking.

“Madison killed your sister,” Palan said and snorted.

“You could’ve saved her,” Raea said, her voice barely above a whisper. Her head lowered until she was staring at Palan’s feet. “If you knelt down and apologized, Selena wouldn’t have died.”

“I guess that’s your fault for contracting a pride demon,” Palan said and crossed his arms over his chest. The scars on his back felt like they were on fire, irritating him, pushing him. “You could’ve saved her too. You and I both heard what that medic said.”

A tear fell onto the floor as the flames around Raea died away. Her wings drooped, and her lips quivered. Palan sighed and furrowed his brow. He never maliciously attacked Raea’s feelings like that before. Was she influencing him as well? His back stopped itching. He ran his fingers through Raea’s hair like he would run them through Andrea’s. Raea fell forward and cried in Palan’s chest.

***

Cleo raised her head which was pressed against a roof tile. “Raea acts really weird sometimes,” she said to Sally. “One moment she looks like she wants to kill Palan. The next moment she starts to cry.”

Sally lifted her head from the roof as well. She blinked at Cleo. “Your face is falling off.”

“Huh?” Cleo asked. She peeled a piece of dead skin off of her face. “Oh. That’s perfectly normal. Don’t worry about it.”