Sebastian knew that the keeping calm was hard for Ed right now, he could feel the tension practically radiating off him. And the fact that Luke was trying to make himself as small as possible on Seb’s other side just seemed to solidify his beliefs. After all, the younger werewolf could likely smell Ed’s upset in his scent.

While moving their impromptu meeting to the living room had eased some of Sebastian’s anxiety, he couldn’t help feeling tense in this setting. Especially since Sid had decided to stand menacingly beside the mantle, again, since Quiver had stepped into the house. Quiver seemed to be the only calm person out of them all. Even Emily seemed on edge, if the way she was loitering in the hallway with a duster was anything to go by.

Seb wondered why she didn’t decide to simply sit in the living room with them. But noting how she kept glancing back to the kitchen as frequently as she glanced into the living room, he guessed that this way she was near enough to run and help if anything happened. Though he honestly didn’t know what would happen.

“So, how exactly are you sure there’s a rogue in the territory?” Edmund asked.

“I can feel their presence, albeit faintly. They’re using a charm to keep from being found out. So, I can’t tell their exact location, but I can tell you they’re hiding out closer to the neutral area of the territory.” Quiver explained.

“Are they a threat?” Sebastian inquired.

Quiver shrugged. “If you make them one, I suppose. Far as I can tell, they’ve been hiding out for some time. Which is honestly aggravating because now I have more paperwork to fill. Unless of course you deal with the rogue before the end of next week.”

Edmund narrowed his eyes in suspicion. “What do you mean by deal with?”

“Run it out of the territory, bring it into your pack, kill it; your choice really. I just have to put them on file if they’re still here a week following the full moon.”

“So that’s why you’ve come to tell us about them. Because you don’t want extra work.” Seb said, and the grin he got in reply told him he was absolutely correct. “Anything else we should know?”

“Well, I was going to warn you about the dragon, but it seems you have already met.” Quiver replied, eyeing Obsidian with mild curiosity. “Shouldn’t you be hibernating?”

“Shouldn’t you be watching over your tree,” Sid replied with a glare.

“I am. This is simply a projection of my awareness. Only saplings need to be fully present with their trees.” Quiver answered before getting up from their seat. “Though, I suppose I should be heading back. I hope you’ll deal with that little problem swiftly. Bye!”

The dryad snapped their fingers and suddenly all that was left in their place was a small pile of old leaves. Obsidian muttered something about ‘damn tree people’ and picked up the leaves. He set them on fire in their hands and glared at the flames.

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“Hey! No fires in the house, take that outside,” Emily scolded.

Obsidian rolled their eyes but left the room with the pile of flaming leaves in his hands. Emily sighed and turned to the boys with a tired smile.

“Dragons and dryads don’t normally get along.”

“Is that why you were acting like Quiver was a threat?” Sebastian inquired.

Emily shrugged. “Kind of. I’ve only dealt with a handful of dryads in my time to be honest, but they’re never on your side, even if they cooperate with you. It’s better to handle them with caution that trust.”

The boys nodded and Ed sighed. “I think we need to have a proper meeting with everyone to figure things out. Today, if possible.”

“Perhaps we should all have breakfast first, before Emily eats all the waffles herself.” Nick proposed from where he was, somehow hearing them speaking so softly.

“Hey! It's not my fault your food is addictive.” Emily protested with a pout directed towards the kitchen.

Sebastian smiled softly. It was nice to see his parents acting so normal, even if life these days was anything but. Listening to them bicker about breakfast was almost crazy, considering they were eating with a group of elves, two werewolves and a dragon.

Speaking of, as Edmund got up to go to the kitchen, he looked over to Seb, then pointedly glanced at where Luke was still curled up with a blank expression on his face. Sebastian frowned and motioned with his head for Ed to go ahead. Edmund nodded and left the pair alone.

They seemed to have an understanding that Seb needed to be the one to talk to Luke. Edmund was a fellow werewolf and pretty good at comforting people, but Sebastian had known the younger teen for the longest and had a better understanding of what he needed. He really wasn’t an expert in this by any means, but he was going to do his best. He was legally Luke’s guardian and his friend.

“Hey, are you okay?”

Luke looked up with wide eyes and nodded. “Sorry, I just...”

“You don’t have to apologise.”

Luke nodded again. “I just... it’s stupid but Edmund... for a second there it reminded me of my father.”

“That’s not stupid, Luke. You’ve just gotten out of a traumatising situation at home, so it’s understandable you’d have these kinds of reactions.”

“But you guys are nothing like them. You’re actually nice to me. As proven by asking after me now instead of ignoring me until you want something.”

Sebastian grimaced. “Did they... they ignored you?”

“I- yes, but honestly that was better than not being ignored.”

“What happened when they didn’t ignore you?”

Luke got a faraway look in his eyes and Seb mentally scolded himself for asking the question.

“Hey, you don’t have to talk or even think about it if you don’t want to. If and/or when you do, I’m here. You don’t need to push yourself, okay?”

“Okay. Thank you...”

Sebastian smiled and gave Luke a hug before leading him to the dining room where everyone else was eating breakfast. The tense atmosphere had changed into something far calmer, even if it wasn’t completely relaxed. Seb wondered to himself if this could ever become his normal and relaxed. It seemed that he’d gotten used to the supernatural, more or less; but he wasn’t sure if he’d ever feel as at home about it as his parents seemed.

Then again, there was something about it he felt he could get used to. Having everyone gathered at the table, eating waffles and chatting companionably; it was nice. He could see that Luke was far more relaxed and Edmund seemed to be enjoying it immensely. Of course, Ed had always talked about wanting a big family.

For a moment, Sebastian pictured a different kind of morning. One where the dining table had more kids who looked like himself and Edmund. He quickly brushed away that idea and focused on his waffles.