The raging dragon river had frozen over. Separating every kingdom. They of course could visit each other. But if you were not invited in some form the chance was you would be left staining the pure white snow crimson red from a bullet to the chest.

A den mother lay upside down impaled on the spiraling pillars of ice the Raging dragon always formed when frozen over.

Ezra and Rose were sitting under the beast. Their last escapade ended in disaster. The girl curled up tucking a white dress under her legs and wrapping her arms around herself shivering.

Ezra looked over at her; he only had a thin jacket over a short sleeve and jeans. His gaze wandered over to her and lingered there, convincing himself that he would be fine. Removing his jacket and gently placing it over her shoulders. Rose’s eyes fluttered open and she locked eyes with him. A silent conversation going on between them. Rose sighed and stuck her arms through the sleeves, She curled up next to him using the heat from her body to warm him up. Her head was on his shoulder and an arm wrapped around him. The other in the jacket's pocket. Ezra sat in shock holding his apprentice close.Though the moment was hastily broken.

"Why do you have toys in your pocket?" She asked, holding up a pesqui figurine.

Ezra picked the tiny toy from her hand and placed it back in the jacket. "I was one of the first tube children."

Instantly her attention darted from the object to him. The conversation would keep both their minds off of the cold until a teleporter could find them.

"Yeah, I have the ability to bring toys to life. No matter if they are real animals or not." He bit down on his lip. " There were others like me and we now realize a lot of them could have turned out just fine. But this was back when we killed anyone deemed unfit. It wasn't until they let us grow very old that they understood that the gifts we have take time to develop depending on what we were given."

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"So how old are you?"

"I'm about thirty years older than you are dear."

"A hundred and thirty six?!"

"One more year."

"So a hundred and thirty seven?"

"Yeah. If you were born, well made only thirty seven years before me you would have been…"

"They would have killed me. They … would have killed you too."

"They tried to make shapeshifters for a very long time. Your batch is the first to work out so right… yeah many shapeshifter attempts were killed. They could have. But I'm here. With you, right now."

"Do you really believe in the idea you're fighting for?" She asked.

"I-" he paused. "I think it's a good idea but the execution is poor. There are many ways this will later benefit humans as a species especially with how the world is evolving. And the way we handle things has gotten better but it's far from perfect."

"So you don't believe-?"

"No Rose, I do believe in our ideas and some of our morals. No one is quite right in a war. Or in much of anything. There is no established right or wrong way of doing something, only how we think. I understand the people who think this is somehow immoral. And I don't want to have to fight. But our kingdom, our home, was in jeopardy. They were thinking that this was helping us and the future. When all that really did happen was it brought us more pain. Children without their father's or mothers. And people who were created beyond their own decisions were forced to enter a fight they didn't start purely because they were the idea that started it. I understand the outlanders who feel rejected like they were mistakes thrown away and just want justice. But I also know that I believe in what I fight for. I believe in myself." He put a finger to his chest and then to Rose's collar bone. "and I believe in you. If you decide that this isn't what you believe in. I wouldn't blame you, I would still love and respect you the way I do now. I would never see you or them as an enemy."

Rose nodded, resting her head on his chest and closing her eyes. "Thank you sir."

Ezra smiled softly. "your welcome Rose."

Zizi seemed to faze into existence like the air around had glitched before suddenly a human stood before them. "Hey losers grab my hands."

The two scrambled to her grabbing on before she began to teleport the three away. It was almost like the world around them was forced to change by bits and parts. Before somehow they were at whatever the woman's destination was though she still seemed clumsy at it; they ended up falling onto a desk breaking it. At least they were in a warm house.