There was a little while when the three of them could be together. Before finding Ihu, it was just Lekra; a year after finding Ihu, Natheniel got his feather necklace and Lekra disappeared. Most of what happened that year he chose to credit to his imagination, simply because he didn’t want to question it. He didn’t want to think that there was something they weren’t telling him.

Natheniel was in his room sitting close to where they’d appear. In a moment, the shadows moved to create Lekra. Given their black shadow-like figure and near-glowing red eyes, they probably would’ve intimidated a lot of people—maybe even the adults.

But not Natheniel. He smiled when he saw them. “Oh! You look like Samone today!” Ihu gave a tweet of agreement.

If the nightmare could blush, they would’ve. “I thought I’d try something a little different today—see what it feels like to be someone else. Not sure how I feel about the pigtails, though. Cute, but not quite… demanding of authority, you know?” When he blinked, the pigtails had been traded for short, curly hair. “There we go! Always been a fan of your father’s curls.”

“Oh!” He pointed to himself and puffed up his chest. “I changed, too! Can you guess?”

They smirked, their finger hovering right over his nose to boop it but never touching it. They didn’t want to accidentally hurt him. “Why, you’ve grown, of course! You’ll be as big as the adults in no time.”

He giggled. “So what d’you wanna do?”

“What can we do?” They stood up in one fluent motion and glanced at Ihu. “I don’t suppose you’ve got any ideas, Izzy?”

Ihu chirped, darting between the two of them before landing on Natheniel’s shoulder. They couldn’t think of anything.

“Oh! We can race to the garden!” he offered, hopping to his feet.

“It’s the middle of Lamyn, Nathen—you’ll freeze out there,” Lekra pointed out gently. “Besides, what about your family? They’ll notice I’m with you.”

“They’re all gone, remember?” He still went to open his bedroom door. Once he had the idea, he wasn’t going to give up on it. “Well, kinda. Imre’s busy, Dimas left to go somewhere that isn’t Qizar, Kiah’s at the fort, Lydia and Tavin haven’t come back from the Stone Estate, and I haven’t seen Samone all day.”

“Probably smoking,” they mumbled. “In which case she knows to stay away from wherever you’ll be playing…”

“See? It’ll work!”

“Not outside,” they corrected. They walked past him to look out the window and said, “It’s even snowing.”

“Even better!” Never mind how cold it meant it was, all he cared to know was that snow made everything more fun.

Without allowing any more time to be wasted, he signified the start of the race by poking Lekra and running off. Ihu enthusiastically followed him, though twirling back around when they threatened to pass him; he’d been told, after all, to make sure they stayed close to him at all times.

“I got there first!” Natheniel proclaimed triumphantly, only interrupted from his march into the gardens by Lekra.

“You are not going anywhere until you’re properly dressed,” they said firmly. It looked like part of the reason they took so long was because they’d gotten his coat and scarf from his room; there was a small tear in one of them, being a reminder of the dangers of their touch.

Their connection to most things in the real world, though, depended on them being alone with him. He knew their playtime together had ended when they dropped the clothes and disappeared.

Dimas walked up to him with a weak smile. “What’s all this doing on the floor..?”

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

Natheniel had, for a moment, forgotten his original plan in favor of the possible new ones. “You’re back! Where’d you go? Why were you gone for so long? Why was Zofie angry last time we went to Qizar? Was it a secret mission? Can I come on the next one?!”

His guardian answered it all with a nervous look and, “Maybe when you’re older.” Dimas carefully picked up the clothes, mumbling something about the tear, before addressing Natheniel again. “Why don’t we head to the dining room? Imre’s waiting for us.”

He dutifully followed along, ignoring what Lekra was trying to tell him as they got closer. Once they were in the dining room, Dimas whispered to Imre. Eventually he traded the clothes Dimas had for the little box Imre was holding.

“We’ve got a present for you,” Dimas said as he walked back towards Natheniel.

Natheniel’s excitement couldn’t be contained as he waited for it. “What’s it for, what’s it for? It’s not my birthday. That was two months ago. It’s not a holiday… is it? Is it a new holiday? Did you create a holiday just for me?”

“Maybe,” Dimas laughed. It didn’t sound like a very happy one, however. “What do you think we should call it?”

“Natheniel Gets a Present Day! Every kid gets a present. Except for Tavin. He doesn’t need a present.” Natheniel beamed at the idea, fancying himself a genius for coming up with it.

“Don’t talk about your brother like that,” Imre scolded. He still hadn’t moved from where he was, only holding eye contact for a moment. “This is something very important and special. It means more than you know.”

Natheniel’s eyes sparkled as the fateful moment drew closer. Lekra was saying something desperately now, but he only watched in awe as Dimas pulled out a necklace and put it on him.

“It’s a little big for now, but it won’t seem like that when you get older,” Dimas explained. “It’s going to help keep us safe. It only works if you have it on, though, so never take it off unless you absolutely have to. Okay?”

He stared at his gift, nodding fervently. “I’ll never take it off, promise!”

…

He’d hoped that this meant the three of them could be together for a little while. First, he went to their room.

“Dimas?” he prompted hopefully, hopping onto the bed. “Can you play with me?”

Just a hand came out of the shield of blankets and pillows to ruffle his hair. “Sorry, but I’m exhausted. Maybe a little later, okay?”

“Okay…” Natheniel sighed.

He’d wandered out into the halls towards Imre’s office next. His chances there were ruined the moment he heard someone else.

“You had fun, then?”

“Of course! Nothing’s better than spending time with family and proving how stupid Witless is. Isn’t that right, Tavin?”

There was a brief pause before the boy’s “Mhm.”

Natheniel turned right back around. With Tavin and Lydia (when did they get back, anyway? Earlier this morning?) to keep Imre busy, he wouldn’t be spending any time with Natheniel.

He went back to his room to consider his options. He wasn’t completely out of people to spend time with.

“What do you think, Ihu?” he wondered, looking between his bird and the spot where he usually summoned Lekra. “Do you think they’ll be mad at me? They’re always mad at me when I don’t listen to them. They’re like the adults…”

Ihu gave a confident chirp that he couldn’t help but wonder if it meant “Yes, definitely, they will be furious.”

“Will they stay mad at me..?”

Another chirp.

“How long do you think it’ll be?”

He didn’t want to lose them like it felt like he was losing everyone else. They’d always been there for him when everyone else had something else to do. He glanced at his new feather necklace and wondered what they might’ve been upset about. Would they make him take it off? If they did, would he listen to them or keep his promise to his guardians..? How could he choose, when they were all important to him?

There was only one way to know for certain. He needed to summon Lekra and see what they said.

But the shadows didn’t so much as flicker. They weren’t going to come. Something else would’ve happened if they were.

“I guess you’re that mad at me, huh..?” He shrunk in front of where they would usually stand. “You’re not even going to show up…”

Ihu fluttered in front of them and gave an encouraging speech of tweets.

“You’re right,” he mumbled, managing a small smile. “I’ve got you to keep me company! If Lekra doesn’t want to be around me, then—then so be it! Promise you’ll never leave me?”

He held out his hand. Ihu took it a step further by fluttering up and rubbing their head against his neck instead.

In time, he forgot all about Lekra. They simply became the blur of a dream. Whatever they’d had together he’d forgotten; what stayed became credited as a part of his childhood imagination. It wasn’t until much later he questioned it, or found that his imagination wasn’t quite as fake as he assumed it to be…