After Jyl, Lyall and Arick left, chief elder Daren went to visit. As the chief elder he controlled much of the daily life in the village, so he should always be aware of what is going on.

Or that was the excuse he gave, in fact he was just curious.

"Good morning, Harald."

"Wipe that smile off your face, Daren, I'm not in the mood."

"I can tell."

He watched as his friend poured himself some more of his favourite tea, supporting his chin with one hand, a scowl on his face.

"So it's true Jyl will be leaving with the demons?"

"Yes." Harald's voice was a mix of anger and sadness. "Though I'm not sure why you still ask, I'm sure you already heard the whole story from your grandsons."

Daren shrugged.

"Is it not polite to pretend I don't know?"

"Where did you hear that from?" With a snort he glared at the chief elder, but the only response he got was an amused smirk.

"So, how did you manage to postpone their departure?"

"... How did you know?"

"Please, who do you think I am? We've known each other since we were children. Not to mention, I would've done the same thing."

"Of course you would have. And then Aiden would find ways to thwart your plans, while Alcaeus puts half the village against you."

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"That's about right." Both grandfathers smirked.

"A naming ceremony." Harald answered the earlier question.

Daren was stunned. "You're going to put that demon Arick through a First Hunt? That's ... actually not a bad idea."

The man across him narrowed his eyes. "You are not thinking in the same direction I am. I do wonder what kind of shemes go through your head."

"It's nothing in particular special. Just, this should help everyone accept this whole arrangement more."

"In what way?" Putting down the cup, he furrowed his brows in confusion.

"You might have just thought this up as a way to buy time, but for this village a naming ceremony is something of great importance. It symbolizes that someone is strong enough to survive out there in the forest, that they can be trusted to protect their own lives, and the lives of others."

"I know, what does this have to do with Arick?"

"You realize why Jyl decided to take him up on his offer, yes?"

"To protect the village, and to get the others back home." Harald was getting more and more confused.

"You are a great hunter, but you are really clueless about these sorts of things", Daren chuckled.

"With the war going on, there is no telling whether our village could get caught up in it. By the mountains and the sky, we have already had some people taken from us. What your granddaughter is trying to do, is get us an ally. To acquire someone who could help us out if it turns out to be necessary.

But will our people accept outside help so easily? We have been separated from the world outside the forest for far too long. If Arick goes through a naming ceremony however..."

"He will be accepted into the village as one of our own", Harald finished, understanding where this was going.

"Exactly! We need to bring this before the other elders as soon as possible."

"So I unknowingly helped them out."

"Regardless of what you would have done, you know Jyl would never have backed down from her decision." Daren held pity in his eyes. He could only imagine how difficult it must be for his old friend.

"Yeah, I know. That doesn't mean I like seeing her go."

"She got that from you, that stubbornness and that determination. It makes me remember that time you almost got yourself killed when we were ambushed by an elder tree viper."

Both pair of eyes landed on a large dark green scale lining the wall.

"What was I supposed to do", he snorted, "Let all those younglings get killed? We both know I had the best chance of stalling the beast and making it out alive."

"See what I mean." Daren laughed.