Nef was bored, so he entertained himself by poking Mel's dragon ears while he slept. Apparently, he'd been tired and since there was no bed here, he'd just switched forms and was now sleeping on the floor. Every time Nef touched his ear, Mel shook it to get the annoyance away, so it was annoying, which meant it was fun for Nef.

Alor was somewhere with their mother, which was a blessing, but it left Nef nothing to do.

He flinched when he noticed Mel was blearily looking up at him from the floor. Damn, he hadn't meant to wake him up.

"Is something wrong?" he asked, yawning and displaying all those sharp teeth right in front of Nef's face. Yeah, that was still scary. Nef watched him stretch like a cat and pop his back, somehow managing to keep himself from destroying the room with his tail in the process.

"Nah, I'm just bored," Nef said, and Mel nodded seriously.

"I don't know what that's like, but I can try to help you get rid of it."

Nef blinked. "You don't know what it's like to be bored? How is that possible?"

Mel shrugged. "If I have nothing to do, I just think instead."

Nef was still not convinced that this was impossible, but maybe it was just because Mel was simpler than Nef. Not that Nef had the heart to tell him that. Then again, maybe Mel would take it as a compliment, who knew? "Right, well, that's not cutting it for me."

"Um, well, okay, want to talk?"

Not particularly, but it was better than nothing. "Sure. What about?"

Mel sat up a little and mulled it over for a bit. "Oh! Nira's okay."

Nef almost fell off his chair. "What? Did you see her?"

"No," Mel said sadly. "I overheard Kaleth talk to one the Iritharian Eternals."

"Wait, wait, wait," Nef said, waving his arms. "You're telling me Nira is with those guys? Why?" Nef's eyes widened in realization. "She's not going with them to attack Aleara, is she?"

Mel visibly swallowed and stared at Nef, looking like he wanted nothing more than to leave the room.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

"Oh my gods," Nef exclaimed, pulling at his hair.

"Would...would it help if I told you she is absorbing Eternal energy somehow? So she's much stronger?" Mel tried. Nef stared at him in horror.

"No, that doesn't help!"

Mel lowered his head, clearly regretting even bringing this up, and if Nef wasn't about to freak out, he would feel bad about causing this. He just didn't know how to handle this. Nira was apparently absorbing Eternal energy to make herself powerful enough to fight Eternals, and she was planning on helping with the attack whose goal was to kill Irif, who was kinda Nira's mother.

Nef hadn't been planning on going to Irithara, but now he had to, knowing this. The question was how.

He started pacing while Mel watched him with worry.

"You're not thinking of going to Irithara, are you?" Mel asked, his voice a little squeakier than usual.

"No, I'm thinking of how to get there without anyone stopping me," Nef said, continuing to pace. He couldn't just hitch a ride on an Eternal, and he doubted Kaleth was planning on bringing a vehicle with them Nef could hide in, so he would need his own.

But how could he take a car and fly behind Kaleth and his Eternals without being spotted?

"But...you can't. You'll get killed," Mel said, desperate at this point. Nef ignored him. "I...I'll tell Kaleth."

Nef stopped, finally looking at the Eternal. Right, he knew what Nef wanted to do, and if he told anyone, Nef's plan would fail before it even started. Thankfully, he knew how to handle Mel in most cases—guilt tripping.

"If Kaleth was in Irithara, and you hadn't seen him for more than a month, and you found out he was about to take on Irif, would you just sit here and hope he survives, or would you go there to help him? That's why you're going, isn't it?"

Mel's eyes were now trained on his front claws, and his ears had drooped considerably. Nef should have known he'd try to emotionally manipulate him by looking all sad, but he would have to resist apologizing.

"But...." Mel looked up again, but his ears stayed down. "What if you get killed? Nira will be sad."

"Yeah, well, if she dies, I'll be sad," Nef said, and Mel looked down again. "Just don't tell your boyfriend, all right?" Nef couldn't manage to stop himself from sounding a little mocking with that word. Mel didn't seem to notice, but Nef still felt like a jerk. Damn him. If this weren't Mel, Nef wouldn't feel like this. "Or anyone else. Just don't tell anyone, okay?"

Mel hesitated for a bit, but then nodded slightly, still not looking at him.

"And I think I just figured out how to get to Irithara," Nef said victoriously, and Mel looked up at him with his head tilted to the side. "I can just put a tracker on someone and follow in a car."

He would still have to make a tracker, but he was confident he'd manage that easily enough. And then pick whoever he would attach it to. So the biggest problem was actually getting some transport.

"Can you unlock a car with telekinesis, or whatever?"

Mel actually frowned at him. "I won't tell anyone what you're planning on doing, but I won't help you with it." And then he stood up and walked out of the room, almost ripping the door out of its hinges in the process due to his size.

Nef pouted as he watched Mel leave, but then heshrugged. If Mel could do it, any of the other Eternals could too. How hardcould it be to get one of the Umbra to help him?