The last thought that came through the connection was more like internal monologue and less like direct communication.

The shadow-creature that Cedez had turned into seemed to be behaving almost like a confused insect. Dave decided to take advantage of this deduction, to trick her into compliance.

[I am Shadow like you, not enemy! Enemy different, enemy cannot commune!] Dave insisted. [Mother sends instructions: Rest here. Safe place. Important mission.] He projected, activating the handshake-amplified Charisma and trying to mimic the authoritative, eldritch presence of Nightingale by picturing the Leviathan abomination in his head.

[Wrong! Rest is only during daytime! Active now! No orders! Trapped!] The shadow creature's many eyes flickered uncertainly, overwhelmed by his pretend-authority. [Mission? What mission?]

[Guard. Watch.] Dave sent back, readjusting his strategy. [Important task from Mother. Stay here.]

Gradually, the frantic beating of her wings slowed. The writhing segments of her body began to settle into a more organized pattern.

[Guard what?] She asked, still suspicious but less panicked.

[Guard here. Guard this space! Very important mission from Mother!] Dave insisted firmly. [Focus! New Job! Very important for hive!]

[Guard... here?] The shadow creature seemed to consider this, her many wings folding slightly. [Why guard empty space?]

[Secret space. Important space. Special mission.] Dave projected, maintaining the authoritative tone. [You were chosen. Special guard.]

The shadow beast's segments rippled with what might have been pride. [Chosen? Special?]

[Yes. Very special. Very important. Stay alert. Watch for enemies.] Dave encouraged. [Enemies could appear anytime!]

[Understood. Vigilant and ready to strike.] Blue eyes opened all across her figure, staring in every direction with unnerving intensity.

"Is she... okay?" Remicra asked, her scales flickering between orange and blue.

"I think so," Dave nodded. "She was scared at first, but I managed to calm her down. It's strange - when she's in shadow form, she's like a completely different being. More... primal. All instinct and raw emotion."

"And you can really communicate with her in there?" Murdoc stroked his Kitlix, his bushy brows furrowed, perhaps not believing Dave.

"Yeah, through the Shadow connection in Healy. It's not exactly speaking - more like... exchanging emotional impressions. She sort of recognized me as another Shadow and understands that I am not a threat."

"Impressive," Murdoc mused. "In all these years, I've never been able to communicate with her night form. She just... changes and flies away. But you... you actually reached her. I’m glad. She doesn’t have to be alone in the dark anymore.”

"It's all because of the Shadow connection through Healy," Dave explained. "I put bits of Huntsmaws into my Kitlix, which makes Healy and me... part of the Leviathan’s flock, I guess?"

"And you're sure she's comfortable in there?" Remicra asked.

“She’s… preoccupied,” Dave replied.

“With?” Murdoc asked.

“I convinced her to guard the extradimensional space,” Dave confessed.

“I see,” Murdoc said after another minute of silence. “So, are you gonna get her out? Ten minutes are up. I want to make sure that she’s okay.”

“Right,” Dave replied. “Yes.”

[Guard duty done for now,] Dave sent.

[Understood! What now?! WHERE ENEMIES?!] The sentient shadow spiked up almost like a dog that was wagging its tail.

[No enemies. Can you go back to sleep? It is still day. I will open the way out.]

[Yes. Sleep until Mother wakes me!] The shadow replied simply, coiling into a tight spiral.

Dave reopened Healy's dimensional gate.

The writhing ball of shadow that was Cedez wobbled for a second and then flowed like dark smoke coiling into itself, the jaggedy wings condensing back into her foxgirl form. She stumbled slightly as gravity reasserted itself.

Remicra dove inside the ring with the black leather dress in hand and pulled it on Cedez as the foxgirl opened her eyes.

“Thanks,” Cedez exhaled as both of them climbed out from the Kitlix-ring.

"How do you feel?" Murdoc asked, examining Cedez closely. "Any disorientation? Memory loss?"

"I'm fine, gramps," Cedez smiled, adjusting her leather outfit. "Still a bit woozy from the transformation, but otherwise okay. The dimensional bubble worked perfectly… I think. I sort of remember being trapped, being annoyed and then guarding the space? Right?”

“Yes,” Dave nodded.

"And you're sure you want to spend the entire night in there?" Murdoc pressed.

"Yes," Cedez nodded firmly. "It's better than losing myself completely to the flock and sharing all of our plans with ‘em. Don’t worry, grandpaw, Dave can keep an eye on me through Healy."

“You trust him?”

“I trust my hero,” Cedez grinned.

“How’s he gonna watch over you all night?” Murdoc asked. He turned to Dave. “Don’t you sleep?”

“Actually… I sort of don’t,” Dave replied. “One of my Phantomancy skills allows my soul to stay conscious while my body is asleep… to communicate with the dead. I usually spend the nights talking to my detective friend Sherlock.”

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

“I see,” Murdoc squinted at Dave.

“Stop fretting granps!” Cedez smiled at the old Wizard. “Remicra will be close by. She’s my destined bestie. She can bonk Dave in the head if anything.”

The sun was nearly touching the event horizon now, painting the world in deepening crimson.

“Very well,” Murdoc sighed.

“We’ll see you tomorrow gramps!” Cedez grinned. She pulled Dave and Remicra down the spiral stairwell towards the lighthouse-facing meadow.

“Wait,” Remicra voiced, stopping in front of the door. “There’s only one very small bed in the lighthouse. My bed.”

“Hrm yeah,” Cedez tapped her chin. “I saw.”

Dave opened his mouth.

“You’re not sleeping on the floor like a peasant,” Cedez declared. “Bee-rrr-beee.”

She rushed up the stairwell and returned with a large coin pouch.

“Shook some cash from grandpaw-bank,” she commented as she shoved the bag into Remicra’s claws after pulling out four silver coins. “Here. I trust you to keep track of it. There’s about seventy silver in there.”

Remicra eyed Dave.

“You can sense metal,” Cedez explained. “So, you hold onto it. It’s nearly impossible to steal money from you, right?”

“Right,” Remicra agreed, slipping the money pouch into her metal apron. “I guess it is. So where are we staying if not the lighthouse?”

“Adventurers Guild!” Cedez pointed at the white cathedral in the distance.

She pulled Dave and Remicra by their elbows across the grassy hill down to the city.

After some ten minutes, they entered the massive building through the side door.

Guardsman Golrik Bostrum grinned at the trio from behind his desk, revealing inhumanly sharp teeth, recognizing Dave. "Ah, the mysterious Healer-in-training with the Vitalix-Kitlix! Back for another night?"

"Yeah," Dave nodded. "Need a room again."

"Just one?" The guard raised an eyebrow, looking at Remicra and Cedez who were still connected to each other and to him via their elbows.

"Uhh..." Dave hesitated.

"One room with one bed," Cedez interjected smoothly before Dave said anything. "Queen sized! Maybe heart shaped!"

"Ho!" Golrik barked a laugh. "First you show up with an inexplicably high-level Kitlix, now you're back with two lovely ladies? Trying to speedrun Adventuring, are we Sir Dave? Should I expect you to conquer a dungeon by the end of the week?"

Dave blushed slightly, considering the absurdity of his rapid rise in status and the fact that he already sort of conquered the Whispering Depths dungeon.

"I... that's not..." Remicra sputtered at his side, her scales igniting with brilliant pink from head to toe. "We're not..."

"Don't listen to our dragon's yapping," Cedez grinned. "We just bought her. She's still not properly house trained."

"CEDEZ!" Remicra hissed, turning red, her tail lashing behind her.

"What?" The foxgirl asked innocently.

"A room with a Queen bed is four silver," the guardsman said. Cedez quickly shoved four silver coins into his scaled hand.

"Follow me," Golrik added, winking at Dave.

Remicra made a strangled sound somewhere between a growl and a squeak as Cedez dragged her by the elbow up the spiral stairwell.

Golrik led them up several flights of stairs to a room on the eighth floor. Then, the guardsman quickly directed an Ignix to make Dave a key from his token.

"Room 818. Shared bathroom is down the hall. Enjoy your... Night." He waggled his eyebrows suggestively at Dave before departing.

Dave opened the door revealing a spacious chamber with a large, comfortable-looking bed, a desk with the Nuntix Kitlix, and a small window overlooking the city.

As soon as the door closed behind them, Remicra rounded on Cedez. "What was that about?!" she demanded, her scales undulating between pink and red.

"What?" Cedez asked innocently. "I got us a nice room for cheap. More beds is more expensive. It’s called being frugal."

"You made it sound like... like… we are…” Remicra sputtered.

"Like what?" Cedez grinned.

"Like we're... you know!" Remicra growled, her tail lashing behind her.

"Oh, am I making assumptions about you and Dave?" Cedez made a cheeky expression. "My bad! I just thought since you two were so cozy up in your loft earlier..."

"We were just talking!" Remicra growl-protested.

"Uh-huh," Cedez nodded sagely. "Just talking about dragons for two hours I bet."

"Nothing happened!" The dragoness insisted.

"Sure, sure," Cedez winked.

The window shutters began to close as the somber wails of Night bells came from outside.

"Anyway!" Cedez clapped her hands together. "Sun's down. Time for me to get in my shadow-proof ball! Dave, if you would do the honors?"

"Be safe," Remicra said quietly to Cedez as the foxgirl climbed into the Kitlix-manifested extradimensional space.

"Uh-huh. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine, shadowing in a circle or whatever. Just keep our Dave company and make sure he doesn't get too lonely watching me all night."

Before Remicra could sputter another protest, Cedez pulled off her dress and threw it at Dave's face.

"Ready!" she called out cheerfully, her figure rapidly darkening with dancing shadow-flames.

Dave deactivated the gate and opened the eye of the Kitlix.

Cedez's body became fully wrapped with writhing shadows. In another moment, she transformed completely into the many-winged, many-eyed serpentine creature.

[Confusion! Where is Mother?! Where is nest? Where is flock?!] The shadow’s thoughts crashed against Dave's mind in waves of panic.

[Guard duty! Remember? Special mission from Mother!] Dave projected back.

The shadow beast's multiple eyes blinked in sequence as recognition slowly filtered through. [Guard! Watch! Remember. Ready to strike enemies! Understood!]

[Good. Stay alert.] Dave encouraged, relieved that the shadow version of Cedez was responding to the same story he'd used earlier.

With Cedez safely contained in Healy's dimensional space, Dave turned his attention back to the room. Remicra was standing by the window, watching as the enormous form of Nightingale descended from the clouds, its titanic body blocking out the false stars.

"She's okay in there?" the dragoness asked, not turning from the window.

"Yeah," Dave replied. "She's... guarding the space. The shadow version of her seems to respond well to being given a task."

Remicra nodded, her scales shifting to a contemplative blue. "Good. That's... good."

"So..." Dave said, looking at the large bed. "About the sleeping arrangements..."

Remicra growled, her scales flickering between pink and orange. "That meddlesome fox planned this!"

"I can sleep on the floor," Dave offered quickly. "Or in the chair."

"Don't be ridiculous," Remicra huffed. "The floor is cold stone and that chair looks about as comfortable as Princess' personality."

As Dave considered his next reply, he felt a sudden shift in his connection with Healy. The shadow-creature had noticed his distraction and somehow seized partial and then full control of Healy.

Silver-blue eyes bloomed across the body of the Kitlix staring at everything and eventually settled on the pair.

[Attained greater control over space by fusing with minor shadow. Can’t hear Mother's song, but expanded vision! Two meat-forms observed! Enemies!] The shadow beast's thoughts crashed into his mind as multiple blue eyes focused through Healy at Dave and Remicra.

“What the…? Remicra stared at the eldritch, eye-covered Kitlix.

[No! Not enemies! Friends!] Dave quickly projected back.

[Meat things! Enemies!] Cedez-shadow insisted. [Bisect small limbs first. Then large ones. Shred the body slowly and carefully not to damage core. Take core to Mother!]

Dangerous-looking shadow blades stretched from Healy into all directions.

[Stop! I am Shadow, like you!] Dave mentally snarled, blocking Remicra with his body.

[This is a trick! You are weak meat, not shadow!] Cedez-monster thought-growled from the extradimensional space.