Zephyr played with the silver spoon in front of him, his head resting on the table.

He was bored.

He didn't have much he could do, and he wasn't allowed outside, so his source of entertainment would be the spoon. It was a small silver, regular-sized spoon, and he found it in one of the drawers in the kitchen. Someone didn't want this spoon and left it behind, but that was okay; Zephyr happened to like the spoon.

He sat up from his table slouch and checked his phone, once again. There were no messages, no hints that anyone had called. Cider and Chronos were supposed to be back a while ago, but as he stared at the door leading outside, it never seemed to open.

He got up to shuffle through one of the boxes near the door that were brought in from the ship. It contained a few necessities such as candles or tools, and he was looking for a lighter in particular. There was no electricity running through the house, and now that the sun was beginning to set, it was smart to have candles on hand. Those were thanks to Seris of course, as he picked up a few scented ones from a market he regularly visited containing all-things handmade. He didn't mind lending a few to the group; He had plenty to spare.

Zephyr picked a bunch of vanilla bean flavored ones and set a few on the surfaces in each room. After lighting each one, the warm aura could be felt throughout the house, and the sweet-scented golden glow was delightful. From the outside, the windows appeared welcoming and bright looking in, though Zephyr was sure no one would be passing by.

He placed the lighter back in the box he found it in and resumed his place at the table. He picked up the silver spoon, though it appeared the spoon was no longer his only company. He felt someone watching him from across the worn table, also seated. Zephyr glanced up from his spoon to find honey-colored eyes gazing at him. The person across from him was a mirror image of himself, other than his eye color: same olive hair with a short ponytail draped around his shoulder, though his personality was a bit different. He seemed more confident and carried himself like someone who would speak his mind if he didn't agree with an idea.

Zephyr recognized this ghostly character, though he was no ghost. His name was Xephyr, a name similar to his own, but pronounced differently as "Ksef-er." It became tedious to say "Ksef" often, and Xephyr preferred his nickname be a similar sounding (but easier pronouncing) "Seth" instead. He liked it much more that way; It felt like his own unique nickname.

"What do you think they found out there that's so interesting?" The amber-eyed one asked, quite nonchalantly. His legs were crossed, and he fiddled with his hands. There wasn't much else to fiddle with.

"I dunno. It must be important if they decided to be out this late," Zephyr answered, and placed the spoon back on the table. He didn't want to think that Cider and Chronos found trouble, but the thought did come to mind once or twice.

"You thinkin' they ran into some kind of dilemma?"

Seth couldn't read his mind, but occasionally they did think alike. Zephyr thought it was a bit uncanny, but he wouldn't give in to Seth's attempt to frighten him, even in jest.

"They would call if they did. I know they're both fine, just caught up with something," Zephyr assured. He was also reassuring himself, but he would never admit it openly.

"I guess that's true," Seth spoke, getting up to take a look out the window. Through the glass, he could see the wind blowing the sand and dust around on the ground along the street, now dimly lit from the setting sun. It was familiar and reminded him of something, but he couldn't remember what.

At the table, Zephyr rested his head on his folded arms, not concerned for whatever Seth was doing at the window. His green eyes trailed to the corner where a small speckled mouse crawled about, poking around. Unfortunately, it wouldn't find much food around here, unless it developed a taste for metal spoons.

He watched it dart to the boxes by the door, unsure how to get in as they were too tall for its tiny body to climb. Even if it found a way, the energy would be wasted; There were no snacks in there either.

It was curious. Neither Cider, Chronos or Zephyr needed to nibble on food, nor did they need to sleep every day. Napping once every few days would suffice, though they were able to taste at least and retain their other senses. Cider found the sense of taste particularly interesting; He loved the taste of tacos and everything about them.

Zephyr smiled to himself, eyes still watching the mouse scurry along the floor. He remembered how difficult it was to persuade Chronos to try different cuisine when his stubbornness believed it was a "time-wasting and energy-wasting task." Eventually, his attitude quickly changed when he found his beloved bourbon chicken, a favorite he never knew existed until they visited a popular space mall that served it. Zephyr enjoyed those light-hearted moments, though they were during a simpler time. It would be foolish to travel carefree nowadays, not with so many eyes watching.

A sudden distanced sound shook Zephyr from his thoughts, and the mouse retreated back to its safe hole in the corner of the wall. He lifted his head off the table, but Seth was nowhere to be seen in the room. He often appeared and disappeared whenever he felt like, so this was no surprise to Zephyr.

The same sound was heard again, echoing outside. He stood up and pushed his chair in before heading to the window, the same place Xephyr had been looking out before. He assumed Cider and Chronos must be back, judging by the fact there were two figures in the distance outside, but as they were moving closer, he didn't recognize what they were wearing.

He ducked from the window, trying to think. Chronos nor Cider had told him what he should do in this situation, and the lack of overflowing good ideas began to make him anxious. He was sure they were headed this way, so it would be no use to put out the candles now. He decided his best option would be to hide, as he didn't know what these people could be capable of.

Quietly and while crouched, he crept to a small space under the stairs. He'd hide in one of the closets, but he'd have to close them, and they would be far too dark for his liking. The space under the stairs wasn't the best place, but it would be strange for anyone to look directly under there.

You don't need to hide.  Zephyr heard a voice in his head tell him. 

He ignored it, and the voice scoffed. He didn't want to take any chances.

Zephyr heard muffled voices outside and continued to stay quiet, his breathing low so he could hear better. He scooted his knees closer to himself, though they were clearly hidden by the stairs cast-shadow. He regretted not taking anything to defend himself with, but before he could decide if he should hurry to grab something, the sound of door opening stopped him short.

He heard only one pair of boots against the hardwood floor entering the door, and they were quite intimidating. A small gap underneath the stairs caught Zephyr's attention, and he leaned down to peer through it.

The sight of a long coat could be seen. He abruptly retreated when he identified Emberguard's colors.

His heart beat faster, but did his best to stay silent and calm. Zephyr knew they must be here searching for what the trio had presumably stolen from Hypnos, though they would not find it here, for it was with Chronos.

He heard a second pair of footsteps enter briskly, passing by the staircase, and he tucked his arms over his chest defensively, uncertain if the figure would see him.

"Where do you think they would keep the rope?"

Zephyr immediately relaxed from his defensive posture. There was no need to be tense when he knew that familiar voice. He squirmed his way from his tight secluded spot, poking his head out to see the unmistakable appearance of Seris in the hallway.

"Did you try these boxes here? Surely Chronos would keep it somewhere they could find it," Zephyr heard the friendly voice of Hex answer and turned his head to find it was him wearing the coat after all, much to his relief.

Hex turned his attention from Seris to the olive haired male currently peeking from under the stairs, and greeted him.

"Oh, hello there Zephyr. I wasn't aware anyone would be here, though I suppose the lit candles should have tipped me off."

Zephyr stood up from his hiding place, patting the dust from his pants. It was dustier that he thought under there.

"Yeah, I'm just here by myself for the moment."

Hex eyed him.

"Why were you under there, were you looking for something?"

"Hiding actually," Zephyr answered. He'd probably need to wash his pants somehow, as the dust stuck itself onto the fabric and wasn't coming off. "I didn't know who you guys were at first."

"Ah, I see." Hex understood. It was no wonder Zephyr looked spooked a few moments ago. "We didn't mean to scare you. It's unlike Chronos to not mention you'd be here, though both he and Cider seemed preoccupied."

"Preoccupied?" Zephyr inquired. It seemed he was right about earlier after all and had no reason to worry. It was a mystery to him how Hex found their temporary house, however.

"Oh yes!" Seris answered for Hex, his hooves tapping against the floor as he came back past the stairs. "They described it as being quite interesting and related to Emberguard, and that's why we're here."

"They sent us their coordinates, told us to drop by their house to pick up some rope for whatever reason, and now that's what we're doing, though they could have specified where the rope was," Hex told, examining the stacked boxes near the door.

"Oh, it's in this one," Zephyr reached for the topmost box, the one which contained the scented candles. He felt around in the box until he found a small coil of rope, no bigger than standard rope you could tie up a bike with. He handed it to Hex. "Why do they need it?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," Hex said, taking the rope from Zephyr. "I think that's all they needed from here, so we should be ready to go."

He glanced at the door, and remembered it was well sundown now. He wouldn't have any trouble by himself outside in the dark.

He was half vampiric bat after all.

"Seris, why don't you stay here and keep Zephyr company," Hex suggested. "He's probably been alone all day."

"Oh certainly! I wouldn't mind at all."

It wasn't long before Hex shut the door behind him. Seris smiled brightly and took a seat at the table, beckoning for Zephyr to join him. The satyr reached for the ground excitedly and planted a small basket on the table. Zephyr's expression lit up cheerfully at the ritualistic sight of it.

"You won't believe all the different kinds of goat soap I picked up at the market this week!"