Inside it was warmer, which Alica liked, and it was brighter with fewer shadows for Immi to hide in, which he didn’t. He led her toward the back of the store as she gasped and goggled at all of the toys. She only had a few at home, and there were much, much more than that here. She saw stuffed versions of some of the characters from her favorite television shows, as well as a bunch of action figures and dolls.

Then, as she neared the back of the store, she saw it. The biggest pile of stuffed animals she had ever seen. She started a smile which quickly morphed into a yawn, and she rubbed her bleary eyes. Immi noticed, and patted her head. “Go lay down over there,” he said, pointing at the pile of stuffed toys. “You’re tired, and it’s way past your bedtime.” He smiled. “You need to get a good night’s rest so that we can get you home tomorrow. I’ll make sure that you aren’t disturbed.”

His grin widened. This would give him a chance to have some fun. He loved figuring out ways to keep stupid humans away from anyplace. Alice yawned again, louder this time, and walked over to the furry mound, burrowing herself in. She peeked back out as she remembered something. “What about my teeth,” she exclaimed. “Huh?” “I didn’t brush my teeth. What do I do?” Immi laughed, which sounds like the hissing of a snake. “Don’t worry, you don’t have to brush your teeth tonight,” he explained. Alica’s face brightened, then she submerged herself once again in the plush tsunami. Shaking his head - or what he had of one - Immi turned and loped away, occasionally straightening to his full height to peer over shelves and check for anyone heading to the girl. He noticed one woman in the aisle next to him heading towards the stuffed toys. He sprang over the shelf between them and landed softly behind her. He extended his hand and touched her shadow.

Immi has many things that are special about him, one of which is that he can see into the mind of whoever’s shadow he touches. As he touched her shadow, he saw her thoughts. Ugh! she was thinking. Another kid messed up the plush toys, and the boss wants me to fix it. Luckily we’re closing, so all I have left to do after I fix this is lock up, then I can go home.

When Immi was done with her he began to walk to the front door, whistling and twirling his new ring of keys. He locked up the doors and smiled (of course). He was glad humans still used keys. He was a bit old-fashioned, and liked mechanical devices, rather than electronic ones. Some of the younger ones had a knack with it, but he’d be perfectly fine with keyboards, clocks, and the like. If it became necessary, he’d learn, but he wouldn’t be happy about it. Immi stretched to his full height, checking to see that no one else was in the store. He didn’t see anyone, and was about to lower down when he saw movement out of the corner of his eye.

Turning, Immi noticed that one of The Hidden was outside, staring at him. Gesturing for him to enter, the imaginary friend leapt over to where Alica was and checked that she was asleep, and hidden under the stuffed animals. She was. He was glad; he wasn’t sure that he wanted her to hear this. He sprang back towards the front entrance of the store just as the Hidden walked through the glass window. It was then that he recognized his old friend, Crystal. She looked terrible. The last time Immi had seen Cys, she was clearer than glass - you could barely see her. She’d looked like a mirage in the day, and a small cloud of mist or fog at night, if you could see her then at all.

Now she was covered in dirt and soot, her crystalline facets were scratched, and she was wearing what seemed to be human clothing. In fact, he could’ve mistaken her as a smaller human in a mask, a mask like the bird masks doctors used to wear that they thought protected them from the Black Dead, or whatever they called it. Cys was one of the rare Hidden Ones who could be seen by humans all the time, that’s why she kept herself so sparkling and clear. Humans would mistake her for a heat mirage. Something must have happened for her to have ended up so.

Concerned, Immi crouched down and rested his hand on her shoulder. She pulled off her mask and burst into tears, and clutched his hand. “Shh,” Immi said, “my human is asleep in the back, and it’d be best if we don’t wake her up.” For a moment there wasn’t a sound, except for the tinkling of Crystal’s tears falling to the ground, which faded away as her sobbing slowly quieted. “There now, what’s the matter? It isn’t like you Cys to let yourself get in such a state.”

“The Dragon Hunters. They’re back,” Cys gasped.