They were trekking in the forest for about 30 minutes. Rosaline would pick up little trinkets here and there and say the spirit was leaving a trail. It was marking its territory. She began lining everything dropped by the ghost with salt.

“I’ll come back for it later. To kill a spirit permanently we have to burn those.”

“How exactly do we kill a spirit?”

“In the Grotto, they taught us that nonhumans can harm spirits and ghosts because of the natural occurring supernatural aura we have. Humans have a tougher time. In fact your blade might just strike right through it.”

“Oh, so I’m just watching?” Shainoah asked.

She shook her head. “Put your sword in the snow.” He did so and she poured salt all over it. “There. It should at least burn it if it comes near you, but leave most of the fighting to me.”

He nodded. “Do they have a lot of humans joining the Grotto?”

“No. The number has always stayed small, but I think it’s brave you've taken on this internship.”

There was a sudden gust of wind behind them, and they turned to see a small whirlwind of snow that soon evaporated.

Shainoah looked around. “I don’t think that was normal.”

Another whirlwind appeared to the side of them. Rosaline grabbed what appeared to be a handle from her belt. “Nothing is in the woods.” She pressed a button and the two ends shot out of the handle to form a staff. She pressed another button and the ends spiraled into blades.

“Woah. That’s cool,” Shainoah mumbled.

“Courtesy of the Grotto,” she said as she kept looking around and following the small whirlwinds.

“Do you think it might appear from one of these whirlwinds?” Shainoah asked as he looked around too. He took out Fury as he did.

“No. Look, nonhumans know when others are nonhuman, because we can sense it when we look at them, but it doesn’t mean we can tell where one is hiding,” she said.

“How do you know?” Shainoah asked.

“It’s like a tingling feeling in the back of my neck. What’s strange is that when I looked at you, I had that feeling.”

“Yeah, that is weird,” Shainoah said as he tried not to make eye contact. “But you’re trained to know the signs, right?”

“Rylan, I know how to stop and kill a spirit. I’m still kinda new to tracking one,” Rosaline said.

Shainoah looked confused. “What do you mean by that?” His eyes went wide. “Rosaline, is this the first time you’re hunting a spirit?”

She didn’t look at him. “Yes.”

“You’re - You’re kidding right now. I thought you knew what you were doing.”

“I do know what I’m doing. I was taught to handle situations like these.”

Shainoah looked back in the direction they came from. “We should be fine. Two naive newbies taking on a spirit. No problem.”

Rosaline sighed. “I don’t need the sarcasm.”

Shainoah shook his head as he looked around. He narrowed his eyes at another whirlwind. That one wasn’t going away, and that’s when he saw a face. It suddenly jumped out of the snow and Shainoah jumped back.

They looked back and it was a woman with long black hair and a ghoulish face. She wore a long white robe and her eyes were just black. It began to scream and the snow around it began to swirl. The snow rose slowly as it yelled then was sent as a wave at them.

Shainoah was knocked off his feet and landed in the snow again. Rosaline began to charge at the ghost and it tried to grab her, but she deflected it with her staff. She struck the spirit and it screamed out. It swallowed Rosaline in the snow and pushed her into a tree. She fell like a ragdoll in the snow, clearly unconscious.

“Shit,” Shainoah spat at he managed to dodge a rather large snowball being heaved at him.

He realized the spirit disappeared and he looked around frantically. He hadn’t even realized it, but he was shaking profusely. as he held his sword he couldn’t keep still, and jumped at his own delusion of thinking he saw the wraith in the corner of his eye. It was silent for a moment. The snow seemed to come to calm, and all he could hear was his own panicked breathing. He looked at Then it suddenly exploded out from under him. He managed to tumble back but caught its hands on his sword as it tried to grab him. It screamed out as it flew back. It tried to do the same thing it did to Rosaline and grab Shainoah in the snow, but he stuck his sword in the ground and held on as he was pushed back. He lost his hat, but that wasn’t his main concern. The spirit was charging at Shainoah. He pulled his sword out of the ground, raised it and swung.

He missed. The spirit passed right through him and it made him freeze. He felt like he was trapped in a block of ice, unable to move. He didn’t know where the spirit went, but it’s not like he could do much about it anyways.

In the corner of his eye, he saw the robe, and it circled him until finally standing in front of him, panting like a dog.

“Rylan!” he heard Rosaline yell and he watched as she knocked the spirit back with such force, it was almost cartoonish. The wraith spun in the air, but managed to stop itself with the snow.

Shainoah was able to move again, and he saw the spirit charging at Rosaline. She blocked it’s snow mound, but was going to be too late to get out of the way from it. Shainoah began sprinting as fast as he could. He was so damn slow. Wasn’t he a Duisteren now?! Come on! He had to have been faster than that.

He appeared behind the spirit and struck right through it with his sword. The spirit screamed out as it split in two and disappeared. Rosaline and Shainoah both looked at one another in surprise, and Shainoah sheathed his sword, then put his hands on his knees.

“I think we should get a five star rating,” Shainoah groaned.

Rosaline was staring at him in shock. “Rylan… You’re a...”

His hat. He felt his head and remembered it had gotten knocked off. “Uhm, the ghost turned my hair white.”

She was still staring at him in shock.

“Okay, I - uh, I can explain, but after we get back to the hotel,” Shainoah said.

“How did you do that?”

“Do what?” Shainoah asked.

“Flit?”

Shainoah blinked and raised an eyebrow. “F-Flit?”

His question wasn’t answered. Instead, he watched as Rosaline’s confusion turned into affirmation, and sadness. “You’re a Duisteren?” she asked quietly.

“Yes,” he said as he mirrored the same expression.

She took a step closer to him. “Were you always like this?”

He then took a step back and grimaced. “No. I - why does that matter?” He shook his head as he turned away from her. “I found out a while ago, I've always been a Duisteren, but I just started changing now.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“Sorry?” Shainoah snapped as he turned back to her. “For which part? My looks or how I’ll always be ridiculed for looking like a freak? A curse! Were you just sorry because I wouldn’t look normal like the rest of you? That I’m not going to be the same person I was an hour ago with a hat on only because I look different?”

“That’s not-”

“I’m always gonna be criticized now. Aren’t I?” He scoffed. “I finally understand what Kalla meant.”

“Rylan,” Rosaline called, but Shainoah ignored her.

Shainoah began walking towards the car and Rosaline followed behind. Along the way she would stop at the trinkets and light them with a match that gave a hissing sound when it was lit.

“What is a ‘flit’?” Shainoah asked, still irritated.

“Nonhumans, like Aboriginals and Duisteren, sometimes have the ability to give out a short burst of speed. We call it flitting. Most of the time, they’re just faster than regular humans.”

“And what about you hitting a home run on the wraith?”

She shook her head. “Nonhumans are also naturally stronger than humans, but… I like to call them outbursts. Sometimes I have the strength of 5 Golems.”

“Nonhumans don’t have both?”

“It varies depending on what species, but it’s particularly rare for Aboriginals and Duisteren to have both.”

Silence grew between them as they walked. Shainoah kicked up snow here and there while looking out in the distance of the forest.

“When I said I was sorry, I didn’t mean it like that,” she said. “In fact, I shouldn’t have said it to begin with.”

“No, you shouldn’t have.”

She looked up at him. “Look, I just knew someone - and I’m not saying you or Kalla - that wasn’t happy being a Duisteren-”

“No shit,” Shainoah interrupted.

“Let me finish. You said you looked cursed, freakish. He said those things too, and as much as I wanted to help him, he ran off, leaving everything and everyone behind.” She sighed. “I just… I don’t want you or any other Duisteren to feel that way. I’m not sorry for your looks, I’m sorry because I don’t want you to be ridiculed. Like you said.”

Shainoah blinked and tilted his head sadly. “Rosaline-” Her watch suddenly began to beep and he huffed. “Let me guess, Grotto technology made it outstandingly durable. Nothing but the best.”

“It’s made of a material called Gortex. One of the few supernatural materials found in-”

“I know what Gortex is,” Shainoah snapped.

Rosaline tapped her watch and it spoke. “Message from Elite Division, number 22.” Titus’ voice began to speak. “The situation has changed. Whatever you do, don’t come near this area!” His voice ended with a grunt and they heard the sound of steel clashing.

“He was fighting,” Rosaline said as they began to walk faster.

“We have to get over there,” Shainoah corrected.

She shook her head. “No. The Nightflier made it very clear for you to stay put. I’ll admit, me being naive almost got us both killed by a simple wraith. I don’t think either of us can take on a Dark Ozen.”

“They sound like they’re in trouble! We need to help,” Shainoah argued. “What happened to your brave antics?! Being better in numbers?! Why are you being such a hypocrite?!”

“This is a Dark Ozen, Rylan! This isn’t high school where a human gets picked on by some Aboriginal asshole, and then gets jumped by a group of humans and they win!”

“They’re like my family! Would you leave your family in trouble?”

Rosaline looked hurt by that question, but otherwise held her ground. “There’s nothing we can do.”

Shainoah shook his head. “You’re just scared.”

“This is a living, breathing demon. You should be scared. If you’re not frightened by that thought, you’re an idiot.”

They got to the car and Rosaline opened her door, but Shainoah slammed it shut. “I am scared. I’ve been terrified recently, because I can’t seem to face the truth. I can’t look at myself in the mirror without wanting to break it, and everytime Aline has made me pick up my sword, all I ever wanted to do was run. And when we fought that wraith, I wanted to turn and leave you because I was scared. It was in that moment I realized I am going to feel this for the rest of my life, and I can do nothing but run or face it.” Shainaoh let go of the door as he looked at Rosaline. “You’re right. This isn’t highschool. This is the real fucking world that we live in and I’m scared, but I’m not running.”

Rosaline stared at him, then slowly began to open the door. “I’m remembering why you were so likeable, even though you seem different now.” She motioned to the other side. “Get in the damn car.”

Shainoah slid on the car hood and got into the passenger seat as Rosaline started up the engine.

“I really can’t believe I’m doing this. I don’t know when this courageous and stupidly brave side of you showed up, but it’s really annoying,” she groaned as she drove off.