Silence stretched out between them as they took in the sky. She listened for his breathing. It was steady now. The rhythmic sounds gave Lily’s mind a chance to wander beyond her worry. She thought back to their previous encounters. Their magic.

“Can I ask an odd question?” she wondered aloud.

“Shoot.”

“When you take someone’s magic, do the properties remain?” 

She heard him shift around. He hummed. “Yes. I think-”

She tilted her head to look at him. He was settled on his stomach now. “When I take magic it stays how it was. Like if I take fire magic I can only use it as fire magic. I can’t make it something else if that's what you mean.” Even in this form, he gestured with his paws.

“That makes sense.” She rolled over. The fog in her head faded. “Does that mean you could create something with my magic?”

“Technically. Not that I have the skill for that,” he chuckled. A second later he sprang up, eyes wide. “Can I show you a cool trick?”

She flinched. “I don’t think I like where this is going,” she admitted. Though the idea of his magic was far less scary, she wasn’t keen on the sudden possibility of him using it on her.

His tail curled up. “No, no I’m not going to do anything to you! Just- watch!” He sat as sharply as he stood. Eyes snapped shut. His star marks appeared before she could protest.

She inched back as much as she could laid down. Which, apparently, had been the smart move given that her staff suddenly popped between them. It promptly fell over, narrowly missing her head as she swerved out of the way.

“Ta-da!” Willis grinned, opening his eyes. He clumsily picked it up, nearly smacking her with it in the process. “Surprise!”

The shock of almost being hit faded into a different flavor of disbelief. “What?” was all she could muster. That was her staff. The one keyed to her. Yet he had summoned it. 

“Neat right?” 

“What?”

“Since objects like this are tied to your magic, if I have enough of someone's magic I’m able to call upon it! Even if they already have it summoned. It would be pretty useful if I was better at fighting,” Willis rambled. He tried to gesture with the staff. Though it was more like vague fumbling given his paws. He steady it with his tail. Eyes locked on her expectantly.

My magic- “How do you have my magic?” she asked. In the brief moments they had touched he couldn't have taken any from her. At least, not without her noticing. She frowned.

“Oh! Well whenever we've met, you've always left the light spell you made behind,” they explained. “So I’ve been saving all of them- which I realize now might come off a bit… weird actually,” their voice got quieter and quieter. A blank look came over their face. He let out an odd noise. “You can have it back if you want.”

Her shoulders slumped. The explanation felt odd, yet less horrifying than the alternative. “No it's fine.” I think. “I trust you not to do anything you shouldn't with it.”

“Speaking off!” he lit up. Seemingly encouraged by her assurance. He closed his eyes. 

“I can do that,” she interrupted his scheming. She willed her staff back to its proper place. Gone in an instant.

“Show off.”

“You're the one doing party tricks.”

“Well it's about to get more thrilling!”

I’m not sure if anything could top my staff, she thought. It would be mean to ruin his fun.

She didn't get to ponder her thoughts much before she scrambled back with a screech. Willis summoned his next object much faster. She was met with sharp metal swiping right at her face as he struggled to get ahold of it.

“Sorry, sorry!” He grabbed the dark wood between his teeth, holding the weapon in his mouth like a dog with a fetched stick.

It gave her the chance to get a good look at it with round eyes. “A scythe?” The blade was made of black metal. Diamonds were carved out near the back. Mounted to the wood with a rich blue gem and gold. He had to hold it at an odd angle given the sheer size of it.

He nodded stiffly. It took a moment of maneuvering before he was able to set it down flat on the sand. “It's cool, right?”

“It would have been cooler if you hadn't almost cut my ear off with it,” she huffed. “It's not yours, is it? I thought you didn't like spell heavy combat.”

He had the decency to give her a sheepish look. He shifted back to his usual form. Swiftly scooping up the scythe before he turned it upside down, leaning against it. “Unfortunately not. It's Velvet’s.”

The second of the Prince of Death has a scythe? How fitting. She came back closer. Tilting her head down. “Did they make it? It's pretty impressive,” she admitted.

Willis grinned at that. His eyes sparkled. “They did! Couple years ago. Took them months to finish it,” he said. Hands shifted their grip to twirl the weapon around. “I don't know how they manage to swing this thing around the way they do. It's as tall as they are.” The scythe slipped from his hold as he tried to spin it. He fumbled it with a yelp. 

“Well I’m sure they're more coordinated than you are,” Lily teased.

“Hey! It’s harder than it looks,” he whined. He held it out to him. “You do it if it’s so easy.”

“Okay.” She went to grab it before she processed what she was doing. She didn’t get far given she still had paws. “Oh. Right.” I forgot I’m still like this. The reality of her beastly form had faded into the background of her mind. Settled into something that felt alright. Discomfort crept up her spine as she became aware again. 

“Give me a moment,” she said, eyes fluttering shut. She took a deep breath. She focused on the power of her form. The way the breeze brushed through her pelt. Her form returned itself to what it once was. She stumbled.

Willis caught her with his free hand. “Are you alright?”

Lily pressed her head against him, groaning. “I’m fine. The world is just spinning. A lot.” Her eyes slipped shut. She took in the salty smell of the sea, the wax and wane of the waves, the softness of Willis’ sweater, the way his chest moved as he breathed. She could feel the chilled buzz of his magic. He patted her back.

She pulled away with a sharp inhale. “Okay that’s better,” she huffed. She gave her head a good shake. “I’m fine,” she repeated.

He offered a soft smile. He held the scythe to her again. Her hand came up to grab it, but she paused. “Would Velvet be okay with you messing with their weapon like this?”

That seemed to stump the other prince. His mouth pressed into a tight line. His ears twitched. “…Well they wouldn’t let me have their magic if they weren’t okay with me using it.”

That doesn’t answer the question, she wanted to retort. Instead, she took it, curiosity outweighed her concern. It was unsurprisingly heavy. Not helped by the fact that it was practically as tall as she was. The weighted end provided some counterbalance against the blade. 

It must be a real workout to swing this around. How strong is Velvet? It was all too easy to imagine how bad her arms and shoulders would burn from even a few minutes of spell casting. She twirled her fingers around the handle before thinking better of it. Instead, she handed it back.

“Aw, aren’t going to try any cool tricks?” Willis joked. 

“I value my well being. You’re free to cut your arm off if you want to show off,” Lily countered.

He sent the scythe back where it belonged with a scoff. Star markings faded from his face. 

As Lily glanced up at the moon, she caught Willis leaning towards her in the corner of her vision. “Do you need something?”

He showed his fangs. “We still haven’t properly wrestled around.”

“I am not doing that again tonight.”

“What? Do you think I can’t fight you like this?” he asked innocently.

“Have you…” looked in a mirror? Without his cape it was clear how scrawny he looked. Even with his height. She pivoted, “I don’t know what makes you think I have the energy for that either. It’s late.”

“It’s always late,” he whined. He shifted stance, knees bent as if bracing for an attack. He held up his hands. “Come on! Thirty seconds.”

Thirty seconds is being generous. She relented with a sigh. Her pride was on the line. She locked their hands together. “I’m going to laugh when I knock you over in two seconds after all this talk.”

Instead of answering, Willis pushed against her. She stumbled at the force, but quickly regained her footing. Giving all her strength to shove him back. He skid against the sand, stance still strong. His grip tightened as he dug his heels deep.

“This is much harder to do when you aren’t on solid ground,” he hissed through grit teeth. They stalled like that. In a stand still.

“I could do this all night,” Lily teased him. Even as her arms ached from the pressure.

It was an eternity until Willis folded. He let up, letting her push him back before breaking the hold between them. He fell dramatically onto his back with a thud. “You only won because we’re on soft ground,” he panted. 

“I still won,” she reminded as she caught her breath. She came up to him, offering a hand. “I can’t believe you talked me into exercising.”

“It was playing! Exercise makes it sound boring.” He let her help him up. They both winced as she did. He shook out his arms. “Might have been good to stretch out before.”

She rubbed her own. “It’s a bit late for that.” She rolled her head. “I’m going to lay down.” 

“Great idea! I’ll race you to the blanket!” he challenged. She watched him jog for a mere second before he stopped. “Okay bad idea. My legs hurt too…”

“Don’t worry Willis.” She came up next to him. “I’m here to have good ideas for you.”

“Hey,” he said in a warning tone. He squinted at her. “Most things tonight were my idea. I deserve some credit.” 

“Some credit.”

“You’re soo mean to me.”

She simply smiled, nudging him. He did it back with a toothy grin. They reached the blanket, settling down in peaceful silence.