When he got to her, Shadow gave Gracie one last look before gazing past her to Marlene with a forlorn expression on his face. Marlene saw it and gave her friend a pointed look to the back of her head before rolling her eyes at the whole situation. She had witnessed her friend's rare freak outs before and she knew it was just a cover to help her cope with her fear. Being afraid was unnecessary in this case as Shadow wasn't a threat to either of them but she also knew her friend wouldn't stop until she felt the danger had passed.

     "Can you please make her stop, master?" he asked Marlene. "Her screaming is hurting my ears, Madam Shard."

     "And who the Fuck is Shard!?!" Gracie screamed at him.

     "I am, Gracie," Marlene answered. "I am Shard."

     "WHAT!? Who!? Marlene is that you talking!? God damn it, put me down!" Gracie yelled as she squirmed in Shadow's grip, trying to see who was talking. Shadow looked to Marlene for direction.

     "Go ahead and put her down, Shadow." Marlene told him.

     "If you say so, Shard." Shadow said before unwrapping his wings from around Gracie.

     Shadow adjusted his hold on Gracie first, so he could set her gently down on her feet in front of Marlene. After he had set her down, he took a step back from her before folding his wings down behind his back. He put them away then, dissolving them back into the black mist and reabsorbing it back into his body. He stood still and rigid as Gracie glared up at him before she turned around to talk to Marlene.

     "Now, Marlene, can you please tell me what the Hell is going on here!?!" Gracie demanded.

     "Oi, I really wished we could've done this at your house but..." Marlene said quietly to herself, trailing off as she reached up to rub the bridge of her nose. The current string of events was beginning to give her a headache.

     "But what?" Gracie demanded as she crossed her arms and looked expectantly at her friend. Marlene gave a tired sigh before letting her hand fall away from her face and making eye contact with her.

     "But I may as well get this over with," She replied, continuing her earlier thought. She waved a hand in Shadow's general direction.

     "Gracie, this is Shadow. He's the...um... guardian creature I've been telling you 'stories' about. He came to help us when he sensed I was in trouble." She paused to look up at Shadow and Gracie turned back around to follow her friend's gaze.

     "Shadow, this is Gracie, the friend from high school I've been telling you about." She told him. "Say hello, Shadow."

     "Hello, Miss Jones," Shadow said, clasping his hands behind his back and nodding his head to Gracie in a small bow.

     Gracie just stood there with a look of shock and awe on her face. She had uncrossed her arms sometime during the introductions and they now dangled limply at her sides. Her mouth, likewise, was hanging open as she stared at the creature her friend had told her so much about.