Thrudd was halfway to the door of the base when she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.

Fiona immediately feared the worst. "If you throw me in the snow again, I''m going to get you exorcised for sure!"

"I''m not a ghost." Thrudd said.

"Really? I thought you guys were mixed with a whole bunch of shit...So your dads not a spirit?"

"He is an elemental spirit, not a Halloween spirit."

"Ohhhhh..!" Fiona nodded while still eye-level with Thrudd''s butt. It was infuriating to look at.

She didn''t know if she should be jealous of Thrudd''s workout routine, or if this was just godly genetics at play.

She finally tore her gaze from Thrudd''s behind and forced her gaze down to her quads.

Equally as juicy and perfect. Equally as infuriating.

"...Gods, I hate you."

"Huh?!"

The pair suddenly paused when they heard the sound of space itself ripping open.

Looking back, they found Abaddon standing in front of a portal with a small welcoming smile.

A man walked out who nearly made Fiona lose every ounce of self respect.

He was tall- taller than Abaddon even. He had a head full of dark, curly hair that was exactly her type.

"Gods, I have nothing appropriate to say."

"Ew." Thrudd dropped Fiona face first into the snow again.

"Hey! What did I just say?!"

Thrudd still looked vehemently disgusted. "That''s my little brother you''re ogling."

"There is nothing ''little'' about that boy."

"Don''t be gross, please. He''s married already and he and his wife don''t have an interest in polyamory."

Fiona seemed actually grief stricken over this news. She kind of just laid down in the snow like a dead animal.

Another man stepped out of the portal, this one equally as handsome, but with an entirely different aesthetic.

Fiona popped her head up with hope.

"Also my brother, also married, and he will not kiss boys for you."

Fiona lay back down in the snow. Her hopes were completely destroyed.

"I''m going to die alone."

"So over dramatic." Thrudd rolled her eyes, but the smirk on her face made it clear she was not unamused.

She could see why her family had been persistently urging her to make friends. It was nice. Dare she say pleasant.

But perhaps Fiona was better off not knowing such a thing. Lest she tease her to the ends of the earth over her lack of-

"O-Oh, god no.."

Fiona looked up from the snow when she heard Thrudd make a uniquely horrified noise.

She looked up and found Thrudd wearing a tapestry of conflicting emotions and sentiments on her face.

"A cruel curse of my birth if there ever was one."

""Drama queen.""

"Stop doing that!"

Abaddon and Straga laughed in unison. This only made Belloc roll his eyes until they nearly fell out of his head.

Abaddon then turned to Straga, who had long grown to be a head taller than him.

"And you, my son? I can''t imagine that you had to be forced out of your room to see the sunlight."

Straga''s bright and sunny smile seemed to crack just a bit. His gaze dropped just below the horizon.

"I just needed a change of pace, I suppose. Coming home to an empty bed is no good for the mind after all."

Abaddon''s eyes became filled with pity. He couldn''t imagine what his son was going through.

Monica was the second-in-command of his sister Kanami''s Euphrates. The dread legion had been away for a while hunting the missing horrors.

It was one of their longer expeditions. Kanami promised they wouldn''t return until they brought back at least three beasts: alive or in pieces.

But a search like that takes time.

It had been almost two and a half years now. Monica hasn''t been home since.

It is funny, for an immortal race like Nevi''im, the passage of time means practically nothing.

But when an integral part of your life and soul is missing, the seconds grate by like one''s shins against concrete.

Straga was good about smiling and keeping up appearances.

But the entire house knew he was hurting. Hakon was the same.

"I can have them return home at once if you-"

"Dad, stop." Straga shook his head. "You would put the safety of creation at risk to assuage the heart of little old me? Shame on you." He chuckled.

Abaddon stopped. "I would do anything for you. You are my son."

Straga smiled at him knowingly. "I don''t know why, but I''m well aware, pops. That''s why I try not to ask you for anything."

Abaddon couldn''t offer up a retort in that moment. He knew full well that his son was thinking responsibly within the confines of his lived experiences and accumulated knowledge.

But Straga did not yet know what it was like to be a father. He couldn''t understand Abaddon''s willingness to put him above all else in creation.

Perhaps time would work it''s magic in the future and offer some new perspective on it''s own. Even Abaddon could not be fully sure.

-

After entering the order''s base, the group received quite a bit of heavy stares.

Fiona instructed them to pay it no mind and led the group to an area that she dubbed tge communications room.

It was a wide, white room lined with monitors on the wall and a set of consoles with dedicated technicians working at them.

Fiona barged in and prepared to start dolling out orders when she suddenly skidded to a halt.

Standing in the middle of the room and talking to a young intern was her father, Shin. No longer hiding what he''d done to himself.

It didn''t take him long to notice that there were more individuals traveling with Abaddon this morning than there had been a day ago.

Judging by his expression, he was... less than thrilled.

"Wonderful... more dragons."