Forum Thread

An endless night. That is what the cursed world of Mewni had come unto when the hunt started. Time seemed to stop in this nightmarish world, as the ever bright full moon rose overhead. It seemed that nowhere was safe anymore, mewmans and monsters alike have been driven mad by the healing properties of a substance called "white magic" or, what it was called by others, "old magic." It seems like no one with a shred of sanity left knew what this old magic was, or where it came from, all they knew was that it was able to heal any wound and fix any sickness. However, it seems that the old magic is tainted somehow, for too much of it is what turned these once peaceful beings into beasts.

The beasts that roam the streets and forests of Mewni have lost their minds, unable to tell friend from foe and will attack anyone they see who isn't also a similar type of beast. They have been known to attack other beasts, those that look too differently from themselves, and those who were once Mewman or Monster have been seen attacking each other with reckless anger and bloodlust. But yet, among these beasts and the ones that remain who hide themselves away in their homes, using the power of light and essences to keep themselves save from the reach of the beasts, there are Hunters. These hunters are tasked with facing the beasts, fighting them and and removing them from the world to attempt to make the world safe again. But as long as the moon stays high in the sky the hunt will continue.

There is one place that is truly safe, a place that only hunters may enter. A special workshop that seems to exist on the border of dreams and reality, a place that balances on the essence of magic itself. This place, just simply called "the workshop" is a haven for Hunters, and the workshop itself is looked over by one man, Lord Brudo, and his Doll, Celena. Here in the workshop they wait, and offer a place of rest and care for Hunters and those they manage to take with them. A Hunter can only take one "non-hunter" with them, and if they do, the non-hunter will be kept safe until they are ready to become a hunter themselves. No one who has entered the workshop has left without being a hunter in one way or another.

Our story takes place in Old Mewni, the town that surrounded Butterfly Castle before it was walled off and set ablaze, where a few old faces seemed to rise from the depths... and face the hunt again...

---

A tall Septarian man was treading carefully along the streets of Old Mewni, looking around for the sound of anything that could be moving. The night was long tonight, longer than it usually seemed, as far as he was concerned, and he gave a small sigh, a small glint of purple shone underneath the ripped gauze that he kept on half of his face, barely revealing a large gem that lay in the socket in place of his eye. Tonight was quiet... perhaps, a little too quiet as he maneuvered the empty streets. Boxes, loose papers and scraps of who knows what were everywhere.

"I don't like this..." the man muttered to himself as he carefully adjusted his hat, making sure that the wind that blew by wouldn't blow it away. "It's too quiet tonight... Something must be happening..."

---

Loud gunshots echoed throughout somewhere in Old Mewni, one after another some beasts had fallen to the hands of one of the lesser known hunters. "There's too many of them here..." the hunter cursed under her breath as she did a quick back flip and landed on top of the old castle building. A small bundle was held tightly against her chest as she quickly tried to reload her scatter gun, her Rakuyo close at her hip as her sky blue eyes quickly eyed the beasts below, a few of them seeming to be loading their guns as well.

"I'm no good here..." she cursed again before gently taking shots below, running her fingers through her moonlit blue hair, the braid she kept it in starting to become a little unkept as she did so. "Get back, you heathens!" she exclaimed and took fire once more, her Rakuyo now held in her other hand as she snarled down below. "Don't make me use this! Leave now!" She stiffened a little as she noticed something coming near her from the corner of her eye, quickly moving her head to the side, she watched as one of the beasts below let out a bloodcurdling scream before it fell and stayed silent. The hunter turned her head to glance behind her, her eyes widened at the mysterious figure who was behind her, the one that killed the beast in front of her.

"Who..." she muttered quietly, holding the bundle close to her, her hand rested impatiently on the trigger of her gun before she perked up as the figure came into view.

---

"Ah...a hoonter on the night of the hoont.." came a rather thick scottish dialect, a rather tall avian like creature dawned in black approached the two, keeping her distance as she did so. "Ah'd be moving and gettin' that baby of yours out of here an' back to the hoonter's dream if ah were you..taint safe for the little one." the mysterious hunter lept into the air and quickly unsheathed her multiple blades that she kept in her black feather shawl-like jacket, hitting multiple beasts at once.

"Who are you?" the hunter asked the figure, "Mah name is of no importance right now.." the figure replied, passing a glance back to the hunter, nothing but darkness from the eyeholes in her mask, " there's a lamp that isn't too far from here..Get yer baby an' yourself back to the hoonters dream..."

The hunter growled a little as the figure avoided the question, but sighed and nodded, the figure was right, this was nowhere for her baby to be. She thanked the figure and started to make her way towards where the figure had told her where the lamp was located, eventually arriving and making her way back.

"Hah...good." the figure said with a small pant as she finished off the rest of the beasts, glancing down at them all and collecting the last bits of the magic fragments that they had left. "Pity he wasn't here tuh play along..He would have had a good time..." the figure smiled and gently took a seat on one of the spare brick walls that bordered Butterfly Castle. "...."

---

The Septarian man had heard the sound of gunshots being fired on the other side of town. Giving a sigh he placed his hands on his hips before he started to run towards the source of the sounds, the heavy machine gun he kept on his back weighing him down reasonably, but he was still able to move with swift grace. When he finally reached the location where he heard the commotion he gave another sigh, all he saw was a mass of downed beasts, a moonlit haired woman vanishing into the light of a nearby lantern and a familiar figure sitting on a brick wall by the area.

"Ah, well, this certainly explains a thing or two." he muttered, leaping down from the ledge he stood upon, moving through the bodies as he approached the figure. "I was doing rounds on the other side of town, imagine my surprise when over there is quieter than an empty pram in an abandoned home and over here seems to have had a swarm bigger than normal for this early in the night." He looked up towards the figure, looking into her mask's dark eyes before giving a small sigh again.

"So, couldn't leave some of the fun for me, eh? Tell me, Avarius, what led you to do some standard hunting? This isn't exactly your normal work." he placed a hand on his hip before giving a small chuckle, notioning towards a few blades that stuck out from the bodies that littered the ground.

---

Within the realm of the lamp, a single figure could soon be seen by the woman of Moonlit blue hair, this figure seemed to be standing completely still, her extremely long light pink hair barely moving with the slight breeze that passed through the misty area. As the area cleared, it was revealed that the figure was standing by the base of a small flight of stairs, standing by a small stone wall that bordered a patch of grass and colorful flowers. where the moonlit haired woman appeared from seemed to be a small meadow, small white flowers blooming in patches all over the place. Was the figure asleep? She didn't seem to even respond with the sudden appearance of the woman, she just stood there, as if waiting, ever patiently, for someone to approach her.

---

"About time ya showed up, Rasticore.." the figure spoke as she gently reached down into her small pack and pulled out a small vile, forcefully injecting herself with the mysterious liquid that was inside. She then sighed a little and tossed it aside, a light chuckle escaping her lips as she did so. She listened to her Septarian friend and then gently edged herself off the wall, her landing cushioned by the many corpses she had made when giving the hunter a good amount of time to leave. One by one she started to gather the rest of her blades, now stained with beast blood, resting them back into her feather garb.

"Not quite sure why over here was so noisy at first m'self.." the figure began, but then looked beyond Rasticore at the lamp with the little ghostly demon-like creatures that surrounded it, "But ah had a feelin' it was because of that blue haired hoonter...She was carryin' a babeh with her for whatever reason...Fresh magic'll attract unwanted attention.." she then shrugged playfully as another chuckle escaped her lips, a quick glance of a lemon colored eye flashed a little in the moon light.

"A hoonter's work is never doon..I could have but ah wasn't sure how long ya'd be..so I took care of it m'self.." she then sighed a little and then stood over one of the many corpses that had one of her blades in it, glancing down a moment before she reached down and took it out, blood seeped off the blade as she placed it back.

"Ah know, Rasticore..I hoont hoonters...but in doing so tha blue haired hoonter was able to make her escape to the hoonter's dream...Like I said, havin' a babeh out this close to tha hoont isn't safe for anyone..Especially if HE shows up tonight..."

---

Upon arriving in the hunter's dream, the hunter gently gave a small sigh and took a seat next to one of the tombstones where a few of the kind demon folk liked to reside, curious as they were they approached her and her baby. She was uncomfortable, but knew they meant no harm, so she let them crawl on her arms to get a better look at the baby. "Ugh..." she replied quietly before her attention went over towards the still figure on the stone wall. She gave a small frown with a gentle sigh before she reached over and gently placed the demon-like creature back down by the tombstone.

"That's enough, thank you." she stated before making her way to the figure, gently tapping her shoulder.

"Celena...Please do be a dear and wake up..I need a favor." she asked a little impatiently.

---

Rasticore gave a small shrug, he admitted, he wasn't as fast as he used to be, but at least he was always a reliable ally in this nightmare that they called their home. He watched as she got off of the wall, gathering a few of the extra blades himself and returning them to her as she did. He listened to her as she said that the blue haired hunter had a baby with her, causing him to stop and look back towards the lantern with a surprised look in his eye.

"Ya don't say? So that lass there had..." he trailed off a bit, looking towards the lantern that his friend that the woman escaped to. "Daft woman... carrying an attractant like that... especially if it was a newborn." he shook his head before he looked back towards Avarius, a toothy grin appearing on his face as he saw a glimpse of her lemon yellow eye.

"True, the Hunt never really ends, but thank you. My apologies for being late on that again." he gave a small chuckle, placing a hand on his waist as he did before, a small breeze passing by to make his cape flutter a little. "But now that we know that the blue haired hunter had a child with her, it's no wonder that the section I was patrolling was so desolate."

He gave a small sigh again, he knew what she meant, hunting hunters, he was just glad that she didn't set her sights on him like how she's done for several other hunters before, though he knew he was safe for now, he didn't give into the lust of the old magic that plagued the lands like the ones before him, and he prayed that he never would. He looked back towards Avarius again as she mentioned him, quickly looking up towards the moon, his good eye becoming a slit for a moment before he let out a heavy sigh of relief. "Very true... if HE came out tonight when that hunter was exposed... pretty sure that both she and her child would be gone... Hopefully he wont try anything funny tonight..."

---

The still figure barely moved as the hunter tapped her shoulder, in fact, it was as if the figure didn't even feel the touch at all. However, after a moment of silence, the figure gave a small breath. It seemed that she hardly even breathed when she was standing there, but as she did she opened her eyes, only one being visible with the mass of light pink hair that surrounded her face covering the other. She took a moment to register what was around her before she carefully turned her attention towards the hunter who woke her.

"Ah, welcome back dear Hunter." She said, her voice slightly higher than a whisper on the small breeze that the dream had. "How may I be of--" she stopped for a moment, looking towards the bundle that the blue-haired hunter had with her, blinking slowly, she tilted her head quizzically. "Strange... you are now with a child..?"

She seemed to catch herself, gently lifting a hand to her own mouth for a moment before she gave a small bow. "Ah, my apologies, dear hunter... That was rude of me... How may I be of assistance to you?"

---

Avarius gently rubbed the back of her neck a little, sighing quietly before she then thanked Rasticore for helping her with getting the rest of her blades, she herself knew she wasn't exactly the fastest either, so the help was always greatly appreciated, especially from this Septarian gentleman. Her thing was accuracy, the only think she did quick was take down magic lusted hunters who went berserk. But she digressed and crossed her arms gently, some of the ebony black feathers on her shawl gently wafted in the gentle breeze as she nodded again.

"Aye...She did, Rasticore..Probableh not mooch older than a few months.." Avarius spoke quietly, not wanting to attract the unwanted attention from one of the bigger monsters that were just mere feet away from them on the stairways. She raised a brow at his grin before she found herself sporting a hidden grin. Finding herself nodding once more as she ran her claws through her hair, the fresh drops of blood from the monsters gently slid onto her claw, shaking it off as soon as it did. That was common, a little too common for her liking, but she digressed and shook her head.

"No need tah worry..Ah'm sure there will be oother times yer needed. Now just wasn't the time. Luckily ah myself had been wanderin' by tuh see that the blue haired hoonter was needin help." She blinked a little and gently walked towards him, lightly resting her hand on his cheek that was closest to his gem eye, gently tapping the side of his face before gently running her thumb over his gem eye.

"Just don't go on a frenzy on me now, ya hear? Ah don't want tuh be the one hoontin you.." She then gently removed her hand before looking upwards towards the moon, a small growl escaped her before she nodded again. "Hopefully not..." Avarius gently shook her head, "I would have done anything tuh keep the babe safe....It's...nice tuh see young life again..." She gently lowered her head, remembering when she herself was a parent, the memories of her and her son flashed quickly in her mind before they were clouded by the remembrance of how now he was a hunter himself, a corrupted one since he became bloodthirsty. She wondered if he was still residing in the abandoned Avarius Castle. She shook her head violently and then looked back up at the moon.

"Ah...enough reminiscing aboot the days of old, then. We're not finished here..." She glanced over her shoulder to a few more beasts that were approaching. "Here's yer chance now, Rasticore."

---

With a small sigh, the hunter looked towards Celena once again after she had calmed her baby's quiet crying. "Yes, thank you, Celena." the hunter spoke again before she blinked twice as Celena tilted her head. Giving another rather annoyed sigh she gently rested her palm over her face, lightly muttering. "Yes, Celena I do have a child now...I'm not sure how but..I do..but...I do. Now please, Celena be a dear and fetch me some Milk and Tea. The baby in her arms started to stir a little, chuckling again as her eyes opened, they shone like stars in the middle of the day's sky, happening to glance up at her mother, then down towards the demon-like creature who had crawled up the hunter's leg to look at the baby again. This caused the hunter to flinch and accidentally drop her baby. Thankfully it wasn't a far drop, and the creature had caught her in it's arms. She was reluctant for the creature to hold her baby, but they again meant no harm, and her arms needed a rest. So she gave another sigh and leaned towards the stone wall, undoing her hair so that the kept light blue became a small wave of light blue. An eye peeking out of her hair as she heard a familiar wheelchair noise.

"...Brudo..How unlike you to leave the workshop." the hunter began.

"Mmnn....I heard you wanted Milk and Tea for you and your baby...Moon." He snarled quietly before handing down the cups of Tea and Milk, smiling as he gently rolled his way over to Celena and gave her a loving pat on the head. "Celena's been working hard keeping this place safe...I could get out of the shop every now and then."

"Thank you..To you both." Moon gently sighed and then lightly picked up the baby from the creature's arms, handing her the cup of milk, which the baby drank happily, sharing some with the creature.

---

Rasticore listened intently as Avarius mentioned the child. It was incredible to him, that someone would be reckless enough to bring a new life into this world with such high stakes at hand. He noticed her quieter tone and looked around, spotting the larger beast not far, he carefully pulled out his machine gun and kept it at the ready, if that thing saw them there would be trouble for sure and he wasn't going to let trouble hit them easily.

"I see... well, at least the child is safe now." he started before he noticed her shake some blood off of her claws, poor woman, he thought, he had no idea on her age, but she must be growing tired of all of the hunting, she's been at it for about as long as he had, perhaps even longer for all he knew. But he wouldn't dare bring it up to her, she seemed stubborn, stubborn enough to keep hunting when everyone else would tell her to stop no doubt. He gave a small nod as she said he would be needed other times, giving a small chuckle he nodded again. "I suppose it was a good thing we split up for the rounds tonight then. Things might've been different if we stayed together like usual for that Hunter."

He flinched for a moment as he felt her thumb gently rub his gem eye, causing him to put his full attention onto her, and not where that beast from earlier went. "Ah... well, you wont need to worry about that Avarius... I know better than to let the magic get to my head." He listened to her, she must be remembering her son again, he pondered for a moment, he never met the child, but he knew that she loved him dearly, so much so that she had never hunted him, even though the boy had become lost to the corruption. He wanted to do anything to help, sure, he wasn't the best at comforting others, but, he did want to be there for her, perhaps even find a way to help save her son. 'Maybe he's not too far gone yet...' he wondered.

"Hm..?" He snapped out of his thoughts as Avarius mentioned his chance to help arising, turning his head to see the approaching beasts, a small grin on his face. "Ah, I see, well, let's not keep the hunt waiting then, shall we?" With his expression hardening, he started to fire up his weapon, the whir of the belts inside of the machine warming up before a flurry of bullets started to fire towards the approaching group of beasts.

---

"Ah, forgive me dear Hunter..." Celena started, feeling a little bad that she forgot such a detail as this hunter carrying a child with her now. How long was she asleep to forget such a thing? She looked to the small child, her bright eyes shone like the stars that dared to break through the misty sky of the dream, it was quite beautiful. "Milk and tea? of course Dear Hunter." She was about to turn around to fetch the drinks before she gave a small gasp as the baby fell from the Hunter's arms, but she gave a sigh of relief when she saw one of the little creatures had caught the baby safely. She had started to kneel down to gently pat the baby's head, a small smile appearing on her face before she looked back up towards the Hunter, the tiniest spark of happiness dared to appear as the sound of the wheelchair came closer and Brudo appeared with the drinks in tow.

She naturally gave him a respectful bow before she gently closed her eyes, smiling as she received the pat on the head from him. "Ah, thank you for such kind words, Master Brudo." She said in a gentle tone, standing back up as she saw that Moon had picked up her child again and started to feed the baby with the milk. Giving a small smile as she watched the baby share the milk with the little demon creature who caught her.

"We are always happy to help dear Hunter." She said again as she stood by Brudo's side, awaiting any kind of order from either Moon or Brudo.

---

Avarius nodded gently as she looked down towards Rasticore's Gatling gun, she knew that if something needed to perish, his gun was the one to do the trick. She then shook it off and gently ran her fingers through her hair once more, lightly chuckling as she looked back towards him, gently resting her hands on her hips before she looked over towards the north, where Avarius Castle was. "Indeed..If ya were with me probableh would have attracted moor unwanted attention towards tha blue haired hoonter and her child. We really don want that now do weh?" She nodded again to his comment before she looked away towards the castle once more, shaking her shawl a little so that the bloodstains on the feathers glimmered a little in the moonlight. "Stoop with whatever yer thinkin, Rasticore..We've got company an now you can have yer moment." She took advantage of his gun whirring and firing, leaping up into the air, flaring out her black feathered shawl as she started to step onto the bullets as they fired, her arms spread wide with her blades in hand, slicing what beasts the bullets could have missed in the firing. Moments later it was dead silence once again, a small gasp for air escaped from her mask as she leaned herself against one of the brick walls next to a few of the corpses, wheezing a little as she reached into her small pack on her hip, pulling out another small vial. "Haa...Haha...Guess i'm startin' ta lose my touch..Normally I don't get hit so often noow..." She then injected the magic into her body to recover some of the health she had lost while fighting one of the bigger ones. "Least I wasn't fightin' with Marco again...He's a strong one he is..Pity..He was a hoonter alongside Thomas..They were..such great hoonters until they caved into magic..."

---

Moon gently reached down and gently started to stroke the baby's hair as she picked her up from the creature, lightly leaning herself against the wall that Celena resided. She gave a small glance up towards Celena and Brudo and how they reacted to each other, she found it a little cute in these darker times, but dared not say a word as she looked away and down at her baby. The baby's eyes were so beautiful, probably the most wonderful thing about her. It gave her hope, that maybe someday when she finished whatever she needed to finish, she would finally wake up and be with her baby in the living world. She ran her fingers through the baby's long silky blond hair. "Yes..Thank you, Celena...Brudo."

---

"Hmmgmmmm...That baby." Brudo stated as he looked down to it, a small exhale escaped his beak before he gently picked up Celena and set her in his lap, commenting towards Celena to hush and she didn't need to thank him for anything. He thanked her for being there for him when no one else would. He had a difficult job himself, but he made do with what he had, and Celena always made it worth the while with her calm demeanor and loving attitude towards him. He tried to remember the woman he based her off of, but now couldn't due to his old age, so he took Celena as Celena, and nothing more. He then shook his head and rested his feathered hands onto Celena's lap. "That baby will grow and be an exceptional hunter..." He gently wheeled himself towards Moon and the baby, who looked up at him with her sparkling eyes. His eyes widened a little as he stared at her a little more, causing her to giggle. He gave a small smile as best as he could that wouldn't scare her. It was nice to see some life again. He had a small flash in his mind of when his son was that small. He hadn't seen his son since he was younger. He shook it off slowly before he gently rested his head on Celena's back. contemplating if what he actually saw in her eyes was really what he saw.

'Did...Did I just see the Flora in her eyes...?'

---

"Hm.. very true..." he nodded, either that or they could have missed her entirely and the woman and child could be dead. He tried not to think about that as he returned his attention towards Avarius, blinking before he looked towards the group, happy to let his gun take fire on the magic addled beasts that approached them. He wastched as Avaruis used some of his bullets to make a quick run towards the beasts, slashing down the ones who didn't take much damage from his gun or those who she could see that he didn't. When all was clear he approached her to see her injecting herself with the controlled magic, a slightly concerned look appeared on his face. "Well, you did come out of one fight and directly into another without much time for rest..." he started before looking around. It all seemed nice and quet now, perhaps the other beasts were either far, or simply gone for now. He returned his attention back towards Avarius before he gave a small sigh. "Indeed. Those two were quite the duo, pity whatever it was that attacked them that day corrupted them... probably a fanicful idea, but, perhaps it's possible to find a way to return them to who they used to be? I don't recall if they've become full beasts or not, but... just maybe they're still just barely sane enough to come back..." he tilted his head, he knew deep down that, if anyone, the one she'd want to save most would be her own son, but, if small steps had to be taken, then perhaps seeing if Thomas and Marco could be returned would be first.

---

"Ah..! Master Brudo.." Celena was a little surprised to be picked up and placed into Brudo's lap, but she quickly regained herself and gave him a gentle smile. She knew he's been doing this for a long time, and she wished for nothing more than to be there for him as long as this dream lasted. Deep down, somehow, she couldn't quite place it, but she feared the end of the dream, if the dream ever ended, would she ever be able to stand by his side? She never said her mind in that aspect, she didn't want to worry or anger Brudo, she just simply smiled and nodded, accepting all he said to her gratefully. "I am sure she will be wonderful, perhaps even as wonderful as you dear hunter." she turned her attention back towards Moon and the baby, seeing what Brudo saw in the child's eyes, her eyes widening only slightly, but kept her tongue, if Brudo didn't say anything, then she wouldn't either. "She is beautiful, dear Hunter." she tilted her head a little, she knew that Brudo must be thinking about his own child with how he rested his hands on her lap and his head against her back, she knew she could never give him such a beautiful thing, something she was quite jealous of every woman for, but she gnetly shook her head, removing the envious thoughts from her mind.

"What is your little one's name dear Hunter?"

---

After the battle Avarius continued to lean against the brick wall, gently using her arm to shove the corpses to the side, wincing lightly. She shook it off and rested more, thankful that the moment was quiet, at least for now. She rather enjoyed the moonlight, when it wasn't inhabited, it had a nice satin white glow to it, it was calming to her. She gently leaned her head down to look up at Rasticore as he spoke, gently and slowly waving her hand.

"Haa...enough of that..Ah may be old..but ah know ah still have some fight within me..There'll be no more dreams for me..." She then gave a small chuckle, "Indeed..they were quite the pair...hgn...and it was probably the sewer dwellers....Or the dark ones...not sure myself.." She gently looked back down, turning around slightly so she could try and hoist herself back up with use of the wall. "Ah really like that idea, Rasticore..." Avarius began as she managed to ger herself back to her feet, gently wiping the blood off of her blades onto her feathered shawl once more. "If ah knew where they were I might try an find a way tuh convince them ta return back to normal..Granted..I fear we won't have mooch time..Especially with Marco.." She looked away for a moment, "He's an outsida'...Outsida's are very different when dealing with magic and i'm not sure how he's handling more surrounding him every day.." She started to walk towards the city, looking back to Rasticore, her eye shining a little as the moonlight hit her mask just right, "Come on now, stop quakin' in your boots..We've got work to do."

---

"I don't want my baby becoming a hunter, Brudo." Moon growled lowly as she stroked the baby's hair once more. She was tired of this hunting all the time, it was nothing but danger and death every where she went. "I'm going to raise her to be a proper young lady..She WON'T ever go outside of this dream..What good will being a hunter be outside of this dream...In the world of the living once again..Being a hunter is nothing but trouble...And my beautiful baby will bare no such burden."

---

"Moon...There's no going back until you've fulfilled your mission..Seeking the Pale Magic...Or have you forgotten.." Brudo replied a little sour, gently stroking Celena's hair to keep him from lashing out. He respected this woman, but found her incredibly stupid. He guessed she didn't realize that a baby born in this world, could never go back to the world of the living. And if that was the case, the baby would be alone with no parents to call her own. But he digressed, if this woman really wanted to leave the dream, he would be more than happy to oblige. He and Celena could raise the baby to be a wonderful hunter just as he did his son. "But if you insist...I could have you go back to the world of the living...I just can't guarantee how your body will react to having you back unfulfilled.." He hid a small smirk, gently reaching down for his scythe.

---

"Brudo.." Moon sighed deeply and snarled lightly to him, "I'm NOT having Star become a hunter! She will fulfill no such thing! You and your colleagues caused this mess..YOU can fix it...Am I wrong..?" Moon smirked a little down to Brudo, causing him to growl faintly. She noticed that Star was starting to tear up, her motherly instincts quickly taking over as she tried to quiet her soon enough crying child. "Oh hush little Star...You'll be fine.."

---

"...............Don't compliment her, Celena." Brudo growled lowly once more, speaking under his breath, his feathered fingers gently wrapping around his hidden scythe. He whispered to Celena, gently grabbing his scythe with his frail hand.

"We strike when she sleeps....Clearly she doesn't see what a mess she's caused as well..If she wants to try her luck in the living world..So be it. She doesn't deserve the child..despite it possibly being the spurious offspring of the Flora......You and I can raise her..as our own." He then gave her a small smile before resting his head on her back, coughing a little.

---

Rasticore gently shook his head, a small smirk lining his face before he got closer to Avarius. "Oh you're not that old Avarius, but true, neither of us will be dreaming again, after all, we finished our time in the dream, didn't we?" he gave her a small nod as he listened to her talk about Marco and Tom.

"If I had to guess, it was probably a dark one, with how tough they normally are they must've had a ton of old magic in them..." he gently shook his head, not knowing where the duo could have gone in the time since they last fought them. "Wish I knew, but, I would guess, if Thomas has any sanity left, he'd go to somewhere that had protection... somewhere with a lot of nullifying incense." He looked towards the City where Avarius was looking. Central Mewni, without a doubt, they were in there somewhere, perhaps close to the castle? he could only guess. It was when Avarius mentioned that Marco was an outsider that his good eye widened a bit. "Oh! that's right, he is isn't he? He looks similar to some of the mewmans around here, I almost forgot..." he nodded again, moving forward, and, despite knowing he would probably get slapped for it later, he picked up Avarius and carried her in one of his powerful arms, having her sit upon his forearm. "Yeah, work is never over for a hunter."

---

Celena remained quiet as Brudo and Moon seemed to argue, she knew she had little part in any input, she had only ever known the dream, and, from listening to what Moon wished for her child in this bleak world, confused her. How could a girl, raised much like herself, ever survive in the living world with how it is now? Did she not know that out there was the place she awaited with a higher chance of dying for good if she was removed from the dream? Moon's words confused her, but she listened to Brudo, his voice alone was enough to remind her to keep herself grounded in the dream, and feeling his hand stroke her hair made her give a small, if perhaps, vacant smile.

She kept looking towards the small child, who she just found out was named Star. It was a beautiful name, she thought, and seeing her cry seemed to stir something within herself. She wanted to hold the child, gently bob her on her knee until the child would laugh again, seeing tears forming in those bright, pure eyes seemed to anger her, and she couldn't fathom why. She could feel Brudo moving his hand slightly, he must be grabbing his hidden weapon he kept with him. She always stood by as he awoke hunters from the dream, but usually they had finished their duty, Moon would be the first to leave unfulfilled after the magic contract had been set. She did fear the words Brudo whispered to her for a moment, only because she was afraid of what would actually happen to the Hunter, would the magic overtake her, driving her insane and make her a beast? Would she heal, but slower? Would the magic outright kill her if the contract was broken? So many questions ran through her head before she focused on the rest of what Brudo had whispered to her.

Raising the child that could possibly be the living offspring of Flora? Not only that, raise her as their own? hearing him whisper those words to her made her eyes widen, and the strangest thing happened, she felt a small shining tear gently roll down her face, landing onto her dress as it crystallized almost instantly, creating a tiny, but dazzling clear gem. "...!"

---

"Ah'm older than you think..Don't give me that. But yes..Ah remember..When Brudo wanted to have me leave..But ah declined..More hoonters will be coming in..so more hoonters will need to be put in their place in case they go into a frenzy.." Avarius chuckled a little before she gave a small yip sound as she was lifted into Rasticore's arms and placed onto his forearm, growling faintly before she then leaned herself back onto his arm, crossing her arms a little. "Yer lucky ah can't hurt you.." She then chuckled lowly before running her fingers through her hair again, nodding to Rasticore. "That'd make the moost sense...And ah know there's a few places..Only safe place ah can really think of is the Magic Sanctuary...The one that was deticated to the fallen old one Glossaryck.." She blinked and rolled her eye playfully as she looked over and up to him. "Ya really forgot that Marco was an outsida..? Makes sense..He and Thomas were pretty mooch connected at the hip when he first came in..One would certainly believe Marco was Mewman..But ah was there when he first arrived..It was heartwarmin' seeing the big burly Thomas have a soft spot for someone like Marco.." She then chuckled again and looked forward, lowering her head a little as she gently reached into her shawl and lightly pulled out a small locket, sneaking a small peek inside it. It was a picture of a much younger version of her with a toddler Dennis in her arms, and one of the demon creatures on her shoulders. She felt a tear stream down her eye before she gently put it away and continued to look forward.

"Not at all...Hmmhmm.." Avarius quickly ceased her chuckling before she stood up on his forearm, gently stepping down in his arm a little before she looked up, her tail and feathers started to tense a little. Something ominous was filling the air, or at least, she felt something malicious fill the air. "Rasticore stop..Do...Do ya feel somethin...Is...is he returning..?"

---

Moon sighed again before she gently held Star close to her, lightly rocking her back and forth, frowning a little as Star cried more. She growled faintly and used one of her free hands to rub her temples, attempting to hum a small lullaby towards Star. "Star please...Do be quiet..I'm sorry." Moon sighed again and looked to Brudo, who returned her look with a growl and glare of his own. She sighed once more and then stood back up, shoving her way past him and Celena. "Well if you two won't help me..I'll try to find someplace here where she'll calm down."

---

"....Such a naive parent you are, Moon." Brudo said grumpily as he looked down to her, lightly closing his eyes to keep his anger to himself as she shoved past them, slightly losing the grip on his scythe. "Try being NICE to her...She's hungry...Have Celena make her something to--"

---

"I DON'T need your help, Brudo..." Moon hissed back at him before taking Star to the workshop, "I know she's hungry..I'm going to fetch some ingredients from the waking world."

---

Brudo's eyes widened, "You're taking your child to the waking world..ARE YOU DAFT?!" Brudo snarled loudly, gently holding Celena close as he placed his feathered fingers over her ears as to not make her deaf. "SHE WOULD BE AS GOOD AS DEAD. SHE'S FRESH MAGIC...A NATURAL ATTRACTANT FOR THE BEASTS AND ROGUE HUNTERS!! You realize you're asking for death...?!" He then gently uncovered Celena's ears. An aggravated sigh escaped his lips before his attention looked down at the clear gem that was now in Celena's lap. "Hmm? What's this?" Brudo raised a brow and gently reached down to pick it up. His eyes widened a little as he looked back to Celena. "Celena...this...you're...showing emotion..? This..this is a tear..." He gently turned her around on his lap, lightly gazing into her eyes. A gentle smile appeared on his beak. "So...You like the idea of raising a child, do you..? Don't worry, Celena...Soon enough.." He then looked over his shoulder to the workshop. "She doesn't know how to...We'll take her...What kind of Mewman risks a child's life in these times..." He sighed again before he blinked a little.

"....Flora..." He barely uttered, glancing back towards the workshop again, "Celena..we MUST cease the child's crying..I feel the Flora is becoming angry...Please..be a dear and fetch her for me, would you..?"

---

Rasticore gave a small chuckle, he had to agree, when Brudo wanted him to wake up he declined as well, though, he's fairly certain that Brudo thought him a madman, his never gave a reason to Brudo, probably making the man think him mad, but his reasons were more personal. He gave a small chuckle as Avarius gave her small yip and nodded in a 'I know' sort of way. He thought about it and nodded again. "Yeah, that would be the best place that I can see them going... I just hope that they got through the path. I remember there being a tunnel you could go through once, but now, I think that a powerful being guard it now, not sure if it's beast or sane though..." he gave a small shrug and chuckle, it was true, he did actually think Marco was a Mewman with how close he and Thomas were at all times, he almost wanted to suggest that the two might've been more than friends and a powerful duo, but it wasn't his place to assume things like that.

"Oh?" he tilted his head curiously, he nearly forgot that she saw just about everything that happened in Mewni, but his attention went to the small object she pulled out from her shawl, he couldn't see what she saw, but he felt a strong emotion come from her, so he wouldn't press for information, he already had an idea. =

He had stopped in his tracks, something felt wrong, and he noticed that she felt it too. "Yeah, I feel it. It has to be... and he's pissed about something..." he looked up as well, his eye narrowing to a slit as he saw the once white moon turn a garish yellow, a thin black pupil soon appearing as it stared below, scanning the area. Rasticore whispered a slight profanity before he kept himself steely still. "Be still Avarius, he's looking..."

---

Celena sat a little stunned, she had no idea what it was that just happened, somethign fell from her eye and turned into this beautiful crystal, she tilted her head a little before her attention went back towards the child, listening to Brudo as he mentioned that she was hungry. So, this cry means hunger, she took a mental note of that, memorizing the particular cry, trying to keep herself calm as she wished to take the child from Moon. She blinked for a moment when she suddenly felt Brudo's hands covering her ears, he was a lot louder than he usually ever is, she could still hear him even with his hands on her ears, but she didn't complain, he was looking out for her, which made her happy. She tried to pick out what he was saying, she didn't hear all of what he said when he covered her ears except for 'dead', 'fresh magic', and 'rogue hunters'. It didn't take long for her to realize that Moon was fully intending to take the child to the waking world. She was starting to fill with rage before she was turned around in Brudo's lap, soon looking right into his tired eyes, and seeing his smile, she couldn't help but smile too.

"I... I'm not sure... Master Brudo... but..." she let her voice lower to a whisper so only he could hear her. "I wish to care for the child... I feel... compelled to do so..." she started to look back towards the child before her eyes grew wide again, looking up, the sky had changed, it was darker now, and the moon looked different, was it her imagination? No, it couldn't be, Brudo felt something too. She looked back towards Brudo again and with a small nod she carefully removed herself from his lap and approached Moon, doing something she never knew she was capable of, she used the force of her elbow and jabbed Moon in the stomach, taking the slightest free moment of Moon's reaction to snatch the child away from her, walking back towards Brudo as any dutiful doll should, and carefully place the tip of her finger towards the childs mouth so she had something to suckle on for the moment, hoping that she could help cease the little one's crying, trying to ignore the fact that elbowing Moon had fractured her elbow.

"Forgive me, little one, you must be scared... we will care for you..."

---

From the perspective of the moon, a low growl, that almost came off as a hiss, echoed through the streets of Old Mewni, the eye that overtook the moon was scanning the area slowly, it heard a child crying. It heard its own child crying, and it enraged it. It wanted the child, his child, and he was going to make sure that nothing stood in his way.

---

"Ah know Brudo wanted me tuh wake up too..but I had to decline m'self for the hoonters..Ah've seen what the frenzy does to them..Ah can't let it happen....not anymore.." she gave a small defeated sigh before she gently shook it off and then continued to stand on Rasticore's arm, lowering her voice to a whisper. "Tha guard yer rafferin' too's a beast..Heavyset one at that..Believe they called themselves Solarans...Ah know Mina Loveberry became one ah those.." She gently gripped onto his scarf-cape with her free hand as the other rested inside her shawl, watching the moon with intensity. "....Ah..I figured as such.." she took in a small breath as she watched the eye look around, blinking a little to why he just showed up out of seemingly nowhere. This place had been deathly silent for hours now. "...What ah want tuh know is..Why's he comin' now..there isn't anyone here but us..Perhaps the bloodshed or the magic leakage...?"

---

"How would you know how to raise a child..? I don't see any reason you would have had one..Haven't you been here longer than anyone..Wouldn't your child be here..with you?" Moon growled lowly again as she poked her head out from the workshop, still trying to quiet Star. "Besides Brudo..It wouldn't have been the first time I took her out to the waking world..That..was by mistake though."

---

Brudo snarled loudly before he glared daggers to Moon in the distance, his fangs bared slightly as he covered Celena's ears once more. "
YOU THINK BECAUSE I'M STUCK IN THIS CHAIR I WOULDN'T HAVE HAD A FAMILY..IS THAT IT, MOON?!" He then held himself back, his hands quaking a little before he looked away, "I...I do happen to have a child of my own..He's older now..Not sure where he is..Might be alive...Might be dead...But he...He was a brilliant hunter. Fast like his mother, accuracy like his mother, but his power came from me. He aims to kill..." He then gave a another small sigh, "Granted I would have preferred to him NOT choosing the Chikage..but I digress." He looked up and realized Moon wasn't even listening at this point. This caused him to growl lowly, gently removing his hands from Celena's head again before his attention went back to her, his demeanor had changed again. "...Ahhah...Of course you do, Celena..You were modeled after a fine motherly woman..Granted...I don't remember the woman anymore...I'm...I'm glad..there's life within you.." He gave her a genuine smile, lightly pulling her into a small hug. "I hope you continue to show such emotions towards me." He looked up as well, shaking his head again before releasing her. "Yes..Quick, get the child." Brudo watched her leave towards the workshop, a smug grin spread across his face as he heard Moon fall to the floor. He gently wheeled himself towards the two ladies and then blinked a little as he eyed Celena's shoulder. "Dear me...Celena that fractured you...Come to me..I'll fix you." Brudo said calmly as he then looked to Star, who was thankfully starting to stop her crying as she suckled on Celena's finger, but was stirring a little because she wasn't actually being fed.

"Fret not, Celena..Here." Brudo gently wheeled himself up to the workshop and opened a small cabinet, "I have some food she can have..It looks like mush..but it'll help her." He gently opened the box and approached the two, gently taking Celena to sit her on his lap. Star was looking at both of them, her eyes shined a little reflecting the moonlight that hit the dreamscape. He gently spoon fed her with a small sigh.

"There's no denying it, Celena..." Brudo spoke quietly as he ran his feathered fingers through Celena's hair, "This is the Flora's child..I can see the reflection of his eye in hers..No doubt he'll be wanting her." He grumbled more, but happily fed Star while Celena held her, thankful that Star was starting to cheer up.

---

Rasticore gave a small nod, he had to agree, he may still be only a beast hunter, however, he had recently started to go after magic addled hunters with Avarius, it wan't a pleasant experience, however, if they didn't go after them, then those hunters would go unchecked, then those hunters would attack anything that moved, even innocence. He tilted his head a little as she mentioned the Solarians, he gave a small nod. "Ah, right... I almost forgot that they existed, they're so few and far between..."

He lets his attention stay upon the eye, staring, almost challengingly, towards the Moon sized eye. "I don't know... But if it was either of those wouldn't he have appeared before now?" he gently shook his head, it didn't make sense to him at all, the beasts were still, only him and Avarius were around as far as he could tell, the last living being he could remember was. "Wait... do you think he's for the blue-haired hunter? she had a child with her, and surely a child would attract anything, even him I would dare to think..."

---

Celena sat in Brudo's lap a little curious as he covered her ears again, but she had started to realize that he only did that when he was getting ready to shout, and she was grateful that he cared for her enough to protect her, it made her give a small smile.

After she retrieved the child she was grateful to return to Brudo's side, and happy that little Star had stopped crying for the moment, though she tilted her head when she looked to the mush that Brudo had retrieved. Happy to be back in his lap she watched carefully as he fed her, wanting to become a good figure to raise the child, she would learn, and she would not make the same mistakes that Moon herself admitted to doing. She could not train the child to hunt much like Brudo would be able to, but she still know she could do plenty of things that might be helpful to the child's growing. She listened as Brudo made mention to Flora, seeing the same reflection in Star's eyes as he did, before something struck her as curious.

"Perhaps, but... Master Brudo," she started as something told her to look towards the moon. "That reflection you mention, I do not think it is simply just that... Her eyes had shown the moon proper earlier this night, and now, his eye is showing, not only in hers, but..." she carefully moved her free, albeit fractured, arm towards the sky. "The Moon. The Moon has changed."

She ended up lowering her arm after the moment, it hurt to keep it moving as such, but she would never complain about it, there were more important things to her than her elbow, namely, the will of Brudo, and the happiness of the child. She turned her attention back towards Star and gave a small smile, gently stroking her blonde hair as she ate.

---

"Well not surprising.." Avarius commented after making mention of the Solarians, "When Lady Solaria was still an active hoonter she made unnatural hoonters..Especially Lady Mina..Poor girl..never stood a chance." She then gave another small sigh as her attention continued to look up towards the moon, chuckling as she glanced behind her to Rasticore, gently tapping his arm. "Aah...Wantin' to try yer luck on fightin' the Flora, Rasticore..? Ah know that look in yer eye..But ah wouldn't recommend it..But yes...He would have..Which is why I find to strange he's about.." She pondered a moment before giving a small nod, "Aah..That could be it. Woonder what the Flora wants with the blue haired hoonter..? ...! Y-You don't think..." She looked away for a moment, shaking her head. "Ah no no...That'd be impossible wouldn't it? Only Great old one ah've ever known to have a child and then have it live is..But...It...could be possible..?" She continued to mutter to herself, remembering that technically Brudo was the Flora's surrogate child, so she dismissed the idea of the hunter's baby being his. "Well..it matters not. Let's be wary.."

---

After feeding Star and listening to what Celena said about Star's eyes and the moon, he gave a quick glance upward, his eyes widening slightly as he noticed that the scenery seemed to change. He mumbled to himself before starting to grab a few things to work on Celena's arm as she continued to care for Star. "Never you mind that, Celena." Brudo grumbled a little as he started to patch up her arm, a gentle smile on his face as he looked to her. "If she is the true daughter of the Flora..Then we must care for her still...Train her to become the ultimate hunter so that this nightmare can end..At least...For us." He gently held her close as he then looked down at Star as she giggled up at the two. It was a nice feeling for him to have a child in his arms again, even nicer with a woman he genuinely cared for at his side. He gave a small grumbled huff before gently wheeling himself back outside to get a better look at the moon.

"So...you've come back, have you..It's been a while, Flora.." He gave a small laugh as he then gently picked up Celena and placed her on her brick wall. "Well sorry to say..Your prey will be leaving...TONIGHT. She's a burden to us hunters..." He smirked gently before reaching down to grab his Scythe, pulling it out as he slowly rose to his feet. "Actually...." He looked up to Celena, "Celena...Take yourself and her to the other side of the dream for a moment...I...don't want her innocent eyes to witness what i'm about to do."

---

"What happened to the girl?" Rasticore asked, letting his eye return to normal as he turned his attention back towards Avarius. She was right, he shouldn't stare directly at the Moon when it was like that, only fools would try to challenge a Great Old One, especially one like Flora. "Ah, you're right, sorry, I suppose... I almost lost myself for a moment. I'm glad I have you by my side Avarius. I'd no doubt be dead if it weren't for you."

He nodded again, listening to what she had to say about the matter of Flora, his attention perking as she mentioned a child of the Old One. "If it's possible, then I wouldn't put it past Flora to have one of it's own... though... now I wonder if it was a good idea to send the woman, and the child, to the dream. Wouldn't Flora..." have a better chance of getting to them from there? he thought as he cut himself short. He tentitively looked back towards the lantern, currently useless to him and Avarius, but, if that child truly did belong to Flora, and if the dream was also Flora's then, what could truly happen? He didn't want to think about it as he looked back towards Avarius, his eye growing wide as he saw a figure slowly rise up from the ground, a low hiss-like growl emerging from the creature as it rose, but, thankfully, it seemed to be looking away from them, perhaps it didn't really know they were there. ".!! Is that...?"

---

Celena listened to every word Brudo said as he fixed her arm, a small smile on her face as she saw him smile at her. She gave a small nod as she used her free arm to gently rest her hand on Star's cheek, running her thumb over the smooth, undamanged skin that this child had. She nodded again before a realization came to her. Brudo wanted to end the nightmare, but was the nightmare the hunt, the dream or all of it? She was afraid of the answer, because, by the end if it, any of those would no doubt lead to her own demise. But she tried not to show any such fear to Brudo, he was happy for the first time in what seemed like an eternity, and she did not want that to break because of her own selfish fears.

She let herself get moved to her usual place on the wall, a small smile on her face before she heard Brudo speakign to the Moon, she looked up as well to see that the moon seemed to blink before it faded away, the misty white returning before she returned her attention towards Brudo once again, looking at the large, imposing scythe he always kept with him before she nodded. The child didn't need to see the blood that was due to come when he forced the blue-haired hunter to the waking world. "ah, of course, Master Brudo. Innocent eyes should not see the dark thruths of this world... not while she's so young..." Carefully getting back up, she carried Star to the other side of the dream, setting the child down to play with the small white flowers and little creatures that inhabited the dream. "All will be alright little one. You will grow to be a fine hunter, and these little ones, they will help you too."

---

"Ya don't know..? Lady Mina was one of Solaria's first experiments..Using that abandoned clinic to try an force old blood unto her. It was a success..but brought Solaria to her own demise...now Lady Mina rests..sumwhere..seeking more blood..One of the many hoonters I have yet to find.." she shook her head gently before lightly stepping off of his arm. "It's fine, Rasticore..That's why you and I are in this togetha." She gently reached into her shawl and took out her blade, quickly slapping it against her leg so that it split in two, she pondered a minute what he was saying and shrugged lightly, "Ah don't...really know that one...Ah just--...?!" Her feathers stood on end as she looked to where Rasticore was, watching as the same figure that rose out of the ground started to emerge, a quiet growl escaped her beak as she stood at the ready just in case.

"...Ah'm...Ah want to say so...but...Just...be on yer guard, now." She started to watch the figure like a hawk, her eyes never leaving it. 'If it is you, Flora...Toffee...What are you planning...?'

---

"Thank you, Celena. Don't worry..." Brudo gave her another small smile before staggering his way up the stairs to approach Moon, who was trying to get up after being elbowed. "I'll make this quick.."

---

Moon finally arose to her knees and looked up to see Brudo out of his wheelchair, her eyes widened greatly as she wanted to stand up and fight back, but the pain was too much from Celena's force. "Hng! B-Brudo! What are you--?"

---

"Enough, Moon..." Brudo snarled down to her, lightly sighing a little before he looked back to her, tilting his head, "You know...You could have been...a great hunter..But...Your desire is to return to the living world..I'll grant you such a request.." He then held his scythe high, showing no mercy as he slashed down with a quick and blunt force. Silence filled the area, no screams, no anything. "........" Moments later, a rather lightly blood stained Brudo appeared from the workshop, gently reaching into his pocket to retrieve a small handkerchief to wipe some of the blood away from his face. It was done. The blue haired hunter was no more. He quickly made his way outside to see if the child was still in Celena's care, and much to his pleasure, she was. He staggered down the steps as he then carefully put himself back in his wheelchair, panting a little as he then rolled his way over to Celena and the now playing Star.

"It's finished...Moon is no longer dreaming.." He gave a small disgruntled sigh before looking back down to Star, who was happily playing with the creatures before looking up at both of them, seeing the moon reflected in her eyes. He paused a moment and blinked twice, the moon was...back to normal? He shook it off a little before smiling back to Celena. "Thank you, Celena." he lightly coughed a little before sighing once more. "Perhaps...I will have this little hunter take my place in future..So you and I...can retire here in the dream..."

---

Rasticore lightly shook his head, the affairs of Mewmans were largely not of his direct concern before the hunt really started to affect everyone and everything, so he never even knew of Solaria until now. He listened as she mentioned the abandoned clinic, his tail siwshing a little before he gave a small smile. "I see, well, when we do find her, we'll help her sleep, the poor girl shouldn't have to suffer in this life anymore, and we'll be the ones to do it."

He looked back towards the figure, his tail stiffening as he tried to keep himself from instinctually trying to attack the presence that was before them, but he kept his gun at the ready, much as Avarius kept her blades ready. "Yeah... Thankfully... it doesn't seem concerned with us right now..." 'but what is it concerned with to have come down?'

---

The creature had finally finished forming, it melted body had started to look around, a low hiss had escaped from it's ever open jaw before it sharply turned it's head towards Avarius and Rasticore, the slit pupil of it's only working eye seemed to have become a paper thin line as it stared at them, gurgling something completely incoherent to them, as the language of a Great One was completely maddening to any normal living being.

He continued to stare at the two before his eye returned to it's normal slit before it gurgled something again, turning its attention towards the lanturn, and anger seemed to be spiking from it, causing its form to bubble as his teeth shone in the pale moonlight as it dragged itself towards it. Whatever it was after, it wasn't Avarius or Rasticore.

---

Celena continued to watch as Star played with the creature, listening as Brudo completed the task he gave himself, thus waking up the blue-haired hunter, which she was grateful herself that the woman would no longer try to force an unfit will upon the small child. She gave a small smile, glad that it didn't seem to affect the child, as she feared that removing the parent could potentially remove the child, but perhaps it was because it happened in the dream? She pondered that for a moment before she shook her head, the sound of Brudo's wheelchair made her smile as she turned around, glad to see that he was alright.

"Welcome back Master Brudo. The little one is safe." she said at first before letting herself rise, confident in that the demon-like creature that seemed particularly interested in Star would keep her company as she went to his side. "It is always my pleasure to serve you." she said, almost regrettably in an automatic way, and this showed, she seemed to be concerned that she said it in such a way, the tiniest of frowns appearing on her face. "Ah... forgive me..."

She tilted her head a little as he mentioned perhaps letting the child be the new guardian of the dream and retiring together. The idea of spending the rest of her time with him made her smile again, causing another strange thing to happen again as her face started to color with a slight blush. With the color adding to her face, she became quite confused as heat also seemed to come along with it, making her gently move her hand towards her cheek. She was feeling happiness, but what was this new feeling that came along with it? and why was she suddenly feeling quite warm in the face, she had no idea, but she looked towards Brudo, hoping he might know what was going on. She had never felt or been able to show such signs before, so why now, all of a sudden, was her body acting more alive than it ever had?

---

Avarius nodded gently as Rasticore made a mention that if they ever met Mina again they would put her to rest. A small smile on her beak, knowing the old Mina, before meeting Solaria, would have enjoyed the calm. But she digressed and shook out of it, chuckling softly as she went to perch herself on his shoulder. "That's why you 'ave me here, Rasticore." she spoke quietly before gently grabbing one of her blades from her shawl, gently twirling it around in her fingers as her attention. "But ah agree..If we do find Mina Loveberry again..You an I will send her home." She then watched the figure as Rasticore did, her tail stiffening a little before it calmed, wondering also what has the Flora distracted. She flinched gently as the creature stared at them and it's pupil changed, the feathers on her shawl flickering a little before she paused a moment and tilted her head as she watched the Flora with the lantern, blinking twice. "Odd...It seems tuh be after the lantern..or perhaps...someone within the lantern...?" She then ran her claws through her hair.

"Well let's not waste anymore time tremblin' in our boots.." She snickered before looking back up to Rasticore, gently pointing her blade forward.

"If we're to try an' stop the beast, we're going to need some help...And...Ah need to see if Marco and Tom can be saved..Care to take us to Central Mewni to check if he's...'at the shop?'"

---

Star continued to play with the creature, gently placing it on her head like a hat. This caused her to giggle cutely as the creature started to play with her long moonlit blond hair. She could feel the creature put it on it's head like a hat. Perhaps the creature wanted a hat? Her attention then went over as Brudo approached, smiling again before she then looked back up to Celena. She really liked these two people, she had no idea who they were, but she felt safe. She watched as the two spoke, lightly tilting her head a little as she noticed the blush on Celena's face. Her eyes sparkled again as she made a playful coo noise, gently crawling up Celena's dress and into her lap, the creature still in her hair. She rested herself back onto Celena and continued to make happy baby babbling sounds. Brudo finished wheeling himself towards Celena and now the baby Star in her lap. He gave a weak smile and chuckle as he rested his feathered fingers on Star's head, avoiding the creature. "You'll hunt beasts good and proper someday..Heh heh..Butterfly of the Astral Clocktower." He then paused a moment. That seemed kind of random to him, the Astral Clocktower? Why did he make mention of that old place? He shrugged it off but then looked back to Celena, his eyes widening a little as he noticed her blush as well. "Celena...." He said through his raspy voice, gently standing up from his wheelchair and approached her, gently resting his hands on her face, gently turning her head a little both ways as he then pulled her in close to him, resting his chin on her head. "You're...You're blushing, Celena." Brudo commented as he then gently pulled away, resting his hand on her cheek. "You're getting to be more lifelike...Wonderful." He lightly then looked back down to Star, looking back to her. "Haha...Good thing I got rid of Moon," he replied to himself, sitting himself down back into his wheelchair, "The babe here is doing you some good.." He gave a small cough before his attention went to one of the gravestones where Moon's grave was placed, something sparking had caught his attention. He wheeled himself over to it and looked down at what the creature was holding, it was the Rakuyo that Moon had left behind. "Aaahhhh..Excellent." Brudo mumbled to himself before wheeling over to Celena and Star, the Rakuyo gripped in his hand. "She'll make a fine hunter,yet." Brudo then smiled again before looking back to Celena. "My dear...keep watch of her, will you? I'm going to fix up this weapon of hers...Perhaps put in some magic shards and runes..."

---