Truth or Dare

James nodded to Edward, and, noticing the reactions of the others, stepped in front of them all to lead the way to the source of light.

"Hello, out there! Who's there?" he called out, waving the bag of marshmallows in the air a few times, hoping it could be seen in the dark.

Schadel perked up when she heard James's voice cut through the darkness. Still holding Engel close to her, she burst out into the clearing and grinned when she saw her siblings standing before her. "Hi!" she eagerly said, instinctively switching from German to English. "We found you!"

She plopped Engel down on the ground next to her, then immediately ducked behind the boy - despite their differences in size - when she noticed Edward and his teddy bear nearby.

James smiled and waved, glad that they were all reunited again. "Hi sister! Hi brother!" He looked back at the others, waving a hand for them to draw close. "I made a path with these things to go back to the camp." He pointed again, to the faint dots of white on the forest floor. "Come, follow me!" he said, before leading the way.

"Oh! It's only Schadel and Engel." Damascus sighed and smiled in relief, pulling Boris by the hand as he followed the marshmallow path. Every few steps, he would bend over and scoop up a marshmallow to eat.

Thank God, it was Schadel and Engel! They were fine, Damascus was fine, everyone had been reunited, and even though some of the others had been so frightened, it would all be fine.

Just like Boris had known all along.

Engel unsteadily walked over to the rest of the group, smiling. "Hallo!
Ich bin so froh, dass es Ihnen gut geht! Du hattest mir Sorgen gemacht." (Hello! I'm so glad that you're all alright! You had me worried.)

Schadel immediately straightened when Engel moved away, suddenly realizing just how silly she looked trying to hide behind someone who was so much smaller than her. She instead settled with going as far away from Edward as possible as she could when she fell into step beside James. Before long, she was leading the way back to the clearing.

Edward was left feeling very confused when Schadel noticed him and then promptly ignored him - he had wanted to apologize for worrying her when they got separated, but she was deliberately trying to avoid him. He frowned and bit his lip. Had he really made her mad by getting lost?

"James says we should go back now," Schadel said. She repeated the comment in several different languages, serving as the impromptu translator they all desperately needed.

Engel nodded in agreement. "Ja, ich glaube er ist richtig," he agreed. (Yes, I think he's right.)

Damascus sighed a bit in relief when Schadel said something he could understand.

"Wonderful idea! And great job with the fluffy squares, James. You saved as all from getting lost." He sent James an encouraging smile, forgetting yet again that his words wouldn't be understood.

James wasn't sure of what anyone was really saying, but smiled and nodded at Damascus as they followed his path of food. Fortunately for them, they didn't stray too far from the camp, and he quickly saw the light of the campfire come back into view. Eagerly, he hurried forward, waving to urge the others to come with him.

The light of the campfire revealed a horned, pitch black, leathery skinned Damascus. No wonder he'd been so difficult to find in the dark!

"You do have horns!" Boris said to Damascus, in awe and excitement.

"Will they grow bigger, when you get older?" he asked, not bothering to think over wether this question might be impolite.

Damascus beamed proudly and reached up to feel them. They had only started budding recently, and his exitement was still raw.

"Oh, I hope so!" He grinned broadly, his eyes lighting up. "I want them to get huuuuge and curly, just like-!"

He paused, hands still held far above his head, and his smile faltered for a moment. 'Just like Molleck,' he had been on the verge of saying. He remembered then that he didn't want to be like Molleck any more. Torn, he frowned at the ground.

"They'll probably get much bigger." He finished, his tone strainted. He still didn't want his horns to be small forever, did he?

Edward admittedly gave a startled cry when he saw what Damascus truly looked like in the light of the campfire, instinctively diving behind Schadel's leg. He peeked around it at his demonic brother. He knew it was really rude to be afraid, but the darkness of the forest had done a great job at hiding Damascus's true appearance. And Edward, who had only seen nonhuman people in the form of Schadel so far, was absolutely terrified at seeing something so different.

He felt a shadowy hand touch his back. "It's okay, Edward," Schadel comforted him. He looked up at her. She was currently trying to look everywhere but down at him, which was giving him mixed messages. "Damascus isn't scary!"

He wanted to retort that Schadel was a living being of darkness and therefore was used to creepy things, but he managed to bite his tongue.

Why was Edward still like this? His fright had been understandable, sympathetic to a point, but it had gone on for too long and now Boris just found him annoying.
And he worried that it was making Damascus feel self conscious.

"Good grief," said Boris, irritably. "Damascus is different, when will you get over it? Everyone else has."

His tone changed to something meaner.
"Let's hope you never meet anybody with red hair or a wooden leg- the shock could kill you."

Edward's lip quivered, and he took a step out from behind Schadel with William clutched tightly to his chest. "It's not...It's not like that," he protested, casting a look over in Damascus's direction. He quickly averted his gaze. "I'm sorry, Damascus...I didn't mean to hurt your feelings..."

He wisely went over to the very edge of the clearing, so much so that he was partially sitting in darkness.

Schadel awkward glanced between Boris, Damascus and Edward, but ultimately didn't go anywhere because she wasn't sure what to do.