"I was told to come back. Even though this isn't my home…This place is just where Noomie was left." Darkmoon answered as she started to read the magix book on the couch of the living room.
Trapsul nods. "When will you be leaving again? Are you going to take Noomkard this time?"
Darkmoon sighs and looks at male that was standing under the archway to the hallway and puts the book away in a pocket dimension she created with magix. "I'll be leaving the village in a couple days… I want to find my other brother… since he disappeared someplace with my father before the war started…," she lets out a sigh, "Anyways, I'll stop by tomorrow for breakfast and to hang out again."
"Alright… Well you'll get to meet my little brother tomorrow too and see how our dynamic in this house works. Night Darkmoon." The blonde lightly chuckled before disappearing down the hallway to his room. Darkmoon watched Trapsul leave before she left the Ace family home with a smile.
The sun was setting already as she walked back to the training area to grab her items; which she almost forgot about again, before she headed to the inn where there were other customers eating dinner, drinking ale, or just enjoying the music. She made her way to the second floor of the inn and hummed with the music that played. She guessed Schattenflügel had gone to bed since she didn't see his unique albino head amongst the customers downstairs. She went to her room and just laid on her bed, falling asleep instantly from the crazy day she had.
---
A new day came with a super early start. Darkmoon was waiting in the lobby of the inn for Schattenflügel to meet with her, humming a similar lullaby to Noomkard when he was cooking last night. Soon, Schattenflügel came running down the stairs and over to the short statured woman that was waiting for him while he was attaching his prosthetic left arm that connected to his shoulder She didn't look to have gotten much sleep last night but her new outfit, a short black dress with a moon emblem on the bodice and shorts underneath the skirt, seemed to express why she's fatigued.
Upon seeing her, Schattenflügel let out a short chuckle before asking, "Is today special? That dress is new and you look tired." He points out. She didn't say anything at first due to a yawn that left her mouth before she giggled. "I'd rather divert your attention from my tiredness to my goddess-like beauty." She joked, "But if you have a problem with it. You can go grab a cloak for me, which I doubt I'll need." Darkmoon added as she wasn't bothered by her new outfit then opened the front door of the inn. "Now come on. There are some people you have to meet."
"The guards?" Schattenflügel asked as he headed outside first and Darkmoon followed.
The tired dark red- brunette shakes her head no as she starts to walk out of the inn and toward Trapsul's house. Schattenflügel followed close behind her, full of curiosity, as he looked around the slowly waking village. He was in slight awe of the buildings, which were vastly different from buildings of his home that were always made of clay, ecurps logs, and dense moss. Eventually, Darkmoon had stopped walking and was looking behind her at Schattenflügel, only to get sent to the ground thanks to her childhood friend not paying attention.
"Schatten! Watch where you're going…" She whimpered as she slowly got up before Schattenflügel picked her up to help her.
"Sorry, Darkymoo. I was amazed by the cobelnite and wooden details of these dens." Schattenflügel smiles warely before a laugh is heard from behind the small female that was now standing once again.
"I didn't know that Darklings could be so clumsy." Joked a familiar voice from behind her.
Darkmoon was quick to share her pouts with the male behind her. "What do you want, Aros?" she asked. Aros laughed a bit more as he saw her pouting expression. "I'm just on my morning rounds. May I ask you, where are you two headed?" He spoke innocently towards the princess.
"To Trapsul's home." Darkmoon spoke before she rudely walked away from the two males.
Schattenflügel shared a quick, rather blunt, word with Aros before he followed after Darkmoon. Soon, she walks up to Trapsul's house and knocks on the door knowing Noomkard would be awake by now as Schattenflügel looks at the maroon painted house. "So different…" he'd whisper as he stood behind Darkmoon once more. 2 minutes later, Noomkard opens the door and Darkmoon instantly gives her white haired fraternal twin a big hug while her tail slides down from underneath her skirt to further express her joy. The two hugged for a while before they both went inside.
"Schatten, come on. Let's get some breakfast." Darkmoon chirped happily toward Schattenflügel, who stood at the doorway, while she slightly followed Noomkard to the kitchen. Schattenflügel eventually went inside before stopping in the fully furnished living room, seeing the unclean bookshelves of the many books the Ace family had collected over the many generations.
Meanwhile in the kitchen, three other men sat at a breakfast bar that Noomkard went behind once they entered. The three other males were: Trapsul, A brunette teen who was chatting with him and was bigger in build than Trapsul then lastly a male who looked similar to Max if the blonde human had shorter and light brown hair.
Darkmoon slowly made her way to Noomkard, which caught the attention of the others. "Good morning, Darkmoon." Trapsul chirped as he looked at her. Her only response was a small tired smile. "Did you not sleep well?" The teen sitting next to Trapsul asked, to which he got a nod in response. Soon, Schattenflügel walked into the kitchen with a book in hand. "Darkymoo, come look at this book! It's just like--." The albino paused in his tracks once he saw the four men, only one of which he knew due to Darkmoon hugging him earlier. Darkmoon tilts her head before walking over to Schattenflügel as she notices how he was starting to tremble from everyone looking at him.
"Schatten, let's go back to the living room." Darkmoon whispered in a caring tone towards her scared friend. Schattenflügel nods and goes back to the living room where he sits down in a chair while Darkmoon follows to stand behind his chair to look at what Schattenflügel wanted to show her. Back in the kitchen, Noomkard finished cooking and placed the food on plates, each plate filled equally then three of the plates are given to the three at the breakfast bar.
"So who was that?" The teen questioned, "Was that your sister or-?", which was directed at Noomkard.
"Definitely his sister and her name is Darkmoon. That guy with her is a mystery though." Trapsul was quick to answer for Noomkard as he didn't pay attention to the question while he was busy making sure Darkmoon and Schattenflügel got a plate.
"She is Bea-u-ti-full.~" Cooed the light brunette, who stuffed a piece of bacon in his mouth afterwards.
"Jax, really? I'm pretty sure that albino guy is her boyfriend." Trapsul rolled his eyes towards the light haired brunette and his comment towards Darkmoon in the other room.
"What if they aren't dating, brother?" The darker brunette asked Trapsul with an eagerness towards the blonde he called brother.
"I doubt she would be so, you know, willing to be around us with a were-beast as a lover." The man called Jax from earlier says towards the teen before Noomkard questioned what the three males were talking about.
"Your sister, these two are wondering if she's dating that albino or if she's just friends with him." Trapsul responded for the other two, who were looking at Noomkard.
"Uh…Just friends?" Noomkard questioned as he didn't know himself, "I'm not sure my sister is looking for a lover right now as it is. Whaaat brought this up?"
Trapsul and the teen looked at Jax then back at Noomkard. "He called your sister beautiful." The brothers spoke in unison. Noomkard was surprised by what the two siblings had said before he looked at Jax himself and got a shrug from the light brunette.
"Eh… I was only saying what's true."
"Just keep your deeper meanings to yourself. I do need m–" Noomkard was interrupted by the sounds of giggling as Darkmoon returned to the kitchen with two plates in her hands and looked at Noomkard. "He just wanted to compliment me and yes I'm not taken.." She giggled before ruffing the top of Noomkard's head. "If you want I can shift into my male counterpart." she jokes and Noomkard shakes his head no violently.
As that happened, Trapsul's sibling stands up and pushes his plate close to the other side of the breakfast bar. "I should be going. I have some trade runs to do. It was nice seeing you guys and a pleasure meeting you, Darkmoon. I'll see you all in about 4 weeks? Maybe."
Trapsul gets a side hug from the teen and smiles. "Be safe, okay? And definitely bring back new books from your trading routes." The teen smiles and nods before he walks out into the living room to greet Schattenflügel, they trade names, then he leaves saying goodbye loud enough to be heard from the front door. Once the door shut after the teen, Darkmoon looked at Noomkard and giggled. "Now I'm curious. Who was that? What was your life like growing up?"
Noomkard looked at his sister and shared a giggle with her before he sat down in the now vacant seat. "Well that was Trapsul's little brother, Mørk sjel."
Then Jax sighed. "And as for them growing up? They were clingy and chaotic. All three of them. Nothing they did was without the other."
Trapsul would laugh at Jax's depiction of him, Noomkard and Mørk sjel, "We were not chaotic. You just didn't like to play with us and you still don't."
"That's because you three weren't entertaining but Darkmoon on the oth–" Jax was stopped by Noomkard's hand slapping the light brunette's mouth before he could finish what he was going to say.
Darkmoon bursts into laughter as she looks at Jax and Noomkard while shaking her head. "I'm pretty sure it was adorable." She even imagined a toddler Noomkard, a toddler Trapsul along with a baby Mørk picking on a child Jax just so they all could play together, which only makes her laugh more. After a long 10 minutes of Darkmoon laughing, Jax had to leave to go do his work which was anything he felt like doing.
Once Darkmoon calmed down she sighed in relief. "Okay. I'm done laughing." She giggled before looking at Noomkard. "Now I want to know…Is Darksilver alive? and has he visited you guys? It has been 12 years since I last saw him."
Noomkard's smiling face grew dim at the name 'Darksilver'. "H-He has…" He gulps as he grows nervous, "Bu-but…" He continued stuttering as he couldn't find his words out of fear of his now twin brother, which made Trapsul sigh and pull Noomkard into a hug.
"Darkmoon... Your other twin is alive and he does visit but… When he does, he's only looking for you…. And for the past 12 years he has become…. Well he isn't who you remember. He has hurt Noomkard because of his growing impatience for finding you."
Darkmoon looks at Trapsul in confusion. "Why? What happened to him?"
Trapsul shrugs as he pets Noomkard's head, "We don't know why or what happened. I do know it had something to do with your looney father wanting you two to fight against each other." He explains to Darkmoon then adds. "Aros, Soul and Max do protect the village when that twin comes to visit so you don't have to worry about that part."
"At least he's alive..." Darkmoon spoke under her breath as she started to think about everything she was told. She remembers her father, King Kris, training Darksilver to be "stronger than her" at a young age. Sadly, Darkmoon knew the outcome of the fight between her and Darksilver…..… SHE WOULD BE THE WINNER. Soon, Darkmoon leaves the kitchen as tears run down her cheeks from the thought of having to reunite with her other twin by drawing blood. She quickly went over to the dusty bookshelves to look for a spell book as she wanted to see if Darksilver was under a spell and knew her father's favorite spell due to reading about it while being locked in a cell.
—
"In a forest far North of Phynox: Unknown Forest"
In the depths of the forest, a red- brunette young man is on his knees in front of a dark oakton tree, which inside this tree was another much older man who is covered by the shadows of the natural archway. "Father." The young man called out respectfully to the shadow covered male.
"My son.~" cooed a bone chilling voice that seemed to scare the nearby creatures of the forest and made even the leaves shiver. "Have you found her?" Asked the same voice that seemed to be demanding an answer as the owner of the voice leans forward, revealing his face in the light of the sun. The man looked to be at least 40 years old with hair like the young man's and Darkmoon's, a dark brown with a red ombre from the bottom but with gray streaks peppered in and it was pulled back into a long frizzy french braid. The younger man shakes his head no which moves his hood off his head to reveal a set of horns he hid alongside his short hair. "No, Father. I have failed to find her." The younger one answered.
"Do you know her location?" The man who was once a king asked and got a nod in return to his question.
"Of course, Father. She's in the same rebuilt village as Noomkard. The one rebuilt as Phynox after mother's death."
An evil grin grew on the older man's face as he liked the answer he was given. "Go then. Challenge her for the title of strongest, my son.~" He cooed in bliss and sat back in his wooden "throne" being covered by the shadows once more. "Return to me with her body when you win."
The younger male nods as he stands up with a smile just as evil as the older man's. The younger had something clearly wrong with him as his eyes were a blood red instead of a calm gray like Noomkard's eyes. "I'll do what you wish, Father." He spoke before disappearing into the shadows of the forest, he uses magix to teleport into Phynox.
—
"Phynox: House of Ace Family"
In the living room, Darkmoon was looking at an old spell book from off the shelves that talked about manipulation of another's body and life, growing confused as she looked at it. She went over to Schattenflügel to show him but before she could even speak to Schattenflügel, Mørk ran into the house dripping wet with sea water.
"He's back!! He's looking for you, Darkmoon!" The soaking wet teen spoke frantically while standing in the doorway to the front door. Darkmoon and Schattenflügel look at Mørk then at each other in shared confusion while Noomkard runs into the living room out of worry for Mørk.
"Where is he right now?" questioned the confused woman as she handed over the spell book to Schattenflügel.
"He's in the town square fighting with Aros. Ar- Aros isn't doing so well…" Mørk mutters as his brother covered him with a towel while Noomkard guided him to a chair before running to the kitchen to make the drenched teen something warm to drink.
"Darksilver… He wants to talk with you, Darkmoon." Mørk added as he held the towel around his shoulders. Schattenflügel looked at Darkmoon and sighed. "I-" before he could even say his words, Darkmoon's tail covered his mouth and she shook her head.
"No… I can't have you getting hurt over a sibling fight… This is my fight anyways." She smiled sweetly towards Schattenflügel before she tapped the floorboards of the living room with her foot then disappeared in front of everyone, teleporting to the square.
—
"Phynox: Village Square"
Darkmoon arrives at the scene of Aros fighting against a cloaked young man who was at least as tall as Schattenflügel but both were still shorter than Aros. She took an opportunity to block for Aros with her magix as she walked over the two men who were fighting in the heavily damaged square, Aros looking just as beat up as the square he was bleeding to protect. "Enough!" The short female boomed in a commanding tone as she walked over to the young man and the injured guard. "Your fight isn't with this man anymore. It's with me."
The cloaked male looked at Darkmoon and smiled at her. "Hello, dear sister.~" He cooed as he lowered his hood to reveal himself to Darkmoon, stopping his magix while they met in the damaged center of the square. "I'm glad I finally found you. Father will be happy too."
Once the young man revealed himself, Darkmoon was confused and put a barrier around the square with a tap of her foot to protect everyone outside the square while also teleporting Aros to the couch of Trapsul's living room. The reasons she teleported Aros to Trapsul instead of an infirmary was because she doesn't know any other locations besides the guard station, inn and the docks besides Schattenflügel would be able to heal Aros according to her logic. "Darksilver? What do you want with me?" Darkmoon asked with her confusion, her Onyxnite armor slowly covered her body. "Why did you start a fight? And Why did you hurt Noomie?"
"Well to challenge you by the request of our father, Kris." Darkmoon's second fraternal twin spoke as he got closer to his only sister. "The fighting and harming Noomkard is what brought you here." He adds as he watches the armor slowly cover Darkmoon.
Darkmoon clicks her tongue out of anger towards her brother who is looking down at her. "He has blinded you with forbidden magix. You can't be this cruel, Darksilver."
"Oh but that is what's making it so easy to not care or love for you," Darksilver chuckled as he stepped back then frowns, "but at least I'm not acting unlike you, Darkmoon."
"I'm not acting with my love and caring attitude towards you, brother. How could I be when the last we saw each other was when we were 5 years old?" Darkmoon questioned as she slowly started to cast a spell to undo her father's magix on her red- brunette twin brother. "You were taken away by father and I've been looking for you, brother."
"LIER!! You ran away like a coward with Noomkard and left me to father!" Yelled Darkmoon's male double who pointed a sword of his own magix at her face after he backed away from her a little more. Darkmoon gasps at her brother's words as they hurt her even though his words were lies, pushing the sword out of her face she'd step closer to him. "You know I'm telling the truth. So stop before your challenge of strength becomes reality." Darkmoon warned Darksilver as she was working a bit faster on breaking the spell of her unnaturally red eye'd brother.
—
"Phynox: House of Ace Family"
Meanwhile, Schattenflügel was treating Aros' wounds with his healing magix while also preventing Mørk from getting a cold. Noomkard was comforted by Trapsul due to being scared that Darkmoon would lose since he had never seen his sister fight and due to the fight being against Darksilver.
"Darkmoon will be okay... She knows how to fight." Schattenflügel spoke to comfort Nookard as he continued to treat the goliath on the couch.
Soon, all the men fell silent as the sounds of metal clashing against the gravel outside could be heard coming towards the front door but as soon as it started it stopped and Darkmoon opened the door covered in black smoke from her armor unequipping itself. Darksilver was behind her holding his head as the spell on him had been broken. Darkmoon didn't say a word as she walked over to Schattenflügel and Aros before she whispered a question. "How is he, Schatten?" She was looking at Aros when she asked and he was asleep thanks to a mixed drink of herbs from the albino. Schattenflügel looks at Darkmoon, making sure she wasn't hurt anywhere before he answered. "He'll be fine but if we go to my tribe he could be healed faster due to having some were-beast blood in him."
"Were-beast blood? But can't you smell the Nether Vox's touch on him?"
"The touch of Nether Vox? No I don't smell it…then again he smells of blood the most right now." Schattenflügel responds as he looks at Aros as well then at Darkmoon as she lets out a sigh before she looks at him in turn. "I could smell it… and I'm worried about him." She whispered to her childhood friend before she turned to look at Noomkard and Trapsul due to her pinkish- white haired twin crying a little due to relief. Noomkard was sniffling as he held onto Trapsul before he looked at Darkmoon.
"W-what's a Ne-nether Voxen called?" He stutters his question after he heard her whispering about the Nether Vox before he moved his head towards Darksilver due to the other making a groaning sound. He glared daggers at his brother. "And you are a traitor to mama!" He shouts a bit at his brother for what the other had done. Darksilver only looked at Noomkard in silence due to his fatigue before he lowered his head in shame.
"Nether Voxens are considered a halfling by most races." Darkmoon answered Noomkard's question while she was looking at Aros again. "They are also known as Equites Voxen. However they are also mistaken as Darklings due to some being able to walk in shadows like Darklings."
Schattenflügel sighs as he places his hand on Darkmoon's head. "Well halfling or not, Aros is still one of my kin so we need to take him to my elder."
Darkmoon looked up at Schattenflügel after she felt his touch on the top of her head then nodded. "Agnorus would be upset that you are returning with me and an Equites Voxen though." She nervously spoke before she looked at Trapsul, "You should get Max and/or Soul to take Darksilver to a cell for the time being.