(Art by TheMissingCastle)

The Return

Umbra stepped out of Starbucks, panting and shoulders slumping. He wearily looked at the screen of his phone, letting out a sigh of relief.

It was twelve thirty.

Well, at least Time got me out of that experience. Umbra thought, shoving his hands in his pockets. Matthew should be coming any second now.

Almost as if on cue, Matthew came into view, running towards the food court with Victor tightly in hand. Aunora sprinted beside him, several shopping bags hanging from her arm. Esper followed behind, clutching the edges of his skirt and apologizing to the people Matthew nearly ran into.

"Heeey, there's my Umbry!" Matthew screamed, causing many shoppers to turn and look at him. He slammed into Umbra in a sort of tackle-hug, the much more firmly built man nearly knocking Umbra off his feet.

Matthew looked up, his greyish-blue eyes shining. "Oh my goodness, you were, like, waiting on us in front of Starbucks like a faithful puppy! That's so adorable!" He turned Victor, who was cuddling a rather sizeable stuffed dragon. "Also, check out what I got Victor! Isn't it super cute?"

Umbra looked at his friend, feeling the sour frown that was nearly always on his face start to slip. "Matthew, I missed you so much!" Umbra threw his arms around Matthew's neck, sniffling. The borderline-traumatic experience of the time loop had made Umbra surprisingly emotional, much more emotional than Umbra's pride wanted him to be.

"Uh..." Matthew awkwardly patted Umbra's back, dumbfounded. It was rare for Umbra to return one of his enthusiastic hugs, and it was even stranger for him to sniffle while doing so. "Umbry, you said earlier you would be fine alone-"

"I changed my mind!" Umbra said frantically. His body suddenly shrunk, and he transformed into his animal form. He curled his ferret-like form around Matthew's neck, burrowing into his fur lined coat.

"Umbra, what's going on?" Matthew asked, a note of severity in his voice.

"Come to the bathroom with me." Umbra growled, the tiny, fluff-covered wings on his back twitching.

Matthew smiled nervously, gently rubbing Umbra on the head. "Hey, um," he murmured to the rest of his team, who had been watching the entire scene in confusion. "I've gotta go, m'kay? Aunora, Esper, can you take my wallet and get Victor something to eat? There's a pizza place a little ways down the food court." He reached into his pocket, tossing Aunora his wallet.

Matthew immediately rushed into the nearest restroom, walking into a stall and locking the door. He grasp Umbra by the thick fur around his neck, pulling him out of his coat and holding him in his hands.

"Umbra, what happened?!" Matthew said, distraught.

The small fae shifted in Matthew's palms. "I met Time."

"Time?"

"Like, the Time. Apparently I got trapped in some kind of time loop after we split up. Matthew, he showed himself to me." Umbra's eyes were wide and blinking rapidly as Matthew processed the story.

Matthew sighed, shaking his head. "Umbry, I really wanna believe you, but... No one's ever seen Time, man. He's the most elusive Überdragon."

"He's a complete and utter dweeb!" Umbra barked. "He trapped me in Starbucks and made me talk to him! He's stalking me, Matthew!" Umbra's lip curled in disgust. "He said he watched my conception."

"You really saw him?" Matthew whispered.

Umbra nodded, laying his head on Matthew's wrist. "Yeah,"

Matthew touched Umbra behind his large, catlike ears, petting him like an animal. "Umbry, you look exhausted."

"I feel exhausted. I died in pretty much all of those loops." Umbra muttered, swishing his tail.

Matthew kindly placed Umbra back around his neck, pulling the collar of his jacket over him. "I think we should head home after Victor gets done eating. You need to get some rest."

"I would like that."

Author's Note- poor umbry. Vote and comment if you enjoy! ♡♡☆☆♡♡