The two boys ran through the village, a game of tag between them as they dodged around trees and other village inhabitants. The younger of the two, eyes bright with happiness and laughter, bumping into more people as usual, as if trying to test something while his brunet friend ran on the outskirts, hair blowing in the heavy wind that resulted from living on to of a mountain

'Who should we tell first?' The shorter asked, sliding to a halt in front of his Mother's house while his older companion shrugged, looking up at the stone house and blowing some stray hairs out of his eyes 'I think that since we're here, we should tell your Mom first - She'll be thrilled!'

'Makes sense, I guess,' Turning to the door, he began to rapidly knock until his other opening the door, 'Mom! Mom, me and Rob were on the hill an-and - Rob, tell her!' Rolling his eyes at the boy's childish antics, he turned to the woman - Mostly known as Mama Frags, sometimes Mrs. Arsement if they were being serious for once - and gave a sheepish smile 'Sorry about Preston being... Well, Preston, but while we were on the hill we were playing around and well - Preston, grab my arm'

Kira was about to let out a yell of protest, before she saw the two make their connection. Nothing happened, no burns were forming, it was as if he didn't have lava for skin in the first place. 'You can't burn people?' She finally spoke, in a quiet voice that, for some reason, set the boys' on edge 'Interesting, very interesting... Rob, thank you for telling me about this. I need to talk to Preston, and it may take a while, so can you go and occupy yourself with another friend?'

Put off by the woman's tone, the Canadian glanced at his hot-skinned friend who wore a confused expression. He joined his maternal parent's side anyway, giving his older friend a small smile 'Go on, Rob. Hey, can you tell the others for me?'

'This would be best kept between us for now, Preston. Goodbye Robert!' The door was slammed in his face as two figures sprinted around the corner, the taller of the two shoving the other and laughing before they crashed into Rob.

He let out a soft yelp as he was pinned to the ground, red fabric the only thing he could see as the weight rolled off of his chest 'Fudge, sorry Rob!' Lachlan apologized to his dazed friend, pushing himself off the ground and hauling his older friend up in the process. Jerome, who had barely missed the crash, jogged back to his two companions and let out a soft snort 'How many times have I told you to look where you're going?'

'It was an accident!' Brushing himself off, Rob stole a glance at the house once more before turning back to his friends. Judging by their expressions of concern, he was probably already getting a black eye or something similar 'Hey, guys, what's up?' He greeted, forcing a smile onto his face though his tail and ears drooped 'Your Dad sent us to get you, he said something about preparing for the hunt or something'

'Oh for the love of; I forgot all about that! By the way, we might not see Preston for the rest of the day. His Mom dragged him inside to talk about - Uh, nevermind. Anyway, how are you guys today?' Exchanging confused glances, the two looked back at Rob (Who's ears were still pinned down to his head, signalling that something was wrong), who tilted his head slightly 'Guys? What's wrong?'

'You cut yourself off pretty quickly, what happened?'

'Oh, that... Preston's Mom said I wasn't supposed to say what it was, but she won't hear me in the clearing. Meet me there in an hour, okay? I need to go and deal with my Dad' Staring at the - Seemingly empty - house for a few more moments, he bid his friends farewell and began to make his way towards The Wolf House.

+++

Fifty minutes later, Rob finally made it out as his Father's domain and dashed into the forest. He wasn't just worried that he would be late, but another thought was tugging at the back of his mind - Rob felt like something had gone wrong, like one of his friends was hurt, so he pushed himself to go faster as he broke through the lush bushes. He eventually saw the light of the setting Sun, already feeling his sense heightening, but he pushed them back as the path came to view.

Voices filled his ears as he continued to run, his lungs screaming for him to stop, but he wouldn't. Something was wrong, and Rob knew it - He never got worried for no reason. The voices grew louder, now beginning to form words as he neared the clearing 'He... alright?'

'Don't know, I... seen something... before... tell Rob?

'For... best'

'Guys! Something's wrong, I don't know what but-' The Canadian froze as he saw Jerome turn around, sorrow in his warm brown eyes. He shook his head slightly, looking back at a dark shape on the ground before walking towards his friend 'Rob, I'm sorry,' The bacca hybrid started, putting a paw on the older teen's sleeve and gently tugging him back to where he was standing, 'We don't know how this happened, and he won't say anything'

'What-What are you talking about?' Rob could see Lachlan, but what confused him was the dim orange glow coming from his chest as he faced the other way, 'Jerome, what's happened?'

The Australian looked up to acknowledge his older friend, but didn't make any moves apart from that. Skirting around the boy, Rob felt his heart stop as he took in the sight before him. The "Dark shape" that he had seen was actually his best friend, with splotches of a midnight-purple rock scattered across his face and undoubtedly the rest of his body 'Oh gods, Preston,' He muttered, sinking to the ground as pained charcoal eyes watched his every move, 'What happened to you?'

The hybrid stayed silent, though dimly glowing tears rolled down his blemished face. Lachlan was making sure not to touch him, but as Rob knew the truth he didn't hesitate in wrapping his arms around his shaking form 'You're okay, you're safe now'
'I-It hurts...' His soft voice broke the Canadian's heart, with his own tears threatening to fall, but he had to stay strong for the younger boy. He blocked all the other voices out, keeping a firm yet gentle grip on his friend 'I'm not going to let anyone hurt you ever again, I promise. I don't know who did this to you, but when I find out they're going to be sorry' The Canadian was growing louder and louder with each word, but he didn't seem to notice until Preston pulled on his hoodie 'Please, don-don't yell'

'I'm sorry, I'm sorry... Who did this to you?'
'I shouldn't... shouldn't have g-gone inside,' Tilting his head slightly, Rob tried to think of what that meant. It could have happened while he was walking here, but it might have happened while he was in his house, 'I-I didn't think she-she would do it'
"She? Hold on a minute... Preston's Mom?!" Running his hand along Preston's back, it saddened him to feel that some parts were colder than the others 'Preston, did... Did your Mom do this to you?'. The Texan fell back into silence, his skin cooling as it did whenever he was upset while he buried his face into the older's hoodie. After a while he gave a slight nod, confirming Rob's fears as he clung to the boy tightly 'I-I didn't - She was so angry, a-and I-'

'Shh... You're okay, I won't let anybody hurt you ever again, alright? I promise' Tears welling up in his darkened eyes, the Texan nodded and winced when he felt the stone-like substance shift 'Th-Thank you; All of you'
'Rob's the one who did everything' Jerome pointed out, and Preston shook his head slightly 'No, you two actually found me like this in the first place'. Lachlan, who had stayed silent all this time, finally spoke up with the question everyone wanted to know the answer to; 'Why did she do it?'

Preston looked down, repositioning himself so that he was leaning against his brunet friend's chest before he began to speak 'Well... She didn't seem mad at first, she just wanted to figure out how I couldn't burn people. When I told her how we found out, she just - I don't know really, she just kinda stared at me for a while before telling me... telling me that-'
'You don't have to go on if you don't want to, it's okay'
'No, you guys deserve to know the truth,' Taking a deep breath, the hybrid forced himself to continue the story, 'She told me that I was defective, and that if I looked like a freak then I should at least have the abilities of one. She said that she wanted to use water as a test, but she wouldn't stop an-and-' The Australian reached forwards, hugging his shorter friend tightly as dimly glowing tears fell to the cool earth 'She won't hurt you anymore, okay? You're with us now'

'Yeah!'
''Can't disagree with that'
'Guys, y-you're gonna make me cry ag-gain' Preston whined playfully, a small smile on his face as he looked at the people around him. They were more than friends, no - They were more like family.
And they wouldn't have it any other way.