Oh finally! Finally! I finished it! Ahahahaha! *slightly crazy* I'm so glad I finally have it up at long last! I've had many blocks along the way but I'm glad it just sort of wrote itself out towards the end.

Doubled-Helix: Deepest apologies for such a late response. I hope you're still with this story to read this. I suppose that's the kind of depiction Phantom gives off. I think it's part of who he is but I don't think that's all he is. He's playful but I think he could also be mature too but having a charge to look after is what would really throw that side of him into sharp contrast in my opinion because he can't afford to be childish in front of a child. He'd still have his playfulness and moments of childishness but never to the same degree as in his past because now, he has someone who depends on him to survive and he can't very well go mess that up or else Evan and Mir could very well get themselves killed without someone reliable to guide them. At this point, he is starting to learn responsibility for another's life.

As allows, I thank everyone for their continued support of this story! Even if I may not address you all directly, please know that I am always grateful to you!

"AAAAARRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!"

Anna started and nearly dropped the plate of breakfast she had been ferrying from the kitchen and glanced concernedly towards the stairwell where the scream had come from.

A series of dull crashes, thumps, yelps, and screams later, Utah emerged wide-eyed stumbling down the staircase covered in a green gelatinous substance. Evan gleefully followed shortly after in uncontrollable laughter along with Phantom, who bore a grin wide enough to split his face.

"Boys, what on earth is going on?" Anna asked, approaching Utah to examine the sticky mess. It smelled awfully like green apples.

Utah scowled and grumbled, "Nothing, mom."

"Boy, Sir Phantom sure showed you!" Evan crowed among his fit of giggles.

"Shut it, twerp!" Utah shot back.

Anna simply shook her head with a smile and it struck Phantom that maybe he should've thought beforehand how she might react to a guest playing such pranks on one of her sons.

"Okay, enough you all. Utah, go wash up. Phantom, Evan, breakfast is on the table so go help yourselves."

"Okay mom!" And Evan happily bounded over to start eating while Utah sulkily started to climb the stairs again to wash off the slime from his persons.

"That was quite the prank there," Anna told Phantom laughingly as they also made their way to the table. "I don't think I've ever seen Utah look so shocked before!"

Phantom smiled somewhat uneasily. "I apologize for that. I simply wished to demonstrate my skills."

Anna shook her head. "Oh don't you worry about that. Raising two hyperactive, rambunctious boys, you get used to having one or the other screaming to you after a prank or two so this isn't something new. The only rule about it that I absolutely won't tolerate if it's broken is if it causes injuries or if it hurts someone's feelings."

"I see," Phantom said, smiling in slight relief. He'd really rather not offend his hosts and he'd hate to give this woman a harder time than she's already been through.

"Now get started on your breakfast! Here, have some toast and some milk! A little calcium never hurts anyone!"

Phantom smiled and silently allowed Anna to pile his plate without complaint, even if she piled a little too much and filled his glass a little too full.

"Evan! I expect that plate to be clean!"

Evan whined but obliged nonetheless.

The pitter-patter on the windowpane just to Phantom's left informed him that the day had brought rain just as Gustav had forecasted but as expected, work at the farm wasn't halting for a little bit of moisture.

Utah reappeared down the stairs a few minutes later, looking disgruntled as he plopped himself down onto a chair but not before shooting Phantom a sullen look which the thief returned with a bright, sunny smile.

Evan glanced worriedly out the window at the heavy gray sheets of rain misting the landscape outside and murmured. "Boy, I hope Mir's okay… That rain looks like a terrible thing to be stuck outside in…"

"Mir is a grown dragon. It'll take more than a little rain to incapacitate an Onyx Dragon. I'm sure he'll be fine," Phantom assured as he polished off the last of the scrambled eggs.

"Yeah… maybe…" Evan agreed unconvincingly, looking guilt-struck. "Um… Sir Phantom?"

"Yes?"

"Can I… Can I ask you a favor?"

Phantom arched a brow in interest. "It depends what it may be. I don't walk blindfolded into anything at the behest of anybody, if you know what I mean."

"I'm just… kind of worried about Mir," Evan explained, playing with his bacon. "Can you sort of… check on him? I want to go myself but it's hard enough taking care of a farm without all this rain to add to it. I just… want to make sure he's okay. I haven't seen him in a while… I'm afraid that he's lonely."

Phantom nodded. "I see…" he sighed. "Very well, I'll go check on him. Where may he be?"

Evan perked up. "He should be in that forest south of here, the one we walked through a few days ago to get here."

"Alright. Be assured that I shall give you a report of his condition."

"Thanks sir!" Evan beamed. "Sorry I have to make you do this in the rain and everything. I wish my communication with him isn't so weak," he said sheepishly.

"It's normal. The line of communication between Dragon Masters and their Onyx Dragons are weak at first but they grow stronger as the bonds between them grow stronger, allowing them to communicate more and more at further and further distances."

Evan looked at Phantom admiringly. "Wow sir. You sure know a lot about Dragon Masters and Onyx Dragons. I wish I found you first when me and Mir were trying to find out about who he was."

Phantom gave an easy smile. "You pick up a thing or two when one of your closest friends happens to be a Dragon Master himself."

"It sounds like you've quite the life there," Anna commented, smiling.

"Indeed. Never a dull day," Phantom chuckled.

Breakfast finished, each individual dispersed to their own respective chores for the day.

Armed with a waterproof cloak, a pair of rain boots, and an umbrella generously lent to him by Anna, Phantom began his trek in the direction of the forest.

The virtual rainstorm made visibility harder than usual, smearing the scenery into one incoherent blob of shapes and colors so that bushes were nearly indistinguishable from rocks and the trees nearly indivisible from each other.

He slowed his pace as he neared the trees, skirting around the forest while sharp eyes darted about the gray canvas to pick out the shape of Mir's bulk from amongst the smudged hues.

"Mir? Are you there?" Phantom called over the rain, pausing in his strides to listen for an answer.

There was silence for a few moments before Mir's voice rang in his head, Sir Phantom?

A few seconds later, Mir's figure emerged from the forest amidst a rustle of foliage and of scale on bark.

He was drenched but otherwise seemed fine, looking wholly unaffected by the downpour. It might as well have been sunny with the casual way he stood before him as opposed to the waterfalls of raindrops trailing hundreds of rivulets down his flanks. As expected, the rain was no match for waterproof scales and a constant internal temperature warm enough to keep any kind of cold at bay.

Good morning, Sir Phantom! What are you doing here? Mir's yellow eyes were curious as they looked at him, shining like a cat's from the reflected light, the only spot of color in their dreary surroundings and Phantom smiled.

"Good morning, Mir. Evan has sent me to check up on you since he was too busy to do so himself and since you aren't allowed to go near the animals on the farm lest you scare them."

Oh… Uh, yeah… yeah I'm fine.

Phantom frowned slightly at the slight droop in Mir's eyes and the tone of melancholy in his voice.

"What's wrong?"

Mir shuffled his wings nervously and answered, Um… I don't mean to offend you by saying this sir, but… you… wouldn't exactly be the first person I'd go to for my problems… He cringed as he finished his thoughts as though he had just been dealt a blow to the head.

"Is that so? Normally I'd agree but the fact that you haven't shared whatever's been bothering you with Evan shows me that you can't afford to be picky with who you go to for help and I'm going to guess that whatever's troubling you involves him, am I correct?"

There was a moment's pause before Mir seemed to deflate and replied with an affirmative in a slightly resigned tone.

Phantom blew out a puff of air and ran fingers through his hair. When had he become the therapist around here?

"So? What's wrong?"

Mir shifted uncomfortably, turning his head to the side and scanning the area with nervously darting eyes.

W-well I… I guess it's just that I feel a bit… lonely.

Phantom furrowed his brows. "Lonely?"

Yeah, ever since we got here. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy master gets to see his family again, especially since I was the reason why he wandered away in the first place but… I… master's the only one I have and for a long time, I was the only one master had too while we were travelling but… it's different now. Master has his family but I have… no one else. And master's family is afraid of me and I feel like I've been forgotten already…

Forgotten… It has been true that Mir hasn't been participating in the family's affairs since that second night and he hasn't even so much as glimpsed a scale during his days traipsing aimlessly around the farm.

He made a mental note to speak to Evan about that. He cannot leave essentially the other half of his soul in the dark like this. They need to work on their communication otherwise their mental and their emotional bonds will never get stronger.

"Have you considered talking to Evan about this?"

Mir shook his head fervently.

"And why not?"

Because I don't want to upset master. Master only has a few days to spend with his family and then after that, we'll be together all the time. I can wait a few days.

Mir has certainly matured admirably but it still remained that in terms of dragon years, he was still a hatchling despite his fearsome appearance of a miniature adult Onyx Dragon and just as any sentient fledgling creature, he needed attention and affection.

"It's certainly admirable that you would be so willing to endure your discomfort for your master's sake however, it still remains that Evan is hurting you, even if unintentionally. Do you believe that is fair to yourself?"

But it's not about me…

"Do you truly believe you are doing some inherit good by keeping this to yourself? What noble intentions. Do you forget that noble intentions were what got you in trouble with the Black Wings in the first place?"

Mir didn't answer.

"Suppose that a Black Wings member were to attack you right this second. Do you mean to tell me that you could defend your master and his family with this sick heart?"

I'll always protect master and his family! No matter what I feel! Mir growled, bearing his teeth but Phantom wasn't cowed.

"I have no doubts about that and I'm sure you would be able to hold your own against Black Wings grunts but most of what composes your enemies are smarter and a lot more powerful than that. You may believe you can fight as you are now but can you really? Can you look at Evan right this moment and not feel that surge of frustration and loneliness?"

Mir turned away, a small whine escaping his throat.

"Your doubt says it all. You cannot fight like this. A Dragon Master and their Onyx Dragon must always, always have an open line of communication. It is what fosters trust, it is what strengthens bonds, and it is what could save your life because it is through communication that you relay vital information to each other, your states of mind and knowledge both."

Mir dropped to the muddy ground and covered his eyes with his paws.

I'm sorry, Sir Phantom, he whimpered, the beginning of sobs wracking his body. I'll tell master but I'm scared… What if he thinks I'm being selfish? I shouldn't feel like this. Master hasn't seen his family in so long and I've already put him in danger by choosing him as my master and now I want him to give me attention. If only I hadn't chosen master! Maybe his family wouldn't be so sad and master could live with them happy and safe here! Mir wailed mournfully.

"And if you have chosen someone else, their families would be upset all the same and they would be in danger in Evan's stead. I have told Evan this and I shall tell this to you too: It isn't possible to please everyone in the world. It is simply not done. The best decisions you can make are for you and you alone. No one else. Besides, it wasn't even your conscious choice. You and Evan were bound together even before you've met."

But… I don't want to… That's so… selfish… to only do things for yourself.

"And how do you suppose you can help others if you can't even help yourself?" Phantom challenged.

Mir uncovered a large pitiable yellow eye and let out a mixture between a whimper and a growl.

But I… I want master to be happy, he moaned plaintively.

"Mir, Evan is the other half of your soul. Do you really think he'd be happy to know you were in any kind of pain?"

N-no… Mir answered as a high-pitched whine emanated from his throat.

"Then I suggest you go talk to him."

Mir whimpered and sat up, lowering his head to peer at Phantom with wide, hesitant eyes that reminded of a shy child peering from behind their mother's skirts.

Will… you come with me?

"I suppose I don't have a choice. You both would be completely at a loss without me," Phantom huffed. "Come, let's find Evan."

N-now? Mir squeaked, recoiling.

Phantom raised a brow. "Yes now. The sooner we clear the air, the better so that future misunderstandings won't crop up at the most inconvenient times."

B-but I'm not ready! Mir protested, backing away slightly.

Phantom frowned. "And when will you be ready? A minute? An hour? A day? A week? A month? Within the span of your long life, Mir, you will undoubtedly and unquestioningly encounter many, many situations you could never prepare for nor will you ever be ready for, especially now that you are the last Onyx Dragon. In those instances, there will be no option to back down nor will there be room for hesitation for even an instant. You must learn to take things as they come, no matter how suddenly and unexpectedly, and you must learn to adapt flexibly. Compared to what lies in the future, confronting Evan by my urging is but a mere trifle. Now come."

With that note of finality, Phantom swiveled around and walked briskly away.

There was an utter of hesitant discontent before the reluctant splashes of footfall on mud sounded from behind, trailing after him.

"I won't drop this matter even if you follow behind me. We'll find Evan in the end, that fact is inevitable. But it's your choice whether you want to prolong your suffering or not."

Silently, Mir moved to take the lead, following the string of connection he had with Evan until they came upon a small figure wearing a bright yellow raincoat in the middle of a rather large pig pen, the rain pelting relentlessly down upon him as he hastened across the large area with a metal bucket.

"Hey, Evan!"

The figure paused at the call, turning confusedly about to find the source, a drenched sleeve moving to wipe the rain away from eyes hidden under the hood of the coat and to shield his vision as he scanned his surroundings until he finally spotted them.

"Sir Phantom! And… Mir! What're you two doing here?" Evan cried as he made his way towards them.

Phantom smiled. "Hello, Evan. We are here because one of us has business with you, it seems."

He nudged Mir, who looked at him with slightly panicked eyes before lifting his gaze towards Evan, who stared back in concern.

"Mir, what's wrong? Are you cold? Are you feeling sick?" Evan's eyes widened in alarm. "Should I get a doctor? Medicine? Sir Phantom! How do you treat sick dragons?"

Phantom sighed. "Evan, calm down. Mir isn't sick. Just listen to what he has to say."

"Oh." Evan turned his attention once more to his partner. "What is it, Mir?"

Master… Mir whimpered. I… I'm… lonely.

"Lonely…?"

I-I know that master wants to see his family while he still could but I… I haven't spent much time with master o-or seen him a lot these past few days and it's so lonely and I'm so selfish for thinking like this and I'm sorry!

"Mir… how long have you been feeling this way?" Evan asked, looking shocked.

Since we got here, Mir whimpered. I'm sorry master!

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Evan cried. "My family's important but Mir, you're part of us too you know! I… I didn't mean to make you feel excluded…"

B-But I thought master's family is scared of me… Mir said sadly. A-And if I come with master, I'd scare the animals…

Evan drew closer to his partner, shaking his head. "Mir… no… Mom and dad and… o-okay maybe not Utah but my folks aren't scared of you, not after the first day otherwise they'd have never let you near the house the second day. As for scaring the animals… I-I don't think you need to keep yourself so far away that you feel as though you're not welcome! You might spook them at first b-but I think they'll learn to get used to you."

But master is with his family…

"But you're family too, Mir! Whether you know it or not! You've protected me while we were travelling and you were there for me when things were rough! How could we not call you family after all that?"

But it's so selfish! I'm so selfish! Wanting master for myself! Even after I've put master in so much danger!

Mir stomped the muddy ground beneath his feet, growing more and more visibly upset further intensified without any viable or adequate way to express the pent up frustrated energy he was feeling.

Evan tossed the bucket aside and flung himself over the fence and at Mir, wrapping his arms around his foreleg in a hug.

"I'm sorry, Mir! I'm sorry I wasn't paying attention to your feelings! Even after all you've done for me! I'm sorry! The one who was being selfish was me, Mir! Not you! You were always there for me and I… I was so caught up with myself that I wasn't there for you!"

Master… Mir sniffed, shielding Evan from the rain and enfolding him within his wings. Master I'm sorry.

"I'm sorry too. You're always welcome on our farm and in our home, always. I've never regret meeting you, Mir. Did you know that? Never. Not once during our journey did I ever regret it or even after everything that's happened because… you were the best thing that's ever happened to me in my whole life and nothing in the world could ever change that. And… I've always wanted to thank you… for choosing me as your master… for choosing me as your friend… I… I'm just… so… honored…"

Tears intermingled with rain flowed down Mir's scaled cheeks and he lowered his head to bump against Evan, who gently wrapped his arms around his snout.

"It's okay, Mir. You don't have to be alone anymore. I'll always be there with you and I'll always be there for you. I never want you to hide something like this from me again and… I promise I won't hide anything from you either."

I promise too, Mir mumbled, fat tears like translucent pearls falling from golden eyes. I love you, master.

Evan smiled warmly, his own cerulean eyes blurred slightly with tears. "I love you too, Mir."

Time twisted into a standstill of ageless eons and eternities in the midst of which they stood with nothing but the beat of the rain and that enclosed space, nothing but the two of them together within an eternity of immeasurable time with another eternity of infinite future moments ahead that they would gladly live through if they lived it together.

"As much as I would hate to break apart this lovely moment, it's cold, it's wet, I have work to do, you have work to do, and there's still something I want to talk to the both of you about."

At the sound of Phantom's voice, their little bubble of a private world of just two popped and they were abruptly brought back to reality.

"O-oh, sorry we uh… we kinda forgot you were there, Sir Phantom," Evan apologized sheepishly, still standing under the awning of one of Mir's wings, protected from the slight chill of the air and the wetness of the rain.

Sorry, Mir echoed equally as sheepish as his partner.

"I've noticed," Phantom said dryly. "But getting to the matter, what I wanted to say was that that level of miscommunication is unacceptable."

"I know. It won't happen ever again but um… what do you mean by that?" Evan asked.

"I'm sure you already know that as you grow, Evan, Mir's growth reflects that and vice versa. The amount of growth you both experience are conjoined together however, do you know where that power comes from?"

Our experience with fighting? Mir hazarded.

"That's part of it but the other part is your bond. The two of you share one soul so that each of you is essentially half of each other's souls. The closer you grow together, the more complete your soul is and the more complete your soul, the stronger your potential and your power. However, your bond can only grow stronger if you actually keep in touch with each other; your thoughts and feelings as well as knowledge. I'm not saying you must share absolutely everything. Privacy and boundaries will have to be something established between the two of you but what you must do is build trust. As you begin to spend more time together and develop that trust, your bond in turn will also start to grow deeper. Do you understand the point I'm trying to make?"

"So in order to get stronger, we have to make our bond stronger and to do that, we have to build our trust in each other as well as sharing information?" Evan summarized.

"That's right. The bond between the two of you is something you must continually work at. You cannot treat it like a light switch to turn on and off whenever you please." Evan stared towards the ground at that. "However, if you are successful in fostering your bond, the advantages you gain will be numerous. Besides your increase in power, by continually sharing information, you will eventually make a habit of it so that it'll always be something you just automatically do, constantly relaying to one another even when separated so that there's no danger of missing pieces while at the same time gaining a wealth of knowledge that one or the other may have missed. The distance with which you can keep communication will be increased between you as well as your ability to sense each other. Also, while your spells will be weaker without your partner around, they would still be formidable enough to be reckoned with because you are able to siphon energy from each other even without their presence in your immediate vicinity.

"So as you can see, they're vastly useful tools if you ever find yourselves separated and you'll never be completely helpless. I'm sure you'll also find other powers that are unknown to me as you grow but all that is only if you're able to nurture your relationship to such a degree. Your bond is much more important than something that simply links you to each other. It's something that could also one day save your lives."

Mir and Evan, both of whom were listening with grave attentiveness, nodded their comprehension.

"We understand, sir," Evan voiced.

We'll do our best to never let this happen again!

"See to it that it doesn't. Now…" Phantom stretched slightly. "I believe you still have work around the farm and I had best start on my traps. Both of you take care now and don't forget what I had just told you."

"We won't!" Evan chorused along with Mir. "C'mon, Mir. I'm sure there's something we need you for around the farm. There's a lot of stuff we could use your dragon strength for!"

Okay master!

With that, Mir bounded happily after Evan as he raced across the pig pen, wing still extended to shield his partner protectively from the rain.

Phantom didn't spare the duo another moment's glance. He had his own task set out in front of him after all and no, he didn't care how much Gaston called him lazy, he knew his priorities. If he decided to skive off training and if—as impossible as the following scenario would be—he happened to get tangled into something bigger than himself, that would be his own way however, he will not indulge in his carefree attitude at the expense of another's life and misery. And he will never do so. Not like…

Shaking off the memories, Phantom turned and evaluated his surroundings.

Now… where to start?

o-O-o

He hadn't meant to skip lunch. In fact, he hadn't even been aware that he had skipped lunch until he was confronted by a disgruntled Utah who was looking a little worse for wear.

"There you are! Make my life harder wouldja?"

By now, the rain had let up into a drizzle but the wet still clung to the world as well as a slight mist and an overarching light gray sky.

Phantom rose from the spot he was kneeling over and glanced over towards Utah wearing a blue raincoat and an exasperated yet slightly curious expression.

"We all had our lunch inside today but we couldn't find you so mom saved some stuff for you if you wanna go get it. What're you doin' anyway?"

"Trap-setting," Phantom replied simply. "Thank you for going through the trouble of informing me."

"Sure, no sweat but next time, pick a day when it's not raining to skip lunch so I don't have to trudge through miles of mud and wet to try to find you."

"I'll keep that in mind," Phantom chuckled.

"Hey, I know you're pretty good at that kinda thing but do you mind telling me how you're setting this trap thing up? 'Cause our farm isn't exactly a garden here."

"Yes and that is exactly why I'm setting up something simple that won't require an overt amount of work and attention yet still effective against intruders. More than warding off the enemy, its main function is to alert you to take immediate emergency action while it stalls their movements because I am unfortunately not skilled in magic enough to integrate barriers of such a wide scale. Evan would be able to but he is also not yet skilled enough to do so. Perhaps when he has grown a little more, we can come back and upgrade my traps."

"Makes sense," Utah hummed. "But it's been a while since breakfast and it's only two so dinner won't be ready for a long time. I think you could afford a break. Don't worry, if any enemies break in during the time it takes for you to eat, I'll fend 'em off!"

"Is that so? Well then, I leave sentry duty in your capable hands despite the fact that you can't even seem to fend off your own younger brother," Phantom said, grinning widely as he walked away, leaving a spluttering Utah behind.

Phantom made his way through the open fields and back towards the house, pausing at the front door to knock before entering.

"Ex—"

"Oh Phantom you poor dear! You're absolutely drenched! You'd better get out of those wet clothes immediately before you catch a cold! Here, let me take those for you. Take off those boots and go take a nice, warm shower!"

Without waiting for an answer, Anna took the umbrella from his hands and unwrapped the cloak from around his shoulders before fretfully ushering a speechless Phantom upstairs. The thief could do little more than vacantly comply as his jumbled mind worked to figure out just what exactly was happening.

"Fresh towels are on the rack and clothes will be in your room. Just toss your wet ones into the hamper! If you need anything, don't be shy and give a shout. I'll be downstairs making something to warm you right back up!"

The door closed behind him with a firm click, leaving Phantom standing dumbstruck in the middle of the bathroom staring blankly at the bathtub.

What… just happened? He hadn't even stepped foot into the house for more than a second when Anna accosted him at the doorway and… did… did she just… coddle him? That was very… strange…

Deciding to shrug it off for now in favor of a nice shower to stave off the cold setting into his bones, he walked out of the bathroom a few minutes later, refreshed and warmed up.

He wandered into the bedroom where indeed, a neatly folded pile of clothing sat on the bed which he quickly put on before returning back downstairs.

Anna was waiting for him on the couch sitting in front of the fire blazing in the fireplace, casting a hearty yellowish-orange glow on the surrounding area. On the low coffee table in front of her sat two mugs of steaming liquid and a platter with some wraps enfolded in napkins and strangely enough, a small pile of marshmallows, graham crackers, pieces of chocolate and several roaster sticks.

At the sound of his footfalls down the stairs, she turned and smiled at him, patting the seat beside her as an invitation to sit.

Phantom obliged and Anna immediately pressed a mug of what smelled like hot cocoa into his hands upon doing so.

"Sorry dearie I didn't know what you would've preferred but I think hot chocolate is always good during chilly weather like this," Anna said, taking a sip from her own mug and sitting back on the cushions comfortably.

"I don't mind," Phantom assured with a smile, taking a small swallow of hot chocolate. The rich, sweet aroma that immediately flooded his mouth was magnificent.

"Go ahead and help yourself! You've skipped lunch haven't you? You can't work on an empty stomach and it's still a while until dinner!"

"Thank you madam I sincerely appreciate this," Phantom said as he took a wrap from the platter. Now that he was looking at actual food, he realized just how hungry he was.

"Oh don't you mention it. You're such a polite young man," Anna sighed.

"Thank you. Now please tell that to my butler," Phantom teased, taking a bite of the wrap.

"Your butler doesn't think you're polite?" Anna asked smilingly.

"On the contrary, and if I may quote him word for word, he said to me that 'contrary to what you may be deluding yourself into thinking, polite snark and being an actual well-mannered gentleman are two entirely different things. Please learn that difference.'"

Anna laughed. "Well then, I'll be sure to tell that butler of yours that you were very respectful during your stay here so he could use this as future reference."

"My indignant pride will thank you," Phantom chuckled.

"So Phantom, if you don't mind me prying a little, can you tell me a bit about yourself? Where you grew up, your favorite color, funny things you've seen anything at all."

Phantom's smile slipped slightly before he managed to regain his cheerful mask and answered, "I grew up in Ariant. I wasn't actually very wealthy while I was a child but I suppose things worked out for me in the end. My favorite color is gold and funny things I've seen? Hmm… Well I suppose it'd have to be bearing witness to one of my compatriots turning the most fascinating shades of purple."

"Oh my. If I hadn't known beforehand, I'd say you've got quite the mischievous streak you do. I grew up in Henesys and Gustav was actually my childhood sweetheart. We were quite the pair around town! Getting into our infamous fights and then making up again." Anna took another sip of hot chocolate. "I could always look back on those memories fondly. Those were some of my most treasured moments. Of course I'm very much happy with my life right now but those were such wonderful times."

Phantom didn't reply for a long while as he slowly finished his food. He wiped his fingers with the napkin and in a quiet voice he said, "You sound as though you've had a happy life."

"I did but I can't say every part of my life has been happy. There are rough bumps of course but that's life for you." Anna glanced concernedly towards him and asked, "Is everything alright dearie?"

Phantom shook his head and ushered a smile. "No, I suppose you're right."

"You know you can share anything that's on your mind with me," Anna reassured.

"Can I really?" Phantom murmured slightly cynically before he could stop himself and he bit his tongue, cursing himself inwardly for the blunder.

"Well of course you can," Anna replied. "Why? Is there something troubling you?"

Phantom exhaled a whoosh of breath. "No, there isn't."

"Well it must be something for you to make that kind of face. I'm not here to judge you, Phantom. We're family after all."

Family. He won't be part of that word for long when they learn of his true occupation but the damage here is already done. The least he could do now is give a satisfactory enough answer that won't delve too deeply into the issue. Maybe someday. But that someday isn't now. And perhaps there will never be a now. He simply couldn't lose this family's trust in him if only because their cooperation with him was essential.

"What if I told you that I haven't been totally honest with you about who I am?" Phantom asked instead.

"Well then I'd say that's fine," Anna replied.

"Fine? But for all you know, I'm an internationally wanted criminal," Phantom said carefully, frowning.

"Maybe you are one," Anna conceded graciously. "But you know what? I've always believed that a man's worth is in who he is now. Maybe you have done some terrible things. We all have a little of that inside of us. I've certainly done some things that I'm not proud of but it doesn't make me any less of an honest woman. But some people can't accept that. Sometimes it might even be yourself. I certainly can't forgive myself for some of the things I've done but that's why we have family. If it's not up to family to accept you as you are and to forgive you despite what you did, then who would?"

Phantom nodded numbly and Anna patted him on the arm.

"You don't have to tell me anything if you don't want to dear. That's all up to you but know that if you ever want to talk, we'll be there to listen. Now cheer up and let's make some s'mores!"

Phantom blinked down at the roaster stick offered to him.

"I'm afraid I… don't know what those are…" he confessed, taking the stick.

"Well then you'll know soon enough," Anna said cheerily, getting up from her seat on the couch and crouching by the fireplace.

Phantom followed suit, watching and listening as Anna explained how to make a s'more.

The resulting food was delicious and Phantom said as much to Anna, who beamed as she stacked a graham cracker to finish her second s'more.

"Isn't it? We sometimes make them in the fireplace. It's a such wonderful snack." Anna finished off her s'more and stood from her spot. "I'd better get a start on dinner."

"Would you like some help?"

"Oh no that's fine, thank you! You just relax out here. Feel free to help yourself to anything in the house okay?"

With that, Anna headed off into the kitchen, leaving Phantom alone to contemplate what he should do.

He didn't really fancy the idea of going out in the rain again and it was close to dinnertime anyway. So then what was there to do?

In the end, he decided to borrow a book on Maple World legends from the bookshelf upstairs and plop himself on the couch to begin reading. It was in this way that he spent the time until the front door opened once again and Utah and Evan came tromping in, soggy and dripping water all over the entryway.

"Hey mom we're home!" Utah announced upon entering.

Anna immediately darted from the kitchen and proceeded to fuss over her sons in the same manner she had done earlier with himself.

As Anna helped Evan struggle out of his raincoat, Utah casted a glance towards the fireplace area and gasped.

"What? Mom! You were making s'mores without us with Mr. Phantom? How could you?" he cried dramatically.

Anna tsked and said, "Because Phantom here didn't try to start a mud war with his brother."

Both boys instantly froze and Utah's eyes darted about nervously. "Uh… H-how did you know that?"

Anna simply gave a knowing look and replied, "A mother sees all. Now hurry upstairs and get yourselves dry. I'll have something for you when you come back."

Neither boy needed anymore prompting before scurrying upstairs to rid themselves of their sticky and uncomfortable clothing and maybe before their mother changed her mind on letting them go easy.

Giving a huff, Anna turned to Phantom, who had been watching the scene, and pointed at the rather large mud clot on the back of Evan's hood before shaking her head, smiling.

"You're trickier than you look," Phantom said laughingly to which Anna grinned.

"Oh I've had my fair share of mischief in my days. Surprise mud fights are nothing new to me. I can smell them a mile away."

"You are full of surprises madam."

"Why thank you dear now go wash up. Dinner's almost ready."

A few more minutes later and Gustav came home and Anna quickly received him at the doorway.

"Whew! That's quite some rain. I thought it would stop but it only came back harder than before," he said, shedding his drenched cloak.

Anna offered him a towel and nudged him towards the stairs.

"The boys might be using the bathroom right now but dry yourself for now and get yourself into some new clothes. I'll get some warm tea ready for you."

"Thank you, Anna. Good work today, Phantom," Gustav said as he made his way up the stairs.

"Thank you. Good work to you too."

A while passed before the sound of a rowdy chatter and a stampede of footsteps down the stairs announced the reentrance of the two boys.

"Man today sucked. I was all the way up to my knees in mud!" Utah sighed as he dropped on the couch to Phantom's left.

"Tell me 'bout it. I had to run around all day with mud in my boots," Evan groaned, tumbling onto a seat to Phantom's right. "How was your day sir?"

"I've spent a very comfortable afternoon nice and warm in front of this fireplace," Phantom answered smugly, smirking.

"Lucky," Evan grumbled, slouching down on the couch.

"And making s'mores without us," Utah pouted sullenly to his left.

Phantom turned to him amusedly. "Aren't you a little too old to be pouting over something so trifling?"

"Yeah well… shut up!" Utah shot back.

"Utah's like a big kid," Evan added helpfully.

"The baby of the family shouldn't talk," Utah said loudly.

"I'm not the baby of the family!" Evan retorted. "Aunt Marci is about to have a baby so ha! I'm not the youngest anymore!"

"Yeah well in this house you are."

"Dinner's ready! We're going to eat in front of the fireplace this time," Anna said, poking her head out the entryway.

"Aw sweet! I love when we do this!" Utah exclaimed giddily.

"See? Like a total kid."

"Shut up brat."

It wasn't long before each family member was comfortably seated around the fireplace, plates of dinner in hand and engaged in lively conversation.

"Is it just me or does this shrimp taste better than usual today?" Utah sighed contentedly, popping the bit of seafood into his mouth.

"Well, I think anything would taste better after a day of hard work in the wet and cold rain while sitting in front of a fireplace with everybody," Gustav commented.

"You know what that means?" Utah asked, grinning and sitting up.

"I think I do," Gustav chuckled, winking.

"I'm breaking out the cards!" Utah cried, putting down his food and running off.

"Mom? Dad? Can I say something?" Evan suddenly piped up.

"Of course you can sweetie," Anna replied.

"Can we do something with Mir some time? He's been lonely because he thinks you guys are afraid of him… Can you just sorta… talk to him about that some time?"

"Ah is that so? Hmm there's no harm in that," Gustav said. "I must admit that I'm still feeling a bit apprehensive about having a dragon on our farm but—"

"He won't hurt you," Evan retorted, sounding slightly upset.

"Hold on now Evan let me finish," Gustav chided. "But I'm willing to give it a try. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Please try to understand that this is as much excitement as I've ever experienced in my life and it's a bit frightening to suddenly be introduced to a dragon of all things. I don't mean to upset you, Evan and I know you trust him completely which is why I'll put my faith in him too."

Evan nodded and turned to his mother. "What about you, mom?"

"I have no problems with it whatsoever," Anna said.

"Okay then. Utah probably won't want to come along because he's too chicken thou—Hey!"

Evan rubbed the back of his head where he had been hit by Utah as he was passing by on his way back to his seat on the couch.

"I ain't chicken. I've patted him on the head remember? I'm not scared of him," Utah huffed, throwing himself back onto the cushions with a pack of cards in his hands which he set down on the table.

"Yeah right. That was just one time. You screamed like a little girl when you saw him with me today."

"I did not scream like a little girl! And I was startled! Anyone would be when a dragon suddenly appears out of thin air behind them!"

"But he was right beside you."

"Details! Point is that I didn't see him okay?"

"Okay, okay," Evan said indulgently in a way that was reminiscent of the way adults placated children.

"Brat! No respect for your older brother! Aren't you gonna say something to him mom?"

"Evan, respect your brother," Anna said, barely able to contain her giggles.

"Okay. Here."

"Why'd you just give me a portion of your food?"

"This is my way of showing respect."

"Cheeky brat!"

After the plates and forks and remnants of their dinner were cleared away, the roaster sticks were passed around as everyone gathered closer around the fireplace, the table moved aside to accommodate them on the floor, and before long, the steady smell of roasted marshmallows and sweet chocolate filled the air.

"Okay so," Utah said through his mouthful of s'mores. "Go fish or old maid?"

"Let's take a vote," Gustav suggested. "I think I would like to play… hmmm… go fish."

"Go fish!" Evan said, raising a hand. "Because it's funny watching Utah fail at cheating."

Utah scowled. "Go fish."

"Go fish," Anna chimed.

"I'm alright with either," Phantom said, shrugging.

Evan shot him a distrustful look and the thief smirked, shaking his head. "Don't worry, I won't cheat… although even if I do decide to, you wouldn't know anyway," he sniggered.

"Everyone, watch Sir Phantom. He's dangerous," Evan announced, huffing.

"Is that so? Then we'll keep an eye out on him then," Anna said, laughing.

"Hear that Phantom? We've got our eyes on you so no funny business," Gustav warned jokingly as he shuffled the deck.

That night, Phantom won thirteen out of thirty games of cards although he made sure not to win more so that his slight cheating wouldn't go too noticed although he suspected it might've been a futile venture anyway with the way Evan and Utah was looking at him, much to Anna and Gustav's great amusement.

And though Phantom only had an inkling of it at that time, in the many years to come, this moment would forever be burned into his memories as one of the happiest moments he had ever experienced in his relatively young life; a moment he could fall back on and safely call it comfort.

I admit that Phantom's explanations on Evan and Mir's bond was heavily influenced by Eragon but since I believe the whole concept of Dragon Masters and Onyx Dragons are based off of Eragon, it's not too far-fetched.