"Carrie..is there something you're not telling me?"

Carrie failed to resist the urge to sigh, lightly massaging the bridge of her nose as she heard the question leave her sister's lips on the other end of the call.

Since Peach's reveal of the female baby's...state, the two of them had decided it was about time they left Dan in a room of his own for him to rest.

That is, after Peach managed to calm herself down from only noticing moments after she'd finished speaking that Dan was practically decorated with scars — old ones, at that. It was a disturbing sight to see, becoming surreal when Carrie had seen him calmly looking at them with his ever-present blank gaze.

Against her curiosity — and maybe better judgement — Carrie had chosen not to ask where or how he'd gotten them. Though the idea — no, the reality of a 2-year old having scars that almost seemed older than her left Carrie both mind-boggled and frightened.

"..No, sis." She finally replied, "There's nothing."

She knew Viola would likely suspect she was lying. Her older sister's instincts were simply that good. But, then again, her sister was a Huntress — one from Beacon Academy, no less. Home to the well-known Team STRQ, and, more importantly, its headmaster, Professor Ozpin.

A man who Carrie had a feeling she would never fully trust.

Hell, she didn't even somewhat trust him.

The guy felt..off, in some ways. Not many, but enough in the ways he did for it to count.

Letting any information on an Auraless baby and..well, whatever Dan was, reach Ozpin wasn't an option. So, she decided that she'd need to make sure he never found out about them. Even if it meant lying to her sister.

She could only hope that when Viola did put the pieces together, she'd understand her intentions and help her.

"...Alright." Viola finally responded, "I'll be in Vale in around 3 hours, and at Beacon in just a little less. I won't be able to see you until summer vacation." Carrie easily picked up the hints of worry in her voice.

"Sis, relax, I'll be okay. In fact, everyone at the village will be." She finished with a small laugh, "Did you already forget that P-Mo—" A beat, "..Peach is here?"

"..You almost called her by the nickname, didn't you?" She could practically see her sister's smug grin right in front of her.

"Not important!" She exclaimed, before exahling, "Look, you know just as well as I do that she knows her way around a fight."

And know she did. The girl was terrifying when she wanted to be.

Carrie'd remembered when she'd once gone to Beacon to visit her sister. Lucky for her, Ozpin was somewhat lenient and she'd been allowed to watch the sparring matches between students among the rest of them in the stands.

Peach had been eventually called to fight and Clay Elletaker — a talented second year who even gave Raven Branwen, a third year student and the second best member of Team STRQ, a run for her money — was to be her opponent.

Apparently, something had gone on between Peach and Clay prior to the fight, since by the time they were both in the arena, the professor in charge of the sparring class had ask Peach if she needed a minute to cool her head. She'd said she was fine in, as far as Carrie could remember, the sweetest voice she'd heard.

Long story short, she'd beaten Clay to a pulp in under a minute and had been punished with Out-of-School Suspension. Though, the punishment was rather illogical, considering the fact that Spring Break hadn't even been two days away at that point, which led to her deciding to come with Carrie and Viola to their home village in Mistral, figuring that she might as well make the most of her 'punishment'.

Carrie doubted she was expecting a situation like this, though.

"..fair enough." Her sister knew better to argue with her on Peach's skill in battle. She'd taken a few losses from Peach herself, after all, "Doesn't mean I feel comfortable with you around him though."

"..Viola, he's just a baby—"

"A talking baby." She interrupted, "who's capable of keeping a damn good poker face and is loaded with scars that are somehow older than he is. You need to keep an eye on him."

"I—" Carrie paused for moment before letting out a brief groan, "never mind." She said with a sigh, "..look, we'll be fine, sis. You just worry about Beacon stuff..okay?"

Viola said nothing at first, though it wasn't long before Carrie heard a reluctant grumble of agreement from her sister.

"Good."

"..Love you."

Carrie couldn't help but smile. Instead of her grin, she could now easily see Viola's blush in her mind.

"Love you too, sis." She said with a chuckle, a beep from her Scroll following her words soon after she'd said them.

Carrie slid her Scroll into her pocket, lightly patting it a couple times once the device was inside. Carrie let her shoulders droop a bit as a sigh left her lips, a hand reaching to the back of her head, behind her onyx hair, just to let it gently run down to the base of her neck.

Vacation, my ass. She thought with a light chuckle, no negative emotion carried within it. After all, even if it wasn't exactly the peaceful visit home she'd imagined, she was spending it helping people. And that, to her, was time just as well spent.

Even if the people currently in her care left her with a headache from trying to fully wrap her head around their conditions.

There was the baby girl, Dan's sister, and the one, apparently, incapable of possessing Aura. Though it wasn't as if she didn't have a soul. According to Peach, there was something inside her that very closely resembled a soul. It was just..different, in a way neither of them understood. But considering that Peach later told her that the feeling she'd been hit with suddenly was a rush of shivers down her spine, Carrie had a bad feeling about it.

And then, there was Dan Mo-Ri — the physically scarred, talking 2-year old, who always seemed to have a blank look on his face. Whether that was a mask or not, Carrie couldn't really tell, but the only thing that edged her in believing it was the former was the fact that her sister had said so.

She always was better at reading people than her. But, Carrie figured, that was likely a result of her training, as well as her experience. Though talent probably factored somewhere in there too.

Regardless, the two in her care were..odd cases, to say the very least.

"Ms. Carrie?"

She turned back and looked down, her eyes meeting Dan's, his face almost the same as yesterday, if not for his slightly furrowed brows.

Since then, the boy had been changed into a different set of clothes provided by the village — a pale lavender, cotton t-shirt, dark blue shorts, and a pair of boots which almost seemed to be just a little too big for him. Though, judging by the way the laces were tied all the way around his ankles, they wouldn't be coming off so easily.

"Oh, Dan." She smiled lightly, though the desire to make bigger chips in the wall that was the boy's poker face was starting to grow in her, "..those clothes suit you."

The slight twitch of his eyebrow left her having to stop her smile from widening into a grin. Though said facial expression left her when she saw the concerned look in his eyes as he briefly stared at the grass beneath him before raising his head to meet her own her gaze.

"I...can I see my sister?"

Carrie's eyes widened with surprise for a moment before returning to normal, a smile once again gracing her features.

Of course he was worried about his sister. As odd of a case as he was, that didn't change the fact that Dan and the baby were siblings. And Carrie knew bonds like those were stronger than anything.

"..Yeah." She finally responded, "She should be awake by now, and.." A light chuckle left her, "I think it's about time she saw her brother again."

His eyes seemed to shine at the statement, and her chest began to warm. If she hadn't been certain before, she was now.

Special or not, they were just children. Ones that needed to be protected — a job Carrie was more than willing to take up.

Mo-Ri was nervous.

Or, maybe that wasn't exactly the right word.

Granted, he was anxious to see the baby, but something felt...off.

It'd reached him the moment he set foot in the cabin where the baby was — an eerie, yet disturbingly familiar presence touching his senses. Though, just as quickly as it'd hit him, it vanished.

The nigh-millisecond experience was definitely a shock to the senses though, like being hit with blizzard dead in the face. Thankfully, years — more like centuries, really, but that wasn't the point — of experience meant he could hide his reaction.

"Dan."

Carrie's voice snapped him out of his dazed state, the de-aged boy briefly shaking his head before looking up at her.

"I'm ok." He reassured with a small smile. Carrie seemed hesitant to buy it, giving him a somewhat worried look. Fortunately for Mo-Ri, considering the fact that her attention was focused on him, she didn't seem to have sensed what he had. That, at least, rose his chances of being able to convince her, "Really."

The concerned shine in her eyes persisted for a few moments before some of it left with a blink. A tinge of relief was felt by the de-aged boy as his eyes softened, only for them to widen with surprise as Carrie offered her hand.

"I—"

"Please."

Mo-Ri considered saying no, but the look in her eyes and the firmness of her voice left him thinking that he wasn't sure he could refuse. Hell, he didn't even know if she would let him refuse.

Childishly pouting, Mo-Ri gently gripped her hand, ignoring her smile as he mentally cursed his shrunken form. He still accepted his state, of course, but that didn't mean he couldn't admit being a toddler was starting to suck.

Nevertheless, they silently continued hand-in-hand until finally reaching a door marked "Nursery". He felt Carrie's grip tighten just a smidge.

"Well.." She began, "We're here." An exhale left her, Mo-Ri, hoping he could finally let go of her hand, testing the waters by loosening his grip and slowly pulling his hand away. When she made no attempt to stop him, he silently brought it back to his side.

He both wanted, and had to, lest she see the slight flinch of his hand.

He'd sensed it again, and it felt far closer than before. Mo-Ri was lucky that it wasn't nearly as intense as the last time though.

"What the.."

It was a mumble, but he managed to hear it all the same. Thankfully, it didn't seem like Carrie was afraid, judging by her tone. If anything, she'd just sounded weirded out by whatever it was they'd felt. Although, the more Mo-Ri thought about it, the more a thought swam around in his mind.

It felt..familiar.

It shouldn't have been possible, him being in another world and all, but his instincts were telling him otherwise. But how? Nobody here aside from the baby were from his world, so what could it have been?

...wait a second, His eyes widened, ..is the baby a—

"Well?" Carrie asked, her hand hovering over the door knob, "Ready to see her?"

I..

He nodded.

I need to make sure.

With a nod of her own, Carrie slowly turned the knob and gently opened the door, taking a peek inside before looking back at Mo-Ri, moving a finger over lips. He nodded again in understanding before they both quietly entered the room.

Mo-Ri was rather surprised by a sudden change in the floor, looking down and realizing that he'd now stood on white carpet instead of the cabin's wooden floors. He was even more taken aback when he looked up and saw the rest of the room.

Gone were the wooden surfaces of the cabin, replaced with sky blue walls and a yellow ceiling, neither of which being made from wood. The lights were off, though some natural lighting made its way through the almost transparent white curtains of the room's one window. And it just so happened that the bits of sunlight peeking into the room reached the pale lavender crib at its center.

And then he'd felt it again. Only this time, it finally hit him.

It's..it's Borrowed Power! He recognized, But who is it exactly?

How was she doing this? She was just a baby, and one had to make a contract with a god if they wanted to borrow power from them, if he'd remembered correctly, so how was this possible?

Does it have something to do with the Taboo being removed?

Maybe, just maybe, but even then it was strange. How had she borrowed power from a god while on their home world? Or did they choose to leave and aid her here?

"Dan?"

Her voice rang softly, Carrie having already reached the baby's crib, concern reflected in her blue orbs as she watched him. But why wasn't he there? A quick look down revealed to him the fact that he had only taken a step or two past the front door.

Ah. It must have been awkward for Carrie, watching him just standing in place for what felt like a good few moments.

Small feelings of embarrassment kept Mo-Ri silent as he walked over to the crib, eyes locked on it, though said feelings began to fade with each step he took, new ones squeezing their way into his heart as he got closer and closer.

A pool of anticipation, mixed with hints of fear and ounces of worry — all swelling up in him bit by bit as the distance between him and the pale lavender crib closed. Before he'd known it, he was less than an inch away, looking down into crib. And then..

Happiness.

"She's cuter than you."

He paid no mind to the whisper. He knew Carrie was just teasing him, but that barely even mattered. Nothing did. Not when he saw the baby, bandages gently wrapped around her leg, sleeping without a care in the world. As she should have been. Deserved to have been.

Not yet, Mo-Ri thought, fighting the slight warmth he began to feel in his eyes.

"You know, I've been wondering.." Carrie began, "..does she have a name?"

Mo-Ri froze.

No..she didn't. And her home was too far gone when...there was no way he would have been able to know what her name was. That was just the hard truth.

However, he didn't want to tell Carrie that. Not at the risk of them giving her a name. Mo-Ri wanted — no, needed to be the one to name her. He was part of her family now, and he considered it his first act as such.

But with the matter of who named her addressed, what would it be?

Dan..Dan what?

Dan Mi-Ra?

No. That was..there were too many memories there. He couldn't name her after one of his friends. He wasn't ready. He didn't even know when he would be — or if.

Mo-Ri hummed absentmindedly, a hand moving to his chin as his brows furrowed.

Dan Gi-Dae? No, that didn't feel right.

Dan Yeo-Seong? ..a little too on-the-nose.

..Dan Ja-Sig? ...still too on-the-nose.

Agh, why is thinking of a name so hard?! He desperately wanted to scratch his head in frustration and frown. Was he trying too hard to have it be symbolic? How the hell did parents do this?

"Mo-Ri?"

"Ah-An!"

Silence followed his quiet whisper of an outburst, Mo-Ri's eyes locked on the bars of the crib. Every second Carrie didn't say something left felt awful, since it'd just left Mo-Ri time to..well..

Ah-An? What does that even mean?! Would Carrie notice his reaction and figure out he'd blurted out the name without thinking? Would she figure out the baby had no name? He had to think — act before she did. But he couldn't really do anything. Not as a toddler. But then what—

"It's beautiful."

...What.

He finally lifted his gaze to the teenage girl, only to see a warm look directed at the sleeping child, pools of blue gazing at her lovingly. It surprised Mo-Ri, the boy almost taking a step back, though he managed to stop himself.

"Yeah..'Peaceful Flower'; it fits her perfectly." She looked to Mo-Ri, "I'm surprised that she has a name that old though. It's..well, ancient."

Wait, really?!

"Ah, well, I — our parents, they, uh, read a lot.." Mo-Ri internally cursed his fumbles, though Carrie didn't seem to notice them. That, or she did, but she decided not to point it out.

Regardless, all Carrie did was hum at Mo-Ri's statement before returning her gaze to the baby..Ah-An.

"Peaceful Flower"... The name sat in his mind for a few moments, That doesn't sound too bad. Plus, neither does Dan Ah-An. He had to admit, it sounded somewhat nice to his ears. Whether that was just because the name felt right, or because hearing a name in his home tongue left him feeling just a little warm inside, Mo-Ri wasn't totally sure.

All he knew was that, to him at the very least, Dan Ah-An was a wonderful name for his baby sister.

"..So," Carrie broke a silence that'd begun to creep onto them, "I think we should probably leave for now. Let her get some rest, you know?" Mo-Ri's brows furrowed slightly in apprehension, "Plus.." Carrie quickly added.

Her smile was soft, but within it was a hint of excitement.

"I'd say it's about time I introduced you to everybody."

"...Hey, quick question."

"Shoot."

"Vale's the name of a Kingdom, right?"

"Yeah."

"And it's also the name of a city inside it?"

"..Yeah. What's your point?"

"I just..why?"

A sigh was heard. It sounded a bit heavy.

"Look man..sometimes people make stupid mistakes."

"On naming your Kingdom?"

"People have made dumber decisions."

"I don't doubt that, but..I feel like there was a meeting for that — there had to have been. And I'm not sure how I feel about the possibility that a group of government guys sat a table and just decided to name their Kingdom and a city inside it the exact same thing."

"Why do you care? We don't even live in Vale."

"I'm sympathetic."

"I'm not sure if sympathetic people verbally state they're sympathetic."

"I'm self-aware."

"I feel like that applies to that too though."

I'm not sure what I was expecting from them..

Carrie wanted to let her palm slap against her face so badly, and she let it. Though a small tug on her pant leg made her lower her hand, one eye peeking between her finger and thumb to look downward.

"So they're in there?" Dan asked, his free hand pointing to the building in front of them. They stood just a few feet away from the wooden porch of what appeared to be — if one were to go by the odd scent that seemed like a mix between far too many peaches and pineapples, and along with just a hint of alcohol — a tavern.

Though, one look at the giant wooden letters near the top of the building would promptly disprove such a thought.

As if any owner of a tavern trying to start a serious business would call their establishment "Bean Boiz".

"Yeah," Carrie smiled with a sigh, "that's—"

..wait.

Carrie did a double take, confused eyes darting to the wooden letters above, her jaw dropping a little in realization. She sighed and lightly pressed her fingers on the bridge of her nose, as if mimicking the very slight pain she began to feel inside her own head.

"Are you okay?" She appreciated Dan's concern, she really did. But..

"Yeah, yeah, I'm..I'm good." She lied, "I just need to..sort something out." She said before sighing, her hand leaving her nose and falling to her side. They slowly walked up the porch steps, every other step creaking just a bit. The voices coming from the inside had quieted down the moment the first high-pitched creak made her and Dan's presences known.

They paused for a moment in front of the door before Carrie turned the knob and pushed it open, the mixed bag of scents hitting her, and also Dan, square in the face. She was less than pleased at the fact that the scent of alcohol had become just a smidge stronger — but, so had those of pineapples and peaches.

She still didn't like that the smell of booze was present at all, though.

The inside was fairly well lit, making it easier to see the painted green walls, as well as to tell that practically every surface was made of wood, save for a few large brown carpets. Several tables could be seen off to the side, each surrounded by a few chairs, along with a jukebox in the corner.

There were also a flight of stairs that led to a upper level, though those didn't concern Carrie at the moment.

Rather, what — or, who — did was the pair of young boys, both the same age as her, sitting at the stools by the bar to her left, both of them looking at her with a surprised expression. Though it wasn't a moment later that a smile grew on their faces.

"What up, Care-Bear?" Asked one of the boys, sitting with his back turned to the bar, his elbows casually resting on it. A baseball cap sat on his head of shaggy black hair — hair which went all the way down to his nape. The baggy dark purple sweater he wore did little in revealing his somewhat fit, dark skinned physique, though his black shorts did a far better job there. Neither did his sanda—...wait, sandals?

You know what, nevermind. Chances are he'd just tease me about it for days if I asked, Carrie scowled internally.

..also, note to self, remember to get payback later for him calling me "Care-Bear".

"Bite me." She said, the dark skinned teen recoiling in fake shock, fingers from one hand resting together just above an O-shaped mouth. Her eyes rolled at the gesture before moving to the boy beside him, who'd risen a brow with a smirk as he watched them interact with one another.

He had slightly tanned skin, blue eyes, and light brown hair, which was largely hidden by the dirty white beanie on top of his head. The sky blue tank top he wore did more to show off his somewhat muscular body than his baggy black pants and black socks did.

..wait, why did the socks even come to mind?

Dammit, now I'm thinking about feet! She wasn't sure how she'd get revenge by the end of the day, but she'd be damned if she didn't.

"You know she'll clock you one of these days, right?" He asked, his tone one of amusement. The other teen made a loud sound of dismissal.

"As if she'd ever do that!" He said, "I'm her dark cho—ow!" He exclaimed when the other boy smacked the back of his head, "What was that for?!"

"Children are present, idiot." The other boy deadpanned.

Slowly, the cap-wearing teen's head moved down to Dan, who'd seemed to have been watching everything with a mixed look of amusement, confusion, and curiosity, if his small change in facial expression was anything to go by.

"..oh.." was all the teen said as he and Dan made direct eye-contact.

"Dan, I'd like you to meet two more of my friends." Carrie pointed to the still silent teen, "The dummy in the cap's name is Wally." Her finger shifted to the other boy, "And the smarter one over there's Al."

"Nice to meet you, Dan." Al waved with a grin, the blue haired boy smiling in response.

"Why's he the smarter one?" Wally questioned with a risen brow before a smirk grew on his face, "After all, I'm the one who noticed how beautiful you are."

"So you have good taste in women. Doesn't mean you're smart, though." Carrie's reply was almost immediate.

"..least I'm smarter than the guys who named the city of Vale.." He muttered while looking away, Carrie rolling her eyes while Al snorted.

"You're still hung up about that?" The beanie-wearing boy asked.

"Look, I just — there has to be a reason!" Wally exclaimed, hands thrown up in the air.

A small lightbulb went off in Carrie's mind..it may have flickered hesitantly though.

...I may or may not regret this..

"I..think my sister knows a guy who could help with that. Got a real hard-on for history." Carrie began, her voice hesitant, largely because she knew roughly how said guy could be. Descriptions such as "impossible to keep up with", "super smart spinach speedster", and "probably seeing life in constant bullet-time" were the first few that came to mind, verbatim quotes provided by Viola.

According to her sister, everybody at Beacon had their theories on his..energetic nature.

Viola chalked it up to simple, strong passion. Plausible.

On the other hand, Peach, when asked about her theory, simply shrugged said "Probably drugs. Lots of them."

Carrie didn't ask much for her theories since then.

And to think, that was what people thought when Oobleck hadn't gotten a cup of coffee.

"Wait, really?!" Carrie almost snorted at the stars that formed in Wally's eyes.

"Yeah, but we can talk about that later." Carrie ignored Wally's slight pout, "More importantly, I was planning on showing little Dan around town. To let him get to know everyone else."

"But—!" A glare from Carrie shut Wally up fast.

"..well, alright. Can't hurt to show the little guy around." Al began with a shrug, before shifting his attention to Dan "So, how old are you, my man? I'm guessing..two?" He asked while throwing up a peace sign with a smile.

Dan nodded, and with a hint of curiosity and excitement in his eyes, if Carrie's weren't deceiving her.

"Nice! Well, I just so happen to be four and a half!" Dan's expression showed more curiosity, Carrie smiling a bit at that, "Guess that puts us around the same age, bud! So I'll tell you what," Al bent toward Dan in his chair, a hand on his knee, "If either one of these old geezers bothers you, come and tell me. Okay?"

"Dude, you're 18." Wally deadpanned.

"Not according to the calender, I'm not!"

"Come to think of it, why is Leap Year even a thing?"

"I dunno. Something about the Sun, I think?"

"But we haven't even been into space, so how could we know?"

Was it just Carrie's imagination, or had Dan's hand flinched?

"No, no, it's something about the Earth's rotation around the Sun."

Carrie sighed as she tuned out their voices, a hand gently massaging her temples. Her eyes moved to observe Dan, only to narrow ever so slightly.

His expression seemed..the same as ever, really. But something felt slightly..off. Wrong. Out of place. It felt like there were several emotions going on at once, all hidden behind a mask.

"You need to keep an eye on him."

With a blink, Carrie shook her head, as if trying to shake away the memory of her sister's words. It didn't work much.

So..it's been a while since I've posted a chapter of this (as well as my other stories).

Partially because I recently started college..that's been fun.

But also because I've kinda been binging a shit-ton of Worm fanfics. Like, a lot. Other fanfics from other series too, but Worm content's definitely been a big chunk of my recent reading material.

As for the actual chapter, I do want to mention one more thing that made me take longer, and that would be Ah-An.

Specifically, finding out what exactly her name meant — which I couldn't find, for the life of me. If anyone knows, please tell me. Also, please let me know if the way I did the scene where she's named comes off as offensive so I can apologize for that (just in case), because while I don't think it did, one can't ever be too sure.

And for those wondering what the other names Mo-Ri thought of meant, here they are:

- yeoseong (여성): Female

- gidae (기대): Hope

- jasig (자식): Child

(Granted, all those translations came from Google Translate, so they may not be too accurate. Please call me out on it if that's the case.)

And last but not least, comments!

A Lost Nuffians: I mean. For the time being, I kind of have to.

fpinheiro96: Thank you, and here it is!

Bluzerker: Thank you for the support!

SuperAmazingGuy: Here!

Heaven Ascension Dio: Actually, including this one, there's at least 10 on (which is still very much surprisingly lower than I expected GOH to have)

merendinoemiliano: Thank you! I've got some plans for things to come, and I hope you and the other readers enjoy!

olivia.rodriguez.927: Boom, here's more!

Neismdh4sns: Thank you!

Deuces