A young girl plays in the stream at the bottom of a hill. She is very small in stature, and she wears an eyepatch over her left eye. A long stick is grasped in her hands, and she uses it as she walks through the water. She hears a sound up the hill, catching her attention. There’s a boy up there, hiding behind a tree. The girl is frightened. She wasn’t expecting to run into anyone out here.

The two of them stare at each other for a moment before the boy starts to slowly approach her. The girl gasps. She hides her stick behind her back and breaks eye contact with the boy. He squints at her in confusion. “What are you doing?” he asks.

“Uhm…” the girl mumbles.

“Huh?”

“...e-exploring…” she says, nervously fumbling with the stick behind her back.

“Exploring?” the boy says. “Exploring what?”

The girl stops responding. She won’t look at the boy, hopeful that he will leave her alone. He continues to squint at her, trying to understand. He notices the eyepatch on her eye, and his curiosity of the girl grows.

“What’s that eyepatch for?”

This question has clearly upset her, and she turns away from him. The boy is quiet, staring as he thinks to himself. After a moment, he has an idea.

“Wait a minute… are you that one-eyed lycan people talk about?”

His words cause the girl to gasp, suddenly dropping the stick behind her back. She starts uncomfortably fidgeting with her hands, unsure of what to do in this situation. The boy just keeps squinting at her.

“That’s…”

“...SO COOL!”

“HUH!?” this kind of reaction was not at all what the girl was expecting. The boy’s entire demeanor has changed. He looks at her with wide eyes, a giant grin shining brightly on his face.

“You always have a part of your true form with you, right?” He asks, gesturing at his own eye. “That’s awesome! I want an eye like that!”

The girl doesn’t know what to make of this. She’s never had someone react to her eye like this before, but the boy’s excitement seems genuine. She can’t help but feel a little excited herself.

Suddenly, the boy gasps. “Can you transform!?” he asks, leaning in closer with anticipation.

The girl finally smiles. “Yeah,” she says. “I can!”

The boy is eagerly shaking. “I wanna see!” he yells.

With a grin, the girl quickly takes her true form. The small wolf lands in the water. The boy gasps when he sees her transformation. She leans down, shaking her hips from side to side. The wolf girl then darts out of the water, running circles around the boy.

He laughs, clapping his hands. “AWESOME! AWESOME!”

The girl switches back to her human form, laughing alongside him. “Your turn!” she says.

Suddenly, his laughter stops. The smile quickly vanishes from his face. He looks away from her, silent and ashamed. The girl is confused by his reaction. He looks a little older than her, and he’s even in his human form. What could the problem be?

He holds onto one of his arms and turns around. “I…” he starts mumbling. “...I can’t.”

“Huh? You can’t?”

“...I can’t transform.”

“But you’re in your human form right now.”

The boy keeps his back turned. After some thoughtful silence, he quietly responds. “I got stuck in this form when I was real little… too little to remember… I-I haven’t been able to return to my true form since…”

The girl lifts a hand to her mouth. “Oh…” she responds. She realizes that she’s also heard of him. There was rumor of a boy in the pack who couldn’t take his true form. Lycans usually learn how to take their human form around the girl’s age. Never before has one been stuck in this way.

But she’s having fun with this boy. She doesn’t want to ruin the mood, and so she tries her best to cheer him up. “It’s okay,” she says. “That just means your true form is really cool, right?”

After a brief silence, the boy peeks over his shoulder. “...you think so?”

“Yeah! I bet your wolf form is awesome!”

With an awkward laugh, the boy slowly turns back around. “Yeah… you’re right…!”

The tension has cleared, and the girl extends a hand with a big grin. “My name is Daine! What’s yours?”

The boy averts his gaze once again.

“...Shaded Terror.”

Daine’s not sure how to react. Even among the lycans, this boy’s name was unusual. He stammers, trying his best to explain himself. “W-We don’t get to pick human names until we master transformation. And I haven’t mastered it yet, so…”

Once again, the boy looks away from Daine. He’s become increasingly uncomfortable. Daine thinks to herself for a moment. How can she save this situation?

Then she gets an idea. “I can give you a nickname if you want!”

He turns back around. “...a nickname?”

“Yeah! Based on your true name!” Daine smiles. “How about I call you Shadow?”

The boy looks at the ground, thinking for a moment. The tension lifts from his shoulders, and he turns back to Daine.

“Yeah!” Shadow grins. “I like that!”

Daine jumps up and down with glee. “Yay! Do you want to be my friend, Shadow?”

“...yeah!” he smiles.

The two lycan children are now walking back to the village together. There’s a bounce in their step, as the two of them gleefully enjoy each other’s company. Having only just met, they have much to talk about.

Shadow laughs, looking towards Daine. “You know,” he says, “I’ve never had a friend before.”

“Whoah!” Daine gasps. “Really!?”

“That’s right! You’re my very first friend,” he smiles.

Daine grins from ear to ear. “That’s awesome!” she says. “You’re my second friend!”

This statement catches Shadow off guard. His smile vanishes, and he looks toward the ground. “Oh…” he mumbles.

This was not the reaction Daine expected. She starts fidgeting with her hands again, unsure of what to do. She really doesn’t want to upset her new friend. He must be lonely, just like her. Of course he’d be upset about having fewer friends.

That’s it! She has an idea, and she smiles at Shadow again. “I know,” she says. “You should meet my other friend! And then you’ll also have two friends!”

Shadow gasps. “TWO FRIENDS!?” He’s excited again, eagerly smiling. Two friends in one day? The very idea is incredible to him.

The two children continue making their way towards the village. As they walk, Daine hypes up her friend to Shadow, excited for the two of them to meet. “He’s the coolest person ever!” she exclaims. “He’s so nice, and very funny! And smart too! He’s taught me everything I know!”

They arrive at their destination, Daine still going on about her other friend. The more Shadow hears about him, the more excited he gets. This friend sounds incredible. He can’t believe he’s going to befriend someone so cool!

But then he notices someone. There’s a boy up ahead, chatting with two girls. The girls are giddy as they talk to him. He only sees the boy from behind, but he knows exactly who he is.

“Oh no…” he thinks to himself. “The king’s heir…” This is the last person Shadow wants to see right now. “That stupid show off. He thinks he’s better than everybody.” He looks down at Daine, who is still happily rambling. This boy is directly on their path. Maybe he can subtly direct Daine away from him. He doesn’t want him to ruin their day.

But as he thinks this, Daine hollers. “ISAAAAAAAAAAAC!”

The young heir suddenly stops speaking. The girls look at him, confused. He turns away from them, looking directly at Daine with a giant smile on his face.

“DAINE!” he yells.

“ISAAC!”

The two kids run up to each other, Daine laughing. Isaac picks her up, spinning her in the air. The girls who were just speaking to him look at them, uncomfortable. They awkwardly walk away, leaving the pair as they spin and laugh.

Isaac places Daine back on the ground. He leans down, letting her get up on his back. Carrying her piggyback, he lifts her up once again.

“Hey, shortie!” he laughs. “What are you up to?”

“Isaac, Isaac!” Daine eagerly chants. “I made a new friend!”

Isaac gasps. “WHAT!? Really?”

“Yeah, yeah! He’s right there!” Daine points at Shadow.

This entire scene has left him speechless. He stares at the two, his eyes wide. This is not at all what he was expecting. After taking a moment to compose himself, he shouts out “YOU’RE FRIENDS WITH THE KING’S HEIR!?”

Daine gets back on the ground. She smiles proudly. “That’s right!”

Isaac looks towards Shadow, briefly sizing him up. After a moment of thought, he extends his hand. “Hey there,” he says. “I’m Isaac, what’s your name?”

“Shaded Terror.”

Hearing his unusual name leaves Isaac stunned, though his smile never escapes his lips. After thinking about it, he snaps his fingers as he has an epiphany.

“Ohh, you’re the kid who can’t transform!”

These words are quick to anger Shadow. His entire demeanor changes, and he starts ranting towards the heir.

“YEAH? SO WHAT!? YOU THINK YOU’RE SPECIAL!? JUST BECAUSE I’M STUCK DOESN’T MEAN I’M WEAK, YOU KNOW! I’LL KICK YOUR ASS, HEIR! I’M NOT AFRAID OF YOU-”

His ranting is broken by Isaac’s laughter. Shadow is stunned into silence, confused by his reaction.

“I like you, Shady!”

“Shady!?”

Isaac wraps an arm around Shadow’s shoulders, still laughing. “You’re alright. Any friend of Daine’s is a friend of mine!”

He stares up at Isaac for a moment, before realizing what he just said. He breaks free of his grasp and turns away from him. He’s trying to hide his reaction, though he’s not subtle about it. “I’M FRIENDS WITH THE KING’S HEIR!?” he loudly whispers to himself. “SOOOOO COOOL!”

Isaac and Daine watch Shadow as he fails to hide his excitement. Daine is beaming, overjoyed that her two friends are getting along. Isaac looks on with a soft, but unreadable smile. Shadow suddenly turns around, his eyes filled with eager curiosity.

“This is crazy!” he exclaims. “How did you two become friends anyway?”

Daine chuckles. “Oh, you won’t believe it!” she says. “I was off exploring one day, when I ran into this guy! He seemed cool, so I-”

“We’re siblings.” Isaac interrupts her.

These words immediately catch the attention of Daine and Shadow. Daine’s eyes are filled with terror, while Shadow is purely shocked. “WHAT!?” he shouts.

“That’s right.” Isaac continues. The same soft smile is still on his face, but something about it comes off as unsettling. “I’m her older brother.”

“NO!” Daine suddenly screams.

“She’s my little sister.”

“HE’S LYING!” Daine yells at Shadow in a panic.

“We have the same parents-”

“STOP!” Daine screeches. She’s gripping Isaac’s pant leg, shaking with fear. “He’s lying…” she quietly whispers. “Don’t listen to him…"

Isaac looks down towards her. His smile is finally gone. After a moment of silence, he crouches down next to her and pats her head. “I’m sorry.” he says softly. “I’m lying. It was a mean prank.”

He looks back towards Shadow. His gentle smile has returned. He continues petting Daine’s head as he speaks to the confused boy. “I met Daine on one of her adventures,” he says. “I thought she was really cool, and I wanted to be her friend. Isn’t that right, Daine?”

Daine says nothing. She continues to clutch Isaac’s leg, very shaken and upset. Shadow silently stares at the two of them, concerned and confused.

“Sorry for being a bully,” Isaac says, trying to comfort her. “How about I get us a treat! Would that help you feel better?” Daine finally releases his leg. She slowly nods, looking toward the ground. “Okay,” Isaac smiles. “I’ll be right back.”

He gets up and approaches Shadow. Before he can react, Isaac grabs onto his shoulder. “Let’s talk.” He whispers, his smile now intimidating. Shadow nervously gulps, and allows the heir to drag him away.

The two boys put distance between themselves and the crying girl. After getting out of her earshot, Shadow can no longer keep his silence. “What was that about!?” he screeches at Isaac. “Why would you lie about being related!?”

“I wasn’t lying,” Isaac says.

Shadow is just more confused. “Huh!?” he exclaims. “So what is it then? Are you siblings or not!?”

“We’re siblings,” Isaac states. “But it’s supposed to be a secret.”

“Eh!?” This makes no sense to Shadow. Why keep this a secret? Why lie about something like this?

Isaac gives off an exhausted sigh. “I’m sure you’ve noticed. Daine is a one-eyed lycan.”

“Yeah? So what?”

“It’s a superstition that one-eyed lycans are a bad omen. People say that when one is born, it’s a sign that the parents have disgraced Nebeous.” Isaac scoffs. “Not that anyone here actually understands Nebeous. He has nothing to do with this.”

Talking about Nebeous makes Shadow uncomfortable. He breaks eye contact as Isaac continues his explanation.

“With a superstition like that, obviously Daine being the king and queen's daughter is a big deal. The king did something disgraceful, and Daine is the living embodiment of that, or so they say. So she gets punished for it, and now to make ‘amends’ with Nebeous we’re all supposed to pretend that she’s not the king’s kid. That means we’re supposed to pretend we’re not siblings either.” Isaac gives a single, angry laugh. “Stupid, isn’t it? She’s my sister, and she did nothing wrong. Why would I lie about that!?”

Isaac’s smile vanishes once again. He looks at Shadow, his eyes filled with both anger and sincerity.

“Daine doesn’t want to disgrace anyone, so she keeps up with the pretense that she’s not the king and queen’s daughter. But I’m not ashamed of her, and I don’t want to keep it a secret. She’s my sister, and she means more to me than the world.”

Shadow looks back towards Isaac with these words. The two of them make eye contact, Shadow getting nervous at how serious Isaac is being.

“You understand, right?” Isaac says. “I would do anything for her, and I won’t let her get hurt. But I can’t always be there for her. My duties as the king’s heir keeps me away. She needs someone who can be there when I can’t,” Isaac says, sadly. “If you’re going to be her friend, promise you’ll be good to her.”

Hearing Daine’s story fills Shadow with a deep sympathy. He understands very well how she must feel. Being ostracized by everyone around you is one of the loneliest experiences a person can go through. He’s just like her. He also needs a friend.

Shadow puffs up his chest, determination gleaming in his eyes. “Of course!” he loudly states. “I would never hurt her!”

And with those words, Isaac’s smile is back. It’s the most sincere smile Shadow has seen from him so far. He gives a single, forceful pat on Shadow’s back.

“I like you, Shady!” he says. “We’re gonna get along great!”