William dumped down and accidentally scratched his dress up the wall. Then he quickly ran from the fortress to find his team’s meeting place. It was in an elevated spot close-by, bordered by the wild forest. Once there, it didn’t take long for Lucifer to come jumping through a bush. It’s task had been to find Thalgar.

Since the creature also knew that it shouldn’t use its ability willy-nilly, it had smeared itself in a puddle of mud beforehand as a way to disguise its pure white feathers. It came waddling over to William and cawed for his attention, cracking up its caked-up face in the process. “Is he still alive? And where are they keeping him?”, the human asked.

Lucifer wafted its tail, dusting the area clean. Then it gleefully began to write. “... Stairs... In a square guarded by 4 watchers… Hidden by high circle stairs… Many many closed doors… Can’t open”, William mumbled along as it wrote.

Sensing that the others had returned, Boros, poked its head out of the shadows. It locked eyes with William, who said, “Be patient, please… You’ll get to run amok soon enough…”. The giant dinosaur snorted before it retrieved itself into the darkness again, hungry for action.

Lucifer also tried to draw the surroundings but William stopped it from doing so, explaining, “No, no, that won’t be necessary. We now know that Thalgar is alive and here… The next thing we need to do is get him out and steal the antidote…”. Lucifer cocked its head confused and sang in a low questioning tune. To this William nervously grinned and said, “Yes! I think I’ve found it. And I’m going to try and steal it…”. Lucifer cawed twice just as excited, then it wrote: What me do?

William crawled over beside it, then drew a key for it, saying, “The doors can’t be opened because you need a key. See if you can find the one who carries it? Or perhaps you should look for a whole bundle of them… But, don’t try to take them yet… The longer they are left unaware of our presence, the better…”.

Lucifer went down to sniff at the drawing as if it could absorb the information that way. Then it grew restless. One leg, after the other, lifted itself from the ground. It was a strange dance that made Lucifer resemble a confused flamingo. “What’s wrong?”, William asked the dino.

Lucifer continued the odd motion, then it wrote: What if found? Me signal?... William stared at the drawing for a while. Then he gave Lucifer a concerned glance, dreading the outcome of being discovered and attacked. For not only were they clearly outnumbered, but also at a disadvantage when it came to the bonded guards that protected the fort.

William sighed, then gently clapped his little friend on the head, saying, “If you do get discovered, Lucifer… Then you run with your gift. Don’t go around hollering and screaming for my sake. Okay?”. The dinosaur blinked as the human left to complete their own task.

They rushed down the slope and approached the fortress with caution, till they heard some noise rustle behind them. William turned around and exclaimed in a stunned daze, “Lucifer!? What are you doing here? You should go find the keys, remember?”. The creature whined for being discovered then hurriedly darted away, only to return shortly after.

It didn't take long for William to discover its fake-out trick. He turned around frustrated and told it, “Please stop… You have to take this seriously”.

The dinosaur whipped its tail back and forth, just as frustrated as its parent before it wrote: Me are!... William gave it an uncertain look, “Truly?... Then don’t follow me”. The dinosaur understood this and helplessly planted its butt. William bounced an eyebrow but didn’t have the patience for further delay. For right now it was nighttime, the perfect time to sneak in and take some stuff. He couldn’t say the same in a few hours…

His back got turned to the dino and he crept forward. Things were going great but then a high-pitched cry rang out, scarring William into a shaky mess. “Lucifer!?”, he whispered harshly at the creature, “Why are you like this? You used to be so brave but now you’re crying up for all to hear! Can you please stop that? This instant!?”.

Even though Lucifer often misbehaved it still felt a compulsion to follow its parent’s demands. With a chomp, it sealed its mouth shut and sniffled: Stay. I save other human…

“No, you stay, and I’ll save Thalgar”, William claimed, not willing to let Lucifer risk its own hide so recklessly..

Again and again, Lucifer’s confidence had been shattered along their travels. Not only had it been handled like a kitten by Thalgar, but it had also experienced being sedated twice! With these failures in mind, how could Lucifer trust itself anymore? Especially now that it no longer just adored the energy but also its source?...

Lucifer saw the human’s defiance and so it started to growl and threaten to howl another round for all to hear. William switched back and forth, from looking at it to observe if anybody on the fortress had noticed them. “Lucifer… You have to trust that things will work out… Just… Relax… It’s not that-”.

Lucifer used a paw to prevent some mud from sliding into its eyes before it questioned, *Ru?*. William went over to help it smear the dirt away. Lucifer waited patiently for the human to make clean circles around its eyes, then it napped at his sleeve, keeping it captured between its teeth. “What? You want us to work together?”, William asked the cheeky brat. *Grrrr!*, it growled while nodding its head. William mulled over it for a bit, then exhaled deeply, “Fine… Now let go would you?”, he told the dino with a repressed twitching grin.

The dinosaur happily let go with a loud purr, which made the human shush at it. “Lucifer! We’re supposed to be quiet, remember?”. The selfish creature withdrew its neck in shame and turned down the charm.