The day was cold, and there was hardly anyone about due to the freezing conditions. Even this dim forest seemed unusually silent as Darren set foot on the small path. Great, a perfect day to explore a bit. The boy thought merrily, whistling a little as he spun his small torch between his fingers. Nothing starts off the year better than sneaking out alone into a supposedly haunted forest?

Cera frowned slightly as she kicked at the leaves beneath her feet, casting out uneasy glances into the shadows of the forest. She didn't like this place, but Cera had to do at least a check of it. With the new year starting at Magica, she wanted to make sure everything was relatively safe. Ahead of her was the path leading out of the forest, but she couldn't follow it just yet for she had around half of the forest left.

The woman stiffened as she caught a glimpse of a light ahead, and she crouched down silently, drawing her wand out. She was prepared for anything- Shadows, creatures, beasts, but not certainly for her younger brother.

"Darren!"

Darren jumped guiltily as he heard his name being called out, and planned to smooth talk his way out of it when he recognized that voice. Cera! She would certainly give him grief for being out here, of all places to be, and alone! The boy turned and gave his older sister a fleeting sheepish grin before taking off, hoping to at least get to the Academy before she caught him. Then maybe he wouldn't be lectured so sternly if there were students around.

The air hung quietly around her as Eraine slid out of the shadows, spinning her wand in her hand and a lazy half smirk pinned on her lips. Tonight would be a good night for some hunting, a little game of cat and mouse to welcome the new school year. Now all she had to do was to wait and hope that one little lamb had strayed from the flock. There would always be one, always. Snap. The Shadow's head turned sharply towards the source of the sound, in time to see a young boy skid to a halt, his eyes fixed on her. "Well, what do we have here?"

Darren gasped as he clutched a.nearby tree to halt his pace, his eyes fixed on the woman a small distance in front of him. There was no doubt as to who she was. A Shadow, Darren thought, panicking. "Cera!" Darren yelled, backing away from where she stood, "Shadow!" It wouldn't be wise to scream in a forest where anything could hear you, but Darren was but a small boy, and he surely felt like one now. "Darren!" He vaguely heard his sister call out from the woods behind him.

Damnit, that little brat took off before she could catch him. Immediately, Cera took off after him, keeping an equal pace with him. It would mean she wasn't losing him, but it also meant that she wasn't getting any closer. Suddenly, she heard a faint cry from her brother, and fear spiked her heart rate. What if something had happened? He was yelling now, but Cera couldn't make out what he was yelling.

"Darren!" Cera screamed, pushing herself harder. She seemed to have forgotten that she was an Auror, trained and skilled. No, in her mind, what she was now was nothing but an older sister who had promised to keep her sibling safe. Images of worst case scenarios started popping up in her mind, each stealing a bit more color from her face. Finally, she reached the young boy, grasping his shoulders, relieved to see he was fine.

But they weren't alone

"You," Cera growled, grasping her wand, "keep away from my brother." She knew what the stranger was, there was no mistaking it. Shadow.

Eraine smoothed over her expression into one of confidence, hiding the fact that she was cursing internally over this woman's appearance. She was one of those Aurors. But an Auror with a younger brother. Her lips quirked up into a slight smirk, fragments of a plan piecing together in her mind. Eraine could see it in the way the other woman spoke, she could hear the undercurrent of fear the Auror held. Not for herself, no, but for her brother. "What do we have here?" Eraine drawled casually, playing with the handle of her wand. "A little girl and her brother away from home. Tsk tsk, how naughty." A step closer, another flick of her wand; "Does your mommy know you're out?"