I'll be your number one with a bullet;

A loaded god-complex, cock it and pull it!

It is a truth universally acknowledged that children make piss-poor invalids.

Despite firm instructions to stay home and rest, it wasn't long before Zero found himself quite certainly not at home- though, he reminded himself defensively, he hadn't gone that far from home. It's not like he'd gone to the mountains, or even to find Isopia in her home, a thing he desperately wished to do. No, he'd just moseyed along the coastline, just a little way, just off toward the one place he probably shouldn't have gone.

The place where it happened.

His wing had healed surprisingly well, though it still had a way to go. The multitude of bruises he'd accrued through his fall had yet to fully dissipate, and sadly he hadn't picked up any badass scars, but on the whole the lightning boy's healing process was a smooth one. What hadn't quite healed was his mind. Oh, sure, Zero was happy to tell everyone about his adventure, loudly boasting the important role he'd played in the death of the god. It wasn't until later, when he was all alone and night covered his face, that he sat and picked and tore at the metal on his side, trying desperately to do... something. Punish it, or perhaps himself, for a fact he now knew, a fact he couldn't escape: his wing wasn't going to grow in, and if he ever tried to fly he'd just fall down again.

These were the thoughts that plagued the boy as he made his way along the beach. So caught up in his distress was Zero that he almost didn't notice the girl, whose strange familiarity and incredible prettiness was completely outweighed, in the boy's mind, by the creature that sat upon her back. Familiar conflict spread through Zero's youthful mind. On the one hand, companions were awesome, and all the ones he knew could do really cool things. On the other, Ma was very, very firm on the fact that he must never get one, because it meant he was tying another creature to himself forever, whether they liked it or not. Zero could understand this- after all, he was bound forever to the ground. Curiosity and consternation fought a battle in the child's head, and surprisingly, consternation won.

"Is that your 'panion? My Ma says havin' a 'panion isn' responsible."

He tried to be serious. To maintain the look of judgment that his Ma could wear so well, the severe glare, the intimidating presence, but it was simply of no use. Zero stared down the girl and her griffin for as long as he could before crumpling, folding, succumbing to that which truly drove him. His wing hung limply across his back as the boy stepped forward, severe expression melting into one of innocent curiosity, sunbeam eyes trained on the newborn cat-bird-thing. "What is it?" he asked the girl finally, blinking and drawing his gaze away from the beautiful creature, sincere curiosity spread like watercolors across his face. The older girl was still so familiar, and also so pretty, and Zero flushed sheepishly, and mumbled, "'s really cool. What's its name?"

Maybe he just wouldn't tell Ma about this particular adventure. She didn't have to know he'd met another companion. It's not like his Ma and this stranger would ever cross paths.