Jim followed behind Aiden closely as they moved through the camp, his heart pounding and his head hung in shame. His son was moving quickly, but with nervous glances around him, like he expected to be attacked out of the shadows at any moment. The fox had followed them and was weaving through Aiden's legs, but she didn't trip the boy up; instead, they moved together fluidly, like they could anticipate each other's movements. Given the soft chittering sounds that they were making to each other, that was likely the case.
"Aiden..." Jim sigh hesitantly after five minutes of quiet power walking. He reached forward and grasped his son's wrist, trying to pull the boy to a stop, but Aiden twisted his hand to grasp Jim's own wrist back and continued pulling him along. "If we keep going, we'll go passed the borders of camp."
"That's the point," Aiden said back in a low voice.
Jim cringed, feeling very much like a child about to be scolded. "Aiden, I'm sorry. I lost myself, and—"
"It's not about that," Aiden replied, glancing back with a small, sad smile. He kept tugging Jim along behind him, faster now, and he could see, and then feel, as they passed through the protective wards of the camp. The taint of the Shadow Realm hadn't reached the area just outside of the wards yet, but it seemed duller than the thriving biosphere within. Aiden pulled him along a few more feet, inside of the tree line, and then stopped and turned to face him. "No one should hear us out this way."
"Hear us?" Jim repeated, frowning in confusion. "What's going on?"
"Mira said—"
"Mira?"
"The vixen," Aiden clarified with an impatient tone, gesturing down to the fox that was sitting at their feet and looking up at them with an anxious expression. "Ellie's right; she never leaves Finn's side. She's his familiar, like how wizards keep familiars."
"Can't they usually speak in human tongues?" Jim asked, trying to recall what little he knew of wizards. Merlin did not keep a familiar, nor had Morgana (though, he supposed, Angor Rot could have been considered her familiar). Claire didn't have one, either, and she'd never said anything about wanting one. Still, he did know a little about the subject, and he knew that the creatures were often enchanted with the ability to speak human languages.
Aiden nodded, and then shook his head. "Wizards' familiars usually are, yes, but the Elven are naturally imbued with nature magic, so they can communicate with animals easily. Well," Aiden paused in his explanation, smirking a little pridefully. "Not like I can. Their communication is more like impressions. I can actually talk with animals."
Jim almost laughed, but there was an undertone of fear and seriousness in Aiden's voice that prevented him from doing so. "So, what did she say?"
"She said that Finn is in trouble," Aiden replied, reaching down to absently pat the fox on the head when she whimpered at the sound of her master's name. "That he's been trapped behind concealment charms."
"The Draknagoth has him?" Jim gasped, a rushing sound building in his ears as his heart pounded.
Aiden winced and shook his head, his brown eyes wide. "No, he's here. He never left."
"What?" Jim gasped in stunned confusion. "That doesn't make any sense. How—"
"His father," Aiden said quickly, glancing around nervously again. "Mira doesn't know why, but Beathan is the one concealing him. He's been trapped there since before we came to camp. Mira said that Beathan had caught Finn trying to contact Ellie about something important, but she doesn't know what. Beathan got angry and bound Finn with rope and charms."
