Ezra hadn't been sparing much thought for the woman after his initial inquiry, but as he scrambled back out from under the tree he'd started to wedge himself under he was grateful she was still here — without someone else keeping an eye out, he surely would have lost track of the boy again. As it was she seemed to have tracked him fairly well, and was now crouched down speaking softly to him. Ezra approached cautiously, still ultimately unconvinced that the child had run off on a whim rather than having intentionally run away from him. Maybe she would have a better time coaxing him out if Ezra was out of his line of sight.

A fairy? That was an intriguing source of bribery — would it work better than the marshmallow? He couldn't see the boy's face from where he was standing, and didn't dare creep any closer until he knew whether or not it had worked. He held his breath, and the tree rustled — the boy took a hesitant step back out into the aisle.

Over his shoulder, mere inches away, a shadow.

Ezra took a quick step forward and scooped the child up in his arms, holding him tightly while the boy let out a squeal of surprise and protest. He looked back to the tree line and — it was just a typical shadow, not the kind that had been haunting him half his life. The child in his arms burst into incomprehensible tears. Ezra shifted, unsure what to do next but entirely convinced that if he put the boy down he would immediately run off again.

"Thank you," he told the girl, having to raise his voice slightly to be heard over the boy's wailing.

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