Layla tried her best to recall what the Ankou was talking about…
"Did you have a chance to play with my tail? I've got an ultra-soft one..." asked the Dragoon, as she wiggled her little tail.
"Eh? You don't have one and you only learned how to make the fake one when your twin taught you Magecraft. When I was playing with you and your twin, you were too young," replied the Ankou, confused.
"Well, at least I know that you aren't trying to deceive me again..."
"Maybe you're wearing the wrong face?" asked Matt.
"The faces of the dead aren't used for costume change, Mattheos," spat Teemo as he glared at the bunny.
"He has got a point though… I'll change it up to jog your memory," said the Ankou as he snapped his finger.
A cloud of thick black smoke appeared from his feet, engulfing the Reaper's entire figure. As the cloud dispersed, he had lost his draconic features and looked more human. His hair was now silver and longer, with a small braid on his left side.
However, it was his eyes that had quite a big change. From pale purple eyes with dark red eye rings to a luminous green that could rival Matt's eyes.
"Sander?" squeaked Layla as she smiled.
"I know it's been a long time since you've seen me but rest assured, I am the same as always. Though I do apologize for not visiting you throughout the years..." replied the Ankou as his eyes went soft.
"Sander? Plus, I don't think it would be good for a Grim Reaper to pay people visits..." noted Teemo, raising an eyebrow.
"Alexander was the name I used with this look. And this appearance is my go-to whenever I show up at people's houses or deaths… Don't you think that is quite good?" asked the Ankou, giving a small twirl.
"You look better like this, to be honest…" added the Loplin as Layla rushed towards the Ankou.
The Dragoon halted a few steps before the Ankou, eyeing his features.
"Why didn't you tell us that you knew Layla? We could have prevented all this chaos," asked the Loplin, as his gun vanished.
"Honestly, I couldn't tell... Besides, I've been summoned here from my cozy place so I am slightly pissed off about that," explained the Ankou as he looked at Layla with a sweet smile.
"That begs me to question... If you had nothing to do with the string of deaths, then how did you end up here?" asked Teemo as he placed his sword on his back.
"And how could you've been summoned when your job is to ferry the lost souls to the afterlife? What are you doing?" added the bunny rabbit.
"I'm sitting down, can't you see? One question at a time, boys..." said the Ankou as he sat down beside Layla, who was extremely tired and needed to sit on the ground.
"Come now, young one... You may lay on my lap like old times' sake..."
Layla sighed as she kept her talons. The sleepy Dragoon nodded as she placed herself on the Ankou's lap.
"I'll start from the beginning, regarding the bond I have with this little Dragoon. My duty had been done after I had visited little Layla and her family years ago. I appeared when her parents died to collect their souls."
"I then went back to my normal job of soul collection until a month ago… When I was forcibly summoned and anchored to this realm, at this age, by a bunch of beings in robes. Dragoons, if I'm not mistaken."
"If I don't go back to my regular schedule, my work is going to pile up. I have no clue what they wanted me to do but when I found myself shackled, I tried to break free and used too much power… Just a small bit," said the Ankou, as he stroked the young Dragoon's tail.
"Define 'just a small bit'," ordered the Loplin, ears twitching as he started getting annoyed that the Ankou had a better connection with Layla than him.
"The blast might've wiped out everyone in that building but I still found myself unable to go back to my normal way of work. The Dragoons then confronted me by the dozens and I escaped there without too many casualties."
"They were nuts about forcing me on a leash and quelling the Salt Sea Goddess," answered the Grim Reaper.
"Then how about the Death Hound? Why did you summon it if you didn't want to be anchored to the realm?" asked Matt, strolling around to find some stray ores that had survived the blast.
"I have no clue that the Death Hound has been let loose and I certainly wasn't the one who summoned him. Is he being a bad dog again?" questioned the Ankou.