Grievances.

At long last, all the groups arrived. Almost same reactions, and Kieran , Ace and Elira were able to convince them them stay for a solution.

But the Shadow Valley is no longer quiet. The air is thick with tension, the weight of unspoken words pressing down on everyone present.

The groups that came first sit stiffly, their gazes darting between each other, between Ace, Kieran, and most of all, Rika and her people.

The newer arrivals stand for a moment longer, hesitant, suspicious, scanning the unfamiliar faces before them.

They expected enemies, expected to face those they came to confront, but instead, they find themselves in the presence of the most feared and respected figures in the supernatural world.

For a moment, no one speaks.

They are still trying to process this, that Ace and Kieran are here, not just watching, but actively involving themselves.

And the hostility shifts.

Not gone, but redirected.