“We may need to consider trying a different site tomorrow,” Lina mused as they sat around at dinner that night. She was treating them at a cozy restaurant near the palace, not wanting Mrs. Wu to go through the trouble of creating another feast for them.

“It better be an easy trail,” Brigitte grumbled. “Don’t go switching locations and have me play escort on the hard trails.”

Morgan caught Nellie’s eye as the adults half-argued over where to next look. She shook her head, hissing at him to be quiet. He ignored her, clearing his throat loudly.

“Are we ever going to discuss the fox,” Morgan asked once he had their attention.

“There is nothing to discuss,” Lina said dismissively.

“Is there not,” Morgan asked coolly. “It followed Nellie all over the mountain today. I suspect it was what was looking at her last night.”

“There is nothing to discuss, Master Morgan, because it is a relatively harmless creature if ignored,” Lina stressed. She turned to make it clear she was now talking only to Brigitte and Beast. “The Fanjing Mountains may be a good area. True, full of tourists again, but the former Commander may be attracted to the temples.”

The locations Lina, Beast, and Brigitte kept talking about were all tourist spots. Nellie could understand how they needed to use these places as a starting point, but there was something about how quickly the adults were willing to leave that struck her as odd. All they had done was walk up the mountain a bit, but perhaps Lina was reaching out in some discreet way.

Nellie watched Lina sternly speak to Mrs. Wu later that night. The gestures towards the door made her guess it was on the importance of keeping the door locked. She ducked back into the bedroom as Lina turned to go into the kitchen.

“You find them suspicious too,” Morgan said from his mat.

“I think that’s too strong of a word,” Nellie said.

“That fox isn’t native,” Morgan mused, looking at his phone. “It looked like a corsac fox. Those are much further north.”

“It also turned into a girl, so I don’t think it follows the standard habitat.”

“A huli jing,” Morgan said. He pointed to one of the many fox figurines in the bedroom. “My belief is that Mrs. Wu is a remnant of the fox worshippers. The communists say they killed them all during the revolution, but that in itself would just be propaganda.”

“Lina is very protective and wary over Mrs. Wu inviting that fox in,” Nellie commented.

“Well, they’re not exactly safe creatures,” Morgan said. “Most of the stories say they’re dangerous.”

“Ash is supposed to be dangerous too.” She shushed Morgan as he started to talk, leaning her ear closer to the crack in the door as the adults moved back into the living room.

“--Fanjing and then Tianmen. That should satisfy those kids enough,” Beast said.

“Yeah, just enough of a bone toss to make them feel like they tried,” Brigitte said.

“And the Regere is aware of their location,” Lina asked, an anxious tone in her voice.

“Talked to Evora this morning,” Brigitte said. “Worried sick, poor thing.”

“She should’ve given her brat more discipline,” Beast said. “We’ll see you bright and early tomorrow. And don’t worry; I’ll move my bed out here. That fox won’t get in tonight.”

“Then I only must worry after you leave,” Lina sighed.

Nellie dived onto the mat next to Morgan, shushing him again as he opened his mouth to ask what was happening. She rolled away from the doorway, pulling the cover up to her ears, and shutting her eyes tight.

“What’s going on,” Morgan demanded of Brigitte.

“Can’t adults just have a chat without kids,” Brigitte snapped. She dragged out Beast’s mat, and then her own. “It’s way too stuffy in here with all of us. And I bet you lot want time without chaperones.” She kicked her mat out the door. “Don’t stay up too late. You’ll be sorry.”

Nellie sat up and lowered the blanket. “Well, now I'm definitely not suspicious. They’re not trying to find Rhys at all. They're just… dragging us sight-seeing until your mom picks us up.”

Morgan’s expression clouded. He flopped back with a huff.

“They never took me seriously after all…” He rolled over to stare at her. “What should we do? We came all this way. It would be an utter waste to just go along with them.”

“I don’t know,” Nellie murmured. “Can we just go look on our own? Is that even possible here?”

They lapsed into silence but the thickness in the room indicated neither had fallen asleep. The lights outside the room went out, and all fell quiet out there. Morgan’s breathing eventually evened and deepened, leaving Nellie to mull over what to do alone. Nothing came to her.

She wrestled the photo of Rhys at his graduation from a tight pocket in her bag. She stared at it as if waiting for it to tell her what to do.

Next she knew, she was jerked awake.

The eyes were staring at her again, inches from her face. This time, Nellie eased herself up and took in the rest of the small fox. She reached behind herself and shook Morgan vigorously until he grunted and snorted.

“Wha-what’s wrong,” he grumbled, sitting up. He inhaled sharply. “Huli jing… Nellie, we should–.”

“Ssh!” Nellie sat up straighter, smiling. “It’s not safe for you here right now. We’re leaving when the sun comes up. You can visit Mrs. Wu after then.”

The huli jing cocked her head. Her eyes flashed as they caught the picture next to Nellie’s pillow. She gave it a sniff, causing Nellie to quickly grab it. She was too familiar with Ash’s record with paper to risk it.

The fox grew and morphed into the girl. Morgan gave another sharp breath, but didn’t voice whatever was going on in his head.

The girl pointed to the photo. “Him?”

“Rhys,” Nellie said. “My father.”

“We’re looking for him,” Morgan chimed in, inching closer. He snatched the photo, and held it out for the girl to better see. “He’d look older, but I doubt there are a plethora of blond, middle-aged European men traveling alone through here.”

The girl tilted her head.

“He wants to know if you’ve seen Rhys come through here,” Nellie explained.

The girl pointed. “Rhys?” She shrank back into a fox, flicked her tail, and darted from the room.

Nellie and Morgan exchanged a quick glance, coming to the same conclusion. They quickly changed and tiptoed out to the dark living room.

The fox swished her tail in the open doorway, then darted into the dark hall outside.

They missed the sunrise completely as they followed the fox along the twisting river in the shadows of the peaks. They were wet and sticky with sweat by the time they started climbing out of the river banks. The echos of tourists on the river were just starting to reach their ears as they disappeared into the trees.

“Th-they'll be fully aware we've g-gone by now,” Morgan huffed.

“They would’ve known hours ago,” Nellie said, clutching a stitch in her side. They were surrounded by trees. “I don’t think they’d be able to follow us.”

“I’m not certain that’s a positive,” Morgan said. He straightened, brushing his sweaty bangs off his forehead. “Where’s that huli jing?”

The small fox appeared on a nearby boulder with a little yip. She seemed offended at the accusation Morgan hadn’t had time to voice.

“Are we almost there,” Nellie asked. Her stomach gave a rumble. “Or are we need food at least?”

The fox dashed into the woods.

“Don’t give her more tasks,” Morgan said irritably. “We aren’t sure she even grasped the first one.”

“She’s not stupid,” Nellie said.

“Huli jing are tricksters. We should remember that.”

Nellie was too tired to point out that Morgan had no reservations when they were creeping out of Mrs. Wu’s apartment, nor when they were tripping along the banks of the river. 

She jumped down off a boulder and into a wave of hot, nauseating, stink. She clamped her hands to her nose and mouth as acid surged in her throat. Her blood going cold when she saw she had landed in a pile of dead animals.

“Ugh! What is that dreadful stench!”

Morgan paled as he joined Nellie. He hastily covered his nose and mouth, but bent lower to look at the nearest carcass. A noise of revulsion gurgled from his throat.

“They’re bloodless…”

“As in… they've been drained?” Nellie gulped. “Like by a vampire?”

She wasn't positive vampires were real but Morgan’s lack of a snide remark led her to believe they were. She never heard of—or rather watched a movie—of vampires living in the forests.

The two of them jumped with little eeps as the huli jing appeared, this time as her girl form. She scowled at the dead animals.

“Dangerous. Stay close.”

“This wasn't you, then,” Morgan asked, his voice higher.

The girl narrowed her eyes and put her hands on her hips. She gave a huff, and stomped off into the trees.

“You should apologize,” Nellie said, leading the way after the girl. 

“To a fox?”

“Yes, Morgan, to a fox,” Nellie said. “It doesn't really matter what she is. She understands you, and you hurt her feelings.”

Morgan was grumbling, whacking branches from his face just behind her when a crash sounded from above. He screamed, a mixture of pain and panic.

Nellie whipped around and saw a winged, tawny creature half his size upon him.

“Morgan!” She grabbed the nearest stick thick enough to hurt.

“Careful!” The girl broke back through the trees, and surveyed the scene. “Late.”

She popped back into a fox and launched at the creature gnawing at Morgan. Nellie beat at it, breaking the stick quickly, and resorting to a thin, whipping branch. She smacked the creature with a loud crack. It released Morgan and threw itself at Nellie.

Her muscle memory from the weeks of sword play with the boys kicked in enough that Nellie was able to whip the feline-esque animal across the face, and again across the chest. Her third counter was deflected by one of its leathery wings, and she was knocked over. She screamed as its fangs pieced her upper arm, having thrown it up just in time to keep it from chomping on her neck.

Morgan’s foot came out of nowhere, kicking viciously at the animal’s head. The teeth tore through Nellie’s arm, but the creature was off.

“You all right,” Nellie asked, staggering up.

Morgan was holding his shoulder near his neck which was seeping dark, red blood. He was very pale and shaking, but gave a small nod.

Nellie barely glanced at her own injury when movement caught her peripheral vision. She whipped her stick as the animal lunged at them again; she kept herself firmly in front of Morgan as he started swaying dangerously. She was vaguely aware that the huli jing was gone just as another of the winged feline-esque animals dropped from the canopy.

There wasn't a way out that she could see. She was injured, essentially lost, and Morgan was now on his knees. Frightened tears fell from her eyes as she readied her stick. Nathalie was never going to know what happened to her.

The little fox broke through the trees behind the two winged beast, giving a snarl. She somehow wore a smug expression.

A crash sounded a split second later, and Nellie saw something large and two-legged brandishing fire at the creatures. One was set ablaze; it raced by her yowling in pain. The other was speared through the neck with a sharpened stick as it swung around to attack this new presence.

Nellie spun and dropped by Morgan now that the immediate threat had passed. He was still seeping blood, but it looked as if it had slowed. He was extremely pale and trembling. She tried to get him up and found him surprisingly heavy. Panic struck her again as she realized what had been inkling in the backs of her mind; there was no way she was going to be able to carry Morgan to safety.

“Stand aside.”

She barely registered that it was a human voice, adult and masculine with a definite familiar English accent, before she was swept aside. She staggered up to her feet, twisting her hands anxiously, as she stared at the broad back of the strange man crouching over Morgan. His fair-hair was shaggy and flecked with white.

She swallowed roughly and looked at the dead animal nearby. “What were those?”

“Feihu,” the huli jing, now in her girl form, answered. “Dangerous.”

“They’re pack animals. Those would’ve been scouts.” The man stood with Morgan draped in his arms. “We need to move.”

She trailed after this man with the huli jing–once again as fox–on her heels. Her heart was thumping rapidly but the adrenaline from the attack had already waned too much for that to be the reason. She was taking in this man's shaggy, wavy hair; his shirt simmered faintly with metallic threads. She was beginning to shake and it had nothing to do with her bleeding arm.

He led them to a tiny hut made out of the trees and underbrush in the area. Nellie wouldn't have noticed it on a first look, but definitely would've poked her head in with little hesitation once she spotted it. It was curious and inviting all at once.

Morgan was laid out on a bed of dried grasses and huge leaves. Nellie slithered in, sinking to his side. She swallowed a lump in her throat as she took in his pallid complexion and shallow breathing.

“He'll be all right in a moment.” 

Nellie couldn’t look at his face, and focused her attention on his calloused fingers sprinkling a fine, pink powder into Morgan’s wound. Nellie chewed her lip, and weakly asked, “Is that alicorn?”

She shrunk and hastily looked away as the man rounded on her, but not fast enough for her to fail to notice that the surprised eyes were the same blue as hers.

“You know alicorn?”

The huli jing–now a girl–popped into the hut. She sat next to Nellie and cozied up like an affectionate cat. She pointed at her freckles and then at Nellie’s, just missing her eye with her pointed fingernail.

“Freckles. Cute.”

“Ah, so that’s where you got them.” Nellie turned her head to avoid his eyes. “Hold out your arm, miss. A pinch will do you right.”

The silence was heavy enough to crush the hut. She stared at her mending arm to avoid looking at Morgan, who was breathing normally and returning to color, and at this man she was too sure of the identity of. He had a bit of scruff on his face, as if he had not shaved in several days. It was very different from the photo tucked in her pocket.

Morgan gave a small groan. Nellie clamoured over their rescuer to get closer, grabbing his arm to help him sit up.

“Morgan!” Nellie threw her arms around him, fighting against a blubber but not able to fully stop the tears.

“Morgan…?”

“I’m all right,” Morgan muttered. “Somehow.”

Nellie pulled away to give Morgan space to breathe and process where he was. She pulled at some split ends in a lock of her wavy, auburn hair, avoiding looking at all the humans. She gave the girl a weak, sheepish smile.

“What good luck on our part,” Morgan said, eyes locked on the blond man. He scoffed. “I doubt you remember me. I would’ve never looked twice at you.”

“I beg your pardon?”

She laughed shakily, unable to help it. The tone was so much like Uncle Winston and Nathalie. She found herself shaking once again.

“Rhys.” The girl pointed boldly right at the man’s stunned face. “Rhys. Father. Rhys. Found.”

“You mad, little fox. What on earth are you on about?” He froze. “How… did you learn my name?”

Rhys looked to Morgan, his eyes widened as he no doubt began to see the similarities to the Regere. He spun on his seat towards Nellie, but she once more was unable to look at him. Her insides kept squirming. Her eyes burned, ready for fresh tears, and she had a sudden desire to not cry in front of him.

“P-Perenelle?”

--------------------------

Finally! Still managed Wednesday, but it was close. We're rounding out towards the end of Nellie's book. There are a couple of reasons why the huli-jing isn't named yet, the first being she was named way, way, way, way back whn this was 'girl goes monster tracking with friends' which is where Ava ended up coming from. Nellie had two more friends in her crew, a huli-jing that I cannot for the life of me remember the name of and can't find it anywhere (had an x and I think q because those are sh and ch and that still blows my mind), and a drow (troll) called Mehitable. The other reason the fox as no name right now is because no one named her. Mrs. Wu wouldn't dare since she sees her as a god-adjact creature.

Oh, but Nellie found Rhys. Or he found them.

Not even the grogginess from the extreme jetlag diminished the awesome sight of the bald, grey-brown rock topped with brilliantly green trees that towered over the small city. Nellie found herself staring with her mouth open, not even the random tourist bumping her distracted her. This looked like a dragon’s paradise to her. It was amazing no one looked in China sooner.

“Brigitte! Beast!”

A middle-aged woman–possibly older–with grays streaking her bluntly cut, jaw-length hair approached through the crowd. Her eyes were sharp but weary, as if she had seen too much or pulled a few long shifts in a row.

“Ah, there you are,” Beast greeted with enthusiasm. Brigitte smiled stiffly and waved. “I was starting to worry one of your co-workers would find us first.” He jabbed  his thumb back towards Nellie and Morgan. “The Regere’s kid and the former Commander’s girl.”

“Morgan Agarwal,” Morgan said, glaring sideways at Beast as he held out his hand. He quickly dropped it and gave a small bow.

She inclined her head in response with a small smile. “Wang Lina. Though with you being Western, I suppose that’s Lina Wang.”

“Lina will pose as our escort,” Beast explained.

“Um… doesn’t the government keep track of things like that,” Nellie asked. “Surely not just any random person can impersonate one of those government escorts.”

“She’s not,” Brigitte said. “She’s a spy.”

“Yes, say that louder, Brigitte,” Lina said dryly. She gestured to the crowded street. “Shall we? I’ll take you to your lodgings to drop off your bags, and then perhaps something to eat?”

“What about a nap between that,” Nellie asked hopefully.

“Best not,” Lina said. “Part of my role is to keep you up until an appropriate time for bed. The jetlag goes by much quicker that way. Come along; this way.”

Nellie had been afraid of that; Nathalie did the same the few times they went to England. Luckily, there was so much to see that she was distracted from dwelling on how exhausted she was.

They drove south in Lina’s compact car, following the river down. She pointed things out that were either historic or could be of some interest to the two pre-teens, but Nellie knew she had no hope of remembering the harshly tonal names. She did understand that they just passed the palace when they started to slow, and committed that to memory if she needed a landmark on the chance she was separated from the others.

They turned into a neighborhood of combined houses and apartment buildings that all had the same tan facade and black roofs. Lina led them up the stairs of a unit tucked in the corner off the busy highway to the apartment on the second floor. She knocked once before trying the door. It was unlocked.

Lina scowled and muttered something in Chinese before smiling at them and motioning for them to enter.

The whole place smelled pleasantly of food. It was similar to Chinese places she’d eaten in with Nathalie back in Florida, but not exact. It smelled much, much better, and a little strange as if there were seasonings she had never smelled before.

A tiny, hunched old woman shuffled out from the kitchen. She spoke rapid-fire to Lina, turning a few times to address Beast and Brigitte–them nodding politely with large, vacant smiles–and gesturing wildly at Morgan and Nellie. Lina spoke to her in even tones, motioned to the front door, and began escorting her to an easychair.

“This is Wu Mansha,” Lina introduced, looking at Morgan and Nellie. “Mrs. Wu is suitable.”

“She frequently hosts us,” Brigitte added. “Can’t speak a lick of English. And Beast and me don’t speak any Chinese, but we all get on all right.” She cupped her hand to her mouth. “Good to see you well!”

“Going deaf,” Beast muttered to the kids. He glared at the door. “And… forgetful?”

“Such happens with age,” Lina said dismissively. “She did remember I told her you were visiting. She’s been cooking. We have no need to go anywhere tonight.” She stepped up to Morgan and gave a small bow of her head. “Is all this to your liking?”

Morgan reeled back slightly, but looked pleased. “Yes. Very. Thank you.”

Nellie’s stomach dropped. She was hoping Morgan would complain about staying up at the least so they could all go to bed. Her head was starting to swim from the exhaustion.

She was shown to a cramped room at the back of the apartment with sleeping pads laid on the floor and neatly made up with blankets. She stared wistfully back at the as she dropped off her bag and was escorted away. Lina and Mrs. Wu kept breaking into rapid conversation, only a few words of which were translated to Beast and Brigitte.

The food was excellent; what Nellie could comprehend at least. She was now too tired to have more than ‘yummy’ or ‘too spicy’ flit through her brain. Morgan seemed to cope better with the jetlag and tried to speak with the adults, but even he was slowing.

“Right,” Lina murmured, looking at a watch on her wrist. “I say give it another hour if you can mange. Seven o’clock is still rather early, but I any longer will be cruel to the children.”

“This was their idea,” Brigitte grumbled, her own eyes drooping with fatigue. She gave a yawn, climbing to her feet. “I’m going to bed. Reckon you’ll just have to put up with my sour temper tomorrow.”

Nellie glanced around the kitchen to keep her brain engaged. There were many small figures on shelves only for the purpose of housing them; common enough in elderly homes that it reminded her of Nana and Granddad’s house. Most of them appeared to be foxes.

Lina climbed to her feet once her plate was cleared. “I’ll head out. Beast, a word first.”

They stepped out of the kitchen but went no further with the apartment being small. Nellie caught Lina was asking something from her tone, but only caught the word ‘watch’. Beast gave a firm nod, and locked the front door after Lina before returning to the table.

It wasn’t long after that Nellie and Morgan were allowed to head off to bed. Nellie spotted Mrs. Wu unlocking the door as she went from the bathroom to the bedroom. She meant to say something to Beast, but fell asleep as soon as she laid on her bed mat.

She woke with a start some hours later. She blinked into the murky brown above her–the street lamps filtering in through a gap in the curtain. She guessed the sudden wakening was connected to the severe time change, and rolled over to find a more comfortable position.

There was a pair of eyes shining faintly from the weak light just inches from her nose.

Nellie screamed and scrambled backwards, flopping over Morgan who sat up with a confused yelp. There was further confusion with Beast and Brigitte shouting at each other, or the kids, and trying to get up without tossing anybody into anything. At this point, Mrs. Wu appeared shrieking angrily.

“What is wrong with you,” Morgan snapped, finally throwing Nellie off and disentangling himself from the blankets and limbs.

“Eyes! There were eyes!” Nellie pointed to the now empty space just as the light in the room was flicked on. “But….”

Beast rushed from the room, soon returning with a disgruntled look on his face.

“Call Lina,” Brigitte asked. He gave her a nod. “Right. Mrs. Wu, dear, come with me.” She gently ushered the elderly woman away. “There we are. This way.”

“Try to get back to sleep,” Beast said. “It’s gone now.”

“It,” Morgan accused. “She didn’t hallucinate it?”

Beast said nothing else. He packed up his sleeping mat and blankets, and left the room.

Nellie was sure she wouldn’t be able to fall back asleep as she settled back onto her mat. She heard Morgan grumbling under his breath on her side, heard Lina arrive some time after, and then was asleep again.

---

The eyes were not brought up as they sat around eating breakfast. Lina spoke in low tones to Beast and Mrs. Wu, Brigitte having left some minutes before Nellie woke up. Where she went and why was not discussed, and Nellie couldn’t help wonder if it had something to do with what happened.

“We’ll go up to Tianyou Peak today,” Lina said. “Tourist find it popular, but it may lead to some signs of the former Commander.”

“Nellie’s mostly here just to be a tourist,” Morgan said bitterly.

“When will you drop that,” Nellie hissed. “I’m here. Leave me alone.”

Beast drained his tiny cup of tea. “Kids are so irritating.” He climbed to his feet, slightly stooped to keep his head from brushing the ceiling. “I’ll wait at the mountain.”

Lina didn’t allow them to leave until Brigitte returned. She apparently wanted either her or Beast to stay at the apartment, knowing that having the both of them would attract far too much attention. It was a difficult toss up on which one would draw the most attention with both being dark-skinned, Beast being over seven feet tall, and Brigitte’s hair bright shades of purple. As Lina articulated as they went to meet Beast, it would’ve been easier for her to travel with just the kids but also the most suspicious.

“People will look at our group two or three times, maybe just stare, and having either one or the other will make them think a family trip,” Lina explained as they climbed the steps to the start point of the hike.

“But… we don’t look anything like either of them,” Nellie said. “Especially me.”

“They’ll think you a fluke,” Lina said nonchalantly. “Ah, there he is. See him a mile away.”

Lina and Beast briefly discussed the plan for the hike, where to stop and what points could be of interest.

Nellie started to fall behind almost at once. She was in good shape after all the running around at Silas’s compound, but there was too much to see now that she wasn’t so sleep deprived. The views grew more and more breathtaking during the step climb up the stone steps. There was a low hanging cloud over the twist of river below. The surrounding mountains rose straight up into the sky.

She stopped at an overlook, pressed against the rail by the mass of onlookers all clamouring for the perfect selfie.

“Photo?”

It took Nellie a moment to realize the voice was directed at her, and another to find the speaker in the throng of people. A girl about her own age stood a few paces away, staring at her with eyes Nellie could only describe as clever—as strange a descriptor she found it. There was an odd, yellowish glint to them when the sunlight caught them as she moved nearer.

“Photo,” she repeated, her accent not nearly as thick as the first time.

“Oh, no, I'm okay,” Nellie said hastily. “I was just looking. I better go before I…” She looked around, popping up on her toes, but saw no hint of Beast in the crowd. “I better go. Sorry. Excuse me.”

She scrambled away from the lookout. She knew they were supposed to go up to the peak, so continued climbing without much worry. If she was quick enough, they wouldn’t realize she was gone.

Nellie balked as the girl stood on the path before her. She looked back over her shoulder at the overlook, unable to see it due to a curve in the pathway, and then at the girl. She got both feet on the same step to stabilize herself while her insides gave an uncomfortable squirm. There was no way that girl could’ve sneaked by her on such a narrow path.

“What are you,” Nellie asked carefully.

She nearly lost her balance as the girl jumped towards her, landing on the step just in front of her. She leaned back as the girl leaned closer to her face. A wide smile took over her face. Her canines were oddly pointed.

“This?” The girl poked Nellie’s nose.

“My nose? What about…?”

The girl’s face started to change. Tiny freckles appeared on either side of her petite nose, not crossing onto the bridge or extending beyond the tops of her cheeks.

“Cute?”

“Y-yeah,” Nellie said weakly. The girl spun around happily. “Um… I need to go catch up to everyone.” She inched by the girl. “Bye.”

She could feel the girl staring at her back as she climbed the steps. An odd rustling drew her attention back behind her.

The girl was gone.

“Hello?” 

Nellie craned her head towards the side of the mountain, thankfully seeing nothing that indicated she fell over the side. She crossed her arms tight, trying to convince herself it was because of the chilly air at that altitude and not because all the hair on her neck was raised. She took a step up, turning back to her climb, and yelped in surprise.

The girl was before her, inches from her face.

“Hello,” the girl said, her accent now completely American. She pointed to her freckles on her cheeks. “These?”

“Freckles? Yeah… I saw you get them. Or make them. Or whatever it was.” Nellie bit her lip. “So, I really do need to catch up with my cousin and them.”

“Me?” She skipped a few steps up. “Me too?”

“If you want to… You’re not, y’know, going to push us off the side or anything, right?”

The girl cocked her head like a dog. Her deep, brown eyes glinted with yellow as she smirked and scampered upwards. Nellie followed at a slower pace, trying to keep some distance and sticking firmly to the mountain side.

“What are you,” Nellie asked, not as warily as before. The girl looked back, cocking her head again. “Maybe it doesn’t translate… Actually, how much can you understand me? How do I test that?”

The girl smirked again and hurried off. She left the path to scramble over boulders and tug at exposed tree roots. It reminded Nellie a lot of Ash rushing around the woods.

“These mountains are incredible,” Nellie said after a long lapse of silence. “I wish I was here just to hike.” She frowned. “I wish Ash was here. He’s my smoke wolf. Or, I guess mine isn’t right, but he’s my friend who happens to be a smoke wolf. He was my only friend for a long time after I moved to Tennessee.”

“Tennessee?”

“It’s one of the states in the United States,” Nellie explained. “Do you know the United States? America? You’ve probably had a few people from there visit here. They have accents like mine. …Unless they’re from the Deep South or New England or the Midwest or…. Well, there’s a lot of American accents, but mine is generic.”

She stopped to catch her breath and to take in the view. The river was now so far below it was a shimmer of silver with the cloud having evaporated. The enormity of the scenery choked her. Somewhere out there was her father, but trying to find him looked impossible. And this was only one of the many mountain ranges.

Nellie swallowed the lump in her throat and batted at her eyes. She jerked when the girl stuck her face right in hers, studying her quizzically.

“It’s so pretty,” Nellie said lamely, gesturing to the view. “It makes one emotional.” She flinched as the girl touched a stray tear, and cringed as she tasted it. “Ew.”

“Nellie! Nellie!” Morgan’s voice echoed down the mountain. “Nellie! Answer me!”

“That’s my cousin,” Nellie explained to the girl. “Morgan! I’m almost to you!” She started climbing. “Come on; he sounds worried.”

They met on the path. Morgan’s face went from relief to fury in the blink of an eye. He stood his ground, arms folded, and waited for Nellie to close the gap.

“I should have guessed you were dragging your feet,” Morgan said airily. “Enjoying your sight seeing?” His hazel eyes darted to the girl. “Who is that?”

“More like what,” Nellie muttered.

“Are you ready to give finding your father a more serious attempt, or are you still just here to make friends and take selfies?”

Nellie bristled. “I am looking! I came all the way here when I didn’t want to!”

The girl gave an odd, startled yelp as Nellie raised her voice. She shrank with a faint pop, and there was now a small, reddish and silver fox where she had stood. It darted off the path into the rocks, leaving Morgan and Nellie staring with their mouths slightly open.

-----------------------------

When I took Mandarin forever ago, the name I was assigned at the end of the semester was Wang Mansha. Wang is really common, and so is Wu so I gave the old lady the Mansha and Lina the Wang. Lina is also written as Li Na and is supposedly a really common and traditional combination for women.

I used Google Earth to map the neighborhood and some of the mountain path that they're at, since I'm not going to China any time soon (looking at all the mountains makes me want to go right now, lol, I think it's been long enough between my degree and now to go soonish). I do recommend just doing an image search of Tianyou Peak and/or Wuyishan Mountians. It's so freaking pretty. I think the hike all the way to the peak takes a couple of days, so I figured Lina and Beast planned on just going as far as they could, maybe grabbing lunch at a tea house, and heading back down.

But I guess the more interesting development is that Nellie continues to attract cryptids on the other side of the globe.

June gave way to July. Silas threw a huge Fourth of July bonfire for them where Arden and Fin followed Arch around chanting, “USA,” over and over, until he grew so annoyed he sent a golem after them. Arden was in a much better mood the moment Brittney left and was being extra annoying to the older boys to make up for the days that she’d been there.

Nellie had small moments of loneliness with Ava and Amias both leaving. They never lasted long, not with her greenhouse duties with Lilac, sneaking into the woods with Fin and Brody (Calix having gone to Greece for two weeks to visit family), and discussing–or avoiding–Morgan’s dragon research. She was sure to write Ava a letter and make it vague enough that she could share it with Emma, Olivia, and Sophia. She also scratched out her note to text Penny asking if it was possible for someone like her to make friends.

Nellie propped her face on her hand as Mrs. Adams hobbled in front of them, a book held in her hand that she was reading snippets from. It had something to do with the religious order that the Order of Ferblanc acted as an arm of, and how it was once a part of the Roman Catholic church. Nellie was having a hard time focusing on the dry history when Mrs. Adams constantly would pause to reiterate that the two are separate but also the same.

“The Holy See has the Swiss Guard,” Mrs. Adams went on, “while the Holy Cor has the Order of Ferblanc. Yes, Mr. Jones?”

“Brody, why,” Arden hissed. “I want to get out of here.”

“The Holy See isn’t really part of Vatican City, right,” Broday asked. “It’s its own thing?”

“Correct, Mr. Jones,” Mrs. Adams said. “And to answer your next question before you ask it, the Holy Cor is also a separate entity although it is located alongside Vatican City just as the Holy See. The difference here being that the Holy See is an internationally recognized government while the Holy Cor stays to the Realm.”

“And it’s feminine,” Lilac said airily, lifting her hand after the fact.

“Yes, Miss Maebry; the Holy Cor takes on the feminine to balance out the masculine of the Holy See. A tribute of sorts to all the women and their role centuries back when the religious first came to be. There is crossover, of course, most particularly with the religious orders. The two will share monks and nuns with no qualms. It boils down to a single, specific line during vows to even know which brother or sister belongs where. And, really, who has time to sort any of that out.” She snapped her book shut. “We’ll continue this tomorrow. There will also be an extra lesson pertaining to the Auctorita’s founding. Now, I’m sure you want to get to your letters before I call you back for geography.”

Nellie had a letter from Nathalie that was not very long. It spoke of her teaching, how all her petunias died, and how she still had not replaced the laptop she dropped. Ash was doing well–Nathalie lamenting his leaving bits of dead things around. She also had a reply from Ava. This was also not very long, but it was clear from the lack of flow that the other girls had added their thoughts during the writing. They even all signed it, saying they missed her–Nellie doubted Olivia really did–and hoped she’d return before summer finished so that they could all go shopping.

Hey,” Fin said, glancing over. He held up his sheets of paper. “Welcome to the two letters club. It’s exclusive.”

“Ava says she misses you guys,” Nellie said, giving Ava’s letter a shake.

“Ava nice,” Itzel said. “Miss her.”

Morgan stared at his half page with boredom. He folded it and leaned back in his chair. “My mother sends her love.”

They were interrupted by Mrs. Adams appearing with an old shoebox. Arch jumped up to take it from her as she hobbled into the den.

“Thank you, Mr. Willoughby. Pass those out, would you? Mr. Javernick has requested geography be held an hour later, and to have your phone allotment moved to now. Dinner tonight will be formal practice, so will last longer.” She hobbled from the den. “I’ll have the box on my desk. You may drop them off on your way into geography.”

Arch looked from his battered, old flipphone to the smartphones around him wistfully before excusing himself to make a call. Brody also excused himself to call family while Lilac–having just seen her parents–settled into a chair and started coloring on a coloring app. Itzel had no phone so started on writing her reply.

“Wanna sword fight,” Arden asked Nellie and Morgan. “We can do it in pairs. Me and Morgan against Fin and Nellie.”

“Should I not be with Cabrera?” Morgan eyed Fin. “Oldest and youngest against the two in the middle?”

“Yeah, normally, but Nellie’s lousy so putting her with Fin will either better our chances or even out the teams,” Arden said.

“Gee thanks,” Nellie said dryly.

Morgan looked pleased someone ranked him over Nellie, and agreed to Arden’s terms.

Nellie did not do as badly as she feared; perhaps in some attempt to show up Arden and Morgan or because Fin was just a good partner. She and Morgan eventually held back to let Arden and Fin go at it. They plopped down beneath a nearby tree to allow the shade to cool them.

“Silas told me dinner is formal practice due to guests,” Morgan said in low tones. “More Auctorita founding members.”

“Your mom?”

“No; much better,” Morgan said with a smirk. “It’s our way into China.”

“What are you talking about,” Nellie asked carefully.

“I did not hit you hard enough for this,” Morgan said. He rolled his hazel eyes. “Your father. China. Does that ring the bell?”

Her stomach plummeted. Morgan had been so quiet about Rhys and China that Nellie thought he accepted the obvious wall before them. It didn't occur to her that his stubbornness had him looking for another solution. 

She laughed shakily. “You're crazy! You think I can just call Nathalie and get my passport? Even if you did find a way into China, no way is she letting me go.”

“No passport and no asking permission required,” Morgan said smugly. He shot a look at Arden and Fin to ensure they were still consumed hitting each other. “Beast and Brigitte are smugglers.”

“You know a smuggler named Beast?”

“Well… no, but he is a founding member of the Auctorita, so my parents do,” Morgan said hastily.

“Still… a smuggler….”

“Sometimes it's a noble pursuit,” Morgan said. He scratched his nose and looked away. “Whatever the case, it's our way in.”

Nellie was quickly coming to the point when she'd have to flat-out refuse to go with Morgan. He put so much work into the dragon research and on finding a way to get to Rhys, that she couldn't help but feel guilt squirming in her guts.

“Ow!”

Fin was clamping a hand to his head, eyes narrowed at Arden who was waving his wooden sword over his head in triumph over his instant kill hit.

---

Nellie stood between Itzel and Lilac at the back of the line; Mrs. Adams had insisted on inspecting each of them before allowing them into the dining room, and further insisted the girls be last.

“Miss Maebry, are those grass stains,” Mrs. Adams asked.

“From the garden,” Lilac clarified.

Mrs. Adams glared disapproval but waved Lilac into the dining room. Nellie hastily combed her auburn waves over one shoulder as she stepped forward. 

“Is that dirt beneath your nails, Miss Herle?”

“Oh… um….”

“Is that a bruise on your forearm?”

Nellie clamped a hand over the elongated bruise from Morgan’s wooden sword, but quickly let go to hide both hands behind her back. She gave Mrs. Adams a sheepish smile.

“I suppose it too warm to have the whole of your arms covered,” Mrs. Adams said stiffly. “Go on. Go find your seat. But the next time, Miss Herle, that we have practice, you scrub those nails.”

Nellie’s head bobbed as she shuffled by Mrs. Adams into the dining room. She understood immediately why the man was dubbed Beast.

He was sitting next to Silas at the head of the table, but she first thought he was standing. Even sitting, he dwarfed Silas and everyone else. He was easily over six feet tall, maybe even nearer to seven. She was strongly reminded of the basketball star from the 90s that did multitudes of commercials now; down to the ball head and dark skin, except that this man was not built like a basketballer. His naked arms were sculpted and his chest was much too broad in his shirt, more like the build of a rugby player.

Silas caught her eye from the head of the table and waved her over. “Come meet our guests, Nellie.”

She noticed the woman on the other side of Silas as she walked nearer. She was the opposite of Beast minus also having dark skin; petite in build with teased, pixie-cut hair that was colored a purple ombre.

“I was going to have you sit right there next to Brigitte,” Silas said, gesturing to the empty seat.

“Did you call her Nellie,” Brigitte asked, a slight accent. She looked her over. “This isn’t Perenelle, is it?”

“Amias’s little lamb,” Beast said. His voice was so deep it resonated in Nellie’s chest; his tone had mockery in it. He took his dark eyes off Nellie and put his attention back to Silas. “You said he was here?”

“At the end of June,” Silas said. “He’s long gone. Not to worry your pretty head.” He winked at Nellie. “Nor yours.”

“I can’t place which one she looks more like,” Brigitte said, leaning on her fist to stare more closely at Nellie. “She’s got those freckles like Brue did, but not as many. Which, innit funny that Regere’s name means ‘freckled’ but he was the clear skinned sibling?” She turned away. “Speaking of which, Evora’s sister made the papers the other day. Fell flat on her face at a fashion show.”

“A random fashion blogger’s page isn’t the papers,” Beast said dully, inspecting his cup. “Food is coming?”

The food was brought in before Silas could answer. Nellie was sure to sit up straight with her hands in her lap as her plate was set before her; she could feel Mrs. Adams watching her movements and didn’t exhale until the server moved onto Arch sitting at her side.

She spent the appetizer course and most of the main course being hyper-aware of keeping her elbows off the table as Silas, Beast, and Brigitte caught up with nothing of interest reaching her ears–-minus Brigitte's random topic switching every few sentences. She was content to say nothing to either Beast or Brigitte with Morgan’s plan looming in her mind. She cursed him under her breath for destroying an opportunity to be nosy with new people.

Arden–sat to Beast’s other side–set down his fork after side-eyeing the massive man all evening. “Since no one else is asking… How tall are you?”

Beast let out a thunderous clap of laughter. “Silas, where’d you get this one?”

“Britt’s kid.”

“Britt? Really? I do vaguely remember you saying she married. Was that really long enough ago for her kid to be this old? Ah, time is cruel.” Beast beamed at Arden. “Seven foot one.”

“Can’t forget that inch neither,” Brigitte said. “Goes completely apeshit.”

“Ms. Brigitte,” Mrs. Adams snapped, “language!”

“Like these kids don’t say worse,” Brigitte mumbled, keeping her voice too low for Mrs. Adams to hear.

The main course ended and dessert–triple berry tarts with thick, whipped cream–were set before them. Nellie tried enjoying hers but could feel Beast taking looks at her across the table. She accidentally met his eyes when she glanced over to confirm, smiling shakily as he gave her a forced smile.

“I think it's more Commander High Horse than Brue,” Beast said conversationally to Brigitte. “She’s got those same eyes.”

“She’s twelve, Beast,” Silas warned.

“Already?” Beast shook his head. “Time.” He gave Nellie a softer, more apologetic smile. “Your dad and I… tolerated each other. I apologize for the coldness.”

“Your mom was good for him,” Brigitte said. “Shame she died like that.”

Nellie dropped her fork with a clatter that drew the attentions of Morgan, Itzel and those at the farther end of the table. Her heart was pounding in her ears.

“Brigitte,” Morgan called from down the table, “your condolences aren’t necessary. It was ages ago.”

“Was that condolences,” Brigitte whispered across the table to Beast, looking perplexed. “Who’s the brat, anyway?”

“Morgan Agarwal,” Beast said quietly.

“What? For serious? Blimey, it’s been awhile, hasn’t it?”

“Oh,” Morgan called back down, “since I have your ear, there is something I want to discuss with the both of you after we’ve finished.”

Brigitte and Beast snickered to each other, murmuring over a child trying to use diplomatic language with them. Their dismissiveness was apparent when they tried to follow Silas to the small parlor after dinner only for Morgan–dragging Nellie–to cut them off.

“Did you think me joking,” Morgan asked, narrowing his eyes.

“Care to join us, Master Morgan,” Silas asked in mild amusement. He sighed heavily at Morgan’s icy stare. “Perhaps not.” He slapped Beast hard on the lower back (being where he could reach with their height difference). “I’ll get the whiskey ready. Neat?”

“On the rocks for me,” Brigitte said. “Like it extra cold these days.”

The four of them allowed a stretch of quiet as Silas headed into the small parlor. Nellie didn't want to be the one to break it even as it grew uncomfortable. She didn't want to talk to either of these people, let alone ask them for a favor. They kept studying her with mixtures of mild curiosity to mild dislike.

“The dining room should be cleared now,” Morgan said, gesturing over his shoulder. “I’m hoping this won’t be long enough for a sit down, but you did disrespect me already.”

Beast’s lip curled. “The tone on you, boy.” He loomed over Morgan. “You are not Regere. I don’t owe you any extra respect just for him being your father.”

“And I’m not intimidated just because you’re tall,” Morgan said, his fists clenched and shaking at his sides. “I’ve fought dragons too, and I have no magic.”

Beast and Brigitte exchanged a hard to read look. Nellie thought the nearest emotion was curiosity but wouldn’t bet on it. They gave a small nod, little shrug, and headed into the empty dining room. They both sat and stared expectantly.

Morgan grabbed Nellie’s shoulder as he stepped by her, gripping it like a walking stick before straightening his spin and going forward. She followed with her hands fiddling with the decorative bow tacked on her dress’s bodice.

“We require a discrete entry into China.”

The two adults let out a loud laugh that was just as quickly stifled by Morgan’s glare down his nose at them. They leaned back to allow Morgan to explain how they had been researching dragons in order to find Brue, and how Nellie wanted to speak with Rhys to cross reference things, as well as to ask if he knew a way of recognizing her in her dragon form.

“When Amias was here, he came with a message from my father saying that Rhys is in China,” Morgan finished. “I’m familiar with your work. I have full confidence–.”

“Can’t you talk normal at all,” Brigitte complained. “What’d Evora do to you, boy? I thought she’d be a better mom. Oh, speaking of–.”

“Don’t you talk about my mother like that,” Morgan said heatedly. His face was flushed.

“He’s over-educated, Brigitte, leave him alone,” Beast said, amused. “You must speak–what?--two languages? Three?”

“Three and a half,” Morgan fumed. “I’m conversational in German. Why is that a bad thing?”

“It’s not,” Beast said. “I’m not making fun. It’s impressive.” He twisted to look at Nellie. “You’ve said nothing during this, yet they’re your parents. Speak up, girl.”

“I don’t want to,” Nellie blurted out.

“Nellie doesn’t have to explain–.”

“Let her talk,” Beast said firmly. “Go on.”

She refused to meet Morgan’s eyes despite him dipping his head trying to catch hers. She kept her focus on her twisting hands, now jumbling together with the bow unmoveable. Her mind was just as jumbled as she tried to think of a way to avoid what she’d been avoiding telling her cousin for weeks, but there was too much static to think.

“I… don’t want to look for Rhys,” Nellie said quietly. Her head snapped up at Morgan’s sharp inhale. “No! That’s not…. I don’t want my life to be uprooted again. Moving is hard, Morgan, you have no idea. And you keep talking about–.”

“About the family being reunited! About us growing up together as we always should have!” He shook with fury. “Why let me waste hours of my time on this if you didn’t want any of it?” He scoffed. “You can’t tell me you like your little backwater town with its poor education and lackluster food?”

“I didn’t know about any of this, or any of you seven months ago!” Nellie was stiff-legged with her hands now fists. Her eyes flashed angrily. “You can’t expect to just drop my whole life for some fantasy life our parents dreamed up of us growing up together!”

“Why,” Morgan asked nastily. “Because of your aunt? She did lie to you, or is that too inconvenient a detail?”

“Ugh! Boy, you don’t shut up much, do you,” Brigitte whined. “Will you let the girl talk without jumping down her throat?” She looked at Beast. “Regere used to do that, you remember? Especially with Brue. Yap-yap-yap if he thought he could make himself look good.”

“Him and the Commander were always at odds in those first months,” Beast said, eyeing Nellie and Morgan. “Perenelle, you did have ample time to tell all this to Morgan. Why not?”

She stared at the floor as her anger ebbed away. Her mouth was dry and feeling all of them looking at her did not help.

“Because… because… I might not want to, but I think I have to.”

Beast’s lip curled. “Interesting.”

-------------------------

It just ends because I couldn't think of much else other than small back and forth that didn't really go anywhere except confirming 100% that Beast and Brigitte agreed to Morgan's plan. So, not something really needed. I think I was originally going to do more with the dinner/kids and that was why I had Calix go home for a visit, to lessen the amount of characters in the room, and I was going to have Arch leave too but I liked the idea of Arden and Fin harrassing him on the 4th too much. And I thought it was time to introduce the other part of the religious element with the Holy Cor since that touches on Penny's story (and Brecken's with his first serious love). The Order of Ferblanc was originally the Swiss Guard way, way, way, way, way back when this was just the vaguest idea of 'girl and cryptids' back in 2014ish. Something about teir clownish uniforms but knowing they're all highly trained amused me.

Beast is the same hieght as Shaq. I looked it up before having him declare his height to make sure it was something believable. But I guess that's all because I have to feed my overly tired, crying kid.