A tentative knock at the door, barely audible, silenced the gathering in the living room. Even as he untangled from Alexandra and set his hot chocolate safely on the table, Christian did a quick mental search to see who.

“That's Sara!” He almost fell over Vadin, in his haste to get to the door; the naga's reflexes and speed were all that prevented an accident.

Sara looked up when he opened the door. She'd been crying, her eyes reddened, and he saw scant trace of the Goth makeup she normally always wore. She hugged her long coat around her, and tried for a shaky smile that didn't work very well.

“Can I stay here for a while? I just...” Her voice broke, and she hid her face in her hands.

“'Course you can. Get in here.” What on earth did Tigerlily do? He moved back so she could come inside, slid the coat off her shoulders and hung it on the rack, and hugged her. “Fight with your parents?”

She nodded miserably, struggling to get the tears back under control, but making no effort to pull away.

Alexandra joined them, her expression more concerned than Christian would have expected over anyone but him or Eric; Eric was half a step behind, and definitely worried, but that was no great surprise.

“C'mon,” Christian urged. “The den's quiet, we can go sit there and you can tell us what happened.”

Alexandra paused briefly, just outside; Christian winced. Worried about Sara, he hadn't even thought...

She simply took a deep breath and stepped into the room. There was tension in the set of her shoulders, but then, Chris was feeling tense right now, too, and from the looks of things, so was Eric.

Sara sank down in the middle of the couch in the den; Christian sat on one side, Alexandra on the other, and Eric settled himself on the floor at her feet. Sid padded in and jumped on Christian's lap to head-butt Sara with a small mrrrp; she smiled, and began to pet him.

“I told my parents that I'm willing to follow fair rules since it's their house, but I don't think taking all my best friends in this city away from me is fair, especially not when they're only judging by rumours.” Her voice trembled, and she sniffled; Christian called the box of Kleenex to his hand and gave it to her. “It was, um, a pretty big fight. I'm safe here with you, witchy stuff or not. Way safer than I would be with most people. But they just won't believe me.” She sniffled again. “I know they're just worried about me, but it feels like they don't trust me. And I'm not a little kid. And I missed you guys and Val. Dad said I don't get to decide what rules are fair and which ones aren't. I left.” She wrapped her arms around herself, tightly; Alexandra slipped an arm around her shoulders, and Sara leaned against her, snuggling into the circle of her arms, a few runaway tears streaking her cheeks. “I can't live like that.”

“You shouldn't have to,” Eric said. “It's one thing to expect you to follow house rules. It's another thing to make decisions for you without listening to you or trying to get adequate information.”

“You can stay here as long as you need to,” Alexandra said quietly. “Chris' grandfather is here right now, but he'll be going home in a few days, and then we'll have plenty of room. Until then, we’ll manage somehow—sharing beds isn’t a big deal. You aren't alone, you have lots of friends who will do all we can to help.”

Christian blinked. That was Alexandra who had just said that? Obviously her instincts were very different in regards to women. That, or extended contact with humans had changed her more than she wanted to let on.

“I don't have any money at all, I only got my student loan to cover tuition and books and stuff, 'cause I was at home.”

“Don't worry about that right now,” Christian said firmly. “We don't pay rent, utilities are pretty reasonable—Lexa and I paid for everything alone before Eric moved in—and for the moment we can feed one extra person. I'm not saying you should spend forever depending on us, but you have some breathing space. 'Kay?”

“'Kay.” She wiped at the tears. “Your grandfather’s here, Chris?”

“He came back so we could do a summoning thing together, to find help to fix a place where the land was all out of balance,” Christian explained. How were they going to explain Vadin? And what were the odds that Sara could be around for long without finding out about lamias? She was snuggled against Alexandra trustingly enough now, but how was she going to react to the revelation that her Goth crossdresser friend-slash-crush wasn't a crossdresser, wasn't human, and was capable of being extremely dangerous, at least to men?

“Oh. Bet you're happy to see him, no matter what brought him back. You talk a lot about your family and missing them.”

“Yes. I haven't seen them in over a year and a half. But he has stuff to get home to. And to tell you the truth, the visit is really wonderful, I wish it was my mom and dad too, but I've been discovering that if I had to live with them again all the time, I think it would drive me crazy. It’s a weird kind of mixed feelings thing.”

“'S good you get to see him, though. Am I going to be in the way?”

“No.”

“I didn't even bring anything. All I could think about was getting out of there. They'll both be at work tomorrow, maybe I can go get some clothes and stuff then.”

“And until then, I'm sure we can find something you can borrow,” Alexandra said.

“Standing up to your parents took a lot of courage,” Eric said.

“I had the oddest dream last night,” Sara said. “There was this woman who was talking to me... she was even shorter than me, and that doesn’t happen that often which is probably why it stuck as a detail. She was very sympathetic, very... very kind, but not always gentle, y’know? I can't remember all of it, but mostly I think she was making me see stuff I already knew. That I have options other than staying at home and being unhappy. Things like that. And when I woke up, I kept thinking about it. It wasn't so hard, once I looked at it that way. That I need to be happy too, and even if some things I have to do in order to be happy are scary, I still have to do them. I don't think I could live with myself, knowing I didn't do something important because I was scared. I think she told me what you just said, that I'm not all by myself and I have friends I can count on.”

Christian traded glances with Eric. Tigerlily's methods might not be comfortable for Sara just now, but they were clearly effective. She'd left the choice in Sara's hands, and Sara had made it; she might very well have come to the same conclusions on her own, in time. Certainly worth five-eighths of a wish they hadn't expected anyway.

“It's kinda crazy... I fought with my parents 'cause of a dream...”

“You're telling a witch that dreams are crazy?” Christian teased her gently. “Trust me, none of us think it's crazy.”

“I s'pose.” She hesitated, then said, more softly, “Thanks.”

“'S what friends are for,” Eric said. “Feel a bit calmer now?”

“Yes.”

“Why don't you go wash your face, and we'll call Val, since she'll tear strips off all of us if we don't keep her informed,” that actually made Sara smile, “and you can come meet Chris' grandfather? He’s almost as cool as Chris is.”

“All right.”

“Don't hurry,” Christian said. “No one's going far.”

Eric moved aside to let her up to use the half-bath.

That gave the trio a chance for a hurried, low-voiced conference.

“You realize we're going to have to just tell her what I am,” Alexandra said. Her voice betrayed no emotion at all, but Christian knew her well enough to read agitation in her posture, in the repeated flexing of the hand he could see, her black nails glinting even in the indifferent lighting. Her wings were starting to spread, a faint shadow behind her that shifted restlessly.

“You managed to hide it from me for quite a while,” Eric pointed out. “And I’m a lot more familiar with liminals.”

“What happens when she walks into my room and realizes that the only clothes in it are a few pairs of jeans and a dozen or so T-shirts and a few sweatshirts, and a very few things that I bought mostly for dancing or on impulse? If she were less upset, she might very well have just noticed that it isn't padding she was leaning against.”

“Then why...?”

“Because I reacted without thinking, all right?” Her hand clenched briefly as her tone sharpened, and Christian decided she was confused, possibly about her own feelings, as well as worried about Sara. “Can we get back to the matter at hand? We're going to have to tell her everything, whether now or a week from now. Which is going to mean telling Val everything, too.”

“Are you going to be okay with that?” Christian asked.

“I am, yes, but has it occurred to either of you that Sara's parents didn't want her around here because of the rumours of a blood cult, and I am in fact the reason behind at least a few local disappearances?” She scooped Sid up, rubbing along the line of his jaw deftly, with care for her nails; Sid purred, snuggling against her.

“Good point,” Eric acknowledged slowly, while Christian considered that soberly. “On the other hand, we don't have to go into your feeding habits in any detail, or at all right away. She knows about witches, and she's seen a few of the house residents. They don't seem to bother her.” He grinned at Alexandra. “You're just a bigger, badder guardian spirit.”

She bared her teeth at him, but a little of the tension faded. “Point. And Vadin?”

“I don't know if he can realistically hide for days,” Christian said. “I have my doubts about him really passing for human for long, even around here, otherwise I suppose we could just say he’s another witch. Would a naga be intimidating to someone who hasn't had much contact with magic? She’s not scared of snakes, is she?”

“No, she likes them,” Eric said. “At least we don’t have to worry about that. Lexa? Why don't you wait for Sara, maybe in the hall so you’re out of the den, and Chris can go see what Seth and Vadin think, and I'll give Val a call?”

Alexandra nodded.

Chris lingered, briefly. “Sorry, I shouldn't have suggested the den.”

She shrugged. “It doesn't matter. Go.”

Seth and Vadin fell silent when Christian rejoined them, and both gave him inquisitive looks.

“Sara had a huge argument with her parents about being forbidden to associate with us,” Christian summarized. “She needs to stay here for the moment. She knows I'm a witch. Any thoughts what we should tell her beyond that?”

“That would depend on how comfortable she is with what she's seen already, and how much of a shock you think she's capable of dealing with right now,” Seth said.

They discussed it swiftly, and came to the conclusion that truth was best. Eric reported that Val was on her way immediately, and added his own thoughts on the matter, largely involving Sara's high degree of common sense.

Alexandra and Sara joined them, before much longer. Sara let Alexandra steer her towards the corner of the couch where Christian had originally been; the lamia settled herself next to her, protectively, Christian thought.

“That's my grandfather Seth,” Christian said. “And that's Vadin. This is Sara.”

Seth smiled, gently. “Chris has told us a great deal about you. He missed you badly.”

“It's mutual,” Sara said. “Chris, and Lexa, and Eric, and Val... I'm not about to let stupid rumours by people with a grudge against Chris keep me away from my best friends.”

“Yes, well, we're doing what we can about the problem,” Seth sighed. “Unfortunately, I can't convince any of them to talk to me, so I'm being less effective than I'd like to be. Chris helped us more than we've been able to help him.”

“Must be something pretty major, to bring you all the way back here.”

Seth, in simple terms but without being patronizing, explained about the cattle raid that had gone bad, and the spilling of blood in that place.

“Why didn't someone clean it up before?” Sara asked.

“Because no one thought of it. It's lain dormant for so long everyone forgot about it. It took us a while searching in old books to find out why that bit of land reacted so badly.”

“Ah. But it's fixed now?”

“We were having trouble cleansing it. Even Chris' father, whose talents lie largely in earth-magic. Whatever else Chris might tell you, he's very talented, and he's taught us a few things. With Chris' methods of increasing the amount of power available, and his good relations already with a kitsune clan, we managed to call something powerful enough to take care of the problem.”

“An eight-tail kitsune, in fact,” Christian supplied, trying not to blush. “Kitsune are tricksters, but they can heal, when they choose to, and they aren't malicious, just mischievous. Eric knows a lot about kitsune culture and hospitality and he impressed her so much she agreed to help. That was just yesterday. I'm sure it'll take even her a little time, but she can do it.”

“Oh.” Sara considered that. It shouldn't be a totally foreign idea, or at least Christian hoped it wasn't; she'd listened more than once to conversations between him and Val about nature elementals, and had watched him summon earth and air for Val's benefit. “That's good. I've never heard of kitsune being healers. The legends I've heard are mostly that they like to seduce human men and make trouble when they can.”

“Myths get distorted,” Vadin said.

“Stories told over time tend to shift,” Seth said. “And the one who first told the story may not have properly understood what was going on.”

“Although seducing humans... that's a very kitsune-ish pastime,” Christian said. “I wouldn't want to piss one off, but if you can stay on her good side, they can be wonderful allies.”

“People tend to distort what they don't understand,” Sara said, nodding mostly to herself. “And interpret it in ways that aren't necessarily accurate. How many so-called mythical creatures are real? In some form?”

“Lots,” Vadin said. “Although there are some that were simply invented. There's a grain of truth in the heart of many of the tales of so-called imaginary beasts.”

“And they don't mind being summoned the way Chris calls earth elementals?”

“It's better to invite,” Alexandra said. “You're more likely to get a good reaction.”

“Got it. Val already knows all this, doesn't she.” Not quite a question.

“Val has been bugging me non-stop about magic,” Christian said wryly. “There are moments when she's a complete pain in the ass over it. Without having been born a witch, she can only do so much, but she's absolutely insatiable when it comes to theory. So, yes, Val knows quite a bit. Since you haven't shown much interest in it, I haven't been telling you about it, but if you're here more than a day or two, some of it is inescapable, and it's better if you have explanations for it.”

“That makes sense.” Her gaze dropped. “But if there's stuff you don't want to tell, I can try to stay out of the way, or see if Val has room.”

“Who said any such thing?” Alexandra demanded. “You're perfectly welcome to stay here, and you aren't in the way. You're getting warnings because we don't want you freaked out by something you didn't expect, not because we feel like we have to.”

The front door banged.

“In here, Val,” Eric called. “I told her to just come in,” he explained.

More than slightly out of breath, Val paused in the doorway to survey the scene, then made straight for Sara. “Are you okay?”

“No, but I think I will be,” Sara said.

Alexandra obligingly moved over, so Val could wriggle herself into the space between Sara and the arm of the couch and hug her tightly. “You'd better be. Gods, it's good to see you.”

Introductions were duly repeated. Val's gaze on Vadin was distinctly speculative.

“Back to that stuff you need to hear if you're going to be staying here,” Eric said. “We've established that there are lots of not-human species out there, right? Elementals that are generally connected to nature in one way or another, and liminals that are partly from this plane and partly not?”

“Yes,” Sara said, her expression shifting to a hint of worry. “Chris' house spirits, the domovikha and the rest, and the plant ones, and the elementals, and the kitsune you called, and the ones Chris cleans out of people's houses, like that nasty thing in Val’s apartment.”

“Some are more advanced than others. Witches, or at least the ones that are serious about magic, tend to find a friend who isn't human. Different reasons. My grandmother's three-tail kitsune, well, four-tail now, helps her with healing and taught her more than she could have learned alone, for example. Vadin is Seth's friend. He’s a naga, which means he’s sometimes a snake. What size depends on how big he wants to be.”

Vadin sighed. “It means other things. Such as an inclination to find something we consider to have value and then protect it, usually not in as simplistic a form as hoarding a pile of coins. Often something involving knowledge, art, history, philosophy, or something of the sort. That can include humans.”

Val listened in rapt fascination, one arm still around Sara, who looked much less sure.

“It remains an open question,” Seth said, “whether we find friends who suit our abilities, or whether our abilities are influenced by our friends. I suspect it’s some of both, and that it varies greatly between individuals.”

Sara was silent for a moment, while Christian tried to remind himself not to hold his breath. Frightening Sara was the last thing any of them wanted. But he couldn't see any fear, only uncertainty, a certain amount of disorientation, which made sense. Val, predictably, was neither afraid nor uncertain; she showed only intense curiosity.

“Chris is serious about magic,” Sara said slowly. “So...” She stopped, and looked at Alexandra.

“Oh my,” Val said, putting the same pieces together.

Alexandra smiled. “Bingo.” She spread her wings, just enough to be visible, and wrapped them around herself. Shadows shifted and flowed, changing her briefly to Mark, then back to Alexandra. “As Mark, I'm effectively human. As Lexa, I keep Chris and now Eric safe from the nastier things out there. And when Chris is housecleaning, he calls me in if it's something too nasty even for him. But everyone in this room is perfectly safe from me. I'm not about to attack the ones I protect.”

“Oh,” Sara said, but she made no move to put distance between herself and Alexandra, which Christian took as a positive sign.

“What are you?” Val asked.

“A lamia,” Alexandra said mildly.

“Aren't lamias supposed to rip men apart and devour them, or something?”

“Do Chris and Eric look ripped apart and devoured to you? I have never eaten anyone, I promise. Although I might be tempted if I were in the same room with a few of the ones spreading rumours and making trouble.”

“I could go with that,” Val growled. “All right, anything else we need to know right away?”

“Nothing comes to mind,” Seth said.

“That's the major bit,” Eric agreed.

“Good. So. More practical stuff. Did you bring anything, Sara?”

Sara shook her head mutely.

“Not a problem,” Alexandra said. “I have a few things that are real in my closet, and some of Chris' girl clothes will fit you. We'll work it out.”

“And tomorrow while your parents are at work, we'll take the car and go grab whatever you need,” Eric said. “Right now, just look after yourself and let us do whatever we can. I have a hunch that everything'll be okay. You'll see.”