The small room fills with shouting, accusing gres and vehement recriminations, until the Grand Incantor has had enough of it.

  Raising a single finger, Lysandra Managold emits a wave of power, enough to cause l the entire room to shake.

  "SILENCE."

  She speaks quietly, but there's incredible force behind the lone word.

  Once complete quiet reigns, Lysandra Managold points at the werewolf girl from st night.

  "You, Brenna. Tell me what happened to you and your packmates st night."

  The werewolf, Brenna, snarls, her Scottish accent thickening with every word.

  "We arrived yesterday, and were coming to check in at the Association branch office after a bite to eat, when we caught the stink of a vampire on the air. We tracked it down, prepared to destroy the thing, and then those hoodlums right over there set upon us! Liam's got frostburns over most of his chest, Joel and Edward have got concussions, and Dave's spent half the night diggin' splinters outta his arse!"

  The Grand Incantor turns to us.

  "And what's your side of this story?"

  Philippa scowls at the werewolf.

  "We were walking back through Westwood Park after a few drinks at Chase's, the little bar on Fourth, when these assholes came out of nowhere, she insulted Flicker and then turned into her wolf form and went for her! Luckily, we managed to stop her before she pulled Flicker off the mppost she climbed to get away from her fangs!"

  The werewolf, Brenna, splutters, "it was a calcuted risk! The bloodsucker has these women in its thrall! I can smell it on THAT one-" she points at Philippa "-in particur! Taking out the monster was considered the best option!"

  Philippa hisses. "Stop calling my girlfriend an 'it'! She's just as human as I am! And so what if she drinks blood?? You apparently run around on all fours and attack random strangers for fun!"

  As the shouting starts to build again, Grand Incantor Managold snaps her fingers, another wave of power rippling out.

  "SILENCE, CHILDREN."

  The ancient magus sighs. "Very well. I will have to cast a truth spell, to make sure that the perpetrator comes to light. Do you all consent?"

  Philippa, Flicker, Tricia, Niko and I all agree without hesitation. Seeing that, Brenna growls, but assents as well.

  Once the spell is cast, turning to Flicker, Lyse asks, "Flicker, when was the st time you drank blood from an unwilling victim?"

  Flicker blinks, and replies, "I've never taken blood from someone who wasn't willing, and even then I only take a little."

  Lyse nods. "And have you ever enthralled anyone to make them consent?"

  Flicker's eyes narrow in disgust at the thought. "Never. I haven't ever done that, and I never will."

  The Grand Incantor nods. "And have you ever performed the Last Kiss on a human?"

  Flicker looks utterly horrified at those words, raising her voice into a near-shriek.

  "NEVER!!"

  Lyse then narrows her eyes. "And what did you do to provoke this werewolf yesterday?"

  Flicker shakes her head. "I went to see Philippa's new apartment, spent the afternoon with her and her sisters, then we went for drinks. On the way back to Philippa's, we encountered the group opposite us, and after she insulted me a handful of times, she then attacked me."

  The Grand Incantor turns her head, silver hair bobbing slightly. Her eyes fix on the werewolf and her packmates.

  "Tell me, did you attack Flicker without provocation?"

  Brenna's jaw works, a tic popping at her cheek. "....... yes. We did. I gave the order."

  It's clear that she doesn't WANT to speak, but the truth-spell compels honesty from all direct questions asked by the caster.

  The Grand Incantor's elegantly-arched brows furrow. "I see. So they were telling the truth, then?"

  "...... yes." Brenna growls. The Grand Incantor's lip curls in disapproval.

  "This is most definitely a poor start to your tenure here. I will have to inform the U.K branch of the Association in regards to your actions."

  Brenna's scowl deepens. "I don't believe that.... the vampire... is truly as innocent as she cims. A beast can't deny their true nature!"

  Flicker huffs in annoyance. "Has anyone got any holy water here?"

  Brenna grins wolfishly. "I do! The good stuff, blessed by a Padin of the Guarded Heart! It'll destroy all evil, and break apart the undead like fine ash!"

  Flicker rolls her eyes. "Go ahead, use it. See what happens. You know you want to."

  With a flurry of movement, Brenna tugs a small bottle from a pocket, the red wax cap fragmenting as she twists the cork free and, with four quick steps, the werewolf girl advances on the immobile vampire. With a rapid, jerky movement, Brenna dumps half of the holy water over Flicker's blonde head.

  The triumphant look on Brenna's face slowly dies, repced by confusion and irritation. Then shock, as Flicker snatches the bottle from the lycan's hand.

  Raising the small bottle to her lips, Flicker visibly tips the blessed liquid into her mouth and swallows it.

  Brenna takes a step back, wary, expecting the vampire to burst into fmes or melt into an oleaginous slurry.

  Nothing happens. Flicker stands there, unaffected by the potent, sacred fluid. She wrinkles her nose. "Ugh. Now my bra is soaked. Thanks a bunch."

  Brenna stares. "H-how...?? You're a VAMPIRE. You should be purified!"

  Flicker snorts. "Yeah? So, are you telling me that your padin's holy water was defective? Or are you gonna accept that I'm not some evil, lethal monster like you want me to be?"

  One of the bck-suited guys splutters. "Such insolence!"

  Flicker scowls. It looks a lot less intimidating than Brenna's gre, a lot cuter. More like an upset child.

  "Says the guy whose friends tried to beat up my girlfriend and two of her sisters!"

  The wolfman's cheeks colour in frustration. He takes a step forward, but the look on the Grand Incantor's face halts him in his tracks.

  Lysandra Managold's eyes narrow. "Are you QUITE satisfied, Brenna?"

  Her tone screams, "you had BETTER be satisfied, or you're going to experience a long, painful lesson in the immediate future."

  Her voice grows dangerously civil. "And if you need, we have weekly workshops on respecting other entities and acceptance, held every Saturday. I STRONGLY reccommend you avail yourselves of them, the five of you."

  I raise a hand. "Does that include deadnaming and misgendering trans colleagues?"

  Lyse smiles proudly. "Of course! We encourage everyone to be themselves. Male, female, both or neither. Vampire, magic-user, shifter, or magical girl, all are welcome among the ranks of the Association's operatives, as long as they can show respect to others and their identities."

  I bite my lip. "Well, I have to leave in..." I check my phone.

  "About an hour, if I'm going to make it, but I'd love to sit in for one of those sometime."

  Lyse smiles. "Wonderful. Now, I hope this unpleasant business has been promptly concluded? I don't want to have to get involved again. And if I DO..."

  She leaves the implied threat unspoken, but the aura of power she's emitting makes it quite clear that a stern lecture would be the least of anyone's worries.

  As the Grand Incantor exits the room with a billow of her crimson robes, Brenna scowls at us, mostly focussed on the very soggy Flicker.

  "This... this isn't over, fang-face. I KNOW you're up to something devious, and I'll prove it. And as for you!"

  She points to Philippa, whose snow-white hair is pulled back from her face in a defiant sweep.

  "Whatever you did to me st night was pure despicable! Lift the damn curse already!"

  Philippa arches a brow. "What curse, you overgrown mongrel? All I did was hit you up the ass with a lightning beam!"

  Her cheeks flushing in humiliation, Brenna strips to her sports bra and shorts.

  "Take a look, ya weather-witch!"

  She transforms into her wolf-form, and, as I prepare to manifest my own war-form, the sleek, bck fur of the immense canine....

  Floof!

  Stands out in all directions, making the terrifying lycanthrope... a lot less scary, somehow.

  I cackle. "Haaaaa! You look like a giant Pomeranian!"

  If a werewolf CAN look annoyed, Brenna DOES look annoyed. One of her packmates growls, "we took her to three different grooming pces, and nothing works! She just ends up like this in a fsh! Lift the fookin' curse!"

  Philippa, her cheeks puffed out as she tries not to ugh at the massive ball of rage and fluff, snorts.

  "Sorry to break it to you, but that's not a curse! I can't do magic, just generate and channel electricity! You're stuck like that till the charge wears off! And I wouldn't get too close to any socks or small undry items, or you'll get covered in them! You're basically the world's worst case of static cling!"

  Brenna shifts back, the thunderous look on her face doing her best to conceal her dismay. "Rrrrr.... fuckin'..... dammit...." she grumbles, tugging her jeans and top back on, smoothing her dark hair behind her ears. Then, she turns and stomps out of the room, her packmates following her, each giving us a wide berth and snarling quietly as they pass Flicker.

  I shift my vocal cords, and let out a growl that seems way too deep and ominous for a human to ever unleash, and the pack of werewolves speeds up, apparently unwilling to test their luck.

  I turn to Flicker. "I've got to leave soon, but if those guys do ANYTHING to hurt you, I'll teach them a lesson they won't forget. Be careful, okay?"

  I look to Philippa, Tricia and Niko. "Keep her safe, guys. I want to come back and hang out with her again!"

  After a brief, emotional farewell, I slip out of the Association building and make my way down the street, looking for an isoted, private spot I can shift and take off in.

  Luckily, there are a few spots, behind apartment buildings that are 'condemned', which I suspect is simply for the purpose I'm seeking.

  Ducking into an out-of-the-way spot behind one of the 'derelict' apartment towers, I snap my wings and tail out, taking off with blinding speed as I rocket into the sky, until I'm three hundred metres above even the tallest buildings in downtown. A tug pulls at me, one I can sense has the energy of a powerful dragon fuelling it, and I follow, hoping I'm right in my instincts.

  Exactly on time, I spot the portal opening up, the dark-blue disk of light ripping a perfectly circur hole in reality. I speed up, diving through it, my sneakers squeaking against the marble floor of the Council chambers, back in the Drakeblooded Cities.

  Four dragons occupy the immense space. The shadow bck form of Caliban, the leader of the Onyxblood and the Lawmaster.

  The titanic golden bulk of Aurexiar, High Priestess of the Sunwalker cn.

  The almost spectral white shade of Khione, cn head of the Winterwings, and my cn leader.

  And st, a smaller figure, in her near-human guise. Bck and purple, with dark, violet-dyed, cropped, pixie-cut hair that reaches her chin. A tail crowned with glittering spikes, tightly bunched. Sleek bck horns. And a look of eagerness on her lovely face, quickly schooled into calm.

  Skadi.

  I smile at her, and spot the light vender flush spread acorss her cheeks. Caliban grumbles.

  "Hrmph... so you return, human."

  Aurexiar flicks her tail. "Indeed, brother. And right on time, to boot. Rika, did you enjoy your little break?"

  I nod, smiling. "I did, thank you. It was lovely to see my sisters again. But I'm back to finish my training."

  Aurexiar's muzzle draws back into a smile. "Good. You'll be starting again tomorrow. For now, enjoy the rest of the day. And it's good to see you make your return safely."

  I curtsey, as Skadi approaches, an eagerness to her pace. Her husky voice reaches my ears, and a tremble of happiness thrums in my heart.

  "It's good to see you, Rika. How was your trip back home?"

  I sigh, smiling at her. "I'll tell you all about it, if you have some time for a cup of tea, or something?"

  Skadi nods, and I bite my lip. "Oh, and I'd like to see about... maybe, sometime soon... visiting a Shaper? I'd like to get my body fixed so that I don't have to worry about getting forced back into being someone I've never been."