Maxine was waiting patiently near the spaceport while keeping her gaze skyward. The ship carrying the possible hydrakin girl was arriving in the next few minutes and it was nearly a full week early. She had no idea what happened to cause their ship to move that much faster, but thankfully, it didn't interrupt her schedule that much. On the plus side, I've finally figured out why Andrea and Miguel Silva wanted to leave so badly. I never thought that offworld cultivators would be interested in narcotics found on Earth. Then again, there will always be someone that wants to make their wealth through shady methods. Although, I'm surprised that they didn't try to recruit those two. Or maybe they did, but got rejected. That would account, at least in part, for the attempts on their lives. Thankfully, even those unscrupulous guys knew to back off once I got involved. I guess the reputation that I've built up is starting to have some effect.

"I apologize again for the unexpected change in their arrival time," Alana Trenz apologized for the fourth time.

"It's fine," Maxine said, "This just means that I can check her over sooner. Oh, and that reminds me. Be right back." She walked to the nearest bathroom and entered one of the stalls. She changed into her battle garb and transformed into her full hybrid state. I hope this will make the little girl a little more receptive to me. Next, she put on the special gloves and shoes to avoid accidentally scratching someone with her venom laced claws.

Maxine checked herself over once more to make sure she didn't miss anything and walked back to where she was previously. "Good idea," Alanna Trenz commented, "She should be much more receptive with your current appearance."

"That was my intent," Maxine said simply as she spotted a small dot in the sky that was gradually getting larger.

"Oh! It seems her ship is on approach," Alanna Trenz said, "Shall we meet them at the docking pad six?"

"We might as well," Maxine said as she started making her way to the docking pad. However, while she walked, she sent out her spiritual sense to scan the ship for the possible hydrakin child and became angry at number of restraints on the child. However, she quickly calmed down since she understood the necessity of such measures. The little girl's hands were entirely encased in metallic mittens and were chained together. The poor girl's feet were also encased in thick leather sacks as well to prevent her from using her foot claws on her handlers. While I don't like it, I understand these measures. That child has already tried repeatedly to kill her handlers.

Maxine had to take in a deep breath before continuing with her swift examination. The little girl had beautiful green scales, yellow eyes and shoulder-length brown hair. Maxine even spotted some quills mixed in her hair. Thankfully, they were not laced with venom like Maxine's were. That's interesting. I wonder if the high elves know that they can be launched out like little darts. Maybe that kid is saving that little trick as a surprise. Now, lets check out her internals. It should be immediately clear if she is or is not a hydrakin. And after a few moments, Maxine discovered that this little girl indeed was a hydrakin. Her organs, blood and energy pathways all marked her as a hydrakin.

"It seems that I will be taking that little one with me to see my parents, afterall," Maxine commented.

"What do you mean?" Alanna Trenz asked, "You havn't examined her yet."

"I examined her with my spiritual sense and I can assure you that she is a hydrakin," Maxine said with a smirk as they walked onto the docking pad and waited for the occupants to disembark.

It took them longer than she thought to disembark, but when they did, Maxine quickly saw why. The hydrakin girl was kicking and screaming for all she was worth. It took four high elves a full stage above her to keep her restrained. I've seen enough.

Maxine quickly approached them and growled at them once she was within earshot. All of them, including the hydrakin girl, froze. The girl started making a strange whining growl that seemed to pluck at Maxine's heart strings. That must be the hydrakin equivalent of a child crying out for help.

With a growl and gesture, Maxine got all four of the elves to back off and she began removing the restraints on the child. "I wouldn't recommend that," one of the high elves warned, "She'll attack as soon as their off."

Maxine ignored him and instead, spoke to the child in snake-tongue, "What's your name, little one?"

"Reena," the hydrakin child answered, "Where am I?"

"You're on the world called Earth," Maxine answered and removed the last restraint, "Please don't attack the pointy-eared people. They were just trying to help you and got scared when you started hurting them."

"I don't like them," Reena replied grumpily as she gave an angry glare at the nearby high elves.

"I don't like them too much either," Maxine said, "Their kind often see themselves as superior to everyone else. It's rather annoying."

"That's not why I don't like them," Reena commented, "They refused to give me meat to eat. Instead, they kept giving me green blocks to eat. They satisfied my hunger, but tasted horrible." That sounds like high-protein nutrient blocks designed for carnivorous species. Their taste is almost unpalatable. Beyond that though, they're actually an excellent emergency food.

"Anyways, where are your parents?" Maxine asked to change the subject and immediately wished she hadn't. Reena quickly became depressed.

"They're dead," Reena answered simply as tears threatened to fall from her eyes.

"I'm so sorry," Maxine said as she gently hugged the poor child. She found it odd that Reena didn't cry onto her shoulder, but guessed that it was because it had been awhile since it happened.

"I'm sorry to interrupt," Allana Trenz said apologetically in Alliance common after a few moments, "But we need to vacate the docking pad so the ship can leave."

Maxine picked Reena up and felt the little girl bury her face into her shoulder as she hugged Maxine with both her arms and legs. "Alright," Maxine said to Alanna Trenz in Alliance common before switching back to snake-tongue, "I'll take you to where I live. It's safe there and there are nice people living there that are willing to take you in. There is also another little one such as yourself. He's a little younger than you, so it'll be like you have a younger brother."

"There is a male?" Reena asked innocently, "Is he to be my future mate?" Now, that came out of nowhere.

"Only if that is what the both of you desire," Maxine replied.

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Reena became quiet for a few moments and Maxine felt Reena's tail wrap around her waist. Maxine smiled to herself while they walked out of the spaceport and created an arch before turning to Alanna Trenz. "Thank you for bringing her to me," Maxine said in Alliance common.

"You are most welcome," Alanna Trenz said as she bowed her head slightly and smiled at Reena as she added, "As are you, little one."

"I'm sorry that I forgot to mention this, but her name is Reena," Maxine said while smirking, "Now, I better head home to introduce her to the rest of the family. I hope that she handles it well." She should considering mom was making a literal feast for dinner tonight. There'll be at least six different meat dishes.

"Thank you for letting me know and take care," Alanna Trenz said with a gentle smile.

"I always do," Maxine said as she created an arch to her home and walked through it. She was immediately greeted by a bouquet of meaty smells and her stomach involuntarily growled. As she walked around the house, she spotted Lucas hanging just outside of the kitchen while his tail waved back and forth expectantly.

Meanwhile, Reena turned her head and began to sniff at the air. When she saw Lucas, she froze for a moment and stared at him intently. A moment later, Lucas turned his head and saw Reena in her arms. He too began to stare back at her. It was only after a few seconds that she noticed that the scales around his face raised slightly to vent off some excess heat. Is that the hydrakin version of blushing? It must be the case. Reena is having a very similar reaction.

"Lucas, this is Reena," Maxine said in serpent-tongue, "Will you look out for her and help teach her how to speak English and Alliance common?"

"Yes, I can," Lucas said, "Should I also teach her those techniques that you showed me?" What the? That's almost the longest sentence he's ever spoken. That's definitely a good sign.

"I'll pass the knowledge to her another time, but you can help her perfect it. How does that sound?" Maxine asked him.

"That sounds great," Lucas said with a smile.

[Maxine, could you help set the table?] Hellen asked, [I would do it myself, but my hands are full with finishing up in here.]

[Sure, I'll send a couple shadow clones to help you out,] Maxine replied.

"Now, let's get to the table," Maxine said as she walked towards the table while creating a few shadow clones just outside of Reena's vision to avoid startling her and controlled them to head to the kitchen, "Our evening meal is almost ready, Reena. I hope you enjoy it. Mom worked very hard to prepare it."

Reena didn't speak. Instead, she climbed out of Maxine's arms and approached Lucas. "Are the people nice here?" she asked Lucas. I didn't realize how short she was until she was standing next to Lucas. She's half a head shorter than him and he's barely four feet tall. She's at least a year, probably two, older than him. Perhaps, she hasn't been getting enough food for any kind of growth. Mom's cooking and the quantities she makes should solve that issue very quickly. If not, they'll just have to be shorter than everyone else.

"Yes, especially mother. She prepares the most delicious meals," Lucas answered and he glanced at Maxine before adding, "And big sister teaches me all sorts of things like how to fight and hunt."

"Big sister? Who is that?" Reena asked.

"She's right next to you," Lucas answered.

"Oh," Reena said in realization, "Does your mother look like us?"

"No, she doesn't look like us. She's a human, but she's very nice so long as you behave like you are supposed to," Lucas said with a smile, "You do not want her angry at you. She gets REALLY scary when that happens." Maxine nearly snorted in amusement at such a typical answer, but he wasn't wrong. Hellen could get quite intimidating when she was angry.

"We can talk about that after dinner," Maxine said, "Now, go sit down at the table. Mom's bringing the food out."

"Okay," Lucas said before grabbing Reena's hand and lead her to her seat.

Maxine smiled to herself before joining them. Emily, Howard, and Guan joined them just as Hellen walked out of the kitchen with the first dish. Maxine's shadow clones were hot on her heels with the rest of the food.

Reena looked confused as she looked at Maxine and her shadow clones. "I can create temporary copies of myself," Maxine explained to her, "They'll disappear in a few moments."

"Care to introduce us to our new arrival, Maxine?" Howard asked in english.

"Oh, yes," Maxine said in realization, "This is Reena. She's a hydrakin like Lucas. She doesn't speak or understand english, but that can be remedied after a little work."

"I can help with that if you need me to," Emily offered.

"Thanks, but I think this little girl will feel more comfortable if either myself or Lucas did that," Maxine replied, "And it's also why I'm in this form. It makes her feel more at ease."

"I see," Emily said, "Well, just be sure to tell her the truth soon."

"I will. Let's give her a few days to get situated first," Maxine said and turned to help Reena get some food on her plate. However, Lucas beat her to it. He was enthusiastically explaining proper etiquette in serpent tongue. Maxine smiled at such a scene. He definitely has a little crush on her. I wonder if it will hold up in the future.

"That's adorable," Hellen said, "Oh! By the way, where is Silkie? Is she dining with Lan, again?"

"Yes," Maxine said, "And they're keeping their interactions relatively chaste for now. Although, I don't imagine it'll be too much longer before Lan proposes to Silkie."

"I believe she prefers to be called Silke these days," Emily pointed out, "And yes, I think it won't be too much longer either. He asked me for suggestions on the style of ring that he should get her."

"He also approached a dwarven smith to make the ring itself once he decided on a style," Guan chimed in.

"And why were you spying on him, daddy?" Maxine asked while giving Guan the evil eye.

"Even though she is adopted, Silke is still my grand daughter," Guan replied simply, "I didn't want her to be mistreated by Lanitherin so I kept an eye on him."

"Guan, we talked about this," Hellen said in a warning tone, "You are not supposed to spy on others."

"I'll try to restrain myself in the future," Guan said.

"Anyways, I think I'll be taking Reena and Lucas for a hunting trip in a few days," Maxine said to change the subject, "It'll be a good bonding experience for them and I'll be able to teach them an important skill for the future. Oh, and I'll drop by Silkie's shop to get Reena outfitted with some gloves and shoes for when she's in public. We can't have her accidentally scratching anyone with her venom-laced claws."

"What about her quills?" Emily asked.

"I checked them earlier. They're not coated in venom like mine are," Maxine replied.

"That's a relief," Emily said, "Still, we should educate her on why it's important not to hurt other sapient beings."

"I intend to," Maxine replied.

"There's not need for you to visit Silke's shop. Catch," Guan said as he tossed over a matching set of gloves and shoes in Reena's size.

"When the hell did you manage to get her measurements?" Maxine asked.

"About ten minutes ago," Guan answered, "They're just beast basic leather for now. Give me a few weeks and I'll have something more durable that will adjust to her size as she grows up."

"I didn't know that you were an artificer," Maxine commented.

"I'm not one. I simply learned some minor enchantments," Guan answered, "It's nothing compared to that armor that I had made for you. That reminds me. Why havn't you been using it lately?"

"It's not as effective as it used to be. Hell, right now, it's defensive value isn't even a fraction of my scales," Maxine answered honestly.

"That was before it had sufficient time to be nurtured by both your blood and energies," Guan answered, "It's defensive power should be much higher than your natural defenses."

"Seriously? You never mentioned that feature," Maxine said.

"Yes, I did. I explicitly mentioned in the letter that it would grow with you," Guan answered, "It just needed time to adjust to your rapid increase in strength."

Maxine opened her mouth to retort, but closed it again when she realized that he was right. His letter had that detail included. She just never considered the possibility that it takes time for the Shadow's Embrace armor to adjust to her increase in strength.

She turned to look at the food on the table to grab something to eat and nearly panicked when she saw that a little more than half of it was already gone. She swiftly started piling food on her plate and immediately began eating. Shit, I didn't realize how much Reena and Lucas could put away in the short time that I was talking with everyone. At least, those two are starting to slow down. Otherwise, I might not be able to eat enough to satisfy my hunger in this state and judging by they way Reena keeps glancing at everyone, she might want to sleep next to me tonight. That's just as well. Daddy hasn't mentioned anything about the new addition being completed anyways.