The crisp white snow crunched beneath her boots and dusted her short hair. Karen tugged her coat tighter, breath steaming in the morning chill as she followed Ollie’s footprints. Broad as they were, the boy had all but sprinted ahead, and predictably slipped on his ass up ahead, ducking under a snowball thrown his way. In an instant, he was up again, cackling as he exchanged fire with a friend, dusted with cold powder.

Karen felt a bitter smile at his old cheer, her fingers stinging cold as she packed snow off a car into a tight missile. Not that she was looking for a childish fight, but it only made sense to be armed while braving the snowy warzone of the schoolyard. Middle schoolers roamed like raiders, picking fights with elders and children alike, while kindergarteners squealed, ducked and ran. Karen skirted the conflict, dodging a couple of wayward throws, and smiled as she picked out red-dyed hair amidst a cluster of Seniors near the door.

“Yo, Alastair!”

“Sup?” He turned, olive features flowing through curiosity, cheer, and horror as her snowball took him in the face.

Karen spluttered, grinning sheepishly, “Oop- didn’t expect to hit, you okay?”

“I’ll catch you guys inside.” The colourful teen slapped a friend on the back, eyes narrowing to glare at her, “Gotta teach this one a lesson.”

“Wha- hey, no, NO! Stay back!” Her second snowball only got his jacket, and then she was slipping, sprinting away, “What happened to your dumbass pacifism!?”

“You’re an exception.” His longer legs ate up the terrain, an absolutely unfair advantage. Karen tried to duck quickly around bike racks, but the slush sent her skidding and she dropped to all fours. The cold burned her fingers, and she twisted, grabbed a handful to throw at his eyes, then kicked his ankles out from under him.

For a moment there was flailing, struggling, hope. Then his reach won over, and Karen found herself pinned down, hissing as a lump of ice pressed against the back of her neck. “Ah- aaargh, no, you win, okay?!”

“Surrender? Promise no more snowballs.” Alastair demanded seriously, “All winter.”

“Didn't you get snow in Seattle!?” The ice pressed against her nape, “Aaah- yeah, yeah, fine, no snowballing you.”

“Not much. Not like here. I know there’ll be a lot more.” Alastair released her, chucking the ice at a nearby freshman, “You survive your bullshit?”

Karen hissed, hopping up to her full height, “Yeah. More than survived. I hunted a horse. Brought it down perfectly- it didn’t even make a sound.”

He considered her, snorted, and ruffled her hair with a snowy glove. “Well done, sounds like a beautiful kill. Get a hunting licence, or just decide to screw over a human?”

“Went to court.” She shoved his hand away, “Gotta pay off the price. Starting work at their stables on saturda- hey, don’t laugh!”

Alastair laughed, rich and quick.

“Shut up- look, I gotta ask you, how long do we live?”

“You or me?” He wiped a tear away, holding tight to the bike rack, “I’m gonna pass sixty but you, crazy cub? Maybe eighteen? Seventeen?”

“Bullshit, I’ll outlive you. I’m younger, and healthier.” Karen crossed her arms, burying chill fingers in her armpits for warmth, “Like, can griffins reach… seventy? Eighties?”

Alastair grimaced, “Nah. We’re big and complicated, only one of my grandsires passed sixty. Maybe, maybe medicine’ll improve with the Emergence over time, but I wouldn’t bet on it. You okay?”

“Yeah, fine- you only won this round, don’t get cocky.” She shouldered her bag, and turned on her heel, “And don’t stop flight practise just because you’re scared of some snow. Keep it up!”

He threw a snowball after her, but his aim sucked, and she ducked indoors quickly enough. The school was excessively warm, the janitor too afraid to risk turning the boiler off, the corridors slick with meltwater and rumours. It shouldn’t have surprised her- she had disappeared, again. But the cowardly whispers and furtive glances were so sneaky and subtle as to turn her stomach. At least it was nothing compared to being locked in a cell.

Her form room was almost empty this early. The gorgon, Olive, looked to be napping, sprawled face down across her desk, serpentine hair limp and restful while Maddie was heavily bundled in a thick coat and scarf, her silver hair sparkling with snowflakes.

“Heeeeey, you okay?!” She bounced up to embrace Karen immediately, sapphire eyes sparkling with concern, “Daddy told me they locked you in a tiiiiny box- is that true!?”

For a second, she faltered, memory vivid. The room felt too tight, her coat too constricting, and she slumped against Maddie, head under her chin. Then she forced a nod, and a shaking breath.

“Heeey, you’re okay- want a window open?” Maddie led her to the sill, to the view of grey skies and white pandemonium outside. Cold wind stirred their hair, and Olive groaned.

“Yeah. I’m fine. It’s over.” Karen muttered, hopping up to sit on the sill. “Kinda. I still gotta do this stupid part-time job on top of everything else, and Mom… and my family were pissed off.”

“About your Gran?” Maddie whispered, voice hush, as Grant, Iain, and Mark blundered in, soaked and cold.

“Yeah. Mom’s pissed. Wants to lock me in at night.” Karen leaned against the window, hackles lifting as she felt eyes focus on her. And linger. “Like a prisoner.”

“She’s that spooked?” Her friend echoed disdain and worry, “What about your Dad? And Oliver?”

“Tch, Pa thinks I’m a maverick. Won’t trust me. And Ollie…” She winced. Swallowed. Glanced around to see Grant staring at her across the room, the big guy’s face tense, hands wringing his camo jacket. “Ollie’s… Urgh. I guess he’s good now. Back to his old self.”

Sapphire eyes widened as Maddie’s sharp mind puzzled through her words. “Oh. Right. That’s… rough, I get it. You wanna come over tonight? Can show you the class stuff you missed and… if things are tough at home, you could prooooobably stay over?”

“No way, your Dad never allows sleepovers.”

“Karen. You’ve, what, two weeks off being seventeen?” Maddie chuckled, “It’ll be fiiiiiine, I’m pretty sure you’re the exception by this point. And besiiiiides, you owe me for ditching movie night, drama queen.”

Of course, the whole reason for no sleepovers was to hide the Carpenter’s mystic nature, and Karen blushed slightly as she understood. “Uh, I guess, sure? Though I always sleep as… griffin me, so I don’t need much bedding, but no pressure. I know I’m kinda scary.”

“You’re not always scary- sometimes you’re tiny and adorable.”

“Shut up- that was a one off.”

“Nooope, satyr form too- bet you were sooooo cute in court,” Maddie teased, then gave a subtle smile. “Oh yeah, reminds me, guess who was asking about you?”

“Logan?”

“Nah- well, yeeeeah, but he knows about the trial and all. Nope, Grant! You should talk to him, I think he fancies asking you out.”

“Out?” Karen echoed, and huffed as Maddie only raised a finger to her lips, wobbling with mirth. “Like- what, like a date!? Him? He’s a gorilla.”

“Yeah- you like strong guys. I saw you and that senior guy.” She smirked, “In the snow.”

A venomous scoff escaped her throat, “Hell no- no I do not, shut up. Besides, they’re all weaker than me.”

“It’s no use- she’s playing for the other griffin.” Olive lethargically rocked back in her chair, one snake holding her dark glasses in place.

“Oi, you’re asleep, don’t snoop,” Karen snapped, “That’s Fei’s bullshit, he’s a pain. Seriously, would you go after the first male gorgon you met? No.”

“Maybe.” She considered, swaying in her seat, “If they existed. But seriously, you’re single?”

“Yeah- of course I am!”

“She’s picky.” Maddie giggled.

“Doesn’t matter! Anyway, Grant hates mystics, so there’s no way. You’re having me on.”

The bulky kid glanced over, heavy brow furrowed, “Wait what? I don’t hate mystics.”

“Why’s everyone eavesdropping on me!?” Karen kicked her legs against the ledge, “And yeah, you do- you clubbed me in the head, remember?”

“It’s not a big room, and you always talk loud.” Iain shrugged.

“Thought we were even?” Grant snorted.

“Besides, you were kinda going to slice Irene up,” Olive snickered, “Oooh, Karen, you know what I bet’d really piss her off?”

“True- don’t be shyyy,” Maddie teased, cherubic features hinting at the serpent beneath. “Or do. No pressure.”

“You’re literally pressuring me,” Karen harrumphed, crossed her arms and stalked at him impatiently. “Well? This is your fault.”

The creases of his heavy brow deepened, and his fists tightened around a pen, snapping it. “Urgh. Wanna grab a meal and talk after school?”

“Thanks, but no, I’m busy.”

“All you can eat, I’ll pay.”

* * * *

“You’re taking the piss.”

Karen leaned back in the diner seat, sipping at her soda straw noisily with a smirk. “What? You said all I can eat. That’s round one.”

“No way, that’s nonsense,” Grant growled, running thick fingers through his dark hair as he looked over her small frame. She’d switched to a wool sweater and skirt with leggings against the cold, her school clothes too sodden and casual even for a date with a brute. Not that he’d matched the effort, his shirt and khaki jeans the same as the morning, his frown deeper. “Where would it even go? I’m twice your size and I couldn’t eat that much.”

“Dude, you’ve seen me. Big bird-panther, remember? That’s the body I need to fuel, not this one.” She drew a glance from one of the old guys in Calhoun’s diner, and dropped her voice a little, leaning over the laminated table. “If there’s any food left at the end, I’ll split with you. Though honestly kinda rude to sulk on a date.”

“What?”

Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

“You’re kinda meant to put in some effort to impress the girl. Like, be chivalrous, hold doors, pay for the date and… all that stuff.”

He gawked, “Da- urgh, no. Wait, did you want to date me!?”

“Urgh!?” Karen mimicked his expression, “What’s that mean? You think you’re better than me?”

“No, but like… you’re kinda like an animal? A griffin? And I’m a human.” Grant groaned, “Why would you even think this was a date?”

“Uh, because you asked me out to a private meal. And bullshit, humans are just apes, you’re animals too. What did you think this was?”

“Yeah, I asked you to talk. ‘Member?” He rumbled, “Just ask about magic and mystics. Like, no offence, ape, griffin or whatever, but you’re not really my type.”

Karen felt her jaw hang for a second in horrified fury, before she scoffed, “Good. You’re not in my league anyway, I was just here for the food.”

“Yeah, you made that clear.”

“So what do you need to know? And why me? I know I’m incredible, but Logan and Olive know way more.”

“True but you’re local, and kinda… I guess, infamous? So this is like an interview for the school paper, if that’s alright?” He produced a notebook from his bag.

“Our newsletter? But that’s Caleb’s paper. And he’s…” She stumbled over the words, “Gone.”

“Yeah.” His deep voice faltered, “Yeah. Poor bastard. He was cool, for a big nerd. Seemed a shame to let this project just… stop, after he went through all the hassle to set it up. So, me and some others figured we’d try writing it.”

Karen snorted, “You? You’re the worst at English.”

“No- that’s you, Miss Absent.” Grant gave a level look, “I’m like… twelfth now. Average.”

“Bullshit, there’s no way I’m last place- no, you’re counting assignments I missed, that’s not fair!”

“I wasn’t- but Mrs Conelly had the whole list on the board last week. You’re rock bottom, birdbrain….” He looked down, “Besides, these notes will get edited, this is just the interview.”

“Okay, but why me? Why dig into my business?”

“Well, cos you saved my life. And people keep saying you’re a monster, that you’ve been lying forever, that you’re evil, a witch. And… that makes people do stupid shit, like Halloween. So, figure if I get the facts, then people might be less ignorant, might not try to fight the most dangerous girl in the school. You deserve better.”

Karen studied him for a long moment, a pang of cold lodged inside her chest. It was different words than Caleb had used, way back before RASA was even publicly opened, but the idea was the same. Don’t you think your voice matters? She’d claimed no. She only knew about Veil back then. And what had her privacy accomplished? Only causing problems, making mystics look more wild, dangerous and unpredictable.

“Fine- first thing first, I’m not a witch, I’m a sorceress.” She found a slight smile on her lips, “The rest is bogus.”

“I thought you were a griffin?” He produced a taped-together pen, and set nib to paper.

Karen talked until the meal came, then kept talking between bites and bones. It was less painful than she imagined. Grant was ignorant, oblivious, perhaps, but his questions were keen and methodical and happy to take her at face value. After the first couple of instances where he scribbled down some sarcastic retort, she bit her tongue and laid out the truth as clearly as she could.

Not that she spilled everything. Gramma and Ollie’s true nature, Sera and the Miracle Stone, Maddie and Logan’s difficulties, were all personal secrets she skipped past. Not even the barbecue chicken was delicious enough to merit those. But it was easy enough to say the weird quirks of Veil changing her were lower odds than getting hit by lightning twice, and needed to learn to deal with it. Her struggles to shapeshift, being shot, succumbing to the call of the hunt, and even her court date were surprisingly easy to share though.

“...and it turns out I’ve got a tracker somewhere, as if they didn’t distrust me enough,” She added, drumming a bone against the table, “Won’t even tell me where- like I’ve just got a shard of metal in my heart or… brain or something.”

“Nah, wouldn’t be an organ.” Grant muttered, shaking his pen. “Risky. Internal bleeding can be a nightmare.”

“Huh- wait, where would it be then?”

“A limb, somewhere with just lots of muscle. Like maybe an arm, but your arms turn into like… chicken legs right?”

She snapped the bone against the table’s edge, “Griffin legs. Wait- it’d leave a scar right?”

“Yeah? Barring magic healing. Is that a thing?”

“Dunno.” Her finger traced the scar on her left thigh, a memento of the night she’d turned. Wasn’t it? From the gunman? The trees? The panicked jump out of her window? But how could she have gotten airborne if her leg was so cut?

“Reckon it’d fit in my thigh?” Karen asked eagerly, “Could you check?”

His cheeks coloured slightly, “Uh, in theory. Maybe… well, not me, but if you had a metal detector like…. hey , Jambo!”

“That little nerd?”

“There you are, traitor!” A slightly cracked voice broke her ear, as a smaller teenager, with short hair and rectangular glasses slammed his hands on the table. Jamie looked in a bad way, a plaster on his forehead, bags under his eyes, and the remnants of a snowball sloughing off his shoulder. “What the hell, Grant!?”

“Uuuuh, hey dude. You remember Karen?” He frowned, “She’s the griffin from Halloween?”

“Yeah- you’re meant to interview her, not date her you idiot!” The youth snapped.

“Wow- again, no, I’d never date this gorilla.” Karen stood with a sneer, “This is an interview, so unless you’re with the Ranelk High Newspaper, you can shove off.”

“Yeah, I got notes and all,” Grant lifted his notebook innocently, “You still got a metal detector, Jambo?”

“Think so- and yeah, I’m the editor in chief.” Jamie slipped into the seat beside Grant, scanning the notes, and shook his head.

“He’s the only editor, so.. Chief by default.”

Karen eyed him suspiciously, and sat, pulling the platter of food closer, “Cool, can we borrow it tomorrow?”

“Huh. On a condition.” The kid reached into his bag, and produced a wad of papers in ratty pockets, “You gotta answer my questions too- tell us everything you know! Do you recognize any of these people!?”

“Yeah- this girl. That’s me, dumbass.” She plucked up the familiar image from the pile, the MISSING poster Caleb had made so many of.

“Don’t rip it! What about this guy? Or… or this woman!?” A frantic energy filled Jamie as he pulled up poster after poster. Samuel Hoffman, a young man with the wisps of a moustache, smiling sheepishly for a prom picture, MISSING. Julia Owens, a giddy woman with sandy curls and half moon glasses, MISSING. More faces, all clear and cheerful, pictures chosen by family or friends, adorned the rest of the missing posters, as Karen felt her stomach drop.

“I… I’ve seen them in town before. He graduated before the summer, right? And… she was… like, a firefighter?” She strained.

“A forest ranger!” Jamie barked, eyes shimmering with tears, “She is a forest ranger. She protected all this, before the mayor let you freaks all move in. Mum’s better than any of you, so one of you has to know something- what about the others!?”

“Easy, man. She’s local.” Grant laid an arm on his shoulder, low voice gentle.

“I… uh…” Karen hesitated, eyes flickering over the posters. Unfamiliar faces, united with her own in a single manner- absence. Leaving lonely loved ones and lost lives. The addresses varied from Ranelk, to other counties- Sandpoint, Boundary, Alderbank. She paused. Narrow, older faces, a man and woman. Shona Anderson. MISSING. Charles Anderson. MISSING.

“I’ve seen these guys. A couple weeks ago.” Her memory stirred as she recalled the encounter- the mountain on the flight back from Gramma, the two older hikers scaling for the top, so slow and pathetic compared to her wings.

“What date!?” Jamie pulled out a dense messy notebook and yanked Grant’s pen from his thick fingers.

“Couple weeks into November, saturday the… thirteenth. They were climbing a mountain near Alderbank, uh… Mount Kettle, I think?”

“That’s… they were last seen on the twelfth. What happened?! What did you do!?” A spark of desperate fury flared behind his glasses.

“Nothing- I didn’t touch them!” Karen hissed, pointing a bone at him, “I was just flying. Landed on the top to get my breath back.”

“And?!”

“And they were climbers. They showed up, prattled a bit about climbing, seemed pretty chill. Asked me some stuff. To move, so they could stick a stone at the top.” She frowned, memory churning. “They asked… about mystics. If I lived near, or knew what they’d- yeah, they’d seen something. A big furry thing, like a yeti, but with… with antlers.”

Her heart dropped as the two boys stared at her, suspicious, curious, but blank, unknowing.

“A minotaur?” Grant wondered.

“Nah- they don’t have antlers. None of the freaks at camp do.” Jamie scoffed.

“A wendigo.” Karen breathed. “Exi told me about one. Uh, she’s the big grey lady, the director, you know? Yeah, she told me one killed her friends. Ate her hand. They’re… real bad news, apparently, eat people. That’s… probably where the old climbers went. Maybe others too?”

“She’s not dead.” Jamie shuddered, “She wouldn’t go down to… what, a big fluffball deer?”

“I’d listen to her- this grey woman knows more?” Grant cautioned, “Think you can get us an interview?”

“Probably. She’s nice. Real honest.” Karen swallowed, her heart still beating. How close had the wendigo been that day? Exi had claimed it was incredibly dangerous, but she was stronger than Exi, wasn’t she? What if she had looked out for the older hikers? Spotted it? “But, in exchange, I need some help.”

“Yeah- fine, you can get the metal detector, sure.”

“Not that. I’m going to hunt down and kill the Bad Egg, the Siren, that pigeon thing from Halloween. For Caleb.” She split a drumstick, body tensing, “You guys know Irene. She’s been learning magic from it. She knows something. So you’ll help me find out what she knows. Deal?”

The two boys, one big, one small, looked at one another.

“No hurting Irene.” Jamie murmured.

“But that freak?” Grant nodded, “Let’s bring it down.”

* * * * *

“So, all in all, not a date.” She finished, sprawled back, admiring the hidden colours flickering off the TV. “But, it’s crazy- Grant said that you’d told him the best way to my heart was through my stomach?”

“Weird,” Maddie coiled half across her neat pastel bedroom, her torso on her bed while her coppery tail looped around languidly. “It’s a common saying though- could’ve been anybody.”

“Maddiiiiieeeee,” Karen drawled, poking her near the gills, “Cos of you everyone’s gonna think we’re a thing. Ollie’s already teased me for dressing up, he’s gonna be impossible

when he hears who it was.”

“Gossip about that’s better than gossip’s about you hunting though, right?” The mermaid tittered, slipping out of reach, “Aaaaand you could use some fun human times for your simulacrum, right?”

“True. Could’ve told me he was just writing the paper though.”

“You’d know if you paid attention to anyone else. You could always ask out someone else, really keep them guessing?”

“Hmm, would anyone else fall for giving me all I could eat though? Grant’ll probably warn the boys.” She mused, and rolled over to peer at her. “Anyway, what d’you think of the plan? You in?”

Maddie’s golden eyes darted off to the side, one sharp fang biting at her lip, “Hmmm, I think… it’s not the worst plan. I’m just… what if the Siren finds out about me? Or spills it to Irene? It cooooould risk a lot.”

“We don’t know how it’s telepathy or spying works. It might already know- it doesn’t use all it’s cards, that’s for sure.” Karen argued, “The longer we leave Irene, the more chance she might… like… smell your Veil or whatever aura crap she uses. And you’re good with people, you’re the best liar in our year- uh, in a good way.”

“Compliment accepted. But let’s call a rain check so I can think it over, maybe ask Daddy.”

“He’ll say no. He always does.”

“Not always- he helped you get away with poaching, remember?”

“He got me a year's worth of stablework.” She countered. “Yeah, yeah, I appreciate it, just… urgh, it’s like going to a buffet and I’m not allowed to eat anything!”

“Karen!” Maddie gasped in mock horror, “Didn’t you eat a ton tonight? How can you be hungry?!”

“I’m not, but I’ll be hungry on saturday- and horsemeat’s delicious. It’ll be torture!”

“Then don’t think about it, ya goof,” She coiled close, tapping a scaled hand to Karen’s forehead, “Horses are friends, not food. Drum that into your head before saturday. Wanna watch a horse movie, get on their side of things?”

Karen frowned as she plucked up a DVD case with a cartoon horse and the word ‘Spirit’ emblazoned on it. “Urgh, no, if I keep hearing the word Spirit I’ll just get pumped up.”

“Hehe, he doesn’t say his name, but fine. Uh, how about ‘At World’s End’ then? You skipped it last time.”

Karen sat up, considering, “Sure, sorry you didn’t get to watch it with Logan… do you mind if I get comfy?”

“Yeah, yeah, sure, go ahead,” Maddie quickly slithered over to fiddle with her TV, setting sound, source and image brightness. Karen seized the chance to wander to the bathroom,

a wide room with a huge tub, fitting for serpentine folk, and undressed carefully before bagging the clothes, and opening her amulet’s magic. The change hurt as always, but it was familiar, and easy, and she casually stalked back through, wings close.

“There, you read- oh.” The mermaid flinched to find a griffin behind her, “Ooooh. That’s your comfy? Riiiiight- you’re not just gonna nap during this, are you?”

Karen denied it innocently, then curled up on a blanket beside the bed, eyes on the flickering prismatic screen. There wasn’t much chat she could do, Maddie knew no Avian, but they were close and despite it all, they were still the friends they’d been years ago. Maddie got popcorn and ham and coiled up alongside her flank, scritching and giggling at the purs, growls and little expressions that escaped the griffin. It was a good film- innocents were hung, deals were betrayed, and the world of legends warred against the edges of the map.