Rachel rubbed her left arm as she leaned back in her comfy seat, causing the leather to stretch under the pressure. “Why am I so nervous, Scarlet?”

“Isn’t that something you’re supposed to tell me?” Scarlet mused, folding and sorting through much of her clothes. “You’ve already told me a ton of reasons why you’re scared, which isn’t like you.”

Scarlet hummed, shooting her a sidelong stare. “Your family isn’t some crazy Korean witch doctors or anything, right?”

“Pfft,” Rachel laughed. “My family, witch doctors? That would be the day. No, my dad has a subtle disdain for anything religious in the least. He tolerates my grandpa’s stuff because it’s his dad, but he never bought the whole one with your body deal. No … he’s more of a practicalist and looks for results. He knows breathing exercises work for many things, but it’s all medical, nothing spiritual.”

Scarlet set a pile of clothes on the table in front of them before turning to face her. “Why do you want to see your family?”

She didn’t respond right away, bending over to fiddle with her thumbs; her ears twitched slightly as she cracked her neck. “I—it’s more of a feeling, I suppose. I don’t want to lose them.”

A long sigh left Scarlet’s black lips as she crossed her arms, leaning back to stare up at the ceiling. “Knowing you’re different is only the beginning. If you accept these differences, you’ll be able to get past them and grow even closer.”

Rachel’s eyebrows knitted together as she turned to face the Vampire, wearing a sagacious expression. “That didn’t come from you, right?”

Scarlet’s smile turned impish, and she winked. “Ms. Kobayashi.”

“A Japanese lady?”

“A twenty-five-year-old Japanese lady with ditsy dragon friends!” Scarlet replied with a bright smile.

“An anime,” Rachel chuckled with exasperation, running her hands through her long white hair. “You and your anime and songs.”

“Hey, don’t knock the logic if it’s true!” Scarlet huffed. “How can you move forward when you keep regretting the past? Edward Elric.”

“Are we talking about me or you?” Rachel asked wryly.

Scarlet seemed to ignore her question, sagacious expression returning. “It may be hard right now, but you must silence those thoughts. Stop counting those things you have lost, what is gone is gone. So ask yourself, what is there that still remains to you.”

“Alright, Ms. Anime,” Rachel chuckled. “I see you had a lot of time on your hands.”

“The world isn’t perfect. But it’s there for us, doing the best it can … that’s what makes it so beautiful.”

Picking up Scarlet’s pillow on the table, Rachel threw it at her with a smirk.

“Hey!” Scarlet giggled, easily catching it. “Oh, I just remembered a good one!”

Rachel breathed out a long sigh before lying back and closing her eyes. “Okay, let’s hear the invaluable logic of the Anime world.”

Scarlet cleared her throat, voice dropping to mimic a sage. “This comes not from me, but one much older and more experienced than I. Listen to the wisdom of the elderly.”

A small smile touched Rachel’s lips, but they fell slightly as she quoted it.

“No single thing is perfect by itself. That’s why we’re born to attract other things to make up for what we lack. I think we start walking in the right direction only after we start getting our counterparts besides us.”

“Huh … that’s not bad,” Rachel whispered. “Who said that?”

“Only the coolest ninja that ever lived!” Scarlet said with a bright smile.

“Ninjas, eh? It sounds like…”

Her body stiffened, ears shooting up as she straightened, and a lump dropped down her throat.

Scarlet’s brow furrowed. “What’s up?”

“I just heard my parents’ voices … we’re getting closer.”

“Wait, isn’t that a good thing?”

Rachel took a deep breath, hand pressed against her chest. “My brother’s there … with Alexa.”

“Bah,” Scarlet began folding her clothes again. “Why should we be worried about the Witch of the West? All she can really do is scream, right?”

“Screaming causes waves,” Rachel whispered, rubbing the back of her hand.

Scarlet paused in her action, studying the pants in her hands. “Screams do cause waves … was that on purpose?”

Rachel released a heavy puff of air, giving Scarlet a look. “Unbelievable … thanks for trying to cheer me up.”

“We’re friends!” She said with a soft smile. “How many times have you done that for me over the past few days? I don’t know … there are too many times to count.”

A yawn left Rachel’s lips. “I don’t know about that, but we’ll see how things turn out.” She rubbed her stomach as it churned. “I just wish my stomach would settle down.”

“Would ginger work for you now?” Scarlet mused.

“Ginger?” Rachel asked, pulling her ears back to scratch them. “What’s that have to do with anything?”

Scarlet shrugged. “I don’t know; my mom would always give ginger ale to me when I had an upset stomach, and it seemed to help.”

“Huh…” Rachel fell silent, stroking her long white hair, examining the pink hue it gave off.

It took a while longer for them to reach her block, and Rachel’s nerves kept escalating by the mile. Her tail flicked, ears twitched, and skin prickled, but she tried her best to keep her breathing in check. She wanted to throw up but knew there was very little in her stomach.

Scarlet seemed to be a little nervous herself as Rachel took out her phone and unlocked it. “Alright … let’s call the President of the United States.”

“Well, when you put it like that,” Scarlet chuckled.

“Right?”

Rachel swallowed before clearing her throat and dialed the number. It rang for a bit before going to voicemail. “You’ve reached President Capell. Leave your name and your phone number, and I’ll get back to you when I can.”

At the beep, Rachel took a shuddering breath before saying, “Hello, President Capell. It’s Rachel Park. Give me a call back when you can.”

She hung up, and Scarlet let go of a long sigh before scratching the back of her head. “Well, that was a bit more nerve…”

Her jaw snapped shut as Rachel’s phone began to ring, and the caller ID showed, The President.

Rachel answered, holding the device in front of her, and the deep voice of the President of the United States spoke; he sounded a lot more exhausted than the last time she’d spoken to him. “Rachel, yes, Tom gave me a brief explanation about what you wanted.”

“Are you busy … no, that’s a stupid question,” Rachel mumbled. “Of course, you’re busy.”

He chuckled, and she could hear him sliding a hand through his hair through the speaker. “You could say I’m swamped, but I specifically set aside time to speak to you before I head off to see the First Lady and my little boy.”

“You set aside time to speak to my father?” Rachel asked, feeling a little shocked at the news.

“No, not specifically,” he chuckled, his chair squeaking as he leaned back in it. “Yes, I’ll speak to him, of course, but I would like to have a real conversation with you after that business is done.”

Rachel felt a little dubious about having a personal chat with the President but knew that as a Mythickin and having gone into one of the gateway crystals, he must have more questions for her.

“Okay, then could I text you to call me in the next few minutes?”

“No problem here,” Capell sighed. “I’m glad to have a bit of a break. It’s been non-stop for the last few days. I haven’t been able to see my wife or son once.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Rachel said, ears falling a little. “So, umm—I’ll text you.”

“Hmm,” Capell’s voice became a little concerned. “You sound stressed, Rachel. I recall you being a lot more composed and calm when reporting about world-ending events. Is seeing your parents really this stressful?”

Rachel released a forced laugh. “I’m … fine. No issues,” she said, doing her best to add a happy spark to her voice, but Scarlet was clearly not buying it by her lifted eyebrow. “I’ll text you in a bit, and I would love to talk to you about anything you need.”

“Alright,” Capell mumbled. “I’ll wait for your text.”

Rachel groaned as the call ended, rubbing her closed eyes. “Okay … I can do this.”

“I’m right here with you,” Scarlet reassured, scooting a bit closer to bump her.

“Right,” Rachel pressed the button to connect with Andrew. “Hey, we’re just about to head out. Would you mind keeping all the clothes we have back here how it is?”

Andrew promptly responded. “Clothes? Well, okay, yeah, no problem. So, I’m off for the night?”

“That’s right,” Scarlet chimed, picking up a pair of PJs. “You ready?” She asked, red halo-like eyes appearing.

“Yeah, my house is that way,” Rachel pointed. “You’ll see four people inside.”

“Got it,” Scarlet whispered. “Man, your parents look a lot younger than I thought they would.” Shadows surrounded them, and they rematerialized on the front doorsteps of Rachel’s house.

Her parents’ house was a decent size and spackled with a grayish-white color. There were a few dozen palm trees and ferns that hid much of the property, and meter high walls and gates blocked it off from the sidewalk.

Scarlet got to her feet, pressing her black PJ’s against her side as she walked to the front gate, glancing up and down the street. “Nice place. We’re in Northeast Coconut Grove, right?”

“Yup,” Rachel took a few deep breaths before writing out the message she’d send to the President when they got inside. “My parents have just about paid off the property.”

Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

“Hmm,” Scarlet turned around to study the house. “It’s about the same size as my parent’s place.”

“No basement,” Rachel said with a small laugh. “Just the first and second floor.”

“Yeah, well … who likes basements,” Scarlet mumbled, lips falling into a grimace. “I wanted to say Alexa looks like a horse, but she’s actually fairly pretty … if you like blonde hair.”

“No, she’s pretty,” Rachel said, stretching out her arms. “She just has a terrible personality.”

Rachel turned as Scarlet stiffened. “What’s up?”

“Oh, it’s just … no,” she mumbled.

“What?”

“Does Alexa … like Vampires?” She groaned; her black halo-like eyes were fixated on Nam and Alexa’s room.

Rachel shrugged. “No clue. Why?”

“She’s got some … concerning stuff in what I assume is her room.”

“Like?”

“Disney vampire plush dolls and stuff … there’s a Nightmare Before Christmas one, too,” she mumbled, nibbling on her lower lip.

A grimace touched Rachel’s face. “That, I didn’t expect, but I do remember her being into animated shows. Why do you think it will be a problem?”

Scarlet rubbed her left shoulder. “No, it’s not. I know plenty of people are like that … it just makes me shiver. I don’t know why.”

“Do you want to wait outside?” Rachel offered, folding her arms under her chest.

“No, I’ll come in … I just, no, nothing…”

Rachel puffed out a breath through her cheeks, knowing there wasn’t much she could do to set Scarlet’s mind at ease. “Alright, ready?”

Scarlet gave her a forced smile, gripping her hands behind her back. “I should be asking you that.”

Turning toward the front door, Rachel knocked; her mother was the closest to the door. Her father and brother were in the study, and she heard Alexa upstairs in the shower, likely preparing for bed.

Her mother looked at the face camera screen, mounted in the hall as her father called out to her in Korean. “Chan-hee, who’s at the door?”

“I think … Sung is. You said she turned into a Lunar Hare Mythickin?”

“Yes, she was one of the people that changed. I haven’t seen her yet; how does she look?”

“Unique, but she’s still pretty. She’s with a black-haired girl with long ears.”

Nam breathed a sigh of relief. “I’m glad she’s okay. I can get the door, mom.”

“No, no, I’ll get it, dear,” her mother quickly replied.

Every step her mother took made Rachel more nervous, and eventually, she made it to the door. The locks clicked, and it opened, spreading the bright hallway light across the sidewalk.

Her mother was about five-three and quite beautiful for her age, even without her makeup. Her thick black hair fell to her shoulder blades, and her slim build was the product of good dietary habits. She wore a loose gray long-sleeve shirt and tight black jeans with house slippers.

Her mother’s inquisitive brown eyes swept her appearance. “Sung, is that you?” She tentatively asked in Korean, tone holding an unexpected sound of hope. Her vision momentarily darted to Scarlet before returning to her.

Rachel responded in English. “Yeah, it’s me, Mom … I’m home.” She smiled.

“Oh, thank goodness,” Chan-hee sighed, pressing a hand against her chest before looking up at her ears. “You’ve changed quite a bit,” she said, giving her a smile. “I’m glad to see you safe. Come in and let me give you a hug; your father and brother are in the study. Alexa is in the shower.”

Stepping into the wide hallway, Rachel took a deep breath, knowing the questions would come once they’d had a chance to sit down, but she was caught off-guard as her mother gave her a hug that was surprisingly long.

“M-Mom, are you okay?”

“Now I am,” she whispered, pulling her down to kiss her cheek. “We couldn’t get in contact with you after you called us, and no one would tell us anything.”

Rachel’s ears fell back, feeling a little guilty for destroying the phone. Sure, I was mad, but Mom and Dad were probably so worried. He could have been angry I put myself in a dangerous situation, which was why he responded like that. It might not have been about shaming the name. Gah, it’s so confusing...

Scarlet entered behind her, trying to stay as small as possible, but Rachel turned to introduce her. “Umm, Mother, this is Scarlet. We’ve grown to be close friends over the past few days.”

Her mother turned and gave her a short bow. “I welcome you to our home, Scarlet. Would you like any refreshments while we catch up in the study?”

Scarlet quickly shook her head, eyes darting to Rachel. “N-No, I’m fine, Ms. Park.”

“Okay, but let me know if you’d like any tea,” she said with a pleasant tone. “Sung will show you to the study, and I’ll be in once I fix some for the others.”

“Thank you,” Scarlet said, rigidly doing a short bow.

A soft giggle slid through her mother’s lips as she closed the door and walked back toward the kitchen.

“I feel like I just embarrassed myself in front of your mom,” Scarlet mumbled, face turning slightly pink. “She doesn’t seem bad, and I could feel her emotions; she was really worried about you.”

“Yeah,” Rachel whispered. “I heard it … and no, you’re fine. Just don’t bow again,” she said with a light smile.

Scarlet’s lips pursed together as she held her forearm against her stomach. “Yeah, I got it.”

Rachel was beginning to feel a little more at ease, now that she was here, and took out her phone to message the President. Once it sent, she nodded to the left. “It’s that way.”

She slid her shoes off, Scarlet quickly doing the same before placing them on the shoe rack beside the door. They walked through the front room and into the study.

Her father sat in a big armchair with his reading glasses on; there was a thin tablet on his lap that he seemed to be using to watch the news. Nam sat beside him with his phone resting on the side of his own armchair.

Nam was slightly bigger than their father, taking after their mother’s side of the family that had surprisingly large frames by Korean standards. His trim black hair was swept back, and he wore a casual black shirt with fitted blue dress pants.

Her father showed a bit of his age, but in a handsome way. He always kept his appearance neatly groomed, and wore his suits even when relaxing at home. The current outfit he wore was the slim black pin-striped one, and the watch on his left wrist, she remembered well; he’d received it as a gift on a business trip with a few of the company investors when in France.

They both gave her appraising stares as she entered, and Nam chuckled softly.

“Well, look at you, lil sis.” Leaving his phone on the chair, he rose to his feet before walking over and hugging her. “I’m glad you’re alright; we’ve been trying to get in touch with the hospital to find out where you went, but no one had any information.”

Rachel felt a warmth fill her heart; she hadn’t expected this warm of a reception, and before her father could speak, her phone started ringing.

She gave them a strained smile. “Sorry, let me,” she paused after taking out the rectangular device. “Umm—sorry, Dad, but it’s important.”

Her father frowned but raised his hand. “Go ahead.”

Rachel put on an apologetic smile as she said, “Hello, President Capell.”

“Rachel, is this the appropriate time?”

“Yes, but—umm, I just got back with my family,” she turned to face her father and brother, both giving her questioning stares. “My dad’s actually a really big supporter of you. Do you have a bit of time to talk to him; it would mean the world to him.”

“Yeah, that’d be fine. I do need to talk to you after, though.”

“Of course, Mr. President, and thank you.” She held the phone to her chest, giving her dad a bright smile. “Umm—so, I’m on the phone with President Capell, and he has a bit of time if you’d like to talk to him, Dad.”

Her father licked his lips before glancing at his brother and then back at her. “The President of the United States, President Capell?”

Rachel nodded. “That’s right.”

He shot to his feet with surprising speed, walking around the table to take the phone. Lifting it to his ear, he tentatively asked, “Mr. President?”

“Yes, I assume I am speaking to Mr. Park, Rachel’s father?”

“Yes, that would be me. Eh—I’m a huge supporter of what you’ve been doing for small businesses, and if you have the time, could I maybe speak to you about some concerns I have?”

“I can do that for a bit, Mr. Park, but I am a very busy man and need to talk to your daughter about some pressing National Security details.”

“Oh, of course, of course. I have no doubt you are a busy man … might I ask why you are calling my daughter?” He questioned, glancing over at her with a furrowed brow.

“I’m afraid that’s classified, Sir, but I do have a few minutes to hear your concerns about small business. I know Martial Law has hurt many while we’re trying to get everything under control.”

Her father moved into the front room, taking the phone with him as he discussed some of the policies he’d heard online that have been put forward by the Senate.

Nam gave her an inquisitive look before nodding toward the seat in front of his. “We going to sit and catch up?”

“Yeah, I’d like that,” Rachel said with a long sigh, pulling her hair around her front before sitting. “I thought Dad would be a bit more angry if I just showed up out of nowhere.”

“C’mon, Sung,” Nam said with a huff as he dropped into his seat. “You know Mom and Dad care about you. Sure, they’re a bit strict, but they wanted to know you were safe. Mom’s been stress baking since yesterday. The fridge is filled with food; Dad’s been telling her to slow down; we don’t know how long the lockdown will last.”

Scarlet took the left side of the sofa beside Rachel, keeping her mouth shut as she observed them.

Nam’s brown eyes shifted to the Vampire. “So, I see you’ve been making friends. Is she the new roommate you found in MU?”

Rachel shook her head, ears leaning to the side as she remembered the last interaction she’d had with Cloe. “I haven’t seen her since The Oscillation event. I don’t even know if I’ll be allowed back in school.”

“Yeah,” Nam clicked his tongue a few times. “It is kind of a strange time, and it was pretty violent a few days ago when things dropped off the deep-end.”

She caught sight of the metal hanging on the wall. “I heard about the Police Department thing. Is that the medal?”

Nam shrugged with a drawn-out sigh. “Only a temporary. They’ll give me the real thing later, but I was just in the right place at the wrong time. My car had been broken into the day before, and I was down at the station talking to an officer when it all went down. I discovered I had powers, and just happened to use them in a way that helped save lives.

“It was scary, but I’m glad those officers were able to go back and see their families … although, three weren’t quite so lucky. Officers Jenny, Harper, and Kelsey … I had a nightmare about the scene last night, scared Alexa right out of bed,” he whispered.

A pressure hit Rachel’s chest as she looked down at the hardwood floor, ears pulling back slightly. I thought Nam was this big hero, and everything went off without a hitch, but he’s actually suffering from the incident. I’m over here trying to rack-up brownie points while he’s dealing with nightmares of people he couldn’t save.

“Oh, sorry,” Nam chuckled tiredly. “I didn’t mean to drop the mood. No, I’m thrilled to see you safe. So, are you going to introduce me to your friend?” He asked, giving Scarlet a warm smile while folding his hands across his stomach. “Sung’s … oh, well, I guess you probably know her by Rachel. Rachel’s never brought home any friends before.”

“O-Oh, really?” Scarlet said with a forced smile. “I didn’t know.”

Rachel groaned, glaring at Nam. “You don’t have to say it like that. I was always too busy to hang out with people.”

“A bit anti-social,” he said, giving Scarlet a wink. “Oh, she’d talk about her sparring matches, though, and how she was improving. I had this joke with her about her only friends are people that beat her up.”

“Nam, cut it out,” her mother huffed while walking into the room with a tray of glasses, but she wore a smile. “Quit bullying your sister; she just got home.”

“Yeah, I know,” he chuckled. “I’m just giving her a hard time.”

“Who’s your father talking to?” She asked with a slight frown, glancing toward the front room.

“Talking with the President,” Nam said with an impressed tone as he eyed Rachel.

“Which President?” Chan-hee asked, giving Nam and Rachel a drink before setting it down on the coffee table.

“The President of the United States,” Nam replied with a low chuckle, nodding toward Rachel with a smirk. “He called our Sung.”

“No, really?” Her mother’s eyes sparkled, and she sat on the opposite side of the sofa. “You have the President of the United States calling you?”

“It’s complicated,” Rachel laughed, scratching her left ear as it twitched. “Scarlet and I are contracted with the U.S. government, and we are under a strict NDA. We also have top security clearance.”

Nam whistled. “Impressive, lil sis. What can you tell us?”

“Oh, be patient, Nam,” Chan-hee scolded. “We should wait for your father to hear the story. No, why don’t we get to know Sung’s new friend? Tell us about yourself.”

Scarlet took a deep breath before turning toward Rachel with a strained smile, doing her best to hide her fangs. “Umm … how should we approach the topic?”

“What topic?” Nam asked, lips dropping into a slight frown. “About your changes?”

“Yeah,” Rachel leaned back, folding her arms before breathing in and out. “There’s no real delicate way to put it. I’m a Lunar Hare, and Scarlet is a Vespertine Reaper.”

Both their expressions told her they had no clue what she was talking about.

“Basically … I’m a Vampire,” Scarlet mumbled.

Nam and her mother gave Rachel concerned glances before repositioning in their seats.

“Is that so,” her father whispered, coming back into the room.

Everyone turned to face him, and Scarlet seemed to be the most concerned as she twisted her hands around in her lap.

His neutral brown irises moved from Scarlet to Rachel. “President Capell needs to talk with you. We’ll talk with Scarlet while you’re occupied.”

“Just so you know, Scarlet is a good Vampire that even the government trusts. I could even get a Five-Star General to confirm it.” Rachel quickly defended, rising to her feet to meet her father.

“No issue,” her father evenly replied, vision sliding back to Scarlet. “We’ll discuss it later.”

“Okay,” Rachel said, voice a little hoarse as she took the phone. “I’ll be back in a bit, and please, just don’t attack her. Her blood responds to danger.”

“Why would we attack her?” Nam questioned, but Rachel could hear the strain in his voice.

“Yeah, alright … I get it,” she whispered. “I’ll be right back.”

Rachel walked toward the guest room to speak to the President in private, feeling her butterflies return. What will they say to Scarlet? What will Scarlet say to them? Am I abandoning her by taking this call? The President did say he needs to talk to me, but ending on that note … I just hope they don’t attack her.