I begin to hate myself for standing over her even though there's nothing else we can do. Red's pacing again, and the more responsible middle kids are supposedly 'keeping watch', but the rest of us are huddled around Adaline's still body like we expect her to spring up and announce that the entire thing has been some kind of sadistic joke. Occasionally, Adaline sniffs or shudders, and everyone seems to shake with her. As predators, we knows these convulsions. As watchers, we have seen the long, branch-like arms reach out and take sleeping animals where they lie. Both of these sensations are uncomfortable, and I can sense Red going out of his mind with stress in the corner with every press of his shoe against the yielding, cold, wet soil. The ground isn't much better, though we do have a blanket where we laid her, and that seems to have done... well, she's still cold.

It's part of her Veritas, I tell myself, for the thousandth time today. We've never seen her passive powers, let alone her active powers in her Veritas, so there's a chance we're just looking at a violent episode. She's been cold before. It's no... it's...

Adaline reaches for my arm, and I feel like I'm being dragged by a drowning man into the depths of a lake. The gesture is so resonant that it whirrs in my startled mind that there's no way this can't be our particular brand of magic, whatever it is. Still, when she whispers, it's in a child's voice:

"Can you do the chimaera again?"

I can't refuse that now. With her big, sad eyes keeping watch, I take on the most majestic damn form I can, with several ears, racks of antlers, and soft, soft fur. I look a little like Mimsy, especially with the multiple tails, but unlike her smooth white ones, mine are a bit of a mess. I only vaguely process half the animals I just used, and my entire body hurts from stretching it out in all the wrong ways. Abuse of power.

Adaline presses against me. "You're the least scary big kid, Dylan." she says, practically into my mane. She looks back to Angel and Red, who are staring at each other with intense discomfort, and I feel the beast's muzzle draw back to expose white teeth.

Bad dog.

"There's nothing in the books about this." Angel says, drawing herself up from crouching over the body for what seems like the first time in hours.

Red turns to Alex, who has forsaken his post (on Red's request, I assume, but what do I know) and is now furiously swiping away at his phone. The black box shines with white light, but as Alex indicates with a quick shake of his head, no answers.

Kali, who is leaning on a nearby tree with her dull glass glare, offers, "I'm beginning to think normal human children don't do this."

You don't say, I think, but I restrain myself because the worst possible thing to do right now would to somehow be less helpful than Kali. Instead, I hold guard around Adaline, who turns so she's facing me, trying to bury herself into my fur. I can feel the oil trickling down me, and her hands, too, begin to bleed, like her whole body is struggling to expel it. How much... something... could possibly fit in such a small vessel? Where is it all coming from?

After a long moment of silence, Angel's mourning wail sweeps all four of my sensitive ears. "We need to take her to a hospital."

"No." Red responds, just as quickly.

"But-"

Red's face contorts, his eyes closed. He's practically praying for courage. "You know what they could do to us."

"But we don't know what could happen to her if we don't do anything." protests Angel.

"Is she gonna die?" asks Mary, and I sling my tail around the side of Adaline's head, burying her against my side. Adaline doesn't even respond. After another silence, equally uncomfortable to the first, Mary asks, "Can we die?"

Red peers off into the distance, his glasses silvered with the late fall air.

I lay my head down between my paws and just let Addie soak in the moment, my eyes closed with tremendous pain, and Elle stalks past, her heel digging into one toe. Her dark eyes glance my way, like she's looking down on an unfortunate bug she happened to crush by accident, and I look back up at her with all the fury I'm trying to restrain, here.

She whispers something to Red and his eyes widen. "You think you can do that?"
"I've been doing it. What do you think all these trips into town were for?" Elle says, far louder than normal.

"Well. I wasn't sure, but I was willing to give you the benefit of the doubt before... if you really, really think you can pull this off, I know it would mean the world to Angel."

"What would?" Angel demands.

"I'll talk to you later about it, but I only want to announce this to the group if Elle is entirely certain." Red says, as even Gillian, alone on the edge, and Mimsy, who has been hiding up in a tree, poke their heads down towards the commotion. "For now, we should probably take care of Adaline."

"Of course. We're doing all we can." Angel insists, taking Addie from my side. Adaline doesn't protest, just hiccups again, and she chokes back bile.

Red tilts his glasses back on his face. I can see alll of the fear in his eyes as he leans down by my side. "Dylan." Red bends down to my side. "This one's entirely on you."

I bend my head down.

His voice is a vibration so slight it barely leaves his throat. "She got to Alex and Gillian."

I tilt my head. You don't trust her.

"I trust Elle as far as I can see her without my glasses." Red confirms. "Just follow her in. She's getting a hotel room."

I shift back and grab Red aside.

"Don't go." croaks Adaline.

"Angel's got you." I promise, drawing Red into the trees. Once we're out of sight, but not necessarily earshot (they could be anywhere), I say, "We're going to be more visible than ever. We might as well just go check her into a hospital."

"Elle thinks it's hypothermia. We've discussed this earlier--" he folds his hands. I'm dealing with serious Red right now.

"You were talking to her? Without me?" I hiss. First rule of serious Red: don't make it personal. Dumb move, Dylan. What are you doing?

Red's eyes shift. "I was confronting her. That's different. Look, are you still upset about-- you know Angel did that to me. I didn't want to be part of it."

"I know." I say. "I just want to be there to protect you in case anyone tries anything again. They know you can't fight."

"Everyone knows I can't fight." Red insists, putting a hand on my shoulder. "I would be dead right now if not for you. This is exactly why I need you to be my hands right now, because if I went into that town and Elle was up to something, there is a very, very good chance I wouldn't come back."

I nod. Feigning a smile, I shrug. "Well, nothing's happened this far, so I like your odds."

Red's face drops. All the sentiment gone from his voice, he mutters, "Dylan, please just go."

I almost drop into my Veritas, just to be alone with myself, but a fox is almost as fast. I pad after Elle, following her scent back into the city, and put on long clothing when I shift back. The coppery marks still splash my face, but I attempt to tuck them away with a scarf. I'm surprised to find the attire doesn't immediately burn my skin, instead, it's cold enough that I'd even call it appropriate. Still, I silently curse the clothing dangling over my nose and the way it muffles my human senses down to nothing, and how little of my body is now exposed to the open air. It feels like being in a very, very small room.

The city streets aren't much better. Fortunately, Elle always stands out, possibly because she wants to. She makes a scene with every swaggering motion, like a singular doe in a field of overgrown grass. Everything else is just stirring with the wind. She has direction. Elle makes sharp turns and eventually enters a building that seems to ascend directly into the sky, staring down at us with impunity.

I stand in awe until I almost catch Elle's face again, after which I duck behind a pine. A man in uniform is watching me, so I wave back at him. He waves. This is human code for "whatever you're doing, feel free to keep doing it", so the bushes and I are striking up a temporary alliance. The city rushes on around me, and my blood begins to run cold.

Elle exits quickly as she entered, with the door reaching out to grab her back. She looks semi-professional in dazzling clothing she'd never even bother glamouring around us. She wipes something from her lips and flashes two thin cards in my direction, staring right through the foliage.

I stand up.

"You actually did it," I say.

"You expect the worst from me." Elle responds. Her hands are squarely locked in each other, and her dark hair blows in the wind, which is far cooler than any we've experienced on the trip yet. "Allow me to surprise you on occasion, Dylan." A hand reaches out, grabs my ear, and she drags me down the street until I jerk back. Her eyes wander over me, sending a message clear as any I could send Red. Don't draw attention.

"Pardon me for being doubtful that you'd do the right thing solely on the basis of it being the right thing." I mumble.

"Adaline isn't going to die." Elle says, looking forwards as if she hadn't heard me.

"No," I agree.

"But this will ease Angel's mind and keep Adaline from catching more of a chill." Elle confirms. Her face twists into something akin to a smile, even though I sense the fakeness seeping from it. "I have no ulterior motive save for getting her out of my hair."

"How altruistic of you," I say, but even then I'm watching her face for the thousands of tiny motions that indicate that she's feeling anything more than she can fake. Hope burns through me, violently, and passes when I realize her expression is stone cold.

I guess I'm taking her at face value.