With the holidays fast approaching, Christmas lights adorned just about every window in the downtown core. They cast colourful lights on the glittering snowbanks building rapidly on the windowsills and sidewalks. Intricate white and blue snowflakes were formed out of lights and hung from every streetlamp.

Ada hated the winter, but she loved the holidays and all the glitter and lights it brought along with it. The splendour made the dreary weather almost beautiful. The beauty did nothing for the chill, though, which sank right into Ada's bones through her ski jacket and heavy jeans. Snow built up on the toes of her Docs with each step. She had been wearing this pair since she started the tenth grade, they were a birthday present that she never took off, regardless of the season.

The shop showed no signs of life but for the open sign which took up most of the window in the door. Ada swiped at her runny nose as she approached and let herself in. They were minutes from closing, which normally would have kept her from entering, but she was expected. Maggie was puttering around the shop with a broom and jumped when Ada entered.

"Sorry," she chuckled, leaning on the broom. "I was pretty into my music. How are you?"

"Good, thanks. You?" Ada tapped her toes on the mat before scrubbing her soles on it to remove all traces of snow.

"Good. Glad to be done for the day, it was so slow."

This didn't surprise Ada. The shop was highly specialised and the market in a town this small couldn't be huge. There was an array of occult items cluttering the numerous shelves crammed into the small shop. A display in the window featured handmade candles, incense, crystals, and books that would appeal to the average spooky lover, ranging all the way to obscure divination tools and specialised books on highly specific subjects that most hadn't even heard of. Ada couldn't imagine sales were particularly good here, even during the holiday season.

Ada followed Maggie through rows of low shelves, doing her best not to knock anything over. They made for the stairs behind the counter and climbed to the second floor. Maggie lived with her aunt and comatose mother in the tiny apartment upstairs. It was so small the kitchen was on the main floor, behind the shop. The furniture was all antique and rather gaudy. Brocade sofas, a shag rug, heavy satin drapes over the wide windows in the living room. A terrarium sat in one corner, housing something Ada had no interest in meeting. Plants spilled across every surface imaginable. The monstera in the corner was absolutely thriving and had a new leaf forming at the centre, just about ready to unfurl.

Maggie went back downstairs for tea once Ada was settled in the living room. The door to Aria's bedroom was shut, the crack beneath it dark. Collette must be searching for her again. She would hopefully wake soon and they could get to the heart of the discussion. In the mean time, it was just her and Maggie, which meant the conversation could go just about anywhere.

Ada liked Maggie just fine, but sometimes she worried that Maggie had interests that went beyond friendship. She knew about Sam, and it didn't seem to stop her from casting an infatuated glance Ada's way every now and then. She grew tired of it quite quickly.

Maggie returned with a silver tray covered in porcelain and treats. She passed Ada a teacup and saucer, then poured out a dark brown tea that smelled of Christmas spices and apples. A plate in the centre overflowed with cookies, biscuits, and banana bread. Ada took a cookie and dunked it into her tea as she sat back on the creaky sofa.

"So how have you been? I haven't heard from you in a while."

Ada hummed, chewing. "I've been pretty busy. We had a new werewolf turn and join the pack, so it's been a bit hectic getting her oriented and used to her new life. Work has been crazy, too. So many car accidents this time of year. I've replaced more bumpers than I can count." Ada waved her cookie at Maggie. "How about you?"

"Not much changes here." She smiled wistfully and took a sip. "I've just been running the shop and working on some knitting projects for Christmas."

"You knit?"

"Yeah, I made this shawl." She lifted the edge of the charcoal shawl she had wrapped tight around her body. "When I have time, at least. Lately there's been nothing but. The shop is pretty slow."

"About that, how do you guys manage to stay open? I can't imagine the shop is very busy."

Maggie shrugged. "My mom owns the building, so we don't have to worry about paying rent or anything like that, just the bills. We also run an online shop, and we do pretty well on there. I run the marketing and social media for it."

"That's cool. I don't have the patience for it, but it seems like a really neat hobby."

"I enjoy it quite a bit. But anyway, we're not here to talk about our hobbies. What's new in the astral plane?"

Ada sighed, pursing her lips. "Unfortunately, there isn't much news. Storm and I have been searching almost every night, and while we've come across things with her energy signature, we haven't found her. We can't even be sure that the things we're encountering have been in contact with her, or if they simply read similarly to her on their own. We've found plants, books, a vase, two fish, a hawk, and a gold platter so far that all read like her.

"I'm supposed to go back tonight and meet up with Storm to keep searching. The hard part is that I keep waking up, and every time I do, we have to start from the beginning and branch out from there. We could cover so much more ground if I didn't have to wake up in the morning. That said, I'm afraid to put myself into a deeper sleep, because what if I end up stuck there like she is? Then you'd have to find someone else to send in after me."

"Yeah, that wouldn't be good. Can't Storm keep searching without you?"

"They do, sometimes, but I can't ask them to just give up their life to search for her. It's not their responsibility, I'd feel bad asking that of them."

"It's not yours either, and yet here you are."

Heat crept into Ada's cheeks. "That's different."

"How so?"

For a long time, Ada was silent. She sipped her tea as she gathered her thoughts. How could she put it to words?

"I'm choosing to do this for you, because I want to. You never asked and didn't have to. They haven't offered and I'd feel wrong asking them to."

"I suppose that makes sense."

The bedroom door clicked open, and Collette emerged donning a floral house dress and a cardigan around her frail figure. She offered a small smile as she shut the door behind her on the dark room. The circles under her eyes were as dark as ever, if not more so.

"Thank you for coming," she murmured as she glided over to the armchair and sank into the plush cushions.

"Of course. How have you been?"

"Well, thank you. Yourself?"

"Busy, but I'm good. I'm sorry to say I haven't made much progress."

"What have you found?"

Ada regaled her with stories of navigating through plane after plane in search of energies similar to Aria's, and all the strange objects they had come across. So far, they had had little luck in finding her, but Ada couldn't help feeling like they were getting close. The likelihood that Aria had come into contact with at least one of those objects was quite good. They were close, but not there yet. She was still lost to them.

"It sounds like you've made great progress in your search." Collette smiled easily, and it reached her warm eyes. "I hope that soon you will find her and bring her home."

"About that ..." Ada trailed off, searching for the right words. "What if she doesn't want to come home?"

"What do you mean?"

"It's just, what if she's out there still because she wants to be. What if coming home isn't something she wants to do?"

She hated saying as much. The hurt in Maggie's eyes was apparent. It couldn't be easy to consider that your parent might not want to return to you, to the life that she had left behind. What if her stay there was voluntary, and she didn't want to come back? What then?

"Then you will have to convince her. Aria is not a selfish woman, but she is hungry for knowledge. If she knows her body is wasting, she may decide it best to return, even if that isn't what she desires."

"Is she wasting?"

Collette hung her head. "Unfortunately, yes. She has been losing weight steadily since her coma began. Nurses do what they can for her, but that isn't much. She is slowly dying before our eyes."

Maggie bit her lip but said nothing. It was all Ada could do to keep from cringing in sympathy. It had to be hard to hear that your mother was slowly wasting away, that she might not want to come back to the life she had left behind.

"Your aura is quieter," Collette said, breaking the silence. "Have you been meditating?"

"Yes, Sam taught me how. I try to do it every day."

She smiled easily. "That's good. Even if it does nothing for your aura, your mind will be better for it."

"I don't feel all that different after I've meditated."

Maggie shrugged. "It's still good for you. Keep it up."

"I will." Ada got to her feet then and stretched. "I should be getting home, we've got a meeting planned."

Maggie rose as well and led the way to the front door, intending to see her out. Ada trailed along behind her. Maggie's skirt swished and swayed, hinting at the curve of her figure without showing it off. Ada liked her style, it was very elegant.

"Thank you," Collette said as they reached the door. She was standing with her hands folded before her. "I am endlessly grateful for your help in finding my sister."

Ada smiled. "I'm going to bring her home, just you wait."

The narrow stairs were as harrowing as ever to traverse, and Ada was glad to be on the main floor once more. The shop was dark and quiet, strongly perfumed with incense. Maggie strolled to the front door and turned the bolt.

"I wish I could help you more with this."

"You've been a great help to me so far. Don't worry, I'm going to find her. I'm so close."

Maggie's eyes sparkled in the twilight. "You're a rare type of person, you know that?"

Ada's face went hot and she averted her gaze. "Thanks, I think. We'll talk soon, all right?"

"Sure."

Ada drove home in relative silence, metal playing softly in the background to fill the void. Snow drifted down from the sky and powdered the town. It built up lightly on the street, but not so much as to be an issue. Not many were out just then, and Ada found her drive peaceful and short.

The meeting had only been partially true. They were indeed meeting up as a group to talk about Lily again before she left, and then Sam and Ada would be taking her to the airport for her flight home. The weekend had gone by so quickly. Ada was actually going to miss her. The wee lady had grown on her fast.

Everyone was already there when Ada pulled into her usual parking space and cut the engine. Cold seeped in through the windows and gave her a slight chill before she got out into the bitter evening. The night was unforgiving this far north. She hurried inside, where it was warm and cozy, and there would almost certainly be coffee waiting.

Everyone was gathered in the living room in various states of relaxation. Sam, as usual, had the armchair, and everyone had a mug either in their hands or on the table before them. There was an extra sitting next to the carafe waiting for her. Greetings were shared as Ada poured a cup and took a seat on the arm of the chair. Sam smiled up at her, warmth meeting her cocoa eyes.

Pleasantries were exchanged as the group sipped coffee. Ada told them about the monstrous truck that had returned to the shop, this time with a shattered headlight. Buddy had hit something while pulling out of his driveway and shattered the cover and bulb. An easy fix, but a car she never wanted to work on ever again.

Noah's cane was resting against the sofa, a first in a long time. He caught Ada staring at it and cringed. He took a long drink.

"I'm out of salve," he explained without prompt.

"You should have told me, I was just with Maggie. I'll text her in a bit and see if she can make you some more."

"Thanks."

The meeting would be a short one, one question, really, directed at Lily. Her fingers drummed a nervous tempo on the side of her mug, a dull tapping as her nails were cut down to stubs. She glanced from face to face as the chatter progressed closer to the topic at hand. Her.

"So, Lily, have you given much thought to which pack you want to join?" Sam asked her, setting her mug on the side table.

She shrugged. "I mean, I don't really know anyone from the other pack, so I guess this one?"

Aidan smiled at her. "I think that's a good choice. You know all of us now, except for Eli, but you'll like him. He's a character."

"Okay. What does that mean for me?"

"Nothing, really. It just means that you're one of us now. If you ever need anything at all, we're just a phone call away."

"So I just go back to school like nothing ever happened?"

"Yes, you go back and finish your education. What you choose to do after that is entirely up to you. Just remember, this is a huge secret, you can't tell anyone what you are."

"I know, I won't."

"We're all here for you," Cain said in a soft, warm tone as he leaned forward on his knees. "You can call or text us anytime."

"I will."

Sam tucked her hair behind her ear; it was down, a rare sight. "Are you ready to leave?"

"Yes, I'm all packed."

"Great. Let's go run, and then we'll head to the airport, okay?"

"Sure."

Ada smiled and sipped her coffee. A run would be good for Lily. The pack was tightly knit, a unit that bonded over their runs in the mountains. Lily would have a blast. Ada would putter around for a couple of hours, and then they would hit the road. She would meet them at the rest stop a little after eight to pick them up. Until then, the night was her own. Maybe she would practise programming again, it had been a little while. Aidan had given her some tips a while back that she was itching to put to use.

Ada watched the group file out into the bitter night with the faintest note of longing. She wished she could see what their runs were like, but it wasn't safe for her out there. All it would take is one accident to end or change her life forever. Instead, she pulled out her laptop and set up in the living room with a movie playing in the background to fill the silence.