I officially do not like, or understand, the game 'Rock, Paper, Scissors'.

At first, I thought we were playing with literal rocks, paper and scissors. Then, Toby explained it to me more in-depth. But, that didn't stop me from losing, and I don't exaggerate, to everybody. I even lost to Archie, and he doesn't even have the fingers to make the symbols!

So, guess who has to live with a new, magical companion? Me. Of all the people in the world, I was elected to keep the Ventil with me. Under constant supervision. All I knew was that I was not fit to be a supervisor for a girl who could kill me almost instantly. At first, I asked Douxie and Archie if they could keep her. They had more experience with magical creatures like her, so they should be able to handle her, right?

Apparently, I was wrong. They said, if anything, them keeping the Ventil would be the worst option. They said that GDT Arcane Books was full of magical relics; things the Ventil could pick up that could make her magic unlimited, lest she use it correctly. They also said they didn't want to risk her hurting Nari, the protector and commander of all living things, plant and animal. So, they were out.

Toby said he didn't have room for her because his house was too small. Plus, Aaarrrgghh!!! took up enough space as it was, and Go-Go Sushi didn't have a three-player mode. So he was a non-option as well.

Jim said that he couldn't because his mother and Mr. Strickler were caring for the Changeling familiars, and he didn't want innocent kids to get hurt. Claire said the same thing about her little brother. And none of us trusted Steve not to get himself killed by saying or doing something stupid to upset her.

So, we were stuck together, whether we liked it or not.

She slept like the dead the whole night. We decided to let her stay in Aja's room, with security cameras in place to make sure she didn't wake up. Douxie also fixed a special choker on her, to make sure she didn't try anything suspicious.

It restricted magic, had a mini camera I fixed in it so we could see where she was all 24 hours of the day, and a fail-safe if she tried to take it off. The moment something tried to remove the choker without authorization, a paralyzer would be released, and soak into her skin. She wouldn't be able to move until an antidote was administered, and

We had been up all night, pacing, waiting for her to wake up. Empty soda bottles littered the floor, and candy wrappers were everywhere. VHS tapes of old action movies were stacked in a heap near the television, and Lucy, the blank robot who was like my fake mother, was vacuuming up stale popcorn and Cheetos.

Toby was shaking with energy, having at least five, extremely carbonated and caffeinated sodas. Claire and Jim were curled up on the couch together. Douxie and Aaarrrgghh!!! were playing the Go-Go Sushi video game from his house, Aaarrgghh!!! teaching him how to play.

Archie was sleeping on the kitchen counter, and Steve was snoring on the couch. He had raided the refrigerator earlier, and his fingers were now stained permanently fluorescent orange. A mountain of crumbs and crumpled junk food bags surrounded him like a wall. I was tinkering with a new invention of mine, trying to calm my nerves.

Engineering had always been an outlet for me, something to get my mind off stressful things. But right now, not even multi-step algebra could get me to stop thinking of the creature sleeping in my sister's bed.

We were waiting in silence, listening to the radio talk about today's weather. Thankfully, Costas had told the school all of us had the flu, so we had a few days to rest and recover from staying up all night. The sun had risen about two hours ago, buttercup light streaming through the huge windows and glass door leading to the pool, where it reflected like a gorgeous lake of golden water.

Everything was peaceful. Then, a shriek and heavy thud interrupted our one moment of serenity. Shooting up, we all raced to the back of the house, waiting outside my sister's room. Since the enchantment the Ventil put on us hadn't been lifted, we could hear every word she was saying. Including some very unflattering things about cats and the human species.

After thirty seconds of no movement from inside, we assumed she'd tried to take her collar off. Signalling with his hand, Douxie led the charge into Aja's old room. There was a huge lump covered with a duvet, laying on the floor. Growling and hissing came from under the blanket, and we decided to let Archie handle it. Shoving him forward, we gestured for him to take it off.

Gulping, Archie, in his cat form, slowly slunk forward and batted at the limp form on the floor. The lump hissed when his paw connected with it, and he jumped back in alarm. "She is most definitely awake," he announced, and then proceeded to yank the blanket off her using his teeth.

She was laying flat on the floor, unmoving, glaring daggers at us. She then proceeded to say a long string of words I don't really remember her saying, but judging from the look on everyone else's face, something told me they weren't compliments.

When she was done spitting her insults, she snapped, "What did you do to me?"
"We put a paralyzer in that choker of yours," Archie said, sitting on her chest. She growled, but was unable to move him because she couldn't move her arms.

"Think of it as a humane take on a shock collar," Douxie continued. "If you try to take it off, it paralyzes you. It also restricts your magic to whatever we decide, which, for now, is no magic at all. It also has a camera and built-in tracker, so we can monitor your location at all times."

Hopping off and getting on Douxie's shoulder, Archie smiled in victory at her. I guess he liked triumphing over the species that broke his leg. Sighing in defeat, she shut her eyes. "When does it wear off?" she asked in annoyance.

"Now, now," Archie smiled, tail lashing the air with excitement. "You forgot to say 'please'." She let out a throaty growl, but soon complied. "Can you please tell me when this paralysis wears off," she spat.

"We need to administer an antidote," I explained. "Only Archie and Douxie have it. You'll be able to walk again as soon as one of them gives it to you."
"What's an Archie," the Ventil asked, clearly confused.
"I am," Archie said, proudly puffing out his chest.
"Well then, can you give me the antidote," she drawled. "Please?"

"We need to convene about it," Claire said, and gestured to the door. One by one, we all filed out the door and into the hallway. "Should we really give it to her," I asked Douxie, once we were out of earshot.

"Well, she has no magic, and we can easily paralyze her again if she tries to attack us. I think we're okay," Jim said.
"Don't get cocky," Claire warned. "You saw what she almost did to Douxie. She picked him up like he weighed less than a pillow!"

"And she almost broke my everything," he added.
"Exactly why we shouldn't give it to her," I said pointedly. "Seklos knows what she'll do if she once she has mobility again!"

"But, we can't keep her motionless forever," Toby said, silencing the debate. "He's right, you know," Archie pointed out. "If the paralysis effect lasts for too long, it can cause permanent loss of movement capabilities."

"Doesn't she need her legs to move and lead us to her den-cave thingy," Steve said.
I sighed. For once, Steve had a valid point. "If she can't move, she can't perform spells, and that means she can't open the den for us, and we won't have this chance again," I said.

"So, are we all in agreement," Archie asked. One by one, we all nodded. Going back into the room, the Ventil was still staring at us. I had to admit, she still was stunningly beautiful, but after she almost shattered Douxie's bones by dropping him from 50 feet in the air, I tried not to think about how her eyes were like a gorgeous kaleidoscope of pinks and magentas. 

"So, am I going to sit here like a lifeless doll, or will I be able to move sometime this anno," she asked, still with high levels of snark. "Go on, Doux," Claire said, nudging him forward. "You're the Ventil expert here."

"Well, I-I wouldn't say expert," he chuckled nervously. "Just uh, um, uh..."
"I don't think you'll be able to get out of this one, Douxie," Archie said. "Just do it quickly, and be on your guard."

Audibly swallowing, he took the syringe offered to him by Archie. Tentatively inching forward, he was about a foot away when he stopped and spun back around. "Are you sure nobody else wants to do this? Because I'm happy to step down if-"

"Come on, dude, she's not gonna bite," Steve laughed. Then, in a more serious tone, "Will you?"
"We'll see," the Ventil replied, eyes glinting with mischief. Swallowing again, Douxie came closer. Back to us, he slowly kneeled down, and tensed as the Ventil winced. The syringe was in.

She stayed unmoving for a little while, then suddenly there was a grunt and Douxie flew backwards. Immediately, weapons were drawn, Archie turned into a dragon, and Claire readied a sphere of magic.

Groaning, Douxie was laying flat on the floor, his nose spewing crimson everywhere. "Mordrax's miracles," he gasped. "That Ventil has one heck of an arm."

Sitting up and stretching, the Ventil looked much more threatening when she was able to move. She stood, rolled her shoulders a few times, stretched her quads, then stared when she saw us on edge.

"What," she asked, dropping her right leg. "Relax. I'm not going to do anything."
"You just punched somebody in the face," Jim spluttered. "What do you mean, 'Not going to do anything'?!"

"He was too close to me," she shrugged. "He asked for it. For future reference, I like my personal space. That was just a warning."
"Noted," Douxie grunted, standing up and wiping his nose. Now red was smudged on his upper lip, staining his black shirt and one of his hands.

"Hey," she said, feeling her chest. "My ribs feel pretty good now. Guess the bruising wasn't that bad."
"Broken," Archie corrected. "Two broken, another three bruised, and a punctured lung. We healed you so we could bring you here. Toby's hammer packs quite a wallop, doesn't it?"

"Ugh. I guess this means I owe you a favor," she said in disgust. "Of all the things under the sun...why did I have to get stuck with a pack of human children?"

"We are not children," I said, offended. "We're more capable of handling ourselves than most adults, actually."
"Jeez, don't take it so personally," she said. "How old are you? Twelve?"

"Sixteen, actually," I said through gritted teeth. "So are most of the other people here."

"With the exception of us, being a few hundred years old," Douxie said, raising his hand and pointing to Archie. When the Ventil looked at him, her eyes widened, and for a split second I thought I saw fear in her eyes. Then, she blinked and the fear was gone.

"Okay...what're your names," she asked. "If I'm going to be staying here for awhile, I might as well know my captors."

"I'm Jim Lake, Jr.," Jim stepped forward.
"My name's Toby. Duke Toby, if you're fancy," Toby said.
"I'm not," she assured us. "Toby works fine. And the rest of you?"

"Palchuk. Steven Q. Palchuk," Steve said, trying to show off by twirling his axe, Toothache, around. "We all call him Steve," I explained. Fumbling his axe, he yelped as it fell on his foot.
"He's also not very smart," I added.
"I'll try to remember," she said.

"I'm Claire Nuñez," Claire said, offering her hand out.
"What are you doing," the Ventil asked, obviously confused.
"Um..it's a handshake," she said, confused at her reaction. "You know, how to say hello to somebody?"

"That isn't how we say 'Hello'," the Ventil said. "This is." She put three fingers over her heart and bowed her head. The underside of her palm was glowing a faint magenta. "This is, of course, only a formality. The greetings are different if, say, I'm greeting a close friend or family member," she explained. "Please, continue with the introductions."

"I'm Krel," I said, offering my hand. "This is how you would greet someone if you were a human." Gently reaching out, she bristled slightly as our hands touched. I gently moved it up and down, then let go. She stared at her fingers, then smiled. Then, her ears flipped back and she hissed as a huge shadow was cast across the doorway.

"Oh. This is Aaarrrgghh!!!," Jim explained as the gargantuan troll struggled to fit his giant form into the hallway. Chuckling, he waved one huge hand, while Toby tried to get the other one around and in front of him. The Ventil nervously waved back.

"Hello. Name Aaarrrgghh!!!. Toby Wingman. What your name?"
"Um...hi?"
"What your name," he repeated, cocking his head to the side like an inquisitive puppy.

"Lunalis," she said slowly. Aaarrrgghh!!! offered a giant hand out to her. She took it hesitantly, and he gently closed his giant fist around hers, and shook her hand.

Once she realized he wasn't going to rip her arm off, she smiled and came closer. "What are you," she asked, feeling his skin and evergreen fur. "I've never seen anything like you before."
"Troll," he said. "Made of stone."

"I see," she said, running her fingers over the carved designs in his skin. He started laughing as she brushed the fur on his chest. "You know, you're pretty sweet up close," she smiled, touching his forehead with a hand.

"Hey, now that you two are 'besties', maybe we can come out to the living room," Claire suggested. We all nodded in agreement. Toby didn't look too pleased that his wingman was in cahoots with a magical forest creature.

"How come," Lunalis asked, stepping away from Aaarrrgghh!!!. "Because we're about to give you a crash-course in humans," Archie smiled.

Hey Snowflakes! Hope you like Chapter 10! Be sure to comment thoughts, feelings, opinions, etc. in the comments. Stay safe, stay healthy, and I'll see you guys next time. Peace out!