Raidah stood completely still for what seemed to Kallan like the longest time. Her only sign of movement was the shaking of the house key in her hand. Eventually, she turned the key and walked straight past Kallan and into the grand entrance of the home, still not saying a word about the gray circle on the doorframe. Kallan, on the other hand, lingered outside on the Welcome mat for a moment longer to inspect the symbol. At second glance, she could tell that this image was newer than the familiar ones carved onto the door, for this one appeared to have been drawn or painted on.

It was a simple shape, a basic gray circle, not filled with any color or anything. But to Kallan, to Raidah, and all the Primum back home on Totus Islands, it held a very important meaning.

"Kallan? You coming?" Raidah said at last, calling out from the inside of the house.

"Yeah, one sec!" she shouted back, stepping through the threshold of the mansion. She removed her sneakers and set them on the shoe rack in the foyer as Raidah poked her head around the corner from the top of a grand staircase.

"Come on! Bring your bags up here, I'll show you your room!" She seemed suddenly cheerful and perky. A little too cheerful, Kallan observed. Almost as it she's trying to pretend she never saw that... is she?

Pushing her musings to the side for the time being, Kallan grabbed her bags and proceeded up the stairs and down the hall. Raidah pushed open the third to last door on the left side of the hallway.

"All yours!" she said with a grand sweep of her hand. "I'm sleeping right next door on your right, if you ever need anything."

Kallan's sock feet made no sound as she padded softly onto the plush cream colored carpet of the bedroom. The floors they had on the Islands had always been hardwood, so Kallan spent roughly twenty seconds engaging in the amusing activity of making footprints in the carpet. This is one of those things we've all done at some point in our lives, whether we'd like to admit it or not.

"Kallan? What do you think of the room?"

Startled, Kallan jumped at first and the rushed into her room. She had to pause and take it all in. A queen sized bed with a teal and white striped comforter and matching colored pillows was pushed against the side wall. A lovely comfortable looking window seat covered in comfy cushions was the perfect place to sit with a breathtaking view of the mountains, and there was a fully stocked bookshelf stretching up to the ceiling.

Hopefully I'll get some down time during this mission, because sitting there and reading one of those books sounds amazing, she thought.

Out loud, she simply shouted: "I love it!"

"Glad to hear you say that!" Raidah called out back to her. She move toward where Kallan stood in her room, having finished unpacking. "Hope you like the homey touches I added."

Homey touches? With another look at the room, Kallan picked up on a few things she hadn't noticed the first time. Like the poster of her favorite Primum singer, Ashtra X. And it was signed! Kallan reached up to run her fingers over the celebrity's scrawled letters.

"Oh, yes, I thought you'd like that," Raidah continued. "She was happy to sign once I told her it was for you, and she mentioned that she was she would love for you to come to one of her concerts, so much that she told me you were welcome anytime backstage."

"Really?!" Kallan squealed. Then, something occurred to her. Dropping her hand to her side, she asked, "Who put all this stuff up here? You haven't left the Islands in fifteen years."

"Oh, I haven't," Raidah replied, with a dismissive wave of her hand. "But we do have a few scouts who actually live out in the human world. Can you believe that? We communicate through the human postal service."

"How do you get mail on the Islands? Do unknowing human mailmen and women take a plane to the Islands or what?" Kallan asked.

"That information isn't relevant at the moment," Raidah said, to which Kallan sighed in response. This phrase had been something Raidah had said frequently throughout her life previously when she had tried to ask for more details about the Recovery.

Kallan continued with questions. She wanted, no, needed answers, and she wasn't the type to give up easily. "How come I didn't know this before?" 

"It's not something we normally discuss. Classified info from the general Primum public, but I figure you should know now and prevent any many confusion later," she explained. "So anyways, do have any other questions?"

"Yes!" exclaimed Kallan. "Who are the Primum that work in the human world?"

"Hmm," Raidah said simply. "Well, for now that's classified information. However that may change in the future, you might even meet a few of them."

"OK then. What are your theories about the circle on the door?"

Raidah pressed her lips together into a line, contemplating this for a bit. "I'm afraid I can't tell you that the moment," she responded warily.

"Well, can you tell me why you decided to start our search in Vancouver, of all places?"

"No. Not yet," was her simple answer.

"Oh my gosh!" Kallan threw hands up in the air, exasperated. "Why did you ask if I had questions if you weren't going to answer any?"

"Um, I was thinking about questions more along the lines of 'what are we having for dinner?' or 'where's the bathroom?' See, that's one question I did answer."

"Oh." Kallan's stomach rumbled as she said this. "Actually, what are we having for dinner?"

Raidah laughed, a light, happy noise Kallan had rarely heard before. "I though you would never ask. We have a reservations to a wonderful human restaurant I went to once before. You'll love it." Then she eyed up Kallan's travel outfit and winced, adding, "You might want to change first."

~~

Kallan turned to look at the vanity mirror, examining her outfit of a black skater skirt, heart patterned sweater and a pair of combat boots. She grabbed a spray bottle filled with water and spritzed her hair in an attempt to get rid of frizz. Sadly, it didn't seem to be working. Frustrated, she grabbed a hair tie and twisted her uncooperative hair into a bun. Snap! Kallan glared at the broken hair tie.

"Ready yet?" Raidah asked? She was dressed impeccably as always, in a pale blush pink pencil skirt with a cropped denim jacket over a white button-down, topped off with a dazzling statement necklace.

Kallan gave Raidah a withering look and held up the broken band.

"Hmm. Let me see." Raidah plucked another hair tie off of the vanity and efficiently secured Kallan's hair in a neat high bun. "There we go. Now, hurry up and into the car! We don't want to be late."

As they walked into the crowded restaurant, Kallan took and deep breath and inhaled the delicious scents coming from the kitchen and dining area.

"Right this way, please," said a waitress, escorting them to a small table by the window, with a place card labeled "Reserved".

Kallan took a close look at this woman, the first human she had ever seen up close. They didn't look different from her, or Raidah or anyone back home, except that she had no tattoos. Well, no natural Primum tattoos, as she did have an inked-on human tattoo of a stylized flower just below her collarbone.

"May I just you anything to start? Drinks?" the waitress asked.

"Water would be great, thanks," Raidah said.

"And for you, young lady?"

"Huh?"

"Do I have something on my face?" the waitress asked suspiciously.

"Um, well, um," Kallan stuttered as she tried to think of a response. "You, um, I, I like your tattoo." She pointed weakly at the design.

"Oh," said the waitress. She seemed surprised at first, but regained her composure and smiled kindly. "Thank you. I was asking if you would like a drink."

"Um, do you have Sprite?" Sprite was one of the human drinks Kallan liked on Totus Islands, so she was interested to try the authentic human original.

"Of course." With another quick smile, the waitress turned and walked out to the kitchen.

Once she had left, Raidah flicked open her menu. "Oh, the steak looks good... or maybe a nice pasta. What do you think Kallan?"

"What's steak?"

"What's steak? Oh, it's absolutely divine! You know, I should see if we can import some livestock onto the Islands somehow... I cannot believe you have lived your entire life eating only vegetation and fish."

"But what is it?" Kallan persisted.

"Meat of a cow."

"A cow?" she exclaimed.

"Yes, and it tastes wonderful! This restaurant makes delicious steak... would you like to try it?" Raidah suggested.

"Sure," Kallan replied with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Excellent! I think I'll have that as well, haven't had steak in ages. Hmm, and we'll get some nice appetizers to go with it. I think maybe some onion rings?" Raidah directed yet another question towards Kallan.

"Whatever you think. Anything sounds good to me, and judging by the smell it'll be delicious no matter what it is."

The waitress returned and placed a water in front of Raidah and Sprite in front of Kallan. "Ready to order?"

"Yes, thank you." Raidah delivered their order to the waitress, who scribbled it down on her notepad and left to take it to the cook.

"I think I'll just go wash my hands. Do you know where the bathroom is?" said Kallan.

"If I remember correctly, you turn around that corner and the ladies room should be one your right," Raidah answered.

"Great, thanks."

Kallan headed off to the restroom, washed her hands, and was on her way back to her seat when she heard someone talking to her.

"Hey," someone said as they tapped her on the shoulder. She looked to the side to see a human boy who must have been about her age, with  brown hair and blue eyes.

"What?" she snapped impatiently.

"Do I know you?" The boy asked. 

A/N This is probably the longest chapter so far in the story! Do you guys prefer longer or shorter chapters? 

If you like this story please remember to vote and comment! If you didn't like it, you can still comment with suggestions to improve :) 

I would also like to remind you/inform you if you didn't know already that I am a participant in the #tco competition. It is currently round one, and the people moving on are chosen based on votes made by you guys! So, I would really appreciate any support you guys can give! Head over to @FANTASCI page and check out The Chosen One competition, and I encourage you to vote for me if you are enjoying this story! Thanks to those who have voted for already, I really appreciate it. 

Who do you think the boy is?

Why does he recognize Kallan?

How did the symbol get on the door? (BTW I tried to add in an image I made of the tattoo but it didn't work. :( Will keep trying to get something!)

What do you think of the new cover? I made this one myself 

Thanks so much for reading!