^^ the Garage, minus plywood ramp ^^

--- Hector ---

"... well shit. Alrighty then." Danny sighed, leaning against a cane that appeared in her hand suddenly. She gazed at it, and hummed. "Where did you come from, little guy?"

"You accidentally summoned it, maybe?" I offered helpfully.

"She doesn't have any magic yet." Her mother shook her head.

"Yet?" Danny raised an eyebrow.

"Yes. You touched the staff earlier. It's going to follow you until its master commands otherwise." She nodded at grandfather.

He chuckled. "Any wizard should have a staff! Keep him, dear."

"Him?" She asked.

"Yes. Him. He's sentient. An Ent that was turned into a staff. He's very wise, as well. Might be a good teacher for you." Grandfather shrugged.

I cleared my throat. "Grandfather, perhaps she needs a-uh, a tutor? Not a millennia old grumpy tree that can't speak English?"

"Esha Vol Fokrasi." The cane hissed at me.

Danny laughed. "He doesn't like you, I take it?"

"Well, he called him an ugly cunt, so-" Terry started, but grandfather's cane smacked his skull before he could continue.

"Watch your tongue, boy. 3 months cleaning the cages is calling your name, you curse in front of this woman and her daughter ever again in my hearing." He said simply.

She blinked and looked at the staff. "Not nice! Hector is my friend!... Sort of. Almost. Don't curse at people! It's very rude." She nodded as if it was final, and tapped the brass against the salt-stone floors.

The cane shivered, and grumbled rudely in Old Enochian, but resorted to less radical insults this time.

She nodded, sated. "Good. We understand each other. Which means you speak english, and so you'll teach me this language you're talking, right?"

"... Eu."

"Is that a yes?"

"Eu."

"Good! Communication! Now I've got food in the oven and a pillow to scream into until I feel better, so I'll be off, lads." She tipped an imaginary hat, and one appeared, (a dusty, worn cowboy hat,) startling her.

"You'll get used to it." I chuckled.

She nodded. "Your invitation to dinner still stands, you know. And you, Raul. Even you, Terry. I'm cooking for an army, and I'd like to get to know you guys better."

I blinked. "You can bring your stew to the Zoo, eh? Meet us all at once, us and the crew? You'll... be part of the crew from now on, yeah?" I looked at grandfather.

"Not my decision. That depends on her mother, and her training. None of our business, boy." He shook his head.

I bowed my head. "Sorry, grandfather."

"That sounds good, actually... Uhm, is your zoo wheelchair accessible?" She asked softly.

I blinked slowly. "Uhm... it can be? By... say 05:00?"

She grinned. "Good! Send Raul by my place around then."

"I've never been to your house, chica." Raul laughed.

She blushed. "Ah, yes. Then Hector, come around 4:45."

I nodded. "I won't be late."

Terry chuckled and made a lewd comment in Latin, and grandfather raised his cane, but her mother got him first.

I laughed at his bewildered expression, and raised my hands in surrender when she looked at me archly.

She patted my hair. "I like you, dear. Very wise. Now take your brother from my sight, escort Danny out, and leave me and Saurian to speak to your grandfather." She commanded like a military officer, with the uncompromising and unflinching belief she would be swiftly obeyed.

I nodded and tossed Terry to Raul, then opened the door for Danny. "Right this way." I grinned.

She smiled, her blush fading slightly. "Thanks."

We walked along the hallway, and she noticed the staff was gone. "Don't panic, he's just hiding. You've probably got a stick-bug with celestial bronze hair crawling around in your pockets." I explained.

She blinked slowly, and opened her hand. The staff appeared, nearly impaling me, and I leapt out of the way.

She snorted. "Sorry, that wasn't on purpose."

I shrugged. "I'm sorry about Terry, by the way. I sent him to school today, it's my fault you had to deal with him."

"Why did you send him?" She asked, settling the staff on her shoulders comfortably.

"My knee was swollen this morning. I had to have Doc-... well, she had to do surgery. It hurt, and when I say something hurts it's damn-near unmanageable, so I couldn't even walk, much less go to school." I explained.

She nodded slowly. "I see. Sorry, about your leg. You hurt it even worse after you saved me, right? Kicking that... uh, Alfacian."

"Alfax-... sorry, it's habit to correct people. I train the new hires." I sighed.

"New hires? Like a real job?" She asked, and reached for a sword on the wall.

I grabbed her hand just short of the glass, which turned to molten metal as a protection against thieves. "I wouldn't touch much here. The doors aren't even safe." I smirked.

She chuckled and nodded, pulling her hand back. "Good to know. What's this sword, then?"

"(^)This is Blood-Thorn. Very powerful, but light, and quick. The blade is a hollow diamond mold, and enchanted to rip the blood from its enemies, with even the slightest cut." I said, and held it out to her.

She gripped the handle, and lifted it easily. "Wow... it's a feather!" She laughed, and swung it once.

I yelped and disarmed her before she took my eye out, killing me in the process. "Okay! No more swords for you until you know which end to hold!" I chuckled, and set it on the rack again.

She placed her hands behind her back, smiling guiltily. "Sorry."

I shook my head and led her to the Doors, bracing a shoulder against the left one. Terry and Raul assisted, and soon we had it fully open.

"Saurian opened both of those like it was nothing." Danny hummed.

"Saurian is a freaking Draco-Sapien, and one of the physically strongest beings in this entire realm." Terry retorted, huffing for breath.

I nodded. "Plus, these doors are designed to keep things in, not out."

She grinned. "Cool. How'd your grandfather get Saurian working for him?"

We started walking, and the doors slowly closed on their own. "Well, about sixty years ago, Saurian was just a kid, maybe five years old. As you can imagine, they had a bit of trouble hiding from humans. So, when an entire village in Russia was ready to boil them alive in liquid blessed iron, after trying and failing to burn them to death, grandfather intervened." I shrugged.

"And they owe him their life?"

"No, not really. They would've survived... but Saurian once told me that they wouldn't have wanted to live in this world with the weight of those people's deaths on their soul for the rest of eternity." I shook my head.

"So why would they be dead? I mean, boiling iron is a good way to kill anything, right?" She asked.

"Not a Dragon. And they would be dead, because if they tried to kill Saurian one more time... Saurian, even as a child, was mighty, and had... Rage Issues, you could say." I chuckled at the understatement.

"Ah. I see. Dragon, rage. Not a big leap." She grinned.

"Not at all, is it? Anyway, were we are! You'll wake up wherever you touched the red book, so I hope you were sitting." I grinned.

She tsk'ed. "Can't believe mum would leave something so cool out, you know?"

"It's a dangerous life. You'll be wishing you knew nothing of Dragons and all about Calculus, soon enough. See you tonight." I sighed, and snapped my fingers, sending her home.

Terry snickered. "Ooh, a crush? Been a while since I annoyed one of your girlfriend's-"

I gripped his collarbone slowly. "Terry?" I asked quietly.

He cleared his throat. "Yeah?"

"Screw this up for me, and I'll castrate you. Only one of us needs testicles, after all." I patted his shoulder, and walked past his frozen form. The couch and path disappeared as we left, and were replaced with a small Meadow.

---

I laid the last panel over the short stairs, and hammered the nails into place, then looked at the clock.

'4:15... alright... shower!' I sprinted into my shower, getting clean in record time, the brushed my teeth, and combed my hair back, tying it out of my eyes. Deodorant and a new set of clothes were next, and I darted out of the house and into the Truck at exactly 4:25.

Her house was a little bit down the Main Street, not too far away, and I parked in front of her building at 4:40. "15 minutes drive, in the middle of Las Angeles. Ha!" I grinned.

I noticed the door open, and walked around the truck, opening the side door.

Danny came out slowly, pushing a wheelchair, and I smiled. "Hola, señora Attwell, como estas?" I held a hand out to shake.

She shook my hand, and smiled. "Hullo, Hector. I'm very well, and you?"

"Very good. Would you like my help into the vehicle? Or would you prefer your daughter assist you?" I leaned back.

"I am not a proud woman, Hector. Yes, assist me, please. And my sister is with us, is that alright?" She waved behind her, and a tall woman walked out, closing and locking the door, one hand holding a massive crockpot on her hip.

"Perfect!" I nodded, and then simply picked her up, setting her in the passenger seat, then folding her chair, and setting it in the truck bed. I made sure her feet were inside the truck, and then closed the door, opening the back door and looking at Danny and her Aunt. "Ladies." I smiled.

Danny nodded and accepted my hand, stepping way up into the Titan, and then I shook Ms. Attwell's hand. "Hector Fulminate, Señora...?"

"Shae. My name is Shae Attwell, Hector. Encamtado." She botched the 'enchanted', but I nodded, and smiled.

"Encantado, Señora Attwell." I said, and closed the door when she was seated. Then I climbed into the driver's seat, taking Raul's form, and cracked my neck, starting the engine.

"Whoa, okay... what?" Shae exclaimed.

"A bit of family magic. We're naturally Giants, so we make ourselves smaller to fit in more. No one likes an 8ft tall doctor." I explained.

"Ah... I see." She hummed softly.

---

I carefully parked in our little garage, (a luxury in San Francisco,) behind the VW Bug that Terry was always 'fixing', and quickly helped Ms. Attwell disembark, then leading them up the new ramp into the main room.

"I apologize for the improvised ramp, this place was originally built in 1542, so-"

"Seriously? This area wasn't settled until-" Danny asked dryly.

"The Magicians have lived in California since long before the Spanish and Russians thought of this place in 1765-70ish. The Russians made it here first, but we fought them off in a very bloody miniature civil war..." I opened the garage door.

When they were through, I closed and locked it. "Then... We made peace with the local natives, when we offered to help their crops grow more naturally, by giving them many types of beans and rice to plant to replenish the soils, along with Filipino, Malaysian, and African Slaves, to both do much of the work for them, and provide them with wives-"

"Excuse me?" Danny raised both eyebrows.

"-yes, slaves were a thing, it's an ugly part of history,- anyway, they managed to colonize this area long before Rubert and Diego, but secretly, of course." I nodded, and pressed my hand to the last security gate, waiting for it to unlock.

"Wow, okay. How do you know all this? Is there some sort of witchy history book?" She asked sarcastically.

"Well... sort of? There's the Memoir's and Grimoire's of those who lived during those times. Why do you think I know so much about history, Danny? I read the original accounts, whilst studying magic. We made most of history up!" I grinned widely.

She frowned. "That's not reassuring."

"Ah well." I chuckled, and the door finally unlocked. I opened it. "Entres, my friends."

They walked in, and gasped when they saw the Alfaxian's and Algradians, the main cages in the middle of the massive warehouse.

"Bigger on the inside... that Magic as well?" Danny asked.

"No, unfortunately. I wish. Just a trick of the light. You can't see how long and deep the building is from outside. We're on eight plots of land, all visually disconnected, but connected underground or through walkways." I explained, and we walked/rolled up the ramp towards the second story, the living area.

"This building looked much different, originally. The subterranean levels are all that remains after the fires of the early 1800's, then again in the 1930's, then the Los Angeles Fires, and so many others. So many Daemons in one place gathers bad luck." I explained, tapping a metal support on the wall.

"Seriously?" Danny asked, stepping back from the wall.

"Yes. Don't worry, you'll be protected from bad luck soon. Your mother will teach you a lot about latent protection magics, and so will the Ent. I believe the Scottish Magicians focus  on talisman magic, right?" I asked.

Shae nodded. "Yes. And the Fulminate focus on science and medicine, yes?"

"Yes, the scholarly pursuits. I told you we were nerds, Danny." I winked.

She grinned. "I never doubted it, ya dork."

"And welcome to Mi Casa! This is the Fulminate Branch Clan Headquarters, make yourselves comfy, huh? The table is... where's the table? Terry! Raul! Where's the dining table?!? Doc? Tim?"

Jim came whipping around the corner, laughing, and then squeaked to a halt in front of me.

Doc came screaming after him, holding a lobster, and then similarly halted.

"Where is the dining room table?" I asked calmly. "And why are you playing with our dinner?"

Doc grinned. "See... whathadhappenedwas-"

"THE TERRIBLE OCTOPUSSY RETURRRRNNNNSSSSS!!!" Terry rounded the corner, chasing Raul with an octopus.

I breathed deeply.

In......
Out...
In......
Out...

"You had... One Job." I said as calmly as I could.

Danny coughed to hide her snort of laughter.

Raul snatched the octopus and lobster, and grinned. "Lo Siento. They got carried away. I'll go cook these right away."

"Where's the table, and where is grandfather?" I asked simply.

"The table is being repaired... by grandfather." He nodded.

"Alright... fine. Sorry, ladies, first impressions are everything. Everyone, this is Danny, and her mother, Señora Lana Attwell and her aunt, Señora Shae Attwell. Ms. Shae, Ms. Lana, this is Raul and Terry, my brothers, and Doc, our Vet, as well as Jim, our new hire." I introduced everyone.

"New Hire?" Shae asked, staring at him calculatingly. "His job is?"

"Like Danny, he only recently learned of the existence of magic. We're trying to train him, but 30 years of experience with the human world has made him rather defenseless to our world. Please be gentle with him." I smirked.

He grinned and held out his hand to shake as Raul and Terry scattered back to the kitchen. "I'm Jimmy Paige Jr., ma'am's, miss, it's real nice to meet you." He shook Shae's hand, then Ms. Attwells, and finally Danny.

"Oh! Southern, eh? Been a while since Oi tumbled a southern boy! Wonder if ye've got any tricks I don't know about..." Shae winked at him.

He sister slapped her elbow chidingly. "Leave him alone, Shae. We're here to make friends, not get you a date."

She pouted. "Why can't I do both?"

"Because I said so." Her sister snapped back.

Grandfather walked up the stairs suddenly, holding the massive oaken table over one broad shoulder. He set it down with a thunderous crash, and then shrank down to his normal size, groaning with relief and leaning against his cane.

"Hello, all. I am the Fulminate Branch Clan Patriarch, Marco Fulminate. You are Shae, correct? Been a while, I apologize." He held a hand out to Shae.

"Yes, sir. Indeed. Honor to meet you." She bowed her head.

"Galvira, enough of that. I am an old man, not a celebrity!" He huffed and waddled over to the head of the table. "Raul! Where is my wine? I had a bottle of wine to give them!"

"Sorry gramps, I replaced it with something better, an aged bottle of Scottish whiskey." I cleared my throat, pointing next to him.

He sighed and picked it up. "I'll miss you, 1472 Claeson..." He whispered to the bottle itself, amusing himself. Then he held out the bottle to Ms. Lana, who blinked and accepted it cautiously.

"1472, you say? Very nice..." she purred, and set it in the side pocket of her chair.

"It was corked the day before Jul12, 1472, when Orkney and Shetland officially became part of Scotland." I smiled.

"What's... important about that?" Danny asked slowly.

Before her aunt could release the deep breath she took, I answered. "The islands, previously held under Norwegian and Danish control, were offered up as security for the dowry of the Princess Margaret, the prospective wife of James III of Scotland, and daughter of King Christian of Norway and Denmark. It marked the beginning of the end for Norway and Denmark as colonialist kingdoms."

She blinked. "Alright. Sweet. Must be some strong stuff, though, huh? 1472, that's 538 years of aging." She nodded, calculating before she even blinked.

I grinned. "Exactly. Gonna be a fun night for someone, huh? Anyway, Raul, how's the food coming?"

He darted back into the kitchen, and returned with plates and bowls for everyone, setting the table and setting chairs at each place setting.

Terry came from the kitchen shortly afterward, as Shae was situating the crock pot close to the middle area of the table, and set a large platter, covered in flatbreads, then Raul followed, with a large bowl of pasta, then they both returned with a number of sides, and finally Jim returned with the seafood feast, which dominated the entire center of the table.

I grinned and nudged Danny gently. "We caught the Octopus ourselves."

The six-feet long behemoth had shrunk to about only two feet across, his legs shrunken and curled up, but still juicy, (hopefully).

She grinned. "I've actually only ever eaten it once, in London."

I nodded. "Perfect place to try it. Foodie Capital."

We sat down, and grandfather cleared his throat. "The drinks, boys?" He said, prompting us.

I sprung up and opened a dinner wine that paired with seafood, letting it breath briefly, before pouring a glass for everyone.

Lana looked at her daughter out of the corner of her eye when she reached for the glass, and I froze. "Uhm... we have water, I guess, if alcohol isn't alright?"

She sighed. "It's alright, she knows her limits, but water would still be appreciated."

I nodded and got some bottled water out of the little mini fridge under the China cabinet, and then poured her a second glass of it, and her family.

I sat down again, and looked at grandfather.

"Good. Well done. Welcome, Attwell's, Jim, Fhr'nijha, and lightning-kin, and blessings upon your families." He nodded and then grabbed a piece of flatbread, (doc's recipe, she called it 'ameri-naan',) and took a bite. "And let's eat, hmm?" He smiled.