The whole house seemed to relax after Edith left. As if everyone in it had been holding their breath, and then released it as soon as she left the door. Except for Naomi, who got stuck dragging Edith around town with her.

It wasn’t like Naomi and Edith were related, and Naomi had no other obligation to take Edith other than the fact that David told her too. Naomi didn’t often rebel against Dave. Michael may have been the vampire, but David was the scary one. David rarely ever got mad, so when he did get angry, everyone was to stay clear of him.

“So, how did you meet David?” Edith said to Naomi, climbing into the small car on the passenger seat side. Edith began to notice how cold it was around this girl, that it seemed to be a nice sunny day out, until Edith stood within the proximity of Naomi.

“Long story short, I was abandoned, and David was the one who found me.” Naomi didn’t like to talk about her past, especially with strangers who were only trying to make a bit of small talk. That’s how Naomi saw it anyway. Small talk. The dread of the human and magical race alike.

“I see. So, how long ago was that?” Edith continued asking questions, even though she clearly noticed Naomi’s hesitant answers. Edith rubbed her hands together, and reached to switch the air conditioner to heat, but then realized it was already on full blast.

“That was a few years ago now. Also, I’m an ice element, so it gets cold around me. No heater can really help that.” Naomi felt the need to apologize for her presence again, like she always did when around other people. Her abilities far outweighed her ability to control them, and her ice would leak out of her body and into the air. It was nearly impossible to stopped, especially when she felt nervous.

“Oh, I see.” Edith could only manage to squeeze out that much. She realized that now two of the three children her daughter was raising were magical creatures, but weren’t wolves. Edith was raised to believe that wolves were better and stronger than any other faction, but over time, it was hard to truly believe that. Power doesn’t come from species, it comes from heart.

That didn’t mean she lacked prejudice though. Edith didn’t like Elementals, the wolves and them never got along very well, and were always invading their territories. Edith didn’t have much of a problem with psychics, although she was incredibly thorough before believing a prediction. Even when the psychic told her that her daughter was getting married, Edith made sure by visiting three other psychics before really believing it.

“My daughter is raising an elemental and a psychic. Times have changed alright.” Edith said in surprise, sounding overall gleeful. This made Naomi angry.

She hit the brakes in the middle of the street, at least there was no one behind her, and then she pulled the car over to the side of the road.

“You know, David’s definitely a guy now. I don’t know much about his past, but it doesn’t really matter anymore! He’s the closest thing I’ve ever had to a father, so don’t disrespect him.” The temperature had dropped even further down as Naomi got angrier. Edith wrapped her own arms around her chest, trying not to shiver.

“Aunt Robin and her family understand. Uncle Max and his wife understand, so why can’t you?” Naomi insinuated that she knew David’s family, even though Edith couldn’t figure out how she knew them. Edith hadn’t seen her daughter in a long time, and it seemed like if her other daughter Robin, or her son Max, knew anything, they would have said something.

“I’m sorry. Forgive me, but until this morning, I had two daughters, and only one son.” Edith said, staring that the car ground. It was dirty inside that old car, but if Naomi was happy with having a car at all. It had been much worse when she had first gotten it, but a ton of cleaning and washing and it looked nearly good enough to drive in.

They drove in silence for a while long time, unsure what to say to each other after that awkward confrontation. Edith now understood that to these kids, David and Michael were everything to them. In a way, David and Michael offered more of a stable situation than Naomi’s previous life. A life she lived completely on her own, never trusting anyone.

“I’m meeting a Zodiac at the mall today. Please be respectful.” Naomi said, parking the car near the front. The mall itself wasn’t busy, although the main entrance was filled with loitering people or people on a quick smoke break from shopping.

“A Zodiac? What for?”

“He’s a friend.” Naomi was always hesitant to share anything, but this was a whole different situation. She really didn’t like Edith, and if David hadn’t told her to take Edith with her, Naomi wouldn’t have invited her. There’s no point in thinking about that now though, because Edith was there, whether Naomi likes it or not.

They walked through the loitering crowds and found themselves walking into the small sliding doors. Inside was the food court, the best place to meet up with people. Naomi found the restaurant they normally met and stood in front of it.

They stood in silence for a few moments before a boy with dark black hair and pale skin walked up. Edith stood, staring at the boy like he was an alien.

“Nico, so good to see you.” Both Naomi and Nico took their gloves off in unison to high five each other. It was the first time that she realized Naomi was wearing gloves nearly all of the time. Nico was also wearing the gloves, was he an ice element too?

The quick reunion seemed to spark something Naomi, as she began to talk a lot. Naomi was obviously excited to see him, and gave him a strangling hug. She held on, much to Nico’s surprise. Nico wasn’t really the kind to have physical contact, ever. Except with Naomi, who seemed to be the exception to everything.

“This is Nico, he’s the Zodiac of the elements. We became friends when David claimed me a part of his pack in front of the council.” Naomi explained to the clearly confused Edith. Claiming one as a pack member was a very special thing, but was only done in the audience of a council when the Zodiac of wolves is accepting someone into their pack. David has now done it on three separate occasions, the last being with Mael.

“He’s the death element, isn’t he?” Edith’s old memory was still able to cling to her limited knowledge of politics. Edith wasn’t as involved with government as her husband was, and had no idea that her daughter was now a part of it. Edith also recognizes that she knew there was a knew Zodiac for the wolves, she just heard the name and didn’t at all associate it with one of her children.

“That’s right. I’m the death element. But I don’t serve actively on council, so it’s not like I’m doing anything evil. Who are you?” Nico’s immediate reaction was always to abstain himself of any suspicion. It was natural to him, as people often blamed him for everything to do with death or sickness, even though it was nearly never his fault.

Edith raised her hand to shake Nico’s, nearly forgetting that any touch from him would kill her immediately. But Naomi had touched him moments ago, with no effect. Edith silently wondered if it only worked on non-elements, but that answer wasn’t going to get asked. Edith let her hand dropped, and just introduced herself verbally.

“I’m Edith, Caitlyn’s mom.” Edith said, and she didn’t even realize she’d said it until Naomi appeared in front of her, almost in super speed, and socked the old woman in the side of the arm. Nico didn’t stop her either, but Edith didn’t really expect him to.

“David is a man, you old hag!” Naomi yelled before turning on her heels to face Nico. Naomi’s punch hadn’t really hurt, it was more of a love tap than anything. What really hurt was that Naomi was defending Edith’s daughter like it would be the end of the world to get it wrong.

“Sorry. I’ll try harder next time.” Edith found herself saying. Did she really mean that? Or did she just want this youngling to like her a little more because she cared for Edith’s child like no one she met before.

Naomi seemed to have completely blocked out Edith’s half-hearted attempt to be better. She was now more focused on Nico than anything. The boy seemed more like a zombie than an element to Edith.

“I found these really nice gloves, let’s go try them on.” Naomi pulled at Nico’s hand, trying to get him to walk, but he wouldn’t budge. Nico’s eyes were fixated on Edith’s, and she started to notice the dark aura around him, black, and cold, and it nearly felt like death, only it was embodied in the living.

“David is a very special man. You should be more respectful.” Nico said, nearly spitting his words out of his mouth. He was angry, the kind of angry that wasn’t good in public places. Naomi was careful in handling the situation, simply putting herself in between Nico and Edith. She’d distract Nico to calm him down.

“Hey, come on. She said she’ll get better. Threaten her when she does something worse.” Naomi said, pulling Nico out of it. Nico was grateful to Naomi. Without her, he’d really have no anchor to control his feelings with.

“Yeah. Let’s go look at those new gloves.” Nico put on a fake smile, and grabbed Naomi’s hand, leading her down the large hall of the mall. Edith followed after reluctantly.

She couldn’t imagine anything worse than upsetting an element of death.