Ruiz’s room was always warm, regardless of the time of year. He never wanted to be cold again in his life, and the manor was more than capable of obliging his needs. Habitually checking his as of yet untouched thermostat, he stretched out onto his mattress for the night. Folding his arms under his chin, he lay flat on his stomach and closed his eyes in preparation for sleep. The day had been exhausting. Hell, the week had been exhausting, and he’d scalded himself in the shower to boot. Some pleasant, undisturbed rest was all he wanted. Rest without feeling obligated to help anyone else out. He’d even let Trish pass out on the couch when normally he would at least toss her bendy ass into her own bed.

He was only just slipping into sleep’s embrace when a hush sound filled the room. He ignored it, equating it to the whir of his overworked thermostat, until there was a slight dip in his bed. Ruiz’s eyes shot open then as he flipped onto his back and shouted, “Get out!” He was expecting to find Trish.

What he found instead made him freeze in spite of the warm air.

A nineteen foot long, banded turquoise and emerald scaled snake reared its head as the sheer weight of its body dipped Ruiz’s mattress towards its body. Ruiz yelped and kicked away from the beast, eyes wide as he took in folded, bronze-colored wings equal to the length of the serpent. A tongue flicked out as Ruiz’s eyes locked onto a red mane of hair with dark honey roots that stretched down to the wings.

“Is this your type, Mr. Iguanid?” the serpent asked, voice husky and light as the feathers on her back.

Ruiz’s mouth opened, but he couldn’t scream. The serpent lurched forward, mouth silent and agape. Ruiz dodged the deadly fangs, diving for the floor. Rolling onto his back once more, he cried out at last as he crushed his own tail beneath the weight. The pain shot straight up his spine like an electric jolt. The peuchen, Saoirse, curled onto his mattress and prepared to strike again.

Light burst from the door, and suddenly a hunk of metal smashed against the peuchen’s side. Saoirse whipped around, body bloating as she hissed. There stood Trish, cell phone in hand and shrieking bloody murder like Rikki-Tikki-Tavi. Saoirse lunged for her, but Trish tucked and rolled out of her path of travel. Hitting her feet once again, Trish dug in her heels and threw a hard punch to Saoirse’s side. Though the peuchen didn’t physically react to the blow, she wailed angrily. Trish drew back her fist at lightning speed and punched again, drawing out another wail that had Saoirse whipping her head towards the still madly shrieking ferret.

Trish smashed a button on the cell with her thumb, then snapped, “One more move, and I call the Headmaster!”

Saoirse froze for a solid few seconds. Then, as quickly as she’d appeared, she was gone. One minute later, Trish’s tail was still bristling and Ruiz’s head dropped against the floor.