The only warning they got was a sound that no one in the car could identify. Not one of them had ever heard the sound of something so large flying unless there were engines attached to it. What they were hearing was as large as a plane, but still small enough that what happened next did not result in a crushed car.

Energy rippled through them and the car simply stopped, rolling to a gentle stop, there was a brief pause and then it lurched violently. When they got their whits about them again (and hair out of the way in Gwen's case) it was to see the tree tops rush past and down as the stars became increasingly visible.

“What's happening?” Crystal asked, voice quavering.

Gwen rolled down her window and looked out and around, holding her hair out of the way so that the wind didn't blow it everywhere. She rather quickly noticed that a large, scaly hand had picked up the car. Calmly pulling her head back into the vehicle, wound the window back up and sat back to process that. As far as she had known all of the Dragons – regardless of species – had variously gone extinct because of Naran Humans, or had left the planet.

Apparently, neither was true.

“I think a Dragon picked us up.” She finally said.

The other three promptly wound down their windows and checked, before doing exactly as Gwen had done, though Jacques took a moment longer to yell at the whoever had literally picked them up that they were going to give themselves a wrenched shoulder. Then he pulled his head back into the car and sat back and considered the situation.

The silence stretched for a little while before spoke up.

“I should have known better.” He said, “I told him that she was sick... I shouldn't be surprised by this at all.”

Behind Jacques and Gwen, in the back seat, Kevin couldn't quite figure out how to react to the situation and Crystal... She just thought that this was the coolest thing ever and that Jacques knows the coolest people on the planet and how does he do it? Meeting and hanging out and knowing all these awesome people.

While her daughter was thoroughly enjoying the situation, Gwen turned to look at Jacques and with raised eyebrows and slow emphasis, asked, “Who... The Hell did you call?”

“...A family with uh... Dragons... A few Werewolves... Maybe a very powerful Fairy, or dozen.”

“Excuse me?” She responded incredulously, the pair in the backseat going bug-eyed at that statement.

“It's the founders of Tara.” He answered, speaking a little fast, then covering his mouth with his thumb under his jaw and his fingers not touching his mouth, his brows furrowed in confusion.

“This guy doesn't like me much, so I'm little surprised that he's here,” Jacques continued, “It's why I never introduced you two, by the way. Also,” He added, eyebrows going to his hairline in remembered surprise, “I found out that they're still alive because they're functionally immortal courtesy of Visea Teue's mother accidentally blessing them so that death and old age can't find them.” He was referring to the family that founded Tara, not just the Dragon the picked them up, but forgot to clarify that, “Literally; it gets lost on the way to them. Something about Visea Teue's mother's originally having purview over travel and roads and stuff like that.”

Suddenly pulling out of his memories and coming back to the present he stopped rambling as he looked over at Gwen and said, “Honestly, I thought you had already met them for political reasons.”

Gwen spluttered for a moment, trying to figure out what to say to all of that, then gave up, sighed and said, “I don't have the mental energy to hear that story, do I?”

“No, probably not. It's weird. The whole thing is bizarre.” He answered honestly.

“Honestly Jacques, the people you know...” Gwen said with a sigh, then took a quiet moment to centre herself. In through the nose, slowly out through the mouth. Then she clarified something with him.

“Jacques,” She said, “Most of my political connections came through you because I was surrounded by people planning treason behind my back since I was a child.”

A pause, then, “Oh. Right. Forgot about that... Sorry.”

“We're going in for a landing.” The Dragon interrupted in an overpoweringly loud and deep voice, surprising everyone.

Their destination was supposed to be further away, wasn't it?

As they came in for the announced landing a lot of eyebrows were raised in question as a six-limbed Dragon landed smoothly with a beat-up economy car in one hand. They were set down on the side of a street, near a store that was just closing for the night. All four of them climbed out as the Dragon shrank himself down to about twice the size of the car. He was grey-bluish in colour, had slit pupils and the roots of his mane grew in black, while the rest turned white-grey. Dark gold eyes watched as Crystal just about leapt out of the car to rush around to the front of him. She was as close as she could possibly get to actually glowing and emitting sparkles. Gwen was staying very close to her as Jacques stood beside the car, keys in hand, confirming who he thought that it was.

“That was awesuuuuuummmme. Eeeeeee...!” Crystal said enthusiastically.

Fiach chuckled and said, “I'm glad that you enjoyed the ride little one.”

Jacques had never seen Fiach – the Dragon that had picked them up – be friendly with anyone. Ever... But that response to Crystal's enthusiasm was not an unwelcome surprise.

“Come,” Fiach said to the adults, “I'll show you the way to the estate.”

A fairly surprised looking attractive, stoat woman with a wide figure and a plump, but square face stood at the entrance to a large house – not a manor, but still large nonetheless – with a very nice front garden. She had perfectly wavy, glossy hair pulled neatly up and large, expressive eyes, a pert nose and a plump mouth. She was Etain Moore-Fadhi, once Crown Princess of Tara before her insane aunt had nearly burnt the country to the ground a few centuries ago out of spite.

These days, Etain's nephew was on rotation for ruling the country. Due to the fact that Naran Humans can barely manage to live for more than a handful of decades it would eventually become very apparent that the family doesn't die of old age if they weren't careful. As such, they rotated out who was ruling from time to time. It takes shape-shifting, or a glamour to hide their lack of ageing, so whoever is on rotation has to be good at that as well as their job.

Growing up Gwen had read about her and her family in history books and admired her. Meeting her in person had caught Gwen completely off guard and left her suddenly unable to find any words to say to the woman. Jacques, equally surprised by her presence, turned a questioning gaze to Fiach. More specifically, he was surprised that guy was letting him anywhere near her given his promise to never let Jacques get anywhere near any member of his family. Ever.

“Fiach?” Etain prompted before anyone else could ask any questions.

“This is the family that I told you about.” He responded.

“Ah.” She said, “Alright then, lets get you guys inside. Fiach, you go around to the back entrance and change. The rest of you follow me please.”

A little toddler, whose hair and eyes kept changing, followed them around as Etain placed Crystal in the bed that had been provided and the others were shown where the bathroom they could use to get clean was. Fiach – in his mostly Human form – appeared around then in a pair of denim pants and a plane t-shirt and picked the little boy up with one hand. Unlike the toddler's eyes and hair, his hadn't changed, but the rest of him looked like a lanky Human with a long, overly lean face with a wide mouth and thick, angular eyebrows.

“C'mon, it's time for your nap.” He told the boy, then noticed Jacques staring.

“Yes...?” He prompted Jacques with a frown.

“Sorry.” Jacques apologized, snapping out of it, “I'm just still surprised that you came and picked us up. Literally. And figuratively.” Jacques answered.

The others were paying attention now and the little boy had a question on his face that he directed at Fiach.

“You saved Tracey. I figured that you couldn't be as bad as I'd pegged you to be.” He explained.

“...How do you know Tracey?” Jacques asked.

“She's my sister-in-law and gave me a call; it's how I knew which inter-city highway you were on. She'll be taking a while to catch up since she insisted that where I was taking you not be disclosed over the phone. She was worried that it was tapped. Now, if you'll excuse me...”

He left with the boy and Jacques was reminded about how little he knew about his right-hand lady. Hard to get info out of someone like her, but he still trusted her.

Gwen, on the other hand, was a little concerned that Jacques – apparently – hadn't done a background check on Tracey. She trusted the woman, but Jacques was supposed to screen her security team. Etain shared her concern, but unlike Gwen she voiced it.

“That's because I raised Tracey after her family died.” Jacques told them bluntly, “She didn't start talking until a few years later and that was to warn me that someone was a threat. Somehow, never had any problems communicating though...”

The toddler with the currently ever-changing hair colour was Fiach's son. Many years ago he had thought that his son had died with his mother and her family. He had gone into hiding in his grief for quite a while, before finally returning that his family. When he finally did crawl out of the cave he had sequestered himself in and returned to his birth family for the first time in centuries he had found his father to be painfully unsympathetic.

Crawling back home, falling apart inside and getting seemingly no from your own father is very emotionally brutalizing... And then, with no warning, his father came home one day with Fiach's son. As it turns out the baby had accidentally shifted himself forward in time because he was scared. Being part Dragon – specifically, Drakka in this case – meant that time was not always linear to him. When Fiach had returned home his father had been able to see when and where the boy would return. He said nothing because is was Fiach's grief that called the boy back to the right reality. When Fiach's father went to retrieve his grandson it was to find him under another adult Dragon's watchful eye.

Specifically, Fiach's paternal uncle.

Fiach's uncle hadn't made his presence particularly felt by the child in order to scare him out of getting himself lost in time; with his abilities his family could easily loose him permanently. Fiach's father had ostensibly agreed with the sentiment about his grandson needing to be afraid of being alone. However, at the same time, he also needed to want to be near his family. So, on their way to Fiach he had impressed upon his grandson just how much he was loved by his father and how much his father missed desperately him.

The toddler was named Tiarnan and he wasn't quite three year old as yet, but like a good little host he was making certain that Crystal was okay. His Daddy had said that she was sick and that she has to take her medicine before she could eat or breakfast would just make her feel all icky. Understanding more than a Human toddler would he had found her medicine next to her bed and was currently trying to hand it to Crystal.

It was about eight in the morning.

Surprised to see a toddler with grey roots and black hair, copper-coloured and slit-pupiled eyes trying to hand her a bottle of medicine Crystal stared for a confused moment. She decided that he was very adorable.

“Me'icine...” He said, “So you ca' 'ave bekfast.”

Awwww... He's so sweet... Crystal thought as she sat up, pushing the comforter aside.

Swinging her legs over the side of the bed and thanked, taking the bottle from him. Taking the cap off and setting on the bedside table, she traded it for the spoon. It was only once she had taken her medication that Tiarnan toddled out through the door. She put the cap back on and set the medication aside.

Spoon still in hand Crystal got up and went to the door, only to find her tiny little host waiting for her, his hair now green. He gestured for her to follow him so, curious (and surprised by the hair colour change), she did and he led her straight to the bathroom where he started explaining where everything was. That was when Crystal realized that he was copying what the adults must have done while she had been asleep.

When he was done he said, trying and failing to annunciate properly, “Da'ee sa' you're sick. 'ave bat and bekfast. Ih' is in the Di'ing Hall.”

“Oh,” She said, surprised, “Thank-you; I will.”

He toddled out of the bathroom after that and forgot that she had no idea where the Dinning Hall was.

Thankfully, Jacques came and got her. He thought the whole thing was funny and adorable... And mentioned to Fiach that he might want to help Tiarnan with his pronunciation.

Fiach made a mental note to have his son practice by getting him to repeat words when he reads to Tiarnan.