While everyone had a great deal of questions, time was of the essence. Chenoa's parents were still missing and were being pursued by a skinwalker. Unfortunately, information on skinwalkers was limited. Native and forest people did not talk about them. Even Caleb had little information. All anyone could come up with was a vague description. They were deformed, could shapeshift, had orange eyes, were very vicious, and could only be killed with white ash.
The group would now divide into three different parties, a decision Spark now vehemently objected too. "I should go with Connor he needs me!"
"Spark I need you," Caleb stated. "Connor can handle himself and Calista is going with him. If you go with Connor that's going to leave me with just Miles, Chenoa, and Agent Francis." Spark pouted, biting her lip. "So why can't Calista go with you?"
"Because you're my partner Spark."
Cursing under her breath, Spark sighed. As much as she wanted to be with Connor, she still had a job to do. She was Calebs sworn partner and considering what they were facing she would have to forego her relationship to keep her vow. Hugging Connor tightly, she now gazed at her boyfriend. "Be safe okay."
As the group departed Goldie and Bears home, Nat and Rei found themselves partnered with Sarah and Michelle. Sarah had been apprehensive about leaving Michelle by herself and now wanted to accompany the young agent on her first field mission. "So," Sarah asked. "Where do we start?"
"Well Agent McMillan," Michelle said quickly. "Before we left I was able to grab a drone for reconnaissance purposes." Reaching into her backpack the young agent now flipped open a laptop as she began to program the drone. "It'll only take a moment and then I can gather some Aerial reconnaissance of the area." With but a few keystrokes, Michelle watched as the drone sprang to life, rising above the trees as the young agent stared at the screen.
"Nice work Michelle," Sarah grinned. Turning towards Nat and Rei she now wondered what to ask her new teammates. "So Nat you're a dhamphir," she said. "What about your girlfriend? What can she do?"
"Oh I have magic," Rei exclaimed happily. Sarah watched as the girl dug a book from her pack as she held out her ring hand. "I have this ring and a spell book too. I've actually been working on some really cool spells too." Sarah was baffled, a befuddled look on her face as she gazed at the biracial teen. "So can dhamphirs do magic too?"
"I'm not as good as Rei," Nat blushed.
"But she is super strong," Rei exclaimed. "Go ahead Nat show her." Nat sighed, after years of hiding her vampiric nature it felt odd to now show it off everytime they met someone. Steadying herself the teen now approached a small boulder, Sarah watching as the teens features began to shift.
Nats face became feral, her eyes glimmering red. With one solid punch the dhamphir hit the boulder, cracking it in half. "Holy hell," Sarah whispered. "Thats one heck of a punch!"
"Shes been training how to fight from a kitsune," Rei said quickly.
"I'm sorry a what?"
"A creature from Japanese folklore," Michelle interrupted. "An Oni that resembles a fox except it usually has more than one tail. According to myth kitsune are a type of trickster spirit that usually takes the appearance of a woman when dealing with humans." Sarah, Rei, and Nat now gawked at the young agent, bewildered by her statement. "I minored in Asian folklore," Michelle blushed.
"Okay so Nat is super strong," Sarah stated, trying to collect herself. "And was trained to fight by a Japanese fox spirit."
"He's not really a spirit," Nat said softly. "I think the myths weren't entirely accurate." Sarah simply nodded, now turning to Rei. "So what kind of magic do you have?"
"Oh all kinds," Rei said quickly, the teen now holding out her hand as she counted off some of her favorites. "Let's see teleportation, the usual mundane fireball, magical shields, age changing."
"Age changing?"
"Yeah I can alter the age of a person," Rei smiled as she answered Sarah's question. "I just have to be careful otherwise I could alter reality as well."
"Can you show us how that works," Michelle asked eagerly. "I'd be curious to see how someone reacted." Rei nodded a wide smile on her face as she began to cast the spell. Sarah now looked towards Michelle, curious if this teenage wizard could alter someone's physical age. "I don't see any changes," she said.
Sarah paused, had that been her voice? It sounded different, perhaps a bit higher, more youthful in its tenor. Quickly inspecting herself, her eyes began to grow wide in shock. Her clothes felt looser, her bra a bit roomier, her slacks sagging on narrower hips, even her shoes felt a bit larger. Turning to Michelle she could see the young agent gawking at her. "What," Sarah exclaimed. "What is it!"
"Umm you look like a teenager Agent McMillan."
Sarah now turned to Rei, the teen conjuring a mirror for the agent to see herself. Sarah's jaw now dropped as she beheld a 15 year old version of herself, dressed in her ill fitting adult clothing. "You made me 15!"
Rei nodded, a sheepish smile on her face as she noted Sarah appeared close to a panic attack.
"Can you change me back," Sarah asked anxiously. "Fifteen was not one of my better years." Rei nodded, with but a flick of her wrist Sarah watched the waifish and awkward teen now transform back into her adult self. Patting herself down, she now breathed a sigh of relief to have her adult body back. "Okay that was crazy!"
"But amazing am I right boss?"
Sarah furrowed her brow, giving Michelle a critical look. "Lets just keep moving," she sighed. "We can take a trip down memory lane later. Right now we need to find this girls family before something bad happens."