a/n: for point, the wall hybrid ( if you know, you know )

"So it is real?"

Felix had just finished explaining the tail situation, and needless to say, his family was less than happy about it.

"They just stuck it on? And they took off your finger to do it?" Leander in particular was shaken at the news. He had never been very good with change, and learning his brother had a weird, deformed tail-like thing was not boding well for him.

"Essentially. But I'm not a proper hybrid, like Dot, I'm more like Tiro."

"What's wrong with Tiro?"

"He has snakeskin on his chest."

"Of course he does." James had sat down at this point, leaning back against the sofa while trying to compute the information. "Of course he does."

"Did they do the same thing to Dot?" Asked Nsia. Naturally, what she cared about most was not the fact that the tail was there, but rather if it had hurt the two, or if Dot had had to go through several surgeries to get to the point he was at today.

"No. Dot has actual bat DNA in him- if I'm honest I haven't a clue how they did it, but it was when he was an embryo. He never really got to be human."

"Oh yeah, you mentioned how his parents were like really messed up." Leander rejoined the conversation, doing his best not to look at Felix's tail as he continued to question his brother.

"Yup. Digorn is just plain weird, but I don't think Tiro's bad as a person necessarily- we spent a lot of time with him alone in Dot's room, and I genuinely think he's sorry- but he's still done horrid things in the past. So if you take either of them as his dad, it's messed up both ways. I don't know enough about Nimue to make a judgement, but there's something definitely off with her."

'she was nise wen I was litle' Dot showed the group his card, effectively getting his point across.

"Yeah, Tiro mentioned about that. When did she change?"

'wen the trials got worse'

"Oh, baby-" Nsia stroked down his wing gently, trying to offer him some comfort. "I'm so sorry."

Felix observed the scene. His mother, predictably, had already grown attached to Dot. Leander was not overly happy about the tail add-on, but was coping much better than he would have guessed he could, which was good. And his father... well, he'd always thought it would take a little convincing to get him on their side. Obviously, he loved his son, but had major issues in trust. So the addition of someone he had never met before (with ties to some very dangerous people), was not going down very well.

Just then, there was a knock on the door- the short, sharp banging of someone who demanded to be let in.

...

"Oh my God, they're gone." Tiro had been rudely woken up by a nearby rabbit that had tumbled into the side of the shed, creating a big clanging noise that rung out for miles and stirred him from his slumber. It was then that he had noticed Felix and Dot were gone, and the misery had begun. "Nimue is going to kill me."

Since she had fled the hut when Dot had rejected her help, there had been no sign of the woman. Tiro assumed she was just hiding in the car, but now, since the other two had disappeared: he wasn't entirely sure of anything anymore.

He cursed repeatedly under his breath as she shuffled out of the hut and made towards the car, knocking on the window to see if Nimue was inside.

The wind was freezing, swooping past in giant gales that chilled Tiro to his bones. He shivered as he waited, hoping against hope that his girlfriend would answer soon. In reality, he knew he should have come to check on her sooner- but since it was something to do with her son, he assumed she wouldn't want his input.

"Oh, Nimue, come on." Jumping from foot to foot in the frigid breeze, the woman seemed to be taking an age to answer his knocking.

Finally, once Tiro felt like his fingers and toes may as well have disappeared for how little he could feel of them, Nimue opened the door with sleep-laced eyes and offered him a weary hello.

Along with the sleep in her eyes, they were also pink- as was her nose. Tiro hesitated for a moment before rushing forward and giving her a hug, feeling more guilty than ever for letting her cry alone.

"I'm sorry for not coming earlier-" He began, but she cut him off before he could finish.

"It's fine, seriously. I wanted to be alone." Nimue pulled him closer as she sighed, tucking her head into his shoulder and taking in some deep breaths. "It's stupid, anyways. I'm just being an idiot." She pulled away and rubbed her eyes some more, making them more pink than they already had been. "But why are you here now? Is something wrong?"

"About that, uh," Tiro rubbed the back of his neck and held her hand loosely, hoping the gesture would dull her anger a little. "I may have... lost them."

"Lost them? What do you mean?" Nimue was giving him a strained smile, hoping that he was joking.

"I mean, I went to sleep and then I woke up and they were both gone and I can't find them anywhere." He confessed to it all as quickly as he could, wanting to get everything out fast, like ripping off a plaster.

"You're serious."

"Yes."

"Oh my God." Nimue held her head in her hands, letting go of Tiro's and exhaling deeply before cursing under her breath. "That's just absolutely brilliant."

Tiro stood there, awkwardly waiting for her to speak again and compose herself. Presently, she was just stringing together many sarcastic exclamations of how amazing this was while tapping her fingers on her skull.

"Wait." She got out of the car and Tiro backed away, getting out of her path as she got her phone out of her pocket and checked where they were on the map.

"Oh!" Her face split into a grin as she figured out where abouts they were in the world. "Not to worry Tiro. I know exactly where they've gone."