Xia tucked her bracelet into the pocket of her hoodie. She'd return it to the box later at a time when Wanfeng wouldn't see.

Wanfeng was ok now, wasn't he? The colour was back in his complexion and he'd stopped acting weird.  She'd been scared before when he'd looked about to faint.  Was passing out part of being car sick?  She was going to keep a close eye on him for the rest of the day.

"Chen Kai had a change of plans. The pee-tzahs are for us together." Wanfeng opened a cupboard above the sink.  

"What are you doing?" 

"I'm getting dishes to use."

"No Wanfeng, you're not supposed to eat pizza off a plate.  You have to eat it straight from the box."

The way his eyes sparkled with mirth when he smiled stirred something deep inside her.  "Is that so? Because that would conveniently mean no dishes to wash afterwards?"

Xia gave him a guilty grin as she went to stand beside him. She took hold of the radio and gave it a good jiggle to ensure it wasn't going to go off before she pressed play for the CD again.

"What is this music you listen to?"

"It's from Pete's collection of Bon Jovi CDs." Xia surprised herself. She'd never felt comfortable speaking of Pete before to anyone. That was something else about Wanfeng. He was incredibly easy for her to talk to.

Xia lifted a case from the stack beside the radio to show Wanfeng when he frowned.  "What you called talismans before? They're actually recordings of music." 

"Who is Pete?"

Xia fought back the sudden lump in her throat, hoping her face didn't betray her emotions.  "Pete... Pete was the police officer who found me when I was a baby.  He became a good friend who looked out for me as I was growing up. He died some years ago."

There was sympathy in Wanfeng's eyes. "Looked out for you?  Did Pete shelter you in his household for a time?"

"I grew up in youth care.  Pete didn't have a "household". He wanted to adopt me but even though he was a cop, he was single and therefore not allowed. He helped me a lot though."

"Cop?"

I guess law enforcement protection isn't something a dragon would need to know about, she thought at Wanfeng's furrowed brow.

"Cop.  A police officer?  Pete protected civilians against criminals and dangerous situations. He worked for law enforcement. He was killed trying to protect a store clerk from some drugged out robber."

"A noble soldier fallen in battle.  I am sorry for your loss, Xia."

The strange description warmed her heart.  Pete, a noble soldier?  Yes. That's what he was.

"What music do you like, Wanfeng?" she asked brightly, changing the subject.  She sat down at the table and grabbed one of the pizza boxes.  Flipping the lid open, she smacked her lips at the mouthwatering aroma.  God, she was starving.  It was as if she'd run a marathon. 

Strings of melted cheese stretched out into the air as she took a slice and handed it to Wanfeng who sat next to her. 

Clumsily taking the proffered slice, Wanfeng reflexively dipped his chin down to catch the melted cheese strings that threatened to drip down. 

"I told you before," Wanfeng said around a warm mouthful of mozzarella,  "I enjoy the bone flute and the guqin.  Although the bunjo vee music you enjoy is tolerable."

"Tolerable?!" Xia huffed before sinking her teeth into her own slice.

Wanfeng grinned as he caught the wedge of pepperoni falling off her slice only to plop it into his mouth.  "The extra marshmallows are deliciously spiced. May we save some to eat tomorrow as well?"

"Marshmal--?"  The rest of the word got lost in Xia's hard swallow as she watched Wanfeng lick his fingertips, his slice already finished. 

She swiftly dropped her gaze. "Uh, Wanfeng, about tomorrow.  I have to go to work. Why don't you come so you're not here alone?  You can help us out, maybe washing the dishes?" This way I can keep watching you, uh, keep my eye on you, to make sure you're ok.

"Work?  What do you mean 'go to work'?"

"My job. I work at a sandwich shop."

Wanfeng helped himself to a second slice. This time he agilely twirled the point to spin the melted cheese strings about it.  "Sandwich. Like the one I ate at the mall?"

"Yes, well, we serve soups and coffee too."

Wanfeng stopped chewing.  "You work as a food servant?"

"A food server, Wanfeng. Serrrrverrrr, not servant."  Xia's temper was piqued.  "I do have bills to pay, you know.  I was extremely lucky Mrs. Chen offered me this place to stay at such a low cost. Even though Kai said he won't be raising the rents, I won't stay here forever.  Once I find a job where I can travel, I'll be leaving."

"How does your head feel now, Xia?" Wanfeng asked abruptly. Xia frowned at his change of subject.  Was this for when she'd done the same before?

"My head feels fine, thank you.  My ego too by the way. Being a waitress is an honest job for honest pay, Wanfeng."

"My apologies if I offended you.  I was just taken by surprise because..."

"Because...?"

"I have offended you.  For that. I will punish myself with another slice of pee-tzah." 

They both ate in silence, lost in their thoughts for a moment.

"When you do leave, Xia," Wanfeng said casually but with an intent look in his eyes, "Will you miss anyone here?"

"I'll miss Lucy and Mr. Antoine, oh, and Maurice, of course. There's Emma too but she'd be the first to tell me to get lost and see the world.  You'll meet her tomorrow. She works at the sandwich shop."

When she felt tomato sauce dribble down her chin, Xia snatched a napkin quick to wipe it before it could stain the front of her top.  Stain...  "Laundry!  Omigosh, I was nearly forgetting about having to do the laundry!"

Wanfeng was making short work of his third slice. 

"I need to go to the laundromat today to have clean clothes for work."

Wanfeng grabbed a napkin for himself too and wiped off his mouth as he sat back with a sated smile.  "I will accompany you."

_____

The paifang had seen better times.

The peeling paint and cracked wood of the red archway was a far cry from its glory days when the Chinatown beyond it had been a vibrant bustling immigrant community.  Like so many other victims of gentrification invaded by condos and luxury stores, the resulting higher rents had pushed original families out.  Now it was mostly tourists who milled about its streets. So easy to identify by the packs around their waists, taking photos of everything with their phones, gawking at the Han characters on shop signs in no better shape than the red arch entryway.

Kai stared out the windshield at the throngs crossing the busy intersection up ahead.  What to do next.  He had no idea.

Jiuweihu... a nine-tailed fox...

Qiao Sheng's shop had been busy as usual. The typical mix of tourists and suburbanites rummaging through the colourful bins and tables overflowing with "authentic" Chinese merchandise.  For Kai, it was always the smell of the place that got to him.  The overlapping scents of incense, fragrant teas, and cheap perfume knockoffs was... cloying... to say the least.  But given the number of wide-eyed smiling shoppers, they loved it.  Qiao Sheng's cash register loved it too.

Originally an herbalist shop, Qiao Sheng had switched over his wares in order to satisfy visitors' appetite for exotic Asian novelty items. 'Adapt or die' was the former pharmaceutical chemist turned herbalist turned drug maker's motto.

"Boss is in the back." Qiao Sheng's clerk barely spared Kai a glance when the tinkling bell of the door heralded his arrival. 

Breathing shallow, Kai zigzagged his way to the rear office where the real "shop" he was interested in was located.

"Chen Kai, it has been a while. I would have considered this was a social visit if it were not for your earlier phone call.  Interesting. I do not recall ever having heard you sound so agitated before.  How was the trip to China by the way?  Did you find the locksmith finally?"

Qiao Sheng's goggled face looked positively demonic, warped and distorted as it was by the smoking glass beaker his head hovered behind. It was rare for Kai not to see Sheng fiddling with his lab equipment set up on a wide expanse of table.  Beakers, flasks, test tubes, flaming burners, acrid fumes, boxes, bottles... with papers and open books strewn everywhere in between.  It was Professor Snape's Potions class meets Breaking Bad.  "Your timing is impeccable as always.  I've got a new batch of the drug ready."

"Can I use your computer a minute?" Kai asked. "I need to open my email to show you something."

The older man pulled off his goggles and stood.  "Since when do you not have a cellphone glued to your hand?"  He gestured to the laptop perched on the side of the table.  "The password is already keyed in."

It took but a few moments for Kai to bring up his last phone screenshot.

"This is from the apartment of the girl who lives in my mother's townhouse."

Peeling off his surgical gloves, Qiao Sheng slipped on a pair of reading glasses and walked over.  Squinting at first, his expression grew thoughtful, then he clicked off the screen. 

"Hey!" Kai exclaimed.

"Interesting tenant your mother has... had."  Qiao Sheng calmly set down his glasses and returned to his beaker.

"You know what those shadows are, don't you, Sheng. Tell me." Kai struggled to keep his voice on even keel.  It wouldn't do to push or anger the man who supplied him with his drug  as well as provide him with business connections with certain "syndicates".

"First, tell me what happened after Ryers installed the torcher and those cameras for you. Interesting how he came by before spitting fury about some truck having sideswiped his van." 

"Unless Ryers dealt me scrap which he knows better than to do, the cameras got fried. My phone got fried too from trying to access them from what I could tell."

"Interesting."

If Qiao Sheng said "interesting" one more time, Kai was going to punch a hole in the wall.

"Tell me now about the girl."

Kai, who'd only ever told Qiao Sheng about finding his mother's locked chest, decided the need to know whatever the man could reveal about Xia outweighed his desire to keep things secret.  With a deep exhale, he proceeded to confide in Qiao Sheng all he'd discovered from Wenling's journals.

The drug maker stood leaning against his table the whole time, quietly listening to all Kai had to say.   

"Interesting.  If I were not a man of science, I would say you have a jiuweihu on your hands."

At Kai's blank stare, Qiao Sheng sighed. "This generation... No one studies folklore anymore. Jiuweihu are nine-tailed fox spirits. Nine furry tails long like tentacles to ensnare those the alluring foxes wish to seduce, at least according to ancient folklore."

Had it been anyone else, Kai would have laughed. Qiao Sheng may have been a genius in the past, but testing out his own products on himself had left some damage behind. But Kai had a certain insight into the supernatural given what his mother was.  He could not deny the feeling of truth he felt from Qiao Sheng's words. 

"Your mother... the witch... would have sensed the essence of the girl, no doubt."

An aura like a sunburst rainbow...

"Why she offered the creature shelter you may never know for sure but I suspect..."

"You suspect what?" Kai's voice was filled with a dark intensity.

"This is bigger than discovering your mother was a witch, Chen Kai.  According to myth, the heartblood of a nine-tailed fox contains many magical properties.  Maybe an elixir for eternal life, who knows? We can always experiment with it. If it ends up being untrue, at the very least, the tails alone would be worth a fortune. If this girl is indeed a jiuweihu then the prize of a lifetime is before you. You cannot let this opportunity get away. You must get her to change completely into her fox form.  I will give you some extra product.  Use it to "convince" her to shift.  Then knock her out and bring her here.  We can drain her heart then skin her. The pelt would fetch quite the price on the black market.  As for the tails, if we cannot find a buyer for the nine together, we can divide them up."

The vials of drug stashed in the hidden compartment of the Corvette's trunk, Kai continued to mull over what Qiao Sheng proposed as he watched the light ahead change again. The shrewd bastard had been quick to make it a joint venture.  But Kai had hedged his bets.  Besides, he still held a wild card since there remained one important thing he hadn't revealed to Qiao Sheng.

Was it odd, believing what he believed now of Xia, for his thoughts to keep steering to Wanfeng?  If Xia was a mythical nine-tailed fox, what was her "brother"?  Kai had always sensed there was more to the man than met the eye.  Another nine-tailed fox... freshly arrived...  That would explain everything.  That's why he was so clueless.  Where did they both originally come from?  Xia was found here as a baby.  Why did you show up all of a sudden, Wanfeng?  

Let the old chemist think he'd go half and half with him with Xia --after Kai had had his chance to play with her first.  Kai would keep Wanfeng's heartblood all for himself.

Starting up the car, Kai pulled out when the light ahead turned green, not noticing the bird dropping that spattered onto his back windshield when he turned the radio on to check traffic. The tail end of a staticky commercial played ...

...that's right folks, Bird's Eye View Cameras.  Have cameras in need of repair or servicing?  Check out Bird's Eye View. They can see everything. 100% guaranteed. 

_____

A powerful feeling of deja vu came over Wanfeng.  It wasn't the line of white box machines churning with bellies of water and bubbles, nor the line of similar metallic beasts opposite growling with the heat they exuded.

It was the sounds. Wanfeng recognized them. He'd heard them before.

Swish swoosh, swish swoosh

Brrrtttt!

"Here's a pair we can use." Xia gestured to Wanfeng who carried the laundry bag over his shoulder. Xia carried the soap and coins needed in a bag.

Xia was happy to have found any free machines. The laundromat was small and Sunday evenings were usually busy.  But only two people were there, a woman who was nearly done pulling her load out from a dryer and a man popping in some coins in a machine. The woman nodded her head politely as she left. Once the man got his load going in the washing machine, he headed out to cross the street to the burger joint.

"What is that?" Wanfeng asked once they'd gotten their loads going.  He had included his clothing from the day before as well. Xia had made him laugh, covering his eyes with her hand when she was placing her undergarments --which he'd known she was stashing under her bed-- into the machine.

The small television mounted in an upper corner of the room had caught Wanfeng's attention. It never worked right whenever Xia was there, usually the screen showed only static or wouldn't light at all.  Xia was surprised to see it working now.  It was on some weather station.  Taking the duct tape backed remote control from the folding counter, Xia tried to change channels.  Figures, she thought when nothing happened. 

"No televisions back home?"

"Television?"

"It's like a radio but with moving images. People watch it as entertainment."

Wanfeng scoffed. "What is entertaining about coloured lines and symbols floating about?"

Xia hopped onto a stool to press the off button directly on the set, never remarking how the air pressure lines, cloud cover, wind direction arrows, and jet stream flow were all converging somewhere to the northeast before the TV shut off.

"Come and take a seat, Wanfeng. If you tilt a chair back against the dryer, you can enjoy a free back massage."

Wanfeng did not care much for the warm vibration, at least not that coming from the machine behind him.  Rather, he found the warmth of Xia's body as she sat beside him along with the churning water all about...more invigorating somehow.

Xia laughed.  "And I thought I was a messy eater.  Why didn't I see you have a fleck of tomato sauce stuck to your cheek before?"  She reached out to wipe it with a fingertip, gasping when Wanfeng caught her hand and kissed it.

"You have a fleck of sauce on your cheek as well," he said in a low voice as he leaned down to press a soft kiss on it. 

Xia stared into his eyes that were right before hers.  Then slowly, she touched his lips with her fingers before leaning forward to press a kiss on them.  Every dryer buzzer went off but neither noticed as they held each other's heads gently and continued kissing through wash cycles now spinning with water aglow.    

_____

Making out at the laundromat!

A giddy Xia gave her reflection a foamy grin as she brushed her teeth.

It had taken the man coming back for his load clearing his throat loudly for her and Wanfeng to come up for air.  She wondered who had the redder face at that moment, her or the man? Wanfeng of course looked as calm, cool, and collected as he always did.  They'd kept darting shy glances at one another as they'd collected their clothes when done and left. She'd made Wanfeng laugh again when she'd insisted he not look when she'd retrieved her bras and panties.  He'd behaved like a good dra-- boy and did as she'd asked... Well, until he asked her if she was going to put them back under her bed again.  Ugh. 

Tomorrow Wanfeng would come to work with her.  She wondered what Emma was going to say.

The lights were off when she emerged from the bathroom. Already changed into the pyjamas she'd gotten him, Wanfeng was bundled with blanket and pillow on the floor by the wall asleep. The heat of the repaired furnace was quite noticeable now.  Xia hoped Mr. Antoine and Lucy were enjoying the comfortable indoor temperatures tonight.

She tiptoed across the room to slip under the blanket of her bed. Tired as she was, Xia could only stare up at the ceiling.  The sound of Wanfeng's steady breaths kept echoing in her ears.  Turning to her side, she studied how his hair fanned over his shoulder, a second blanket of black silk.  She didn't even blink when Wanfeng's eyes opened to meet her gaze directly.  She'd known they would. Why wasn't it strange to her that they could see each other perfectly well in the dark? 

They gazed into each other's eyes for the longest time before Xia shimmied back against the wall then lifted her blanket up.  Wanfeng's gaze intensified.  Are you sure? She could almost hear him thinking. "Just to cuddle for warmth? I'm really tired. Would that be alright?" she whispered. 

And when Xia cried in her nightmare later in the night, Wanfeng was right there to hold her hand ever so gently and she settled immediately.  The dragon lay awake all night, simply holding her.  One more day...