After Nora left, the first thing Ian did was text Sophie. He was just glad Nora had left him her phone. Sure, she'd said it was so they could meet back up later— she'd text him through her sister's phone. But he didn't think she'd mind if he used it; he was sure she'd be just as interested as he was in why Sophie had said he was dead.

Hey, can I talk to you? Ian texted her. He didn't bother telling her that it was him sending the message; she might not want to meet with him if she knew. It seemed to take forever before he got a response. Of course, it wasn't the simple text he'd been hoping for. No, she'd decided to call. Ian quickly hit the cancel button. He wasn't dumb enough to answer.

Sorry, can't talk now. Meet me?

Tonight? she asked.

Ian thought about it. Surely he'd have everything under control by then.

Fine. Ten o'clock, he texted. And once he finished setting that up, he turned back to his more immediate concerns.

He couldn't spend the rest of his life as a naga, especially not here. He was going to have to fix that. The longer he had that talisman, the easier it was to continue transforming. Still, it wasn't anywhere near enough; he was still much more snake than would be socially acceptable. And it was starting look like he wouldn't be able to change completely. If he wanted to hide what he really was, he was going to have to make a few concessions.

Nora's phone buzzed. Ian glanced over at it, mildly surprised. Had Nora already met up with Michelle? That seemed fast. And he wasn't exactly ready to see them yet.

It was from Emily.

Ian set the phone back down. He'd always prided himself on not spying unnecessarily, and he wasn't about to start now.

If he let the scales climb up his torso, he could focus more on maintaining the correct human shape; he didn't have the power to both keep the shape and hide the scales. He just hoped he'd get that ability back soon. At least he had jeans and a long-sleeved shirt in his bag. That would help him hide the worst of it.

By the time he gotten his legs back, the scales went all the way up to his collarbone and down to his wrists. And it still wasn't enough; his muscles felt wrong. If he wanted his legs to be anything more than cosmetic, he was going to have to make a few more sacrifices. But he didn't have much more he was willing to give up.

Sighing, Ian let his incisors grow longer, thinner. If he didn't do it all the way, he was pretty sure they wouldn't look too fang-like. And there was one more thing he guessed he could do. He already sounded terrible, so who cared if he made that a little worse? With his teeth as sharp as they were, he probably wouldn't be doing much talking anyway. But it would be the first thing he'd fix, he promised himself.

Nora's phone buzzed again. Another message from Emily.

The next time it went off, Ian didn't bother to check. Then, it rang. Grumbling to himself, he picked it up and saw Michelle's name. He hung up quickly and went to text her instead. If he thought he sounded too bad to talk to Sophie a few minutes ago, it was nothing compared to now.

The phone rang again, showing Michelle's name and closing the text he'd been writing. He scoffed, moving to hang up again. But before he did, he heard someone talking not far from where he was standing.

"Over there." they said. It had been a while, but Ian was pretty sure it was Michelle. He let it ring, figuring she and Nora were following the sound. And if that were true, it'd be quicker than texting Michelle anyway.

Nora and her sister came out of the trees. Nora looked nervous. Michelle looked hostile. Ian wasn't sure which was worse. While he defiantly didn't like the look Michelle was giving him, Nora's demeanor wasn't exactly a comfort. Was she afraid of him now? He hoped not.

"He's really here." Michelle said, crossing her arms. Was she upset because Nora told her what he really was? Or was there a different reason? He couldn't tell. He'd have to be careful; if by some miracle Nora hadn't said anything, he didn't want to admit it himself.

Ian gave a small wave. He wondered if she'd thought he'd run away before they got there, or if she just figured Nora had gone insane. Michelle didn't return the gesture.

"You're looking...better." Nora said. She glanced down at his legs. Ian grinned, pretending not to notice her obvious relief. Then, he motioned her over. She hesitated before walking stiffly to him. He pretended not to notice that, either.

"I managed." he whispered breathlessly into her ear.

"So you're good now?" she asked.

"...Mostly." Ian admitted slowly. He didn't really want to get into it, especially when he was still hoping he could hide it.

"Mostly?" Nora asked, dropping her voice almost as low as his. She looked uncomfortable at the thought. "...Why are we whispering?"

"Had some...complications."

"Something you want to share?" Michelle called out testily. She looked like she was about to rupture a blood vessel.

Nora took a step back, turning to face her sister. Her eyes were wide, and she looked like she was struggling for something to say. But Michelle didn't seem all that concerned with Nora; she was glaring daggers at Ian.

"I...uh..." Suddenly he could see why Nora was struggling. Not that his voice would carry that far even if he did know what to say.

"What?" Michelle asked. She leaned forward slightly, but her feet stayed planted.

Ian turned quickly to Nora for help. She stared blankly at him until he pointed at his throat and shook his head.

"Oh! He...he's been sick. In the hospital." Nora said, struggling to pull herself together. "He lost his voice."

Michelle whipped around to face Ian. "Yeah?" she snapped.

Ian shrugged. Then, nodded. He hadn't been in the hospital that long, but he guessed it was close enough. And the second part was definitely true.

Michelle considered him a moment. Finally she grumbled, "Convenient."

Ian tried to look apologetic, but it occurred to him that it actually was convenient— at least a bit. It meant he'd probably be spared any interrogations for the moment.

"He used to get like that in high school." Nora told her sister. "Every three or four months..."

Her eyes got wide for an instant before she quickly wiped the look off her face. Ian wondered if she'd suddenly realized why he seemed to have those semi-regular "illnesses". Shedding was one of the five times he wasn't able to control what he was.

He stood there, wondering what to do when something hit his arm. Then, his head. He looked down and saw the leaves were starting to be dotted with rain.

"We can't stay out here." Michelle said, glancing at the sky. Then, she turned back to Ian. "Where are you staying?"

Ian shrugged. He hadn't gotten that far.

"Really?"

Ian bit his lip, trying not to look nervous. This reunion really wasn't going the way he'd pictured it.

"Maybe there's a room back at the hotel." Michelle sighed.

Ian turned back to Nora, taking a step closer. "I don't have any money." he whispered as loud as he could. And he really didn't want to spend another night out here if he didn't have to, especially in the rain.

"He doesn't have any money." Nora repeated to her sister. Michelle scoffed.

"So no money, no phone, no voice?" Michelle asked, rolling her eyes. "Fine. May as well get to our room at least."

The three walked back to wherever the girls were staying. Michelle walked ahead, but Nora stayed by him. He handed her phone back to her.

"Emily texted." he said.

Nora took the phone, absentmindedly nodding as she put it in her pocket.

"Does she know?" Ian asked, nodding towards Michelle.

"About you?" Nora whispered back, glancing down at his jeans. Then, she shook her head. Well, that was a relief. Ian was glad for that at least.

"Then why's she mad?" he asked.

"Really? Other than the fact that you disappeared with no explanation? No phone call?" Nora raised her eyebrows. "And hospital or not, it's hard to imagine why you wouldn't at least call me."

"I couldn't." Ian protested. "I don't have any of my things from...from before I..."

"Yeah. I know that." Nora said. "But what excuse am I supposed to give her?"

"I can hear you guys whispering." Michelle called over her shoulder.

Ian decided it was a good time to shut up. Michelle didn't know what was going on, but she might if he kept grilling Nora. And while she'd probably forgive his disappearance if she knew he'd been pulled to another realm, she might not be excited to learn that he wasn't human. Ian still didn't know what Nora herself thought about that. He decided to count the few blessings he had at the moment and not make anything worse.