(A/N What are you doing? Why are you writing this, you haven't updated Wizard and the Beast!? I'm kind stuck on that one, so I'll work on that as well meanwhile I do this one. Oh no, this again. Why do you do this? Because I want to.

Yes, I'm back. Don't worry, I will still work on my other story. )

Chapter 1

Rodrian looked at his niece.

He always worried about her. When she wasn't home, he worried that she would be hungry, cold, lost, or that someone would see and recognize her. And when she was home he worried that somebody would knock on their door, see her and realize who she was.

Lorea was the only family that he had left. Or rather: the only family that he had that wouldn't deny him, or try to kill him on sight. His sister was alive and well in the city that she had grown up in. Maximilian, his one year younger brother could be alive as well, but Rodrian didn't want to bet on it.

Shattered and spread across the world by wind, was that what had become of his mighty family?

"Rodrian?" Lorea, his niece, said, "Are you alright?"

"Yes of course." he replied vacantly.

"You seem so distant." his niece continued. "Are you really sure..?"

Rodrian smiled. Maybe he wasn't the only one who worried. "I am alright." he said. "I'm tired. And I've been thinking, too."

"Not again." Lorea groaned. "Please. I haven't unpacked all of my stuff yet."

"Not that kind of thinking," Rodrian smiled again. "I was thinking about family. Our family."

Lorea's jaw dropped slightly. "Oh..."

"Chapter nine, Forms of Transformations." Odale murmured, half aloud to herself. She had found the book in the Library and, because she wanted to be alone for once, she had sat down on her bed with the book in front of her.

She tilted her head as she read the index of the chapter. Forced Transformation, Shape Shifting, Simple Skinchanging were some of the titles. Odale was suddenly glad that she had picked the book up.

A few days ago she had seen a book in her mother's apartment and it had, for once, been in a language that she actually understood. She had opened it, read it through and, long story short, she had seen the word Skinchanger. Afterwards when she had asked Marcia, who had just waved it of as a myth.

As she turned to the next page, Marcia entered.

"Hello, Odale." Marcia said.

"Won't you ever knock?" Odale asked without looking up. Marcia sighed heavily. "Be careful so that you don't slip on something," Odale added, "Indigo is shedding."

"Then why don't you pick it up?" Marcia said with annoyance.

"Because I don't know where she is," Odale replied, "Or if she has shed quite yet. Or if I'd be able to see it. Haven't I've already said this before?"

"Perhaps." Marcia sat down beside her. "But nevermind. I wanted to ask something else."

"What?" Odale asked.

"Well," Marcia answered. "I just thought that it seemed strange that you haven't asked about family in a while."

"I guess that I haven't felt like it." Odale said. Marcia rose up, and Odale with her. "No," she said, "No, please don't leave."

Marcia sighed again. "Odale, I'm really not up for your snarky comments right now." she replied.

"But I won't." Odale told her. "There's something that you wanted to tell me."

"No." Marcia said. "I only wondered if there was something-"

"Your brothers." Odale blurted out. "I want to know about your brothers."

Marcia let out a deep sigh. "Very well." she replied. Odale sat back down on her bed. She smiled slightly.

"That was the only question you didn't want me to ask, wasn't it?" she asked and Marcia sat down as well.

"No..." Marcia said. It felt like a lie to Odale, but she didn't say anything. Instead, she twisted her bracelet. Her name was engraved on it. Odale, an Eastern Snowplainian name, at least according to her mother. An annoying name, Odale thought. Not to mention that her name had to begin with the same letter as her last name did, which made her feel ridiculous whenever she said it or spelled it.

Would Erianna be better? Maybe.

Marcia sighed. "Where do you want me to start?" she asked.

Odale shrugged. "How were they?" she wondered, then regretted herself. "What were their names? I forgot them again."

"Rodrian and Maximilian." Marcia said. "Maximilian preferred to be called Max, especially when he was with friends."

"And Rodrian-"

"Was called Rod, sometimes." Marcia told Odale, "And he was... I'm not going to sugarcoat it, he was a terrible person."

Marcia looked very grim as she stared in front of her, and suddenly Odale wished that she hadn't asked. "He was selfish and vile," Marcia continued, "When he disappeared, our mother was devastated."

"He disappeared?" Odale asked.

"He went away, didn't say a word to anybody." Marcia answered. "He... he went back to the Eastern Snowplains."

How would she know that if he 'disappeared'?, Odale thought, but this was a new side of Marcia. It was a side of Marcia that seemed to want to burst with emotions, mostly anger. "What about Maximilian?" she wondered.

"He was different," Marcia said. "He liked to talk, but I never got to know him all that well."

"What happened to him?"

"He went away, too." Marcia sighed. "He didn't want to stay here. And he told me that he would look for Rodrian. I hope he didn't find him."

"You said family?" Lorea said. Her voice felt weak and her mouth was dry.

Rodrian had never talked about their family before. Not a word and when she had asked him, which she had done a lot when she was in her early teens, he had said that he would talk to her another day. But the days had passed, and so had the weeks, the months, the seasons and the years and Lorea had stopped asking. Of course she still wondered: she only remembered Rodrian. Maybe she had one or to memories, but she was scared that they would be imaginary. It was of a woman who always spoke latin and a man who smiled all the time.

Someone grasped her hand and she looked down. Rodrian had grasped her hand in his and it made Lorea realize something she hadn't thought of before: she was considerably darker than what he was. Not that it had any importance to her situation at all. Except for that she had probably inherited her colours from her mother's side, as Rodrian always had said that he was her father's brother.

She had a mother. She had a father. They were dead, as far as she knew, but they had existed. And they had left something after them. Her. Lorea.

"Well," Rodrian sighed. "What to say?"

He drew his thumb over her fingers. Lorea remembered the gesture: he had done the same when she was seven and really sick. He had, as many times before and afterwards, had her live at Amanda's house, but he had been with her a lot. And he had sat with her hands in his and done the same thing.

"What would you say..." he started, "If I said that you... or we... had a, well, relative?"

Lorea laughed. "Of course we have relatives," she said, "We must come from somewhere, right?"

"No..." he replied, "No, you don't understand. As far as I know, she's alive and well."

"She? Who is she? Why haven't you-"

"Sh, sh, sh." he whispered, "Please. It's hard to explain it, but let's just say that she doesn't really like me."

"Doesn't like you?" Lorea asked. "What did you do?"

"I?" Rodrian smiled slightly, "Why do you assume it was me?"

"What was it?"

"We had a bad fight." he said. "Once. I haven't seen her since."

"Who was she?"

"My sister." Rodrian confessed.

It was late when Odale crawled up in her bed. She still hadn't found Indigo, but she didn't worry. Indigo shed her skin once or twice a year, and she always want away around that time. But Odale missed her pet a lot. She missed having her coiled up around her shoulders, for warmth and she liked it.

Instead she had pushed up her pillows so that she could sit up and read properly. Odale didn't want to put the book down. She loved it. She had found things she hadn't known about earlier.

Marcia knocked on the door and Odale jumped. She stuck her head into Odale's room. "Don't forget to sleep." she said.

"I won't." Odale retorted.

"Good," Marcia sat down by her bed. "Odale about earlier... I wasn't angry at you. I was angry at him."

"Rodrian." Odale said. "Your brother."

"Do me a favor." Marcia said slowly, "Don't speak about my brother again."

"I get it." Odale replied. "Will you leave now?"

Marcia smiled. "Goodnight."

Odale yawned. "Goodnight." she said.

Rodrian gave her a hug. "Goodnight." he whispered.

"No tucking me in?" Lorea asked.

"You're too old for that." Rodrian answered.

Lorea smiled. "I guess." she yawned and flexed her arms, then scratched Honey's head. "See you in the morning."

"We'll talk more about you meeting my sister in the morning." he said. "Are you okay with that?"

"Alright." Lorea said. "Night. Again."

He left her there and went into his own bedroom, on the other side if the corridor. As he sat down on his bed, he found waves of red hair was already spread out over his pillow and he sighed. "Runa..." he sighed.

The woman sat up. "Ja?" she mumbled sleepily.

"This is my bedroom." he said, "Yours is downstairs."

"I know." she replied. "But we're married."

"Not here." he whispered. "And besides, it was against your will."

"Yes, but-"

"Leave." he said.

"Just this one night." Runa replied. "Please."

Rodrian rolled his eyes. "This one night." he said. "But only this one night."

Runa laid her head down again. "Tack." she said.