"Who is it, Master Fung?" Omi chirped
"Is it a Girl?" Kimiko asked, hoping to tone down all the testosterone.
"Is it a pretty girl!?" Raimundo asked, getting elbowed by Kim, "Uh, a pretty girl who's not insane and evil?"
"Yes! I do not want to be sliced in the butt again!" Omi quickly added.
"I think ya mean stabbed in the back, lil' man." I spoke with a smile.
"OOOH! I am so very excited to not be on the bottom of the food chain!" Ping-Pong jumped up and down in pure joy.
Master Fung smiled at the anticipation in the room, "Clay can explain best, it is his cousin, after all."
All eyes were on me.
"Well ya see my cousin Tabby started noticin' weird stuff happenin'. 'Bout a week ago she got in a fight with my auntie Brenda and suddenly a metal pipe busted out of the wall and flew across the room when she started stompin' her foot." I explained.
Raimundo grumbled, "Great another big bad Texan, the chicks from there are way too rugged..."
"Actually I'm from Pennsylvania." A voice that sounded all to familiar was heard from behind us.
Ping-Pong bounced more rapidly, "Ah, you were right Raimundo, it is a pretty girl!"
Rai grinned, embarrassed and Kimiko elbowed him again.
"Tabby! It's been way too long." I grinned and pulled her into a tight hug, lifting her from the ground.
"Hey there Clay!" She giggled.
"Welcome, Tabitha Rogers, dragon of metal." Master Fung smiled at her.
I grinned shyly at the group after Clay set me down.
"Uh, good to be here! Odin knows my mother was worried witless when that pipe came flying past us."
Clay rolled his eyes, "Still readin' all them Norse mythology books, aren't ya?"
I nodded and the only other female in the room stared at me.
"Another girl AND you're well read? I can tell we're gonna get along great! I'm Kimiko." She beamed down at me, seeing as I was two inches or so shorter.
"No no no! Not another girl! They have far too many silly things clouding their minds!" A small cheese ball headed boy yelled.
"Don't mind Omi, he doesn't have much experience with girls." The brunette boy grinned at me flirtatiously.
"You mean you didn't kiss Kimiko!?" The smallest boy spoke in genuine surprise, readjusting his glasses.
"EXCUSE ME!?" Kimiko shouted.
"I should go and punch the grain!"
"Hit the hay." The previously flirty boy rolled his eyes.
"Wait! Brother Omi!" The two cheese-balls fled from the room.
"Anyway, I'm Raimundo, but feel free to call me Rai." He wiggled his eyebrows at me.
"Hello, and sorry to say you're not really my type." I smiled awkwardly.
Clay just laughed in the background.
"C'mon, you can bunk with me till we find you you're own room!" Kim dragged me by the wrist away the three males, Rai looking rather crest fallen.
"So you're the dragon of metal, huh?" She asked, "Well, not a dragon yet but you know what I mean."
"Apparently" I smiled.
She pulled me into her room and smiled apologetically, handing me a sleeping bag.
"Sorry, this the best I can offer at the moment."
"It's fine, really. I appreciate how friendly you're being." I took the items from her, smiling in thanks.
"It's no problem, really." She helped me set up the sleeping bag and pulled an extra pillow off of her bed, "Here."
We finished up with my temporary sleeping spot, and I plopped down onto the ground. It had been a long plane ride, and an annoyingly difficult walk to reach the temple right after. We fell into a comfortable silence as I emailed my parents that I had arrived safe.
"Sooo tell me a bit about yourself." She spoke after a while.
I smiled and flopped down onto the sleeping bag, still in my day clothes since I was too tired to change. I blew a few stray strands of my silvery hair from my face, thinking of where to start.
"Well my mom is a big shot CEO for a home-help electronics company, and my dad likes to spend his time tinkering with old foreign vehicles. I was treated like a princess when I was young, but in reality my dad would sneak me into his garage on our property, and we'd have fun despite the oil stains on my dress." I smiled as I spoke.
I giggled a bit as a I remembered a particular memory, it was happy but sad also. Kimiko urged me to continue, so I did.
Little seven year old Tabby ran from her room, her black skirt swaying at her knees. She held a small black kitten in her arms against her chest. After placing the kitten down she walked passed a room to see her Mother and Father meeting with another couple. She smoothed her Emerald green 3/4 sleeve shirt and walked into the room.
"Ah, hello dear, I was just about to come get you myself!" Conner, her father spoke with a gentle smile.
She nervously glanced at the couple standing before her, but calmed as the small kitten looked up at her with its big bright yellow-green eyes and meowed.
"Thank you, Lokitty, I feel so much more at ease now." She smiled in delight as the cat hopped up into her arms.
"Mythology geek, huh?" A boy a year or so older than her walked out from behind the woman standing in Tabitha's mother's office.
"Jackson, play nice." She spoke softly but sternly.
He grinned sheepishly at the silver haired girl, running a hand through his own spiked up fiery red hair, "Ok mom. Sorry, I meant that in a good way. I enjoy Asian mythology myself. Loki is a Norse god, right?"
"Hello Jackson, it's nice to meet someone my age who seems to be on my level. And yes, Loki is the Norse god of mischief and lies" She smiled shyly.
"Just call me Jack." He held out a hand to her, which she loosely gripped and shook with a slight pink to her cheeks.
"Glad you could join us, Tabitha. It's such a relief to see you two getting along already!" Tabby's mom spoke from her seat next to the small girl's dad.
"Yes, this should make for a perfect marriage some day." The man Tabby assumed to be Jack's father spoke.
Jack and his parents look frightfully unalike, his mother had honey blonde hair and green eyes, while his father had near black, dark brown hair and hazel eyes. Jack on the other hand-
"Wait, did you say marriage, Sir?" She asked, dumbfounded.
It was Tabitha's dad who spoke first, smiling apologetically, "Well, we've been competing with Jackson's family in the realm of electronics for some time now, and we thought it would be good to..."
"Join forces, so to speak." Jack's mom finished after the male Rogers trailed off.
"Sweet heart, meet your future fiancé" The other mom explained.
Sure, Jack was cute, but she was seven and all this suddenly came crashing down on her. Would she even be allowed to have a normal childhood?
Her eyes watered and she curtsied, excusing herself and abruptly retreating to the large garden outdoors.
She sat on the wall of the tall fountain she had jumped up onto, finally letting her tears fall, hiding her face in her small hands.
She felt a presence nearby a moment later, "Go away!"
A grunt was heard and she removed her hands, staring down at the boy she was to be wed to.
"Urgh!" He finally lifted himself up to sit beside her.
"Listen, I'm not too thrilled about this either, ...at least I wasn't a bit ago." Jack patted her shoulder.
She looked at him through watery blue eyes, "You should go inside, as an albino you'll burn up quickly out here..."
He was shocked she had already figured it out, but he smiled and threw an arm around her shoulder.
"You're really pretty y'know...even with your eye make-up running." He offered, hoping to cheer her up.
She giggled a bit and he handed her a handkerchief from his pocket. She took it gratefully and dabbed at her eyes.
"Oh no! I got eyeliner all over it..." She frowned.
He just grinned widely.
"Eh, something to remember you by if the stain doesn't come out."
She smiled at him, blushing. "And what will I remember you by?"
"My crazy dyed hair isn't enough?" He laughed, snorting a bit.
She laughed with him, and he stuffed his hand in his other pocket, pulling out a choker with a carved stone blue rose.
"You can remember me with this! My mom insisted I get something for the girl I was gonna be engaged too, and now I'm glad I listened to her." He secured the lacy black choker around her neck.
"It's really pretty Jack, thank you!" She beamed up at him.
He gave her a toothy grin, "Y'know, I'm gonna rule the world some day! You could...uh...you could be my evil queen." His nearly white face went bright red.
She smiled, pecking his blushing cheek, "I'd like that...the queen part, anyway."
"Jackson, say good bye to Tabitha and come along! We're leaving." His dad called in the distance.
Jack kissed her awkwardly and smiled, "Until next time, don't go forgetting me!" He hopped down from the fountain wall with no sign of being graceful, "Oof!"
Tabby just blushed, bringing her fingers to her oddly tingly lips.
"Maybe this won't be as bad as I thought."