Back in our room, I was lying awake on the bed I would be sleeping in from now on. I heard Magu singing on the other end of the hallway, and closed my eyes listening to the song I recognized. After a few moments, I felt a hand on my forehead.

"You've got a little fever," whispered the hand's owner. "Probably form all this stress." Magu had slipped in while I had my eyes closed, and was now perched on the bedside table. Someone had said those exact same words once before, but I couldn't remember who or when.

"Just get some rest, honey. It'll probably be gone in the morning, and I'll stay with you tonight," he cooed softly. That's right—it was him who'd said that, a few days into our travels. We'd stayed in an inn for three nights because of my fever. I moved over to make room for him. He pulled up the covers and snuggled me close to him. This was a time when I was glad to have him with me.

~*~

The next day was a day that I wasn't ready for: the day in which I would meet the other residents of the Black Order. Now I'm not a xenophobe, I'm just not great with people—especially lots of them at once. Plus I was terrible with names.

When I woke up that morning Magu was still beside me, blue eyes open and glittering in the sun.

"Feeling better, sweetie?" I nodded. "Well, why don't you go get yourself clean? I'll pick out your clothes," he said, sitting up.

"No!" I yelled. Magu froze. "I…mean I can do that myself," I added. I really didn't want to look like some fairy princess. He smiled.

"Whatever you say, Rixie—just remember that all those people will be looking at you!" he said, pretending not to care. I shuddered. Before he left, I called to him.

"Wait…you can pick them out." I sighed, defeated. Embarrassed, I stalked into the bathroom. I wasn't pleased with his choices—they were far from comfortable, but at least I looked nice for my first appearance. We left for the cafeteria at 6:30 pm.

"Bonjour, mademoiselle!" I turned around. I was being greeted by a short, blond-haired blue-eyed boy…with cat ears? "Je m'appelle Beaux!"

"Uh…" Stupid. Stupid stupid stupid. He giggled.

"Hello, my lady! I'm Beaux!" When he spoke English, only the faintest trace of his accent remained.

"Oh…hi! I'm…Rixie," I replied, blushing a little. He was adorable. He giggled again.

"You're cute!" he exclaimed, making my face go even redder. "I think I'll be your friend."

"Oh! Ye-…thanks?" I had no idea what to say in response, though he didn't seem to mind. One of his cat ears flicked downward and the other swiveled toward me. He just kept giggling.

"Come with me! I'd like to introduce you to some people!" The blond boy grabbed my wrist and pulled me through the crowds of people over to a man whose head stuck about a foot above everyone else's.

"Frère!" Beaux called up to him. The short boy only came to about halfway up the other man's chest. The tall man looked down at Beaux—and he really had to look down—and grinned as he enveloped the boy in a huge bear hug.

"Who's this my little brother has dragged along?" the tall man—who I now knew was Beaux's brother—inquired. His accent was stronger than Beaux's. Before I could open my mouth to respond—or even remember how to open my mouth at all—Beaux answered him.

"This is Rixie, the new exorcist!" he shouted, getting excited. "Rixie, this is Meyukie, mon frère aînè—my older brother," he added, giggling. "Well, technically he'd be my step-brother, but I don't much care for technicalities. Père was on a business trip in Paris when he met Mère—Meyukie's mother! I was four and he was seven."

I had no idea why these people I had just met were telling me their family story, but they were looking at me expecting a response.

"I…I'm an orphan," was all I could think of to say.

"Oh, pauvre fille!" Beaux cried. "From now on, Meyukie and I will be your new famille!" I blushed, not being accustomed to attention like this from anyone but Magu.

"So…" I started speaking to fill the awkwardness I felt. "How…did you get the name Meyukie? It doesn't sound very French to me." Meyukie chuckled—a deep, throaty laugh very unlike his brother's feminine giggle.

"Our mother is a little… eccentric," he replied, patting Beaux on the head. "I think that's where this one gets it."

"Who's odd?" Speak of the devil; Magureatari had migrated next to me, having ended his conversation with an odd-looking blue blob.

"Ah, this is Magureatari, my…companion…" I didn't know what to call him anymore.

"So you're both exorcists? Que merveilleux! To have someone you know with you," Beaux said happily, scratching at one of his cat ears. "Most people who come here don't get to bring a friend. I guess we were lucky! We're so alike!" He was giggling again, and I almost couldn't handle how adorable he was.

"My, you're adorable!" I was almost afraid that I had accidentally spoken my thoughts out loud when I realized that that was ridiculous and that it had been Magu who voiced them.

"Merci, monsieur!" Beaux replied. "You're rather joli yourself!" Both of them grinned. They would be getting along très bien in the future.

"Lady Jane!" Meyukie shouted. It was difficult to tell who he had shouted to in the crowds, but the head that looked our way belonged to a tall (not as tall as Meyukie) woman with dark brown hair and huge green eyes. Meyukie introduced her as she came nearer.

"Lady Jane, this is Rixva and Magureatari. They're new here," he said. She smiled at me.

"It is a pleasure to meet you both." Her British accent and the way she formed her words made her sound like nobility. I assumed that was why Meyukie had called her "lady," although it may also have had to do with the fact that she was so strikingly lovely. Or that she was kind, and spoke softly, as opposed to Meyukie's loud, heavy rumble, or Beaux's sanguine twitter. The more I talked to the three of them, the more I found myself liking them. That night, I'd made more friends that I had made in ten years of traveling.

"Miss Rixva?" asked an incredulous voice behind me. I turned around to find a face I'd never expected to see again. "Miss Rixva, it is you! Oh, no one had told me you'd finally been found!" It was James, the finder who'd been my family's butler all those years ago. "Thank goodness you're alright!" he exclaimed.

I don't know why I hadn't expected to see him. I knew he was a member of the Black Order—I'd just never made the connection that he'd actually BE here, and I was shocked by that nostalgic face. He smiled at me and said,

"It's nice to see you've finally come home." He then proceeded to explain what had happened ten years ago. He'd gone to the finder's base in the next city and explained the situation to his supervisor. He'd believed that Magureatari would resist being brought along—Magu had said so himself, that he'd wanted to keep me for a while. When James had returned to our house, he and his backup had found us already gone. He said that they followed our trail for almost two years before losing us. Apparently, Toma had found us by pure coincidence, in an old-fashioned inn in New York City.

James told me about how sorry he was that he hadn't been able to do anything. He said that if he'd revealed himself sooner, maybe they would have been okay. He always had liked to talk, and kept saying things about how glad he was that I was safe and oh, how much I'd changed.

By the time James and I had finished our conversation, most of the people who had previously inhabited the cafeteria had left. Beaux and Magu had moved to a table where they now sat playing cards. Meyukie and Lady Jane were talking and laughing where they'd been before. It was late, and I was tired. I walked over to where Beaux and Magu sat playing and singing.

"I think I'll be going to bed now," I said. They looked up at me and smiled simultaneously.

"I'll be there soon," Magu replied. Beaux giggled.

"Bonne nuit, mademoiselle!" he chirped. I smiled.

"Bonne nuit, monsieur."

A/N: I do not actually speak French. Please let me know if I've made any errors :)

I'm so happy I got to use Beaux in a story! He was one of those characters that I designed and never used--one of my favorites. I'm so glad that he's made his debut! And yes, I know that Beaux is not an actual French name. :)