Part X: Ilsa

Both Canadians were impressed with this almost lazy display of prodigious magic, but then Jane frowned in what was rapidly approaching concern at Delphi's deteriorating mood regarding her newly exposed and rather complicated situation. Jane considered for a moment and then said, "How about 'Ilsa'?"

Delphi rolled her eyes, "Isn't that the frost-witch from that muggle film?"

Jane huffed and said, "No, she is called Elsa, but that is where I got the idea from, what with the frost-breath thingy and all."

The nameless girl's hand wandered a little too close to the vodka bottle for Delphi's liking so she gently enclosed the girl's smaller hand in her own and gently shook her head. To her credit, the nameless girl accepted Delphi's judgement and did not try to drink the vodka again. The four women sat there for a while longer before somewhere not too far off, a church bell rang eleven o'clock.

Jane yawned, and Abir rolled her eyes. Jane gave Abir a light-hearted jab on the shoulder. Delphi noticed that the girl's eyelids were drooping, despite her efforts to keep them wide.

Jane also realised the younger among them also shared her tendency of sleeping during decent hours. "I'll take her upstairs," At Delphi's raised eyebrow she said, "This place is also an Inn. We don't have much business so we will be able to accommodate the pair of you. Don't worry, we'll talk more properly at breakfast, which is also on the house, that is if you'd be willing to tell us a little more about well everything about today."

Delphi considered for a moment and then nodded. "Good." Abir said. She considered the injury above Delphi's eye for a moment before saying, "I'm gonna take Delphi to the clinic, she may have a concussion and I want to know for sure." Jane nodded at her wife and looked expectantly at Delphi.

Delphini looked at the girl, then back at the two women, then back at the girl and threw caution to the wind. In full hearing of their hosts, she spoke in Parseltongue, "We will stay here for the night, go with Jane, she'll get you settled in bed. I'll return shortly once my injury is taken care of."

The girl seemed to consider for a moment, and then gave Delphi a tight hug. Delphini stiffened, but then lightly put her arms around the teenager.

Delphi considered for a long moment, but then relented, for the sake of practicality, the girl needed a name. "Would it be alright if we called you 'Ilsa'?"

She nodded, and for the first time uttered a concrete word, "Ilsa. . Ilsa." Ilsa said, testing it out. She looked up at the adults and beamed, her eyes shifting from hazel to frost.

"Well, at least that's settled," Delphi muttered with a relieved grin.

Once the girl and Jane had retired upstairs, Delphi drawled, "You both are quite adept at hiding your surprise at the pair of us and our snake speak."

Abir shrugged, "It's not really that weird, my mother's family speak it, have done for generations, at least since the 1600s nearest we can figure." She didn't stop for Delphi's gobsmacked expression. "I speak it too by the way, and I've actually been teaching Jane. She's actually a polyglot so it's much easier for her than I thought it'd be. Finding an old diary with Parseltongue in written form helped a lot," Delphini still had a flabbergasted look on her face, so Abir amended, "We aren't like most magicals. Snake speak doesn't scare us."

Delphi had admirably gotten her features under control, opening and closing her mouth a few times with no sound coming out, but she settled on, "And you're dragging me to muggle medics to determine what you could do with magic?"

Abir wasn't anticipating her ignoring the whole Parseltongue revelation, but she responded quickly with, "They can determine head trauma better than most healers actually. It only takes a precursory look into non-magical medicine to see that they are quite adept where the Magical World has only stagnated. It's why Jane and I don't live among wizards and witches." Abir finished. Abir pulled on her coat and cast a warming charm over Delphi, "C'mon, let's go, sooner out, the sooner we get to sleep." Delphi just shook her head in wonderment at the day she'd had and the new people in her life as she walked out of the main door. Abir suddenly doubled back for a bucket of muggle chocolates which she placed on the doorstep. "Happy Halloween by the way," Abir said as she tossed Delphi a red-wrapped chocolate. Delphini pocketed it with a small smile of gratitude.

It was snowing, and down the street she saw a small group of teens in costumes leading a few younger children from house to house. Delphi paused for a moment and let a partially formed snowflake fall until it stopped in mid-air a few centimetres from her hand. She held it there while Abir gazed on in mild fascination. "Happy Birthday Delphi," Delphi murmured with a slight smile in snake speak before letting the snowflake fall to her hand where instead of melting, its partial form became full, and the young woman sent it lightly back into the sky.