Raz stepped off the plane, sketchpad in one hand, carry-on bag in the other. She stretched, enjoying the open space and fresh feel of the small Brazilian airport. The flight to Brazil had been longer than the flight to Fablehaven, but the sketchpad Lena had given her had helped staunch the boredom. Shaking out her arms, she looked around. The baggage claim was nearby and a row of people holding up signs stood near it, waiting for the passengers they were picking up to arrive. She examined the signs carefully; Cecile, the caretaker of Emerald Serpent, was supposed to be waiting for her, ready to drive her to the secret preserve. Her eyes rested on a sign near the end of the row.

Razaliardyna T.

She looked up at the person holding the sign and was greeted by sage eyes and a warm smile. Racing over to the baggage claim, she grabbed her suitcase and approached the green-eyed woman. "You must be Cecile."

"And you must be Razaliardyna!" Cecile spoke with a heavy accent, but it was easy to understand what she was saying. "It is so good to meet you!" The petite woman held out a tan hand. Her fingers were bare save a single gold band that had intricate swirls and loops carved delicately across its surface. Raz grasped Cecile's hand firmly and shook it.

"It's good to meet you too! And please, call me Raz. I hear that I'm not the first member to arrive."

"Baruexi Forte arrived only yesterday, she is very excited to meet you, since you are the only other girl on the team."

"At least it's half and half- two girls, two guys."

"I suppose." Cecile laughed quietly and nodded to the suitcase, "Do you have everything?"

"Yeah, you got my gear, right?"

"Everything arrived with Miss Forte."

Raz smiled brightly, "Awesome! Should we head out?"

Cecile returned the smile. "Of course, we have a long drive."

The Emerald Serpent was a 4 hour drive from Curtibia and in The-Middle-of-Nowhere Brazil. Raz had watched as buildings had turned into trees and the paved roads had become uneven and dusty. Cecile was an extremely quiet woman, but would answer Raz's endless questions and even asked some of her own. Overall, Raz had done most of the talking the entire drive, but she didn't mind, it was nice to have someone to talk to.

The preserve was in the middle of a rainforest, which, Cecile explained, was a small section of the Amazon. Raz had never seen any preserve like it. The trees were thick and she wondered how Cecile knew where she was going. As they pulled onto the property she noticed an array of brightly colored fairies. One had the markings of a cheetah, and stared at her curiously as she passed.

"You have a lot of fairies." She noted as Cecile pulled up to a 2 story house.

"Yes, they enjoy the climate and you will find that the Emerald Serpent has one of the largest fairy populations in the world."

"Awesome…"

"Well, we are here. Baruexi will be very excited you have arrived, she has been talking to me all day about it."

Raz couldn't help but laugh. "Sounds like someone I could get along with." She said as she pulled her suitcase from the car and entered the house.

Raz had taken an immediate liking to Baruexi. The sweet redhead had a spunky personality and natural golden streaks. Her deep purple bangs were pushed to the right side of her face, where single braid hung loosely and framed her delicate cheek. She was a joker, a girl who loved to laugh and was constantly pulling jokes and funny comments from the air. The bubbly girl and Raz were fast friends, and the two had about seven hours to talk until the third member of their team arrived.

"You're kidding…right?" The words came out before Raz could put a filter over them.

Stopping in the doorway, the new team member looked up. "Whoa! I know you!"

Raz couldn't help but gawk. Seriously? "Y-you're a-"

"Trent!" Baruexi nearly pushed Raz to the ground as Trent entered the house that served as Cecile's refuge from the magical creatures of the Emerald Serpent. "I haven't seen you since that mission in Canada. How have you been?"

"Baru!" he let go of his suitcase and gave Baruexi a friendly hug, "It's good to see you. I've been great, I'm glad we'll get to work together again."

Raz couldn't believe it. The awkward young man that she had sat next to all the way from Moscow to New York was a Knight? That was the last thing she had expected. And she'd learned to expect a lot of surprising things. Trent turned to her.

"You know, I kind of thought you might be a Knight." He gave a shy little smile and Raz wondered what had happened to his awkwardness. The first time she'd seen him he hadn't even been able to speak to her, and now here he was, with no hint of any awkwardness at all. Granted he was a little shy, but he seemed like a completely different person.

Raz couldn't help but gawk. There was just no way Trent could be the same guy from before. She realized that she was gaping and quickly clamped her mouth shut. Running his fingers through his honey blonde hair, Trent laughed bashfully and looked at her with understanding blue eyes.

"I bet you're wondering what happened to-" he immediately started fidgeting and glancing around, "m-my….uh….well you see…this side o-of er… me…" He stood up straight and thrust his hands in his pockets. "Aren't you?" Baruexi stifled some laughter as Raz nodded blankly. He gave a half smile. "When I'm placed in certain situations I get a little…unsure…of myself." They way he said it seemed like a question and Raz wondered if 'unsure' was the word that he really wanted to use.

"Certain…situations? Like, what kind of situations?"

His smile faltered, but only for a split second, and Raz thought it must've been her imagination. "
Well…"

"Oh, Trent. You've arrived at just the right time." Cecile came into the room from the kitchen, where she had been most of the day. Her black hair was pulled into a low ponytail and her apron was covered in flower and something that looked like fresh coco powder. "Dinner is almost ready. Raz, be a dear and show Trent where his room is. It is the one right next to yours. Baruexi, can you help me in the kitchen?"

"Sure." Baruexi sounded cheerful, but as she walked away she glanced at Trent with a wistful look in her eye. Trent was bent over his suitcase, so he didn't see it, but Raz had been watching her closely and wondered why Baruexi looked so…jealous. She didn't have time to think for long as Trent stood up and yanked her from her thoughts.

"So uh…where are we going?" Raz looked over at him, wondering why Cecile was making her take him to his room. Baruexi had two legs and a heartbeat, why couldn't she do it? And besides, Baruexi obviously knew him more, she would be more comfortable escorting him through the halls of Cecile's home. Raz shook her head, this wasn't the time for complaining; Cecile was a sweet woman and probably didn't know that Baruexi liked Trent so much. It made sense that she would ask Raz to show him his room because it was next to hers. Wait…he's going to be sleeping in the room next to mine? That's…fantastic. Raz thought sarcastically. Well, might as well get this over with.

"Upstairs, come on." She didn't even bother to see if he was following as she trudged up the stairs and glanced down the hall. On the left lay the library, easily the biggest room in the house. It took up the entire left side of the upstairs and had not only books and comfortable chairs, but also an array of musical instruments, seven statues and a few painting easels. Hanging a right, she passed Baruexi's room, the bathroom, and an empty bedroom. As she reached the left turn that led to her room she paused and looked over her shoulder. Trent was gazing around the hall, taking in every detail and gazing at each picture that had been carefully hung on the walls. "You like art?"

He paused and looked at Raz, then smiled sheepishly. "My mother's an artist, so it runs in my family."

"Oh, cool. Come on, your room is just down this hall." She walked down the hall briskly and, stopping by her doorway and glanced into her room. She really wished she didn't have to sleep in this area of the house. There were no windows because it was pushed away from the exterior of the house and didn't reach the back wall like Baruexi's room.

"Is this my room?"

"Uh, no. It's mine. Yours is the next one down." Lucky, he gets a window.

"Thanks."

"Yeah, no problem. You probably saw the bathroom on your way up, but if you didn't it's back down the hall on the-"

"I saw it."

"Okay well, just throw your things down and come on downstairs. The kitchen is to your left when you get to the bottom. Just follow the hall until you get there, you don't have to turn or anything, just go straight and you should find it."

"You're not gonna wait for me?"

Trent gave Raz a dismayed look and she shifted uncomfortably. His eyes were a silver blue and they made her think of the silvery hue Warren's eyes had taken on after becoming an albino. She cleared her throat. "I'm sure Cecile needs more help in the kitchen. It's not that complicated a floor plan, you'll be fine. Just yell if you get lost."

"Well okay, see you at dinner then." With that, Raz spun around and raced back downstairs.

Geez, this is going to be a great couple of months. She thought despairingly as she reached the kitchen and helped Baruexi set the table.

YAAAAAY ending fail 8D I couldn't think of a way to wrap it up, so I apologize =_=;; BUT ANYWHO! Sorry if this chapter seemed a bit rushed, I didn't have a lot of inspiration for it and I just needed to get it done =\ Please tell me what you think, tips are greatly appreciated =D oooh and Baruexi is pronouces bah-roo-SHE. Yeah, I know, I come up with some ridiculous names |D