Chapter 7

Kelly and Ryan walked into the lobby with Karen and Carmen.

"Are you sure about meeting your family?" asked Karen, "I met them once and they're absolutely crazy!"

"No offense, Karen, but you also think we'll both be stranded in our tower for the rest of our immortal lives because we'll only be able to zap up pineapples."

"Well, you aren't doing that well—"

"Karen!" Carmen snapped, "You need to relax! You've been even more on edge lately!"

"OK, OK. Just listen to your aunt and don't talk to Skeeter. Or Galena, for that matter. Sometimes, she can be a pest."

"She doesn't try," said Carmen.

"Sounds like someone else we know," said Ryan, glaring at his sister.

Kelly glared back. "Hurtful!"

"Don't worry," said Carmen, "Sometimes, Galena is WAY worse."

"We're meeting her today," Ryan pointing out, "Is that supposed to be a comfort?"

"Good point, let's just zap you over there," said Carmen.

"Whoa! Wait a minute!" Karen stopped her, "If we zap them over there, then because of the castle's enchantment, we would have to zap them back and we won't know when to."

"I can do it!" said Kelly, "I know the spell. From castle to cottage —"

Ryan stopped her. "NO! I'll do it! I don't wanna be turned into a pineapple."

Kelly pouted, but dropped the spell.

Ryan closed his eyes and focused. "From castle to cottage, friends to family, take us to the humble abode of the relatives we've yet to meet." He zapped them.

"That was an improv, wasn't it?" asked Carmen.

"Well, it was still the right spell," said Karen, "Got 'em out of here." She walked off.

Carmen stood there, openmouthed at her sister's behavior. "Karen!" She raced after her to give her a "good-old-fashioned, Witch-y taking-to."

Back in Acmetropolis, Daniella was pacing while Sophie was etching out a letter. "Skeeter's gonna kill 'em. I know he will. He's worse than Wendy!"

"Hey!" Wendy snapped, "I'm not that bad!"

"Oh, really?" Daniella snapped back, "This coming from the girl who once turned an entire village of people into donkeys!"

"I said I was sorry."

"Then I guess it was no coincidence that the village just so happened to be—at the time—my boyfriend's!"

"Oh. I'm really sorry."

"Look, I'm more concerned about our niece and nephew right now."

"There's nothing to be concerned about," said Sophie, "Tabitha will watch Skeeter. She always does."

Daniella glared at her. "You're writing a letter to Tabitha right now, aren't you?"

"Maybe…" Sophie sighed and put down her pen as she finished writing the letter. "Alright, now we just have to mail it urgently… Where's the key?"

"Oh! I have it!" Daniella grabbed her bag. She opened it and pulled out a magnifying glass. "No." She tossed it aside and then pulled out an umbrella, drawing some slight shock from the others (I say "slight" because they were generally used to it by now). "No." She tossed it aside and pulled out a hat. "No." Pearl necklace. "Uh-uh." Coat rack. "Hold on a second…" She pulled out the bottom and tossed it on the floor. "Nope." Parrot. "Oh, I've been looking for this little guy! But no." She let him fly off and finally pulled out a giant golden key. "Bingo. Found it."

Sophie snatched the key and used it to open a portal in midair. She put the letter in an envelope and sealed it. "Mail-us Spontaneous Tabitha Quince." The portal sucked in the note and disappeared.

Meanwhile, a young blonde lady with bright blue eyes was in her cottage, cooking. Suddenly, a portal opened above her and a letter dropped on her head. She snatched it. "Hey, Juniper! Get in here!" She let go of the ladle she was stirring a bowl of soup with, but it kept going without her support.

A girl with bright-red-tinted brown hair and hazel eyes came in. "What is it, Tabitha?" She held up a viper. "Skeeter made a zoo in his room before zapping himself off. I am sick and tired of living with that viper." The snake hissed at her. "No offense."

Tabitha opened the letter. She looked at it. "It's a letter from Sophie. She sent it by quick mail."

"Bet she wants to come home," said Juniper, wrapping the viper around her waist like a belt and tying it in a knot, "Sick of living with all those mortals."

"Juniper, I told you to stop with that."

"Fine. What'd she say?"

Tabitha looked the letter over. "Says that her 2 eldest kids are in Anasala Castle and planned to stop by the cottage to meet us. We're supposed to watch Skeeter."

"Good luck with that," said Juniper, un-animating the viper and turning him into an actually belt, "The best thing that comes out of him is the animals we get to un-animate into stylish accessories."

"You mean you get to un-animate?"

"I resent that! I gave you the rhinoceros earrings and dolphin skirt."

"Juniper, can we have this conversation later? Although, I do look good in those clothes." She put a hand on her hip and smiled.

Juniper glared at her. "Forget this. When are these kids coming?"

Suddenly, they heard 2 people screaming in the distance. The screaming slowly became closer until Kelly and Ryan appeared and dropped on the couch in the living room.

Juniper saw this and stared at them.

Tabitha forced out a small smile. "Apparently, now."

Juniper slowly turned to glare at her.

Kelly got up, followed by Ryan. "'Sup?"

Juniper just crossed her arms at them.

Ryan pushed his sister back. "Excuse my sister, she's a little…eh."

"Quit complaining," said Kelly, "Look what I got."

"You must be Kelly and Ryan," said Tabitha, "I'm Tabitha. This…quirky young lady…" Juniper glared at her. "…is Juniper."

"Yeah, our aunt told us about you 2," said Kelly, "She said to stick with you 2 and some girl named Kestrel and to 'stay away' from Skeeter."

"Oh, you definitely wanna stay away from Skeeter," said Juniper, "The only good that's come from him today alone is this belt I'm wearing. Which I transformed from a South African viper."

Ryan nodded. "I can see how that would be something to stay away from."

"He's not evil or anything, right?" asked Kelly.

"Oh, nothing like that," said Tabitha, "He's more of a troublemaker than his sister, Galena, but he's…well, half the time he does stuff by accident, and the other half of the time he does something simple on purpose and it backfires."

"So, basically, he's your standard antagonist?"

"I guess you could put it that way."

"Or your basic Kelly Coyote," said Ryan. Kelly elbowed him in the gut.

"Ignore him," said Kelly, "Pressure from all this stuff we're going through lately."

"Don't worry about it," said Tabitha, "Your mom's great-great-grandfather always said 'Even King Arthur disvalued his leadership sometimes.'"

"Wait," Ryan said, "Our great-great-great-grandfather knew King Arthur?"

Tabitha scoffed. "In truth."

"Was Mom's great-great-grandfather Merlin?" asked Kelly.

"What? No. Marvin, Merlin's cousin."

Kelly and Ryan stared at her.

"SKEETER!"

"I think that's Kestrel," said Juniper without moving.

A girl with blue eyes and chocolate brown hair stormed in. "Alright, where is the little twerp? He just turned my bed into a mouse!" She held up a little white mouse with brown spots.

"Aw, he's cute!" Kelly cooed.

Kestrel glared at her. "Well, get used to it, 'cause he's what Skeeter's gonna look like when I'm started with him. And you are?"

"Kelly and Ryan Coyote," said Ryan, "Sophie's 2 eldest kids."

"Oh!" Kestrel said. She threw the mouse at Juniper, who quickly grabbed it and zapped it back to Kestrel's room. "Right! My cousin."

"Your cousin?" asked Kelly.

"Yeah, Galena, her father's sister, is my mother."

"You mind showing us the family tree chart?" asked Ryan.

"Sure," said Tabitha. She snapped her fingers and a giant laminated paper dropped from the ceiling and draped behind her. It showed a large chart of the family. "OK, this side of your family, the mortal side, is the easy one. Looks like…your dad had 3 siblings and his parents, who are now dead as well as Sophie's parents. Every branch of his family appears to have only had one litter of coyotes each and your cousins are pretty scarce in your area of Acmetropolis. However, this side of the family is REALLY confusing. It all started with your great-great-great-grandfather, the triplets' great-great-grandfather, Marvin. He was the first in the Spellman line to have more than 2 kids by having 5: Pluto, a boy; Mark, a boy; Venus, a girl; Mildred, another girl; and Ira, also a girl. Pluto married Aileen and they had 2 kids: Wendell and Janine, boy and girl. And then Mark married Russia—"

"WHOA!" Kelly stopped her, "I'm confused already! Just let us see the chart!"

"Oh." Tabitha moved aside, revealing the chart:

Marvin – Mabel
Pluto (boy) Mark (boy) Venus (girl) Mildred (girl) Ira (girl)

Pluto – Aileen
Wendell (boy) Janine (girl)

Mark – Russia
Martha (girl) Clara (girl)

Venus – Asa
Mercury (girl) Saturn (girl) Phil (boy)

Mildred – Diego
Chastity (girl)

Ira – Neptune
Chloe and Zoe (twin girls)

Wendell – Julia
Claudia (girl)

Janine – Demitri
Gretel (girl)

Martha – Beryl
Yet to have kids

Clara yet to marry

Mercury – Landon
Danika and Monica (twin girls)

Saturn – Micah
Brayden (boy) Skeeter (boy) Galena (girl)

Phil – Luanne
Yet to have kids

Chastity – Chase
Yet to have kids

Chloe yet to marry
Zoe yet to marry

Claudia – Rylan
Loretta (girl) Juniper (girl)

Gretel – Kade
Riley (boy)

Danika yet to marry

Monica yet to marry

Brayden – Lainie
Daniella and Wendy and Sophie (triplet girls)

Loretta – Collin
Vanessa (girl)

Juniper yet to marry

Skeeter yet to marry

Galena – Gavin
Kestrel (girl)

Ryan and Kelly finished going through and…surprisingly, got even more confused.

Kelly looked at Tabitha. "What?"

"Wait," said Ryan, "I see Juniper and Kestrel but Tabitha isn't on here."

"Oh, I'm Micah's sister," Tabitha explained, pointing out the triplets' grandfather.

"OK, I think I got it now. But you're right, that is confusing."

"Told you."

Suddenly, a puff of smoke emerged in the center of the room. When it cleared, there was a dark-haired man with bluish-brown eyes. He was dressed oddly, too, wearing a Shakespearean-period outfit. "Hey, everyone! Sorry about the whole zoo situation but I made the best of it by performing in the world premiere of Romeo and Juliet with a Capuchin monkey. Ha!" He then noticed Kelly and Ryan. "Who are these guys?"

Juniper sighed. "Skeeter, this is Kelly and Ryan Coyote, Sophie's kids. Kelly, Ryan, this is your uncle, Skeeter."

"Oh!" Skeeter said, "Sophie's kids! How's my little niece doing?"

"Fine," said Kelly.

"Not so little anymore," Ryan added.

"Well, obviously not," said Skeeter, "So…do either of you care to go alpaca surfing?"

Kelly and Ryan slowly turned to look at Kestrel, who shook her head.

"Suit yourselves," said Skeeter. He took out a wand and zapped himself off.

"Yeah, with Skeeter, it's one thing after another," said Kestrel before walking off.

Kelly wasn't thinking about her bizarre great-uncle. She had noticed when she was looking at the chart that her mom's dad's side of the family had some unusual but common names, exotic names, and old-fashioned names, the kind of stuff that seemed common in Anasala, but her mom's mom's side seemed to have some fairly simplistic names, like her mortal family. Was this something important that she didn't understand? Was her mom hiding something?

Yeah, I wrote this and I don't understand the triplets' family. Come to think of it, I don't think the triplets understand their family. The Loonatics themselves SO FAR was bad enough! Anyway, you don't have to memorize the tree or anything but I can see how it would be confusing in more than a few places, so...good luck with that. Read on to figure out what Kelly was investigating, it's gonna be in the third season!