While the girls were watching t.v., I opened the door to the attic. Wow, I haven't been up here since I moved in. Climbing up the latter and closing the door behind me, I moved towards a small trunk hidden away in the back. The memories are all in here. Hard to believe it's been six years. Opening the trunk, I reached in and took out some of the pictures. I can never forget…

Cerys looked around the room, only seeing Ortensia sitting on the floor by the couch watching television.

"Hey, where'd Chris go? He was just here…"

Ortensia looked up at Cerys. "Che cosa dici? Non capisco."

Cerys sighed. "We really need to teach you how to speak English. No one understands a word you're saying." She grabbed the remote and changed the channel. "Finally, these 'educational' shows are going to come in handy."

"I can't watch anymore of these ridiculous shows. It's been three hours." Cerys moaned. "Have you learned anything yet?"

Ortensia looked at the miniature spider. "Credo di aver finalmente capito un po '. Fammi provare questo ..." She took a breath. "How…is…this?"

All eight of Cerys' eyes looked shocked. "You already learned that much from watching tv?" She looked at the screen again. "I was told that this thing rots your mind…"

Io ancora non comprendere appieno, ma lei sembra felice. "So…I do good?" Ortensia hid her face behind her leaves when she asked.

"Yeah, you did –" A knock on the door cut Cerys off mid-sentence. "Someone's here? We weren't expecting anyone today." She got up and headed for the door. "Besides, after that mysterious envelope that we weren't allowed to see, I doubt there'll be another one…" She opened the door and stared.

Standing at the door was a purple skinned devil, his turquoise hair parted on the sides by curling black horns, and he was holding a folder behind him with his tail.

"Gabh mo leisceal. You must be Cerys, right?" he asked in a soft Irish brogue. Grabbing the folder and opening it up without waiting for an answer, he read out. "Cerys, species: arachne. That would be you. Is your host home, by any chance?"

Cerys finally collected herself enough to answer. "He's up in the attic, but who exactly are you…and why are you at our door?" I really don't like unexpected visitors…

"Ó, áit a bhfuil mo manners. My name is Cymrian, but you can call me Cym for short." He held up a badge. "I work under Agent Froth. Technically, I'm the only current member of the Monster Ops and Neutralization squad, or MON for short." He put the badge away and handed Cerys a card. "I'm the one to call if things start to get…weird." Cambrian looked past her and into the house. "So any chance of me being invited in?"

Cerys looked at him again. "I guess so. Just know that we can defend ourselves if threatened." She stepped out of the way so Cymrian could enter the house. "Sia! We have company!"

Ortensia stepped around the corner and gasped seeing a stranger. She hid behind her leaves and muttered, "Perché c'è una nuova qui? Non so se riesco a gestire questa pressione."

Without even looking twice at her, Cymrian stated, "Name: Ortensia. Species: mandragora. For your safety, I won't indulge the rest of your information." He ended with a slight bow towards her. "Anyways, where's your host family? I have something to talk to him about."

Cerys gestured towards the attic. "Last I saw, he went up to the attic, perygl dieithriaid." Suddenly, the attic door opened and the latter came down.

"What's going on down here?" I looked and noticed someone new standing near Cerys. "Who are you? I don't recall ever seeing you before." He looks like some kind of devil subspecies.

He nodded his head. "Beannachtaí. You must be Chris. You can call me Cym. I'm an 'agent,'" he air quoted, holding his folder with his tail. "I was sent here to deliver something to you from Froth." Grabbing his folder with his hands, he pulled out a small envelope. "Here. This is for you."

"What's this?" I asked, taking the envelope and opening it.

"Passes to the new museum opening this weekend. It's apparently going to have a big event about liminal history. Froth suggested you three might enjoy it. His words were, and I quote, 'There will be surprises galore.' Not sure what he meant, but there you go. With that, I'm done here." He nodded his head at me. "Chris." Turning to the girls, "Cerys." He then bowed towards Ortensia. "My lady." Out the door he went.

Both Cerys and I worded our thoughts. "That was weird." I looked at Ortensia. "Why did he bow and refer to you as a lady? Oh wait, you don't speak…"

"I do not know. It was strange." She said plainly, not looking at me.

"Wait. You learned English? When?"

Cerys shrugged. "We had a few free hours. But museum passes, huh? It'll be nice to go out again."

A/N: Hey, I'm still alive. Surprises galore. Sorry for an incredible delay on this. Between relationship issues and my laptop dying and erasing all my progress, this chapter had to be written a few times. On the bright side, New character and more advancement towards the plot. Expect more sporadic updates, but know that it's not over yet. Now, on to what you've been waiting for: the character profiles. – CymrianDragul

Name: Ortensia Abelie Fiore (Sia)

Species: Mandrake

Hometown: Specifics unknown. Located in southern Italy.

Favorite t.v. show: SpongeBob SquarePants

Age: 18 (in human years)

Name: Cymrian (Cym)

Species: Devil

Hometown: Unknown

Age: Unknown. (Claims 28 in human years.)

Catchphrase: "Don't worry about it. It's fine."