Otto hummed quietly around his mug of tea as he made his way out to get the mail. The sun was just rising over the mountains surrounding Nue Beginnt, Germany. At this early hour, any town could be peaceful, even a magical one like this. But, as much as he would like to stay there enjoying the sunrise, there wasn't time for that. His first lesson at the studio would be starting soon and he still had to get everything ready for the day.

He tossed his mail on his desk and flipped on the open sign. Then he went through the rooms of the studio. He lay out the tumbling mats for the gymnastics class in one room, double checked the sound proof rooms were all set up properly for the different music lessons that would take place in them. He entered his piano room, and set out the sheet music for his own lesson that would arrive in just a half an hour. He poked his head into the greenhouse out back where a club of dryads would be having their meeting.

The bell on the front door rang and the first teachers began arriving to set up for their lessons. Otto went to his office to get the last few papers for his own lesson and gathered his mail back up. He wait in the piano room and flipped through the mail.

Bill, junk, junk, letter from Omni Reach. Oh! Coupons! Wait. A letter from Omni Reach? He grabbed the letter and tore it open quickly. His heart skipped a beat as he read the letter. It was time, he was being sent to the main Janis Order base in Arcadia Oaks, California. He was finally going to be reunited with his brother and sister. He scrambled to grab his phone and call them but stopped short. No. It would be far better to surprise them when he actually arrived.

The door to the room opened as his first student, nine-year-old selkie Olivia Wenston, was escorted in by her werewolf step-mother. Otto took a deep breath and set the mail to the side.

"Guten Morgen, Olivia, Frau Wenston," He said.

"Guten Morgen, Herr Scaarbach," Olivia shuffled over to the piano and folded her hands in her lap.

"I'll be back for her in an hour," Frau Wenston, insisted before marching out of the room.

Otto sighed and turned to Olivia, "And how have you been Olivia?"

"It's good…" Olivia shuffled and pulled her sheet music from her bag.

It didn't escape his notice that her pelt was still absent. If she hadn't brought it with her the first year of lessons, he might have assumed it was for her safety to not carry it with her. But he hadn't seen her with it since her father had married his second wife. Something about it just didn't sit right with him about it.

"Have you been practicing the song you wanted to play for school?" He asked instead.

Olivia smiled slightly and nodded. She put the sheet music on the rest and played a few warm up scales. Then she played out her favorite song to play and turned her attention to the sheet music. Otto smiled as he watched her play the new song. She certainly didn't have it memorized yet and she stumbled over a couple parts but it was still a great improvement from when he had given the music to her. He looked over to the letter from Omni Reach and knew he wouldn't be in Germany for much longer. He looked down at Olivia.

"That was great, Liv." He encouraged, "There's just a few things to work on."

Olivia nodded and followed his directions over the piece. Otto pulled out a pencil and began to mark out the spaces that needed to be worked on for when she practiced at home.

"Olivia? Your step mother hasn't gotten your father's new phone number for me yet," He offered, "You wouldn't happen to know it would you?"

Olivia nodded and ran through the song again.

"Danke. I need to make sure he understands that, in a couple weeks, you'll be taking your lessons from Frauline Kausler from then on."

*CLANG!*

Olivia's hands dropped on the keys, "What!?"

Otto's shoulders sagged, "I'm sorry, Olivia. But, I'm moving to America and I'm not going to be able to be in two places at once."

Olivia wrapped her arms around her and grabbed her sleeves the way she used to grab her pelt. Otto slipped off the bench and knelt in front of her, hands folded over his knee.

"Hey, it's going to be ok. I'll let Frauline Kausler know what's going on and I'm going to talk to your father." He assured her, " I'm going to make sure you get your pelt back. Das verspreche Ich. If you and your father are alright with it, I'll even give you my new address so you can write to me if you want. That way you can write to me any time, Alright?"

Olivia nodded and wiped her eyes. Otto smiled and ruffled her hair. They continued to practice the song before Otto guided her through a new technique. When there was only a few minutes left in the lesson, Otto handed Olivia a pad of paper and a pen so she could write down her father's new phone number.

"And you're sure that Frauline Kausler will understand?" Olivia asked, handing him back the paper and pen.

"Positive," Otto assured her, "She's-"

"Frauline Kausler will understand what?" Frau Wenston entered the room without knocking.

Otto forced a smile as he turned to face her, "Just that Olivia will be taking her lessons with her in a couple of weeks. I'll be moving to America soon to be with the rest of my family and she'll be taking over my lessons here."

"Really," He didn't like the glint in the werewolf's eye, "You're moving to America and yet you intend to keep the studio?"

"Of course," Otto took the money she offered him for the lesson, "I intend to visit at least once a year and I would love to bring my family to see it all."

Frau Wenston nodded and took her step-daughter by the hand.

"Auf Wiedersehn, Herr Scaarbach." Olivia waved glumly over her shoulder.

Otto waved back and wait for the door to close behind them. Then he took the letter from Omni Reach back into his hands.

He had two weeks to gather everything he would be needing, get his affairs in Germany in order, find a place to live in Arcadia Oaks, and leave. That didn't leave much room for trying to fix Olivia's problem. But he was nothing if not persistent.

He double checked the schedule to make sure he wouldn't be interrupted while he made his phone call and checked that all the other lessons were in order with no issues. Then he went back to his office and picked up his phone.

"Hallo?"

"Guten Morgen, Herr Wenston," He greeted with a smile he didn't need, "This is Herr Scaarbach. I was just calling in regards to Olivia's piano lessons."

"Oh, of course," Herr Wenston didn't sound upset so that was a good start, "Is something wrong?"

"I hope not. I noticed Olivia hadn't been wearing her pelt anymore and I was just concerned that something happened since she's been so down lately."

LLB

Otto took a deep breath as he finished looking over the studio for what would likely be the last time. His apartment was all packed up and his furniture had all been sent to his house in Arcadia Oaks. He unlocked the door and handed the key to Victoria Kausler.

"All set to go?" She asked.

He smiled and nodded. Victoria had been in Neu Beginnt longer than he had and he considered the young vampire one of his closest friends here. She smiled and hugged him tightly.

"Don't forget to write," She whispered, "But don't write or call in a panic about how the studio is doing. If something goes wrong I will let you know."

He nodded and hugged her again. Then, he cast one last look at his studio and climbed into his car. He would leave it at the airport for another member of the Jainis Order to pick up. A new one would be waiting for him in California. His stomach churned as he drove through the town.

He had lived here for over a century at this point. It wasn't the longest he had lived in one place but it was the first place he had allowed himself to make true friends. He stopped at a light and sighed. When he looked back up, he saw Olivia and her father crossing the street hand in hand. Wrapped around her shoulders was her soft grey pelt. She lit up and waved as she crossed. He smiled and waved back. A bit of tension eased out of his shoulders. It would be ok. Maybe not now, but soon.

LLB

Otto followed the moving truck around the mountainous roads outside Arcadia Oaks. As they rounded yet another turn, the town came into view. Suburbs sprawled around the outside of the valley with businesses, schools, and apartments in the center. A canal wrapped around the center of the town like a moat. The small isolated town was the perfect place for any magical being, or group of magical beings as the case may be, to lie low. They wound their way to the base of the mountain and into the valley, through the suburbs, back towards the mountain, into a cul de sac at the very edge of the mountains that surrounded Arcadia oaks.

The moving truck let Otto pull into the driveway and garage before they backed into the driveway. He hurried to unlock the door so they could begin moving in the last of his possessions. His furniture had arrived days in advance and was still stacked along the walls of the room.

He smelled them before he heard them, and heard them long before he saw them. He knew exactly who lived next door.

"Uptown girl! She's been living in her uptown world!"

Otto chuckled and shook his head, 'Some things never change.'

He watched the movers carry the first few things into the house before he hopped off the porch and ambled over to the next house to meet his "neighbors".

"Guten Morgen, mein Freund." He said, stepping up to their porch.