Riding in Jake's jeep again feels surreal to Sabrina. He had it magically transported back to Ferryport since the car has the ability to comfortably seat as many occupants as you desire. Jake is driving, with Red and Basil up in the passenger seat, overjoyed since they usually have to argue over the coveted shotgun position. Tobias sits behind them, Relda next to him behind the driver's seat. Puck, Daphne, and Sabrina are huddled in the back. Though the group tries to keep their voices hushed, Relda turns to them with a smile.

"What has you three so riled up?" she asks.

Daphne, quick as a whip, grins. "Sabrina and I were talking about the nail salon we found." She smirks at the person she presumes to be Puck. "What do you think? Wanna come along? I bet a nice green to match your eyes, or pink, for the wings."

Puck rolls his eyes, flicking long tresses of blonde hair away from his face. "Don't even think about it," he says, "he'd probably try to destroy half the shop."

Sabrina laughs mockingly. "What, afraid I'd pull it off better than you?"

Puck glares at her while Daphne dissolves into giggles.

"Doesn't matter," Sabrina forges on, before she accidentally goads him into saying something incriminating, "Jake and I are going to a pawn shop."

"Perfect place to find something unexpected," Jake chimes in from the front.

Tobias smiles thinly. "You two can take a break, you know."

Jake laughs. "Ah, don't take the fun out of it." He pokes Basil across from him, who giggles in delight at the attention. "We don't necessarily expect to find anything magical. Could be some nice gifts."

"Jake has always been a gift giver," Relda says with good humor, launching into an anecdote about one of Jake's many misadventures as a boy.

Sabrina grins at Daphne and Puck. First phase of their ruse, done.

After dropping off Red, Basil, Tobias, and Relda at a strip mall, the four adventurers set off for their shared destination. They manage to find parking a block away from their intended shop, and the three younger charges follow behind Jake as he consults his GPS.

The four walk to a squat little building with a cursive sign hanging up front. Sabrina takes a moment to read the swirls.

Crissy's Nail and Hair Salon

"A phoenix really works here?" Daphne asks curiously. "I thought they lived on the highest peaks chasing the sunsets."

Jake blows out a puff of air. "That's the poetic version, kid. This phoenix left that behind a long time ago." he takes a deep breath. "All right, I haven't seen this, uh, acquaintance in a long time, so hopefully she remembers me."

Sabrina scowls. "This isn't another 'acquaintance' like Raken is it?"

"No, nothing like him."

"A mortal enemy, perhaps?"

Jake has the nerve to laugh. "No, not an enemy. I doubt she even remembers me, come to think of it." He pushes the door open and a little bell tinkles to announce their presence.

"I'll be right with you!" calls a melodious voice.

The shop is small, with six styling chairs, three for hair and three for nails. Currently, only one chair is occupied by a woman with dark hair and behind her flitters a woman whose first impression on Sabrina is bright.

She has loads of velvety auburn hair pulled into elaborate braids with cheery yellow and orange ribbons, dripping down all the way to her waist. Her skin is rich with a coppery tan, spiraling gold tattoos trace down her arms, all the way to her fingers, each ending with elaborately painted nails that work feverishly to part and style her clients hair. Just as striking is her apparel, a lovely white sundress embroidered with stitchings of feathers in various colors; orange and red, purple and blue. As she moves, she appears to be on fire.

"There you are Agda," says the brightly colored woman who Sabrina can only suppose is Crissy. "How do you like it?"

"It's perfect as always," replies the client, her accent strange, every 's' hissed through her teeth and 'r' rolled sensuously.

Crissy takes off the cape and lets the client rise, clad in sharp business attire.

Sabrina and the rest of her family step away from the door politely to let her pass. The woman nods at them, and Sabrina meets the woman's eyes-well, not her eyes, since she wears round, heavily tinted glasses. Behind the glass, something seems to burn. She watches as the lady leaves, and as the bell tinkles, something small and scaly flickers out of her hair before disappearing just as quickly.

"What the...?" Sabrina mutters.

"Thanks for waiting," Crissy says, drawing Sabrina's attention back inside the shop. She's dusting off the front of her dress, turning to greet them. For a moment, Sabrina can see the pretty round face and eyes that are bright and blue, a smile gracing her face, but it falls immediately into a scowl when she takes in their group.

"Jacob Grimm," she says coldly. "What in the world are you doing here?"

Jake smiles weakly. "Hi, Crissy. Long time no see."

She narrows her eyes at him. "Are any of you here to get your hair and nails done? If not," she stalks past them and waves her hands at the door. "Please, get lost."

"What did you do to her?" Puck questions out the side of his mouth. Sabrina and Daphne share a look, wondering the same thing.

Somehow, Crissy catches the mumbled phrase. She crosses her arms in irritation, stomping up to their group. "What did he do? This lay about broke my heart and left without a word!"

Jake winces. "Ah, Crisa, you're not still mad about that, are you?"

"Don't you 'Crisa' me!" the woman replies, one hand on her hip, the other out with a finger pointed sharply at his chest. "You think you can just waltz in here all suave? Well no, mister."

His three younger companions watch the match with wide, interested eyes.

Jake reaches out and gently lowers her hand. "I'm sorry, alright? It was a long time ago and I was a different man."

Crissy snorts and laughs. "Oh, I'm quite sure you'll never change." She follows this with a quieter, more offensive phrase about him. She takes a deep, centering breath. "Why are you here?" she repeats.

Jake shuffles his feet, all bravado and confidence gone. He rubs the back of his neck. "Well, you see we're working on fixing an important magical item and to do so..."

Crissy scowls, throwing up her hands. "Oh, let me guess, you need a feather, don't you?"

"Just one," Jake says defensively, waving his hands in front of his chest.

She puts one wrist to her hip. "Oh, yeah? And what happened to those other feathers I gave to you?"

He smiles nervously but doesn't answer.

Her lip curls with such acute distaste that Sabrina thinks any second she'll rip his throat out with those fancy nails of hers. "Of course," she quips, "you don't have any. What else could I expect from a man like you?"

"Chrissy, please, you know I wouldn't come back to ask you this if it wasn't important."

Chrissy's frown deepens, and she turns her head to the side. "Right. Because seeing me for any other reason is too far-fetched," she mutters under her breath.

Realizing that this whole interaction might fail, Sabrina gives Puck a worried look.

Daphne is the one who comes to their rescue. "Is there anything we could do for you, in exchange for a feather?" she asks, putting her hands together.

Crissy considers the girl. Daphne has a melting effect on people and the phoenix seems to be no different.

"Well," she begins hesitantly. "There is one thing you could do for me."

Daphne gives her rapt attention. "Anything."

Crissy suppresses a smile, and so does Sabrina. Daphne is very good at this, so earnest and kind.

"My dog," she says at length, tapping her long nails on the cashier's desk anxiously. "My poor baby Lux is missing."

Jake's brow presses together for a moment, but he plasters on a smile. "Oh, sure we can find him for you." There's a note of disbelief in his voice, as if he finds the request a bit silly.

Crissy takes her eyes away from Daphne, fancy long lashes drawing close together in irritation. "I'd find him myself since it's important that I get him back as soon as possible, but it's hard to just put down work when I've got bills to pay. He's my aura dog, a service animal."

Puck gives her a confused look. "Why would you need a service dog? You're an Everafter."

Crissy frowns, a deep crease forming between her eyebrows. "You know the whole thing with the stories about phoenixes?" she waves her free hand in the air. "The rebirth thing with fire and spectacle and all that?"

The group nods.

"Well, it's not so easy to deal with. The cycles of death and rebirth aren't set. Sometimes, I wake up, burst into flames, grow back into an adult only to do the whole thing over again the next night. Other times, it takes a week, a month, or maybe even years-if I'm lucky. What Lux does is immeasurable to me. He can sense when I'm about to have an episode and alerts me, so I can get somewhere safe to do the whole rebirth thing. It used to cost me hundreds to pay for all the forgetful dust it took to keep the mortals from freaking out about their hair stylist catching on fire and turning to dust right in front of them. Now everyone just thinks I have a medical condition that sometimes requires me to leave for a while."

"Wow," Sabrina remarks, "that's rough."

Crissy sighs. "You're telling me. I just want Lux back. He's good company besides." She fixes Jake with a hard look. "Do this for me, and I'll get you a feather, no problem."

"Where can we start?" Sabrina asks. "Like, where was the last place you saw him?"

Chrissy closes her eyes, considering the question. "Well, he was at the foot of my bed two nights ago. And when I woke up, he was gone. The metal latch of my window was gone, and it was open to the fire escape."

Alarmed, Daphne's eyes grow wide. "Oh no! Someone stole him?"

Chrissy smiles slightly. "No, I highly doubt that. He's actually a descendant of Mustard. Eating metal isn't new for him. Lux is very smart. He knows if he gets rid of the latch, he can get out."

Sabrina has no idea who Mustard is, but both Daphne and Jake look impressed with this lineage. Sometimes, the fact that she hasn't poured over every single Grimm fairytale is a real hindrance.

"So he just left?" Puck deadpans, "are you sure he didn't run away?"

The phoenix frowns, a hand on her hip. "He wouldn't run away. He's left a few times. He was raised in the country so he likes to go to the southern forest when he can." She purses her lips, crossing her arms. "I'm almost certain he's out there. But I'm afraid after this much time that he's gotten into trouble. He's a medium-large dog with brilliant golden fur, it'd be hard to miss him."

She looks so legitimately upset, Sabrina's heart squeezes. She just wants her dog back, safe and sound.

"C'mon," Jake says, sounding much more serious about this venture now. "Let's get back to the Jeep." He looks up at Chrissy. "We'll be back as soon as we can, dog in tow."

She snaps her fingers. "Wait a second," she opens a drawer at her desk. She pulls out a little bell. "Take this, Lux always responds to bells like this."

"Well trained," Daphne compliments, accepting the boon.

"Actually," the woman chuckles, "he know the sound of silver anywhere. It's his favorite." Chrissy finally offers the group a small smile. "Your family does have a good reputation for mysteries. I'll stay here after hours so you know where to find me."

Jake seems a bit spell bound by the positive attention, and Puck sighs loudly, giving the man a good shove towards the door. "I hate when he gets to flirting," he groans to the girls once they're out in the sunshine again. "It's hard to get him to focus again."

Daphne giggles. "Does it happen a lot?"

Puck gives her a long-suffering nod. "Like you wouldn't believe."

Sabrina frowns, shaking her head. "What are you talking about? He doesn't–" she stops herself, realizing that, while there may not have been any flirtatious experiences while she was out with them, Puck and Jake had years more together. Was he more tame around while she was around?

Had Puck flirted with other girls on their travels?

That uncomfortable tightness comes over her chest, and she shakes the thought from her head. She backtracks to cover the blunder. "I mean, you can't count that as flirting. He didn't insult her even once."

Daphne smiles slyly. "So, insults are flirting now?"

Puck facepalms, giving Sabrina a nasty look behind Daphne's back.

Sabrina is saved from trying to salvage the conversation by Jake ushering them into the car.

"We need to hurry," he stresses, "we'll have to be quick if we want to make it in time for lunch with everybody."

Daphne's expression twists, growing disapproving as she sits. "Can't we tell them? Granny could help."

The thought of Granny Relda's detective nose so close to their mishap nearly gives Sabrina a migraine. "No need," she says breezily, "we got this."

"Besides," Puck says, sliding in next to Sabrina, "she's hanging with the pipsqueaks. She'll have her hands full."

Daphne tilts her head at her sister. Since when did she use Puck's nickname for them?

Jake steps on the gas, twirling expertly from his parking spot and heads south.

It always amazed Sabrina how quickly the business of the cities of New York could be left behind. In less than fifteen minutes, they're surrounded by trees.

"Let's park over there," Daphne suggests, pointing to a pull out.

Jake obeys, slowly rolling the car off the road. The group files out.

"Alrighty," Daphne says, chipper as could be. "Time for some shenanigans."

Jake's laughs, ruffling the girl's hair. "I'm not sure if this counts as shenanigans."

"Kind of," she says, "we haven't had a good mystery in a long time."

Puck shudders. "Yeah, well, I really wish you went to Mr. Iron's yesterday instead of me."

Sabrina smirks, enjoying the fact that the stink had made an impression on him.

Jake shakes his head. "I'm certainly glad I wasn't there. I'm not a fan of ooni, not in the slightest."

Daphne snickers in agreement, giving a half-hearted sorry look towards Puck. She pulls the bell from her pocket and gives it a shake. It chimes sweetly. "We should spread out a bit so if one of us sees or hears something dog-like we can alert the others."

The four part ways, trailing into the underbrush. Daphne continually shakes the bell, filling the forest with the singing tone. "Here Lux," she calls, "here boy!"

After a few minutes, she hears a triumphant whoop from her sister. Following the sound, Daphne finds Puck crouched near a bush.

"Come look," he says, waving her over.

In the damp earth under the bush, a sizable dog paw print is preserved. On one of the branches, a swath of pale fur is caught.

Daphne grins. "Nice catch. My detective senses are telling me that's from our doggy."

Puck grins back. Sabrina may be his favorite Grimm to hang around and harass, but Daphne is always so quick to give out praise that it makes being with her far more ego-preening.

"Look," Puck says, eager to please, "the toes point this way so..." he stands, following the dips in the earth, the slight disturbances in the undergrowth. He's spent a lot of time as a dog. People seemed to accept rolling in the mud and barking in people's faces much easier that way.

"So," Daphne says, follow in his wake. "We still haven't gotten time to talk about this summer."

"Huh?" Puck says, intent on his task. "Oh, yeah. I guess so. Things have been kind of crazy the past couple of days."

"Uh huh," she agrees. "I'm starting to get curious though, what is this device you broke?"

"A little Y shaped thing," he answers distractedly.

"And," she presses, "what exactly does this thing do?"

He pauses. He rubs the back of his neck. "Um, maybe this can wait until later? I'm focused."

She purses her lips. "Sabrina, you guys keep dancing around the subject, don't think I haven't noticed. Even Jake isn't telling me much."

"It's a long story," he deflects, trying to keep cool and collected. He turns back to the trail. Where would he go if he was the runaway dog of a phoenix?

Daphne crosses her arms impatiently. She hates when her sister gets like this. They're all hiding something, the three of them. But what? She's about to open her mouth to say more, maybe get Sabrina to drop another clue, when they hear a rustling up ahead.

Puck runs in the direction of the sound, and Daphne follows, wildly ringing the bell.

When they get to the tree, they're nearly squashed by the person who falls from it.

"Ugh," Sabrina groans, sitting up, debris caught on her clothes and hair. "Not my best landing."

"What are you doing?" Puck asks, hands on his hips. He really hopes she climbed the tree as opposed to flying into it.

"Trying to get a better vantage point," she says, pulling a few leaves from her hair.

"Why didn't you fly above the trees?" Daphne questions.

"Uh," Sabrina starts intelligently, before swallowing. "Doesn't matter, I couldn't see anything through the canopy anyway."

Sighing, Puck gives her a hand up. He frowns when she stands. "Have I–you always been so tall?"

She blinks, then rolls her eyes, keeping her voice low so Daphne doesn't hear. "Oh, shut up. You've made fun of my height since we were fourteen."

Puck's lips tilt down. "Yeah, but it never really occurred to me until–"

Daphne walks up to them and grabs a stick attached to Sabrina's shirt, throwing it away. "Are you guys done whispering over here?" She's getting a little cross with their secretiveness. She juts out her hip, huffing. "Something about everything going on is fishy. What in the world happened on your trip?"

The teenagers share a look, which makes Daphne smack her forehead. "Guys, seriously," she places her hand on her hip, making the bell tickle. "I could help you better if you told me the whole story. That, and, so could everyone else if you swallowed your pride to say something."

A little floored by how direct she's being, Sabrina's mind whirs, trying to think of a good answer. Telling Daphne could only lead to a torrent of teasing and jokes. Not to mention, she was just honest enough to consider telling their parents against her will.

"Well," Puck says, licking his lips, "we haven't..." he trails off, turning his head to listen better. "Ring the bell," he says, getting excited. "I think I heard a bark."

Daphne grumbles some choice words under her breath about excuses, but shakes the bell nonetheless.

From a few feet away, something barks. Before any of them can go check it out, the dog comes to them, bursting out from the underbrush.

You could almost mistake him for a yellow lab, just with pointy ears. But his long, luscious coat is metallic gold. He pants, his long pink tongue lolling. He looks hopefully at the bell, like it's a rawhide treat. Experimentally, Daphne throws him the piece of metal. He leaps into the air and snaps it up, chewing happily.

"Oh, baby!" Daphne cries, immediately going to hug the dog around his neck. Her annoyance is forgotten in lieu of the animal. "You're Lux, aren't you?"

He barks once, licking her cheek.

"Yes," the girl says with a giggle, "you definitely are. Your mama has been missing you." He lets him go and wags a finger in front of his face to scold him. "She's really worried. We're here to take you home."

Lux wags his tail when she says 'mama' but hangs his when she says 'worried'. He huffs quietly, letting her rub him behind the ears before he ducks out of her grip. He yips softly, turning in a circle. He stops, looking the opposite direction of their car.

"I think he wants us to follow him," Daphne says curiously.

The dog shakes, ruffling out his fur. He turns, glancing back at the humans and fairy.

"Daphne," Sabrina groans, "I'm sure he has some kind of scrap of metal he buried back there that he wants, but we should really get him home."

Daphne frowns. "He's a service animal. He knows he should be home, but he's still out here. It has to be important."

Puck nods in agreement, watching the dog with rapt interest. "He's alert. Animals are sensitive to stuff we don't know. We should follow."

Daphne grins at her sister, then turns to stick her tongue out at Sabrina. "See who's being the sourpuss now?"

Sabrina sighs, narrowing her eyes at Puck. He wanted to switch back just as bad as she did, didn't he? Whose side was he on?

"Alright, alright, fine," she relents. "Let's make this quick."

"Go on, boy," Daphne urges, "what is it?"

Lux starts at a loping trot, making the three have to jog after him.

"Shouldn't we call Jake?" Puck pants, scrambling over a log.

"Probably," Sabrina agrees, struggling to run very well. Things like balance on uneven terrain are still difficult in this form for her. She feels like she's tripping every step, just barely catching herself.

"We'll contact him once we see what Lux has to show us," Daphne says, easily overtaking the awkward teenagers.

The three run for a few minutes until Lux suddenly turns, steering them away from a cut in the terrain. Sabrina glances down as she passes it. About thirty feet of sheer incline dips out into a ephemeral river, one that's currently dry. The other side stretches out over fifty feet away.

Lux skitters to a halt after running along the edge near a rocky outcrop. He swings his head to look at the group then slinks forward to a pile of stones, nose pointed intently to them.

Confused, they gather around the dog.

"Look," Daphne gasps, "a cave."

Through a small gap, a large space is visible. From the right, speckles of light illuminate the scene. There's a bunch of vines laying all over the place–on the ground, up the walls, even rooted to the ceiling.

"Is that..." Puck's brow wrinkles, leaning forward, "a dragon?"

True to his word, a small reptile is twisting its head around, apparently looking for something. The little thing sits in a nest of pine boughs and dead leaves.

"What's the problem with it?" Sabrina asks, right as a green tendril comes to life and whips out to strike at the beast. The dragon unfurls its wings, hissing, snapping at the plant. The vine snaps in half, the severed end writhing against the ground before turning brown. The cut side crawls away, becoming still once again.

"A snaring whip trap," Puck and Sabrina say as one, backing away from the gap.

Daphne concentrates but can't place the name. "You guys know what that thing is?"

"Of course," Puck says, unusually serious. "We got attacked by one in Dublin."

Sabrina's mouth twists. "It's a dragon. Why is Lux so worried about protecting it?"

"Can't you see?" Daphne says, gesturing emphatically at the creature. "That's a silver dragon. Lux must have heard the silver scales clinking together and followed the sound. They're good dragons, unlike most of the mindless, destructive ones. They care for forests and other natural places."

"By eating people?" Sabrina says flatly. She really doesn't have a good opinion of dragons. Not even a little bit, not after seeing that potential future for Ferryport. Or Briar.

"No," the young girl says, shaking her head vigorously. "They use illusions and misdirection to lure troublemakers away. I mean, sometimes it was said they would bite a woodcutter or two, but they're mostly peaceful." She stops speaking, considering the person she believes to be Puck for a moment. "You've never met one before?"

"Yeah, in Faerie," Puck emphasizes through gritted teeth, irritated with Sabrina's attitude. They were sitting on the razor's edge of discovery.

"Right," Sabrina mutters, "sorry. Guess I forgot about them since they're so boring. Either way," she says, trying to move the conversation along, "I hope we're wrong about what it is–let's look over the edge to make sure."

Together, they look down the incline. Looking closer, what seemed to be a collection of trees and grasses holds a knotted thicket of vines. In the middle, something shifts, revealing a circle of gnashing thorns that looks a lot like a mouth.

"Oh yeah," Puck confirms. "That's the real deal. Twice as big as the last one, too."

Down below, one of the vines twitches, then shoots towards the group. As they try to scatter out of the way, the vine wraps around Sabrina's upper arm. "Oh crud!" she yelps, pulling hard against the resistive force.

Puck and Daphne grab her under the armpits and rip her away. They fall into a heap.

"Yup," Sabrina gasps, "that's about how I remember that experience."

"They will eat just about anything," Puck explains to Daphne, "but their favorite is magic. Being Everafters, we all have at least a bit." He glances at Sabrina. "And some of us have more than others."

Sabrina flinches. She can remember how much the snapper had targeted Puck in Ireland. It had been scary enough to watch him fly away from the whipping vines while she and Jake attacked the base. Now she would have to be the bait.

Puck takes one look at her face and reads the expression as easily as...well as easily as he would off his own face. "No," he says firmly, "you are not pulling that stunt and being bait."

Sabrina glowers at him. "What else would you suggest? Both of you are chump change compared to me when it comes to magical essence."

Puck curses under his breath. "No way," he repeats.

Sabrina can practically hear the part he can't say out loud with Daphne here. You still have no clue how to be me.

Daphne holds her hands up placatingly. "Hey, guys, no one has to be bait, I'm sure we can figure out a better way to do this."

"See," Puck says superiorly. "Listen to Marshmallow. She knows what she's talking about."

Just as Sabrina is about to reprimand his mistake, she catches sight of the green tendril snaking around his ankle. Lux barks in warning.

Horrified, Sabrina tries to reach out for him. "Puck!"

Then the vine yanks him out of sight.

.-.-.-.