O.K. New stuff! ^_^
C&C, please!

Windlily

************************************************************************


	Tita glanced at her watch as she turned off the twisting mountain road 
and headed down the leafy cave of the tree shadowed lane that lead to 
the Summer Cottage. They had made good time. And the hours had gone 
quickly, the main topic of conversation being Ryudo's, in general and 
particular. She had had fun creating vague and uninformative answers to 
the girls sly attempts to wheedle information out of her.

	Ralph was waiting for them on the porch of the long two story building, 
flanked on either side by two brindled grey wolves as they pulled up. He 
stepped right off the porch, ignoring the steps. The wolves remained 
where they were as he came around the car and opened the door for her as 
Elenora hovered over Jasmine's exit from the back seat on the other 
side.

	"Tita." The burly older man nodded greeting.

	"Hi, Ralph. Everything O.K.?" She asked as she got out and stretched.

	"Aunt! Pop the trunk, would you?" Elenora asked over the roof of the 
car.

	"Yes. I understand we're having 'guests'?" He asked softly as she 
leaned down and pulled the toggle.

	"In a minute. Let the girls get out of ear shot." She answered quietly 
back as she straightened. "I'll be in in a few, girls! I need to talk to 
Ralph for a minute."

	Her nieces nodded and headed for the front door, Elenora carrying most 
of the luggage from the trunk with the ease of her dragon strength. Tita 
smiled at Jasmine's protests and insistence that she be allowed to take 
one of the suitcases as she limped after her sister, Tita's small train 
case the only thing that Elenora would allow her to carry. She heard 
them both bid good afternoon to the canine guardians at the door then 
they were inside.

	"Eight in all. They're in trouble and need a safe place to hole up for 
a while. They are being 'hunted', Ralph." She emphasized that word, 
smiled as the orange flecks in Ralph's eyes seemed to spark.

	"Not a problem, Tita. We'll keep the house and grounds safe, like 
always. I'll tell everyone to stay out of sight. You want me to leave 
Jenny and Mark with you at the house?"

	The two wolves looked up, ears pricked as Ralph mentioned their names.

	Tita thought about that as she studied the two young shape-shifters on 
the porch. "It would probably be a good idea. If they don't mind."

	"They won't. It's part of the agreement between our two families, neh?" 
He winked at her. "I still think our Family got the better part of that 
deal. You Saint-Germain's so rarely come to visit."

	She grinned back and shrugged. "Well, after this horde descends, you'll 
treasure the fact that it is so rare that we come out, my friend."

	"Go on in. I'll make sure everyone's informed. Oh, the groceries came 
and are put up." He closed the door as she cleared it.

	"Thanks so much, Ralph. I really appreciate it." She put her hand on 
the man's arm and gave him her best smile.

	"It's not a problem, Tita." He patted her hand with his own. "We owe 
you all so much. We'll never forget that. Now, go on! Mark, Jenny! 
You're to stay here at the house with Miss Tita and her nieces." He told 
the two on the porch as she climbed the three rough stairs.

	The two wolves wagged their tails as they studied her with their 
orange-flecked eyes as she climbed.

	One rose and followed her into the house, the other staying on the 
porch.

	"What's with all this food?" Elenora called from the kitchen as she 
caught sight of her Aunt.

	"Oh, I invited some friends for dinner. Didn't I tell you?" She 
responded, all innocence.

	"No. You didn't. Who?" Jasmine asked as she passed on her way to the 
kitchen.

	"Just some old acquaintances. You don't mind, do you?" She asked 
sweetly as the two girls exchanged glances, seeing a long, boring 
evening full of old folk coming.

	"No, Aunt." They answered in unison.

	"Good. Well, after we get settled in, would you mind helping me with 
dinner? Nothing fancy and three sets of hands will get it done so much 
faster."

	"Sure." Jasmine nodded as she opened a soda.

	"I guess." Elenora answered with much less enthusiasm.

	"Wonderful! O.K. I'll be back in a minute. Oh, this is," she paused for 
a second and discreetly checked, "Jenny."

	The wolf gave her an amused look and nodded back to the girls, "Hi, 
Jenny." then went and stretched out on the cool tiles of the kitchen.


**********************************************************

	Hajime stared out the window at the summer beauty of the mountain 
terrain, the front page of the newspaper resting on his lap folded so it 
showed the full color photo of the four dragons coiled around the 
skyscrapers of Washington, D.C. Andrew had bought it for them at their 
first rest stop. Their driver had made an attempt to strike up a 
discussion with his front seat partner about the dragons which he had 
immediately squashed. Andrew had been silent since then, only offering 
rest stops as they came up. He had circled the small article towards the 
back of the first section reporting the rescue of the Japanese Prime 
Minister and Secretary of Defense from terrorist hands before passing it 
back to make the rounds.

	"Quite an interesting view of things." Shinkai had offered with a sad 
shake of his head when he had handed the paper back up.

	Yes. It was. The story on the dragons was full of wild speculation, 
this publication undecided whether the Blue Dragon had just saved 
mankind from itself or doomed it. He turned and looked back at the 
people who depended on him. Tsuzuku and Shinkai were working together on 
the challenge of trying to do an English crossword puzzle. The Lt. was 
playing cards with Amaru, Owaru and Matsuri while Nijikawa dozed with 
the dog on his lap. Matsuri saw him, smiled and winked. He knew his 
returning smile was tentative yet it was all he could manage.

	The night before last he was so certain in the course of action he had 
chosen as he had vented his fury on the engines of war that had 
surrounded him. Now he was not so sure. He rubbed at his forehead. He 
now suspected that the Gyushu had used the Four Sisters to lead him into 
this, had flapped the red flag in front of the bull and he had charged, 
unthinking.

	"Is it much farther?" He asked.

	"Another twenty or thirty minutes." Andrew answered, keeping his eyes 
on the winding road.

	Hajime looked back out the side window but he didn't see the landscape. 
He saw instead the future ruin of Shinjuku that they had been dropped in 
after that confused bouncing trip back and forth through time that Shiyu 
had treated them to. That battle had been psychic as far as he could 
figure. Matsuri had said she had seen them in the cloud the whole time, 
until the bird had gone up. Mizuchi's question of "So, did Matsuri-san's 
bird save you?" right before they had heard the van's horn had startled 
all four of them. He would need to find out more about that as soon as 
possible.

	 Matsuri's bird had saved them. Shiyu had finally managed to goad him 
into an attack, separating him from Tsuzuku, Amaru and Owaru and leaving 
them unprotected for it's counterattack. The Gyushu that was behind that 
illusion of their old enemy had just been playing with them up to that 
point. He knew that now. He had been on the total defensive from that 
point on, unable to reach his struggling brothers as Shiyu focused the 
main part of it's attack on him. He could still hear the gloating glee 
in the Gyushu's voice as he had stared in shock at the blood he had 
wiped off his forehead with the back of his hand after he had barely 
dodged the building that Shiyu had tried to drop on him.

	"It looks good on you, Blue Dragon King! The Earth belongs to the 
Gyushu Clan. You dragons have forgotten your power! You were 
overconfident and this place will be your grave!"

	It almost had been. He had been cornered, Shiyu getting ready for the 
final blow while Owaru and Amaru were trapped under the crushing weight 
of a fallen building and Tsuzuku had ceased struggling in the cocoon of 
steel cables that were squeezing the life out of him. Then the bird had 
shown up and driven Shiyu back and lifted them all gently to safety and 
dropped them healed and whole into a landscape he didn't recognize.

	This time when Shiyu swirled into being a few moments later he was 
ready for him. The Gyushu had begged the agreement of the Heavenly Pact 
just as he was ready to kill it. It had made him pause long enough for 
Shiyu to set off the nuclear warheads and change into the Gyushu 
creature that had worn Shiyu's shape. It had laughed, taunting the White 
Dragon King of the West to come after it as it had slithered into a hole 
in the ground. He had had to physically restrain Owaru. They had to stop 
the missiles. And they had.

	He jerked out of his reverie as the van slowed and turned off the road 
and onto a lane overhung by huge old trees. Matsuri came and stuck her 
head between the two front seats for a better view as they went down the 
easy slope.


**********************************************************

	Jasmine stretched out both arms and let her head rest against the 
gutter that ran around the pool as her body floated free. The late 
afternoon sunlight that warmed her front offset the chill of the water 
under her back. It was a wonderful. Aunt had sent them off to swim after 
they had all finished cleaning up the mess of the kitchen, everything 
prepared or cooking away. She had questioned the amount of stuff they 
had made, it was enough for a small army. Tita had just said that she 
didn't want to be cooking the next few days and they could survive on 
the leftovers.

	"If you splash me, Elenora, I'm going to drown you." She warned as a 
few drops splattered near her as her sister sported in the deeper 
waters.

	"Heh. Like you could catch me in the shape you're in!"

	"Hey, I'm not as hurt as you think!" She grumbled back.

	"Yeah. Right. When you can walk, then you can threaten and I might be 
afraid!" Elenora taunted back.

	She didn't answer. Elenora was right. But her knee was getting better 
every day. She hoped that by the end of the week the brace would be a 
thing of the past. A flutter of movement caught the corner of her eye. 
She turned her head in time to see her scarf, which had been securely 
tethered under both of their folded towels, take to the air.

	"Aw, hell! Elenora, catch it!" She turned and pushed herself up and 
onto the edge and grabbed the brace as Elenora surged out of the other 
side of the pool and gave chase.

**********************************************************

	Andrew brought the van to a halt, hopped out and hurried around to open 
the doors. Hajime focused on the tall, slender woman who stepped through 
the door and stood for a moment on the porch, two big dogs standing at 
either side of her as everybody else worked on getting out of the back 
of the van. She smiled and gave a little bow of her head as she became 
aware of his regard and came down the steps. Matsunaga leaped out 
yapping happily, took one look at the dogs on the porch and yelped and 
hid behind Mizuchi's legs.

	"What's wrong with you, Matsunaga?" Mizuchi asked softly as he picked 
up the cowering dog.

	Andrew hurried to the advancing woman carrying the thermos in the empty 
basket. As she came into the light, Hajime could see the lines of age on 
her face.

	"Four forty-eight, M'am!" He grinned.

	"Thank-you, Andrew." She gave him a dazzling smile as she took the 
basket and pressed the promised hundred dollar bill into his fingers.

	"No problem, Ma'm! Anytime you want a driver, you just ask for me! Is 
there anything else?" He asked with a little bow.

	"No. Get on home, young man!"

	He bowed to his passengers as he started around the front of the van.

	"Wait." Hajime commanded. He still wasn't sure about this woman or this 
place. There was something about it, something that made him uneasy. And 
Matsunaga didn't like it one bit.

	Andrew stopped and looked back at Tita, unsure. She nodded. "By all 
means, Andrew. It might be that the Ryudo's do not wish to stay. But I 
do welcome you and your brothers to my house, Hajime Ryudo. I am Tita 
Saint-Germain and hope you will take advantage of my hospitality."

	Hajime glanced sideways at his brothers. Tsuzuku was tense, his head 
cocked. Owaru was looking around, hands on his hips in his 'battle 
stance' and Amaru had moved close to Matsuri, a slight frown on his 
face. He was ready to refuse, to order them all back into the van when 
he saw the scarf arrow out of the sky. It draped itself over Tsuzuku's 
head, the ends falling to his waist front and back.

	"What?!" Tsuzuku lifted it in his hands, the golden head seeming to 
smile at him from beneath the veil it had created. He stepped back, the 
ends in his clenched fists as he leaned against the van, eyes closed and 
his face tragic with sorrow.

	Hajime turned back on the woman, angry and ready to demand an 
explanation for this as Matsuri whispered, "Oh, Tsuzuku-kun."

	She met his eyes, her smile gentle and unthreatening. He didn't get a 
chance to ask as a new threat came from another angle. He whirled toward 
the high pitched squeal followed by a jubilant "Owaru-kun!"

	"Elenora?" Owaru yelled back as the girl launched herself.

	"Elenora-chan?" Matsuri's happy voice joined Owaru's as his brother 
caught the girl under her arms and swung her around with a huge grin. 
She wiggled out of his arms and grabbed Matsuri in an exuberant hug.

	Hajime stalked for Tita. She looked past him and toward Tsuzuku who had 
jerked the scarf off and held it in one trembling hand as he slunk past 
the knot of men who were watching this reunion with confused amusement. 
He disappeared around the back of the van.

	"I have brought one of your brothers a gift as a gesture of my good 
faith." She told him before he could confront her verbally. "Just wait a 
few more seconds."

**********************************************************

	Jasmine growled as she slapped down the velcro that held the brace in 
place and pushed herself up. She limped a few steps then cussed and 
started hopping as she headed around the house. Where in the hell was it 
going? She heard Elenora's excited squeal and heard her yell, 
"Owaru-kun!" as she rounded the first corner.

	*Owaru? They were here? Oh, man!* She looked down at her wet bathing 
suit and the end of her dripping braid. This was not how she wanted to 
meet him. *Argh! That Aunt of hers! She knew!*

	She seriously considered turning around and hurrying to her room to 
change. But she doubted she could make it before Elenora drug them 
looking for her. She limped to peek around the corner. Elenora was all 
but mauling Matsuri. She finally saw him past one of the men she didn't 
recognize, leaning up against the back of the van. Her heart dropped and 
she pulled back and leaned against the side of the house. He did not 
look happy at her scarfs antics at all. She eyed the distance between 
herself and the trees, wondered if she could make it into their safety 
before she was seen. Then she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. 
Better to get it over with now. If he didn't like her, he didn't like 
her and that was that. She straightened her suit, pulled the water off 
the end of her braid and stepped into their sight.

**********************************************************

	"Oh man! I am so glad to see you! We were so worried!" Elenora grinned 
up as she let Matsuri breathe.

	Matsuri leaned to give her another, gentler hug. "I'm so sorry, 
Elenora."

	"Well, it's O.K. now!" Elenora couldn't see the sadness on Matsuri's 
face. "What's with Tsuzuku?" She frowned over Matsuri's shoulder as she 
focused on her sister's Dragon.

	"What do you think, Elenora." Owaru scowled at her.

	"I think he should be happy." Elenora scowled back.

	Matsuri straightened, put both hands on Elenora's shoulders and 
frowned.

	"What?" Elenora asked up, really confused now.

	Something was wrong here. Elenora acted as if nothing had happened. 
"Elenora-chan. What happened to Jasmine?"

	"Whoa. Check out that babe!" She heard Mizuchi say to Shinkai.

	She lifted her head as she heard Owaru gasp beside her while Elenora 
answered, "Well, mostly she demolished her knee."

	Jasmine stood beside the corner of the house and gave them a shy smile.

	"Why?" She asked after their running figures.