Kira entered the hospital room warily, unsure of the woman who sat by the teenager's bed. She hadn't met Alan's mother before. Cassie Van Allen was, for better or worse, a mystery to her. Kira, in her civilian guise, cut a figure usually associated with government agents; dark well-kept suit jacket with a white buttoned-up blouse underneath, matching suit pants, black hair kept tidy. She smiled nervously at Cassie and took a deep breath.
    Cassie looked at Kira sharply, eyes red. "I hope you're somebody who can explain what the hell happened to my boy." There was a restrained fury in the woman's voice.
    Kira closed the room door. "Ah well, yes? Your son made a deal with a supernatural being and became a mage. He was wounded fighting another mage-"
    Cassie's face betrayed her confusion and anger. "What the hell did you say? Get out." She stood, shoulders squared and jaw set as she took a step towards Kira.
    Kira, taken aback, started towards the door only to narrowly avoid getting hit by it as it swung open. Mona was as startled to see Kira as Kira was to see Mona. Kira could see the family resemblance between the two sisters in the cheeks, the nose, the eyes, the burnt umber skin tones. "Ah, hello ma'am, I was just leaving." Kira saw no need to reveal her civilian appearance to somebody who had only seen her transformed state.

    Cassie and Mona sat by Alan's bed, silent, watching the boy breathe as he slept. Both sisters clearly wanted to break the silence, but- unsure of what to talk about, remained silent. It was Cassie who finally spoke.
    "That woman said the craziest thing." Cassie nodded towards the closed door. "That Alan had become a wizard, like out of Harry Potter. Can you believe that, Mona? Your nephew flinging around magic?"
    There was a pause that said far more for Mona than words could have as she looked at her sister with a pained expression.
    Cassie arched an eyebrow first, then an expression of incredulity emerged slowly. "She was telling the truth?" A curse escaped Cassie's lips.
    Mona nodded. "We got a lot to talk about, sis."