Okay, so first of all, thanks for all the amazing comments on the last chapter and to everyone who's subscribed and favourited this story. I'm glad you all enjoyed Odin's appearance. Anyway, here's another character I've had requested a few times and this seemed as good a time as any to bring them in. Yes, it's another short chapter, but I'm gearing up for another monster so you've got that to look forward to. Uh, no real spoilers for anything, although it does reference something that's revealed in The Defenders (but not anything that, I think, actually spoils the plot itself). Anyway, enjoy!

Oh, and yes, I have seen Captain Marvel (loved it!), and, yes, I will somehow make that meeting between Goose and Aithusa happen. I have no idea how, but it will.

Tea Shops

Nimueh buttoned her jacket up the rest of the way as a gust of wind made her shiver. Fall had descended on the city almost without warning, though the sun still shone brightly in the sky, as though attempting to soften the blow from the sudden chill in the wind. Still, there were much worse days to come and so she braced herself with the determination to enjoy what warmth remained and walked on. Her destination wasn't far, regardless.

The transition from Little Italy to Chinatown was both sudden and yet gradual. Chinatown had more outdoor vendors and the smells wafting about and the languages being spoken loudly on the streets were different – though as Nimueh spoke both Italian as well as Chinese (her Mandarin was slightly better than her Cantonese) that made little difference to her. The Italians were more likely to call out to her in greeting as she'd left the old woman behind today in order to avoid the joys of arthritis and allow her the opportunity to wear a pair of trendy heels and mini skirt she'd acquired in London during one of her trips.

If anyone noticed the resemblance, she was a visiting grandniece. She and Merlin used to do that a lot, play at being each other's grandchildren or grandniece and grandnephew – before they'd began associating quite so much with groups of people prone to doing detailed background checks. It was a shame, really, though worth being able to consider such an interesting group friends. These times and these people, too, will one day be gone and she and Merlin will mourn them and move on to lead different lives with different identities. Perhaps their next 'lives' will allow them to live as their younger selves.

Another gust of chilly wind prompted Nimueh to consider tropical countries she hadn't yet lived in.

Her internal musings ended as she turned down an almost invisible side street (it was mostly hidden from view thanks to large, overhanging banners, vegetables stalls, and a display of grilled ducks from the neighbouring shop). One of the food vendors looked up as she slipped between the stalls, curiosity in his eyes. A Caucasian woman heading in this direction was an oddity, she knew, so she simply nodded to him in greeting – an acknowledgment that she knew where she was going. He nodded politely back before returning to his customers.

The side street was really more of a back alley than a street, darkly shadowed even on such a sunny day and crowded on all sides by dumpsters and large plastic bins that created even darker corners and areas that seemed to hide all sorts of dirt, grime and rodents. Only a second look revealed that, despite its rather standard, back alley appearance, the space was actually quite clean. The illusion of the dark, dirty alley was just that: an illusion.

As befitted the descendants of the union between a human woman and a fox spirit.

Nimueh entered the shop, the metal chime above the door rang its usual discordant sound of metal coins and bells chinking and clanging against each other. She closed her eyes and breathed in the calming smell of dried tea leaves, spices and incense. The door softly clicked shut behind her.

Opening her eyes, she looked over towards the counter just as Huang, the woman who ran the shop now that her father-in-law had fallen ill, looked up from where she was already serving another customer. Her eyes immediately widened in recognition. Though she did not possess the rest of the family's sensitivity to magic and the supernatural, Nimueh and Merlin were regular customers, and friends with her in-laws.

For a moment, the woman looked panicked, her eyes quickly flicking between Nimueh and the small, frail-looking old woman she was already serving. Nimueh smiled and waved her off, indicating that she would wait. She was, after all, in no hurry to return and had no need of any sort of special treatment.

Barely moments later, however, the thick curtain that lead to the back room was swept aside and the oldest son, Liu walked in. Huang sent him a grateful smile before apologizing to the elderly lady in front of her. Liu acknowledged his mother politely before he turned to Nimueh, his smile perfunctorily polite but his eyes sparkling with mischief and excitement.

Liu, of all his family, truly had the blood of his fox spirit ancestor flowing through his veins. He'd probably felt Nimueh approaching from the end of the block. She wondered if he was even supposed to be helping in the shop this afternoon or if he'd come down from their upstairs apartment just to help her.

"Hello, Nimueh," he said, using her first name because he knew full well that for her and Merlin, their surnames were mostly meaningless. "How are you today?"

"Hello, Liu," she greeted with a smile. "I'm well, thank you. Not entirely happy with this change in the weather, of course but there's nothing to be done with that." She paused for a moment and then switched to Chinese. "How are you doing? You must be starting school soon."

He nodded, smoothly switching languages. "Yes, I start in two days. My last year of high school."

"Hm, and then university, yes?"

Liu made a face and nodded. "My parents want me to go to university." His eyes darted towards his mother before he leaned slightly over the counter to whisper conspiratorially to Nimueh. "I want to go traveling."

Nimueh grinned. "No reason you can't do both, young man."

The young man in question didn't even blink at the moniker, but his face broke into a decidedly vulpine grin. "Ah, this is true. I have many summers to travel."

"Exactly."

Liu paused for a moment with an uncharacteristic uncertainty, before leaning in even closer.

"Is it true?" he asked quietly, the uncertainty quickly burned away by excitement. "Did you really have Bucky Barnes, Captain America's best friend who was turned into an assassin working for you? The man they thought had bombed the UN?"

Nimueh blinked. "I wasn't aware the Winter Soldier was common knowledge," she answered, her voice just as quiet.

Liu shrugged. "Some of it was on the internet," he replied. "And Mister Shu said the CIA came to his restaurant asking questions."

"They came by the shop as well, bloody idiots. Tried to call us out on not having employment records for him. Of course we're all fairly certain he was living on the streets, and none of us have seen Barnes since the day of the bombing so they didn't get much."

"Yes, Mister Shu was very upset he'd lost one of his best workers." With a small nod, Liu then straightened and continued in a louder voice. "So, what can I get you today?"

"Do you have any jasmine?"

As Liu hurried off to the back to gather some of the newer stock they had just received that morning, Nimueh took advantage of his absence in order to subtly observe the elderly woman Huang was serving. She didn't look familiar in the slightest, however Nimueh could feel the steady hum of power in her presence. For all her fragile appearance, there was clearly nothing actually fragile about this woman. But the power felt different than the usual Asian-flavoured magic she had encountered in the past.

It felt... out of sync.

Then Liu returned and she turned her attention to the tea leaves and dried flowers she'd originally come for.

It was some fifteen minutes later that both Liu and Huang had disappeared into the back to retrieve items for their customers, leaving Nimueh and the elderly woman alone in the shop. The elderly woman appeared to pause thoughtfully for a moment before she turned to Nimueh, a pleasantly calm smile on her face.

"It is not often one finds someone so young so interested in the more traditional aspects of tea brewing," she said neutrally, as though she were merely making small talk.

Nimueh snorted. This approach would've worked with Merlin. She was not Merlin.

"Don't play coy," she said, just barely managing to keep the snap out of her voice as she turned to face the other woman. "You know I'm not as young as I look just as I know that you're much older than you look."

The smile barely faltered, however Nimueh felt a slight flare of darker, heavier magic. It smelt of sulfur and burned of flames... dragon magic. Oh, bloody hell, she cursed to herself. The Hand.

Suddenly, she felt incredibly grateful Merlin wasn't with her. He was long past the point of tolerance when it came to others abusing the powers of his kin. Unlike Dragon Lords, the Hand didn't tie themselves to dragons, didn't become dragonkin but rather stole their powers, defiled their graves and leeched it from their bones without any deference, any respect given to the magical creatures themselves. The only reason any sort of peace existed between them was because Merlin generally stayed clear of the Hand and the Hand... well, if they knew of Merlin's existence, then they wisely stayed out of his reach.

Nimueh felt no personal anger towards the Hand, but hated the unnatural feeling of power twisted to artificially extend life. She and Merlin were long-lived, yes, but they were being sustained by the powers of Albion and the Old Religion, her chosen children. Their lives were tied to the lands and so, while Albion lived, so did they. And one day, when Albion's darkest hour approached, Nimueh and Merlin would pay back the debt they owed.

This selfish theft filled her with nothing but contempt.

She carefully kept her disgust from leeching into her expression, but didn't bother smiling at the old Chinese lady. She had no interest at pretending to be friends.

The other woman must've picked up on at least some of Nimueh's coldness towards her because her eyes opened from the slits they'd been previously, revealing piercing cold, dark eyes. To anyone else the frail old woman would've likely felt quite intimidating, but Nimueh wasn't that easy to impress.

"Indeed," said the old woman softly. "New York is an easy place for people like us to disappear into the masses."

Nimueh couldn't help the amused grin. "Oh, hiding in plain sight can be done just about anywhere if one is clever about it."

She felt Liu's presence behind her and turned away from the Hand elder. The young man looked nervous, less sure of himself than she'd ever seen before. His mother looked just as nervous, having also picked up on the tension between her customers though likely not in the same way as her son.

Nimueh considered Liu as he measured out green tea leaves for her.

"Liu, who is that woman?" she finally asked.

The young man fumbled with the scales, nearly tipping over their contents as he did so. Nimueh snickered at the less-than-smooth motion. Well, that explained whether or not he was powerful and sensitive enough for mind-speak. Now, the question remained whether he would figure out how to answer.

After a pause and a surprised look in her direction, Liu took a deep breath and continued to measure and pack her order.

"Nimueh?" she finally heard a short while later. His voice was smooth, but fiery with a combination of nervousness, excitement and the natural extension of his familial heritage.

"Yes."

Another pause, and then she received a jumble of words, emotions and images which was obviously his answer to her question. It was unrefined, but not at all bad for a first attempt.

"Madame Gao," she heard and then she felt fear, distrust and saw images of violence, bodyguards with guns and young men and women walking with white-tipped canes, along with the impression of silence. Mute and blind... ah, drug mules.

And then she got the image of a red devil and had to bite down on the laughter that threatened to bubble out of her. Oh, so the Devil of Hell's Kitchen had been quite busy before his retirement.

Nimueh sent Liu back a feeling of grateful acknowledgment. He met her eyes again, the uncertainty gone from his expression, replaced once more with excitement – coloured with a slight bit of awe. She had the feeling he'd be paying her and Merlin a visit at the shop at some point in the future.

She thanked him out loud as she paid him. "I hope the beginning of your last year at school goes well," she said. "If you need anything or have questions about universities, come by and see us. Merlin and I have quite a few contacts from all over and even some scholarship committees, depending on what you were thinking of doing." She paused, snorting. "If you're looking to travel, I hear the newly established University of Latveria might be looking to attract some international students in the near future to boost their standing."

At that even Huang looked over and smiled at her, looking delighted. "Thank you, Nimueh," she said, bowing. "Liu is very smart, but I'm sure he will appreciate any help you can give him."

Liu bowed as well, though Nimueh could see him barely restraining an eyeroll. "Yes, thank you, Nimueh," he said. "I will probably have many questions and I will appreciate your guidance very much." He cocked his head thoughtfully. "If the University of Latveria is new, will it even count as a recognized international degree?"

Nimueh shrugged. "Give it a few years and the University of Latveria will be world-renowned."

She collected her bag of purchases off the counter and then turned to leave. Half-way to the door, however, she paused and then looked over her shoulder.

"Madam Gao," she said, her voice low enough that the words were clearly only meant for the old woman she was addressing, though she knew that Liu, especially, would still hear her. "My partner and I have no interest in your ridiculous war, however, we love this city. Do what you will in the shadows but if your organization's actions endanger this city and the people in it then my partner may just decide to finally move against you. It would be in the interest of your continued... survival... for you to not allow that to happen."

She exited the shop without waiting for a reply, though she could feel the shock in the air behind her.

"Thank you," she heard in her mind as she exited the side street and re-entered the usual bustle of Chinatown.

She smiled. "You're welcome," she replied, infusing the words with pride. She couldn't wait to tell Merlin about this development. "Let us know if she begins to harass your family."

A bright column of light shot down from the sky somewhere in the distance just as Nimueh was crossing the arbitrary border of Chinatown back into Little Italy. She paused just long enough to roll her eyes.

"Bloody Asgardians," she muttered under her breath. "Always so dramatic."

She was nearly at the shop when the street suddenly shook with the impact of distant explosions. Looking up she saw smoke wafting up above Stark Tower. And then a small speck flew up from the landing pad – Iron Man.

"What the bloody hell now?!" she grumbled under her breath, irritated, even as more impacts shook the streets.