So sorry that this chapter is so late! I've been pretty distracted lately. Thanks to all my new followers, it's absolutely an honor that you guys are enjoying this! - NottheMilk

"So, this is it, then? The city?" Nod started bouncing slightly in his seat in excitement, "It doesn't look as crazy as I expected it to be."

"That's because we are still on the outskirts. This is New York." Bomba said, waving a hand at the city, smiling at Nod's excitement. "And it's a lot crazier than you'd think. I was quite glad to get away from it when I first moved into the country."

"Ah, yes. New York. How new is it, anyways?" Nod asked, scratching his head in confusion, "Like, is it newer than your house? Because your house is pretty old, although not as old as Ronin. He's really old, like old as dirt."

"That house is over a hundred years old." MK replied incredulously, crossing her arms as she stared at Nod. "Yeah, he's older than that."

"Really?" Bomba interjected excitedly, taking his hands off the wheel to clap them, "I figured you guys would have shorter lifespans, being so tiny. So how old do Jinn usually live?" He reached to the side, scrambling around, trying to grab a notebook to write it down.

"Dad! Hands on the wheel! You can write it down later!" His daughter screeched in fright as the car swerved slightly, making Nod yelp too, his hands going up over his head defensively at the sudden movement. "Sorry, MK." He gripped the wheel again, looking sheepish as he gave the road his attention again, "But really, how long do you guys live?"

"A-about two hundred and fifty, sometimes even three hundred years old or so." Nod said, his hand pressed against his heart in an attempt to calm it's mad racing. "Why? What about you guys, how long do you guys live?" He asked, subtly signaling MK, asking her through hand gestures if that was how her dad always drove. She shrugged in response to that, but answered his other question aloud, "Ninety years or so on average. Sometimes over a hundred, but not often." She raised an eyebrow at him, deciding she didn't want to ask how old he was, in case it made things weird.

He looked at her fondly and smiled slightly, "Dang. I guess we'll just have to shrink you someday, so you can live a long time like us. Otherwise I might sneeze and bam, you're an old lady. All wrinkly and flabby, and you'd be even slower. I don't want to see that." He teased cheerfully, rather glad that her dad seemed rather oblivious to their flirting; either that or he was all right with his daughter dating a Jinn because it let them study them better. Either way, he was grateful for it.

She snorted as his comment, rolling her eyes at him, even though the idea wasn't really that bad to her. Maybe someday she might want to take him up on it, "Yes, I'll run away and live with Leafmen, and end up eaten by a mouse or a snake, or shot by a stray Boggan."

"You know you love us." He winked at her, wondering momentarily how the other Leafmen would feel about his extended leave, before shrugging it off. "I know some of the others miss you, too. Even Ronin. He'd just never admit it."

Eventually they drove into a parking garage, making Nod's eyes grow wider than the massive city buildings had, as now he felt like he was going into the belly of a beast, imagining the weight of everything above them. He resisted the urge to duck down, taking a deep breath to calm himself. "Wow, this is… Really different from the forest."

In the small, flower filled clearing that the young queen tended to stay in, the same spot that Tara had so often haunted before her, Ronin had found himself called before her. He frowned slightly, chin stiffening as he looked up from his kneeling to watch her. Normally he approached her to talk to her, or she'd come running up to him giggling like the child she was underneath her attempt at a queenly demeanor, hiding from Nod or any of the other guards that she might have played some small prank on, or that she'd convinced to play with her in general.

"Queen Hana-" He started, feeling mildly confused, before she held her hand up to stop him, an odd smile on her face. She let out a little laugh, "I've got a mission for you, General Ronin." She bounced slightly in place, obviously enjoying this. "You know Nod has gone off with the stomper family, right?"

He nodded, not liking where this was going. "Yes..?"

"Well, how do you think he's going to handle being like that? I didn't think about it till after, but… He's kind of excitable, isn't he?" She tapped her finger against her chin, her smile only growing, "He's going to need back up. So, you're going on vacation too! Finn is more than capable of running things when you're gone."

"What? Queen Hanako, you can't jus-" He tried to protest, not approving of this plan at all, "Can too!" She clapped her hands, "Have fun, and enjoy your time off! And you can't just drag him back, either. Bye, Ronin." She dashed forward to place a quick kiss on his cheek, then stepped back again to use her magic on him, transporting him to the house and making him large at the same time.

With a groan, he pushed himself off the ground, annoyed with how heavy his body was. "That little sneak… She's becoming more like Tara than she'll ever know." He muttered to himself, a slight smile slipping across his face. Straightening, he walked to the house and searched for the key, having watched the stompers long enough to know their habits. Opening the house, he started searching around for any clue of where Nod went with MK and her family. An hour later, he stepped out of the house, a piece of paper and a map in hand as he set off walking down the road. "Why didn't I make her make my bird big, too?" He grumbled as he walked, ignoring strange glances from stompers in cars driving by.