A.N. I've had this chapter written for a little while now. I'm still trying to put an outline together for the next one, but I'm nowhere near finishing it yet, or starting the next chapter. I post the chapters as I finish them on AO3, my username there is the same one as my username for this account if you wanna check it out.

This chapter is just a continuation from the first and picks up a few hours from where it left off.

The weather had been kind to them while they slept. Sunlight vaporized the water that seeped into their clothes and chased away the last fibre of cold that touched them during their night of travel.

Luka awoke as the warmth that bloomed under his cloak became unbearable. It wasn't until he rose to a sitting position that he realized his sweat had glued his jacket and undershirt to his back.

His memory came back to him as he regained balance onto his feet. Lightly patting his body down to make sure he still had everything that came with him. The less than comfortable sack of silver coins, a small pouch of food and the hidden bag containing Kagami's scales were accounted for. The last thing to check for was Kagami herself. She wasn't within his eyesight, but her presence was unmistakably nearby.

"I'm going to assume you will want these back." With gloved fingers, he reached in his cloak and retrieved the pouch with her scales and the charcoal portrait of her long-haired profile. He paused briefly and outstretched his arm backwards. Kagami took the contents from his light grasp.

"Thank you," she whispered.

Luka turned, met her eyes briefly and flashed a small smile. The corners of Kagami's mouth lifted the slightest amount before fixating back to its neutral state.

"We still have a bit of a way to go before we get to our destination. We should eat before heading off."

"I ate already," she cut in. "I ate the last of what I had before you woke up."

"I can look for some herbs if you need to eat more."

"I'm alright. I'm ready to go whenever you are. If you need energy, go eat something."

Luka quickly consumed his final ration of food. The tense silence was familiar, but not uncomfortable. Once he finished, the sky was dark enough for them to journey outward once again.

The viper led the way for the dragon. They travelled northbound, the moon growing larger as the hours passed. The forest grew thicker and taller as the clouds grew more dense. The smooth gliding of scales against blades of grass abruptly became ungraceful, human-like footsteps. Kagami descended to the forest floor, Golden spines became unkempt black locks and her own scales dissolved into flesh and fair skin. Her landing wasn't nearly as smooth as Luka's. Her transformation left her face contorted in pain and her legs were unable to keep her vertical. Luka held out a stiffened forearm to offer counter balance, which Kagami accepted.

"We're almost there. You'll get dry clothes, first thing," he acknowledged the slight dampness of her clothes. Kagami's arms clasped around her stomach again, a quivering exhale forced itself between her teeth.

"And a fire."

Kagami nodded.

"Would you like my cloak?"

"No, I'm quite alright. However, I appreciate the offer."

Luka didn't press on any more about it.

They continued for about twenty more paces. Luka halted at a gap between two thick trees that led to a small grove. He gestured towards it, allowing Kagami to go in ahead of him. She bowed in gratitude and stepped through the barrier.

Kagami wasn't sure what to expect when entering the empty grove. At first, there was only grass and trees surrounding the area. Her vision went blurry for a moment, then the grass that was under her bare soles was replaced with a well-worn trail. The nearest trees were hundreds of paces away. Two figures towered over her in uniforms she didn't recognize. She couldn't smell or sense Luka anywhere.

"...-Mother?"

Kagami recognized the voice behind her, but it spoke a tongue she didn't recognize.

"...-quarter …-moon," one of the uniformed figures replied.

Luka and the other two individuals conversed briefly. Kagami was lost in the words they exchanged, only able to catch very few that were spoken. Between the sentences, glances were shot her way. Kagami attempted to retain her stoic posture and stonelike expression, but she couldn't deny the thundering heartbeat in her ears or the cold sweat on her neck. When the glances lingered for fractions of a moment longer, her breathing was becoming hard to control. She had no doubt that fine red scales covered portions of her face, too.

"Let's go," Luka uttered after what felt like an eternity to her. His palm on her shoulder snapped her out of wherever her mind was beginning to take her. Like a gentle push that guided her from an unfavorable path. It also helped that she could understand the words he said.

Speaking of which.

"What did you ask them?"

Luka took his hand from her shoulder.

"To make a long story shorter, my mother usually handles newcomers, but she's not available right now. It's just going to be us for the time being, unless you'd like me to get someone else to help you around for now."

Kagami shook her head. "No, I don't want you to bother anyone else. The sun hasn't risen yet, and it looks like most of the guests are still sleeping."

" 'Residents' is a more fitting description."

"Residents," she corrected herself.

He led Kagami to a wooden building, far larger than many of the residential properties, but not quite as large as some larger buildings Kagami could see in the distance. He took her inside and shut the door behind him.

She was greeted by heat as flames danced in the center of the larger room in the cabin. Sleeping cushions were lined around a firepit. Kagami wasted no time in immediately sinking to her knees and holding her hands out towards the warmth. Luka approached her with an oversized sleeping gown. Not what she'd usually wear to sleep, but far more comfortable that the clingy fabric she was wearing right now. Kagami thanked him and gratefully took the clothing.

"A fire under a wooden ceiling?" She turned to find him leaning nonchalantly against the doorframe.

Luka chuckled. Eyes lighting up from more than the bright flames.

Somehow, that alone made her feel warm in a way the fire couldn't.

"Mama!"

The silver-haired woman turned at the sound of her son's voice. That familiar smile graced her face whenever her children return home safely from the Outside. She looked up towards his face which towered above her head and hugged him tightly. "My boy!"

They pulled back. She didn't miss the lingering essence of mist and morning dew on his clothes, and a new presence within the border of the barrier. "You're home early. And you already brought a newcomer?"

"Uh, yeah, she's at the temporary shelter right now. Look, M-"

"Perfect! We'll let her rest for now. Tell me about her. What language does she speak?"

Luka anticipated this. Anarka always went into information gathering before meeting the newcomers themselves. She meant well. She wanted to make the best first impression with everyone because it helped with the assimilation process. Kagami, however was a case Luka's never dealt with before. He wasn't sure if his mother had any experience that could help her now.

"Mother, I think she's a mage."

Mild shock and confusion crossed Anarka's features.

"Kagami, this newcomer, she can manipulate wind and water to her will. But she has as much control over her shifting abilities as Jules and I did when we were seven."

Anarka broke eye contact from him. "I see," she contemplated. "Do you know what her other form is?"

He nodded. "Dragon."

Her expression didn't change. "That doesn't explain her level of power."

They stood in silence for a few more moments. The moon was lowering and the sky slowly gained a lighter hue as they stood in contemplative silence.

"I'm sure it's been a long journey for you and this woman, son. Get some sleep. We'll resume this discussion at high-time tomorrow."

At the mere mention of rest, Luka felt a large yawn come in. His eyelids grew heavier and his body numb with weariness. The skin around his mouth stretched as he let the yawn escape.

"And don't show your fangs. It's impolite," she teased.

Luka chuckled and retracted the elongated teeth. "Sorry."

"Remember what I told you-!"

"Yeah, I know." Luka has heard countless times about his tendency to lose awareness of his own powers when he's skipped sleep. He's lost count of the amount of times his mother reminded him of the fact, and has no doubt she'll stop any time in the near future. Not that he has much to say in rebuttal. It was a fact he couldn't deny.

He glided along the trail towards his designated shelter. His room was far warmer and more humid compared to the chilled, dry night on the other side of the glass walls. He slid up the sturdy bark of the tree in the center of his private enclosure and coiled his scaley body along a series of low branches. His brilles enclosed over cyan irises, but his mind still raced. There was a lot to discuss with the Council about the Newcomer.

Kagami never remembered falling asleep. She awoke to find her clothes dampened with sweat, her chest heaving and her chest pounding. Pushing the dark dream from her memory, she recollected where she was and how she got there. Her eyes drifted to the dark hued clothes she was given the night before, still neatly folded on the wooden floor.

She was too enthralled by the flames from the previous evening to notice the second room in the cabin. A vat of water and a small pile of absorbent cloth awaited her on the floor. The mere sight of it made her hair feel heavy and slick, and her skin begged to have the dirt scrubbed off.

As tempted as she was to scrub every inch of filth off her body, she only allowed herself to wash her hair. That alone made her feel more infinitely more refreshed than she wanted to admit.

As water dripped from her uneven ends, distant noises filled her ears. An unmistakable amalgamation of chatter and laughter and playful animal noises. Shifters walked along the trails and fields. Animals with flying capabilities took to the sky.

Children taught each other how to transform between their human and animal appearances. Delicious aromas from herbs and pots of food tickled her nose. The sun slowly dripped down from the sky, but was still quite a way from touching the horizon.

Beyond what she could see, Kagami was certain that she was only observing a fraction of what the geography of this place entailed. She was as excited as much as overwrought to see it.

It was the most at home Kagami has felt since she could remember.

"Kagami?" Luka speaking her name followed three soft knocks from the other side of the main door, pulling her from her thoughts.

She hesitated to open the door for him.

"Who is with you?"

"My mother."

Right, Luka mentioned her the night before.

"I'm going to act as your interpreter, if that's alright with you."

"Perfectly fine." Kagami pushed her sleeves down and opened the door, hair still wet and untidy from vigorously rubbing it with a drying cloth a few minutes prior. She quickly combed her fingers through the black strands and took notice of the older woman next to Luka.

Her silver hair was bound in a long, unkempt braid that draped over her shoulder. Her cloak was similar in shape to what Luka had, but lacked the scaley pattern of the one he wore. Unlike Luka's, it nearly covered her whole body with the exception of her boots and a narrow area where two hems didn't quite touch. It appeared to be made of feathers of different sizes and shapes. Each one with similar hues of black and gray speckles decorating the longer feathers.

Her skin was pale and her eyes were a fair blue, but Kagami gathered a sense of calmness from her. A trustworthy presence.

The woman started talking, but the words were foreign to Kagami. Luka paid close attention to his mother's words, then spoke in a tongue Kagami understood.

"I'm Anarka Couffaine. Surely you're already familiar with my son, Luka."

"Yes, he's been very accommodating- You've been very accommodating. I can't thank either of you enough for your gratitude."

Luka sent the words back to Anarka, although she assumed he didn't include her self-interjection based on how short his response was compared to hers.

"You don't need to be formal with us here." Luka translated.

"Would you like to come in?" Kagami asked, cringing as she realized how that sounded, it wasn't her place, after all.

"Only if you'd like us to." Luka said before retelling her question to Anarka.

Kagami invited them in, the three of them taking seats at a low table.

"When will I have to testify?" Kagami asked before Luka was able to leave. "In front of this 'Council'."

"It's not a hearing, Kagami, you're not testifying anything. To answer your question, either one or two moons after this one." Luka looked out into the night. The moon shone brightly in spite of the dark that looked on its edge.

"Are you tired, Luka?"

"Yes," he answered plainly.

"Can we walk to this place's market tomorrow?"

His cyan eyes met her warm brown ones.

"Absolutely."

A.N. I'm going to write a third part to this 'Intro Arc' as I've dubbed it. It's gonna be more interaction between Kagami and people she meets. My goal is to have you guys learn about this place as she does. I still have a lot of ironing out to do with the setting, how things work in the sanctuary, etc. This story is definitely a huge learning experience for me. I do hope and plan to write about more of the cast in this show and various relationships between characters, but in the context of this AU. I'm definitely gonna include Adrienette, JuleRose, DjWifi and some of my other ML ships... eventually.

As I've stated before, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE review/write things you'd like to see or any questions you have about characters in this AU. Literally any character(s) will do, no matter how major/minor they are in the canon show. Got any ideas for a plot arc/conflict source? PLEASE write it in the reviews! I'll take literally any ideas/questions you throw at me and work them into the story/answer them one way or another.