Chapter 2 – Rule #2: Maintain Order in the Park at All Times

Mikki DuBois

 "If you don't hold still, we can't actually straighten this mess out," Buttercup insisted as she fluttered around Mikki's head.

 "If it's any consolation, I'm really not trying to actively move," replied Mikki. She was actually punching away at her tablet, frowning at the various results. "There's a bit on my plate right now."

 "Too much," mumbled her fairy stylist.

 "What was that?" asked Mikki, her head twisting before she could really think about it.

 "Head moving!" protested Buttercup, fluttering around and letting out a tinkling noise reminiscent of the jingling of old fashioned door bells. Yellow glitter spurts from around her, a pile of it landing on Mikki's shoulders. The fairy must have noticed it, because she pointed at Mikki and gave her a very stern look. "No happy thoughts!"

 "I'll try," said Mikki, fighting the urge to giggle. She focused back on her tablet instead, which definitely didn't contain happy thoughts. She'd already had to sort of put off the full styling of her dragon-burnt hair, and apparently there had been hints of singing at the tips. So here she was, taking the necessary time to actually get it appropriately styled. Of course, that meant watching as the various tasks started piling up on her tablet.

 There was just so much that needed doing, particularly with the Summer Celebrations coming up. The new influx of labor would be great, particularly since Mikki had a great feeling about this batch. Sure, she had a great feeling about every batch, but there were always at least a handful that ended up joining the Secret Lands Family. More Family members could only be a good thing. Especially with all this work that they needed doing.

 And one of them had found a carbuncle! Those were notoriously difficult creatures that avoided people who lacked a natural acceptance of the world around them. Sure, he had been a real big guy with what appeared to be some tattoos on his arms, but that didn't mean he wouldn't be an awesome addition! Definitely someone to keep her eyes on.

 "Head up!" chirped Buttercup. Mikki followed suit, raising the tablet as she went, which had her stylist giggling in that high-pitched fairy way. Mikki just flashed a smile toward the mirror in front of her, seeing a handful of other employees filling out the fairy based salon. The place looked exactly like it sounded: a salon where all the stylists happened to be fairies of some variation. Turned out that having a natural inclination toward beauty as well as being able to flutter around a person's head worked brilliantly in combination to do styling. Plus a lot of them just enjoyed it.

 Let's see, Mikki needed to---

 "Is Mikki here?" asked a voice, making Mikki (and fortunately Buttercup) jump. She twisted, seeing a frazzled looking young man with what appeared to be popcorn sticking to his equally frazzled looking beard.

 "Cooper, right? You work concessions near the Aqua Lands?" asked Mikki, already knowing the answer.

 "Uh, yeah," Cooper seemed genuinely surprised that Mikki knew him, which just had Buttercup giggling.

 "The issue?"

 "So, like, it looks like the gremlins got into the popcorn machines and…" he gestured at himself, though Mikki had already started moving at "gremlins."

 "We'll finish later, Buttercup, I promise!"

 She could hear the tinkling protest in native Fae but mostly ignored it.

 Half an hour later Mikki lunged through a literal flood of popcorn. Her bracelet flashed, the magical energy she'd summoned through it flaring. The magics caught hold of the gremlin she'd been lunging for, launching the furry creature straight into her hands. Mikki scooped it, using the magic in her left bracelet to send some of her own emotions into the creature, even as she twisted and slid into the popcorn. Kernels went flying all around her, several no doubt sticking to her mid-styled hair.

 Mikki lay in the popcorn clutching the now purring gremlin for several seconds. The buttery smell of fresh popped popcorn filled her mouth with every inhale, which wasn't exactly a bad thing. Their popcorn happened to have been grown by a variety of crop spirits, mostly native to America. Which meant it tasted and smelled utterly amazing, enhanced by the magical devices that cooked it.

 "Okay," said Mikki, forcing herself upright, still cradling the gremlin. She held it up, the furred creature cooing at her. "You are far too adorable to be this much trouble," she mumbled, giving the creature a side smile as she forced herself to her feet. She walked her creature over to what amounted to a play pen filled with about half a dozen other critters of the same size and shape. Mikki bent over and slid the gremlin into the pen, before bending down to stare at them.

 "Which one of you is the leader?" she asked, pointing at the cage and looking around. Mikki knew that traditionally leaders had mohawks or other outstanding hair features to help them stand out. They were also traditionally pains in the butt.

 The gremlins all cooed adorably at her, though she could understand the underlying meanings of that. Her translation earrings would've done the job by themselves, but Mikki had learned gremlin language a while ago. Kind of necessary since they had a tendency to mess up everything technological around them, mostly for fun. And, of course, at least half of them were claiming to be the leader, while the other half were blaming others for the task at hand.

 Sighing, Mikki ran a hand through her hair, wincing slightly at the lack of it. She shifted her feet again, just noticing that a handful of other Park Family had come nearby. She waved to let them know that she had this, nodding. "Okay, so…" she looked around, finally noticing that one gremlin had this almost ridiculous swirl atop his head. It looked like a pompadour straight out of a musical set in the fifties. Mikki licked her lips, and nodded her head. "Clearly you're not the leader," she said to him, dismissively, before focusing on the largest gremlin in the pen. "You look like you're probably in charge. So here's the—"

 She'd barely needed to start talking when Pomp made an almost growling noise and pushed his way to the front of the group. He chirruped at her to let her know that he was obviously the leader and it should be obvious by how much smarter he happened to be than everyone else there. Not to mention the one who had the bestest best plans. Naturally the other five all cooed their agreement, the large one Mikki had focused her attention upon cooing the loudest of all.

 "Excellent," said Mikki, nodding her head. "Glad we got that all sorted," she focused on Pomp, "care to let me know why you decided to… enhance the popcorn maker during business hours?"

 The critter first protested that he of course didn't know it was business hours, which just had Mikki raising her brows and waiting for him to get to the real reason. He quickly explained that there were distortions in the area that were driving them all crazy, insisting that they start enhancing certain machines. Really they were just following their natural instincts and just look at the sheer amount of popcorn they'd produced!

 Mikki pursed her lips and looked around. Distortions? That was… a little worrying, particularly given everything else. Then again, these were gremlins, and Pomp in particular struck her as a talented liar. "Well, you know the rules. You have from dawn to the opening of the park and from dusk till midnight to engage in enhancements," she pointed toward the sky, "the park is open, and it's definitely not dusk. So you know what that means," she raised her brows.

 The gremlins all started groaning, but Mikki just nodded, raising up to turn toward the nearest Park Family member. Said person happened to have their ears tucked under their hat and a too cheerful expression on her face. "Arty!" Mikki greeted, going in for a quick hug with the cheerful girl. "Glad to know that you're free to—"

 "Well, kinda free," said Arty, shrugging. "The unicorns are being a bit frisky. Some of them definitely could use some, ah, specialized calming?" she gave Mikki an abashed smile, which Mikki understood all too well.

 "Right, well," she gestured toward the gremlins, "these guys claim there were distortions that were throwing them off. So you'll probably want to take them to the Caring Grove for soothing."

 Arty nodded, already gesturing for a handful of other Members to come forth and start getting into things. She looked around, but Mikki quickly waved affirmation. Arty nodded and lifted her cap, showing off a pair of pointed ears. Bending down, she wove gentle magic toward the creatures, the floating green mist wafting forth and smelling of fresh earth and wildflowers. It coaxed even the gremlins into a euphoric state, which made them all the easier to cart off to the Caring Grove.

 Mikki knew her friend would have things in hand, so she just nodded and headed off to address the gathered populace. Several dozen park attendees were all standing around with confused expressions. Quite a few were openly gaping at the field of popcorn that Mikki strode out of, and at least a handful of the children in particular looked like they were barely being constrained.

 "Hello everyone!" chirped Mikki, raising a hand. "I'm Mikki DuBois, acting Lands Coordinator. It seems like there was a bit of a mix-up regarding our popcorn ratios! Just a few gremlins in the works, nothing that our talented Family Members can't take care of," she gestured, purposefully drawing attention to the Members carrying the furry creatures. Mikki already knew that they'd all assume it was animatronics brought out to sell the story. Always better to hide things right under their noses, though Mikki argued that they didn't actually hide anything. People just believed what they wanted. "Fortunately for all of you," she spread her arms wide, "That means there will be free popcorn for every season pass holder and refillable bucket owner, plus buy one get one for everyone else!"

 That definitely got them cheering. Several were already surging forward with buckets, looking eager. The children were cooing about the gremlins, but Arty and her handlers told the kids that the critters had just calmed down, and they couldn't be too excited. Phones came out to record, while Mikki waved Chanelle, a blue haired nymph who looked mostly like some kind of hipster girl, forward. The nymph was in charge of the Aqua Lands, and already figured that Mikki would want her to take things over from there. Had to restore normalcy and so forth.

 Speaking of…

 "I'm just saying," chirped Buttercup, "you're never going to get this properly styled if you just run off."

 "Well, I'm needed,' said Mikki, shrugging. That had the fairy hissing again, which just had Mikki rolling her eyes. She settled back in, letting Buttercup titter over the various kernels still stuck to Mikki's hair.

 "You've got just gorgeous hair!" whined the fairy, lifting a frayed, dirty strand, "and you treat it so bad!"

 Mikki shrugged again. What else could she do, really? Sure, she knew that her genetics had gifted her with some impressive hair, along with her eternally tanned skin, but it wasn't like she had aimed to look like this. She was far more focused on other things, mentally reviewing her lists, since Buttercup had insisted that she not use the tablet this time.

 Kernels kept flying every which way, and Buttercup kept twittering away all the while. The fairy did pause for a moment to pose with another fairy for a Snapchat post, which had Mikki almost giggling. Fairies were just way too into social media for their own good. Listening to their chatter was almost soothing after what she'd went through. They were apparently comparing how many likes and views their respective pictures got, insisting that the upcoming festivities would mean loads more opportunities to pose.

 "We are going to have a Fairy Festival!" chirped Mikki, catching Buttercup's eye in the mirror. Mikki smiled, the expression lighting the amber in her eyes.

 "I love those!" cooed Buttercup, before fluttering back to Mikki. As Mikki has half hoped, the fairy had become more focused on her, again moving around, shaping the smoking mass of black that her hair had become.

 "It should involve several of the flowering plants, and definitely involve a slightly later showing at night involving mushrooms," offered Mikki, already recalling the plans. They'd decided that letting people see the Ring at night would look absolutely amazing. Even during the day it looked pretty good, and with all the fairy lights to light it.

 "Oh, I hope there are plenty of dragon lilies! Those match my color just perfectly!' cooed Buttercup, flaring a few different colors, mostly of varying yellows.

 Mikki had to smile. "We've made sure to arrange for every hue of flower we can—" she paused, not because she'd forgotten what she needed to say, but because she could see a very worried looking gangly teenager in dark violet robes.

 "Hey Willow, what's up?" Mikki asked, forcing her voice cheery. She could feel Buttercup cease moving before the fairy did, and she could also feel the disapproving stare.

 "Oh, hi Mikki…" said the witch's apprentice, clearly more than a little surprised and possibly slightly embarrassed at finding out that Mikki knew her by name. She shuffled her feet, reaching up to take off her pointed hat and start shifting it in her fingers.

 "Well, out with it!" chirped Buttercup.

 Mikki raised a hand, silencing the fairy, who just gave her an annoyed tinkle before moving to start cleaning up her beauty station. Mikki used the same hand to gesture toward Willow, giving her the cue to start talking.

 "So, um, the Coven it, ah, it, um, they…" fumbled the young witch. Mikki waited patiently and Willow figured out what she needed to say eventually: "They said that they needed to speak with you? Something about—"

 Mikki was already up and moving, grabbing a few of her Trinkets on the way out.

 The Coven lived in the dead center of the lands. Mikki remembered thinking that surely their house must look utterly terrifying, like something right out of the scary part of a fairy tale. They were all witches, after all, the nine of them supposedly the strongest witches still left alive. Or the strongest that could all cooperate in a coven.

 But instead of a house made of candy or a pumpkin or something, the Coven opted for a rather simple, wholly practical, house made out of stone and wood. From a distance it looked less like the home where the witch lived and more like the hidden cottage where you hid the fairy tale princess. The cobbled path that stretched from the main route of the park to the cabin looked almost pleasant, and there were even some flowers and whatnot that helped line the pathway. A vegetable garden could be seen at one side of the path, the other showcasing a rather impressive herbal garden that at least had some witchy named plants among them, one of the few concessions the witches made to the standard belief of witches.

 The other stood near the door. One of the Coven wore the traditional black dress, complete with pointed hat, and sat next to a bubbling cauldron. The witch looked old, the sort of old where you didn't dare ask how many years they had, but were instead more tempted to count folds in the wrinkles or to stare into the eyes to see how rheumy they'd gotten. But there was a sharpness in the blue gaze that snapped onto Mikki and Willow as they approached. It almost made Mikki activate the protective choker Trinket she wore, but she knew better than to offend the witches like that. They'd only cursed her once in her entire life, and she'd pretty well deserved that one.

 The witch, Hazel, looked up at Mikki, looked up and smirked. "Well, nice to see the Heir herself showing."

 Mikki smiled and spread her hands. "Well, Willow came to find me, so it wasn't like I could ignore it. How are you doing, Hazel?"

 The witch shrugged. "Same old, same old. Had a little girl wander up the path away from her parents," the witch smirked, "kindly welcomed her into the house for a bite of candy. Turns out that her parents taught her a bit better."

 Hazel chuckled, and Mikki nervously laughed as well. Technically the witches were part of the normal attractions and very much members of the Family. But while everyone was sort of here because they volunteered and agreed to the rules, the witches mostly played with the rules as they saw fit.

 "I see the garden's looking nice," she offered nodding toward the herbs, which were nearly up to her waist. Mikki wished she knew enough about herbology to know whether or not those were particularly tall or just normal or healthy or what. Something told her that rosemary wasn't supposed to be waist high, but it was one of those questions better left unasked.

 "Yep, freshly fertilized," replied Hazel, grinning again, showing remarkably clean teeth (despite their age, every single witch had every last one of her teeth, and some of them looked in better shape than even Mikki's, and she brushed three times a day and flossed at least once).

 "Well, ah, Willow said you wanted to speak with me?" prompted Mikki. "If it's not too much trouble."

 "Oh, seeing you is never a trouble, dearie," drawled Hazel. She rose slowly, the motion looking deliberate. "We actually asked to see DuBois, figured we'd get your da, but, well,' she shrugged, "we know who's really in charge these days, don't we?"

 "Well, I wouldn't—"

 "No, you wouldn't," agreed Hazel. She motioned for Mikki to follow her into the witch's cottage, but paused right at the steps to the door. She coughed, glancing over her shoulder. Mikki leaned over and nudged Willow. The apprentice got the message, springing forth and heading up to open the door. A blast of herbal scents wafted free, and Mikki took a deep breath, inhaling the mixture. She had to fight the urge to cough, holding the almost flavored breath for several seconds before exhaling, a little swirled puff leaving. Hazel studied the puff, nodded, and then motioned for Mikki to head on in.

 Mikki did precisely that, shuffling around the fairly short door, feeling somewhat pleased to have to duck down. She already knew what to expect. The first room you'd enter looked almost painfully witchy. Dark, with only lances of sunlight and a glimmering light in the center to light properly. The center light came from an actual working crystal ball, which shimmered and flickered with smoky lights. It sat upon an impressive table, wide enough for several people to sit at comfortably, but with only one chair on one side. A middle-aged woman, broad and dusky skinned, sat at it, dressed in a comfortable array of silks and swatches. She smiled and inclined her head toward Mikki, who responded the motion in kind.

 There were a handful of rather comfortable chairs meant to receive any awaiting visitors. A set of stairs spiraled up from the back to a second floor. A door exited to the back, with smoke wafting out of it. Mikki knew it actually led to a kitchen, the smoke as likely to be roast beef as a potion. The other door led to a few of the downstairs bedrooms for the older witches, out of which now hobbled a pair of witches that looked old enough to be Hazel's grandmothers. They gave Mikki warm smiles, and she nodded in turn. A rather plump witch bustled her way out from the kitchen, with an almost adorably tiny witch toddling along behind her. The eternally young looking girl wore a practical, but still adorable pink dress, her curls bouncing. Another pair of witches, two sisters, came down from the stairs. They had apparently been squabbling with one another, as they kept glaring at each other.

 Mikki raised her brows as the witches descended. This was nearly the entire coven, far more than she'd seen for anything short of an important ceremony. She couldn't recall seeing the entire Coven since she'd, ah, hit her womanhood, as it were. Because of course the local witches wanted to explain the mysteries of the feminine to them.

 Mikki bobbed her head, greeting each by name, raising a hand or curtsying as to each witch's personal preference. "So, the entire Coven then?" she asked. "Is there some sort of ritual that I'm not aware of? I know we're relatively close to the Summer Solstice, but that's still at least a month away, if not more…" she trailed off, because all the Coven had fallen silent. Mikki licked her lips, looking toward the elderly twins. Ruth and Naomi were notorious chatterboxes, inevitably asking if Mikki had found a partner yet or inquiring as to her health. But they were both uncharacteristically silent, as if having agreed with the Coven ahead of time that now was not the time for small talk. Which was a bit odd, since Hazel had been chatty enough, though that was part of her job…

 "This is of the gravest importance, Mikki," intoned a rasping voice that made Mikki jump. She twisted, seeing the tallest witch standing behind her. Mikki supposed the tall witch had an actual name, but everyone just called her Mutter, which was apparently just Mother in some language, probably German. She stood tall, looked somehow older than Ruth and Naomi, but at the same time, there was something in the way she moved that hinted at vitality.

 She actually made Mikki nervous, and Mikki had faced down dragons just a few days ago.

 "Ah, yes, um, of course…" said Mikki, shuffling. She glanced around, seeing that the Coven had summoned up various chairs of varying descriptions, taking position in varying patterns around her. It wasn't quite a circle, because a circle wouldn't quite be the best magical conduit, even Mikki knew that. The hodgepodge arrangement wouldn't make any sense to anyone who hadn't grown up with magic. Mikki, however, knew to tap her amulet just a little.

 "We're not going to do anything to you," offered Mutter, snorting as she came around, pausing at the crystal ball. She arched a brow at the thing, then looked at the swarthy witch behind it, Vadoma. The fortune teller shrugged, keeping her position.

 "I'm sure you wouldn't," agreed Mikki. "But I'd rather not end up getting some loose magic from the entire coven of threes…" she gestured around her, indicating the esteemed witches. They all looked at her, most looking impressed. One or two sent a little shiver of magic toward her, the tingling seeping around Mikki's skin without doing any real damage.

 Mutter raised a hand, waving it a little, before nodding. "Right, so we could pussyfoot around, but I've never been much for it," she licked her lips, leaning on the table. "The magic's getting off. Your da's in charge of maintaining it and making sure it all goes."

 Mikki paused, chewing her cheek. That would explain why the gremlins had felt a little off, and why the dragons were acting out… explain a lot, actually. Not to mention the unicorns, though just putting someone who was a little more, ah, sexually promiscuous near them could cause issues. Putting such thoughts aside, Mikki glanced around the Coven, wondering just how much she should try to reveal to them. "He's… getting on," she offered.

 Almost all the witches snorted at that, one or two outright laughing. Mikki flushed, realizing that telling witches that preexisted the park that someone was getting older was just outright silly. She shifted again, moving to chew the other side.

 "Just be honest, Mikki," prompted Ruth, nodding.

 "Ain't like we haven't figured it out," added Naomi. The other witches nodded along, muttering agreements.

 Mikki sighed. "I… I think he may be ready to…" she waved her arms, "to…" honestly the problem wasn't that she didn't know it, but that she didn't want to say it, to admit it aloud.

 "He doesn't want to be the Coordinator for the park," finished Mutter, folding her arms.

 Mikki paused for a moment, feeling the attention of nine witches on her. But she nodded all the same.

 Mikki raised her bracelet, mumbling the charm that would resonate the magic within with the magic to open the door in a hurry. It whooshed, the air ruffling her (still not completely styled) hair. She stepped into a too cold room, wincing as the door slid shut behind her. Orbs filled much of the room, floating like so many loose bubbles. Each one showed a different section of the park, though they weren't organized in any manner that made sense. Mikki could see a group of tourists going down the water flume screaming as waves crashed over them right next to another staring at the Proper Workshop, and she knew that the two locations were at opposite ends of the park, without much to really connect them. Each sphere told a different story, followed a different person. They didn't make any noise unless you touched them, and then only for the person touching. But only experience would explain anything about the room or its layout.

 Experience that even Mikki hadn't mastered yet, to her frustration. Her father, Walther, wouldn't even let her take the time it required to master the various connections. She had some understanding of the general layout, and she knew enough to thread her way through the room to the main hub, but definitely not enough to find a particular location in the hurry, let alone actually use the hub like you were supposed to.

 The actual Coordinator, the real person who took control over the magic of the Secret Lands, could stand in the center floor of the room and pull all the orbs together. They could resonate with the park, channeling the magic through them and understand instantly the condition of the Lands and the Family. Even now, Mikki marveled at the sheer magic and will it involved, as she watched her father standing there, eyes closed, pulling in information while typing with one hand, sending out messages to the people who Mikki hadn't been dealing with.

 Walther DuBois didn't look much like his daughter. He stood tall and straight, nearly looming, making Mikki wonder if the rumors about her being magically altered to be almost dead on the average of a height chart weren't true. Her body even seemed to nestle there no matter what she did, while her father's poor diet had given him a bit of a gut. Mikki had that dusky, burnished skin tone that told of her mother's people, while Walther looked almost too pale, despite not being entirely "white" himself. Mikki knew her father was mostly white with a few other races intermingled, while her mother had been wholly Native American. Apparently through magic or just freak genetics, Mikki looked like an almost exact copy of her now gone mother…

 Save for her eyes, which perfectly matched the amber of her father's as they opened now. He turned to look at her, and Mikki could see the wrinkles around them, the exhaustion pouring forth. She took a breath, remembering why she'd come here. The gremlins, the dragons, the Coven, everything spiraling out of control. She knew what she should be asking, should be saying. But instead she just smiled up at him.

 "Your hair…" he said, glancing up at her.

 "Yes," she said, wincing. "The dragons were acting up a while ago---"

 "I know."

 "Naturally. But they also singed it," she shrugged. "I've been trying to get Buttercup to tame it, but things have been… hectic."

 Her father turned to look away, peering into the magical connections that only the Coordinator could actually see. Mikki waited patiently, knowing he'd get around to responding. "It's nearing the Summer high season," he said. "There will be tourists pouring into the Lands."

 "We've also hired a new batch of helpers," offered Mikki. "This particular group looks quite promising. As we agreed, I've taken a more direct hand in dealing with them and I really think---"

 Mikki paused, because Walther had turned to look back at her. He smiled, spreading his arms wide. "Enough shop talk, Mik," he said, gesturing with his hands.

 "Actually that's---" but before Mikki could finish, her father had stepped down from the hub to embrace her. She couldn't fight against his thick arms as they enfolded her, and honestly she wouldn't really want to if she had the choice. It felt far too good, particularly after how frantic everything had been. She felt him kissing the top of her head, and she had to wince.

 "Smells like dragonfire,' he grumbled.

 "I told you: I'm working on it," she protested, pulling back and looking up at him. This close, she could really see the exhaustion in his eyes.

 "I suppose it's a nice change from that basic bargain shampoo…' Walther teased, which had Mikki rolling her eyes. She squirmed free off him, adjusting her clothing, making sure the various magical items were all in position. "You're rather decked out."

 "Gremlins," she replied, shrugging. "Then the Coven wanted to speak. I honestly thought about grabbing more…"

 "But you didn't want to offend them," agreed Walther. "Smart girl. Guess that's a bit of an understatement," he took a deep breath, turning to look at the Hub. The distraction thrummed through every inch of his body, but he wasn't taking a step away from Mikki.

 She should ask. Just outright ask if the strain was becoming too much or if they should--- but she didn't want to. This was her father, the man who loved her, who had been responsible for Mikki essentially being raised in the best place in the entire world, certainly the most magical place. Just thinking about even talking about something that could hurt him…

 "I hadn't noticed anything wrong in the Witch's Glen," said Walther, frowning.

 "Oh, it was… I handled it," offered Mikki.

 "So," Walther turned back to Mikki, "why did you come here? You know you're not supposed to be in the Hub without good reason," he paused. "Though I suppose seeing your father is a decent enough reason."

 Not really, but Mikki held the comment back. "I was just… checking in regarding the Solstice. And wanting to make sure that you knew about the new recruits."

 Walther nodded, before pointing toward a few of the orbs. "Been watching. A few impressive ones. Isn't that one Alby's older brother?"

 Mikki turned, seeing the broad-shoulders, tattooed young man who had stood out from the pack, currently helping to sort through trash for composting. "Yes it is," she offered, looking back. "Like I said, a good group."

 "Right, right," Walther turned back to look at the hub. Again Mikki felt that ping. He shouldn't be this distracted, even in the Hub proper. She should---

 "Well," Walther said, turning back, "you should get that hair fixed. I'll see you at dinner," he nodded. Then snapped his fingers, "Wait, not dinner tonight. Have a meeting with the Craftsmen. Tomorrow."

 "Tomorrow," agreed Mikki. Before she could say or do anything, her father was hugging her again.

 "Slow down some, okay Mik?" he asked, whispering into her. "You don't want to burn out before you've really gotten started. Maybe find someone who can support you. That big guy looks nice."

 Mikki flushed, but she gave her father a pat. "I promise, father."

 Mikki stared dead-eyed at her reflection as the fairies all tittered around her. Buttercup had decided that if they were ever going to actually get her hair done, then it would be an all hands on deck situation. So almost a dozen lights fluttered about Mikki's face. Each individual strand of hair flared with magic, stretched with delicate hands, and she could almost feel the intensity of the natural energies flowing through her.

 Really it should've put her in a better mood. That much fae magic pulsing so close to her head? She should almost be drugged. But all she could think about was the Coven's warning, and how distracted her father had been, and how creatures as varied as Gremlins and dragons were acting out.

 "Mikki!"

 Buttercup's cry made Mikki jump, which had every fairy pulling back at once. One or two pulled hairs, making Mikki wince, and she gave the mirror, and the fairies reflected in it, apologetic looks.

 "Jeez!" said one of the fairies, Bluebell if Mikki was identifying the lights correctly (fairies were a bit hard to identify when they were pulsing with their tingling magics).

 "We just wanted to know if there were any of the new recruits that you thought were particularly interesting," said another, Tigerlily.

 "Or cute," added Buttercup, giggling. Several other fairies did, which was a marvelous noise that nearly had Mikki giggling herself.

 "Well, ah, there are several that seem to be like they might be great additions to the family…"

 "The kind that you take to see your dad?" asked Tigerlily, earning more giggles.

 Mikki rolled her eyes. The fairies at least resumed work. "Not like that. I'm not really looking for that sort of thing."

 "Suuurrrre you're not," said Buttercup. Mikki could swear her fairy stylist blinked in a particularly knowing way, which had Mikki shooting a quick glare at the mirror. The fairies resumed chatting, mentioning all the various cuties. Apparently there was one called "Paris" that was getting their attention, a name that Mikki didn't immediately remember. And, naturally, Kennedy's name came up. Odd how that happened so close to the last mention. Mikki wondered if the park's magic wasn't hinting toward something else.

 The fairies kept chattering while putting the finishing touches on Mikki's hair. Soon the frayed and burned mess looked less like it had happened on accident and more like a purposeful move. The various dark strands spiked out in various directions, including a swooping set of bangs that Tigerlily demonstrated the versatility of by swooping up and then swooping down, using glittering magics both ways. It looked a little more rebellious and punk than Mikki was really comfortable with, and she was tempted to tell them to just give it a buzz when, of course, someone else arrived.

 "Joni," greeted Mikki, recognizing the half-elf immediately. Jonilynn Michele helped organize various musical performances and was generally responsible for making sure that everyone of them went to schedule. She was actually an ex-rock star of moderate renown; turned out that having elf blood really helped with that.

 "There you are," Joni folded her arms over her chest, raising her brows. "Nice. But hey, we've got a familiar problem."

 Mikki sighed, closing her eyes. "Raelena?"

 "Raelena."

 She winced and looked at her fairies, who immediately began tingling in frustration.

 "You will sit there until your hair is finished!" demanded Buttercup, her voice sounding utterly terrifying.

 So Mikki did.