[GrayGriffin]

"Do you really think I'd yield so easily?" Tundran snarled back. Oh, this one had teeth? Well, the Yonyuu could match him, fang for fang. "You don't know half the mages in Evelon." Morgan had commented about the stigma or ignorance about his kind, but he hadn't thought he'd actually encounter it. Still, he knew the Tengumi had his ways.

"Mel is already leaps and bounds ahead of the last time she tried to trick a mage. She'll be long gone by now."

That wasn't true, technically. It was more likely that she'd have disguised herself, probably as some other species of Drakel.

"Anyways, there's no more use for this mist, is there?" Tundran's expression suddenly softened into one of fear, and the fog around them dissolved.

"Hellllp! Police! Anyone! Help!" squealed the Yonyuu, thrashing about as much as he could. "Somebody get this thing off me!"

[14, 14, 9]

[Freezair]

"Yes, police. Do come," Rook said, calmly.

Either Rook or Tundran was in luck--a human man in a red shirt and glasses appeared within seconds, reaching into his pocket to grab something leather. He flashed it open, revealing a shimmering badge and an official--looking ID. "Nabias PD, plainclothes division," he said. "What's going on here, Mr. Rook? Didn't think you were much of a fisherman."

"I have several witnesses who will attest that this gentleman here assaulted me with magic, and he has a partner loose in this town somewhere who has probably stolen some things from me. Regrettably, I've lost her." All of the fire seemed to be gone from Rook's eyes--though his chest heaved in a way that was far from tranquil. He put on a smooth face when someone else was nearby, even though he seethed inside. "I believe additionally that using magic to disturb or obstruct in a public place is illegal, classified similarly to causing a disturbance."

The police officer looked down at Tundran. "Oh boy. This might be a toughie..."

[GrayGriffin]

"Oh, please!" exclaimed Tundran. "I certainly did nothing of the sort! I've been falsely accused, threatened with bodily harm, and hunted like a mindless beast! Oh, it's true that I used magic, but I was merely attempting to escape with my own life! It was one of the most harmless forms of obstructive magic I could think of! I didn't want anyone else to get caught up in this!" Technically, everything but his declarations of innocence were true.

Meanwhile, Mel had opted for her quickest disguise-a Drakelph. She had found her stashed disguise kit where it was supposed to be, and a quick dash of dye and some magical fixative, plus her own hand-made witch hat, made it almost impossible to tell she wasn't actually one. Warbler had set off in an opposite direction, rolling among the bottom edges of the stalls.

The disguised Milky Way Drakel slowly made her way through the tops of the stalls. Her small size was quite a distinctive aspect of hers, so trying to charm Tundran out of this wouldn't work. She just had to hope that he had his own ways.

Morgan might still kill us, she thought.

[15, 15, 10]