Swallowed by shadows

[Tenzin]

She made some small grumbling noise at the insistence of shortening her name, but said nothing, assuming he was going to anyway. Was two syllables so difficult? Jacinda did it too, but it was a different thing there; bred of familiarity that Tenzin never questioned, and thus had never protested.

Andre seemed openly curious, but Tenzin was wary with the details. Mik was mining, which she didn’t mind, but she wouldn’t offer anything that might risk future endangerment. The Apollyon outed the Atharim to the public, and this new world was in dangerous flux while it adjusted. Even the Atharim themselves were unravelling in alarming fashion. Tenzin came here to help. She came here because the wolves urged it was where she needed to be. But all she’d found was chaos.

“Jac,” she offered. Not a nickname she ever used, but it seemed appropriate. The smile when she said it was genuine though.

“Long way,” she agreed. She didn’t know what Hogwarts was, but she got the gist of what was meant. She bubbled into laughter for a moment before her expression stilled. “Secret handshake, everything,” she said solemnly. She was teasing, clearly. Her manner had relaxed some the moment Mik’s attitude had changed. But she was attentive to any shifts. Clearly he knew something of what he spoke. “Assumes spirit-touched aren’t also monsters, Mik.”