"Kelpie, there you are," Nico yowled. "I have a bone to pick with you."
Kelpie paused in his walk. "What is it, fairy cat? I am still in a touchy mood after the Earl's trick. Do you know where Lydia is?"
"She is probably in the library. And hey, don't distract me." He walked over to face Kelpie. "Stop leaving your moss-covered stones everywhere. They give me the creeps." He held out a pebble covered in orange moss.
"What? I don't leave them-" Kelpie narrowed his eyes, snatching the pebble."Oi, Nico, where did you find this?"
"Um... the other side of the house I think. Why? Isn't it yours?"
"Fool!" Kelpie snapped. "I leave green mossy pebbles. This is ORANGE, the color of another kelpie."
"What?" Nico squawked, "another kelpie? But that-that is terrible.. no fun at all." He waved his arms around, eyes wide, as if to fend off an attack of bees. "They're fiercesome Unseelie Court, man-eating-"
Kelpie put the pebble in his pocket. "I am grateful for your overwhelming trust in me," he commented in a cool voice. "And don't worry, she's not that bad."
"She?" Nico squeaked.
"Ah. She's a cousin of mine, been hiding in unsightly places for us noble, underwater-"
"They're not UNSIGHTLY!" a woman screamed from behind them.
Nico leapt in the air, popping into invisibility. Kelpie winced, covering his ears, then whirled around. "STOP YELLING, IDIOTIC FEMALE KELPIE!" he roared.
"Hmph, as if you have any reason to thrash me with your tongue with words at that volume," a red-headed woman in a white dress commented, pulling out a fan and waving air into her face.
"It's your pitch, stupid cousin. Sometimes I wish I never met your side of the family. You're too queer."
She tossed her head and snapped her fan shut. "I highly doubt you're a better example. I can smell the chicken blood from here. Did you find human meat too rich for your diet?"
Kelpie laughed. "That is an old argument, you old hag. I gave you the reason last time you decided to return to your roots. Losing touch from too much sun?" He patted her shoulder, feigning a long sigh.
She squealed, backing up a few feet. "What did you do that for?"
Kelpie started, as if surprised at her pain, then a wide grin spread across his face. His eyes twinkled in wicked merriment. "What? Actually stay down on the coasts of Spain long enough to get a sunburn on your white coat? Spending too much time luring Spainsh men to your side? Or perhaps they were too suave for you to control."
His cousin gaped at him. "How could you? You- you undignified, ugly seahorse!"
"My, my, if I am ugly in your eyes, I am quite fine with that." Kelpie folded his arms. "After all, I have much better sights than to look to mount a disobedient horse like you." He continued, even as her eyes narrowed and a red light began to fill them. " You couldn't even compare to the foot of my fair Lydia. Why, I bet your coat is no longer milky white after all that Southern sun."
Nico looked back at the female and faded back into the surroundings. Her red hair sparked as she took three steps towards her cousin and his cocky grin. "At least I am not pulling a carriage for a puffed up Earl who is moving in on the girl I left my natural behavior behind for. My coat may not look nearly as pristine, but your coat has turned dusty from London's streets," she hissed. "I am sure you are nearly as tame as a plow-horse."
"Lydia's hand on her pen slipped, scratching through her notes, as a huge BANG and two loud cries of horses ripped through the quiet afternoon....
-To be continued-
NOTES:
*Saa ne: a common thoughtful Japanese phrase that is similar to I wonder or I don't know.
**Ohayou: Good morning in a familiar way
