The ride to Murphy's house was filled with Yang telling us more stories about her time at Beacon Academy. We were all cackling at Jaune Arc's cross-dressing when Andi pulled up to the curb in front of Karrin's house.

"Well, Yang, it was lovely to meet you," Andi said. "I'm sure Harry will find a way to get you back home soon."

Yang shook Andi's hand, "The pleasure was mine, Andi. I hope we get to meet again before that happens." She got out and stood on the edge of the lawn. Andi turned to look back at me.

"Harry, take good care of her, okay? And don't wait for a crisis to come visit next time." I put my hand on her shoulder.

"Done and done. I promise, the next time I'll be potential-apocalypse-free. Tell Waldo I said hey, and thanks again for everything." She reached up to squeeze my hand and smiled at me.

"I hope so, Harry. Tell Karrin I said hello."

"Will do – drive safe." I grabbed my duffel and staff, and then got out to stand next to Yang, who waved back at Andi as the car pulled away.

"I like her, Harry. Is she a wizard?" I shook my head.

"Not exactly; she has this one thing she can do, but it's not quite the same as what we wizards do." We started walking up to the house.

"Could you do it?" I'd never really thought about it.

"I suppose I could turn myself into a wolf, but I never saw the need." I mean, it's neat and all, but wolves can't shout spells or handle a blasting rod, so it would kind of limit me. Plus, wolves work better in a pack, as the Alphas had demonstrated to great effect in the past.

"Oh," Yang said, nonplussed. She must be getting used to the weird. Someone give me a shot of whatever she'd taken.

"Besides, knowing me, I'd probably start chasing cars or squirrels or something. Very un-wizard-like behavior, that." Yang snorted and we made our way onto the porch. I rang the doorbell and waited patiently. It took Karrin less than a minute to come to the door. I pretended not to notice when she enthusiastically hugged me. I dropped my bag and returned the hug. If she weren't five-nothing, her cane and my staff would have made it awkward.

"Hi," I murmured into her hair, which smelled of white gardenia.

"Hi, yourself," she replied, huskily.

"Aww, that's so cute!" Yang said. Karrin didn't let go, but she did tip her head back just enough to look around at Yang. She didn't say anything for several heartbeats. No, I did not hold my breath. Shut up, I did not!

"So this is the girl who made a giant pot hole in the marina parking lot." Oops.

"Guilty as charged," Yang shrugged. "I'm Yang; nice to meet you, Karrin Murphy!" Murphy gave me the stink eye.

"Hey, that parking lot had it coming, Murph. It had a whole gaggle of thugs standing on it." She arched an eyebrow and the corner of her mouth cinched up. She wasn't buying it. "Is there an APB out on us?"

"Nobody got a good enough look, and your welcoming party all managed to run off before the boys showed up." She let go and turned and gave Yang her best stern cop face. "I appreciate you watching Harry's back, Yang, but big explosions are frowned on here. I expect you to show more discretion if there's more fighting, young lady." She eased up a bit and held out her hand. "It's nice to meet you, too." Yang took her hand and nodded, but there was a twinkle of mischief in her eye. Ye gods and little fishes, here we go.

"I understand, Miss Murphy. I'll try my best to show crater restraint next time." I couldn't help but snort a little air out of my nose. Murphy gave me a withering look.

"My god, Dresden, she's a cute blonde version of you. Don't you start in, too. I don't think the universe could handle it." Oh hell no, I wasn't about to let that one go.

"I have no idea what you're talking about. I'm hol-ey uninterested in denting pavement." Murphy groaned and looked skyward.

"This coming from the man who made a career out of destroying buildings?" Yang laughed and pointed a finger at me.

"Oh man, Harry, she's really blown your cover!" I raised my hands in mock surrender.

"Jesus, Mary and Joseph, there are two of them!" she moaned to the sky. "Come inside, before one of you gets struck by lightning." Murphy started for the door when Yang piped down to a more serious tone.

"Oh, just like that?" She probably hadn't been looking forward to being depowered again, but had said nothing.

"Yeah, just like that. I may be paranoid, but I trust Harry completely. If he says you're good, that's enough for me. But. Don't let the cane fool you – any funny business and your ass will be in a sling." We went inside and I smelled something divine. I put my staff in the umbrella tin and hung my bag and coat by the door. Yang sidled up to me and leaned in.

"I like her," she whispered conspiratorially, "she's feisty." I grinned ear to ear. It was one of the many things I loved about Karrin, who had made her way back to the kitchen. "How did she get hurt?"

"She tangled with a really nasty bad guy and didn't come out on top." I glowered for a moment. Nicodemus was right at the top of my shit list, but I wasn't any closer to figuring out where he was or what he was doing. I knew he'd pop back up like a bad rash sooner or later, though. "She was lucky; it could have been much worse."

"Oh," Yang mused. "How long has she been down?"

"It's been several months. Why do you ask?" I got the sense that she was going somewhere with this.

"I might be able to help her with that," she said quietly. Really? I faced her squarely and leaned forward a bit.

"What do you mean, Yang?" I asked. Karrin had gotten a really raw deal. I never said anything about it, but I hated to watch her struggle with her recovery. If Yang was saying she could make it easier for Karrin, I was very interested.

"Well, normally I probably wouldn't be able to, but she's got a really strong soul – I felt it when we shook hands. I could try unlocking her aura." Seriously? Was that even possible? I mean, I always knew Karrin was special, and that wasn't just boyfriend bias. Yang took in my look of disbelief and elaborated. "Like I said, normally I wouldn't be able to. That sort of thing is for more adept aura users, but hers is really close to manifesting. I'm pretty sure I can do it." Points to her, there was a lot of confidence in that statement.

"I don't know, Yang…" I trailed off. Part of me wanted to give Karrin whatever help she could get, but another part of me felt like it was a shortcut. "Is there any risk if it doesn't work?" She shook her head at that.

"No way – if it doesn't, nothing really happens except I get tired for a bit. If it does, she'd get better in a day or two, maybe three tops. I'm willing to try if she is." She gripped my shoulder. "It's the least I could do in return for all your help, right?" Bless her; she just wanted to give something back. Her heart was in the right place, at least. I reached up and patted her hand.

"I tell you what, Sparky, it's up to her. She might be game, but a word of advice?" She nodded. "Maybe don't lead with that. She's tough as nails, but she's been through a lot." And proud. And damned stubborn – stars and stones, was she obstinate. Yang nodded.

"I figured. What would you suggest, then?" I thought about it for a second. Knowing Murphy like I did, it seemed best to illustrate what Yang's people were all about.

"Tell her about Hunters. What they do, how they- you train. What it means to be a Huntress, that sort of thing. I can bridge the gap." Murphy interrupted from the kitchen.

"Soup's on - come and get it, you two!" I winked at Yang, who closed her eyes and inhaled through her nose.

"It smells really good," she called as she made her way down the hall. "What kind of soup is it?" I followed behind, chuckling. From the aroma, I doubted it was soup. Murphy had taken up cooking as a hobby to pass the time between physical therapy sessions. Sometimes it was a disaster, but she was getting better at it. I once teased her about it and got a snarky 'can't eat pizza and beer the rest of my life like you' in return.

The table in the kitchen was set with salad, green beans, and the most awesome meat loaf I've ever had in my life ever.

"Oh boy, Yang – prepare yourself for the greatest dish you'll ever have. Everything else will pale in comparison." Murphy smiled and spread her hands, then eased down into her chair.

"It smells amazing. Thank you for going to all the trouble!" Yang slid off her bracers and placed them on the nearby counter. She sat down and waited for Karrin to serve herself, and then started making up her own plate.

"It's no trouble at all, really." I took my seat and got my food. "I've come to realize that I rather enjoy cooking, and while it isn't as exciting as solving cases and saving the day, it is rather satisfying." We ate and made small talk. Yang enjoyed the food as much as I did, judging by the look on her face, which I barely noticed. After Yang and I had started our second helping, Murphy changed to serious mode.

"Which one of you is going to sell me on this miracle cure?" She looked like the cat that got into the cream. Yang barely managed not to drop her jaw on the floor and I hid my own surprise by stuffing a bite in my mouth. Subtle, right? "Please. You two have the worst poker faces, and this is a small house." She quirked one of her eyebrows and stared at Yang.

"I'm sorry, if I'm out of line…." Yang trailed off and looked down at her plate, pushing green beans around with her fork.

"I get it, you're trying to help. I learned a long time ago that sometimes it's okay to let people do that for you." Karrin eyes sidled over to me pointedly. "I didn't catch all of it, so let's have it." Yang looked up, eyes wide, but smiling.

"Are you sure? We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to." Karrin put on a wry grin and curled her fingers in a give-it-to-me gesture. Oh look, there's still meatloaf on my plate! "I'll listen, but no promises."

Yang spent the next several minutes explaining how Aura worked. Many people who chose the path of the Hunter had their souls activate spontaneously. Having it unlocked by others wasn't the norm, but it happened often enough that it was common knowledge.

"It seems like cheating," Murphy said. "Then again, it sounds like your people need every advantage they can get." Yang spread both hands in front of her.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that it's an instant fix. Manipulating Aura is hard work. Minor stuff, cuts and bruises – that's easy. Serious stuff takes focus and energy. It's work and lots of food." She laughed and shook her head. "My sister, Ruby, eats her weight in cookies and fruit when she's had a busy day."

"So it acts as a passive shield and accelerates healing," Murphy said. "What else can it do?" Yang explained how Aura interacted with their tools and weapons, though she expressed some doubt about how well that would work without dust-based technology. I cleared up the confusion on that score.

"They have elemental forces in crystalline form. I've gotta admit, when we get her back home, I'd be mighty interested to get my hands on some." I mean, who knew if I could even do anything with it? I was curious – hopefully I wouldn't be doing a cat impression or anything. "I think the only other thing you haven't talked about yet is Semblance, right?" I still wasn't super clear on that part.

"Right. Semblance is an ability that is only used actively, usually as an attack."

"Usually?" Murphy asked.

"Yeah, and it's unique for each person. I mean, there's some replication, but it could be anything. There are thousands of different kinds." Yang went on to explain the ones her teammates had, pointing out creative uses of more motive or defensive expressions. "There's no way to know what it would be for you, and it would take a lot of training to figure it out."

"It shouldn't be possible to hurt someone on accident then?" Yang shook her head. "So how does it work, you poke around in my head or something?"

"Huh? No way! Why would anyone need to do that? I just extend my Aura out to your soul and try to wake it up. Kinda like jump-starting a car." Yang shrugged a shoulder and scratched her nose. Karrin got a sly look – usually her poker face was better than mine. This was going to be good.

"No chance of a Yang-over, then, right?" What? It caught me by surprise, and I giggled in a high-pitched voice. Yang and Karrin both jumped, and burst into hearty laughter a moment later.