Bjorn led her guests straight into the dining room, and the scene was so incredibly normal that Sunshine felt a bit nervous about what to expect. The family was already seated, the air thick with the smell of savory spices and the clinking of silverware.

Sunshine and Vortan exchanged a quick, subtle glance. They were like two hawks in a chicken coop, eyes darting from face to face. Which one is the cobra? Sunshine wondered. She scanned the group, trying to find someone who looked like a snake.

So, she wanted to see scales, slitted eyes, a forked tongue...a snake tattoo. Anything that would give away the Master of Information that was hard to pin down.

She saw everyone from a middle-aged, jovial-looking man who kind of resembled a frog to a tiny, elderly female creature with whiskers that dipped into its soup. It was a beautiful, blended mess of species. But none was a snake and none looked like a shadow.

A female with a sweet smile, large blinking eyes and green-tinted skin, beamed at them. "Welcome," she said excitedly. "Any friend of Bjorn’s is welcome here."

Her voice was as deep as a man’s, throwing Sunshine and Vortan off for a moment.

"Not just friends." Bjorn declared. "Sunlight is my biggest meat and grain supplier currently. She is the reason why our family has been eating well for more than a year."

The room erupted in cheers and many grateful eyes looked at Sunshine. Meanwhile, she wondered why they lacked food when this world had a lot of greenery. Surely, they could grow their own food here.

It was a puzzle, but not one she intended to dig in at the moment.

"Is she not too small to hunt?" Someone asked.

"All that meat comes from her!" the frog-like man croaked happily. "Oh, bless you, dear! The prices in the central market are a crime. Sometimes I think there is a group of fat cats somewhere in the galaxy that is looking to bankrupt us all by hiking the food prices deliberately. Please, sit! Eat! There is plenty for everyone, thanks to you."

Sunshine sat and began to pick at a plate of roasted meat and succulent vegetables. She was not so sure if she wanted to eat the meat in a strange world without knowing where it came from. Next to her, Vortan was about as relaxed as a loaded spring. He barely touched his food as well, his eyes constantly darting toward Bjorn, screaming a silent question, Where is she?

Bjorn cleared her throat, looking uncomfortable as she poked at a piece of bread. "Auntie? Where’s Mavielle? I thought she was joining us tonight."

"Oh, you know that girl," the aunt said, waving a webbed hand dismissively. "Always glued to her screens. She said she had one last report to file before...."

Ding-dong!

The doorbell echoed through the house. "That must be her!" the aunt chirped, scurrying toward the foyer.

A moment later, a new figure entered the room. It was a small and short female, covered in soft, reddish-orange fur with large, expressive ears and a bushy tail that twitched nervously. She looked like a red fox that had been given a humanoid shape and a very expensive pair of glasses.

This was Mavielle. This was the legendary, terrifying Cobra, Sunshine thought, she suppressed a laugh.

The smile on Mavielle’s face didn’t just drop; it disintegrated. She froze mid-step, her eyes locking onto Sunshine’s wondering how she was here, alive! News said repairman Sunshine was dead!

Then, her gaze shifted to Vortan. In an instant, her ears pinned back, and she spun on her heel, her tail fluffing up to twice its size. She was ready to bolt.

"Mavielle," Vortan’s voice was like a whip-crack in the quiet room. "If you run, your situation goes from bad to worst. I would think very carefully about my next actions if I was you."

The silence that followed was absolute. A fork hit a ceramic plate with a loud clack. The happy chatter died instantly, replaced by a thick, suffocating confusion.

"Bjorn?" the aunt asked, her voice trembling. "What is going on? Who are these people?"

Bjorn stood up, looking like she wanted to melt into the floorboards. "Auntie... Mavielle has finally done something stupid. Something really, really stupid." She looked at Vortan and then back at her family, trying to soften the blow. "This is Mavielle’s boss. He’s here because she’s dug herself into a hole, and he’s the only one who can pull her out."

The room exploded.

"I knew it!" a cousin shouted, waving a spoon. "I told you that Mavielle was acting fishy lately!"

"Mavielle, what did you do?" another chimed in.

"Please, sir!" the aunt cried, looking at Vortan. "She’s a good girl, just a bit too clever for her own skin! Help her!"

Sunshine looked at Mavielle or Cobra. The female was standing there with the most innocent, wide-eyed face Sunshine had ever seen. If she hadn’t known this girl was responsible for a Noxian hit squad finding Earth, she would have wanted to pet her.

Vortan stood up, his face unreadable. "I need to speak with Mavielle. Privately."

The elders looked worried, but Bjorn stepped in, placing a hand on her aunt’s shoulder. "Trust Sunlight," Bjorn whispered, nodding toward Sunshine. "She’s going to look out for her."

Sunshine gave a small, reassuring smile to the family and followed Vortan, Bjorn, and a very shaky Mavielle into a quiet back study filled with books and old data-slates. As soon as the door clicked shut, Mavielle began to pace like a caged animal. "How much trouble? On a scale of 1 to 10 how much trouble am I in?"

"100. Start at the beginning," Vortan said, leaning against the door. "Talk. Now."

Mavielle stopped, looking at Sunshine. Her ears drooped. "I’m sorry," she whispered. "I knew it was a bad. I knew it! But I didn’t have a choice!"

"Everyone has a choice, Mavielle," Bjorn snapped. "You’re just really good at picking the worst ones."

Vortan pulled out a small recording device. "State your name and rank for the record."

Mavielle took a shaky breath. "Mavielle Crix. Rank: Senior Intelligence Analyst at the Universal Repairman Information Intelligence Center."

Vortan tapped his device, confirming her ID. "You have access to everything including all repairmen records. That is how you were able to leak the location of repairman Raine. Who told you to do it?"