She wandered through the mists in the hills, searching, always searching. Sketchy outlines of trees loomed around her, their branches shadowy against the fog. A chilling howl reverberated through the mountains, and she shivered, pulling her cloak closer around her body. She glanced down at her belt, touching the talisman to make sure that it was still there, tucked snugly into her belt pouch. If she didn't find the Merlin soon, it would be too late. Tired, freezing, she finally saw him. Standing at the entrance to his crystal cave, welcoming her. She opened her mouth to greet him--

--only to get a mouthful of freezing cold water. She groaned, and opened her eyes to meet those of her sister.

"What's up?" Her sister smiled apologetically at her (though Naomi had the sneaking suspicion that Esther enjoyed pulling her out of her reveries) and told her that, "Dad's giving us a little talk on what to pack. You know, one of those 'it's a whole different climate' speeches. He wants you downstairs, now." At Naomi's pleading look, she defended herself. "His words, not mine." "Fine, fine." Naomi closed her eyes, clutching for one more second at the fantasy. Then she resolutely opened her eyes and stood up, stretching. She shivered. "Who turned down the heat?" When she got no answer, she turned to find that her sister had already gone downstairs. "Typical." Sighing, she grabbed another sweater, and pulled it on as she went downstairs, cursing Ohio winters all the while.

As she arrived in the living room and perched herself on the back of the armchair, her father cleared his throat.

"Good, we can begin. We should just discuss a couple of things that will change when we move. For one thing, we'll be moving into a far smaller house than this one, so instead of sleeping two to a room, you'll have to sleep four to a room, at least until we finish building on an addition." A chorus of groans echoed through the room. "Hey! It was a good deal to get this house in this location. It won't be so bad, you did it when you were little and we lived in New York." Quelling any dirty looks with his dagger-eyes, he continued, "Also, we're moving to New Mexico. It's a whole different climate."

Naomi and Esther carefully didn't look at each other and suppressed their giggles. "You won't need to bring sweaters, or even that many long sleeved shirts. Another thing is that your mother doesn't have a job there yet. This means no allowance, among other things." This time, the groans were much more audible.

"Yes, this means that you will have to work! Get a job if you want an allowance, because we can't afford it right now. Soon, maybe." He paused, looking straight at me. "The final thing is this. We may be moving to Roswell, but that means nothing. Do you hear me, Naomi? Nothing. There may or may not have been a crash there however many years ago, but I do not want you trying to find out. If there wasn't, I don't want you to get your hopes up. If there was, it is almost certainly dangerous to become involved. Do you understand?"

Naomi lowered her head, unwilling to look him in the eye. "Naomi. You are my daughter, and I care about you. I don't want you to make a mistake. Now promise me." She glanced up quickly, and nodded her head in a quick assent. "All right. Meeting adjourned. You can leave now."

They scattered off to their various activities--Mom back to work, David and Rachel to soccer practice, Sam to band practice, Sol to the mall, Esther to Academic Challenge, and Ben and Rebecca to bang on various things in the kitchen. Her father peered at Naomi for a moment, then left as well, going to his last day at the office, leaving her in the middle of the living room.