When she finally returned to her bedroom, Elias was in bed, reading a report as he waited for her. "Found your way back I see."

She shrugged off the thick brown bathrobe and climbed into bed. "I was not lost, I was talking to my brother. He is nervous about starting high school."

Elias raised an eyebrow. "Nervous" Hmph. He should be. The Glory academy is brutal. If he fails....let’s just say he should not fail. I will keep an eye on him. If he is bullied, I will handle it."

Sienna sent him an appreciative glance. "Thank you Elias. Why the kindness though? I would expect you to tell him to man up or something. You know...the tough love you give Eli."

Without looking at her he replied, "Eli is the heir of the fox clan leadership, so he has to grow up fast and strong. He cannot afford to show weakness or fail at school. Your brother is one of thousands or millions of ordinary falcons in existence."

She snorted. "He could be the future falcon lord for all you know."

Elias lowered the report and looked at her, amusement on his curved lips. "Oh, really."

Sienna huffed, with a sneer. "Yes, really. We don’t know the future. Power in the falcon tribe could change hands and end up with my family. Geo told me power in the eagle tribe is going to change hands because the eagle lord has crossed the royals too many times in the last three years. He told me about some of the things the eagles have done, including ruining the queen’s birthday with a cursed mirror and supporting the crushed rebellion."

Elias raised his brow. He wondered how that conversation had started. "So, should I intervene or not in case your brother is bullied?"

She yawned. "Intervene. Give the other kids a beating they will never forget. Beat and fire the dean and all the teachers that looked the other way. Hell...expel the kids too."

Elias sighed, muttering something about ’too many beatings,’ and leaned back on his pillow.

As his tail found its way to Sienna’s familiar waist, she closed her eyes. "Sleep. I need to wash off the exhaustion of these three days with some peaceful sleep. And I am letting you know in advance that on the day Soren and the others report to the academy, I will go with cheering squad of bees."

Elias groaned, but he couldn’t the laughter in his voice. "Why do that to the poor boy?"

"Because that’s what sisters are for." She replied softly.

It didn’t take long for her to fall asleep, cradling his tail. He leaned into her back, embracing her tighter. And he wondered how many sisters in the world behaved like her. Cyra would never dare to do something outrageous like embarrassing him at school, just because she could.

***

Dawn broke over the beach with a golden shimmer, the kind that would make even the grumpiest fox like Elias smile. As soon as he stepped out of the house, he muttered something about ’too much optimism in the sky.’

Sienna on the hand soaked it in by his side, a full smile on her face as he allowed the warm rays to wash over her body. "Every morning should be like this," she said.

Then, she strode out of the compound, down to the beach. The Veythar’s were busy with formal goodbyes to all the beast lord and their companions. The royals had long left sometime in the middle of the night.

Sienna went in direction, her eyes following Elias and Eli as they went off to join the Veythars. She had a battlefield to clear up. The beach had left behind chaos. Half collapsed parasols, overturned chairs in the sand, spilled drinks, candy and snack wrappers. A large group of fox beast women and teens had gathered to help with clean up.

"All right, vanguard!" Sienna declared, brandishing a pair of gloves in the air. "The guests are leaving but their trash is staying. The residents here have been kind to allow this summit happen on their doorsteps. The least we can do is leave it clean for them. Today, we conquer sand!"

The fox women exchanged amused looks.

One elderly aunt muttered, "The lady thinks she is leading a war."

Her neighbor looked at the the sand. It had different colors from the rainbow explosion. Cans were littered everywhere. Clothes had been dumped on the shore. In some places, there were heaps of abandoned dead fish which no one could explain. "It is a war."

Sienna clapped her hands. "We are an elite squad that is going to last for four hours only. Now formation! Sweepers to the left, collectors to the right, teens in the middle because I don’t rust you with sharp tools. I hope none of you eats what you pick on the ground. If you find something important, please don’t keep it. Put it in the lost and found box so that we can return it to the owner. For whatever is returned, you get a reward."

Clean up started, and the teens immediately started causing trouble. A girl tried to bury a glass in the sand. One boy decided to juggle cans, instead of dumping them in the designated trash bin.

"Why do we have to clean? The beast lords made the mess. They should come and clean up." A sullen woman complained.

She did not realize that Sienna was only an arms throw away from her. Sienna cleared her throat.

A girl sidled up to Sienna, whispering as if they were conspiring, "Psss, Psss, I just saw Mrs. Kritch toss a gold coin in her bag. Before that, she threw a shrimp into the wrong trash can. If give me the signal, I will tackle her while you grab the pan."

"Wait..." Sienna raised her head. "What?"

The teenage girl suddenly yowled as her ear was twisted. "Merienne, I am your own mother. How dare you tell Lady Veythar to hit me with a pan?"

"Wait..what?" Sienna screamed. As the girl was dragged away, Sienna started to laugh. She thought the teens would be sullen and filled with complaints. She didn’t think they would be setting their parents up to be hit by her pan!