It all sounded so incredibly ridiculous that Vanna couldn't help but laugh. "You're joking, right?"
"No," Quynh replied flatly. "I don't make a habit of joking about serious matters. You are, without a doubt, the next reincarnation of the Golden Phoenix."
"Without a doubt?" she echoed. "How could you possibly prove something like that? I don't even believe in reincarnation in the first place. And gods walking amongst us in human form? Seems farfetched."
"I didn't know you were so dense," the man sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose in irritation. "Did you not see Liu Bai's ears and tail while you were wandering around with him today?"
"What?" Vanna scoffed. "I figured he was a cosplayer. Even if it were true that he's the White Tiger guardian you mentioned earlier, where are the rest of these spirits? You don't seem to have horns or paws or anything like that."
Shizuka, who had remained silent, spoke up again from beside Quynh's desk. "Liu Bai just doesn't bother masking his wild features. He's the outlier, not us."
"It's as she said."' Quynh nodded in agreement, then glanced sideways at his assistant. He shrugged his shoulder to motion to her. "Shizuka is the Black Qilin, and I am the Crimson Dragon. We do have features like our feline friend, but we choose to hide them. It isn't out of worry of being discovered by others, because our appearances aren't visible to mortals. It is moreso just to keep our distance from the other, lesser, supernatural beings and creatures."
As soon as he finished his sentence, Vanna watched with wide eyes as the two of them shifted. Shizuka had a single Qilin horn sticking out from the right side of her head, and Quynh had dragon-like horns of his own. His hair had also turned a brilliant red, as did his eyes, which was a shocking contrast to how he had appeared just moments before.
"Oh-" Vanna was at a loss for words. There was no denying what she saw with her own eyes, right?
"As you can see," Quynh continued, "we are equally as interesting to look at – we just have more social awareness than Liu Bai."
"...If that's the case, and I'm the Golden Phoenix or whatever you said," Vanna looked down at her hands and lower body, and even pulled her hair around to see if it was any different. Alas, it was all the same. "Why don't I look any different?"
"It's… a bit complicated, but you're not fully awakened yet," Quynh replied. He returned to his human visage, and Shizuka followed suit. "You won't be able to shift on your own until your spirit is no longer half dormant."
Shizuka elaborated for him before Vanna would ask the obvious, "You need to find a particular artifact, or sacred item. It's different for every guardian, so we won't be able to tell you anything more about yourself. Don't fret about finding it right away, the fates naturally draw the artifact to its master. It will happen over time, and you'll know when it is close."
Vanna swallowed hard. She didn't want to accept everything she was hearing; none of it made sense, and it shook the world she had been living in for, well, her entire life. What the hell was she supposed to do? Why did she, of all people, have to be the one that possessed the phoenix spirit?
"Are you really sure it's me?" She shared her concern. "I don't think it's possible. I have quite literally never achieved anything extraordinary in my life besides scoring well on the exams, which got me into this mess in the first place."
"As a Qilin, I can sense the other guardians. It's a Qilin's role to gather the spirits together, so we are able to passively sense your auras," Shizuka said. "It's an undeniable truth that you're the vessel."
Vanna pursed her lips, unsure of what else to say. Believing in magic and also believing that she, herself, was a magical entity were both incredibly tall tasks. Just earlier that day, she had been not only prepared, but also content, with the idea of living her mundane little life and attending university with the silly little financial endorsement from their corporation.
What a joke.
The phone that sat on the CEO's desk started to ring, and the incessant trill of its cadence was enough to irritate Vanna after only a few rounds. Quynh picked it up and brought it to his ear. Both Shizuka and Vanna fell silent out of courtesy, also perhaps trying to catch a few words of the conversation.
"Quynh Lê speaking."
Unfortunately, Vanna had no luck hearing anything. After several long moments of quiet that was only inhabited by the very faint, completely indiscernible mumbling that escaped the phone's speaker, the stoic man carelessly dropped the device back onto its cradle with an irritated scowl.
"We have a bit of a… situation. This meeting will have to cut a bit short — which is fine, since I don't feel like listening to you ask the same questions over and over again," Quynh said, impatiently squeezing the bridge of his nose. He then turned to Shizuka, "We're having a 'dispute' with the foreign group again, and it seems like I'll have to see it personally."
Shizuka raised her eyebrows at his declaration. "You're really going to go? What about the girl? Do you want me to look after her while you go?"
Quynh's serpentine eyes glanced in Vanna's direction, and he looked at her for a while before groaning. He turned back to his assistant, "No, she will come with me. So will you and Liu Bai."
"Um… do you really think we need all of us to go? It would probably be best if one of-"
"You heard me," Quynh hissed. "I can't afford to have her out of my sight, especially now that her aura is discoverable. We haven't heard about the White Qilin in a long time, so who knows what he's up to. Staying together is the safest for all of us now."
Vanna couldn't do much other than watch. There they went, talking about her as if she weren't there. Maybe they were animals after all, considering their lack of consideration and social etiquette. Unfortunately, she had no say in the matter, so Vanna remained silent.
Shizuka's expression was troubled, and it was clear that she had more objections, but she opted to keep them to herself. It didn't seem that the dragon was in the mood to be convinced of anything, so the woman simply nodded.
"Yes, sir," she answered dutifully, "I will see to it that we have people to watch over the business for now… and I will also inform Liu Bai. I assume we leave in the morning?"
"Ideally, we would leave immediately," Quynh answered, but sighed when he looked at Shizuka's increasingly frustrated glower, "but I know that's unreasonable. So, yes, we leave in the morning. Have someone tend to the phoenix—"
"Vanna," Vanna corrected, surprised by her own boldness. "My name is Vanna. I'm not some pet."
If looks could kill, Quynh's would have struck her dead. Vanna felt a shiver run down her spine as she suddenly felt as though he were a predator, and she the prey. With that bitter glare, he continued, "-tend to Vanna's needs while you do the rest of the preparations. Thanks for your hard work."
Shizuka bowed her head slightly in farewell and motioned a hand to Vanna to follow. Vanna willingly turned around and trailed behind her new acquaintance, happy to be away from all the tension that had been present.
When they returned to the elevator and the doors closed, Vanna glanced awkwardly at Shizuka again. She couldn't help but share her observation, "He seems to task you with a lot of things… doesn't it get a bit overwhelming?"
"Oh, he's a complete prick," Shizuka stated flatly, the dark black of her eyes sparkling with a fire that Vanna hadn't expected such a refined woman to have. "I can't stand him most of the time. Unfortunately, he is a dear friend, and I owe him a great deal. So, I tolerate his insufferable personality and ridiculous whims. It is the same reason I deal with that pretentious bastard Liu Bai."
Vanna's mouth opened and closed a few times. The woman standing beside her had come across as silent and steadfast, so Vanna had never even imagined such harsh words leaving her mouth… but, she had to admit that it made her like Shizuka even more. If anything, she felt some semblance of kinship. Despite the venom that had just dripped from the assistant's lips, there was a distinct affection behind her statements.
"The three of you seem like good friends," Vanna said quietly, unsure how Shizuka would take it.
Shizuka turned her head slightly to look at Vanna from the corner of her eye, and served a very, very subtle smile. "I guess you could say that. I think we are more like a family."
With a timid 'ding,' the elevator doors slid open once more. It was only one floor down, just beneath Quynh's office. Shizuka wordlessly stepped out of the lift and guided Vanna to the end of the somewhat short hallway, to a slightly open gold-and-red door.
"This is your residence now," Shizuka stated. "Please grab the doorknob so it can register you as the owner."
"Uh… okay?" Vanna did as she was told and gently placed her fingers on the metal knob, only to yelp and retrieve her hand almost immediately. "It pricked me!"
"It needed DNA," the woman replied simply, giving Vanna a shrug. "I figured you'd respond better if I asked you to touch it instead of commanding you to spit all over it."
Vanna wanted to refute, but didn't end up saying anything. Shizuka was right, she would rather have had a drop of blood drawn than have to spit on it. Her train of thought was interrupted when she remembered something that Liu Bai had told her earlier.
"Doesn't Liu Bai live on this floor as well?" she asked curiously.
"Yes," Shizuka said. "Both myself and Liu Bai reside on this level. His door is a white one, while mine is black… and yours is gold with hints of red. I think it's rather on the nose, but that's what happens when a simpleton like Quynh designs things. If you ever need either of us, you can try to visit our rooms. I'm hardly ever home, though."
"Yeah… I can't imagine you getting much time to yourself with such an overbearing boss." Vanna laughed awkwardly.
Shizuka closed her eyes and heaved a sigh. "Well, you'll find that everything you need is in there. It's much larger than you think, the small hallway is very deceptive. I have things to tend to, but I will fetch you in the morning."
"Thanks for everything," Vanna said sheepishly, "and good luck…"
The woman just smiled wordlessly and walked back the way they came, and disappeared into the elevator. Before the doors even closed, she was already on the phone making arrangements. Vanna's heart ached for the poor lady.
Vanna returned to the task at hand, sucked in a breath, and pushed open her door. What she was met with completely blew her mind — it was far greater than anything she ever could have imagined.