So Tezzie's not our only audience, Ixchel realized as she caught the sound of a cleared throat at the edge of the trees.
Both the vet and her companion whirled around, discovering the source of the noise at the same moment. But their reactions to the newcomer were entirely different. Finn—who had never met any of her siblings in person—seemed to be preparing to don his jaguar fur and claws, while Ixchel smiled faintly in welcome. The uninvited but not entirely unwelcome intruder was Antonio.
"Just you, Tony?" Ixchel asked, narrowing her eyes as she wondered how long her second oldest brother had been watching. Surely he couldn't have followed all the way from the gas station? No, Antonio wouldn't look so calm and collected if he'd been privy to humans turning into jaguars and jaguars turning into humans with wild abandon. Nor would he appear so serene if he'd watched his kid sister dive into the deep waters of the cenote.
Antonio might, however, hesitate to let a serial killer loose on the world. Luckily, Tezzie was already taking command of his new body and would, hopefully, be ready to flee shortly. Despite injuries that would have laid out a human for days or weeks, the god seemed to be healing before their very eyes, the gash in his head no longer leaking blood and a spring coming into his step. In a pinch, Ixchel suspected she could distract Antonio long enough to allow the deity to bolt.
But it appeared evasions might not be necessary. "Is that what you want, Ixxie?" Antonio asked quietly. "To let Mirabelle go?" Her brother's hand was tucked under his shirt, likely atop one of the pistols that she'd caught Fernando passing out that morning, and his shoulders were tense. But her brother had yet to put the weapon to use, for which the vet was profoundly grateful.
Just what I don't need today—to be responsible for stitching up more gunshot wounds. Ixchel found herself subtly shifting her stance so her body shielded the larger form of the newly-turned god. Talking Tezzie out of this predicament was still her first priority, but in a pinch she was willing to act as a human shield. Antonio would never risk pointing a gun anywhere near his sister, and one wound was plenty for the god to heal up as he grew into his new body.
Not that Tezzie obeyed her unspoken request to look small and insignificant. "Ixxie, huh?" the god said with a chortle that made even Finn's lips turns up in response. Despite the fact that Ixchel had hoped the troublesome god would allow himself to fade into the woodwork, she had to admit that his joyful laughter helped make their harrowing journey to reach this point worthwhile.
Well, Ixchel thought, tucking her hand in amidst Finn's larger fingers, Tezzie's joy isn't the only thing that's made this journey worthwhile.
"I really can't explain why right now, Antonio," Ixchel said slowly, trying to think of an explanation her brother would understand and drawing a complete blank. "But I'd really prefer it if you let go of the gun and allowed Te..I mean, Mirabelle...to walk out of here unharmed. He's had a change of heart and is a different man than he was when he fell into the cenote. Surely that's something you can understand?"
"He's had a change of heart that negates the fact he's a serial killer?" Antonio sounded dubious, but her brother still allowed Ixchel to stare him down, slowly removing his hand from the butt of the pistol.
The vet's throat tightened, knowing that she and her brother were both remembering other nights when their younger selves had bantered over similar decisions. At that time, Antonio always brushed off Ixchel's requests...and the little sister had responded by forcing a prison sentence that ended up getting their middle brother killed.
A decade later, each sibling had a reason to resent the other. And yet both entered their current disagreement with a willingness to listen to reason...even when explanations couldn't really be made. It was a testament to how much Antonio had changed that he didn't simply overpower Ixchel's objections in order to do what he thought was best for his little sister. That fact, alone, gave Ixchel hope that her family unit might someday grow back together despite the rift she and Antonio had created between them nine years before.
But, for now, Tezzie was the vet's top priority. So she was relieved the moment she saw resignation flicker across her brother's face despite her lack of explanation. Then Antonio's features opened up into a rare smile so much like Fernando's that it made Ixchel's breath catch. She'd almost forgotten how much she'd loved her second oldest brother before he turned to a life of crime.
Still, Antonio seemed to feel the need to at least pretend fierceness. "I can't believe I'm doing this, but go on, get out of here!" he growled, jerking his head from Tezzie to the parking lot. And the god took full advantage of his reprieve.
"I'll be in touch," Tezzie promised. Then, with a jaunty wave, the Olmec god of change through conflict walked over to Mirabelle's car and drove out of their lives.