This is not a wilderness. This is a police station, all gray walls and floors and desks and chairs.

There are case files and bulletin boards and the fading smell of coffee, and there's a man on the floor in a sheriff's uniform.

There is also a woman, fear and desperation and anger on her face.

She is standing inside a jail cell and seems nervous.

This could be connected to the gun pointed at her face.

 Anyone's guess, really.

There is now a large object, flying motorcycle really, floating in the middle of the room, with her on top.

Stop. Shield on a hair trigger. Study the situation. No Neuroi. Okay, good.

A bunch of hostile people, one armed (the gun is an unfamiliar sort but the overall shape is unmistakable), but a man and therefore not a Witch and not too terrible a threat. Okay.

Shield imposed between the gun and its target, a glowing blue circle full of faint patterns. An instant later sharply applied telekinesis causing shear stresses in unfortunate parts of its wielder's hand, unless they let go. Her hand on her sword.

"Okay what the hell did I accidentally teleport into."

A boy from a nearby room bursts out.

"Can you disarm him?"

Consider the gun dropped.

The sudden sound of hissing and growling may be slightly more concerning.

There's the source!

What a fascinating creature.

The way it moves...well, don't get too close. Study it from a distance.

Consider the gun flying over to her hands. Not having time to examine it, she sticks it into an empty holster on her vehicle. She repositions her so as to have everyone in clear view. "I am a witch and I am not afraid to put you down hard if you initiate violence even more than violence is clearly already fucking initiated, one at a time please, what is going on."

"...Am I having a stroke," mumbles random lady.

"The lizard monster can paralyze with its tail. Don't kill it, just stun. Sharp claws and fangs, please help however witches can."

The lizard monster springs into the air, trying to sink its claws into Grendyne.

It slams into a suddenly appearing shield. And then floats there with visible effort from Gren. "I don't have many nonlethal options, to be honest. Don't think I can force this transformation off either. Think he can take a mild lightning bolt and just be out of sorts instead of dead? Also who are all you people?"

Meanwhile ropes of light bind the tail and limbs down, soon to be backed up by physical ropes she draws out from a compartment.

"The guy with the gun is Matt. He was controlling the guy who's a lizard. The others are innocent bystanders. That's my mom, who deserves an explanation for all this. And that's the sheriff, who will probably need one if he's not arresting me tonight. In the next room there are two people who got injected with venom, if you have anything for temporary paralysis that would be appreciated. I'm Scott."

"He doesn't have his gun anymore." Pat pat. "I've got a heal but it does jack all against poison and disease, better at trauma. Lizard guy, can you talk?"

Deep breath. "I don't want to kill anyone. Every life is precious and all that, especially if you're not entirely in control of yourself. Especially especially if you were transformed against your will. That's just terrible. But... You're also dangerous. Godammit, I hate these kinds of situations."

"The lizard will change back, eventually, if Matt isn't controlling him actively. Knocking him out is easy if you'll just hold him still."

"Now, hold on just a minute-"

"Scott, what's going on? How do you know so much about this-this shooter, and that thing! I don't understand."

"Later, I promise. First we have to resolve this."

"So does anyone care about the part where I'm turning into a kanima, hence why I need your bestiary and honestly why can't you keep those things in the public library, how important is secrecy to you people!"

"You know what I'm probably further from home than I thought." Rope starts going around the lizard, slightly looser than before. No need to be unnecessarily mean. "But if a stinking book can make progress on whatever grievances you lot have I have to agree on the library thing. For what it's worth you do have the same sort of magic on you as this guy. It's still loose enough I might even be able to do something to it. Maybe. Not while I'm the only thing preventing stabbing and shooting."

"Maybe later. Can you tie up his master while I work on getting the book?"

"Yeah I'm really hesitant to do much of anything other than preventing immediate bloodshed that explicitly favors one party in this situation. I literally popped out of the blue and I don't think you have my kind of witches here or you'd have reacted differently. While I can guess who's in the right it's hard to take everything at face value. You're a sheriff, yeah? Sworn officer of the law and all that. Or maybe if anyone here can explain why a bestiary is necessary."

"I'm a sheriff. I also don't know a thing about all the magic that's going on here."

"I shouldn't have to leave the building to get the book here, and as long as we get him the book he probably won't try anything else. Right Matt?"

"Of course not."