Fucking balloons...

It was Tuesday, August 20^th, the day of Jarys' tenth birthday.

“That's three you've popped now!" Rhys called out cheerfully, safe from my wrath by being a good fifteen feet away. “I know they're freaky looking, but you've got to remember that they're plastic and can't hurt you, okay?"

“And you've got to remember that I can hurt you."

I discarded the lump of deflated plastic, tossing it into the nearby bin.

The room we had rented for the night was decently large and well furnished.

It had a designated dance floor, a raised section for food, a wide seating area, and lastly, a small bar near the bottom for humans to buy drinks from. Chairs, along with tables, were thankfully provided, which was something that I had initially been worried about.

The price of everything, presents included, was a fair bit higher than both me and Rhys had initially expected, though not hugely so.

“Rhys, what time is it?" I called out, too far from my tablet to be able to quickly check. “I have a feeling that we're running late."

“Quarter to five," Rhys answered, knocking a chair behind him into a place with a bump of his tail.

“Right, I'm nearly done here anyway," I said, but then paused as my mind digested exactly what he had said. “Wait, quarter to five? Where is Polys? She was meant to be here like twenty minutes ago!" Polys was an aunt of ours who'd offered to help set up the party. “Four fifteen, she said."

“One second, I'll check your tablet—I don't have her on my messenger. What's your password?" He opened up my satchel and took out my device.

I left the balloons behind and quickly shuffled over to my brother, who was busy trying to break the password. “Nope, give me." I held out a paw. “You're not going through my tablet."

“Why?" He grimaced. “What have you been doing on here that I can't see? Gryphon stuff? You always had a-"

With a swipe of my claws, I snatched it from him. “None of your business, that's what. Right, where is Polys…?" I scanned my scant few messages and found her quickly. I growled weakly at the reveal. “Great! Her hatchling's sick, so she's had to pick him up early and can't help us." I scrolled down to read the rest. “But she's still coming to the party."

Rhys rolled his eyes. “Reaping the crop without having to sow? Sounds like that side of the clutch. Hey, remember that whole thing over the, uh, fire crystals?"

I shivered, recalling how we'd accidentally helped her son steal a gemstone from a particularly grumpy lindwyrm

“I'm still mad we got blamed for that," I rumbled. “What a lame two seasons that was." I typed out a quick message to our aunt before turning the device off and placing it back down on the food table. I rubbed at my tired eyes and looked about the room. “I'm a bit worried we won't be able to finish it. What do you think?"

“Eh, we'll probably be fine. What's left to do anyway? Foods done, chairs are sorted, presents are here." Deciding to push his luck, Rhys leaned down and took his tablet out. “I think we're nearly done, actually."

“Rhys, the happy birthday sign needs to go up; I've still not sorted balloons out, and we've still got crisp to set. Not to mention the music isn't even sorted. We can't-"

My brother placed a paw on my shoulder and shook me weakly. “Calm down, calm down. We can easily do that in forty minutes. I know you want this to be perfect for Rhys, but we're only missing like two balloons. I'll go sort the crisp out; can you double check if James is still coming, and what time?"

He went over to the buffet table, took out a box of crisps, and began adding them to a pile on the long, wooden table.

I looked over at him, brow raised. “How am I supposed to know when he'll be here? He just said he'd see me here," I asked, genuinely lost.

He stopped his gathering of crisp packets to give me a funny look, head lightly tilted to one side. “Your messenger? You know, how normal people talk to one another over long distances?" He placed a pawful of crisps on the table but then stopped. “Wait... do you not have him on Messenger?"

“No, no, I do not. How do you have him?"

He snorted, resuming his piling. “I clicked add friend like everyone else does. There's only one James Morris who lives around here."

“How do you know his clan name?"

“By asking what it was?" He said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

I scoffed and kicked at the carpeted floor. “Well, why didn't he add me? I would have accepted."

“Why didn't you add him first?"

I frowned, annoyed at myself and at the human. I would have enjoyed talking with him outside of work and away from Rhys. “I forgot to, okay? I keep forgetting that there's more you can do than watch videos and read."

“Oh, right. I actually, um, keep forgetting that you've only been here a couple of months and not a year and a half like I have. You learnt English too quickly for your own good, methinks. And, to be fair, he could've added you first."

“Methinks? Dumb fucking word." I murmured, not missing Rhys' slight head tilt at the curse. “But what if he doesn't accept it? If he really wanted us to be friends, then-"

“No, no." He stood up and pointed an accusing claw at me, as if warding off a curse. “We're not doing this! Alys, ask him to add you, and he will; trust me. Just ask; that's it. Actually, even better, add him now."

“Now? We're busy, Rhys. Besides, he might be doing something important."

“Like riding a bus?"

Probably.

“Just let me finish sorting stuff out first." I wanted to add him; I really wanted to add him, but that would mean admitting defeat in front of my brother, and so I curbed my enthusiasm and focused on hurrying up our efforts.

Wings helped hang the banner, and not rushing helped me stop bursting the horrid little balloon things. I could understand why Jarys didn't mind them—he'd never met a winter lantern, but Rhys had; he had the scars to prove it. For him to be so casual was... it was both bizarre as well as inspiring.

“Five fifteen!" I shouted out after placing the last party popper on the final table. “Rhys, you done?"

“Yeah!" He answered. “Everything is perfect, thanks to me!"

I dragged my gaze across the room.

“Alright. I think we've managed to pull it off." I exhaled. “Good skies; what a pain in the flank that was. I don't think I've ever seen a celebration as big as this." A flicker of painful nostalgia struck me upside the head. “Wait, actually, do you remember... uh, what's his snout...? Grey drake, blue eyes. You remember him, right?"

“Oh, um, Saren? Holy gods, what a spoilt little freak he was." Rhys shook his head. “I honestly still can't believe he hit his mother. Oh, also, didn't his grandpa-"

“Mount a rock? Yes, yes, he did."

“The entire thing; just a mess." He sat down beside me, the back of his head resting on the back of the chair. “I'm guessing that won't happen here, though, seeing as Jarys isn't a total monster."

“That, and our grandfather's been dead for like, what, six seasons?" I tacked on.

“Yep. Shame it took so long, though." He looked at my tablet as I switched it on and began swiping. “What are you doing?"

“Samys," I replied.

“We set off ten minutes ago. Jarys should be there for around 17:25."

“Why she's giving such a specific time?" Rhys muttered from his new position over my shoulder. I covered my device with a wing.

A pang of guilt rang in my chest. Samys was great with Jarys and truly cared for her family, and yet I had refused to tell her that the party would be full of humans. We weren't especially close, but kin was kin, and we were meant to look out for one another.

“Perfect," I replied, “everything is all ready, so come straight up when you're here."

While still on the device, I swiped over to the internet browser and quickly checked when my next shift would be. Seeing this, Rhys returned to his seat and busied himself with staring at the lights hanging from the ceiling.

Thursday. Night shift. Great…

“Understood. We should arrive in five minutes. All is good."

I sent a dewclaw-up picture and went to turn the device off, only to stop when I noticed a pop-up from Facebook, just sitting there and waiting for me to click. I pressed a talon into the pressure-sensitive screen and was sent through a whirlwind of posts and comments.

Friend request, friend request...

I checked the notifications.

Dammit.

It was a message informing me that someone had shared a link to something in which I had absolutely no interest.

I turned the device off and laid my snout back onto the table.

“Rhys?"

“Yes, my very depressed-looking sister?" He answered cheerily.

“Why did…" I grimaced, realising what he'd said. “Why did you want to know how long James would be? Is he bringing something?" I wasn't comfortable with the idea of Rhys asking our friend to donate presents or food without him first offering.

“I asked him to help with the music. I can't figure out how to connect all the wires to your laptop or my tablet." He said it casually. “Since he was coming, I thought that I may as well ask."

“Isn't that kind of rude?"

He looked over at me, brow raised. “Rude? How?"

“He's here to relax, not sort out machines for us. It's kind of... presumptuous?"

“He's hitting shuffle on your laptop and sticking a few wires in, Alys, not carving a statue of me. Plus, if he didn't want to, he would just say no. He's an adult."

“If it's so simple, then why don't you do it?" I countered, unusually snippy.

“Because I don't understand what all the wires mean, and he said he does. Also, I'll be on relative patrol; you know, making sure they don't try and eat any of our very clearly human guests." He puffed a waft of smoke away and sighed. “If you're going to be all prissy about it, then I'll do it. I'm sure YouTube will have something."

I groaned, ashamed by my sudden aggression. “No, no... it's fine. I'm just tired, sorry. You're right; he's a grown human; if he didn't want to help, he'd just say no." I wasn't sure why I was fighting so hard with him. “Did you check when he'd be here?"

“Yeah, like ten-ish minutes, he said. But you could also ask him yourself, you know."

“I'll ask when he's here. He'll be less likely to say no when it's snout to snout."

“Hah, clever, but kind of creepy. Still, just do it now."

“No."

“Why?"

“Why do you care so much?"

“I don't, but you obviously do! Like trying to peel bad scales...

"Well, what if he doesn't accept it, and then when he's here he... um, what if, wait... Anyway, if he did want to add me, he would have already."

“Alys, you're driving me nuts. Either do it or don't. You clearly want to."

I raised my head up from the table and looked over at him.

“So, what have you two been talking about anyway? Boring male stuff?" I asked, trying to deflect the conversation away.

He caught the ploy based on the unimpressed look, but still, he relented, knowing precisely when to put the pressure on and when to pull back. I sincerely doubted he would try and ask a third time.

“Pretty much, yeah. We talked about how trash power scaling is, some manga we both liked, and, uh, yeah… that was pretty much it. We didn't have a, like, four-hour long discussion or whatever you're thinking."

“Did you mention me?" It came out automatically.

“Technically? He asked how the party was going, and I said you were going insane trying to set everything up."

I waited for him to continue, but he refused to do so.

“And then what?"

“He just said, lol. Like I just told you, it wasn't a long talk; it was barely thirty minutes. If you want to tear a bunch of information out of him, ask him yourself."

The battle had been lost, my verbal armies broken, but by refusing to continue, I had locked our long-term war in a permanent stalemate. Childish, and also effective. I made sure not to look at him directly, for fear of him performing the dreaded head shake of mild disappointment.

My sensitive ears swivelled, tracking Rhys as he dragged my bag over to the buffet. I heard him unzip the side, take out something that clacked, and place it upon a wooden seat. After a pause, Rhys began to type away, paused, and then resumed.

“You can't get past the lock screen; it's too good of a password," I called out, busy watching the balloons bob up down near the dance floor.

“Can you at least give me a hint?"

“It's seven words long."

“Seven? Hang on, is your password just an actual sentence?"

“Uh-huh."

He tried one more time before groaning in defeat and closing the top shut.

“Ugh… Alys? Alys, I'm bored, and James is ignoring my texts. Let me play something on your laptop, please." The last word was dragged out.

“Nice try, loser. Also, how can you possibly be bored? Aren't you reading like twenty different books right now?" Bored of ignoring him, I looked him in the eyes.

“I'm all caught up! Chainsaw Guy is back to biweekly, and Draken Kaisen leaks only come out at, like, six in the morning."

“Too bad, don't touch my shit, okay?" I snarled, suddenly furious.

His brows twitched and his tail swished sharply.

“Calm down; I wasn't actually going to go through it. I was just joking." He held up a paw defensively. “Seriously though, are you alright? You've been kind of funky for a while now."

I grimaced and placed the end of my snout into my paws, my wings growing limp with regret. “Yeah, I'm just... sorry, I'm just really tired."

“It's alright, I'm not mad at you or anything—just a bit worried. You do look pretty tired, but are you sure it's not-"

A light padding upon carpet could be heard nearby. I jumped at the chance to avoid any talks about seasonal moods, especially with my own sibling.

“Shush, Jarys is here," I said, sitting up properly.

A half-moment later the doors burst open and in galloped an excited Jarys, eyes wide and snout overtaken by a wide, fang-filled grin. “Yes!" He shouted, scarlet eyes practically glowing with delight as they ran across every surface in the room. “Ah! It all looks so cool! "You got banners and food, and are those speakers!?"

I got up and walked over to my youngest sibling, who didn't bother waiting and instead barged straight into me, knocking me backwards a pace. “I know, I know, I'm great, aren't I? The best? The absolute best?" I said, tail swishing with pride.

“Yeah!" He held me tighter, and so I returned the gesture, practically crushing him. “And you too, Rhys! Thank you so much. I promise I'll be so good from now on."

“It's alright, bud. It's not every day you turn ten, after all."

Samys entered soon after, looking as blank-snouted as usual. She was a tall dragoness, taller than me by a fair few inches, and far better built. She was blue like all in our collective clutches, but it was a much darker shade—midnight, almost. Such a colour was denoted as bad luck back home—something she took great pride in.

She looked to Jarys, to Rhys, and then to me.

Her eyes were golden and regal, unlike our shared red.

“He behaved very well on the transportation," she said calmly. “No fussing, no aggression. He is well deserving of his celebration."

I smiled weakly at her, still unused to her way of speaking even after decades of knowing her. “Thank you, Samys. I really appreciate you bringing him."

“It was no issue." She slowly removed her pack, unzipped it in a single swift stroke, and retrieved from it a tough-looking leather guard, which she then gave to Jarys directly, brushing past me to do so. “This is a wrist guard, Jarys."

“Whoa… like knights have?" He asked as she assisted in fitting the armament.

“No, like dragon warriors have," she corrected, a glimmer of tension creeping past her mask of indifference. “Human and elven soldiers were poor imitations. This is a genuine armament and will help keep your claws safe, especially the dewclaw."

“Wow," I stammered. “That's really great of you." I was in astonishment at the gift's quality. “Where did you even get it? It looks real."

“That's because it is. It was our grandfather's. I merely polished the metal and buffed the leather." She said softly, eying not me but Jarys as he tested the tool, twisting and bending his paw in increasingly difficult ways. “It is a fitting gift for one turning ten years of age." At last she looked up, locking eyes with me, the territorial arrogance rolling from her in waves. “What did you get him?" She asked.

I couldn't resist the urge to frown. “Legos, toys, books, and some other stuff."

The corners of her thin, dark lips twitched upwards. “Human gifts?"

“Yes," I growled, “human gifts—which is what he asked for, because we live in a human world."

Samys snorted and followed us to the centre-most table, her head perfectly level and her striding form elegant. The only thing that could be called a flaw was her distinct lack of a left wing.

“So, when do I get to open my presents? Oh, what about food? I'm starving!"

“When more people start arriving, Jarys," answered Rhys from further up the table, his eyes on his tablet, which he had taken out mere moments prior. “The party starts in a couple of minutes, so you only have to wait a little longer. Let's just relax for a bit."

The little drake harrumphed and laid further back into his chair. His smaller size allowed him to sit somewhat comfortably in human furniture, something I envied.

“So, Samys, what have you been up to?" Enquired Rhys after he turned his tablet off and placed it back down on the table. “You started work yet?"

“Yes," was her tense, oddly hesitant answer. “I assist in placing products in plastic bags for humans. It... pays," she murmured. “I would rather gather my own food, but this country lacks sufficient wildlife for proper hunting. Pigeons are not nutritious enough to subsist on, and, besides, I get... odd looks for it."

Rhys stared. “You've been hunting pigeons?"

“Yes."

“What do they taste like?" Was Jarys' question, and if I were being honest, mine as well. “Are they good?"

She shrugged, her one wing twitching, resisting the urge to flare. “Quite tangy. Not nearly as good as chicken or turkey. Besides, they're surprisingly fast."

“They're also illegal to kill, by the way, so I wouldn't go chasing them down," supplied Rhys. “A ness at work said her friend got like two months in jail for it."

“Really? This place is so bizarre. These birds are a pest race, so why would they punish anyone who is willing to clean up their town?" She shook her head in disappointment.

“Because they're wildlife, like hawks and stuff, so they're protected."

I glanced at my eldest brother. “Why do you know so much about pigeons?"

“My co-worker likes birds, and we were bored one day, so she just told me about them."

“Can I hunt pigeons?" Jarys asked.

“No, you'll get in trouble," I answered.

“Samys did it!" He retorted, pointing at our cousin.

“They are right," she said after a pause, “if it is indeed a crime to injure these birds, then you should not risk it. I was mistaken to do so. Humans may be foolish creatures, but their laws are ours for now."

What? What do you mean, 'for the time being?'

With that, the young dragon grew quiet, which bothered me. He had listened to her unquestionably. Sure, he had heard Rhys say so himself, but for him to respond so well to her... it kind of sucked.

“When are people arriving again?" Rhys asked, scratching behind his left ear.

I switched my tablet back on and checked the time. “Should be in a couple of minutes, but you know how people are." I clicked my tongue and looked back over to Jarys. “Actually, you know what... I think we should open up at least one present, and I know a really good one."

“Yes!" Chirped the suddenly energised hatchling.

After sorting through the parcels and deciding which one was which, I picked up a small, slim envelope and passed it over to the cheery drake. He held it gently and slowly opened it, using one of his few sharp claws to cut the top off.

Within was a receipt confirming an online purchase of tickets to LEGOLAND in Windsor, indicating entry for a day.

“Are we really going?" He asked to be sure, eyes locked onto the slim slip of paper. “Like, actually actually?"

I snorted. “Obviously. If not, then that was probably the meanest trick I could have pulled on you." I then jabbed him in the chest with a talon. “You better be good when we go because the computer map says it's a long trip. Okay?"

“That and they're expensive," Rhys said, saying what I was thinking but would not say out loud. I sent him a blatant death glare for the comment. “What? They were."

“I know that! You're not meant to say it, moron."

“How expensive?" Asked Jarys, anxiously frowning.

“Not super, but, a bit, okay? More than fifty pence." I answered with a smile.

“Isn't everything more than fifty pence?" Asked our other brother.

“In the store I am forced to work at, they sell these strange sweet treats for fifty pence," commented Samys idly. “Surprisingly, they are very pleasant."

"Technically, that's still more than fifty pence," said Rhys, earning my befuddled stare.

"What? No, it's not; it's fifty," I replied.

“Yeah, which is... well, it's not less."

“Obviously! It's an equal amount, not more! Fifty is not more than fifty!"

“Well, it's not less."

“Yes, and what is your point!? It's obviously not less than itself. The point was that the sweets cost fifty, which is not less or more!"

“And?"

“And? What even is your point? Is your brain leaking out of your ears?" I snapped, pointing a shaking talon in his direction. The worst part was that I wasn't even one hundred percent sure that he was in fact joking with me.

Rhys waved a paw at me. “You just can't understand my genius, sister-o-mine. Your simple mind is just too small." He then paused and glanced at the buffet table. “What time is it anyway? I think I'm-"

“Just go…" I flopped my head down onto the table in defeat. “Jarys, Samys, you can go grab some food if you want. I thought people would be here by now and we'd have to wait, but... I give up; he's too determined."

I looked back to the entryway, and after seeing no one and hearing no one, I raised my head back up, slumped backwards into the uncomfortable chair, my wings forming a makeshift blanket, and pulled out my tablet. Both I and Rhys had developed a habit of turning the device on for a moment and then immediately turning it off, usually forgetting what we had even powered it back on for.

I say this because, as I was about to place it back onto the surface of the table, a Friendster notification stopped me. I considered ignoring it but decided against that as I had not much else to do besides watch my family devour food, which in itself was not a rare sight.

Friend request.

I sat up, eyes locked onto the little number one next to the friend request. I clicked, revealing a circular picture of James posing with two other humans who somewhat resembled him. I hit accept and began going through his profile. It was mostly family and some friends I did not know, sprinkled with birthday wishes.

With a tap, I took myself over to the photos section, where I found myself drawn to all of the humans he knew. He was fairly good with a camera device, I noted, as most of the pictures were framed excellently.

A message popped up, making me jump slightly.

“How's the setup going?" Was James' seemingly earnest question.

I straightened my posture, placed the tablet down, and began typing away.

“They're eating the food already. There's probably not going to be much left."

A few bubbles of indecision popped up, stopped, and started up again.

“Any cupcakes?"

“I forgot."

“It's a good thing I'm here to save the day."

“Thank you, Cupcake Lord." I giggled at my own joke.

“You are welcome, strange blue iguana."

I tilted my head. “What's an iguana?"

The bubbles hesitated.

“Check it."

Next was a picture of some sort of short, chubby reptile with a strange frill beneath its neck. “Cool, right?" Was the most below the image.

“That's the ugliest thing I've ever seen." I was being honest.

“I'll tell him you said that. He won't be very happy, so I hope you know what you're getting into."

“Who? The lizard?"

“Yeah." Two more pictures, each of the lizard, one with James holding it in both hands, smiling dopily at the creature's presence. “He's awesome. How could you hate on such a cool lil guy?"

“Wait, is he your pet? Where did you even get him?"

“Nah, sister's. Not enough space in my flat to keep him."

“You have a sister?"

“Yeah. I've got two brothers and two sisters."

“Sounds painful. Having two brothers is bad enough."

Another pause in the typing.

“I'm telling Rhys you said that. He'll kick you out, and I'll get all of the food."

“I dare you."

“Really?"

“Yep."

“Hmmmmmm."

I copied his text.

“Hmmmmmm?"

“Yeah, all the extra m's show how hard I'm thinking."

I grinned, detecting a perfect setup.

“You can think? Wow, I'm proud of you."

“Ouch… my manly feelings…"

“Manly?"

Another pause, another minute of me biting my lip and waiting.

“Geez… Way to bully the poor, poor human."

“Great, right? I'm trained to do it."

“I can tell."

I went to respond, but was beaten by an unexpected second message.

“Hang on. Check this."

I sat hunched over my table, waiting.

Ding.

It was a picture of James, posing in front of a closed door. The entryway door, from which you could see me at the table through a window near the centre.

“She's super cool, but kind of evil. What should I do?"

Huh, that's pretty sweet of him.

“Beautiful too; try offering cupcakes, and she might accept your stupidity."

I caught the odd meaning at the end of my message, but by the time I realised how it could be interpreted, it was too late and James had already entered.

My gaze flickered to the device before returning to the human. For once, he wasn't wearing a hoodie, but rather a slim-fitting black coat and a fairly nice blue shirt. The jeans were the same as usual, but the white shoes seemed new, primarily based on how clean they looked.

“How long were you standing there?" I asked, amused by his overdramatic display but also anxious as to whether or not he'd read my last message.

“Enough to take more than three pictures. The hard part was getting you in the frame since you... wow, they are really going to town on that food. I thought you were joking." He nodded towards the buffet table, where I at last took notice of the carnage.

“Hey!" I called out, turning off the English for a moment. “There's food for like twenty dragons there, and you've already eaten a quarter! What are you, hatchlings!?" Even Samys had the good sense to look guilty, but that soon changed to a stoic façade as she spied the lone human.

“Jarys is a hatchling." Said Rhys through a mawfull of food.

“Yeah, and you're not." I countered. “I swear, like lindwyrms... Ah, sorry about that. It just cost a bit, and there's more dragons coming."

“It's cool, them not being my family and all; I'm not gonna say anything. Oh, wait, that reminds me." He reached into the plastic bag he was carrying and pulled free a tub of small, pink-topped cupcakes. “Ta-da! Stylish, right? I got two."

“Whoa, you actually got them?" I clambered out of the seat and accepted the box, holding it by the corner and raising it up to my snout to examine. “What's the pink stuff on top?"

“Frosting—basically just sugar."

“Is it good?"

“For you? No. But it does taste good. I think these are... yeah, they're—no, wait. Raspberry, yeah, they're raspberry-flavoured."

“Ooh, cupcakes!" Shouted an excite Jarys as he bounded over, bright scarlet eyes looked onto the treats held between my talons. “Are they ours?"

“They're a present from my friend. Um, James, this is Jarys. Jarys, this is James." I made sure to point at each with a claw as I said their respective names. “He helps me out at work."

“Are you her boss?" Asked the small dragon. I sent him a deathglare.

“Oh yeah, big time." Said James as he knelt down and offered a closed fist. I didn't understand the meaning, but Jarys did as he swiftly returned the gesture. “I get to boss her around and make her do all sorts of boring things."

“Like what?" Whispered the miniature traitor.

I wasn't sure what James told him when he lent down to his ear, but it made him laugh, and so I didn't mind. It was heartwarming to see, along with a relief, as I'd had some distant, irrational fear that they wouldn't get along.

“What are you two whispering about?" Enquired Rhys as he and Samys re-joined us at the table. “Secret stuff?"

“Yeah, yeah, secret stuff," answered James. “So, where's these speakers you need help with? I can't guarantee anything, but I can definitely try."

“Who is this?" Asked a very neutral Samys. “Some sort of delivery human?"

Just a question, a simple question. A question that actually makes sense!

“Oh, this is James; I invited him. He works at the same place as me." I explained simply, casually, as if his being human had never crossed my mind to begin with.

“And? This is Jarys' celebration, not yours. It is unnecessary to invite him."

Please don't.

“He brought food for free and is helping Rhys with the music; he can stay if he wants to." There was force behind my words—not aggression, simply force. “Jarys is okay with it, and so is Rhys."

“Hey… If there's something up, then I can go," said James, holding up his hands in a calming manner, displacing the plastic bag still wrapped around his wrists. “I really don't want to get anyone upset or ruin the mood."

“Good. Go."

No, no, no…

“Samys, there are more humans coming to the party," I at last confessed. “A few of Jarys' friends are humans, and most of them are nine years old, so obviously I invited their parents to come along. There'll be at least four more humans coming soon, so you better not make a fuss."

She looked aghast, her snout twisted into barely restrained anger. “Fuss!? Me? Why didn't you tell me!?"

“I shouldn't have to!" I snapped back. “I shouldn't have to warn you that there will be humans coming! They live here too, and we're starting to interact with them more and more; of course they'd be here too."

Rhys had taken our brother aside, along with lightly pinching the hem of James' coat to pull him away. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see him telling him something, but I was too busy to focus on the words.

“If you had told me, then I could have stayed home! I didn't have to bring Jarys, but I did because we're family! If I stayed home, I wouldn't have to see those things!"

Ah, this is what I've been waiting for.

“How are you ever going to leave your nest if you refuse to see any humans? How are you going to make money? How are you going to live?"

“It's different at the job," she snarled. “I don't have to see them as living things there because I know I'll never see them again. Alys, this is supposed to be different; this is supposed to be a family celebration." The hurt in her voice was a physical thing I felt in my heart. “It's supposed to just be us, not them."

“If you want to have a celebration without humans, then you can! Nobody is stopping you, but Jarys has human friends—a lot! Of course he would invite them to such an important birthday. He likes his friends, and they like him!"

“Tell them they can't come; tell them that something happened."

I hated it.

“No! Don't be such an idiot. That would be so rude to both them and him!"

“Listen, I should really-" I felt bad for snarling at James and causing him to visibly jump, but I had to prove a point to my foolish relative. I was lucky that Rhys was there to place a sympathetic paw upon his back and speak to him.

I hated what Samys was saying, what she was doing, and what she represented.

“He can get used to it," she hissed, “it's not like we're staying here forever."

She was me.

“Where else is there to go? This entire world is human occupied."

She was what could have been, should have been, really.

“We can go home," she at last said. "Th-Things just need to calm down, is all."

“They won't." I whimpered. “Samys, I was on one of the last groups to escape, and, even though humans and elves still can't get near the portals, they keep trying. Everywhere outside of a certain point is taken over. Samys, the mountains aren't even ours anymore. The only place left is on another continent that is so far away it can't be reached by wing. It's over, we lost."

I hated it.

I hated that she already knew that but had forced me to remember in a desperate gamble to divert our argument.

“That's not… It doesn't matter. None of that matters," she said through the gritting of her teeth. “This is our party, and if he is staying, then I am going."

It was not a choice between her and James, for if it were, I might've picked her, but rather it was a choice between the old and the new.

She had set herself up in the worst way possible—by wallowing in the past, she had become unable to see the future, unable to become more than she already was.

I steeled my nerves and pushed past the tension in my dry throat and the dull, hollow ache in my chest.

I readied myself and chose.

“Then go."