“Then go."

It was Tuesday, August 20th, and I was speechless.

I had expected, when the argument first began, for Alys to ask me to leave the party, and I was okay with that. It would have hurt a little bit, and I'd expected myself to avoid her at work for a day or so, but I would have done it if asked.

But she hadn't.

“W-What?" Samys stammered, equally shocked at the straightforward command her cousin had given her. “Why are you... You're really picking him?"

Alys remained firm; her scarlet eyes narrowed sharply. “No," she said clearly. “I am simply not picking you. Besides, this is not between you and James, but rather yours and Jarys' happiness in this moment. You know who he is, right? Your cousin? The drake who loves you and looks up to you, and who didn't want to invite his best friend because you said something horrible?"

The golden-eyed dragon faltered, her tough expression failing for a half moment. “There are reasons for what I said," she growled back, quickly regaining her previous energy. "Reasons you all of people should be able to understand!"

“Right." Rhys removed his paw from his brother's back and approached his female relatives. He was a table away when he decided to at last speak up. “You two need to stop this right now. It's childish and won't fix-"

Alys baulked, taken aback.

“It is not childish to tell Samys to stop!" She snapped, her calm demeanour vanishing in an instant. “She is going to end up ruining this entire celebration, and you're calling me childish!?"

Jarys flinched bodily, reminding me of just whose party was being put on hold. Despite barely knowing the boy, I reached into my plastic bag and took out a pink frosted cupcake. “It's alright, Jarys," I said quietly, moving a little closer in hopes of providing some small comfort to him. “They're not mad at you. You're okay."

He accepted the treat with shaky claws. There were no tears in his eyes, but there was a very clear look of upset on his snout. I realised then why Rhys had tried to intervene—he didn't care about the argument but rather its effect on his brother.

“I am trying to keep you three safe!" Snarled Samys, singular wing flared angrily. “You are too trusting, too carefree! You are going to-"

“So all humans are bad!?" Alys strode forward, snout to snout with her taller, more muscular, and infinitely more terrifying cousin. “Every single one? There are no good ones? Not here, not on Reon? None!?"

“None," Samys answered, undaunted by neither the closeness nor the boldness.

“None? That's what you're saying?" Alys said softly, almost ominously. “Do you really want to go down this path again?"

Some kind of emotion flickered across Samys' regal eyes—something deeply fearful and shameful. “You wouldn't dare," she growled, but made no effort to retract her prior statement.

“Hyd yn oed Aiden? Oedd e'n ddrwg? Onid ef oedd eich cydymaith agosaf?"

Wait.

I felt my jaw clench up as a near-physical smack of shock wrecked my nerves.

Alys' words were like a spell upon her cousin.

Samys took three heavy steps away, her eyes wide with shock and betrayal.

Her ears folded tightly against the back of her head, and her tail curled inwards. Her singular wing, once stretched wide in familial defiance, folded against her, embracing her tightly when none other would.

That was Welsh.

She looked down at the floor, and despite the distance between us, I was just about able to see the internal struggle, the pull between wanting to fight and wishing to give in.

It was so sudden a shift in emotion it nearly gave me whiplash. Combined with the unexpected use of a second human language, my mind was on the fritz.

That was Welsh, actual Welsh.

“Peidiwch â'i wneud i mi, gwnewch e i Jarys. Dim ond hyn unwaith," said Alys, the words almost imperceptible. Rhys, who had since moved beside her, nodded in agreement.

Despite being surrounded both physically and emotionally, Samys persisted in hiding away.

A moment of silence, of collective anxiety, passed. The pressure was cataclysmic, nearly crushing in its intensity. The tension upon us was lifted when, with a great, shudder-induced huff, Samys at last looked upon Jarys.

“Jyst..." Samys muttered, snout hidden away shamefully. “Jyst heddiw?"

Alys nodded, her features firm.

“Okay," said the darker-scaled dragon, marking the return to English.

She broke away from her older cousins and made a beeline straight for the youngest of the four, embracing him immediately when close enough. “I am sorry," she said quickly. "I did not mean to ruin your party; I truly did not. I... I will stay only if you wish me to."

“Yes, please stay, but no more fighting," the little dragon mumbled, clearly still upset.

“T-Thank you, Jarys; you're a good drake to be forgiving."

The two nuzzled for a moment longer. The arguing and complaints were temporarily frozen for as long as the party persisted, I realised.

Temporarily, specifically, for when the dragoness caught my more than obvious staring, the look she gave me was anything but accepting.

She hadn't even begun to trust me.

Fair enough, I guess, she doesn't even know me.

“I am sorry, human," she said, eyes still on me, face suddenly neutral as opposed to one of blinding affection. “You may stay if you wish; I have no problem with it."

Totally no problem. Totally.

Wanting the argument to be done with, I simply smiled and said, "It's fine, water under the bridge." I was still somewhat miffed she'd derailed the party, along with mine and Alys' conversation, but it felt unnecessary to drag it out any further.

Her ears twitched.

“Thank you," she said, sounding almost surprised by my relaxed answer.

There was no time for hugs or apologies, for before the last letter of Samys' response could escape her maw, a new dragon entered the room—a tall, yet lanky green drake. "Hello, is this Jarys' tenth celebration?" He asked. "I have Retsa here."

From behind him scampered out a small, light yellow dragoness roughly the same size as the birthday boy. She looked around, and after spotting her friend, she immediately gave chase, much to the embarrassment of what I assumed to be her father.

“Yeah, come on in; we're just putting music on!" Alys called out shakily, emotions still running high despite the impromptu resolution. “Rhys, talk to the dragon. Um, James, can you help me with my laptop?" She looked around for what I assumed was the device in question, only to come up empty. “Rhys-"

“Food table," her brother said loudly as he hurried to greet the drake.

“Got it!" Alys replied, trotting to the table. I followed after, but not before catching the stare Samys was still sending my way when she thought nobody was looking.

Alys found her knapsack sat upon the surface of the table, and within it was an older generation laptop, a grey Acer, which she carefully opened up and began typing on. The front of the thing, especially the mousepad, was rather badly scratched up. I wondered how she used it with her talons, but that was quickly answered when she took out a wired mouse and used it to navigate to the password bar.

Her slow, cautious typing allowed me to catch a fair few words: dragon, cool, and really. Feeling creepy, I looked away and chose instead to crack my back on the short metal railing that boxed in the raised area of the buffet.

“Okay, I'm logged in," she announced. “Just give me a second to... uh, clean."

Still sensing some tension, I decided to risk a joke in an attempt to lighten the mood. It was risky, as there was only really one to make given the circumstances.

“Just move your porn to a separate folder so Windows Media Player doesn't pick it up." I said, to which she froze. "Or are you using YouTube or something for the music? The ads on Spotify would probably ruin the flow, so I wouldn't use that."

It was an effort, forcing myself to speak so rapidly, but one I felt necessary.

“I don't have-" She stopped herself, glancing over to where Jarys was chatting excitedly with his newly arrived friend. “I don't have that kind of thing on my computer."

Honestly, I wouldn't have even had to look at her screen to confirm it; despite being a grown adult, she was actually pretty easy to fluster when pushed.

“Really?" I asked, arms crossed. “Is it really so valuable you won't share with the class?" It was close to being too much pressure, but I was fully prepared to pull back in case she actually got annoyed with my pestering.

She wrinkled her nose, inducing a quick, sharp note of fear in my chest. “I could probably beat you up, you know?" Her word choice immediately dissipated it, however.

“You totally could," I grinned, glad she didn't seem mad and even gladder that she seemed to have relaxed somewhat. “I would stand no chance! Still, any good stuff? We could trade, actually."

She sniffed in amusement, giving up the ruse. “I doubt you'd like it. Besides, I'm saving it for something. So no, you keep yours, and I'll keep mine."

“Okay, now I'm actually curious. Is it all dragon stuff, or have you got a secret stash of gryphon photos?"

She paused her sorting to look into my eyes. "You're weird for a human, you know that? I can't tell if you're extremely open-minded or extraordinarily sarcastic."

I thought about the assessment.

“I am... mostly going with the flow. I'm basically still in shock four years later, actually, and just sort of cruising through life." My answer wasn't an answer, just something that vaguely felt like one.

If I were being honest, despite all the weird stuff I'd seen online, she was probably right that I wouldn't have liked her collection.

It was different when real and in front of you.

“So what do you have anyway?" I said, trying to distract both her and myself.

“Mostly you," she said airily, catching me completely off guard. “Some photos I took when you were leaning over at work. Very nice, by the way. Have you been exercising?"

I laugh-snorted.

“Okay, you win." I held my hands up, to which she shook her head, her expression suddenly that of total seriousness.

“Oh no, it's okay!" From her bag, she took out her durable black tablet, which she then aimed in my direction. “Can you lean extra hard against that railing for me? I'm sure the nesses in the human appreciation group would love this." She paused. “Actually, I can pay if you want."

I blinked.

“There's a human appreciation group?" I asked, ignoring the rest.

She laughed. “Probably! I have a few relatives who are into that sort of thing, believe it or not." That immediately caught my attention.

“Wait, seriously?" I asked, disbelieving.

She narrowed her eyes, mistaking my surprise for interest. “If you ask me to introduce you to them, I will kill you on the spot. You are barred."

Fine by me; I think my family would kill me first, though.

“What?" I mock gasped, deciding to play along to continue lightening the mood. “What did I do? Oh, wait, I see... you're jealous!" I clutched my chest and held on to the railing. “It's okay, you can say it; I am your favourite bald monkey."

She rolled her eyes.

“If you're a good boy all night—and don't let my cousins drag you off—then yes, I will say you are my favourite bald monkey. Deal?" She gave her laptop one last look before passing it over to me via sliding it across the table.

I took the laptop and moved over to an incognito tab in Firefox.

“Wait... did you just say drag off? As in, grabbed by the ankles and taken into a dark alleyway." I opened up YouTube and found a decently long kid's bop mix.

“Yes, yes, I did."

With laptop in hand and my chosen music paused, I crept around the side of the buffet table—which was not in fact one long table but rather three regular ones sat beside one another—and crouched beside the black speakers. They were bulky and scuffed, but surprisingly new.

“You're joking, right?" I dug through the small mound of wires before noticing a round, circular button that, when pressed in, produced a light blue light. Bluetooth, I realised, turning to the laptop and opening up connected devices.

“Only a little." Alys shrugged, squeezing past the table to see what I was up to. “They've been here for at least two seasons, so... yeah, poor humans."

Poor humans indeed.

It took a moment, but I was able to connect with the speakers.

“I seriously can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not. No way you've got cousins sleeping with humans. Isn't it, like, illegal or something? Or at least super taboo." I got back up, placed the laptop on the table, and opened YouTube back up.

“Illegal? Why would it be illegal?"

“Because, like, humans are humans and not dragons? So the, uh, dragon government wouldn't want you mixing because you were mortal enemies."

“No, it's not... okay, maybe in some places it was, but for most it was just really, really looked down upon," she explained, making sure to stress the word. “Rare too, super rare. Being friends with humans was practically a sin, so imagine if a ness or drake decided to up their game."

I fiddled with the volume, trying to get a rough guess on how loud the speakers would be. To be safe, I set the Windows volume to twenty-five.

“We're friends, aren't we?" It felt awkward to ask, but I felt I had to.

“Yes, you're here, aren't you?" She answered quickly, throwing me a warm smile that I made sure to return straight away.

I hit play on the video, forcing the poor speaker to blurt out a pre-pubescent version of Fight Song.

“I could be imaginary."

“You-" She laughed, interrupting herself. “You're a very convincing hallucination then, seeing as you made the laptop float."

I slid the laptop back over to her. “Don't play videos on the laptop since the sound will transfer over." I took a cocktail sausage from its plastic tub and tossed it into my mouth. “And, yep! I am your deeply repressed psyche; I know all of your deepest secrets. Ask me anything!"

Before answering, Alys glanced over to the entryway where more dragons had shown up. “Alright, imaginary James, what is my most well-kept secret?"

Huh. Interesting question.

“Your most well-kept secret is... that you love sappy romantic movies." I kept my face and tone as serious as possible, acting as if that was my best guess.

“Really?" She smirked. “That's the best you've got?"

I shrugged. “Either that or you weren't joking about that stash of James Morris brand photos—by the way, if real, send them to me so I can mesh them all into a wallpaper for my room."

“Ugh, don't say that—you sound like Rhys. Hey, can you hold this for a second?" She pushed the laptop back towards me, which I accepted immediately.

“Sure. Poor thing, though, being tossed around so much." I carried the laptop back to the table for her. “So, are you going to reveal your deep, dark backstory now, or do we have to wait for the act two low point?"

“We have an act two low point?" She asked, ears aimed to the left, where a light thud sounded—some kid had run into a wall. “What's going to happen?"

I smiled and put my chin in my palm when seated. “I'm thinking... misunderstanding a situation? A classic, but it's a little played out."

“Do you have any vengeful ex-mates?"

I shook my head. “No, they're all boring. You'll have to clutch it, sorry."

She exhaled dramatically. “I'll take the misunderstanding cliché..." Her surprisingly good acting got a good laugh out of me.

“God, you understanding all that in like a year implies you watch a crazy amount of movies." I prodded at the little limb she'd laid on the table. “Have you been rotting on Netflix, Alys?"

“The red and black one? Yeah, I've seen a few; they're very addicting. I don't really understand how they do all of the magic stuff. I thought humans couldn't use magic. I think I told Jarys that you couldn't."

“We can't. It's all CGI and stuff. You know about video games, right? You said he played games the other day."

Realising that I hadn't seen nor heard my friend's moody cousin, I looked around for her and found her stacking a paper plate with food. I found myself amazed she had been able to evade us effortlessly.

“So it's fake, like Roblox? But... it looks really real," said Alys, sounding even more lost than she already had been.

I looked back over to her. “Uh, yeah, they've got a way bigger budget so more people with better computers can add, like, machine images and videos." It was hard to word it to someone who didn't properly understand what CGI was.

“Weird," she mumbled to herself, still not sounding entirely convinced.

“Hey, can I ask you about magic? Actual magic?" I'd wanted to ask ever since I first met her, but there hadn't been a good opportunity to do so—her mentioning it herself was practically the perfect set-up. “If you're okay with it, I mean, I get why it'd be a bit iffy. I really don't want to upset you."

Did that sound condescending? Nah, I should be okay.

“It's alright, I'm okay. You don't have magic here, so I already guessed you'd be curious." She shrugged. “I'm a pretty simple ness, so I only know the basics, though."

“That's fine. Um, okay... how does- how does it, like, work even? In the simplest way of describing it."

Okay, yeah, I wanted to use it, obviously.

It was magic.

Magic.

She mulled the question around, her dark tongue poking out in thought.

“Well, it's different for humans—I know that much. For me, for example, to breathe fire, I have to take mana from in my chest and sort of... vomit? The more energy you put in, the hotter it is. Flight's different; you've got to layer your membranes with it, and that makes you float." She tapped her chest and throat and then brought down a wing to poke at. "But you can spread it across your entire body to cut through the air quicker."

That's so fucking cool. Completely useless to me, but still awesome.

“Can you run out? Or is it infinite?" I'd often wondered the same thing about Harry Potter—they never seemed to get tired of casting spells.

“Yeah, you can run out if you use it stupidly. It comes back, though. For some dragons, it's quickly; for others, it takes days. I, um, don't know where it comes from; all I know is that it always comes back."

“Can humans breathe fire?" I asked, my question genuine.

“Hah!" She laughed. “No, no, they do things completely different," she explained. “Lots of hand gestures and weird, squiggly writing. Actually, I think I can remember one." She pointed at my hands. “Make a ball."

“Ball?" Not entirely sure what she meant, I interlocked my fingers, making a sort of ball shape, with my thumbs pointing back at me.

“Yeah, like that. Now take your... the talons in the centre; point them at the ceiling."

“Like I'm flipping people off on both sides?" Despite my snark, I did as was told. “Now what? Can I make fireballs?"

“No, it's just a hand sign a human once showed me." She shrugged. "I think he might have said it does something called a domain-"

“Why are you showing him that?" Said Samys from behind me, her accusing statement ruined by the food in her maw muffling the words.

Jesus christ!

I untangled my fingers and put my hands on the table.

“They don't have mana, Samys; it's not like he could do anything with it—he was just curious." Desperate to change the topic, she looked at the plate of food. “Food alright?"

Samys frowned but said no more on the matter as she sat beside her cousin. “Yes, it is alright. Dragons are finally turning up as well. Jarys is playing with his friends, but I have noticed some light nipping."

Alys groaned, her slip-up seconds prior already forgotten. “Should I go tell him off, or do you want to?"

She shook her head. “Not necessary; I already reprimanded him. I told him it was childish and that he was a mature drake."

“Does nipping happen a lot with young kids?" I asked, resting my chin in my palm.

Samys frowned at my intrusion but once again said nothing.

“Mostly, yeah. It usually happens when excited or jumpy. It can also happen when scared, but to yourself. Do humans have an equivalent?" Alys enquired, ignoring the stares her cousin was sending my way.

“I think chewing our nails might be a similar habit." I put a finger in my mouth to accentuate my point. “Even I do it a little bit when I forget I'm an adult."

“You're an adult?" Grumbled Samys, expression dry.

“Yep, I am a grown man." I smiled at her, trying not to appear bothered. “And you must be some sort of grumpy teenager? Seventeen, right?"

Remember, she's terrifying.

“I am twenty-nine years old."

That's... kind of boring, actually.

I thought these guys were all a hundred or something since... Oh, wait, Jarys is ten and seems about ten. How old is Alys then?

I winked and pointed.

“You're just saying that so you can get drinks, aren't you?" I said cheerily.

She moved her face closer; her eyes narrowed.

“I do not drink."

“You don't drink?" I smiled despite the heavy beating of my anxious heart in my chest. “How are you still alive then?"

Her yellow eyes widened. “Alys, control your monkey before I eat it." When she looked back at her cousin, who did not in fact control her monkey, she found that Alys was busy covering her maw in an attempt not to laugh. “What is so funny?"

“Nothing, nothing. Can you guys watch my laptop whilst I get food, please?" I nodded and shuffled a seat over, resting my fingers on the laptop as if that would stop a ten-foot-long lizard from taking it. “Thank you."

I gave her a quick okay sign.

It was quiet for a moment until, when Alys was out of earshot, Samys decided to speak up. “Why are you here?"

The tone of her question made me feel oddly self-conscious, as though she knew something about me that I wasn't aware of. “What do you mean? I was invited."

“I know you were, but why did you come? This is a children's celebration, not an adult's." She eyed me sceptically, the distrust clear in her dull expression.

“I think you're overestimating my deviousness. She invited me; she's my friend; I accepted. It's something to do on a Tuesday." I tried not to sound defensive, but part of that tension trickled out of my mind and into my words.

“Did you really have nothing else to do?" She enquired, not entirely believing me, it seemed. “Do you not have human friends?"

I felt my eyes widen at the barb.

You bitch.

“Do you not have dragon friends that aren't related to you?" I snipped back after recovering from the blow. “Or even a mate?" The dig was borderline instinctual; were I to have planned the rebuttal, I would have said something less sharp.

Her nostrils flared. “That's none of your concern, James. Do you?"

“No, not right now," I answered back, equally as on edge. “Have you ever had a mate, or have you scared them all off before you could make an omelette?" I could practically feel her claws on my throat, but I refused to let it show just how shaken I was.

“You tail-chasing little freak! I'm... h-hey, Jarys!" Her anger vanished as a miniature Rhys snuck up behind her and tried to shake her from side to side, only to fail spectacularly in thanks to her impressive weight. “Enjoying your celebration? You've got a lot of friends."

“Yeah! I'm waiting for Oliver, because he said- he said his mom might get me a car." He stammered and tried to say something else, only to get tagged by one of his friends. He jumped and chased after the young dragon.

Samys turned back around, but before she could turn me inside out, Alys returned with an overflowing plate of her own. I returned to my earlier seat, and she once again resumed her role as the wall of separation.

“Are you two playing nice?" Asked the smaller blue dragon through a mouthful of sandwiches.

Samys glowered at me. “He implied me to be a virgin."

Alys choked for a moment before gulping down her food in one long, snake-like motion. “Did you?" She stared at me, failing in her attempt not to smile.

“Kind of, yeah..." I admitted, a little ashamed of my childishness. With her returned, the rush of hot blood slowed, and I could think on my words. Some insults were deserved, but not at the risk of ruining the party atmosphere a second time.

“Oh no, she's definitely not." Alys laughed and leaned in, voice dropping. “We grew up in the same clutch, and one season when she was twenty-one, she and—"

“Alys, don't." Rather than embarrassed, Samys looked suddenly upset. “Please don't."

A look of immediate regret washed across Alys, who bit her lip and backed away from me. “Sorry, Samys, I got carried away. I didn't mean to bring that up."

“It's fine," she said softly. “And I am sorry for my behaviour, James. You do seem... okay. I will- I'm going to get some water." She stood up but then paused. “Where is the water?"

“At the bar." I got up out of my seat. “I'll go with you; I need a drink as well."

She didn't say anything, choosing instead to silently accept my company.

I hurried ahead of her when near the small, alcove-like bar. “Glass of tap water and... um, actually, two tap waters, please." I moved out of the way and stood beside the wall, which was soon occupied by Samys as well.

“Sorry for that," I said, trying to start some sort of non-argumentative conversation. “I didn't mean to get so defensive, but really, I am only here because Alys asked me, and she's my friend."

She didn't answer, but a piece of the tension in her jaw faded.

The tap water was taking some time, I realised after my second sigh.

“Can I ask you something without you killing me?"

She rolled her eyes. “Depends."

“Why don't you like Earth humans? I know that's super vague, but, like, I don't even think we're the same species as who you fought with—we just look similar." I crossed my arms and waited for an answer, along with our waters.

Samys exhaled slowly and looked over at me like I was stupid.

“You are the same species—down to the blood in your veins. I can smell it on you. You people are completely identical." She explained, nodding towards the man at the bar when he came back with our glasses. I took the drinks and walked slowly.

“But we're from different worlds; that wouldn't make sense," I countered, sipping from the glass on the right, which I had designated as mine. “It doesn't even make sense that you look like actual dragons, because that's an Earth thing."

“There are a surprising amount of similarities."

Welsh for one. I still need to ask about that later.

“Okay, but, no magic," I added.

“Have you tried?"

“Yes," I said quickly. “I can't think of a kid that hasn't tried to make things float at one point or the other. It doesn't work; we can't use magic. We're not a threat; look at how crazy big your teeth are compared to mine."

She hummed.

“Then I guess you aren't a threat, but that's probably due to a lack of talent as opposed to an absence of ability."

...bitch.

“Either way, threat or not, I don't have to like you. Nor do I have to hate you, I suppose." She looked back at me and, for a fraction of a second, fucking smirked. “You're just that weak, James."

“I don't like the way you say my name. It feels like a really nasty slur." I placed the glasses on the table and took my previous seat. “Where's Alys gone anyway?"

Samys glanced at the entryway and grimaced. “Talking to the human guests and their hatchlings. Now, be good and quiet whilst I eat my food."

Deciding to do as told, I ignored her painfully loud chewing sounds and took out my phone to check what people had been up to in the hour I'd not been logged in.

Twitter wasn't interesting, nor were Facebook, Reddit, or even YouTube.

I closed the apps and opened up the liked songs list in Spotify. Ads were avoided thanks to a nifty little download courtesy of a friend more tech-savvy than me. Before doing anything, however, I made sure my earphones were properly plugged in.

Shuffle hit me with Virus by Andrew Stein.

“This isn't just a game anymore, and you're like a virus, slowly infecting me, pretty poison rushing through my heart~" I mumbled the words silently, head bobbing softly against the back of the chair.

I wasn't sure why, but as soon as the conversation died—as soon as I was given a moment of silence—I began to feel odd. I was out of place; obviously, I didn't know the people, but... That wasn't quite it.

It was such a sudden onset that my first thought was that something was wrong with my water.

“...and you're like a virus; uncontrolled. A dangerous and deadly work of art."

But it stuck with me.

That nagging tension.

Fortunately for me, Alys returned soon, accompanied by a tired-looking Rhys. “You two have been busy," I said, taking an earbud out so as to not seem rude. “Anything interesting happening?"

Alys groaned, sounding drained. “Not really, no. A few of the moms were a little nervous, so I had a talk with them, but everything is alright now. I'm more... are you alright?" She looked over to Samys after asking, who looked almost offended by the accusatory stare.

“O-Oh, yeah, just kind of wiped is all—super late shift last night."

Not really; I'd left only an hour after Alys had.

She nodded, seeming understanding, but the light twitching of her long ears gave me an uncomfortable feeling in my stomach. “Yeah, I left before you yesterday. A-At least we get paid today!" She smiled wide, looking at me dead in the eyes.

“Yeah, we... wait, you do mean last night, right? Midnight?" I asked.

“Midnight tonight, or midnight last night? I thought we got paid later."

“No, it's Tuesday crew-wide. Do you get paid a day later or something?"

“My worker said it would be tonight," she answered, lips pursing. “Maybe it's because it goes through the integration program?"

Oh, so they're not technically employed by the company, but by the government? I wonder if they get paid less.

“How much do we get?" She asked, apparently a mind reader.

“Depends on the hours. I get eleven sixty an hour and I do about thirty-five ish, so... that's like four hundred a week, every four weeks, so sixteen hundred. Then there's tax, so... um, the answer is, not great. Enough for rent and food is all I'll say." In the end, I babbled and shrugged, not even entirely sure myself.

“How many hours do you do, Alys?" Rhys asked his sister as he took a seat beside me, which also served to remind me he was present. He'd been unusually quiet.

“I'm not sure," she answered, her eyes narrowed in thought. “Maybe... thirty? Six a day, I think."

Eleven sixty, times thirty, times four, times... point eight for tax... Eleven...

“About one thousand one hundred," said Rhys a few seconds before I was about to reach my conclusion. “After tax."

“Jesus," I blurted out, “how did you do that so quickly?"

He shrugged. “I didn't; I rounded. I have no idea what the exact number is."

I took my phone out, turned off the music, and opened up my calculator.

“One thousand one hundred and thirteen. You were off by thirteen pounds. Still, that was fast."

Alys looked surprised. “That's a lot of money, a lot more than we usually get. Is it a lot for humans, James?" The surprise gave way to excitement.

I shrugged. “Depends where you live, I guess. It's more on the lower end, but not, like, poor or anything. If you've got your bills paid, then you've got some decent pocket money at least."

“I wonder what I should buy," she said quietly, tapping her claws together in deliberation. “What... what can you buy with a lot of money?" She looked to me. “What do you normally get?"

It was funny, really; whether human or dragon, payday was something that put some excitement in you. I'd constantly caught myself forgetting that Alys was in fact a dragon, despite that fact literally being in front of me any time I saw her.

Her fluttering wings and wagging tail did serve to remind me of that, however, but it didn't bother me.

“Most goes towards rent, then bills, then food, then bus fares, and then savings. I tend to waste the rest, honestly." I listed the examples on my fingers. "You could get more of your Berserk collection. I remember you getting the first one a bit ago."

Her eyes lit up at the possibility.

“Yes! I can get that, and then food!" She nodded to herself, wings fluttering cheerfully. “Lots of food would be good."

“You could get clothes. I heard they do dragon clothes," I said, snapping my fingers on reflex as the memory struck me. “I think I saw an ad for leg stuff online yesterday."

The earlier feeling, the discomfort, was forgotten. Not gone, but forgotten.

“You mean warmers? I saw a pair in a shop a few days ago." She looked down at herself, specifically her front limbs. “Would that look good on me?"

You're on your own with this. Blue shirt and a black coat was as much drip as I could manage.

“I think so," I said after some thinking. “I've only ever seen one with them on in the ad, and I can't really remember how it looked."

“Go with green," Rhys said with a nod. “It matches our blue."

“Wouldn't red be better?" Samys, surprisingly enough, added, her words half gibberish thanks to the sheer quantity of food stuffed into her maw. “It contrasts the blue and matches your eyes."

This conversation is kind of weird. I don't even really have an opinion.

Honestly, I don't even really look at her all that much.

Blue scales, red eyes, a pair of curved, upward-facing horns, and a second pair of downward-curving ones with the tops covered by her ears. Big wings, long tail... surprisingly lean.

Huh, black underbelly. I thought it was blue?

Ooh, that's kind of mean.

“Um, what about something to cover your paws and wrist?" I suggested, feeling suddenly guilty. I ran a finger from the palm of my hand to just below my elbow. “For humans, they're called arm warmers. They don't touch your upper, uh, leg, and they can also keep your paws clean."

Realising I was jabbering on a little, I quickly looked up arm warmers on Safari's browser, and after finding a flattering photo, I showed Alys the accessory.

“Ooh, I like them." She leaned in closer, eyes flickering from the picture to her own legs. “How expensive are they? They look very finely made."

As I'd never looked them up before, I was curious. I swiped over to the Amazon tab I had been idly looking through on the bus to the party.

“Cheaper than I thought they were," I announced. “About six pounds for human ones, but that's not what we're looking for, so just give me a second." I added dragons to the search term and swiped for the average cost. “Twenty-ish, for decent ones. They're a lot more durable, but the patterns and colours are exactly the same. Actually, look, there's a picture of a girl wearing them."

I enlarged the photo of the jubilant-looking brown dragon and once again flipped my phone backwards for her to see.

She cooed immediately, eyes glittering with imagined beauty. “She looks really pretty. Rhys, check it out." She tugged on my sleeve, bending my arm so her brother could see, but he didn't seem all that interested in the sight. “What do you think? Would I look okay in them?"

“I'd go with green, with frills at the top," he said clinically, pointing at the versions available for purchase. “They'd be a bit too military-looking without some kind of soft-looking extra part."

“Let me see," commanded Samys, to which I hesitated but still did as was told. She tilted her head, opened her maw, and then shut it. “They're actually very nice looking, but... not something I would ever wear—too soft."

A blatant lie is blatant.

“Black would suit you," Alys pointed at her cousin's paw, which was idly sat upon the table. “Not with frills, just plain." The dragon in question looked down at the limb and seemed to consider the accessory. “If it comes in a group, we could split the price. Clever, right?"

“Maybe." Samys frowned at her plate, which dared to be empty for a second time. “Please excuse me a moment; I need to get more food." She quickly left the table to journey over to the buffet—a popular location, it seemed, based on the horde of ravenous dragons swarming it.

So many, all happy, all well fed, and among family and friends. It was beautiful, even to someone who didn't share even a single familiar trait. I myself couldn't even recall the last time I'd been at a party like the current one. My family didn't really do celebrations beyond a quick post on Friendster.

…I was jealous.

The discomfort, the pit in my stomach.

Jealousy.

“Jarys sure is popular," I observed. “A lot of people turned up."

“It's an important birthday," she answered. “They'd be mad if I didn't invite them, to be fair, so it's more of an honour thing. Makes me glad, though; it's been a while since I've seen so many dragons so happy."

I didn't say anything on the matter; my mind was too occupied to do so.

“I'm also glad to see Samys enjoy herself, even if it started out so badly," she said suddenly, speaking a little louder than she had been moments prior. “It's hard to see, but this is the happiest I've seen her in years. Thanks for forgiving her."

“It's fine, no need to thank me. She, uh, looks a lot like you guys, I've noticed," I commented, nodding in her general direction. “I know she's your cousin and all, but it really is uncanny. If it weren't for the eyes, she could pass for your more muscular twin."

It was an obvious deflection, but she didn't seem to mind.

Alys laughed. "Probably because we're very closely related. Our fathers are brothers, and our mothers are sisters. She's basically our sister."

I felt my eyes widen at the reveal. "Really? I was googling something sorta related to that the other day, you know. Apparently they're called double first cousins, and they have as much blood closeness as half-siblings. If you squint really hard, she's kind of like a sister."

She looked over to Samys and hummed. "I thought she was my sister when we were younger, actually. It was Mother that said she wasn't one day." A strangely annoyed look flashed across her features. "We were all raised in the same clutch, and if not for her mentioning it, I probably wouldn't have ever known. I think she thought the same, because I remember her being upset about it…"

"Jarys loves her," said Rhys. "He really does, probably as much as he does us." He swallowed. "James, I am sorry about how she behaved earlier. I know she means well, but that's no excuse. You didn't do anything."

"It's cool." I shrugged, feeling a little shaky at the return to the topic. "I'm not mad or anything, especially not at you guys. It's kind of hard to be upset at somebody who doesn't like an entire species. I'm me, not all of humanity. And, yeah, I can tell she didn't do it to hurt me, but to try and protect you guys. You're her family."

I was being honest, truly. Hating a species eight billion strong was just too big of a reach; too fantastical for someone like me to care about. It was the same reason I didn't bother with politics.

"That's..." Alys stammered, taken aback. "That's so kind of you to say, thank you. I'm so glad you decided to come. I-It means a lot to me, really..."

I felt my heart jump.

Oh... wow.

I felt more flustered than when we were discussing literal pornography earlier, but it wasn't embarrassment. There was something different in Alys' eyes—genuine warmth, almost too much to handle.

It was a rare event indeed when I came across someone who was so... grateful. I wasn't used to people thanking me like that, not with such sincerity.

My initial instinct was to make a quick joke to deflect, but I just couldn't quite bring myself to do it. What she had said meant something to me.

"Thanks for inviting me, Alys. I… I haven't been out with friends like this in a while, and it turns out I've actually missed it." I swallowed the uncomfortable lump in my throat and pushed on. “Any time you guys need anything, just ask."

I was so used to irony and sarcasm that true honesty felt like a treat to my apathy poisoned brain. Only with my siblings and a scant few friends had I ever been so open, and despite only having known them a few weeks, I felt safe in doing so.

The contrast that my confidence had been placed in the claws of creatures not even human was not lost on me, nor was it a negative. If anything, it spoke well of their characters that I cared more for them than I did other humans.

A few weeks prior, I'd have found this fact depressing, but now I honestly couldn't care less. Even despite liking them, some small part of me felt a tinge of embarrassment or anxiety that people would judge me, and even though a fragment of that remained, for the most part I didn't care… I was free, in a sense.

“Hey, uh, slightly out of place question, but can I take a photo?" I had to prove this realisation right, to myself and to them, not that they knew this of course. “Like a group selfie of us? It would just be on my Friendster account."

Alys grinned. “Sure, let me just get in a cool pose." She looked to Rhys who shook his head no and shuffled out of his seat closer whilst she stood beside me, claws wrapped around the side of my right shoulder.

"Nah, I don't like seeing my own snout in photos," Rhys said, shaking a paw. I shrugged and took my phone out.

I could feel my legs shaking out of nervousness at the thought of posting it to a page where my friends and family could see, but I pressed on. I opened up the camera and clicked on the front camera option.

“Ready?"

“Yep!" Alys chirped, putting on a wide grin.

I threw up a peace sign with my free hand.

“Right. Three... two... one."

Click.