“A party?” the dragon exclaimed with wide eyes.

  “Not so loud,” Leonardo lisped conspiratorially, his horse eyes scurrying through the hallway. “It’s supposed to be a surprise.”

  Oscar covered his mouth with his wings. “Sorry,” he rumbled.

  Still, his tail wiggled in excitement.

  Flynn had never known Oscar to be one for parties — but maybe he just always brought the dragon to the wrong kinds of parties. This one was going to be full of people he knew and liked, and they seemed to like him, too.

  If only the occasion had been a better one, Flynn thought.

  “When is it going to happen?” Oscar asked, trying to keep his baritone down.

  “Full moon is supposed to be tomorrow night, so that’s when we’ll celebrate.”

  Leonardo smiled brightly and clapped his hooves. Oscar didn’t even flinch.

  “Isn’t that a bit much?” Flynn asked skeptically. “I mean, doesn’t she transform once a month?”

  The horseman neighed. “She does, yes. But it’s still a big deal for her. It’s the time of the month when she is confronted with her transformative trauma, and it’s important that we support our comrade in her time of need.”

  “So you throw a party every month?”

  “We try to, yes,” Leonardo said, shuffling his pointy ears.

  “Not much of a surprise, then, is it?”

  The horse looked taken aback.

  “I think it is a very nice idea either way,” the dragon rumbled cheerfully, giving Flynn a scolding side-eye.

  Leonardo nodded appreciatively. “There is no need to bring presents or anything of that sort. Just be there — we will take care of the rest.”

  Flynn didn’t know what he’d expected from a mythical party.

  Dora’s transformation celebration took place in their usual therapy room, except all the pillows had been stacked off to the side. Where the group would normally discuss their deepest feelings, there were now long tables with salads and bite-sized hors d’oeuvres, all of which looked oddly alive, and big bowls of colorful drinks that Apollo seemed to be in charge of. There was a dance floor just big enough to accommodate Oscar on his lonesome, although Flynn knew that reality was never going to take shape. Dim orange light illuminated the room, and Patricia had put up a handful of water balloons. Soft music was playing in the background, and over the entrance hung a handwritten banner that spelled “Happy Full Moon, Dora.”

  Overall, this party looked like any other — except for the attendees.

  Every member of their therapy group had shown up. They all were dressed rather nicely, Flynn had to admit. Ferdinand had topped his jar with a festive red and green plaid lid, making his vessel look like Christmas jam. The manticore’s lion mane was freshly trimmed, and Leonardo was wearing his finest kilt, along with a decorative gold brooch. Bjorn, the cyclops, had put on a flat cap to cover his massive bald head, which, together with the glasses he always wore, made him look rather intellectual.

  “I didn’t know we had to dress up,” Oscar murmured nervously.

  “You’re a dragon, you always look dressy,” Flynn muttered.

  Oscar puffed. “Why, thank you.”

  “Oscar!” the mermaid exclaimed, and quickly made her way over to them. “I’m so glad you are joining us!”

  She smiled her pearlescent smile, her yellow eyes radiating like miniature suns.

  “Hello Patricia,” the dragon said formally, and Flynn nodded along.

  “I’m afraid we didn’t bring anything for the buffet,” Oscar said, slightly embarrassed.

  Patricia swatted away his words with her human hand. “Oh, don’t worry about it. We have more food than we could possibly eat, as per usual.”

  The dragon nodded in relief.

  “Everything looks really nice.”

  “I know, right?” the mermaid said cheerfully. “It’s always such a great occasion to have a little fun.”

  “Where is the cat of honor?” Flynn asked facetiously.

  “Oh, she should be here any minute now!”

  “And then what?” he probed. “Is she just going to transform while we cheer her on?”

  Patricia laughed a shrill, bubbly laugh.

  “That’s too funny,” she said under tears.

  Flynn frowned. “Oh, so that would make all of this ridiculous?”

  He gestured at the water balloons.

  Patricia gracefully overlooked his remark.

  Their discussion was interrupted when the large portal doors swung open. Everyone turned their heads, trying to catch a glimpse of the newcomers.

  Elli stepped inside first, a bright smile on her lips, gently pulling the hand of a woman walking behind her. She was rather short, with beautiful black hair and intelligent green eyes. Her skin was porcelain white, her features surprisingly pleasant. The woman smiled nervously, exposing teeth that were a little longer and sharper than average, but overall made for a winning smile.

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  Everyone around Flynn started cheering, even the large dragon rumbled supportively. Human Dora coyly nestled her cheek against her shoulder, while Elli pulled her further into the room. Soon, they were surrounded by the warm embrace of the remaining group members, and Dora could be heard laughing and jesting with the others.

  In his stupor, Flynn didn’t even realize that the dragon had wandered off to join the circle of cheerful creatures, and was currently in the process of nudging Dora with his snout. The woman chuckled and patted one of his horns, while Leonardo supplied her with a plate of selected finger food. They all looked exceptionally happy.

  Flynn snorted and turned to get a drink.

  He was in no way surprised when he saw Apollo standing next to the fruit bowl, holding a small cardboard cup in his one claw. The table next to him was already covered with empty drinks.

  “What are we drinking?” Flynn asked casually while pouring some of the purple liquid into his own cup.

  The griffin eyed him skeptically, then clicked his beak and took a gulping sip.

  “It’s just sugar water,” he rasped, and for a moment Flynn thought the bird was going to spit the drink back into the bowl — or at him.

  “Alcohol-free, hm?”

  Apollo flapped his shaggy wings once, then gave the mermaid a scrutinizing look. Patricia was in the middle of a discussion with Ferdinand, who had been placed on a small stool. She was too distracted to even notice the griffin’s hostile stare.

  “It would appear so,” the bird snarled.

  They stood in silence for a moment, while bits and pieces of cheerful chatters echoed through the room.

  “So, what’s your story?” Flynn asked overly casually.

  The griffin grunted. “No story,” he growled, then clicked his beak and took another sip.

  A frown distorted his features when he swallowed the sugary drink.

  “Sorry, I don’t mean to pry,” Flynn said and shrugged. “But you seem a little different from everyone else here, if you don’t mind me saying.”

  “I do.”

  Flynn bit his lip and studied the purple liquid in his cup. It tasted like lavender and honey, mixed with … pineapple.

  “Don’t you have somewhere else to be?” the bird growled after a moment of silence.

  Flynn shrugged. “I just thought we could have a nice little chat, one skeptic to the other.”

  Before the griffin could respond, a pleasant voice appeared from behind them.

  “Are you bothering my party guests?”

  When Flynn turned around, he was staring right into the emerald eyes of Dora. She was loosely holding a mozzarella stick in her hand, a challenging smile on her lips.

  Flynn wanted to say something snappy, but somehow, his brain failed to fulfill its one and only purpose.

  Dora chuckled. “What?” she asked fiendishly. “Nothing to say?”

  “I thought you were insecure,” Flynn muttered.

  The woman shrugged. “About my cat form, yes. Not so much about this form.”

  She casually gestured down her features, and Flynn’s eyes instinctively shot up to the ceiling, admiring the water balloons.

  The werehuman snorted. “I guess this is not what you expected.”

  Flynn sighed and turned his attention back to Dora, who was in the process of shoving the mozzarella stick into her teeth-filled mouth.

  Behind her, Leonardo was showcasing some of his dance moves, using the manticore’s scorpion tail as a fake microphone.

  “I didn’t think your personality would change along with your physical form,” Flynn murmured.

  “Who says it does?”

  Another challenging smile.

  “Well,” Flynn began, gesturing with his hands, “you just always seem cranky and annoyed.”

  “I’m a cat, Flynn,” she said as if that explained everything.

  They fell silent for a moment, and Flynn felt unusually awkward.

  “Fancy a drink?” he asked sheepishly, and would’ve loved to slap his own face for it.

  Dora shrugged. “Sure.”

  He poured the werehuman a cup of the vile beverage, briefly glancing at Apollo and spilling about a third of the purple liquid in the process. The griffin eyed him with refined skepticism, his beak swaying ever so slightly.

  “It’s funny,” Dora said upon receiving her drink. “I can always understand all the nonsense you are spouting, but you can never understand what I’m saying.”

  He noticed her pupils were not perfectly round, but instead still bore a resemblance to the eyes of the cat she usually embodied.

  “Are you trying to tell me that you are also talking nonsense most of the time?”

  The woman cocked her head. “I guess you’ve got to learn my language to find out.”

  Flynn snorted. “What language would that be? Purr?”

  Dora smacked her lips and examined him for a brief moment.

  “You know what’s even funnier?”

  “Enlighten me,” Flynn prompted with a hint of unease.

  “You always act like you are the only normal being within ten miles of here.”

  “At least I was not sent here on a prescription.”

  The werehuman huffed. “Always the cynic, aren’t you?”

  “That is what they say about me,” Flynn said lightheartedly and smiled.

  It didn’t catch. Instead, the werehuman’s expression hardened.

  “There will come a time when Oscar doesn’t need you any longer. You know that, right?”

  Flynn could feel the color leave his face. But Dora wasn’t done yet.

  “I would question whether he ever needed you, but that is not for me to judge. But now, he has people who actually take care of him.”

  “I’ve taken care of him for most of his life,” Flynn protested.

  “And where has that gotten him?” Dora scoffed.

  He didn’t know what to say to that.

  “I get that you two are buddies, but did you ever consider the possibility that he might just need more than that?”

  “Like what?”

  It was a naive question, but he was too slow to stop the words from leaving his mouth.

  “Family.”

  The word hung in the air for a long, uncomfortable moment. Dora took a step to the side, and Flynn’s eyes fell on the large blue dragon. He was standing in the center of the room, surrounded by members of his therapy group. Elli was in the middle of drawing something in the air, and all of them started laughing.

  Flynn gulped, a bitter taste filling his mouth.

  “Look, I’m not trying to be the bad guy here,” Dora said with a sigh. “But since you are apparently too blind to see that, someone had to tell you.”

  It took Flynn a moment to collect himself, and to block out the pesky feelings that were polluting his mind.

  “How long until you go back to purring?” he asked facetiously.

  Dora produced a cat-like hiss.

  “There he is again,” she sneered, rolling her emerald eyes.

  A volley of laughter reached them, originating from a circle of spectators that had formed around Bjorn. The cyclops was dancing with a surprising amount of grace, his moves modern and refined. The crowd jeered when the one-eyed giant lifted his cap up high and did the splits in one smooth motion.

  “Did you know he could do that?” Flynn gasped in disbelief.

  But when he looked to the side, Dora wasn’t there anymore.

  He spotted her rejoining the partying group, placing her drink next to Ferdinand’s jar and raising her hands up high when the beat kicked in.

  Only Apollo was still standing a few feet away from him.

  Flynn bit his lip in embarrassment.

  “Ouch …” the griffin commented dryly, then presumed to fill another cup.