"Yelz sleep? Yes. Kolky will wake her up! Yes!"

  "Weny wake up with chirping. Yes."

  "Birds chirp in the morning! Yes."

  "Yes. Mom on soon!"

  Yelz grumbled as the cruelty of the waking world returned to her, dragging her from dreams of prancing gryphons… or… well, okay it was more like Tolly trotting with half-lidded eyes and a sultry swing of furred flanks, but it was a great dream nonetheless! Dry desert sands ground in the kobold's throat, her small fangs gracing the air as she cracked her jaw apart in a futile attempt to utter her displeasure at the waking world.

  "Hhhnnnggguuuuhh-blluuuhhh…."

  Such was her wisdom, her grace, the mad mutterings that spilled forth from her immaculate mind forged in the fires of a gryphon chick cuddle pile. Warmth still stuck her scales as she rose, the blankets falling from her shoulders while her diminutive maw split in a hydraulic yawn that sent her tiny, pink tongue on a lolling spree across her lips. There was so much… noise… where was it coming from?

  Children.

  The hushed screeches of rage from the chicks in the living room filled Yelz with a different kind of warmth, one she hadn't had the pleasure of basking in since she'd been on hatchling duty back in the warren. How long had she been out? It could only have been hours… Tolly was the early morning meteorologist, so… what, four hours? Five at the most… not enough, but babysitting was her job, and as mature as Kolky was for his age, there was no way she'd let the little guy watch three of his siblings alone.

  "By the First Scale… they're so insufferably cute…" Yelz wrapped the upper-most blanket about her thin shoulders before wandering into the dim living room, her tired smile widening at the sight of Kolky and Weny slap fighting. Experience had taught her to just let kids be kids. As long as no one was hurting each other, everything was coming up Yelz. Besides, she had a sneaking suspicion Kolky would reverse the spin of the planet before hurting his little sister. For their parts, Holky and Elky followed the pink kobold dutifully into the kitchen before their siblings called them back, excited chirps and eager caws bounding off the walls.

  "Mumder!"

  "Mom. Yes."

  "It's Mumbler!"

  "Momma. Yes. Prettiest meteoreowowist."

  Yelz felt her paw reach for her chest as she peeked from the corner of the kitchen door. Wenakik was sooo tiny, leaning against her older brother for balance. The poor chick's legs weren't even long enough to sit properly, the pads of her paws visible to the world.

  "Lookit her widdle beeeaannnss…" Still, Yelz had to hide her swooning sugar crash, as a much more important figure for the gryphons held their attention. Tolly sat prim and proper before what was obviously a green screen, her feathers shining and eyes glowing with just a dash of glittering eye liner as the day's forecast displayed behind her.

  "Today will be clouds. Yes. Rain? No." A raised claw pointed towards the city at large, a comfortable seventy degrees emblazoned over a tiny rendition of skyscrapers and streets. "Refreshing breeze. Yes. Go outside? Yes. Touch grass. Tomorrow clouds again. Snuggle inside? Yes. Sports? Yes. To Gerald." A cheer rose from the small crowd situated before the television, Tolly's family shouting their support even though their mother couldn't hear them in the slightest. Even the normally quiet twins joined in the merriment, dancing around the youngest who giggled and wiggled with delight.

  "Okay kids, breakfast!" Yelz's smile faltered as four predatory heads snapped her way, pupils dilated and claws scrabbling at the carpet. "Ah! AHHH!" Three sets of beaks shot open wide, gullets undulating as the younger chicks chased after the fleeing kobold, Kolkakik snickering as he followed at a gentler pace. At the end of the day, Yelz was very much a prey animal, and her longer limbs carried her up the cabinets to the safety of the counter top, a paper towel roll in her paws. "Back! Agh! No eating the kobold! I'm not breakfast! Kolky, get your siblings!"

  "Snnrrkkk- heehehehahaha! Hungry! Feed? Yes. Just how baby gryphons are. Yes." A flinch, a cough, and the practiced tough guy persona returned to the young gryphon with a vengeance. "Ah… not Kolky. Grown up. Yes. Don't need to beg for food."

  "So… so they're just… waiting for me to put food in their mouths?"

  "Yeah huh."

  "Gryphons are weird…" As if stepping onto an ice rink, Yelz lowered herself into the tiny crowd of begging chicks, their taloned paws grabbing at her legs and drawing a wince from her, especially when little Weny began to crawl up her shorts once more.

  "Asceeennd! Sister!" Came the familiar chorus, Yelz sighing as the pain faded once the youngest found her perch on the kobold's shoulder.

  "Ouch…" Shaking paws opened the fridge, a wave of cold air sending the gryphons into a frenzy when the source of their hunger came into view; several bottles of frigid white milk swirling within glass bottles becoming the center of the children's world. "Hey, h-hey! Easy, I have to warm them up!" Pink paws nearly tripped over tawny feathers as Yelz carried the bottles to the microwave, dutifully entering the precise time and power level Tolly had prescribed on the sticky note taped to the side of the precious device. The incessant chirping grew in volume as the scent of warm gryphon milk wafted into the noses of hungry chicks, Yelz's own nostrils twitching at the alien odor. The knowledge of where the milk had originated was a tad bit strange. It wasn't like she was holding bottles of cow milk after all… this was her friend's milk… Yelz was an adult, however, and this was nothing more than the natural process of helping a busy mother naturally feed her hungry hatchlings… naturally. "Wonder if it tastes like normal milk… no, no. We don't go down such dark paths of thought, Yelz. That way, mistakes and taxes lay." Screwing on suckling nibs and handing a bottle to each begging chick, Yelz turned to the last hungry child with a raised eye ridge. "And what does Kolky get for breakfast?"

  "Cookies!" His tiny claws spread, eyes narrowed, as if daring the prey animal to deny him his precious chocolate chips that lie in the locked cabinet so high, where his undeveloped wings couldn't carry him… yet. Rage of ancestors long passed, those who ruled the skies and whose cries carried for miles, roiled through his avian veins as Yelz failed to back down and relinquish the tasty treats he so rightfully deserved by right of might and claw!

  "Oooh… no, I don't think so."

  "You dare?" Kolky reared on his paws, swiping at the air as his siblings did nothing to help their honorable brother, too entranced by their mother's warm milk.

  "I dare, lil' man!" Yel'z smile was wide as she planted her paws on her hips and bent forward. Hatchlings were so rare in the warren, as overcrowding was a problem, her own situation a testament to that, but oh by the First Scale did she love them so much. Boys were mostly the same, trying their mettle and sharpening their fangs. It was important but so were boundaries. "Momma Tolly said its a nice day today… I bet if I told her a certain someone didn't deserve to play outside…" Fear flashed across Kolky's feathered face, his claws lowered in deference.

  "You wouldn't. No… yes?"

  "Oh, yes. Yelz would. Now, what does Kolky get for breakfast?" A bit of whining, maybe a little huffing, and the eldest gryphon chick crossed his front legs and puffed out his cheeks, looking to the side in defeat.

  "… Ground beef and eggs? Yes…" Yelz nodded, finding a tupperware container helpfully labeled 'Kolky Morning' on the lower shelf. The sight made her mouth water, lean beef and clean eggs… a growl from her own stomach made Kolky's ears perk, the little chick's tail drifting baaack and fooorth, just… moving… "What Yelz eat? Yes."

  There was a… tone… in his voice. One that brokered no argument. A wisdom beyond his years. He didn't know why Yelz was hungry, it didn't really matter in his head, but Momma had said he was big and brave and that he had to take care of his brother and sisters… so he had to take care of Yelz too, right? Yeah… that's what big gryphons did! Big gryphon who cared for the flock and didn't run away!

  "I'm a little hungry, sure, but I'll eat af-"

  "Yelz eats too. Yes." Kolkakik padded to the fridge, nudging bottles and cartons about until he found some of last night's chicken, grabbing it in his beak to pull to the floor with a huff. Why was everything so big? "Ngh… Yelz eat too!"

  "Ah… you're right, Yelz eat too." It wasn't the first time the denizens of Patricia's Palace had made the kobold feel… not small but… cared for. Something she should already have a handle on herself, yet here was a child doing it for her. So… with a huff, Yelz heated up the juicy chicken, yes, and sat cross legged on the floor to enjoy her meal. A pang of guilt did slither its way through her at eating up someone else's food, but… well, Kolky had demanded she eat… and he was so cute… what was she supposed to do? Wenakik was the first to take up residence in the kobold's lap, her back sliding neatly into the crook of a digitigrade knee, while the twins curled around their youngest sister, all suckling their bottles like it was the last bit of sustenance they'd ever get. Kolky… attacked his meal like he'd ran it down in the plains. Bits of beef and egg splattered to the once clean floor, Yelz watching with the same fascination one observes a hyena snap the bones of a zebra carcass. "Fascinating."

  "Gna-gna-gna! Mrph! Gnneeeee!" Kolky replied, frothing at the beak with immaculate eloquence. Weny giggled around the spout of her bottle, popping the nipple free to burble at her older brother.

  "Kolky fight food? Yes." Yelz fought off yet another heart attack, the fifth of the morning, before chomping down on the chicken bone between her molars. That sweet, sweet bone marrow wouldn't just give itself up, after all.

  "So, it's the weekend. What do little gryphons do on the weekends?" Empty bottles and a bowl so messy as to be disturbing met their wet fate in the sink as Yelz pulled a chair over to stand on, the chicks leaving her lap to go play. The bottles were easy enough but Kolky had made a predatory mess of the beef and eggs in his tupperware bowl, forcing Yelz to stretch to the tips of her toes and apply the tried and true elbow grease. As usual, when one looked away from children for any longer than several seconds, the cacophony of a biblical battle rose from the living room, screeches and cries of war piercing the kobold's ears like spears thrown by heroes. Yelz, in the same fashion as she did the rare hatchlings back in the warren, ignored them, pausing only to peek around the edge of the entry from her tactical elevated position. Only to ensure no important feathers were pulled out, of course. Play fighting, or even temper tantrums, were important. It allowed youth to feel the full range of their emotions, exercise, form a basic foundation for self-defense, and-"

  "AAAHHH, Kolky! Hurt!"

  And learn consequences. Yelz smiled, rolling her eyes as Wenakik's tortured wails bounced off the walls, her life surely ending in what was most likely a wound so grievous as to make battle hardened medics blanch. Surely, Tolly would be returning to one less chick tonight. Sighing, a bit from nostalgia and more than a little from the still lingering chains of sleep, Yelz dried her paws and hopped into the living room to observe the damage. The twins, Holkakik and Elkakik, huddled around the youngest and smallest of Tolly's little ones, Wenakik. The eldest, the self-proclaimed master of the kitchen and slayer of cookies, sat back on his haunches with wide, terrified eyes. Wings that were still growing their feathers spread tall from his back, a sign of distress…

  Weny, for her part, bore down on Yelz with a gaze of wet, hurt baby eyes, her beak scuffed and tiny nostrils sniffling. Yelz looked from each little chick to the next as they all did the same, every spectrum of emotion slamming through their tiny faces before bombarding their caretaker with what could only be described as a symphony of panicked children.

  "Kolky just playing-"

  "Kolky kicked Weny in beak! Yes!"

  "Kolky did not! Kolky did not! No!"

  "Looked like Kolky did…"

  "No yelling… hck… Weny okay… yes…"

  "Weny not! Kolky…"

  Yelz crossed her arms, her grin a beacon of warmth as she leaned on the kitchen door frame. As heated as they were… they were such… family. It chaos, sure… but a welcoming one.

  "Oh no, how terrible," She whispered, as if watching a soap drama. "I can't believe Kolky did that… whoo, Elky isn't letting that slide, is she? Poor Weny, stuck between a rock and a hard place over there. Hmhmhmhm… ahhhh… I love kids." Eventually, the kobold padded over once Kolkakik deflated, his claws outstretched to his little sister as she flung herself into his claws. It was so terrible, such an awful thing… "Soooo… what happened?" Yelz held back her snickers, hard as it was.

  I guess for us grown ups this is so silly… but, now that I think about it… Yelz looked between the younglings as they broke down, whimpering and sniffling over a playtime ruined. But… I guess for them this is their whole world. School and playtime and Tolly… ugh, jealous of you little brats. No bills or crappy news or politics in the workplace causing brawls… man, I wish I was a kid again.

  "We… were playing. Yes." Kolky started, the story picked up by his second youngest sister, Elkakik.

  "Wrestling! And… we got excited. Yes." Another pause, another pickup, this time by Holkakik, the male twin.

  "Wenakik wanted to join and… um…" A pause, a glance, feathers puffed in anxiety… the kids didn't know what to say.

  "Hmmmmm?" Yelz pressed, her smile never fading. "What did you do, Wenakik?"

  "Um… 'm… bit Kolky's paw…" Yelz nodded, looking down to see only the barest of beak marks on Kolky's little toe. "Kolky… kicked."

  "I bet he did! Gryphon's have sharp beaks! Do your brothers or sisters bite during play time?" Wenakik buried herself in her big brother's chest feathers.

  "… no."

  "Mhm mhm… so why did you?"

  "… I 'unno." Weny's voice carried a muffled note now, her beak fully pressed into Kolky's chest.

  "Mhm mhm… Kolky, you're big and strong! Did you kick cause you were frightened or because it hurt?" Kolky looked to the side, his beak opening on reflex before closing with a snap.

  "'Cause… 'cause it hurt…"

  "Mhm mhm… being big and strong is really special. Be careful with it, okay?" Yelz reached over and ruffled both their head feathers. "What did we leeeaarrrnnn?"

  "Ngh… if Weny bite… she might hurt someone… or get uh… kicked… yes."

  "Kolky need control. Yes. Teach sisters and brothers how to wrestle!" Yelz pulled all four of the chicks into a hug, grinning.

  "No one did anything wrong, okay? Eeeveryone's okay! Why don't we go outside? Get some sun?" A chorus of 'oookkaaayy's wafted from the squeezed chicks, their sadness at ruined play time forgotten as they bustled towards the door. Well… the twins did, Weny stumbled as her elder brother hovered behind her so close as to make her trip. Yelz giggled through his terrified squawk, bending down to help his confused sister to her paws. "Kolky, she's fine. Don't smother her."

  "Kolky must take care of sister! Yes. Be drake of house when Mom's gone. Yes." Weny… only half play swiped at her brother as he hovered over her prone form, paws she'd not yet grown into spreading across the carpet as she rose to stumble after the twins. Kolky lurched to follow, only for a pink paw to settle on his back.

  "Easy there, defender of the weak. I kid! I kid." Yelz couldn't stop a giggle as his wing arms flared with indignation. "She's a tough cookie. Any sister of yours would be, right?"

  "Doesn't matter. No. Kolky gotta do it. Yes."

  "Hmmmm… do you like eggs?" Consternation flooded the little gryphon as Yelz pushed open the door, releasing Tolly's children into the wide, wide world.

  "Uh… yes?"

  "You ever hold an egg?"

  "…Yes?"

  "What happens if you squeeze it really really hard?" Kolky slowed, walking next to his babysitter to watch his brothers and sisters run and tumble and climb under cars, Patricia waving from her spot tanning by the pool. Another wave of cute attack roiled through the kobold as her little ward danced from paw to paw, his feathers and fur glowing the in sun with a healthy sheen, so much like his mothers.

  "They crack. Yes." Kolkakik sighed, clawing at the sidewalk in frustration. He hated being wrong. Even worse, he hated being wrong when it meant someone else was right and that made him even more wrong! Nonetheless, Yelz was right. That didn't mean he couldn't sulk though! Sulk he would, too, for he was good at it. The best even! Why, he'd sulk so good everyone would forget he was wron- "Ecgh!" Wings and tails and paws went a tumble as a big green paw pushed the sour little bird over onto his back, the sun blotted out by an even bigger green muzzle. "Skt-ch-ch-ch! Hershey mean! Yes…"

  "Why, hey there, shugah! Why the long face on such a gorgeous day?" Yelz grinned as the dragon curled her neck back to wink down at her. "Handsome lil' fellas like ya should be struttin' they stuff! Now then, c'mere, Aunty Hershey will make it all bettah!" Kolky only had time to squeal as the large maw of a dragon descended on him with a smooch to his… entire body, before snatching him up in her jaws with an exaggerated awmph. Poor, captured complaints, muffled as they were, shuffled inside Hershey's mouth until she let her fangs slide open just enough for the exasperated gryphon to poke a head and foreleg free, annoyance clear on his beak. "Hoo, yoo 'eed ta 'oos mo' shoap!"

  "Kolky does not! No!"

  "Yush!" Hershey pranced- pranced, with her catch, jostling the young and… not quite so grumpy gryphon in her maw, dancing from paw to paw until Kolky's siblings saw the dragon parading about the parking lot with their brother in mouth jail.

  "Aunty Hershey!"

  "Auuuunty."

  "Me too, me too! Yes!"

  Hershey couldn't stop the grin from dominating her muzzle as she scooped the rest of Tolly's children into her maw, her own maternal instincts very much cozy with the thought of carrying little ones in the most natural way a dragon could. Feathers and tails and paws and legs and giggles spilled from between her fangs like burst confetti, sun glinting off their fur as it filtered through gray overcast clouds.

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  Yelz took Hershey's wink for what it was, a break from the chaos of children; she had them for now and the kobold could trust the dragon would keep them both safe and contained. Bags Yelz had been hiding slumped beneath her eyes as she trudged over to her poor car, the sedan set lopsided across several parking spots. It seemed Tolly had made good on her promise Andrew would take care of it… speaking of… a familiar pair of legs poked from under the side-step, the vehicle raised on what looked like very expensive portable hydraulic jacks. Andrew whistled a jaunty tune as the click-click-click of a ratchet echoed under the car, several pieces Yelz couldn't recognize already strewn in organized chaos on nearby towels. One was a… pipe of some kind. Another was a pan, black with oil and some kind of gray… gasket looking thing.

  "Andrew! Thank yooouuuu!" Yelz let herself fall onto the man's legs, her chin on his thigh. "When it died I thought it was kaput."

  "It was, lass… sorta." The man's voice was muffled by metal, she assumed he was holding a flashlight in his mouth. "Simple fix though. Fuel pump burned out, they all go eventually."

  "How much do I owe? I'll get it back to you-"

  "Nothin', needed somthin' to do anyway. Saturday's are boring when Tolly isn't foisting her spawn on me."

  "A-Ah… well… can I help at least?" As great as her sleep had been, sequestered beneath a blanket of feathers and fur, it had still been just a few hours. Andrews legs were so warm…

  "Yeah, wiggle in here and hold the light."

  "Y-Yeah! Sure!" So she did. Yelz wriggled and writhed and squirmed until her tiny snoot pressed against Andrew's face, her own heating with sudden embarrassment in the dark as the heat of his cheek seeped into her scales. "G-Gimme the light." Claws struggled to hold the beam as urges that had gone ignored with both Tolly and Hershey surged in the back of her scaly head, images of her sneaking a smooch with the rugged mechanic under the secretive shadow of a car like it was some cheap rom-com flick gnawing at the kobold's mind. Followed quickly by shame that she would even entertain something so… book store cliche. She really needed to get this under control. Yelz maneuvered the beam until it hit the end of Andrew's ratchet, her breath hitching as two black, beady eyes stared back at her. Eyes framed by oily gray fur and a twitching muzzle covered in long, bent whiskers.

  "Skt-ch-ch-ch?"

  "Egh?" Yelz pressed against Andrew, the light falling from her claws until she was able to smack the beam back on the furry little horror squeezed between pipes and bolts, its limbs askew and twisted. "Egh!"

  "That's Pringles. Nasty little ratkin but he's harmless. Just watch your wallet- oi, Pringles, you get that bolt yet?" Andrew grinned, his crooked smile making his slightly bent nose look even more broken. "He's a skrunkly lil' guy."

  "Bolt is tight. Very tight. Too tight. Need the easy grease."

  "Called WD-Forty," Andrew shuffled in his tool belt for a moment before passing up a mini-can of the stuff, reaching over to shield Yelz's eyes as the rat sprayed more than a liberal amount of spray. "And you don't need the whole can."

  "I don't have arms the size of barrels like you." Creaking metal filled Yelz ears as Andrew braced his hands on some pan she didn't recognize, Pringles quickly switching from bolt to bolt as he contorted and twisted his limbs until she could she his bones through his fur. The positions didn't seem to phase him, or hurt him for that matter, and soon the pan was slowly being lowered onto Andrew's chest. "Gots it! See, if you just used more easy grease, you wouldn't struggle so much."

  "Hurry…" Andrew grimaced, breathing deep through his nose as Pringles switched out some off white canister for another, pungent yellow fuel sloshing over the edge of the pan to splash Yelz chest.

  "Blugh! Ugh, that's strong…"

  "Gasoline. Didn't need to drain it." Pringles chittered as he clicked home the new fuel pump's wire, moving aside as Andrew heaved the pan back into place. "Push." A few clicks later and Andrew let his arms fall, one flopping across Yelz's chest with a wet slap that brought heat to the scales of her muzzle. By the First Scale, what she wouldn't do to have that arm around her…

  "Nice work, Pringles. Let me know when you need me to set those bolts."

  "Need you to set these bolts."

  "Ngh." That tantalizing warmth left the Kobold as Andrew reached up and around several pipes to tighten down their work, grunting with every seated click. "Aight, give her a shot. No need to put the exhaust back on until we know she can run." Claws scampered up metal as Pringles crawled up the side of the poor, tortured Integra, further scouring the already sun faded paint, to the driver's seat. Yelz flinched as the entire car shuddered, pipes and bolts rattling above her as the frame rumbled with each coughing start and stop.

  WUGH-GH-GH-GH-GH

  "Give it some gas!"

  "Ngh! I can't reach the peddles and turn the key! I'm two feet tall!" Andrew let his head fall back against the fuel covered asphalt before glancing over at Yelz.

  "Could you go help the half-pint?"

  "S-Sure!" It was much easier for the kobold to crawl from under her dead car, peeking her muzzle up into the floor boards of the driver's seat. Pringles' paws were tiny, his claws… surprisingly well kept. What he'd said was true, he was a little guy, said paws kicking as he sat ready to twist the ignition. "Soooo… you're Pringles?"

  "That's me! Ch-tk-tk." Sunglasses now sat on the rat's dainty muzzle, his free paw straightening his whiskers with dutiful strokes. "I help Andrew fix things, got a nice apprenticeship at his shop. He's better than any overpriced trade school course." Yelz had to blink, the rat-kin's speech fast and sharp. It was as if he had a dozen thoughts in his head that were all trying to force their way out at the same time. It was… kinda cute… especially the way he worried his feet over each other as he… stared… with those beady eyes.

  Maybe not so cute.

  Still, it was nice to have another small-folk around. Humans and dragons and gryphons- everyone was so big. Though, she wasn't having to dodge boots and paws and claws as big as her chest nearly as much as back in the city, and never here in Patricia's Palace. Even still, it was really nice to have someone around her size to talk to.

  "So, what's your actual name?"

  "Skr-Tz'Chak'tal."

  "Pringles it is." A snicker was her answer as she hauled herself into the floor board proper, a paw on the gas pedal. "Small-folk, unite!" With a gentle shove, Yelz depressed the gas pedal as Pringles twisted the ignition, the tired car sputtering several times before barking to life.

  "Alright, ease off the gas a bit! Let her chug for a sec!" Bangs and bonks reverberated from below as Andrew did… something, accompanied by curses she hoped Tolly's kids weren't around to hear. "Okay kill it! She's all fixed up. Let's get her dress back on."

  "N'Okay!" Just like that, Pringles vanished from the driver's seat, his tail wriggling back under the sedan like a fleshy snake. "Team work!"

  "Yup. Hand me that ten millimeter."

  "Hng… It was right here…"

  "Guys…" Yelz dipped her head below the sidestep, looking at the one and a half men upside down. "Thanks… I really mean it. Seriously, how much do I owe you?"

  "I'll take a hug?" The little rat didn't even look back, too busy guiding Andrew's impact wrench onto bolt after bolt, helping the man reinstall the Acura's exhaust.

  "I'm being serious!"

  "So is he." Andrew grinned, reaching up to ruffle between the rat's ears, making his tail and toes curl in delight. "Lil' fella is a touchy feely guy."

  "I am. But seriously, Tolly told us- nngghhhh! Tight squeeze, Tolly told us you're in a tight spot, and I've never done a fuel pump before. I got to learn a lot." Another wiggle of his tail, an open maw that slowly closed… it was like the little guy just couldn't find his words. Yelz watched him blink before peeking out from under the vehicle at the still prancing green dragon in the distance with a fond smile that bent his whiskers. "I'm grateful."

  "Go make sure Hershey isn't about to make Kolky bust a blood vessel." True to Andrew's word, the big green lizard was still prancing about with Tolly's children, this time leaning over Patricia's pool to dangle the ball of youth over the treacherous waters below, threatening them with chlorine and soggy feathers… well, not that they weren't soggy with dragon drool if the ropes of saliva dripping from her maw were any indication. Of the hollering babes, none were more adamant about railing against their fate than Kolky, the young gryphon was appalled at the blatant disrespect to his proud lineage and person this dragon was exhibiting. "Oh, she's on some shit today."

  "Hershey! Do you think they'd smell better with a dunk?" Yelz hopped down, tip-tapping her way quickly to the pool deck over the hot parking lot. "They stink like dragon breath."

  "'Oo 'ey 'ow?"

  "Limzer!"

  "Help! Yes!"

  "No dunk! No dunk! Heehehehe!"

  "Kolky will bite your tongue! Yes!"

  "Bleeeehhhh."

  Yelz couldn't hold her giggles as four baby gryphons, three giggling in delight and one quite upset all tumbled into Patricia's pool in a deluge of spit and loose feathers. Not one to miss out on the fun, or shared misery, their babysitter joined with a fully clothed cannon ball, popping to the surface with a pwah! before paddling over to the grumpy floating Kolky.

  "Awwww… not having fun?"

  "Kolky not like being carried… No."

  "Your brother and sisters do."

  "Carry them then. Yes." He was just so cute, Yelz couldn't stop herself from scooping him into her arms now. It was the kobold's turn to baby the baby. "Ngh! Not Kolky! No!"

  "Yes Kolky! Kolky cute when he's grumpy." Claws settled over her shoulder as she used her tail to spin in the water, making a little whirlpool of privacy as she nuzzled the hatchling, feeling the heat rise to his cheeks. "Oh, don't be so grouchy! Handsome gryphons don't get grouchy when ladies give them nuzzles, right?"

  "… Kolky guess…" They gryphon sighed, looking over to see Weny stand triumphantly on the twins backs as they paddled in circles, keeping her safe- as they should! "Kolky is being whiny…"

  "He is. Have fun, kiddo!" With her words of wisdom passed on, Yelz tossed the bird towards his siblings, only to have her own head shoved down into the depths of the pool as Hershey added her sleek bulk to the party. Large, reptilian eyes gazed back at her through the haze of chlorine as Yelz tumbled into the depths, a green paw helping her to the surface.

  "Good ta see ya lettin' loose, shugah! Was thinkin' ol' Hershey was gonna have ta tie ya down an' convince ya." A wink sent the poor kobold into a sputtering mess before she got herself under control, feeling more like a college kid than the adult she was.

  "Y-Yeah w-well, it was a rough day at work and then the car broke down and then I broke down and uuugghhhh," Yelz rolled to her back, floating aimlessly as Hershey used her tail to give the kids a platform to play on in the shallow area. "I mean, it all worked out. Andrew and Pringles fixed it. I feel really bad they won't let me pay them."

  "Ha! Don't ya worry none, shugah plum. Andrew be like tha'. Loves gettin' 'is fingers dirty." A distant glaze covered the dragon's eyes as she twisted her neck to gaze at the human while he sprayed down his ratfolk apprentice with a hose. Pringles twirled this way and that to get his fur squeaky clean and worry over every whisker until they were perfectly straight, his appearance apparently important to him. "He likes helpin'. It half tha reason Pringles wit' him."

  Yelz paddled to the edge of the pool to join Hershey in her open oggling. Now that he wasn't twisted in between pipes, she could see Pringles proper for the first time. He barely came up to Andrew's knee, maybe two feet if you counted his big, rounded ears. Bright gray fur covered his slender body, his paws and nose sharp pink that contrasted his beady, black eyes that were quickly covered by sunglasses.

  "Cutie!" She proclaimed, nodding at her expert observation.

  "Both of 'em, ehhhh?" Hershey rumbled deep in her chest, using her tail to toss the gryphon chicks up and down in the water. "Pringles be some subterranean species. Sun a bit much fer 'im, but he makes do."

  "Weeiirrddd."

  "Eh. Ratfolk be like y'all kobolds, just with fur instead o' scales." Hershey's grin grew as Yelz splashed her with water.

  "You take that back. We're taller." Excited flaps and the caw of joy drew Yelz's head up just in time to catch Tolly descending like a feathered rocket. Patricia, who had so far been spared from the splashing of children, simply raised her tanning mirror to block the wave before lowering it again, a veteran of poolside shenanigans.

  "My babies! Yes!"

  "Mumder!"

  "Mum! Yes!"

  "Mommy!"

  "It is mom. Yes." Kolky ducked his head, the roller coaster of emotions he'd rode the day over causing him to paddle over faster than his siblings. If Tolly noticed, she didn't comment, scooping up her chicks in a wet hug all the same. Work was always boring, telling everyone what the weather would be when all they had to do was look outside seemed so tedious, but it paid well enough to raise her chicks and send them to a good school so it was more than worth it. "K-Kolky took care of brother and sister just like mom say! Yes."

  "Kolky did, did he?" Tolly raised a feathery eyebrow, her gaze looking to her other chicks. Weny hesitated for only a second before wriggling closer to her eldest brother, nodding vigorously.

  "Mhm."

  "Good. Yelz was fun? Yes?"

  "Yus!"

  "Limzer very warm!"

  "Make milk tasty. Yes."

  Kolkakik opened his beak, glancing at the floating kobold who grinned back at him…

  "…Kolky like Yelz."

  "Good. Yes." Satisfied, Tolly released her children back into the playful forelegs of their Aunty Hershey, leaving the dragon to toss them high above the pool. Squeals that could be mistaken as child murder split the air, feathers and tails tumbling through the air, as the defenseless children fell back into Hershey's forelegs. Satisfied with the torture of her chicks, Tolly paddled over to the tired kobold resting at the edge. "Thank you, Yelz. Yes."

  "They're little angels, it was my pleasure."

  "They are not. Tolly would love Yelz to chick-sit again? Yes. Yelz will."

  "Oh yes, I adore them! G-Gah!" Claws wrapped around Yelz as the gryphon pulled her back into the deep end, the duo floating gently as waves from the playing dragon tossed them. "Oooh, even in the pool you're warm."

  "Yes. Tolly hear Johnna taking Yelz? Taking Yelz bird watching?"

  Ah.

  Oh no.

  "That's… not a problem? I know you're after Johnna…" A critical eye, predatory and searching, gazed down at Yelz like a worm… or… at least that's how it made the lizard feel…

  "No. Johnna is not Tolly's. Even if he was mate. No. Johnna allowed friends. Does Tolly want Johnna? Yes. Yelz does too. Yes. We talked about this. It okay, Yelz is friend."

  "But I-"

  "Yelz is friend. Yelz say she getting shit together. Yes. Johnna choose mate. Yes." Yelz blinked… blinked again… sighed… and hugged Tolly liked her life depended on it.

  "You have a way of making me feel young and dumb." Tolly twisted her head, not dissimilar from a confused dog.

  "Yelz is young and dumb? Yes."

  "Oh! Go play with your hatchlings! Mean bird." A smile let the gryphon know she wasn't really offended… terribly… before Yelz pushed off her friend with a gentle kick and hauled her soggy tail out of the pool with a grunt. The afternoon was shaping up to be a cool one, and the breeze made her shiver in her wet shorts and soaked shirt. It wasn't too bad yet, but money would need to be set aside for winter gear before the cold set in-

  Not that she had the funds for such… a problem for future Yelz.

  A yawn crinkled the scales of her nose as she waved her goodbyes, trudging to her apartment as the weight of the day fell upon her. As great as her sleep had been, it had also been depressing in its brief duration. The living room of her apartment was as empty and quiet as ever, as was her bathroom and shower and the cool, pure white bottom of her tub. Yelz hadn't even undressed, soaked in chlorine as her shorts and shirt were. Wearing them in the shower was as good as putting them in the wash, right?

  "C'mon girl… you gotta…" A pink paw reached up to curl its toes around the shower handle, claws lightly scratching the metal until glorious warm water came crashing down upon her scales like a deluge of nectar from the gods. Tension Yelz hadn't even realized she'd been holding- a tightness in her forehead and chest, eased away like sand falling away from the shoreline.

  Breathe in.

  …

  …

  …

  And out.

  …

  …

  …

  Each droplet that fell upon her scales chipped away at the annoying voice in the back of her skull as the pink kobold slowly removed her clothes, exposing the soft cream of her belly to the stream. Here, alone in the bathroom, the rush of her friends and with nothing to do… the quiet seeped in. It was whiplash almost-

  That slow down… like hitting a wall. She had been doing something, talking to someone, watching the kids, helping with the car go go go!

  Then!

  Then… she wasn't… then she power walked into her apartment and flopped into the bathtub without taking her clothes off. The rush died… ebbed away. The sound left, replaced by the roaring screech of silence and water and with no one to occupy her thoughts. Her mind filled the space for her. It always did, when she was alone. The Matriarch had talked about this. It wasn't real. She could convince herself away from these thoughts-

  Away from these voices…

  Your car broke down and you needed saving.

  "No… crap happened and I had a friend help me. I'd do the same for Tolly. I did too, I watched her kids…"

  You couldn't fix your car. You needed someone to do it for you and you couldn't even pay.

  "Andrew is a good guy, I'm lucky to have him, and he likes to help. It makes him feel good. It would be selfish to tell him no."

  Paws reached up for the bottle of scale treatment, a gift from her warren, oil and soap that kept her healthy and shiny. A generous dollop on her paws oozed between her clawed fingers before rubbing into the sore muscles of her arms, her back arching into the sensation of her pawpads upon her scales. A sharp moan spilled from her maw as her tail whipped into her hands, twisting and pulling the aches away from sitting in an office chair for hours and hours as the cream worked its magic.

  Listen to yourself. Groaning like a whore in heat from touching yourself. Lusting after everyone in the apartments. You're a slut.

  "No… I'm lonely, and I'm a kobold. Like Hershey said, I'm a hyper social creature and I'm… scared. I trying to survive. I just need to get settled. I'll figure it out… who can be lovers and who can be friends… I'm okay… I'm not a whore, and I'm not a slut. I'm lonely and scared and I'm okay."

  You're always hungry. Starving. If not for Johnna, you would have been stealing from the employee lounge at Wild Greg's.

  "I'd have found a different way. Johnna is like Andrew, he likes to help and I let everyone know where the best gas station is. I should think of better ways to repay him… Oh, right. I'm bird watching with him tomorr- oh, frick!" A wondrous pop left her tail as several bones let loose, glorious pain washing away to relief as she twisted the appendage this way and that. "Hnnnggg… I need Andrew to just… squeeze me and pop every bone I have. Ugghhh…"

  Paws wandered up her thin chest, past her neck- depressing her scales just to feel- up her face to her sensitive ears to squeeze and pull and twist, gently at first… then harder… harder… harder.

  Harder until the toes of her paws curled and tail lashed, her tiny fangs bared and knees bending until they hit her belly.

  "Ouch ouch hee-hee unk-uggh… aahh ah-ha fuck, n-no! Hnngg. Please…"

  A giggle, fake, overwhelmed and strained…

  A sob…

  Tears running down a smiling face, washed away by shower water into a drain where no one could see them.

  Judge them.

  Crying none could hear.

  Laughter none could join.

  Until the tired Kobold released her abused ears and flopped limp to the floor of the tub. Deep, exhausted pants rattled her lungs until a stray drop of water dove down her throat, cursing her with a minor fit of coughs until paws and arms and a tail curled into a tight ball of pink scales.

  "I don't wanna go to work Monday…" It disgusted her, how pathetic she felt… whining like that. It didn't stop her from whining. Sometimes it felt good to let it all out, right? It was allowed! As long as no one saw your breakdown, you could ugly cry all you wanted. She'd read it online. That made it true… Thankfully, the cooling water didn't badger her like her warren mates would have… even though she wouldn't have minded that at all. A groan left the empty kobold as she rolled onto her belly, kicking her legs as the last of the warm shower fell upon her back and hips. "I'd give my scales for some company right now… uuuggghhhh… gotta get out eventually."

  Silence was the companion she got, its presence the kind that made one's ears ring if not for the rainfall of the shower. Eventually, however, as it always does, the comfort of warmth gave way to the cool crawl of cold water.

  "Noooo… come on, shower. Try a little harder? For me?"

  It did not, leaving poor Yelz to drag her still sore ass out of the shower and back into the real world where time no longer stood still. The siren song of food was stronger than her desire to laze about, as it usually was. One of her two towels dried her scales before clean clothes covered her now shining scales, a growl from her empty stomach reminding her that she hadn't eaten since that morning. The memory of Tolly's fried chicken was as distant as it was mouth watering, a memory that had the kobold padding to back out the door into the fresh night towards her car. Moonlight lit the parking lot, now empty of the sound of splashing gryphon children and laughing dragons. Andrew's van was gone, as was his ratty little apprentice, leaving Yelz all by her lonesome.

  "You poor thing…" The newly repaired Acura held no response for her. No words of affection nor touch of support, only the cold rumble of an engine. That was enough, at least, for now. More than enough, in fact. "Ooh, I think you run better than before! I wish I'd met Pringles proper to thank him…" Another rumble, this time without the rattle of steel, as the Acura left Patricia's Palace. It did nothing to wash the clutch of ice still around her throat. Tears were still at the corner of her eyes. It wouldn't take much-

  A minor inconvenience, to start all over again. That bright smile she prided herself on didn't reach her eyes. That much, she could feel...

  "Andrew too! I should like… get them a card… do men like cards?" Empty words to no one, not expecting an answer. Just something to fill the quiet. Yelz didn't think her next bout with doubts would end in anything but a break down.

  "…."

  "You're right, Acura Integra. They probably do. I can probably get really cute ones for chea- wait…" Ears touched roof as the car's wheels gently rolled over the speed bump outside Gas and Gaskets. Johnna was visible inside, his wave and beaming smile causing Yelz's tail to wag in the hole cut into the back of her seat. Two steaming sticks of fried chicken stood tall and proud in each hand. "I can just buy them beer." It didn't matter, Johnna was the center of her thoughts- a thing to center herself on. As long as she was with someone, Yelz could pretend she was handling things just fine.

  "My favorite carton of pink lemonade! Here for your nightly visit!"

  "Johnna!" The man scooped her up as she launched herself into his belly, snatching a stick to gorge herself while leaving the hapless human to catch her before she fell face-first to the floor. "Omph umph- by the First Schcale."

  "Damn! You need another?" Yelz could only nod her head as she was set on the counter, her eyes rolling in delight as juice ran down her chin, ruining the shower she'd just taken. It didn't matter. Juicy chicken? Juicy chicken for Yelz? Yes. Johnna ate his own meal at a more sedate pace, his eyebrow raised in concern. "You good?" Fangs nibbled the bare end of the first devoured stick, Yelz's scales heating with a blush as she looked to the side.

  "…Do you mind if I vent?" Metal screeched on tile as Johnna pulled a chair from behind the counter, popping a squat in front of the giggling lizard. "Okay, okay… it's… Greg's again…" Once again, Yelz relived the uncomfortable memories of Wild Greg's; the predatory gaze its owner had levied at her, his offer, the stares in the parking lot, her poor Acura breaking down- how she had broke down in Tolly's claws, and more besides. "I just… ugh, I know it's childish, but I wanna make it on my own ya know? Not… hmm…" Claws scratched at her scalp as she searched for the words. "I know making it with my friends is making it, but… um…" Another pause… searching…

  "…You don't want to feel like a burden on others?"

  "Yeah! 'Cause, like, I feel like that's all I've been since I got here! You know? What have I given back since I lived here? Aside from watching Tolly's kids once, and even then, I got paid for it. Or… I will get paid."

  "Do you think you being with us isn't enough? Hanging out, talking, laughing and stuff?"

  Bite.

  Chew..

  Swallow…

  "If I'm being honest?" A pause… biting her lip… "No. I don't." Johnna simply nodded, taking a moment to finish his stick as Yelz picked at her second.

  "I disagree but I don't know how to change your mind." The man shrugged, leaning back in his chair to blindly toss his stick over the kobold's head to where he thought the trash can was behind the counter. A clatter of wood on linoleum signaled he missed. "Wild Greg's is a bad place… You know me and Andrew are banned?" Yelz's ears perked, her eyes wide. "Mhm. He uh… got really drunk. Everyone knows Greg does nasty stuff, makes girls do things for him- to him…" A grimace, from them both. "He uh… tossed a bottle at the DJ, got a mob going on the dance floor. I uh, bro code, you know? We aren't allowed back in." Yelz… didn't quite know what to say to that… aside from heck yeah but… there were ways to go about things. Andrew was a bit of a hot head, though? Or at least, used to be… "Look, about feeling like you aren't enough. You are wrong, I just don't know how to convince you. Uh… you're super cute and fun to be around so be happy. We're bird watching tomorrow and no sad people are allowed."

  At first it was just giggles. Giggles for no reason that slowly turned into paw curling guffaws. It wasn't even funny, but it was… nice to hear. Nice to hear someone say she was cute and that someone cared and that… someone wanted to hang out with her. It reminded her of the warren, where everyone wanted to talk and spend their time with someone. Johnna was kinda like a big kobold, well… not much bigger than a male, maybe a foot bigger, and broader in the shoulders by far… and much, much smarter. Male kobolds were… very dumb, bless their hearts. Sweeties, but bless their heart.

  "Ahh… right, bird watching. When do I show up? Do I bring anything? What birds are we watching?"

  "Ones with wings, a brown shirt if you have one, and anytime before uhhh… nine. Earlier the better." At that, the kobold scarfed down the rest of her chicken before jumping back into her Acura to make the long drive across the road. Excitement bubbled in her chest, anticipation welling in her chest for tomorrow. It was strange, a bit… all she was going to do was go look at birds… but it was just her, a friend, and the breeze. No responsibilities at all!

  Sleep pulled at the kobold, her bed calling a siren song that was as sweet as honey. What should have been an empty parking lot at this hour was decidedly not. The sight of Tolly moon bathing by the empty pool had her parking short of her apartment, padding to the gryphon after locking the loyal Acura with the faded fob. Tolly didn't turn her head at the kobold's approach, her beak tilted back to the sky and eyes closed, moonlight cascading down her gray feathers to spill into golden fur like running water. A tight grip clenched at Yelz's gullet, her heart skipping as she nearly tripped. It wasn't lust, no… it was just… she was so gorgeous. Even more so in the moon than the sun, gentler… prettier… so easy to look at. Like a painting of the moon framed by thin clouds, tasteful grays caressing golds that left one satisfied. Living kintsugi, the light of a museum playing off the curves and the angles and the easy rise and fall of her chest... Yelz found herself sitting near the bird, not hiding that she was gazing so openly…

  "Flattered? Yes. Yelz like to look? Yes."

  "Yes… I'm sorry, I don't mean to stare. You're just so freaking pretty."

  "Yelz sell short? Yes. Very pretty. Nice pink. Feel bright and bubbly? Energetic? Yes." Yelz felt her ears snap flat to her head, heat pooling beneath her eyes. "Thank you for watching chicks. Yes. They like you. Kolky like you. Lots. Yes."

  "They were dreams! Exhausting, but I'd love to babysit again!"

  "Please, Tolly prefer Yelz watch chicks… you go watch birds with Johnna?" A tilt of the head, eyes finally opened.

  "Mhm, I'm excited. My first outing with a friend."

  "Johnna good choice."

  "Yea-eeaaahhhhh…" A yawn split the kobold's maw, her paws grabbing her own feet as the day took its toll. It wouldn't be much longer now. Her hydraulic yawn stopped short as Tolly rose with a stretch, her back arched so tantalizing, before padding over to worry her at the kobold's shoulder with easy nibbles. "Ah!"

  "Up, yes? Yelz sleepy. Tolly too. Early morning for both of us? Yes."

  "Hnng… yes."

  So… as much as she didn't want to… Yelz hauled herself to her paws, trudged over to her apartment, undressed on her way to the bed, and flopped boneless into its embrace. It's cold… empty… lonely embrace. A part of her wanted to leave and pad over to Tolly's place… she would bet tomorrow's breakfast that she was in bed with her chicks… Weny's warmth last night on her neck was so nice… or… or Hershy's place? The big, beautiful dragon would hold her so nice… those paw pads were so perfect. Not to mention, she was a dragon. Yelz belonged in her nes- ah… that was old instincts talking… would it be so bad to let go for one night though? Maybe… Andrew then? Thick arms built hurking on bolts and wrenches… wrapped so tight she couldn't even move… Johnna would be so gentle… Heck, even Pringles! They were both small so they could curl up really nice and his fur was probably super soft!

  "You're a mess, girl…"

  She wasn't crying. It didn't matter that the bed was empty and cold…

  "Adventuuureeee… ugh, okay." A sniffle, a snort… all was well again. Tomorrow was going to be perfect; hanging out with a friend.

  Yeah.

  Tomorrow would be perfect.