If exhaustion had a manifestation, its avatar would be poor Yelz. The kobold's subspecies wasn't ever meant for nocturnal life, yet here she was hitting the hay at two in the morning and finding half the sunlight gone by the time she awoke. The past few days at Wild Greg's had been a quick set into a routine, one where she ardently ignored the human, kobold, gryphon, and dragon dancers on the floor and sequestered herself in the safety of the office. Far be it from her to judge, but to see a dragon… her instincts flared every time those paws came into view, demanding to present herself and grovel for acceptance into a hoard for those sweet, sweet orders that must fall like honey from such a glorious maw- No! No… she had to focus. Kobolds weren't like that anymore and hadn't been for several generations. Still, to see such an icon of power reduced to shaking her tail for a crowd of men and women who didn't care one lick for how beautiful she was? It was a crime!

  Yet… there was nothing she could do aside from crunching the numbers so well that Greg kept his hungry gaze away from her back. Kobolds had an… unfortunate reputation that lent well to such environments, after all. Even her office, her place of safety, felt stifling and claustrophobic. Kobolds preferred open-concept building structures, like their warrens, with places to move and doors covered in nothing more than hanging beads. Privacy wasn't a foreign concept... but it was common to be able to just... walk around and see people. Her very refuge was also nothing more than a prison, one she locked herself in to avoid the chaos and noise and… other things, that infested Wild Greg's. So after hours of paw-cramping work, she'd follow security to the parking lot who would now at least stay and ensure her car started so she could flee to the safety of Patricia's Palace and pass right on out. An exhausting routine in more ways than one.

  Melancholy wasn't on the menu today, however, as money was finally in the bank! Wild Greg's paid okay, and this first check was smaller than normal, but it was money! After expenses and rent… Yelz was now the proud owner of fifty-four glorious dollars and thirty-seven shiny cents. Rent had been a gut punch, Patricia's Palace being nice and all, but you got what you paid for. Now she had to pay for more stuff. Fang paste and scale soap from the warren would hold her over for a while but food and chores? That needed addressing sooner rather than later. Thankfully the Gas and Gaskets was more of a tiny grocery store than a simple gas station.

  Yelz felt her tired tail drag as she pushed the much too-tall shopping cart into the home supplies aisle, the rows of paper towels and soaps and cleaners reaching over her head like towering monoliths of disinfectants. Each bottle of dish soap had a different brand promising a shine so pure you could lay an egg on your plate and not contaminate the vulnerable shell. Different prices too… some more and some less… Yelz sighed as she reached up on the tips of her scaly toes to grab two different bottles. Prices danced in her tired eyes, the whites bloodshot from her inability to adjust her internal clock.

  "Ngh… blue soap… little bit cheaper and fifty percent less scrubbing… green soap… anti-grease… ugh, grease gives me gas." Less scrubbing was music to Yelz's little radar dish ears, as tired as she was, the lazier a product offered her to be the better. "Huugghhh… my paws are so sooore…" Said ears drooped to either side of her head to avoid the crash of having to toss her preferred dish soap up and over the edge of the cart along with a box of trash bags and the cheapest laundry detergent on the aisle. "My mental list… isn't… ngh, mental-ing right now. I need… uhhh…" As if in answer, a growl rose from her stomach. "Ah, right… food. Kinda important for like… eating… stayin' alive and stuff." Yelz felt her maw split in a wide yawn, her pained paws stumbling as gravity threatened to pull her down to the cold floor. A dangerous prospect as she was sure that she could curl up and pass out right there in the middle of Gas and Gaskets.

  "You look like you've been dragged through the mud, Yelz."

  Normally, the naturally skittish reptile would have jumped out of her scales. As it were, she simply turned her gaze up into Johnna's worried eyes.

  "Ugh… that bad?" Were her tail not already on the floor, the pink appendage would have gone limp at the man's grim nod. "Awww…"

  "Just the other day, a bird landed on your car and spooked you into hiding under it. You didn't so much as flinch when I snuck up on ya!" Chuckling, the man raised his hands in surrender at her glare. Humans were mean! "Penny pinching away your first paycheck?" Johnna's smile was an easy one, disarming in a way, and even as he towered a full foot over the kobold she felt herself unwinding in the man's presence. Much like Andrew… Johnna was just easy to talk to.

  "I'd really really appreciate that!" Wiggle tail, paws to chest, smile wide… come on girl, you know the one-two-punch! "I was heading for food next, gotta make it stretch as long as I can."

  "In that case," Yelz followed the man around to the food and snacks aisle, passing right by the tantalizing, maw-watering candy and chips. She'd step on a grown man's toe for a chocolate bar and salty bag of potato chips right now! The combo was so heavenly, the salt left on her tongue taking the sweet taste of chocolate to a whole new cosmic level! Only… she was only allowed one bar a day- wait… she lived on her own now! She could have all the chocolate she wanted. Making a mental note to buy list-taking gear and add 'buy chocolate' to the very first line, Yelz found herself at an even more sacred place than the candy. If such an incandescent locale could exist… Jerky… so many bags of it! "So I suggest either the turkey jerky or the deer. A bit more expensive sure but if money is tight and you're tightening your belt, then you'll need the extra nutrition as opposed to the tastier stuff like teriyaki."

  The bags weren't too far off from each other in terms of price, a bit more than the stuff she would have gone for, but one look at the nutrition facts had her considering the human's words. Still… it would eat into her funds pretty hard. If she only ate when she was actually hungry, and only before work… she could make this work. Nodding, Yelz tossed both bags into the cart. Might as well find out which meat was superior, turkey or deer.

  "Oh! Where's the pens and notebooks and stuff?" Worry welled in her eyes at what would probably be maybe… another four dollars or so? Between the soaps, detergent, trash bags, and food… she'd be lucky to escape with ten dollars to her name. Yet even as the anxiety welled in her chest, Johnna's smile eased the worst of the sting. The man had owned Gas and Gaskets for years. He knew that look…

  "Bah, I've got some empty composition books and pens back in the office. Just collecting dust, I'll go grab 'em!"

  "Oh! No no no, you don't have to do that-"

  "Naaahhh, I got too many last time I restocked. I'll just be a second."

  "Ngh! Johnna!" Yelz found her paws pitter-patting the floor, her sandals struggling to stay laced between her toes, as the man ran off to give her charity. Not that she wasn't grateful, she was! Just… she was supposed to be able to figure this out on her own. The matriarch had entrusted her to be able to make it, she couldn't let her down. Still… Yelz reached into the pockets of her shorts as she pushed the oversized cart to the front counter… just over fifty dollars… it wasn't like she'd refuse either… of course, she could, but… "I'll just accept it for now and repay him when I'm settled in and on my paws. Yeah… yeah! Even adventurers get a little boost now and then, it's not like I'm begging for help. Yeah… this is fine…" Even through the cloud of doubt Yelz couldn't help but feel endeared to Johnna. He was so helpful and… calming. Exactly what she needed after several hard days at work

  A chirp sent Yelz skittering away, the avian-esque call sounding from behind her as she ruminated on her self-worth in the silence of the empty lobby. At least, she thought it was empty.

  "Gaaah! Ahhhh!" Fleeing to the safety of the snacks aisle, the kobold turned on her paw to see a gryphon, tall and proud, just inside the entryway. Immediately recognizable as a female due to the swept-back crest upon her head, the mystical creature stood on four powerful legs, the front sleek eagle claws clicking on the tile floor. Yelz stifled a gasp as she dipped back further, ears pinned to her head as she was stalked, the bird moving like water as she flowed into the aisle in pursuit. "No no! Uh… h-hello?" Sharp chocolate brown eyes blinked down at her as the mottled gray and black head twisted this way then that with jerky, avian twitches. It was a predator's stare, curious and piercing, one that stayed the kobold's legs like lead as she gazed up at the gryphon. Yelz hated how her tail flicked between her legs and her paws rose to her chest, submissive and small. Looming as she was, the kobold guessed this newcomer was a stout five feet tall with another ten to the tip of her tail.

  "New. Kobold, yes? Yes. Never seen. Never heard. Never smelt. Yes." Yelz flinched at the choppy speech that cracked from her new… acquaintance, fast and direct. The words snapped attention to a shining, hooked falcon beak, one that gleamed in the light of the store. It was a tool for ripping flesh from bone, for devouring helpless kobolds without a dragon to defend them! Yelz needed to run, needed to get out, forget the groceries! She could return when there weren't predators on the prow-

  "Hah! Don't- eck!" Air whooshed by Yelz face as the gryphon bent low to sniff at her ears, dominating the kobold's vision with feathers that transitioned into fields of luscious golden fur held aloft with meaty lion paws and topped with a long tufted tail. "Oh, by the first scale you're… b-big, miss."

  "Yelz?" Johnna came leaping over the counter, a metal bat held high in his hands. Yes, Yelz was safe here! Humans were tough! "Oh, Toltatik, good evening!"

  Huh…? Wha…?

  Tentatively, Yelz slunk around the still staring gryphon to hide behind Johnna instead, her claws gripping the back of his shirt as her tail curled around his ankle.

  "You uh… k-know each other?" Yelz squeaked as the gryphon twitched its head in her direction, its movements so very jerky and… well… avian.

  "Kobold. Scared? Yes. Why? Toltatik here for chicken." Like snapping a rope, Toltatik's sharp eyes refocused on Johnna. "Chicken."

  "You got it Tolly! Yelz, want a chicken on a stick?"

  "Oh, I can't, I'm pretty tapped on funds after thi-"

  "Baaaah, everyone wants Johnna's chicken!" Ignoring the stuttering kobold and silent gryphon, Johnna leapt over his counter once more to vanish into the depths of his back room, leaving the trembling lizard next to the much larger bird. Toltatik, either unaware or more likely uncaring of Yelz's discomfort, leaned down to openly sniff the newcomer.

  "D-Don't move… they lunge if you move…" Yelz whispered, her tail suddenly in her paws.

  "Lunge? No. New sound. New in town? Yes. Live in Patricia's Palace. Smell land lady on you. Toltatik lives there too. Unit six." A sharp claw gently poked the kobold in her side, pressing a yelp from her gullet. "More noise. Need remember. Yes. Remember voice. Yes."

  "U-Unit six! That's… on the opposite side from me, ah ha ha…" Placing her paws upon the sniffing bird's beak, Yelz attempted to gain some personal space back, yet all the futile measure did was transfer Tolly's attention from her face to her paws.

  "Yes. Welcome."

  "T-Thaaaanks… so so much."

  With the exchange over, Tolly simply nodded, her feline tail twitching once… twice… then going still as her pinprick pupils returned to staring at the door to the backroom. A glorious scent of fried chicken wafted from that mysterious depth, so tantalizing in fact that Yelz found herself slightly less terrified of the predator standing next to her. Memories of the juicy morsel Johnna had given her several nights ago danced in her head like fairies, drool returning to her tiny maw against her will. She was so hungry for something that wasn't a granola bar or leftovers from Wild Greg's kitchen. There was only so much fried green beans and bar nuts could do for a hungry 'bold, after all. Her stomach demanded meat. She wanted protein! When Johnna emerged, one oversized chicken on a stick in one hand and a more sensibly sized stick in the other, all thoughts of independence fled Yelz's mind like flitting ash in the wind.

  Toltatik devoured her morsel in several bone-shattering bites, as if the lesser bird meat had offended her, swallowing chicken and stick alike. Yelz… simply nibbled on hers at the display, watching as the gryphon pressed the tip of her beak gently into Johnna's neck, her eyes boring into the human's who seemed far too comfortable with the exchange.

  "Very good. Yes. Toltatik thanks you… Will be leaving now." Johnna just smiled, exasperated, waving as the gryphon turned tail and left. "Will return. Yes. For chicken."

  "I'll have 'em ready for my favorite feather buddy!" Yelz simply focused on her breathing as her items were pulled closer to the counter, the steady beep beep beep of the scanner making her ears twitch.

  "Ugh… I'm gonna get an ulcer at this rate…" Still… no amount of stress made food taste less scrumptious. "Mph… shtill sho ghud…"

  "Haha, that was Toltatik, most people just call her Tolly. She's a sweetheart, I promise." The human took a moment to scratch his cheek with a handful of pens in thought before dropping them into the crinkly bag full of Yelz's supplies. "Though, if you've never met a gryphon they can certainly come off as… strange. She's gorgeous too, I love the contrast between her feathers and fur." Yelz blinked, taking another slow bite of chicken as several thoughts flittered through her head.

  "Oh? That's… an interesting thing to focus on."

  "I bird watch! Nothing quite like gryphons, especially those peacock ones from Asia. Just stunning! Hey, sometime when you're off, I can show you some bird shots I've taken around here!" Yelz felt her heart skip a beat, her tail wiggling in shock. She was being offered to hang out with a friend! And it hadn't even been a week!

  "Yes! I'll do it! Uhhh… I'm off on the weekends." Ears tall, paws tapping- no, stop it! Don't dance like a hatchling, he'll think you're weird! "I mean, i-if you are too- hey!" Yelz stepped forward as a third bag of jerky slid across the scanner, the price jumping before a few taps from Johnna lowered it back down. "I saw that! Nuh uh, put it back! This chicken is enough!" Leaning on the counter as if seeing the register buttons would fix her problems, Yelz whined as the human didn't remove the free bag of jerky. Guilt settled heavy in her stomach, wrestling with the chicken, as yet more charity was heaped upon her. "Nooooo, I can do it!"

  "Oops, guess I had extra that wasn't in inventory!" Johnna could only laugh as Yelz puffed out her cheeks, glaring at the man in half-hearted righteous fury! "Hey, we help each other 'round here! Give a strip to Tolly if it'll make you feel better."

  "Ugh… fine. It's not like I don't need it…" She did, her pantry was woefully empty. That was just a bump in the adventure, though! She'd make it, she had to. "Are there any other surprises waiting in the apartments? You know, before I jump out of my scales?"

  "Hmmm… well, there's Grot, he's a gnoll living in unit thirteen." Gnolls were fine, if smelly, Yelz could handle that. "Annnnd uh… well there's one other non-human but she's a bit… wild."

  "Wild… great… not like… eat kobolds wild right?" Yelz continued to snack on her chicken, uncaring that her mouth was full. The matriarch would pinch her tail for such hooligan manners. "'Cause eating kobolds is bad."

  Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

  "No one eats kobolds, Yelz." Finally, Johnna handed the little lizard her bag of goodies. "At least not around here, but her name is Hers'Skie, lives in unit one. She's uh…" The man paused, thumbing his nose. "A dragon… one of the first residents, if I remember right." A dragon… a dragon lived in the apartments… a dragon… Her paws squeezed the handles of the bag a little tighter than needed, her eyes wide and pupils small. Just like when she'd seen the dancer on the floor of Wild Greg's, Yelz could feel her mind demanding that she present herself and offer a gift for living in the same territory as the surely wise and presumably glorious Hers'Skie- no! No… Kobolds were more than that and had been for generations. Frustration welled in her gut at the knee-jerk reaction to just hearing that a dragon was nearby. "She's nice, I promise. Just has a teasing streak, is all."

  A teasing streak, sure…

  Sighing, Yelz chomped down the rest of her chicken with tired eyes, wondering if she would make an embarrassment of herself the first time she laid eyes on this Hers'Skie.

  "Thanks a ton, Johnna, I mean it." The man laughed as she looked down, scraping the floor with a sandaled paw. "I'll make it up to you, I swear. I hate looking like the desperate kobold who can't make it on her own."

  "Bah, outta here with that talk. We all need a little help now and then, no shame in it. I remember being hard up myself. I know you'll make it up to me by being a cool friend." His wink had the scales of her face heating as if she'd lain in the sun too long, her tail wrapping around her leg. "In fact, I think letting me chew both your ears off about my bird watching collection is a great start!"

  It would be… just a day to forget how tight her budget was or how scary and tense work was… and here Johnna was offering to help her forget it for a while. It would be so nice. No, her eyes weren't getting hot; it was just the relief of finding a friend. No one else had offered to hang out on their off days, not yet, at least. It bloomed a seed of warmth in her little scaly chest, one that was quickly stunted by the pesky memory of how Tolly had pressed her beak to his neck and his twitterpated gushing about her fur and feathers… though, that could just be his love of birds?

  That… wasn't helping.

  "Thanks again Johnna, you're awesome!" Yelz waved, her tail wiggling as she held the bag to her chest to shoulder open the door, leaving Gas and Gaskets, and her anxiety, behind. His farewell call was lost in the tumult of her own thoughts, the heat on her muzzle growing. "Jeeze, girl, what's wrong with you? One little wink and a play day is all it takes to get your tail in a knot? Ugh… I'm hopeless… I got just like this with Andrew, too…" Idly, she found her thoughts drifting to Tolly… Johnna was… kinda right. Aside from her being a terrifying and powerful predator, she was… kinda pretty. Her feathers gleamed nicely in the gas station lights… She was really pretty, actually. What did those claws feel like- "Ugh! What the heck, Yelz? Touch grass, girl…"

  Clutching her supplies, Yelz let her digitigrade legs carry her across the street and passed Patricia's Palace welcoming center. The kindly old landlady was currently scrubbing away at the bottom of the public pool in the center of the parking lot, several jugs of chemicals by her side. A jaunty tune whistled from the old woman's lips, the handle of her scrubbing broom moving in time to what Yelz guessed was a hymn for the ancients.

  "Good evening, ma'am!" The kobold made sure to smile wide and wag her tail. Humans liked that kind of thing. "Why clean so late?"

  "Ahhh, so the water can be ready for in the morning. Ai'n't good ta jump in 'fore the shock does its thing." Standing upright with a… more than mildly concerning pop to her spine, Patricia tossed the broom handle clear to the other side of the pool. "What ya got there?"

  "Loot!" The bag crinkled as it was held high and victorious. "From a glorious quest! Da nanananaaaaaa!"

  "Across the street, I presume?" Yelz knew that smile, it was the same one the patriarch gave her when she was being silly. It was… nice. Made her feel just a little bit more at home. "Johnna has a good collection of… loot."

  "Mhm! He's nice, he keeps giving me chicken on a stick."

  "He has a habit of doin' that for people what live over here. It's his way of keeping customer loyalty. I saw Tolly strut over here earlier with hers, all preening and proud." Yelz also knew that particular head shake, endearing and warm. Every day, she found herself liking Patricia more and more… Setting her bag down, the kobold lay upon the stone walkway still warm from the day, sighing as the heat filtered through her scales. "And how's work for little Yelz." Blushing… tail wagging… it felt good to be called little Yelz…

  "Exhausting… I'm still getting used to being up all night. Greg is… ugh, gross." Patricia laughed, long and hard, as she hobbled to the far side. Yelz almost felt like asking to help, but she'd gotten her nose poked last time she tried. The older human was so independent, even at her age! It was so cool.

  "That he is. Not many folk like him much. You keepin' your distance like I told you?"

  "Yes, ma'am! Straight to my little broom closet and far, far away from the crowd. Security walks me to my car too… which is struggling. Ngh… I gotta save up to find out what's wrong with it." Her tail was no longer wagging, now limp on the ground. "I hope it isn't too bad."

  "Put Andrews on it, man needs the work. He was just," Patricia waved a hand at the sky. "Walking around filling in holes in the bricks with goo."

  "Goo?"

  "Goo. Had it in a little ziploc bag with the corner cut off."

  "I… think that's mortar-" Yelz flinched, giggling as water was flung at her.

  "Nah nah nah, goo."

  "Goo."

  "Thatta girl."

  Yelz rose with a stretch, smiling as the heat from the stones and Patricia's words chased away the worst of her aches.

  "Is he around? Andrew, I mean. I know it's late, but I'll go ahead and ask him about it." Normal people would have called, or perhaps gone to the maintenance shed. Patricia wasn't normal, as Yelz was learning. Heck, maybe no one at the Palace was normal… Cupping her hands around her mouth, the old landlady bent backwards and screeched to the heavens.

  "ANDREW!"

  …

  …

  …

  "Coming!" The call had come from the far east side of the apartments, Andrew's voice carrying like a trumpet. Yelz couldn't help but cover her mouth as the man came trudging around the corner, a bag of brick mortar in his hands and his face colored with the grime of work. "I have a phone you old biddy."

  "A phone ya never answer. Put that play dough away an' help our newest with 'er problems." Yelz raised a paw, mortified that someone's time was being volunteered for her. That was the quickest way to annoy the piss and vinegar out of someone!

  "No no no! It's fine, very fine! He was bus- ack!" Words died in the little kobold's throat, her eyes crossing as the handyman tossed his bag of brick mortar over his shoulder, strode up to the pink lizard in three quick steps, and flicked her in her scaly forehead.

  "If there's a problem, let's get it fixed. What's got your tail in a knot?" Consternation bubbled behind Yelz' eyes as she rubbed the offending point between her eyes, her cheeks puffing in barely contained half-pint rage. Still, the car wasn't something she was an expert in. Heck, no one at the warren could sling a wrench well enough to work on vehicles. If Andrew could fix the Acura up, she could just hop right in and leave Wild Greg's without worrying if the dang thing was going to stall out in the parking lot. The peace of mind, the crowd no longer heckling her… it would be amazing…

  "Ngh… fine, but only 'cause Mrs. Patricia already called you over."

  "Have fun, you two." The ancient land lady placed a hand on her back, taking far more time than Yelz was comfortable with to bend over and retrieve her pool brush, shaking all the while. Instincts roared to rush and help her elder, her new matriarch, yet she knew all it would earn her was a smack on one of her sensitive ears. Respect now was to let the old human have what independence she had left before the old hats of her domain forced her wrinkled, old hand. Instead, she followed Andrew over to her parked car, the bag from Gas and Gaskets gently crinkling in her pink paw.

  "I'll go get my keys, one sec!" Andrew simply grunted, waiting until the kobold returned to pop open the hood. His whistle was… concerning.

  "You hang her up wet, don't ya?"

  "I'm… not sure what that means."

  "Either you drove the wheels off or you bought what you could afford." Yelz blushed as she watched him lean over the engine, the spaces between her face scales turning red.

  "It was used."

  "Ah, that explains it. So tell me what problem ya got with it?"

  "Well," Pacing a rut in the parking lot, the little reptile began to mime driving in a glorious circle, displaying her many adventures. "When it does start, it's just fine, drives okay, and it never dies when I'm going. But if I turn it off to get like… gas or something, or when I'm just starting, it's just like… guh guh guh guh guh!" Proud of herself, Yelz sat like a dog at the man's boots, smiling up at him in what she was sure to be the very information he needed to make her righteous steed run factory new!

  "That… gives me the vaguest of starting points. Maybe the battery?" Disbelief! Surprise! Incredulity! The noises she'd made were spot on. Still, curiosity led Yelz to follow practically in the man's shadow as he wandered over to his van for a wrench, one of those all-metal ones, before returning to her precious Acura. Raising the tool over the battery, Andrew lowered both ends upon the exposed terminals, releasing a ferocious shower of sparks and light.

  "Gah! Ahhhh! Andrew!" A balled paw smacked into the human's thigh, earning Yelz a chuckle as the wrench was handed off into her trembling possession. "That scared the heck outta me! What if you shocked yourself!"

  "Ha! That's my favorite thing to show people new to cars. Perfectly safe, I promise. Though it isn't your battery…" Ignoring her continued glare, Andrew moved on to testing connections, gently jerking on this cable and that wire as Yelz's heart rate came slowly down.

  "So… what else could it be?" The wrench was cold in her grasp as she leaned over his hand, watching every little move he made.

  "Who knows? These Integras are pretty hardy. As far as Acuras go, anyway. You said it just chugs when you try to turn her over? Only sometimes though…" Andrew rubbed his chin before hurrying over to his van, returning with a white spray can with a faded label that replaced the wrench in her occupied paws. "Hold that. Now just gotta pop this away…" Off came bolts and pins and covers, his tool a blur as the air intake and filter were removed, leaving a gaping hole that Yelz found herself squinting down. "Do me a favor and hop in, turn the key when I tell ya. Leave the can."

  "You got it!" Excitement raced through the little kobold, her heart pumping at the thought of diagnosing the last gift her warren had given her before the great adventure began. There was a connection there, a sort of affection, for the mass of metal and plastic. It was a thread that bound her to the old warren, to her friends and matriarch. The thought of potentially losing the car made Yelz physically ill. She'd have to get Andrew a gift basket or something if he could fix it. "Okay! I'm ready!" Pain throbbed in her rear as her tail wagged in the driver's seat, the appendage wedging in the crease of the chair.

  "Give the key a twist!"

  "Okay!" Whatever the man was doing was obscured by the raised hood, yet unlike every other time Yelz had begged the poor sedan to roar to life, for once, it actually did. Instead of the glugging struggle of a car on its last legs, her loyal Acura rumbled to life immediately the moment her wrist twisted. "Yeah!"

  Then it died.

  "Huh?" Confusion only grew as Andrew slapped the engine block, a victorious laugh on his lips as he began to reinstall the air intake system. "Sooooo?"

  "Fuel! I bet my next paycheck you've got a fuel pump going out. Things like to break if you breathe on 'em. Pain in the ass to fix, oh shit, let me check the fuse real quick… nah, it's fine. Yeah, that's part and parcel of a pump going out." So all her problems could be attributed to a single part… story of her life. "This can you brought me is ether. Take off the intake and spray it directly into the engine while giving her spark and you can bypass fuel requirements. No chug, started right up, problem gone... you got a fuel issue."

  "Neat! So, how do we fix that?" Tail… stop… wagging! Yelz tried to mentally yell at the darn thing to behave. She looked like an excited hatchling instead of an independent and mature kobold who could totally make it on her own! "And um, could you show me how to fix it? So I can do it myself? This car was bought for me by my warren, and I wanna take care of it."

  "Hell yeah, that's what I'm talking about. Tell ya what, you buy the part and I'll walk you through putting it in if that's how it is. Deal?"

  "Oh, that's so deal! That's really, really deal! Uh… how much… are fuel pumps?"

  "About a hundred dollars if you want one that won't burn out if you fart while driving."

  "Riiiight… crap." Yelz felt her shoulders slump as the most exhausted sigh fell from her maw. The rough hand between her ears should have been insulting, but the warmth from Andrew's hand was very much welcome. "I'll have to save up. It'll take… more than a little time…" Worry crossed Andrew's face, regret pulling Yelz's shoulder up and her head down as shame filled her. Here she was again, letting her own problems affect her new friends. This wasn't how it was supposed to go.

  "Things are that tight, huh? Wild Greg's treating you right? No issues?"

  "No no no, not at all! Everything's fine, there's no reaso-"

  "Ah ah ah, that isn't how things are done at Patricia's." Yelz flinched at the human's wagging wrench as he leaned on the open window of her car, his eyes boring into her. It felt like he already knew. That he was just trying to get her to admit the truth. "Patricia's rules, see? Someone asks how things are goin', you gotta be honest. We all abide by Patricia's rules in the Palace. I'm usually the one people vent at anyway, so spill."

  "Okay okay… ugh, you're kinda pushy." Andrew just smiled… which made everything both worse and better. "Oh, don't look so smug. Anyway… Greg's is… scary. I feel so vulnerable there like… like a fish with a bunch of anglers on the lake, you know." Knees up, huddling… scared… small… shameful… Andrew just nodded, watching the kobold all but curl up in the driver's seat. "I feel like one little mistake, and I'll get hooked by someone. I hate how it feels like I'm always running away in there." Raised paws, swinging side to side… "Run from my car to my office, hide until break, and then hide behind Tracey… back to office… run to my car and hope it starts, then scream out of the parking lot before the crowd gets any ideas and pray the car starts. Ugh, I sound so… cowardly."

  "You sound smart. You're a kobold, Yelz."

  "I hate that! That right there… you know?" Sighing, the kobold turned to look the man in the eyes for the first time since she'd been pressed. "Just the kobold. Hide, run, hide some more. Keep your head down and your tail between your legs. Don't make a scene, don't draw attention… It makes me feel helpless. And this too! Ugh, I shouldn't be dropping a vent session on you like this, outta nowhere too."

  "It's not out of nowhere. I told you to."

  "Yup. Just goin' along to everyone else's flow." Derision dripped from her voice, feeling like acid on her tongue. Things had been going so well, too. She'd been spending time with Andrew, they'd… probably… found out why her car was acting up, and then in the span of moments, drama had been dropped into her lap. This was no fun adventure formula, not at all.

  "Hmmmm… been there, ya know? Feeling like you're just getting dragged around by everyone else."

  "Really? You seem so… put together."

  "Wasn't always. No one starts out on their feet unless it's handed to them." If that wasn't the friggin truth… The name Petlz came to mind… a memory dredged from the depths of Yelz's mind. A kobold who had been an adult when she was young in the warren. He'd been lazy, never doing his fair share or helping when it was needed.

  His excuse?

  Everyone else was keeping things smooth so why should he bust his tail? He'd been ousted within a week of that revelation. No handouts, the warren is only as strong as the weakest kobold, and the weakest kobold is only weak because the warren doesn't make them stronger. There was no warren here, though… There was only Yelz. Right now, Yelz was feeling pretty weak. At the very least, though, she was trying. She was doing everything right. No easy adventure was worth it, after all.

  "How was it for you?" She inquired, her head tilting to one ear flopped limply along the side of her head. "You said you'd been there?" At this, the man sucked his teeth, leaning back to stare at the sky.

  "Ahhh… don't judge, okay? I got into a bit of trouble when I was younger, not important. The thing was, though, afterwards, all I had was my shirt and a toolbox." Andrew twirled his wrench before it settled on Patricia still scrubbing her pool. "She gave me a chance to use them." Yelz found herself unable to look away from the old lady… she really did remind her of the matriarch. A silence passed between them before the sound of wings pulled both their attention skyward. Toltatik lazily flapped through the evening's winds, the cool air refreshing on her feathers. Rising moonlight shone off her fur and gleaming feathers, Yelz pulling her paws to her chest as envy pooled in her chest. The way her wings moved like some ethereal spirit, the gryphon's tail undulating like a powerful serpent behind her, her paws dangling without a care. She was so gorgeous it was hard not to get jealous. Some people were just dealt great hands in life.

  "I wish I were that pretty."

  "Hm? What makes you think you aren't? You look fine."

  "No no," Yelz snorted, rolling her eyes at the human. "I'm cute. I'm under no illusions. Tolly is freaking drop dead beautiful though, look at her! She's so… free. I wish I could just…" Spreading her arms, the kobold pretended to flap in time with the gryphon above, flying in formation without a care in the world. "Spread my wings and leave my worries behind for a few hours."

  "Problem with that is your problems are still back here on the ground when you land."

  "Mph… what do you suggest then? Is it so bad to just relax for a bit?"

  "No. Wouldn't it be better though to fix or at least work on the problem first before flapping your wings? I promise downtime will feel better when you handle your issues first."

  "Yeah… probably…" Yelz let her arms fall, her wanderlust deflated. Andrew was right, sure… she knew that… but man, she just wanted to just forget about it all for a bit. What made it all worse was how lazy that made her feel. Was it so much to ask? Just a weekend to play? Yet… she knew she'd want next weekend too… and the next… and the next… and the problems would fester. How did she fix her immediate problems, though? No money and tired all the time. That wasn't something she could just… wave away or Google an answer to. What to do, what to do…

  "I'm not trying to make you feel bad, you know that, right?" Once again, the cheeky man reached in and rubbed Yelz's head, ruffling her ears.

  "I'm not a dog… but yeah, you're just trying to help. Even if it's not what I wanna hear."

  "Good advice usually isn't, you know?"

  "Yeah…" Yelz snorted, reaching up to grab the human's hand and splaying his fingers with her own. Or at least… she tried to. Humans had five fingers, whereas kobolds only had four, that being three fingers with a thumb. She had to convince the man to splay his extra digit with aggressive swipes of her claw. His hand was so much bigger… so different… Just like Andrew himself.

  "You know what you need? A confidence booster. You available next weekend?" Oh…? Oh! Another outing! The list of side quests was growing! Yelz would be max level in no time!

  "U-Um! Y-yes yes! Uh… wait, me and Johnna are going birdwatching next weekend. Weekend after that?"

  "It's settled then. We'll get you standing up straight in no time." Yelz nodded, eager and determined. Andrew was only second to Patricia in that department! She'd take any help he could offer. It looked like she was going to need it at this rate. Between bird watching and confidence… uh, courses? Surely, she'd be ready for anything the world threw at her. How bird watching fit into all that was a mystery for tomorrow Yelz. Today Yelz was going to focus on her many victories.

  The sound of wings returned to Yelz's ears, her smiling muzzle turning skyward once more to enjoy the beauty that was Tolly. Though… her wingbeats were different this time. The gryphon must be doing something different this time, maybe she was doing tric-

  Dragon…

  …

  …

  …

  Ice filled Yelz veins as liquid fire raced through her brain like screeching fireworks, her paws scrambling as she hurried into the backseat to gaze at the descending sky jewel, emerald scales glittering in the moonlight. A dragoness, going by the forward edge of the wings and spiked tail. Yelz's mouth fell open, her ears not registering Andrew's confused call, as she stared openly at the Goddess of power and splendor landing at the pool. Just several feet longer than Toltatik and a head taller, she was a shining beacon of evolution.

  Yelz had to- she needed to meet her, to offer her loyalty. An oath! Yes, she needed to swear an oath and- and forget the fuel pump, there was scale oil to purchase! Yes… yes Johnna had warned her about this. A dragon lived in Patricia's Palace, in unit one! It was fitting for a queen of the skies. Hers'Skie, that was her name! A gorgeous name for a gorgeous being-

  "Yelz!" A tug on her tail broke the spell her instincts held over her, the kobold quickly turning away to sink into the back seat. Pink paws covered her eyes as a groan tumbled from between her lips at her own weakness. She'd known a dragon lived here, and she'd not taken a single moment to prepare herself! One little glance had been all it took to fall right back into those old instincts that weren't even hers! She'd never sworn loyalty to a dragon before, but even now… oh the thought of Hers'Skie looking down at her, of groveling at her paws… oh… oh it had her blushing and curling her tail about her paws. It felt so right. Like that was where she was supposed to be! No… no, she was on an adventure! Her adventure, where she was the main character! Yelz had to remember that, it was important… yes… breathe… in and out… in and out… "Damn… I'd heard dragons had an effect on kobolds, but to see it?"

  Yelz looked up at the man leaning halfway into her car, his hand on the steering wheel. Misery was heavy in her eyes… shame at how easy it had been to fall into herself.

  "Andrew…"

  "You'll be fine. Hershey isn't like that. I mean… she's a bitch, but she isn't a bad person."

  Hershey?

  Yelz tilted her head as the handyman retreated, pulling his head back out into the cool night air… before nodding in the direction of the pool.

  Pink ears swiveled… paws on asphalt… big heavy ones… deep breaths… a deeper voice…

  "Andy, you heartbreaker. Is that a new car I see?"

  The dragon was here.