Alejandra and Hazel chatted up a storm as Rafael drove to José’s, remaining quiet. Alejandra was happy to know Hazel didn’t have any lasting injuries from the accident, and it looked like most of her mental stress was put at ease, too. Alejandra knew what it was like to be attacked by a creature from the Shrouded Domain. At least she had Hraktar. She noticed Rafael had been quiet ever since the attack, almost like he blamed himself for it.

Quetzal was in Alejandra’s arms, enjoying the extra pats and scratches under his chin. It was a tight fit with Hraktar, Clarissa, and Ezekiel there, too. They pulled into the parking lot of José’s, and it was crowded. It was Saturday night, after all. They walked inside before being directed upstairs to the private balcony overlooking the small town and the desert. Alejandra walked to the tables and saw Tyler, Señora Florez, and Mr. Anderson talking together. It was an odd experience to see her teachers in a situation outside of school. It shouldn’t be that much of a surprise to see Señora Florez at José’s. Maybe most of it came from seeing Mr. Anderson outside of school. She was pretty sure that guy lived there.

Tyler glanced up and smiled as they walked through the door that gave them a semblance of privacy. “Hey, come on over.”

Mr. Anderson and Señora Florez both glanced above them, which is when Alejandra realized neither one of them had seen her six and a half foot fighter before.

“Hello,” Mr. Anderson said to Hraktar.

“Hello,” he said back.

“Did Rafael create you?” Señora Florez asked.

Hraktar frowned. “No. Alejandra did.”

The two of them glanced at Alejandra, clearly not expecting it, then noticed the baby drake in her arms. She wasn’t sure what to do with their attention. Señora Florez stood up, gesturing toward the second table as she smiled at the characters. “Anything you buy will be my treat.”

Hraktar gave a small bow. “If you’d like, we’d be happy to set up a trading system. Ezekiel, Quetzal, and I could hunt for deer or other meats in exchange for a cooked meal.”

Señora Florez seemed surprised by this, even a little touched. “Oh, that’s quite alright.” Hraktar bowed again before settling at the table. Señora Florez glanced at Alejandra. “How thoughtful!”

Alejandra smiled as she sat down in the seat next to her teacher. “Even though he doesn’t know it, Hraktar’s always been self-aware of his -1 charisma.”

Tyler took his seat next to Mr. Anderson. “I’ve finished explaining everything to Mr. Anderson and Señora Florez. We’ll wait for everyone else to show up before we discuss some ideas about what to do.”

“What do to about what, exactly?” Hazel asked.

Tyler sighed. “Everything.”

“So do you have the elf princess character?” Señora Florez asked Hazel.

“No, I don’t have a character. I’m like you two. I can just see them,” Hazel said, taking Rafael’s hand.

“Princess Clarissa is Evelyn Larsen’s character,” Alejandra said. “Ezekiel and the Princess are always together now because they got married a few weeks ago.”

“Oh, did they really?” Señora Florez asked, glancing at the two characters holding hands. “Congratulations.”

“Thank you,” Clarissa said.

The door opened and Alejandra couldn’t see who opened it. “No one is listening to me,” came Calawit’s gravelly voice. “Honestly, sometimes these humans can be frightfully unaware.”

“No one can see you but us, Cal,” Tyler said.

She scoffed, sitting at the table with the characters. Her chair had a few books stacked on them so she could see.

The door opened again, and Derek and Milo walked through. Derek’s eyes lit up. “It’s a party!”

“If by party you mean us trying to figure out how to keep you and Milo’s ex-girlfriends from gaining any more power over the student body, then sure. It’s a party,” Tyler said.

Derek patted Mr. Anderson on the shoulder before sitting next to him. “I had nothing to do with it.”

Tyler rolled his eyes as he picked up the menu. Señora Florez glanced at Rafael and Alejandra. “Are you two ordering tonight?”

“I…” she trailed off, glancing at Rafael. Hazel smiled, squeezing Rafael’s hand.

“I’ve got Rafael, Señora,” Hazel said.

“Great. Then I’ll cover Alejandra’s,” Señora Florez said.

“I…” Alejandra started with more power behind it. “I don’t think it’s—”

“Enough, Alejandra. I know times can be tough. I don’t want you sitting here while the rest of us eat,” Señora Florez said.

“But I really don’t think—”

“If it makes you feel better, I can take up Hraktar’s offer to start a trading system. Though I doubt the FDA would allow uninspected venison to grace my husband’s restaurant.” Señora Florez picked up the menu and smiled at Alejandra. “Go ahead. It’s no trouble.”

Alejandra sighed, then picked up the menu and glanced through it.

“Ow! Ow! Ow!”

Evelyn walked up the stairs with Grizzizzik in tow. She looked furious. Grizzizzik had both hands on his cloak, which Evelyn was holding in order to drag him onto the balcony.

“Ah, that must be Nick’s character,” Señora Florez said.

“Yep,” Alejandra said.

Mr. Anderson stood up to open the door as Evelyn marched right on through. She gave Grizzizzik a shove, then turned her glare toward Clarissa.

“This idiot thought it was okay to place his rapier against my brother’s throat and threaten him. Grizzizzik’s been a real pain in the butt recently, and you guys know how to get him to behave better than we can.”

Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

Grizzizzik sighed. “That wasn’t a threat. Seriously, you’d know if I threaten someone.”

“Hraktar?” Clarissa said.

The chair scrapped against the floor as the fighter stood up. “On it.”

Grizzizzik’s face dropped. “Okay, seriously? Aren’t we passed this?” He backed away as Hraktar moved forward. “It was a joke. That’s all it was. A harmless little—” He was cut off as the fighter grabbed the front of his vest, turned him upside down, then grabbed his ankle and let him hang there. The rogue sighed. “I hate you.”

“The feeling’s mutual.”

Tyler glanced at Evelyn. “What happened?”

“I’m not entirely sure. All I know is I went to get Grizzizzik to bring him here, and he had his rapier against Nick’s throat. Grizzizzik’s teeth were long and everything,” Evelyn said.

Alejandra was surprised. “Is Nick okay?”

“Your lover is fine,” Grizzizzik said, upside down.

Her face flushed red. “He’s not my… no.”

He snorted, folding his arms, his cloak brushing against the floor.

Ezekiel stood. Even though his fingernails were longer, his ears more pointed, and his shoulders hunched, he still had an air about him that made the group listen. “Putting any sort of weapon against a child’s throat is not a joke, Grizzizzik. You can’t do things like that. Especially to your creator.”

“Okay, sorry, I’ll never do it again,” Grizzizzik said, none of the feeling behind it.

“Don’t bother lying to them. I will call Nick to make sure you’re telling the truth,” Evelyn said, hands on her hips.

“You and I both know that communication with your brother is limited. There’s no way he could check my story until later, and—”

Evelyn whipped out her phone. Alejandra glanced at Rafael, not sure why. She hadn’t seen Nick in a while, and she didn’t know about hearing him so close.

“What the hell are you doing?” Grizzizzik asked.

“What do you think?” Evelyn placed the phone to her ear. She paused only for a moment. “Hey, Nick, tell dad I called to see if I left my mascara at home then found it again while searching my purse. I’m going to put you on speakerphone.” She dropped her hand, pushing a few buttons.

“—kay, what’s going on?” Nick asked.

Alejandra distracted herself by looking at the menu, covering her face.

“Hraktar’s got Grizzizzik upside down. What was your conversation with him tonight?”

“Yeah, so I caught Grizzizzik reading my player’s handbook a few days ago, and he was acting super guilty about the whole thing. I confronted him about it tonight, and he told me that if I ever butt into his business again, he’d hurt me to see if any of the gray marks turn into wounds.”

Grizzizzik winced. Clarissa gasped, a hand around her mouth. Milo stood up, a grim look on his face, and Ezekiel sighed, shaking his head. The plastic menu crinkled as Alejandra tightened her fists around it.

“Well, that sounds like a toxic roommate,” Señora Florez said.

“What the hell, Grizzizzik,” Milo said.

The rogue unfolded his arms and gave an upside down shrug. “It… was a joke?”

“Thanks Nick. I’ll see you later.” Evelyn hung up and placed her phone back in her pocket. Alejandra watched the whole thing, wondering if she should try that. Try having an excuse thought of before calling Nick.

But then she realized she didn’t want to call Nick. Ever.

Though the thought of checking up on him, especially if Grizzizzik was hanging around him…

She shook her head, distracting herself with the menu again.

Calawit climbed onto the table, holding out her hands. “If you want, I can force him to talk.”

“No, no.” Tyler grabbed the sorcerer’s wrists and forced them down. “We don’t need to torture him.”

“Not torture, just a certain number of spells to hit his brain into thinking we’re trustworthy enough so he can—”

“No,” Tyler said again. “The others will handle it.”

José walked in, oblivious to the scene behind him. With his loud, sunny personality, he started taking everyone’s orders. Alejandra scanned the prices, seeing which was the cheapest item on the menu as the characters bickered back and forth.

“What are you up to, Grizzly Bear?” Clarissa asked as Evelyn took her seat between Derek and Hazel.

“Nothing,” Grizzizzik said.

“All you had to do was not threaten a child and we wouldn’t think you were up to anything,” Clarissa said.

“He’s not a child. He’s practically an adult. Be one faster if he…” Grizzizzik trailed off, running his tongue over his teeth.

“If he what?” Milo prompted.

“He’s clearly miserable in his situation, and things would go much smoother if he got rid of his father,” Grizzizzik said.

Evelyn was taking a sip of water, and Grizzizzik’s words caused her to let some of the water back out as she covered her cough. Señora Florez looked far more alarmed at this revelation, and Mr. Anderson shook his head, taking a small drink. In fact, everyone was reacting quietly to Grizzizzik’s statement. Derek rubbed his nose. Rafael tried to hold still as Hazel gave him a curious look. Alejandra winced, but kept trying to find the cheapest dinner option on the menu. José was approaching.

“Repeat after me, Grizzizzik. We do not kill people in this realm,” Milo said. Grizzizzik sighed, rolling his eyes. “Say it. We do not—” Milo waited for the rogue to follow.

“We do not kill people in this realm,” Milo and Grizzizzik both said. Milo was a bit more energetic than Grizzizzik. Mr. Anderson rubbed the bridge of his nose.

“What were you doing reading the player’s handbook?” Milo asked.

Grizzizzik said nothing as José smiled at Alejandra. “And you, Señora?”

Alejandra swallowed. “Um…I’ll have the half nacho?”

José smiled. “That is an appetizer, no? What meal do you want with it?”

“Oh, um.” The two conversations distracted her. Grizzizzik remained silent, and no amount of prodding from the others would get him to talk. Señora Florez leaned over.

“We’ll get a plate of nachos to share. Go ahead and chose something else.”

“Right.” Panic forced her to choose something, even as her mind got more scrambled. She was holding everyone up. She again ran through the list of options, trying to find the cheapest one. “The… beef burrito, please.”

“Of course! Ground beef okay for you?”

“Yes, that’s fine.” She then thought of something, mostly because Quetzal was running around chasing mosquitoes. “And… could I possibly have a little extra ground beef on the side?”

“Absolutely.” José then said something in super fast Spanish. Alejandra, already listening to another conversation, couldn’t understand what he said. Instead, she gave a nervous smile, hoping that would work. José laughed in return, then looked at his wife with adoration. The two of them spoke fast Spanish, and Alejandra tried to settle her pounding heart. Why was ordering food so hard for her to do? And why were the Florez’s so adorable?

Ezekiel walked over, talking about something she couldn’t quite hear. He placed a hand on Hraktar’s shoulder as he spoke.

“You want to let Grizzizzik go?” Milo asked.

“Grizzizzik isn’t ready to tell us. Forcing it out of him won’t help. As you can see, the only thing it accomplished is him clamming up. None of this solves our problem. When he’s ready, he’ll find us. As he always does,” Ezekiel said. “Won’t you, Grizzizzik?”

There was a pause, one that was almost overly dramatic as Grizzizzik opened his mouth. “Of course.”

Ezekiel nodded as if the matter was settled. Evelyn covered her face, trying not to groan. Clarissa, Milo, and Hraktar didn’t move. Grizzizzik was hiding a smile that made Alejandra deeply uncomfortable. Hraktar lifted Grizzizzik as high as he could go. “I will know if you threaten Nick. And it better not happen again.”

“Or what, big guy?” Grizzizzik asked.

“I don’t trust you. At all. You can’t bully Evelyn and Nick into keeping your secrets. They will tell me. Whatever you’re going through, fine. Take your time. But you do not threaten my friend. Is that clear?” Hraktar asked.

Grizzizzik glared at the fighter. Alejandra winced. Calling Nick a friend had come to Hraktar surprisingly fast. She didn’t think he or Nick hung out much.

“You and Nick? Friends?” Grizzizzik asked, as though reading her mind. “Really?”

“If we’re to survive this, we’ve got to learn to lean on each other. Someone who has my trust is all I need to consider them my friend. Something you, after almost a year, still don’t have,” Hraktar said.

Grizzizzik’s eyes darkened. “I see nothing unfortunate about that.”

Hraktar slowly grabbed the front of Grizzizzik’s shirt before turning him right side up, making sure Grizzizzik’s feet still dangled inches from the ground. “Then I strongly suggest you don’t threaten Nick again.”

Words appeared in Alejandra’s vision as time slowed down.

Roll for intimidation with advantage.

Alejandra grabbed the d20 and rolled. The first one was a six, which made her wince. The second landed on a ten, and the +1 added little. She watched to see how it’d play out.

Grizzizzik didn’t look intimidated, though he narrowed his eyes enough to be distrustful. Hraktar set him down, and Grizzizzik straightened his vest. “Fine. I’ll leave the kid alone.”

Hraktar gave one more glare before finding a seat at the character’s table.