Mirabelle Blackburn couldn't believe that she was staying at a resort world on Nakuna's dime. It didn't feel very long ago that she had been a waitress and her days were full of toil and tedium. Now she hadn't had to work in years and she was walking among the elite of Nakunan society. They couldn't talk about what they did or how Buster fit into it, but they all seemed very rich and important.

In her old life, when the dishwasher called out and she had to pick up the slack, she would pass the hours of tedious scrubbing by fantasizing about the life she'd rather have. As the gryphon's feathers grew matted in her long rubber gloves, she imagined being on the set of her own motion picture as director and star. Playing the keyboard in a band. Scaring the rubes at a haunted house. She wanted to express herself and leave her mark on the world.

Then one day, a large postgraduate student came in for lunch and she was immediately charmed by him. She usually didn't like men, but she found how soft and round he was to be appealing. He knew so many interesting things, but was also eager to hear about the things that interested her. He tipped generously, and was always courteous to the wait staff. He wore pink, and her feathers were dyed magenta.

So one day she asked him out on a date. He seemed very surprised, but eagerly accepted. They went to a museum and spent hours talking about the art and history on display. Mirabelle was over 6 feet tall and she could rest her head on his shoulder, her lanky avian figure and slender whipcord limbs contrasting Buster's stocky ursine form. Together they looked unlike any other couple they passed throughout their day, and they both enjoyed standing out.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

When they hugged at the end of their first date, it was like he completely enveloped her. He felt comfortable, welcoming.

Now as they stood on the balcony of their suite, exhausted and elated and more than a little tipsy from a night of awards and celebrations, he draped his arm around her and she rested against his pillowy side. He still felt comfortable, if nothing else.

"Yeah, that coatimundi with the earrings? When I started they gave me so much shit because I overflowed the coffee pot the first time I used it. I was like 'I have a doctorate, if I can't understand the instructions that's on the instructions' and it turns out they wrote the instructions. Felt really good to beat them in the rankings even if I'm not the best." Buster joked.

As Buster had seen success in the Nakunan College of Biologics, he had brought her up right alongside him. Now instead of sweating in a hot kitchen and enduring the indignities of customer service, she spent her days in his apartment. She had nothing but free time, yet she found herself making nothing. She had ideas and concepts swirling in her head like a maelstrom, stories about people like her and the traumas they endured, but when it came time to write or draw she would find herself bored and disinterested.

Her 20s were running out, and she felt like she was wasting them. This couldn't be all there was for her. There was a great big beautiful galaxy out there, and she was stuck at home spending her days watching movies instead of making her own.

Buster was still babbling and she looked up at him. He was oblivious to how conflicted she felt. She knew she should say something, but it was so hard.

"Today was incredible. I'm going to remember this day for the rest of my life. I'm so glad I got to spend it with you." he said, his voice lowering to an affectionate coo as he leaned down and planted a kiss on the top of her head.

"Me too, honey bear. I'm so happy for you."