Aurora lay down on the grass in the forest of Ferești. She stared up at the gentle blue sky, the trees' branches covering parts of it like fingers to peek through. The forest in Călimari was thin, skinny aspens and birches and a few poplars. The forest in Ferești was dense, dark and wonderful, with oaks, chestnuts, walnuts, conifers, willows and poplars too. You needn't go far to feel lost from civilization.

She died again a couple minutes ago. She had learned how to recognise it coming. It was hard to explain. Some people on reddit with epilepsy said they knew how to recognise incoming strokes, and it was kinda close to what she felt. She had gotten used to it. People could get used to anything.

Aurora reached for the stitches on her chest and dug her fingers through. It hurt, but she could handle pain. The stitches were very tight and she thought against ruining them completely, so she only grazed her heart with the tips of her nails. Ba-dump, ba-dump, ba-dump, it swelled to meet her three times before she withdrew.

She wiped her hand on the green grass at her side. The chest hole she made closed up. The pain was going to fade soon. All her injuries would do that now. Her brain would reconstruct its burst vessels and she would wake up as if from an uneasy nap. As if nothing ever happened. As if it was aaall a bad dream. The stitches remained, though. They became part of her, like her beauty mark. Who decided that? Could she make other injuries permanent?

Aurora couldn't remember her first death. What a weird phrase to be able to say. The most important moment of her life and she had no memory of it. She could remember everything else, before and after, everything, everything, but not how this thing started. It was a bizzare gap                                                             in an otherwise relentlessly detailed story. Is that what "real" death should feel like? Nothingness? When she died now it felt like fainting.

Aurora sighed and turned to her side, cool blades of grass tickling her cheek. It was a strange knowledge to live with, the fact she should be dead. Was that why she kept dying? Will she "live" like this forever? As if the before was better. At least back then she had company.

She was interrupted from her rumination by a buzz in her pocket. She pulled out Patricia's phone and smiled when she saw a message from Adrian.

Her fingers approached the screen, but she saw the grass had not been an adequate tissue. She typed slowly with her clean pinky finger.

Adrian was really second-guessing his decision to join Mirabela's service. He did that on a daily basis, but that particular morning he was feeling it quite strongly.

One of his two coworkers greeted him by saying: "We're closed today until Chief Jderu and his boys investigate."

"W-What happened?" Adrian said. He looked inside the car shop and quickly ducked behind the wall when he saw the blue uniforms.

"What's the problem?" The older man asked, loud as all hell.

"I'm still in hiding!" Adrian said through his teeth.

"Oh, right. Forgot. Yeah, so some broad came here during the night and broke all the windows of one of our client's car, that guy Marcovici. They made sure to fuck it up completely. When we looked at the security camera the figure was feminine."

"Feminine?" Adrian asked, turning pale.

"Oh, yeah, built like a guitar with huge titties. Phew! Nelu thinks it's Marcovici's wife. I think it's his mistress. God damn that Marcovici. Having all that, PLUS his fine ass wife? It's a level of greed you only see in the bible."

Adrian discreetly sighed in relief. Aurora was thin and almost androgynous. He didn't like that Marcovici guy when he left his car with them, but he was pretty sure Aurora wouldn't target some random cheater.

"So... what now?" He asked.

"We wait." He shrugged. "Consider it a free day. Robert is supposed to come back today anyways and he likes dealing with this bullshit better than me."

"He does?"

"Yeah, says it's like watching soaps."

"Soaps...?"

"Soap operas."

"Oh!"

He spat on the ground. "Kids these days."

Adrian ignored him and took out his phone. Aurora had replied.

"Alright, let's go and get this over with." Bălașa stood up with a sigh, smoothing down her dress.

"Let's send Gabriel to a nuthouse!" Mr Duță said, fist-pumping the air.

12 hours until Amante staff returns home

Adrian made his way to the periphery of the town, the trees of the forest peeking over the roofs of houses like tufts of hair. His phone buzzed again and he smiled when she saw a message from Andrei.

Adrian felt his chest swell. Excitement to see his friend again, and worry about him knowing the sensitive info of where he was hiding, conflicted with each-other as he absentmindedly made his way past the forest line. When he got a text the night before from an unknown number, he didn't believe it when it claimed to be Aurora on her "new phone". She sent a dark, grainy photo with just the faintest outline of a pair of eyes. Adrian damn-near blocked her. He built up the courage to edit the brightness of the image and it was indeed Aurora, holding the camera comically close.

As he was typing a reply to Andrei, he got another message from her.

Adrian spun around.

He could not see anybody between the trees.

He sighed in frustration.

When he turned back, Aurora was standing in front of him.

"I-I'll be right back!" Adrian said.

"It's okay!" Aurora said. "I'll be right here."

11:40 hours until Amante staff returns home

Adrian was anxious about entering such an official building, but, thankfully, Miss Simona was waiting at the front entrance, a white plastic bag with take-out containers inside hanging from her hand next to her black pencil skirt. She waved with her other hand when she saw him across the street.

"Hello!" He said.

"Hi, dear!" She said, handing him the treat. It was heavier than he expected. "It's one of my coworker's birthday and he brought too much fanta cake. I can't eat dairy, so you the folks at the encampment can have it. Could you take it there? It's fresh out the fridge."

"Oh, uh, yes, of course!" He nodded.

"You can have some too, of course!" Simo smiled all charming. "Robert is coming back this evening, by the way."

"I know, he told me too. He, uh, Nelu and the boys have something to tell him about a car."

"Oh? What happened?"

"Some... lady busted a client's car."

"Oh, is there drama over there too?" She chuckled and crinkled her eyes, looking like a feline.

"Yeah, they said it's something about cheating." He awkwardly laughed too.

"Wanna hear a doozy?" She asked, leaning closer and putting a palm between them only for show, not enough to cover her words.

"W-What happened?"

"Mayor Ghindea cheats on his wife with one of the employees, Paula."

Adrian made huge eyes, looking around a little alarmed at the people passing by, in and out of the building, while Simona did not give a single fuck about how loud she was talking.

"That's not all! He got Paula pregnant!"

"Oh no..."

"But that's not all! His wife just called to announce she's pregnant too!"

"Oh nooo."

"I know, right?" Simo said, full of cruel delight. "His life is over! Oh, I can't wait to tell Mirabela! She can't come back fast enough. Don't tell anybody else, okay? I want to tell her first."

"W-What will happen?"

"She's gonna have a good laugh too!"

"I-I mean, with the Mayor...?"

Simona straightened up and dismissively blew a raspberry. "Who cares? Mirabela has been thinking of supporting a new guy in the next election anyway."

"Ah.        Cool."

"Enjoy your cake!" She said, sweet again.

"T-Thank you!"

Adrian, with some trepidation, quickly made his way to the encampment. The fanta cake was very well received. The fanta juice jelly was a bit thin, but Mr Gliga commented that the birthday boy was always stingy with ingredients.

"They're finally putting you to work." Vitalis also commented, cake in one hand and a small beer bottle in another. Adrian wondered what the combination tasted like.

"What do you mean?" He asked when the statement registered.

"This is an errand, no?" She said. "It's small, but a big deal nonetheless. People don't play about sweets here."

"Oh, uh, that."

She took a sip and chased it with cake. "Mmh, I appreciate this part. Maybe next they'll ask you to buy meds or make care packages together with Roxi and the boys. Well, Roxi and the boy. We'll see when we get Gabi again."

"Mr Robert said they'll try to go for an insanity plea."

"And send him to a nuthouse?"

"Y-Yeah."

"Could work." She shrugged. "Be careful what you agree to do for them, Adrian."

"Huh? W-Why? They'd send me to a psych ward too?" He laughed nervously.

"I meant to be careful in general, but if it benefits them, sure. When Robert was your age, he was moved to almost every town around here. Marius stayed in jail a couple months, although that was more like Mirabela telling him to sit in the corner. That was years ago, when everyone was young and dumb, buuut who knows. I mean, they dragged Garofița to Lăutari. Ugh. My poor girl."

Adrian's face turned more sullen the more he listened.

"Stop scaring the boy!" Miss Bea said, mouth full of cake. "Look, it took months before they trusted him with just delivering cake."

"Cake is the utmost serious of business." Vitalis raised her chin.

"They were studying him in the meantime." Mr Gliga said, suppressing a cough. "Made sure he can be entrusted to carry the cake to its destination!"

"Adrian is a good kid." Vitalis declared, taking another slice. "Continue staying out of trouble, okay? Don't make me sound stupid just now."

"I will." Adrian said, feeling cold sweat on his back.

"Can I have some too?" Gigi came over.

"5 lei." Vitalis said, monotone.

"I'll pay you in installments."

"Deal."

"Thank youuu!" She said and ate half a slice in one bite.

Adrian bid them a good rest of the day, then hurried back to Aurora with what was left of the cake.

11:10 hours until Amante staff returns home

He found her lying fully down on the grass where he had left her. Adrian shuddered. From a distance she looked like a corpse indeed. Not just her pallor and mismatched clothes. Her face was still and tense, staring at nothing in particular. She looked so... sad. Deep in thoughts that didn't look overly positive. Like all her ships had sunk, as the saying goes.

She heard him coming and looked up with the bluest eyes. Aurora shot up to a seated position and smiled, cheery again.

"What'cha got there?" She asked.

"Fanta cake!" He said, presenting the container.

For a couple minutes they ate in silence, mouths full with sponge cake and sweet cheese. Adrian took a bite and the jelly slid down the edge. He made a high pitched sound with his mouth sealed and rushed to catch it before it fell on the forest floor, but Aurora caught it first. Smiling with stuffed cheeks, she held it up to his mouth. He looked at her for a second, then smiled and took it, trying not to touch her fingers with his lips.

"It's really good!" She said as she gained back enough space to speak. "Did Miss Simona make it?"

"Nhh-mmh. One of her coworkers."

"It's good. Simona seems nice too."

"Yeah, she is. Likes to gossip, though."

"What kind? Mean gossip?"

"All of it is mean."

"Nah, there is gossip for the sake of informing your community, and gossip just to be a mean bitch. There's a big difference."

"Heh, she's the second then. By Miss Simo's sweet face you'd never guess the things that would come out of her mouth."

Aurora blinked. "She has a 'sweet face'?"

"I mean, yeah. She's got this round, soft face, and a pretty smile."

"You think she's pretty?" Aurora asked.

"Yeah, like... in a disarming way, so to speak?" Adrian said, oblivious.

"Mh-hm." She said, eyes narrow.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"W-What's wrong?"

"I'm full, I don't feel like eating anymore."

"Uhm, okay."

Aurora watched him pack up the cake from the corner of her eye. She adjusted her spine and shoulders and her attitude was positive again. "Don't leave Amante, yet. We could be coworkers too!"

"I can't leave right now even if I wanted to." He groaned. "My rent for Mrs Petru#539a's apartment is paid for one year. I kiiinda want to leave without causing too much ruckus, you know? I don't know if leaving earlier may cause complications with the contract."

"Like what?"

"Like... I don't know! I lose my things or something."

"So you want to stay until the year is over?"

"Yeah, that would be best."

"So we will be coworkers!" She beamed.

"I mean, yeah. You'd be fine on your own too, I think. Heh, you'd probably have it easier than me."

"Why's that?"

"You're, well, supernatural now. You'd fit in better with vampires and stuff than me."

"I suppose. But I'd like you to be there too. You're kinda my only friend right now." She giggled. "And the only person who's been nice to me in a long time. In a non-pervert way, that is."

Adrian nodded, feeling a pit form in his stomach. "I'm sorry you went through that."

"It's fine." She said. "Honestly, it was kind of my fault."

"Your fault?"

"I mean, I went there willingly. I saw a creepy-ass cult and waltzed right in. Hah... I was pretty fucking dumb."

"But they still shouldn't have done... that. Dumb or not."

"They're horrible people. Horrible people do horrible things, shocker. I know that now, but... I knew it back then too. And I still stayed. I didn't have anywhere better to go, and it felt good sometimes, kind of."

"I-If you stayed there because you had no other option, it's not that far from being held hostage, n-no? If you had somewhere else you could go, you would have hauled ass out of there!"

"...I don't know if I would have."

Adrian looked away. He felt so uncomfortable, as well as awful for not knowing how to comfort Aurora. What do you even say in 'regular' cases, let alone insane cult stuff like this? He didn't know all the details, he really didn't want to know, but he knew for a fact those pieces of shit were the one at fault, not her. Not to mention the whole resurrection fuckery.

"You weren't dumb. You were only a kid-"

"Enough talking about that stupid cult!" Aurora slapped her hands to the ground. "It's over now! I'm starting a new life, just like you did! Just like you are!"

"Y-Yeah..."

She huffed through her nose and picked up her phone.

"...Are you mad at me?" Adrian asked.

"I'm not." She said, eyes to the screen.

"I'm sorry..."

He awkwardly pushed the container of cake closer to her. "Here. You can keep the rest."

"I'm not hungry." She said, short and sharp.

"Please." He frowned.

She looked up at him, face hard to read, then she pulled the box closer. "Thank you."

Adrian sighed. "What are you looking at?"

"Just scrolling." She replied. "This phone's owner's insta timeline is fucked."

"In what way?" He scooted closer.

"Full of yaoi. Not even the good kind. Manhwa omegaverse slop."

Adrian was about to give his feedback on the yaoi, when his phone buzzed again.

"Who is it?" She asked.

"My friend from home, Andrei."

She hummed neutrally.

9 hours until Amante staff returns home

She watched him text for a minute while trying to suppress his smile, her eyes narrow and mouth a tight line. Boys are so stupid, she thought. He has a girl right in front of him and he's busy texting his homeboy.Is he gay or something?

Aurora sighed and pulled out another slice of cake. No matter. Once she starts working for Amante, everything will fall into place. Part of her did get tired of hiding and living in the woods. She liked the woods, but her stupid mind that bursts from time to time drew an association with the cult that was hard to get rid off. Even looking at the forest of Călimari from a distance filled her with dread. But it was fine. She'll never go Călimari again. There was nothing of interest there anyway.

She was going to make herself a normal life (or as normal as possible in her case). It will be good for her to have an occupation other than plotting the deaths of her the cultists. Being busy will keep her from thinking about everything constantly all the time. There were days where the cult and how they touched her and death were all she could physically think about, like a wretched time-loop in her wretched head. They needed to die so she at least had the solace they'd never meet again. Calimari needs to burn to the ground.And she will have friends again! Friends who won't try to fuck her. She heard Mirabela was a hoe, but she only went for adults, so Aurora ought to be safe. Garofița, who is even younger, seemed to be alright with them. If they looked after Garofița, they will probably look after Aurora too. And she'll become friends with Garo as well! She wanted to meet her pets, officially. She wondered if Adrian knew about them.

Aurora looked in Adrian's direction again, her eyes following the curve of his wistful smile. He could be pretty. She could like him. If they became coworkers, they could go to work together in the morning. A boy and a girl, laughing and joking without a care in the world, unaware of the world, going out for greasy fast-food, bringing Garofița along too and skipping around the town center. There was a video she saw on Patricia's phone about being the third wheel to your friends and feeling like their child. Garo could be her and Adrian's child. Was that too weird? No, her intentions weren't nefarious. She'd only kiss Adrian at most, if he allowed it.

8:59 hours until Amante staff returns home

"Adrian!" She said with a grin.

"Yeah?" He asked.

"Let's go into town!"

"Huh?" Garofița followed the man with a dark cloak with her eyes.

"No idea, girl." Roxi said.

"It's the second time we've seen him. He's always running." Mihai shrugged.

Adrian searched his closet for clothes that would fit Aurora without looking like she was drowning in fabric. He managed to sneak her in the building while Mr Vasile was at work. Aurora was rail-thin, while Adrian had a thicker build. He kind of started to feel bad about himself as he searched.

"Aurora, am I fat?" He asked without warning.

"... ... No, you're fine." Aurora said after a significant pause in which she second-guessed her own desire to join Amante with this dumbass.

"Uhhh, you could wear this like an oversized T-shirt." He suggested.

"I like these jeans." She said, coming up next to him and squeezing past to pull them out. Adrian politely moved out of the way.

"Yeah, but they'd sag like crazy." He laughed.

"Give me a belt. I'll belt the fuck out of it."

Aurora went to the bathroom to change, while Adrian checked his phone.

Adrian's phone started ringing and he didn't hesitate to answer.

"I'm ready!" Aurora came out.

Adrian mouthed "You look great!" with a genuine smile. Aurora grinned and felt herself blush.

"Congrats, dude!" He continued to the phone. "You're going to be living it up now! The Bisclavu clan lives in a straight-up mansion, I've heard."

Aurora sat down on the bed next to him, waiting patiently.

"I don't know about that, but you could ask, hah. Who knows, maybe they'll welcome you Godfather-style. Spinny chair and everything. Don't laugh, I'm serious, can't you tell?"

Aurora drummed her fingers on her thighs.

"I heard from work that they bought land between Ferești and Văleni to build a farm or something like that. Like a ranch. Yeah, ram ranch. But, no seriously, watch out for the Godfather... From work, man, they've... met the Bisclavu family. Yeah. It's been a long time ago, though, dunno what it's like now. I do think they are kind of weird though. Dude, shut up! I'm not racist! I'm just saying! When a family gets too big, werewolf or not, it's gets fucking weird and, like toxic and shit. They're not gonna split up the farm in like 10 pieces for everyone, will they? But yeah, congrats again, dude. Let me know when you'll start. I... I can't promise anything but we may cross paths. Yeah, I do pass through Ferești from time to time. How are things at home, are they still looking for me? I mean, I guess they would be. Yeah, it's fine here. Kinda the same thing everyday, kinda boring. But I'd rather be bored than stressed out you know yeah. "

Adrian glanced over at Aurora and saw a glacial expression.

"I-..."

Aurora smiled with the speed of a switch-flip, but her eyes still disclosed the fact she was very annoyed.

"Hey, uh, I'll call you back a little later, dude. I should go do some, uhm, errands."

"It's okay! Take care, dude!"

"You too! Later!" He put the phone down and turned to her. "Sorry..."

"It's fine." She said.

"We should, uh, cover your face too."

"I've seen Garofița use a face mask."

"Good idea!"

"One good thing about the pandemic, I guess."

"Here, you can use this bag too!"

7:30 hours until Amante staff returns home

Aurora was soon in good spirits again. She pulled Adrian after her, almost running down the streets of Ferești.

"Let's look over there! There too!" She said.

"Wait for me, dang it!" He panted. "Haven't you been all over town already?"

"Not during the day!" She giggled. Her smile was visible through the mask. He couldn't help but smile too.

They windowshopped, read cafe menus, peeked from a distance at the windows of the three manors, crossed the square maybe six times, and then landed on a small arcade next to the expensive sushi place.

"Do you have money?" She asked, bouncing on her heels.

"I got some." He said, already pulling out his wallet.

"It says we can exchange for coins!"

There weren't too many games to choose from and a lot were juvenile, but Aurora was on cloud nine. They had a duel to the death with table football, then took turns on a dance pad. There was a vintage arcade game, like in America, and they exchanged special coins for it from an extremely bored cashier. It was a shooting game kind of like DOOM, a 1st person shooter traversing a world full of monsters while their face glanced left and right at the bottom of the screen. It had an insane difficulty spike and Aurora couldn't get past level 10.

7 hours until Amante staff returns home

"Damn it!" She hissed.

"Let me try." He said. "I think I noticed a pattern."

5 hours until Amante staff returns home

"Fuck this game." Adrian said.

Aurora sat with her cheek propped up by her palm, her elbow against the side of the game's metallic box. "You done yet?" She asked, eyes half-closed.

"Yeah..."

"Let's go eat."

They crossed the square a seventh time and entered a cute little cafe on the corner of Marie Curie street. Adrian spotted a booth in the corner that was not in the immediate view of everybody who passed by and he led Aurora to it. She smiled when he took her hand.

"I want to eat pavlova cake!" She said as she snatched up the menu. "Ooh, they got it with plum jam!"

"Sounds good." Adrian said, checking the door and angles, if anybody could see her face if they passed by.

"What do you want?"

"Dunno... maybe an amandine."

"Classic."

"Heh, yeah."

"You're a classy guy!"

"Aw, shucks!"

She grinned and flipped to the page with drinks. Adrian glanced at the vintage clock on the wall.

4:45 hours until Amante staff returns home

"Not long until they'll be back." He thought out loud.

"Who?" She asked.

"M-My coworkers."

"Oh, right! I can't wait!"

"Y-Yeah... Aurora?"

"Yes?" She looked up with a smile.

"When you introduce yourself to them, could you, uhm, omit that you know me?"

"Why?" She furrowed her brows.

"W-What do you mean 'why'? You..." He quickly glanced around, then whispered. "... you got me involved in killing that guy!"

"You're still hung up on that? You were just the get-away driver."

"Can you keep it down?!"

"Sure!" She whispered hoarsely. "So you were cool being a lackey for a vampire coven all these months, but arson is too far?"

"It wasn't just arson! Y-You killed a man!"

"No, I killed a pedophile."

"I could still go to jail for taking you there!!"

"Oh my G- is that all you care about?"

"Yes?! A-And I don't want them to know I've been keeping a huge secret from them. I don't know how they'll react. Just... just tell them it was our own idea to join Amante. I mean, it already is."

Aurora looked at him for a long moment. "Okay. Fine."

He sighed in relief. "Thank you..."

"What do you want to eat?"

"I said amandine, but this lemon tart looks kinda good too-"

His phone buzzed.

"Oh, thank God..." Adrian muttered and picked up his phone to answer. He glanced up and did a double take at Aurora's face.

"...What?" He asked, almost backing away in fear.

"Nothing." She put her mask back on, then loudly pushed back her chair. "I'm going to the bathroom."

"O-Okay."

He watched her go towards the bathrooms, not quite stomping, but definitely mad. Adrian wondered if he would die next, then shook his head.

Shit, how does he explain this?

Adrian glanced up from his phone and saw Aurora outside the cafe, quickly walking away.

"Huh??"

He got up to run outside and frantically looked around the square, but she was already gone.

What is he even apologising for?

Adrian made his way back to his apartment, indecisive if he should go back to the forest or wait it out. He looked up and saw his clothes, bag and mask neatly stacked in front of his door.

3 hours until Amante staff returns home

Garofița watched the fields roll by from Mr Robert's car's backseat. Melinda sat in the passenger seat again, while she, Roxi and Mihai sat behind them, scarfing down on chips and pretzels. The plains all the way to the horizon looked different as the sun went down and the sky turned purple and grey-orange, and the trees started to look a little spooky, like clawed dark hands erupting from the ground.

"How are you holding up?" Robert asked Melinda.

"I'm fine." She said, eyes closed and forehead against the cold window. "I can handle it until we get home. Garo, never do drugs."

"I won't." She said.

"For a while I had a plan." Roxi giggled. "When I'm 90 years old, or sooner, when I'm old and sick and can't move anymore, I shall do heroin for the first and last time."

"Hell yeah." Mihai said, mouth full and crumbs flying out.

"Roxi, when's your birthday again?" Melinda mumbled.

"In 5 months." She replied. "You got plenty of time to figure out a gift."

"Garo, when's your birthday?" Mihai asked.

"Oh, uhm, soon, actually." She awkwardly smiled. "At the end of May."

Robert gasped out loud. "Your birthday is coming up and you didn't tell us?!"

"I, uh, kinda forgot with everything going on."

Robert guffawed. "That's preposterous! We need to celebrate!"

"Please don't fuss over me!" Garo said, hands up in surrender.

"What do you want for your birthday?" Roxi said, eyes glittering.

"I-I don't even know!"

"What do you want to eat, then?" Mihai said, raising his eyebrows.

"Well, cake-" Garofița made wide eyes as an image appeared in her mind, surrounded by a golden halo and a choir of angels. "...c-could we get sushi, maybe?"

"Hell fuckin' yeah!" Robert responded.

"I want salmon nigiri." She smiled wider, hopeful. "A-And maybe sashimi."

"Oh, yeah." Mihai groaned as he took another handful of pretzels. "I approve."

"We'll buy you a whole sushi boat!" Roxi said, squeezing Garo's shoulders.

Garo wanted to hop around for joy, but the car was too crammed. She will take some to her pets too. Walker and Bezea would be very happy too.

"It will be so fun!" Roxi continued. "Garo's birthday at the end of May and Adrian's at the beginning of June. We'll have one party after another!"

Garofița's smile reflexively fell for a moment.

1 hour until Amante staff returns home

Aurora watched the notifications come in and didn't open any of them, balancing the container on her stomach and eating the last of the cake.

She wiped the corner of her lips with her thumb and continued browsing the internet, legs crossed and soft grass under her hair. That's right, she thought, panic.

"We are baaack!"

Robert opened the door for her. Garofița never felt so important. Her town looked actually really pretty at night, with the yellow streetlights against the dark sky. Her town! She didn't expect to be so grateful to be back in her town, even if it was just a day.

The car paused right next to Mrs Delia's store and there was a clear bee-line to her house, shrouded in darkness and with (thankfully) nobody peeking out the windows.

"See you tomorrow, dearie!" Roxi said, blowing a kiss.

"Good night!" Garo smiled and trotted away.

She got a bit nervous when they wouldn't drive away, but she heard the engine restart after she reached her door and slipped inside. Buddy all but cannonballed towards her.

"I'm back, baby boy! I'm back!" She hugged him tightly and kissed his head. Bezea came running too and swiped with her paws at her arm, little claws catching in the fuzzy fabric. Garo picked her up and made pretend of biting her head with a theatrical roar. "Raaaah!"

She stepped into her main room, Buddy glued against legs. "Where's my other boy?" She asked.

"Hello" Walker said in her voice. He was lying down next to her collection of books, his head suspiciously low and out of view.

"Are you okay? Are you sick?" She put her new book in the box, then crouched to the ground to peek under his hair. It was hard to see through the dark until her eyes got used to it. Garofița gasped. "Walker, what happened?!"

He avoided her eyes like a guilty dog.

"What happened to your face?!" She forced him to turn around. "Did someone hurt you?"

"Who is there"

"Oh... oh, man... You're even uglier now..." She felt around his bare face. His eyes and teeth looked bigger when uncovered. The skin was kind of warm and soft, like a hairless cat. It felt like if she pushed too hard she would tear it, like a juicy grape's peel. Walker confirmed it when he shoved her hand away. "Well..." She pondered. "Weeell, at least if the face is gone... Maybe I won't get in as much trouble for having you here. Since it wouldn't be known whose skin it was."

"Wehll"

"Well!" She smiled and petted Buddy, then looked around her little house. "Everything will be okay, after all."

Aurora puffed through her nose and turned to lay on her side.

Bonus Illustrations: