Gwyn settled into a chair and began to munch on some of the food Harlan and Roseary had picked up for the group. The selection was less than ideal for him; perhaps they had picked up things more to Zenotote taste, but it was edible and didn’t make his stomach turn when he ate it, so no complaints could be made.
The crowd gathered up one by one under outstretched purple umbrellas that had less of a need given the slowly receding twin suns. Cecilia and Odell continued to entertain the younger of Hal’s sisters, apparently having adopted them as new members of the family, and the duo that followed Rheba simply guzzled down water worldlessly. The giantess didn’t seem as exhausted and crossed her arms while eyeing the meal options.
Mina and Haliegh settled in a seat next to Gwyn, seemingly having trouble deciding who would take which chair after Fiona took the one on his right. Harlan and Rosemary sat on the opposite side, and Gwyn picked up Harlan shaking her head some, but her expression remained so blank that he didn’t know what she was trying to say—if anything at all.
The last to arrive was Hal and his masked girlfriend. Where they had been all day was a mystery to all, not just the earthling, and apparently was less than ideal for Hal as he immediately checked in with his sisters.
“Are you okay? You didn’t get too much sun, did you? They didn’t do anything funny, did they?” He might have kept going if not for noticing the funny looks everyone else gave. The green-haired boy coughed into his hand and settled into a chair. His green companion giggled and settled next to him.
“What a lovely looking bunch, and Mina,” Kako said as she wrapped hands on the shoulders of a surprised Gwyn. “I could write a book about a group like yours.”
“She’s this writer that Gwyn knows,” Fiona explained.
“We know, we met,” Odell chipperly replied. “You were the one who liked the semi-colon, right?”
“Oh, so she’s pretty memorable to you, huh?” Cecilia shot back, cutting the prince down even shorter if that were possible. Kako just laughed as the grey boy stammered something unintelligible.
“I’ll let you kids have some fun for now; I’m going to do some hiking down the beach,” the writer said before marching away and eventually disappearing behind the sight of Odell’s sandcastle. The rest of the group switched to their own chatter and discussion, flipping randomly between topics and eventually splitting up into several smaller conversations around the table. Gwyn found himself talking to Mina and Haliegh as the green-haired girl was eying the elf's long ears.
“But really, what combination of genetics gives a Netzian such long ears? I’ve been wondering all day.”
Mina’s green eyes darted around for a moment before locking on Gwyn with a clear plea for help.
“Perhaps something in the DNA from her ancestors before they came to Resh,” Gwyn jumped in with the best bullshit he could muster, “There could have been a, uh, recessive gene in the lineage, and it remained dormant until just coming out…. We have stories of long-ear folks back on earth too, you know.”
He wished he could just say she was a story character, that Kako used some magic voodoo to bring to life, but the elf clearly wanted to keep things a secret, and the Nonpareil wasn’t even sure if Haliegh would believe that in the end, so he waited for the girl to respond. One side of her mouth turned upward, and an eye squinted as the Netzian girl pondered what Gwyn had said. Fiona leaned in from the other side, apparently jumping out the last conversation, and chimed in first.
“Netzian’s are all a little funky with the mixing; wouldn’t it just be another of the traits picked up? I mean, the only featureless Netzian here is Gwyn, after all.”
“It’s not the fact she has a feature; it’s that I don’t know what brought about the long ears specifically. I’m curious: what is this DNA that you mentioned?”
“Oh. I. Uh.” Gwyn didn’t want to explain that he had slept through that class. Fortunately, Mina was ready to change the subject.
“Never mind all that. What is it like in Roanoke these days? I… haven’t visited in so long!”
“Oh, Mom’s been so busy with all these crazy plans and meetings that it's been a mess lately. I don’t want to talk about all that.”
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“My mother has been busy as well,” the blue girl replied. “You have to wonder what they are all up to.”
“I know! And the worst part is Hal knows more but won’t tell me a thing about it.” Haliegh crossed her arms and huffed, shooting a glance at Hal across the table. There was no way he knew why she gave the look, but he shrugged nonchalantly all the same.
“Yeah, I don’t know if even Donn knows what my mother has been working on; I wish she would just take a break and ask for some help. She’s been working nonstop since father passed.”
The conversation was taking a turn to a heavier subject. The girls mostly discussed difficulties with their mothers and their work schedules, keeping it vague enough that no true details were shared. Gwyn wasn’t sure he knew what he could say but did his best to add some platitudes where he could. Mina, on the other hand, eventually must have grown tired of the back and forth and made a loud, obnoxious yawn.
“I’m getting sleepy; I’m gonna take a walk!” she jumped up from her chair and tugged on Gwyn’s arm. “Come on, let’s go check out the beach at night.” The Nonpareil wondered if this was some ulterior motive from Kako’s discretion but couldn’t pick up anything from the elf girl other than honest intentions. He knew better to trust his gut, however, and pulled away with a little more force than desired. His arm bumped into the table where a fork lay, causing the utensil to fly forward. Gwyn swore he saw a purple hue engulf the utensil for just a moment, forcing it to Hal, who batted it away just like a fly without much care. It ricocheted off a nearby table, then caused something else to fire off, becoming such an insane series of events that ended with knocking the umbrella post over and ripping Mina’s bathing suit top clear off. Everyone stopped, locking into the insanity that just unfolded.
The girl turned red. She crossed her arms and turned her back away. An obvious fake laugh came from her before a sentence that sounded like she was trying to hold back tears.
“Sorry, all, guess I am a bit accident-prone; I’ll just be over there for a while.” The elf sprinted away, ducking inside Odell’s castle. Gwyn could practically smell the authorial interference and scanned the area until locking eyes with a returning Kako who seemed to chuckle to herself. He stood up with such suddenness that Fiona jumped.
“Excuse me a moment,” the Nonpareil said before walking with heavy steps to the writer. She was still a little ways away, and he felt himself simmer down as he marched to her. The girl was a fictional character, created by some magic he didn’t understand. Was he getting mad for nothing? If something happened to Fiona or even the newly met Haliegh, then justification for his frustration would be obvious. Was he even in the right?
Gwyn shook his head and greeted a giggling Kako just out of earshot from the others.
“Why?”
“Oh, dear, authors have to have some fun. I am surprised you didn’t assume it was just an accident.”
“Really? Reviewers would have lambasted you for that mess.”
Kako laughed. Gwyn shook his head, seeing he wasn’t going to get through the woman, and trudged over to the table where the Needaimus had been stationed.
“Mem, I need you to come with me.”
“Gladly!” the Needaimus jumped onto his arm and quickly bonded to it. Gwyn wasn’t sure what he was going to do, but he was already moving. Perhaps he was just doing it to spite Kako a little. Maybe it was purely out of sympathy. He wasn’t sure, but he pulled one of the purple umbrellas free and liquified it into a slushy mess swirling above his hand.
As he walked, he did his best to form it to the shape he had in mind, though doing so would be difficult. The Nonpareil stopped on the other side of Odell’s castle walls. He heard a crying girl inside.
“Hey,” the earthling started, suddenly feeling a bit shy about butting in like this. “You okay?” He cursed himself for the stupid question. Of course, she wasn’t okay.
The crying stopped abruptly, but her words came out broken up between grunts and sucking nose.
“I’m okay, it’s nothing… out of the… ordinary.”
“That… doesn’t sound too reassuring.”
“It’s the… kind of thing the… fans like…. Just give me a little bit… and Mistress Kako will give me some new clothes.”
Gwyn grumbled something he was sure wasn’t meant to be actual words and finished shaping the former umbrella into a dress. He had no concept of how a dress ought to work or what size was needed—deciding loose and baggy couldn’t go wrong—but was happy enough with the reformed fabric. Without a word, he tossed it over the castle wall. A sudden “eep” on the other side suggested it might have landed right on her head.
“Is this….” the elf suddenly went quiet. She burst from the castle, a new purple dress fitting her torso’s form and flowing around her shins, and wrapped arms around Gwyn in a car-crushing hug.
“Ah. Mercy. Uncle. Please stop before I die!”
She released him and took a few steps back with a face red as a beet. Gwyn turned to look at Kako, who seemed to have a bemused expression on her face, as if things had taken an unexpected turn, but not one she was displeased with. Back at the table, some of the others had started back on their own conversations, but Fiona and Haliegh remained turned their way as they talked to each other.
Mina pulled on Gwyn’s arm.
“Come one, let’s go somewhere a bit more quiet.”
He wasn’t too keen about what rumors might start if he just vanished with the elf. Fiona alone seemed like the type to tease him endlessly, but quiet sounded like a decent prospect, and walking away with Mina made Kako twist her head in a curious manner as if she was wondering what would happen next. Perhaps she was writing the next silly novel in her head. Gwyn decided he didn’t care and followed after Mina as they made their way down the beach into the burgeoning night.
