(Dyn)

  Wedge smiled and reached up to grab a shield in each hand. The seven-foot-four statue-man stood firm, now dual wielding shields.

  Dyn’s eyes sparkled, and his whole body buzzed with excitement. “That’s amazing!” he excimed in awe.

  Wedge’s stony lips curved into a smile, ied by Dyement. “If you join the guild, I will show you my dual shield fighting stance.” He unequipped his shields with a fluid motion.

  “Wedge is also one of the bat teachers,” Nathan said.

  Since Dyn had little to unpack, they got him settled first. He now owhe clothes on his back, along with a desk, chair, bed, nightstand, mirror, and ay wardrobe. The room was still barebones, but it was his barebones room. The bed was much rger than the one in his old apartment. That one had been full-sized, but this one had to be even bigger than a king.

  Dyn stepped back, tapping a finger on his as he took it all in. “It’s a bit sparse, but still han my apartment ba Earth.”

  “Do you miss it?” Nathan asked softly.

  “Earth?” Dyn asked.

  “Yeah… Do you miss being ba Dirt?”

  “Holy, this is the first time I’ve thought about it since I got here. I’ve been too busy just trying not to die again.”

  “I hope you take it easy now. No one’s going to ki—”

  Dyn raised a hand, cutting him off. “You said that st time—don’t jinx it.”

  “All I meant was that you should give yourself time to breathe and sort out your feelings. I’m here to help, even if it’s just to listen.” Nathan stood by the diving Dyn space.

  Dyhed in the fresh stonework, noting the absence of the musky st he’d expected from a stone castle.

  “So, do I miss Earth?” Dyn echoed, mulling it over. “I miss chatting with my online friends—they would’ve loved this pce.” He absently ed his nails. “Haven’t had a real-life friend since I dropped out of college, though.”

  Nathan pulled out the chair by the desk and took a seat, listening quietly.

  “I miss my dad and stepmom,” Dyn said with a sigh, his gaze fixed on the subtle marbling of the stone floor. “But Dad and I haven’t spoken sihe fight…” He shook his head, brushing away the memory—one he didn’t want to face.

  Dyn gnced up at Nathan. “You know… I thought I’d miss my video games.” He gave a weak chuckle. “But I’m kinda living in one, so…” His voice trailed off, his attention drifting back to pig his nails.

  Nathan gave Dyime and silence he needed. Dyn had never felt like he truly belonged—never part of the group, always beled as weird or quirky. Society rarely made seo him, yet he’d followed the rules because ‘that’s the way it’s supposed to be done.’ Did he miss living in a world that stantly corrected him, telling him his way of thinking was wrong? Guilt g him as he admitted the truth: ‘No. I don’t.’

  After a few minutes, he shook his head and whispered, “I don’t.” He looked up at Nathan. “Is it…?” His throat tightened, f him to clear it. “Is it bad that I don’t?”

  Dyn’s lower lip quivered as he fought back tears. ‘Shouldn’t I, though?’ Cruel thoughts swirled in his mind, berating him about the ck of e he felt to his home p.

  Nathan frowned sympathetically. “I ’t ahat for you. If I tried, I’d be robbing you of an important part of your healing and self-discovery. What I tell you is that whatever you decide will be the right answer for you—and that decisio have to be made today.”

  Dyn gnced around the sterile room, w if it would feel the same for him here, too.

  Nathan followed Dyn’s gaze. “Don’t worry. Once we get you some clothes and a few personal items, it’ll feel more like home.”

  Dyn realized why the room felt familiar. ‘It’s just like the o Ebonscale,’ he thought. ‘Minus the dead body and missing wall.’ Curious if it was just a ce, he asked, “Do all guilds have the same quarters?”

  “I’ve never been to anuild,” Nathan admitted with a shrug. “So, I don’t know. But the room should have everything you need.” He raised a finger, suddenly serious. “Except for a restroom! Remember, not all buckets are the same.”

  Dyn winced. ‘Oh god, why did I take a dump in his office?’ His face flushed with embarrassment as he raised a hand. “Got it—only poop in the restrooms.”

  “And urinate,” Nathan added.

  “And that.” Dyn hung his head with a sigh. ‘I’m never going to live this down.’

  Nathan still made a point of showing Dyn the location of each restroom on the first floor. There were several, reminding Dyn of his brief stint in dorm life ba college. Each restroom also had a private shower.

  ‘Way han unal ones,’ Dyn thought.

  Afterward, Nathan excused himself to freshen up with a ge of clothes, leaving Dyn to sit on his bed. He noticed it didn’t make that annoying squeaky ‘bed’ noise, even when he bounced on it.

  A short while ter, Nathauro the room. “Oh good, you’re still here.”

  Dyn rocked bato a sitting position with a grunt. “Where else would I be?”

  Nathan stared into the distance for a moment. “The ao that question will keep me up at night.”

  Dyn wao obje principle, but sidering the past few days—he agreed. “That’s fair.” His stomach rumbled, a loud remihat it was time to eat. He gnced down, giving his belly a pat. “There he is! Hungry Dyn is back. I’m going to eat so much food.” He wiped a bit of saliva from the er of his mouth. The thought of actual food again was almost too much.

  “You’ve been living off fk for the past few days. Your stomach’s probably shrunk a bit, so you should take it easy tonight,” Nathan cautioned. “We don’t know how you’ll haher on’s cuisine.”

  “Do you see this?” Dyn lifted his shirt, revealing his pot belly. “This doesn’t just happen ht. If I know ohing, I know how to eat.” He spped his belly with a loud smack.

  Nathan blinked, unsure how to respond.

  Dyn strolled past the stunned Nathan. “Now let’s go to dinner. I’m starving.”

  Nathan raised a finger and hurried after him. “I’m ed we might have different definitions of starving…”

  They took the sic route to the dining hall. Nathahem outside for a breath of fresh air befuiding them toward the main hall, where most unal activities took pce. They ehrough the grand frorance, which opened into a spacious reception room. After weaving through the halls, they finally reached their destination.

  “Dyn!” a feminine voice cried over the lively noise of the hall.

  Dyn ed his o see who was calling him. ‘How does everyone know my name?’ he wondered.

  The rge dining hall held nearly a hundred people, all eating, chatting, and ughing. It reminded Dyn of a packed college cafeteria, but instead of endless rows of folding tables, there were long, sturdy wooden ones, adding a rustic, tavern-like vibe.

  Dyn’s eye caught sudden movement—a woman across the hall darting toward him. “Are those cat ears?” She was moving too fast to tell.

  “Dyn!” she called agaiement evident in her voice. With too many people in the aisles betweeables, she opted for an alternate route. Two bounding strides ter, she was dashing across the tables.

  Dyn could now see she was wearing a shreen dress over pants. He g Nathan, who mirrored his baffled expression.

  “Meekan!” “Hey!” “Watch out!” “e on!” “I’m eating here!” and simir shouts echoed as she navigated the gourmet obstacle course. Nimble and precise, her boots avoided bowls, ptes, mugs, crystalware, and tless forkfuls of food along the way.

  “She’s really fast.” Dyn watched her rocket toward him. ‘Too fast…’

  Nathan stepped aside, his expression perplexed, as the woman crouched and dove off the st table, arms and cws outstretched.

  Not fast enough to react, Dyn thought, ‘Oh fuck.’

  She tackled him. Her arms and cws ed tightly above his shoulders, her head barely missing his. Their bodies collided chest-first, the rest of her following as Dyn twisted at the st moment, trying to brace himself. The impaocked him off his feet, and she g to him in a fierce embrace.

  Dy both terrified and forted all at once. Instinctively, his arms cradled her protectively. Their cartwheeling collision morphed into a tumble as the tactical tackle-hug ran its course. Dyn slid to a stop on his back, still clutg her tightly.

  A muffled voice, buried in his shoulder, said, “I’ve missed you so much.” Her grip tightened, as if she never wao let go. After one final squeeze, she sat up on top of him. Surprisingly, she was much lighter than Dyn had expected. And those weren’t cat ears—they were long, peaked fox ears.

  Squinting from his pinned position, Dyn asked, “Are those real?” As usual, his mouth outran his brain. Without thinking, he reached for her ears.

  The fox-woman smiled warmly. “As real as yours.” She reached out and gave his earlobe a pyful tug.

  “Meekan?” Nathan’s ed voice came from behind them.

  Meekan’s ears drooped, and she turo face him.

  Nathan crossed his arms and raised a brow. “I’m getting more ed with how everyone’s ag today. This is unusual—even for you.”

  Dyn caught Nathan’s eyes shift fre back to their usual blue hue.

  “Oh!” Meekan realized she was still straddling Dyn. She blushed, apologizing, “Sorry.” Rolling off him, she stood in one fluid motion.

  Still lying on the floor, Dyn stared up at the geous half-fox, half-woman standing over him—a vision with honeyed bronze skin. Her long, dual-toned hair started e at the roots, fading into bck at the tips. Dark shes framed her almond-shaped brown eyes, and full, pillowy lips rested perfectly on her heart-shaped face.

  She wore a dress that came to her knees, ched at the waist with a matg fabric belt. Her pants and boots were standard fare. Dyn leaned slightly, trying to glimpse her backside—no tails in sight.

  Meekan gnced over her shoulder, following his gaze. As if reading his mind, she let out a pyful giggle. “Nope. You ’t see my tails.”

  Sinding in this terrifyi wonderful new world, everyone Dyn had met was fit and ventionally attractive. Eveimidating drai, with their tails, scales, and crests, were shapely and iing to look at. But this woman stole his breath, both physically and figuratively. Butterflies stirred in his stomad fluttered up to his brain.

  Nathan stepped closer, squinting at Meekan. “Are… you wearing makeup?”

  Meekan shot Nathan a sharp gre, and he froze, visibly regretting his question.

  Dyn

  [ dil-uhn ]

  noun

  a kind, awkward, hot mess.

  verb

  to uionally be a detriment to one’s future self.

  And then Dyn made a Dyn of himself. Fshing a big, goofy grin, he said, “Hi, you’re Dyn.”

  Meekan looked down at him, both eyebrows raised.

  Dyn froze. ‘Fuck.’ He tried again, stumbling over the words. “I mean… Hi, I’m hot.”

  Nathan tilted his head, giving Dyn an unsure look.

  ‘FuCk…’

  “Sorry,” Dyn stammered. “I mean… you’re hot.” His eyes widened. ‘FUCK…’

  Sweat beaded on his brow as he tugged at his colr. “Jesus, it’s really attractive in here.” He ged, squeezing his eyes shut. ‘FUCK!’

  Meekan covered her mouth, trying to hide her amusement as she tio let him struggle.

  Dyn took a deep breath and tried again. “It’s Dyn to meet you.” He blinked. ‘OH MY GOD, WHY?’ Slumping to the ground, he buried his fa his hands, his cheeks burning with embarrassment. ‘If I could just die, I think I still salvage this,’ he thought.