“It’ll be fine, Socks, I promise. I mean, my mom and I aren’t the closest of family, but family is family, right? She chose to be my mom after all that we went through. She’s still my mom now, and if she’s real family, she’ll accept you as well. I’m sure of it,” Evelyn rambled.
Socrates sighed. “I certainly hope so, Ev, because carrying you on my back all the time has the potential to be exhausting.”
Evelyn laughed and tapped the back of their head in a warning. “Watch it, pal,” she chuckled. “I’m 130 pounds of pure muscle.”
“And bone, and organs…” Evelyn whacked Socrates again. “Hey!”
Evelyn laughed and stood on Socrates’ back to look over their head. “Home sweet home,” she said with sarcasm lacing her tone. “Welcome to Cynosure, Socrates.”
“I know about Cynosure, Evelyn. I grew up here too.”
“In the dunes, yeah. You’ve never met the awful people, or seen the light pollution at night, or really have ever known a human besides me. And none of us are the same. Most of us are awful.”
Socrates looked back at Evelyn. “I am sure it will be all right. You yourself said your mother would let us stay.”
“It is not her I am worried about, Socrates,” Evelyn sighed. “It is everyone else.”
“Chin up, Evelyn. I’m sure everything will be okay,” Socrates said with that smile of theirs.
Evelyn smiled back at them. “If humans were as kind as dragons, the worlds would have a lot less to worry about.
“If humans were as kind as dragons, we would have never coexisted and I never would have met you. Human curiosity overruling manners may be a better thing than you think.”
Evelyn blushed and reclined on Socrates’ back. “Oh, you,” she sighed. “If I didn’t know you liked Zarah I’d swear you were courting me.”
Socrates chuckled. “Do not flatter yourself.”
“Hey!” Evelyn protested. “Who gave you the right?!”
“I did!”
Evelyn cackled and smacked Socrates playfully. “Stop it!” she ordered. “Let’s go find my mom.”
Socrates nodded and started to descend into the atmosphere.
Evelyn held onto Socrates at the base of their neck tightly. Socrates could relate to her nervousness.
When Socrates touched down on the roof of the apartment complex that Evelyn’s mother now lived in, they nearly slid off the top the angle was so steep. Evelyn was bucked off their back and took advantage of the gutter on the edge of the roof to make sure she didn’t fall off. “You need to watch where you’re landing, Socks,” Evelyn gasped.
“Usually the landing strip is not this steep,” Socrates joked. “I am sorry for startling you.”
Evelyn waved them off. “Do not worry about me. Worry about yourself.”
Socrates grinned and carefully moved out off the roof and offered their back to Evelyn. “Let me help you down.”
Evelyn carefully climbed on their back and Socrates lowered themself to the street. “Ah, solid ground, how I missed thee,” Evelyn chuckled.
Socrates tucked themself low to the ground and inspected the asphalt. “This is an odd texture.”
Evelyn looked down. “Oh, yeah, asphalt. I forgot that the city uses asphalt and concrete. It’s sort of… manmade rock. Except it doesn’t have to be superheated into lava in order to pour it. And we developed ways to move it far distances and control where it goes.” She scrunched up her nose. “Yeah, asphalt is weird…”
Socrates turned to the building in front of them. “So, in which floor does your mother live, and what window would be hers?”
Evelyn looked up at the building and frowned. Socrates wanted to chuckled and yell at the same time. “You do not remember?” Wasn’t there a contraction for that? “You… really don’t… remember?”
“Ah, I’m sure I can…” Evelyn said hastily. “But… it’s not coming immediately to mind. Sorry.”
“Do not… don’t apologize to me,” Socrates said. “Apologize to your mother. When was the last time you actually saw her? Not gave her a call, not wrote, but saw her, face to face?”
Evelyn blinked and Socrates wanted to smack that irritating human head. “Ev, you always say that family is important. And yet you hardly keep in touch with your own. What does that say about you?”
“That I don’t think of her when I think of family,” Evelyn shrugged. “I think of the people I chose after she chose to leave me behind.” She pointed to a window on the third floor, 5th from the left. “That’s it. I’m sure of it. It’s the flower box. It’s empty.”
“You can tell where your mother lives by an empty flower box?”
“It’s the only one around, and my mom never had a green thumb,” Evelyn shrugged. “Come on, let’s see if she’ll buzz us in.”
Socrates watched her go up to the building and press a button under the directory with full force for a half- second. A soft but exasperated voice came on the line. “If you’re selling, I certainly ain’t buying!”
“Mom, it’s me,” Evelyn said quietly. “Can I come up and talk to you with a friend of mine?”
There was a pregnant silence on the other end. “I’m coming down, Evy, stay put.”
Evelyn grimaced and Socrates cocked their head to the side. “Evy? Your mother calls you Evy?”
“You divulge that information to anyone and I’ll kill you slowly and painfully,” Evelyn growled.
Socrates laughed. “No! No! It is sweet! Really sweet,” they said sincerely. “It… fit you, I imagine, when you were a child growing up. It is really sweet. And it means you have a backstory to you. I like the thought of you having a history.”
Evelyn rolled her eyes just as the door opened and a woman looking like an older version of Evelyn stepped out. “Oh, Evy!” she cried and crushed the young woman in a hug. “You haven’t been by in ages! Where have you been?! What have you been up to?! And… who is this?” she asked, turning to Socrates.
“I am Socrates, Evelyn’s friend,” Socrates said. “Pleased to meet you.”
Evelyn’s mother turned to the woman in question. “Evy?”
Evelyn seemed to bite back a retort and sighed. “Yes, mom, they really are my friend. A very good one, as a matter of fact.” Evelyn was bristling and Socrates didn’t understand why.
“Are you all right?” they asked uncertainly.
“Fine,” Evelyn said evenly. “Right, Mom? Everything’s fine.”
“O- of course, sweetheart,” her mother smiled. “When you said friend, I just wasn’t expecting… well. I wasn’t expecting.”
Evelyn frowned. “Is it really so hard to believe?”
Her mother looked at her, shocked. “Of course not! I was just taken off guard, is all! I didn’t mean anything by it!”
“I’m sure you didn’t,” Evelyn snapped. She took a deep breath. “Sorry. Can we stay here? Or nearby? Socrates’ family kicked them out.”
Her mother looked at her, stricken. “You can’t be serious, Evy.”
Evelyn sighed. “Mom, you should know me by now. I’m not joking. What’s wrong with my request now?”
“Well, for one, how do you expect me to house a DRAGON?!” her mother shouted, causing a few people to take notice of them. Socrates offered a thin smile and continued to watch the two.
“You never support me, even when I need you,” Evelyn said numbly. Her words rang hollow. “Don’t you care about your own flesh and blood? I don’t ask for much, just the general direction of an apartment for rent.”
“No one would rent to you, Evy! Do you even have a steady job?! You need those to rent out here, you know! And who would willingly and knowingly house a dragon, of all things?!”
“Socrates is not a thing, Mom!” Evelyn said in shock. “They’re a person! Maybe not a human, but they’re a person!”
Her mother gave her an odd look. “You’ve been away too long, Evy. Come back, and I’ll help you,” she pleaded.
“Only if Socrates can stay too, and you acknowledge that they are a person.”
Her mother shook her head. “I’m sorry, sweetheart, but I can’t do that. You should know as well as anyone the danger of associating with dragons!”
“They aren’t like that! Any of them!” Evelyn protested. “You actually buy those lies?!”
Her mother looked at Socrates with hostility. “You are not welcome here,” she said simply, before pulling out a phone. “I’m going to call the Terras.”
“Mom, don’t!” Evelyn protested.
“Don’t try to stop me, Evelyn!” her mother snapped. “This thing is a danger to society!”
“Their name is Socrates!” Evelyn yelled, knocking the phone out of her mother’s hand. “We’re leaving! Come on, Socrates,” she said, climbing onto their back. “My mom’s made it quite obvious that we’re not welcome.”
Her mother started to say something, but Socrates was already flying away, knowing that Evelyn would not want to hear it. “She can’t do that,” Evelyn whispered, scandalized. “She can’t.”
“I understand that she wanted to protect you, but I am inclined to agree with you,” Socrates sighed. “She can not.”
Evelyn looked around and sighed. “We’re in No Man’s Land. Couldn’t happen soon enough.”
Socrates nodded. “Agreed… What do you think your mother is doing now, if you don’t mind my asking?”
Evelyn shook her head. “Probably alerting the government to your presence. Not like anyone will do anything serious about it, the Terras have been ignoring calls about dragons for years… Socks…”
Socrates turned to Evelyn to find her crying. “Hey, now, Ev. You’re the one who always says that family is chosen, not born.”
Evelyn nodded sadly. “I- I know, Socks. It’s j- just… I chose her, but she didn’t choose me back.”
“Ev…” Socrates breathed. They bowed their head, tears forming in their own eyes. “I am so, so sorry.”
Evelyn sniffed and nodded, a watery smile on her face. “I- it’s gonna be okay, Socks. I still have you, don’t I?”
Socrates nodded. “Always.”
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