Chapters featuring various pets or other animals who hang out with our main characters.
“You want some?”
“No, thanks.”
“Okay. You guys?”
“Sure, what is it?”
“Just greenheart, nothing serious. Ron, are the kids old enough to do drugs?”
Ron shrugged while he gently moved Jay and Tanner’s Parcelbug away from their house. Apparently his roots were poking into their basement. “They’re old enough to tie each other up and pee on each other, I don’t see why not.”
Franz was on his third cup of tea of this sitting and he had to go pee, but he made himself wait until he was done reading over the document in his hand, which was a summary of grain production on House ven Sancte’s farms.
Once he’d gotten the most important parts of it he set it down. “I’ll be right back,” he said to Boey and Silas, and he went to pee, grateful for the distraction. Once Gabrielle was crowned after Gerard’s funeral, he was going to officially be queen-consort, which added a whole lot of things into his life that hadn’t been there before. Managing all of House ven Sancte’s lands, for one.
The snow was melting, but it was still cold.
“You doing okay?” Ozzy asked, nudging Daniel.
“Hm?” Daniel was running his fingers through some snow on the side of a building, making it fall to the ground in a shower of white dust. It was pretty, until it mixed with the slush on the ground and got gross right away. “Yeah. Just tired.”
“That’s new.”
“Yeah, James gave it to me the other day.”
“He gave you a boner the other day and you still have it?”
“Yeah, pretty much.”
“Unlike him.”
“He’s branching out,” Ron explained, slotting a post into place with a grunt.
“You know you are allowed to come with me,” Isaac said, as Peter walked him to the portal. “I think you’d like James.” They were both grumpy and brilliant, so they’d probably get along.
“If you think I would, I’m sure it’s true,” Peter said, holding Isaac’s hand. “But I have homework. Some of us actually take classes at this school.”
“Seems like a mistake,” Isaac teased, sticking out his tongue. “Did you consider having a mental breakdown so that everyone feels bad for you and lets you out of all your classes?”
“Just this?”
“And that.”
“Nothing else?”
“No, it’s not a hard ritual.”
“It would be even easier if there was a bridge.”
“Yeah, well.” Ron shrugged. “There’s not.”
Decurion asked to see Colby’s first foray into being a puppy! Enjoy!
Aeron wanted to see Ron and Demon telling fortunes together. Enjoy!
Isaac was on his way back from lunch when Jacob ran up to him, looking alarmed. “I need your help,” he said, out of breath.
“Okay,” Isaac said. Jacob had been at the palace at work, as far as he’d known. “What do you need? Is something wrong?” His mind went immediately to Matthias. Maybe he’d been in touch with Jacob.
Jacob nodded, then changed his mind and shook his head. “Yes,” he said. “Something is wrong with Dragon’s mate.”
“James is going to be so cranky when he gets back,” Jay muttered as he and Tanner walked home hand-in-hand.
“He’ll be fine,” Tanner promised, squeezing his hand. “Ron will make sure he’s fine.”
Jay shrugged. “I don’t know. I don’t think he’s ever been out of the forest this long.”
“Neither have you, and you’re doing okay.”
Jay rolled his eyes. “I’m not quite the insular weirdo he is.” He appeared to think about it a second, which was cute. And then for another, which was adorable. “I’m a different kind of insular weirdo.”
How Best to Use a Sword 