Due to Irapesha accidentally destroying a large section of the fence in the backyard, the two of us had come out to a hardware store to fix the problem. Normally, issues with the house such as plumbing, yard work, or even the car would be left to professionals on Professor Markel's call. I wanted to assume responsibility for my own mistake, and it gave my new tenant a chance to get out of the house.

Besides, all we needed to buy was a couple of tools and pre-cut lumber for the fence.

"Your people have more choices in cereal brands than selection in lumber. This is a strange world indeed," Irapesha remarked, running a hand across a smooth board of wood.

"Don't remind me." I rolled my eyes. "It's the freedom to choose what you want, and I already know exactly what we need anyway."

I tried to lift a pile of boards that was closest in color to the dark brown of our fence, but they were way too heavy and unwieldy being as long as they were. The dragonewt gently pulled me away and lifted ten boards at once onto the flatbed card.

"Allow me to carry and push everything. How many do we need?" she asked.

"If you can put 30 onto the flatbed, that would be great!" I said, thanking her as well.

Watching Irapesha lift heavy boards that would otherwise crush my puny body gave me anxiety. Her powerful arm and hand treated them like toothpicks. Every step she took hit the ground with a loud thud.

People around us took out their phones to snap pictures of the dragonewt, whose already extra large clothing were pulled taut against her muscular body. The black tank top looked like it would rip the moment she flexed. Finding outfits for her had been the hardest thing, and we had to goto the men's section to even begin to find adequate sizes.

The result? Thanks to all the scars, it gave her the appearance of a netherfolk gangster. If Weyera had any.

"Excuse me, young lady." An older woman with white hair and walking on a cane approached us. "Could I trouble you to bring down five pieces of picket?"

She must not have been getting any help from the store employees to have come to us.

"It is no trouble at all." Irapesha kindly obliged and brought down the pickets as the woman asked for, then gingerly placed them into her cart.

"Thank you so much, dearie!" The lady flashed a gumless smile and shuffled off.

"Will all humans be like that one day?" she asked me.

"I mean, inevitably. My hope is that Ange will still be around and looking like a hot babe to take care of me when I'm a geezer," I said, fantasizing about my future domestic and retirement life. "But isn't getting old the same for you netherfolks, too?"

"Aging is of little concern to me. I had resolved to die in the war. That isn't to say I'm not thankful for you saving me. At the moment, I feel adrift at sea, unsure which direction to head anymore."

When I promised to help Irapesha find her passion and calling in her new life on earth, it hadn't occurred to me how difficult it would be to get through to her. She seemed distant. Living but not really living.

The most alive she had been was during the skydiving trip. Unfortunately, that wasn't something we can just keep pestering Professor Markel for.

As we made our way to the checkout, a forklift carrying a stack of lumber unsteadily entered the wide aisle after us and blocked off both ends. A small child weaved through our legs. Irapesha lifted her own leg as the kid darted into the aisle.

Our eyes followed the boy just as the forklift raised itself and struck the metal shelf it was trying to place the payload on, causing the lumber to lurch.

"Oh, no— the kid!" I yelled.

A vacuum of wind nearly sucked me in as Irapesha darted into action. She leapt over the barrier and threw herself on top of the child. Heavy boards of lumber buried them with a sickening crash.

My chest dropped into the deepest pit of my stomach.

"Irapesha!" I raced over to the pile that was about the same height as myself.

A high-pitched shriek erupted from a woman as she also came running, presumably the mother of the child who ran in.

I desperately pulled on a board, but it was too entrenched into the pile. Other people began crowding around, some pitched in to help. But after a few seconds, our efforts proved pointless.

Irapesha merely stood straight up, forcing aside lumber and debris. She cradled the child in her arm, who was shaken but otherwise unharmed.

"Thank god." I let out a hoarse breath.

"Did you really think I would be done in by shaven sticks?" Irapesha cracked a grin, handing the child back to his tearful mother.

Firefighters and a paramedic were on the scene before we even checked out. As we were heading to the car, one of them in the tan and yellow jacket flagged us down.

"Heard you were the one that jumped right in to save the kid. I'm Kerry. Vandice Fire Department fire chief. Nice to meet you." The large man extended a hand to Irapesha.

Irapesha enveloped his hand with her own and shook.

"It was nothing. I'm sure anyone would have done the same," she replied humbly.

"Big lady's got a strong grip… Well, If only that were the case, I wouldn't be stopping you. I'll cut to the point: My department needs more firefighters. Someone like you can do a lot of good saving lives like you did back there. What do you say?" he asked.

Irapesha's eyes widened with interest. She turned to me as if seeking permission.

"Personally? I think it's a great opportunity to be the first dragonewt firefighter on earth! You have the strength, the fire resistance, and constitution against smoke to be one," I said, almost bouncing on my feet.

Do good things, and they will come back around.

Irapesha was currently in a rut. She faced the same crisis many veterans returning from war faced, a dissociation from the rest of society. Who could tell someone who was once under constant threat of gunfire and shelling to just sit on the couch and watch television all day? You couldn't.

This was the perfect chance for her to explore an option presented to her. And while I didn't like the idea of putting Irapesha in the line of danger, facing it was what she felt most familiar with.

"In that case, you have my interest." Irapesha nodded.

"Great! You guys should drop by the department whenever you're done with whatever it is you gotta do," Kerry said.

We drove to the fire department after dropping the supplies off at the dormitory. The firefighters were currently performing maintenance on one of their trucks. Kerry, who was out of the fire retardant uniform, put down his clipboard when he saw us.

"You guys made it!" he exclaimed.

"Akira told me a little bit about what firefighters do, but maybe you can explain to me more in detail?" Irapesha asked.

"As our name implies, we mostly fight fires. Across the entire state of the Golden State, we deal with thousands of fires a year in and out of the city. That means we have to be on our toes every single day. It ain't all we do though. We respond to emergency situations, provide police and medical services back-up before they even get there!"

The more Irapesha listened, the greater her interest was piqued. However, she clenched her fist in front of herself and grew sullen.

"Even though I'm a cripple… would I still be of use?"

Kerry glanced my way, surprised that she could consider something like that. As he was about to open his mouth, a shrill siren sent everyone into action and in less than a minute, they all had their equipment on.

"Apartment complex in downtown Vandice is smoking something fierce. I don't normally do this, but why don't you two hop in and see what we do?" he suggested.

I climbed onto the backseat of the firetruck, but since Irapesha didn't fit, she instead clung onto the side of the truck.

We arrived at the three-story apartment in which the entire third floor was gushing smoke out of the windows. People were hanging by the windows, seriously considering jumping out.

The firefighters got right to work, and after assessing the safety and risk of the burning building, split into their designated tasks. A group ran straight into the building to evacuate those on the lower floors. The firetrucks raised their ladders closer to the people hanging on the third floor and rooftop. Meanwhile, the rest were putting out fires where they could.

"Incredible. Their discipline is impressive… Please, allow me to help!" Irapesha said to Kerry.

"No can do. You're still a civilian and not certified. I can't let you put yourself in danger yet. Stay here," he urged.

Once the fire chief left, I could tell Irapesha was aching to do something.

"You're going in, aren't you?" I asked her.

Irapesha cast her eyes to a broken window where a firefighter seemed unable to get any closer due to the fumes. "If you tell me not to go, I won't."

"Go do what you were born to do." I smiled.

The dragonewt raced into the building just as firefighters were pouring out of it with the injured. Even the lift was quickly moving away. Something was wrong.

Kerry exited the truck and screamed for everyone to take cover.

"Get back! Get back!" He tossed the radio back into his truck and threw me behind the vehicle.

An explosion rocked the entire street as the third floor exploded, sending debris crashing all around. I looked up in time to see Irapesha landing so hard, she cratered the asphalt beneath her feet. Two unconscious people were in her arm, and although Irapesha herself was charred black except for her pristine red scales, she was no more injured than when she first went in.

"Jesus…" Kerry uttered, waving the smoke away from his face. "There's nothing crippled about you, lady."

Irapesha put both of them down, who were quickly taken care of by firefighters fixing breathing masks on them.

"Not scared for my safety this time?" Irapesha teasingly asked me.

"You and Cresta need a life lesson in self-preservation…" I rolled my eyes.