Ibnoxe stepped closer to Lottie while Holoxe followed Victoria inside.

Since Lottie had already claimed a much-needed seat on the rock, he slid down to sit in the grass. Ibnoxe leaned against the rock, and he tipped his head back to get a partial look at her. "Hey. You did a good job."

"I did?"

"Yeah. You stood up for yourself and us. You got the crown jewel back. Me and Holoxe really appreciate you doing that!"

"Thanks," Lottie squeaked. "I couldn't have done it without you guys here. Victoria really intimidates me, even if she makes me so mad." A shaky sigh left her lips. "I shouldn't feel this way, but it felt so good to hit her." That fist which had pommeled Victoria's face clasped tightly and shook in the air.

"I mean, she told you to. And she was basically asking for it even before you kept hitting her…."

The teenage girl leaned over the rock in all smiles. "I guess that's a fair point. Thanks, Ibnoxe." When she looked away from him, her hands leaned back and her head tilted back to the sky. Her blue eyes seemed dreamy as she got lost in the clouds passing overhead, tinted slightly yellow as the sky was tinted slightly green beneath the [Filtration Net].

"Welp, we should probably head inside!" Charlotte said. Her crutch swung to the side of Ibnoxe so she could get a headstart on him.

Though Lottie seemed to try to hurry in, she stopped three-quarters of the way back to the house. Her attention turned back to Ibnoxe. "Um, you said I did a good job, right?"

"You did," he confirmed steadily.

"Can I have a hug?" she asked.

"Uh…." Ibnoxe had no idea how to respond to such a request other than saying no, but if he did it too curtly, that might seem mean. Before he could figure out how to put it gently, she started talking hastily.

"It's just… you're really reassuring to me after you saved me, so don't take it the wrong way! We're just friends, and that's what girls like to do." Lottie was twisting her fingers around the side of her crutch, unable to look at him.

"I'm not a girl."

"But I am?"

Ibnoxe relented with a sigh and gave her a loose hug. "Are you feeling better now?"

"Yeah, lots." Her cheeks were pinkish, and she made a hasty retreat towards the garage on her wobbly crutch. "I'm going to do some research now. I've promised you and your brother lots of stuff. To add one more meta promise to the bunch, I promise that I'll make good on all those promises! See ya around!"

Once Lottie disappeared into her lair of the garage, Ibnoxe went to find Holoxe.

***

I don't even know what I'm doing here, Holoxe thought as he joined Victoria in the living room. They had both taken a seat on the couch, at opposite ends leaning over the armrest. I should get up and leave—wait for Ibnoxe in our room.

Yet when he glanced at Victoria from the corners of his eyes, he did not move. Holoxe thought it would be rude to walk out on her. Though he still was not so sure if he liked her—definitely did not understand her after the most recent, crazy display—but he respected her just the same.

Victoria curled up her knees and bit at her stubby nails. "What'd you think about our little show?"

"Huh?"

"You just stood there and watched it all go down," she clarified. "What'd you think?"

"Want my honest opinion?"

"Hit me."

Holoxe flipped his head to stare at her.

Wholly serious, Victoria's dark eyes seemed to wait for a response. Either she did not realize the irony of that expression, or she had the strongest deadpan delivery on this side of the ocean.

Unable to help himself, Holoxe started laughing in the crisp sound which came from his human throat.

After Victoria's pupils widened along with her eyes, she closed them and started laughing too. "Hell, I'm funny without even trying sometimes."

"I was wondering if you did that on purpose."

"No, I'm serious. Do you think I handled the situation with Lottie alright?" The genuine concern returned to the young woman along with her dour mood.

"Honestly, it seemed pretty crazy to me. I don't have a clue why you did that, but if it made Lottie feel better…. I suppose that's what counts."

Victoria cast her forehead against her knees. Her contorted face was hidden by her arms, trying to conceal from view what Holoxe already knew.

Oh no. Is she going to cry? Stern, cold, Victoria did not seem the type to cry frequently or easily. Holoxe had been quite shook when she broke down after saving the vuls. All because he had asked, she did not hesitate aside from screaming incoherently in his face.

"I never wanted to hurt Lottie," she murmured quietly now. "I had to get my brother back, no matter what, but I didn't have any intention to sacrifice Lottie to do it."

Not knowing what to say, Holoxe tried to offer, "You could've said as much back there. You pretty much insisted the opposite—"

"If I tried to make her forgive me, she wouldn't learn her lesson! Lottie needs to learn not to trust people like me." Victoria turned her face sideways to glance at him. Though her eyes were big and watery, she shed no tears. "No use whining about it now. At any rate, my memory is kinda hazy since the plant got me…"

"How much do you remember?" he asked.

"Enough to know I was acting like a fool. Sorry about that." An awkward hand rubbed at the back of her neck. Victoria could not meet his eyes.

"It's fine. Let's just forget about that."

"No." Victoria stood up and moved to stand in front of him.

Since her imposing stance made him uncomfortable, Holoxe also got up.

"I want to make one thing clear," she said, getting closer to his face. "I never make threats I ain't willing to make good on."

His gut felt like it twisted up inside. What exactly does she remember from yesterday that I don't?

"I said I'd get you back…" she whispered harshly. "For tickling me!" Her attitude flipped to playful in a second.

In accordance with his instincts, Holoxe shifted into dragon form, shoved her at the shoulders, and planted one leg behind her ankle. Off guard, Victoria stumbled backwards. Holoxe carried through by slamming her down on the coffee table.

The legs broke out from under the tabletop. That certainly must not tickle for Victoria, but she burst out laughing. "Wow! Someone's a bit touchy, aren't we?"

"It was self-defense," Holoxe replied simply. As he extended his hand to help her up, his eyes took in the wreckage of the table. Oh no. Already, he dreaded having to tell Mr. Bouchard that he broke yet another thing in the living room, this time more serious than the lamp.

Holoxe and Victoria retreated to opposite sides of the room, looking at each other awkwardly with the broken table between them. Any minute now, Ibnoxe should come back.

***

Like the other day, Ibnoxe found them in the living room—across the room from each other with arms crossed and frowns on their faces. The broken table at the center of the room was most concerning. "Is everything alright?"

"Oh yeah, this is nothing." Holoxe tapped away a leg of the table with one clawed foot. His tail and wings lifted excitedly at his brother's return. "What do you want to do for the rest of the day?"

Before he got his hopes up for a leisurely afternoon, Ibnoxe flitted his gaze to Victoria. "Do we have anymore work that we need to do?"

"No. Don't look at me!" She threw up both hands and left the room. "I'm going to play some board games with Marcel. See ya later, alligators."

"For the last time, we're not lizards. We're dragons!" Holoxe roared as she left.

"Are you back to hating Victoria?" Ibnoxe asked smugly.

"No. Just had too much of her for one day," his brother muttered.

Quickly, their spirits lifted as they focused on their time together. Board games sounded like a great idea, so Ibnoxe and Holoxe whistled the vuls over to help them raid a cabinet of games.

"I want to play this one. Manaships!" Holoxe held up a box which held magical pieces of plastic which could blow up and snap back together if the opponent found its location.

"Wait, but this one is called Wings and Tails. Look at the dragons!" The box art had colorful depictions of the regal species—perhaps a bit too cute, for Ibnoxe's taste, but he still liked to imagine what he almost was. The game board was whimsical as it featured slithering tails and flapping wings enchanted on its cardboard.

Since they could not decide on which to play, they mixed the pieces together, discarded the rulebook, and made up the game as they went. Their manaship pieces had to race around the gameboard, trying to shoot down the enemy while going further up the game board on dragon wings or falling back down on dragon tails. The game was an epic of a lifetime, and Ibnoxe and Holoxe certainly had fun playing their first board game in their life.

"I can't believe they couldn't just let us play games together!" his brother said.

"I know! They should have added a common room as part of our privileges. It's not like we would conspire against the company or anything."

"We would be too busy having fun!"

Ibnoxe nodded intently. "Instead, we needed to do just so we could associate with each other—"

"I dropped your manaship!" Holoxe roared.

"No!"

The dragon brothers played games until Josie called them to dinner. Oddly enough, it was just Ibnoxe and Holoxe sitting with Charlotte's mom and dad. Richard and Josie Bouchard were quiet for a long while, just like how the dragon brothers felt too awkward to chat freely around them. Even Victoria made an appearance to collect food for Marcel before shuffling back upstairs.

"Is Lottie not eating with us?" Ibnoxe asked.

"I told her to come, but she's too busy on her computer like always," Josie lamented.

"I'm going to explain to her, she needs to eat at the table like part of the family if she wants her friends to stay here," Richard said more strictly. His determined stride carried him to the garage to discipline his daughter. Victorious, he came back with Lottie in tow whose head hung low.

"Sorry," Charlotte whispered when she arrived at the table. "I hope my dad didn't say anything to worry you, Ibnoxe and Holoxe." When she said their names, she made a point to look at Ibnoxe first then Holoxe.

Now that she was here to bridge the gap between them and her parents, the dinnertime conversation proceeded more smoothly. Everyone was all laughs and smiles, especially Lottie whose eyes seemed to sign brighter after her successful confrontation with Victoria.

This was the last day which Ibnoxe saw her like that.