Welcome to Bridgetown

Author’s Note: New character! Anna-Nassi is one of my favorite characters I’ve ever created, and the fourth member of our main gang. Her style of talking can be a little repetitive and all over the place (like me sometimes), but that’s part of her charm. She’s a big sweetie.

*

CHAPTER FOUR

Anna-Nassi had alternately been called the most annoying, the friendliest, the most (and equally least) attentive, the loudest, the cuddliest, and the weirdest mandossi in the school over the past few years, and she wore every one of those badges with pride. She was super tall, taller than most of the mandossi girls here, and her gliding wings were freakishly strong and enormous. She could be super careful and still manage to flail and break something nearby. Her narrow beakish face was extremely expressive and she could never pass up flashing a wide and pleasing smile at all her friends. Her eyes were wide and bright and her vision completely perfect and she never let anyone forget that. Her attention span may be a bit lacking now and again, but she could hear a whisper from across the room. She was always noisy, sometimes ingratiating, and completely unable to sit still for any length of time, but all that was part of her charm! She felt she lived up to her parents’ legacies of being the most active and vocal participants on their tenancy committee. She simply loved connecting and bonding with everyone she met.

Still, there were moments when she wished she could be the quiet one.

That was why she hung out with Cole.

Cole was a hedraac of the finest order in her eyes. A psychic vampire that fed on the inherent energies of all living beings. And he was such a sweetheart about it too! He always asked before feeding, and he stung with such precision and gentleness that she rarely sensed it. And that was saying a lot as a mandossi! Her kind were the most sensitive to the energies of life here on this planet, so much so that they often mirrored whatever levels surrounded them. If she were part of a rambunctious crowd of overexcitable teenagers, she would be the loudest one in the room. If she watched a melodramatic romance film with her friends, she’d be the one crying her eyes out until there was nothing left.

Cole balanced all that. He always provided her with a calm center she couldn’t always find on her own. And she always loved him for it.

Still stressed out from the recent math test she’d taken earlier that morning, Annie was thrilled to be able to get outside for lunch and get some food in her. She carried a large bento box in her arms and used her wings to burst through the roof access doors and into the sunlight, ready to dig in. Like most mandossi, she also had a voracious appetite, sometimes to an embarrassing degree. She could pack it away, but her body would burn those calories off just hours later.

But ah, glorious day! She felt the cool spring breeze in her mane and the warmth of the sun on her skin and she smiled, baring those fangs of hers. She was tempted to stretch out her wings as well, yet she held back, at least until after she had eaten. They were annoying on the best of days, and the biggest pain to groom afterwards if anything got caught in the folds. Still…it was a lovely day, and she didn’t want to fret about the small things. Forget about that math test, Annie girl…you know you aced it. Just focus on eating and being with your friends right now.

She found Kaffi and Diwa sitting over in the shade near the landing platform at the center of the roof. It had been their favorite hangout since their first days at this school, where she could relax and just be herself without a care. It was also where she felt the calmest, being so near her best friends. She called out to them and they both waved back, sending tiny ripples of happiness her way. But where was Cole…? Late, maybe?

She dropped down on her hinds across from them, setting her concern and worry in the back of her mind for now. “Hey guys!” she sang. “Ai, it’s good to be outside today, neh?”

“Hey Annie,” Diwa said, offering a quick but muted smile, which she didn’t expect. He seemed uncharacteristically quiet today, guarding his emotions and energies much closer than usual. “Where’s our fourth?”

Anna-Nassi opened her bento box and pulled out a comically large wrap overstuffed with far too many meats, cheeses, and condiments. “That is a good question,” she said, and chomped down. It felt good to get something in her stomach again! She swallowed quickly and glanced towards the entrance. “He’s been avoiding everyone today. I hope he’s okay.”

Kaffi hummed. He too sat on his hinds; it seemed he only sat that way when he was with friends. Otherwise he was always at a strange but incredibly balanced almost-sitting position. “I think his Steiner-Hedraac has been kicking in again,” he said. “He’s been going through a lot of stress recently. I saw him just before last period, he was probably heading towards the solitary room for a little bit to calm down.” He took a bite out of the bread stick he’d been holding and gnawed on it for a few moments, lost in thought. “I think lia Powers might have cornered him this morning.”

All three of them shivered. Lydia Powers, the school’s resident guidance counselor, had been chasing everyone in their graduating class for the last few weeks to complete their Future Calling report. Everyone needed to have a plan – not necessarily a detailed one, but at least a solid one to use as a starting point. Anna-Nassi had gone to great lengths to avoid ria Powers as much as she could.

“I worry about him.” She glanced at the doorway again, fretting with her wrap. She could probably sense Cole at this point, but she dared not make that move right now. Not with all the other students around that could sense exactly what she was up to.

“I’m sure he’s okay…” Diwa offered.

She turned back to him, then to Kaffi, concerned by their uncharacteristic silence. What was going on with those two, anyway? The normally talkative and funny Diwa was far from chatty today, and even Kaffi was quiet and skittish. They’d been acting all kinds of weird all morning. They’d hardly shared any words during study hall. They’d catch each other’s glances now and again, but never said anything. They were keeping a secret and doing a ridiculously poor job of it.

“Are you two bonding or something?” she asked without preamble.

“What?” Diwa yelped, his face turning a splotchy red. “No! I mean…”

Kaffi giggled at him, shaking his snout, which had just gone a tiny shade darker. “Nothing like that yet, Annie,” he said. He tapped Diwa softly on the shoulder with the back of his paw, giving him a warm smile. “Calm down, Dee. Eiyah, you’re so easily flustered.”

That certainly got their attention! Now she was curious. She narrowed her eyes and grinned her too-wide grin at them, prodding them once more. “Come on, spill!” she said. “What are you up to? You’ve been conspiring all morning and it’s weirding everyone out!”

“I’ll…tell you later,” Diwa mumbled. He glanced around at the other students on the roof patio, partially hiding his face with his elbow as he scratched the back of his head. His human traits of embarrassment were so adorable! She’d clearly touched a nerve. Something was indeed brewing between them.

She let it go for now and joined in checking out the other students while she ate her lunch and waited for Cole. A few younger mandossi were nearer the landing pad, chittering away. They held themselves primly, sitting up straight, eating delicately, nibbling away at their prepared rolls, their wings never touching the ground. Completely unlike her. The big tintrite boys made a racket with their rough-housing and talk of someone’s awesome flying during the last game. Kaffi found them irritating and refused to give them the time of day. Human students rarely came up to the roof, preferring to hang out on the grounds out front or in the cafeteria. A few of them were at the far end of the roof, leaning up against the railing and completely ignoring everyone else, including Diwa.

She knew what they all thought of her and her friends, really; it was in the furtive glances and the irritable energies they gave off. Most of the kids at this school came from the more congested suburbs closer to the city, while she and these two boys lived further out on the periphery, along with Cole. They thought she and her friends were embarrassingly provincial.

But she and her friends were proud of being who they were and didn’t give a niilie’s backside about what any might think of them. She loved her friends because of that.

Still, it irritated occasionally.

As if on cue, Cole came walking out of the double doors and into the sunlight, scanning the roof patio for his friends, and Anna-Nassi felt a surge of happiness course through her veins when he spotted her. Eiyah, finally! There he is!

Cole felt her burst of joy from all the way across the patio and smiled broadly. He waved and made his way over, a goofy lopsided smile on his face. Tall, scrawny, pale, and the only hedraac who ever bothered coming up here at all, Cole looked so much healthier than he had earlier this morning, which made her even happier.

“Eiyah, Cole!” she chirped. “Where have you been?”

Cole took a seat next to her, motioning to her arm. “Can I…?”

She nodded and patted his knee. “You know you don’t need to ask.”

“Thanks.” he exhaled and turned to the others to join in the conversation. Seconds later she felt a small shift of energy in her bicep, a tiny pinprick of a psychic connection established between Cole and herself. It felt a little bit like a flutter in her heart, followed by what could only be described as the sensation of water, gently flowing down her arm. Cole was feeding ever so gently, just like he always did. His nerves were still jittery, but she could already feel him calming down now that they’d made that bond.

“It’s been a crazy morning,” he continued, his excitement causing a hitch in his words. “Not only did Miss Powers corner me. I also received word. From my mother. They’ve finalized the legal paperwork. For the co-op satellite farm today. We can start using our acres. In a few months.”

Diwa’s eyes widened. “That’s fantastic! My dad will be thrilled to hear that. Tell your parents I said congratulations!”

Kaffi bounced on his hinds and let his wings flutter, also excited by Cole’s news. “Eiyah, this great to hear! My manae has been backing your family’s bid for that project since last year, and my paddir has been shuttling the paperwork to and from the farm all this time. I’m sure he’ll be glad that’s over with.” He calmed himself down a bit, scratching nervously his snout. “Any idea of who will be running the hiring committee?”

Anna-Nassi giggled, nearly spitting out her sandwich. She leaned back on the knuckles of her wings and narrowed her eyes at him again. “Ai! I do not see you working on a farm, Kaffi. Not with those delicate talons and sensitive nose of yours.”

Cole raised his eyebrows, showing off his lovely dark eyes. He suddenly seemed much calmer now, having borrowed some of her energy to balance himself out. “You’re interested in running a hire, then?”

Kaffi gave Diwa a quick glance before he responded. “Perhaps,” he said.

Anna-Nassi could wait no longer, glaring between the two boys. “Come on, you two,” she said, crossing her arms. “There’s something going on that you’re not telling us.”

“Oh, they’re bonding, alright,” Cole said, and took a sip from his water bottle. “No doubt about it at all.”

“I think you’re right,” she snorted in amusement, glancing at him.

“Hoy!” Diwa said a little too loudly, his face a dark red once more. He cleared his throat and hid his face again. “Anó bang problema mo? Neh…”

She held a hand to her mouth, biting back a laugh. He was so cute when he got flustered! “So what is it then, Dee?”

Diwa groaned and looked to Kaffi, but the tintrite kept his mouth shut tight, tilting his head ever so slightly at him. Seeing he wasn’t going to get any help, he dropped his shoulders and turned back to her. His face was still red, but his emotions had suddenly changed from embarrassment to…determination? That was unexpected. “Fine. Are you busy after school?”

Anna-Nassi was intrigued enough that she pushed off her wing knuckles and fluttered them. “Ooh, secretive! Do tell!”

‘Yes, Annie, it’s a secret,” Kaffi said flatly. “You might be involved.”

That stopped her almost immediately, her shoulders hiking up and her wings ruffling again in response. Even Diwa stopped short by the unexpected words. “Why, what did I do?” she asked.

“It’s what you can do,” he said, and briefly glanced at Diwa once more, this time his mouth tightening into a smile. “You too, Cole. The four of us. If you’re interested. Dee?”

Diwa had regained his composure and leaned in as well. “Are you still interested in having a significant role at the estate?” he asked.

It took a moment for the question to sink in, and when it did, she gasped in gleeful surprise. He was talking about inheritance – the long-simmering, much-delayed conversation between the four of them! “You’re serious?” she said, doing her best to remain calm. “Please tell me you’re serious!”

“I am,” he said. “It’s about time, too. Kaffi and I talked about it last night, and we both want to start putting our plans in motion. We’re still working out what we want to do, but we’d love the two of you to be a part of it.”

“I’d be honored,” Cole said, nodding. He shuffled away slightly, tapping Anna-Nassi on the shoulder. “I’m fine now,” he whispered to her. “Thanks.”

She was so excited and surprised by Diwa’s words that she didn’t even feel Cole’s psychic disconnect this time. Eiyah, this was amazing news! “You two have no idea what you’re doing but count me in!” she chirped.

Diwa and Kaffi glanced at each other once more, their big smiles mirroring each other. Even Diwa was back to his bouncy, fidgety self again. “After school, let’s meet on the green, okay?” he said. “Let’s make this happen.”

And for the first time in what felt like forever, Anna-Nassi felt an intense wave of emotion from all three of them at the same time. Especially Diwa and Kaffi. This was more important to them that it was to her and Cole, but she couldn’t help but share in the celebration. She whooped and laughed and didn’t care at all that everyone was staring at her right now. Nothing could bring her down!

*

“You don’t have a plan at all, do you?”

Diwa and Kaffi sat close together on one of the low benches in the rear of the crowded light rail train, while Anna-Nassi and Cole squeezed into seats a few rows up. Annie was keeping a constant eye on Cole’s health today, even though he’d claimed he’d felt much better after lunch, which kept her senses busy for the most part. Which was fine with Diwa, because right now Kaffi was being a little too blunt and it he was finding it hard not to snap back in irritation. He’d been quiet during the last few hours of school, but by the time they got on the light rail, he’d started fretting and grumbling, worried that they were maybe getting a bit too excited over their grand plan. Or more precisely, the lack thereof. Diwa had to hold himself in check, as he didn’t want the other two to soak in Kaffi’s unexpected pessimism or his annoyance.

“It’s early days, Kaff,” he said as evenly as he could. “Remember, I can’t do this by myself, you know. I mean, I appreciate everyone being all in, especially you, but this isn’t going to be all on me. That’s not how we want it to run. I need all the help I can get.”

Kaffi looked down at his talons, tapping them together, drawing his mouth into a tight line. Eventually he let out a low, tiny hum; apologetic. “You’re right, Diwa,” he said quietly. “I’m sorry, I’m just nervous.”

Diwa hummed right back and stroked his shoulder, leaning in slightly. It was clear Kaffi did understand, and he’d just forgotten that unlike most humans, tintrite didn’t always hold back when something truly bothered them. “Don’t be sorry,” he said quietly. “I’ll admit I’m just as nervous as you are. I have no idea if this will even work. But we won’t know if we don’t try.”

Kaffi gently tapped a claw on his arm. He hummed again, this time soft and short; repentant. “I’m still sorry, Dee. I shouldn’t jump to conclusions like that.”

“Eiyah!” Anna-Nassi suddenly chirped from halfway up the car, flailing one of her arms to get their attention. “You two lovebirds done whispering, or are you going to let us join you?”

Kaffi scratched the ridge of his snout and let out a short laugh, relieved by the sudden shift in mood. “Issthnamii…” he sighed, glancing his way and flashing an amused fang. “She’s completely sold on us bonding, isn’t she? Kind of hard to argue when she gets on a tear.”

“She’s certainly a handful sometimes,” Diwa nodded, returning the smile. “But we love her anyway.”

“Yes, we do,” he said, and flagged them over. Anna-Nassi and Cole cheered in response and noisily moved to the back of the train, all four of them squeezing onto the low bench.

“It’s about time!” she chirped, playfully indignant and leaning heavily on Diwa’s shoulder. “I don’t trust you two when you get all quiet. Play it out for us, Dee. What are you planning?”

Diwa glanced once more at Kaffi, questioning. Was he ready to do this, or did he want to wait just a little longer? But Kaffi tapped him on the arm once more, lingering just a little longer than usual, followed by a hum and a slow nod. That was all he had to do. Kaffi did indeed understand that he might not have a full plan or know exactly what he was doing, but he trusted him to lead the way. This was the moment he’d briefly shared with Kaffi last night, and now it was about to be out in the open.

This time he was about to take the first steps to make it a reality.

He laid it out in detail during the rest of the ride home. The inheritance process would still take place, and both he and Kaffi would go through all the internships and training and committee meetings and paperwork it would take for them to get the position. Diwa’s minor wrinkle in the expected plan was that he would keep the position open for anyone else at the estate. Admittedly, he thought it was minor, but Kaffi had already voiced his reservations, and Anna-Nassi and Cole were now doing the same. They felt it was too risky, concerned that someone could come in, an outsider or someone with no experience or understanding of the position, and take over what was already a perfectly fine system and make too many unwarranted changes. Diwa argued that he trusted their fellow tenants to make the right decision and the tenancy committee to open the possible race only to those living on the estate, especially if the four of them made it their mission to establish that trust in the first place.

Once they’d all gotten over that – and jumped off the light rail for the walk back to the estate, with a brief stop at the local convenience store for snacks – Diwa expanded on his idea. If he and Kaffi were going to be co-landlords when the time came, the last thing he wanted was to have the entirety of the estate resting on their shoulders. He genuinely wanted this to be a community project. He understood reality often worked otherwise, but they’d face that when the time came. Running an apartment complex was more than just processing rent payments, renovating and fixing homes when and where necessary, and making tenants feel comfortable and secure. It was about seeing this estate as a micro-community and not just a home. And it took more than just two co-landlords to do that; that much he’d already learned from Graymar and Samuel, from lolo Daniel and Akkree, and from their mothers Shahney and Dari, and from so many others here.  He would need a team to make this work.

That’s where Anna-Nassi and Cole would come in.

They continued their conversation at one of the picnic tables on the center green. Diwa had already pulled out his tablet and had started sketching out ideas. “Annie,” he said. “You’re already following your mother as part of the tenant’s committee. Would you be willing to establish further connections with other members to streamline the communication between the different groups and their projects? Maybe stagger the deadlines? I know that’s consistently a problem since Pop likes to grouse about it all the time. Panooria does love its paperwork, but it’s a pain. Getting everything at the end of the month just creates a bottleneck. We need a quicker turnaround when we receive requests and concerns from the tenants.”

Anna-Nassi stared at him, utterly surprised at his words, but also intrigued and inspired by them. “I can do that,” she said, nodding quickly. Her wings were twitching now, the phalanges tapping away at the bench. “You mentioned the co-op earlier. I’ll ask my amma about the schedule for the hiring committee as well.”

“Good. Cole, would you be willing to immerse yourself with the co-op as well? Getting involved with it would be a great starter project for all of us.”

“That was my plan,” he smiled, giving him two thumbs up. “I will talk with my parents. And gather more information. There’s still a lot of coordination to do. But I believe they’re at the point. Where they’re no longer waiting. For paperwork and permits to go through. I’ll be working there with them. A few days a week this summer.”

“Excellent,” Diwa said, beaming. “Kaff? Anything to add?”

Diwa had been talking for so long that Kaffi was surprised by the sudden shift in attention, and for a moment he couldn’t think of anything to say. He tilted his head at Diwa, laughing nervously. “You, eh, put me on the spot there, Diwa…”

“Yup,” Anna-Nassi said, elbowing Cole. “Totally bonded.”

“Hush,” Cole whispered with a smirk. “Go ahead, Kaffi.”

Kaffi nodded. “Hmm. Well, I think you already have some great ideas. For a start at any rate.”

Diwa raised his eyebrows at him, but with a smile. “For a start?”

The bridge of his snout turned a dark bluish green. “Eiyah! Let me begin again,” he stuttered. “What I meant to say, I think these are really great kick-off ideas. The first of many. First moves to establish our presence.” He let out a nervous hum, tapping his talons on the table. “I’d like to think some more on what my – on what our roles would be, Dee.”

“Less thinking, more doing!” Anna-Nassi barked, madly waving her hands at them. “You two need to stop avoiding the obvious and start working with your padda!”

Diwa bristled, but she had a point. He’d been talking about it long enough. “Tomorrow,” he said.

She furrowed her brow and crossed her arms at them. “Why not tonight?”

“Annie, I—”

“Eiyah! No excuses!” she said, flashing one of her manic too-wide grins at him. “I’ve given you two your assignments! I’m expecting the both of you to report to me tomorrow morning confirming that you’ve started! Neh? No laziness from either of you!”

Kaffi dipped his snout downward in surprise and leaned in Diwa’s direction. “She’s worse than Miss Powers today, isn’t she?” he muttered.

“No choice then,” he said, mirroring his reaction. “Tonight it is.”

“Hmm.”

*

Glossary:
mandossi – (man-doss-ee) semi-avian biped with large gliding wings, beakish face and large fangs
lia – (lee-ah) mandossi word for feminine title, as in Mrs, Miss or Ms
eiyah – (ay-yah) mandossi all-purpose word of any kind of exclamation, from ‘yay!’ to ‘yikes!’
anó bang problema mo? – (Tagalog) What is wrong with you?
issthnamii – (eesth-nah-mee) (tintrite) general phrase of frustration or tired amusement, literally ‘give me patience’

CHAPTER THREE

Another day, another set of rounds. Samuel leaned up against the railing on the roof of Palm, enjoying the cool spring breeze while he kept watch over the estate grounds. It was midmorning already and he hadn’t yet seen Graymar, but he wasn’t too worried…sometimes he had morning flight errands he had to fulfill. He decided he’d wait up here for him until he returned.

Meanwhile, it was time to have a good long think about their sons. He’d been out on the balcony having his morning coffee when Diwa and Kaffi headed off to school. In fact, Kaffi had been waiting for Diwa on the center green for a good fifteen minutes or so, fretting and pacing, his wings fluttering nonstop. He’d looked up at Samuel at one point, waving and looking a little embarrassed. When Diwa passed him on his way out soon after, he asked him if anything had happened between them last night, which seemed to have been a dumb question to ask; Diwa screwed up his reddened face and quickly responded that everything was fine. He met Kaffi out in the parking lot, both in great moods, and took off towards the light rail station.

Samuel often wondered why Kaffi never flew to school. He would rather walk with Diwa, and he never took to the air whenever they went somewhere together. Graymar would never think twice about it if they were traveling separately; he’d be up there, soaring in lazy circles while waiting for him to reach their destination. Maybe Kaffi was waiting for his son to initiate the paired flying…? Samuel laughed quietly, remembering his own early years, asking tintrite friends to be his first flight. Gods, that had been so mortifying! He’d started so late that most tintrite had already paired up with other rides, and the others had dismissed him. Graymar had been the only one of his willing tintrite friends, and the only one who hadn’t laughed when he asked. Gray took his flight seriously; he was one of the best fliers in their age group, and fiercely proud of his abilities. It truly was like the start of a long-term relationship, figuring out each other and making so many embarrassing mistakes and getting into petty arguments, constantly worried that it wouldn’t work out. For the first year or so, he was absolutely convinced Graymar was merely waiting for the right time to tell him it wasn’t working out. But he never did, and eventually they figured out a comfortable balance and stuck with it.

Gods, how long ago was that? He laughed again, this time at how old he felt. Years of getting used to Gray’s flair for taking the occasional gut-dropping turn, and Gray accepting that Samuel was getting heavier and creakier with age. They were still a tight unit. They trusted each other, knew each other’s movements. They were best friends and always would be.

Kaffi must be longing for that.

Samuel heard the flapping of leathery wings approaching behind him. He glanced at his watch: it was nearly ten thirty. This was quite late for Graymar to return! He heard the last few wing beats then the gentle two-step drop to the roof. For such a large tintrite, his landings were always light and delicate.

“Morning, Gray,” he said, turning around. “Been busy?”

Graymar grunted and ruffled his wings with exhausted annoyance and a barely hidden wince before folding them back. He readjusted the bulging satchel he wore around his torso as he joined Samuel at the railing. “Hmm. I was up at the co-op farm,” he said, twisting and rubbing his neck to work out a sore muscle. “There’s so much paperwork we still have to sort through. And you know how I feel about paperwork.”

Samuel laughed, giving him a friendly pat on the arm. “The price we pay for being part-time couriers, Gray. Digital’s okay, but Panooria still wants physical copies. Which reminds me…are we still up for another run at the end of the month?”

Graymar patted the overstuffed bag and stretched his back, working on further soreness. “As long as it’s our lighter tenancy committee work. This lease work is only the first half of it, and it’s killing me. I’ll need to return tomorrow and get the rest. There’s more after that, but I’m choosing not to think about it right now.”

Samuel smiled and turned back to the green below, watching the tenants make their way to and from midmorning errands and jobs. “The committee’s finally taking the co-op planning process seriously then,” he said. “I’m glad. That was Cass and Carol’s idea.” Cass and Carol Caine, two hedraac high-level committee members at the estate, had floated the idea of working with a local co-op farm during the last apple harvest season to create additional income as well as providing jobs for its tenants. The committee response had been extremely positive, and they’d been given the go-ahead to make it happen. It was already the talk of the estate, and many tenants were looking forward to it.

Unfortunately, all that excitement had caused a minor but important issue, one that he too had sadly not followed up on yet. He glanced over at the rear garden and orchard just behind the eastern bungalows. The allotments at the southern end of the strip were in constant use and looked healthy as ever, but the small orchard at the northern end had been ignored for far too long. “Our own orchard needs a little revitalization, though…it’s been neglected for months now.”

“Speaking of whom,” Graymar said, nodding in the same direction. He rocked back onto his hinds and rested his arms on the bulging satchel the aching muscles seeming to have calmed down for now. “I hear their youngest son has taken an interest in the farm.”

Samuel nodded. “Cole. He’s the one with Steiner-Hedraac syndrome. He’s one of Diwa and Kaffi’s friends.”

Graymar nodded. “I happened to talk with him on the green a few days ago. He might be a quiet one, but he’s more connected to the estate than he often lets on. He brought up the issue of the orchard with me as well. He already knows and understands what the committee wants to do with the co-op. I think he’ll make a fine representative when that project goes live.”

“Good to hear,” Samuel said, and turned back to Graymar again. He was looking a bit more exhausted than usual, even for so early in the day, but didn’t say anything…he was probably just worn out from carrying all that heavy paperwork. Maybe a bit of distraction was in order. “How’s your pahyoh been?” he asked.

Graymar paused before responding, the change in subject unexpected. “Why do you ask?”

“Merely curious. Diwa and Kaffi were definitely aware that we were analyzing their game yesterday. You know how it is. Self-conscious teens hate being watched over by their parents.”

“Hmm.”

“I think Kaffi’s itching to get up in the air, Gray.”

“He does that all the time,” he shrugged, deadpan. “I wouldn’t stop him.”

“I mean with Diwa.” He waved his hand back and forth, as if the two boys were there in front of them. “You’ve seen, it, Gray, don’t tell me otherwise. Something’s going on between those two. I’ve seen it before, and I never said anything. Last night was different though, and I’m waiting for Diwa to bring it up. They’re thinking about the inheritance and the internship. They’re ready to take that next step.”

“They’ve been thinking about it for ages, Sam. Diwa only needs to ask,” he said plainly. “Nothing to be embarrassed about.”

Samuel smirked at him, knowing a classic Graymar deflection when he heard one. “Come on, Gray, this is serious. Do you remember how embarrassed I was when I approached you? I was afraid you’d laugh and fly away, like all the other tintrite did.”

Graymar grinned warmly at that, and leaned forward to touch his snout against Samuel’s forehead. “And yet here I am,” he said, humming in amusement.

“And yet here you are,” he laughed, waving him away. “Even more reason Kaffi should be the one to ask Diwa! Your son is itching to get up in the air as a ride, and he’ll want to get some paired training as soon as possible. I say, plant the seed. He’s got it mapped out already, he just needs to hear you give him the go-ahead. He’ll come to you soon, I know it. You train him however you feel necessary, and I’ll do what I can on my end to get Diwa ready for flight.”

Graymar’s snout dipped low and let out a quick snort. “You’re serious about this.”

“Of course I am!” he said, giving his friend’s mane a quick ruffle. “They’ve planned for a long time, and they’re finally ready to put it all into action. And I certainly don’t want either of them to waste their time thinking and never doing, if you know what I mean.”

Graymar stared at him for a few seconds before he lifted his snout again and looked away. “Thinking was never your main strength anyway,” he said, flashing a fang.

“And doing was never yours,” he countered, elbowing him.

“I shall talk to him soon.”

“Good. It’s a plan, then.”

*

Glossary
hedraac – (hed-rack) humanlike alien psychic vampire
Steiner-Hedraac Syndrome – a disability in hedraac that affects their vampiric abilities

Author’s Note: As you may have noticed, Diwa is not an English name; in fact, it’s Filipino. He comes from a mixed family, where his mother is Filipina and his father is white. Thus there will be the occasional Tagalog phrase that pops up here and there throughout the rest of the novel, along with a few non-human languages. I’ll do my best to provide a glossary at the end of the chapter. Special thanks to Armie Tabios and Mike Batista for double-checking my use of Tagalog!

*

CHAPTER TWO

“You think they were talking about us?”

Diwa stretched out at the end of Kaffi’s pallet bed, staring at the high ceiling. He flexed his still-stinging hands; he still couldn’t believe he caught that ball. But that was the least of his worries right now…he’d seen his father and Graymar up on the balcony during their game. They perched up there almost every day on the regular, but today they’d kept their eyes on them the entire time. Like they were being judged, and not just because of his running through the garden or that reckless throw so close to the tenants.

Kaffi huffed and twitched his snout. He sat on his hinds at the other end of the bed, his head tilted, distracted by the sky outside his window. “Of course they were talking about us!” he said and tapped his talons together. He turned to him, flashing a quick fang or two. Clearly he was not as worried or self-conscious about their fathers keeping such a close eye on them. “When they’re not talking about the old days, they’re usually complaining about something we did.”

Diwa wasn’t convinced. “They’ve been watching us a lot lately. I mean, a lot more than they usually do. Have you noticed?”

Kaffi sniffed, dipping his snout at him. “I have. We are of age, Dee. They’re going to start prodding us about inheritance and internship soon.”

“Soon?” he grinned, raising a brow at him. “You mean Gray hasn’t said anything yet? Pop’s been all passive-aggressive on me for months now. He’s trying to talk me into being more active at the tenancy meetings and estate projects, but he won’t come right out and ask.”

“Hmm. You know paddir…”

Diwa turned and propped himself up on an elbow. Kaffi had to have noticed what this was all about by now! “You want it, don’t you? Taking Graymar’s position after he retires?”

“Eiyah, if he retires, more like,” he said, dismissing him with a wave of his claws. “My paddir never lets anything go, especially his position.” He looked down at Diwa, cocking his head slightly, dark eyes studying him as the idea started to take root. “You’re still serious about this, aren’t you? You still want Samuel to give you the job? I mean, yeah, we’ve talked about it for years. I know I still want it. Don’t tell me you’re having second thoughts…?”

Diwa blushed, quickly waving off that suggestion. “No! No, it’s more like…” He stuttered to a halt, looking away in embarrassment. “Never mind. It’s dumb.”

Kaffi waved a taloned hand back at him. “What if it is?”

Ai, he wasn’t going to let this go, was he? He was just like Graymar when he did that. Diwa dropped back down on the bed with a frustrated grunt. “Pop’s position has been handed down through five generations of my family, Kaff. It’s always been an inheritance. Sure, they were all legitimate, voted through by the tenancy committee and made official by the Tenancy Board in Panooria. No major complaints, no repeals, nothing. Meanwhile, I’m at the point where I’ve started making rounds through the estate to get to know the tenants, so they can get to know me. Same thing Pop did, same thing lolo Daniel did.”

Kaffi hummed, slow and questioning; concerned. He dropped down to all fours and hunched near him. “I hear a ‘but’ somewhere in there.”

Diwa glanced at him, comforted by his closeness. “It doesn’t seem right to me somehow, Kaff. It would be handing the position to me, whether I was ready or not. I want—I need to work for it.”

“Who says you’re not? You just said so yourself. You’re doing the rounds—”

He waved his hand in the air again. “I don’t mean that.”

“What do you mean, then?”

Ai, this was such a dumb thing to get so upset and obsessed over! “I know the tenants like me. But they like me because they like Pop. And they like you because they like Graymar. I’m just…”

Kaffi hummed, soft and high; sympathetic. “You think they’ll expect us to run the estate the exact same way,” he said. “As if we were Samuel and Graymar ourselves.”

“Told you it was stupid.”

“Hmm. I don’t think so,” he said, softly tapping a talon on Diwa’s arm. “I think you have a strong case. You want to prove yourself as a capable future landlord and not just an inheritor. And I agree! I love my paddir, but I am most definitely not the same as him. I’d rather let them know the real Kaffi before I take the position.”

Diwa glanced at him in surprise. “You agree with me?”

“Of course I do.”

“You don’t think I’m overreacting?”

Kaffi snorted. “You? Overreact?”

He hit Kaffi’s arm with a soft backhand. “Very funny.”

“So how are we going to go about it, then?”

A good question, and one he’d been asking himself for over a month now. “I’m not sure yet,” he said eventually. “I’ll continue with the rounds, do whatever needs doing. I’ll have to get with Pop soon to register the internship to make it official…”

“Hmm.”

After a moment he smirked and caught his eye once more. “You said ‘we’.”

“Took you long enough,” Kaffi said, snorting and prodding him once more. “Look, Diwa. Whatever you choose to do about this, it’ll affect me as well. We’ve both wanted this since for years, and we’ve always planned to do it as a team. We both need to prove ourselves, yes? You tell me how we should approach it, and we’ll do it together.”

Diwa face burned. That had been the plan all along, but… “Kaff…?”

But Kaffi would have none of it. He pushed himself back up onto his hinds, his wings twitching slightly. “It makes sense that we do so in tandem. We still have some issues to sort through, but we can get through them, side by side as always.”

Diwa gave him a nervous laugh. “We’re best friends, Kaff. We’re not bonded.”

Kaffi laughed as well, though Diwa caught the twitch of wings again. Kaffi usually hid his own embarrassment quite well, but his wings were always the giveaway. “No, we’re not,” he conceded, catching his eye again, as if to provide an unspoken not yet, anyway in there somewhere. He ruffled his wings once more before settling them and dropped back down to all fours. “But I’ll stand by your decision regardless,” he added lightly.

Diwa looked away, focusing on the ceiling again. He felt an unexpected wave of relief, and he wasn’t sure if it was because he’d shared his concerns with his best friend and possible future co-landlord, or that Kaffi had so willingly decided to stick by his side all this time. They both had a hard path ahead of them as potential inheritors and having a close ally would make things so much easier. He smiled and felt stupid for it, but he didn’t care. Somehow, his future looked a lot clearer.

Right beside him, Kaffi hummed and smiled in response.

*

Diwa left Building C and began the walk back across the central green to Palm. The sun had already started to set behind the community center building off to his right, and the streetlights were starting to flicker on with a quiet electric hum. This was a slow time of day for the estate; most of the younger kids had already gone home to start their schoolwork and have dinner with their families, and Diwa was just about to do so himself. A few other tenants were walking across the green, some on their way home from work and others returning from errands. He recognized most of them and waved hello as he passed by, but he didn’t stay or linger to talk. An older, exhausted aanoupii trudged up the driveway in dirty overalls and carrying a toolbox, absently brushing dust from his bovine-like horns, heading to one of the eastern bungalows. A young tintrite from Building E flying in lazy practice circles above the trees. The chatty elderly mandossi ladies from Building B sat at one of the picnic tables, twittering and giggling as they shared the latest gossip. The new young human tenant couple, heading over to Building A, nervous in their still unfamiliar surroundings.

Behind him on the roof of Building C, Kaffi’s paddir had roosted at the edge. Graymar would always be up there in his favorite spot around this time, as part of his rounds. Diwa imagined he could feel the tintrite’s eyes on him, watching him cross the central green. Some evenings he’d look up and wave, and sometimes Graymar would wave back. Tonight however, he kept his eyes on his own building, the shorter and squatter Palm. His family’s apartment was dead center, on the fifth floor and right next to the middle open stairwell. Sometimes he’d see his father there, but tonight he must be inside, fiddling around in his office.

Off in the distance, he heard the chime of the local church bells, signaling that it was six o’clock. It was almost time for dinner.

*

Diwa’s bedroom was tiny and compact compared to Kaffi’s cavernous nestroom, but for him it was just the right size. His bed, his desk, a few other amenities, maybe a couple of posters and a radio, that’s all he needed. He spent far more time over at Kaffi’s place anyway, but when he was here at home and needed time alone, spartan was definitely the way to go. Unlike his father, he tried not to distract himself too often, as it always felt like wasting time. He liked to be connected, either with his family, with his friends or the other tenants. This bedroom was the one place in this estate that was truly his own, and he treasured that, though he would happily share it with his friends whenever they came over.

He still had a little bit of time before dinner was ready, so he turned on his computer and called up his homework for the evening. It was spring semester, which meant that many of his teachers had begun assigning term papers and final projects. Diwa always made sure that he got these done ahead of time, even despite his occasional frustration in maintaining interest in them. There was the added stress of Future Calling – he hated the corny name, but it was part of the curriculum – in which he had to complete a final conversation with the school’s guidance counselor, giving a final report of impending internship, employment, or calling once he graduated.

The idea of having a Future Calling chat hadn’t bothered him originally. He’d known it was coming because of his older brother Aldrine having gone through it some years ago, and he already knew he was in line for Samuel’s job. But over the past few months, the idea of having to go through this song and dance for other people’s benefit had started to grate on him. Was he making this report for his own peace of mind, or for everyone else’s? His conversation with Kaffi hadn’t been mere teenage irritation. He didn’t want to go through with the report if it was just a waste of time. And he certainly didn’t want to work from a script everyone else expected him to read.

He brought up a vidchat window and signed in. Kaffi was already online, his head taking up most of the window. His eyes were focused on his own homework and he was typing up a storm. For a tintrite with long and taloned fingers, he was an amazingly fast at it. “Hey you,” he chirped.

“Hey,” Diwa said, opening one of his own documents, a report for his literature class. “What are you working on?”

Kaffi’s eyes popped up to his camera, and they briefly locked eyes. “Lia Weiss’s history paper. You?”

“Mr. Marcus’s book report,” he groaned. “If I can manage to write a few hundred more words to pad it out, I think I might have something worth handing in. Journey of the Bloodstone is such a boring book, I don’t even know why it gets assigned.”

“It’s a parable about unjust living conditions,” Kaffi said with a grin, raising a brow at him. “Or did the Sledgehammer of Obvious Symbolism miss your head again?”

“Very droll, Kaff. Seriously, it’s just so outdated. I mean, I get the message. It’s one of those ‘demands for social justice’ sort of things, and I’m all for that. But the prose is just so outdated, not to mention very problematic in certain places, that it’s lost its bite. We’d be better off reading something more recent from Candleman or Laura-Dhenashhi instead. Same exact message, just more relevant to this century. And just a tad less xenophobic.”

“Did you put that in your paper?”

“Well, no, but—”

“Why not? That’s a very valid point, and I feel the same way about that book. I’m sure the others in the class would agree. I don’t know what Alio Marcus would say, but I doubt he would dock you a grade for being sincere about its issues that have crept up over time.”

“Hmm. You have a point.”

“Don’t I always?”

“Smartass.”

“Hoy, Diwa!” he heard from the hallway. “Dumating kana pala!”

“That’s ina,” he smiled.  “I’m heading to dinner. I’ll be back in a few.”

“I’ll be here. Tell her I said hello.”

Diwa stood up, stretched, and started to head towards the dining room, feeling a bit distracted. He glanced at the screen, out of camera shot, and watched his friend typing away, humming a light tune. Kaffi certainly had been full of positive ideas today. They’d had this kind of conversation plenty of times in the past, but lately it felt as if his friend was…?

Nah, couldn’t be.

He shook that idea out of his head and joined his family at the table.

*

Kaffi headed to dinner at the same time as Diwa. It had been Iliah’s turn to make dinner this time, and his ahmané had created a feast of meats, cheeses and greens displayed on a wide tray on the kotatsu, along with tall, fluted glasses of water and fruit juice. It was a simple dinner, but Iliah had made it look quite fancy. Long strips of finely cut grilled beef were spread out on a serving board next to cubes of cheddar, swiss and goat’s milk cheeses, slices of cucumber, with individual bowls of spinach and rocket leaves nearby. Kaffi had always been impressed by her culinary creativity, learned from her years at the city university and various food service internships. Kaffi had even come to the table earlier than usual, hoping to get a good look at the layout before it vanished. Graymar was the last to enter the dining room, muttering an apology for his delay. He hummed low and slow as he approached the table, highly impressed by Iliah’s presentation. She flashed him a wide grin and chirped at the family to dig in. Shahney, Kaffi’s manae, continued to praise even after they’d finished and settled in for the evening.

Kaffi watched his paddir exit the apartment again soon after everyone had finished eating. Graymar had uttered few words during dinner, ruffled his wings, and mumbled a few more before returning to the roof. Sometimes Kaffi wished he’d say something, anything, for a change…but he was set in his ways, just like other elder tintrite males. He wasn’t angry at him for barely speaking to his own family in the evenings, because Graymar took his position very seriously. He was up there again, doing his final scan before turning in. He did this every single night without fail, regardless of weather. He’d come down in an hour or so, join Shahney in their nestroom for some reading, and they’d all turn in around ten.

“Hey, little ahpadhé,” Iliah sang, shaking him out of his thoughts. She’d sidled up to him under the now cleaned kotatsu, nudging at his shoulder with the pad of her palm. “Something on your mind?”

Kaffi ruffled his wings and let out a tiny hum. “Thinking about the future, ahmané,” he said.

She laughed quietly. “So formal! It must be important.”

“It is,” he said, and felt the bridge of his snout beginning to heat up. He could never hide his emotions from Iliah. They’d always been close siblings, even with the five-year difference in age. He knew he could trust her with his most personal thoughts and emotions, and would treat him as an adult. “When you wanted to go to culinary school,” he said too quickly, then stopped. Ai, why was he so nervous? He shook his wings and let them settle again. He started again, slower this time. “What drove you to your decision?”

Iliah flashed a pleased fang at him and cocked her head. She had their manae’s inquisitive dark blue eyes that made her easy to approach, and her silky black mane, though she’d let hers grow long so it would flop over to one side. Just like Shahney, she looked so confident! “So many things!” she sang. “So many people! Manae taught us both how to cook when we were younglings, but I found I really enjoyed it. I loved the creation of the dish, everything that goes into it. The balance of the flavors, the scents, even the presentation. And the pleasure! The happiness I see in others’ eyes when they genuinely enjoy my creation is the best part! I started working with Diwa’s mother whenever there was a banquet at the community center.  I also picked up a few techniques from our neighbors. By the time Lydia hunted me down, I knew exactly what my report was going to say.”

Kaffi sniffed in amusement at the mention of their school’s guidance counselor. Lydia Powers made sure all her kids graduated with a completed Future Calling goal and would not leave any student alone until she got an answer out of each one of them. “Yes…lia Powers has been prodding us lately, now that you mention it.”

She tipped her snout at him. “Is that what’s on your mind?” she asked. “She means well, you know. She’ll hound you, but she really does care.”

“It’s part of it…” Kaffi said, fidgeting with his hands in an attempt to keep his wings calm. “Diwa and I had an interesting talk earlier today. About future plans. You know, about inheritance.”

Iliah hummed and nodded sagely. “The two of you have been talking about that since middle school.”

Kaffi let his wings twitch slightly and gave her a tiny smile. “Diwa’s taking it more seriously. We’ve been talking about it more, you know, following through with it. And I’m…well, I want to be there with him to make it happen.”

“The two of you are of internship age. Is that it?”

It was a lot more than that, but he didn’t feel ready to admit that aloud just yet. “I think so. At least most of it, anyway. I’m excited about it, but not anxious,” he said. “Maybe a little nervous. Is this truly what we want?”

Iliah bobbed her snout, her whiskers twitching slightly. She let out a slow ascending hum of empathy. “I understand now. And I know you, Kaffi. You’re impulsive, just like paddir is, but you’ll always go with what’s truly in your heart.” She leaned up against him, humming and prodding her snout lightly against his. “Trust yourself, ahpadhé. Go with what you feel is truest to you. That’s exactly what I did.”

Kaffi felt a weight lifted from his wings and ruffled them slightly before settling them again. Ai, that was exactly what he needed to hear. He leaned his snout against hers and hummed in response. “Thank you.”

*

Kaffi tapped his monitor back to life and noticed the vidchat window was still blank. Diwa hadn’t yet returned, which was unlike him. He wondered if they’d just missed each other, or if he was still with his family. He felt a bit silly and self-conscious worrying about this, but it wouldn’t go away. They’d had evening sessions before where they barely shared two words and then went their separate ways, but tonight it felt different. It felt unfinished. He kept the vidchat window open while he continued with his homework.

When Diwa did finally reappear a half hour later he felt relieved, but to his surprise he also felt an unexpected wave of excitement. He’d felt this before, plenty of times, whenever they returned to their vidchats, or even when they crossed paths at school. It was a simple joyful connection between them, just it always had been.

So why did he feel different about it now? Was it because of their conversation earlier today? He and Diwa had always been extremely close, but that one moment when he’d completely bared his emotions to him, it felt like something had changed. It was a deeper connection. He’d joked about it then, about being bonded, but now that he thought about it, perhaps he hadn’t been joking much about it at all.

Their conversation the rest of the evening was light and jovial and nothing of importance, just like most nights. He enjoyed every moment of it, just like he always did.

Only tonight, it felt a little more important to him.

He chose not to say anything about it just yet however. All he wanted to do is keep this the way it was for now. That would make him happy.

*

“Diwa. Hoy! Diwa! Nandiyan ka ba sa loob?”

Diwa stood at the kitchen sink with his younger sister Maricel, cleaning the last of the dishes and pots, but his mind was already elsewhere. Mari was prodding him in the temple with a finger. She might have inherited their mother’s diminutive stature and her strikingly dark hair, which she’d pulled back into a tight ponytail, but she’d also taken on her no-nonsense level of patience. She was the most active of the entire family, even more so than Diwa, and couldn’t stand it when her older brothers dawdled and lost themselves in thought. And she rarely ever held anything back. It was as frustrating as it was endearing.

“Sorry, Mari,” he said, finally taking the plate she’d been holding in front of his face for the last few seconds. He dried it and stacked it with the others on the counter to be put away when they were done.

“Ano ba…?” she huffed and rolled her eyes, scrubbing away at the next plate. “If this is what being an adult is like, I’ll stay a kid.”

“No, it’s just me,” he said, waving away her concern. “Just got a lot of things on my mind lately.”

“You sound like Papa,” she sniffed.

“I do not!” he shot back, his face heating up. “I’m graduating at the end of this school year and I have to make a decision about what I’ll do next.”

“You’re going to inherit, duh,” she teased. “You’ve been talking my ears off about it for years. Or have you decided to do something else?”

He faltered, looking away. “I’m…yeah, I’m going to inherit,” he said weakly, taking the next plate from her. “Kaffi and I just had a talk about it earlier today, is all. I’ve been thinking about how I want it to unfold. You know, instead of just having it handed to us.”

“I could do it too, you know,” she snorted. “I might be a few years younger than you, but I’m just as smart.”

“And as irritable as Graymar,” he said with a grin, elbowing her.

“Am not!”

“Hoy!” they heard from the next room. “Quiet down, you two! Finish the dishes and get started on your homework!”

“Okay, ina,” they said in cherubic unison, glancing at each other and laughing quietly.

They finished the cleaning and Diwa put all the dishes away while Mari leaned up against the sink, waiting for him. “You take this so seriously, Diwa,” she said. “I mean, I’m impressed and all, but I worry about you. You shut yourself up like Pop sometimes.”

He hummed, delaying his response. It was true, he did hold himself back like his father, more often than he’d like to admit. It irritated him that he’d picked up that trait. Samuel wasn’t distant or cold at all, he would just have moments where he’d get quiet and retreat to his musty and crowded back office for an hour or so to distract himself. Diwa would go and visit him now and again, just to make sure he didn’t completely shut everyone away, and his father seemed to truly appreciate that, but there was indeed something there that weighed heavy on his mind, and no one in this family knew what it was.

Diwa did not want to fall into that same trap.

“Kaffi and I were talking about our inheritance earlier. I…may have brought up the idea of approaching it in a different way,” he ventured.

She gave him an uneasy glare. “How different?”

“I don’t know yet,” he said, and delayed again as he put the last of the dishes away. “We’d start the internship, but we’d also open the position up to anyone else who might be interested.”

Mari crossed her arms and huffed at him. “Ai, nababaliw kana ba, Diwa? You’re willing to lose the family inheritance?”

“Of course not. I believe we can still win it. But on our terms. Me and Kaffi’s.”

That response didn’t seem to calm her any. “Right…” she said slowly. “You two are weird, you know that?”

Diwa smiled at her. “Love you too, ate.”

“Seriously, Dee. That’s taking a big chance. You really want to go that route?”

“I do.”

“And how are you going to do it?”

He hummed and looked away. “I don’t know…a full election? We’re still working it out.”

Mari groaned in response and squeezed his shoulder. “Just…don’t do anything stupid, okay? Talk to Pop or Mama first if you need to.”

“I will. Thanks again.”

She smiled and gave him a hard punch on the arm. “Or talk to me first if you’re too afraid. Don’t be an idiot!”

“Ow. I won’t. Promise.”

“Good.”

Diwa returned to his room a little later than usual and was surprised to see Kaffi on the other end of the vidchat window. It wasn’t often that they had late night conversations, especially if they’d already been hanging out all day long. It was all about mundane things anyway – school, family, their friends, the evolution of their catch game. Kaffi was uncharacteristically laid back and serious now. Any other time he was ready with a joke or a laugh, hiding behind his humor and his obsession with flying. In a way, it was nice seeing his mature, quieter side; it made Diwa feel even more confident that they could make this inheritance thing work. Now all they needed to do was make a plan that made sense.

*

Glossary:
tintrite is pronounced tin-treet
Lia – mister (tintrite)
dumating kana pala – come to dinner (Tagalog)
ahpadhé (ah-pah-day) – brother (tintrite)
nandiyan ka ba sa loob? – Are you in there? (Tagalog)
ano ba…? – this is ridiculous (Tagalog)