Maxis sat at the front of the bar with Ren, ice clinking in his glass. Ren spent some time explaining the appearance of the Lurker and why the fight turned out the way it did. For the most part, Maxis understood, and while this was unfortunately par for the course for his brother from another mother, he’d still berate him for making such a dumb mistake.

“Did you really have to blow your arm off, though?” Maxis asked with a raised brow. He meant it in good faith, but Ren insisted.

“Nah, nah, man. You don’t get it! This fucker was huge.” Ren spread his arms wide to express the size of the creature. “I can’t even stretch far enough. You should’ve seen it.”

“Maybe I should have.”

A Denizen—a minotaur, and Maxis’s father—dressed in a navy-blue bartender’s vest approached. Waves of dark hair framed his bull-like features like a barbarian. He bore a golden hoop around both his left ear and his septum. A set of black-framed glasses sat atop his nose comfortably, his golden eyes carrying power and intelligence in equal measure. The wood of the counter squeaked as he leaned on it.

“How was class, son?” he asked, looking at Maxis. This was Sigg, the owner of the bar. He was a stern man, strong and reliable like many minotaurs. He was just as powerful as he appeared, though it was rare he demonstrated his strength.

“Just fine.” Maxis sneered as Ren. “Though I heard this troublemaker threw paper airplanes at us during class.”

Sigg eyed Ren.

“Hey man, that’s a lie, and you know it… it was one paper airplane,” Ren corrected.

Sigg sighed. “Well, I didn’t hear anything from your professors, so I can only assume you’re not in trouble because of it.”

“Probably exaggerating, anyway. They always make it sound like the end of the world whenever Ren shows up.” Maxis shook his head. “It was kind of a nice break, anyway.”

The bell clinked behind them, indicating a customer had just walked in.

Ren swiveled around in his chair to see June and Amber. “Hey, Sis. Hey Amber.”

June growled. “Ren. You’re supposed to be resting.”

“And what better way to rest than at Sigg’s?” he shrugged.

Amber giggled. She was a jewel of a person with. Violets, oranges, and yellows traveled like a gradient toward the tips of her hair. A white dress with frills of blue at the hem brought attention to her long legs, and showed off the tattoo on her left shoulder. A golden ring hung from her septum, her eyes a stunning gold.

“Be easy on him,” Amber said. She pecked June on the cheek and turned around, waving goodbye to her and Ren both. “Love you, sweetheart! See you later tonight, Ren!”

“See ya!” Ren waved back. He clapped his hands together, once. “You know what? She just reminded me. I should go pick up Sunny.”

“What?” June looked aghast. “No! Rest! She can handle the bus for one day!”

“Yeah, she could,” Ren said, brushing past her, “but she’ll be so much happier to see me instead! Have a nice shift, Sis!”

“Ren!”

---

Ren pulled up to the school entrance and shifted the vehicle into park. It’d been a few minutes since school had gotten out, so he didn’t have much time to look for her.

“Guess I’ll just hang around the buses,” Ren mumbled.

Right on cue, Sunny came walking down the steps from the school. A couple of girls were trailing behind her, giggling. Ren smiled until one of the girls put her gum in Sunny’s hair.

“The hell?” Ren got out of the car and slammed the door shut, then jogged up to the group of girls with a furrowed brow. “You want to tell me why you just did that?” He looked down at a girl with long blonde hair and blue eyes. She wore the same arrogant sneer that all bullies wore.

“W-Well, she started it!” the girl cried.

“I did not!” Sunny retorted. “Stop picking on me!”

“Go on, you heard her,” Ren warned. “Otherwise, you’ll have to deal with me. And trust me,” he said as he went down on one knee, so his gaze was level with the girl, “you don’t want to deal with me.”

The girl’s eyes widened, and she motioned to her friends. They were gone in a flash, scrambling onto the school bus.

“Thanks,” Sunny said.

“Don’t mention it, squirt. But next, fight back,” Ren said, rising to his feet. “If you let them get away with it, they’ll think they can just keep picking on you. Trust me, I’ve been there. It’s worth going to detention for it.”

“I’ll… try,” Sunny said under her breath.

“I don’t see Benji,” Ren said, craning his head over the crowd.

“Benji had to leave early today,” Sunny explained. “He’s sick.”

“Oh, that sucks. Well, hey! We’re watching movies with Amber tonight, remember?”

“Yeah!” Sunny’s smile returned. Ren couldn’t help but reciprocate the gesture. “I’m excited! What are we going to watch?”

“Dunno. But Amber knows how to pick them. Just hope none of it’s romance.”

“What’s wrong with romance?” Sunny frowned. “Is it ‘cuz you don’t get any dates?”

“First of all, ow. Secondly, that’s none of your… ahh, it doesn’t matter. Come on, we’re getting out of here.”

“Okay!”

An hour later, Ren was on the couch with Sunny and Amber, two bowls of popcorn and three glasses of soda at the ready. Sunny sat between Amber and Ren, bobbing side to side happily.

“Okay, Amber, I’m trusting you not to make the same mistake you did last time,” Ren said, his palms held out. “No romance, right?”

Amber rolled her eyes but giggled. “No romance. Not this time. But you really should open your mind to it. I was able to convince June, so I think you’ll come around eventually.”

“Nah, nah, nah, that’s different. You two are an item, so that’s easy stuff. I’m just… well, here, ya know?”

Amber shook her head. “Give it a try sometime. Maybe you just haven’t found the right movie yet.”

“Ehh, I don’t know about that.” He breathed out and turned on the TV. “Let’s see what you got picked out for us.”

---

“Need anything else before I leave, Sigg?” June asked as she peeked around the doorframe.

“Did you get the glasses cleaned?” Sigg asked from behind the counter.

“Sure did,” said June.

Sigg stood up, whipping a towel over his shoulder. “Then you’re good to—” He frowned. “Hang on. Do you hear that?”

June looked out the front window, squinting. Across the street were two cars with their brights on. They screeched through the neighborhood with reckless abandonment, giving June and Sigg pause. As the vehicles turned into their street, the windows rolled down, and two unidentified people pointed their guns at the bar.

“Get down!” Sigg screamed.

“Eat lead, freak!” screamed one of the men.

Sigg and June dove for cover as bullets soared through the air. Glass shattered, and wood splintered, sending bits of broken glass and gnarled remnants of the counter to the ground. The seconds that passed felt like minutes. The smell of burned rubber permeated the air, and the wheels screeched into the distance.

“Are you okay?” Sigg asked as he rose to his feet.

“Y-Yeah, I think so,” June said, gently shaking the small pieces of glass and wood away from her clothes. When she saw blood, she gasped. “Sigg! You’re hurt!”

Sigg furrowed his brow and looked down at the wound in his bicep. A thin line of blood oozed out from the hole. With a grunt, Sigg plucked the bullet from his skin and rolled his shoulder. “A flesh wound.”

“What a relief,” June said, sighing.

Sigg grunted. If they were there for him, they should’ve known to pack better heat. Were they stupid, or was this some sort of trick?

“Shit,” June breathed. “W-What do we do now?”

Sigg examined the bullet between his index and thumb fingers, then crushed it in his hand before dropping the mangled metal on the ground.