In Part 4 (Ch. 26-36), Emilie finally told everyone just what she was, and what that meant for the future of the town. More specifically, she let them know that there was a threat of extreme violence hanging over her head. To prepare, she’s been added to the high school’s combat training, while everyone else also gets ready for a fight.
Al and Dad were in the den before the pizza arrived, but they came out to eat. They’ve spent a lot of time in there lately, although I’m not sure what they’ve been doing. Dad has a workbench in there for model painting, and that’s where they’ve been standing, but normally he does that by himself. Most of his models decorate our shelves, although I think he and Mom have given away or sold a few. I’ve never seen him set up a booth at the farmer’s market, but I know some models aren’t on display anymore.
Our meal finished, I glance away from the cake towards the modest pile of presents. I know some kids gather lots of friends and get lots of presents for their birthdays, but I’m happy with my small group. We know each other a lot better than the broader group I just consider “friendly.” I’m a little frustrated that my element doesn’t help with guessing presents, though. I can guarantee none are pets, but that’s about it.
Dad spots my glance. “I’d say we have time for presents before part two.”
“Part two?” I ask. I never requested more to the party.
“We’ve got the outdoor stadium reserved for the night,” he answers, smiling.
“That was supposed to be a surprise!” Jess explodes.
Dad looks to her. “Tell me, how were you going to blindfold her magic senses?”
Jess breathes in. “… Oh.”
I look pointedly at Jess. “This was from you?”
“Well, my present is best enjoyed outside, and I thought you might like some privacy for it, and…” She trails off.
“No, it’s great! Although I am wondering what else you got me, now.”
Jess grins mischievously. I didn’t expect an answer.
Impatient, Alex gets to her feet and grabs a present, handing it to me. “We’re all wondering what’s in these, too.”
I look at the label. “I hope you know what’s in this one, since it’s from you.”
Her face turns visibly red. Her complexion makes that hard to achieve, although I can pick out lighter blushes by heat if I concentrate. “Just open it.” She definitely didn’t grab her own on purpose.
The box is of a size and shape that reminds me of a jewelry box, but there’s no way that’s what’s inside. Rather than guessing, however, I do what Alex asked and unwrap it, removing the paper in such a way that it lies relatively flat in the trash bin. Tearing the paper just makes it take longer since you have to turn over the present so many times. Instead, I try to unwrap gifts similar to how they were wrapped in the first place. With the cardboard now uncovered, I split the tape over the opening and find… packing paper. “There’s a gift in here, right?” The box is pretty light.
Alex gives me an “are you serious?” look. “It’d rattle around if I didn’t do that.”
“Just making sure.”
“I’m not that careless!”
Before she made her last response, I was already poking around in the paper. Finding something firm, I give it a tug and find myself holding a key ring with five clay charms on it: wolf, cat, fox, lizard and Dragon. The Dragon is made to look like Brice, the orange dragon of Atlanta, but I suppose there’s no escaping the fact that I can now identify all the Dragons in the world. It’ll make some keepsakes a little awkward, but it’s a little hard to come up with a design for a dragon that doesn’t exist. I can’t fault the artist.
Alex catches me contemplating the Dragon charm. “No good? I tried to find one that—”
“It’s fine, Alex!” I cut her off. “Being able to name the Dragon doesn’t make me appreciate the gift less.”
“You can name it?”
I nod. “This is Brice. Between him and the storms, I wouldn’t want to live in Florida. Although I guess you prepare buildings for both in about the same way.”
Dad shakes his head. “The opposite. Underground is best for the Dragon, but you don’t want to get flooded by storms. Thankfully, it doesn’t seem like he wants to be around during a storm, either.” He spots my friends staring at him. “I do work for places I don’t live, too. And for that, I need to know building regulations.” My friends already know he’s an architect.
Shannon is next to bring me a present. Whatever it is, it’s very light for the size of the box. She doesn’t give any sort of preamble, so I just open it. This time, there’s not any sort of packing blocking my view: the blue felt dragon is immediately visible. Curious, I pull it out of the box for an examination. There’s no mistaking it. “How did you get a plush of me?”
“There are people who make custom plushes. I got a pattern for a different dragon from one and took it to another in that one town.” Oh! That makes sense. I nod. Since we’re not supposed to talk about Rich Creek, “that one town” is the phrase we decided on for talking about it. And I guess that between the isolation and all the children with claws, custom plushes would be a good business. Since the people there actually know who I am, I bet the creator of this plush will be making a few more.
This is a little awkward in a completely different way to Alex’s Dragon charm. But I do still like dragons. “Thanks!” I say with a smile. And then I turn to look at Al as he audibly sighs in relief. “What?”
His face gets a little warmer. “Oh, uh, well, you’ve always been easy to shop for. I was hoping that hadn’t changed.” Probably because he got me another item related to Dragons, I bet. He is right, though. My bookshelf is filled with all sorts of Dragon-related books and decorations.
Left on the pile is a small box like Alex’s, and one that reminds me of a clothing box. I break the streak and grab the short, wide box that is as light as I’d expect for clothing. Unwrapping it confirms that the contents are indeed clothing. I hold up the mysterious thick black band that was on top.
“For covering your ears,” Mom explains. “The box has winter jogging outerwear. It should trap the air you need without being too heavy.”
Oh! That’s why she was asking me how Fred’s Thermal Regulator worked. “That’s great! Thank you!” I pull out the rest of the clothing: a forest-green jacket and some thin black pants. Good color choice. I like blue plenty, but I don’t think I need more of it.
“I know you’ll probably grow out of them soon, but we can go back when that happens,” Mom continues.
I blink. Have I not told her? Actually, I might not have told anyone, now that I think about it. “Um… you do know that Dragons… usually live a really long time, right?”
Jess and Al show that I’m saying something that’s not obvious to everyone.
“No Dragon’s ever died of old age. I don’t age like normal anymore. Now that I can use my magic, anyway. It’s not that I’m stuck like this forever, but, well, the oldest Dragons are millennia old, and still look like young adults, according to the Mymoir.” I don’t know how old “young adult” is, but even if I looked twenty-five when I was 3000, I’d say I’m aging pretty slowly.
Dad does some quick math. “So you’re saying the clothes will wear out long before you outgrow them.”
I nod. “Pretty much.” I’m relieved he’s taking it so well. At least, for now.
“Looks like you’ll be my little sister forever,” Al jokes.
I breathe a laugh and roll my eyes. “I’d be your little sister forever anyway. It’s not like I can somehow become older than you.”
“Ha!” He looks like he’s entertaining the thought. “Alright. You saved best for last. How about checking my gift?”
“Mine’s still to come,” Jess points out.
“Then I guess she can decide later. But I’m still gonna win.”
I chuckle as I pick up the surprisingly heavy box. There’s definitely something metal in it for that much weight. That or sand, but I don’t collect hourglasses. The unwrapped box reveals packing paper, but not nearly as much as Alex used. Under the packing paper is the second image of myself that I’ve received tonight: this one, a painted metal model. “Oh, wow! Thanks, Dad!”
He laughs and shakes his head. “I helped, but your brother’s the one who came up with it, and the one who painted it.”
My eyes widen as I look it over more closely. “It’s really good, Al!”
Al is the one who laughs this time, albeit sheepishly. “It helps that there’s only two colors on the model. Three if you count accents.” White for horns and claws, black for accents, and blue for everything else.
“I guess that would help,” I reply with a giggle. There’s got to be more in the box, though. This isn’t that heavy. Removal of a little more paper reveals… a memory cube?
“We used it to get the model made,” Dad answers my confused expression. “Where do you think I get all the stuff I paint?”
“I never really thought about it,” I answer honestly.
“Oh!” Jess exclaims. “I made the record when I had you pose. I wondered what Al wanted that for.”
That was two weeks ago. Wait! “You’ve never even seen me when I’m big yet, have you?” I ask Al.
“I’ve seen the record. And the model, I guess.”
“Jess reserved the whole stadium, right? Let’s fix that tonight.”
“After you see my present!”