Iris sshed with her bloodsaber and missed the small, bug like void monster.

  “Alright, this guy is really freaking annoying!” She yelled. “Maia, do the thing!”

  “No!” Maia said as she sshed with her own bloodsaber at the bug and missed. “It’s really embarrassing.”

  “There’s nobody else around! The rest of our pod’s fighting in another forest!” Iris said. “You know I won’t make fun of you for it.”

  Maia groaned. “You know someone’s gonna show up as soon as I do it.”

  “Just do it really quick!” Iris said. “This is the st one we have to fight today.”

  The bug void monster zipped away further in the forest.

  “Great, now we gotta track it down again,” Iris said. “If you just did the thing, we could have been done already!”

  “Shut up,” Maia said.

  “I say we either have you do the thing whech it again, or I’m gonna go get Amara and she —”

  “Absolutely not.” Maia said. “Why don’t you use a thing you do? Like some of your i powers, maybe?”

  “You know my gift is pretty useless here,” Iris said. “Unless you’ve figured out a way to make energy ribbons do anything other than flutter to the ground and look pretty before I did.”

  “Well, maybe we could use some pretty in this pce,” Maia said. “Might brighten the mood a bit.”

  Maia’s ears went back.

  “What is it? Do you hear it?” Iris asked.

  “Not the void monster,” Maia said, her face turning into a scowl. “But about the equivalent, really.”

  Iris could hear it then, too. Two voices arguing as they got closer.

  “I thought they were oher side of the field…” Iris said.

  “You just had to say her name,” Maia said. “That brought her over.”

  “Maybe you’re too harsh on them,” Iris said.

  “I’m not,” Maia said. “I just really don’t want to be around them.”

  But despite her wishes to not be around them, Amara and KJ pranced into sight, ed up in their own world. KJ had her camera on a tripod that she carried at her side.

  “I’m at thirty-seven-, Amara,” KJ said. “I got it on film!”

  “Your camera’s digital,” Amara said. “Digital, you buffoon!”

  “Even so, we ted,” KJ said. “Or do you wao get Rain?”

  “Fine, you got thirty-seven!” Amara said. “And I got thirty-six. So I just need one more to tie. And then one more to beat you!”

  “I think it was thirty-five,” KJ said. “So you’d wo more to tie. And three more to beat me.”

  “Yeah, well you missed one.”

  “Let’s just go back,” Maia said. Iris grabbed her arm as she turned around.

  “We o get this thi!” Iris said. “We’re so close to being like pletely caught up!’

  “I’d legitimately take losing all our progress today to not have to ask them for—"

  “Hiya Amara and KJ,” Iris said. KJ and Amara turned, apparently not notig Iris until she spoke. “No Rain?”

  “Hello, Iris,” Amara said. “Yes, our dear Rain had a priagement and couldn’t plete this practice session.”

  “That decreases my enjoyment somewhat.” Iris muttered to herself.

  “We’re having a petition,” KJ said.

  “We don’t care,” Maia said.

  “I’m winning,” KJ said.

  “Debatable,” Amara said.

  “What are you peting over?” Iris asked.

  “Whoever get more void monsters,” Amara said. “Only the winner show the footage we’re putting together to Rain.”

  “I’m going to win, and show the footage to Rain,” KJ said. “It’s my camera so it’s like poetic justice or something.”

  “Well, good luck,” Iris said. “There’s only one void monster left over here.”

  “So yeah, you could go somewhere else any time, really,” Maia said. “It’s pointless over here.”

  “No, one could be good,” Amara said, rubbing her . “What say we ge the challenge a bit?”

  “Aw no fair, you ’t ge the challenge just because you have no way to win now!” KJ said.

  “I’m just being adaptive and intelligent, both values Rain…er, values.” Amara said.

  “Rain values hoy and iy, you piece of Kanibari trash!” KJ shrieked.

  Maia sighed as KJ and Amara started cirg each other.

  “Guys , don’t start wrestling again.” Iris said. “We all figure something out.”

  “ we?” Maia asked.

  “I suppose we could try,” Amara said. "Maybe someday I win the record."

  “There’s no record,” Maia said. “There was never a record.”

  “See? Tall cat has a point.” KJ said.

  “Do you…actually know my name?” Maia asked.

  “Sure,” KJ said. “You’re…well, I like to call you tall cat. You’re tall cat. I’m fairly certain that’s your name.”

  “Whatever,” Maia said.

  “Rain values people who remember names,” Amara said.

  “ we please just give up already, Iris?” Maia said. “I only take so much deification of Rain.”

  “If I knew what that word is, I feel like I’d be infuriated with you,” KJ said. “Uhat’s something fttering to Rain.”

  “How about this,” Iris said. “There’s one bug lookin’ void monster here, and we’re all gonna race for it.”

  “Ahh, a buguloid,” Amara said.

  “That’s not what they’re called,” KJ said. “No void monster was ever called a buguloid until just now when you stupidly came up with it.”

  “Oh my god, just shut up a me finish!” Iris said.

  “See what I’m saying?” Maia asked. “’t we seriously just leave?”

  “You shut it too, tall cat,” Iris said.

  “Excuse me? Did you just call me—"

  “I say we all race for this void bug thing!” Iris said. “Wiakes all! Or, we all get something we agree on.”

  “Hmm,” Amara said.

  “I dunno…I was gonna wihing,” KJ said.

  “Fine, shut up, fine,” Iris said. “If one of you wins, you get to show your footage to Rain and the other doesn’t, that stay the same. If Maia wins, you two and Rain have to back off a bit.”

  “That’s a weird prize, but sure,” Amara said. “Sometimes it’s o give yourself a detriment as an award, as a challenge or something, I suppose.”

  “If I get it, Maia has to…” Iris said. She leaned in and whispered in Maia’s ear, having to stand up oiptoes to reach. “You have to y off on the annoyed by them stuff for like a day.”

  “I absolutely ot do that,” Maia said, not b to whisper back. “Uhey actually somehow avoided me for a det amount of time, which is apparently impossible.”

  “Alright, then we’re in agreement!” Iris said. “On the t of three.”

  “Wait, no—” Maia said.

  “I’m so gonna win this and prove to Rain that Amara is not only an absolute moron, but also a failure in not being an awkward void fighting disaster.” KJ said.

  “And I’m going to win this so hard KJ will admit that she’s a trash fire Kanibari and should be eating out of garbage like her animal terpart!”

  “Geez, you guys are harsh,” Iris said. “Anyways, three-two-one go!”

  Amara and KJ ran forward, igniting their bloodsabers. KJ put her tripod up and started her camera, then realized the bug monster wasn’t in sight, and took her tripod away again.

  “I ’t believe you roped me into this,” Maia said. “Well, are we gonna go?”

  “You go,” Iris said. “I have a strategy.”

  “Unfortunately, so do I,” Maia said.

  “Oh?” Iris asked expetly.

  “I now have to assume your strategy is just watg me do my strategy,” Maia said.

  “Maaaaybe,” Iris said. “If it’s what I think it iiiiissss….”

  Maia growled, then pulled out a small bottle with a ground up pnt in it. Iris started giggling instantly.

  “Shut up,” Maia said.

  “No, it makes me happy!” Iris said. “I like that I’m the only one who gets to see this side of you, you know?”

  “I guess,” Maia said. “And now KJ and Amara might too, ugh.”

  “Not if you catch it quick,” Iris said. “I’m pretty sure they ran the wrong way, too.”

  Maia opehe bottle, which had a minty smell to it. She hesitated before smelling it.

  “It’s just so embarrassing,” Maia said.

  “You wanna win this, right?” Iris asked. “And at least it’s not like that Exa i powder.”

  “At least that stuff lets you turn into a big monster,” Maia said. “This just…well, yeah. Fine, whatever, fine.”

  Maia took a big sniff of the crushed minty leaf. She sealed the bottle back quickly. Her pupils got wide and her fur began to poof up as Iris giggled louder and louder. Maia s the air, then took off running, using her hands and arms in addition ts to run as she leapt around, darting up the trees with her cws. Iris waited as Maia dipped out of sight.

  A few moments ter, Maia nded back with the bug void monster in her mouth. She shook it around, then nded on the ground and held it with both hands. She started kig it quickly with her feet, until it melted away into void goop. Iris cpped as Maia rolled around on the ground.

  “See? They didn’t eve!” Iris said. “Maia? You with me?”

  Iris poked at Maia with her foot. Maia was still rolling around, her pupils even bigger now.

  “How long does this stuff st again?” Iris said. Maia didn’t answer her.

  After a few glorious minutes of watg Maia roll around ihroes of ip, the effect wore off.

  “I ’t believe you made me do that,” Maia said.

  “I didn’t make you do anything, but it was incredibly adorable, so who’s the real winner here?”

  “Me, I beat the bug first.” Maia said, wiping some of the Elka goo from her face.

  “That sounds like a double entendre almost,” Iris said.

  “I don’t think I say shut up any more times today, dude,” Maia said.

  “Hey though, I’m proud of you,” Iris said.

  “For winning the thing?”

  “Not just that, you tolerated them long enough to agree to a challenge!” Iris said. “That’s progress!”

  Maia sat up. Iris had sat dowo her.

  “I just hate when they mess with our time, you know?” Maia asked.

  “What do you mean?” Iris asked.

  “Like that was just us, you know?” Maia said.

  “Ohhhh,” Iris said. “You just like spending time with meeeee….”

  “Shut up,” Maia said. “That’s obvious, isn’t it?”

  “What, to shut up, or that you like spending time with me?” Iris said. “Since you did so good, let’s get out of here already, then."

  “You wanna just let Amara and KJ run arouhinking there’s still a void monster out here?” Maia asked.

  “Showing for the love trio?” Iris asked. “That’s alsress!”

  “I guess so,” Maia said. “I also want them to know that I wohing.”

  “That’s fair,” Iris said.