Young Writers Society

"Greed," repeated Harry, turning to Jennifer, "not judging but that's an interesting name."

Jennifer nodded vigorously.

"Yeah, no offense, just an observation," said Jennifer, "as for your question um...well we just sort of wondered in, didn't we Harry?"

"Yeah, we just sort of had a few minutes free, saw an interesting...anomaly as you put it and thought we'd take a look you know," said Harry, shrugging, "I mean, might as well, right?" He laughed, hoping it didn't sound too awkward.

"You think my name is interesting?" Greed was on the verge of laughter. These two...oh, Greed had been around the other demons for far too long. They'd nearly forgotten that names were less literal to most other dimensions. "It's what I am, babes," they said, "There's nothing 'interesting' about that."

"Ohhh...okay...you're not going to believe this, but that makes it even more interesting," said Harry.

"Yeah," said Jennifer, "although not in a bad way, just a curious way, but then I suppose its none of our business."

Greed huffed. "Are you two going to stop treating me like an active explosive at some point, or should I just go?"

"Trust me, this is not how I treat an active explosion," said Harry.

"Me neither," added Jennifer.

Squeaking furiously, Amoku wondered if he should just turn into a human.

That would certainly be impressive.

Unless humans usually appeared out of nowhere. How would he know? He was a dragon! Well, he was actually a mouse at that point, but nevertheless he was usually a dragon.

Making up his mind, he scampered over to a seat, hopped on top and morphed into a human. He wore glittering red and yellow robes. Nice, he thought.

"Uh, what do you guys sell here?" asked Amoku.

"We sell all kinds of things here," the bartender said. "What kind of drinks or food are you looking for?"

Greed was about to respond when someone appeared beside them. Literally appeared. Had they been paying attention, they might have noticed a warning sign that someone was going to pop up in the seat beside them like a whack-a-mole, the threads straining around them, being pushed by a form that wasn't there, like they couldn't decide what this newcomer was. A shapeshifter.

How wonderful.

"What's your problem," Greed snapped.

"Two point seven out of ten for that entrance, a little clunky, and the colors are a little too bright," said Harry.

"What he means is hello," said Jennifer, smiling at the newcomer and shooting a glare at Harry who tried for a million dollar smile. He didn't quite pull it off.

Glena shook her head. "Then you need to try some!"
She summoned a small crystal ball and slammed it into the bar, getting the bartender's attention.
"Can I have an apple juice for my friend here?"

"Of course," the bartender said, smiling.

Elem just wanted to hide. He didn't know how the girl had summoned a crystal ball out of nowhere. He was too afraid to ask how or why. But if she was going to pay for something to drink, Elem knew he couldn't complain. He needed something to drink.

A moment later, the bartender slid a glass of what had to be apple juice in his direction.

Elem stared down at it.

He hesitated, for a moment. But then he screwed his eyes tight and take one big swig of it, hoping that it was just as good as she said it would be.

His eyes immediately shot open.

It had a strong taste, but it was good!

He eagerly chugged down more of the juice.

Glena nodded her approval. "See, this place has the best apple juice ever!" she grinned and sipped her own. "So, Elem, how old are you, and where are you from?"

(DANG IT AMOKU KEEPS ON AUTOCORRECTING TO SMOKY!!!!!!)

Amoku felt a little bit taken aback at this green-haired human's reaction, "Am I supposed to have a problem? Uh, I didn't know that was required."

"Oh, so you're just dumb," Greed raised their cup and signaled for a refill, which was promptly delivered. "What layer are you from?"

"Uh, layer?" Amoku wondered if this was some type of witchcraft. What did 'layer' mean? "The ground?"