When I was young, the Dog Days used to excite and confuse me. I would watch the festivities that usually surround the event with anticipation and fall asleep with all sorts of trinkets under my blankets (which were usually crushed by my weight) with the hope I would wake up the next day with all the powers I'd dreamed of suddenly visible in an array of brilliant color.

Needless to say that never happened.

I know mirrors only reflect our physical forms, so I don't even bother with mine, but one look at my paws is enough to confirm that I shine faintly, no more luminescent than a firefly in a sea of stars. An old, familiar pang of disappointment greets me, but I stand up and move on. The world isn't going to be saved by just anyone, and exceptional magic or no, it's what between my ears that's going to make all the difference.

This, too, was an issue of great contention when I was young- the correlation between mind magic, which controls aptitude, and intelligence. It's only been proved by disreputable sources, but that never stopped tiny Avery from doubting her own abilities.

When I enter the library, the first thing I see are Sweep and Marie in the lobby, rubbing noses. Sweep's wings teem with light, and her feathers appear almost crystalline in texture. Marie is accompanied by the shadow of a much larger being, only visible from certain angles, a remnant of her draconic ancestry. Due to the ancient stigma, most water-based Canira don't like to discuss their reptilian kin, but Marie holds herself with pride. As she turns to me, she says, "Avery. I expected you..."

Like everyone else, save for Heilin and Natrina (neither of whom have heartlines, seeing one is directly reincarnated and the other is immortal), Marie's voice has been altered in a near imperceptible way. "Larger." I finish. "You saw me battle. You know I'm not anything special."

"You're special to us," Sweep nudges me, and my fur stands on end. I try not to let my tail start waving, seeing as her significant other is right there. "Marie, what's on the docket for today?"

"Not much. Everyone is lying low. There were some incidents last year... no, I'm not just talking about the stunt you two pulled. Point is, we go to some festivities, attend some meetings, and sleep it out until the interference dies down and we can contact the other continents again. Until then, we can't contact anyone further away than Lira City."

"That's next door," Aidan says, butting into the conversation. "Are you serious? Can't we fly over?"

"'Next door' is about two day's walk. No portals either, unless you want to overshoot it and end up taking a space flight for the holidays. Hope you all have something to do." Marie says, pacing. "What a pain."

"Feel free to check out some books. Plenty of post-apocalyptics, just for the occasion." Aidan says, eyes gleaming with mischief. His magic is not visible as Sweep or Marie, but he still looks larger than life today.

Marie looks venomous. "Don't you dare. Anyways, I should... go check up on Torch's division of the Defenders. They're young, probably not entirely in control right now. Echo and Ascella would be thankful for the help. Sweep?"

"Gimme a sec." Sweep says.

"Suit yourself. Later." Marie flicks her tail and exits, closing the doors behind her as loud as she can. Books tremble on the nearby shelves, a few fall off, and Bells runs to rearrange them. Aidan mutters something under his breath and paces back towards his lonely corner of the library.

"Stop aggravating her! She's under a lot of stress." yells Marie, and Aidan shoots a glare over his shoulder and bares his teeth in an old Felis gesture that essentially equates to back off or I gut you.

"He's joking." I say. "He has a unique sense of humor. Sweep, what would you think about a mid-day flight? You know, juuuust off grounds. Maybe shoot the breeze, even mess with guards..." I cite an old hobby of hers, back before the world was ending and she was dating one of the leaders of the entire Defender army.

"Aves. No." Sweep says. "I promised Marie I wouldn't do anything dangerous. Apparently last year's stunt left us with a 'reputation'."

"You don't need magic to fly, do you?" I say.

Sweep sighs. "My aptitude is air current detection and manipulation. Without it, I'm flying... blind." she finishes, choking. "You know, now that you mention it? I might need to lay down for a while."

"Are you alright?" I ask.

Her wings raise, and then she lowers them, looking after Marie with a painful longing in her eyes. "I have something to lose again, Avery. I could mess around before because I didn't have anything to do or anything to lose. Now? I-"

"You can't lock yourself away from the world because of what happened." I respond. "You had me- you still have me. The Dog Days don't have to be a reminder of the incident. They can just be some silly holiday that takes place over the most dangerous six and a half days of the year."

"It's not that simple, but I appreciate it." Avery says. She swipes her tail along my front leg, gesturing for me to follow her. "You want to come to some dumb meetings? I think Marie and I are going to-"

"I'll be fine." I say. "I actually have some plans. You know, just some official business. Simulations. Plumeria wants me all primed and ready for the second runthrough. I may not be one of the 'greatest minds' in all Dreamland, but I can least get a few feathers in, right?"

Sweep squints. "You're working. Over the Dog Days."

"I don't have to worry about the voices of my heartlines or my own natural magic overwhelming my physical form, seeing as I'm practically bereft, soooo... I guess." I say. The last two words are so bitter I can almost taste them. Sweep's eyes well with sympathy and I walk out of the room and keep going. I pass all kinds of exotic Sentients who've come in for the festivities, including a few who are even dressed. I've never seen much fabric, but it complements their forms perfectly. Horns, fur, feathers, and a few scales dance across the edge of my vision, all augmented by magic and I am plain, so plain. I am inadequate in the eyes of demigods, practically a mouse in a world filled with vibrant predators, and what I want more than anything is to hide. I fall into the basement, stalking down the dark hallways while my paws guide themselves, and I bump into Iris while rounding a corner.

Bewildered, she looks down at me on my side, and backs up so that we're even with each other. "Apologies." she mutters beneath her breath. She is just as beautiful as everyone above, cloaked in light that holds around her face and makes her look like one of the sun-haloed figures of myth. The faint scent of flowers, potent as any physical change, wreathes around her and puts me at ease.

"Where's Torch?" I ask, getting up to my paws. "I've never seen you two apart before."

"Oh." Iris says, eyes narrowed to slits. "We are not, often. He was with the Defenders and I was overwhelmed, so I left for his benefit."

I nod. "I get that."

"Do you have a... Torch?" she asks.

"No. I mean the overwhelming thing." I shuffle my paws. "I have no clue what I was doing down here. I just wanted to not have to deal with everyone. It's petty, but I mean, I wasn't doing anything anyways. Do you want to do simulations with me? You might be good at it."

"I haven't the faintest clue what you're talking about."

I show her to the room, where the simulation I've been working on pops back into being. The lights flicker and blare, like the Canii whose haemo (crystalized blood) was taken are trying to reclaim their magic back from the dead, though all of these gems were given voluntarily by gifted Defenders. It's an eerie image. Luckily, the simulation works, and I explain how the individual functions work, how to move troops and even going into certain benefits.

"See, if you pair up 'special' units, you can usually get bonuses. These represent real Defenders, ones who will be fighting the battles on-world, so we've got a good grasp on what they're capable of. We couldn't do that for everyone, but hey, it takes a few seconds worth of time and works like magic." I say, then clarify, "It's magic."

Iris whispers, "Is this real?"

"No."

"Will it be real? When you have to do this for the war?"
"Yes, we'll be running simulations like this." I say.

Iris glares at the screens, which pan out around us. I'm working with a fragment of one of the drop zones, but it's also something I planned to bring to the next meeting, so I've been working on it for days. Accounting for being the far flank and still getting the most out of my group has been an issue, especially without crowding the others, but there's also the worrying possibility of the side front units being picked off. Iris begins toggling things, slowly at first, but she accelerates and stops using the awkward paw controls, moving whole fleets around in the blink of an eye. When she at last sets it running, the scenario plays like mine to about a quarter of the way through, where the number of deaths slows dramatically and then stops.

"Did I break it." Iris asks.

"You can't get more optimal than that." I breathe, leaning into the simulation to see what she had set up. "Stars, that's impossible. How did you even do that? Are those Canii on support? This is the most ridiculous use of teleportation I've ever seen. It's brilliant. That's so unorthodox- wait, are these the Defenders you and Torch have been partnering with? No wonder you knew all their unique strengths so well. I don't think anyone else even knows who they are."

"I just did whatever made sense." Iris says. "And I'd been watching those Defenders. I just did whatever made sense with their abilities."

I laugh, "The Obsidians really did a number on you. Can you believe they lead you right into our paws?"

"A number on me?" asks Iris, panicked. Though her eyes convey no distress, nor does her overall expression, her voice trills with concern. "What do you mean, numbers? Do you know something about what they did to me?"

"It's... look, all I meant was that you have a real gift and maybe, if you're comfortable with it, you should help out more often. We could have girl's days. You know, strategy and chill?"

Iris mumbles, "Thank you, Avery" She looks to the exit. "He needs me. I should go."

"Do you have some mental connection?" I ask.

"A hunch," she says, and exits.

I beging reviewing her work. It's masterful- ingenuitive in a way that I've never seen, anticipating variables we usually attribute to unshakable chance. It is the work of someone who hasn't been taught what to leave to the wayside, and I begin tweaking small errors to find a near-perfect configuration. Heilin has to know about this.

Iris pops her head back in again. "My heart rate is picking up. Usually it doesn't happen unless I'm around Torch, and there seems to be no stressors in the area that would lead to such a response. Is it a disease? I am supposed to be immune."

"It happens when you get complimented by your friends, sometimes." I say. "Kind of? Usually when I get a compliment from Sweep or Marie..."

"Avery? Are we friends?" asks Iris.

"Yes," I say. "Absolutely."

"As your friend, I have to advise you I might not be the best Canira to be friends with. I am dangerous."

"We're all a little dangerous. Teeth, claws, magic, you name it. It just matters what you do with your talents. Right now? I'm saving lives."

Iris blinks. "Through war?"

"Minimizing casualty." I say. "I want to end this cleanly as possible. We defend ourselves when we must and attack when we must. If this were against others, like say, Heaven's Arc... then we'd also choose a plan to complete objectives while minimizing the blood we need to spill. We're Defenders. We protect others."

"I guess that's what Torch sees in your... group." Iris says. "Thank you. Again."

"Of course." I say. As she trots down the hall, I feel a little braver. I think of Heilin, then of Torch and Iris... their fear when I mentioned the Factory. I avert my eyes from the screen with a sigh. There's so much more to be done, and not all of my problems can be resolved with magic, nor even military strategy. Some things I'm just going to have to work out myself.