A stranger’s silver studded dragon snapped at me as I passed by him in the café. It was a beautiful little thing, I thought as I watched it snake around the stranger's wrist like a scaled bangle and let out an indignant puff of fire.

The dragon’s companion whispered a few sharp words to her and turned to me with his pierced eyebrows raised. “Hey, sorry. Xiaofei hasn’t gotten used to people’s’...” He trailed off as his eyes searched me for my own familiar, peeking at my neck, my wrists, and the inside of my earthy brown cardigan. I felt my skin prickle from his gaze and quickly adjusted my cardigan.

I smiled at him politely, shooting him a quick “no worries,” and grabbed my mocha from the barista with a dozing ferret lazily draped over her shoulder. I paused when I reached the door of the café and awkwardly shuffled around with a comically oversized book and a cup of coffee in my hands. My lit professor was really sweet and all but a bit of a psycho to assign Ulysses right as midterms were starting to hit. As I left I caught another glimpse of the boy digging into a scone and his dragon sneaking a bite as he did so.

I was planning on sitting down and doing my best to scan through the book and ignore my upcoming essay on… but the air was so nice and crisp, and the way the sunlight shone through the red and brown maple leaves was so pretty, and I felt kind of restless. A walk around campus would be nice. I passed by my friend Ellis and waved to him as he was rushing to class. He was one of the few people that I knew who didn’t have a familiar either.

My mother’s familiar hadn’t manifested yet when she was my age. She told me while softly picking up her familiar Huiqiu from the floor, a gray fuzzy ball with big round eyes, and placing it on her lap. She had only manifested after my mother met my father in grad school. My friend Sen had also forwarded me articles claiming that familiars were manifesting later and later among my generation. But I wasn’t a particularly scientific person and my guilty pleasure was reading cozy rose-tinted stories about manifesting their familiars.

As my mind drifted off looking at the rustling red leaves, I stumbled into the side of a bench and the metal armrest dug into my thigh. “Ow fuck,” I hissed, barely managing to avoid spilling my coffee.

“Are you okay?” There was someone sitting on the bench, much to my embarrassment, and I was halfway sprawled over her. My book had tumbled into her lap and she held it out to me with a smile that barely held back a laugh.

Cheeks burning, I scrambled back up and nodded as I took my book back. “I’m so sorry. I wasn’t looking where I was going.”

She laughed. “I could tell.” Her canvas tote bag rustled and a tiny cat peeked out from underneath and blinked a few times in the sunlight. She shook her head, nimbly climbed up the girl’s arm, and perched on her shoulder. She was a soft earthy brown and a ginkgo leaf grew from the top of her head.

“Your familiar’s beautiful.” The words tumbled out of my mouth like my book before my brain had the chance to catch them. Wonderful. I didn’t even know her name and I was already calling her familiar beautiful.

“Ah thank you,” the girl said, her words muffled as she hid her mouth with her sleeve for a moment so I couldn’t tell her expression. She then scooped up her familiar, held her up towards me, and said, “I’m Vera and this is Kise. What’s your name?”

***

I decided to go on a walk again at the same time next week because the weather was once again really nice and I could use the exercise. I also would be lying if I claimed that I wasn’t hoping to run into Kise and Vera again. Not literally run into them same way as last time. But the nice weather was the main reason why I was taking a walk.

We had talked for a little bit more after the incident despite me wanting to bury myself from embarrassment. It was just basic university introduction stuff like “What year are you? What’s your major? Oh that’s neat. Where are you from?” Vera seemed cool and Kise was adorable so I sorely regretted not being able to work up the courage to at least ask for her Insta. 

“You’re here again.”

“Hi Vera and hi Kise, you two here again too.” Vera was sitting at the same bench and Kise was perched on her shoulder batting at a stray lock of hair. My face lit up and I quickly checked that I was walking in the middle of the sidewalk and not in a collision course with the bench again.

“Been sitting here on Wednesdays every week since the semester started,” she explained, closing her laptop and slipping it into her canvas tote. “I have a thirty-minute break between classes. 

“Oh neat, I don’t have class until twelve. Mind if I sit with you?” I asked.

Vera quickly moved her tote bag to the side and patted the spot next to her. “Be my guest,” she said. “Watch your step, though.” 

I cracked a smile and sat down, shrugging off my backpack. “Haha, very funny.”

Vera chuckled at her own joke and tucked the lock of hair that Kise was playing with behind her ear. “So no massive book today?”

“Ah,” I had just begun to pull out my copy of Ulysses as she asked.

“Oop never mind.”

***

It was a lazy afternoon and Kise, Vera, and I were lounging on an out-of-the-way balcony in the film building that I had stumbled across last semester while I was hopelessly lost. The weather had just begun to turn cold and, although it was only four, the sun was already beginning to hide behind the library. I rested my chin on the keyboard of my laptop and watched Kise tangle herself in the vines growing along the railing.

“I swear, if my professor makes me change sources again I’m going to lose my mind,” I complained, staring down the line of b’s and v’s marching across the screen.

Vera slumped down over the back of her chair. “I’m already losing my mind.” Kise sensed her partner’s frustration and hopped down from the railing. She climbed up onto Vera’s belly and began kneading with her little brown paws. “Stop it, that tickles!” Vera laughed and scooped up Kise.

I fished my phone out of my pocket to scroll through the first app I saw on my home screen, averting my eyes. Yup the weather’s still cold. “Bio not bio-ing?”

“Not at all,” Vera groaned as she balanced Kise on her head. “I don’t know how my professor expects us to memorize all of this in two weeks. He just dumped all of this on us and expects us to remember it for the final.”

I winced, glad that I wasn’t majoring in the hard sciences. “That’s rough.”

“You can say that again.” Kise had curled up on Vera’s head and began dozing off in the warm afternoon sun.

I tossed my phone on the table next to my laptop. “Did you name Kise?” I asked, hit with a sudden burst of curiosity.

Vera tilted head, careful not to disturb Kise, and looked up towards the sky. “It’s hard to explain but I already knew her name when she manifested,” she said without a hint of pity at my question.

“Oh, but their names aren’t completely random. I’m guessing that Kise here,” Vera pointed to her familiar who was snoring quite loudly for her size, “is her name because she changes with the seasons.”

“She does?” Now that Vera mentioned it, it felt obvious considering how autumn-looking the cat with the brown leaf on her head looked.

“Yup. You’ll see a whole new Kise when winter rolls around,” said Vera proudly.

“That’s so cool! What does she look like when she’s changing? Does that mean she also has different forms for spring and summer? What does she look like then?” I realized that I had leaned in closer to Kise and Vera as I was caught up in my excitement.

Vera didn’t seem to mind though and told me that Kise changes overnight while she sleeps and that she does, indeed, have a different form for each of the seasons. 

I couldn’t help but feel a twinge in my chest as I listened to Vera, and wondered what my familiar would be like if it manifested. It wasn’t like I felt I was missing a part of myself, but having a familiar, having a constant companion, seemed like it would be so nice.

“Are… you going to be around campus during winter break?” asked Vera. She drummed her fingers on the table for a little bit. “Kise should be in her winter form by then and both of us will be free from finals.”

“I’ll be around,” I said. Excitement bubbled up from my stomach.

***

“...and tomorrow I’m going over to her place to see Kise’s winter form.” I had roped my friend Sen into a conversation while I was over at his place.

Sen looked over his shoulder at me with a sideward glance as he stirred his pot of chili. His owl familiar, who was perched on his head, also swiveled his head to look at me. The two of them always hit me with that look when there was something wrong that I should have noticed but I didn’t, and it made me uneasy as hell.

“What is it?” I asked.

“It kind of feels like you’re more interested in Vera’s familiar than her.” Sen said.

I looked back at him, blinking a few times. “Huh? What do you mean?”

Sen sighed and took the pot off of the stove. “You met her, like, a month ago? And you’ve talked so much about this girl’s familiar but I don’t think you’ve even mentioned to me what Vera does for fun outside of class.” He rinsed off his wooden ladle in the sink and motioned for me to sit down on one of his stools.

I opened my mouth ready to retort, “I… have I really not?”

“Nope.” My friend and his familiar shook their heads in sync. “Look, I’m not trying to call you out or anything. And hey, I’ve been there too. It’s just something I noticed.”

“Hrm.” I had a ton of late night conversations with Sen that he liked to call ‘trickle down therapy’ so I thought I was fairly self aware at least. Maybe not. I pursed my lips and grabbed a chip bag clip off the table to fiddle around with. “I guess I do still feel late to having a familiar.”

“Which you’re not actually,” interjected Sen which was further emphasized by a hoot from his familiar. He opened a cabinet overhead and took out two bowls and a little tupperware container. “Remember those articles I sent you?”

“Yeah yeah I know.” I tossed the clip back on the table and rested my head on my folded arms.

“It looks like you’re putting too much pressure on yourself to figure it out right now,” he said, spooning a hearty helping of rice and chili into the bowls. He set some aside for himself and his familiar and slid the bowl over to me. “You’re going to her place tomorrow right? You can figure it out then.”

I grabbed a spoon and shoveled the chili into my mouth. “Thanks Sen. I’ll keep that in mind.”

***

>somehow found street parkin i’m outside your gate

> omw!

I heard a loud creak from somewhere in the apartment complex and a series of smaller thumps as Vera hurried down the steps to unlock the gate. She was bundled up in a yellow puffy jacket and her shoulder-length black hair was slightly disheveled from the run down. “Come in, come in. It’s so cold out. You must be freezing,” she said, hauling the gate open. “Kise’s inside, by the way.”

I didn’t think it was that cold but I was happy to follow Vera up the steps. She pried open her door, and pulled me by the arm into her apartment. Inside there were plants everywhere. There were succulents on top of shelves, small trees in pots on the floor, and flowers sitting on the veranda. It felt like I had walked into a rainforest.

“And look, winter Kise!” Vera exclaimed as she motioned to the coffee table, her soft brown eyes beaming with pride. Kise’s coat was white now and with a snowdrop flower growing from her head.

“She’s adorable,” I exclaimed, bending down to Kise and letting her bat at my finger. I gave her a little scratch behind her ear and looked over at Vera who had plugged in an electric kettle next to her two seater couch.

“Would you like some?” she asked, holding up a tin of tea leaves.

“I’d love some.” I took a seat on the couch, noticing she pulled out a tea set from a cabinet overhead. It wasn’t fancy, unmarked ceramic except for a flower stamp on the base of the teapot, but it was a pristine white and without any chips. Vera had definitely taken good care of it. To my surprise, Kise hopped over from the table and curled up on my lap.

Vera caught my gaze as she measured a scoop of tea and dumped it into the teapot. She smiled, looked down quickly to place the teapot lid, and carried the set over. She placed it down on the coffee table and sat down next to me on the couch. “Ah the kettle. Could you?”

“Yeah I got it.” I grabbed the kettle and carefully poured the hot water into the teapot. Leaning over, I saw that the same flower printed on the base of the teapot was also inside the teacups. “You were pretty bundled up outside.” I said with a little laugh as I poured.

Vera tilted her head slightly and in playful indignation informed me that where she was from they had two seasons: summer and Summer with a capital S. And then I told her that I was from further north so I was a little more used to the colder temperatures but not far north enough to have snow during the winter. As we talked and waited for the tea to steep Vera would lean in every once in a while to give Kise a few pats.

“The tea should be done by now right?” I asked. Vera nodded and I poured a cup for the both of us. I handed a cup to Vera who accepted it with a smile and took a sip from my cup. The tea was strong and a little lukewarm—we had forgotten the tea in the pot for too long. “Delicious,” I breathed with a sigh.

Vera hummed in agreement. “I’m glad you liked—” she interrupted herself with a laugh as she caught sight of my glasses all fogged up from the steam.

I laughed too which, to my mild disappointment, made Kise get up from my lap and slip down onto the floor. She padded over next to the window and folded her legs underneath herself to enjoy the last dregs of sunshine.

Vera and I continued chatting about how the tea was from a trip with her family and how I was going to go on a trip soon to visit my relatives since my cousin got married and wanted to introduce his spouse to my extended family and how the beaches here were way too cold and anything that came to mind. Before we knew it the kettle was out of water.

“I got it,” I said, a twinge of reluctance in my voice. I grabbed the kettle, got up from the couch and refilled it at Vera’s sink. As I did so, Kise had moved from her spot next to the window since the sun had fully set and was now peeking under the couch with only her fluffy white tail sticking out. I set the kettle down on the coffee table and, at Vera’s instruction, fiddled around with the loose knob of the old lamp in the corner of the room to light up the room.

I hit my knee on the corner of the coffee table and stumbled forward. I barely managed to brace myself against the back of the sofa and I ended up halfway sprawled over Vera.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

My face heated up and I nodded, picking up the tin of tea leaves that dropped onto the floor when I hit my knee. As I handed it back, we heard a meow from Kise followed by a small yip from under the couch. 

A tiny fox peeked out from underneath the couch and blinked a few times. Her coat was pure white and shiny like powdered baker’s sugar and the ends of her twin tails were tipped in black like ink brushes. She shook her head and nimbly climbed onto the couch and leapt onto my shoulder. 

Vera hid her mouth with her sleeve. Her eyes flickered from me to the fox, then to me again. “Is that…”

My breath caught in my throat and the sour pit that had settled in my stomach dueled with the warm fuzzy feeling I felt in my chest. I looked at the fox then looked back at Vera. “This is Hefang… my familiar.”