Henry sat quietly behind April as she stared out at the ocean. She was quite immobile, and that was how he knew she was deep in thought. It was incredible how much of himself he saw in her. She was like a smaller, purpler version of him, but if he was honest, he estimated that whatever she had been through was far worse than his own experience, and that was saying something. The worst part about the whole ordeal was that she had no one to talk to. Henry couldn't ask her about her troubles, or he'd be giving away the fact that he knew her true identity. Maybe he had to find another way to communicate with her. The only question was how.

"I don't see why we have to call her 'April'," Harry sneered as he waddled up beside his father, "Everyone knows she's June, so we're really only lying to accommodate her needs, which she doesn't deserve."

Henry looked down uncomfortably.

"She wants to leave her old identity behind. Remember when she used to call you 'Butterball'? Right now, her old name feels like an insult."

"It is! I overheard Robin and Ellie talking about her while I was playing with Serena. June committed a series of murders-"

Henry placed his hand over Harry's mouth.

"Shhh. I know. But she's trying to be better. Sometimes, it takes a little compassion."

"I can't feel compassion for a monster."

Henry frowned.

"She's not a monster; she's a child, and I don't appreciate that kind of remark."

Harry growled bitterly.

"Dad, we can't keep her here. You don't know what it was like living with her."

"She can change."

"Not everyone can change."

"She can."

"How do you know?"

"Because I did."

They turned back to June. She hadn't moved an inch.

"You can continue to lie to yourself, but I'll have no part in this," Harry grumbled, "I'm through with being afraid. I hope you realize how wrong you are soon, or she'll-"

Henry gave him a warning glare. Harry shrunk away, but kept his sour expression.

"Fine. Let me know when she snaps."

As he stomped away, Henry considered talking to June. He wasn't really sure what he would say, but he could probably ease her into a civilized conversation. But how would he go about it?

Hello, June. Isn't the weather lovely today? By the way, I heard you massacred a tribe of hybrid dinosaurs . . .

That's a nice flower you're wearing. It compliments your eyes. Speaking of which, I know you were blind for the majority of your life, because I was there when you set a giant pig-demon loose in Times Square.

Hm. Maybe it was best to keep quiet.

In any case, he wasn't about to go over now, because Seriama was making her way to where he was standing in her shy little way. He had learned to read her body language over the years, and he could tell that she was nervous about June. Why else would her scales be flickering with color? She certainly wasn't trying to put on a show.

"Henry."

"Seriama."

"Any change?"

"No. She's been sitting there all morning."

"Have you talked to her?"

"No. I don't want to slip up, or we could lose her again."

Seriama's scales began to ripple with confused patterns at his last words, indicating that she was incredibly fearful of the prospect. Henry leaned against her for comfort as she bit her lip.

"Oh, Henry, look at her. She's so alone. What can we do to help?"

"I don't know. What did we do with me?"

"You had friends to help you. Maybe we should find her a friend."

"A friend? Who?"

"Someone who doesn't know what she did. Someone patient."

"Robin has a lot of kids. Are any of them good candidates?"

"Well, the triplets are too old, Louis is always with Clover, Gussy is with her dilophosaur friend, Margalo is with Penelope's niece, Templeton is with Annabelle, and Serena is with Harry, which means she'll probably blab. All in all, Robin's children aren't really on the friendship market. Besides, they're getting to that age when they have other things on their minds . . ."

"So, we should get her a boyfriend?"

"Well, no. I'm not really sure what we can do at this point. Maybe we ought to take her off the island. There are plenty of dinosaurs in the world. None of them knows who she is."

Henry sighed.

"I think we ought to keep her on the island for now. We'll take things one step at a time."

Seriama nodded.

"Good idea. She'd be better off here, in any case."

Henry smiled.

"I think so too. Ellie is the one person I trust to reform and rehabilitate former villains."

Right on cue, a pachysaurolophus burst through the wall of a nearby building, shouting angrily.

"I refuse to make macramé owls like a goddamn sissy!"

Ellie leapt through the hole and tackled him fiercely.

"I'M NOT FUCKING AROUND HERE, VIC. GET YOUR FAT ASS BACK IN THE FUCKING CRAFTS ROOM OR I'LL RIP YOUR HEAD OFF AND SHIT DOWN YOUR NECK."

Seriama blinked.

"Her techniques are certainly . . . interesting."

***TSJWFEW***

Elkay lifted her head and snorted drowsily as the sound of a slamming door woke her up. Ellie stormed into her office and sat down at her new desk, where a quill was writing on its own. She scanned the page, then took over the writing manually. After a few scribbles, she ran out of ichor and tossed the feather to the side, where Elkay batted at it playfully. Ellie pulled a large contour out of her wing and resumed the auto-narration.

"I'm getting real sick of his shit!"

"Whose?"

"Hoskins. He's been a pain in the ass ever since he got here!"

"I'll say! He nearly broke my leg the other day, only dragon bones don't break, so he mostly just rammed his head against me in an annoying fashion."

Ellie sighed and ran her fingers through her hair.

"This is a disaster! It's one thing to take care of my own dinosaurs, but now I have hybrids running loose. That, and Claire's not doing so well . . ."

"Anything new?"

"She tried to saw her own horns off."

Elkay pulled her head back in surprise.

"Why?"

"Because humans don't have horns."

Elkay nodded.

"Sorry, Ellie. I know this is hard. If there's anything I can do to help that doesn't involve poop or children or social interaction, let me know."

Ellie shook her head.

"No, I'm fine. Though it would be nice if you could help me redesign the stegocera-sink."

"I'm on it. Where's Mom, by the way?"

"The other world."

"Jurassic World?"

"No, the other other world."

"Jurassic Park Slash-Slash-Slash?"

"No. And you can just say 'three'. I'm talking about Fiction headquarters."

"Ooh. Does that mean she's with-"

"Yes."

"And he's-"

"Yes."

"And they're going to-"

"Yes."

"Cool. Can I go back to sleep now?"

Ellie bit her lip.

"There's something I have to tell you."

She stood up and folded her hands together calmly.

"The next full story isn't coming out for a very long time."

"Why?"

"I'm waiting for someone."

"Ah. I have no idea what you're talking about, but I don't actually care. I need to get some sleep."

"What about the gap between novels?"

Elkay waved her paw dismissively.

"Fill it up with short stories or something. I'm sure we'll have lots of interesting stuff happen to us in . . . however long it's going to take . . ."

"Almost two decades."

Elkay laughed.

"Oh, that's nothing, Ellie. When you've been alive for as long as I have, even centuries feel short. Don't sweat the small stuff. In the grand scheme, things will fall into place."

Ellie cringed as she heard a crash from outside.

"Tell that to Vic and his dome-head."

***TSJWFEW***

June liked her room very much. It was pink, cheerful, and completely opposite to anything she'd ever known. Everything in it belonged to her, yet she was still unfamiliar with her possessions. She had found a book under her bed called A Little Princess, and she really wanted to read it. The only trouble was, she didn't know how to read. She wished that she had the courage to ask her father to read it to her, but she didn't want to inconvenience him.

Her favorite possession of all, however, was a small kitten. It wasn't real, of course, but June liked to pretend he was, anyway. She named the cat May, even though he was a boy. He was soft and white and wonderful to hug. June never took him outside, because she had seen what had happened to her brother's tiger. The animal was covered in sewn-up scars, mostly because he was worn down from being dragged everywhere. June would never let anything like that happen to May. She loved him more than anything in the world, even though he wasn't real.

"Good afternoon, May," June said pleasantly as she hopped up on her bed, "I went to see the ocean today. It's big and wavy. Dad says it's blue. I'm not really sure what he means by that, but I'm getting used to colors."

She ran her paw over May, but her claws made him dirty. She licked the grime off of him hurriedly, doing her best to preserve his snow-white coat.

"I'm going to see some more things when I go back out. I'll take a good look at them, then tell you all about it. Does that sound good?"

She made the cat nod with her paw.

"Great! I'll see you in a bit."

She slid off of the bed and pattered down the hall. Her grandmother was cooking something in the kitchen. It smelled like rice and some kind of bird. June smiled and snuck outside, hoping to play a little before lunch. Her father was snoozing in the field, his sail spread out lazily in the sun. June tiptoed over to him and draped herself over his arm. He must not have been completely zonked out, because he gave her a gentle hug. June closed her eyes and breathed deeply. It was easier to be with people when they were asleep, because they didn't ask questions or try to talk. They just sat there, dreaming about things that didn't exist, or perhaps just pretending to be asleep, though that was rarer. Sleep made contact easy, just like the magic flower-

-which she wasn't wearing right now.

June sat up in panic and bolted for the door, waking her father. He reached out to grab her, but she slithered away and barreled into the garage, pattering up the stairs at full force. She found her pink flower lying on the bedside table, and quickly stuck it to her head. Even though she had made it in time, she couldn't stop herself from tearing up at the close call. As she began to sniffle, she heard a knock at the door.

"April? Are you okay?"

Her father poked his snout through the door, and she quickly wiped away her tears.

"I saw a monster."

Her father reached forward and picked her up, rocking her back and forth in his arms.

"Oh, sweetie. I'm so sorry. What did the monster look like?"

"She looked like me."

Her father was quiet for a moment.

"Are you okay?" he asked feebly.

June lifted her head and stared into his eyes.

"Is it true that you have another daughter?"

"What? No . . . Oh, I mean . . . Yes."

He cleared his throat.

"I have a daughter named June."

"Do you love her?"

Her father bit his lip awkwardly and thought very hard. Finally, he took a deep breath and gave an answer that June found satisfactory.

"If she was as nice as you, I'm sure I'd love her."

***TSJWFEW***

It was around one o'clock in the morning when Elkay snuck into Ellie's room. She sat above her granddaughter for a moment, then yanked the covers away violently.

"Ah!"

"I know how we can help June."

Ellie shivered and reached for the blanket, draping it over Alan, who was snorting angrily beside her.

"Oh my god. You can't just come into my room like that."

"Yeah, but I figured out how to help June, and it couldn't wait until morning."

Ellie rubbed her eyes.

"Alright. What did you have in mind?"

"Well, Henry said that June needed a friend, and there aren't many dinosaurs here who trust her, so . . ."

Ellie groaned.

"Can you just get to the point?"

Elkay grinned.

"Walk with me. We're going to make a child's wish come true."

***TSJWFEW***

June didn't wake up on her own the next morning. Something was being dragged across her face repeatedly, and it felt like warm, wet sandpaper. Curious to discover what it was, June opened her eyes . . . and saw a live kitten staring down at her.

"Mew."

June gave an open-mouthed smile and hugged the pale cat.

"May! You're alive!"

The kitty looked up at her with big, blue eyes and started purring. June held her against her chest.

"I love you, May! I love you so much!"

With eager steps, she ran down the stairs and into the kitchen, where her family was waiting.

"May came alive last night! She's a real kitten now!"

They stared at the animal with wide eyes, unsure of how to react.

"Mew."

The kitten batted at June's flower, and she quickly held him away, lest he knock it off and reveal her true identity.

"Is that one of those electronic cats?" her grandmother asked.

"No, he's real!" June beamed, "He's a real live kitten, and he really likes me."

"Makes one of us," her brother muttered under his breath.

Her father gave a wide smile.

"That's fantastic, April. But you know you have to feed him, right?"

June nodded.

"Can I go down to the Visitors' Center and get him some meat?"

"Sure," her mother said gently, "But make sure that you look both ways when you cross the street, and if you get lost, find the nearest landmark and call us from there."

June nodded eagerly.

"I will! Thank you!"

She ran over and gave her parents a big hug.

"I love you!"

She left them in the kitchen, slightly startled, and placed the feline on her shoulders before galloping away.

***TSJWFEW***

Zara was having the time of her life. Not only had she mastered her swimming lessons, but her karate was coming along nicely too. She had to make some minor adjustments to her technique, of course, since she didn't have anything that resembled hands, but she was doing remarkably well, nonetheless.

When June came skipping down the road, however, she forgot all about her activities. The little spinosaurus made her antsy, because Zara knew that she was partly responsible for what had happened to her. She had been made aware of the sensitive situation surrounding the child, but denying the dinosaur's identity wasn't going to be easy.

To her surprise, the spinosaurus wasn't her usual stoic self, and appeared to be . . . happy. She skipped down the road with something small and white on her shoulders.

"What's that?" Zara asked, pointing to the ball of fur.

June picked up the creature, which turned out to be a cat, and held it out for Zara to see. As she leaned in for a better look, the kitten licked the front of her beak.

"He's cute. What are you gonna call him?"

"His name is May."

Zara raised her eyebrow.

"Isn't that a female name?"

June nodded.

"It is, but I like it anyway. We have to go get her food now. Goodbye!"

And just like that, she skipped away. Zara was relieved that she hadn't caused any trouble, but something about her sudden cheerfulness was very suspicious.

***TSJWFEW***

June was almost at the Visitors' Center. She had been worried about the Mozaradon's anxious air, but luckily, she was wearing the flower, which meant that she was safe.

With a merry click of her heels, June shimmied to the main road and placed her cat on the ground so that he could follow her inside the building. He looked up at her with his sparkling, azure eyes and mewed.

"Mew."

June smiled and nuzzled his side.

"You're my best friend, May."

"Mew," the cat said, cocking his head.

"Are you hungry?"

"Mew."

June trotted into the Visitors' Center with the cat close behind. On the way to the kitchen, she passed Ellie and Neithhotep's daughter.

"So, I told him he could have his arms back, but only if he uses them for good things. He's in a baking class right now, so we'll see how that goes."

They turned their heads as June skipped by. The dragon smiled and glanced at the kitten with a sneaky grin.

"What a lovely little kitty. He's probably deaf, you know. Whoever came up with that idea was probably a literary gen-"

"Or she doesn't have any compassion beyond the bare minimum," Ellie interrupted, "Keep an eye on the little tyke, sweetheart. He can't hear you, so make sure he's always in sight."

June nodded.

"I will."

She continued her journey, making her way to the meat locker. Once inside, she shivered and looked around for something a feline might want to eat.

"Do you like tuna, May?"

"Mew," the cat bleated.

"Maybe not. Sockeye salmon?"

She held out the tin for the cat to sniff, and he turned away in disgust.

"Okay . . . What about lutefisk? That's fish, right? Oh! Oh! Here's something: sturgeon. It sounds expensive, but I'm sure Ellie wouldn't mind if I took just one can . . ."

She turned to see a very fluffy tail slide through the door. June dropped the can and ran after her pet.

"May, come back! I'm getting you food!"

The cat padded through the kitchen, down the hall, and out the front door. June pursued him, whistling and calling out his name.

"May! Here, May! Come back and eat your fish!"

She caught sight of the cat licking his paw out in the middle of the road. June put her hands on her hips and scowled.

"May, don't be a bad kitty. You have to-"

HONK HONK.

A large truck came speeding down the road.

"MAY! LOOK OUT!"

June's eyes went wide as the kitten became caught up in the front wheels of the truck, then the back. What was left over was an absolute mess. June ran forward as the truck drove away, feeling tears streaming down her face.

"May! May! May!"

She knelt down beside the bloody pile of fur. When she turned the animal around, she saw that his skull was partly crushed. June sobbed and began licking his fur.

"Wake up, May . . . It's okay . . . I'm here . . ."

The cat did not respond. June sobbed into his fur, still trying to clean it.

"I'm sorry, May. I shouldn't have let you run off. This is all my fault . . ."

She lifted her head as she heard a terrified gasp. Her first thought was that someone was coming to help her. When she looked up, however, she saw her brother staring at her with horror.

"JUNE KILLED HER CAT!"

And that's when things fell apart. Before she knew it, Zara had scooted into the clearing. She screamed and called for help. June barely had time to slither away before Ellie arrived.

***TSJWFEW***

"April! . . . April! . . ."

Henry called out to his daughter as the sky grew dark. He was one of the last people to find out what had happened, but luckily, Ellie had already discovered that the cat's death was an accident by the time he was briefed. He quickly organized a search party for June, but unsurprisingly, no one volunteered. Seriama was at home watching Harry, and Ellie was having a discussion with Elkay, so it was up to Henry to find June.

"April! . . . April! . . ."

He heard something moving inside of an overturned log. Quickly, he bent down and stuck his snout inside . . . only to feel a set of claws scrape his scales. Quickly, he backed up and gave June some space.

"I know you didn't kill your cat."

The child sniffled.

"It doesn't matter. You know who I am."

Henry nodded.

"I always knew, but that doesn't mean anything. I love you, June, and I'm willing to invite you back into our family."

"They don't want me."

"They do. You should see your mother. She's a nervous wreck. And grandma's trying to find you a new cat."

"I don't deserve a new cat."

Henry reached forward and touched her shoulder.

"Come out, June. We miss you."

To his surprise, she did as she was told. She scampered forward and wrapped her arms around his leg, weeping openly. Henry rested his snout on her back as she cried.

"May is . . . May is gone . . ." she whimpered.

Henry nodded.

"I know, sweetie. It's okay. It wasn't your fault."

After a minute or two of crying, June allowed herself to be picked up. Henry draped her over his shoulder and carried her back to the garage. Once there, she darted up to her room immediately and closed the door. Henry sighed and sat down at the table, rubbing his temples with his longest claws.

"Henry! Was that June?" his mother asked as she burst through the door, "I think I've found her a pet. Billy and Buttercup are looking to get rid of their Siamese cat, and-"

Henry waved his claws.

"Thanks, Mom, but I don't think a new pet is going to solve anything."

She hummed.

"Well, sitting here sure isn't going to help. Why don't you talk to her?"

"She needs space . . ."

"Henry. Go."

He stood up, not wanting to argue with his mother. With a slight reluctance in his stride, he crept over to her room. He knocked on the door gently, then took a deep breath.

"June? Can we talk?"

When he pushed the door open, he was met with a horrifying sight. June's mattress was covered with blood, and several claws were piled up in the corner. June let the last claw drop from her mouth, then crawled away on mangled hands and feet. When she saw her father staring at her, she closed her eyes.

"Now they don't have to be afraid of me."

She didn't understand why he was crying.