(door opens and Hector & Fangfree enter)

Deva: "Hm? Oh. Hey you two." (pets them both) "I was starting to think you'd left for good."

Hector: "Yeah, sorry. I thought we'd be back in time for Snoggletog, but, well. . . Better late than never, right?" (steps aside and the light fury enters)

Deva: (gasps) "Is that. . .?"

Hector: (nods) "Happy belated Snoggletog. . . Or whatever you call it here."

Deva: "O-M-G, she's adorable." (picks her up and cuddles her) "Hee-hee." (scoops up Fangfree) "This is great. They're like. . ." (smirks and nuzzles the light fury) "I'm going to call you Finfree."

Hector: "Finfree?" (nods) "Oh. Black and white, yin and yang, Fin and Fang -- nice."

Deva: "Aww." (gets licked by Finfree) "What a sweetheart." (coos and tucks Finfree into her pouch) "Thank you, Hector. This is the highlight of my year thus far."

Hector: "Just trying to make amends."

Deva: "For what?"

Hector: "Well, I know I haven't always been particularly receptive, appreciative, or, well, even all that pleasant to be around. But you never gave up on me. And, well, it's still a lot to grapple with, knowing that my entire life was just in imitation of something else, but. . . Even though you knew the truth right from the start, you never made me feel like a phony."

Deva: "That's because you're not. A copy, maybe, but you're still as real to me as the original."

Hector: "Thanks, Mom."

Deva: ". . . . ."

Hector: ". . . . ."

Deva: ". . . . ."

A few moments later. . .

Tera: (flies in) "Hey Deva. I'm back from Galar and I. . . Deva?"

Deva: *slurp* *slurp* *slurp* "Hey." *slurp* *slurp* *slurp*

Tera: "Lo. Umm. . ." (looks at her pouch with two tails sticking out) "New pet?"

Deva: *slurp* *slurp* *slurp* "Yup." *slurp* *slurp* *slurp*

Tera: "Kay, good, good." (long awkward pause) "Hector call you Mom for the first time?"

Deva: *slurp* *slurp* *slurp* "Yup." *slurp* *slurp* *slurp*

Tera: "Kay, cool, about time. I'll leave you to it then." (pause) "Don't forget to let him breathe every now and then."

---

Night Furies, Light Furies, and the human viking of whom Hector lives in imitation are © DreamWorks Animation.

Deva Xenelis is © myself.

Original artwork by  lycovore. Please favorite the original here.