When you hunt weird creatures for a long time, you reach a point where they don't really scare you anymore.

At least some of them.

And some of them, the friendly ones, even stopped being scared of you, just like little animals.

There's an old aztec myth, it says that when you drink you gradually start seeing bunnies. When you're tipsy you just see a few, then they grow in number, to a max of four hundred.

These tiny creatures didn't hurt people, they hid all the time, they liked cheering on drunk people.

They were little balls of fluffy fur, and they had long teeth, and long sharp ears. They almost looked like normal bunnies, but there was something about them that reminded me of stars.

I could currently count ten ears, four… No, twenty-five. Their ears shifted away from reality and back, it was funny to look at.

Now, I wasn't the drunk one, so I couldn't see all of them. They were all looking at the great show that was the lanky guy sitting at the bar.

There was a small drop of sweat on his neck, his tan face was a little bit red, and he had drunk just one shot of whiskey.

I expected a reaction like that, usually when people find out about unusual creatures like the bunnies the first thing they did was getting drunk.

At least this guy was a happy drunk.

-So Pisje, basically this huge cock shows in the room, I mean, a big snake.

He snorted at that, the girl from the library rolled her eyes and kept eating her fries.

-And mullet guy threw salt at it or something and it became clay, but my eyes were closed. I mean I thought I was seeing things when the ghost thing happend but this? Yeeeesh, I hope I don't find one of those in my bed.

He was kind of talkative though, people usually kept the weird stuff to themselves, but this guy was so open about this, and no one of course believed him.

He was gonna end up in therapy.

-Lance, I swear if you tell me once more about Mullet and his Cock I'm gonna tie you to a street light and leave.

That made me cringe a little bit.

Eventually they left the bar and the bunnies followed. I ate an olive, Allura was late as always.

I instinctively hooked my ring finger around the rosary I wore around my neck.

Oops.

I tucked it inside my shirt.

-I was wondering when you'd remember.

-Hello Allura, where did you park?
-She's still flying, how are you Keith? Still overworking yourself?

-I'm not gonna stop until I've found him.

Allura frowned, her mouth was a thin straight line. She tried to reach my hand, but right now, I couldn't bear to be touched, I could see the pity in her eyes. It wasn't like her and I didn't want any of that

-Did you find anything?- I asked without looking at her, instead I pretended I found the olives' toothpick more interesting.

-Not even a clue, I asked Coran to-

-What? Allura, I asked you to not involve anyone else, it's not necessary, I've got this.

-You clearly don't, just let me-

-Listen- I was tired of having this argument over and over -I accepted your help because you're my friend, but I can do this alone, there's not even a guarantee that he's alive.

The look on her face made me instantly regret my last sentence. She was wearing this hurt look that should have mirrored mine, but I was tired, and was keeping on going out of sheer determination.

-I will find him- I said -I'm strong, you don't have to worry.

-But you're human.

-You're being specist.

-You know what I mean. You're no good dead.

-Yeah I got it.

I got up and wore my black leather jacket, took two lollipops out of my jacket's pocket and offered one to Allura, but I knew she would refuse.

She shook her head, and we went outside.
The night had gotten suddenly very cold, and I knew why.

-Where's she?

-Just down the block, there's a big parking space there.

We walked down the street, I was shrugging a bit in my jacket, but Allura didn't seem to be bothered by the cold.

It was very quiet, except for a couple people we met on the way.

-Yeah honey I'm coming home.

-Goodnight baby.

-Thanks Hunk, I'll see you around.

We got at the parking lot and were about to greet goodnight, when the person I was expecting the least almost threw up on my shoes.

That was a lie, if I'm expecting to randomly meet someone lately, it's this guy.

He put a hand on my chest to keep himself up, but that was gross, and I moved to the side.

He almost fell on his own barf and that was hilarious.

-Stop laughing, you jerk.

-This jerk saved your life a couple times.

-Yeah sure, but you've been pretty salty about it.

Holy cow this idiot.

-Stop following me anyway- he said, and I grunted, but he didn't pay attention to me because he saw Allura.

And Allura had this effect on everyone, it was part of her nature. It's a little embarrassing to admit but I was also very charmed when I first met her.

-Well with all the weird shit that I've seen lately, you must be an angel.

The guy sucked at compliments, but Allura giggled anyway.

-You hear Keith? He thinks I'm an angel.

She looked at him and flashed her tongue out, it was just like a snake's, and that surprised the guy; he seemed to think about it, but then his cheshire smile got wider,

-For God's sake Lars, are you already used to this stuff?

-Nah, I'm just drunk, and it's Lance.

-What if she wants to eat your face, Lance?

-She's more than welcome- he said, and he winked. -Especially with that tongue.

Allura was very unimpressed at the drunk guy's wooing skills.

-It's a dragon tongue, it's for speaking languages, not for making out with guys.

Lance snorted.

-Seguro, hablame un poco de esto entonces-

-Es una lengua de dragón, y hay otro dragón que vuela sobre tu cabeza.

-What?

In that moment Allura's lizard came flying from the sky, Allura jumped, the dragon flew underneath her and flew up toward the sky.

They came down for a moment and Allura told me to call her if I needed anything, I just nodded.

It was suddenly quiet, it was nice. Lance stopped talking.

He looked at me, I smiled and offered him candy. He took it and started nervously sucking on it.

-Lance are you serious? I got to your house and when I looked back you weren't following me anymore! Come on man, Pidge is gonna kill me if I- Keith?

-Oh, hi Hunk.

-What are you doing here?

-Saving your friend's ass apparently.

Lance put a hand on my shoulder, and then he fainted. I was able to catch him and prevent his head from hitting the ground.

Hunk looked at me with a questioning look -More ghosts?

-Nope, a cockatrice and Allura's dragon.

-Oh I get it. Guess there's no way to convince him he dreamt that now.

-I don't think we should anyway.

It looked like Lance had become some weird monster magnet.

I circled his shoulders with one arm, and put the other under his knees, princess style.

-Let's bring him home for now?

-Yeah, we'll talk to him tomorrow, I'll call Pidge and tell her he's not gonna go to work.

I nodded, and looked at Lance's face: the lollipop was still hanging from his mouth, almost falling.

I was a bit grossed out thinking he had just puked, but I couldn't help being a bit sad for the guy, seeing him like that.

Me and Hunk took turns carrying him to their house, but Hunk did most of the job.

Every time I carried him, his body felt warmer and warmer. I couldn't tell if it was a fever or if I was just cold in my clothes, but it was pleasant and it worried me at the same time.

When we got at their apartment I left Lance half conscious in Hunk's hands.

-Where are you staying?- Hunk asked before I could leave.

-In my car, I just arrived.

-You know, we got a couch if you want.

I shook my head no but as I started to walk away I felt pulling on my jacket.

Lance was glaring at me and he was still for a while, then he tried to talk, but the lollipop was in the way.

He was still sucking on it, and when I took it out of his mouth it made a pop sound.

-Shut up- he said, and he took back his lollipop.

He jumped off Hunk's arms, but he was still wobbly. He pushed his palm on his forehead squeezing his eyes close.

After he gained back his balance he stepped into the house, and went to crash on his bed.

Hunk shrugged and smiled at me.

I guess no one who sleeps in a car can refuse a couch after all.

I woke at dawn like usual, and I was the only one up. I stretched my back and it popped in place. I couldn't remember the last time I slept like this: I hadn't had any dreams, and actually being surrounded by four walls made me feel safer.

But being in such a comfortable place all of a sudden was making me uneasy. There was a soft ray of light coming from the window, just a few people were walking around the streets, everything was very still.

I couldn't bear it.

I took off my shirt, I got goosebumps right away, but didn't pay attention to that. I started doing my situps.

Morning training was a routine for me, it woke me up, it made me feel in control, it put me at ease.

First one to wake up was Hunk.

-Morning- he said yawning, he didn't even look at me, he went straight to the coffee machine.

-Hope you don't mind-

-Food- he interrupted me raising a finger. He went towards the fridge and poured himself a bowl of milk and started peeling a banana.

As he took the first bite he gestured me to keep talking.

-Uh, hope you don't mind me training in the living room?

-Nah it's alright, if you want to shower later I can give you a towel.

The coffee machine beeped, but Hunk just ignored it.

-You gonna get that?- i asked.

Hunk shrugged -It's for Lance, he's cranky on normal mornings, but with today's hangover is gonna get him homicidal… You'll thank me later. Oh but if you want some just tell me, I'll get you a cup.

I shook my head, I had been awake for a long time now, and all the drowsiness had left me.

-Are you gonna eat then?

-Maybe after pushups- I smiled, and I got back to my workout.

It wasn't long after that that Lance emerged from his room like a corpse coming back to life, but I was facing the opposite way.

He just stood there in silence, Hunk wasn't looking at him.

I could feel him staring at me though and I couldn't focus. I turned my head to glare at him, and he was looking at me with thin sleepy eyes.

I put weight on my hand in a weird way and my wrist cramped.

-Oh quiznak!

I almost faceplanted, but I put an elbow to the ground and saved my nose. I stood up.

-Quiz… Snack? Seriously? Hunk, why is mullet naked in our living room?

I frowned at the nickname. -It's Keith-

-Behave Lance, he helped me carry you home last night.- said Hunk

-And you were the one to insist that I'd sleep here.

Lance's eyes went big, then he walked past me and poured himself a cup of coffee.

-So what, now we're best buddies?- he asked. His tone was getting on my nerves, seeing him drinking his first sip of coffee calmed me down. It was pure bliss, I'd never seen someone changing so much after caffeinating.

-I'd hope so, I mean, I carried you in my arms.

-Ugh, don't say that.

-Like a princess.

-ALRIGHT Keith, why don't you grab a towel and take a shower? I can finish my breakfast, and you get to not smell like a dog.

While the phrasing wasn't making me happy, the thought of a hot shower was very alluring.

-Bathroom is the right door, I'll get you the towel- He chugged down the last of his coffee and went in the room he came from. -If you finish my shampoo for that ridiculous haircut I'm gonna shave your head.

I pretended not to hear that and went in their bathroom.

It was small, but it was something, I looked in the mirror, I still had a bit of a bedhead.

I let some water flow from the shower to let it warm, and I started undressing.

I had just my underwear on when Lance came in without knocking.

-Rude much?

He crystallized there and his face turned a bit red.

-Why are you in such a hurry to get naked?

-Why did you come in without knocking?

That got me a towel to the face, he left the room muttering something along the line of “too early for this shit”.

Best shower I had had in weeks.