Father O'Brien is briefly too started to reply, but he is rescued from answering by Jenny's reappearance. "Okay, all good! Found 'em, Mama's got the herd under control, time to go?"

Alli's waiting for them at their flying spot. There's a pile of paper airplanes next to her. "It's my favorite non-extinct critters! Right on time."

"Hi, Alli. How're you doing?"

"Oh man. So ready for my tragic poetry. Woe is me. I only have super strength and magic skin. But lo, I cannot fly. How will I live."

"Well, the magic skin means you'd probably survive if we all tried to pick you up, wanna try?"

"Wait what- maudit, are you serious, yes please."

"Okay, wingspans mean we shouldn't haul you by your arms, but we could... I don't know, get some rope, make a harness?"

"I... have no idea how to make one of those. And I don't know how invulnerable my bones are to long drops, so... maybe some testing. A lot. A lot of testing."

"It would mean no hauling you around today, but you could get something like a hang glider harness and climbing ropes with carabiners and we could hold onto that?"

"I'm bringing a cameraaaaa!"

"Like that would stop me."

"Is it really a good idea having critter shenanigans on camera?"

"Er, why not? I mean, don't take them to a clueless developer or anything, but oh my gosh we have so many pictures of the herd at home I can't even tell you."

"Okay, fair enough. It just seems harder to keep a consistent handle on it that way."

"Meh, I don't think it's any harder than hiding the whole 'I can sprout claws and fangs at will' thing."

"Typically you're aware that you're doing that, whereas someone could swipe your home videos without tipping you off."

"I mean, sure, I'm aware when I'm in fullform, but not necessarily if other people can see me?" Jenny says with a shrug. "No one's perfect. I don't know of anyone ever spotting me, but I know it happens. Crying 'Bigfoot' has worked weeeeirdly well so far."

"It's probably getting to be about time that keeping it hushed up forever is untenable. Maybe after we've handled the immediate results of being a dragon and a sphinx we'll see about negotiating telling humans things."

"Huh. On the one hand, hell yes I'm never using scissors instead. On the other, if I get forced into the CAF, I blame you."

"Any outcome that results in a critter draft is unsatisfactory."

"Well yeah, I don't think you'd do it on purpose, I've met you."

"Do you find lion claws to actually be a practical alternative to scissors? I have not found this."

"Not for most stuff. But most of the time I just use scissors to open boxes, which claws are killer at. And looks way cooler."

Jenny sprouts wings and grins. "Flying to school would be sooooo great I can't even tell you. But till then. Flying? Pleeeease?"