That's Not My Name

Ethan's Friend Nova

They looked back up to Laufna to be greeted by a warm, safe smile. "Ethan. My name is Ethan... I'm a boy." Laufna smiled and said, "Nice to meet you, Ethan. My name's Laufna. Just remember, if you ever need a safe space, anyone who works at the shop is happy to just let you hang out if you want to. You're not alone." Ethan nodded, and Laufna walked back into the shape to see their friend, Dausha being yelled at by Susan. Laufna stepped between them and said, "Woah, woah! What's going on here??" As Laufna tried to explain, horribly Dausha calmly explained, "She's mad because she can't tell what my gender is and that I won't tell her. Also, I don't think she's fit to adopt a phenaha, a kahla, or... Anything. I hope she doesn't have any kids."

Laufna leans over to Dausha and whispers, "Yeah... She does. Her son's in that car over there." Susan stops in her tracks and says, "Excuse me? Who are you talking about? I don't have a son." Laufna looks right into her soul and says, "My mistake. Your child" Susan wags her finger and says, "My daughter." Laufna says, "Do you want the phenaha or not." Susan scoffs and says, "Maybe I shouldn't have come to a Herhausetan shop. Now... I'm gonna go find a normal human shop."

Laufna smiles and says, "Sorry, but there aren't many human shops in this part of Herhaus, but I will offer you a deal for this phenaha." Susan scoffs and says," That's more like it." Laufna technically didn't lie, but they did only give Susan a 10% discount. Susan waved as she left. Laufna sighed and said, "That... Was exhausting." "Psch. Tell me about it." Dausha says as he takes a drink.

Laufna just thinks about how happy they made Ethan, and they hope that he's doing well and enjoys his phenaha. Laufna walks to the back room and grabs a cup of coffee. Hours pass, and as Laufna is saying goodbye to their last customer, the phenaha they sold to Susan and Ethan flies in with a note tied onto its back. They untie the note and place it on a bird tree. As the customer left, they leaned on the desk and read the note. "Dear Laufna. I wanted to keep Nova- my bird- but my home was not good, and my mom didn't even buy any food for them. So please take care of them. I will visit the store and pay for food if I need to. Just please take care of my bird. Thank you. From: Ethan."

They put the note down and looked up at Nova. They smiled and said to themselves, "I promise..." "Who've you been talking to?" Dausha said as he crunched on a chip. Laufna got up quickly and said, "O-Oh! Nothing, hehe. That kid of that... Karen? Am I using that correctly? Well, he asked me to take care of his phenaha." "Oh," Dausha says as he takes another bite, "Alright." Laufna then realizes and says to themselves, "Wait... Do I have to stay here overnight?"

The end.