Even Tacka chimed in now and then, the drink loosening her scaly lips.To his surprise, he was actually beginning to relax and have some fun, the alien... buying the two humans as many drinks as they required to feel the effects. It reminded him of spending an evening with a group of close friends, then he realized that these were his friends. They had spent enough time together, been through so much, that he felt comfortable describing them as such.After a while, the table was littered with empty. He looked disappointed when I put the bowl back where it belonged, but took a couple of tentative licks to make sure it was only water."You've had enough food to last you for a week, you stupid dog."I heard Mom say, "Why don't you get yourself a bowl of ice cream and the two of you can share it."I turned around to see her walk into the kitchen, followed by Jack."Oh, I COULDN'T EAT ANOTHER THING." Both Jack and his mother said it along with me.Jack added, "Yeah, right."I decided that subject had. Papa had always been so kind and warm to his kin, hiding a deep sorrow within his soul that few even suspected, and even fewer knew the truth of; his youth was spent pining over another, and the revolt against the apes had been born of some tragedy that had befallen Papa's lover. Papa Sequoia stood majestic and proud, his titan-like stature exceeding all others abound him and drawing the attention of even the briefest of glances; he feared only for those within his kingdom and nothing. He wasn't sure if it were Richie's attitude or the tone of his voice, but Jason didn't like it just the same. "Maybe later."Richie paused for a moment. His lips curled slowly into a sly grin. "I ran into Heather yesterday."Jason's eyebrows lifted. "You did?" Oh, yeah. We talked about you."Jason said nothing."You wanna know what she said?" I have an idea," Jason said bitterly."Maybe you do and maybe you don't," Richie said with an enigmatic smile.Jason sighed. "Okay, what did she say?" Hang out.