Enora and I held hands as we followed the road towards the… city? 

Instead of a standard wall, a dome rose over the city. It looked like something from a specific movie about a park of Jurassic creatures that would have to hold its pteranodons. There was a large entryway from the road with a giant wooden gate. I looked in awe at the massive structure that stretched over the flat landscape. 

"It's too bad I don't have glasses. I would take them off right now in disbelief."

"What are you talking about now, dork? I know it looks insane, but have you seen some structures in your world?" 

She made a fair point I couldn't argue with as we neared the gate. A carriage was let in soon before we arrived. Two guards, both bird people, were at either side of the gate. I couldn't believe my eyes. Each of them looked different from the other. 

Only one had a human head but had black wings as his arms. His legs looked like a velociraptor with large talons at the end. He wore thick, feathery gray armor with a steel plate on the chest. The other guy had the same armor, but his head looked like a parrot. This one had human legs and arms. As we got closer, he was the one to open his beak.

"Boocri? A humacri? And… a vampicri?" I had to contain my laugh. I know it is rude, but he did look kind of silly. 

"Halt!"

We did just as the other bird person said and stopped walking. Now that we were really close, I could see an insignia on their metal plate. It was a black half-circle, and in the center was the profile of a red bird head. 

"Good evening, travelers. What brings you too, Fallicri?" 

Before we could answer, the parrot head spoke. "This one is always a stick in the cri."

"Hmm? Isn't this what the city pays for? I'm just doing my job." 

The parrot person squawked before responding. "I am toocri. Look at them. A vampicri and a humacri. Don't you want to ask them que-cris?"

"We don't get paid to ask questions as long as they don't cause trouble. We won't be troubled." 

"Hey, so will you let us in or not?" My cute girlfriend saved the day. 

Sure, they were funny, but I didn't want to hear them banter away the rest of the evening. The sun had started to set, painting the sky orange. 

"Oh, sorrycri. We will let you in. Just put your hands on this cri-blet, and pay the feecri."

It was Enora who did it first. The black stone tablet lit up green as she did. 

"You're all cri! Miss, Twilight criii?"

"Twilight? " The black-winged birdman yanked the tablet. "It's true. Oi! Annicri!"

A blue and red bird person descended from above the gates. I didn't see her sitting on one of the dome's beams. This one had a bird head, but she had wings and talons. She wore the same armor as the other two. As she landed before the blackbird, she saluted. It looked funny because of her wings. 

"Escort these two to our lord!"

"A humancri? And a vampicri?" Her head was turned to the side as her black eyes narrowed at us. 

"They are guests! You should know what will happen if any harm befalls them!"

"Aye, ayecri! "Annicri said, saluting him. 

While this was all going on, the other parrot man was already finishing a letter. "Take this with cri."

The gate opened inwards as he handed her the letter. 

This was all happening too fast for my smooth brain to process. Could it be that my girlfriend was someone special? I already knew that, but I looked at Enora, and she looked angry. 

"I don't want any special treatment. Can we just pay the fee and enter?"

"I'm afraid that's impossible. Please just follow Annicri. We don't want any trouble."

Enora sighed, “Fine,” she said.

Her arms were crossed and she was staring daggers at the poor black bird who was starting to sweat. I did the first thing I thought of. As I placed a hand on her shoulder, her eyes became softer. 

"Hey, it's okay. These… people are just doing their job. I am sure everything will be fine."

"You're right, but,” she looked back towards the blackbird, "I am still not happy about this."

"I am sorry, but you have to understand my position." 

My girlfriend exhaled. “You're right. I am sorry." She started to bow her head, but the birdman panicked. He waved his wings around.

"Please! Don't do that! If Lord Harken saw that, I would probably lose my head." As Enora righted herself, he let out a relieved sigh. "Thank you, Miss Twilight. And you too, Miss—?" 

"Me? You can just call me Melle." He quickly shook his head.

"I could never. Please."

"Fine. You can call me Lady Garnsey." Enora looked at me with a blank stare. 

"Thank you, Lady Garnsey. I am ashamed to say we don't have a carriage prepared for either of you, so Annicri must escort you two."

"Don't even worrycri. Regarding guard duty, she is the best of the cri." 

Annicri saluted us. "I will get you to the lord's manocri even if it would cost me my cri!" Finally, after much back and forth, we followed closely behind Annicri on the cobbled road that led into the city. 

I held my girlfriend's hand. "I am certain everything will be fine! We will meet the lord. Then we will wake the sleeping giant!" 

In response, she smiled tenderly. I was too focused on her to look around at the city. This whole thing made me realize that I barely knew anything about her. Just what was—

"Wake the sleeping giantcri?" Our parrot escort had cut off my internal thoughts. 

"That has always been her dream. If you ask me, it is adorable!" My whole body warmed up from Enora's words. That was when I realized I was no longer wearing my fur coat. I only had the white long-sleeve on, but it was warm. Looking for summer clothes might be a good idea. 

"What's so great about sleecri giants? If you ask me, they aren't very specri. If anything, I am more curcrious about you two! Are you lovers!?" Annicri asked.

"H-how did you know?" I asked. 

"Crikikikiki!" She laughed as she pointed at our intertwined hands. "If anyone looked at cri, they would know right acri!"

I was confident my face became even redder. 

"My lover is quite cute, isn't she?" Enora asked. It was all foul play. 

Just as I thought I couldn't be more embarrassed, the parrot opened her beak. "That's for cri! Oh! To be so young! Crikikiki!"

"R-really! You don't look very old yourself!" I said as I got louder, attempting to drown out the embarrassment. 

"Crikikiki, you are a cute cri. You are as well, Miss Twicri."

It was Enora's turn to be red. "N-nevermind that…"

"Hoh? So you can dish it out but don't want to take it?" I smirked evilly at her. 

"Sh-shut up, dork! I am not into shameplay!"

"Then what sort of play are you into?" I wanted to tease her more, but Annicri stopped it. 

"Okay, that's enough. We are herecri. Step onto the wooden platcri."

We followed her onto a large wooden platform as big as… probably a few tatami mats. That's what they were called right? I never understood using them as tools of measurement. "Hold onto the railcris… especially cri." She pointed at me with one of her wings. 

Just as Annicri said, the platform shot up like a carnival ride. I almost fell backward, but Enora caught me in a princess carry. "Thanks for the treat."

As the platform stopped at the top, my stomach was doing flips.

"Somehow, this picture feels reversed," I said as I looked into her eyes. 

"Dork."

As she set me down, I got loud at the parrot. "Hey, why don't you warn someone next—? Whoa..."

'Whoa' wasn't enough to describe what I was seeing. There was an entire upper city up there. The ground was a white marble road. On either side of the place were cylindrical bird cages going to the top of the dome. Their tops opened up, and I saw delivery birdmen flying in and out. All of the buildings up here were mansions, and at the very end, straight ahead, up some giant white steps, I saw the most oversized mansion and presumably our destination. My mouth was still hanging open.

"You look just like a tourist, " Enora said.

"I am a tourist! Hey, why aren't you reacting the same way? Have you been here before?"

"Nope. Never. I suppose I have already been culture-shocked quite a bit before." 

Before I could respond, Annicri cut in."We need to hurrycri. Lord Harken has a fixed schedule, and it is already evecring." 

I held my girlfriend's hand as we walked to the large mansion. The mansion had a small half-dome on top, but this one was made of glass. It seemed opaque, and I couldn't see inside. 

Annicri noticed where I was looking. "Right up there is his officry. He does everything from up there during the day."

We were stopped at the door by two more guards who were also, unsurprisingly, bird people. "Hey, Annicri, I am sorry, but the lord can't—"

She handed him the envelope with a stamp that matched their insignias. "My apologies. Head right in. He is just about to be through with another guest."

They opened the large double doors in a practiced motion. We followed Annicri into a lobby area. Tons of bird maids were cleaning the place. They flew next to the wall as they dusted the top of giant paintings. One of the extensive paintings was of the domed city. 

"It must have taken forever to paint that!"

"I heard it took them four moncris." 

Moncris? Months? Moons? I didn't get to ask her as we boarded another wooden platform. This time, I braced myself by hugging Enora.

This platform instantly springboarded to the top floor, causing me to bounce and grab a handful of Enora's chest. It felt so soft and springy. I couldn't resist squeezing. When I looked up, her face had become blood red. "Hey! What did I say about touching!?"

"It was the lift!" 

She looked back down at my hand. "Then why are you still grabbing it!?"

"Can cri love birds flirt later!?" 

I quickly released my hand. Enora and I looked away from each other at the same time. I looked back at my girlfriend. When I met her eyes, I had to look away again.

Annicri dragged us both into a waiting room as she knocked on a door. Enora and I sat on a sofa next to each other as Annicri knocked on the door. Someone let her in the room, which had an opaque glass door. The moment she was gone, I felt awkward. 

I was no longer holding her hand, but my hand was already missing the warmth. Enora was looking away from me towards the door.

"Hey—" 

She didn't look at me but stopped me. "It's okay. I'm not mad."

"Will you look at me?" I asked. 

She still didn't look. Instead, she was twisting the parasol around in her hand. "I can't."

"Please."

 She looked down and slowly turned her head towards me.

"I'm not mad," Enora said again in a small voice. Her parasol vanished before she grabbed me and pulled me into a hug. Her voice was shaky as she spoke into my ear. "I know you didn't mean to, " she said.

I had to see her face. I grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her away. When I met her eyes, I immediately noticed the change. They were glowing. Her cheeks were rosy. Her mouth was hanging open, exposing her fangs. Her breathing was exaggerated. She heaved as she stared at my exposed neck. 

"E-enor-aaa…"

She bit into it as fast as lightning. I had to cover my mouth quickly. It felt electrifying. My legs twitched as I wrapped my arms around the back of her neck. If she were thirsty, I would let her have her fill. My eyes started to roll back, and breathing was becoming difficult by the time she separated from me. I didn't even notice that three people had entered the room.

"Are we interrupting something? So Anicri was telling the truth?" The bird man asked.

"Exacri! It is just as I told you. She has a human lover, and they are in the heat of passion! Crikikiki!" 

Enora buried her face in her hands. I felt bad. "Ha-hey! Don't be rude! She needs sustenance, too!" 

All of the bird people started laughing together. "Crikikikiki" ""hahahahaha!"

"Dork! Yeah, that's right! She was just giving me blood."

"Crikikiki! I'll be on my cri. While I would love to stay, I can't. crikikiki…." Annicri laughed her beak off as she left the door we came in. 

When she was finally gone, one of the remaining birdmen spoke, "Please, let's speak in my office."

The bird led us into his office. Lord Harken was a sharply dressed, entire bird. There were no human features from what I could tell. He was mostly red except for his beak and the tips of his feathers. Those were golden. He wore a fancy black coat with a red tie. The other person looked similar to the blackbird I met at the gate. Just like that bird, his face and torso were human. 

"Welcome to my office. Take a seat,” Lord Harken said.

We took a seat in front of his desk on the black cushioned seats that were present. Lord Harken jumped onto a horizontal pole behind his desk. The other bird stood behind him. Or under him, depending on how you looked at it. The office was open. There was nothing besides this desk, the chairs, and that pole. But this side of the dome wasn't opaque, so that I could see outside into the city below. 

"Surprised?"

"Yes, sir,” I said.

"Please, there's no need to be so formal. You can call me Pier, as you should already know. If you are her lover, you have a higher status."

"Eh?" I looked back over to Enora. 

She sighed, “Please, don't look at me like that. It's a long story."

"As well it should be. Why does the reclusive Twilight clan princess visit my humble city?"

"P-p-princess!?" I almost jumped out of my chair. 

"Like I said, It's a long story. No offense, Lord Harken, but don't speak about my family here. I had planned to lay low in this city for a bit. You and your guards—"

"Alright…Alright, I understand. There is a problem, though. You already stick out as a vampire."

"I don't care if rumors spread, but the people can’t know I am a Twilight."

This time, Lord Harken sighed. “I don't know your reasons, but I will see what I can do. For now, why don't you rest in one of my—"

"There is no need. Come,” Enora said, grabbing my hand. "We are going to get an inn."