Snake blinks at the creature beside him. Unlike most here, he has no way to tell who is what. All he can see is a party full of otherworldly people – most, if not all of whom are something more than human. What Snake can and does recognize is age in this one’s eyes. Nam may look like a young man, younger even than Snake, but his eyes are deep and ancient as the seas.

Nam’s comment earns a helpless little smile. Snake reaches into his back pocket and unfolds the invitation written in the looping hand of their host. With the other, he rubs the back of his neck.

“This happens a lot to me,” he admits.