“You did that together?” Felix says. “That actually soundsfun.”
Of course he’d be shocked that the color guard does anything enjoyable. I swallow down my annoyance, but then Max elbows him and Felix sits up straighter.
“I didn’t know you did that with the guard,” Max says. “That’s a really cool idea.”
I blink, but once again there’s no sarcastic follow-up. It’s weird…and nice.
“I’ve been thinking about her ever since,” Li continues, “and I think she’s a gardener and farmer. She loves growing food for her family and having others over so she can cook for them. She gets up early and stays outside as long as she can every day, and the only reason she comes back in is to cook what she’s grown. But, uh, if that doesn’t work for this game then I can change it and do something else.”
Nova and I shake our heads immediately. “No, don’t change it. That’s great,” I say.
Her cheeks get pink. “And, um, she looks like this.” Li pushes a paper into the middle of the table, and everyone leans over to see a gorgeous purple-haired elf wearing orange overalls and holding a huge basket of produce.
“Whoa,” Nova says.
“Did you draw that yourself?” Felix asks.
“Yeah. I drew all the guard characters too. I’m happy to draw yours as well. I mean, if that’s something you think you’d want.”
“Um yes,” Nova says immediately. “Although mostly I want a picture of Zelda.”
“That’s awesome, Li. Thank you,” I say. “Felix, how about you? Did you get a chance to think about a character?”
“Uh…” He looks down at his phone and then back up. “I took some notes, but I should redo it. Or I could skip this session if it takes too much time.”
“But you said before you were pumped for your character,” Max argues.
Felix rubs the back of his neck. “It’s just…this is totally weird, but I actually created an elf druid as well.” He glances up at Li and there’s a moment of recognition between them. Like they hadn’t quite seen each other until right now. “But we can’t have two of the same character when there are only four of us, and Li came up with hers earlier—”
“No, it’s fine,” I say at the same time that Li says, “I can make a new character if you need me to.”
“No one needs to make a new character,” I interrupt. “It’s a little unusual, maybe, but druids are a versatile class. The party will need magic users and healers. I think it can work. In fact, I bet it could add a fun new dimension to the party. Maybe…” I hesitate, knowing what a huge ask this is. “Only if you want, but maybe you two could chat sometime about your character backstories? Or text each other if that’s easier?”
“That would make sense,” Nova says. “Maybe your characters could share some early experiences or even know each other?”
Li and Felix lock eyes across the table and I hold my breath. I know how nervous Li has been. But Felix nods and she gives him a tentative smile.
“Yeah, we could probably do that,” she says.
Whew. Okay, so far so good. I glance at Max and try to swallow down my anxiety. “Well, last but not least, what do you have, Max?”
“I’m playing Axolotl.”
My stomach flips and I turn more fully toward him. “From…the characters we created in junior high?”
“I didn’t know you knew each other before,” Felix says.
“We hung out when we were younger before he moved away,” I explain quickly before turning back to Max. “How do you still remember that?”
He looks incredulous. “The same way you do. You had Axolittle and I had Axolotl. They’re some of my favorite things I’ve ever created. There’s no way I’m playing some random character when I can play Axolotl, the dragonborn fighter who wields his two—” He points to me.
“Axes,” I say to the rest of the group.
The others chuckle at the silly gimmick name, but I’m shaken that he’s held on to that for so long. I never would have guessed that he cared that much. Granted, Max had fallen off the couch laughing when we thought up the characters, but he’d been a dorky thirteen-year-old, so the bar for making him laugh like that was low.
“Okay, well it sounds like we have our party, so…I guess we should get started.” More anxiety rolls through me. They’re all looking at me eagerly, and it hits me how this whole thing rests on my shoulders. Sure, they have to do their own role-playing, but ultimately the game can’t continue unless I can hold my own. I’m grateful that the DM screen is there to hide my jittery hands.
We spend a little time making sure that everyone has complete character sheets and stats and then move into the actual campaign.
