They sat in a circle, eagerly waiting as Zephyr sat working, silently, waiting.

They’d all been studying the stack of papers and books, trying to decode them, when Zephyr had made a breakthrough. The first one yet. It was a small torn piece of paper, probably ripped from a notebook.

Aizma tried to peek over his shoulder, but she felt the glare of her brother Xip.

“Let him work.” Xip whispered

Aizma sighed, it was so hard to wait.

“I’ve got it!” Zephyr stood up, and dropped his pen

“What’s it say?” Ilixus was the first to ask

Zephyr sat back down and began to read

Dear Santa

Riley says Santa dont come to foster kids but I don’t believe her.

I don’t got a actual list this year, I just want you to find my little sister Gracie. I miss her so much. They took us to different houses and I dont know where she is anymore. But you know where all the kids live so you can find her and bring her here.

From Max

PS I tried to be as good as I can this year

“It appears to be written by a young human.” Zanika commented after Zephyr had finished reading

“I’ve been trying to figure out what Santa is.” Zephyr nodded

“I’ve heard about this one.” Vregim, a mentor in the Voung Verzam Research Committee jumped in the conversation “Santa is a fictional character who brings human children presents on one of their holidays.”

“If he’s fictional than how is he going to find Gracie?” Aizma asked with a frown

“He isn’t.” Vregim shook his head

“Where’d we get this?” Xip asked suddenly

“It was sitting on the ground somewhere, tied to a deflated balloon.” Ilixus explained

“We’ve got to help Max find his sister.” Aizma exclaimed

“And how are we supposed to do that?” Vregim asked realistically

“I dont know.” Aizma said “But I’m going to find out.”

“Me too.” Ilixus agreed

“Count me in.” Zanika nodded

“Well if the girls are in I suppose I’m in too.” Xip said

“It’s settled then.” Zephyr nodded “We’ll scour these writings for the next few hours to find any useful information, and then make a plan.”

Suddenly the door opened and someone flew in “Am I late?” He asked

“Leven?” Zanika exclaimed

“You’re extremely late.” Xip said

“I was just perfecting my new techno machine that I can use to connect and interact with the humans technology.

Aizma caught Zanika’s eye, and they both grinned

“What are the girls cooking up?” Leven asked confused

“Sit down.” Zephyr laughed “We’ve gotta fill you in.”