Later that morning Dio was filling a fanny pack with hooks and knives. He was intently sharpening a thin kitchen knife against a whetstone when Will approached.

“Are you going fishing?” Will asked.

“What’s it to you?” Dio said coolly.

“I’d like to come with you,” Will said. “I want to study the local ecology and take some notes and samples. You are a druid, right? So you should be able to help me understand it.”

Dio allowed his facade to crack. “Yeah, I’ve been fishing this river for years. It’s salmon season, so there’ll be plenty of extra fish to poke at. Bears, too. Don’t worry,” he paused to flex a bicep, “I’ll protect you.”

“It’s early fall, right?” Will asked. “So, if this is anything like home, it’ll be coho salmon.”

“That’s right!” Dio said excitedly. “I’m impressed that you knew that.”

“I study freshwater environments,” Will said. “I was actually going to university for it before I ended up here.”

“Good,” said Dio. “I’m glad Virge found someone I can carry a conversation with. The other guys were totally uninterested in salmon migration. Can you imagine?”

“What were they like?” Will asked, grabbing a short, blunt knife designed for splitting open oysters. Dio handed him a leather purse, pointing to an insignia on the side calling it “hammerspace certified.”

“It’s not really my place to go into the details, but… neither really respected the severity I think. They acted like this was all a big joke or a game.” Dio chuckled sadly. “The first one was worse; way too handsy. He treated everyone like pieces of meat to handle.”

“And you didn’t like that?” Will asked. He looked inside the bag Dio had given him and immediately regretted it, the vertigo the same as if he had just leaned too far forward on a tall building. Despite how nauseous he felt, he couldn’t tear himself away for a moment.

“Well, I loved it.” Dio replied. “But it bothered Virgil and eventually got on Rex’s nerves too. The guy wouldn’t take no for an answer.”

“And so you threw him off a cliff?”

Dio grunted. “Virgil’s exaggerating. I only pushed him. And he definitely deserved it.”

“Mm. Okay. Is this magic bag safe to look inside?”

“Probably,” said Dio.

“Great,” said Will. “I think we should get going before I feel the need to check again.”

The trail Dio led Will down had been worn down by traffic, probably more than just the juggernaut of a man could make on his own. He actually seemed to step rather lightly through the forest, at least as well as Will now could. They walked in silence, except for the rush of the river and the birdsong in the trees.

“I’m an earth dragon,” said Dio, apropos of nothing.

“Okay,” said Will.

“You were curious about what I am,” said Dio. “The others were, at least, and you’re more curious about everything else than they were.”

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

“I was,” said Will, and it was true. “But I didn’t want to ask. That felt… weirdly personal, I guess.”

“It might’ve been,” said Dio. “Which is why I told you. Curiosity satisfied.”

“Thanks, I think?”

“Can I ask you something weirdly personal?” asked Dio.

“I can’t promise I’ll answer,” said Will. He paused to pick something off the ground; a flat, white disc that reminded Will of a sand dollar.

“If you could go home right now, would you?”

Will pondered this, turning the weathered shell over in his hands. “Like, right now right now?”

“Yeah,” said Dio. “Just… poof. Gone.”

“I don’t know,” said Will, and it was true. “I’ve never been good at snap decisions. I guess right now, I’d want to see what the river environment is like, since we came out this far anyways. I’m just… naturally curious.”

“Good to know,” said Dio. “since we’re almost there. The spawning site is only a bit further down.”

They came to a sharp curve that led the river down an obtuse angled waterfall, where it pooled into a long, fairly shallow lake. As Dio had said, there were several salmon splashing about, and many more salmon carcasses in varying states of decay.

“I’m gonna find a fishing spot that smells less like rotten meat,” said Dio. “Holler if you need anything.”

“Oh,” said Will. “Okay.”

Dio turned halfway towards Will. “Do you want me to stick around?”

“I’d appreciate your expertise,” said Will.

Dio blushed a light green, which stood out strongly against his slate-gray skin. “Oh, alright.”

Will narrowed his eyes. “Not you, too.”

“No, no, it’s not that,” said Dio. “Trust me.” he sat down on a large, moss-covered rock. “It’s just that most people don’t see me as an expert on anything. Except maybe fighting or sex. I mean, I love fighting and sex, but… I don’t know. I don’t know, this is stupid.”

“You want to be appreciated for more than your horny granite exterior?” Will asked.

“Yeah, sure,” said Dio, peridot blush spreading further. “If you want to put it that way.”

“I get that,” said Will. He knelt back against a tree. “I haven’t been satisfied with this exterior either.”

“Nobody chooses how they’re born,” said Dio. “and I don’t think anyone ever really gets over that.”

“That’s quite insightful,” said Will.

“Thanks, I stole it from a traveling minister I fucked in a confessional booth.”

“That was at least three more details than I needed to know,” said Will. He mentally stopped himself from asking about the geometry of that scenario.

“Want me to make it four?” asked Dio.

“No. I’m gonna start looking at fish carcasses.”

“Tough crowd tonight I see,” said Dio. He followed Will down to the waterline.

“Huh,” said Will. He had turned over a not-quite-deceased salmon with a stick and was looking at the underside. “Sea urchins.”

“I do see some urchins,” said Dio. “They’re good eating if you know how to open one.”

“No no, sea urchins,” Will said. He poked one of them with the stick until it was separated from the fish. “Although I suppose they wouldn’t be sea urchins here.”

“An urchin is an urchin,” said Dio. He reached past Will to grab the creature of the water with a bare hand. He wiggled it around, inspecting it.

“Yeah, but isn’t that a little ambiguous?” Will asked. He waded deeper into the lake in search of more invertebrates. “‘Urchin’ is a word with multiple meanings.”

“When was the last time you used ‘urchin’ to describe something other than the animal?” asked Dio. He pulled the unfortunate echinoderm apart from the bottom as if he was peeling an orange, then scooped out its saffron-colored, edible gonads.

“Fair point,” said Will. “Pass me that stick. I think there’s some sea stars down here.”