“Okay, I hate to ask again, but you’re SURE you’re not a Hellhound?” Cheryl sat in her usual spot on the roof, leaning against the wall next to the door.
“I’m sure. I’m serious, I don’t even know if those actually exist, or if they’re made up.”
“…How do I know you’re not lying to me? Are you allowed to lie, or do you have to tell the truth?”
I sighed wearily. “I’m not under any sort of compulsion or anything to tell the truth, there’s no Fey Rule or anything like that. You can’t really know for sure if I’m lying. I’m really, really bad at lying, but I could be lying when I say that.”
“But you’re not lying?”
“I’m not, but again, I could be lying about not lying. I don’t have a way to prove the negative. Since I’m your only information source, and you don’t know my abilities or the abilities of a Hellhound, I don’t think you can logically guarantee I haven’t… engaged in an elaborate series of falsehoods, falsifying any test you give, and so on.”
“You sound like a textbook.” Cheryl gave me a strange look.
“…I like logic and puzzles and stuff. I’ve read a lot.”
“You can read?”
“I can talk, can’t I?”
“I… guess I didn’t really think that through.”
“It’s all right. Look, I promise that I won’t lie to you, but whether you trust that promise is, well, it’s up to you. I can’t give you anything but my word that you can’t find a reason to not accept. Like, if you got holy water from a church and splashed it on me, it wouldn’t do anything, but then you might question whether the water is actually holy, or if I’m somehow able to resist it.”
“…Is holy water a thing? Like, a real thing, with actual holy… power?”
“I don’t know! I mean, I don’t think it is? But then again, I’ve seen a lot of things I didn’t think were things.”
Cheryl continued to stare at me, thinking for a while. Finally, she breathed in deep and let it out in a long sigh. “Okay, I trust you. I’m gonna accept your word.”
“Wait, just like that?” I tilted my head a little, my tail wagging slowly. I was glad, it just seemed a little sudden.
“Well, like you said, I can’t PROVE anything. But, if you really are hiding bad intentions, you’re both really, really good at it, and also really playing the long game. I mean, you jumped off the roof to stop Chad the first time, and you chased him down while he was crazy and wielding a shotgun the second time. All for me. I’d say that’s earned you a pretty large amount of trust.”
“I, um… I mean, yeah, I guess… Though, the jump wasn’t that bad, I’m pretty durable, and I was pretty sure he only had two shots so I figured I had a chance when I charged, I didn’t think I was in that much danger…”
“That was still incredibly brave of you. Though, I have to ask, why do the whole Hellhound bit, anyway?” She was still watching me intently. Even with the decision to trust, she still seemed nervous.
“Oh. I… I wanted to scare him into not fighting anymore.” I looked down at the gravel. “I didn’t know if he’d have another weapon, or if he’d do something in desperation, or what. And… and I didn’t want to kill him. He’s pretty horrible, but he doesn’t deserve to die for something that’s my fault.”
“Your fault? How is his delusion your fault?”
I winced, sighing again. “He… well… After the baseball bat, I kinda… tracked him to his house and threatened him. That’s… how he got the whole Hellhound thing into his head.”
“Because you talked? He was claiming you literally breathe fire.”
“…” I stayed silent, squirming a little in place.
“You breathe FIRE?”
“Hey, hey, no need to shout! What if there’s someone in the parking lot or something?”
“I don’t know! That seems like a ‘need to shout’ kind of thing!”
“Look, I’m… It’s… It’s kind of a long story, I don’t… Hey, if I was going to lie to you, I’d lie about that, wouldn’t I? And it’d be easy!”
“What else aren’t you telling me?”
“Hey, it’s not that I don’t WANT to tell you! It’s just… I… It’s a lot… and…”
“And what? You won’t even let me touch you, you won’t tell me the truth about you, I don’t know anything! And… and I saw those claw marks, on Chad! Those aren’t dog claws! And they said there was blood, but you don’t have an injury, I didn’t see any blood on you there! Did you get hit? Where?”
I winced and squirmed with each question, my heart racing. “I mean, a little, n-not a serious hit… I… I just…”
“Show me where you got hit!”
“I’m scared! I’m… I’m scared, really, really scared, okay? Please, just… I don’t… I’m scared you’ll hate me, if you know too much.” I sniffled, shaking, all the fear, the whole roller coaster of emotions of the last 24 hours, it was too much to handle. The thought of losing my friend, getting her back, and losing her again so rapidly…
“Why would I hate you?”
“Because that’s what humans do! They hate me! All of them! They just… just wanna kill me, or kick me out of places, or skin me and use my hide to make stuff, or think I’m gonna burn the building down, or crap on their floors, or attack someone randomly, or– or… I don’t even know! I’m a dangerous monster! The only one who doesn’t think that is Master, and people that trust Master has me enslaved!” I was shaking, this time staring up at her, but I have no idea how much my emotions translated to either face, dragon or dog.
“…You… really think that? I mean… skin you? That’s a bit…”
“Before Master rescued me, the humans who had me in holding were talking about selling me to a butcher and how much my hide would fetch, yes.”
“Holy crap… Why would they think you’re such a dangerous monster?”
My gaze fell to the floor again.
“You said you didn’t want to kill Chad over something that wasn’t his fault. Have… have you ever killed a human?”
My breath caught in my throat and I winced. Breathing out, I nodded. “Four. The first was… a madman. The one that tortured me. Master got the credit for beating him, he gave me the opening, but… it was me that took his life. Claws ripping through flesh, snapping ribs, jaws tearing his throat, tasting his blood, smelling, feeling, I–” I was shaking worse as the memory played once more. It had been a while, but it was still a frequent presence in my thoughts.
Cheryl was also not looking so great. “Wow… But still, he… He did a lot to you, right? You did say he tortured you.”
“He… was creative. Insane. Paranoid. He was going to kill Master, I had to– I… I don’t… like… that I had to do it, but… I don’t regret it.”
“Do you regret the other three?”
“…No. They shot Master, they planned to kill the others, they probably had killed plenty of people in the past.”
“They shot him? But he lived?”
“Yeah, he did. I killed three of them, the other guards killed the rest. It was a group… I don’t… remember it all too clearly. When Master went down, I kinda… Time sorta goes weird, everything was red, I… I was so scared that he was dead…” I was sniffling again, breathing shakily.
“Hey, hey, it’s okay… It’s… what you had to do. Self defense. You said they were killers. You’re not a monster for defending yourself and your Master. And others, you said.” She reached out a hand to comfort me, but I looked up with a scared look in my eyes and she pulled back. “Sorry, just… I don’t know what to say. You’ve had it pretty rough, it sounds like. But… for what it’s worth, I don’t think you’re a monster.”
“Thank you. It’s a lot. I just… I’m still really scared. I promise, I’ll tell you everything, but… I’m scared. Once the secret is out, it’s out, and… I don’t know, maybe it’s better you don’t know. Maybe it’s dangerous to even know about. I’m sure a lot of humans would be very eager to see me captured or killed, if they knew…”
“Will you at least tell me where you got hit? I’m, well, I’m still studying, but I’m almost a vet. Maybe I can help?”
“Nnh. I heal fast, and well. It’ll heal fine, it’s just… not pleasant, for a while…”
“Still. Please? You got injured protecting me, I feel really bad about it.”
“…You promise you won’t hate me?”
“I promise.” She held one hand over her heart and the other up with palm outward.
I looked around, even though it’s not like there’d be anyone else on the roof with us. Sighing, I lowered my head a little. “I got hit in the wing. I raised it to spook Chad into firing his second shot, but he was a little quicker on the trigger than I hoped.”
“The wing. You have wings.”
“Chad saw them, when I breathed fire. Hence, Hellhound.” I knew nothing could be done about it, so I extended my right wing out, causing it to push past the field covered by the illusion. The last third or so of it was pretty badly mangled, large holes in the membrane, sagging as one of the “fingers” was broken and part of the bone was missing.
Cheryl was understandably startled at the appearance, legs kicking amid the gravel, eyes wide in amazement even after she calmed down from her initial reaction. “You… That’s a wing! Like, an actual wing! …How the hell are you hiding that? Can you fly? It looks like a bat wing, kinda. Aren’t you heavy? I have so many questions!”
I took a step back, the wing folding halfway. “S-sorry, I didn’t mean to… scare you or anything. I don’t… It’s… kind of part of the secret, for now? Just… Yeah, I can fly. Well, not with this injury, but it’ll heal, probably a day or two. The individual holes are small, there’s just a lot of them. It’s already stopped bleeding, see?”
She moved a little closer, reaching out to touch the wing but stopping herself. She looked it over, seeing where it faded into invisibility a few inches from my “fur”. “No wonder he thought you were a Hellhound, they kinda do look like demon wings.”
I huffed softly. “They’re not demon wings, they’re my wings.” Being examined made me feel really self-conscious, so finally I pulled it back in against my body, making it disappear from view once again. “But what about you? What are you going to do now? If Chad’s in prison, you could stay at his place, possibly.”
It was her turn to look away, her arms crossing over her chest to hug herself. “No… No, I can’t even think of that house without… thinking of him with a shotgun, screaming, shooting… I don’t want to be there. I’ve got a friend that’s letting me stay at her place, she’s got a big house all to herself. Maybe you could stay with me, until we find your owner?”
“Mrrrhr. I don’t know if that’s a good idea… I mean, at the very least, you should ask your friend. And… it feels kinda wrong, asking for permission when you aren’t giving them all the details, so they can make an informed decision. I dunno.”
“That sounds like an excuse. Even if I did have all the details, I wouldn’t be able to give them either, would I?”
“…Probably not, no.”
“Well, then maybe when I get my own place. There’s plenty of empty spots in town, I can find one soon. Between savings and my parents, it shouldn’t be a problem.”
“Maybe. We’ll see. But the roof here is fine! A-and the kibble, it’s… Well, it works…”
“Not a fan of it?”
“I’m not used to it… And, don’t take it the wrong way, but I hope I don’t get used to it? But it fills the stomach, so I don’t have to rely entirely on dumpsters or begging for scraps outside the butcher shop.”
“Is that what you’ve been doing all this time? What about when you’re at home? What does your owner feed you?”
“The same stuff he eats. Well, not all of it, just the stuff I can eat. Meat, especially pork. Sometimes eggs. Maifen’s stew is wonderful, though I usually eat around the potatoes.” My tail wagged, mouth watering a little, as I remembered it.
“Maifen? Who’s that?”
“Oh, she runs a… a little place, nearby. Kind of a bed-and-breakfast, I guess. And lunch and dinner. She’s got a crush on Master, and so she kinda dotes on me sometimes. Not that she knows I can talk or anything.” I let out a soft giggle.
“Huh. Strange name.”
“Yeah, I guess.” It looked like she was debating whether to say anything else, when the door next to us opened suddenly.
The Counter Guy, the same one that often refilled the kibble bowl, leaned out and looked around, seeing us sitting there. “Hey, Cheryl, you know your break ended, like, half an hour ago, right? Get down here, we’ve got someone coming in.” His message delivered, he went back downstairs, letting the door close behind him.
We were both frozen in place, looking at each other. Cheryl broke the silence first. “I don’t think he heard us talking… I better go down, though.”
“Yeah, that’s… that’s a good idea. I’ll, uhh… I’ll see you later. Good luck with your shift.”
“Thanks, Princess.” With that, she went back inside.
I was still awake when the sun rose. Blame adrenaline, I guess. I watched Cheryl and the others of the night shift leave, getting into their cars and driving off. Being on the edge of town, they all went the same direction, but they’d split off eventually. The day shift came in, and the parking lot was quiet again. I layed, sprawled out, thinking about the day, and the long talk. I was still really nervous about a lot of things, but it felt… I don’t know, better. More solid. Less scary. But even “really strange Weird Dog with wings and fire breath” seemed like something she would take better than “Actual freaking dragon”. Maybe. I hated having to hide the truth, but… it was better. Safer. Again, I wished I could be with Master.
Eventually, I fell asleep, once exhaustion caught up with me, the sun shining on my scales through the illusory fur.
James had the day off, but was at the bookstore anyway. Mostly, he was there to pick up his paycheck, but he did want to ask about the wind magic tome. Such plans were out the window when he saw the scared expression on Miss Brown’s face.
“Oh, goodness gracious, you’re safe! Did you hear the news? About Lucille’s boy?”
James raised an eyebrow. “I’m afraid I don’t follow news, and I don’t know who Lucille is.”
“Oh, right, you’re new in town, ain’tcha.” It wasn’t a question, just her accent. “She works down at the courthouse, she’s got a boy, he’s a young man, probably younger than you. But he just went nuts last night! He was shooting at his girlfriend and some dog, had them holed up in his house, the police say! Said he was screaming about some kind of hound of Hell itself! Lord Almighty, can you believe that?” Elsie was one step short of fanning herself in panic.
“That’s pretty wild, I guess?” Maybe if he knew the people in question, he would’ve had more of a response to give.
“I just don’t know what’s going on with that boy… They said the dog got away, and the girl wasn’t hurt, but they aren’t saying anything… He was always such a nice young man, always polite, what could’ve made him do that?”
“People do crazy things sometimes. They get an idea into their heads, and let it warp everything else rather than re-evaluate it.” James’ expression turned grim, thinking of Roffil and his belief that Earth was some kind of “World of Chaos” full of “demons”.
“Yeah, but… God, what if there is some sort of monster out there? It might not be safe to be out at night…!” She looked around fearfully. “Maybe it was one of those Satanists… And we were just talking about Dungeons and Dragons yesterday, too! What if there really IS something to all the rumors?”
The soft smack of James’ palm literally hitting his face cut through the air.
He didn’t even have time to say anything before Elsie sheepishly spoke up. “You’re right, I’m getting myself all worked up over nothing. He’s probably just… got himself in a uproar over some kind of video game or something. Put crazy thoughts in his head. Oh, I hope he didn’t start doing drugs or something, he was such a nice boy…”
“Drugs are more likely. Something hallucinogenic, like LSD. Made him see things that aren’t real. If he’s going to do substances like that, he should’ve been more responsible and kept his firearms locked, had someone with him, taken precautions. I’m glad nobody got hurt.”
“I guess… Still, it’s just so wild!” She seemed to relax a bit. Perhaps because of the awkward silence, she decided to speak up again. “What would you do, though? If one of those Hellhound things came after you?”
“Since we’re talking about mythical creatures that don’t exist, why don’t I just blast it with magic? Throw spears made of ice into its chest, to combat the fire.” James rolled his eyes, though inwardly he was smirking just a bit.
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“Hah, yeah, fer sure. You do that in those games, don’tcha? With the runes and the spells and stuff? Like you were doing yesterday?”
At that, it was James’ turn to feel a little awkward. “Yeah, you make a character, and they have different abilities, based on what you choose. Some are good with a sword, some with a bow, some use magic… It’s a lot like Lord of the Rings, basically. A lot of the games are based heavily off that series in particular, down to elves being tall and slender. It’s become the standard for fantasy worlds.”
“That makes sense. So, you were making something for your character yesterday?”
“Well, I– I mean, you don’t have one character you take with you, you make a character every time you start a campaign, and…” He saw the glazing eyes and decided to simplify. “No, I was figuring something out that could be used by any character later, basically. Not even mine, someone else could use it if they wanted. As long as it follows the… rules, I guess, for how magic– In the game, I mean, works.”
“That’s really neat! Could you show it to me? How it works?” She looked really eager to learn about a new setting.
James blanched a little. “I, uh, it would… take a lot of explaining, I wouldn’t even know where to start, I don’t have any of the books… Look, um, I’ve got a lot going on today, maybe later? I was hoping to get my paycheck, I still need to start looking for a place that isn’t the Center, maybe pick up other things. I’m still kind of rebuilding my whole life and all…” He chuckled nervously, trying to gauge her reaction.
“Oh, sure! Sorry, I got carried away I guess. No, no, you’re fine. I’m sure we’ll have time to get into it later!” She went back into the “office” and came out with an envelope, offering it to James. “Goodness, it’s been so long since I had an employee, it feels weird to be writing a check again!”
“Heh, well, I’m glad I could be helpful enough to earn this.” He opened the envelope and took out the slip of paper, stopping in his tracks.
“Is it… not enough?”
“Ah, no, it’s fine, it’s just… Hm, I realized I don’t know how to cash this. I don’t have an account, and I’m still trying to get all my documents back. I don’t think I can even open an account without my social security card? I don’t suppose you could… pay me out of the till, instead? I hate to be a bother…”
“No, it’s no bother! Beats getting ripped off at one of those check cashing places!” She smiled sweetly, collecting the cash instead and exchanging it for the check.
“Thank you so much. It’s just… amazing how much you take for granted until it’s gone, isn’t it?” In truth, his mind was thinking back to Terra. How much he missed the tower, the smiling Maifen, the scowling Captain Aesis, the grinning Lance… Excited Dweli, the stuffy guild, the bustling Winselton that wouldn’t hold a ghost of a candle to a large Earth city… But that was all gone. He’d have to get used to Earth again, and this time, be grateful for the advantages it had. There wasn’t much choice.
I managed to sleep through the entire day, waking up at some point in the night with a stomach demanding food. Yawning and stretching, I looked over my wing. The holes were closing nicely, leaving scattered patches of red skin. The line from the gryphon had dulled into a blue color that was only slightly lighter than the rest of the blue membrane, these would probably be similar. I still wouldn’t be ready to fly yet, probably. Maybe I could, but it’d hurt.
I peeked over the edge of the roof before I jumped down the usual path, eating my fill of kibble. Circling around the building, I sat outside and watched through the front window for a bit. The Counter Guy would look over occasionally, even gesture towards me at the others, but I didn’t see Cheryl anywhere. Maybe it was her day off. Finally, I went out to wander the city once more.
By now, the various buildings were becoming familiar, even though the darkness and street lights made everything look so different. Signs lit up from within instead of lit by the sun, pools of light and shadow everywhere as I padded along. Cars with headlights cruising by occasionally, but fewer people walking.
Even though I ate, I was already starting to feel hungry again. I guess healing such an injury works up an appetite. I got distracted doing the rounds, checking dumpsters and hoping for something good. Sadly, the meat I was really interested in was not thrown out very often, it was mostly stuff I couldn’t eat. Grains, pastas, vegetables, that sort of thing. I got some out of the butcher shop, at least, so it wasn’t a total loss.
My heart just wasn’t in the search tonight, I suppose. It wasn’t that long before I found myself looping back towards the clinic. Just as well, I was getting tired again sooner than I expected. I gave any car a wide berth, I wasn’t in the mood for another hit any time soon.
It was lonely, not having Cheryl to talk to. The sun was just starting to rise when I made it back, climbing up onto the roof. I dozed off and on during the day, but mostly I just spent it staring at the clouds, thoughts running in circles about how terrible my situation was. How hopeless this all felt. By the time night fell, I had an overwhelming urge to give up, start flying, and keep going until I dropped from exhaustion. As if I could somehow outrun all these feelings, or simply fly back to Terra, or something. Instincts weren’t listening to any kind of rational thought, after all, they just wanted to run.
I checked on my wing. The holes had mended, some of the angry red was fading to a dull pink or a light blue. The bone, however, didn’t look like it’d fully regrown. To be growing that fast, though, it had to be magic. Even with the healing, everything still felt useless… The night passed even slower than the day had.
The next morning, James walked to work. He had to admit, having everything within a half-hour leisurely walk was pretty convenient. He’d spent yesterday walking and looking for places to rent, and had splurged a little on a pair of headphones that he was using to listen to music from his phone. The day seemed a little brighter, it felt like he was going to make progress on settling in here, and this seemed like an almost auspicious town to do it. During his walks yesterday, he’d come across a few monuments and even buildings styled after medieval castles, making this place feel almost halfway between Earth and Terra.
On the way in, he passed one of those monuments, a town marker made to look like a miniature tower, complete with a wooden door, the town’s name and motto on it. With a smile, he pictured Princess climbing on top and pretending to be a huge scary dragon, before laughing at the silliness. When he realized that he’d never actually get to see that, his smile turned to a wistful sigh. Taking a moment to gather himself, he continued on his way, passing a young woman stapling a flier to a phone pole, something about a missing dog. But he hadn’t seen anything, so he ignored it and continued letting the music play in his ears as he walked. He had to be opening the store soon, after all.
Once he arrived, he used the key he’d been given to open the door, turning on the lights and getting set up. As he set his bag in its usual spot, though, an idea struck him. Nobody was around, after all… Pulling out his spellbook, he retrieved the paper he had crafted the spell on. Setting it onto the desk, he placed his hands on the start and end runes, and let his energy flow into the spell, channeling power into it. The runes faintly glowed, and a cool breeze started to flow from the face of the page.
Letting go, he stepped back to smirk as he admired his handiwork. However, the glowing symbols would look a bit odd if he simply left it out. And the wind flowing from it made it difficult to cover… He thought about what to do with it, when he noticed the glow was fading faster than usual. He had only meant to put in about a minutes’ worth of energy as a test, but instead it faded quite a bit sooner. Hm. He wasn’t sure he knew enough about magic to really have a good idea as to why. Did something drain it? Did he underestimate the amount of energy it would draw? …Did it have something to do with being on Earth? Either way, it was at least a mostly successful trial run, and so he put it away for now.
Picking up that science fiction book he had started reading the other day, he settled in for a long, slow shift, confident that if HE were dealing with an overheating spaceship engine, he’d be able to cool it with magic and save the day. It was an amusing idea.
As the sun had risen, I paced around on the roof of the vet clinic. I batted at some gravel with an illusion-covered paw, frustrated and bitter. Screw it. Raising that paw to the bell of my collar, I closed my eyes and focused, letting the spell end. Immediately, it felt like a relief, like I’d been tensing a muscle for far too long and finally relaxed. I spent some time looking over my scales and smiling, stretching out languidly, happy to let the disguise down for a while and just be me. Once the spell was ended, the illusion broke up into motes of light, gently lifting upwards and twinkling out of existence, like sparks from a campfire that dance in the air for a split second before disappearing. Such chances would be rare on Earth, but I resolved to take more of them when I had them.
What I didn’t expect, was a sensation to hit me like a mild electric shock. Like touching a doorknob after shuffling my feet on the carpet, back when I was human. It was magic! With the air being so devoid of it, it came through so clear and bright, in the direction of town! Could it be…? I almost took off after it, when it faded and disappeared. I didn’t know how far it had been, but it had to be fairly close, right? Then again, this whole town was “fairly close”, but that was still hopeful! …Even if it wasn’t Master, it might be someone who could help, potentially a second ally! This was the best news I’d gotten since I arrived!
“Princess, are you up there?” Cheryl’s voice called from the parking lot, snapping me out of my elated state and making me focus on the world around me again. I almost rushed over to the edge of the roof when I remembered my appearance, so I took a moment to get the illusion back on again. Hopefully it looked the same, I’d gotten pretty used to the appearance over the course of… how many days had it been? About a week now? Looking dog-like once more, and also feeling that slight strain that pulled at the back of my head now that I knew it was there, I moved to show my face. I didn’t have to speak, which was good, because I didn’t want to risk revealing myself during the day by shouting down to her.
She greeted me with a wave, going into the clinic to come up to the roof. “How are you doing? I’ve been putting these up all morning, what do you think?” She showed me the piece of paper, showing a picture of me she’d taken with her phone and the words “FOUND DOG - Female, Black/Gray/White, No tag. Call 712-555-3853.”
“Huh. The photo looks a little… weird, I think?”
“Yeah, I don’t know what happened, but it looks like it glitched out a little. I dunno, I can try to take another one if you like. But it looks clear enough so I went ahead with it. I’ve got a bunch of these up, though, so hopefully I’ll get a call soon!” She looked happy, and I was glad to have good news too.
“I like them, thank you so much. I have great news! I’m pretty sure Master’s in town!”
“Really? Did you see him?”
“No, I felt–… Um… I don’t know if I can really… say, how I know, but if it’s not Master, it might be someone that can help!” My tail was wagging, and it was taking a lot of control to not jump on Cheryl and try to hug her.
“More of your secret stuff? I really wish I knew more, but… If you’re not ready to tell me, that’s okay. If you want, we could go out together and put up more fliers? I got most of the south side of town, but we could do the north side. And my friend says you can stay with us while I look for my own place, though we kinda have to sneak you in. She’s not allowed to have dogs.”
“Would it help if I admit that I’m… not a dog?” Maybe I could take baby steps towards telling her things.
“Gee, I hadn’t guessed. There’s just so many fire-breathing dogs with wings and fox eyes that talk, I just couldn’t tell what breed you are.” She counted off what bits of information I’d revealed so far on her fingers as she listed each one.
“And regeneration. See?” I stretched out my wing, showing that it’d almost fully healed now. “You can… touch the wing, if you want… The wing should be okay.”
“What, really? You’re letting me touch you?”
“I’m trying to… do better, about telling you things. Get comfortable. I want to tell you, I just… I’m scared, still. It’s scary. If you turn on me, it won’t be just Chad with a shotgun, potentially.” I lowered my head, but kept the wing out.
Her hands were delicate, careful, tracing along the membrane, the lighter spots, the bone that was reforming. She was clearly amazed, like she almost expected it to vanish into smoke the moment she touched it. Little did she know, that wing was the one part of me that wasn’t fake… “The lighter skin is where it’s healed?”
“Yeah, I don’t seem to really scar up like ma–ost creatures.” Whew, almost said “mammals”. It didn’t look like she caught it.
“So what’s this line?” She traced the long line from where the gryphon’s claw had sliced its way through. I winced a little at the memory.
“That was… a fight that was probably even scarier than Chad. I took some pretty nasty hits, but the group of us working as a team, we managed to win.”
“And you’re telling me very little about it. More secrets?”
“Yeah, it’s… It’d be really hard to believe, even from me. I’d be here for hours trying to answer questions, and I probably couldn’t even do a good job of it. Maybe if we find Master, he can tell you a lot more than I can.”
“Heh, you’re just eager to get on the road, aren’t you?” She smiled as she traced her fingers along the “arm” of the wing, feeling the muscles along the limb, even if most of them were tendons and the real muscle was in my chest.
“Can you blame me? Master’s out there! Maybe! Or the best lead I’ve had since I got here! I just… don’t… exactly know where this lead is. But it’s in that direction.” I waved with a forepaw in the general direction I felt the magic from earlier.
“Hm, that… probably is the north side of town, maybe we’ll be able to track it down while we’re putting up fliers?”
“Can’t hurt to try! Meet you downstairs?” I started to head to the ledge to jump down the front, but decided not to land directly in front of the main glass window, going around the back instead. Maybe I should’ve waited for a response. Too late.
I was excitedly pacing a bit by her car when she came out the front door, Counter Guy waving to her as she left. She looked amused and only a little annoyed, grabbing the remaining stack of fliers and her stapler from the car. “All right, let’s go, girl.”
I had to spend most of the time in silence, I didn’t want to get caught talking by someone passing by or coming around the corner, after all. I did have to stop a little when I saw the large castle-like building, some kind of Skate Palace? It was on the north edge of town. Cheryl noticed me stopping. “Spot something about your lead?”
“No, just… The castle kinda caught me off-guard. I hadn’t gone this far in my wandering.” My tail did wag a little. It made me a bit homesick, though, but not for the places I grew up. Earth wasn’t my home anymore, it didn’t even feel like home when I was living here.
“Oh, yeah, we have a bunch of those for some reason. I think there was a guy that owned a bunch of businesses who really liked them? But there’s a few around.”
“Well, I like them. Castles are neat.” I wagged my tail as we continued on our way.
Some time later, Cheryl stopped to put up another flier, but this time I found myself distracted by a large window with a painted sign. “Reading Is Magic Bookstore”. Huh. But it was the runes that caught my attention. I’d helped Master with enough of those to tell that at least some of them were the real deal! My heart began to race. Could this be it? If there was going to be a place where I felt that magic spike come from…
“Oh, yeah, you said you liked reading. We can take a break if you want?”
“It’s not that, it’s… This store… I think it’s my lead.”
“Really? I’ve been in here plenty of times, I think the lady that runs it is friends with Chad’s mom.” She regarded the bookstore as if she could somehow figure out why it would be so special.
“I think so! It’s… I… It’s secret stuff, but I think this really might be it! I’m so excited! And a little scared. What if it’s nothing?” I took another look around, making sure we were alone.
“Secret stuff? There’s still so much secret stuff left? Well, I guess the only way to know is to go in, isn’t it?” She opened the door and held it, so I could enter. Once I did, she followed behind me.
The smell of books and paper was heavy in the air, but more than that, it was Master! Behind the counter, looking a bit different, wearing more normal clothes for Earth, a layer of new shampoo and soap and such on top of his normal scent, but it was him! I nearly did a dance, my paws tapping in place excitedly as I squirmed to contain myself. He was talking to some guy.
“Is that… him?” Cheryl had leaned down and whispered to me.
“Yeah…! Behind the counter! What’s he doing working here?” I did my best to keep my voice low as I whispered back.
“I’d say he’s working”, she whispered back before she stood up again.
“That’s pretty wild, dude!” The customer at the counter said to Master. “So, like, you were in England, but just… in the wilds?”
“Yeah, it was basically like camping. No internet, no TV, no phones… It’s pretty good to be back in civilization now, though!”
Civilization? My heart started to sink like a stone, while Cheryl went to wait at the counter for a chance to talk to him.
“Oh, I’ll bet, I’d totally go nuts without wifi, dude…” The guy at the counter looked like his mind was going to explode, trying to imagine it.
“Oh yeah. And air conditioning! Running water, hot showers… There’s just so much to be thankful for.” Master leaned back on his stool. It… it WAS Master, wasn’t it? It looked like him, sounded like him, even smelled like him, but…
…but he’d been complaining about how dangerous life on Terra was compared to Earth.
He’d been talking about how guards wearing armor and carrying swords weren’t a thing on Earth.
He’d been upset. Moody. Irritable. Earth had been on his mind for a while.
…Since I laid my eggs. “Terra’s forced enough things on both of us”, he had said around that time.
My heart continues to plummet in freefall as more and more dots connected.
Master didn’t want to go back to Terra. He didn’t want to deal with the debt to the Crown, he didn’t want to deal with… a pet that laid eggs, a former human that was so gross and animal as to sink further than any in recorded history. He didn’t want to deal with danger and violence and gryphons and Roffils and… and… me.
Cheryl cleared her throat gently. “Excuse me, this might sound a bit strange, but are you… Tola?”
Master’s face darkened and he fixed Cheryl with a deep, cutting glare. “Who told you that name?” His voice had such an angry tone to it, as if he resented the very idea. It was all true, then… The bell above the door jingled unnoticed as I pushed through and slipped outside.
“Wh–what? I… Is it true, then?” Cheryl had not been expecting such a reaction, stepping backwards.
Meanwhile, I couldn’t take it. I swallowed hard, feeling the collar around my neck. The symbol of ownership, by someone who detested owning me. I raised a forepaw, hooking a sharp claw under the leather band, and pulled. Slicing through the leather, the claw severed the runes on the inside that made up the illusion spell. Instead of fading as usual, the motes of light blew outward in all directions, twinkling chaotically, but I wasn’t paying attention. I spread my wings, leapt upwards, and started flapping. I had to get out of there.
“Was it Roffil? Did he somehow send you, hoping to finish the job? He got lucky, but if either of you want to underestimate me, it’ll be your last mistake.” James had come around the counter, approaching the increasingly confused Cheryl.
Cheryl tried to get out an explanation, but the sudden shift in tone had started to give her flashbacks to Chad. “No, I… I was told by–”
The customer from earlier, having wandered off to the window, made a yelp when the illusion was violently dispelled. He stumbled backwards. “Hey, uhh, whoever’s dog that was? It just, um, exploded?”
Both turned to the guy who was pointing out the window. Cheryl ran to it to look. “Princess?”
That got James’ attention, blinking in surprise. “Wait, what? Princess!?” He rushed to join her. Seeing the collar on the sidewalk, he wheeled to look at the college bro he had been talking to when we entered. “You, what exactly did you see?”
“Um, the dog, it just kinda… went out the door, and then… poof? Oh man, I thought I was sober, dude!”
“Focus! Was there someone there? Who was it? Who cut her collar?” He had to restrain himself from grabbing the kid’s shoulders and shaking.
“No, no, nobody, dude! The dog, like, sat there, right? And then it kinda… did this? Like it was scratching?” He raised a hand up towards his neck. “And then… it exploded! Like a firework or something!”
“Princess…?” Cheryl shook slightly, looking between James and the window.
James rushed out the door, kneeling down and picking up the collar. Cheryl was close behind, followed by the very confused college guy.
“Duuude, like… Am I gonna be okay? I’m kinda freaking out…”
James glared back at him. “Just… go home and sleep it off. You’ll be fine.”
“You got it, man. Geez, exploding dogs, what the hell, brain?” He muttered to himself as he wandered down the street, presumably towards home.
“Oh, Princess… What are you thinking…?”
“Is she…? Was the collar somehow… keeping her together? How are we gonna un-explode her?” Cheryl was desperately confused, trying to make sense of what was going on. James, meanwhile, was scanning the skies and barely seemed to be paying attention to her, until he was done.
“She’s not… Ugh. Hang on.” He ducked inside, grabbing his satchel and flipping the sign to state he’d be back “soon”, locking the store up. “We gotta find her. Ugh, how am I…? Hm…” As if remembering she was present, he turned to look at Cheryl with an intense gaze. “You know Princess?”
“Yeah, um, she’s a friend, she told me a lot about you. You ARE Tola, right?”
“Yes, my name is Tola, though I’ve been going by James since I got here. I figured it’s a less unusual name. Okay, well, I really need to find her, can you help me?”
“Yeah, we’ve been trying to find you for a while now! I’ve been putting up fliers… But, what can I do?”
James, no, Tola looked down at himself, at his clothes. “Ugh. I might be able to fashion some kind of tracking spell, but the incidental components are in my other clothes… I need to get to the Community Housing Center, quickly, after that, I don’t know. Do you have a car?”
“Yes, but it’s at work…”
“All right. Can you get it and meet me at the Center, then? We can figure out where to go from there.” Tola looked up at the sky once more, holding the collar tightly in his hand.
“Yeah, I guess, but… tracking spell?”
“I’ll explain later! Please, just… I’ll see you there!” With that, he took off running, leaving Cheryl standing on the sidewalk, still trying to make sense of things that made none.
I flew in somewhat random lines. I didn’t pay attention to anything below, I just flew to get away. As if I could somehow flee my failure, as if I could go back and make myself realize what I’d ignored this whole time. I zig-zagged, crossing patches of forest, a small river, undeveloped lots, small strip malls… Part of me was tempted to lash out, burn everything in my path, claw and tear, push the pain in my heart onto the world. With luck, I’d go down in a hail of gunfire before long. But that’d hurt so many that didn’t deserve it. The only one that deserved it was me. Eventually, not knowing where else to go, I found myself on the roof of the clinic once more.
In the city, people were desperately trying to ask about the strange shape. It had appeared and disappeared so quickly that nobody seemed to have gotten a photo. People wondered if it was some kind of loose kite, a publicity stunt, a balloon caught in a breeze, or related to that Hellhound rumor, but nobody had answers. Well, I could’ve told them, or Master. …No, not ‘Master’ anymore… He didn’t want to be, and it would be wrong to make him. I guess that meant I wasn’t ‘Princess’ anymore, either. Just a stray beast. An uncontrolled, dangerous monster.
I curled up to try to cry, and realized that I was looking at blue scales. I hadn’t thought about the illusion, but it didn’t matter. Right now, nothing mattered.