To the north of the Village of Cepir was the Green Lake, a vast body of water, just a few minutes' walk through the forest. On one side, it was surrounded by woods, and on the other, by a massive mountain range that stretched all the way to the village itself. In this area, the trees had long trunks and green leaves, like most of the forest. Only to the south of the village did trees with reddish trunks and yellow leaves rise, equally tall and lush.

At the edge of the lake, in the wide, clear area of low grass between it and the forest, sat a certain creature with crossed legs, leaning forward. It gazed at the somewhat greenish water, seeing the melancholic reflection of its bright navy blue eyes, sky blue away from the slit-like pupils, similar to those of snakes.

The approach the previous night had been a failure, but it was expected. It had known humans for a long time, always reacting violently to the unknown, their defense mechanism. Though, upon closer inspection, it understood why they feared it. It was so different from them; it would frighten even the bravest warriors just by showing its long, sharp fangs.

"It's very rare to see you here during the day," began a deep, melodious voice coming from the lake's water.

The being straightened up and hardened its expression, trying to remain as impassive as possible. It was true; it usually avoided this area during daylight, as humans would occasionally come by.

"I'm tired of humans, I won't tolerate their insults any longer," said the creature, somewhat disappointed. It had been quite patient with them, hoping to be accepted, but had only received rejection.

"Why did you bring me here?" it asked irritably, but the voice did not respond, as usual whenever it asked that question. After a long time, it simply stopped asking, but it never left its thoughts.

It sighed softly, knowing the sepulchral silence that would follow that particular question.

"No matter the reason, humans will never accept the gods after all the harm we've done to them, let alone..." it hesitated for a moment before continuing as it leaned forward to look at its reflection once more, "...one as horrid as me."

A creature straight out of horror stories, with scales and sharp claws like a dragon.

"Is that sadness I hear in your words? Did you expect something different from them?" questioned the voice curiously.

The god frowned. It was trying hard to hide everything that was tormenting it inside, but "he" never missed anything.

"I hoped to discover, after so much time, why you asked me to approach their kind," it replied sincerely in a low voice. Disappointment was undoubtedly the queen of all its emotions at that moment.

It almost imperceptibly frowned upon noticing that his presence had disappeared; he was alone again. He always came and went as he pleased. The god didn't know much about him, only that he was a very ancient deity who had brought him to that island.

Small birds with purple plumage and red beaks approached him, fluttering around for a moment before perching all over his body. He extended his left arm, and one of them settled on the back of his hand.

At least they did not fear him. He greatly appreciated what nature gave him; animals seemed comfortable with his presence. Why not humans?

He knew what they were preparing; he could hear the war cries coming from the village. For him, it was easy to hear them from afar, thanks to the foldable membranes he had for ears, similar to fish fins.

He would not be intimidated; if he had to fight them, he would, but after that, there would be no turning back. He took a breath and released it softly, trying to calm the dangerous instinct threatening to awaken.

He was so focused on the distant voices that he didn't notice the pair of boys watching him from the trees until one of them stepped on a branch. He heard the crack and turned his head in their direction almost instantly, causing the birds that accompanied him to fly away due to the sudden movement.

They didn't seem very big, perhaps still young, although he couldn't distinguish the ages of their kind very well. The boys froze instantly under his gaze. Their eyes were wide open, and he could hear their breathing becoming chaotic from the fear that gripped them.

He had been careless. For that very reason, he avoided the lake during the day when his entire appearance was fully exposed under the sun's rays. He stood up slowly, still watching them. They were so different from him, with blue scales covering his entire body.

They didn't seem very dangerous, but they would surely attack him if they weren't about to faint. He turned around, and with the first step he took in the opposite direction, towards the dark forest, the boys regained control of their legs and ran terrified towards Cepir.

The blue-scaled being soon disappeared among the trees, cursing inwardly. He hated that reaction.

***

The inn had not yet calmed down; now everyone was talking to the group of hunters, excited. Always so reliable, they didn't doubt they would succeed.

They took the opportunity to make a good racket. The clinking of mugs came from all sides.

It was a small celebration before the great feast they would have once they had the creature's head decorating the central pillar of the place.

Elia had only allowed a few trophies to be hung on the walls of her establishment, as it had been passed down through generations in her family. The few that sometimes adorned it were of exotic creatures never seen, obtained by her husband. Mana made sure to remove them almost instantly, relegating them to the back room.

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"If you think I'll let you hang anything here, you're dreaming," Mana threatened, poking her father's chest with her finger while he looked away, pretending not to understand. "The only heads I'll hang will be all of yours if you do this madness."

"Mana, don't be a killjoy. Can't you see everyone is having fun?" Oleg said, trying to calm her, but his breath caught under the warning look the girl gave him. She wasn't joking.

Oleg raised his hands in a sign of peace, and Mana turned her gaze back to her father.

"One day, your luck will run out. It's not wise to mess with the gods," the girl pointed out.

The boos from everyone assailed her, but Mana crossed her arms, standing firm in her stance. Everyone else was wrong, not her.

Aiacos and she locked eyes, facing their identical turquoise eyes. They held the gaze for a few seconds and then turned away at the same time, annoyed.

The laughter and cheers around them didn't stop; they always enjoyed seeing them argue. Mana always challenged him for his carefree nature, and Aiacos teased her using some of his tricks, like suggesting it was time for her to have a suitor, that she would end up alone and grumpy.

Elia watched them from a distance with a tender smile. She knew well the immense affection Aiacos had for his dear daughter and the deep concern she felt every time he went hunting. Neither of them was capable of expressing it better than by arguing all the time. She thought they were too similar, not just in their eyes or golden hair.

Two boys chose that moment to burst into the inn, agitated and with hearts about to leap out of their chests from running.

Elia was the first to notice them. She frowned and approached them, worried.

"Is everything okay?" she asked, placing a hand on the shoulder of one of them, who had his hands on his knees, head down.

Elia knew them very well. She had even cared for one of them for most of his childhood, the one standing with hands on hips, head back, trying to catch his breath. She quickly examined them to check they weren't injured and stepped back when she confirmed they weren't, though they were trembling.

The one looking down couldn't hold himself up and fell sitting on the hard wooden floor.

"Agito!" Elia called alarmed, extending a hand to him.

Some villagers who noticed turned to see what was happening.

"Where were you? You missed the good part, Aiacos's group is planning..." one began, approaching them.

The boy still standing caught his breath.

"We saw the creature...at the Green Lake," he said, between breaths.

Elia looked up at him and then back at Agito, who nodded shakily. Sometimes they liked to exaggerate, but this time they looked very serious. It was normal to see them run in and tell tall tales.

One of the villagers started laughing loudly, drawing the rest's attention. Aiacos squinted and gestured with his hands for everyone to be quiet. He wanted to hear them.

Now all eyes were on them. The boy still standing, more composed, spoke clearly.

"We saw the creature from the forest at the Green Lake, it was huge," he raised his arms to illustrate its size, "at least 3 meters tall, it had scales all over like a snake," he explained, agitated, looking around, exaggerating a bit.

"It has claws and a tail with spikes," Agito continued from the floor. His tremors had stopped, and Elia helped him to his feet.

The villagers listened curiously. Although the creature had approached countless times, it always did so at night, and no one dared to bring a torch, so they couldn't fully appreciate all its features. The previous night was the closest it had ever been, and they could see it a bit better. All they knew was that it had dark scales and blue eyes that glowed in the dark.

"We're not lying, it almost killed us," the standing boy opened his hands to both sides, feeling the doubt in the air.

"And was that before or after Serena herself came down and spread her legs?" Mana mocked, approaching them.

The loud laughter broke the slightly tense atmosphere from before. The boys cursed inwardly at the girl's intervention. She always had to make one of her typical comments.

"I've told you a thousand times, Inari, to stop eating those weird mushrooms. It won't grow because of that."

Mana, always so witty, had the incredible ability to embarrass anyone in seconds.

The laughter didn't stop, and the boys grumbled, embarrassed. They really weren't lying, they had seen it, although perhaps they exaggerated a bit about it being 3 meters tall.

"You'll see, we'll get you back, Mana," Inari warned as he pulled Agito by the arm to leave.

Mana waved her hand gently, bidding them farewell with a wicked smile, a sign that her infallible plan had worked.

"You're terrible. You went a bit too far," Igro said behind her, and she turned to look at him, changing her expression to one of false innocence.

"I don't know what you mean," she pretended to be embarrassed and looked down, clutching her long gray skirt with her fists.

"You're a harpy; that attitude doesn't suit you at all," her father shouted from a distance, raising the corners of his lips.

Mana twisted her face in pure rage.

"You won't be laughing so much when you go without dinner tonight," she threatened, stamping one foot on the floor.

The boys still heard the commotion inside as they walked away. No one had believed them. The one time they were telling the truth. From where they saw it, the creature was quite tall, had claws and a tail.

They were calmer now, far from the fear they had felt just a few minutes ago. Now they only felt embarrassment; they were the laughingstock of Cepir. And all thanks to Mana.

"Damn Mana," Agito kicked the ground, raising some dust, frustrated.

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