Chapter 2
1103 Words
Today was Saturday. Katie always gave me off on Saturdays, since the Cafe was always open half day and she could handle it alone. Unfortunately, sleeping in wasn't something I could do, and I woke up at 6am like I always did.
I sat up with a sigh and stretched out my arms. I pretty much had a set routine for Saturdays by now. Wake up at 6, eat breakfast, get dressed then go jog at the local forest park. Standing up, I noticed some fresh clothes on my dresser, a tank top and sweatpants courtesy of Brownie. I'll have to pick up something from the Cafe for her on my way home.
I went to the bathroom and finished up my necessities there, before coming back out to get dressed in the outfit provided. My dragon came out onto my shoulder and puffed some smoke at me, making me laugh softly. It was it's own way of saying hello.
I gave it a scratch before heading to the kitchen, where a simple breakfast of eggs and toast was waiting for me. Again, courtesy of Brownie. If you took care of them, they really did take care of you. Or maybe it was because of who I am - was. It didn't matter anymore really.
I finished up breakfast and said goodbye to Brownie, wherever she was hiding, before leaving my house and heading in the direction of the park.
It was about a 30 minute walk, and was always a nice warmup. I reluctantly waved at one of the uniformed humans, a ranger I think they're called, before heading inside. I didn't like humans, but I had to pretend to be one of them. Especially the ones I see so frequently.
I started jogging into the forest, the sounds of nature quickly taking over the further I got inside. And the deeper I got, the more of the local fae I started to see. Some of them I saw here frequently, some were just starting to get brave enough to come out whenever I came around. I suppose I had an intimidating aura, not something I could help unfortunately.
I briefly stopped as something appeared infront of me. A pixie, a young one judging by the flickering of colours as they hadn't chosen a gender yet. Pixies are unique, in the way they can be whatever they want until they reached maturity. Helps them know who they are, I suppose.
They were staring at me, with wide blue eyes. I smiled softly at them, before slowly raising my hand to wave at them. They giggled, before fluttering off back to their parent.
I loved the forest. I loved being surrounded by other fae. It was a different world than the humans one, a nicer one. A friendlier one. I waved at the pixie and their parent before I continued my jog.
About 20 minutes in, I heard a noise. A voice, sounding a bit distressed. I turned in the direction, somewhere off the trail, and decided to go see if I could help. It didn't take long to arrive, just to see someone fall out of a tree right infront of me.
I couldn't help but stare at the person infront of me. White skin with black markings over his skin, like white birch. Messy brown hair, and what looked like antlers made of wood. When he raised his eyes. A golden brown, and somewhat familiar.
"Are you okay?" I asked him, frowning in concern as I reached down to help him. He took my hand and I pulled him up.
"I'm fine!" He said cheerfully, as if he didn't just fall a couple of meters. "Happens all the time"
"I don't.. think that's a good thing"
"It's fine! I have a hard head, so it's not a problem"
".. Are you sure you're fine? You can hurt something other than your head falling that, you know"
He nodded his head. "I promise I'm fine. Nothing broken at all"
"Well.. if you're sure..."
"Hey! You're that new person, right? The one the elders said we had to be wary of"
".. I guess?"
He grinned at me. "You're not that scary. You seem nice, really"
I chuckled softly and smiled at him. "I try to be, at least. But I suppose I understand why your elders would be suspicious of me. You don't get my kind around here, after all"
"Your kind?" He tilted his head to one side. "What are you, anyway?"
"I'm a dilong, an earth dragon. And you're a dryad, right?"
"That's right!" Although, I thought dryads were an all female species. Seems like I was wrong about that. "A dragon, huh? That sounds pretty awesome. Does that mean you can fly around and breathe fire?"
His childlike nature was refreshing. He reminded me of someone.... "Breathe fire? Yes. But flying? Unfortunately not"
"Awh, but I thought dragons could fly"
"In dragon form, yes. But we dilong stay in human form. Turning into a dragon is... taxing"
"Oh, I see... "
"So, what's your name?"
"Oh, my name's Oighrig!"
"Oi... I'm sorry, could you say that a bit slower?" I smiled sheepishly at him. I was still learning some of the more Celtic names here.
"Sure! It's Oi-hrig" He said it more slowly this time, letting me catch the pronunciation easier.
"Oighrig. Well, it's nice to meet you, Oighrig. My name is Daiyu"
"Daiyu? That's an interesting name?"
"I suppose so. Like Oighrig is an interesting name to me"
"Where are you from?" He asked, with a curious tilt to his head.
"Depends. Where was I born, or where did I just come from?" I raised an eyebrow at him.
"Uhm... how about both?"
"Well.. I was born in another country called China, deep in the mountains where the humans never ventured" I noticed him giving a confused frown. "I'll bring a map sometime and show you where it is, if you'd like?"
His eyes lit up. "Sure!"
"As for where I just came from.. I actually came from the nearby town"
"Wait.. you live outside the forest?" He gasped. "In the human town?"
"That's right"
"What's it like?"
"Well... that's a long story"
I didn't get much jogging done that day. Speaking to Oighrig was easy, and time flew by faster than I thought it would. It was getting dark when we decided to part ways, and it was hard saying goodbye to him. But I thought to myself, I could see him again next week.
If only I had realized how much that meeting would change everything.
- Writer
