Mystic or Scientific? 2: Chapter 2

The aurora was still performing its soft dance in the sky as they arrived at the Floating Crow Inn. The Inn had a deck that looked out over the lake. Patrons--many of them Felvargs--sat and enjoyed the meals offered by the inn. Their gruff voices echoed over the night time lake. The overbearing summer air had receded in the night. All that was left was a pressing mugginess that clung to their throats. Raoul managed to sell his fish to the inn, which was quick to turn around and start filleting the poor things for the summer party. The deck accommodated the motley crew fine enough, though Raoul felt out of place without fur or feathers covering him.

Veronika enjoyed exploring the lakeside, using her tail to make drawings in the sand. Her first day at the lake had been magnificent so far, and soon, she’d eat enough food to render her flightless at the inn. Kaam Ya’tak ate his food quietly, mulling over whether he wanted to try his hand at swimming again or not. The other Felvargs enjoyed the lake at high tide, splashing in the depths and chasing each other, but he was still reeling from his near-drowning experience. As much as he wanted to cool off, he wanted even more to stay on the sidelines. If anything, that was what his gut told him.

Brinjal had stayed behind at the Inn to enjoy the impromptu party; When he saw Mirabelle he trotted up to her and barked a greeting, but the other vayron wouldn’t meet his eyes and quickly retreated to their rented room. Brinjal looked at Raoul with confusion, but he could only shrug. She was probably embarrassed about what she said earlier, though her words certainly hung over him. He had a lot to learn about the mortal world. He sat down with Brinjal and Kaam on either side of him. The Innkeep brought the very food they had sold to them--a few filleted fish with some garnishes on the side. Naturally, it was more expensive than what they had sold the fish for originally. Raoul sighed, wiped the scales off his hands, then started picking at the fish with his fingers.

“If you’re not going to eat it, give it to Veronika,” teased Brinjal.

“No, I think she ate more than her fill when we were fishing. Besides, she’s quite preoccupied.” Veronika was busy splashing in the water with the Felvargs, chasing them and nipping their tails. Any time one got fed up with her harassment, she would fly out of reach and chirp at them in glee. Exploring the new area meant making new friends to her, even if those friends didn’t see their relationship the same way. Raoul moved the fish over to Kaam’s serving. “You deserve it. I wasn’t looking after you closely enough.”

Brinjal tilted his head. “What happened?”

“I nearly let him drown.”

Kaam timidly spoke up. “I went in too deep.”

“The tide rose without you noticing.”

“I should have paid better attention.” The Felvarg refused to let anyone else take the blame.

Brinjal smiled, understanding that Kaam was just being adamant, and nodded. “Alright. I can certainly relate. When I was learning how to swim, Veronika pushed me right into the water. I had to figure out how to doggy paddle fast.”

Kaam smiled. “She pushed me, too. I suppose she never stopped doing that.”

The vayron finished his meal in one last huge bite. He licked his lips and looked at Raoul with curiosity. “Say, Raoul, can you swim?”

Raoul stared at him. “Why would I need to swim? I’m a tree. Learning how to float would be a bad thing, if anything.”

“You say that, but you have two legs right now,” Brinjal replied, with Kaam nodding in agreement. He looked up to the shimmering aurora. “When you were a tree, could you see the aurora? What did you think of it?”

Raoul thought back to the bit of philosophy Mirabelle dropped on him. “I think it’s...ephemeral...uh, beautiful for the sake of being beautiful…” Kaam looked at him with disappointment, recognizing the words. The wizard sighed and shrugged. “Just kidding. I couldn’t see anything. It’s not like I had eyes.” He watched the glowing colors fold above him. “It’s nice that I can see them now, though. Even nicer next to...friends.”

Brinjal smiled. “Friends? Not familiars? That’s a new one.”

“Are you complaining?” Raoul retorted. It felt weird saying it in the first place.

“Not at all,” replied the vayron. “Normally you do that sort of lead up with a lover, though.”

“You are the last person I need dating advice from.”

As the two bantered in a friendly tone, Veronika enjoyed floating above the lake. The water was still warm, so it created enough lift to make soaring and taking off easy. Her eyes functioned poorly in the darkness, but she at least saw the figures of the party-goers splashing around and having fun. The aurora helped greatly with that. She noticed one of the figures was a bit quieter than the others; It was a tiny creature under the water and struggling to move up. She cried out to the wolves below her, but they just looked at her in annoyance. She dove into the water, talons outstretched, but her feet didn’t find purchase. The pup had dived deeper into the water, startled by the huge dragon’s attempt to save it. Veronika swooped back up and cried again, hovering over the pup and flapping her wings frantically.

Brinjal looked over with confusion. “What’s she up to now?” he wondered aloud. Kaam’s ears perked up and he stared into the waters. Of everyone present, he had the best vision. He saw the struggling pup, recognized it as the very thing he experienced earlier that day, and barked out, “It’s a puppy! They’re drowning!” He leapt off the deck into the water, treading until his feet moved into swimming. The other Felvargs were faster to reach the pup, but he swam alongside them anyways, sniffing at the pup as it was dragged to safety. By no means was he swimming by instinct--he was doing his best to paddle and stay above the water--but he was determined to stay beside the pup until he could ensure its safety.

The din of the party died down as the party-goers watched the spectacle. The pup was pulled ashore, where it spat out water and looked at the others with tired eyes. “Don’t go swimming too deep,” said one of the wolves said to it. The others started chiming in. “Never swim without a friend. Make a noise when you’re drowning. Kick with your feet--” the pup was clearly overwhelmed by all the advice it had no use for on shore.

Kaam sniffed at him and licked its head to smooth out its fur. “Are you alright, little one?” The pup looked up at him and nodded, whining a bit as the experience hit him. “I’ll go get you a snack,” he comforted the puppy. “Wait right here.” He rushed over to what remained of his meal, plucking it up and returning to feed the pup. The pup continued coughing up salt water, and the others chided Kaam. “Let him focus on breathing. He shouldn’t eat just yet.” Kaam looked at them, slightly annoyed at all the care they were showing now that there was no danger, but didn’t argue.

Veronika landed, startling the puppy, but earning some thankful barks from the others. The dracostryx bobbed her head, trying to show she was friendly, but the puppy just backed away. Kaam offered the fish to her, which she gladly gobbled up. “You deserve it,” he echoed. “For seeing the danger before anyone else.”

Veronika cooed at the acknowledgement, her feathers ruffling. She stretched her wings and looked out towards the lake, inviting the wolf to explore with her. Kaam hesitated, looking at the water that had nearly claimed two people that day. Then again, Veronika would be watching over him. She was a bit more reliable than the other three. The puppy also seemed alright after the close call. Kaam nodded at her, ready to explore. The dracostryx hopped into the air, flapping along the shore line, and Kaam chased after her with the water lapping at his ankles. He felt the summer heat seep out into the salt water and cool him off; He watched the aurora above them dance with glee; He felt his body nearly float as he went deeper and deeper. Thank the gods he learned to swim today.