Indebted

41

One month passed. Esti did not feel any change from Atticus. He had traveled for a day. Then had not moved since. The numb empty feeling had not altered in her heart where he had once seemed to take up so much room it made her head swim. Time passed, and the memory of how it felt to have him next to her; to have his full heart in her heart fading no matter how much she tried to hold on to it.

At least once a week, Esti would shift. Fly in the darkness among the clouds and moonlight. Watching the stars through the clear upper atmosphere. Esti's dragon was indeed made for water. They could fly high, and dive into the deeps to swim with whales underneath the waves. Opal could sing like a whale under the waves. A sad mournful sound. A fitting soundtrack to her mood. Thanks to the frequent hunting trips, Esti's diet soon became heavily supplemented by an endless supply of fish, squid and various shellfish from the depths.

The dragon's head was narrow, the long curling horns helped her cut through the water like a torpedo. Their tail was extra long, gossamer wing like fins worked like a rudder, steering as her powerful tail and webbed limbs worked together to power the dragon's swimming. Under the water. In the dark, quiet of the sea, Esti and her dragon felt free. Unbound from everything that weighed Esti down as she robotically moved through her day. The garden was well tended and weeded outside until the frost left only the green house alive. No chickens had ever been so well cared for as the ones in Esti's flock. 

One month gone. Then two each day so similar. The only thing that varied was the different sweets and pastries Esti tried to learn how to make. As the days counted ever onward. Her comfortable home began to show signs that it was overdue for restocking. The fall was late, winter storms and frigid weather would make a boat trip at best unpleasant, worst dangerous.

Really the first winter storm could happen any day now by how the air felt. Esti needed to make certain her stores would make it through the winter. She also wouldn't mind trying to find some kind of fishing net she could set up. Her dragon could fly out to set the line and ensure a stockpile supply of fish could be obtained. To stock up for when winds and snow kept Esti and the dragon inside. Freezers were amazing. Imagine, a human electric able to keep things cold indefinitely. Instead of sourcing ice, physically from nature of magically.

Esti carefully planned a list. There was a slow, human desktop computer that Esti had come to greatly enjoy. Checking weather reports, and looking for recipes were her most common uses for the device. She also especially enjoyed reading human histories. She used the clunky desktop to try and plan out how much meat and other supplies she should buy to make sure winter would be comfortable and pleasant. There had been something called bacon in the fridge and freezer when she arrived. She was very certain she wanted more of that.

Then Esti attempted to spend time trying to figure out how much cash she would need. Before deciding that it would be better to take all she had, in case of an emergency. Subdividing her human, financial provisions into separate bags. Wanting to make sure she wouldn't lose everything at once should something unforeseen happen on her boat trip. Never put all the eggs in one basket. A warning that did not make sense, until you dropped an entire days worth of eggs.

One overnight trip is what Esti planned for. Bringing a couple changes of clothes, not really knowing what would blend in once she arrived at the human settlement Theo and Joe had told her about. Her experience was limited the one dinner she had eaten in, had been almost empty, the waitress was in a uniform. Her only other reference was movies, and she knew those weren't real. Wanting to try and have options to be unremarkable. 

Just go out, exchange currency for goods and be on her way back to her lonely, safe, and protected home. Esti ran her hands through her long, thick hair. Nibbling her lower lip. Maybe exchange some of the currency for services, like a haircut. Esti smiled to herself at the thought. She'd only ever had long hair, she felt ready to bring some change to her life.