Special Delivery

~ 3 ~

Scott curled up in a blanket, staring at the shadows of the cave. Why wouldn't his supposed savior show himself? His stomach burned with hunger, and he bit again into the cooked meat that was salted and left there with the blankets. It tasted like rabbit. This could not satisfy the hunger in his mind, however. He wanted answers.

He flopped and turned the other way. The pale white moonlight was now shining on the treetops, creating a dancing sort of light show beneath as the breeze played with the trees, as though twisting a kaleidoscope. Little bursts of red, blue, yellow, and green flitted across the brush: pixies. Scott had heard about the mischievous little creatures who lurked at night like the rest. The occasional centaur passed as well. He knew better than to mess with them, as they could be quite vicious. So far, no dragons or lake ladies, as in the Arthurian tales he read, but an enchanting and magical world nonetheless.

And like he could read his mind, the voice from the shadows said "You want to go out there, don't you?"

"No... I-I mean, not without some protection..." He subconsciously reached toward his dagger.

"A dagger won't help you here. We monssstersss don't much enjoy monssster blood being needlessssly ssspilled, either by a human or a fellow monssster. Mossst will do anything in their power to ensssure that the one who harmed that monssster will be put to death."

"... I don't know if I'd call you 'monsters'..."

"If not monssstersss, if not your word for usss, then what are we?"

"I guess, just... creatures. But we all are. I mean, you're nice, not like all the savage ones..."

"Sssavage?"

"Yeah, but, not you, n-not the nice ones--"

"Only everyone elssse, every other monssster, huh?"

"That's not what I meant... look, I'm awful, I'm sorry."

"Yeah, you are awful."

They sat in silence for a while.

"You know, for someone who claims to be a savior, I actually haven't seen you at all. How do I know you're not some crazed killer pretending to be a nice naga?"

"... you wouldn't want to sssee me, trussst me..."

"How do you know?"

"My appearance would already ssscare your kind. Sssharp teeth, long tail attached to a 'human' body... I'm not going to ssscare you out there, out where you'll get hurt." There was a long pause where only the noises of crickets and the giggles of pixies filled the air between them. "... get sssome sssleep. You'll leave in the morning. You're welcome back any time you wisssh."