Scaled Guardian

Chapter 2

For a moment, Aallel felt absolutely frightened at the stare the girl had given him. He felt a fast brush of air go past him. Blinking, he saw that she wasn't there anymore. He turned around to see that she had flown back over to the small child, her back facing him.

"Let's go," He had heard the white-haired, half human, half fantasy creature say.

Aallel scrambled to him feet, "W-Wait!" He stuttered out, reaching slightly out to them, as if he could get a hold on either with the distance between them.

White, webbed ears flickered at the noise. She turned around immediately, looking a little stunned. She looked around her, then to Aallel. 'Had he just spoken out to us just now?' Is what the girl was wondering.

Aallel began moving towards the two, a little cautious, "..." He gulped for a quick second, "W-...Who are you two?" He stumbled over his thoughts, not sure what to ask from seeing what had gone on just a moment ago, "...Or... What are you?... Some kind of performers?"

The white haired girl glared at him, "Do we look like we're performers?"

Aallel stared at them for a moment, observing their scaly features. Then he nodded.

The girl seemed to look angry at this. 'I am not some puppet that goes around, entertaining others. I despise all others and would rather choke than entertain a single person!' She thought quietly to herself. Then she felt a tug at her cloak. She looked down at the face of her companion.

The little girl looked up at her with big, pink eyes, "Is he speaking to us? I thought humans weren't able to see us."

The white haired girl's eyes widened a little at that, in remembrance. He isn't supposed to see us. '...I think I might have an idea of why that is...' She would not say this aloud. At least not in front of the boy. Rules stated that he was not allowed to know.

Unless someone else had given permission. Someone specific that he knows, or once knew...

The girl looked back at the boy and gave a smile, "We aren't exactly performers. We... kind of just do this as a hobby," She gave a shrug, "It's something fun that we enjoy..."

He stared at them. Although he had asked the question, he didn't think performers was even the right word he wanted to use. Sure there were people that could do some amazing stuff with technology, but seeing that fight, it didn't seem like technology had anything to do with it. It seemed real. Those shadowy creatures seemed like they were alive, moving about. Truly alive, and they were now gone.

"How did you guys do that? With those... things that you destroyed. What did you do? And what's with all the..." Aallel moved his hands all around him, trying to trace out those weird, webbed ears, scaly tail and wings that they had.

 The two females looked around at their wings and tails. The older girl shrugged her shoulders at Aallel, "They're all props and whatnot. We just want to try and make the most of our little hobby."

Aallel crossed his arms, staring at the two, "Can you guys show me how you work all of it then?"

The white-haired girl's ears twitched, "Sorry. Can't show you anything, at least right now. We gotta head home!" She grabbed onto the younger kid's arm and started to run off with her, "See ya!!!" She waved, leaving Aallel alone.

He stared at where they ran, between the small spaces between the buildings. He quickly followed after them, only to see that they had vanished. Just out of sight. Even after running further, he could see that they were definitely long gone. So, he place a hand on his hip, leaned to the side, and scratched his head, messing his hair up. He sighed and, even though he knew it would be pointless, took one more quick look around to be sure that the two were gone.

After being sure, he started walking back in the direction of his home.

It took only a few minutes until he was walking in through the front door of his home. He was greeted by his mother, a short woman, only as tall as about where Aallel's shoulders are in height. She had wavey, dark, chocolate-like hair, flowing down past her shoulders, stopping about in the middle of her back. One of her eyes, the left one, was this mix between a golden orange-ish color. The other eye was a plain chocolatey-brown color. On her face, you could see she was aging, having a few wrinkles.

"What took you so long to get home, sweetheart?" She walked towards him, patiently holding out her arms for a hug.

Aallel smiled sweetly to his mother, lowering himself a little to give her a hug, "I was finishing up some school work, then I went and helped my friend with some of his work," He had lied to his mother.

"Oh, such a sweet, wonderful young man you are!" She gave him a squeeze in their hug and kissed his cheek, to which he laughed and rubbed at the spot where his mother had just kissed.

His father had walked in, "Aallel," He said in a stern sounding voice. Aallel looked up to his father's eyes. They were black, but in brighter lights, they looked like they had a slightly dark blue color to them. His hair was short, it had a gray, silvery color. With slight bits of a very light blue that could also only be seen in a brighter light.

Two tiny figures pushed passed him and went to circle around Aallel, singing, "Big Brother's in trouble! Big Brother's in trouble!" These two were twins, one being female, the other male. They looked more like Aallel's mother, having the same color hair, and that same waviness too. But both of their eyes had that golden orange color that his mother's left eye had.

"Maal! Maali!" Their father scolded them. They stopped and sulked right to their mother, holding onto her hands. Aallel's father continued, "You should have warned us about how you weren't coming home right away. Maybe given us a call or something," He started to walk towards where Aallel and the rest of the family stood.

Aallel nodded, looking like a puppy that had done something wrong, "I know, I'm sorry..."

His father looked down at him and held out his arms, waiting for a hug like he had given his mother. Aallel perked up, smiling and wrapped his arms around his dad, "Anyways, welcome back home, dinner is just about done," His father said, giving Aallel a pat on his back.

Aallel and his family then went into the kitchen, dishes already set out on the table. The kids all sat first. The mother and father brought the food to the table, putting scoops of whatever each kid wanted onto their plates. Then they put some food onto their own plates, taking their own seats. They all sat at the table, being a happy family, enjoying their dinner. Maybe a few bits of bickering between siblings would happen, but they wouldn't last long.

After dinner, Aallel would go into his room, change into more comfortable clothing and climb into his bed. He only placed the blankets around the middle of his body, leaving his lower legs and upper body uncovered. He closed his eyes, thinking about what happened earlier. 'What was all that? What would my friends think if I told them about it tomorrow?' He slowly planned ways on how he could tell his friends and hoped they would believe him. As he was slipping into unconsciousness, he pictured the tiny scales on the wings of those two girls.