Fisherman's Luck

A Stray Dog (I)

Luc woke up from the worst dream he had ever had in his life. It had been a ride, but he was glad it was finally over. Looking over his familiar pillows and covers, he sighed with relief knowing that the annoying little girl had been a figment of his imagination.

Luc clambered out of bed and opened his closet. He grabbed a standard brown tunic and slipped it on, tying it closed with a red sash at the waist. When he was dressed, he peeked in the mirror on the nightstand and patted his hair. Strange. It was already pulled back from the shaved sides and back and tied in a tail. He didn't remember ever going to bed without undoing his hair.

"Something happened to my mind," Luc mumbled under his breath and shuffled over to the door to his room. He slid it open and exited.

Everything was as he remembered. Killer was sleeping on a clump of dirty clothes next to his food bowl, which was completely empty, as to be expected. All of the tables and chairs were where they were supposed to be and the loaf of bread he had been saving was waiting to be eaten.

Luc paused.

The loaf of bread was gone.

"Good morning," said a smooth, accented, horrifying voice from behind Luc.

"Not like this, Holy Dragon," Luc whispered, eyes brimming with tears. "Anything but this."

The little girl padded past Luc, still wearing his old tunic from yesterday. She began opening cupboards and drawers, sticking her head inside every nook and cranny. When she apparently did not find what she was looking for, she turned around and looked Luc in the eye.

"Do you have any fish?" she asked.

Besides the thoughts of putting an end to his miserable life, Luc finally acknowledged the fact that this girl was different. Very different. The first thing that was wrong with her was her eyes. Sure, they were the large innocent eyes that all young girls have. The problem was that the irises of her eyes were golden. And to make things worse, her pupils were narrowed into vertical slits, such as those of a snake's eyes.

"What are you?" Luc asked, surveying the room for anything to use as a weapon.

"I'm a dragon," said the girl, returning back to her quest for fish.

Luc's brow furrowed.

"Wait a moment," he said. "You're not supposed to say that. You're supposed to claim that you're a human. Then we all get to learn about your tragic backstory and how you pretended to be a human to protect your family. That's how things are supposed to go, right?"

The girl placed her hands on her hips. "I am trying to act as a true lady in a relationship. I do not tell lies. You should not either."

Luc blinked once.

"You're a dragon?" he asked incredulously. "Why the frick didn't you tell me yesterday?"

The girl shrugged. "You didn't ask."

Luc blinked once.

"You're a dragon?" he roared. "What the frick is that even supposed to mean?"

"I know things might be moving very quickly," said the girl with a deep sigh. "But this matter is nothing to get worked up over. You believe what I say and accept it. We both move on in the relationship."

"First of all," said Luc, "we are not in a relationship. Second of all, you're a dragon?"

"Mmhmm," said the girl. "Now can we move on from the subject? You humans are supposed to have loads of fish, right?"