Eldarya: Imagine

Ezarel | Ridiculous

"This is ridiculous." The man murmurs as he looks around himself at the smoothly trimmed hedges, colourful flowerbeds and the high concrete and glass buildings of your estate. "Unbelievable."

You must agree on the 'unbelievable' part – you think as you keep staring, mouth slightly agape, at the stranger that nearly a minute ago appeared in a flash of blinding light on the pavement before you. You even consider the possibility you're dreaming, even though you're quite sure you got up fifteen minutes prior with desire to take a morning jog as you always do in the weekends. It's four in the goddamn morning and the air is still heavy with water from the night rain, the smell of damp pavement hitting your nostrils being the only thing keeping you from fully believing this happening to be a dream.

Your thoughts are still racing when the man turns and freezes the moment he sets his eyes on you.

"Um... miss..?" he looks highly disturbed, probably more than you, although how he looks at you indicates at least your eyes are open wide, your face probably wearing a shocked expression as you stare at his pointy ears and clothes and the vials poking out of the leather bag on his hip wondering just what the heck this man may be.

"What the hell was that supposed to be?" you ask, a little bit of too much sharpness in your voice, and he flinches slightly at that. "Were you paid to pull a prank on me or something?" you're pretty much sure there's no way someone would go out of their way to surprise you like that first thing in the very early morning, yet you refuse to acknowledge the possibility someone definitely out of this world teleported in front of your block of flats just as you were about to take off in your two-hour exercise.

And you realise you're being unreasonable the moment you notice how lost and unsure the man looks as he seems to try to make up a believable excuse.

In the end he doesn't say anything, just shifts and sighs, probably too done with his current situation to even try to tell you the truth.

You both stay like this in place another few seconds-or maybe minutes? You honestly can't tell. And what breaks you out of the kind of an awkward stare-off is few drops of water falling that you notice when they reach the level on your face. You glance up as more drops fall, your plans to jog not very possible to do anymore. Then your eyes go back to the man, who's still standing in place, reminding you of a lost puppy.

A sigh leaves your lips, as you turn to the glass door of your block of flats and open them, before sending him another glance.

"Come on in," you offer, "You can answer my question when you'll be ready."

A look of shock and amazement crosses his face, before he quickly joins you when you lift a brow.

"Thank you.." he says quietly and you give him a light smile.

"No problem," as you say it, while you both walk in the small space of the staircase, you give him your name.

"Ezarel," he lets out in response and it's the last word you exchange before quietly walking to your flat.