The Dragons' Crystal

Chapter Four

I don't know why, but part of me thought that Darius' camp would be hidden. I imagined it being secluded in the deepest part of the woods, camouflaged to match the trees. I thought about how many traps would be around the camp to catch intruders too close to finding the hidden getaway.

But I was wrong.

I didn't have to look hard to see it. I couldn't remember how long it had been since we had started walking, nor how we had gotten to the hill before the camp. My mind must have been distant, to which I silently scolded myself for. I hoped Darius hadn't said anything else to me in fear that he thought I was being rude. I was just doing what I had grown used to. 

We started to come down the hill when I first saw it. Off the main path we were on was a smaller trail that led into a circle of trees with an even larger clearing in the middle than the one I had found the night prior. There were ladders that stood out against the dead snow covered trees that led into the branches. In the branches of the trees were huts, also brown and stand-outish against the snow. Wobbly bridges went from hut to hut between the trees. In the middle of the clearing were also a few more huts filling in the gaps between the trees, a large hut directly in the middle. There was a fire nearby, a pile of wood in a covered tent. I attempted to count all the people from where we stood nearly at the top of the hill, but it was impossible. There was too many of them. 

"Welcome to my camp!" Darius grinned, dimples appearing directly beside his mouth. 

I watched as he looked over the little area, nothing but pride bouncing off of him. "Does it have a name?"

"Not yet. A name hasn't struck me perfect for it. I'm waiting for that moment to come, but until then, we just address it as camp." He shrugged, taking the lead again. "I don't want to interrupt your mission too much, so we can hurry this up if you'd like." He flashed me a smile as he passed me. 

I tried to ignore it, but it felt nice to be treated with respect by someone other than my mother. It felt good to see Darius smile at me like that. For once in my life, I didn't feel miserable and unwanted. I felt lucky enough that he was even inviting me to his home, much less that he had extended the invitation to live there with them. 

I followed him into the camp, finding myself fascinated the further we went. To my surprise, there wasn't any traps that were visible to my eyes. No one appeared to be guarding the camp either. The most surprising things weren't even the camp. I found that out as we neared the center. The more I looked at the people around us, the more I realized just how different they looked. Some of these people couldn't have been humans, I mean. 

I watched as what appeared to be a wolf on its hind legs walk by. It was fully clothed, simply without shoes. They flashed me a toothy smile. "Hey newcomer." It was a woman's voice. Her eyes were the only human part of her; they were a nice, calm blue.

I swallowed, instinctively moving closer to Darius. 

"Newcomer?" A man who was previously in a conversation with someone else turned to look at us. He smiled. "You brought us another, Darius?" He was dressed in full length pants, seashells hanging from around his belt. His cloak completely covered whatever shirt he was wearing, but the cloak was decorated with blues and greens. It reminded me of the ocean.

I allowed my shoulders to relax. This man looked completely normal to me. His hair was long and dreaded, though I wasn't quite sure by how much. He had it all pulled up in a bun at the top of his head. Judging by how thick it looked, it must have been a lot. His eyes were a comforting, and normal, brown with his skin darker than I had ever seen before. I found him to be beautiful. "Hi there. My name is Odelle." I extended my hand as he walked towards us. "And you are?"