Mindful Secrets

Chapter 10 - Heritage and Hopes

Jasper

Well, I didn't think today would be strange at all. I'll give a brief summary. So, I didn't want to laze around in the house so I asked my parents if I could apply for a gym membership. In all honesty, it was because Dakota indirectly helped to motivate me.

Before, I would usually just do some exercise like push-ups and planking at home. If you could see Dakota, you would probably be motivated enough to go to the gym too. Anyway, I went in and felt kinda out of place, you know. Everyone knew what they were doing and looked really intimidating and then, there was one fur I didn't expect to be there.

I mean, I should have since he can't exactly look that big without going to a gym. He gave me some tips and even helped me on all the equipments. Though, he did act strange when he first started teaching me. He was lost in thought while he was doing his own workout.

I swear, he looked like he was determined to break the machine with how forceful he was pushing. It took a while before I snapped him out of his trance and then, he went to take shower before continuing helping me. It was fun but definitely strange.

I can admit, he looked cool in the black tank top and shorts. To clarify, I don't have feelings for Dakota. He's just a friend to me and he's definitely either straight or aromantic. Why I assume he's aromantic? Whenever I mention dating, he seems disinterested in it. He even tries to change the subject when it comes to that.

Well, whatever. I won't judge him if he is aromantic. Currently, I was walking around town with Dakota. I've never went here since I was too lazy. "Anywhere particular you want to go?", Dakota asks. "Erm, not really. I don't know this place well", I admit. He let's out a hum but doesn't say anything.

It went on for a bit more before he says, "Then, how about we go to the main plaza?". "Uh, sure. What're we gonna do there?", I ask. "I heard there is gonna be a fair there", he says. "Like Ferris wheels and all?", I ask with a raised brow. "Nothing fancy like that. Mostly children's games and food there", he says.

"Yeah, sure. That's cool", I say. We then headed to the main plaza. It was easy considering there was a lot of families heading that direction. We reached it and honestly, I didn't know what I was expecting. This was a lot more than just games and food stalls. I saw furs selling clothes, some displaying art and some selling beauty products.

"So, want to do anything?", Dakota asks. I look around the place. It's really packed here. I have to squeeze my way through everyone just to see what the stalls have. Nothing of interest really. "How about that one?", he suggest. I look to where he was pointing and see it was one of those famous carnival games.

The classic ring toss. It's so rigged but whatever. "Sure, let's do it", I reply. So, we squeeze our way through to the stall. "Ah, welcome, sirs. Are you here to try your luck in the ring toss?", the booth man asks. We nod our heads. "Well, five rings cost $8. The prizes are displayed at the top", he says.

I look at the board and see what the prizes are. For five successful ring tosses, we get a jumbo prize and for three, we get a normal prize. Looking behind, it was just plushies. Nothing extravagant. "What're you doing?", I ask Dakota who takes out his wallet. "Um, paying?", he replies.

"Oh no, no, no! You invited me, I should be paying", I exclaim. "Are you really gonna argue on who's paying?", he asks. "I'm not arguing. I'm starting that I'm gonna pay for it", I state. "Oh, really?", he asks. Before I could respond, I heard, "Well, here you go.! Ten rings!". Hey, what?!

I look at Dakota and he sticks his tongue out at me. Oh, that scheming... I grab the five rings for myself and started aiming. I was a bit irritated but whatever. I just toss it randomly since I really don't care if I get the prize anyway. Well, I missed two out of my five tosses. Dakota did too.

We both claimed our prizes. Dakota picked a Coyote plushie while I picked a Hyena plushie. They looked rather cute though. Anyway, we just walked around the place, seeing if there was anything else of interest. At one point, my mum called me to ask where I was. I told her I was with a friend and that was the end of that conversation.

After a while of walking, we left the place but decided to take rest at a nearby bench. "Was it fun?", he asks. "Yeah", I reply as I hugged my Hyena plushie. We sat there for a while. I felt something brushing my leg so I looked down to see it was Dakota's tail. Hold on. It looks a bit strange.

"Your tail... It's a horse tail but with wolf fur?", I say. "Mmm, yeah. My dad was a wolf and my mum was a horse. Mum was from Russia but moved to America in her twenties", he says. "Oh, that's cool. You know any Russian?", I ask. He shakes his head.

"No, I don't. Mum spoke English my entire childhood", he says. That's cool. My dad was from Argentina and my mum was from Italy. They both moved to America around the same time. I know English and a bit of Italian. Eh, whatever. "So, anything else I should know about you?", I ask teasingly.

He goes into thoughtful silence before grabbing my hand. I was surprised and visibly flinched. "It's okay. I'm not gonna hurt you", he says reassuringly. I take deep breaths and let him so his thing. He places my hand on his forearm. "Try feeling around that area", he says. I do as he says and rub the area.

It feels...leathery. Like horse skin. "Now, move down near my elbow", he says. I do that and it felt different. It felt more fleshy and smooth. I retract my hand and sit back. "That's cool. I'm just a pure wolf", I say. "There's nothing wrong with being a pure wolf", he says. "Hmm, yeah...", I say.