I’d never been one to lead a plain life, but meeting Amaris and Rose -Resplendence- had certainly added a little color to my canvas. I imagined Rose was a pale pink and Amaris, a vibrant gold. Where I landed on the spectrum was uncertain but maybe it was well enough that we all came from such diverse palettes. I enjoyed variety and even more so when it was presented with culture and opinion and personality…

However, not every opinion needed expression... I still wasn’t quite sure how to receive Valiance, but as I eyed the little crimson devil he took it upon himself to befriend every creature before him- aside from me of course. Maybe it had something to do with our gender… I’d seen such acts of jealousy consume many-a-male’s reasoning. It wasn’t my fault I was more equipped to entertain the ladies with foolish lore and fabricated truths. I certainly hadn’t come seeking intimacy of any kind in Helovia though. I’d spent too many wasted hours fawning over the opposite gender to be compelled any longer by their sly games and hungry eyes.

I’d like to say that I had arrived a changed man… but I assume only time would reveal such revelations.

However, I didn’t have much time to ponder such trivial notions, at least not with my hip screaming for vengeance (and perhaps some salve). Rose mentioned that she would find me some chamomile -most likely the only reference to something I had any clue about- but it certainly didn’t deter her from resuming conversation with Amaris.

Oh no, don’t trouble yourself! My coat is just burnt to hell and my skin feels like it’s going to shrivel away from my body- but please, don’t rush or anything!

Females… so irritating and yet so utterly and undeniably perfect. But they still made me want to grind my teeth on a damn tree trunk.

Sometimes I had to question my own choice in company because of that issue, but of course I knew why I’d suffered through such cruelty with half a smile… both Rose and Amaris were stunningly beautiful creatures, if a bit dense toward my needs. I could feel my mouth tingling but refrained from gritting the yellowed teeth hidden behind my white lips. I’d have to hold my tongue.

I mean, unless I wanted to lose the rest of my coat to Valiance’s fire.

However, I quickly regretted even the thought of offending Rose, let alone blowing up on her for the actions of her “companion.” She appeared to stiffen at my outrage, a corpse in every sense of the word, before shuddering into motion once more. Her words resembled vomit, in that she couldn’t seem to stop talking and yet everything was stunted and unsure. In short, she looked like it physically pained her to do anything but stand there.

Okay, Rose made me feel like a dick. A huge dick.

But how was a man supposed to react to being assaulted within the first ten minutes of meeting someone? Certainly the Gods would allow me mercy for such slights… Then again, Rose was probably favored among their disciples for her compassion and kindness and I was just a fucking jerk. “Thank you Rose,” I sighed dejectedly while I watched her scurry away to gather herbs. Poor girl, she looked like she’d been tossed on her head as a child and now all she could do was hope that no one else was harsh enough to do it again. After she had wandered off to find chamomile, my dual-colored gaze was returned to Amaris. She too offered apology too, but I could hardly believe she sought to instill it with any real meaning. What was it… birds of a feather flock together? I was clearly the odd-man-out in this threesome and it wasn’t even the kind of threesome every man dreams of. No, this was something else entirely.

But at least the draconic mare was calm enough for the rest of us to keep sense because she was the only one capable of coherent speech (outside of my own panicked, psychotic spewing). “I’ve traveled a lot and let me tell you, the world has a lot of peculiar sights… But dragons are most certainly a first for me,” I replied lightly in an attempt to temper the dissonance caused by my violent outburst. “I guess I’m more of a bystander when it comes to all things unfamiliar- I like to look and not touch,” I laughed. In most situations anyway…

When Amaris motioned me toward some yonder stream, I followed willingly. The burned skin along my hip squealed in protest, but I was supposed to be a man. I couldn’t let flesh wounds keep me from assuming the role of “I’m a man and I WILL prevail.” However, I couldn’t help but wince as I fell into step alongside her… Yeah, alright, some men felt pain. Was that a crime?

I was glad that Amaris didn’t seem to notice my display of weakness but the information shared about her past was quite appalling in its own right. At least I didn’t have to think too long about my inability to act the part of shameless lady-killer. No, I was too distracted by Amaris’ heritage to hem-haw over my own deficiencies. “So Helovia is full of creatures like you…?” I asked uncertainly. I didn’t know how much more awe I could handle in the stint of my stay here. I’d been known to travel a lot but as the years passed and my heart grew lonely, it became almost necessary to find a place to settle.

Would Helovia be that place?

“I guess I can understand that, but the question remains… are they all that protective? How does one come by a companion anyways?” I prodded more freely. “This has truly been a disconcerting day Amaris. I hope that you’ll not think ill of me… I’d like to call myself “composed” in most situations,” I smiled openly at her second attempt to apologize for Valiance (as if she could have controlled him anyway). “I’ll recover from a simple burn, but as you seem to know quite a bit about these things, I don’t want to miss the opportunity to ask you how one could avoid such mishaps in the future?” I finally concluded.

If I was going to stay and call Helovia “home”, it was probably better I learned as much as I could, as fast as I could, so today couldn’t repeat itself.