Tales from the Tavern...

Rosette awoke the next morning feeling awful. Not only did she have the biggest headache of her life, but she felt hot, as if it were the middle of summer. He rolled over to pull the covers off, but stopped when she noticed that what she had grabbed was not made of cotton, but rather scaly and hard.

            She had wondered what that odd sound was ever since she had woken up, but it was only now she took notice to it enough to wonder what it was. She sat up in bed and her eyes went wide as she saw Ryu in his full dragon form, sleeping in the middle of her room with his wing hanging over her bed.

            “Ryu!” she yelled. His eyes snapped open, “Don’t move!” Right away he noticed what he had done.

            “I’m so sorry, Rosette.” He said.

            “Don’t be sorry, just change back before you break something.” She said.

            “Right.” He said. There was a flash of light and she saw his body cover with flames as it shrank and he stepped out of the blaze in his human form, still wearing what he had on the night before.

            “Why didn’t you burn anything?” she asked, confused, “And where did you get those clothes?”

            “That fire doesn’t burn anything.” He said, “And my sisters gave me these clothes last night. Don’t you remember?” Rosette held her head.

            “I don’t remember much, but I do remember you bringing me home.” She said, “Where were your clothes when you are in dragon form?”

            “I don’t really know myself.” He said, “I guess it’s magic. It’s best not to think about it, I say. You don’t really know exactly how your car works, right?”

            “Not really.” She said.

            “Exactly, but it works anyway and you don’t ask questions.”

            “I suppose…….” She said, trailing off.

            “What else do you remember about last night?” he shyly asked.

            “I remember coming home, landing on the roof, then….” She thought about it.

            “Then?”

            “I woke up here.” She said, “Did you carry me down here? I’m sorry for the trouble.”

            “It’s no big deal.” He muttered, “You really don’t remember?’

            “Did I do something wrong? I’m so sorry, Ryu!” she said, “What did I do? Did I slap you or something?”

            “No, no. It’s nothing like that.” He muttered, “It’s just….” The vision of the night before flashed in his head and he found himself staring at her mouth.

            “Well whatever it was, let’s just put it behind us.” She said getting out of bed, “I didn’t mean it so don’t take offence.” Her words sent him into a deeper feeling of sadness.

            “Really? Oh, Alright then….”

            “It’s a good thing it’s Saturday, eh?” Rosette said, stretching out in the living room. She hadn’t bothered to change out of her pajamas yet, as she made sure to do every morning before coming out of her room. She had felt very insecure around Ryu when it came to these kinds of things, thinking of him like a friend that was staying for a few weeks, but now she had come to think of him almost like family, becoming more comfortable in his presence, and for some reason, today became the turning point where her view of him had changed.

            He had taken a seat on the end of the couch and again began staring out the window at the bright morning sky. The storm was over and now only few fluffy flakes drifted from the heavens, and glinted off the bright sunlight. The snow on the ground was piled high and the sound of heavy equipment could be heard in the streets as they struggled to clear the road. Among the sound of the roar of their engines, the loud beeping they made while in reverse, and Rosette frying bacon and eggs in the kitchen, Ryu heard a silent knock at the door.

            “Hello!” Crystal chirped, “You’re feeling well I see.” She leaned in with a devious smile, “How’s Rosette?”

            “She has what she calls a ‘hangover’” he said, “She just looks sick to me. She doesn’t have anything hanging, unless you count when she drags her knuckles on the carpet.”

            “Ryu, stop telling lies! I’m no ape!” she roared from the kitchen.

            “No, apes can cook better.” Sparcy said.

            “Come on now, I’m doing my best under these conditions.” She said, waving a spatula.

            “Your eggs are burning….” Crystal said. Rosette spun around and continued their work.

           

            The three siblings sat in the living room and the girls didn’t waste any time with idle chit chat.

            “So how was your night?” Sparcy asked excitedly. He was expecting this since he woke up this morning. He was surprised that they hadn’t woken them up knocking on the door earlier.

            “It was fun.” He said. Crystal laughed.

            “That’s it? Nothing interesting happened?” she asked.

            “Well…..”

            “Well what?”

            “The cab was late because of the storm.” He said. Sparcy sat back and crossed her arms.

            “I see. You got some alone time with Rosette.” She said with a smile, “You got to keep her warm in the cold winter night. How romantic!”

            “We weren’t there very long. I got sick of waiting for the cab and she was drunk so I took her home.” He said.

            “Wait, how did you get home?” she asked, “You can’t drive!”

            “No, I flew.” He said. Both of the girls went quiet.

            “You w-what? How could you do something so reckless!” Sparcy exclaimed.

            “There was no one around! Plus it was the middle of the night and in the middle of a snowstorm. No one could see a hand before them, let alone a hundred feet in the sky!”

            “Ryu, times have changed.” Crystal said, “The airport is pretty close to the school and they have a high power radar system there. Even with the storm, you could still be picked up if you went high enough.”

            “Plus the entrance to that building is watched by security cameras at all times!” Sparcy exclaimed. Ryu went white. “They could have caught you when you transformed!”

            “W-What do I do?” he stammered.

            “Just hope this thing blows over.” Crystal said, “Otherwise we have to put emergency measures in place.”

            “What do you mean by that?” he asked.

            “Just hope you don’t have to find out.” She said.

            “You won’t hurt anyone, will you?” he asked, the girls just looked at each other.

            “We’ll try not to.” She said.

            “Are you two staying for breakfast?” Rosette asked, poking her head out of the kitchen.

            “Sure, smells good!” Sparcy said, “We just have to talk to Ryu for a minute.”

            “Oh, alright.” She said, turning back into the kitchen. She heard them speak a strange language that she couldn’t recognize as belonging to any country.

           

            “Now that we’ve told you off,” Sparcy said in their mother tongue, “We want to know what happened last night.”

            “I just told you!” he said, “We flew home!”

            “Not that.” Crystal said, “We want to know what has made you so upset. We can tell you know.”

            “Oh that? It’s nothing.” He muttered, flashing a glance in Rosette’s direction.

            “Out with it. If it’s about Rosette, she can’t understand us so you can say.” Sparcy said in a caring tone. Crystal nodded.

            He thought that maybe he should tell them. They were, after all, his sisters. And growing up with the times and being familiar with the ages, they may have lived alongside humans enough to learn what it means to be in love. They have had spouses in their lives and loved ones, but still he had trouble talking about it in front of the person in question, even though she couldn’t understand them.

            “I-I….I mean,…..we….um….” he stumbled over his words. He took a deep breath and spoke again. “I don’t know how or why it happened, but she kissed me.”

            The two girls went speechless and stared at him in shock. He felt as if he had said the dirtiest word in the world, and a priest was standing behind him. Ryu watched as their shocked faces turned to faces of utter elation. Trying to hide their smiles as they took their seats at the table, they calmly helped Rosette dish out the food, and Ryu tried to keep his eyes fixed on the plate in front of him. Once they were all seated, Sparcy couldn’t hold it in any more and leaned in to speak, but Ryu interrupted her before she opened her mouth.

            “She doesn’t remember it, Sparcy. She was drunk.” He said in his mother tongue. Sparcy closed her mouth again and they both understood the situation. They decided to keep quiet about it for the time being.

            “I’m just curious, but what language is that?” Rosette asked, “It’s not German or Spanish or anything. I’ve never heard that before.”

            “You wouldn’t either.” Ryu said, “It’s Dragonish. It’s a stupid name for such a complex language, but it caught on I guess.”

            “I don’t think it’s a stupid name. It captures the nature of the language!” Sparcy said, “It’s the language that all dragons speak.”

            “So you were speaking it because you didn’t want me to hear, right?” Rosette asked.

            “What makes you think that?” Ryu asked. Rosette stabbed her eggs.

            “I don’t think there’s a word for my name in any language besides Rosette.” She said, “I can tell when someone is talking about me.”

            “It’s not like we’re keeping secrets, Rosette.” Sparcy said, “Well we kind of are, but there are circumstances. It’s for your own good.”

            “It’s still rude.” She said, taking a bite. “I can tell it was about last night, too. Something about what I can’t remember.”

            “What makes you think that?” Ryu asked again.

            “It’s simple. It was only last night that anything happened worth telling to them. Everything else I already know, so if you’re trying to keep it from me, it must be about what I can’t remember.” She said, “I already know what you are talking about, Ryu. It will just take a bit of time to come back to me that’s all.”

            “It’s nothing, Rosette. You weren’t in the right mind last night.” He said, “You weren’t in control of your actions and if you didn’t mean it, that’s fine.” He stood up after he finished talking and went to the bathroom, leaving half his food on his plate.

            “Man, that’s rough.” Sparcy muttered.

            “Tell me about it. Poor Ryu.” Crystal said.

            “What the hell did I do last night?!” Rosette exclaimed.

            For the rest of the day, Ryu felt depressed, but he kept telling himself that he had no reason to be. Crystal and Sparcy were trying to cheer him up, taking him on playing his favorite video game, while Rosette watched, but nothing they did could change his mood. After several hours of trial and error, they both came to the conclusion that this was something that would have to work out on its own. Plus, they were both tired of trying. After waving goodbye to them just before supper time, Ryu was left alone with Rosette.

            “Ryu?”

            “Yes?”

            “Is there something wrong?” she asked. Ryu kept staring at the television.

            “Not particularly.” He said.

            “You’re sisters are worried about you.” She quietly said, “You look depressed.”

            “I have my reasons. It’s not your fault.” He said. Rosette sighed and turned off the TV, making him look at her.

            “We have to talk.” She said, “I want you to be honest. As a friend, I want you to tell me the truth, Alright?”

            “Okay.”

            “What did I do last night to make you this upset?” she asked. He didn’t care anymore. It wasn’t like some serious secret. She didn’t even mean it anyway so in a way, he should be laughing about it, but he just didn’t feel like laughing.

            “What do you remember?” he asked. Rosette thought about it.

            “I remember flying home, then landing on the roof,” she said, “then…..”

            “Then what?” he asked.

            “It’s a bit fuzzy after that, but I remember something about feeling very warm, even in the snow storm.”

            “And when was the last time you felt like that?” Ryu asked. Rosette gasped.

            “It was when you, um, kissed me.” She said, blushing.

            “So, what do you think happened last night?” he asked, sitting back in on the couch. Rosette finally realized what she had done.

            “You mean we……on the roof…….you and I…….I’m so sorry!” she stammered.

            “Now let me ask you a question, and as my friend, I want the truth.”

            “Alright.”

            “Did it mean anything?” he asked. Rosette glanced at the floor.

            “It meant something, but not as much as you think.” She said, “I was drunk and I couldn’t control my feelings.”

            “So it was because of the alcohol?”

            “That’s not the point!” she exclaimed, “I don’t know why, but those feelings are still there! They had to be there in the first place to get out of control!”

            “What are you saying, Rosette?” he asked.

            “Don’t make me say it. It’s embarrassing.” She blushed, turning away.

            “I don’t see what the big deal is. It’s just the two of us here, why can’t we be honest with each other?” he asked, “Are you afraid that I’ll laugh?”

            “No that’s not it.” She whimpered, “I’m just not sure of those feelings, Ryu. I mean, you’re a dragon and I’m a human! We’re too different!”

            “Is that what you’re worried about?” he huffed, “We’re not as different as you may think. These human forms aren’t just for show.”

            “Well how do you feel?” she asked, “If I have to confess then you should too!”

            “How do I feel?”

            “Yes. How do you feel?” she repeated.

            “Hungry. When’s supper?” he said with a smile. A cushion came down across his head.

            “Be serious here!” she yelled, “Answer me!”

            “Rosette, you know how I feel. We have a special bond that makes us the best of friends. I want to stay by your side for as long as possible.”

            “But we didn’t make the bond, remember? I still don’t know your real name!”

            “That’s not the bond I’m talking about. It’s an unspoken bond that we have which ties us together as friends.” He said, “And I still want to tell you my real name.”

            “You don’t have to. I don’t want to hear it of it’s going to tie you to me.” She said.

            “Did you not hear what I just said?” he asked, “I want this.”

            “It just doesn’t seem right.” She said.

            “It feels right to me.” He said.

            “I’m not worthy to hear your name.” she said, staring into his eyes.

            “Actually, you might be surprised.” He said.

            “How so?”

           

“Because….” He said, “My real name is Hiryuu.”

She sat frozen on the couch as they both stared into each other’s eyes. He wanted to tell her for so long, but from the expression he had received from her, he didn’t think it was such a good idea. She looked almost hurt, but mostly confused, as if she was fighting with her own feelings. Tears began rolling down her cheeks.

“Rosette, are you alright?” he asked. He put his hand on her shoulder but she brushed him away.

“All this time…..” she muttered, “You only saved me because of the bond. I guessed your name so now you have to hang around me all the time, right?”

“No Rosette! It’s not like that!” he said.

“Yes it is! You were bound to me so you had to protect me, not because you wanted to!” she cried, “Am I such a bother to you?”

“Rosette, listen to yourself! I think you know me better than that!” he said.

“Oh really? Then what about that weird language you were speaking with your sisters? You didn’t tell me you knew that language!” she said, “What else are you keeping from me?”

“I can’t help my nature, Rosette. Dragons are secretive beings. It takes a lot for us to trust even other dragons!” he said.

“What else do I have to do to earn your trust?” she asked, wiping the tears from her eyes.

“What? Nothing!” he said, “And don’t go thinking that this changes anything!” he sat back on the couch, “And if you must know, the bond only forms when I openly tell you my name, like tonight. It doesn’t count if you guess it correctly.”

“What?” she gasped, “Really? You mean all this time you….”

“Yes, Rosette. I stuck around not because of a stupid ancient curse, but because you are my friend. And just so you know, the word friend isn’t in many dragons’ vocabulary.”

“I-I don’t know what to say.” She muttered.

“Let’s just put this behind us and let’s remain the same as before.” He said.

“But I think it’s safe to say that we both know how the other feels.” She said, “Are you sure you want it to be the same?”

“We’re both a little confused right now. I think it’s best to think about it for a while before we worry about that.”

“I guess you’re right.” She said. Ryu stood up and walked to the window where the snowflakes once again fell like soft feathers.

“It’s a nice night.”

Sunday morning was surprisingly quiet and relaxing. Rosette stayed in her pajamas all morning as she cuddled into a blanket at one end of the couch, with Ryu sitting at the other. Things were back to normal, as normal as a relationship between a human and a fire-breathing dragon could be, and they were talking again. Talking about the old times, about the new times, about the things he had missed being frozen. Both were mostly ignoring the television as it blared in the background, until the morning news came on and an alert was being issued.

“…….around the vicinity of the University, and police are cautioning students and the general public to be aware of the threat. As I had said before, the beast is still unidentified, but whatever it is, animal control is still patrolling the immediate area. A curfew will be set in place for students living in the nearby dormitory, and police will be enforcing this curfew along with campus security as they patrol the area in search of it.” The newscaster took a breath, “If you are just tuning in, security cameras at Toronto University has taken footage of a strange animal just outside the main student center, and all people should take caution around that area. You can find more details on this story on our website.”

“In other news,” The other newscaster said, “An Unidentified, Flying Object has been identified in Toronto airspace on Friday night. Air traffic controllers were perplexed when the strange object was picked up on radar, and disappeared over a small residential area near the University. We’ll keep you updated when we get more information.”

Both Ryu and Rosette were left speechless and staring blankly at the screen. The phone rang and Rosette reached to answer it, but Ryu stopped her.

“Don’t bother. They’re already on their way over.” He said. He was right. The phone only rang twice and two minutes later came a rap on the door.

“This is bad!” Crystal said. She at least was the calm one. Sparcy was so upset that she was even shaking, and the porch light above her head popped, then went dark.

“S-Sorry.” She stammered.

“Just come in.” Rosette said. Crystal did seem calm, but outside the window, the snow began to swirl and beat against the glass. The two sisters were obviously upset.

“I’m sorry.” Ryu said, but his apology hit only open air as they both stared at the coffee table, trying to think.

“What if we get the tapes and destroy the evidence?!” Sparcy said.

“There are still people who saw it.” Crystal said.

“What if the shot was like all the other photos people get of mythological creatures? You know all blurry and stuff.”

“You don’t understand.” Crystal said, “Dragons would only be distorted on digital media. For some reason, a digital camera or digital video camera won’t pick up a dragon at all, no matter what form they’re in. It’s kind of like a vampire’s reflection in a mirror.”

“So what are you worried about?”

“The school hasn’t switched to the digital system yet. That building has yet to be updated with the rest of the school. Their cameras still use analog tapes.”

“Why doesn’t it work with digital stuff?” Rosette asked, “It’s still the same concept anyway. A regular video camera uses magnetism to record to the tape and the computer uses magnetism to record to a hard drive, right?” She asked. Crystal shook her head.

“Recording on a tape with magnets is relatively simple compared to a hard drive. It all had to do with compression.”

“You’re losing me.” Ryu said.

“If you use a regular, still camera, the image gets exposed to a negative. In other words, it uses light to record.” She said, “We will show up on a picture like that. When the light hits the lens of a camera and gets transferred into an electrical signal, our image gets distorted for some reason. If it gets recorded to a tape, our image comes out slightly blurred, but still recognizable. But, if the image gets stored on any kind of digital media, we don’t show up at all.”

“But why?” Rosette asked.

“I don’t know, but maybe it has to do with the elemental energy in our bodies.”

“You’re what?”

“You would call it magic, I suppose.” Sparcy said, “That’s what happened to your light and the snowstorm that appeared outside. It was us.”

“I can understand that, and in a way I get what you’re saying, but if the image on the security cameras is going to be blurred anyway, why worry?”

“Because Ryu hasn’t matured yet.” Crystal said, “His magic isn’t nearly as strong as it should be because of what had happened, and we’re not sure that his magic blurred the picture enough to be unrecognizable.”

“So what do you want to do?” Ryu asked.

“Get the tape. Or at least, see it to make sure.” She said.

“What of we just wait?” Rosette asked.

“Then they would analyze the tape and probably clear it up enough to see it.” Sparcy said.

“But in order to do that, they would have to use a computer, right?”

“I suppose.” Crystal said, “Once they transfer the video to the computer, Ryu wouldn’t show up at all.” There was a pause as everyone thought about it. It was Ryu who spoke first.

“But Rosette would show up, right?” he said.

“Yes, she would.”

“And if she’s identified being next to the mysterious creature, she’ll be a target.” He said.

“A target for what? Questions?” Rosette exclaimed, “Don’t worry about it! What’s the worst that could happen?”

Two days later, and she was eating her words. She sat in her jail cell, trying to figure out at what point things really went down hill. She remembered the first police officer showing up at her front door on Monday morning, before she left for school with Ryu in tow, as per usual.

“Excuse me, miss. I need to ask you a few questions.” The officer asked, but she was in no mood to chat when she knew exactly what it was about.

“We’re late for school.” She said, hurrying out the door. Ryu followed her out but the cop had other plans.

“I have a warrant to bring you in for questioning.” He said, producing a piece of paper, “Refuse, and there could be jail time involved.”

“What do you want?” she asked.

“Just come with me.” He said, “And take you’re friend with you.”

“He has nothing to do with anything! That warrant is only for me!” she exclaimed.

“Actually, it’s for you and any roommates you have.” He said, “Let’s just go.”

The next shining point in the downward spiral was the point where she was sitting across from the same officer, in a room with one way glass.

“Where were you Friday night?” he asked. She figured it would be best to tell the truth, for now.

“We went to the bar on campus.” She said.

“The one in the student center?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“And who were you with?”

“I went with my friend.” She said.

“You’re friend have a name?”

“Ryu.”

“Last name?” he asked.

“He’s foreign.” She said, “I can’t pronounce it so he didn’t bother telling me.”

“I see. So did you leave with him as well?”

“Yes.”

“How did you get home? You didn’t drive. Your car was still in the parking lot the next morning.”

“We took a cab.” She said.

“And how long did you wait for said cab?” he asked.

“About forty five minutes.” She said, “It was a snow storm.”

“The security cameras have you outside at around one o’clock A.M.” He said, “There are no records from any cab company to have picked up anyone during or after that time.” He said, “You didn’t take a cab.”

“The driver didn’t use the meter.” She said, “He said he was going to drive slow anyway because of the storm.”

“What was his name?”

“I didn’t ask.”

“Cab number?”

“Didn’t catch it.”

“Cab company?”

“The car was covered in snow!” Rosette exclaimed, “I was lucky to pick out the taxi sign on the roof!”

“Alright, miss. Say you’re telling me the truth.” He said, “Did you see anything strange that night as you were waiting for the cab?”

“Yes sir. I had a few too many and I was seeing lots of strange things. Can’t remember half of it though.” She said, sarcastically. The television in the corner flicked on and she saw herself standing next to Ryu on the curb outside the Student center.

“Is this your boyfriend, Ryu?” he asked.

“We are not dating! He is just a friend!” she said.

“But this is him right?”

“Yes.”

“Then explain this.” He said, pressing play. Ryu backed away from her, and then it looked like a cloud of snow rose up from the ground and engulfed him in a whirlwind. Once the white cloud had disappeared, she saw herself standing on front of a very blurred, but very large object on the black and white screen. You could obviously pick out the general shape and size, and you could tell it was alive when it moved, and when she approached it. As if by some divine force, or by just sheer luck, it was then the tape ran out in the camera, and they couldn’t connect this incident to the UFO story.

The next thing she could think of was the torment of how she sat in the waiting room, under guard as the same cop interrogated Ryu in the same manner, looking to see if their stories match. It was safe to say when he came out that she was spending the night in custody, for doing nothing wrong, but being an accessory to a dangerous person, or whatever they called it. Either way, it wasn’t right. They had taken Ryu to another cell to be questioned further, hoping he would crack. The whole time, Rosette was worried sick. Two days after the cop had first arrived at her door, the cell door opened, and an officer pushed Ryu inside her cell.