Damsels and Dragons
Chapter 4 - Names
"My names Olivia but people tend to call me Liv, What's your name?"
Dang it, this was what I was worried about, I liked that she hadn't called me by that stupid name Linda gave me, but well what else could I have her call me? I could use the other name but what if she found out I was a boy.
I slumped on the ground with my hands on my head as I wracked my brain for an answer. I was only distracted a little bit by the fact I could feel horns on my head. Why did it feel wrong like I was lying to use my actual name while the one I picked felt like the truth…
My mouth made a decision before I did, "N-Nissa, my uh name is Nissa." I lied to her, why did I do that?! I never lied. Linda made it clear lying was wrong and it felt wrong. I did it anyway and now I couldn't take it back.
"Sorry Nissa, I didn't mean to upset you." She spoke softly. It felt gentle in a way Linda has never ever been.
"I-It's not your fault." I tried to tell her. She shouldn't feel bad because I did something wrong.
I tried focusing on the scent of cooking meat. There was something so satisfying about the smell. Maybe it was a dragon thing.
She was about to take the food off the fire way too early. "Nooo let it cook more."
"If I cook it more it'll dry out and get tough." She shot back. Ugh she was like Linda, she couldn't handle properly cooked meat.
"I-It's not even charred on the outside." I explained.
She raised an eyebrow. "Is this a dragon thing?"
"No! I've always eaten food like this. You're weird like Linda, always wanting to eat raw food." I got laughed at. What it was true.
"This isn't even close to raw anymore, but fine I'll cook it longer." I watched her take a small bit off for herself and left most of it to be cooked correctly.
I let her know when it was actually done. She looked at me funny. "This is burnt, you eat burnt food? You must be a terrible cook."
"I-I'm a great cook, and it's not burnt its cooked properly." I picked up the tiny deer chunk with one hand. "Wait it still has the bones in it."
She looked at me. "I'm not picking the bones out, besides you're a dragon right now, I'm sure you can handle it."
I winced, but well I couldn't get them out myself and I was too hungry to wait, I put the whole thing into my mouth. Deer were so tiny now that I was a big dragon. I chewed and surprisingly the bones really added to the texture. I hadn't eaten in days and even without seasoning it was still a delicious meal.
"You look terrifying when you smile." She told me.
The smile I didn't realize I had disappeared. "S-Sorry."
"Nah, I shouldn't have mentioned it." What why would she think that? "So what am I supposed to do with you now. You clearly can't take care of yourself, I can't bring you home, and I need to go home."
"S-Sorry. I don't know either. W-Without Linda I don't know what to do. I can't even go home like this. I-I can't sleep in my bed, or hold my books, or even fit inside the tower." I was crying big dragon tears.
Live backed up before stopping and coming closer. She placed a hand on my snout. "It's not your fault Nissa, look I'll help you as best I can. I know an alchemist and I'm sure she can help you."
"I-It is my fault, If I just stayed inside like a good b-boy, this wouldn't have happened." In my sorrow I didn't even notice I slipped up and called myself a boy.
"You said you hadn't eaten in days. If you stayed inside you would have starved to death. I have a feeling Linda wasn't going to come back this time." She thought about it while I sniffled. "Look just rest here, nothing in this forest will even approach you and I'll go home and come back with Millicent tomorrow."
She waited till I stopped crying to step back and I just curled up while she put out the camp fire. "I promise, I'll be back tomorrow as soon as possible."
It was surprising how natural it felt to curl up like this. I used to try sleeping like this but it always felt off until I just laid on my back. Now it felt oddly right, my body felt oddly right.
Liv left to go home and I was alone.
It was odd how well I could see after the sun set. I had even gotten used to my new sense of smell to the point I could just tell where things were around me even without seeing in the dark. Being a dragon was weird, some of it sucked really bad like not being able to pick stuff up or fit indoors, but other stuff was really cool like night vision and being too scary for monsters to bother me.
I really hoped Olivia came back, but she promised so she has to.