by Noah Harris
“Why?” Barry asked.
“Why what?” Guy tilted his head. “Why I peeked or why I didn’t give you a total mental shakedown? To answer that, I need to answer something else first.”
Guy walked over to the bar and poured himself a drink. Barry felt tempted to ask for something himself. Anything to calm his nerves and make all of this more palatable The coffee only made him feel more on edge despite barely drinking any of it. Barry listened as he tried to accept everything Guy said. His stomach churned. No matter how soothing Guy’s voice was and how blasé he was about all of it, Barry had a difficult time swallowing what Guy had to say.
“Years ago, like, before humans were ever a thing, dragons reigned supreme.” Guy said. “More dragons than you could ever really think of. But back then, they only came in one variety. One shape, one color, and they only did one thing. Those guys split, got super territorial and wanted their own lands. Over time they started adapting and changing to their lands, gaining special abilities and so on.”
Guy grabbed onto nearby items to demonstrate his point. He dug through a pile and pulled out a small teddy bear to place on the bar. He displayed it proudly by itself to represent the original dragons. He swatted it away and began stacking different figurines from nearby shelves to emphasize the change in dragons.
“Aside from enormous dragon battles for turf, it was pretty boss.” Guy said. He propped the figurines on the bar and moved them around to best simulate fighting among clans. He stopped and put them down as he looked up with a quizzical expression. “Then, all of a sudden: there’s humans. Just…humans. I shouldn’t say all of a sudden. It was obviously a long time coming. Between all the elders’ knowledge, they’re still not totally sure where you guys came from. Some like to think their magic got too close to an ape and you suddenly got intelligent. Some think you’re literally just the result of their magical side effects. Honestly, if you ever want a good laugh, just get a whole bunch of elder dragons together and ask them where humans came from.”
Barry watched Guy’s impromptu presentation and felt an urge to laugh as he listened to Guy ramble. He knew he shouldn’t laugh. It was reassuring to Barry that despite being a dragon, Guy was still the same person. Barry couldn’t think of a possible reason why he would have something on standby to present his point though.
When Guy went off on his aside about the unknown origin of humans, Barry couldn’t handle it and finally let out a laugh. Barry found it entertaining that the one thing humans and dragons had in common was the confusion on where people came from.
“While we were never really able to decide where humans came from, the fact remains, you all surprised us.” Guy said.
He began looking over the figurines and looked for something else on a nearby shelf. He came back with a commemorative thimble and put it in front of all the other figures.
“For such tiny things, you have this incredible strength. This level of willpower, this drive to create and invent. It’s both fascinating and terrifying at the same time.The humans came around and just multiplied—” Guy began to put more small things on the bartop until it was even more cluttered than before. The figurines were now surrounded by a swarm and were at last placed back on their shelf. “—eventually overpowering us until we had to go into hiding. We don’t have the same numbers we had long ago, and we certainly don’t have the know-how to stand up to your weapons and diseases.”
Barry’s unease began to fade as he felt himself grow less scared and more intrigued. Something as small as humans were able to fend off something as powerful as dragons. Barry switched back and forth from feeling like his own kind were the proud underdogs of the Earth or some invading virus.
Guy abandoned his bar to get closer to Barry and he sat down across from him. He looked him in the eyes as he continued to unload.
“That’s when they sent me.” Guy said. “My clan wanted to be the first to take the world back from the humans. So they sent me to live with the humans. See what makes them tick, what weaknesses we could exploit. Tell my clan so we can take over.”
Barry shot to his feet in a frenzy with his mouth agape in horror. He continued to stare down Guy expectantly, waiting for him to launch up to his feet and initiate the fight. His heart raced as he waited for Guy to pounce. He knew he most likely couldn’t win, but he was ready to go down fighting.
“What? Why are you telling me this? Why are you telling me any of this?” Barry shouted.
“Whoa, calm down. You didn’t even let me finish.” Guy said.
Barry didn’t comply and instead he chose to remain standing. Guy shrugged. “That was their plan, not mine. I admit, it was my plan in the beginning. But Barry, that was like five hundred years ago.”
Guy’s expression had softened considerably as he revealed himself more to Barry. There didn’t appear to be any malicious intentions to him. Guy seemed to lighten up a little and unwind. He somehow managed to look more relaxed than usual, or at least his laid-back demeanor appeared more genuine. Guy’s coolness was contagious and even made Barry, previously rigid and ready to fight, sit down and listen.
“Yeah, years back I wanted to complete this mission.” Guy said with a laugh and a smile. “No one told me how much fun you humans are. I wound up falling in love with humanity and everything you do. It’s just so…Exhilarating! You believe things so damn passionately, and you do the dumbest things It’s just so wild! It’s intoxicating! I couldn’t stay away.”
Guy was drunk off his own enthusiasm as he spoke. His eyes lit up and his voice perked with excitement. His fingers curled like they were trying to grab just the concept of being human. Barry had seen Guy become invigorated when he spoke about many things. He perked up about wine, music, and his own bad jokes. This was the peak of his enthusiasm. From the way Guy spoke about it Barry knew it was more than just a hobby, it was a way of life.
“Even if I knew I could never be a real human, I had to try. And so I did. And then I did it again. And then again. And again.” Guy said. “And then I discovered that the only thing more fun than being a human is being a human without the human handicaps. A human without the weakness or being able to cut ahead with the right answers at the right time! So I did that again, and again, and again.”
“Wait, hold on. What do you mean by that?” Barry asked.
“Well, we dragons can shift. At least, to a human. So…I would change who I was every ten or thirty years. Depended on how much I really liked a particular persona.”
“So Guy isn’t your real name?”
“Of course not, you think there’d be a dragon named Guy?” Guy scoffed. “I’d tell you my name but it’s a little hard to pronounce as a person. Vocal cords and all that.”
Guy’s voice lowered but his hands continued to move around.
“So, that’s how I lived for a while. Living as some hard-working guy, doing whatever trade I could come by and succeeding beyond expectations. But that grew kinda dull. I mean, sure, okay, I acquired all of this wealth and I have a proper horde…I’ll probably do it again someday. Who knows? Then the seventies happened. That’s when I found out there’s more to just getting things, there’s creating things. Being things. Being truly alive!”
Barry looked up at Guy as he launched himself up. Barry felt Guy was ready to burst just by the tremble in his voice.
Barry felt a similar feeling inside of him as he listened. The unbridled joy of just being alive and living for himself wasn’t completely lost on Barry. It was something that he looked back fondly on and even began to feel, just hearing it being talked about with such zeal. He felt ready to reach up and grab the world just by being around Guy.
“That’s when I stopped reading minds all the time. A peek here and there, sure, but never to gain an unfair advantage.” Guy’s shoulders lowered as he continued. His fervor deflated a little as he reflected on his actions. “Learning about people from talking and listening, not just reading. Less of an experience that way.”
B
arry started and squirmed with a startle as Guy grabbed his shoulders. He didn’t shake him or shout but insisted on clinging onto something, anything that was willing to listen.
“Barry. I don’t want to go back. I can’t go back to that life. I’ll die if I go back there.” Guy said. “I don’t want to hurt Xanathen. I never planned to. It took me years to realize, but I’ve never really been what they are and what they want me to be. I’ve always been a human with scales. You understand what that’s like, right?”
There was a strained desperation in his eyes and a frantic pleading to his voice. Long gone was the coolness that Barry had always associated with him and also the playful turns of phrase. There sat Guy clutching onto Barry’s shoulders, pleading to just be heard.
“Why are you telling me this?” Barry asked gently.
“…For the longest time I’ve been me, but not me. There’s nowhere I can go where I can be whole.” Guy’s voice shook a little as he spoke. “Wherever I go, I have to ditch one part of me just to fit in with the world I love. Every person I’ve ever been is only a small part of me, a fraction of who I am. I don’t want to shout my existence from the rooftops. I don’t need everyone to know. I just knew you would understand. I could tell you all of this and you wouldn’t call me crazy. Just having one person know me completely is enough to change my world.”
Barry felt his heart weigh heavily as he took in Guy’s cry for help. He knew the feeling all too well. He felt like he was looking into a mirror as he gazed back at Guy. Barry felt compelled to reach out and touch him, if not just to comfort but to see if he’d reach back in return. Though he kept his hands to himself it felt as if they had already reached out to each other a long time ago.
“I understand.” Barry said softly. “That’s my whole life.”
“Thanks.” Guy said. “Ah. Sorry for losing myself there. I just—”
“No, it’s fine. You have every right to be real.”
“Barry.” Guy’s voice was a tender whisper that made the hair on the back of Barry’s neck stand on end.
Guy’s eyes twinkled affectionately as he gazed at Barry and they sent a warm flush of goosebumps down his back. Barry had never felt so in sync with someone in his life. Guy wasn’t the first to understand his differences but he was someone who understood the nuances. Not everyone could be so boisterous and proud. Even Guy, with his confident smirk and carefree laugh, was a man who valued his own privacy. He understood Barry’s desire to keep some things close to his heart and to go at his own pace.
Barry felt lightheaded. The world seemed to fluctuate in position as he felt like his body was drifting and running away from himself. Everything else around them began to dim in focus, all but Guy, who only grew more sharply focused as it felt like he was drawing closer to him. Barry felt his heart race excitedly as Guy’s hand extended towards him. It was as if Guy was the only one who knew how to control the room around him. While the world seemed to drift apart Guy seemed to control the pressure entirely with a single smile. Barry let the hand draw him closer and he felt himself pull away from all the problems that weighed heavily inside him.
Barry came closer to Guy with a shortness of breath and a sense of anticipation. Guy drew closer to Barry. Whatever else was going to happen he felt it was no longer his problem. For a moment he felt a connection he had never felt before and was happy to let that connection bring the two of them even closer.
Guy’s arms wrapped around Barry and pulled him in to rest his head on his shoulder. Barry was surprised as Guy’s arms squeezed tight around his chest. There was a beat of confusion, followed by a surprising moment of disappointment, and at last contentment as he embraced Guy back.
The hug came to a close as Guy still stood close by with a sincere look on his face.
“I want to show you something.” Guy said.
Barry felt himself grow more flustered as he followed Guy out onto the patio. He wasn’t sure what he was expecting but he still held his breath as he let Guy take the lead.
Guy’s hair billowed in the wind while the patio was illuminated by an assortment of dim but pleasing lighting. He walked up to the pool and looked at it expectantly, then he turned around to face Barry. He smiled, washed out in the faint lights around them, as he reached out his arms and let himself fall back into the pool with a tremendous splash.
Barry ran to the pool and stopped in his tracks when he felt the ground shake slightly beneath him. He held his stance as best he could until the shaking came to a stop. The water began to bubble and rumble, spewing out of the pool.
A long face began to emerge from the glowing water and into the darkness of the night. Dazzling copper scales shone against the lights and glistened in the water. The snout was narrow and pointed with an upper jaw that seemed to hide the lower one. Guy’s eyes were round and silver like the moon and almost inquisitive in their nature. On the top of his head were two tall horns that looked almost like the antlers of a stag. His neck and body were serpentine in shape while long legs ending in powerful claws extended from him. His tail coiled around itself on the floor and split into three separate strands at the end. His wings hung close to his body, and even though they were folded into themselves, Barry could still gauge their large size. He was not a creature of brute force but a being of slender elegance that seemed to glide around everything. His walk was slightly cat-like with small steps and dainty feet, yet it was still awe-inspiring.
Guy’s face swung close to Barry, held there by his rope-like neck. His face was no longer as expressive, but his eyes still told so much.
“There we go.” Guy’s voice rang out in Barry’s head as clearly as if he was speaking. He didn’t move his mouth but he still spoke. “I can’t remember the last time I took my actual form. Decades, at least.”
“This is incredible.” Barry whispered. “Wait! What are you doing? Someone’ll see!”
“I doubt it.” Guy said. “And even if they do, they won’t remember it.”
“Oh…Is that what you did down there?” Barry asked. “I thought you just read minds!”
“There’s not a very good word for it.” Guy said. “I do read minds, but once you get better you can do lots of things with minds. Read them, erase them, change them—”
“Why are you doing this?”
“I wanted to show you the real me. No, that’s not right. I wanted to show you all of me.”
Barry felt humbled before the exquisite dragon that beamed down at him with shining eyes. Guy let out several purr-like grunts and growls that sounded more like trills and light breezes. It was soothing to listen to despite not being able to understand it.
Guy dipped his head and surrendered his snout to Barry and let him drape his hand across it. The scales were as smooth as ice to the touch and had already completely dried. A jolt raced through Barry and he removed his hand from Guy with a feeling of shame.
“What’s wrong?” Guy asked.
“I feel wrong doing this. I have a boyfriend.”
“Ah. I can see why you feel that way. Xanathen might not know this, but stroking one’s snout is a gesture of friendship between two good friends.” Guy said. “Many dragons would rub snouts as a sign of friendship. Even elders would do it to ensure peace between clans. It’s like a handshake. But, if it makes you uncomfortable I won’t push.”
“I didn’t know that. I guess it’s no problem then.” Barry concluded as he stroked a few more times and finished with a couple pats.
Guy stretched out his body and curled around Barry. He lowered his back and offered it to him. He looked at Barry expectantly as he let out another sound. Barry looked at him with an arched eyebrow.
“Have you ever flown on a dragon before?” Guy asked.
“Yeah. Before I came back to the states—”
“Good. This isn’t anything new to you. Let me stretch my wings. Let’s fly.”
“I…” Barry trailed off as he looked into the dragon’s eyes.
Barry felt a strong fee
ling in his stomach urging him that something about this was wrong. But it couldn’t be. It was just flying on a dragon’s back. As many times as he had flown with Xanathen, it was never anything sexual. It was just flying and nothing more. Barry was drawn in by the large eyes that seemed to plead with him to ride. He extended his legs across Guy’s back and held on.
There was a familiar sensation to being on a dragon’s back. It was something he would never forget how to do. With the different scales and smaller size it was still a different feeling altogether to flying with Xanathen. He held on tight with skill as he braced for take-off. The enormous wings flipped back expectantly as Guy crawled onto the ledge and leapt off. They fanned out and beat downwards while they lifted the body higher above the city until they were grazing the clouds.
The city glowed below with its thousands of bright lights set against the dark of the night. Barry held on tight to the pulsing dragon as they seemed to wriggle their way through the sky, despite the wings’ constant flapping. The wind blew against his face and his heart soared. All his problems were down below. Where they were, up in the clouds, there were no troubles to bother either of them it seemed. Guy knew this world inside and out and could do as he pleased in order to just live among it quietly. Barry envied that ability, but felt enthralled at being a part of the adventure without having to think of the consequences for once. He could have the fun without being the responsible one. Barry felt himself freed as he held on tighter to the dragon and let him take control. He stopped worrying and enjoyed the ride for once.