“Leviathan?”

“You know…the embodiment of envy, the serpent that is coiled around the world.” He said motioning to his palm where the ouroboros was tattooed. “Massive sea serpent.”

“But…you…you don’t look like everyone” I said motioning around, he sighed.

“My…demonic characteristics are not ones that make themselves seen easily. I have spent my centuries training myself to keep them hidden.”

“Centuries?” I asked as we walked down the extremely chaotic street of the market we were in, colorful light in streaks, swirls and other patterns filled the air as people casted spells, various magical creatures flocking through the air and across the roofs. “You said you were thirty five.”

“Add a zero to the end.”

“You’re 350?!”

“Around there.”

“Well, when were you born?”

“October 15th, 1662.”

“You’re…358”

“Yeah” he said with a soft nod before laughing a bit before his eyes closed, his shoulders rolled a little before scales started to coil out of his hair and across his face: along his hairline feathering out over his browbone, down the sides of his nose, cheekbones and jaw: all in rich blue, green and turquoise tones with an opal sheen, the scales coiled down across his neck around and about the tattoos, his hair moved a little as a few large spined frills stood up from his hair before falling about his hair. When he opened his eyes, they were solid gold with slit pupils, thick gills opened up on his throat, his ears had fins off their edges and as he smiled showed all needle shaped teeth as a pair of deer antlers coiled off his temples looking like they were polished from pearls. He sighed deeply as his eyes opened as he rocked his shoulder. “Ta-da.”

“Oh…god…” I said quietly as his scales glimmered in the sunlight.

“The hair is real by the way, sea serpents do have hair.” He added as he motioned, his gloves in his overcoat as now his hands were webbed and his steel painted nails were huge claws.

“So…the leg?”

“The story was true, the time I just never said, it was during World War 2. Fought in both World Wars.” He said, “Most people do not care for me showing myself because warlocks are very, very rarely seen.” He added as we walked still.

“But…what about like your work?” I asked as I walked alongside him.

“Oh, everyone that works for me is also not human, our world is hidden to humans, the only humans that are allowed to be amongst are those that are turned into beings like us like the various vampiric or lycanthropic races…or people that are half-not human like myself…but once in a blue moon, someone like you is born. Fully and entirely human for as many generations back as all of us know, but for some reason can see through all of our tricks.”

“So…all of the weird things that have been happening?”

“Quite real” he said as I followed alongside him, he motioned to his side and I followed him into a massive almost warehouse like building with a huge glass barrel shaped roof with turquoise colored framing and dark gray/brown walls. There were giant glass doors along the walls open as people walked in and out of the building in all directions. “I needed to do some errands anyways, I hope you don’t mind…I am having a dinner party tonight and need to get some things.”

“A dinner party?”

“My friends and I try to have a dinner together every so often, sometimes we go out, sometimes we have dinner at someone’s house or various other methods, but tonight is my turn and I love cooking, so…I need to get some things.” He added as we walked through the doors. Inside was a massive market, like the spice markets you see in Europe: just endless stalls, stands and kiosks where people were barking the sales of everything from baked goods to meat to spices, to novelty goods to things I’m not sure what they were. Everything food and not was visible. “Let’s see…Devon can’t eat fish, Bek is vegetarian…and Diamond can’t have soy.” He said he walked around as he cracked his knuckles walking ahead.

“Why do you like cooking?”

“It gives me some peace of mind, I’ve always been good at cooking.”

“Was…was the story you said about your mom, right?”

“It was, I just changed some things: she was sixteen when she started sailing on her own, she used to be a prostitute and sold everything she owned to buy a boat and became a pirate. She was known for her solely female crew, extremely bloodthirsty and extremely dangerous. So one night, there was a giant storm…but she noticed that the storm wasn’t touching them: it wasn’t moving them off course or hurting the ship and this…massive sea serpent rose out of the sea, wrapped around the ship to make a shield around it and pulled it under to show them to riches…He stayed on the ship for some time as he and my mom got…very attracted to each other. Because Mom was the captain, she married the two of them and nine months later, she was in Budapest and gave birth to me and instantly went back to her ship and I was raised on the ship.”

“You were raised…by pirates?”

“I was…Dad left when I was born, but not out of fear of being a dad, he was afraid of what people would say about me and him. But he came back when I was a preteen and the three of us and the crew for…the rest of Mom’s life. Dad was…a mess when she died, he could not do anything, but lie on the sea bed and cry endlessly, terrible storms and sea raging as I started making a life for myself as we both just worked through everything.” He explained before walking over to a stall. “Hey, can I get five double cut bone in pork chops” he said at a stand. I followed alongside him as he bought everything he needed. “Do you wish to join the dinner party?” he asked.

“I…I would be out of place…all of you have been friends for a while I’m guessing, someone new being in the mix always messes with it.”

“Nonsense, my friends would love you” he added as we walked.