David's morning had been a spiral of reasons to cry. Waking up and seeing clothes piled on the bed had made David cry. When he had put them on, they had been a little too big, and the cotton itched next to his skin, and that had made the tears worse. It felt wrong to be wearing loose clothes. His parents had worn loose scales, and that had reminded David of his parents' death. 

David walked into the kitchen with puffy red eyes. He didn't feel rested at all. He would have stayed in his room— at least there he could pretend he was safe from the humans— but the smell of food brought him out. 

Seeing the unfamiliar people, he could feel the tears coming back. 

David sat at the table and let his head fall into his arms. The woman put her arms around David. He tensed, forcing himself to sit still. He forced himself not to squirm away from her.

"Child, I think we need to talk. Yesterday you said your parents were gone. You looked distraught, and I was hoping today you could..." She must have noticed David's shoulders shaking because she cut off her own question.

All David could see were their bodies. The memory Tucker had praised David for having seemed more like a curse now. 

"David..." She started.

Her voice was soft. She was comforting him. 

This woman wanted to be his mother, but she never could be her. The Shape Shifters had let his parents die. The Shape Shifters had let all the dragons die. Isn't that what Life had said?

David was angry. At least that emotion dried his tears. At least he thought it dried his tears. 

He pushed the woman away from him. He left the table and ran to the front door. He pushed it open with his shoulder. Running out in the street, he ignored the wind pulling at his hair, and the chill in the air. He kept running. The ill-fitting shirt slipped off his right shoulder, as his bare feet hit the cobblestones.

He let his scales form shoes, hoping no one noticed. 

After he ran through the maze of a city, he collapsed on the ground. Trying to think of something, anything else, he sobbed on the ground, but the tears wouldn't fall. He must have used up all the tears he had. He was sure he'd never cry again.

The sound of horse hooves brought David back to the present. He moved to the edge of the road. A man on a horse passed David. The man's hair was a dirty blond and it looked stringy. Glancing at David the man raised an eyebrow but continued forward without stopping. 

David watched the man leave. The man's back was towards David, but it felt like the man could still see David.

Could humans do that? David wiped his nose using the sleeve of his shirt. He stared around with wide eyes. He was lost in a city full of humans.

He was scared. 

He started running again but running only served the purpose of getting more lost. 

***

Even with David's distracted thoughts, the chill in the air was starting to get to him. Eventually, he recognized where he was. It was the place where all the vendors had been yesterday, but today it was almost clear of people. He stepped into a building to get out of the biting wind. Had it been this cold yesterday?

The store he had walked into had a few open crates of fruits and vegetables, and some shelves to the left with a few boxed things and non-foods. There was merchandise that could only be gotten behind the counter in smaller containers. The store smelled like wood, perhaps from the boxes. 

David's eyes shifted around the quiet room. The dusted interior of the store felt sterile compared to even the couple's house. Yet there was something inviting about the wood-paneled walls, the smooth wooden floor, and the feeling that he could hide behind the shelves. 

David frowned. He struggled to find the meanings of the words his own thoughts had just used. A store? Sterile? The thoughts had streamed seamlessly through his head, but now they made little sense to him. 

"Ms. Diana," A girl called from behind the counter at the front. "There's a strange boy in the store."

"That's not what you call customers." A woman called from somewhere out of sight.

David's eyes widened staring at the girl sitting on the stool behind the counter. How had he not noticed her before? She glared at him, but David ignored the expression. Her hair hung around her face like she hadn't bothered brushing it, and her skin was tanned—

Like an olive tone.

David's eyes widened. He didn't even know what an olive was.

The woman who had spoken walked in from another room, and David focused on her. Images flashed in front of his eyes. He saw a younger version of her laughing, but she was wearing clothes that were strange even for a human.

David blinked before he could fully process the images. He didn't understand what had just happened, but to be fair... it was distracting him.

The woman smiled, "Well, your clothes are a bit too big, and you... oh, my you aren't wearing shoes. The soul marked by Time." She continued to smile. "I don't suppose you have any money, but I could get you clothes that fit you better. No need to pay." She waved her hand. "I might even have shoes."

David stared at the women. The soul marked by Time? What did that mean? What did that have to do with clothes? The girl on the stool rolled her eyes. 

The woman moved off, gesturing for David to follow her. Still shocked at being spoken to, David followed her into the shelves.

"The clothes never sold completely well, only got a customer for them every once in a while." The woman stopped in front of a cabinet and pulled the doors open. "I'd say you're about sixish? So a small." 

She pulled something out, and it looked like a lump of cloth. She grabbed it by one edge and it fumbled out of its shape showing a simple cloth shirt. She held it up and turned her head to the side. "It might be an inch too big, but you'll grow into it." 

She tossed it to David, and he caught it not knowing what else to do. 

"And some pants." The thin wooden door between her and David muffled the words.

She came out again, bringing another lump of cloth. She shook it out, and David stared at the pants. They must have been leather. They had deep creases in them, and David didn't know if he would be able to move in them.

He could already tell that the shirt was going to be loose. Why did the humans like loose clothes? Maybe he should be grateful for the leather. It would be tighter.

"Oh, yes." She tossed the pants to David. "I even have a pair of shoes. I recommend you go down the street to the cobbler when you have the chance. Shoes work best when they fit." She said the last part as if she knew some secret the world didn't know; a smile lingered on her lips.

"Ms. Diana." Someone said. 

At the name, the woman looked up, glancing over David. It must have been her name. 

"Ms. Derek, what brings you here?" Ms. Diana's expression was shocked, but her tone was still soft. Ms. Diana's voice was comforting. 

David glanced over his shoulder and saw the woman who had given him a place to sleep. Her face was drawn with worry. 

"I came to ask you to help me find him. I wasn't expecting him to actually be here." Ms. Derek hugged David. He stood ridged, again forcing himself to not squirm. 

Ms. Diana knitted her eyebrows, "He's your... son?"

"No, we're just looking after him for right now," Ms. Derek looked David over. "You aren't hurt are you?"

David blinked. He was only gone for a few hours at most. This woman was acting as if he'd been missing for weeks.

"What's your name?" Ms. Diana asked David. He opened his mouth to respond but never got to.

"He said it was David." Ms. Derek said. "Do we need to pay for these clothes? He needs them anyway."

David tried to lean away from Ms. Derek. She took the clothes from him and started fishing through a pouch that was attached to a strap over her shoulder.

Ms. Diana waved her hands, "No, I promised him he could have them even though he didn't have money, I won't take that back just because you do."

"MS. DIANA." The shout came from the direction of the counter. "THERE'S A CUSTOMER ASKING FOR ORANGE JUICE."

Ms. Diana shook her head. Ms. Derek raised a hand to her mouth, as if in shock. She was fighting back a laugh.

"How many times do I have to tell you? If you need me, get up and walk." Ms. Diana's response was substantially quieter than the girl's shout. She left to help the new customer.

Ms. Derek inspected David again. "You aren't hurt, are you? Nothing at all? Would you like to talk about what happened? Ah, for now, let's go back to the house."

David opened his mouth, but couldn't respond before she started guiding him to the store's front door. David stared at the store's wide windows as they left.

Ms. Derek kept a firm hand on David's back, but he could only wonder why she was so worried about losing a child she'd barely just met in the woods.