Alphonse looked down to meet the eyes of the young lycan in front of him, compared to himself, Dustin was small, but Alphonse is also quite tall, Dustin was thin, lithe and long despite the powerhouse of muscle that his lunar form should make him appear as, this mane of thickly curled black hair around his shoulders, framed at his temples and around the edge of his face of these rough, slightly spiked scales that were so dark green they verged on black, eyes white-less and consumed by glowing chartreuse with slitted pupils, between blinks Alphonse could see this slightly see though nictitating membrane going across his eyes, as Dustin breathed, he could see his gums and tongue had faded out to stark white and all his teeth were like needles in his jaws, every inch of skin below his jaw entirely covered in scales, heavy plate like scales covered the front of his throat and across his front matching his warm, caramel toned skin, thick angular brows over those glowing eyes and strangely angular, but also soft features that made him look sculpted. Despite the scales, Alphonse could see dark circles were under his eyes and his thin clothing of a white t-shirt and athletic shorts showed off that the form he was in while giving him more pronounced muscle, he was still built for speed and agility, not power and dominance like actual gators are.

            Alphonse was old, not when compared to some people about the magical world, but around him, yes…he was quite old, being in the middle of his second century with how he was in his mid-100s…yet, he could not fully pin down why he was feeling so attached to Dustin. The moment he walked into La Pierre da Sang, Alphonse could sense him…it wasn’t like a powerful magical force entering his shop, for lack of better phrase, Dustin’s magic was rather weak in comparison to others, it was probably a mixture of his newness to magic, but there was a weight and a darkness to his magic that drew Alphonse in as this strange magnetic force as well as an extreme confusion. In all due respect, Dustin was far from Alphonse’s own magical power, lycans are considered more physical than magical, but they have the potential for strong magical powers and abilities…yet on Dustin was almost this inverse of that, there was potential in Dustin’s magic…but for darkness, for coldness and for magic that made Alphonse feel as if his veins had solidified into pure ice and his skin had suddenly been coated in permafrost. It confused, scared and intrigued Alphonse in a way that concerned him more about how attached to Dustin he was feeling in comparison to how the magic made him feel.

            “Am…I not allowed to call you that?” Alphonse asked worried, retracting his hands back from Dustin’s face, worried he had overstepped a line of some kind.

            “It’s fine” he said, scales covering any kind of flush that Dustin could be producing, but his expression told Alphonse that there was some fluster on Dustin’s expression, but no visible flush across his cheeks. “Just…not even my mother calls me a nickname…everyone only has ever called me Dustin…feels strange having someone call me something else.”

            “Everyone usually just calls me something like…the hag, the river witch or the swamp wizard…something along those lines even though I am not a wizard, I am a druid” Alphonse said, getting a touch agitated before he caught himself and pinched the bridge of his nose as he breathed deeply. “So, as long as its not that…most people only ever call me Alphonse.”

            “Alfie?” Dustin asked, if Alphonse had running blood, he would have burst into flames with the bolt of fluster that shot up through his spine.

            “T-that’s fine” Alphonse stuttered as he softly messed with a bit of his own hair, it was just a nervous tick of his.

            “I was in the Dockyard District yesterday…there was a mermaid who was swimming southward, a triton guy on a boat called out, telling her not to go that direction because…I am guessing you lived in that direction with how he described the river as changing.” Dustin sighed, “I know that…we barely know each other and all, but I know you’re a good person, you’re kind and understanding…but the way he spoke of you, made me weirdly agitated feeling.”

            “Thank you for coming to my defense” Alphonse sighed, “Even if you didn’t comment on what they said or how they acted…knowing you felt upset at my being insulted, it does feel comforting knowing I’ve got you in my court. You could have come visit me if you were in the area.”

            “I didn’t know I was allowed.”

            “You don’t know a lot about magic or anything, so I don’t mind you wanting to come by to learn a little, for a cup of tea or something, even if you’re dropping by to say hi.” He said with a shrug.

            “I also didn’t know if you were home or not” Dustin said with a soft shrug, his tighter fitted shirt, thinned out and sheer as it was stretched across his scales, showing off the dark and deep coloration of them as the muscles formed by his lunar state flexed taunt.

            “If its not during shop hours, I am home. I use magic to run errands, most meals I make myself though cooking is something I don’t do all too often due to the fact I don’t need to eat as often as other, same with sleep…I don’t need to breathe at all, but habit and all, same with blinking.” Alphonse explained, “So, if the shop is closed, I know I also keep very odd hours…I am home.”

            “So…you live on a house boat?” he asked, Alphonse nodded

            “I do.”

            “Isn’t it odd with like…how you were brought into magic and all” Dustin shrugged, a touch of nervousness as he said it.

            “How I was brought into magic is not a sore spot, Dusty, you don’t need to worry about talking about it.”

            “Well, you were in a horrible accident, no?” Dustin asked