CHAPTER SEVEN

New Friends

Fletcher wasn't really mad at Baylyn. He was just upset because he thought this place could be different, and now he wasn't going to be seen as 'normal' here either. At least he didn't think so. There were two guards standing outside the gate to the town. One of them had scales the color of emerald, and the other's were a dark brown. The green scaled guard had short, blonde hair and hazel eyes while the brown one had fluffy, brown hair and eyes the color of honey. When they noticed the group, the one with emerald scales pointed and they both waved.

"Hey Cyrus! You're back! And Baylyn!" said the emerald scaled dragon. He turned to the other guard before saying, "You owe me 10 silvers."

The other guard didn't say anything, just frowned.

"Is that the human? Why does he smell like straight mana?"

The guard got closer to Fletcher to sniff him. Baylyn pushed him away, getting between Fletcher and the guard.

"Jude! You can't just sniff people, you're not a mutt!" said Baylyn, fuming.

"We're dragons, Baylyn, what's the big deal?"

"The big deal is that he's not! It might be normal for you, but Fletcher just got here and you're stressing him out!" He then turned to look at Fletcher before quietly saying, "Sorry Fletch," and stepping to the side again.

"Sorry, where are my manners? I'm Jude and this one over here is Sol."

Sol smiled and waved. He seemed to have a warm presence, as if the warmth of his body emanated through his smile.

"He doesn't speak."

He signed something to Fletcher so quickly, Fletcher couldn't catch the movements.

"He says your face is pretty."

Sol shook his head vigorously. Obviously, they were just messing with him. Fletcher laughed.

"He asked if you know any sign," said Baylyn.

"No, sorry," said Fletcher.

Sol nodded to tell him it was okay.

"I'm Fletcher."

"Oh, before I forget, I'm gonna need you to hand over your weapon and arrows. Trust me, you don't wanna be walking around with that thing on your back. It's like a moving target," said Jude, holding out his hand for Fletcher to place it in.

Fletcher took his bow and arrows out of the quiver, but left the quiver on in case he needed it. Jude took it and held it up to the sun, watching the light bounce off of the scales.

"Don't worry, I can get you a new one," said Baylyn.

Fletcher nodded.

"Welcome to Ignis, Fletcher. Careful, not everyone is as nice as us. Some of them are quite hot-headed. Literally... they will set you on fire," Jude warned.

"Noted."

"Okay... let's go! I'm starving," said Cyrus, starting to walk.

Sol waved goodbye. Fletcher couldn't help but smile as they walked away. That went much better than he had imagined. Although Fletcher's smile faded as he soon felt dozens of eyes on them as they walked into town. Not only that, but he began to hear whispers.

Is that the human?

He reeks of mana.

Someone that powerful should learn to hide it. How disrespectful.

Fletcher, feeling overwhelmed, began walking with his eyes toward the ground, looking to avoid any watchful eyes boring holes into him.

"Where can I keep my horse?"

"The barn is right next to the tavern. I can get us a table while you guys drop off the horse," said Cyrus.

"Yeah, sounds good," said Baylyn, leading Fletcher in the direction of the barn. "Hey, are you good?" he asked, putting a hand on Fletcher's shoulder.

Fletcher jumped, lost in his own world and trying to drown out the current one.

"I'm fine," is all he said, nervously twisting the tie on his quiver.

Baylyn didn't press him further, just kept walking. When they got to the barn, the lady working there didn't notice them at first, too busy feeding some of the animals.

"Um... do you happen to have an empty pen where we could keep a horse?" asked Baylyn.

The lady's eyes widened as she looked up, taking in the sight of Fletcher next to him. "AAH! A HUMAN!" she screamed, running away into an office at the edge of the barn before slamming the door and locking it.

Baylyn burst out laughing. "I didn't think you were that scary."

Fletcher was less than amused. "People already hate me in my own village, but at least they didn't run away."

"Fletch, they don't hate you here. They just don't know you and they're scared of that. There's a difference. I'll go talk to her. Edith is a timid old lady. It might be better if I take Nox too. You might be better off outside."

Fletcher nodded, taking his words to heart. He sat down on the grass outside the barn, leaning on the wall. Sol spotted Fletcher and walked up to him, pointing at the seat next to him. He had on a satchel, the same color of his brown scales. Fletcher nodded. Sometimes, he appreciated the silence. Sol pulled out a notebook from his satchel, opening it to a new page. Next, he pulled out a pen and started writing. He held up the notebook to Fletcher.

"Why do you have mana?" it read.

"I don't know. I didn't even know what that was until I met Baylyn. Aren't you supposed to be on guard?"

Sol shook his head before scribbling something else down. "My shift ended."

"Oh... if you don't mind me asking, why can't you speak?"

"My sister got into an argument with me and wished I couldn't speak. That's how we found out what her magic did."

"Can't she just... undo the spell or something?"

"You can't undo your own magic."

Fletcher mulled that over in his head for a bit, still slightly confused until he remembered what Baylyn had told him. The intention in the original spell must have cursed Sol forever.

"I'm sorry, that must suck."

Sol shook his head. "Speaking's overrated."

Fletcher laughed at that. It made sense. He thought back to all the times he could have gotten out of trouble if he had just kept his mouth shut, especially when he was younger. Maybe his father would have liked him more if he was the quiet, good little boy he had always wanted. That's what he turned into, but Fletcher had to learn that the hard way.

"Tell me about it. Sometimes it feels like I'm speaking a different language," said Fletcher, willing away the bad memories.

Baylyn came back just in time. Fletcher's stomach growled once more. They all laughed.

"Oh Sol! We were just about to grab some food. Wanna join us?" asked Baylyn.

Sol nodded, putting his notebook away and getting up from his seat, holding out a hand for Fletcher. Fletcher took it.

As soon as they walked into the tavern, every eye was on Fletcher. Baylyn spotted Cyrus immediately and walked straight to the table that he was sitting at, pulling out a chair for each of them. Fletcher sat down and kept his eyes on the table, not daring to look up.

"You know they can't like... kill you with their gaze, right? That's just a myth," said Cyrus with a chuckle.

Baylyn kicked him in the boot. Fletcher had been through enough and he didn't need Cyrus's snarky comments. Cyrus scowled at Baylyn, but soon let up, realizing he was right. Sol said something to Cyrus in sign and they all laughed. Baylyn almost forgot to clue Fletcher in, so used to everyone understanding Sol.

"He said, 'Cyrus has killed many women with his gaze.'"

Fletcher laughed. He had never heard so many jokes in one day. The people of his village were all brought up to be extremely serious, and so the only time Fletcher had ever really laughed was with Leenith. Fletcher needed this, badly.

"Do you know what you want?" asked Baylyn. "It's on me."

"No, what are you getting? I'll just get that."

"Mushroom soup in a bread bowl," they all say in unison.

Sol signed it, but Fletcher could tell what he meant. He laughed.

"Baylyn always gets the same thing. If he doesn't, he's having a crisis," said Cyrus, laughing.

He could get used to this, having friends. Ironically, despite the watchful eyes, he felt less out of place in Ignis than in Flint, the place he had lived in his entire life. Soon, the waitress stopped by to ask what they wanted. She walked away to tell the kitchen staff. It didn't take long before the food was brought out of the kitchen, two mushroom soups and a roast boar to share.

"So... you have a girl at home?" asks Cyrus.

Fletcher almost choked on his soup, reaching for the water on the table and pouring himself a glass. He didn't know how to answer this. Should he tell them the situation? He decided against it. Not everyone was bound to be as understanding as Baylyn.

"Nope."

"So a guy then?"

"No, I'm not..."

"Sorry, I guess I just assumed because you seemed surprised by the question. No judgement if you are though."

Fletcher shifted uncomfortably in his seat and played with his food. He didn't like where the conversation was going.

"Cyrus, drop it," Baylyn whispered.

"I can't go back. I'm exiled." Fletcher said quietly.

Suddenly, he felt sick. Fletcher ran outside, hoping to catch some fresh air.

"Fuck," says Cyrus, wishing Baylyn had stopped him sooner.

Baylyn went after him, laying 30 silvers on the table for their dinner.

Fletcher had never fully processed what that had meant for him. He could never see his family again, never see Leenith again. While he never really wanted to see his father again, he couldn't deny that some part of him would always miss his home. He cried silently, not letting the strangers milling around outside see his grief.

When Baylyn found him, his face was streaked with tears, still continuing to roll down his face. Fletcher was embarrassed. He hated crying in front of people and Baylyn barely knew him. But Baylyn didn't care.

"I'm so sorry Fletch," said Baylyn, wrapping him in the warmest hug.

Fletcher couldn't help it. He shook and cried louder than he ever had before. Somehow, he knew that it was okay, that it was safer to cry here than in his own village. He was crying so hard, he didn't even notice when it started pouring buckets out of the sky. When Fletcher stopped, so did the rain, parting the clouds like it had never even happened. There wasn't even a rainbow. Baylyn almost couldn't believe his eyes. Had Fletcher done this?

He let go before saying, "Fletch?"

"What?" Fletcher said, looking confused.

"The rain, Fletch! Has that happened before?"

Fletcher didn't think much of it. The rain seemed to be pretty sporadic in that area, so it was normal to start and stop quickly, but it was then that the final piece of the puzzle was put into place. That night with Leenith was not a coincidence, it had been his fault all along. He had started the storm. Fletcher thought back to all those times his father had told him to suppress his emotions. Had he known all along? Was he keeping him from using his own magic? Baylyn found his answer written on Fletcher's face.

Eventually, the others peeked their heads outside tentatively, so as not to disturb them. Baylyn waved them over and they walked over to where Fletcher was standing.

"I'm so sorry. I feel awful," said Cyrus.

"It's fine, you couldn't have known."

"But I should have known when to shut up. I feel like an idiot."

"'Maybe someone should curse Cyrus to shut up,'" said Baylyn, translating for Sol.

They all laughed at that. Sol was pretty funny.

"I have to go. My parents want me back before sundown," said Cyrus, moving to hug Fletcher.

"Me too," signed Sol.

That Fletcher understood. They both hugged Fletcher before walking away in the direction of their homes. Watching them walk away, Fletcher realized he had nowhere to go. He was so engrossed in the warmth of new companions that he didn't even think about where he would be staying that night. Sensing his thoughts, Baylyn spoke up.

"You can probably stay at my place. My parents are pretty chill and we have an extra bed... if you want to?"

Fletcher was surprised Baylyn had even picked up on that. It wasn't so far-fetched for Baylyn to come up with this conclusion, but Fletcher had never known anyone that seemed to notice the small dips and divots in his expressions, or even cared enough to look.

"Yeah, sure," said Fletcher, smiling slightly.

-------

A/n: This chapter was so long that I had to split it into two parts, so the second part is already posted. If this chapter ended on a choppy note, that's probably why.