After dinner, we set about washing up, each of us washing our own plates. It turned out to be a bit of a challenge, as the local fauna had a very persistent and sticky meat. But in the end, it was done.

“So… anything else on the schedule today?“ I asked. My laziness and exhaustion demanded relaxing with a book or tinkering with one of my gadgets, but I knew it wouldn’t be very respectful.

“Yes. Yes, there is,” said Grynoth, “I'd like you to send out messages to everyone you need to.”

“Oh. Right. I guess we should start with that.”

Taking out a pen and notepad, I started thinking about what to write to whom. The first problem immediately arose.

“Sooo...” I asked awkwardly, “Do I need to specify where I am now?”

“Oh yes, about that,“ Grynoth rubbed his chin, “I'm all for the truth, but in that case, it's better not to tell it completely. Such information should be communicated... gradually. Write for now that you are at the forest ranger near the border between the two continents. In fact, let me write something to them too.“

He went into the closet and took out ink and a giant feather.

“I would like to borrow some of the paper from your notebook. Parchment has become quite expensive as of late.”

“You could have just bought a notepad yourself, since you have access to smuggling goods. On that note, do you know our grammar too?”

“I think I'm good enough. As for the notepad thing — next time I will be a little more prudent.”

With those words, we set to work.

I decided to write to my friends Alexander and Arietta first.

Alex was the easiest. He and I were on the same wavelength, because once he also wanted to go on a trip. He was understanding and simple, in a good way. I dreaded the moment when he would make his way into high society, which would likely make him just as self-serving and conniving, but it was his choice and I had no right to talk him out of it.

Arie was a little more difficult. She had been praised by her teachers as a child for her insight and attention to detail. So the last time I called her through a phone booth, she figured out where I was really going. After a little thought, however, I decided to tell her what Graynoth had advised anyway.

Next up was Reginald, my brother's classmate. He and I had parted on less than favorable terms. However, I believed that he was worried about me too... After all, he wouldn't have spent so much energy trying to talk me out of it.

My thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the sound of tearing paper. Turning, I saw Grynoth crumple up the rest of it, then pick up a new one.

Without giving it much thought, I continued writing.

Next came my older brother, Frederick.

‘You know, what? Fuck you, Fred,’ I thought to myself and instead addressed the letter to his wife, Lisette. Strange to say it, but I had a much better relationship with her than I did with my own brother. Sometimes she and I even teamed up to make him jealous. Good times.

“A word, if may?” — Grynoth suddenly asked.

“Huh? Yeah, sure.”

“When I say ‘It was anything but an unusual reaction,’ does it mean the reaction is usual or not usual?”

“Why do you have to make it so complicated? Just put it in plain language like ‘It was a common reaction’”.

Grynoth thought for a moment scratched his head and replied:

“It's just… I want to make sure I follow the proper manners suited for your society, the higher one especially”

“Dear Goddess, dude! You're just a hermit living in the middle of nowhere! Who cares if you have manners or not? They are just unnecessary buzzwords anyway, and frankly, they all should have been weeded out of our language a long time ago”.

Grynoth's eyes narrowed slightly at my outburst. "I see. Well, perhaps you'd prefer I communicate in grunts and roars then since manners are so unnecessary? After all, what use do I, a simple hermit, have for proper communication?" — he said, holding up a clawed hand.

“…you really are a fan of pushing things to extremes, you know that?” — I grumbled, tightening up my lip in indignation.

Grynoth's scales rippled with amusement. "And you, young one, are a fan of hasty judgments. Just because I live simply doesn't mean I lack refinement or education. In fact, it's precisely because I've seen both the highest and lowest levels of society that I understand the value of proper communication."

“It’s either your way or highway, isn’t it?” I said, taking a deep sigh, “Fiiiine. I will show you the most important elements of our communication decorum. Sheesh.”

Grynoth nodded approvingly. "I appreciate your cooperation. Now, let's return to the task at hand.

After taking some time explaining to Grynoth our pompous etiquette, I returned to business.

Next came my mother. She was always an understanding and caring woman, so I wrote this letter in as much detail as possible so that she would be convinced of my good health.

And finally…

“Sebas.”

“Who?” Grynoth asked, distracted.

“Sebastian, my father.”

“You call your own father by his name? That’s unusual” said Grynoth thoughtfully, and then added, ”Should I give advice if you have any troubles with writing to him?”

“Nah, I’m fine. I'll make something up.”

“So be it. Just… be polite if possible.”

Deciding not to burden the man with more of my problems, I decided to write the letter myself. But I also had to crumple up a couple of pages, because I got something passive-aggressive each time I tried.

Finally, I got it down.

“Done” — I firmly stated.

”So can I… can you, by chance, check for any mistakes, grammatical or otherwise? I better make the best first impression.“

“You really are taking it seriously, aren’t you…”

I took Grynoth's letter and began reading it carefully. To my surprise, his writing was quite eloquent, with only a few minor grammatical errors that were easily corrected. The content was polite yet authoritative, explaining that he had taken me under his wing as an apprentice and assuring my family of my safety and well-being. He even managed to slip in a subtle compliment about my potential, which made me feel oddly proud.

"Well?" Grynoth asked, a hint of nervousness in his usually confident voice.

"It's... actually really good," I admitted. "Just a couple of small fixes here and there, but overall very impressive. You sure you haven't been secretly corresponding with human nobility all this time?"

“I did interact with important individuals, who helped me to pick up useful skills.”

“Well then, it looks like we're all set! There's just one final touch.”

“A signature?”

“Nope. It's far more important: I need to take a photo of my beautiful self.”

“A ‘foto’?” he said incomprehensibly.

“Well... a photograph. A picture. An image,” I began to explain.

“Can such things be made instantly in your realm?”

“Oh right, I forgot you might not be familiar with this technology," I said, pulling out my camera. "This device can capture images instantly. Watch this."

I aimed the camera at Grynoth and snapped a quick photo. The flash made him blink in surprise.

"What in the world was that?" he asked, rubbing his eyes.

"That was the camera taking your picture," I explained, "See? There you are."

As I did that, the camera slowly produced a printed photo of him. Grynoth leaned in close, his eyes widening as he saw his own image on a piece of paper. I then heard him murmuring something to himself in gibberish.

“Yes? What?”

“I’m saying, that high tech human stuff of yours drives me insane sometimes,” he said.

“Oh, come on! Don’t you find it fascinating?”

Grynoth studied the photo for a moment longer, his expression a mix of curiosity and wariness. "Fascinating, yes. But also... unsettling. To capture one's likeness so quickly and easily. In my culture, having one's image taken is a serious matter."

I hadn't considered that. "Oh, I'm sorry. I should have asked first. Would you like me to destroy it?"

He waved a clawed hand dismissively. "No, no. Keep it. Just don’t send it. I suppose I'll need to get used to your strange human ways if we're to live together." He paused, then added with a hint of mischief, "Though I do hope you'll capture my good side next time."

I grinned, relieved he wasn't angry. "Deal. Now, could you take one of myself for my family?"

“Sure, but…”

“I’m gonna explain how it works.”

I explained to Grynoth the mechanics of the camera, watching Grynoth’s scaly, muscular fingers awkwardly spinning it around, touching various buttons.

When he finally tried doing it, I suddenly realized I really hadn’t thought this through: as Grynoth’s face was elongated, he had a very hard time fitting his eye into a lens.

“Yeah, never mind, let me do that myself”, I said, taking a camera back, “also, remind me to commission dragonkin-exclusive cameras when I become the president of Noctua Republic”.

“Preparing to become a ruler of your people by living as far away from them as possible is, certainly, an interesting approach, but as you wish.”

“For your information this is called a ‘journey of self-discovery.’ Surely at least some of your rulers were undergoing it as well, no?”

As I posed holding up a peace sign, I glanced at Grynoth rolling his eyes. Even so, he said nothing.

Anyway, the photo printed out shortly thereafter of me taking a snap, showing me looking quite enthusiastic… maybe a little too much, considering I was only an inch of death away yesterday. But hey, can’t be focused on one emotion during an adventure!

"Perfect," I said, attaching it to the stack of letters. "This should reassure them I'm doing okay."

Grynoth peered at the photo. "You certainly look... cheerful. Are you always so expressive?"

I shrugged. "Pretty much. Keeps life interesting, you know?"

"Indeed," he said dryly.

After the photo shoot, I set up my mecha-bird mailbox. In general, of course, I preferred to use actual mail, but, oh well.

Once everything was ready, I put all the letters into her beak, pre-setting the coordinates. Since it could only go in one direction, I entrusted her destination to Alexander, knowing that he wouldn't let me down.

“Are you sure this thing is going to send all of the necessary papers to the right destination?” — he asked.

"Of course! This little mechanical marvel has never let me down," I said confidently, patting the mecha-bird's metallic head. "It's programmed to find its way to the recipient, no matter where they are."

Grynoth eyed the contraption skeptically. "I hope you're right, for both our sakes. The last thing we need is sensitive information falling into the wrong hands."

I waved him off. "Don't worry, it's foolproof. Watch this!"

I exited the house, and with a flourish, wound up the messages in the bird's back. Its eyes lit up with a soft blue glow, and with a whirr of gears, it spread its wings. In a flash, it took off, soaring into the sky with our letters securely clasped in its beak.

"See? Perfect!" I exclaimed, watching it disappear into the distance, “Hurray…”

I stared into the distance, breathing the fresh evening air, but, for some reason, I was suddenly incredibly exhausted.

“That was a very sad ‘hurray’”, Grynoth noticed, “What is bothering you?”

At times like this, I usually reply “Nothing” with a brave face, but for some reason, I didn’t have enough bravado.

“I… think I’m feeling a little bit homesick, is all”.

Grynoth's expression softened slightly as he looked at me. "Ah, I see. That's to be expected, I suppose. You've traveled far from everything familiar to you."

I nodded, still staring at the spot where the mecha-bird had disappeared. "Yeah. It's just... hitting me all at once, I guess. Don't get me wrong, I'm excited to be here and learn from you. But..."

"But it's not home," Grynoth finished for me.

"Exactly." I turned to face him, feeling a bit sheepish. "Sorry, I don't mean to be ungrateful."

Grynoth shook his head. "There's no need to apologize for your feelings, Gran. Homesickness is natural, especially for one as young as yourself. It shows you have strong bonds, which is admirable."

He paused, seeming to consider something. "You know, when I first left a clan I’d grown attached to, I felt much the same way. It takes time to adjust to a new environment, new people... or in your case, a new species entirely."

I blinked in surprise. It was hard to imagine the imposing dragonkin before me ever feeling uncertain or out of place. "Really? How did you deal with it?"

Grynoth's scales rippled in what I was beginning to recognize as his version of a shrug. "I kept myself busy, focused on learning and growing. And I reminded myself why I had chosen this path in the first place." He fixed me with his intense gaze. "In your case, I believe hard work and discovering a new culture will help you overcome this feeling — that is if you are still ironclad about your ‘journey of self-discovery’. But not today. However, if you still have some strength left, I would like to explain to you some basics of magic.

“I would be glad to! Although…”

I paused for a moment, Thinking if I really should go through with this request.

“Yes?“

“Hey, um… I know you have been very kind to me despite everything that happened, but… Can you indulge me in one more, a very tiny selfish request?”

“Depends” — he answered, — “if this is about making you the next dragonkin overlord I would have to politely deny”.

I laughed again, feeling a little bit of a resurgence of my strength and mood.

“That would probably have to wait. But good to know you have so much power. What I wanted is to take a photo together with you.”

“Again? Already?” — he asked.

"Yeah, I know we just did the photo thing, but... this is different," I explained, scratching the back of my head,. "It's not for sending to anyone. It's just for me, to remember this moment."

Grynoth tilted his head, considering. "I see. And why is this moment so important to you?"

I shrugged, trying to find the right words. "I guess... because it's the beginning of something new. My first… well, second day in a new realm, with a new mentor. Plus, you're the first dragonkin I've ever met. A first *good* dragonkin at that. That's pretty special, right?"

A slow smile spread across Grynoth's face, revealing a hint of sharp teeth. "I suppose it is, at that. Very well, let's take your... 'foto' together."

I grinned, pulling out the camera again. "Great! Okay, so you need to stand next to me and look at the lens here."

Grynoth moved closer, his large form dwarfing mine. I held the camera out at arm's length, angling it to try and get us both in the frame.

"Ready? On three. One... two... three!"