I was suddenly plagued by questions: do I only need to breathe? How many times? Should I do it slowly or quickly?

…And then it dawned on me that I had forgotten to relax.

That's when I felt Grynoth lightly hugging me from behind.

“Slowly. A deep breath.”

His hands felt so warm at that moment, and, involuntarily, I felt myself blushing, which made it even harder to concentrate.

Nevertheless, I inhaled — and exhaled.

“Now again. Deeply...and slowly...”

I tried to follow the instructions and focused on my breathing.

“Okay. Stay here and don't go anywhere.”

Grynoth got up, leaving me alone with my doubts and the hope that this wasn't a prank on his part.

While he was gone, I realized how similar this technique was to the meditation practices of the monks of Nippon. If they could meditate like this, why couldn’t they use magic?

Or could they? I’d heard rumors about how some of their higher-ups were able to perform “miracles”, though it all was discarded as quackery or a scam. But what if it were actually true?

I was so lost in thought that I didn't notice him coming up again. Suddenly, I felt some kind of necklace on me, as he continued talking:

“Very good. Now, with the air, feel the tension in your body fade. Relax your muscles, but do not curve your posture.”

I tried to do as instructed, but for some reason, I couldn't. I did not understand how I could relax my muscles without curving my posture, because it is also held by muscles! If I relaxed them, I'd be bent, but if I didn't, well…

“May I?” — Grynoth suddenly asked, taking me by the shoulders.

Having given my consent, Grynoth started  to straighten them with his mighty hands... and they were immediately twisted by a spasm.

“Ow!”

“Relax.”

“I'm trying!”

His movements made me cringe in pain rather than relax. It didn’t help that at the same time, I inexplicably started having lewd thoughts from love novels as I felt the pressure of his hands on my shoulders, no matter how hard I tried to convince myself Grynoth had no impure intentions.

Needless to say, very soon all of the pretenses to relax got thrown out of the window.

“Okay, that's enough for now,” he sighed. I opened my eyes and suddenly noticed a reddish light around my neck. When I looked closer, I noticed some kind of strange amulet with a crystal on it.

“You don't know how to relax,” said Grainoth, ”you have too many thoughts in your head and your muscles are always tense. If you want to learn magic, you'll have to learn to enter a meditative state that will allow you to feel mana.”

“Well, something tells me it will be a while for that… also, what is this thing I’m wearing around my neck?”

“Originally, sentient beings have psychological barriers that have to be broken down to use magic. They're like huge boulders that block the flow of a river. It usually takes years to overcome them, but star opal helps us reduce that to just a few months... with your own effort that is.”

“Geez, there are sure many rules.”

“If there weren’t, everyone would be able to wield magic and the world would be very different.”

“Fair. So, uh… am I allowed to keep it?” — I asked, fiddling with a glowing amulet.

“While you are in my care. Obviously, if you try to run away with that, I will find you and give you a very good spank. And believe me, I do spank well”.

I choked back a laugh at Grynoth's deadpan threat, torn between amusement and mild alarm. "Right, got it. No stealing the magic necklace.”

The rest of the time we spent on how magic works... as well as a discussion, it was more like a lecture.

“After you learn how to concentrate, you need to feel the mana. Try to visualize it as a lake inside your chest, with a thousand rivers flowing in and out.”

“Kind of like a heart, but instead of blood, it pumps out mana?”

“That's a very good analogy. Now it will be easier for you to overcome the barrier.”

After that, the conversation shifted to what types of magic there are. I had already started getting  drowsy, and Grynoth, seemingly seeing that, decided to cut to the question that was bugging me the most.

Pulling out and lighting up a cigarette with his fire breath once again, he finally said:

“Wanna know an interesting fact?”

“Sure, go ahead.”

“What if I told you that humans and dragonkin used to live together?”

“That sounds… completely bonkers. Or so I would say if not for the previous revelations I experienced in the last two days.”

I felt that, by now, I could believe in anything.

“Well, I suppose it's fair to say that we used to interact with each other more often, according to legends and some of the early records. During our peaceful and not-so-peaceful co-existence, there was a prophecy that the dragonkin and humans would start a war that would destroy both races. First we were to destroy you, since you didn't have your hi-technological devices yet, and then ourselves. No one believed it at first, but, eventually, the rift between our people started to grow wider and more violent. Over time, the best mages from both nations were amassed to create a barrier that would separate our nations for years to come... which they did.”

For some time, I wondered how my people could have ignored or forgotten all this.

“...but nothing lasts forever, and eventually the barrier began to dissipate. The reason you were so lucky to get in is because you fell into one of those holes in this fence.”

“Oh, wow… lucky me, heh.”

“Tell me about it.”

“Still… Why have my people forgotten magic so easily?”

“I can't say, but I have a theory. You see, in order to use magic, there are a few conditions. First of all...”

Suddenly he paused.

“First of all?…”

“Oh, I’m just checking how much attention you were paying to this point,” — he suddenly answered.

“Man, you really have no shame, throwing quiz tests at a person who is really not at his peak by now,” — I said, eliciting a huge yawn” — “Aaaaaanyway… so like, there is a bunch of years you have to spend trying out to meditate, then there is this… magic necklace… thing…”

I just realized how oddly convenient it was that we discovered a new type of ore, paving the way to a new era of technology yet lost the ability to make magic necklaces. However, I was so exhausted by the day that I couldn't muster giving it much thought.

“…whatever. So there is this thing, and that thing, and your ability to concentrate, and after years and years of training maaaybe you will learn how to throw fireballs around and make sammiches out of thin air.”

As I said those words, the thing suddenly occurred to me.

“Okay, got it. No one's gonna bother with this crap when we can just buy a device in the nearest shop to perform the same function.”

As much as I hate to admit it, it seems I was right. After all, why practice for months, much less years, to produce some dim firefly when you can just use a flashlight?

“Geez we got lazy, huh…”

Meanwhile, Grynoth nodded approvingly.

“Not sure about other humans, but you very much still have the potential not to be one like most of them. Your ability to make logical conclusions while under exhaustion has proved it just now.”

“Yeah, sure… maybe another day though,” I said, yawning again.

“I agree, let’s finish for now. You performed well on your first day.”

“Thanks.”

Before going to bed, I was sure to give Grynoth a warm hug, feeling his scales beneath my arms. Not gonna lie, it was quite hard to do considering his size.

For a moment after, I caught a little bit of bewilderment on his face.

“Is something wrong?” — I asked.

“No, nothing. It's just… you seem to be quite overt in expressing your gratitude and sympathies…”

“Is it… a problem? Have I overstepped my boundaries?”

“A bit, although… I don’t find it unpleasant.” he said with a smile but then added with a serious tone again “The problem might arise if you come in contact with another one of my brethren with a similar attitude, but we will save this discussion for later. For now, get a rest. Tomorrow we are going to have a long day.”

“Sure. See you tomorrow. Oh, and… thank you for everything you are doing for me so far. This means a lot to me, really.”

“You are welcome”.

Bidding goodnight, I returned to my room, and fell into a deep sleep, feeling warm and cozy.

However, due to the amount of discoveries made over the last two days, I still was having lucid dreams, thinking about many things while I was there: the whole new world that had opened before me, the existence of magic, the dragonkin, and, apparently, our shared history. And, most importantly, Grynoth himself: A man so enigmatic yet familiar that I feel like we have known each other forever, even though we have known each other for just two days! 

However, there also was something else.

I cringed each time I was remembering adults from my childhood. They were always so sure of themselves, with their pompous attitudes and lectures about how to live life. But not all of them were like that. Some treated me as an equal instead of talking down to me. Those were few and far between.

But Grynoth… There was something about him that just breached all my prejudices about adults, especially considering he was, how old, one hundred years or something? And not just that, for some reason I didn’t even mind being bossed around, for the first time in my life?

What was there about him that caused me to already elicit such strong and positive feelings towards him? Was this how hot and sexy he looked from the outside?

“Nah. I have my faults, but I’m pretty sure superficiality isn’t one of them.”

There was definitely something else there. The way he balanced firmness with genuine care, or how he challenged me while still respecting my autonomy. The way he managed to actually bite back at my jokes rather than just constantly rolling his eyes like most other people. Whatever it was, I found myself actually wanting to listen to him, to learn from him. It was a novel feeling.

As I dozed off, I wondered what the next day would bring. More magic lessons? Survival training? And most importantly…

“A human and a dragonkin… Can we really get along?”