I smiled at Matriarch Velle who smiled back, exposing her sharp teeth. Images of going to a job interview woefully unprepared barely scratch the surface of how nervous I was in front of this predator. Deep yellow eyes stared straight into mine that I swore could read my every thought. She gestured towards the roasted pig,

“Shall we enjoy a meal together? I always find it hard to make new friends on an empty stomach.”

“Yes, lets.” I agreed. Velle reached forward towards the roast and with a quick slash of her claws diced the meat into neat slices. I held Petal’s plate forward first, the poor girl looked ready to leap out of her seat and dig into the roast by herself. The Matriarch placed two thick slices upon the plate which I passed back to Petal.

“Thank you!” Petal smiled gleefully at the Matriarch. Once we were all served we began to eat. I felt a little out of place without a fork or knife to use, but quickly followed their lead and ate with one of my hands. It brought back memories of an old barbeque where my friend Harvey forgot to bring forks and knives for us to use. Many napkins were used on that day, good times indeed. I glanced towards the Shren that stood behind the Matriarch in their robes and veils,

“Won’t they be eating with us?” I asked after taking a bite of the succulent meat. The Matriarch waved a dismissing hand,

“They’ve already eaten. They’re merely here to observe our strange guest.”

“Ah.”

“More please.” Petal spoke, pushing her plate forward. The Matriarch cut another two slices for the girl before turning back to her own meal.

“She’s got a Matriarch’s hunger.” Velle spoke fondly.

“Yeah, poor girl only had a hamburger to eat when I found her. Don’t know when she last ate before that.” I rubbed Petal’s head with my clean hand.

“Hamburger?” The Matriarch questioned, perplexed at the word.

“A bunch of ground beef cooked in a patty and put between two pieces of bread called buns.”

A sigh escaped me, I was never too good at explaining things in depth, but when I had to do something I had to do it. My explanations only led to more questions and answers which led to even more questions. The roast pig, which was called an Ikrel I found out, was gone long before our conversation came to an end. Petal had eaten most of the beast. I was then privvy to Mikthar after-meal cleaning habits where they lick their hands clean of leftovers.

I didn’t mean to stare, but the Matriarch’s cleaning was very…suggestive. She stared back, but where mine was curiosity, hers was seductive hunger. Her smile after cleaning sent a shiver down my spine. I kept a mask of confidence however, and sent a wink her way which only caused her smile to grow.

Of all the things I could have done, why did I wink? Bravado is a curse, especially when false.

Before the atmosphere became awkward I began speaking about my job at my home. Velle called my job a noble calling but I shrugged and said it paid the bills. Not that I didn’t enjoy my job, there is no greater feeling than one you get from helping people.

Our conversation was cut short however when the small man that ran towards my jeep earlier barged into the room. “Stop holding the blasted guy hostage Velle!” he yelled, “Hes got some explainin’ to do for me ‘bout his metal carriage!” I studied the short hairy-faced being that had run past me earlier.

That was no beast, it was a dwarf.

Short, strong and a beard ZZ-Top would be proud of. He wore a vest that looked like it was covered in oil. My blood froze when I imagined what horrors he could have done to my baby. I had bought and cared for her ever since she was fresh off the lot, paid in full with my money that came from blood, sweat and tears. Ok, mostly tears.

“What have you done to my jeep?!” I yelled standing in a hurry. I could feel the Matriarch’s cold stare at my back but I paid her no mind. “What have you done to Bartholomew?!

Yes, I named my jeep Bartholomew, everyone names their cars. Mine deserved a special name because it was mine.

“Eh? I dunno who yer talkin’ about but I found out what this black stuff is fer! Ye see, it’s sucked into the main metal contraption and creates and explosion to-“ I didn’t let the guy finished, I pushed him out of the way and raced towards the exit.

“Cheeky sod.” I heard the dwarf speak as I burst out the door and ran down the dirt streets through the town. People of the various species moved out of the way as I kicked up a dust cloud all the way to the exit. By the time I had reached the town wall I had a small contingent of guards racing after me yelling at me to stop.

But I didn’t stop, Bartholomew needed me.

What I saw hurt more than words could describe. My jeep was in pieces. I fell to my knees in shock, just staring at the ruin that was once my pride and joy. When the guards caught up to me and saw what I saw they kept their quiet and their distance. Something inside me broke at that moment. Here I was, alone in this strange place full of weird animal people and the one connection I had with my previous world was now in pieces in front of me. I had spent years saving my money for Bartholomew. Now all that time was wasted in the span of a little over an hour.

I didn’t cry. Real men don’t cry. It was just a bad day for rain. Yeah. You can never predict those damn summer rains after all.

I don’t know how long I sat there just staring at the wreck of my beloved vehicle, but it was long enough for him to show up. That damn dwarf sauntered up beside me like he owned the wreck just ahead of him.

“Should have it all figured out in a few days.” He spoke next to me and placed his hand on my shoulder.

“I’ll kill you.” I mumbled, barely able to register my own voice.

“Eh? Speak up boy.”

“I’ll kill you!” I yelled with rage as I got to my feet. I had never been so angry in my life. Angry enough to black out completely.

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“Ovglach hurry and follow him.” The Matriarch commanded the Dwarf who needed and left. “You should go too Petal, follow Ovglach. Mark likes you so you should be there to support him.”

Petal smiled and nodded, “Thank you! Bye!” the small white-furred Mikthar raced after the dwarf.

After Petal had left Matriarch Velle rose from her seat and faced the two veiled Shren. “Hibel, what did you see?” she questioned the rightmost Shren.

“I have seen the impossible. Buildings of stone and metal rising high into the sky. Metal birds that fly, carrying hundreds of his kind. I have seen destruction the likes of which would make our lands weep. But I have also seen hope in his mind.”

Matriarch Velle was fortunate to have come across Hibel and Crek, two highly psionic Shren that could enter the mind of another and read their emotions and obtain images of their lives.

“Interesting. Crek, what emotions of his have you tasted?”

“Fear, Matriarch. The man walks this world alone with none of his kind among him. He fears that he may spend the rest of his days lingering here away from his family and friends.”

Velle frowned, “Understandable. His predicament is quite the strange and sad one. And what about when he winked at me, was his bravado true or false?”

“False, Matriarch.” They both said in unison. She chuckled,

“The mouse should learn to not dare the Mikthar.” She stated while staring towards the door that led into the reception room. “What about the rumor of this man being the Lord of Darkness, any truth to this statement?”

“None that we can confirm at this time Matriarch.”

“I believe I can answer that.” An unfamiliar voice spoke from the entrance.

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I grumbled to myself as I awoke. “I really gotta lay off the cheese before bed. I’m having some really fucked up dreams lately.” I lifted my right hand and watched some golden…grass fall from my arm. “That’s strange, when did my bed have wheat in the mattress?”

As I tried to rise from the bed a strong weight held me down. I looked down towards my body and found a very hairy arm draped across my chest. “Oh god please don’t tell me I drank that much again.” But as I looked at the hands attached to the arm I found they ended in claws. I felt whoever was attached to the arm stirring to my left.

When I looked, two large, deep yellow eyes stared into mine. Matriarch Velle was in bed with me. The good news was that I still had my clothes on. The bad news is she didn’t. She grinned a toothy smile at me, clearly enjoying the situation. “Good morning Mark.” She said teasingly.

Two can play at that game woman. I smiled back, “Good morning honey.” For an instant, shock raced through her face which made me smile even more.

“The mouse is very daring indeed.”

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Free talk space, I guess this end scene means I gotta update the mature tag to have slight sexual content?

Been writing up a storm for this story cause its so darn fun. Thankfully summer is here so I can write as much as I want!