100 Puppies and Dragons

Troubling Thoughts

Joey chewed his lower lip as he sat down at the end of the pier, brows furrowing together as he tried to figure out where he should go. His father had kicked him out for the night. He wanted someplace safe to stay for the night. Still, he was too afraid to admit to his friends his living situation, and it wasn't really that cold out. In fact, it was surprisingly warm.

He bit his bottom lip a few minutes longer, then pulled his shoes and socks off and let his feet dip into the water, shivering slightly at the icy liquid surrounding his feet. "Ngh-!" He fought the urge to pull his feet back out and concentrated solely on the feeling of cold on his feet rather than his current situation.

"Looks like you're dealing with some very troubling thoughts."

Joey gasped and turned quickly, frowning when he saw the brunet leaning against the wood of the dock, arms resting on the edge as he gazed out of him with glowing blue eyes. "Uh-? Wha—Hey—Ya gotta be freezin'!"

"Quite the contrary. It's unseasonably warm." The brunet smirked. "My people consider nights like these quite special." He tilted his head. "It's said that we find our other halves on nights like these."

The blond blinked. "Your people…? You from outta the country?"

"…You could say that."

"Oh. …Whatcha doin' in the water then?" Joey turned and crawled over to him. "Unless you're from somewhere really cold, that can't be comfortable."

"I think it's quite comfortable, but you're right. I'm from somewhere incredibly cold." The brunet smiled a decidedly chilly smile. "I could make it quite warm for you, too."

Joey tilted his head. "Ya offerin' me a place t' stay for the night?"

"…You could say that."

"Hmmm, weeeell… I don't think so," the blond replied after a few minutes of thought. "I don't know ya and even I'm not stupid enough t' just walk off with a stranger. Though I'm pretty sure I'd be able t' beat your pretty-boy face if ya tried anything."

"I'll be here any night from midnight until just before dawn," the brunet supplied, shrugging. "If you ever want to talk to me and not be strangers anymore, I wouldn't mind."

Joey blinked at him innocently, then smiled and nodded. "Yeah, okay, if ya say you'll be here then maybe I'll come visit ya!" He paused, smile becoming a little awkward before he added, "You're kind of a freak, huh, swimming at the weirdest hours of the night."

"It just adds to my mysteriousness, don't you think?" The other boy chuckled quietly. "My name's Seto. If I'm not here when you arrive, just call for me, and I'll come."

The blond frowned. "Ya really swimmin' in this stuff? Hate t' tell ya this, buddy, but the water's sorta bad around here."

"I noticed. You know, I'm surprised that the chemicals in the water haven't made me grow a tail," Seto laughed.

Joey giggled a little, then began putting his socks and shoes back on. "Well, I gotta get goin' before those cops find me. They always patrol this area in a few minutes, and they'll just think I'm up t' no good." He smiled. "Ya might wanna get outta here before they find ya, too."

"I'll keep that in mind," the brunet replied, then watched him leave. He waited until he was certain the human was out of sight before he shoved away from the wooden deck, flipping back just high enough that his scaly tail slapped the water on his back into the water.

He had to get home quickly, after all, and inform the elders that he'd found his Other Half.