Found You

By the time I stepped outside, the leaves were on fire. The seasons were changing and the leaves now had a reddish hue to them. “Sitting any longer at that desk of yours would have turned you into the hunchback of Notre Dame.”

I had been holed up at the hotel room trying to find a way to reach the next Oriental when a knock comes to the door. It was Jun, the son of the CEO of this hotel. He comes in with a smug look on his face and examines my room.

“What are you doing?” He asks and rubs his temples.

“What does it look like I’m doing? I’m figuring out how to reach the others.”

He walks into the dark room and draws the curtains open and lets in the sunlight, to which I shield my eyes from. “Sitting at your desk wont get you anywhere near finding the rest of the Orientals."

He proceeds to my table and takes a look at the mess of papers, articles and magazines I had laid out. Jun sighs and leaves my room, leaving me in confusion. Rolling my eyes, I stand to close back my curtains when I realise that I never knew it was already fall.

"Get dressed, I’m taking you somewhere." He says before leaving again. Once I

got dressed I met him outside the building.

“Tell me, how exactly will making me look at red leaves fall to the floor, give me the answer to finding the others?” I asked, glaring at his expressionless face.

“I didn’t bring you out of your hole to look at leaves. Your useless articles won’t give you any clues. If the other Orientals are out there then they’d probably be keeping a low profile and out of sight. The only way to find them is by going out and searching for them ourselves.”

I rolled my eyes. He had a point I that I tried to put off admitting to. I look at the streets that faced me. The trees were slowly changing colour and the winds blew slightly colder. I cup my hands together and blow hot air into the pocket.

“I’m assuming being cooped up in your room has left you starving. Let’s get some breakfast.” He says and walks down a path while I trail behind him.

A while later he stops in front of this store. The bell rings as he opens the door and a waitress greets us. A delicious aroma suddenly hits me and I find myself turning my head to where it was coming from.

“Table for 2.” Jun tells the waitress and she guides us to a booth in the corner. “I’ll have an Americano, she’ll have a Café Mocha and 1 white chocolate raspberry cheesecake.”

Jun looks at me like im a kid waiting to be fed. And truth be told, I was drooling like one.

“What is that amazing smell?” I asked.

“You’ve never had coffee before?”

“No, you have a lot of things that my dimension doesn’t. For example, a phone.”

We spiral into a deep conversation about where I came from and how dragons were like there and the things they did to us. I was uncomfortable talking about it but was fortunately saved by the waitress with our order.

What seemed to be a white substance, rested on top the cup and jiggled when I moved it. “Am I supposed to eat this?” I asked doubtfully.

He chuckles. “That’s whip cream. Try it.”

I bring the cup to my mouth hesitantly. As I licked it, a sweet sensation tingled in my mouth. “It’s sweet!” I say and finish the rest the whip cream, revealing a brown liquid underneath.

“You’re supposed to stir- never mind. Remind me again, the prophecy. It has been awhile since Blaze last told me about it.”

I put the cup down and licked my lips clear of any whipped cream. “The prophecy states that the 4 Oriental Dragons and their human bonds must ally together to defeat the evil dragon lord before he destroys my dimension and yours. Once we find the Earth and Air Orientals, we must begin training.”

“And what about Kai. How did you find your Oriental?”

“He was raised by the Dralachs. The bad dragons in my dimension. I was only 10 years old when I first found him in the woods, injured. At the time, I didn’t know that dragons were considered evil. Something happened and 10 years later Kai crashes through my window all battered up and wounded again. I would have killed him right there and then if I had not realised he was the dragon I saved 10 years ago. He tells me about the prophecy and even though I didn’t want to leave my family behind, I had to make the choice that would benefit everyone.” I laugh at the thought.

He looks at me blankly before continuing. “You’re lucky to have bumped into me as quickly as you did. Otherwise it would have proven difficult to start your search, anywhere.” He brings his own cup to his lips.

“Thank you Jun. I know all I’ve been doing is being a pain in your behind but I want you to know I appreciate your help. Im glad that you’re the Fire Oriental’s bonded human.” I give him a shy smile.

Jun’s eyebrows slowly unfurl and a light red shade comes to his cheeks. “Your welcome… Now hurry up and try your cheesecake. I recommend this to all my friends. It is one of my favourite desserts.”

I take the fork and cut myself a bite of the cake. Another sweet sensation fills my mouth and I find myself going in for more. “This is amazing! It’s even sweeter than the whip cream!”

We finish our meal and get ready to leave. Jun tells me to wait outside while he pays the bill. Walking out the shop I exhale a cold breath, watching the red leaves slowly fall to the ground.

“I can feel it. An Oriental’s nearby.” I whisper.

“Kurai?” Jun calls me from inside the store. He and the cashier looks at me with wide eyes. Jun beckons me back inside.

“Kurai, this is Vern.” Jun says and the cashier sticks his hand out for a handshake.

“Nice to meet you.” He says.

“Nice to meet you too-” My hand touches his and I feel a sudden burst of energy flow through me. As my hand leaves his, a spark zaps in the space between our hands.

I look back at him with excitement. “Found you.”