Evelyn’s eyes were doing her well tonight. She had slipped out of her cell in the juvenile detention center without a hitch and was now preparing herself to run through the open yard. She had already found the two guards on the wall and had successfully hidden from 3 more on the ground or in the hallways. She knew that it was going to be impossible to run without getting caught at some point, that was inevitable. But 10 minutes outside the detention center for some fresh air would be lovely.
Okay, breathe, breathe… the guards change direction every 10 seconds. So run in 5… 4… 3… 2… 1… RUN! Evelyn sprinted across the yard as close to the buildings as she dared. “Hey! We’ve got a runner!” one of the guards yelled.
Crap! Run faster, Evelyn! Evelyn sprinted to the fence and climbed over it, ignoring when the barbed wire stuck into her skin. She fell over the other side, and ran like she had the devil chasing after her. Which wasn’t true, but she was sure they’d sic the dogs on her the second they got a chance, and she wasn’t about to give them any. She was wondering what exactly she was going to do to help her in this particular situation, when, suddenly an idea came to her. She took a sharp turn left until she was running almost parallel to the fence and never slowed her pace. Within 15 minutes she was a mile away at the edge of the Stardust Dunes. She grinned despite the exertion her body was going through. This could throw them off her scent because of all the sand, and it was popular enough to walk these hills by day that her footprints couldn’t be verified as hers. She slid down the first dune and ran between several of them for some time before climbing up another, trying to keep with the other footprints.
She crested a dune and saw an odd shape in the distance. But she hadn’t turned around, it couldn’t be juvie. She ran toward it. It’s possible that it could be a small town she could lay low in. Provided they couldn’t figure out she was from juvie not 15 miles away through the dunes. Now ignoring which way the footprints went, she ran closer and closer to the structures, only to find out they were smaller and closer that she expected. And there were dozens of them. All of them were raised off the ground 3 feet by the same material the main part was made out of. At a guess, Evelyn figured it must be mud and clay, mottled with light brown colors to blend into the sand. Barks could be heard from behind her. They were bringing out the dogs! She ran to one of the structures further into the group and ducked under it, panting. She watched as the guards went over hill after hill, some of them with dogs choking at their leads, but none of them came close to where she was. They must have thought she wouldn’t be stupid enough to leave the path. But she didn’t relax until they were all out of sight.
As she sighed, she felt something staring at her, she glanced around and didn’t find anyone. But as soon as she was making to crawl out, something fuzzy brushed her back and she shrieked, covering her mouth. “Woah! Easy, I did not mean to scare you! I just wanted to say ‘hello’!”
Evelyn stared in shock at the creature that was looking back at her quizzically. A dragon. A dragon just spoke to me. Her mind was running in circles. The dragon had to be 7 feet from head to tail, and was the color of the sky at twilight, with green eyes not unlike her own. Their head was like a snake’s, but their body was that of a lizards, except that they had paws for feet. And… was that fur at the wings joints that was peaking out at her? She blinked and realized she had yet to say anything to the… the dragon (still not over that) looking at her. “W- well, hello, then,” she stammered.
The dragon smiled. “I am glad you understood me! I do not have anyone to practice my English with, so I have to rely on my teaching. My name is Socrates. What is your name?”
“O- oh. M- my name is E- Evelyn.”
Socrates frowned. “Are you all right, Evelyn? Is English not your first language either?”
“U- um, it’s my first language. I just… have never met a dragon before.”
“Oh. Do I scare you?” they looked genuinely concerned.
“No!” Evelyn was quick to ensure. “But… I don’t know where I am, or even what we’re sitting under. I don’t understand why you’d be here.”
“I can answer that!” Socrates said. “You are at one of the Black Clan’s nesting grounds. We are sitting under one of the nests. They are shaped like human bowls, I’ve been told. It’s so young dragons can’t run off when their parents aren’t there. Everyone comes down here one month out of the year to nest and hatch the eggs. I am down here because my clan was… it is not important why I’m down here now. I am sorry. I am really excited to see someone new.”
Evelyn smiled. Socrates’ rambling was endearing them to her. “So… are you a boy? Or a girl?”
“Ah, the human gender binary,” Socrates said knowingly. “I regret to inform you that I do not fit either of those. Gender is a social construct that dragons do not possess. I am agender, I suppose. Gender- less.”
“Oh, sorry,” Evelyn said. “Did I offend you?”
“Don’t worry about it. You did not offend me at all.”
Evelyn blinked. “What did you say first?”
“Do not worry about it. It is a phrase the dragons picked up from you humans years ago and translated into our own languages.”
“That’s pretty cool,” Evelyn said. “Um, I’d love to know more but I should go back to juvie before they miss me. I’ve had enough fresh air to last a week.”
“You escaped a human prison?” Socrates asked. “Do you wish for some company on the way back?”
“You can come with, sure,” Evelyn said. “But you’ll have to leave before I reach where I’m going. I don’t want to get you in trouble.”
“Don’t worry about it. They wouldn’t get me in trouble. I am a dragon, and as such do not understand all human customs.”
“You seem to understand this one, though,” Evelyn said with a frown.
Socrates winked. “Yes, but your guards do not know that.”
Evelyn laughed. “I like your style, Socks.”
“Socks?” Socrates asked. “Oh. Short for Socrates.” They smiled. “I like the sound of it. Socks! Socks! Socks! It is quite entertaining to say!”
Evelyn continued to laugh.
Socrates and Evelyn stood outside the detention center, far enough away that they couldn’t be seen easily. Evelyn turned to Socrates. “I must say, you’re the nicest dragon I’ve ever met. I’m really happy that I got to meet you. Will I see you again?”
Socrates thought about it. “I would like to see you again, yes. When do you get out?”
“When do you want to see me?” Evelyn said with a smirk. “I don’t leave until I’m 18. But I can escape any time.”
“Now, I do not condone you escaping just so you can talk to me…” Socrates said uncomfortably.
Evelyn sighed. “Well, I guess I’ll just have to go out for other things, like shampoo, and we can bump into each other outside the store…” Evelyn said with a wink.
Socrates chuckled. “Oh, yes. You shop in the dunes, too? You can always tell when I am going to be there because I fly over the detention center whenever I come down for supplies.”
Evelyn grinned. “Well, then, Socks, I suppose I will be seeing you the next time you go shopping.”
Socrates prepared to fly. “Indeed.” They soared away. “I will be seeing you soon!”
Evelyn watched Socrates go in a sense of awe. She had never seen a dragon fly before, she had rarely seen anything fly before. She shook her head and snuck back in, which was actually considerably easier than sneaking out, and went to her room patching up her clothes so it looked like she was just in another fight, and laid down on her bunk. Socrates. She had a feeling that the strange dragon would keep her up all night, but not in an unpleasant way. Who were they, exactly? What was their secret? Why wasn’t the rest of their clan with them? They were still in their clan, weren’t they? And why did they know English if they had never met a human?
She fell asleep with all of these questions and more rattling around her skull. And when she woke up the next morning, she still had no answers. But she was determined to get some. That day when she was out in the yard, she saw a silhouette fly over it, that was too big to be a bird. Evelyn smiled. “Tonight,” she murmured. “Tonight is the night I get to know you, Socrates.”
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