GERM

Dante has spent his life in the secluded Village of Riverant, curious about the world beyond its walls but kept there and trained over the years by his caretaker, Rita, for his own safety. His questions about his true origins seem destined to remain unanswered—until two students, Terra and Xavien, arrive, drawn by rumors of a boy who is part man, part beast arrive to the village one day.

Offering Dante the chance to leave and discover not only what's outside of the walls, but his true heritage, they invite him to the Kingdom of Auradelle. A successful and prospering kingdom in the Eastern Region. But as a Dragonborn, Dante must face the challenges of blending into a society that not only fears, but will rid of his kind if found out. Will the two students be his key to freedom and what he's always wanted to know, or will the outside world prove more dangerous than he ever imagined and it all be for naught.

Only one way to find out...

SYPHER

He slowly set them down as Xavien palmed his face intensely at the sight of what he did. He then stepped forward and spoke to the server.

"We're meeting with a friend who's already sat. I had to retrieve a late guest for her, she's right over there."

"Heard nya loud and clear! Mew may go sit with your friend and will be served shortly! Thank mew for coming and dining with us!"

The cat then bowed their head before returning to their post by the door. Dante was surprised at how well they worked as he'd only seen Rita run the tavern alone up front with some help in the kitchen from a few guys in the village. The two walked to the corner to see a familiar face sitting in the corner with low eyes. She had her hands up to her face as if she'd been thinking hard about things.

Xavien sighed as the two sat across from her and her face brightened up quickly.

"No, no! That's not what I meant, I'm just happy to see you is all."

"I did what you asked me to…now am I getting my part of the deal or not."

Xavien moved out of the stall and went over to a group of girls across the tavern, he sat next to them and began to talk as they looked and began to laugh and jeer.

"Not really, he usually starts off pretty well. Then he messes up somehow and comes back crying to me."

The two then sat in silence as the previous situation made things awkward. The music filled the room as Terra sighed deeply as she planted her face down on the table between her arms.

"I'm sorry you had to see me like that…it's just my dad and I…never seem to be on the same page with anything."

The two looked at one another before sharing a small laugh, seemingly clearing the awkward air in the room as she looked back at him with a smile. He noticed that her eyes looked a bit tired from the last time he saw her. He felt bad that his presence caused such a thing to happen for her. So he wanted to make up for the blunder however he could.

Suddenly a small body was found next to their stall, it was the same cat from before holding what seemed to be a small book with pen in hand.

"Hey mew two! Nya ready to order?"

"Oh, right. I'll take the honey roast with a Sunny Day on the side."

"Heard! I'll be back with your food in a bit!"

Harley quickly jotted down the order before nodding quickly and running off shortly after. Terra quickly turned back to Dante with a smile.

"You don't even know what I ordered, and just went with it huh?"

"I mean, if you're eating it…it can't be bad right?"

Dante's eyebrows furrowed as his thought got interrupted, he wanted to apologize to her earnestly as he felt he made the situation a lot more worse than it had to be. He looked at Terra as her attention turned to the band playing their instruments. The music filled with such whimsical notes gave the atmosphere a much more lively tune as people began to dance around and cheer with each song.

Exchange - Chapter 3