Melanie didn't say anything, because she thought it would be weird to give a flat "no."
"Fair enough," River said. "The thing is, I've given it some thought to it myself. There's holy water, but not unholy water. There are sacred rivers around the world. Some say the sea is the origin of all life. It flows, but it can also become a solid or a gas. It's a bit hard to explain, but I've always felt a connection to water. How about you?"
"I like the sound of waves on the beach, but I'd rather enjoy the sun," Fay said.
"Me too, about the connection to water, I mean," Marissa said. "My parents always say that the second I was able to, I was swimming. That or spilling water on myself."
Leo shrugged. "I've never thought about it much."
Erin made a thoughtful noise. "Kinda, sorta, not really. Actually, round that down to 'not really."
Once again, Melanie didn't say anything, because she had given absolutely zero thought to this line of questioning.
"That's all right. We all have different connections to nature's elements. Some people are better with the earth, others with the wind. Even if you don't know your affinity at this point, you'll most likely notice it eventually. It's a subtle influence on your attitude towards the world and what you do. When someone calls someone else a 'fiery person,' that person's affinity may indeed be fire. Of course, it could also be lightning; you'd need to know more about the person to be able to judge, and even then, you may not be a hundred percent right. I think the best person to keep track of your affinity is you, yourself." River's monologue seemed to go over well; Melanie noticed the others nodding. She was trying to take in all River's words in hopes of grasping whatever mystical meaning he was getting at, but it wasn't clicking. She hoped her own lack of nodding wasn't too noticeable.
River continued, "It's as simple as knowing yourself. It's why we meditate, to best understand our actions and reactions. Self-diagnosis is hard, but if you become aware of why you react in certain ways to certain things, you get a better perception of your relationship to the world." He paused, then went on some more. "In any case, elemental affinities are very present in our sort of outlook. They're even present in tarot cards."
River's speech only got more arcane as time went on, and Melanie felt herself glaze over every now and then. The second he started going on about the ebb and flow of the human condition (understandable on its own, but not the way he was going about it), she started to wonder why everyone was swallowing this mysticism so readily. There didn't seem to be a hint of skepticism or disagreement in the group; when someone else did speak, they seemed to offer alternate perspectives but no outright contradiction. She felt like everyone was in on a secret that she hadn't even scraped the surface of, and it was starting to get kind of irritating.
As frustrating as it was to feel so out of the loop, Melanie still put all her efforts into listening to what everyone had to say. Even if she hadn’t considered much about spirituality before, the way everyone respected this doctrine made her want to look further into it. Even if thinking so far out of the box was not easy for her, this alternative way of looking at the world seemed to make life more enjoyable for those that took part in it, and she knew well that even little things like a change in perspective could enrich a person’s life. Though the mechanics River was describing flew over her head, she felt that she got a vague gist of the philosophy. Still, Melanie wanted to know the origin of this way of thinking; perhaps that would help her understand what was going on.
Eventually, the mysterious discussion came to an end and everyone went their separate ways.Melanie, however, did not follow the others out. Instead, she approached River. "Do you have a moment, or do you need to leave quickly?"
"I've got plenty of time," River said. "Do you need something?"
"Don't take this personally, but... where do you get these ideas from? They're so detailed and woven together that I feel like they're not just something you're pulling out of thin air. And no one ever seems to question them." Melanie put one hand on her hip, trying to give him a probing look. "It feels like I'm missing some key information."
River's face fell, and he paused and looked away before he spoke, "Would you be willing to visit my house again? It's a story that's best told there, I think."
Melanie stopped to consider the pros and cons of another meeting at River's house, but decided to go for it anyway. Maybe he had an old book at his house that he wasn't going to carry around. "All right, fine. What time and day?"
"How about I give you my phone number? It feels like the one thing we're missing. I think we talk enough online that that extra link wouldn't hurt, would it?" River fished out his phone and was already getting set up to enter Melanie in his contacts.
"That's fine, but I'd like to have the meeting set up before I leave." Sighing, Melanie took out her phone as well, and the two exchanged numbers and discussed a time and date.
"I hope to see you then," River said.
"I'll be there." With any luck, Melanie would get to the bottom of River's secret.
Chapter 7
A week later, Melanie received a text on her phone from River:
Don't forget to come by today. Also, bring a swimsuit if you can.
The mention of the swimsuit made her raise an eyebrow, but she decided to humor him. She chose a tasteful red and white two piece, a "tankini" as it was sometimes called, and got ready to pay him a visit. There was almost definitely going to be something big at the end of this journey. There had to be, if River's being cagey was any indication.
When she arrived at River's house, she saw that he was sunning himself on the deck, shirtless and already in his swim trunks. Her eyes remained fixed on him as she got out of her car, and as she got closer, she found herself reflecting on his looks a bit. He really was a handsome man, almost elegantly built. Not dainty, but leanly muscular. Solid without being too bulky.
A voice broke Melanie out of her reverie. "Enjoying the view?"
Melanie must have done the hardest blink in her life right then. "Huh, what? Um."
River just chuckled and patted Melanie on the shoulder. "I'll take that as a yes. Did you find this place all right this time?"
"Yeah, I did," Melanie replied, relieved that River let her move on from the previous topic. "Thanks to the miracle of the modern GPS."
"Technology really is amazing," River remarked. He tilted his head towards the deck door and said, "Would you like to come in?"
"Of course."
River started for the inside of the house, and Melanie followed him.
After sitting down on an armchair, River clasped his hands. "Would you like anything to eat or drink? Or..." Here his hands unclasped, and his face fell serious. "Would you rather just get down to business?"
Melanie made a thoughtful noise. "I'm fine. I guess we could 'get down to 'business' now. What are you going to show me? And, uh, why did I need a swimsuit?"
"Just follow me," River said as he got up. Melanie did so, and the two went downstairs to a basement area, where he opened the door to reveal a very large swimming pool. Melanie goggled; this was not something she expected to find in a house as quaint as River’s. "Here we are."
"Do I have to get in, or...?"
"No. In fact, it's better if you don't." River’s gaze wavered as he spoke. “The concepts we discuss in our group meetings don’t come from thin air. The secret origin of these concepts is something I want to share with you, because I trust you enough to tell you the truth. However, first, I ask that you never tell anyone about what you’re about to see. These things are secret for a reason, and they’re not ready to be exposed to the world yet.”
Melanie opened her mouth slightly, but nothing came out. She was rather flattered at River’s trust in her, but the sheer amount of secrecy was a bit unnerving. Still, she hoped that learning the origin would help her understand River’s teachings more, and so she finally gathered her words enough to speak. “My lips are s
ealed. I’ll keep your secret, no matter what.”
“Thank you.” River looked to the side, then leaned in and gave Melanie a brief, nervous kiss on the lips. Seeing him so close to shy was something of a shock to her; this was clearly not a secret he tossed around freely. When their lips parted, River added, “Whatever you see, don’t be scared. You are safe. I would never do anything to hurt you,”then strode around to the deep end of the pool. He stared at Melanie for a moment, sucked in a breath, then dove into the water (with remarkable form at that).
Melanie expected him to come back up, and when he didn't immediately, she cautiously stepped closer to the pool. Something did not look right with the shadow under the water; it was entirely too big for a person. Her heart thumping with panic, she ran to the other side of the pool. She was about to dive in and save River when the water began to ripple and bubble unnaturally, which made her stand stock still.
She was greeted by a massive, elongated thing coming out of the water. A scaly blue head, with fins, and most importantly, teeth. Many sharp teeth. The creature snorted, then made a strange muffled roar at her. There was no way she was going to stick around to find out if that thing was friendly; she ran out with a terrified scream, her heart feeling like it was going to explode out of her chest. She nearly tripped going up the stairs, but made a slick recovery and kept climbing. She was barely aware of her feet touching the ground as she fled, and she might have knocked some items over as she made her escape. Soon, she flung open the door of River's house and sped to her car. She was out of breath and shaking so badly that she fumbled the keys on her first try, cursing as she went to pick them up. River's voice only barely registered on the edge of her senses as she got into her car, nearly falling into the seat. Her keys missed the ignition, and then she became aware of something knocking on her window.
"Melanie!" It was River, now soaking wet. "Wait!"
Melanie shuddered, then started her car up and rolled down her window. River didn't appear to have any extra monstrous appendages on him, so perhaps he was safe to talk to. "River, what the hell is going on?!"
"Melanie, please, come back in and listen to me," River pleaded. "I can explain everything."
"Only if whatever that thing I saw isn't waiting to eat me in there," Melanie replied.
"It won't, I promise." River stepped away from Melanie's car to give her room to exit. "Please, just hear me out."
“Can’t you tell me out here?” Melanie asked, shuddering. “Aside from the fact that you have a pet sea monster, I don’t know what’s so shocking that you can’t tell me out here.”
“I… I’d rather not. You never know who might be listening, and like I said, these things are not ready for the outside world yet,” River said.
“Fine.” Melanie wanted to add a condition to her acceptance, but couldn’t find the words. She still had some hesitation, but if she stayed in the car, she’d never find out what happened. With her hands still shaking, she opened the car door and stepped out. She followed River back into his house without saying a word, then sat down in one of his armchairs. "Well, I'm listening. And if I hear any indication that the Loch Ness Monster in your swimming pool is coming back, I'm out."
River sighed, his gaze away from Melanie. "Melanie, that monster was me."
"What?"
"Watch carefully." River held out his arm and closed his eyes. Melanie nearly jumped out of her chair when a large fin seemed to flow out of the side of River's arm. "This is a water dragon's fin."
Melanie had no words. It was just a fin, but it was on a human body, and it had just appeared as though it was supposed to have been there all along. She stared at the fin, waiting to see if the transformation would progress. Mercifully for her psyche, it didn't; River dismissed it and it flowed back into his arm.
"I am the youngest in my clan of water dragons," River explained. "My clan goes back centuries at the very least, perhaps more."
"I don't think you're starting at the very beginning," Melanie said. "I think the most important part is the fact that apparently, dragons exist."
"Believe what you'd like," River said. "You've seen my true form already. You can choose to believe your eyes or not to. I'm not going to force you, especially not at a time like this."
Melanie sighed and massaged her forehead. "Let's say this isn't just a fever dream and I really saw you as a dragon. What does this mean for me? Or for all humans?"
"We dragons have lived through the ages, though modern times have sent us more undercover than we've ever been. More than just me, there are multiple types of dragons and many clans within those types. Not long ago, the heads of several clans came together and decided that dragons should put into motion a plan to reconnect with humans. Certain dragons would be selected to reach out to humans in a way they saw fit. My father was chosen first, and then he passed the role to me." River closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “In ancient times, dragons and humans lived together in a sort of uneasy acceptance. We could be friends, but we could also be foes. When technology began to advance, humans began to hunt us in hopes of gathering materials and funds for the new technology. It got so bad that we dragons, as a whole, decided to go into hiding until a day where humans were more open to coexisting with us.”
"That's not answering my question," Melanie said sharply, wishing she had cut in a bit sooner. "What does this mean for us as people? What else are you hiding from me that's going to rock my perception of the world?"
"Melanie, I'm sorry." River's gaze was now on the floor. "I don't know if you'll understand."
"Try me. I've already learned that dragons exist. What could be worse than that?"
"I care a lot about you, Melanie," River said. "I've been around you enough to know that you're a good person. I enjoy being with you. I look forward to when you sign on into the chatroom every day. I understand completely if you want to be done with all of this mystical dragon nonsense, but... I'll miss you."
Those last three words cut into Melanie's heart. She felt bad; this man clearly had strong feelings for her, and yet she was judging him for what he was, not for his intent. He showed no sign of ever wanting to hurt her; he may have acted suspicious, but nothing he ever did seemed to have any malicious intent behind it. If anything, he had been inviting and inclusive, making sure that she was comfortable in the group and not judging her for not catching on to his concepts. Still, she had had quite a shock. There was still a lurking suspicion, and she wanted to dismiss it. "I don't want you to hide anything else from me. If there's anything else you need to tell me, tell me now."
"I'll tell you everything." River pulled up a chair in front of Melanie and sat down. "The other members of the club are dragons, too. Fay is your typical fire dragon, Leo is a lightning dragon, Erin is an earth dragon, and Marissa is a water dragon, like I am. The pendant I gave you allows you to understand dragon telepathy, and it can also grant you access to areas warded by dragons."
"But... why did you choose me?" Melanie asked. "I don't understand how I fit into all this."
River exhaled softly. "Full dragons have a sort of intuition for finding dragon descendants. When I saw you, I had a feeling that somewhere, even distantly, you had a dragon in your ancestry. I thought that, if I started bringing humans and dragons together with you, I might be able to help you discover a piece of your history."
Melanie's eyes went wide. "You can tell just by looking?"
"It's not always correct," River said, "but a dragon's intuition for these things has proven to be fairly reliable over the ages."
"I... huh." Melanie tried to think about what that could mean for her, but couldn't even come up with anything solid or relevant that made sense. "So... do all dragons have human forms like you and the club members do?"
"Most, but not all. Transformation magic is a relatively recent discovery among dragons. A lot of us were quick to use it in the face of the world changing around us, but there are a few well-hidden purists
that have never taken on a human form." A faint smile twitched at River's lips, a hint of enthusiasm for the subject at hand.
"They must be very well hidden," Melanie mused aloud.
"They are." River sighed. "Melanie... do you forgive me for keeping this secret from you?"
"Yes." The answer fell out of Melanie's mouth faster than she expected it to. "I know that you've never tried to hurt me. If anything, you try hard to make sure I'm doing well in your group. We have a lot of fun together, and if I were to lose that... I'd miss you, too."
"I'm glad." River paused and the room was silent for a minute. "Do you really feel the same way about me that I feel about you, even with all my fine print?"
"Yes," Melanie said again. "I'm sorry I freaked out, River. I think you understand why, though. It's not every day you're face to face with a bunch of really sharp teeth and definitely not sharp teeth on a creature you had no idea existed."
"I do understand. You don't encounter transforming humans every day, either." River leaned forward in his chair. "Thank you. If it isn't too much trouble, I have a request for you."
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