[Alan Frost]

It was the middle of the day. If Alan had to make an estimate, he’d say around two or three in the afternoon. The sun was bright and it made the park light up with a natural radiance that only a Suwani could see. As Alan sat there on his bench, his ankles crossed and his hands folded on his lap, he could smell the bouquet of summer. The aroma of the grass and the wood and the air brought his thoughts back to Mapiya. He was already missing his home. He desperately wanted to go fishing or hunting or something other than sitting around in Romford. He didn’t like it here. It was too noisy all the time. The quiet peace of Mapiya was something he had taken for granted. He couldn’t help but hate this place after the way they treated him all those years ago. They denied him access back then, but they didn’t think he’d be sitting in their walls eventually. No, this place sucked. He wanted to go back to Mapiya as soon as possible, but he knew that wasn’t going to be happening anytime soon after that damned dragon and his buddies came and destroyed the place. Why Mapiya? Why not the people who actually want to cause them harm? He grumbled to himself. This whole situation was bull. Oh well, there was nothing he could do about it now but try to enjoy himself while he was here. He leaned his head back and tried to relax, listening to the sounds of the park to calm himself down.

The waters of the fountains shot up high before falling back into the pool below, shimmering and dancing as they came back down. He hadn’t paid attention to it earlier, but now that he was listening, he could hear every drop rejoining the water of the pool. He felt a small scratching at his arm and opened his eyes. He turned his head and looked at his bonded otter on his back, pawing at Alan. “Zerel…. What are you doing?” he asked. The otter lay on his back and continued to bat at Alan’s arm. Alan placed a hand on Zerel’s furry stomach and scratched it lightly. The otter curled his arms and legs up around Alan’s hand as if to trap it and began biting at him gently. Alan merely continued scratching him, “You’ve had a lot of energy recently. Is it because you’re somewhere new?” he wondered out loud. The fountains shot up again the water came down with a hundred tiny splashes. The otter stopped biting Alan for a second to glance over at the pool. “Dammit, I’ve already told you, you’re not getting in that pool. The psionics already don’t want us here, I highly doubt they want our animals in their pools.” He told him. Zerel let his legs and arms down and gave Alan a small bark. Alan pinched his stomach, “Stop whining.”

Zerel seemed to attract some attention as a few children had been lingering around, watching the old man and the otter play. Alan looked up at them and smiled after a few seconds. Children, they were the same no matter where he went; always curious about something. He waved them over and they happily obliged, running over to the pair on the bench and immediately reaching for Zerel who quickly jumped up onto his feet and stared at them. “Be gentle with Zerel, he’s still young.” He instructed the children. They giggled and clapped while they played with the young otter who was absolutely relishing in all of the attention. One of the children, probably no less than five, looked up to Alan, “What kind of dog is he?” he asked with a smile on his face. “Actually, he’s not a dog, he’s an river otter.” With his question answered, he brought his attention back to Zerel.

They left after a while and the otter took his place back at Alan’s side before getting picked up and placed in his lap. Alan stroked his bonded’s back with a small smile. There might be some hope for this city after all.