Danny Loftwright's Story

Elet shoved his hands into his jacket as he wandered through the streets. His bright green eyes scanned everything around him in intrigue. He had been in this little town many times now but there was always something new and different to investigate. The humans interacted with each other in a very different way that the way his family interacted. There was just so much more complexity to their speech. He craved it. He wanted to speak to them the way they spoke. He had chatted with a couple of children who seemed his age but he knew he didn't belong. Their gazes said as much and he didn't know how to play their games. So, he found himself consistently stuck on the outskirts of human interaction. In a way, that gave him an advantage. People ignored him so he could observe their mannerisms and learn about their daily life without hindrance.

He had learned pretty quickly that to own something here, you had to purchase it with money. Money was hard to come by if you didn't have a 'job'. He didn't really know what that was, but he understood that you had to work for it. Every once in a while he did find coins and the like on the floor which he had collected. He didn't know how to count but he assumed that the amount of coins he had collected would amount to some kind of value. Perhaps he had enough now that he could purchase some of the mouth watering and warm delicacies they had for sale. He particularly wanted a piece of that pie. He could see the steam rising from it and his stomach growled loudly. That morsel looked a lot better than the scraps the humans tossed his family or the trash they ate, or even the live game they hunted down.

Elet hurried over to the pie stand and looked up at the shop keeper. "H-hello," Elet greeted. "I would umm..like to buy a piece of pie," he said and offered a little smile. He quickly put all of the coins he had on the table and pushed them towards the woman. "Is this enough?"

The woman standing there looked down at Elet and arched an eyebrow. She looked down at the coins and shook her head. "That is not enough to buy a pie, sweetheart. Take the coins back."

Elet frowned and looked down at the coins. "How much do I need?"

"A lot more than that. Where are your parents?"

"I don't have any," he lied. He didn't have any parents that this woman would be able to talk to anyway.

"You poor dear," she frowned. "I'll tell you what. I'll give you a piece of pie. Tomorrow you come back early in the morning and I'll have you earn it by helping me set up my things. Okay?" She knew she ran the risk of never seeing the boy the next morning if he was playing her, but she couldn't help herself. She was a sucker for kids.

Elet's face brightened and he gave her a big smile. "Thank you! I'll be here in the morning!" Elet accepted the pie then and hurriedly scurried off with it. He bit into the warm, gooey apple pie and moaned. It was the best thing he'd ever had the pleasure of tasting. In his excitement a few scales appeared on his neck and on his hands and his eyes had become slits without his realizing for a moment.

Elet hummed to himself. Pie was so tasty! He had like little bits of pie before but they were never this good. Fresh, warm, and gooey pie was now his favorite food in the world. He closed his eyes for just a moment and then... it was gone. His deliciousness was gone! He looked up a bit startled when he found his plate had been snatched out of his very hands. A young girl was running down the alley way with it and his eyes narrowed. That was his pie! He had gone and got it! The nice lady gave it to him and no one else! He was even going to work for that slice of amazingness.

"H-hey! That's mine!" he called after her and started running. He was not going to give it up without a fight. The girl tripped then and his eyes remained glued on the soaring plate of pie until it landed. He gave a sigh of relief, but really, even if the pie itself fell on the floor he would have devoured it. He ate out of a garbage can for crying out loud. A little bit of dirt wasn't going to deter him from his prize. He rushed forward but immediately cut himself off when he saw someone else in the alley. Elet pressed up against the side of the building and looked at the boy that leaned down to help the pie thief up. Oh no! She had a partner! He couldn't stand up to two people.

Elet nibbled on his lip and glanced between the two of them and the fallen pie. He started to slowly inch around his corner and tried to stay out of sight as he moved towards his pie. He snatched it up from the ground and quite literally shoved the rest of it in his mouth. There. Now the two thieves couldn't get it. He looked like quite a spectacle with his cheeks extended like a chipmunk as he tried to chew. He looked over at the girl and the other boy then and soon, guilt filled his stomach along with the remainder of his pie. They were probably hungry to.

Elet pulled at his sleeves and looked down at his shoes. "I... I am sorry. I should have shared it with you." He moved a little closer and looked at the girl trying to see if she was hurt. He really should have checked to make sure he was okay before he jumped his pie. "Umm... Are.. Are you okay?" he asked then and glanced at the boy. He hoped the older boy didn't try and beat him up for letting his friend get hurt.