Candy with Rano
“There’s my favorite dragon!” one of the wooden girls called, waving Griffin over to where she sat beside the pool. Exhaling sharply, he shook his head in exasperation, automatically moving toward her.
“Do you not recall that I am a Wyvern, not a dragon? Wyvern,” he questioned, perching on the edge of a lawn chair.
“Oh, whatever. Either way, you’re still my favorite!” she chimed, laughing once she finished.
“Rano, right?” Griffin asked, earning a curt nod in response. “Right. What exactly did you want from me? Or did you simply wish to insult my being?”
“Oh! I wanted to know if you’d take me somewhere! Everyone else who can drive went to the movies. Didn’t the girls say something about seeing a magician named Mike?” She pondered over this for a moment before snapping herself out of her thoughts. “Well, the guys went to see Skyfall, or whatever. Neither seemed interesting to me, and I’m guessing the same applies to you?”
“Theaters are too cramped for me.”
“Wonderful! Then you’ll take me to the Sweet Spot in Glen Allen! I looked it up, and it’s so cute!” she exclaimed, rising to her feet.
He blinked at her.
“Excuse me? Should you not ask me to do so instead of assuming I will?” Griffin demanded incredulously, brows furrowed.
“Well, it’s not like you have anything better to do!”
“We do not have a car. They have all been taken to see the movies,” Griffin excused, implying that there were no modes of transportation.
“Hello, you can fly!”
He sighed in defeat, and, with a wave, he gestured for Rano to move closer.
“Give me directions. I have no idea where this ‘Sweet Spot’ of yours is.”
“No problem! Now let’s get moving, Griffy-Wiffy!”
He didn’t even make a sassy remark about the nickname.
★☽★☾★☽★☾
“I believe I can fly!” the girl sang, stretching her arms out to either side as they flew through the air. Giggling, she pointed to a quaint building beneath us. “There! Descend, my loyal steed.”
“You are unbelievably strange, and it is not even because you are made of wood,” Griffin commented, shaking his head as he dove. She only laughed again.
Luckily, no one was around to see them drop behind the store, and, before they made their way around the building, Griffin threw his coat over his shoulders, shielding his wings.
“Safety first,” he stated, a half smile decorating his lips. Rano simply rolled her eyes.
“Can’t you just smell the chocolate? Oh, and that caramel! Yum!” she cried as she danced her way toward the door.
The bell dinged as she leaped inside, immediately racing for the numerous jars of bulk candy that adorned one wall. Griffin shot a polite half smile at the couple behind the counter as he caught up with the girl. After spending time with a human, he had learned it was best not to offend them.
“I do not see what the excitement is,” he commentated, shrugging as he eyed the sugary confections. “They are just hardened lumps of sugar with added colors.”
“Have you ever even eaten chocolate?” Rano demanded, turning to face him with hands on her hips. When he shook his head “no”, she gasped. “That’s so sad! Ah, here, lemme go pay for this really quickly, and then you can try it.”
When she paid the couple for the candy, Griffin found his voice.
“Wait, I am not sure if I wish to try—”
She stuffed it in his mouth to shut him up, peering at him expectantly. After a few moments of chewing, his jaw slackened.
“I have never tasted anything like this,” he confessed, eyes wide.
“That’s called a Milk Dud. They’re pretty good, right?” He nodded immediately, still chewing. Giggling yet again, she poked his chest, peering into his eyes. “Aren’t you glad I showed you this place?”
Griffin could only nod dreamily, indulged with the flavor of heavenly chocolate.
And, thus, his candy addiction was born.
