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Rain wakes up early in the morning, just before sunrise, his alarm clock beeping insistently. As he sits up on the bed and swings his long legs over the edge, he stretches his arms above his head and yawns. Rubbing one eye with his knuckles, he slowly gets up and walks towards his cabin’s small kitchen, intent on brewing himself a strong cup of coffee to push back the last remaining dregs of sleep clinging to him.
As he turns on the coffee machine, he walks up to the windows of the cabin that look over the side of the mountain, drawing the curtains back to look at the expansive forest of the national park where he lives and works as a ranger. Upon doing that, he notices a thick billow of smoke rising from deep within the woods, the dark clouds noticeable thanks to the first rays of sunlight coming over the horizon.
Rain sighs deeply at the sight before him. He knows it could be just the consequence of some visitors having gotten off the designated paths and camping somewhere within the restricted areas of the forest. It could be just that. A fire started by humans. But his years of experience as a ranger and his gut are telling him otherwise.
He looks over to a far wall inside the cabin, one that has a big corkboard mounted on it. The same is covered in blurry photos, newspaper clippings, and notes he has taken himself as well as some of his co-workers and predecessors. All the information gathered there relates to the same topic. Or rather, to the same being. Something he has been studying and tracking for as long as he has worked at that park, but he has yet to see with his own eyes.
To those who are knowledgeable on the subject, it’s no surprise the fact that big and largely unpopulated forested areas are inhabited by beings beyond those commonly known by the public. And inside the national park where Rain lives, he’s certain one of those beings lurks around the deeper corners of the woods.
However, he hasn’t been able to prove that belief yet.
So, Rain looks away from his corkboard and back out the window, sighing as he knows they’ll have to set up the “Today’s Fire Danger” meter sign to “High” at the very least since it seems that the alleged “cryptid” some park visitors have claimed to have seen around has come out of its hideout. And, of course, the park rangers can’t just warn people against wandering off the trails by telling them they might come across a supernatural creature. Instead, they just use some excuse about heat, dryness, and a high risk of fires starting at random. That has worked out fine so far.
Nevertheless, Rain knows he’ll have to go against all those warnings since he has made it his personal mission to investigate all sightings and incidents involving this strange being. So, as the coffee machine is done making the hot beverage, Rain fixes himself a quick but filling breakfast and sits down to eat, triangulating on a map of the park where the smoke could be coming from.
Once he has an approximate location nailed down, he finishes eating the last toast he made himself before putting on his uniform and grabbing all his tools, ready to set out toward the source of the smoke.
After making sure his cabin is locked up, Rain gets on his ATV and begins his descent down the mountain as the sun finishes rising above the clear horizon.
The ranger makes his way toward the source of the smoke only to find that there’s no fire burning there. At least, there isn’t anymore. However, there are no other rangers around, nor does it look like there have been before him. There are no people in sight around the area either, so Rain is a little confused about who or what could have put out the fire so quickly. After all, it was big enough to cause a noticeable column of smoke.
Big and noticeable for him to see even from his cabin high in the mountain, and around the exact time he gets up in the morning…
Rain decides to pay the coincidences no mind as he investigates the scene further. Some bushes have been set on fire, and only ashes remain, yet the surrounding vegetation is mostly intact. So, it is obvious to him that the fire was started on purpose. Why? He has no idea as there’s no evidence that points out to the fire being something else than an attempt to catch someone’s attention with the rising smoke. Yet if it was done by someone who was lost, why is there no one around?
The ranger stays standing still in front of the burnt remains lying on the ground, trying to figure out the mystery. In the meantime, he radios the administration office to let them know to update the fire hazard park sign. After he cuts off the line, he hears rustling leaves right behind him, followed by branches snapping under the weight of something.
Rain’s heartbeat elevates instantly as his body goes rigid. His hands grow clammy and he swallows hard as his mind begins to race, wondering what it could be behind him. He’s hoping for a small, harmless animal. But given the noises he heard, it sounds like it’s something larger than a squirrel, and potentially more dangerous. However, what he fears the most is the possibility of it being someone with ill intentions towards him or just whoever came looking for the fire, thus why it was made on purpose in the first place.
As the ranger waits in agonizing silence for whatever it is behind him to either get closer or run away, a million thoughts run through his head, all about the horrible ways he could possibly die at the hands of whatever drew him out deep into the forest. He has no weapons on him besides a hunting knife he carries around to use more as a tool than anything else, and he has the inkling it won’t help him against what’s closing in on him.
Unable to handle the tension any longer, he slowly turns around to face his fate, wanting to at least see what could potentially kill him before he dies. That’s when he sees it.
Hiding behind some bushes, Rain sees a pair of red glowing eyes that remind him of how some demons are depicted in fiction. His heart leaps into his throat and his breath hitches as he looks entranced at the twin shimmering rubies fixed on him. There’s a mixture of horror and fascination taking over him as he stares at what he can only describe as otherworldly. Yet the full impact of the situation he’s in doesn’t hit him until the creature steps out from behind the bushes, revealing itself fully to the ranger.
The being is anthropomorphic enough that it could pass as human if it weren’t for a few distinctive key details regarding his unnatural characteristics. For starters, its skin is a dark grey color. Besides the glowing red irises, slitted pupils, and black sclerae, it has ash white long straight hair and a pair of small white horns protruding from its forehead. It’s moving on all fours, like an animal, despite looking like it can walk on its legs like humans do. It also has a long, wispy tail that swishes behind its back, the end of it being covered by a tuft of white hair.
The creature looks at the human intently. It tilts its head sideways as if considering the ranger. It is crouched on all fours, and it’s also completely naked despite its rather…human male anatomy likeness. Because of that, Rain blushes slightly as he keeps his eyes away from that particular area of the creature’s body.
Rain’s mind is working overtime to try to grapple with what’s happening. He’s just having a hard time believing what his eyes are seeing.
On its part, the being peers curiously at the ranger, not moving closer yet not running away from him. Yet. But the moment Rain opens his mouth to say something, despite not even knowing what, the creature suddenly grows tense and it takes off deeper into the woods. And before the human can consider whether it is a good idea or not to follow a strange and unknown creature, he starts running after it.
After the years Rain has spent researching the cryptic being that has just appeared in front of him, he can’t just let it run away without… He doesn’t even know what he wants, or what he’s going to do after he catches up to the creature (if he can even manage to do that in the first place); he just knows he can’t let it run away from him. That’s how the ranger ends up straying deeper into the forest, not even knowing where he’s going as he chases after the mysterious entity. He can’t even see it anymore, yet he somewhat knows where to run.
That’s how he ends up arriving at the base of a nearby mountain, where there’s a cave opening.
Rain didn’t see the creature running inside, yet he can feel it’s inside the pitch-black cavern. So, taking a deep breath and against his better judgment, he walks into the darkness, hoping to manage to walk out of it alive.
The ranger tentatively walks inside the cave as far as he can see thanks to the light filtering from outside. Yet as he finally arrives at the edge between darkness and lightened ground, he stops and refuses to move before he can turn on his flashlight. However, as he fumbles with the torchlight, and before he can get the thing to work, another source of light shines in front of him.
A fire. A small fire. Sprouting from one of the creature’s hands, which has sharp clawed fingernails.
Rain drops the flashlight without meaning to and it shatters against the cave’s hard ground as the ranger is utterly captivated by the enchanting sight in front of him. It’s so surreal and ethereal, and even though he should be feeling terrified, he isn’t. He feels strangely at ease and intrigued by the supernatural being crouching in front of him.
“What are you…?” Rain asks, flabbergasted and confused, looking for answers to the questions that have been haunting him for years now.
In response, the creature chitters in a language he can’t understand (and he has never even heard before), leading him to stare at it in further confusion. And seeing the human can’t understand it, the mythical being clears his throat before it attempts to speak the same language as the human, although in a broken way since it seems it doesn’t do that often despite knowing how to.
“Ghoul,” the creature replies shortly, voice gravelly and rough from disuse.
“Ghoul? You’re a ghoul?” Rain asks as the being nods, brows furrowing in confusion and a little concern.
The ranger’s knowledge of “ghouls” is limited to what he has read online while doing his research on mythical beings. As far as he knows, they are religious creatures that originated from pre-Islamic Arabian religions, and they are described as human flesh-eating demons, which should make him start to panic if the creature is to be believed about what it claims to be its own nature. After all, it did lure him into a cave deep enough into the woods away from the traveled paths. Also, he doesn’t even know if his radio has signal in there.
Yet despite all of that, he isn’t afraid of the ghoul. He’s…bewitched by it.
“You’re the one who starts all the random fires, aren’t you?” Rain asks tentatively, needing to confirm this demon is the same creature he has been looking for all this time.
“Yes.”
Its curt reply makes the ranger a little frustrated as he feels the being might not be able to communicate by using more than one word at a time. But before the human can say or ask anything else, the ghoul forces himself to explain in more detail the reasoning behind its dangerous behavior as its tail twitches behind it.
“To scare humans off, when they get too close.”
“Humans? The people who wander off the park trails?” Rain questions further, wanting to put all the puzzle pieces together.
“Yes.”
The response is short, yet it serves to shine some more light on the mystery. A lot of people go off the trails despite the park signs repeatedly warning against doing so, and the rangers themselves reminding visitors to stay on the authorized paths. However, Rain is starting to fear the ghoul might be involved in the multiple human disappearances the park has experienced through the years.
And it almost seems as if the creature can either read the human’s mind or interpret correctly the concern written on his face because it scrambles to amend its explanation.
“I don’t hurt them, just scare them away.”
Rain rationally knows he should doubt the creature’s words, yet something about the way it reassured him that it hasn’t hurt anyone feels…genuine. So, going out on a limb, he decides to believe it and instead consider the idea that the people who have gone missing inside the park did so unrelated to the ghoul, or they were people who crossed paths with it and got lost as they tried to run away from the creature.
But with that mystery apparently “solved”, there’s another question he needs to be answered.
“Why did you start that fire, the last one? Were there humans around you?” Rain presses, hoping that to be the truth despite a part of him not wanting it to be.
“No,” the ghoul replies succinctly, tail whipping behind its back as it stares intently at the human.
“Then why did you do it?”
The demon breaks eye contact as its gaze strays away from the human’s, its tail reflecting its sudden nervousness. It seems shy all of a sudden, which Rain finds strange yet…kind of cute.
“I was trying to…” It begins to say yet trails off before finishing the sentence.
“Trying to what, get my attention?” Rain jokes with an amused snort despite the odd situation.
“Yes.”
The admittance understandably catches the ranger off guard as he wasn’t expecting that response at all despite joking about it. So, he’s left staring at the ghoul with wide eyes and an open mouth as he tries to come up with explanations for the creature’s actions.
“Why?”
“Because…you seem…nice.”
Rain feels as if the ground has disappeared under his feet, making him fall into nothingness, as the demon hesitates to give its answer.
“What do you mean by that…?”
“I have been…watching you,” the ghoul says as he finally stands up on its two legs, the fire burning in his hand remaining alive. “As you have been looking for me.”
The first thing Rain notices –besides the demon getting progressively better at speaking– is that it is a little shorter than him, and slenderer. It almost seems malnourished, which he can’t help but attribute to the fact that it might feed on animals alone and not eat humans as it said. At the same time, seeing it like that leads to a strong desire to nurture it back to full health to rise inside the ranger, making him want to help take care of the creature somehow.
The second thing the human notices is that it’s still naked, thus why he adverts his eyes once more as he tries to refocus on the conversation they are having.
“You have been watching me, all this time, as I have been investigating you?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I was curious.”
The answer gives Rain pause as he considers if he’s an exception or not.
“Have you done this with other park rangers? I’m not the only one who has been looking for you.”
“No, but the others… They were off.”
“Off? What do you mean by that?”
“They didn’t seem nice, like you.”
The ghoul’s observation leads the ranger to believe that what it actually means is that other rangers have been looking for him in order to either capture it alive or kill it, to keep it from being a further danger to the park’s wildlife and visitors. On the other hand, he has just been fascinated by the mystery and has been trying to locate the being responsible for the strange fires and sightings in order to…protect it.
Rain always believed that the creature he had been looking for all those years was native to the area and thus should be protected as the rest of the wildlife in the park is. He never believed either that it should be captured and studied cruelly in a lab, instead leaving it to its own devices if it didn’t represent a real danger to any other living beings or the ecosystem.
Maybe the ghoul realized that and that’s why it sought him out. After all, it’s clearly sentient, so he wouldn’t be surprised if it were just looking for someone to…talk to.
Because of all of that, Rain’s heart squeezes in sympathy, which leads him to draw closer to the ghoul as he asks it another question, one more personal this time as he’s filled with curiosity.
“Do you have a name?”
“Yes, but the human tongue can’t pronounce it,” the demon explains, sounding somewhat dismayed before he continues. “You can call me…Dew.”
“Dew?”
“As in ‘Dewdrop,’” Dew clarifies simply.
“Dewdrop? Why did you choose that…?” Rain questions, confused, before he amends what might’ve come across as an insensitive question. “If you don’t mind me asking.”
“I don’t. I just like watching dewdrops gathering on top of leaves and then rolling down until they fall.”
The ranger’s heart flutters at the answer, finding it not only adorable but so genuinely innocent and pure that he just can’t help but want to keep the creature out of harm’s way.
“That’s a lovely name,” Rain finally says, a soft smile tugging at his lips.
On Dewdrop’s part, the ghoul sputters a little at hearing the compliment, turning its face away from the ranger as its cheeks take on a darker coloration.
“Th-thank you,” the flustered demon replies. “You’re Rain, right?”
As the creature asks the ranger about his name in order to change subjects, the human is taken aback by Dewdrop’s knowledge regarding his first name as he doesn’t have it written on his badge.
“Yeah…how do you know that?”
“I heard others calling you that,” the ghoul replies, sounding somewhat unconvincing.
And it does sound strange as Rain’s coworkers usually refer to him by his last name during work hours while outside the administration building. The only place Dew could have heard other people calling him “Rain” would be…
“Have you been by my cabin?” Rain asks all of a sudden as the realization dawns on him.
He feels a little weirded out by the prospect, yet probably not as much as he should. After all, he doesn’t think he can judge the ghoul based on human customs and norms. As far as he knows, the demon might not even understand that lurking around Rains’s cabin and seemingly spying on the ranger might be considered creepy by people, if not straight-up stalkerish behavior.
“Uh…yes,” Dewdrop admits reluctantly.
The ghoul’s hesitancy to answer leads Rain to believe the creature does know that what he has been doing is somewhat wrong. Yet the human doesn’t have the right to hold it against the other.
That is until Dew opens up its mouth again.
“I’ve watched you sleep at night, sometimes.”
“…What?”
“I-I… I was just making sure you were okay,” the demon begrudgingly confesses, tail whipping around in agitation.
“Why?”
Rain feels like a broken record as he keeps asking “why” over and over again, yet the whole situation is so crazy he’s just trying to understand whatever he can.
“I told you, you’re nice… And if something happens to you, I don’t know what will happen to me.”
Rain is taken aback by Dewdrop’s honesty. He knows he should be upset, but he just feels for the ghoul. The ranger understands that, if he really is the only one who cares about protecting the demon, Dew would see him as someone worth protecting as well. Although, the human can’t say in full honesty that he doesn’t believe there’s another reason behind the creature’s actions that goes beyond self-preservation.
“Since you now know, I should probably apologize for starting a fire that one time…” Dew begins to say, sounding sheepish.
“Hold on! That was you?!” The ranger questions in a raised and high-pitched voice.
He’s freaking out at remembering being woken in the middle of the night months ago to a fire having started outside his cabin. He spent weeks trying to figure out what had started it yet eventually gave up. But now he has found the reason.
“Why did you do that?!”
“I was watching you sleep and then you stirred and I got startled… It was an accident!” The ghoul exclaims, sounding defensive.
“Why didn’t you try to wake me up?!”
“I tried to!”
“You did,” Rain says, sounding incredulous. “How?”
“I…tossed small rocks at your window.”
The admittance almost makes the human laugh, if it weren’t for the fact that he came close to dying that time if he hadn’t been woken up eventually by said rocks being thrown at his windows. He was lucky enough to put out the fire before it even got to his cabin.
“That’s all you did? Seriously?” The ranger asks in disbelief before losing some of his grip and yelling at the ghoul. “The whole cabin could have burned up and I could have died!”
“I know! It was an accident! I didn’t mean to put you in danger…”
Dewdrop sounds honestly remorseful, especially in the way Rain can detect concealed fear in the demon’s voice and expression. It’s obvious to him that the creature didn’t really want to jeopardize his safety. However, he fails to see why throwing rocks was the other’s first choice to get his attention.
“Then why didn’t you knock on my door?”
“I considered going in and taking you out of there myself if you didn’t wake up,” Dew admits with some embarrassment. “But I was too afraid. People don’t react well when they see me…”
The revelation –which should have been obvious– is enough to make Rain’s frustration and worry dissipate instantly. He goes from being mad and upset at the ghoul to feeling bad for him, as he can barely imagine how it might feel like to be unable to connect with others as they run away or try to hurt you as soon as they see you just because they are afraid or don’t understand what you are and that you don’t represent a real threat to them. For all he knows, Dewdrop is the only one of its kind in that park.
Still, Rain reminds himself of the demon’s own words about how it perceives him. Because of that, he’s confused about why Dewdrop didn’t try harder or a more direct approach when it came to warning him about the accidental fire it had started outside his cabin.
“But you had been watching me. You thought I was nice enough to get somewhat close to me. Then why–”
“I still feared it was all in my head and I was just projecting my own desires onto you. I was afraid you would react the same way as others upon seeing me.”
Dewdrop’s dejected interruption as it reveals its own fears and insecurities breaks Rain’s heart a little. Because, not only does the ghoul have to deal with everyone else being terrified of him, but also with the dread that the only person it thought might be kind to it, could turn out to be like everyone else.
Nevertheless, he can’t help but wonder why the demon decided to “summon” him out into the forest that day despite all those fears and worries.
“Then what made you change your mind today?”
“I realized I couldn’t keep putting you in danger, by watching from afar…” Dew admits quietly as it looks down. “Also, if you knew about me, then you could keep other humans away from my territory. Then the fires would stop and I wouldn’t get anyone hurt by accident.”
The reasoning behind the explanation makes sense to Rain, leading him to feel somewhat reassured. He knows the whole situation is just messed up and that Dewdrop is just trying to handle it as best it can and knows how to.
“I get it. I’m not mad at you. But there’s still something I don’t understand… If you can control fire at will, how can you start fires by accident?”
“I lose control when I’m experiencing strong emotions, like anger or fear. I don’t mean to harm the environment; this is my home. It’s just that humans…”
“…Like to break rules and wander off. I know,” Rain finishes for the demon with an understanding grimace. “Look, we have to come to a sort of agreement here, okay? You need to show me the delimitation of what you consider your territory and I’ll try my best to keep people away from it. And no more watching me during my sleep from outside my cabin, alright?”
“Okay…” Dewdrop agrees, sounding crestfallen despite seemingly getting what he wanted.
Rain sees the ghoul’s downcast demeanor and just can’t help himself anymore, wanting to extend not only an olive branch but a friendly hand as well.
After all, he would be lying if he said he didn’t want to see more of the fascinating creature.
“If you just want to…hang out with me, you can just tell me,” Rain offers sheepishly as he scratches the back of his neck, staring down at his feet.
“Can I?”
Dewdrop sounds so hopeful that Rain’s heart swells with compassion as well as sadness. In the end, it seems as if the hellish creature is just looking for a friend. Or, at the very least, someone to talk to. And that’s what cements the ranger’s resolution about his offer of company.
“Yeah,” Rain assures Dewdrop with a genuine smile.