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A couple of months have gone by since Rain discovered that there’s a cryptid living deep within the forest of the national park where he lives and works as a ranger. He had been investigating sightings and random fires happening around the park for years up until the creature itself, which turned out to be a demonic ghoul that can control fire, decided to make first contact with him.
As it turned out, Dewdrop, the demon in question, had been observing Rain for a long while, having caught up to the ranger attempting to find it and deciding to keep an eye on him. Or, at least, that’s how it started for Dew, as it soon realized that its interest in the human went beyond mere self-preservation. In fact, the hellish being found in the ranger something it had been looking for so long: someone who understood it and didn’t want to kill or capture it.
Because Dew realized Rain meant it no harm, it began to follow the ranger around the park sometimes, at a distance, when it was certain the human wouldn’t spot it. And that eventually led the ghoul up the mountain where Rain’s cabin is located. That’s how the demon ended up watching the human while he slept a few times, accidentally starting a fire once after it got startled. Luckily for them both, no one got hurt and the cabin didn’t catch on fire.
After that first meeting, Rain began to frequent Dewdrop’s hideout occasionally, visiting the ghoul’s cave from time to time to make sure the creature is doing okay and staying out of trouble. After all, and despite his initial reluctance, Dewdrop became sort of Rain’s responsibility as there’s no one else looking out for the demon. He also promised to keep people from wandering off the main trails and into the ghoul’s territory, to avoid Dew starting up fires on accident or to scare people away, as well as to keep people from trying to harm the poor cryptid who just wants to be left alone.
So, in a sense, the two of them have not only come to an agreement, but they have also sort of come up with an awkward sort of friendship. Rain is fascinated by Dew, and Dew is just happy to have someone to talk to.
Everybody is winning so far.
Nevertheless, Rain is starting to get a little worried since his coworkers and friends are starting to get a little concerned about his seemingly suspicious activities.
It all started with Rain’s insistence to keep visitors away from a certain forested area, the same one where the cryptid is believed to lurk around. And even though none of the other rangers have ever seen Dewdrop themselves to confirm the belief that there’s a mythical creature living in the woods, they are all well aware of it not only because of the park visitors’ own testimonies about having seen the demon but because they work at the park as well and have dealt with all the fires caused by the ghoul.
Two of Rain’s closest coworkers/friends are the ones who insist to him on the matter, although for opposite reasons. Mountain, who’s more grounded and level-headed, has been concerned for a while regarding Rain’s obsession with the subject of the cryptid sightings. As he’s Rain’s longest ranger friend, he feels sort of protective about him given not only Rain is a little younger than him but also started working under his wing as well.
Mountain has spent years trying to talk Rain out of his research, believing it could be dangerous for him whether the legend turned out to be true or not. He also started to worry even more the first time he visited Rain’s cabin after he had set up his corkboard with all the clippings, photos, and notes about his investigation into the cryptid phenomena. That’s when he realized why Rain spent so much of his free time cooped up inside his home.
And that –according to Mountain– worrying behavior only increased during the last months, leading him to believe that the other ranger’s obsession has finally gotten the best of him. But little does he know that it’s actually because Rain has finally met the creature he had been looking for and even managed to befriend it in the process.
On the other side of the “Rain’s friends’ interest regarding his cryptid obsession” spectrum is Swiss.
Swiss is one of the most popular rangers in the park, not only because of his laid-back and friendly attitude but because of his ruggedly handsome looks. However, that last one sometimes gets to his head a little bit. Either way, he’s a brass, extroverted, and playful individual. Or, if you ask Rain and Mountain, they will say he’s annoying, overbearing, has little to no respect for boundaries, and likes to meddle in his friends’/coworkers’ businesses.
Because of that, Swiss has been teasing Rain nonstop about his investigation into the cryptid, constantly joking about it as well as egging on the ranger in his pursuit to find out the truth and against Mountain’s wishes to keep Rain out of harm’s way. Even though Swiss doesn’t believe that the creature is real, he likes to encourage Rain’s supposed delusions since he thinks of it as harmless fun.
In short, the contradicting messages have been driving Rain crazy for years, as well as his inability to solve the mystery. Yet once he did meet Dewdrop, everything changed for him. Not only because he found solid proof of a mystery beyond human comprehension being real, but because he…made a new friend.
A new friend he intends to keep and protect, no matter what. Because he has quickly learned that Dewdrop deserves to be looked after and taken care of. So, Rain is adamant to keep his promise.
And that’s what ultimately makes a decision for him one day…
It is one chilly morning when Rain arrives at the administration office of the park, greeting Mountain as he enters the building, that he learns a bad storm will fall onto the park soon. One that is predicted to last all day and all night, with harsh rains and strong winds as well as electric activity being the main concerns.
The news gives Rain pause as he stares at the dire forecast, his mind immediately thinking about Dewdrop.
Since the ranger met the ghoul, the park hasn’t suffered such inclement weather, and despite knowing that the demon must have already faced similar situations countless of times before, a part of him still wants to go seek out Dew and…
And do what? Take him back to my cabin with me, offer shelter until the storm passes? Rain questions himself, thinking that he’s crazy yet– I mean, would it be so bad?
The ranger ponders the idea, weighing the pros and cons. He knows the ghoul can, or at least should be able to keep itself warm given its fire-controlling abilities. But what if the storm affects those somehow? Maybe it’ll get too humid, or its cave could even flood if the precipitation turns too strong. He doesn’t even know if the demon fares well during storms, to begin with.
Dewdrop could get startled by thunder or lightning, and the idea of the creature out there alone at night during the storm doesn’t sit well with Rain at all, especially because it’s already starting to…rain.
“Yo, it’s already raining outside…” Swiss says as soon as he walks into the office, greeting his two coworkers before he makes another comment. “And it seems that inside here as well.”
The ranger can’t help himself and makes a pun about the weather and Rain’s name, which only he finds funny as the subject of his joke and Mountain stare unimpressed back at him. Still, Swiss shrugs it off, his big smile staying intact on his face.
“An alert has already been sent to the rangers on patrol and around the park to evacuate the hikers and visitors that remain on the trails and camping spots,” an unfazed Mountain announces. “Park should be emptying before the heavy rainfall begins.”
“Heavy rainfall? Oh no, Rainy, be careful!”
Swiss’s second joke doesn’t even land, it crashes down and explodes as the other two glare at him. He still laughs by himself, though.
“Swiss, can we take this seriously?” Mountain asks, annoyed, as he sighs deeply.
“Hey, I already did my part in evacuating my section!”
The jokester’s defense only makes Mountain scowl at him harder, trying to get him to behave appropriately at least once.
“That’s your job, are you expecting me to congratulate you?”
“Well, a ‘thank you’ would be appreciated for a job well done.”
As Mountain and Swiss get into one of their daily squabbles –always initiated by the latter–, Rain goes back to considering going to look for Dewdrop and taking the ghoul back with him to his cabin. He also knows that if he does want to do that, he needs to do it now.
“Hey, there’s something I need to check before I go back to my cabin,” Rain announces all of a sudden, interrupting the bickering between the other two rangers.
“Whatcha gotta do in this weather that’s so urgent?” Swiss asks, suspicion making him narrow his eyes at Rain.
The sentiment is shared by Mountain, who looks at the younger ranger skeptically as he fears what Rain might be setting off to do.
“It’s no big deal, I’ll be back before it gets too bad out there,” Rain promises as he slips his jacket back on and readjusts his hat. “I’ll radio you if anything happens.”
Before the other two can even warn Rain about going out into the forest with the weather rapidly deteriorating, the ranger is out of the door and getting back on his ATV, setting out toward the trail that will lead him as close as possible to Dewdrop’s cave.
“Where ya think he’s going so hurried?”
Swiss questions Mountain curiously as he leans his hip against the other ranger’s desk, which prompts Mountain to glare up at him but not say anything about it.
“I don’t know, but I hope he returns safely.”
“Me too… He should be fine, though, he’s out there in his element, after all,” Swiss jokes again as he has to dodge a stapler being thrown at him by an exasperated Mountain.
Meanwhile, Rain is en route toward Dew’s hideout, hoping to find the ghoul there and be able to coax it out. Because, if he’s being honest, he doesn’t know how the demon will react to his offer. Despite knowing the creature has been by his cabin many times before, he’s unsure whether it’ll like the idea of spending time there until the storm passes.
Still, he must at least ask. And if Dew says no, then he’ll at least leave with it his jacket, his radio, and his flashlight.
Thus, as the rainfall increases, the ranger makes his way over to the closest point of the trail to the ghoul’s cave, getting off of it and starting his trek toward the hideout. He’s at least thankful that he chose that morning to wear the appropriate footwear for the weather. Otherwise, he would have another problem besides the precipitation starting to pelt on him as he walks through the woods.
The ground is starting to get muddy quickly as the downpour grows in intensity, so the human needs to be careful with every step he takes. Thankfully, though, he manages to make it to the cave as the rain begins to fall at an angle, wetting his face and forcing him to wipe away the moisture gathered there.
The park is almost empty –save for its staff– by the time Rain makes it into the dark cavern. The overcast sky is getting darker as heavy clouds cover it, offering the ranger little light to guide him inside the pitch-black cave. So, he grabs his flashlight and turns it on to illuminate the rest of the way. That’s how he reaches the ghoul, which’s curled up like a cat on the ground, shivering slightly as it seems to be sleeping.
Rain not only takes notice of the trembling demon but also of the growing puddles around it, signaling that the cave might get flooded like he feared. That alone settles his resolution to take the creature back with him to his cabin.
“Dew?” He asks tentatively, not daring to touch the ghoul in fear of startling it.
The demon growls slightly in its sleep before it stirs, opening its black and red eyes before it groggily peers up at the human. And the second Dewdrop registers Rain is in front of it, the creature fully wakes up and chirps happily.
The sound it emits warms Rain’s heart, yet he knows he needs to hurry since he can hear the storm getting worse outside.
“Sorry to wake you up, but there’s a storm coming and I wanted to know if you’ll be okay here or…” Rain begins, hesitating a little before he sighs and decides to just go for it. “Or you could come back with me and stay at my cabin until the storm eases some.”
Dewdrop tilts its head at the human’s words, trying to understand what Rain means. Yet when realization finally dawns on it, Dew blushes a little bit and its tail begins to wag behind it as it sits up. And despite knowing that it’s not necessary for it to accept the ranger’s offer, given it has faced worse odds, the ghoul still feels incredibly tempted to go with the human.
So, in the end…
“Okay, I’ll go with you,” Dew says, sounding bashful. “Thank you.”
The demon is grateful for the ranger’s consideration as it gets up from its spot on the cold ground of the cave and follows the other outside. Yet before they both can make it out into the rain, the human stops and takes off his jacket before he offers it to the creature, making Dewdrop look at him curiously.
“To protect you from the rain,” the ranger replies simply, hoping his blush is not visible in the low daylight.
The demon doesn’t say anything, just nods and takes the offered garment before putting it on, following the ranger through the woods. By the time they both make it to Rain’s ATV, they are wet and cold, but they are closer to getting back to the cabin. However, it takes the creature some convincing before he gets on the vehicle, being a little apprehensive of it as it never rode anything like that. Yet when it sits in front of Rain and the human puts his arms around it to grab both handles, Dew relaxes a little bit.
Rain insisted on Dewdrop sitting in front of him for two main reasons: on one side, because he feels more reassured having the demon secured between his arms, and on the other, to avoid the naked being pressing its body against his back. Although, he doesn’t tell Dew that last one.
Ranger and ghoul travel back to the former’s cabin as fast as they can given the worsening weather. When they arrive, they are soaking wet and shivering from the cold, so Rain is quick to open the door and invite the demon in. And as the human is so concerned with getting them both to warm up, he doesn’t even mind the mud the other is tracking all over his floors.
“The bathroom is through here, you can take a shower,” Rain tells Dewdrop as he takes the dripping jacket from it.
In response, the ghoul just stares at the human, which leads Rain to realize the demon might have never used a shower before.
“Uh, here, just follow me.”
Rain takes one of Dew’s hands gently into his as pulls the ghoul toward the bathroom, turning on the light and then the water, letting it run until it warms up enough before he turns toward the expectant creature beside him.
“So, um, you just have to get underneath the spray and wash away all the dirt. It will also warm you up,” Rain explains as best as he can since he never had to do something like that before.
On his part, Dewdrop nods and follows the ranger’s instructions, stepping into the shower stall and under the spray, letting the water cascade down its body. And as Dew begins to get rid of all the mud and cold rain water still clinging to him, the human blushes as he realizes he’s staring at the ghoul washing himself.
“I’ll be outside if you need me,” Rain says promptly as he reaches for the door.
“Don’t you need to…shower too?”
Dewdrop’s question is innocent, Rain knows it, yet his mind can’t keep from straying into dangerous territory. So, instead, he just shakes his head and avoids looking at the other for long.
“I’ll shower after you, don’t worry,” the ranger assures with a tentative smile that looks more like an awkward grimace. “Just, try not to take too long. Hot water is limited.”
And with that last explanation, Rain exits the bathroom and leaves Dew to its own devices as he takes off his boots and socks, leaving them by the front door before he starts rummaging through his closet, looking for clothes to give the other to wear while it stays at his cabin.
Usually, Rain doesn’t mind much Dewdrop’s nakedness, as it is the ghoul’s natural state, after all. Even though he avoids letting his gaze wander, he still doesn’t say anything about it. But he would be lying if he said he’s entirely comfortable with the demon being bare around him inside his cabin. So, if he can get the creature to agree to at least wear some boxer briefs, he’ll be relieved.
By the time Dew steps out of the bathroom, dripping wet as Rain forgot to tell it about drying itself with a towel once it was done showering, the ranger’s mind short-circuits for a second at what he’s seeing before he can regain his bearings and go into the bathroom to grab a towel for the demon, telling it to use it to dry its body.
As Dewdrop complies, Rain takes the opportunity to take his turn in the shower, washing his hair and body quickly before he dries off and puts on the comfy clothes he picked for himself. He realizes then that he could have told the ghoul about using shampoo and soap to wash as well, but he assures himself that if it could live all this time without it, it’ll keep being fine. Also, he doesn’t want it to become dependent on human-made products given he expects the creature to return to its habitat once the storm passes.
While the ranger takes his time in the shower, washing away the grime of their journey through the woods under the storm, Dewdrop takes the opportunity to poke its nose around the human’s cabin (without even knowing it’s snooping around and that it’s something commonly frowned upon amongst humans). It looks at kitchen utensils in wonderment; it tries the give of the sofa and the bed as it pushes its hands against the plush surfaces; it examines all the little trinkets and ornaments Rain has around for decoration or sentimental purposes. Yet what catches the ghoul’s attention the most is the corkboard filled with things about it.
Dew looks at all the blurry pictures, the newspaper clippings, the handwritten notes. Everything is about it or related to it in some way or another, and the realization makes its heart flutter in a way that it doesn’t quite understand.
And that lack of understanding leads the ghoul to grow anxious and nervous, fearing its anxiety might make it flare up (literally). Its hands grow clammy and its tail begins to swish erratically behind its legs. Dewdrop is suddenly filled with an urge to touch and explore everything around it, yet it gets the impression that it won’t be a good idea to do that. Somehow, it knows that Rain won’t like it if Dew starts touching his things without permission.
So, the demon keeps its hands to itself.
And that ends up being a good call on its part since soon after the demon’s done looking at everything around it, Rain steps back out from the bathroom, hair damp and skin flushed. The soft and vulnerable look of the ranger in comfy and loose clothes makes Dewdrop’s heart ache in a way he doesn’t understand either, so it decides to just ignore the feeling altogether.
On his part, Rain flushes at seeing Dew is still naked, having forgotten about telling the ghoul about the clothes he picked for it. So, as the two of them stare at each other in a tense and slightly awkward silence, the human clears his throat and moves toward the couch where he left the pile of clothes he prepared for the creature.
“Here, you can put this on while you’re here.”
Dewdrop looks at the offered clothes with a confused expression, not understanding what it’s supposed to do with them. As the ghoul looks back up toward Rain’s face, the ranger realizes that it doesn’t understand why it should get dressed.
“Just… So you’re warmer,” Rain mutters simply, looking away as he blushes deeply.
The demon stares warily given it’s the first time the human has offered it clothes or asked it to cover up since they met. In the end, it relents as it just thinks it might be some sort of house rule or a custom amongst humans. In actuality, Rain just doesn’t want to keep getting distracted by the ghoul’s nakedness while cooped up in close quarters. Thus, Dew gets dressed in the pajama pants and baggy t-shirt.
“Alright, you can stay here until the storm passes,” Rain tells him after sighing in relief at seeing the other dressed. “But don’t expect this to become a regular thing, okay?”
Despite the ranger’s soft warning regarding the demon not being welcomed to stay in his cabin again unless extreme circumstances call for an exception, Rain already knows that his words won’t hold up through time. He knows the possibility of him inviting the ghoul to stay with him again is rather…high.
Meanwhile, Dewdrop doesn’t know how to exactly feel about Rain’s words, so it decides to just nod along, trying to not mind the sting of disappointment it feels.
“Okay, so, you can take the couch. I’ll give you a blanket and a pillow.”
Rain says as he tries to distract himself by looking for said blanket in his closet and grabbing one of his pillows from his bed, putting both things on top of the couch. All the while, Dew watched the human walk around the cabin from its spot in the middle of the large room.
“I’ll fix us some dinner now–” The ranger begins before stopping in his tracks and turning around to face the ghoul. “Uh…what exactly do you eat?”
“Small animals, usually,” Dewdrop replies matter-of-factly.
“Right. I think I have some raw meat in the fridge somewhere.”
As Rain continues to mutter to himself about food and what to cook for himself, Dew sits on one of the chairs next to the table close to the kitchen, intently watching the human as he works on making dinner. Its tail wags slowly but rhythmically behind it.
A comfortable silence settles between them as Rain makes dinner. Once his food is done, he sets the table, placing his warm meal on the opposite side of where Dew is sitting while putting in front of the demon a plate with a raw cut of meat on it. For a second, he considers whether to offer the creature cutlery but he desists as he considers it’ll just eat the meat with its hands as it usually does.
So, as the ranger sits down, both of them begin to eat in silence.
By the time they are both done, Rain having observed with slightly morbid curiosity how the other ate its dinner, the human clears the table and does the dishes as he tells Dewdrop it can settle down on the couch.
Without further ado, Rain gets ready for bed, going through his nightly routine before getting into bed, giving Dewdrop one last glance and wishing him “goodnight”. As the human turns off the last remaining light, he plunges the cabin into almost complete darkness as the storm rages on outside.
Rain begins to snort softly soon after he settles into bed, leaving Dewdrop to sit on the couch, in darkness and silence, as the lightning from outside brightens up the inside of the cabin intermittently in an eerie way that unsettles the demon.
Dew can’t fall asleep, especially not in Rain’s cabin as it’s still an unfamiliar place to it. Its relatively small size, the closed-off nature of the structure, and the darkness filling it, make the ghoul be reminded of the cave where it lives. And with the storm not letting off anytime soon, the demon feels like he might not catch any sleep at all.
At the same time, Dewdrop can’t understand how Rain is able to sleep soundly through the chaos taking place outside the cabin walls. Thunder, lightning, heavy rainfall. The cacophony of sounds is overwhelming to the demon yet the human looks completely undisturbed by it. Because of that, the creature can’t help but get up from the couch, wandering around the darkened cabin and looking out the windows at the harsh weather outside.
Amidst his roaming around the room, Dew ends up walking closer to Rain’s bed, standing near the edge as it watches him sleep. The demon is fascinated by the ranger’s peaceful slumber, intrigued by his ability to sleep through the raging storm with thunder so loud that it shakes the cabin walls. And as the demon observes the other closely, it notices that the human is shivering slightly, looking cold despite being covered by the blankets. That leads the creature to place a tentative hand on top of Rain’s forehead, attempting to share its own warmth with the ranger.
In response, the sleeping human stirs in his sleep but doesn’t wake up. And as Rain mutters Dewdrop’s name softly, the ghoul feels compelled to lean in even closer to listen to what he’s saying. However, that turns out to be a mistake as it’s suddenly grabbed by a very strong and asleep ranger who pulls the demon closer and down on the bed as he hugs it like a plushie.
For a moment, Dew stays petrified, not knowing what to do. Yet as Rain continues to sleep undisturbed, the creature considers whether to try to wiggle itself free from the human’s tight grasp or just resign itself to lie there next to him. In the end, it reluctantly chooses to stay put just to not wake up the other.
In reality, though, Dewdrop couldn’t be happier about sharing such closeness with Rain, even though it isn’t entirely sure why it’s so delighted about it.
Soon enough, the ghoul finds that despite the storm still raging on outside, the comfort provided by Rain’s steady breathing and heartbeat, as well as the warmth and closeness of his body, is enough to lull Dewdrop into a peaceful sleep.
As the night wears on, the storm begins to relent, and by the time morning arrives, the rain has stopped altogether.
Light begins to filter in through the curtains, waking up Rain and Dewdrop. And as the ranger realizes he has been spooning the demon, he quickly releases the creature and sits up on the bed, spluttering as he tries to apologize. Yet once the human sees the ghoul looking at him with a confused look on its face, Rain realizes that it’s useless to apologize since the other might not even understand that a boundary was crossed.
Or, actually, Dewdrop doesn’t care.
So, Rain opts to just let the whole thing slide and instead focus on getting up and start making breakfast. After such a strong storm, a long day awaits him, having to take care of the aftermath alongside his fellow rangers.
And speaking of which…
Rain is in the middle of preparing some scrambled eggs and fried bacon while Dewdrop sits at the table, looking at him. All of a sudden, the front door of the cabin bursts open and Swiss comes barreling in.
“Rainy, are you still alive?” Swiss ask with a chirp tone.
The older ranger has come looking for Rain after him and Mountain grew worried yesterday when he set off to go look for Dew. All his friends knew was that he was going to take care of something before going back to his cabin, yet Rain never let them know if he made it back safely. And given the storm, they couldn’t reach him. Telecommunications were down and it was impossible to get up the mountain until it stopped raining so hard, thus why Swiss decided to come looking for Rain in the morning after the storm cleared.
Yet as Swiss set off to go look for Rain, he never expected to find the other ranger harboring company inside his cabin. And he expected even less to find out that said company looks…non-human.
“Holy shit! What the fuck is that thing?!”
Swiss’s screamed question makes Rain start to panic about his coworker finding out that Dewdrop is real. On the other hand, the demon hisses at the intruder, taking a defensive and protective stance between Swiss and Rain.
“Dew, it’s okay, I know him,” Rain tries to reassure the demon before turning toward the other human. “Swiss, calm down, okay? I can explain.”
Swiss looks in shock between the other ranger and the strange, but kind of human-looking creature standing beside Rain and he soon enough starts connecting the dots.
“Oh, my God, dude! Is this the cryptid you been looking for?!”
“What the fuck is a cryptid?” A confused Dewdrop asks Rain.
“I’ll tell you later,” the younger human replies before addressing the other. “Yes, Swiss, it is.”
As Rain tentatively admits that Dew is the creature that has been the talk of the park for years, Swiss starts to laugh, incredulous yet delighted.
“Holy fuck, man! I can’t believe you were actually right… It looks much smaller than I thought, though,” Swiss says teasingly.
The comment about its size rubs Dewdrop the wrong way and the demon starts to growl lowly in its throat as its tail begins to swish angrily behind its legs. Nevertheless, Rain is too preoccupied with the ramifications of Swiss finding out about Dew’s existence to even pay attention to the creature’s rising fury.
“Look, Swiss, I know how much of a shock this is to you, but you can’t tell anyone about this, okay?”
“What? Not even Mounty?!” Swiss asks, slightly offended.
“No, not even Mounty.”
“Aw, c’mon, he’s good at keeping secrets!”
“Swiss–”
Rain attempts to convince Swiss to desist from telling Mountain about Dewdrop’s existence, yet before he can implore the older ranger to keep his mouth shut, Dew steps up towards the other human and decides to help by giving Swiss an…incentive.
“Hey, you heard him. You either keep your mouth shut or I’ll burn you alive,” the ghoul threatens lowly.
And as if to drive its point further home, Dew lights up a flame in its right hand, showing Swiss that it means business.
The gesture leads Swiss to smile almost maniacally in the face of the death threat, finding the creature fascinating and even cute despite the aggression shown. On his part, Rain tries to diffuse the tension quickly and make Dewdrop understand that threatening Swiss with a fiery death is not cool.
“No, Dew, you can’t do that! Put the fire out,” Rain commands sternly.
“…Fine,” the ghoul relents after a few tense seconds holding Swiss’s stare, extinguishing the flame in its hand.
“Oh, c’mon, now. Let the little fella have its fun…” Swiss says, jokingly egging on the ghoul’s murderous threat.
Yet as Rain hears his coworker’s reckless words, he sighs deeply and pinches the bridge of his nose. “Swiss, stop it.”
“Aight, fine,” Swiss relents with a shit-eating grin, putting up his hands in a defensive gesture. “So, care to tell me how you two met?”
Swiss questions the other two as he closes the door behind him and takes a seat at the table, looking at them expectantly as he props his chin on his hand. In response, Rain and Dew share a look before the ranger sighs deeply once more, resigning himself to having to tell Swiss everything about Dewdrop as he resumes making breakfast.
The ghoul takes its seat back at the table and keeps its red eyes trained on Swiss, glaring at the human as if daring him to make another remark about it. At the same time, Swiss returns the stare as his dark, curious eyes inspect the demon’s otherworldly appearance. The silence that fills the cabin is thick with tension, and Rain can only pray that nothing catches on fire as he finishes making breakfast, making a little extra for Swiss as well.
Once the younger ranger takes a seat at the table as well, handing the other two their plates, he begins to tell the story of how he met Dewdrop. And as his recount of events progresses, he has a feeling that despite Swiss’s teasing and playful attitude, the other ranger is willing to keep the secret…