Chapter 2 A Strange Sight

"What are you up to?" Ninded protested, his yellow eyes narrowing in accusation, but a mischievous smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

Phuro nonchalantly shrugged. "Nothing important."

Ninded slid his knife back into its sheath and crossed his arms over his chest. The deep emerald color of his scaled skin glimmered in the soft sunlight filtering through the dense canopy. "You're going to stick around and help with the cleaning?"

"No," said Phuro, a mischievous grin mirroring Ninded's blossoming on her lips. Her eyes, the color of emeralds, sparkled with defiance. "You should have aimed better."

Ninded protested and flailed his arms in frustration, resembling a sulking child. "Are you kidding me, Ro? I was only an inch off! You swooped in and stole my kill!"

Phuro's musical laughter filled the clearing. "As I said before," she turned away confidently, "you needed to aim more precisely. Perhaps next time, you'll take your time instead of acting impulsively."

She walked away from her best friend, following the well-worn trail that led deeper into the nature preserve. It had been their tribe's sanctuary for as long as any N'kara could recall. The dense forests and winding caverns provided ample protection from the curious gazes of humans.

"Don't be gone too long," Ninded chided as Phuro departed, his voice tinged with frustration.

"I won't," Phuro replied softly before leaping over a fallen tree. "I can't keep everyone waiting for the tribe's black sheep."

The tribe didn't dislike Phuro, per se. It was simply that her appearance stood out in stark contrast to everyone else. While they all possessed scales in shades of emerald and jade, Phuro's skin had a more human-like tone. It still had an underlying emerald hue, but at a distance, she resembled any other human walking down the street, which was a concern among the elders.

"You're too different for the elders, Phuro," her mother had warned. "They worry you will attract humans and put us at risk of being discovered."

Phuro shook her head in disbelief. She was the only one who truly understood how far humans had spread across the planet. "Mother, they already know about us," she argued. "But they have no interest in us, just like we have no interest in them."

"That may be true," her mother had responded with exhaustion, "but those are the elders' beliefs."

"What do you want me to do, Mother? Should I change my scales to please them? Maybe I'll get right on that as soon as you learn how to fly," Phuro had yelled in frustration.

For her, being different was advantageous as it was demoralizing. She could easily blend in while traveling to Munford for supplies without drawing too much attention.

Of course, children did notice how her skin seemed to glisten with its emerald sheen in the sun and the faint points of her ears, but she had learned to chalk it up to a traveling cosplay organization or Renaissance fair.

While lost in the depths of her thoughts, which always surfaced when she took a stroll in the forest, she stepped off the dirt path and strayed into the dead leaves, fallen branches, and hanging vines decorating the less-traveled areas of the preserve. She moved absentmindedly through the underbrush, her deep connection to the forest guiding her through obstacles with relative ease.

Phuro didn't care for the elders' judgments or her mother's complaints. So long as Ninded, her cousin Agrti, and her brother Banith had her back, the rest of the tribe could jump off a cliff, and she wouldn't bat an eye.

Except, she knew she would. Despite the elders' disapproval of her appearance, Phuro couldn't bear the thought of harm coming to her people.

"There's no point in dwelling on what we can't change," Phuro murmured.

She pushed these unwelcome thoughts away, determined not to let them distract her from her purpose as she wandered through the forest. While most of her tribe found comfort within the maze-like tunnels of their village, Phuro found solace in the open air of the forest.

Here, she could stretch her legs, dart from tree to tree, and experience the freedom her ancestors indulged in. The forest wasn't stuffy or cramped, nor did it feel like an unnatural location for her people to live.

"Not like the caves," she admitted aloud.

Phuro's thoughts started to wander, focusing on the calming atmosphere of the forest. However, the sound of a branch snapping in the distance snapped her back into reality. She couldn't believe she had wandered into the part of the preserve often visited by humans. Yet, two figures appeared from behind a massive oak tree and clumsily made their way through the forest, disregarding the growing vegetation underneath their feet.

The first man had a slender frame, glasses perched on his nose, and tangled brown hair that gave him a disheveled look. He wore khaki pants and a blue button-down shirt, which seemed out of place in the rugged setting. His partner, a towering and muscular man, was dressed entirely in black and exuded an intimidating energy that made Phuro's stomach churn.

As the wind carried their hushed whispers, Phuro's ears perked up, and she focused the conversation. Despite the distance, her exceptional hearing allowed her to catch every word.

"How much longer?" The burly man asked irritably.

The bespectacled man nodded towards the direction they were heading. "We still have a ways to go," he answered apologetically.

Phuro's light feet landed gently on the forest floor, not a single twig snapping under her weight. She followed closely behind them, her keen eyes studying their every move. Unlike the humans she had watched before, who seemed to wander aimlessly through the preserve, these two moved with purpose and direction. Their determined steps echoed through the peaceful stillness of the trees.

"Why can't we find any noteworthy historical sites within the city instead of these hidden ones?" grumbled the burly man.

Lost in the men's conversation, Phuro failed to notice the decaying twig beneath her foot. As it snapped under her weight, she quickly retreated behind the thick trunk of a pine tree and held her breath, anticipating their discovery and inevitable interrogation. If the men were N'kara, they would have heard her misstep without fail.

But when she cautiously peered around the tree, they continued without a glance in her direction. "Thank goodness," she breathed with relief.

The twig had unfortunately interrupted Phuro's attempt to listen in. "...It is truly inspiring," the bespectacled man ended passionately.

"I'm not interested in inspiration, Doctor," the muscular man stated bluntly. "My focus is on profit."