I know, seriously risky, but if I didn't, he would just keep hollering and possibly bring more humans, and that was the last thing I needed. So I spoke.
"YEAH?" I yelled.
Brendan sighed in relief. "ARE YOU OKAY!?"
"I'M FINE."
"OKAY. WHAT'S YOUR NAME?"
"AIYA!" Then I froze. Panicked. What was I thinking, giving information like that to a human? Two of them, no less. Sure, maybe they weren't hunters, but maybe they knew someone who was. Or, like, an enkros or something. And now they had a name to connect to the local draki. An uncommon name, too.
"MAYA, WHAT WAS THAT THING?!" Catherine yelled, having misheard me. I decided to go with it. If these humans thought my name was Maya, it was probably for the best.
"I DON'T KNOW!" I lied.
"WHERE'S YOUR FAMILY?" Brendan demanded.
In truth, I didn't know where my mother was, my father had been dead nearly ten years, and I had only Selena. Selena and the pride. The pride, which would be in grave danger if I didn't get these humans out of here…
"ASLEEP!" Well, she was. I hadn't lied there. However, my sister would be furious if she found out my girlfriend and I had been spotted.
"HANG ON, LET US GET OVER THERE!" Brendan yelled, and they hurried over to me.
The two humans soon stood at the base of my tree, obviously wondering how I'd managed to get myself up there.
Well, there's no avoiding them now. I pulled my hood up and zipped the fleece jacket. Hiding my hair, keeping my face down, keeping my body as covered as possible – if I was going to be up close to these humans who had the ability to destroy my entire life, I was going to do it on my terms. Then I climbed down, purposely taking my time.
"Good, you're okay," Catherine said, but it was a question. "Maya, what do you think that giant blue thing was?"
"I think her name's Aiya, not Maya," said Brendan.
"No, it's Maya," Catherine said confidently.
"Which is it, Aiya or Maya?" Brendan asked.
"Maya," I lied.
"Told you so," said Catherine teasingly to her boyfriend. "So, Maya, what was up with that thing? I've never seen anything like it before."
"We think it's a dragon," Brendan offered.
"It's not," I said without thinking. Just descended from dragons.
"Maybe not, but wouldn't it be so awesome, if it was?" Catherine mused. "Just, like, the fact that dragons exist."
"As long as they don't eat anyone," Brendan added.
"Do you know where your camp site is?" Catherine changed the subject.
"Yeah. I can get there on my own."
"But what about bears and wolves and stuff?" Brendan asked, crinkling his brow.
"Bears and wolves almost never actually attack people. You know that, right? If you provoke them, damn right you'll get hurt but provoking them would be pretty stupid anyway."
"And the blue thing?" Catherine prompted. "Even if it's not a dragon, weren't you scared when it was right in front of you?"
I shrugged and played with my sleeve, nervously trying to come up with an appropriate response. Obviously, I'm dating the blue thing wouldn't do.
"Well…I…I guess…"
Brendan studied me with crinkled brow, mistaking my nervousness for something else. "Wow, you must be in shock or something. Do you want to come back with us? We have walkie-talkies here, and cell phones back at our campsite. You can call your parents, let them know you're okay…"
"They're dead," I replied, again without thinking. Well, it was only a half-lie. My father was killed by hunters, and for all I knew my mother could be dead. "No, it's okay. I'll be fine on my own."
"But…wait, who are you staying with?" said Catherine.
"My sister. Seriously, I'll be fine." And then I turned and ran, hoping they wouldn't follow.