Chapter Twenty-One: There Are More Dangerous Humans on Earth Than Dangerous Animals

~Anthony Douglass Williams

Reviews:

BellatrixTheStar: thank you so much! And totally! I don't want to sound snobbish or anything, but I feel like friendship is... I don't know, not focused on as much? Anyway, thanks for reviewing!

My Name: yeah, purple is a great color! I feel like it really suits Jamie because purple is a mixture of red and blue. Red would symbolize her quick temper, whereas blue would represent her normally chill attitude, and purple is a perfect combination of both. Thanks for reviewing!

writingficsandbreakinghearts: yeah, I agree. You know, I feel like that kind of ties in with Slytherin—specifically Draco Malfoy and his gang; unless they're bullying someone, no one ever pays attention to them. Yeah, when someone isn't fawning over your brother, you tend to like them a lot more :). And, yeah; as I said before, friendship needs to be focused on more. Yes, I know that sounds super cheesy, and I'm proud XD. I don't really ship many LGBTQ+ couples, mainly because I feel like there isn't enough proof. But! I really do like Marellinh and Kam (yes, I'm that girl). Just, you know, ship loyalty and all that. But I guess I side-ship them? Is that a thing? I KNOW! Did you read it yet? Anyway, thanks for reviewing!

nightfall'slegacy: yeah, I think purple really explains Jamie. As I said before, red symbolizes her temper, and blue her chillness, and purple is a mixture of both. I mean, that's my logic, and my logic is normally nonexistent... but whatever. Thanks for reviewing!

BlackSwan265: (1) thanks for reviewing! I try to see all the reviews, and if I don't, it's on accident. I agree about that—and that's probably one of my favorite quotes. (2) Yeah, if you don't have an account, you can't vote on polls. It's dumb. And... wow. If I hated Tamie, I would love it because of that. I completely agree—they have just enough similarities, but not too many so it's not like they're talking to themselves. Thanks for reviewing such a thoughtful review!

Marigold Elizabeth Everdeen: XD. I'm guessing you know some nice webtoons, though? Would you mind recommending me some? And Jinh is wonderful... Thanks for reviewing!

Okay, I just want to thank everyone. I mean, 102 reviews is a pretty big deal, and everyone who reviewed made it happen. Thank you all so much: every time I read a review, my day is automatically better.

Recap: okay, so, we're meeting Grady and Edaline! But... who the mallowmelt is Brant?!

Word count: 1,943

ONTO THE NEXT CHAPTER!


At first, Jamie thought that the fact that she had remembered the name "Brant" was the most worrisome thing that would happen that day. Of course, it was also great, because she actually remembered something! But then there was the whole "who-the-mallowmelt-even-is-that?" part. And after that, she realized that she had no idea what mallowmelt even was, and she literally had to grab her own hand to refrain from slapping herself for not knowing that.

So, yeah; her remembering Brant was more of an annoyance than an achievement.

But then, when she heard a booming roar so loud she could feel it, she quickly realized that remembering Brant's name was probably the least of her concerns.

Jamie wasn't afraid by the roars, though. She was curious and shocked, but not afraid. She couldn't bring herself to fear it; if anything, it was all she could do to not run in the direction it came from.

"What kind of animal preserve is this?" Sophie asked, her voice a touch concerned in that familiar "Are-these-people-nutters?" way.

"Havenfield is one of the rehabilitation centers for our Sanctuary," Alden explained. "The animals are brought here first for training, before we release them into their protected home—and they're not easy to catch. We're still trying to trap Nessie. She's quite the escape artist."

Jamie's eyes grew wide at how casual Alden sounded. Although she had always had a love for fiction—especially fantasy—she had never believed in the Loch Ness Monster, Nessie. She had never believed in any mythical monster, period. The idea that it could be real was preposterous. But here, in KotLC land, it would be preposterous to not believe in Nessie. It would be like... believing that Earth was flat; it would be a belief that went against all fact.

Then, Sophie asked, "These things live around humans?"

Sophie had a right to be shocked, though; these animals were like animals, in a way, but mutated. It was bizarre that no one saw these.

Or maybe they did, but no one believed them.

"Where do you think the legends come from?" Alden replied. "Which is why it's not safe for them. We've even had to collect endangered species—gorillas, lions, mammoths—"

Look, Jamie was not a zoologist. She wasn't particularly curious about animals, either. But she knew that mammoths were extinct, not just endangered.

She might've doubted herself, but Sophie interrupted Alden, saying, "Mammoths are extinct." Jamie could doubt herself all she wanted, but she couldn't doubt Sophie; Sophie was practically a genius.

Well. According to human standards, at least.

But Alden still said, "Tell that to the thriving herd we have at the Sanctuary."

"You have a herd of woolly mammoths?" Sophie clarified, disbelief evident in her voice.

We have colonies of everything. Mammoths, saber-toothed tigers, dinosaurs." Alden must've seen Jamie's slack-jawed expression, because he laughed. "Every species exists for a reason, and to allow one to die off would rob the planet of the unique beauty and qualities it provides. So we make sure they all continue to thrive. Grady and Edaline train the animals to be vegetarians by feeding them gnomish produce; that way they won't hunt one another once they're moved to the Sanctuary."

What Alden said about existence was actually... beautiful. If another loud roar didn't almost immediately sound, Jamie would've had to wipe her eyes.

The path they followed split, part of it winding down steep cliffs to a rocky beach lined with dark caves. It kind of reminded Jamie of the light from an angler fish; although she knew that it probably led to danger (come on; it was rocky beach surrounded by dark caves. It didn't take a genius to figure out that it was dangerous to be there), the place... intrigued her.

But Alden took them down the wide, flower-lined path to meet Grady and Edaline, which led them to a wide meadow.

Gnomes were using thick ropes to lasso a giant lizard covered in neon green feathers. Yes, neon green feathers. No, Jamie wasn't hallucinating.

At least, she didn't think she was hallucinating—but if this really was a hallucination, would she even know it? For all she knew, this whole isekai-ed-into-KotLC thing was just one big, elaborate hallucination!

"Oh, stop being stop being such a drama queen," a husky voice commanded from somewhere among the ropes and feathers. At first, Jamie thought that he was talking to her and that he had read her mind. But then she remembered that he couldn't have read her mind because it was impenetrable, and when the... thing roared loudly again, almost in response, she realized that he was talking to it.

"Okay," he said, like this was normal. "Here goes nothing."

The gnomes tugged on the ropes, pulling the thing low enough for a blonde elf to heave himself up—no easy feat, seeing as the thing was two times bigger than an elephant. (A real elephant, not Ella. No offense, Ella.) Evidently, she had made a priori assumptions about elves when she said that elves were pampered.

SNAARRLL! was the things response to this.

"I'm trying to help you, you silly girl!" the elf yelled as the thing bucked and thrashed.

Jamie might've ran forward (why, no one knew), but honestly? She was starstruck.

If only all her foster parents were this cool...

"Need a hand, Grady?" Alden called.

"Nah. Almost got it." "Grady" replied. Apparently, nonchalance in bizarre situations was his thing. He lunged and grabbed something black tangled in the feathers. It twisted and writhed, and Grady nearly lost his balance in the process, but he yanked it off. The fluffy lizard stopped struggling as Grady tossed the black thing to one of the gnomes and slid down its back.

"Sorry about that," he called to Alden once his two feet were firmly planted on the ground.

"No problem, my friend. Verdi giving you trouble again?"

"That's why she's our permanent resident."

Alden turned to Sophie and Jamie. "Would either of you like to meet a tyrannosaurus?" he offered.

Jamie blinked. A tyrannosaurus? So dinosaurs really weren't extinct?! That was so impossibly cool!

And also probably a little dangerous... but she was Jamie Blair. She didn't care about danger.

Besides, there were crueler things than a dangerous animal.

...But why was she being so morbid? There was a literal T-Rex in front of her! Jamie did her best to maintain her cool as she followed Alden forward, but she couldn't keep the huge, dorky grin off her face.

But as usual, Sophie was a little more cautious. "Is it safe?" she asked.

"It is now that he got that jaculus off her neck," Alden reassured before adding, "It's a winged serpent that feeds off blood."

Right. 'Cause that was sooo reassuring.

"Easy there, Verdi," Alden said soothingly as the giant beast whipped her head toward him, Sophie, and Jamie.

Verdi was even more impressive up close. She had huge yellow eyes, frighteningly sharp claws, and a pointed snout. She bent in front of Jamie and lowered her giant head to her height, rows of sharp fangs glinting with dinosaur slobber in the sunlight.

"Are you surprised by what dinosaurs really look like?" Alden asked.

"I wasn't expecting neon feathers," Sophie admitted.

Jamie nodded. "Truth," she agreed.

Grady laughed from behind Jamie, and she whipped around. Her new, dinosaur-riding foster parent had chiseled features and wore a feather-covered tunic. He kind of reminded her of either Robin Hood or James Bond—she couldn't decide between the two.

His handsome face stretched with a smile, and he started to say something, but then paused. "Wait," he eventually said. "Who is who?"

"I—I'm Sophie, and she's Jamie." Sophie stuttered.

Jamie waved.

"Want to pet Verdi?" Grady asked.

Pet the tyrannosaurus? Was that even a question?

And so, Jamie reached her hand out. Her fingers barely brushed the tyrannosaurus's cheek when she felt it:

Pain.


Questions:

1. Favorite quote from chapter twenty of When Wishes Come True?

2. What should Dex and Jamie's ship name be? Demie? Jex? Personally, I'm thinking Demie.

Please review on the poll—or, you know, just review your answer...

Linh SongxJamie Blair(Jinh): 5 votes

Fitz VackerxJamie Blair(Jafitz): 12 votes

Biana VackerxJamie Blair(Jiana): 2 votes

Tam SongxJamie Blair(Tamie): 11 votes

Dex DizzneexJamie Blair: 1 vote

Jafitz "wins" (I put it in quotation marks because there's no actual winning, and because it's not permanent), holding 40% of 30 votes.

And, remember; please review—and read Unlocked!

~Sarcasticsnark13