Four Letters

[Author's Note]

No prompts here; this chapter and the next were simply short ideas done for the anonymous community as a way of practicing third-person perspective a little.

"Seriously, she's got it out for me or something. It's not even a long name; how do you screw that up?!"

The human shrugs, swirling the steaming drink around in the mug, "…happens sometimes."

"Oh come on, she knows what she's doing. We've been in the same class together for…I don't know! A while?!" Claws roll along the table's scratched surface, a low growl bubbling up from the dragoness, "It's five letters!"

"She did five letters." Kris mutters, staring down towards the girl's hands, wincing as her talons bend inwards on the paper cup.

"That's not-"

"Pronounced the same too." Kris shrugs, taking a sip from their drink, eyes searching through the diner's window and out through the surrounding golden forest.

A calm breeze blows through the boughs of the trees, sweeping fiery leaves up into the sky, twirling and spinning before scattering along Hometown's streets. Fall was in full swing at this point, a season that most definitely called for warm drinks, heavier clothing, and-

"…it's not how you spell it."

Kris pinches the bridge of their nose, "Susie, it's just one letter."

The scaled girl sulks from across the table, crossing her arms and sweeping the patchwork jacket into a heap, "Yeah, and she probably did it on purpose. You try to break into a place to see if they have any leftover cinnamon rolls one time and apparently that's enough to hold a whole grudge or whatever." Susie slumps further into the booth, a sharp squeak emanating out, "Only broke a couple plates while I was looking. Like, I could've paid for them."

"Want me to talk to her?" The human mumbles, taking another watchful sip, crimson irises burning through their curtain of hair.

"N-No! It's not like…ugh. It's just stupid." She pokes at the white cup, billowing steam rising from the cover, "But like, look!"

She twists the container around, black text hastily scrawled along the label.

S-U-Z-I-E

"Do I look like a goddamn 'Suzie'?!"

Another loud sip rings out.

"Seriously, you know someone for months and months, go to class with them all the time, and you don't even know how to spell their name? It's just…it's on purpose." She shakes her head, wild tendrils of hair scattering along the booth, "Bet that's why my burger was scorched last time."

"That's how you like it." The mug rattles back atop the table, "But maybe she was busy? Catti was running around a lot, taking orders and-"

Another growl echoes out. In a flash, boots stretch from underneath the table, laying atop the human's booth at their side, "Yeah, I guess. It's just weird, right?"

Kris meets her gaze once more, leaning down slightly to find the girl's eyes now level with the table itself, maw half-buried in her slumped position.

"You know someone for that long and they can't even get your name right." She grumbles, sinking further, "Like, I know her name! It's C-A-T-T…"

Carefully looping their fingers into the mug's handle, Kris lifts the beverage off and away. Better to not chance an annoyed dragoness right now, much less with a scalding drink so close at hand.

"…I!"

"What?"

"I. It ends with an I. I think."

The human's eyebrow raises for a moment, only to place their focus back onto the steaming drink, several marshmallows bobbing along the surface.

"I don't know. It's just weird or something."

"Mm-hmm…" Kris taps the side of their drink, lost in thought, "So…you still want to go see Ralsei today? I bet we could-"

"Like, maybe she got busy or something, but it's still weird." Susie mumbles.

The mug creaks in their grasp. Angel help them.

"I could get it if the place was packed, but there's only a few people here after school, and most of them aren't even ordering anyth-"

"Spell my name."

A single marshmallow falls down into the chocolatey depths.

"…what?"

Kris clicks their tongue, "Spell my name."

Boots return to the floor as Susie sits up, amber eyes drilling back into the human, "Why?"

Kris shrugs quietly.

"Oh come on, I know your name! We've known each other for months now dude!" She chuckles, "Ralsei took me a minute though. Still forget how to spell his weird-ass name sometimes."

The hot chocolate swirls about, "So spell it."

Susie's eyes narrow, "…seriously? It's like, four letters. Couldn't screw that up if I wanted to."

"Alright, go ahead."

The diner quiets to a low murmur, a lull settling into the once busy establishment.

"…f-fine! God, you're such a pain in the-"

A sharp tapping rings out from the side of the mug, the human watching intently from across the table.

"S-Stop staring at me like that! Creepy little…" Susie stares off through the window, a sharp gulp breaking the silence, "Bet you can't spell…I-I mean, like, how about you spell someone's name, huh?! Let's see you spell Ralsei's weird Darkner thing."

"R-A-L-S-E-I." Kris states.

"Oh. W-Well, see?! People that know each other can do it easy! I just don't get why Catti can't-"

"Your turn."

The silence returns, another marshmallow succumbing to the pull of sugar and milk.

"F-FINE!" Susie roars, slamming her palms atop the table, sending several napkins flying.

Kris pulls the mug close to their lips, taking a sip, a flood of scalding chocolate hitting their senses.

"It's…u-uh…f-four letters, and…"

The tapping sound returns.

"…um…"

The final marshmallow falls.

"…C?"

"Nope."

"Goddamn it."