There was an early spring breeze from the sea brushing against my skin as I stared up at the large concrete building in front of me, my hand flexing on the handle of the full ice chest I hauled behind me. Well... I huffed to myself as people, mostly men, rushed past me hauling their own loads of fish into the building. Slowly making my way to the large garage door of the building, I continued to watch the people around me, my nose discretely sniffing out any scents I might recognize. My nose caught his scent before my eyes caught sight of him, a happy smile spreading across my lips as he walked towards me. "Sias, you dog. I didn't know you worked here." My voice was affectionate though as I spoke.

"Oops... Must've slipped my mind." He smiled down at me as he took my load from me, placing his free hand on my lower back as he guided me into the large building, "What brings you here, dear Ali?" He stared at me with curious bright blue eyes as he pulled me into his strong muscular arms to hug me. His voice was soft when he spoke once more, "I've missed you. No one's heard from you in months." "Yeah, it obviously did slip your mind," I returned his embrace and laid my head against his shoulder before continuing to speak, "I've been doing good, Sias, really good. Nobody's heard from me because I started a new life. I've got a house, some land. I work as a fisherman and I've had to learn a lot about my new life. I'm sure you know what I mean by that too." I looked up at him, staring into his eyes with a serious expression on my face.

Sias smirked slightly as he stared back into my green eyes, his voice becoming a whisper only for my ears as he spoke, "Yes, I know the Great Dragon came to you and I know the wish you made. I would've told you I was a dog demon but I couldn't. Seeing as you're a demon now though, how about we meet up at this bar later and talk about everything over drinks?" He retrieved a card for the bar from his pocket and handed it to me. "It's a bar for our kind, so we won't have to hide in our human disguises." I took the card with a raised eyebrow before slipping it into my pocket. "Just like old times, huh?" I smiled as I stepped away from him, "So, can we get my fish weighed and my money?" He blinked in confusion before nodding his head, "Yeah, hun, we can. Sorry, I got lost in the moment." He smiled at me as we walked over to one of the weighing scales. He motioned for the two guys at the scale to start taking the fish out of the ice chest and weigh them, while he watched the scale to see the weight.

"One hundred and seventy pounds, boss." stated one guy as the other guy wrote down the weight. Raising an eyebrow in surprise, Sias looked down at me. "That's the biggest catch we've had all day. Great job. The fish still look like they were just caught and they're big too. You'll get top dollar for this catch." His voice held a great amount of pride as he praised me, reaching to pat me on the head affectionately. I laughed happily in response to his praise before taking the paper from the worker. "Boss, huh?" It was my turn to raise an eyebrow at Sias. "You definitely got some explaining to do." He laughed nervously at me as he cast a thanks a lot glare at the two workers who just smiled at him and went about their job. "I will tonight. Now let's go tally up how much I owe you for the fish." Taking my small hand into his large one, he led me to the front counter where he tallied up the price, whistling when he finished. "Very good for your first sell. Here's five hundred and ninety-five in cash." He handed me the money in a small white envelope.

"Huh... That's enough to pay most of the bills this month. Not bad indeed." I took the envelope as I smiled up at him. "So what time do I need to be at the bar?" "Well, we close at five, so how about seven?" "Okay, seven it is. I'll see you then, Sias." I smiled again as I hugged him. "Alright." He returned the smile and hug before walking with me outside. I waved at him as I walked away with my now empty and clean ice chest.

I showed up at the bar later dressed in a black leather jacket, a white form-fitting t-shirt, form-fitting black jeans, and black leather combat boots, my long black hair flowing down my back instead of its normal high pony tail. My black tail swished back and forth as I walked into the bar, looking for Sias as I ignored several stares. It was only a few minutes before I found him sitting at a corner table in the back of the bar. I stood there and stared at him for a short while, admiring just how handsome he looked. He sat at the corner table, sipping on a bottle of beer while watching me stare. He was wearing a white muscle shirt, blue jeans, and black steel-toed boots, his short brown hair damp. Smiling smugly, he motioned me over with a clawed index finger.

Shaking my head, I walked over to the table and sat opposite of him. I blinked as he completely dropped his human disguise, revealing three pale blue stripes on either side of his temples and wrists, which made me wonder if he had more markings elsewhere on his body. I then noticed a decent sized furry brown thing that wrapped around his shoulders and down to his waist. What is that? I mused to myself as I tilted my head, blushing as I curiously voiced what I was thinking, "Sias, what is that furry thing?"

"Hm?" Sias looked down at his waist before looking back up at me, smiling, "Oh, this is my boa, or fluff if you want to be cute about it. Dog demons in an island country across the sea call theirs 'mokomoko'. It has its uses, though I swear it has a mind of its own at times. It also becomes my mane when I shift to my dog form." He slid a plastic cup, containing a fruity red liquid, towards me as he spoke. "You look stunning, by the way." I smiled and laughed, taking a sip from the cup and humming my approval, "You look dashing as well and you remembered what drink I like. So what's with the boss thing?" I stared at him curiously while continuing to sip on my drink. He took another sip from his beer, watching me for a few moments before answering, "I run the fish market, it's my job. Well, I co-own the one you went to. My family owns more throughout the coast. It's a good job, pays well, and is steady."

"Ah, okay. Well, you could've at least told me that sooner. You know I grew up fishing." I finished my drink as I leaned back in my chair, watching as he nodded in agreement before finishing his beer. Standing up, he left the table briefly to go get us more drinks, handing mine to me as he sat back down at the table. "Just as you could've told me you believed in demons and wanted to turn into one." He chuckled quietly when I snorted at him. "Well, it's true." We sat at the table for a couple more hours, drinking, talking, smiling and occasionally laughing about random memories we shared. We were both enjoying ourselves and having a good time, sitting next to each other at this point. "I should get home, it's getting late," I looked up at him and smiled, "You can join me if you want. You'd be the only other visitor I've had besides the Great dragon."

Sias returned my smile with one of his own and nodded, "That sounds like a good idea. Let's go home." He stood and took my hand in his as we walked out of the bar, "We could run through the woods in our animal forms, it'd be faster and a lot of fun." I giggled quietly while looking up into his eyes, "You're up to no good and I know it. I'll race you!" And with that, I transformed into a sleek black wolf and ran into the woods towards my house. He laughed at me as he transformed into a large brown dog and chased after me, quickly catching up. We ran side by side, playfully yipping and nipping at each other. As we neared my house, we returned to our demon forms and continued to race towards the front door. Sias was faster though, having had more experience, and swept me off my feet to carry me into the house and to my bed as I directed him, both of us laughing and smiling at each other.

A/N: There is a side story to this chapter called Time Alone Together. It is for mature audiences only.