Switching POV…

Somewhere in Tengu Village, Vali was exploring the place. Just as he expected, it was like walking in a normal street in the past century. He admired the fine craftsmanship of the houses, which had beautiful carvings made by hand, and the rustic vibe everything gave. He went past several grocery stands, looking at the fresh food the hard-working tengu harvested for the village to buy or barter. He went past a handicraft shop, filled with wooden toys, many types of house decorations, and a lot of interesting things.

However, unbeknownst to Vali, he had been drawing attention to himself. As Youkai Mountain consisted almost entirely of tengu and kappa, him clearly not being either of them instantly got everyone's attention. Even more so was his inhuman traits identifying him as a Western dragon, which had gone extinct since even before Gensokyo had been created.

People got out of his way as he walked like nothing was happening. The children around looked at him, unable to say anything as they watched the Japanese equivalent of seeing an unicorn, amazed by the sight, only to be pulled away by their cautious parents.

Nearly all the tales depicted Western dragons as cruel, malevolent creatures, destroying entire kingdoms on a whim. Some of them were depicted as avaricious hoarders of the many treasures they stole, while most were shown as kidnappers of impossibly beautiful princesses, waiting for a hero to arrive and slay the dragon. Of course, most of these stories were made up by men with too much imagination and a natural affinity for acting. These made-up stories affected the species as a whole, regardless of their moral alignment, causing Western dragons to be either enslaved, slain, or outright forgotten by history, vanishing from the world.

But what the stories did get true was the undeniable fact that Western dragons were infamously selfish and greedy. After all, it was the nice ones that died out the fastest. The treasures that Western dragons collected would stick to their unprotected undersides, acting as armor, meaning that the greedier a Western dragon was, the more treasure they collected, and the more treasure they collected, the more treasures they had covering them, and the more treasures they had covering them, the more likely they would survive. For a Western dragon to be able to survive in the modern day, it must have been especially greedy and powerful. And to top it all, here before them was a Western dragon, alive and healthy.

However, the one that was walking past their eyes seemed… different. It was like evolution went its way to make this individual as non-intimidating and awe-inspiring as the old legends told, just like how humans used to depict them, tengu, as mischievous creatures with long noses and crow wings…for the most part. He looked oddly friendly. Like a stranger from a country very far ago discovering a new civilization would.

"...A Western dragon? In this village? But they went extinct centuries ago!" An old tengu exclaimed, looking at Vali in shock.

"I have my doubts, but it seems like it. Better to be cautious, we don't know anything about him." An aged woman warned.

Many other voices were heard. Some showed clear signs of amazement, while the rest showed only evident concern and fear. Slowly, the whole square Vali was in started to go silent…until there was no one speaking. Everyone was looking at Vali, keeping an eye for any suspicious moves. Eventually, Vali himself realized the situation and looking around, he took out his notebook, and scribbled on it.

[Do you have a problem with me being here?]

Unfortunately, that was the wrong thing to say. In hindsight, it might have come off as a bit aggressive. Everyone immediately got into defensive positions, ready to fight if needed. "I knew it!" shouted a tengu. "You're just like the stories say about Western dragons. Here to cause trouble just for your own greed, huh?"

[No, wait! I'm not going to harm anyone! I'm new in this town. My name is Vali.]

"That's obvious, judging by your clothing. But why don't you say anything?"

[I'm mute. Sorry for the inconvenience.]

"So a mute…then we'll make you speak!" The tengu took a dagger out of his clothes, and throwed it at Vali, aiming for the dragon's chest.

"...!" Vali caught the knife midair, and dropped it on the ground. Realizing the situation, he let out a sigh, and made a big leap forward, running away at full speed. Everyone then looked at the old tengu, like trying to say "Really?".

"What? I just wanted to see if he would fight back."

"Dear, we have just met a rare outsider for the first time in years, and the first thing you do…is throw your tanto at him? Even if he's a Western dragon, you need to be more tolerant. You know things aren't like 200 years ago," The woman angrily snapped.

"Yeah! We are better than this, old man!" Another tengu said, looking much, much younger than him. "People like you are the reason we have a bad reputation! What if the boy was telling the truth?"

"You can never take things for granted, boy. If anything, we are in the right to be cautious with him."

"Attacking someone with a killing blow out of nowhere just because of a what-if isn't caution, that's paranoia!"

From one time to another, the incident became a hot topic in conversations all around that square. People were actively talking about Vali and his whereabouts. Eventually, it spread around the nearby squares, slowly growing like fungus in rotten jam…until it reached the ears of a certain pesky, caffeine addicted woman.

"Huh? Vali is on this side of the village? I guess he's just exploring the place." Aya said carelessly. "I don't see a problem with that."

"Still, I think you should keep an eye on him, Aya-sama. At least, until we are sure he is not a threat to anyone here. No one here wants the Hakurei girl to come here and scold all of us because he really did go cause trouble." A girl said.

"Fine…but you owe me lunch later!" Aya groaned, getting up from her desk, and reaching for her hat and camera. "Why am I always the one who gets sent to clean up the mess?" After that, Aya opened the door,let out her wings, and took flight to go search for Vali.

Meanwhile, in another part of the village, Vali had finally found a place to rest, after running from the attack. However, he was not sure if anyone went running right after him. It was a large park, with a water fountain, and some trees to rest under. Feeling hungry, he took his lunch, and, opening the heating element, he filled it with a bit of water, and after sealing it, placed it and the sealed meal into a much bigger bag, serving as a cooking device.

In a matter of minutes, the bag started to release water vapor, and the food inside made a bubbling sound, indicating the heating element was working.

Now, it was just a matter of waiting patiently. Since he didn't have a clock at hand, he had to take the risk of burning his meal. He sat on a nearby bench, looking at the scenery.

"An unforgettable sight, indeed. My history teacher would be screaming like a fangirl if she saw this." Vali thought, leaning back for a moment. However, his ears picked up footsteps, and he turned around to see who it was.

There, not too far from him, a group of tengu children were taking a stroll, chatting with each other. The age range was wide, going from seemingly fourteen years old to a little girl of eight or nine years.

"So, what are we gonna do, commander?" One of them said, "It's not like there's nothing fun to do today, right? We've already walked for quite a while."

"My mom said there was a big park where we could go play. Seems like it's this one."

"Big bro…look!" The girl said, pointing to the bench not too far. "There is a person there!"

"Wow! A dragon!" One of the kids shouted, looking at Vali. "I thought they were just stories that my mom used to tell me at night…but they're real!"

Vali was startled by the oncoming voices, but he relaxed a bit after realizing the ones shouting were just kids. He contemplated the option of heading out to a different place to eat for a moment, but he shrugged it off. "I mean, what's the worst that could happen?" He thought, while he checked his meal for a moment. It was hot, but judging by how much time it had passed, it wasn't ready yet.

Meanwhile, the small group of children approached him in a cartoonish fashion, trying to stay concealed while he minded his own business. Nonetheless, he could still hear their steps as they stumbled through the underbrush, the leaves crinkling under their feet.

"Shhh, don't step on the leaves!" One of them whispered.

"I know! It's just that we don't have anywhere else to walk!" The eldest answered, as they led the group.

"Both of you, shut up-" Another loudly whispered until he cut himself off and slowly looked up. The others also looked up, as they noticed the increasingly menacing figure in front of them. Vali, after hearing the group of tengu children sneaking up on him, decided to follow their game for a moment, and, without them noticing, had swiftly made his way into the tree the group was hidden behind.

"Uh….H-hi sir…we were just…" The middle one quavered, trembling in fear.

"You idiot! A soldier never gives up to fear! Unsheathe your weapons, now!" The eldest shouted, pulling out a hand carved wooden katana and taking on a defensive stance.
Vali quickly searched for something in the surroundings to use as a "weapon." After a quick scan, he picked up a short branch, with a wood knot in one edge to use as a blunt of sorts.