Don’t touch the lizard – Okay, touch the lizard

The smoke hadn’t vanished.

Thin and steady, it still curled into the soft morning sky.

Tia blinked at it from the edge of the field, where the wind tugged gently at her clothes and made the grass whisper against her ankles.

She yawned, rubbing at her eyes. Every part of her body ached in that “I-slept-outside” kind of way – because well… she did.

"Yep," she muttered. "Still not home. Still in a dream."

Her nostrils itched uncomfortably.

“Urgh, don't wanna catch a cold or something. Did I leave the window open when I fell asleep?

A weird bird flew above. It had way too many tailfeathers, too colourful to be real.

Then she looked at the smoke again.

Someone was out there. And if they had fire… maybe they had food.

Her stomach twisted hard at the thought, giving a pitiful growl that felt loud in the quiet morning.

“Okay, okay. I’m going. Don’t scream about it.”

She took one more breath, stretched her arms toward the sky with a groan, and set off in the smoke’s direction. The sun hadn’t climbed far yet, and the grass was still damp with dew, cool against her feet. Her shoes – well, the wrecks formerly known as shoes – squished with each step.

She walked alone, off-track now with a wavering hope at the horizon.

Tia noticed the way her footsteps were loud and persistent on the vast fields.

Then a voice echoed in her memories. That shriek from the day before – so wild and… painful.

What was out there?

What had happened to it?

No thought to be entertained with…

The morning wore on as she made her way through tall patches of blooming grass, over exposed stone and around bushes filled with those yellow berries she gracefully named ‘Bitter Shitters’.

It had a certain rhyme to it, poetry even. Definitely award-winning quality.

Caught in thoughts Tia got so far she could smell the strong stinging scent of ashes gliding through the air. It reminded her of the clingy headache.

The spire of grey leaned windwards, in her direction, as she tiptoed. Careful not to alert anyone nearby.

Just a few more meters. She crept forward, keeping low – her worn-out sneakers more or less silent against the dirt.

No idea who – or what – was over there, but her stomach had made the decision for her.

Just then whoever was there began laughing, chatting.

It was a deep gruff voice, someone older than her; “Rika, would you be so kind and get us some bowls? Second left on the high shelf. This is going to be a fine breakfast!”

A strong sizzling emerged from behind the bushes, then a smell.

Smokey, rich, and so mouth-wateringly edible she nearly cried.
Tia crouched low in the tall grass, trying to ignore how her stomach twisted on itself.

It was like smelling a neighborhood barbecue from the wrong side of the fence.
She edged forward as to take just one more whiff of that enticing aroma.

Tia peaked through the blades of grass and saw a silhouette rising behind the smoke. Wide. Tall. Horned?

She crouched lower, but it was no use – her stomach chose betrayal.

She clutched her belly and winced. Not now, you traitor.

A growl followed – loud, pathetic, and impossible to ignore.

A lighter voice stumbled: “Wh-what was that? Did you hear that?”

“Hold still. Might be another Skarnyx.”

Tia froze.
Another stomach growl, like a starving beast.

“...Fuuck.”, she whispered to herself.

She stepped out of the bush. Hands raised, shoulders hunched, eyes squeezed shut — like she could shield herself from whatever spell or spear was next. And of course, her brain chose that moment to go completely blank.

Cool. Die now or die awkward?

“H-hey~ Sorry. Uh.. I’m not a Ska-thingie. Just – uhm, a very lost, very hungry girl. Please don’t stab me.”

She cracked one eye open.
The first thing she saw was that tall figure with broad shoulders and… horns?
They caught the morning light as her gaze wandered down.

Bulky, hairy, hooves, short snout–

Great a fucking minotaur.
A bead of sweat slipped down her forehead.

He stood with arms outstretched protectively in front of three others.

A blond dog… person? Upright and wagging, holding bowls with.. hands.

Then a blue-green reptile – frilled at the neck like some punk dinosaur.

Where am I? A damn furry convention?

There was also a gigantic lizard behind them. Horse-sized. Six-legs.
It was hitched to a caravan cart. Its sandy yellow scales shimmered in the sun, but its eyes glowed red – sharp and staring right at her.

Finally, a human boy – maybe thirteen – clutching a knife like it might float away. His stance looked like a gush of wind could throw him off-balance.

A long silence hung over the camp. Tension thick like fog.

And through it all, the rich, mouthwatering scent of stew floated over the fire – pulling her attention from mortal danger to something actually important.

Nobody moved at first.

So her stomach had to pronounce its opinion as well and grumbled once more.
Not the worst ice breaker Tia had so far.

The kid lowered his cooking knife, just a little. Still pointed, but his grip loosened.
“She doesn’t… really look like a Skarnyx,” he mumbled.

“Are you armed?” the minotaur asked, his broad frame still shielding the others.

Tia stuttered, “N-nope, not that I could do much with a sword anyway.”

Then that dog person peeked around the minotaurs side, ears flicking once.
“She looks half-dead if you ask me.” She held up one of the wooden bowls, a spoon already in it.
“We’ve got a spare anyway. You want some?”
She practically beamed at Tia even though they just met.

The big bulky one didn’t move at first. Furrowed eyes scanned Tia again, quick, deliberate.
Then he grunted, stepping slightly to the side.
“Fine. But sit where I can see you. No sudden movements or funny tactics, you hear me?”

She let her arms fall, her joints stiff from holding them up – but her heart still thumped up to her ears.
“Cool. That’s the least threatening breakfast invitation of the day. That’s what I call success.”

Tia’s eyes flicked to each of them again – half to make sure no one had changed their mind, half because she still couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

The dog girl – fur golden, short, and with a tail that wagged subconsciously – handed her the bowl with an encouraging nod. “Careful, it’s hot!”

Hands shivering slightly, she took the wooden dish, fingers brushing against the warm smooth surface. She felt her legs give way beneath her and sank onto a little boulder like a puppet with cut strings.

“Thanks,” she muttered, then eyed the contents. Some yellowish stew. Chunks of purple meat impaled on a make-shift wooden shashlik.
It didn’t smell like death – or honey, so she took a small bite.

Her stomach sang.
She could feel how the hot soup trailed down her throat, spending warmth in all directions.

She took a cautious sip of the broth first — steaming, earthy, and a little peppery. Her tongue caught hints of sharp herbs and something faintly sweet, like dried root. It wasn’t fancy, but it was warm and real, the kind of flavor that said someone actually cared while cooking it.

The meat was tougher than anything she was used to, slightly chewy but rich and savory. A bit like venison, maybe, but with a sharp tang — like the creature had been raised on wild winds and raw instinct. It had a purplish hue, marbled with lighter threads of sinew that melted slightly in the heat. Predator meat. She remembered the shriek she’d heard yesterday and paused for just a second. Then shrugged and took another bite.

“Damn,” she mumbled with her mouth full. “Okay. I take back everything I said about minotaurs and furries. This is delicious.”

The horned one – despite sitting still towering over everyone – let out something between a huff and a grunt. “You said something about minotaurs and.. What?”

“Oh, no”, Tia said quickly, mouth still full. “Didn’t say anything. You must be hearing things.”

“Weird one”, he sighed, “What are you even doing out here?”

But the dog interrupted, “Hey, we should introduce ourselves first! Hi~ my name is Rika. This big dofus is Balthan, merchant and our personal cook”, she said with a wink.
Then we have–”

“Vesh. My name is Vesh”, the lizard spoke, voice calm and a bit raspy. His eyes followed Tia’s movement, but his head didn’t.

Now without his knife the younger boy chimed in, “A-and I’m Corin.” His gaze lingered more on Tia’s clothes. They all had some kind of robes or woven linen tunics – stark contrast to her muddy jeans and singed hoodie.

Huh, those guys are surprisingly friendly. Just hope they’re not playing with me.

“You all seem very chill. And thanks again for the food, Balfan it was, right?”

He just grunted and took another bite himself.

The lizardfolk beside him adjusted his cloak slightly. “And who exactly are you? A bandit scout? An innocent hook to lure us in?”, his split tongue tasted the air, as if probing Tia’s truthfulness.

“Nope, not a bandit or anything, just… very, very lost. To be honest I have no idea where I am or even what this place is.”

She paused, spoon halfway to her mouth again.

“Like- geographically, metaphysically, emotionally… take your pick.”

That got a short laugh from Rika. Even Vesh’s scaled brow twitched, almost like amusement.

Corin tilted his head. “Wait. You don’t even know what continent you’re on? And what does ‘metaphysically’ even mean?”

“Continent? I don’t even know what planet I’m on,” Tia said, then shoved another spoonful into her mouth to avoid elaborating.

Why bother? This dream’s got weird NPCs and edible monster soup. That’s enough for now.

Balthan finally leaned back a bit, arms crossing. “You’re serious, aren’t you?”

Tia nodded, chewing slowly.

Rika blinked. “You hit your head or something?”

“If I did, it was a hell of a hit.” She gave a tight smile. “I don’t know, just woke up here. No clue how or why.”

A silence settled for a moment, not uncomfortable – more like they were all thinking the same thing but unsure how to ask it. Then Balthan broke it;

“But still… you speak our language.”

Tia froze, spoon paused at her lips.

“Huh. Weird.”

Corin asked, “But you’re a human, just like me, no? So you have to be from some place we know. What’s the name of your kingdom?”

“Kingdom? What is this, the middle ages?”

The group exchanged confused glances.

“Middle what?” Corin asked.

The minotaur chimed in, “You do speak in an interesting way to say the least. Throwing around terms even I never heard. What’s your name, strange human girl?”
His voice was just as deep and projecting as before – quite intimidating to be honest.

She shoved the last chunk into her mouth, “Hm?”

Should I use my full name? Awkward. Nickname? Too casual. Eh, screw it.

“My name’s Tia.”

Then the lizard spoke. Voice soft but clear.
“You said your name is Tia? I have never met a human with such a name.”

She blinked. “Yeah. Short for CeLÉstia-”
She cleared her throat, hiding behind her hand.
I did not need that voice crack. Holy shit.

Vesh straightened. “Celestia...?”

Corin dropped his spoon, even Rika’s tail stopped wagging.

“Uhm.. yeah?”

He turned fully toward her. “...The human goddess?”

Tia blinked. “...What?”
“What?...” Vesh echoed.

Another strange silence followed.

“You can’t ‘What?’ me. Everyone knows her. You can’t just-”, Vesh didn’t know what to say, his tone now less elegant but rather laced in mild frustration.

“Oh yeah, I'm totally the human goddess everyone looks up to. I mean- look at me. Totally. Absolutely. Yup 100% me.”

Vesh just stared at her, his frills below his jaw rustled slightly. Brows furrowed as if trying to see through her skin.

Balthan huffed. “Well, whether you’re some goddess or not, you clearly don’t know your ass from your elbow out here.”

“Thanks!” Tia deadpanned. She honestly couldn’t tell if it was meant as an insult or not.

Corin glanced between them all. “But we can’t just leave her, right? I mean… it doesn’t seem like she… you know?.”

This was about helping her survive or letting her starve… or be eaten. They all knew that.
Tia, maybe not so much.

“She could be bait,” Balthan muttered, “bandits are getting creative lately.”

“She’s not bait!” Rika said with a soft growl. “We said the same about Corin when we stumbled upon him, remember?”

“That was different.”

“Only because you like him more,” she quipped.

“I tolerate him more.”

Corin, halfway through sipping his broth, gave a not entirely confident thumbs-up.

Rika turned back to Tia. “We’re following the ribbon. Caravan route’s slow, but safer. You can come with us.”
Tia looked up. “Wait, seriously? Also following ‘the ribbon’?”

Vesh nodded slowly. “They call it the Ribbon of Tomorrow,” he said.
“We lizardfolk call it the Thread of Kesh’thar.”
He followed its pale arc with his eyes – that giant scar of light, ever-watchful overhead.

Right – it was still there, in all its stupid glory.

“A-and I call it the Skyline. My mom often told me about it when I was little. I always thought if I just walked far enough, I could touch it. Stupid, huh?”

She almost laughed. Yeah, when he “was” little.

But Balthan interrupted with a snorted exhale, “We cannot forget what this is about. She doesn’t even know what to call it up there.”
He eyed her intensively.

“If you’re playing games, I’ll leave you right here. Or worse. Got it?”

“Yep, no problemo~”, Tia said, trying to be cool. Her mouth twitched anyway.

The others already stood up to go after their tasks.
Balthan the big minotaur approached her, “We’re packing up. You’re doing your part if you want to stay with us.
Clean. Scout. Sharpen blades. Haul packs. Whatever’s needed.”

Tia hesitated, then nodded. “I just… really didn’t wanna die alone in a bush today, so this is already a win.”
Her words came out too fast. Her voice sounded light, but the bush part?
That had been real.

“Don’t make me regret it,” he grunted.

When they started packing up, no one said a word. Everyone just moved – sweeping, folding, buckling straps. She stepped forward to help and immediately got in someone’s way. She backed off and tried a different corner, only to nearly trip over nothing.
Cool. Invisible or in the way. No in-between.

Do they usually talk this little or is it because of me?

Rika cleaned the bowls with some oddly fuzzy leaves, while Corin packed down the bedrolls. Balthan doused the fire, thick smoke puffing out as steam hissed from the coals.
Vesh carefully repacked glass jars and scrolls into a reinforced crate.
He scratched the big lizard's throat, and seemed to enjoy it.

Tia stood awkwardly, bowl in hand, unsure where to start. This wasn’t her world. But somehow she’d gotten drafted into it.
If I ask, I’ll sound dumb. If I don’t ask, I’ll mess it up. Excellent choices all around.

“You want me to hold that all day?” Balthan asked, towering over her with an empty sack.

“Uh. No.” She handed him the bowl.

“You can go help Corin tie down the crates,” Vesh offered. “He’ll show you.”

Corin waved her over. “Come on, it’s easy!”

Tia hovered behind Corin, unsure if she was supposed to be watching, helping, or getting out of the way. She did a little of all three, which mostly added up to doing nothing. She kept her hands moving just enough to not seem idle, but not so much that she got yelled at. Probably. No one had yelled yet, which was either a good sign or the calm before the social murder.

”You just have to loop it like this… and then pull as hard as you– uh, not like that–”

Soon it looked like a bird gave up halfway through nesting.

For a split second she thought about pulling out her phone and just searching for a tutorial, but this probably wasn’t the best time to reveal it nor would there be any signal anyway.

“Argh, come on… Eh, it’ll hold.”

Though neither Corin nor Tia would want to be the one opening this back up again.

“You’ll get it,” Corin grinned. “Probably.”

“Go to Vesh and Kethra and help him. I’ll continue here.”


She stood there awkwardly for a second, looking to recognize an unfamiliar face.
Kethra? Who the heck was that again?
“So… you guys do this every day? Caravan life, huh?” Her voice came out too loud. No one answered for a second. Vesh looked like he might, but then just went back to his task.
Cool cool cool. Kill me now.

They all moved in quiet precision, like well oiled gears. Once in a while Tia heard someone chuckle. Hopefully inside jokes and not making fun of her.

“Yo Vesh? Corin said I should help you and Kethra.” Tia kept her tone casual, masking the nervous edge as she approached.

“Where’s Kethra though?”

Vesh looked over his shoulder, still stroking the massive reptile. “This is her. She’s close to shedding – we need to adjust the straps again.

If she hisses, step back. She smells fear.”

Kethra’s tongue slithered out and tasted the air with a quiet sizzle.

Tia hesitated, heart thumping in her throat. Up close, Kethra was a wall of leathery scales and twitching muscles – her nostrils flared with every slow breath, hot and damp against the morning air. A quiet threat beneath the calm. One wrong move and this thing could probably twist her spine like a bottle cap.

And yet…

“Oh my god, she’s perfect,” Tia whispered, not meaning to say it out loud.

She reached out carefully – reverently – and let her fingers trace along Kethra’s neck, where the scales were smaller and smoother. Her skin felt warm. Real. Too real.

Some part of her brain screamed this is dangerous, but the louder part was just yelling DINO. TOUCH THE DINO.

She felt like a kid again – sitting on her bedroom floor, beat-up T-rex plushie in her lap, growling and roaring like she meant it. Dreaming of jungles, battles, and riding a triceratops into the sunset. But this wasn’t a dream. This was breathing. Blinking. Alive.

“She’s so–” Tia swallowed. Eyes wide– “So big. And smart. And kind of terrifying. But also amazing.”

Vesh gave her a sidelong glance, still adjusting her harness straps. “Most people don’t use those words in that order.”

Tia looked at him. “Isn’t it weird, though? I mean – sorry if this sounds rude – but like, you’re a lizard guy… And she’s a lizard. Is it weird to like, own her?”

Vesh paused, hands resting on Kethra’s collar. His expression was unreadable.

“I don’t own her,” he said quietly. “Kethra is trained, yes. But she chooses to stay. If she wanted, she could crush me with a twitch. Our bond is older than words.”

Tia blinked. “That’s… wow.”

“In my tribe,” he continued, “riding-beasts like her are sacred. They are called Sska’veth – ‘Those who carry the sky.’ They remember things. She remembers better than I do.”

Tia lowered her voice instinctively, casting a glance toward Kethra’s red eyes.

“She remembers?”

Vesh simply nodded. Then: “I think she likes you.”

Kethra let out a slow, low rumble and leaned – just slightly – into Tia’s hand.

She grinned so wide her cheeks hurt.

Faintly amused, still kneeling down, he said, “Even Corin wouldn’t go near her at first…

Vesh paused at her name. “Celestia?”

His eyes flicked over her face, thoughtful. “Named for the goddess?”

Tia winced. “Yeah. My mom thought it sounded pretty. I guess that’s kind of weird here?”

“Most wouldn’t dare name a child after their god,” he said, but not unkindly. “It marks you as… unusual.”

Then, a small smile. “But I already knew that.”

He passed her the straps. “Here. Hold this.”

She helped as best she could, fumbling with the straps, occasionally tightening the wrong loop or accidentally tugging a buckle too far. Kethra’s eye slid to the side, watching her. Not wary, not quite trusting either – but curious.

“You’ll get used to it,” Vesh muttered, tightening a knot one-handed. “The first few weeks are always like this.”

Tia raised a brow. “Weeks, huh? Planning to keep me that long?”

“That depends on whether you’re more useful than dead weight.”

Charming.

By the time the bedrolls were strapped down and Kethra hitched to the cart, the sky had turned powdery gold. The first heat brushed the grass, and dust kicked up as they pulled the cart cover tight.

Balthan gave a curt grunt. “Mount up. We’re losing light.”

Tia blinked. “Isn’t it, like… morning?”

Rika laughed from the backseat’s bench. “It’s a saying. Means stop standing around and move your ass.”

“Oh. Cool. Good to know.”

She clambered into the back of the cart, nearly tripping over a sack of something crunchy. Dried roots maybe. Or bones. She didn’t ask.

Corin followed her up, dropping into the wooden bed with a thud. “You’ll get used to the bumps. Eventually.”

“I'll add it to the growing list of things I apparently need to get used to.”

Balthan and Vesh took the front, guiding Kethra with low clicks and muttered direction. Kethra rumbled low in her throat but started walking — her gait smooth but still jostling Tia just enough to remind her this wasn’t a dream anymore. This thing had mass. Heat. Smell.

And she was really, truly here.

She sat back, letting the bumps and sway of the cart jostle through her limbs.

It wasn’t comfort. Not yet.

But it was motion.

Forward.

And maybe that counted for something.