Rorri

　　The green young man brightened when he offered, and the red one flickered dimly, so Rorri wasn`t surprised that the one accepted without even asking what they`d be smoking, and the other passed, his voice reddish-orange with suspicion. But he didn`t try to stop his partner, so Rorri led the half-human out of the crooked hut, keeping his back turned to his visitors - a show of goodwill, in a way. He was fully aware of his own vulnerability, but what did it really matter?

　　"Belethlian B-Bubbleweed," Rorri said just before setting fire to the end of the pipe. He took a long drag and exhaled a hearty cloud that glimmered, like very fine sand kicked up by a gust of wind. "I named it myself," he continued. "Gives you a light, bubbly sort of head high. It`s not s-sleepy or anything. I can`t stand the sleepy stuff."

　　He passed the pipe to the young man beside him, who took it with the vaguest pulse of wariness.

　　"Just smoke a tiny bit at f-first," Rorri suggested. "Don`t want to overwhelm you if you`re not used to it. And it takes weeks to dry this stuff out, so&"

　　His voice trailed off. He sensed his other guest drifting into the back of his hut, trying to be sneaky. Rorri didn`t hear a thing, not even so much as an underfoot leaf crunching on the ground, but the boy obviously couldn`t comprehend the degree to which Rorri felt movement in Belethlian. Every step seemed almost like Rorri was stepping with his own feet, very discombobulating in such close quarters. But he coudn`t think of anything he had to hide back there, and he just didn`t care enough to stop him.

　　The green one broke through his hesitance, and Rorri watched the sparkling smoke chasing after his own - at least as big a cloud, if not bigger. Rorri hummed as the Bubbleweed suffused his awareness. It felt like Snow, but calmer and without the crash, which was why he liked it so much. Everything was just a bit crisper, a bit sharper, a bit smoother.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

　　"What`s your name?" Rorri asked.

　　"Kano, sir," the green one said. Sir?` Adorable, Rorri thought with a small smile.

　　"What`s your name?"

　　"Rorri," he said. "And the other one?"

　　"Pak."

　　Rorri tilted his head. "Du閚, then?" he asked, holding out his hand to gently request his pipe back.

　　"Um&" Kano passed the pipe. "Why would that make him Du閚?"

　　"Pak` means son` in Obsidian Elvish," Rorri said. "Sort of like junior`. So, if his m-mother`s name was, say& I don`t know, Balifra` or something, a traditional Du閚 name would be Pak`balif`. They drop the last syllable." He cleared his throat, focusing on the glittery residue of Bubbleweed in the pipe. His heart was beginning to quicken - from the high, maybe - but something was nagging at him.

　　"But you didn`t answer my question," he added, trying to sound casual.

　　"Well&"

　　BA-DUM. BA-DUM.

　　The hairs on Rorri`s neck stood on end. He knew that sound.

　　BA-DUM. BA-DUM.

　　Bright red bled into the air from inside his hut. He turned to see an eerie glow filling up the outline of his door. The pipe fell from his hand, hitting the dirt with a muted thud. This could only mean one thing. The truth was screaming at him. His whole body buzzed. His heart thumped against his chest with force matching the weapon`s, and tears welled in his broken eyes.