The Animalia

Chapter 3

I know I shouldn't get too attached, but it wouldn't hurt to get friendly, even if I'm not as willing to jump into a relationship as Diana was. Besides, a little harmless flirting never hurt anyone.  As he walked over, I turned just in time to see him trip on a tree root. "Falling for me already? Wow, I'm pretty good at this, huh?", I said, though my Diana-induced bravery was quickly fading. He looked like he had recovered his composure before the fall, but now the blush he had before had returned, so I helped him up and said, "Don't be embarrassed, even birds fall out if the air sometimes."

"Are you bipolar?", He said as soon as he was solid on his feet, "I mean, you went from nice, to sassy, to teasing, then back to nice, but yet stayed hot the entire time. Uh. I mean. You. Um. Look. Nice. Wow, sorry I'm bad at this, can we start over?"

I chuckled and said, "Sure, let's start with names, I'm Artemis, that's Charlie, and you are?" He smiled, and only then did we realize that I hadn't let go of his hand since I helped him up, now it was my turn to blush. As I let go, I felt my false courage fade away, and silently yelled at Diana for the short amount of time.

He smiled and said, "Artemis. Perfect name. She's a goddess, wolves answer to her, she's a strong female warrior, and I've been listening to Charlie too much. My name's Jaden, but you can call me Jay. Seeing as I already know you're an animal, would you allow me the honors of giving you a tour of the Biosphere? And maybe tell me why you ran across town to come to a park?"

 Jay looked hopeful, somehow,as well as embarrassed, so I decided to play along. "Well, I guess, since it's either you or the Weasley look-alike, I'll go with you. Also, is your name corresponding to your animal too? Like, are you a blue Jay or something?"

"No, most people think that, and personally, I would choose me over Charlie too, although most would assume a mockingbird would be more annoying than an owl. It's getting dark, we should probably go into the Biosphere. Wait. Stay right there."

With that, he ran back over to Charlie, who didn't look up fro. His book, and picked up what looked like a phone. He ran back, leaping over the root he had tripped and landing in front of me. Panting, he typed a code into his phone and pointed it at me, I didn't smile, but he took the picture anyway. He smile at me, then reached over and touched a small paw print on the tree, disappearing.

I followed.