Full Moon, Dragon Gate

Prologue

Dragon Fish

Angel-girl called me on my cell phone when I was just about to start preparing lunch. The chicken thighs were ready to be marinated with dark soy and salt, sitting patiently in the bowl I designated as the marinating bowl. The moment I was about to massage the sauce in, my cell phone rang, startling me.

"You got to see this," angel-girl sounded breathless. "It's amazing."

"Um, what's amazing?" I admit - later - I sounded grumpy. It was not that I could drop everything. I had my two cubs to feed and hungry cubs were more important than gallivanting around, looking at amazing things.

"A dragon fish," she replied with a tone that said You don't believe me.

"Is it going to go away?" I began rubbing the thighs with my free hand. "Give me two more hours."

So the chicken thighs got cooked and my two cubs got fed. After which, they clamored to follow me "to see Auntie Ash" and I reluctantly agreed. Cubs. They convinced me with very persuasive puppy dog eyes. I admit I am a softie, sometimes.

As expected, angel-girl was waiting for me at the spot where she said she found the dragon fish. I made sure that the cubs were within my line of sight and off they went, two little girls mock-fighting, barking and growling away, eliciting weird looks and smiles from the people walking in the park. I would have to teach them how to behave and not to in human situations one day.

The spot was a shaded area, next to a quiet secluded part of the jade-green pond. Low hanging branches arched over that particular stretch of water, casting patches of gold on the mirror-flat surface. It felt still and smelled like the forest. All peridot, going right into my heart, right under my skin. Almost unbidden, my ears pricked, my paws itched to pad across the soft earthy loam. Of course, I didn't do that. No one would want to see a small black wolf wandering around. Then again, knowing the people here, no one would bother either. Black stray dog, they would probably think and I let them be.

I am a stranger in my own homeland. A part of its people, yet apart. We live beside the normal humans, by all means looking and sounding like your average Singaporeans. My little pack is one of the many little satellite groups scattered across the little island-state, composed of wolves, incarnate angels and fey folk. I am their unofficial den mother, as most of the pack is composed of mainly teenagers or young adults.

Now, where am I? Oh yes. Standing next to the pond...

"It's right here," angel-girl pointed at a sun-lit circle, bright on the surface of the water. I followed her finger and peered down into the murky depths.

Many people like to keep arowana, partly to show off their wealth and to admire their silver sinuous beauty. They have coined the term 'dragon fish' for these Amazonian natives. However, there is another type of dragon fish, the type we call 'long yu' - part-dragon, part-fish. One now met my eyes, bubbles drifting in spiraling streams from its bearded dragon mouth, glistening with multi-hued scales, flashing azure, ruby and emerald under the muted sunlight. Its fish half looked like the silver scales of the arowana, only sharper and more defined. It seemed to flop weakly though, stirring up puffs of silt and thick green algae. Its reptile eyes were bereft of the primal fire I would expect from a magnificent and rare being.

Why would a long yu find such a place to die?

For a quick moment, I glanced up to check my two girl-cubs. They were watching the box turtles in the water, commenting on their black beady eyes. The older one was teaching her younger sister about the joys of turtle keeping. Me? I would rather people stop releasing unwanted pets into public ponds and introducing invasive species to the local eco-system.