Chapter Text
"Oliver!"
His cookie raised his head. He was making dinner, and it was promising to be delicious already, but there was an emergency. Wovyn didn't even tell him what it was, knowing that Oliver would want explanations he didn't have the time to give; he just picked up his human, eliciting a grunt of protests from him.
"It's an emergency!"
"Wovyn! I can walk!"
But not fast enough. Wovny leapt across the kitchen and through the living room. In one final hop, he landed on the couch, making it creak under their combined weight.
"Wovyn, what is the meaning of this?" asked his human, indignant.
Instead of answering, Wovyn pointed to the television.
It was a show. The host was smiling at the camera and the man she was interviewing was laid back in the guest's couch, visibly enjoying himself. He had a billion-dollar smile but calculating eyes, as if he was constantly trying to take in everything at the same time. Wovyn didn't know if he wanted to trust him or not.
"That's the show that Lola wanted you to watch?"
"Wanted us to watch, but you forgot! She said it's super important."
"She didn't say that."
"She did!"
"She just said that it was a surprise."
They would have continued to banter when the host turned back to her guest, ready to ask him a question.
"So, Eric, can you describe this revolutionary product your company is making?"
"Well absolutely." The man called Eric signalled to some staff off-screen to bring him a box, from which he delicately pulled out a circle of glass. "It doesn't look like much, but this glass had the amazing property of correcting dimensional distortions, allowing us to see things that are there but were previously invisible to us. Dimors, my company, has previously been serving some specialized sectors in those fields but we are currently about to mass commercialize our patented product. We are sure that many people's life will find itself drastically changed by this."
"Could you describe the impact it will have on our life?"
"Oh, I can do better than that. I can show you."
Eric stood up. Wovyn wasn't sure he understood everything that was being implied but Oliver was leaning towards the screen, absolutely fascinated by what he was seeing.
"Before tonight, I have made sure to come equipped with a camera sold by our of our company. What the camera films..." He made a hand signal to someone in the back. The screen behind them, that had been showing the logo of the show up to then, switched to a view of the television set. "Is now being shown behind me. It is time that I present to you the one that inspired the foundation of the company as a whole."
He walked over to the side of the set confidently and lent a hand for someone out of the camera's filed to come on stage. A red hand gripped his and one of the most elegant looking men Oliver had ever seen appeared.
Only it wasn't a man, Oliver realized when the crowd exploded in screams and applause.
"Do with no tricks whatsoever, live, for your viewing pleasure, ladies in gentlemen," said Eric, visibly pleased.
The creature that was gracefully strolling next on the stage was dressed in an elegant black suit, that complimented both his golden skin and the red scales on the side of his face. He was tall and lean, and behind each of his steps swayed a reptilian tail. There was a small smile on his face as he surveyed the crowd and looked into the camera, as if it was natural to him that all attention was directed to him.
"He's... he's supernatural," said Oliver. "The crowd doesn't see him with their own eyes."
"Oh," said Wovyn.
"Wovyn, that changes literally everything in our lives."
"People will see me too?"
"They will know you exist."
Her two guests were back on the couch in front of the show's host. They sat comfortably close to each other. Wovyn wondered what was their relationship. They were both very handsome, although not as handsome as his Oliver. They looked like they fit well together.
"Wow," said the host with a bright, white smile. "This is fantastic. What is your name?"
"My name is Dimor, and I am a Vouivre."
"Oh, so that's where the company's name comes from. And I can hear you! Is that because of your microphone?"
Dimor, casually, reached up to touch the microphone hooked to his tie. "Of course. This is also produced by Eric's company."
The host turned to the camera. "Ladies and gentlemen, this is history. Thanks to recent discoveries, we know that there are indeed living creatures in sub-dimensions, but now practically anyone can experience it for themselves. It's a whole new world of possibilities!" She turned to her hosts. "This begs the question of how you two met for the first time."
Wovyn noticed that suddenly Dimor's smile felt strained and Eric's embarrassed. They looked at each other briefly, then Eric spoke up.
"Dimor chose to appear to me after a major event in my life. I'm not naturally gifted to see supernatural creatures myself, you see, so I needed to rely on Dimor's ability to make himself visible to certain people. Naturally, it made me want to share this gift with the world... and here we are tonight."
"Time flies," commented Dimor.
"Exactly."
"Amazing," said the host. "So, with your treated glass, I would be able to meet that nasty imp that's been causing me trouble in my drying room?"
There was a round of laughter. Wovyn burst in laughter too, thinking that it was very funny, but Oliver didn't. He seemed absolutely fascinated.
"Why, if that is what you want to do," said Eric.
"Although, as with imps, the best way to pacify them is usually with a food offering," added Dimor.
Again, Wovyn laughed and snuggled Oliver. Food wasn't the only thing that pacified him, he thought as he breathed in Oliver's smell. He still hadn't moved away from his lap, which was a dangerous situation.
"Our goal, at Dimors, is to give people the possibility to expand their horizons like never before. The world is full of opportunities for anyone that wishes to seek them out, and full of relationships to be had. We don't want people to be limited by what they see - to judge the book of the world by its cover. Our goal will always be to make the world wider for everyone."
There was some applause from the crowd. The host nodded in approval.
"Beautiful," she said. "What a wonderful speech, very inspiring. That begs the question of what sort of relationship you two have."
"We are in a couple," said Eric without missing a beat. He passed an arm around Dimor and looked around as if challenging anyone to try and steal him. The Vouivre seemed to tolerate it.
"Oh, that's wonderful! You look very cute together."
"Thank you," answered Eric.
Wovyn looked at both of their faces carefully. He decided that they were indeed smiling but that they still looked sad. He wondered why that was so. They were rich and beautiful. Why would they ever be sad?
"There is something that I can't wrap my head around," said the host. "I've heard that there are people out there that can keep seeing supernatural creatures after the age of seven, which is usually when what is commonly referred to as "childhood hallucinations" stop. I've also heard that one can retain those abilities if they train themselves to do so. So, if people trained themselves, they wouldn't need your product?"
"In theory, yes," said Eric. "Obviously, you don't see Dimor, that's sitting right next to me, without some help. For you to acquire the skill to do so, you would need to train, and this training, that is only delivered by people that are specialized in the field, cost time and money. Not everyone can afford that. We are Dimors want to make sure that everyone can have access to the best of what this world has to offer without sacrificing large portions of their times and livelihood. And there is another important factor to consider: there are still a large number - a majority, in fact - that believe that supernatural creatures can't be real. With inventions such as ours, we make it easier for people to wrap their head around the concept. One can think of it as a trial period for humanity."
"How wonderfully put."
*Thank you."
"Speaking about a trial period for humanity, how do you see the future now that you have entered the game?"
"I see it as a wonderful place, where humans and non-humans come together to celebrate their differences. They are so many ways we can benefit from them - and they from us! It's like meeting aliens for the first time, except that we all share this earth like long-lost siblings. Not even dimensions between us can stop us."
"That makes me want to go and get one right now!"
"Well feel free to use this one," replied Eric as he handed her the one he had received earlier. "It's on the house."
"Wow, thank you so much!"
She peeked through the round glass, looking at Dimor.
"You are really beautiful," she told him. "I'm glad I get to see you."
"Thank you."
"And with that, lady and gentlemen, we are arriving at the end of our program. Please make it roar for Eric and Dimor!"
The crowd went wild. Wovyn saw his chance then and slipped his hand under Oliver's shirt, that wasn't paying enough attention to him. His cookie eek-ed and pulled him out, before looking at the imp over his shoulder with a frown.
Wovyn giggled.
"Oh I see how it is," said Oliver with a smirk. "Going for your dessert first, mister? Naughty."
"I'm happy. People are going to see me now."
"I'll miss seeing you less shirtless," answered Oliver as he turned all the way around. "I quite like you that way, but you can't be half-naked when other people see you."
"That's true... well, that means that you should take advantage of it now, while you can."
Oliver laughed and leaned against Wovyn, kissing him in the neck. On the television, the two guests of the show were standing up and waving.
"Oliver? What do you think about Eric and Dimor?"
"The guys we just saw? I think that they look nice."
"I think they look tense."
"It's a television show, of course they were tense."
"No no... not like that. Between them."
"Oh, that. I noticed as well. Maybe they are in a couple only for the press on them? The media has been loving homosexual couples lately." Not that Oliver was complaining. "I wouldn't be surprised if that was the case."
"Do you think that they are faking it?"
"No... I don't think so. They don't look like fake people. In fact, I'm sure that they are very nice."
Oliver stood up, leaving a cold imprint on Wovyn's body. The latter whined needily.
"I need to prepare the food," told him Oliver. "Horny beast."
"Nothing's cooking."
"It will be even better if we wait after eating for that." Oliver kissed his forehead.
"I love you."
"I love you too."