“Last stop, kid. This one’s for you.”

Jae-ha heaved a sigh of relief. He’d been helping Captain Gigan run errands all morning, and the bright midday sun was taking its toll. Surely the captain wouldn’t mind if he jumped back to the ship with his share of their load? He glanced over at the shop Gigan had paused across from. A cobbler’s workshop—Jae-ha knew it by reputation, though not by experience. “Captain, I can’t afford this guy’s shoes.” Was this Gigan’s way of saying solve your own problems, or stop complaining? Jae-ha might have been … somewhat vocal … about how his shoes—well, really, just the right one—kept giving out, but it was no worse than any of the rest of the crew’s complaints, right?

“For you, and on me,” said the captain. Jae-ha’s eyes widened, and Gigan held up a hand. She wasn’t finished. “I spoke to him already. He’ll make you a custom pair, one that won’t wear out the way those cheap things do.”

“Captain … I can’t have a pair custom made, for that I’d have to—” He couldn’t show a complete stranger his dragon leg. There was no way. And yet … those boots sitting on display … even from across the street he could admire the craftsmanship, could tell the difference between their elegance and the cheap, cardboard-soled things he currently wore.

“Now, tailors are used to keeping secrets for their clients,” Gigan continued. “Cobblers, not as much, but I trust this man. Do you trust me?” Jae-ha nodded. Of course he trusted Captain Gigan. That wasn’t the issue here. “I’d have done this for you years ago, but you kept growing so fast that the extra wear wasn’t an issue until now. Now, I won’t force you to go in there,” she added. “But if you don’t, I never want to hear a word about your shoes again, you hear?”

Jae-ha nodded. Walk across the street, and show a complete stranger that I’m a monster. But Gigan trusted him … and the thought of owning a pair of shoes that nice … “You should have given me some warning,” he muttered.

“Right, and you definitely wouldn’t have run away before we got here,” said Gigan, rolling her eyes. “Do you want me to go in there with you?” Jae-ha bristled at that. He was sixteen, he didn’t need her to hold his hand! “I can see that’s a no. Well, go on then, brat.”

The front of the shop was dim, lit only by the sunlight streaming in through the window. As Jae-ha entered, an old man stepped forward from a separate room to the rear, looking up at him. “You’re the one that Gigan said would come, yes?” He spoke with an accent Jae-ha didn’t recognize—he wasn’t a local to Awa, either.

Jae-ha swallowed, then nodded in reply. “What—what did Gigan tell you?”

The man’s eyes widened. “That you need a pair of shoes, of course!” He grinned, and added, “and that you are a private person. It’s fine, it’s fine. Come to the back!” The shop’s back room, in stark contrast to the front, was brightly lit with numerous lamps, despite being windowless. Shoes and boots in various stages of completion and repair rested on an old workbench, and despite their seemingly-disorganized state, Jae-ha could see the care that went into each one. The cobbler pointed to a stool opposite the workbench. “Sit down, take off your shoes.” And he didn’t comment on the state, or the quality, of what Jae-ha was wearing now. That was a good sign, right?

“You won’t—if you see something strange, you won’t tell anyone?”

The cobbler reached out a hand as if he was going to pat Jae-ha’s shoulder, then seemed to think better of it. Well, that was good, too. “My business is selling shoes, boy. Not telling stories.”

Jae-ha unlaced his left shoe first. It was a test, of sorts. And the cobbler’s eyes flickered, just a little—he clearly noticed the years-old scar that circled Jae-ha’s ankle, and no doubt he could surmise its cause. But he said nothing. Of course, this says nothing about how he’ll react to the dragon’s leg. But if he had made any comments about something like this … well, that would have been it. As it was … Jae-ha took a deep breath, then began unwrapping the cloth that covered the gap between his pant leg and his shoes. He had to pause before finally unlacing and removing the shoe, though the green dragon’s scales were already visible.

This time, the cobbler couldn’t hide a reaction, and he stared, wide-eyed, at Jae-ha’s right foot. “Never have I seen a thing like—” Jae-ha drew his leg back, angling it behind his other leg and beneath the stool, and then the cobbler reached down. Jae-ha couldn’t help the instinctive jerk backwards, and, already off-balance, toppled to the floor. But as he looked back up—the cobbler was only reaching for his old shoes. “Ah, pardon! You’re fine, yes?” He held out a had, but Jae-ha didn’t take it—he could stand back up on his own. He was barefoot now, which would make leaving in a hurry awkward, but if it came down to it—then, to Jae-ha’s great surprise, the cobbler turned away. He set Jae-ha’s old shoes down on his workbench and began examining them, as if they were the most fascinating thing here, those old beat-up shoes and not— “Yes, I see, it’s a big problem,” said the cobbler, eventually, turning back to Jae-ha. “It is not soft, yes?” Jae-ha gaped at him. No, the dragon’s scales were anything but soft. “The one foot is much rougher than the other,” the cobbler muttered, almost to himself. “But you stand with all your weight there. You use it more?” Wordlessly, Jae-ha nodded. Was this man really going to go on pretending like Jae-ha was just like any other customer with slightly uneven feet? Like the dragon’s leg wasn’t something monstrous and horrible? “Your nails, they stay sharp?”

“Claws,” growled Jae-ha. “Call them what they are.”

“Ah …”

“And yes,” Jae-ha added, belatedly. Technically, they could be trimmed. But if Jae-ha ever had to admit to liking the look of any part of his dragon leg, it would be the dangerous sharp elegance of his claws.

“In the north, in Kai, they wear shoes with pointed toes. The height of fashion, right now.” The cobbler nodded. “That will do for that.”

He really is going to keep on like this, Jae-ha realized. Maybe Gigan was right to trust him. Maybe it’s really … maybe it’s really fine. “Can … can you make boots that are tall, but still flexible at the ankle?”

“Of course I can.”

“And—it’s best if the bottom can bend, too, but that needs to be strong for sure—”

“Yes, yes …”

“There’s not … anything else you want to ask?”

“I haven’t even taken your measurements yet, boy—of course there are things to ask!”

“Well?”

Had Gigan really waited for him out here in the hot sun, all this time? “Well, what?”

“There weren’t any screams, and there’s not a hole in the roof,” said Gigan. “I’ll surmise that things went well.”

“Captain, I’m going to have the most beautiful pair of boots in the world!”

Gigan rolled her eyes again. “Don’t forget who’s paying for those beautiful boots.”

Right. “Thank you, Captain!”

“And this is the only pair I’m paying for, don’t forget!”

Jae-ha nodded. That was fine—the cobbler had said his new boots should last for years. Of course, Jae-ha hadn’t told him about the power of the dragon’s leg, but— “Captain, how did you know he wouldn’t—?”

“What, panic and call you a monster? Danil—you didn’t even ask him his name, did you?” Jae-ha shook his head. The cobbler hadn’t asked for Jae-ha’s, either. “Danil has worked in Awa for a long time. How often do you imagine he gets the chance to try something new?”

“So that’s it—I’m a fascinating challenge, rather than a person?” Jae-ha wasn’t sure how he felt about that. It was different than being a monster, but …

“Yup.” Gigan grinned. “Or rather, you gave him a fascinating challenge, so he’s predisposed to like you as a person.”

“He doesn’t know a thing about me.”

“True,” Gigan allowed. “And you don’t know a thing about him. Whether things stay that way is up to you, and none of my concern.”

“But isn’t it surprising?” Jae-ha asked. “There’s someone whose business it is to only care about my feet, and yet—”