Matthew tilted his head again.
"Where is it you come from?" He asked, curious. Perhaps a small village? It would explain why Matthew had never come across someone like this man before, and why he thought these things were so surreal. Was… the man referring to Matthew as well, with that statement? It made him wonder…
"Uh… New York. From what I can tell, this place is nowhere near there…" Rowan sighed shakily and ran his fingers through his hair, brushing against his hair clips when he did so. "I was just going on my morning run and then I touched that stupid ring and now I'm… wherever we are…"
Matthew nodded a bit. Rowan obviously want from around here. Matthew stood now, wings fluttering a bit from sitting.
"Do you still have the ring?" Matthew asked, hiding his hand out for it if Rowan did.
Rowan patted himself down for a few seconds before shaking his head. "No… it seems like it disappeared. H-How am I supposed to get back home?!" He asked anxiously, growing a bit panicked. "Who's going to feed my dog?!"
Matthew was confused again by this. Did his dog not know how to find food for itself?
"I'm sure they'll find a way to eat," Matthew assured softly. He didn't want the man panicking again.
"And I'm sure we'll be able to find someone who can send you back, or even just travel there ourselves if it isn't too far."
"I've never seen this place before! And if that ring can teleport me here or something, then I could be in a different dimension for all I know! And Maisie can't feed herself! She's a house pet and she can't open the door by herself!" Rowan whimpered weakly, dropping his face into his hands.
Matthew slowly stepped towards the man.
"If you're truly from another dimension, there are mages who could send you back. Dogs are smart. She'll be able to find a way to get into her food, or escape the house to get some." He'd seen how desperate hungry dogs could get.
"I guess so…" Rowan sighed shakily. "I-I just… I'm worried about her. She's never been away from me for any long period of time. What if something happens to her? What if I can't get back? Even if she figures out how to get into her food, it'll run out eventually, a-and I just…" He whined again, keeping his face hidden.
Matthew was now standing in front of Rowan, looking down at him with soft eyes.
"It does no good to worry now," he said softly. He reached up, carefully resting his hand on Rowan's shoulder.
Rowan cowered a bit under Matthew, clearly nervous. "I guess not, but still… maybe my mom could go over if she notices I've been gone a while…? Hopefully, anyway… I wouldn't want anything to happen to Maisie."
Matthew knelt down a bit, bringing himself to Rowan's level.
"Yes, see? It's better to think of the positive than the negative. Don't be scared, you're not going to be hurt."
Rowan looked up at Matthew shyly, fidgeting a bit with his hands. "Um… how long do you think I'll be stuck here?" He asked softly. "I'm sure it's perfectly lovely and all, don't get me wrong! I just… I need to go back home, but until I can do that… is there a hotel or something I can stay at? Wait… I don't have my wallet on me…"
"Well, it's a few days journey to the nearest city, and there should be a mage there. And to go you'd need supplies. I'd give them to you, but I have to ask the council first. Until you can go… You can stay in my home, if you want." Matthew kept his voice gentle, hand still on Rowan's shoulder.
Rowan flushed a bit and hesitated before nodded. "I-I… um… alright…" He sighed softly. "Thank you, sir… what should I call you? And how far away is your home from here?"
"My name is Matthew," the avian introduced himself. "We're must outside my village not, it's just a little bit from here." Matthew straightened up, humming softly. He took his hand from Rowan's shoulder, offering it to him.
"We wouldn't even have to fly."
"Okay…" Rowan hesitated before accepting Matthew's hand and sticking close to him, clearly still nervous. "M-My name is Rowan, by the way… um… I'm sure this wasn't quite what you were expecting when you came outside this morning, huh?" He laughed weakly.
Matthew laughed gently in turn.
"Or for you, either?" Matthew started leading Rowan away, one wing moving around Rowan carefully. A sigh of comfort to most.
"It's nice to meet you, Rowan."
"Yeah, definitely wasn't expecting this…" Rowan sighed. He was a bit nervous at basically being trapped by Matthew's wings at first, but he soon relaxed when the avian didn't seem to be trying to hurt him.
Matthew looked down at Rowan, slightly confused by the nervousness. Still, he shrugged it off, especially when Rowan relaxed. He led the human back towards the village, only to be greeted by a very angry man. He was a bit taller than Matthew, with wings like a hawk. His hair was longer to, done up in braids and a light brown. He was in the same uniform as Matthew.
"Might I ask why you left your post?" The man demanded, not seeing Rowan behind Matthew's wing.
Rowan clung to Matthew's hand when he heard an angry man come up and whimpered nervously, trying to see a bit of what was going on through the avian's wing. When he couldn't, he peeked around the edge a bit take a look.
The man was giving Matthew a hard look. Matthew reached his other hand over when Rowan whimpered, gently placing it on his head.
"Someone needed help," he said softly, moving his won't a bit so both Rowan and the man could see each other. The man turned his scowl to Rowan, bending over a bit.
Rowan cowered a bit more as the man scowled at him. Everyone here was so tall… "I-I'm sorry, sir… I don't know where I am and I don't know how to get back home…" He sighed shakily and shifted a bit closer to Matthew. He still didn't fully trust the avian, but he was the only person that he remotely knew in this place.
The man scowled, looking back up at Matthew. Matthew was still calm, his wings going back around Rowan.
"I already said I would help him." The other man leaned back, shaking his head a bit.
"You're too soft, Matthew."
"It's better than shooting anything take moves," Matthew shot back.
Rowan closed his eyes and tried to relax, trembling lightly. He really hoped that the angry seeming avian wouldn't try and hurt him. He was tiny compared to these guys, and he wouldn't be able to protect himself if either of them decided they wanted to hurt him.
Matthew looked at the man a moment, but eventually the other backed down.
"You're going to get yourself hurt one of these days," the man grumbled. Matthew sighed softly.
"Come," he said gently to Rowan. He gently placed his hand on the human's head again. "Let's get you to the house."