Life has a way of changing both spontaneously and instantaneously. Tulip had left her home a generally unknown dragon, a rarity among even a large city of anthro humans. Upon returning, there seemed to be no one at least remotely aware of her existence. Hard to believe a trip to the middle of nowhere, Spain could flip things around.

Discovering a whole religion to Bahamut of all creatures has a way of doing that. The entire thing had been done on a whim. Tulip had never expected to find anything. Years of on and off teaching, working on jobs at firms or research contracts had left her educated but longing. Flames of youth compelled her to get out for a bit of fun while her scales still sparkled. Getting archaeological grants to help fund said adventures with her long list of academic contacts was a great bonus.

"Oh my god! It's really the dragons prodigy!"

Now Tulip could not articulate how much she regretted those decisions, at least in a polite way. At first, all the attention had been very thrilling. Finally, a dragon was getting recognition for all their hard work and contributions. She took some pride in single-handedly blowing the minds of scholars worldwide with these temples. When all the research was said and done, there might be a whole new era of history to teach future generations.

Then came the 'hit-piece' articles. Something the internet decided to teach Tulip was that people hated things new and different. Internet sites laughably considered news outlets started to write all manners of slander, both for the dragon and the things she worked passionately over.

That whole evidence dragons have been huge and mighty? Clearly, that was just the self-expression of a big ego. That explained how they were worshiped for having abilities that literally changed the world.

There could never have been such a large scale dragon society anyway. Sure the evidence physically exists, but it perfectly copies artwork and culture from those hoity-toity Romans. Most history of the dark ages is sketchy at best, no need to accept any legit gap fillers at face value.

It was all just a front for Tulip's grand master plan of a total dragon takeover of society. That had to be true because the writer of the article had a very reliable source; some waiter that served Tulip at a crappy restaurant in France. Her fault for not tipping after being served raw meat.

The internet apparently did not need facts to make educated decisions. She could tweet she wore underwear on her head every night to sleep better, and a few thousand people would probably believe it.

Well, technically she could not, since she deleted her Twitter after that millionth thread arguing the ethics or dragon rulers. Heaven forbid they have a discussion without trying to tag her into it.

"You are Tulip? Sorry!"

Crap! Tulip blinked, wondering how long she had been staring off into space. The bubbling anger at her unplanned popularity was reaching a boiling point. She was so desperate for a minute alone that retreating into a mental void to fume had become a knee-jerk reaction. It must have been a while if the barista was looking at her concerned. The coyote guys were drooping their tails thanks to her accidental silent treatment.

"I sure am! One second, please!" she said, flashing a fanged smile. That seemed enough to lift their spirits. Taking this opportunity, Tulip turned to the barista. "May I have a Tall Coconut milk vanilla latte, two squirts of strawberry flavor, please."

"Sure thing, Miss Tulip!" The skunk girl snapped into a bubbly smile, state herself, glad to have an order.

"Now then," she turned back to the gang, gaining some amusement at how their tails wagged with puppy-like energy. "How are you boys doing today?"

"Great! Can I get a selfie with you?"

"Did you really find giant dragon bones?"

"Were you able to keep any of the treasures?"

Critics or angry trolls were one thing. Tulip generally did not mind the gushing fans. They at least meant nothing malicious behind the selfies and swarm of questions. Part of the reason the dragon even justified her expeditions was to help improve other people's lives. If a bright smile and her ugly mug on Instagram helped, she would be awful to deny them such.

"One vanilla coconut latte with strawberry!" The barista announced, sliding Tulip an excuse to be on her way. "Could you sign here, please?"

"Wha-oh?" Tulip barely grabbed at her cup, staring blankly at the slip of paper placed next to it. "This...isn't a receipt?"

The skunk girl blushed with hands folded in front of her apron. "It's for my older sister. She's totally into studying history at university right now."

It was Tulip's turn to blush, but she did not hesitate to grab a pen from the register to apply her signature. Thankfully the coyote's were too busy hazing the barista for their extra treat while Tulip quietly made an exit. Soon she was back in her car and on the highway, occasionally savoring the fruity wash of warm caffeine down her throat.

While fun, the encounter left her frowning. Maybe coming out for fresh air had been a bad idea. It seemed almost impossible to go anywhere without being recognized at this point.

Tulip considered her options for a second, making the decision on a last-minute whim. Her turn signal flicked on before gliding her car across the lanes to the desired exit. Being stuck for weeks in her apartment had not done much good. All she had for an outlet was the internet, and Reddit was not doing anything to improve her mood.

Besides, the dragon had already reached her destination. It was such a warm, clear day that turning back would only accomplish waste of gas. She just hoped the afternoon sun did not crowd the beaches too much.