Chapter 25
Klynn
“Come here.” Daddy reached out to run his hand over my head and smiled. “You’re too far away.”
Daddy had stopped thinking about scary stuff a long time ago, so I wiggled closer and snuggled up to him, making sure to tuck my wings close. “You’re a very cute dragon, baby.”
My happy sound made Daddy laugh. “I think my dragon purrs.”
“I’m a puppy, Daddy, not a cat.”
I pretended to wag my tail and made him feel big happy again.
Daddy thought me being a puppy was funny, and funny made him even bigger-bigger happy.
“You’d be a cute puppy too, but I’m glad you’re a dragon.
Puppies don’t fly.” Daddy’s thoughts were floating around like dragons and not sticking in one place, but he was smiling and thinking about me zooming around and about cookies and stars and the castle and so much stuff.
“At some point I’m going to ask you if you were being safe, though. ”
Oops.
“Did you just think oops?” Daddy was getting better at using the bond. Oh dear. “I think I heard that too.”
Thinner. Thinner. Thinner.
All the random thoughts made me ignore the important stuff like being sneaky.
“Hey. You went quiet.” Daddy pretended to be frowny when he looked down at me. “I can’t hear you thinking about Oreos anymore.”
Tiny bit bigger.
Tiny bit bigger.
“Oreos are good, Daddy.”
Daddy liked them too.
“They’re good to have on night picnics.” Daddy petted my head again as he leaned back on one arm and looked up at the stars. “This view is almost as beautiful as you flying, baby.”
He was being a good Daddy and letting me change the subject, so I helped him to.
“Are night picnics dates, Daddy?”
I thought it counted but I was glad when Daddy smiled bigger and nodded. “Yes, this definitely counts as a date and you picked out a wonderful one.”
Yay.
“You said mate, Daddy. I didn’t do it first. You did.”
I’d been very patient and Daddy knew it too because he leaned over and kissed my head. “Yes, I said you were my mate because even I’m not stubborn enough to ignore hearing your thoughts about flying and cookies in my head.”
“I like flying and I like cookies.”
I liked head rubs but Daddy’s happy thoughts said he knew that too.
“I like watching you fly and I like giving you cookies dunked in milk no matter what shape you’re in.” He liked giving me treats but he pretended to frown. “Even if little dragons have big teeth.”
“Better to eat cookies with, my human.”
Ha.
I sounded like the Big Bad Wolf.
Daddy laughed and laughed, flopping back on the big blanket he’d brought and wrapping his arms around my head. When I wiggled so my head was on his chest, he smiled again and went back to petting me. “Where did you hear about that story?”
“My books, Daddy. The boys in my books like stories.”
He made a thinking sound but it was his silly one. “Hmm, do you like books too?”
Oh.
“I do. I like books.”
And I liked surprises.
Surprises made me wiggle and that made Daddy smile, and happy Daddies gave the best presents, so I knew I was going to get something special.
“Hearing you in my head is wild.” Daddy pretended to frown, but I could feel how silly he was. “But it’s going to come in handy for meetings.”
“I’m a good helper.”
And I was cute too, so I reached my tongue out and licked his face like a puppy.
“I’m a cute puppy, Daddy. See? I can wag my tail.”
He liked that even if he didn’t really want a puppy.
“You look very cute when you wag your tail.” Daddy lifted his head and kissed my nose. “Gotcha.”
He was so funny.
“Daddy won. You give the best kisses.”
He liked winning but he pretended to frown at me.
“Are you just letting me win? It doesn’t work like that. I already won because I’m the best.”
Daddy was a dragon who just didn’t shift.
“You’re the best.”
And he was the cutest too.
“You even give me good presents.”
I wasn’t sure how to look even cuter as a dragon, so I wagged my tail and sent excited sounds through the bond.
Daddy’s chest jerked but he didn’t laugh out loud. “I’m the best, so I guess that means I probably have presents for my boy.”
Oh.
More than one?
“The bestest.”
That was a silly word that the boys in books used and it made Daddy chuckle.
“And you’re the cutest.”
Yay.
Hmm…
That meant goodies for little me and happy time for big me.
Oopsie.
Did that sneak out through the bond?
Oh dear.
Daddy pinched his lips together to hide his giggles, but they were in his head, so I heard them. “Special date time for my boy and then we’ll decide if we need grown-up time on our date too.”
Yay.
“Dates can be both. My books said so and the other littles on the other side of the gate said so too.”
They said it a lot.
Nodding, he kept petting my head but the bond said he was thinking happy and cute and even naughty thoughts. But I wasn’t sure he knew about the naughty ones. Daddy’s thoughts kept going and going and going.
He thought a lot.
“That’s right and there’s no one right way for a Daddy and little to play or have dates or to cuddle.” Daddy was watching me like he wanted me to tell him I understood.
I did.
I could nod in my dragon body too but it made Daddy giggle. That was the best, though, because he couldn’t worry and giggle at the same time.
My books said so.
“I’ll get used to that.” Daddy shook his head and thought about being appropriate. “I promise. I just haven’t hung out with anyone in a shifted form very often.”
Because one tried to eat Daddy when he got mind sick.
That was okay because Daddy remembered I wasn’t going to eat him. We didn’t eat mates. That was just bad and I wasn’t sure what the magic would do. No dragon had ever eaten their mate…not even when they got a cranky mage.
Besides, I liked cookies, not crunchy people.
Oh cookies.
Oh presents.
“What’s my surprise, Daddy?”
Yes.
I couldn’t forget.
Daddy laughed and shook his head again. “You’re adorable.”
That was better than cute, so my surprise had to be the best.
“I have a couple of surprises for an adorable dragon on a date with his Daddy.” He gave my head a pat and chuckled. “Okay, let me sit up and I’ll show you the first surprise.”
Yay.
Cute puppy time.
Daddy shook his head as I sat up on my bottom like Earth dogs did and wagged my tail. “The mate bond makes it so you know how cute that is and how good you’re going to be able to manipulate me with it, doesn’t it?”
“Yep.”
English-speaking humans had good words.
Oh.
Did other human languages have good words too?
“You’ve got a couple of choices for what we can do.” Daddy kissed my head as he made the bond tiny-tiny and reached for the bag he called a duffel bag. “I think all of them will be fun so we can do one of them or all of them or none of them.”
“I like surprises, Daddy.”
He nodded and understood surprises and presents were important. “Sometimes I might get you something that you don’t like, though. I won’t do it deliberately, but I might get something wrong. I’m just letting you know I won’t be upset if my surprises don’t work.”
“I like surprises.”
And presents.
And special attention.
“I like surprises.”
They meant I was important.
“I’m glad you like surprises, baby.” Daddy leaned over and nuzzled my head as he reached into the bag. “Alright, my favorite first.”
“Yay.”
Daddy made a silly laughing sound and smiled bigger. “You like surprises. Yes.”
“I do. I do a lot.”
Because they were so much fun.
“My wiggly little dragon.”
Excitement made wiggles.
He knew it too because he held his hand in the bag and waited and waited and he made my wiggles worse. It made Daddy giggle like he was an excited little dragon too. “Why are you so wiggly? I don’t know why you’re so excited. Oh, do you need to fly and get your wiggles out more?”
“No, Daddy.”
He was so silly.
“I need my surprise.”
“Oh, I didn’t realize how exciting that was.” He was trying to look innocent but he needed more practice. “Hey, I heard that.”
Oops.
He huffed and tried to look frustrated but he needed more practice with that too.
“Silly little dragon.” He shrugged. “You can read my mind, so I don’t think practicing would help.”
I wagged my tail making him laugh again.
“Alright, here we go.” Daddy pulled his hand out slowly…inch, inch, inch…
“Oh. Daddy.”
He got me books for my hoard.
“Books, Daddy.”
“That was fast.” Daddy’s eyes got wide.
Oops…scared Daddy.
I looked down at people-body me.
“I need fingers for my books, Daddy.” I wiggled my fingers and made my innocent eyes. “I got to touch my hoard.”
Daddy’s smile peeked out again. “I was hoping they might go in your hoard once I realized what it was.”
Cheek kiss time.
“You knew because you’re my mate.” He knew because I was special to him. “You got me books. Show me. Show me.”
Daddy was confused about how to react because he felt a lot and his face did more, but he finally kissed my cheek because he knew that was best too. “Book time first.”
“Yay.” I was starting to understand why littles in books made such good noises. “Playtime with hoard time.”
Best date ever.
Daddy laid out the books on the blanket so I could look at them. “These are about two kids who use magic to go play with dragons and have adventures.”
Oh.
“I like adventures, Daddy. I went to Earth to find you.” Petting the covers, I leaned over and looked at the pretty colors and cute dragons. “They’re not scary dragons either, Daddy. Look. They’re smiling and don’t have big teeth.”
Daddy kissed my head and made a happy sound. “You’re right. I knew you were going to be my sweet dragon before I realized it.”
“Magic makes surprises sometimes.” I liked the pink dragon. That one was pretty. “It just does. Like I knew I had to go to Earth even though I didn’t want to. But I did it because I’m brave and I found you.”
I got English and more books and nuggets and I figured out what being little was.
“I have to admit that I never thought magic would affect my life.” Daddy sighed. “That was probably ridiculous.”
Hmm.
The blue one was nice too.
“You’re not ridiculous, Daddy. You just think like a human but you’re a mate now.” Those were different. “Look, Daddy. That dragon has two heads. We don’t do that. We just have one. Promise.”
Daddy made a weird sound. “That’s something I didn’t think I needed to worry about, but thank you for clearing that up.”
“You’re welcome, Daddy.” Hmm. Were they mountain dragons or the big fields kind? “I’m a mountain dragon, Daddy.”
“Huh?” Daddy looked down at the books and then at me. “Your colors? That’s about where you’re from? Is that what you were thinking?”
“Was I thinking?” Talking and thinking might be confusing. “Yeppers. That’s an English word too. English has lots of yes words that aren’t yes.”
Humans were funny.
“Do other humans do that? Not all the kind of English ones.” They had lots of kind of English people. “The other ones like the pretzel people.”
They had so many people.
We just had where they’re from people.
“Ice dragons are pretty blue and white colors and they’re from up-up-up.
Then there’s big forest dragons and desert dragons.
” What was the word? “Oh, we’re camouflaged but we’re the big-teeth animals here so we’re hiding from the little-teeth animals.
That’s how the boy in the book described animals. I like that one.”
Books had good ideas and fun words.
“I get to use all the fun little stuff now because I have you and I know what I am.” I was little. “I didn’t know before and it was confusing. But I didn’t worry too much. I just built my castle and had fun with the blocks.”
I had my secrets but now I had my Daddy to share them with.
Daddy made a thinky kind of sorry sound and kissed my head again. “I’m sorry you didn’t know about being little.”
“It’s okay.” I could be cute by myself. “I think being a Daddy or a Dom would be harder. They probably feel weird.”
Going very still, Daddy tilted his head and frowned like he was in a TV show. “You’re right. Wanting to take charge and having big feelings about that kind of stuff would be confusing here.”
“Yep.” Good words were almost as fun as good books. “But I just played by myself and pouted because my books were boring. Now I got a good hoard, Daddy.”
Whew.
Ha.
That was another fun sound word.
“Daddy, it’s time to read my books, but we have to go slow and look at all the pages. All. Hoards are special.” I got new books in my hoard. “These have stories and pictures, Daddy.”
Yes.
We were going to read my books and cuddle and then we could make grown-up sound words when we cuddled.
Like Daddy just did.
He groaned.
We needed to do that one again.
“I guess you don’t want me to put your clothes back on yet, huh, baby?”
Why?
Was I getting dirty?
“Ask a silly question, get a silly answer.”
Daddy was the silly one but he picked up my book to distract me. “Ready?”
“Yes!”
Book time.
Cuddle time.
Grown-up time.
Dates were the best.