Chương 48: [Growlie]

"So what do you reckon we'll see?" Parmo said as they walked.

"Rika's bird-kin, Shai's cat-kin, Torren's half orc," Phil said.

"Could be anything really. We know there are wolf-kin from Kai so maybe some other beast-kin we haven't seen yet?"

"I think another race would be cool, I know there are elves and dwarves here," Luka said.

"Torren mentioned he knew some dwarf traders or something, right?"

"Okay picture this. Big tiddy, goth mommy, elf girl," Sam said with a far away expression. They looked at him, then thought about it.

"Yeah okay, that would be awesome," grinned Phil. The treeline shifted and the group came out in a loose spread, twenty of them crossing the open ground at an easy pace. Rika spotted them immediately and her arm shot up, waving with her whole body behind it. The boys waved back. They closed the distance and met somewhere in the middle.

"Good timing," said Shai.

"We aim to please," Leo said. Shai turned to the group.

"Right. You know Rika and Torren. Kai you've met." Kai gave a single nod.

"This is Bram." The bear-kin stepped forward. He was tall and broad, shoulders wide enough that he seemed to take up more space than his height suggested. He moved slowly, no urgency to it, like a man who had never once felt the need to rush anything. A pair of small bear ears sat atop his head, wiggling slightly at the mention of his name.

"Hey," Bram said. His voice was low and unhurried, the kind that made you feel like he'd just woken up and was perfectly happy about it.

"Good to meet you all."

"You too," Leo said. From somewhere near the back of the group:"And then I dropped you."

"We both know that never happened."

"There were witnesses."

"Your sister doesn't count as a witness." The boys looked toward the source. Two people, a lean human man and a wolf-kin woman, both gesturing at each other with the intensity of people who had been at this for a while. Nobody around them paid the slightest attention. The boys looked at each other then back at the argument.

"Man I wish we had popcorn," said Parmo.

"Those two are Sara and Davan... I'd ignore them if I were you. They'll be at that for a while," said Shai. Nods followed this all around the group. Before Shai could continue with the introductions, a shape came bounding out from between two of the group members, low to the ground and moving fast, black scales catching the light, wings folded tight against its body. It was about the size of a large cat, maybe a little bigger, and it was heading directly for them. Leo froze.

This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. Parmo took a sharp step back. Sam watched it come with a shocked expression. Phil grinned.

"Oh my god, is that what I think it is?" Luka was already dropping to one knee. The tiny dragon hit him at full speed, scrambled up his chest with small clawed feet that somehow didn't tear anything, and started licking his face with considerable enthusiasm. Luka laughed, arms coming up instinctively to keep him from sliding off.

"Hello mate. Hello. Yes. Alright. I get it. Hello." The creature made a sound somewhere between a purr and a rumble and settled against Luka's chest like he'd been doing it for years. The group from Stonehall had gone slightly quiet. A human man stepped forward. He was a lean young man with close-cropped hair and the look of someone who spent most of his time outdoors. He was watching Growlie with an expression somewhere between surprised and impressed.

"He doesn't usually do that, he must really like what he senses from you guys. Name's Mars, nice to meet you all. This little guy here is Growlie," he said.

"Do what?" Luka said, still holding the dragon.

"Any of it." Mars looked at Growlie. Growlie did not look back. He was entirely focused on Luka.

"He takes weeks to warm up to people usually. Sometimes longer."

"I like animals," Luka said.

"He's a dragon," Sam said.

"He's acting more like Spark than anything," Luka said.

"He's still a dragon."

"He's got little wings. Look at his little wings." Phil crouched down to get a better look. Growlie finally acknowledged him, sniffed his hand, and allowed one pat before returning his full attention to Luka.

"He's incredible," Phil said.

"Yeah," Mars said. He was smiling now despite himself.

"He is." Leo had unfrozen. He reached out slowly and Growlie tracked his hand, sniffed it, and made the rumbling purr sound again.

"Right," Parmo said from a safe distance.

"So dragons are pet sized in this world. Got it."

"I mean, I'll take this cute little guy over the sort of thing you see in Skyrim any day of the week," Leo commented.

"Yeah fair," Parmo agreed. Shai watched the whole thing with a quiet smile. Torren was grinning ear to ear. Rika looked like she was jealous of the affection Growlie was showing Luka for some reason.

"We've got accommodation sorted for the group," Leo said, straightening up.

"A few houses right next to our flat, all together. We figured it made more sense for you to be in town rather than split across three directions. Easier to respond to anything that comes up and it helps with people getting to know each other."

"Makes sense," Kai said. It was the first time they'd heard the imposing wolf-kin speak. The boys glanced at each other. None of them knew what to make of the guy.

"There's a woman called Lauren running the pub on the high street," Luka said, still holding Growlie, who showed no signs of wanting to leave.

"Free food through the day for anyone who needs it. Town meeting's happening right now actually, Mike's telling everyone about the Wilds and the empire. People will know you're here but he's asked them to give you space to settle in first." Bram nodded slowly.

"Appreciated."

"The houses we have for you all have solar power. That probably doesn't mean a lot to any of you but it more or less means a place to cook food at home. We'll show you how that works. As for entertainment, there isn't a lot at the minute but that's being worked on. A lot of what we had has been left behind on Earth or isn't working yet," Sam said.

"Any questions before we head in?" Leo said. Head shakes all round. Davan and Sara had stopped arguing while the boys spoke. They had moved slightly closer together, which nobody appeared to have noticed except Rika, whose expression had shifted into something menacing.

"Okay, we'll lead you into town, if you see anything you find interesting or have a question just ask," Luka smiled. As the boys turned and began walking back to town the group followed, Growlie jumping down from Luka's arms and running back to Mars. Shai, Rika and Torren fell in alongside the five friends, Rika leaned in conspiratorially.

"You see those two back there, the two idiots arguing constantly?"

"Yeah, what's that all about?" asked Parmo.

"Well my dear Brandon, those two," she paused for effect, "are in a secret relationship, no one knows but me, Torren and Shai. I spotted them sneaking off a few days ago and they were doing more than arguing behind the barracks." She wiggled her eyebrows.

"Oh, juicy," grinned Parmo.

"Right? Want to help me poke at them to see if they panic when they think someone has found out?"

"You fucking bet I do." The two grinned at each other, the other six looking at the pair of troublemakers with a shake of their heads.

"I feel so sorry for them already," sighed Leo.

"Yeah, the fact that there are now two of them is going to give me a headache..." agreed Shai.

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" pouted Rika. Shai smiled at her friend.

"Nothing at all, just try not to cause an incident the first day we're here. Okay?"

"You've got nothing to worry about Captain." She flung Shai a mock salute. Shai once again found herself shaking her head.