Cut and Run Ch. 15 (Allen Belushi Cycle 15)

Cut and Run Chapter 15

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You’ve probably read the stories: Boy meets Mamono, then Boy runs from Mamono, Boy then gets ‘proactively dated’ by Mamono, often vigorously. Boy and Mamono start making a whole bunch of itty-bitty Mamono. Everything’s peaches and cream for the pair in their connubial bliss.

Right?

Yeah well. Not all of the time, not in the Real World. The reason for that, is because of in-laws. No, not the Mamono in-laws. The Mamono in-laws are usually overjoyed to see that their daughter has managed to Grab, Ensnare, or Pounce herself a husband.

No, it’s usually the Human In-laws that prove to be the problem.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve read of the stories of human parents who accept their son’s new waifu with open arms. I can’t help but feel jealous of them. I’ve always wondered what it would be like, to have those kinds of parents.

Me? I gotta deal with real life. Real folks like my Old Man for instance. A more ardent worshipper of the Chief God, you’d be hard pressed to find elsewhere. In childhood, I remember the tirades he went on when the Mamono first showed up.

I cannot imagine how he must’ve felt, when the news of the Chief God’s defeat by the Great Maou came down the pipes.

But my Old Man, like the Order fools who even now continue to worship Ilias, is someone I liken to a snapping turtle. That you’d have to practically twist his head off, to get him to let go of his prejudices.

Or, so I thought.

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I stopped procrastinating and stomped my way to the front door, knocked resoundingly and stepped back.

It didn’t take long.

“Chief-God Damn it!” shouted an all too familiar voice, from within. The door flung open inwards and I saw an old, yet heavily muscled man stepping out, his face livid-red with anger.

“Get off my Fucking lawn, you Fucking Mamoomoo!” he screamed while shaking his fists. He focused his eyes on me and he raised his voice even louder, somehow.

“What the Fuck do you want, you fucking fre….?” He stated, cutting himself short as his eyes took me all in, stopping at my face. In that moment, I saw all of his anger, all of his tenseness drain away out of him. His eyes went wide, and his mouth fell open to hang as he realized who it was that was standing in front of him, finally.

“Allen?” he said hoarsely, incredulous. I sighed heavily.

“Hi Dad.”

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For the first time in several years, we saw each other. He looked like he aged a decade since I’d seen him last. His hair was all grey now. Looking him over, I noticed that he was still fairly muscular, though with a slight patch of Dunlaps growing on him.

Upon my seeing that, it made me realize that I’d better be more careful of my own diet. As the first male Dragon in many centuries, I didn’t want to go down in the history books as the Dragon with a paunch.

He stared at me, and I stared back at him. We looked at each other for what seemed to be the longest time. But, was probably only a few seconds. I saw his eyes looking me over several times, and every time his eyes went back to my face. Wings, then my face. Claws, face. Scales, face, his eyes, judging me all the while.

With a growing disquiet, I observed a panoply of emotions crossing his mug, and not one of them was good. I’d seen them all when I growing up. Anger, Outrage, Annoyance.  They were all there.

But the one emotion on his face that hurt me the most? Was the Disgust.

I saw it ooze up and cross his face as his frown deepened, as he stared at me. At the last when he clamped his eyes shut, he looked like he was ready to vomit.

‘What the fuck am I doing here?’ I asked myself, as I felt my own stomach clenching ‘Oh yeah, Dain.’ I sighed aloud, as I closed my eyes momentarily with the hurt.

“This was a mistake.” I spoke aloud, as I tried to make eye contact with him one last time. Then, of course he wouldn’t even look at me. He had that look on him that somehow said, that I had hurt him.

I turned away then, for what I felt to be the last time. I had been judged, harshly.

“Fuck You Dain!” I muttered, as I unfurled my wings and gave a good flap-off. It was one of my more productive take-offs, as I easily cleared the rooftops with that one flap. Normally, I’d have to give a few good strokes before I could get up such a good head of steam.

Not once did the man who sired me, say anything to me as I left. I more than expected him to curse at me, or make a demand along the lines of: ‘How could I betray the Chief God?’ for allowing myself to be corrupted into a Mamono. He was always the master of the parting shot.

But this time? Nada. Not even a whisper of protest. Fine.

After circling around my childhood stomping grounds a few times, I headed back to the Home Improver Store.

I so totally didn’t cry, along the way back. Nope! The valley must’ve been extra dusty that day, or it was something else in the air that was causing my eyes to water the way they did.

It took me a while to find Dain, but in the end all I had to do was go out to the parking lot and look for his rig. Dain was there, standing next to his rig staring at the scorch mark I’d left, obviously pissed.

I snuck up on him. You’d think a six foot five, scaly Male Dragon wouldn’t be able to do that, but I’ve learned how to do a lot of weird shit the last few months.

“Ok Dain, he’s knows now.” I demanded of him. He jumped when I spoke.  “Satisfied?” It took him a minute to get his composure.

“So how’d everything go for you, Allen?” Dain asked all nice like. I stared balefully back at him for several seconds.

“Like I said it would, Dain. He wasn’t pleased.” I replied with gravity. I guess my anger must’ve shown something fierce. Because then Dain had enough humility to look sheepish.

“I’m sorry Allen.” He admitted, bowing his head. I blew out my breath and shook my head.

“Yeah well, what’s done is done.” I replied, trying to hold onto my temper. “As far as he’s concerned, it would’ve been better if I HAD been dead.”

“ALLEN! That’s a harsh thing to say.” Dain shot back, outraged.

“Well that’s him Dain. Some things never change, him least of all.”

“What did he say to you?”

“Nothing Dain, he didn’t need to. That look on his face said it all.”

“C’mon Allen! You can’t judge,…” he began.

“No You Look Dain!” I interrupted, all pissed. “I did what you demanded, he knows I’m alive! All Right? So are you gonna sell me that gods-be-damned sandstone now or what?!” I demanded, adding in a good gut shaking Dragon-growl along with.

Dain, chose to keep his trap shut then, thankfully. Instead he took out a piece of paper from his clipboard and handed it to me without a word. I grabbed it and headed to the check out.

But, after seeing the long ass line for the cashiers, I decided to cool my foot claws. I just didn’t feel like putting up with the usual gawk-and-grab from my fellow Mamono, and the stares from the few humans who patronized the place.

Instead, I started ambling around the store to check shit out and maybe calm myself down. The last thing I needed to do was take out my bad mood on some poor mook, who was just doing their job.

I think I must’ve wandered about for the longest while around the store, not really seeing anything in particular. Instead, I found myself reminiscing about when this place was part of a different chain of hardware stores. This was back before the Mamono came along. Back when I could get my father’s approval for something, now and again. I knew I had some good times in that store with him and Mom.

‘But that’s gone now, forever.’ I mourned, idly looking around at all of the Home Improver sales flyers. I noticed then, that I had managed to wander into the B.O.B. alley.

I almost laughed, after I spied a couple of human women in Aisle 69. They were trying to not be too obvious about checking out what kinds of Battery-Operated-Boyfriends, that Mamono prefer to use.

I’ll give you a hint- those toys don’t use “D” batteries, they’re often powered with car batteries instead.

“Hello? Can I help you find something?” said a voice that broke me out of my melancholy. Looking over to the source, I spied a human male. An honest to Maou human male! He was dressed in the standard H.I.S. uniform-apron over his blue jeans and t-shirt. Quickly, I saw a nametag that said- ‘Johnnie’.

“I don’t know Johnnie, I think I’m just looking for something that’ll bring my old man back around.” I replied automatically.

“Nope, scratch that! That’s too much information.” I interjected quickly. “I guess I’m just browsing. Thanks for asking.” He smiled when I replied, but he didn’t move off. Instead he just looked back up at me and tilted his head.

“What’s wrong?” he asked. That question took me by surprise.

“Uhhhh, if you really wanna know?” I replied. He nodded.

“Just a half hour ago my old man learned about me.”  Johnnie looked confused. “I just turned into a Mamono a few months ago. Prior to that I was under the radar for a while.” Johnnie’s confusion turned into surprise then.

“You mean you were a human?” he asked earnestly.

“Yeah I was born a human, I grew up in these parts and learned my trade under my Old Man’s,…uhhh, wing I guess you could say.” He laughed at my joke. He didn’t need to, but it was still nice of him.

“So what’s it like being a,…what? A Dragon is it?” he asked, honestly interested. I nodded.

“Yeah, a Dragon. It’s real cool. I get to fly and shit.”

“Breathe fire?”

“Yep.”

“What about, you know, women?”

“Well, as the only Male Dragon in existence, I’ve got myself more opportunities for Tail now, than I did when I was a Human.” I snarked.

“What!?” he asked, looking bewildered. “I thought that once a guy gets latched onto by a Monster Girl, that’s it. No more ‘playing the field’.”

“Well, not exactly.” I explained. “As the ONLY Male Dragon in existence, I’ve been having to fend off quite a number of Mamono women, and it ain’t just Dragon babes either. Just coming into the store earlier this week, I’ve had to fend off a number of Mamono. It seems like just about every time I get in line, one or two of the more horny ones always ends up next to me.”

“Let me guess?” he asked, “They all ‘accidentally’ bump into you?” He asked with a knowing look. I nodded.

“I see that you understand. Every time they do, they either stumble and I have to help them up, and they’re ever so grateful for such a big, strong, and undoubtedly virile, male Dragon to help them out, and wouldn’t it be a ‘great idea’ if I took them home.” I explained, while I rolled my eyes. I noticed that he looked interested in my plight.

“I don’t suppose that you know of a way for another guy to become a Male Dragon?” he asked hopefully. I shook my head at him sadly.

“Well, kind of. For me, I got way lucky. It was more of a one-time deal.” He looked a little bummed out then. Seeing it, I then told him something.

“Tell you what, if I ever do find a way to turn a guy into another Dragon. I’ll let you know first.” I offered. That brought his grin back to the fore.

“What’s the matter? You aren’t getting anything now?” I asked, looking around. He shook his head. Curious, I did a quick sniff. The results surprised the hell out of me.

“You’re a virgin?!” I asked, all surprised. His eye went all round then.

“Hey keep it down!” he stammered, hands waving me down. “How’d you know?”

“I’m Mamono Johnnie. I can smell that on ya for Maou’s sake. I’m surprised that here of all places, that you’ve managed to hold onto it for so long.”

“It’s not been easy.” He admitted, looking at me in the eye for a second. “I’ve noticed a few other guys who get employed here, get snatched up and stay that way. I just want to find me a Mamono who wants me for me, not because I’m a potential notch on her bedpost.”

“Damn, you sound like I do now.” He chuckled.

“Well the way you put it, you make it sound like being married to a Mamono isn’t all that different from being a regular guy.”

“Well, there are a few advantages yes.” I admitted, bobbing my head up and down, with a toothy-grin highlighting my face.

“Plenty of sex, yeah. In fact, if I tried I could probably boink just about every one of the Mamono here in the store if I wanted to. BUT!” he seemed perplexed when I said that.

“That’s not what I wanted. I just wanted me one woman.”

“But you don’t want that now?”

“Kind of, it’s more a ‘face the facts’ that I’ve got several of them to contend with. They just sort of, I dunno, ‘wyrmed’ their way into my bed. A Dragon, a Dragonewt, a Were-cat, and the occasional Minotauros.” He whistled in surprise. I grinned.

“Yeah I know, it’s a hard life. But someone’s got to do it, right?” he laughed pretty good then, while giving me the long-eye. I shrugged my shoulders, which made my wings shuffle.

“But if I had my druthers, I’d just be banging my Dragon. The one who’s carrying my kids. And that, is why I’m here in this store.” I added, half to myself. Johnnie raised an eyebrow questioningly.

“I’m building her a nest-home for her and our kids.” I explained. “Which reminds me, I need to pay this.” I said, holding up the sales slip. We parted then, and I was in a much better mood as a result.

‘Thanks Johnnie.’ I thought to myself, as I meandered over to the check-out line. ‘Maybe I should write a note to the Manager, mention what a great clerk he was.’

After getting in line and waiting for the next cashier, I take the time to read Dain’s total costs on the slip. What I see there makes me blink, and then start cussing under my breath. The shipping charges alone were a killer. Which inevitably, makes me start fuming about my old man, again.

As usual in line for the cashier, the usual shit starts up.

What shit is that, you ask? Every one of the other Mamono customers are openly fighting about who gets to stand next to me. That, or they’re scoping me out and mouthing off loudly, trying to get my attention, and that’s when they’re being polite.

But, when they’re not? They get grabby.

“Oh I’m sorry! Was that your tail?” said one shrill sounding stick-pole of a Succubus, who had to forcefully stomp on my tail-tip for the umpteenth time before she finally got my attention. Looking back at her, I noticed that she didn’t quite have the platinum hair of a Lilim. Thank Maou.

Oh don’t get me wrong, any other day I’d have shown more interest. But this day, of all days, I just wasn’t in the mood.

“Uh yes, that is my tail. Thank you for noticing.” I replied as politely as I could manage. All the while gritting my teeth from the minor pain of a stiletto heel still pressing in between my tail scales. 

‘Scorching the pesky Succubus will just get you banned from the store.’ I reminded myself.

“Oh, my Maou!” she replies, her electric-blue eyes going round in mock-shock, as a lock of near platinum-blonde hair artfully falls over one eye.

‘There must be a spell for that.’ I think to myself, taking note of her hair. I also notice then, that her hair roots were in dire need of another bleaching. Particularly the ones closest to the base of her horns.

“How can I make up for my clumsiness?” she asks pressing a well-manicured hand to her mouth.

‘You could always try fucking off!’ I think to myself.

“That’s quite all right, mistakes happen.” I excuse, trying to brush her off. It’s been said that Politeness is supposed to be a ‘social lubricant’. But in my experience, Sex-Demons are only interested in a particular brand of lubrication.

“Oh I INSIST!” she insists, while placing that well-manicured hand on one of my wings, then she latches on- hard. “I really,…” she begins, as she starts to breathe deep breaths.

‘Oh Puh-lease.’ I think quietly, while rolling my eyes, ‘Come on!’ I grouse internally, ‘I already have me a woman, several in fact! What gives, can’t you scent them?!’

“Uh Miss.” I interrupt her. “The next cashier is waving at you.”

“The hell with her!” she growls, eyes flaring while trying to do a charm spell on me. She gets visibly flustered, when she realizes that it doesn’t work.

‘A Succubus trying to use a charm spell on a Dragon? Sheesh!’ I sigh.

It takes me a while longer, but eventually I get the point across to her, that I’m not interested in ‘donating any Essence’ today. Thank-You-Very-Much. She leaves in a huff. But, she leaves. I heave a big relieved sigh, then I let out a growl when someone behind me, starts stroking my wings. They stop when I do.

Now do you understand, why I prefer to go shopping with one of my women in tow? It lessens, but doesn’t eliminate, the amount of sexual harassment I have to put up with on a day to day basis.

Eventually, it’s my turn for the cashier.

There at the check-out you’d think my purchasing something would be a piece of cake. Particularly something so freaking expensive as all of the sandstone and the delivery fee of $139.00 per slab, and I’ve got several slabs.

BUT NO!!! That’s the downside of doing business at any kind of Mamono owned and operated business. Sexual Harassment, thy name is Monster-Girl.

“Why Hello There!” said the most-cheery looking Hell-Hound that I’d ever encountered at a check-out stand. When she said that, her eye flames flared up like a pair of blow torches. That caught me by surprise.

‘A Hell-Hound Cashier? WTF?’. To be honest she was the first, and so far only, Hell-Hound I’d ever seen operating a cash register. I just can’t imagine how her oversized paws could get away with banging onto a register keypad. But somehow, she managed to do it without mangling the buttons.

“Urm, Hello.” I replied as nonchalantly as I could manage. Looking over at her, I had to admit that she was far easier on the eyes, than that tail stomping Peroxide-Blonde Succubus.

And, I had to admit, she did display a nice rack of boobs that somehow managed to not fall out of her halter top. Her charcoal grey skin had me wondering what kind of tanning booth she used, as I couldn’t see any tan-lines. Believe me, I looked.

I guess she noticed me scoping her out then, because that was when she leaned herself out over onto the barcode scanner, with her already feral grin getting wider.

This, had the effect of her cleavage being presented ever fuller. Involuntarily, I leaned over to get a better view of what was on display, they did look rather yummy. It was then, that  I finally noticed her name tag: Girly.

‘Who the hell names their kid, Girly?’ I asked myself.

“So, what may I help you out of, sugar?” Girly asked, leering widely all the while. Her asking me that, broke me from my reverie of her chest.

We made eye contact then, and that’s when I realized that Hell-Hounds have that one trait that has always creeped me out: Black Sclera eyes. I flinched at the sight, and took a half step back.

“Uhm, I’ve got an order that I need to pay for!” I replied, just a little too loudly, all business like once more. She pouted, and her eye flames dampened when she saw my reaction. But she took the order slip with her man-grabbers and started working with it. Occasionally, she glances over at me with a frown. I just continue to play it cool.

When I pulled out my credit card, was when things took a turn. After I swiped it through the scanner, it failed. She had me run it through a couple more times, then asked me for the card.

‘What the fuck?’ I ask myself. ‘It was working fine just a couple of days ago, and I’m well within the payment schedule.’

She took the card and looked it over, then she looked over at me and stated.

“I’m sorry sir, but there’s a problem. Please hold on, I’ll call a manager.” She said as she picked up the Mamono-sized phone. Naturally I’m all nervous then.

‘Oh for Frak’s Sake! Now what?!’ I grumble under my breath while watching the Hell-Hound cashier. Occasionally, she glances back at me while she’s talking on the phone and frowns, again. Which just about drives me nuts. Finally, she hangs up and turns to me.

“I’m sorry sir, but there’s a problem with your account. If you’ll follow me to a store manager, I’m sure we’ll be able to straighten things out.” She says with a grin over her shoulder, as she starts walking off, tail wagging softly.

What the hell do I do? What the hell can I do? I follow her. She’s got the sales slip after all, and I refuse to go home without the slabs paid for. For Maou’s sake, I’d put up with enough shit just getting to this point.

She wends her way to the back of the store, and I happen to notice her nodding her head to a number of her co-workers along the way.

I start getting suspicious, when I see that every one of her co-workers that she nods to, gets a wicked smile when they notice me behind her. Eventually, we pass through a sectioned off part of the store. Going around a corner, I catch sight of her tail disappearing in between some sheets of black plastic that were hanging from the ceiling far above. It looked like that particular section of the joint was undergoing renovations. Looking up, I saw a sign that says: “Employees Only”.

‘Must be where her manager is.’ I decide. So, I follow her without thinking too much about it.

Once I’m in there it’s dark as fuck, and I start blinking furiously to try and get my eyes used to it. But, just as soon as I do, Girly’s eyes flare up out of nowhere and I’m blind again.

“Hey! What gives? Where’s your manager!” I demanded, all pissed. That was when I felt some oversized furry paws reach around and grabbed me from behind. Looking over my shoulder guess who I saw giving me a shit eating grin, as her eye flames flared up again?

“Hello Sugar”, she growls alluringly into my ear then.

I growled back at her in a not so nice way.

“BACK OFF!” I snarled at her, while trying to shake her off. But, it was then that I realized just how strong Hell-Hounds were, as she held me in an iron-like grip pinning my wings to my back with her overly warm boobs.

Instead of replying, one of her paws strayed down to my loin-cloth and she grabbed a handful.

“Oooooh!” she cooed then. “What’s this? It feels like I’ve got a double handful!” she teased, as she started licking me on the back of my neck. I started trying to squirm my way out of her embrace, but she fought me every step of the way, and won every time.

“Damnit! If this is what you wanted, why didn’t you simply ask?” I growled at her.

“Sugar, my kind aren’t in the habit of asking politely for anything!” she smiled back at me. “We take what we want! And what I want right now, is you!” she breathed, as she began to fondle my dynamic duo. I started coughing up a fireball in response. She noticed.

“What’cha gonna do with that Sugar? Scorch me?” she giggled then into my ear. I stopped when I realized what she meant.

‘A Dragon’s Fire-ball breath-weapon on a Hell Hound? It’d be like foreplay.’ I realized. ‘Even my smallest Plasma-Sphere would cause a shit ton of damage to the place, which I’d end up paying for.’ I decided, feeling frustrated. Then I remembered my childhood Aikido training.

It was surprisingly easy then, getting my wings unstuck. Easy because, all she had pinning my wings down were her arms and boobs. I bent over at the waist, and then brought myself up straight, from there it was an easy matter to tilt one wing up over the other and- Snap! I was free.

“Hey!” Girly shouted, frustrated, as I stepped away from her then. It was easy to see her in the dark by that time. Her eyes were flaring up like a pair of torches after all. But something was eating at me, she didn’t seem to be the least bit upset.

“All right, hand it over. You lost!” I growled at her while spreading my wings. She just shook her head.

“I can always get Dain to make another sales slip.” I mentioned, sure that I had the situation turned to my advantage. She shook her head again and smiled.

“Nuh-uh Sugar! How ya gonna pay that sales slip without your credit card?” she asked me.

‘Oh shit!’ I realized then what she was getting at! ‘She still had it when she led me on this merry chase!’ I silently groused as I moved closer to her. When she saw that I wasn’t replying, her already wide grin, got wider still.

“Just to let you know, Sugar, that I don’t have it on me right now. So there’s no need for you to get all ‘rough-and-tumble’ on me.  Which I wouldn’t object to.” She replied triumphantly. I stopped where I was, fuming silently.

“But, I also know,” she said, taking a step towards me. “that that brand of credit card is hard to come by, and even harder to replace if one of them gets lost, stolen, or worst of all, canceled.” She said meaningfully, taking another step closer.

‘Shit! She’s right! It’ll take at least a month to get a replacement card.’ I huffed silently.

“Damn it Woman! What do you want?!” I snarled. It just seemed to amuse her more.

“You know what I want Sugar.” She replied as she reached out and grabbed my loincloth with one of her man-grabbers. Her paw managed to get ahold of my Dynamic-Duo. They by then, had started to stiffen something fierce.

“Ooooh! She cooed, all delighted. “The rumors are true! You really do have two dicks!” she said as she began to kneel down, and started tugging at my loincloth’s knots.

‘Traitors!’ I growled at my dick’s hardening betrayal. Of course, they ignored me. All of their attention was fixated solely on Girly’s ministrations. Who had managed to untie the knots with her surprisingly dexterous paws. Her eye flames, flared up in surprise when she got to see best-buds up close and personal. I remained where I was, angry and annoyed at the situation, feeling helpless.

Angry, because I’d fallen into this trap so easily. Annoyed, because I’d heard tales of this kind of thing happening all of the time at these stores. But I discounted them, because I was a big tough Dragon after all. Helpless, because I couldn’t think of something to get myself out of this situation that wouldn’t involve damaging property.

‘Enough!’ I decided, after one particularly painful tug by her.

“Fuck this shit!” I yelled, “I’m tired of being someone else’s pull toy!” I said as I lashed out at her with a fist. She dodged out of the way. I lashed out with another fist, as I twirled around using my tail as a foot sweeper. All to no good. She dodged them all with ease.

“Oooh Baby!” she replied with a purr. Don’t ask me how a Hell-hound could purr, but she did.

“I like my men feisty, and tasty! You’re both!” she replied there in the dark. She must have quelled her eye flames cause I had little idea where she was located.

‘Wait, Hell-Hounds give off warmth. I’m a reptile, sort of.’ I remembered, trying to sense heat.

‘Over there! Is that a warm spot?’ I take a chance, and I lunge at her so quickly then! She let out a yelp in surprise when I managed to get ahold of her.

“Stop it!” I yelled, as I tried to draw her in. When I did, it was surprisingly easy. Just as soon as I had her up close and personal, she did the unexpected. She pulled herself even closer, wrapped one of her arms around me and then gave me a kiss, with some tongue!

“Bleh!” I went, as I tried pushing her away. She let go, and bounced off into the darkness. I decided that I could try Sensing her then. But I wanted to hold off on that.

“What ya gonna do, Mr. Belushi!” she taunted me from somewhere in the dark. “I’m gonna get what I want eventually, so there’s no need to play hard to get.” She replied huskily.

‘Hold it!’ I thought to myself. ‘There’s something I’m missing here.’ I realized, as I looked around. ‘Hell-hounds aren’t exactly known for being stealthy. So why all the hiding behind this plastic. In fact!’ I said to myself as I began to put things together. ‘She’s going out of her way to not be loud. Why it’s almost as if she’s afraid that if we make too,…much,…noise,…?’ I smiled with the realization of what she was up to.

“Ok Girly, you’ve had your fun.” I replied out into the darkness, testing.

“Not quite yet Sugar!” she replied huskily again. Yet she spoke quietly from somewhere nearby in the shadows.

‘Gotcha!’ I declared.

Then I let out a Roar. Not a yell, not a scream. But a bonafide full decibel, Dragon’s Roar. The kind that can make a statue wince. Katy Perry, eat your heart out.

“HEY HEY HEY!” Girly pounced on me, after I quieted. “Keep it down!” she almost yelled into my ear. “You’ll get me in trouble!” she pleaded, shaking me with her paws.

“Is that a fact?” I asked loudly, grinning. By that time, my eyes had finally adjusted to the dark enough that I could see her annoyance. “Why don’t you just march yourself back to the register and ring my sales up then?”

“Oh C’mon!” she pouted. “You’re a Mamono, I can tell you’re all hot and bothered! Most guys are.” She replied, as her paws started straying down to my dynamic duo. I slapped her paws away then, retrieved my loincloth and tied it back on. She was about to say something else when someone poked their head in through the plastic sheets. The new person had a face that made me want to melt in adoration of her inherent cuteness. She had a shock of off-white hair, coupled with a pair of round black ears popping up, along the crown of her head.

“Hey Brah!” this stranger said, looking around blearily. Taking a quick glance, I noticed that the newcomer was a Ren Xiangmao. Then she noticed me in the dark. “Is something the matter there, dude? I heard some roaring, I think.” she said, then she continued chewing on something in her mouth. Girly leaned over and whispered in my ear.

“Please, don’t get me in trouble! I need this job!” she whined fearfully. I gave her a quick glance.

‘Yeah she looks contrite, right now. Hmmm. Ah, what the hell.’ I decided.

“Possibly.” I replied, as I felt Girly tense up beside me. “Seems that there was a problem with my credit card. Girly here was trying to help me find a manager, to help sort things out.” I felt Girly relax then. I smiled. 

“Issat so Brah?” the stranger asked skeptically, blinking at Girly. Girly nodded.

“Yes, August, it is.” She replied. “Mr. Belushi here had a problem with his credit card. I called it in, and Angel said that she’s checking out a problem here in this area. I can’t find her anywhere. Can you help me instead?”

It turns out, that August the Panda-girl was a floor manager. She, after giving Girly and I an eyeball full, then smiled with her tongue blepping, and offered to take care of the problem. Within a few minutes, I was walking away from the register, with my sales slip receipt in my hip satchel. 

Was I pissed? Yeah. Was I annoyed as fuck? Yes. But Girly’s attention was predictable, and besides I couldn’t fault her good taste in guys. So, there was no need for me to act like a Human.

On the way out I gave a nod to Johnnie, who ‘just happened’ to be nearby, and I give an annoyed look to Girly. Who by then, looked simultaneously relieved and frustrated.

I’d heard enough through the grapevine to know that Hell-Hounds, ‘Could be stymied, but seldom thwarted’, they were so persistent. I knew then that I’d have to keep an eye out for Girly, whenever I swung by the store again.

With that thought, I went out into the parking lot and looked both ways before taking a flap back into the air. As a flying Mamono, I knew that it’s always a good idea to not only look out for vehicle traffic, but also low flying airplanes.

‘Not crashing into any airplanes, will keep the local FAA off of my tail.’ I reminded myself. ‘Wait! Is someone calling me?’ I looked back down at the parking lot and noticed Dain was waving up at me. I wasn’t feeling particularly charitable right then, so I ignored him and whoever it was standing next to him.

I took my time flapping to “The Dragon’s Roost”; Which is what I’d taken to calling the Cave I’d been building for Frazziss. She hated that name, saying; “It sounds like we’re birds! We’re not!” she’d groused. So, naturally I kept calling it that, just to piss her off.

Well, so long as she wasn’t within earshot, that is.

It took me about an hour and half to fly back. An hour and a half, of time to think, and time to brood. Inevitably, my thoughts returned to my Old Man and the reaction I got from him.

‘Fuck!’ I thought to myself, as I cleared a cloud. ‘Why the fuck does being rejected by Dad, hurt so much!?’ I said to myself, thinking again of that look of utter disgust on his mug.

‘It’s not like he ever gave a damn before!’ I groused unfairly, trying to console myself. ‘Yeah sure, he’s a Chief God worshipper. But you’d think he’d be at least happy to know that I’m alive. Figures.’ And so on.

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Eventually I got to the Roost, worked on it for a few more hours, then flew back to the Ranger Dormitory. There, I found Frazziss. Once I did, I gave her a big long hug, and I just ended up clinging to her for a long while. I guess that even a male Dragon needs some consolation, sometimes.

“Allen?” she asked, all concerned. “What’s wrong?”

I then told her what had happened between me, Dain, and eventually my father. Naturally, I didn’t say squat about the Hell-Hound. Frazziss would’ve been most annoyed at that.

“I’m sorry, Allen.” She replied as we lay on the bed together, whispering into my ear. “I know it must be hard to have to deal with that.” Eventually, Pirin showed up and joined in on the cuddle-puddle.

Pirin, once she learned what was going on, piped up and decided to tell me what her father told her, about what his life was like.

“Back in the old days, the Order Armies would usually get decimated by the Maou’s Army. By decimated, I mean that every guy there would be snatched up to be a Monster Girl’s husband. Which is where Momma got my Daddy.” Pirin looked thoughtful, remembering. I found myself distracted with her telling, and listened attentively.

“He was with the Hellebarde Infantry. Momma picked him out, because even though the rest of his unit had called a retreat, he kept fighting on fiercely. According to Da, he fought like that because he didn’t want to end up down a Monster Girl’s gullet.” She giggled.

“What?! No way!” I barked, all surprised. “Where’d he get THAT kind of notion?” She looked at me with amusement in her eyes.

“I’m not joshing Loknarr. That’s what the Order used to tell their troops; that if they got captured, they’d be eaten alive.”  

“Oh for crying out loud! I can’t believe that they’d resort to such lies!” I exclaimed.

“Yes they did, Allen, yes they did.” Pirin laughed then, nodding. ”Ma was able to outmaneuver Da long enough to wear him down, then jumped under his polearm and knocked him out. But, goodness! He certainly made her work for her prize! While she was undressing him, he came to and fought her some more!” Both Frazziss and I laughed at that.

“Well yeah. I’d probably fight that hard too, if I thought I was going to be eaten.” I smiled, amused.

“In a way he was going to be eaten, just a small portion of him!” Frazziss injected then with a smile, reaching down and cupping my Dragonhood with a paw. We all had a laugh then.

“So what was he like, once he found out what life with a Dragonewt was really like?” I asked her then.

“At first he was pleasantly surprised, then he got mad! Mad that he’d been lied to for so long! Then, after a long while, he tried going home to tell his family that he was still alive and doing well.” Pirin then got a somber look on her face. Noticing, I reached out and pulled her close.

“I think I can guess.” I replied. She nodded and continued.

“They rejected him then. They called him a ‘heretic’ and a ‘monster-lover’! As if that’s a bad thing!” she said, morosely. “They disowned him.” She finished quietly. We were all silent for a while.

“Frazziss?” I asked, looking at her. “What was your Father like?” she wouldn’t meet my eyes.

“I don’t know Allen, I’ve never met him.” She replied quietly.

“What?! You mean your mother never let him be a part of your life?” I asked, all astounded. Frazziss shook her head. Even Pirin looked shocked then.

“I don’t even know his name.” she said sadly.

“Damn!” I replied, angry. “Well tell you what. Once we get our own affairs in order, we can go to your old House and,…” I began. But then I stopped when Frazziss put a paw over my mouth, and started shaking her head firmly- NO!

“Please don’t Allen!” she frowned sadly at me. “I know you mean well, but it’s been so long, that I’d rather not know who it was now.” Listening to her, I knew that tone. So, I gave up trying to convince her, and I let the matter drop. For now, at least.

Even with all that, I did end up feeling better about everything. Especially after Angelique showed up. Between all of the women in my life, they managed to find a way to distract and make me smile. In the way that only three perpetually horny Mamono can do for their guy.

But, the hurt from my Old Man’s rejection, still wore at me.

And that, is probably where it would’ve stayed. But, a couple of days later the Home Improver Store delivery truck showed up with my sandstone slabs, along with an unexpected bonus.

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I was out for a flap, flying around the Hetch Hetchy Valley reservoir. The reason for that wasn’t just for fun. I was trying to spy out the place I’d been working on, for several reasons.

The chief amongst them, was that I’d been manipulating the local stone that made up my place, so as to make the entire joint blend into the background.

Now technically, I guess you could call The Dragon’s Roost as being a combination of an ‘Earth-ship’ and a ‘Hobbit-hole’. Only, you know, a Dragon-Sized hobbit hole. Which, now that I think about it, carries several levels of irony. Well, whatever.

My original aim was to make the Roost as energy independent as I could, and to make it seem like it was part of the natural landscape. One of the things I’d been working on, was making a form of ‘clear-granite’.

Eventually, I managed a ‘smashing success’, pardon the pun. When installed, it let in a wonderful level of sunlight into a room, without too much of the ultraviolet. Which meant that even a Vampire could get herself a suntan, I think. No way to test, I’m guessing.

Well anyways, the nice thing about this ‘clear-granite’, was that from the outside, it looked just like regular granite. All the while it molded seamlessly with the rest of the house. While from the inside I could see out just fine like it wasn’t there.

Thus, I had a number of ‘Earthship’ natural heating designs incorporated into the whole schmeer. This meant, that even in the middle of winter I wouldn’t have to let the sandstone slabs do all of the warming. After all, you’ve seen house pets take naps in wintertime sunny spots? Now imagine what a big ass Dragon will do in the same situation, or a Were-cat.

So, there I am flapping about, scoping out my place from several angles. If I didn’t know any better, I’d have sworn that the place was just another sloping granitic dome, amongst dozens of others.

‘Ha!’ I thought in triumph, smiling. ‘Even Girl Scouts would have trouble finding this joint!’

That was when I noticed the sound of a flatbed truck’s engine. Taking a swoop down to get a closer look, I noticed the distinctive logo of the Home Improver Store on the side of the truck cab, along with its standard color of nauseating purple. I also noticed happily, that the flatbed was loaded with several slabs of the sandstone that I’d paid for.

‘Well Hot Damn! That was quick!’ I thought gleefully. ‘Looks like it’s gonna be a productive day today!’ I mused, as I landed next to the spot that I wanted the truck unloaded at. When the truck got near on the gravel access road, I waved with my arms and waggled my wings. The driver of the truck honked his horn to let me know that he’d seen me.

Now imagine my surprise when I saw who was driving.

“Hey Dain! What the hell?” I asked, shocked. “When did you start making deliveries?” He smiled when he saw me.

“Well Allen, this one’s a special case. I just wanted to apologize ahead of time.” He spoke out through the window of the truck cab.

“Hey no sweat Dain. Water under the bridge.” I said to him after he’d started looking where to park. I spotted him as he tried to back up.

“Yes here, I know it doesn’t look like much, but you’re actually parking your truck in my front yard’s driveway.”

“But there’s nothing here.” He replied with his hands held up, looking around after he’d gotten out.

“Well walk this way, and I’ll show you the place. Tell me what you think.” I said as I started walking to the front door. I went a few paces, before I noticed that he wasn’t following. Looking over my shoulder, I saw him still standing next to his rig. I motioned for him to follow, but instead he just shrugged his shoulders.

‘What the fuck?’ I thought, as I stomped back to him, and raised an eyebrow.

“Allen, I’m asking you to please be patient with me. Once again let me tell you that I’m sorry for doing this.”

“Dain! What the fuck are you going off abo….” I began, then trailed off as I looked over his shoulder at some movement behind him.

I went all silent, when I saw who it was behind him.

My Dad.

I frowned when I saw him there, as my whole world went quiet. I turned my head over to Dain, and just about called up a fireball I was so pissed about his betrayal. He raised his hands in surrender.

“What. The. Fuck! DAIN!” I yelled. He motioned at me to calm down. I growled at him instead.

“Allen. ALLEN!” he yelled back at me. “Just hear him out, that’s all I ask.”

“Why the fuck should I?! I saw the way he looked at me!” I screamed. “I told you Dain, he fucking HATES Mamono!” I snarled and turned my back on them both. “Take your fucking sandstone and shove it…” I began.

Then, I heard something that I’d thought I’d never hear in my mortal life. I heard my Dad say “Allen! Please!”

That stopped me short.

Looking back over my shoulder, I took a quick glance at my Old Man. He was reaching out a hand in my direction, reaching out like he was afraid I’d go away and never come back. Which, was pretty much how I felt then.

‘Odd.’ I thought as I turned around fully and stared at him for a bit longer. That was when I got a good look at him. He seemed different then, smaller somehow, I don’t know,…desperate maybe?

‘Damn! It must have taken a lot out of him to say Please, for once in his life.’ I admitted.

“All right. What do you want.” I asked crossing my arms, all suspicious.

“Damn it Boy!” he got all grumpy with me then. I grew sour with that.

“I ain’t a boy anymore! Stop calling me that!”

“Ok! Ok! I get it, you’re not a boy.” He stated with his hands still reaching towards me, “You’re definitely not a man either, you’re a,…a,…” he started floundering with his fists, looking me up and down. I came to his rescue.

“Dragon. I’m a Dragon dad, say it.” He seemed to brighten.

“Ok, you’re a Dragon.” He said quietly, then paused. I thought I heard him choke for a second, then he started shaking. Then I realized what he was doing, he was laughing.

“What the fuck you laughing at!” I yelled back at him in outrage. Well, maybe not completely outraged. He started laughing his ass off then.

“I don’t know son, it’s just so fucking funny seeing you like that. Ha ha ha!” He was doubled over then, he was laughing so hard. “Looking at you right now, you resemble one of your siblings…har har har!”

“Huh?” I said real intelligent like. “What did you just say?” I replied as I stomped close to him. He looked up at me then, and I got a real good look at him. Ii made me rethink what I thought of him for some reason. For when he looked up, our eyes met and I could see that he was crying.

‘Wait, he wasn’t laughing in amusement.’ I realized. “You were laughing at something else, weren’t you?” I demanded.

“The irony.” He explained, while he nodded his head, tears streaming down his face. Instinctively, I came to a decision.

“Dad.” I stated, then I looked over at Dain. “Dain.” Both of them looked at me with trepidation. I sighed, and then I brought my paws together and bowed at them both. That surprised them.

“Under the Laws of Hospitality, I offer you food, drink, and comfort. Be welcome into my House.” I intoned formally. Both of them looked at me weird.

Eventually we got it all straightened out. They followed me into what they thought at first, was just a ‘natural overhang’ of rock. Then, once we passed over the threshold they both gave out a strong gasp of astonishment, I smiled with Pride.

“Holy Shit Allen!” I heard my Old Man say, as he looked around inside the rather cavernous front entryway. “I didn’t know there were any caves up here!” I grinned when I heard that.

“There aren’t.” I replied.

“Then what is all this?” Dain demanded.

“I made it.” I returned. “That’s what Male Dragons can do, we can mold stone. Naturally, I made a home out of stone. You’re in it now, follow me.” I stated, walking down one hallway leading the way, my foot claws clacking quietly on the floor.

It took a few minutes, but they caught up. All the while, I could hear them talking to each other, commenting about one thing or another. The first thing they saw were the Glow-Crystals lighting up the place. All in all, you could’ve expected to see an oversized Martin Freeman come huffing along any second.

“Come over here!” I said, “In the kitchen. You two hungry?” I inquired.

“Kitchen?” Dain asked, bewildered. He seemed astounded about the size of the room. Well c’mon, I knew I’d need a kitchen large enough to accommodate several Dragons, including the inevitable ever hungry teenaged Dragon. I’d gotten a bit more work done on the joint. It wasn’t much of a step to making a number of stone hot-plates for a range, to a full scale oven large enough to roast a half-cow if need be.

I was especially proud of the ‘automatic’ dish-washer, all made out of stone. Though, I was still having problems with that damned Fridge. 

They both decided on a bottle of beer. I pulled a couple bottles out of the cooler. They both looked at their bottles strangely, after trying and failing to get the caps off.

“Oops, sorry. They’re made for Mamono.” I said, as I pulled the bottles back and snapped the caps off without a thought. Dain grinned, Dad on the other hand looked away.

I motioned them both to sit over at a picnic table. Which is great for those folks who have tails.

“No, I don’t have things set up for regular humans yet. So no chairs.” I instructed. After they’d seated, both took a swig of their beers. Or they tried to. They couldn’t, apparently both bottles were frozen solid.

“Maou Damn It! My apologies. Just leave them out for a bit, they should unfreeze in fairly short order. I’ve been having problems getting the fridge to run right.” I explained. 

After that, silence fell. Dain and Dad just seemed to be interested in looking around the place. Dain, was looking at the bare walls of the kitchen-cave, while Dad seemed to be more interested in the arches and supports.

“Now.” I spoke up, getting their attention. “What’s this about ‘my siblings’?” I asked, looking at my Old Man.

“I thought you said that I was the only one who lived, remember?” I demanded, frowning. Dad sighed, and closed his eyes, then started toying with his beer bottle.

“Allen, this ain’t easy.” He started, then stopped. He looked like he was trying to think of something to say. I wanted to roar at him, but I held my peace with an effort.

“Do tell.” I replied.

“Siblings.” I prompted once more, I wasn’t gonna let this go. He looked up at me and stared for a long while. He then unconsciously reached over with one hand and rubbed at his other arm with it.

I remembered then that spot that he was rubbing at, it was where I’d broken his arm the last time ‘we spoke’. Which was way back when I finally managed to winnow the truth out of him about the Family Birth-Defect.

“As you know,” he began finally. “You had brothers and sisters, none of whom lived for long. You know why.” He said quietly. Dain looked surprised then, as he looked at us in turn.

“Yeah, I know.” I growled, thinking of my first daughter. “Born with no brain.” Dad nodded.

“Well, that ain’t the all of it.” He continued, looking down at the table. “Let me back up for a second.” He glanced back up.

“Back when your Momma and I first met, we came from two different families.”

“Hey! How is Mom doing anyways? The last I heard, she’d left you.” I interrupted. Dad gave me a grimace then.

“I’ll get to that boy!” he human-growled at me.

‘Oh how cute.’ I thought, suppressing a smile at the ‘human growl’.

“Now, as I was saying,” he said with a glare. I nodded. “We came from two different families, but both families had the same problem.” He looked meaningfully at me then. That caught me short. I leaned back.

“Babies?” I asked.

“Ayup.” He nodded wearily. “You see, while our line had the no-brain thing, her line had something different. The occasional no brain, but their babies often turned out,…well, like they were lizards.”

“What!?” I demanded, aghast.

“Yeah,” he replied. “They’d be born dead, but instead of the usual baby skin, they’d have a bunch of lizard scales, or claws, and often stubby wings.”

 “When I saw you the other day Allen. I saw all of my other kids that were born dead without a brain, and the couple who were born looking like lizards. Seeing you, reminded me of all of the hurt that I felt, after every one of them was born.”

“Do you have any idea what it’s like to sire six kids one by one, only to see them dead when they’re born!” he half shouted shakily to me.

“Not six, no.” I replied quietly, looking at him in the eye. That caught him off guard.

“Oh yeah, you do.” He admitted, closing his eyes, remembering.

“So with all of the defects on both sides, why’d you and Mom get together?”

“We thought that maybe, just maybe, we could,…you know,… cancel each other’s bad genes out. Sadly, it didn’t work out that way.”

“So, what kept you two going, making more babies?” I asked.

“According to Belinda, your Mom’s Aunt, we had to keep going.”
“Belinda?” I asked, “I don’t recall anything about her. Why’s she so important?”

“She’s a Dark Mage. She said that it was necessary for us to keep trying. Your Mom, always took her advice to heart.” Dad smiled unhappily then.

“Then we had you.” He smiled with gusto then. It just made his face light up. “You made all of our efforts, worth it.” He heaved a big sigh then.

“But, I couldn’t help but feel that I failed all of your other brothers and sisters. I knew that I shouldn’t have, but I was afraid that I’d lose you too, Allen.”

“Maybe I could’ve done better raising you, but always on the back of my mind were your siblings. All I’ve been able to think of, ever since you and your woman lost your daughter, was how much I failed you. So, I started hitting the bottle to wash away the pain of my failure.” When he said that, I wanted to scream at him. But, somehow, I couldn’t.

“Then, you disappeared. Your Mom and I didn’t hear hide nor hair of you, anywhere. So, I started hitting the bottle even harder.”

“I did hear that you turned your liver into a sponge. I guess that wasn’t true then.” He smiled ruefully at me then.

“You heard right, boy.” He said, looking up at me through his eyebrows.

“But how can that be? You’re looking as fit as a fiddle right now!”

“Your Momma happened Allen. By that time, she’d gotten tired of waiting for me to change, so she left me. Even that wasn’t enough to get me to improve.” I was so astounded then, that I kept my trap shut. He smiled.

“When I was in the hospital, and waiting for the Priest to come in and give me the Last Rites, your Momma showed up. This time, she’d taken to wearing purple. Including a purple wide brimmed hat.” I gasped.

“No Way! Mom’s a Dark Mage now?” he grinned.

“Not quite, she’s still apprenticing to her Aunt. But by that time, she’d learn enough to make healing potions.” I blinked.

“Uhhh, Dad, you do know what Dark Mages use to make those with, right?” I asked carefully. He rolled his eyes.

“Yes, I do Allen, yes I do. Where do you think she got the Semen for that healing potion she brewed up for me?” When he said that, I covered my scaly ears with my hand/paws.

‘Oh man, I SO didn’t need to hear that!” I whined to myself, then I looked up. Dad had a shit-eating grin. ‘I’ll never be able to look at a snowball the same way again!’

“She said it was the least she could do for me. She did love me for a little while. But she said that she couldn’t forgive me for letting you wander off into parts unknown.”

“Dad,” I said finally, “what if I were to tell you that you’ve been beating yourself up for all the wrong reasons?” he looked confused.

“What are you talking about?” he demanded.

“The whole ‘born with a brain thing, and the born looking like a lizard’? That’s neither of your guy’s fault.”

“What do you mean?” he asked. I then went on to tell him about the History of the Great Maou, the Dragons, their involvement in her Grand Plan, and the price the Dragons paid in order to keep themselves going.

The longer I spoke, the more astounded he became.

“You mean to tell me, that we’re all descended from Dragons?” he demanded, incredulous. I nodded.

“Yep, in fact I can give you a demonstration.” I replied, picking up a stray plate. The plate looked like it was made out of wood, but it wasn’t. It was in fact, petrified wood, thus I could shape it without too much trouble. I started humming a little ditty, and started shaping the plate into a bowl.

After I was done, I handed it over to my Dad. He didn’t look as surprised as I thought he’d be.  But he did raise an eyebrow.

“How?” he asked.

“Dragon Magic, remember what I told you? Dragon males can mold stone. Often we do it so that we can make a nest for our women. It’s something that I learned how to do, even before I became a Dragon.”

He picked that bowl up with a knowing smile, and then he did something that surprised the shit out of me.

He started shaping that bowl himself! I was all agog then, I can tell you! Within a few seconds, it was back into a plate again. Now, it was my turn to be surprised. I raised an eyebrow back at him. He grinned.

“That’s something I learned how to do when I was a boy. Once the church found out that I could do that, they told me that it was a Sin! So I’ve never done it again till now. It’s good to see that I still can.”

“Damn dad, there’s so much I still don’t know about you.” He smiled warmly then.

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So, after that, I completed showing them both the Roost. Dad, of course kept asking me a kazillion questions about the joint. What I was using as raw material, how I was forming things up, etc, etc, the usual kind of crap home builders talk about.

Eventually, we got the sandstone slabs unloaded. Though I didn’t really need their help in doing that, I allowed them both to help.

Dad, on the other paw seemed to be in his element again, and cheerfully took over. I swallowed my pride and let him. It was good seeing him happy for a change. He really did like building again.

Though at one point, he learned the necessity of my using songs in molding stone, he then asked me what problem I was having with the Fridge. I told him that the song I incorporated it with: “Weird Al’s, Living in the Fridge” was causing me no few problems. Like with it freezing things it shouldn’t and letting some mold grow. Angelique was surprised one time when she reached in to pull something out, and something else snatched it back in.

He then suggested something that I wouldn’t have thought of in a million years.

“What do you mean?” I asked, confused.

“Well you got TV right?

“No, not really.” I replied.

“What about internet? He asked. I nodded, and after a second, I wandered over and got the computer booted up. After that he took over (again). Within a few seconds, he called up a TV commercial for some air conditioning company. It took a few seconds, but then I noticed that the commercial had a catchy little jingle going.

It was indeed a nice little ditty. Made me feel like cooling things off with ease. So, I tried it out on the fridge, and wouldn’t you know it? It worked like a charm. The Old Man was all shits and giggles when I told him that. Then he got a strange look on his face.

“Wait a second Allen! You said Nest, didn’t you?” he asked.

I grinned back at him. His jaw dropped.

“Allen.” He said hoarsely. “Does that mean,…?” he asked.

“Yes it does Dad, I’ve got a pregnant Dragon wife.” He sat back down roughly.

“Your kid, will it be,..?” he asked then, looking scared.

“They’re fine dad, no worries.” I replied, soothing. His eyebrows shot up.

“They? You mean you’ve got more than one kid on the way?”

“Yeah, I’ve got a couple of muffins in the oven, so to speak. Twins actually. I don’t know for sure, but I think it’s a boy and a girl.” I replied proudly. Oh, he was so astounded then, it was so cool seeing him look like that. Then he shrunk in on himself.

“Well, I could understand if you didn’t want me around, after all.” He said sadly. That caught me off guard. I had to lean back and think about it for a second. But, even with the thought, I knew that I couldn’t deprive my kids of their grandpa. I looked back at him.

“Don’t you dare treat them like you did me.” I warned. He looked scared, but hopeful.

“I promise you Allen, I’ll do better for them that I did you.”

“All right, I’ll be glad to have you around. Well, you do know where I live now, right?” he nodded, his eyes starting to fill.

“Would it be ok if I dropped by your place, every once in a while?” I asked.

“Son, I’d be proud to have you over, anytime!” he replied shakily. That, for some reason, made me happy.

“Deal.”

I looked over at Dain then, he’d been silent during the entire exchange. I stared at him for the longest minute, and then I smiled and nodded my thanks. He nodded back.

“So Allen, when do I get to meet the mother of my grandkids?” Dad asked me suddenly.

“Yeah I suppose you’ll want to meet her, and the others.” His eyes bugged out at me then.

“Others?” he asked, blinking. I just grinned, I knew that’d blow his mind. I was right.

“Well for now, I’ll just introduce you to Frazziss. She’s the mommy. Right now at least. No guarantees about the others for later.” I continued, digging it in. He surprised me then, again.

“I’ll be happy to meet them all.” He replied happily, his voice quavering just a bit.

Well, later, after watching the truck leave in the distance, and having given a promise to set up a date to work out the introductions. I realized something.

For the first time in the longest time, I wasn’t nervous about the thought of introducing my women to my Old Man.

In fact, I was looking forwards to it.

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