Lou

  "Would you like to py something?" The dragon girl nudged Lou with her snout. Lou didn't know how to react. Trembling, he tried to avoid her. To no avail.

  "Come! Let's do something fun! Cloud pictures? We look at the clouds and... No. You can't see the clouds, can you?" The dragon snorted. "I'm bored."

  Lou wasn't bored. No. He was scared to death. Freezing, he stared at the floor, on which a few tears fell. He cried. The dragon was too close to him. The head was enormous. The teeth sharp and pointed.

  Although he had already met this dragon, the images of the bck dragon crashing into his house haunted Lou. He made himself as small as possible. "Why are you afraid? Am I scary? You smell like fear. And it gets worse... What am I going to do?" Now Nour pouted. Lou remembered her name. "I'm nice! Honestly. Nothing will happen to you. Please. Don’t cry. Come! We're doing something funny, shall we?"

  Was she trying to distract him? Lou covered his ears. Her voice was so loud. All Lou could think of were the bck dragon's teeth. He had gotten so close to him. Nour snorted. She sounded worried. "Oh! I know! Do you like dogs? I'll turn into a dog, then you can throw a rock for me and I'll bring it back! But don't tell Mom!"

  "Nour? Are you a pet?", the voice of another dragon thundered into the cave. Lou heard the beating of wings, then two dragons nded in the cave. He recognized the whiteness of their bodies as he gnced at them briefly. Then he stared at the floor again.

  "Mom!", protested Nour. "I'm just trying..."

  "The boy isn't a toy and you're not a pet!", growled the other dragon. Nour's and Narcisse's father. "How old are you? You're acting like a little child!"

  "Pah! Child? Pet?" The next moment, something soft touched Lou's hands. Startled, he looked up. In front of him sat a small, very fluffy, white dog. Lou blinked.

  "Nour!", her mother growled angrily, but Lou didn't pay any attention to the other two dragons. There were dogs in the city. Sometimes Lou would see a few strays trying to steal his food. The dogs were skinny and scary. Most of the time they growled. He had never seen such a cute dog. Nour barked and nudged his hands again.

  "Oh", Lou murmured in surprise. He knew dragons could shapeshift. He'd seen it before. But only from dragon to human, not into such a soft-looking creature. Without thinking about it, he grabbed the little dog and hugged it. "Soft."

  "Great. Our daughter insists on pying a pet!", scolded Nour's mother. At the dragon's loud voice, Lou flinched. He gnced briefly in the direction of the two dragons. The white blinded him.

  "Let her be! You can see that it helps", Nour's father grumbled.

  Lou was still shaking a little and looked at the dog again. He knew it was Nour, but she was so cute in that form. Carefully, he stroked her behind the ears. Nour barked contentedly.

  Then he heard the beating of wings again. In a panic, Lou closed his eyes and hugged Nour a little tighter. She licked his hands. Another dragon nded in the cave.

  "Vivi!" That was Veit's, no, Harper's voice. Lou opened his eyes and blinked, whimpering.

  "Hello, Harper. How nice to see you!", Nour's mother greeted him. She sounded a bit sarcastic. "Polite as always."

  "Ina!" Harper greeted her, then his white color was already moving to Lou. "Forgive me for bursting in like this. I smelled Vivi." He sat down next to Lou and stretched one of his wings over him and Nour, which Lou pressed against him.

  "Of course." Nour's father smirked. "Then our Nour can stop pying pet."

  Nour barked and stayed where she was. In the shape of a dog.

  "Do you want to annoy your parents?" Harper whispered to her. For that, he lowered his huge head to Lou and her. Lou closed his eyes. Again he remembered the teeth, the bad breath, bck. Nour barked.

  "Vivi?" Harper nudged him with his muzzle, while tears were welling up in Lou's eyes again. "Oh no. It’s okay. It's just me. Wait. I..." The next moment, a person was sitting next to him. "Better?" The transformation happened incredibly quickly.

  Lou gnced at him briefly. Harper grinned encouragingly and repeated his question. "Better?"

  "Hm." Lou nodded and petted Nour. There was something calming about her fluffy, warm body. However, when Harper tried to pet her, she growled. Immediately, Lou let go of her and covered his ears. Nour tumbled to the ground, shook herself, took a few steps away from him, and took human form. Now a dainty girl sat in front of him. "I’m sorry, Lou", she said, walking over to her parents.

  Lou sobbed and closed his eyes. He tried not to see or hear anything. Memories of teeth, blood, screams tormented him. They didn't go away. His ears were ringing.

  "Ina, Dinko? Can I stay here?", asked Harper. His worried voice sounded muffled to Lou. "I'd take him with me, but..."

  "Of course", Nour's father replied.

  "You can't take him with you. Said Narcisse!", Nour called to him.

  "Huh?" Harper shook his head. "What?"

  "Narcisse gets Remy. It's dangerous here. He said that." Nour's voice sounded annoyed.

  "Huh?" Harper, too, sounded annoyed. But then he nodded. "Lou?" A warm hand tentatively touched Lou's shoulder. He screamed. "Oh! Hush. Sh. Sh." Harper threw his arms around him. Lou fought back, but Harper was much stronger. "Lou. It’s me! It's all good." Then he felt warm wings again. Lou opened his eyes. Harper had returned to the strange half-form, as in Remy's room. He now had white wings. Lou felt sharp cws through his clothes, but Harper didn't hurt him. He stopped screaming.

  "Good." Harper smiled. When he spoke, he tried not to show his teeth to Lou. "Feel free to lean on me. You're safe."

  Lou wasn't used to so much physical contact. The idea of leaning on someone was foreign to him. He had been hugged several times in the past few hours, leaning against Harper's dragon's body, but now he was once again in the arms of a human. Though not a real one. Harper's wings tickled the back of his neck. Lou bit his lower lip.

  "Oops!" Harper winked at him and then decided to help him lean on him. He pulled Lou even closer to him, twisted him slightly, reached under Lou's legs, and pced them over his right leg. Then he gently pressed Lou's head against his shoulder. Perplexed, Lou stared at him, Harper's wings enclosing them both like a cocoon. Warm, soft, and safe.

  They stayed like this for a while. Lou was silent, confused. Harper ran his hand through Lou's hair and pyed with the ribbon. Lou didn't know if he liked this closeness or not, but at least he had calmed down and let the dragon have his way. Outside the cocoon, Nour and her parents were talking. Every time their voices rumbled through the cave, Lou was startled. "It’s fine", Harper replied. "They're friends. Nice dragons. They don't do anything to you."

  Lou was too exhausted to say anything.

  He didn't know when, but at some point, he fell asleep from exhaustion. Lou wasn't dreaming. There was only restful emptiness...

  "No!" Harper's angry voice roused him from his sleep.

  "Harper. Be reasonable." That was Remy's voice. Lou blinked. Instinctively, he clung to Harper. The dragon leaned his head against Lou’s. The dragon's wings were gone. Harper looked more human again. Lou didn't feel any cws.

  "That's a stupid idea and you know it!", he grumbled. He sounded so angry that Lou cried again. He closed his eyes anxiously.

  "I have to agree with the boy", Narcisse growled. "The wise men are after him. Bringing him back to the city now would not be wise."

  "Should he stay here instead?", Remy growled indignantly. "Lou is almost blind. He could fall to his death!"

  "I know. It's also dangerous here." Narcisse sighed. "I said, not yet."

  Lou covered his ears.

  "You wanted to take him to Remy...", Nour grumbled in the background.

  "I know", Narcisse replied dejectedly. "It's all shit. Big shit."

  "The wise men? Huh?", Harper interrupted. He stroked Lou's hair again to calm him down. "They're after him! Correct? I can take him with me. I'm sure my parents will be happy to take him in."

  "You can't lock him up in a cave", Remy objected.

  "You want to lock him up in a house!" Harper began to cradle Lou in his arms as Lou trembled again. The quarrel was too much. Covering his ears didn't help.

  "A house is not a cave, Harper." Remy sighed. "He has a bed there. Food. Here? There is only dust and stone here. A human can't stay here."

  "No. Perhaps. Until the wise men don't look for him anymore!", Narcisse intervened again. "Given the situation, maybe we have to risk it after all. They think that a dragon... um... kidnapped him. Maybe they think he's dead. Otherwise, the first pce they'll look for him is with you. Then in my parents' cave. He can't stay here. And not with you either. For now. Harper's family lives in one of the rgest caves. We can hide Lou deep inside the mountain. They won’t look there. Hopefully."

  Harper nodded. "The corridors are like a byrinth. It's easy to get lost. But I know my way around. Only... We will still be able to smell him."

  "No." Narcisse smirked. "Your smell masks his. As long as you cuddle him constantly, no dragon will be able to smell him. You should be able to do that, right?" The dragon ughed softly. "We can smuggle bnkets and supplies into the cave. Not right away, but... And I'm sure no dragon will betray him if we ask for it. We don't hand children over to lunatics!" Remy's dragon sounded very convinced.

  "I don't know." Remy, on the other hand, less so. "Good. Let's give it a try. If the wise men think Lou is dead, I can bring him back. Without worry. Lou? Do you agree? As soon as it's safe in the city, I'll take you to me", he turned to him in a trembling voice. But Lou was unable to answer.

  He screamed.

  The world was turning. It was too much. Everything. Way too much.

  sasi