Fapallo was an excellent companion. Despite their language barrier, the pair of them almost instantly bonded. The dragon was friendly and calm, spending much of the heat of the day on the roof of the house. He claimed he was “on watch” while up there, but with his eyes closed and wings completely laid out across the roof, Kaitlyn found his form of watching to be difficult to believe.

At night he came inside and slept in front of the hearth. When she had nightmares, he came a few times and curled up around her, settling her into a snuggle against his warm side, tucked under his feathery wing.

If Kaitlyn left the security of the hut, he almost always was around her, whether she knew it or not. Sometimes he was blatant, walking beside her and even helping her with tasks like carrying bundles of nettles, a basket tied to his side to hold herbs and roots for her to gather. If he saw, or more commonly smelled, something he wanted to hunt he would flick the basket with a claw. Kaitlyn would immediately unhitch it from his side and he would seem to flicker up into a tree to better stalk and pounce on his prey.

Kaitlyn didn’t immediately realize how protective he was. She thought she had left alone, Fapallo having left in the morning to hunt. She was walking in the opposite direction from the river, a hilly and dark part of the woods. The large trees left wide paths along the forest floor, the underbrush barely able to grow above her knee because of the darkness under the canopy. The light which filtered through made the very air almost look green and golden.

If she was honest, Kaitlyn liked this area of the forest because it was so unlike any forest she had ever seen before. It felt old, the massive trees each large enough for ten of herself to stand at arm’s length and barely circle. She was aware this was a place where fae folk abounded. She had seen fairies occasionally, but most of the dark wood fair folk were shy.

She sat down on a dead tree’s trunk and pulled out her lunch, a potato with a bit of bird Fapallo had brought to the hut. She was about halfway through when the forest began to fall silent. She didn’t notice immediately, when she looked up and began looking around to try to figure out where the danger might be, she couldn’t see or hear anything.

There was a noise like a large footstep and she held her breath, wondering what she could even do. She finally decided to hide under the side of the fallen tree. She heard something enter the clearing and her eyes went wide when a foot stepped down almost right beside her.

The foot looked almost like a tree, but the toes had claws instead of toenails, the scale-like bark all over the foot and leg. She heard the thing lean over the tree and could hear it take a big breath. She tried to make herself as small as possible, but prepared to begin casting as much fire magic as she could manage.

She heard Fapallo roar and the creature was sent sprawling onto it’s back with the dragon kit on its chest. The creature was slightly human-shaped, but the legs turned backwards. The chest was almost sunked. The arms too long and ending in three claws rather than hands. The head was even worse, a mouth that opened unhinged like a snake’s but with several rows of teeth. Four horns rose from the head, two swooping forward like a bulls, two swooping backwards.

It scrambled as Fapallo bit and snapped, chasing the creature away into the woods. As soon as they were out of sight, Kaitlyn scrambled from her hiding place and sprinted for home. She half-collapsed as she reached the well and pulled up a bucket with shaking hands.

When Fapallo winged in, she winced and said, “Thank you.”

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Fapallo nodded and ruffled his feathers proudly. She nodded and said, “Yes, you were amazing. When did you start following me?”

He tapped the ground in front of himself and she shook her head. He tried again and then used his head to half-push her towards the edge of the land. She resisted a little, she wasn’t ready to brave the forest today. He stopped her before she reached the edge of the clearing and then tapped her foot.

“Wait, you mean when I was here?” she asked. He nodded proudly.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” she asked.

He whistled a half-question and she frowned. He tilted his head. He held up one claw like a finger. She said, “One.”

He nodded. He pointed at her and then held up the single finger. Her forehead crinkled as she considered and asked, “Me alone?”

He nodded again, happy. She frowned and thought about what choices he had made, if he thought she was alone and didn’t join her. She asked, “You thought I wanted to be alone?”

He nodded again and she chuckled. She said, “You don’t need to make that guess ever again. I really appreciate when you join me. I’m lonely enough just living here. If, for some strange reason, I need alone time, I’ll tell you.”

Fapallo’s crest fell a little and she couldn’t help but throw her arms around him, “Thank you so much for caring so much. I can’t tell you how much it means to me.”

Fapallo nuzzled her and when he sat back he pointed to his own chest and then Kaitlyn. She smiled and interpreted, “You and me together, right?”

He nodded happily and she replied in kind. She then said, “Do you want me to make that blueberry dish again tonight?”

Fapallo almost pranced. She had used some wild blueberries, honey, and mint to make something which was almost a jelly and served it on eggs which she broke and then mixed with a generous helping of pepper. Fapallo had loved it.

Kaitlyn had five eggs they had found in the forest and she pulled these out of her storage basket and began preparing them. Fapallo settled down on her bed while he waited for her to finish.

She asked, “Do you know what that monster was?”

Fapallo whistled, “No.”

“Do you think it was going to hurt me?”

“Yes.”

“I know I said it before, thank you.”

“No.”

She looked over in surprise and he pointed to his chest and then back to her. She smiled a little and nodded, “Yes, you are my protector. I can still appreciate what you do.”

“Please remind me to ask Master Garthis what that thing was.”

Fapallo whistled an agreement tone, but with his own question attached. Kaitlyn would need to remember to also ask Master Garthis if there was any way to learn languages faster, especially a language that covered a range of noise she could barely reach on either end. She also wondered if Fapallo could learn to speak more like a human.

That afternoon Fapallo brought home two pheasants. Kaitlyn gladly roasted one of them which she split with Fapallo. The other she put into a pot to turn into a soup or stew. She giggled when Fapallo kept trying to sniff the broth and offered to let him have some in a bowl.

He picked the bowl up in two clawed hands and carefully drank the broth. He closed his eyes and made a noise like a cat’s purr. Kaitlyn grinned at his body language and said, “I guess you like it then?”

Fapallo nodded vigorously. She sat down crossed-legged in front of him and said, “Good, then that is something else we can share together. I want to tell you thank you for today.”

The dragon kit lifted his head magnanimously and the feathers around his face flexed slightly, preening like a bird. He then nodded and tapped a front foot on the boards under him and then himself. Kaitlyn said, “This is yours?”

He nodded and she grinned and said, “Pretty sure it’s my house.”

Fapallo shook his head firmly and then tapped her knee and his own chest again. Kaitlyn asked, “Our house?”

The dragon kit nodded firmly and looked at her, pointing to himself and then her. She grantly reached out to scratch around his head, “I’m really glad you like it here. You can stay as long as you like. My house is your house any time.”

He scooted his body until most of him was behind her, curling around her and putting his head on her lap. She kept scratching his feathers and he sighed happily. She spoke softly and said, “Thanks Fapallo. I can’t tell you how glad I am you’re here.”

He huffed slightly against her thigh and opened one eye to look at her. He whistled something and she again told herself she really needed to learn to speak - or at least understand - dragon language.