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KEEGAN WAS OCCUPIED by his father, Ryane was surrounded by journals written by her old man, which left me the odd one out with no parental items to indulge in, but thinking about my family all the same. I wandered into the yard to make sure the bonfire had dropped to a fine smolder and then cloaked, taking to the air, unfurling my Dragon as I hit the higher atmosphere. It felt good to stretch him out, let my long, lean legs stretch with the wind beneath them. The chill air caressing my scales, within minutes my long black talons clutched hard Berkshire Mountain Cliffside. I had a roost there, a hiding place for some of my treasures, most Dragons do. Sure, I kept bank accounts, but I never knew when those could be compromised, hacked, or stolen in some way. One must always be on guard of one’s treasures. There in the high place, I had a cave that was only accessible by air, tooth and or nail, and only known of by me as I dug it out myself. I kept Mother and Father there, along with silver, gold and jewels. I am a rich man, but have lived modestly because it suits me. I do not need all the finery that Keegan strives for. Give me a warm bed and some good food and I’m a happy cabbage.
I pulled my Dragon back, taking my Human form with a roll of my neck and shoulders. I adjusted that which needed adjusting and entered my cave. Something was off, immediately I could sense that a breech had been made and someone or something has been in my cozy little lair.
My scales prickled and I could feel the sails on my arms as they penetrated the sleeves of my shirt. This was the problem with the partial turns, for Dragons, our magics absorbed our clothing in a complete unfurling on our willing, but when our minds were cluttered, things tended to get shredded... I really didn’t want to get caught up, half naked when I got back to Samuel’s. I took a deep breath as I loosed my wings and my vertebrae zinged as I drew my sword from its place between my shoulders. Properly armed, I stepped deeper into the cave, tiptoed and silent, my heartbeat the only sound I could detect aside from my soft, shallow breathing. My eyes adjusted to the darkness and I could see that some of the silver had been knocked over, but didn’t appear to be missing, the same with the jewels. Mother and Father were still on the alter and untouched. I let out a long held breath. If they had been damaged, I would have lost my shit completely. Then I caught wind of something awful. Following the stench, I found, in the back of the cave, a rotting buck, it’s head ripped back and innards devoured. From the looks of it, a mountain lion must have climbed up here and stashed its meal.
I shook my head and roasted the rotting thing to kill the stench. I was going to have to move everything now that my sacred space had been defiled. Question was, where the Hell was I gonna move it to? I guess Samuel’s house would do for now. I didn’t usually stay anywhere too long, but if I buried it in the yard, they’d never notice and I’d know it was all safe.