The Lost Kid - A Gilead Story
#1 of Gilead’s Stories
"Pass me the tea, would you?"
The purple dragon, twice the size of a man, but half the size of his more stereotypical kin, peered over to the chipmunk on the far side of the stump, a slab of wood being used as a table for a meeting over tea and cookies (courtesy of his own conjuring magic.) His mint green underbelly glistens in the sunlight, showing off the tiny, chitin-like scales covering his body. He grins happily as his companion obliges, pouring the fragrant beverage that smelled almost of Lilly flowers. Delighted, his 6 cone-shaped barbs along the sides and top of his head quivers with anticipation.
The chipmunk begins speaking in her Scottish accent, "Mr. Dragon, can we please talk aboot what's happenin' in the woods?" The rodent shifts a bit, uncomfortable, her double-striped tail fidgeting with annoyance. "There's somethin' I'm really tryin' to tell ya-"
Gilead raises a thick digit, a pointed nub of a claw protruding off the end of it. "All in due time, Rose! I wanna enjoy my snack first, so why don'cha just sit back, relax, and-"
Rose interrupts his speech, squeaking, "There's an outsider 'n our neck of tha woods, Gil!" She stares up into the surprised dragon's eyes, her own filled with determination to deliver the news as quick as possible.
The faerie dragon flits his dragonfly-esque wings, showing off a glowing pattern in yellow as his eyes grow wide. "A visitor...?" He stops in thought, his paw trembling a bit with teacup in paw. "But we haven't had a visor in..." His voice trails off, gears turning, until he suddenly lifts out of his seat, wings beating rapidly in a panic. "Why didn't you say anything sooner?? We have so much to do-"
"I tried to warn ya-"
"There's.. there's no time! We need a meeting, I gotta get things ready-"
"I think you're missin' the point, Gil-"
"Tea!! I need to make more tea! And bake cookies, and invite friends, and-"
"WOULD YOU CALM DOWN FOR A MOMENT AND LET ME FINISH WHAT I'M SAYIN'?" Her loud, squeaky voice echoed through the trees surrounding the pond that the table sat next to, the crickets suddenly going quiet from the noise momentarily as awkward silence fills the air.
Dumbfounded, Gilead sits back down, folding his wings behind his back, which lay flat along the profile of this body. His tail, only as long as his torso, sways with a bit of annoyance, the knob on the end up in the air. His eyes focus on her, watching her with his rounded, sky blue eyes as the bridge of his newt-like snout blushes a bit. "Sorry..."
Rose clicks her tongue with disapproval. "Ye really should know better by now... me, chidin' a dragon of all things! I'll never hear the end of this one...!" Now that she's given her piece, she sighs. "It's a young lad. Looks to me like he got lost an' wandered in by accident. If he discovers this here pond..."
His eyes widen a bit as she hints at the implications of such a thing. It's true, the years of peace in this hidden grove were largely due to the glamor placed around these woods - making the perimeter appear so thick that no one would even think of getting in. "Oh. That IS a problem..." He pushes himself back onto his fours, and begins to hover off of the ground once more. "I'll take care of this problem. Thank you, Rose!" And with that, he takes off into the trees, weaving between them with precision and speed!
Behind him, she calls, "Be safe, ya hear?" Looking past her paws, she can already see that he is long gone. "Don't get too attached, if ya know what's good for ya..."
Gilead ponders about the unexpected visitor as he zips towards where the breached entrance lay. How did this happen? What if the kid discovers the animals? What if he drinks the water? What if, what if, what if... One by one, he plays a lot of a scenarios in his mind, but one idea seems to lurk in the back of his mind... What if he wants to be my friend?
Then, miraculously, he senses someone nearby as he ducks behind a tree! Peeking around the side, he could definitely see it - a small child, probably around the age of 6 or so, sniveling and wiping away tears as they try to move their way through the brush, their little jeans torn in places along the sides and on the left knee, their shirt sporting a cute bee design with the praise "bee happy!" Printed below it. Their black hair on their head absorbed a bit of the light bouncing off of them, giving it a semi-matte look. "Tsk, Tsk... This won't do. This won't do at all," mutters the dragon.
The kid stops in their tracks, turning in the dragon's direction as they meekly reply, "...H... Hello?" Their eyes shown wide, red from tears, but now their eyes begin to fill with curiosity.
Immediately Gilead puts his paws over his muzzle and ducks behind the tree, tail tucking between his legs. Oh no. That wasn't supposed to happen, what do I do?!? Maybe if I stay reeealy quiet, they won't notice me-
"Whoah..."
The half-fae freezes up. Slowly he turns his head to his right, and right beside him... is the kid, stopped in awe, looking up at him! "Meep," tells the dragon from behind his paws, muffling the sound.
"Wow... a real dragon...!!" The kid takes a couple steps forward, and Gilead takes a couple steps back, holding his tail with his paws in dismay.
Looking around, he tries to look for a way out of this. The little soft-skinned creature before him had taken an interest in him, and now it seems like it's impossible to find a way around it! "N-no, you got the wrong idea-"
"You can talk?!?" Oops. That's two rules broken, now. The boy excitedly runs up closer to the much larger creature, grandeur in his eyes. From his point of view, he found the thing fascinating - he never even heard of a dragon like this before! "That's so cool! Say something else!"
Gilead covers his muzzle with his paws again, ear barbs standing on end. He stammers between his digits, "I-I think it's time you went home to your kind, don't you think?"
Completely ignoring him, the small child giggles, running up to Gilead and hugging him around his somewhat pudgy gut. "That's so cool! ...warm..."
Dumbfounded, he should have tried prying off the little human off of him, but instead he sits there, his face beginning to flush pink with embarrassment. "Warm...??" Slowly, as though magic, he starts to feel a small attachment for the little tyke - he looks so small and defenseless, just like the woodland creatures and pond dwellers around where the dragon lives.
"Can I play with you, Mr. Dragon? Pretty please??"
As Gilead finds himself staring into the kids expectant eyes, all his reasonings and arguments begin to fall apart. A small grin begins to creep up along the corners of his maw, as an idea forms in his head. "Oh.. O-ok... Um, you wanna see something cool?"
He giggles. "Yeah! Where are we going?" With outstretched arms, the boy motions to be picked up, and Gilead finds himself unable to resist doing just that, beating his wings harder to gain lift with the added weight as he takes off with the boy in his arms, zipping through the woods. "Alright then... let's go!"
Back at the clearing, Rose taps her little claws impatiently as she awaits for the dragon's return. "Where is he?? He should have gotten rid of 'em by now... I mean, how long does it take ta get rid of a little human anyway?" Finally, she could hear the rapid flapping of Gilead's wings approaching. "Oh, good, you finally came ba- WHAT IN ACORNS NAME IS THAT??!?"
Flush with embarrassment, Gilead comes to a stop by the table, and puts the child and himself down. "I-I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself!"
"Talking squirrel," says the kid, giggling with amusement!
Meanwhile, Rose begins to massage her chipmunk temples, nursing the start of a very big headache. "Not only did you show yourself to the lad... You TALKED to 'im... and THEN you brought the creature here?!? Are you off ya rocker or somethin'??"
The little one raises his hands into the air and spins in circles a few times. "What's a rocker?"
"I mean, he's so small, and cute, and-"
"He's a HUMAN boy. All humans grow up ta same way - dangerous! Not only that, but o'thers are sure to follow in no time!" Her little chipmunk hind foot taps with agitation on the log that made her seat.
Gilead twiddles his paws. "Did I really do something bad?"
Rose responds with a stern but caring voice, "YES. You put tha entire grove en danger over this. Also, we need to bring tha lad out of 'ere 'fore the lad falls victim to the magic of tha water!"
The dragon's eyes widen, remembering the old rites protecting this sacred place. "..No man is to step his foot in here, lest they shed skin for animal ears..." He cranes his neck down so he's eye level to the child, the human's hair already beginning to sport a tinge of orange around the tips. "What's your name, boy?"
The kid itches his nose a bit, which seems to be getting darker by the second. "It's Charlie..."
"Charlie, I'm sorry, but it's time to make a really big decision, ok?" Gilead puts a slightly webbed paw on the kid's shoulder. "You can either live with us from now on, and forget your mom and dad, or go home, and forget us. I'm sorry it's like this, but rules are rules!"
The boy starts to tear up again. "You mean I'll never get to go home again?" After a moment, he begins to sob. "I don't wanna forget you... I wanna go home!"
Fighting back tears himself, he puts his paw over his eyes. "It'll all be over soon." The purple creature concentrates a little, and the youngling slumps into his forelegs, fast asleep. HIs ears already has grown pointed, and was starting to sprout orange fur with black on the ends. Picking the kid up, be begins to hover. "I gotta take him to outside, Rose. I need you to scout out his parents - they're probably worried sick!"
Rose could only nod in response. "Aye. You're doing the right thing, Gil. You 'ave plenty of time ta get 'im out in time. Good luck, dragon, and Godspeed!"
"Gilead Races through the woods once more, rushing to get the child to the border. The changes were starting to grow more and more, sporting a small tail that is growing bushier by the second! 'If I don't get him out of here in time, there's gonna be a lot of trouble! We can't have that...' Soon, the fae reaches the end of the grove, a spot that apppears to be a barrier. With a wave of his paw, the image in front dissipates, and he brings the child outside. Sounds of hunting dogs and men approaching could be heard in the distance ahead, and with the animalistic features already fading away from the little one he decides to lay them down onto the forest floor, where he will be found. '...Like it never even happened.' And with that, he retreats through the bushes back into his sanctuary to enjoy his tea and cookies once more.
Ever since that day, tales started to spread about a place, deep in the woods, where men and children would disappear. The full grown adults that disappeared never came back, and the young that disappeared were often found unconscious later, recalling what they thought was a purple dragon surrounded by his talking critter friends, but always dismissed as a dream. Each time it happened, there was an uproar - but each time, it was quickly forgotten. Peace returned to the village once more - and so did too, for the hidden grove deep in the woods for Gilead and his companions.
The end."
"Really? You're just goin' to end it like that? Why don't you just swallow me down while you're at it, at least THAT would be more entertainin'!" Rose crosses her paws. "You 'ave ta add a bit of spice to the story, like a good stew! Like somone trying to stop ya from returnin' the boy, now THAT would do tha trick!"
Gilead twiddles his paws with embarrassment. "Well, I'm not very good at making stuff up, you know, but I thought I'd give it a better ending than what happened, you know?"
"Gil! Gil! Look what I found!" A little fox cub prances over to the pair over by the table, then opens his maw and dumps several acorns on the ground. "Tree seeds! Lots of em! This is what you're looking for, right?"
The dragon grins happily and gives the little one a pat on the head. "You did great, C! I'll be able to make something delicious for you all tonight."
The little tyke happily bounces around, stopping to nuzzle against Gil's leg. "I'm glad I have a family again."
Gilead nods as he gives the child a big hug, grinning. "Me too..." Hoisting him up, he places the cub on his back. "Me too." And with that, he takes off, the little fox enjoying the ride.
-The End-
If you enjoyed this story, please consider supporting the author!
•Donate to Imaginaut on Ko-Fi!
•Watch @ImaginautStories on Twitter!