A male voice she didn't know spoke up. "Aye, that's true."
She turned and saw another grown-up, this one with dark hair. He had a tattoo on his bicep, and she tried her hardest not to ask to see it better.
The dragonman must've noticed her intent gaze, because he squatted down and pulled up the top of his sleeve. "You fancy my tattoo?"
"Oh, yes. I want one, too. When I'm older. Although I'm a human, so maybe I can't? But they're so pretty."
The woman said, "This is Daisy Chadwick."
She stopped staring at the tattoo and looked at the man's eyes. "Nice to meet you, sir."
"Call me Bram." Bram looked over at Freddie. "And you're with Freddie Atherton, I see."
"Yes. He's my partner for the day. And I know we weren't supposed to sneak off, but I really wanted to see a dragon, and Freddie was nice enough to help. So if you need to punish someone, punish me. Not him. He did a brilliant job today."
Freddie finally pulled his hand from hers. She looked over and noticed his cheeks were pink as he said, "I was just trying to help you understand us better."
Bram grunted. "While I, more than anyone, want to help the humans better understand us, you two shouldn't have run away from the group."
Daisy shook her head. "We didn't run away. We snuck away."
Evie snorted and Bram smiled. It was the clan leader who replied, "Be that as it may, it's still against the rules."
She blurted, "Please don't ban me from ever coming back. I'm sorry I broke the rules, I really am. But to think I'd never see dragons again, or learn more, or even talk with one, makes me want to cry."
Bram gently patted her shoulder. "Don't worry, Daisy. I think even if I tried to ban you, somehow you'd find your way back. Wouldn't you?"
She grinned as she swung her arms side to side. "Maybe."
He laughed. "You're very determined."
She jumped in place. "I just love dragons. And now I've met some, I just want to meet everyone."
Bram stared at her for a few seconds before standing up. "I can't promise anything, but you've given me an idea, Daisy. You'll have to accept whatever punishment your teacher has, but maybe you can come back again."
"Really?" She lightly hit Freddie's arm. "Then you can show me some more stuff. I'm sure there's lots I don't know about."
Freddie rubbed the back of his head. "Maybe."
Bram motioned toward the tall, blond man. "Kai will take you back to your group."
"When can I come back?" she asked.
Bram laughed. "We'll see, Daisy. But it's possible it'll be sooner than you think, especially if my idea works. You'll be one of the first to know when you can come back, I promise."
She put out her pinky. "Pinky promise?"
He placed his much bigger pinky around hers. "Pinky promise."
Releasing his finger, she jumped and turned to Freddie. Before she could think why not, she hugged him. "See, Freddie? Today was brilliant. And I can't wait for you to show me other surprises. Because if I come back to Stonefire, you'll be my partner for the day. Even if you're a little bossy, and grumpy, you're still brave and fun. You're also my first dragon friend."
He murmured, "I guess that means you're my first human friend."
She hugged him tighter. The day had turned out better than she'd thought. Sure, she'd probably have some sort of punishment. And she'd have to convince her mum of how brilliant Stonefire was and list all the reasons why she should come back. However, she'd not only touched a dragon, but she'd also made a dragon friend.
It really had been the best day ever.
Epilogue
Months Later
Freddie stood near the entrance of the new cottages built on land near Stonefire but not quite on it, and wondered where the humans were.
His dragon stretched his wings inside their mind. They'll be here soon. It's still early. Why don't we take a nap?
And miss them arriving? No way.
You just want to see Daisy again.
He didn't answer his dragon.
Even though some of his classmates teased him, he and Daisy were friends. They hadn't seen each other since the day they'd snuck off to the main landing area, but they'd been allowed to write letters.
So when the first joint human-dragon camp launched in the Lake District, Freddie's clan leader had worked hard to make Freddie and Daisy's classes the first ones to join.
It was run by the human school, the dragon school, the Department of Dragon Affairs, and some department in the human government. Everything would be watched closely, and he knew reporters and cameras would come, too.
It meant there would be fewer chances to slip away for adventure.
However, he and Daisy would find something special to do. He was sure of it.
And then the bus entered the area and he raced to where the Stonefire Protectors waited, to help process their arrivals.
He did his best to seem almost bored. Not that it mattered. As soon as Daisy got off the bus, she went straight for him and smiled. "Freddie!" She lowered her voice as low as she could. "After all the greetings and unpacking, let's find our first adventure."
He should say no. They didn't need to get into trouble so soon.
However, he bobbed his head and put out his pinky. Once they shook, the teacher and human guardians gathered up all the human kids and took them to their assigned cottages.
He watched which one was Daisy's and made a note.
As soon as things calmed down, he'd find her. And maybe then he could show her how well he could shift now.
That's not much of an adventure, his dragon stated.
No, but it'll make her happy. And then maybe she'll let me take the lead on where to go this time.
Good luck.
Freddie raced back to his cabin to wait. He'd never thought he'd have a human friend, let alone a girl. But Daisy was different.
And one day, maybe she'd look at him in his dragon form and squeal. Both human and dragon liked that idea.
The time came to meet Daisy and he raced out the door. His next adventure was waiting for him. And he couldn't wait to see what it would be.
~~~
Did you enjoy this story? Do you want more of Freddie and Daisy? If so, let me know either by leaving a review on your favorite vendor or dropping me a message either via my contact form on my website or on my Facebook author page. These two have plenty of adventure opportunities, provided people want more of them. :)
Author's Note
I had originally intended for this story to be much, much shorter. It was to be an exclusive for my newsletter subscribers only, as a sort of special treat. But once I finished Freddie and Daisy's story, I loved it way too much to not share it with everyone else. And so I decided to start a new related series—Stonefire Dragons Shorts. I hope to write many more short stories to help fill in the everyday lives of my dragon-shifters, aspects that won't really fit into any of my main series but certainly deserve to be shared with my readers. If there's something you've been curious about and want to know more, feel free to let me know. I can't guarantee anything, but maybe there's some facet of dragon life everyone's hankering to learn about and I have no idea!
As always, I have a few people to thank for getting this out into the world:
--A huge thanks to Becky Johnson of Hot Tree Editing for squeezing me in on such short notice. She and her team always do a fantastic job!
--The cover was done by Jaycee DeLorenzo at Sweet 'N Spicy Designs and she found a way to perfectly blend the overall look of my Stonefire series with her own design style. She's absolutely lovely to work with.
--And to my team of betas, who help spot those lingering typos: Sabrina D., Sandy H., Donna H., and Iliana G. Thank so much ladies!
And of course, my last thanks is for my readers. All of my dragons are like family to me now and it makes me so happy to know many of you feel the same way. Let me know what you think and I'll see you at the end of the next story.
; Books by Jessie Donovan
Kelderan Runic Warriors
The Conquest (KRW #1)
The Barren (KRW #2)
The Heir (KRW #3)
The Forbidden (KRW #4)
The Hidden / Vala & Thorin (KRW #5 / Summer 2019)
Love in Scotland
Crazy Scottish Love (LiS #1)
Chaotic Scottish Wedding (LiS #2)
Lochguard Highland Dragons
The Dragon’s Dilemma (LHD #1)
The Dragon Guardian (LHD #2)
The Dragon’s Heart (LHD #3)
The Dragon Warrior (LHD #4)
The Dragon Family (LHD #5)
The Dragon's Discovery / Alistair Boyd (LHD #6 / May 30, 2019)
The Dragon's Pursuit / Layla & Chase (LHD #7 / TBD)
Stonefire Dragons
Sacrificed to the Dragon (SD #1)
Seducing the Dragon (SD #2)
Revealing the Dragons (SD #3)
Healed by the Dragon (SD #4)
Reawakening the Dragon (SD #5)
Loved by the Dragon (SD #6)
Surrendering to the Dragon (SD #7)
Cured by the Dragon (SD #8)
Aiding the Dragon (SD #9)
Finding the Dragon (SD #10)
Craved by the Dragon (SD #11)
Persuading the Dragon / Zain and Ivy (SD #12 / TBD)
Stonefire Dragons Universe
Winning Skyhunter (SDU #1)
Stonefire Dragons Shorts
Meeting the Humans (SDS #1)
Asylums for Magical Threats
Blaze of Secrets (AMT #1)
Frozen Desires (AMT #2)
Shadow of Temptation (AMT #3)
Flare of Promise (AMT #4)
Cascade Shifters
Convincing the Cougar (CS #0.5)
Reclaiming the Wolf (CS #1)
Cougar’s First Christmas (CS #2)
Resisting the Cougar (CS #3)
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the writer’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Meeting the Humans
Copyright © 2019 Laura Hoak-Kagey
Mythical Lake Press, LLC
First Digital Edition
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner without the express written permission of the author except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Cover Art by Sweet 'N Spicy Designs
ISBN: 978-1942211747
Meeting the Humans Page 3
