Fledgling

by Tabatha Palomo

Chapter Thirty Seven

  “Choose one,” Dustin checked his thin wallet, “I paid the apartment bills a few months in advance, so we don’t have to worry about that, but it’s not like I’m rich. I haven’t got a hundred year’s worth of interest in human banks like most dragons do.”

  “Interest?”

  “Yeah,” he shrugged, “Some dragons only visit the human world once every hundred years or so, and they put a bit of money in the banks. Interest stacks up.”

  “Fascinating,” she said, taking one of the boxes in her hands. She smelled it, shook her head, and put it back. That box smelled cheap. She picked up another, this one large and dark in color, and smelled, “I think Kai had this. I never brewed it, though.”

  “If Kai had it in his kitchen, it’s good tea,” Dustin said, “Tea and words are his forte.”

  “And mine,” she said, “Or, well, I want them to be.”

  “You want to be a storyteller?” he asked. She couldn’t tell if he was disappointed or just genuinely curious.

  She was self conscious, “I don’t know. I like words. And tea. No other job I’ve heard of is all that interesting.”

  “How about a chaos errand boy?” Dustin suggested, “You get to have your own life, live anywhere and everywhere, and help people.”

  “No,” she answered

  “Why not?”

  “I would be an errand girl, not an errand boy,” she pointed out.

  “Fine then, how about an errand girl?” he smiled.

  She rolled her eyes, “No.”

  “Why not?” he was surprised, genuinely surprised. It was like he expected her to say yes.

  “I’m not working for chaos,” she leaned forwards, her voice barely more than a whisper. She didn’t want to announce to the world that they weren’t human.

  “You already are,” Dustin put an arm around her shoulders, “You’re keeping me in check, like a manager. And I’m the leader’s lapdog.”

  “The leader?” she repeated. She was under the assumption that the chaos were an unorganized group that just milled about, doing whatever they wanted.

  “Big secret. No, you can’t know,” he grinned, “Not until she says so. But it’s kind of amazing, don’t worry.”

  His hushed, excited tone wasn’t enough to spark her interest, “Cool. So how am I going to pay my way?”

  “You’re a Fledgling. I pay your way,” he said, rolling his eyes, “Like a minor.”

  “I’m almost an adult,” she said, not knowing why it was so important to remind him of that fact. She did act older, most of the time.

  He continued, ignoring her comment, “The bar where I work is always understaffed. I think I already brought this up.”

  “I’ll be a waitress?” she checked, a smile slipping onto her face. A normal, humanish job. She could do that.