An Intruder

Taking a short handled broom, Mai cautiously and quietly crept downstairs, to hear more slight shuffling sounds coming from the kitchen.

Still in the total dark, something big moved nearby and Mai let loose a flurry of whacks at it with her broom.

"Ah-!?"

"Whoever you are - get out of my house!"

"Wait - ah, please no more - oh, I give, I give!"

That voice sounded awfully familiar, and after the darkened figure had been knocked down to the ground, Mai illuminated the area using a little fire magic.

"Hey there."

Lygawa lay on her kitchen floor, with a shaky smile and her hands open.

"What are you doing?"

Mai kept the intruding dragon held to the ground with her pointed broom handle.

"I could no longer wait out there in the forest... so I followed you back here, yes..."

"And you broke and entered?"

"I didn't break anything; I got in through the open glass entry point..."

The window...?

"And, well, I got overwhelmed; this whole room smells so wonderful..."

Mai scowled at her for a little, till the others smile disappeared, before putting aside the make-do weapon and letting her get up off the tiled floor.

"Are you going to kick me out?"

She fluttered her dress with her hands, looking to Mai still cautiously.

Mai kept her flame light above her hand and sighed.

"No - you'll only get into more trouble..."

"Me? Trouble?"

Mai went over to her cupboard in the combined dinning and lounge-room and fetched a nice, big spare blanket from it.

"But if you're going to crash here..."

"I crashed or crushed nothing, I swear!"

Lygawa shot back defensively.

"Here, you can stay on the big seat there for the night, because we humans require regular sleep."

Mai tossed the folded blanket at her uninvited guest.

"We dragons sleep too, some for a great amount too..."

"Well get to it please, because you get nothing more if you creep about the place in the dark!"

Mai put her foot down on the troublesome lizard-girl's actions.

"Yes, yes, I will, I promise."

Lygawa leapt to the mentioned couch and sat obediently.

"Good, now stay - till I come back down in the morning."

The wilder girl nodded, holding her position.

It's like a pet dog...

The true resident marched back upstairs and returned to her cosy bed.

The dragon was still there in the morning, sprawled out over the large chair, tangled in the blanket and partly on the floor, still ever so lightly snoring too.

She's quite cute like that... like a puppy...

Just standing there and watching her continue to sleep wasn't getting anything done, so Mai started on breakfast, for two now.

I wonder if she's just a short stay visitor... or will this turn into some kind of long term situation...?

Eventually the lazy lizard got up; just as Mai had finished everything she thought they needed for a morning meal. Still snoozy, Lygawa again surprised Mai by eating very little, leaving more than plenty of left over's on the table.

"Are you sure you don't want more? You are a big mighty dragon, remember..."

"We only need what we use, and... in this form I don't use much... power or energy... so I'm good..."

"Okay..."

Mai was really learning all sorts about these magical reptiles and their abilities recently.

After that the silver haired girl drifted back off to sleep at the table, while Mai packed up and got ready to go visit Brian, when the reptile bolted up awake at the sound of the door handle.

"Where we going?"

"I am going to see the village chief about a mater. You are going nowhere, or unseen wherever it is you please."

She still stood by the yet unopened door, looking back.

"Aw, no fair..."

"There are old ladies and little kids out there..."

"So?"

"You'll frighten them."

Mai waved at the dragon-girl, guessing that the majority wouldn't know what to do if this silver coloured creature just started to wander about the township.

"Ha - let them be frightened... gawr!"

She playfully bared her fangs and made clawing fingers, though no reaction was received.

"No then huh?"

"Can't you just fly off somewhere, for a little while?"

"I would have to take my real form for flight, and I would need space outdoors somewhere..."

"So that's not an option in the daytime."

"Or night - as I don't have very good night vision..."

That explains the racket last night...

They looked to each other for any more suggestions or ideas, but nothing really came.

"You'll just have to stay in, and wait till I get back."

She looked disappointed, but sat back down.

"Don't worry; I won't be gone long..."

"Okay..."

Lygawa rested her head back down on her arm like before, with an added little smile.

She is acting like a pet...

Mai stepped out, leaving her house not so empty for the first time, ever.

Going off to meet the village chief, for an earlier set meeting, mostly to do with her 'fore-sight' ability, that hadn't been trigger off for the last couple of days, so it didn't go for long. However Brian did remind Mai that Carla was making a delivery run, sometime soon, and wondered if she needed anything else she hadn't requested earlier.

"You seem somewhat distracted, are you alright?"

"Oh yes, it's nothing to worry about..."

She shifted uncomfortably on the seat across from his desk in the 'hall'.

"Then if she drops your load off first it's no problem..."

"Well..."

Brian waited for the rest.

"... I've actually got a ... guest over... at the moment..."

"Oh you should have said earlier. Everything else here can wait, if you've got a waiting visitor."

"Oh really, then thank-you very much."

Mai bounded from the chair and made for the exit.

"Who is this guest?"

I said too much, now what...

Mai froze for a second; thinking up an explanation on the fly wasn't exactly a strong suit of hers.

"Uh, a girl... friend... from... my homeland...?"

"Oh, I hope I get the chance to meet her then."

She waved a bye, with a wearied smile and promptly left.

Mai made sure not to dally about after the brief discussion, returning to her door quickly.

"Lygawa! Uh ...we're going to shortly have guests...!"

Mai burst back into the house, to find the main rooms momentarily vacant.

"So you told them about me?"

Lygawa raced down the small staircase, from Mai's bedroom.

"No, all I said was that I had a guest - I'd say they'd be expecting a human guest, so please tell me you can hide your horns and tail?"

"Yeah, if I must, it should be fine..."

Mai sighed in relief, but then snapped at her 'guest' again.

"...and don't think I'm not going to ask what exactly you were doing up there... but later."

The dragon concentrated a fraction, and her small horns faded away.

"And the tail too please."

"Uh huh... whoa!"

The instant her long tail vanished, Lygawa got unsteady on just her two feet.

"It's so weird; I've always... have a tail... oh!"

She stumbled over and into Mai's supporting arm, and gently flopped against her body.

"Now you said you'd be fine, what's wrong?"

"It's a counter balance; I've never gone... without my precious tail before."

Lygawa looked up to Mai's face with genuine unease.

"Please help - I don't want to look foolish."

Fine priorities there...

"Hum... alright, how about... you just stay sitting down?"

Mai lightly guided the unsteady girl toward the couch, stopping the wavering one from toppling down over the short distance.

So a major dragon weakness is losing their balance huh...

Safely on the couch again, Lygawa sat very still and that's where she remained.

"Knock knock, can I come in?"

Carla called from outside.

Mai opened up for her, and she stepped in, laden with three small crates worth of produce.

"Can't stay long, I - oh, hello there."

The farm-girl spied the other presence in the room.

"Good day to you miss."

Lygawa sounded awkwardly polite, as she kept smiling from afar.

"This is Lygawa, a friend from... my homeland."

"Yes, nice to meet you, I'm Carla Dewitt, from the farm across the valley."

Carla unstacked the top box, putting it aside for Mai, before getting a little closer to the unknown stationary girl.

"Well... a friend of Mai's is welcome here. So how long will you be staying?"

The silvery girl kept her hands in her lap and looked sideways.

"Uh... I haven't decided yet actually..."

Mai made out she was inspecting the delivered goods, but watched the interaction closely.

"You have such... uh, unique hair and eyes..."

"Oh, why thank-you."

Carla backed up to Mai again and whispered to her.

"Is she... alright?"

Lygawa just sat motionless, now with her eyes closed, smiling away at them.

"She's... tired - from her very long journey, that's it."

Carla nodded, but didn't hang around any longer, picking up the other open crates to depart.

"Well nice to meet you, be seeing you both around I guess..."

"Yes, and thanks for everything here, it's perfect."

Mai helped her out the door again, before waving a goodbye.

Lygawa's tail and horns promptly sprouted back the moment Carla was gone, while she sagged out on the seat with relief.

"Urgh... I don't know if I can do that again... Can't we just tell them what I truly am? You were totally fine with me from the start."

But then I'm not your average local, now am I...

"The others around here might not be so ready to meet a... character like you."

The creature, making herself quite at home already, just lay about while Mai unpacked the delivery.

"So what are your plans for the future anyway?"

Mai had meant her question to be about the dragon's long-term plans, but the silvery girl pulled up from the soft seat and wandered nearer.

"I was exploring before... and was wondering what that large basin, in that room, was for?"

She pointed toward the bathroom behind the staircase.

"A bath?"

"Oh so that's what it is, I've always wanted to try one of those, yes!"

Lygawa dashed off, but returned a few seconds later.

"Can you please show me how this operates?"

Mai explained the procedure, of heating the water and filling the small tub, before leaving it with the 'guest', who after a little while on her own called out to her.

"This is quite divine... I like it here, yes - so I think I might just stay on for a while..."