Cameron To Candy

Marcus hesitated, then slowly reached toward Candy’s neckline. Niblet immediately flattened his wings and made a tiny warning hiss.

“Easy, buddy,” Marcus murmured. “Easy…”

He slid two fingers in carefully and lifted. Niblet resisted, just a little, but enough that his claws snagged her skin. Candy winced.

“Ow, damn it! Sensitive breasts here, man!” she yelled. “Do you have any idea how soft the skin on these things is?”

Marcus froze mid-lift. “Uh… sorry?”

Niblet wriggled, puffed once, then finally allowed himself to be extracted, leaving behind a faint lemon scent and a light scratch that Candy rubbed absently. Marcus tried not to stare as she rubbed her boob.

The creature took a lazy look at them both before beginning to squirm violently in Marcus’s hands. Marcus transferred the little dragon into Candy's arms. She instinctively tucked him in against her chest, cradling him like an anxious, scaly baby burrito. Niblet chirped and settled. She looked down at him, then up at Marcus.

“So,” she said softly. Marcus already knew what was coming. “…Can we keep him?”

Marcus sighed. “Candy.”

She tilted her head. “He followed me home.”

“No!” She shifted Niblet so his head rested in the crook of her elbow. He tucked his wings and blinked up at her. Marcus rubbed his temple. “The King went through a lot of trouble getting that Puffdrake. I’m pretty sure if we don’t report this immediately, we’re going to be in very serious trouble.” Candy grimaced. “Plus,” Marcus added, “they told us to lay low. We already do too many high profile things for the Ministry’s liking.”

Niblet yawned. Candy glanced down at him, then back at Marcus.

“…Yeah. Okay. Probably shouldn’t keep him.” She sighed. “Owning a mini-dragon might turn too many heads,” she admitted reluctantly.

Marcus went to the writing desk and began composing a proper notice in neat block script. Meanwhile, Candy continued rocking Niblet slightly like she didn’t realize she was doing it, which she didn’t. After sealing the letter, Marcus carried it to the mailbox slot by the door. Then he turned to the mirror mounted above the side table and cleared his throat while placing one hand over his heart.

“Mirror, mirror on the wall,” he intoned solemnly, voice echoing slightly in the hall. “By glass and gleam and silver call, I summon thee through threaded sight, Paddlewick Zoo, attend this rite.”

The mirror shimmered. Light rippled across its surface. For half a second, Candy honestly expected something grand. Instead, the glass brightened, and a number pad appeared as a cheerful sing-song voice chimed out:

🎵

You’ve reached the Paddlewick Prime Zoological Registry!

Our keepers are currently wrangling, feeding, or being lightly burned!

If this is an escaped creature, press one.

If this is a complaint about geese, press two.

If you’re calling about operating hours or feeding times press three.

If you’re calling about Niblet… please leave a message after the tone!

🎵

Marcus stared. Candy snorted. A polite magical chime sounded. Marcus leaned closer to the mirror and raised his voice to the obnoxious level people used when they wanted to make sure their words weren’t misheard or missed.

“This is Marcus Elwood of Verse Alley,” he said evenly. “I’m calling to report that your pseudodragon, Niblet, has followed my wife home. He’s currently safe, though I’m uncertain how long we’ll be able to contain him. You may want to send someone sooner than later..” He paused. “Also, he’s been eating my lemons!”

The mirror chimed again.

🎵 Thank you for your message. A keeper will respond in the order received. Please do not attempt to train, saddle, or emotionally bond with escaped exhibit animals. 🎵

The mirror went dim. Marcus exhaled.

“Well,” he said. “That’s done.”

Candy hugged Niblet a little closer. “Too late on the emotional bonding.”

Niblet made a pleased little puff and tucked his head under her chin as his body rested on her ample breasts.

***

Candy refused to let Niblet go back into the pantry.

“He’s not sleeping on cold stone,” she said, already walking toward the stairs.

Marcus followed, rubbing his face. “Candy, we don’t even have a cage for him.”

“Exactly,” she shot back. “If he stays with us, he’s less likely to wander.”

Marcus stopped halfway up the stairs.

“I don’t think so.”

She turned around. “Well, I do.”

“Candy, he’s a wild animal. He wasn’t born in captivity. I’m sorry, but I’m the man of this, relation- uh, of the house, and I’m putting my foot down. No dragons in the bed!” He reached out toward the purring creature who suddenly growled low and pointed. Marcus yanked his hand back in a blur.

Three minutes later Candy climbed into bed and curled on her side, tucking Niblet against her chest like a warm, lemon-scented stuffed animal. The little Puffdrake made a happy, muffled chirr and immediately went limp in her arms.

Marcus stood there for a moment, staring.

“I said no,” he groaned, face-palming.

Candy closed her eyes. “He’s barely a dragon. More of a spicy hamster really.”

“I’m going to enjoy your next maintenance spanking,” Marcus grumbled as he got in on the far edge of the mattress, as far away from both Candy and Niblet as humanly possible without falling off.

He lay rigid on his back. “This is unsanitary.”

“He’s clean. He was eating lemons in our pantry,” Candy retorted. Marcus mumbled something about scales and bedding sheets not mixing and rolled slightly toward the wall. Candy fell asleep smiling.

When he was sure Candy was asleep, Marcus made a slow tactical move toward Niblet. As his hand inched closer, a high, chirpy growl escaped from Niblet. Marcus withdrew his hand and as he did the noise stopped. He glared, shook his head, and tried again. As soon as the hand got close enough, the growl began again. He pushed his hand closer and it got louder. He yanked it back, and it stopped, pushed it forward and it started again. What the hells? Marcus thought. He’s asleep, isn’t he?

Candy woke the next morning to knocking. Sharp, official, obnoxiously early knocking. She bolted upright. Niblet was gone! Her arms closed around empty air.

“Oh gludge.”

She threw on a robe while Marcus was already halfway downstairs. By the time she reached the entryway, two uniformed zoo staff stood inside, one holding a clipboard, the other carrying a padded transport case. The older keeper cleared his throat.

“Mr. and Mrs. Elwood. We received your message. Thank you for reporting.”

Marcus nodded. “He was here last night.”

“Was?”

Candy folded her arms. “He slept with me but when we woke up he wasn’t there.”

The keeper made a careful face and did not ask follow-up questions.

“We haven’t seen Niblet at the zoo for two days now,” the younger assistant said. “Which is… unusual.”

“He’s never left the grounds before,” the keeper added. “But we always knew this might happen eventually.”

Marcus frowned. “You just let rare dragons wander off?”

“Oh no,” the keeper said slowly, dripping with annoyance. “We've tried everything to keep that little bastard in. Reinforced glass, chain link netting over the enclosure, static rune fields. You name it. We’re custom-making a new enclosure now, just for him.”

The second keeper chimed in. “We embedded a small tracking crystal under one of his scales. Problem is, it’s only accurate within about a two-block radius.” He gestured vaguely. “But it confirms he’s still in this region.”

And that was how they ended up tearing apart their own house. The Cupboards were ransacked. Laundry baskets were overturned. They looked behind furniture, inside boots, and all the little nooks in the pantry. The zookeepers checked vents and planters with professional resignation, clearly used to this kind of chaos. Candy crawled under the porch while Marcus inspected the lemon trees in the yard.

After twenty minutes of searching, Marcus finally asked, “So, if this is so rare… why us?”

The keeper hesitated. “Well. Truth be told, we don’t fully understand this subspecies. But they tend to like things like sulfur, smoke, charcoal. Were you extra gassy the last time you were at the zoo?” He asked, glancing at Candy.

“Really?” You’re really asking a woman that?” Marcus questioned.

“Just spitballing.”

“Barbecue? Or maybe you burnt some food?” The other keeper asked.

Marcus nodded slowly. “Actually, she did burn an egg that morning!”

“That could do it. Sulfur-like smell and burning too boot. And,” the keeper continued, “he’s extremely fond of citrus. You’ve got lemon trees out back, we noticed.” Marcus sighed and nodded. “But,” the keeper added thoughtfully, “he’s never gone to any other citrus homes in Paddlewick.”

Marcus blinked. “Then why stay here?”

The keeper scratched his chin. ”Well, this is, eh, a long shot. But there’s a lot of dragon species that bond to a specific person. Taylor Tithe with the bra dragon, Violet Spearthrower with the lucky dragon, the whole dragon riding clan in the southeast. We’ve never seen it in the pseudo dragons before, though. If that’s what’s happened here, well, it’d be very exciting!”

“Uh… what would that mean, exactly?” Candy asked.

“I’m not sure, given we’ve never seen it before. But, at the very least, it probably means he’ll escape and visit you from time to time, now he knows where you live.” Candy smiled; Marcus scowled.

They resumed searching. Eventually Candy heard a tiny chirp from the garden. She followed the sound to a decorative turnip planter by the back fence. Inside the hollowed vegetable, curled like royalty, was Niblet. He looked up.

Candy knelt immediately. “There you are, butterball.”

The keeper carefully scooped him up into the padded carrier. Niblet gave one soft protest puff, then settled. The keeper secured the latch.

“We’ll return him to the zoo. Thank you again for cooperating.”

They left a few minutes later. Candy stood in the doorway long after they were gone. “I’m gonna miss that little butterball.”

Marcus sighed. “Well, apparently you’ll be seeing him again, at some point.”

___________

A few hours after Niblet had been removed and Marcus had gone off to work, Candy had set herself to studying the packet the ministry had assigned her. She was in the middle of quizzing herself on sashes, something she found profoundly annoying save for the silver edge laws, when the magic mirror chimed.

When she answered it, the surface dissolved and left a live image of Alyssa and Vivian.

“Hey Candy. How are you feeling today?” Alyssa asked.

“Hey! Oh, I’m better. Thanks. What are you two up to? Are we still on for dinner tonight?"

“Yes, but that’s why we’re calling, actually. We were wondering if you could meet us at my house first. You see—“

“Alyssa found something really fun! You’ve gotta see it!”

“Vivian, you promised—“

“Sorry! I got carried away. You tell her.”

“Uh, tell me what?” Candy asked cautiously.

“I discovered—“

“A hidden channel in the scry feed!” Vivian cut back in.

“For gods sake Vivian!” Alyssa cried.

“She calls it the ‘what if’ channel!”

Alyssa groaned and shook her head. Candy was doing her best to suppress laughter. “Yes, I found it. I made the mistake of showing Vivian and she insisted we call you.”

“What, what does that mean?” Candy asked cautiously between bouts of laughter.

“Come see!” Vivian yelled.

“Now??”

“Yes!”

“Please come to my house,” Alyssa implored. “I need you to help balance out her energy.”

Candy laughed and promised to go over soon. She tidied up her ministry homework and headed out the door. A “what if” channel, huh? Well, whatever that was, it has to be better than memorizing sash types.

For the few who are interested, I redid a chunk of chapter 55, The Peach of Petalik, Part 2. I never felt like I got their meeting or Miribelle's dialect and vibe right in that. She came off more like a pixie girl than anything, and that's not her. Anywho. If anyone cares to, I suggest a reread of it :)