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Apolis groggily awoke to the sound of birds chirping.

He craned his neck to raise his head, and looked outside of his cave. There was a light wind, giving the sense that the trees neighboring his cave were alive with tiny dances. The birds were frolicking in the crisp air that nature had to offer. The light from the sun was shining in at just the right angle to reveal the heavenly rays of sunlight. What a beautiful day.

Kelrith would not be chasing after him thinking he took Mark. He knew that if he left a message of him killing other humans in the morning that he wouldn’t think twice about it. Kelrith was always such a prideful, evil demon towards other forms of life. The thought just made his snout squeeze in with disgust.

However, he snapped back into reality when a small gurgle and bulge in his belly startled him. Oh yes, that’s right, the human.

Apolis then started to heave, and shortly spat out a still sleeping Mark. He cleaned him off, and then waited for Mark to awaken. The wait, however, was cut short when Apolis heard a loud roar in the distance. The roar woke up Mark.

Mark was completely disoriented. Something happened to him that was completely unexpected; He woke up. He wasn’t dead. Perhaps he hadn’t settled well in the dragon, forcing him to throw up?

Mark got his answer when his vision came back into focus, and saw a terrifying being towering above him. It was the dragon that stole him. The dragon held a small smile at Mark, seeing him fully alive and safe, but Mark didn’t notice. All he saw was a towering demon.

Mark didn’t hesitate this time. He was out of reach of the dragon, so he ran out of the cave, and into the forest. Mark knew about the dangers the forest could hold, but hey, he would at least have a fighting chance away from a dragon. Dragons were certain death to a human.

Apolis was a bit thrown back by Mark running away, but wasn’t surprised. He did just eat him. What else did he expect?

Apolis let Mark run for a bit, then started to chase him. It was probably better to let himself tire out before talking to him once more. He did almost drop him while flying him back to his cave. What?! He was trying to get out of his grip anyhow…

Apolis decided that he let Mark run enough, and started to follow his trail.

Mark kept running and running, and stopped from exhaustion. He looked around, and realized he had no idea where he was, and where the dragon was. Mark was relieved, knowing the dragon was nowhere in sight, and began to leisurely walk about.

The forest was very tranquil this morning. Well, almost.

Mark could hear a distant yelling from some being. From what, he had no idea, but the voice was very far from him, so he had no worry over it. What he was worried about was a noise behind him. A stick broke, drawing his attention to the same dragon that kidnapped him. Mark backed himself into a tree, and sat down, trembling.

Apolis looked upon the child, and said, “Why did you run from me?” Mark wanted to be scared, but this statement angered him beyond belief. ‘Why did he run?’ Is this dragon just toying with him, or is he really that clueless. Mark’s anger overtook him, and he began to yell at the dragon.

“WHY DID I RUN? WHY DID I RUN?!! I DIDN’T WANT TO BECOME ANOTHER SLAVE FOR ANOTHER DRAGON! I DIDN’T WANT TO BE THREATENED INTO WORKING DAY AND NIGHT! I DIDN’T WANT TO DIE!!!” Mark yelled.

“Then why aren’t you dead.” Said Apolis. He knew that being angry at the child wouldn’t solve anything. He must be calm in front of the child.

Mark’s anger was then taken over by certain surprise. Why wasn’t he dead? The dragon certainly had the power to kill him, so why isn’t he dead?

As if the dragon could read his mind, the dragon said, “It’s because I wanted to keep you safe.”

Mark just looked at the dragon. He should be dead, or at the very least working for this being. He shouldn’t have this strange feeling of emotions. Mark could feel it just wrenching within him. It didn’t make him feel nervous, or confused, or angry. It felt… warm.

“Y-you don’t wanna kill me?” Said Mark. Apolis grew the confidence to approach Mark. He began to inch towards him, and Mark didn’t move. Thank goodness.

“I never wanted to. I saw what Kelrith was doing to you. Although I’m not the biggest human-sympathizer in the world, I couldn’t just let a hatchling go through that torture.” Said Apolis.

Apolis was now inches away from Mark. He would let him make his move. He wanted to save the child, but frankly, if he wanted to run, he would let him run. Apolis wouldn’t force him into anything.

Apolis’s happiness rose when Mark got up, and hugged his snout. Apolis could feel a certain sound escape Mark, and then felt something wet pour onto his snout. Mark was crying again.

Apolis curled around Mark just like the previous night, and let him continue to cry into his snout.

Mark was beyond happy. The dragon stole him away, ate him, but doesn’t want him to die. He doesn’t even want him as a slave! This feeling, this warm feeling within him, he knew what it was now.

It was love.

Mark stopped his cry of joy, and looked to the dragon.

“Thank you, uhh…” Mark stuttered, not knowing the dragon’s name.

“My name is Apolis.” Said Apolis.
“Thank you, Apolis.” Said Mark. “Thank you so much.” Apolis said nothing, and smiled at Mark. Apolis became confused, however, when Mark just looked down. He wasn’t crying, but was certainly depressed.

“What’s the matter, child?”

Mark looked back up again.

“I know you don’t want to kill me, but where will I go after this? I have no family, no friends, no one.” Said Mark.

Apolis figured this human had no parents, as told from Kelrith, but that doesn’t answer how to fix the whole ‘no parents’ thing. What should he do.

After a moment of thought, Apolis knew what to do. He wanted the human to live with him anyhow in this dangerous, place, so why not adopt him?

“I can be your parent.” Said Apolis.

Mark just looked at him in shock. He was thrown back so much by this that he couldn’t say anything.

“Well, what do you think? You could live with me, and I can be your parent. How does that sound, son?” Said Apolis. Mark, once more, hugged the snout of the dragon.

“I would love that, d-dad.” Said Mark. Nothing could describe the joy Mark was experienced. To lose your parents, your first love in the world, and then to be adopted by someone that loves you just the same. Apolis wasn’t a human, sure, but that didn’t matter to Mark. All that mattered was having someone that cared and loved him, just like his parents did.

Apolis’s smile didn’t fade, as he took Mark, placed him on his back, and began walking back to the cave. Mark just hugged Apolis’s back, wanting to experience the moment.

Once they reached the cave, Apolis realized that it was almost dark out, and once he reached the cave, he could hear a loud splash. He shrugged it off, not really caring what was in his nearby lake. Apolis let Mark down, and curled around him once more.

Once his body was around Mark, and his wing was above him to keep his body warm with the exception of his head, Apolis said to Mark, “Sweet dreams.”

The two both laid their heads down, and shut their eyes, falling into a dreamless sleep.