Break the doo- Andrew! Keys!

  I knew somethings was wrongs! Never leaves car door open!

  I need space, Hershey, move!

  Yes, hello? We need an ambulance! Patricia's Palace apartments… y-yes… kobold, female… I- I dunno, we found her collapsed!

  Blood pressure low, eyes unfocused, get me a scale ripper we need to IV.

  Yelz!

  Yelz!

  Patricia! Get me a rag!

  Come on, shugah blossom…

  Yelz

  Yelz

  Yelz

  Beep

  Yelz

  Yelz                            Beep

  Yelz

  Beep

  Yelz

  Beep

  Yelz

  Bright… and cool… soft, yet… without give…

  Yelz was uncomfortable. The pillow under head didn't quite sit right… eyes cracking open to a blank, white ceiling.

  Where… the gentle beep of a heart monitor, familiar from so many dramas, banged into her ear from the left, gentle afternoon sunlight filtering from a window to her right. Motes danced in the beam that stretched from pane to wall, twirling with the air conditioned breeze shuffling overhead as Yelz raised a sore arm. Bright, lemonade yellow plastic sat wrapped around her wrist, Alysia Central Emergency emblazoned in sharp black lettering.

  "Hospital…"

  "Mngh?" A quick intake of breath, followed by a hard stretch, dragged the tired kobold's eyes over to a chair in the corner. "Yelz."

  "Andrew…"

  A wiggle of her tail, a small smile pulling at sore scales, until she saw his glare. Andrew had this vein, one that would crawl over his eye and pulse in time with his frustration. A frustration that Yelz found she didn't much like being on the receiving end of, her paws pulling the stark white sheets over her muzzle. Burning irritation throbbed in her left wrist, the scales ripped away for an IV that led to a slowly dripping bag, the slow beat of a heart monitor next to its stand.

  "Twenty pound underweight." Andrew pinched the bridge of his nose, leg bouncing on the tile. "Kobolds healthy weight at ninety." Yelz dug deeper into the protective mound of blankets, her bright blue eyes cast aside. "You told me yesterday you were okay. Why didn't you open your maw and say things were this bad?"

  "I'm s-sorry, please don't be mad."

  "Oh, I'm gonna be fuckin' mad at ya!" Andrew rose, a terrified squeak leaving the kobold bringing him to a stop. "Fuck- ya had us worried sick, Yelz! Docs said ya were probably out for a whole day. That's even more time without anythin' in ya gut! Ya could have died-"

  "You think I don't know that? I mean- I didn't mean to, I was too focused. And worried. And scared."

  "Of what?" Andrew pulled the sheets down Yelz's face, suddenly at her side, a hand gripping the edge of her bed with white knuckled force. "Of who? Greg?"

  "Of course Gre-"

  "Why didn't you say anything?"

  "I was doing something to take care of it!"

  "Doing what? Collapsin' on the floor and starving?"

  "I was jus-"

  "You're right next door! To all of us!"

  "You were the one who told me to do something!" Tears burned in Yelz eyes, her claws, still dull, didn't even puncture the sheets. "Stop y-yelling at me."

  please

  "I thought you'd died!"

  The click of a door knob drew their attention away from each other, Hershey dipping a shoulder within the room followed by the rest of her graceful barrel. Pringles sat perched atop her noggin, his paws gripping her horns and eyes full of worry.

  "Andrew, darlin'. Go outside, tol' the nurses ta make ya some coffee."

  "Nah, fuck that! I'm not goin' anywhere. She," Andrew pointed, finger shaking, vein popping, at the cringing kobold. "Needs to hear!"

  "Andrew."

  "No! This is bullshit! She coulda gotten fuckin' hurt- she did get hurt!" Yelz flinched as the man began to pace, hand gripping a tissue box to fast ball the thin cardboard into the wall. "All she had to do was open her fuckin' muzzle!"

  "Andrew."

  "Don't fucking Andrew me!" A crack in his voice, eyes wild.

  "Andy." A big, green nose pressed against the man's neck, snuffling. Yelz thought she might see a bit of resistance, more screaming and yelling, until that warm breath washed over the man and, with a scowl, he did as instructed. Only an unsure dance of steps forward and back hinted at more, at unsaid grievances. Andrew hesitated only a moment, reaching over to squeeze the kobold's paw.

  "I'm sorry I yelled, I just…"

  "… Andy, shugah." Hershey smiled, so warm and safe, pushing the man away with her muzzle. "Pringles, go an' watch mah problematic ex."

  "You gots it!" Yelz felt her eyes widen as the rat kin leaned down and pressed a kiss to the dragon's muzzle, his ears twitching as she rewarded him with a content trill, before jumping off her back and out the door, making chase for the still steaming Andrew.

  "Wha…? You and Pringles?"

  "Not importan' right now, shugah." Warmth flooded the lizard as that big, green nose turned on her this time, pressing into her chest with such a weight. A weight that broke her…

  … it was such a sudden thing. All of the bravado, all of the plans, all of the sneaking around and stealing and Moonbeam and being hungry and thirsty and scared and alone. Yelz wrapped her arms around Hershey's muzzle and let go.

  "I… I just wanted to make it, you know?" Sobs broke her confession, tears fleeing her eyes as if evicted. "I just- ah, just want-ted to make everyone proud and not mooch off… fuck, crap aahhhnnn… stop iiiiiugh ahahahaaagggkkkhh…"

  Yelz didn't wail.

  She didn't scream.

  She didn't holler and rave and rant.

  Yelz sobbed, gently, into Hershey's muzzle, tears staining the perfect green scales in her arms. Warm breath, heated with worry and love, blasted into her chest with every drop of the dragon's barrel.

  "Easy now, that be the way. Cry it all out into Hershey's scales, lil' lizard. Ah'm here." More tears. More sobbing. Sore legs thrashing under the covers. "Always been here, shugah blossom. We all been righ' 'ere. Everyone real worried, ya know? They worried 'cause they care. Andrew 'specially."

  "I made him so mad."

  "He mad 'cause he scared. Scared he couldn't help ya, scared he lost ya. It don't take much fer him to get attached." A smile, Yelz could feel it against her belly as Hershey pressed her nose harder into her chest. "He's a softy. A sweety. Broke 'is emergency key in ya door gettin' inside."

  "He… did?"

  "Mhmmmm."

  "How uh…" Yelz gagged as she finally released the dragon, grateful that Hershey didn't pull away. The paw she wiped her nose with came back covered in snot. "How did you guys find me?"

  "Pringles." Warmth bloomed under Yelz fingers, the dragon blushing. "He moved in wit' me."

  "Really? Pringles- I mean, that's great! Surprising but…" Yelz felt her ears fall, yet another one of her prospective loves slipping away. "I'm glad! Jealous, but glad."

  "Ah know, not exactly standard. He's… Ah dunno, he's got a dragon in 'im, that lil' guy. He gets mah heart a flutterin' like Ah'm a three hundred years younger."

  "How old are you? Curious…"

  "Older than ya bloodline, probably."

  "Wow…"

  "Hey now, don't dismiss us old folk, we know all the old tricks." Hershey's wink brought a tired, yet genuine giggle to the kobold's lips.

  "… He really broke his key?"

  "Nearly threw me down gettin' to ya." Her tail was wiggling again. It felt good to know. Felt good to feel wanted, that someone would worry like that. "Got some uh… not fun news fer ya though."

  "Oh no."

  "Patricia called ya warren."

  "Oh no."

  "Mhm. Ya matriarch on 'er way."

  "Oh no."

  "Oh, hush now. If'n we knew t'ings were as bad as they were, we'd done called 'er sooner. 'Parently 'er mate is watchin' the warren." Yelz could only nod, swallowing down a frustrated sob. As much as she wanted to see her matriarch… she didn't. Not like this. Their next meeting was supposed to be bright and happy and fun, full of tales of her victory and how well she was doing on her own. "Ya done messed up, lil' lizard."

  "Ngh! I wasn't trying to!"

  "Ah know, Ah know." Hershey's rumbled set the kobolds bones to vibrate, the warm breath on her belly easing aches no massage could touch. "Ah bet ya Andy be lettin' 'em know ya up. Prolly gonna start stuffin' ya with nasty hospital foo-"

  "I'll eat anything right now, even hospital food." A beat of silence, the air conditioner whirling motes through the dwindling sunlight. Yelz wanted to ask about Wild Gregs, if something had happened- if anything had happened. Not yet, not until her heart stopped hammering… it was making the monitor go crazy. "So… Andy?"

  "Was mah nickname fer 'im when he was mine." The dragon winked, a grin spreading across her muzzle. "Get's under 'is skin somethin' fierce. Now Ah only say it when I'm angry at 'im. Ah get it, he be worried, but no need ta yell like that."

  "Didn't feel good."

  "He be right, though. Makin' it on ya own an' gettin' ya shit togetha be mighty impressive, baby girl. But not if'n it winds ya up like this. We're here. We be ya warren now."

  Yelz bit her tongue. She knew that, of course she did. Just never said it out loud… or in her head… or at all. Never acknowledged her new family, only sought to impress them. To fit in and be one of the gals with a solid job who could be called on if things went wrong. Not the pitiable kobold everyone kept watch over in case tragedy struck.

  Strength.

  Independence.

  Dependable.

  Everyone else seemed like that, so why not her? Wasn't fair. How come she had to be the protected one? What, because she was small and pink and… kinda skittish, she had to be pampered?

  "Oi, get out ya feelings, honey bunch."

  "Ngh. I wanna be grumpy."

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

  "Ah ah," Hershey grinned, swiping a wet tongue up the kobold's cheek. "Not when Momma Hershey aroun'."

  "Heehehe, your tongue is slimy…" Finally, Yelz let herself fall limp into the soft confines of the bed, ears flat and heart exhausted. "Wild Gregs?"

  "Well, Ah been jumpin' in mah paws ta talk about that ol' place." Hershey followed suit, letting her front half rest beside the kobold's legs. It was only proper that both of them got to be comfortable. "Weren't long after we found ya passed out that Ol' Gregs done went dark. Cops and Sheriffs and folk Ah don't even recognize swarmed the place."

  "What?" Yelz sat up with a lurch that ripped a sharp pain through her IV, the tape pulling on skin often covered with scales. "It got shut down?"

  "More like errybody done jumped ship. Greg ain't no where to be foun', cops got a BOLO fer 'im. Most o' the dancers done scattered, few o' 'em got snatched up. Security company stuck around, gave over everythin' they had. So the news says, at least."

  "So my job?" Paws flew to the pink kobold's head, fingers gripping her ears, as panic rammed her heart rate back up. Her job. Her job! Her job. How was she going to pay rent? How was she going to buy food? "No no no, this is the worst! No, I didn't- it was just supposed to be Greg, not everyone! Tracey was supposed to hnngg, ah!" Gibbering turned into sharp gasps, air tight in her throat until a fat, green paw pressed down on her chest with the weight of a queen, no… an Empress.

  "Calm." The word, whispered and hissed and so nearly silent, slithered into Yelz's mind like a compulsion, her breathing and struggling and panic ebbing away on currents not her own. Tiles above her melted into a slurry of whites and greys and lines, Hershey the only thing in her world, in her heart… her mind. "Caaalllmmmm, breeeaaathe, shugah."

  Yes. Breathe. She must breathe. She must because her Empress ordered as such. It was only so simple. Obey.

  Obey.

  Obey.

  "There be mah girl."

  Her girl… yes.

  "Oi, ya come back now! Poor lil' lizard." As if a switch were flipped, Yelz felt the compulsion vanish, not because she found and wrangled her wits, but because Hershey had told her to. Remnants of confusion and submission still wrestled in the kobold's head, her eyes moist and thoughts slow.

  "What? Ugh… I feel floaty…"

  "Sorry shugah, Ah didn't know any other way ta calm ya down."

  "What happened?" Finally, sight returned with a clarity that felt normal, Yelz looking up at the old dragon with a new found respect… and maybe a tad bit of fear.

  "Jus' an old Empress trick. Used it ta keep unruly dragonesses and horny drakes in line. Puts ya kobolds down right 'ard, sorry again."

  "No no, thank you. Ugh… so… is that what it would have felt like if I had, um…" There was that grin again, that warm and knowing smile full of fangs that made Yelz shiver.

  "Given yaself ta me? Yup, though Pringles loves it. Lil' man gets love drunk and begs fer it all over again, an' I love givin' 'im what he wants. Mmmm-MMM!"

  "Ha! I think it would make me tired after a bit." That smile. Again.

  "Oh, he be tired too. Trust me, shugah blossom." All the kobold could do was blush, quickly pushing down the thoughts of how such a size difference would even work. The image of a rat-kin with a snorkel was locked away in the deepest confines of her psyche, never to be seen again. A gentle knock saved Yelz from her own thoughts, the distant door cracking open just a tad to show a still grumpy but much calmer Andrew with Pringles in tow. It was what the man carried, however, that stole the attention- nay, the breath from her lungs.

  Steak… and eggs.

  A plate of still steaming steak and eggs. To say the sight was mouth watering would be to sell the wave of emotions that flooded Yelz scaly heart, prickling excitement boiling up from her toes to tingle in her head. The scent of cooked meat, over a grill not deep friend and left on a stick, slammed into the kobold's nose like a heavyweight boxer. Any anger she might have felt, any minor grudge she might have harbored over being yelled at, vanished as Andrew set the plate of Godly ambrosia upon her bed. Yelz didn't waste time, didn't bother with mundane tasks such as thank you's and manners. No, she dug in with the claws Skie gave her and a smile on her lips.

  "Easy, if you eat too fast after starvin' you'll vomit up all the work I put into that. Nurses said I could cook you something real while I'm here." Andrew mumbled, Pringles tapping his shoulder from the perch he'd taken on the man's back. "Sorry for yelling at you."

  "I mean- mwwmpph, sho ghoood." Hershey snorted at the sight, looking every bit ready to scold the lil' lizard on how to eat like a lady, yet held her tongue. Yelz blinked a grateful yet determined glimmer at the dragon. She was going to stuff her face like a damn pig, come Hell or high water. "I would have to- oh by the first scale, garlic butter?"

  "I have a little stove in the back of the van. I like to cook at work."

  "He's good. I gained weight working for him." Pringles eyed the morsels on Yelz's bed with open envy, yet a teasing coo from Hershey drew him away.

  "You were right though…" Steak suddenly didn't taste as divine, guilt corrupting the luscious meat in her mouth as Yelz admitted fault. "I kept trying to do it all by myself even when everyone asked if I was okay." It took more effort than she would ever admit to look Andrew in the eyes. "And I lied to you. I'm sorry. You uh… can pet my ears to make up for it?"

  Andrew blinked… reached forward… and lightly pinched the lizard's left ear between his thumb and forefinger.

  "Ho oh, y'all done it now, shugah. Andy can't resist a cute thang." Andrew ignored the dragon's ribbing, his eyes focused and clear, watching for how the kobold reacted. Up and down, thumb all around, feeling for those soft spots, tickling the pointed tip and down back to where the heat of her blood pumped under the thin inner skin.

  "Agh… Andrew?"

  "Hush for a moment, I need this."

  "Ooookay." Still, it felt good. Like a massage… in her ear… but, good nonetheless. Andrew's fingers were rough, calloused, yet warm and gentle. If anyone asked, her moans were from the delicious steak and eggs currently sliding down her gullet. Against her will, Yelz felt her head begin to tilt, offering the man better angles, guiding the wonderous little circles his thumb made to the best spots. Pringles leapt from his perch back to Hershey's head, lightly tapping the dragon's skull and pointing towards the door, eyes alight with mischief.

  "We'll leave ya's alone. Cop outside been dying to ask questions."

  "Cop?" Yelz… slurred. "Why is there a cop?"

  "Plainsclothes," Andrew pulled his hand away from her ear- I didn't say stop – To grip her shoulder. "Witness protection. Lots of arrests been made but a bunch of Wild Gregs crew are evading, at least that's what I've been told. Badge outside won't tell me shit." A scowl, Andrew's scowl, and that vein was coming back… at least until Yelz reached up to place her paw on his arm.

  "Thanks. Hershey said you body slammed her getting to me." An ear flick, a wiggling tail… "That's sweet, in a violent kinda way." Oh, he did blush, very nice!

  "Well, she was in the way."

  "Are you gonna stay?" That paw curled, dull claws digging into skin as deep as she dared. Or at least, as deep as she could with trashed, ugly, broken, gross claws. "I'd like it if you did."

  "Then I'm not goin' anywhere." Andrew shrugged, as if stating something simple. It felt safe, he felt safe. And didn't smell like Hershey anymore, considering she was taken now. "Until family arrives, I think I'll get kicked out."

  "Oh right… you guys called my matriarch."

  "Yyyyyup. She uh… hm." What did you say to that? "I'll stay until she gets here."

  "I wonder if I can go into hiding. Think you can spirit me away in your van?" A pause, a glance down at her empty plate. "With more steak?"

  "Nah, I'm more scared of a scorned mother than a half-pint pink lizard."

  "I'm doomed."

  "Yeah, probably." As if on que, a firm knock on the door, the head of some man Yelz had never seen peeking in. "Fuck's sake, Gerald. Y'all can't wait for at least an hour after she wakes up?"

  "Sorry, Andrew. Chief is up my ass to get a statement."

  "I'll ram something worse up your as-" A paw on his arm, a gentle squeeze.

  "It's fine Andy." Ah, there was that blush again, and a scowl. Cute. "I'm guessing you're… a cop?"

  "Officer Fintz, sorry I'm bothering you right after you're awake. Would you mind answering a few questions?" The man was broad, his arms built from the battle against heavy iron as opposed to Andrew's blocky, wrench turning physique. Short hair, brown eyes, a solid nose and square chin. The man looked like a brick in more ways than one, and strange in a set of jeans and graphic tee as opposed to a uniform. "I'll be quick, promise."

  "No, no, I'll answer anything you need. Especially if it helps pin Greg."

  "Hopefully it does, though the situation might be evolving." Whatever that meant… Andrew huffed, but returned to his vigil in the corner of the room, the two men nodding in some… off-putting display Yelz decided was just male. They knew each other, that much was for certain. The questions weren't short, neither were they simple nor easy, many requiring Yelz to wrack her brain about some detail or another. Soon, an hour had passed, then two.

  "Tracey? She was uh… over the books. The real books, I never got to even see her office aside from my interview. Why?" Yelz had long since devolved to fidgeting with her foot-paws, letting her toes roll over one another. "I heard rumors though… some of the dancers said Greg would hire accountants and if they were… pretty… keep putting off any raises or whatnot and offer what they wanted if they-" Yelz bit her tongue. Flashing lights and thumping music beating in her chest as kobolds were ordered like fast food and pulled into private booths. As Sadie grinned with each tired lizard that passed her, men offering money to… do things… in front of everyone. "If you went down and danced. It's what he was offering me. Wanted me on the menu." Andrew spit, glaring, before swiping his boot over the glob he'd hacked onto the floor. He was angry all over again.

  "I see… Did you ever have any encounter with one Sadie Sa'hest? Or a Mink'Aktal? I believe the second went by her stage name, Moonbeam."

  A cold chill doused the roiling music in Yelz's head, the image of the raven-panther hybrid pouring from the shadows like oil still fresh in her memory. "O-Only when I went down to the back. Sadie was… mean. Cruel even, always ordering people around. I only…" A bite of the tongue made her tail twitch. Officer Fintz eyed the shuffled sheets, a frown pulling at his weathered cheeks. "I only saw Moonbeam in passing. She stormed through the back like someone had spat on her tail, shoving people aside. Never… never saw her again."

  Mink'Aktal? That wasn't the name on the computer…

  "I see… well, I think I've tortured you with twenty questions for way too long." With that, Fintz shoved his tiny notebook into a pocket and bowed his head. "I'll be off soon, Officer Austin will take my place. Thanks again, you've been a great help."

  "R-Right…" Yelz watched the man move to open the door, only for the slab of wood to swing nearly into his face, the entry blocked by the green muzzle of Hershey.

  "Hmmm… If Ah weren't taken Ah'd offer ya some sweet tea, shugah! Unfortunately, gotta ask ya ta make room." Fintz didn't get a chance to respond, the man's boots shuffling aside as a tide of kobolds, all colors of the rainbow, flooded between the dragon's paws, all making a beeline to leap upon the startled Yelz holding up her paws. It was to no affect, the pink of her scales vanishing beneath the multicolored waves.

  "Korrin? Valve? Esther! Milly!" Tears, ones Yelz didn't even know she still had, poured down her muzzle as paws gripped at her limbs and tail and muzzle. She knew these kobolds, their scent flooding her with memories and warmth and such a release. "Timper. Rollin. Ferry…"

  Her warren.

  Her family.

  "Guys…" They descended, blanketing their warren-mate in scent and warmth and safety. Yelz didn't even know what to say. Maybe there wasn't anything to say? They were here, the faces she grew up with. Some were born into the warren, others came from outside, others adopted.

  "Yelz!"

  "You dummy! You actual dummy!"

  "This is why we said call."

  "You worried the scales off us!"

  "Why didn't you ask for help?!"

  "I'll pinch your tail off, you idiot!"

  "Yelz!"

  "Yelz!"

  "Yelz!"

  She welcomed each and every voice, all so familiar. She welcomed the worry, the anger, the joy. She welcomed them all, melting under their onslaught. Just like she'd used to, just like how she remembered growing up. Some had become mates, others were still looking for their forever bond, both in and outside the group. Some had been traded, some came of their own will. But they were hers. They were all hers and she was theirs.

  "Guys…"

  Andrew smiled at the scene, Yelz relaxing in a manner he wasn't sure anyone else could replicate. He didn't rise until an older kobold, much older, padded her way into the hospital room, her paws behind her back and spine hunched with age. Even Hershey lifted a paw and bowed her head, the kobold returning the formal gesture, albeit, much slower and far shakier. Yelz's matriarch was a short thing, time pulling the aged lizard towards the earth, with yellow scales dulled to a sandy tan framed by a blue sundress. Spectacles sat across her muzzle, the thin metal arms reaching up to curl around her limp ears. Yet those eyes… her eyes that shone behind thick lenses and burned with a sharp intellect and razor wit, analyzing and learning and watching.

  "Empress, Helk Tinker, at your service." Even her voice wavered with the years, though an undercurrent of strength kept it solid.

  "Oh, posh now. Ah'm ancient an' retired. Ya still be herdin' cats. Ya more right to the title empress than Ah do."

  Helk shook her head no, but didn't fight the dragon. She was a lizard of the old ways, and whatever dragons said, went. When that olden gaze fell upon Yelz, coiled and tangled and trapped in her warren-mates grips, it turn decidedly icier.

  "Alright, all of you out. Go offer help to the staff." Helk stamped a paw, and as if pulled by strings, every kobold Yelz held onto dashed back out into the hall to harass nurses and doctors and janitors. All leaving Yelz to wilt under the stern, fiery gaze of, by all accounts, her mother. Even Andrew and Hershey, Pringles once more perched upon her head, made a polite exit. The click of the door was far louder than it had any right to be, Yelz's ears flicking at the sharp snap of a deadbolt between her and freedom. Helk said nothing, only tilted one ear… then the other. A slow pendulum of disappointment. "Well now, where to start with you?"

  That isn't fair.

  Yelz bit her tongue, paws gripping at the sheets. From the moment she'd woke up, needles in her arm and wires on her chest scales, people had been yelling at her. Now, the moment she'd seen her family, they'd been ushered out like unruly children so she could get scolded some more? No, that wasn't right. Andrew had yelled at her. Hershey had said it was her fault too. Everyone who was important was blaming her for trying to make things right! For standing up for herself!

  "Don't! Just… don't, not right now." Eeeaaarrrr down… ear uuuup. "Don't just stand there and… and stare at me! I didn't want to leave! I tried! I did my freaking best! Okay?" It wasn't fair. Why was everyone saying this was all her fault? Because she didn't beg for help at every turn like a hatchling? Because when she finally got the confidence to try and do the right thing it all came crashing down? This wasn't fair! "Kobolds don't belong on their own! Why did you think I could do this? Matriarch? Say something… mom?" It wasn't until aged paws wiped her cheeks that Yelz felt she was crying again. Always crying, always sobbing, always whimpering. It was pathetic. It was weak, and yet she still found herself throwing her head into Helk's chest just like she used to. It felt so middling, like she'd failed, laying in that bed hooked up like an invalid as her mother climbed up with her to comfort a broken lizard. She hadn't made it. Yelz had failed. The adventure was over… "I wanna come home."

  Helk chuckled. The old kobold laughed, gentle and warm, but she laughed. Why? Was it all so amusing?

  "My baby, look how you've grown. So strong so quick that you don't even know how to act yet. I'm proud." A sniffle, snot smearing Helk's dress, tears staining the neck. Just like Hershey, Helk's presence seemed to fill the room, experience and knowledge flowing off the diminutive lizard like a fountain. "Scales and bones though. That what I'm upset about, dearie. Remember what I said?"

  "Mnph… call you-"

  "Call me, if things got rough. And what happened?"

  "…"

  "Things got rough, didn't they."

  "Don't talk to me like a hatchling, mom." Yelz's voice felt weak, muffled against her mother's scales. Just another point on the pathetic pile, something else to make the old matriarch chuckle.

  "You're right. You did so well for so long. That Andrew gentleman is-"

  "Right, yes, I know. Everyone has been yelling at me about it." The familiar sensation of a paw on the back of her head eased the frustration bubbling up from her, for once, full belly. Of course, she'd never admit how right Andrew was… stupid, strong, nice… completely correct man. He had been right though, hadn't he? Andrew had told her exactly what she'd needed to do, and most of it… she had. Everything except be honest. Everything except tell him she was so so hungry. The more lucidity returned, the more Yelz remembered falling to the floor of her living room. That yawning, empty pit in her stomach that seemed to suck against her spine. The sharp, stabbing pain that roiled like a rising tide that had her hunched and clenching her fangs.

  The weakness in her legs.

  The confusion in her head.

  The scratch of carpet on her muzzle as she failed to rise.

  Andrew's voice had been one of the first during those floating hours, the warmth of his hands had felt like burning coals on her shoulders.

  Out of everything he'd told her, she'd ignored the most important; be honest, call me if you need me.

  Call me, if you need me.

  How many people had hammered that into her thick, pink, little skull? Not enough, apparently, or she wouldn't be laid up in a hospital bed.

  "Heard you broke up some crime ring? Didn't expect you to get so… proactive in your community."

  "Wasn't so cool. I struggled for three days, filled up a thumb drive, and staggered into the police station with it."

  "Mhm. Now this Wild Gregs is shut down." Helk scowled, pulling her daughter tight. Yelz wasn't of blood, of course, her egg had been part of a traditional gene pool swap. Most kobolds laid around the same time each year, the different warrens trading fertilized eggs to diversify the species gene pool and avoid inbreeding. Most never met their biological parents. No, it was the matriarch that took on the role of mother, and their mate, the father. It was a responsibility Helk took more than seriously. Yelz was her daughter, through and through, and she'd tossed the poor girl into a den of sexual vipers. "I should have vetted the place better. I saw the pay and security and didn't look further. This whole mess is on me."

  "No! No, I should have told you what Wild Gregs was like."

  "You should have, but it was on me to send you there in the first place." A dusty yellow paw caressed Yelz's cheek, warmth flooding the sick kobold's chest at the much-longed-for affection. "I'm your matriarch, end of discussion."

  "Yes ma'am."

  So it was. No more needed to be said. Yelz had heard what she needed to several times over, and Helk seldom repeated herself. No, now it was time to hol-

  KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

  "Well, I neve-"

  The door burst open with the fury of a titan. Four souls, each pattering the floor with talons and paw pads, raced within the room chased by a flustered nurse, exhausted gryphon, and chuckling man. None would be denied, however, the determination of children. There would be no stopping them, no deterring them, no safety nor harbor nor sanctuary. And as Helk dashed aside, Yelz found she didn't want to hide from the incoming onslaught whatsoever.

  "Oh my gosh, wha- ompgh!" Kolky and Weny, Elky and Holky, like fuzzy little missiles, launched themselves into Yelz's chest with the force of an avian bomb, each wrapping talon and paw and wing-arm and tail around the kobold. "Kids!"

  "Limzer hurt!"

  "Aunty Yelz in hopsittle!"

  "No hurt. Weny fix. Yes."

  "Auntie Yelz shoulda told Kolky! Kolky help! Yes."

  Mothers had this smile, small and warm, that only they could pull off. It was a gentle thing; a head tilt here, a pair of crossed arms there, that said more than words. Smiles that melded with eyes to convey unspoken love. Helk couldn't wipe said smile off her muzzle, and as Tolly, haggard and pressed, padded in beside an irate nurse, some human hurrying behind her, she knew these chicks had a good mother.

  "Chicks! Babies! Run? No!" Tolly shouldered passed the fuming nurse, an orderly hot on their tails, rearing on Yelz's bedside. Not to snatch her sneaky kids, Helk noticed, but to beak at the giggling kobold. "Yelz okay? Yes? Why not tell Tolly? Why?" Johnna pressed a hand to his mate's back, between her wings.

  "They were worried, sweetie. We were too. God, I'm so glad you're okay, Yelz."

  "Tolly! Johnna! Ack, Kolky, watch your claws! Ugh, I'm getting tackled so much today…" Still, Yelz didn't fight it, she smiled and ducked her head and let herself get sniffed and snorfed and smelled by worried gryphons, ready for another tongue lashing. At this point, it was more than she deserved. Feathers were amazing, so warm and soft, that she didn't even care that Tolly was pecking her neck. Heck, even that felt good, even that reminded her that people cared.

  I really messed up. I should have just said something.

  "Patricia mad. Yes. Helping police? Yes." Patricia was helping the cops? That made sense, she supposed. Patricia probably knew more about the goings on then anyone else. "Tolly and Johnna need babysitter! Yes. Pay Yelz double." Yelz smiled… now that Johnna was in the picture, there was no way they still needed her.

  "Auntie Yelz over more? Yes."

  "Limzer make chicken. Yes."

  "Kolky help, Kolky been practicing with dad."

  "Weny too! Weny like to lick bowl."

  "Oh!" Yelz leaned her head into Tolly's pecking, her bed creaking as several of her warren-mates returned, taking up vigil at the foot to watch the open door with wide, reptilian eyes, their tails slithering beneath the sheets to twine around hers. "Hey Twerz, Anilly… uh… soooo, I heard you stopped being a wimp, Johnna?" The man blushed, but said nothing, rubbing Tolly's back with a smile.

  "Yes. Johnna says Yelz help? Yes. Tolly grateful. So grateful. Yes."

  "I'm sorry everyone," Heads turned, attention lasered upon the irate nurse backed up by an orderly who, while managing to make Andrew seem like an anemic with the size of his biceps, also looked terribly out of place. "I'm going to have to ask non-family to leave." The kobolds hissed, Helk snapped her claws to stop them, and Hershey lowered her head to let Pringles jump aboard.

  "Come on now, y'all. Don't make the good folk's jobs 'arder." Andrew hesitated as his ex left, using the excuse of collecting Tolly's children onto her back as a means to stay next to Yelz just a moment longer. The worry in his eyes grew as more kobolds filed in, each proving familial attachment, before leaping upon the sniffling carton of pink lemonade or taking up positions to meerkat around the room. For once, her tears were of joy.

  Of relief.

  Their scents and scales were so familiar, it was as if she'd never left.

  With one final trill, Tolly ferried her children away, Johnna on her tail, leaving only Andrew as the sole loiterer. A paw pat the back of his hand, Yelz grinning in gratitude at the man. It was cute, the way he hesitated, even as the nurse glared.

  "I'll be fine, you big ninny. Go get some rest, you never have bags under your eyes."

  "Are you su-"

  "There are seven kobolds in here, not counting my mom." Yelz grinned, one scaly eye ridge raising as she watched the man's gaze turn towards Helk… who mirrored her daughter's smile. Andrew opened his mouth, closed it, then stepped away with a huff.

  "If she needs anything."

  "Yes yes, you'll be the first to know. You can't care for my daughter if you fall over." Diminutive as she was, most of the time one didn't resist the usherings of old women. Though it was a sight to see, Helk barely came up to Andrew's stomach, yet her waving paw was as strong as if the barrel armed orderly had shoved the man himself. "Don't tell little Yelz to care for herself better in one breath and then refuse to care for you in the next. Out. Out!"

  "Just, you have my number right?"

  Helk didn't answer, letting the nurse and orderly file out behind the man and shutting the door with a hiss.

  Annoyed.

  Impatient.

  Heartwarmed.

  Yet, the human reminded her of her own mate in all the best ways, her precious Nalitus. Currently the poor patriarch was holding down the fort back home, though with most of the youth here, it wouldn't be terrible. It was the other males he'd have to wrangle. Most wanted to march over and claw up whoever had hurt Yelz, that it had been herself was a conversation she was leaving for her mate to have.

  "Now then, I hear you had steak. But what about some of my stew?"

  When Helk turned, Yelz's tail wasn't the only one wagging.

  ***

  "I know ya hate smokin', shugah." Andrew lifted his gaze to the barely visible stars overhead, each one more silent than the last, letting loose a long trail of smoke from his nose. Hershey did the same, though hers was far healthier, the chemicals in her fire glands still potent after so many years. Pringles sat a respectable distance away, chatting with Tolly and Johnna and letting their kids crawl over his back like a furry jungle gym, his legs shaking from their combined weight. "Ya look funny, tryin' ta mimic a dragon." Andrew could only smile. Busy lights and the jostle of voices filled the hospital behind him, a ring of trees separating Alysia Central Emergency from the city at large.

  Hand trembling.

  Brow tight.

  Smile that stopped just shy of his eyes.

  "I'm glad ya found someone. I could only warm ya bed for so long." A snicker, her snicker, pulled at a dead part of his heart. "You let me know if Pringles messes up, I'll cuff him."

  A twitch of an eye.

  A missed breath.

  "Naw, 'es been so sweet." Hershey let her eyes close, the flutter in heart better suited for a dragon half her age. "I ai'n't felt like this… well…"

  "Better than me?"

  "Hrrrnnnnnn…" That smile didn't leave.

  A flinch. A waver in the lips.

  "I'm glad, seriously. He's a good guy and… I'm happy you're happy. I always was."

  Hershey knew when Andrew was lying. His nostrils flared when he was angry. And oh, how he stayed angry.

  "Oh, shugh plum." Warmth slammed into Andrews neck, familiar and gentle, her breath one he'd once longed for yet had willingly given up. No longer his, no, this dragoness had been conquered by a rat, of all things. "Ah'll miss the lonely nights we spent tagetha. Though… Ya tol' me not ta lie? Pringles keeps me so much warmer fer such a lil' guy." Playful stars danced in the dragon's eyes, swirling with mischief and chaos. "Gotta say though, ya ai'n't never smiled wit' me as ya do Yelz."

  It wasn't anger at her. Andrew wasn't jealous. Different…

  "Bah, I hardly know 'er." Another pull, another column of smoke. "Only been a little whil-"

  "Ah! Don't ya go and be stupid, baby." That nose smacked him, once on the neck, again on the head, lit cigarrete falling to the pavement.

  "Oi! Those are the good br-"

  "Ah don't care, shugah! This ai'n't like ya. Go fer it. Be wit' 'er."

  "Not that simple- don't bite me!" Andrew ducked the snapping dragon's jaws, spittle landing in his hair. "What the fuck!" Another snap, paws chasing him between lamp posts and across medians, a van blaring its horn as the man dashed between parked cars, angry dragoness hot on his heels. "Hershey!" Fangs slammed home around his collar, his boots lifting from the pavement just long enough to deposit him boneless in the grass. Hershey tumbled after, a twinge of fire in her neck from lifting the grown human like a sack, her paws wrapping around his legs to pull him close. "OW!" Finally, her mouth closed on his collar bone with a mlaowm, teeth digging into his skin hard enough to hurt.

  "Ya bein' stupid, honey. Go fer that kobold! Get the lizard!"

  "Fine! Just fuckin' get off me!"

  "Good! If'n ya listened more often, ya would be a happier man."

  "Ugh, we ai'n't gettin' into it in a hospital parking lot."

  "Where bettah? Ah fucked up way more 'n you, but Ah'm tellin' ya-" Both snapped their heads at a passing couple, the duo of humans averting their gaze and increasing their pace. "Ah'm tellin' ya, be softer."

  "I'll be however I want. That control is what pushed me away- ack!" A green muzzle forced itself under his chin, warm and trilling.

  "Ah'm not bein' controllin'. Ah'm just sayin', baby. Please… Ya were right about Yelz. But ya chewed 'er up. Ah promised ta be better but ya gotta let this temper go."

  "So… what, just stop being mad? Just drop how I feel." Fists clenched, teeth bared… yet he didn't push her away. "Greg done hurt somebody again. An' now he's probably gonna get away with it."

  "Ah know."

  "And Yelz didn't trust me! She shoulda came ta me!"

  "She should've, shugah."

  "Why can't I be angry?"

  "Ya can."

  "Then what the fuck are you tryin' ta say?"

  "That Ah'm here fer ya too. That ya can be angry but not like that. Not like ya used to. It ruins ya. Ya stay mad fer days. It gonna kill ya."

  "Oh, fuck off, don't try ta psychoanalyze me, I ai'n't some mental case lookin' for a savior."

  Hershey just… smiled. Smiled through the hurt and hooked a paw around his waist. No escape. No matter how sharp his words. That scalpel had two edges, and Hershey didn't mind getting a little cut if it meant helping someone special.

  "Baby… Ah ai'n't goin' nowhere."