Rell and The Rose

Ch. 35, The Library

Rell

Bastien picked up the fire iron, when my hand went to my pocket. Empty.

"Bastien! Wait! He's mine!" I jumped up and threw my hands up. Bastien stopped mid swing, and I ran over to pick up Poxel.

I belong to no one! Poxel said in outrage, as I lifted him into my arms. He puffed his chest out, which wasn't very impressive, considering he was currently a chipmunk. Tell him I am Poxel the Magnificent, All-powerful, Incredible-"

Bastien stared at both of us in shock. So much for easing him into it.

"Umm, Bastien, this is Poxel, he's umm, my pet."

PET!!! How DARE you! A dragon is no one's pet! If anything, YOU are MY pet!.... Can I turn into a rhinoceros now?!

"You have a chipmunk as a pet?" Bastien asked incredulously. "How come I've never seen him before?"

"Well, see, he's not actually a chipmunk..."

Bastien had put down the fire poker, and stared down at Poxel. In the blink of an eye Poxel switched to his true form, smiling up at him a whole mouth of pointed teeth, his red scales gleaming in the fire light. He blew a puff of smoke into his face.

Bastien jumped back and Poxel suddenly switched back to the chipmunk.

Stop showing off. This is already hard enough to explain without giving him animal whiplash. I felt a thought coming and I cut it off preemptively. AND NO RHINOCEROS!

"So... he can change into different animals?" Bastien said, his eyes wide, leaning away yet still arching his head, like he wanted to come closer but couldn't. "But he's actually... a..."

"A dragon," I said. "One of the smaller breeds."

And most intelligent. Tell him that.

Bastien finally took a step closer. "And he obeys you?"

Absolutely not. She obeys me!

I shrugged. "Sometimes. It'll be alot easier now that I don't have to keep him hidden."

Poxel made a spectacular leap, transforming into a creature that I'd never seen before.

"I'm actually not sure what that creature is," I said, frowning. It was almost like a tiny, furry human with a tail.

"It's a spider monkey," Bastien said. "They have them at the Zoo."

And it has thumbs. So I can help you look through books. Humans read slow.

"Poxel said the spider-monkey has thumbs so he can help us look."

Bastien's eyebrows rose. "Wait— you can understand him? And he can read?"

I just shrugged, and pulled another book off the shelf. "I've always been able to understand him."

"Alright then," Bastien shook his head as he picked another book off the shelf.

I think he likes me already. Poxel pulled a heavy book from one of the shelves and nearly toppled over from the weight.

Let's try to keep it that way for at least a day. Remember we live in his house.

It's Dasan's house. And his library. Poxel replied.

I paused, shocked with the certainty he said so.

Why do you say that?

Because it's true. Now can I change into something else?

No. You showed yourself so now you have to help us.