Kaden's (un)lawful adventures

Kaden's Tree House

A/N

This "hysterical" short story about Kaden's adventures was written my CacklingCactus (another great username:)) If you like it, check out her stuff as well.

*****

Olivia ventured into the back cave for the fifth time in the past hour. She’d been bored out of her mind all day. Kaden was out hunting for fish and some special herbs she’d been wanting, and she was left alone in the rocky tunnel. Fortunately for her sanity, the back room was filled with endless surprises. Able to find things to amuse herself with, Olivia had been able to stay just on the brink of insanity. However, she was running out of entertainment. 

As she made her way through the room something caught her eye. In the far corner, darkened with rust and dirt, stood a beautiful tree house, a couple of shriveled leaves scattered inside. She looked at it for a full five minutes, and then started laughing and couldn’t stop. Not for any particular reason. Laughter just made her happy. Slowly the chuckled died down and Olivia scanned the stolen treasures nearby. What she saw made her crack up again. She clutched her stomach, tears streaked down her face. In the corner, behind a cracked wooden bureau and a dusty bed frame, was a tree. A dry, grayish brown tree. It had clumps of disgusting old dirt hanging from the roots which stuck out in all directions. Kaden had pulled it out completely, not bothering to chop down the tree.

Wiping her eyes, Olivia stood. She found a mirror and managed to clean away the dirt that streaked her face. As she left the cave, flapping wings sounded outside.

“Kaden!” she shrieked joyfully, and then burst into laughter. “Ka- Kaden, why-?” She couldn’t form a complete sentence. All the mirth from a moment ago bubbled up again and Olivia collapsed in a fit of laughter. Kaden eyed her carefully, worried for her mental health.

“Olivia?”

“Tree! Tree house, tree!” she gasped in reply, and immediately Kaden knew what she meant. If dragons could blush, he would have.

“Oh, that.”

Olivia writhed in a fit of hysterics, no sound coming out of her mouth. On any other day she wouldn’t have been so amused by the tree, but as it was, she couldn’t stop giggling.

Kaden was mortified and he wished he didn’t have a dragon’s instincts. The tree house had been so beautiful and immaculate that he’d had to have it and, in his haste, had ripped the tree out with it. Honestly, he didn’t see what was so funny, but having Olivia laughing at him drove Kaden crazy.

“If you stop laughing I’ll tell you the story,” he offered.

Olivia crinkled her eyes at him and slowly sobered up. “Okay. What’s up with the whole tree sitting in your treasure trove?”

And so, Kaden told her. “Long ago, so long ago that I’m surprised that tree hasn’t completely disintegrated, I was flying to town to nab something to eat. A pig or something. I was in the mood for cooked food. You know how that is? Sometimes you just want-”

“Kaden!”

“Okay, okay. Anyway, I’d caught up with a group of gypsies just outside the town limits and snatched a bit of meat. On my way back, I decided to take a different route. I flew around the other side of the mountain. Something sparkly caught my eye-”

Olivia interrupted him here. “You’re like a magpie!”

Clearing his throat importantly, Kaden continued, “As I was saying, before I was so rudely interrupted, something caught my eye and I dropped down for a closer look. It was that tree house. Now it’s old and dull, but a long time ago the trim was painted with shimmering gold and the white sideboards gleamed with freshness. I was full of roasted meat and that’s almost like being drunk to a dragon, so I picked up the house, very carefully, mind you, and I carried it back to this cave. I didn’t notice until it wouldn’t fit in the opening out there that the tree was still attached. Whoever made this tree house was very conscious of safety, and fastened that little thing very tightly. It took me a good half an hour to detach the two, and by the time I was done, the tree seemed very pretty, too. Naturally, I had to keep it.”

Olivia gurgled with laughter again by the time Kaden finished. He glared at her.

“I can’t help it!” she cried, trying to stifle her giggles with a hand. “It’s just...” She couldn’t finish the sentence and started guffawing again.

“Whatever,” Kaden grumbled, making his way into the cave. “No special herb for you!”

Olivia gasped in mock outrage. “That’s not fair! No cooked food for you, then!” She followed him in, the sounds of playful bickering echoing through the spacious tunnel.