Friends with a Predator Pt 2

     Lucida smiled, then frowned, unsure how to reply. "It's… nice that you are having a child but… I can see why it's also upsetting, having just lost Derek… Don't worry about it. I'll help you. And I'll make sure my children are gentle with yours. In fact, we'll not eat any humans until they are old enough to understand better why they can hunt other humans but not you. We'll help you. You don't need to worry about providing for yourself and your children. I'll talk to my mate- we'll help you."

     Ashlyn smiled at her friend's kind words. "You don't have to do that for me… I know how to manage.  I can…" Lucida interrupted before Ashlyn could say much more, "I know I don't have to, I want to.  You helped me before, and besides, we are friends. Friends help each other. And you need to stop avoiding meeting my mate. I don't want him to accidentally come across you when you are away from your home and end up eating you. You don't have to be afraid of meeting him, I already talked to him about you, about how even though you are human you are still my friend and still important to me. He understands completely, just like your husband was so understanding."

     Ashlyn's cheeks took a rosier shade as she glanced downward, "I know… I had planned to, but when I got pregnant the first time I was worried… he's not used to handling humans and I didn't want to risk injury to my unborn son… Then when I sent my son to my brother in law's… well you became pregnant and your mate was starting that food hoarding behavior…" Lucida smiled and rest a finger against her small friend's side, "It's alright; it makes perfect sense. How about you meet him when he comes back, after my son is born? If it'll make you feel better I'll make sure he doesn't handle you at all, at least not until after you've had your latest child." After a moment of consideration, Ashlyn nodded in agreement.

     The two friends spoke for a while, discussing their children and how to handle things now that Ashlyn was a single mother. Ashlyn was understandably nervous about having her children around Lucida's children- children were not exactly known for being gentle and the demi-dragons would have great strength even from a young age. But Lucida had thought through this, she wanted her children to grow up around Ashlyn and her kids so they would learn to be gentle at an early age. So Lucida would watch over Ashlyn's kids while Ashlyn spent time with the young demi-dragons. Ashlyn could handle them being a little rough- she was protected by magic, by a bond to Lucida that kept her safe.  

     Come sunset, Lucida took Ashlyn home, easily carrying her to home built on top of a headland, close to the demi-dragon's own lair while still near enough to a human village for supplies. Lucida lingered outside the house for a short while, glad her friend was opening up again, was getting past the loss of her love.  Once the lights in the house were out, once it was clear the human had gone to sleep, Lucida walked to the edge of the headland and dove into the water, diving down to where she could hunt for some sharks to eat.

     It was a few days before Ashlyn visited Lucida again, and Lucida wasn't surprised it took a while. At one point she smelled a couple of other humans in the area and some horses, and she suspected it was Ashlyn's brother in law with her son. She stayed out of sight, knowing that other humans could panic at the sight of her and explaining the strange friendship would not be easy. Best the in-laws not know about a predator lingering around.

     When Lucida smelled the humans were gone, she ventured back to the house, and was quickly greeted by a young boy running outside. Lucida laughed and scooped the child up with her tail, leaning over and licking the boy once. Ashlyn joined them outside in moments, showing no concern at having the massive predator handling her son. They trusted each other, and situations like this were when it was most obvious how much. Lucida scooped up Ashlyn in her hand, letting the boy play on her tail. The boy climbed on and slid down the fins, and the demi-dragon carefully kept the fins positioned so the boy couldn't slip out, couldn't fall from his little playground.

     "So Lucida…" "Yes, I did have my son. He's resting in my carry-pouch at the moment." Ashlyn nodded, knowing it would probably be a while before she saw much of her friend's son. She knew that the demi-dragon would keep her child well protected in a pouch located not far from her stomach, and that the newborn was quite small in comparison to the demi-dragon. The child would be comparatively much smaller to its mother than a human newborn, which was why they remained so often in the special pouch. The lack of showing the youngster to her friend was not lack of trust- at this young age the newborn would be very vulnerable to potential viruses and injury.

     Lucida absent mindedly rest a hand over the carry-pouch, feeling her son's form curled up inside. She did wish she could show her son to Ashlyn now, but she just couldn't take the chance. Ashlyn was no risk to her child, but just about anything else was. "You'll get to meet my mate soon. He comes back tomorrow. Don't worry; I'll explain to him that it'll be a while before he can handle you." Ashlyn nodded, "It's okay for him to meet Jake, but I don't want him picking him up yet. Not until I'm sure he knows how to be careful."

     Lucida brought her tail around to check on the human child playing there. "He's so cute and he seems to have so much fun on my fins." Ashlyn turned to watch her son playing and smiled, "You seem to have worked out perfectly how to keep him from falling. The first few times it made me rather nervous to see him there but not anymore. Do you think your elder two children are ready to start learning how to play with him safely?"

     Lucida rest a finger against her cheek as she considered the question. "Hmm… I think maybe Murdock is old enough to understand how to be gentle enough, but we should wait on letting Alexia play with Jake. She's a good kid, she'll understand why she can't play with Jake yet. Ashlyn leaned back against Lucida's thumb as if it were a sofa, watching her son climb and slide on the demi-dragon's fin. It didn't take long for the child to exhaust himself completely, and Lucida carefully used her fin to set Jake in his mother's lap. Ashlyn held Jake while she looked up at Lucida. It wasn't long before she had dozed off in her friend's warm hand, comforted to have someone who cared enough to protect her.