Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 75457 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 377(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75457 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 377(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
As he snickered and went back to doing his best to hide our dinner, I frowned. “What kind of objects can be in a hoard?”
He found that cute enough to actually giggle about. “Anything. We’re funny like that. It’s just something that happens. Can’t control it.”
So it could be blocks?
Kitchen utensils?
The dino nuggets and tater-tots he was trying to hide?
Thank all the gods everywhere for dino nuggets not made with actual dinosaurs, because even though they tasted like chicken, they weren’t chicken.
My brain found the whole thing incredibly confusing but I’d been incredibly polite and a good representative of the US government and of Earth.
I was going to have the best stories to brag with when I got home, though.
“Okay, I’m going to guess blocks.” I could see grown-up Klynn being so private about that he wouldn’t talk about them with anyone.
Nope.
He giggled again.
“No.” Dragging out the word, he did a cute little wiggle and then turned the pan around. “Ta-da. Dino nuggets and tatter tots. They’re from Earth.”
He was the cutest little ever.
“That’s amazing.” And very sweet for sharing his surprise with me. “I can’t wait.”
Because I wasn’t sure if it was the chemicals in our food that I was missing or not, but their cooking needed a bit more spices or something. I couldn’t describe it as plain but nothing tasted quite right.
“I can’t get in trouble for bringing Earth food either because they’re not alive.” He looked down at his prized possessions and frowned. “No one said I couldn’t bring frozen treats. Wren has ice cream.”
Tattle tale.
“I don’t see how those could cause any problems.” Not ecological ones, at least. “Maybe we could get a mage to make some for us?”
Was that a thing?
If it wasn’t, it should be because they used magic for everything.
Klynn looked slightly skeptical of the plan and turned around to make the oven magically appear too. “What…what if someone tattled?”
Oh.
“Toman can do it.” He was the least ridiculous dragon or mage I’d met. “And if we frame it right, he’ll think of it as having a surprise for Wren that he has to keep a secret.”
Klynn did a little happy dance as the food went in and the damned machine disappeared into the cabinet.
Where the fuck where the appliances?
“Yes. You’re so smart, Daddy.” Klynn bounced over, no longer pretending to be in charge. “You can do it. You’ll get me nuggets.”
When in doubt make the human look like the weird one?
Sounded like a good plan to me, and really, that was a Daddy job at the very least, so it was a fair ask. “Yes, I’ll get you nuggets and tater tots and lots of goodies we’ll keep a secret.”
Hmm.
“Is your hoard dino nuggets?”
More giggles.
Probably not, then, but it looked like I was officially the funniest Daddy ever.
Chapter 13
Klynn
Dino nuggets.
Silliest hoard ever.
Sillier than the paper hoard.
Messy. Messy. Messy.
“A food hoard would make me hungry.” And get yucky probably. They’d get stinky. “No nuggets, Daddy.”
“Hmm…” He made thinking sounds as the food got ready, scrunching up his face to look cute. “Is it the little figurines on your shelves? The…little statues? I don’t know what else to call them.”
“No. But that’s a good guess.” Daddy was smart. “My cousin makes those, so I get them for special days. They’re supposed to be family people.”
Daddy cocked his head. “Real people?”
“He needs more practice.” I was nice, though. “But we say thank you, and I’ll teach you how to show you’re being nice.”
Daddy would have to practice too.
“Oh.” Daddy sat straighter. “I’m going to get them too, aren’t I?”
“Yeppers.” Ha. That was a good word too. “He likes special days, so he might want to do the Earth ones too.”
They had lots we could borrow.
Christmas.
New Year’s.
Groundhog Day.
Halloween.
Boxing Day.
The light holiday where they set things on fire.
The not English ones were hard to remember, but all holidays were fun.
“Well, you’re going to show me how to be nice so I’m not going to worry about that.” Daddy smiled as he looked down at himself and twitched. “It’s something like that.”
He was so funny.
And smart too.
“You watch good, Daddy.” We made tiny wiggles and shifts to show stuff, and I was gonna teach Daddy all about it. “You’ll learn fast.”
“Thank you.” Daddy gave me another big Earth smile and leaned back in his chair as he pretended to look suspicious. “But don’t think you distracted me.”
My hoard.
He was so cute.
“I know what it is.” He was confident because there was only one thing left. I didn’t have lots of stuff because big me wasn’t a stuff person. Little me was a stuff person. “Books.”
“Ya. You did it.” Smart Daddy was a proud Daddy. “But now I have fun books for my hoard. Not just our books.”
Ours weren’t fun…but I’d found my fun books.
They’d just been on Earth waiting for me…like Daddy.