Page 64 of Walking in Darkness

“Him purring? Yes. He’s trying to reassure you.” Connie patted Hudson hard on his foreleg.

“That’s awesome. Can I touch you too, Hudson?”

Hudson slowly curled his long neck around so he could see Connie and Kit. Connie was grinning at him, and Kit’s eyes were as huge as dinner plates. Again, he blinked slowly.

He saw the exact moment when Kit worked up his nerve. He let go of Connie’s hand, then stepped closer to Hudson.

Easy now,Hudson told his dragon.

Usually the roles were reversed, and Hudson was in human form when Kit touched them. This would be the first time he was in his natural state, and he didn’t want his dragon to overreact and scare Kit.

He laid his head back down, closing his eyes when he felt Kit’s first hesitant touch.

Kit ran his hand over the area he could reach. “I don’t know why I ever expected them to be cold. Yours weren’t and neither are his.”

“We’re not cold-blooded. I guess, in a way, we do look like overgrown lizards, but we’re not.”

“Huh. Good description. You guys sort of do.”

Hudson made the scales where Kit was touching rise. He hoped Kit would understand what he wanted.

“That’s just as cool as the first time I saw it.”

Hudson rumbled happily when Kit scratched underneath the scales. Maybe Kit picked up Hudson’s wants through the bond.

“Like that, huh?”

“Believe me, it feels good,” Connie said. “Just like anything else, it can get itchy. Each scale is composed of a compact, hairy formation firmly rooted in the epidermis. On the hair follicle, there are some tiny glands that secret a substance that adheres firmly to the skin.

“Interesting.”

“That substance is rich in minerals that determine the hardness of our scales. The external surface has a hard, translucent texture that accounts for the scale’s luster.”

“I mean, seriously, you guys should be the eighth wonder of the world.”

“We are, but only seven are known to humans,” Connie joked.

Hudson let his scales settle back into place and stopped purring, since Kit seemed to be less nervous.

“So? What do you think? Are you ready to go up?”

Kit gulped. “I think so. Are you still going with me?”

“Of course. I told you I would. But first, we need to move back.” Connie took Kit’s hand again and led them away from Hudson.

Lifting his head, Hudson first made sure they were a safe distance away, then unfolded one of his wings and laid it on the ground. They would use that to climb up to the base of his wing, which was set between his shoulder blades.

One day he hoped Kit would be comfortable enough that Hudson could soar through the skies with Kit on his back. Of course, they’d have to figure out some way to secure Kit to him in this form.

Connie chatted with Kit as he led Kit over to Hudson. Kit’s heart rate went up again as soon as Connie asked if he was ready. But it hadn’t spiked, and it was normal for Kit to be nervous.

Who wouldn’t be?

It constantly surprised Hudson how well Kit had adapted to everything that had been thrown at him lately. The paranormals who thought humans were weak were fools. They might not have paranormal abilities, but they had a strength of will that shouldn’t be taken for granted. Paranormals sometimes forgot that.

Connie led the way, still holding Kit’s hand. It was strange to have something as heavy as Kit and Connie walking on him, but it wasn’t painful. Just… weird.

He noticed immediately that Kit was much lighter, which he guessed really wasn’t surprising. Connie might be in his human form, but he was still a dragon and had the denser and heavier bone structure.

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