Gradually the paths got steeper and more treacherous as they advanced to their end goal, and carrying the eggs became somewhat more dangerous. This slowed their advancement considerably, but they managed to get to Kayzer’s old home in just over a week, tired and travel weary though they may be.
To get to clan, Kayzer had to turn into his dragon form to fly Ralph and the eggs up to their home. They were greeted with open arms by the other dragons who soon lead the way to bring Ralph and Kayzer to his parents who were waiting at the house for them. Kayzer’s mother was quick to go over to her son and nuzzle him gently, so happy to see he was alive and well, while his father simply smiled and let his wife coo over their rescued son.
“We thought something terrible had happened to you! We looked for you for weeks, but we couldn’t find you anywhere. You just vanished. We were beginning to fear the worst,” Antylia said, her voice filled with joy to see her boy was okay, and had survived that horrible ordeal in the wild.
“Thank you, mother. It could have been the worst case scenario if it wasn’t for Ralph. He saved me and looked after me. If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be standing here right now,” Kayzer said, turning his head over to Ralph and smiling, happy to let his boyfriend introduce himself to his parents.
Once Kayzer brought him up, Ralph smiled and waved to the two larger dragons, then he carefully slipped off of Kayzer’s back, carrying the eggs in a little front pack that he had fashioned from furs specifically to keep the eggs somewhere manageable during travel.
“Hello. It’s nice to meet you two. I’m Ralph. I found Kayzer in a kinda tight spot. He was captured by some humans, but I freed him and we made our way here,” Ralph explained, not bringing up the fact that he’d done more with Ralph that just be his travel buddy. He didn’t think that such information should come from him, so he wasn’t going to broach that subject.
“Well, I’m glad he is back home safe. Thank you for the help. You may go now and be back with your own tribe now that Kayzer is home safe.” Antylia said, though Kayzer was quick to respond, as he was going to make sure Ralph could stay with him, otherwise he wouldn’t be staying here.
“About that. Mother, is it possible for Ralph to stay here?” Kayzer asked softly, but the expression on Antylia’s face seemed to be enough to answer his question.
“Why would the human stay here?” Antylia replied, a tone of confusion seeping into her voice.
“Well, Ralph’s my mate. I know I’m a little younger than the usual age, but I care about him, and we have two hatchlings on the way. I was hoping he could stay here and we could look after the hatchlings together,” Kayzer explained, but he could already see that his request was going to be denied by the look of horror on his parent’s face. He knew this wasn’t going to be easy, but he had no idea just how disgusted they were at the thought of a dragon being with a human.
“You mated with a human?” Conzour snapped, taking a step towards his son as he looked him in the eye to get a truthful answer. Kayzer immediately took a step back, sheltering Ralph with his wing for a moment, to make sure he didn’t get hurt.
“Yes I-”
“How could you do that? It is against tradition. It is against everything we have ever taught you. How could you be so stupid?”
“Father, I-”
“Don’t you “father” me. You will destroy those eggs and you will leave the human to make his way home and this is to never be mentioned again. Am I clear?” Conzour snapped once again, and now Kayzer was the one who looked horrified. His father really wanted him to just destroy his eggs before they even had a chance to live? To abandon Ralph like he was nothing? That just wasn’t possible. Kayzer couldn’t do it, so he had to fight back.
“No!” Kayzer shouted back, but it seemed to only enrage his father more.
“You will do as you’re told, Kayzer. You will give me those eggs or you will be banished from the tribe for the rest of your life. Am I understood?” Conzour growled, but Kayzer didn’t say anything in return. He wasn’t sure what he was going to do. He didn’t know what was the safest option, but there was no way he’d give up his children.
“Give me the eggs, now,” Conzour said again, and soon looked at Ralph and approached him. Ralph nervously took a few steps back to keep Conzour from getting to close. It was clear to Ralph that he could smell the eggs from his pouch, and he was just going to take them for himself. Luckily until Kayzer stepped in. A bellowing roar escaped his muzzle as he lifted himself onto his hind legs and clawed Conzour across his face. After that, he turned, grabbed Ralph and quickly ran out of their. He may have been half the size of his parents, but he was a hell of a lot quicker.
Kayzer managed to get out of their home and into the air before Conzour even managed to recover from his hit. He had to get as far away from the tribe as possible now. It wasn’t safe for them there. Kayzer honestly thought that there wouldn’t have been too many issues with it, sure it was strange, but he thought his parents would still accept him and help him out. Clearly he was wrong.
Kayzer just flew, not saying a word. Ralph clung to Kayzer, and to the eggs, for a number of hours until they reached one of their old caves where he set down so they could make camp for the night. Kayzer wasn’t sure what they would do, but they needed to rest and to eat, then they would figure out where they went from here.
“Do you think we’ll be safe?” Ralph asked. He didn’t know if Kayzer’s family could track them down, but he certainly hoped not.
“We should be safe. We’ve been all over the place, so even if they do follow our scent, they’ll be lead on a wild goose chase around the woods,” Kayzer said, then changed to his human form so they could get ready for bed. His wings hurt from being used so much while they still needed to heal, so he really needed the rest now.
“Okay, that’s a good point,” Ralph said, carefully setting down the eggs and his backpack, then spreading out the sleeping bag so that Kayzer could get some rest. He looked wrecked after all the flying, and Ralph wanted to let him get in a nap at least while he went hunting for dinner. “Do you want to lie down for a bit?” he asked.
“That would be good. Thank you,” Kayzer said softly, and then went to snuggle into the sleeping bag to get some rest. He was emotionally and physically wrecked, so some rest was definitely something Kayzer was craving right about now.
“All right. I’m going to go out to get some food, but I’ll be back before long, okay?” Ralph said, gently petting Kayzer’s hair as he laid down to go to bed.
“Alright, wake me when you get back, “ Kayzer said, gently pulling Ralph into a quick kiss before he left.
“Of course,” Ralph replied, and then he made sure everything looked in order before leaving, taking his slingshot and a rucksack with him for the hunt. The hunting itself took about an hour, but when he returned he had plenty of food to last the two of them for a day, and he hoped that they would get going soon so they could make it back to his farm where they could find a safe haven to finally rest. Or, rather Ralph hoped there would be a safe haven there.
Once he got back to the cave, he put the rabbits he caught on skewers so that he could roast them, then he built a fire pit and commenced with the cooking. He sure was glad that his mother taught him how to cook, otherwise he wouldn’t have fared well on this journey.
While everything was cooking, and seeing as it would take a while, Ralph went over to Kayzer and brushed his fingers through Kayzer’s hair, trying to just gently wake him up. It didn’t take long though, as Kayzer woke up with a loud yawn and a nice big stretch, looking up at his boyfriend with a nice big smile.
“It’s like I’m waking up to an angel from my dreams every time I see you,”
“You’re so cheesy,” Ralph said with a chuckle, giving Kayzer a kiss and then ruffling his hair a bit. Kayzer was just the cutest thing. He was almost excited at the prospect of bringing him back home. After seeing how Kayzer’s family reacted to their union, he wasn’t all that scared of wha
t his mother and father would say. After all, his mother and father simply weren’t as scary as a big dragon barreling after them with the intent to kill, so no matter how badly they took the news, Ralph knew it would at least go better than the conversation with Kayzer’s parents, and so he at least knew that things weren’t going to get much worse than they already were.
“Nothing wrong with a bit of cheese,” Kayzer chuckled, and sat up and just wrapped his arms around his lover, just cuddling him and enjoying the feel of Ralph’s body next to his. “What’s our plan anyway? Where do you go from here?”
“We’re going to go back to my family, and they’ll take care of us. I know that they won’t run us off or anything. Maybe they’ll be a bit apprehensive at first, seeing as we aren’t really a typical couple, but once they see we’re expecting, they won’t make us fend for ourselves,” Ralph said. They would have to be extra careful to keep the babies out of public eye, but being on a farm like they were, that wouldn’t be outside the realm of possibility.
“As long as they don’t react like my parents did, then we’ll be fine,” Kayzer sighed, just nuzzling up to Ralph and holding him tight. He didn’t think his parents would take it well, but he didn’t expect things to go hat for. It was rather disheartening.
“No, no. They won’t take it that hard. They’ll yell at me about having kids this early in my life, and they will probably give you an earful too. And it might take them a little while to get used to the thought of having dragons for grandchildren, but they’ll warm up to it,” Ralph said comfortingly.
“I’m happy enough to be lectured if it means we have somewhere safe to stay. I can work on the farm and help out as well, and I’m sure the kids will too once they are old enough,” Kayzer suggested, as he was happy to pull his own weight. He was happy to keep hunting too, as long as Ralph’s parents were okay with that, so that way he and the kids would always have fresh meat when they were hungry. The main thing was that he would be good, and do whatever he was told. He didn’t want to mess this up, for Ralph’s sake anyway.
“Don’t worry, we’ll be safe,” Ralph replied, giving Kayzer a hug and kiss to reaffirm that to him. Safety was Ralph’s main goal here, because he wanted to be able to raise his family without fear of losing them or them getting attacked. Whatever it took to get to that point was fine.
The meat was just finishing up over the fire, so Ralph went and served the food he had made on plates and sat down to eat it with Kayzer. He brought plenty of vegetables, herbs and fruit to eat, so the meal would be filling. Kayzer stuck to Ralph like glue once he had sat down and gave him his food. He just leaned against his partner and nibbled away at his meat, just savouring their time together. There was quite an overwhelming feeling of anxiousness flowing through Kayzer’s system, as he was terrified of what might happen if they were found by his parents. He hoped they wouldn’t look for him. Things were bad enough as it was without them making it any worse.
“Thank you, for being there for me. If I had of been on my own and the eggs came out then… when I was with my parents… They would have had them destroyed. I wouldn’t have been able to protect them. I really am glad that I have you to look out for me,”
“I’m really glad too,” Ralph said, pulling Kayzer into a hug and giving him a kiss before returning to the task of eating his food, hungrily scarfing it all down and then cuddling up to Kayzer while he ate. “How long do you think we should rest before we start traveling again?”
“We’ll rest for the night and leave at dawn. I’m too tired to fly. I’ll be able to fly in the morning and should get us close to your farm house. It shouldn’t take much longer, it’s not like we’ll have to walk everywhere now, my wings are good enough to fly. I’ll just rest when we settle,” Kayzer said, as he was in a rush to leave this place, but they couldn’t well leave if they were exhausted. So, the most productive thing to do was rest the night and set off in the morning, making their usual stops for meals, and maybe even reach their destination at nightfall if the wind was in their favour.
“All right. The sooner we can get out of here and get to my parent’s farmhouse, the better,” Ralph said. He was as ancy to get out of the cave and into relative civilization, where Kayzer’s tribe wouldn’t tread, as soon as possible.
Once all the food was eaten, Ralph took the dishes and rinsed them in a nearby stream, then he returned to the cave and got into the sleeping bag. It was still day, but he wanted to get some rest. He had been working hard since Kayzer’s pregnancy, and this was the first break he really had, so he was going to take advantage of it.
“I’m going to take a nap. You want to join me?” Ralph asked.
“Of course I would,” Kayzer said, as he was happy to sleep now, and leave once they were finished. Dusk or dawn, it didn’t matter, as long as they were fit and ready Kayzer was willing to get out of their as fast as possible so they could leave this place behind them. So, he crawled over to Ralph and slithered his way into the sleeping bag, just wrapping his arms around Ralph and snuggling into his chest. “Night night.”
“Night, beautiful,” Ralph replied softly, giving Kayzer a kiss on the forehead and then holding him tightly and drifting off to sleep. Once asleep, he slept the whole day and most of the night, just waking up in the early morning the next day. He had been absolutely exhausted by all the hustling and bustling about recently, so the chance to finally relax and sleep was one that was very welcomed.
When he did wake, he stretched and yawned, feeling quite hungry now. So, seeing as they only made one meal out of the foot he’d foraged yesterday, he got busy making a breakfast out of the leftovers. Kayzer had actually managed to sleep through all of Ralph’s rummaging about, as flying was an exhausting process, especially with holes in your wings. Sure, they had healed quite a bit, but there were still some there. Kayzer was just glad to get the rest while Ralph was the perfect partner and was cooking up their grub.
Ralph made a huge breakfast, considering there were quite a bit of leftovers thanks to no one eating any lunch or dinner yesterday due to sleep. That done, he went over to the sleeping bag and just pulled Kayzer onto his lap, showering him with kisses to wake him up for breakfast. It certainly didn’t take long for Kayzer’s eyes to open. A smile perched itself onto his lips and he pulled Ralph into a nice tongued up kiss before taking the plate filled with food.
“Honestly, I feel like I died in that circus and I’m just spending time in heaven with an angel now.”
Ralph wasn’t sure how to take that comment from Kayzer. It was supposed to be a compliment of course, but Ralph didn’t want to even think about Kayzer dead, so it wasn’t a very welcome one. He shifted a bit uncomfortably as he sat cross legged on the stone floor of the cave. “I’m just glad that you got out of the circus okay.”
“I wouldn't have without you,” Kayzer said, as he knew the moment he lashed out, or became too tired to carry on, he would have just been chopped up and made into an ornament. His scales as armour, his claws for tools and his wings as trophies. That would have been his fate, if it wasn't for Ralph.
“I really don’t want to think about that, Kayzer. I’m just glad you’re with me now,” Ralph said, trying to cut that topic off before it blossomed into anything more. The cruelty with which Kayzer was treated was absolutely disgusting, and it made Ralph feel terrible just to be the same species as the monsters who hurt Kayzer so badly.
"Oh, sorry," Kayzer said, though wasn't too sure why Ralph seemed upset about the topic. It was the truth as far as Kayzer was concerned. Still, he just ate his food and took their dishes to wash in the stream this time, seeing as Ralph was usually the one to do it, then came back nd helped finished up the packing .
Ralph was glad that they dropped the topic, and once they were settled and had everything packed up, Ralph put on the garment to hold the eggs and grabbed the backpack to get ready for Kayzer to transform.
"We're just going to head southwest from where we are now and we will end up near m
y parents farm. I think once we're about a mile out form the farm, you should transform back and we should walk so we don't have to scare ma and pa, okay?"
"Alright, just direct me when we're in the air. I'll keep so you can keep track of our navigation, " Kayzer said, then morphed into his dragon form, stretching his wings for a moment before lying down on the floor so Ralph could hop on.
"Sounds good to me," Ralph said and climbed onto Kayzer’s back, then secured himself and the bags on a safe spot on Kayzer’s back, then he let Kayzer take off, giving him directions all the while.
Qith Ralph comfortable and holding on tight, Kayzer left the cave, spread his wings and lifted into the air. They flew just above the treetops, gliding in the gentle breeze of this gorgeous sunny day. This would be their last long journey, or so Kayzer hoped. He was done with travelling. He just wanted to lie down and settle, have a normal life again. At least Ralph was able to offer that to him.
With the directions and instructions Ralph gave him, they landed in a clearing not far off the farm near eight at night. Kayzer refused to stop for any food, mainly because of how close they were. He just wanted to get this over with so they could meet Ralph’s parents and secure their future together.
Once they landed near the farm, Ralph gave the eggs to Kayzer to carry while he kept the heavy backpack of supplies, then they got to walking. The journey wouldn’t be a long one thanks to the flat ground, which was the only saving grace of this daylong trip.
Ralph was too tired and hungry to talk much to Kayzer, and so their mile long trudge was rather uneventful, but as soon as they were in a hundred paces from the house, Ralph mother, Mae, came out of the house running towards them in her house slippers with her worn cotton dress flitting in the wind.
AFRICAN AMERICAN URBAN FICTION: BWWM ROMANCE: Billionaire Baby Daddy (Billionaire Secret Baby Pregnancy Romance) (Multicultural & Interracial Romance Short Stories) Page 130