Lou

  When Lou woke up the next day, something fluffy tickled his nose. Nour y under his chin, her dog's body pressed against his shoulder and neck. Since Lou refused to let go of her the night before, Nour had spent the night with them. Between Lou and Harper. Ross had kindly and extremely amused flown off to inform the girl's parents.

  Harper y on Lou's other side. He had put one arm over Lou, the other he used as a pillow. One of Lou's strands of hair had miraculously found its way into the dragon's mouth. Lou felt the tugging as he turned to his sleeping boyfriend, still holding Nour lovingly in his arms.

  Nour stretched and yawned. She opened her eyes briefly as if in a daze, then closed them again.

  "Good morning, sleepyhead!" Connie came over to him. In human form. Apart from her, there was no other family member in the cave. At least the many white colors that Lou could otherwise recognize were missing.

  "Hm." With one hand he pulled the strand of hair out of the dragon's mouth. When he touched the damp hair, Lou grimaced.

  "Hm?" Connie ughed softly. He realized that she was carrying something. "Did Harper want to eat you in his sleep?"

  Lou just blinked.

  "The others are ... Eating breakfast", Connie continued. "I was down in town stea… Borrowing bread for you... Bread, figs, and a pot full of lentil soup!"

  "Borrowed?" Lou's stomach growled. The soup smelled good. Familiar. His mother would sometimes cook lentil soup if they had enough money to buy some lentils. "Stealing!"

  "Yes." Connie put down what she was carrying next to Harper and sat down. It was a basket. She wanted to stroke Nour teasingly, which made the dragon girl in the form of a dog open her eyes and growl indignantly in her half-sleep. Then she closed her eyes again and slept on without a care in the world.

  Lou sat up carefully, not wanting to wake the two dragons. Harper clung to him. "Huh?" Lou began to falter. "The soup... Ah! … It smells good." He fell backward into Harper's arms. The dragon sighed contentedly in his sleep. Only Nour opened one eye for a moment.

  "Nice! Shall I free you?" Amused, she nudged Harper. But Harper was already waking up. After all, Lou had just fallen on him. Therefore, he reacted quickly. He opened his eyes, looked at his sister, and hissed. The noise not only startled Lou, but it also woke Nour up for good. Still half lying on top of Lou, she took on human form.

  "Is it morning already?" the girl asked and sat up. "I'm hungry. That smells... edible!"

  "That's Lous!" Connie pulled the basket closer to her. "Fly home. Your parents are waiting for you. Maybe they already have... Breakfast for you."

  Nour nodded. "A cow would be nice. Or a crocodile? I also take a Kelpie. Dad recently gave me some of the kelpie he had captured. It tasted wonderful!"

  "I'll take that too!" grumbled Harper. "Lou? Are you hungry?"

  "Hm." Lou nodded. Freed from Harper's insidious arms, he could now sit up. "The soup..."

  Connie was just about to clear out the basket when a loud roar reached the cave. The three dragons sniffed in surprise. Nour growled.

  "What?" Lou grabbed Harper's sleeve and tugged at it. "Has something happened? Are we in danger?" Did the Wise Men come here to fetch him? Were they attacked by bck dragons? Was Remy back? "Harper? Connie? Nour? What is it?"

  "A human!" growled Nour. "A woman, I think. She smells a bit like you and Nina."

  "What?" Blinking, Lou shook his head. "Who? No." He didn't know why he suddenly became all the more nervous and anxious. Whoever had come to the mountains, he did not want to see this person. Someone who smelled like him and Nina? A woman? Mom? No.

  "She's asking for you!" murmured Connie. With her good ears, she could hear more than Lou. Then she stood up. "Come on, Lou. Ernst leads her here. She says..."

  "No!" Lou pressed on Harper. "I don't want to."

  "Lou?" Connie sighed and stroked his hair. "What's going on? That's your mother."

  But Lou backed away all the more. "No." His mother. He hadn't seen her for a long time. The st time, before the attack, when she brought him soup and told him about Nina. Did she know that the curse was not real? Did she know what she had done? By order of the Wise? Lou didn't want to see her. He didn't want an apology. No sorrow. No regrets. At the same time, he wanted nothing more than to throw himself into her arms. He missed his parents.

  "Here it is!" a voice entered the cave, then someone ran in. Lou heard quick footsteps and a sob.

  He heard a stumble.

  "Lou?" His mother rushed up to him, fell on her knees before him, and threw her arms around him. Connie just managed to get the basket out of the way. "Lou! My Lou!" His mother's cheeks felt moist. "Your father and I, we were worried! Are you okay?" She kissed his cheek and hugged him all the tighter.

  Lou froze in his mother's arms. Never before had she pressed him so close to her. He didn't know how to react. "Mom?"

  "My Lou!" His mother kissed his hair.

  "I'll get some dishes, I'm sure your mother is hungry too." Connie sighed and left them alone. Nour and Harper, on the other hand, took only a few steps back. And not without keeping a close eye on Lou's reaction. Because Lou was trembling. He pushed his mother away from him and fled to Harper and Nour. Immediately, Harper took him in his arms.

  "No. No. No."

  "Lou?" His mother was sobbing. Lou didn't look in her direction.

  "Shh", the dragon whispered in his ear.

  "Lou?" Lou's mother stared after him, crying. "Sweety? What is it?" Her voice trembled. She didn't understand why her own child fled from her.

  "It was too much," Harper expined to her quietly and compassionately. As he did so, he stroked Lou's back. "Nice to meet you. My name is Harper. And that's Nour." He nodded in Nour's direction. But Nour ignored the woman. Her attention was solely on Lou. She stroked his cheek while Harper held him protectively.

  "Too much..." Lou's mother repeated. ?I... Sorry, Lou. I couldn't help it." Her sobs grew louder. "I'm so sorry!" Lou didn't look at her, but he heard the desperation with which she spoke. "I couldn't do anything!" his mother continued. "When... I thought I had lost my child. And then I heard... I'm so sorry, Lou. We should never have believed the Wise Men. Now they are holding Louise captive. The young woman, that dragon, told me about it. After she brought Nina home. Nina said the curse didn't exist. I'm so sorry!"

  "Hm." Lou nodded, turned around, and looked in her direction. Fine tears rolled down his cheeks as well. He wanted to cover his ears so that he didn't have to hear the apologies. His parents were not to bme. He didn't want her despair. He didn't want to see her as guilty. "Mom?"

  "Yes? Honey?" His mother looked at him hopefully.

  "I... I missed you. And..." He shook his head and pushed the gloomy thoughts aside. Then he plucked up his courage and asked the question he had been asking himself for a long time. Why hadn't they come to him? Like Lousie and Nina? ?Why didn't you come earlier?" he said quietly. "Where's Dad?" Lou leaned against Harper. The warmth of the dragon strengthened him. Offered security. "Is he okay?"

  "Ah." His mother, however, shook her head, something that only Harper and Nour could see. Nour sighed softly and grabbed one of Lou's hands. He looked at her unsuspectingly.

  Lou's mother, on the other hand, finally nodded. "Yes, I came here much too te. Your father, Yorik, couldn't come along. He is ill. But he's feeling a little better, I think."

  "Yorik? Funny name...", Nour whispered. "And your name is?" Nour growled impatiently. "You haven't told us your name yet. I can hardly call you Mom! Why do you make Lou sad? You didn't want him, did you? Why else..."

  "Nour!" Lou pulled her to him and took her in his arms. "No." What exactly Nour shouldn't do, Lou wasn't sure. Shouldn't she call his mom Mom? Shouldn't she growl at her? Shouldn't she accuse her?

  Lou's mother sighed ruefully. "What? No, we..." His mother nodded again, but the girl's words struck her right in the heart. Not wanted? When had she ever not wanted Lou? The growl hadn't shaken her. In her eyes, Nour was just a growling child. It was easy to forget how dangerous dragons could be when they took on human form. Especially when they cuddled with Lou. Just like at this moment. No matter how angry the child was, she looked cute. And that she was trying to protect Lou? She was grateful to the girl for that. Just like the boy who had taken Lou in his arms. "Yante. My name is Yante."

  ?Funny“, Nour grumbled.

  sasi