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Dave slowly made his way around each of the eggs, turning them slightly and checking to see if the life within still pulsed with energy. He had already found another three that had stopped growing and he had placed them into the small chamber off the main cavern with the others.

It hurt his heart to see so many in that chamber, and he wondered if there was something he had done wrong. Was it his fault?

“Good morning,” a voice called out, making Dave stiffen. He had been anxious all morning about seeing Jessica again. He knew they had to work together but he didn’t want to see the disgust on her face when she saw him.

Instead of answering, Dave lifted a hand, waved, and then continued checking the eggs, this was his morning routine now and he found he looked forward to it.

He even hummed to the eggs, just a simple melody that made him smile, it filled him with delight when they reacted, vibrating as if in answer.

“Wow, there are so many,” Jessica stated, her gaze roaming over the eggs that were clutched together in groups of six to eight.

Dave simply nodded in response. By the blessed sea, Jessica was as beautiful as the sky after a storm had broken.

Her hair, this time, was kept away from her face, with the rest left to flow down her back in waves of luxurious locks.

Her eyes sparkled in the morning sun, drawing him even further under her spell.

“May I?” Jessica asked as she moved to touch one of the eggs.

Once again, Dave gave a small nod. He had done his rounds and had checked all of the eggs, so it was time to see what Jessica’s thoughts were as an expert.

He didn’t know what experience she had with Krackens, never mind eggs, but any help would be welcome.

Dave was keen to save as many as he could.

Dave watched with a fascination he had not felt in a long, long time as Jessica inspected the eggs.

At one point, she held one with gentle hands and closed her eyes, the egg itself was almost too big for her to hold with two hands.

He couldn’t sense much magic from her so he knew she wasn’t as powerful as the guardians, but she had something that he just couldn’t put his tentacle on.

“Oh my, you are lovely,” she whispered to the egg, placing it back in the small nest before she moved onto another. One at a time she checked each egg, whispering comforting words to each and with each breathy word, Dave felt himself falling deeper under her spell.

Slowly, she moved to a cluster by the wall and picked up a relatively small egg in comparison to the rest.

Her gasp as she closed her eyes had Dave at her side in seconds. Taking the egg from her gently, Dave lifted it and was able to feel the life struggle inside.

“Quickly, we need to get this egg warm,” she ordered before she called for her dragon.

“Edith, I need you… yesterday,” her usually calm voice now echoed around the caverns, reverberating off the stone.

Dave held the egg tightly in his grasp whilst Jessica busied herself, moving the other eggs to the side, grabbing dried seaweed, and packing it into the nest. As Edith arrived, her little wings thumbing quickly, she landed next to Jessica.

They didn’t need to say anything, they worked as a team with no verbal communication needed.

The little dragon released a small fireball, lighting the seaweed.

Flames shot up, but instead of being the normal reds and oranges, they were instead greens and blues.

“Dave, please place the egg within the flames,” Jessica asked.

Dave frowned at her.“It is safe, I promise. Some of the eggs are unable to maintain their own heat so we need a bit of seathermis to help. I’ve used the same technique on the creatures of Loch Ness.

” Jessica smiled and placed her hand on his arm.

The moment their skin met, he felt an electric shock travel from his arm through his body, finishing at his groin. Dave grunted as he bent and placed the egg into the flames, surprised when they didn’t burn him, instead only felt warm and almost calming.

He wasn’t sure about his reaction to Jessica’s touch, and he didn’t want her to see either.

He was still not used to his human body and the third tentacle he now sported was frustrating at the best of times.

It grew hard at inappropriate moments, like now, but he turned and grunted towards her, hoping that if they checked the eggs together then it may distract his body enough to calm it down so as to not make a fool of himself.

She may already think of him as disgusting, but he wanted to keep what little pride he had left.

Silently they went over the eggs, making sure they were warm enough.

They only had to light three other small fires, but it warmed Dave's heart that they were able to save more.

Finally, he showed her the cavern of the lost.

When she started to weep, Dave fought everything he had to not wrap his arms around her and let her cry on him. Like Brutas did for his mate.

Brutas had had to drag him back to the Hollow the night before, unfortunately, his brother had figured out where his new hiding place was, either that or a sneaky seal had told him.

Brutas had pretty much said his presence was needed due to their guest. Dave had wanted to tell Brutas that Jessica found him disgusting, but there was no talking to his brother sometimes.

And yet today she didn’t seem at all disgusted by his or the eggs’ presence. In fact, she seemed excited about helping him. Although her familiar looked bored, as if anywhere else would be more fun.

Wiping the tears from her eyes, Jessica looked up at him. “So are there anymore that I need to check on?” she enquired, and Dave shook his head.

“Okay, cool. Can you give me the grand tour then? So we can discuss where to put the nursing pools. Some of them will be hatching sooner rather than later and we need a pool to place them in.” Her voice was calm and commanding. It soothed him just like the sound of the waves did.

Lifting his hand, he made a gesture to the back of the cavern. There was a small hole in the side that led to a pool, the ceiling had a hole in it that let the sunshine bath the water, warming the pool perfectly.

“Oh, this is perfect, Dave, thank you so much.” Jessica beamed at him and made him feel even taller.

He loved hearing his name on her lips. Why did he feel like he could take on twenty sharks when she looked at him like that?

“Oh, perfect, there is an area over there I can use to sleep if needed, do you think Maeve will get me a camp bed?”

Dave lifted his shoulders and shrugged. That was most definitely a question he had no answer to. Jessica smiled at him, though, and walked around the cavern, testing the water’s temperature, tapping the walls and then tidying the area she had pointed out.

Dave frowned, if she was going to be sleeping down here, instead of in the comfort of the house upstairs, then he would need to make sure she was safe and warm.

Swallowing hard, Dave cleared his throat, then slowly he said her name out loud.

“Jess-i-ca.”

Her face morphed from a look of concentration to surprise, her eyes widening ever so slightly as she looked up at him.

He didn’t wait for an answer before he continued, picking out every word and every syllable carefully.

“I… go… get… warm…” He paused, unable remember the word for those things humans placed over themselves when they slept. Personally, he liked a covering of sea kelp. Maybe that was what it was.

“Warm… kelp.” He nodded, happy with himself and smiled. He didn’t understand the look on Jessica’s face when he walked away, but would assumed that it was gratitude for offering to get her a sleep covering.

With his task, Dave felt happier than he had in a while, and he also felt more positive about the future of the Krackens. Having someone to help him was going to be better than he expected.

Jessica stood stunned and it was only when Edith told her to close her mouth that she did.

“Did you see that?” Jessica asked her familiar, who was on a rock, in the sun, face lifted up to the sky.

“No, because I wasn’t looking,” Edith stated before she turned and bent over, holding her tail up in the sunshine.

“Your loss.” Jessica sighed.

Dave was devastatingly handsome, all muscles and dimples, and with a shyness that piqued her curiosity.

But when he smiled, holy goddess. Her ovaries had spontaneously combusted.

Yes, she was a cryptozoologist, but that didn’t make her less appreciative of the male form, and by God that man had form.

Her head literally was at chest level, and with the size of his pecs through his T-shirt she could motorboat him if she wanted and he was inclined.

“Mmm, that could be a task for another time, focus on the job at hand, Jess,” she scolded herself.

She was at Kracken’s Hole to work and to finally get to work with Krackens.

Not get her knickers twisted and thrown across the room.

But it had been a while since she had partaken in a dance of no pants.

Her last lover had been a human, bless him.

What he lacked for in experience, he made up for in enthusiasm and ice-cream.

Jessica grinned; she would never look at a tub of Neapolitan ice cream the same way again.

“You look scary when you smile like that,” Edith stated, and Jessica scowled in response. Her familiar had become a first-rate bitch since they had landed in Kracken’s Hole, and it was starting to do her nut in.

“What’s got your tail in a twist? You’ve been a nasty cow since we arrived.” Jessica stood in front of her dragon and folded her arms. “Everyone has been nothing short of lovely and welcoming to us.”

Edith turned about around and sat back on her dragon paws. She sighed hard, before she looked at Jessica.

“I miss home,” Edith admitted.

“Oh, sweetie, I do too. I miss Mum and Dad,” Jessica admitted, and she wasn’t lying, she always missed her parents.

“No,” Edith stated firmly. “I miss home, my home.” Her eyes were wide with emotion.

“Oh, Edith.” Jessica called out. “Do you want to go back?” she asked, knowing full well she would be losing her friend and companion. But she would let her go, Edith wasn’t a pet, she was far from that.

“No, I bloody well don’t,” Edith snapped, making Jessica stumble back. The change in mood nearly gave Jessica whiplash.

“But you just said…”

“I know what I said, I do miss my home, I miss the other dragons…” Edith paused.

“But I am happy with you. Yes, it was home but there were also things I hated, like being so small and the others picking on me,” Edith explained before she waddled over to the edge of the rock she was perched on and looked at Jessica.

“Then we found each other, and I’ve never felt happier than I do when I’m by your side. ”

“Oh, sweetie, but why are you upset?”

“Because I’m scared,” Edith growled. “Scared I’m going to lose my best friend to a bunch of scaly, tentacled Kracken kids!” Edith finally shouted, her words echoing around the cavern.

Instead of shouting back, Jessica collected Edith’s bulk into her arms and hugged her hard.

“Edith, you daft little sod, you will never lose me. You are stuck with me for life and maybe beyond.” Jessica laughed.

“Besides, the Kracken kids are gonna need every little bit of help I can get; I’m going to need you more than ever. ”

“Really?” Edith looked hopeful, although her eyes were filled with sparkling dragon tears.

“Oh, goddess yes, you are my wing dragon, my ride or die. I would be lost with you, Edith.”

Instead of answering, Edith snuggled into Jessica. “We are more than witch and familiar, Edith. We are family.”

There, in the sunshine of Kracken’s Hole, surrounded by Kracken eggs, they hugged it out and cried, unseen by anyone but a rogue seagull with a stolen ice-cream.