Metamorphosis Ch. 04

I nodded with a slight smile and followed behind her. We managed to make it back to the house just as the reddish orange glow left the sky.

"Just in time!" Patra said as we entered through the back door. She was standing at the stove, stirring something in a pot. "I was wondering if you were going to make it for supper." She turned to look at us and a large smile graced her lips. "I see you two went for a walk in the forest."

Kira giggled softly and I smiled. "Yes, well, Xayna still isn't quite used to being a human, I don't think." I nodded as my grin got bigger.

"Dragons have no need to be so precise except when we're in the air," I informed them. "And even then we don't need to pay attention to that kind of detail."

Patra smiled and shooed us away. "Go get cleaned up for dinner. I don't want you tracking mud all over my house."

"Yes, Mamma," Kira replied, leading me back upstairs. "We'll be back down in a few minutes."

When we got upstairs, we walked right passed the room I slept in. Three doors later, we took a right into another bedroom. On the bed was a colorful blanket and small trinkets decorated the room. Kira moved over to a chest of drawers and began sifting through the clothes.

"Well," she said expectantly, pausing to look at me. "Aren't you going to get undressed?"

I closed the door behind me and began to strip. Even my panties were completely soaked and Kira had to give me a new pair. The outfit was much the same except the breeches were black instead of brown and they hugged my ass snugly. Kira looked me up and down with a small smile on her face, before she shook her head and gathered up my clothes, throwing them unceremoniously into a basket in the corner of the room. "Okay, time for dinner," she said, ushering me out of the room.

In the kitchen Patra was dishing out the food and Kamden had appeared at the table. He smiled handsomely at me when we entered the room. "Good evening, ladies. How was your day?"

"It went really well, Papa," Kira said, leaning down to give him a kiss on the cheek. "Xayna is learning how to speak a little." She glanced back at me and let out a small giggle. "Or rather, she's learning to understand us when we talk out loud." Kira switched to using her voice. "She's getting good at understanding our speech but she's not so good at talking yet."

I giggled a bit this time, remembering all of my mishaps from earlier. "Yeah, I'm getting there, but it may take a while."

Kamden nodded sagely. "It will be difficult since you've never spoken before," he said, taking the cue from Kira and speaking out loud. "It's good that you're able to understand us, though. That's progress, for sure."

I nodded proudly, having understood everything he said. He motioned for us to take a seat and we did, sitting in the two chairs opposite him. Patra laid the food out on the table and sat down with us. They all began eating and I followed suit.

"I placed a big order today at the store," Kamden said. "Darren Hurst wanted some paint and canvas for his daughter. Apparently she's a fantastic artist. His wife ordered sewing needles, thread, material for clothes, yarn, and new knitting needles. They wanted to pay up front, but I won't let them until their order gets here and is complete."

"That's probably a good idea, dear," Patra said between bites. I listened with interest as they talked of what happened that day. Patra described Mrs. Nessle's complicated delivery and Kamden talked about Johnny, the blacksmith's son, losing control of his horse and galloping all across town until a group of men was able to corner them in a barn and get him down safely.

For the most part, I didn't understand what they were talking about but I enjoyed listening to them talk. At some point, the conversation turned to Kira and I and how my lesson went. I noted with interest that Kira completely omitted the bath, but I didn't say anything.

After dinner was cleaned up, we all made our way back to the living room where Kamden picked up an odd looking wooden object. It had a wide, curved body with a hole in it. Across the hole and going up a long, straight piece of wood were strings that curled around pegs at the top. I looked at him curiously as he began plucking strings and making noise come from it. "It's a guitar," he said in way of explanation. "I use it to play music."

He adjusted several strings so that they changed pitch until he was finally satisfied. "Kira, would you mind accompanying me?" he asked, beginning to play a lilting melody that reminded me of rolling fields of green grass.

"Of course, Papa." Kira cleared her throat and began to sing along. I was too lost in the clear beauty of her voice to pay attention to the words. Her voice weaved in and out of the notes that her father was playing that caused unidentifiable emotion to fill my chest, not unlike when I was singled out by Telesia.

The song rose and fell and I found myself sitting on the edge of my seat. My eyes had drifted closed and I was completely lost in the music. When the song ended, I slowly opened my eyes.

"Wow," I said after a moment of silence. "That is beautiful." Kamden grinned and Kira blushed prettily.

"Oh, it's nothing, really," Kira said in embarrassment.

"It's not nothing dear," Patra said, smiling at us. "She's really quite the singer, isn't she?"

I nodded. "Will you sing another one?" I requested hopefully.

"Of course," Kamden replied, not giving Kira time to object. He began playing, this time a more somber, darker song.

When Kira began singing, it sent chills down my spine. I listened with interest and when the song ended, I begged for another one. After an hour and a half of playing and singing, I had to stifle yet another yawn and Kamden bowed out of the musical performance, claiming that he needed his sleep. Kira agreed and before long, I was curled comfortably in the bed and sleeping soundly.