“Stefan!”

Grumpily, Stefan looked up from his morning cup of tea. “What!”

Morgan, his wife, simply called for him again from the front door. Finally, he pushed himself to his feet and went to see what she wanted. Sitting on their doorstep sat a woven wicker basket. Wrapped in soft cloth and with a few handmade toys tucked next to it, laid a sleeping baby. Stefan stared out at the woods that surrounded their small cabin, as if he could spot whoever had left the child. Immediately, he felt on edge and grabbed Morgan’s arm when she reached for the infant. “Don’t.”

“What? Why?” She looked at him, surprised.

“Could be a trick by the Fae.” While he didn’t follow a particular faith or deity, Stefan followed the ways of the forest. When he hunted, he thanked the animal for giving its life to sustain him before he butchered it. He thanked the earth for its bounty when he foraged in the forest. When he fished, he thanked the river for allowing him to partake in its riches. All and all, he considered his life to be blessed…But an infant randomly showing up on his doorstep? This worried him.

“It could also be a blessing. You know we’ve been trying for years to have a child.” Morgan gestured to the infant who’d started to stir. “I know Fae will steal babies and leave changlings in their place, but we have no child to be stolen. If I raise a Fae child, then so be it…But I can’t, in good conscience, turn my back on this one. Besides, the toys…Stefan, I don’t think the mother did this willingly.”

Stefan sighed and crouched down to better examine the infant. It yawned and squirmed the best it could before opening its eyes. Briefly, the morning light caused it to squint, but once Stefan moved to block the light, it fully opened its eyes. The blue eyes that all babies had at birth had already started to turn muddy. However, the pupils slitted much like a cat’s eyes. It blinked a few more times before finally focusing on his face. A moment later, it gave a toothless grin. “It’s definitely not human.”

After a moment of consideration, Morgan snatched up the basket and stomped into the house, ignoring her husband’s sound of protest. “Oh, don’t give me that. You worry about it being a trick by the Fae. Have you considered that by ignoring the child we could anger something?”

“Woman, you better not have cursed us both!”

Morgan just shook her head. “We have nothing to feed…” She paused to take a peek under the cloth. “…Him with. Go warm a pot of goat milk, it’ll have to do till we can get to town and see if there’s any wet nurses.”

He merely grumbled to himself and snatched up his cold tea to finish drinking it while he worked on heating the milk. However, the soft noise his wife made caught his attention. “What is it?”

She cradled the baby in one arm and held up a note with her other hand. “Here.”

After taking it, he unfolded it and frowned at the brief message that’d been hastily scrawled out on the paper. “Take care of him, I have no choice. He has no name, so do what you will.”

She looked over at her husband and shared his frown. “I wonder what happened.”

“I don’t know, but it looks like you have the baby you always wanted.” Stefan commented, quietly, as he watched the infant grab at Morgan’s hair. He could only hope the boy would end up looking similar to the both of them.

Unfortunately, that didn’t end up being the case. Joseph, as they’d named him, ended up with dark hair…A stark contrast to Morgan’s blonde hair and Stefan’s red hair. Still, the two of them made it work. Morgan claimed her brother’s wife had passed in childbirth, and her brother couldn’t bear the idea of raising a son alone. So, her and Stefan had adopted the boy. It satisfied the locals in the nearby town and netted them some extra supplies in the form of gifts.

Still, the two would talk, late at night, about their child and his unknown origins. Both of them were aware of the standard child development path: when a child should crawl, walk, talk, and all that. Joseph always ended up leagues ahead. Despite that, there were still deviations. Rather than learning to talk, he first learned to mimic words and alter the pitch of his voice to better mimic the person he’d learned the word from. Naturally, the first word he ‘learned’ happened to be a curse word after Stefan had cut himself while cooking.

Joseph happily spammed the word for the next two days until he found some other word to mimic.

When he finally became steady enough to be allowed to toddle around outside, Morgan quickly discovered that she had to watch him closely. Initially, she assumed him to be curious about the chickens when he slowly followed after one that had wandered away from the flock. She soon changed her mind when he tried to pounce onto the hen. Luckily, the bird hadn’t been injured, simply traumatized. She scolded Joseph, swatted him on the rump, and shooed him back inside.

Once more, Morgan and Stefan discussed their son once he’d gone to bed. “I’m not really sure what to do about him, Stefan. I think that it’s going to get worse as he gets older.”

“We don’t know what he is. For all we know, this is normal. We…Just need to teach him when it’s appropriate and when it isn’t. You remember my father’s old hunting dog?” When Morgan nodded, he continued. “The hound was bred for hunting. If he would have been used for anything else, he wouldn’t have been happy. I think if we raise him as human, he won’t be happy. He acts the way he does for a reason. He’s no different than a magically inclined child.”

Morgan gently rubbed her thumb over her wedding ring. “So, we encourage him, but teach him when it’s alright to act that way?”

“That’s the best I can come up with. He’s already taken everything we know about children and thrown it out the window.” Stefan suddenly laughed. “Though, if he’s that keen to stalk things, maybe I won’t have to go hunting when he gets older. Gods know I won’t be young forever.”

As Joseph grew older, his belligerent personality became obvious. While very curious and eager to learn, there remained a sharp caveat: he only wanted to learn what he personally found interesting. However, Morgan quickly discovered that if she explained why something would be useful to learn, he became more agreeable to the idea. Still, he vastly preferred to be out in the woods roaming and practicing his archery skills.

While not against the idea, both of his parents worried because of his small size. Despite the forest being relatively safe, the occasional dangerous predator wandered down from the mountains. Still, Joseph’s hunts put plenty of meat on the table due to the rabbits he frequently caught.

More inhuman traits had begun to surface, as well. Keen senses and endurance to rival even the most seasoned hunter being the primary ones. Still, despite all of his positive traits, the negative ones began to appear. He could be a hellion at times with a short temper and a tendency to argue. Stefan found it nearly impossible to dissuade the boy from doing something once he’d made up his mind. Then, the worst one of them all: he stressed easily.

None of them knew Joseph’s heritage, least of all the boy in question. He couldn’t really put into words his wants and needs. Just that he became frustrated and anxious if he couldn’t do something. It meant pacing the cabin and tugging at his hair till someone managed to get his attention to latch onto something more constructive. Stefan soon figured out that the best way to calm his son was to open the door and boot him outside.

He came from the forest, as strange things did, and with him being a child of it, it made sense that being in the forest would calm him.

Joseph remained small, lanky, and a slow grower even by human standards. It made Stefan wonder if the boy didn’t have some sort of Fae blood in him. Sure, it explained some of his strange quirks, but not all of them. It didn’t explain the occasional soft growls he made or the intense, predatory stare he had when he hunted. Most of all, it didn’t explain his inclination towards raw meat…Something both Stefan and Morgan heavily discouraged.

Shortly after Joseph’s twelfth birthday, Morgan passed away. She’d been tending to their garden when a venomous snake, driven up from the river by the heavy rains, bit her. Stefan took it hard, but not nearly as hard as his son. The inhuman keens of grief the boy made not only broke his heart, but also reminded him of how far from being human the child happened to be.

He ended up burying Morgan by himself. Joseph took off the night of her death, presumably to the forest. Stefan hadn’t heard the boy leave, but that didn’t mean anything. He’d seen his son run through the forest without making a sound. Still, by the second day he began worrying. On the third day, he gathered his things and went searching for Joseph. The forests stretched for miles and if the boy had gotten hurt? He might never find him.

After searching for half a day, Stefan stumbled across torn and shredded clothes. Ones he recognized as what his son would wear. The dirt had been disturbed as if a struggle had taken place and he made out claw marks. Just from the claw marks alone, he figured the beast large enough to eat Joseph…Yet he neither found blood or remains. Still, his stomach twisted in fear at what he might find.

As twilight slowly settled across the land, he returned home empty handed. Yet when he crested the hill the cabin sat on, he froze. Sitting on the front step, eating a bowl of yesterday’s stew, sat Joseph. Perfectly unharmed, dressed, and yet…Something felt different about the boy. His shoulder length hair had tangles and bits of leaves in it, but his green eyes held a wildness in them…As if something had finally awoken within him. Frankly, Stefan didn’t care. The only thing that mattered was Joseph being safe.

Sighing, he sat down next to Joseph and dragged him into an one armed hug before kissing the top of his head. “Don’t do that, again. You scared me.”

“I just…Had to.” Joseph hunched up slightly, unsure of he’d be in trouble or not.

“I know. I just found some of your clothes and I worried some beast had eaten you.” He gave a faint, fond smile and gently nudged Joseph in the side. “You’re twelve and still very bite sized.”

“Who were my parents? My real parents.” At his father’s expression Joseph sighed. “I’m not dumb. I know I don’t look like you or…Mother. And you’ve always told the people in town that my Uncle’s wife died…And there’s all the weird thi—”

Stefan touched the boy’s shoulder. “It’s not weird. That’s simply you. Your mother and I…We never really knew how to tell you because we knew it’d spawn questions we didn’t have the answers to. The truth is, I don’t know. We found you in a basket on our doorstep with a note that said to take care of you. We hadn’t been able to have a child of our own, so we adopted you. I’ve always had a healthy respect for the forest and so as far as I’m concerned? You came from the forest.”

“So…You don’t know what I am?”

“I don’t. I knew from the day you arrived that you weren’t human, but I raised you as my own, regardless.” He snorted. “The townsfolk are convinced you have Fae blood in you, because of your eyes and small size. I honestly wouldn’t worry about it. You are what you are and nothing can change it. I just hope you continue coming to me with any problems you have.”

Joseph simply nodded and turned his attention back to his food, only to look up again when his Father nudged his side again.

“Mind telling me what happened with your clothes?”

He hesitated, not entirely sure if he should bring it up. Finally, he shrugged slightly. “I was running and caught my shirt on a limb.”

Stefan felt that he hadn’t been told the truth, but Joseph also rarely lied. Either way, he chose to accept the answer in hopes that he’d be told the truth later. “Alright. Well. Finish eating and get yourself cleaned up. You look like a mess.”

Life continued on, just without Morgan. He taught his son the ways of the forest and helped him as he could. Still, he began noticing further oddities. Odd tracks in the forest, for one. Some creature with four fingers and a thumb for the front feet and two toed back feet. He knew it had claws, so likely some sort of predator. Stefan warned Joseph of it, who promised to be careful. Regardless, the beast had gotten his curiosity and he followed the trails.

Every now and then, he’d catch sight of it…Just brief little snippets before it caught wind of him and spooked. He surmised that the thing stood about four foot at the shoulder. Not as large as a bear, but still likely dangerous. The thing tended to blend in, too. Dark brown with lighter brown mottles. He kept seeing it over the years, and watched its coloration slowly change; the light brown mottles steadily faded…And it grew. Much like how Joseph had begun to grow like a weed, so too did the beast. This made him question many things, specifically how he never saw the creature when his son hunted with him. He only saw it when the boy took off for days at a time.

He finally got a good look at the thing, one day, while it got a drink. Of all things to be skulking around in the forest, he did not expect to see a dragon. A young one, especially. He didn’t know much about them, beyond just legends. This one certainly wasn’t the fearsome, firebreathing, man eater of lore. If anything, it looked like a leggy, gangly colt who didn’t quite know where its limbs all went. It reminded him of Joseph who’d hit another growth spurt. The boy had just turned fifteen and had nearly reached his height…Not to mention had developed a voracious appetite.

Quietly, he watched the dragon as it moved around in the shallows of the river. He’d never gotten a straight answer from Joseph about what’d happened when he left for those three days and he often felt his son had kept something from him. Between that and not knowing the boy’s heritage, it made him wonder if the dragon and Joseph were connected somehow.

He remained hidden in the undergrowth and didn’t dare make a sound as the creature slowly wandered towards his hiding spot. Then, it looked in his general direction and his heart skipped a beat. He knew those eyes; he saw them every morning, usually paired with a devil may care grin. The dragon suddenly snorted loudly, the sound almost mingled with a rasp. Then, just like that, the beast spooked and ran, nearly tangling its legs in the process.

It didn’t surprise him in the least bit to find Joseph back at the cabin after being gone for several days. As he passed him on the front step, Stefan tousled his son’s hair and laughed at the indignant noise he received. “You should shave. It looks like you tried to glue random bits of fur to your face and it half fell off.”

“Next time I’m in the forest I’ll try to find the mirror tree.” Joseph snarked as he got up to his feet and followed his Father inside. “I added the rabbit I caught to the stew when I got back.”

Stefan nodded and checked the pot hanging over the fire. “Looks good. Ah…Joseph…I saw you down by the river today.”

“I wasn’t by the river.”

He didn’t miss the subtle shift in the boy’s demeanor to something almost defensive. “You sure?”

“I’m positive.”

“Joseph…Are you sure? I’m very certain I saw you.” Stefan purposely stayed vague about things. If Joseph continued to deny it, then he could play it off as some water spirit playing a trick on him. Still, with how defensive his son had continued to get?

Finally, Joseph gave the older man a tight-lipped glare but didn’t say anything further.

“You know you can tell me anything. I didn’t mean to startle you, if that was you.”

He sat down at the table and stared at the pitted surface instead of looking at his Father. “It was me…And you didn’t startle me. I just…You were downwind and it was only when I got close that I realized you were there and…And I didn’t want you to shoot me. Because I know that’s why you’ve been hunting lately.”

Stefan replaced the lid on the pot and sat down at the table as well. “So, you can…Somehow change into a dragon?” At the wordless nod he received, he sighed quietly. “How long have you been able to do it?”

“Since after Mother died.”

“I wish you would have told me sooner, but…I suppose it’d be scary. Is that what you’re doing when you take off for a few days?” He leaned forward to squeeze Joseph’s forearm, reassuringly.

“Yes. I was just…Scared you’d think I was some sort of monster. You and Mother always seemed almost fed up sometimes at some of the things I did.”

“Joseph, no. No. You’re my son. We were exasperated at times, yes, but never fed up. Honestly, most of it stemmed from us not really knowing what to do. You were the furthest thing from a normal child and we essentially had to figure things out as we went. If anything, we were scared that we wouldn’t be able to provide for you properly.” Quietly, Stefan laughed. “When you were three or four, you stalked one of Morgan’s hens and pounced onto it like you were a cat. I told her that if you were that good at hunting, that you could take over hunting for meat when you got old enough.”

“I think I’m pretty good at hunting.” Joseph finally offered a slight smile.

“Good. You can take it over, then. Gods know you eat enough for three people.” He pushed himself back up to his feet in order to being filling up bowls with the stew. “To be honest, I wasn’t going to shoot you. I’ve suspected you were the dragon for the past two or so years, but I didn’t have much proof. Besides, you never tried to attack me and always ran, so I didn’t have any reason. If you don’t mind, I’d like to have a better look at you in the morning.”

Joseph pulled his bowl closer to himself after it’d be set down. “I…Uh. I have to change when I’m naked. I tried it with clothes on, once, after the first time. Because you know in the books and stuff they always can…Well…”

“Didn’t work out very well?”

“It was my favorite pair of pants, too.” He stirred the stew after adding a bit more salt to it. “But I can show you.”

The next morning, after breakfast, Stefan patiently waited with his back to Joseph. He didn’t quite know what to expect, but it’d been anything but the stomach-churning sound of bones snapping and grinding. Then, the sudden blast of hot air on his neck caused him to flinch. When he finally turned around, he had to look up slightly to look Joseph in the eyes. After a moment longer, he took a step back to better look over his son.

Honestly, he had no idea how he had thought the dragon to be anything but Joseph. Everything about how he moved said ‘Joseph’, even down to the slight shifting of weight from foot to foot…Something his son had often done when anxious about something. Overall, he didn’t seem that scary, although the raised sickle claw on the inner toes of his back feet caused some concern. Hesitantly, he touched Joseph’s side and traced over what seemed to be the start of a dark green stripe. “I wonder if you’ll grow into your legs.”

He stepped back and faintly smiled. “Well, I think you can handle the hunting needs. Just as well. I think I’m too old for that, now. Just don’t let yourself be seen by anyone, Joseph. I don’t want to lose you…Because they’ll hunt you.”

The nod he received felt almost comical, but he couldn’t help but grin as Joseph turned and trotted away, his tail swishing from side to side. While they didn’t know his true heritage, at least they had an idea…But did it really matter? He didn’t care and neither did Joseph, it seemed. After watching his son disappear into the forest, Stefan made his way to the garden to begin gathering tomatoes.

A year later saw Joseph still growing. By this point, he’d grown taller than Stefan and with no sign of stopping. He’d also started to lose the lanky build, shifting towards something much more solid…A trait his other form mimicked, just in a delayed fashion. He’d also gotten what Stefan assumed to be part of his adult coloration: green stripes from his neck down to his hips. Stefan often joked that Joseph would be irresistible to the ladies of his race once he finished growing.

At this point, he’d gotten used to his son’s random quirks, including his irritability in the fall and subsequent disappearance for a solid week. Stefan had his suspicions on what it might be, if the behavior of the deer bucks were any indication, but chose not to bring it up. He felt that if he did, Joseph would probably be mortified, then curl up into a ball of embarrassment, and promptly pop out of existence. Dramatic, but with how his son tended to be open with everything else, he let the boy have that particular secret.

At eighteen, Joseph finally seemed to have stopped growing. He towered over Stefan by several inches, but considering the sheer size of his other form? It really made sense. Despite know the dragon to be his son, he couldn’t help but feel a brief stab of primal fear. Should he truly desire, Joseph had grown large enough in that form to eat a man whole…Or damn near it. As it stood, Stefan could no longer see over his son’s shoulder, and he knew himself to be about six foot. He frequently teased the boy about getting a harness for his dragon form to aid in pulling logs out of the woods. Joseph never found the joke to be funny.

Still, as every parent knew, Stefan figured that Joseph would want to leave at some point. The boy had always been one to wander and explore. As of late, his wanderings had gone from being a day or two to a week or more. Certainly, he’d always wake up one morning and find Joseph sleeping in his bedroom, but he worried that one day his son wouldn’t come back.

“Joseph, I want to talk to you for a moment.” Stefan wanted to grab the boy’s ear and talk to him before he ducked out of the cabin again. He ignored the eyeroll and noise of exasperation when Joseph all but flopped down into the chair. While he had always been quite independent, the belligerent streak had only gotten worse as he got older, much to Stefan’s frustration. Morgan and him had always tried to teach Joseph to be respectful and polite. Apparently, the lessons had never taken root which had resulted in a stubborn, sometimes short tempered, belligerent, and somewhat pushy young man…Who absolutely had no filter when it came to speaking.

“Don’t give me attitude.” He sat down across from Joseph. “I’ve noticed that you’re spending more and more time away from home. Has someone caught your eye or is there another reason?”

Quietly, Joseph sighed and looked down at his hands. “I enjoy it here, but…I want to see the world. I want to explore and see new things. I just feel…Restless, I guess.”

“I figured as much. You’ve always loved exploring, even as a child and would throw a fit if we tried to stop you. I know you can take care of yourself, and frankly, don’t know a soul alive who’d want to tangle with you…But I can’t stomach the idea of sending you out into the world without supplies.” At Joseph’s surprised and frankly confused expression, Stefan smiled. “I always figured that one day you’d leave. Tomorrow, we’ll go to Murval and buy supplies. I’ve been saving up some money for a while.”

Joseph made a sight face. “Why do I have to go? You know they stare at me. Besides, aren’t you worried about the rumors of soldiers?”

“Well, you’ll have to get used to it if you plan on exploring the world. That’s not something that’ll stop. Besides, it’s only going to be for an hour or so and I’ll get you that jerky from Aubin’s that you like.” Then Stefan shrugged at the question of soldiers. “There’s no reason for them to come to Murval. The town has nothing to offer them.”

“Bribing me, Father?” He attempted a serious face, but the expression cracked into a grin. Frankly, he had no idea how Aubin cooked the jerky, but the stuff tended to be irresistible to him and a promise of getting some always ensured he’d behave…Most of the time. “Fine. But if anyone bothers me, I’m not going to be polite.”

Stefan snorted. “Your mother would skin me alive, but I honestly have a good laugh at the insults you come up with.”

“…I miss Mother.” Joseph looked back down at his hands and picked at something stuck under a nail.

“As do I. If I’m honest, I think she’d be proud of who you’ve grown into. She’s the one who talked me into keeping you since I was afraid you were some trick of the Fae. Gods, looking back, I was stupid to even think that.” He smiled, fondly. “Well. Enough idle chatter. I need your help moving the cured meat from the smokehouse.”