The Whole Story
I finally pulled away, wiping the final tears away and smiling a true smile for the first time in a long time. Dad grinned back shyly.
I punched him in the ribs.
"Ouch! What was that for?" he demanded, rubbing his side. "Don't stress me out like that ever again!" I giggled. He shrugged. "I deserved that." He ruffled my hair. "Okay, Dad, I need you to tell me what the heck happened. Full story. Don't leave anything out," I said, sitting down beside him. Dad chuckled to himself before beginning his story.
"I got to Romania and for a full day I studied the Hugan Horntails. Did you know-"
"DAD!"
"Sorry! Got off track! Anyway, I was heading back to camp when I met Tala. She lured me to her cave. She wanted me to stay with her for the rest of my life. She was lonely. But I told her I had a family back at home. She was furious, so she transformed me.
"I found you in the earliest stage of the transformation. The later stages get much worse. You start seeing things that you regret. It was worse than the pain.
"Anyways, I was terrified when I realized what I had become. I ran and hid myself in the woods. I had changed. I could smell blood and I could see the tiny things such as dust motes flying through the air. It really is quite-"
"DAD!"
"Sorry! Anyways, I knew I couldn't come back home as the monster that I was. I attempted to starve myself, but I lost it when a herd of deer passed by. Their scent is not very appealing, but I was hungry.
"After many weeks, I was wandering through the woods when I smelled something new. A sweet, mouth-watering scent that instantly made me hunger. I ran towards the source of the scent and I found you.
"You were surrounded by Tala's followers. I attacked the leader in an attempt to protect you. When everyone had left, I turned to you. The scent was so strong and so delicious it took everything in my power to resist it. The breeze wasn't that big of a help.... It's rather fascinating-"
"Oh, Merlin's beard, DAD!"
"Okay! Anyway, you know the rest of the story." Dad grinned sheepishly. We sat in silence. "Did you-" "Dad, I don't want to hear about the Human Horntails right now."
"Oh. Okay."
"Mom's been worried sick. We've all been!"
"I know. I feel horrible about it. I love Tina, and I can't bear to think of all the pain I've caused her. The pain I've caused everyone. Including you." He brushed a lock of my hair away from my face. "I vowed that I would never make anyone suffer over me, but it appears I have broken that vow. I'm sorry, Dawn," he whispered. "Dad, I'm no expert on love, but Mom will always worry about you. If she didn't worry about you, it wouldn't be love. I mean, you worry about Mom... right?"
"That is correct."
"Good. She does the same for you." I hugged him one last time before helping him up. "We need to get back home."
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