Kyle, even in his well underdeveloped and still growing brain, knew he was in serious trouble if he didn't find safety soon. Wherever he was now, would eat him alive if he wasn't careful. Part of him was trying to think hard again that got him out of the original boomstick danger before, but it wasn't working now, or he would be back home already.
Kyle kept going, his dragon parts open on defensive mode, it's the best he could do since he couldn't breathe fire or properly fly yet...He listened and looked hard, and soon, he came upon a stream, drinking hard, tasting the slight iron essence in the water, which is so disgusting to him, but it's mostly fresh, thank goodness.
He then heard a screech of an owl, and he looked up to see it coming at him. He bit and clawed at the owl, seeing that the owl is smaller than him, but it's bold for going at him, probably thinking that Kyle was a helpless bird hatching or something.
The owl took more than he could chew, screeching in frustration at the strange being, and Kyle gave out a roar, a weak one, but he did his best to intimidate the owl, and the owl gave up, sporting cuts and missing feathers, flying away with a limp in one of the wings.
Kyle snorted, smiling with relief and confidence, but he realized that he's having some bleeding cuts next to the prior injury...He really wished that his mama is here, giving him a tongue bath and Papa to bandage the injury.
He sighed, kept going to search for a den or something where he could stay hidden from any more predators, bigger ones when he smelled smoke on the air, the smell of meat being cooked. He chirped anxiously as he can feel his belly rumbling, and he's really hungry that it hurts...
He followed the smell, walking carefully and quietly, not wanting to tangle with danger again, and then he made out the familiar glow of fire, hearing the distinct of wood crackling in the fire, and voices, talking with laughter and light-hearted jokes...
Kyle could recognize it was human voices, similar to his parents and their family; he knew he might be a bit safer with them than staying out in the wilderness for too much longer; especially in his injured state.
Kyle got closer, stepping into all fours, keeping his injury up to his chest, folding his wings in, and walked through the bushes quietly, peeking out to see four humans sitting in strange chairs, fabric tents behind them, the campfire as big as him, with a metal grate near it, seeing meat.
He smelled that it's venison, and he had once or twice tried it with his siblings when his parents cut some venison into really small pieces, and he loved it. With Mama's milk and those venison pieces, it was really a day back then...
He watched the humans, smelling their scents, confused in the fact that they seemed to have something similar to his mama in their scents, almost like a family scent...He sees two men, one older like elder adult, one younger like young adult, and the other two are females, one like teenager young like Cousin Jim, and one young like a kid, but not toddler young...
Unknown to him, those humans are Emma's father, Greg, having dark red hair, tan skin, and dark blue eyes, and there's his eldest nephew, Brad, having dark brown hair, light blue eyes, and slightly darker tan skin, his middle youngest niece, Tammy, having dark blonde hair, light blue eyes, and slightly paler tan skin and his youngest niece, Polly, having light brown hair, dark brown eyes, and tan skin.
"You sure that the camp site is all settled for morning, Uncle Greg?", Brad asked. "Yeah, I think we've got everything ready to head out at early dawn. Just get back to the truck and then go back into town.", Greg answered. "You girls enjoyed your camping trip?", he smirked.
Tammy nodded, "Oh, yeah, it sure was fun. Good thing that we brought fresh venison on the way out...I know you hated guns ever since...well, Ryan...", with a deep sigh of weary grief.
Greg sighed heavily, "It's better to fish those days now...Besides, you know one of Ryan's birthday wishes was to go camping...This is the least we could do in his honor, and I know my daughter would have loved it...".
Polly replied, "Emma was the fastest wrangler in tent set-ups!", with a grin, "I bet Brad's record would be outstripped out by her in seconds.". Laughter ensued around the campfire at that comment.
Brad chuckled, "Okay, I have to admit that Emma would beat me easily.", before a chirp-yelp sounded out. Kyle heard his mama's name as his papa often said it to her in cuddles and lovey kissing, and started to move when his injury brushed against a branch, and cowered down, scared to see what those humans could do...
"Did anyone hear that?", Brad stood up. The group could hear nearby rustling. "Relax, Brad, you're jumping at a small nearby critter. Might just be a racoon or something small.", Greg dismissed.
"You sure? Could be a bear...", Tammy feared as Polly rolled her eyes. "They'd be more scared of you than you are of them, Tammy.", Polly teased.
Brad frowned, "I'm looking anyway.", walking around, getting closer to the bushes, and Kyle saw his boots, looking similar to Clayton's boots except slimier and a different color, and a whimper escapes him unintentionally.
Brad heard it, blinking, leaning down, brushing the underside of the bush upwards, revealing Kyle partially, staring at him, shivering and cowering, and Brad was surprised, "Guys, it...well, come here and see for yourself.".
"What is it? Is it a wild animal?", Greg asked. "Well... I don't think so...", Brad admitted as the others got close before seeing Kyle.
Tammy widened her eyes, "It's a boy!", and Polly replied, "Make that a half boy, half dragon boy. Reptiles doesn't have wings like that.".
Greg stared at the little one, "He couldn't be any older than 1 year old. Hey, it's okay.", smiling fatherly-like, and Kyle blinked, recognizing his mama's smile in his face, even though the lips are different, walking slowly, holding his injured paw-like hand up as he sniffed, chirping before he blushed, his belly rumbling...
"Kyle hungry...", Kyle said nervously as he came out fully out of the bush, looking up at the humans..."Little guy can talk too...", Tammy said. "What on Earth is he?".
"No idea... but whatever he is, he's clearly needing help.", Greg said as Kyle got close before he looked to give Greg permission to pick him up which he did. Kyle gave a small giggle as at least he felt much safer with these humans than before.
Polly blinked softly in confusion, swearing that she heard that giggle somewhere before, and shook her head, "Can we feed him with some of the venison? He clearly got a few human teeth and some other teeth that's not human...".
Kyle nodded, "Yes, please!", before whimpering, "Mama's milk too?", as Greg held him gently, "We don't have your mama's milk, but some dairy milk should suffice...Check the ice chest, Brad. And Tammy, get the first aid kit out of the tent...That injury looks quite nasty.", touching Kyle's paw-like hand injury, and Kyle yelped.
Greg sighed, "Definitely broken, not sprained.", and Polly frowned, "What happened out there? Or his parents?".
Kyle sniffed, "Bad man sneak into home, hurt Cousin Jim, kicked brothers and sisters, chased me and scare me with explosion fire-thunder, and came here...Mama and Papa getting fitted for wedding when Cousin Jim took me and brothers and sisters on outing for fun and play...".
"Most chatty toddler I've ever met... even you weren't that much of a chatterbox, Polly.", Tammy teased as Greg rolled his eyes. "Please focus, Tammy.", Greg called out as he continued to look over the child.
"Poor little guy must have lost his parents or something... whole family...", Polly sounded disheartened. "Well, I didn't see or hear anything of the sort in terms of 'bad man' and all.", Brad said.
Kyle shook his head, "Mama and Papa scary when in danger, but not there when bad man came. Mama and Papa in city when bad man came to green place. ".
Greg blinked in confusion before replying, "Oh, so you were on an outing with your cousin watching you and your brothers/sisters while your parents were busy elsewhere?".
Kyle nodded, "Mama and Papa be sad missing me. Kyle lost, but you smell like Mama.", purring as he was now closer to Greg, realizing that Greg is somehow connected to his mama.
"Smell like Mama? Weird..." Brad shrugged as he brought back some milk. "Here, we luckily still had just enough for breakfast and all, but I guess we'll just skip that in the morning."
"It'll be fine.", Greg said as he held the milk up to Kyle. "You know how to drink?", he asked as Kyle nodded.
Kyle latched onto the rubber nipple of the bottle that Brad fixed up, and closed his eyes, purring as he likes it. It's not as rich or warm like Mama's milk, but it's still really good.
Polly smiled, "Aww, he looks cute when he does that...", and Tammy chuckled, "How many toddlers can purr like that? He's definitely happy with the milk.".
Greg was having a minor flashback to the moments he was feeding Emma when she was a baby with a milk bottle and all, and somehow, the boy, Kyle looks so much like her, except for the fact that his eyes are green, and he has a different smile, and of course, he has dragon parts on him, like the wings, the tail, the few dragon teeth, and the configuration of his hands and feet that is paw-like in a way.
Brad noticed, "Uncle Greg, you okay?", and Greg nodded, "I'm alright. Just been a long time since I fed another baby...", with a bittersweet smile.
Brad nodded, "Emma, right? Dad told me that you were feeding her and all when that...er, that woman was too busy with her job.", and Kyle popped his eyes open, letting go of the nipple, "Mama?".
Greg shook his head, "No, no, son, we were just talking about my daughter, Emma.", and Kyle looked at him, "That mama name!".
"Huh... small world, huh?...", Greg chuckled. Sure, a part of his mind was thinking the coincidence was crazy... that this child's mother shared the same name as his daughter. But Emma was a fairly common name after all. Still, the familiar feeling with this child and her certainly was making him think a lot.
"So... he's not exactly human, is he?", Tammy said as she looked at Kyle closely. "He certainly acts like it though...", Brad said.
Kyle looked at Tammy and snorted, "I part dragon!", before going back to drink some more milk, purring earnestly as he was really hungry, smiling.
Polly points out, "He seems really sure of that. After all, his wings are obviously real, right, Uncle Greg?", and Greg nods, been holding Kyle, and he felt his wings, "Warm-blooded and all real.".
"So... we're obviously not going to the authorities about this, right?", Brad crossed his arms as Greg nodded.
"Right, how could we? Despite this little guy... I doubt anyone would believe us about this whole thing.", Greg sighed. "We'll take him back with us.".
Polly nodded, "Good, because look at him, he's not hurting anyone or anything. He's literally a baby, and besides, if anyone finds out that he exists, they will think that people like him exists too.".
Tammy nodded, "She's right. Especially the government. I mean, even if there's people standing up for him, it's dangerous for him to be seen.".
Greg smiled, "My brother taught you three well. I know my daughter and Ryan would vote to have him safe and sound, and if his parents are looking for him somehow, we must make sure that he gets back to them.".
"So... does that mean we stay out here?", Polly asked. "Either that or we go home and hopefully they'll find their way to him... if they're still around, that is.", Tammy said.
Kyle finished drinking, and sniffed the meat, "Wanna pieces meat, please!", and Brad checked the venison, "It's all done to perfection. Tammy, a hand?", gestured to the pan, and Tammy nodded, grabbing the pan, giving it to Brad who picked the venison and put it into the pan with tongs.
Greg smiled softly at Kyle, "You said that your name is Kyle, right?", and Kyle nodded, and Greg chuckled, "Do you want to cuddle with one of the others? I have to cut the venison, okay?".
Kyle blinked, and reached for Polly with a chirp, and Polly clapped her hands, "Yay! I'll hold him, Uncle Greg.", and Greg smiled, handing over Kyle to Polly, glad that she's 10, old enough to hold a baby, even an unusual baby like Kyle.
Kyle felt surprisingly safe with these other humans; not knowing of his true connection to them, of course, the same for the other way as well. But for now, he was sure that he was at least safe from the bad man.
The next few hours were spent in cuddling with the humans, explaining their questions the best he could, enjoying the surprised looks on their faces when they find out that he is one of five children in one single litter, or that he was born prematurely, or that his parents are sometime human, sometime dragon, and eating the venison pieces and falling asleep to the music on Brad's guitar who brought it along for songs around the campfire.
Being in the boys' tent, he was sad and disappointed that he wasn't in the family pile, but Greg managed to find blankets to make a pile of sorts, and Kyle was happy, curling up right near Greg's side, purring and sleeping away.
Greg still couldn't shake the nagging feeling he had in the back of his head about this child, about who he said his mother was... it was nagging at him that he should know this child, but everything he knew about life, and such told him otherwise. The realm of magic was a concept that he wasn't able to comprehend, at least for now.
Greg managed to sleep despite the thoughts swirling around in his head, and in the morning, Kyle woke up, yawning and stretching, and was about to ask one of his siblings to play with when he realized that he was in a new place, recognizing the male humans.
Kyle blinked before smiling, climbing on top of Greg's sleeping bag, chirping before calling out, "Greg, Greg!", and Greg groaned, blinking and rubbing his eyes before looking up into a set of green eyes gleaming at him with a wide, toothy smile.
Greg's heart skipped a beat when he suddenly remembered how Emma woke him up like this, but only on holidays, weekends, and first days of school when she was young, and shook his head with a smile, "Alright, I'm up, Kyle. I'm up.", and Kyle giggled, "Yay!", learning the new word from Polly yesterday.
Brad muttered, "Five more minutes, Uncle Greg.", rolling his body into face-down, and Kyle frowned, narrowing his eyes, and grinned as he poised to pounce with his wings assisting him.
Greg was about to stop him when he saw what he was going to do when Kyle slipped off, and he roared playfully as he jumped into Brad's sleeping bag, and Brad shouted out in surprise, snapping up awake, with Kyle smiling toothily at him, "Brad up now?".
Brad groaned lightly, "You win. I'm up.", and Kyle chirped happily, walking off the sleeping bag, hearing the fire crackle, hearing water boil in something, hearing Tammy's voice, "Everything okay, guys?".
"Yeah, this one clearly woke up before us.", Greg chuckled as the girls checked on them. "Should have him be my alarm clock from now on.", he joked.
"Certainly would get me up earlier than I usually do.", Brad joined in with the joking. Polly snickered, "I bet. Well, we got water boiling for tea and hot chocolate. We can pack up everything afterwards...".
Greg nodded, "Good. I might have to wean Kyle with the truck in case if he hasn't seen one before...".
"Do you really think he'd be that freaked out by an SUV?", Brad asked as Greg shrugged. "Well, maybe not, but you never know. Last thing we want is this little guy to run away and get lost again.", Greg said.
Polly piped up, "I'll help!", smiling as Kyle looked between the humans in bewilderment and curiosity, and he walked to Greg, reaching up, and Greg picked him up, "Are you brave enough to try something new, Kyle?".
Kyle blinked, "Kyle brave with you.", and Greg smiled, chuckling, "That's good. Come on, Polly.", heading out of the boys' tent, joining Polly to the parked truck as Brad and Tammy focused on making the hot drinks and packing up camp.
Greg handed the keys to Polly, "Only on, understand?", and Polly nodded, "Yes, Uncle Greg!", unlocking the driver's seat door, climbing up, and looked at Greg and Kyle in his arms.
"Kyle, this won't hurt you, I promise. It's like a cart except bigger and noisier.", Greg reassured him, and Kyle blinked before nodding, and Greg nodded to Polly who put the keys in the ignition.