Work Text:
The little boy stopped.
He shouldn't stop and turn around to look back at the berry bushes in the garden. He was supposed to follow his Papa back into the house because it was supper time. He knew all that, but something had moved. Something had moved there and he wanted to know what.
The boy crouched down and cocked his head to the side. Little hands resting on his knees as he stared at the bush with the blue berries that his Papa liked so much. He liked them so much that Auntie Ash always said he would turn blue soon. Jon thought she was weird, she didn't turn green and she ate so many lemon cakes.
Jon didn't like the blue berries or the lemon cakes very much.
"Hello."
His Papa always said it was okay to ask questions but you had to be polite and greet people first.
"Who there?"
Jon jumped when the bush rattled and fell back onto his butt, wide violet eyes staring at the little thing that came walking out. Two yellow eyes looked up at him, a long tongue flickering out quickly.
Jon blinked, he had never seen a thing like that before, it wasn't furry like Torrhen's kitten, but it had four feet and a long tail. It looked funny, almost as green as the grass. Jon stretched out a hand and then giggled when a tongue touched his fingers, the thing made a step forward and Jon's eyes grew big when his fingers touched its head.
"Funny."
It felt funny, not soft like the kitten. It felt like his Papa's shoes.
"You funny." Jon told the thing and stroked his finger down its back, Torrhen did that with his kitten and it liked it. The thing made a sound and Jon grinned.
"JON!" His Papa called loudly and Jon pouted when the thing went back into the bush, he looked around and saw his Papa walking towards him. "You can come back tomorrow, it's supper time now, little wolf." His Papa always called him little wolf, Jon didn't know what that was, but it made his Papa happy. Strong arms picked him up and Jon laughed when he was thrown over his Papa's shoulder.
He looked over to the bush again while his Papa walked them inside and smiled when the thing looked back at him. Jon waved and giggled when the thing did too with its tongue.
--
Jon liked Auntie Ash's stories, she was really good. He couldn't understand how Torrhen always fell asleep, Jon wanted to hear the story until the end.
"And now it's bedtime for curious little boys as well." Auntie Ash said when she was done, book put to the side again, Jon longingly looked at it, "No no, little one, tomorrow, now you need to sleep." Auntie Ash smiled at him, tugging the covers Jon's arms, he didn't know why, he was never cold. "Goodnight, Jon."
"Night Auntie." Jon mumbled and closed his eyes, Auntie Ash left and Jon tried to go to sleep, Torrhen was so quiet for once and he wanted to dream about Auntie Ash' story. And then there was a sound, like feet on the floor.
Jon popped his violet eyes open again, across the room Torrhen slept, but it couldn't be Auntie Ash or his Papa. They could both move really quiet, but they were so big and Jon always saw them coming. His Papa was terrible at hide and seek, Auntie Ash had laughed so loud when Jon had told him, his Papa had just smiled and snatched Jon up to tickle him.
The sound came again, closer now and Jon sat up in his bed. The only one who came to look at them sometimes when they slept was his Papa, when he was sad again but his Papa hadn't been sad today, and Jon wasn't to know about that anyway.
So who was in their room?
He opened his mouth to yell for his Papa but then stopped before he did when he saw yellow eyes in the dark.
"Oh. You." Jon mumbled and slipped out of bed, knowing how wrong it was, he crouched down and waited until the thing had walked over to him. "Hi." Yellow eyes watched him, Jon watched it. "I needs to sleep." And he pointed up to his bed, the funny thing made the thing with its tongue and then walked past him.
Jon watched with round eyes how the thing climbed up the leg of the bed and then sat down on a pillow.
"Oki." He said after a moment and shrugged his little shoulders, climbing up into bed and under the covers again, the thing watched him sleepily. "Not seen." Jon told it still, holding up his blanket, "Not seen by Papa." Torrhen's kitten could sleep in the bed but the thing wasn't a kitten and Jon didn't know the rule about beds and the thing. "Ask Papa in morning." He promised the thing and then closed his eyes, grinning when a tongue licked his cheek.
--
When the sun was barely up enough to let light into their room, little Jon was already slipping out of bed quietly, eager to let Torrhen sleep on. He waited until his new little friend, because he had decided they were friends now, had climbed down as well before he led him into the corridor.
Right and then left to the open door of his Papa's bedroom, the door was only closed when his Papa was sad and Auntie Ash had told both Torrhen and him that when the door was closed they were not to go in there.
But today the door was open and Jon snuck inside on quiet feet, he could be very quiet, too quiet his Auntie always said when he made her jump again. He never wanted to. His Papa never jumped, he always said he heard Jon's question before he was even in the room. Jon didn't think that was possible.
His Papa was asleep still, Jon walked up to his bed and then waited until his friend was next to him, he needed to ask his Papa about the rule with beds and the thing.
"Papa?"
His Papa slept on and Jon huffed, he looked down at his friend and decided to do it different. He bent down and picked up the thing, giggling when the tongue licked at his hands. Jon went onto his tip toes and propped his elbows up against the bed, he held his friend high as he could so it could be close to his Papa's eyes.
He wanted his Papa to see his new friend.
"Papa, look! Papa, up, look!"
His Papa opened his eyes and screamed.
Jon stumbled back and dropped the thing into his Papa's bed, his Papa scrambled up and out of his bed so quickly that Jon couldn't even follow it. His Papa said some very bad words and leaned over to press his hands against his knees, Jon stared at him. And then his Auntie Ash came running into the room with a knife and Ser Milo followed with his sword drawn and between their legs Torrhen peeked into the room.
Jon had wanted to show his new friend to all of them but not all together.
"Papa?" He asked quietly, tummy feeling weird and funny. His Papa looked up again and then quickly walked over and picked him up, he was breathing really hard and Jon wrapped his arms around his Papa's neck.
"Now, now there, everything is okay, my little wolf." His Papa told him, arms tight around him, Jon could feel his heart beat really fast. "You just startled your Papa something fierce."
"Arthur, what is going on?" Jon heard his Auntie Ash ask and he looked up into his Papa's face, he was smiling at him.
"Where did you find the lizard, Jon?" His Papa wanted to know and Jon looked at him, wondering what he meant, "What you wanted to show me, little wolf, where did you find it?" Jon wriggled himself out of his Papa's arms and climbed up on the bed.
His friend had disappeared under the covers when his Papa had screamed and Jon had wanted to do it, too. He pulled the covers back and found his friend with wide yellow eyes. "Not scared. Not be scared." Jon whispered to it, "Just my Papa, not scary." He felt his Papa come to stand behind him and he looked from his new friend to his Papa. "Found in the garden. It came to my bed. It's my friend."
His Papa crouched down and wrapped an arm around Jon, "That's a lizard, Jon. They don't belong in my bed. Or my face."
"My friend. My bed?" Jon asked, looking to his Auntie Ash, she was smiling very much, Jon thought she might want to laugh. Auntie Ash was always strict with the rules, his Papa not so much.
"We'll talk about that after breakfast, little one. Papa needs some food after this wake up call."
--
Jon got to keep the lizard.
And his Auntie Ash helped him find a name.
"Lizards are a little bit like really small dragons, Jon." Auntie Ash said, they were outside and Jon was sitting with her on the sitting thing, he didn't know the name. They had the big book with the cool stories, Jon really liked those. They were about dragons, Auntie Ash said he had the eyes of a dragon. Jon didn't understand because he had his Papa's eyes, like Torrhen had his Momma's eyes.
And he had never seen animals with his eyes, only people.
"Someone once told me that lizards and dragons are related. One grew big and could fly, the other grew small and could hide really good." Jon looked down, his lizard was lying in the sun at his feet. "You could give it a dragon name, Jon. Would you like that?" Jon glanced up to his Auntie and grinned, dragons were great and his new friend was also great, and it had scared Papa.
Nothing scared Papa.
"Whose your favourite dragon, Jon? Remind Auntie Ash again."
"Mexes!" Jon called out happily, he really liked Mexes, the pictures of Mexes were beautiful and the stories Auntie Ash told were great. Not scary like the ones with the Big Black one.
"Your lizard would make a wonderful Meraxes, Jon." Auntie Ash smiled and Jon held his hand out for his little friend, giggling when the tongue came out again.
"Mexes." He said and then saw his Papa get out of the pool with Torrhen, "Papa, Mexes!"
And his Papa started laughing really loud.
--
Mexes came with him everywhere. Not the pool or the big place with the many people, but everywhere else.
She slept in his bed and Torrhen did not get to play with Mexes, Torrhen had his kitten. Mexes did not get to go into Papa's bed but she got to wait on a chair when Jon cuddled with his Papa.
Mexes was Jon's best friend.