Chapter 22 - Listen to your big sis!

The last rays of the sun were receding over the horizon when Aiden regained his consciousness and started fluttering his eyelids. Lily, who was still sitting next to his bed, immediately called out when she saw it.

"Granny, brother is starting to wake up! Come quickly!" Then moving and kneeling down beside his bed, she put her tiny hands on his chest and called out to him. "Wake up brother, you were sleeping all day! I wanted to play with you all day, and you just slept! No fair!" a small drop of tear formed in the corner of her eyes, and soon she was crying her heart out. Finally seeing Aiden waking up, broke the final dam in her psyche, and all day's worry was finally coming out.

It was at this time when Granny arrived into the room. Seeing her little angel crying over Aiden's still half-asleep body made her put on an empathetic smile. (A/N: I had to look this one up. Empathic is the old style, empathetic is the modernized version. I honestly thought otherwise. Huh, seems like you never stop learning..)

"Don't cry Lily, it's not that bad. He was just exhausted. He should be better now, and probably waking up soon. Instead of crying, let's think of some real good dinner for Aiden when he wakes up. He must be hungry!"

Snot and tears still on her face she looked at the ceiling seemingly deep in thought. Then, as if a lightbulb was lit above her head, her face changed into surprise then happiness as she looked at Granny. Looking like she found the cure for cancer she replied happily:

"Brother loves meat! So, for dinner we should make something super tasty using one of the rare meats! And some desserts! He likes tasty desserts! Like tarts! YOSH! He would love some tarts for desserts!"

"Are you sure, he is the one that would love some tarts for desserts and not some little missy that I know of?" replied Granny. Lily could only reply with a cute "Ehehehe."

Their little discussion was cut short as the sleeping boy was showing signs of waking up.

Opening his eyes, the first thing he saw was a little blonde missile launching towards him from the side, while crying for him and immediately snuggling on his chest.

"Lily, you should give him some air, and let him get up. Don't make him fall back just as he finally regained his state of mind." Granny lightly reprimanded her little minx.

Seeing the emotional little girl, Aiden lightly patted the back of her head, and in a clear voice, he consoled her.

"There-there, I am fine. Don't cry little girl."

Looking up, she pouted. "I'm not a little girl, I'm Lily, your sister! Remember that!" however, it was at this moment that she realized something very important, her face lit up and astonished she asked: "Wait a minute, you can talk? Why didn't you talk to us before besides saying thank you yesterday?!"

Instead of replying, he just smiled wryly. He couldn't just tell them that he was waiting for a magical system inside his head to process and analyze information he received from the both of them and create a skill that allowed him to finally communicate.. That sounds like something a lunatic would say!

Looking at his troubled face, Granny sighed.

"Don't be too hard on him Lily. He must have gone through something terrible, just like you did 2 years ago. Remember, you took a lot more time to open up. Help him overcome the trauma, and be the big sister, he most definitely needs!"

Sighing once more, she looked at both of them, still lost in their little world, she clapped once to get their attention, and continued.

"Now, get up you two, and let's make something together for dinner. Would that be good for all of you? We could talk during dinner. Is that alright with you two?"

Both nodded their heads, and shortly after, the trio left the room.

"So, Lily said you would really love something special made with meat. Is that right Aiden? What would you prefer?" asked Granny with her trademark gentle smile.

"Well.. I liked the meat before, as that was the food that gave me the most energy. The taste was good as well, so yes, if I get to choose, I would prefer eating something similar, or even more fulfilling!" answered Aiden after a brief moment of contemplation.

Listening to his answer, both Granny gentle smile changed into a surprised one.

"So, taste is only secondary to you, and you mostly look for anything that provides you with the most energy. Thinking back, I did notice a strange behaviour when you were eating yesterday. I didn't know it back then, but this morning's events filled a bit more of the puzzle." She gave her gentle smile once again, she used her free hand, and patted his head gently. "You are a dragon, are you not? You were born from a dragon egg after all. But if that's the case, do you know what happened to your mother? How did you get to this forest?"

Sighing deeply, Aiden looked up at the elderly lady, and with a wry smile, he answered.

"I'm sorry, but I can't talk about that right now. Please don't think anything bad, it's just… it's hard for me. I'm really happy that you took me in and helped me recuperate. If there's anything I can help you with, please, let me know. I do not wish to intrude on your peace without at least paying back the kindness."

Hearing his words, Lily punched his shoulders, while crying out.

"Don't you dare say anything like that brother! You are family now, and family looks out for each other!"

"But we are not-" Aiden tried to say that she was mistaken, as he is not her real brother, but he was cut short as another punch came from Lily.

"Don't you dare finish your words! It doesn't matter what happened before, you are my little brother, and I'm your big sister! And you have to…" she started sniffing, and tearing up at the last parts of her outcry "listen to your big sis!"

"I…" Aiden was at a loss for words. He never expected such a strong reaction from this little child. He did notice that she had a strong attachment towards him from the moment they met, but he never expected that she was that deeply affected. He noticed another hand on his back gently patting him. Looking at the source, Granny was looking at him with her trademark smiling face, and just nodding, as to give him confidence, for his next words.

"I… understand. From now on, we are family…" he stopped and seeing the expectant gaze in the girl's eyes he gulped audibly, before finishing with the words Lily was waiting for "...big sis."

These were the magic words she needed to hear. She humpfed happily, and from that point, all the way to the kitchen, and even during their little get-together, Lily was attached to Aiden.

The dinner according to Aiden's wishes was mostly meat this time with the tarts as desserts, making both Aiden satisfied, and Lily happy. As the munching started to calm down, Granny coughed and looked at Aiden before changing the silence that ruled the event so far.

"So Aiden, can you tell us about this morning? What happened to you back there? I can't say I'm an expert in your kind, but I've never heard of a dragon partially transforming. Is that something unique to you or your kind?"

Aiden put down the piece of meat he was currently eating and went into deep thought and closed his eyes. A few minutes had passed before he reopened them. By this time both Granny and Lily were looking at him, waiting for his answer.

"I'm not sure to be honest. It was not something I did on purpose either. It's just that… when I heard that man calling you and big sister all those bad names. I just felt rage overwhelm me. The next thing I know was that he was nowhere and you were looking at me with worry, then I felt extremely tired and wanted to rest.."

Lily only heard the words "big sister" that caused her to elicit a proud smile and a happy giggle, while Granny nodded her head as if she was expecting this answer.

"I see. It is most likely an innate ability that you have awakened to. Tomorrow if you'd like, we could work on it, to try to understand how it works. Would you like that? We still got a full day before we could finish up the potions after all."

Nodding his head, he answered. "Yes, that would be good." Her words also reminded him that he hasn't checked out his status page since awakening, nor could he hear or feel Enya. All the events since waking up kept him occupied. Taking this momentarily pause in the discussion, he took a quick peek at the only notification on his system, and immediately got surprised by the content.

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