10 minutes after leaving, Griffin walked back into the small hut only to freeze in the doorway. Still sitting in the tub, Nathan had fallen asleep. And he was slowly slipping into the water.
Rushing forward, Griffin grabbed him by the arms and yanked him out of the tub. Throughout the commotion, Nathan remained dead to the world.
[Just how tired is he to sleep through that?] Kael questioned.
"I don't know. I'm just glad I came back when I did," Griffin replied as he wrapped a towel around the small wolf.
Holding him bridal style, Griffin carried him back into the cabin and tucked him into bed. For the next hour he sat there, just watching the sleeping wolf.
[You should probably wake him up soon. Otherwise he might not sleep tonight.]
Griffin continued to sit there for several more minutes before sighing softly. Reaching over he gently shook Nathan's shoulder.
"Nate? It's time to wake up."
It took a few tries before Nathan groaned. Stretching slightly, he cracked his eyes open.
"Sorry to wake you but you've been napping long enough."
Nathan just stared at the large man before closing his eyes again and rolling over, pulling the blanket over his head.
"Hey now," Griffin said as he pulled the blanket back down. "No falling back asleep."
"I'm tired," Nathan groaned.
"And you can sleep early tonight. Come on, it's time to get up."
Griffin gently coaxed Nathan into a crumpled, but upright position. "Let's get you dressed, then we can go on a walk. Hands up."
**********
They spent the afternoon in the woods, just walking and talking. As evening approached they made their way back to the cabin.
After being set down in his usual chair, Nathan's stomach decided to growl as loudly as possible. Clutching his stomach, he looked up at the large dragon, his face beet red.
Griffin only laughed lightly, "Sounds like someone's hungry. What do you want for dinner?"
"I'm not picky," Nathan mumbled. "Whatever you want is fine."
"Hmm, how about fish?"
"Sure, sounds great."
Nathan watched as Griffin busied himself in the kitchen.
"I've been wondering, how do you keep all that meat preserved so long?" He asked as he watched Griffin pull out fresh fish.
Griffin set down the fish before answering. "It's an artifact made by fairies. It keeps food cold so it doesn't spoil so fast."
"Fairies?"
Griffin set down the knife and moved in front of the wolf. "How much do you actually know about our world, Nate?" He asked, sounding concerned.
[Good job, smart one. Now he's gonna know just how ignorant you are,] Axel jabbed.
Nathan could feel the blood drain from his face. "Umm, not much. I only knew for sure that werewolves and vampires existed. My mom told me stories about dragons and merfolk but I didn't know dragons were actually real before meeting you."
Nathan dropped his head, unable to look Griffin in the eye.
A quiet sigh sounded over his head before a large, warm hand caressed his hair. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised. After all, you were so young when you lost your family. Let me finish dinner then we can discuss what you can expect to see when we finally go to town."
Griffin petted Nathan's hair for a few more seconds before getting up and heading back to the kitchen.
Less than an hour later, dinner eaten and dishes washed, Griffin set down a couple mugs of tea before moving his chair to sit just feet in front of Nathan.
"Alright, time for World History 101."