Slayers Fan Fiction ❯ Dragon's Egg ❯ Daddy...Leaf? ( Chapter 4 )

Disclaimer: I don't own Slayers

A/N: I'm glad people like it. Hopefully I'll manage to tell you what sort of dragon Leaf is. And it isn't one of the ones Slayer's is known for!

Daddy…Leaf?

All she could say was Daddy and Leaf. It was like she wasn't able to pick up any more words. I managed to find her some boys clothes for cheap and she seemed to take to them more than the woman's clothes we passed by. She looked as certain of herself as she walked unsteadily, trying to follow my footsteps exactly. She didn't seem to mind people pointing at her, and I assumed that was because she didn't understand yet that horns weren't something normal.

"Daddy!" she said and ran up and hugged my leg. I couldn't help but smile as I looked down at her. She had hair; it was slightly brown with a reddish tint. It was really short and fuzzy. I didn't think fuzzy was the right word, but it was the first one that came to mind.

"What is it? You aren't hungry again, are you?" I had decided against my better judgment to remain in town for a day so Leaf could get used to walking and such, so I wouldn't have to carry her a long way.

"Leaf," she said and shook her head.

"Are you tired?" I asked but again she shook her head. What was she trying to do?

"Daddy!" she said, suddenly running a little ways away and she tripped. I ran forward to her and helped her up.

"Are you okay? You shouldn't run ahead of me like that," I said but when she looked up at me she was smiling.

"Daddy," she said, "Leaf!" I sighed; she never seemed to say them more than once when she was talking too. I hiked my hood up a little and helped her up. She was so unique, I guess, in the sense she wasn't like any normal child I had encountered. And she wasn't a normal dragon either, not a black dragon or a golden dragon or any of the dragons I knew about.

"I wonder…if you'd be able to breathe fire or something like that…" I murmured and then she stretched out her arms. She wanted to be picked up? I picked her up and held her close to me and she blinked twice, gazing into my eyes. Then she kissed me on the cheek and jumped down onto the ground and giggled.

"Daddy!" she said as she giggled and I wondered what was running through her mind. She was just a child, I didn't know what I was doing, and she was now running ahead of me again. Great, she'd probably trip again so I ran to catch up to her. I caught her before she was able to get to far ahead and I looked at her ready to scold her for running on ahead.

"You shouldn't have gone so far ahead Leaf. You could have gotten hurt!" I said, "Don't do it again…" I didn't think she understood me because she started laughing. I sighed; she wasn't going to get anything I said.

"Daddy?" she asked and then snuggled against my shoulder with a sigh and she yawned. I sighed again and decided it was time to head back to the inn. She fell asleep as I carried her so when I arrived back at the inn I was able to put her under the covers and let her take a nap. I ordered some light lunch and would make sure she had something to eat later. She liked milk and bread, which was fine with me. I think that she'd develop a taste for other things later but not at the present time.

I still couldn't seem to get past the fact I was a father. She depended on me and I found myself caring about her well-being. I knew precisely what the others would say, Lina would tease me to no end about how now I was actually caring about someone else other than searching for my own cure (which I still am doing by the way) and Amelia would say we should try to find her parents and make sure justice is served by finding her parents and returning her home. I couldn't exactly predict what Gourry would do though.

"Leaf…" she murmured in her sleep and I found myself smiling. She was a really cute child. I was still puzzled at the fact she was a child when she hatched rather than a baby but then again I didn't know the period of incubation for Dragons. I should have expected it though; the egg she was in was enormous!

"Sleep well," I whispered and found myself yawning. I couldn't be tired already! Maybe it was because of the fact that I was just watching her so much. She was tired and that was making me tired.

"I might as well sleep too, that way I'll be able to get us moving earlier in the morning," I sighed and then added as an afterthought, "I think…"

THE NEXT MORINING

I yawned and looked out the window, day hadn't even broken yet. Good, I could head out early before people saw me. Actually, come to think of it, I had my hood up the entire time I had remained here so really no one saw me…at least not much. I tried to get up but felt a lump lying on top of me. Oh, that's right, Leaf had shifted over and she was snuggled against me. She was very warm but I had to move, so I shifted her slowly to the other side of me and sat up, pulling on my cape and boots and getting ready to get a quick breakfast for Leaf and I and then we would head out.

"Leaf…" she murmured and I turned to watch her. She was still sleeping gently but she was grabbing at the covers as if she was looking for something. I started to stand but felt a small hand grab onto me and I was forced to sit back down. She was strong! I pried her hand away and tried to get up again but she grabbed onto me and pulled me back down again.

"She'll never let me leave, will she?" I asked to the air and heard a muffled giggle. Leaf was awake! I looked down at her as she looked up at me and she giggled again, her bright face smiling into mine. She jumped up and hugged me.

"Daddy!" she exclaimed and buried her face in my chest, "Leaf!"

"Good morning to you too," I said, "Not that it is morning yet…"

"Daddy!" she exclaimed again and I found myself smiling amusedly. I wasn't even acting like myself these past few days, and now I realized I was kind of enjoying this.

"We're going to be leaving soon, do you want to eat and use the bathroom before we go?" I asked.

"Leaf?" she asked and then was silent for a minute before nodding, "LEAF!"

"Shhh….not so loud," I said and she giggled again and released me from her embrace.

"Leaf!" she said with a definite nod.

"Alright then, but you have to wait here," I said and made my way to the door. I heard bare feet follow me and Leaf grabbed onto my arm.

"Leaf…" she said and grabbed my arm hard.

"I need you to stay here and get dressed. Put your boots on and such," I said and she shook her head.

"Daddy…" she said and looked up at me and I saw fear behind her eyes.

"Are you afraid of being alone without me?" I asked and she nodded, and I sighed, "Well get dressed then so we can pack up and then after we eat we can leave, okay?" She nodded and ran to where her boots were and pulled them on. She then ran over to the basin where I had put water last night and splashed some on her face and wiped her face with a cloth. She must have watched me do that already, watching how I got ready for the day. She might not be able to speak much but she learned how to do things pretty fast. She finished dressing and came up to me and grabbed my hand.

"Leaf?" she asked and I smiled at her.

"You did everything I did," I said, "But you got ready to go just like I asked so I guess you can come with me… but we still have to pack then before we go eat, alright?" She nodded and ran around the room collecting things I had left scattered, stuff I hadn't even realized I had left scattered and she piled it onto the bed while I sorted what needed to be packed and began to pack some of it away in my cape and pockets. It wasn't lots of stuff, just small trinkets and such that were mine. Leaf finished piling the stuff on the bed and looked it all over, finding one thing and staring at it and then another and eventually looking at all the stuff I hadn't put away yet.

"Leaf…Daddy," she said seriously, "Leaf…"

"These are just some little things," I said, "And my money…"

"Leaf?" she asked with her bright eyes.

"What is it?" I asked and she grinned at me.

"Daddy," she replied and pointed at her stomach.

"Hungry now?" I asked and she nodded, "Alright then, we should go and get something to eat." And then I would continue on my journey, Leaf following me wherever I go.

TBC

A/N: I know that was SHORT. Reviews make me do the happy dance and I'm inspired to update faster!

And any flames will roast my marshmallows! And then I'll make S'mores!