From Teens to Sparklings

Chapter 20 Purrcepticons and Helicopter Mom

Jack blinked, squinting. A dim light was hanging above him, covering his body in a faint glow. Slowly, he sat up, jostling whatever was resting on his lower body. Looking down, he saw a light blue cloth... 'no, a blanket, he knew this word', covering him. It rested gently on him, giving him a sense of warmth. He gripped the blanket with his paws, his grip weak and shaky. It smelled like fresh air. He hugged it to his chest, burying his face into the soft material.

The sounds of footsteps, lighter than he had ever heard, slowly approached him. He ducked his head downwards, hiding behind the blanket. A door a few meters away from him opened, and a human stepped into the room.

It was a female human. She was dressed in a pair of light green pants, a grey shirt, and a black jacket. She was holding a metal tray, some sort of clear container resting on top of it. She slowly walked over to Jack and kneeled down in front of him. She gently set the tray down and pulled the blanket farther over him. Her demeanor was kind, and when he looked into her eyes, he could only see good intentions and... something unfamiliar. It wasn't a mean spirited or evil, not like Silas, but it was more... sad and distanced.

A squirming, heavy feeling churned in her gut. This was an emotion he knew. Guilt. Although he didn't know why. He hadn't done anything to make him feel guilty, yet the feeling remained. He closed his optics, purred sadly, and rubbed his head against her warm, soft hand. He could feel his body suddenly shifting, growing smaller and smaller. He felt the female human's hand retract, jerking backwards. His abused body morphed back into his original form. His stomach ached, his healing wounds stretching and pulling, before settling in place, the metal of his belly scarring over. He opened his once again completely blue optics returned, still flecked with pink. The human looked shocked, her warm hands brought to her mouth. Jack placed his small paws on her leg and began demanding more attention.

"Murr roawr! Rrrr!" He barked, gently pawing her leg.

The human slowly picked him up, rubbing his head as she checked his belly. It was still sore, but it seemed that his healing process had been sped up somehow. The female rubbed his sore belly as she shifted him in her arms. He snuggled into her, purring. This felt right to him, and familiar, even though he was sure he had never seen this human before. He watched as she grabbed the clear container. It was like a round-ish cylinder, with a blue, soft looking tip. She nudged it towards his mouth, and he latched onto it, suddenly realizing how hungry he was. When the liquid hit his tongue, however, he spat it out. It was warm water and was certainly not food.

He sniffed the air, smelling something that smelled edible. He wiggled free and stumbled over to a red square looking container with a black hose. He licked at the hose, trying to find a way to get to the food.

"You... want gasoline? Well, I guess you do look robotic..." The female said, a carrier like tone to her voice.

He purred, glad that the human understood what he wanted. The human walked over to a potted plant and poured the water onto it. She walked over to the food container and poured some into the container. A dull gold liquid filled it, and Jack swiped his tongue over his muzzle in hungry anticipation. The human picked him up, wrapped him in the warm blanket, which was much bigger now, and put the container near his mouth.

June watched as the now tiny dragon suckled the gasoline from the bottle greedily, like it hadn't eaten in days. Though, perhaps it hadn't, she didn't know where it had been or what it had been doing before she had hit it with her car.

As she held the little dragon, memories of feeding Jack sprung to the front of her mind. Her son, looking up at her with bright, curious eyes, just like the little bundle in her arms was doing right now. For the first time since receiving the news that her only child had died, thinking about Jack didn't cause her to break down and cry. It still gave her a twinge of sadness, but she was able to push it back and focus on feeding the dragon.