Turned To Stone

Chapter 12 - Connor

[A/N I'm skipping Zoe's POV this rotation bc this story is Connor-centered. She'll be back in a few chapters]

Stepping into his grandmother's cave/house felt amazing. It was like coming home after being at a boarding school for eight months. Connor sighed and flopped onto the nearest couch, tugging his beanie off.

"How are you, Con?" His grandmother asked as she took the beanie, checking it over before hanging it up. Evan shuffled nervously before carefully perching himself on the edge of one of the chairs.

"Tired." Connor grunted. "And cranky. I think the kids will be molting soon again."

His grandmother always affectionately called his snakes 'the kids' when she was talking about them. The little creatures absolutely loved it, so Connor used it too when she was around.

"Well you'll all feel better after that is over, don't worry too much about it. And this is your friend Evan?"

"Y-yes, ma'am, I'm- I'm Evan." The gargoyle nodded quickly. He twisted his shirt hem in his hand and Connor heard the faint grinding of his fingertips against each other. He was going to rip through the shirt any moment.

"Oh please, Evan, no need for that kind of formality. You can call me Renee. Or Grandma if you'd like, I don't mind."

Evan nodded quickly. "Sorry-"

"No need to apologize dear." She smiled.

"Sorry." He said again. Grandma Renee just waved him off and offered a plate full of small chunks of granite and other stones that seemed to have been cracked apart by something extremely sharp. "I took these from the back room, Connor told me you eat rocks and I figured since I live in a cave, I'll be able to provide those easily."

"As long- just so long as-" Evan glanced at her claws and noticed a few small chips. "You d-don't hurt yourself."

"Grandma's more resilient than a rubber bouncy ball, don't worry about her." Connor chuckled and sat up. "Thanks for letting us crash here for the weekend, Grandma."

"Of course, Con! You know I never pass up a chance to see you and the kids."

Connor felt his snakes wriggle happily as she said it and snorted softly. "They're happy to see you too, Grandma."

Grandma Renee walked over and held her hand up. The talons at the ends of her fingertips quickly retracted until her hand was fully human. Connor saw Evan's eyes widen and muffled a snicker.

His snakes swarmed his grandmother's hand as she held it a little over his head. She began to laugh and Connor could tell that they were licking her fingertips.

"I told you, they're excited to see you."

"They're excited to have interaction." She shook her head. "Poor things, they can hardly talk to anyone."

"No one can understand them but me and the dracanae girls at school, but they hate me and won't come anywhere near me." Connor shrugged. "They talk to each other."

"That's not enough and you know it. Poor dears... maybe you could teach Evan to understand them?" She suggested, stepping away and glancing at the gargoyle. Evan shrugged shyly.

"I-I am pretty- um- fairly good at- at l-languages... but - I um- I don't k-know if- you know, if snake c-counts as... you know."

"Oh of course, that's a very fair point." Grandma Renee nodded. "What would you boys like to do this weekend?"

Evan shrugged again and looked over at Connor.

"Can we go to the orchard?" Connor asked after a minute.

"Oh, of course! I mean, it's been quite a while since there were people there, but I'm sure we can get in for a look around. I'll talk to Tyrius."

Connor sat up. "Tyrius? He's still around here?"

"Wh-who's that?" Evan asked curiously.

"Tyrius is a nomadic drygon who's been alive for at least three hundred years. He shows up around here every couple years, and usually stays for half a dozen months, at most. I thought he was just here last year?"

Grandma Renee nodded. "He was. I found some interesting ruins up farther in the foothills so I got in contact with him and he came back to check it all out. He's probably up there at the moment, if you'd like to take a look."

"I think I'd like to sit down for a bit longer. Zoe's driving is super stressful."

Evan snorted softly and Connor looked over at him. "What?"

"D-did you-" He was flushing. "When she drove away-"

"Oh, yeah. It's a dozen times worse when she's alone. But still, her driving is fairly terrifying on a normal day.

[A/N as always, tips on writing Evan's stutter/stammer are appreciated]