Sarafune Monster Preserve Vol. 1 Page 3

  He took in a sharp breath, a chill coming over him as he continued to speak. He didn't have much time, but he had to do this. "I said before that the caretaker helps facilitate in re-population of monsters. This is due to human DNA being a key component to most monster DNA, hence why they are all in the same species. As such, from what we have been able to find, any human can have a child with a monster, with there being a chance of the baby being a monster still."

  Charles was too focused to freak out or choke on his words. No, he was using every technique he had to make sure that didn't happen. He just had to ask questions, and get answers. "Wouldn't that be dangerous? Especially if all the girls already distrust a new caretaker?"

  Sarafune closed his eyes, one hand reaching into his pocket while the other gripped the banister with all of his might. Just a bit more. "Yes, and yes. Even worse is that the caretaker is the only person who lives here, meaning you'll have no one to stop any girls who may want to harm you, or worse, until you've made peace with some of them.”

  "However," he said as he extended the keys to the preserve to Charles, "that also means you can get close to these girls like few can, and one day even perhaps fill all the rooms in this house with students, or those who consider you something more, unlike myself. At least..." He didn't want to say it. He didn't want to admit it was an option. That in this moment, it could all just slip through his fingers before there even was a final chance.

  Charles didn't answer the prompt though. He didn't say anything in fact. He wanted to, but he also wanted to do more for the man and he could tell that being seen like this hurt him. After all, those with achievements like him normally had a large amount of self-bravado, seeing themselves as these pillars that would never fall, and he didn't want to hurt this cracked pillar any further.

  He took the keys, stepped back towards the door, and simply said, "I'm going to have breakfast with Sarah and Dari. I'll see you in there."

  Sarafune nodded, but would never make it. In a minute, the old man fell to the porch. In another, he was gone, just as he had wanted it for when he passed.

  The Problem with Dari

  Beep, beep, beep, bee-

  Dari groaned as her claw slipped away from the alarm clock that was on the dresser beside her bed. This was always the worst part of her day. She had everything planned out, with maybe about ten minutes leeway, so she could get herself up, remind herself of the lessons she needed, get presentable, everything. However, she also knew what she could possibly skip some of those and- "Ai!"

  She glanced back, blinking a few times. Normally, her tail was the one to make this choice, as when she didn't focus on it, the damn thing had a mind of its own. This usually meant it grabbing the bed post, pulling her back, and forcing her onto the ground. That, or throwing her blanket off.

  This morning was probably the most effective trick it'd done though, as it'd slipped up her leg, caressing her own thigh, just like she would when she got ready for bed. A small chirp slipped off her tongue as the end of her tail slid along the inside of her thigh, just barely outside of her slit. If it would listen to her, it would slowly slide in as she thought about that cute new caretaker. "Mmm, yeah."

  And then it smacked her pussy as she yelled, "The new caretaker!"

  Ignoring the jerk that her tail had turned into by getting her like this when it knew damn well that being horny would get her in trouble, she shot out of bed. Her room was small, and when she wanted to rush, she could be in literally any part of it in three steps. In the morning though, while bleary eyed and still trying to recover, her third step came out from underneath her, sending her straight onto the tiled floor of her bathroom.

  She groaned, mostly out of shame instead of pain. Her mind wasn’t helping as it wandered to Charles, beginning to think about her new caretaker. He was cute, seemed nice, Sarafune had let her meet this one, unlike the last four, and when she’d come down, it looked like he enjoyed the view. Or, at least, that's what she hoped. It could have been just as easy that his eyes were widening out of disgust, or fear, and he was just being polite every time they saw each other afterwards. He hadn't really come and seen her after breakfast yesterday, so maybe he could have even been avoiding her.

  Looking up at the ceiling, she saw the laminated and taped down poster that was there. It had a cartoon lamia lying on a sun chair, snoozing the day away with the caption: 'Take it easy and slow. You have time.' At the time it'd been put in, it was because of, well, the fact that she kept crashing on her bathroom tiles.

  It was right though, Dari thought as she glanced to another that was next to the mirror. It was small and was simply someone reminding her of the importance of hygiene, but it was just as valuable as the other dozen that covered her room. They were her lessons, the ones that made her a good monster, ones that could let her finally leave, ones that could let her meet more nice boys than just her caretaker and find that 'one' all of her books talked about.

  For a moment, Dari practically deflated on the floor, like she had many times in the past. She wasn't exactly sad, but it made it harder to bring herself to get up, not when there still wasn't a single dragon that had graduated since the preserves started ten years ago. It was easier to just listen to what her sister said. That dragons were never meant to be with humans. Especially…

  Fortunately for her, Dari's tail knew better than to let them be late, slapping itself over the side of the bathtub before pulling its owner back. Dari tried to grab at the floor as she whimpered, "No," but it was futile on smooth tile. Most mornings like this, it just led to chipped pieces, and Sarafune was getting tired of replacing them.

  And then Dari's claw came down in a fist, very firmly destroying about five tiles with the sheer force of the attack, having moved before Dari could stop it. It shot back, pressed into her chest as she stared at the tiles. "No, I-I shouldn't have done that. Even if I'm allowed to be naked in my room, it's greedy, manipulative, expensive, and... and..."

  Her eyes, which had become smaller, with her irises becoming vertical, thin opals, unlike the normal, more human appearance they had most of the time, turned to the shower right beside her. The shower he would be right next to.

  Dari's tail slid off the side of the tub, not caring if this was how she got things done, so long as she did them. Besides, these trips always made her happy, it assumed at least.

  And Dari did giggle as she stepped into the shower, looking at someone who wasn't there. Sarafune had talked to her about these 'episodes' before, and how they were just like when her sister fought another dragon in her cave, despite the two of them being the only ones on the preserve. It was a want, a desire, one they couldn't ignore as it was in their blood. It used to be for treasure, as dragon's of old would often times see only half of their hoard at all times, thus always making them desire more.

  Those days had long since gone though, having become impractical in hiding, so now Dari talked to a cute caretaker who was there to fix her tiles. "Sorry I can't help, but my claws just aren't good at that sort of work. You don't mind if I clean off the sweat I got from my workout earlier today though, right?"

  The caretaker smiled back at her, sending shivers down her spine as she turned on the water, her hand snapping back to her body to avoid as much of the cold water that came with starting a shower as it could. Yes, she could make this work. It would be just a nice, cute way to tempt him. To bring him closer.

  One of her claws ran itself along the side of her breast as she breathed, "I sometimes think my breasts are too large. I mean, most pictures of average woman I see have smaller ones. What do you think of them? And yes, I want you to be looking at them when you give an answer."

  She was still in the beginning, enjoying the shivers of excitement that might come with trying to tease the boy. Plenty of Dari's novels had told her how it was supposed to go anyways. You lathered up your ha-claws, and started with the hair. You got soap all over it, making it so that when you lightly rinsed it, the shampoo would leave white trails all along your body, making it look sleeker, and pulling their attention down.

  Another chirp of excitement escaped her lips, before a small, breathless moan. One of her claws had moved a little over as she'd gone to work on the legs next, having done the quick job of her arms. They weren't the attraction though, as they covered her chest, having to squeeze it together tightly to reach over to her shoulders. No, that wouldn't do anything except the same job as a shirt as far as trying to get a person excited. Not in her eyes.

  Her legs were a different story. Dari bent over, all the way down, well below the point where her back was parallel to the floor. She didn't have as much of an ass as some of her classmates, but she considered it cute, small, and best yet, knew that in this position that it didn't hide an inch of her pussy from view.

  He would probably be rock hard by now, having watched the entire time, and she'd only get one leg done before glancing to where he had to be at the end of the bathtub. They'd lock eyes, and he'd be frozen, but she wouldn't. No, she would be calm, cool, just like the seductress in her last book.

  Her claws slid back between her thighs, and she tried to put one of her nails on either side of her pussy. They were too large though, instead sliding over her nethers, teasing them as their hard, warm bone rubbed against the part of her they spent every night in. It wasn't quite what she wanted, as she would probably look like some horny teenager instead of someone inviting him to play, but... but it would have the same effect.

  He would come in, Dari would turn around. He would try to say something, and she would stop him with a small kiss, before she would wrap her arms tight around him, grabbing him with all her might as they began a far more passionate-

  "Ow."

  Dari had jumped from the pain, and now looked down. One of her claws was clasped around her breast so hard that it hurt, and when she opened it, there was a small pinprick of blood.

  And for a moment, her bathtub was covered in it in her eyes.

  Her tail put a stop to that, smacking her upside the head to clear it. Her fantasy was right though. Sure, she could punch through a wall, or light the side of a building on fire, but she hadn't done either of those things in a good long...

  She practically flew out of the bathroom, making sure not to step on the broken tiles.

  Dari stopped at the edge of her bed, looking at the door leading out. She needed to calm down though. Her eyes shut tight while she took hard, shallow breaths. Her chest was going to collapse as she saw images of what humans thought of dragons. Of the damage they could do, and the pain they caused.

  It was only when she opened her eyes back up and looked at the one picture of her sister that existed where she was smiling that she actually start calming down. It was a silly thing, to be honest, but Sarafune was right when he thought it might help curb her excitement. A simple picture of her sister being proud of her, blown up to be the size of a poster with 'You can do it,' written at the bottom.

  She could do it though. She had her mess ups, but that was why she had seven points, and not eight like Ali. It was why neither of them were taking the graduation tests either. They were still getting better, smarter, calmer, and would leave only when they were able to do all they wanted.

  Looking back at the poster, Dari sighed for a moment, whispering, "I wish you were here," before turning around to her closet.

  She hummed to herself as she looked inside, before snatching up a lacy, white bra. It had been a request, while she'd been getting used to the undergarment, and it made her feel pretty. It was the one thing she could think of doing that would make her feel like that and not just be her being greedy. No, whenever she had a bad day, she put this back on, even if for a day it was admitting she had to go back a step.

  Looking at herself in the mirror though, she smiled. Like this, the tiles were a stupid mistake, but she could go make him cookies while he did it to apologize. That way, he’d be able to see what a great cook she could be, or at least how well she rocked an apron. As for the fantasy... well, she hadn't actually hurt another creature in almost two years now. Why would she ever do that to that which she loved?

  Yeah, she was fine. She just needed to calm down, head out, and hopefully get a compliment from their new caretaker. Yes, the day would be good still. It could be salvaged.

  "Dari, are you going to get out of your room yet? It's normal for me to be ten minutes late, but not you."

  Dari's eyes become dots in seas of white as she heard Sarah's voice, and the only thing that stopped her from trying to rip the door from its hinges was the fact that her friend might be on the other side. The fear was quelled by an, "Open away," coming from the other side.

  Dari became a red blur as she launched herself out of her room. She had two flights of stairs and two turns to make before she got to the kitchen, where he probably was. In fact, she thought as she sniffed the air, with the smell of pancakes coming up from below, maybe he was still cooking, and she could show him how she looked in an apron even sooner. It was technically a step up from just a bra after all, and she could help!

  She made sure to come to a complete stop as she got to outside of the kitchen, which also acted as where they ate most of the time, and took up maybe a quarter of the first floor. Dari didn't want a repeat of yesterday or the day before. She would make a truly good first impression. Not be hyper, or clumsy, or any of the other stuff Sarah painstakingly pointed out every time she got excited.

  No, she instead opened the door calmly, trying to add a sway to her hips as she walked in, and mostly managing to attempt to throw herself off balance. It was how sexy girlfriends walked though, so she would try it for him. At least, she would have, had he been there.

  Once more, the dragon became a blur, opening and closing doors until she finally flung one open to the clatter of someone falling out of a chair. It was the study for the caretaker, which they were allowed in if he was in, which soon proved true by the black hair that poked out from behind it.

  When Charles's stood up, Dari heard from behind her Sarah say, "You look worse than me." After a quick check, the zombie wasn't entirely wrong. She was covered in dirt, her short, white hair was a mess, obviously uncombed and unwashed for several days, if not weeks, but whereas she looked half dead because of this, Charles looked full dead.

  His hair was every which way it had decided to be, his eyes bounced from place to place in the room, a little to Dari's annoyance, and he was visibly shaking. However, he was also talking, though a lot faster than either had seen so far. "Sorry about my appearance, girls. I've been studying everything Sarafune left me, admiring the little tests he put in these so I can find some things out for my own, but I think I'm finally getting to the point where I've gotten enough done to actually sleep. I think I might have already been doing that, but I can't remember."

  Dari stepped in, a crease forming on her brow as she leaned over. "Do you need any help? Maybe for me to tuck you in? You look like you haven't slept all night."

  Sarah finally walked in, tugging at her Grateful Dead t-shirt as she shook her head. "He hasn't. Also, don't take her help, or get anywhere near a bed with her right now."

  Charles nodded while Dari shot daggers back at Sarah, but one raised eyebrow made her stop. Her friend wasn't wrong after all, as much as it hurt to admit. Charles did make her feel better though as he slowly made his way to his feet. "No, no, I don't need help. Besides, as nice as it would be, I'd just be taking advantage of you Dari if I tempted you to do such things. We all need to settle before we-"

  And the two of them stared at Charles as he seemingly remembered one possible part of his job, walked over to a closet in the room, opened it, and then closed it behind him.

  Dari blinked a few times, trying to think of any of her books or lessons that might help right now. The closest she could come up with was that you shouldn't leave a friend that you think is in trouble alone, but she'd already offered him help.

  Sarah ended up being the voice of reason here, turning on a heel and walking away from the office. "Come on. He made breakfast, and it smells like he's competent at it. If he wants to be weird, let him be weird."

  Dari stared at the closet for another moment, before looking at the desk of papers, ripping a part of a mostly blank one and began scribbling on it. When she was done with her note that was to let him know she hoped to see him tonight, she came over to the closet and slipped the note underneath the door. "Don't worry. First day I came here as a student, I couldn't sleep either. I can't imagine how it is for a caretaker."

  And then, with a burst of joy in her chest as she thought back to how he'd like for her to tuck him in one day, she skipped down the hall, excited for what might come next, as apparently guys her age were a lot more interesting than even her novels made them out to be.

  Getting to Work

  Dear Caroline,

  I’m fine. It was a lot to take in, but I now have a place to stand and should be able to get something done. I just hope I can do good for the girls instead of hurting them like the others.