Alex knew that he couldn't just march up to a dragon's nest and demand that the giant reptile stopped waking everyone up at three in the morning.
But the thing was, that didn't mean he couldn't visit the dragon just to talk.
He had no idea what sort of emotional trauma seeing your entire species getting red-peppered had to be, but he could guess. It was probably loss and injustice mixed in with the fact that your favorite aunt may or may not have ended up as stew.
Alex knew one thing for certain.
The dragon had to be stopped!
****
Maximilian Shadowkin looked at the newspaper clippings before him.
The Big Capybara Times had reported more than one dead dragon over the months.
But now it was reporting about people being late for work. People getting into traffic accidents and even ending up in the hospital because of lack of sleep!
It was all too good to be true, Maximilian thought to himself as he turned into his human form.
He took a hair tie, made himself a man bun which spanned gorgeously behind him, and then got into a pair of leather leggings.
The dragon then proceeded to make himself a protein shake. There was something about the fact that it tasted like cookies and joy that made him drink it every day.
As his protein shake was blending in the mixer, Maximilian took a sausage from the fridge—a chicken one, or so he hoped—and peeled the outer layer.
Soon, he was chewing the slightly cold piece of meat.
"Soon, there will be such a high death count that they will all be sorry!" Maximilian said, as he ate the last of the sausage.
Soon, his coffee was brewing.
Life was good.
Until he saw the man at the entrance of the cave. There was something about him that screamed how young the policeman was.
How idealistic.
Max knew there was no lying to policemen. But if the man had come to tell him that he had to end up as sausage just because Max had woken up some humans, then they were going to have some strong words.
"Hello," Max said, pouring the coffee into two mugs. "How may I help you, officer?"
The man took off his shoes at the entrance. Max already liked him. The dragon nodded at the rack with the slippers.
The guard took the only ones left there—the pink bunny ones—and then stepped into the dragon's lair.
Which was just a small cave previously owned by a giant bear who had been burned to a crisp and then eaten with fries.
The irony was not lost on Max, but seeing as no one cared about his family, he found it hard to care about others.
Besides, the bear had been right nasty and had even a mountain of giant bones in the cave. Some things were to never be forgiven.
"Sir, I am searching for a dragon," Alex said, as he looked around. The cave had a big bed with jewels on the mattress and coins which looked like they were a bit melted.
But until he got a confirmation that the man before him was a dragon, and not a human, he could not take out the cuffs.
"Aren't we all?" Max asked, as he placed some milk in the two mugs together with the coffee. "Sugar?"
Alex had not been prepared for this. He was a policeman, and few people gave him coffee with milk—much less offered a sugar cube or two.
"No, thank you." Alex had to stay professional. He knew that. But those leather pants were doing things to him that he was not prepared for.
Not to mention that the man before him smelled like caramel in a bonbon.
Alex already knew that his romance was doomed. He could not ask the man on a date on the clock.
It was simply not allowed.
"If you are here for the dragon, then I have to disappoint. He already went to work," Maximilian said.
He had not worked a day in his life.
As the only dragon left, he had inherited all the wealth of the rest. He could buy Big Capybara, heck, even the country as well—but the cold gold would not return him his uncle's stern gaze or his aunt's giggles, while they were discussing whether to kidnap a sheep from a flock or not.
A good and honest dragon pastime.
"And where does he work?" Alex asked, as he took out his notebook and a pencil.
"Mount Doom, at Castle Upkeep and Peak Terror Gardening Inc.!"
Alex had never heard about such a business, but he guessed that the man before him had no reason to lie to him.
The policeman nodded, took the offered coffee mug, and then took a sip.
"Thank you for your information. Do you mind passing on a message to the dragon?" Alex asked, taking another gulp of the coffee. "We understand that he was wronged, but if he keeps on waking the townsfolk at 3 a.m., we will need to fine him."
Max narrowed his eyes. Oh, so now they wanted to fine him?
"And did anyone fine the world traveler as he went breaking and entering in more than one cave? A jar of red pepper in one hand and fire in his eyes?"
Alex knew that he couldn't argue with that. He just drank the last of the coffee and left the fine on the kitchen table. He noted that there was a protein shake on it.
This is no dragon, Alex thought. For a true dragon would get his daily dose of protein not from something smelling of cookies and sweet dreams, but from a farmer's prized bull.
"When the dragon comes home, please pass him this message," Alex said, going out of the cave, thinking about how unfair it all was.
Max took the paper with the fine, only to see that there was a letter strapped to it.
"You are alone right now, but you don't need to be! Come to our Big Capybara support group and we will sort you out!"
"Is this a trap?" Max asked, as he began to weigh up the pros and cons of going to therapy. "Or do they finally care?"
He sat by his table, lost in thought. The smell of coffee and something that reminded Max of a soufflé omelet lingering in the air.