My Social Media-less Life

This is a new story in regard to my “pet” dragon, Hot Cheeto. Find the last story here! It is also loosely based on true events.

It was a cold, late-autumn evening when my friend and I decided to run to the village for Christmas gifts for our families. Naturally, I caved when Hot Cheeto looked at me with the utmost contempt on telling him I was going to the village without him.

I’m never sure how the residents are going to respond to him, so I only bring him sparingly. I decided however, that I would stick him in my backpack and then I could be hands-free, and he would still get to see what was going on. He seemed alright with that decision since he never breathed angry huffs at me as I helped him into my bag.

The funniest thing about Hot Cheeto is, he never started talking. I had heard from others that dragons have the ability to communicate with words, but I have found that the friend who gifted me with Hot Cheeto wasn’t wrong; dragons are very much like cats, except they breathe fire. And that’s how Hot Cheeto communicates with me: he either purrs like a cat or breathes fire like an angry dragon.

Occasionally, I think we can read each other’s minds, but it’s not an all the time thing, so I don’t bank on that being our main form of communication.

Since he’s so little (and I have since discovered he really isn’t getting any bigger), his fires aren’t enough to burn my house or shop down, but he has been known to cost me a beloved book or two. And I even taught him how to read, the little turd…

Which comes into play in this particular adventure. So, my friend and I were in the village, doing a bit of Christmas shopping when all of a sudden, Hot Cheeto quivers excitedly inside my bag, causing it to move on my back.

I turn around to see what’s got him so excited and there it is:
Dragon Treasures and Trinkets.

He jumps again and I turn once more:
Slightly bigger dragon treasures.

Here is where I tell you, Hot Cheeto has never once asked for treasures of any kind. My love and affection until this point have been enough, but Hot Cheeto can read, and he’s seen how much money I have in my coin purse (dragons really are very smart). He knows I can afford a few trinkets for him. And I can feel him reminding me what time of year we are in, as if the string lights all along the main street weren’t enough to remind me.

My friend simply rolls her eyes as she sees how excited both Hot Cheeto and I are to purchase these trinkets. There are a lot of things I could be spending my money on, but he’s not wrong… I can afford at least a small number of treasures for him to cherish.

After finding a few more items in the shop for my human friends, I decide to go with the slightly bigger dragon treasures for Hot Cheeto, since he likes the fun shapes of these ones. They’re a bit pricier than the first box we saw, but I remind myself, it is Christmastime after all. We can all use a little extra to cheer us up.

Hot Cheeto couldn’t agree more.