Asa nodded, leaning into the pets. She let out a little giggle at the last part, smiling.
"Well, you already know my name is Asa. I don't have a last name, like most dragons. I'm a halfing, obviously, and my mom was an Earth dragon, so I'm really good with metals. And I've had three owners in three years, not including you."
”It’s nice to meet you, Asa.” she smiled at the Dragon, as this was their first real meeting. ”Well, if I need any help with something like iron, I'll be sure to ask you. I can't touch the stuff.”
Asa nodded.
"I'd be more than happy to help." It was the reason so many dragons were employed by humans; they were some of the only creatures other than humans who could handle iron. Asa smiled.
”Thank you, Asa.” She smiled and gave her a quick hug, determined to make her stay with her the best it could be. Asa wasn't a pet to her anymore, Ashera would be her friend.
Asa hugged Ashera back, mostly relaxed by now with this. She surprised herself with how quickly she had gotten used to this.
"You're welcome. I think… I think I should show you my human form. So you recognize me."
Ashera nodded and let her go. ”If you would like to… I only caught a glimpse the first time.” she smiled, a little excited. From what she saw before, Asa looked very pretty as a human as well.
Asa nodded, backing off of Ashera's lap. She closed her eyes, steeling herself for this. She took a deep breath, then finally turned. She let her hood drop, exposing her tiny horns.
Ashera watched carefully as Asa changed forms, intrigued by it but she didn't want to make her feel uncomfortable by her gaze either. She smiled kindly at her and gently placed a hand on her shoulder. ”You’re beautiful.” she told her, remembering the number of times she had already said that when Asa was acting only as a Dragon.
Asa took her green hair out from under her cloak, pulling it over the shoulder Ashera didn't have her hand on.
"Really?" She asked quietly. She blushed slightly. She'd always thought her human form was hideous; after all, unlike full dragons, she kept dragon traits in this form.
Ashera blinked. ”Y-yes. You are. I already told you I can't lie.” she said gently. She looked over her shoulder before she stood up. ”I’ll show you. Come with me.”
Asa hesitated a moment before standing as well. She blushed even more when Ashera stuttered, not knowing why.
Ashera smiled at the sweet blush on Asa’s face and lead her to the bathroom, positioning her in front of the mirror. ”Here. Tell me what you see.” she smiled standing behind her and looking over her shoulder.
Asa examined the mirror for a moment.
"I see a tiny halfing," she said, unable to help a giggle, "with a Fae standing behind her." She gave Ashera a sweet smile, giggling again.
Ashera blinked at the literal answer before laughing happily. ”Well, you're not wrong but I can't help that I'm six inches taller than you.” she said, reigning in her giggles a bit. ”I admire your blunt honesty.” She gave Asa a broad smile and gently made her look at the mirror again.
Asa complied, looking at the mirror and still smiling. She poked her horns, sighing and not saying anything.
”You know what I see?” Ashera asked meeting Asa’s eyes through the mirror. ”I see a fearless, powerful, sweet young woman who has been through more hardships than she deserves. With jeweled earth in her eyes and my favorite shade of green in her hair.” she blushed a little as she realized that the last part may have been too much.
Asa blushed with each word, giving Ashera a small smile.
"Really? You're favorite?" She chuckled.
Ashera nodded a little. ”Well, I love green in general but, yes, this particular shade is very beautiful.” she smiled.
"Mm, no wonder you adopted me." Asa smiled, turning to look at Ashera.
"Thank you, for that."
”Those aren't the only reasons why I did that, but you're very welcome.” Ashera smiled happily at her.
"Oh? Then why else?" Asa looked up at Ashera, curious.
”Well… Another reason is I didn't like seeing you in a cage.” Ashera shrugged. ”Creatures like us need to be as free as we can. Especially you though because of your wings.” she smiled at her, wondering if she should give Asa one more reason that she had for adopting her.
Asa smiled softly.
"That's very kind of you." Ashera really was an amazing person.
Ashera returned the smile kindly. ”It just seemed the decent thing to do. I… honestly can't say whether someone else would have done the same thing… But I'm glad that I got to.”
"So am I. No one… no one else has ever been this nice to me." Asa grinned, giving Ashera a hug.
Ashera returned the hug. ”Well, you don't have to worry about that with me. I hate it when someone… anyone is treated badly, so I never do.”
Asa nodded, pulling away after a moment.
"That's very sweet of you. Most… don't hesitate when given the opportunity to profit off of other people."
”I know they do.” she said softly, understanding exactly whom Asa meant. ”And I’m sorry that those humans treated you so badly. I wish there was a way to make them change for the better but… I’m afraid I'm not that strong and doing something like that would get us in a lot more trouble.” Ashera smiled a little sadly.
Asa nodded, a muted smile, almost sarcastic, showing on her face.
"Humans will be humans. I just wish I wasn't related to them." Other dragons had the ability to take on human forms, yes, but that was a shapeshifting power. They could change into other things too. Halflings couldn't, because human DNA was coded into them. And they couldn't become completely human, not until they were fully mature as an adult dragon.
”Hey, there's nothing wrong with you being half-human.” Ashera said gently. ”Not all humans are terrible. Some of them actually have a few redeeming qualities and are, at least, half-decent to those like us.”