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He sat bored on the edge of the cliff that plunged into the depths not far from his house and met the roaring sea.As always, the wind whipped the water against the rough rocks. Seagulls flew overhead and screamed against the wind.Demir sighed and turned his gaze to the horizon. Soon the sun would break through. The first gold of its light was already illuminating the clouds drifting across the sky. He should return to the house. The vampire had no desire to burn himself again.He stood up and was about to leave when a mob of seagulls swooped past him, narrowly missing him.They chased after a small lizard, which in its panic and fear must not have seen the nearby cliff. It braked too close and skidded over the edge. The seagulls raced over the cliff and swooped down in search of the falling reptile.Demir didn't see it. But he heard it. The scratching sound of small claws that kept slipping and finding no grip. He looked carefully over the edge and caught sight of it.Not quite an arm's length down, it was hanging from a root that was too thin and kept slipping off.Just as gravity took over and the small animal plunged into the depths, long, slender fingers wrapped around the lizard and held it gently.Startled, the animal clung to the new foothold. It clutched its legs around its fingers and rammed its small, sharp claws into the skin. The little heart raced wildly.Demir straightened up again and looked at the black animal with a slight red pattern. It looked back and disappeared unceremoniously from his loose hand into his sleeve. There it held on tightly. Held still and tried to calm down.The vampire looked after him. Okay... he wouldn't find it again until he took off his jacket.Pressed by the dawning day, he walked quickly back to the house.The task now was to find the lizard again. It was actually very easy. It peeked out of his sleeve and came to his hand when he went to check on it. The animal looked at him attentively.As the lizard was holding so still, he used the time to take a closer look at it. An unusual colouring. But that didn't mean much in nature. There were always different colour variations. The lizard was pretty. Black with slight red edges on the scales. Yellow-brown eyes.He smiled slightly at the animal and nudged it on the head."If you want, you can stay at the house. Outside on the façade. There are plenty of holes to hide from the seagulls." Demir didn't believe for a second that the lizard understood a word he was saying. He went to a window on the side facing away from the sun, opened it and let the lizard crawl onto the façade.The lizard stayed on the façade for a long time. He kept seeing it in different places. It seemed to be doing well. It was growing and active. Sometimes it just sat nearby and looked at him. He looked back. Over the years, the lizard got a little bigger. A handsome animal.And then. It was gone.That was the way it was with animals. They came and went. Compared to his vampiric life, they were only the blink of an eye.Most of his people's lives ended very involuntarily and violently.It was probably going to be the same with his. How long had it been since the lizard had kept him company? One hundred years? Two hundred?He had painted a picture of the reptile so as not to forget it.But the picture and everything he owned had just disappeared in a sea of flames.For hundreds of years his house had stood on the cliff.For hundreds of years it had existed next to the not-so-distant town.For hundreds of years there has been peace.All it took was one new person in the city to turn everyone against him.Demir ran for his life, but where to? They had attacked at dawn. Set fire to his home. Destroyed everything he had held in his heart with love.Now he stood on the cliff. In front of him the mob of angry people. Behind him, the abyss. Soon the sun would rise above the horizon. No matter where he was then. It was his death.He thought of the lizard with a wistful smile. It had been about here then.Slowly, Demir looked back at his house. And then to the horizon. He didn't want to waste his last seconds on creatures that were chasing him to his death.He closed his eyes. Felt the first burn of the sun's rays.Then he let himself fall backwards over the cliff.The sound of the waves crashing against the cliff.The smell of salt and seaweed.The light would burn him before he hit the water.A rumble he didn't recognise. Then a massive paw closed around him, hiding the vampire from the sunlight. Demir couldn't see much in the claw. It was cool and had dark scales. However, he could hear the screams of the humans very clearly. How they shouted wildly in panic and ran away. He could also feel the creature that had grabbed him pulling itself up over the cliff. It took a few steps after them to chase them away for good.The creature then jumped back down the cliff and glided across the sea on the wind. Demir wasn't quite sure what to make of the fact that he had been rescued by a dragon.The flight took quite a while, then the creature landed and carefully set him down. Demir slowly straightened up and looked around. Where was he here?But before he looked at his surroundings, he looked up at the dragon standing next to him, watching."If you want, you can stay in the cave. Out in the front areas. There are plenty of loopholes to hide from the sun."The rumbling voice carried a laugh.Demir stared at the dragon silently. It sounded familiar. Even if not all the words were the same."Little scales?" He finally asked absently."You're the lizard?" He asked but he saw it too. The eyes... the black scales with a red rim.The dragon looked at him with amusement."If only I'd known you were a vampire, I wouldn't have disappeared when I got my wings." He explained with a low growl. "So many more years I would have fit the facade...." There was a note of regret in his voice.Then the big snout bent down to the little vampire."Be my guest for as long as you like. I know you've lost everything. But you're alive."Demir looked up and smiled. "Thank you. I would love to stay, .... Little scale."The dragon laughed softly."The name is Renar.""Demir.""Welcome, little fang.”