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 Posted: Sun Aug 02, 2009 9:34 pm
Ever since she'd gone out with Chavel, just to return with one little trooper of an egg, the image of the half-chewed firelizards wouldn't leave Shala's mind -- certainly it had been a grotesque little incident, but part of her just wanted to let it settle and then leave it to fade away. However, whenever she looked at the pale egg in her care the worries came right back up again.
She just...
...... couldn't leave it alone, and for some reason she had a feeling the solution wasn't going to see Chavel for some sort of reassurance. He'd likely tell her that she was just being a 'worried mother-to-be' or something like that... and distract her with Pavo. Shala still needed to go and see how Pavo was coming along after his assault as well.
Such a brave little guy.
It was while she'd been sitting there running her fingers along the surface of her little egg, which actually spent most of the day in a small bundle of an extra-fur of hers (with the heat the way it was, she didn't need two furs to sleep at night, she barely needed one) which also held some sand which had been.. 'borrowed' from the bowl (she'd return it soon! Or so she told herself) to keep it warm.
But was warmth going to matter for the little egg? She hadn't been able to get over the possibility that something may have hurt the little Firelizard inside the egg during the 'eating of the siblings' fiasco... so it was up with her to go and get reassured that everything was well and OK beneath that little shell.
Though, even with her impatience to make sure her 'baby' was OK, she still had the sense to knock (lightly) on the door once she got there instead of barging in.
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Posted: Tue Aug 04, 2009 5:59 pm
The Weyr most definitely had its issues. The food was horrible, the heat was a constant blanket of sweltering warmth, and the conditions inside the Weyr were downright hazardous to one’s health. But, Cordel would give this bit of praise; they fixed his door fast enough. Either that or they just wanted the grumpy Healer out of the way quickly. So long as it resulted in another insulating layer against the stupid, Cordel was fine with that.
Currently, the man was giving Tribble, his pet firelizard, a check-up of her own. The silly little creature had panicked earlier and flew into a wall. There didn’t seem to be any damage, but the way Tribble squeaked about it…
“Come on, let me see your wing,” Cordel muttered under his breath as he gently spread the green’s wing so he could check the delicate bones. “There’s a good girl.” A bit of food was offered as a reward for actually standing still for two whole minutes. That didn’t last very long though; at the first knock on the door, Tribble scurried back into her basket, hiding under the furs once more.
Cordel sighed and gave up for the time being. Impossible little creature… Speaking of impossible creatures, he could at least guess that it wasn’t K’em at the door because whoever was out there had actually knocked instead of knocking down the door. And it wasn’t La either. “It’s open. Come in,” he said, trying to coerce Tribble into coming back out. Well, at least she was poking her nose out now.
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Posted: Tue Aug 04, 2009 6:16 pm
Well she hadn't known if he was there, already had someone to look after (then again, that would have taken a dragonhealer elsewhere dependent on the size of a patient) or whatever else, so knocking was only polite. She didn't need to break down the door in her anxiety.
But it was only after being invited in that Shala actually entered Cordel's 'personal space' of whatever purposes, the egg cradled gingerly in her arms as she gave the room a discreet glance-over, if only out of curiousity. She'd never actually had a reason to go visit this office before the little guy (she had to assume, the egg was tinged brown..ish... to her) in her care.
Though the sight of the little green nose was actually a reassurance to Shala, who was quick enough to justify her visit as to not waste time with a 'SO?' inquiry.
"I'm... having a few concerns about my firelizard's egg." she explained quickly, shifting the egg in her arms carefully before continuing the thought to clarify - "I got it underneath some less-than-ideal circumstances..so.." ................... "So I was wondering if there was anything I should be doing besides what I have been."
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Posted: Tue Aug 04, 2009 6:40 pm
Before Cordel had claimed the room as his office, it had been used as an herbal storage room. Actually, it still was, although fewer people tended to go in these days. The shelves that lined the walls still contained jars of various herbs, each one neatly marked. But, it also had a door. That was exactly why Cordel had chosen it as his office. It also doubled as La’s study room when she didn’t have anything else to do. The table was well-worn, but steady, although it had to be kept steady with carefully placed bits of leather under all four legs (yes, Cordel knew it was illogical; it wasn’t his fault that he had managed to find the only table that defied all laws of physics).
The Healer’s fingers drummed against the table as he waited for the woman to clarify what she meant. So. She had an egg. What did she expect him to do? He couldn’t very well treat an egg, could he? “Well, what have you been doing so far?”
By now, Tribble decided that the woman was, for all intents and purposes, safe and unlikely to start flailing at her. You never could tell with people! The Green firelizard lifted her head and trilled a friendly---but cautious----greeting at the woman.
“Don’t mind her. That’s just Tribble,” Cordel explained. Which reminded him, he probably ought to introduce himself. “And I’m Cordel,” he added, a bit belatedly.
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Posted: Tue Aug 04, 2009 8:09 pm
"She's darling." Shala offered to the little green, her insides going "fjdslakfj;dl <3" at the little green (yes, that exact sound), somewhere in the same category as the affections that Pavo got from his own visits. But on the topic, it was only proper she introduce herself back; "I'm Shalaera. I work down in the kitchens."
Thus, she wasn't a dragonrider, he'd only get harassed for little things with her. Literally little things. But to answer his question..
"I've been keeping it bundled up so it won't get cold.... as I fear the heat of the kitchen would probably be too much" Uhhh... probably not, but then again she was used to the idea of eggs 'cooking' and yeah. She didn't want to cook the egg that had almost died out of her care.
"Generally all I've found I can do for it is find a place where it can stay warm.
But I'm worried that perhaps something happened when.....Tunnelsnakes were eating the rest of the clutch."
.........Eek! Not secretive about that at all! She was holding the egg of a miracle baby!
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Posted: Thu Aug 06, 2009 2:09 pm
A kitchenworker? Cordel tried not to look too surprised, as if he had totally expected this all along. But, really? He hadn’t. When the woman had walked in, he assumed she was a Candidate; she looked to be the right age and all. But, it didn’t really matter. She had a firelizard egg that needed to be… be…
Actually, there wasn’t a whole lot he could do about eggs, he grudgingly admitted to himself. “Let me see the egg then,” he said, inviting her to put it down on the table. Or at least he waved vaguely at the table, which most likely meant ‘put it down here’.
“So it was a wild firelizard clutch?” he guessed. Tunnelsnakes did get into the Weyr, of course, but they mostly stayed out of commonly used rooms where one might keep a firelizard egg. “Do you know how old it is? That can make a difference.” Soft shells versus hard shells and all that. Well, at least he could answer a few questions about whether or not the baby was still alive; the Healer began to remove strategic glowbaskets from the room, leaving the ones on the desk. “I’m going to candle the egg. That basically means I’m going to put it up against a bright glow to see what’s going on inside. Then I can tell how developed the baby is.”
Or if it was even alive at all. But, his Healer senses were tingling and telling him that hazarding the idea that the baby might be dead would be a bad move right now.
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Posted: Thu Aug 06, 2009 2:38 pm
Shala obediently handed the egg over when asked, treating it as gingerly as possible like she was handling a newborn child, only relinquishing it once she was sure she wasn't going to drop it and have it splatter all over the floor -- perhaps a 'mother's concern for a 'child'.
Or as close to what would be her child for a long time. She had no plans for maternity.
"Yes. It was out on the beach." she continued before the inquiry about 'how old' the egg was caused the image of the half-eaten body of one of the unborn flitts flashed through her mind. "It was pretty developed....." she said, before massaging her forehead with a frown. "One of the partially eaten clutchmates. It was mostly developed."
She.. wasn't sure if that was a specific answer, but it was as specific as she could give in the situation.
"I'd imagine from that, the egg is mostly matured....but I'm not an expert in it."
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Posted: Sat Aug 08, 2009 11:34 pm
Cordel accepted the egg carefully, feeling for any cracks in the shell. There didn’t seem to be any, but that didn’t necessarily mean the hatchling was unharmed. From Shala’s words, it was likely that the hatchling was unharmed though. Hopefully at least.
“I’m sorry that you saw that. It must have been very traumatic.” After the dead hatchling earlier… well, it was all too easy to make connections between firelizards and dragons; the events were still fresh in everyone’s minds. Including the Healer’s own, even now. “The egg looks unharmed, but I’ll take a look just to make sure. Basically, I’m just holding a glow up to the shell.” It always helped to let people know what was going on.
Sitting down at his chair once more, the Healer carefully held one of the glows next to the shell, trying to direct as much of the light towards it as possible. “Ah… See? It’s alright…” actually, it mostly looked like a large dark spot inside of a shell. But, importantly, it was moving. Even an untrained individual would be able to see that. Inwardly, Cordel was relieved; although he hadn’t mentioned it yet, the shell was a little cooler than he would have liked. Presumably, the heat of the kitchen helped everything stay warm.
“See? You can see the firelizard moving around. That dark spot right there is the eye. And you can just barely make out the shape of a wing there… it’s due to hatch in a day, maybe two.”
Curious about all the excitement, Tribble crept out of her basket to see what her human was up to. “Chirrrip?” she chirped at the egg inquisitively. It was unlikely that the firelizard recognized the egg as a baby firelizard, but she certainly recognized it as something important.
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Posted: Sun Aug 09, 2009 1:16 pm
It didn't stop her from being worried about the raid of the nest... and Pavo -- poor little thing had so valiantly come to the rescue of it's last-surviving brethren in specie. However, Cordel's check was something that Shala watched intently -- albeit also keeping to her own space in the meantime.
It was like one an ultrasound without all of the technology and not in her belly! So really it wasn't a comparison she would have known.
However, just seeing the firelizard on the inside of the egg moving seemed to bring her great relief -- which was more than just 'seeming'. It did bring her relief! While certainly she couldn't expect the dragonhealer to have produced some sort of miracle treatment if there had been something wrong, as an egg was an egg, what she'd really needed was the reassurance.
Ah ha ha.
"Well, this is definitely an encouraging thing to see." she said, a smile forming across her face before she looked to the little green who had climbed up to see what was going on. fja;dsfkja;fdkl<33! "Though from that estimate it sounds as though I'll have to keep a close eye on this little egg.."
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Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2009 12:05 am
“A very close eye. It looks perfectly alright from what I can tell,” Cordel said as he turned the egg carefully. “But this is really a very primitive image of what’s actually inside the shell.” Just mere shadows, really, a pale----actually, dark----image of the truth. But it was better than nothing. Eventually the egg was replaced on the little nest that Shala had carefully constructed and Cordel felt like he ought to continue what he had been saying. “It looks perfectly alright, but this doesn’t show everything. If there’s anything unusual as he or she hatches, you bring him or her back. Not too long ago, my Apprentice’s firelizard had issues hatching. He’s fine now, thankfully, because she brought him here quickly.”
But now wasn’t the time to start making Shala flail and panic. It would be much better to go over basic firelizard care. “Do you know a lot about firelizards, Shala?”
Out of the corner of his eye, he happened to see Tribble slowly approaching. Cordel opened up a drawer and fished around until he found what was supposed to be his lunch: a meatroll. Needless to say, it was offered to the little green, who was more than happy to take it off of his hands. Chomping on the proffered food, Tribble sat on her haunches and trilled prettily up at Shala.
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Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2009 1:43 pm
It was less of a 'throw into flailing and panicking' reaction that he instilled and a more careful 'maternal watch' over the egg that would be needed. Yes, that 'close eye' was a good idea. Meant she'd actually have to keep her little bundle nearby until it hatched, less it hatch with nobody to feed it....
or whatever else could have gone wrong. Shala didn't want to think too heavily into that notion.
"I'm.... not very well versed in them. I never expected to get my hands on an egg, as I had...other preoccupations taking up my time." she admitted, sounding a touch guilty about the fact stated, especially now that she was saying it out loud -- she wouldn't have thought very deeply about it before.
Shells, she knew more about caring for a dragon she would never have than she did about a firelizard she was in possession of.
this...
Well, the realization had been made early, at least. But djf;alksdjf;asldk <333! The little green in the dragon healer's possession was EASILY stealing her heart away, just like Pavo had. fdja<3.
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Posted: Thu Aug 20, 2009 12:42 pm
Sigh. Cordel really wished people would do a bit of research on firelizards before going out and getting one. Not that Shala could really be blamed; she had simply picked up the egg from the beach, so it wasn’t like she had gone out and bought one. And at least she had the brains to go and talk to someone who could offer some advice. “Do you know much about dragon care then? It’s not much different, just scaled-down.”
Hmm… the Healer shuffled off to the shelves where he kept the various oils. A few bottles were clinked around as he sought out the right bottle, one meant for particularly sensitive skin. While he was gone, Tribble ventured closer to Shala, feeling a bit more courageous since the woman hadn’t made any threatening moves towards her at all. And maybe Shala had food for a cute little firelizard?
Tribble tilted her head to one side and trilled before butting her head against Shala’s hand, hoping to at least get some pets out of this. Or, if not that, maybe some sausage? Or… or just about any kind of food really…
“After it hatches, it’ll need oiling every few hours to keep its hide from peeling an… oh. I see Tribble likes you. Normally she’s quite shy…” Aww… well, that was nice. It was good for Tribble to actually interact with other people occasionally.
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Posted: Thu Aug 20, 2009 2:46 pm
Oh! Well, that actually did seem to brighten Shala's hopes up just a bit -- having been a candidate for as long as she was, she had picked up a few things in her.. overly hopeful ways about the care of a dragonet. This certainly wasn't the way that she'd been expecting to put her knowledge to work, but it certainly was making those years accumulating it at least mean something.
"I do know enough about dragoncare to know what is normal and what should alarm me." she answered, looking down at the little firelizard which was now fjasdl;fkhsfa;lj <33333333333!!!! Okay, she was definitely being swayed a little TOO easily by both this little flitt and the blue who had become her 'kitchen BFFFFFFF' over the last few weeks (and hurt himself, the poor thing, defending the nest which held the egg she now was caring for and the one in the mindhealer's care).
However, her doting on the blue made her all the more receptive to Tribble's 'asking' method, answering with an adoring scratch along the green's eye ridges... as for the food, Shala actually did have a couple of scraps on her (mostly things she'd stashed away on a daily-basis knowing she'd be needing to feed the little flitt in the egg when it hatched, but not knowing how soon that would be), which she was willing to share, fishing a piece of something-or-other out to offer to Tribble...
...
......though she did pause to look to Cordel, as if silently checking to see if he'd seethe at her for 'spoiling' his companion.
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Posted: Sun Aug 23, 2009 2:59 pm
Well, that was a relief. It was always mildly disturbing to see people who got firelizards just because they were oh-so-cute, especially if the people never really considered how much care a flit really needed. At least Shala said she knew something about it… but, just in case, Cordel would talk at her anyway. It was just what he did, along with splenetic rants. “Try this for the oil. It’s meant for young dragons, whers, and firelizards,” he said, offering Shala a small bottle of lavender oil. “In fact… why don’t you try it on Tribble now? She won’t mind and she needs oiling anyway.”
Tribble put on her very best ‘Attenshun pls!’ face. What she really heard was probably ‘blah blah Tribble blah blah oiling blah’. She chirruped and bumped her head against Shala’s hand again, churring happily.
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Posted: Mon Aug 24, 2009 3:24 pm
Shala willingly accepted the bottle of oil when she was offered it (her hands would likely smell like it after this as well), nodding in acknowledgment of the directions. Oil the little green, hmm? Well, she certainly seemed to be up for any such thing, that was for sure!
"She's certainly friendly." she commented, carefully unscrewing the lid of the bottle and carefully shifting the bottle to see how thick the oil was -- just to prevent her from soaking herself in the process of getting some of the oil out into her hands. Once she had managed to NOT oil herself up entirely in that process, she looked to Tribble (fdsfklajdfkl <33333333).
Well, the flitt certainly seemed happy enough to get oiled down, allowing Shala to (in the guise of some more scritching, even!) start rubbing her fingers along the top of Tribble's head, and rub her other palm on the green's chest. Rub rub rub.
It actually felt a little strange to be rubbing down someone else with an oil -- especially one with sharp teeth and the potential to go 'DNW!' and nom her fingers.
But she was gentle, making sure to get the little arms and hands, and the base of her wings. "How much of this oil should be put into this?"
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