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 Posted: Fri Apr 24, 2009 10:55 pm
“Oh. Been there, tried that. It’s not actually true, that hair grows back thicker and darker. Besides, I don’t want to look like a herdbeast.” He was just tired of people thinking he was fourteen or something. Some nice manly stubble, he felt, would completely correct the problem. Then, instead of thinking that he was some little kid, people would think that he’s a little kid playing at being older.
“Excellent. At the next Hatching, I’ll be sure to mention to the eggs that I’m a really good Dragonscratcher. Thanks, Dara.” In an oblique sort of way, it did help. At least he had some purpose in life besides just ignoring responsibility and being a coward. Oh, and taking care of Aeron, of course. That was very important. He winced at the mental image of something with Aeron’s mind in a larger body. “Err… can dragons actually do that? I mean, I thought that dragons were pretty peaceful…” he hesitated, remembering the mauling at the Hatching. “Mostly, anyway.” Mauling, mauling. “…at least after they’ve grown up a bit.”
Colors, huh? He reflected on this a bit before speaking. “I think I’d be happy with a Green or a Blue. Need something that wouldn’t try to eat Aeron, you know? And I’ve heard that Bronzes tend to be a little egotistical. Must be true, if Aeron is anything to judge by. And I don’t know the Greenrider’s name. He was just wandering around, looking amazingly grumpy. So I followed him around and mimicked his serious look. It was amusing, at least until I was saddled with some extra work.”
Aeron chirped. If he had been any larger, it would have been more like a screech or a proud squawk. Unfortunately, it merely sounded chirpish. Now that his ego had been soothed by Dara’s attention---and it was about time that the large beast started to respect him!----his eyes swirled with green once more. There was a bit of hesitation before he relayed the information that Mal never ate the food Aeron caught for him, a tidbit that was followed with a questioning feeling. Mostly, Aeron just wanted to know if he ought to be concerned by this.
Mal glanced over at the pair, pleased to see that Aeron was warming up a little to the larger Brown. But it was getting late, and he had more work to do. “I’ve got to get back to avoiding work. And it looks like it’s time for you to put little Dara to bed.” Standing up, he stretched out and collected Aeron. The firelizard got a little scratch in return for not attempting to maul him too badly. “What a good boy… Night, E’rik. Night, Dara.”
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Posted: Sun May 03, 2009 2:07 pm
E'rik shrugged. Maybe his brother was just unusual. None of the other males in their family was given to growing facial hair. Maybe his brother wasn't really his brother. That seemed almost more likely, except that his mother had not been the sort to be unfaithful to her husband, no matter how unpleasant he could be. She took her marriage vows very seriously.
"I think it depends on the dragon, and how much control his rider can exert over him," E'rik said. "But, yes, you should absolutely mention your dragon-scratching abilities to the eggs. It's a very important part of having a dragon."
He could actually imagine a dragon wanting to eat Aeron. Dara was a pretty easy-going dragon, and his first instinct had been to threaten and intimidate the bronze firelizard, who had instantly irritated him. A more excitable or irritable dragon might've followed through. He found Aeron amusing, so long as the firelizard wasn't going for his fingers or his dragon. He had a great deal of character, which was more than could be said for many of the firelizards he'd met (though he still was very fond of firelizards).
E'rik grimaced at the mention of extra work. He had been good at avoiding being assigned extra work so far, but he was able to sympathize. They'd both earned exactly their share of extra chores at the Hall, but foisted it off on less senior apprentices. Here, Mal was in no position to foist chores off on others, and so earning more of the things was a miserable thing.
Dara had no idea how to respond to Aeron. He'd never tried bringing food to his human, and had no idea whether it was normal for a human not to eat what's brought. Hesitantly he offered reassurances.
"Have fun with that. And you're absolutely right. He's exhausted."
Am not, Dara protested.
I can tell you are. Give it up.
"Good night, Mal, Aeron."
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