"Who's a handsome boy, then?"
"Well, I don't like to brag –"
Gwen swatted Merlin on the arm. "I meant Arthur, and you know it. How long are you looking after him for?"
"At least until he learns to dress himself –"
Another swat.
"The bird Arthur."
Merlin grinned. "About a month. Do you know what else he can do?"
"What?"
"He can talk," Merlin smiled. "He likes names. Listen – Gwen."
Aithusa was resolutely silent.
"Gwen." Merlin repeated, to no avail. "Gwen."
He lifted the bird up and looked him in the eye, wondering why he had fallen silent.
"Come on, Arthur. I thought you liked Guinevere."
"Guinevere!" Aithusa cawed, so loudly that Merlin nearly dropped him.
Gwen laughed. "You know my proper name, don't you? Arthur has better manners than you, Merlin."
"Well, if he doesn't want me to drop him then he'd better have them quieter next time."
"Why would a bird care about being dropped? He'd just fly away."
Oops. Explanation needed. Think fast.
Well, honesty is the best policy.
"He can't fly yet. He's too young."
"Oh no!" Gwen gave Aithusa a look of sympathy. "Poor thing. Stuck with Merlin all day."
"Hey!"
"Don't worry Arthur," she told the bird. "You'll get to fly soon. I promise."
Gwen ran a finger over Aithusa's head. He nuzzled against her, and she sighed.
"He is just adorable."
If Gwen thought the parrot version of Aithusa was so adorable, Merlin briefly wondered how she would react to his dragon form. This bird was nothing in comparison to that – she'd probably explode at the sheer cuteness. Merlin could feel a soppy grin on his face just at the thought of it.
Except, of course, Aithusa was a dragon.
If Gwen knew what he really was, she would be terrified.
"I'm not sure this is a good idea."
Gaius raised an eyebrow. "I'm quite sure it isn't then, but that's never stopped you before. What particular idea are we talking about?"
"Aithusa." (Aithusa!) "I'm not sure that I should raise him around all these people. He's learning to trust humans, but as soon as he's in dragon form everyone he meets will want to kill him."
"Well Merlin, I'm glad to see you're taking your responsibility seriously, but I'm not sure you have any alternative. Aithusa needs you, and so does Camelot. I'm afraid you have no choice but to let the two interact."
"But –"
"Merlin," Gaius said sternly. "What Aithusa learns from you and me and the people of Camelot may be the foundation of human-dragon relations for thousands of years."
"Or it could be the death of him." Merlin couldn't stop imagining it. There were too many things that could go wrong.
"You are teaching him that not all humans are evil," Gaius reassured him. "Nowadays, it is more important than ever that we all remember that. As for teaching Camelot the same of dragons – that is a task for another day."
A Dragon Lord's work is never done, Merlin reminded himself.
But this was one part of his destiny that he looked forward to achieving.
Merlin was very tired by the time he finally got a chance to sleep. The night before, he had barely had time for a nap between arriving with Aithusa and having to go and wake up Arthur.
Even after the day's work was done, he had needed to find food for Aithusa – a mystery in itself, but he had wolfed down chicken when offered it, with such vigour that Merlin was glad he had removed the illusion before watching Aithusa eat a 'fellow bird' – and arrange somewhere for the dragonlet to live.
Fortunately, although Aithusa still had not spoken anything but names, he seemed intelligent enough to understand the concept of 'litter tray,' if a little reluctant to accept the idea of 'Merlin's bed.'
By the time Merlin had finally got him to settle down, he fell asleep almost instantly.
And awoke, what felt like a moment later, to a loud crashing sound.
Aithusa was gone.
"Merlin!"
And Gaius didn't sound happy.
Gaius's rooms were a mess. Aithusa had clambered onto the benches, overturning bottles left and right. An enormous variety of powders and herbs were scattered across every table, and, in some cases, smoking slightly.
The culprit drooped in Gaius' grasp, staring woefully into Merlin's eyes.
"Out of my wages, I know." Merlin said before Gaius could even begin.
"And in future, I hope you've learned to lock him in at night."
"I will, I –" Something occurred to Merlin – "I did."
The pair of them exchanged a look of shock, while Aithusa continued the attempt to silently convey an air of total innocence.
"Dragons do have powerful magic, even the very young ones," Gaius admitted. "Perhaps you had better find some other way of keeping him in check."
"I will," Merlin promised. He didn't know how, but he would think of something.
Once he had slept.
As he took the guilty dragonlet from Gaius' hands, Aithusa let out a small burp of turquoise flame, narrowly missing Merlin's fingers.
"I see he got into my bluestone," Gaius said impassively, as he left the room. "I'll have to add that to the list."
Aithusa continued his doleful gaze.
"You're not fooling me," Merlin told him. "Come on. Time to sleep."
"Surely even dragons need to do that?"