Sorry for the late update, if lucky you may get two or three updates in a week. Okay, On with the story!
As the sun rose over the lake of Tarnag, light danced on the lake's calm, untroubled surface
As the sun rose over the lake of Tarnag, light danced on the lake's calm, untroubled surface. Gaelira rose from her bed, earlier than anyone else, as was her habit. She made her way to the back room of the house, the memories of last night's loss weighted heavily on her heart. The sounds of snoring and piteous whining could be heard from the hallway to the backroom, and as she came to the room, opening the door quietly, she saw the hatchling shedding tears in his sleep. She could only regret the fact that she had not been able to do anything.
She decided to fix breakfast for the hatchling. She went out to her well-tended garden to get some blackberries, and then to the kitchen cupboard, to get some smoked meat - which she found inedible – that had been given to her as a gift. As she reached the kitchen, the hatchling was surprisingly waiting at the door for her, head tilted curiously to the side.
Gaelira chuckled to herself at the look the hatchling was giving her. "I'm betting that you are quite hungry, little one," she said cheerfully.
The hatchling only nodded his head solemnly, and walked beside her as she walked in to the kitchen. She went to the counter and went to work, crushing the blackberries with mint leaves and adding them to a bowl of fresh water. After this, she sliced the smoked meat into a size small enough for the hatchling to eat without a problem. Placing the meat onto a small plate, she crouched gracefully next to the dragonling and set the bowl and plate down next to him.
Gaelira got up and went to take some things out of the cupboard; she pulled out bowls and cups for two and set them on the table. Going back outside to gather some things from the garden for the elves' breakfast, Gaelira picked a wide variety of vegetables and fruit, her mind on the hatchling.
Back in the kitchen, the dragonling took a whiff of the water mixture. Kiyoshi had never smelt anything like that before, so he dismissed it and went straight for the sliced meat.
Gaelira came back inside with the basket full of fruit, and went straight to the kitchen to check on the dragon. Upon seeing the untouched bowl, she frowned. She would have to make him want it. The dragonling waited impatiently for more to eat, occasionally butting Gaelira's feet with his head.
The elven woman put more fruit into the water mixture, then set it back in front of the dragonling, but Kiyoshi whined at her about the contents of the bowel, wanting, instead, more meat.
"You know, you need more than meat in your diet," she stated, the beginnings of a smile starting to form on her face.
The dragon tilted his to one side, then to the other, giving her a strange look. She looked back him, with an equally intense look.
The dragon looked back at the bowl full of the berry and water mixture, and then gave a grunt as he reluctantly started to drink. As he did, the more he started to like it. As Gaelira watched the dragonling drink the water, she smiled at the fact he was getting some more food in him.
"I see you've taken a great liking to him, Gaelira," said the man in the doorway of the kitchen.
The question shocked Gaelira, as she was deep in thought, reminiscing of her son that had died in the Great War. She turned around to see Elanjar in the doorway.
He made his way over, intent on seeing if the hatchling's wounds had healed slightly during the night. As the dragonling was almost done with the bowl, Elanjar saw no need to wait to examine the dragon. It let out a yelp as it was picked up swiftly by Elanjar, but as soon as it was lifted off the ground, it was snatched away and put into Gaelira's lap.
"Why did you do that, Elanjar?" asked Gaelira angrily.
"Well, he is sticky from the stuff you fed him, and I think another bath would soothe most of the wounds, before he starts to whine about the pain," replied Elanjar,
Gaelira nodded, and removed the dragon from her lap. She walked to the front door with the dragonling under her arm, but she stopped as she started to go outside.
"Well, I'm going to be as kind to this dragon as possible, and I suggest you act more caring to Kiyoshi if you don't want to sleep in your office tonight," she stated firmly.
With that said, she went outside. This shocked Elanjar greatly; Gaelira almost never was rude to him. The elf took a seat, pondering over what Gaelira could possibly be thinking. A certain memory kept coming to mind, of the time he had scolded his dead son, after he had broken Elanjar's medical basket, given to him by an old friend. While Elanjar was fussing at his son, he was stopped short by Gaelira, who took their son up to his bedroom so he could avoid any further trouble.
Back outside, as Gaelira had gone outside to wash the dragonling, in the Tarnag Lake, she put the dragonling in the lake's shallows. As Kiyoshi was put in to the water, he tried to struggle out of her grasp, but Gaelira held fast, expecting this, since this was his first bath in the icy lake.
"I'm not going to let you drown; you can trust me!" Gaelira pleaded.
The dragonling struggled for a few seconds, and then he started to calm down a bit, even though the cold water was making him shiver badly. While Gaelira was washing the dragonling's head and muzzle with a cloth, she remembering the time when both Elanjar and her son had played in the lake like a normal family, with no cares in the world.
As Gaelira had finished washing up Kiyoshi, as she walked up to shore, as Kiyoshi jumped out of her arms to shake himself to get rid of some water that was still on him. As the dragonling was done, he looked like a shiny amber fluffball, and as Gaelira saw this she tried her best not to laugh when look at the dragonling. As a giggle erupted from Gaelira, as she picked up the dragonling as he curled in her arms, and then she headed home to put him to bed. As Gaelira came into the house she found Elanjar sleeping in a bed, maybe because he ate too fast, and all she could do was only smile then made her way to the rocking chair in the clinic room, then as she sat and rocked the dragonling as baby in her arms.
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