All of the dragons in the den held their breath as Liz held Aspen's dragon. The figure was hidden by a thick cloth. Zanna was about to go and call for Aspen when a violet-eyed glance made her pause.
"So, it's ready?" she asked hesitantly.
"Well, yes, but…"
But. "Anything wrong? Could we at least see it?" A few dragons hurred, echoing her sentiment.
Liz gently placed the dragon down on her bench, still covered. "There is a slight complication. Don't go and get her just yet."
"Complication?" Gretel hurred.
Liz nodded. "I don't know how. It was meant to be a simple clay dragon, nothing special. No Icefire was used. But after being kilned, the dragon has its own spark."
The dragons collectively gasped at the statement. The cloth was pulled from the sculpture to reveal a deep sky-blue dragon. Serpentine in shape, it still had all the makings of a typical dragon, wings, four limbs, and a tail with an isoscele. It also had the makings of a sort of water dragon, as Liz had identified it days ago. Paws and feet reminiscent of paddles, wings inspired by fish fins, webbed horns, and a broad isosceles scale.
Eyes closed, the dragon gave no other indication of being special. As before, its pose was one of a dragon preparing to jump down from some height. Zanna approached the dragon and felt one of its paws. The clay was warm, though whether from being kilned recently or from its own fire, she did not know.
"I know I said it's up to Aspen to determine if this dragon becomes special, but I didn't think it was possible. Seeing it now, I know she'll take good care of her, and she shouldn't be a target for anyone, but… I suppose we have our answer."
"At some point, a descendant of Guinevere must have had a natural-born child, and Aspen is one of their descendants," Zanna concluded.
Gretel blew a smoke ring and nodded.
"It makes sense, but the only thing I wonder is why she has enough spark to animate clay, because I highly doubt this is common in her family," Liz said, running her fingers down the dragon's back. The unnamed female dragon shivered slightly. "I spoke with Arthur as soon as I realized this dragon is special, but he came to a similar conclusion. That or Aspen is sort of like David, though I stopped him before he could go too far on that subject. He agreed the former is more likely."
Groyne was the first to fly onto the bench but he kept his distance from the new dragon. His head dipped to the level of the new dragon's. Zanna saw something peculiar in his expression.
"Maybe she met a sibyl at some point?" Zanna ventured to say. "Someone who awoke something without Aspen knowing? Similar to what Gwilanna did to me?"
Several dragons rattled their scales at the mention of the sibyl.
Liz shook her head. "She was born with this spark, I have little doubt. No sibyl had a hand in Aspen. There may be others out there like her, we may never know."
Groyne edged closer to the water dragon. He hurred to her, and the new dragon shivered again. There was a bit of longing in his eyes, Zanna realized. A dragon who was different like him. Too bad the unnamed dragon would not be here for long.
"She needs Aspen," Gretel hurred. "She needs a name. Before Groyne does something foolish."
"You're one to talk, after your reaction to Golly," Liz replied to the potions dragon, which made Gretel back away, blowing smoke rings. "But Gretel's right, it's time for Aspen to meet her dragon. We'll discuss this later."
She almost squealed when she saw the dragon. Its scales were the most wonderful shade of blue. Aspen was afraid to touch it, the limbs and wings seemed so fragile looking.
"Are you pleased?" Liz asked kindly.
"Goodness yes, I… I'm speechless. It's gorgeous."
"She is. Now she needs a name. Even clay dragons are dignified enough that they deserve a name."
Aspen nodded, still in disbelief that the dragon came out looking so beautiful. A water-loving dragon, just as she had imagined. One that would be at home back in her home state of Florida, with the lakes and ocean always so close.
What name should I give it—her?" The Pennykettle dragons that had been identified to her all had a name starting with "g." What was a good name that both fit this dragon and started with that letter? It had to be feminine and beautiful.
Oh, I don't know.
Gorgeous. What sounded similar to gorgeous? George? A male name.
On and on, her mind went down similar paths, thinking of words starting with "g" and inventing or picking names that sounded like them. Most of the words had little to do with the dragon.
Until one other word appeared in her mind, spelled out. Glorious. The letters shifted and morphed until they spelled out another word. Gloria.
"Gloria," she finally said out loud.
Liz responded after a moment. "A wonderful name. Fitting.
The air shifted as if there was a great amount of tension that had suddenly been released. And the dragon- no, Gloria, that's her name, almost looked happy. Her expression had been neutral, but there seemed to be a draconic smile on the clay all of a sudden. And yet, a closer look showed nothing different at all. Kilned and glazed clay could not move like that.
"I know your friend is on her way. I'll get to packing Gloria for your trip," said Liz.
"Good idea. Really, I thank you and your family for having me, and for helping me make Gloria. I already know of a good spot for her back home."
Zanna nodded and smiled. "Make sure she can't fall. And don't neglect her. Hate to see a dusty dragon covered in cobwebs."
"Eww, cobwebs."
The others laughed. "It wouldn't do for a dragon to become a spider's home. But that shouldn't be a problem," Liz said.
"No," Aspen said, leaving to pack her meager belongings. How in the world had she managed to produce such a beautiful thing? Did she have some sort of hidden talent that had been buried deep until Liz's coaxing brought it to the fore? The glaze work, her favorite part, was courtesy of Liz and made the dragon absolutely perfect. But the shape, for the most part, was her own efforts.
All her life, she had tried off and on to learn some crafts, though she never found a talent for anything she tried. As Aspen folded her recently cleaned and dried clothes and packed them, she thought about the process itself. Closing her eyes while sculpting. That would not work for many things, but it should not have worked here. And yet it did, she molded and sculpted without any indication of errors or mishaps.
A few changes of clothes and a copy of each of David's books, which were purchased from the local bookstore. The last thing she packed was Natasha's gift, the green agate stone. Her friend reminded her not to forget it, having already heard about it. Aspen smiled at the memory, of how excited Natasha was over the gift. Sometimes it was the simple things that brought the most joy in peoples' lives.
Or sometimes, unusual things brought happiness. Like the fully wrapped and bagged dragon Zanna was carrying into the living room.
"I'll have to carry that separately," she said, eyeing the bundled dragon, her bag, and then the dragon again.
"That's why we have two hands, right? I see a car pulling up. Safe travels," said Zanna. Liz entered the room, followed by Arthur and Lucy, two people Aspen saw little of during her stay but seemed like nice people otherwise, if not eccentric in Arthur's case. Even Zanna's daughter, a child she only saw once before, stood near. Alexa, she recalled her name.
"Oh, wow, a sending-off party. For a humble passerby," Aspen said. She grabbed both bags and headed towards the door, noting that one of the ever-present dragons was perched close. The one with the watering can, Gwillan.
"Oh, why not? It has been a pleasure having you here," said Liz.
"And a pleasure to have you as a customer the other day," added Zanna.
"Not so much a humble passerby with the ability to create a dragon like that," said Arthur. "I wish I could see it, though even without my sight, I can tell there is something special about…"
When the man did not continue, Aspen realized he did not know the dragon's name yet but wanted to know. Or was she imagining that? Might as well humor Arthur. "Gloria."
"Ah, yes, Gloria. She is something special. Take care of her."
"Don't let her get sad," Alexa piped up.
Aspen laughed. "Of course not, little girl. Gloria shall be loved and pampered. Do you think she'll like a place like Florida since she looks like a swimmer?"
Alexa started to hop towards her, but Zanna held her close. "No doubt she would. I think we are holding you up, so Alexa, give Aspen one last goodbye."
"Goodbye!" she said with such enthusiasm for someone who only met her once before. Everyone else said goodbye. Arthur coughed, then said, "safe travels."
"We will be safe. Thanks for having me."
And before Natasha could get impatient and honk her horn, Aspen walked through the door, away from the house with the dragons.
A part of her felt sad, 42 Wayward Crescent had become a sort of temporary home, the Pennykettles were gracious hosts, and yes, Aspen had come to like the ubiquitous clay dragons with their imagined personalities and duties, even if she never figured out how they seemed to move about throughout the day. Someone is moving them, but she never saw it happen.
Yet a part of her felt rejuvenated as if something had changed for the better. The weather had not improved much since their arrival to Scrubbley, but she did not feel quite as cold. Natasha must be right, people get used to it. Or maybe she was syncing with dragons, who are supposed to have their own warming fire.
Dragon fire. More wishful thinking.
"Get in, we have places to be," Natasha called out from an open window. Aspen's smile widened. Passing through here was nice. But she looked forward to continuing their journey.
Traveling was not fun, Gloria, reminisced as she stood in her designated spot on what she guessed was a bookcase. No one was home, she was free to be herself for the first time since arriving.
Let no one see you move. You're supposed to be inanimate, she had been told. And a few last words while wrapped up, be safe.
There had been words from the other dragons in the place she was made, words hurred when she was finding her spark and waiting for her owner to see her. There was something about Aspen that whispered of dragons. Faint, but there. Enough to make Gloria as alive as the others. She was just grateful Aspen was special. But sad that both Aspen would never know.
The longer she stood in her animate form, the more Gloria realized that, for all the benefits she could gain from remaining with the Pennykettle dragons, this was her home, and it was not just because her owner lives here. She was a water dragon. The very air carries the faint scent of ocean and lakes. And it was winter, no doubt once the weather warmed up further there would be storms. That sounded exciting. Like her owner, and unlike other dragons, the cold was not to her liking. Nor was dry air to her liking.
Cautious, she began to explore the perch she was placed on. No dust and the structure felt incredibly stable. Closing her eyes, Gloria focused and felt her meager power flow. Humidity entered the air, ever so slight and probably not noticeable to a human, but it was something. She hurred with delight.