It was what would generally be considered a heartwarming scene. A little girl of about seven with ash-blonde curls sitting on the floor, playing with a puppy and trying to teach it to do tricks. Of course, in the household of Mage Consul Lillet Blan, things weren't always exactly the way they seemed.
"All right now," Cressidor Blan-Virgine encouraged her pet. "Ready, Shuck?" She pointed dramatically at an aspidistra. "Breathe fire!"
The jet-black puppy with glowing red eyes gave a little cough, and a fist-sized globe of fire hacked out of its open mouth. It struck the potted plant, flared for a moment, and died down, leaving the aspidistra untouched.
"Good boy!" Cress said enthusiastically. "Good Shuck!" She patted the baby barghest on the head, which was not all that easy due to how much he was squirming and jumping around, wagging his tail so enthusiastically that his whole hind end was moving. He'd been working on this trick all morning and he was very happy that he'd been able to please his mistress.
Gaff, the elven majordomo, appeared less happy.
"I know this house has been warded against fire since before we moved the first dragon into the stables, but are you sure it's a good idea to test the protection on purpose?"
"Mm-hm!" Cress defended her actions, knowing herself to be on firm ground as far as behavior went (this time). "Mama says that since fire-breathing is dangerous, we should teach Shuck early on that it's something he should do as a trick when we tell him to, not on his own."
She reached into her pocket and fished out a biscuit.
"Here you go, boy, for doing a good job!"
Shuck sniffed at the biscuit, then turned his nose up at it.
"What's wrong, Shuck? Don't you like your treat?"
He didn't seem inclined to like it.
"Kids can be pretty picky eaters," Gaff said.
"Even Mother didn't eat the turnip souffle," Cress defended her taste buds. Still, she had to admit there was a problem. How could she teach her barghest that he was a good puppy if he didn't like his reward?
~X X X~
"Hi, Cress," Gaff said the next day when he walked into the living room. "More training?"
"Uh-huh!" She pointed at the fireplace. "Shuck, ignite!"
Shuck crouched down, front paws outstretched and digging into the carpet, haunches up, and exhaled a long, thin stream of fire. He kept it up until the logs in the fireplace burst into a crackling, popping orange flame.
"Good boy!" Cress caroled to the wiggling ball of fluff. "Here you go!" She reached up into a chair where a plate was sitting and plucked a tidbit off it. She tossed it to the puppy and Shuck snapped it out of the air, munching happily.
"He seems to like today's treats better than yesterday's."
"Mm-hm! I thought he might like something that reminds him of home."
"Oh? What are you feeding him?"
"Deviled ham!"