By request of AngetianPrincess18

This is going to be at least a two-parter. Angetian, I freaking love your ideas. If you have any more, give. Please. A pretty one with a cherry on top.

Lily: Thanks so much for the support! Knowing me, I'll probably send an ask, or just start an ask blog, and immediately regret it and have to go pet a cat or write or something just to keep myself from deleting everything.

Gaaahhh why is talking to people so hard?

Thank you so, so much for your encouragement! I'll let you know on Tumblr when I get one. (I asked my sister to tell me how many pages of my WIP novel I have to complete before I can, because I really need to work on it. She said 20. I'm on page 7. It'll be a little while.)

Claudia's Choice

Claudia is a Dark mage.

Claudia uses magical creatures to power her spells.

Claudia is apprenticing under Archmage Aaravos.

Claudia is very busy.

Claudia does not have time for a pet.

Claudia especially does not have time to look after a newly hatched dragonling that seems to have imprinted on her.

Aaravos would say to let it follow her home, then kill it and use it for magic. But the tiny gold dragon has such huge dewy brown eyes that look up at Claudia so pleadingly, and such a soft ruff, and such a tickly sandpaper tongue.

Claudia knows it's only an animal, but she doesn't want to hurt it. Maybe it reminds her of the kitten she had when she was six, before they found out Soren was allergic to cats. So what if it does? That– that doesn't have anything to do with anything. She just doesn't want to kill it right now because… because…

She needs to think of a reason, and fast. She watched the dragon egg hatch nearly an hour ago, and the dragonling hasn't been more than a foot from her since. It'll follow her back to camp, and if she doesn't have a very good reason to keep it alive, Aaravos or Dad will kill it. Actually, Aaravos is more likely to make Claudia kill it. Which she really doesn't want to do.

"Do you have any suggestions?" Claudia kneels down, scratching gently under the dragonling's chin. "Can you be useful magically without dying?"

The dragonling chirps, staring at her adoringly.

"I'll take that as a no."

The dragonling rubs its head against her calf and nibbles her dress.

Claudia laughs. "You're cute too. I wish there was some way I could keep you. Are you sure there isn't any way you can be useful?" What do useful animals have in common with dragons? Cats can catch mice, but Claudia doesn't know if dragons catch mice. Besides, they don't need a mouse-catcher. Their supplies are enchanted against pests.

Dogs… mostly lick people, as far as Claudia can tell, and yes sometimes they help hunt, or, or cuddle and stuff, but they don't need that. (Claudia isn't fond of dogs.)

Horses. Claudia likes horses. They're sweet, and you can talk to them, and they carry people around (mostly) uncomplainingly. Would a dragon? Maybe. She saw Ez riding a dragon at the battle last month, but this one is far too small to ride. Claudia doubts either Aaravos or Dad would be willing to wait long enough for it to grow to riding size.

Hmm… cows have milk. Milk would be good, but Claudia isn't sure if dragons have milk (probably not, she thinks, they're lizards). Even if they did, babies don't, and especially not– A thought strikes Claudia, and she picks the dragon up despite its protests. It's a female. She thinks.

What other ways could a magical creature be– OH XADIA, THAT'S IT!

Claudia can use it– her– for Dark magic!

She swoops the dragon up under her arm, lifts her skirt, and begins running toward camp.

"Dad! Master Aaravos!" Claudia yells.

"Calm down, Claudia," Dad says, emerging from his hut. "You'll– is that a baby dragon?"

Claudia nods happily. "We're keeping her!"

Dad pinches the bridge of his nose. "Claudia. That is a baby dragon. We cannot keep it."

"Her," Claudia corrects. "And we are."

"You'd best have an excellent reason for that assumption," Aaravos drawls from his favorite rock, the chairlike one that seems better than any throne the way he sits on it.

Claudia nods, tapping her nose, too excited for words.

"Speak, Claudia," Dad says.

Claudia takes three deep breaths, then holds up the dragon. "I think she's an orphan."

"That does not mean we should keep her. We don't need another mouth to feed."

"What if she can earn her keep?" Claudia sees both men's interest grow, so she says, "Dad, remember that gryphon eyeball you gave me?"

"Yes?"

"You didn't kill the gryphon. Animals don't need to die for Dark magic, we just need their bodies!" Claudia points at her book. "I don't think there's a single spell in there that says the dragon absolutely has to die! Well. Maybe one or two. But most of them don't! They need things like dragon horn, dragon claws, dragon blood, dragon teeth, dragon scales, dragon snot. We can get all those from a live dragon, and for even longer!"

"What."

Claudia's grin grows as she explains. "A dead dragon only has so much blood, and you can use it up. A living dragon keeps making more blood, more snot, more talons and horns!"

"She has a point," says Aaravos. "The dragonling could be quite an asset."

"Yeah!" Claudia agrees. "Buuuut, she's going to grow really big. And then she could get away or eat us."

"Point against," says Dad. Aaravos frowns slightly.

"But she won't, not if we're nice to her and train her! She already thinks I'm her mom. I'll work with her, and we'll be nice to her and not take more from her than she can spare, and she won't mind it at all, and when she gets bigger she'll even let us ride her and we can use her against the other dragons!" Claudia finally stops, panting for breath.

"We will keep her," Aaravos says, vaulting off his throne. "For now.

For a month and a half, neither of the men can get close to the baby dragon unless Claudia is holding her. Claudia is also the only one who can draw blood, clip talons, file horns, and strip loose scales. Baby hasn't sneezed yet, or lost her first teeth, but Claudia suspects she'll be the only one able to collect those. It keeps her baby safe from overuse, though, so she won't complain.

One day, she comes home from gathering moonberries to see Aaravos on his throne, bent over something in his lap. Fearing the worst, Claudia sets her bucket down and begins to sneak around the throne.

...only to see, when she gets to the front of the throne, the Startouch elf rubbing his head against the head of a tiny gold dragon who has her eyes closed in contentment. She's purring loudly. Claudia hadn't realized dragons purred.

Aaravos freezes. He slowly looks up and sees Claudia. A look of shock spreads across his normally serene features. The dragonling looks up, chirps happily, and squirms away from Aaravos to dart up and leap into Claudia's arms. Claudia isn't sure whether to give Aaravos a smile or a stern look, so she blinks twice and turns away.

The next day, it happens again. Then again.

The dragonling stops responding when Viren calls her, and she takes longer to come to Claudia. Finally, Claudia has had enough.

"What did you do to Baby?" she demands of Aaravos.

"Do?" Aaravos tilts his head at her. "Why, nothing."

"She's not responding like she used to. And I know you're behind it!"

"Ah." Aaravos smiles. "Perhaps it has something to do with the fact I've been training her to respond to Midnight?"

"Mid–" Claudia. Is. Speechless. "Midnight?"

Almost.

Aaravos nods once. "Yes. Surely an intelligent girl like yourself can grasp the humor in not only a Sun dragon being named after the night, but a dragon being named after me."

Claudia stomps away. Ba– Midnight follows her.

It's not a bad name, she knows. Especially compared to Baby. And she does like the irony.

But why did Aaravos have to name her dragon after himself?

aw, c'mon, Aary has a weakness for cutie dragons too?

Best. Prompt. I love Mama Claudia!

and we saw the eyepatch gryphon in the credits so we know it's alive and why couldn't they use renewable body parts like claws anyway-

-also humans can give like a pint of blood at a time without missing it, imagine how much Zubeia or Pyrrah could give without noticing. and Claudia would love that because what Zubeia wouldn't miss could power her magic for days, probably weeks. (I just had a super long discussion with my uncle about how Claudia might be able to be redeemed and how killing isn't absolutely necessary for Dark magic etcetera. This a/n is a carryover.)