Strun looked himself over in a large reflective puddle that he had found from the morning's rainfall as he made sure for the third time that his royal blue scales were polished and that his gray council robes were free from unnecessary wrinkles. It was very important that he looked as presentable as possible, it was an unspoken rule of the court that you looked your best less you want to be dismissed for showing disrespect to the council. This was a rule that he had never had a problem enforcing in the past. Now it almost seemed like a cruel joke that he should stress himself over the rules and edicates which he had long since memorised.
He and his wife Faad were to appear before his fellow council members today and plead that they be allowed to keep their human child. It was only rumors and speculations that Strun had brought the infant to the hidden island, some of his work companions had even laughed when they heard this. Surely it was a jest on Strun's part, his relaxed demeanor compared to his colleagues had made him one of the more approachable council members on the seclusive islands.
A soft clicking of claws on the hard stone floor outside of the court building let him know that his wife had come to find him for the meeting. His beautiful wife seemed to sparkle in the light from the countless amethyst carefully placed amongst her headdress and robes that complimented her purple hued scales, she had been sure to shine each gemstone so that they gleamed. She carried herself with a poise and grace that was expected of her as both a council member's spouse and as a record's keeper. Even with all of this Strun could see his wife's sharp cunning eyes, she was pulling out all the tricks to help persuade some of the weaker willed members who were bewitched by her beauty like her husband was.
Strun felt weakened for a moment before taking a breath and standing a little taller. Reassured with his wife by his side he took the ten steps that led to the large wooden doors that were carved with an intricate depiction of the powerful dragons of old. Pushing them open he walked in with his head raised high in pride and confidence in every step that he did not feel. He wanted to be sick but the thought of that sweet little angel that had literally been thrown at him bulwarked his waning convictions.
Statues lined the massive hallway dedicated to heroes of the past. He idly wondered if any of them would side with him on this matter, what would they do if presented with the agonising choice of losing a child they had bonded with or holding tight to what they had built up for themselves over their whole lifes? Even if they would be allowed this would it be a true victory or would it be bitter and pyrrhic?
Strun would have liked to believe that they would succeed and live a happy life but he knew better of it. It was in a dragon's very nature to be greedy. Even this was a form of greed on his and his wife's part. They wanted this child so badly that they would not only risk the security that they had for themselves but that of their son's as well. While Mul was enamoured with the child, Strun doubted that he fully understood just how much was at stake, how much he actually stood to lose from this.
He shook his head and called upon a deep well of inner strength that he had been filling everyday of his life for a battle he never knew he would have to fight, today finally seem fit for it. All too soon he was standing before the council with his wife taking her place behind him coyly, a powerful alpha male and his loyal wife greeted the council of authoritative and respected dragons.
The four council members dressed in the same gray robes as Strun sat on a raised platform on fat pillows so as not to be forced to rest on the warm stone beneath them, all of them ignored the empty pillow that was for Strun. The imposing stone wall had a brief glimpse of their island's history carved into its smooth surface. The split of their neighbouring dragon colonies due to overpopulation, finding the several islands that judded straight up from the sea, unreachable by any who could not fly and the settling of the lands by the dragons.
Each dragon nodded silently after a minute of silence to signal that they were ready to hear from the pair before them. Strun straightened up and spoke low and slowly, making sure that every word was spoken clearly and respectfully. "Esteemed members, I Strun, stand before you and call upon your mercy in a most sensitive of matters." Every dragon in the room stared at him intently, what they thought was carefully hidden behind a mask of neutrality that had been honed by years of meetings and the unspoken rules of court known best by its members. "Three nights ago I was away on an extended hunting trip, winter's chill has bitten deep into the surrounding lands making prey scarce. I was forced to hunt closer to the human's village than I would have liked, in that time I heard footsteps not belonging to prey but to humans."
Strun clearly had the full attention of the entire room but he knew better then to think that the attention was positive. "The humans were clearly a mated couple. They bickered and argued about something that was beyond my understanding of their language but from what I had been able to make out they were displeased about their 'baby'" the word sat oddly in his muzzle as he tried his best to mimic the word that was used "they did not seem to care for anything around them as they fought. The newborn in their arms seems to have been the source of their argument, I heard the words 'is a burden' and 'should have been dealt with earlier' being said."
Strun was careful to control his tone, he couldn't let his anger with the human's words get to him in front of the council less it damage his chances. No, these dragons prefered it that you keep your emotions in check as it made judging the facts of the case much easier. He would have to wait for an appropriate time to properly vent his frustrations, for now he had to be strong for his family and more importantly for his daughter who needed him now more than ever.
"The humans had stepped out of the cover of the thicket that lined the path they had been taking as they discussed what they would do with their 'burden' when one of them, the female holding the child caught sight of me. They both screamed in terror and then the female did something that I have trouble understanding even now; she threw her hatchling at me with a shriek of 'eat the baby!' before they both turned around and fled for their lives. Not knowing what else to do I bundled the child whom was wrapped in a cloth up in my mouth to keep her from freezing to death and flew back here, I thought that I could think of what to do with the infant here so I would be sure that she would not perish before any decisions could be made."
The temperature of the immediate area had risen several degrees as the the collective dragons took this all in with an indiscernible silence. This was all apart of the game as each dragon considered the story and formed their opinions. Strun patiently waited for one of the council members to break the quiet that befell the room. Finally after a long pause one of them spoke up. "What is it that you seek to gain by doing this Strun?" Strun looked at Vahlok, a Sentinel that was older than him by about ten years. They were good friends outside of work but he knew better then to think that would do him any favors.
"I wish to raise the child with my wife here on the island." Maleyk, a Monstrous Nightmare who was more of his great grandfather's mindset, Rahgot Bloodbane. "A human? Here? Shall we open the vail and allow them to poison our bloodlines and invade our lands?" No one knew from where he developed this mindset but none of the others spoke up against him, it was his right as a council member to speak his mind.
"I am curious as to why you would want to keep the child here instead of returning her to the other humans Strun." Strun perked up a little at the question, he had been waiting for this. "I feel that the child would not be welcomed by humans. Unlike any dragon I know the humans chose to get rid of the newborn rather than finding a surrogate to care for her. She does not smell of illness or death, she certainly doesn't sound like it either when she is upset." Strun couldn't keep a dry grumble as he thought of his daughter's high piercing wails in that moment. "I believe if I were to return the child that she would be killed or abandoned again. It could be due to a severe food shortage on the human's end." It wasn't a complete lie, he had not seen much in the way of food in the lands close to the human's village but the humans he had seen were fat in both muscle and belly size.
"Isn't that all the more reason for us to be rid of the child ourselves? She would be nothing more than another mouth to feed and it's not as if she can fly and pull her weight around here." This was considered by the other dragons as well. Being a council member did not excuse a dragon from day to day chores like hunting and water gathering, if Maleyk was going to try and use this as his trump card then he was as inexperienced as he was young. "The child would certainly eat less rations then you would Maleyk." The Nightmare's head snapped around to shoot a heated glare at the oldest dragon on the council, Prem paid it no mind. She was a Raincutter who had lost most of the color in her soft blue scales, despite her appearance her wits were still as sharp as her tongue as she jeered the younger dragon. "The way I see it, I doubt the child would eat very much and it's not like the rest of her family couldn't take her to where she needed to go."
Faad stepped around her husband, the normally fierce dragoness appeared timid and feminine before the council. Maleyk's scowl softened immediately as his eyes traced the female's form lingering on her hips a little longer than necessary. "I believe that my husband was asked earlier by what he would gain from this but I haven't been asked yet as his mate." The room quieted down as all eyes turned to the dragoness, "I must admit that I thought my husband was unwell in the head when he brought the newborn home. I admit that I had given up hope of ever having more children, that idea has been weighing heavy on my mind and I had more or less resigned myself to this fact until my husband brought home the newborn." Her soft voice carried joy as she thought warmly of the child resting back in the safety of their nest under the care of a trusted babysitter.
Maleyk's features hardened slightly at the warmth the dragoness would dare show to a human. "You should know better than to bond to a child you should not be allowed to keep." His low venomous hiss had no visible effect on the dragoness as her husband instinctively puffed up a little at the hostility being directed towards his wife. "Do you think the child will truly be happy here?" All eyes turned to see the smallest member of the council, Ahvos. The Terrible Terror was barely heard as his voice was soft and barely audible. He had never been quite right after he lost his family in that hunting trip all those years ago, many doubted that he was still even able to speak as he had abstained from it for so long. "Will she truly be happy in a land that she was not born to and surrounded by creatures who are so different and much stronger then she will ever be? What will she do when it comes time to find a partner?"
Strun held back a wince as he contemplated the question. It was true that she would have problems living here but that's something he knew they could think around. He was sure that she could be happy here given enough time and work. "I think she can. We have worked hard so that many types of dragons can live here comfortably, humans and dragons have been proven capable of living together in the past in both living conditions and in matters of starting a family. We have magic and spells that have been used to solve a great deal of issues when it came to the difference in both dragon species as well as human and dragon relations. Should we not allow her a chance here with a family that wants her over having her killed by a village that didn't?"
All the dragons could feel the finality of the argument as the call for a vote was made. Prem and Ahvos raised their votes for the child to stay, Maleyk voted that the child be sent away, the only one who seemed undecided was Vahlok. He was always the slowest to vote, taking his time to mull over everything much to the annoyance of the quick tempered Maleyk. After a full minute he shook his mighty head as if he had finally come to his decision. "I will allow the child to stay. This only stands with the condition that if humans ever do come to reclaim the that you allow it."
Strun and Faad nodded in agreement and bowed before the court, there was a low agitated growling from Maleyk that was for the most part ignored by the rest of the assembled dragons. Strun made sure to remember that he would never dare allow the aggressive dragon around his daughter alone. Strun had never paid any mind to his comments against humans or half breeds choosing instead to pour himself fully into his work and ignore him but now the younger dragon's ideas concerned him.
Once the couple was dismissed they quickly left to go to their nesting chambers and relieve the babysitter. When they got to the doors that lead into their private nest they could see a small crowd of dragons who were either curious about the newborn or wanted to know how the meeting had gone. Strun growled in warning to get them to back away so that he and his wife could get through the door without a collapsing pile of dragons following them. Faad no longer having to keep up the act nipped and swatted at the assembled dragons with her tail further encouraging them to back off.
Once they managed to get the doors shut behind them they went to check on their daughter. Shiraav turned to greet them with a nod and a shushing motion, their daughter slept peacefully in her oversized crib. Strun pointed towards the other room so he could speak to her without risk of waking the child, Faad's soft hums followed them out as they regrouped in the living room. Shiraav was a plump old nadder who helped them through Mul's early years as well as the stress from the heart crushing realisation that they would never have any more children. The sweet old dragoness was all too happy to help when she heard about the family's newest arrival. "You look well, good news I hope?" Strun nodded with a whisper "Maleyk put up a good fight but the council voted in our favor."
Shiraav let out a relieved sigh before she huffed in annoyance "He has always been a troublesome child. I think he found something on that trip he took to the larger colony thirty years ago that poisoned his mind." She shook her head and walked towards the door "I have other duties to attend to but I will let you know if I hear anything regarding your daughter." Strun thanked her and closed the door behind her. Once she was gone he let himself sink to the floor as the events of the meeting washed over him.
They could keep her, thank the ancestors they got to keep their daughter. He spared a thought to what this might do to his career, council members were strongly encouraged to not have young children less it interfere with their duties, more so when he was their island's representative when it came to matters off of the islands. This was going to be a problem for the future he supposed. Human's did age considerably faster than dragons so it might not be too much of a problem but it was still enough to be a concern. This was a problem for the future though and he wouldn't allow these thoughts to keep him from enjoying the great gift they had not only been given but had been allowed to keep.