by Ella Hart
He glanced over at his wife, and laughed. She was sound asleep on the couch, her left arm draped over her side. Her right arm dangled limply over the couch, her fingers touching the floor. He laughed lightly. She was so cute.
Rummaging around in Rani’s cupboards, Cobalt found some cleaning detergents and a bucket. He filled it with warm water and returned to the living room. He was filled with excitement as he cleaned the carpet. His first child! They were a real family now, and he wouldn’t let anything or anyone harm them. After he had thrown the mess away in the garbage can outside, Cobalt suddenly realized his wings were out. Luckily, he’d had enough time to get back into the house. It had to be because he was getting ready to care for an egg.
He let his tail out. There was a little more logic to it now that the egg had been lain.
Paulina stayed on the couch, fast asleep. He curled his tail and wings around the egg. The excitement of the night began to wear off, and exhaustion washed over him. As his wing slowly covered their egg, he smiled. They would be parents soon. They were happy.
His eyes closed. This had to be one of the best days of his life, he thought, as he drifted into a deep sleep.
Chapter Eight: A New Territory
He woke to Paulina’s hand on his face. He looked up, smiling at her.
“This is a sight I don’t see outside a full moon.” She laughed a little. “Here. Eat. You’re probably hungry.” It took him a moment to realize what she meant. He glanced down, and saw that his chest was covered in his cobalt-blue scales. He must’ve finished the transformation last night.
His stomach growled. She giggled again. He started to eat softly from her hand. She’d offered up pancakes with butter and syrup. It was a good meal. There was plenty, too. She’d foreseen how hungry he’d be.
It wasn’t all that surprising that she was able to figure it out. They had been married for two years now, after all. That was twenty-four months of turning into a dragon once a month, during the full moon. He was curled around their egg, the white oval hiding softly in his chest.
“There we go.” She smiled at him. “I love you, Cobalt. Don’t worry about a thing when Rani gets back. I’ll tell her what’s going on. We’ll have to tell her now that the egg is laid and you’re too big to get through the staircase upstairs.” He smiled again. A soft laugh echoed in his throat.
He nuzzled her hand softly. Communication would be difficult for the next day or two, but she always seemed to understand what he wanted to say. All he could do was growl if he was upset, nuzzle her hand if he was happy or wanted to show his love, and sleep. And eat. And eat and eat and eat.
“ Are you still hungry?” She held up the plate again. He’d only eaten half of the food she had brought him earlier. He nodded, and then continued to eat carefully. His teeth could easily tear through her hand if he wasn’t careful. He’d also eat the plate, but that would happen before he hurt her.
He smiled a toothy grin at her before snuggling a little closer to his egg.
As his eyes scanned the egg, he was happy to see that it wasn’t cracked or chipped in any way. That was good. He curled his tail around it a little tighter. Just a little tighter. He didn’t know how he knew how to do this. He just knew. Maybe it was a dragon’s equivalent to the maternal instinct that the human women have.
“Are you sure that you’re not hugging the egg too tightly?” She cocked her head to the side as she asked the question. He nodded. “How are you sure?”
He gave her the equivalent of a shrug. She laughed a little at him and began to pet his head. A purr escaped his mouth. This always felt good. There was nothing on earth like being petted by his wife. She smiled at him, and then kissed his forehead.
“I love you, Cobalt.” She smiled as he continued to purr.. He was stuck with the inability to speak for the moment. He hoped that he’d be able to speak tomorrow or the day after. She kissed him again.
She laughed, and then pulled away. Paulina disappeared into the kitchen, out of his eye sight. He curled his neck down, hiding the egg completely in his stomach and wings, with his neck hiding the last bit of the egg that would’ve been visible.
He watched the area around him. He’d risk nothing for this egg. The paternal instinct was kicking in. Male dragons were more sensitive than female dragons. He wondered how in the world he had ended up with a woman who was just as sensitive – if not more – than he was. It didn’t seem right.
However, he loved her, and he wouldn’t give her up. He wouldn’t let her go if he could help it. He smiled a little as she came back into the room.
“You’re going to be eating all day, so I brought you some non-refrigerated items. Lettuce, salads, and some graham crackers. Enjoy.” She smiled, and set a few mixing bowls down. “Just growl at me for more.” At that, she laughed.
He periodically ate from the few mixing bowls in front of him. She’d left them right in front of his mouth, right where he could easily dip a claw in and then pop it right into his mouth. She’d seen him do this enough times that she knew how he liked to work on his food at this point. Often, she would get up before he finished, and return as he was finishing the last of it.
She had good timing.
He chewed thoughtfully on the last of the salad. She had quickly caught on to the fact that he liked salad – whether in dragon or human form. He wondered what their baby would look like when he or she came out of the egg. Typically, a dragon-shifter would seem dragon at birth, change into a human at around two years old, and then when he or she hit five, would change back into a dragon at the full moon of every month.
With half-human genes, he wondered if that would change how their child came out of the egg. Would the baby come out a human, or would the little one change into a human sooner than a typical dragon-shifter? Paulina looked over to him as he thought.
When he caught the look, he gave her a raised eyebrow. Though he couldn’t speak, he could indeed get his idea across through facial expressions. She laughed a little at him. There was a lot for her to laugh at when he was like this – thoughtful and brooding.
“You’re brooding again, Cobalt. What’s going on up in that head of yours?” She got down on her knees by him. She ran her hand over his head again. “What’s going on in there, Cobalt?” She didn’t seem to expect an answer.
She continued to pet his head as he watched over the egg. When he felt the egg was too warm, he loosened his grip on the egg.. His tail slackened around the egg, and then his neck unfurled from around it too. He placed his head closer to Paulina’s feet, giving her an easier reach.
“What’s wrong, Cobalt? The egg get too hot?” She continued to speak to him. He nodded slowly as he set his head down on the carpet.
Then a shriek shrill echoed in the room. He threw his eyes open and instinctively held the egg close. Rani was home earlier than expected, and they had not heard her come in.
“Paulina... what is a dragon doing in my living room?” She didn’t seem incredibly angry, but she clearly wanted to know what was going on. Paulina sighed.
“Rani, this is what I was going to tell you tonight. Cobalt is a dragon-shifter. I wasn’t pregnant in a traditional sense... I laid our egg last night.” She sighed softly. He couldn’t say anything in his defense. Cobalt pulled his wings and tail aside slowly to show the egg.
“Oh my...” Rani wasn’t quite sure what to say. He placed his wings back on the egg to protect it.
“Yeah.” Paulina smiled a little. “I thought so, too. Cobalt’s been taking care of the egg since it was laid. I know it’s a lot to digest at this point, but we really need a place to stay. Especially now that it’s not just the two of us.” She got up from where she was. He followed her with his eyes, watching her.
Dragons could be very territorial of their mates. Paulina laughed as he did so.
“It’s okay, Cobalt. You know Rani. You know her, remember?” She didn’t seem so sure if he remembered Rani suddenly. Was there a lot of jealousy or uncertainty in his
face? He nodded slowly; he remembered Rani well. She had been very hospitable the last time they were there.
“Okay... I don’t know how I feel about this. But, since you’re already here, and eggs can be very fragile, I’ll let you stay. But please... no lighting my house on fire, Cobalt.” She gave him a pointed look, and he responded with a curt nod. He wouldn’t light her house on fire. There was no way he would be able to do that anyway. Many lost their ability to spout fire while caring for an egg. There was no science behind it at the moment, but all male dragons realized that was a very real possibility.
At that point, Rani smiled at him.
“Good.” She spoke, and then turned to Paulina. “So, what now? Do you have to stay with him? Or would I be able to help him?”
“It depends on what he needs. He eats a lot as a dragon. We’ll have to go grocery shopping this week, too.” She smiled a little, and then turned back to him. “I think you need a refill.” She laughed a little at her own comment as he rolled his eyes.
Paulina walked over to the kitchen and disappeared behind the counters for a while. Rani warily made her way over to the couch, and sat down on it, her eyes never leaving Cobalt. She laughed a little as he shook his head, hiding his egg again.
“Do you always change into a dragon when you take care of an egg?” She seemed completely intrigued by what was going on. He nodded. It was something that all male dragons did. He never batted an eyelash at it, nor did he ever question what was going on. His father had done it. His grandfather had done it. He’d even done it a few times with his younger siblings.
“Here you go, honey.” Paulina returned while he was thinking, placing a bowl in front of him. He started to lap up the water with his tongue, a thankful look in his eyes towards her. She knew how to make him happy while he was a dragon. He didn’t particularly like to transform when he had to do it around her. That was every month now, and it meant a few things just couldn’t happen.
He’d almost smothered her once while they were cuddling because she was so much smaller than his dragon form. It had hurt to learn that they couldn’t cuddle during his time of month. That’s really when he wanted it the most. This was the form that felt more natural to him, but with it being so large, he wasn’t sure how to make it work.
She got down beside him, and slowly ran her fingers over his scales.
A soft purring escaped his mouth and she laughed lightly. There was nothing he liked better than to hear her laugh. It made him remember what it was like with his family. When he had not a care in the world about what happened to him. As long as he was with his family, he was safe.
Safe. He couldn’t remember a time between his family’s death and meeting Paulina he’d felt that way. He could remember the last time he ever felt safe before he met Paulina, though. While a good memory, the ones that followed it were more painful.
“You’re it!” His brother touched his paw to Cobalt’s stomach. “Come catch me if you can!” With that, Viridian took off running. His bright blue-green scales shimmered in the setting sun, leaving just a glimpse of where he was headed.
“Ready or not, here I come!” Cobalt took off running after him. Or tried to, anyway. His father had caught hold of his tail.
“Not so fast, Cobalt.” He spoke with a commanding voice, one that demanded he pay attention, no matter how much he didn’t want to at that moment. He frowned. What did his father want?
“Awww, but dad!” He whined. His father didn’t answer right away. Instead, he let go of his tail and sat down in front of him.
“Viridian knows those rocks are dangerous. He knows how to get around without falling down. You don’t yet. If you fall in the wrong place, you’ll get hurt.” His father’s words made sense. Viridian was more than two hundred years older than him. He’d had time to learn how to get around. Since Cobalt was the youngest of the brood, he hadn’t quite had that much time yet.
“Okay, dad.” He sulked a little, but understood why he couldn’t go after his brother. Not that it mattered, as Viridian was back in a few minutes, a frown on his face.
“There are humans here.” He scampered down this side of the cliff with ease. Cobalt watched, awed. Out of all his brothers and sister, he looked up to Viridian the most. His brother had a sense of adventure and of danger that helped him go exploring, but he always knew when there was too much danger. Humans meant too much danger; even Cobalt knew that.
“Where?” His father asked for clarification. There were many human settlements around here; they had moved in everywhere. Viridian frowned.
“Just on the other side of the cliff. I almost gasped aloud when I saw them, but hurried away before they could see me.” He seemed out of breath. “We could be their next meal if we stay.”
“Oh, let them try to hunt us.” His father had a twisted sense of how to handle danger. “See if they can catch us. If they come close, we will move. If not, we can stay.” His words made him wonder what was going on. Why would humans be moving closer to a known dragon settlement? It didn’t make sense.
“Granite, don’t scare the boy.” Their mother spoke up at this point. He looked to Viridian, as did his dad. He was shaking suddenly, as if he had seen a ghost or a human with a weapon ready to kill him. “Come here, Viridian.” She held her wings open for him. His brother ran to her, as if running for his life. She folded her wings over him gently, and rocked a little as she sung a soft lullaby. He couldn’t hear the words, but he could tell they were calming to Viridian.
“I’m sorry, Viridian.” His father walked closer, lowering his large gray and black speckled head to the ground. Viridian looked up from where he was nestled in his mother’s wings. “I didn’t mean to scare you.” The two nuzzled.
“It’s okay, daddy.” His older brother suddenly seemed to act three hundred years younger in the face of fear. He wasn’t all that surprised. Viridian hadn’t hit puberty yet; he wasn’t even close. Nor was Cobalt, but that was another story.
“Come on. Let’s get you cleaned up after all that running around.” His mother smiled down at him, her green scales dark and shimmery in the setting sun. The name Jade was an apt description. “You too, Cobalt.” She gave him a stern look. He had a habit of running off at bath time because he didn’t particularly like it.
“Okay, mommy.” He sighed softly as he spoke. Why did she have to give him a bath? It didn’t really help anything; he was always dirty again twenty minutes later.
An unintelligible garble came from somewhere below them. While dragons could understand each other – a mix of garbles and growls – humans would not have been able to understand them. Nor could dragons understand humans. They all went eerily quiet, as if wondering if the others would come up to see what had made noise.
They were right.
There were scampering noises. Leaves rustled as something disturbed them.
Suddenly a group of about twenty humans – all grown, it seemed – stood only a few feet from them. The humans didn’t seem to know what to do at this point. Should they attack? Would the dragons attack first? Cobalt could see the fear in their eyes. He didn’t want them to be afraid of him. He wanted to be friends with humans.
He made a move towards the humans. Slowly, he walked towards the humans. His parents didn’t try to stop him. The humans remained there, as if frozen in front of him. He reached the halfway point, stopped for a moment, and then continued on towards the humans.
This was when all the silence ended. He tripped on a rock, and whimpered. One of the humans – a female, Cobalt guessed – walked towards him. She closed the distance. She slowly outstretched one hand to see if she could help.
No one tried to stop her. Not even Cobalt attempted to stop her. She hushed him softly; he understood that noise. His mother made it all the time. She helped him up, and took care of the small scratch he had gotten when he tripped. One of her companions rolled his eyes.
He didn’t understand what that meant. The female turned and spoke to him. She spoke
in unintelligible grumbles, growls, and squawks. However, it had an odd similarity to how they spoke to each other. He managed to get a few words together out of her awkward, odd language. She seemed to be fighting for his life.
He nuzzled his head to her stomach. She seemed to be a friend. A laugh escaped her mouth; well, he thought it was a laugh. A giggle, maybe.
A smile overtook her face. Maybe the humans weren’t so bad. Or maybe he was simply naïve. Whichever the case, he didn’t care. She was happily helping him. He would let her. A smile spread over his face as she petted him. He began to purr in her arms. His family yelped at him to get away from her softly, in a friendly tone. They didn’t want to spook them.
Cobalt didn’t listen. It was a mistake to trust her.
He took in a deep breath. The rest of that memory was too hard on him. He didn’t like to relive that. He would happily remember playing tag with his brothers. Gladly, he would reminiscence about running away and being mischievous. He’d even rather remember the time he got stuck in a cave for two days than what happened after he did not heed his mother’s warning.
“Cobalt? Are you all right?” Paulina’s voice interrupted his thoughts. He nodded slowly. There wasn’t a lot he wanted to tell her about what he had thought of. “All right. I have a question. When do you think the egg will hatch?” He frowned. He couldn’t speak. How did she expect him to answer this question?
It took him a moment, but he realized she had left beans for him. Unbaked beans. He pushed the can over with his nose. Rani groaned in protest – something about the mess. Paulina reassured her that it would get cleaned up.
Once the beans were on the carpet, he used a single claw to form a response. He first formed a few beans into the number one. Then he created a dash of a few beans. More beans became the number three. Next, he painstakingly formed the word ‘days’. The final response read ‘1-3 days’.
“That was pretty ingenious.” Rani complimented him. He gave a soft smile, as soft as he could while in dragon form. “So, if it’s only going to take that long, how long do you think Cobalt will stay a dragon?” She directed the question towards Paulina. She shrugged.