5. Celia
Chapter five
Celia
Celia took Sod out of the basket. He was a rather lazy fellow, and if he didn't start to perk up soon, she would worry about him. As it was, she simply wanted to get him using his leg, straightening it the way he ought to. It shouldn't be tucked up like that all the time.
“Would you help me hold his leg out like this?” she asked, straightening the leg gently.
Sod still showed no sign of being hurt when the leg was straightened, which was a good sign.
Sometimes they just needed a little reminder that they could, in fact, use their limbs.
Hopefully a day or two with a splint, and he would be walking around on his own.
If he was an air dragon, she’d be less worried. But he was an earth dragon. He needed to be able to walk.
His voice calm and his actions unhurried, Darian gently reached toward the baby dragon, his fingers brushing against hers as he held the leg exactly as she'd shown him.
Celia tried not to flinch at the touch.
For someone who had so much energy, he was gentler with the baby than she had expected.
It didn’t mean she wanted him touching her, though.
There had once been a time when she wouldn’t have even noticed something so casual…but not anymore.
She took out the two small pieces of wood she’d bought from the store and reached for the ribbon that she'd also gotten. It was plain ribbon, nothing fancy, but it would do for straightening out this tiny leg—for now. Hopefully his leg would heal before he outgrew this version of a splint.
She'd never seen anything grow faster than a baby dragon, which made sense, if she thought about it—a creature with magic must be more likely to grow faster than a creature without.
“I'm just going to wrap your leg,” she told Sod, who chirped at her.
“She’ll be gentle,” Darian told the baby, who chirped back. “I'm glad it doesn't hurt. We want you to grow big and strong.” Sod chirped again, and Darian nodded. “I understand,” he said, “but I promise, if it doesn't hurt now, using the leg isn't going to hurt any more.”
Celia stared at Darian. “Are you talking to Sod?” she asked.
Darian blinked. “I am,” he said, and it was almost a question. “I suppose I am.”
“And you understand him?” she asked.
“Yes,” Darian said, the words seeming to stick in his mouth.
“I didn't know that was possible,” Celia said quietly.
If she hadn't known better, she would have said that she was jealous.
“I didn't, either,” Darian said quietly. “I don't know if I really am or not. Maybe I'm imagining it.”
“But you hear him talking to you?” she asked, because she didn't.
Darian stared down at the baby dragon. “Can I understand you?” he asked. Sod chirped, and Darian turned back to Celia. “He says yes, I can understand him.”
The fire dragons started chirping from where they sat in the hearth, and Darian turned to them. “They say it's because I'm smart,” he said with a wink.
“Smarter than me, apparently.” Celia said in a huff.
All the time and effort she put into baby dragons, and Darian, the human version of a puppy, was the one who was able to understand them.
That was gratitude for you.
She kept wrapping the fabric around Sod's leg until she reached the bottom, tying it off in a knot.
“Ask him if he'll try to stand, since he's apparently willing to have a conversation with you,” Celia said.
Perhaps she shouldn’t be bitter, but it was hard to not be.
Darian turned to Sod. “Will you stand up?”
Sod chirped.
“He says he can understand you too,” Darian told Celia. “You just can't understand them. You don't have their language.”
“Of course, I don't have their language,” Celia said, letting her frustration leak out in sarcasm, “because I'm a human. What are you—part dragon?”
Sod chirped and stood on his splinted leg, and Celia forgot to be cranky as she smiled down at him. No matter what happened, there was nothing better than seeing one of her patients do something new.
“There you go,” she said, scratching him under his neck.
“Was that so bad?” Darian said, laughing at Sod’s response. “He says yes, he'd rather take a nap.”
Shaking her head, Celia said, “You've been napping all day. You have to walk for now. I want you to walk around for a little bit and see if you can find some insects. Take them outside,” she told Darian. “Make Sod look for some insects and try to wear those three out.”
“Yes, ma'am,” Darian said, standing and offering her a salute.
Celia rolled her eyes as Darian set Sod on the ground and ushered all four baby dragons toward the door. Flame and Sod walked slowly, chirping back and forth at each other, while Spark and Sizzle burst ahead.
“Make Spark use that leg of his,” Celia called after them as Darian closed the door.
Celia washed up from dinner before making her way outside to watch them play.
Spark and Sizzle chased each other with tiny fireballs, while Flame and Sod scurried around looking for insects.
She had given Sod an egg earlier when they had come home, while Darian had gone back to town, and he seemed steadier now.
If she could get him to use his leg, he should be fine. It was only a matter of time.
She watched as Darian ran and played with Spark and Sizzle, jumping back as they shot fireballs at him and laughing as they tripped over each other.
He was like a baby dragon himself—only six feet taller and much less dignified.
He tripped over his own feet and sprawled in the grass, and the dragons all pounced on him.
Darian laughed as they rubbed their noses against him.
Celia watched in amazement. Were they trying to tickle him? How did they know how to do that? The way they played with him was entirely different than the way they played with her.
Perhaps it was better for them this way, if they had her for nurturing and him to play with.
Not that she wanted them to be here long-term. The fire hatchlings had already been with her longer than any of her previous babies. Perhaps they were becoming too domesticated—they had to grow up eventually, even if the thought made her sad.
She didn't want these ones to grow up.
That wasn’t entirely true. She wanted them to grow up and to leave and to go to the mountains and become full-fledged adult dragons in their own right.
But she had seen a couple of dragons that she recognized last year come down to lay their eggs, and none of them had come and approached her, even as she spied on them.
They must have known she was there. She knew their senses were far greater than a human's, but apparently none of them had felt their bond strongly enough to come and see her.
Perhaps Flame and Sizzle would be different.
She'd never seen a male a second time. After the males grew up and went to the mountains, they didn't come back down. It was only the females who came down to lay their eggs in the warmer meadow, far from the cold winds of the northern mountains.
And these two seemed to be bonding with her differently than others had.
She watched as Darian shot to his feet and began chasing Spark, the male dragon.
He could only run so fast with his leg, and after a moment, Darian swooped down and picked him up and tumbled to the ground, purposely avoiding squishing the baby dragon.
The dragon chittered rapidly and trilled joyfully before squirming out of Darian's grasp and running away again, with Darian giving chase.
Celia smiled at the sight and shook her head before settling next to Sod and Flame, who were snuffling around in the grass looking for insects.
“I don't suppose you two want to play?” she asked. They chittered at her and showed no signs of wanting to join him.
She should have brought her cloak—it was still a bit nippy out, especially as the light began to fade.
But then Flame settled on her chest, warming her through and through.
She rested her hands on top of Flame and began petting her.
“Thank you for warming me up,” she said, and the dragon chirped quietly, pushing her face closer to Celia’s until Celia gave her a kiss.
A few moments later, Sod snuffled his way next to her and collapsed onto his side, with his back pressed up against her leg.
Celia smiled and scratched him under the chin. Things might be a little stranger than usual—but this was pretty close to perfect.
And then Darian came running up and flung himself down, breathing heavily, ruining the serenity of the moment.
“They're so much fun,” he said.
“I still don’t know how you can understand them when I can’t,” Celia said. It was frustrating that she couldn’t do that when she had been taking care of them for so long, and he was brand-new and could suddenly communicate with them far better than she could.
“We can ask my uncles tomorrow if they know why I can speak dragon,” Darian said. “They might know. They raised me,” he explained to her questioning look. “When my mother was sick, she brought me to her brothers, and the two of them have looked after me ever since.”
“No aunts?” Celia asked.
Darian laughed. “No. They always said that their first love was their store and their second love was me. Apparently, I didn’t leave them much time for romance.”
“That’s a pity,” Celia said, even though the topic made her uncomfortable. “Have the dragons said anything else to you?”
“No.” Darian shook his head. “They haven’t said anything else.”
Celia nodded, looking back up and closing her eyes to enjoy resting in the last ray of sunshine, despite the cool breeze.
Having a home full of fire hatchlings kept her warm most of the time, but even a dragon fire couldn’t compare to the warmth of the sun after a long winter—and not even Darian’s overly joyful presence could change that.