Dawning Skye

Turning his head, Tidas came face-to-face with a half-asleep Zazzy. The sight of the dragon mere inches from his face had caused him to shoot up in bed, but he stopped himself from yelling out. He muttered insults as he rubbed his face, then ran his hands through his hair.

Laying back down a little closer to Skye, Tidas turned to face the baby dragon and said; “Nearly having a mini heart attack is Not how I like to start my day, Zazzy.. You can do that stuff to Skye, but please don’t do it to me, ok?”

Understanding him, Zazzy nodded, which freaked Tidas out a little bit. He knew dragons were smart, and the book Skye had read said that she would even be able to speak, once she got older. It was a strange concept to the prince, but if anyone knew anything about dragons: Snare did.

Roland’s journals covered everything from Zazzy’s developmental timeframe, to her knowledge base and capabilities as she grew. Well, based off of her mother Lazarus. It did say that each dragon usually developed at least one special trait unique to them alone.

Lazarus could change her density at will. Meaning she could make herself heavier or lighter; harden one part of herself, or her entire body. Snare called her his ‘flying fortress’, and had written small side stories as examples of Lazarus’ ingenious uses of her ability. Skye thought it was a strange combination of Earth and Tank magic, but they could never know if dragon magic was similar to human magic, like most Fae magic.

Tidas recalled Skye telling him of how Zazzy had zapped Nicolas the first time he’d examined her egg. She’d sent him flying with what Skye had described as black lightning. He wondered if that was Zazzy’s unique magic, or just a discharge of her magical energy as a kind of defense. He considered asking Zazzy directly, but pushed the idea aside. She had no way to explain her answer to him, and the idea of conversing with a baby dragon just seemed too bizarre so early in the morning.

Sitting up and shifting to his other side, Tidas trailed tiny kisses along Skye’s bared shoulder. She made a squeaky happy sound similar to Zazzy’s that made it hard not to laugh. After a few minutes of just basking in his wife’s scent and presence, Tidas got up and dressed for the day. He’d only gotten a few hours of sleep, but felt like he’d gotten ten.

Every time Tidas was with Skye for extended periods, he felt rejuvenated in every way afterwards. It was like she healed him just by being around her. Even as children, she calmed him in a way he couldn’t explain. Now that they could share themselves completely with each other, Tidas felt her healing every aspect of his being. Even his darkness didn’t rage as badly when he was training the recruits.

Skye fascinated her husband to the point of distraction. He hadn’t even noticed that Peggy had come into the room. She was grumbling as she was picking up their trail of clothes to the bathroom. He was about to ask her to throw him his pants when he noticed a pile of clothes at the end of the bed.

.....

‘She must’ve set them there after seeing Skye’s state. She probably figured I’d be naked too. I wonder if Zazzy came in here before or after she’d woken up? Maybe she let Zazzy in here?’

Tidas’ mind flooded itself with questions as he looked over at the baby dragon again. She was sleeping on her side except for one of her back legs. It was flopped over to the side, and twitched on occasion. She was like a highly intelligent, overgrown dog that thought it was a lap dog. As Tidas through on his boxers and pants, he wondered what went through the baby dragon’s mind...

************

Zazzy partially watched her adoptive father dress and go talk to the old human that took care of her most of the time. She was gruff and complained about her parents often, but usually with a smile on her face. It was an oddity that she did constantly, and Zazzy wondered if it was a basic human habit, or unique to the elderly.

Righting herself on the bed, Zazzy stretched similarly to her father before snuggling up to her mother’s back. Her father’s reaction had hurt her feelings a wee bit, but once she realized he didn’t like it, the fact was filed away as she began to drift off to sleep again..

“Zazzy lass! What are ye doin’ in bed with me?! Come here me sweet scaly bairn!” Skye nearly yelled as she pulled the sleepy baby dragon against herself.

Zazzy trilled and cooed as her mother rubbed her belly, and along the bridge of her snout. She funneled some magic to her, but not enough to leave the baby dragon unhungry for regular food. Her tail wagged and her tiny wings twitched with joy as her mother babbled away about how cute she was as she fed. They’d been cuddling for a good ten minutes or so by the time the old woman came in with clothes for her mother.

‘Humans are so strange.. I wonder why they look so weird.. They’re all soft and squishy, and they don’t even have claws or sharp teeth to protect themselves! They have their strange skin, fur-swap custom, too. It seems to be a tradition right in the morning, then again right before they go to sleep. I wonder why they don’t just keep it on?’

‘Nothing from the ancestral knowledge I have tells me why humans have all these strange little rituals.. Guess I’ll just have to pay attention if I want to learn..’

‘It’s so confusing though! Why do they rub fuzzy sticks on their teeth? Why do mother and father play in water every day, but the old one only does it every couple of days? Why do some humans smell like they never play in water at all? I love to play in the water! Especially with those bubble thingys! I wonder how they get the water to come out? I wish I could ask, but I won’t know how to speak human for a while.. Ah! It’s so frustrating!’

As Zazzy’s mind brimmed with random questions, she watched her father come out of the bathroom. Her mother smiled with a soft warmth as she stood and hugged him. They bid each other good morning, then her mother broke away to dress.

‘Why does father look disappointed? Does he not want mother to put her fur on? Maybe she doesn’t know?’

Zazzy made her way to the end of the bed, then bit down on her mother’s dress. Skye yanked on it, but the cheeky dragon was pulling at it while bearing down. Mistaking it for an attempt to play, Skye tugged and yanked in various directions until a ripping sound was heard. Her and Zazzy both instantly froze and stared at each other wide-eyed as Peggy yelled; “WHAT WAS THAT?!

At first, Zazzy felt genuinely scared. As soon as Skye’s demeanor changed to a nervous smile, she felt better. The old woman scared her on occasion; ever since she’d melted the outdoor fire pit at the place she was born. Based off of her ancestral knowledge, Moonshire was a place of importance. She couldn’t recall why yet, but being in Moonstone Castle had triggered an instinct in her..

There was something important about the place, but Zazzy was still too young for the knowledge to be unlocked to her. Every day she woke up, she knew more and more things about the world. Things that were considered ancient, lost knowledge to humans, but were akin to a blink of an eye for dragons.

Zazzy was getting glimpses of a place that made her heart hurt. Lush, green forests as far as the eye could see. Crystal-clear lakes and oceans with air so pure it made her lungs ache. Two suns; one just like the sun in the sky now, and a pale-blue one that looked far, far away moved together in parallel. Uncountable Fae and dragons of every kind dotted the airspace, and an enormous rainbow castle made of some kind of crystal reached into the air...

It was a reoccurring dream, or rather a memory she kept having. There was something special about the castle as well, and the beautiful woman who stood out on the balcony calling to her. It made her yearn for a place she didn’t know.. But the feeling always faded as soon as her mother embraced her.

“What was that rippin’ sound?! What are ye doi-WHY?! WHY would ye use one of yer Aunt’s dresses as a toy?! Ye know how expensive they are! For the love of the gods, child! And You; drop it now..” the second Peggy pointed at Zazzy and spoke, her mouth hinged open.

Zazzy watched as the old woman yelled at her mother; whom didn’t seem bothered in the least. She smiled and explained that she could always get a new one, and that Peggy could now keep the material for whatever she wished. As she grabbed the dress from in front of Zazzy, she lectured Skye.

‘Peggy, Peggy, Peggy, Peggy, Peggy! Her name is Peggy! If I can remember the name of the first king of Alcon, I can remember the old woman’s name!’

“Ack! Yer so wasteful! I’ll repair it; the rip tis not that bad.. But don’t go teaching the wee beastie that it’s ok to tear up clothes! Tis common sense, me bairn,” Peggy chided.

Right as Peggy was finishing up her lecturing, Tidas asked; “I don’t mean to interrupt, but are you on a normal routine today?”

Skye perked up; “No, today Ima gonna be at the Library for the most part. Ima still goin’ out for me Shaman rounds, but I told Shasta last night I needed to do a lot of research today. We plan to train tonight, if I have the time.”

Zazzy climbed off of the bed, and rubbed against Skye’s leg, prompting her to add; “I was gonna spend me readin’ time here, though.. I think Zazzy misses me, and I miss her.”

Understanding what her mother had said, Zazzy began to jump up and down in joy. She really did miss her mother quite a bit now that she couldn’t take her with everywhere anymore. Zazzy had mostly been aware when she was still in her egg. They were times when she was sleeping, but other than that, she remembered most of what had happened around her.

After her parents finished getting ready, they pet her and bid her and goodbye until the afternoon hours. Once they shut the door, Zazzy walked up to Peggy and nuzzled her leg.

Reaching down and rubbing the top of her head, Peggy said; “I know, Zazzy.. I miss her too. Come on! We’re gonna make all her favorites for lunch! We’ll remind her why it’s best to spend her study time at home..”