“I… don’t know,” Trent said slowly. “Um. According to Hector, Ruby only wanted to eat mashed apple baby food when she hatched. But, uh, I don’t think we can assume dragons and alicorns are all that similar.”
“No, probably not.” Zina swallowed. “I hope it doesn’t eat, well, fingers. Or any other body part, to be honest.”
“I have some ham in the Esky,” Trent said doubtfully. “Along with a few other things. Perhaps we could lay some out in front of it and see which one it goes for.”
“Good idea.” Zina said, nodding. Then, she took in a deep breath. “Oh my God, a babydragon.”
“Yeah.” Trent stood, laughing shakily. “I guess we should have considered this possibility? I mean, theyareeggs. With living creatures inside them. It’s not totally unexpected that one might hatch.”
“I guess so,” Zina said, as the dragon, perched on top of its shattered egg, let out another series ofcheep cheep cheepsounds, lifting its head and fluttering its wings slightly. “But you could have waited until we were somewhere safe, little guy. It’s not like we can carry you around in this box anymore now – and you’re gonna bea lotmore conspicuous! I’m not sure we can just tell people you’re some kind of garden-variety lizard.”
Trent grimaced as he grabbed the Esky out of the back of the car. What Zina said was true – it was going to be a lot harder to carry a baby dragon around than it had been to carry a box of eggs. And what should they do with the little thing now? He still didn’t think they could risk going to Tahnee’s sanctuary, but a baby dragon wasn’t going to be easy to manage.
Well, probably not, anyway,Trent thought as he made his way back to where Zina was sitting. Ruby was quite a handful, and had been since the first day she’d hatched, according to Hector. He had no reason to think a dragon would be any different.
Especially if they’re born knowing how to breathe fire,Trent thought, a chill running down his spine. He didnotwant to have to deal with a dragon-style toddler tantrum!
“All right,” he said, crouching down on the blanket. “Let’s see what we have.”
The little dragon watched him with bright, curious eyes as he laid out a slice of ham, a piece of banana, and a small morsel of bread on a plate, before lifting it up for its inspection. “Sorry, it’s not exactly the buffet at the Ritz, but hopefully there’s something there you can eat.”
The dragon cocked its head, looking at each piece of food in turn, as if trying to figure out what they were. It didn’t seem inclined to eatanyof them, however, and Trent was just beginning to worry they might not have anything it could consume when, fast as lightning, the dragon dove down onto the piece of ham, its mouth with its silvery teeth snapping as it devoured it.
“Oh – well I guess that answers that question,” Zina said – just as the dragon dashed across the paper plate to the banana and began scoffingthatdown too, with such ferocity that little pieces of mashed-up banana flew in all directions, spattering onto the blanket.
That done, the dragon spent a moment or two licking banana mash off its jaws with a long, dark blue tongue, before slithering over to the piece of bread. The bread disappeared with the same rapidity as everything else had, and at last the dragon seemed satiated: it flopped down where it stood and began grooming itself in a startlingly cat-like fashion, its tail curled daintily around its body.
“Well. Thank goodness he’s not fussy,” Trent said, mildly stunned. “Hopefully he knows what’s good for him to eat, and wouldn’t touch it if it was dangerous?”
“Not sure theyhadham back when these little guys were roaming the earth,” Zina said, shaking her head, as together they watched the dragon lay its head down on its front feet and sleepily blink its eyes at them. “But let’s hope so.”
“Cheep. Cheep.”
The small, high-pitched sounds drifted out of its mouth as slowly, the tiny creature, its belly now full, began to drift into a comfortable doze.
“I guess he wore himself out?” Zina said, just as a tiny snore rose up from the dragon’s mouth. “Eating must be tiring work.”
“And hatching,” Trent pointed out, as the dragon’s tail flickered as it slept. He glanced at Zina. “So itisahe, then?”
She shook her head. “I guess? I just… got this sense it’s a boy. I don’t know why. And I don’t want to keep thinking of it as anit.”
“I suppose so,” Trent said, laughing. “Should we give him a name then, too?”
Zina pursed her lips, cocking her head as she looked down at the sleeping dragon, curled up on the blanket. “I’m not sure what would suit him – I’ve never had a pet. Not even a hamster when I was a kid. I’ve never had to name anything before.”
“Hmmm.” Trent looked down at the dragon, considering. “Well, I can’t really say pets were a big thing in my household either – we had a couple of dogs when I was a kid, but my dad named those, Bluey and Twoey – Bluey because he was a blue heeler, and Twoey because he was the second blue heeler we got.”
Zina laughed, flashing him a smile. “Well, that makes sense, at least.”
“But what about… Dustin? Dusty for short?” Trent asked.
“Dusty the dragon? I like it,” Zina said, nodding. “It’s a nice tribute to his birthplace as well – it’s not like there’s much out herebutdust.”
“You’re just saying that because I haven’t showed you the salt lake yet,” Trent said. “It’s not like we can drink it – like I said, it’s basically pure salt – but it’s worth a look before we go.”
“The salt lake?” Zina asked, blinking at him.
Trent smiled. “Yeah – come on. And bring Dusty. It’s high time we got going, but we probably have time for a quick look. I can’t drag you all the way out here andnotshow you the lake.”
