By: GeoDuck
Laere found the quiet pitter patter of the rain calming. After the thunderstorm which woke several of the children, he enjoyed the calm continual white noise while he finished his nightly duties. The short man plunged the mop back into a bucket of murky water and leaned it against the wall. He pushed open the kitchen door and picked up a broom, beginning to sweep the main room of the orphanage.
Gently, he lifted up the tail of the sleeping Mother Dorae to sweep under her rocking chair. When he started sweeping around the table in the center of the room there was the distinct thud of a child getting out of bed. Laere’s eyes began shimmering with a pale green hue as he used his gift to see in the dark. A little dragonette girl stood in the doorway to the girls bedroom.
“Alua”, he said with a disappointed tone, “What are you doing up again, we just got you all back to sleep.”
The skinny young girl looked up at him timidly, “I have to go to the bathroom.”
Laere hung his head and sighed, “Okay, I’ll go get the umbrella. Come on”. The little girl dashed over to the front door, clumsily allowing her claws to scrape loudly along the floor. The young adult snapped around and put a finger to his mouth, “Shhh! Everyone else is sleeping, you don’t wanna wake them, do you?” gasping, she shook her head silently while swaying at the front door waiting for him to grab the umbrella.
Taking long careful strides over the wet floor he entered the kitchen and opened a wash closet. After withdrawing an umbrella from a bucket He quickly made his way to the front door and picked up the small girl. She wrapped an arm around his back and over his shoulder.
After quietly closing the door behind him, he held up the umbrella it’s wooden handle had mother Dorae’s family name carved into the handle. He also noticed there were several holes in it, at least more than he remembered. “Alua, has mother been letting the other kids play with the umbrella again?” She looked back to Laere and nodded. “We’re outside now so you can talk again.”
She stared out at the rain and quietly responded, “Okay…” Laere held the umbrella over them, making sure to place the holes over himself rather than have to deal with a wet five year old.
They started walking in the grass near the road towards an outhouse next to a ditch. Alua was being quiet, which was not uncharacteristic for her, but she was biting her claws. “Hey, stop doing that. You’re going to mark up your claws, or you might even break a tooth.” Alua took her finger away from her mouth and rubbed the saliva-covered claw all over his shirt. A smile plastered his face as he chuckled and jeered at her, “Ew. that’s nasty girl.”
Laere knew she bit her claws when she was anxious, “So! What are you worried about?” he asked awkwardly. “I know it’s not the rain, you love the rain. Are you nervous about going out at night?”
“No.”
He chuckled nervously at the quick response, “Well, if that’s not it, what is it? Something at school?”
Alua hesitated. He quickly spoke for her, “Ahh, so that’s what it is. So, what’s the problem?”
She stared at him and hung her head as she quietly stated, “They won’t let me fly yet, just gliding exercise.”
Relieved, Laere began laughing as she said that. Alua was not amused and looked a little miffed. He got his laughter under control, seeing her stern look he asked, “Oh, a little eager to do some flying are you?”
Alua changed her mood immediately and became excited, “YES! Can I practice flying with you! We like you a lot more than Mrs. Leika.”
He opened the door of the outhouse and plopped her down on the floor. Before he closed the door he jokingly said, “Maybe, but I’d have to throw you off the roof just to get you up to speed.”
He shut the door and it was locked from the inside. While waiting for her to finish, Laere just stared out into the night, lowering the umbrella to let some of the drizzle land on his face. He loved quiet nights where nothing crazy happened, even for tonight with a thunderstorm appearing out of nowhere, it was a pleasant time to be awake.
Laere heard the crashing sound of a bucket of water being poured out. He knocked on the door and asked her if she was done. “Yep!” she said cheerily.
“Alright. Let’s get you back inside. Up up!” He scooped her up and closed the outhouse door with his foot. “Did you put the bucket back up?” he asked. Alua nodded in an exaggerated movement. “Good job! Hey, since it’s practically morning, if you can promise to stay quiet, I’ll let you play with some toys on the pelt. Can you do that for me?”
Alua quietly affirmed, “yup.”
“Okay then, remember to put up toys when you’re done playing with them.” Laere walked up the steps and shook off the umbrella. He set her down and opened the door for her. She quietly made her way over to the toy chest in the corner and plopped down on the soft animal pelt and began playing with a little toy cart.
Laere stowed away the umbrella in the closet and picked the broom back up. As he finished sweeping the room, there was a loud knock at the door. Alua got up from the toy covered play area and ran to the girls bedroom. The knock was loud enough to startle Mother Dorae. She calmed herself and motioned for him to open the door.
Still holding onto the broom he cracked it open and spoke into the night, “Hello? Hello!?” He waited for a response, none came. “There’s nobody out here auntie.” As Laere stepped outside he felt the door hit something. Looking down he gasped, finding a small child wrapped in a cloak on a pillow.
“What is it?” Mother Dorae casually walked up behind Laere, “Oh my, quick bring them inside!”
Kneeling down he snatched up the small child and all their belongings. He hurriedly brought her to his aunt.
She took the baby from his arms, leaving Laere to hold everything else. “She’s been out in the rain, and what is this? By Ishan its blood! I’ll check her for cuts! Laere, get me a clean bucket and a rag!”
He dashed off to the kitchen and fished a bucket from the closet and dashed outside to get some water. Mother Dorae rushed into the girls bedroom and began unwrapping the cloak. She laid her on the lower bunk and began lifting up the child’s clothes frantically searching for any signs of bleeding.
She took the shirt off of her and turned her over. There was a substantial amount of blood for a child at that age. She ran her fingers down the child’s back, trying to feel for any wounds until Laere came running back in.
Hastily, she dunked the rag into the cold water and began cleaning the blood off the child’s back. Quickly after the wet rag had been applied the child woke up and began crying, loudly protesting the action. A wave of relief washed over her as she finished cleaning off the blood, “It’s not her blood, there isn’t a single injury on her, besides maybe a couple bruises.”
She dunked her blood stained hands in the cold water to clean them off. The child continued to cry loudly from the discomfort, “Laere dear, can you get a dry cloth and a new sheet for the bed? This one is bloody, and wet now.”
“Sure, I’ll be right back.” As he was making his way out of the Girls bedroom he tripped over a group of kids behind him, He let out a yelp as he fell. Aggravatedly, he questioned the three boys he had landed on, “What are you doing up again? You guys need your sleep.” he pushed himself off of the kids and helped them get to their feet. Happy, the largest kid with the largest mouth spoke first.
“Are your ears working? We can’t sleep with that going on!” Laere gave him a quite stern look and pointed aggressively back to the boys bedroom. The trio of young boys headed back to their room quietly. After pulling himself off the floor he quickly snatched another clean rag and bedsheet from the kitchen closet. Walking back to the girls room at a brisk pace he handed off the dry rag to Mother Dorae. She began diligently wiping off her hands and drying off the back of the small baby.
After she finished drying off the child she gently picked up the crying baby and tried to comfort it. She cooed and sang to it, bouncing up and down gently, rocking side to side, and nothing worked. While she tried to get the baby to stop crying she gestured over to Laere to change the bedsheets. He quickly tore off the bloody wet sheets and laid down the clean ones. “Laere, could you bring my rocking chair in here? This might take a while.”
He swiftly responded, “Yeah, whatever helps calm her down I guess.” he left the room to grab her chair. When he walked past the table with everything the child had his eyes fell upon a beautiful doll. He gently grabbed the doll and hefted up the wooden chair. After clumsily bringing the chair into the small bedroom he attempted to get the baby’s attention. His actions were swiftly met with a quick glance and continual crying. He gave the doll to Ms. Dorae as she took her seat in the rocking chair. “This was one of the only things they were brought with.”
Ms. Dorae slowly brought the doll close to the distraught infant. Soon enough the baby noticed and snatched the doll, but the crying continued. she slowly rocked back and forth while talking to the child with a sweet tone, “It’s okay, you’re alright. It’s time to go to bed.” Not long after, and with many more calming words, the baby finally calmed down enough to fall back asleep. Carefully getting up from her seat she walked back to the bunk bed and tucked the small child and her doll under the warm covers.
She sighed as she sank back into her chair, “Laere, come in here please.”
Laere popped his head back into the room, “Yes?”
“All that stuff they were brought with. Is there any information about them or their family?”
Laere meandered over to the table and began looking through everything he had dropped there. “Well, there’s a wet blanket, an extra pair of clothes, the pillow, and a letter!” He opened the letter and walked into the girls bedroom before reading it. “The child that has been delivered to you is Fengi. She will be two years old this next spring. I cannot ensure the child’s safety or my own anymore. Please take good care of her, she is all that matters to me now. As much as it pains me to say, you are her best chance at a decent life.”
Laere looked up at her disappointedly, “It doesn’t even tell us if she had any family or anything…”
Ms. Dorae scratched her head, thinking for a moment before she remembered something, “Laere did you see if they left a lantern hanging on the door?”
“No, I didn’t.” He made his way to the front door and stepped outside and turned around to grab the lantern off the hook. “That’s, unusual…” He lifted the broken lantern off the door hook and brought it inside. Setting it down on the table he called for Ms. Dorae for assistance. “I don’t know what this means.”
She was confused, “How hard is it? There’s only three options.” she clambered up from her seat and walked out to the main room. As she laid her eyes on the lantern she admitted, “I have no idea what that means.” She walked closer to the table and gazed upon the broken lantern, its flame still burning bright.
Laere spoke inquisitively, “Well, the flame still burning would mean she has one or both of her parents left right?”
She shook her head, “But it being broken is supposed to mean she has NO family left. So I’m at a loss.” she threw her hand up and leaned against the wall.
He lowered his head slightly, “Maybe whoever dropped her off just forgot to blow it out?”
Mother Dorae bit her claw, “It doesn’t matter at the moment, we’ll cross that gap when we get to it. I’m going to stay with her in the girls room, wake me up at sunrise.” She walked back into the room, leaving Laere to put away the rest of Fengi’s things. Slinking back into her rocking chair she noticed Alua standing at the edge of the bed, her eyes were fixated on the small sleeping child.
“Alua, It’s rude to stare. Come on, let’s get you back into bed.” She broke her stare on Fengi and looked up to Mother Dorae.
“Okay…” She climbed up the bedside. “Ms. Dorae, why is she so little?”
Confused, she searched for an answer to her question, “Uhm, Well it’s because she’s a baby and babies are small. Do you think you come out of the egg the size of a five year old?”
Alua rolled over in her sheets to look Ms. Dorae in the eyes, “No, it’s just sad to see a baby here.”
She sighed, “It always is. Unfortunately, we can’t stop people from dying, or not being able to take care of them. The only thing we can do is take care of them when no one else will. Now please go to bed, you have school tomorrow.”
The rest of the night flew by quickly, Mother Dorae had taken to waking the children and making breakfast. The older kids had begun playing in the main room. Two of the young boys were swinging wooden swords around. Alua was on the pelt playing with several animal figures. The oldest boy was diligently setting the table for breakfast. He placed the six bowls around the table along with carved spoons.
Mother Dorae hollered from inside the kitchen, “Tone! Is the table ready?”
“Almost! I just need the chairs. Uhhh, do you know where they are? I think someone moved them!” He pushed open the door to the kitchen and found the chairs stacked neatly in a corner. The kitchen was clean, just like it was every morning. Ms. Dorae was using a spoon to stir the contents of a large bowl roasting over a small fire pit. “Oh, nevermind I found them!”
Ms. Dorae lifted the bowl off a hook and carefully toted it out of the kitchen as she passed Tone she leaned over and gave him a one armed hug, “Atta boy, thank you for helping. Get those chairs out, the sooner you all eat the sooner you get to meet the new baby.” Tone chuckled, sliding out of her way. He walked past the cooking area and picked up the stack of chairs and cautiously backed his way out of the kitchen.
“Everyone, put up your toys and get ready for breakfast. Once we are all done I will introduce you to the new little one.”
The three kids that were playing answered in unison, “Yes Ms.Dorae.” The short scrawny boy took one last swing at the other child. After sending a final blow into the other kid’s waist he threw up his arms and declared, “I WIN!” The other child fell on his behind with an “OOMPH!”
Mother Dorae whipped around and scolded the child, “Adrino! That is not okay! Help him up and put the swords away!”
Adrino shamelessly picked up his sword from the lap of his fallen friend and gave him a hand up. “Yes mother…” The bigger child didn’t say anything, although he looked ready to cry. Adrino started walking to the table, but the angry child took a swing at the back of his head and missed, Unfortunately Ms. Dorae caught him in the act.
“HAPPY!” Mother Dorae snapped at him. “That was not nice! You both just lost the swords for three days! Now come sit at the table..”
The tall, heavy set boy stood there slack jawed. ”Bu-but he. And I, I just!” His head sank and he whimpered as he put away his sword and took a seat at the table and scooted next to Tone
Alua sat at one end of the table by herself, the three boys were gathered around the other end. Adrino was humming happily while he waited for Dorae’s permission to eat. Happy was trying to wait, and failing as he began picking at his food with his claws. Mother Dorae disappeared into the kitchen again after divvying up the meal and came back with a bowl of her own.
She stood in the doorway to the girls bedroom with her bowl in her hands. “Alright, breakfast is served, eat up. Then, when everybody’s done and as long as you promise to be quiet, we can go and see Fengi.”
Happy looked disinterested, “You mean the baby who woke us all up with her crying? I’m okay, I’m sure I’ll see her after school.” There was a thud from beneath the table, He groaned. “What?” he mumbled as he looked around the table.
Everyone began eating their breakfast. Happy was forgoing the spoon, preferring to just lift the bowl to his mouth and wolf it down. Adrino was shoveling the tasty breakfast like it was a challenge. Tone and Alua, however, were a bit more reserved in their meal. Tone watched Alua slowly and sluggishly eat her breakfast, he thought she looked sad.
“Hey Alua, do you think they’ll let you fly today?” The comment seemed to have an adverse affect on her. She sank in her seat before she quietly spoke.
“Maybe. Once I can do it on my own I won’t keep you on the ground anymore.” Tone was embarrassed that he had touched a nerve. Looking to Mother Dorae he tilted his head towards Alua, who seemed ready to cry, and mouthed ‘Help me’.
She quickly picked up on the situation and walked over to the pouting girl. Alua’s ears sagged as Ms. Dorae laid a hand on her shoulder. As she knelt down, Alua hid her face from the boys with a wing. “Alua, It’s okay. Not everybody learns to fly when they’re five. Some people are late bloomers.”
Alua aggravatedly shouted, “I know. But they all learned a while ago and I want to fly too!”
Ms. Dorae gasped, “Alua feadril, watch your tone!” She dropped her harsh voice and picked up a gentle one, “ I’m trying to help you.”
“I-I-I’m sorry I didn’t mean to, I’m just mad.” she sank even further into her chair and hid her face even more with her wings.
Ms. Dorae gently peeled back her wing and lifted up her face with a finger, “It’s okay to be mad, just don’t be mad at people who are trying to help you. If you really want to fly today I’m sure I can take you today, we can all fly.” Alua’s eyes widened at the suggestion.
“Really? But, but what about the baby?”
“Meh, I’ll just wake up Laere and give him the night off if he watches her.” Alua’s mood appeared to have completely changed as she said that. Her face wore a large smile, she rolled back her wings and began eating hastily. Seeing as everyone else had finished their food, and Alua would soon follow she stood up and gathered everyone’s bowls.
“Okay guys, let’s all be really quiet and put away the chairs and clean the table, then we can go head into the girls room and check in on Fengi.” The boys picked up their chairs and moved them into a corner by the boy’s bedroom. Alua finished her bowl and did the same, afterwards she entered the kitchen to hand off her bowl and grab the broom. Ms. Dorae stopped her before she left the room, “Alua, Sweetie, don’t be so hard on yourself. It’s okay, everyone learns to fly sometime. Now go and put all the scraps into the bucket for Mr.Steiger.”
Attempting to do a salute with a broom in her hand Alua smacked herself in the forehead, “Ouf! Y-yes Ma’am.” Ms. Dorae had to suppress a chuckle as she watched the young girl pick up a bucket and step out of the kitchen. The boys finished putting up the chairs and she scooped up the debris. After they all made sure the room was clean she brought the bucket back into the kitchen, “Done, Ms. Dorae! And here’s the bucket.”
Ms. Dorae took the bucket full of leftover scrap from yesterday and this morning and shoveled the eggshells into it. “There, all full. I’ll have Laere take it over to him.” She dropped the bucket and grabbed Alua’s hand. “Let’s go show the boys their new little sister.”
Ms. Dorae walked into the middle of the room and gestured to gather everyone’s attention. She put a finger to her mouth and whispered, “Be quiet, she is still asleep. Come on. Follow me.” She led the group of children into the small bedroom. Everyone crowded around Ms. Dorae, they each got a look at her. She was sleeping on her belly, and she had drooled all over the sheets.
Happy lifted up one of her wings and loudly announced, “She’s a bit small, even for a baby no?” Everyone shushed him in unison and Tone smacked his hand, causing him to drop her wing. He winced and stormed out of the bedroom. Fengi began to rustle on the bed.
The kids all chased after Happy jeering at him. “Now you’ve done it. You woke her up!” Ms. Dorae however stayed perfectly still and quiet, waiting to see if she would actually wake up. After a few seconds the sleeping baby made a series of gurgling noises and yawned as they settled again. She let out a sigh and headed out into the main room.
“Alright you kids, get outside. I have to wake up Laere and let him know what’s happening. Then I can take you to school. So boys, stretch your wings cause I’m not carrying you three.” All four of them ran outside into the humid early morning. Ms. Dorae shook Laere’s shoulder until he woke up with a snort.
“Huh? What? Is it evening already? Feels like I didn’t sleep at all.” He rubbed his head and got out of the rocking chair. Ms. Dorae shook her head “Okay what’s up? What happened?”
“Well… Alua had a bit of a rough morning and I decided to take them to school today, I just need you to make sure our newest little girl doesn’t get hurt or run off. I’ll be back in an hour or two, I might stop by the donation center and see if anyone has donated anything.” Laere, still a little groggy, just nodded his head.
“The flying thing right? She was being a little self conscious about that last night. If it was that bad I guess I can try and help her out. Anyways you should get going, get them to school. I’ll take care of Fengi, show her around a bit.” Dorae gave him a tight squeeze.
“My sis raised you right. You’re the best nephew I could ask for! Please, take the night off Laere. I can handle it myself.” She made her way out the door and Laere sluggishly followed.
“I’m not gonna turn it down, but I would have done it even if you didn’t offer me the night off!”
“I know, but you’ve been working so hard and I think you need a break anyways.” Ms. Dorae called out to the children, Alua was sitting on the roof watching the boys fly around the orphanage. She hopped down and skipped over to Ms. Dorae. “Ready?” she said to the spry young girl.
“Yup!” Alua clambered up Ms. Dorae’s back. After making sure her grip was tight and secure, She started running and gaining speed before spreading her wings, taking off towards the city. The boys left their circle and chased after them. Laere watched as they flew low to the ground and disappeared around a corner.
He yawned and gazed at the farm across the path, the cows and their calves were grazing in the large fenced off chunk of land. Pigs were laid out sleeping, covered in mud from last night’s rain. There was even a small garden full of various plants. Although, there was a distinct lack of farmers working outside.
“Huh. I didn’t take Steiger for the ‘sleeping in’ type.” Laere headed back inside. The living room was clean and tidy so he picked up the rocking chair and headed into the girls bedroom. Quietly he placed the chair down in front of the bunk beds. There he sat, rocking in a chair watching a sleeping child. This went on for nearly half an hour before he began falling back asleep.
As he was drifting into unconsciousness he heard a quiet voice. “Muh! Muh!” Fengi had woken up and was trying to untangle herself from the bedsheets. After a few attempts at rolling it was clear that she had started to panic. Her movements grew more frantic and she began kicking.
She was about to throw a fit when Laere stepped in and gently unwrapped her. She stopped and watched him as he set her down on the bed. There was no crying, only a curious examination of each other. Then he spoke, “I have no clue how long you’ve been in those pants, or if they were even clean when you got here.”
He darted out of the room quickly, leaving Fengi by herself. She looked around the small room. There were no windows, instead bunk beds lined the wall across from her and to her right. There was a hamper filled with bedsheets in the corner opposite the door. She turned around and saw the doll on the far side of the bed, so she rolled onto her hands and knees and crawled over to get it.
After a short time he came back holding Fengi’s second pair of clothes. A blue shirt and some matching shorts. He picked her up and brought her to the edge of the bed and while she lay there playing with the large doll he swiftly changed her pants. He took one of her hands off the doll and fed it through the arm hole.
Fengi struggled against him but he was an adult and much stronger. He didn’t want to hurt her of course and was being more than gentle with her. Her persistence to keep both hands on that doll was hindering his ability to put on her shirt. Eventually he succeeded in prying her other arm off the doll and with that he slid it over her head and let her have the doll.
“Well, now that you’re dressed and I found a full slop bucket, why don’t we pay Mr. Steiger a visit huh girl? Wanna go outside and see the farm?” He picked her up by the waist and held her above his head. She reached out a hand and grabbed his snout. Laere laughed while trying to shake her off. “Well, I guess a tour of your new home is in order first.”
He brought her down close to his chest and spun slowly, showing off the girls bedroom. “This is your new bedroom, you are roommates with only one little girl, her name is Alua.” he left the bedroom and pointed across the room, “That is the boys bedroom, we have three boys here, Tone, Happy and Adrino.” he pushed a door open behind him and entered the kitchen, “Here is the kitchen and storage room. This is where we do all the cooking for you guys. I mean It’s mostly auntie Dorae’s cooking but hey!”
Laere bent over and grabbed the garbage bucket before leaving the kitchen. “Last but not least, the main room. This is where you will eat, where you will play when it’s raining outside, and where we tell stories and stuff.” Fengi looked around the room and they landed on the play area in the corner. Still clutching the doll she reached out with her free hand, grabbing toward the animal pelt rug.
She nearly leaned out of his arms, Laere readjusted his hold and brought her back into balance. “Woah there, don’t want to fall do you? Come on, let’s go explore. You’ll have plenty of time to play with the toys later.” He made his way to the front door and pushed it open with his shoulder. The world was filled with the bright light of day, her eyes took a moment to adjust. The grassy fields surrounding the orphanage waved in the wind. The sky didn’t have a cloud in sight, and the palace was clearly visible in all its splendor.
Fengi clutched her doll and held onto Laere tightly. He was confused, until he saw her face. It was full of unease and nervousness. She looked scared, like being outside was new to her. He was unsure of what he should do until a revelation struck him, “Ohh. You’re nervous because you don’t have whoever took care of you last anymore huh?” After sighing he continued, “Yeah, that’s a little scary. Don’t worry I’m here, we’re going to take good care of you.”
Laere started walking down the steps of the orphanage and made his way across the path. “Well, you have to face your fears sometime. Looks like you don’t have much of a choice, though, I don’t think any of our kids did.” He opened the wooden fence gate and stepped through the muddy ground leading up to the huge barn in the center of the fields. With the mud slowing him down it took a few minutes to make his way up there. By then Fengi’s curiosity started to get the better of her.
She was looking around everywhere. She watched as Laere’s footprints were left in the wet dirt. As she passed by a cow grazing near the fence she stared at it tilting her head, it looked back at her while it munched on the blades of grass. She lowered her head and looked past Laere to his left were rows and rows of many plants she had never seen before.
Laere finally reached the Humongous barn stopping at a giant set of doors. Fengi had to tilt her head towards the sky to see the top. He set down the bucket and slammed his fist against the doors many times before he yelled into them, “STEIGER, YOU IN THERE?!” After repeating the action a couple more times he placed an ear against the door. Muffled thuds and crashes were emanating from inside, so he picked up the bucket and backed away from the doors.
The doors to the barn were knocked open from the inside by a young green dragon. “I’m up! I’m up.” he mumbled as he waited for his eyes to adjust. “Who-who woke me up?” the dragon stumbled before dropping his gaze toward the small dragonette who was carrying a little bucket and an even smaller girl. “L-Laere?”
“Yes it’s me! I came over to bring you some slop for the pigs!” The green dragon lowered his head and brought it towards them, Fengi watched in fright. She began writhing and squealing in Laere’s arms. Laere was taken by surprise when she pushed his face away, he tightened his hold on her to keep her from falling. She devolved into crying and screaming as she continued kicking and thrashing, trying to worm her way out of his arms.
Recognizing that she was afraid he turned around and spread his wings, hiding the dragon from her view. The dragon’s booming voice however was not helping to calm her down. “What did I do? Did I scare her? I-I-I didn’t mean to, I just-”
Laere snapped back at him yelling over Fengi’s distressed crying, “Yes. She is scared! Just keep quiet and don’t crowd her! I… I don’t think she has seen a dragon before!” He held her tight, speaking quietly and softly, “Shhh. Fengi come on, He’s just a big friend! It’s okay!” She cried for minutes before he decided to take a different approach to get her to stop crying.
He spoke loudly over the little girl’s cries, “Hey Steiger! Can you lay on the ground and cover your face with your wings?” The large green dragon quickly understood and did what he said. He laid down on his belly and draped his wings in front of his face.
“Okay I’ve done that. Now what?” the dragon asked. Laere spun around and tried to turn Fengi around in his arms. His shoulder was now thoroughly covered in her tears. After successfully getting her to look at the large green slope of wings, she was confused and if but for a moment stopped her crying. As she went back to crying Laere had another idea.
“Steiger? Can, can you stick your tongue out past your wings and just, like, wave it around?”
“What?! This is ridiculous…” The dragon’s wings noticeably sagged. “You’re lucky I enjoy these children’s company.” The young green dragon stuck his tongue out past his wings and wiggled it up and down and around. It certainly caught her attention. Her curiosity began to take over, though she was still breathing heavily and upset.
Laere shouted to him, “Now, make some funny noises!”
The green dragon didn’t say anything, but an audible exhale could be heard from under the tent. Not too long after he made a sound similar to blowing a raspberry all the while wiggling his tongue like a huge worm. Laere began snickering and giggling in an attempt to get Fengi to join in. The dragon succeeded in stopping the crying, but she was still uneasy.
Then Laere shouted, “Again! Again!” and the dragon obliged. This time he erupted in raucous laughter, throwing his head back in exaggeration. Fengi let out a cute high pitched giggle before joining him in his hysterical laughing fit. Laere spoke between laughs, “Do it one more time, but draw it out and SLOWLY pull your wings back, but don’t stand up yet.”
The dragon did as he was told and took a deep breath before blowing the longest raspberry he could. Simultaneously he began pulling back his wings slowly revealing his face to Fengi. As he continued to flail his tongue and make funny noises she continued to laugh and giggle, even as his face became fully visible.
One his wings were put back all the way he sighed and stopped making the noise and took another deep breath. Laere began inching towards the dragon making sure she wouldn’t freak out again. Thankfully she didn’t and once he got within arms reach she even tried to touch him. Laere sat her down next to the dragon, once on the ground she crawled closer to him and used his snout to help herself stand.
All the while giggling she began patting him on the nose. Looking up at Laere she started Laughing again and pointing at the dragon. He chuckled, “You’re right Fengi! He is really big and lazy! He’s not scary at all, see? Nothing but a big old softie.”






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