By. GeoDuck

Steiger relaxed a bit, now that she was not crying anymore he got out of that ridiculous pose. Fengi watched as her hands slowly slipped off his face and left her searching for balance. She plopped down after taking a step backwards, not taking her eyes off the green dragon above her. The giddy feeling inside her being replaced with awe at the big beast.

Wonder filled her as she studied the dragon, his tail flowing behind him, his wings being stretched out and mud dripping off his undersides. His voice boomed as he spoke again, “Well, this has certainly been a morning to remember. Do I at least get to know her name before I become another child’s plaything?”

“Yeah. Her name is Fengi, we got her last night. No more information than that though.” Laere walked over and scooped the skinny girl off the ground. He looked inquisitively up at the large green dragon, “You know the lantern thing right?”

“Yeah, I think. Lit means family, unlit means extended family. Right?” His face spelled out the word ‘UNSURE’ in bold.

“Well, yeah but If it’s broken it supposedly means they have no family or relatives whatsoever. Her’s was broken and lit up. I was hoping someone else might be able to clear it up for us as well. Clearly though, you won’t be able to help on that front. Eh, worth a shot.”

The green dragon eyed the little girl in his arms, “Yes, It’s definitely a curious case, but one I’m afraid I won’t be much help with. So what’s the reason you came over today? Besides making a fool out of me.”

Laere picked up the bucket of slop and waved it around. Steiger nodded and walked past the dragonette. His feet left huge impressions in the mud and the ground reverberated with his steps. He reared his head, pointing it backwards while he continued walking.

“Hey, do you mind taking a look at a poultry problem real quick? Normally I would have Vitaira for this but I think she caught something so I sent her to check in with someone who would know.”

Laere shrugged and set Fengi down with her doll on a tree stump. Taking the bucket with him he followed after Steiger. She watched as they both disappeared behind a corner. With grunts of exertion she pushed herself off of the tree stump, but before she started exploring she gently placed the doll back down and patted it.

Slowly and carefully she put one foot in front of the other trying to walk without help. She didn’t get very far. After only a few steps she exclaimed “oomph!” as she fell to her hands and knees. Mud splattered all up her arms and covered her blue shorts. Now giggling like a mad man she crawled after the two adults.

With every movement she got muddier and muddier, she didn’t care though. This was all so new to her and new was fun. While she crawled in the mud her tail drew a thin line behind her. Beginning to look all around, she saw a small forest to the south, dominated by individual giant trees. Each separated from one another and surrounded by what looked like saplings in comparison.

From her right a cow let out a long steady bellow. Fengi watched as the cow finished crying out and went back to munching on grass. Her curiosity got the better of her as she started crawling into the grass towards the fence.

Placing a hand on the wooden beam connecting the posts, she hoisted herself up to stand. While she watched the cow she kept making sounds trying to mimic it. Between laughing fits she squeaked out sounds like “rew!” and “noowuh” trying desperately to get its attention.

After several attempts and some uneasy stomping around it stopped its feeding and looked straight at her. She jumped at the opportunity and stuck her head in the air and with all the might her little lungs could muster she let out a big “Nooowuh!” The cow returned her call with one of Its own. Fengi could do little to contain herself as it bellowed. She jumped about squealing, all the while still holding onto the post for support.

Fengi started again, “Nooowuh!” and the lone cow responded with a short “Moo!” she broke out in a giggle fit again. She let go of the post and got low to the ground before pulling her wings under the posts and wormed her way into the field. She slowly crawled into the middle of the field towards the bovine.

She marveled at the creature in front of her, babbling all sorts of noises and squealing. She reached out a hand to try and pet the cow, but as she was reaching closer it bent its forelegs and laid on the ground with a thump. Fengi took that as an invitation and began petting the cow, and sat next to it.

Nearly every time it made a noise she let out an excited squeal. While she sat there with the cow, Laere and Steiger turned the corner once again.

The dragon’s deep voice boomed, “Seeing as she hasn’t been back for a couple days I’d guess they had to give her some pretty strong medicine. That, or it’s some very bad news and she’s off to see her family. Don’t worry about the eggs though,.” He halted mid sentence, staring slack jawed into the field.

Laere, now carrying an empty bucket and a basket full of eggs told him not to worry about it, “It was nothing. Hey, if you’re looking for some farm hands we’ve got a couple pairs that need to be worked hard!” he smiled and laughed as he stopped. Steiger didn’t respond, just looking over the field. Laere stepped in front of him and waved an arm to try and get his attention.

“Hey! Hey Steiger? You okay? What’s going on buddy? What’s got you frozen-” Laere turned and saw Fengi out in the field sitting next to a cow while another came walking up. He immediately started running to get up to speed flaring out his wings. Before he could take off though, Steiger stopped him.

“No! Stop! You’re gonna spook them and they’ll run! They might trample her!” he stopped in his tracks and hurried back over to the dragon, worry plastered on his face as he watched the two beasts intently.

“What do I do then? Just walk over and pick her up?!” he asked aggressively.

The green dragon looked down at him and just nodded. “You just walk over there, do not flare out your wings, don’t sneak up on them from behind and most importantly do not make any sudden movements. Walk slowly and deliberately.”

Walking over to the fence he sighed before jumping over it. Slowly, step by step he started closing the distance. They weren’t very far away, but having to walk so slowly made it feel like it was taking forever.

After what felt like an eternity, Laere finally stood in front of the two animals flanking Fengi. Carefully he stepped between the cows and reached out to the little girl. “Come on Fengi! you shouldn’t be here!” When she saw him reaching down to her she squealed and crawled over to him.

He snatched her up and started backpedaling away from the cattle. After getting a safe distance away He turned around and made his way back at a more reasonable pace. He put a hand on her neck and held her tight, letting out a huge sigh, thankful that she was safe. “You are gonna get into soooo much trouble aren’t you?”

The giddy child in his arms pointed back at the cows and let out another “Nooowuh!”

Both cows cried out simultaneously and she burst out laughing. Laere sighed, “Great, she speaks cow.” Placing a hand on the fence he hoisted himself over it, landing with a splat in some mud. “Augh! Gonna need a bath now, suppose that explains how YOU got so covered, missy!” His sharp tone caught her attention, but she quickly found something else to be entertained by.

A small yellow chick was walking around the corner next to Steiger. Laere followed her eyes and found it as well, “Hey Steiger! Looks like I’m not the only one with a little explorer.”

The dragon looked down and discovered the curious little thing. “Now how did you get out, Hmm? I might have a hole in the coop. I’ll have to inspect it, I don’t need to lose any chicken. Things are bad enough already.”

Laere was tired and beginning to really feel now. “Well, Steiger, I enjoyed coming over here and I hope your pigs enjoyed the slop. But, I haven’t slept in over a day and now I have to clean ourselves up. Thank you a thousand times for the eggs as well as that beef the other day.”

The dragon smiled, “Anything I can do to help.” With that Laere headed back towards the orphanage. As they passed the barn Fengi squirmed around and leaned over pointing at the stump where she left her doll. With a roll of his eyes and a deep sigh he let her down to grab her doll since his hands were full.

She stumbled quite a ways over to the tree stump and snatched up her doll. Laere motioned for her to take his hand, she looked up at him with a little confusion. He shook his hand a bit more and stuck out a few fingers, still holding onto the now clean and empty bucket. “I’m not carrying you again until you’re clean. Come on.”

Seeming to understand, Fengi happily ran to hold his hand. In her excitement she had neglected to watch where her feet were going, and tripped on a root sticking out of the mud. Her tail and feet flung comically into the air as she face planted in a mud puddle next to him. She splattered the dirty water all over him, but she managed to protect her doll from the shower.

“Oh shit!” Laere shouted. He dropped what he was holding and knelt down to her. Instinctively he put on a calm soft tone and tried to assure her it was okay, “Hey, You’re good don’t worry, it’s just a bit of mud.” He gently plucked her out of the mud and he got her to stand. She coughed out some dirt and looked very embarrassed, her head hung low. She was covered in mud from head to toe and this point, although the doll was in pristine condition.

He placed a hand on her cheek and started clearing the mud away when he noticed she was crying. “Hey, don’t look so sad. Everybody falls down. I bet even Uncle Steiger falls down every once in a while.” Although he did his best to console her, his words did little to stop the oncoming waterworks. She stepped in closer and gave him a tight hug before she started crying.

Laere was taken aback by the sudden hug, after a few seconds he embraced her. With a caring fatherly voice he tried to calm her down, “Alright, you’re done. I know. You want a bath. And food. And clothes. Let’s go. You want jerky? Jerky sounds good.” Laere took her continued crying as a yes.

By the time they had reached the orphanage Fengi’s cries had ceased, she sniffled in Laere’s arms as he brought her inside. He closed the door behind him with a loud thunk. He set her down on the floor, “Okay, I’m going to get a bath full for you, but I need to clean the basin and fill it. So give me a few minutes.” He walked into the kitchen, after setting down the bucket and putting the eggs on the counter he opened a cabinet.

Inside the cabinet hung several thin strips of dried out meat. He snapped one in half, and in half once again after that before closing the cabinet and walking back over to Fengi. He handed her one of the meat strips before biting down on the other himself. She mimicked him, still sniffling while she ate.

He stuck the jerky in his mouth while he stepped back into the kitchen to inspect the basin. He spoke with food stuck on one of his teeth, “Of course, none of the dishes have been cleaned. Oh well.” He began cleaning all the dishes in the leftover water in the basin.

After finishing that he lifted out the basin by its handles and headed out of the kitchen. He made a remark as he headed past the dirt covered girl, “even while you’re sad and covered in dirt you still look adorable. This has to be some kind of magic.”

Fengi, who was still chomping down on the jerky, looked up to meet his eyes on his way out the door. “Okay, I’ll be right back. Don’t go anywhere.” Laere started heading out the door, but Fengi’s tears began flowing again as he went to leave. He looked back at her, confused as to why the waterworks started again. He called out to her in a concerned voice, “Hey, what’s the matter?”

He watched her fall to the ground and curl up in a ball. He became much more worried when she didn’t even notice him getting near. “Gods, what has happened to this child?” he whispered to himself. “Don’t like being left alone huh?” He waited for her to notice him, but she continued crying. “That’s okay…” He sat down next to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. “We’ll go get the water together.”

The doll fell limply out of her hands as he snatched her up along with the water basin. Together they left the orphanage and headed to the pond behind it. Fengi’s cries petered out again when they got to the water’s edge. Laere set her down and dunked the water basin into the cold pond water. He scooped up all the water he needed before leaving the basin in the grass.

Kneeling down to the water’s edge he took off his shirt and tossed the muddy garment on the ground. He scooped up water in cupped hands and began cleaning off where he had carried her. He looked at the little girl, still chomping away at her jerky, and smacked himself on the forehead.

“I’m so stupid! Why did I bring the water basin? Since I had to bring you anyway why didn’t I just- augh!” he hung his head defeatedly. “Come here. Let’s wash you off.” Laere picked her up and sat her next to the water. He scooped up more water and began washing the mud off her. She squirmed a lot because of the cold water at first, but she quickly calmed back down. He made short work of cleaning her, first clearing off her arms and legs, then washing off her tail before moving onto her shoulders and wings.

In a soft voice he talked to himself, “You know, I was worried about your first day here. I think I’m glad she decided to go with the kids today.” Fengi swallowed what was left of the jerky and stared back at him. Her face was still painted with mud. “Ooh. You are not gonna like what I have to do next.”

He scooped up some more water and held his hands over her head. “Okay Fengi, i’m going to wash off your face quickly okay? close your eyes.”

She gasped loudly as the cold water ran down her face, carrying most of the mud with it. She let out a surprised cry as she fell over into the pond. Laere quickly snatched her out of the chilly pond water. She was thrashing at this point and gasping for air quite dramatically.

“AH! I DIDN’T MEAN TO I’M SORRY!” was all Laere got out before an elbow found its way to his lower jaw. He staggered backward, and set her down before he put his hand to his jaw. “OW! Shit that hurts. Augh, damn!” He shouted. A streak of blue blood began dripping from his mouth and onto his hand. He noticed the blue stain and started searching the insides of his cheek with a finger.

He withdrew a blue coated finger from his mouth, “well, that stinks, I-” He stopped mid sentence as he looked at her, she had curled up in a ball again. She was hiding her face in her hands. He sat down next to her and saw her crying silently.

Laere knew he had to get her warmed up, one can never be too safe when children and cold water are involved. No matter how brief the incident might have been.

He hurried his pace and jogged inside, making his way to the closet and grabbing a cloth. He put the wash basin down and began drying off Fengi as much as he could. Heading back outside he made his way over to a large stone embedded in the ground. As he put her down on the warm stone and tried to spread her wings for her, she fought against him and tucked them back up.

Frustrated, Laere attempted to spread out her wings again. Once more she pulled them back in, hiding her face in her hands. He Groaned, “Where’s auntie when you need her?” He leaned on the rock as he sat down in the grass next to her. He stretched out his wings to do some sunbathing himself. As he looked up into the cloudless sky and calmly spoke to the sobbing child, “I don’t know how to help you Fengi.”

They laid out in the sun, warming up for a while. Laere sat up and pressed a hand on her back to feel if she had warmed up. She hadn’t warmed up as much as he did, but she wasn’t cold anymore. So he picked her up and held her tightly to his chest as he carried her back inside the orphanage. He scoured the floor for her doll and spotted it near the table in the center of the room.

He snatched it off the ground and tried to give it to Fengi, “Here you go Fengi, I got your doll for you.” He poked at her hand and held the doll out for her to see. She swatted away his finger and didn’t even notice the doll. He sighed deeply as he walked over to the rocking chair by the door.

He put on a more calming voice, “Let’s get you to bed. I know you’ve had a rough day.”

He watched with concern, the little girl still hiding from him in his own arms. “I’m gonna need to talk with the kids before you meet them.”

He sat down with a huff, shuffling her around in his arms to get comfy. He stretched out his arms and yawned as he gently wrapped an arm around her. Slowly rocking the chair back and forth, he nestled the doll up against her. In silence he watched her, worrying that he had done something wrong.

Eventually she loosened up, grabbing her doll and pulling it in close. Laere repositioned her in his arms, cradling her. She faced him now, her hands were wrapped around the doll. To him, she looked exhausted and maybe a little scared. Her wings were no longer tucked up tightly and her tail was hanging limp. Her breath was deep and labored, this display wasn’t just for show, she put effort into it.

He gently caressed her head, gliding his fingers over the stumps that would grow into her horns. “It’s okay. No one’s gonna hurt you.” He closed his eyes, continuing to rock gently. After a while he opened his eyes again and checked on her. She was sleeping in his arms, her doll held tightly in her arms. Even in her sleep she looked tormented, her deep breaths were replaced with sharp inhalations followed by shaky exhalations.

About thirty minutes later the front door rattled and swung open. Mother Dorae stepped inside. She shouted, “Laere, I’m sorry that took so long, got some bad news and some good news.” She turned to close the door and spotted them both sleeping in the rocking chair.

She stood silently, shocked for a second. The door shut quietly behind her, as she broke out in a high pitched squeal, “Oooooh my gods that is adorable!”

He woke up from her shouting, luckily Fengi did not. Looked worriedly at Fengi and back to his aunt. He whispered, “Ah ah ah ah! Quiet! Don’t wake her!”

She covered her mouth with her hands and gasped quietly, “Was she that bad?”

He stared back at her with tired eyes, “Auntie. I am at a loss for words. she hadn’t even SEEN a dragon before today!”

She took a step closer to them, “That is shocking.” she looked over the sleeping child in his arms with confusion. “To say the least.”

He replied with a chuckle. He stood up slowly and held up a finger to tell her to hold on for a second. Walking at a brisk pace he disappeared into the bedroom before coming back empty handed. “Okay, first thing. She has HORRIBLE abandonment issues. I was heading out the door and before it even closed she was on the floor crying.”

“Second, she DOES NOT! Like it when you yell.” He scoffed before continuing, “ I mean, she basically shut down for the better part of an hour, wouldn’t show her face, or even move. Thirdly, she’s waaaay behind the curve, she can barely walk short distances. I mean she’s one and a half, she should be walking by herself at this point!”

He could tell she was already trying to analyze what he just said. He watched as she bit her knuckle and her eyes started darting about the room. She closed her eyes before she spoke, “Alright. On the third we will just have to work on that. On the first, is that the only time you left her alone?”

Laere snapped his head back to her, “No, I left her alone at Steiger’s, but she was happy and cheery and got into plenty of trouble… huh.”

She snapped her finger, “I’ll have to work with her to find out more then, and about the second point, what child enjoys being yelled at?”

Laere shrugged, “Children of military families? But, I didn’t yell at her. I just shouted because she hit me in the mouth when I didn’t expect it.”

She put her hands on her hips and looked at him disappointedly, “Hmm, that will improve with time. This is a very vulnerable time for her. We need to do our best, so please, keep an eye on her.” Walking over to the table she lifted a bag over her shoulder and put it on the table. “About my news. What do you want, good or bad first?”

He looked nervously at her while grasping his jaw, “Eh, better give me the bad first.”

“Okay, so. The bad news is that I went to the charity center and when I was talking with them, they mentioned how over the last four years they have seen a decline. This year was no different, it seems people as a whole are donating less and less every year.”

Laere walked over to the other side of the table nervously, “And what about the good news?”

She unbuttoned the small bag and an assortment of silver and copper pieces spilled out of the small bag, “We have more than enough to get us through winter and we know to expect harsh times sooner than later.”

He looked back up at her, “I suppose we need to ration food out once again. Like last time?”

She put a hand on his shoulder, “Just like last time. We made it through then, we can surely do it again!” She left the table and headed into the kitchen. She shouted from behind the door, “I see you did the dishes, how thoughtful of you! OH! Before I forget, did you feed her this morning? She must have been starving.”

He ashamedly said, “No I-uh didn’t really think of that. I did give her a quarter strip of jerky though!” She poked her head out of the kitchen, looking very unimpressed.

She pulled her head back into the kitchen and shouted, “Alright, I’ll feed her properly when she wakes up. You go and get some sleep, it sounds like you deserve it.”

He walked back to the rocking chair. As he settled into it he remembered something, “Hey! This morning wasn’t all bad, I got to see Stiger hide under his wings, wriggle his tongue like a worm and make funny noises!”

Laughter came from behind the door, “HA! What I wouldn’t pay to see that!”

He yawned as he closed his eyes, “Oh! Before I forget, wake me up so we can have a talk with the kids before we let them around her. At least Adrino and Happy need some ground rules.” Slowly, he drifted off to sleep while listening to the sounds of Mother Dorae working her magic in the kitchen.

---

As the day continued and Ms. Dorae had been doing her duties and planning out the rations for the coming winter, she found the time to make the new child her first meal. The first one that wasn’t just a snack anyways. She had made boiled eggs and apple slices for the both of them.

“Alright, that should be enough.” she said to herself as she backed out of the door with the plate in her hands. She set it down on the table and marched over to the play area where Fengi sat, playing with a red wooden dragon.

She bent over and plucked her up, “Foods ready, come on” She sat down in the only chair at the table with Fengi on her knee. She took an egg and handed it to Fengi, she took it from her cautiously and started playing with it. She squeezed the warm rubbery ball in her hands and giggled.

She started having a bit too much fun when she squeezed too hard and broke the egg, it oozed out from between her fingers and made a mess all over their legs.

Being careful to watch her tone she corrected the child, “Tch! What did you do that for? Its an egg, you’re supposed to eat it, not play with it!” she shook her hands and sent egg scraps flying everywhere. Dorae narrowed her eyes and sighed as she took an egg. She split it in half and gave one to Fengi.

She tapped her nose to get her attention. Fengi, with half an egg in her hands, looked up at the older woman and watched as she placed the egg in her mouth and ate it. She seemed to understand as she plopped the egg in her mouth and followed suit.

“There you go, here, now try some apple slices.” She handed her an apple slice. Fengi held the cold wet apple slice in her hand and put it in her mouth, just like the egg. But when she bit down it sank onto one of her teeth. She opened her mouth and swung her head around trying to dislodge it.

Mother Dorae snickered when she noticed. Fengi began pouting, but Dorae just grabbed her by the nose and with a single finger, she pushed the apple slice down from her tooth. She let go and Fengi pulled her face back down and swallowed the apple slice. The older woman handed her another apple slice, “Fengi, can you say mama?”

She looked up at her with a blank stare and a tilted head. She restated her question, “Can you say mama?”

Fengi replied in a quiet voice, “M-muh muh.”

Excitedly, she praised her, “Very good! Now, can you say dada?”

She smiled for a moment and laughed as she was praised. “Mama!”

“Can you say dada too?” she repeated. Fengi stared back at her with confusion. “DADA” she enunciated. She didn’t respond, instead opting to pop another egg into her mouth. She sighed heavily with disappointment, “Okay, we’ll work on that when you’re ready. I’ll let you eat now, but we’re taking a walk later.”

She stood up from the table and slid her off her lap onto the chair. Fengi sat at the table with her head barely above the table. She reached up to the table, but couldn’t quite grab the plate. Dorae went to move it closer, but stopped when she noticed Fengi was clambering up to her feet. Once she stood up she easily snatched an apple slice from the plate.

She scoffed, “Huh. Maybe you’re not as behind on that aspect.” Fengi turned her whole body to face her. “Well, you’re still behind a bit. We’ll get you Running around before school though, don’t you worry.”