A Dragon's Tale - Chapter Three

        It didn’t take Martha and Shaun long to arrive at the house, and when they did they came across a scene that Shaun – who had, admittedly, been expecting the worse - hadn’t quite expected to find. The house had been thrown into chaos as a bronze-something darted around, hopping onto and ducking under furniture, shrieking at the top of its lungs as Shaun’s father and Glen chased after the blur.

        “Oh! UH- hey son! Done already?” Shaun’s father asked, somehow managing to divide his attention between the screaming dragonet in the house and Martha and Shaun, who had just arrived, rushing through the front door.

        Shaun had been about to say something after shaking himself out of his shock induced trance until the dragonet bowled into his gut, knocking the blonde-haired boy into Martha, sending them all crashing to the floor. Shaun instinctively grabbed the dragonet before it could escape, trying to hold it as gently – yet as firmly – as possible. “Well… Looks like you’ve managed to catch the little banshee.” Shaun’s father chuckled, stretching out his arms and rolling his shoulders with a few satisfying pops and grunts.

        “For such a sad looking little guy, he sure can run. And scream,” the scruffy brunette added upon finishing up. “Now, we should get the little scamp in the bath, since this one’s a stinky little tike,” He stated, stooping over to help Shaun up off of Martha, whom – Martha - was promptly muttering curses under her breath like anyone who just got bowled over by a boy and dragon would.
        Once the two were on their feet, Shaun’s father reached out to take the dragonet, but Shaun hastily shook his head. “Oh no, it’s alright, Pops. I got it. How about you just sit down and take a breather or something.” He assured his father with a smile, since he had a feeling that if his father were to try to bathe the dragonet himself, they’d then have a wet, screaming ball of scales on their hands.

        Shaun’s father looked a tad disappointed that his assistance wasn’t needed, but he complied to Shaun’s request anyways. “… Alright, son. I’ll just go see to the livestock now, but if you need me, holler n’ Aethelbeorn will hear ya and fetch me.” With that said, Shaun’s father strode out of the house, shutting the door tight behind him.

        “Well, there goes telling your dear old dad about your friend here being an orphan,” Martha grumbled with a roll of her eyes and hands on her hips.

        “…We can tell him about that later, for now, let’s just head upstairs and scrub this guy good – since he really does smell.” Shaun informed Martha, wrinkling his nose as the dragonet’s honestly unpleasant smell - it smelt like a corpse that had just started to rot - assailed his nose. With this, the quartet headed up the stairs, where the bathroom was.

        When they had ascended the stairs, Martha, Shaun, Glen, and the dragonet headed for a clean, white door. Martha swung the door open for Shaun, whom the dragonet still clung to. The bathroom, surprisingly, was quite spacious, but then again, both humans and dragons alike used the bathroom to wash up. So it kinda had to be big. A large, almost pool-like, elevated bathtub took most of the space in the room, after all, dragons were quite large, even if they were no longer absolutely gargantuan.

        It was a rather nice bathroom, with a tiled floor, weathered by the scraping of dragon claws, and plain, clean walls that were a soothing shade of baby blue that matched the clear sky outside. Of course, there was a sink and a toilet – which was – thankfully - only intended to be used by people. There was a mirror as well, about six feet long and four feet tall, making it big enough may a full grown Bullraq wish to view its own reflection - and trust me, Bullraqs are preeeetty big.

        Shaun handed the dragonet over to Martha – who’s face scrunched up with disdain as she got a good whiff of the foul-smelling reptile – before going over to the almost ridiculously large tub. He stood on the steps that circled around it. Shaun was fairly tall – not six or seven feet, though – but he still stood at around five feet and ten inches. Still, he had to strain his arm to reach and turn the knob attached to the faucet.

        Soon the sound of water pounding against smooth cast polymer filled the air, and Shaun rolled up his pant legs before swinging a leg over the lip of the tub. “Come on, bring him on over here.” He requested. Unsurprisingly, Martha was more than willing to hand off the dragonet to her cousin, glad to be rid of the stench.

        The dragonet squirmed as Martha passed it onto Shaun, almost wriggling out of the girl’s grasp until Shaun took ahold of it. “Hey, hey. You’re alright, little guy,” Shaun assured it in the most soothing tone that he could manage with an anxious dragon in his arms.
        Despite Shaun’s efforts to calm it, the dragonet still flailed around in his arms, growing more panicked at the sight of the water pouring out of the bath’s faucet. “You gotta calm it down!” Martha exclaimed, taking a few steps back to avoid the dragonet’s sharp little claws.

        “I’m trying!” Shaun replied, frustration starting to creep into his voice. Whenever he tried to lower the dragonet into the shallow pool of water that had formed in the tub, it would painfully dig its claws into his arms and try to desperately scamper up his arms and onto to his shoulders in an attempt to avoid coming in contact with the water.

        Glen sat close by, watching this all with an unimpressed look written across her face. She tossed her head with sigh and a roll of her eyes before striding over to the bath and perching on its lip. She swiped the dragonet from Shaun, firmly carrying it by the scruff, then she hopped in herself.

        Almost immediately, the dragonet turned from defiant and panicked to practically docile in Glen’s jaws, even as she gingerly lowered it into the shallow water. Still, it looked practically miserable, it’s legs shaking a little as the water lapped at its scales. Glen warmly gave the poor little thing a lick on the forehead before her gaze settled on Shaun, waiting for him to get in as well.

        “O-oh, yeah, of course,” Shaun stuttered before slowly settling down on his knees, afraid that if he moved too quickly, he would spook the dragonet. Glen then looked over at Martha, expecting her to follow suit.

“Oooh no –No. I’m not getting wet,” Martha declared, shaking her head.

        Shuan’s face broke out into a cheeky grin with a mischievous look in his eyes. Martha crossed her arms across her chest, meeting Shaun’s smiling eyes with a glower. For a few minutes, the two were locked in a staring contest until Martha finally spoke, her brow furrowing even more.

        “You better not even be thinking of doing what I think you’re going to do.” Martha warned. The only response she got was an even cheekier, more mischievous grin. Suddenly, Shaun cupped some water in his hands and flung it at Martha, spraying her with it as he let out a whoop.

        For a few seconds, Martha was absolutely silent as she slowly looked down to glance over the front of her shirt, which was now soaking. Even Glen was laughing now – or, well, she was chuffing and rumbling with amusement. When Martha met Shaun’s gaze again, her eyes burned with a vengeful fire.

        “You’re dead,” Martha growled before lunging at Shaun, grabbing a fistful of his almost golden hair – Not too hard though, she didn’t really have intention of hurting him. At least, not much. She then shoved his face into the stream of water that still poured from the faucet, the boy still laughing as she did. In return, Shaun pulled Martha over and into the tub by the shirt, getting her even more wet than she already was. Both Glen and the dragonet quickly scuttled out of the way as the two teens began duking it out, splashing each other as they both began to laugh. This carried on for quite a while until both Martha and Shaun were sopping wet and grinning like fools, their laughs becoming breathless.

        Of course, the two still ended up cleaning the dragonet, like they had promised Shaun’s father. It took a few minutes for Shaun to soothe the dragonet enough to let him bathe it after his and Martha’s tussle. Once it had calmed enough, Shaun gently scrubbed its soft scales with soap – under Glen’s watchful gaze - before lifting it out of the tub so he could dry it off.

        While Shaun and Martha had been busy, Glen had grabbed some towels for all of them, so Shaun and Martha didn’t have to stand shivering in their damp clothes for long after getting out. Shaun took one of the towels and dried the dragonet off first before wrapping it around it, making sure that at least the dragonet was nice and warm.

        Once the two teens were no longer dripping, Martha went off to her own room to change into some dry clothes, leaving Shaun to attend to the dragonet and Glen. “Well, I guess it’s just you, me, and Glen again.” He said, letting his towel hang on his head after he had tousled his hair dry with it. He then tentatively crouched down, hesitantly reaching out to the dragonet so he could carry it back to his room, where he could change. Shaun gave the dragonet his most charming smile in an attempt to reassure it, but the dragonet shrank back when the boy reached out.

        Glen seemed to be just full of ideas today, for she just picked the dragonet up by the scruff before depositing it onto her back. She then gave Shaun a somewhat impatient look. The boy resisted the urge to chuckle at the sight of the bronze – and still miserable-looking – dragonet clinging onto Glen’s furry, warm brown back. He merely grinned at the sight before leading the way back to his own room.

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        Once in the privacy of his bedroom, Shaun changed into a slate gray, long sleeved shirt. He soon served the dragonet a bowl of carefully cut up bits of fish after the dragonet’s stomach let out a surprisingly loud grumble. After it had been fed, the little bronze reptile soon grew sleepy, yawning before curling up in its makeshift bed. Glen soon joined it, giving it a loving glance, an almost motherly look in her eyes.

        As Glen laid her head down with a serene smile, Shaun took this small moment of peace to properly look the dragonet over. It had yet to reach the age where distinct features began to show, but, as Shaun quietly settled down next to the makeshift dragon bed, he noted how a short path of smaller, almost golden scales trailed a little away from the corner of the dragonet’s eye. Its underbelly was an ochre, as well as the membrane of its wings. Golden little scales also occasionally dotted the dragonet’s wings, shoulders, and forehead. As Shaun watched the steady rise and fall of the dragonet’s chest, its beautiful scales glinting in the sunlight that streamed through the window, Shaun finally thought of a name.

        The dragonet’s warm colored scales glimmered almost gold in the sunlight, reminding Shaun of golden coins and the warm sun. When they didn’t glimmer, Shaun couldn’t help but think of dusk, when the sky was filled with varying shades of orange, like ochre, pumpkin, and so on. Yet the glow of its scales made him think of fireflies flitting through the night. Golden coins and the sun. Dusk and fireflies. They all shared one thing in common. They were golden. At that moment, Shaun recalled the Latin word for gold. It had both a nice ring to it and it was quite fitting!

        Aurum. That would be the dragonet’s name.