The Dragon Under my Bed

Meet the parents

"Hey, I can't help but notice that you mention your mother a lot when you're talking. What's up with that?"

I had asked one night. It's true, Zagem always seemed to start his sentences with "Mother says" or "Mother always told us," And I wanted to know why. Not because I didn't like him doing that, I was just curious, which you can't blame me.

"We dragons learn mostly from our parents until they bar us from our home. Mother was the one who taught me how to read."

"What does that mean?" I asked. "Getting barred I mean."

Zagem tapped his tail lightly against the bed frame. "When males turn about 5 or 10, we get banished from our homes to fend for ourselves. The females stay longer than the males."

"Hmm. How did that go for you?"

Zagem laughed. "I've heard stories of dragons doing everything in their power to stay with their parents, but some dragons do it differently than others. The way it happened for me was one sunny day, father came up to me and my brothers and went: "You three, out. Don't make me beat you."

I noticed that he had lowered his voice when he had reached the part about his father.

"You didn't even get to say goodbye?" I asked.

"Nope. I just nodded and climbed down the mountain. That was also the day I learned that I couldn't climb."

I tried to imagine what it must be like to be raised by my parents for the first few years of my life, only to be banished later on. I imagined the banishing part would make things a little awkward during family reunions (If dragons even had family reunions.)

"But I know father wanted it to be as quickly and painfully as possible, I knew he wouldn't beat us, and I bet my claws and teeth he cried after we left." Zagem poked his head out from under the bed.

"What were your parents like?" I asked, admiring his large horns.

"Mother was pure beauty, she had smooth black scales and a love for stories. She was also the smartest dragoness I knew. Father was a warrior, believe it or not, he fought in a war with humans! He even has the battle scars to prove it. He had rough purple scales, 2 large dagger-like horns, and a very large hoard of treasure."

"He sounds scary," I said, kind of jokingly.

Zagem waved his head from side to side. "Ah. He may seem big and scary, but he had a heart of gold." He continued. "Mother and father had pure desire for each other, and were meant for each other like men were meant to ride horses."

"How romantic," I said.

"indeed." Zagem agreed. "Father was the brawns, mother was the brains."

"Okay, so we got your mother and father, didn't you say you had brothers?" I asked.

Zagem turned to look at me. "I have 2 brothers and 1 sister. Bolzram, Badan, Eoldry, and me. Hatched in that order. Bolzram was the eldest of the clutch and wasn't afraid to let everyone else know. But eventually, he grew out of his childish habits and grew more mature. But he still strutted every here and there. Badan was the strongest, and he always defeated Bolzram in scuffles around the cave. Eoldry was the literal lady of the group. As a hatchling, she always seemed to be trying to be polite and neat, as well as trying to improve her appearance. Of course, she grew out of that, but I hear she's still trying to make herself look better with jewelry and other things. And for the record, she looks fine already, so I don't get what all the fuss is about."

"Wow. Sounds like you lived in a pretty full house."

"Indeed," Zagem said. "But I didn't live in a house, I lived in a cave. In case you forgot."

I laughed. "Anyway, I hope you now better understand why I mention mother a lot, now if you'll excuse me, I must catch some sleep," Zagem said. Zagem pulled his head back under the bed.

"Wait!" I said. Zagem's head popped back out from under the bed. "what is it?" He asked.

"Are your parents still alive?" I asked.

Zagem sighed. "Mother died not even a year after I was barred. I don't know where father or my siblings are." He said sadly.

"I'm sorry," I said softly.

"When your race gets hunted, this is a very common demise for many. I just didn't expect it to happen to my mother..."