Princess of Dragons

Chapter 16

The tell-tale sound of beating wings drew everyone's eyes to the sky.

"Would that be the dragon from a few days ago coming back for its scheduled appointment?" Alex asked half-jokingly, though he took a half step back and away from her.

Ciara's eyes didn't leave the rapidly approaching, crimson blot in the sky that could be nothing but the dragon from the square. Exactly seven days had passed since then and no other dragon would come here.

"It certainly would seem so." She reflexively backed up a little for it.

"And you are absolutely certain this is safe, Ciara?" Elias asked, both he and Alex backing as far away from her as possible while still being close enough that it wasn't rude.

She smiled at his casual use of her name - as she had asked them both to - and nodded.

"Absolutely. It is completely safe," she said just as the dragon sped down and folded his wings out as the first step towards landing.

As if to show off how well and healed his wing was, he beat them a final time just above the ground, creating a wave of wind that almost knocked her off her feet.

She smiled at the pride the big guy held himself with even as he stood before her. It made Kaisog sit a little straighter and puff his chest out.

"You seem to be doing well. Has there been any problems with it since then?" She met the dragon's onyx eyes gently.

He shook his head and spread his wing out to its full length, displaying it with all the confidence in the world. She could easily find the thread she had used that day in the skin still, but it didn't help hold anything together anymore.

"That is absolutely perfect!"

He released a snort in agreement, dark smoke flowing out of his nostrils.

She clasped her hands together in front of her. "All right, let me get rid of the thread again, then you will be as good as new!"

The dragon nodded at that, settling down on the ground and leaving the broad wing out at her disposal. She began unthreading it with careful hands, even though he didn't even flinch at her touch. It would be a little more difficult to remove since the skin had healed so well, but it shouldn't hurt him by any means. At most, it would be a little uncomfortable.

It was a somewhat long process, however, as she didn't want to tear anything up any further than it needed to.

Her thought-process was interrupted when a voice spoke up behind her. "How do you do it?" 

She turned to look at Alex over her shoulder, tilting her head.  "Do what?"

"That. With the thread."

She frowned lightly. "You mean how I remove the thread?" she asked. "It is no different than with clothes, truth be told."

"I mean - why do they not get aggressive with you? Ever?"

Though she didn't like the thought of him thinking dragons would always attack anyone, she let it lie for now.

"That is simply because I do not expect him to attack and act accordingly." She gave him a soft smile as she returned to her work, remembering she'd left the drake waiting. "Dragons are no different than humans in that regard."

She could hear the rustle of him moving just a step closer.

"Still. Every dragon I have ever witnessed has tried to attack me and others." He paused for a moment, shifting. "Even that one, I hear." He glanced up at the big and currently very still dragon.