The Soulguard, A Dragon Who Can See Spirits

Chapter 7

A couple months later, in mid May, Noku is a bit over three months old and the size of a large male Shiloh Shepherd with a height of 74cm. Natasha and Wanda have tried to teach her to swim with little to no result. Noku still doesn't put enough strength to paddling and easily gives up on trying to learn swimming, she would much rather just play in the shallow water. The weather had gotten warmer and the water in the lake was significantly warmer than in March. Despite the warmer weather and having fun in the shallow waters of the lake, Noku didn't quite want to stay outside. This confused the Avengers as Noku loved being outside, at least she had before. On a warm morning in May, Wanda decided to get Noku outside to get some fresh air. The Sokovian got surprised how easy it was to get Noku outside and she suggested that they take a walk around the compound and the side of the lake. The walk goes well for the most part until the pair reach the small patch of flower plantings containing a large amount of different flowers. Wanda noticed how on their walk around a field with wild daisies Noku shook her head occasionally in discomfort and sneezed for a couple of times, Noku developing a runny nose. But this time with the flower plantings the sneezing got more violent, Noku's eyes clearly watering. "Oh, Noku... Let's get you inside." Wanda mutters and nudges the wildly sneezing dragon towards the entrance of the compound. By the time the two have reached the entrance Noku's sneezing has decreased massively but the runny nose and watering eyes are still there.

Wanda leads Noku to the labs of the compound looking for Bruce to help with these allergies that Noku most likely has. To Wanda's delight she finds Bruce and Dr.Helen Cho at the labs and sighs in relief. Helen is the first one to notice the Sokovian and pulls her in a warm hug. "Hey, it has been a while since we last saw each other. How have you been?" Helen asks with a smile before noticing Noku, who keeps rubbing her face to Wanda. "Oh, is this Noku? It is nice to finally meet you." Noku doesn't seem to even acknowledge Helen in the middle of her discomfort. "I hoped that your meeting would have been better, sorry. Could you two help us? We were walking around the compounds' grounds when Noku started having symptoms of pollen allergies." Helen and Bruce nodded and Helen crouches to Noku's height, taking hold of the dragon's head. "I know it doesn't feel nice, I know. But could you look here for a second?" She talks quietly, waiting until Noku no longer tries to rub her face in Wanda's clothes. Noku's eyes were still watering heavily and she tried to shut her eyes and throw her back in discomfort. "What were you around when the symptoms first started?" Helen asks as Bruce brought a syringe of something to them. "There were daisies when I noticed the symptoms but they got a lot worse after we passed the flower plantings around the side of the compound. She has been reluctant to go outside for around a month now." Helen nods and takes the syringe from Bruce, feeling around Noku's front leg. "What are you-" Wanda doesn't have time to ask her question before Helen pushes the needle to Noku's leg. The young dragon retaliates and goes to bite Helen, and she would have succeeded if Wanda's reaction speed would have been slower. The moment she saw the needle disappear into Noku's leg, she took hold of the dragon's neck and pulled her closer, preventing Noku from injuring anyone. "I am sorry, but I had a feeling of her not liking the needle so I used her distraction to my advantage. I'll give you some medication for her pollen allergies that should work. Some tests are suggested to find out the range of her allergies, so if you come around at some point this week we can get those done. For now, brush her fur or give her a bath to get rid of possible pollen on her fur and then get her to rest, the medication causes drowsiness and it would be wise to have her laying down to prevent her hurting herself." Wanda sighs and nods, not happy about how Helen went with giving the medicine but thankful nevertheless. "Alright, we'll come around at some point. It was nice seeing you, have a nice day." The Sokovian waves to the two staying in the labs and nudges Noku towards the dragon's room. For now they would just chill and let the medicine work. Giving Noku a quick bath and drying her as well as she could, knowing that Noku would dry herself the rest of the way, Wanda made sure that Noku was lying down before she fetched a book from her own room, returning to Noku and sitting near her, leaning on the wall. Noku instantly moved to place her head on Wanda's lap before relaxing. It was so nice here, the mattress is soft and Wanda brings her a sense of comfort and safety, not to mention the way Wanda's voice calms and relaxes the dragon as the Sokovian reads her book out loud. This is something Noku loves more than anything. For a long time Wanda reads while Noku sleeps, the two only raising up when lunch is ready.