Ruby (TFP)

Chapter 4

Fowler did his best to not waste a lot of time while going through the bedding store. He knew that Ruby was going to appreciate having a warm, soft place to sleep. Not only did he buy quilts, sheets and pillows, he did also buy a large teddy bear that he found in the store. He knew dragons may not have toys like stuffed animals and plastic figurines like humans do, but Ruby might like it as it will give added comfort. Plus, Optimus could hold the toy to get his scent on it to ensure the baby dragon doesn't get upset or panic due him not being present. Fowler did not expect Optimus to stay with Ruby while she would sleep all the time. Especially since they had a lot to do to base to make it operational to them.

After that, Fowler bought a microwave, fridge and blender, which Cliffjumper had to adjust his vehicle mode to accommodate the fridge so it can be brought to the base. Finally, Fowler made his way into the supermarket to buy the necessary food that he felt Ruby could ingest. He was still certain that Ruby is a piscivore, but he was not a hundred percent certain yet. At least skull of the dragon's mother helped with knowing that omnivorous was certainly the diet, but dragons can be omnivorous, and the only animal protein they ingest is fish.

As he said, Fowler bought several large bottles of goat milk, several large bags of rolled oats, a tub of Greek yogurt, bananas, cinnamon and honey, but he also bought a large jar of coconut oil, several punnets of blueberries and fish oil tablets. Fowler did know that it might not be everything that the dragon may need, because an adult dragon would regurgitate what they would have eaten. Even though Ruby had no teeth currently, and Fowler couldn't really predict when the teeth would even come through.

He returned to Cliffjumper with the bags of items to put them into the car. Cliffjumper was silent as the man put everything into the back, as Cliff was still upset he had to shift things to accommodate the fridge. It made him feel a bit awkward if he was honest. But he wasn't mad about it. He was excited to return to the base to help with the dragon. He was worried that they were taking a bit too long, but there was little that can be done.

After Fowler finished loading the bags into the car, the man sat in the driverseat with a deep sigh and lightly tapped on the dash. "Let's get going, Cliffjumper. I do not know what is happening right now, but the sooner we feed that starving dragon, the better it will be for everyone. She'll likely fall asleep once she has a full stomach."

"Something I bet Ratchet will be happy about. The doc will be cranky about it for a while, but Ruby will grow on him. Eventually, when no one is looking, he will be cooing over her." Fowler chuckled as Cliffjumper reversed from the parking spot to make his way back to the base. "And learning more about dragons has been very eye opening. Could you tell me more about other dragons?"

Fowler hummed softly as he thought more about how to answer that. "Well...in Asia, dragons are very much revered and respected. In their history, a sign of dragons would signal rain and fertility for their crops, and there seems to be many historical shrines dedicated to the dragons there. These dragons are serpent-like in appearance, and many of them are aquatic dragons, while others are not. However, Asia was probably one of the few human civilizations to actually live side-by-side with them. Egypt is another, and it is also believed that dragons also lived alongside the Atlanteans...when that city was around. Aztecs too, I believe as well...though that history isn't clear."

"Interesting...so would this have been across all parts of Asia, or just selected?"

"All parts of Asia, as the dragons spread across Asia were all unique. In Japan, their dragons were wingless, forest and mountain dragons. Mongolia shared some of the serpent-like dragons of China, along with much larger, bulky, mountain dragons. And the Himalayas likely still have a large dragon population as well. But much like the snow leopard, they have found a similar fate, sadly." Fowler looked out the window briefly as he thought about it. "There is just so much I could tell you about dragons, Cliff. I know I went over the Arctic, Antarctic and some of the aquatic dragons, but there really are so many to talk about."