Fearless Fables

Talons and Toddlers Part 2

Finn had always been interested in shiny objects—darting lights, beads, buttons, silverware—and currently one of his mother's daggers which had fallen beneath the family table. He toddled cheerfully across the room and picked it up to examine it. A second later a replacement tail fin slapped it out of his hands. Finn looked up into Toothless' face, which was staring intently into his own. For a moment he was almost afraid... but, then began to giggle and clap his hands. Toothless did not understand this little human.

A moment after the knife had been cruelly snatched from him, Finn noticed something else of interest. His mother had left her food on the table, and it looked like such fun paint. Knowing very well that neither of the large creatures his parents kept seemed to be permitted to be near him, (something about them being "too big" and the possibility of "crushing them") he decided that the now nearby ledge which was the dragon's face would make another convenient step his journey for self-satisfaction. He climbed up, using the mouth as a foot hole and grasping the top of his head for support, and then tumbled cleanly onto the table as his stair pulled back in surprise. Finn's little fingers were instantly drawn into the berry porridge, crushing the small fruits between his hands with a laugh. Toothless, now having shaken off the feeling of being used as a staircase had barely a moment of reprise before SQUELCH—his face was smeared with berry juice. In shock the dragon stood still for a moment while the finger painting commenced.

Even the most patient of dragons would begin to snap at this moment. He growled his discontent with the situation, yanked his head back, and tried to wipe the liquid from face with a taloned foot. His tail swished with agitation, rubbing against the doorknob and cracking open the door. Finn, who had been cheerfully embellishing the top of the table with his artwork, looked up at the noise (because he looked forward to his parents praising his masterpiece) and, seeing the door now open, suddenly got a marvelous idea. Right through the crack in the door he could see the most wonderful thing a tiny boy could see—a mud pit. The rain that morning had left a soft, squishy pool of dark liquid begging to be played in. He quickly dropped from the table to a chair, and from the chair to the ground. He ducked beneath the still preening dragon and raced as quickly as his little legs could carry him right out the door and into the mud.

Toothless stared out the door for a moment, letting the escape sink in. Suddenly it occurred to him—his human would probably not like it if his young left his pen. He lunged through the door after the little boy, leaving a now quiet and curious Adrianna completely alone.

Stormfly had also noticed the redhead plunging headfirst into the mud pit below her. She let out a croon before standing up from her comfortable sunbathing rock to follow him. Not eager to get herself dirty (Nadders are prestigious about their appearance after all), she stood awkwardly at the squishy bank. Toothless reached the bank of the pit a second later at rapid speed—a little too rapid. He could not manage to stop, and ended up sliding across the mud like ice, right over the playing child. Stormfly almost snorted in amusement. Toothless steadied himself and shook the mud from his face, when a voice echoed across the island from the arena.

"SNOUTLOUT, WHAT IN THOR'S NAME POSSESSED YOU TO THINK THAT THROWING A SHEEP WOULD CALM A DRAGON DOWN?!" It was his human. He did not sound happy. Toothless' first reaction was to dart after the voice, but a splash of mud hitting his nose quickly brought him back to reality. Finn was beginning to build a mud house, and Toothless appeared to be the guest of honor.

Stormfly, in the meanwhile, had found the most secure bank on the mud pit to perch while she used one foot to try and pluck the child from the mud. She did not see her owner appreciating her lifting the young by its head, so she needed to grasp it by its removable skin. It kept moving, however, which did make this task difficult. Especially on one foot.