How Dragons Survived the Flood

Chapter 2

Again Japh went and sluiced water from the fountain over his head, torso, and legs, carefully washing and drying his feet.

"There is a tunic of mine you can wear," said Shem, pointing to the stone bench, "until Sede or Tama have time to make you one."

Japheth picked up the tunic. Its hem snagged on the bench's broken edge, and he gently tugged it free. He rubbed the fabric between his fingers, marveling at its dense weave and soft feel. Such luxury. He had tried, and failed, in the wild to create fabric to clothe himself; the thought of wearing leather had made his stomach turn. In the end, he adapted. The dragon leather had proved quite durable and protective, breaking in over time and becoming softer — but never as soft as this fabric.

The others had already made their way inside. He pulled the tunic over his head, indulging in the way it flowed over his chest and tickled his legs. Some luxuries of home simply could not be duplicated. Turning to go inside, he smoothed the fabric over his chest and made sure the neck cord was covered.

The women met them in the large living area wearing clothes slightly nicer than their daily work clothes, though each had prepared for dinner in some small way. Pinned to Na'amah's purple tunic was a small broach of intertwining strands of gold, silver, and bronze. Japh's eyes widened when he saw it; it had been his mother's.

Sedeqetelebab wore a necklace made of many small orange stones. Again, his mother's jewelry.

Ne'elatama'uk wore a strand of purple amethyst stones woven through her hair that, now unrestricted by its bun, flowed in gentle waves down her back. He did not recognize the amethyst.

"We prefer the old ways of eating and sharing the repast," said Noah, motioning to a low table surrounded by cushions.

Japheth took in a deep breath. After spending years in the wilderness with dragons and working daily to stay alive, the sight of the food-laden table filled him with awe. Warm scents of cinnamon and cumin filled the air, making his stomach growl.

Noah looked at Japh as they sat down. "You have kept with the holy admonishment of not eating the flesh of animals, living or dead?"

Japh performed a small bow of acknowledgment to the women before he sat, not missing the look of amusement on Ham's face when he did so. "Yes, Father. I have."

"Good. It is good to know you never strayed from your faith. It must have been trying, being with those heathen dragons. You have persevered. Yahweh will reward you greatly."

Noah looked at everyone sitting around the table. "Shem, Japheth will sit on my right hand tonight. You can sit below him."

All the sons were unsettled by the request. Shem, the eldest, had always sat in the seat of honor at his father's right-hand side. To have a younger son sit before an elder son was unheard of. None spoke as the brothers resettled themselves in the order their father requested.

"Yahweh, Father of us all, we thank You..."

Sitting cross-legged on the thin cushions, Japh sat still while his father gave the blessing and praise to God. As his father droned on, he wanted to wiggle, but old memories of disobedience and punishment surfaced in his mind.

After the prayer, Japh watched Noah pass around a small clay pipe containing the Tree of Life, something Japheth had been too young to partake of the last time he sat at this table.

In the scrolls he had brought with him, Japheth had his own drawings of wild-grown plants, male and female of the tall type with its slender finger-like leaves as well as the shorter type with its broader leaves.