The Dragonlady

Chapter Two

After breakfasting on nuts, Rin helped Eno gather items for the pot. Foraging was always the first priority. Using vines, Eno made nets to carry the items in. Vegetables in one, twigs and small branches in the large one, and nuts in a smaller one – carried between them. When they returned to their home, he chopped up the vegetables and fed the fire, stirring the white ashes before adding the sticks. Rin added water to the pot and then tossed in the chopped vegetables. While she did that, Eno used rocks to crack open the nuts, placing them in another clay pot ready for breakfast the following day.

When all that was done, he set out to hunt for meat or to fish, depending on the haul of vegetables. If the pot were full of potatoes, turnips, and other root vegetables, he would hunt meat. If they could only find carrots and peas, he would go fishing. Today they had found mushrooms and onions to go with potatoes and peas. He shouldered his fishing pole and keep-net.

"Be careful, Rin. Be safe." He said as usual as he set out. Rin tidied up. There was little to do. They were not messy. Home was a cave, large enough for them to have a little privacy. Two beds, a table and two chairs fashioned from logs were enough for them. It was home. When she was satisfied that all was good, she made her way quietly down to the fireberry bushes with a bowl. She gathered the berries quickly, eager to squirm through to her usual patch to watch the dragons. She determined to have a full bowl before she gave in and raided a whole bush. The bowl brimmed with the bright fruit. She nursed it carefully into her hiding place, setting it to one side so she did not upset it and then wriggled into her hide, peeping through the twigs to see the nest.

The mother was away finding food again. The three babies pipped. Another egg was rolling. She would get to see another hatch. She watched intently. The babies wobbled about, ungainly in their infancy, their blind heads pointing up to the sky they couldn't yet see, pipping plaintively for food. The newborn was still white. Perhaps the colour would develop, she thought. The egg rolled and she turned her gaze to it. A tiny hole appeared in the shell. Rin smiled with excitement and settled down to watch.

The mother returned several times with food, sharing it equally between the open mouths of her young before flying off for more. She had spotted the rolling egg and had nudged it, extending the hole. This hatchling would have an easier job in emerging, Rin thought. As she watched, the shell cracked and then fell open. The scrawny dragon lay and panted. The sun warmed and dried it. The mother came back with food, feeding her babies in order of noise. The new hatchling didn't pip. The mother nudged it gently and it opened its mouth. She fed it, and then flew off again.

Rin watched, silently urging the baby to raise its head. The other three were still quiet, their tummies full and appearing to doze in the warmth from the sun. It struggled feebly, seeming to lack the effort the other had displayed. Another egg began to roll.

Rin watched, totally absorbed. She didn't move until the mother flew off and then only enough to ease the stiffness. As the sun began to sink, another baby emerged. She left as it flopped around, drying.

She carried the berries carefully. The pot simmered nicely, the contents smelling delicious as she entered the cave. Eno smiled happily as he greeted her.

"I had a good fish. You seem to have scored well with the berries too. We will eat well tonight."

"The pot smells good."

"I found a rabbit too. He's cooking."

"Nice. The skin?"

"Hanging in the tree to cure. I thought I'd make new slippers for you. The others look tight."

"They are." Rin sighed. "I seem to grow quickly."

"You will now. You are almost adult. It will be time to find you a man soon."