Remnants - The Dragons of Dragonvale - Book One

Chapter 11

Jaessa returned every day after her studies were completed back at the palace. Azir would accompany her, and they would help Kotai by assisting in the little lessons taught to the draglets, or by "babysitting" while Kotai went out to hunt.

Today was a babysitting day, and after a long day of study, Jaessa was more than happy to simply bask in the joy that a whole mess of baby dragons could bring. She settled down near the nest in the fur Kotai had designated at hers. The babies had grown just a little but were now more steady on their feet.

"Do you ever think about how lucky we are to get to play with seven baby dragons?" Azir scratched Yoongi's chin, making the draglet relax and almost collapse on his hand at how good it felt to him.

"I do. I think about it every day when we come. I truly believe you and I are the luckiest people in the world, Azir."

Jaessa picked up Namjoon and he scrambled up to her shoulder and perched, as was his custom to do. His talons weren't quite as sharp as they would be in the future, and it made Jaessa think of a parrot. He was a quiet draglet, always studying the others' behaviors and quick to hiss when they stepped out of line.

Seokjin was sitting next to the small stream that ran through the cave, looking down at his reflection in the water, though it was a bit wobbly and not a fair representation of him. He would cover his face with his wings and then pop out, startling himself in the process. Azir reached out and tapped his head, grinning when the draglet scurried over to him and hid behind his foot, reaching his neck around to hiss at his reflection.

"You aren't fooling anyone, Seokjin. We all know you love looking at yourself." Azir laughed and scooped Seokjin up into his hands, the dragon pouting at being discovered.

"Are you interested to see what they will look like in their human form someday?" Jaessa was watching as Hoseok ran in circles with Taehyung, nipping at the younger's tail and letting out noises akin to laughter.

"Maybe. I think they're beautiful like this, though. But maybe they'll make handsome people when they're grown." Azir shrugged and slumped back down to the cold floor, shooing Seokjin off to play with his brothers.

"One...two...three...four, five six...wait...where's Jungkook?" Jaessa became frantic as she glanced around for the little red dragon. He was nowhere to be seen and it scared her to think of what Kotai could do to her should one of his sons be lost.

All the draglets heard her words and stopped their antics, looking around curiously to see if they could spot their baby brother.

Taehyung looked at Jaessa and then tiptoed over to the hem of her dress, quickly shoving his head underneath of it.

"Taehyung! What are you doing?!" Jaessa tried to push him out but he wouldn't budge, fidgeting around a moment before he backed out, a red tail clamped between his teeth.

A repentant Jungkook was pulled out tail-first, pouting and sleepy looking. He had merely wanted someplace dark and quiet to rest while his brothers played. Jaessa's skirt seemed like the perfect place. He had no idea it would be considered something one should never do out of respect for a lady.

Jaessa gasped as Taehyung dropped the tail and grumbled at the red draglet. "Taehyung, be sweet," she chided him. He hung his little head and grabbed her finger with his front legs, giving it a small lick as an apology.  His wings drooped behind him and he made quite the pitiful sight. Jaessa almost giggled but held it back because she could tell he was genuinely sorry for being snippy with his brother.

"It's okay, Taehyung, you did well. Thank you for helping us find Jungkook." She rubbed her finger down the top of his head and his tail wagged like a puppy's. He seemed to feel better and resumed his romping with Hoseok.

Azir laughed and leaned back on his hands. "They already have little personalities, do they not?"

Nodding, Jaessa replied, "Yes, and I think they're the most darling things ever." She reached up and rubbed Namjoon's chin and smiled as he leaned against her hair and purred like a kitten. He was a softy for chin rubs.

The purple draglet, Jimin, had been watching everything from his perch on the side of the next, his bright black eyes twinkling with amusement. He was almost knocked over by a sleepy Yoongi struggling to climb back into the nest for what one could only assume was a nap, seeing as that was how he spent most all of his time. He decided that a nap was a good idea and as Yoongi snuggled into the furs lining the nest, Jimin tumbled into the nest and curled himself around his brother, both draglets falling asleep almost immediately.

One by one the draglets crawled back into the nest, their tiny snorts and yawns signaling they had exerted all of their energy and were in dire need of some rejuvenation.

Azir pulled out a book and began to allow Jaessa to help him with his reading skills, something that boys were never allowed to do. Jaessa had agreed to help him, but only on his promise to never tell her mother. He had agreed, and whenever the draglets would nap, the two would begin their private lessons.

Today, however, Jaessa noticed one little dragon was fighting his weariness. Taehyung's eyes looked heavy, but he seemed determined to stay awake. Scrambling up into her lap, he settled himself in the fold of her legs and looked up at Azir through narrowed eyes.

Azir was shocked to feel a twinge of animosity coming from the small dragon but he smiled it off and opened the book that taught the basics of reading.

Jaessa leaned forward and would point out his mistakes as he read, correcting his sounds but encouraging him to keep trying.

As they worked, Taehyung bounced his eyes to keep them opened and scuttled out onto Jaessa's knee, staring at the book with a stern expression.

"Do you think he's trying to learn also?" whispered Azir.

Jaessa was puzzled but amused. "Maybe!" She reached out a finger and stroked Taehyung's head, making sure to scratch a bit between his shoulder blades, which he adored.

The little blue dragon reached out one of his front legs and wrapped it around Jaessa's finger, holding it close like a small child would a blanket. Then laying down on his tummy, he sighed as he rested his head on her leg, staring hard at the book.

Azir began reading again and his quiet voice caused Taehyung to relax, and before too long, the little dragon's eyes were tightly closed, his wings slowly moving up and down on his back as he breathed, Jaessa's finger still tightly held to his body.

Jaessa giggled softly and as she tried to extract her finger, the draglet merely held it tighter with all his strength, letting out a small snort.

"I think you're stuck," said Azir, grinning sweetly at the blue draglet.

"I think so too," whispered Jaessa, resigning herself to being cuddled. "But I'm okay with it."

A hush settled on the cave as the draglets worked hard to grow strong as they slept, and the two children quietly worked to fill a knowledge gap that had been forced onto them by their adults.

And all would succeed at their task.

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AN: And we're back! I'm so so so sorry it's been three months since I've updated this! I totally didn't realize it had been that long. But we're back to normal updates for this story and I hope you'll enjoy it as we go along at a steady pace. I don't feel the need to rush this one. Thank you for reading and see you next update!