Dragons' Father (Book 2 in the Dragon Hunters Trilogy)

Chapter 2: Lessons in Life

Lessons in Life

Even after Calmstrike warned me how quickly the hatchlings would develop, it still shocked me to watch the hatchlings grow to nearly ten times their original size.  They went from the size of a house cat to the size of a small couch in the span of just under a month!  Needless to say they weren’t able to live within the house anymore, given they couldn’t fit through the door without cutting the rubber with their claws or scales.  So, I moved my residence into one of the caves at the base of the cliff so that I could be with the hatchlings.  Big or not, they were still babies, and needed to be with a parent figure to feel secure.

Regardless of how young they were, both Valaria and Grimond had grown into stunning creatures as they moved down the road of childhood.  Valaria had grown from her clumsy and tiny hatchling form, to a lithe and graceful one that reminded me of her mother.  Her body had not grown too much, though her limbs had lengthened and her wings had taken on a suppler figure.  Her muzzle had lengthened into a beautiful profile and her crest had grown to the point it could now be raised and lowered.  For all intents and purposes she looked like a smaller and blue version of her mother, sleek and slim but not to the point of being skinny.

Her brother had grown into himself as well, his body may have been roughly the same size as his sister’s, but where she had graceful curves and smooth edges, he had raw muscle and thick scales that shined like emeralds.  At the end of both of their tails there was a large plume of fur, instead of their mother’s crest/fin.  I figured that part was from their father, and I couldn’t complain when the fur was so soft to the touch it left like silk.  Valaria’s fur was a light blue just like her crest, while her brother’s was dark forest green to match his wing webbing.

Both young dragons had also grown their first set of horns, two large ones that curved out of the backs of their heads, and twin sets of smaller ones that grew from their cheeks.  Valaria’s horns were a light silver-blue that reflected the light like polished platinum, while Grimond’s were a pure white with green stripes ringing them from base to tip.  So far the larger set on top of their heads were only about a foot and a half long, while the ones on their cheeks were only an inch or so.  I knew form the dragons back at D-SQUAD that they would grow more as they got older, though I would miss the smooth flesh that I could pet when they were hatchlings. 

I left the house as a storage building for food and other such things, given I wouldn’t be able to live in it anymore, and brought just the basics into the cave so I could be with the hatchlings.  I slept on the ground with them curled up at my sides, resting beside a small fire each night with my rifle leaning against the cave wall in case of trouble.  I knew that humans couldn’t get in here, but that didn’t stop bears and wolves from coming and going as they pleased.  I would rather not think about what would happen if a wolf pack snuck up on us in the middle of the night.

It was a morning like any other that I realized that the hatchlings were no longer hatchlings.  As Valaria argued with her brother off to one side, I remembered how both of them had been coughing forcefully last night.  Taking a note from Calmstrike’s teachings, I walked up to the pair as Grimond let out a huff of frustration.  Apparently Valaria had won the war of words yet again.

“Sorry to interrupt the battle of wits,” I said with a smirk as they turned to look at me, “but I have a question for both of you.”