Orgoloth had been traveling for almost two years with hir adopted child, Titinwee. Searching for any news of a dragon who'd lost their egg. Finally news comes, and the reunion is, at first tense, but with a lot of gratitude on both half of draconic family, and Orgoloth.
@internutter/challenge-03595-i306-accidental-family -- Anon Guest
Merchants, by and large, are all about growth and change. In the case of one merchant, that growth and change is heralded by their adopted child. Which was a baby Dragon called Titinwee. In two years, they had grown from an armful of squirming curiosity and relatively helpless need, to a creature roughly the size of a retriever, that was very clearly a Dragon.
Titinwee was definitely going to get bigger.
Orgoloth, their Drow parental, had invested in a cart. Carrying Titinwee was becoming less and less of a desirable outcome of sore feet. And it helped immensely with business. They chatted about this or that between one place or another, and all was peaceful and happy. After all, it's amazing how often highway robbers decide to let a wagon with a Dragon pass peacefully by.
"Why's nobody else wear the dark glass like you do?" said Titinwee.
"Because, my lovely, they do not need it. I was born and grew in a place far, far underground, where there's little in the way of light. Sunlight hurts my eyes and--"
"What's that?" Titinwee pointed upwards as a shadow passed over the ground.
Orgoloth recognised the shadow rather than pain hir eyes by looking towards the sun. "Oh! A Dragon. A Dragon like you, my lovely." A Dragon that circled around and came lower and lower as it did. Orgoloth reached out to comfort hir child and announced, "They may be a relative of yours."
Ze pulled up the wagon to a halt and calmed the horse as the Dragon came to a gentle landing in a large enough field.
The adult's head was longer than horse and wagon put together. A head as big as a house came right up to them all.
There was no denying it. This Dragon was Titinwee's genetic parent. It was all in the colouration and patterns of their scales and scutes.
"Explain yourself," said the Dragon.
"I found them while foraging," said Orgoloth. "When I learned they were a baby, I took the best care of them I could. I... named them Titinwee... if that's all right?"
Titinwee sort of curled themself around Orgoloth and quavered, "Rennie?"
"It's all right, my lovely," cooed Orgoloth, comforting hir adopted child. "They won't hurt you."
"What about you?" said Titinwee.
Orgoloth had heard many things about Dragons, and what happened to the people who stole their children. Ze closed hir eyes and relaxed hir hold on Titinwee. "What the gods will... the gods will."
Ze expected fire, or claws. Ze expected a brief and agonising pain before oblivion.
Ze never expected what did happen, which was a Dragon tongue blessing hir forehead with a sign of gratitude.
"Thank you," said the Dragon. "Thank you so much for saving my baby. I am known as Ikyrth... and I would parlay with you to... welcome you into my family."
"Oh," said Orgoloth. "Oh, that's so much better than what I thought would happen."
And then ze fainted.
[Photo by Emmy Gaddy on Unsplash]
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