The Consequences of Meeting a Dragon

"In the Westport Dragon Encyclopedia, it states that, while wild dragons often have violent temperaments, the domestic breeds are much calmer and more sociable. Pygmy dragons, in particular, are known for their docile and intelligent natures."

Alfred paused to look down at the small black dragon that was chasing a bar of soap across the wet bathroom floor.

"Did you hear that, Iggy? You're a pygmy dragon. You're supposed to be docile and intelligent." He gestured around the bathroom at the tipped over shelves, the scattered bottles and towels, and the soapy water covering the floor. "Does this look like something that a docile and intelligent dragon would do?"

Iggy completely ignored him, still focused on the soap. He pounced on it, but it slipped out of his paws and shot under one of the fallen shelves.

Alfred sighed and picked up one of the wet towels lying on the floor. He used a little water manipulation magic to dry it out. Then he slowly approached Iggy, who was intent on pawing under the shelf to get the soap and didn't notice. Alfred tossed the towel over him and scooped him up, quickly wrapping the towel around the soapy little dragon to prevent him from slipping away again.

Iggy squawked in protest and tried to wriggle free, but Alfred managed to hold on and carry him to the next room. This was Iggy's playroom, and most of the space was occupied by a large tree-like structure made up of a network of towers and tunnels and filled with various places to perch or hide.

Alfred set his squirming bundle down on the nearest platform. Iggy emerged, looking grumpy. He made an angry chattering sound as Alfred held him still long enough to finish toweling him off. As soon as he was released, the little dragon darted into the tree, disappearing inside a small cave in the very center.

Well...mostly disappearing.

"Always the tail...." Alfred shook his head at the slender black tail that was hanging out of the cave entrance and twitching with irritation.

He left Iggy alone to sulk for a bit and went back to the bathroom to clean up the mess. And to improve the room's dragon-proofing. The wicker shelves Iggy had knocked over already had water resistance, fire resistance, and structural reinforcement charms engraved on them. But obviously an adhesive charm sticking them down to the floor was also in order.

With everything dried off and put back in place, Alfred stood in front of the tub, frowning at the small pile of black scales he'd collected during his cleaning. Only eight of them. A few weeks ago, he'd been getting twenty or thirty scales each time he gave Iggy a bath.

This was the real issue at hand. Though they looked similar to those of reptiles, a dragon's scales were structured more like feathers. They were shed individually. Wild dragons had annual molting periods, but since no one wanted their very expensive pets to have scraggly-looking scales for a month every year, domestic dragons had been bred to lose fewer scales at a time. This meant they shed a more or less constant amount year-round, which most dragon owners preferred.

Unfortunately, this breeding process also introduced a small genetic defect. Old scales sometimes didn't detach from the skin properly, which blocked the new scales growing in underneath. This irritated the skin and could lead to bleeding and infections in severe cases.

It wasn't hard to deal with this for adult dragons, since they only lost a few scales per day. But baby dragons like Iggy, who were constantly growing, lost dozens of them, which put them at a much higher risk for developing skin issues. The problem could be avoided with proper care, though, which was a fairly simple process. Soak the skin in water to soften it, then gently massage it to pull out the loose scales.

In short, baby dragons needed regular baths. Nothing too difficult about that.

Until your baby dragon starts refusing to take baths....

Contrary to Alfred's earlier snark, Iggy was actually very well-behaved most of the time. He was just under six months old—the dragon equivalent of a toddler—so naturally he caused a bit of trouble here and there. But this was the first real behavioral problem that he'd shown.

Alfred had hoped it would be a short-lived phase, but it was just getting worse. It had been more than two weeks since Iggy had had a proper bath, and the past few days, Alfred had started to notice him rubbing himself against the furniture and rolling around on the floor—signs that his skin was itchy. Something needed to be done before his condition got worse.

Alfred had tried simply being more firm with Iggy when the little dragon started to fuss and try to get away from him. The result was Iggy throwing a tantrum and demolishing the bathroom. Not exactly an improvement....

Alfred sighed as he moved his gaze from the scales in his hand to the entrance of Iggy's cave. The black tail was still hanging out, but it was limp and motionless now. He guessed that Iggy had worn himself out rampaging around the bathroom and had fallen asleep as soon as he got into a comfortable place and held still for a few minutes.

"A comfortable place, huh?" Alfred muttered to himself. "Well, it's worth a try, at least."

Fire-type dragons were basically invulnerable to heat. If you knew the right spells and had the right equipment, it was technically possible to generate enough heat to harm even a fire dragon, but considering that they could happily swim in molten iron, you had to seriously work at it if you wanted to burn them.

Even knowing that, Alfred felt a bit strange heating bath water until it was boiling. He usually kept the water at a temperature comfortable for humans so that he didn't have to wear protective equipment when he bathed Iggy. The dragon had never seemed to mind, but maybe he would be happier if the water temperature were higher.

Iggy was on the floor playing with a rubber ball, but he looked up with interest when he heard the water start to bubble. After a moment, he abandoned his toy and leapt toward the edge of the tub, flapping his wings wildly. His flying ability was only slightly better than the average chicken's, and the tub was low enough that he could reach it just by jumping anyway, but he rarely passed up an opportunity to use his wings. That was how all the shelves had gotten knocked over the day before.

Alfred heated the water to a rolling boil and then pulled on a pair of long gloves inscribed with heat resistance charms. He usually wore a ring with a basic fire protection charm, since Iggy occasionally spit out sparks when he got excited, but it wasn't quite adequate for sticking his arms in a tub of boiling water.

Iggy was still perched on the edge of the tub, fascinated by the churning water. After watching it for a minute, he reached a paw down and tentatively patted the water's surface. This apparently reassured him, because more vigorous splashing followed. He seemed to be trying to catch the bubbles.

Alfred picked up the ball Iggy had been playing with before and dropped it into the tub, where it bobbed around in the rolling water. Iggy's eyes widened, and he wiggled with excitement for a moment before leaping into the tub after the ball. Alfred raised a hand just in time to shield his face from the splash of hot water. But then he smiled at the sight of Iggy swimming around the tub, chasing his ball. He could swim much better than he could fly, ironically enough. He seemed to be enjoying the hot water, which made Alfred feel hopeful about the success of this bathing strategy.

His optimism was short-lived, unfortunately. After about ten minutes, Iggy seemed to be getting bored of playing in the water.

Alfred caught him when he started climbing out of the bathtub. "Hold on, little guy. We're not done yet."

"Krr?" Iggy made a questioning noise. Maybe he was wondering if Alfred would do something else new and interesting.

"Can you just hold still for a few minutes?" Alfred held Iggy in the water with one hand and reached for a soft-bristled scrub brush with the other. "The water feels nice, doesn't it? Just enjoy it a little longer and let me brush your scales, will you? Please...?"

He started brushing the dragon's back with gentle strokes. Given the choice, it would have been better to let Iggy soak in the water a bit longer before trying to work on his scales. But he'd take what he could get.

...which didn't turn out to be very much.

Iggy tolerated the brushing for approximately a minute and a half before he started squirming and making low-pitched whines. Alfred frowned, but he kept his hold on the little dragon and worked determinedly.

"Seriously, Iggy. I'm trying to help you here, you know? Your skin's been bothering you, hasn't it? This will help it feel better. Just give me a few more minutes, and then we'll go play some more, all right?"

His words had no apparent effect on the little dragon, who lunged forward, trying to grab onto the edge of the tub. Alfred had to drop the brush to hold onto him with both hands.

Iggy made his angry chattering sound again and stretched his wings up in the air. Realizing what he was about to do, Alfred let go and jumped back just in time to avoid the large spray of boiling hot water that Iggy sent up when he smacked his wings down hard against the water's surface.

As soon as he was free, the dragon scrabbled out of the bathtub and dashed out of the room, pausing just long enough to shake the water off his body and all over the floor.

Alfred spent most of the next morning in his workshop.

The situation with Iggy was definitely frustrating for him, but Alfred was a certified wizard, and wizards were nothing if not tenacious. Otherwise, they would never be able to complete the rigorous training that the magic society required of them. He had analyzed the earlier failures and developed a strategy for his next attempt.

"Sixteen years of studying charms and enchantments." Alfred held up a bright blue object, inspecting the results of his work. "I was at the top of my class at the academy in that subject, you know? And here I am making enchanted bath toys. Do you have any idea how spoiled you are, little guy?"

Realizing Alfred was addressing him, Iggy looked up from the stuffed gryphon he was wrestling with and let out a hopeful chirp. He was in his 'playpen,' a glassed-off area on one side of the workshop, where he could stay close but safely out of the way while Alfred was working. He was usually content to play by himself if needed, but he was always eager for Alfred to finish work and let him out.

Naturally, the reason Iggy was able to entertain himself so well was that his play areas were full of well-designed, dragon-proofed toys. Despite Alfred pretending to put on airs, he was no stranger to making dragon toys. It was good practice, actually. He could engrave fire resistance charms in his sleep by now.

The toy he had just finished was shaped like a sea serpent, with a long body made up of foam balls joined with strips of fabric. It was engraved with all the usual dragon-proofing charms, but it also had a special feature that Alfred had designed in the hopes of holding Iggy's attention a little longer than the impromptu bath toy from the day before had been able to.

After a break for lunch and some play time with Iggy, Alfred carried the little dragon and his new toy upstairs to embark on the latest bathing attempt. Iggy was in a good mood, chirping and waving his tail lightly. Though he would run off to hide in his cave to sulk when he was upset, he generally didn't hold grudges. Alfred just hoped he could find a solution to the bath problem before the recurring conflicts put too much strain on their relationship.

The water wasn't boiling today, just in case Iggy decided to repeat his splash attack. As a result, the dragon wasn't very interested in the bath preparations. His attention was focused on the sea serpent toy, which he studied from different angles and nudged curiously while Alfred was getting the water ready. It was different from his other toys, and he didn't quite seem to know what to do with it.

"This is a special toy," Alfred told him, picking up the sea serpent. "I need to charge it up first. Hang on a minute."

There was a small yellow crystal embedded in the serpent's head. Alfred placed his finger on it, and the crystal slowly began to glow as he channeled magic power into it.

"That should do it." He placed the serpent into the water. "And...go!"

As Alfred triggered the magic formation, a shimmering golden pattern lit up across the length of the toy, and it slid out of his hands and across the surface of the water, its body weaving back and forth in an S pattern.

Iggy's eyes nearly popped out when he saw the toy moving on its own. He perched tensely on the edge of the bathtub, thrashing his tail from side to side. As the sea serpent swam close to him, he started making a high-pitched chattering noise, causing tiny sparks to fly from his mouth and nose.

He was so intent on watching the serpent's every move that he accidentally leaned too far forward, lost his balance, and tumbled into the water with a surprised squawk and a large splash. Alfred winced at the sight, but the little dragon surfaced a moment later, apparently unhurt, and swam excitedly after his toy.

A very wet game of tag ensued, with Iggy splashing so much water out of the tub that Alfred had to use a water manipulation spell every few minutes to put it back in. He was extremely glad he had decided against using boiling water this time around.

Half an hour later, Iggy showed no signs of wanting to give up the chase, even though he was obviously getting tired. His movements were noticeably slower, and he started stopping occasionally to pant for air.

"Come here, little guy," Alfred called, beckoning to the tired little dragon. "Let's take a break for a few minutes, okay? You can keep playing after you catch your breath."

Iggy, who was still swimming doggedly after the sea serpent, didn't even seem to hear him. He seemed equally oblivious to the fact that he couldn't keep up with the toy's speed at all anymore.

Alfred sighed. "Iggy," he said a bit more loudly. "Come."

Though dragons couldn't speak human languages, they could learn to understand them to some extent. Since Iggy was just a baby, he hadn't learned very many words yet. But he knew perfectly well what 'come' meant, and he would normally come obediently when Alfred called him.

But that was when he wasn't obsessed with chasing an enchanted bath toy.

Alfred frowned a little at this complete lack of response. "Iggy, come on. You really need to rest a little." He reached down and caught hold of the struggling dragon.

That finally got Iggy's attention, but not in a good way. He turned his head and hissed angrily, sending a spray of sparks toward Alfred. It didn't hurt, but he was so startled by this aggressive behavior that he loosened his grip, allowing Iggy to wriggle free and resume his single-minded pursuit of the sea serpent.

"Seriously, little guy?" Alfred watched him incredulously. "You can't stand to sit still for five minutes to let me brush your loose scales out, but you can focus on a toy until you collapse from exhaustion? Just what goes on in that little dragon head of yours?"

Shaking his own head, Alfred stretched out a hand toward the sea serpent and sent out a small flash of magic to deactivate the enchantment. The serpent immediately stopped moving and drifted to the side of the tub, where it came to a halt, bobbing a little in the water currents.

This allowed Iggy to finally catch up to it. He paused and stared at the unmoving toy.

He turned and looked at Alfred.

He looked back at the toy.

Then he grabbed the sea serpent in his mouth and started shaking it vigorously, while slapping his wings against the water and whining loudly.

A baby dragon-style temper tantrum.

"Iggy...."

Alfred could feel his head starting to hurt as he finally realized what was going on. The little dragon had been so excited about his new toy that he didn't want to stop playing with it, even when he was tired out. He'd pushed himself into a frenzy in order to work up the energy to keep going.

"Maybe this is why there aren't more enchanted dragon toys in the world. I should have stopped him earlier...." Grimacing, Alfred caught hold of Iggy again and lifted him out of the tub.

Distracted by trying to squirm out of Alfred's hands, Iggy lost his grip on the sea serpent, which flew out of his mouth and landed on the floor. It wasn't very far away, and Iggy should have been able to see clearly where it was, but the exhausted baby dragon was beyond reason at this point and clearly thought his precious toy had disappeared. He let out a shrill howl and turned into a wild mess of flailing limbs and flying sparks.

Alfred received several wing slaps to the face and then felt a stinging pain on his left arm. He let go of the hysterical dragon, who stayed airborne for a few seconds due to his frantically flapping wings, before landing on the floor in an awkward heap.

Alfred watched him long enough to make sure he hadn't hurt himself. Then he looked down at his arm, where several long claw marks were oozing blood. They weren't very deep, but they looked serious enough that he decided to take care of the injury before going after Iggy.

Fortunately, there was a cupboard full of medical supplies just a few steps away. He rinsed his arm off in the sink, magically chilling the water to help stop the bleeding. Then he covered the wound with herbal salve and bandaged it. Some salves made from magical herbs could heal wounds almost instantly, but they were very expensive. This was a cheaper, diluted version that worked more slowly, though it should still be able to heal his arm completely by tomorrow.

Alfred didn't see where Iggy had gone, but while he treated his injury, he listened for crashes, howls, or other signs that Iggy had gotten himself into more trouble. But the room had been surprisingly quiet for the past few minutes.

He finally heard something as he was securing the end of the bandage on his forearm. But it wasn't the kind of sound he had expected to hear.

A soft whimpering came from near his feet, and he looked down to see an anxious-looking black dragon staring up at him. Iggy had the blue sea serpent in his mouth, and at first Alfred thought he was asking for it to start moving again. But Iggy dropped the toy at his feet and backed away a few steps, his body lowered in a submissive posture.

Alfred's expression softened. He picked up the serpent and set it on the counter next to the sink. Then he knelt on the floor in front of Iggy. The dragon raised his head a little to look at Alfred's bandaged arm. He stretched out his neck and nuzzled the bandage tentatively before whimpering again.

"I know." Alfred reached over with his other hand and gently stroked the little dragon's head. "I know you didn't mean to. It's okay. They're just scratches."

Seeing Iggy still look worried, Alfred picked him up and placed him on his lap. Iggy gave another small whimper and buried his face in Alfred's shirt.

They stayed there for a while, with Alfred still stroking Iggy's neck and back comfortingly. After a few minutes, when the dragon still hadn't moved, he quietly used a float charm to bring Iggy's brush over from the bathtub and smoothly switched from petting to lightly brushing his scales.

For the first time in weeks, Iggy didn't protest and stayed quiet for an entire scale removal session. Though it was hard to tell how much of that was because he was feeling remorseful and how much was simply because he was worn out. He was fast asleep by the time Alfred finished brushing him. This was probably fortunate, since Alfred had to brush very gently and slowly so as not to further damage the dragon's already irritated skin. Iggy's wild behavior earlier had forcibly pulled out a number of scales, leaving traces of blood here and there. Alfred reopened the jar of salve he had used on his arm and carefully massaged some into the worst-looking areas on Iggy's body.

"You were so excited about your new toy that you got upset when you got tired and realized you'd have to stop playing," he murmured quietly to the sleeping dragon. "Getting upset made you even more tired. More tired meant more upset. A downward spiral. Were the baths the same? You probably started fussing about being brushed because it was boring to hold still for so long. Hyper little guy.... But getting brushed less made your skin start to bother you, which made brushing even more unpleasant. Less brushing, more irritation. More irritation, less brushing. No wonder things kept getting worse...." Alfred sighed, running a finger lightly down Iggy's back. "So how do we get you out of the spiral, my crazy little dragon?"

He looked at Iggy thoughtfully for a moment and then turned his head to look at the blue sea serpent lying on the counter. He had attached a small ruffle to its head in imitation of the fins on a real sea serpent. The ruffle had a single black scale caught on it.

"Maybe making this thing wasn't such a bad idea after all...."

The next afternoon found Alfred and Iggy in the bathroom yet again. Iggy was still acting rather subdued, although he had cheered up a little after seeing Alfred remove the bandage from his completely healed arm that morning.

When the water was ready, Alfred went to the supply cupboard and pulled out two items that he'd left there the evening before. Iggy's ears perked up in spite of himself when he saw them, but then he tilted his head, looking puzzled.

One of the objects was the blue sea serpent toy from the day before. The second one, which was the source of Iggy's puzzlement, was a bright green sea serpent, made with the same design as the blue one, except that its entire body was covered with bristles, as though it had been stuck full of porcupine quills.

"I know it looks ridiculous," Alfred said, noticing Iggy staring at the green serpent. "But as long as it works, it's fine. Since when do bath toys have to be dignified? It's not time for the green one yet, though. Play with this one for a while first."

He charged the blue serpent with magic and placed it in the water. Iggy watched it start swimming around the tub, his body wriggling a little with excitement. Then he hesitated, glancing up at Alfred.

"Go ahead." Alfred gave the dragon a pat of encouragement. "I made it for you to play with. Just try not to go crazy again today, all right?"

Understanding that he had Alfred's permission, Iggy gave a happy chirp and dove into the water.

Alfred watched him chase the sea serpent for a while, occasionally moving the spilled water back into the tub.

After twenty minutes or so, he quietly sent a supply of magic into the green serpent's crystal and let it slide into the water. Unlike the first one, which was designed to move by itself, this serpent had to be manually controlled. Alfred moved his hand as though pulling on invisible puppet strings, causing the green serpent to swim slowly up behind Iggy, who had just caught the blue serpent and was happily chewing on its head.

The little dragon didn't notice the second toy until it brushed against one of his wings. He gave a small squawk of surprise and turned his head to see what had touched him. Alfred didn't want to startle him too much, so he waited until Iggy had examined the green serpent, nudging and sniffing at it curiously, before he moved it again, making it slither up Iggy's wing and onto his back.

"Krr?" The dragon let out a questioning trill and craned his head around, trying to see what the serpent was doing. Alfred twined it around his body, with Iggy twisting himself to follow it, to the point that he accidentally flipped himself over and went under the water for a moment.

When he surfaced, he let out a short, excited chatter and a few sparks before lunging at the green serpent. He caught it in his mouth and kicked furiously at it with his claws. The very wet game of tag now became a very wet wrestling match, with the bristly sea serpent wriggling all over Iggy, who responded by attacking it fiercely, while making excited squawks and growls. If Alfred hadn't put extra reinforcement charms on the poor toy, it would have been torn to shreds within minutes.

As it was, Iggy was the one who gave out first. He let go of the serpent and floated, panting heavily, with his wings outstretched so he could stay afloat without having to swim. Alfred pulled the tired dragon out of the water and wrapped him in a towel.

Iggy had probably realized that he would have more opportunities to play with his new toys, because he didn't get upset over having to stop today. He let Alfred dry him off and then climbed up his arm and rested his head on Alfred's shoulder, apparently still tired.

"Well done, little guy," Alfred said, stroking Iggy's back.

He smiled as he looked down at the bathtub, where the green sea serpent was floating motionless in the water. The bristles along its body were full of small black scales.

"We'll call that good enough."