Maycor and Demaeter 3
#34 of The Life and Times of Jarzyl Mintaka (Slice of Life Stories)
Jarzyl takes care of her cousins.
3,085 words
Almost all dragons enjoyed flight, even hatchlings. Jarzyl could easily recall the days not too long ago when she had been a hatchling herself, much smaller and lacking the wing strength to take flight. She had always enjoyed it when her parents carried through the skies.
However, Jarzyl had never the opportunity to do the inverse--now that she was a fledgling capable of making her own way through the skies, this was the first time she took a younger dragon as a passenger through the air. Her cousin Maycor was lightweight and easy to carry as he sat on her back and clung to her flight harness straps, but his presence imposed a mental burden because Jarzyl constantly worried about flying carefully to let him hang on, or worse, that a strong gust of wind shear might blow him off her back.
All in all, that meant that flying with a younger dragon as passenger was still surprisingly tiring even if she was only performing very basic flight manoeuvres like a slow climb and a gentle turn. Jarzyl flew through a simple circuit at modest speed, and then she did some gradual turns at Maycor's beckoning, with the young hatchling excitedly pointing his paw in various directions, then being elated when Jarzyl actually turned in whichever way he wanted. Repeatedly Jarzyl glanced over her shoulder to make sure that her cousin was alright during each turn, but he was grabbing on tight to the shoulder strap of her flight harness and showed no signs of any trouble at all. Maycor even tried spreading his own wings to try and catch the air, though his wing muscles weren't strong enough for him to lift his own weight.
As Jarzyl circled slowly through the air, she also paid close attention to the other fledgling flying nearby--her close friend Atlas, who was helping to carry Jarzyl's other cousin, Demaeter. Demaeter's brown scales made her barely stand out against Atlas's dark, sooty black colouration. Maycor had brown scales just like his sister, making him somewhat more easily visible compared to Jarzyl's own amber orange hues.
But more so than colour, what Jarzyl noticed was the size difference between Atlas and Demaeter, which was also mirrored between herself and Maycor. It hadn't been that long ago when Atlas and Jarzyl had themselves both been hatchlings unable to use their own wings effectively, yet in what seemed like no time at all, the fledgling growth spurt had changed things. Suddenly adult drakken were no longer towering over them, and hatchlings seemed so tiny now.
Opening her jaws, Jarzyl took a deep breath and let it out in a proud, fearless drakken roar--or almost. "Skrryyahhh!" The noise she made sounded like a roar, though her cry still lacked the deeper, powerful resonance to travel very far. For a while now Jarzyl had been trying to learn how to roar, but she still hadn't gotten the hang of it.
Riding atop her back, right behind her neck, Maycor yelled as well. "Yah!" squeaked the hatchling. He sounded adorable and that made Jarzyl feel better about her own roar just by comparison.
Atlas was circling around near her. He didn't roar back at Jarzyl--she had never actually heard her friend roar, or even try to roar--but he did slowly rock his wings left and wing in an acknowledging gesture.
Eventually their short flight session came to an end. Atlas was the first to head back towards Jarzyl's home, and Jarzyl followed a modest distance behind, matching her friend's gradual descent as he lined up for landing. "Ok, ready to head home?" Jarzyl murmured to Maycor.
"Ok!" replied her cousin.
"Me too," Jarzyl agreed.
With a careful flare of his wings, Atlas gently touched down on the balcony of Jarzyl's home. He furled up his wings and crouched down to the floor, and Demaeter jumped down off his back--but not before she stretched her neck and bumped her tiny snout against his neck in thanks.
There was plenty of space on the balcony for two fledglings to land side by side. Jarzyl was trying to make her landing extra slow and gentle so she wouldn't knock Maycor off her back, however she slowed down too much and her wings started to stall. It was the sort of mistake that she'd made very commonly while first learning how to fly. "Uhhh..." Jarzyl hurriedly flapped her wings to regain some speed before she dropped entirely out of the sky, but she overcompensated and sped up too much. "Hold on, Maycor..."
Inexperienced with the intricacies of flight dynamics, Maycor just chirped happily. "Eep! Eeep!"
The sensible thing to do now would be to go around and try her landing again, but Jarzyl was impatient and she hated giving up. "Make way, make way!" So instead the orange-scaled fledgling just came in for a landing overly fast, and she didn't touchdown precisely on the balcony as Atlas had but instead she just kept going. Jarzyl barely managed to snap her wings shut before she came flying in through the open balcony doors. Atlas and Demaeter were both still sitting on the balcony, and their heads turned as they watched Jarzyl and Maycor swoop past them.
"Yaaaah!" Maycor yelled excitedly, and he ducked his head flat down again Jarzyl's back as he clung on. With too much forward momentum, Jarzyl stumbled forward into the kitchen and almost tripped up over her own paws several times, before she finally came to a stop and slumped down onto the floor, panting tiredly. "Aaaaahhhh... hmmm..." Maycor made a long exclamation, but he slowly calmed down and lost volume as he ran out of breath to exhale.
"That was slightly fast," Atlas noted.
"Arrgh, tell me about it. That flight was tougher than I thought it would be. It's very _stressful_to be carrying a hatchling," Jarzyl muttered, breathing heavily.
"It is." Atlas strolled over to where Jarzyl was lying on the floor, and then he nodded at Maycor pointedly. "Maycor, did you enjoy the flight? You like flying? Say, thank you Jarzyl."
"Fly!" Maycor happily chirped. He opened both wings and waved them about uncoordinatedly, then he extended one wing and tried to pat Jarzyl on the head. "Thank oo, Yarzil!" Jarzyl flicked her neck frill, slapping away her cousin's wing, but he seemed to take that as celebratory recognition of his gesture. "Yay."
Jarzyl tried to glare at Maycor, but he just happily leapt off her shoulder and went to go chase Demaeter around the room. Instead, Jarzyl tried glaring at Atlas--his neutral expression wasn't affected by her glare, but at least he didn't run away. "Ok, now we... we get them to eat their afternoon meal, then a bath and then nap. Shouldn't be too hard, right?"
"Right," Atlas agreed.
Sitting on top of the kitchen table, Maycor and Demaeter's tails both flicked from side to side in excitement as Jarzyl dolled on the thick, warm, meat and vegetable stew from the pot and into a smaller bowl. Enough time had passed as they'd been flying that the food was no longer piping hot, but it was still sufficiently warm. Jarzyl put down the bowl, and instantly both her cousins dashed forward. As they both tried to eat the thick stew, they got in each other's way and ended up in a shoving match that spilled some of the food.
"Yaaah!" Maycor squealed.
Demaeter hissed at him. "Tsss!"
"Eeep! Eeeep! Eeep! Ep! Ep! Epp!" Both hatchlings started chirping loudly and slapping their paws and wings at each other, much to Jarzyl's pointed disapproval.
"You pests! Why can't you just share? You can't finish all the food on your own anyway," grumbled the fledgling. "Hey!" she yelled, which made her cousins stop fighting with each other, but they both started chirping at her and vocally expressing their displeasure.
"Bah! Maycurr! Eeeppp!"
"Neeeeee! Ahhh! Mine. Ood. Mine!"
"Thrice cursed and forsaken nullfire, you two are such spectacular noisemakers!" Jarzyl grumbled, but Maycor and Demaeter continued making noise.
"Eeep! Eep! Eep! Eep!"
"Eeeeeeeeeppppp!"
"Just keep throwing a tantrum! That'll fix things. Keep yelling, I don't care. And now I have to clean the table because you two idiots made me spill the--"
Then Atlas did something_with his tongue and teeth to make a sharp, almost painfully loud whistle. "_Fweee!" Instantly Maycor, Demaeter, and even Jarzyl flinched and went silent. Atlas gestured, covering his snout with his forepaw, then pointing at them. "Calm down, please. Not so loud."
"Eeep...!" Demaeter squeaked again, but Atlas gestured specifically at her, and the hatchling's voice trailed off. Her tiny neck frill drooped, and she sat down next to her brother.
"How did you--?!" Jarzyl started to loudly ask, but Atlas hushed her too.
"Ssshhh!"
Jarzyl's neck frill also drooped, and she was chastised for a moment before she spoke again in a softer, calm, quiet voice. "Uh... How did... How did you do that?"
"I'm working part-time at the library last year, remember? There's an art to getting silence," Atlas casually replied, as if that explained anything at all. Then he strolled over to the cupboard and took out a second bowl. "Here. One for each of them, so they have their own share and won't have to fight."
"Oh. I should have thought of that," Jarzyl admitted with a sigh. She used the ladle to fill both bowls equally, then she nudged them towards the two hatchlings. "Here. You two happy now?"
"Mmhhm! Thank oo, Jaryil." Maycor bobbed his head happily, whereas Demaeter eagerly darted forward and started slurping the stew from her bowl. Maycor also started eating from his own bowl, and the two hatchlings seemed content.
Jarzyl grabbed a table cloth and wiped up the spilled stew. She had to lift up Demaeter's bowl to wipe the table underneath it, and the hatchling grabbed the rim of the bowl so she never had to take her mouth away from the food. "Looking at them eat, you would think they were starving," Jarzyl murmured. "And this is after I already let them have that fruit snack earlier."
"That's how hatchlings are," Atlas said. He used his wing to pat Maycor on the back, then Demaeter. Both hatchlings were preoccupied with eating, but Atlas got a soft purr from Demaeter, and a satisfied tail flick from Maycor. "Eat well, you two. Good job."
"Why are you praising them? I feel like you and I have been doing all the work, and they are just burdensome troublemakers," Jarzyl grumbled.
Atlas laughed, then he strolled over and used his wing to pat Jarzyl on her back too. "There, there. Good job, Jarzyl. You did well too."
Jarzyl wasn't sure if Atlas was drily mocking her, but praise was praise and she nodded her head. "Thank you."
"You're welcome." Atlas folded in his wing again, then he sat down and watched as the two hatchlings ate their meal.
Jarzyl picked up the ladle and sniffed at it, then she scooped up the remaining stew from the pot and tried it. "For being baby food, this stuff isn't that bad. It's very soft, but it does have taste." She extended the ladle towards Atlas. "Want to try?"
Atlas looked amused, but he leaned over and slurped some stew from the ladle. "Not bad."
Jarzyl yawned lazily, and she strolled around the kitchen as her two cousins continued eating from their bowls of stew. "Hmmm... Now I'm starting to feel peckish too." From the larder, Jarzyl grabbed a jar filled with thin strips of grilled, dried pork. A blend of salt and sugar had been used to preserve and flavour the meat, making for a tasty snack. Jarzyl offered the jar to Atlas even as she munched on the meat. "Want some?"
Atlas took a meat strip and chewed on it. "Thanks."
By now Maycor was mostly done with his bowl of stew, while Demaeter had completely finished hers and even licked her bowl clean. The young, brown-scaled female hatchling scampered over to the edge of the table and waved her wings for attention. "Jarzzzzz!" squeaked the hatchling, then she opened her mouth wide, expectantly.
Atlas chuckled, while Jarzyl let out an amused snort. "Hmf. Still hungry, aren't you? Ok, fine. You can have a little bit." Jarzyl fished through the jar until she found a smaller strip of the dried meat, then she tore it in two and gave half to Demaeter.
By this point Maycor had noticed what was going on, and he also trotted over to get his share--Jarzyl tossed the other half of the dried meat strip to him, and Maycor made a small leap and managed to catch it in his jaws. Maycor took his time slowly gnawing on the moderately tough meat, whereas Demaeter was more impatient as she tried to hurriedly chew it up and swallow it down.
Suddenly Demaeter made a series of coughing sounds, and Atlas jerked his head in a sudden glance towards her. "Urrk... Khkk..."
Leaning in close, Atlas nudged at Demaeter. "Are you ok?" murmured the dark-scaled fledgling.
Jarzyl had just started chewing on another strip of the tasty dried meat, but she glanced over. "Hmm? What's Demaeter's problem now? Food not tasty enough for her? Temperamental, needy pests, these two are."
Atlas looked calm, but he was paying close attention to the young hatchling. "I think she might be choking."
"Ahhhh!" Jarzyl let out a panicked yell, and she dropped her own snack to scramble over.
"Ahhh!" Maycor let out a yell of his own, as the sudden noise and movement startled him. Then he just resumed slowly gnawing on his strip of meat, unaware of the trouble his sister was having.
Demaeter was hunched over, and she retched a few times. Atlas put his forepaw over her back and give her a few firm slaps--not patting the young hatchling, but with some force. Demaeter coughed loudly several times, then she spat up a large, drool-covered, rather unchewed chunk of dried meat. "Hhhk. Ahem. Woah." Demaeter cleared her throat and shook herself all over, then she sat up straight again.
"Ok, I think she's better now," Atlas said.
Demaeter sniffed at the coughed up meat and tried to snap it up again, but Jarzyl snatched her cousin off the table and hugged her tightly against her chest. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean it! You're not a pest. Don't do that to me!!"
Atlas chuckled. "You _do_care."
"No, I don't care! I hate these two pests!" Jarzyl exclaimed, but she didn't sound convincing.
Meanwhile, Maycor used the distraction to grab the piece of meat that had briefly choked his sister. "Chew that properly!" Atlas said. It wasn't quite clear if Maycor fully understood the words, but he sat down on the table top to start slowing and thoroughly gnawing at the dried meat, sucking at it to get the flavour out.
"Mine!" Demaeter grumbled an objection and she waved her forelimb towards Maycor, but Jarzyl was still holding her tight against her chest in a hug.
"She was choking...? Oh, oh no. I can't do this. This is way too stressful. Why do hatchlings keep trying kill themselves?!!" Jarzyl exclaimed, with her neck frill drooping flat. "Mhhnnnn..." She made a nervous moan from the back of her throat, and she kept hugging Demaeter tight.
"Hey. Aayy." Demaeter tried to struggle free, and she looked offended that Maycor was getting to eat while she was being held. "Jarzzz!"
"Just make sure that your cousins don't eat too fast. And be careful with food that is tough or chewy," Atlas said. "Alternatively, you can feed them traditional way."
Jarzyl made eye contact. "The what way? Did I do this wrong?"
Atlas reached over for the jar of dried meat and took another strip. "If the hatchling won't chew, then do it for them." He bit of a small piece of meat and chewed it thoroughly, then he spat it back into his paw and offered it to Demaeter.
"Ewww." Jarzyl recoiled, but Demaeter struggled out of her hold and eagerly trotted across the table to eat the partially chewed meat out of Atlas's paw. Jarzyl still looked disgusted. "Uggh, but that's... that's... gross. That seems unsanitary."
"It's how dragons used to feed hatchlings, back before we had... advanced culinary techniques and technology and modern civilization. A freshly caught carcass roasted by firebreath in the woods isn't going to be something a hatchling can eat without help," Atlas pointed out. "So you have to either make sure the food is in small, manageable pieces, or you chew some of it for them until they learn to do it properly themselves."
Jarzyl walked over to stand beside Atlas, but she still gave him a wary look. "My parents never did that with me."
Atlas shrugged. "Maybe you were just better at chewing. Or maybe your parents just always cooked soft food for you while you were very young. Pre-chewing is a thing--it's just helping chew up tougher food so that a hatchling can eat it even if they have weak jaws, not all their teeth, or if they are too impatient to fully chew on their own." He picked up the dried meat strip that he had taken earlier, and he started chewing on the rest of it.
"Hmm." Jarzyl hummed curiously, and then she casually grabbed the end of the dried meat strip and plucked it out of Atlas's mouth. Before he could even ask what she was doing, Jarzyl tried biting on the meat strip--specifically the portion that Atlas had just been chewing. "You're right. It is easier to eat after you've chewed it." Jarzyl ate some of it, looking thoughtful. Then she reached over, opened Atlas's mouth, and put the meat strip back in before pushing his jaw closed.
Atlas gave her a look, then he resumed eating. "...ookaay, then."
Jarzyl's neck frill perked up as she thought of something else. "Is it weird that... that some of your saliva must have gotten into my mouth, because you chewed that, then I ate it? I feel like that's weird and possibly unhygienic. Then again, maybe it isn't because that's not too different from... uh..."
Atlas fixed his calm gaze on her, which made Jarzyl glance away.
"Never mind." Jarzyl nudged Demaeter, then Maycor. "Just eat properly, alright? Is shouldn't be hard to _not_choke yourself."
END