*Day 6/1, Mid Morning*
**Dragon Clinic**

The dragons of Telnor were staying well clear of the dragon clinic whenever
possible, and with very good reason.  Though queens were not generally known
for their gracious temperaments, Telnor's senior queen was setting records
for irritability.  Not that any of the dragons could really blame her.  No,
some vexation was to be expected when one was recovering from surgery and
absolutely frantic about being away from her unhatched children.  Still,
blameless or not, except to drop off meals and give hourly reports on the
status of the eggs, Zareena was wisely avoided.

Not all dragons, however, are equally wise, Rover least of all.  Though he
was aware of Zareena's foul mood while in her presence, he soon forgot all
about it when he wasn't.  So, whenever the queen demanded food, the other
dragons happily dumped the duty on the conveniently helpful, yet deplorably
stupid Rover.

His good nature and bad memory having been prevailed upon once more, Rover
was currently lying on the clinic floor, curled up in a cowed ball, watching
Zareena eat.  She had ordered him to stay, and was half shouting at him,
about what he wasn't sure.  He, unable to follow half of it, tried to puzzle
out what he had done to make Zareena so angry at him.  He would never find
out.

******

The temperament of brooding queens was also completely lost on the family of
mice making a nest in a crack in one of the walls.  They had, in their tiny
minds, more important things to worry about.  Like food, shelter, food, and,
when the occasion demanded, not being eaten.  At the moment, a little female
mouse was in food mode and getting ready to venture out in search of
breakfast.

Her sensitive whiskers brushed the sides of the crack as she stuck her nose
out for a cautionary sniff.  The smell of dragon was dominant, but, like the
smell of horse, was ignored as unimportant.  Dragons were not a threat
unless a mouse was careless and got underfoot.  Humans and cats, were an
entirely different matter, but none seemed to be present.  With a nervous
twitch of her nose, the mouse scampered out into the open, beady eyes taking
in the vast horizon of the clinic floor.

Satisfied for the moment that all was well, the mouse began the long trek
across the center of the room.

*****

Zareena saw the mouse first, golden eyes tracking its fearless progress
across the room.  Her powerful jaws paused mid-chew, eyes narrowing to
glowing slits, instantly disliking the cocky rodent.  She was a queen, she
deserved respect and this upstart mouse thought it was just going to run
under her nose without her noticing?  Not on its life, which, if she had
anything to say about it, was about to cease.

<*Rover,*> she said sharply, licking her bloody mouth.  <*Do you see that
mouse, crossing the room?*>

<^Mouse?^>

She ground her teeth and pointed a claw at the creature.  <*That is a mouse.
I want you to kill it.*>

Rover obediently got to his feet and started towards the rodent.  Zareena
returned to her meal, confident that the matter would be taken care of.  It
was only a mouse after all.

********

Rover studied the mouse curiously as he moved to cut it off.  He did not
understand why he had to kill it.  The mouse was cute.  But he didn't
understand much.  Zareena was much smarter, and if she said to kill it, he
would.  He didn't want to make her any angrier at him.

Deciding that he was close enough, Rover crouched, pounced, and overshot by
a mile.  Claws scrabbling madly for purchase on the smooth, stone floor, he
managed to turn around, but only after smashing into the herb cabinet,
acquiring a rather pungent mixture of odors.

Rover didn't even notice.  He spotted the mouse diving underneath the
pillows on the dragon couch and, too caught up in the chase, didn't even
register the queen's cries of alarm.  Diving into the couch, he picked up a
pillow in his mouth and tried to throw it to the side.  He blinked in
surprise as his mouth and the air around him was suddenly filled with pretty
white fluffy things.  Then he made the mistake of inhaling.

Wet feathers spewed out of his mouth, joining the rising froth of fluff as
Rover began tearing up the rest of the pillows on the couch with each
convulsive cough.

<Zoi!> he cried out, staggering around in the haze of down in panic.

<Flames!> Zoi shouted back at him.  <What the hell are you doing, Rover?!
I'm hacking up my lung here...>

Rover missed the rest of his rider's incomprehensible complaints as he
seized her suggestion.  With hardly a thought, he began to flame as long and
as hard as he could manage, trying not to sneeze as the burning feathers
tickled his throat.  Turning his head, he watched in fascination as the
little bits of white turned to ash, wondering what all the howling was
about.  His throat felt much better now.

<*ROVER!  STOP THAT THIS INSTANT!!*>

The rather impressive flame sputtered out abruptly as Rover recognized
Zareena's shout.  Looking around, he found the queen huddled in a corner,
shaking.

<^Pretty Zareena?^> Rover asked innocently, tail swishing back and forth
uncertainly, unaware that it was destroying what remained of the clinic's
shelves.

********

<*Don't you ~dare~ pretty Zareena me!*> she hissed, to frightened and angry
and sore to even attempt graciousness.   <*Are you deaf!  I've been shouting
at you forever now!  Stupid dragon!  Look at what you've done!*>

Zareena felt a vague sort of shame creep over her righteous rage as Rover's
head and tail drooped dejectedly.  Uncomfortable, she looked around the
wreckage of the clinic.  There really wasn't much left, what hadn't been
crushed had been burned.  Dalmar was going to have a fit.  Zareena began to
grin in a very unqueenly manner.

She turned her attention back to the cowering dragon.  <*But, I forgive you,
Rover,*> Zareena said benevolently.  Rover perked up immediately.  <*After
all, it was---*>

<~What, by the gods, did you do to my clinic!~>

Both dragons turned to see Dalmar quivering in the doorway, furious eyes
taking in the destruction before settling on the dragons.

Zareena, after the initial glance, however, had put the dragonhealer
entirely out of her mind.  Something far more important had gotten her
attention.

<~Well, what happened?~> Dalmar insisted angrily.

Zareena got to her feet and began walking towards him.  <*Rodents.  Do you
honestly expect me, a queen, to reside in a place infested with mice?  You
should be ashamed.*>  She barely managed to keep the satisfied smile off her
face as the dragonhealer's jaw dropped in shock.

<*Now, if you'll excuse me...*>  The entire warren was suddenly filled with
joyous howls.  <*I have my children's hatching to attend.  Come along,
Rover.*>  Moving stiffly, but with a grace born of triumph, the magenta
queen stepped around the flabbergasted healer and headed for the sands,
Rover trailing behind like a happy puppy, coughing up an occasional feather
along the way.

*******

A very long time later, a little whiskered nose poked out of the remnants of
the couch.  After a very thorough investigation of the room, the little
mouse raced across the room, back to the safe haven of her little nest and
shook for a very, very long time.

**********

NRPG: Well, there it is, the hatching at last!  Tag all!  With an especially
messy tag to John as well! :)  Also, I'm designating this Day 1, with the
hatching and all, it seems like a good day for it.  :)  Have fun :)

Respectfully Submitted,
Bridget Olson

AKA
Zareena, dragon of Maedralyn
and
Rover, dragon of Zoi
and
a little mouse, resident of the Dragon Clinic


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