Kavia has been trekking through the woods for the last two hours, hunting for dragonwort.

That...is not dragonwort. That is a dragon. A very small dragon. Kavia's not an expert on dragons, but it probably shouldn't be out of the nest on its own, at that size? 

"...hello?" she whispers, quiet in case the tiny dragon is sleeping. 

Not sleeping, but his response is to flinch and curl tighter around his bottle, shaking slightly.

"Oh! No, it's okay, I won't hurt you..." 

Maybe if she crouches down, to look less threatening?

He sneaks a look at her, from under one wing, but doesn't uncurl, does in fact curl tighter around his bottle. "mine." (It's not quite a snarl.)

"I know! I know it's yours, I won't try and take it, I just want to talk to you," she soothes. 

"I'm Kavia. What's your name?"

He shuffles slightly so he can watch her better. "...Tyau," he provides after a pause.

Smoke. A pretty standard, if uncreative, name for a baby dragon. 

"Nice to meet you, Tyau. That's a cute name!"

He blinks, doesn't exactly relax, and certainly doesn't uncurl, but his wings settle back a little so they're not concealing his face so much.

There's scrapes visible on his sides, made more obvious by the fact that a few of his scales had been torn loose - marks from claws?

She frowns. That's...not a good sign. 

"Are you okay? Those look nasty."

He flinches slightly. "I-m'fine." Realises he spoke a bit loud, dips his head down, huddles around his bottle. "was bad."

"You don't look fine..."

And that's really not a good sign. "Where are your parents?" Oh, wait, dragons only have one - "Sorry, parent." 

He flinches again, starts shaking. "I- the lair. I-" He doesn't want to go back, he's not sure he's allowed to go back.

"Do you want me to help you find your way back, or...help you find somewhere else to go?" she offers.

"You can't just stay out in the woods," she continues, trying to keep her tone gentle so it doesn't sound like an admonishment. "It's not safe." 

At the suggestion of going back he curls tighter again. "I- not sure- if I can. I- " He looks around as much as he can from his curled position and somehow seems to slump. "don't know- where to go."

...yeah. 

"You...could come home with me?" She's pretty sure Mal won't mind her bringing home a stray; it's not like he'd have much of a leg to stand on if he complained, given how often he does the same. 

...

He peeks out at her again. "Don't want to be a bother."

"Well, you don't look like you'd take up much space," she jokes without thinking, then bites her lip. That probably wasn't the best thing to say. 

"I don't!" he rushes to assure. And as quiet as he's been speaking before, the more normal volume seems like a shout. He winces and flinches slightly tighter again. "sorry, sorry. M'quiet too."

"Yeah, you're very quiet," she says with a smile. "Not that I'd mind if you weren't."

Please let her not have scared him away...

He keeps watching her, obviously not sure what to do. "I- Whatever you think best?" he mumbles eventually, bottle clutched tight to himself.

"...okay. Um." 

She breathes.

"I think you should come with me. I have a friend who—knows a lot more about dragons than I do," because he is one, "and he'll be able to figure out how to help you." 

He gives something approximating a nod. "O-Okay," he agrees.

"Great!" She stands up and dusts off her skirt. 

"It'll take more than an hour to get there, maybe an hour and a half. Would you like to ride in my basket?" 

He scrambles to his own feet, shakes his head. "I- M'fine. C'n walk."

Tiny dragon continues to be adorable.

"Okay, well, let me know if you change your mind and want a ride." She'll walk fairly slow, so he stands a chance of keeping up. 

He follows after her, not quite scampering, bottle carefully carried so it's not going to fall or be broken. He's still exhausted though, and he does eventually start to lag some, and stumble a little.

They've still got a way to go. 

"How are you doing? Do you want to ride in the basket for a bit?" Said basket is mostly empty, with only a thin cushion of green leaves in the bottom, and looks like it would be quite a comfortable place to curl up. 

He pauses, looks conflicted, ducks down on himself some. "I- don't want to- be a burden?" (Quite literally in this case.)

"No, no, it's fine, I don't mind." Hmm, that doesn't seem likely to work. How about...

"I mean, you'll only slow me down if you try to keep walking."

...oh. There's a flinch there, and then he nods. "I-if that's...easier for you?"

"Yeah."

She sets the basket on the ground so he can climb in. 

He hesitates, before cautiously climbing in and curling up. (When she lifts her basket, she'll notice that he probably weighs less than you'd think would be healthy.)

"There, see? You're not very heavy at all."

She lifts him easily, trying not to jostle the basket too much. He's still got that little bottle, right? That looked delicate. 

He does, he's curled back around it, protective again.

That's good. Probably.

She continues walking home, careful of her burden, and attempts to come up with an explanation that won't make Mal raise the eyebrows he doesn't even have at her. Three years and she still doesn't know how he does that. 

The motion of the basket manages to lull Tyau into a light doze, although he'll likely wake at the slightest provocation.

Awwwwww! 

She is very very careful not to jostle the basket the rest of the way home. He looks like he needs the rest. 

In which case, he will sleep all the way! Snuggling his bottle like it's a soft toy.

(Awww.) Eventually, the trees thin out, and the forest gives way to more hilly terrain dotted with small scrubby bushes. A tall tower stands on one of the hills, and Kavia makes her way towards it up a winding path.

If Tyau hasn't woken up by the time she reaches the foot of the tower, she'll try waking him. Putting the basket down so she has her hands free to open the door will probably do it. 

He is pretty tired. And yes, putting the basket down does cause him to wake - flinching slightly and curling tighter.

"Um. We're here."

She digs a little silvery pendant out from the collar of her dress and waves it in front of the door, which swings open. They've come to the back door, which is sized for humans rather than big enough to fit an adult dragon. Mostly out of habit, but now she's glad of it. The big doors would probably be intimidating for the tiny baby dragonling. 

"Do you want to get out and walk again now? It's a lot of stairs to the top of the tower, so I can keep carrying you if that would be easier." 

"C'n walk," he says, scrambling out the basket. (Stairs sound like they'd be harder to carry him up.)

"Okay then." She takes the basket with her anyway, since the workroom is halfway up the tower and that's where she's taking the dragonwort.

It's a lot of steps. There are landings on every floor where they can stop and rest, which Kavia will do on the third landing even if Tyau somehow doesn't look like he needs a rest by that point. 

He does look somewhat worn out, but he's doing a very good job of hiding it. "I- m'okay?" He seems to get that she's stopping for him. "Don't wanna hold you up?"

"I needed to stop anyway. It's a lot of stairs!"

She does seem a little out of breath. "Don't worry, we're halfway up. Only three more flights to go." 

Well, he'll take the rest gratefully.

"Thank you," he murmurs. (Because you told people you were grateful, for whatever they allowed you.)

"Ready to move on?" she asks once he seems to have caught his breath. 

He nods earnestly. "M'ready, miss, thank you."

The second half of the climb is pretty much like the first. Kavia goes slowly and keeps an eye on the tiny dragon to make sure he's keeping up.

Finally, they reach the top floor of the tower. It's all one big room, opening out onto a broad balcony that has to have at least a hint of magic in its construction judging by how far out it goes. 

A medium-sized dragon, scales gleaming a soft pastel blue, is stretched out across the floor, half on the balcony and half inside the room. He lifts his head when they arrive.

"Kavia, welcome back," he says pleasantly, then notices Tyau and blinks. "Did you find a new friend in the woods?" 

Tyau is still for a moment, and then moves abruptly, curling up behind Kavia's legs in an attempt to hide. (Memories of his guardian's anger and claws are too fresh to be able to face another dragon without fear right now.)

The other dragon slowly lowers his head to rest his chin on the floor, otherwise keeping very still. 

Kavia shoots him a panicked look as she tries to coax Tyau out from behind her legs. "It's okay! Mal won't hurt you, I promise."

It takes a few minutes before he's willing to even peek around Kavia's legs, but he eventually shuffles back to beside her, still half sheltering next to her.

Mal waits patiently, head and wings still lowered to make himself less threatening. 

"Hello, little one," he says softly once the tiny dragon has emerged. "I'm Mal. And what might you be called?" 

He still flinches and tries to make himself smaller, trembling slightly. "I- Tyau?"

"Tyau," he repeats. "Welcome to my tower." He deliberately doesn't say lair—it's not a certainty that the word will have bad associations, but given the way the young one flinched at the sight of another dragon, it's better to be safe than sorry. 

"What brings you here, and how can I help you?"

"I- Um. Miss Kavia- she- thought it would be- best?"

Mal looks at Kavia, and she explains the situation as she saw it. She found Tyau alone and scared in the woods, offered him a place to stay, and brought him here when he agreed. He was—and still is—injured, tired, and hungry, and he really doesn't want to go back to his parent but he's too little to be okay on his own, so she thought Mal would be okay with looking after him instead. 

...yup, Mal's doing the thing where he manages to give the impression of raising an eyebrow without actually having eyebrows to raise. "What did I do wrong?" she asks, subdued. 

Mal puts on his teaching voice, deliberately modulated to sound neutral and not angry or disappointed. It's a skill he's had decades to perfect. "Did you tell Tyau you were bringing him into another dragon's home?"

Still avoiding the word lair, but the implications are obvious even to a human. 

"No," she admits, embarrassed. 

"Sorry, Tyau. I should have told you Mal was a dragon before I asked if you wanted to come with me. I should have guessed you might be scared of other dragons. It's, um, it's okay if you want to change your mind and leave? But I really do think Mal could help, if you want to stay," she rushes to add in case Tyau thinks they're kicking him out. 

Tyau seems confused by the apology, even as he shuffles, and somehow manages to make himself smaller. I- S'okay? I- whatever- whatever you think best?" Mal's included in that statement as well. "...don't have- anywhere else."

"In that case, I would be glad to have you stay here," Mal invites. 

"This floor is mine, and my students have their own rooms, but you may choose anywhere else in the tower to be your own personal space. I haven't had another dragon staying here for some time, but I believe there is still a room on one of the lower levels that is arranged suitably. Kavia?" 

"The room Tano had last time she was here?" She nods. "I think it's still set up how she had it? But I'll check." 

"Tyau? How does that sound?" 

"Sounds- fine, thank you? But you- don't- have to? I can just- find a corner? I won't be in the way?"

Oh, he knows this type. How can he word this...

"Yes, that's true, little one. But if you have a room of your own, you will be even more out of the way, and you'll be more comfortable in the bargain. I doubt any other guests will need the room, and it's far from the only one standing empty. It's really no trouble at all." 

There's a pause as Tyau thinks about it. "I- thank you? That's- if that's what's best. Thank you?"

"You are most welcome, young one," he says warmly. 

And now Kavia can show Tyau to his new room. It's only one floor below Mal's and has a little balcony of its own, not large enough for Mal to land on. The room is clearly set up for a dragon smaller than Mal but bigger than Tyau, maybe around the size of a human. 'Too big' isn't really all that much of a problem for a blanket nest, though. 

The door, like every other door in the tower, is designed to be easily opened and closed by dragon claws, human hands, or any other manipulator a visitor or student might possess. (There may or may not have been magic involved in this feat.) As with every other bedroom door, the only lock is on the inside.

"What do you think?"

He looks around, cautious and unsure. "S-s'a lot, Miss?"

"I know." She does. Her room felt absurdly luxurious when she first came here, used to sharing with three sisters in the flat above her father's shop. 

"But no-one else was using the room, so you might as well have it," she points out, just like Mal did for her. "It's better than all these things sitting around gathering dust." 

"-I, yes. that- that makes sense? I- I think?" Tyau agrees, creeping forward a little as though he's tempted to explore.

"I'll just. Leave you to get settled in." She turns to leave. "I'll come and get you for dinner so you don't get lost, okay?"

He nods. "I, yes, thank you, ma'am."

Awww. Tiny dragon is even more adorable when he's happy. 

She leaves, smiling to herself. 

The room continues to be cosy and full of soft things designed for dragons to curl up in. It also has plenty of easily-accessible, and easily-defended, storage space for small hoarded items. 

He explores a little, and then tucks the bottle away neatly into one of those spaces, hesitates, before pulling one of the blankets over to in front of it, and curling up underneath it, in as small a ball as he can manage, and trying to get some more rest.

Footsteps occasionally come past on the stairs, but Tyau is undisturbed until dinnertime, at which point there is a knock at the door. 

She'll wait for a response rather than coming in to find him. 

It takes him a few minutes to realise that she's waiting for a response.

"I-" realises he's probably talking too quietly, and tries again. "H-hi?"

"Hi, Tyau!" she replies cheerfully. "It's Kavia. May I come in?" 

Strictly speaking, she doesn't need to come in at all, but Mal said asking would help reinforce that this is Tyau's space.

Pause. "Y-yes?"

"Thank you." Kavia opens the door, smiling when she sees Tyau curled up in his blanket nest. 

"I've come to fetch you for dinner," she explains, "like I said I would. Have you been exploring the room? What do you think, do you like it?" 

"I- It's- it's- nice? I- you didn't have to- Yes?"

"Good." She looks genuinely pleased.

"So, um, want to come with me to the kitchens and get something to eat?" 

There's a pause. "I- please? I-If that's okay?"

Blink. "Of course it's okay; I wouldn't have suggested it otherwise. I guess I could bring you some food instead if you want to stay in your room? But you'll be better than me at picking out what food you like, so it seems easier for you to come with." 

Tyau is still for a second and then takes a couple of steps forward. "I-I'm not fussy?"

"Even so, this seems easier." Kavia shrugs. "Want me to carry you?" 

He's quiet for a moment, thinks about all the stairs. "I- if you- if you don't- mind? Please?"

"If I minded I wouldn't offer," she reiterates, crouching down and holding out an arm so Tyau can climb up and sit on her shoulder. 

"You know, you're the first dragon I've met who was small enough to carry. It's kind of fun. Weird, but fun." 

Tau climbs carefully up onto her shoulders. "Oh. I- I'm glad?"

Kavia does not pat Tyau on the head. Nope. No patting the tiny cute dragon.

Off to the kitchens, careful on the stairs so she doesn't jolt her passenger around too much. 

He looks around, trying to take things in - and definitely trying to map the way out in his head.

The tower's structure isn't very complex, and the kitchen has easy access to the outside. Of course, nearly every room has easy access to the outside if one is capable of flight. 

"You can come down here whenever you want food, now you know the way," Kavia says casually. 

There are people in the kitchen! More than half of them are human, but not by very much, the rest being a mix of various species. Some of them are cooking, and others are sitting around a table to eat. Kavia waves to the group, greeting a few of them individually as she goes past. 

Tyau gives something that might be a nod, and shrinks at little as he notices the other people - doing his best to be unnoticeable, which isn't necessarily as easy when you're perched on someone's shoulders.

They mostly ignore Tyau, although one green-skinned girl is peering at him as though she'd like to talk to him. 

Kavia points out the wide selection of dragon-appropriate foods, and picks out a plateful of human food for herself while she's waiting for Tyau to pick something. 

He doesn't quite seem to know what to do with such a wide selection, but eventually manages to choose something he recognises - although he does look to Kavia to make sure that's okay.

She smiles encouragingly. "Is that all you want? We can go back to your room to eat, if you like. It's kind of crowded in here." 

He nods. "I- please?"

So they can go back to Tyau's room where it's quiet, and eat there. 

"D'you think you could do that on your own?" Kavia asks between bites. "Or should I come with you again next time?" 

He's quiet. "I- maybe? Probably? I-yes. I'll be fine?"

Kavia is dubious.

"Well, I'll fetch you for breakfast tomorrow anyway, in case you..." Quick, think of an excuse. "...get lost, or oversleep, or something. Mal says I'm supposed to look after you since I'm the one who brought you here." 

"Oh- I-" He dithers for a moment. "-If you want? I can- I'd be okay?"

"I don't mind." She shrugs. "I mean, it's more interesting than what I normally do with my time." 

"Oh. Well- If it helps then? I- I guess it would be- good?"

"Great!"

...probably Kavia should come up with something intelligent or at least reassuring to say next, but she's distracted watching Tyau eat. In her defence, it's very cute. 

Tyau doesn't really seem to expect conversation! And seems to take her at her word that she's okay with doing that? Also, he might be slightly distracted by the food, which is definitely better than he's eaten in a while, and also more than he's used to.

Soooo cuuuuute! Tiny baby dragon munching away at his food all happy and content! 

...is it racist to think baby dragons are cute? Probably not, she thinks human toddlers are cute too. Very small creatures are just objectively adorable, alright, Kavia doesn't make the rules. 

He does eat quickly (maybe a little too quickly, although he does keep purposefully slowing himself down), and a little like he's not completely expecting it not to be taken away. Still, he can't quite finish all the food, and seems a little nervous about that, sneaking glances towards Kavia, and not very clear on what he's supposed to do.

It takes her a minute to notice him slowing down, but then: 

"Are you done for now, do you wanna save the rest for later? Uh, I think there's a cold storage chest in here somewhere..."

She looks around. "—yeah, here it is." 

The runic carvings on the front are inactive and dull, just lines in the wood, but it only takes a touch to make them glow with a gentle blue-white light. "You wanna put the rest in here when you're done?" 

Mild flinch, but-

"-Th- That's okay?"

Shrug. "Uh, yeah? I mean, this wouldn't be here if we didn't want you using it." 

"...Oh." He sounds confused, and his brow furrows a little. "I- thank you. That's- thank you." He takes a couple more bites, before admitting defeat, and carefully carrying the remains over to the box.

"You know," Kavia says, trying to make it sound casual, "we could maybe get you some more food to keep in here, so you don't have to go all the way down to the kitchens every time you want a snack." 

He goes still, briefly, and then looks back at her, crouching down slightly more. "I-- would that-- is that-- Won't get in trouble for it?"

"No, of course not! Does that mean you like that idea?" 

He taps his claws together, and then nods, very rapidly, but with tiny head movements. "--Nice to-- nice to know, that I don't-- that it's there?"