Blood and Water (♠ Blue Suit ♠)

Mia focused her attention on Joachim from then on. She was careful to have him as comfortably as he could be as she also sneaked a peek from time to time of their surroundings. When they came to where she guessed they'd be staying, she couldn't help but wonder if they were lots of people that, like them, stayed there when they had to take care of 'their' dragons.


"I suppose it will be for a long time to come. . ." Moving her head a little and taking in the place she supposed that meant they'd really be staying there for quite a while.
 
Tome shook his head when Mia looked at them oddly, and just reached up to pull the small dragon off his shoulder. He was gentle, of course, just sick of being ridden like a packmule, and set the small thing on one of the two beds. "Thank you for showing us." He said, in the interest of being polite, and just went to a window to look out. "How many dragons do you house here?"


Arius shook his wings out, huffy after being manhandled, but settled prim and proper as usual. "There are dozens of every age group, so our headcount usually varies in the hundreds somewhere. Can't keep the big ones too much, because of special requirements, but we at the Dragonry do our best to teach them how to go about living in a way that's best for their continued existence, and they're escorted by a small caravan to where they'll be living. They're welcome to return and be shown a new place, if they don't like it, but most adults prefer to go off alone."


Tome only nodded a little and looked over at Joachim where he lay still looking about the room in Mia's arms. "We'll be able to keep him, then? When he's big enough? He'll be able to live with us?"


Arius tilted his head slightly to the side. "Why, of course. You didn't think he'd ever let you leave, did you? He's got the both of you in his sights, and heavens help anyone that gets in his way should that ever change." Tome didn't really like the sound of that, but he supposed it meant Joachim would never run off on his own and get lost.
 
Mia hadn't really held high hopes on being able to remain with Joachim for long, but if what she was hearing was true she hoped she'd still be able to keep him as he grew up. Her gaze softened and she had to restrain herself from hugging him tightly. God knows how'd he react to that and it was surely something she didn't want to try out.


"What a pretty baby" She muttered softly under her breath - a barely audible whisper - as her gaze remained glued to the little creature on her arms. She felt... happy. Right there, she blessed her luck to have found him back there. If not, they wouldn't be there and who knows what would have been of him.
 
Joachim gave a squeaky little cry and flailed his little limbs upwards, almost like he wanted to grab onto her. Tome stepped over and let Joachim have his hand so he would stop squirming, rubbing gently at the little thing's belly. "Are you all right holding him? He's much more awake than he has been the past day or so." He didn't want her being nervous about it. Surely Joachim wouldn't hurt her - if he did it wouldn't be on purpose. Maybe that was something Joachim would learn here, how to be gentle when he was bigger. Until then, Tome would just have to keep a sharp eye out, and not let him be alone with Mia.
 
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At the little squeak, Mia couldn't help it but lower her head a little and lean it a bit towards Joachim "Hmm?" Though when Tome stepped over and held out his hand for him to take, she quickly raised her head to look at him. "Oh, I'm fine" She replied with a small smile. She had been extremely nervous the first time she had hold him, but she felt fine now.
 
Tome nodded as Joachim's tail moved lazily back and forth against Mia's arm, flopping back and forth. He smiled faintly. "I think he's working on motor skills." Tome looked over at Arius. "How long do we have before he starts walking?"


Arius thought a moment. "A brown dragon like him . . . given time of hatching . . . A day and a half, at max. His kind are more attuned to the ground than the skies. He'll walk rather easily once you start putting him down, but will take longer than others to fly. He'll be strong once he's fully grown, though. Strong enough to carry you both, and then some."


Tome looked back at the tiny form staring up at him with trusting eyes, and tried very hard to imagine that ever happening.
 
Mia's eyes widened a bit at Arius statement. A day and a half!? That was fast, really fast. Not even animals were that fast. Sure, faster than humans, but they were not able to walk so soon. "You are some amazing little guy, Joachim" She declared, surprised. She could barely picture it. "How long would you say it'll take him to be able to fly?" It was her first time talking directly to Arius. She didn't even know how long did it take to other dragons to do so.
 
Arius thought again. "Oh, he won't even begin to attempt flying for a month or so still. Little ones grow fast. Still, he won't have much coordination when he starts walking. He'll need a lot of practice, and constant watching over." He fluttered his wings energetically. "Good luck!"


Tome shook his head and rubbed Joachim's belly again. "We'll survive." Somehow . . . he was beginning to look forward to raising this little being. Joachim had attached himself to their hearts much too quickly.
 
Even so... a month was a short amount of time. Time went by quite quickly and she knew that sooner than she actually expected, Joachim would be flying up on the sky. She glanced up at Tome when he spoke before her stare fell back on Joachim again "Of course we will" She agreed in a soft voice as the used her thumb to gently rub the little guy's skin.
 
As if sensing the quiet, caring atmosphere in the air, Joachim cooed softly up at them, wide, loving eyes looking at them both even as he licked at Tome's hand, nibbling lightly at Tome's fingertips with his little teeth but not biting down or doing any damage.


"Oh, he's smitten." Arius said from the bed, and flew over to perch lightly on Mia's shoulder, looking down at the baby. "That's rare, you know." He announced, a bit proudly. "For a little one to imprint on a non-dragon caretaker so quickly, and so strongly. Yes, he'll be with you forever, this one. Come hell and high water."


Tome sighed softly, and just shook his head. "Then we'd best learn to take care of him in turn. Let's go and see if Malia's finished what she was doing. We haven't anything better to be doing, and I want to get the layout of this place."
 
Mia was a bit startled when she felt Arius weight on her shoulder and almost automatically straightened her back. She didn't pay much attention to that for long though, because her attention was drawn back to Joachim as Arius spoke.


Anything better to be doing, huh? Perhaps she could run her errands later, still had plenty of time. Besides, she'd like to go and see Malia as well, get to know what else they had to do to take care of little Joachim,
 
((Night)) 
((Hmmm, I wonder if maybe we should skip a couple days or so? That way we don't have to go through the process of actually learning everything that needs to be done for the baby lol I could do it, but I'd wait until I got to my laptop in a bit))
 
(Sure ^^ Also, I think that I'll use that time skip so that Mia has already sorted out her feelings towards Tome :) )
 
((But he'll still be as jumbled as ever xD He's such a difficult character! He just thinks no one could ever love him, so he doesn't look for it, or try to love anyone back. Well, he cares about Mia obviously, but he refuses to acknowledge it!))


For days, the work was nonstop. Tome was glad, at least, for the ability to remember things that had been drilled into his head as a child. He followed Malia around as she went about her work, because she could talk to him and do what she needed to at the same time. For the most part he had Mia at his side, with one of them holding Joachim, but his focus was on learning everything he could, on taking care of the little dragon and learning about dragons in general. He knew how to feed Joachim, and how his eating habits would change as he got older, learned what was normal in terms of growth and physical progress, and what sort of behaviors to look for if the little thing ever got ill.


Joachim himself was becoming more than a handful. Once they'd taught him how to walk, he'd wanted to do nothing but, and half of Tome and Mia's time was spent either chasing him down or trailing after him while he waddled about with all the curiosity of a child. Tome was beginning to wonder how they would handle it when he started to fly.


((Why do I feel like this song is so perfect for them sometimes?))


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(Dear Lord he's so clueless! Let's see... Well obviously as you said he thinks no one could ever love him. How about he either overhears Mia confessing her love for him or she tells him herself. Perhaps from that point onwards, now that he knows that she loves him, he starts considering the idea?)


Some said one of the best things that could ever happen to you is to fall in love. To crush on someone, to have that feeling of liking another person. In Mia's case though, it was just tiring. Between taking care of Joachim and dealing with recently acknowledged feelings was driving her crazy! Well, not that exaggerated, but it was wearing her out mentally and physically. The main problem was the object of her affections, of course. He was clueless and sometimes she thought he was just a bit single-minded. Also, why now? Why did he have to like him and why now?


Yeah, he was not really that emotive but she liked that fleeting smile of his that rarely appeared on his features. She was fond of his caring nature, not really demonstrated by words but by actions. She really liked... She really liked him. And ever since she came to that realization she couldn't help it but feel how that damned feeling grew and grew even from the smallest of the actions. But it was Tome! He could never love her back. At least not in the way a girl in love would want him to. Also, he and now Joachim were what she could call her last chance to have a family, you couldn't go and like a family member.


It was just a whirlpool of emotions she never thought she'd find herself into. If only she had come to like another... Because there was certainly nothing wrong with who Tome was but of what he represented in her life. How come she was one of those girl who couldn't help it but like those who were close to them. What if he found out? All those things were giving her constant headaches.


But those things listed above were nothing, nothing compared to that annoying ping of jealousy she'd get from time to time of seeing Malia and Tome together. Who'd have guessed she was the jealous type? Like, come on, it was obvious he'd follow her around to learn about Joachim and even Mia was there by his side for the most part, even so it was just that she was so pretty. It made her feel insecure. Mia was not ugly herself, instead she was at least pretty, but she felt so small compared to Malia. She couldn't believe herself how she had come to think like that. Falling in love was not the best thing that could have happened to her, because right now she felt as if that been the worse.


(It is rather... sad :( )
 
((Ooo, maybe one night she's just talking to Joachim or something and he overhears her say something about how she feels about him?))


Tome shielded his eyes and actually laughed when Joachim splashed water out of the little tub at him. "You're the one that's supposed to be bathing, not me!" He insisted, trying to still Joachim's body and tail at the same time. It was baby's first bath and Joachim was having much too much fun with the shallow level of water for an earth dragon. But as an earth dragon, he'd rolled around in the dirt and gotten it caught under his scales, so he needed a good scrubbing to get clean again or he'd itch endlessly. So Malia said anyway.


"Mia," He glanced over at where she sat nearby, nodding to the brush nearby with his head so he didn't have to let go. "Hand me that, will you? He's squirming too much."


((I know O_O It's so sad, but it's so powerful, and I can't stop listening to it


I just feel like the "I'm just learning to love, just starting to crawl" sort of applies to them both))
 
(That could do! :3)


Mia was eyeing a book she had been given rather absently with her legs pressing against her chest as she sat on a comfy chair when she heard Tome's laugh. Raising her head a bit to take a peek, a smile crept over her lips accompanied with her shaking her head lightly before she returned her gaze back to the book. She felt a bit ridiculous, since it was, in essence, a picture book. Considering it that she couldn't read as properly, it was the best option though.


"Mia" Hearing her name being called out she lowered her book and looked up at him, brow raised. "Hand me that, will you? He's squirming too much." She glanced to the side to where he had signaled to with his head and, setting the book down and stretching her legs to plant her feet on the floor, she pushed herself up. "Not that easy, huh?" She commented as she reached for the brush and walked over to them to hand it over "Need help?"
 
Tome shook his head and huffed a breath that was half sigh and half laughter. "It's more difficult to keep him still and keep his head above the water." It was only a couple inches, but if Tome were to hold the dragon down too hard his head would fit underneath. "If I hold him, will you scrub?" It would work easier that way. Joachim had his little tail wrapped around Tome's wrist anyway, and if Tome kept a firm hold on the tail and around the hatchling's snout, Mia wouldn't have to worry about getting her fingers whipped or nipped at.
 
Mia gave a nod and stepping over, she rolled up her sleeves to help "You got quite dirty, did you not?" She said in a bit of a disapproving tone that did not match her smile at all "Ok, let's see" Starting with her task at hand, she was careful not to do it roughly yet to scrub thoroughly to get rid of the dirt.
 
Joachim squirmed for a while still, making the high pitched little noises that he usually did when he thought he was playing, but eventually he calmed until his chin was just resting on Tome's hand to keep his head above water, the rest of him lax and pliant. Tome smiled faintly and shook his head. "I think he likes it now. Maybe he'll be good." A quick flick of the tail got him a faceful of dirty water for his troubles, and Tome turned his head away, spluttering a little, to wipe his mouth on the back of a hand. "Ugh. I spoke too soon." Tome glared without heat down at the little dragon, who just made pleased noises - noises that sounded much too much like laughter. "He's got it out for me."
 
Mia had jumped a little when she saw it coming and though she had been splashed a bit, it was clearly nothing compared to what Tome had received. She did try to restrain a laugh but a chuckle escaped her lips "I think after we're done here, you'll be the one needing a bath" She commented with a smile as she finished with her task.
 
"How is there water even left in the tub?" Tome complained, shaking his head like a dog to get rid of the worst of it. Joachim was mostly clean though, it seemed, so Tome finally picked him up out of the water and reached for a towel, holding the little dragon to his chest since his clothes were already wet anyway. "I'll get him dried off, and you can take him back to the room while I clean up. . ." He made a face. "Yes, I'm going to need to bathe." He could just have a quick wash while she settled Joachim in bed, since it was the middle of the day and time for his nap.
 
Mia picked up her hair in a loose pony tail before nodding "Ok, I'll get him to bed" And she really hoped it didn't take her long to get him to sleep. Sometimes things with Joachim were not as easy, but she loved having him either way.
 
Tome nodded his thanks and handed Joachim over when he was dry and starting to look sleepy. He squeaked happily but groggily when he was handed off, and curled up contentedly in Mia's arms. "Ready for bed, I think. I'll clean this up and come see you when I'm not . . . filthy."
 
"Sure" Mia cradled Joachim against her chest softly and with a nod walked away "You got him all dirty" She murmured to the little and softly rubbed her nose against his snout. Would've not dreamt with doing so before, but he was sleepy anyway so she doubted he'd harm her by accident.
 
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