Page 59 of Horn in My Side
Okay, Jasmine, you can do this.
Rolling up her metaphorical sleeves, she raised her hands to the window once more.“Come on, Clawdia.Time to come home.”
Closing her eyes, she tried to picture Clawdia in her mind’s eye.First, she was a dark blob, formless and free.Slowly, though, the blob began to take shape.The lower half stretched into five legs—no, four legs and a long tail.Then wings sprouted out from the top half as the head morphed into its true form, slowly forming an outline before the details appeared to her.
The shock struck her like lightning.
“I know what Clawdia is,” she whispered.
“What—Fuuuuck!”
A small, dark blur flew out from the open window and straight into Jasmine’s arms.About the size of a golden retriever puppy, it let out a happy chirp and blinked up at her with shiny blue eyes that matched its scaly body.Small horns dotted the middle of its head, going all the way down its back, where two wings sprouted on either side.
Mal gasped.“Is that a—”
“Dragon,” she finished.“Clawdia is a dragon.”The cheeky little thing batted her long lashes at Jasmine, as if she was saying,Yup,I’m a dragon all right!“I can’t believe it.How did—”
“Let’s figure that out later.”The yellow magnetic shield above them flickered.“I can’t hold on to this much longer.”
“Oh, yeah.Sorry.”She clutched Clawdia closer to her chest as Mal led them away from the cameras.By the time they walkedaround to the front, the yellow dome had faded away.They hurried down Main Street, sprinting as fast as they could all the way to the shop.As soon as they were inside, Mal stumbled forward.
“Mal!”Shifting Clawdia to her right side, she slid her left arm around his waist then guided him toward the counter.“Are you all right?”
He heaved.“Yeah ...need to catch ...my breath.”Planting his elbows on the countertop, he leaned on it and took a deep breath.“Is she ...okay?”
Releasing him, she wrapped both arms around Clawdia.The baby dragon snuggled up against her shoulders.Sharp talons dug into her skin and the horns poked at her neck, but Jasmine didn’t mind the discomfort.“Yeah, she’s good.”
Mal pushed himself off the counter.“A dragon.I kinda suspected it, but never really thought it was possible.”
“My supplier must have mixed up Clawdia’s egg with his batch of carcinos eggs,” she deduced.“Or he didn’t know what it was.”
“If he did, he wouldn’t have sold it to you for such a low price.”
“Have you ever seen a dragon before?I’ve only watched videos of them.”Jasmine had never encountered one, much less had one in the shop.They were much too expensive and there were only a handful of dragon breeders in the world.
“A couple of times.Had some clients who owned them.”He peered at Clawdia.“She should grow to about the size of a German shepherd.Human selective breeding over generations reduced their size, though there are rumors that wild dragons as large as buildings like in ancient times still exist.”
Jasmine had heard of that too.“Clawdia’s ancestors must have been huge.”
“Likely.So, are we going to keep calling her that name?”
“Of course,” she replied matter-of-factly.“She does have claws.Anyway, I think she’s hungry.I’m gonna go find her something to eat.Do you know what dragons like?”
“Not a clue.”
Turns out, dragons were not discerning at all when it came to food.After placing her in an empty pen, Clawdia happily gobbled up the banana Jasmine offered her, as well as a jar of peanut butter, half a tub of yogurt, and an entire sample bag of Ethereal Balance kibble.As soon as she finished eating, she curled up into the blanket in the corner and closed her eyes.
“She’s finally asleep.”Unable to help herself, Jasmine took her phone out and snapped a photo of the snoozing baby dragon.
They knelt down side by side, looking over the side of the pen, watching over Clawdia.Adrenaline poured out of Jasmine as the day’s adventure finally caught up with her.She was tempted to crawl back to the counter—and all the way home—but she managed to get to her feet.Mal stood up as well.
“We should close up,” she said.“I hate to leave her alone ...”
“I can stay with the hatchling,” Mal offered.
“Are you sure?”
“She shouldn’t be able to escape.”He had already reinforced the pen and fireproofed it while Clawdia ate.“But just in case, someone should be here.I’ll grab the sleeping bag in the office.”
