Page 58 of The Baby Dragon Cafe
Despite the baby’s protests, Aiden let Sparky down, walking toward an empty table in the middle of the cafe, gesturing for Sparky to follow. The little draggo stayed rooted in place and instead began whimpering. Dragons did not cry, but they did wail if severely injured. Otherwise, they simply got restless and scratched at their face, which was what Sparky was doing
now.
“Tch, Sparky, no,” Aiden said, voice stern, which usually did the trick, but Sparky was being moody today. Aiden’s strong tone made him more upset, and he scratched at his face more aggressively, snarling.
“Aw, it’s okay, baby,” Saphira said, tone coaxing. She reached down and picked Sparky up, soothing him in her arms as she walked over to Aiden.
Suddenly, she felt heads turning to watch her, and she realized how odd it might look.
Usually, solely a rider trained their dragon, but it wasn’t uncommon for a couple to train a dragon together. But sheand Aiden weren’t a couple. Everyone’s staring made her hyper-aware of that fact.
She became self-conscious, nervous.
“Here,” Saphira said, handing Sparky off to Aiden. She cleared her throat. “I just need to go check on … the kitchen.”
“Okay, I’ll work on Sparky in the meanwhile,” Aiden said, not seeming to notice the attention Saphira had gotten. He was singular in the way he paid attention to her, his gaze trained solely on her.
Saphira went to the kitchen, feeling people looking over at her as she walked. She could practically feel them wondering what she was doing with Sparky, with Aiden. Why he would have asked someone like her to help train his baby dragon, when she wasn’t even from a Drakkon family.
In the kitchen, Saphira caught her breath. She was perhaps a bit too sensitive to other people’s perceptions of her, but it was hard not to be. Especially if many of those same people knew how her mother had died, whilst racing on a poached dragon.
The funny thing was, training with Sparky, Saphira understood her mother on a deeper level than she ever had before: the desperate desire to be around dragons that would have led her to acquiring one off the black market, to have one of her own.
Seeing Saphira with Sparky now, would people think that she was like her mother? Pushing in somewhere she did not belong, and never would?
Saphira tried to push the thoughts from her mind before she spiraled. Saphira recalled Aiden saying he wanted Sparky to be brave—like her.
She mustered up the courage and went out again, holding her back straight. Aiden was at the same table in the middle, sitting down now with Sparky by his feet. There were a few other baby dragons similarly at their riders’ feet nearby, but Sparky wasn’t interacting with them. He appeared to be shy, trying to hide behind Aiden’s legs.
The baby dragon looked for Saphira, and when he spotted her, she gave him a reassuring smile. He would warm up slowly, she knew he would. But it was hard for him to socialize like this, and she could tell that Aiden wasn’t quite up for it, either. Usually baby dragons socialized with dragons they were already familiar with, which ordinarily occurred when the riders were already friends—but Aiden didn’t seem to have any such friends.
If only there was an easier way for the baby dragons to mingle. When Saphira had picked Sparky up from the babysitting area at the Starshine Public Gardens, he had looked like he was fine with the other baby dragons because they had all been playing together.
Oh!Saphira was struck with a realization. She should make an area for the baby dragons to play in—perhaps the garden would be good for that? She could turn it into a playpen for the babies.
Saphira was pleased by the idea; she would suggest it to Aiden later. At the moment, she watched as Aiden tried to coax Sparky to mingle, not just linger by Aiden’s feet.
Aiden wanted Sparky to be friendly, but he himself was not the friendliest person with strangers, which made Saphira look on with amusement for a moment before stepping in. The moment he saw her, Sparky jumped up, fluttering into her arms.
She held him, even though he was getting a bit big for that, now. Because she had the new cook and dishwasher, and Calahan was handling the drinks, there wasn’t much that she needed to do, just serve the orders.
So Saphira held Sparky with one arm, delivering orders with her other hand. She picked up an order of an almond milk latte and brought it over to a table, where one of her regular customers was sitting with her baby dragon.
“Sparky, say hi to Rex,” Saphira cajoled, setting Sparky down. Rex was a red-eyed garneta dragon. They both regarded each other: Rex curious, and Sparky shy. She nudged Sparky forward with her foot and he sniffed around Rex, looking less hesitant.
“Enjoy your latte, Mari,” Saphira told the customer with a smile. Then, she walked away, Sparky sticking close to her feet as he trotted alongside her.
In between orders, Saphira walked Sparky around, introducing him to the other baby dragons.
Slowly, Sparky began warming up. Saphira glanced over at Aiden, giving him an enthusiastic thumbs-up. He gave her a thumbs-up back, looking relieved to not be in her position. He had changed tables and was at one all the way in the corner, practically hiding out with a cup of chamomile tea.
Things progressed smoothly, and Saphira was happy to have Sparky by her side. Until she went to introduce Sparky to Mrs. Cartwright, who was there with her baby opala dragon, Thorn. Mrs. Cartwright looked intrigued, glancing at Saphira curiously.
“What are you doing with this little angel?” Mrs. Cartwright asked, petting Sparky. “He can’t belong to you.”
There was something in her tone of voice that made Saphira feel strange.
“Um, no—I’m training him for the Sterling family,” Saphira replied, swallowing the nervous lump in her throat. Mrs. Cartwright made a puzzled face, which was disconcerting.
