Page 6 of Dragon Keeper
Well, now that would be ridiculous. Everyone ages in a different way, and everyone was ready for things at a different time. Why on earth would one go when they were a certain age? Children went to school when they were ready to learn and able to do so.
“No, things are quite different here. The rhythm of things, it’s lovely. And it wasn’t as if we could have sent any of them to school in the human world,” Myk said.
No, from what Tyr had been taught, human children grew very, very slowly. And then aged very, very quickly. Which was totally the opposite of Lunastra dragons and made him wonder how they managed to survive predators.
The reason dragon children matured so quickly was so they could be ready to fight should they need it, and then once they were of a certain physical maturity, they stopped and stayed that way for centuries. So that they were at their prime for millennia.
Humankind seemed extremely odd to him in so many ways.
Of course, so did some dragons. Some dragons seemed completely and utterly odd. He had the sneaking suspicion that many dragons found him exceedingly off-putting and strange.
“So, Cullen was telling us that if we crossed over to see you that we’d never be able to come home. To here, I mean.” Riley looked honestly constipated by the thought.
“Yes, that’s how it works. We came through when the veil opened and then closed. We were in Ty’s house in Estes, and then were here, and once you’re here, you’re here.” Mykshrugged. “I don’t miss it much. Cosmo and his brothers bring us treats sometimes. Like Doritos. But we’re here for good.”
“Do you like it?” Sloan asked.
Tyr listened closely for Myk’s answer.
“It’s amazing. This place is everything we hoped it would be. There are some things, of course, that are different. The technology, especially. Puck and his brothers, they miss technology quite a bit. But honestly, it’s amazing to be able to fly at will. And there’s so much to learn.”
“For us as well,” Tyr added. We’re learning new things constantly. And it’s so good to have new books, new thoughts, new flowers, and larparcas. We’ve never had larparcas, and now we do. In fact, they like it here quite a lot and are breeding very well.”
“Larparcas?” Sloan said slowly, arching an eyebrow.
“They’re sort of like alpacas.” Myk smiled, spreading his hands. “They look a little bit odd. The Unitas clutch brought them over along with some chickens. And there’s goats. Also a werebear, a werewolf, and some brownies and, yeah…” Myk’s chuckle was wry. “We have a menagerie.”
“And yet somehow the werebeaver is stuck over here?” Riley scowled as if angry about that.
Tyr chuckled. “Oh, Yarrow is a good friend. We speak through the window quite often when I come to visit. He tells me interesting stories. He also has some bees there where he is. He showed me one. They’re very tiny but very smart and very busy.” He personally thought that the honey from the human land was not quite good enough, but he would never offend his friend by saying so. And their honey did come in magical bendy glass. The sight of which made Myk cluck and shake his head and hand it back over to Cosmo and tell him to take it away.
Apparently magical blend bendy glass was dangerous and had to be disposed of in the human world.
He liked real glass, anyway. The colors made him smile.
“Yeah. I think bees are having a hard time in the human realm,” Sloan said. “It’s tough when there’s pesticides and herbicides and…”
“What are those?” Tyr asked.
“Stuff to kill unwanted plants, or weeds, and stuff to kill insects. Humans don’t like insects.”
Horror filled him. “They disturb the natural balance that way?”
“They don’t like inconvenience,” Riley snapped.
Brayden gave him a severe look. “They have lost touch with the natural world, is what the problem really is.”
“That is so sad!” Tyr felt his heart hurt for the bees and other creatures and plants in the human world. And for the humans, who obviously needed to remember the joys of living in nature. Even the bugs no one liked. “Do their plants not sing? The trees not whisper?”
“No one listens.” Myk seemed as sad as he felt.
“Well, I will sing for them and hope the spirit hears.”
“Thanks, Tyr.” Cosmo came back, Cullen along with him, both carrying trays of fruits and bread to go with the honey. “One for you guys, and one for Myk and Tyr.”
“How wonderful. Thank you.” That was Brayden, who smiled at the brothers.
“Yum.” That was the Riley one.
