Gretel watched Gavin leave, then returned her attention to Efron, making sure the latter was breathing.
“He should be fine after a while,” Clay assured her. “But maybe we should find some shelter for him in the meantime. I don't know who slashed his arm like that, but if they're still around, I wouldn't want ‘em to see he survived.”
The wind type blinked, still trying to process everything that's happened. “Oh… Where should we hide…?”
“Gavin said revealers fare better in higher, drier spaces. I don't know too much about them, myself, but he learns more through experience and results, so I'd take his word for it and bring your friend to the woodlands to recover. Would you like me to carry him there for you?”
“If you can,” Gretel replied, and when he nodded, she helped gently roll the violet revealer onto Clay’s back; the latter secured him between his large blue-and-green fins and set a casual pace toward the slope from the prairie leading to the trees. Her mind was racing with questions and an instinctive need to comprehend the safety of her current environment. “Experience…? Results? Just who is Gavin? Back on my first visit here, you warned me to stay away from him and the hatchling he has… but he's the first one you had me get to help my friend.”
“It's complicated,” the brown water dragon admitted, “and it's really not my story to tell. But Gavin and I go way back. I'm the only one he really trusts. If I hadn't told you his name, he probably wouldn't have come out to help.”
Gretel tilted her head. “What's so important about names? I know they're tied to our self-identities, but…”
Clay chuckled slightly. “As a wind type, you grew up solitary, I reckon. Names hold a lot of power for social dragons, or solitary ones who choose to live social lives. We only give our names out to those we either already trust, or those we wish to build trust with; hence why I introduced myself to you."
A solitary dragon choosing to live a social life? Why on earth would one sacrifice their independence like that?!
“Earning a solitary dragon’s trust enough for them to tell me their name isn't an easy feat, but when I succeeded with Gavin, it's the least I can do out of respect not to share his name with every stranger who visits here. Giving out someone's name without their knowledge is extremely disrespectful, but in this case, it was literally a life-or-death situation. Me–as someone he trusted–sharing his name with you meant you were also trustworthy, instead of a predator trying to lure him out of his den.”
“I hear you, and I knew about the connection between trust and introductions. But I don't understand the rest,” she admitted. “Why choose to live a social life?”
“You tell me,” the older dragon laughed heartily. “I don't know your history with this friend of yours, but it's pretty reminiscent of Gavin raising that hatchling.”
Gretel scowled. “My friend isn't raising me! I don't depend on anyone!”
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He shrugged. “Again, I don't know your history. But it seems to me that you care a lot about him, regardless of the dynamic between you. In fact, you seem to have taken responsibility for him to a degree, since you mentioned seeking a retreat for you both instead of just for yourself.”
She hesitated. That's true... and I was the one who gave Efron his new name after his mother disowned him… “Uh… If giving someone my name means I want to trust them, then what would me giving someone else a name imply?”
“Depends on the type of name, really. Casual terms of address aren't exactly personal; I call you ‘little lady’ to show I mean you no harm. But if I gave you a nickname, like ‘El’ for example, that would be personal; nicknames are only given to ones we're already close friends with.”
“What about actual names?”
“What do you mean?”
“Like… Um…” How do I phrase this without giving away that I'm the one who named Efron? Oh–I got it! “Like, if that hatchling Gavin found didn't have a name, and he gave her a name. What would that mean to a social dragon?”
“Ah, I see. That would mean a familial bond.”
“Familial? Like… parental?”
“Sometimes, but not always. In Gavin’s case, when he named the abandoned hatchling, it was parental. But if you're naming a peer–such as another solitary dragon who hasn't found a name for themselves yet, or an abandoned social dragon, who in either case are close in age to you–then that suggests a sibling bond.”
Gretel processed this. Then she remembered Efron confessing that he viewed her as a sister. That was because I named him?! The tip of her tail twitched as an outlet for her budding anxiety. What did I get myself into here? Did I take on responsibility for Efron by naming him, even if it's viewed as being a sibling? I didn't know social dragons took names that way…!
“Uh, you alright? You look like you just saw a ghost,” the older dragon chuckled nervously.
“Umm, Clay, what does it mean to be a sibling to a social dragon?” she dared herself to ask. “You’re right: I have been solitary my whole life. I've never met any siblings I might have, either.”
“Ah. Well, in most societies, a sibling is someone you mutually trust and depend on. Especially if it has to do with shared interests or issues commonly faced among those in your age group, that parents may be too old to relate to.”
“...Oh.” Come to think of it, I did have to depend on Efron to hunt for me while I was injured… But that wasn't one-sided, because he also relied on me for flight lessons. And we have a shared interest in singing, too.
Clay glanced between Gretel and Efron as if assessing their relationship based on the context of her questions, given her lack of response.
The young solitary dragoness tensed at that. “D-Don’t get the wrong idea!” she stammered nervously. “We're just friends, okay? Companions. We help one another, and play together. There is no dependence; we just enjoy each other's company, that's all!”
“I see, I see,” Clay acknowledged her. “But for solitary dragons to have a companion in the first place leans more into having a social life, regardless of dependence.”
Really? Huh. I guess I never thought about it that way…
“Is this a good place?” he continued, stopping under the shade of a single, wide weeping willow tree.
His voice snapped her out of it. “Oh! Y-Yeah. Thank you…”
Clay gently set Efron down beneath the shelter of its branches. Gretel noticed her injured friend’s breathing had gotten stronger by this point, giving her hope that he would be okay after all. "Wishing you both a speedy recovery. I'll be by the shore if you need anything, alright?" With that, the adult turned to leave, waving a back-fin in farewell.
Both? Gretel thought, then realized how sore she was from Kendra's kick and strike. The wind type hadn't rested properly since fainting in the ocean after overusing her abilities, too. She let out a defeated sigh and curled up on the ground near her friend in the shadow of the willow cast by the evening sun, then let sleep overcome her.