“Now that you've settled down some, would you mind if I took a closer look at that bruise on your neck?” Wren asked Efron. “Your voice sounds strained, which is to be expected, but I want to see the extent of the damage.”
The violet revealer hesitated, looking toward his friend with uncertainty. Gretel responded with an encouraging nod and backed away to give the medic room to work. “Alright,” he permitted the latter.
The young wind dragoness settled next to Clay by the mouth of the grotto, watching the electric type adult inspect the purplish print on the other juvenile’s throat. She could tell Efron felt embarrassed by the quiet vocalizations Wren now instructed him to make.
“Would you rather have me and Clay wait outside for you?” Gretel asked him. I don't think doing what's necessary for a medic to help is anything to be embarrassed about, but I don't want him to be uncomfortable if he doesn't want me to see him make silly sounds.
“Y-Yeah, if you're okay with that,” Efron admitted.
She smiled reassuringly. “No problem! Come on, Clay. Let's give them space. Maybe we can go get that fish you brought him earlier; he hasn't eaten anything today, after all.”
“Good thinkin’,” the old water dragon agreed. “Wren, we'll be back in a little bit. We'll excuse ourselves for now.”
“Alright, then. I don't think this is anything too concerning; I should have a plan figured out by the time you two return,” the fluffy medic dismissed them.
Gretel slipped through the shrubs shielding the entrance and looked back as she waited for Clay to catch up. “Um… Are things okay between you and me?” she asked him when he joined her.
“Hm? Yes, of course. Why wouldn't they be?” he asked with an ever so slight tilt of his head.
She shrugged. “I really didn't mean to upset you earlier. Wind dragons only ever spend time together if we roost in the same area, or if a rescuer lets us recover at their retreat. We're all usually very open about the troubles we face; it helps us find out what we as individuals need to watch out for,” Gretel explained. “I never knew social dragons would get upset by talking about their troubles until Wren said so just now.” Her hot pink eyes looked shamefully at the muddied soil under her purple-striped paws. “I'm sorry. Really.”
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“Hey, it's alright. Like Wren said, societal rules are hard to understand; even for social dragons,” he soothed her. When she still was clearly guilty, he sighed, adding, “My pod–when I had one–treated me well. Talking about my society isn't what had upset me.”
Gretel lifted her head to meet his gaze expectantly.
“Sometimes, bad things happen… And even if you did all you could to stop it, that doesn't change the fact that it still happened,” he murmured vaguely.
When he didn't elaborate, Gretel decided to mull over his words instead of press him for details, as she'd rather not upset him again. That's kind of like what happened yesterday between me, Efron, and his mother, she empathized. I did all I could to stop Kendra's attack, but Efron is still injured and upset, because stopping her doesn’t change the fact that she attacked him in the first place…
“Now let's move quick-like to the willow tree and grab that fish for your pal,” Clay changed the subject.
She grinned halfheartedly from the distraction. “Quick-like? What's the rush?”
“Feel that moisture in the air? It'll definitely rain soon,” he answered her as he led the way.
“Really?” Gretel was impressed, trotting to keep up with the larger dragon. This whole, entire prairie is a wetland; there’s a constant moisture in the air. I didn't notice any increase in humidity. “How can you tell? Are water types sensitive to that?”
“Oh, for sure,” he confirmed with an amused laugh. “Even in the wetlands, staying on land too long will dry our scales out. I welcome the extra humidity whenever it rains in this region–which is often enough for me to thrive here.”
“Wow. That's really cool,” she admitted. “I don't like rain very much because it drags me down when I fly, but if there are other shelters from it here like Wren’s grotto, then I think this place is livable for me.”
“It might be hard to find a shelter that isn't occupied by an electric type. So be careful when looking for one, okay?”
“Hm. Could I make my own burrow here? Would that work?”
“Uh, I wouldn't recommend that for you. If it rains enough, your burrow will flood, and you wouldn't want to be inside it while that happens.”
“Oh…”
“I'm sure Wren would share the grotto with you temporarily. And the willow tree you slept under last night might be good enough shelter for now. You don't need to fully adjust to life here in a single day,” he said with a heartening smile.
“True.” She couldn't help smiling again, herself. I don't know what bad things he may have tried to stop from happening to his society, but I hope he's happy enough here; and I hope I can learn to be, too.