A few days after Iris and Victoria completed their beetle quest, Eli called a team meeting. The whole party was in attendance, gathered around a table in the tavern. Eli had specifically requested Autumn not provide snacks for the meeting so they could focus wholly on the issue at hand, much to the disdain of all the others. Only Eli, Iris and Victoria knew what the meeting was about, while Autumn and Titus had been left in the dark and didn't know what to expect.

"Alright," Eli said, after everyone had taken the seats, "I hate to have to call this meeting, but there's an issue that needs to be handled, and this seems like the best way to do it," he paused and looked around the table to make sure everyone was paying attention, "Iris, would you explain to everyone why we're here?"

Iris blinked in surprise, and scooted upright in her chair, "uh, well, I'm guessing it’s about the wyvern egg," she trailed off.

Eli nodded and motioned for her to continue.

"Okay, so," she forced a labored smile shifted to turn towards the others, "you know how I said I turned in the wyvern egg a few weeks ago? I, uh-- didn't."

She waited for someone to say something, but no one did. Titus and Autumn exchanged glances, while Victoria simply observed.

"I said that because something happened," Iris continued, "something completely unexpected and out of my control, by the way. Seriously, there was nothing I could do."

"Booo!" Autumn jeered in jest, "get on with it!"

"No booing," Eli chastised.

Iris sighed and pulled her bag from her waist and placed it on the table, "Abby, release Littletooth."

After a second, the bag loosened and fell open, and out tumbled the baby wyvern.

"What the fuck?" Titus asked under his breath.

"Oh, he's so cute!" Autumn said in a pitiful voice, her usual rough demeanor instantly melting away, "is it a he?"

"I don't actually know, really," Iris answered Autumn, "that's what I've been assuming, though."

"Hey little guy," Autumn smiled, pulling a piece of jerky out of her pocket and holding it out towards Littletooth, who stomped towards it and snatched it from her hand.

"Oh-" Iris started, holding up a cautionary hand, "try not to hand feed him, he's still learning fingers aren't food."

"Oh I don't even care if he eats my fingers," Autumn said, speaking in a cutesy voice while she stared at Littletooth, "he's so cute it I wouldn't even be mad."

"This seems like a really bad idea," Titus said.

Eli gestured with his hands as if to say, that's what I said.

"It wasn't an idea," Iris insisted, "a few days after we got back from the expedition, when I was still trying to decide what to do, I tried to dump the egg out of my bag to look at it. Instead, a broken shell fell out, and then this guy."

"I vote we keep him," Autumn said, tossing a piece of jerky into the air for Littletooth to catch. He leapt and successfully caught it, but landed in a jumbled heap.

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

"We're not voting yet," Eli said, "there's a lot to consider here."

"Before we get to that," Iris interjected, "I just want to say I'm sorry. I should have turned the egg in right away, I shouldn't have even waited until we got back to the city. At the time I just honestly didn't even want to think about it, so much had happened and I really just wanted a chance to breathe and relax before the next thing. That was a mistake, and I'm sorry."

Iris looked around the table, lingering for a moment on Victoria, who gave her an approving nod. Eli, meanwhile, shot her a less than favorable glance.

"And I'm sorry for lying," she added, addressing Eli specifically, "nothing I can say would be an excuse for that."

His expression softened and he nodded in acceptance, "there's still the matter of what do with it."

"We train him to fight, obviously," Autumn said.

Titus shook his head, “we should put him back in the forest where Iris found him.”

"I have to agree with Titus," Eli added.

"Oh come on! You get Glimmer, why can't anyone else have a pet?" Autumn complained.

"Glimmer's not a pet," Eli said sharply, "she's a bonded familiar, she's a lot more intelligent than a normal animal and helping people is what she does. That thing," he pointed at Littletooth, "is a wild beast just waiting to be large enough to eat us."

Littletooth chose that moment to dash across the length of the table to chase down an empty mug on the other end, failing to come to a stop after tackling it end and instead tumbling off the edge and crashing to the floor with a thump and a skitter.

"Yeah, he's terrifying," Victoria said with half a smile.

"He's just a little guy!" Autumn said to Eli, gesturing towards Littletooth as he explored the tavern floor.

"What about when he's not little?" Titus asked, "you know I can't regrow your limbs, right? Maybe -- and I mean maybe -- I could reattach an arm, but definitely not if it's been eaten."

"We all saw that wyvern in the forest," Eli said, "that was this thing's mother, before you know it it'll be that big and that angry."

"Actually," Iris said, "I looked up wyverns in the library. They go through growth spurts in their first few years, but then they really slow down after reaching about the size of a horse. After that, it takes decades for them to grow into maturity and get as big as the one we saw."

"A horse sized wyvern sounds big enough to eat one of us," Titus said, “at least Autumn.”

"Look, that's not even the most pressing problem we have here," Eli said, "what about the fact that the Commander and the Adventuring Corps are still looking for the egg? What happens when they catch up to you, and when they find out it hatched? You -- all of us -- could get in big trouble."

"How would they find out it was me?" Iris asked, "there was no one else there but me and the shock wizard, and I killed him. The only other people who know are you four. As long as none of us tell anyone, there's no way for them to find out."

Eli was visibly frustrated, but tried to keep calm, "why do you want to keep this thing so badly?"

"He's not a thing," Iris defended, "and, because, look at him. He's adorable, and he's all alone and he doesn't even understand that his mother is gone. He needs someone to look after him."

"And conveniently, that someone is you," Eli said.

"What do you want me to say?" Iris asked, "that I think it'd be cool to have a pet wyvern? That I hope one day I get to ride on his back and soar through the skies like you do on Glimmer? Because yeah, of course I do. Who wouldn't? But if that's all this was about, I wouldn't be fighting for it, I'd have let it go a long time ago now."

Eli stared at Iris for some time, his face shifting through a series of emotions before finally landing somewhere between softness, irritation and exasperation, "you really think you can take care of this thi-- of him?"

"Yes," Iris said sternly.

"And you promise to take full responsibility, for him, for anything he does, and for any trouble that comes out of keeping him?"

"Yes."

Eli glanced at the others around the table, "does anyone have anything else to add before we vote?"

Victoria shook her head, while Autumn was preoccupied watching Littletooth stomp across the tavern floor.

Titus sighed, “If I have to heal any wyvern related injuries, I’m gonna say I told you so.”

"Alright then," Eli said, "all in favor of keeping the wyvern?"

Victoria, Autumn and Iris all raised their hands. The bag raised a drawstring.

"Three to two, I guess that's that," Eli said, rising from his seat.

"Eli, wait," Iris said, standing with him.

"It's fine, Iris," Eli said, "the matter's settled, let's put it behind us. Don't let him eat anybody, okay?"

"I promise," Iris said.

He nodded and left the tavern.

"Yes!" Iris shouted the moment the door latched behind him, "we've got a wyvern!"

"Hell yeah!" Autumn cheered with her, "does he know any tricks?"