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CHAPTER ELEVEN
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Tundor took a second look.
“It looks kind of like my foot.” He said, with a sympathetic grimace on his face.
“No, it doesn’t,” wailed Candasar forlornly.
”Yes, it does! Here look closer now that the wound is all closed up. Wait a second; wash it off again. I think that part there might still be dried blood.”
Candasar, strangely subdued, swished her left front appendage around in the cavern water. She pulled it out and shook it a bit. The poor lighting was not helping.
“Yeah, see right there, the bones in the flipper have split into individual toes. It looks like you can put some pressure on them. I’m sure they will hold your weight. You’ve got no toenail claws yet, but what do you expect? They will grow. Probably. I can’t believe you did that to yourself,” he finally said. “You must be crazy!”
”Not crazy,” she retorted, “But I have to admit to feeling a little desperate.” She said, taking another look at the extended foot, actually feeling a bit better about it. “At least it doesn’t hurt anymore!”
”I am glad to hear that." he replied, "Your healing powers must be improving. When are you going to try the other one? I’d imagine you don’t want to stay half and half like that “
”Pretty soon, I think.”
”Hey, I was wondering. Why did you choose to do the left one first? After you threw us out, um, well anyway, on our hike Lothinar was telling me that elves have tendencies to be right or left ‘handed’. Sounds weird, huh?”
Candasar nodded, half paying attention. She was obviously still distracted by her new claw.
”I guess they actually have a preference on what arm to do certain things with,” said Tundor.
She just looked at him and slowly blinked.
He also said that if an elf loses an arm, or I guess a leg, it’s often harder for them to do some things with the other one. It’s part of their brain function or something and not a weakness with the limb itself. He said that he can shoot his bow accurately with either hand, but a lot of elves can't"
"That's interesting," replied Candasar, "I've never noticed a difference in left or right myself, uh, well, until now, I guess. Obviously." Gesturing down at her recently rearranged appendage. "Swimming with a foot instead of a flipper is going to take some getting used to."
“It only gets worse the fewer flippers you have. Tundor commiserated. Can’t swim straight, can’t walk straight. You poor thing. You don’t even have decent claws to fight with yet.” Tundor monologued. “If those clan elders show up now and catch you alone, you are probably screwed,” he said with a coy smile at the double entendre.
She blushed slightly, then nipped at him. "I still have my teeth! I do not regret following through on the choice of making you my mate. I think your feeding and protecting me should have been rewarded. I have simply done so sooner than you probably expected."
“I know due to the cycle timing, the eggs were not fertilized,” Tundor said, slightly embarrassed.
“No,” she replied coyly, “But I would call that very good practice! And practice makes perfect."
Tundor couldn’t agree more
The eggs would be ready soon.
—————-
“If the question was ‘Does the bear shit in the woods,’ then, in this case, the answer is a definite no.” Said Ardwynn looking at the enormous pile. “Whew! You can always tell a pure carnivore‘ because that… stuff…STINKS!”
Wrinkling his nose, Lothinar could only nod his agreement with the panic starting to set in. This was coming apart far too fast. He had tried to act a little vague and confused about where the bear droppings had been seen, but both of his fellow Wardens had just stared at him and shook their heads. They wouldn't even start to believe that he didn't know this area like the back of his hand.
“Yes, it’s definitely not a bear”, confirmed Cantrell. “Bears, especially this time of year, are omnivorous. So, ignoring the obvious question of why you got the beast to come up here, Lothinar, Where are you hiding the dragon?”
”I’m not hiding anything!” He protested, “What? Do you think I could keep something that poops like that in my pocket?
Ardwynn looked awkward for a second, then laughed. “But Lothinar got the strangest feeling that she was trying to covertly look at his trousers.
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“Oh hell, come on! Not now,” he thought. “This was no time for sexy flirting! Didn’t she realize how much trouble this situation was going to make for him?”
”You can get a little too dirty, do you know that?” He asked her.
”I guess it is probably from hanging out with all the guy wardens,” she said defensively. “I did sign up to come out here to look at poop with you. You sure do know how to show a girl a good time, Lothinar!”
He just sighed.
Ardwynn blushed when she caught Lothinar looking at her again, then suddenly called out to Cantrell who was looking for tracks, trying to figure out which way the beast had gone.
“Oh, look!” She suddenly exclaimed to Cantrell. “Here’s a broken tree. I’m sure that the cave I remember is right back over there! Let’s go check it out.”
Cantrell and Ardwynn walked off together, suddenly leaving him alone for a few minutes. He seriously considered trying to make a break for it. But Cantrell didn’t seem that angry at him yet, so maybe things were not that bad. The other option was to try to ride it out and appeal to the Chief Warden’s sense of team loyalty. He didn’t know, however, how he was going to conclusively prove he was still on team Elf to Cantrell without totally betraying both Tundor and Candasar.
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Ardwella and Alberad were packing a cart. They had been married for over 50 years, and of course, they could only take the basics. Lothinar had come along a decade or so into their marriage. They packed away what they could and loaded only what was absolutely necessary in the well-maintained two-wheeler behind their old Gelding Jamison, who bore it stoically. Already in the traces, he was of the most patient sort as long as you rewarded him once in a while with a carrot or two. Going on the road was almost normal for Ardwella, but this would be the first time for Alberad. He was already starting to look a little panicked.
“I don’t think we are going to be able to get the tarp to tie down if we pack it any higher,” he speculated.
‘It will be fine, it has more stretch than you think” she replied confidently. "I think we are about done anyway, well, except for the sword.”
He got a strange look on his face before replying, “Are you going to pack it or carry it?”
”Hopefully it won’t come to ‘that’ anytime soon, Females don’t walk around wearing swords much anymore.”
”Did they used to?” He asked suspiciously
“Yes, a long, long time ago,” she replied. “Or at least that’s what I read somewhere.“
Giving her a curious glance, he finally said, “You always seem to prefer old books”
”Nothing like the classics.” She added, smiling. “Go and get it down off the wall and I’ll wrap it up and pack it in the wagon.”
———————-
Bartuug had to acknowledge that the meeting of the water dragon elders had been a disaster. It started with a protest and only got worse from there. First, the mother of yet another dragon, a female this time who had recently hatched with several birth defects, had appealed to some family members and friends. They had showed up to complain about the council’s decision to end the life of….what was his name? Yes, Tundor. She wanted guarantees that the same thing wouldn’t happen to her own child. Frankly, the council wasn’t going to promise anything. The child would either have to grow out of it or it would would suffer the same fate. The girl would have to take swimming lessons seriously. Everyone had to keep up and do their part.
Then there were the usual complaints about Candasar. As one of the clan leaders, Bartuug didn’t feel like she should be his problem to solve anymore. She appeared totally self-sufficient, not relying on the clan. Occasionally, if she had a good hunt, she would even bring extra food by and give it to someone who hadn’t done as well that day. She didn’t even appeal to them on issues of protection and rules, and that led to some of the problems.
Because she fought her own battles, which was something Bartuug could admire, some of the young males had tried to bother her, trying for sexual favors. It made it worse that she was so classically beautiful, he had to admit. But his motto regarding the females had always been, “It’s ok to have an appetite, but make sure you only eat at home”
Knowing that they were relatively safe from punishment, the young males had taken to swimming down to Candasar’s hunting areas to try to give it a go. He had thought it a reprehensible thing to do. But by now, some of them had even started thinking of it as a right of passage. Coming back with a few scars from Candasar and making up stories of success where others had failed was, unfortunately, far too common.
He had to admit that she could hold her own when it was one-on-one, driving them away. But this time, two of them had gone together, and now both of them were missing. They were probably off somewhere, letting their wounds heal to avoid the mockery of losing two to one. They probably deserved whatever scars they got, but inquiries would have to be made. One of the missing was a fellow council member’s son. He wasn't going to let it go. Bartuug didn't think he had thought through the social consequences of bringing up the fact that two males had gone down to try and have their way with one female. The clan still had some sort of code of conduct on things like forcing someone. That rule still stood, even for the reclusive outsider Candasar. If nothing else, perhaps it was finally time to rein in Candasar’s free spirit and make her once again a more productive member of the clan. Bringing her into the fold might solve the problem. Maybe it was time to start thinking about a third wife.
——————
Cantrell and Ardwynn ducked slightly to enter the cave. Filtered sunlight only made its way in so far, so Cantrell stopped, pulled a small candle out of a shirt pocket, struck a match, and lit it.
“I love the sweet smell of beeswax,” Ardwynn commented as they began to peer about. ”What do you think he was doing up here?”
”Well, Lothinar’s tracks are mixed in with the dragons and overlap extensively, so they must have at least a friendly relationship, “ the Chief Warden observed. “Do you know anything more about this?”
”You know, we are not as close as you seem to think.” She said.
“I suppose not if you were willing to keep him at the station until I got back,” he replied.
“Well, I have to admit that it was kind of an accident, as I was asking questions too. I was curious myself!”
”I'm not sure that I can just sweep this under the rug Ardwynn." said Cantrell. “A lot of what I’m going to do depends on him”
“He’s a good man Ardwynn said at last ."You have figured out that I’ve been paying close attention to him for a while. I am pretty confident that as far as he is concerned, he has good reasons for associating with this dragon."
”I agree, or I’d probably have him tied up with a good strong rope by now”
”Do you think it would ever come to that?” She asked, frowning.
”I guess we will probably answer that question when we go outside and find out if he is still there”
He was.
“Ok, Lothinar,” Cantrell said, looking a bit relieved. “How many wardens will I need when you take me to the dragon?”
Lothinar looked resigned. “If you let me talk to him first, then you and I will be enough “
”Hell no!” You are not leaving me out of this now!” Ardwynn almost shouted.