Dragon in the Dishwater, Ch 5
Dragon in the Dishwater
Chapter 5
Copyright 2008 comidacomida
Eric was slow to awaken that morning. The young man didn't mind sleeping in, in fact, it was one of his favorite ways to pass the weekend... but he didn't expect to sleep as long as he had.
"Noon?!?" he demanded of the alarm clock indignantly. Sliding out of bed, Eric made his way to the bedroom door and opened it. He was half-way down the hall before the events of the night caught up to him, and he froze in his tracks. Slowly sliding one foot in front of the other, making his way back to his room, Eric peeked through the doorway and looked around.
"Good morning would be the correct greeting usually," Eric heard the small voice speak before he could see the hatchling, "but it is already past midday... so... good afternoon, Eric." Hiraeth noted to him. The little dragon was perched atop his book shelf, seated next to an open book.
As Eric watched, Hiraeth glanced back down and used his tail to gingerly swipe at an open page, turning to the next. The young man continued to watch and, after a moment, the dragon glanced back to him, "At this point, you would respond with a like greeting, or go about your business, depending on your mood... yes?"
Hiraeth's comment gave Eric's brain a jump-start and he snapped out of his staring, "Oh... um... yea... good morning." the young man responded.
"Good afternoon." Hiraeth answered back, though whether in clarification or re-greeting, Eric wasn't able to tell.
"So..." Eric started, uncertain, "Um... are you just going to read for awhile?"
Hiraeth slid his tail between the two open pages to mark his spot, and casually pulled up on one side of the book, closing it lightly around his tail. Focusing his attention on Eric, the dragon blinked his scaled eyelids, "I had considered it, Eric. Is there something else you would ask of me?"
"Oh... no... I just wanted to know... you know..." the young man faltered, "like... do I need to let you out to... you know... do your business or anything."
Hiraeth's ear-sails perked slightly, "Do my business?" the little dragon watched him for a few moments before Eric could see a glint of understanding appear in the split-pupil eyes, "No... I had assumed I would use the toilet if it became necessary... that is the correct manner of 'doing my business', is it not?"
Eric paused at the astute comment from the dragon, "How did you know about--" he held his tongue as the dragon continued to look at him, and the discussion from the previous night played through his mind again, "Oh... right. Yea... I guess that's a good idea."
"Humans would not have made them unless it was, I believe." Hiraeth offered back, returning his gaze to the book as he used his tail to open it back up to where he was reading, "What will you do this morning, Eric?"
Eric leaned against the door frame as he scratched an arm, "Well... first thing's first: I'm going to go to the bathroom."
"To 'do your business'?" inquired Hiraeth, still reading.
"Well... yea... I gotta go take a piss... but I was thinking about taking a shower too." the young man replied.
"Is 'taking a shower' another way to say 'take a piss'?" the dragon questioned, apparently quite capable of keeping track of the conversation and reading at the same time.
"No... I mean I'm going to take a shower." Eric noted, "You know... get clean."
"A shower is like a bath?" Hiraeth asked, looking up from the book at at the young man.
"Well... yea. A shower is--" Eric stopped his response and paused, looking at the little dragon staring at him, "You know how to read, and you know what videogames are... but you don't know what a shower is?"
"Correct." Hiraeth answered simply, as if the answer shouldn't have surprised Eric in the least.
"Um... well... okay..." the young man noted, rubbing the back of his head, "That doesn't make sense... but... whatever." he headed out of his room and down the hallway, the little dragon hopping off the bed and following him out.
"It does make sense." Hiraeth offered, "I did not spend time in my egg around a shower... and while I was with you in my egg, a shower wasn't an important part of your life... so I didn't learn about it. Now that I am out of my egg, you can show me." the young dragon offered.
"Show you a shower?" Eric questioned. He looked back at the dragon, who sat behind him in the hall. Hiraeth bobbed his head. "Sure... I guess." he shrugged, and pushed open the door leading to the bathroom.
The upstairs hall bathroom was Eric's-- his mother had her own bathroom attached to her bedroom. The walls were a light blue, as they had been for as long as Eric could remember. The sink took up the right side of the room, situated atop a large, level counter with cabinets underneath.
On the left side of the bathroom near the door was a small linen closet where his mother had him store his sheets, pillow cases, and, of course, towels. Eric opened the closet and took out a towel, then tossed it across the bathroom; it landed next to the sink.
The young man moved to the far side of the bathroom to a small half-walled section where the toilet sat. He kept the seat up all the time since his mother had her own bathroom. He turned away from the toilet, facing the opposite direction toward the shower stall and slid the glass door open so he could turn on the water.
Hiraeth peeked around the edge of the shower so he could look into it, eyes rising up to the spout where the water spilled down onto the floor, "Oh... 'a shower'... that makes sense... it's like rain."
"Right... kinda like a waterfall too, I guess... but like rain." Eric noted, and turned back around to the toilet, "I gotta take a leak now, if you don't mind." he commented to the dragon.
"No... go ahead." Hiraeth permitted.
"How about some privacy?" Eric frowned, the dragon obviously not having gotten the idea.
"Of course." the small dragon offered, trotting on all fours out into the hallway, "Why humans get so picky about that kind of thing is something I never really understood."
"Well... because we do." Eric answered, finally left to do his business. He flushed once relieved and glanced back out into the hall only to see Hiraeth laying on his back, gazing up at the ceiling, "What are you looking at now?" the young man questioned the dragon.
"That circular disk on the ceiling." Hiraeth answered back, "Something on it is glowing."
Eric paused for a moment until he realized what the dragon was looking at, "It's a smoke detector... it starts making a sound if there's smoke in the air. It's for emergencies to help people know the house is on fire."
The dragon rolled back over onto his talons and stood up, gazing into the bathroom at Eric, "Do houses get 'on fire' often?" he questioned.
"Only if the people living in them are stupid." the young man answered, taking off his shirt and tossing it into the clothes hamper next to his toilet, "Our house hasn't caught fire before, but it's still something that is supposed to help."
"I can understand that." Hiraeth acknowledged, "The same way that kings have guards to help protect him, or the way that kids wear elbow and knee pads when they go skateboarding."
Eric rolled his eyes as he took his pants off. It was strange that the dragon knew about things like skateboards, or elbow and knee pads when he didn't understand something as basic as a shower. His musings were cut short as Hiraeth spoke up, "That looks weird." Eric paused mid-way with his underwear when he realized that he was undressing with the dragon seated in the doorway.
Feeling the dragon's eyes on him, Eric looked up at Hiraeth, who was still staring, "Um... what?"
"Your penis."
"Huh?" Eric stopped mid-motion. The young man really hadn't thought much about it considering that it was par for the course to get undressed with others around after PE class in high school, but nobody ever bothered commenting about it.
"It doesn't look like most of the human penises I've seen." the dragon commented matter-of-factly, as if speaking about a birth mark or eye color.
"Uh... usually humans don't talk about stuff like that..." he half-paused at the discussion, then pushed, "what do you mean 'like most of the human penises you've seen'? Do you see a lot of em or something?"
"Some." Hiraeth replied casually, "But most of them don't look like that... they--"
"Never mind." Eric rolled his eyes, climbing into the shower, "That isn't normal conversation and you're weirding me out."
He turned on the water and let out a cry of surprise-- the distraction had kept him from adjusting the temperature and he was blasted with cold water. He leapt to the side of the stream and quickly shifted the handle, waiting for the heat to come. The realization struck him after a second, "You mean I'm circumcised." he spoke before he even thought about it.
"What?" Hiraeth asked from beside the shower.
"I'm circumcised... go find the health book in my room and look it up-- you like to read. Let me finish my shower; you can go figure it out." he said flatly, finally moving into the stream of water as he closed his eyes and sighed, shaking his head, "Frickin' crazy little lizard." he ended up chuckling to himself as he showered.
* * * * *
Eric returned to his room, towel wrapped around his waist. It felt good to be clean again, and he was ready to go get breakfast once he got dressed. Hiraeth was perched atop the book shelf at the far wall; Eric could see that the dragon had a health textbook open.
The young man turned to his dresser and took out a pair of boxers, pants, and a shirt; if he was going to laze around the house all day he never bothered with socks. Glancing back at Hiraeth, he saw that the little dragon was absorbed in his reading. Getting dressed quickly, Eric headed over to his bed and took a seat.
"Hello, Eric... this book is amazing." Hiraeth noted, turning a page, "I had no idea that humans could learn such a variety of interesting information about themselves. There is so much more to know about your insides and your body functions and... well... like the book says, 'anatomy and physiology'."
"Yea... that sums it up just fine." notes Eric. He glanced down to the disheveled bedding and upturned pillow; he never really bothered making his bed unless he was bored, and the feeling didn't particularly hit him at that moment. Standing, Eric headed to the door, "So... um... you ate dinner last night, so I guess you're probably hungry now..."
"Yes, and no." Hiraeth replied, looking up from the book, "I don't need to eat very often... dragons do not use energy in the ways humans do. If you like, I can join you for breakfast, but I do not need it."
"Whatever." Eric shrugged, and headed back to his door. He was not used to others looking to him for approval or suggestion, and he wasn't about to be beholden to someone for something as straight-forward as 'do you want breakfast?'. The dragon was a mystery, and Eric liked solving mysteries, but he didn't like being put on the spot for things someone else should be able to decide on their own; his mother did that to him often enough.
Despite reservations of having Hiraeth around, Eric, surprising himself, didn't really mind having little dragon nearby. "Like a puppy, I guess." he mumbled to himself as he exited his room.
Eric headed down the hall and he started down the stairs before he realized that he was being followed. Hiraeth had leapt nimbly from the book case and was trotting after him. The little dragon moved surprisingly quickly without any real apparent effort, reaching Eric by the time he was halfway down the steps. With one smooth hop and a half-flap of his wings, Hiraeth handed on Eric's shoulder.
The young man was surprised at the motion and almost lost his balance, but managed to recover by taking two steps in one go, "A little warning in the future." Eric scolded.
"My apologies. I should have asked first." Hiraeth offered amiably and Eric rolled his eyes in response.
Eric was surprised at how light the dragon was. While Hiraeth looked very sturdy, he was not a heavy load. Continuing down the steps, Eric arrived at the first floor and headed to the kitchen. Hiraeth perched on his shoulder, tip of his scaled tail wrapping half way around the back of his neck for support. At first, the motion made Eric uneasy; he didn't like the idea of the tail sliding around his throat, but, as Hiraeth settled down, the young man calmed.
"What is the animal scent I smell?" Hiraeth asked after a pause, eyes gazing, neck craned as he rotated his head around to view the surroundings.
"My mom had a cat awhile back." Eric noted, opening up a cabinet in the kitchen to grab a bowl. He went to another to search through a few choice boxes of cereal, "Her name was Abby... she got put to sleep last year."
"And she slept the entire year?" Hiraeth questioned.
Eric paused, glancing sideways at the dragon. He looked out of the corner of his eye at Hiraeth, who, in turn, was looking back at him questioningly.
"Not exactly..." the young man said after a silent pause, "My mom had the cat killed."
"Oh." Hiraeth answered back. Eric went back to the cereal, finding a bowl of 'Choco-Crunch'. "Why did she have the cat killed?" the dragon inquired as Eric put the box away.
"Abby was old and sick and I guess my mom figured that the cat wasn't worth having around anymore." Eric went to the fridge and pulled out a half-gallon carton of milk. He gave it a quick heft, realizing that there wasn't much left.
"You believe your mother put the cat to sleep because she did not want it any longer, or because she was unable to care for it?" the little dragon questioned him from his shoulder.
Eric simply shrugged in response, "Either of em, I guess." He poured some milk into his bowl with the cereal and replaced it in the fridge. Pausing just long enough to write a note on the magnetic notepad on the refrigerator door, Eric turned his attention back to his cereal bowl.
"Hamburger. Carrots. Butter. Coffee. And you just added Milk." Hiraeth read the note, head rotating as Eric turned away from the fridge.
"Yea... it's an ongoing shopping list. My mom likes to have things written down when she goes to the store." Eric responded.
He sat down in the dining room; Hiraeth hopped off of his shoulder and onto the table beside the bowl of cereal. Eric paid the dragon no mind at first, simply staring at the bowl for several seconds before he rolled his eyes, "Damn... forgot my spoon." Before he could scoot the chair out and stand, however, Hiraeth had launched himself off of the table, and leapt the distance to the counter. Using his tail as an extra appendage, the small dragon opened the drawer below himself and drew out a spoon.
Another leap later, and Hiraeth was back next to Eric. He set the spoon beside the bowl, and lay down in the center of the table. The little dragon stared at the young man, who looked back. There was a silence for several seconds then, "Oh!" Eric suddenly realized, "Um... thanks."
"You are welcome." replied Hiraeth, obviously content with the remembered thanks "It seems only suitable that I help you when I can, especially as you provided me both with food and a bed for the night."
"Well... so far you're a few steps ahead of anything Abby ever did for anyone." Eric replied flatly, starting in on his cereal, "Um... not that you're a pet, or anything." he added quickly.
The dragon waited until Eric was not crunching on a mouthful of 'Choco-Crunch' before speaking up, "If Abby was a pet, it is fair to assume that she was loved, and showed affection, is it not?"
"I guess so..." noted the young man, "with my mom, anyway... I didn't really like her much."
"Then she gave love and affection... that would count for something in return, yes?" Hiraeth ventured.
"Love and affection are overrated... pets better damn well be good for something if you're gonna keep em around." Eric answered matter-of-factly before he took another spoonful of cereal.
Hiraeth watched Eric, not replying to the young man's comment. Eric ate on in silence, lifting the bowl to drink the milk once he had finished the cereal. He stood, looking back to the kitchen, then paused, turning his gaze to Hiraeth, "Coming?"
The small dragon, with adroit grace, leapt from the table and landed on Eric's shoulder, "Yes, please."
Eric smirked at that, and returned to the kitchen. He set his dish by the sink and exited into the hall. Heading into the living room, the young man went over to take a seat on the sofa, gazing out through the vertical blinds blocking the sliding glass door. The sun was already high in the sky.
It was only a little cloudy outside, and Eric saw several birds pecking around in the grass of the backyard. He held his arm downward and, almost as if Hiraeth had known what Eric had been thinking, the small dragon descended to the sofa cushion beside the young man.
"Hiraeth... tell me something..." Eric ventured.
"What would you like to know?" the dragon questioned.
"That kingdom you spent time in... with Dwy... were there witches... right?" he looked to the little dragon, who nodded. "Were there cults and demon worshipping and blood sacrifices and things too?"
"What does that have to do with witches?" inquired Hiraeth.
"Well....I mean... that was before Christianity and stuff, right? So there were lots of sorcery and dark rituals, weren't there?"
Hiraeth paused, cocking his head to the side. Eric began to feel uncomfortable at the staring yellow eyes as the small dragon said nothing. "I mean..." Eric faltered, "That's what they say it was like before Christianity..."
"Who are 'they'?" Hiraeth questioned.
"Um... people... you know..." Eric ventured.
"No... I do not know the people of whom you speak." the dragon responded. Eric felt even more comfortable as Hiraeth continued staring. After what felt like minutes, the dragon spoke up, "Regardless... those people would be wrong."
Eric fidgeted; Hiraeth returned to looking out the window, and the young man didn't get the feeling that the dragon would offer anything more to the conversation without more on his own behalf. It was strange to think, but Eric felt slightly embarrassed by his brash question. He hadn't meant to offend Hiraeth, but he was certainly left with the feeling that he had.
"I'm... uh... sorry. I didn't mean to... you know... say something stupid... or anything." Eric felt his face flush red.
"Thank you for the apology, Eric. I know you did not mean to offend." Hiraeth responded, still looking out the window.
"Well... I guess I kinda just guessed that some of it was true... you know. I heard lots of stories about bloody sacrifices and witchcraft and all sorts of stuff... like orgies and things... and... well... you mentioned before that..." he blushed even further, "you know... you saw a lot of humans naked and stuff... I just guess if one of those things was true, then more of them could be."
Hiraeth turned to regard Eric. The little dragon sat quiet once again, and looked at him. Eric was not unsettled by the gaze the second time around, rather, he felt that thenew look was a little more appraising and slightly less accusing. After a time, Hiraeth did speak, "I saw some people naked, but it was never in an orgy." his translucent eyelids blinked sideways.
"So... uh... peeked in on them when they were bathing?" Eric offered in a slight attempt at humor.
Hiraeth did not smile, but he responded, and the comment left Eric chilled, "I saw many many dead people... dead people did no wear clothing when they were being blessed in their rituals of departure."
"Dead people?" Eric inquired.
"Yes."
"How? Why? From what?" the young man pressed.
"People die, Eric..." Hiraeth answered, looking back to the sliding glass door, and out of it into the yard, "Naturally, sometimes... but the most dead I saw was during a war. War is a horrible thing... I spent many years on the outskirts of war when I was with Dwy."
Eric sat forward slightly on the sofa, the redness slowly fading from his face as he focused on something other than his own inadvertent ignorance, "Really?" he inquired, "What was it like?"
"Unpleasant." Hiraeth answered simply, and matter-of-factly.
"What was the war about?" Eric questioned.
"What all wars are about," the little dragon offered, "the lack of people being capable of living in peace."
"No... I mean... how did it start?" the young man pressed.
"Dwy's father died." Hiraeth noted, "And not everyone could agree on who would replace him as ruler."
"What about Dwy's brother? Wouldn't he be the next ruler since he was the heir, or something?" Eric questioned.
"Technically, yes... but things do not always work out as simply as that." the little dragon noted. Hiraeth turned to regard Eric, curling up on the sofa cushion, "If you wish, I could explain... but it would require a greater understanding of a few events."
Eric nodded, "Well... you got me curious." he offered a sheepish grin, "You do that, you know."
Hiraeth cocked his head to the side, "I do that to you a lot, it seems."
Eric stood, scratching his arm as he looked to the dragon, "How did the war start?" he inquired, hoping to offer a springboard for an explanation.
"Dwy's brother killed their father." Hiraeth stated simply.
"Oh." Eric responded, having no response for the comment.
The dragon hopped across the cushions and latched onto the back of the young man's pants. With careful agility, Hiraeth quickly scaled Eric's back, using his clothing as an effective climbing surface to avoid scratching him. Once perched on Eric's shoulder, the dragon settled in, tail draping behind the young man's neck.
"Perhaps you would care to hear the whole story," Hiraeth offered, "and, if you wish, an explanation about the rituals and the witches... neither of which had anything to do with demons or dark rituals."
Eric felt himself blushing again, embarrassed at the casual tone with which he had accused the people of that era of blatantly evil acts. Perhaps at another time he might not have cared about the differentiation... but, with Hiraeth, a living relic from that era so close by, it really made a difference. "Um... yea." the young man answered simply, "That'd be cool." and he turned about, heading back to the stairs.
Hiraeth began the story as they returned to Eric's room.