Chapter 7: A Bite of Trust
"Oh, fine. Call me whatever you want. Just stop crying."
Kael reached up, untied the fur-lined officer’s cloak from his shoulder, and pulled it off.
The wind slipped through his collar right away.
Kael stiffened.
The wind on the Zephyr Plains had no mercy.
It came rolling over the grass with the smell of mud and cold dew. When it hit his face, it scraped like little knives.
The gust eased for a second.
Kael did not relax.
The plains were restless tonight. Another wave of cold would come soon.
He looked down at the hatchling on the ground.
She was still hiccuping from crying.
"Da... da?"
She looked at the cloak in his hands, then looked up at him. Her little brow wrinkled.
She had no idea what he was doing.
All she knew was that this loud, scary boy had pulled her out of the shell and yelled at her.
Even so, she did not crawl away.
Her wet eyes stayed on him.
There was no fear there.
Only confusion.
And trust.
A strange, foolish trust that made no sense at all.
She did not know what danger was yet.
She probably did not know what kindness was either.
But some newborn instinct told her that the fierce-looking boy in front of her would not hurt her.
"Sit still. Wear this."
Kael crouched down and draped the cloak over her.
It was far too big.
The thick fur swallowed most of her body. Only her round head and a few strands of silver hair were left outside.
She looked down at the cloth on her shoulders and tried to grab it.
Her tiny fingers sank into the fur.
Then they got stuck.
She tugged once, failed, and pulled her hand back with a frustrated little sound.
Kael’s temple twitched.
"You can’t even wear a cloak. What a pain."
That was what he said.
But his hands were careful.
He wrapped the cloak around her shoulders and tied it in front so the wind would not tear it away.
She had only just come out of the egg.
Her body still held a little warmth from the shell. If the night wind kept cutting at her, she might freeze before he got her back to the city.
The hatchling sat there and let him fuss over her.
After a while, her crying slowed.
Only a few tears still clung to her lashes, shining in the golden light from the broken eggshell.
Kael finished the knot.
Then his hands stopped.
His head was heavy from the liquor, but the cold wind cleared it for a moment.
He looked down again.
His face froze.
"Wait... you’re a girl?"
The little dragon raised her head.
"A... girl?"
She did not understand the word.
She was only copying him.
Then she tilted her head and blinked up at him.
Kael almost lost the will to stay angry.
His ears grew hot.
"Ahem. Forget that. If you don’t understand it, don’t remember it. Just wear the cloak and come with me."
He tightened the cloak around her, moving fast for no good reason.
Then he bent down, picked up the silver-haired hatchling, and headed toward the city walls.
A thin golden light still clung to her body.
Once she was in his arms, she quieted down.
Her small body pressed against him through the thick cloak. Her little hands grabbed the front of his shirt like it was the safest place in the world.
Kael glanced down.
Then he looked away.
His face felt hotter.
Good thing he had been drinking.
If anyone saw him from far away, they would probably think the Grand General was just drunk.
His steps were already a little unsteady.
He carried the newborn hatchling through the night grass, hair messy, cloak gone, shirt wrinkled, face red.
For once, he did not look like a monster from the battlefield.
He looked like a drunk boy who had wandered off and accidentally picked up a baby dragon.
After a few steps, Kael stopped.
"What’s your name, little brat?"
Curled against his chest, the hatchling slowly lifted her head.
"Na... me?"
Kael stared at her.
She was copying him again.
Only then did he remember something important.
She had just crawled out of an eggshell.
She could not even put on a cloak by herself.
How could she already have a name?
"Oh. Right. You’re newborn. Of course you don’t have one."
Realizing that only made him more annoyed.
If she had no name, calling her would be a pain.
But if he gave her some random word, this little idiot might actually learn it.
She had already learned to call him "Dad."
If she picked up anything worse before they returned to the city, he would never hear the end of it.
"Tch. Fine. I’ll give you one."
Kael stopped walking.
He looked up at the night sky, then down at the tiny dragon in his arms.
Silver hair fell across her face. She was wrapped into a round bundle inside his fur-lined cloak, with only her wet, curious face peeking out.
"Mm..."
She watched him think.
A moment later, she raised one hand and patted his chest.
Kael looked down.
"Huh? What? You got a better idea?"
The little dragon pressed her hand against his chest again.
"Not... Dad?"
Kael froze.
She had no idea what the words meant.
She was only repeating what he had yelled earlier.
For some reason, that made it worse.
Kael turned his face away.
"Stop copying weird things."
The little dragon blinked.
Then she puffed out a small cloud of golden smoke.
It was no bigger than a wad of cotton.
It drifted from her mouth, hung in the cold air for a second, then broke apart in the wind.
Kael stared at the golden puff.
Then he looked at her round face.
Then he glanced back at the cracked golden shell behind them.
"...Puff."
The hatchling raised her head.
"Puff?"
"Yeah. Puff."
Kael snorted.
"You came out of a round egg, you’re round, and you just puffed smoke at me. Your name is Puff now."
The name was awful.
Maybe Kael was bad at naming things.
Maybe the liquor had ruined his brain.
Either way, he made the decision right there.
Puff.
A name so ordinary that half the cats and dogs in the Suncrest Empire might answer to it.
It was not grand.
It was not elegant.
It did not sound like the name of a dragon.
It sounded like something a child would name a pillow.
The hatchling probably did not understand how bad the name was.
But she understood one thing.
Kael was not taking this seriously.
Her cheeks puffed up.
Her eyes narrowed.
The obedient look from earlier vanished.
Now she looked like a baby who had been deeply wronged.
Then—
She opened her mouth, showed two tiny fangs, lowered her head, and bit the front of Kael’s shirt.
"Nggh...!"
Kael went stiff.
It was not a deep bite.
But it hurt.
Puff bit down on the cloth over his chest with all the strength her newborn body had.
And she refused to let go.
"Ah—! You little brat! You’re biting me now?"
Puff was angry about the name.
That much was clear.
She could not argue.
She could not complain.
She could not demand a better name like some spoiled noble lady.
So she used the only method she had.
Bite.
And once she bit down, she held on.
Kael’s face twisted.
His first instinct was to pull her off.
But the moment his hand moved toward her back, he stopped.
She was too small.
Too young.
She had only just come out of the egg. Her bones might not even be strong yet.
If he used too much force, he might actually hurt her.
So Kael could only stand there in the night wind, holding her while his eye twitched from the pain.
"Ahh—! You dumb little brat!"
The pain kept pulsing.
Then Kael realized something worse.
Puff was not just biting him.
She had latched onto the front of his shirt, right over his chest.
Eyes shut.
Tiny face serious.
And then she started sucking.
Kael stared down at her.
For one second, his soul almost left his body.
"You dumbass dragon—! Biting there was bad enough! Why are you sucking too?!"
