Scatter

 




Marion du Bucles, "Sir Bucket" to her fellow castle guards, was filled with deep, abiding regret over helping the baby dragon escape from his gem-like shell.

Only a month before, she had found the shimmering egg surrounded by fragments from its siblings' shells. Mother and babes were gone, leaving this one to the Fates.

She had noticed a small chip in the shell, and after a few scrapes with her fingernail, out tumbled a gooey green dragon the size of a cat. He had bonded with her immediately, and Marion was "mom" now.

For a month, she had been able to tend the rapidly growing dragon without drawing any attention. But now he was too big and too demanding to hide.

He followed her everywhere and got into everything. Essentially, he was a toddler with large teeth and burning curiosity.

She named him Scatter. Either people and animals scattered when they saw him, or he scattered things (like fences and water troughs) into pieces without knowing his own strength.

Word eventually got around to the gruff sergeant of the guard, and Marion was sure he would expel her from the guard or have Scatter killed. Or both.

"Dragon, eh," he had said. "Might be useful - if you can control it." He eyed her. "Greens don't get too big, but if it starts being a menace, it'll need to go away."

She did not ask for further guidance on how, precisely, "going away" would be accomplished.


///

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