Boreal was used to tussling with Tal, but such games had been few and far between since the War. It felt good to wrestle with Sah and really let loose, and the dragon made happy grumbles and the occasional twin puffs of smoke from her nostrils as she made her enjoyment known.
Tal, meanwhile, laughed at Lily's yip and bounced up onto his own feet, chasing her and occasionally darting to interrupt her circle and make her go around him as he jumped in front of her. Poor Pad was missing out on all the fun, way up there in the sky! And indeed, a moment later the petulant yip let them all know just what he thought about them having fun without him. Tal ducked his head to hide his smile and Boreal paused her play-fighting as Sah coaxed the stubborn pup.
And, almost surprisingly, it worked! Boreal looked from Sah to Tal and then up at Pad with her heavy, blunt-muzzled head cocked to the side as if to make sure she understood what was being asked of her from all parties. "You're up, girl," Tal encouraged her, and the dragon warbled quietly to herself as she gathered her strength and launched herself up, wings beating strongly to gain height above the tree until she could drift lightly back down in a glide.
"She helps carries the team's pups all the time," Tal reassured Sah confidently, plopping down in the snow next to the hunter. "Happiest when she gets to be the favorite auntie." Spoil the pups rotten, let them play on her like a scaly jungle gym, and then send them back to their mothers worn out and ready to nap, he meant. And indeed, the pale dragon slipped neatly between the snow-laden branches just beneath Pad and locked broad talons into the wood of the trunk, climbing the last few feet the slow and careful way so she didn't risk breaking his branch. The trunk swayed warningly but held as she crooned for the pup to come close enough to be picked up.
Tal, meanwhile, laughed at Lily's yip and bounced up onto his own feet, chasing her and occasionally darting to interrupt her circle and make her go around him as he jumped in front of her. Poor Pad was missing out on all the fun, way up there in the sky! And indeed, a moment later the petulant yip let them all know just what he thought about them having fun without him. Tal ducked his head to hide his smile and Boreal paused her play-fighting as Sah coaxed the stubborn pup.
And, almost surprisingly, it worked! Boreal looked from Sah to Tal and then up at Pad with her heavy, blunt-muzzled head cocked to the side as if to make sure she understood what was being asked of her from all parties. "You're up, girl," Tal encouraged her, and the dragon warbled quietly to herself as she gathered her strength and launched herself up, wings beating strongly to gain height above the tree until she could drift lightly back down in a glide.
"She helps carries the team's pups all the time," Tal reassured Sah confidently, plopping down in the snow next to the hunter. "Happiest when she gets to be the favorite auntie." Spoil the pups rotten, let them play on her like a scaly jungle gym, and then send them back to their mothers worn out and ready to nap, he meant. And indeed, the pale dragon slipped neatly between the snow-laden branches just beneath Pad and locked broad talons into the wood of the trunk, climbing the last few feet the slow and careful way so she didn't risk breaking his branch. The trunk swayed warningly but held as she crooned for the pup to come close enough to be picked up.
