The Dragon Seller: A Tale of Love and Dragons Page 5

  "Well, yes. It seems interesting", I commented.

  I hadn't understood the objective of the research, actually. But I could have happily sat for hours listening to Raleigh say "environmental impact".

  "Of course, you'll be paid", added Raleigh.

  This, I understood very well.

  "Awesome, let's give a hand to Science!" I pointed her toward the door that opened up to the back. "I can show you my specimens right away, if you like. You know, I'm a scientist as well".

  Raleigh flaunted one of her radiant smiles, but that time I suspect she did it out of pure courtesy. Before the Drought, botanists were the nerds of science, a bit like us veterinarians, really. Nobody every paid attention to them.

  But now they were real stars. They participated in talk shows, wrote best sellers and were the protagonists of the most popular television shows(6) (we veterinarians, however, stayed at the desks in the back).

  "Oh yeah? What specialization?" Raleigh asked me.

  "I studied veterinary medicine at Cornell and I have a masters in Dragon Anatomy at-"

  A terrible racket coming from the infirmary interrupted my boasting. A thud, then a curse.

  "Damn it, just wait until I get a hold of you!" yelled Roger from the infirmary. "Where are you going, damned dragon!"

  I put a hand on my forehead and sighed. Why now?

  "What's going on?" Raleigh looked at me with inquisitive eyes.

  "Oh, nothing, don't worry. Just two idiots fighting".

  I put out my right arm and called: "Sheela, ici tout de suite!"

  A pink flash appeared from the door that opened to the hallway, it ruffled Raleigh's braid and went around the store knocking over two brochure stands. It glided along the bookshelf, changed course and with majestic lightness landed on my arm. Like a delicate gargoyle of cotton candy, Sheela closed her wings on her back and tightened her paws around my wrist. For an instant, a brief, magical moment, she stood proud in a pose of majestic and dragonesque beauty.

  Then, she let out a terrible burp.

  One of those Guinness world record burps, with wide jaws. Extremely long, unending. One you can say the alphabet with. When she finished, the sound echoed between the store's walls for a few seconds. The air smelled like bitter almonds. Raleigh and I looked at each other in the eyes for a moment and then she burst out laughing. She cracked up, as a rebel lock of hair fell lightly on her cheek.

  "Sorry, it's embarrassing...", I stuttered, my ears in flames, "...it's just that to fly, they...they don't do it on purpose..."

  Raleigh was doubled over the counter, and couldn't stop laughing. After a while she made an effort to get her composure back, she dried the tears in her eyes and pulled the rebel lock behind an ear.

  Oh goodness, what an embarrassment, I thought. I looked at Sheela on my arm.

  “Qu'est que je t'avais dit?” With a stern face I shook a finger in front of her eyes. "You need to leave Roger alone".

  As an answer, the dragon licked my finger a couple of times and rubbed her head against it.

  "Oh, you suck-up...Raleigh Tompson, this is Sheela, the store's mascot. She's a Pink French, or "Draco Occidentalis Francus".

  "She's wonderful!" said Raleigh, with wide eyes. "Can I pet her?"

  "Of course".

  I bowed my head and put out the arm that held Sheela over the counter. A bit hesitant, Raleigh put a finger up to her snout. Sheela, on her part, behaved like a good dragon. She smelled Raleigh's finger and then rubbed up against it.

  "Seems she likes you", I commented.

  "Wow", murmured Raleigh excited. "It's the first time I've seen one in real life. They cost a lot, don't they?"

  I petted Sheela on her stretched out neck and nodded.

  "They are. Sheela, in fact, was an engagement present..."

  "Oh, I see", said Raleigh. She started scratching Sheela under her throat and the dragon gurgled with pleasure.

  "It didn't turn out good", I added in a hurry. "My ex told me she would have preferred a unicorn. And then she dumped me".

  "Unicorns? Pfff", exclaimed Raleigh looking at me in surprise. "What girl would prefer a six inch horse to a fire breathing dragon?"

  "Thank you for saying that", I sighed. "And in any case, I wouldn't have been able to put up with those things that neigh and trot around the house, scattering fertilizer on the carpet".

  Raleigh smiled. Maybe it was her way of doing things, maybe it was her big green eyes. I decided to give her a chance, and show her my Garden (no pun intended). I left the counter and guided her toward to the back of the store.

  "First of all, I'm sorry for the smell", I said accompanying her along the hallway that brought to the Garden. "We're in a cleaning phase".

  Raleigh shook her head as if she didn't know what I was talking about. Once again, I appreciated her courtesy. We walked by the infirmary and my office, where the calendars with the various diets hung.

  Raleigh gave them a quick glance and then asked me: "Have you been raising dragons for a long time, mister Ports?"

  "Please, call me Jack".

  I walked up to the door of the Flight Garden and placed my right hand on the scanner.

  "Uh, let's see...it's been almost eight years. While I was studying I worked with Davis and his dragons, at his ranch in Coeur D'Alene. He was my teacher, you could say. Then, after my degree, I asked for a loan and I opened my own store".

  The scanner's light became green and a mechanical voice came from the speaker above the door.

  "PLEASE. SAY THE PASSWORD".

  "Not all those who wander are lost", I announced.

  The door to the Flight Garden opened with a hiss.

  "WELCOME, MISTER PORTS", said the voice(7).

  I walked in and stopped just inside the entrance, giving Raleigh time to look around.

  I haven't been able to describe my Flight Garden as I should so far, so I'll do it now. First of all, forget about those hyper-technological environments you see in commercials. Those white wall rooms, similar to laboratories, lit by sterile neon lights as if you were inside a spaceship. Mine is an old style organic breeding farm.

  The main structure is a see-through dome of reinforced graphene, twenty-five feet high and fifty wide. A sort of big upside-down drainer, full of holes of various dimensions (their width is automatically changed by the central software, and goes from three inches during spring and summer, the maximum, to an eighth of an inch during the coldest days of winter). These holes allow rain water to fall in, air to flow, and bees and other insects to fly through to pollinate the trees. The sun is the only light source.

  I know lots of breeders keep their dragons in small spaces. I've even seen stores use six by six foot transparent boxes. In my opinion, it should be against the law. The inside of my aviary, instead, is the dragon version of a zen garden.

  I put hanging terraces around the dome, on several levels, with vines, bridges and ladders for the dragons. The troughs are on the side walls of the dome, at ten and sixteen feet high, except for two of them, that come down from the ceiling next to the upper perches, like big chandeliers. On the lower level, where the grass is, there are three big fruit trees - a cherry, orange, and peach trees - and in the middle, a big fresh water pond 12 feet wide (a necessary luxury. Expensive, but necessary).

  The only technological components are the pumps that send water into the pond and the security system at the door. To fix the autumn blackout problem, I had installed six solar panel on my store's roof. So if the Drought caused the lights to go out, all the systems in the Garden would remain active.

  "I've never seen an aviary like this one", said Raleigh, her chin pointing up, toward the transparent roof, back lit by the warm morning sun. It was almost summer, and from the transparent surface's holes a myriad of insects and a few sparrows came in and out.

  "I designed it", I explained. "I wanted to keep my dragons all together, in the same environment".

  I felt Sheela's claws tighten around my wrist,
so I raised my arm and the dragon opened her wings, taking flight. She swooped around the tops of the trees, then landed close to the pond and started drinking.

  One of the female mustangs came down from the cherry tree and immediately went up to sniff her. It was Florence. The fronds of the tree rustled and an instant later the rest of the Mustangs flew out.

  Deirdre and her companions left the top of the tree directed toward us in a hunting flock from World War I, the Blue Baron in front of them all. They gathered on the south east terrace, the highest, and flew around it.

  Deirdre let out a powerful roar and made a nose dive toward Raleigh. Taken by surprise, she took a step backwards, but not quick enough. Deirdre landed all four paws on her right shoulder, her chest puffed out and her wings opened. A soft landing, according to Deirdre's standards.

  Raleigh wobbled for a moment, pushed back by the matron's weight, but she got her balance back right away. I have to give it to her: the girl didn't bat an eye. She looked at the Mustang on her shoulder and smiled.

  "Hello", she said.

  Meanwhile the concubines and rivals were flying around us. Lutezia, one of the females, wanted to show the rest of the group that even she could perch on that unknown human's shoulder. That's how it always is, with Mustangs. Every new thing is a good chance to show who has the longest tail.

  Ignoring my protests, Lutezia landed on Raleigh as well, this time on the left shoulder. It was clearly an offense that Deirdre couldn't tolerate: the matriarch hissed at the young rival and tried to bite her. At that point, but only then, a blink of panic appeared in Raleigh's eyes.

  "Um, what's going on?" she asked as the two dragons stirred above her.

  "Don't be scared, it's normal", I said to calm her down.

  I looked at the Mustangs and shook my hands in the air.

  “Recedite! recedite, stulti dracones. Deirdre, venii nunc!”

  I raised my arm toward the matriarch and she tried to make a face like a kid who doesn't understand why you're scolding them. What a sly girl. She blinked and looked at me with big eyes, as if saying "Who, me? I didn't do anything".

  "Venii, nunc", I repeated.

  Deirdre let out an acute WARGH! toward her companions, making them fly away. The last to leave, after hisses and mean faces, was Lutezia, who left messing up Raleigh's hair.

  "Everything ok? Did she scratch you?"

  "No, I don't think so", answered Raleigh touching her head. "But why won't she leave?" she asked a bit worried.

  "Oh", I answered, "Deirdre isn't like Sheela. She's the queen of her group. She doesn't fly away, it wouldn't be dignified".

  To prove my words true, I put my hand out toward Raleigh's shoulder where Deirdre was sitting, waiting for my move. Seeing my hand out, the dragon bent her head forward. Then, upright like a noble woman jumping a vulgar puddle lifting her dress just a hair, she bent her wings and slid onto my palm. Only then could I put her onto my shoulder.

  "See?" I gave Raleigh a pat of encouragement, because she still seemed a bit frazzled. "Congratulations, miss Tompson. You just survived a group of pureblood Mustangs. Usually, people run away screaming. But you really have courage, I have to admit it".

  Raleigh widened her eyes.

  "Mu...mustang? But they're illegal!"

  "Not in Idaho. Not if you have the governor's permission".

  Raleigh stood there for a moment with her mouth open, without saying a word. Then she exploded.

  "And when did you think you would let know of the danger, mister Ports?"

  She pronounced my last name like a cuss word. She was livid. S6he curled her lips and tightened her eyes into tiny slits, her arms straight along her sides and her hands open like claws, as if she were considering jumping at my throat and strangling me.

  "Let's not exaggerate now, you weren't in any danger", I said. "I always had the situation under control, right Deirdre?"

  I looked at the matriarch and she answered with a jolt of her pink tongue.

  "And anyways, that was the test".

  I moved away from Raleigh and walked around the pond in the middle of the garden, moving toward the big orange tree.

  "What are you talking about?" Raleigh said following me, madder and madder. "What test?"

  "Listen, doctor Tompson, you can be intelligent and pretty as much as you like", I said looking her in the eyes, "but do you expect me to loan my dragons to the first spineless asshole that comes by? They're dragons, not unicorns, remember? They have a developed sense of smell and if you go into a panic in front of them...well, they get really mad. And when they get mad they tend to set things on fire".

  Her anger lessened a bit, even if the tips of her ears were red. The compliments hadn't eluded her.

  "Come on, I'll show you the Outbacks".

  But Raleigh didn't move.

  "No", she said. "You're an idiot". She turned her heels and with quick steps reached the exit. "I'll find the dragons we need somewhere else, perhaps at Weiss & Geller's".

  "Oh, please".

  I reached her before she opened the door to the Flight Garden

  "You're not going to find the specimens you need at Weiss & Geller's, and not even at Hobb's store in Kimberly". I pointed to the orange tree. "Take a look at my Outbacks, you'll see what I mean".

  Raleigh rolled her eyes and sighed sarcastically.

  "Do you think yours are better? You're really incredible!"

  "Weiss and Hobb don't raise their dragons", I explained. "They don't raise the eggs, they don't know their Command Languages. They limit themselves to selling them after somebody else, like me, has domesticated them. Those are stuffed animals, not real animals. Go ahead, take a good look".

  "That's exactly what I'll do", answered Raleigh shooting a challenging glance at me. And she left the Garden with a charging step.

  "Okay", I yelled after her. "I'll be waiting for you tomorrow morning. Bring some bananas. Outbacks love bananas".

  She flashed a vulgar gesture without turning around.

  "Go to hell, Ports!"

  Darn it, what a wonderful girl she was. I stared at her as she walked down the corridor and went back to the store, then I looked at Deirdre still cuddled on my right shoulder like a pirate captain's parrot.

  "What do you think, Dìdi? I was a bit of an asshole, right?"

  The dragon licked my neck and cheek, rubbing her snout's hard scales against my chin. "Of course not, human that brings food", she seemed to say. "Now cuddle me, it's an order!". I rubbed her under her neck a couple of times and then sent her back to her realm.

  Suddenly, there were a thousand things I needed to do.

  The Jade Tangs (Dragons Manual)

  Species name: Draco Occidentalis Pechinus

  Length: between 18 and 22 inches max

  Weight: 4.4 - 5.5 pounds

  Wing span: 27 inches max

  Tail: 6 inches

  Average life span: 25 years.

  Scale color: light or dark green, shiny and smooth.

  Eye color: dark grey.

  FROM THE LATEST DRAGONS, the Pink French, to the first: the Jade Dragons, also called Ming Tang. Not many people know this, but the summer that GeNext first patented the "Draco" species, the big brains in their marketing department asked themselves what name would sell best on the western market.

  The head of the research team, professor Dao Tang, had called the first two specimens, a male and a female, with his children's names, and referred to the two dragons with the term "Quing Long", like the Blue Dragon of the East in Chinese constellations.

  The marketing people at GeNext thought the reference wouldn't be picked up by westerners, so they invented a new name: the Jade Ming Tangs. That, in their minds, must have meant "mister Tang, Ming's jade dragons". You always have to have Ming when you talk about China. All the vases are from the Ming dynasty, the bad guys are named Ming, as well as the emperors, the places, the Chinese restaurants abroad.

  The creation of the Tangs was kept a state secr
et for several years. When the first videos and TV commercials started circulating, I was at the most ten years old, I remember people thought it was a hoax. "A dragon as a pet? It's not possible". Some people thought they were iguanas disguised as dragons (actually, they hadn't made such a big mistake), others thought it was a special effect. Then there was the official ceremony in Beijing, on live television Dao Tang gave the first dragon to the Permanent Committee of the Political Office of the Chinese Communist Party, and the second to the Shaolin Temple. In just a few weeks the pet dragon trend exploded, GeNext was invaded by requests and after a few months its two competitors, XiLong and Seryu, arose ready to compete for the market.

  What type of dragons are Tangs?

  They're small, much smaller compared to the sizes of the species created afterwards. They have narrow shoulders and short legs. Their wing span is just over nineteen inches and they don't have any horns. They're miniature dragons, if you compare them to the bigger Outbacks and Mustangs, but their strong points are agility and elegance of movements. The color of their scales has two variants: light jade and dark jade. The Light Jades are the most recent variety: they're a bit bigger (but not by much) and cost a few hundred dollars more. I've always had only Dark Jades.

  Their character is incredibly docile. Along with the Brits, the Tangs are the calmest and least aggressive pet dragons there are. Their totem plant is the peach tree, and if they have the chance to live in it, they spend most of their time taking care of the fronds. They take off the dry leaves and nibble on damaged branches; they eat parasites like moths, aphids or cochineals; they cure wounds on the bark with their saliva and, during pollen season, they hang around the branches to keep predators away from insects that hop from one flower to the other.

  That's why they're often called "Gardener" Dragons. Together dragon and plant make a good couple, considering the peach tree is one of the unluckiest plants I know. During Spring, the infamous taphrina deformens, (a bastard and insidious fungus) hits the leaves, and for Tangs it's the most delicate moment.

  The dragon spends all its time making sure the fungus isn't ruining the leaves of its tree. During the winter, on the other hand, the plant goes into hibernation and Tangs spend most of their time sleeping as well. Even during their period of Ecstasy they behave differently than other dragons.