I had a wonderful birthday yesterday. My husband watched our daughter so I could work on my writing uninterrupted, took me out to eat and to a movie, then gave me the game Betrayal at House on a Hill. We played it with my sister and her husband. Apparently I am now one year older...though I don't feel or look any different. Birthdays are so surreal the older one gets, don't you think? This picture is by GaudiBuendia found on DeviantArt via Pinterest.
Week 3
Cloudberry
“Just a second longer, little guy. I’m almost done.” Vera told the tiny orange dragon resting on a cloudberry. Her oxygen mask muffled her voice and dug into her skull. The cloudberry and subsequent cloud dragon could only be found above 25,000 ft above sea level. “I wish I could take you home with me, little guy, but you wouldn’t survive for very long. I think I am going to name you Sherbet--”
“Sherbet? What dragon wants to be named after ice cream? Why don’t you pick something more manly and vicious? Something befitting a beast capable of living here?”
“I didn’t ask your opinion, Kev, thank you very much.” Vera responds without turning around.
“I know, you asked me and Tarin to fly you to this isolated, far away, extremely far away, mountain all so you could sketch a baby dragon for your book. ‘I can’t write a book about dragons if I am missing a known species.’” He mimics her voice and ends his speech with a large snort.
“First of all, this dragon is a mature, adult cloud dragon. If you had been paying any attention to me last night when I asked you would know that full grown this breed only grow an inch to an inch and a half inches long. Second, I am not just sketching him but also observing his habits, mannerisms, and behaviors. I need more information if I am to write more than a paragraph, which is all Dr. Greve wrote on them. For example, I think he is sunbathing on the cloudberry, warming both himself and the berry with his body heat. Then--”
“All right, all right! Forget I asked, Vera. I didn’t think you would launch into one of your long boring speeches. I will just lay here quietly with Tarin. It’s not like I have anything else to do that’s super important, like scouting or hunting. Wake us when you are finished.” Vera smiled. Kev talked big but she knew he loved her and her eccentric behavior. That was why he had agreed to take her here in the first place when he did have important things to do.
She paused in her drawing to peek at him over her shoulder. He was lounging on Tarin’s muscular, gray hide with his head resting on his hands. His eyes were closed and his oxygen mask was pressed over his long wavy hair. His tan skin accentuated his muscular body. Tarin blinked his green eye at her then closed it, and by the sounds emanating from him and Kev, they both fell asleep.
She resumed her research, finishing her drawing and writing down her thoughts on his behavior. Oh how she loved that man.
