Chapter 6: Extra Curricular Studies

Emmet discovers a few things about his Egg, and how much time he has until it hatches.

“So what are some questions you have?” Clair asked as she walked with him towards her Grandmothers. 

“Well…” Emmet said. “Mostly what to do during hatching.. how to care for the hatchling…”

“Sounds like some pretty specific questions..” Clair said, adjusting her grip on her crate of peaches. 

“Its… a thorough study..” Emmet told her. “Dragon Eggs fascinate me. Seeing as they’re so… un-alive to start with but then reveal that they were alive in a way. It’s amazing.”

“I didn’t know you had that big of an interest,” Clair commented. “Then again you’re so quiet, you only speak up when someone starts a conversation..”

Emmet offered a crooked smile and rubbed the back of his head. “Well… I don’t know what to say to start off. And people kinda drifted away from me since Esther was attacked.”

“Well…” Clair said. “When you saw what had happened, one of those guys barely got out upright. I don’t think his face will ever look the same anyway. I think you just scared people.”

Emmet’s smile became a scowl at the memory of the one that hurt his sister. His fist even clenched at the memory. But he shook his head and noticed Clair shift the crate again. “Here, let me carry that.” 

“Oh you don’t have to-“ Clair assured him.

“You’re doing me a huge favor in introducing me to your grandmother,” Emmet said as he gently took the crate and hoisted it up onto his shoulder. “It’s the least I can do.”

Clair smiled and relaxed a bit before they continued walking. They were half way there anyway. “Thank you, Emmet. You know there's not a lot of guys who act that way.”

Emmet gave his free shoulder a shrug. “Eh, my Great Great Grandfather was a Knight that took a humbler life. I guess he passed down what he learned through my family.”

“I’d believe it,” Clair said. 

The two of them walked in silence for a bit before Clair looked up and pointed to a cottage with an old looking Earth dragon sleeping in the sunlight. Emmet could see her age as her horns were looking more like the bark on a tree and moss was growing between her graying scales. The dragoness smelled them and lifted her equine head to look at them. She smiled at the sight of the two humans, but Emmet could see her eyes were clouding with cataracts.

“Clair…” The dragon greeted. “good to see you on such a fine day.. who’s your friend?”

“Hey, Nana Terra,” Clair said, walking over and hugging the dragon's snout. “This is Emmet. he wanted to ask you and Grandma about eggs.”

Terra looked at Emmet before chuckling. “Planning on laying one lad? It ain't easy, especially where you stand.”

“Uh, no ma’am,” Emmet said, his blush making the elder laugh. Emmet watched her for a moment before chuckling himself. 

“I’m only pulling your tail hatchling,” Terra said as she got up and stretched. “I think Phyllis is out in the gardens. I’ll take you back there.” 

“Thank you, Nana,” Clair said as the dragon turned and started to slowly walk around the cottage. “Nana Terra’s been in the family since my grandmother was a child. So she insists on being called Nana Terra.”

Emmet chuckled. “She looks like she would fit the title. I’ve never seen a dragon like her.”

“Every Element dragon returns to the element they represent when they pass,” Clair said. “For earth dragons, they become stone with moss and bushes. Air dragons and fire dragon are the most unique when that time comes, though; the air dragon’s feathers become more transparent, and there's always a smog around the fire dragons.”

“How do you know all that?” Emmet asked as he entered through the garden gate.

There was a chuckle as an older woman slowly stood behind a bush with a basket of herbs. Terra walked up to her and stood at her side as the woman walked over to the two young adults. 

“That's because I told her.” The woman said. “Good afternoon, I’m Phyllis. I thought I heard my granddaughters voice out front.”

“Hey, grammy,” Clair said, smiling and hugging her grandmother. “We brought you some peaches. And this is Emmet Fields. We’re in home room together, and Emmet wants to learn about dragon eggs. You should see the notes he has already.”

“Really?” Phyllis asked as she looked at Emmet. “Well, then you’re both just in time. I have some tea brewing and some herbs to hang. We can go over your notes and see what else you would need to know.”

Before Emmet could reply, Phyllis started heading back inside the house. He blinked after her before Terra nudged him in the back like she would a hatchling. “She ain't gonna wait for you, young one.” She rumbled. “Besides, I think your arms would be getting tired by now from carrying those peaches.”

Clair chuckled. “Careful, Nana loves peaches. She’ll snatch them.”

The elder dragoness lifted her head with a proud look. “I never snatch anything.” She said, but then she grinned and held up a peach in her claws. “I sneak them.”

“Nana!” Clair laughed before pushing Emmet closer to the house. “Hurry inside before she eats the whole crate.”

Emmet chuckled and went inside, lowering the crate of peaches from his shoulder to carry it in front of himself, if anything, to protect it from Nanna Terra.

Inside, Emmet’s nose couldn’t tell if he entered a house or another garden. All around him were planter boxes full and over flowing with different herbs, and the roof had been replaced with thick Plexiglas, so the cottage was really a livable green house. From said roof hung many strings of drying herbs while a rack by the window held herbs flat to dry them. Where there weren't herbs growing or drying there were jars of dried herbs, both full-leaved and crushed with the jars clearly labeled. 

The kettle was in a fire place and was whistling to show the water was ready. Phyllis set her basket of her fresh herbs on the table and pulled the kettle off the fire, poring its contents into a tea pot before perusing her herbs. “Hm… lets see about…. cool mint on a hot day… Nettle Bloom for taking the edge of school off of you two…. and what else…”

She looked over at Clair and Emmet. Clair looked at Emmet as he stepped forward and smelled the different herbs that Phyllis had chosen before humming in thought. Then he looked at the peaches. “Maybe peach?” he asked.

Phyllis looked at the peaches and smiled. “Peach would give a nice summer flavor…” She said with a gentle smile. “And it would even the bitterness of the nettle and compliment the cool mint. Good head on you.” She said as she reached a jar and pulled out two dried peach slices and put the herbs in the pot to steep. 

“Now!” She said as she started working on wrapping and hanging the herbs she picked. “You said you’re interested in dragon eggs. May I ask why?”

“They’re amazing,” Emmet said. “I’d never seen a dragon hatch, except for videos online.”

“Oh, those don’t do it any service,” Phyllis said with a wave of her hand, not looking up from her work. “There’s a certain magic around a newly hatched dragon. Then again when anything is born into this world it's magical.”

When she finished hanging the herbs she walked to a shelf and pulled out a few old notebooks. “But there are things on the internet that people miss out. Dragons are creatures of nature, like all of us. So I found, through years of my own study and learning under others, that herbs can be helpful. And there's some tips and tricks.” She smiled as she sat and offered the journals to Emmet. 

Emmet gladly accepted them and opened the first. They were all hand written and bound in leather, only adding to the wonderful smells of the cottage. He admired the sketches of the weekly updates of a dragoness heavy with eggs and the eggs themselves. Reading the notes, he discovered something he didn’t know before. “The dragoness carries the eggs for four and a half months before laying?”

Phyllis nodded. “That's right. The shell takes a while to form around the hatchling. But the mother becomes slower when carrying eggs, and careful of her movements. So they lay the eggs to keep up their hunting skills and to defend their home and hatchlings.”

“Amazing…” Emmet mumbled as he smiled and flipped forward a bit until he spotted the conditions his egg was in.

Hatching Preparation:

The egg’s shell is softer, meaning the egg has entered the last two weeks of its gestation. The egg can hatch at any time between now and the next 14 days. Especially when the hatchling feels encouraged to hatch.

“Encouraged?” Emmet asked. “What do you mean by that?”

Phyllis smiled as she looked at the page. “Lad, don’t you know how the Riders and their dragons became so close?”

“I figured it was from imprinting at hatching,” Emmet answered. 

“You’re partly right,” Phyllis answered. “The imprinting played a part in the bond, but the Rider had to bond to the dragon while it was still in the egg.”

Emmet and Clair both raised eyebrows. “How did they manage that Grammy?” Clair asked. 

Phyllis smiled with a twinkle in her eye. “Much like how you both made friends with others in your youth.” She answered. “You took one look at someone and said to yourself; ‘That one. That's the person I want to have adventures with.’ The hatchling does the same thing. When their shell softens, and they can feel what rubs against their shell, they can get a sense of their surroundings and those that interact with the egg.”

Oh boy… Emmet thought, remembering how the hatchling had ruled against his hand when his hand touched the egg’s surface. “Um… when it’s encouraged… How long until the egg hatches?”

“If the hatchling has found a human to bond with,” Phyllis said. “It would be up to the hatchling, it can hatch as early as they want. Its when the hatchling remains in the egg that you should worry. As then it’s in an environment or among people the hatchling fears.”

Emmet bit his lip, suddenly feeling like he should be heading home. “Um… is it okay if I borrow these?” He asked. “The… the notes in them are perfect for my research.”

Phyllis smiled and gave a nod. “On one condition.” She said, then pointed at Emmet’s fist. “You let me tend to that hand.”

Emmet looked at her then at his hand. there was a large bruise forming over the knuckles, and it did hurt to move his fingers. It must have been when he punched Tony. Emmet sighed and nodded. 

Phyllis smiled and gently took Emmet’s hand and inspected the bruising before looking at Clair. “Clair dear? Could you get the Spring Anise from the garden, please? And some Angel Creed?”

“Sure,” Clair said, walking out with a pair of clippers to collect the herbs. 

Emmet looked at his hand, having not expected it to bruise so much, and he was wondering how Tony was feeling. He actually grinned at the thought of Tony holding a steak to his face.

“So Emmet,” Phyllis said as she got some cool water and started cleaning the hand. “What is the reason you’re looking for all these answers?”

Emmet looked up at her, paling slightly. “Um, research, for… you know…”

“And that there tells me that’s the farthest thing from the truth,” Phyllis said gently. She looked him in the eyes and smiled. “But it’s clear you either severely cannot tell me, or severely don’t want to.”

Emmet was very slow to answer, surprised that the old woman could tell that he wasn’t just doing research… then again he wasn’t a good lier… “I can’t tell you.” He said. “I’m sorry…”

Phyllis gave a slow nod in understanding. “In that case, I’ll ask different questions.” She said. “How far along?”

“Getting soft.,” Emmet answered. 

“Alive?”

“Very much so..”

“Was it in danger?” 

Emmet gave a nod. “And might still be.”

Phyllis gave a nod. “When the time comes, have soft towels on hand. As well as fresh cows milk. But I’ll give you a herb to promote health for the young one; add Angel Creed nectar to the milk and keep the flowers nearby. Its fine if the youngster nibbles them, they’ll help him stay strong. And if you have any trouble, you know where to find me.”

Emmet listened, taking mental notes as the wisdom was offered. She even got a small jar of Angel Creed nectar as Clair returned with the herbs needed for Emmet’s hands.

The herbs were applied and his hand was wrapped, and Emmet could already feel the soreness easing away from his hand. The old woman smiled and set the books and the jar of nectar in Emmet’s arms. “There you go.” She said. “All set. Be sure to let me know how the research goes please.” She said, still smiling.

“Thank you, Ma’am,” Emmet said, opening his bag and setting the books and the jar inside. “And I will.” He smiled back at her as Clair hugged Phyllis before the two started leaving the lovely cottage. 

Emmet had a lot to study… especially if the egg would be hatching sooner over later…

Author's Note

Phew! That was a lot of writing for one morning! What was in that tea I drank before writing? XD Anyway, we're getting up to the last chapter of the first part (I think, I'll see where the story goes XD) Anyway, hope you all are liking the story so far!

Fun Fact! Phyllis is based after my own great Grandmother that passed away a few years ago. She was always the one to go to for questions about anything, and you couldn't hide anything from her. She taught me how to knit and taught my brother how to write in cursive. I thought it would be nice to give her a place in this book since she used to love reading to us, even when dementia started settling in. And Yes, we called her Grammy.