One Prison is much like another - part 25
Author: 
archaeologist_d
Title: One Prison is much like another - part 25
Rating: PG-13
Pairing/s: none
Character/s: Merlin, Kilgharrah
Summary: Dragons are a handful, whether they be days old or centuries.
Warnings: none
Word Count: 1469
Camelot Drabble Prompt #599: Balance
Disclaimer: I do not own the BBC version of Merlin; They and Shine do. I am very respectfully borrowing them with no intent to profit. No money has changed hands. No copyright infringement is intended.
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Merlin wasn’t happy. He’d trudged through the cave, boots wet from slogging in the muddy pools, scrapped and bleeding from sharp corners and outcrops, trying to get all the supplies into the babies’ nesting area before they woke up and demanded food and milk and attention.
But when he got there, the dragonets were already flying around and the bloody dragon was asleep. Snoring away while the babies scampered about. It was obvious that Kilgharrah had fed them at least, the remnants of a meal scattered here and there, but the nesting material was soiled beyond measure, and obviously he’d cleaned nothing up as he’d promised. There were still shell bits and shit and mangled bones of something Merlin had no idea of cluttering the area.
Merlin wanted to scream. Or take a well-deserved nap. But instead, dropping the other things, he poured out the milk into a shallow bowl and watched the dragonets squabbling for their share of it.
Then he punched Kilgharrah right in the nose.
The indignation in the dragon’s snort as he woke up would have been amusing in other circumstances, but Merlin was not in the mood. “What the hell have you been doing? I’ve been running all over the place trying to get everything on that bloody list of yours and this is what I come back to?”
Kilgharrah glared at him, his golden eyes narrowed at Merlin’s tirade. It didn’t help that the dragonets stopped slurping up the milk and sat there, their little heads moving from side to side as they watched Merlin arguing with the arse.
Finally, Kilgharrah grumbled, “I was taking a nap. As is my right. It is daylight, is it not? Your time to take care of this lot. And I do not appreciate being accosted. Next time, I will not hold back my displeasure.” And with that, he blew out a billow of noxious smoke right into Merlin’s face.
Coughing, Merlin waved his hand around, trying to find clean air so he could breathe. Liaporos, little whirlwind that he was, started flapping his wings to help. And Bremon led the rest of them flying around Merlin, the lot of them chittering sharply as they all tried to land on Merlin’s head, blue Augo winning when he finally perched on Merlin’s shoulders. The rest of them gave up and sat on Kilgharrah instead.
Chara, settled into the prime spot between Kilgharrah’s ears, leaned over and stared into great golden eyes, and then began to lambast him. It would appear that the dragonets didn’t like seeing their parents arguing.
Merlin tried not to snort at the whole thing. He was still angry, what with him so exhausted and yet doing most of the work.
But the dragonets were endearing and he couldn’t stay mad for long. Besides, Augo’s warmth helped to ease the crick in Merlin’s neck.
“Here’s what’s going to happen next,” Merlin said, sitting down on one of the few clean rocks. Kilgharrah merely glowered at him but the babies all seemed to perk up. “I am going to give each of these little miscreants a bath. I’ve soap and towelling.” Augo’s tail tightened around Merlin’s throat and it would seem that the little blue baby was excited about the prospect, Kilgharrah less so if his narrowed eye ridges were any indication.
Merlin continued, “While I do that, you will clean the area… as you promised.”
“I am not your servant,” Kilgharrah harrumphed, looking put out at the very idea.
“And I’m not yours,” Merlin snapped back. “But you insisted on this and I’m not going to be the only one dealing with the mess.” Kilgharrah scowled at him but Merlin didn’t really care. He had just about had it with the damn dragon. “Then when that’s done, we are going to have a visitor, one that you will treat with respect. And don’t glare at me like that, you great lummox. Gaius is looking out for me and we will have a conversation that doesn’t end up with one of us dead. Is that clear?”
“I did not agree to that, warlock,” Kilgharrah snapped. “He is a traitor to all dragon kind.”
“Don’t make me use my powers. Because I will. I’m this close to losing it. I need sleep, I need food, and I need you to pull your weight or this whole enterprise will collapse and we’ll lose them as we did Aithusa,” Merlin reminded him. “Is that what you want?”
“You pathetic human. You think you know everything there is about dragons but you have no idea of our history, our powers, our-.”
Merlin interrupted, “All I know is that I’m helping these little ones to have a better life but I can’t do it alone. And you made promises. Are you going to keep them?”
A long silence, then Kilgharrah nodded, as reluctantly as Merlin had ever seen him. “This isn’t over yet.”
“Nope, it isn’t. But I’m too tired to care.” With that, Merlin gave little Augo a pat. “You want to be first, little one? I can promise bubbles and warm water and sweet oil after.”
Merlin didn’t think Augo understood him, but he perked up, then launched off, flying down toward the little pond where clear water lay.
With that, the rest of them followed, flying awkwardly, sometimes bumping into one another as they circled first the bath water and then around Merlin’s head as he gathered his supplies. Kilgharrah was still grumping behind him but Merlin could feel the heat of the dragon’s fired breath as he began to scorch the bedding, the ledge and anywhere else that needed to be cleaned.
Excited, the babies began to line up along one edge of the bath. Merlin had expected to wash them one at a time, but as Chara slid into the water, squawking about the cold, Merlin raised his hand and let out a quick spell to heat the bath. Chara seemed to smile at that, then dove into the hot water and began to splash around, his little wings sending water everywhere.
Merlin had brought cloth to use as towels but they were too big for washing and Merlin ended up pulling off his scarf and using that to clean Chara off. As he soaped the golden skin, careful not to hurt the wings, Bremon dove in, then began to play with the bubbles, flicking his orangey tail into the water to stir it up and make more foam.
Before long, all the little dragons were in the water, playing with the soap, spilling liquid everywhere and blowing bubbles that floated above the chaos. It was all Merlin could do to clean them off one at a time, mostly because each one wanted his attention and would pull off their brothers to crawl up Merlin’s sleeves or jump on his back as he bent down or tried to peek into his tunic. He was a thorough mess and the dragons were somewhat clean although Merlin still needed to rinse off the soap and dry them.
With Lamporos and Augo arguing, squirming around Merlin’s shoulders, he fell back onto the hard ledge, off-balance, water splashing around him. As Lamporos flew away, Merlin soaked to the skin and shivering a little, he pulled himself up, grabbed the remaining Augo, and with the baby chittering at him, went over to a smaller pool, still clear of soap and dunked him in.
Another squawk and a bit of smoke from Augo, Merlin grabbed the nearby cloth and dried him off, a bit gently but firm in his grip. Then as he let go, Augo flew up, and glared down at Merlin as if he’d betrayed them all.
In a way, Merlin had supposed he had. The dragonets were having fun and he’d ruined it for them. But he had things to do and Kilgharrah was useless, so one by one he pulled them away from the bathing pool and cleaned them off.
It took a while but eventually, he had five pairs of glaring eyes scowling down at him, and they were at least clean for once.
How long it would stay that way was another question. And he still had to put oil on their wings.
Of course, just then, he heard Kilgharrah roar, “Traitor, murderer of us all. I should boil you in fire and smoke for what you have done.”
“Do you want my help or not? I can turn around and leave you to rot. Your attack on Camelot left many dead,” Gaius shouted back. “Deceiver, using your wiles to manipulate Merlin for your own ends. And him believing you. It is too much.”
Great. Just what Merlin needed. Maybe he should rethink his life and raise chickens instead. It had to be easier than this.
archaeologist_d
Title: One Prison is much like another - part 25
Rating: PG-13
Pairing/s: none
Character/s: Merlin, Kilgharrah
Summary: Dragons are a handful, whether they be days old or centuries.
Warnings: none
Word Count: 1469
Camelot Drabble Prompt #599: Balance
Disclaimer: I do not own the BBC version of Merlin; They and Shine do. I am very respectfully borrowing them with no intent to profit. No money has changed hands. No copyright infringement is intended.
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Merlin wasn’t happy. He’d trudged through the cave, boots wet from slogging in the muddy pools, scrapped and bleeding from sharp corners and outcrops, trying to get all the supplies into the babies’ nesting area before they woke up and demanded food and milk and attention.
But when he got there, the dragonets were already flying around and the bloody dragon was asleep. Snoring away while the babies scampered about. It was obvious that Kilgharrah had fed them at least, the remnants of a meal scattered here and there, but the nesting material was soiled beyond measure, and obviously he’d cleaned nothing up as he’d promised. There were still shell bits and shit and mangled bones of something Merlin had no idea of cluttering the area.
Merlin wanted to scream. Or take a well-deserved nap. But instead, dropping the other things, he poured out the milk into a shallow bowl and watched the dragonets squabbling for their share of it.
Then he punched Kilgharrah right in the nose.
The indignation in the dragon’s snort as he woke up would have been amusing in other circumstances, but Merlin was not in the mood. “What the hell have you been doing? I’ve been running all over the place trying to get everything on that bloody list of yours and this is what I come back to?”
Kilgharrah glared at him, his golden eyes narrowed at Merlin’s tirade. It didn’t help that the dragonets stopped slurping up the milk and sat there, their little heads moving from side to side as they watched Merlin arguing with the arse.
Finally, Kilgharrah grumbled, “I was taking a nap. As is my right. It is daylight, is it not? Your time to take care of this lot. And I do not appreciate being accosted. Next time, I will not hold back my displeasure.” And with that, he blew out a billow of noxious smoke right into Merlin’s face.
Coughing, Merlin waved his hand around, trying to find clean air so he could breathe. Liaporos, little whirlwind that he was, started flapping his wings to help. And Bremon led the rest of them flying around Merlin, the lot of them chittering sharply as they all tried to land on Merlin’s head, blue Augo winning when he finally perched on Merlin’s shoulders. The rest of them gave up and sat on Kilgharrah instead.
Chara, settled into the prime spot between Kilgharrah’s ears, leaned over and stared into great golden eyes, and then began to lambast him. It would appear that the dragonets didn’t like seeing their parents arguing.
Merlin tried not to snort at the whole thing. He was still angry, what with him so exhausted and yet doing most of the work.
But the dragonets were endearing and he couldn’t stay mad for long. Besides, Augo’s warmth helped to ease the crick in Merlin’s neck.
“Here’s what’s going to happen next,” Merlin said, sitting down on one of the few clean rocks. Kilgharrah merely glowered at him but the babies all seemed to perk up. “I am going to give each of these little miscreants a bath. I’ve soap and towelling.” Augo’s tail tightened around Merlin’s throat and it would seem that the little blue baby was excited about the prospect, Kilgharrah less so if his narrowed eye ridges were any indication.
Merlin continued, “While I do that, you will clean the area… as you promised.”
“I am not your servant,” Kilgharrah harrumphed, looking put out at the very idea.
“And I’m not yours,” Merlin snapped back. “But you insisted on this and I’m not going to be the only one dealing with the mess.” Kilgharrah scowled at him but Merlin didn’t really care. He had just about had it with the damn dragon. “Then when that’s done, we are going to have a visitor, one that you will treat with respect. And don’t glare at me like that, you great lummox. Gaius is looking out for me and we will have a conversation that doesn’t end up with one of us dead. Is that clear?”
“I did not agree to that, warlock,” Kilgharrah snapped. “He is a traitor to all dragon kind.”
“Don’t make me use my powers. Because I will. I’m this close to losing it. I need sleep, I need food, and I need you to pull your weight or this whole enterprise will collapse and we’ll lose them as we did Aithusa,” Merlin reminded him. “Is that what you want?”
“You pathetic human. You think you know everything there is about dragons but you have no idea of our history, our powers, our-.”
Merlin interrupted, “All I know is that I’m helping these little ones to have a better life but I can’t do it alone. And you made promises. Are you going to keep them?”
A long silence, then Kilgharrah nodded, as reluctantly as Merlin had ever seen him. “This isn’t over yet.”
“Nope, it isn’t. But I’m too tired to care.” With that, Merlin gave little Augo a pat. “You want to be first, little one? I can promise bubbles and warm water and sweet oil after.”
Merlin didn’t think Augo understood him, but he perked up, then launched off, flying down toward the little pond where clear water lay.
With that, the rest of them followed, flying awkwardly, sometimes bumping into one another as they circled first the bath water and then around Merlin’s head as he gathered his supplies. Kilgharrah was still grumping behind him but Merlin could feel the heat of the dragon’s fired breath as he began to scorch the bedding, the ledge and anywhere else that needed to be cleaned.
Excited, the babies began to line up along one edge of the bath. Merlin had expected to wash them one at a time, but as Chara slid into the water, squawking about the cold, Merlin raised his hand and let out a quick spell to heat the bath. Chara seemed to smile at that, then dove into the hot water and began to splash around, his little wings sending water everywhere.
Merlin had brought cloth to use as towels but they were too big for washing and Merlin ended up pulling off his scarf and using that to clean Chara off. As he soaped the golden skin, careful not to hurt the wings, Bremon dove in, then began to play with the bubbles, flicking his orangey tail into the water to stir it up and make more foam.
Before long, all the little dragons were in the water, playing with the soap, spilling liquid everywhere and blowing bubbles that floated above the chaos. It was all Merlin could do to clean them off one at a time, mostly because each one wanted his attention and would pull off their brothers to crawl up Merlin’s sleeves or jump on his back as he bent down or tried to peek into his tunic. He was a thorough mess and the dragons were somewhat clean although Merlin still needed to rinse off the soap and dry them.
With Lamporos and Augo arguing, squirming around Merlin’s shoulders, he fell back onto the hard ledge, off-balance, water splashing around him. As Lamporos flew away, Merlin soaked to the skin and shivering a little, he pulled himself up, grabbed the remaining Augo, and with the baby chittering at him, went over to a smaller pool, still clear of soap and dunked him in.
Another squawk and a bit of smoke from Augo, Merlin grabbed the nearby cloth and dried him off, a bit gently but firm in his grip. Then as he let go, Augo flew up, and glared down at Merlin as if he’d betrayed them all.
In a way, Merlin had supposed he had. The dragonets were having fun and he’d ruined it for them. But he had things to do and Kilgharrah was useless, so one by one he pulled them away from the bathing pool and cleaned them off.
It took a while but eventually, he had five pairs of glaring eyes scowling down at him, and they were at least clean for once.
How long it would stay that way was another question. And he still had to put oil on their wings.
Of course, just then, he heard Kilgharrah roar, “Traitor, murderer of us all. I should boil you in fire and smoke for what you have done.”
“Do you want my help or not? I can turn around and leave you to rot. Your attack on Camelot left many dead,” Gaius shouted back. “Deceiver, using your wiles to manipulate Merlin for your own ends. And him believing you. It is too much.”
Great. Just what Merlin needed. Maybe he should rethink his life and raise chickens instead. It had to be easier than this.