Sappho

Blogging home of the cave dragon, Sappho.

[gunontherun]

dragonxhearts‌:

Ah. Yes, that. Her brows pinched in worry at the memory, and she looked down at the scars on her nose.

“True. That was worse,” she agreed. Sappho, while her friend still could fly in a sense, couldn’t fathom how he’d managed to cope with the ability of flight being taken away from him for so long.

“I stand corrected.”

Slowly, Xigbar eases himself out of his hole in the ground, huddling against the scales of her side. Its comforting, and she’s warmer than he is. It offsets the cold temperature of his own body, though his brain still feels like its boiling within his head. 

“How’s coldslate been?” He’s making small chat for the sake of trying to stay awake. 

[dragonxhearts]

A large blue-grey wing draped itself over him to keep him warm whilst still being loose enough for him to move if he needed to. Sappho could feel how low his body temperature had become from him pressing against her, and it was only second nature to offer him some of her own warmth.

“He’s been doing great so far. He scouted out the beginnings of a cave for himself a while ago that he plans on moving in. It’ll take a few days to move his hoard over there, but it won’t be too bad.”

She paused and furrowed her brow in thought. “I’m not sure how quickly mirror dragons tend to grow, but I’d say Coldslate has grown at a fairly normal pace for our breed. It’s just a shame you couldn’t see many of his milestones.”

[gunontherun]

dragonxhearts‌:

Sappho shuffled close to the cave entrance and formed a protective half circle with her giant body, allowing her to peer in but not barricade the cave with her head, as her breath would likely make the small space heat up to an uncomfortable temperature. It warmed her heart with pride to see him enjoy her first attempt at making soup.

“My poor friend … I’ve never seen you this worn down before.”

“Not even when I—” Cue a few loud dragon sneezes, which result in him smacking his jaw off his clawed feet. “—first lost my wings?” Those had been some feverish, pain-filled nights, Xigbar shifting what little remained of the right stump. The left side didn’t move at all. “I’ll be fine…eventually.”

Until then, however, he was going to be a miserable sack of shit.

[dragonxhearts]

Ah. Yes, that. Her brows pinched in worry at the memory, and she looked down at the scars on her nose.

“True. That was worse,” she agreed. Sappho, while her friend still could fly in a sense, couldn’t fathom how he’d managed to cope with the ability of flight being taken away from him for so long.

“I stand corrected.”

[gunontherun]

dragonxhearts‌:

Sappho nodded with a smile. “I wish I could do more, but most cave dragons don’t exactly pass down medical advice to their children.”

She covered the pot to keep the rest of the food warm and reached into the small cave to set it in further. “There you go. It should keep for a good few days in case you can’t eat that much at a time. Do you want me to stay for a while?”

“Yes.” The answer comes as a weak croak, Xigbar looking up at her, hoping she can sense his gratitude as his tongue swipes over his lips, teeth and chin, cleaning away any broth that had dripped in his haste to consume food.

She wouldn’t be able to fit in his tiny cave, but she can curl up outside it, and offer company, which he would appreciate a lot. 

[dragonxhearts]

Sappho shuffled close to the cave entrance and formed a protective half circle with her giant body, allowing her to peer in but not barricade the cave with her head, as her breath would likely make the small space heat up to an uncomfortable temperature. It warmed her heart with pride to see him enjoy her first attempt at making soup.

“My poor friend ... I’ve never seen you this worn down before.”

[gunontherun]

dragonxhearts‌:

“That’s why I’m here,” she replied, noting her friend’s haggard appearance. Sappho could hear the congestion changing his voice. No wonder he didn’t want to come outside.

Sitting on her haunches, she unhooked the crafted bowl from her side and set it at the mouth of the cave for him.

“I’m not exactly a gourmet cook, but … I’ve heard that chicken noodle soup is supposed to be good for anyone that’s sick. Of course, I can’t go get noodles, but I was able to get the chicken part right,” Sappho babbled as she set the pot of soup down from her saddlebag. With a large iron spoon in paw, she slopped some of the soup into the bowl for Xigbar to try. It was still steaming hot and wafting savory vapor into the air. 

There it was. Her first attempt at chicken noodle soup, without the noodles in it. It was mostly chicken with trace amounts of broth to keep it from drying out.

It didn’t look appetizing in the slightest. His stomach churned at the smell of the broth, the sight of gigantic chunks of crispy chicken floating around in it. There was nothing here that appealed to his human stomach, and there was a noise that sounded like he’d forced himself not to retch with disgust. 

But a moment later, his scent shifted from that of a humans, to that of a Dragon, his slender neck poking from the hole, fanged maw lowering into the bowl, and greedily slurping down as much of the broth as his stomach could handle, teeth chewing up chunks of chicken before it was all swallowed back.

In this form, it all smelled good, and there was a little more flavor to it than his human self had been able to discern with fucked up senses. “Thanks.”

[dragonxhearts]

Sappho nodded with a smile. “I wish I could do more, but most cave dragons don’t exactly pass down medical advice to their children.”

She covered the pot to keep the rest of the food warm and reached into the small cave to set it in further. “There you go. It should keep for a good few days in case you can’t eat that much at a time. Do you want me to stay for a while?”

[gunontherun]

dragonxhearts‌:

It took a while, but word had gotten to Sappho that her best friend wasn’t feeling great. Her residue maternal instincts kicked in and she got to work making a large iron bowl to hold … a chunky soup of sorts.

She’d heard that chicken noodle soup was given to humans that were sick, but as she was a cave dragon and not a human, she took a lot of liberties. Sappho couldn’t get noodles, and had to do uncharacteristically delicate work plucking the chickens and removing other undesirable parts from the carcasses. The birdmeat was grilled thoroughly on a hot, blue flame while the reject parts were steeped in water to make chicken stock, on the instructions of an old farmer that traded his chickens for pieces of Sappho’s treasury.

With a pot of the concoction safely nestled in a saddlebag and the bowl clipped on, she flew over to give it to the ailing nobody.

“Xigbar? You in there?” she called, hoping he wasn’t so far gone that he couldn’t respond.

Upon falling ill, and finding little to no help in his usual circles, the ailing gunman had followed his feet to the quaint little world he’d spent months on. Though Kobalt’s mountain home had initially appealed to him, due to his on again, off again fever, he settled on his little hole by the lakeside, where the air was cold enough to do some good, and the earth was warm. 

There was a point when he heard sniffing outside of his little ‘cave’, and he’s fairly certain he saw the gleaming scales of Clevergleam outside the mouth of it, before the dragon rumbled and moved off again, likely to go about their daily routine. After falling asleep, he was later woken up by the sound of a familiar voice outside his “cave”, peering blearily out to see—Sappho.

“Ey, Sapp’. You’ll have to forgive me if I don’t crawl out an’ hug ya; ain’t doin’ so good today.”

[dragonxhearts]

“That’s why I’m here,” she replied, noting her friend’s haggard appearance. Sappho could hear the congestion changing his voice. No wonder he didn’t want to come outside.

Sitting on her haunches, she unhooked the crafted bowl from her side and set it at the mouth of the cave for him.

“I’m not exactly a gourmet cook, but ... I’ve heard that chicken noodle soup is supposed to be good for anyone that’s sick. Of course, I can’t go get noodles, but I was able to get the chicken part right,” Sappho babbled as she set the pot of soup down from her saddlebag. With a large iron spoon in paw, she slopped some of the soup into the bowl for Xigbar to try. It was still steaming hot and wafting savory vapor into the air. 

There it was. Her first attempt at chicken noodle soup, without the noodles in it. It was mostly chicken with trace amounts of broth to keep it from drying out.

[dragonxhearts]

It took a while, but word had gotten to Sappho that her best friend wasn’t feeling great. Her residue maternal instincts kicked in and she got to work making a large iron bowl to hold ... a chunky soup of sorts.

She’d heard that chicken noodle soup was given to humans that were sick, but as she was a cave dragon and not a human, she took a lot of liberties. Sappho couldn’t get noodles, and had to do uncharacteristically delicate work plucking the chickens and removing other undesirable parts from the carcasses. The birdmeat was grilled thoroughly on a hot, blue flame while the reject parts were steeped in water to make chicken stock, on the instructions of an old farmer that traded his chickens for pieces of Sappho’s treasury.

With a pot of the concoction safely nestled in a saddlebag and the bowl clipped on, she flew over to give it to the ailing nobody.

“Xigbar? You in there?” she called, hoping he wasn’t so far gone that he couldn’t respond.

[gunontherun]

dragonxhearts:

Being a heavy dragon, it was easy to stay still. The only movements she made were the occasional blink or slight movements with her jaws to talk.

“Yep. He’s got more muscle and bulk on him like me now, so it’s not as easy to do his usual tricks like loop-de-loops or spins. He doesn’t like it, but he does like speeding around to make up for it. Typical for young dragons.”

Her eyes shifted, as though changing thoughts.

“Ah … he used to be so small, didn’t he? It’s a shame some dragons grow so fast. I’ve still got plenty of time to bring new hatchlings into the world, though,” she added with a content smile. “Maybe not so soon … but it’d be wonderful to hear the pitter-patter of baby dragon feet again. If I’m lucky, I can find a slow growing dragon to pair with.”

“Heh. Kid who takes after my own heart, he does.” A laugh, before he moves on to shading, and proper detailing. She stayed still much longer than Simba had, and as such, he was able to put more work into his picture here. 

“Hopefully, you’ll exclude Clevergleam from the gene pool this time around? I mean, he makes for some great looking kids, but even for those, I wouldn’t recommend putting up with his egoistical self for a mating session.”

[dragonxhearts]

“Stars above, no. The world doesn’t need another potentially narcissistic mirror dragon,” she muttered. Then, she took a deep breath and let it out slowly, letting it vibrate her nostrils.

“If I’m lucky, I can avoid him this upcoming mating season. There’s got to be more dragons somewhere other than him. Then it must be decided if Coldslate wants to move out or not. So long as he’s staying in my cave, he’s not allowed to breed. Parent’s orders,” she chuckled, though there was some underlying sympathy.

“And what about you, my friend? I don’t like to assume things, but you appear to be holding up well, considering that you’re currently sketching.”

[gunontherun]

@dragonxhearts

“He’s doing well! I think he might be getting close to his adult size, soon. It’s getting hard to pass by him through the tunnels,” she confessed, laying on her side with her head resting on the ground. Her legs and tail curled loosely while her wings stretched out comfortably behind her.

“Coldslate does grow quickly. Seems like it was only yesterday that I could easily hold his entire form in the palms of my hands, or carry him around like a big puppy.” A chuckle, before he sets his sketchbook upon his lap, and prepares to set his pencil to the paper. “He’s behaving, though? Not trying his daredevil stunts in the air, still?”

[dragonxhearts]

Being a heavy dragon, it was easy to stay still. The only movements she made were the occasional blink or slight movements with her jaws to talk.

“Yep. He’s got more muscle and bulk on him like me now, so it’s not as easy to do his usual tricks like loop-de-loops or spins. He doesn’t like it, but he does like speeding around to make up for it. Typical for young dragons.”

Her eyes shifted, as though changing thoughts.

“Ah ... he used to be so small, didn’t he? It’s a shame some dragons grow so fast. I’ve still got plenty of time to bring new hatchlings into the world, though,” she added with a content smile. “Maybe not so soon ... but it’d be wonderful to hear the pitter-patter of baby dragon feet again. If I’m lucky, I can find a slow growing dragon to pair with.”