Anger washed over Byrd, and he flooded Noah’s mind with information. “Not dumb!”
Noah reeled from the sheer amount of knowledge Byrd dumped on him. After a moment, he found his equilibrium and addressed the upset dragon. “I didn’t say you were dumb. I said you were ignorant, and there’s a difference. You’re not stupid; you’re naive in the way the world works.” This seemed to calm Byrd, so Noah went on. “How is it that you know so much yet understand so little?”
Byrd sat quietly, brooding over the question.
Noah pushed him a little. “Did you ever think that Kara would be upset if we got into her stuff?”
“No,” Byrd grumbled.
“Do you think we should ask next time?” Noah asked softly.
“Raven not let me do anything, either!” Byrd snapped.
The epiphany hit Noah like a frying pan to the face. It wasn’t that Byrd had lived a long time without learning social skills. He hadn’t needed them! Raven had been his moral compass. She, as a rational, thinking being, had been able to tell right from wrong and pick the actions that fit within social standards. Byrd, without that rational thinking, was driven by instinct and desire alone. If he wanted something, he didn’t see any reason not to just take it. Noah pondered this, rearranging his views on dragon kind. With everything he knew of dragons, this view made perfect sense. Two entities sharing a body. Both highly intelligent. One rational. One instinctual. It explained so much randomness that he’d seen and dealt with. It also gave him some idea of what he needed to do to regain some control over his life and body.
“Byrd,” Noah soothed the irritated dragon, “this is new to us both, but please, let me help you through it.”
Byrd grumbled at him.
“Byrd,” Kara called out to him.
Byrd’s head popped up to look at her.
“Would you like to come help me put that room together while we wait for food?”
A wave of emotion washed over Noah as Byrd stared at Kara. The mix was hard for Noah to name, but he did recognize something. Desire. It wasn’t so much the lustful feeling that had come with Byrd’s memories. It was more of a need to please Kara.
Noah jumped on it when he felt Byrd’s reluctance to do work. “Why don’t we help her?” he pushed.
Byrd paused before answering him.
Noah could feel the argument rising in the dragon. Byrd was still hungry and didn’t like the idea of working on an empty stomach. But Noah knew the dragon was drawn to the woman. “It would make Kara happy,” he coaxed.
Byrd gave in to Noah’s persuasion and chirped his agreement to Kara.
Noah let out a sigh as Kara led them upstairs to get to work. Byrd still had control over what they did, but he was starting to understand what drove the dragon, and that would go a long way to getting his body back.
“You no like me?”
The question startled Noah. There was a note of hurt in those words that upset Noah. He knew Byrd shared his thoughts, but he hadn’t realized how closely the dragon could hear them. “It’s not that I don’t like you.” Noah searched for a way to explain so Byrd would understand. Remembering the way Byrd had shared his instincts and knowledge, Noah opened himself and dumped all of his feelings on Byrd—his frustration at being locked away from the world and his fear of the changes in his life.
The little dragon stopped on the steps and shivered in response. “I sorry.” Shame and regret filled his words.
Noah let out a sigh as he pushed his emotions away. “Don’t be sorry,” he soothed the dragon and urged him back into motion. “We’re both going through some shocking changes right now, but we’ll get through them together.”
Byrd stopped again. “Together?”
“Yes Byrd, together.” A wave of joy washed over Noah as Byrd’s mood lightened. “Now, let’s go help Kara with the bed.”
“Kara nice,” Byrd chirped as he started up the steps after the woman. “We likes her.”
Noah would have smiled if he could have. “Yes Byrd, she is, and we most certainly do.”
Following Kara into the room, Byrd stopped in the doorway as Kara went over to the mattress and pulled it away from the wall. It teetered precariously on its edge, and Byrd was suddenly filled with a fear of Kara being hurt by the falling bedding.
“No, Byrd!” Noah cried, trying to stop the small dragon. He could see the disaster they were heading into, but the instinct to protect Kara was stronger than rational thought.
Rushing to her side to stabilize the bedding, his wing hit her in the leg, knocking her knee loose.
She squealed as she lost her balance and tumbled to the floor.
The little dragon squeaked in surprised and shoved his shoulders into the twin-sized mattress, trying to protect her, but it was too heavy. The large pad landed on them, squishing them both to the floor.
Byrd gasped for breath as he shifted under the bedding, trying to turn to check on the fallen woman. “Kara!” he chirped, looking for her.
Kara’s hands came up and caught the small dragon by the tail before his frantic search got out of control. “Byrd!” she gasped as she held on to him.
He froze as the feel of her fingers on his scales sent shivers up his body.
Noah’s mind reeled from the amount of endorphins Byrd’s frantic dash had released. It was unlike anything he had ever experienced as a human. He panted, trying to get a grip on things, but Byrd’s emotions ran rampant over him. The need to make sure Kara was okay was almost painful.
Releasing his tail, Kara pushed the mattress off them. “I’m okay, Byrd,” she said as she raised herself up onto her elbows.
Byrd twisted around and plowed his head into her chest, inspecting her.
Kara laughed as she fell backwards. She caught his head and pushed it away. “I’m fine,” she said as she ran her hand down his neck. A concerned look crossed her face as she pulled her hand back. She rubbed her fingers together as she looked at them.
Turning to see what she had found, Byrd sniffed at the smudges on her fingers. Dirt. Seeing nothing wrong with it, he turned his attention back to Kara and sniffed her, looking for injuries.
“I’m fine,” Kara said pushing him back farther, “but you need a bath.”
Byrd gave her a disgruntled look as she pushed the mattress back and got up from the floor.
Feeling the dragon’s disgust at the idea of a bath, Noah shook himself free of the chemicals in his system and intervened before Byrd could make his feelings known. “Wait, Byrd.”
Byrd froze at the interruption of his thoughts. “No bath.”
“Why not?” Noah worked to lock his legs before the dragon could bolt from the room.
“No bath!” Byrd fought against Noah for control. The fight made them dance around.
The movement caught Kara’s attention. “Are you all right?”
Byrd danced away from her as he fought with Noah for control. “No bath!” he chirped.
Kara stopped and stared at him.
Flashes of Raven taking baths bombarded Noah. She’d enjoyed taking long, luxurious baths with candles and bubbles. They’d relaxed her mind, but they’d bored Byrd to tears. “No, Byrd!” Noah cried, understanding the dragon’s resistance. He thought a bath meant a long soak in water. “Wash!”