225 Dahāka, the Crimson Wyvern

Tyr stood in the red entryway of the Swat family's house. He rested his hand against the engraved doorframe and squeezed it. His patience was wearing thin since they had been standing there for five minutes. At this point, he wanted to just grab the baby and leave.

"Come," he ordered while pointing to the ground next to his feet. His voice was strict and unyielding.

Aži bobbed his head up and down, motioning for his baby to follow, but the red wyvern stayed between Jóhanna's legs. It hid under the powder blue frills of her dress and did not want to leave.

"I don't have time for this," Tyr muttered.

He moved to grab the small wyvern by the nape of its neck, the baby hissed at him and backed further beneath her dress.

Tai Shan scratched the back of his head. "Uh... I'm sorry Jóhanna, but can you convince the baby to go?" This was an awkward situation, and he was unsure what he should do to ease the tension.

Before the young girl could do anything, Tyr raised his hand to stop her. "It's fine," this was the perfect time to ask Aži what he wanted to do with the baby, anyway. Turning to his wyvern, he stated, "Did you just want Jóhanna to form a link with your baby? I don't care either way."

This was something that previously flitted across Aži's mind. He did not think about it for long because he was unsure if his friend already had plans for the baby or not. Shortly after he had been born, he was given to Tyr. He came to understand that most domesticated wyverns rarely got to choose their link partner.

The members of the Swat family seemed like nice people. In the short time he spent here, they took wonderful care of him and he knew Jóhanna loved wyverns. This seemed like a good environment for his child, the only other person he could imagine intrusting his baby to would be Macha. That caused him to turn his black head to glance at the small woman who was rubbing Tyr's back in an effort to relax him. She did not seem to care, either way, so he did not want to force her to form a link that she did not want.

He licked his baby's face. It was understandable why the newly hatched wyvern would be so upset; the young girl spent so much time with them these past few weeks.

He walked away, out the door and purred for Tyr to follow.

Jóhanna picked the baby up. "Come on, you got to go home. I love you!" She then held the baby out for Macha to take, but it latched onto her out of fear.

"Keep it," Tyr stated, glad that things were settled.

"No, we couldn't," Tai Shan began, "I can't afford it."

There was no way he could afford to buy his daughter a wyvern yet. The airship deliveries were doing well, but he did not have such a disposable income that he would toss his gold away to indulge his daughter's whims. That money would be better spent saving up for another airship to expand his business.

Macha did not expect Aži to let his baby go so easily so she quickly rushed to his side. In a low voice, she asked, "Are you sure? You don't have to if you don't want to."

The onyx wyvern did not bother to reply, but instead took off into the air and headed home. He did his part in raising his egg and they could do whatever they wanted with the baby now. He did not even remember his parents or parent. His earliest memories were of Kicho putting him in a cage and taking him to the Valois estate.

Since Macha was outside talking with Aži, Tyr said in a hushed voice meant only for Tai Shan, "Forget the price. You adopted Macha into your family and I know your daughter likes wyverns. Just consider it a gift for your generosity."

Tai Shan shook his head, "Tyr, this is worth too much. It's equitable with an airship. I really don't feel comfortable." He glanced at his daughter who walked carefully with the baby towards Macha. Everything Lord Valois had done for them was over the top. Although he appreciated it, it really did not sit well with him.

Tyr glanced over his broad shoulder and saw his black wyvern fly into the sky. His attention turned back to the copper-haired man before him.

"It is better if I give it to a family who appreciates it, than a family who might mistreat it. The money means nothing to me, so I don't even consider this an inconvenience." After a pause, he hissed with annoyance, "Just take the damn thing."

Tai Shan whispered, "This is different from the airship. This has nothing to do with making my family more prestigious."

Both men stood staring at each other, neither wanting to surrender. Tai Shan still wanted to hold on to his pride while Tyr wanted to seem generous in front of Macha and have Jóhanna like him.

Macha came back inside and looked at her niece. She bent down so she would be eye-level with the girl. In a merry voice, she asked, "Guess what?"

The girl put the crimson scaled baby down and clasped her hand together. "What?" she giggled. Whatever Aunty Mama was going to say, must be good because her aunt was smiling.

"Aži is letting you keep his baby for him as long as you promise to take good care of her. Do you think you can do that?" Macha beamed.

As she announced this, the girl's eyes lit up from the news. Her hands slapped the top of her head and her mouth formed a large 'O' shape.

"Papa! Papa! I get to keep Dahāka!" she cried out with tears of joy flowing down her face.

She jumped up and down and ran to her father pulling on his hand. Her father warned her not to repeat the crimson wyvern's name in front of Tyr or Macha because it was not her's to name. She had argued that she and Aži named the baby together, but he insisted that she not get attached. Now that Aunty Mama said she could keep Dahāka, she thought it would be all right to say the baby's name.

When Tai Shan heard this, he drew in his breath. He turned to his sister, wringing his hand out of Jóhanna's. "Macha, I couldn't. A wyvern's going rate is equitable to an airship. The gift is too expensive. Please understand." He loved his sister, but this really was too much.

Macha looked up to her brother and shook her head. "Do you not want," she paused trying to remember the name, "Dahāka?"

He walked over and took her hands in his, "It's not that. We would love to, but the gift is too expensive."

This caused her to chuckle and pat Tai Shan's hand. "What is Aži going to do with the money? He gets everything he wants. Look at his scales, Kicho said himself that that wyvern is taken care of." She shook her head, "Dahāka was never anyone's to give but Aži's. He obviously trusts Jóhanna and wants his baby to be taken care of. Don't worry about it. Just make sure they both become strong. Perhaps one day both of them can go on missions together!"

Tai Shan felt pressured. His daughter was on the ground pulling on his pant leg continually repeating, "Please Papa, please!"

He sighed heavily, "All right. We shall make sure Dahāka is taken care of and treated like the King himself. Thank you."

Macha knew how unsatisfied Freyr was with his life, so she corrected her brother, "Hopefully he'll be even happier than the King."