Carrot-Cake

"Come on, bend! Where is that stringy thing I found?" Carrot Souffle stomped around the cave angrily. For three seasons now, he had been trying (and failing) at learning to build nests. His never came out quite like the other dragons in his group. While they were comfortable building their nests out in the trees, he felt it was silly to do so.

"Our eggs float. Why would anyone think its a good idea to put them in trees," he muttered under his breath. He looked over the pitiful number of supplies he had gathered, and felt his ego deflate. There was no way in his mind, that he was going to be able to make a nice enough nest. "I don't know how I am going to do this. She probably won't like it anyhow. Maybe I shouldn't try."

He looked out of the cave, and into the nearby trees. He could hear her practicing her songs, each note melting his heart a little more. He could sit and listen to her, all day long. He shrugged his shoulders, and lumbered out of the cave. He tried to ignore the other dragons, despite being able to hear everything they were whispering quietly between them. It was nothing new, from the time he was a young hatchling, they always had something to say about him. He knew he was different, and he knew there wasn't anything he could do about it. As he rounded the bend on the well worn path, he heard a loud shriek, followed by the sounds of sticks clattering on the ground. As he looked up, a misshapen grouping of sticks and vines landed on his head.

"Nice catch, Carrot," The Great Gaston called down, smirking. "Its good to know you're always around to clean up, while the rest of us are doing our part. You should be helping us."

"I am helping, Gaston. I just don't have an ego large enough to keep my head in the clouds, like you." With that, he gathered up the now dismantled pile of sticks, wrapping them tightly with vines, which he slung over his back. Without a glance back, he continued down the path heading towards the local village. The strange two legged creatures that lived there were always dropping interesting items to look at. Some shiny, some colorful and sometimes, they left these wonderfully sweet treats in the holes of their caves. They were often too hot to handle, but well worth the trip. The shorter beasts always smelled of candy, dirt and grass. He saw a group of them, females as far as he knew, sitting down by the river. They were pulling long grasses and reeds from the water and laying them in long lines. He had watched them before, many times. They didnt seem to mind him being around, but normally, he didnt get that close to them.

"I need to talk to them. I'm not sure how to do it, but I need to ask them how they make such pretty nests." He started to lumber towards them, and then stopped. "I cant show up without a gift! It would be rude to not offer them something." He pulled his bundle of sticks off his shoulder, and then glanced around. He was in a field of tall grasses, flowers and short bushes. The river was filled with fish, and small freshwater clams with brightly striped shells. There were various colored stones laying around, which he gathered into a small pile. He collected some shells, and some of the stringy grass and wildflowers. As he tried to figure out how to carry it all with him, he realized he could build a small nest, and line it with feathers. They weren't large creatures, but every creature appreciates a good nest! He noticed them watching him from the distance, but unlike the stares he often got back at the cave, the creatures seemed curious. Good, he needed their help, and didn't want them to be scared. He had the idea to add a handle to the nest, to make it easier to carry. He figured that having something in his mouth would help keep them from shrieking and running away. "Well, here goes," he thought to himself, as he picked his nest up and walked towards them.

The creatures watched him walking toward them with a little apprehension, but more curiosity than anything else. One of the small beasts wiggled away from his mother, and ran towards him. An older female ran after him, but his short legs moved much faster. "They are getting nervous, what do I do? Oh I know," He thought to himself, as he promptly sat down. He has seen their 4 legged furry animals do something similar before. He remembered that when they sat up on their hind legs, and made a certain pleading whine with a certain look on their face, these creature thought it was cute, and gave them treats. He promptly made a similar whine.

"Gamma, dwaggy have a pwesent fow us! Gamma, Gamma, Look!". The taller female had finally caught up, and was starting to pull the little beast away, when she noticed the basket. She cocked her head to the side a little, noticed that he wasn't trying to scare them. She had seen this particular dragon watching the women many times recently, and thought to herself "I wonder what this one wants."

"She looks confused. How am I going to tell her what I need? What is it that their furry beasts do when they want attention... oh I know!" He gently set his basket down, and nudged it closer to her, and then rolled over on his back, wagging his tail. It felt so wrong, almost humiliating, but it made the tiny beast in front of him squeal in delight, and even the older beast started laughing.

"Can we help you with something," she asked him. He understood what she had asked more from her tone than anything else. He looked over at the other creatures, and back at her, then down at his nest. What was that sound these creatures made when they needed something?

"Help!" He yelled it, startling her a little. He looked down at his nest filled with goodies he wanted to give them.

"Help? What kind of help?" She looked concerned for a moment, and then looked down at his basket. It wasn't a badly made basket, considering a dragon had made it. She kneeled down, and reached for the basket, slowly. He stepped back, and grunted. "Why, it looks like you've made us a nest! Is that what this is?" He grunted again, as she examined it a bit more closely. He had a fine flair for detail, but his weaving was a bit off. It was sturdy, but she knew that it would never work for a dragon like him. She thought of her husband then. He was an adventurer, and kept a field journal on the various dragons he had come across. She realized it was their breeding season, and this young dragon was asking for help with nest building. "Wuold you like to come watch us, and learn?"

She walked away slowly, beckoning him to follow. The small beast looked at him, his eyes full of wonder and excitement. "The dwagon is coming to pway wif us? Can I pet him Gamma? Can I can I?" Before giving her a chance to respond, Carrot swiftly, but gently picked the small beast up by his rather loose skin, and set him on his back. The smile on the taller beasts face, let him know that this was the right thing to do. He padded along slowly, behind her, back to her flock. She promptly explained to the group that this particular dragon was in need of help, and wanted to learn how to make his nests better. The group chattered among each other, and all of them looked at him in a way he wasn't sure he was comfortable with. If it wasn't for the small beast on his back, he may have taken off running into the woods. Instead, he laid down, let the best off his back, and then watched them work, carefully noting every difference between what they were doing, and how his own nests often looked. He was a quick learner, and was slowly grasping a few words of their language, over the course of the next few days.

"It's strange that a dragon would need help with making a nest. I always thought they were like birds, and just knew how to do it." The woman wasn't trying to be hurtful, but her words stung a bit. Most dragons did know how to do it, but his often had gaps.

"Egg flies. Goes away. Nest in tree, not safe. Help?" He hoped he was being clear. He really didn't know enough words yet, to be more vocal. They didn't know his language either. The young "child" was running around, playing with the various bits of shells he had brought them a few days ago. The child knocked the ever growing pile of baskets behind him down. Carrot turned around and started cleaning up the nest when he notices that one basket had fallen into another on its side. "That. Need nest like that!"

The women chattered between themselves excitedly. They worked out a way to weave them together for strength. He thanked them, and then hurried back to his cave to gather supplies to build a new nest. Once he had them all secured in his new "carrying basket" the women had made him, he set off to find the tallest tree he could. He felt his stomach drop a little when he finally found the perfect tree. Not even Gaston would float that high. He slowly started his long climb to the top, being very careful not to look down. "I'm doing this for her, I can do this," he repeated this mantra, over and over until he got to the highest branch. Then he set to work on his nest. The other dragons had seen him climbing, and were making jokes, thinking he would fall. He ignored them, and focused on his nest.

The other dragons didn't know what to make of his creation. They chattered on, making jokes and trying to figure out what he was doing. When he finished the base of the nest, they were really confused when he started making a second nest. He heard a few jokes about twins, and just smiled to himself, whistling one of the songs the women had been humming while she worked. It was calming to him. As he set his second nest into the first, and started weaving them together, he heard a voice behind him, vocalizing along. He knew she was there, but knowing she was singing with him made him feel as if a spell had been cast.

"Carrot, that was a beautiful song, and your nest is like nothing I have ever seen before. Where did you learn to do this?" Apple Sorbet sat back on her haunches, and looked at him expectantly.

"I went to the village, and asked the two legged beasts for help. I traded with them, and they taught me their songs, and how to make a tight weave. Their little hatchling beast made a big mess, and accidentally showed me how to keep our eggs... I mean...well, its to keep the eggs from flying away." He looked down, embarrassed. She giggled, and then broke out in a full throated laugh.

"Carrot, that was a brave, brave thing to do. Look at you, you're up in the sky with us. I have always wanted to float with you. I'm glad you wanted to keep our eggs safe. We should build more of these. I will gladly sing with you until the end of time, even if we can't float together. "