Upon Vestia: Chapter Seventeen

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Kay always tried so hard to be sensible and pragmatic. Asher had always loved that about him, and he loved it just as much now. He smiled softly. "No, you're definitely not alone in this."
He wasn't going to leave Kay to look after this little dragon alone. He'd gotten the guy into this situation, so now it was his job to do everything he could to help. Did that make him the other father here? Maybe. This was thoroughly confusing and he was going to need to think it over at some point. "If it wasn't already obvious, I'm here for you. Both of you," he said.

~~
Tala snorted weakly. "I do not like that butterfly well." She let Shane help her.

James snorted, amused. "And do we have to wear the name tags all the time?"

Asher smiled at Dawn, "The med bay is still yours, we're just visiting."

Kay smirked to James. [We'll see Constance, we'll see.]

He set Danika down on a table so they could tend to her scales.

Danika chirped and looked around, sniffing at the table then looking around curiously.

"Need any help?" Dawn asked, watching them. She so wanted to hold the baby, but held back because she wasn't sure if she could or should.

Kay nodded to Dawn. [Come and say hello, she's already quite active and aware of her surroundings. ] Everyone wanted to hold the baby dragons didn't they? they were so cute and small.

Asher smiled at Dawn's interest. Danika was just too cute for anyone to resist.

Dawn smiled at that and came over to them, looking to Danika "Hello little one" She said softly and reached over to her.

Danika looked to Dawn then glanced to Kay, making certain he was calm about the stranger before going to sniff at her hand and be petted

Kay looked reassuring. Yes, he trusted Dawn. She was safe.
[so how do we do this?] He asked Asher.

"It shouldn't hurt her if we're careful to avoid her injury," Asher said, "You can probably convince her to hold still." He looked at Danika thoughtfully, "Just apply the oil by hand, I suppose. Gloves probably won't be necessary."

"Gauze would work, and help it to be massaged in" Dawn said and glanced to them then back to Danika, running a finger over her head then down her neck. "You could talk to Sara, since her people would have done that before."

Asher smiled. "That's a good idea. We'll have to experiment and see what works best."

Kay flinched a little. [I'm not certain i want to bring up the topic of grooming dragons with Sara, it feels a little... like it might trigger some unwanted memories for her. ] He looked grim. [Let's try gauze. ]

Dawn read that then frowned a little "Yeah, it might, even though Danika is just a baby." Hm. She didn't want to make Sara feel bad either. "Maybe there's information about the other types of dragons we could use then?" She said, getting up again and heading for the computer to see if there was anything there "After all, all dragons have scales, not just star dragons."

Daika watched them all, wondering what was going on now. She went back to sniffing the table then headed back to Kay's hand. She liked his pocket a lot better than being out.

Kay held his hand out so she could climb into it and followed Dawn.

Asher followed to see what they found.

James decided there were enough people worrying about the baby dragon, so he went and started writing nametags on post-it notes. Kay couldn't threaten him if he threatened himself first! HA.

Dawn looked up the dragons and keeping their scales oiled. There was quite a bit on here for other dragon types, but they all seemed to agree on frankincense being a good alternative to native plants from their home worlds along with some other oils from different planets. Methods of application also varied, though gauze with light, circular motions to massage it in all over, including the wings was in there. There was a special note for species with leather or skin wings that the wings needed special attention when oiling since they had to stretch and grow so quickly to stay over the bones. It was also noted that the parent's saliva worked the same as these oils in keeping the scales and wings supple enough to grow without cracking.

Kay read over Dawn's shoulder and nodded gratefully to her. He smiled softly to Danika, she wasn't going to like having her wings oiled certainly, but hopefully they could do this with minimum discomfort.

"That seems to be all of it." Dawn said and looked to Kay and Danika then to Asher and over to James.

"All right, let's do this," Asher said. He went to fetch some gauze and brought it over.

Kay nodded. [Thank you Dawn. ] Once more he coaxed Danika down onto the table, trying to send soothing thoughts to her to keep her calm. She might enjoy this, she might hate it, there wasn't really any way to know.

Danika chirped softly and stood on the table, looking up at him and tilting her head then settling on the table. Calm.

Good girl. Kay wasn't much used to projecting anything other than words, these abstract concepts were going to take some practice. He set out the things they needed, gauze, oil.
Now what was the best way to do this? He looked to Asher.

Asher looked uncertain. He really had no idea how to go about this either. "Start with her body so she can get used to this, then try her good wing?" He suggested. "Save her hurt wing for once we know what we're doing. If you want I can hold her still, or you can hold her still."

Dawn headed over to see what James was doing "If you two need an extra pair of hands, let me know." She said to Asher and Kay

Kay nodded to Dawn, then back to Asher. [She might stay still for us, at least until we have to touch her injured wing. I'll try to keep her calm. ] He tried to explain to Danika what they were doing and why, but abstract concepts weren't as easy to project for him as just words, he'd never really practiced doing it.

Danika chirped at him, looking to him and absently scratching at her side before settling again. She didn't understand the meaning of his words, but she knew he wanted her calm.

Kay smiled softly and petted Danika's head.
he figured she'd probably remain calmer if he was the one touching her, so he picked up the gauze and poured some oil onto it.
He did as Asher suggested, starting with the body to get her used to the idea.

Danika chirped at the cloth and tried to sniff it curiously. That smelled different but it did make her scales to feel better, so she let him spread it on her, sniffing at where he had done and licking there. She squeaked and shook her head, sticking her tongue out and trying to get the taste off of it. Ewing, not a good taste to her.