Dragons of the Watch - Donita K. Paul [33]
“Will I see them again?”
“Yes. They like you.”
She grinned. The dragons flew in a line toward the stairs to the upper levels, all except Airon. The purple dragon circled around Bealomondore and Ellie. With each turn her circle became smaller.
“She’s going to land on your shoulder. Try not to cringe.”
“Do her claws hurt?”
Bealomondore laughed. “She says her claws do not hurt. Do your toes hurt?”
Ellie gasped. “She understands me.”
“Yes, you’re the one with the problem, not her.”
She made a face at him but didn’t really feel any annoyance. The prospect of getting to know real dragons, learning to mindspeak, and perhaps convincing the dragons to help her gain the respect of the children outweighed any petty grievance against her tumanhofer friend.
Even with the warning, she flinched a little as Airon landed on her shoulder. She didn’t feel the pinprick of tiny claws, only the slight pressure of Airon’s small body. Very cautiously, the purple dragon stretched out her neck and laid her cheek against Ellie’s. The young tumanhofer girl’s heart capitulated.
She had to turn her head at an awkward angle and pull back in order to look at the dragon on her shoulder. Airon seemed to recognize the problem and moved out to the top of her arm. Now Ellie could look straight into the beautiful dragon’s eyes.
“How are we going to do this?” she asked.
Bealomondore rocked back and forth on his feet, a pleased expression taking over his features. “I suggest you sing.”
Ellie doubted that singing would help her understand when the dragons tried to mindspeak with her. But Bealomondore had suggested it, and she didn’t have any other ideas. He went to pore over the books in the rotunda. She and Airon settled at one of the child-size tables. Airon stood in the middle of the table, while Ellie sat comfortably in one of the four matching chairs. Tak claimed a cushion beside a fish tank containing no fish or water, just colored gravel in the bottom with a small castle and some shells.
Watching the little purple dragon, Ellie wondered what she thought of this experiment. Airon looked interested in her but hardly took on the role of teacher. Well, if Ellie wanted to know what the purple dragon was thinking, she had better learn how to mindspeak. She started by singing a simple lullaby that she had sung to younger siblings as she rocked them to sleep.
In the sky, in the sky
Stars and moon say good night
Sleep, my baby.
Day has gone, day has gone
And sleep says ah, come on,
Little baby.
Close your eyes, close your eyes
And I whisper good night
Sleep, my baby.
Morning comes, morning comes
And you’ll greet the new day,
Little baby.
She repeated it several times. Airon joined on the second verse and sang along without words, at least not words Ellie recognized. The purple dragon’s intonations matched perfectly with her own, but the syllables sounded like nothing more than dahs, lahs, mees, and an occasional ray. Tak nodded his head, not quite to the simple beat. He would go to sleep if she sang for any length of time. He always did at home when she sat in the porch rocker and crooned to a baby.
Ellie started again at the beginning of the song, and when she reached the end of the fourth verse, she continued with more lyrics she didn’t recall ever having heard before.
Rest all night, rest all night
Knowing I’ll hold you tight.
Sleep, my baby.
Dreams so sweet, dreams so sweet
Fill your heart and your life,
Little baby.
Learn and grow, learn and grow
Safe with us in our home,
Sleep, my baby.
Soon enough, soon enough
You will follow your road,
Little baby.
She frowned as she looked at her singing partner. “Did you know those verses? Because I certainly didn’t.”
Airon ducked her chin and then raised it to point to the ceiling. She sprang up and did a flip in the air and landed with her feet doing a rat-a-tat-tat on the wooden tabletop. Tak tilted his head and watched her with his yellow eyes.
Like a whisper