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That she didn’t struggle worried me, and I cooed to the little bird, taking care not to hurt her. Tourmaline came over, observed what I did, and chirped.
“She’s sick and needs help,” I explained to him. “We’re going to take her to see Cedrick so she feels better.”
Tourmaline landed on my head and settled in to wait, and Garnet came along as a wisp, floating near the little female.
Once my parents found out about my activities, they would laugh me right out of Dragon Heights. If luck held, they wouldn’t find out I’d fallen prey to yet another little critter in need of help.
SIXTEEN
“He’s very bad at being humble, but he does try.”
Sunday, April 26, 2167
The Gray Ward
Dragon Heights, Wyoming
Cedrick waited for me, and a purple dragon lounged outside of the building. Her size, that of a pony, indicated I dealt with an ancient being. As the dragon might be able to help, I ignored the titanium dragon-kin and went straight for the bird’s best bet, holding out the swaddled bundle. “She drank nectar, but she’s been very lethargic.”
The dragon settled on to her back legs and held out a clawed paw. “And your other bird tolerated her presence?”
“I told him she needed help.”
“He is a true creation, her familiar,” Cedrick stated, coming over and grinning at me. “She probably wasn’t able to drink much if her tongue is stuck.”
“It is partially stuck,” the dragon reported. “An easy enough matter for me to fix. I swear, people need to take better care with their feeders. Without magic, this would be a death sentence for her. But yes, she was able to drink a little, which is why she is still alive. That you carried her helped as well. Cedrick, do be a dear and put that solution I whipped up into a nectar dish.”
Cedrick scampered off to do as told, leaving me on the street with the purple dragon.
“Thank you for your help, ma’am.”
“Aren’t you just a polite little thing? It’s no problem. We live to serve, and we do not refuse medical care to even the smallest among us. To ignore her would be to do harm, and we purples do our best to do no harm.” The dragon unwrapped the bird with a claw to better expose her head. “Yes, it is a good thing you brought her to me. She is dying. She must have viewed you as a safe haven. Be a love and open the door, please.”
I did as the dragon asked, holding the door open so she could enter the lobby. “Will she be okay?”
“She will be, assuming there are no complications.”
Cedrick came out from the back carrying a nectar dish with a stand filled with a milky fluid. “Is there anything else you need?”
“Some fresh nectar for the birds,” the dragon instructed before going to the reception desk and easing the bird out of the cloth. “My dear, please pick her up and ease her beak into the solution. Cover the entirety of her head if necessary. I will use magic to make certain her airways remain clear. It is made of magic and medicine. The medicine will treat both fungal and bacterial infections. The magic will speed the process along, allowing her to open her beak and make use of her tongue as the fungus is purged. There will be a production of a slimy fluid from her beak. This is normal, and it’s the magic and medicine at work. Please also have your bird dip his beak into the solution, on the other side of the dish. That will prevent the fungus from spreading.”
Before I had a chance to ask Tourmaline to do as the dragon instructed, he launched off my head, took the whole body approach and went into the dish to bathe, covering himself from beak tip to tail in the fluid. He then hopped to the perch, shook off, and began the process of preening.
The little female mustered the strength to get up on her own, and she followed Tourmaline’s example. Rather than get out of the dish, she stayed in it, dunking her head repeatedly.
Sure enough, the dark growths on her beak began to ooze fluid, and within ten minutes, they disappeared altogether.
Cedrick brought out a proper feeder with multiple perches, carrying it to the birds and holding it close so they could hop from the dish without having to take flight. Tourmaline settled in for his lunch, and after observing him, the female once again followed his lead.
“Is she a regular bird?” I asked, wondering at her odd behavior.
“Judging from the level of fungal growth, she was either summoned or lives here,” the purple dragon said, observing both birds. “Now that she is feeling better, she is watching his behavior to see if he is a threat. If he does not drive her from his territory, she may interpret that as an opportunity to establish a nest. She is young enough she knows to learn from the older birds, and while he is a young creation, he has you guiding him when his instinct is, perhaps, insufficient due to his nature. But in a world of magic, almost anything is possible.”
Almost.
“Does she need any more care?”
“No, the medicine has removed the fungal infection. I can’t promise she won’t contract it again in the future. People are bad about cleaning their feeders. If you find other birds like that, just bring them to young Cedrick here, and he can send them our way. There are mundane rescues, but once their tongues are hampered, it often requires magic to save them. Don’t stress yourself about it. She will fly away and go about her business and establish a nest somewhere. And should she follow you home, I am sure you can hang a feeder and a nest on your door to cater to her without turning her into an indoor bird. I would discourage her from entering your home if possible. She is a wild animal and should be allowed to remain wild. Nectar that is clean and readily accessible and a nest she can call home near yours will be all you need to do should she follow you. But I suspect she lives here, as there is enough magic in even the air here to do things like give little birds heightened intelligence.”