![]() Kai ran to Ping, leaping up onto her and wrapping himself around her neck. A rock beneath the tree let out a terrified squawk and turned back into a baby dragon. It wasn’t covered in red feathers like the rest of the bird. As Ping stared at it, she could also see that there was a hump on the bird’s back. The bird was red, the colour of ripe berries. It had three long tail feathers that curled at the ends. It flapped down and landed in a pine tree. At first she thought it was a trick of the sunlight, but the bird appeared to be bright red. It continued to grow in size as it flew closer and closer until it was right above her. She rubbed her eyes but the spot didn’t go away-it grew bigger. She noticed a black spot in the distance towards the east. She started to comb her hair.Īs she combed, she stared out at the endless sky. It was a beautiful thing made of ebony inlaid with mother-of-pearl. She went back into the cave to get her comb. He would have disapproved if he saw her hair in such a state. ![]() Memories of the old dragon always had that effect on her. The memory brought a smile to her face, but a pain to her heart. Ping remembered when Danzi had made her bathe and comb her hair. She had been so busy taking care of the baby dragon, she had forgotten to take care of herself. Her hair was knotted and there were leaves tangled in it. She dipped a corner of her gown in the pool and wiped the mirror clean. The mirror fitted into the palm of her hand. It would take a while for him to get the hang of this new skill, just like a child learning to walk. One big disadvantage of Kai’s new-found shape-changing powers was that even when he was under her nose, she couldn’t always find him. She turned to find the little dragon sitting at her heels. “Just until I’m sure you’re completely well.” “I want you to stay close to the cave,” she said to the branch. There was a branch under one of the pine trees that hadn’t been there before. It was always a sign that he was up to mischief. She glanced around, but couldn’t see Kai. She had a feeling that there wouldn’t be many more warm days before winter set in. As Ping put a freshly squashed dragonfly in her pouch, her hand brushed the mirror. By mid-afternoon he was back to his usual tricks, annoying the goat, messing up the bed and demanding food every hour. At last, late in the night, he stopped groaning and went to sleep. She sat by him all day, stroking his stomach. It didn’t seem fair to eat when Kai couldn’t. Then if there was no bad reaction after a day, she gave him a little more, increasing the amount over a week until she was sure that the insect wasn’t poisonous. When she had first introduced insects into Kai’s diet she had given him tiny little tastes at first.
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