“It’s been four hours,” I sighed. “I should probably go out and check on things. Unless you want to do it for me?”

  Zera cocked her head, looking at me like I’d said something truly crazy. There was a glint of mischief there too, which is why I looped her lead around her neck. The other end was already secured to the foot of the sofa.

  “You really thought I forgot about your love for rolling in the mud?”

  Zera whined pitifully, tugging at the rope.

  “You’re adorable, but no. I am going to go and see how things look outside, and then maybe, you can go play. We both know what happens when the mud is deeper than you think.”

  She sighed, melting into a dramatic sad drake puddle on the floor. Zera loved playing in the mud and would happily do so until she had mud caked in every crevice.

  The bath that happened afterwards was an exasperating experience for everyone, enough to where reminding her of it was enough to dissuade her. The first time it happened was early on and it took hours of scrubbing with three different brushes to get her scales clean.

  The only thing worse was her being left out in a storm or rolling around in freshly mowed grass. Not counting the time she found the spot where some students were dumping their alchemical reagents. That led to a very weird month full of baths using ingredients I never expected to have to put on a drake, along with some baffling side effects.

  There was no harm done, thankfully, and it helped her get used to all sorts of odd things happening around her. Strange noises and smells still weirded her out sometimes, but it didn’t panic her like it might other drakes.

  Someone tried to suggest using that as part of the training program but I vehemently vetoed it. Too risky when there were other, safer ways to get drakes used to weird stuff happening around them.

  Zera whined softly as I stepped outside but made no attempt to follow me. I taught her early on that doing so meant no outside time. It took time but eventually I earned her trust on that front. Now instead of trying to break the rules, she’s just very dramatic about not being let outside immediately.

  The pathway has some streaks of mud and dirt spread across it, but they were far enough apart that I could navigate around them pretty easily. Cleaning it up could wait until it all was dry and could be swept away.

  The tarp covering the garden dipped down in the middle from all the water trapped on too. I decided to not remove it quite yet, but I did lift the sides to clear some of the water off. Checking beneath it, the plants appeared to have been blown about but I saw no signs of damage or uprooting.

  “That worked better than I thought it would,” I muttered, shaking a little more water off. The tarp was still drenched, but it no longer contained a miniature pond. The ground around the garden was now muddier than it had been, so I’d have to be careful to keep Zera away until that dried.

  The final thing I checked was the shed. The tarp I put over the roof remained in place and I saw no signs of leaking coming from around the loft space. I decided not to pop in on the mauslings just yet. They probably needed some time to rest now that things were quiet, and I had left them enough scrap materials that their nest should be fine.

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  When I poked my head in the front door, I was surprised to see many eyes staring back at me. What really caught me off guard, though, was just how large some of those eyes were.

  I counted three direkits huddled together in the back corner, staring at me unblinkingly. I hadn’t encountered many before, and certainly not this close, so I simply stared back for a few heartbeats before I slowly backed away, pushing the door close.

  I made sure to leave enough space for them to be able to leave when they wanted too. Then I went back into the house, grabbing Zera’s lead.

  “You can play, but you stay on the lead. We have some little friends in the shed that we need to leave alone,” I said.

  Zera didn't put up much of a fuss, though I could tell she wanted to go investigate the shed. I wouldn't have told her about the critters, but her sense of smell was so strong that she probably would have caught some sign of them. Then she would have been even more stubborn about wanting to go investigate.

  As it was, she contented herself with romping around in the puddles and rolling in the grass, only sending the occasional longing glance towards the shed. Once she got most of her energy out, I took her over to one of the rain barrels and used that water to wash her off, scrubbing the mud and grass from her scales with the brush I’d brought with me.

  “Go ahead and give yourself a good shake. I’ll dry you with the towel when we get back inside.” I took a step back, keeping a hold of the lead in case Zera decided to go and play some more.

  She took a step back herself before giving a big shake. It started with her head, traveling down her neck and back until her whole body flopped around. I honestly had no idea how she managed to do it while remaining on her feet, but she somehow mastered the art of not falling on her face every time she did it.

  I still stifled a giggle every time I remembered her flailing when she was little. Baby Zera had been a gangly little thing and it took her a while to get used to her legs and tail. Now, when she started to trip herself up, she handled it with more grace.

  “Ready for a towel and snacks?” I asked. She nodded enthusiastically, and went straight for her food bowl, chowing down while I towel dried her. Not long after, she burrowed in her nest, settling in for a snooze.

  I took the chance to rest as well, curling up with a book and some knitting. The hobby was a new addition to my life, courtesy of a mother whose children were fascinated by Zera. She taught me the basics while Zera kept her kids entertained. Now I used it to help me relax without feeling lazy.

  The silence felt strange, though. I kept catching myself looking for Petra. Her visit had been short and the conversation had been stilted, but her company was surprisingly nice.

  “I’m sure we will run into her again,” I said to myself, looking at the sleeping Zera. “Maybe next time she will share more of her story. She never did mention where she lives or what she does in the forest. Not that it's any of my business.”

  Zera snorted and rolled over, her bent legs sticking up in the air in a way that always made me smile. It wasn’t until we had Petra over that I realized that I missed being around people. While my colleagues could be exhausting at times, human interaction could be refreshing.

  “Maybe we can have company over more often. Invite some friends, maybe offer my services to help with training. Not like I did at the academy, but something more relaxed. Do some good, help my neighbors, and give back to the community. It’ll be good for you too. Get some attention and a chance to be a good role model.”

  I hadn’t really thought about it before I said it, but once it was out there, I had to admit it wasn’t a bad idea. There were more than a few farmers who used beasts of burden and hounds, both of which could use training and treatment. I wasn’t an expert in animal medicine, but I knew the basics and have experience treating a variety of injuries.

  I didn’t need the money, but the money would be nice. And it would give me something to do. Keep me busy and connect me with people.

  I put down my book, using my scarf in progress to mark my place as my mind wandered to the possibility. I had some paper and pens in the drawer of the side table, so I took them out and started writing. The thoughts poured onto the page and the longer I worked on it, the more plausible it seemed.

  I’d been looking for a new purpose, and it was starting to feel like I might have found it.