What Are You Feeding Him?

While they waited for the wyvern breeder, Macha spent her days filled with dread. Dark bruises formed below her eyes from a lack of sleep. She would continually check on Aži throughout the night. Her worst nightmare at this point was falling asleep next to Tyr, only to wake up with him lying dead beside her.

Tyr's mood was no better, and he shut himself off in the bedroom. He did not want to yell at anyone, so he tried to keep his talking to a minimum. He spent his time thinking about all the fights he fought and how some unknown sickness might finally kill him.

A few days later, a snowy wyvern flew down in the backyard and a man with short red hair hopped off the saddle.

"Hello?" he called. "Hello? Is this the Swat residence?"

Tyr jumped out of the window upon hearing the man; the familiar voice supplied him with fresh hope. As he lept over the windowsill, he greeted the old acquaintance.

"Kicho, thank you for coming. Please, come this way."

The past few days felt like years for Tyr. Despite being next to Macha every minute of the day, recognizing his own mortality filled the moments with trepidation. At any moment he could fall over dead, leaving her alone in the world.

Kicho looked at the fellow who he remembered as a young lad. The boy grew up to be a fine-looking man and seemed to be in excellent health.

His voice was raspy and low, "You're lookin' pretty good. I remember when you were this tall." He held his hand up to his waist.

Tyr gave a weary smile because the man was testing his patience, but he needed him.

Trying to hurry the wyvern breeder along, he led the way, "Yes. That was a long time ago. Come, Aži is this way."

The garden looked nice and Kicho promenaded through it, taking his time. It was spring, and the flowers were in full bloom. A dragonfly whizzed past him and he admired the metallic blue insect as the sun reflected off of it.

In a casual voice, he commented, "Nice place you have here. I like the setup." Hopping onto a small rock, he asked. "Why'd you change your last name?"

The man was taking his time and Tyr tapped his foot as he waited by the door. His hand gripped the doorframe. "It isn't mine. It belongs to a friend."

Although he clenched his jaw, he tried to do the breathing exercises Macha urged him to do whenever he got angry.

When the breeder stopped to smell a flower, Tyr snapped, "Kicho, this is serious! Will you please hurry up? Aži has been sick for almost a week now."

"Waaahhh... the sun is sure making it warmer nowadays. Sometimes you need to stop and enjoy the beauty of life," he chided.

He already identified what was going on with Aži by the message he received, but he came down here to double check. The wyvern was still young, but the symptoms were all pointing to one thing.

The two entered Jóhanna's colorful bedroom. Aži lay on the floor and had his head in her lap.

Kicho sat down and inspected the patient. The amount of wyvern paraphernalia in the child's room did not escape his notice.

He glanced at the small girl, "I take it you like wyverns," he commented.

She nodded and pet Aži's head. "Can you fix him and make him all better? His tummy is sore."

"Sometimes you just have to wait for things to happen. I can't fix what isn't broken," he replied.

So far the wyvern seemed to be in wonderful condition. His scales were shiny and glistened with the light and his body looked like he got a good amount of exercise.

Kicho glanced up at Tyr as he lifted a wing.

As he moved the leathery appendage, she asked, "What are you feeding him?"

With that question, Macha's hands covered her face, and she fought back tears.

"I'm sorry, he liked it so much..." She turned to Tyr and shook his arm, "You told me he could eat anything!"

If they died, it would be all her fault. She never thought the shallots and spices would kill them.

A deep laugh rose from Kicho's belly. At first he assumed the woman was a child, but now he realized her growth had been stunted.

"No, no, no. It isn't anything to be upset about. I'm asking because his scales are beautiful. He's extremely healthy."

Tyr bent down, his finger pointed at Aži. "How can you say he's healthy? Look at him."

In no world would the wyvern's current appearance be anything but dire.

"What I see, in my PROFESSIONAL opinion, of course, is a pregnant wyvern. He is quite young to be pregnant and I can only attribute that to his excellent diet and exercise."

While the wyvern's situation was unusual, he did not appreciate Tyr's rudeness. He had been taking care of these creatures for hundreds and hundreds of years.

Everyone was silent except for Jóhanna who now screamed with excitement.

"Aži, you're gonna be a mama! Papa-mama!"

Tyr's eyes blinked. His mind was blank as it struggled to wrap itself around the idea of his MALE wyvern being pregnant. He licked his lips and tried to form a question, but failed to think of a coherent way to express his feelings.

The news caused Macha's mouth to drop open in surprise.

She was the first to recover and asked, "How can he have a baby? I thought Aži was a boy."

Now she worried that she misunderstood pronouns for years. It was her understanding that the wyvern was male.

Kicho nodded his head and explained, "Yes. He is a boy, but wyverns and dragons are able to reproduce without having sex. This only happens if they are healthy and well taken care of. Basically, conditions have to be right. On top of that, they are usually around a thousand years old if it happens. That was why I asked what you're feeding him. I understand his physical condition is good because of Tyr's occupation, but the sheen on his scales is top notch."

"Oh," Macha replied sheepishly. "He has a mouse farm, and he gives me his mice so I can stuff them with shallots and a few spices. It is his favorite, and he enjoys the flavor after they are roasted."

She never thought his new diet would have this sort of effect.

It was then that she realized both Aži and Tyr would be all right. She breathed a sigh of relief and tears of joy began to roll down her cheeks. Her hand patted her chest as she tried to compose herself.

"Thank you," she choked out. "I was so worried."

Hearing Macha cry snapped Tyr out of his stupor. He turned his body so he could draw her into his arms.

"Thank you for coming down here. We feared that it was something much worse," he said to the breeder.

Never in his life would he have come to the conclusion that his wyvern would lay an egg. All of his readings talked about how wyverns could be mated and how to best handle them.

The sudden tears embarrassed Macha. She wiped them away and asked, "What do we need to do to make his pregnancy run smoothly?"

This was an area she had absolutely no knowledge or experience in. She did not want to mess up.

"Just keep doin' what your doin'. He chose to be here, so I guess this is where he wants to lay his egg. Based on how big his belly is, I'd say he's gonna lay it any day now." Kicho raised Aži's tail and looked at the coloration and swelling of his underside.

"Yep. Maybe tonight or tomorrow. After he lays the egg, don't move it. Just let him do his thing. It will take between forty to sixty days for the baby to hatch. I'll write you a list of instructions."