Chapter Text
Viktor wasn’t quite sure what to make of the gemstone that bobbed in the water. It shouldn’t be able to float, he knew that. He gently used his cane to pull it over to him and caught it in his hands, turning it over. It almost looked like an egg, but it was bigger than any egg he had ever seen; with raised scales on the surface.
It was warm.
The realization that it was warm cemented in Viktor’s head that it was in fact, an egg. He gently held it, turning it this way and that. It was almost like an opal, the shimmery surfaces of the scales catching the light just so. He slowly stood up, holding it close to his chest. Someone or something had to be looking for it. Right? He looked around. It couldn’t just be in the river. No one would just throw an egg like this in a river.
He carefully weighed his options. Whatever had lost the egg probably would be looking for it, but sitting out here with what looked like a gemstone left him in a bad spot. Beyond that, this was supposed to be a short break from his studies to get into the Academy. He could ask around later. He tucked it into his satchel and headed back to his tiny home, putting it gently on a pillow and on the desk in front of him, sitting down to continue his reading, occasionally glancing at the egg and reaching out to touch it. It was still warm.
C rack.
Viktor started and realized that the sound came from the egg. He began to panic, had he handled it badly? What came out of eggs like these? He stumbled back a bit, before making himself sit back down in his chair to put the egg in his lap. A tiny crack appeared after a couple moments, spreading into a hole to reveal little claws and white scales. Viktor cleared some of the shards away as the tiny thing clawed its way into the world.
It was a lizard? No, it had wings and floppy little ears. Its eyes were stuck closed, the slime from the egg forming a sort of glue. It yawned, revealing a set of tiny teeth and pawed at its face. Was it like a cat? Did it need its mother to clean its eyes? Viktor hesitantly licked his finger and rubbed away the sticky fluid, letting the little thing see the world for the first time. Big green eyes, like tiny emeralds stared up at him.
“ Ahoj? ” He said slowly, quietly. Was it going to eat his face? It shook its head, ears flopping. It climbed out of the egg, kneading on Viktor’s lap like a cat. “Oh, no, no, you can’t sleep-“ he paused as it let out the cutest little yawn and curled into a ball. “Alright, fine. You can sleep, but I am finding you a proper parent tomorrow.”
The little thing kept sleeping as Viktor reached for his book on rare animals. He had no idea what it was, but he could find out. He began thumbing through the pages, humming to himself and making a face occasionally.
He finally saw an illustration of a very similar egg, although it was more swirled in pattern. He paused, reading the description.
Egg of Draconis Mutante, the Changing Dragon.
A dragon?
He looked down at the little thing in his lap. It certainly could be a dragon, but it was so small. He turned back to the book, reading.
This dragon species is fairly rare, and travels in small groups, using its shape changing ability to blend in with humanity. They are not threats unless threatened.
Due to their rarity, they are able to mate with humans to produce Dragonets, who later grow into dragons. Young dragonets are either birthed or hatched from eggs, as depicted above. When hatched, the dragonets imprint on the first thing they see, often using them as the blueprint for their shape changing. They will follow this imprint for much of their young life. Not much else is known, as the imprinting process was only used on captive dragons and does not reflect the species in the wild.
Viktor looked at the dragonet. Well, that could be a problem if he went to find the creature’s parents. Did they just look like anyone? Would he be able to give back the dragonet? He had plans, he couldn’t raise a dragon.
If the dragonet could change into a human, would it look like its human parents?
The dragonet yawned and stretched, looking up at him. Those eyes were watching him, like it couldn’t figure out what to do. Then, with a sneeze, there was a human(?) baby sitting in his lap. He was pale, and had a tuft of white hair and was definitely a baby boy. The eyes were still green.
“ Ahoj?” Viktor greeted again and the baby giggled and cooed, reaching up to him, before sneezing again. His ears changed back to the floppy dragon ears and the baby, clearly startled, began to cry.
“Oh, oh no, it’s alright,” Viktor soothed, scooping the baby into his arms and rocking the little thing back and forth. “Shh, shh,” he cooed. Every second he spent with the baby, the more of a pain seemed to form when he heard him cry. He didn’t know how to help the baby, but he had to help the baby.
The baby sobbed some more. Viktor swallowed, trying to think his way through everything. He looked at his sparse mattress on the floor, the minimal furniture. He had been saving for the entrance exam to the Academy, he didn’t have anything that would make him an adequate parent.
He didn’t know how to be a parent but he knew that he had to be, even if just for those first few days and maybe even longer if he couldn’t find the parents. It had been less than two hours, how was he so attached?
Did the imprint go both ways?
No, no. He’d just keep the baby for a few days, until he could find the baby's real parents, he reassured himself. It wasn’t like he’d never see him ever again, he’d grow up happy and loved and he could check on him as he grew up. Well, if the parents turned out to be absolutely awful, he could keep him.
The baby stopped crying, his face all red now. Viktor looked at him, the dragon ears had vanished again.
He stood up slowly, readjusting. It was hard to hold a baby and his cane, but he managed, grabbing a scarf off of his clothes rack. It wasn’t perfect, he mused as he went back to the chair, sitting down and using the scarf to make a makeshift sling. He knew he had to support the baby’s head. What else did he need to do? How did he keep the baby human? Was a hatchling equivalent to a newborn? The baby’s human form was tiny.
He didn’t know what to do.
It felt like it would end badly for both of them if people knew the baby was a dragon. He was already going to have to explain to the landlady about the new addition to his life. She was basically deaf from what he could tell, but she lived below him, and the baby’s cries were piercing. He looked down at the little thing, the baby was asleep now. He adjusted the sling to make sure the baby was mostly hidden from view. He tested walking back and forth. The sling stayed in place, baby fast asleep and secure.
Perfect.
He left the apartment, slowly walking down the stairs.
The old Yordle was actually sitting outside her apartment, rocking back and forth in a chair. Viktor held the baby close as he walked past. He wasn’t quite sure how to word: I found an egg in the river and now it’s a magical shape-changing baby.
“What’s that, lad?” She asked. Viktor paused.
“I found a child,” he explained. “I’m going to go get supplies. Just enough to hold him over until I can find him a proper home,” he explained quickly, like he was still trying to convince himself that he wasn’t going to keep the baby. He wasn’t.
“How old?” She asked.
“I think a newborn, he’s tiny,” he said softly. She cringed. “What?”
“Don’t spend too much on him, most abandoned babes don’t make it long, even if you find them right away,” she said and Viktor made a face. The baby was going to make it. He was going to make it. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he doesn’t make it two months,” Viktor held the baby close, trying not to make a face.
He was going to live. This tiny thing would live.
Viktor would make sure of it.
“What would I need to ensure his survival?” he asked after a moment, realizing how truly out of his depth he was. “If I cannot find his mother, at least?” he added. “So he doesn’t suffer.”
“Goat’s milk, and broth, to make formula,” she explained after a few seconds. “Diapers, and he’ll need clothes. He can sleep next to you if you’re careful.” Viktor nodded, making notes in his head. “Don’t get your hopes up.”
The first two months were hell .
The baby screamed at random hours, and the dragonet liked to fight rats. The dragonet lost the fight to the rats. It did not stop him from fighting the rats. He had to learn how to make baby formula, how to change a diaper, and had a system for when the dragonet spit up fire. It was more like a small plasma ball, and it always made the baby gassy when he shifted back. Which meant more screaming.
His landlady was helpful, teaching him how to get the baby to latch to bottles, and how to burp him. She had also dropped off a box of small toys. Some blocks, a rattle. And a small stuffed duck that the baby adored. As a dragonet, Viktor could toss the duck and he would chase it, tackling it like he was some mighty hunter. As a baby, he would cuddle and chew on it. It was adorable.
After about three weeks of asking around, and getting strange looks and one very creepy offer to adopt the child from someone Viktor was certain worked in a brothel, Viktor had almost given up on finding the baby’s parents.
Despite all the struggles of adapting to being a parent, Viktor felt like he was more and more in love with the tiny thing. The little peeps and giggles, watching the head of white hair grow it, watching the baby grab his fingers. It was like the baby was an addictive substance, even leaving him to go to the market was painful. But he couldn’t risk the baby turning into a dragon in the middle of the marketplace, so unless he was asleep and in actual human baby form, he stayed home. He kept his trips as brief as he could and made sure to lock the door and windows. He still felt bad every single time he shut that door.
When Viktor came home from the market that day, he had only been gone for about fifteen minutes. The dragonet had been fast asleep on the desk when he left but now he could not find him.
“ Malý draku?” he asked, shutting the door. Usually there was a little peep in acknowledgement, or he could see the little white thing. But there was silence. “ Malý draku?” He asked again, starting to panic. He checked under his desk, under the pillows, in the blankets, in the pile of clothes. “This isn’t funny!” His voice cracked. Had he climbed out the window? No, they were bolted shut. Where was he?
Then there was the tiniest little peep. He looked around and saw the dragonet hanging underneath the bookshelf like a little bat, his little claws digging into the wood. The little thing actually looked offended that he had woken him up.
“Come here.” His shoulders dropped in relief as he held out his hand. The little dragonet yawned and climbed onto his hand, clambering up his arm to settle on his shoulder. “You scared me,” he scolded and his little charge peeped, draping himself over Viktor’s shoulder and nuzzling into his cheek. “Fine, fine, I am not angry, but do not do that again.” He sat down, burying his face in his hand, willing his heart to slow down. The dragonet peeped and clambered down into his lap, turning back into a baby, cooing and giggling.
“Oh my little thing,” he cooed, nuzzling the baby’s head as the baby babbled happily. He paused, thinking. It had been two months, the odds of the baby living went way up, right? He could let himself fully fall in love with him, right? To name him? He knew it wasn’t a guarantee, but he had made it this far, that had to mean something, right?
He looked at the books. In one, there was a story about an ancient king that the baby seemed to love. He looked at the baby.
“Arthur?” he said slowly, testing the name in his mouth. The baby giggled. “Are you my little Arthur, malý draku?” He rocked Arthur back and forth, smiling a bit to himself. Arthur. He was his little Arthur. His beautiful Arthur, his baby boy.
He was going to fully give up on finding the parents, he decided. He couldn’t let Arthur go.
Viktor adjusted Arthur in the sling, humming a bit to get Arthur to stop squirming. He was going a bit further today, to a pawn shop and he knew he would not be home for several hours at least. It wasn’t ideal, but he needed some tools to make something that he was hoping would impress the Academy board.
“Shh, shh, malý draku,” Viktor insisted softly as he finished adjusting the scarf. Arthur babbled a bit, his little hand curling into Viktor’s shirt as he lay against his chest. Viktor sighed in relief as he kneaded, sucking on his shirt sleepily. He picked up his cane and headed out.
The walk with Arthur felt more— dangerous. Viktor was already considered an easy mark (he wasn’t) but Arthur brought a whole new slew of dangers. His eyes darted to the side and he kept Arthur’s head secure against his chest with his free hand.
He pushed through a crowd of miners heading for the bars, sidestepping. Someone bumped into his shoulder and Arthur let out a little upset sound as he stumbled a bit.
“Shhh, shhh,” Viktor soothed, petting Arthur’s head. His eyes widened. Do prdele. His little ears were out. Viktor ducked into an alley as Arthur began to cry. “Arthur, it’s alright, you’re okay, shh, shh.” He leaned his cane against the wall and leaned back, bouncing his baby up and down, trying to soothe him. “ Malý draku,” he pleaded. Arthur looked up at him, his face scrunched and red. “That’s it, it’s alright, you’re alright.”
After a few more seconds, the ears shifted back and Arthur flopped against his chest, babbling quietly. Viktor brushed his hair out of his face.
“Shh, shh,” he soothed for a couple more moments before resuming his trek.
His shoulders dropped in relief as he made it to the pawn shop. A massive man was just leaving and Viktor had to side step a bit, Arthur squeaking in protest.
“Sorry lad,” he said, not unkindly. He leaned in to look at Arthur. “What a little cutie,” he added with a soft smile.
Viktor exhaled, rubbing Arthur’s head gently and nodding. “That is why I keep him around.” The big man chuckled and left. The door swung shut behind them. Viktor looked over to Benzo, who was behind the counter.
“Good to see you Viktor, was wondering when you’d turn up again,” the older man greeted.
“It’s nice to see you too,” Viktor replied. “I’m looking for a soldering—”He heard a patter of footsteps and paused.
“Oi, no running in the shop Ekko!” Benzo called as Viktor turned around. A little boy with dark skin and curly white hair was frozen in place. He raised an eyebrow and smiled softly. The boy, he had to be Ekko, cocked his head to the side.
“Is that a cat?” he asked.
Viktor chuckled. “No, no, this is Arthur,” he explained. “My son.”
The little boy stared for a few more seconds. “Oh! It’s a baby!”
“Yes, yes he is,” Viktor chuckled a bit. “You used to be one.” Ekko opened his mouth to protest when Benzo cleared his throat.
“Alright, rouse you mouse, go on to the back,” Benzo insisted. Ekko giggled and headed to the back, through a door. “Didn’t know you were a father Viktor.” Benzo wiped his hands. “Now, you said you needed a soldering pen?”
“Yes, please,” Viktor headed over to the counter. Benzo nodded and began digging through his wares.
“How old is the little one?”he asked over his shoulder.
“Three months.”
“Ah, good on you, those first two are the trickiest to get through,” Benzo set three options on the counter. “You looking for more fine work or heavy-duty?”
A while later, Viktor left the shop with his soldering pen and two braided leather bracelets that had cheap glass gemstones set into them. He had an idea.
Arthur kept growing, and soon, he was crawling and it was time for Viktor to take the entrance exam. He was so nervous, and that only got worse when he realized he’d have to leave Arthur for nearly five hours. There was the oral portion of the exam and then the written portion and he did not have time to come back to check on him in between.
Even if he stayed a dragon the whole time, it was too long to leave him. He’d claw his way into something, or he’d spit up and start a fire. Or he’d shift into a human, and get himself hurt. He’d ask if his landlady could watch him, but he couldn’t guarantee he wouldn’t shift and then she’d freak out, and it would be a nightmare.
He paced, bouncing Arthur on his hip. What to do, what to do? He had studied for so long, and he had paid the fee. The Academy was his surefire way out of here, and a better life for Arthur.
He looked at Arthur and weighed his options. He could rush through both parts of the exam, so he could come back and check on Arthur between, and then be home early. He looked at his satchel. If Arthur stayed in his dragon form and slept through the exams, it could work. He just had to stay asleep through it. Viktor sat on the mattress, thinking of all the ways he could keep Arthur asleep. It would be easiest in dragonet form, and he would bring his scarf that Arthur loved to snuggle in. He would feed and burp him before they left.
It was a long shot. But he had to try.
Viktor sat in the exam hall, tapping his foot anxiously. The satchel sat at his feet, Arthur snuggled into his favourite scarf and fast asleep. Viktor had made him stay up all night to guarantee that the seven-month-old would stay fast asleep during the day; he had tucked his little stuffed duck in the bag to try and mitigate any crying. There was a bottle too, just in case he had to leave the room and feed Arthur in the bathroom to get him to fall asleep again. He heard the faintest little sneeze and froze. No one seemed to have noticed and Viktor let himself exhale, finishing up the test.
He scooped up the satchel and heard a yawn as the bag started to move, rustling . He blanched. No, no. He just had to make it home.
“ Do prdele, do prdele ,” he mumbled as he tried to speed up his walk. He would not let anyone in Piltover see Arthur as a dragon. That was somewhere on his list of nightmares, one of the others being his old mentor finding out. He knew that it would just take one councilor with dollar signs instead of brain cells for them to just rip Arthur away from him to ‘study’. “Stay asleep,” he muttered, changing how he held the bag so he could rock it a bit to try and lull Arthur back into some form of sleep. “Sleep, sleep,” he whispered to the bag as Arthur cheeped a bit, before yawning again and the movement stopped. Viktor exhaled. Thank god.
Viktor didn’t sleep much that night. The stress of the exam, plus keeping Arthur from getting discovered kept him up, no matter how much sweetmilk he guzzled down.
Three weeks later, he was reading while Arthur was napping, curled in a tight little ball and there was a knock at his door. He stood up, cracking his back as he headed to the door. There was a little Yordle there, in a blue uniform.
“Oh! This is the right house!” he said excitedly. “And you must be Viktor!”
“Yes?” He could hear Arthur shuffling around and he pulled the door a bit more tightly closed as he processed what was going on. That was Heimerdinger in front of him. What was he doing in the Undercity? He looked over his shoulder as Arthur rolled over, wings spreading out a bit. The universe really loved screwing with him at the moment.
“I just wanted to offer my congratulations! Your score was almost perfect,” he said brightly, his mustache fluffing out as he smiled. “And I’m pleased to offer you a full scholarship.” Viktor’s shoulders immediately relaxed.
That was huge.
He wouldn’t need a benefactor, or a job, or a family name. If it included housing, he could get Arthur out of the undercity, and that would mean better food and if he kept it up, Arthur could go to school.
“And what would that entail?” he asked, trying to keep his voice neutral and calm.
“Provided you keep your grades up, a dorm on campus, a living stipend, and full tuition coverage,” Heimerdinger said, holding up an envelope. Viktor nodded.
“Thank you, professor,” he said, taking the envelope. He heard Arthur chirp and froze. Heimerdinger seemed to notice.
“I will say, there are no pets allowed in the dorms, unfortunately,” he said slowly. “You might want to find a friend to look after that bird.”
“Yes, of course,” Viktor said quickly, a little bit too quickly. “I will find a solution for my bird,” he added. Heimerdinger nodded.
“Semester starts in three months! I look forward to seeing you in class!” Heimerdinger walked off.
Viktor sighed, shoulders dropping. This was absolutely huge. But how was he going to hide Arthur in a dorm room? He walked over to the mattress and sat down as Arthur yawned and sat up, shaking his little head so his ears flopped back and forth. Viktor chuckled and reached over, scratching his head. Arthur purred, his head flopping onto Viktor’s lap.
He swallowed. He could figure this out.
Moving into the dorm two months later was surprisingly easy. The room was bigger than his apartment, and had a bed that was built over a chest of drawers, desk and bookshelves, as well as a small closet. There was a bathroom with a small tub and shower, but the sink was built into the toilet, so that was: interesting. There was a hot plate in the corner and some cupboards for food and a tiny fridge.
He set up a small bed for Arthur in the bottom drawer, just so he wouldn’t fall off the bed in his baby form. The height of the bed made him feel a bit antsy, it wouldn’t be easy to get in and out of, but he could get a stool or something to help with that. He knew that Arthur would climb into his bed in dragon form, but he had to at least try to keep him safe.
Arthur looked up at him as he finished putting the last of the books away. Viktor smiled.
“This is going to be a new adventure, malý draku,” he said softly. “One where you have to be very very quiet.”