Work Text:
Gregory Magnus was red as a tomato from the sunburn he was developing when he arrived home to the London Sanctuary. He had spent a month in southern Italy where he had found an amazing discovery. Helen stood by the entrance lobby as crates were loaded in from outside directing the men where to put the crates. As the last of the crates came in Gregory followed.
“Helen.” He greeted his daughter as he spotted her and made his way over to the woman.
“Welcome back father.” Helen said as she extended her hands towards him and he took them with a smile. Helen placed her hand on the side of his cheek. “Oh father, you forgot to wear your hat.” She said, The man laughed softly and placed his hand on top of hers.
“I’ll be fine dear.” He reassured her. “Come there is something I found that I wanted to show you.” There was excitement in his voice as he guided her by the hand over to one of the crates on the floor. It was a long rectangle that came up to just above their waists in height. Behind it sat a second identical crate. Gregory got the attention of one of the men who worked for him. “Benjamin, the crowbar please.” He asked the man. He nodded and disappeared outside for a moment before returning with the crowbar. He handed it to Gregory, who thanked him. Gregory knelt down and used the crowbar to open the crate. He moved around the edges quickly and pulled the lid open. Helen gasped as he revealed what was inside
“Good god. Are those real?” The woman asked. Gregory stood to his feet.
“Yes they are. Over 2000 year old fossilized dragon eggs.” he announced with a large smile on his face. Helen looked at the eggs in amazement. She kneeled down to get a better look at them. They were huge, looking about a meter in length and half a meter in width. There were four in the one crate. Each of them looked like they were made of stone and some were different colours. Each egg was covered in what looked like jagged scales. Helen l looked up at her father.
“They’re amazing. I've never seen anything like them. Are you sure they are dragon eggs?” She asked and stood to her feet. Gregory nodded. “I found them right where the scrolls had indicated they would be in an underground cave. We found eight eggs in total along with two sets of full dragon skeletons.” The man explained.
“This proves that dragons at one time did exist.” Helen smiled. “Your theories were right, father.”
Gregory was happy to see the excitement in Helen that matched his own. “Yes, however we still have lots of work to do. Everything still needs to be analyzed and cataloged. “
“Of course.” Helen agreed.
“Splendid,” Gregory said.
“First we should treat that nasty sunburn.” Helen suggested.
“Oh yes.” He said and touched his forehead, wincing slightly.
Helen stood in the lab with one of the dragon eggs placed on her work table and her eyes fixed on it. This egg in particular was proving a challenge to her. Majority of the other eggs had been cracked in some way that allowed her to open them up and take a look inside; however this egg was fully intact. Nothing that she tried worked in getting it open. She had tried everything from strong acid to tactical brute force to get it open but the thing wouldn’t budge.
Helen let out a sigh and picked up the hammer from her table and rested her chin on it, eyes still fixed on the egg that was illuminated by a lamp sitting next to it . At this point she hoped that if she stared long enough it would open by itself. Helen’s staring was suddenly interrupted by a knock at the door.
“It’s open!” she called ,keeping her eyes on the egg. “Just put it on the table.” She muttered absentmindedly.
“I doubt these would do well just sitting on top of your workbench.” A familiar voice said from behind her. Helen turned her head to find John standing there with a bouquet of flowers in his hands.
“Oh good lord I completely forgot. “ She said, looking a bit embarrassed. John smiled at her and made his way over to Helen.
“You forgot we had plans tonight?” He asked, even though he already knew the answer.
Helen nodded. “I’m sorry.” she apologised and placed her hammer back down.
John handed her the flowers and placed a soft kiss on her cheek. “It’s alright. The staff let me know that your father had returned from Italy. I assumed he had brought something back that would take your attention.”
Helen looked down at the flowers and sniffed them. “They’re lovely, thank you.” She looked back up at him.
“What are you working on that has consumed your attention?” John asked. Helen’s eyes lit up slightly at his interest in her work. She turned and looked back at the egg on her wook bench.
“My father brought back two crates of these beauties..” She said and gestured to the egg.
John looked over at it. “God, what type of creature laid that?” He asked.
“My father’s theory is, dragons.”
“Dragons? As in the creatures of fairy tales?” John asked with a sense of wonder in his tone.
“Precisely so.” she said. “They were found alongside the fossilized remains of two full dragon skeletons.” She explained. John slid his hands around her hips and rested his chin on her shoulder.
“I love it when you explain things to me,” he said. She smiled and rested her hands on his. “I’ve determined that the shell is made out of hardened lava stone. The strange fact is that I haven’t found genetic material of any kind and haven’t been able to break the shell. ”
“Is your father sure they are dragon eggs?” John asked. “They could have simply been carved from stone.” He suggested.
“That is what I am starting to consider,” Helen said and tilted her head.
“The night is still young my dear. I doubt the egg will run away while we’re out.”
Helen turned around in his arms to look at him. She rested her hands on his chest. “I suppose. I am in the mood for a nice dinner.”
John grinned.
“Anything you’d like, my dear.”
“Let me just tidy up here and change into something nice. I’ll meet you in the lobby.” Helen said.
John nodded. They shared a brief kiss before John turned and started towards the exit. Helen turned back and looked at the egg with a bit of a grin on her face. “You’re going to have to wait until I get back.” She said to the egg.
Helen flipped closed the notebook that she had in front of her and then reached for the light she had been using to get a better look at the egg. Her hand paused as she noticed some sort of liquid on the table. She looked directly at the egg and saw that part of it had melted. A baffled look crossed Helen’s face.
“John!” She called. The man had just stepped one foot out of the door as he heard her calling him. He turned and looked towards her before walking back over.
“Look at this.” she said as he arrived next to her. He looked over her shoulder and at the side of an egg that she was pointing too.
“Did the stone melt?” He asked, sharing the same confusion.
Helen nodded. “I’ve tried multiple acids and even a hammer. I even dropped it once. I can’t believe that heat never crossed my mind.”
Helen slipped past John and pulled out a Bunsen burner and tubing. She placed it on the desk, attaching the tube to the gas port. She adjusted the knob on the bottom before placing it back down. She pulled open the drawer in front of her, looking for the flint and steel, when John offered it to her. She looked from his hand up to him.
“Thank you.” she said before taking it. Helen turned on the gas and used the flint to get a flame started. The burner erupted with a blue flame, which she adjusted slightly. Helen took hold of the base and brought it over to the egg, holding it on a tilt. She ran the flame along the side that had already started to melt. The stone around the area slowly melted away, revealing a white layer that looked more like a shell. Helen raised the flame, melting the upper part of the egg until she had a better look at it.
“Fascinating,” she said.
“I agree.” John added, his eyes watching her work, and the hard stone melted away. Helen melted the rest of the stone away, leaving the large white egg sitting on the table.
“My God.” She whispered and took in the sight of the egg. Helen ran her hand along the side of the egg, feeling the mucus membrane that seemed to be left behind on it. She continued to feel it, noting the small pores on the surface of the shell.
“Do you think there is anything alive inside it?” He asked.
“I don’t know. I believe at this point, anything is possible.” Helen said. “Father is going to be thrilled by this.”
Helen removed her hand from the egg and took a closer look at the mucus on her hand, rubbing it between her fingers. “I'll have to run a whole lot more tests now.” She said.
“Oh can't they wait my dear? I'm practically starved.” John purred and placed his hand on Helen’s waist. She looked up at him. “And I doubt you've eaten yet.” He added.
“Alright let's go. ” She said and wiped her hand on her lab coat. John smiled and kissed her forehead, but before either could move to leave, the egg suddenly shuddered on the table. The two looked at the egg.
“Did that just…” John started to say, but the egg moved again as if answering him. It started shaking more, starting to shuffle off of the table. Helen moved quickly and caught it before it fell, pushing it back to a safe spot.
Helen held it still until a sudden crack formed on the outside, created from inside the egg. The crack grew larger until a small black claw poked out through the hole.
Helen let out a soft gasp at the sight of it. The creature suddenly inside pulled the claw back in. Helen slowly looked into the hole in the darkness of the egg. Staring back at her opened a large orange eye.
“It's alright. Come on out.” Helen said softly and placed her hand on the side of the egg and rubbed softly. With the encouragement, the creature stuck the rest of its claw out and broke more of the egg. Helen moved back and gave the creature more space. The egg began to shudder as cracks grew along the shell and when the shell couldn't take the pressure, the top half broke open, revealing the head of a small lizard-like creature with grey scales along with sending some of the clear liquid that had been in the egg onto Helen and John. Its big orange eyes looked up at the two looking between them.
Helen and John looked at the creature that was only bigger than a house cat. “In all my years. A real dragon.” Helen said. The little dragon looked at Helen intently as she spoke and let out what sounded like a little chirp at her. Helen slowly began to reach out towards the creature.
“Careful, Helen.” John cautioned. Helen looked at him and then back at the baby dragon. It looked at her hand curiously and moved its head towards her fingers once they were close enough. Helen held her fingers by the creature and let it sniff her. The dragon’s ears perked up at the smell, and it began nuzzling its muzzle against her fingers, letting out a soft purring sound. Helen smiled and began stroking the side of the dragon’s face. Wanting to move more towards her hand, the dragon shifted forward onto its front legs, moving to all fours. Its long tail uncurled from behind it and the small wings on its back opened up with a stretch.
Helen looked at the dragon with fascination, and John did the same. He slowly moved closer to get a better look. The dragon’s attention turned to him, and it slipped through Helen’s hand to walk along the table towards him. Helen’s hand slid along the smooth scales and rounded spikes that lined the dragon's spine and down its tail as it wrapped its tail around Helen’s hand.
John looked down at the dragon, tilting its head to the side. The dragon mimicked the movement, still watching him. He raised his hand and slowly brought it to the dragon, allowing it to smell him first. It sniffed him, taking in his scent before pushing its muzzle into his hand and continuing to purr. A smile crossed John’s face as he petted the dragon. Helen looked at him.
“I suppose our dinner plans are cancelled.” Helen sighed.
John looked at her and chuckled softly. “Yes, it seems so.” He said. “What should we do with it?”
“A bath might be a good idea. “ Helen suggested. “This stuff does not smell the best.”
Helen slipped her hand out of the grasp of the baby dragon’s tail and went to grab something they could wash the dragon in. She searched through a few cupboards and found nothing that would suit their needs.
“Oh, I think we have big bowls in the kitchen,” Helen said as she came back over to John, who was still petting the dragon. “Do you think you can handle it until I get back?” She asked. He looked at her and nodded.
“Of course. They’re just the sweetest thing.” He replied. Helen smiled and patted his shoulder before leaving the lab.
John turned his attention back to the dragon. It seemed to really enjoy his touch as the purring sound grew louder. The dragon then sat up on its hind legs and stretched its front legs up on its chest, leaning on him. John moved his hands up and continued to pet along the dragon’s sides. Its neck was long, and it used it to reach up to his cheek and nuzzle against him with its muzzle.
After some time, Helen made her way back to the lab with a large metal bowl that held soap and a towel. “We should probably keep it very warm.” She said as she entered the room. She looked over at John who was already ahead of her and had the dragon wrapped up in his arms, lying on its back. Helen smiled at the sight. “Well, aren't you two getting along.” She said and made her way over to the sink. Helen placed the bowl in the silver sink and placed the towel on the side before turning the hot tap and turning the cold tap slightly. She rolled up her sleeve and placed the hand under the water making sure it wasn’t too hot. John made his way over with the baby dagon and stood beside Helen as she got the bath ready. Once the bowl was halfway full she shut the tap off and looked at John.
“It should be warm enough.”
John nodded and lifted the dragon up and slowly placed it down into the water. The dragon looked around at the water curiously and lifted one of its front claws out of the water and placed it down making a little splash. Helen took a metal cup that sat on the counter and used it to scoop some water from the bowl and pour it on the dragon’s body. It wiggled in response to the water being poured on it. Helen poured another cup on the dragon before she took the bar of soap and ran it along the dragon's back causing little sudds to form. The dragon began to wiggle more and tried to escape from Helen moving towards John. It let out little whines as it tried to jump out of the sink.
“Oh no, it’s alright,” Helen reassured and grabbed the dragon gently and pulled it back into the bowl. It began wiggling, trying to shake off the soa,p causing water to splash up at Helen. She raised her hands to protect her face from the water. John laughed a little at her, and Helen furrowed her eyebrows at him. “I fail to see how this is funny,” Helen said, but with no real bite behind it.
The dragon seemed to notice and tried to imitate his laugh with a raspy sound. Helen looked back at the dragon and noticed what it was doing. “How interesting. It’s mimicking your sounds,” she noted. The dragon looked at Helen as she spoke and began opening and closing its mouth and making a similar raspy noise. Helen smiled at it. “Brilliant.” She said, “You’re just brilliant.”
“How about I finish washing them?” John suggested. “You could start finding somewhere to keep them.”
“Good Idea.” Helen dried her hands on the towel that she brought. “I think we have an incubation box in storage somewhere.” She said and left the room. John moved over to where Helen had been standing and looked down at the dragon.
“I can see that you are going to be a troublemaker, aren’t you?” He said. The dragon chirped and splashed the water at him. John laughed and picked up the cup. He scooped up some water and poured it on the dragon. “Let's get this done quickly eh?” The dragon murred, seeming to allow him to finish the bath.
Once the soap was all washed off, John picked up the dragon and placed it on the counter next to the sink. He picked up the towel and draped it over the dragon, covering its little head. He patted the dragon down making sure that it was all dry and was only met with a few chirps of protest. By the time he was done, the dragon had calmed down and started to look sleepy. It layed down on the counter and snuggled under the towel. John smiled, seeing this overwhelming display of cuteness.
Helen soon came back into the room, lugging a large metal case with her. She placed it onto the workbench in the middle of the room with a thud. “I forgot how heavy this thing is.” She said as she caught her breath. John looked over at her, placing his finger on his lips and gestured towards the dragon. Helen walked over and saw that it was sleeping.
“Hatching must have taken a lot out of them,” Helen whispered. John nodded in agreement. Helen walked over and picked up the dragon in the towel gently over her shoulder before walking over to the case. She opened the glass door to the case and slowly put the dragon in. It was a perfect fit with enough space for them to move around, and Helen had already added some comfy bedding inside. The dragon wrapped itself with its tail and curled up into a little ball. Helen softly closed the case and pressed the button that was on the top, turning on a red heat lamp. She adjusted the dial beside it before looking in at the dragon, who let out a little yawn before falling deep asleep.
Helen watched the dragon, and John came over and stood beside her.
“I wonder how large it will get.” John said.
“The skeletons that my father found were quite large,” Helen said. “I wonder what we've gotten ourselves into.”
Helen turned and looked at John. “It's getting late. I know you have to head back to Oxford in the morning. I'm sorry this night didn't go as planned.” She said.
“No need to apologize. I simply enjoy spending time with you, dear Helen.” John said with a loving smile.
“The sentiment is shared, John.” She replied. “How about we find something to eat around here before you leave?”
“That sounds lovely.” He said
The two glanced at the dragon one more time before they left the lab.
…
The dragon slept happily through the night and into the morning. When Helen’s father was free, she had found him in his office and told him she had discovered something last night. She asked that he come to her lab and refused to give him any more details other than it was related to the fossils that he had brought.
Seeing the excitement in his daughter, he allowed her to drag him to the lab. “I was working with the eggs you had brought and trying to determine how to penetrate the shell so that we could view what was inside.” She explained as they entered the lab. “I see. What have you found?” He asked.
“Father, I swear. You need to see for yourself.” She said and walked over to the large metal box that sat on the workbench. With a smile, she opened the glass door on the front and lowered it slowly.
“I discovered that high heat can melt the stone, and inside this is what I found.” She explained and leaned forward to look inside.
In the box, the dragon had wrapped itself nicely in all the blankets and could barely be seen. Helen reached in and moved some of the blankets, revealing the head of the sleeping dragon. At the sudden feeling of cold air from the outside, the dragon's eyes slowly opened and looked at Helen. It let out a high chirping at the sight of her and began twisting and wiggling to get out of the blankets.
“Yes, there you go.” Helen said as the dragon emerged onto the table. It looked from Helen to its surroundings before spotting Gregory.
It tilted its head and looked at him curiously, taking in everything about him. At the same time, Gregory was doing the same with a look of awe on his face. “By God himself,” Gregory exclaimed softly. “A real living dragon.” Helen smiled at her father's fascination.
“Once I had melted the stone, there was this hard layer of what I assume was eggshell. And inside was this beautiful creature.”
Helen reached out and petted the dragon from its head to tail. It pushed into her touch comfortably as it let out a pleased chirp.
“It seems to have taken a liking to you.” Gregory said.
“I suppose so.” Helen said as she scratched under the dragon's chin. Gregory brought his hand towards the dragon and held it there so the dragon may sniff his hand. The Dragon looked at the hand presented to it. Curiously, it sniffed his hand, taking in the man’s scent. Once it determined that he was no threat, the Dragon let out a happy chirp and nuzzled against his finger.
Gregory smiled. “It is quite friendly as well. Have you determined what it eats yet?”
“Not yet. It fell asleep soon after we bathed it.”
Gregory looked over at her. “Ah, so Mister Druitt was here last night?” He asked with a knowing tone. Helen looked away from him and down at the dragon.
“He was simply here to take me to dinner. We were going to discuss a project we were working on.” Helen explained.
“You owe me no explanation, my dear. You are a grown woman and I’ve never stopped you from making your own decisions.” He said as he stroked along the dragon’s back. “However, I do think that Druitt is a good man, If my opinion matters at all.” Gregory looked down at the dragon as Helen looked over at him. She smiled softly at his words.
The Dragon's attitude suddenly changed as it began chirping at the two. This chirp was different from the ones that it had given before. It sat down between them and continued to let out the whiney chips.
“Something seems to be the matter with it.” Helen said.
“I believe she could be hungry.” Gregory said.
“She?” Helen asked.
“Yes, the females have two discoloured bands on their snout.” He said and gestured to the Dragon's face.
Helen looked at it and nodded, seeing the two black bands on her snout. The dragon tilted her head and continued chirping a little louder.
“Alright, little one. We'll get you something to eat.” Helen said and picked the dragon up and over her shoulder.
….
Over the next few days, the dragon had become the focus of Helen’s attention, and it seemed that it was the same for the dragon.
They had set up a habitat for the dragon with nice dark places for the dragon to hide, a nice supply of raw meat and mealworms that she seemed to enjoy, along with other typical things that they set up for big lizards. The dragon loved it at first and had disappeared into the foliage to explore when Helen and Gregory had placed them in. Helen had stayed for a bit to make sure it was settled before leaving to complete some work. It had been an hour before Helen had heard the scratching outside of her office door. Curious, she got up from her desk and made her way over to the door. She opened it and looked around, and then down to find the little grey dragon looking up at her. It jumped up at her legs and chirped at Helen.
“What are you doing here?” She asked. The dragon chirped at her again and stood up on her back legs, leaning against Helen's legs. Helen reached down and picked the dragon up, who immediately nuzzled her cheek when it got close enough to her face.
“Oh, you’re quite the charmer, but you’re not supposed to be here,” Helen said and scratched under the dragon’s chin. The dragon loved it and began purring. Helen began walking down the hallway, making her way back to the dragon’s habitat. She looked around the enclosure for any means of escape the dragon could have used but found nothing.
“I must not have closed the door properly,” Helen said to herself before opening the door and kneeling down to let the dragon free. The dragon saw the enclosure and scurried away into it again disappearing. Helen smiled before standing and closing the door, making sure that it was locked properly. She then returned to her office to further her work.
Helen’s office was quiet for about 10 minutes before she again heard a scratch on her door. She again got up from her desk again and made her way over to the door. She opened and looked down to find the little baby dragon smiling up at her again. It chirped and jumped up at her legs.
“Now, how did you get out?” she asked the little creature as she picked it up into her arms again. Helen was only met with more happy chirps. Helen began walking down the hallway back to where the dragon’s habitat was. This time, Helen looked along the vents on the side of the enclosure and found nothing. She then opened the door to the enclosure and set the dragon down inside. The dragon ran away into the bush. Helen took a step inside the enclosure, bending her head slightly so as not to hit the roof and looked around for any signs of tampering by dragon claws; however, there was nothing she could see that was out of sorts.
“Curious,” she muttered and stepped out of the enclosure. Helen locked the enclosure and even pulled on the door this time to make sure that it was locked. Once she was sure, she left the room, but this time she stood outside of the door and waited.
The first few minutes were quiet, but soon Helen heard the sound of something metal clanging to the floor. She peeked around the corner into the room and scanned it until she noticed the grate that covered the vent in the wall. She watched as a skinny grey tail reached through the holes in the grate, and with the end of the tail, they began unscrewing the screws on the outside that held the grate in place. It unscrewed two more screws leaving one still in. The baby dragon then used her claws to rotate the grate to the sid,e creating enough space for it to squeeze out of. The baby dragon looked around once it was out of the vent before turning back to put the screws back in using her tail again.
Helen was quite impressed by the scene. Even though the dragon was so young it demonstrated extreme intelligence which was fascinating and a little worrying. Helen stepped into the door frame so that the dragon could see her and it immediately spotted her and ran over to her with a wagging little tail. Helen bent down and picked the dragon up.
“I suppose you’re not going to stay put if I put you back?” she asked. The little dragon chirped at her in response. Helen sighed and petted the dragon’s head.
“Alright. You can stay with me.” She said and made her way back to her office.
She let the dragon down once she walked in and made sure the office door was closed behind her. Helen made her way over to the desk and sat back down before pulling her notebook over to the center of the desk. She flipped it to the current page she was working on. Written on the page were all of her observations on the dragon. She started writing down what she had observed of the creature.
While she wrote, the dragon pranced curiously around the office, sniffing every odd thing. It circled the room a few times before turning her attention to Helen. She came up beside Helen’s desk, watching her before jumping up on her desk and scaring the daylight out of Helen.
“Good god!” She gasped and looked at the dragon with wide eyes. The dragon chirped at her and began exploring her desk. She spotted Helen’s notebook and began sniffing it before it bit onto something that was slipped between the pages and pulled it out.
“Hey! You naughty thing!” She exclaimed and reached towards the paper that was in the dragon’s mouth. The dragon pulled away, thinking it a game and moved away from her, letting out soft, playful murrs.
“Oh come now.” Helen said and stretched her hand out calmly for the paper. The dragon murred again and pulled back further in refusal. Helen dropped her hand to the table in defeat. She looked around her office before getting an idea. She pulled open her drawer and rummaged through it. The dragon’s attention turned to her, watching curiously. Helen then found what she had been looking for. She pulled out a wine bottle cork before sliding the drawer shut. She had remembered she left it there when she and Tesla shared a bottle once.
Helen held the cork in her palm out towards the dragon. “I will trade you.” She offered. The dragon looked down at the cork and let out a muffled chirp of interest. She reached forward with her little claw towards the cork but Helen pulled it back. “No no.” She lifted her free hand forward. “I give you this, you give me the paper.” She said, The dragon met her eyes before looking down at the cork again. She paused, the wheels turning in her little dragon mind. Then the dragon shuffled towards her and placed the edge of the paper in her hand before releasing her jaws. She then quickly snatched the cork from Helen's hand with her mouth.
“Thank you,” Helen said and looked over the paper as the little dragon began chewing on the cork. She let out soft growls as she chewed. Helen smiled softly at the dragon before looking at the paper she had gotten back on the trade. On the paper was her father's sketch of the altar where he had found the dragon eggs. There were words carved under each egg in the ancient dragon language. Helen had been working on translating them from the limited knowledge they had of the language.
Helen then looked at the dragon and turned the paper towards her. “This is where my father found you,” Helen explained. The dragon looked over at the sound of her voice. She looked at the paper, tilting her head to the side curiously. Helen took her finger and pointed to one of the Dragon eggs. “This one was you, and right under here, I believe, is your name.” Helen explained.
The dragon's jaw clenched on the cork in another nibble, but their eyes followed the human’s finger. Helen turned the paper to face her and looked over the translated word she had scribbled underneath. “Your name then should be Levina.” Helen read. She then looked over at the dragon.
The dragon's ears perked up as she heard the name. She sat back on her hind legs and held the cork in her front claws before chirping at Helen.
“Do you like that name?” Helen asked. The dragon gave a pleased chirp at the question. Helen smiled at her. “Very well, we shall call you Levina.”
The dragon chirped again at her name. Helen placed the paper back between the pages of her book and picked up her pen. She flipped to a page and wrote down the dragon's name. As Helen wrote, the dragon shifted back to all fours and made her way over to Helen. She slipped under her arm and climbed down into her lap. Helen adjusted and placed her hand on the dragon's back, running her fingers over the scales as Levina curled up with the cork still in her mouth.