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Cale looked up from the book he was reading at the soft repeating thumping sound. He’d tried to ignore it as the children playing, but On and Hong had gone to get more berries from Hans. So only Raon was in the room with him.
He leaned over to peer under the marble coffee table to see the source of the sound. Raon was under the table, arching his back to bump and rub against the underside of the table. Cale blinked slowly. Raon pushed his shoulders against the table again, causing it to hop up a little and thump back down.
Cale could feel the corners of his lips turning down. “Why are you rubbing against the table like that?”
Raon jerked, surprised, and quickly turned toward Cale. He scrambled out from under the table as if he hadn’t been bouncing it around. “No-no reason! I'm not itchy at all! This great and mighty dragon isn't bothered by an itch!”
Cale’s brows furrowed as he looked down at Raon beside the couch. Even as the little dragon said that, he was leaning against the side of the sofa and wiggling.
Cale reached down and scooped up the wiggling, chubby baby dragon. “If you're feeling wrong or hurting you should tell me.” He picked him up and held him under his stubby forelegs, chubby body dangling.
Raon wiggled in his grip, swinging his body and tail back and forth. “I-it doesn't hurt, human! I would tell you if it hurt!” He pouted and looked away, crossing his paws in front of his chest.
This chubby baby dragon was too heavy to hold out like this for long. Cale pulled him in against his chest where it didn’t strain his arms so much.
Raon wiggled in his arms, then shifted to scrub his shoulder against Cale's brocade vest stitching.
“Hmm...” Cale shifted his grip to rub his hand over Raon's scaled shoulders. The usually smooth but bumpy black scales feel rougher to his touch than usual. Cale frowns down at the rougher than normal bumpiness of his scales. “Do dragons shed?”
Raon jerked back, fluttering up into the air with an affronted gasp. “Wh-What?! Human! Dragons don't lose our scales like hyung and noona lose fur in summer!! My scales are great and mighty and do not fall out!”
“Yes, yes. I see.” Cale nods, then reaches up to catch Raon into his arms again. Standing, he carried the protesting, cute, chubby dragon into the bathroom. Still holding the squirming child, Cale took a few minutes to sort through the fancy bottles and jars on the side of the sunken marble bath.
“What is it? Are you going to take a bath? What are you looking for, human? I can help you find it!” Raon wiggled around to face the front, back pressed to Cale’s vest. He also wiggled against the vest again.
Cale ignored the squirming baby dragon. After a moment, he picked up the jar he’d wanted. After leaving the bathroom, he settled down on a divan and placed the chubby, cute dragon in his lap.
“Relax and don't rub it off.” Cale opened the jar of rose-scented lotion and started working the lotion into Raon’s rough scales. He especially focused on rubbing the lotion in around the joints. Dry scales had to be worse than itchy, dry skin.
“What? Human what are you-?” Raon wiggled around for a moment before Cale pressed the first blop of lotion onto his bumpy shoulder. “O-ohh....” Raon sagged onto his belly on Cale’s lap, practically melting as the cool, soothing lotion soaked into his itchy skin.
“Mm.” Cale carefully shifted Raon’s wings to work lotion into the vanes and joints. “If something is uncomfortable and upsetting, come and tell me. Children shouldn’t have to worry about something like this. Come to me, Eruhaben, or any of the adults, if it starts itching again.”
Raon let out a gusty sigh, sprawling limply across Cale’s lap. “Mmmm… O-okay human.”
“Good.” Cale rubbed his hand over Raon’s round head, working scented lotion into his scales there too.
“Mm… human? Do you think goldie gramps would like some of this lotion too?”
Cale tsked. “You can ask him yourself, if you want.”
Raon perked up, tail wagging. “Okay! I will!”
Cale huffed and shook his head slightly at the silly things this baby dragon was saying. “See if he wants a different scent. …Maybe lilies.” Cale had become someone who also said silly things. But he wouldn’t be the one asking Eruhaben such things.
Raon cheered and rolled around to get Cale to tend to the rest of his itchy spots. Goldie gramps would surely like this nice lotion too!