"I knew it! He is a Gemmite!" Alyson cried, elated.
The little dragon looked at her, opened his mouth, and hissed.
"Oh boy," Alyson said to herself, walked to the entrance of the Cavern, and yelled into the main room, "XEROS!! WHERE ARE YOU WITH THAT MEAT?!!"
Within seconds, the trickster priest had appeared, heavily weighed down with several hundred pounds of meat. Alyson didn't hesitate. She grabbed a dozen packages, ripped them open, and placed the meat on a plate that she had brought with her. Once that was accomplished, she place the plate in front of the hatchling, and watched as the young dragon began to eat with gusto. Alyson continued to replinsh the meat as the tiny dragon ate, which proved to be difficult because the meat disapeared as fast as she placed it there.
"He eats faster than Lina does!" Xeros said, awed.
"I heard that!" Lina Inverse yelled, made a quick cameo appearance to hit Xeros on the head, before popping out again.
"She has a long hearing range," Xeros mumbled while rubbing his head.
At that moment, the rest of the Residents appeared. Amelia was carrying several blankets, while the guys lugged in a wrought iron daybed. Not wasting any time, they quickly set up the bed, and Amelia had placed the blankets on top of it. She then handed Alyson a small basket of fruit she had found.
Alyson smiled as she added the fruit to the little dragon's plate.
"Do you know what color his gem is going to be?" Lantis asked, watching the hatchling eat.
"Fraid not. At least, not until he sheds his baby scales," Alyson replied.
"What about a name?" Ferrio wondered.
"I don't want to name him until I get to know him better," Alyson answered. "WEll, let's get him up onto his new bed. Guys..."
The guys grumbled, but they all went over and gently lifted the hatchling out of the pile of eggshells, and placed him on his new bed. The little dragon emitted sound that sounded remarkably like a human giggle. The Residents found themself smiling at the little dragon, as his golden eyes began to droop with sleepiness.
"Come on, time to let this guy get some sleep," Alyson said, and ushered everyone out, taking a moment to look back at the sleepy dragon and whisper, "Good night," before closing the door just enough so that there was still a crack of light.
