Dragonscales

Chapter 29|

Ave's golden cuff glinted in the early morning light. Bubbles of water floated around my rooftop garden, at the control of the blue-haired elf. Her curly hair was braided. "Thank you for helping me with my garden." I said as I pulled a weed. "Thank you for breaking me out of that hellhole." The spheres of water sunk into the dirt. "You never learned how to respond to a thank you, did you?" I said deadpan. Ave clutched one of her azure curls with her finger. "Thank yous make me feel awkward, okay? And so do compliments." I was glad to hear that some of Ave hadn't changed over the course of two years. Part of her was still the awkward little elfling I knew and loved. 

My ears twitched as I heard someone climb up the stairs. My hands instinctively flew to my belt, before I remembered my swords were on my wrists as delicate bracelets. A pair of big brown eyes greeted me. They were reminiscent of a fawn. It was the elfling I had rescued along with Ave. She made a small squeak as she noticed Ave and I. She turned to leave, muttering about finding a different area to hide. "What is your name?" I called. The elfling turned back around to face me. 

"Marigold." "What city were you from before you got captured by Hydra?" Ave asked. The blonde elf bit her lip. "Solaris. But it then it fell to the humans." "I'm sorry to hear about your home. We're from Stardust Grove." I said. Marigold's eyes widened. They looked just like my mother's. "That's where my mom lived before she left my dad." "Small world, huh?" Ave quipped. Marigold scrunched up her face in confusion. "Earth is really big, though." Ave's smile fell. "It's an expression." The small elfling made a small 'oh' noise and pasted on a smile. 

Loki padded onto the roof, Peter in tow. Marigold stepped toward me, away from the strangers. "Hi, I'm Peter!" Peter practically bounced toward Ave and Marigold with his hand outstretched. Ave shook his hand, while Marigold shied away.  "I'm Ave, the wee lass is Marigold."

"Other elves! What elements are you? Thistle explained it to me." Ave raised her eyebrow. "My element is water." "I'm connected to the sun." Marigold squeaked. I remembered her hair glowing when I found her. "That's so cool!"

Clint poked his head out from the doorway. "Thistle, we need you to go over the stuff we got from Hydra." I nodded, and turned toward Marigold, who latched onto my arm. "You can trust Loki and Ave, okay? They helped me rescue you from Hydra." "Okay. What about Peter?" Marigold loosened her grip on my arm. "He's cool." Marigold let go, but eyed Clint with apprehension. 

I followed Clint down to the meeting room, where the dragon eggs were piled on the table. Annoyance flared up in me. The eggs deserved a nest of blankets or something, not a haphazard pile on a wooden table. The Avengers each sat in a chair, Thor munching on a pop tart. I took the last chair, right next to the eggs. "So, you and Loki rescued two elves and three dragon eggs from the base. One of the elves keeps hiding so we can't follow our usual procedure when rescuing people." Tony stated. "So it was a successful mission. I'm sure Snowdrop will take the dragon eggs with her back to Stardust Grove. Also, what's your procedure?" I crossed my arms and leaned back in the chair. "Our procedure is getting them a physical to make sure their healthy, and then finding them a new home. Or in your case, make them live in the tower." Steve explained. "Marigold is extremely nervous around strangers, but she seems to like me. I vote we keep her in the tower for now." 

"So everything is settled. If you could drop Marigold off at the Med Bay tomorrow that would be great, and we have training at ten am." Steve told me. "Cool." I said before scooping the eggs in my arms and carrying them to my room. 

Tourmaline sat on my desk, swatting at a leaf on my crescent flower. I pulled her away from my potted flower before she destroyed it. Don't hurt my plants, I scolded her. But I'm bored, she groaned. Do you want a ball of yarn or a cat tree? I asked. Tourmaline snorted in indignation. I am a dragon, I do not play with common house cat things. Her eyes flicked to the wall. Maybe. 

I laughed and made a small nest out of blankets, then set the eggs in it. The moonstone around Tourmaline's neck glowed faintly as she grew to her full size. The dragon wrapped herself around the clutch of dragon eggs, keeping them safe and warm. I smiled softly at the adorable sight, then left for the roof. 

~~~~~(A/N)

And another chapter done! I really hope you guys love Marigold as much as I do. She's so cute! Don't forget to vote and comment! 

Ily<3

~Author-chan