look but don’t touch [Charlie]

[charles septimus weasley]

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While it sounded nice to be able to ‘trust’ a dragon fully, the reality of it was that no non-druid would ever be able to achieve such a feat. The modern witch or wizard simply didn’t have what it took to do that. Charlie was nearing his fourth decade of working with dragons, and while there was definitely a better level of understanding that he had with the older dragons that he had known the entire time, they were still wary of one another. Unfortunately, those were just the facts of life between dragonologist and dragon. In a perfect world, he would have loved to have the same power of knowledge and mutual trust that druids had with magical creatures. It made every research envious. ”I would love to visit,” Charlie responded after a long pause, despite knowing that it would never work in the way Aidan thought it would.

Merlin, he wished he still had the same sort of uninformed enthusiasm that the druid lad had. As much as he wished the Viperteeth would leave their nests more often, mostly so that he could do research, it simply wasn’t worth the possible injury or death that came along with it. ”They’re quite small compared to the average dragon,” Charlie explained. ”So their typical prey consists of small to mid-sized mammals or birds. They don’t have to go too far from their nesting grounds to find either.” He had seen a few from the same pack team up to carry a decent-sized goat up the side of the mountain once. That had been a fascinating observation to add to his notes.

”I still can’t recommend getting close to them, druid or not,” he warned. It was up to Aidan though. He obviously knew his limits better than Charlie did, and often times the best way to learn was by making mistakes.

Aidan Evander Ó Cuinn ● 311

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[Aidan Evander Ó Cuinn]

Aidan grinned happily as Charlie said he’d love to visit Hy-Brasil, and if there was a long pause before he answered – well, it went completely over his head. Instead he nodded vigorously to show his approval of Charlie’s decision to visit. “I will go home too, so we can go together. I love Dragon’s Tooth, it is one of best spots on Hy-Brasil.” Aidan could probably have spent another few hours detailing all of his favorite places, and which magical creatures you could see in each one, but the egg was slightly vibrating and he squinted his eyes so he could get a better look. After a few moments, it seemed to settle down again so Aidan turned back towards Charlie.

There was a new idea slowly developing in his brain, but trying to speed it up would just break the flow altogether. Still, Aidan was starting to truly realize that there were things to learn from mainland researchers too. True, he’d been an apprentice at the reserve for several years now. But he’d always seen his apprenticeship as a way to simply have access to more creatures, while still doing the same kinds of things he’d done on the island – the same techniques, the same cures, the same treatments. Over time, though, Aidan was starting to understand that they sometimes did things on the mainland that were worth learning about too. Better, or innovative, or simply a different way to reach the same desired outcome. And Charlie seemed to be a vast source of knowledge, with the easy way he spoke of his decades of experience (and his books, Aidan was going to have to get his hands on these books).

“Ok,” Aidan said as the older dragonologist once again warned him from getting too close, but he took that cautious attitude the same way he took his ma’s lectures – as something to sit through before going to do the thing he’d been warned against. Experience was the best teacher, after all. “Do you have drawings?” Aidan asked as he continued to catalogue information about the Peruvian Vipertooth in his head, his eyes glancing down in interest at Charlie’s journal. Aidan was never so meticulous about his research, but Charlie seemed like the type to know exactly where he could find more information about things he wanted to know (because he’d actually done the work and documented it). Aidan would need to be better about that.

charles septimus weasley