Dragon in the Dishwater
Chapter 13
copyright 2015, comidacomida

Eric was surprised by what he could only describe as an aggressive hiss that emerged from Hiraeth.  The Dragon dropped to the floor between him and Dr. Marlowe, challenging the man with wings spread wide.  Eric took an involuntary step back when Hiraeth grew in size over the course of a breath, previously a cat but suddenly enlarging to that of a big dog.  The Dragon let out a growl, speaking in what Eric thought might have been Welsh.  "Ydych chi'n y Derwydd?  O ble ydych chi'n dod?  Beth ydych chi eisiau?"

Although Dr. Marlowe was as equally surprised as Eric he didn't seen intimidated by the display.  He raised his hands up in a placating manner.  "Sorry... I don't understand you... is that Gaelic?"

Hiraeth snorted, bulk still increasing until he was very nearly the size of a small pony.  "Welsh."

Inside, Eric was gleeful that his guess had been correct but, he realized, he had more pressing issues to attend to.  "Hiraeth... the door's still open... shouldn't we--"

The Dragon flicked him in the shin with his rather large tail.  "This is Dr. Marlowe?  You may be right to not trust him... if he can see past my illusions then he is either a Druid, or a Wizard of some kind... either way he could--"

The young man frowned, looking at the doctor.  "I didn't say I don't trust him... I said I thought he was a self-serving money hungry head doctor."

Dr. Marlowe let out a sigh, reaching up to remove the fedora he was wearing.  "I am not a Druid OR a Wizard.  Eric... could you ask your dragon--"

Hiraeth's eyes narrowed as his tail inched Eric back further. "I can understand you.  Why are you here?  How do we know you do not mean harm?"

The Psychologist met Hiraeth's gaze.  "Do you know a Dragon named Silene?"

The Dragon's ear sails went up and his death gaze slackened for a moment.  He backed up, shrinking down to guard dog size again and, although Eric saw that he was not as on-edge, he still appeared guarded.  "How do you know Seline?"

Dr. Marlowe took a step forward and slowly closed the door behind himself.  He reached over and set his hat on a hook.  "Seline was the Dragon that Awakened me."

Eric wasn't sure what confused him more: that Dr. Marlowe knew about dragons, that he knew a specific dragon, or what he meant by 'awakened'.

Hiraeth's scales slowly smoothed back into place but he retained his size.  His tail wrapped possessively around Eric's leg and he shook his wings until they settled down against his back. The Doctor continued. "She found me when I was a little younger than Eric... and stayed with me for almost five years.  I Awakened after almost two."

The Dragon's tail slackened and he appeared suddenly much calmer.  "You took quite some time then."

Dr. Marlowe chuckled softly.  "She was just being patient is all... at least, that's what she told me.  It was a lot to take in."

The much more casual nature of the discussion was yet another thing that left Eric feeling both confused and frustrated.  "Would one of you mind telling me what the fuck's going on?  One minute Hiraeth, you want to go all 'attack-dragon' on him, and the next the two of you are talking about stuff that--"

Hiraeth launched himself into the air, springing off of the hallway wall as he returned to a much more manageable housecat size and landed neatly on Eric's shoulder.  "Dr. Marlowe can see me because he has had a dragon... he has been touched by magic and so, in return he knows how to see it."

The Psychologist smiled.  "So... shall we get settled in the living room, Eric, or would you prefer to--"

The young man held up his hands.  "Woah... woah... hold on a minute.  So... you can see Hiraeth, and you just said that you have a dragon, and now we're just going straight into a session?"

Dr. Marlowe paused at that, and held out a hand toward Hiraeth.  "Ah... of course... introductions.  Eric said your name is... Hiraeth, is it?"

The Dragon extended a talon and rested it on the Doctor's outstretched fingers, sharing a shake.  "Yes... and you are Doctor Marlowe?"

The Doctor nodded.  "My name is Jon Marlowe, and yes, I am a psychologist." he glanced to Eric with a wry grin. "Or, how did you put it, Eric?  A... 'head doctor'?"

The seemingly casual introductions mixed with Dr. Marlowe's good humor didn't particularly appease Eric.  "I mean the dragon-thing!"

The Psychologist paused for a moment.  "Ah... fair enough.  Would you prefer to have Hiraeth sit in on this session or should he--"

"That isn't what I meant!!!"

Hiraeth spoke up calmly from Eric's shoulder.  "Eric... Dr. Marlowe came to see you to help, if I am not mistaken."

The young man let out an exasperated breath.  "What happened to being right about not trusting him?"

"Oh.  That is when I thought he might be a Druid or Wizard..."

Dr. Marlowe renewed his smile, "Which I'm not."

Hiraeth nodded.  "Which he is not."

Eric let out a groan and stalked off into the living room; he heard the Doctor follow him.  Turning around, he collapsed into the arm chair, calming only once Hiraeth slid down his chest to curl up in his lap.  As the young man set his hand atop the Dragon's head he had to admit that Hiraeth's soft purring-sound did help him relax.

Dr. Marlowe took a seat on the sofa across from him and pulled out his usual notebook, but set it aside. "I'm sorry if all of this is confusing for you, Eric... although it's unorthodox, considering the situation perhaps it would help you feel better if you had a chance to ask a few questions of your own before I begin mine?"

Eric didn't even hesitate.  "You said you have a dragon?"

Dr. Marlowe nodded.  "Had, yes.  She's the reason I ended up going into psychology."

The young man took a moment to digest that explanation.  "So... your dragon encouraged you to study brain stuff, huh?"

He smiled.  "Not exactly... she helped me find my own path by teaching me the value of people and how rewarding it can be to help them."

Barely pausing to let Dr. Marlowe finish, he looked down at Hiraeth.  "And... you know that dragon?  Selena, or something?"

Hiraeth's tail twitched and he blinked his nictitating membranes. "Seline.  Yes.  She was given that name by humans; they named her after the city where she was killed."

Eric was taken aback by the comment. "Killed?"

Dr. Marlowe nodded thoughtfully. "The way she explained it.  She and George, the human she had bonded to at the time were trapped... it was the only way to save him."

The young man smirked.  "Like St. George?"

The Psychologist's response was unexpected, both in its playfulness and its directness.  "Oh... so you HAVE heard the story."

Eric froze.  "Wait... you mean St. George was friends with the dragon he killed?"

Hiraeth nodded.  "They were bonded."

"So... did he help it terrorize the countryside or something, or was he just not aware she was on a rampage across the--"

Dr. Marlowe shook his head.  "Nothing like that, Eric.  From the way she explained it reality had nothing to do with the stories.  That was Christian propaganda used to convert tons of pagans pre-Renaissance."

Eric blinked.  "Wow... with a story like that you wouldn't be very welcome in a lot of churches, Doc."

The Doctor shrugged.  "A lot of history is inaccurate... people have used it since the beginning of time to sway others to their way of thinking."

While he was ready to get on Dr. Marlowe's case about any number of things, what stuck in his mind the most was what he said about the Renaissance.  "When did you say it was she was with George?  When was it she got her name?"

Dr. Marlowe paused before nodding to himself. "It was around the time of the Crusades... I'm pretty sure."

Something didn't quite match in Eric's mind.  He knew that Dragons seemed to leapfrog through time and that they attached to different humans, but something still didn't add up.  "Hiraeth... didn't you say that your last human was from England befo--"

The Dragon flicked him in the ribs lightly with his tail in objection.  "Wales.  There is a difference, Eric."

The young man winced inwardly but pushed along without complaining about the correction.  "You were in the British Isles before the Romans invaded, right?'

"Yes."

Eric smiled in satisfaction that he remembered.  "And Seline was around the Crusades?  Isn't that... like... over a thousand years after you?"

The dragon rotated his head so he could look up and back at Eric before blinking.  "Yes, Eric, that is correct."

"So how could YOU know about the name she got a millenia later?"

Dr. Marlowe, who had been silently watching the exchange between the two apparently decided to take that opportunity to speak up.  "The Dreaming, of course."

Eric looked over at the doctor; he hated feeling confused.  "The what?"

The Psychologist paused as his eyes drifted to Hiraeth.  "You haven't shown The Dreaming to Eric yet?"

The young man's frustration level began raising immediately; he hated being on the outside of an in-the-know conversation. "So what's 'The Dreaming' then?"

Hiraeth took the lead in the conversation.  "Humans learn by experience... whether that's through reading, watching, doing, or having it explained.  Dragons can learn all of those ways too, but we are also able to learn through our bond with our human, like I did when I was in the egg after you found it."

Eric frowned.  "That still doesn't explain knowing about Seline."

Dr. Marlowe tapped his fingers on the arm rest of the couch in thought.  "Dragons also learn through the experience of other Dragons... they share experiences and knowledge on a level way beyond what we're able to understand."

"And that's 'The Dreaming' thing you were talking about?"

The Doctor continued.  "Yes and no.  The way Seline explained it is that all the experiences we have in life are limited to a short period of time... but the experiences themselves last forever.  Reality is what we make of it while we get to make something of it... but what we make of it is eternal."

The young man rolled his eyes.  "That just sounds like the same circular logic BS you can hear at any church.  I mean, sure... you could just as easily say souls are eternal and leave it at that."

Hiraeth looked up again from his place on Eric's lap.  "The Dreaming is not divine but religion has tried to replicate it in concepts such as 'Heaven', 'Eden', 'Valhalla', 'Jannah'--"

Eric interjected, "Got it... so which one's right?"

Dr. Marlowe shook his head.  "None... although I spent years studying religion looking for the closest approximation, and as far as I understand it, Buddhism is closest with their belief in Nirvana.  The Dreaming isn't heaven... it's more like a state of mind... like Nirvana."

Hiraeth snorted.  "It is as much a place as any religion has conjured into thought... humans were not always separate from The Dreaming."

The Doctor smiled.  "Which explains why we can reach it with the help of our dragons?"

The dragon nodded decisively.  "And why you can be Awakened."

Eric slumped in the chair.  "That sounds like two opposite ends of the spectrum... Awakened and Dreaming."

Hiraeth's ear sails raised in good humor and Dr. Marlowe laughed.  It was the Doctor who responded to the observation.  "Just the opposite, Eric-- they're linked."

"So... more 'magic' stuff, huh?"

The end of the dragon's tail curled comfortingly around his wrist.  "It returns to the thought that the time in which we have to experience is limited, but those experiences are eternal.  Can you remember the last time you had your picture taken, Eric?"

Eric blinked blankly, having no idea where Hiraeth was going with his line of thought.  "Uh... yeah... I guess."

The dragon continued looking at him. "And there was a flash?"

"Sure.  I think so."

Hiraeth stretched a wing, then the other.  "The flash is gone, but your memory of it is still there."

The young man rolled his eyes.  "Kind of like how you can lose a loved one but they're still with you in your heart?"

Either Hiraeth missed the sardonicism in his voice or he just didn't care.  "Exactly, Eric... just like how memories of lost loved ones survive even after their passing."

Dr. Marlowe sat up and leaned forward.  "Eric... what it means is that memories survive longer than we do.  THAT is what The Dreaming is... it's a collection of living memories even though those who've experienced them are long gone."

It was difficult to understand what it was Dr. Marlowe was talking about and, even though both the Psychologist and the Dragon spent nearly an hour further explaining it Eric just didn't feel like he had a good grasp of what they were trying to convey.  The closest he got to paraphrasing was when he humorously proposed that life sounded like the dream and people never managed to survive it.  The thought that they agreed with that interpretation only frustrated him more.

Letting out a hearty sigh of exasperation, he settled on a topic change.  "So, if life is the dream, then what's this 'Awakening' thing you're talking about?"

Dr. Marlowe had just excused himself to get a drink of water so Hiraeth was perfectly content to answer.  "You know how to use a television, correct?"

Eric knew exactly where the dragon was going with that question.  "Yea... but I don't know how it works... I get it."

Hiraeth blinked.  "Would it be fair to assume that you would be even better at using it if you DID know how it worked?"

The young man paused; although his first thought was to respond with a smart ass remark he surprised himself by stopping to genuinely think about it.  In the end he shrugged, "Yea... I guess so."

The dragon moved to the armchair's armrest, stretching and refolding his wings as he did so.  "Eric, you have expressed an interest many times in understanding how I do many of the things I do."

Eric nodded. "Magic.  Right." and he did a double-take.  "So... you mean this 'Awakening' thing is about teaching me how to do magic?"

Dr. Marlowe stepped back into the living room, a glass of water in one hand; he apparently caught the end of the conversation based on how quickly he inserted himself into it.  The Doctor's answer surprised him.  "Yes."

The young man's censor button wasn't on. "No shit?"

Hiraeth blinked.  "Correct, Eric... no shit."

Eric blushed a little when he heard the word come out of the dragon's muzzle, and he felt a moment of embarrassment.  "So... uh... how does THAT work?"

The Psychologist smiled, taking a sip from his iced tea.  Eric did a double-take as Dr. Marlowe responded.  "It works very well, thank you."

"Weren't you... didn't you... I-- wasn't that water?"

Dr. Marlowe's smile remained in place.  "I couldn't say... Was it?"

Eric felt a hint of frustration returning but he made a point to banish it. "Hiraeth, I think he IS a wizard... better kill him before he tries to take your gall bladder or something."

Laughter followed the statement... from everyone.  After that, with the stress finally leaving things got a little easier.   They continued talking for another twenty five or thirty minutes, right up until the front door opened.  Eric's mom, not within view of the living room called from the entryway, "Eric?  Eric, honey?"

"In the living room, Mom."

The young man was surprised at the joy on her face when she rounded the corner.  "Oh, Dr. Marlowe!  Are you two having a nice talk?"

The Doctor had his pad of paper in hand by the time she spotted him; Eric had to admit that the man was quick on the uptake.  Dr. Marlowe slid the pad back into his pack.  "Very much so.  Eric was telling me all about his car."

Smile widening, Eric's mom leaned down to give the young man a kiss atop his head.  "Thank you for humoring me, Eric... I know you aren't always open to the idea of speaking with Dr. Marlowe but it means a lot to me."

The Psychologist stood up after snapping the latch on his travel bag.  "Well, I just realized the time.  You'll have to excuse me-- if I don't head out soon I'll be late for my next appointment."

Eric's mom nodded, "Alright... see you on Tuesday?"

Dr. Marlowe extended a hand and she shook it.  "Of course."

Hiraeth held up a talon to wave a goodbye and even Eric felt socialable enough to offer a very simple, "Thanks."

The word was apparently a free opening for the Doctor.  "Next week, Eric?  We can talk more about... everything."

He surprised himself when he said, "Sure."

After seeing Dr. Marlowe out, Eric's mom returned to replace him on the sofa.  They spoke for a few minutes about life in general; he could tell she wanted to ask him what he and Dr. Marlowe discussed but she'd made a promise before that she never would.  In the end, he finished his talk with her by feeding her curiosity.  "Dr. Marlowe thinks it's a really good first car for me-- safe, with good gas mileage."

Beaming, she stood up, "I'll just go get dinner started... it'll be ready by seven."

She gave him a hug and practically floated across the floor into the kitchen; she was humming as she did so-- she hadn't hummed in what felt like forever.  Eric snapped out of his thoughts when Hiraeth alighted on his shoulder.  "You made her day."

The young man smirked.  "Yea... who woulda thought it'd be THAT easy?"

His mom called from the kitchen, "Did you say something, Honey?"

Eric thought of any of a number of one liners and callous remarks he could shoot back at her but he liked his mom's mood too much to carry through with any of them.  Instead, he carefully weighed what he said next in favor of her happiness.  "Just that you were right... talking with Dr. Marlowe IS easy... and... kinda... okay."

Hiraeth gently slid his tail around Eric's neck for balance as the teen ascended the stairs.  "That was very nice of you, Eric."

Ignoring the compliment, the young man made his way down the upstairs hall toward his room.  "So, Dr. Marlowe has a dragon..."

"Had."

In that moment the past tense FINALLY settled into his thoughts.  "Had?  Had... what happened, do you think?"

Hiraeth responded directly and, in Eric's opinion, bluntly.  "She died."

The answer flustered the teen and he almost missed his room's doorknob.  "She died?  Why?  I mean... uh... how?  Do you think--"

The dragon was a little more delicate with his interrupting response.  "Eric... dragons are not immortal.  We may be eternal, but we are born and we die the same as any other living creature."

The thought weighed heavily on him and a number of questions filled his mind, but he wasn't sure he wanted the biggest one to be spoken aloud for fear of the answer.  Instead he settled on a different one.  "Hiraeth... how many dragons are there?"

Hiraeth hopped to his place atop Eric's book shelf.  "Not many... why do you ask?"

Eric cleared his throat, still plagued by the thought that dragons weren't as long-lived as all the legends seemed to make out.  ~Damn you, JRR Tolkien.~ he cursed mentally.  He glanced to his companion, who had curled up on the pillow placed atop the bookcase.  "So... I guess it's pretty rare for two people that know about dragons to meet?"

Hiraeth blinked, "Much more rare in this age, yes.  I am glad that you have another resource to help you though."

Despite feeling better about Dr. Marlowe, not all of Eric's rebelliousness had left him.  He flopped out on his bed before announcing in no uncertain terms  "We can do fine, just the two of us... my mom doesn't have to shell out hundreds of dollars.  We don't really need him, Hiraeth."

The dragon sprang from the bookcase to the mattress and climbed up onto Eric's chest, circling once, twice, then a third time before laying down, chin resting atop his tail as he gazed at the young man.  "I am glad I met him tonight, and I am glad we know that he has had experiences like those you have had."

Eric's face scrunched up as he considered what Hiraeth said... and what he didn't.  In the end, he called the dragon on the latter.  "And the experiences I haven't had yet?"

He could tell that his objection bemused Hiraeth, whose eyes shone with a hint of mirth.  "Yes.  Those too."

"So when do I get to have those, huh?"

The tip of the dragon's tail twiched.  "Everything in time, Eric."

The young man sighed.  "I still don't get the whole Dreaming thing... when are you going to teach me about that?"

He had been expecting some cryptic answer, possibly vague and shrouded in half-truth and allegory.  Instead, Hiraeth was quite direct.  "When would you like to learn?"

Eric was surprised by the answer, but he didn't let it stall his response.  "How about now?"

The Dragon's slitted pupils opened so wide that they almost looked circular.  Eric felt dizzy, as if everything was spinning around him.  In the next moment he had the eerie sensation of falling though he was laying firmly on his bed.  Somewhere in the back of his mind he heard the Dragon's voice speaking right into his head.  "Very well."