"I seem to recall that you expressed interest in studying my abilities and the changes it might cause to my body? Is this still the case?" Asked Storm.
"Well.... yes... But I've accepted that this is a topic that you do not wish to discuss. You don't have to worry, I won't press you further on this." Replied Razor.
"Actually!! I have reconsidered and I wanted to ask you to look into this for me!" Replied Storm.
His acceptance seems to catch the old Griffin by suprise.
She gave him a look of suspicion.
"May I ask what prompted you to change your mind on this? You were pretty adamant that you did not want to do this before?" Asked Razor.
"I feel like I've only just begun to scratch the surface of what I'm capable off. I'm going to need every advantage I can get if we are going to win this war.
I don't have a mentor to turn to that can teach me this! I feel like this might be the best way I have to learn what I'm capable of."
Razor's face was a blank mask and that made it difficult for Storm to judge how she's taking the news.
"If you're hoping that I can act as some mentor figure? Then I must disappoint you.
I'd wager that I know even less about your capabilities than you do. I can get you started, sure. But my knowledge will always be second hand.
The best way for you to learn would be to experiment for yourself. Just be careful while doing so!
You don't want to accidentally hurt someone or destroy something!"
"I understand, but I'd still like you to investigate, if you're willing?" Storm replied.
The Griffin then turned to Aurora.
"And are you ok with this? I'm going to need your help if I'm to find the answers he seeks?" Asked Razor.
"Me!! I don't see how I can help!! I don't know anything about magic!!" Exclaimed Aurora.
"I'm going to need materials from a regular healthy adult dragon to compare to his own. You're the only other dragon we have available at the moment." Explained Razor
The news seemed to trouble Aurora. Storm couldn't blame her for being reluctant to be experimented on again after what she had gone through.
Sensing this, Razor placed a claw on Aurora's shoulder.
"I promise it will be nothing invasive, dear. I just might need some scales or other materials from time to time. " Explained Razor.
Aurora was silent as she considered it. After a moment she nodded her head.
"I won't pretend that I am looking forward to this. But if this will help Storm survive the coming battles, then I'm willing to cooperate. " replied Aurora.
Storm placed a claw on her other shoulder in silent thanks before looking back up at Razor.
"When do we start?"
"We can start right now if you're both willing. " Razor replied.
"Let's get this over with then before I change my mind!" Replied Aurora .
Razor led them to a side chamber filled with a wide variety of apparatus that Storm was unable to identify their purpose for.
She asked Aurora and Storm to pull off and hand her a few of their scales. Once they did so, she took them to a nearby table before turning back to Aurora.
"Ohh!! I have something for you, dear!!"
She turned around and began digging through the contents on the table, until she came across a small container.
She handed it to Aurora, who then unscrewed the lid.
Inside seemed to be a thick substance that almost resembled cream.
She and Storm both sniffed it curiously. It had a soothing, pleasant smell but they couldn't identify what it was supposed to be.
"Uhhh.... thanks?.... but I'm not really hungry right now!" Said Aurora.
Razor burst out laughing.
"It's not for 'eating ', dear. It's an extract made from the sap of 'Dragon Lily Flowers'. It's extremely nurturing for a dragon's skin.
Rub it in on the patches where your scales need to regrow and it should help to speed up the scale growth. "
"Administer it twice a day for a week. You should see an improvement at the week's end.
Storm could see on Aurora's face how much this meant to her. Storm had seen her stare at her reflection in shame when she thought no one else was looking at her.
Dragons took great pride in their sparkling armor and always kept it clean and well mantained.
Storm still remembered how proud Aurora was of her silver scales as a hatchling. And how angry she'd get at him if he made it dirty by accident.
He knew that the bald patches in her body bothered her greatly and although he had tried to reassure her, it didn't seem to have any effect.
"Storm. Can you help me with this please ?" Asked Aurora.
She laid down on her side to give Storm better access.
Without saying a word, he dunked a paw into the container and began to slowly administer the salve on the indicated places.
He placed a large blob on a spot, before rubbing it in until her skin absorbed it, then he'd move on to the next spot.
Once he was done, they both settled down to wait for Razor to finish.
Several hours later
All of Storm's earlier enthusiasm had left him.
He had watched Razor 'play' around with his scales for several hours without her saying a word to him.
Aurora had long since fallen asleep and Storm was doing his upmost to keep himself from joining her.
Finally, his patience broke and he got up to go speak to Razor.
Before he could say anything though, she beat him to it.
"You know... when I agreed to do this. I wasn't expecting you to peek over my shoulder like a curious child while I work!
Don't you two have anything else to do?"
"Not for today. Seriously though. How long is this going to take?!"
The sound of their voices woke up Aurora. She slowly opened her eyes and gave a long yawn.
"It will take as long as it takes, Calamity! You can't rush these kind of things. " Exclaimed Razor.
Storm rolled his eyes and was just about to take Aurora for a leisurely flight, when something curious happened to one of his scales. Drawing everyone's attention.
"This is simply fascinating!!" Exclaimed Razor.