A Dragon’s Whimsy Pt. 12

The sound of a creature sniffing and growling could be heard nearby, and then the sound of a young woman groaning in pain even nearer still.

“Wh...what hit me?” Ruby asked of no one in particular and still sounding dazed.

A loud crack could be heard followed by the crash of another large branch impacting the ground sounding very close to the star ruby. Ruby yelped in fright and the boar squealed angrily in response.

“Oh... right...” Ruby said with increased nervousness as recent events began to come back to her. “I ssee your sstill with me mister boar.”

Ruby laughed weakly and then abruptly went silent as the boar began to growl and the sound of branches rustling could be heard as it tried to find a way to the half-buried whelpling who was currently still in the form of a gnome.

“Uh... sstill no sense of humor... right then.” Ruby sighed. “Determined aren't you? You're stubbornness is truly worthy of a dragon you know.”  

The boar snorted in response.

“Uh... no really... I'm not just ssaying that. Look I'm a dragon myself I know what I”m talking about.” Ruby said with a genuine tone in her voice. She continued: “Alright, you have no idea what I'm ssaying but maybe I can sshow you... though thiss is going to be a little painful with my broken wing...”

The sound of a whelpling screeching in pain could be heard and the boar grunted in confusion.

“I know... I don't look or ssmell anything like that witch of a gnome that tried to make you her dinner... where'd sshe go?” Ruby said, her now draconic face grimacing in pain but her golden eyes glinting mischievously. “She'ss gotten away from you... better go find her mister boar.”

The boar could be heard sniffing and squealing in frustration while the sound of a whelpling snickering could be made out faintly. Then the sound of movement in the snow growing more and more distant until the sound was gone entirely.

“Well... goodbye mister boar.” Ruby said with satisfaction. “Now where did my sstar ruby go... oh there it iss... and still on... recording my embarrassment for all time. Of course. Well... now to get out of here...”

The sound of a small whelpling digging her way out of the snow and fallen branches are followed by yelps of pain and growls of annoyance.

“There! Free! Now to teach that boar a lesson!” Ruby said with satisfaction. “I AM after all a dragon. And an Astherion. I can be sstubborn too.” The sound of snow being brushed off clothing can be heard as Ruby shifts once again to her gnomish form.

“Indeed mister boar... in my own way I am the most sstubborn person on Azeroth.”  
The crunching of Ruby's boots in the snow and her heavy breathing are the only sounds for a time. 

Then the sounds of branches being pushed aside and a high pitched voice cursing can be heard awhile later.

And finally a sudden intake of breath...

“Oh! It's not MISTER boar.... it's MOTHER boar!” Ruby said with astonishment. “And those piglets look hungry... the poor thingss... you couldn't go looking for food today because you were protecting them from me...”

Ruby cleared her throat having become overwhelmed by emotion. Sounding rather guilty she spoke into her star ruby: “Well... trying to kill her doesn't seem in the spirit of Noble Garden at all.”

“I think I have another idea...”

 

**********

As the sun rose over Dun Morogh the mother boar smelled something it had smelled before: the scent of that vile little gnome that had so abruptly disappeared last night. Struggling awake despite how tired she was from the long night she glanced around looking for any danger to her piglets.

There it was... with her younglings! She had one of the piglets in her lap which was sucking from some contraption of hers while excess milk was running down its chin. The majority of the piglets already looked satiated.

The gnome looked at the mother boar and coughed nervously. She reached into a bag at her side and pulled out a large fish offering it to the boar tentatively. Noise came out of her mouth then but the words meant nothing to the mother boar. The tone sounded  apologetic however, and she didn't stare the mother boar in the eye, conceding dominance to the mother boar instead.

The boar grunted reluctantly and stepped forward sniffing at the fish.  The gnome made another sound then that the boar didn't understand but it sounded calming and without malice. The mother boar relaxed and began to give the fish her full attention.

 

**********

As the boar began to relax Ruby allowed herself to do the same. With a relieved giggle she simply said: "And it wass a Happy Noble'ss Garden for all."