Part 7

The dragon—whose name was Nidhogg—peered closely at the little creature wriggling in his claws.

These creatures came, he had noticed, in two kinds. There were the bigger ones that acted like the cock o’ the walk, generally wrapping themselves in metal shells and poking about with little steel claws; and there were the smaller ones, which seemed to do all the work, and which were usually softer and prettier, but often made a lot of high-pitched noise.

This one seemed to be a nice combination of the two—quite soft, and very pretty, but without the painful noise-making and, though it did brandish a steel claw, the way it had tried to prod him with it had been rather...

Sweet.

Of course, all the struggling it was doing now was making it hard for him to THINK, so he lifted it up to his mouth, and blew on it, gently.

The little thing stiffened, its face contorting in a look of surprise that made him smile, and then it slumped over his claws.

Fast asleep.

That was better.

Thinking was something quite new for Nidhogg, and it required a lot of concentration. He needed to find somewhere quiet to practise, somewhere the little creature would be safe.

He stretched out his wings and flapped them—once, twice—beating harder each time—and thrice—starting to run on his powerful hind legs—and again, and again, and—up—yes, up he climbed, rising on the current, enjoying the sensation of riding the wind as his wings worked steadily.

In less than sixty heartbeats he had reached the hills.

He circled the summit of the highest, looking for a suitable perch...

Yes.

Down he glided, landing effortlessly, and deposited his little creature on the shelf of rock.

It was still sleeping quietly.

Nidhogg folded his wings and settled down beside it, and waited for a thought to enter his head.

It took a few moments, but when one did materialise it was as clear as a bell: The little thing is all covered up. It would look so much nicer if it wasn’t.

The dragon stretched out a claw and, working with its very tip, carefully ripped off some of the creature’s gaudy covering.

...

Nidhogg ... From the Old Norse Níðhöggr, meaning, ‘dreaded striker’.