Tongues of Serpents Page 0,99

away without its own accord. If he is to become still more of a burden, I will hear of it now."

"The phenomenon is seen occasionally," Dorset said in his most biting tones - he did not like the heat, and most days came out unevenly red and speckled in the afternoons, if he did not stay always in the shade - "in Regal Copper hatchlings: it is an indicator he will make twenty-four tons, at the least, when he achieves his growth."

The response silenced Rankin entirely. Temeraire did not mind that, but everyone else was gone quiet, too, and he could not help but eye Kulingile dubiously: the dragonet was certainly growing very quickly, but that was not saying very much, when he had begun scarcely the size of one of Temeraire's talons, and now was perhaps a quarter the length of his tail.

"Dorset," Granby said after a moment, equally doubtful, "I don't suppose you are quite sure of it?"

"That he will make a heavy-weight, yes, now that the sacs have inflated permanently," Dorset said. "As for the particular weight, I will not swear to it; but the extreme disproportion of the air-sacs to the rest of the frame exceeds any other recorded to my knowledge, and any hatchling which has exhibited a negative total weight at any point in their development has achieved that size or more."

No one said anything much afterwards; except Roland gave a sort of squeaking noise and pounded Demane on the shoulder - he looked wary and dazed at once, and said, "He is not going to die, then?"

Temeraire was a little torn over the whole matter: so he would be losing Demane, after all, but on the other hand, there was the very great, very real satisfaction of being proven right, or rather seeing Laurence proven right; but Temeraire might have the credit of trusting Laurence, as anyone else ought to have, and also of having been charitable, with so pleasant a result for once. To further add to the glory of the coup, Rankin was not at all pleased, and now Caesar might not make any more noise about it, either, as Kulingile would outgrow him.

"I will believe it when I see it," Caesar said, loftily, and then would have tried to sneak another of the cassowaries which Gong Su was cooking for Temeraire to eat, later, if Temeraire had not warned him off with a snap near his hindquarters.

Kulingile took the news more equably. "I did not mean to die, anyway," he piped - the inflation did not seem to have altered his voice - "but I am glad, if it means I may eat more, and no one will poke at me for it." He put out his wings and flapped a little, which sent him going up alarmingly quick; Temeraire had to reach out and catch him by the tail-tip, and even then he stayed in mid-air, floating. "Look, Demane, look at me," Kulingile said, and flapping only one wing managed to spin himself about in a circle.

"It is certainly better than being a great solid lump upon the ground," Iskierka said, "and I do not mind if I do not have to carry you anymore, but that is a ridiculous thing for a dragon to do; you ought to come down or fly properly," but Kulingile's spirits were not depressed by this criticism, and Demane did indeed have to tether him with a rope, which Temeraire allowed to be secured to his harness, as the only rocks about were flat and inconvenient for the purpose.

The only other person displeased by the situation was Sipho, but as he had retreated into the solace of his studies, Temeraire selfishly did not mind that: it was a great satisfaction to him at last to have someone who might read the Analects to him aloud, correctly; if Sipho happened to find a character which he did not yet know, he would scratch it out large and Temeraire could give it to him, which served very well. It went a good deal quicker, and also Temeraire did not need to feel quite so guilty as if he had forced Roland or Laurence to write out a stretch of it for him large enough to see.

"You are getting hunchbacked," Demane said, disapprovingly, and poked Sipho between his shoulders; Sipho flailed an arm resentfully at his brother and spat, "At least I am not only spending all my time stuffing a fat dragon's belly, who can't