The great creature, despite having rendered Felix speechless with fear, was backed up as far against the wall as possible, so that its raven black shape melted in and out of the darkness surrounding it. Felix took a wary step towards the massive form; immediately, he was met by the crippling stare of two violet eyes, which burned with an intense and bestial fear. It was obvious the dragon was desperately afraid, which made it even more dangerous for Felix. If he didn't keep his mind sharp, it could cost him his life, as none of the guards were going to risk their own skins for his meager existence, which, he reminded himself, was all too easily replaceable.
Moving with the dexterity and careful attention to detail of an assassin, Felix lifted a piece of meat into his trembling hands; it was a large cut, not of the finest quality, but nothing more than a morsel to the dragon. Approaching as far as he dared, his gaze once again locked with the huge violet eyes, which, he noticed, had a mix of fiery pink fused into the color; but this was of little consequence if he got killed. Yet he found himself drawn to the hypnotic power of those eyes, and how they were not of a savage monster brought into confusion, but the misled and frightened glance of a lonely child, enslaved in a harsh and alien environment with no hope or comfort.
He snapped back into his own consciousness. Felix was particularly clever for his age, and had consulted books describing the actions and perils of magical beings. The dragon-stare was one such ability, a mesmeric force wielded by the dragon and able to virtually transfix any adversary given the intent; but how could an infant use such a power, and, if it had intended to entrance and consume him, why had it not done so moments earlier? In his daze, Felix dropped the meat, causing a noticeable echo which rebounded in the hollow humidity of the prison's interior. The dragon flinched, but didn't make a move. Felix, rooted to the spot momentarily, retreated from the creature, keeping level eye contact but never directly meeting the dragon's vision for fear of the dragon-stare taking a more potent effect.
The dragon moved a little, and Felix saw for the first time the real brutality of the chain it was attached to, blunt and rusted into the wall with no mileage for free movement, ensuring the dragon was perpetually constrained. First one, then another foreleg moved, the diminutive but nonetheless intimidating muscles flexing as if they had been cramped for days, which was entirely possible given the situation. As it approached the meat, the dragon was always aware of Felix, nervously training one eye upon him whilst the other gazed longingly at the food. Finally satisfied, it voraciously gulped down the meat, giving an opening for Felix to make a move. Or to test if he was a threat.
Taking some more of the altogether stale meat, Felix decided he should familiarize himself as a giver of nourishment, as to help him stay alive, and, abandoning fear, he gently tossed it in the dragon's direction. The dragon startled in alarm, then settled, nosed the food with its snout, then greedily swallowed it up. Felix repeated the process several times, slowly reducing the distance between the food and himself, until the dragon was physically prevented from going any further, the chain biting into its neck. Now pushing the cart, which still carried a sufficient amount of meat, towards the dragon, Felix could see the overwhelming hunger it displayed. Had Lord William been so blind to taking care of a creature with the potential he had envisaged? Evidently so, and that made it even worse thinking about.
The dragon strained on the its malicious leash, but even with all its dwindled yet considerable strength, the chain held resolutely to the wall. Felix stopped just so that the dragon could reach the food and water on the cart, but no more. The dragon snapped up the food, making a strange jerk with its head to consume the larger pieces, until the cart was empty. It then proceeded to drain the water bowl with amazing speed, like it had been deprived of any kind of sustenance for a long while. At least a little eased from its predicament, but by no means trusting Felix, the dragon returned to its shadowy corner, but not so much as to make itself intangible from view. As it did so, Felix, pulling away the cart, was able to get a proper look at the dragon.
It was only now he had a chance to distinguish its gender, as there had been no opportunity before, but as the dragon turned from him, there was no sign of outer genitalia. A female then, as it had no significant horns visible either, with a deep blue underside and malnourished body frame. Hardly the terror Lord William wanted it to be, but still a mighty creature. It was only as he closed the cage door, and proceeded to return to his fateful service as little more than a useless wretch, that Felix first was addled by a feeling, deeply conjured in the deepest catacombs of his mind, that blossomed with swift resolve into his heart.
Sympathy.
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