"Phoebe has lost quite a bit of weight too. We'll need to prepare another portion of nine-dragons' strength feed," Targaryen said softly, shaking her head.
After meeting the predator's gaze through the lake from the prey's perspective, Brian stopped identifying with the Plimpies a breath later. For one instant, he had genuinely thought Phoebe's nose could smell the Dragon Egg through all those barriers, and that she intended to dig three feet down and break this place open.
Those magnificent long horns could easily reach the lakebed and were more than capable of breaking through the mud and sand-if the dragon really had that intention, Brian, who was directly opposite her horns, would now be dying in a neat little row with his Plimpy brothers.
Charlie breathed a sigh of relief too. Even after almost a year working at the Romanian Dragon Sanctuary, he had rarely faced a dragon at such close quarters. Today had certainly been exciting.
"Don't worry, Mr. Brian. The underground tunnel's ceiling has been reinforced. Even if it can't withstand repeated blows from a dragon, it'll give us enough time to escape."
"She's grilling fish," Hagrid said excitedly, watching Phoebe begin to breathe a thin layer of flame without taking his eyes off her. "Such a big girl, and she can breathe such gentle flames-"
Brian saw a strange light flicker in the eyes of the semiconscious Plimpies, as though they were angrily demanding of Hagrid, "Gentle? Why don't you come and see how gentle it is yourself!"
Targaryen, who was acting as their guide, explained promptly:
"Yes, Romanian Longhorns generally enjoy skewering their food on their horns before roasting it. Their smooth, sturdy, fireproof horns make the best skewers."
Under Phoebe's flames, the Plimpies soon became dried Plimpies and went into her wide-open mouth. Several