Theodore & The 7 Layers of Space, Book 1: Brick & Bird

Chapter 38: The Clock Dragon

Dragons are funny creatures. In addition to their funny perception of time and funny smell, they have a funny tendency to focus very intently on singular subjects, objects, hobbies, or ideas for a very long time, and at the expense of pretty much anything else (which goes a long way to explain their lack of lasting friendships).

As such, a dragon will often get some kind of associative monicker. The Train Dragon of the Lower Clank loves locomotion, The Fireworks Dragon of Pow loves explosions in the sky, The Sports Dragon of Earth loves watching humans run to and fro, that sort of thing.

Rarely, though, like outgrowing a habitat, a dragon will outgrow the general interest that gave it its name...

***

Theodore crept through the door and into a low and tight wooden hallway filled with thick air that clung to his skin. Piles of discarded clocks threatened to topple onto him as he eased past a mixture of old furniture and tables that looked like they had been hewn from the tree he was in. He jumped as an ancient cuckoo and a digital alarm went off at once. Muffled voices and a flickering glow emanated from a small doorway at the end of the corridor. All told it felt more like one of the many cluttered spare rooms of The House of The Magician Detective than a wise and powerful creature's habitat, and he didn't mind it.

He sidled past a teetering stack of sideways grandfather clocks and stepped through the doorway and was greeted by the mingled smell of floral perfume and grass clippings.

In the dimly-lit hollow, a large golden dragon lay curled up on an aged arm chair, calmly watching a big wooden television that took up half the room. The bundled form masked its exact size, but Theodore could sense its enormity. The glowing images cast dancing shadows into the corners of the small chamber. Dozens of other televisions of various shapes and styles lay scattered and stacked, some flickering, others dormant.

"You are what you are, dear child, you already know it, and now it's for you to accept," said the Dragon, and Theodore assumed another of the guests must be departing before him. The dragon's voice sounded was deep, muffled, and warbly, as if they were speaking through a body of invisible water.

"Hello," Theodore said.

"I threw most of them away because I don't like time any more, we had a fight," they said with a slow echoing giggle as he entered. "TV's for me now."

"What?" said Theodore, looking around. He was sure they'd never met, though the dragon did feel oddly familiar.

"Thank you for asking, it's my favorite episode of Science Friends, because it all takes place in one room. Easier for me to follow."

"Aren't you the Clock Dragon? All of your clocks look broken," he noted, looking around and wondering if they were still speaking with some unseen party.

The golden beast slowly turned its attention from the glowing screen while shaking its head to study Theodore, its long rubbery neck extended and creaked to hover in front of his face. He felt a sense of vertigo, knowing he'd never seen the dragon before, but also knowing that his hand had somehow drawn them when he made his first Power Pattern unlocking the door to Gup.

The Clock Dragon blinked three times and their eyelids made a tinny noise like two empty cans lightly bumping into one another. Their face looked more like that of a lion than a dragon, with a fuzzy red mane encircling a feline nose. But the rest of their body was definitely dragon – bulbous and serpentine and covered in golden and astro-delf glittering scales. Quite beautiful, all told.

"What are you watching?" He dimly comprehended that they'd already answered. Science Friends. Their favorite episode all taking place in one room.

"There we are. Mostly caught up for now, except for the bit at the end. Or beginning. Forgive me if I slip out again. You see, all dragons aren't all right here. Or now. We reside in a few other times at once. Or all of the times. It makes perfect sense to me, but I can understand why it confuses others. You see it's my tail, mostly, likes to be about ten days back. But then I loop around and check it and there I am, three or four hundred years ago, and then back again. My head is mostly here. Sometimes. It's why most of us live in old places, like trees and mountains and lake bottoms and old suburban malls. They get us."