Krakas slowly lathered the salve on Rughoi's small joints. "Try to relax, dearie," she whispered. "This will only hurt a bit." Then, she took the offending toe and tugged it. Rughoi winced, then slumped back. He heaved a sigh, and lie there without moving a muscle. "Can you walk?" asked Krakas, after a while of this immobility. This seemed to wake Rughoi up from his rest. He sat up and embraced his mother. Eventually, her arms came up to wrap around his frame. One thing was constant, she could not wrap her arms fully around him.

"I didn't want to hurt anybody, mummy," he whispered. She could feel his tears on her shoulder.

"Hush, child," Krakas whispered back. "It'll be fine."

"My court might betray me, the dracons want to kill me, I can't find safety," he continued.

"Shh, safety is here, child," she said. "Can you walk?" Slowly, one of his feet touched the ground, and he began to apply more weight to it. He stumbled, and had Krakas not been there to hold him, he would have fallen.

"I can stand," he said. "I can walk."