At the implication that, while yes, this is a dragon, you in fact have no idea what it can really do to you, you panic. You turn around and jump over the tail, leaving the dragon to watch with a soft smirk, his eyes having long gone off you to watch something you hadn't noticed in your short lived escape attempt. Though his satisfied expression quickly fades as he realizes who is present.
Loud knocking are heard on the door, just as you were to open it, and you back off before freezing, unsure what to do.
"Coal," a soft yet commanding voice echoes from behind the door, "what are you doing in there?" A flashlight is turned on, easy to see due to the glass panels letting the light in, "You better not have taken advantage of the lack of cameras to get yourself a new "toy" again."
You start to look between the door and the huge beast standing still, somewhat shocked to see it as well starting to look panicked. The sudden rattle of the handle, as miss luck being on your side make it stuck midway in, gives you a slight scare, and you stumble back to the dragon's tail, trip, and fall. At that moment only do you realize that the only thing preventing the person on the other side from seeing you has been the tail, given you both were in front of the door when you jumped over the limb. Getting up, you see the dragon gesture to a large wing, large enough to reach behind his back as it lays on the floor, and without complaining, make a run for it.
"Argh," you hear the door finally open as you dive behind the wing, "I knew this piece of junk was going to fall appart soon, but nooooo, mister wants the place to be "natural and feel authentic to visitors", doesn't he know there's something called paint," during the rant, a "clank" was heard, surely the handle having been detached from the door, which did look rusty, now you that start to calm down and think about it.
"Marguerite, we both know how Mr. Gedeon is, if he likes something the way it is, don't count on any argument to change his mind," the dragon seemed bored, as if this was a reoccurring subject.
"Doesn't mean he should use everything he likes in the zoo, we barely managed to get the pandas back in their cages last week because he had thought bamboo would be a good alternative and help not make it feel unnatural," the woman replies with anger and, you aren't certain, but maybe a tinge of bitterness too, "he's got only that one word in his mouth, and just between you and me, since no one will hear this, that guy's a complete lunatic!"
You are surprised when you hear the beast chuckle, a low, smooth sound that seems bizarre coming from such a creature.
"Now now, I guess you didn't come here for small talk, right?" You feel the dragon's body twitch a little as he tries to contain his amusement.
"Whatever," the mysterious Marguerite deadpan, "I came to check up on you when I thought I heard voices, so care to explain?"
The dragon, which by now you decide to call by his name, Coal, sigh.
"I was bored, okay? I tried to recite some songs my mother sung me when I was a hatchling," his tone seems oddly sincere and sad, too, "turns out I seem to have forgotten many parts."
"Oh, I'm sorry," the woman's voice is now much lower, and you suddenly get the feeling they have a more complex relationship then you thought, "everyone here knows how much you hold dear to her memories... Would you like to talk about it? You rarely speak of your past anyway," the question was asked in a surprisingly shy manner, considering the authority her voice alone had not even five minutes ago.
"..."
You feel the dragon move, from what you can see, he is laying back down.
"Coal," there is concern in Marguerite's voice, but the dragon cuts her off.
"Not today," he rumbles, sounding disappointed, "besides, I would hate it if you were to be berated about "interacting with the animals" again."
She stays silent, and although you can't see her, you can feel in her silence that the dragon's response held more meaning than a simple warning, you can only guess why.
After a moment, Marguerite heads out, and despite a little struggling, manage to close the door.
A muffled sigh is all you hear, but the dragon clearly understand the muttered question as she finally leaves.
"If you forget about her, what guarantee is there you won't forget me too?"
The question left Coal feeling as if a lance of ice had pierced his heart.
More time pass in silence, as the sound of Marguerite's footsteps fade away.
You jolt when the dragon addresses you.
"You can leave now, I don't feel like playing anymore anyway."
The statement take a few seconds to sink in, before you realize that the tail is now further away from the door, letting you free to leave.
"No need to tell me twice," you think, on the limit between walking and running, and despite the size of the cavern, it takes no more then ten second for you to reach the door.
You open it, but you don't know for what reason, or simply why, when this creature could do anything to you, but you stop, and fora moment, you turn around, looking at Coal as the conversation you witnessed, still fresh in your mind, plays like a broken record.
"I would hate it if you get berated for "interacting with the animals" again."
"Turns out, I have forgotten many parts."
"Not my problems," you hastily sake yourself and close the door, ready to get out of this crazy zoo, put this day behind you and never talk or even remember about it.
"I have nothing to do with them, I don't even know them!" The glass windows pass one by one, and you refuse to even give a single glance at the habitat.
But you do, at least their names, Coal the dragon, and Marguerite, an employee of the zoo.
You're almost halfway the row of windows.
A dragon and a human, who seemed to know each other well all things considered.
Nearly there, why did they put that door in the corner at the end?!
A dragon who seemed fearful enough of what could have happened had the woman seen you to let you hide behind him...
"Like I should care, who knows what he was going to do to me anyway, he's just a vicious creature who did what best for him, not for me," you try, somewhat in vain, to get mad at him.
Finally, now you just turn at the corner and...
And...
And despite your resolve, just as the dragon's cave was to get out of your view, you still stop. Confused, your head in your hands, you lean against the window, the last one of the row, and look up...
You honestly don't know what you expected, heck, even HOPED to see, but it definitely wasn't this.
Still laying at the end of the cavern, Coal blends in with the wall, only due to the very small amount of light his scales reflect can you easily spot him, and at first, you think he is sleeping again. However, as you take a good look, you see him... trembling, and even from there, you can see something gleaming near his muzzle, elongated and... it looks like a tear trail.
The dragon is crying... and you start regretting thinking of him as "vicious" in any way.
As you look at him, the shadows of the cavern suddenly seems more solide, like a veil isolating him better than the windows, but also making him look simply alone... Despite his size, Coal, at this moment, makes you think of a lone child, sad and hurting on the inside.
"Was he acting grumpy just so I wouldn't see him cry?" You find yourself wondering in a whisper.
You feel torn, leave and put this behind for good, or think of something... or maybe just act?
Frustrated, you roam in circle right in front of the corner, you hate it, on one side, you just want to get out and not get involved any further with anyone's problems in this place, but on the other, seeing him like this reminds you of...
"Do you want to talk about it?"
With a groan, you mentally yeet that last thought away and walk back to the door.
"I can't believe I'm doing this," you mutter to yourself, hoping no one will come for a while.