"They can't HELP but want to help him. And cuddle him. Even if they aren't the cuddling type." Temeraire is, and Jane adapts, and several of the crew get comfortable enough to perch on Laurence's foreleg or sprawl over his shoulder when he's lying down. After an invitation, Emily and Dyer clamber all over him, and Emily especially is close.
"Oh man. Rankin had better approach with EXTREME CAUTION lest he be squished. Same thing with whatshisname. That other guy from the first book. Dayes? That guy who lied to Temeraire." I even thought of them. Some fast-thinking man might convince some high-ranking official that knows nothing of dragons that things must be done, immediately, or the feral dragon must be sent to the breeding grounds. (I would imagine that to KEEP the dragons there, the wings are somehow marred. It's never said, but why would the dragons stay where they were put and give up their eggs at all? Unless later canon contradicts it, I would assume the wings are broken/clipped/somehow handicapped.)
"I think that even if the person wasn't given official leave to become Laurence's captain, I'm sure that he would have LOTS of suitors, bringing him shiny things and tasty bits of meat, tempting/bribing him into liking him best... Temeraire gets defensively jealous, even though Laurence is very polite about the whole thing and doesn't give any indication whatsoever that he's interested in the men." Laurence is a bit bemused by all of it. The shiny things are very coveted by the other dragons, so he leaves them on the ground for others to fight over and occasionally accepts a free meal.
Jane has a contingency plan. If she cannot convince the commanding officers to allow Granby to stay as the chief officer on Laurence, and cannot keep Temeraire and Laurence together, then she'll put herself forward as the most qualified person to train Laurence based on her experience with Excidium. It's a very unusual circumstance, but she could bear the separation for a time if it meant saving Laurence from the vultures. Excidium would agree, I think, because otherwise Jane would be very unhappy.
I do think that the original plan was "we won't tell anybody. We'll get a harness on, change his name, introduce him into the center of a new formation, and have a very experienced captain to make up for his lack of useful experience." It wouldn't stand.
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Date: 2011-02-28 03:36 am (UTC)"Oh man. Rankin had better approach with EXTREME CAUTION lest he be squished. Same thing with whatshisname. That other guy from the first book. Dayes? That guy who lied to Temeraire." I even thought of them. Some fast-thinking man might convince some high-ranking official that knows nothing of dragons that things must be done, immediately, or the feral dragon must be sent to the breeding grounds. (I would imagine that to KEEP the dragons there, the wings are somehow marred. It's never said, but why would the dragons stay where they were put and give up their eggs at all? Unless later canon contradicts it, I would assume the wings are broken/clipped/somehow handicapped.)
"I think that even if the person wasn't given official leave to become Laurence's captain, I'm sure that he would have LOTS of suitors, bringing him shiny things and tasty bits of meat, tempting/bribing him into liking him best... Temeraire gets defensively jealous, even though Laurence is very polite about the whole thing and doesn't give any indication whatsoever that he's interested in the men." Laurence is a bit bemused by all of it. The shiny things are very coveted by the other dragons, so he leaves them on the ground for others to fight over and occasionally accepts a free meal.
Jane has a contingency plan. If she cannot convince the commanding officers to allow Granby to stay as the chief officer on Laurence, and cannot keep Temeraire and Laurence together, then she'll put herself forward as the most qualified person to train Laurence based on her experience with Excidium. It's a very unusual circumstance, but she could bear the separation for a time if it meant saving Laurence from the vultures. Excidium would agree, I think, because otherwise Jane would be very unhappy.
I do think that the original plan was "we won't tell anybody. We'll get a harness on, change his name, introduce him into the center of a new formation, and have a very experienced captain to make up for his lack of useful experience." It wouldn't stand.