"There is another here," Sherlock said, flaring his wings. "I will go see. Stay here." He took off, heading up to the cave and trying to get the feral's attention.

"Charlotte?" Bree asked warily, standing and trying to figure out what was going on.

"Intruder," Charlotte hissed, backing up to the rear edge of the nest, near the wall. She growled again, louder.

The feral paused at the growling. It sounded like another adult, but the promise of not only a cave, but a hoard as well, was too much to ignore, and he ventured farther into the cave.

Sherlock landed on the edge of the cave and lashed out at the feral, snarling a challenge. Because while it wasn't his cave, it was his mate and his egg. And he would defend them.

The feral turned around, snarling back. He wasn't about to let this newcomer get in the way of taking this cave. He flared his wings a bit, coming out of the cave so he had room.

As soon as there was room, Sherlock dove at the feral, trying to move him away from the cave. He didn't even care if the feral lived or not, he just wanted him away from his mate and egg.

The feral lashed out in return and the fight began in earnest. The feral took whatever bites and swipes he could at the other dragon, but he received a good many of them as well, including a nasty set of slices through the membrane of one wing.

Sherlock got his fair share of slices and bites, although nothing so serious as the slashes through the membrane. And he was careful to keep the fight away from the cave, keeping himself between the feral and the cave at all times.

When they separated some, he growled, "Leave now and I won't do any worse to you." At least he could still keep himself in the air without pain.

The feral hissed and flared his wings again in challenge. He wasn't going to back down that quickly.

Sherlock growled. So be it. He threw himself at the feral, physically tackling the other dragon out of the sky. He knew he'd get a few scratches for it, but it could give him an advantage. Especially as his chest started to glow, just slightly, with the heat of fire.

The feral snarled and scrambled to get a grip on Sherlock's hide and right himself. They still hit the ground with a heavy thud, and it knocked one of the feral's shoulders out of place. He growled a bit at Sherlock, but didn't offer any more resistance after that. The torn wing and dislocated limb were enough for him.

Sherlock made sure he left, watching him go and following him to the edge of Charlotte's territory. Then, satisfied that the feral wouldn't be coming back, he shook himself and headed back, more slowly than before. Now that the fight was over, he was feeling all the aches.

Charlotte was watching the entrance of her cave warily until she saw that it was Sherlock outside. She relaxed marginally when she saw he was mostly alright.

"Is the intruder gone?" she called to him.

"He is gone, and I don't he will return." Sherlock sounded weary but not harmed badly. He didn't go farther than the entrance, however.

"Are you injured?" Charlotte asked. She could smell some blood, but she wasn't sure whose it was.

"Not badly," Sherlock said after a moment. "I will heal." He rustled his wings a little, pleased that she had asked, even in the midst of his discomfort.

"Come inside," Charlotte said. "You will heal faster where it is warm." As far as she was concerned, he had just defended the nest and the egg. He deserved to be allowed inside now.

Sherlock moved farther in slowly, giving her time to change his mind. He was still bleeding sluggishly from a few cuts, although he didn't have any broken bones or torn wings. But his scales were a mess from the feral's claws and teeth.

"Lie down," Charlotte said once he was close enough to fuss over. "Let Bree look at you. Bree! Sherlock is injured!"

"I know," Bree called back from her area. She came back lugging her medical equipment. "Don't worry, I'll make sure he's okay."

Sherlock settled down with a weary sigh, eyeing Bree briefly before closing his eyes. He would let her do what she needed to do. She wasn't John, but John was courting her, and Charlotte liked her, so he would trust her.

Charlotte fretted a bit until she was sure Sherlock would be alright.

"It is warmer near the nest," she said. "It will be more comfortable." She wouldn't let him into the nest proper, since the nesting space was mostly just for mothers and eggs, but she would allow him right up to the edge where he could benefit from the warmth.

Bree prodded him into moving before she went back to work, making sure he was in as good condition as she could manage.

"Rest and get something to eat tomorrow," she instructed him. "You should recover fine. I'm going to go let John know."

"Very well." Sherlock settled down, closing his eyes briefly.

Charlotte moved so she could lay her head down next to Sherlock's. She nosed him gently, making soft little sounds of comfort and thanks.

Outside, John had finally made his way to the cave to see if he could find out what had happened. He knew he had missed it, whatever it was; there were signs of a fight everywhere.

Bree washed off and went to ho find John, blinking when she found him already in the cave.

"I was just about to go find you. Sherlock is in here. He's hurt but not badly."

Sherlock grumbled a little but rumbled at her. He would be alright, but he did appreciate her thanks.

"He got hurt?" John asked, a bit alarmed. "I know he mentioned something about another dragon in the area, but he took off before I could get anything else out of him. Is he alright?"

Charlotte huffed a bit of steam at him at his grumbling, but didn't do anything else. She just settled in with him, letting him rest and recover.

"He got in a fight with a feral to protect Charlotte and the egg. He's okay, he'll be fine. He'll just take a bit of time to recover." Bree smiled reassuringly.

Sherlock sighed and closed his eyes. He could rest for a while.