Username: Melomar
Name of Dragon: Frostbane
Name of Sheep: Cotton
Brief description of how and where the sheep found the egg: Cotton the Sheep, who was little more than a Lamb, was up on the mountainside with the rest of the flock. The rocks here were slightly bluish, which, next to the grass, made food pretty easy to find. Cotton was also that same color of bluish-grey. She loved it here in particular because it was fun to kick pebbles down the steep, rock-and-sandy hillside. Sometimes a pebble would bounce and make a little splash in the creek down below. It made a nice, satisfying sound, sort of like plunk. Sometimes it would disappointingly disappear into a patch of grass.
Today Cotton's pebble bounced and hit another, much larger rock. It made a funny sound that was difficult to identify. It was not the normal high-pitched grating sound one would expect from two rocks colliding. So Cotton kicked another rock at it, and another. Each time, this new rock, more like a boulder, made that strange, flat sound. Then she noticed something exciting. The boulder had a new crack in it (more than likely created by the sheep herself).
Sliding down the steep, rocky hill to investigate, she lost her footing. Hooves went sailing through the air and she ran bodily into the boulder, right behind it. It stopped her for an instant, then they both tumbled down the rest of the way. At the bottom of the hill, Cotton barely missed the creek, coming to a muddy stop on the creek bank. But the egg ran right into her and in a little twist of karma the sheep sailed into the creek, leaving the rock behind.
What a vengeful rock, she thought, feeling the chilly waters slowly fill up her fur, dragging her down. She stood up with a cascade of water billowing from her fleece and with a shivery shake, she shook it dry. Slogging through the water, Cotton tripped several times on algae-slick river rocks until she reached the edge of the creek and the innocent-looking rock. She scowled at it, before catching sight of the crack again, and changed her whole expression into a curious, almost happy one.
Sniffing at the rock and catching scent of all the rock, mud and grass it had come into contact with, her nose reached the crack and she was taken aback. The crack was not a weakness in the rock, perhaps where a vein of different material may have been exposed. Instead it indented and smelled of egg. Yolk with a hint of something almost reptilian. She blinked rapidly. Was it a giant snake egg? A lizard?
Suddenly, movement from inside caught her eye. She could hear something moving around in there. Then, from out of the crack a sheep-nose-sized snout poked through. Two nostrils and an egg tooth were clearly visible from a muzzle that could only be described as bluish. This was no lizard, it was most probably a dragon!
Terror gripped the sheep and Cotton took flight, as only sheep and goats hooves can do, up the side of the hill, leaving the dangerous foetus behind. But something stopped her, a strange pull as from out of the tiny hole came a plaintive cry. As she turned to look back, the egg wobbled and fell on its side. The crack was high on the egg and had dipped down into the creek. It was taking on water! But... she was a sheep. Dragons eat sheep. But the terrified cries were too much. Torn between warring instincts, Cotton slid back down the hill. She had been the one to crack it, she told herself, now it was her responsibility.
And so, Cotton the Sheep, who was barely more than a lamb, took care of that egg. She righted it and dried it off with her own fur. She found ways to keep it warm and watch out for danger to not only herself but the egg too. Together, they had many adventures while it was still just an egg! But those are stories for another time.