Scrubbing down the ship's dragon is a big responsibility. Not only does it keep the mighty beast clean and comfortable, but also helps foster a bond between dragon and crew. Normally the task is undertaken by a dragon's whole ground crew, but after accidentally stepping on Ahastar and finding, to his surprise, that it felt rather nice and that the raptor didn't instantly squash apart (as such tiny creatures usually do) Temeraire decided to break convention and appoint a single crewman to clean him. It wasn't as if the rest of the crew could object - a ship's dragon may not be technically in command, but he is quite able to eat everyone on board if someone displeases him, so they rarely do.

For Ahastar's part, any objections are to be taken directly to Temeraire, who always makes a point to listen politely before putting the raptor to use beneath his hindpaws.

Sometimes, when he feels particularly generous, Temeraire takes Ahastar to meet his friends, who also enjoy a scrub-down (though Smaug pretends not to). When the raptor forgets his cleaning equipment, or it mysteriously goes missing upon arrival, he can usually be persuaded to use his tongue instead, but it sometimes takes quite a lot of trampling to change his mind.

Part 0 of the Dragon Servicing series, which I posted in reverse order for extra confusion, RRRR! Thanks, as always, to  ahastar for carrying a stylish bucket.

Also, check out this one in full resolution, and:
- Part 0.5 <-- this one, but with only the dragons
- Part 0.75 <-- this one, but with ALL the Ahastars
- Part 1 (Bolt)
- Part 2 (Temeraire)
- Part 3 (Smaug)