by Virlyce
Tafel let out a small groan and stared up at the sky. She exhaled through her nose while lowering her head. “Mary.”
“Yes?”
“You look like a girl, and you’re Vur’s friend,” Tafel said. “You don’t have to say you’re a girl when that’s already obvious. You’re just his friend.”
Mary blinked. “That makes sense,” she said. “But they’re dragons.”
“And what’s that supposed to mean?” Tafel asked.
“I can’t tell a dragon’s gender apart just by looking at them,” Mary said. “Wouldn’t it be the same for dragons? Can they tell a human’s gender just by looking? Maybe we look the same to them like they do to us.”
“Is that true?” Tafel asked, turning to Prika.
Prika shook her head. “Nope. She’s just dumb.”
“W-what?” Mary took a step back. She lowered her head and looked at Tafel. “Am I? I know I’m not very smart, but am I dumb?”
Tafel turned around and stuck her head into the giant portal behind her. “Hey! Are you four coming out or not? This portal doesn’t maintain itself, you know!” She turned back around to face Mary. “Sorry, what was that?”
Mary pursed her lips. “Nothing.”
Prika sighed. “That was a lot more boring than I thought it would be. You were supposed to fight each other for Vur.” She spread her wings. “Okay, I’m seriously leaving now to find the love of my life.” Her brow furrowed, and her cheeks bulged as she moved her tongue around her mouth. She muttered, “Did I swallow them?” Her eyes landed on the two wet clumps of twitching feathers on the ground. “Oh, no, I spat them out. Phew.” Her knees bent, and her wings fully extended.
“It’s another red dragon!” Alora walked out of the portal behind Tafel followed by Grimmy, Sharda, and Lindyss. Alora pointed at Prika. “Is she a blood dragon too?”
Prika craned her neck behind herself. She unbent her knees and folded her wings against her sides before whirling around to face Alora. Flames shot out of Prika’s nostrils as she snorted and rose up, sitting on her hind legs while crossing her front legs over her chest. “Okay. Who’s this imposter? Last time I checked, I was the only red dragon in this weird extended family thing Nova has going on.”
Alora blinked and pointed at Sharda. “I’m her granddaughter. Who are you?”
Prika tilted her head. She pointed at Sharda. “Blue.” She pointed at Nova. “Green.” She gestured towards Emma and her mate. “Both blue.” Then she jabbed her tail at Alora. “Red.” A low rumble escaped from her mouth as she cleared her throat. “Clearly, one of these does not belong. Were you adopted?”
Alora narrowed her eyes. “Adopted?”
“It means you’re loved no matter what,” Vur said. “I’m adopted too.”
Everyone turned to stare at Vur.
“See?” Vur asked. He nodded. “Loved.”
“Where did you learn that definition?” Tafel asked, tugging on Vur’s arm.
“Ma told me,” Vur said. He looked around. “Where is she?”
“After bringing the staves here, she and Vernon flew to your grandmother’s place to pick up more firewood. Apparently, the staff that your mom was making for you was gone, probably stolen by someone,” Nova said.
A bead of sweat rolled down Tafel’s back.
“Vur,” Mary said. She picked up the mostly dried staff that was planted in the ground and held it out. “This is for you. I made it.”
Before Vur could accept the staff, the annoying trio surged forward. “This is for you too. It’ll help you cast fire magic.”
“This one is better for wind magic.”
“This one is great for bludgeoning things, but you can use it to help you cast earth magic too.”
Vur looked at the four staves held out in front of him. “That’s perfect,” he said and raised his arms. Another pair of arms sprouted out of his torso, and he picked up all four staves at the same time.
“Oh my lord,” Tafel said and planted her palm against her forehead. “Vur, you look….”
“That’s so cool!” Youngest said, his eyes lighting up. “Can you use all four staves at the same time?”
Vur raised his staves into the air, sending mana into them. Then he slammed them down onto a nearby boulder. The boulder shattered. Vur nodded. “Yes. I can.”
“I think they meant with magic…,” Alice muttered from off to the side.
The annoying trio exchanged glances with each other. Then they smiled at Vur before applauding. “Wow, amazing!”
The staves clacked against each other as Vur moved his hands. He frowned and gathered them all into one hand. “Maybe I’ll tie them together.”
“Does that work?” Tafel asked Lindyss. “If you tied two staves together and used them to cast a spell, would it amplify the power?”
Lindyss scratched her head. “An idea like that never even crossed my mind because it’s so dumb.”
“But would it work?”
“For the sake of fashion, it shouldn’t work,” Lindyss said and sighed. “But … well, we’ll find out shortly.”
Mary shot forward. “Wait a moment,” she said, grabbing Vur’s arm. She stared at the four staves before nodding. “I’ll make you a staff to hold those four staves to make it easier to hold with one hand.”
39
Sera flew through the air, carrying a bundle of logs tied together by a rope. Behind her, Vernon was holding a mithril jar. The two dragons soared through some clouds, their vision obscured by white. When they broke through, a scaly, red face greeted them.
“Woah!” Prika shouted and swerved to the side, narrowly avoiding a collision. “Watch where you’re going ars…, Sera? Vernon?”
“Prika?” Sera asked, spreading her wings wide and leaning back to halt in midair. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m heading towards the eastern continent,” Prika said. “I heard I’ll find a mate there.”
“You know this is the western continent, right?” Vernon asked. “Instead of flying west all the way around the world, you could’ve just flown east.”
“I know! I’m not dumb,” Prika said. “Okay, so I followed old man Nova to the western continent first because there was nothing to do at home, and now that I’m here, I’m flying east.”
Vernon raised an eyebrow. “But at this point, it’d be faster to fly west to get to the eastern continent. You could fly directly there instead of passing through the central continent again.”
“Yeah, but then I’d have to fly through that backwater continent between the western and eastern continent, and there’s no way in heck I’m doing that,” Prika said. “It might take me a bit longer going this way, but it’s worth it.”
“Aren’t you from that so-called backwater continent?” Sera asked. “You don’t want to say hi to everyone?”
Prika rolled her eyes. “And embarrass myself? Hello, I left to find a mate a few centuries ago. If I turn up back home empty-handed, what are they going to think of me? I’d be a total loser in their happily mated, damn, cursed, stupid, bright, happy eyes.”
Vernon cleared his throat. “Your anger is showing.”
“It’s not anger,” Prika said, wrinkling her snout. “It’s centuries of bottled-up resentment. There’s a difference in degrees of magnitude.”
“Have a cookie,” Vernon said, holding the mithril jar in his paws towards Prika.
Prika blinked and reached forward, lifting the lid. Her claws clacked against the side of the jar a few times, but she managed to retrieve a cookie that was almost the size of her snout. She placed the lid back on and munched on the cookie, sprinkling crumbs down to the ground. Her eyes lit up. “Ooh, this is pretty good.” She popped the rest of the cookie into her mouth. “Are you bringing these to share with everyone down there?”
“The annoying trio asked me to bring the cookie jar,” Vernon said. “But I suppose everyone can have some as well? They’re not mine, so I don’t know.”
“You offered me a c
ookie that didn’t belong to you and you weren’t sure if you could share?” Prika asked, her eyes widening.
Vernon cleared his throat. “Well, it seemed like you needed it. If anyone asks, Alora took it earlier. They’ll all believe that even if she protests.”
“Thanks, Vernon,” Prika said. “You’re the best. Okay, I think I can”—her stomach rumbled like thunder—“continue to the eastern continent.” She wet her lips with her tongue, her eyes sneaking down towards the cookie jar. “Or … I can wait until after this gathering to go.”
The three dragons flew on, arriving at the makeshift roost as the sun was beginning to set. “We’re back,” Sera said, dropping the bundle of logs onto the ground beside her. Vernon squatted beside the bundle and placed the jar down, careful not to rattle its contents. Sera swept her gaze over the field. “Oh? What’s that staff of yours, Vur?”
Vur raised his staff which was actually a combination of five different staves. The holder that Mary had made managed to lock the four other staves into place with a few twists and turns, leaving no noticeable gaps. It had spirals and loops along with grooves that were filled in perfectly by the four other staves. The end product was as wide as Vur’s thigh, but there was a space carved out in the middle for him to comfortably hold it with one hand. “Mary, Eldest, Bonnie, and Youngest made it for me,” Vur said. “But mostly Mary. I don’t dislike her as much anymore.”
“Oh,” Sera said. “I see.” She glanced at the bundle of logs. “What am I supposed to do with this then?”
“Silly,” Sharda said. “That’s firewood. What else would you do with it? We can start a bonfire.”
“Do we have anything to cook?” Sera asked, moving the bundle to Sharda’s feet.
“You don’t need to cook anything to have a bonfire,” Sharda said. “We can have a bonfire for the sake of having a bonfire.”
“Wait!” Tafel shouted. “If that’s the case, let me provide the wood! You can’t burn thousand-year-old logs just for the sake of having a fire.” She ran over to the bundle and opened up a portal, swapping out the logs for her own firewood instead.
While Tafel busied herself with the fire, the annoying trio crowded around the cookie jar. There were two red dragons already there, Prika and Alora. The two glared at each other, their claws pressed against the lid, preventing the jar from opening.
“Miss Prika?” Bonnie asked. “Didn’t you say you weren’t coming back until you found a mate?”
Prika snorted, two jets of flames leaving her nostrils and dispersing before they made contact with Alora. “I did say that.”
Alora snorted back, sending her own flames Prika’s way. The flames licked the scales on Prika’s snout before disappearing. “Where is he? I don’t see him.”
“That’s not important,” Prika said. “What’s important are these cookies.”
“I think I figured out why you’re single,” Nova said, nudging his way next to the cookie jar. “You chose cookies over finding the love of your life. How often does that happen?”
“A girl’s gotta eat, okay!?” Prika snarled at Nova and tugged the jar towards herself. “How am I supposed to find love on an empty stomach?”
“With your wishy-washy attitude, I don’t think you can find love on a full stomach either,” Alora said. “I mean, if you haven’t found it by now….”
Prika reared her head. “Ooh? Is someone picking a fight with me, the mighty Pyrrhicandra?”
Nova reached over and pressed Prika’s head to the ground. She yelped and squirmed, but Nova didn’t let up. “You’re picking a fight with a child,” he said. “Stop. You’re embarrassing yourself.”
Prika stopped wriggling and pouted. “She started it.”
***
Tafel grabbed Vur’s arm and leaned her head against his shoulder, careful to avoid poking him with her horns. She let out a sigh, shadows dancing across her face as the bonfire crackled and roared. The two were sitting on a leather couch that Tafel had taken from Mary’s palace via a portal—she didn’t forget to retrieve seats for Mary, Alice, and Mr. Skelly as well. The not-so-faint sounds of dragons squabbling in the background caused a faint smile to appear on her lips. She nestled closer to Vur. “This is really nice.”
Vur tilted his head, resting it atop Tafel’s. “What do you mean?”
“You’re not supposed to ask what I mean,” Tafel said and pouted. “You’re supposed to agree.”
“Oh.”
Tafel sighed. “What do I mean….” She pursed her lips and grumbled before opening her mouth. “Sitting by a warm fire on a slightly chilly night. Being surrounded by family and friends. Spending my time with you. You know, everything.” She paused. “The couch is nice too.”
“It’s my couch,” Mary said and leaned over, placing her chin on the couch’s armrest as if she were a dog. “Before it was mine, it was my brother’s. He died on this couch.”
Tafel sighed again. “There goes the mood.” She nudged Vur, and he raised his head. Tafel lifted her head off of his shoulder and turned her neck to face Mary. “What happened to your brother?”
Mary blinked. “Didn’t I say? He died.” She sat upright and grabbed the turtle shell that was on her lap. Her eyes widened, and she looked down. “Mary Junior turned into a rock!” She raised her head and held the rock out towards Tafel. “Did she die?”
“No,” Tafel said. “That’s an actual rock. While you weren’t paying attention, Emile and Susan swapped Mary Junior with it.”
“That’s right! My parents are a bunch of bullies!” Prika’s voice rang through the air. Tafel flinched from the sudden sound and turned around. The red dragon was wobbling to-and-fro, a large empty barrel held in her claws. The inside of the barrel was damp, and a familiar pungent smell wafted out of it. “So what if I’m the oldest? So what if my youngest sister got hitched first? Who cares if I’m the only dragon in the family for the past six generations who hasn’t had a mate before turning seven centuries old? They think making fun of me will make me feel better or something! Well, guess what? It doesn’t!”
“Miss Prika, Miss Prika, you drank too much,” Bonnie said, hiding the barrels of ale behind her body. “There’s no more to be had.”
“Look, even a child is bullying me now,” Prika wailed, her tail thumping against the ground behind her. “She thinks I’m dumb enough to be tricked. If Tafel brought us sixty barrels, and there’s twelve dragons, then that means each of us gets five barrels! I only had one. I still get four more.”
“Four of those twelve dragons are underaged,” Youngest said. “You shouldn’t count us. And you forgot to include Vur.”
“No, I included Vur,” Prika said, nudging Bonnie aside with her torso. “I excluded Alora because I don’t like her. And if three of you are underaged, then that means each of us gets six-and-a-half barrels each.”
Tafel shook her head and sighed before snuggling closer to Vur. “I didn’t think Prika would be such a bad drinker.”
“She’s sad and lonely and spends all her time reading cheesy romance books,” Vur said. “It makes sense.”
“Who’s sad and lonely and spends all her time reading cheesy romance books!?” Prika threw the empty barrel at Vur, but it soared over his head and landed into the bonfire. “I may be sad and lonely, but the romance books I read are rated very, very highly! They’re the best of the best from all different cultures, okay? Love triangles and drama don’t make a book cheesy!”
“So, uh, Nate and I are going to go over there,” Alice said and pointed in the direction furthest from Prika, “before we get squished by an angry, ranting dragon.”
“Should we get ourselves some privacy too?” Tafel asked Vur.
“Ooh, look at the two not-single lovebirds who want their privacy in a family gathering,” Prika said and snorted twice, the two jets of flames setting the ground on fire. Bonnie scrambled forward and patted it out with her front paws.
Sharda turned to Nova. “I don’t want to be rude to one of the me
mbers of your roost, but if she causes any more trouble than this….”
“You don’t want to be rude?” Prika’s eyes bulged and she pointed at Sharda. “Do you remember how you almost killed me over a small joke in my own home!?”
“Stop yelling, Miss Prika,” Bonnie said and tugged on Prika’s tail. “You’ll wake the neighborhood.”
“Everyone in the neighborhood was sacrificed in a ritual to create that blood giant,” Grimmy said. “She won’t wake anyone. Let her yell; sometimes people have to get things off their chests.”
Bonnie stiffened and released Prika’s tail. “Y-you’re right, Uncle Grimmy,” she said and gave the black dragon an awkward smile. She patted Prika’s rump. “Yell all you want, Miss Prika. No one’s around to hear you because they’re all dead.”
Tafel sighed and stood up. She walked over to the barrels of liquid and scooped herself two mugs. She walked back and handed one to Vur. “Well, when the gathering first started, it was nice.”
Vur smiled and took a sip.
Mary stopped sweeping her gaze over the treetops. She held her hand out towards Tafel. “I want some too.”
“No drinks for minors,” Tafel said without missing a beat.
Mary blinked twice and tilted her head. “But I’m older than you.”
Tafel furrowed her brow. “You’re right,” she said after a moment. She leaned forward and reached into a portal, grabbing a flask that she passed to Mary. “Here.”
Mary uncorked it and took a sip. “This tastes like juice.”
“It is juice.”
Mary pointed at Tafel’s mug. “I want what you’re drinking.”
“I’m drinking juice too.”
Mary pouted. Then she brought the flask up to her lips and took a swig.
There was a crash followed by the sounds of gushing water. A short yelp rang through the air. Prika waved her legs, struggling to stand after falling on the barrels. “My legs are betraying me too, what is this!? Why is my life so hard!?”
