After an initial morning of Magral Knight history, life temporarily returned to normal. Didn’t matter that it was only for a couple of hours, or that Dragon had to deal with the least normal thing in Vee. At the end it was nice to just have some example that everything around them had continued as it originally was. Students hanging out with students or doing work, professors teaching, and the sound of cars passing by. None of them were aware of the threat plaguing the city, and if all went well they never would.

Everyone who needed to know had been told, and one or two that probably didn’t as well. If all went well, none needed to know about the genocidal night terror wishing to break into their world. The terror learning such a thing would cause would make Melissa’s job significantly harder, if they weren’t laughed at first. Given the future of humanity had been placed on her shoulders, they didn’t need things to be harder than it already was. If anything it was a surprise that Melissa hadn’t broken down in fear of failure.

Dragon could focus on that later, however. Before events turned towards their hunt for Deam that night, she wanted to spend some time with family. Vee watched from her shoulder as she put in her brother’s number, and then put him on speaker phone. The doll had promised to stay silent and still, knowing her dreamer wouldn’t want to get more family involved. It respected that, and was moreso interested to see just who Dragon’s brother was.

The moment the ringing stopped, a voice was heard from over the phone. “Hey sis!”

“Hey Cam. Done with classes for the day. Are you available to maybe head out and get food?” Dragon asked, making her way down a set of stairs to the ground floor of the building she was in. “Maybe, I don’t know, burgers or something like that? Then check out the card game shop at the mall.”

“The one that has those old retro games displayed, right?” Cameron questioned back.

“Yeah, that one,” Dragon answered as she reached the last step on the stairway. She decided to hope over it, her knees bending as she hit the ground. The ground was farther away than she expected. “You down?”

“Yep, sounds good! Meet you there!” Camera said, hanging up on his end.

Dragon turned her phone off and started making her way towards the door out of the building. The moment she reached it, she hesitated to push it open. She could feel the chill escaping through the side, shivering at the near zero degree air. Bringing her phone back up and checking the weather, the sight sending yet another chill down her back.

“Yikes. Don’t know where this mall is, but you shouldn’t walk outside in that,” Vee replied, looking at the negative wind chill. They rubbed their plush arms together. “Guess it is time for me to help.”

Dragon looked at the doll and opened her mouth to speak, only for a sudden rush of warmth to hit her. When she expected it to leave, it didn’t, and after looking in all directions around her she didn’t see anything that could cause it. It wasn’t an uncomfortable warmth, thankfully, but more accurate to a late day of spring than the middle of January. As the sound of a Vee giggling on her shoulder reached her ears, she turned to them. Her expression morph into annoyed content.

“Pretty neat huh?” The doll asked. “Takes a lot out of me at this time of day, but it’s worth it to keep you warm.”

“Yet you didn’t think to do this earlier,” Dragon commented, her tone showing displeasure.

“It would have been too tough to do it to all three of you, and don’t tell me you weren’t enjoying the hug you three were doing well walking to the dining area,” Vee shot back, its words getting a deep blush out of the otherkin. As if to ignore its words, Dragon reached her hand to the door and started to push it open. “You like them both a bit, don’t you?”

Vee’s words caused Dragon to flinch in the middle of walking out of the building. Her arms went to her chest, which proved a mistake as the door swung back and hit her in the nose. A yelp of pain escaped her as she brought her hands to cover her nose, kneeling down as she soothed it. She winced as she messaged the attacked area, completely ignoring Vee as they inched closer to her face.

“So what I’m hearing is that you would’ve accepted Lucy’s kiss last night.”

Dragon snapped her attention to the doll, Vee flinching at the death glare it was being given. Growling loudly, Dragon grabbed its mouth-head and slung her backpack in front of her. She ignored the flailing doll in her grasp as she unzipped the first pouch. She pulled out a large, heavy textbook, shoved Vee in, and then purposefully dropped the textbook on top of it. A small “oof” could be heard as a result, Dragon smiling as she zipped her backpack up and slung it on her back.

“Worth it,” Vee called out quietly. Dragon growled even louder at the declaration. The few students who had heard it swore that a dog had been let out with how animalistic it sounded.

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The burger place in question was part of the mall they had planned to go to, but it would be more accurate to call it a steakhouse. Given it was the middle of day on a Tuesday it wasn’t horribly packed, allowing brother and sister to find a space to eat nice and quick. While either could do without the country music that was playing, it was worth suffering for a good meal. The various tv’s broadcasting sports shows also helped tune out the tunes.

“Jay will be your server today. She’ll be right with you,” the hostess said as Cameron and Maria sat down.

They both gave a nod to the hostess, and they left. Maria placed her backpack under the table, purposely placing her foot where she knew Vee was in it. She did her best to not visibly show her annoyance to her brother, which wasn’t too hard when she considered the doll wasn’t completely wrong. A blush worked its way onto her face again at the acknowledgement that it was right. Both Melissa and Lucy were her definition of hot, and she would have gladly accepted the latter’s kiss if they weren’t interested in each other. That, and she was more than fine just being their friend.

She didn’t deserve love.

She shook that thought out of her head, knowing that her brain was lying to her.

“You good Maria?” Cameron asked her, grabbing his sister’s attention. Dragon’s focus snapped to him as if she had been pulled out of a daydream. “You had that look on your face for a moment. The one that happens when your bad thoughts get a little loud.”

“Oh, I see,” Dragon replied, suddenly more than aware of the deep frown she was wearing. “Yeah, a bad thought crossed my mind. It isn’t like the ones I used to have, but that doesn’t make it hurt any less,” She shook her head once again. “It’s fine, though. I can live with them.”

“Maria,” Cameron muttered, a hint of pain in his eyes as he spoke. His gaze turned to the floor, then back to Dragon. “Sorry, I know you wanted this to be a fun time. I just get worried.”

Dragon put a sad smile on her face. “That is fine. I appreciate it. Actually, figured I would let you know I… told my friends about what happened.”

“About mom and dad?” Cameron asked. A nod was his answer. “Good. I’m glad you have people you trust outside of me. You’ve come a long way from just being around people.”

“I didn’t tell them everything, only the shit dealing with mom and the church,” Dragon explained, tilting her head back. She watched an old man at the bar, likely in his seventies, complaining about something. She didn’t bother listening to his actual words. “Now that I think about it, that was probably the hardest thing to explain. Explaining papa and how we are mistakes doesn’t seem as hard as that.”

The conversation halted as a figure approached the table, smiling at them. They were a girl about two years younger than the siblings, with a freckle filled face, curly red hair, and blue eyes. Dragon could also notice earrings in the shape of a mermaid, the tail shimmering blue. The dragon inside her stared at them lovingly, paying more attention to the jewelry than the person they were attached to. It was what led Cameron to be the first to notice they were wearing the uniform the other members of the restaurant staff wore.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

“Hi, my name is Jay and I’ll be your server today,” The girl said with a melodic yet chipper tone. “Can I get you started with something to drink?”

“Dr. Pepper for me,” Cameron replied. Both he and Jay looked to Dragon, the otherkin awakening from her shiny-induced trance. “Sis, drink?”

“Rerr… Oh, uh, ice tea lemonade,” She said, looking the server in the eyes instead of the ears.

Jay nodded, wrote the drinks down, and then walked away. Dragon felt her face turn red again, lowering her head into her hands. Cameron just gave a knowing shake of his head and rolled his eyes. It didn’t matter that the grin that had made its way onto his face was earning an angered look from his twin. He knew that any threat made to him would be empty.

“So you told them about the worst part of it all, but not all the other events that led up to it,” Cameron summarized. The anger in Dragon’s face softened, but didn’t completely go away. “You know, I’m proud of you for that. You’ve come a long way from where you were last year, though I would say you're still a bit off from being in a good mindset.”

Dragon felt her heart lurch at her brother’s reminder, his sentence carrying a tone of disappointment in them. It hurt to hear, but something in his words made her feel encouraged. He was secretly challenging her, and she couldn’t turn down the challenge being presented. While a piece of her mind told her such an ordeal was useless, another told her that it was worth it. A snort of confidence and a fake smirk similar to what Melissa usually wore made it clear to Cameron which mindset had won out.

“Perhaps I’ll just have to prove you wrong,” She said, crossing her arms. “Show you this dragon’s true power.”

Cameron’s response was to reach a hand across the table to Dragon’s head. It froze her in place, and a feeling she recognized as a pair of phantom wings lurched up. Then, her brother started to teasingly pet her. All she felt herself able to do was lower her head, make half-happy half-angry “rarr” noises, and wiggly a little. She would never admit in public to enjoy it, but in her head she secretly wanted a bit more.

“Yeah, real powerful,” Cameron replied, pulling his arm away. He watched as Dragon continued to wiggle for a bit, stopped as she realized the petting was done, and frustratingly glared at him. “Unfortunately for the dragoness, her hatch brother knows how to counteract her threats.”

“Curse you human!” Dragon exclaimed, pouting. “You dare make a fool of mankind’s deadliest enemy?! I shall see your village burned to the ground for this insu–“

Cameron’s hand connected with her head again, and all her complaints disappeared as she resumed her earlier action. Jay watched the act from a distance, baffled and a bit confused. The server did their best to continue about their business, questioning the whole time why she always dealt with the weird ones.

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After getting embarrassed by her brother and having a decent meal, attention turned to the game store Dragon had mentioned. It was rather bland compared to some of the ones the twins had visited previously, but what it lacked in flair it made up for in quantity. Much like with Jay’s earrings, Dragon found herself put in a trance as she examined cardboard box of cards after cardboard box of card. It took every ounce of her willpower to not immed open any sealed packs that were available. Cameron was sure she had drooled a little when she saw a copy of Black Lotus in a case, and far cheaper than anywhere online would list it.

He turned his attention away from the tables and shelves of playing cards to the shelves of games on the wall. It was not anywhere near as big a collection as the card games, but what was there waa either sought after or rare. Very few of the games were from current generations, but that was what made looking at each and every one of them fun. Cameron liked to believe he knew a lot more than most about games, and when he saw one he didn’t know he grew curious. It either ended with him buying the game or researching it more than any human needed.

Dragon couldn’t tell if Melissa was worse than him or not.

After some time and the buying of some packs of cards later, the siblings decided on a simple walk through the rest of the mall. It wasn’t long but Maria cherished the time with her brother. He could be insufferable at times, but she also knew he had been through nearly everything she had. There was no one she trusted or cared about more, which just made her even more sure that not telling him about Magral Knights was the right thing. He had protected her for long enough, and it was her time to protect him back.

He deserved to be protected more than her anyways, the useless waste of skin that she was.

“Guess this is where we part ways for the day?” He asked as they reached the mall’s main entrance.

“Yeah, for today,” Dragon replied, giving her brother a nod. “Thanks for being willing to do this. I’m sure things are busy for you right now.”

Before she could do anything to stop him, Cameron pulled her into a hug. At first,Dragon stood there in shock at the sudden hug, but then decided to return. When they pulled away, both had a giant grin on their faces.

“If you ever need to talk, I’ll try and make time,” Cameron reminded his sister. “Might not always be in person like this, but you got my number.”

“I will, don’t worry,” Dragon told him.

With that, she watched as Cameron walked out of the mall. He looked back for a moment, gave her a faux salute, and she did it back to him. A deep breath left her as he went into the cold, unforgiving Burlington winter. She wasn’t entirely sure if the decision she had decided on back at the restaurant was correct or not, but she wasn’t going back. There was only one way to protect her brother at that moment, and if it meant battle her sense of worthlessness she would do it.

She would become a Magral Knight for him alone.

“He seems nice,” Vee called from inside her backpack. “Bit of a jerk, like Meany, but in a better way.”

“That is just how brothers are,” Dragon said, walking over to a bench at the side of the mall and sitting down. She unzipped her backpack and pulled Vee out from inside. “It is their job to be a pain in the rear. Still can’t believe he humiliated me like that while having food.”

“Humiliated? But you seemed to be enjoying the pets,” Vee pointed out. Dragon let an annoyed grunt out, but didn’t deny the statement. “Honestly it is all a bit… weird to me. I didn’t expect dreamers to be so like the nightmares and dreams they make.”

Dragon tilted her head in both confusion and curiosity.

“There are lots of us living dreams and nightmares who see dreamers more as food than individuals. I won’t deny that, until yesterday, I had kind of thought the same,” Vee explained as it climbed from Dragon’s arms up onto her shoulder. “I knew you were more than food but I didn’t think it was necessary to understand more than that. Then I came down here, met you and your friends, learned what Melissa had gone through.” The doll plopped itself comfortably on its dreamer’s shoulder as it examined the various people going through the mall. “It puts into perspective how you form things like me, Bael, or Zarlaus. I see now why the Magral Knights were made, and not just how. I see what nightmares were so desperate to protect, now.”

Dragon decided to join in on Vee’s people watching. She saw families happily chatting together, kids sometimes running too far ahead and being called back by parents. She saw college students like herself joking and laughing, talking about one thing or another. Old couples, friends, lovers, and every other combination could be made out just by watching people pass by. Each had different thoughts, different personalities, and even if Dragon could only see a brief glimpse of it from her spot she knew exactly what Vee meant.

“I mean, there are a lot of things I don’t understand about you all, but what I see before me is clearly more than just food,” Vee said, gesturing to the area before them. “You’re just like us, and the idea of thinking of your kind as food is more sickening now than it was before. You mean a lot to me and I’ll do whatever is necessary to make sure you stay happy and alive.”

“Then I’ll do my best to meet your expectations,” Dragon said. She briefly eyes the tile floor before looking at the doll sitting on her shoulder. “Vee, I take back what I said yesterday. I can’t promise I’ll be a great Magral Knight, but I’ll do my best to fight for what is right.”

“Yes!” Vee cried out, pumping both arms into the air. Dragon had to hold in the urge to chuckle at the motion. “Then you get the next pin. Just remember that you got Meany on your side too. She’ll be a decent sacrifice for you if things go bad.”

That urge to chuckle vanished at the doll’s final sentence. She picked them up as she had earlier and promptly slammed them head first into the bench. She then lifted them in front of her face, Vee feeling a terrifying chill at the look of fury on its dreamer’s face. It hadn’t been like what it had seen back on the campus that day. It was the look of someone more than willing to beat someone to a pulp. All that anger was aimed directly at it, and Vee quickly realized it was lucky; Dragon wanted to do far, far worse.”

“Allow me to make something clear to you, Vee,” Dragon stated, her voice cold and emotionless. “If you ever, ever try to kill my friends, directly or not, I will personally rip each of your limbs off and shove them down your damn throat. If that doesn’t somehow kill you, I will personally find out how. Understood?”

“Y-yes,” the doll answered in fear. The look in its dreamer’s eyes made it clear that wasn’t an empty threat.

As if to try and get that point across further, Dragon opened back up her backpack and thrusted the doll in as hard as possible. It was only after zipping it back up that she thought about exactly what she had just threatened. She could feel her mother smirk in either approval or content, as if it justified a belief of theirs. Her heart sank, a phantom tail falling still as she considered whether to apologize to Vee or not. She shook her head after a little bit, justifying her actions behind the belief that it was the only way to keep her friends safe.

“We’re heading back,” Dragon told the doll. “I’m coming with Melli tonight to make sure you don’t do anything.”

Vee gave no reply, for they were too scared to speak