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Elf Empire [An Isekai kingdom building story]
Chapter Fifty-Three: Nesting Strategies

Chapter Fifty-Three: Nesting Strategies

After a heartfelt reunion, during which everybody was gratifyingly excited to see Leo not dead, the fleet sailed for Hywyl Pools. But they pulled over in the northern reaches of the Forest of Averia while still on the Blue River, outside the influence of the Calasti Tree Node.

When they had left Lakusi, they had done so under threat of attack, and all the fleeing elves and dragons—the ones who hadn’t just tried to fly away, or hadn’t been able to—had gotten on any nearby boat with no rhyme or reason. The fleet had been waiting out on the lake and had not really had a chance to organize after that, but once Leo had joined them and they had sailed away from the Havi Imperium, things had been different. Now, dragons who didn’t like each other were on the same boats, and some boats had far too many elves and some far too few refugees. Val and her lieutenants told Leo they needed to stop and reorganize.

The fleet had found a cove, and everyone was doing their best to ‘get sorted.’ The trees were a bit sparser here than the trees around Star Port, and the cove was oddly large and sandy for a river beach. Most of what was going on was just logistical, but all the dragons were briefly milling together on the beach. Including dragons who had once been very, very cruel to Hugh.

Leo was sitting on the beach and watching Hugh. He was nearby in case things went wrong on an emotional level for his best friend. But he felt very much an observer of someone else’s story and not the driver of the action, as he usually was—and he desperately hoped it stayed that way. He wouldn’t be needed if this went okay.

Three dragons approached Hugh where he was sunning himself in the sand with Zun next to him. After Leo had been fixed, they had taken the metal from Hugh, and it had been even more difficult and long and painful, and afterward, Hugh had drunk a barrel of alcohol—Leo still had no idea how or when he had gotten it—and tried to sleep it off. Leo knew his friend was still mentally and physically exhausted, though.

Hugh rolled over as the three dragons reached him and looked up at them. “Brother… Chad… Polly… what brings you guys here?”

Zun simply stared in their direction with her blind eyes. Leo knew that her telekinetic sight let her see in a three-hundred-and-sixty degree bubble no matter where her face was pointed, so he assumed she was doing it to unnerve them.

Leo had trouble telling the new dragons apart. All storm dragons had bronze scales, swept-back horns, and otherwise very typical ‘western dragon’ appearances to Leo. The only thing that usually differentiated them were their sizes, which varied hugely. In the ones he was dealing with now, the first was a lot smaller than the other two, and Leo was pretty sure it was Hugh’s brother. Leo also thought Polly had been the larger of the two bigger ones, so he mentally assigned names to them based on their sizes. Small was Hugh’s brother, medium was Chad, large was Polly.

Chad spoke. “Well, um, we… we wanted to thank you, Hugh.”

Hugh’s voice was somehow distant as he answered. “Your welcome. Glad I could help.”

The dragons shuffled in the sand awkwardly before Chad spoke again. “So, I also wanted to say we’re sorry. I know we pushed you around a lot when we thought you were weak, but you’re really strong—I can see that now. We wouldn’t have been so mean if we had known that.”

Leo laughed to himself at the most blatantly admitted bully philosophy he’d ever heard.

Neha popped into the space next to him and leaned her head on him, but Leo held his finger to his lips and pointed, and she glanced over at the dragons. She must have understood, despite not having been alive for most of the drama between Hugh and his once-friends, because her eyes widened and she nodded, simply settling against him.

Hugh glared at Chad. “So… it was okay to throw your tail around when you thought I was weak but not now that I’m strong?”

Chad hesitated for a moment, his eyes looking left and right. “Um… yeah?”

Hugh sighed. “You’re forgiven, Chad. Get out of here.”

Chad shuffled again in the sand. Leo was getting twitchy just watching him. “Well, I wanted to see if maybe… Well… um…”

Hugh sighed. “By Merdrek’s Teeth, Chad, lift your tail or get out of here.”

Does that idiom mean what I think it means? Beside him, Neha giggled almost uncontrollably.

Chad finished in a rush. “Well, I—we—wanted to come live with you and your human pet.”

Leo rolled his eyes. I’m the ‘pet’ now? I seem to remember you telling Hugh he was my pet, you jackanapes.

Hugh stood, showering all the dragons, including Zun, with sand. He also extended his wings, something he almost never did. Eleven-foot—maybe twelve-foot—Hugh, with wings extended, cut a massive profile.

“You can come live with me, Chad, you loon. I’m not going to naysay you that. But I would note that Leo is my best friend, as well as the king. You’d do well to show us both respect. If you can only respect strength, then, by Merdrek’s Teeth, heed this warning: Leo can kill you with ease. Like ending a baby deer. Easier than ending a baby deer.”

Chad backed up and lowered his head. “Okay, Hugh. You’ll get no trouble from me. Your mortal won’t, either. I get it.”

Hugh settled back down again. “What happened, anyway?”

Chad shuffled again, which was really starting to weird Leo out. “When I left the mountain I thought I would go find a lair, take out some mortals, grab their treasure… I found one of their caravans, and it looked like a fat target. It was even pulled by the juiciest cows. So I went to attack it. A bunch of humans, including some with levels, poured out. They hit me with darts that made me weak, then put me in a cage. It was a trap.”

“And you just fell for it, huh?” Hugh asked.

Chad nodded his head, his eyes downcast. Then he just slumped to the ground entirely. “It was… terrible. They flensed me, taking all my scales. They kept us in a field that prevented our magic from working, and did… worse things… when we didn’t do what they wanted. That’s why a few of us have no wings anymore.”

Leo noted that all of the three facing them still had wings, which told him how quickly they had acquiesced.

Tears leaked from Chad’s eyes, and his obvious horrible memories made Leo’s heart soften a bit as Chad continued to talk.

“I’m… I’m not the dragon I thought I was,” Chad said softly.

Hugh put his massive foreclaw onto Chad’s head, and Chad flinched. But Hugh was gentle. “You can be.”

Chad sighed. “Maybe… but can I still have the deal? Come live with you and get the deal your king talked about?”

“Well, you can’t live with us,” Zun said. “You’re a bit pathetic to join our actual cave. Maybe the cave over, though. You’ll still be near Hugh.”

“Yeah, that,” Chad said, at the same time Hugh said, “Hey, be nice.”

Zun rolled her milky, white eyes.

Hugh’s brother spoke. “Me, too?”

“Of course, brother.”

Hugh’s brother ducked his head, then gave Leo, who was still decently far away, the quick side-eye. “Your king won’t, um, turn me into armor, right?”

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Hugh gave a laugh, and it sounded a bit more like the old Hugh. “Of course not. He’ll forgive you, like he does almost everyone.”

Hugh sat down again, his familiar goofy grin coming over his face. “I’m glad you all changed your mind! Guys, It’ll be great! The beach, the river… the tavern. Man, I can’t wait to show you guys the dragon tavern especially! They seriously designed a part of an entire inn just so the dragons of Dragon Landing can have a place to drink alcohol. Have you guys had alcohol?”

Chad nodded and licked his lips, but Hugh’s brother shook his head.

“I can’t wait to tell you about all the cool things I’ve learned,” Hugh continued, “and all the cool things we have.”

Chad and Hugh’s brother had perked up rather noticeably at the return of Hugh’s ‘bro’ personality, but before the conversation could go any further, Polly finally spoke. “Hugh, um, can I talk to you… alone?”

“Those two can leave,” Zun said. “But I’ll stay.”

Polly turned to Zun and flashed her teeth. “Why do you get to stay?”

Zun floated into the air, hovering just above and in front of Polly. Multiple rocks flew to her and began circling her. People all up and down the beach exclaimed and pointed, and Chad and Hugh’s brother backed off.

Once, Zun had been small. But she had been leveling, and after the Connection and Capacity stats, she had mostly been picking Toughness. She was now nine feet long and looked very healthy for having only one wing and a busted foreleg. She was a dominating presence as she hovered over the other dragon.

Zun stared down at Polly. “Because, by Merdrek, you’re too weak to gainsay me. Care to try it, Polly? Am I the helpless loser cripple now?”

Polly shrank back. “Okay, um, no… I guess you’re not anymore.”

Then she glanced over at Hugh. “I’ll… talk to you later, okay?”

She turned and started down the beach, but a rock slammed forcefully into the ground in front of her, spraying sand to the sides and making a small crater. Polly whirled, wings extending and head out, hissing. Sparks started to gather in her throat.

Hugh slammed her to the ground, head facing away from Zun. “You freaking cat! You don’t attack Zun. Not now, not ever, by Merdrek’s Teeth.”

“I was leaving! She attacked me!”

Having a bunch of dragons around is going to be so much fun, Leo quipped to himself as Neha gasped and clutched him. Which felt like a normal thing for a twelve-year-old to do until Leo remembered she was Level Twenty-One.

Hugh released Polly, who scrabbled to her feet. Leo noted that she didn’t seem to have claws anymore. Maybe she had resisted a little?

“Why’d you attack Polly, Zun?” Hugh asked.

Zun faced Hugh, her mouth a vicious snarl. “I said she’d talk about it with both of us, and she just said she’d go against my wishes later. It was disrespectful, and I don’t have to take that anymore. Not by the rules she plays by, certainly.” She faced Polly again, and the rocks swirled closer to her. “Because I can kill you. Like a baby deer. With my mind.”

Polly backed down, lowering her head just as Chad had done. “Okay, I’m sorry. I’ll never talk about it to Hugh, okay?”

Hugh leaned over and whispered in Zun’s ear, and the blind dragon gave a sigh of long suffering. “Please just speak of it now, Polly.”

Polly was also quiet for a long time but finally said, “I’m sorry, but I don’t want to discuss it in front of other dragons.”

Zun, still floating, gave a single, mirthless laugh. “Let me guess. You’ve decided that Hugh is ‘worthy’ of you after all, and you’ll have his eggs, now, right? Chad can go do trees?”

Polly didn’t say anything, but Hugh raised his head. “Wait, really? Is that true, Polly?”

“I said I don’t want to talk about it in front of other dragons,” she said, her voice becoming slightly threatening again.

Zun sighed. “You know what? I trust Hugh to do the right thing. Hugh, I’m going to go help with the reorganization. Please come see me when you’re done.” She faced Chad and Hugh’s brother. “You two losers come help me too.”

Zun floated off, looking almost like a glitch in a video game to Leo as she held her body still while she just floated away from them. As she went, small rocks and detritus pushed at Chad and Hugh’s brother, and the two of them followed her.

As they were leaving, Polly muttered something quietly and Hugh laughed. “She’s actually really nice, I swear.”

Polly raised an eyebrow, and Leo had to agree with her. He didn’t really want to upset Zun, either. She had a hard edge, even if Leo completely understood why.

When the other dragons were well out of earshot, Hugh asked, “Is that true, Polly? You think I’m a worthy mate now?”

Polly walked up and gently rubbed her head along his side, perfectly nice. “Yes. You seem like an extremely ideal mate.”

Hugh took a half-step back. “But… why? You said all those horrible things to me before. About how I wasn’t worthy, and you would never want to be with a wingless lizard.”

“I was young and foolish then, and I couldn’t see the real you. But I’ve grown up, Hugh. I can see how amazing and strong and powerful you are. You would make a good mate, Hugh. So yeah, the cripple is right. I want to be your mate.”

“Don’t call her a ‘cripple’ please,” Hugh said, his voice distracted.

“Zun, then, was right.” Polly rubbed her head against him again. Hugh didn’t move back this time.

“I… I’m not a normal dragon, Polly,” Hugh said.

Before he could continue, she said something Leo couldn’t quite hear.

Hugh spoke to her again, lower as they were very close, and Leo cupped his ear to hear. “Thanks, but I don’t mean about being stronger. I mean about life choices. I don’t want to do the whole ‘I fly to a bunch of different dragonesses’ caves just because I’m strong’ thing that my dad did. I have only two dragon mates, but I live with both. I know it’s weird, but I’m going to help raise my children too. By Merdrek’s Teeth, I think the way dragons normally do things is kinda awful, actually. I mean, the elves are just like one person with one person, and I’m not going that far, but I do think that living with my mates and raising my children is a good innovation the mortals have.”

It was Polly’s turn to pull back, and she stared at him, her eyes wide. “Why? I mean, you’re awesome, and I think you’d make a good mate. But why all this other stuff? Isn’t having lots of hatchlings what you want?”

Hugh kicked sand. “Even when I first desired you, years ago, I secretly imagined we would live really close and I would see you a bunch. But I like my shared cave and shared hoard more, and… I really want to do things this way.”

“So you won’t be with me? Is that what you’re saying? You’d rather be with Zun now that she got all strong?” Polly sounded more flabbergasted than anything, and maybe a touch angry.

“No, it’s not that,” Hugh said, still pushing sand around with his claw. “I guess… I guess what I’m saying is that this dragon does things differently. If you want to be with me, and for us to have hatchlings, you’ll have to get Zun’s and Tea’s approval, and you’ll have to move into the cave with us, and you have to let me help raise the hatchlings, okay?”

Polly was still for a bit. “The other dragons will mock us, Hugh. That’s not the dragon way. We don’t share things, or live like mortals. We’re stronger than that. They do that stuff because they have to, because they are weak.”

Hugh snorted. “You would have been tortured in captivity forever if Leo hadn’t saved you, Polly, or maybe just been chopped up for parts. You’re a failed dragon, by the rules we used to live by. Try my lifestyle instead, huh? Good friends, beaches, cooked meats, alcohol and really cool mushrooms, tons of sex, and occasionally using your strength to fight for real things, things that matter. Allies with whom to combine your strength can keep you alive longer, to enjoy those things, as well.”

Leo laughed to himself. That sounded more like his own speech, a more reasoned argument than Hugh usually used—but with very distinctly Hugh values. He was rubbing off on his friend, but only to a degree.

Polly butted him. “And all I have to do is ask a weak and inferior dragon for permission, huh? No big deal.”

“Zun can kill you, Polly. Easily. She’s also a lot more, um, strident then I am. I wouldn’t say those things.”

“I meant Tea.” Polly shuddered. “I’m convinced about Zun.”

“Well, please don’t say that about Tea, either. I know she’s weaker in some ways, but it’s not her fault. I’m trying to make the relationships in Dragon Beach, or at least my relationships, not just be about strength. I know it makes sense to you to say those things, but I’ve been learning different ways, and people saying stuff like that about Tea makes me upset.”

Polly nodded. “Okay, Hugh. I won’t say those things.”

“You’ll try to get Tea and Zun to like you?” Hugh said hopefully. “I mean, even if you were really mean to me, I would still like to be with you. I’m probably an idiot, but I don’t care about that, either. I want what I want.”

Polly gave the weird smile dragons could give despite scaled lips. “We’ll see, Hugh. I’m a convert in so far as I want to be with you. But I don’t know about all this other bird stuff, like asking dragons I could beat up for permission or sharing a cave or having a male dragon raise hatchlings before they’re ready for a long speaker. That all seems… really weird. Blasphemous to Merdrek, and certainly pathetic in the eyes of the other dragons. But I’ll think about it, okay?”

Hugh butted her back. “Okay. Thanks for even considering it.”

“Thank you for rescuing me. Really. I… I’m really glad I was wrong about you. And glad you didn’t hate me so much for being wrong about you that you’d let me die.”

Hugh smiled and glanced over at Leo. “Rescuing people is what we do. Only the truly irredeemable need die, and everyone else gets a second chance. But Leo’s not big on third chances, and neither am I. I’m not trying to be mean, but whether or not you decide to be with me, please live by the rules while you’re here, okay? If you want to leave, that’s fine, but if you stay…”

Polly butted him again. “I’ll be good, Hugh, like I said. I’m convinced on your strength, and Zun’s, and Leo’s. No one will get trouble from me while I’m here, whatever I decide.”

“All right. Now, enough serious stuff. I need to tell you and Chad and everyone about all the amazing stuff…”