Jonas stared interestedly through the glass window in front of him, muttering under his breath, "Now doesn't that look great?"

Looking through the small flap from the backpack, Sam nodded his head repeatedly, his mouth watering as they both stared at the decadent three-tiered cake before them. WIth white icing expertly spread across its sides and top, fresh strawberries placed evenly along its top, the cake practically shone from its position in the center of the display window, its perfection proudly overlooking the street they were on.

Silas was inside. While the grocery store did indeed sell cakes such as the one their interest was so invested in, the shop was more designed for selling important foodstuffs such as flour, fruits and vegetables, and of course meats.

It was a pleasant little shop in design, decorative cedar pillars supporting the overhang outside. A sign hanging just above the windowed door proclaimed "Farthington's General Purpose and Foodstuffs!" The last word trailed off to the side, scrunched up and shrunk to fit. It looked as though the lengthy title hadn't quite been taken into consideration when the sign was being built, but instead of detracting from the atmosphere, it made the shop feel homier. The panes of glass serving as the windows to the shop were cleanly polished and shone in the noonday sun.

Inside, Silas walked around without any clear objective in mind, picking up a glass jar of what appeared to be grape jam and setting it back down. Next, he walked up to a chunk of meat hanging from a hook, a flawless cylinder of frost floating through the air around it. Any type of magic could be expensive to hire, but ice mages paradoxically tended to be rather warm people - in this case, the shopowner had received an excellent discount for the perpetual spell. Mounted into a small niche beneath the meat, a glinting spark of charged crystal fueled the spell.

Picking up the cool paper tag next to the niche, Silas hooked it onto the provided open-ended ring of metal swinging from his other hand. The hook already had several tags on it, each one marked for a different item in the shop. He had a feeling that Sam would appreciate the sizable slab of meat - the dragon's pointed teeth looked like they'd been designed for tearing into the food, whether it was alive or dead.

Hook in hand and groceries selected, Silas made his way over to the counter, very deliberately attempting not to allow his cheeks to flush.

At the checkout, helping a customer out, was an aging woman. A pair of softened points marked her ears, poking out from behind her gently graying hair. Stray threads of hair sprang from her tight bun, framing her presently irritated expression. Her glittering blue eyes were squinted as she stared at the tags she was being handed. Aside from a green long-sleeved shirt and a flour-coated apron, the only other adornment she wore was a tarnished golden heart-shaped locket on a necklace.

She held up the customer's hook, tags whistling faintly as she swung it up to his face. "I keep telling you, we don't have six of these blankets! We've only got three!"

The customer, a hunch-backed goblin wearing hardened leather armor, frowned. Goblins tended to be both short and ugly, with each aspect in spades. This one was definitely short, but his forehead sloped upward powerfully, his shaved head decorated with inked tattoos. An iron shortsword was strapped to his back, a charged crystal dimly shining from the center of the hilt. He was barefoot, but his feet had enough calluses that shoes were probably a moot point for him. "Then why do yew have shix tagsh? We need deez blankets! Our broodmothers had a large badch recently!"

The elven cashier threw her hands wide. "I don't know why we have six tags! But are your gobbles really going to need this many blankets? They're woolen, and far from small - and besides, it's the middle of summer!"

"We're going to need all of the blanketsh we can resheive!"

The goblin tried to grab for the tags, but the cashier firmly removed three of the offending tags, putting them behind the counter, and then handed the hook back to the goblin, sighing. "Look... I'm genuinely sorry about this, but I can't give you blankets I don't have. Could I suggest some hot soup?"

With a disdainful snort, the goblin removed a pitifully small bag of coins from his waist, rifling through the currency inside. "No. Our shtews are far shuperior to your waddery broth."

She began to shake a finger at him, angrily exclaiming, "Now listen here, you little-" Her eyes flicked up past the goblin to the amused Silas, and her speech ground to a halt. A faint red flush crept up her pale cheeks as she stammered, "Y-you... little..." She blinked hard, looking back at the goblin. "Sorry, where was I?"

The goblin swiveled around and saw Silas, flinching in his surprise. "Whoa, where'd yew come from?"

Silas smiled at him. "Y'ello there, matey. D'ye mind tellin' me what's goin' on here?"

Squinting, the goblin shook his head. "Naw. I jusht need shome more blanketsh, and dis lady won't let me buy more."

Her attention snapping back to the goblin, the cashier argued exasperatedly, "I literally don't have any more!"

Silas cut in before the situation could escalate any further. "Now let's hold off for just a minute. If she doesn't have any blankets, she doesn't have any blankets. Tryin' ta make somethin' appear outta nowhere isn't gonna go anywhere, wouldn't you agree?"

The goblin's eyes narrowed, but he finally huffed, "Fine. I will shimply buy tree of dem."

Turning, he fished a few dozen silver coins out of the bag, along with some coppers, and dumped the pile on the counter. The tags glowed a dim purple, a thick obsidian writing quill behind the counter matching the color, and then the items in question floated over. The goblin folded the thick woolen blankets over one arm and turned around, leaving with a final growl. The bell over the door heralded his departure, and Silas turned to the cashier with a smile. "Now how're you doin', miss Kaide?"

Kaide sighed, leaning backward and running her hands through her frazzled hair. "Oh, Silas. I've been dealing with customers like that all day. You do understand, don't you?" She asked, looking at him with a worried expression. "I don't mean any ill will towards that goblin or his tribe. I'm just out of stock of those blankets. It's not as though we had very many in stock - who wants to buy wool blankets in the middle of summer!?"

Silas chuckled. "Him, apparently. Anyway, I just need some things and then I'll be on my way."

Kaide's face fell, but the expression lasted only a fraction of a second, giving way to a practiced smile. "I understand. Is there anything I can help you with?"

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Silas nodded easily, feeling a mild pang of disappointment in spite of himself. He'd kind of hoped she'd ask him to stay a little longer, but he was here for groceries. Nothing else, of course. "There actually is. I know it's a bit of a long shot askin' ye, but... d'you know what dragons eat?"

One pristine eyebrow crept up her forehead. "Dragons? Why in the world would you want to know what dragons eat?"

He paused for a moment, considering the potential consequences and weighing them against the advantages. He'd known Kaide for a long time. A very long time, actually. He trusted her more than pretty much anyone else in the town, and while he'd never admit it to himself, some part of him deep down knew he admired the elf as more than just a good friend.

Thinking about it like that, he realized, there wasn't any reason not to tell Kaide about Sam. If anything, she'd be able to provide some serious assistance.

Raising a hand, Silas asked, "Could you wait here fer just a few seconds?"

Exiting Farthington's and ignoring Kaide's confused expression, Silas turned to see Jonas in an animated (albeit one-sided) conversation about why purchasing the cake displayed in the window would be a good idea. He appeared to be presenting his argument to the window, though Silas knew it was addressed to Sam. "-sugar could be good fuel for ya. Why would Silas not wanna give you the nourishment you deser - oh." He saw Silas watching him with an eyebrow raised and grinned apologetically. "Uh, how much o' that did ya hear?"

Silas shook his head, dismissing the conversation. "It doesn't matter. Hey, Sam, how would you feel about gettin' introduced to one of my friends?"

Jonas' smirk was a devious one. "Oh, so Kaide's a 'friend', is she?"

Ignoring Jonas entirely, Silas lifted the flap of the backpack to check on Sam. The quirky dragon looked up at him, a hint of worry in his golden eyes. Releasing a hoarse whine, Sam gazed wide-eyed at Silas.

The older man chuckled. "Rest assured, little guy, she's someone you can trust. I've known her fer years."

Over his shoulder, Jonas said seriously, "All jokes aside, Kaide's prolly one of the most reliable people I know. She's helped me and ole' loverboy here out of a tough scrap or two."

"Or three," Silas added thoughtfully.

"Or four," Jonas agreed with a nod. "Point is, we're not gonna blame ya if ye don't wanna meet her. But you'd probably like her, and she'd probably like you."

Sam stared at the bottom of the backpack intensely, watching the stiff wooden board shoved into the bottom to increase stability. He seemed to really consider the request for a moment, before finally looking up and giving them a tentative nod.

Silas smiled faintly. "All righty then, let's go introduce you to an elf."

Sam's eyes shone as he suddenly perked up, his tail wiggling slightly as he tilted his head. Silas chuckled. "Heh. I take it ye haven't met an elf yet?"

Eagerly shaking his head, Sam began bouncing in place inside the backpack, and Jonas made a slight grunt of effort. "Hey, cool yer mouth back there, bud. I ain't half as young as I used ta be."

"You're not a quarter as young as you used to be."

Jonas glared at Silas. "Big talk comin' from Mister Snow-head."

Silas' eyes widened as he leaned back in mock disbelief. "Mister Snow-head? Is that all ya got, or are ye gettin' rusty with old age?"

Jonas strove for a comeback for a moment, and then growled under his breath, "Let's go meet your fiancé, shall we?" He brushed past the grinning Silas, resetting his hold on the backpack. After giving himself a short congratulations, Silas followed his friend back into the shop.

Nobody had come in since Silas' exit, and Kaide perked up upon seeing them. "Hey, Jonas! How are you doing, you bag of bones?"

Silas' smirk lit up the room just as much as Jonas' grimace darkened it. "Everybody's insultin' my age all of a sudden. What, have I got a target painted on my back or somethin'?" He glared at Silas. "If you try that, I'm gonna get revenge at a time when you least expect it, got it?"

Amused, Kaide asked, "All right, what's all this about? Why the secrecy?"

Surreptitiously, Silas checked the windows and then stood just next to Jonas, blocking any potential outside viewers from witnessing the inside events. Slinging the large backpack around, Jonas lifted the flap and carefully set it on the counter.

As Kaide began to lean forward, Sam poked his head out, sniffing at the air curiously. Kaide's eyes widened and she jumped back with a startled cry, and Sam yelped in response. Silas instantly hissed, "Kaide! Do ye trust us or not?"

The elf stared at Sam for a long moment, unblinking, and then finally relaxed, putting a hand to the bridge of her nose. "What does a dragon eat, eh? I should have guessed. This isn't going to end well - you both know that, right?"

Jonas shrugged. "Doesn't really matter, ta be honest. This here is Sam. He's had a similar experience as us, if ya catch my drift."

Kaide's suspicion turned into curiosity as she leaned forward. "So you're from..." She frowned for a moment, trying to remember the word. "Earth? It's called Earth, right?" Watching Jonas' nod, she turned back to Sam. "You're from Earth as well?"

Sam nodded cautiously, and she nodded, turning to Silas with a furrowed forehead. "I thought you said your world didn't have dragons."

Silas sighed. "It doesn't. I dunno how or why, but Sam here ended up a dragon. At least, that's what I think. That's what happened, right?" He addressed the question to Sam, who once again nodded.

Kaide patted Sam's head sympathetically. "I'm so sorry... that must have been difficult."

Sam's head drooped, and he made a quiet, sad chirp. Scratching him behind the ears, Jonas asked, "Hey, Kaide. You got some pretty good magic when it comes ta animals n' stuff. Any chance you could... I dunno, get him back to lookin' normal?"

Kaide immediately shook her head. "I'm sorry, but there's not a chance of that."

Wincing, Silas pleaded, "Are ye sure? Ya managed to make me and Jonas into horses that one time."

Jonas shivered, saying to no one in particular, "I hated that so much."

Not paying attention to him, Kaide answered, "I'm certain. It's one thing to create a temporary transfiguration spell - incredibly difficult by itself - but dragons are naturally resistant to magic. Unless it's their own, of course."

Cocking an eyebrow, Silas queried, "Any chance you could teach him how ta do that kind o' magic?"

Kaide briefly hesitated, but shook her head again. "Transfiguration takes years, if not decades, to learn. It's by far one of the most complicated magicks, right up there with time or dimensional manipulation. He could probably get the hang of it eventually, but I'm afraid I just don't have the time to do it. I'm genuinely sorry." She said the last part to Sam, her face expressing pure sympathy.

The dragon's head sagged, the nubs on his shoulders undulating as he slumped. Kaide winced, folding her hands on the counter. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

Silas sighed. "Yer all right. Goin' back to my original question, d'you know what dragons eat?"

With a more approachable question, Kaide nodded, her mind working quickly. "Of course. They'll eat pretty much anything, to be honest. They're fine with vegetables, fruits, and of course meats. Interestingly, they're the only species aside from slimes that I know of that are capable of also consuming elemental crystals."

Jonas raised an eyebrow. "Wait, what? Aren't those just rocks?"

Kaide shrugged. "I know many things about animals and magic in general. Dragons, however, are somewhat of a gray area for me. You could probably find a specialist, but your best bet would be looking for a reptilian beastkin - their knowledge of scale care and dietary supplements is unequaled. I know an excellent cobra snake-kin, but he lives in the Vulpeau Swamps. It'd be extraordinarily difficult to get a message to him."

Silas shrugged, giving her a weary smile. "That's all right, Kaide. Thanks for the advice regardless. We'll just be checkin' out this stuff, and then we'll be good to go."

Jonas poked at the hook, rifling through the tags. "Did you remember to grab the pudding?"

Silas shot a glare at him. "That's what's on yer mind right now? Pudding?"

Helpfully, Kaide interjected, "Actually, pudding would be a pretty good starting food for Sam here. As a rule, soft foods are recommended for younger creatures of any kind - it's a safe bet to assume that dragons are no different."

Jonas looked smug, and a slow grin crossed Silas' face. "Ya know what? Sure. Let's get some pudding. Just remember one thing."

Rubbing his hands together, Jonas asked off-handedly, "Sure, sure. What is it?"

Silas smirk stretched from ear to ear. "Sam gets all of it."

Jonas' face was priceless.