Indigo tossed themselves over the balcony and flew down below, her wings glittering in a sunbeam.

“Sure, what are your thoughts on lunch?” I asked loudly as I headed toward the stairs. “I’m leaning toward Chinese, or BBQ.” I turned toward the front of the space. An archway glowed on the far side, and the Cat sat in the middle of it. Indigo flew through just as I noticed it.

“Oh, what’s that?” I asked, walking forward slightly confused. As far as I knew, today was a day off, and the shop normally was pretty static during those times.

The Cat almost smiled, then turned and walked through the doorway, his tail flickering.

I hurried up and entered the warm glowing space.

“Surprise!”

A brightly lit room was filled with people, all wearing small birthday hats. The Cat and Indigo even had them on their heads, though they hadn’t been there moments before. A banner hung lopsided across the far wall with ‘Happy Birthday’ written in purple. Crystals flickered around the edges of the space, giving off a soft glow.

I contained my shock, but couldn’t keep the giant smile off my face. It was wonderful.

Lady Borsal and Lord Bennit were both there, along with Alas the leatherworker. Plus the Cat and Indigo. A giant cake sat in the center of a round table, along with plates and plates of food. Piles of Chinese takeout covered the table, with tall stacks of egg rolls and wontons. Plus spicy chicken and noodles.

“Happy Birthday,” said Lady Borsal, holding up a glitter-covered birthday hat for me to take.

I couldn’t help myself and put it on. It was a small hat, meant for a little kids’ party, but I said nothing. Everyone looked so proud of the surprise they’d pulled off. The little hat Indigo wore was way too big, but she clutched it as she chirped from the table.

“I guess lunch is taken care of,” I said with a smile.

“There is plenty of food,” agreed Lord Bennit. “So many clan members wanted to join, but I limited it just to us two.” He held out an empty plate, which I quickly took. Indigo chirped until I took a seat at the table, then everyone else sat down. Plates of food were passed around and I loaded my plate up. The Cat sat next to me on the table itself, with Alas on the other side. Lady Borsal helped Indigo plate up some food for themselves, while I put food on the Cat’s plate.

Alas spoke to Lord Bennit about something involving leather, while Indigo chirped at both Lady Borsal and me, who loaded Indigo’s plate up with protein.

The Cat was quiet.

Everyone dug into food, but the conversation kept up. Alas was working on a project for a warrior, Lady Borsal was explaining something about dragon magic to Indigo, and I just listened. Warmth washed through me looking around the table at everyone.

“Did you guess?” asked the Cat quietly.

“Not at all,” I whispered to him.

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He nodded and took a bite of an egg roll on his plate. “Good, I can still be sneaky after all.”

The spicy noodles made my eyes water, but they were perfect. “Of course you can be sneaky, you’re a Cat.”

The Cat focused on his plate, and Lord Bennit asked him a question. Alas seemed fascinated that the dragon could speak directly to the Cat without needing to go through me.

“How is that possible?”

Lord Bennit laughed. “The fates hold no control over dragons,” he explained, before eating an egg roll whole. “The Eldest of us swim through the leylines, and return to the tree when it is time.” His head bowed for a moment then straightened.

I listened in awe, not having read that either in any of the books I had been able to find about dragons. Maybe I’d have to figure out how to read more languages, so I could read some of the older books. The truly old-looking ones were definitely not in English. Everyone focused on food after that, and I quickly cleared my plate.

“So, do we eat cake, or do you open presents first?” asked Lady Borsal.

Everyone turned to look at me. “Well, how about we do presents first? Let lunch settle a bit before the sugar rush.”

She nodded her head, and then a pile of presents came into view. One moment, there was nothing there, and then three gifts appeared.

Indigo launched themselves at a badly wrapped one covered in tape and orange-colored paper. She carefully lifted it off the table and flew it in my direction. Yet, as she flew closer, one of her claws slipped and the present slipped, dropping toward the table. Lady Borsal’s hand shot out faster than I would have expected, if I hadn’t known she was a dragon, catching it.

Indigo chirped in panic.

“It’s alright, little one,” whispered Lady Borsal. She held the gift out to me, which I carefully picked up.

It was heavy, and through the paper I could feel how rough it was. Slowly, I peeled off the bright orange paper. The brightly colored dragon stone pulsed as I touched it. “The dragon stone?”

Indigo started talking faster than I could follow. Lord Bennit laughed along with Lady Borsal.

“What Indigo is trying to say,” said Lady Borsal. “Is that she helped create the magic in this gift. We helped a little, too, but the idea completely came from her.”

“What does it do?” I asked carefully.

Lady Borsal’s eyes flicked over to Lord Bennit. He took over. “It will teach you how to understand dragon tongue.”

Both the Cat and Alas gasped. The Lord glared at them both, and their mouths shut, though the Cat’s eyes were wide.

“You are kin of the Clan of Lore, it is only fitting you can speak with us all,” declared Lord Bennit.

I nodded slowly, my eyes focused on the pulsing stone. “How does it work?”

Lord Bennit smiled. It was a very dragon-like smile. Too many sharp teeth, but not in anger. Lady Borsal motioned for me to pull the stone toward my chest. “You need to accept the magic inside it,” she said. “It will take time to work. We don’t know how long…” She glanced at Indigo, who nodded. “The magic needs time to settle inside you.”

Indigo moved closer, not touching me, and she chirped twice.

I smiled at her. “This is an amazing present.” She nuzzled my arm then leaped back.

I pulled the stone closer to myself and tried to do what Lady Borsal said. The pulsing light felt warm through my t-shirt. Then it flared. Bright red, blue, then purple flashed in the stone before going dim. My chest filled with warmth, becoming almost hot, but it wasn’t painful. I had to blink several times to get rid of the spots left behind from the flashing.

The magic from the stone was gone. It felt cold in my hand, like it had been spent.

Lord Bennit held out his hand for it. I gave it to him. “Like Lady Borsal said, it will take time to settle in your body.” The stone vanished. “It might be weeks before you understand a word of what you hear.”

Soon, right? chirped Indigo.

I blinked at Indigo. Her soft voice had been inside my head.

Indigo leaped toward my arms, and I pulled her close. “It is an amazing gift,” I whispered. “Thank you.”

Smells like me! she chirped.