Chapter 172: Get-Together

The days passed peacefully.

Sometimes, Nir came to visit. Sometimes she didn’t. Zyl’s mother had recovered from her injuries, too. Fully transforming into a dragon did that, though she suffered from mana exhaustion for a few days as well, having emptied her entire pool.

Mana, after all, did partially come from the outside. It needed to be absorbed.

Then again, maybe made mercury a bit of a special case when it came to that.

Regardless of the cat’s need for mana, his need for sleep was clear. He slept for a long while each day, on Zyl’s lap, or his head, or simply chasing sunny spots around the house.

Zyl and him also had time for a picnic, once. Irrithuriel baked some sweets and bread for them, and they took it out to one of the few grassy spots around, where they had a little date. By the evening, Zyl lit a candle, by simply touching a finger to the wick. They spend a long time looking at the stars together.

A page passed that way, then another, and they decided to finally say their goodbyes to Irrithuriel. Winter was slowly coming to an end, the days getting a bit warmer again, though it still snowed on a few days. Mercury started to shed his thicker fur, anyway. Maybe his higher vitality stopped the cold from mattering as much.

Irrithuriel hugged both of them goodbye, and said they were welcome to visit anytime. Nir was there when the two of them declared it, and also hugged them. She said she looked forward to meeting them again, and that was that.

The snow witch still gave them each a gift. An earring, for Mercury, one which would help his mana circulation and make casting ice magic quite a bit easier, or so she said. It was a golden rim, with a snowy white gem set in the middle, in a diamond shape.

It also looked gorgeous on Mercury.

[: These earrings, made for a mopaaw, specifically, easily meld into the skin of their user. The gem is made from the scales of a white dragon, the overlords of snow and ice. It significantly increases the user’s intelligence (+40) and allows their study of ice to move along faster. It also smells of wood, reminding you of home.]

He smiled. Appy had added that last line, the little rascal.

[The individual has been confirmed to associate the smell of wood with a feeling of homeliness.]

Dang right he did. His first ever home was the log, which he still stayed in, then the guildhouse Kintra took him into, which was also an old, wooden building. Then perhaps the inn in Stormbraver, also wooden. If he didn’t think of it as homely, the token he used to remind himself of his home with Kintra wouldn’t be made of wood.

He smiled at the thought of the woman. Hopefully she was doing well.

Irrithuriel’s gift for Zyl was a scarf, long and flowing. Though it was malleable enough to turn into a thin armband, or even a hair tie, if needed. Zyl wore it as a headband for now, a silky white shifting mist wrapped over his head. If he wasn’t looking regal and mystical before, he sure was now.

Then they left. It wasn’t a long goodbye, but a sweet one. They promised they’d be back, in the same way one would their grandma.

Since Zyl was healthier, they decided to fly at least part of the way there, especially since Mercury didn’t at all mind being picked up by the dragon. Quite frankly, he rather enjoyed it, though he wouldn’t really ever say that out loud. Something about being held by his boyfriend.

And only a few days later, they arrived in Stormbraver.

- - -

It felt a bit surreal for Mercury, standing in front of the city gates again. The city had changed, quite drastically even. A lot of it seemed to have been rebuilt. More buildings were made of stone, but there were also still tents on the outside of the city, filled with noises of pain.

The dusting of snow covered burnt grass that was just on the verge of regrowing. Spring would wash away the trace of fire on nature. It would take much longer for the traces of fire on the people within the city to disappear.

With a little luck, they would have that time.

Still, the city was, clearly, recovering. The people looked determined, rather than miserable, for once, and even the healers didn’t seem desperate. A few of them even moved about without bags under their eyes! That’s how you knew society was doing better.

The guard eyed Zyl for a moment.

“License to enter and own a pet, sir,” he rattled off. Clearly, it wasn’t someone who knew Mercury.

Zyl eyed the mopaaw for a moment, trying to gauge if things would go well, but Mercury was in a good mood, for once.

“I’ll have you know I’m a seeker myself,” he said, levitating his license in front of the guard, the pink crystal hovering in the air.

At least their response was amicable. Instead of full-on shock, all they gave was a short flinch of surprise, then a nod. “All right, understood, sir. Thank you for correcting me. Could I still see your license, sir?” he asked, turning to Zyl.

“Of course,” the dragon said with a faint smile, handing over a similarly pink crystal.

Then, the guard’s eyes went wide. He dropped the license, but Zyl caught it. The guard simply stared at the dragon, tracking him out of the corner of his eyes.

“Is everything in order?” Zyl asked calmly, still maintaining a smile, which seemed to shake the guard out of his stupor.

“Ah yes, yes, sir. It’s… all in order. Please, uhm, refrain from using too much fire in the city, if it doesn’t bother you, sir.” He stammered the last bit, almost unsure whether to say it at all.

“Don’t worry, no harm will come to this city. This is my holiday, essentially. My lovely boyfriend has some friends here, you see?” Zyl’s smile grew wider, teasing the guard a bit.

“Y-yes, of course. Please, uhm, enjoy our stay?” The guard’s smile was crooked.

Zyl gave a quick nod. “We plan to, thank you! Have a pleasant day.”

And, with that, they were in the city.

The roads felt a little foreign to Mercury, things not being quite in the same place he remembered. It did make it a little more fun, exploring the city alongside Zyl.

“You think they’ll alert anyone to me being here?” the dragon asked quietly when they were on a busy street.

“Probably,” Mercury replied with a shrug. “But we’ll manage.”

Zyl smiled. “That we will.”

It really only took a few dozen more steps before someone approached them. An old lady, much older than most, her skin pale and flaky, her hair grey and sunbleached on top of that. Her expression was flat, though, and her face looked like it must’ve been half a decade since the last time she cracked a smile.

The people parted in front of her naturally, whispers running through the crowd.

“Good day,” she said, nodding at Zyl and Mercury when she stopped in front of them. “I am councilwoman Blake. Pleasure to meet you.” Her tone indicated that it was not, in fact, a pleasure.

Zyl gave a small bow, while Mercury simply stared. “It is a pleasure to meet you as well,” the dragon said, and Mercury remained silent. The old lady eyed him a little warily, but then decided to simply leave it at that and focus on the literal dragon in her city again.

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“Do you have a preferred way I should speak to you in public?” she asked.

“Just Zyl is fine,” he said, waving his hand.

“Well then, Zyl. Am I right in assuming you are who you say you are?” she asked again.

“You would be,” he nodded. “I am honest to a fault.”

“Then I do have to ask you to follow me for a bit, if you could.” Blake turned around and walked before the two of them even had a chance to reply. Zyl simply gave Mercury a defeated smile and a shrug, then began to follow. So did the mopaaw.

No one would stop them if they walked away, but really, they didn’t have to make the job of ordinary people harder by being annoying about it. Well, granted, Zyl was probably the one doing the whole chaos stuff, while Mercury was really just along for the ride, but that was fine.

At least now that he was with the councilwoman, the bunch of nasty looks he got from all the random people in the street seemed to matter much less. Most of them seemed to turn away. Blake seemed to shake off people’s gazes just like she pushed apart the crowd. Maybe that was why she was sent, rather than any other member of the council.

“Are the other council members also this old?” Mercury asked, not seeing any reason to hold back. He was practically enjoying diplomatic immunity here through Zyl, and he planned to use it, just a little. For some mischief only, of course.

“Yes,” Blake replied. She didn’t turn around. “None of us are exactly what you’d consider young. But with our age comes wisdom. As long as you retain a willingness to change.”

“What do you mean by that?” Mercury asked.

The woman turned around and gave him a glance, wearing what he’d consider a scowl. “Young people want to change. It is what they do. Old people refuse to change. They are fine with who they are. Grow older still and you have to learn to accept change for what it is, potential. You need to remain willing to change, but not have an extreme desire for it. That’s what keeps you alive.”

“I see, thank you,” Mercury said. He didn’t disagree with what she said, though back on Earth that hadn’t really been the case. Old people despised change, but maybe that was different here. “Do any of you have trouble with your memory?” he asked the council woman.

“Not that I’m aware,” she said.

“I see, thank you,” Mercury said. “So why are we following you, exactly?”

“Threat assessment,” Blake replied, giving him a deeper scowl. “We want to just ask why you’re here, to make sure”Just Zyl” doesn’t do anything that would put our citizens in danger.”

“I see, thank you,” Mercury said.

He tried to come up with other sensible, yet somewhat annoying questions, but eventually decided to drop it. The rest of their walk was spent in what one would probably consider tolerable silence. Not oppressive, but certainly not comfortable.

It helped that Zyl occasionally ran a hand through Mercury’s fur, in response to which he’d sometimes lightly lean his head against the other man’s legs.

After only a few minutes of walking, they were at the city hall, a tall building at the top of a hill. It had many attendants, and even more empty conference rooms, though one was already filled.

Zyl and Mercury walked in to see a few familiar faces.

On one of the seats sat Avery, leaned back, sunglasses over his eyes, hands folded on his stomach. He could have been asleep, but Mercury was very certain he was not. Behind him stood Marcel, tapping his foot nervously. The receptionist saw Mercury come in first, being the most stressed, and reacted first, his eyes widening slightly, before a chuckle rose up in his chest.

Another seat was occupied by Lucia, flanked, as always, by Iris. The attendant was holding hands with the priestess, he noted, smiling brightly at her. Lucia returned the smile. They were caught in the moment so much so that it took a few seconds for them to even turn to the door.

Still, there were more people Mercury knew. Gorm Gorm held one of the seats. Nira and Foss another, who received a nod from him. Esmeralda and Akuhl, representing the Tower. The raven haired woman flashed him a bright, curious, and worried smile, but he gave her a reassuring and mischievous wink, in response to which she rolled her eyes.

Bishop Nemo also stood in the room, though further back and looking out a window.

But the most unexpected person overall, to Mercury, was an older man, wearing a crow’s mask. His beard was still well-kempt, a mustache and goatee, though by now perhaps more salt than pepper. Mercury found it suited him in a stern teacher kind of way, while Avery’s slightly wilder goatee gave him a delinquent’s aura. It was an amusing thought.

The man in the bird mask slowly stood up from his seat. A hammer was strung to his side, with a large and thick head. He wore gloves and a thick coat. The bird’s mask he wore was pristine, a shiny black without a speck of dust, yet his eyes beneath it trembled.

“Mercury,” he whispered.

It was the first word that fell in the room.

Then, Marcel chuckled. Avery sat up and smiled, giving a wave. Iris and Lucia finally tore their eyes from each other, facing the door, and both grinned, seemingly amused by the absurdity of the situation. Bishop Nemo turned around, his eyes wide. There was a mix of shock and vicious glee on his face, but the traces soon wiped away to nothingness.

Yasashiku Ryuutesai, the man behind the mask, put his hands on the table, clenching the piece of wood. “Rainfall-kun,” he spoke again, loud enough to hear this time.

The mopaaw smiled. “Yeah, that’s me.”

He could see the veins bulging on the old man’s arms, and the wood creaked under the exertion. “You. You got some nerve, gaki.”

Mercury’s smile turned into a grin. “And you’re alive, old man.”

Yasashiku’s lips twisted upwards, though with the mask it looked like a cross between a snarl and a grin. He was probably feeling a very complicated mix of emotions right about now.

“Thanks to you. That makes you a terrifically good person and a terrifically poor student, you know that?” the old man asked.

“I do indeed. I look forward to learning more from you,” Mercury said.

“You have the nerve?!” Yasashiku’s grin turned wider.

Mercury gave a soft bow, lowering his head only a little. “If you’ll have me, sensei.”

Yasashiku put a hand to his face, his body shaking. He laughed, of course. There was no other reason for him to be shaking, and sniffling at all. He had his mouth open, locked in a smile, and laughed. “Kukukuku,” he laughed. “Alright, damn you! Alright!”

For a bit, silence fell in the room.

There were more people of the city council in there. Old people who would honestly pass as fossils in a museum, yet they were quite clearly sitting and breathing. Despite that, and the fact that the room was full of powerful people, all eyes were on Mercury. And more would yet be.

“Mercury. My man. My dude. My guy. You’re back. This the whole “business you still needed to take care of” done with?” Avery asked, leaning forward. There was a glint in his eyes the sunglasses couldn’t hide.

“Oh, yeah, definitely,” Mercury said, turning towards him. “I robbed a dragon’s greatest treasure and almost killed him, you know, nothing crazy.”

The room fell silent.

“That’s a true story, technically,” Zyl agreed, nodding sagely with his eyes closed and his hands clasped behind his back.

There was another long moment of silence, before Avery laughed out loud. “Kahahahaha! You’re absolutely mad, man! Who does that?! Kahaha! It’s good to have you back.”

“Sure is. Hope you haven’t been making too much work for our favourite panda, though, Avery?” Mercury asked, a teasing edge to his voice.

At that, the blood drained from the guild master’s face. Like a wraith whose name was called, Marcel suddenly found himself next to his boss’ ear. “Right,” the receptionist said. “Not. Too. Much. Work. Eh?”

The bags under his eyes were bordering on black holes at this point, and his voice was raspy, bordering vicious as it seemed to torment Avery. The guild master held his ears shut. “No! You cannot take me, vile spirit!”

Mercury shook his head disapprovingly. “Tsk, tsk, tsk, Avery. Dumping all your work on such a poor man. Don’t you know Marcel also needs breaks?”

“Also. Need. Breaks.” the wraith echoed.

“Fine, fine! I’ll give you the rest of the day off, geez!”

“Victory!” Marcel yelled, throwing his hands into the air, and blowing a kiss towards Mercury.

Lucia was just about to begin talking to the cat, when Blake cleared her throat. “As much as I’m glad you get to catch up, we are still holding an official meeting. I see that your companion knows some of the city’s more prominent figures, lord Friaminth?”

“He lived here for a while,” Zyl nodded. “Perhaps you don’t recognize him because of an evolution.”

“I doubt that,” the woman shook her head. “I must have simply not taken note. At any rate, we are here because of you, lord Friaminth. Why have you come to this city?”

“To accompany my boyfriend,” he said, running his hand through Mercury’s fur again. His hands were warm and comforting.

“And what do you plan to do during your stay?” the councilwoman interrogated.

“Eat food, drink water, sleep occasionally. Once every few days, at least,” Zyl replied, shrugging. Notably, he was still standing, not having been offered a seat.

“Right,” Blake said, scowling more heavily. “Any specific plans or reasons for coming to the city?”

Zyl turned to her, an annoyed glint in his eyes now. “My boyfriend lives here. These are his friends. I want to meet them and spend a nice time here. I believe I’ve been clear about this?”

Blake took a step back. She hardly even realized it at first, then looked down at her own legs as though they betrayed her. She steeled her gaze. The other members of the council remained silent, letting her take care of the talking. “Lord Friaminth,” she started slowly, hesitating,” of course we take no issue with you visiting. You must simply understand why we are careful-”

“Must I understand? May I not simply be tired of this charade? ‘What are you doing here lord Friaminth’, ‘what are your plans, lord Friaminth?’” he mockingly imitated. “I am sick of this charade. Tell me. You think I am a danger to your city and your people. I am not. I will remain peaceful and quiet like every other civilized person.”

By now, the council woman was quite pale. “Please, excuse us-”

Zyl waved his hand through the air. “You are excused. I am venting my frustrations, not threatening you with death. No harm shall come to your city from me. Not unjust one, at least. I will behave like a sensible being, is that alright with you?” He seemed annoyed, though Mercury could tell he was playing it up, it only took a slight amount of extra to make him seem truly bothered.

“... Yes, lord Friaminth,” Blake eventually replied with a faint bow.

“Thank you,” Zyl said, genuinely this time. “I will not cause you any trouble. Please refrain from treating me specially. I simply want to live with my partner, if that is quite alright.”

“We are relieved to hear it, lord Friaminth.”

He waved his hand again. “Good. You may leave.”

She did. No debate, no hesitation. All members of the city council simply stood up, pushed their chairs back into place, and walked out of the room.

Mercury looked at Zyl, then grinned. “You’re pretty hot when you get all bossy.”

The dragon blushed in reply, just in time for the door to slam shut. “Oh, stop it, you!”

Everyone at least chuckled. Except bishop Nemo. He was a little worried at the current constellation of the room.