Angela decided she really liked having a younger sister. Jack meant the world to her, and he always would, but Em'brel was just so... cute! The fact that she had a mouth full of teeth that would make a shark envious, claws that could effortlessly eviscerate a man, and a musculature that already put Jack's adult body to shame were all minor details, hardly worthy of consideration.

Where S'haar was filled with careful restraint, her extraordinary strength visible just beneath the surface of every movement, Em'brel moved in a way that could only be described as dainty. Today she had gotten up early so that Angela could show her how to cook breakfast before the others awoke.

They were making a "sheepherder's breakfast." It consisted of eggs, cooked on top something called "hash browns," served on a foundation of the divine cut of meat called bacon. Em'brel didn't know what animal bacon came from, but she was going to find her world's closest equivalent no matter how long it took!

There were some initial complications in cracking the eggs without getting the shells mixed in with the hashbrowns, and the bacon was a little too singed in places, but overall the meal turned out rather well. Still, Em'brel swore to herself that her next attempt would be better.

Jack was the first one successfully tempted out of his room by the smells Angela had allowed to circulate into the bedrooms. He was a bit of a morning mess, stumbling out of the door while rubbing the sleep from his eyes, still adjusting to the light of the waking world. He was greeted by an excited wave from Em'brel. "Good morning Jack. I hope you slept well! Come get your breakfast before it gets cold!"

Running his hand through his hair in a habitual manner, Jack grumbled out his response. "It's not fair that someone could be this awake and cheerful this early in the morning! The sun probably hasn't even cleared the horizon yet!"

Angela chose to translate his greeting as, "He says good morning, and thank you for the food." While translating, she gave Jack a glare that told him that if he was smart, he'd greet breakfast in such a manner in the future.

S'haar wasn't far behind, coming out of the room with a spring in her step and a mouth salivating enough to make talk slightly more complicated than usual. Sitting down at the table, she took a moment to enjoy another deep breath before digging into her breakfast.

Jack watched her eat with a bit of amazement. "How is it you are both so energetic in the morning?"

S'haar replied with a mouth half full of food, unwilling to waste even a few precious moments of breakfast. "Angela helps out with that. When we are about to wake up, she raises the room temperature enough that it gives us something she calls a "jump start."

Em'brel sat down at her own place with her own serving. The first time Jack had served bacon, she'd dug in with the same enthusiasm S'haar had shown, but she was determined to show more restraint in the future. Picking up her knife and fork, she cut off a small portion and chewed it daintily like a lady should. Not that she had any problem with S'haar's way of doing things. As far as she was concerned, her two saviors could do no wrong; it just wasn't the way Em'brel was raised.

As she watched Em'brel, Angela was dancing in place with her fists waving about excitedly. "Oh my god, she's so adorable! Why didn't we get one earlier!"

S'haar pointed her recently emptied fork at Angela before speaking. Once again, her mouth was half full. "Sometimes I wonder if you aren't really a dragon, and instead of collecting metal, you collect people. We're not your pets, you know!"

Angela looked at her with an expression of overly exaggerated innocence, indicating she thought the exact opposite of what she was about to say. "Of course not! You, Jack, and Em'brel are complex individuals, and I'd never think of 'collecting' you!"

S'haar's eyes narrowed as she made her thoughts on Angela's statement clear. "Uh-huh..." Turning to Jack, she changed the subject. "So, what's today's plan?"

Jack had been watching the group's antics while slowly waking up, but now he realized he actually had to contribute to the conversation. "Well, we're going to need a lot of plant matter for the linen cloth. I saw some plants down by the lake, not far from here, that looked like they'd have the kind of fibers we're looking for. If we take the sled with us, we should be able to get enough for our immediate needs. It'll give you a good opportunity to get your arm stretched by using a range of movement while also not stressing the new muscle attachments too much."

Angela threw in her own two cents. "Meanwhile, I intend to test Em'brel to determine how much knowledge of math and science she already has."

Em'brel started to look nervous at the word "test," but Angela quickly assuaged her fears. "Don't worry, this isn't a pass or fail kind of test. I just want to find out where you're at, academically speaking, so I can set up a plan going forward."

S'haar spoke up. "You might also want to give her the same 'procedure' you gave to me so she can understand Jack."

At that, Angela looked a little uncomfortable. "Usually, in the case of a minor, elective surgery like this can't be performed without the consent of a parent or guardian. The risk is minimal, but it's something that will alter her in a way that can't be undone. I hesitate to do such a thing to simply avoid a little inconvenience."

S'haar sat back, ignoring her plate for the first time this morning. "Well, I'm not sure what Em'brel being young has to do with anything, but I'm as close to a 'guardian' as she's got at the moment, and I give you my 'consent.' Also, this isn't just about your convenience. As long as she can't understand the two of you when you are speaking your language, she's going to feel isolated. If you are really going to welcome her into your home for an extended period, it'll help her feel more connected to the group, which is something she needs right now."

Em'brel was following along as best she could and looked to Angela, her eyes full of a strange hunger. "Is that something you can do? You can just 'give me' your language?"

Angela looked at the young girl a moment before nodding. "Yes, although it's not perfect. Most words will just translate to whatever similar ideas you are already familiar with. However, if we say a word that you have no concept of, you'll still need an explanation."

Em'brel gave Angela the same formal bow she had initially used to introduce herself to Jack and S'haar. "Then, I humbly request you bestow this 'procedure' upon me."

Once again, Angela squealed her delight before answering. "Ok, you two win. After the testing, we'll look into the procedure this evening. For the record, you shouldn't use that cuteness of yours just to get what you want. In the future, I'd appreciate it if you were only this cute AFTER you got what you wanted."

-

S'haar and Jack walked along the lakefront, gathering bunches of the fibrous plant Jack had mentioned earlier and bundling them together. It was actually quite relaxing. Listening to the waves of the lake and enjoying the sights and sounds of nature. S'haar would occasionally point out plants or animals to explain a useful or peculiar aspect they had.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

Other times they simply walked and worked in comfortable silence. Neither felt the need to entertain or impress the other, both just enjoying the peace of the moment.

Jack found a groove that worked for him. Grab the plant near the base, twist it onto its side, wedge his knife into the bend, and cut it up and away. He'd do this six or seven times until he had a good handful, then pass it off to S'haar. She'd then work it into the current bunch she was tying together with twine before loading them onto the sled. With this pattern, the work was going quickly and smoothly.

Shortly after the fifth bundle was complete, S'haar took a moment to decide how best to bring up a subject that had been weighing on her mind. "I agree with your decision to bring more people in, but I wonder, have you thought through where this path will lead?"

Jack considered her words for a moment while he cut a few more plants. Grab twist cut, grab twist cut, his mind was far away from his hands. Handing S'aar another batch, Jack responded. "Well, I'm aware that we won't be able to hide the fact that there is no actual dragon forever if that's what you mean." Grab, twist cut. "Although I want to hold off on that reveal until we are a bit more established." Grab, twist, cut. "I imagine if I use the drill rig a few times, that ought to be enough to keep most of our visitors from sticking their noses too far into the cave." Grab, twist cut.

S'haar shook her head as she took the next handful of plants. "While that is something to keep in mind, that's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about further down the path. Up until now, you've just been the strange little man who's friends with a dragon and knows how to get a lot of metal."

S'haar took another handful and added it to her bunch before continuing. "That all changes once you set up housing and bring in workers. Now instead of a curiosity, you'll become a target and a competitor. Raiders and villages alike will see you as an opportunity to further their own agendas. You'll have to hire guards to protect the camp or align yourself with a village large enough to offer protection."

S'haar tilted her head as she continued. "While I have no doubt that you'd be able to easily find a patron village, you'd end up giving them a much larger share of your resources in return for their protection. On the other hand, if you hire your own guards, you'll need to worry about establishing the proper infrastructure to support the presence of guards and the workers."

S'haar realized it had been a while since Jack had handed her any plants and looked down to find him staring up at her open-mouthed, his knife hanging forgotten from his hand. He blinked a few times before speaking. "I... I hadn't considered any of that!"

Jack let himself fall from a kneeling position to a sitting one as the ramifications washed over him. He'd been so concerned with keeping the workers away from the ship that he'd failed to see the forest for the trees. This opened up a whole new world of complications. Politics, alliances, logistics, trading, the list went on and on.

Jack was so lost in thought that he hadn't even noticed S'haar crouch down next to him. Tilting her head to one side, she watched Jack a moment before interrupting his thoughts. "You know you've got time before you have to make any decisions."

Jack turned and looked at S'haar, his eyes latching onto hers as though looking for a lifeline. S'haar elaborated. "Winter is about to really get going, and you're the only one with the ability to travel or work during that time. You should have a couple months to work things out and make any final decisions."

Jack closed his eyes, took a breath, and nodded. "You're right, I have time, and for now, the most important thing is getting the workers up and running. This means I just need to proceed with my existing plans. But I'll need to think about this further."

Jack got back to his knees and started the process again. Grab, twist, cut. But where before the actions had seemed quick and efficient, they now seemed slow and deliberate, and his thoughts raced faster than his hands could match.

Grab. We probably can't get enough infrastructure set up in time, so we'll need an alliance. Twist. We've already established a reputation with S'haar's village, and a number of the villagers are at least passingly familiar with me. Cut. Ideally, we'll be able to break out on our own after we're established enough, but once he gets his claws in us, lord A'ngels won't let us go without a fight.

The two worked in silence once more, but it wasn't the comfortable silence from before. Now the silence only served to emphasize the fact that the task before Jack had just ballooned in complexity.

-

Em'brel was tightly holding onto her father's hand, trying to drag him back. "We can't leave! If we do, you'll die again!"

Her father looked down at her with regret in his eyes. "You know we have to. Without outside support, much of our village will not survive the winter. As my daughter, you have a duty to your people, and as your father, I wish for you to have a better life than watching our village slowly fade and crumble away."

Em'brel grabbed his hand tighter, closed her eyes, and pulled as hard as she could. As she did so, she felt her grip slip, and she collapsed onto the ground. Opening her eyes again, she saw her father on the ground, the warmth of life gone from his face, and Dol'jin stood over his body. Behind him waited countless raiders, stretching out to the horizon and beyond, leering at her as they reached forward.

Em'brel tried to scream, but no sound came out. She tried to run, but her feet kept slipping. She looked around for a place to hide, but everywhere she looked, there was another leering face. Em'brel collapsed as all hope was lost.

As Dol'jin reached for Em'brel, S'haar stood up behind him, but this time she was taller than Dol'jin, taller than any argu'n. She was a giant. When S'haar swung her sword, dozens of raiders fell like sheaves of grain.

As the raiders roared and surged forward, Jack appeared from the sky, riding on the back of a giant glowing dragon. Jack jumped and glided to the ground. Once there, he took an exaggerated breath, leaned forward, and blew flames onto the crowds of raiders, leaving nothing but ash in his wake.

The dragon landed softly beside Em'brel, wrapping itself protectively around her. Em'brel then reached out to the dragon, hugging its neck tightly to herself before noticing the dragon had Angela's face.

Safe in Angela's protective embrace, Em'brel closed her eyes and wept for her father a second time. Meanwhile, Angela bent down and whispered comforting words into her ear. "You're ok, it's all over. You did great. Now you just need to open your eyes."

As Em'brel opened her eyes, she saw Angela hovering right in front of her face. This time she was her usual sprite-sized self. Just off to the side stood an also normal-sized S'haar looking both concerned and relieved at the same time. A bit further and to the back stood Jack, looking like he wanted to come forward, but hesitating and rubbing his neck for some reason.

Em'brel reached up and wiped the tears away from her face. "Wha... What happened?"

Angela's face and voice were as soothing as she could make them while she explained. "What you just experienced is the side effect I warned you about, vivid dreaming. It's not a pleasant experience, but it's no more real than any other dream."

S'haar and Jack both looked a little concerned, but as Angela looked over a few floating words and numbers, her expression was more pleased. "Aside from some unsettling dreams, it looks like everything went smoothly. So the only question I have now is, do you understand me?"

Em'brel realized the last part was said in Angela and Jack's sing-song language, but she found that it now made perfect sense to her. "Yes... how can I understand what you're saying?"

Angela smiled with her elbows high and her hands behind her head. "We'll need to get a lot further into biology before any explanation I could offer would make any sense, but let's just say I've tricked your brain into thinking it has memories it doesn't actually have."

Em'brel lept toward Angela, intent on wrapping her in a hug but passed through the ship's avatar before landing on the ground on the other side. Everyone looked a bit startled before she sheepishly explained. "In my dream, I was able to hug you... I guess there's still some lingering memories..."

Jack chuckled before walking forward to give Em'brel a hand up. "Well, trying to give Angela a hug is a lot better than what S'haar did to me when she woke up from her own surgery, but that's a story for another time. How're you feeling?"

Realizing she could understand Jack without translation for the first time since meeting him, Em'brel wrapped him in another monster hug. This time, she remembered that he was more fragile than herself and managed to avoid giving Jack any new bruises. "I'm feeling much better, thank you!"

Jack had braced himself for another bone-crunching friendship assault. Realizing it wasn't coming this time, he relaxed and returned the embrace. "Glad to hear it, and welcome to the family."