Whether from the amount smeared on the kid’s body or his small size, it took what felt like forever for the paralysis to fade. Thankfully, Peacock’s tongue hadn’t taken nearly as long.

One of the intruder’s limbs twitched, his leather jerkin scraping across the hard ground.

Peacock perked up.

More twitches came soon after, spreading across the kid’s body before the motions became more fluid and controlled.

Peacock shifted his body until it lay in the middle of the exit path. If the kid tried to bolt, he’d be ready.

Surprisingly, the kid didn’t. Back in control of his body, the intruder sat up and looked at Peacock with an amused expression on his face. “Looks like my gamble paid off.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You didn’t kill me. That means not all dragons have turned into murder hobos.” A toothy grin split his face. “Which means I won the bet!” His grin dropped away. “Too bad I can’t collect on it.”

Peacock frowned. He was getting more confused by the second. “A bet? That’s why you’re here, that’s why you spoke? To see if I’d kill you?” Peacock had certainly wanted to die in Zenith Flight’s cave many times, but to be so accepting of death for a bet was something he couldn’t understand.

“Yeah, sure, why not?” The kid shrugged, not a care on his round face. “This character is super new, anyway. If it died, no big deal. I’d just make another, then pick up where I left off. It honestly might be a better idea.”

Peacock’s tail thumped. The Rebirth’s cavalier attitude toward something as important as death rubbed him the wrong way.

The kid seemed to pick up on his irritation. He waved his arms in front of him. “Not my only idea, though! I figured if I was wrong about dragons, I’d be back at character creation. If I wasn’t, well, maybe I’d get a training buddy.”

“What?” Peacock’s tail stopped mid-thump.

“I saw you sneaking around. You’re pretty good at it, too, for being low level. Even lost sight of you once or twice.”

“You’ve been stalking me?” Peacock mentally kicked himself. Idiot. Of course you’re not the only Rebirth capable of stealth. He made a mental note to work on his awareness.

“Well… stalking’s such a harsh word, don’t you think? Really, I was just observing, er, admiring from a distance.” The intruder shook his head. “Man, that sounds even worse. Let’s start over.” He stuck out his hand and smiled. “Name’s Ferret, a Smallfolk, min-maxed level eight Thief. I’m looking to recruit someone into my merry band of ne’er-do-wells to steal from anyone with stuff worth stealing, and otherwise live this afterlife to the max.”

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Peacock raised an eye ridge. Ferret was certainly bold. His offer was intriguing, though. Peacock hadn’t considered how to get stronger beyond simply grinding xp off of mobs, but Ferret’s intrusion had shown him combat level was only a small part of a Rebirth’s power. If he wanted to best cheaters, perhaps he needed to min-max as well. Ferret could show him how.

Ferret’s smile grew strained as Peacock realized he’d gone silent and was now staring.

Peacock cleared his throat. “Uh, I’m Peacock, a level five Dragon.”

He wracked his brain for something to add but came up empty-handed. The only other interesting thing about him was his escape from Zenith Flight, and he didn’t see a need to talk about that just yet.

Peacock reached out a hand to shake and caught sight of the green gunk on his claws. He dropped his hand back down. “I don’t think shaking is a good idea right now.” He motioned toward the smeared rock. “I still have that stuff on my claws.”

Ferret yanked his hand back. “Good call. That stuff’s pretty potent.” His eyes lit up. “You could be the team’s poison master! You’re joining, right?”

“Oh, uh, I guess. Who else is on the team?”

Red creeped up Ferret’s face as he rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, if you join, that’d be… me and you.”

“Then, sure. I’ll join.” Just the two of them meant fewer unknowns and fewer risks. All the better.

“Fantastic!” Ferret stuck his hands in the air and did a little hop, reinforcing his child-like looks, and making Peacock wonder again how much a Rebirth’s character influenced their personality. “What should we train first? I saw a bunch of oblivious mobs on the way here. Of course, there are plants everywhere if you want to work on potions and poisons. There’s even a well-walked path not too far from here. We could work on our pickpocketing. Wait, do you know how to pickpocket?”

“Er… no.” Peacock couldn’t imagine most dragons deigning to pick someone’s pocket when all they had to do was kill them and take their stuff.

“Want to learn?” Ferret looked at Peacock with an impish look in his eyes.

Peacock frowned. “Maybe, but not yet. I’m not sure my stealth is all that great if you followed me all the way back here.”

“Nah, don’t let that get you down. I might only be level eight, but I’ve got the best stats I could build for a thief, and the best gear I could steal. Just because I could see you doesn’t mean a random dude on the path can. But….” Ferret eyed him up and down. “Better safe than sorry. You have a lot more bulk than me.”

Understatement of the century, Peacock thought. The Smallfolk’s puffy, dandelion-colored hair didn’t even reach Peacock’s shoulder.

“So, how about we practice on some mobs? Up our stealth, practice our sneak attacks, and get combat levels. Win-win-win, as far as I’m concerned.”

Peacock agreed. Before he had a chance to wonder how to form a team, Aisha sounded in his head.

FERRET SENT A TEAM REQUEST

ACCEPT?

Peacock took a deep breath. Fresh out of his cage, and here he was gambling on an unknown Rebirth’s intentions. He couldn’t decide if he was playing smart or insane. At least he was pretty sure he could eat the Smallfolk if push came to shove, assuming the kid was telling the truth about having no other friends. Or he could be totally walking into a trap. Yep, he’d definitely gone insane.