Trout's Landing.

Ruby stretched with a contented sigh. She turned her head over to where Jeb slept beside her. Or where he was when she fell asleep. She sat up and looked around the dark underground room but he wasn't here either.

"Wonder where he went."

Oh well, she thought as she stretched a few stiff muscles before hopping up and collecting their eggs. As nice as it was to sleep with them, they needed more consistent warmth. So she sat them to the side, bundled up in the still warm blanket, and departed to secure a source of fire for their eggs.

Which wasn't all that hard, she realized as her dark vision faded as the blue glow from the torches up ahead illuminated the main gathering area for the burrows. She smiled as she saw the tribe return to something familiar that she missed seeing for a while.

Several tunnels branched off towards the other cabins and already kobolds came and went from them as they began to migrate away from the chill air above for the, still cool but more comfortable, air below. As they did she could see the collections they brought back and forth. Animals, alive and dressed, were being moved down here and out of the elements for better care. As well as an easier time keeping the ever gluttonous salamanders from sneaking another meal. Scraps and salvage collected from around the lodge or while out exploring being brought down and being traded or even used to furnish the space.

Bits of wood with simple carvings were lodged into the dirt along side scraps of metal or rock with soot, mud, or crushed flower pigment to paint symbols or words on them for decoration or directions. While it wasn't the bustling forum that they once had, it gladdened her to see her tribe returning to normalcy once again.

She shook away the distracting thoughts and set her sights on some scrap of wood nearby. She darted over to the vendor, deftly avoiding a section of the ground being dug up as the kobolds dug ever deeper as they sought to expand their burrows ever more. It was in their nature to dig and burrow. While they no longer had a draconic master to excavate massive caverns and tunnels for, she wouldn't be surprised if kobold tunnels ended up expanding far past the border of the lodge itself and going far into the wild where they knew nothing about save for what little Jeb has told them.

Eventually, even this gathering area will be abandoned as the tribe moved deeper down, putting as much dirt and rock between them and whatever threats laid above. The only thing that would remain would be an assortment of traps to keep any invaders wary of going deeper than the kobolds wanted. Even then, many of the tunnels that would lead deeper would be dead-ends meant to slow or hinder any invader. Some would even be traps in and of themselves, collapsing the "tunnel" on top of even the most cautious of invader or even just blocking their escape and leaving them to die before the kobolds eventually dug out their remains and collected their gear with no trouble.

She stood before the assortment of wood and looked over the scrap. Some of it was processed lumber that looked to be from the buildings above, most was collected bits of wood from the forest though. Which was fine, she didn't need anything too big. No bartering took place. She was a leader of the tribe and it was assumed whatever she wanted was for the good of the tribe.

Even starting a warming fire for her eggs was good enough for the tribe to skip bartering and simply give her what she needed. So she collected enough wood for a nice fire and returned to her home. She sorted it into the indent in the ground that Jeb had placed their eggs in before. It would be a good place to start a heating fire for them, she thought as she finished arranging them.

She left and collected some tinder made of dried moss and grass before looking around for some stone or flint to start the fire with. But no such luck. All the stone was deeply imbedded in the dirt or was too large. She once more returned to the gathering area in search of fire. Which she quickly found in the form of the glowing blue fire that Jeb had created for the kobolds.

She shuffled a little as she stared at the dancing flame. She knew Jeb didn't like the idea of the kobolds using the blue fire. He probably wouldn't like the idea of heating their eggs with it either. She should be worried as well, she thought. But she wasn't. Staring at the flame reminded her of the vision that The Crone showed her. Of her and Jeb within a ring of flaming blue orbs. They were happy. The tribe was happy.

"He'll understand." She said as she darted and collected a piece of wood to transfer a spark from a nearby torch.

Ember in hand, she rushed back to her home. She gently eased the flame towards the bundle of wood. She yipped in shock when the flame leapt from her temporary torch and engulfed the pile! Their room burst into dancing shadows as the flames danced from their new home. So pretty, she thought as she stared at the fire. She had seen it when she would come out of their room in the old building for a break. But it seemed so mesmerizing now that it was right in front of her.

She widened the indent in the ground a little so that the eggs could receive the warmth from the fire without being too close. They might be mildly resistant to fire, but not enough to throw their eggs in a fire! Then again, she thought with worry as she held her claw out at the fire. The warmth from it isn't as strong as a normal fire it seemed. Like it was contained.

She clicked her claws in worry. She didn't want to push them too close, but they wouldn't get enough heat if they remained where they were. It would only get worse as it got colder and the cold seeped into the ground. Maybe just a little closer, she thought as she nudged the eggs closer to the fire.

The flames sputtered at the movement of air, but nothing more. She held out her claw to gauge the temperature once again. But it still wasn't enough, she thought as she clicked her claws against a nearby stone in thought. She cast a glance towards the tunnel. She could maybe see if one of the others have something to make a proper fire, she thought.

She put a claw on the eggs.

"No. That'll take too long."

She looked worryingly at the tunnel as if Jeb would appear and lambast her for even thinking what she was. She held her breath and pushed the eggs forwards. Then more. Then even more. The flames sputtered and danced as the eggs were pushed closer and closer. She could only just feel the heat as she did so. Why did the fire seem so weak, she thought as she pushed the eggs right up beside the bundle of burning wood.

Yet the fire seemed to move around the eggs, like they were doing their best to avoid touching them. Even the heat from the fire seemed to be avoiding them! Ruby growled in frustration and pushed the eggs right into the fire!

"Can you just keep them warm?!"

The fire stilled and froze as the eggs were pushed into it. As if it didn't know what to do. Then the flame roared to life once again. The balefire caressed the onyx shells as it seemed to dance across the smooth black surface of the shells. As if a barrier broke, the heat from the flame radiated outwards now. Ruby could now feel the warmth from the fire where seconds ago she felt nothing.

Ruby blinked at the eldritch flame and moved her claw to touch her eggs. She instinctively pulled back as a tongue of balefire arced in her direction. She whined in worry at possibly making a terrible mistake. She held her breath and once more reached out to caress her eggs. She bit her tongue and shut her eyes when the fire arced towards her once more.

But she didn't feel pain. No burning sensation one would get when normally sticking an appendage into a roaring fire. Instead she felt a comforting warmth. Like she felt when close to Jeb as they slept together. She cracked open an eye and found the baleful flame caressing her claw. She experimented a little by pulling her claw back, feeling as the flame seemed to latch on like it didn't want her to leave, before snapping back to its "body". She pushed her claw into the fire, further this time, all the way up to her elbow. The fire latched onto her once again and flooded her with a comforting warmth that shot straight to her core!

She turned her claw upwards and pulled back once more. She watched as the flame held on as she did so, once more refusing to leave her scales. She watched as the flame snapped once again, but this time, it broke! Instead of snapping back towards its body, she now held a burning ball of balefire in her claw!

She couldn't do magic. There were few of the tribe that could before they fled to this world. The Chief was the last among them that had any ability to harness it. Yet here she was, holding a magical fire within her claw! She watched as the flame danced and twisted in her grasp. She sucked in a breath when she watched it start to diffuse INTO her scales! The flame lessened and lessened as if it were dying, but instead the fire seeped between the cracks of her scales. She could feel it racing through her body, flooding it once more with a wave of comforting warmth.

"Den Mother?" A voice asked from the tunnel nearby.

Ruby yelped in surprise and turned towards the voice. She saw the Chief standing there watching her with a curious and amazed expression on his snout.

"Having fun?"

"Chief!? I was-"

"Playing with fire?" The Chief asked playfully as he stared at the blue fire.

She shuffled nervously as he did so. Eventually he chuckled and she began to relax.

"It's alright Den Mother. You're not the only one that Master Jeb's flame as entranced among the tribe."

"Why do you think it acts so different from normal fire?" She asked.

The Chief shrugged.

"Who knows. Perhaps it is how magic works in this world. Perhaps it is something on Master Jeb's part. Perhaps it is because our former- Kortaza, was the Keeper of Flame."

"But we never had much protection from fire before. And not any way to manipulate it." Ruby said.

The Chief sighed.

"True. I truly do not know why it is so different than normal fire. Fire is alive, yes. But this one seems almost..."

"Living?" Ruby suggested.

"Yes. Like it has a mind of its own. Though I doubt that much, perhaps it merely follows the will of Master Jeb, knowingly or not on his part." The Chief continued as he walked closer and sat down beside Ruby and watched the eggs glimmer and shine within the fire where they remained quiet for some peaceful moments.

The Chief then perked up.

"Oh! Master Jeb returned!"

"He did?! Where is he?" Ruby asked and looked around expecting to see him coming down the tunnel.

"Well, he did return. Rushed around and collected an assortment of food, and then he vanished away again. Something about a trade?" The Chief explained a little unsure.

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

She frowned, wonder what he was trading, she thought. Though, with the eggs now taken care of, and Jeb away for a moment. Perhaps now was the time she could see about doing something special for him. She turned to the Chief, he was more knowledgeable when it came to humans and their customs.

"Chief?" She asked.

"Yes? What is it?" He asked at the tone of her voice.

"What do you know of this world's humans?"

"Oh? What would you like to know?" He asked a little excited in being able to use his collected knowledge.

"What do humans do with those they care about?" She asked a little uncertainly.

The Chief hummed in thought and tapped his claws.

"It depends. Humans are as diverse in this world as ours. Many customs I've read about belong to different groups."

"What about the tribe that Jeb belongs to?"

The Chief hummed once more in thought and got up before darting away while calling back.

"I will check! I'm sure I have something!"

While she waited, she continued to play with fire and tend to her eggs. Since they were in the flame, they didn't need quite so studious attention as they did before. She could probably just leave them and go tend to her normal duties and not have to worry about them anymore.

Who was she fooling, she thought. Even if there was a way to hatch and tend to the eggs completely without her, she'd still want to look after them. She thought she heard Jeb mentioning something about an "electrical egg incubator" once upon a time. Whatever that was.

The Chief returned, huffing from being out of breath and holding a thickly bound tome with pages of different sizes and colors poking out of the patched bindings. He placed the heavy tome on the ground with a huff.

"This is my collection of this world's customs and knowledge. If there is something that will assist you it will be in here somewhere!"

Ruby oohed and awed as the Chief flipped open the tome and leafed through page after page of information. Some were pages from magazines, others were snippets and clippings from books, there was a few pages that contained pressed cuttings of local flora as well as a collection of small animal bones among the bindings.

They stopped on a page that read MODERN COURTING FOR THE MODERN WOMAN in bold letters on a page that felt smooth to the touch. On the cover was a gorgeous human woman wearing a sleek beautiful dress and jewelry. Ruby pointed towards the page.

"Oh this one!"

They thumbed through the pages looking for information. Most neither one of them got as it talked about stuff like make-up, libido, popular fashion, and other things that they didn't either understand or see the appeal of. Then they found a page that described how a modern woman should act. Though this seemed to confuse the both of them even more.

"Be 'dem-or' and assertive? What does 'dem-or' mean?" Ruby asked the Chief.

"I'm not sure. There are many words within that don't seem to fit." He explained.

A pattern they soon found to be common among the pages of information, much of the words would make sense but spread out among them were these spots of words that seemed just out of place. What they COULD understand still didn't make any sense either.

"Be soft yet firm? How does that work?" The Chief asked.

"If you like a potential mate why make him keep trying to win your heart?" Ruby asked equally confused.

"Modern" humans were just as confusing to them it seemed. However, among the pages of contradictory information, they were able to get SOMETHING of value! Humans like gifts. Though they both knew that and didn't really feel like these pages of "modern courting" did anything more than confuse them.

"What kind of gifts?" The Chief asked as he and Ruby tried to decipher the mess of flowery wording and nonsense.

"Jewelry, clothes, food." Ruby read off as they got the general gist of the overly convoluted wording. The pictures helped more though.

"Well! At least we found something... I think?" The Chief declared at least with a little uncertainty.

"Why did you collect all this?" Ruby asked.

"It was in a book, so I thought it was important. But it would seem that not everything in this world's books are worth keeping." The Chief stated before retrieving the tome and departing.

"Where are you going?"

"To go through my collection. It would seem that some of it is not as important as I first thought." He called out as he left.

She could hear him mumbling to himself and heard the occasional tearing as he did. Well, at least they found something, she thought as she turned towards the eggs once more. She placed a claw on the onyx shells and felt the comforting warmth of the fire as well as the warmth of the eggs. They'll be fine for now, she thought as she got up and left.

"Jewelry, clothes, and food." Ruby murmured as she went down the tunnel once again.

He was getting low on clothes, she thought. But there wasn't much around here to make some with. Though perhaps some animal hides would work? But much of what they've collected was too small for clothes of Jeb's size. Getting him food seemed redundant too. He could make his own food whenever he wished. Which left jewelry.

It was the better of the options, but they didn't have much in the way of jewelry either. No raids means no loot and the piles of treasure back in their former home wasn't exactly a priority at the time of their exodus. But then she spied the copper wire the kobolds had collected while scavenging. A copper band would be nice, she thought as she was given the piece of wiring from the scavenger.

But what else, she thought as she looked around some more. The pictures in the magazine showed jewelry that glittered with gold and diamonds and so much more that they no longer had. Nothing around here could compare, she thought dejectedly. But then she saw a group of kobolds coming down a tunnel with a collection of shells and waterlogged timber.

"What is this?" She asked them.

"Salvage from the camps up river." The kobold replied as he and the others began to sift and sort the mess.

She watched as they distributed everything they collected to the tribe that came over. Some took the waterlogged wood, others took polished stones, and others took the collection of shells. She eyed the shells. Back home, alot of the fishfolk in the rivers and around the sea collected pearls from the water. Perhaps the ones upriver also had some?

She followed after the group of kobolds that had collected the shells and assisted them in opening a few. Mussels were what was mainly here, no surprise though since it seemed they were far from this world's ocean. What was a surprise was how many pearls they actually managed to find among the mussels!

It was rare for the kobolds to find one during their fishing trips by the sea. Even among the rivers pearls were not much more common. So it surprised them that several mussels had multiple pearls within them! She was going to actually barter for potentially the single one they found, but with there being so many the shuckers didn't mind at all and gave Ruby a small handful for her project.

They weren't all that big, but that was fine by her. They'd do for what she had in mind. She borrowed a small thin metal needle from a scavenger and retreated back to her room. Copper wire and freshwater pearls in claw.

-----

Well, that's taken care of, Jeb thought as he appeared in the open air of the lodge. He flicked the gold and garnet band into the air and got it with a spring in his step and a tune on his lips as he made his way over to the Trap Master who stood near the river where he received reports from the salvagers.

"How's things?" He asked when he got close.

"Good. Strange. But good." The Trap Master stated as he dismissed the salvagers.

"How so?"

"The 'murlocs' you called them? Haven't returned to their former homes." He explained.

"And? Wasn't that kinda the point?"

"It was. But there isn't any sign of anything else other than birds flocking to the area."

"Again, wasn't that the point?"

"Only if something worse didn't move in." The Trap Master explained further.

Jeb groaned.

"What moved in?"

"Nothing."

"Nothin'?"

"That we can see. No new tracks, no scents, nothing."

"So what's the problem?"

"The problem is that much carrion should've drawn every scavenger and hungry animal for miles."

"But it hasn't." Jeb finished.

"No. The birds infest the area but largely leave us alone. Though some get a little territorial over their spots of carrion. But nothing else has moved into the area."

Jeb groaned again.

"So what do you wanna do?"

"Nothing."

"Really?" Jeb asked in surprise.

"Yes. If the other animals and creatures nearby are giving the place a wide berth then we'll exploit it as long as we can. We'll send some scouts to keep an eye on the place though."

"Perhaps the smell of death is what's doin' it?" Jeb suggested.

"Maybe. Would explain the large number of birds. But nothing else?"

"Yeah, you're right. Well let me know if you need help with it." Jeb said.

"Will do."

"Oh! Before I forget, I made a trade agreement with the dwarves."

The Trap Master cocked a scaled brow.

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Food for tools. We'll need to set aside five crates twice a week, but we'll get some decent tools to help speed up excavation." Jeb explained.

The Trap Master tapped his claws against his scales in thought.

"That's doable."

"You sure? Cuz I'm more than happy to do it all myself." Jeb said and conjured an apple to make his point.

"No. The tools are for us, we should assist. Besides, we gathered more for our former master. Five crates twice a week will be easy enough to do." The Trap Master stated in a relaxed tone.

"Alright, if you're certain." Jeb said.

"I am. We'll let you know if anything changes." The Trap Master replied.

"Alright, have it your way." Jeb returned and departed while tossing the conjured apple towards the lazing salamanders nearby.

Jeb ported down to the main gathering area. The place was just as busy as when he left as the kobolds went about their duties and tasks with vigor and joy that he's only really seen when they were staying in his basement. Guess he was the one living in their basement now, he thought with a chuckle.

He played with the gold and garnet band as he shuffled nervously. Wasn't sure why he was so nervous, he thought. She already had his kids, kinda, sorta. They were already living together. This would just be the natural progression of things. Kinda, sorta. He heaved in a big gulp of air to steady his nerves.

"Alright. Quite procrastinatin' Jeb." He muttered to himself and started down the tunnel towards his home.

He stopped when his boot stepped on something different. He looked down and picked up a magazine page.

"Modern courtin' for the modern woman? Where the hell did this come from?"

Probably Sammy's, Jeb thought as he tossed aside the girly garbage. Not sure what it was doing out here though. Maybe she brought it for Thanksgiving and forgot it? Or maybe the kobolds swiped it when they raided her hairspray? Or maybe she just left it among his other articles one of the times she and his pa would go over to his place.

"Oh well." He said as he continued on.

He could hear humming as he got closer, and saw a familiar pale blue light. He walked into his room and saw Ruby humming as she tinkered with something. Nearby was their eggs, sitting in the balefire. He should've panicked. He should've dropped everything and ran over trying to save his kids. That's what a father would do right?

But he didn't have that gut wrenching feeling of seeing your kids in danger he thought he would. Still, he walked over beside Ruby. She yelped in surprise and fumbled with what she was working on as Jeb reached out a hand and touched their onyx colored eggs.

"Jeb?! I was- They were-" Ruby tried to explain while also trying to gather her things.

"It's alright." Jeb said.

"It is?" She asked with concern.

"Yeah. They're not hot." He said as he stroked the shells through the fire that did nothing to him.

"Are you sure?" She asked with worry and concern.

"Yeah. Doubt it'll do anythin' more to 'em." Jeb said with a bit more bitterness in his voice than he wanted there to be.

He saw Ruby's face fall at his words. Nice job dickhead, Jeb thought to himself. He sighed and turned towards Ruby.

"I'm sorry. I'm just nervous 'bout everythin' happenin'."

"I'm nervous too." She stated and leaned into him for a hug, which he eagerly returned.

They held each other for a long moment before Ruby perked up and scrambled away.

"Hold on! Don't look!"

"Look at what?" Jeb asked with a cocked brow as he did his best to hide his own gift.

"I said don't look!" She chided.

"Alright!" He said with a laugh.

He turned away as he heard her grumbling and fumbling with whatever she was working on when he walked in on her. While he waited, he stretched out his hand and caressed their eggs. Please don't get any weirder, he pleaded mentally while he waited.

"Ok! You can look now!" Ruby called at last.

Jeb turned back around and saw Ruby holding a ring towards him. It was some braided copper wire with a couple of small pearls threaded on. She held it up to him.

"What do you think?"

Wait, was this a gift or was she asking him to marry her, Jeb thought. He had to say something though, the look of confusion on his face was making Ruby sad.

"I love it! What's it for exactly?"

"Well, I'm courting you!" She said as Jeb accepted the copper and pearl braided band.

"Courtin' me? What does that-" Jeb started when he noticed a rustle from his left boot.

He looked down and pulled off a piece of paper that had stuck to it. MODERN COURTING FOR THE MODERN WOMAN, it said in bold on the paper. He turned it around towards Ruby.

"Did you read this?"

She shuffled.

"Yes? I wasn't sure how you court a human in this world! But the words were confusing and didn't make any sense and- why are you laughing?"

"I'm laughin' because this is trash! None of the stuff in here is how you should court someone!" Jeb said with a laugh.

"But it says-" Ruby started when Jeb tossed the magazine paper into the nearby fire, which ate it instantly.

"It's just somethin' that girls read to pass the time. Nothin' in there is worth the paper it's printed on." Jeb declared.

"Oh. So?" Ruby asked dejectedly as she gestured to the ring she made for Jeb.

"This is just fine. Though do you know what it means to get a ring for someone?" Jeb asked.

"That they love one another?" Ruby said a little unsure now.

"Yeah. I guess it does. But the act of givin' someone you love a ring is a symbol that you want to be together." Jeb explained and produced his own gift for Ruby.

Her eyes went wide as she grasped the gold and garnet band.

"But we're already together."

"Yeah. We are."

"So what does the rings mean?" Ruby asked as she examined the band.

"Well, it's more religious really."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. It's supposed to mean... somethin'." Jeb started as he realized he didn't entirely recall what the meaning of the ring was supposed to mean.

"Mean what?" Ruby pressed as she tried to fit the band on her arm and then her tail.

"Well. It generally means being together forever."

"But why the ring?"

"It means a sort of exclusivity for folk." Jeb explained.

"Why? What about the rest of the tribe? Does that mean you won't help them?" She asked.

"No! I can, or will, or... this is harder than I thought it'd be." Jeb said with a sigh.

Ruby cocked a brow as well.

"So what happens?"

"Well, we exchange rings and promise to love one another forever. In sickness and health and yada yada. Then we're husband and wife." Jeb explained.

"Why? We're already mates and we love one another. What does our health have to do with it? And what is a 'husband and wife'?"

"Well... You know what? Forget it. Do you promise to love me?"

"Yes! Do you?"

"Yup!"

"Yay!" Ruby cried and hugged Jeb.

"And I now pronounce you man and wife." Jeb muttered as he kissed Ruby.

Ruby giggled and pulled away.

"So what happens now?"

"Now... I don't know. Usually there would also be paper work, but given... us, it prob'bly wouldn't matter."

"So what changes?" Ruby asked as she affixed the gold and garnet band to one of her horns with a smile.

"Uhm... nothin'? We're already together, we already live together, we already have kids... kinda." Jeb listed off.

"So what's the rings supposed to mean?"

"It means... I love you." Jeb replied at last, giving up on trying to explain something he himself wasn't entirely informed of.

"I love you too!" Ruby cried and kissed him.

He returned the kiss. Not like this would've been an official wedding anyway, Jeb thought. They don't exactly have a licensed priest to officiate it. Or witnesses. He doubt their still shelled eggs would count. He could ask the Chief to oversee it. But he already got a headache trying to explain marriage to Ruby, he didn't really want to explain it to the Chief, or any other kobolds that might be interested.

Not like it made anything different, Jeb thought. Ruby was right. They loved one another. They lived together. They had kids together. For all intents and purposes, they were mates. Sure if he was particularly religious he could insist on going to a church and doing things official. But given how things have turned out for them lately, he wouldn't be surprised if he burst into flames stepping inside a church.

Well, there was ONE tradition that they could still do, Jeb thought with a smirk as he picked up Ruby bridal style.

"Wanna consummate our marriage?"

"What does that mean?" She asked.

"Don't worry. You'll like it." Jeb said as he led her over to their moss bed.