Alfonse lay on his side with his legs stretched out and his tummy exposed. As a behemoth bear, he lived a carefree life of luxury. No creature could contest his position as the apex predator within the region. Occasionally, silver dragons would fly overhead, startling him with their presence, but they always left him alone. In fact, they didn’t hunt anything. Alfonse suspected they were herbivorous. So, when the ocean-blue dragon flew overhead, Alfonse thought nothing of it. Why would a creature that ate plants bother him?

Unfortunately for Alfonse, his worldview was turned on its head. The blue dragon swooped down and grabbed him with its claws. Alfonse had always thought he was big, but it was only when he was being lifted by the dragon’s front claws did he realize how small he actually was. The dragons only appeared tiny because they flew so far up in the sky, but up close, Alfonse was terrified by their size. Was he going to be eaten? Was this how it felt like to be a salmon in his paw?

“You’re not eating it?” a voice asked from above the blue dragon’s head. “When you hunt, you kill things immediately before consuming them. I’ve seen you do it before.”

“I’m not,” the blue dragon said. When it opened its mouth, Alfonse could see the rows of teeth capable of tearing him apart with little resistance.

“Then what are you doing?” the voice from atop the dragon’s head asked.

“I’m bringing back the polar bears.”

“Huh?”

Alfonse tuned out the noise, focusing more of his attention onto the ground. He never realized how small mountains could look when compared to his paws when he was this far above the ground. If he fell, there was no doubt about what would happen to him. He’d be like a salmon tossed against a rock: dead! The worst part was knowing he couldn’t do anything to save himself. If he fought against the dragon, forced it to drop him, he’d die. If he didn’t do anything to the dragon, it’d eat him, and he’d die. There was only one choice. Alfonse relaxed his body and closed his eyes. He’d pretend to be dead.

Alfonse had no idea how much time had passed. However, he was quite surprised when his feet touched the ground—although he made sure not to show any reactions. He opened one eye a tiny bit. Everything around him was white. Snow? A dragon’s golden eye suddenly came into view, and Alfonse shut his eyelid in a heartbeat. Did it see him? Did it realize he was still alive? After a few gut-wrenching moments, there was the sound of wings beating against the air. Alfonse waited, and after a few minutes, he opened his eyes. The dragon was gone! …But where was he? All around him, there was nothing but an endless expanse of white.

***

Ramon exhaled in an exaggerated manner. “Are we there yet?” he asked, dragging out his words. From the expressions of the dragons around him, it was clear this wasn’t the first time he had asked such a question.

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“Yes, we’re here.”

Ramon’s eyes lit up, and his posture corrected itself. “We’re there? Really?”

“Yes,” Leila said again. She gestured towards the ground, which was covered in snow. If one looked close enough, there was the outline of a cave entrance leading into the ground. “This is your grandmother’s home.”

“It looks dinky.”

“Don’t let her hear you say that,” Grimmy said with a chuckle. He angled his head downwards and plummeted towards the ground. Leila and the two baby dragons followed him, and the family of four landed in front of the cave. On top of Grimmy’s head, Lindyss wrapped her cloak around herself even tighter. It wasn’t to keep warm; rather, she was hiding her face to prevent Kondra from recognizing her.

“Hello,” Leila called out into the cave entrance. “It’s Leila, anyone home? I brought back grandbabies.”

There was the sound of shattering ice, and it was soon followed by loud thumps. Kondra practically charged out of the cave and almost crashed into Grimmy. The holy dragon’s eyes landed on Ramon, who was standing in front of Leila. Kondra lunged forward and grabbed the baby dragon, picking him up by the back of his neck. “Ooh, aren’t you just the cutest and sweetest little thing!”

“Hey! Let go of me!” Ramon struggled and squirmed. He roared and scratched at Kondra’s legs, forcing her to drop him. “Crazy woman! What’s wrong with you!?”

Kondra’s eyes narrowed into slits, and silvery wisps of light leaked out of the corners of her mouth. “What did you say?”

“Mom, he’s just a baby,” Leila said, stepping in front of her mother.

“A baby that deserves to be taught a lesson!” Kondra said and snorted. Her mouth stopped leaking silver light. “Haven’t you taught him any manners?” She glared at Grimmy. “I knew you’d be a bad influence on my grandchildren.”

Leila exhaled. “Children, greet your grandmother properly.”

Ramon grumbled and muttered, “Hi, Grandma.”

“H-hello,” a small voice said. Gloria’s head poked out from behind Grimmy’s hind legs, and she gave Kondra a small wave with her front paw.

Kondra’s eyes lit up. “There’s two of them?” She crept forward and pressed her head against the ground to make eye contact with Gloria. “Hello there, what’s your name?”

“G-Gloria.”

Ramon snorted and rushed over to his sister. He shoved her out of the way. “I’m Ramon.”

A silver claw smacked down on Ramon’s head, forcing his mouth into the snow. “Don’t shove your sister like that!” Kondra said with a growl.

“Ow!” Ramon clutched his head and glared up at Kondra with tears in his eyes. “You hit me!”

“And I’ll hit you again if you keep bullying your sister!”

Ramon furrowed his brow and stared up at Grimmy. “Papa, she hit me!”

Grimmy shrugged. “Her house, her rules.”

Ramon’s jaw dropped open. He didn’t bother to close it as his head swiveled, his gaze landing on Leila. “Mama!”

Leila’s eyes glowed, and she tapped Ramon’s head. “There. You’re all better now.”

Ramon blinked. “But…, but…, she hit me….”

Before Leila could respond, a rumbling sound rang out of the cave entrance. “Run! Run! Everyone out!” a feminine voice shouted. Three male dragons dashed out of the cave, and behind them, a fourth dragon, Lulu, galloped out. Less than a second later, purple smoke flooded out from the cave entrance. Lulu crawled forward and gasped. “Whew! That was a close one.”

Ramon lay on his back, staring up at the sky. During the previous commotion, he had been knocked over and stepped on by two dragons who he could only assume were his uncles. This place was terrible. He wanted to go home!