Volearden frowned as he stared at the dragon tablet floating in front of his face. A whole day had passed, but Vur hadn’t contacted him at all. Had something happened to his alleged great-grandson? Perhaps it’d be best if Fern went to check up on Vur again; it was possible the dragon tablet sustained some sort of damage rendering it unusable. The frown on the dragon’s face deepened; though, an outsider wouldn’t be able to tell due to the lack of lighting inside the cave.
Volearden glared at the dragon tablet and, through the movement of his eyes, sent a message to Fern. Not long after, a yellow dragon’s head poked into the dark cave. “Did you really message me to come over? I’m living in the cave right next to yours,” Fern said. “All you have to do is say my name, and I’ll hear you; you don’t even have to shout.”
“Sometimes you don’t respond when I call you, so I’m not sure if you heard me or not,” Volearden said. “This way’s easier.”
Fern sighed as he lay on his stomach and rested his head on his front legs. “Alright, what’s bothering you now?”
“I’ve thought about it a lot, and I’ve decided to send you to Vur,” Volearden said.
Fern furrowed his brow. “How about you think about it some more?” he asked. “I already delivered the dragon tablet for you. I’m your advisor, not your arms and legs for the times you’re too lazy to get out of bed.”
“That doesn’t sound quite right,” Volearden said. “Don’t you always do what I ask? Anyway, if I send you to Vur, and you become friends with him, you can put in a good word for me.”
“You’re already his great-grandfather,” Fern said and squinted at Volearden. “How much better of an impression does he need of you? The rumors about you circulating in the tower are quite flattering, so you don’t have to worry about Vur being influenced by human perception either.”
Volearden shook his head. “Is paying a visit to my great-grandson that much of a hassle?” he asked. “Why aren’t you willing to go?”
“If it wasn’t a hassle, wouldn’t you do it yourself?” Fern asked. He sighed and shook his head. “Alright, you’ve done some terrible things, and it’s mostly your fault phoenixes hate dragons here, but anyone in your position would’ve chosen the same actions as you. Dragons are generally relaxed about everything not involving their treasures or loved ones; I doubt Vur will care phoenixes abhor you. Just send him a message.”
***
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In a large, hollow tree with glass bottles littered about the floor, Vur and Tafel sat next to each other on a large leaf. Outside the tree, within view from where the two were sitting, Vur’s dragon tablet stood upright. The couple held hands as they stared at the tablet, their eyes unblinking.
Beside them, on the other side of the hollow tree, Malvie, Lindyss, and Erin were bouncing coins into empty cups while chattering and laughing. Occasionally, one of them would take a large swig from the glass bottles on the table—which was a large piece of bark growing out of the floor.
“Vur!” Malvie said, practically jeering at Vur to get his attention. When he turned towards her, she stared at him with wide eyes. “Volearden is your great-grandfather?”
“Maybe,” Vur said and shrugged. “He never responded to me, so I’m not sure.”
“How much do you love Tafel?” Malvie asked, raising an eyebrow. “If you really, really loved her, you’ll let me kidnap you to use as leverage over Volearden.”
“She’s drunk,” Tafel said, not taking her eyes off the dragon tablet. “Ignore her.” She pointed at the top-left corner of the black monument. “Ooh, look at that bird over there! It’s massive.”
Vur turned his attention away from Malvie and followed Tafel’s finger. He nodded. “It does look big,” he said. “It’s the perfect size for a small snack.” He nudged Tafel’s shoulder. “Can you open a portal over there?”
Tafel raised an eyebrow. “I don’t think I can,” she said. “It’s showing us an image of the location, but the tablet’s not giving me any coordinates to work with. Maybe if I ask the person who designed it to display spatial coordinates as well, we could view places and portal to them from the safety of our home.”
Vur glanced at the glass bottles on the ground and the three drunken women off to the side. “Very safe,” he said and nodded.
“Hey!” Malvie said. “You can’t tell him to ignore me just because I’m drunk. Even though I’m drunk, I’m still making a lot of sense! If I hold Volearden’s great-grandson hostage, I can improve the lives of the phoenixes in Great Canopy by ransoming him off.”
Vur blinked and stared at the dragon tablet, ignoring Malvie. “Someone else wants to be my friend,” Vur said to Tafel. “Maybe they heard you speaking and are here to give you coordinates.”
“That’s be a bit creepy,” Tafel said, raising an eyebrow. “Do you think dragons are using this tablet to watch us or eavesdrop on our conversations?”
“Definitely not,” Malvie said, making her way over to Vur and Tafel with a bottle in her hands. “Dragons love their privacy. If they found someone spying on them, they’d throw a huge tantrum.” She placed her hand on her root bracelet, which had a different design than the ones on Tafel’s and Vur’s wrists. A red monument that was half the size of the dragon tablet appeared on the ground outside the tree. “Here’s a phoenix tablet. With this, you can contact me even if we’re in different towers.”
“Oh, thank you,” Tafel said and scratched her head.
“Of course.” Malvie placed her hands on her hips and nodded. “We’re practically family. Even if you’re going to try to dethrone me, that doesn’t mean we can’t get along.” She turned towards Vur and squinted at him. Her brow furrowed as she spoke. “If I’m practically related to Tafel, and if Tafel’s married to you, and if Volearden is your great-grandfather, then doesn’t that mean I’m sort of related to Volearden in a manner that isn’t enemies?”