“It gets better with the second sip, trust me,” Elegard laughed at the pinched up expression of Mylo, who was staring with skepticism at the drink in his hand. With a sigh, he sipped it again and then placed it down.

“While better, it’s still extremely bitter. And it’s making those humans act like fools.” Pointing a finger at some dancing drunkards, Mylo just shook his head. A fifth sip escaped Elegard as he let out a chuckle and looked down to his own drink.

“His name was Arlolf. Greatest soldier I’ve ever met. You would have liked him.” The mood turned sharply, taking a nosedive as Elegard drowned the last of his drink. A sigh escaped Mylo as he ran a finger on the rim of his drink.

“Friends? Maybe. That’s the word you humans use, yes? Would you be surprised to know such a word doesn’t have an appropriate equivalent in our language?” Giving a dry smile, Mylo saw the nod from Elegard.

“I actually did wonder about that back when I was still training. Figured we just didn’t have the word.” There was a look of puzzled curiosity on Elegard’s face as he regarded the morose man beside him.

“Our runic-based language is limited by our imagination, see. Before you all arrived, we didn’t really have connections that close except with other dragons.” Lifting the drink, Mylo took a third tentative sip. It would be rude not to finish his drink, he reasoned. A soft smirk fell on Elegard, but he quickly wiped it away.

“That’s a shame, but...before? Has that changed?” Ordering a refill for himself, Elegard watched the expression of his drinking buddy closely. First, there was irritation, then sadness, then wariness, and right back to irritation.

“It’s hard to say, I don’t have a lot to compare it to. But there is a woman I enjoy spending time with. A baker.” Glancing over, Mylo blinked at the coy smile on Elegard’s face.

“A woman, eh? Is she hot?” A laugh left the man as he drank a toast to the befuddled expression on Mylo’s face.

“I...don’t believe so? It’s nearing winter, is it not?” The dragon considered the question with a frown. They had been baking...perhaps that would make her hot?

“Don’t worry about it, don’t worry about it. You’ll understand when you’re older.” A tease, and one that only confused the dragon more. Elegard decided to change the subject before he had to explain that to the dragon.

“Friendship isn’t some magical concept. It’s just people you enjoy spending time with. For example, I enjoy drinking with folk. And by drinking with me, we could be considered friends.” There was a brief note of hesitation in his voice, but Elegard committed to it. Finishing his second glass off as he decided to give Mylo a chance.

“Then, I suppose I have been friends with many creatures over the millennia,” mused the dragon. Thinking over interaction after interaction. Yes, he’d had many friends. But what would be a good word for it?

“” Elegard suggested, looking over as Mylo smiled and moved to stand up.

“I think that would be our word for it. One close to family, friends. I will leave you to your drinking, I must inform my sister of this. I am sure the term will overjoy her.” With a bow, Mylo hurried out the door. Elegard watched him go and moved to rise himself, heading out after paying a portion of his tab.

“Oh?” Looking to the right once exiting the door brought a curious sight. A human and a Munst were talking casually. Some money changed hands with a swipe of a card, and the Munst left with a white bag of some sort. The human glared at Elegard and hurried away. He merely watched them go.

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“Man, times are changing,” he commented to himself, staring at the empty street in thought. It was always the first thing, he mused. Crime would start with minor theft or small bits of drugs passing hands. The laws hadn’t adjusted to factor in Munst. If they didn’t move fast enough, there would be an increase in crime.

“Excuse me, Sir?” A police bike swerved into park as a man hopped to his feet. A badge was flashed in Elegard’s face, and he inwardly sighed at his bad luck.

“Brown hair, hoodie. Munst was some sort of mantis creature,” he responded in hopes of getting this over quickly. There was a thud as a second figure hopped off the bike, and he blinked a bit. The kobold was dressed in a uniform.

“Jones, Jones Presley. This is Dirk, my partner. Can you confirm what you saw for the record?” Flipping open a notepad, Jones wrote down the civilian’s report—another one staring at Dirk more than him. That was fine. Elegard explained what he saw idly before changing the subject.

“So, Dirk. You from that black dragon’s group? Uh...what was it....?” Even with his training, remembering every single word took some effort. Still, the shine that entered the kobold’s eyes told him everything he needed to know.

“Alright, Dirk. You follow that Munst. I’ll track the human down.” Jones slipped onto his bike and nodded his head toward Elegard. Turning around, Dirk quickly saluted and headed off without another word, briefly glancing back toward Elegard. They would meet again.

“Man, why do I have all the worst luck?” he muttered to himself, moving to head out. Unfortunately, his luck would only get worse. Elegard had a meeting with tall, dark, and stiff. Moving into the governmental district, he passed by buildings that seemed to become one with the old and new. Retro, he believed the term was.

“Scuse me, I believe Miss White wished to see me?” Speaking to the front desk, Elegard followed their directions up the elevator and into a small office waiting room. Eventually, he was called to enter, and there she was, waiting for him.

“So what’s your report?” Straight to business. Not even a ‘how’s the wife and kids.’ He didn’t have any but it was the thought that counted.

“Well, he’s begun studying and learning more about our colony. And has agreed to refrain from damaging the ground.” Scratching his cheek, Elegard fell silent for a moment and hesitated.

“Also...he’s made a friend. A baker.” At Elegard’s words, the woman let out a soft laugh and looked right at him.

“Don’t joke with me, we both know dragons don’t ‘make friends.’ Enis, that baker, will be the first to die when he decides to try and strike back against us.” Rising, Mary leaned over and shoved a picture into his face.

“See this man? This is my father,” she put the picture down and fixed her hair as she stared at him. “One day, I will make this dragon pay for what he’s done. To all of us. If we hadn’t won the war, peace wouldn’t be an option, never forget that. And so we must be ready.” Turning to stand by the window, she looked out, scowling. A moment of silence filled the room and then she continued to talk.

“Have you ever wondered why I started this initiative to bring in the Munst? Peace? No. No. Peace would never have gotten me this position. Money. There is money to be made here. We must carefully mould these monsters into humans.” Yes, Mary was certain this was the only way. If the munst were human, then they could negotiate on human terms.

Watching her, Elegard felt a deep dread in his gut. Unlucky as ever, he’d found the one bit of information that she so desperately wanted. With this influx of information though, he hesitated to tell her now. The day had proven to be a rough one, and so he kept his mouth shut.

“If that’s all Miss White, I will head out.” Turning, Elegard left. Looking out the window, Mary watched him join the crowd below and frowned.

“It’s not like we’re brainwashing them. It’s mutually beneficial...They know that...right?"