Training time. Julia likes this part in particular.

“Just so we’re clear, the parents are all MIA?” Nick asks Drenar before he loads an autobow with a full magazine. They're out in the backyard now and Nick already adjusted the weapon to fire subsonic bolts, because even though there's no propellant, sonic booms tend to attract the attention of the wrong kind.

“Diane and Dave are attending to her father. He's recovering from a heart attack. A pretty bad one too, not even related to bad diet or health, just bad genetics.” He's still looking grim at this, and his own parents' demise is still weighing on his expression when he talks about it. “You realize that they're gonna freak out if we have to tell them, right?”

“When we have to.”

“Did you add an ‘when’ to that statement? You're just going to do it eventually?”

“Less risky. For now.” Drenar shakes his head but says nothing more when Nick tugs the primer back into position. The bow is tensed, ready to fire. There's a light glow from the kinetic primer on the bolt end. “This is a GRC 15-A autobow. It's a common armament of SAF and other law enforcement for mages. Before you ask, yes. It hits like a truck. The bolt head is designed to pierce and penetrate, and then tumble to cause extra trauma. It's like a gunshot. So for safety's sake, treat it the same way as you would any firearm.”

“Why a crossbow?” James asks. “We have a hundred years of modern firearms.”

“Because it's mechanically simpler, costs less, and enchanting bullets is a pain to do in volume. Magically enhanced munitions need a certain amount of mass to adhere to effectively. Hence, bolts. The muzzle velocity is still pretty high, and the range is more limited…plus with an autobow bolt, the round won't spall due to the higher mass and still can incur kinetic damage to barriers and armor. Most mage firefights are medium range or closer, it's rare to be engaging over several hundred meters.”

“That's…actually well thought out,” James concedes.

“I agree. But when you say magically enhanced munitions, I'm guessing a standard steel bolt or with an armor core penetrator doesn't do much against monsters.” Nick nods at her.

“Correct. Most monsters that you've read about require a specialist approach to neutralize or deter. They either have resilient anatomies, incredible healing, or special abilities that render some attacks useless. I mean there's always brute force, but you pick the right tool for the job.”

Nick spends several minutes breaking down the weapon showing the components, and being safe when operating the weapon. Most of it is the same as a regular firearm, much to Julia's relief. Nick even demonstrates proper firing procedure, and everyone gets a chance to engage in a few target dummies he's set up on the far end of the backyard.

Julia instantly falls in love with the design. It's simple but effective. The rate of fire is slower, but controllable. Still, she is disciplined enough to fire only in two-round bursts, with incredible accuracy. Is that the first time she's seen Nick smile since yesterday?

It has to be a fluke.

After a while and more practice, Nick talks about firearms and mage applications. The Dragonslayer, as she calls the .50 Cal rifle, doesn't get a return visit. She pouts when he explains that setting off that cannon is just too much noise here.

Maybe next time, my beauty, she thinks with a childish grin. Drenar looks pale at the mention of the massive firearm, and her gleeful enthusiasm for it. “Lighten up a bit Drenar, if things go to shit, I'm your gunner lady.”

“I'm not worried about me, so much as whatever you're aiming at. And remember, standard ammo against shielded opponents is going to be weak-sauce,” he states for emphasis. Julia winces, and looks at the wraps still covering her fading burns. She ejects the magazine and pulls a bolt out. “Uh, what are you doing?”

“I…don’t know.” She does have an idea she doesn’t want to telegraph just yet, out of concern for doing something really stupid–or ingenious. She thinks back to the fight with Crosomer, and her desperate idea to channel her plasma across her arms. When she’d done that, some of the energy had channeled to that metal staff that was sitting tucked away in the living room, because she was not about to give up her newfound toy without a fight.

Plasma is conducted by metal. But it didn’t heat the metal. Otherwise, I would have scorched my hands. But it did heat the foam to the point of decomposition. Why? She’s going to test something.

“Nick, what is the standard counter to arcane barriers?” she asks. Drenar and Nick are immediately at attention, while Angela and James are arguing over how to zero for extended ranges–Angela has a firm grasp, but James seems to think the ballistics are different for bolts due to the lack of tumble and the increased lift from the stabilizing fins. Evan is sitting back, lazily typing something on his phone. He’s not counting on being in a fight, and she doesn’t blame him.

Nick clears his throat. “Shielded opponents present a higher threat presence due to the ability to soak damage and protect more vulnerable teammates. Not every mage is capable of creating a durable barrier with their mana generation. The standard counter is elemental plasma, or overwhelming kinetics. A rapid-fire telekinetic attack from a Maridian silver, or a pulsing energy ray from a Hinterland–myself, in particular–are good counters. Plasma is the best but typically requires close contact. Not ideal against a ranged opponent.” He’s still peering at her with curiosity.

“I have an idea. Go put up a defensive screen on the dummy at the far end.”

“You want me to put myself in the line of fire?” It’s more surprising he doesn’t outright say ‘hell no’ to her request.

“I won’t miss.” She focuses that plasma spark with a snap of her free hand, and lowers it to the bolt. She feels a charge of draining energy when she contacts the mage steel bolt, and the bolt vibrates lightly and crackles with a slight blue glow. She loads the bolt back into the magazine, inserts the whole mag, and chambers the bolt. Nick is now at the target, standing away from it and projecting a faint silver barrier. “Weapons’ live. Standby.” She aims down the simple 4X magnification scope and lets out a slow breath once she focuses on the training dummy’s torso. She can see the shimmer of the barrier, and can see Nick in her peripheral vision, looking just a little anxious.

She squeezes the trigger past the break point and there’s a sizzle of energy as the bolt flies home, and impacts in a crackling cloud of scintillating plasma energy. The barrier holds for an instant before shattering in flying golden sparks, and the bolt is firmly embedded into the torso after the energy dissipates. Nick looks at the bolt, then her. He’s mildly impressed. “Told you I wouldn’t miss. How much power did you put into that barrier?”

He wipes off the golden sparks that evaporate into the air and shrugs. “Not much. So how did you know mage steel could conduct the plasma?”

“When I was busy giving myself plasma burns, the metal of my staff conducted the energy, but it didn’t heat up. It just stayed on the outer skin without heating by the resistivity of the material. I figured, the bolt is just like a miniature version of that." She sets the safety on the weapon and stretches lightly. “But I’m guessing you already have seen stuff like this.”

“It is a good strategy. Your plasma lasso also can do the same thing, but the range is extremely limited.” It’s not her imagination, Nick can smile on occasion. “Now, I won’t be doing that again, because standing on a firing line is dangerous, but I hope everyone is paying attention.”

“Can you pre-channel those bolts before a battle? How long could you conduct the energy? And how many can you prepare without fatiguing yourself?” Drenar raises good questions, but she puts her hands up.

“Drenar, let’s boil it down to basics. My electric personality spells certain death for mages who think they’re safe behind magic walls. And you’re my mobile battering ram for actual walls with those telekinetics,” she grins. “Angie, too.”

“Hey, I serve a more important role than that!” It’s telling when he can’t help but smile back, but then he’s peering upwards. “Uh, Julia…you are having a day.”

“Uh, what now?”

“Gold and seafoam feathers are sprouting from your hair now.” Her eyes widen at this, and she quickly pulls out her phone to try to take a selfie. She squeaks in delight, then quickly shuts up and tries to put on a stern face. Drenar’s trying not to die laughing. “Guessing you’re not going to school tomorrow.”

“I can’t ditch school! My mother will know! Then she’ll barnstorm home and then see her baby daughter molting feathers!” she groans audibly and raises her hands to her head. “Nope, can’t ditch, need a new plan!”

“Just ditch, I’ll cover for you,” Drenar offers. “I can say we were both skipping.”

“Aw, you’d do that?” she coos.

“No. Diane would murder me before chastising you, too. I like not being dead.” She narrows her eyes at him.

“You would do almost anything for me, except that?”

“Yeah, two days ago there was a near-certain death. Diane catching wind of what we’ve been up to is going to be guaranteed death in my case. And mages don’t get rez scrolls, Julia.”

“Yeah, what’s up with that? Mages craft regen potions that heal grievous wounds, but you can’t bring back the dead?” Angela piles on.

“Dead’s dead. There’s a certain finality in it,” Nick states calmly. Too calmly. Julia suspects it’s because he’s likely participated in causing death too; she’s not quite mentally prepared to ask the fluffy green dragon how many people or monsters he’s killed in his career at SAF. It’s even less likely he’d want to tell them. “We all return to the aether, someday. We all find our way home to the cradling arms of Gaia, one way or another.”

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

Nick's never been very religious sounding, but those softly offered words catch her attention. “Mages have their uh…beliefs, too?”

“Something like that.” He doesn't elaborate further and sounds almost distant when he responds. “The things I've seen… make it hard not to think about where mana comes from, and the effect it has on our world.”

“It is pretty surreal, isn't it?" I still have a problem where I look like a freaking raptor girl,” Julia sighs, though it's not the worst thing to happen As awesome as the feather crest is, it’s also a sign her first transformation is imminent in the next few days. “Thoughts?”

“Trim them?” Drenar proposes with a sly smile. “Actually, don’t. It’s quite a colorful look.”

“I’m firmly convinced you have some fetishes. Like scales.” Julia can’t help but smirk when he goes red in the face and stammers out a couple of incoherent words before recovering. “Oh, am I close to the mark? Now I wonder if that has more to do with the species upgrade or your preexisting concepts of the feminine form?”

“All speculation and zero substance.” He crosses his arms and glares at her while looking extremely flustered. “Besides, sexy is sexy, regardless of scales, fur, skin, feathers, or hide.”

I have got to mess with him! She thinks with a predatory grin.

“Angela, I don’t suppose you’ve…observed his browsing history, have you?” Angela lights up at this opportunity, and now she’s smiling evilly.

“Oh, have I ever?”

“Nick, they’re plotting. Don’t believe a word they say,” Drenar tries to cut off where this is going.

“Oh no, I want to hear about this. Consider it a teambuilding event,” Nick says with a quick smirk. Drenar scowls at him.

“Seriously, I just fought a goddamn dragon. You guys could give me a few days to not mess with me, my arm still hurts something fierce.” He waves his bandaged arm for emphasis, and bites his lip because the motion likely aggravates the bite wound.

“So what does he really like?” Nick leans into it so well, and Julia can’t help but enjoy the moment.

“Well, there were a few visits to a few risque sites. Some involving a little…hmm…a little bit of fur and fluff?”

“Haha, jokes over. The fantasies that I keep in my brain, stay there,” he says frigidly.

“Jokes on you Drenar, you actually can live that one out!” Angela shows her phone of a scantily clad fox girl with a leering grin, and Drenar goes just a little red at this spectacle. Otherwise, he’s tapping his foot impatiently. “Maybe you’ve met a kitsune in your life, and never known it! They grant you a wish if you discover their true form!”

“Bah, old wives’ tale. Kitsune don’t grant wishes!” he counters.

“No, but they can read your mind. Well, some of them,” Nick says with a chuckle. Drenar looks his way and lets out a soft sound of surprise.

“They can?”

“Yep. The extent to which they can do so is something that I don’t know the limits. They’re…kind of shy.” Drenar taps his foot impatiently again.

"Boy, does that sound like something to unpack later." He lets out a soft sigh. “Look, this is all very entertaining at my expense, but I’m pretty sure my preferences for the feminine form are otherwise unaltered, unlike the rest of my physiology.”

“So what you’re saying is, you’re still into scales?” Julia leans in and goes for the kill while he’s off balance.

“Yes–no–dammit, you know what I meant!” he says with a scowl, and she can’t help but laugh heartily. “Even if that were the case, making fun of people in a wacky world where dragons are the tip of the iceberg is hardly funny. It’s actually a little mean.”

“I agree. Love is unbounded by form!” She says with a heartwarming smile. “You know what, that’s a great line! ‘Love is unbounded by form.’ I like it!” Drenar shakes his head and simply sighs, but that dour-looking funk on his face is gone and he smiles faintly.

“Alright, I can get behind that idea. Now, how are we handling tomorrow?”

“We aren’t,” Nick says with a shrug. “Angela, you said your heart rate spiked a few times?” He pulls out a small notebook after jotting a few things down.

“Yeah, why?”

“Anything else symptom-wise? I’m trying to establish a timeline of triggers so I can predict just how many warnings we’ll have. Dragons transforming in front of a bunch of non-mages is a bad thing.”

“About an hour ago. The only time today, actually,” she says while putting a hand to her chest, and rubbing uneasily. Julia wonders if her scars are bothering her. It’s almost as if she’s become very conscientious of them lately. Maybe I should talk to her later about it? Nah, she’d just wave me away if I asked about it, better to wait a bit before I ask her.

“Hey, Nick. I have one question, actually.” Nick turns to face Drenar, who’s wearing a somber expression. “You’ve been around a while. I don’t suppose you…knew my parents, did you?” After a few seconds, he shakes his head.

“No. I never did. About the only highlight I’ve got is that you’re related to Alexander Rashalda, the man who led the Luminaires, by Crosomer’s own admission. Why are you asking?”

“Because…there’s some unanswered questions, Nick.” Julia folds up the autobow and places it back into its carrying case. “We’re half-dragons. One or more of our parents likely were, too. And dragons…live a long time. Long enough to cross paths with many others.”

She just hopes he’s not lying to protect them from a bitter truth further down the line. “Prior to coming back into town a few years ago, I hadn’t revisited long enough to get acquainted with a lot of people. I spent the better part of almost fifty years away from here, traveling the world and doing a lot of good. The reason I stayed was because I had to…I had to attend my mom’s funeral. Me, Dad, and my three sisters.”

It suddenly seems much quieter in the yard now. “There’s something to be said about being a dragon, how it has a lot of great perks…but as you guys might have figured out, some of them can be a bit of a curse. My mother lived to be ninety-three. My dad is closer to four hundred, and…her last wish on her deathbed was for him to not mourn her till the end of his days, a thousand or more years down the line.” Julia can’t help but look at James, who’s gone quiet when he looks at his friends. His bitter words about being dust while they’ll still be young still ring in her mind, from only a scant few days ago–an entire lifetime ago, it felt like. “After that, I stayed. I was tired of running around the world when I really needed a home to stand by.”

“Scarla, Elaine, and Maribeth, right?” Julia pays attention to Angela, and a burning bright idea pops up. A notable void in the things that Angela tells her on a regular basis. She always leaves out her interactions with Nick.

She's totally into Nick. I knew it. That's why she didn't totally jump Drenar's bones! Before she can process the thought further, Nick nods and continues speaking. “You know Scarla, from her art studio?”

“I thought she looked a little similar to you! The facial features, and the long straight hair! She mentioned she had a brother, but I thought it was a weird coincidence!”

“Yeah, she's the one who stayed closest to home. Dad teaches a couple of towns over. He still enjoys it. He turned down more than a couple of offers from Brentson Academy, and London Arcanist Academy too, the crown jewel of mage higher education. I think…I think it would have been hard for him to move from here. Even with having access to teleportals. He left me the house I now use as my lair and base of operations, after mom passed. There are still scratch marks by the kitchen door frame from when we were all growing up, trying to get a quarter inch on each other,” he adds with a soft laugh.

“What about your other sisters?” James asks, his curiosity tweaked.

“Elaine works at the college too, in a different department, she does theater. Maribeth moved to Worcestershire, Massachusetts, where she works as a consultant for major architecture projects. Mom was proud of all of us, even if we didn't get to advertise our true nature to more than a select few. I spent a lot of time in the field. The mossy forests of the Mirada biozone, and the burning sands of Zethira where literal land sharks roam became a tourist stay for me. The Panglian boreal forest of Norway became my home for a time.”

“Are these real places?” Angela asks, eyes slight with interest.

“This planet is pockmarked with the essences of parallel pocket planes, and gates to every corner of the globe. If the Outsiders hadn't been such an omniscient threat, there'd still be astral gates to far away planets.” James' jaw dropped, he hit his limit break.

“Other worlds.”

“Yep.”

“Kin have officially colonized other worlds.”

“Yep.”

“We have goddamn space wizards. Space dragons. Wizard space dragons.” James starts laughing in the way someone would if their mind completely broke. “We broke the threshold for colonizing the far corners of the universe, and it's buried in a mage history that got wiped out. IT'S NOT FAIR!” he screams upwards out of sheer anger.

“Oops.” Nick's subdued reaction is telling.

“We have space dragons now?” Drenar repeats. He looks like a kid who got their Christmas wish early. “Man, I want to hate mages for keeping this all secret, but it's too awesome to hold a grudge for long!”

“Okay, Angela, go help James reboot his brain. Drenar, you're taking your dragon form and sparring with me. I have the impression you quickly adapted your fighting form to your draconic body, correct?”

“Still a work in progress. I got some pre-training with Alex. My uh, drakensoul.” He's still clearly coping with that part, even as small as it might seem.

“Oh, I'll be watching, too. Intently.” Julia grins like the Cheshire cat, and Drenar shudders when he sees it.

“We are clearly too weird to be disturbed by all this crazy stuff, aren't we?”

“Yes, we are.”