Tuesday…

I hate sneaking. It's unprofessional.

Hey, stealth is a perfect strategy Alex, we are level two dragons versus an entire army. We really do have to play this one smart. Drenar can't help but throw a little shade at Alex internally. Their target is Jonaleth, who everyone has collectively tracked his every move throughout the day. Nick would have been doing it sooner, but he's been keen on making sure he and the rest of the crew are being discreet.

Nick has, however, placed a discreet camera to observe the mural, and Drenar is chilling by the far side, waiting for the creep to show up. He's still furious about what Evan had told them.

You don't make threats like that, Jonaleth. You don't dare to hurt my friends and expect to get away with it.

He's a bully Drenar. They talk big but when presented against someone who can fight back, he’ll cave.

I’m not so sure about that Alex. He's got an attempted murder rap under his belt. Remember anything new?

No. It comes in intermittently. Some of my memory recollection may be triggered by your experiences, so, do some wild and unexpected stuff. Drenar sighs and pretends to be busy on his phone, browsing theoretical Kin species. What would a Wargen look like in real life? Or the fey? Fey are this…strange bird-like amalgamation, a third, completely different thing than dragons or humans. Kitsune are completely off the map. Maybe cat girls exist too? Cat people? Anthropomorphic felines? What would the proper term be?

I'm totally overthinking this. He continues browsing blindly.

…Why are you looking for magical fox girls on this arcane device?

He goes wide-eyed and clicks his screen closed when his browsing takes him in a direction he didn't exactly focus on. No reason. I was totally not looking to stimulate my adolescent mind. None whatsoever, great grand-dragon who is constantly present in my psyche. Alex laughs uncontrollably, and Drenar wants to sink into the floor right now. We have to establish some rules and boundaries, Alex. For my own mental sanity.

Oh no. This is too rich. Do tell me, what interests you about this arcane world you've stumbled into?

I am…merely curious as to what other Kin would look like. Like, have I met one and never noticed? Like, if a fey walked right up to me, would I see the signs? Or a Wargen?

You really want to meet a Kitsune, don't you? They are pretty shy. He groans audibly, and someone gives him a questioning look as they walk by. Hey, don't forget what Julia said, love is unbounded by form! And she herself is a complete gem of a personality.

Ugh. This is so going to take some getting used to. For the record, if I need to state the obvious of when to tune out…can you oblige?

I'll try to. I get it. You're young. You don't know what you want in life. Or you did, until you learned there's a whole new world layered under everything you've ever known. Drenar breathes a slight sigh of relief. Even as much of a presence as Alex is, he also has this quieter, respectful side too. Besides, I very much would prefer not to be paying attention if any carnal desires flare up. That could be awkward.

Maybe we should discuss this later–ah, there's our target. Alex lets out a quick grunt of acknowledgment when Drenar spots Jonaleth with a gaggle of people during the last stretch of the day when everyone is about to head home. The hallway is empty, and Jonaleth is looking all menacing in his jeans, black leather jacket, and laid-back black hair. Two of his friends are nearby…as is Kelly, and Tristan and…is that Violet?

Kelly being there is bad news, with bouncy blonde curls and blue eyes and looking at Jonaleth with scorn. She would never voluntarily join the Talons, from what he knew of her personality, and she's one of Julia's closer friends. She's also heavily martially trained in close fighting, and goes to the same place Julia trains. He narrows his eyes and keeps out of sight. Luckily no one's nearby to see him.

“Cut the crap Jonaleth, I'm here as a courtesy. What's with the super creepy mural?” Kelly asks with a touch of southern girl accent. She is tapping her foot impatiently, and it might turn into kicking Jonaleth through a wall if he doesn’t stop antagonizing her. Something he would actually pay money to see. He would probably feel more sympathy for the wall Jonaleth gets smashed through.

“Hey Goldilocks, cool your heels. You want in, and not your sister, you check to see if you pass our little test. We need to see if it's just right,” Jonaleth quips, and Drenar curls his fingers into his now recording phone after he sends the red alert to everyone. I hate this guy. He coerced her too?

Stay the course. We need to see where they're taking recruits. Alex’s reminder calms his tension along with the grim notion that four people in school had run away–there had been a quick bulletin, and it worried Drenar.

What happens if the Talons don't find their new fluffy dragon allies trustworthy? That's a question he hopes hasn't been answered yet.

“Jonaleth, you touch my sister, and I will rip your goddamn spine out through your throat, and beat you to death with it,” Kelly snarls with just a hint of azure scales crawling up her arms. What's more telling is that her eye color changes from blue to a deep amber for a few seconds–that is as odd a quirk as it is fascinating. Jonaleth flinches ever so slightly. He would be far less willing to recruit Kelly if he didn't have his buddies as a backup right next to him, though his lackeys are lacking in power.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

Plus Drenar is a dragon now, and beating these fools up should be trivial if necessary. A silver glow wraps around his hand faintly, a reminder of his telekinesis that he lets go after a second.

He has to focus and make sure Kelly and her friends don't drop out of sight. The mural flashes with light and distorts–a faint halo of a projection appears above her head, and the others, with arcane runes. Jonaleth's ice-cold expression warms with delight. But not the good kind, Drenar thinks with suppressed fervor.

“Good. Just what we're looking for. Maiden forest, that old ranger station that’s off the beaten path that everyone used to go drinking at, 6 o’clock, tomorrow night. Don't be late. And I shouldn't have to say it, don't tell anyone–”

“Listen, creep-ass,” Kelly says with a deadly calm tone and gets to within centimeters of his face, “I heard from my father what you did. Lack of evidence? Or did your stepfather bail you out like he always does every time you go and jump the script?”

Whoa. Kelly already knows quite a bit, this might be a good sign. He edges his phone by the corner and uses the camera to zoom in. Jonaleth smiles in that hideous way that he does, like he's debating how he wants to hurt you first. “Lavernius, careful now. Wouldn't want to fling unfounded accusations, would we? From what I've heard from my guy, your dad doesn't have a leg to stand on–”

Kelly slams him into the brick wall, scales still growing on her arms, and Drenar tenses. This could get really dangerous, really quick, and he needs to make a decision now on if he needs to intervene. Jonaleth simply keeps smiling even when his guys are about to move in, and he puts out an assuring hand. “Oh? Little Kelly doesn't know about daddy's history? You should go ask him sometime.”

“My dad is a decent human being. Unlike you.” She stares at him for a handful of seconds before letting him go. “Tristian, don't trust this creep to not sell you up a river, same for you Violet. We’ll be there. But after this, you lay off of us. We’re only going to listen to what you have to offer. Nothing more.”

Within seconds, everyone departs like nothing absolutely disastrous could have happened, and Drenar blends in with a gaggle of people coming down the hall, on his way out of the school. He stops at his locker to grab a now utterly trivial calc book when someone taps him on the shoulder –and sparks him.

“Ow! Julia enough with the zapping–”

“Hey Drenar. You seem pretty informed of all things, don't you?” Kelly announces with a firm look on her face, and he sighs. “I saw you and Julia lurking in that area all day every time I walked by. What are two up to?”

“Us? Attending high school? Same as you?” He proposes.

You suck at lying, Drenar.

I know! Charisma doesn't boost every stat uniformly! He retorts at Alex internally. Kelly clearly isn't buying it either. “You barely even flinched when I sparked you–you Awakened, didn't you? I knew something was up yesterday between you guys, and you look like you got the hell beat out of you over the weekend, both of you! And Angela!”

“Extra rounds on sparring?”

Stop trying, she's onto us. We can't lose this chance to track Jonaleth. Drenar finally relents. “Kelly, let's just say we had a rough weekend. For reasons I don't want to get into, right here in the open.”

“You did awaken, didn't even answer my question. What about Julia? I swore she had feathers in her hair.” His grimace tells her everything and her blue eyes widen. “Oh. Oh wow. Her too?”

“Kelly, I need to be clear about one thing,” he said, before straightening up. “We’re trying to figure out what the Talons are up to. Jonaleth included. You need to go to that meeting, and you won't be alone. You're gonna have backup.”

“Am I going to get the long version of this and why should I listen to you?” She asks with narrowed eyes.

“Okay, short version, the Talons caused our Awakening prematurely, and en-masse, along with a bunch of drakensouls. They're building an army and are going to burn the Conclave down to the ground, and crack open the Veil Protocol in the process. Life’s gonna be very messy if that happens.” She looks unmoved by this bold statement.

“Well, sometimes you gotta burn a place down to start over –”

“Kelly, these people tried to kill me, Julia, and Angela over the weekend. And Nick too.” That stops her mid-stream and she gasps. “Nick works with SAF, and he's the only person along with his intelligence officer friend who are treating this like the threat it is. We need to find out their next move because the artifact they used to start this ball rolling is the same one that killed almost all the dragons. We're still digging into it.”

“You expect me to believe all that? Just at the drop of a hat?” she asks as if she's still in shock. He gives her an irked look.

“Did we not just establish since we've been kids that I suck at lying?” he says with a tense voice. She shrugs and slowly nods.

“Okay, that's too much to unpack. So what's the scoop, when did Tsundere awaken, and why didn't she tell me she's got some scaly beauties in the family line?” she asks and immediately switches tracks with a delighted face.

“We were, uh…apparently not informed of our heritage. And with my parents currently…well, not here, I was left clueless too, and we still don't know why yet. We need Jonaleth alive and breathing to track what the Talons' next move is and who they're working with.”

“Okay, done. But afterward, I'm making that son of a bitch bleed for threatening my sister,” she growls.

“Deal. I'm sure Julia would love to share in the endeavor.” Sometimes, things work out better than expected, he thinks with a great sense of relief. A ping on his phone gets his attention, and he feels a sinking dread.

“Hey, uh gotta go, text us using an encrypted app, and we’ll go over details!” He turns to start a light jog down the hall, and out to the gym. “Do not tell Violet and Tristian, operational security!”

“Why are you running?!” Kelly shouts and keeps up to pace, blond curls bouncing behind her.

“There's a…situation.”

A situation involving Angela awakening and potentially busting Veil Protocol wide open!