One quick stop for coffee later, they’re outside the parlor, and Drenar politely opens the door for her–it’s adorably old-fashioned of him, and she leads him inside. The parlor is well furnished, looking more like someone's living room than a commercial shop, and there’s incense smoking ever so slightly nearby. Something earthy and warm, when Joey focuses on it. A woman comes out of the back past a colorful bead curtain, ear piercings, and one small cute piercing on her nose that catches the light, and it stands out compared to her dark hair and amber eyes. She's dressed neatly in a light shirt, vest, and slacks. She immediately comes over to Joey and hugs her, looking excited.

“Joey, darling, how are you?” she says with enthusiasm.

“Sierra, oh my goodness, you look fantastic! I’m doing well, I brought a friend,” she announced as she waved Drenar over. Sierra eyes him with genuine curiosity. “Drenar, this is Sierra, she runs the place. Sierra, this is Drenar, you might have heard of him.” He politely shakes her hand, but Sierra isn’t letting him off that easily, and wraps him in a bear hug. Joey tries not to giggle when Drenar makes that very familiar ‘deer in the headlights’ look of his and he very gently returns the gesture.

“Might have heard of you? You and your friends sent the Talons packing and saved a lot of lives! I’ll never forget watching a silver and azure scaled dragon tanking machine gun fire outside my shop!” she said with enthusiasm. Drenar blinked in surprise.

“You saw that?”

“Of course I did! The teleportal is right up the street, I saw you guys beating the ever-loving crap out of the Talons! SAF had their dick in their hands that time around,” Sierra added with a laugh, and Drenar had that cozily awkward look on his face, like he didn’t know how to react. “Then, a birdie told me that the Luminaires were re-established. Guess that made some waves in the Conclave, and ruffled some feathers. And here you are!”

“Oh Sierra, come now! Us, running headfirst into danger? Nah, it’s not our style,” Joey tried to playfully deflect, while Drenar gently took position by her side.

“Wait a second. How do you figure it was me?” Drenar asks casually.

“A silver dragon with a messy feather mane, and bright green eyes? Yeah, not too many of you around, plus, the silver strands in your hair are a bit of a giveaway,” Sierra grins. Drenar scrunches up.

“I’m not old!”

“Yeah, I can see that. Joey probably told you that can happen with dragons, tiny little things bleed through to your human form. Anyway, thanks for keeping a bunch of people safe!” she beams. “So, how did you run into this kid?”

“Uh…when he was burning down a school.” She couldn’t help but get an evil grin in on Drenar, who scowls.

“Hey, I was trying to put the fire out, and throwing a beating at a pyromaniac who currently is in prison.” Sierra looks like she wants to melt on the spot while clutching her hands up to her heart. “Also, you were golem stalking us for a bit.”

“That’s not true, you guys made so much noise, that Kyle’s golems spotted you! You know, you weren’t the only ones concerned about the Talons and their hijinks!” she shot back. The nerve of this drake, indeed!

“Oh, my fates. Joey, I’m gonna steal him if he’s not yours,” Sierra says while looking utterly delighted, and Drenar gets flustered. Even though Sierra probably would be his type, given what she knows from Julia. “What else have you been up to, dear? I haven’t seen you since October, when the Talons launched their ill-advised invasion!”

“Oh, you know, training. Asqualia kinda got wrecked, if you hadn’t heard. We uh…there were some losses,” she added quietly. Sierra nodded her head solemnly, and she rubbed at the gold bangles on her wrist.

“Yeah, I know. Someone told me that one of my regulars, Winston, died defending the facility. I can’t believe you came out of that alive, you or Kyle, or dozens of other people,” she said before clearing her throat. “Anyway, sorry to bring the topic up, you’re here for your appointment, right?”

Dearie, thank you for changing the topic, Joey thought as she smiled faintly. “Yeah, just like we talked. I wanted to get one more piercing, you know, to celebrate! We’ve been training for close to two months, we’re just trying to make the world a safer place.”

“Darling, all you need to do is just yell loudly enough, and the world will fall into order,” she replies before beckoning her over to take a look at the case of products. "Okay, so, I was thinking on this one. I was looking for a gem that would add some flair. I think I have just the right one."

She withdraws a simple oval-shaped earring with a silver clasp, and she can see the topaz. To her trained eye, it looks very high quality, and not synthetic–she can see just a few almost imperceptible occlusions in the crystal. “So, what do you think? You like it?”

“Oh it’s perfect Sierra, you’re such a doll!” Joey is excited to try this one on, so she sets it on the display case, and Sierra beckons her over to a chair. “Let’s get this underway!”

“Uh, okay, I’ll be just over–” Drenar starts to say, then Joey beckons him forth.

“Uh-uh, no way, you get to watch! It’s not that bad! I already did this twice!” she points to her ears for emphasis. “Besides…it might help if you observed, in case you wanted to get one as well,” she adds with a smirk. Drenar goes blank for a second.

“W-what? Me? I mean, um…” he’s stumping for an answer, and Sierra coos like this is an amusement park event.

“Told ya kiddo, she’s a handful. You know, it’s kinda cute when couples get piercings on the same day, so I’ll knock off ten percent if you convince him,” She adds with warm regard. Drenar glances at Joey, then at Sierra. He has no idea how to respond, and it’s almost hilarious. Joey realizes he might need one more nudge because she figured this was a low chance of him doing this anyway.

“Hey, let’s let him watch first, then he can decide if he wants one.” Joey sees the warmth return to his face just a bit, like he's just been granted a stay of execution. {And don’t make the decision based on whether I teased you on it. Do it if you want to do it for yourself,} she adds while dipping her head lightly

“W-well, I…alright, I’m game.” he quickly shuts up and firms up his voice. “I’ll watch. Mind if I check out what you have?”

“Oh, of course, take your time. This won’t take too long.” Joey gets a little anxious as Sierra prepares the site where she’s getting the next piercing. It’ll be the last one for now–she didn’t want to have that many piercings.

“So, Joey, does he…you know, know?” she asks quietly while Drenar is browsing through the various earrings, and not particularly paying attention to them. He waves a hand lazily in the air while smiling faintly in a surprise move.

“Yep, draconic hearing, and yep, I do. Which puts me in a realm of very few people who actually know,” he says. She pouts her lip in response, if only to feign annoyance. Sierra stares at her, gleaming amber eyes etched in surprise.

“You must love this guy for you to tell him that, from what I know of you girl. My goodness! Do you have any idea who you’re dating, kid?”

He peers up from the case and does that smirk again. “An alchemical genius kitsune who threatens to set me on fire about once a week, which is a baseless threat because, you know, dragon.”

“Twice a week,” she corrects. “Sierra here is–”

“An enlightened kin who thinks humanity needs a good kick in the head sometimes,” Sierra growled before examining the jewelry. “I uh, stumbled on this discovery by accident, sorry Joey. I’m glad I mentioned the alchemical silver coatings on that first pair of earrings, otherwise, that could have been a scene.”

“What happens when people are exposed to alchemical silver?” Drenar asks.

“For most people, nothing,” Sierra says with a shrug. “For certain species of Kin, it’s a little more dramatic. You haven’t mentioned this one?”

“Surprisingly? I haven’t,” Joey answers. “Alright, it’s a little obscure, but alchemical silver can force a transformation,” she explains. “It also inhibits active regeneration on some species. That’s only for the untreated material. When it’s alloyed with other stuff, it’s harmless. Honestly Sierra, the earrings probably would have been fine, now that I think about it.”

“Fair, fair,” Sierra replied. “Alright, just like last time, I’ll add the mimetic enchantment. It’ll never get lost or pop out by accident from your ears. Now let’s get this done dear, shall we?”

A few minutes and one sharp pain later, Joey winces when the job is done. Drenar watches observantly, and he taps his fingers on the counter. Not nervously, but in tempo, like he’s getting his thoughts in order. Joey takes a glance in the mirror when Sierra helps her put the new piece in.

“Oh, my, goodness. I love it! It stands out, it’s very distinct from your hair, what a bright green color. I knew I picked the right one!” Sierra says triumphantly. Drenar leans on the counter, and smiles lightly.

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

It’s a good fit, Joey. I like it.” Inside though, he had so many other strong things to say, and she couldn’t help but turn away and blush, and play it as if trying to see the new earring in place. But regarding his thoughts on what he was going to do, he was deceptively drawing a blank. Or was he trying to save a surprise for her? “So uh, that wasn’t such a bad process. Doesn’t look too harmful for my health. You do enchantment work, Sierra?” he asks.

Oh. You did surprise me. What are you up to, Drenar? Joey thinks with an amused expression while Sierra ushers him over to a desk filled with arcane devices.

“Kid, there isn’t an enchantment I can’t do. The price will be set by raw materials, my talent comes as part of the package. So what are you interested in?” Sierra explains, and she sees Drenar looking over pages of script. He finally settles on a line, and Sierra lets out a sound of surprise. “That one? You sure?”

“Yeah. Absolutely.”

“It’s a little pricey–”

“Mom left me something.” He says it with a much quieter tone. “Before she passed. I can cover the cost.” that subtle lie, having to be one of only a handful of people who knows she's still alive, must be hard on him. "Anyway, I figured, I want something useful."

“Which one are you getting?” Joey’s excited. “You are getting one, right?”

“Yeah. Alarite metal backing. Teardrop ruby gemstone, with the aerial sigil enchantment.” Joey’s stunned–that’s pricey for him. And though she never mentioned it, her alchemical work along with a few of Kyle’s inventions had her earning a pretty decent paycheck. Most of it she just put in the bank in a very cushy reserve for pretty much anything she could want for the foreseeable future, but she also knew when to splurge.

“Alright, let me just check–”

“Feel free to count.” He places a small stack of the platinum currency mages used for their day-to-day business, and Sierra nods, looking impressed. Joey narrows her eyes at him.

{Did you read my mind?}

{Joey, if I’m going to continue this suicide-mission level of an impossible task, I’m doing this in style. Besides, I’m not as normal as I profess myself to be.} Sierra sees them looking at each other, puzzled.

“You’re both doing that silent stare thing. I know when a kitsune is private messaging,” Sierra coos. “Joey he’s a treat! Now, why does he need to be able to hover for a few seconds?”

“Oh, if you had seen him in action, you would totally understand why.” Joey gets a warm fuzzy feeling, and slaps Drenar on the shoulder. “See, I told you it would be fun!”

“She says, before they bring out a needle to put a hole in my ear,” he retorts lightly, but he’s such a champ about it! “Also, am I going to need some kind of enchantment for when I transform? I uh…am half dragon,” he adds as if the words were foreign to him.

“Piece of cake, it’s super easy to layer that enchantment, just like with Joey. That part is easy. Any special reason why the green-tinged metal and bright red gemstone?”

“Well, the green…makes me think of my mom. She had green eyes, like me,” he answers quietly. “As for the ruby…well…It’s a very striking fiery color. A color of passion.” Any relief Joey had enjoyed went out the window when she felt herself blush something fierce, and Drenar’s wearing that slight smirk of his when he realizes he’s got the one-up on someone. Sierra sees right through that and lets out a squeal of delight.

“Joey, Joey! Stop what you’re doing, go to town hall, and marry this guy!” Sierra gives her a massive hug, and Joey suddenly feels like she’s melting into the floor faster than the last time Kyle had a lab accident with the quenching materials. Drenar plays along and laughs.

“Well, I think that would be a very fast, very sudden thing. I’ve gotta be careful. I might get burned by that passion.” She gives him a smoldering look like she wants to melt him now. “Alright, before I lose my courage, let’s get on with this, shall we? My bravado is gonna wear off real quick if I stare at that industrial equipment for too long.”

“Alright then, let’s get this underway. Now, where did you want it placed?”

“Uh…right here.” he points to a spot on his earlobe. Just far enough away from where his ear crest ridge would be, in his dragon form. He did think ahead, Joey thinks with measured respect. “Here we go, on three...”

It turns out, getting cut, bludgeoned, hit with elemental plasma, and toasted by James on a semi-routine basis paled in comparison to the tiny puncture for the piercing, and he winced from the effort. Sierra quickly hands him something to cover it up for a bit, then gets to work on the jewelry. “This won’t take long. Last one in stock, you really have a good eye for craftsmanship, Drenar!”

“Oh, I did learn a thing or two from my friend,” he replies with a gentle nudge of his elbow to get Joey’s attention when he leans on the counter next to him. She won’t give him the satisfaction of a blush this time. A short time later, Sierra is ready, and Drenar puts the earring on. There’s a brief pulse of light from the ruby as it attunes to him, and the alarite metal is set in place. He glances in the mirror, and then nods lightly. “Sierra, it’s fantastic, thanks. Now, if I charge my mana into this, how long could I hover?”

“Depends on the mileage. For you, given your physical aptitude, you could probably hold it for twenty, or thirty seconds without breaking much of a sweat. What are you planning on doing with it? You know dragons have wings already."

"There are some practical uses where being a dragon in close quarters might be a hindrance. With this, I don't need a running start to get airborne. World's first VTOL dragon," he adds with a grin. "Plus, it gives me some surprises when maneuvering in flight. No one's gonna expect me to dead stall in mid-air," he adds confidently.

"Just don’t come back dead, you or Joey. The world needs more people like you in it, and not sitting in a lonely grave,” Sierra scolds him. “So you protect her, yeah? And send the rest of your team my way! I wanna meet the rest!”

“Uh, that’s not how we–” Drenar starts to say.

“Listen, anyone who is willing to fight against deplorable human beings at great risk to themselves is alright in my books! Joey if I’d known you were this involved, I’d have volunteered my services!” she counters, feet spread wide and arms crossed while examining the two of them. “I mean, I can’t do it for free, so if you or Kyle get me raw materials, bring them to me!”

“I’m fuzzy on enchanting. I know we put some runes on that beast of a rifle Julia lugs around, but, how’s it work?” Drenar ponders.

“Runes are like magical programming. You draw it in the right shape, the right size, the right materials, and the right magical charge, and it prescribes an effect,” Sierra explains. “That’s the short version, if you didn’t know. Which I find it mighty weird, how you don’t know.”

“There were some deliberate efforts to keep me in the dark about the mage world. Me and my friends,” Drenar replies with a grunt. “I'm not exactly a fan of the reasons why, either. So, I’m fast-tracking my magical education.”

“Ah, gotcha. Alright, I’ve talked off your ears, but if you guys need help, get me signed up! I’m so tired of people trying to smash my shop, the next time it happens, someone’s getting set on fire, or a slew of magical maladies that’ll make them regret their existence.”

“We’ll be in touch, of course, Sierra,” Joey says before giving her a parting hug. They head out to the street, and Drenar keeps rubbing at his ear. She nudges his shoulder. “Do you have some kind of magical charm?”

“That’s not magic, that’s just my personality. Ow. never thought I’d get a piercing, but, here it is.”

“Did you do that for me?” she teases. He shakes his head and smiles in the warm way he always does.

“Nah. I just realized that I got the whole rest of my life to live, if we somehow pull this off. So I want it to be of my choosing. I mean it’s not permanent, permanent, right? I wonder what Julia will think of it.”

She lets out a contented sigh. “Knowing that girl, she’s gonna get jealous. And get a few piercings in places I dare not mention aloud, to be edgier than thou.”

“I’m not edgy.” then a slow horror dawns on him, and his mouth opens slightly. “Do you think she would? I mean, get piercings on…”

“Drenar, she’s practically your twin soul. You know the answer,” she says with a grin. He grimaces and runs his fingers through his hair.

“Oh, what have I done,” he groans, and then firms up his expression. “Let’s go get some dinner, yeah? I saw a place up the street that I wanted to check out. Victoria’s. It looks like it serves some really good food.”

“Oh no, it’s not good food. It’s divine food,” she says with a melting feeling in her heart. It’s her favorite place in the world to eat, and Drenar utterly nailed it.