CHAPTER 7 –A TRIP WITH AN ANGEL

Nick was currently flying with an angel. No, he was not dead, but he strongly felt he would succumb to either happiness or cuteness poisoning at any moment.

"Bother, flying is so much fun!" Lily said between giggles and squeals of delight as she waved her arms wildly in the air currents. Her platinum blonde hair was whipping his chest and face as her sparkling golden eyes shot to and fro looking at the landscape below her in wonder. They were traveling faster than she could have ever imagined possible, and she was loving every second of it.

Nick held tightly to his little sister's waist in order to keep her explosive and adorable reactions safe. He knew he would need to teach her proper riding and flying edicate while on her Mythril Pegasus Callista eventually, but this was her first flight. He wanted it to be something she remembered far, far into the future. A memory with him that would wash away the years he was missing from her life. Also, a memory that will help to shape her future and that of the Pegasus Knights he hoped she would lead. That was up to her, however, he had no intention of forcing her if she didn't want it.

Callista flapped her metallic wings lazily. Even though they were traveling at relatively high speeds, for both Callista and Nick this was about the same as a casual jog...That is, casual for them. It was still about as fast as the Kingdom's Wyvern Riders at full speed.

Nick was teleporting them all across the world to show Lily some of the amazing sights he had seen on his journey. He wanted to instill a feeling of wonder and adventure in their time together today, to open her mind to the vastness of the world. From the way she gasps and holds tightly onto his hands when she sees something particularly amazing to her, he thinks he is nailing it.

Nick keeps an air bubble around the three of them to avoid any changes in pressure, temperature, or air quality. The "Wind" Lily is feeling is a simple gust cantrip enchanted to add a filtered and more pleasant version of the smells of the environment they are currently in. His next destination is the Mountains of Living Fire on the Dragon Continent, one of his personal favorites.

"Ready for the next place?" Nick asks his sister whose eyes have practically turned into stars with how much they shine. They had spent over an hour in their current location, The Isle Of Giant Butterflies. The beautiful creatures below excreted pollen that magically infects plant life it falls on and changes it into translucent pastel colors. Combined with the many designs and colors of the Butterflies, this place was like a dream to Lily. He made sure to put up his highest invisibility spell before they came here.

If Lily knew that the butterflies were actually carnivorous and could devour a dragon within seconds until only bones remained or that the pastel plants turn that color because they are sucked dry of all their life essence, she may not like them as much. These things are anything but cute and fluffy, but Nick assumed correctly that she would love the colors. He made sure to turn Callista away before any of their prey were revealed to Lily.

"Okay! I'm ready Brother! This is so~ exciting!!!" Lily says as she squeals and claps again. "I can't wait to tell mothers and sisters!"

'Huh.' Nick thought, 'They are probably going to force me to take them on this same trip, aren't they? Oh well. I have all the time in the world and the perfect people to spend it with.' He kissed the top of his little sister's head and then squeezed her tight as they teleported several hundreds of miles in less than a second.

When they appeared above the volcano ridden mountain range, Nick stabilized the air bubble, changed the wind temperature to slightly warmer than it was before, and added a very faint smell of lava, ash, and sulfur mixed heavily with cinnamon to dilute it and make it less abrasive to Lily's nose. She opened her eyes, having closed them every time they teleport, and gasps and points to a tower of lava that chose that exact moment to shoot into the sky like a geyser. Nick may have caused it, but she didn't need to know that. Nobody lives around these mountains and all the monsters near the range have heat and fire immunities so there was no harm in causing a minor eruption from one of the hundreds of active volcanos in the mountain range.

"This is the Mountains of Living Fire on the Dragon Continent, Draconia. There are more than 1000 volcanoes in this range and it stretches from one side of the continent to the other with many branches in between. It serves as the main border between most of the dragon clans. Can you smell the sulfur in the air?" Nick explains and then asks.

Lily closes her eyes and scrunches her face in concentration adorably. She takes deep sniffs and then opens her eyes wide and stares at Nick.

"Is it the sharp smell? It almost hurts my nose!" Lily says and covers her nose so that she can avoid smelling it again. She giggles and then spins to look as another eruption happens only a couple hundred feet in front of them, this one by complete happenstance. Nick moves them away to avoid falling rocks and the spray of lava, then instructs Callista to dive down and fly near the surface of the lava lakes. Lily gasps, shrieks, and laughs at all of the passing monsters as they look up to us.

Nick starts taking Callista up again to prepare to teleport to their next destination when he senses a powerful creature approaching them at incredible speeds. He rolls his eyes once he recognizes their mana signature and kisses Lily on the head again.

"Callista, please take Lily on a small tour and keep her safe. I will be right back." Nick says as he casts a sticking charm to lily's dress so that it will remain on Callista's back even without him here.

"W-wait! Brother! Where are you going?" Lily cries out in panic. She is apparently not ready to fly alone. Unfortunately, the creature approaching them will smash into Callista at high speeds if Nick doesn't move. She is strong...but he is not sure if she could take a full-speed charge from a dragon.

"I promise I will be right back. I just need to say hello to an old friend." Saying this, Nick stands on Callista's metal behind, gives a reassuring smile to Lily, then backflips off the pegasus, makes a him-sized hole in the bubble barrier so that it will remain, seals said hole when he passes through, and free falls from about 900 feet to meet his excited old friend.

*Boom*

A crash that sounds like a magical cannon going off makes Lily scream and panic further as her brother is hit midair and then slammed into a nearby mountain by a red, metallic blur. Dust, debris, and a splash of lava explode into the air in the wake of the collision. Lily holds her hands to her mouth in horror at watching her brother get hurt...maybe...maybe even die!

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Nick spit out some rocks and dust as he stands back up. He casually wipes some lava off his jacket, which appears to be unaffected by the substance. Despite the greeting, Nick stands and spreads his arms wide at the giant, 4 stories tall dragon that now looms over him.

"Radagas! It has been too long, old friend. How are your family and the clan doing?" Nick shouts up with an excited grin.

A flash of red magic is followed by uproarious laughter from a baritone man. The dragon has disappeared and in its place is a tall, middle-aged man with flaming locks and a lustrous beard. He has curved red horns on his head and his eyes shine with orange fire. He wears a simple red Kimono and has what appears to be a katana at his waist.

"Nick! I can't believe I flew into you here! I was just escaping the matriarch...she is in another one of her mating moods...You should have told me you were coming! I would have declared a feast for the whole clan! Everyone is well, but Missy has been missing you and talking about you non-stop! She has been waiting for you to return and marry her."

Radagas, Clan Chieftain of The Red Dragon Flight embraces Nick in a bone-shattering hug and pats his back several times with a force of an avalanche. Nick smiles back, but is confused for a second from the chieftain's words. The older dragon-man catches on before laughing again.

"No! We didn't put through an engagement without your consent, despite my wife all but demanding it... Missy just believes with all her heart that you will come back for her. I know you have other things going on, so please don't feel pressured. Our friendship stands even if you do not choose to wed my daughter." He reassures in a softer tone before patting Nicks's back painfully once more.

"But where are my manners, who is the little darling on the shiny winged horse?" Radagas says, spinning to look at the now very confused Lily. Nick smiles and waves Callista down. He uses his magic to fly up to meet them halfway and explains to Lily, "This is Clan Chieftain Radagas of The Red Dragon Flight, Lily, he is a friend of mine who helped me a couple of years back. Chief Radagas, this is Lily Remington, 3rd princess of the Remington Kingdom, and the God's gift to us unworthy mortals."

Lily blushes under the attention and Radagas flies up himself, his red draconic wings and tail appearing to allow for such flight. He meets us and does a bow in the air. "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, princess. I must agree with your brother that you are most precious. I hope that we can enjoy the same friendship I share with Nick."

Lily, now little more than a ball of red under platinum locks, stammers out a reply, "H-Hello! I-I am Li- Princess Lily. It is g-great to meet you Mr. R-Radagas. P-Please don't tackle me l-like you did with brother Nick...I-I would die..."

"Aw, aren't you just the cutest thing? Don't worry little one, I only do that with Nick because I know he can take much worse before it actually injures him. It is just a little joke we share since we met that way. It was a truly epic battle and I even lost my tail! Your brother is stupidly strong. You should be very proud. "

"Yes! Brother is the best!" Lily says confidently, losing her embarrassment in her excitement. "He has been showing me such amazing places! And he gave me a new friend! Her name is Cally!" The angel says while petting through Callista's surprisingly soft and not at all dangerous Mythril metallic mane. "He said that this is where the dragons live! I want to see them all! ...When I am older..." Lily shouts with excitement as her hands make wild gestures, but she gets embarrassed and a bit afraid at the end.

Radagas gives another roar of laughter and smiles brightly at the princess. "Whenever you or your family would like a tour, just say the word and I can arrange everything. With all that Nick has done for us, most of the clans would love to make alliances with the Remington Kingdom. I cannot thank your brother enough for saving my life from the Bone Rot Poison. He has done many great things for our continent and even helped prevent the release of the chaos dragon! Truly, the Remington family are friends to dragonkind." He smiles and gives another bow to the prince and princess before him.

He then leans in a bit closer and whispers conspiratorially, "And when you are older and looking for a partner, I can promise you will have no shortage of young dragons looking to earn your hand. The children of my clan are particularly attrac-"

A massive wave of killing intent washes over The Red Dragon Flight Clan Chieftain and he shivers in all-encompassing terror. He quickly waves his hands and laughs awkwardly. "Kidding! Only kidding, Nick! No need to get so upset, just a harmless joke."

Lily giggles and covers her mouth. "The only one for me is brother Nick! I really, really love him!"

Ireallyreallylovehim!Ireallyreallylovehim!Ireallyreallylovehim!Ireallyreallylovehim!

Nick loses a couple of minutes after that. When he returned, he sees Radagas inspecting him critically with a hand on his chin. "So he was into those types, huh...better contact the Shadow Clan..." Nick's glare makes him stop dead in his thoughts and he smiles sheepishly.

Nick hugs and kisses the top of Lily's head, but turns her to face him. He needs to make sure to clarify this point to her. "I love you very much as well Lily, but he meant who you were going to marry in the future. You can't marry me, angel, but don't worry, I will always be with you. I will also always protect you and make sure you find the perfect person to be with." Nick finishes and his eyes turn hard in warning towards Radagas as he raises his hands in concession.

Lily looks sad but can tell that her brother won't budge on this. 'Boys are dumb...I only want to marry brother Nick...Maybe I just need to find someone like big brother?' Lily considers but quickly disregards it. It is not important for now. She knows Nick is spoiling her, and she loves every second of it. Him being back and with her is all that matters, she decides.

'I wonder what kind of gauntlet the poor bastards are going to have to go through to win her hand...' The dragon chieftain thinks to himself and shudders.

Nick looks up to the sky and frowns in concentration. "It should be about mid-afternoon back at the castle...I think it is time to wrap this trip up for the day, Sis," Nick says and pats the girl's head. She pouts for a second, but then it turns into a big smile.

"Are you going to stay for dinner tonight!?" She yells in excitement.

Nick chuckles and ruffles her hair a bit. "Yup! I am even cooking for you all! Ever had magically enchanted ice cream before?"

""No!"" Both Lily and Radagas say in unison making Nick laugh even harder. "I will come back sometime during one of the academy breaks and make some for you and your family, friend." He says with a smile and offers the dragon his hand.

"Deal! No take backs!" Radagas yells and shakes the offered hand as they both laugh. The Clan Chieftain tilts his head and pauses for a second after, however. He questions his seemingly indestructible and all-knowing friend, "Wait, why are you going to the academy? What would you still have left to learn there?"

Nick nods excitedly and explains, "I am going to hopefully find and fall in love! I want it to happen naturally, not by arrangements, and I am excited at the chance of it happening there. I am not sure why, but it just feels like the right place to go. I will be starting the High Academy in a couple of month's time. It was great seeing you again, Radagas. I will send magical letters to confirm the time for our next visit. Maybe I can get the whole family to come!"

"I would love that, Nick! Please, keep in touch. I am sure the matriarchs would all love a letter as well. You are still the talk of the continent! Enjoy your school life and I wish you well in your pursuit of true love." He bows to us again and Lily gives her goodbyes as well. The three then teleport back to the kingdom and silence returns to Mountains of Living Fire. The silence is short-lived, however, as a few moments later uproarious laughter can be heard from a certain red dragon as he transforms back and rushes home with his highest speed.

'Looks like you have a chance after all, Missy.' He thinks as a smile takes shape on his draconic snout. 'I wonder how much hell it will raise when I tell the matriarchs...'

Mad cackling could be heard for miles around as the dragon continent, and shortly after, the entire world learned of the situation regarding one of the most eligible bachelors on the face of the planet.