The first day back had mostly been spent recovering. Raya was quite exhausted after staying out far too late, but it was so worth it.

A new friend who was a Dragon! Not even in her wildest dreams could she think up such a thing. This whole thing had been such a bizarre situation for her, she still had trouble understanding it.

To think it started out with her nearly dying, then getting saved, then getting screwed over by that damn Elder, then nearly dying again, and then a day of watery fun with a Dragon!

Not to mention Joras being friendlier. Although whether that was because he thought she could get Kira to help or not remained to be seen.

But why not stay optimistic and assume it was just new hope for this peculiar situation of his making him happier.

For most of the day, Raya simply moved around town, restocking necessities, unsure of what to do. Mostly, she just wanted to go find Kira again and play around, but the town had rules about leaving too frequently.

There were many cases of overly eager folks in the past who, in trying to become rich, overextended themselves and ended up never returning.

Ever since that rule was implemented, the amount of disappearances has fallen drastically, resulting in a steady population growth of the township. Because of this, they were slowly building up a workforce to become self-reliant.

All in all, the town was doing quite well for itself, to the point that it had even taken up stable trade with nearby villages.

Many people in the world still saw her kind as mere beasts to be slain, but times were changing, and Joras was proof of this since he was one of the blessed races.

It’s common knowledge that the blessed races are better than others, especially races like goblins.

The blessing is granted by their God, such as Korovar, God of Forge and Fire, having blessed the mountain people with strength and longevity.

Or Terragaraem, God of Humanity and Prosperity, blessing humans with unity and ingenuity.

Raya never did learn about all the Gods, why would she? They never cared about her or her people, so as far as she was concerned, they weren’t important.

Deciding not to bother with all that big thinking nonsense, Raya continued her day. She still needed to pick up a few items, and for once, she actually had a decent amount of coin to spend.

The herbs Kira and she had gathered were quite valuable, and they had found so many! Well, Kira had found so many.

It didn’t take all that long for Raya to finish up, so it quickly became time to head back home.

Shortly after entering her home and getting settled, a knock at the door elicited a groan from her. Nobody ever visited her, so who the heck was this interrupting noisemaker?!

It turned out the interrupting noisemaker was Elder Turo.

“Hello Raya, my name is Turo. I hope I might be allowed to take up some of your time today, is that possible?”

Raya was immediately suspicious of this polite tone, it was just too buttery and friendly, but then Elder Turo was typically the driving force behind initiatives helping out those often left behind.

He was the reason she had a small home to call her own. It was he who forced through a new law that the town must have small houses available at all times, so that nobody would have to sleep on the streets.

The housing did come with a small upkeep fee, but not being able to pay it wouldn’t get you kicked out. It would simply be shouldered by the town until the resident could pay it back over time.

“Sure, come in, Elder Turo.”

Raya quickly shuffled around, fetching a chair for her guest. “Please calm down, Raya, I’m just here to talk about what I assume is a common interest.” That made Raya freeze.

It was common knowledge that Elder Turo had a fascination with herbs and flowers, but given recent events, Raya doubted that would be the topic today.

“Uhm, I’m sorry, Elder Turo, I don’t really have much to say about Ki- the dragon, she ran away after Elder Charo attacked her…”

Feeling anxiety grip her as she realized she had slipped up, all she could do was hope that he hadn’t noticed, but even she knew such hope wouldn’t last.

“Don’t worry, Raya, I have no intention of hunting or otherwise hurting the dragon. Right now, we need damage control.”

Judging by the tension in his words, Raya thought it almost seemed like he was furious, but trying his hardest to keep a friendly outward appearance.

“That idiot Elder Charo acted rashly, and, I’m sure you’d agree, we do not want to be the enemy of a dragon. I’m not looking to hurt or bind… Her… in any way. I just want peace between us.”

Yeah, he had definitely heard her slip up… “I’m not sure how I’m supposed to help, Elder Turo. I’m not exactly someone important or powerful…”

He just smiled with his usual forced smile. Raya felt sort of impressed by how clearly exhausted and angry he was about this whole thing, while managing to not make her feel like the target of said emotions.

“Your status isn’t relevant to me, Raya. All I want is for you to stay friendly with the dragon, and if the opportunity presents itself, perhaps discourage any... retaliation she may be thinking of. But don’t worry too much about such things; it would be quite unreasonable of me to make demands pertaining to such things. That being said, should you need anything, do bring it to my attention, and I’ll do what I can to help."

It was clear to Raya that he was garnering favor, but the whole thing seemed quite surreal.

Though, if all she had to do was keep being friends with Kira, then that seemed entirely doable. She intended to stay friends with Kira anyway, but she would definitely have to bring it up with Kira.

This definitely felt like one of those things that could easily give the wrong impression if left in the dark.

Not much else was talked about, but Raya found herself getting increasingly anxious, which Turo seemed slow to pick up on, but he was not entirely blind to.

“I see I’ve overstayed my welcome, so I’ll take my leave. For my closing statement, I wouldn’t mind offering you a retainer position, which would give you a steady income. Although it wouldn’t be much, it would lessen your burden somewhat. And that is definitely a bribe.”

He had said it was a bribe without a shred of shame. It left Raya conflicted, had he made his offer in order to buy her loyalties or just sweeten the pot?

But that didn’t feel like a thing she could actually ask.

She didn’t feel like she actually needed the extra coin, since Kira could easily help find valuable herbs, and if Kira helped, Raya wouldn’t be beholden to Elder Turo.

This was definitely something that would weigh on her going forward, hopefully Kira or Joras would know what to do.

Between restocking on necessities and Elder Turo’s visit, most of the day had passed, far more stressfully than anticipated, leaving Raya surprisingly exhausted. So she decided on an easy meal and to go to bed early.

————————

The day had started just before dawn when Joras had knocked on Raya’s door and asked her to follow him back to his shop.

Their quick pace through the streets earned a few curious looks, but it was otherwise uneventful.

As they arrived at his shop, he unlocked the door and headed inside. Joras motioned for her to follow as they headed into the back room.

“She’s up here…” he said as he gestured toward some stairs.

Raya thought about how Joras likely hadn’t let anyone else into the back room since moving here, at least none that she had heard of.

As the two got to the second floor, Raya immediately smelled a sickly sweet scent, sending chills down her spine.

Joras moved quickly toward one of the rooms and opened the door. “Hey, sweetheart, I’m home. I’m sorry for staying out so late, but I think I might be on to something to help you. Maybe even heal you.”

Raya looked out from behind him and saw a pale grey elf.

The sickly elf’s hair was white as snow, and her skin was taut as a drum around her bones. If Raya didn’t know any better, she would have assumed the elf was one of the undead.

The sickly elf merely looked up at Joras and smiled, as he knelt down beside her and cupped her cheek in his hand, bending his head down and pressing it to her forehead.

Considering what she was seeing, Raya became convinced about talking to Kira about the trade. She knew Joras was an ornery old jerk at times, but nobody deserved to be this sick.

“Mister Joras, uhm… I think we should find Kira…”

He didn’t move for what felt like an hour. Then he got up and turned to face the small goblin, tears running down his cheeks.

“You can go down to the shop, Raya. I’ll be there shortly, I just need a moment…”

Which is exactly what Raya did. She had been to his shop many times, as he didn’t haggle much for the prices of herbs, he tended to be very straightforward and stoic.

That wasn’t something she had expected to see at all. He was just so vulnerable that she felt compelled to help him.

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

It didn’t take long for him to come down, having composed himself and returned to his usual appearance.

“So, Raya, where are we meeting Kira?”

“I don’t know why you expect me to just be able to find her, Mister Joras.” Raya was somewhat exasperated at this sudden responsibility.

A lot of responsibility seemed to have fallen her way recently.

“Every time we’ve met, she has found me. And even then, usually when I was about to die, which I’d prefer not to repeat. Again.”

To his credit, Joras merely let out a huff and let the matter go.

Joras shuffled around the shop, collecting various potions and baubles and adding them to his satchel.

“Okay, I think I’ve got what we need. Are you ready to head out, Raya?”

Raya just stared at him for a moment, he was being unusually nice.

Realizing she was caught up in staring, she shook her head, pushing aside her trepidation. She opened the front door, and the two set out to find Kira.

They made it through town without incident, which was a relief, as Joras had assumed the elders would get up to some nonsense and drag Raya into it.

Standing by the edge of the forest, Joras pulled out two potions and handed one to Raya.

“These will cloak our scent, that should be enough to keep most predators from finding us.”

Raya looked at the potion for a moment, contemplating just how much gold the elf was throwing around for this mission of his.

They settled in to begin their trek, having both started to move towards the lake.

She caught him staring at her a few times until he suddenly asked, “Raya, how come you gave Kira some of your coin?”

It had been on his mind since it happened. He already knew dragons loved wealth, but Raya giving away her coin freely seemed quite odd, given that Raya had always struggled to earn anything beyond just keeping herself afloat.

“Oh, that’s an easy question. She found almost all those herbs for me, so the least I could do is give her her share.” Cooperation instead of domination, this was certainly a peculiar dragon.

Joras thought on this, as well as how the only aggression Kira had shown the town of Tuiran had been provoked by someone from the town. And even that had, frankly, been surprisingly restrained.

There were a few ways to explain this, but for now, Joras concluded that pondering what-ifs and maybes wouldn’t be helpful.

The travel through the forest went without incident, and the pair made it to the lake. What they saw was, quite frankly, an utter mess.

There were clear signs that something had happened, given all the scuff marks on the shore, but exactly what was unclear.

Joras began inspecting the claw marks and thrown-around dirt, trying to figure out the events that had transpired.

“I’m only seeing tracks from one creature, which I suspect is Kira, suggesting all this was her doing.” Raya had begun searching as well and came to the same conclusion.

Not wanting to fixate on the messy beach, Raya began looking toward the trees and found something promising.

Raya pointed out the trail leading toward a large tree, in which Joras quickly spotted a wagging black tail.

“Well, I didn’t expect to answer old philosophical questions today, but how does one wake a sleeping dragon without getting burned, Raya?”

Raising an eyebrow, she just looked at him and shrugged.

Not wanting to come up with an overly complicated plan, or get eaten by a drowsy dragon, Joras opted for a far simpler solution.

He brought out his dagger and made a small incision in his hand, then picked up a rock and coated it in a thin layer of blood. One short incantation later, and he threw the rock into the tree, eliciting a furious-sounding growl.

“What was that, Mister Joras?! Why’d you throw a rock at her?”

“It was a guidance spell and, as you already surmised, a rock. It seemed like the easiest way to wake her, while keeping enough distance for her to recognize us.”

Raya suddenly found herself convinced that this elf was dangerous in ways other than his magic.

The rock had obviously had some effect, as the duo was quickly greeted by a deep growl.

————————

Who the heck interrupts my nap with deadly artillery?! Admittedly, I get somewhat grumpy when I’m woken up, but to be fair, throwing rocks at me is very rude, I’m a delicate young woman, after all.

Disregard recent mayhem.

I quickly climb down my tree, growling a little more than I intended, but then I realize that Raya is here, seeing her immediately improves my mood.

So naturally I run over to her to engage in the mandatory booping of her cute nose. Me being somewhat larger than her results in the whole thing being closer to a gentle headbutt, and I may have knocked her over. I’ll need to practice being even gentler.

After an appropriate amount of nuzzling, I realize Joras is here too. At least he isn’t scowling, in fact, he seems to be smiling slightly. Wonder why.

“Soka un Feli…[Like a cat…]” The big guy seems to have shrunk since we last met, he’s practically my height now, so that’s peculiar.

But I don’t know what elves do for fun, so who am I to judge? It doesn't take long for him to pull out two potions and hand one off to Raya, who I may still be pinning to the ground. Her own fault for being adorable; I haven’t done anything wrong.

They both drink their potions and I feel a peculiar magicky feeling. “I’m happy to see you too, Kira, but could you let me up?” Now she’s just asking for more nuzzling. What an unreasonable request.

“I will consider your request after I consider my options, Raya. So for now, we can't rush these things!”

“Ahh! Help me, Joras, the mighty dragon is keeping me hostage! What do I do?!”

For his part, Joras just reaches a hand out and touches me, which also gives a peculiar magicky feeling.

“I would help you, Raya, but alas, it is finite how many requests one can make of a dragon, and I already have my eyes on a different request.” Hah! Good job, Joras!

“Nooo! Doomed to be cuddled!” Raya is mine now!

I may have gotten a bit caught up in playing around, but it's necessary to have fun once in a while, so no regrets!

But I shouldn't be playing around all day, so with great effort and (totally in character) self-control, I lift myself up and release Raya.

Joras bringing up requests and whatnot reminds me that he actually has a purpose for seeking me out. I’m still not quite sure if I wanna go through with it, so I ask Raya what she thinks, and to my surprise, she looks quite serious as she answers.

“I think he can be trusted, you should have seen his partner. He definitely needs to do something, and if your blood can help, then it would be the right thing to do. But at the same time, it’s a risk to you, so I don’t know what to do.”

I had assumed that he’d get upset if he didn’t get instant approval, but mostly he just looks somber. He’s earning a lot of points here.

Even more so, since apparently he noticed my indecision and offered to go straight to teaching me about dragons.

“So first, can you fly yet?” A good question, but alas, I cannot. I explain that I feel like I got somewhere with my whole training montage, but I couldn’t actually fly because something was missing.

“How much magic did you use?” The heck? Is magic needed to fly?

“Judging by your reaction, we’ll need to teach you to access your magic at will. Hopefully, your nature will make it easier…” He dares to sigh at me?! I am the mighty lake dragon, I can do everything! Rawr!

Apparently not fussed by my clear indignation, he just launches into a rant about looking inward and finding your magic.

I may have been somewhat distracted during the first part, but I’m sure I can figure this out anyway.

I give it a go, and to my surprise, I can actually feel something that definitely feels peculiar, but it isn’t quite like Joras explained.

He said it’d be like a small ball of energy, but it’s more liquidy and big, and for some reason it’s raining inside me. What the heck does that mean?

So naturally I ask him about that, which just makes his face scrunch up as he grabs his chin. Now he looks really contemplative.

“That is unusual. Having a lot of magic is expected of a dragon, since you are a creature of magic. But to be so young and have it expressed as a lake is not something I would consider usual. And the rain? We may need to conduct some experiments.”

That definitely sounds questionable, and it doesn’t sound like he’s all that familiar with this whole thing, but I guess he still knows more than I do. Now he’s talking again, real talkative now, this guy.

“Since we need to teach you the basics, we’ll move away from flight being the objective and see if we can teach you to breathe fire. Look inward again and focus on your magic, then pull from it and shape it into heat. It should come naturally to you.”

I face away from him and close my eyes, trying to do as he says. I sorta feel it and I can feel my magic rippling slightly when I’m interrupted by a thump and heat hitting my shoulder, startling me.

What the heck was that?! I quickly look around, but it’s still only Joras and Raya here.

Raya is looking awfully shocked and not eye-contacty. “And that is why we aim away from each other, Raya…”

Does Raya know magic?!

“I’m sorry! I just tried to do the thing, and before I knew it, I lost control of the fire!” Naturally, I inform her that the crime of attacking me while adorable carries a hefty punishment of cuddles.

Joras seems surprised that I don’t appear harmed. “It was quite a weak spell, but it was something… It should have left some marks.”

And now he’s rubbing my shoulder like some weirdo. I guess he’s trying to assess the damage.

“Do it again, Raya.” What?! I never consented to getting attacked! And why are you doing it again, Raya? Ooh, your punishment will be legendary!

To my surprise, she actually pulls it off quite easily, and the fire bolt hits me in nearly the same spot. It doesn’t actually hurt, but I can feel my magic rippling again.

“What did that feel like, Kira?” I don’t know, it felt sorta like eating a piece of chocolate when you’re low on energy, and now his face is scrunching up again.

“It’s well known that dragons are heavily resistant to magic compared to other creatures, but I’m not seeing the usual signs of resistance in you, I think what you’re doing instead is consuming a portion of the magic, and not an insignificant portion. That might be why Charo had such a difficult time trying to bind you.”

I don’t really feel like thinking about Charo, so I just focus on Raya and ask how she managed to cast those spells. I didn’t know she was a mage. “Uhm… I’m not a mage, that was my first time using magic.”

That’s pretty amazing, and congratulations are in order! She’s actually pretty amazing. And now I have extra motivation to learn magic properly, so I can keep up with her!

Once I really get to trying, I find it surprisingly easy to access my magic, and with a few pointers from Raya, I manage to actually breathe fire! On purpose! Haha!

My dragonitude is increasing! Raya and I end up spending a decent bit of time just throwing around flames when suddenly we're interrupted.

“How long can you maintain your flames?” That’s a good question, Joras. So I get to it and just burn the sand and rocks on the beach. Much to my disappointment, I’m not actually turning the sand into glass.

As it turns out, when you keep a pretty strong magic-fueled flame going on your own power, coming from your belly and going out your mouth, you can get dizzy. Well, I can anyway, because I forgot to breathe or something, so I may have fainted a bit.

This is where I’d wake up, find Raya bound or killed, and sketchy Joras standing over me with a blade, wielding his blood magic to bind me to his will, enslaving me for the rest of my life. And giving a monologue about how it was his plan all along to use my naivety and trusting nature against me.

But none of that happened; instead, I find him slouched over me, clearly having decided on an unintended, decisive nap.

My goodness, I really don’t trust the guy, do I? Geez, so many things I have to work on.

Raya seems to be having a mild panic attack while she’s trying to rouse Joras. As I try to move, she notices me and lights up.

“Usi er mora? [Are you okay?]” Ah, I guess the potions wore off. That’s inconvenient. A quick boop ought to reassure her and possibly calm her down a bit. It must be scary to see us suddenly go unconscious.

Focusing my attention on Joras, after I may have accidentally bumped him off of me as I was getting up, I gently, very gently, move him onto his back to check if he’s still breathing. which he is, so that’s a great start.

As I was doing that, apparently Raya ran off and collected a bunch of sticks, and now she’s building a tiny stick triangle. Oh! A campfire, of course… I totally didn’t forget that most people need warmth.

All these new priorities and instincts are starting to worry me; am I even me anymore?...

As I’ve done so far, I push that thought aside and focus on something else. It's time to focus on Joras.

Raya has built a lovely little campfire and even lit it with her badass fire magic.

“Cora to jeb to? [What do we do?]” It sucks to be back to being verbally challenged.

For now, we’ll just keep an eye on Joras, aside from being unconscious, he seems fine.

I get that we’re supposed to watch over him, but frankly, I get a bit bored with it, and decide to move away a bit to practice using my magic.

For my first trial, I call up my fire breath again. It initially feels a bit odd, but I manage it reasonably well. It turns out that my body wants to do this, so I just need to stop overthinking it, and it comes to me. Which seems like very useful information.

I make sure to check on Raya and Joras during my training session, but Raya just shrugs and shakes her head, so I assume his condition hasn’t changed.

I feel like I should check on him, but I never did take that first aid course. I guess I really should have.

Nevertheless, inspect I do! As I’m looking him over, Raya comes up to me and places a hand on my front leg, arm? Is it a leg or an arm? Whatever, it’s an arm now. From now on, it's two arms, two legs, and two wings.

That'll help me keep track of myself. So she’s touching my left arm and I notice that swirly magic Joras mentioned, and it’s small, but it feels healthy.

Now what does Joras feel like, I wonder. I gently nudge him with a claw and I barely feel any magic from him. And the bits left feel scattered and dry.

What the heck did he do.

Or better yet, can I fix it? Naturally I decide to use all the tools available to me. Like unfounded confidence, overestimation of my capabilities, and a boatload of safety violations.

So I feel for my own magic and nudge a tiny bit of it away from the rest and push it into Joras. Turns out that worked quite well, since he’s now stirring awake. I can tell, because he is screaming very loudly.

What the heck did I do?! Is he gonna die? Did I kill him? How do I fix this?!