I’m not sure what Wreyn wants me to do, but torture is not something I want to be part of my repertoire, at least not more than it already is. Telling him as much seems to disappoint him, but thinking of doing something like that now feels very different from hunting prey or defending myself and what belongs to me.
His happy face is quick to turn into a scowl as he glares up at me. It’s very obvious that he’s displeased with my unwillingness to walk that path. I can barely walk the path we’re on with these buildings so close together.
“No doubt you realize what these monsters do to people, so how can you refuse to dole out retribution for their transgressions?! You were bestial enough to burn Plainshold, so you are bestial enough to do this!”
Why the hell does he even need me? If he just wants to torture people, he can do that without my help. I have no idea what I expected to happen here, but I’m still disappointed that this is the way things are going.
“Lauren, do this mindspeak thing. I don’t know what to do. I want to help fight the affront, but I don’t want to torture people.”
“Then don’t. What would he do? Order a Dragon to do his bidding? He’s powerful, but he isn’t that powerful. And he stands to lose more than he realizes, should he choose the path of conflict with you.”
I’m not sure about that. I have no intention of burning any more towns. And where are all the townspeople? This place is quiet and we haven’t met anyone in the streets, which is making me uncomfortable now that I’m noticing... Smelling the air... There are hints of rot and burnt flesh in the air... How did I not notice that?
“Wreyn, why does the air smell like rot?”
Everything about him exudes calm, except for the scowl on his face. He just stares up at me before drawing a deep breath.
“Because we did not act with sufficient haste... Those we have captured here are known cultists because they were caught in the act of sacrificing people to the Affront... They hid among the refugees from Plainshold, and I want them to be given cruelty for having shared it. I want them to burn, and I want their entire order to crumble!”
He yells until he ends up coughing and scrambles into the broken building. For a time, all we hear is the sound of boots hitting wood, and when he returns, it’s with a thin man in tow who reeks of the telltale scent of the cultists. It’s not clear what Wreyn’s mood is, but I doubt his anger was directed at us, although that’s no excuse for yelling at me.
The man is covered in wounds and his skin is taut against his bones, looking almost mummified. Wreyn throws the cultist to the ground, anger and fear clear in Wreyn’s scent.
“All my attempts at executing them have failed. They stay down for a moment, only to rise again. I am at a loss for how to defeat them...”
The cultist jerk appears to be fine with just laughing at Wreyn as the old man talks about what he has tried so far, which ranges from incineration to dismemberment. Geez, he’s been busy.
”The lands will be bathed in the glory of death! Our rule will be eternal as our legion is eternal! Our King will forge the realm of decay and unite the world in rot!“
What a dramatic little jerk...
“Lauren, I have an idea. Follow my lead.”
Telling her what to do, she struts up to the cultists and repeats what I tell her in a very intimidating voice. Turns out she’s great at acting.
“Eternal, you say? What does an eternal being like you know of a Dragon’s digestive system? Perhaps that is something you wish to explore. My pet here could certainly accommodate you.”
I didn’t tell her to call me a pet, but if it helps sell the ruse, I’ll roll with it. She stands in front of him and lifts his head with two fingers, their eyes meeting in deadly glares at each other.
“I hear Dragons are only capable of digesting magic and material, leaving your soul to linger within her for as long as she lives. Powerless. Imprisoned. Lost in the darkness. Remind me, what’s the lifespan of a Dragon?”
To emphasize, I lean in, baring my teeth at him with a snarl. There’s a pull on my magic and a sense of worry from Lauren, but it doesn’t show on her face at all.
“By the Gods, Kira, is that true?! That’s horrifying!”
“I’m not sure, but it’s what Skelly said. And Skelly did make me vomit up a cultist, so it feels true.”
We’re just acting here, but the thought of a snack is making me drool a little as I look at the bound jerk. The cultist appears to be quite brave as there’s not even a hint of fear wafting off him. He does respond to the threats by spitting at Lauren, making me want to crush him, but before I can act, Wreyn has a blade pierced through the jerk’s chest, which earns us more laughter.
“Cleric of Merciferus, if you would be so kind as to heal him.”
“I can’t... My healing is gone...”
That seems to have reignited Wreyn’s curiosity, and it feels like either a very good thing or a very bad thing, but definitely not a medium thing. I’m not sure, but I am curious where he’ll land on the danger scale. We’re about to find out as he walks right up to Lauren and starts eyeing her with that mage sight of his.
“Hooh, how curious. And where has it gone to, I wonder? Magic does not abandon, it does not leave, it merely shifts. Your magic is powerful and your circulation is strong. Healing magic affects the realm of the Material. So where has the healing gone, if it is not material? Are you unable to cast the spell as you used to?
He’s a little creepy as he continues to look her over, inspecting her magic veins from what I can tell.
“Do you want me to interfere, Lauren? You don’t have to put up with him if he’s getting too close.”
She shakes her head and starts demonstrating her spell and how it’s apparently different from the normal version. Wreyn’s interest only grows further as he stares at the magic gathering in her hand. I never really paid attention to how the magic looks, so I’m not sure which parts he’s looking at, but Lauren’s spell just appears as a golden flame to me.
“Very interesting... I wonder... Are those who surround you special, or are they special because they surround you, Kira?”
When did the subject change to being about me? I didn’t do anything. If anyone should be blamed, it’s that weirdo Merciferus. Both Lauren and Wreyn are staring at me now, Wreyn with his eyes full of childlike wonder and Lauren with a distinct ‘I sense blasphemy’ look. Naturally, I inform them that I don’t make people special, they’re special all on their own by being awesome.
Judging by the raised eyebrows I get, they aren’t buying it, but Wreyn is quick to change the subject when he gives Lauren a look and remembers her golden flame magic. I kinda want Raya for this, too, but I don’t have a fancy way to communicate with her. So being the quick thinker and problem-solver that I am, I solve the problem by raising my head to the sky and shouting, hoping she’ll hear me.
“A little warning next time, Kira.”
Looking down makes it clear that Lauren has a point and I should have warned people. Wreyn and the cultist are both on the ground, quivering and smelling afraid. It may have been more of a roar than a shout, and it may have negatively impacted Wreyn as he needs a moment to gather himself. At least Lauren seems fine, so I’m not gonna worry about it too much.
Ever responsible, Lauren helps Wreyn up and may have stepped on the cultist’s hand a few times in the process. I suspect she may still have some lingering emotions about their operation and I’m not gonna stand in her way.
Thinking back to Wreyn’s mention of circulation is interesting, though. Moving my head down to street level, I give the three of them a thorough look and there are these small glowing veins throughout their bodies. Lauren’s appear clear, strong, and robust, so I think Wreyn is right about that. His own look like old rivers, snaking through the land instead of running in a mostly straight line.
The weirdest of them all is the cultist. His magic veins look shattered and scarred, like a mosaic made of mismatched pieces forced together. It looks so fascinating, and I find myself curious about what would happen if the veins were to be rearranged to fit together. I don’t know how to do that, though.
I am curious what my own magic veins look like, but there is nowhere near enough room here for me to turn my head around without bonking into things. I’ll have to settle for looking at my hand, and what I see isn’t anything like what the humans have going on. I’m more like a bottle of magic with the stuff just flowing around inside me in a very uncontrolled manner. No wonder I have such an easy time empowering my limbs, the magic is already there, I’m just telling it what to do.
A sudden distraction appears as the sensation of someone jumping onto my tail and walking up toward my spine. Judging by the general indifference to what I think about it, I’m gonna assume it’s Raya.
As the wanderer reaches my hips, the complaint settles any doubt about the person’s identity.
“Kira, you’re too long. Shrink down a bit so I don’t have to walk as far.”
Pfft, yeah, I’ll get right on that, Raya! I can’t even face her to roll my eyes at her... Life is tough as a big dragon. Can I roll my eyes? Trying to move them doesn’t shift my vision all that much, and I do rely on moving my head most of the time...
“Lauren, watch my eyes. Can I roll them?”
“You have the most bizarre things to be concerned about, Kira...”
Telling her to focus, I try my best to roll my eyes, but she gives me news most dire... I can’t roll my eyes! Dang it! How will I casually show disrespect?!
“Stop rolling your eyes at me, Lauren! And stop laughing! We’re in a very serious situation here!”
She continues rolling her eyes while facing me, a clear taunt of my limitations. Wreyn stares at her with a very confused expression, no doubt wondering what’s going on, but I’m not gonna tell him. What if he joins in? I’d be outnumbered.
Having heard Lauren’s laughter seems to have sped up Raya as she’s quick to reach my head and now stands on my snout, offering me the opportunity to see what sort of magic veins she has. And it turns out barely any. I don’t think I would even notice them if I wasn’t looking specifically for them. I am curious about her magic, though, so while asking her to form a fire bolt, I mention my interest in seeing how she controls magic.
A ‘hooh’ from Wreyn indicates that he’s curious, too, and as she fulfills my request, the magic forms in her center before traveling up her arm and out of her hand, forming into her usual ball of fire. It looks quite impressive with the black and red magic swirling in quite an aggressive manner. It even looks impressive when it flies...
“Raya, why did you throw it at him?!”
“He looks like a bad guy.”
She’s not wrong, and the fire is really going at it. She struck him on an arm, and the flames tear into his flesh, eating away at it, leaving only ash and charred bone behind. I’d like to say I’m thinking fast and coming to his rescue, but I’m kinda fascinated by the magic as well, which distracts me for a bit before I think of helping the guy who is literally on fire. With a mighty stomp and minimal squish, I use my hand to extinguish the flames.
“You crushed my arm! It is not regrowing?! WHY IS IT NOT REGROWING?!”
Wreyn is showing no sympathy as he stands over the cultist, watching the aftermath of Raya’s fire bolt as the writhing desiccated guy screams about something. I feel like we’re getting too close to torture territory, and we should probably help him a little. With too much effort, I manage to nudge Lauren and point her toward the guy. She’s quick to remind me of her inability to heal as she rolls her eyes at me... I’m pretty sure she just found a new way to tease me...
This does feel a little torturous, though, so with a stern voice, I tell Raya to not do that again and if she is gonna shoot him with fire bolts, at least make it fatal.
“I tried to, but he flinched! It wasn’t my fault!”
I didn’t see it, so it’s not like I can argue against that, but we do have to keep some moral high ground around here, I think.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.
“Cleric of Merciferus, I believe it would be prudent to try your healing spell on him. He is not bound to the material as you and I, as such, he may be affected in a different manner.”
It’s not really a way I want to go, but there’s a battle between standing my ground and finding out what happens. It’s possible she’ll heal his fragmented magic veins, but we don’t know, so we’d be experimenting on a prisoner, and that’s not okay.
Voicing my concerns on the matter splits us into two camps. Lauren and I are reluctant to experiment on this jerk, but Raya and Wreyn seem to be fine with it.
“It’s up to you, Lauren. It’s your magic they want to use, so we can either explore it now or later. I’ll support your choice either way.”
“If I do this, you must kill him afterwards, Raya.”
She nods in response to Lauren’s demand, and Lauren chants her healing spell as she channels my magic, touching the man’s arm. With her fingers touching the skin of his arm, it bursts into bright golden fire and he screams in agony as his body disintegrates into motes of shimmering flames. His body falls to the floor, becoming a pile of dust that continues to exude motes of light.
“Lauren, I think I figured out how you can fight on Merciferus’ behalf.”
“By the Gods and the Pantheon... What was that spell, cleric?! You must teach me how to cast it! The words sounded like a simple healing spell, but the result speaks for itself. That was purification like none I have ever witnessed!”
Wreyn’s gaze shifts upward, staring at Raya as he lifts an eyebrow. She doesn’t seem to be affected by his piercing stare or his obvious interest in her fire bolt, but I’m certain he really wants to know how she’s casting magic that can hurt the cultists.
Instead of standing around all day, Wreyn heads into the broken building again, and Raya taps my nose a few times before asking me to go closer to the ground. Doing as she asks and paying special attention to the position of my horns, she jumps as soon as we get close to the ground and joins Lauren. The two launch into a chat about what to do from here, and they mostly seem to agree that the cultists should be executed, just not how or the duration.
They’re bickering back and forth about whether to make the cultists suffer as Wreyn brings up the two remaining jerks. They’re looking desiccated as well, and I’m not sure why that is. If I had to guess, it would be Wreyn’s attempts at killing them and their subsequent regrowing draining their bodies of resources.
“We are eternal! Our Lord will reign over this world as death takes all! Our Lord will take all from you!”
Take all from me?! Those are my things, and I’m not letting anyone take them!
“See, Lauren? Kira is on my side, she wants them to suffer a little, too!”
I may have lashed out at the thought of someone stealing from me... The cultist is groaning on the ground, but most of him is still left, well, half. It’s possible that I may have taken a bite out of him and, in the process, pushed the wall of a nearby building inward somewhat. Raya looks at me, beaming with pride, but the other two seem to be staring at me, Lauren with exasperation and Wreyn with worry.
“He said they were gonna take my things! It’s not my fault! Don’t tell a dragon you’re gonna come for her things, that’s just irresponsible...”
Lauren rolls her eyes at me with a short laugh before channeling her spell and touching the torso cultist. The golden flames and fiery motes get to work reducing him to a pile of ash, as his companion stares with obvious fright. It seems the idea that they aren’t quite as eternal as they thought is quite a scary surprise.
The last cultist keeps his head down, seeming quite intent on not looking at the dusty piles of ash left behind by his friends.
“If you hold any hope for surviving this day, speak, abomination!”
To emphasize Wreyn’s demand, Raya launches a fire bolt at the cultist’s leg, startling Wreyn if the scream and jump are any indication.
“What? He wasn’t talking.”
“You could have given him a chance to! By the Gods, how is your group capable of gathering any intelligence on the enemy...”
Raya shrugs and raises her arms, interlocking her fingers behind her head as she joins Lauren to the side. The two of them start talking back and forth about Lauren’s magic and how potent it seems to be when used against these jerks. I’m kinda curious to see if her fancy golden fire magic has an effect on the affront.
Wreyn gets to work on the remaining cultist, threatening him with this and that and a dusty future if he doesn’t share their plans. But the cultist seems resilient as he resists Wreyn’s methods. I wish Skelly were here to do their weird magic, but we probably wouldn’t learn too much given their peculiar manner of speech. It could be worth going that direction, though.
“Wreyn, have you ever met any polite undead, and if you have, do you know where they live?”
With a raised eyebrow and a skeptical look, he asks me why I want to know. So I give him a quick rundown of how Skelly and I met, and suggest that we could find Skelly''s faction and have them interrogate the cultists, since they seem quite interested in doing just that.
“If you have already met one of them and established a connection, why would my help be required?”
“No reason...”
“She blew up Skelly.”
Raya is standing off to the side, preventing me from nudging her without bumping into a building, the clever little rascal. These narrow streets and tall buildings are getting on my nerves, and I want to leave.
Wreyn asks her to elaborate, but I’m just gonna interrupt and tell him that I need to stretch, and there isn’t enough room for it here. He doesn’t seem to want to move this anywhere else as he tells us to stay a little longer.
“We must all endure hardships for the greater good, waiting a moment longer hardly qualifies as a hardship.”
Lauren and Raya share a look before glancing up at me and whispering something to each other, but I’m too busy not knocking down buildings to pay attention to them.
Every single movement feels confining, and if I move my shoulder wrong or twitch a wing, I’ll break something! Ugh! I want out!
“Wreyn, I believe we need to get moving now.”
He seems to question her as to whether it’s a suggestion or an order, but then she insists again, with impressive authority in her voice. Wreyn grabs the prisoner by the neck and pulls him to his feet. We’re finally getting a move on, but that also means I have to turn a corner here... Frustrating corners not built with dragons in mind... Geez, my mood has turned sour fast. It isn’t helping that humans are so dang slow!
“I do not understand the problem, we were making progress, and changing location like this shows weakness!”
The cultist laughs some more and agrees with Wreyn, saying we are weak, spewing nonsense about the world falling into the realm of death. Lauren seems to have a problem with Wreyn’s statement as she grabs hold of his robe and pushes him against a wall. His befuddled expression suggests that he has no idea what she’s trying to say, but then she just leans against him, forcing him against the building.
“Conduct your interrogation like this. If you move me, you lose, and people will hunt you down to kill you.”
Her voice is calm, but I know her well enough to know that she’s angry at him.
“How can I possibly do anything under these conditions? And why would anyone hunt me down? Stop this madness!”
She doesn’t stop that madness and instead presses harder against him, much to his frustration. Some guards appear in response to Wreyn getting kinda loud as he tells Lauren to knock it off, but then she just points to me and they hesitate.
“How can you not see that this is what Kira faces every time she enters a settlement? I mistakenly believed we were stopping by somewhere and moving on, not settling down in the middle of a street, otherwise, I would have put a stop to this before we began.”
“And why did she not simply say anything?"
“Ah, of course the Dragon would say she’s struggling because Dragons are famously without pride! She would be far more likely to make room than to ask for it. Do you want her to make room for herself here?”
Lauren keeps Wreyn pinned to the wall as they bicker, but Raya has another plan, which is brought to my attention as she snaps her fingers twice, drawing my eyes to her. She motions for me to follow, and I do, stepping over Wreyn and Lauren.
Raya runs ahead, telling the guards to stand aside or be crushed by a dragon, and I can finally move at a reasonable pace. It’s not my preferred pace, but it’s better than walking behind humans going their own walking speed. That’s not really walking for me, it’s more like taking a step, then waiting before taking another.
Raya is leading me down some unfamiliar street, but she seems to know where we’re going, so all I can do is trust her. Getting moving is enough to make the encroaching feeling go away, and the gate up ahead promises freedom from the obnoxious buildings.
It appears that we’ve moved faster than people have had time to clear out as the street becomes somewhat crowded with folks scrambling to get out of my way. Fighting back my urge to just run for it, I slow down to avoid trampling random citizens, and to their credit, they’re doing a decent job of moving away from me.
From the scents I pick up, they’re scared, but not terrified, which I find a little interesting. I would have thought the sight of a dragon trampling through the streets would’ve set the scary-meter straight to terrified.
At least there are no carts around to block me. There’s an almost clear path to the gate, and I’m getting anxious to get out. Picking up speed a bit while stepping over the last few obstacles, Raya and I finally exit the dang town! We’re free!
The moment we pass through the gate, there’s some resistance and my head feels very heavy. I’m managing to keep it up, but it’s tough, as if there’s a dang weight pressing down on me...
Instead of dwelling on that, we head for an open space to appreciate our freedom, and we settle down on a patch of grass as I wonder why Raya is snickering to herself.
Every time she looks at me, she tries to contain herself until she bursts into uncontrollable laughter.
It takes quite some effort, but as I lift my head and look toward the gate, it becomes clear what’s going on... The portcullis is missing, and the gate is damaged. I think the dang thing is stuck on my horns!
I need to do something about this, I can’t run around with a heavy iron lattice stuck to my head, that’s no way to live! So, tilting my head to the side, the weight of the thing takes over and slams into the ground, and try as I might, the dang thing is stuck!
Getting up and walking sideways with the portcullis dragging along the ground doesn’t work to dislodge it... All it does is make Raya laugh harder... Stupid iron and its stupid flexibility...
“Raya, I need help.”
She’s laughing hard enough to cry, but the moment I ask for help, she pulls herself together and settles with a hearty chuckle as she creates a fire bolt in her hand and walks up to my horns. I’m not sure what she’s doing, but I’m gonna hold as still as I can, so I don’t end up hurting her.
After a while, she walks to the front of my face and climbs up as she moves to my horns again. She forms the fire bolt again and this time, the pull on my magic is stronger than she’s ever done before. I’m just gonna let her work because that seems dangerous. She’d better not be using fire to cut my horn off...
I like my horns even if they get in the way and I don’t see them much. They’re mine and I want to keep them. They’re long and beautiful and I’ll figure out how to use them for offense one day.
“Lauren, when you’re done with Wreyn, we can meet up outside of Oakhold and go home. Raya is helping me with something before we can go, though.”
Just like that, I find myself worrying about her well-being. If she gets hurt by being alone and trusting, I’m not sure how I would react. ‘Not well’ is definitely on the table. While my worry builds, she responds with a sensation of curiosity and amusement, so at least I know she’s safe. Giving the situation some thought, I don’t doubt that she would send a message if she were in trouble, but I’m still gonna worry.
“Are you okay, Kira?”
“Yeah, I just worry about Lauren being alone.”
Raya pats my horn a few times before reassuring me that Lauren is fine and she won’t be trapped again like she was before. From the sounds of it, Raya has begun warming up to my favorite first-aid kit. Which very nice, even if it means they’re teaming up when it comes to teasing me.
“I can’t get it off, Kira. I can’t make a fire hot enough to weaken the metal.”
Oh, that’s a great idea. As I start moving, Raya jumps off me, and I turn my head upside down with the portcullis aligned with the ground. Hooking a talon from one of my hind legs into the lattice, I push magic into the metal, hoping it will react like the dagger I melted when Lily tried to teach me magic.
Pushing magic into the metal as I pull with both my neck and my leg, the magic starts to weaken the metal and I’ll be free any minute now! It’s taking quite a bit of magic, as it turns out. Iron is terrible at taking it in, so I’m forced to really shove it into the metal.
“Kira, are you sure you should be doing that? The air is starting to shimmer.”
Just a little more and I’ll be free, I’m sure of it. As I start pulling harder, Raya tells me to stop for some reason.
“Lie on your side and look at the sky. Like this.”
She shows me how to look into the sky, but I already know how to do that, it’s how I tell time. She’s clever, though, so I’m sure she has a plan. Doing as she tells me, she directs me to stretch my neck and align my horns to be vertical, pressing the iron against the ground and changing its orientation.
That just feels like it’s stuck in a different way, but Raya the Clever climbs onto it and starts pushing against the top of my skull. From the feel of it, she’s using all of her might, even taking some of my magic for something as she, judging by the scraping feeling, manages to push the metal off my horns.
With a mighty slam against the ground, I’m free! All thanks to my hero, Raya the Clever Dragonbringer!
Getting up results in a moment of dizziness as I feel so much lighter without the weight of the portcullis stuck to my head. I deserve a stretch, so unfolding my wings to their widest, I dig my claws into the soil and let a stretching shiver roll through my spine, and it feels fantastic.
Turning to face Raya reveals that something has changed about her... I can’t quite place it, but going over her features, she has those long nails, pretty dragon eyes, darkening scaly skin, and a small pair of dark gray horns growing out of her forehead.
“Raya, are those horns new?”
A speedy hand is quick to grab one of the two horns now adorning her forehead, and her mouth spreads in a wide smile. I’m not sure where this mutation stuff is going to end, but she seems quite happy about it.
Squealing with joy, she jumps around while holding onto her new horns. They match her hair quite well, and they just look really awesome.
“What has her so excited?”
Oh! Lauren is here. I’ll have to deny anything involving gates and things like that, so for now, we’ll focus on Raya and then leave. Telling her about Raya’s new horns earns me quite an indifferent expression.
“Huh, that makes sense.”
Nudging her for an answer earns me one of those dastardly eye rolls, and I’m regretting ever bringing that subject up. Explaining the situation about how Raya was using a bunch of magic to help me out does seem of interest to Lauren.
“That explains a few things... I believe we were mistaken about the source of Raya’s mutation. I now believe it’s tied to using your magic, rather than a bond or pact. The more she uses it, the more changes she will experience.”
“How come you think that?”
She stares at me for a moment before rolling up one of her sleeves.
“Because I’ve been using your magic, and now I have begun to grow scales.”
Oh... She shows me an arm with beautiful light brown scales growing on the part facing away from her body. Well, I’m gonna use the ''correlation does not equate to causation'' card and discard any potential blame, telling her as much earns me yet another eye roll...
“Using bizarre words won’t get you out of this, Kira. I’m not letting you get away with throwing in your old language to confuse me. You usually make some sense when you do it, but this is just gibberish.”
So it turns out, I don’t know the words for correlation and causation in her language or Raya’s language, and I’ve been using the occasional word from my old language here and there. I didn’t even realize, and they’ve just been rolling with it, using context.
“Are you going to turn into a dragon-woman, Lauren?”
“If Raya is anything to go by, I would imagine so.”
“Does it bother you?”
“I have worried about it in the past, but I think the strength it brings outweighs any possible downside. And when I restrained Wreyn, it became obvious that I’m already stronger than I’ve ever been. So I’m confident it’s a good thing.”
I haven’t seen Wreyn around, and swiveling my head around, I don’t see him anywhere, or the prisoner cultist for that matter. Nudging Lauren about it, she informs me that they have made a deal regarding how the cultists are to be handled, and she’ll tell me about it when we get home.
Lowering myself to the ground, she climbs on and calls for Raya. The rascally goblin is quick to leap onto my nose and join Lauren by my horns. Spreading my wings, we take off toward Tuiran as Lauren is struck by sudden madness, asking questions about events that never happened.
“So, exactly what happened to the gate back there? I find myself quite curious to hear your explanation, Kira.”
"Should we worry about the cloud of magic we left behind?"
"Can we stop by the lake to pick up the bow I dropped?"
I feel like they''re throwing a bunch of unnecessary questions my way when all I want to do is go home and enjoy that Tuiran''s square is big enough for me to spread my wings and stretch. Lauren''s yawn seems to agree that a rest is in order.