Book 3: Chapter 10 (1/2)

“Whew, it’s so hard to eat when your mouth is so tiny,” Alora said, staring at the half-eaten drumstick in her hands. “If I had my dragon form, I could inhale this through my nostrils and swallow it like a booger.”

“Please, we’re trying to eat here,” Tafel said, making a face. She sighed as she placed her drumstick onto a nearby flat rock, wiping her hands on a handkerchief. She stood up and walked to the campfire before rotating the dead boar that was spit roasted above the flames. “Do you want more, Vur?”

Vur shook his head, holding onto a chunk of meat that was the size of his torso with his mouth.

“Ah.” Alora sighed and leaned back against a boulder, tossing the remains of the drumstick to the side. She placed her hands on her stomach and exhaled. “It feels great to the leave the house. Normally, I’m stuck babysitting the annoying trio, so I never get to do anything fun. It’s nice that Aunt Sera can watch over them for me. Mom and Dad sleep way too much. How can they just shirk their responsibilities and pass them all to me? I’m only three hundred years old! People shouldn’t be allowed to burden children with such heavy responsibilities, don’t you agree?”

Tafel’s eyes narrowed at Alora. “You know, I’m only seventeen.”

Alora blinked at Tafel, a blank expression on her face. A moment passed before her eyes lit up. “Right! I forgot how short a human’s life is. And a sacrifice once told me a dog’s life is even shorter. One nap, and the dog’s already dead, can you believe that? Oh! And flies live even shorter lives than dogs! You can close your eyes and an entire generation of flies would’ve been born and died! Weird, huh?”

“Right….” Tafel turned to face Vur. “What am I even supposed to say to that?”

“When people talk about boring things, just nod and grunt,” Vur said. The chunk of meat that he was eating had vanished. “I do it all the time.”

Tafel’s eyes narrowed as she placed her hands on her hips. “You nod and grunt at me all the time. Do I bore you?”

Vur coughed and turned his head to the side.

“Hey!” Tafel said. “Dragons can’t lie. C’mon, answer me.”

“Oh, the moon looks nice today,” Vur said, staring at the sky while avoiding Tafel’s gaze despite her best attempts to stand in front of his view. “How come the moon always looks the same no matter where we go?”

Tafel’s voice lowered. “Vur….”

“The moon?” Alora asked, bolting upright. She scrambled to her feet, her eyes wide. “It’s nighttime! Quick, turn me back into a dragon!”

Vur scratched his nose. “I don’t know how. Why do you want to turn back?”

“Grandma has a strict curfew!” Alora ran up to Vur and grabbed his shoulders, shaking him back and forth. “We can’t be out at night without an adult or else Grandma will withhold her cookies from us!”

“Then there’s no problem,” Vur said and puffed his chest out. “I’m an adult.”

Alora stopped shaking Vur and blinked. “Huh? You? Really?”

Vur snorted. “What’s with that tone? I stopped Grandpa’s meteor a long time ago.”

Alora collapsed to her knees, her arms falling to her sides. “No way…. You don’t act like an adult at all! And I’m a prodigy! A genius! An unparalleled existence amongst dragons! How can someone my age become an adult before me!?” She fell onto her stomach and grabbed her hair while fluttering her feet, kicking the ground.

“Is she alright?” Tafel asked, staring at the polymorphed dragon that seemed to be throwing a temper tantrum. A bitter smile appeared on Tafel’s lips. “I can understand how she’s feeling.”

Vur scratched his head. “Should I tell her I’m only as old as you?”