Book 3: Chapter 74 (1/2)

“Hmm.” Sera growled at the staff in her palm. “Hmm.” Her eyes narrowed as she poked and prodded it with the tip of her claw, leaving tiny marks on the staff’s wooden surface. She sighed and tossed the staff over her shoulder. “Another failure.”

Vernon’s tail sneaked around to the fallen staff and hooked around it. He dragged it to his front claws and lifted it with one paw. “What’s wrong with this one?”

“It looks weird,” Sera said. Clanking sounds resounded through the cavern as logs of wood fell out of a cabinet. Sera dug around until she found a piece of wood that was a little longer than her palm was wide. She gave it a squeeze and nodded. “This one will be the one.”

“You said that last time, Aunt Sera.”

“And the time before that.”

“And the time before that time.”

“And the time before that time that she’s talking about.”

“And the—“

Sera slammed her tail against the ground. “You know this is why Alora calls you three the annoying trio, right?”

“Yup.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Wait. Because why? I don’t get it.”

Sera sighed and lumbered away with her newfound log. Vernon turned towards the trio of dragons who was staring up at him with wide eyes. One of their heads was tilted. Vernon cleared his throat. “How do I address you individually anyway?”

The dragon in the back puffed his chest out and tilted his chin towards the ceiling. “You can call me Eldest.”

The dragon closest to Vernon raised one paw. “My name is Youngest.”

Vernon nodded and looked at the last dragon, whose head was tilted. “Oh,” she said, righting her head. “I’m Bonnie.”

Vernon blinked. “What’s with those names?”

“Alora named us,” Eldest said. “It’s why we tease her for being fat even though she isn’t.”

“Well,” Vernon said and scratched the back of his head, “she can lose some weight. Just saying.” The three dragons’ eyes widened at him, and he cleared his throat. “I mean, what do you expect when your grandmother feeds her so many snacks every day?”

Eldest tapped on Bonnie’s and Youngest’s shoulders. The three dragons whirled in place and created a circular formation with their heads facing each other. “Does…, does that mean we’re fat too?” Eldest asked in a whisper.

“I don’t know,” Youngest said, his brow furrowed. “Do you think our whole family is fat and we just don’t know it? Really, how many other dragons do we know? We could be obese when compared to normal-sized ones!”

Bonnie’s eyes widened and glistened as a layer of tears pooled within her nictitating membrane. She raised her head and stared at Vernon. “Uncle Vernon, am I fat?”

Vernon coughed and looked towards the wall before turning back towards Bonnie. “You see, ah, size … is a relative thing. Right, a relative concept.” He nodded. “To insects, humans are huge. To us, humans are small, see? When compared to Alora, you’re not fat at all, Youngest.”

“I’m Bonnie,” Bonnie said and sniffled. “What if you don’t compare me to Alora? What about compared to Aunt Sera? Who’s fatter?”

A chill crawled down Vernon’s back. His neck creaked to the side until he made eye contact with Sera, who was staring at him with a blank expression. She smiled, but it didn’t reassure Vernon at all. “Yes, dear,” Sera said, drawing out her term of endearment. “Who’s fatter?”

Vernon’s gaze swiveled from Sera to the three waiting dragons, their eyes brimming with expectation. Should he tell the truth? Maybe if he wanted to die. Vernon cleared his throat. “As you get older, one day, you’ll understand that your eyes simply don’t work as well as they used to. I’m really not the one you should be asking. How about you ask your father instead? He’s still pretty young, right?”

“Dad’s asleep,” Eldest said. “And Mom would say we aren’t fat no matter how fat we actually are because she’s the one who encourages us to eat along with Grandma.” Youngest and Bonnie nodded. “You’re the only one who can tell us, Uncle Vernon.”

“Yes, Vernon,” Sera said, poking Vernon’s ribs with her tail. “Why don’t you tell them? Just the other day, you were telling me how pretty my scales were. If you can’t make out my size with your eyes, then how could you tell my scales were pretty when they’re so much smaller? Don’t tell me you were just complimenting me without actually thinking.”

The annoying trio bobbed their heads up and down. Vernon met Bonnie’s gaze and let out a sigh. “Alright, Bonnie. You’re fat. Sorry.”