Book 4: Chapter 1: + 2 (1/2)
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
“So…, how did you two meet?” a red dragon asked, leaning close to Vur who was stuffing his face with food. The red dragon was smaller than him, smaller than Prika too, but the gold dragon beside her—the one that Vur shot with a laser—was as large as him.
Tafel cleared her throat from atop Vur’s head. She was eating an unknown piece of meat that was perfectly seared. “I think it’ll be better if Prika explains it to you,” she said between mouthfuls.
The red dragon raised her neck, lifting her head over Vur’s to stare at Prika, who was also stuffing her face. “Well? How did our late-blooming big sister finally meet the love of her life?” The other dragons who were sitting around stopped eating and turned to stare at Prika. “I think everyone wants to know.”
There was an audible gulp as Prika swallowed. “Well, you know how things happen,” she said and nodded twice. “We met at … a place, and we hit it off, just like that. Yep.” Boos and jeers echoed around the clearing, and Prika snorted twice, exhaling fire from her nostrils. “Ah, shut your mouths! I don’t have to explain anything to you lot!”
The ground trembled as Prika’s siblings grumbled, and their gazes landed onto Vur—more specifically, onto the demon sitting atop his head. Tafel froze from the collective gazes, and cold sweat ran down her back. “If, if Prika wishes to keep how we met a secret, I’m going to respect her wishes. We met at a place and hit it off right away.”
“Is that so?” the red dragon next to Vur said with a sigh. “Prika, a century ago, I made this device to help you find a mate, but you never came home. Who knew that you’d bring home a mate when you did? I wonder what I should do with that device now; it really does take up a lot of space, but I don’t want to throw it away since I spent so much time on it.” Her eyes narrowed and shifted towards Prika, gauging her sister’s reaction. After peeking for a bit, she sighed again and shook her head. “What a waste, what a waste.”
Prika’s mouth twitched, and her expression stiffened. “Wait, wait, wait. There’s no need to throw away something you worked so hard on, right?”
“Oh?” Prika’s sister’s eyes narrowed into slits. “You’re interested in it, huh? I don’t think Vur over here would like that very much, would he?” She nudged Vur with her front paw, but he didn’t react. He was still stuffing his face with food. There seemed to be an endless amount in front of him. “Err…. Would he?” She nudged him again.
Tafel licked her lips and swallowed. “Yeah, I wouldn’t like that at all,” she said and gave Prika a mischievous smile. “After all, Prika already has me. Why would she need another mate, hmm?”
Prika glared at Tafel, flames burning within the red dragon’s eyes. After calming herself down by taking in a few deep breaths, she smiled at Tafel. “Even if I don’t need a mate anymore, wouldn’t it be useful for other dragons we know? Vur has a few cousins, and in just a few centuries, they’ll be ready to look for their own mates as well. It wouldn’t hurt to test out this device to make sure it functions properly before giving it to them, right?”
“You say it like my cousins need help finding mates,” Tafel said and raised an eyebrow. “They’re quite talented and majestic; they don’t need a foreign device’s assistance.”