Dragon Bond: Chap 2 - Affinity

Pepper woke up from a restless sleep as the sun began to stream through the windows of Cleo’s bedroom. He was warm and comfortable, and when he opened his eyes, he saw that he was still curled up in a nest of blankets on his new partner’s bed. The dragon yawned and rolled over, wishing that he could go back to sleep. He and Cleo had stayed up extremely late the night before.
Part of their insomnia was due to the sheer excitement of finally being paired – it was something they had both been anxiously waiting for. They had spent hours getting to know each other, and after a while, Cleo took it upon herself to refresh Pepper’s knowledge of English. They found a spare set of flash cards in the attic, and the dragon’s partner quizzed and corrected him patiently for hours. By the time 4am rolled around, Pepper could speak in full sentences, though his words were still rather choppy.
When the dragon rolled over, he noticed that Cleo – who had been sleeping beside him – was nowhere to be seen. He frowned and sat up, looking around the room for her. Still, she had vanished. The sound of cabinet doors opening and the smell of food reached him from downstairs, and he hopped off the bed, hurrying to the railing.
He spotted Cleo instantly, puttering around in the kitchen, alternately pouring herself a bowl of cereal and tending to a pan of bacon – oh, bacon! Pepper’s mouth began to water. But as exciting as the thought of bacon was to him, he was still more delighted at the sight of his partner than the smell of the meat. The little dragon’s heart swelled, and he grinned as he called out to her.
“Cleo!” he said.
She looked up at him and returned the expression. “Morning, Pepper!” she said, grabbing a jug of milk from the fridge. “Did you sleep well?”
“Uhuh,” Pepper replied as he made his way down the stairs. “I’m still tired, though.”
Cleo chuckled as she went back to the pan of bacon. “Me too,” she said. “That’s what we get for staying up all night, I suppose. I’m just glad you already knew a little English.”
Pepper clambered up one of the stools which stood beside the island in the kitchen. “Me too!” he said. “My papa teachded me—“
“Taught me,” Cleo corrected him.
“—Taught me English when I was a hatchling. I just needed a re… refre…” he thought for a moment, but for some reason, the word he was looking for just wasn’t forming correctly on his tongue. “… To remember the basics again!”
Cleo nodded. “Well, like I said to you last night, it’s pretty impressive that you know as much as you do. Most dragons don’t bother to teach their hatchlings much English; just enough words here and there to get by.” She began to laugh, and scooped the bacon out of the pan and onto a plate. “It took my friend Loki two months to teach his partner how to speak the language!”
Pepper began to bounce with excitement. “Are we going to meet them this day?”
“That would be today,” Cleo corrected again, placing the bacon in front of him with a smile. “And yes, we are! Just go ahead and eat your breakfast, and we can go catch the bus.”
The little dragon had seen buses before, but had never gotten to ride in one. “Yay!” he said, and began to devour the bacon while Cleo dug into her cereal.
As she ate, Cleo had to keep from staring at the dragon. A small part of her was still convinced that her Choosing had only been a dream, and that she was still firmly asleep. That if she took her eyes off of Pepper for one moment, he would disappear. It certainly made getting out of bed to get ready for school hard. After a moment, though, her eyes were drawn to something sitting beside her on the island, glinting a little in the sunlight.
When she turned to look, she spotted the gold chain she had found on Pepper’s foot the night before, still resting in the spot she tossed it onto upon returning home. It was crusted with dirt in several places, but those few parts that remained free from the grime sparkled in the light. Cleo picked it up and examined it as she chewed.
It looks just like Mom’s, she thought, making her way over to the sink to wash it. She removed one of her black, fingerless gloves – she wore them almost every day of the year, regardless of how hot it was outside – and began to scrub the mud off of the chain. It isn’t hers, of course, Cleo thought. I just saw Mom’s in my jewelry box this morning. I wonder where this one came from.
Behind her, Pepper was busy licking his plate clean. “I’m done!” he said after a moment.
Cleo finished cleaning the chain and dried her hand, tossing the necklace on the island again. “Great! Let’s go!” she said. The pair hurried into the living room, where Cleo grabbed her backpack off of the couch, pulled on her shoes, and left the house with Pepper on her shoulder.
The latch clicked, the lock was turned, and the house was quiet. Sowin – who was still a little wary of Pepper’s presence in her house – emerged from her hiding spot in the pantry and began to prowl the kitchen for breakfast leftovers. She helped herself to a little milk that had been left in Cleo’s bowl, and after a moment, the golden string nearby caught her attention. The cat sat down beside the necklace, stared at it for a moment, and determined it to be an adequate toy. Sowin nudged the chain off of the island, and when it fell to the floor, she chased it around the kitchen for a moment. One careless swipe of her paw later, and it was sent rocketing under the stove.
The cat tried to make herself as flat as possible, staring under the stove at the trinket for a moment, her tail twitching in annoyance. Then she gave up, and went to go have a nap in the bathroom sink.


The bus ride to school was an interesting one. Cleo practically had to hold Pepper the entire way just to keep him from clambering curiously over the seats, inspecting everything. It only got harder when more of her classmates boarded the vehicle; aside from rarely choosing partners, Mini-dragons also generally kept to themselves more than their larger kin. When the other students on Cleo’s bus route spotted the little dragon, the pair quickly became the center of attention. Part of the girl relished in the opportunity, as her tomboyish nature had never made her very popular. But the introverted part of her was quite relieved when the bus finally came to a halt on campus.
An announcement was blaring over the loud speakers as Cleo and Pepper crossed the road separating the two buildings to go and look for Loki and Windigo on the quad. “Attention,” the Dean’s voice was saying, “All freshman will be participating in the hand-to-hand combat exam this afternoon following lunch. If you forgot to bring your issued dagger, a spare will be provided.”
Though she had double checked before leaving to make sure that she had remembered her knife, Cleo nervously reached down to her belt again, just to make sure. Indeed, the dagger was there, buried safely in its leather sheath. Her fingers traced the carving on the pommel; it was tradition for all students to customize their plain, issued daggers over the course of the school year. She had personalized hers with a small flame-shaped piece of steal, plated with gold. Loki’s pommel was made up of a large, cobalt blue marble he had been given as a child by his grandfather.
Her friend and his dragon came into view just as the thought crossed her mind. Loki stood near his locker, chatting with Windigo. Cleo glanced at Pepper, who was staring around at the buildings in excitement, and grinned in her friends’ direction. She began to hurry toward them, shouting, “Hey, Loki!” as she went. “Guess what!”
Loki recognized her voice instantly, and responded before bothering to turn around. “Hm? What?” He and Windigo spotted Pepper simultaneously, and the young man grinned, crossing his arms and leaning against his closed locker door, a satisfied look on his face.
“See?” he bragged. “What’d I tell you? I’ll tell you what I told you. I told you that you’d be chosen soon, that’s what!”
Pepper’s attention turned from curiously studying the school building toward Loki and Windigo then, and he began to peer at them both, his head tilted a little. Meanwhile, Cleo struck Loki’s shoulder lightly.
“Don’t gloat, it’s bad for you,” she said, rolling her eyes, but wearing a rather satisfied expression herself.
Loki laughed. “Yeah, okay.” His eyes were drawn to Pepper again, and he grinned. “Wow, a mini! Nice!”
“I know, isn’t he adorable?” Cleo replied, giddy with excitement once more. The little dragon re-situated himself on his partner’s shoulder, and prepared to leap across onto Loki’s, to inspect the young man.
“He is!” Loki replied, anticipating the Mini’s jump and catching him with ease. “Looks like you got your wish, too!” He giggled a little as Pepper began to snuffle in his hair. “Dragon back fighting is obviously not in your future now.”
Pepper felt a rush of air across his back, and looked up to see Windigo sniffing him. The green dragon’s head was easily twice the size of the Mini’s entire body, but Pepper wasn’t intimidated in the slightest. Instead, he grinned up at Windigo as the great dragon spoke.
“What’s your name, little guy?” he asked, in English.
Excited at the chance to show off his new vocabulary, the little dragon swelled with pride and said, “My name’s Peppear!”
Cleo laughed a little and shook her head at him. “That’s Pepper, not Peppear.”
Pepper frowned a little and repeated the syllables under his breath a few times. “Right! My name is Pepper!” he said. Then he placed his paws on Windigo’s muzzle and sniffed him back. “What’s your name, little guy?” he repeated.
Windigo laughed, the movement of his mouth throwing off Pepper’s balance and nearly causing the Mini to fall from Loki’s shoulders. “For all intents and purposes, Pepper, I am by no means ‘little’.”
Pepper frowned a little when he regained his balance. “Oh. Um, what does ‘little’ mean again?”
Before Cleo could reply, Windigo began explaining in Daggish. It was a fascinating language to listen to, composed of sounds and syllables frequently too difficult or impossible for a human to pronounce, as it was created for use by a race with mouths completely alien to those of Humans, Krahe, or Ibari. Human partners were required to learn to understand Daggish during their junior year at the Academy, but very few in Miilan’s entire history had managed to speak in the tongue.
It wasn’t long before Windigo had gotten the message across to Pepper, and the little dragon clamped a claw over his mouth in embarrassment. “Oops! Sorry,” he said.
Windigo laughed. “That’s fine~ English can be confusing at first. My name is Windigo.”
Pepper’s toothy grin returned instantly. “Hi Windigo!” Then he turned to Loki. “What’s your name?”
“Loki,” he replied with a smile. “Nice to meet you, Pepper.”
“Peep!” the dragon said, unsure of how else to respond. He jumped back onto Cleo’s shoulder then, and was soon settled.
Before the group could continue their conversation, a voice from down the line of lockers reached their ears. “Oh god, Cleo, really?”
The girl turned to see Resha only half looking at her and Pepper, concentrating more on the contents of her locker than the target of her criticism. Zakai stood beside her, his black eyes locked on Pepper.
“I knew you had a cat,” Resha said, “but I didn’t know you were so desperate to stay here that you’d bring it to school and pretend that it’s a dr—“
Zakai nudged her gently with his nose. “Resha.”
She glanced at him. “What?” Then she turned around to see Cleo sneering at her from a few yards away, Pepper lounging on her shoulders. The blonde girl gasped and dropped the book she had been holding.
“Y-you actually got chosen?!” Resha exclaimed.
“Indeed I did,” Cleo said, “Just last night~”
Even as she spoke, Cleo watched the expression on Resha’s face morph from genuinely surprised, to confused and unsure of herself, to vindictive. Within a split second, a sneer to rival that of Cleo’s emerged, and she replied with a short laugh.
“By that little pipsqueak?” she said.
Pepper had watched the blonde girl for a moment, thinking that she was quite pretty, and must be nice enough. But the tone in her voice quickly assured him otherwise, and though he was unfamiliar with the word “pipsqueak”, he could tell by the tone in her voice that it was not meant as a compliment to him.
He furrowed his brow and growled at her, claws inadvertently digging into Cleo’s skin a little. “Hey!” Pepper said. “That was an insult, wasn’t it?!” The girl continued to laugh at him, and the great black dragon with the collar around his neck behind her sneered. He could feel Cleo growing hot underneath him; clearly the comment had insulted her as well.
Pepper wasn’t going to stand for that.
Without really thinking, the Mini leapt from Cleo’s shoulder, teeth bared and claws extended, hoping to deliver a nice scratch across Resha’s face in retaliation. The snide grin vanished from her face instantly, and she shrieked, ducking to avoid his attack. He would have done his intended damage, had it not been for Zakai, who seemed to have been graced with reflexes swift enough to catch a pouncing Mini in his jaws.
The fear Pepper had failed to experience when confronted with Windigo’s massive size rushed into him all at once as Zakai’s teeth closed around him. Though dragons did not eat their own kind, the black beast which had ensnared him was quite large enough to have swallowed Pepper in two bites. Zakai’s forked tongue pressed against the Mini’s stomach, and his teeth poked him in uncomfortable places, threatening to pierce Pepper’s scales and skin.
Caught completely off-guard by the larger dragon’s unexpectedly quick reflexes, Pepper did the only thing he could think of. “L-Let me go!” he shouted, and bit Zakai’s lip.
The rumble of Zakai’s growl of pain was enough to shake every bone in Pepper’s body. He stopped biting immediately, and concentrated instead on trying to frantically free himself. “Why you--!” the larger dragon declared with a snarl, tightening his grip on the Mini and threatening to deliver a bite of his own.
“That’s enough!” Windigo bellowed, pushing himself in front of Cleo, who was also trying to free her partner. “Put Pepper down.”
Zakai raised his head so that Cleo could not reach his jaws, and growled at Windigo.
The green dragon roared, shaking the walls of the school building. “NOW, ZAKAI!”
Bravely, Resha placed herself between Windigo and Zakai, glaring at Loki’s partner. “Make him!” she declared.
Terrified that Zakai would hurt Pepper, and with her blood already boiling, Cleo began to reach for her dagger. “Maybe I will!” Resha reached for her own dagger.
“THAT’S ENOUGH!” a voice bellowed from the quad. “Break it up!” The group jumped, startled, and turned to see who addressed them.
A tall man approached them. He wore a military uniform, albeit an uncommon one, reserved for the leaders of Miilan; a long, blue coat which swept at the ground elegantly as he walked, with a black shoulder board displaying two golden V-shapes. A blue hood was pulled up over his stunningly ginger locks, which hung down over his collarbone. His face, partially obscured by the hood, was contorted in a glare, and his strangely-orange eyes sparkled with anger.
Beside him strode a blood-red Medium-dragon female. Two ebony horns – curved like those of a ram – protruded from behind the crest of feathers that framed her face. Her red-feathered wings were tucked in close to her body, and the tuft of feathers at the tip of her tail flicked back and forth. She too carried rage in her jet black eyes.
Miilan’s governmental structure was different from the others found on the eastern continent. The country was divided into five provinces, and each province was overseen by an elected human-dragon pairing, who took on the title of Counselor, and acted as a governor and representative for their province. Each Counselor was held in the same light as the Queen of Tiniri, or the Emperor of the Narcen Mountains.
This is who stood before the group of quarreling students that morning, glaring.
Cleo watched Windigo and Zakai’s manes – which had been standing on end in anticipation of a fight – quickly flatten. She and Resha gulped simultaneously.
“L-Lord Kitzo,” Cleo said.
Windigo bowed his head a little in deference. “Elder Marz…” It was not wise to try the patience of the Lordly Pairing of the region.
Lord Kitzo halted in front of the group and crossed his arms; students nearby stopped what they were doing to watch. “I am not particularly happy seeing a group of young men and women quibbling over something so stupid,” he snapped, “and I speak on behalf of the entire Miilan Council when I say that we do not approve of such manners.” The Lord of Carath Province glared at them each in turn. “Especially from young officers such as yourselves.”
As he spoke, his partner Marz approached Zakai, her extended claws clicking on the concrete walkway as she went. Though she was forced to crane her head to look up at the student, her snarl was made no less intimidating by her size. “Release him, you big dark oaf!” Marz declared, her teeth bared.
Zakai jumped, and quickly lowered his head, placing Pepper gently on the ground. Relieved, the Mini raced toward Cleo, seeking refuge from Zakai’s teeth in her arms. He stuck his tongue out at the Big-dragon as he went.
Cleo caught Pepper when he jumped for her, and helped him to settle safely on her shoulder before looking back up at Lord Kitzo. He towered over her menacingly, his arms still crossed, a frown still firmly planted on his lips. One of his eyebrows raised in expectation, but before Cleo could open her mouth to speak, Resha pushed in front of her.
“Lord Kitzo, I can explain!” she said. Then she thrust an accusatory finger in Pepper’s direction. “He tried to attack me! He jumped at me, ready to claw my face off, and I’d done nothing to deserve it!”
Heat built up in Cleo’s chest as Resha spoke, until the rage threatened to explode her from the inside out. Her face felt intensely hot, and she quickly retorted. “Liar!” she shouted. “You made fun of him! That’s why he attacked you!”
Resha had the gall to look offended. “I said that he was small, which he is, if you hadn’t noticed!”
“You called him a pipsqueak!”
“Quiet.” Lord Kitzo’s tone was dangerously soft. Cleo felt as though her words had caught in her throat, and for a moment, it was difficult for her to breathe. The Counselor was silent for a moment, studying each of the students carefully. His eyes swept over Cleo, Pepper, Resha, and Windigo’s guilty expressions, to Zakai nervously hidden intimidation, to Loki – who had been quite silent during the proceedings – and his look of helplessness. Then he turned back to Cleo and Pepper, jerking his head toward the road.
“You two will come with me, please,” he said decisively, and turned to walk away. Marz snorted once at Zakai and hurried to her partner’s side as Cleo and Pepper trudged along behind him. The girl wasn’t entirely sure what the Counselor had in store for her and her partner, but he certainly didn’t seem happy with her.
Before they made it three yards, Resha piped up again.
“Ha… Ha!” she exclaimed, her voice full of vinegar. “Thank you, Lord and Elder; I knew you’d see things my way! Have fun in detention, Cleo!”
Cleo and Pepper jumped as Marz whipped around and snarled at Resha. “Do not pretend to know our minds, Miss Hart,” she declared. “If anyone is in detention later, it will probably be YOU. NOT Miss Sirus!” As Marz fell into step beside Lord Kitzo again, Cleo stole a glance over her shoulder at Resha; she was satisfied to see that the blonde was staring after the Medium-dragon in confusion, her mouth agape.
The girl glanced at Pepper for a second, and then past Lord Kitzo; it appeared as though he had arrived on dragon-back, having paid an un-partnered Big-dragon to ferry him for the morning. Cleo had discovered a while back that among the Counselor’s many eccentricities was a preference for traveling via dragon-back rather than in a vehicle. And as Elder Marz was much too small to carry him, he often paid so-called “taxi dragons” to get from place to place. It was an expensive habit, but one he was more than willing to pay for.
After a moment, Cleo summoned the courage to speak up. “Um… Lord Kitzo?” It was strange, using his formal title; she had known him personally for so long that she often called him “Uncle Jareth” rather than “Lord Kitzo”, despite having no blood relation to the man. Still, when he was angry, she had discovered it was in her best interests to not use his pet name.
He sighed and shook his head as they reached the taxi-dragon, turning to face her. To Cleo’s surprise, he was smiling, though disappointment remained in his eyes momentarily. “You’re not in trouble, Cleo,” Kitzo said. “And neither is your partner, or Miss Hart and her partner, for that matter.” She opened her mouth to complain, but the Counselor held up a finger. “I have to avoid nepotism, you know that. If I don’t punish you, I can’t punish her.”
Cleo nodded. “I know…”
Pepper had not stopped frowning since the fiasco ended. “I-I’m sorry,” he said.
Lord Kitzo shook his head and waved a hand, the frustration in his expression quickly dwindling and his smile widening. “It’s alright…” he glanced at Cleo, his brow furrowed slightly.
“Pepper,” she said.
“It’s alright, Pepper,” the Counselor repeated. “I know that disagreements are handled differently among the dragon population. But we humans are a little more delicate than you and other dragons; you’ll have to talk to resolve your disputes, not fight.”
Marz – who had since stopped scowling as well – looked up at Pepper. “Just know that physical fighting is unacceptable, alright?”
Pepper nodded. “My Papa told me about it before,” he said, “but I forgot.”
“As I said, it’s alright. Just don’t let it happen again,” Kitzo said. He took a deep breath, and when he had finished, any trace of his previous anger disappeared. The Counselor grinned at Cleo. “Now, for the reason Marz and I came here in the first place.” He patted Cleo’s arm, and then Pepper’s head. “Congratulations on Finding each other.”
Marz nosed Cleo’s leg as she grinned up at Kitzo. “We heard about it this morning, and decided to come and take you back to the mansion for registry ourselves.”
Cleo looked down at her while Pepper introduced himself properly to Kitzo. “How did you find out so quickly? I had planned to come and tell you this afternoon when exams were over, but—“
“There is little we don’t know about this place, Cleo. Especially if it involves you,” Marz replied.
Kitzo chuckled. “It’s not as though we haven’t been deeply involved in your life for the past eight years.”
Cleo rolled her eyes. “Sometimes I think you’ve bugged my house.”
Pepper frowned as Kitzo hopped up onto the taxi-dragon’s back with ease. “There are bugs in your house, Cleo?”
She giggled at him. “I’ll explain later.” As the girl began to climb up onto the Big-dragon, to sit behind Kitzo, Marz cleared her throat.
“Ahem. Pepper, stay on the ground for a moment, please,” she said.
The little dragon frowned at her. “Okay,” he replied, doing as he was told.
Kitzo said, fishing a stop-watch out of his pocket, “We need to test some of your strengths and weaknesses for the registry records. This is as good a time to start as any. I’d like to see how quickly you can get airborne; take off as fast as you can for me.”
Pepper shot him a grin that clearly said, “You asked for it!” and was in the air in the blink of an eye. Cleo could barely track his progress for a moment. He slowed down after reaching a height of twelve meters or thereabouts, and began to fly around in excited loops. She grinned at him; he made it look effortless.
“Whoa!” Kitzo said, looking at his stop-watch. “Ground to ten feet in 7.3 seconds! That’s roughly 50 miles per hour, if my math is right!” He grinned over his shoulder at Cleo as the taxi-dragon began to take off as well (though his ascension required a much more time than Pepper’s). “Your partner is very fast, Cleo. A good asset.”
Cleo beamed with pride as she watched her partner fly along beside them.
The two were silent for a while. Finally, Kitzo broke the silence. “I haven’t come to check up on you in a while,” he said. “My apologies; you know how things can get. How have you been doing?”
Cleo nodded, though he couldn’t see the movement from his position. “Pretty well, thanks to your help. I know I say this a lot, but I honestly can’t thank you enough for everything you’ve done for me. You didn’t have to take me under your wing like you did; it’s certainly more than others in my predicament have gotten.”
Kitzo smiled at her over his shoulder. “It’s the least I can do, honestly. And as I’ve said before, you’re not the only orphan of war I’m sponsoring. You’re just my favorite~” Cleo grinned at him.
While Lord Kitzo’s hot temper made him a less than ideal candidate for trifling with, he was also incredibly charitable and kind. He was known both for his outstanding military tactics during the recent border war with the Krahe, and also for his compassion toward the victims of the conflict. Cleo was one of many orphans of war which he used his vast personal treasury to sponsor, even going so far as to pay for the mortgage on the Sirus family home, so that Cleo could continue living there when she had become old enough to take care of herself. He also made sure that counseling and fostering services were within easy reach of his beneficiaries. All he asked in return was that the young men and women whom he sponsored begin to take charge of their own lives and finances gradually as they grew to adulthood.
Cleo was already beginning to search for part-time jobs which she could take on during the coming semester, so that she could begin paying for the house on her own, and start this process.


They arrived at Kitzo’s mansion only a few moments later; what was half an hour’s walk through the country side took less than five minutes to traverse on dragon-back. The building was grand, though not as massive as the mansions often owned by the other members of the Council. Its grounds were also inhabited by fewer guards than those of the other Counselors; Lord Kitzo and Elder Marz felt that they were equipped well enough to deal with potential threats on their own, and enjoyed the isolation besides.
The taxi-dragon landed on the sand-stone walkway just outside of the mansion’s grand entrance, and Kitzo paid him handsomely while Marz ushered Cleo and Pepper inside. She led them through hallways with soaring ceilings until they came upon Lord Kitzo’s office, a large room with a white marble floor, walls lined with books, and a huge glass window overlooking the western grounds of the estate. Kitzo strode past them and sat down in his desk chair, motioning for Pepper to stand before him on the desk itself.
“So, Pepper,” he said with a smile, “Did you enjoy the flight?”
Pepper nodded enthusiastically. “Yup! It was fun! I love flying in weather like this! I did loops!” He bounced on his back legs a little as he spoke. Cleo couldn’t help but giggle at him.
“Good!” Kitzo said, “Now, the reason you’re here is so that we – that is, the Council – can keep a record of your different strengths and weaknesses, for future reference, should we need to place you in a combat situation.” He reached into his desk and pulled out a pen and paper. “It’s customary to start off with a survey of your magical abilities. Would you mind breathing fire for me please?”
Cleo could hardly contain her excitement; she was eager to see if Pepper’s size would have any effect on the magnitude of his fiery breath. And besides, the sight was always spectacular.
Pepper, though, didn’t appear to be so enthusiastic anymore. “Oh,” he said. “Um…”
“Come on, Pepper!” Cleo said. “Let’s see what you can do! The room is big enough so that you won’t burn anything important by accident!”
“… But I can’t,” Pepper protested, looking up at her with a guilty frown.
Cleo furrowed her brow. “You can’t what?”
The little dragon squirmed a little. “I can’t… breathe fire…”
“… What?” Cleo said. Meanwhile, Kitzo was furiously scribbling on his pad of paper. “But… But all dragons can breathe fire, can’t they?”
Kitzo shook his head. “Not necessarily,” he replied. “Some dragons are incapable. You were due to learn about it next year, I believe, as it’s not generally necessary for freshman to know about the disability, since it’s such an uncommon occurrence.”
Marz, too, was squirming a little. “In fact,” she said, “I do believe that Pepper and, regrettably, myself, are the only dragons in the province that have it.”
Truth be told, Cleo was a little disappointed. Part of what made dragons so… well, so cool, was their ability to breathe fire. Not even ibari sorcerers could do that, and their species was better at magic than any other. She knew it wouldn’t make Pepper weak; after all, Marz was a living example of how powerful and intimidating a dragon without fire could be. But still.
“I see,” Cleo said, trying to bury her disappointment. It didn’t matter, in the long run. He was still her partner, and she cared about him. “Sorry, Pepper, I didn’t know.”
He smiled up at her, his own worries forgotten. “That’s okay~”
Kitzo tapped the desk with his pen and stared into space pensively. “It’s an interesting subject, really. When the Krahe created dragons, they gave them all an affinity for each element of magic – minus black magic, of course – but most of that affinity goes toward making them impervious to magics cast by others. The only thing they can really manipulate is fire, as a result, since earth, water, and air all generally provide protection.” He leaned back in his chair a bit. “Occasionally, though, every single one of a dragon’s affinities goes toward protecting them, and – like in Marz’s case – they are unable to use any kind of magic whatsoever. And other times, one of the other elemental affinities switches with fire, and you might find a dragon who can manipulate one of the other elements, like earth, or air—“
Pepper’s expression had lifted as Kitzo spoke, and he grinned at the Counselor now. “Or water?” he piped up.
“In some cases, yes,” Kitzo said with a smile, “but it’s usually ea—“
Before he could finish his sentence, Pepper tilted his head back and opened his mouth. A fountain of water blossomed from his lips, leaping several feet into the air. The stream was crystal clear, and the spray that touched Cleo’s bare skin was cool and fresh. Pepper stopped after a moment and let the water fall around him in thick droplets, crashing onto the marble floor and creating a puddle around him on the desk. He lifted his hands in triumph and grinned at Cleo and Kitzo.
“Tada!” he said. “I can make ice, too!”
All disappointment in Cleo’s heart vanished instantly. “Pepper, that was awesome!” she exclaimed. He peeped at her happily. Marz shook herself off, and Kitzo pushed the water off of his desk with a concentrated stream of air; his magic always seemed to be subtle, but strong. He smiled at Pepper and lifted the pen and paper again. “And now that we’ve established that,” he said, scribbling the information down, “let’s see what else you can do~”
Pepper grinned.

An hour later found the pair walking on a dirt road from Kitzo’s mansion back to the school. It was a path that Cleo was very familiar with; she had walked to and from her guardian’s home along it many times in the past.
“My sincerest apologies, Cleo,” Kitzo had said to her when they exited the mansion to discover that the taxi-dragon he had hired had since left. “I asked him to stay, so that you would have a ride back, but it appears as though he was not as reliable as my sources led me to believe. Either that, or I need to brush up on my Daggish.”
Marz had snorted, and leaned against him playfully. “I could have told you that.”
Cleo chuckled. “It’s alright, we can just walk back. The note you gave me will still excuse our absence, even if I’m an extra few minutes late.”
“Of course,” he said. “My apologies again, though. I shall have to contact the dragon’s employer and have him reprimanded.”
Though they had been walking for only five minutes, the mansion was already beginning to hide in the distance behind trees and hills. Cleo and Pepper chatted excitedly about the evaluation as they went.
“That was really awesome, Pepper,” Cleo said. “I didn’t even know that dragons could use any other kinds of magic!”
Pepper grinned. “I’m glad you aren’t mad!” he said. “Mama told me that if I ever got a partner, they might be disappointed at first.”
Cleo laughed. “I’ll admit, I was a little disheartened to begin with, but after seeing what you can do with it?” She giggled a little. “I still can’t get over how you almost nailed Marz’s feathers to the floor with that ice dart thing!” Pepper giggled with her and tried to look innocent.
They passed under a tree whose branches hung over the dirt road as they talked. The only warning Cleo received of the attack was a rustle of leaves, and a thump as something hit the ground directly behind her.
Before she could turn around, the attacker had snatched Pepper from Cleo’s shoulders and tossed him away into a nearby bush. Startled, she watched her partner disappear into the branches with an “oof!” Then the attacker snaked an arm under hers and firmly gripped her torso, his other hand pressing a knife against the skin of her neck. The blade sat atop her carotid artery, and with every quickening heartbeat, it bobbed up and down gently.
Cleo had already reflexively grabbed hold of her attacker’s wrists and was trying desperately to pull them off of her when he spoke.
“Don’t move.”
The girl’s heart raced, and her fear sent adrenalin through her body, making every inch of her shake for a moment. She stuttered a response.
“W-who are you?” Cleo demanded, continuing to struggle with him. “Let me GO!” She centered her body – as she had been taught in her hand-to-hand combat class – and tried to toss her attacker over her shoulder. It was a maneuver she had practiced on multiple occasions, and though she had always been good at it during her lessons, the attacker stayed rooted to the spot. He pressed the blade harder against her throat, and made a tiny cut in the process. Blood ran down her neck and across her collar bone.
“Honestly,” the attacker said, “Do you have a death wish or something?” Though Cleo had not thrown him over her shoulder, his tone of voice seemed to suggest that she had at least managed to startle him.
The cut stung, and reminded Cleo that the man was probably very serious about his unspoken threat to do her harm. She stopped struggling so hard, and began to think of a different way out of his clutches.
“What do you want?” she asked, having regained a little of her composure. The girl glared off into the space in front of her.
“You found a golden necklace last night,” the man said. “Give it to me.”
Surprise and rage welled up inside of Cleo. “Th-that’s what this is about?!” she exclaimed, exasperated. “Some stupid, dirty chain?” In the bush nearby, she thought she heart Pepper groan.
Her attacker’s grip on her torso increased, his nails digging into her skin, even through her t-shirt. “Stupid--!” he sounded just as exasperated as she. “I’ll have you know that that so-called “stupid, dirty chain” is more valuable to me than your life!” he snarled.
Clearly, Cleo thought, the cut on her neck still stinging. Then she remembered; the combat exam! She had brought her dagger with her for the combat exam! The girl began to cautiously move her hand down to the hilt.
“Look,” she said, hoping to distract him, “I don’t have it with me! And even if I did, I wouldn’t give it to a psychopath like you on principal!” Cleo forced a laugh, and immediately wished she hadn’t; it betrayed her terror. “I generally don’t like to negotiate with people who hold a knife to my neck!”
The man growled. “If you don’t have it with you, then where is it?”
Cleo’s fingers had closed around the hilt of her dagger. “It’s right HERE!” She yanked the blade from the sheath and made to stab her attacker in the abdomen. To her dismay, he had noticed what she was doing just in time to move to the side and avoid the hit. He let go of Cleo’s torso and began to struggle with her for control of the dagger. Despite the girl’s best efforts, it only took him a moment to disarm her, and he threw the dagger away, resuming his grip on her body. The blade stuck in the ground beside the bush.
“Nice try,” he said.
“What the heck was that?!” a higher pitched voice called. Cleo and her attacker glanced over and saw that Pepper had detangled himself from the branches of the bush, and stood only inches away from where the dagger had landed. He looked incredibly startled, and when his gaze led him to Cleo’s attacker – who, the girl realized, she had not yet seen the face of – he gasped.
The man took the knife from Cleo’s throat and pointed it at Pepper, his other hand grabbing the girl by the throat, the pressure making it a little hard to breathe. “Stay out of this, dragon!” he shouted.
It took Cleo a moment to realize that his fingers at her throat were shaking.
Pepper snarled at the attacker, spread his wings, and raised his hackles. For such a tiny thing, he looked quite terrifying. “Get away from her!” he shouted. Then he opened his mouth and began to breathe out a thick, white fog. It engulfed Cleo and her attacker in seconds, and the girl could feel ice crystals begin to harden on her skin. The temperature dropped so severely that it felt as though she was being stabbed by a hundred needles.
The effect was enough to force the attacker to let go of her. He yelped in pain and released her, trying to fend off the cloud with his arms. Cleo darted out of the cloud as fast as she could, rubbing her arms to warm herself as she went.
“Sorry Cleo!” Pepper said as she approached. “I had to!”
She shook her head at him and hurriedly retrieved the dagger from beside the bush. “It’s alright, I’m fine.” When she had released the blade from the grip of the soil, Cleo whipped around to face the attacker once more. He was still engulfed in the fog, but it was dissipating quickly.
“I’ll ask again!” she yelled. “Who are you?!”
Though the man didn’t reply, Cleo got her answer soon enough. As the fog burned away in the summer sun, she finally got a good look at her attacker.
He was no man after all. Aside from being quite young – Cleo estimated that he couldn’t have been more than two years older than she – his overall appearance made the likelihood of his humanity impossible. Two ivory, ram-like horns sprouted from the sides of his head, just above his temples. His ears were pointed, and poked out from behind jet-black locks of hair that fell to his shoulder-blades. His eyes were amber colored, his skin tanned as though he had been raised near the sea. And, partially hidden by his brown trench coat, a tufted tail covered in black fur swayed behind him.
Cleo had never seen an Ibari in real life before. Not this close, at least. They didn’t usually ventured as far south as her home in Carath province. Now she understood what had made Pepper gasp. The ibari youth glowered at her, and began to approach, still brandishing the knife. Cleo was rooted to the spot in surprise and fear.
Before he could move two feet, though, a terrible shriek from above made him jump. Cleo, Pepper, and the Ibari looked up to see Marz – who had probably followed them to make sure they had made it to school safely – diving at incredible speeds. Her teeth and claws were bared, and she looked even more intimidating than Pepper had a moment ago.
“Shit!” the Ibari exclaimed, and had dove out of the way, avoiding Marz’s initial attack by a few inches.
While she recovered from the dive and sudden stop, the Ibari scrambled to his feet and ran for the nearest tree. Marz gave chase, but he somehow managed to launch himself into the taller branches of a large tree, and out of harm’s way. There was a rustling of branches and leaves, and then he had disappeared into the woods.
Marz snarled after him. “That’s right, RUN LIKE THE COWARD YOU ARE!” she bellowed.
Feeling oddly triumphant, Cleo added, “Maybe you should remember that Miilan has DRAGONS in it before you attack anyone!” Beside her, Pepper stuck his tongue out in the direction the Ibari had gone.
The older dragon hurried to their side. “Are you two alright?” she asked. “He didn’t hurt you, did he?” Her eyes locked onto the cut on Cleo’s neck.
“N-no, we’re fine,” she said, sheathing her dagger and mopping up the blood with her fingerless glove.
Marz breathed a sigh of relief. “Why did he attack you?” she asked. “Ibari don’t generally pull something like that this deep into hostile territory without good reason.”
Cleo shook her head; his demands hadn’t exactly seemed like “good reason” to her. “He wanted a golden necklace that Pepper and I found yesterday.”
The Medium-dragon furrowed her brow. “Where did you find it?”
“In the woods near Cleo’s house,” Pepper replied, “A little ways away from the canyon.”
Marz nodded. “And where is it now?”
Her nerves still frayed and the adrenaline dying down, Cleo’s voice shook as she spoke. “I-I left it at home.”
The Counselor ground her teeth for a second. “… Given how close you were to home when you found this necklace, and that the Ibari knew to strike when you and Pepper were alone, I’d be willing to bet that he’s been following you around,” she said. “He may know where you live, as a result.” Marz glanced off in the direction that the Ibari had run off to. “If I’m not mistaken, if he continues to cut through the woods that way, he’ll eventually happen upon your house. He’s probably headed there to ransack the place.”
Cleo nodded. “If we hurry, we might be able to head him off and catch him while he’s trying to break in.”
“Agreed,” Marz replied. “The three of us should be more than enough to overcome him. Come!” She turned and ran after the Ibari through the woods, and Cleo and Pepper followed as quickly as they could.


When the Ibari arrived at the girl’s house, he immediately broke in and began to search for the golden necklace. He ripped the pillows from the couches and overturned the armchairs. He searched every cabinet and every drawer in every room of the main floor. Nothing. It was nowhere to be found. After five frantic minutes, he cursed and hurried upstairs.
“Goddammit,” he muttered to himself, “where the hell did she put it?!”
Movement at the top of the staircase caught his eye, and he glanced up, a little startled. A chocolate point cat stared down at him from the landing, curious but otherwise indifferent to his presence. The Ibari let out a sigh of relief and gave the cat a skeptical glance. “… I don’t suppose you know where it is, do you?”
The cat began to lick its paw in response. What was I hoping for? the ibari thought. An answer? He rolled his eyes and walked past the cat and into the first room on the left.
This was clearly the girl’s bedroom. It felt like her: boyish, with a hint of femininity here and there. A map of the Eastern Continent hung over her unmade bed, and a foam cat-bed lay at the bottom of her bookshelf, just below dozens of books and an extraordinarily colorful fish tank. Her computer was asleep, and the Ibari forced himself to forget about the machine; such technology was rare in Rykar, and he was more than a little curious. Had he the time, he might have experimented with it a little, but there was no doubt in his mind that more dragons would be coming for him soon. The necklace was more important than the computer.
He spotted a jewelry box on the dresser, and his heart leapt. Surely, it must be here, he thought as he approached. Then he saw it; the chain he had been searching for, unhidden and tossed aside along with the rest of the girl’s jewelry. He grinned and gingerly picked it up. Then he got a closer look at it, and his smile vanished.
The chain itself was almost identical to the one for which he searched. Indeed, the only difference between the necklace he held and its twin was a small diamond pendant soldered onto the center. This chain bore the gem; the chain he was looking for did not. The stone twinkled mockingly at him, and the ibari growled, hurling the chain across the room.
“God DAMMIT.”
The necklace hit the bookshelf, startling the fish in its tank, and fell to the ground. The Ibari fumed for a moment, but before he could continue his search, a squeaking sound reached his ears.
“Prrreow!” the cat said. It had followed the Ibari, but at the sound of the front door opening, it ran off downstairs to greet the intruder. The Ibari waited for a second, listening. Perhaps the wind had just blown the door open. Maybe the cat just wanted to go outside.
“Oh my god, it’s trashed!” A voice said; it was just barely audible to the Ibari, but he could tell that it was the girl. He cursed under his breath and began to search for an escape route.
Downstairs, Marz shushed Cleo. “Quiet!” she whispered. “It’s likely he’s still around.”
Pepper watched as Sowin trotted happily downstairs to greet them, and furrowed his brow. “… I’ll be right back,” he said, and hopped off of Cleo’s shoulder before she could stop him. He was climbing the stairs before she could really react at all.
“Pepper!” she called out to him quietly. “What are you doing?!”
The Mini didn’t answer. Instead, he took his time on the stairs, making certain that his claws didn’t clack against the wood to give him away. Sounds emitted from the open door to Cleo’s room; something thumped around, something else skidded, and then there was a rustle of branches. When Pepper reached the doorway and poked his nose inside, he saw that the window behind Cleo’s computer had been opened, and the tree branch just outside was still shaking, as though something had just leapt off of it.
Pepper hurried back downstairs. “I think he heard us and escaped through the window!”
“Hm,” Marz said thoughtfully. “Perhaps he found what he was looking for.”
Cleo shook her head, heaving one of her armchairs back into its proper position. “I don’t think so,” she said, walking to the kitchen. Every cabinet door was opened, and half of her dishes were strewn across the counters. “I left the necklace he wanted on the island this morning; I doubt he’d have caused this much damage if he had found it so easily.”
Marz and Pepper followed her, and Sowin snaked around her legs. “If it was so easily spotted, then why did he do all of this?” Marz asked, more to herself than anyone else.
Sowin meowed at Cleo for attention, and when the girl looked down at her, an idea popped into her head.
“… I think I know where it went,” she said, and made her way for the pantry. Cleo grabbed the broom from inside, knelt down in front of the stove, and began to sweep under the device. A moment later, the broom bristles emerged again, carrying with them a cat toy, a jingle ball, and the necklace. Cleo grabbed it and glared at her cat half-heartedly.
“Dammit, cat, stop knocking things under the stove!” she scolded. Sowin meowed at her, and didn’t seem particularly phased.
Pepper frowned from atop the island. “Why does she do that?”
“Because she’s an idiot.”
Marz rolled her eyes. “I believe it may be best if Kitzo and I take that necklace for safekeeping,” she said. “That Ibari won’t attack you again if you don’t have it, and if he tries to steal it from our estate, he’ll have me and several other dragons to deal with.”
Cleo nodded, and passed the chain to Marz, who took it gently in her mouth. “You’re right,” she said. “So, what do we do now?”
“I’ll escort you back to school,” the Medium said. “I believe you have some exams to attend to. You can worry about picking up this mess when you get home; I’ll even come back to help.
The girl shifted nervously. “… And what if the Ibari tries to get back in later? Like, what if he doesn’t know that you have the necklace now?”
Marz smiled at her. “Don’t worry; I’ll have a guard posted outside your door by the time you get home. If he tries anything, he’ll be dead before he knows what hit him.”
Out in the forest surrounding Cleo’s home, the Ibari stood behind a tree and took a careful peek at the house, silently cursing himself.