Nandak, Klo, and I were flying over the Badlands now. I finally found the time to retrieve more gems for our account at Phoenix Bank. It was a long flight we didn't really talk about a whole lot. Partly because we didn’t have anything to say and partly because Klo would sometimes listen closely to us talk. I know she was just trying to learn but it got awkward sometimes. And then all the questions.
“So why do dragons now not get married?” she asked.
“Because when all the dragon tribes lost that first civilization, and apparently the Viper Dragons, we lost that part of our culture. The only dragon I know who knows anything about the subject is Olakaan. Didn’t you two ask him any of this?”
“He was too busy poking and prodding Klo for information about her kind, talking too fast for him to answer any of her questions,” Nandak said with an eye roll.
“Of course he did.” I rolled my eyes. “Did you know he has a mate?” I asked.
“No, actually. That didn't come up. Would I know who it is?” Nandak inquired.
“One of Viing’s siblings. The one who has a youngling, but her mate had died a while back.”
Nandak's eyes were wide. “Her?! I only met her a few times. She was a head turner certainly. Damn good for the book wyrm.”
I laughed at my brother's comment before returning to looking for the gem cache. I spotted the ridge I was looking for coming up below us, the landing space the same size as I remember it. I lead them down to the peak.
Landing on the cliffs, I folded my wings and started to look for that torch that was here last time. Nandak and Klo landed behind me.
Nandak found his way over to the cache. “The gems in that cave?”
“Yup. All the way in the back. Ah, here it is,” I declared as I found the torch near the entrance.
“So how are we gonna do this?” Nandak asked me.
“Simple, you and I go in, get the gems, then leave. Seriously, it's not like it's Kii's homework or anything like that.”
He tilted his head, “Just you and me? What about Klo?”
“Need somedragon to stand watch.”
“Why?” Klo asked, tilting her head to the side.
“We are on a mountain between two dangerous areas of Equestria. And with Wyvern sightings on the rise out here, I want somedragon watching our back,” I explained.
Klo looked at Nandak. “He wouldn't ask for you to watch his back if he didn't trust you,” he informed her.
Klo smiled and nodded. Nandak and I entered the cache, leaving Klo outside.
“So, brother can I ask you something?” I started as soon as we were out if earshot of Klo. Not that this was about her.
“Of course,” he answered.
“You’re in a successful relationship. What kind of things does a dragoness like?” I asked.
Nandak shrugged. “I don't know. Klo tends to like just relaxing out in the open air. A small adventure to explore the city or so. Usually, she’ll just tell me when she wants to do something. Why the sudden interest in my relationship?”
“I-um… I have a date coming up, and I was looking for advice.” I admitted. We got to the back of the cache. I removed my bags and started to retrieve the gems by the clawfull.
Nandak did the same. “So, who is the lucky girl?”
“We agreed to not tell anydragon until we were sure what this was,” I muttered.
I could see him grin even in the dim light. “You know if you don't tell me, Nikta and Alezah will be able to figure it out. And they’ll tell me anyway.”
Oh, I see how it is, brother. “Fine,” I sighed. “It’s Niirah. We are going out after I attend her performance tomorrow night. She left it up to me as to what we were gonna do.”
Nandak chuckled. “So that's why you were asking me. You don't know what to do?”
“No. No, I don't.” I admitted.
“Look you've hung out with her before yeah?” Nandak asked. I nodded. “So just do something like that, but make it more interesting.”
Hmm… perhaps. “Let's finish getting these gems so we can go home.”
After taking those gems to the bank, our account might as well be overflowing. I decided to make a savings account for emergencies, setting it up so that a small amount from my normal account would get deposited into the savings account every month.
We made it home just fine but the three of us were exhausted from the flight. Nandak and Klo went straight to bed. I decided to look in on Kii.
I approached her new room that rested on the north-west corner of the house. I could hear laughter from inside. Sounded like Hex had stopped by. I knocked thrice.
“Who is it?” I heard Kii call.
“It's Krein. May I come in?”
“Just a second!” she called. I could hear hushed whispers and the scrambling of claws and hooves against the wood floors. Kii opened the door a moment later and gave me a wide grin. “Hey, big brother.”
“Hi. Hex, good to see you as always,” I greeted them, stepping inside and looking for what they were trying to hide.
“Is there something you need?” Kii asked, her grin becoming fixed like a mask.
I looked at them. They had the worst poker faces. “Alright, what are you hiding?”
“We aren't hiding anything,” Kii said quickly.
“If I go through your room right now, am I gonna find something I’m not supposed to find? Or are you gonna be grounded again for lying to me?” I asked her with a serious look.
She sighed and went over to her closet. Inside was a little black kitten with white paws.
“We found him on the way home from school. Hex can't keep him because her mom is allergic,” Kii explained. The little cat looked up at me with big adorable eyes and let out a little mew. “I was hoping you'd let me keep him,” Kii said with the same look of pleading in her eyes.
I sighed, having to suppress a small squee. “Who am I to toss this little thing into the street?” I admitted defeat. Kii's face lit up. “You can keep him, but you have to feed him, give him water.”
“And clean out his litterbox,” Hex added.
“Yes, that too. I’ll give you the bits you need to get him what he needs but I expect you to take care of him. Deal?”
“Thank you, thank you, thank you! I promise I'll take good care of him.” Kii smiled and hugged the kitten.
I nodded. “I trust that you will. Hex, will you be staying the night?”
“Yup!” Hex nodded.
“Very good. I will see you three for breakfast then. Goodnight.”
“Goodnight!” they both called. The kitten mewed.
I was on my way to the Embassy for a bit of work before tonight. I also had received a troubling bit of information given to me by Alezah. Niirah has apparently been waking up screaming and crying the past few nights. I’d try to get her to talk about it when I got to work.
The damage to the city by the Changeling Invasion was completely repaired now. I’d have to put in a request to a local contractor to put together some renovations for the new home; if a monster attack could be repaired this quickly, a quick renovation should be no issue.
For now, I had matters of the heart to attend to. Entering the lobby of the Embassy, I saw the usual, dragons applying for citizenship, extensions on their visas, or ponies looking for information on the Dragonlands, which Therma, the dragon at the information booth, is happy to provide. Very enthusiastic dragon, it was her idea, we just let her do her thing: talk about the Dragonlands. Seriously, she’d talk your ear off if she let you.
If that can even happen? Can someone actually talk your ear off? I don’t want to find out.
Anyway, I headed up the stairs to our offices and sitting right where I thought she would be was Niirah. A very exhausted and stressed Niirah. I don't think she noticed me at first because she was trying to stay awake.
“Niirah?” I said.
She started awake and looked at me with wide, forced-open eyes. “Oh, hey, Krein. Um…” She rubbed her eyes. “I put your mail on your desk and you have a letter from the head of the Wyvern Hunters.”
“Follow me,” I instructed her as I went into my office. She stood and followed.
Once she was inside I closed the door behind her. “Am I in trouble or something?” she asked a little huffily as she folded her arms.
“Definitely ‘or something’,” I said and sat in front of her. “You are waking up screaming? Even crying sometimes? You look like you might pass out from exhaustion.”
She looked down at the ground. “It’s nothing,” she grunted.
“What's wrong? Talk to me.” I put my wing on her shoulder.
“It’s nothing!” she snapped back, pushing away.
I pulled her in close again. “That’s definitely something. And it’s gonna keep eating away at you until it gets to be too much. I won’t let that happen.”
She stopped struggling and became still. I nestled my head against hers. “Please talk to me,” I whispered.
She leaned against me and just about broke down, tears falling from her eyes. “I told you before,” she whimpered faintly. “I can't sleep. I see those things everywhere, and now that's not even all.” She stopped abruptly, turning away as if in shame.
“What?”
She took a shaky breath and continued, in a softer tone of voice. “In the nightmare. I'm in...darkness. I'm running from the changelings, but I can't get away. But they change into… to…” She swallowed and started shaking even more. “Into my father. Dozens and dozens of copies of my father, and they all start clawing at me, tearing at me. Just like he used to for fun.” She squeezed her eyes shut and covered her ears with her claws. “They start laughing. And it sounds just like him.” She wrapped herself in her wings and started rocking back and forth, crying.
I held her. For a good few minutes as she let it out. Once her breathing steadied, I lead her to the couch in my office. “Take a nap. I'll be here in the room. I promise, if you start having a nightmare, I'll wake you up.”
She hesitated for a bit, clearly frightened of having another bad dream, then slowly nodded and laid on the couch. Crying must have made her even more tired because she was asleep in minutes. Once I was sure she was asleep, I went to my desk and tried to get some work done.
She slept peacefully through the day in my office, no bad dreams. I got a lot of work done, even scheduled the contractor, and the party Fancy suggested. The contractors had one week from this Friday to get the house up to snuff.
About four hours before Niirah’s performance I woke her so she could go get ready. I was at home putting the finishing touches on what I had planned for our date. Nandak was kind enough to lend me his magic tent for the night. This was a school event at an amphitheater where the public was allowed to attend for a small fee, but Niirah had gotten me a ticket.
Once I was ready I flew toward the theatre. From my approach in the sky, I could see the venue. Ponies were already getting to their seats and talking amongst themselves. I landed at the entrance to show the pony standing at the entrance my ticket.
Once he let me through after eyeballing me, I went and found my seat. Everypony waited a good ten minutes before the first performance started: a pegasus playing the guitar. I waited, listened, and watched as one by one, each of the ponies came on stage and performed, applauding with the rest of the audience at the conclusion of each.
Finally, the eleventh performance: Niirah. She wheeled out that beautiful harp; no doubt she knew it was a gift from me by now, considering the grin on her face as she sat down and started to play. A pony brought her a microphone too. She was the only one who had used one so far.
As she started, I couldn't help but feel I recognized the music. But then she started to sing, which was not only a surprise in and of itself, but I recognized the lyrics. She belted them out far better than I did.
“Shadows fall,
And hope has fled,
Steel your heart,
The dawn will come,”
I sang her this! Just a few nights ago. The fact that she was singing it now couldn't be a coincidence.
“The night is long,
And the path is dark,
Look to the sky,
For one day soon,
The dawn will come,
“The hunter’s lost,
And his home is far,
Keep to the stars,
The dawn will come,”
She continued to sing as she looked at the audience. Ponies that were previously disinterested were listening intently.
“The night is long,
And the path is dark,
Look to the sky,
For one day soon,
The dawn will come,
“Bare your blade,
And raise it high,
Stand your ground,
The dawn will come,
“The night is long,
And the path is dark,
Look to the sky,
For one day soon,
The dawn will come.”
As she concluded the song a cheer and stomping from the crowd that was louder than for the previous sets resonated throughout the theatre. Niirah took her bow, and even I could see the red on her face as she walked off the stage with her harp. I stood and moved to meet her at the exit.
I stood there a few minutes, and when she came out she was smiling wide, with the harp in its case. “I take it you like the gift?” I asked.
She hit me playfully with her wing. “You jerk! You made me think I was never gonna see this thing again!”
“Is that a yes?” I grinned.
“Of course it’s a yes. I love it.” She petted the harp affectionately.
“Do you want to take it home, before we go on our date?”
“Dunno, I might want to go home with the harp.”
“Ouch, that hurts.” I pretended that offended me.
“But…” she stepped closer to me. “...you did get me the harp so it’s only fair I pay you back.”
I was curious as to what was going through her mind. “Oh, and how do you plan on doing that?”
She grinned. “I have a few ideas.” She brushed my cheek with her tail as she walked in the direction of her house.
I turned around once I regained my senses. “What kind of ideas?” I asked, catching up to her.
Once we put her harp in her room in the apartment, I lead her to Ponyville again. We didn't race this time but we did have some fun scaring some birds on the way here. We went to the same restaurant we sat at during our first visit here, Haut-Savoir.
“I remember this place,” she said looking around. “This is where we first decided to be friends.”
“And now where we are having dinner on our first date. I thought it might be good.”
Niirah grinned as she looked at her menu. “I have been wondering what else was on their menu.”
I nodded. “As have I.”
Niirah tapped her claw on the table. “So out of curiosity, what exactly do you have planned after this?”
I smirked. “Something simple, but something I think you'll enjoy nonetheless. Just wait and see.”
“Fine. I'm thinking about getting the cheesy zoodle marinara, with quinoa vegetarian meatballs, and a fruit salad. Oh, and some wine maybe?”
“Wine?” I asked.
“Yeah, I want to give it a try.”
“Alright then.”
The same waitress as last time approached. “Welcome to Haut-Savoir, what can I get you to drink? Oh hey, you two, welcome back.”
“You remember us?” Niirah asked.
She smiled. “We don't get many dragons around here, other than our local dragon Spike. Even if the dragon Ambassador is trying to build up Pony and Dragon kinship.”
I don't think she realized that I'm the Dragon Ambassador. “Well this is place was just where she and I first became friends. And—”
“He was probably thinking this was a good place to start our more serious relationship,” Niirah cut me off. “Am I right?”
“Spot on,” I answered.
“Awww that's so sweet,” the waitress smiled. “So what'll you have?”
Niirah ordered first. “Could I get the cheesy zoodle marinara, with quinoa vegetarian meatballs, and a fruit salad, please?”
“Kay, and to drink?”
“I want to try a wine, but I'm unsure of what to get.”
“I could pick one for you if you'd like?” the waitress offered.
“I'd like that, thank you.” Niirah smiled.
The waitress then turned to me. “And for you?”
I was more or less inclined to order what I knew. “Skillet eggplant parmesan, and some wine for me as well. I’ll let you pick for me.”
“You got it, I'll be right back with your drinks.” She trotted off with our order.
That, unfortunately, left Niirah and me in an awkward silence. We just sat there looking at each other. Niirah drummed her claws on the table for a few seconds.
“I have a question,” she started. I just nodded for her to continue. “What did you think of my performance?”
“I think that you need to tell me why you chose that song to sing. You have an amazing voice by the way, but why that song?”
“It's stuck in my head.” She grinned nervously. “Seriously, that morning after you sang it to me, I just couldn't stop hearing it in my head. So I made some music for it.” She shrugged.
“Unfortunately I can’t remember any more of the songs I used to sing Kii as a hatchling. So you’re gonna have to come up with some new material,” I said.
“I knew it was too much to hope you had more,” she laughed.
The waitress came back with a bottle and proceeded to pour the red liquid into the glasses on the table. “This is a 1499 red blend from the vineyards in Prance.”
I picked it up and swirled the liquid in the glass, examining it like I’d seen ponies doing at some of Fancy’s events. Niirah did the same. We exchanged glances and each took a sip. I found the wine to be a kind of sweet bubbly taste. Niirah seemed to enjoy it as well.
“I think this'll do,” I nodded.
“Splendid. I'll be back with your food.” She left the bottle.
“I think I need to start going to those wine tastings I've been invited to,” I said taking another sip.
“Think you could bring me along?” she asked hiding behind her glass a little.
“Is that you offering a second date?”
“Maaaybe,” she dragged on the word, as she raised the glass to her lips again.
Maybe it is. I thought.
Niirah might have had just a tad too much wine. She was giggling a lot, even after we flew up to our spot above Ponyville. She was a little tipsy, wobbling from side to side as she walked, but still functional.
Once I set up the tent that Nandak let me borrow, I lead her inside and she sat on the bed. “Was this your plan all along? To get me in bed with you?” she sniggered.
I rolled my eyes. “Not for the reasons you are implying.”
“Oh, then what reasons did you have for taking me all the way up to a private and secluded area with a tent and a bed in your pocket?” Niirah asked, giving me a flirty look and flicking her tail at me.
It did sound weird when she put it like that. “Stop thinking naughty thoughts, you,” I poked her nose. “I just figured that you could use a nice night’s sleep.”
“I slept through most of the day, I’m not tired yet,” she protested. “I can stay up all night,” she added.
“Yeah well, I didn’t. And you know there is a solution to your sleeping issues.” I said matter of factly.
She grinned goofily. “Oh, if you have an idea on that I’m all ears.”
“We could tell everyone else about us, and then you could move in with the lot of us at my house. Once Alezah and Nikta move in with us, you won't be able to keep up with the rent on your own anyway,” I pointed out.
She seemed to sober up as fast as a switch being thrown. “I…” she hesitated. “It sounds nice, but I would like to think about it further.” She looked away momentarily as she took a deep breath, then rested her head against me. “Can we just enjoy the now? Let’s just ease into this.”
“Whatever you want,” I said, a little disappointed but not surprised at her answer.
“I do care for you Krein, and I like that you care for me. But we’re dragons, really young dragons, we have a long time to figure out exactly what we want,” Niirah said.
“I know,” I sighed. She was right but I already knew what I wanted. I wanted her, but I didn't want to force her into something too fast. “Alright. We’ll keep it a secret. Even though I’m ready to tell everydragon else, I’ll wait till you are ready.”
“Thank you. Also, Algae already knows,” she admitted quickly. “She’s my best friend, I had to.”
“Which means Dwiin will likely know soon too,” I pointed out.
Her eyes shot open. “I didn’t think about that.”
“But I also told my brother Nandak, because he’d find out from Alezah and Nikta anyway, and he will likely tell Klo. Even though I told him not to say anything.”
She bopped me with her wing. “And I thought I was keeping a secret!”
I laughed a little. “We even?”
She laughed as well. “Yeah, I guess, since we both broke the deal a little bit. But no one else!”
I held up my right claw. “Dragon’s Honor.”
She leaned back against me, I could sense her overall exhaustion setting in. “This was nice though. It wasn't over the top exciting, and it wasn't boring. When do you think we can do this again?” she asked me.
“How soon are you thinking?” I asked.
“In the next day or so.”
“I’m not expecting any guests at the Embassy. Wanna have dinner there tomorrow?” I suggested.
She nodded from her place beside me. “Sure.”
“You seem tired.”
She yawned and closed her eyes. “I guess I was. Goodnight.”
“Goodnight.”
“Ow!” I woke up to something hitting me in the face. I rubbed my eyes and found a scroll sitting in front of me. “A letter from Spike?” I mumbled quietly, as Niirah was still resting. I slowly opened the scroll and read it.
‘Dear Speaker,
I figured out how to send mail instantly via burning them! Isn’t it cool!? Anyway I think I figured out exactly what that gem was in your dream. I also figured out why you keep overheating and it is urgent that you come see me in the Dragonlands. The two issues are related. I suggest you bring your bodyguard Dwiin with you. You will need him.
See you soon,
Olakaan Peliik’
My creepy dream and my overheating are related? That’s not scary at all. I needed to get Dwiin and head out soon. But I would miss my dinner date with Niirah.
I looked over at Niirah, who was still asleep. She’d understand, right?
“I’m going with you,” Niirah said firmly.
“Why?” I asked. Dwiin and I were in the Embassy, and we were about to leave when Niirah showed up out of the blue, packed for a trip.
“I wanna come. If you do end up going someplace I can’t on this little adventure of yours, I can just go visit my siblings.” She shrugged. “I haven’t seen them in a while.”
I looked over at Dwiin for assistance. “You’re on your own here,” he declared and avoided eye contact. Traitor.
“We might be going to one of the hottest locations in the Dragonlands if Olakaan has discovered something critical. Since you are half ice dragon you will not be able to follow us.”
“Like I said I can just go see my siblings.” She walked past me. “I’m coming with. You can’t change my mind.” She lifted off into the sky and started flying to the Dragonlands.
“Is this how it is with Algae?” I asked Dwiin.
“Yup. Every day.” He leaped into the sky as well. I followed with a sigh and we headed toward the Dragonlands.