My Little Kirin: The Lost Tribes

by Soothing Stone

Reconnecting In Progress...

The morning light trickled through the blades of the jungle tree. They still felt like they were blazing fiercely into Cinder’s eyes. Maybe it was because she was shaking from the nerves that wracked her body, or the sweat all over her scales and fur. She trembled where she stood, even though she had nothing to fear when it came to her well being.

Maybe it was the kind of people she stumbled into. A lot of pony-like creatures, going by the name of kirin, crossed paths with her. If it was fate that they met like this, she didn’t know. Some of them were on fire, others were not. All she could see in them was their mix of fear and curiosity. She shared the same sentiment. Some of them gathered together into a circle to discuss the matter when it came to her.

“I can leave if that will make things easier on you,” she offered. “I’m just trying to find my place right now. Wouldn’t think to hurt you in a million years.”

One of the kirin came out to talk to her directly. “We never thought you would. We’re merely deciding what to do with you.” He eyed her scales, the mark that she was half dragon, before he joined his brothers and sisters in the circle. She used her magic to listen into their conversations. None of them hated her, but a lot were terrified. Her dragonhood was frequently mentioned, asking themselves if that was a sign she would be like the others. What others?

Some of the younger tribes mates, no more than seven years old, came over to see what kind of creature she was. Their parents would discourage it, as they didn’t know what to make of her, either. Still, she tried to pat their heads, anything to convince them that she was nice. And that she was, only terrified of what might happen to her at the end of this.

The conversation drew to a close, and the chieftains came over to confront her. “We have no reason to believe you mean any harm,” said one of them. “You’ve been honest and accommodating with us, and you seem like good person at heart. The only thing is, we’ve never met anyone quite like you. That’s left us puzzled.”

She slowly nodded and combed her fingers through her hair. “I understand. I can just leave and let you all on your way. Where are you going, anyway?”

Another chieftain sighed. “We don’t want to push you away simply for being different. The thing is--what is that?” A gust of wind parted the leaves on the trees, and it was not a natural gust. It foreshadowed the cause of the wind, and it left all the kirin of fighting age pulling out their spears and igniting their forms to be prepared.

“What is that?” Cinder asked. “That can’t be good.”

“It’s a dragon. One of the bad kinds.” The chieftain whistled, and a herd of dragons came out of their hiding places to join the tribes. They were all ready for battle, as fierce as any creature she had seen in her lifetime.

She should have ran away with the children and elders, finding a place to hide while the battle raged on. Yet, that’s not what she did. Something about this set a fire in her heart. Maybe it was how terrified the tribes were, or another element she didn’t know yet. Either way, she knew what she had to do. She stood with the warriors and dragons and confronted the threat.

“What are you doing?” one of the warriors asked. “You need to get out of here!”

“No, I can’t leave you here!” she shouted. “Let me help you. I have more than enough strength to go around!”

The leaders were too busy forming a battle plan in their minds to reply, and then they saw the invaders arrive. It wasn’t time to debate if their strange new friend should come in to fight with them. The time for debate and planning was over.

It was funny. Anytime she replayed this memory in her mind, she could remember almost everything about it. The smell of the jungle air, the fear of the tribes when they found her, and the ensuring fight ahead. But she only had the haziest memory of the threat they would fight that day. Blue scales. As big as any dragon she had seen before. Why couldn’t she remember more beyond that?

Then again, every culture likely had their version of the devil, or a demon that was evil enough to nearly pass as one. Not the kind of person anyone would want to remember, just being grateful that they met someone like that and came out of it alive.

The memory faded away from her mind. The way the moonlight reflected off the river soothed her heart when she dwelt too much into the past. Either that, or the tap on her shoulder broke her out of it.

“Are you okay, Cinder?” Kunzite asked. “You were really out of it for a second.”

“I probably was, and I’m sorry. We have a job to do, and there’s someone I’d like to meet before we call it a night.” She grabbed a paddle and joined in with the rowing. The boat pushed against the weak current, and it wouldn’t be long until they were back in the village.

By then, the last of the daylight was gone. Luna’s moon was high above the skies, and it felt rather festive that evening. Maybe it was because there was so much fire around the village, from natural fires and the light of the niriks alike. Either way, Kunzite was going to have a good time tonight, and she couldn’t wait to see how Moonstone would receive Cinder. Very well, from the looks of it.

Cinder and Streaming Sea helped row the boat when Kunzite needed a breather, and it was a slow but steady progress. The current dying out around this time of the day sure helped. However, something caught Cinder’s eye as soon as they came closer to the nearest bay. It wasn’t something she’d forget anytime soon.

Moonstone stood by the bay, his arms crossed with his face empty of emotion. He huffed silently as they came closer, and Kunzite grew worried as soon as she saw him. This wasn’t how she planned for their first meeting to go, and she had some explaining to do.

In the meantime, Cinder was nothing but concerned. She had gotten to know each and every dragon that lived in her village, and this wasn’t one of them. Judging from past experience, this was going to be one of the Dragon Lands creatures. Not the best first impression.

The boat arrived at the bay, and a few kirin came by to fasten the boat with rope to the bay. Moonstone helped out as well, and he offered a hand to help Kunzite get out of the boat. Even when he was doing something as helpful as this, she could feel the emotion in his hands.

“Did you know about Cinder?” he asked her face to face.

That made her gasp. “How did you find out? I just found out ten minutes ago. Believe me, I was just as surprised as you were.”

“Oh.” He looked over to the side at Cinder, who was getting the lion’s share of help from the other kirin. “Some of the dragons told me just now. I knew they were hiding something. I just didn’t think it would be...that. There’s more of you guys out there?”

“Not to my knowledge,” Cinder butted in. “Believe me, to find out that there’s not only another Equestrian Kirin in the world, but two? That could...um, be a lot to take in.” She was carefully observing Moonstone, and Kunzite could tell how she didn’t know what to make of the dragon.

“Do you need me to take care of anything else?” Streaming Sea inquired, as the boat was fully roped into the bay by then.

“No, that’s fine. Thank you for everything.” She waved him off ceremoniously, and he went off to attend to other things. Kunzite gulped when she realized there was no more delaying the next bit.

“So when were you going to tell me about all this?” he asked Cinder directly. “You’ve been keeping this a secret from all of us for how long now?”

“Well, I’m here now, aren’t I? We came out here specifically to meet you. Admittedly, hiding that I exist might not give the best image, but I’m here to fix that now.”

Moonstone snorted a puff of smoke, not buying it for a second. However, Kunzite came between both of them before it got worse. “She’s right. We just met a few minutes ago over at this cool looking garden, and we just left to meet you.”

He studied Kunzite’s face to make sure she was telling the truth. One look and he saw how sincere she was. “Fine. I just don’t like people keeping secrets from me like that. Kunzite and I don’t do that to each other.”

“Oh?” Cinder raised an eyebrow. “So you two really are friends, then. Tell me, if you don’t keep anything to the chest, do you want to be here? I’ve heard you haven’t had the best time since you arrived.”

“Hey, it’s okay. He doesn’t have to answer that,” Kunzite sweated. “I’m really sorry if I made things awkward between you two.”

“No, I want to be honest about this, too.” The dragon came up right in Cinder’s face. Only three feet separated them, and he did his best not to let his anger flare up. “We had to sit through a play that implied that most dragons are horrible, AND it called Torch a tyrant. How do you think I’m going to feel about it?”

Kunzite gasped and hoped to Celestia that this didn’t escalate. There were a million ways this could go south, each one worse than the last. But none of them happened. In fact, for a brief second, it looked like Cinder was concerned for her friend.

“Point taken. If I was called a monster through poetry like that, I would give them the cold shoulder as well. Yet, here you are. I admire that about you, having a thick skin like that.” She stopped for a brief second, however, when she noticed something on Moonstone’s skull.

It was a minor detail, but one she could spot from a mile away. In the back of his head, she noticed what seemed to be two small horns growing in the back of his head. It was very slight, but she recognized the patterns of it. It reminded her of someone from her past…

“How long does it take for your species to grow horns out again?” she inquired.

“Oh oh, I can answer that. Around 20 to 40 years of age,” Kunzite answered. “So he still has some time to grow up before he grows his horns.”

A drop of sweat started to go down Moonstone’s face. He picked up that she was a very strong woman, despite being a little smaller than he was. Maybe it was because she was half dragon, and probably had some of his strength to go along with it. It didn’t help that she wasn’t asking the most friendly questions in the world.

That out of the way, Cinder sighed and rolled her shoulders a bit. “Well, enough of that. We’ve all been through a lot today, and I think I know just how to let you blow off some steam,” she told Moonstone. “I heard you’re a fan of arm wrestling. Is that true?”

Moonstone’s eyes lit up from the suggestion. “A fan? No, I’m the champion of the world, dragon or non-dragon. I’ll take you on right now.”

Kunzite chuckled under her breath. “Whenever someone wants to break the ice with you, they should just bring up arm wrestling. That always seems to do the trick.”

“Is it, now…” Cinder took a personal note of that for later. It was very telling for anyone, not just for her.

She decided to bring them to her favorite spot of the village. It appeared to be the best hangout for social gatherings, given the amount of open air shops and bars around. With the amount of dragons around, some kirin even opened some gem shops for the rarer and tastier treats they came across. Moonstone was going to need to go there at some point. There were a lot of tables near those shops, perfect for some arm wrestling.

For once, Moonstone noticed that he was getting some welcome stares for once. Maybe it was because they were getting to learn what kind of dragon he really was, but he didn’t care. He was just happy to be welcome around here. Of course, Kunzite got a lot of attention as well, but the interesting part had to be the reactions to Cinder. A lot of them bowed on one knee before her. “Now now, it’s not necessary. Just happy to help,” she would say to them.

Eventually, they wound up at a table with enough seating for all three of them. It was by the gem store, and the scent of those delicious treats drove Moonstone up the wall. Still, there was a quick way to get his mind off of them: Having Cinder sit opposite him and offer her hand for a good old fashioned arm wrestling match. “I think this game tells a lot about a person. How strong they are, and what they’re willing to do to win,” she noted.

“Oh yeah?” Moonstone commented. He raised his arm and locked hands with Cinder’s. Just from that grip alone, he could tell that he was stronger than her, but she seemed to have an edge in something else. What that was, he was about to learn about it. “Like how I’m the strongest dragon ever?”

“He really is the best,” Kunzite commented. “Well, save for that one time my dad beat him. He’s an older dragon, though, so I’ll give it a pass.”

“That was one time! Nobody’s beaten me other than him.” He stared down at Cinder and got ready to go. “Are you ready?”

“Of course. I haven’t done this in, well, a year or two, but I’ll be curious how I stack up against you,” Cinder commented. “Let’s begin.”

With that green light, they went at it. Moonstone expected an easy victory, but she was even stronger than he expected. She grunted as she pushed back against his might, and the dragon side in her was obvious to him immediately. He still had the edge, but she had a trick up her sleeve.

Moonstone had the strength advantage, but Cinder had experience on her side. She knew just how to push back, angle her arm to gain some leverage, and other things like that. She smiled when she realized she could put up a fight, even with a trickle of sweat going down her face.

“Oh no, you’re not getting away with this one!” he retorted. His arm torqued up against her own, and she slipped from the force of it. Kunzite watched quietly, but it was obvious whose side she was on. With every little push Cinder gave, she was terrified. Anytime Moonstone got a thing going on, she looked relieved.

He picked up on her nerves and pushed harder for her poor heart’s sake. More sweat started to coat Cinder’s forehead, while Moonstone seemed like he was just getting started. That’s when he knew he had her. Before she could form a new game plan and shift her hands around, her hand was planted flat against the surface of the table.

“What?” she marveled. “How did that happen? I just had you on the ropes, and then I lost out of nowhere? I can’t believe it. What’s your secret?”

“It’s all in his dragon strength,” Kunzite replied. She went over and high fived Moonstone. “I knew you could do it. Not that you’re terrible at it, Cinder. He’s just been doing it for years. This is easy for him.”

“My ego’s already too big for Equestria, don’t inflate it like that,” he laughed. He kissed his arm for good measure. “At least Cinder put up a fight. Most people can’t even say that much.”

Cinder leaned back into her chair and still couldn’t believe it. Well, not that she lost. But there was a real sense of commadere between the two guests in front of her. The high five, the way Kunzite seemed upset when he was about to lose, all that jazz. Still, something else came to her mind, and she wanted to put it to the test.

“Not that I want to take away from your win, but Kunzite told me how much she’s dug into the history books in her free time. Tell me, Moonstone, if I was to give a few questions regarding the same kind of knowledge, would you be able to answer them as well as she can?”

Kunzite was taken off guard. “That came out of left field. Why are you asking if he can do that?”

“Oh, it’s no secret with me.” He leaned down into her ear and whispered. “She’s trying to make sure I’m not just some dumb, strong dragon like they think every outsider dragon is like.”

She found herself gasping again. “I really don’t like that. I mean, you read through all the books I gave you, right?”

“Sure. Let’s go with that.” He leaned out of Kunzite’s ear and addressed Cinder again. “Hit me with your best shot. I might not be Twilight-levels of nerd, but I’ll beat you at your own game. Again.” Good thing he was Kunzite’s friend, or else she’d be getting onto him for that little comment about his mom.

“Very well.” Cinder brought her hands together and thought over what kind of questions to ask. “Who was the Mare on the Moon? I’m thinking of somepony very specific here.”

“Nightmare Moon. She was...um...I think Princess Luna? Yeah, Celestia banished her to the moon for a thousand years, and she used to be the Mare on the Moon. Weird, because I never got to see that.”

Kunzite was half tempted to make flashcards to help him out, yet that didn’t seem to be necessary. “That’s right! I mean, Luna returned before we were even born, but I would have liked to see it, too.”

Cinder raised an eyebrow again, but it wasn’t out of surprise. “Very good. I could tell you were struggling to recollect things here and there, but I’ll still take it. Hmm...oh, here’s a good one. Name the farmer that played a big part in founding Equestria.”

“Oh, her?” Kunzite was practically mouthing the right answer to him, but he did his best to ignore her. It would be even sweeter if he could say he did it without help. “I don’t know her real name, but her nickname was Granny Smith.”

The pupils in Cinder’s eyes shrunk. “That’s...also right. You’ve been doing your homework. Okay, one last one, just to be safe. Who was the savior of the Crystal Empire when Sombra first returned? Twilight Sparkle, or Spike?” She took one look over to Kunzite, and she could tell the poor kirin was screaming inside. Maybe it was because this question was multiple choice, or how her parents were the possible answers. That made it harder for her to keep it inside this time around.

“Oh, please. Everyone knows dragons can save the day once in a while,” Moonstone said. “Spike was just a little baby at the time, but he did what he needed to do.” He threw his hands up in the air for dramatic effect.

“Whew, it’s finally over. Do you know how hard it was not to spill the beans?” Kunzite exhaled. “I knew it like the back of my head, but you’re asking him about it, not me. Thank Celestia that’s over!”

“If it makes you feel any better, he got them all right. You’ve exceeded my expectations by a mile, Moonstone. You might be just as well studied as your friend here.”

“Ohhhhhh no, there’s no way I’m topping her. She knows everything about everything.” Huh, I guess all those books she shoved down my throat paid off after all. Who knew? Before he could continue, Kunzite gave him one of the tightest hugs he ever felt. So tight, in fact, that he was finding it hard to breathe.

“Who cares if you’re not the smartest person around? You’re smarter than most people, and that’s all I need,” she interrupted him.

He could feel his head start to throb, as he swore that she cut off the air from his brain with all that hugging. “Let...me...go...please…”

Cinder watched on curiously. They were close, that much she could see. On top of that, Moonstone might not respect the artform of the hug, but he tolerated it well enough. It wasn’t that long ago that she was told how dragons don’t do hugs. Or friendship. Or anything that was nice. And here was this little fellow, hanging out with someone quite unlike him. It was kind of heartwarming, but if anyone knew how deceiving appearances can be, it was her. There was just a twinge of doubt left after this meeting, and she needed to squash it.

That might just come later tonight.

------

It was turning into one of the best days of Autumn’s life. Who said she was going to peak early in life? Her middle aged years were turning into some of the best so far when things like this were going on. She got to know so many of the kirin that day, and she even got to show off her own Nirik form to them. It was one hay of a packed day, but she was starting to wind down a bit. A day of non stop partying and socializing could do that to anyone, not just her.

Still, her mind started to drift off to a specific direction, and there was one last bit of business she needed to see to before she called it a night. She asked around to find out where her two newest friends were at, and it brought her to one of the bars in town. It was a nice touch with all the lit torches and the rivers nearby, but she didn’t come here to sightsee.

What she didn’t know, however, was that Kunzite found herself at one of the tables nearby. She asked for apple juice, since she wasn’t old enough to drink just yet. Still, she spotted Autumn coming in, and she almost said something first. Autumn didn’t see her, but she saw the two kirin she was looking for.

She found Sea and Ivory at one of the tables, and she decided to invite herself over at their table. There was a conversation going on between them, and they stopped as soon as she came over. Hopefully, she didn’t interrupt anything too important. Streaming Sea knew she was here to talk, so he turned to greet her. “Oh, it’s you. I’ll be honest, I don’t think I’ve ever met someone quite as energetic as you.”

“Then you haven’t met Pinkie Pie,” she grinned. “Hey, is it okay if I sit by you guys? There’s something I wanted to talk to you…” Then she noticed Ivory waiting impatiently at the table. “...and that guy. Figured you’d be the ones to talk about with this stuff.”

The chieftains looked at each other, more than a little puzzled. Still, Ivory nodded his head. “Very well. You can sit with us, but we’ll be heading to bed relatively soon.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t be here for very long.” She yawned and covered her mouth. “I’m getting sleepy, too.” She noticed that they had jugs of beer with them, and she ordered one thing of ale for herself. Didn’t really matter to her what kind it was, as long as it tasted good.

“So if you’re growing tired, what exactly is worth putting off bed for?” Ivory asked.

“Well, here’s the thing. I’m having a really great time, and it’s awesome. I mean…” The waiter walked on by to hand her a glass of ale. The waiter happened to be a dragon, slightly taller than Moonstone. “...that’s so cool! You’re living with dragons, and you learned how to make a village that doesn’t catch on fire.”

“That’s the kind of business you wanted to attend to? Complimenting us?” Sea still seemed happy with that. “Not that we mind, we’re just curious if there’s a ‘but’ coming along.”

“Oh, there’s plenty of ‘buts’ to go around. Here’s my first but: You’ve been missing from the rest of the world for so long, and I think you’ll like how things are in Equestria now. It’s not as bad as it used to be. So what do you say to...reconnecting with the other kirin tribes?”

Ivory nearly spat out his beer. Sea looked alarmed as well, and it took them both a moment to recover from the shock. That left Autumn crushed inside. “Did I say something wrong?”

“I mean…I don’t know...where do we…” Ivory learned that the words weren’t coming to him so freely.

“Here’s the thing,” Sea corrected him. “We’ve gathered that things are indeed better than they used to be. To start, Moonstone seems like a fundamentally good dragon, temper and all. But we’d have to run it through Cinder first. She’ll know what to do.”

“Cinder? I learned about her from the other kirin and she seems like a great girl, but you don’t need her permission,” Autumn countered. “You two have done a great job looking after this village. I’m sure she’ll understand. Just let me talk to her and it will be easy like 1, 2, 3.”

“It’s not just that,” Ivory retorted. “We’re in the middle of the longest peacetime in our history, because we’ve remained hidden from the Dragon Lord for so long. If we come out of hiding, we risk facing him again.”

“You don’t have to worry about him anymore. He’s not the Dragon Lord now,” Kunzite blurted out, leaning into their table. As soon as she let it out, she covered her mouth when she realized what she just did.

“What did you say?” Sea asked. “Did I hear that right?” He and Ivory both looked directly at her, astonished and shaken up at a level they had never felt before.

Autumn saw how terrified Kunzite was, just how shell shocked she was from the slip up. Therefore, she had to do something about this. “It’s true. He hasn’t been the Dragon Lord for a while now, actually. That’s kinda why things have changed between ponies and dragons recently.”

Kunzite was tempted to shoot her a look, but then again, she was the reason why they were in this hole to begin with. She looked up at Ivory and Sea, both standing before her and trying to make sense of what they just heard. “She’s not lying.”

Ivory and Sea looked at each other in bewilderment. It took a moment for the truth to sink in, if it ever would. Still, they were calm as they turned back to her.

“Well, that would explain...a lot,” Sea thought. “I’d ask why you kept this a secret from us for so long, but I can’t say we created the most trusting atmosphere in the world.”

“How? We did everything right,” Ivory said. “We showed them our play and...oh. I see. Still, we have no choice but to tell Cinder now. She’ll want to know about this.”

“Indeed. Thank you for sharing this with us, Kunzite. This could change things around here, to put it lightly.” They left the bar together right away, leaving Kunzite with Autumn.

As soon as they left, Kunzite started to tear up. To say she opened a can of words was a strong understatement. She held her mane in her hands as she tried to get past her little slip up. It wasn’t going to happen, getting over it so easily. Before she could, Autumn sat by her and held her shoulder warmingly.

“They were going to find out sooner or later,” she tried to comfort Kunzite. “Don’t beat yourself up over it.”

“I AM beating myself up over it!” Kunzite cried. “Moonstone kept it a secret from them for a reason, and now I don’t know what’s going to happen. What’s he going to do when he finds out that I told them?”

“He’s probably going to be mad at you for a while,” she admitted. She brought her hand through Kunzite’s mane and brushed it aside. “But you’ve stuck up for him so many times already, and you’re good friends. He’ll stick with you after it’s over.”

Kunzite sniffed and wiped a tear from her eye. “I really hope so…”

------

The night turned from one of the best nights of Kunzite’s young life to one of the worst in the span of an hour. She didn’t have the chance to tell Moonstone the truth just yet; he was already asleep when she arrived at their shared guesthouse. Still, she knew it was going to be an ugly morning when she had to come clean. It was sure tempting to wake him up and tell him right then and there.

Not helping was how she stared at him from across the bedroom the whole night. They had two separate beds in the room, but that arguably made things worse. She wanted nothing more than to come clean about it, and the moment he woke up, she would. The sick feeling in her stomach kept her up all night. Despite the fact that she could feel the dawn start to break, she stayed up so she could tell him as soon as he woke up. For his sake and possibly all of Equestria’s. She drifted off to sleep a few times, but forced herself to wake up soon after.

Before the moment arrived, she heard a knock on the door. It was quiet enough that it didn’t wake Moonstone, but she heard it loud and clear. She got out of bed in her pajamas and opened the door. This was going to be rough, but she had no idea just how rough it was going to get.

Cinder was the visitor at her doorstep. Her mane was disheveled, it looked like she barely got any sleep, and she might have been drenched in sweat recently. Her chest rose all the time from the heavy breathing, and her voice was shaky as she spoke.

“Is it true? Torch isn’t the Dragon Lord anymore?” she asked.

Kunzite gulped, and she felt even worse than before. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“No no, please don’t keep this away from me. I need to know.” Her voice was getting shakier by the second.

Realizing she had no way out, she slowly nodded. “He stepped down a while ago. Her daughter’s the new Dragon Lord. Has been for a while.”

Cinder slowly nodded and pushed her mane back. “That makes...sense. And Moonstone. He’s related to Torch, isn’t he? I could tell. He’s strong, they both have blue scales, and the horns at the back of his head…” She looked Kunzite straight in the eye. “I’m sorry. Are they related?”

As nervous as she was, Kunzite could still see the fire in her eyes. This wasn’t someone to lie to. “Yes. Torch is Moonstone’s grandfather, but they’re nothing alike! You can see that, can’t you?”

Right when she said those words, a tear rolled down Cinder’s face. “I hope I can. He’s...not like Torch at all...but I don’t know him like you do…I’m sorry. I need a moment.”

“Cinder, I’m so sorr--”

“No, not right now.” She covered her face before Kunzite could see how distraught she was. “Just a moment.” She ran off past the guesthouse, to the point where Kunzite couldn’t see her anymore.

The younger kirin was tempted to run off to meet her, but she had a feeling that she’d make it even worse if she tried to fix it again. It had been a long time since she felt this terrible in her life, and all she wanted was forgiveness and reconciliation at this point. It would be the complete opposite of what she had been doing as of late.

If she wasn’t terrified of what might happen when Moonstone got the news, she was now.

------

It was one of the fiercest battles of the young tribes’ lifetimes. A few kirin had to be removed from the battlefield due to injury, but a few of the invaders had to flee, too. Some of the trees were set on fire, a few intentional and a few by accident. It was a chaotic mess of a jungle, and the children and elders were wise to stay away from this one.

Yet, something happened along the way. The kirin, used to stalemate and losses, were on the right side of the battle for once. Cinder had given them the edge they needed. She was aggressive, she was determined, and her strength in might and magic was just what the doctor ordered. It wasn’t long until the invaders realized this wasn’t a day where they’d win, and they left one by one.

This wasn’t something the kirin were used to. This was a day of victory, not of fear or retreat. They burst into shouting and victory roars when it finally registered in their minds. They couldn’t believe if it if they tried, but that only made things sweeter.

Cinder couldn’t have felt more proud of herself when the dust settled. “I’m so happy for you all!” she would tell them. “Now you don’t have to fight anymore. You showed them what you’re made of!”

“No, this was largely thanks to you,” the main chieftain corrected her. “If you weren’t there to protect us, we might have lost this day. We owe you our gratitude.”

“Yes, this one is wise and strong,” another kirin spoke up. “Perhaps she should be our new chieftain. She certainly has what it takes to lead us. After all, who else has fought the dragons with the wisdom and courage that she possesses?”

As much as she wanted to be modest about it, the thought warmed her heart. They welcomed her with open arms and hearts. They wanted her to be here with them. Outside of her parents, this was the first time she felt welcomed by anyone. No longer was she a freak or someone to be studied, but someone to be admired and looked up to. That’s when she was certain she found her place in the world, and she aimed to take full advantage of it.

“I don’t know about being your ruler, I really don’t,” she admitted. “But I have an idea of what I could do for you.”

Author's Note:

And so things begin to hit the wall...

So here's a question for those who are reading. Next chapter will be an intermission chapter of sorts, a breather to let things sink in a bit. The question is, would you guys rather have me post that intermission chapter right as it's done, or wait until it and Chapter 12 are both done, so they'll be published on the same day?

Comments

[Retarius]

I would prefer same day.

[tx-300]