A myriad golden sparks glittered on the window pane, as if a handful of stars was thrown at it through a gap in the clouds. Yugo squinted on reflex, but the sun hid away again, plunging the room into darkness.
Door squeaked behind his back.
"Need to oil the hinges." Alibert noted, hanging his lantern on the wall. Yugo smiled at his dad's reflection in the window before turning back, right in time to catch the warm bundle of scales, wings and little claws that jumped at him from the door. The dragonette stomped a tight little circle on the boy's lap, then lied down with a content sneeze.
"What, d'you want me to stay here all night?" scratching Grougaloragan's ear, Yugo leaned back on the wall of the window nook.
Chibi laughed, delighted. Alibert put him down in the cradle.
"Well, I'd say you need some help there" he said, walking up to the window seat. Yugo carefully handed him the dragonette, who snorted with irritation but allowed himself to be carried and laid down on the quilt, beside his merrily babbling brother. He only raised his head for a moment, seeing Az flutter in.
"Don't even think about it, Grougal" Yugo said, slipping off the window seat to stroke his pet. The tofu twittered. The baby dragon growled.
"No" Yugo said, firmly, and set Az on a perch by his own bed.
The rocking chair moaned under Alibert's weight.
"Well, boys, time for the story. Where were we?"
Yugo took a book off shelf to hand it to him. "The tempusfougites promised the princess they'd help to find her brothers. Where's Adamai?"
Alibert sighed. "I thought he'd be here, with you."
Yugo closed his eyes for a moment. "The stables. I'll go get him."
The stables were dark and nearly empty - not many people willing to travel in this weather. In the stalls, staring gloomily at the doors, there only stood the two dragoturkeys from the village whose owners would rather pay for a place at Alibert's than build stables of their own. Yugo patted one of them, checked in passing whether the mangers have been filled with enough fodder (it was Adamai's turn to look after them today, he did sometimes forget), then looked around. Chill radiated from the stone floor and walls. An almost palpable darkness filled every nook and cranny.
"Adamai? Are you in here?"
He closed his eyes to examine the threads of wakfu. The dragon was up in the hayloft.
"Adamai?"
Yugo carefully aimed the portal to open just beside his brother.
"Hey" he said, sitting down, cross-legged, on the rough wooden floor. Adamai spared him a glance. He was lying, outstretched, on the loose hay, hands entwined over his round belly, eyes fixed at the small, round window over the stable door.
"Nice sunset today" Yugo said.
Adamai's white scales were glowing in the increasing dark.
"Time to go to bed, you know. There'll be a sunset tomorrow." Yugo poked his arm, and the dragon sighed, sitting up.
"I miss the stars."
"Mhm, me too," Yugo looked into the window. He had to try very hard to tell the leaden clouds from the waterlogged expanse of the plain. The shadow of the forest on the horizon helped a little.
"It kept raining on Oma, but never all day long. We'd always have clear skies at night."
"Wonder why some islands only get downpour in winter-" Yugo started, but Adamai interrupted. "I'd love some good, high flying..." he said, pulling his knees up to his chin.
"Yup. So would I" admitted Yugo.
For a while they sat there, together, in silence.
"Let's go."
"What?"
"Let's fly." Adamai said, standing up. He brushed off several blades of hay that stuck to his scales, then outstretched his hand.
"Let's fly now. Over the clouds."
"I don't know, Ad," Yugo let himself be pulled up.
"Dad's gonna worry."
The dragon snorted. "Hidin' behind him again. Chicken?"
"Remember when I tried to reach the stars?"
"That's completely different" Adamai crossed his arms. "First of all, I'm not an idiot who flies on when he can't breathe anymore, and second-"
"Somebody's coming."
"Huh?"
Yugo waved his hand at the window. A tiny, bleak light was flickering on the dark plain, approaching them fast.
"Now? At this hour?" Adamai turned to the ladder, but Yugo already had a portal open. Before the dragon got to the stable door, he was there, fighting the bolts.
"I think its... stuck..."
Adamai rolled his eyes. "Shove, I'll open it."
Yugo nodded with relief and moved aside.
"I'll go get dad. This traveller must be wet through!"
With this, he vanished in the blue light, leaving Adamai on his own.
The dragon snorted at the world in general, then effortlessly unbolted the door, opened it and stuck his nose outside. He sneezed. The wind, ice cold, forced its way underneath his scales, making Adamai stomp in place for a bit to warm himself up. Faint dragoturkey snorts came from the forest.
"Who travels at night in this weather" Alibert grumbled good-naturedly, stoking the fire. "Give this towel here, my boy, before you rub your ears off."
The flushed young cra handed him the wet towel and accepted a cup of broth from Yugo.
"Th-thank you."
The fireplace filled the entire kitchen with homely, pinkish glow. While Yugo tried to be busy, hanging a hooded cloak to dry, stirring the broth and generally bustling about, his eyes somehow kept glancing at the courier's bag, hung on the back of chair behind the guest.
"How's things in Sadida?" he asked in a friendly tone.
"Same as here" the courier sneezed into his elbow. "Raining all the time."
"The princess shouldn't send anybody out in this weather" Alibert muttered, but the courier was quick to say "No, no, I'm going to Bonta with important diplomatic mail."
Yugo nodded.
"But alongside" the cra added " I've taken some private mail, as well. Two of these are for you, Yugo."
"Really? We got letters?"
"Parcels. One from Evangeline, and one from the princess" the courier sniffed, more than a little slurpily "Excuse me."
"No sweat" Yugo was already reaching for the bag when a meaningful cough stopped him. Immediately he put his hand in his pocket.
"Right, have to lock up the stables" he laughed, rubbing his neck. "We'll be right back, Adamai and I!"
He jumped out of the portal right in front of the open stall in which the courier's steed was shivering, head hung low, shedding drops of water on the floor. Yugo clicked his tongue.
"Adamai didn't dry you out? Lazy bum, gimme a minute."
Standing on his toes, he got a cloth off the wall peg, before leading the shivering animal out of the stall. He took the saddle and bridle off, then, with practised efficiency, wiped the dragoturkey's back, neck and sides, and examined its feet.
"You know, better hang these out here, in the draft" he said "it'll dry them faster. You can sleep here."
He lead the dragoturkey into a dry stall, filled the manger and carefully locked the stall up. The animal already dug in before the lock clicked.
"Tasty, eh? Must have been hungry."
The two village dragoturkeys snorted.
"You've had yours already. And he got us mail from Sadida through this mire."
Yugo patted both their heads on his way to get a blanket for the courier's steed. He covered the animal, taking care not to disturb its meal.
"All right, but where is Adamai? Have you two seen him go?"
They stared at Yugo, somewhat dumbly. He pushed the bolts into place with a tortured, teeth-vibrating screech, then blew out the lantern by the door and focused on the fabric of wakfu.
"Outside, you say? Okay."
Blue circle of a portal glowed in the darkness.
A white zigzag cracked the mass of clouds. Adamai watched, head held high, smelling the rain in the air.
A portal opened behind his back. "Hey!" called Yugo.
Adamai stood still, his eyes firmly on the swollen clouds, his wakfu sense on his brother, who had just closed the portal.
"What'cha looking at?"
"The sky."
"Uhm." Thunder rumbled in the distance. "Come on, got to help make a room ready. The courier got us letters from the girls!"
"Go." Adamai's eyes stayed glued to the dark, heavy sky.
"You're going to stay here all night? On your own?"
He heard Yugo rub his hands together, but shrugged.
"You can stay with me."
"It's going to rain again."
"I miss the stars."
"Already said that. But we'll see them again in the spring, and now-"
"You don't care at all, do you?"
Now Adamai turned to face his brother, although he barely saw him in the dark.
"I do, a lot. But right now what I care about is that you don't fall sick. And we have to give dad a hand."
Adamai looked at the sky. "Always something."
"Come on" Yugo pulled at his elbow, but Adamai struggled out of his grip.
"Let's go now."
"Adamai."
"Let's go up, over the clouds, to see the stars, just the two of us."
"It's night. A storm's coming. Can't you wait till morning?"
"There won't be any stars then."
"Another night?"
"Chickening out?"
Yugo snorted "Don't try this one anymore. Good thing we've given the Eliacube away."
Adamai crossed his arms. "You know what this is? A hit below the belt."
"Maybe." Yugo cleared his throat. "But in the morning, if it's not too wet-"
"Which it will be." Adamai very carefully avoided looking at him. "You're the one being unfair now."
The dragon turned into his preferred flying shape, stocky, like a giant beetle. In the darkness Yugo could barely see his wings.
"Tough." Adamai said. "I'm going."
"Alone? At night?"
"I won't be alone if you go with me" he crouched down, but Yugo shook his head. "Last chance. Okay, in any case I'll have a great funeral."
Yugo swallowed.
"Wait" and he scrambled onto the shiny white dragon's back.
"Knew I could convince you. Up we go!"
Very quickly they were surrounded by soup-thick fog. Yugo had to look very hard to see the top of Adamai's head or the tips of his wings, stirring the waterlogged air. Thick drops were rolling off the dragon's scales, soaking into Yugo's jacket.
Do these clouds just go on forever? he thought, and then the fog suddenly thinned out, revealing a world of silver cotton under a velvet black dome.
Moon, huge and silver like a coin that dropped out of a giant's pocket, hung low over the ocean of clouds, saturating it with cold whiteness, here and there lined by thin, breaker-like creases of shadow. Light was stirring and tumbling under the surface, as if trying to leap out towards the stars that twinkled, tiny, on the black velvet.
"Ain't it cool?" muttered Adamai.
"Shhh..." In this land of silver and black it almost seemed blasphemous to simply talk like they would elsewhere. Adamai seemed to feel that way, too, because he stayed silent, except for the flutter of wings.
Yugo rested his shivering hands on his brother's back. The air was burning his lungs.
"Let's go back" he whispered, leaning towards the dragon's ear.
"Already? It's so-"
"Cold" Yugo shuddered violently. His clothes, wet with mist, felt like woven of ice.
"Oh, stop your moaning" Adamai muttered. "Nothing to be scared of here."
Yugo hugged the dragon's back, slippery from icy water.
"Look how beautiful it is!"
The boy shivered again.
"Yugo?"
"I-I'm gllad I came with-th you..."
"Yugo! We're going down, stay with me!"
Adamai dove into the clouds.
Alibert walked from the window to the fireplace, jabbed with the poker at the burning logs, then put it away. Looking at the mantel he saw a wooden figurine a sadidan guest paid part of his bill with, long ago. It was crooked, so he set it right, accidentally moving a doily that was lying by, and the doily hung down sadly, so he had to pick it up and lay down properly. It really needed washing, but in this weather...
The door slammed. Alibert spun to face Yugo, huddled up and dripping water, supported by Adamai, whose white scales were glistening with moisture.
"Ekhm."
Yugo hunched even lower, but the dragon straightened up.
"Where, exactly, have you two been?"
"F-flying" Yugo's teeth were chattering.
"In the dark. In the rain. When there's a guest to be taken care of. Yugo!"
"You've managed all right" muttered Adamai, squinting at his brother.
"That's not the point" Alibert sighed. "Whose brilliant idea this trip was?"
He already regretted asking before he finished the question, especially that he knew the answer perfectly well.
Adamai shook his head proudly. "We're free and we do what we want!"
Yugo sneezed.
"To the kitchen, both of you, dry yourselves. Now!"
The boy obediently shuffled into the kitchen, marking his way with droplets, but the dragon put his hands on his hips and gave Alibert a look from askance.
The innkeeper looked back calmly.
"You're not our father, you know?" Adamai said, his tone markedly contrary.
Yugo gasped. Alibert was looking the young dragon in the eye with imperturbable calm.
"You have to right to order us around!"
Alibert was silent as Adamai's voice grew higher and more agitated.
"We won't be told what to do, right, Yugo? Yugo? Ugh!"
He turned and marched into the rain, slamming the door on his way out.
Only then Alibert sighed and shook his head. Must be the difficult age.
"Yugo?"
The boy, leaning against the kitchen doorpost, flinched, then looked up at him, a touch blearily. Water was dripping from his hair and his hat.
"Here's a towel. Go upstairs and change, I'll make you a cup of tea. The gods themselves must have given Evangeline this idea."
"She sent tea? How sweet of her, isn't anybody ill in Sadida? How is she? And the others? Amalia and Dally?"
Alibert looked worriedly at Yugo. The boy's voice was breaking, and talking fast didn't help hide it. Yugo's eyes were shining as if feverish, he was pale as a sheet. The enutrof came closer to wrap the towel around him, and Yugo bit his lip, looking down. Alibert kneeled to rub some warmth into his son's icy hands.
"What was this flying thing about?"
"I told him..." he swallowed.
"You told him, but he wouldn't listen" Alibert sat Yugo down on a stool beside the kitchen stove, before reaching for the teapot.
"But you didn't have to listen to him" he said. On the table, along with the teapot, waited two small packages wrapped in green leaves, a flat one and a bigger one with a roundish lump, both sealed with the sadidan sigil, and two small earthenware jars. Alibert picked one up to read the label before he opened it.
"I couldn't have just let him go" Yugo sighed.
Alibert nodded. He put a tray with mugs on the floor before the hearth, pulled out another stool for himself to sit, poked at the fire idly. He gave out a soft sigh.
"So you went along."
"Sorry, dad. He didn't-"
"Yugo."
Boiling water poured into the teapot, the kitchen filled with a sweet-spicy fragrance.
"If Adamai wanted to set the house on fire someday, would you help him?"
Alibert bit the tip of his moustache to keep himself from laughing at Yugo's scandalised face.
"That's not what it was! He wasn't doing anything wrong, just wanted to fly a bit above the clouds."
The towel slid off his shoulders. Yugo rested his chin on his hands, staring into the fire.
"What if something happened to him?"
"Would you be able to help?" Alibert picked the wet towel up and hung it to dry by the fire. Having handed Yugo a mug, he sat down and poured him tea.
"Even if I didn't, I'd be with him."
"Where something might well happen to you as well" the enutrof nodded. He put the teapot down on the tray.
"He's my brother" muttered Yugo, staring at the surface of his tea.
"You're my son" Alibert said. "Friend of Ruel, Percidal, Eva and Amalia."
"I'd do the same thing for every one of you" Yugo looked him in the eye with utter seriousness, and Alibert stroked his shoulder.
"I know."
"But I don't think Adamai knows I'd do this for him, too. As if he wanted me to only be friends with him."
Yugo sipped his tea, then sighed heavily.
"As if friendship was a cake, and he wanted to have it all for himself and never share. But I want to fly places with him, and run in the forest, and so on, but I also want to help you. Talk with you. You know."
He glanced at Alibert from the edge of his mug.
"And that's a whole different thing."
"Exactly" Alibert straightened up on his seat.
"I don't want to choose between you. But..."
"But?"
Staring at the fire, Yugo sipped his tea.
"What if" he said softly "Adamai thinks I've chosen... not him? And just flies away somewhere?"
Alibert swallowed the words he wanted to say and said instead "There's always this contact thing of yours..."
"A contact can be pushed away. I mean, erm..."
"You can't make him talk to you."
"No, I don't want to! But I want to talk to him, and what if he won't talk to me?"
He set his empty mug beside the teapot. For a while he stayed unmoving, staring into the fire, then stretched and stood up.
"Can I leave my hat here to dry? Cause it's still soppy."
He smiled a crooked, apologetic smile, and Alibert nodded quickly. Yugo pulled the hat off his wet, tousled hair. Tips of blue wings were peeking from the tangled blond thatch.
Alibert clicked his tongue. "You're wet through."
"I'll be dry in a moment. Here, let me wipe this water from the floor."
"Wipe yourself, before you get a cold."
"Daad" Yugo groaned, but it was with a smile that he reached for a dry towel and started drying his hair energetically.
"What did Eva say in the letter?" he stopped to ask.
"You'll read tomorrow, now go to sleep" Alibert picked the tray from the floor. "I only opened the herbs."
Taking the wet towel from Yugo, he smoothed down the boy's hair. "Goodnight."
"Goodnight."
"...and for those who can't read, a ball" read Yugo before taking the present out of his pocket and carefully putting it on the wooden floor. Chibi gurgled, curious, reaching out with his chubby little hand, but Grougaloragan, turned out faster and jumped at the ball like a bow-meow jumps at a mouse. He bit it, shook his head, then pushed the ball away, surprised.
"No, it's not food" Yugo explained. "Look, you can roll it on the floor, see?"
The dragonette poked at his new toy a little in the way of experiment, before he started chasing it, making warlike growls. Chibi clapped his hands, and Yugo, smiling, returned to the letter.
"I've gone so mumsy! Ooh, Evangeline!" he giggled. "Great Cra! How is it going to be after birth, I dread to think! Love, Evangeline. PS. Dally sends his regards."
Yugo folded the paper in four and put it on the bed behind him.
"You know what we're going to do in the spring?" he asked, turning back to the children.
"We'll make a visit, far away, in Sadida."
He waved his hand at the window and the sky beyond it, leaden grey. Chibi repeated the gesture with all seriousness, and Yugo patted his head.
"That's right. That's where we're going. Only for a couple of days, but we are."
The ball rolled up to Chibi, who caught it with both hands but let go when Grougaloragan growled.
"It's for both of you, don't fight." Yugo upbraided him half-jokingly. He stood up to put the letter on the shelf above his bed, along with Amalia's letter, which he left himself for the evening, and the contents of the parcels: a scarf with orange and blue stripes and a pleasantly thick book in canvas cover.
"Want me to read- ygh!"
The contact caught him completely unaware and Yugo fell face first onto the bed.
Adamai? He asked.
Who else? Was the impatient answer. D'you know where in the forest is that huge dead tree?
More or less. Yugo rolled over to sit up.
Come there then, I'll show you something.
Can't right now, I'm looking after the kids.
Can't Alibert do it?
The courier, Robin, got a fever. Dad's sitting with him to give him tea.
Oh.
For a while Adamai was silent, and Yugo was watching the children discover how to roll the ball on the floor between each other.
I'll lead you to the tree if you don't know the way.
Adamai! Yugo sent over the link, kicking the ball away when it hit his foot. I'm busy.
Just shut them in the room. Adamai sent him a mental equivalent of a shrug. They'll be fine.
Adamai…
Don't have five minutes for me?
Five minutes, then an hour, then the entire day-
All right! I know when I'm not wanted. I can go exploring on my own.
Yugo swallowed. Good luck, he sent.
Ugh, where's your sense of adventure?
Chibi whimpered when the ball rolled under the bed.
You're impossible, Adamai sent before breaking contact.
Yugo sighed heavily. He slid down to the floor to reach under the bed and push the toy back out.
"It's not that he dislikes you" he said when Grougaloragan attacked the ball, swinging his tail.
"He's just impatient."
Chibi crawled up to him, and, hands on Yugo's knee, deliberately pushed himself up to stand.
"Baa" he said, on no uncertain terms.
"Thanks, but he's my brother and I have to worry a bit. Hey, careful."
He caught Chibi before the toddler collapsed.
"Sides, you two are my brothers, as well" he added, sitting him down comfortably on his lap. For a while they both watched Grougal hunt the ball, jumping at it, stalking it and twitching his tail. Chibi giggled, Yugo smiled despite himself.
"I can't wait for you two to grow up and start talking. And running."
The dragonette raised his head with a snort. "Okay, for Chibi to start running" Yugo corrected.
Rain thudded on the roof tiles.
Droplets were rolling down the window in winding paths. The lantern light was glimmering in the drops, the glass reflecting vague outlines of simple wooden beds, of colourful mess on the shelf and of yellow ball of fluff that was Az, fast asleep on his perch. Soft creaks accompanied the reflection of Alibert, stooped over his book, as it moved in and out of the window.
Yugo, sitting cross-legged on the window seat, sighed softly. Alibert looked at him above his glasses.
"Still silent?"
Yugo shook his head.
"Why don't you call him yourself?"
"Maybe I should..." He folded Amalia's letter, smoothing out every crease, put it carefully in the envelope and laid on the seat beside him. He straightened up. Closed his eyes. Then he opened them and reached for the princess's gift, the scarf with a pattern of not-exactly-even orange and blue stripes. He spread it on his lap, smoothing out the soft fabric. It was pleasantly cool to the touch. Yugo looked out the window.
"You're scared he won't talk to you." Alibert leaned out to put his book on the floor beside the rocking chair. Yugo folded the scarf.
"You'll never know unless you call him" the enutrof said gently.
"Mhm, true" he closed his eyes and focused.
Adamai. Adamai! There wasn't any answer, but he kept calling. Adamai!
Here, here, why the ruckus?
Yugo nearly fell off the seat, the contact was so sudden. Where?
"Where" what?
Where are you? All day?
I told you, in the forest, where the huge dead tree is, have you forgotten?
Something in the tone of this answer worried Yugo.
Coming back? He asked hopefully, but Adamai answered: no, I'm fine here.
Yugo swallowed. In his brother's message he felt an echo of stifled fear, but the prevailing sensation was that of tiredness, as if Adamai was struggling to stay awake and losing.
Are you all right? He asked simply.
Mmm?
"Adamai!"
"Yugo!" he fluttered his eyelids and met Alibert's worried look.
"I need a dragoturkey."
"Right now?"
Yugo stood up, full of determination, gripping the scarf tightly.
"Can't just leave him in the rain for the night."
Alibert put a hand on his shoulder, and Yugo shot him a pleading look.
"Put your cloak on." The enutrof said with imperturbable calm. He glanced at the crib, where a little boy and a dragonette were snoring softly, curled up together.
"What have I gotten into in my old age..."
The dragoturkey snorted, whoofled and got his neck patted by Yugo.
"I know" Yugo said. "I don't like it here either."
He pulled on the reins and straightened up in the saddle, raising his lantern. The light slid over wet, black branches.
"Adamai!"
It wasn't raining for now, though every now and then icy droplets would fall off the tree crowns. In the sodden, heavy silence he could distinctly hear every squelch of the mud under his dragoturkey's feet.
Yugo closed his eyes, although it was completely dark outside the circle of light his lantern made.
Adamai? Adamai!
Getting no answer, he focused on the threads of wakfu around himself, on the ghostly outlines of trees and small animals, asleep in their holes.
A drop fell on his nose. He shuddered.
"We need to go there" he told his steed, directing it towards the trace of his brother's presence he sensed.
The lantern died with a hiss. Yugo didn't waste any time to lit it again, he just stopped paying attention to what he saw and orientated solely by wakfu from then on.
He tried to call his brother again.
Hey! Where are you?
By the dead tree, already told you.
Yugo let out a relieved breath. Adamai's thoughts were weak, but distinct.
Can you lead me a little?
A moment of surprised silence, and then the dragon answered: I'll try.
Yugo drew the reins. The forest was glowing with the gentle wakfu of sleeping animals and plants. A single thread in the great fabric lit up.
That's you? He asked, just in case.
Me. The thread faded into the background, but Yugo remembered its direction. He patted the dragoturkey's neck. "There."
He had expected the dead tree to be a huge black hole in the wakfu fabric, but it was even brighter than the living boughs that surrounded it.
"Cool" Yugo muttered, riding closer to touch the bark. He drew his hand back at once. "Yuck, it's slimy!"
Moss and lichen were covering the dead wood in irregular splashes of turquoise glow. A glittering net of mycelium formed branches, and upon them shiny little creatures crawled, which Yugo guessed to be grubs.
Is that what you wanted to show me? I'd never have thought a pest could be so beautiful.
At the feet of the tree fantastic shapes of mushrooms were growing, cerulean fans and miniature towers.
Adamai? You were right, this tree is gorgeous.
The answer sounded with an echo of laughter in his head. Wait till you see what I found.
Something else? And where are you anyway?
Go around the tree, just be careful.
Yugo dismounted and hung the reins on a branch, then very slowly, started around the trunk.
"Adamai!" There's a hole here!"
"Yup" the voice, weak, too tired to sound ironic, came from underground. Very carefully, on his hands and knees, Yugo crawled to the edge of the hole, overgrown with moss and last of the grass, which made it quite visible to the wakfu sense.
Nothing to laugh at, Adamai communicated, making Yugo want to stick his tongue at him.
Why don't you fly out? He looked over the edge. On the bottom of the hole there was a flicker of wakfu, bit too pale for his comfort.
Gee, I dunno, maybe it's so homelike here?
"Stop being stupid, Adamai." We're going back.
You go. I don't want to.
Yugo gritted his teeth before communicating: do you have to be so stubborn?
No, but I'm stubborn.
Accompanying the thought there was an echo of pain, so sudden Yugo's hand lost its grip and slid down on the moss.
He threw himself back before he fell in. Then he crawled on his elbows, till he hit his head on the dragoturkey's knee. The animal snorted.
Yugo stood up and took the lantern. Holding it tight, he opened a portal.
"Dumb dragon" he muttered in a nice tone, pulling the knot tight.
The lantern, lit up by suddenly obedient Adamai, only gave enough light for him to see what he was doing, more or less. The flame was quivering, casting weird shadows on the smooth stone.
"Just look at it in wakfu. I'll bet my head these are eliatrope ruins."
"I don't need your head broken. You could have waited for the ground to dry a bit, we'd have explored together."
Yugo was kneeling by Adamai, laid down on the top of a wall wide enough to ride a cart on it, at least when it was new. Right now there were huge gaps in the stonework and Adamai was lucky not to have rolled down into the water, which was splashing softly around the walls.
"Sure" the dragon snorted. "In our next life. You don't care at all."
"I care enough to stop me from breaking my limbs in the first hole just because eliatropes might have been there. Have you forgotten they're counting on us?"
"I remember" Adamai mumbled, and Yugo added, calmer "Lots of work before us."
"Work and work" the dragon sighed. "Don't you think a bit too much?"
"Do you think enough?" Yugo countered. He gave the last check to the improvised splint, making Adamai hiss.
"Sorry."
"Uhm."
Yugo stood up from the cold, rough stone, then sat down.
"Can you just tell me the next time you find something?"
"That was supposed to be a surprise" Adamai muttered.
"It was."
The dragon sat up with an effort, clenching his teeth.
"Ugh. I wanna do something, not just babysit."
"That's something" Yugo said with authority, but Adamai replied "The kids don't even like me."
"How do you know? When was the last time you played with them?"
"Ow!"
"Stop touching this leg! I only wrapped it so it wouldn't get hurt worse. Well." Yugo stood up and rubbed his hands.
"We'll talk later."
"You're going?
"You know you have a fever? We are going home."
He focused to open the portal as close as he could to the waiting dragoturkey.
turns out a dragon can't change if he's got something broken, or in any case Adamai was scared to try, Yugo wrote before looking at the glistening window in wait for the next thought. A sunray pierced the clouds and for a moment made the droplets on the glass pure amber.
We'll explore the ruins when he gets better. For now- a rumble cut his train of thought, then there was a burst of loud coughing on one side of the room and a burst of equally loud crying on the other.
"Oh, dear" Yugo put his notepad and pencil on the window seat to pull Grougaloran out of the wreckage of a toy-blocks tower. The dragonette, looking quite sheepish, was nervously scratching his nose.
Yugo made sure he was okay before letting him go, stepping over the rubble of wooden blocks and picking up the wailing Chibi. "What? Ruined everything, did he?"
Ignoring an ironic (and very hoarse) snort, he added "That's how brothers are sometimes. There, there."
Rocking the baby, he sat by the window again. Grougal whined. Adamai, in a burst of coughing, threw his patchwork quilt off.
"Sometimes they do something stupid" Yugo hugged Chibi. "But you have to forgive them."
Adamai, half-lying on his bed, shot him a look of a martyr, while Grougaloragan caught a block in his teeth to gently put it on top of another brick, his tail outstretched in concentration.
Chibi cooed. Yugo sat him down on the floor besides the dragonette.
"Now you can build a tower together."
He walked around the building site to pick up the quilt and cover Adamai.
"One move and you'll get hit with a brick." He warned, and the answering snort begot another bout of rough, hoarse coughing. Yugo perched on the bed, one eye focused on his brother, the other on the quilt, which was about to desert its post.
"I'll ask Amalia to have some books copied for us" he said when Adamai finished coughing and plonked himself on the pillows, exhausted.
"History and geography. Time to start planning."
Planning? An astonished question echoed in his head.
"Yup" Yugo leaned back to look him in the eye. "Find the right place, that's one. Know the neighbours, that's two."
The door creaked and Yugo sat up straight, not breaking the contact.
"Juice for my little rascals" Alibert, not breaking his stride, circled the children with their growing tower to put the tray on a cabinet top in the corner of the room. "And herbal tea for my larger ones."
"Oh, daad" moaned Yugo, seeing two steaming mugs.
"No 'oh's, young man. No more colds in this house. Here, Adamai."
"I meant to ask, Robin's leaving tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow" Alibert nodded "so hurry up with the letter."
"I'm nearly done. Anyone wants to add something?"
Yugo looked at his brother, who shook his head slowly.
Loads of work, yes?
He smiled from his tea. "Ugh."
"Maybe I'll write and tell Evangeline your opinion on her presents." Alibert joked, taking Chibi into his lap.
Yugo snorted with laughter, Adamai coughed.
Waiting till spring, he thought.
Waiting till spring." Yugo raised his mug in a toast.