Care Package for Kai-Stern
A girl, heavily burdened by an over-large backpack trudges up to the gates of the DragonLord's castle. The guards smile broadly at her as she nods at them.
"Say hi to Kai-Stern for me. Tell him I was asking for him."
"Oh me too. Do I smell chocolate?" That second part was said more quietly to the first guard.
"Sure", said the girl. "If he's here."
She waves goodbye to the guards and continues to the main doors of the castle. The guards here also express their best wishes for the health of Kai-Stern. The youngest guard, who hasn't been introduced to her before, mentions his name six times, to be sure that she remembers it. She waves goodbye to them as well and continues on her journey to the chief secretary's office. She's startled by a figure emerging from one of the side rooms.
"Hey Lucia, looking for Kai-Stern?"
"Hi Ruwalk." She drops the bag beside her, grateful for a rest. "Is he back yet?"
Ruwalk shakes his head slightly.
"Mmph. Sorry, he's not due back for a few weeks."
The disappointment must show on her face as Ruwalk immediately pats her arm comfortingly.
"Typical, I have to leave in a day or two."
"You're welcome to stay here you know. There's loads of empty rooms and I'm sure no-one'll mind the extra mouth." He smiles as he says this and there's genuine warmth there. Ruwalk's always been patient with Kai-Stern's family. The problem with seeing Alfeegi is that his response depends totally on his mood and if the Dragon Knights are home, it's usually bad.
"I'm not sure which my mother would get more upset over. Me arriving home late, or returning without delivering this package." She indicates the bag by her foot. "I know it's a lot to ask for, but would you mind taking care of it for me and giving it to Kai-Stern when he comes back?"
"Sure, no problem." He smiles, "I won't even peek."
"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you." Lucia rummages around in the bag and eventually removes a carefully wrapped package that's significantly larger than the bag it came from. She hands it to Ruwalk, holding it just long enough to say, "please make sure that Thatz doesn't go anywhere near this. There's some food in there. Not sure what exactly, but a lot of dogs were reeallly fond of me on my way here."
Ruwalk laughs. "Nothing that won't go off, I hope?"
"If so it would've done so on my way here. It's a big walk."
"Why do you still come here then?"
"Well, we've a few other relatives in this area and poor Kai-Stern has no-one else to take care of him. A goodlooking guy of his age should have settled down by now and had a few babies. He needs taking care of, you know that!"
"She's still that concerned about him?"
"He's like a little project for her." Her voice changes slightly as she attempts to imitate a much older woman. "He's always so thin, they can't be feeding him right!"
A younger voice interrupts.
"Mother, he's fine. I'm pretty sure that all dragons look like that."
"He wasn't always a dragon. You can't compare him to the rest of them. He's delicate, I don't know why that dragonlord makes him travel across the country like that. I'm sure it can't be good for him."
"Mother, he's never complained."
"He looks so tired now."
"Mother! You always talk about how he looks the exact same as he did when you were young."
"Yes, well, dragons' can't understand humans, it stands to reason. They can't possibly understand Kai-Stern's needs."
"Mother, he's been living with the dragon's a lot longer than he spent human. If his new life was toxic to him, he'd have died by now!"
"You'll understand when you're a mother and have kids of your own to care for."
"Mother! Kai-Stern's at least five times older than you!"
The girl's been turning left and right as she speaks, acting out the high and low points of the conversation. The dragon, as always, is amazed at the inventiveness, variety and posessiveness of the human race.
"He's my great, great, great, great, great, great, great granduncle..."
"Give or take"
"...Give or take a few greats, but my mother still treats him as though he's her younger, scatty brother, who's just left home to find himself."
"It's still nice to have someone who cares for you. I envy Kai-Stern, your mother knows how to cook."
"Well, it's not just mama. Kai-Stern hasn't had children yet, but his brothers and sisters did. Their children had children and now Kai-Stern's family is pretty large. When he comes to visit, the village swells to three times its normal as all the relatives come to get a look at him. It probably sounds funny to you, since you've always been a dragon, but he's a member of the family that's DONE WELL. Mother took charge because she swears blind that dad was the image of him when he was young."
"Was he?"
"It's been a few generations, some of the features are there, but the blood's thinned." She shrugs. "Apparently I've got his eyebrows."
Ruwalk smiles then sighs.
"Ever since he came here, someone's come to visit carrying a package filled with great food, and toys..."
"And underwear, under orders to make sure he's looking after himself and also to ask why on earth he isn't married yet."
"Do you think it'll stop when he does get married?"
"Nah, then there'll be stuff for the babies. He's a source of village pride, after all. We don't want him to forget us."
Ruwalk pets her sad face. "Believe me, you never forget growing up, no matter how many centuries you see."
For the umpteenth time, Lucia wallows in the gulf between them. She kisses him lightly on the cheek.
"Don't worry Ruwalk. Just because you're old enough to be dead, life isn't over yet."
She picks up the bag and puts it back on her shoulders. It seems to fit far more snugly than before.
"That's much better. Remember, don't tell Thatz I was here. Oh, I nearly forgot. I was also supposed to deliver a lecture on how long it's been since his last visit and how everyone's forgetting what he looks like."
"You mean there isn't a statue to him in the square yet?"
"Nope, we don't want him getting too big for his boots after all. Guard that package now."
"I will. Here, let me see you out."
The dragon puts his arm around the young girl, escorting her back to the gates as they talk of nothing. At least until he hears Thatz's voice coming from the corridor nearby and they split up in the vain hope of saving Kai-Stern's precious bundle.
A girl, heavily burdened by an over-large backpack trudges up to the gates of the DragonLord's castle. The guards smile broadly at her as she nods at them.
"Say hi to Kai-Stern for me. Tell him I was asking for him."
"Oh me too. Do I smell chocolate?" That second part was said more quietly to the first guard.
"Sure", said the girl. "If he's here."
She waves goodbye to the guards and continues to the main doors of the castle. The guards here also express their best wishes for the health of Kai-Stern. The youngest guard, who hasn't been introduced to her before, mentions his name six times, to be sure that she remembers it. She waves goodbye to them as well and continues on her journey to the chief secretary's office. She's startled by a figure emerging from one of the side rooms.
"Hey Lucia, looking for Kai-Stern?"
"Hi Ruwalk." She drops the bag beside her, grateful for a rest. "Is he back yet?"
Ruwalk shakes his head slightly.
"Mmph. Sorry, he's not due back for a few weeks."
The disappointment must show on her face as Ruwalk immediately pats her arm comfortingly.
"Typical, I have to leave in a day or two."
"You're welcome to stay here you know. There's loads of empty rooms and I'm sure no-one'll mind the extra mouth." He smiles as he says this and there's genuine warmth there. Ruwalk's always been patient with Kai-Stern's family. The problem with seeing Alfeegi is that his response depends totally on his mood and if the Dragon Knights are home, it's usually bad.
"I'm not sure which my mother would get more upset over. Me arriving home late, or returning without delivering this package." She indicates the bag by her foot. "I know it's a lot to ask for, but would you mind taking care of it for me and giving it to Kai-Stern when he comes back?"
"Sure, no problem." He smiles, "I won't even peek."
"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you." Lucia rummages around in the bag and eventually removes a carefully wrapped package that's significantly larger than the bag it came from. She hands it to Ruwalk, holding it just long enough to say, "please make sure that Thatz doesn't go anywhere near this. There's some food in there. Not sure what exactly, but a lot of dogs were reeallly fond of me on my way here."
Ruwalk laughs. "Nothing that won't go off, I hope?"
"If so it would've done so on my way here. It's a big walk."
"Why do you still come here then?"
"Well, we've a few other relatives in this area and poor Kai-Stern has no-one else to take care of him. A goodlooking guy of his age should have settled down by now and had a few babies. He needs taking care of, you know that!"
"She's still that concerned about him?"
"He's like a little project for her." Her voice changes slightly as she attempts to imitate a much older woman. "He's always so thin, they can't be feeding him right!"
A younger voice interrupts.
"Mother, he's fine. I'm pretty sure that all dragons look like that."
"He wasn't always a dragon. You can't compare him to the rest of them. He's delicate, I don't know why that dragonlord makes him travel across the country like that. I'm sure it can't be good for him."
"Mother, he's never complained."
"He looks so tired now."
"Mother! You always talk about how he looks the exact same as he did when you were young."
"Yes, well, dragons' can't understand humans, it stands to reason. They can't possibly understand Kai-Stern's needs."
"Mother, he's been living with the dragon's a lot longer than he spent human. If his new life was toxic to him, he'd have died by now!"
"You'll understand when you're a mother and have kids of your own to care for."
"Mother! Kai-Stern's at least five times older than you!"
The girl's been turning left and right as she speaks, acting out the high and low points of the conversation. The dragon, as always, is amazed at the inventiveness, variety and posessiveness of the human race.
"He's my great, great, great, great, great, great, great granduncle..."
"Give or take"
"...Give or take a few greats, but my mother still treats him as though he's her younger, scatty brother, who's just left home to find himself."
"It's still nice to have someone who cares for you. I envy Kai-Stern, your mother knows how to cook."
"Well, it's not just mama. Kai-Stern hasn't had children yet, but his brothers and sisters did. Their children had children and now Kai-Stern's family is pretty large. When he comes to visit, the village swells to three times its normal as all the relatives come to get a look at him. It probably sounds funny to you, since you've always been a dragon, but he's a member of the family that's DONE WELL. Mother took charge because she swears blind that dad was the image of him when he was young."
"Was he?"
"It's been a few generations, some of the features are there, but the blood's thinned." She shrugs. "Apparently I've got his eyebrows."
Ruwalk smiles then sighs.
"Ever since he came here, someone's come to visit carrying a package filled with great food, and toys..."
"And underwear, under orders to make sure he's looking after himself and also to ask why on earth he isn't married yet."
"Do you think it'll stop when he does get married?"
"Nah, then there'll be stuff for the babies. He's a source of village pride, after all. We don't want him to forget us."
Ruwalk pets her sad face. "Believe me, you never forget growing up, no matter how many centuries you see."
For the umpteenth time, Lucia wallows in the gulf between them. She kisses him lightly on the cheek.
"Don't worry Ruwalk. Just because you're old enough to be dead, life isn't over yet."
She picks up the bag and puts it back on her shoulders. It seems to fit far more snugly than before.
"That's much better. Remember, don't tell Thatz I was here. Oh, I nearly forgot. I was also supposed to deliver a lecture on how long it's been since his last visit and how everyone's forgetting what he looks like."
"You mean there isn't a statue to him in the square yet?"
"Nope, we don't want him getting too big for his boots after all. Guard that package now."
"I will. Here, let me see you out."
The dragon puts his arm around the young girl, escorting her back to the gates as they talk of nothing. At least until he hears Thatz's voice coming from the corridor nearby and they split up in the vain hope of saving Kai-Stern's precious bundle.