The mixed bag of noise that only an amusement park could offer was blaring as loud as it could. Children, attractions, announcers and chatter of the people, all offering their own take on what was an acceptable level of noise to subject the other people to. Among all of that was an unlikely couple, who were not really a couple but two halves of a couple. And both of them were resting on a wooden bench, the sweltering heat and modest humidity making them just a little miserable, something that could be well ignored in favor of enjoying their excursion.
"Kobayashi-san!" Tohru returned to the bench with the biggest of smiles on her face. For just today, she had exchanged her maid outfit for something casual – a bright blue short skirt and a pink shirt with short sleeves. To avoid being bugged by human children, she also hid her horns and tail – Kobayashi had been worried she would be mistaken for a park worker by visitors.
The dragon handed a cone of ice cream to her crush and sat down next to her, in the empty spot between her and Lucoa, who they had met up with by coincidence. "They had a lot of flavor and I didn't know what to get so I went with something that sounded good."
"Walnut chocolate is good." The cold delight really helped combat the heat.
Kanna had tailed a little behind Tohru, decimating a triple scoop of ice, all cherry flavor, all on her own. Sitting on the other side of Kobayashi, she looked quite happy with herself.
The last to arrive was Elma, who was holding not one, or two, but four cones of ice cream, all with different flavors and at least double scoop in each. Handing two of them to Lucoa without question, Elma sat down on the far end of the bench, rubbing shoulders with the feathered serpent.
Sitting there and eating ice cream in peace, Kobayashi held hands with Tohru, their fingers touching down on the warm wood. It had been a few weeks since Lucoa had advised the office lady that she would only really understand how to be with Tohru by being with her. Sometimes you do have to run before you can walk.
The serpent handed one of the cones back to Elma, fully knowing that she had bought three for herself. "Would you mind if we continued to tag along?" Lucoa liked being on a date with Elma. They always took the opportunity of Sundays, Elma's day off, to go out together – although it often resulted in Lucoa accompanying Elma on an eating spree.
Kobayashi looked at Tohru, who pouted just a minuscule amount. She still disliked Elma, but ever since she had stopped nagging at her about interference and going home, she was gradually becoming indifferent to her being around. "Fine..."
"So she says." Kobayashi was glad that things were working out between her co-worker and her maid. It already wasn't much of a date since we had Kanna with us. Having Lucoa and Elma with us will just make things a little more lively. Although Tohru is already plenty lively.
"Have you three been to the log water slide already?" Lucoa had no issues with the heat. For a very long time, she had lived near the equator, one of the regions of the earth where it was hot all year round. But she could see that especially Elma and Kobayashi were not too comfortable with the sweltering temperatures.
"A log slide?! That sounds amazing!" Kanna was already hyped for it.
"Have you two been to it already?" Kobayashi was curious.
"We walked past it." Lucoa answered for Elma, who was going through her last cone of ice cream.
"With this heat, anything that involves water in the name sounds appealing to me." Kobayashi was briefly ignoring Kanna, who tugged on her arm. "We're going, Kanna, don't worry."
The group of five departed shortly after. Kanna was blazing ahead and both Elma and Tohru went to reign her in, ending up in a contest of who could walk faster without being suspicious to the people around them. Lucoa and Kobayashi were left behind by a few meters.
"How is your new job working out?" The office lady hadn't talked to Lucoa alone for a while. Not since she suggested she take a job to catch up with what humans were living like nowadays.
"Business is better than I expected. There are a lot more otherworldly things in this city and the surrounding lands than I thought." Lucoa was amused with the really uncomfortable face that Kobayashi made. "They are a very peaceful bunch. There is one Oni that buys a muscle relaxant so she doesn't end up competing unfairly with the other wrestlers. The scary legends and stories humans tell about monsters are really just stories."
"Where did you set up shop?" Kobayashi was curious and wanted to visit.
Lucoa pulled an almost brand new cellphone. "Give me your number and I'll text you the address." She had messaging and calling all figured out. But anything more complicated than that was still learning in progress.
Pulling out her own phone and handing it to Lucoa after pulling up the address list, Kobayashi waited a few seconds for Lucoa to copy her number. "You won't mind if I visit, right?"
"All of the customers that come to the shop do so in human disguise. But I do home visits for some of them. There is a family of pixies that just had a daughter born for example."
"Please tell me that at least the undead are just fiction." Kobayashi hoped that all the really dangerous and horrifying creatures from the media were really just that.
"Undead do exist, but only as thralls of necromancers and such." Lucoa was glad that the human showed some interest in other species. "Don't worry, Elma, Tohru and I would never allow a necromancer to set up anywhere close to here."
"That's reassuring."
"Speaking of her, how are things with Tohru? I see you took my advice to heart."
"It's still a bit strange to be… a couple. I didn't even think about things like this until Tohru proclaimed she's in love with me. What about you and Elma? I was surprised to hear that you took things one step further after the curse wore off."
"Tohru is able to accept the prospect that even with magical potions and spells, she will only have around two centuries to spend with you. For me… I'm not strong enough to commit to a love like that. But Elma is a dragon in the harmony faction and she is staying in this world, so there is nothing that could tear her away from me. For someone like me, knowing that the partner I chose will be around for a very long time is really important. That I can trust her unconditionally is important too. And conveniently, Elma's kind is very honest."
"That's a much deeper answer than I expected."
"Working at my shop taught me that communication is important." Lucoa was proud of how far she had come in such a short time.
"Lucoa! Hurry up!" Elma was shouting from up ahead, holding a stick with cotton candy on it. Rushing ahead, she had gotten herself some. And since she liked Kanna, she also got her some. None for Tohru however.
"Sometimes Elma can be as childish as Kanna." Lucoa's smile was just a little different from all those times before. Instead of being merely an extension of her general personality, easy going and helpful, it was more about herself, how she felt.
"Is she still driven by her stomach?"
"Most of the time. But she does have a considerate side to her when it comes to me. Since my shop is close to where you two work, she always comes over for lunch. It is quite impressive how many shops will give you dishes for take out when they normally don't if you're a regular customer."
"There probably isn't a single food related shop near our workplace where she isn't a regular."
"I don't really have much use for the money I make so I let her use a lot of it to buy food."
"That's nice of you."
"Sometimes it feels like I am bribing her." Lucoa and Kobayashi finally caught up to the other three, who were really interested in the log slide. It was basically just a roller coaster that repeatedly crashed into the water and where the wagon came in the shape of a big log. The humidity in the air spiked the closer they got and it felt surprisingly good in the heat.
"The line looks kind of long." Kobayashi was not a fan of standing in line on her days off. It already happened plenty of times on commuting from work.
"Will you two be able to behave yourselves?" Lucoa touched both Tohru and Elma on the shoulder. "If we get in line you can't start fighting."
Elma looked away first. "I'll behave." If she does.
Tohru couldn't let Elma be the only mature one. "We're not children. As a maid, I can't cause trouble for Kobayashi-san."
"I'm proud of you Tohru." Kobayashi hesitated with taking Tohru's hand but pulled through after a minute glance at Lucoa. Run before you walk. You'll never change if you never take risks.
While Tohru was floating on cloud seven, hugging Kobayashi's arm like it was her private property, Kanna tugged on the human's free hand. "Kobayashi. What's that?." Kanna pointed to a sign that was showing a human and text saying You need to be this tall to ride.
Leading the little dragon to the sign, Kobayashi felt tiny clouds of worry forming over Kanna's head. She was at least twenty centimeters short of being tall enough. If I say I will wait with her here, Tohru won't go. And the three of us waiting for Lucoa and Elma will be quite awkward. If I have Tohru put that invisibility spell on Kanna, it will still be problematic because she does need a seat and there will be attendants down the line… what to do…
"Is there a problem?" Lucoa stood next to Kobayashi now, also holding hands with Elma, the two of them much more restrained than Tohru. A quick glance at Kanna, who was looking straight up and trying to measure the distance between herself and the sign, told Lucoa what the problem was. A certain kind of smile, one rich in slyness, was shown to Kobayashi before Lucoa let go of Elma and squatted down next to Kanna. "Do you want to ride with us?"
"Yes!" Kanna was still excited over going on the big log thing and smashing into the water.
"Kobayashi, Tohru, there is something I can do so she can come with us, but it'll be a little weird for the two of you."
"Weird? How?" Kobayashi was not sure she liked where this was heading.
"Are you going to use a chronicle transference spell on her?" Tohru noticed that both Elma and Kobayashi looked at her strange. "I know a bit about higher magic, don't look at me like that."
"What's a chronicle trans… ference? spell?"
"It lets you cut away part of your age, your time, and store it in something or someone else. Some really old human magicians in our world do that with granite statues and such to live for centuries."
"So is it dangerous?" Kobayashi looked down at Kanna but her question was obviously directed at Lucoa and Tohru.
"I'm afraid I don't know that much. I didn't know it could even be done with a dragon. Or that Lucoa could cast such a high level spell."
"Lucoa has enough magical power for all of us combined." Elma felt defensive for some reason.
"Now now, this isn't a competition." Lucoa didn't want those two to start a magic power measuring contest. "Transferring time to a living thing is like pouring water from a full bucket into an empty bucket. It will just make her older." Lucoa noticed the still worried look on Kobayashi's face. "Since Kanna is a dragon, it won't hold for very long. Four, maybe five hours at most. Dragons are a very resilient folk when it comes to this type of magic."
"Kobayashi, Tohru, what are you two talking about?" Kanna didn't really follow the conversation. Highly complicated magic like that was a little over her head for now.
Lucoa looked straight at Kanna with her biggest smile. "I can use a trick to make you as big as Tohru for a few hours. You can go on all the attractions with us then."
Kanna's face lit up. She didn't really care about being taller or older but she didn't want to miss out on any of the attractions. And she also didn't want to be a bother to Kobayashi. "Can I?" Kanna pulled on the free hand of the human. "Kobayashi, can I?"
"There is no risk?" Kobayashi was worried for Kanna's well being. In practice, they were like family.
"She might be a bit tired after the spell wears off." Lucoa stood back up. "There is not really anything weird involved in the spell, if you're worried about that."
"Are we going to stand around here much longer? It looks like the line is getting longer." Elma was a little impatient. She really hated the heat. As a dragon, she was most comfortable in the water, being a sea serpent in the first place.
"No magic out in the open." Kobayashi didn't want a scene to happen. Nowadays, people with their cellphones where everywhere and she didn't want to show up trending on twitter in a headline reading supernatural event at zoo.
"We just passed a restroom. Kanna, can you come with me for a moment?"
With Lucoa away, Elma plundered the nearby food stall that was selling burgers. She didn't feel any shame in eating alone while Kobayashi and Tohru where leaned against the tall wooden fence that separated the pathway from the area of the water attraction. It took six minutes, and about three burgers, before Lucoa returned, a changed Kanna in tow. She didn't look very different – just older. She was about as tall as Elma, maybe a little taller. Her hair was still the same length, seen in proportion to her height. In terms of proportions in general, she also resembled Elma closely, although her hips were a little wider than those of the water dragon.
"Kobayashi, Kobyashi!" On the inside, Kanna was still the same however. Jumping up and down by the human's side, Kanna was really excited. "Look, I'm taller than you are!"
"You're like a real adult now, Kanna." Kobayashi did her absolute best to ignore the other effect the jumping had because she didn't want to be annoyed with Kanna. "Should we go then?"
"A beautiful lady on each hand." Lucoa smirked and Kobayashi felt a bit weird about that idea. She would never see Kanna that way. It was difficult enough to think of Tohru like that after living most of her life until then without thinking about that kind of thing at all.
"How much time did you have to pass on to her?" Elma was back to holding hands with Lucoa. After the unusual start to their relationship, she was pretty used to being affectionate towards the former goddess now.
"That's a secret." More than I expected. For someone like Lucoa, there was no visible change if she had a few centuries more or less to her name.
Following the odd trio into the line, Elma started playing with Kanna, who was excited about being able to see everywhere now. Playing I see something you don't see with the young dragon, Elma was joined by Tohru, the two of them entertaining Kanna together.
"Thanks." Kobayashi stood a little behind Elma and Tohru, facing Lucoa.
"Nothing to thank me for after we intruded on your family date like that."
"A family date? That's not a bad name for it."
"I hoped you wouldn't be weirded out by seeing Kanna all grown up."
"After everything I saw… that barely qualifies as unusual. I guess it's true that you can really get used to anything."
"That hasn't changed in thousands of years. Humans have an amazing ability to adapt to their circumstances and everything around them."
"Considering the things you girls can do, being called amazing feels like it's sarcasm."
"No, no, I meant that genuinely!"
"Oh, I didn't know to insinuate you did not. I just meant, it feels like that. Inventing and adapting are the two things people excel at, I guess."
"Why did you decide to come here today?" Lucoa was a little curious about that.
"The ticket discount." Kobayashi was very open about such things. She wasn't really hurting for money but they weren't rich either.
"Elma wanted to come because apparently the restaurant that's in here has some really special omelet rice on offer for just this month."
"Don't tell them that!" Elma turned away from their game, blushing. She still vehemently refused the notion that she was a glutton. A gourmet, yes, but definitely not a glutton!
"You're really cute when you're embarrassed." Lucoa was not one to unjustly tease people, especially not Elma, but when it happened without intention, she definitely didn't lament the result.
Elma continued to blush but had no more objections. After missing out on a free meal out of stubbornness and denial, it was a lesson hard learned to stop being obstinate.
"Glutton." Tohru poked fun at the water dragon.
"Slave." Elma was definitely not above returning the favor.
"What?! I'll have you know that my employment is completely voluntarily!"
"Stop," Kobayashi grumbled.
Elma was caught off guard when Lucoa poked her cheek really hard. "What was said about fighting?"
Both of the dragons pointed at each other and said the same thing. "She started it!"
"I don't care." Kobayashi pulled on Tohru's hand and dragged her to the side while Lucoa did the same, keeping Tohru and Elma separated like two squabbling children. Kanna, in the meantime, was just enjoying the view from her new height.
Things calmed down quickly and the couples stuck to themselves for a little while. "Kobayashi. Do you think Saikawa would recognize me?" Kanna was a little bored with her new perspective already.
"You're still very much Kanna." Kobayashi smiled warmly. I still remember when she accused me of seducing Tohru and she wanted to go back home. I guess home is a different place now. "Tohru."
"What is it, Kobayashi-san?" Tohru had found something interesting. When the humans come down in that big log they scream like they're being eaten. It's not bad.
"How long is it going to take for Kanna to grow up like that?" It will be a bit problematic when everyone around her grows up and she doesn't. It's one thing for us adults to stay the same, but for kids… even if the teachers ignore it, and they probably won't, the other kids in class will notice.
"Hm… I don't really know. Dragons take a pretty long time to grow up, so maybe three or four centuries?" Ah… that means Kobayashi-san won't be able to see her grow up. That's a little sad when I think about it. She really cares about Kanna after all.
"That could be a problem. I mean there are some people that don't grow very tall, but if she stays like she is now for years and decades even… it will make it difficult to be around other people."
Tohru figured out what Kobayashi was on about. "That's right. I see what you mean. I can do perception blocking, but I can't alter her appearance with that. And it is probably a little too hard for Kanna to learn an advanced transformation spell. Turning into a human is easy enough, but changing your appearance there… that's rather difficult."
"You cannot do that with your scales?"
"They're like clothes, or armor. That's like me asking if you can make yourself older or younger with your hair or clothes."
"It might be fine for another year, maybe even two, but after that it will be really suspicious if she doesn't grow bigger a little. There is lots of magic stuff in your world, right? Nothing that could help?"I can't believe I never even thought of this before. Hiding her horns and tails is one thing, and living in human form another, but how didn't I realize this issue before? Was it because it wasn't an immediate concern?
"Hmm… this is a bit a topic to think about right now." Tohru couldn't think of anything off the top of her head. Most magic artifacts won't work on a dragon.
"You're right. Sorry."
"No, no, it's okay! I'm glad you care about Kanna. But please care about me too!"
"We two can just move somewhere else when your lack of aging becomes a problem." Kobayashi was back to smiling. "Maybe we can live in Okinawa. The weather is nice there."
"Can't you do something?" Elma was not quite whispering to Lucoa but keeping her voice down. She had overheard the entire thing.
"That is not something I can figure out on the fly. A chronicle transference spell is not a long time solution." Lucoa didn't want to get their hopes up for no reason. "And I didn't know you cared. It's cute."
"Cute? Really?" Elma was not that used to compliments yet, even the really small ones. Back home it was all duty, discipline and work so this was quite a change for her. "I don't like Tohru but Kanna is really nice and still innocent. And Kobayashi is a good person."
"I'll start looking for something at work tomorrow." Lucoa played with Elma's fingers. It didn't bother her at all that other people might see and disapprove of her doing it. They were just human after all.
Finally reaching the front of the line after nearly twenty minutes of standing around, the five of them didn't manage to get into the same round. Originally, the attendant tried to split them up but Lucoa and Elma just stepped aside and let two people from behind them in the line take their spot.
There fit four people per row. Kanna insisted that Tohru and Kobayashi sit in front with her while Lucoa and Elma were all the way at the back. Even if they were separated like that, they were still riding together – nobody would have to wait once they were done.
"It's rattle, it's rattling." Kanna, able to actually see out of the cart, was not as excited as she had expected. "It's slow."
Kobayashi on the other hand felt a pit steadily grow in her stomach. Squeezing Tohru's hand, she remembered that she wasn't a fan of these types of attractions; the kind that dealt with rapidly descending in some way.
Tohru on the other hand was in heaven. The human joy rides didn't really impress her all that much, but they gave her plenty of opportunity to get closer to her beloved.
"This is a lot less exciting than I imagined it would be-!" Elma's voice trailed off in a shrill scream when the log had reached the height of the tracks and rapidly descended towards the water with terrifying acceleration. Despite being a dragon, Elma was by far the loudest in their cart, screaming Lucoa's ears off. And then the impact came. Water splashed to every side. Tohru, Kobayashi and Kanna all got more than just a little wet from the airborne wave while Elma and Lucoa got off with barely a drop on them.
"This… this insolent, infernal contraption! I will destroy-" Tohru was about to burst a vein when Kobayashi tapped her shoulder, her red hair sticking to her head and giving her a very amusing look.
"Tohru. That's just the kind of attraction this is. It's so hot we'll be dry in twenty minutes. At least there… won't be..." Kobayashi froze when the cart stopped in the middle of the water and started to turn on a mechanical platform. And moments later, it was climbing again – backwards.
"I don't like where this is heading." Elma tried to look over her shoulder to the best of her ability, but she wasn't that flexible in her human form.
Lucoa could turn even less than Elma because for her, the security bars were a pretty tight fit. "It looks like there is no escaping getting wet in this ride." Lucoa was fairly amused with how tense Elma was.
Kanna tried to squeeze herself through the metal bars to look back over the cart but she wasn't small and slim enough for that right now. "I can't see! Kobayashi, I can't see."
"I think that's the point." Kobayashi undid her ponytail and twisted her hair once to get most of the water out. And then the pit in her stomach came again. Seeing where they were going was already scary, but not seeing? That just made things worse.
The log rattled and shook and finally slowed down. The slower it got, the more tense the people riding it got. And when it stood still entirely, and they could see down the tracks just how far up they had come, they all didn't feel the heat anymore.
With a howling noise, the cart flung itself forwards, descending down the tracks, almost as if it was in free fall. And Elma screamed again, holding on to Lucoa's left arm like it was her only lifeline.
Even Tohru felt a pit in her stomach from the sudden descent and then they hit the water – it felt like they drove into a wall. With a single enormous jerk, the cart came to a halt. In the back of the cart was a water serpent well in her element, figuratively. Water was all around her feet and for once she was glad she had listened to Lucoa's request and worn a new pair of high heels. At least her feet were mostly staying dry.
The cart ascended one last time and this time it was running on a pair of tracks parallel to another. And there was another car, with people inside who were wearing water capes to protect themselves. The office lady thought just one thing. I ought to read warning labels the next time.
Three more splashes later, five very wet dragons and one just as wet human emerged from the attraction, a little cold despite the heat. "These clothes are definitely going into the laundry." Pulling on her shirt, it stuck to her like it was glued on. "Why didn't we get raincoats?"
"Seriously." Tohru shook herself like a dog, water spraying everywhere and her hair slapping the dragon in the face. "Ugh."
While the dragon's clothes were their scales, they couldn't just magically dry themselves without reverting to their true form. There came certain restrictions with being in human form. And Tohru in particular didn't mind the coy expression on Kobayashi's face because the dragon's shirt was really sticking to her large chest.
While Tohru drew Kobayashi's gaze, Lucoa, in her soaking wet sweater, drew the gaze of literally everyone else that passed by. Kanna and Elma were off a little better, their clothes just making them look very uncomfortable.
Kobayashi, after managing to separate her line of sight from Tohru's chest, took a quick look around. "If we go down that road we'll eventually get to the house of horrors. And it is sun all the way, so we'll dry quickly."
Lucoa was wringing out her hair like a dripping wet rag and when she couldn't do it properly on her own, Elma helped. Kanna and Tohru had the same problems and even Kobayashi kept her hair out of a ponytail, much to Tohru's delight.
"I apologize." Lucoa felt guilty for getting everyone a lot more than they had probably signed on for. "I didn't think we would be bombarded like this."
"Unexpected happenings can be part of the experience. I don't think anyone is really mad at you." Kobayashi didn't need to directly single out Tohru. Both her and Kanna shook their heads to confirm the woman's claim. "See?"
"If that is so, I'm glad." Lucoa winced a little when Elma wrung out her hair a little too hard. "Ow. Careful..."
"Sorry. It's just you have such long hair." It was one of the things Elma really liked about her. Not so much that it was blonde, as that stuck out a lot when they went out, but because it felt really good and she liked to feel it with her fingers.
Kanna popped out her horns for a moment and shook herself really hard to get most of the water off of her. With her hair down she looked almost like a rich lady. Even though she was anything but on the inside.
Walking down the sunlit path, with one stream of visitors and against another. Tohru didn't budge from her position as Kobayashi's attache and Kanna was walking a little in front of those two. Lucoa and Elma were off on their own to the side, a few meters away, walking arm in arm. While it wasn't appreciated, most Japanese no longer scoffed at two women being a couple in public.
The next time Kobayashi turned around, she couldn't spot the two serpents. And her phone vibrated. Pulling it from her pocket took a bit of effort, but she was glad it still worked after getting wet. People always complain about their new phones breaking from every little thing. I'm glad I got an older model. The text was short and to the point. Elma and I are getting something to eat. We'll meet you at the exit of the horror house.
"I told her." Lucoa put her phone away, not between her breasts as she had done for a while but into the right pocket of her pants. They were still somewhere in-between damp and wet, but Elma was still happy. They were actually serving a special burger that one could only get at this amusement park and Elma really was a sucker for that sort of thing. With Lucoa's additional income, and their still modest rent cost, she didn't have to be as indecisive about food anymore. Lucoa sat next to Elma instead of across her. That way she could sneak a little bit here and there from the things Elma bought.
"This burger is amazing! Even hunting in the sea of heaven and capturing a crystal fish was not this delicious."
"I often forget that you are a water dragon." Lucoa ate a few of Elma's fries, one at a time, nibbling on the last one she took. "You don't miss swimming in the ocean sometimes?"
"Hm?" Elma had just stuffed her mouth with the rest of the second burger. Chewing and producing incomprehensible gibberish at the same time, Elma swallowed and repeated herself. "Do you miss flying around the rain forests?"
"Not particularly."
"See." Elma put on her happiest smile, leaned to the side and kissed Lucoa on the cheek.
She's like a young maiden when it comes to love. I never thought I'd be the first to have a serious relationship with her. "It is really hot so we could go to the beach next week. I might be a feathered serpent, but I am quite a good swimmer."
"The last time you went it was with Kobayashi. When did you get her number anyway? I don't have it and I work with her." Elma had a cellphone of her own but she rarely used it. She had left it at home today, since Lucoa brought hers.
"Earlier, when you went to get ice cream." Lucoa got a little closer, her hips touching Elma's. I never get tired of seeing her eat. Reaching for Elma's cheek, Lucoa removed a little bit of the hamburger's sauce. "Do you want to go to the beach next week? Luckily, swimsuits are not a problem for us."
"Don't even think about wearing those obscene strings from last time. I heard from Kobayashi. You harlot." Elma preferred modesty. The sweater that Lucoa wore nowadays was tasteful and still very appealing, a sweet middle ground.
"It hurts when you say that."
"I don't want you to show off like that." Elma was not the jealous type but she didn't want Lucoa to be leered at by other people. Lucoa came from a time when modesty was a scarce commodity and Elma understood this well, but she still didn't want her to carry on like that. And she found that a modest Lucoa was much more sexy than one that showed off skin or wore skimpy clothes. Seeing her up close always made her heart beat harder than normal. Harder than when she fought the chaos faction, harder still than when she had to report in to the harmonic leaders of her faction – and harder still than that one time she was caught sneaking a snack from the table of the superiors when she had been a much younger dragon.
With Elma starting at her like a romantic, Lucoa could not help herself. She was too old to engage in flirtatious and frantic antics of a youngster in love, but she definitely was not too old to be in smitten with someone. Sitting there, right by Elma's side, Lucoa leaned forward just enough to leave a tiny bit of space between her lips and Elma's. She wouldn't just go and kiss Elma. She wanted the water dragon to long for the sensation of a kiss. Dragons, in dragon form, had highly different ways of showing affection but Lucoa was quite fond of the way humans showed theirs.
And the water serpent responded, kissing Lucoa in broad daylight. Not a quick, fleeting kiss between two innocent teens but a deep kiss between two old beings that were very much in love. Albeit Elma loved modesty, she loved Lucoa more. Because they were in public their kiss remained pure – it didn't make the jump into a true adult's kiss.
Separating, Elma was blushing strongly and quickly focused on her next burger, biting a large chunk out of it. She was glad that she was used to hiding her tail and horn while being flustered. But if she was allowed to show them, her tail would be waggling back and forth. She had never been aware that she did that when she was excited and happy, not until Lucoa had mentioned it in passing. She wanted to fix that habit, that tell, but Lucoa was strangely attracted to her doing it, so in turn she let herself into following her instincts – and the tail wagging got even more pronounced.
Lucoa on the other hand didn't blush at all but wore a special kind of smile on her face, one that was reserved just for when she was alone with Elma. "I need to thank Kobayashi some day for bringing us together."
"It was my curse that got us together." Elma still didn't feel regretful over eating the offerings for an actual goddess.
"She is the common ground on which we met is what I meant. And you should not boast about getting yourself cursed. What would you have done if it was a more dangerous curse?"
"You'd still have saved me." It wasn't a question. Elma was absolutely sure that Lucoa would have saved her. "You're more powerful than you tell the others. I can tell. Strong enough that you could go toe to toe with the top level executives in the harmony faction."
Lucoa was not comfortable with that topic. "A bit of sparring and fighting is fine. But I don't like violence. It was one thing to frighten the humans a few thousand years ago – creating lightning storms and such. But please don't talk about serious fighting against dragons; elder dragons at that."
"I didn't mean it like that." Elma sulked a little. She didn't want to upset Lucoa and it even made the food taste less good because she felt bad. "I meant to say that you're strong, so you would use your power to save me."
The blonde put her hand on Elma's thigh. For today, Elma wore something simple. She usually kept to her office uniform but she didn't want to wear that on their day out. A black shirt with short sleeves and a blue jeans for the summer formed a very plain but also form fitting combination. Lucoa definitely approved. "I still cannot decide if I should call you cute or sexy in those clothes."
"A cute sexy?" Elma was back to enjoying her food after seeing that Lucoa was not as upset as she thought.
"I do really like the clothes you wear when you lounge around at home. Those are really sexy."
"R-really? I specifically picked them because they covered my chest well and gave me enough leg freedom to capture Tohru." Elma was suddenly very aware of how much skin her dragon clothes were showing. "I… need to make some adjustments to them."
"Don't. I think it is fine for you to show off your legs." Sliding her hand over Elma's legs, Lucoa smiled at her slyly. "And your shoulders, as well."
"D-Definitely making adjustments!" Greedily eating her burger, Elma was glad that Lucoa liked her clothes. Romance was still new for her and while she was getting the hang of kissing and basic intimacy, she always felt like she was holding Lucoa back a lot.
"Are you going to buy seconds for on the way? I do feel like I could go for half a milkshake." The sly smile continued. She didn't so much make fun of her girlfriend as she playfully pushed her buttons.
"Half of a big one?" In terms of human standards, Elma's stomach was bottomless.
"You're lucky that you never upset your stomach."
"I did accidentally nearly eat an anchor once… a lot of fish were swarming it and I just got excited and…"
"That must have been a surprise. Did your teeth hurt?"
"My teeth are peerless!"
"I love listening to your stories."
"Liar. When you got so many more stories than me. I'm just someone from the harmony faction, you helped humans build a civilization for themselves."
Lucoa carefully avoided the story of how she lost her place as a goddess, always. But she freely talked about her other experiences. "I can tell you about that time I took a nap after starting a storm to counter a drought another god had caused and not waking up in time to stop the storm. While we walk. I did tell Kobayashi we'd meet her there."
Kobayashi was exhausted. It was so obviously fake how Tohru kept being scared by the actors and props in the ghost house. It was the old fashioned, explore by yourself kind, not the boring on rails one. And Tohru took every chance to hug, jump, cling and squeeze Kobayashi – so much that Kanna got bored by herself and wandered off, ahead of the two.
After finally reaching sunlight again, Kobayashi felt like it was the literal light at the end of the tunnel. The horrors hadn't impressed her at all – all those dragons and what not she knew were a million times scarier after all – but Tohru constantly clinging to her had sent her heart racing again and again. The moment she thought herself safe, Tohru squeezed her arm right between her breasts, squealing about some kind of bandaged man-monster. Another time, she rubbed their cheeks together. I need a vacation from this vacation day.
Tohru happily held Kobayashi's hand and even seeing Elma and Lucoa wait for them up ahead couldn't dampen her spirits. But what did was Kobayashi's exhausted face. Letting go of her crush's hand, the dragon maid tried to walk up ahead and give her date some space. She looks kinda exhausted. Did I overdo it? I'll give her some- huh?
Kobayashi, almost as if she could read her maid's mind, didn't leave her out of her reach, grabbing her hand and keeping her close. "You're thinking something wrong, I can tell."
"You're not bothered by me?"
"Bothered, no. But I do need you to… take it easy on me for a bit." She really pushed herself hard to be not just the human Tohru lived with and loved. She wanted to be more. Not being used to being wanted only worked as an excuse for so long. Tohru did her best, so she would, too. "Tohru."
"Yes?"
"Do you want a milkshake?"
"Huh? I don't really-" Tohru instantly changed her tone when she noticed Lucoa and Elma sharing a milkshake from one straw. "Yes, please!" And before Kobayashi could say anything else, Tohru dashed off, coming to a screeching halt in front of the feathered serpent. "Where did you buy that?!" Her tone made it sound like a matter of life and death.
Being pointed in the right direction, Tohru took off with nearly superhuman speed, followed by Kanna, who had paid attention and wanted one of those shakes things for herself. Kobayashi followed them, slowly, with Elma and Lucoa a little miffed that they had to go back the way they came.
"If someone sees how much you enjoy your treats, they cannot help but want them yourself." Lucoa bend forward and used the straw. Sharing a straw was really nothing worth mentioning to her, but Elma was holding back in a strange way instead of devouring it all on her own.
"Do you think I could become a food critic?! Like, have a food blog and just make money from eating and writing about it?!" The possibility excited Elma. It was like a dream come true.
"Turning what you love into work might make it less enjoyable. And you'd have to eat things you don't like."
"Come to think of it I do like working with a computer." A fleeting dream it was.
When the five of them met up again, Kobayashi held a medium size milkshake with a single straw – connected to Tohru's mouth at the present moment.
"My last suggestion got us all wet and bothered, so I think I'll sit back from recommending anything else." Lucoa felt just a little bad. Kobayashi and co. were basically dry because it had been excruciatingly hot in the house of horrors.
The human's first instinct was to ask Kanna what she would like to do, but not only did she assume that Kanna would be excited with most things but technically she was on a date with Tohru. "Tohru, anything you want to do?"
"That big wheel thing we saw on our way here!"
"The Ferris Wheel? That will make for a nice change of pace from all this walking around." My legs are going to kill me tomorrow.
"We're coming too!" Elma distinctly remembered from the park guide that there was a small place that sold special park macarons there. Of course she wouldn't tell any of them that up front.
Kanna walked a little ahead of everyone else, quite pleased with herself being able to easily outpace the others thanks to her long legs. There was not a lot of space between the two couples and Tohru started a conversation with Lucoa about her work. "That's expensive."
"It is not cheap but it is a one-time only investment. The box draws in your magical power and generates more of the powder over time so you never run out. Of course, if your magical power is weak, like a human mage, it won't be enough and you will need to have someone help you with their magic power."
"Still…" Tohru was tempted but she didn't want to strain their home budget for something personal.
"Do you want it?" Kobayashi on the other hand figured that since she wasn't paying Tohru, she should at least get her the things she wanted.
"I do, but it's expensive."
"What exactly does this orihalcum powder stone even do?" Just powder could be used for a lot of things, but a stone? I can't even speculate what it does.
"It's for chewing." Lucoa offered, helpfully. "A dragon's teeth are basically indestructible, and they become too sharp and start to cut into the flesh inside the mouth if the dragon doesn't regularly chew on something hard."
"How did you handle that in the other world?" Kobayashi noticed a slightly excited look on Tohru's face. "Wait. I know this pattern. Something hard to chew on. And your world is all medieval, right? You were chewing on soldiers in heavy armor."
Elma burst into laughing. "She has you all figured out!"
"At least I didn't have to chew on mineral rocks on the sea bed!"
"There is nothing wrong with that!"
"Stop." Lucoa pinched Elma's cheek and glared at Tohru with just one eye. "How have you been dealing with your teeth in this world, Tohru?"
Tohru was embarrassed to talk about that. "I kind of left it alone. I figured I would go to another world and find an eternity tree or something to grind my teeth on when it got too bad."
"Is this like brushing your teeth for dragons?" Kobayashi understood what the problem was, but she still needed to put it into a more human analogy.
"It's closer to having calculus removed." Lucoa had looked up an analogy because between regular otherworldly beings and humans, there was basically no difference in how little they knew about dragons and she wanted to be able to explain things.
"Brushing your teeth in your human form isn't enough?"
"It helps and draws out the process." Tohru did brush her teeth regularly.
"How much was that stone?" Kobayashi had not just one but two dragons at home and most of all she didn't want Kanna to have trouble with her teeth.
"Tohru is already plenty powerful so she can probably generate enough stones for herself and Kanna." Lucoa proved to be quite the saleswoman. "The box is 117,000 yen. It does have a lifetime warranty and doesn't even need to be cleaned or anything."
Expensive! Kobayashi's expression revealed immediately what she thought and Lucoa glanced at Elma. She had a box like that at home herself and Elma got to use it free of charge. "I am sure we could work something out. And since all three of you are good friends to me and Elma, I will give you a nice discount."
"Thank you." Kobayashi knew she would have to be pretty frugal for a while, even with a discount. But if such a thing would make life easier for Tohru and Kanna, she would happily put up with that.
"I have been struggling to clean the shop. I would pay you a nice premium if you could let Tohru come over to clean once or twice a week."
Tohru was not too happy with that idea. "I am Kobayashi-san's maid. Not just any maid you can hire."
"Wait." Kobayashi whispered to her maid. "I do want you to have that box. And aren't you sometimes bored at home after you finish chores?"
"Well, I am, but… are you really okay with this, Kobayashi-san? That I'd be someone else's maid."
"You would just help out a friend and happen to get paid for it. You're still just my maid. It would be like a secret mission."
"I suppose I shouldn't be picky."
Reaching the ferris wheel while they talked, Kanna came running at them. "Kobayashi! I'll go watch that!" Kanna wasn't excited by the big wheel and instead wanted to go watch an open air magic show that was put on by the park's entertainers.
"Stay there, okay? I'd be worried if we came back from the ride and couldn't find you."
"Uh huh. I promise." Kanna was so excited that she ran off without waiting for another answer. The show had already started and the staff was introducing herself.
Tohru, Lucoa and Elma joined Kobayashi for a short moment, watching the show from the distance. Lucoa was the first to point out the obvious. "They're not human."
Kobayashi felt like she should have some big reaction but she just couldn't muster the surprise. "Are they also dragons?"
"I think they are fairies?" Elma stared really intensely at the four costumed girls. "One of them looks definitely like a fairy, but the blue one is more… like a mermaid?"
"Mermaids are real too?" Kobayashi looked disillusioned with the world. "Why did I even ask?"
Tohru couldn't pinpoint their nature either. "The one with the flame dress and the ginger hair… she's definitely some kind of fire elemental." I think.
"A salamander." Lucoa had been around for long enough to sense the specific type of magic energy that radiated off otherworldly things. "The one next to her is an undine, a water elemental maiden. The other two are a Sylph, a wind elemental known for their hyper personality and… usually, the brown haired one would be a gnome in this scenario, an earth elemental that is very hard working and dedicated, but I think she is some other kind of earth elemental."
"You can tell all that from here?" Kobayashi was absolutely perplexed and it didn't help that both Tohru and Elma looked at Lucoa with admiration.
"I have been around a long time. And I lived in a settlement of elementals for a while, about… two and a half thousand years ago, I guess"
"You can probably keep story time at a campfire going indefinitely." Kobayashi joked and then it dawned on her that it was probably true. "Should we go? Maybe we can spot Kanna from the top of the Ferris Wheel."
"Let's go!" Tohru was eager to spend some moments with Kobayashi alone. She was fully aware of how well indulged she had been so far but she figured she could push her luck a little.
Elma was as excited as Tohru was but for entirely different reasons. While the others got in line, she hurried over to the macaron place and got a double order – one for herself and one to share with Lucoa. If Kobayashi wanted some, she could buy them herself.
The line for the ferris wheel was surprisingly short – and they quickly found out why. "It's hot… Tohru, is this how humans feel right before they are hit with your flame breath?" Kobayashi lifted up her skirt, desperately trying to fan cool air below it. Even Tohru was suffering from the oven they were in and sweating quite heavily.
"To think a human contraption could be this effective against me… my pride won't allow-" Tohru was stopped just short of kicking the door out of the cabin. Kobayashi grabbed her hand and that killed her rage.
Pulling Tohru to the seat by her side, Kobayashi then turned and pointed out the back window, to the next cabin, containing Lucoa and Elma. "Look."
Lucoa was really suffering in the heat but Elma had it even worse. Her horn and tail were showing – she just didn't have the concentration to hide them. It had to be over forty-five degree celsius in the cabins, if not even over fifty in some.
"Tohru, can't you cast some kind of magic to create air conditioning?" Kobayashi felt like she was being grilled alive.
Tohru grumbled a little. "I'm sorry… that's not really my specialization. I don't feel the heat when I'm in dragon form so I never… I'm really sorry! If I hadn't asked to come here-"
"It's okay. I'm just bothered that I might reek of sweat after we get out."
"Ah, I can make that go away at least. You remember when I told you that it was kind of inconvenient to get clean as a dragon when it didn't rain or no big waterfall was close by? I was taught a little spell that masks all bodily smells. But… it does make everything smell like pine tree for some reason for a few hours."
"Pine trees?"
"A druid taught me the spell." After I threatened to eat him.
"Do you think you could be nice and cast it on Lucoa and Elma if they don't know it themselves?"
"Why-" Tohru didn't get very far with her complaint. Kobayashi was asking her for a favor with a smile, despite the boiling temperatures, and there was no way she could turn her down like this. "I understand. I don't want to be around something that smells like grilled fish either."
"Are you… talking about Elma?"
"She's a water dragon. Might as well be a fish. Is as obedient to her superiors as a fish, too."
"Be nice." Kobayashi's smile waned a little. "It's been a while since she even mentioned taking you to the other world."
"I still don't like her."
"Not liking her and acting like it can be different things. People do it all the time."
"Why are you so fixated on me being nice to Elma? You're not secretly cheating-"
"Do you think there is anyone stupid enough to try and hit on the girlfriend of a goddess? They would be dust in five seconds."
"You're right. I'm sorry. Today has been a bit much for my heart."
"Is it making you happy?"
"Yes!"
"Then I'm happy too." I won't tell her that it is because of Lucoa that I'm pushing myself like this.
"Ehehe." Tohru smiled and rocked back and forth on her seat. "It makes me feel like we're a couple."
"I'm trying my best." Kobayashi was very open and honest about her situation. That hadn't changed at all. Even though she hid very small things that would only annoy Tohru.
"Am I… taking advantage of you?"
"What makes you think that?"
"You're going out of your way to open up to me… trying to return my feelings and everything. After I practically forced my way into your life."
"Do you really think all of that?"
"W-What do you mean?"
"If I didn't want to return your feelings, I wouldn't. No sense of obligation goes that far. I'm only having to try my best because my life was devoid of someone like you for so many years. And if I didn't want you in my life, I mean if I wasn't happy with you in my life, do you really think I would have stood up to your dad? A really big, scary dragon that could wipe out Japan if he wanted? Ah… remembering it gave me a chill."
"I'm gonna whack that old man if he ever lays hands on you again-!" Tohru focused on the one bit that wasn't going to kill her from embarrassment. But running from her feelings was not something Tohru did. "You always sound so reasonable."
"I'm a human surrounded by a dragon maid, a childish dragon, a former goddess, a water dragon, a magician that works at the same company… and a cursed dragon that lives with my closest co-worker. If I'm not reasonable, who will?" Kobayashi looked with anticipation at the window – they had passed the highest point and were now descending.
"I-I'm sure there are other humans out there that are in unusual situations!"
"I'd like to meet them. Exchange tips on how to stop our dragons from trying to slip us tail meat."
"I haven't done that in a while!"
As they kept going back and forth with playful banter, the cabin finally reached the ground again. Kobayashi was so eager to get out that she stumbled over a metal rail on the floor and would have hit the floor without Tohru. "Thanks."
"No, no, you're welcome."
Thirty seconds after they had left, Lucoa and Elma emerged from their oven as well, looking like they had been baked alive. Elma specifically was in a bad condition, her shirt sticking to her chest, wet with her sweat. If not for Lucoa placing a concealment spell on her, it would have been a strange sight – a woman with a lizard tail and a horn walking around.
Leading Elma to a nearby bench, she was looking pretty pale. "To think I would be done in by a human contraption…" Elma didn't just look bad but also sounded bad. So much that even Tohru couldn't find anything mean to say.
"I will be taking Elma to somewhere cool so she can rest." Lucoa looked worried about her girlfriend. "But really, is this something humans view as entertainment now? Self-imposed torture?"
"That ride was just badly designed. Usually these things have at least open windows." Kobayashi was not feeling so good herself. "Tohru, can you go and get Kanna?"
"You don't have to leave because of us." Lucoa felt responsible.
"We're not leaving. But I am going to buy an extra large iced something and sit in the shade for thirty minutes or an hour." Kobayashi gave Elma another look. "Is she going to be okay?"
"She's a dragon. She just doesn't take well to the heat."
"Give me an hour… and I'll be as good as new..." Elma felt dizzy. Being in her human form had its share of troubles and the heat getting to her like this was one of them.
"That's reassuring." Seeing Tohru approach with Kanna, Kobayashi said her goodbyes and left. "Oh, I'll text you later to see if you're still in the park."
And so, Lucoa and Elma were left by themselves. It didn't take long for Elma to recover enough to walk around. "Ugh… I can't believe this happened to me." They were on their way to a nice and somewhat secluded place that primarily sold cold deserts, like ice cream and cooled waffles with cream.
"I could have cast a spell to make things easier for us." Lucoa pulled back one chair as she passed it. She wasn't polite enough to pull it back and do the whole routine sit down, push chair routine with Elma though.
"No, this is my own fault. If that unruly chaos dragon can keep her magic to herself, so can I."
I am pretty sure Tohru just doesn't know about these kind of spells. "Do you want to stick around after we cool down?"
"Stick around? You picked up some funny language." Elma was a little amused by this and then her head felt like it was splitting, again. When the waitress came, Elma just let her girlfriend order for her.
"Maybe we should have gone to the zoo instead."
"A little heat won't ruin my day."
"I'm glad." Prodding Elma's feet with her own, Lucoa was pretty happy with how things had turned out between them. "I'm glad you decided to stay in the human world."
"Me too." Elma almost snatched drinks the waitress delivered to their table out of her hands, hastily downing the ice cold cola and feeling her insides contract from the chilly drink.
"Even though your motivation was a bit iffy."
"I was just following orders."
"And now?"
Elma blushed but still managed to look straight at Lucoa. "Following my heart." Elma loved it when she could be honest with herself and it made Lucoa blush on top of it.
"I wonder if that goddess that cursed you did so knowing that I would break it."
"You mean she set us up to be together?" Emptying her glass, Elma felt somewhat refreshed already. Although the heat was crawling up on her again, despite the shadows she sat in. It wasn't really heat from around her but within.
"She is a goddess of love if I remember right."
"I… maybe I should replace the offering."
"You're that thankful to her?"
"I never even thought about romance before. So when all this happened it was really confusing for me. But I'm really glad things ended up like this. Who knows if I had ever thought about dating someone if I didn't ea- get cursed." I almost said eat the curse.
"If you want to please a goddess, choose an offering that won't spoil, that will withstand the rain – something that others can see and be inspired to leave offerings of their own."
"One day you'll have to tell me what it is like, being a goddess."
"I can tell you a story right now if you would like. While we wait for the ice." Lucoa hoped that Elma would be happy with what she had ordered. It was a bit expensive, but if she didn't use money to entertain her girlfriend, what else was she gonna use it for? As a former goddess she didn't exactly want for many things.
"Do you know who invented pizza?"
"My… involvement in history was a little less specific to individual people." Pizza?
"Sushi. Sushi is like a national treasure of Japan! That can't have been invented by just one person!"
"Elma, I love you but you think about food just a little too much." Lucoa rubbed her right foot against Elma's feet. "I know about the time when the byzantine empire fell. When the religion of the monotheistic god was created. I saw what happened when the great miasma rolled across Europe and the aftermath, the time of the great blossoming of the arts. The great wars for freedom of the English, where the tale of the legendary king originated." Lucoa talked and talked and with each mention of a great event in history, Elma's face lit up a little. "See, there are interesting things other than food."
"I don't know about any of those but it sounds really interesting." Elma was quite interested in the movies humans made – they only had live theater in the other world. Technology was quite marvelous once you got accustomed to it.
"You don't… know any of those?" I underestimated how secluded the harmony faction is from this world. "I'm sure we can find some movies on those topics and I can tell you what really happened."
"If we're talking about movies, that means popcorn!"
Lucoa let out a little sigh, accompanied by a big, happy smile. There is no changing her. And even if there was, I wouldn't. I like her like she is. Even if she is a glutton. A helplessly gluttonous glutton. She might have been Beelzebub in another life of if she was born a demon. Lucoa paused a moment in her thoughts. She might still look cute with dark skin, blood red hair and yellow eyes. "Yes, popcorn. But no more than one bucket per movie."
"At least I'll never get fat as long as you live with me."
Both ladies smiled at each other, like the simple-minded dragons, the simplegons, they were. Until their ice cream was brought to them. Elma attacked the premium extra large deluxe parfait, that was normally for two people, on her own while Lucoa enjoyed a much more appropriately sized tropical one. Elma was halfway through her parfait, when Lucoa fed her a bit of fruit. I want this kind of life to last forever. What do the humans say? And they lived happily ever after.
=== Order seconds? ===