Work is hell. That's all.

Enjoy the chapter!

...

When the children rushed through the portal, they could hear the silkwyrm's roars in the distance. Selkie's ears perked up and she sniffed the air a few times. "I smell man," she told the others, a rare frown forming. "There's a village not too far from here!"

That was all Percy needed to hear. "C'mon, Ace!" he cried out, his dragon letting out a roar as it soared off to help the villagers. After a few brief moments of hesitation, Caeldori followed with her pegasus. The other children all shared a look, before Selkie transformed into her true form and led them towards the village. Dwyer internally groaned as he was forced to pick up speed again, his lungs having still not fully recovered from last time. He heard the familiar sound of transformation, and soon he was being lifted up and placed on a gentle giant's back.

The butler rolled his eyes and frowned. "I don't need help, Velouria..." he protested lamely.

The huge beast growled. "Uh-huh, keep telling yourself that."

Dwyer smirked. "Okay, I will..."

Velouria did not respond, so Dwyer opted to just dig his hands through the wolfskin's thick fur to keep him from falling off. He heard another terrible roar, and when he looked up he could see the silkwyrm coming into view. "There it is!" he announced, pointing towards the sky. Kiragi immediately set to work, taking an arrow from his quiver and setting it on the string in one fluid motion. He took only a second to aim, then fired. The arrow whizzed through the air, but sadly it fell just a few yards short of its target.

"We need to get it lower!" he hissed, stringing another arrow. Nina followed his action, nodding in agreement.

Before anyone could come up with any new ideas, the silkwyrm turned tail and fled east. Selkie gasped and sprinted as fast as her four legs could carry her. "It's heading for the village!" the kitsune yelped.

Dwyer was nearly bucked off of the giant wolfskin once she began picking up speed to catch up to her fellow shapeshifter. The butler gritted his teeth and glanced up at the sky once more, where he could barely catch sight of the silkwyrm. It let out another roar as it neared closer to the village, and he could've sworn he heard screaming in the distance.

"We have to hurry!" Ophelia urged.

'You don't say,' Dwyer hissed to himself. He peeked over Velouria's shoulder, and he could see the village in the distance. 'Dammit, we're not going to make it in time!' he realized with horror. He looked around, hoping for a plan to form among one of the other children, but they looked as hopeless as he did. 'Dammit!' the butler cursed.

"Look!" Kana cried, pointing to the sky. "It's Percy!"

Everyone turned and, sure enough, Percy's dragon was fearlessly charging at the monster. Percy urged his mount to move faster, and he readied his axe to strike. "C'mon," he muttered to himself. "C'mon, c'mon, c'mon!" He took a mighty swing, and whooped in joy as it sliced through the silkwyrm's thick flesh. The silkwyrm screeched and turned around, looking to take a bite out of the young hero. Percy yelped and Ace reared back, just barely dodging the needle-like teeth the silkwyrm possessed.

Caeldori was right behind Percy, and her mount graciously swooped down, her naginata sheathing itself in the monster's eye. It screeched in pain once more, twisting its body around in unnatural positions. Its large wings flapped wildly, allowing it to regain the higher ground.

Kana took out her dragonstone and grinned. "My time to shine!" she cheered, shapeshifting into the mighty dragon. She roared and with one large flap of her wings, she took to the air. Kana rammed her head into the silkwyrm, allowing for Percy to slash it open once more with his axe.

Ophelia watched the aerial battle, before she turned to the others. "Okay...Kiragi!" she said. "You and Nina stay in the field and focus on clipping its wings." The two archers nodded and drew back their bows. Ophelia turned to Dwyer. "Dwyer, you stay with them and heal any of us who get wounded."

Dwyer raised an eyebrow, surprised to be witnessing a whole new side of Ophelia he didn't know she had. It was strange, seeing her able to take control of such a situation. He then nodded, deciding to ask her about it later. "Right," he grunted.

Ophelia then turned to the remainder, which was Mitama, Selkie, and Velouria. "The rest of us will go to the village and help them however we can." Everyone nodded and took their positions. Ophelia looked back at Dwyer, who gave her a nod and a small smile. Ophelia beamed and motioned for her group to follow, and they all sprinted towards the village.

'You really are something, Ophelia Dusk,' Dwyer thought as he stared after them. Sighing, he turned around to find Kiragi and Nina firing away their arrows, but their shots still fell just a little bit short.

"Kana has the best chance of bringing it lower," Nina observed, frowning. "But that thing is putting up a fight..."

Kana was wrestling with the silkwyrm, both viciously biting into each other. A few droplets of blood fell from the sky, hitting Dwyer, much to disgust. Whose blood it was he couldn't tell, but he was beginning to worry for the young princess. Suddenly, to Kana's, and everyone else's, surprise, the silkwyrm shot fire from its mouth, which hit dead center on Kana's chest. The young dragon was blown back and barely managed to keep flight, before the silkwyrm slammed its tail into her, causing poor Kana to plummet down.

"NO!" Dwyer yelled as the dragon landed. He rushed to her aid, holding out his healing staff. "Kana, are you alright?!" he gasped, running the staff over her body.

The dragon gave a weak nod. "Y-Yeah..." she muttered. "Just a little dizzy, and my chest...hurts."

Dwyer sighed and focused on her chest, noticing the severe burn that had gotten past her scales. 'That must of been some fire,' he thought as he concentrated. 'What was Mister Odin thinking?!' He began to sweat as the dragon's burn slowly disappeared, new scales forming in its place.

"Dwyer? Are you okay?" Kana asked, nudging her head against the butler.

Dwyer panted and nodded. "Y-Yeah..." he wheezed. "It's just...some wounds take more energy to heal than others, and those kind of wounds take even more energy when it's on something other than human..."

"GAH!" Kana yelped. "I'm sorry, Dwyer! If I had known I would've turned back into a person!"

The butler shook his head and flopped down on the ground. "It's...better that you didn't," he told her. "The wound would've just hurt you a lot more if you changed." When he saw the dragon looking at him in concern, he reached up and placed his hand on its muzzle. "I'm fine, Kana," he assured. "I just need a minute to recover, that's all."

The dragon seemed hesitant, but she eventually nodded. Kana glanced towards the sky, where Percy and Caeldori were now concentrating at dodging the deadly fire. Kana stood up, her legs shaking. Dwyer reached over and grabbed one of her legs, causing the dragon to look back at him. "Take a few moments, first." he advised. "Just because I healed the wound, doesn't mean you're one hundred percent."

The dragon cast its eyes downward. "I know...but they need help!"

Dwyer glanced up at the aerial battle. "Yeah..." he agreed. "They do."

Caeldori jabbed her weapon into the monster's flank, but it didn't pierce as deeply as she had hoped. The silkwyrm twisted towards her and shot a stream of fire at her. Caeldori yelped and ducked under it, her pegasus swooping down to the monster's belly. She stabbed upwards, but the silkwyrm knew of her plan and flew higher before she could harm it. She heard Percy let out a battle cry as he swung his axe, but the creature seemed to have caught onto their battle plan, because this time it dodged effortlessly.

"Is this thing seriously getting smarter?!" Percy growled, growing frustrated. "Oh...If my pop was here, he'd turn you into a...UGH!" He swung again, but the silkwyrm twisted out of the way and smacked him aside with its tail. Caeldori frowned and rushed to her comrade's aid, her naginata slashing into silkwyrm's side. As the blood spurted out, she allowed herself to smirk in satisfaction.

'Look at me now, Father!' she internally cheered. She briefly glanced down towards the ground. 'Look at me now...Dwyer.'

"Caeldori, watch out!" Percy warned.

Caeldori looked ahead and saw the silkwyrm coming straight towards her. Before she could react, the monster rammed into the crimson beauty's mount, knocking her off of it and sending her falling to her death.

"NO!" Percy cried, swooping in to rescue her. However, the silkwyrm noticed this and cut him off, spewing fire at his direction.

'I'm...I'm falling!' Caeldori realized. She screamed and closed her eyes, not wanting to see the ground grow ever closer.

Dwyer watched in horror as the pegasus knight dropped like a stone, and without thinking he leaped onto Kana's back. The dragon squeaked as Dwyer ordered, "Fly, dammit!" Kana obeyed and took to the air, looking to intercept Caeldori's descent.

Caeldori saw her entire life flash before her eyes, and she tried to keep herself from crying. 'I don't wanna die...' she sobbed.

Suddenly she felt an arm reached out and grab her, and she opened her eyes to find herself being pulled onto Kana's back. "Wha-" She glanced at her rescuer, and saw Dwyer's gentle smile greeting her. "Dwyer...you!" Caeldori gasped and wrapped her arms around the butler. "You saved me! Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Dwyer blushed and tried to squirm out of the girl's grasp, but she held tight. "Y-Yeah..." he said, looking away as Kana landed. "I guess I did."

Dwyer helped the girl off of the dragon, and led her to where her mount was waiting. Caeldori threw her arms around the pegasus, softly stroking its mane. Kana glanced up into the sky and narrowed her dragon eyes. "Percy needs help!" she exclaimed, turning to Dwyer. "I'm going whether you want me to or not!" Dwyer raised an eyebrow, but then nodded. Kana once again took to the sky, now with a vengeance.

"Take this, you jerk!" she roared as she slammed into the silkwyrm, allowing Percy to score a direct hit on the eye Caeldori didn't blind.

Now without sight, the silkwyrm was furious. It wildly sprayed fire everywhere, desperately trying to scorch one of its opponents. However, the two dodged effortlessly, trading blows against it and gradually forcing it down.

Kiragi took this opportunity to draw back his bow as much as he could. "No more mister nice guy!" he cried, before letting his arrow fly. The projectile stuck into the silkwyrm's wing lowering it further. Nina's arrow soon shot straight through the other wing, and the silkwyrm began plummeting down to earth.

Percy chased after it, readying his axe. Ace snarled as he gave a final burst of speed, which was all Percy needed. "Bombastic Beat-down Blow!" he announced before swinging his axe with more strength than he knew he had. Blood sprayed on Ace as Percy's axe cut clean through the silkwyrm's head, effectively decapitating it. Percy and Ace shouted out their victory, swiftly moving to land besides the others. "Did you see that?!" Percy exclaimed, pointing at the falling silkwyrm. He began making several chopping motions with his hands. "I was like 'wachow!' and then I was like 'CHOP' and then that silkwyrm fella was like 'oh no!'" He grinned and held a thumbs up. "Who's the man?!" He turned to Ace and affectionately rubbed his dragon's head. "Wait til Mom and Pops hear about this, Ace!"

Dwyer rolled his eyes, but didn't dare interrupt the young hero's celebration. Instead he turned to Caeldori, who was trying her best to hide her laugh. "Caeldori," Dwyer said, catching her attention. Dwyer glanced away. "I'm, uh...I'm glad you're alright."

"O-Oh!" she gasped, before rubbing her arm. "Thank you again, Dwyer..." She blushed. "You're my hero..."

'H-Hero?' Dwyer thought, eyes widening. He cleared his throat. "Oh, please..." he murmured. "If anyone deserves that title right now it's Percy..."

"Oh, I agree he does," Caeldori said. She wrapped her arms around the butler and pulled him close. "But he's not the only one who deserves that title," she whispered into his ear.

"THE DARKNESS WHISPERS!" someone cried out, and the children turned around to see Odin Dark leading Corrin's army, grinning at them. "Worry not, children! We are here to rescue you and slay the wretched beast!"

"Um...yeah..." Dwyer began awkwardly. "We already killed it."

Odin Dark froze. "Oh...you did?" He coughed and gave a weak smile. "Well, um...congratulations!"

Lord Leo sighed and stepped forward, looking at each of the children. "What you did was very reckless," he scolded them. "You all could've been killed!" They all looked down, not meeting the Nohrian prince's eyes. Lord Leo's features then softened as he nodded. "But, you saved the village and stopped the silkwyrm," he praised. "I suggest you all go visit the village. No doubt they want to thank their heroes."

All the children brightened and nodded. "Yes sir!" they exclaimed.

...

"Ugh...this is hopeless..." Nah growled, looking around. "The village had no idea who they were either!" She stamped her foot on the ground childishly. "Is everyone in this place a damn idiot?!" When nothing answered, she rolled her eyes. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the letter she and the others had received from her missing friends, the last time they had ever heard from them. Nah sniffed and bit her lip. "Where are you guys...?"she whimpered. "Please...just give me a sign."

Not even a breeze.

Nah sighed and shook her head. "What was I expecting?" she growled. "It's not like a sign is just going to fall out of the sky!"

Suddenly a large mass slammed into the ground in front of her, causing the manekete to scream and duck behind a rock. She slowly poked her head out and looked at the creature. "What is that thing?!" she hissed, stepping forward to observe it. It was a kind of worm...with its head missing. It had two large dragon wings sticking out of its back, one torn and the other with an arrow in it. But most importantly, it smelled like...

Nah's eyes widened. "Owain!" she gasped.

Her spirits revived, the manekete happily continued on her way. 'I'll find you guys!' she vowed. 'Just wait for me, okay?'

...

As Lord Leo said, the villagers were more than happy to welcome their saviors, and that night an entire festival was held in their honor. It was almost ridiculous how fast it took the villagers to set up games and food booths, to collect prizes that young children were eager to win.

It was kind of...heartwarming, Dwyer had to admit as he watched the events unfold from his spot at one of the many tables set up for eating. Selkie was eagerly playing tag with the children, while Velouria was kind enough to give another group piggyback rides. Percy had a crowd gathering around him as he retold the events that had led to the silkwyrm's death...with his own twists, of course.

Dwyer took a sip of his ginger ale and sighed. While it was nice, and a few villagers have come to thank him for his help, the butler had the feeling he shouldn't be at this celebration. Maybe it was his own insecurities talking, but everyone else did most of the work. He was just...extra baggage. Dwyer set his mug down and frowned. Great, now he was in a bad mood.

"Isn't this festival wonderful, Dwyer?" Ophelia sat down next to the butler, grinning. "I do believe seeing the happiness on everyone's faces is the best reward of all, wouldn't you agree?"

Dwyer shrugged and grunted. "Yeah, I guess."

The dark mage tilted her head and raised an eyebrow. "Dwyer? You seem unhappy."

Dwyer took another sip of his ale. "It's nothing," he assured. "Don't worry about it."

Ophelia narrowed her eyes. "Dwyer..."

Dwyer bit his lip then nodded slowly, knowing that he wouldn't be able to trick Ophelia. "I...don't feel like I belong here," he admitted.

"Why?" Ophelia asked, placing her hand on top of Dwyer's. "Has someone been insulting you?"

Dwyer shook his head. "No, it's just..." He sighed and shook his head. "Compared to the rest of you guys, I feel like I barely did anything to help contribute to this. I was just...an extra, I guess."

Ophelia cuffed him in the head, causing the butler to wince in pain. "That's stupid!" she hissed. "Caeldori told me of your daring rescue, that's heroic in its own right! You deserve to be here just as much as everyone else!"

Dwyer shrugged again. "So how were you able to lead everyone so effectively?" he questioned, changing the subject. "I've never seen that side of you before."

Ophelia laughed and glanced away. "To tell the truth, I'm not sure how I was able to, either..." she admitted with a shrug. "Father says that I get it from my grandfather, but he wouldn't tell me any more than that."

"Well your grandfather must have really been something," Dwyer muttered, glancing towards the dance square. He saw Soleil lead a girl through a bouncy waltz, and he couldn't help but smile a little. It seems like his lessons were paying off...somehow. The flirtatious mercenary caught the butler's eye and grinned, turning to the girl and whispering something. The girl glanced over at Dwyer, before turning back to Soleil and nodding. The girl then disappeared into the crowd, and Soleil strutted over to where Dwyer and Ophelia sat, plopping down at the butler's side.

"Well, if it isn't the fearless rescuer!" she chirped, leaning over. "You know, everyone's been hearing about what you did to save Caeldori!"

Dwyer coughed. "May I ask how?"

Soleil jerked her thumb over to where the crimson beauty stood. She was chatting with some of the elderly, and they all shared a laugh. "She's been telling everyone about how you're her hero and whatnot," she explained, smirking. "Gods, she's completely gushing over that!"

Dwyer blushed and looked away. "Y-You must be exaggerating..." he grumbled.

Soleil snickered and poke her friend's cheek. "Aw, you're blushing!" she teased, eyes twinkling with mischief. "Who knew the biggest hero in town could be flustered so easily?"

"S-Shut up!" Dwyer his, turning towards the mercenary. "Gods, sometimes I wonder how I can actually stand you..."

Soleil shrugged. "You wouldn't be the first to think so," she admitted. She turned to Ophelia and noticed her tinted cheeks as she tried looking away. "Aww, Ophelia's jealous of all the attention Dwyer's getting!"

"I am not!" Ophelia protested.

"Oh, so you're jealous of Caeldori being all over him, then~?"

"S-Shut up, Soleil!"

Dwyer drowned the two out, as he would rather not hear that conversation. Rolling his eyes, he got up and decided to go somewhere quieter. He caught sight of Mitama heading around a corner, and he figured that was his best chance of finding a good napping spot. He was just about to head over that direction when all of a sudden a palm smacked his back, hard. Dwyer gasped and turned around, seeing Selkie grinning at him.

"Tag, you're it!" she exclaimed, before turning to the children. "Run!" she ordered. "Or else the big bad butler will get you~!" She wiggled her fingers and lowered her voice. "He hates fun, so you better not let him catch you or else you'll end up just like him!"

The children shrieked and sprinted away, leaving Dwyer in a state of confusion. He turned to Selkie, who nodded in satisfaction.

"There!" she said. "That'll keep 'em busy for awhile!"

Dwyer raised an eyebrow. "Selkie, wha-"

"Shhh!" Selkie placed her finger on the butler's lips. "There's something I gotta show ya!"

Dwyer glanced back to where Mitama had disappeared to. "Um, can it wait?"

Selkie's face fell and her ears drooped. "You don't wanna see your surprise..?" she whimpered.

Dwyer quickly put his hands on the girls shoulders, urging her not to cry. "Okay, okay!" he said. "I'll see it!"

"YAY!" Selkie jumped into the air and took Dwyer's hand, leading him through the crowd. They ducked between buildings until they finally reached a small pond which the moon shown brightly upon, lighting up the whole scenery. Dwyer glanced down and noticed a collection of koi swimming around inside the pond.

"It's great, right?" Selkie beamed, glancing down. "Even though everywhere else it's the middle of winter, all covered in snow and stuff, here it's still summertime! It's amazing!" She turned to the butler. "Kinda like the castle, huh?"

Dwyer nodded in agreement. "Yeah," he breathed, before looking at the kitsune. "Is this what you wanted to show me?"

"Sorta," Selkie replied. "I figured this would be a great spot to give ya what I wanted to give ya!"

Dwyer raised an eyebrow, "And what would that be?"

Selkie smirked and winked. "You have to close your eyes first, silly!"

Dwyer's face turned red and he tugged at his collar uncomfortably. "Urk...do I have to?"

"Yep!"

Dwyer nodded slowly. "Um...okay then." He closed his eyes and waited.

"Are they all the way closed?"

Dwyer scoffed. "Of course, Selkie."

"Okay...get ready!"

Something was shoved into his hands.

Dwyer opened his eyes and glanced down, noticing a black wooden box, about four feet in length, was now in his hands. "What's this?" he asked, tilting his head.

Selkie grinned and bounced on her heels. "Open it, open it, open it!"

Dwyer set the box down and sat down on his knees, and slowly he lifted the lid off of it. His eyes widened when he saw the two objects inside, and slowly he lifted them one by one out of the box, as carefully as he could manage. The first object was a silver dagger which glistened under the moonlight. The second was perhaps more appropriate, and it was admittedly something Dwyer had wanted for awhile, but could never afford. A moon festival, a rather powerful Hoshidan rod.

"Selkie..." he breathed. "I..."

"Happy three months of friendship and you being here, Dwyer," Selkie said quietly, kneeling down beside the butler. "They were really expensive to get, but Daddy helped me with the money. I wanted to give it to ya for your birthday, but I heard it already passed."

Dwyer nodded. "It did..." he confirmed. He turned to Selkie and tilted his head. "But...why?" he asked. "You didn't have to..."

"Because you're my friend, dum-dum," Selkie declared, poking Dwyer's nose. Her face became serious, which was rare. "I still remember the first time we met, and even though you didn't even know me...you helped me when I was in trouble." She flicked one of her ears. "Do ya know what you said. Dwyer?" She cleared her throat and lowered her voice, saying in a bored tone, "I couldn't just let a pretty girl fall on her head like that."

Dwyer rolled his eyes at the bad impression. "I still don't see what this had to do with giving me these."

Selkie sighed and laid down. "Because you're my friend and I care about you," she explained. "And I wanted to find a way to show you that!"

Dwyer laid down next to the girl, nodding. "Well...thank you," he whispered loud enough for her to hear. "I promise you that I'll cherish these..."

"Yeah...you better..." Selkie chuckled. "Because now I'm broke!"

"Ah, Dwyer!" The two jumped and glance behind them, and saw Lord Corrin approaching. "I was hoping to have a moment to speak with you."

"Oh! Uh..." Dwyer turned to Selkie, who simply smiled and waved. Dwyer nodded and turned back to Lord Corrin. "Yes, what is it?"

Lord Corrin turned to Selkie and coughed. "Would you mind...giving us just a moment?" he asked.

"Oh, sure thing!" Selkie skipped away, waving goodbye to her friend. Dwyer waved back, before turning back to the dragonic prince.

"Dwyer, tomorrow morning there's something you and I have to do," Lord Corrin explained. "I heard about how you rescued Caeldori, and as my new head of staff, I believe there's someone you must meet. I talked to your father about it, and he agreed."

"Okay..." Dwyer raised an eyebrow. "Who would you like me to meet?"

Lord Corrin grinned. "The dragon who lives in the temple inside our castle," he answered. "Dwyer, I want to introduce you to Lilith."

...

Yeah, yeah, I added another Nah cameo. I couldn't help it! I saw the opportunity and I took it! Anyway, next up we'll see Dwyer's first encounter with Lilith...and then after that? Pfft, what else but chaos? Just kidding, after Lilith's meeting I'll start Dwyer's official training as head of staff, as well as some chapters possibly focusing on Selkie and Sophie, since I feel like I don't touch on them enough. Don't forget to review! And remember, stay wykkyd!