~ CHAPTER 25 ~

Snow's mind wandered back to the series of events that had led him to this situation. Pear had caught him and Cliff after class, brought them back to her sleeping cave, divulged that she was in a prophecy where she married Peacemaker, and desperately needed their help to make sure it comes true. And then Cliff revealed his surefire strategy.

"A date!?" Pear echoed with alarm. "Isn't that a bit too forward?"

"Well it doesn't have to be a formal date," Cliff explained. "Just tell Peacemaker you want to hang out alone, and then take him on the perfect date. He's bound to fall for you."

Snow wasn't entirely sure if Cliff's plan would work, but Cliff seemed very confident (and strangely thrilled) about the idea.

"A-are you sure?" Pear asked, her snout a blushing mess as her scales changed to match.

"Positive," Cliff said with a wide smile. "We'll help you plan the date of course, and we'll be watching from a distance to make sure everything is going well."

"All right," Pear said, regaining her composure. "I'll do whatever you guys say. Just… try not to make it too embarrassing."

"No promises!" said Cliff, earning a sigh out of Pear. "Now… let's get to planning."

This day just keeps getting weirder and weirder, Snow thought as he found himself hiding behind a large stalagmite with Cliff and Pear. A short distance ahead of the three sneaky dragonets was the subject of their espionage; Peacemaker – happily walking throughout the tunnels of Jade Mountain, humming to himself.

"Okay Pear, it's go time," Cliff whispered. "Just stick to the plan and everything will work out."

The RainWing nodded with an expression of both determination and bottomless anxiety.

"Don't worry Pear," Snow added. "Peacemaker is a sweet dragon. Your feelings will definitely get through to him."

"And we'll be supporting you from the shadows every step of the way," said Cliff. "So you'll be able to carry out the plan without interruption. Now get out there and have a good time!" He gave her a playful shove towards the dark dragon in the distance.

I hope this works out, Snow prayed silently, feeling a bit of secondhand nervousness from watching Pear stiffly make her way towards Peacemaker. The date they'd planned seemed effective enough, not that Snow knew a lot about dates. Cliff had provided the majority of input, and seemed weirdly excited throughout the whole planning process.

"Is it okay for us to be spying on them like this?" Snow whispered to Cliff. "I mean Pear knows, but Peacemaker doesn't…"

"It's totally fine," Cliff said with a distracted wave of his talon, his eyes glued to Pear as she inched closer to Peacemaker. "They do this stuff all the time in all the romance stories I read."

Snow looked at Cliff with surprise. "You… read a lot of romantic stories?"

Cliff's expression froze with his jaw half-open, as if he only now realized what he'd revealed. "I… I meant, uh…" he stammered. He looked completely flustered.

"Wow," Snow said, smiling at the SkyWing. "I don't think I've ever seen you embarrassed before. I wasn't sure if that was even possible. This is amazing."

"All right, fine! I like to read romance stories!" Cliff whispered loudly, his face a shade redder than his usual scale color. Snow had to hush him down before anybody noticed them.

"It's my guilty pleasure, okay?" Cliff continued. "Don't tell anyone please. I have a reputation to uphold."

"All right all right," Snow said with his talons raised up. "I won't tell anyone. Not that it's anything to be ashamed of anyway." He thought to himself for a moment. "…Is this why you've been so enthusiastic about the whole date thing?"

"Shhh! They're starting to talk. We have to listen," Cliff said, blatantly trying to shake off the conversation.

Pear had finally crept her way up to Peacemaker, impressively holding her regular scale colors together despite how tense she appeared.

"H-hey Peacemaker," she said.

Peacemaker turned towards her, and a bright smile immediately filled his snout. "Pear! There you are. I was looking for you."

"Wha– you were?"

"Yeah!" Peacemaker said. "And then you found me! Must be fate."

Pear winced briefly at the mention of 'fate,' but quickly recovered. "W-well, I was looking for you cause I wanted to ask if you wanted to hang out… with me," she said, getting progressively quieter throughout the sentence.

Peacemaker's face lit up in the widest smile Snow had seen from him. "Really?! Of course I want to!" he said, bobbing up and down. "I was really worried that you didn't like me anymore since you've been feeling nervous around me lately."

He's more observant than we realized, Snow thought. Maybe he's not as oblivious as he seems.

"N-no! Of course I still like you," Pear said frantically. "It's just that the, um, all the… school stuff! Yeah, the s-school stuff has been stressing me out lately. That's why I've been acting weird," she lied, in the least convincing way possible.

Peacemaker gave a sagely nod of understanding. "That makes sense."

...Or maybe he's even more oblivious than he seems, Snow thought.

"I hope I didn't worry you too much," said Pear. "…Here, maybe this'll make up for it."

Pear brought her slender tail up towards her back and used it to lift the small basket that had been sitting between her wings. She guided it down to her talons, and opened it up, revealing a small strawberry shortcake.

Giving Peacemaker a piece of confectionary at the beginning of the date was something they'd come up with during the planning phase, as per the suggestion of – surprisingly – Green ("What? I know a thing or two about romance. I'm sure it applies to dragons too," the scavenger had said when Snow gave him an astonished look).

"Whoa, is this for me?" Peacemaker asked, his eyes hungrily fixated on the small cake.

"Yep. Enjoy!" she said, holding it out.

Peacemaker took it out of her talons and opened his maw, before quickly depositing the strawberry shortcake into his mouth and snapping it shut. He had eaten it so fast that Snow wasn't even sure he chewed it at all before swallowing.

"Mmm, that was yummy," said Peacemaker, before looking at Pear's flabbergasted expression. "Oh – sorry, did you want some of it?"

Pear giggled and said, "No no, it was all for you. Glad to see you liked it though! I was worried I added too much sugar."

"Wait, you made it? That's amazing."

Pear looked away sheepishly, barely keeping control over her scale colors. "Th-thank you. They've recently started letting students into the kitchen. …We can go check it out if you want…"

"Yeah! Let's go right now," Peacemaker said, with that glimmer in his eyes that he sometimes gets when he discovers a new plaything.

The two of them began to make their way, side by side, towards the kitchen.

"So far so good," Cliff said to Snow. "We gotta follow behind them and keep up. But make sure Peacemaker doesn't spot you under ANY circumstances."

"Roger that," Snow replied.

Making sure they were always a safe distance away, the two dragonets followed after their targets. Cliff darted behind various stalagmites and objects for additional cover, and always peeking his head around corners before proceeding, all the while having a delighted smile on his face. A genuine smile, Snow noticed as he followed his lead, very amused by how thrilled his SkyWing friend was.

"You look like you're having fun," Snow said to Cliff as they stopped behind a corner.

Cliff's joy shifted to embarrassment after hearing Snow's comment.

"Not that there's anything wrong with that!" Snow said quickly after realizing he'd lowered Cliff's spirits. "I just think it's nice that you're enjoying yourself so much."

"…You don't think I'm silly or girly for liking this romance stuff?" Cliff asked quietly, as if embarrassed to even utter it aloud.

"Of course not. And even if I did, I would never think less of you for being 'silly or girly,' you know," Snow said, patting his friend on the shoulder with a talon. "Especially if it's something that makes you happy. I like seeing you happy."

"Three moons, how are you so nice all the time," Cliff muttered under his breath. "…Thank you Snow," he said more directly to the IceWing. "I sometimes forget you're the most nonjudgmental dragon in existence."

"Well I hope you got it memorized now, because I don't want to see you embarrassed doing something you enjoy. Now come on! We've got a mission to do."

Cliff nodded with an unfiltered smile, as the two of them strode their way sneakily through the tunnels.

Pear and Peacemaker had almost reached the kitchen cave when Snow noticed a pair of RainWings spot them in the distance. The RainWings began heading in the direction of Pear and Peacemaker, who hadn't yet noticed their presence.

Uh oh, those RainWings probably want to join them or something. If they do, Peacemaker will surely accept their company and the date will be ruined!

Before Snow had finished his thought, Cliff swiftly trotted across the tunnel with impressive speed, cutting off the two RainWings. Pear and Peacemaker entered the kitchen, entirely unaware.

"Hi," Cliff said. "Sorry, but you can't speak with Pear and Peacemaker right now. They're currently in the middle of a very important engagement and I've been tasked with making sure no one interrupts them," he said, with striking authority. "If you have any urgent business with them, please let me know and I'll pass along a message once they are available."

The two RainWings looked stunned by the sudden appearance of Cliff. They glanced at each other with confusion.

"N-no, we don't have any, uh, business with them," said the smaller RainWing. "It looked like they were just hanging out, so we were gonna join them…"

"Thanks for stopping us though," the other RainWing said. "I had no idea they were in the middle of something so important. We'll get going then."

The two of them respectfully left, and Snow strode up to join Cliff. "That was a close one. Well done Cliff, you were very convincing there."

For the first time, Cliff didn't seem affected by Snow's praise. Instead he was impatiently looking towards the kitchen's entrance. "Thank you," he said hurriedly, "but we have to sneak into the kitchen now, before we miss anything juicy."

Without another word, he slunk into the kitchen cave. Snow let out an amused sigh and followed behind.

A tempest of different food scents wafted into Snow's nostrils as he passed through the entrance. The walls were lined with various cooking utensils, with a tool for practically any culinary conundrum imaginable. Large pots and pans were spread out on even larger tables, while a number of clay furnaces remained pressed into the wall.

It was relatively empty during this time of day, with only a few dragonets present. Pear and Peacemaker had apparently made their way to a secluded corner, where Peacemaker was ogling some equipment hung on the wall with a sparkle in his eyes.

Snow snuck down beside Cliff, lying beneath the side of a large stone table and peeking over the top to see whatever events transpire. They were only hidden from Pear and Peacemaker's view, so the other dragons in the room gave them an odd look. Snow shrugged awkwardly at them, hoping they wouldn't press the issue further.

"…And that's where I baked the cake," Pear said, pointing a claw towards one of the clay furnaces. "It was pretty fun. I might bake you another one someday… if you'd like one I mean." Snow was barely able to hear that last part of the sentence.

"Yeah! That sounds like fun!" Peacemaker responded so loudly that Snow regretted straining his ears to listen. "Maybe I'll even help you next time. You know, I've never cooked anything before."

"Really?"

"Well my mom used to do all the cooking for me," Peacemaker admitted. "But all these crazy tools look super cool. I wanna try using them." He pulled down a large knife that was being hung on the wall and marveled at it in his talons. "This one cuts stuff, right?"

"…Yes Peacemaker. That is a knife."

"All right, let's see how well it cuts things then," he said. With no other warning, he raised the knife to the air and swung it down on a large rock, before anyone was able to warn him about his terrible idea.

The knife bounced off of the surface of the rock – unsurprisingly unable to pierce through its exterior – and the recoil sent it flying backward towards Peacemaker, leaving a cut across his forearm.

"OW," Peacemaker yelped. The knife continued its trajectory and clanked harmlessly on the ground, a small amount of blood dripping from its sharp edge.

Snow saw blood oozing out of Peacemaker's arm. Not a lot, but enough to make Snow feel a little nauseous.

"Peacemaker's hurt," Cliff whispered to Snow. "This is perfect!"

Snow looked towards the SkyWing with a baffled expression. "What are you talking about? We have to go help him." As Snow began to rise, Cliff dragged him back down.

"No! This is classic romance stuff. It's always super romantic whenever a dragon is hurt and another dragon is really worried. It's the perfect opportunity to show affection," Cliff explained. "Trust in Pear to handle it."

"What on Pyrrhia were you thinking!?" Pear's voice rang out, prompting Snow to turn his attention back to them. "That was incredibly dangerous! You're lucky you didn't lose an eye."

Peacemaker's expression looked immensely guilty, as he clutched his bleeding arm. "I'm sorry! I really thought that would work."

Pear grabbed a nearby cloth and tore it with her claws. "Hold out your arm," she said.

Peacemaker obliged, his snout facing the floor in shame.

"You really ought to be more careful, Peacemaker," Pear said as she tenderly wrapped the cloth around the wound and tied it in place. "I don't want to see you get hurt. You're very important to me. I… I don't know what I'd do if I lost you."

Sure enough, Peacemaker's face blushed briefly, as he nodded quietly in response.

"Whoa, you were right," Snow whispered to Cliff. "I'm sorry I doubted your romantic expertise."

"I'm basically a pro," Cliff boasted with his head held high (as high as he could hold it while still being hidden). "Wow… I've never felt proud for reading all those romance stories before. This is a new sensation."

Snow chuckled quietly. "You should be proud. It looks like the plan is working."

After that incident, the date continued on surprisingly smoothly. The two dragonets continued walking around the various tunnels and caves of Jade Mountain, passing through the art room, music room, and everything else the dragons had planned together.

Snow and Cliff loyally followed behind, and Cliff made sure no other dragon got close enough to interrupt them. Only a few other RainWings tried to unknowingly interfere before Cliff drove them away (though Snow did notice a couple of NightWings give Pear and Peacemaker a disapproving look).

Before long, the day was drawing to a close, as evidenced by the orange glow of the setting sun. The two dragonets were sitting down on all fours near one of the exits of Jade Mountain, with the distant desert in view. Cliff and Snow weren't far behind, peeking their heads around a corner.

Wow, Snow thought. The view looks beautiful here… and it feels so nice.

Snow closed his eyes and felt the warmth of the descending sun on his snout (or rather, the small percentage of his snout that wasn't hidden behind the corner).

Peacemaker and Pear were quiet as they sat beside one another, simply watching the sunset. Pear looks a lot calmer now, Snow noticed. I hope she's finally free from all the worrying.

"Pear," Peacemaker said, breaking the comfortable silence. "Today was more than just 'hanging out,' wasn't it?"

Snow gulped. He's definitely more observant than we gave him credit for, he thought with alarm.

Pear looked at the dark dragon, startled. "M-maybe it was a little more… than just 'hanging out,'" she admitted. "Is… is a little more okay?"

Peacemaker looked towards the sunset, and Snow could no longer see his full expression. The silence that followed made every bone in Snow's body tense, and he could see Pear was feeling a similar sensation. Even Cliff was standing perfectly still as they awaited Peacemaker's response.

But no words came out. Instead, Snow saw the visible side of Peacemaker's snout curl into a smile as he continued staring towards the sun, and his tail slowly shuffled towards Pear's, before twining with it.

Pear's tail returned the gesture, and she looked off into the sunset as well, an expression of contentment and relief written on her face.

"All right," Snow whispered to Cliff. "It's time for us to go."

The SkyWing had an enchanted look as he watched the scene unfold, his eyes sparkling and his snout in a small smile.

"Cliff?" Snow said, gently shaking him. "You still with me?"

"Huh, oh, yeah," Cliff said, breaking out of his daze. "Wait, you want to leave now?"

"…Yeah, I think we're done here," Snow said, looking over at the two dragonets on the ledge. "Mission accomplished."

"But I don't want to go yet," said Cliff. "We're just getting to the good part."

Snow rolled his eyes. "This isn't a romance scroll, Cliff. We can't just spy on them as they're having a private moment."

"Nooooo," Cliff complained quietly as Snow practically dragged him away. "I want to see what happens next. What if they kiss or something?"

"That's not for us to see," Snow said, trying to stay quiet as he tugged on Cliff's arm. "We have to respect their privacy."

"Fine," Cliff sulked, grumbling as they made their way back to their sleeping cave.

The comfortable sight of the sleeping cave made Snow suddenly aware of how exhausted he was. I was tenser than I thought.

He unpacked Green from the bag. "Did you enjoy the show?" Snow asked.

"It was a very informative experience," Green said sagely. "Turns out that dragon romance is pretty similar to scavenger romance."

"And good call on the strawberry cake, that seemed to work out great," Snow complimented.

"Well, you know how much that boy loves his strawberries."

Snow turned back to Cliff and said, "Great job to you as well Cliff. Your whole plan worked wonders. I think it went really well."

"Well of course it did," Cliff said, his chest puffed out with brazen pride. "We constructed the perfect date. They walked around together enjoying each other's company, saw some sights, and ended it with a nice view of the sunset."

"You know," Snow said, "by following them around all day, we kinda did all those things too. It's almost like you and I were… uh, never mind."

Cliff cocked his head inquisitively at Snow, but fortunately before he could ask for clarification, Peacemaker entered the sleeping cave. He was humming a happy tune and walking with a rhythm to his steps.

He's back unexpected early, Snow thought. It's a good thing we left when we did, or else he might've caught us.

"Well don't you look chipper," Cliff said.

"I had a fun day," he said, flying up to his hammock and sinking into it. He started to swing it lazily, tracing a claw on the cloth wrapped around his forearm.

Snow and Cliff shared a quick glance, satisfied with the success of their mission.

"Guys," Peacemaker whispered down at his friends, "I think Pear… likes me."

"Whoa, really? I had no idea," Cliff said in a remarkably convincing performance. If I didn't already know he was pretending, I'd have believed him for sure.

Snow decided not to say anything, worried that he'd give them away immediately. I'm pretty bad at lying…

But Peacemaker had an odd expression as he looked at Cliff, squinting his eyes inquisitively. "Hey wait a minute, you knew already didn't you? Even Snow and Green knew!"

"Pear told us everything," Snow blurted out. "And we helped her set up today's entire date and we were watching the whole time."

"Snow!" Cliff whispered loudly. "What the heck are you doing?"

"I'm sorry! Once I opened my mouth I couldn't stop."

"Wow…" Peacemaker said. "You guys helped Pear plan all that… and you were spying on us?"

"Only to make sure no one interrupted your date!" Snow said, with his head held down in shame. "Please don't be mad..."

"Are you kidding?" Peacemaker said, jumping down from his hammock and approaching the two dragonets. Snow prepared himself to be berated, but instead felt Peacemaker's arm wrap around his neck in a hug. "I'm not mad at all. I'm super happy that I've got such awesome friends."

Peacemaker had both Cliff and Snow in a hug with each arm, and also somehow managed to scoop Green into it as well. "You guys went through all that for me and Pear? You three really are the best friends a dragon could ask for."

"A-anything for you, buddy," said Cliff. Even he was caught off-guard by the sudden embrace, though he returned the gesture soon after.

He's warmer than he looks, Snow noticed as he reciprocated the gesture as well. He felt a deep peace as he hugged his three best friends.

I'm a lucky dragon.