The river flowed freely in a serene drift, save for the stray fish that swam underneath its depths. Within moments that serenity was disrupted as a loud splash made the fish flee. As the bubbles parted, a sleek shape joined the fish in their trek; a sleekness with a purple colorization. It was a dragon and a young one at that. One could tell the age due to the fact the child's mane had yet to fully grow in, instead showing a mop of hair behind its head, and revealing the ears that would normally lay underneath said mane. The child itself held light violet-colored eyes, and two horns graced his head: a smaller one, and a taller one just behind it, both perfectly aligned.

The child swam through, breath escaping him in the form of bubbles which quickly rose to the surface. Being a water dragon, he wasn't so inclined to hold his breath underwater. Though he wasn't the best swimmer in the world, he was talented enough to get around.

After swimming for a good deal of time, the child emerged and took in the clean Kumandran air. As the water dripped down his body, he took a few moments to enjoy the scenery around him. Trees surrounded the area, with leaves as green as the grass. Nature truly had claimed this as its property. The child was about to dive back down when his ears suddenly perked up.

"Reiko!"

The child jerked slightly as that was his name.

"Lunchtime!"

From the slightly raspy tone, Reiko knew exactly who was calling him. He quickly scurried out of the water, shaking himself off as he did. He was still damp but thankfully dragons were used to getting wet. After all, dragons were connected to the water, the life-giving force within the land.

The child didn't feel the need to fly for he wasn't far from home. Before long a dragon dwelling greeted him and standing at its mouth was a blue-colored female dragon. The dragoness was about to call Reiko once more but Reiko beat her to it.

"Here I am Mama!" Reiko called.

The dragoness grinned as her child approached. It was easy to tell the pair were related for they held the same variety of horns. Reiko leaped into his mother's open arms and held tightly in a hug.

"There's my little man! Did you have a good swim?" The dragoness asked.

Reiko snuggled into his mother's mane, "Yep! I'm getting better every day! Someday I'll be as good as you." He boasted confidently.

The dragoness chuckled, "Oh I'm sure you will sweetie, let's head inside, your father has something good ready."

Reiko sniffed and a pleasant aroma filled his nostrils. His father was an excellent cook so he knew he was in for a treat.

The dragoness let down her child and let him hurry inside. Chuckling to herself, she followed after. Another factor that played into telling these two were related, besides the horns, was the similarities in their personality quirks. Very befitting for the son of Sisudatu.

Sisu and Reiko entered a circular chamber within their home and over a steaming stove was a tall black dragon. To Reiko, he was known as "Ba" or "Baba", but to Sisu, he was simply "Jarek", or "Hon", "Honey", "Sweetums", "Sugar Dragon", and various other pet names, particularly one that Sisu still used to this day.

"There's my fam!" Jarek exclaimed, "Hope you both brought your appetites because I've cooked up an old Talon favorite!" Jarek revealed the steaming pot he had been stewing, the smell growing all the stronger.

"Wow! It smells really yummy Ba!" Reiko spoke with awe.

"Well son, you and your mother will be the judge of that. And as a little side I have these," Jarek added revealing a tray of desserts.

"Wow! Sweet buns!" Reiko cheered reaching for one.

"Nah Ah! Those are for after lunch. Heck, they should be for after dinner," Sisu shot Jarek an accusing look.

Jarek merely grinned as he set them down, "Come on babe you know I like having my sweets during every meal of the day."

No matter what, Jarek's sweet tooth had never faded. Even after becoming a father he still retained that one childish aspect. And frankly, it was one of the things that Sisu found endearing about her mate.

"Now I may not be as good at baking as your Aunt Pranee, but I hope you and your mother enjoy these Reiko," Jarek said as he began to serve the main course to his family.

Sisu eyed the concoction in her bowl, but found herself pleasantly surprised, "Mmm looks like you got everything from Talon, and do I detect some noodles?"

Jarek shrugged as he finished filling his and Reiko's bowls, "Hey, I know what my wife loves."

And that was a certified fact. In all the years they had been married, Jarek knew exactly how to keep his family happy.

With nothing more to be said, the family commenced with their meal.

XXX

"And so the Dragon Gem glowed brighter than it ever had before, and the Druun were boomed away forever!" Sisu said as she continued her tale, "Once they were gone, a great rain swept over Kumandra, restoring everything to what it was!"

Reiko listened with awe in his eyes, his mouth hanging slightly agape. He had heard this story many times before, but it was always as if he was listening to it for the first time; that's how exciting it was.

"Woooow!" Reiko awed, "That was so cool!"

"Okay kiddo, you know the drill, story first, then bed," Jarek said.

Granted, Reiko was already in bed, but he always needed a story before bedtime. Reiko was about to protest before he was racked with a yawn.

Defeated, Reiko responded with, "Yes Ba."

"Oh, almost forget little Sisu," Sisu said as she presented a small doll version of her, very similar to the one Jarek had bought for his niece all those years ago. Reiko gladly took the doll snuggling with it as he sank underneath the blanket.

"Thanks, Ma," Reiko said as he yawned once more.

Granting Reiko a little kiss, Sisu said, "Goodnight my sweet baby boy."

Jarek tussled his son's hair with, "Sweet dreams little man."

"Goodnight," Reiko responded as he settled to sleep.

The two parents left a lit lamp in the room to provide a night light. They kept this a well-guarded secret from Reiko's friends. After all, he wanted to present himself as a big kid.

Jarek and Sisu's room was next door, but the mated pair didn't go to bed. They headed into the living room where a fire was still roaring. Settling down, the two adults basked in the warmth of the flames, its glow lighting up the room. Upon a stand, Jarek reached up and pulled out a long cylindrical object. It was one of Jagan's blend; he had yet to give it a proper name, but he and Jarek were the sole customers of the product.

Lighting it up, Jarek took a drag and exhaled a puff of smoke. Sisu wrinkled her nose slightly but snuggled into Jarek's mane all the more.

"You know? I bet those things are really unhealthy for you," Sisu warned.

"That doesn't stop your cousin from smoking her pipe," Jarek reminded.

Jarek had her there. Reela still partook of her pipe weed to this day. Granted it was far better smelling than Jagan's blend, but her brother and husband seemed to enjoy it for some reason.

The very fact that Jarek was her husband was still new to her. She thought back to her wedding. It had been a glorious event. Almost everyone was in attendance: friends, family, and those who wanted to view the marriage between a dragon and a human; former human that is. Sisu was initially worried she accepted Jarek's proposal too quickly, but it worked out in the end. After a year of marriage, they had Reiko. The very thought of her being a mother was amazing to her. It wasn't as if she didn't want children, she just never anticipated she would have a family of her own.

"Hey, Skippy?" Sisu asked.

Jarek darted his eyes toward his wife, "Yes my little noodle?"

"When you first tried stealing that statue from Heart, did you ever imagine your life would turn out this way?" Sisu asked.

It didn't take long for Jarek to answer, "No, but I'm glad it did. I have everything I could ever want, and all I want to do is spend the rest of my life with you and raise our son."

Sisu let out a dreamy sigh, "That sounds like heaven."

Jarek chuckled, "Don't I know it."

Both mates gazed into one another's eyes, and then locked in a passionate kiss. As soon as they were done, Jarek took another drag on his blend and blew out a trail of smoke rings. At least they were rings at first because at the last second, the rings formed into hearts.

"Show off," Said Sisu.

Chuckling to himself once more, Jarek wrapped his leg around his wife, "Just keeping you entertained babe."

And entertained she was, for Sisudatu considered herself the luckiest dragon in Kumandra. That was a title even better than the "Druun Slayer".

The End.

A/N: Wow, this has been a journey. I wrote a well-received fanfic along with a sequel and I am pleased with both of them! Now you may wonder why I ended on a distant epilogue. My original plan was to end it with Jarek and Sisu professing their love for one another, and then save Reiko's birth for a future story. However, I think I may take a break from Raya stories, at least barring the occasional one-shot. I still have other story ideas for Jarek and Sisu's family, but I don't want to burn myself out. So I ended this story with a look into the future just to let people know what Jarek and Sisu's future was, because I don't know how long this break is going to be.

I wanted to thank everyone who read this story and supported it. Don't worry, Jarek and Sisu will return.