"This stool is rickety. Can I get one that doesn't rock, please?"
A small man with a pencil behind his ear and a clipboard in hand loped over and handed him a cup of tea. He motioned Tetheus to stand and looked at the chair. After pursing his lips and wobbling the stool gently, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a copy of Dragon Knights Volume 15. He wedged it under one of the legs and sat Tetheus back down.
"Don't worry, it won't show on camera," he said, while moving a similar-looking stool into position near Tetheus.
While Tetheus sipped his tea, a young girl in a plain skirt and smart jacket walked up and reached out her hand.
"I'm V-san," she said, when he shook her hand. "I'll be interviewing you first."
"How many of these do I have to do?" he asked, a pained look on his face.
"That depends on how many questions there are for you," answered V-san. "I only have a couple."
"Lord Lykouleon wanted me to talk to you to discuss our lives at the castle and help the public understand our differences, but I am a very busy man and I can't spare that much time."
"I understand and we'll be as quick as we can." She smiled. "It should be painless."
"Is that thing on?" asked Tetheus, pointing at the camera.
"Yes," said V-san, "but this won't be broadcast, don't worry."
"Okay," came a stern voice from behind the camera. "Three, two, one, action!"
"Tetheus, thank you for agreeing to answer my questions today. I'm a big fan of yours."
"Not at all," answered the dragon with a stiff back. "I'm delighted if just one person comes away from this with a better understanding of the Dragon clan."
"A simple question to start," said V-san with a smile. "What do dragons eat?"
Tetheus twitched an eyebrow and then leaned back in his seat. "Dragons are just like humans, V-san. Each of us has different dietary likes and dislikes: the Dragonlord, Lykouleon will eat anything; his wife, Raseleane, will eat anything tiny or cute; Ruwalk won't eat before ten o'clock and only if it's coated with soy sauce; Alfeegi lives off tea and biscuits; Kai-Stern avoids carrots like the plague; Rune is a vegetarian; Rath an anti-vegetarian; and Thatz eats everything but broccoli."
"And you, Tetheus?" asked V-san, giggling for the cameras and flashing a bit of flesh as she crossed her legs. "What do you eat?"
"Oh, of course." Tetheus sat straight up and adjusted his shirt. "I eat babies, first-born for preference."
"Babies?" said V-san, her smile frozen in place.
"Yes," replied Tetheus. "Surprisingly, or maybe not so surprisingly, babies are high in the essential vitamins and nutrients that are necessary for even a reformed demon such as myself. Why, I can cause twice the terror after eating a small baby, than I can do after a four course gourmet meal. Part of the deal when I joined the dragon clan, was my own room, a decent wardrobe and a staple diet of children."
"What... don't... what does the Dragonlord think of this?" babbled V-san.
"He thinks that it's an effective means of population control. Naturally, with a well fed populace and a decent sanitary system, the number of people living in the city has been growing. With migration from rural areas, we would be hard pressed to house everyone if there weren't limits on the number of children being born."
"Limits?" asked V-san, fidgeting on her stool.
"Yes, in their natural environment, humans are picked off by predators, wolves, toothfairies and demons. In Draqueen, they're protected by the dragon fighters, so a tame demon or two is just the thing to redress the balance."
Tetheus nodded at V-san when he finished talking, but it took her a moment to get the next question out.
"You describe yourself as a tame demon?" she flustered.
He laughed. "I have sharp and pointy teeth and am quite dangerous." He opened his mouth and pulled his lips back with his fingers. "Go on, have a look."
V-san demurred and Tetheus soon carried on.
"The tame demon thing is a bit of an in-joke. I'm the strongest at the castle, so I like to encourage them to think of me as just one of the guys."
V-san nodded and looked down at her notes. "What is your favourite colour?" she asked in a quavering voice.
"I like black," Tetheus replied. After a small silence he continued. "It's a cool colour and it's the colour of my hair. It's the colour of darkness and evil and I find that it makes people that little bit uncomfortable when I wear nothing else. I usually have a trim or lining in purple, or red, just to even it out and put others at ease."
He rested his hands on his knees, nodding at the camera and swaying back and forth on his stool as the interview went on and his confidence grew.
V-san leaned away from Tetheus and edged farther back in her chair. "What about girl-friends, do you... do you have one?"
Tetheus leaned forward. "I thought that you'd ask me that and I have to say that although there are a few people that I'm interested in, I haven't found that special someone just yet."
The stern voice echoed out "Wrap up!" and V-san turned to camera. "Well, that was enlightening. Thank you very much, Tetheus for joining me today."
"It was my pleasure."
Without looking at him she continued. "That was our first look at the dragons of Draqueen in Tetheus: Questions and Answers. I am delighted to have taken this opportunity to talk to a real-life dragon and had my questions answered, but I'm completely happy to hand the microphone over to someone else next time. Please tune in again for more probing questions and revealing answers."
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