Chapter 17: Dinner

"This is a new friend of mine, and his name is Kiran! He'll be eating dinner with us tonight."

The mole, who was quite short, had a much smaller nose than the male moles that I had seen, longer fur around her head and neck that gave her a more effeminate appearance, and wore a peach colored long sleeve shirt that covered the entirety of her body. As I looked down at her, she murmured disapprovingly, and motioned towards me with a wave of her hand.

"Shimmer… I'm afraid that I can't allow him further into the house."

Great, here we go again. I don't know why I even bothered to come.

Shimmer was just as unhappy as I was and voiced her displeasure immediately."What, why not?!"

The mole looked at me and grimaced.

"Do you realize how dirty he is? And the smell… Augh! We'll have to clean him up before dinner, or I'm sure none of you will be able to enjoy the meal."

I did a double take, mentally going over her words again to make sure I heard them clearly.

…Her problem is that I'm… dirty? That's it?

I suddenly felt embarrassed and very self conscious as the mole moved her hands to her hips and shook her head with a huff.

"What in the world were you doing before you came here?"

Shimmer's demeanor changed instantly and she smiled sheepishly.

"Welllll, Kiran is a fighter in the arena and just won his first official fight, so I invited him over for dinner to celebrate!"

Jolt nodded enthusiastically next to us and smiled.

"Yeah, he beat Amber, so he's gotta be really good. She's really tough and she looked all beat up when she trapped us in the lobby…"

The mole eyed me carefully but slowly set her arms down.

"A fighter, hmmm? Well, if he can't take care of his own basic hygiene, then I doubt he's worth much of anything. This won't do, not at all."

Again, a wave of shame washed over me, so I brought a hand up to my face and put it over my eyes with a sigh. Shimmer looked at me and laughed, and I felt a consoling claw pat me on the back. She consoled me with a sarcastic yet apologetic tone, which was magnified by the regretful look she was giving me.

"Welp, I guess you don't have to hang out with us after all. Turns out you're too much of a slob to even step into the house."

I glanced over at Jolt and saw that he was clearly disappointed that Shimmer had suddenly changed her mind. He put a pout on his face as he protested in an attempt to convince her otherwise.

"Does he really have to go? We were all supposed to have dinner together..."

Shimmer shrugged and wiped her paws against each other, as if ridding them of dirt.

"Unfortunately it's out of my claws. You heard what Alfossa said."

I wasn't really amused by Shimmer's sarcastic tones, but decided I may as well play along and get a rile out of her. With an exaggerated shrug and spin, I turned and started to walk away.

"Ok, see you next time then!"

I heard Shimmer gasp behind me, and I heard a clatter of claws give chase as I walked away.

"Hey, woah woah, I was kidding! Get back here!"

The tapping of her claws grew closer, and I waited until her steps were right behind me to whirl around with a large, fake grin plastered on my face.

"Gotcha!"

Shimmer slid to an abrupt stop, almost running into me, and glared at me for a split second before a mixture of glee and bafflement appeared on her face.

"Well, look at you! Joking and not being a big stick in the mud for once, I'm shocked!"

Jolt ran up to both of us, looking relieved.

"Wait, so he can stay? You're not being serious, Shimmer?"

Shimmer snickered and pat Jolt's head as soon as he was close enough for her to reach him.

"You really need to learn how to pick up on sarcasm. Of course I was kidding earlier, why would I invite him over and then immediately kick him out?"

Jolt's face was blank for a moment until the gears in his mind caught up, and he pouted while chasing Shimmer's paw away.

"You know, you could just say what you mean, instead of joking around like that…"

I couldn't agree more.

I didn't want to miss the opportunity to tease her some more and backed Jolt up."He's right, you know."

Shimmer scoffed, rolled her eyes and spread out her wings as she stepped behind the both of us, and then started to push us back towards the house a bit more forcefully than I would have liked.

"Yeah yeah, whatever. I thought it was funny."

I rolled my eyes.

"Well I didn't, and I think a little less sarcasm would go a long way in this wonderful relationship of ours."

"Mhm, I'm sure you would. I bet you'd also love it if I stopped bothering you too, but that's not gonna happen."

I let a small smile sneak its way onto my face and let Shimmer push me up to the front door where Alfossa was waiting for us. She waved the two dragons inside, but lifted a hand up and motioned for me to stop.

"I know you'd like to join your friends, but you'll have to clean up first. If you'd like, you can wash up in one of the guest bathrooms, and I can find you a fresh set of clothes."

Alfossa looked me up and down and grimaced.

"I don't know if you've noticed, but the set you're currently wearing is a bit… worn, don't you think?"

I sighed and inspected myself, and after a thorough pass over I had to admit that she was right. Even though I had only been in one actual fight since Farleigh, it had been destructive enough to burn and tear my clothes apart, leaving me looking ragged and disheveled.

"…if it won't be a bother, then sure, I'm up for a new pair of clothes."

The mole smiled and motioned for me to enter, but stopped me just inside the door for a moment to address the two dragons.

"Shimmer, Jolt, I'll have him back to you soon. Why don't you two go to the kitchen and talk with Bera? You can let her know about the guests and give her an extra claw to set up for dinner."

Shimmer and Jolt both nodded and responded at the same time.

"Sure!"

Shimmer gave me a quick wave with her tail and began heading towards what I could only assume was the kitchen, with Jolt right behind her. As they neared the large entryway straight ahead from the entrance, I heard Shimmer call back to Jolt.

"C'mon Jolt, maybe we can sneak a bite before dinner starts."

Jolt bounded after her, smiling at what I could only assume was the prospect of food.

"Ooh, yeah, great idea!"

Once they were gone, Alfossa sighed softly and her expression changed to something a bit more sour.

"Follow me and do your best not to touch anything."

And there's the disdain. Figures that she would wait for Shimmer to leave.

The instant shift in her tone dashed any hope that I had that I was going to have a relaxing evening. If Alfossa was only being civil to me because Shimmer was around, then this wasn't a place I wanted to be.

"Also, if you don't mind, please take off your boots first, they're covered in dirt."

I gave her a quick nod, grumbling quietly to myself, took off my boots and finally entered the house. I took one look around and almost whistled, but refrained from doing so. One thing that always impressed me about the city was the architecture, because it was designed with large dragons and, well, normal sized people. The foyer was massive, and about as lavish and decorative as I could have imagined, with a large, open space that was flanked by two staircases that curved upwards and led to the second floor. A dark red carpet covered the floor and stairs, and a large crystal chandelier filled up the empty space above, causing the light filtering in from the arched windows to be refracted to the walls, lighting up the foyer with tiny rainbows.

Straight ahead, where Shimmer and Jolt had run off to, was another set of large wooden doors with iron handles that led to a massive room with tables, cabinets, chairs, and cushions, which led me to believe that it was the dining room, but I didn't get the chance to see if that was the case as Alfossa led me up the left staircase.

Once we were on the second floor, she opened a door to her left and led me down a hallway that stretched on for thirty to forty feet. All along the hall were doors that led to other rooms or sections of the mansion, but there wasn't time for me to explore as we hurried down the hall to another, smaller staircase that spiraled upwards. We went up one more floor before Alfossa stopped and turned around.

"Wait here for just a moment and I'll be back with some fresh clothes. Don't touch anything, or I'll have you staying after dinner to clean it up."

"Yes ma'am."

Alfossa scurried away, leaving me by myself. I wanted to lean up against the wall to relax, but I assumed that would only lead to me getting in trouble, so I settled for shifting my weight to one leg and stuffing my hands in my pockets.

As nice as this house is, I can't help but feel uncomfortable.

The whole concept of displaying wealth through material possession and property was something that I didn't understand. Back home, we didn't have the luxury of using money like that, so it irked me whenever I visited a place that wasted resources on something so shallow.

Sucks to see that there's such a wealth disparity during a peaceful period and that it's probably not changing anytime soon.

I shook my head to myself as I waited and continued to mull over the ridiculousness of the house until Alfossa came back with a set of clothes in her paws.

"Alright, I managed to find some clothes that should fit you. Let's get you cleaned up and ready for dinner, shall we?"

I uncrossed my arms and shifted my weight back to both legs.

"Yes ma'am."

She waved her paw, motioning for me to follow, and we walked down a few doors until she stopped and opened one to our left. Inside was a huge bathroom with a bath, sink, and toilet, along with a window built into the ceiling that let beams of sunlight in to light up the room.

"Everything you could possibly need is stocked under the sink. Please make sure to clean yourself thoroughly and then meet me back by the staircase."

"Alright, I'll be quick."

Alfossa nodded and made to leave, but made one more comment before giving me space.

"If anything is missing, I'll know. Don't do anything stupid, understand?"

You've got to be kidding me.

I didn't let my irritation show and responded with a relaxed voice.

"Yes ma'am, I understand."

"Good, I'll be waiting."

I hated to admit it, but I wasn't sure if I had ever had such a wonderful bath before. I had used some of the shampoo and soap provided for me, and after sitting in the warm water for a few minutes to relax, I was left feeling clean, refreshed and re-energized. Even the clothes that Alfossa had given me were more comfortable than what I was used to.

I was now wearing cotton clothes consisting of a gray shirt and brown pants, short, warm socks and undergarments, along with a pair of shoes that had been so kindly lended to me. I carried my old set of clothes with me and returned to Alfossa who made sure to give me a critical eye as I returned.

"…I have to say, you look much better. You're at least somewhat presentable now."

She motioned towards my clothes and reached out a paw.

"If you give those to me I can have them cleaned, fixed up and returned to you before you leave."

I thought it was a bit odd for her to offer that, since I was convinced she disliked me, so I stood with a slightly confused expression for a few seconds before I responded, leaving me slightly embarrassed when I realized I had been staring at her.

"Oh, uhm… if it's not a bother then yes, I'd appreciate it."

I handed her my clothes and she wasted no time turning around and heading back down the stairs. I followed closely behind as we retraced our steps back to the front doors.

"When we get to the dining room, you should offer to help with whatever hasn't been finished yet. I'm sure it would make a good impression with Bera and help to set the tone for the rest of the evening."

She's giving me advice? That's… odd.

"I will, but… why are you bothering to tell me this?"

Alfossa didn't make any sign that she had heard me, but replied softly.

"I may not be… overjoyed that Shimmer has made friends with an ape, but I see no reason to set you up for failure. I'll do as I would for any other guest, and let your actions speak for your character."

Well that's a surprise… I thought for sure that she had it out for me.

I smiled, if only because I now knew that she wasn't going to be silently hating me the entire evening, and felt myself relax.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome."

The rest of our walk back to the foyer was in silence, although I didn't mind. Once we were there, we went through the well furnished room that I had seen before and then through another set of doors that opened up into a gigantic kitchen with ample space for cooking and preparing food. The smell of seasoned, cooked meat wafted through the air and I could feel drool starting to pool in my mouth.

Oh man, that smells great…

On the far side of the kitchen, near a brick oven that was cooking some kind of meat, Jolt and Shimmer sat, chatting with an older dragon. When I saw her, I had to stop and blink to make sure that I was seeing things correctly, and then stifled a laugh.

Every dragon that I had seen up to this point fit what I had pictured in my mind when thinking of the mystical creature; Strong, lean, covered with muscle, and dangerous. What I saw was the exact opposite of that, and from my perspective I could have sworn that she was rounder than she was tall, making for the goofiest looking dragon I had ever seen.

Holy crap, how did she get so… fat!?

Alfossa must have heard my slip in composure, because she took a step back and then elbowed me in the side before harshly whispering a warning to me.

"I'll not have you making fun of Bera. She's as kind and generous as they come, so conduct yourself in a manner worthy of Shimmer's friendship."

I put a hand on my side to somewhat soothe the sting from her strike and kept myself stoic while nodding quickly in response.

"Right, right, sorry."

Alfossa gave me a quick stern glare before she put a smile on her face and walked up to the trio.

"Shimmer, your friend is here. He cleaned up surprisingly well and isn't covered with filth anymore, so there might be hope for him after all."

That got the heads of everyone in the room to turn towards me, and I felt like I was suddenly under a magnifying glass as they all scrutinized me. Bera, was an earth dragon with light green scales that had a few splotches of darker scales, an almost white underbelly and several dark green horns that gently curved backwards along her neck.

Great, just what I needed, everyone staring at me.

"Wow Kiran, she's right! You're actually looking good for once!"

Shimmer snickered after her comment, but I didn't care about that because Bera wasted no time crossing the kitchen to come greet me, looking down with a warm smile that stretched from ear to ear.

"Shimmer, is this your friend that you keep mentioning?"

"Yep, that's him!"

Bera continued to smile and dipped her head slightly in greeting as she looked at me with eyes that sparkled with cheer.

"It is so nice to meet you! Shimmer has told me all about your adventures together, and I must say, I'm very glad that you were present to protect her from those terrible things in the woods."

She lowered her head down to my level, meeting me where I stood with her large green eyes.

"You have my gratitude for keeping her safe, Kiran, and I know Phyl is thankful as well."

I raised a hand to rub the back of my head timidly, feeling a bit out of place from the unexpected and almost unwelcome praise.

I almost got her killed… That's not something that should be thanked.

"Oh, uh, you don't need to thank me… If anything I should be apologizing, because it was my fault that she got into trouble in the first place..."

Bera's face lit up with surprise as I spoke, and she glanced back at Shimmer when I finished.

"Well Shimmer, you were right. I must say, I didn't expect him to reject my compliment so quickly."

"Right?! He's got this weird thing where he blames himself for everything that goes wrong and gets all moody. I've been trying to get him to cheer up a bit, but he's stubborn and doesn't listen very well."

Bera shook her head and clicked her tongue, and before I knew it, her tail had somehow snaked around behind me and pulled me forwards into a weird, squishy hug against her side. She had a strong grip and I felt the air get pushed out of my lungs as she pulled me closer.

What the hell is happening…?!

"This won't do! Kiran, I will make it my sole goal, as the host during your visit, to make sure that you feel appreciated for your protection of Shimmer and the merchants of Warfang. You must understand that what you've done is worthy of commendation, and I for one am grateful that you kept Shimmer safe from harm."

But I didn't.

I felt the guilt rise up and tried to squirm out of the second awkward hug of the day, but her tail had me firmly trapped against her side. I felt my patience and demeanor evaporate, and the sense of being trapped in this uncomfortable position made me exasperated.

I guess I shouldn't be too surprised that there's another dragon like Shimmer… It's just my luck that I would somehow find both of them.

I tried to push away, and winced as Bera hugged me tighter.

Okay, if this is going to be something that could possibly happen again, Shimmer can forget about me ever coming back. This is ridiculous.

I wheezed as the pressure on my back made it hard to breathe. I took a half breath and grunted a polite request, hoping she would let go.

"Excuse me, Miss Bera-"

She turned her head down to give me her attention, but squished me into her scales as she did so. I grunted as my breath was pushed out of my lungs, and Bera gasped lightly before removing her tail, sending a wave of relief over me as I took a moment to recover my breath.

"Oh! I'm terribly sorry, please forgive me!"

I waved a hand dismissively and took a deep breath.

"It's fine, it's fine…"

Bera was blushing at her mistake, and shifted her attention to the meat that was still cooking in the oven in an attempt to change the subject.

"Why don't you three go ahead and get the table set? I'll finish up here with Alfossa and we'll bring the food out shortly."

Shimmer nodded eagerly and pulled Jolt along with her tail as she headed towards a few cabinets on the side of the kitchen.

"Sure, Bera!"

Shimmer started opening some of the lower drawers and pulling out dishes and silverware.

"Kiran, c'mere, we can get everything we need from here. Give me a helping paw, would you?"

Once the table was set and the food was brought out, we were told to wait in the foyer until Phyl and his dad arrived. I sat at the base of one of the stairs, bored, watching as Shimmer kept glancing out one of the front windows with eager excitement. Jolt was sitting fairly close to me, also bored, and had his face resting on his paws, leaving me without much to do. I leaned back to take a quick nap, but this wasn't meant to be as Shimmer joyfully exclaimed that they were home.

"Phyl and Carn are back, which means it's almost time to eat!"

Jolt sat up with a relieved smile while holding a claw over his audibly growling stomach.

"Oh thank the ancestors, I'm starving! I don't think I've ever had dinner this late before…"

I lifted my head and then stood up as Phyl and a much larger, elegant looking fire dragon sauntered into the house. His scales were a very dark shade of red and glinted in the fading evening light as he walked, making me wonder if he polished or waxed them. He had two ivory horns that jutted straight out of the top of his head before slightly angling back near the tips, and there was a thin gold band around his left horn with some kind of symbol etched into the metal. He carried himself gracefully and purposefully with every step, and I got the same vibe from him that I would get from one of the noblemen back home.

Well, that's the most uptight looking dragon I've seen so far. I guess that would explain why Phyl is so… calm.

Carn noticed Shimmer and Jolt right away as he entered the house and extended a warm greeting to them.

"Ah, Shimmer, I see you've brought your classmate here for a visit. It's a pleasure to see you again, Jolt."

A small smile appeared on Carn's face.

"Will you be joining us for dinner?"

Jolt nodded in and gave him a wave.

"It's good to see you too, and yup! Shimmer invited me and Kiran over for dinner to celebrate his win today."

Carn raised an eyebrow curiously.

"Oh? And who might this new friend be? And what do you mean by win?"

His eyes scanned the room until they fell on me, and for the briefest of moments I saw his entire face twitch. In the single moment that his smile left his face, I could see the shock and disappointment in his eyes, but he covered this up by bringing a paw up to his face and coughing, allowing himself time to recover.

And there goes the evening. It was nice while it lasted.

"…ah, I suppose this would be your new friend. Kiran, was it?"

Don't think I didn't notice your face. I know when someone is putting up a front.

"Yes sir."

"Welcome to my home, I assume you're joining us for dinner as well?"

"Yes sir."

"Wonderful, I hope you enjoy your time here. Now, If you'll excuse me, I need to freshen up before we dine."

Carn lowered his head and gave Phyl a quick nuzzle, which Phyl returned.

"Tell your mother that I'll be down soon."

"Of course, Dad."

Carn smiled, quickly excused himself, and headed upstairs. Shimmer bounded over to Phyl to attack him with a bout of affection, which he returned in a much calmer manner.

"So, I take it you had a good day?"

Shimmer nuzzled his neck and shoulder while responding.

"Yup, better than I expected. Pretty much everything has gone perfect today!"

Phyl laid a wing over her back, pulled her close, and smiled.

"I'm glad you had a good day, although I'm curious as to what made it so good. Was the arena that much fun?"

Shimmer grinned from ear to ear.

"Uh, yeah! Not only is it waaaay bigger inside than I would have thought, but Strongfang invited me to watch Kiran kick some cheetah's butt! She didn't stand a chance, and it makes me super excited for all of his upcoming fights!"

Sheesh, Shimmer, I didn't think you'd be into it this much, but I guess I should have seen the signs back when I sparred with Strongfang…

I decided to join in on the conversation, because I was curious about something.

"If you like the arena so much, why don't you sign up to be a fighter, Shimmer? You've got potent ice attacks, and the stamina to boot. Maybe it's a bit assuming of me, but why not go for it?"

Shimmer sighed and pouted, sticking her bottom lip out, exposing some of her teeth.

"I totally would, but my dad won't let me. He said that if I still want to when I'm older, then sure, but until then I can't, which stinks."

I couldn't say I disagreed with her dad, but I didn't need an earful from Shimmer right now.

"Bummer."

"Uh, yeah, no kidding."

Phyl gave Shimmer a consoling squeeze and turned to talk to me and Jolt.

"Well, aside from the victory, what about you two? How have your days been?"

I was quiet and motioned for Jolt to answer first, which he did with a chipper grin.

"It was good! Usually I'm bored because I'm stuck at the desk all day without anyone to really talk to, but Kiran stuck around after his talk with Miss Ruby! I showed him all around the arena, which was a nice, aside from the locker rooms-"

I wasn't going to let him finish that and kicked him just hard enough in the leg to stop him mid-sentence. He yelped and turned his head to glare at me.

"Hey! What was that for!?"

I glared back.

"Some things are better left unsaid. You owe it to me since you-"

I pointed a finger accusingly at him.

"-got me into that mess."

Jolt's face scrunched up unhappily, but he didn't argue.

"…fiiiiine… I won't tell anyone."

Shimmer dropped the ridiculous pout that she had and eyed me suspiciously. I could tell just by the way that she was looking at me that she was absolutely going to ask me about it later.

Great, now she's going to bug me until she gets an answer…

"Anyway, that was most of my day. The rest was kinda boring until Shimmer invited me over for dinner."

Phyl smiled.

"That does sound like a good day. What about you, Kiran?"

"It was fine, not the best, not the worst."

Shimmer rolled her eyes.

"Wow, talk about vague and non-descriptive. Are you not even going to go over the details of your fight or mention your talk with Amber? You looked pretty irritated once you finally got her to buzz off."

"…no, I'd rather not, and it's not relevant to you anyway. That does remind me though, I need to ask you something, Shimmer. Would you be up for training with me again so I can prep for my fights? I'll be going up against dragons, so… I need a good sparring partner and you're actually pretty good."

Shimmer gasped and began to hop in place excitedly.

"Uh, yeah! Of course I would!"

"Cool. Want to meet up at the arena tomorrow around lunch to get started then? As long as my meeting with Ruby doesn't take too long, I should be free by then."

"Yes! Ancestors, I was hoping you'd ask me to train with you again!"

Shimmer squealed excitedly, earning me an exasperated sigh from Phyl.

"She was already more than eager to tell me about what you two did in Farleigh, so I can't imagine what she'll be sharing with me from now on-"

His exasperation was quickly washed away as he smiled.

"-but I'm glad that she has a friend to spar with. Ancestors know that she's been wanting a way to practice and improve her skills for a long time, so I'm not gonna complain."

Shimmer beamed at Phyl, and he placed a paw on his own chest.

"Also, if you ever need a third, I'd be more than willing to participate as well. I bet that you'll face an earth dragon at some point in your career, so having some experience against the earth element could be beneficial for you."

I smiled thankfully.

"I appreciate the offer, and I'll take you up on it. Feel free to tag along with Shimmer anytime."

"Then I'll come along with her tomorrow. I don't have any business with my dad, and school doesn't start up again for a few days, so I need something to do."

"Awesome, sounds great."

There was a quick nod of agreement, followed by a short silence that ended when Shimmer shifted her attention to Jolt.

"What about you? Do you want to join in on this?"

Jolt didn't look nearly as interested in the prospect and a nervous laugh escaped his lips.

"Aha… I, uhm… I don't really like fighting, so… I'd rather not if that's ok…"

"Awww, c'mon Jolt! Don't you want to be a kick ass fighter like me? Just think of all the monsters we could fight, or some of the adventures we could go on together!"

Jolt was hesitant before, but now he was more than convinced that it was a bad idea to be involved with this. He shook his head worriedly and lowered his head.

"N-no, that's ok… I'll leave all of that stuff to you guys…"

Shimmer sighed and walked over to throw a consoling leg over Jolt.

"Fine, but know that you're missing out on a once in a lifetime experience. I almost feel bad for you, but then I remember that it only means I get more one-on-one time with Kiran. Ha!"

Jolt smiled awkwardly and slowly removed himself from the half hug.

"Yup, that's a good way to look at it…"

Shimmer saw how downtrodden the conversation was making Jolt, so she affectionately rubbed his head with a paw and tried to encourage him.

"Hey, don't fret so much, you don't have to like or be interested in fighting to be cool. I'm just teasing you."

Jolt didn't seem so sure and sighed softly.

"But… everyone is always talking about how important it is for us to be able to fight, like our ancestors were able to…"

Shimmer shook her head and put a claw onto Jolt's chest.

"Listen, that's not nearly as important as you'd think. Not every dragon is going to be some super awesome kick ass machine like Spyro, or me, and that's ok. There's plenty of other things that you can learn about or be good at, so don't worry about it so much, ok?"

I watched as the gears in Jolt's head started to turn as he processed what Shimmer had just said. He slowly realized what she meant and a small smile appeared on his face.

"You sure?"

Shimmer pulled him into a side hug.

"Positive. Listen, you need to learn how to have a bit more confidence in yourself. What're you gonna do when I'm not around and some jerk is messing with you at school?"

Jolt sighed and wriggled out of her grasp.

"I can handle myself! You don't have to baby me anymore!"

"Mhm, sure, I'll remember that next time you ask me for help."

Jolt's eyes went wide and he turned to protest, but stopped when he saw the silly smile on her face.

"Teasing, Jolt, relax."

"Ugh, I should have known..."

Shimmer gave a pouting Jolt another hug, and as he complained about how he hated sarcasm, Carn returned from upstairs, somehow appearing shinier than before.

I guess he really cares about his appearance. I don't think I've seen any other dragon pay that much attention to their scales.

"Sorry to have kept you waiting. Let's head to the dining room, shall we?"

He gave us all a smile and ushered us all towards the dining room with his tail. We all made our way into the room, and the overwhelming smell of food filled the air. There were a few dishes now present on the table, the largest consisting of meat, along with a few smaller plates with a few biscuits and greens that I was assuming were for me.

"Please, sit anywhere you'd like, but wait for everyone to be seated before we begin eating."

Carn nodded towards Alfossa, who was standing attentively off to the side.

"Alfossa, if you could procure a chair for Kiran, I would be grateful."

She gave a quick bow with her head and scurried off to find a chair. While I waited for a seat, the dragons all found sat down on large, luxurious cushions that surrounded the table, and shortly after that Bera joined us from the kitchen. She carried a jug with her and set it in front of Carn before sitting down with him and snuggling up to his side.

"I missed you."

"And I you."

"I prepared the meat tonight with the spice that you found in the marketplace a few weeks prior. I hope you find it to your tastes, love."

"All I need to know is that it was prepared by you, and I'll enjoy the meal… but I appreciate the effort you took tonight. Thank you, love."

Talk about cheesy, eugh…

I saw Jolt making the expressions that I was feeling, while Phyl was blank faced and Shimmer was looking at the couple with wide, adoring eyes. Carn smiled and the two nuzzled each other quite affectionately before sharing a kiss.

Ok, forget about cheesy, this is just too much.

I turned my gaze elsewhere, and it wasn't long before Alfossa reappeared with a seat for me and I was able to sit down. Carn took a quick glance over the table, and smiled.

"Now that everyone is seated… let's eat!"

Dinner with Phyl's family went a lot better than I expected it would have. The food and conversation were both good, and I was able to keep to myself because Shimmer and Bera dominated most of the conversation. The best part though, was that everyone was hungry and the food was eaten quickly, which meant that I didn't have to stay for very long. Once I was full and felt it was appropriate, I made sure to confirm the meeting time with Shimmer and Phyl for tomorrow and excused myself for the night. Shimmer and Jolt gave me a quick hug, which Bera felt the need to participate in, and then Alfossa saw me out.

As I neared the front door, she stopped to give me my original clothes and shook her head.

"These won't last much longer. They've clearly been through a lot, so I would recommend that you buy something to replace them soon."

I took the clothes from her paws and nodded thankfully.

"I will, thank you."

She smiled, and I turned to leave, but Carn got up from the table and called out to me from behind.

"Kiran, a moment, if you would."

Oh no… this can't be good.

"Of course."

Carn made his way over and opened the front door, then motioned for me to step outside. I moved past him and stood next to one of the columns outside, and then waited as he shut the door and sat across from me.

"I apologize for keeping you, but I wanted to make something clear before you left for the night."

Carn lowered his head down to look me in the eye.

"I don't know who you are, what your intentions are, or why Shimmer has decided to become friends with you, but frankly, none of that matters."

He narrowed his eyes ever so slightly.

"The unfortunate truth is that your presence could bring trouble to me and my family. I own a respectable business, but if you're seen here at my house, it could destroy what I've worked so hard to build over the years, and I can't have that. That being said-"

Carn sat up to his full height and purposefully towered over me, as if to put weight behind what he was saying.

"You can't come back here again. To allow you to do so would be social and political suicide, and I'm not going to allow that to happen to myself or my family."

I was silent as I stared back up at him. I had heard what he had said, and part of me understood why he was telling me this, but that didn't stop my anger from boiling just underneath the surface.

I can't believe it. Is this really how this is gonna go down?

I frowned, and responded with more venom than I meant to.

"…what am I supposed to say when Shimmer inevitably invites me to dinner again? That you've forbidden it? I hardly think the rest of your family would approve of your request."

Carn sighed.

"They wouldn't, which is why you're not going to tell them. I've heard enough about you to know that you're not particularly fond of gatherings of this nature anyway, so I'm sure it won't be hard for you to come up with some sort of reasonable excuse."

I crossed my arms and scowled back up at him.

"Why should I do what you're asking of me? It hardly seems fair, considering I've done nothing wrong."

"Yes, I'm aware that it isn't fair, and honestly I myself don't have an issue with you. However, due to the social and political nature of the city, I have my claws tied and can't deviate from the implicit rules that have been set by society."

He took a long breath and then looked down at me.

"You'll do as I ask, or I'll be making it very difficult for you to achieve your goal. I know what Strongfang is currently attempting to do for you, and I have the influence to make it so that it will fall through. I can also hamper any other attempt you make to talk with the council, so I would suggest that you oblige my request and refrain from visiting again."

I was stunned into silence. Not only was that a valid threat against me, but there wasn't much I could do to argue against it. I was a foreigner in a strange city, without the ability or knowledge to do anything but do as I was told. I clenched my fists in anger, hating the way I was suddenly being treated, but nodded slowly in understanding.

"Fine. I'll do as you ask."

"Good. Again, I'm sorry that this is how things have panned out, but it's out of my claws."

I held back a retort and gave a quick, curt bow before hurrying away. My anger was beginning to boil over, and I didn't want to say or do something reckless that would cause Carn to change his mind. I heard him sigh softly to himself, before he walked away, and the last thing I heard was the soft shutting of the wooden doors as I left his house, most likely for the last time.

Hey everyone! Hope you enjoyed the chapter, and as always, please leave a review!

Lil'B - Thanks for the comments, and wow, I did not know that quotes were not needed for internal dialogue. That will be fixed here and in all future chapters.

esines2017 - Thanks for the encouragement! I actually read your review and laughed, it made my day.

Minor grammar and spelling fixes - 6/7/2022