Sisu let out a wet burp as she awoke, followed by a low moan. A great churning rang out as the dragoness groggily rose. Instinctively, she raised a claw to her forehead. Her head didn't hurt but she felt dizzy nonetheless; she reasoned she probably rose too quickly, groggy feeling aside.
"Have a fun night?"
She blinked and was met with Jarek's visage, "Skippy?" Sisu muttered.
"Morning," Jarek grinned.
"Ugh, what happened?" Sisu moaned again.
"Well you pigged out on noodles and then passed out," Jarek answered.
Sisu's eyes rose in aghast, "What?! I would never-" She stopped herself as the previous night's events replayed in her mind, "Oh, right."
Jarek watched as Sisu's expression switched to shame; right as another burp escaped her. Jarek knew he could get some mileage out of this, but he knew Sisu was kicking herself for her actions. Though this showed even though she was prone to bouts of weakness, Sisu held a certain standard for herself. Being the most famous dragon in Kumandra meant there was a certain image to uphold; not that Sisu was so inclined to fit it, but she didn't want anyone to think she was a shameless glutton.
"Don't sweat it okay? We all have one of "those" moments," Jarek comforted.
"Yeah but not me," Sisu moaned, "Oh my poor tummy."
"Figured you would be having indigestion, so I prepared this," Jarek said holding out a bowl of steaming liquid.
Sisu eyes it suspiciously, "What is it?"
"Amba told me this was the perfect cure for an upset stomach," Jarek said.
"Oh yeah, Ma made that for me once," Sisu recalled, "You made it yourself?"
Giving a small stir, Jarek spooned out a small sample, "Amba helped but it was a pretty easy recipe when you get down to you. Come on, down the hatch."
Sisu gladly took the spoonful, shuddering ever so slightly as it went down, "Forgot how sour it was."
"You like sour candy right?" Jarek asked.
"Yeah but "this" is a different kind of sour," Sisu shuddered.
Each spoonful spurred Sisu to shudder, but before long she had gotten used to it that she abandoned the spoon and took the bowl itself. She gulped it down furiously, wincing ever so slightly over its temperature; before long the bowl was drained.
"Little hard going down but it hits the spot," Sisu burped, "Geeze, now I know what you're like when you get all gassy."
Jarek chuckled lightly, "I suppose you do."
Sisu smacked her lips as she finished the soup, "So I take it I made an absolute fool of myself?"
"Not entirely," Jarek answered.
"You're being nice," Sisu stated.
"I'm serious, it wasn't that bad. At least you beat Reela at eating the most noodles," Jarek chuckled once more.
Jarek's reassurance aside, Sisu wasn't too convinced. In her heart, she knew Jarek was being too nice to her, but then again maybe he wasn't. But the main issue is she did it in front of Reela; not that Sisu was trying to impress her cousin, but still, the sheer amount of noodles she ate was certainly something Reela would chastise her about. She could just hear her cousin's posh and proper voice scolding her, remarking on how "unladylike" it was to ingest so much. Frankly, it wanted to make her hide under a rock and wait till the end to come.
"Look, buck up! There's still a day left of Dragonfest and we've been thinking of spending it all together," Jarek brought up.
Sisu looked at Jarek hopefully, "Together? You mean all of us?"
"Yep! You, me, your brothers and sisters, and Reela," Jarek listed each member down.
Sisu recoiled with a shudder at Reela's name, "Family is family I suppose."
"Yep, so just try to focus on having fun okay?" Jarek suggested.
Spending a whole day with Reela wasn't something Sisu was particularly keen on, but so long as she was with Jarek and her siblings, she supposed it couldn't have been that bad.
"You always know how to brighten me up don't you Skippy?" Sisu grinned.
Jarek likewise grinned back.
XXX
If anyone asked the Datu family if the day was spent well they would certainly answer "yes". The entire family plus Jarek spent the day together and they made sure to enjoy the full extent the festivities had to offer. The day prior they had spent separated, but this time they decided to make the most of it as a family. Sisu had to grit her teeth and bear Reela's presence; her cousin indeed chastised her for her gluttonous behavior last night, but per Jarek's advice Sisu was able to handle it.
The day went on and before anyone knew it, it was over. Every dragon in Dragontown left for their homes, the festival workers being the ones to stay behind and take everything down, at least until next year's Dragonfest. And with the ending of the festival came the time for Reela's departure. Her servants gathered all of her things and were soon present and ready for their mistress.
"Oh, how it pains me to leave you all! But I must return to my estate!" Reela wailed.
Jagan gave a longing look towards his cousin, "You know? You don't have to leave just yet," This prompted a hard shove from Sisu, one that provoked Jagan to say "Ow!".
"Cousin Jagan, it would give me no greater pleasure to stay among you all, but I do miss the comforts of my home; I do apologize," Yet as Jagan looked forlorn, Reela grinned and skipped over to her cousin, "But I do intend to visit, so take heart, my cousin."
And as she finished, Reela gave Jagan a peck on the cheek, and when Jagan received it, he lit up brighter than anyone had ever seen him before. This certainly shocked everyone as Amba was the one who glowed in the family.
Reela was not done, however. She gave each family member a kiss on the cheek, yet these kisses were far tamer than the one Jagan had received. Jarek blushed slightly upon receiving his peck, but Sisu merely gagged and stuck out her tongue upon hers.
"Well everyone, toodles! Cousin Pengu a little boost if you please?" Reela asked, "I know we dragons use the moisture in the air but a little rain grants a certain lift. But not too much."
Pengu concentrated and before long a small shower began. Using whatever magic they could, Reela and her servants took to the air and before long faded out of sight.
"Well that was an experience," Sisu muttered.
"She kissed me," Jagan said dreamily, "I'm never going to wash this cheek again!"
"We're water dragons, so you'll have to wash it eventually," Amba stated.
"Then I won't swim!" Jagan declared.
"That's impossible, you'll have to swim eventually," Amba replied.
As the two siblings began to argue over the impossibility of never washing one's cheek, Pranee and Pengu tagged along in case the argument escalated. Jarek and Sisu were left alone as Sisu breathed a sigh of relief.
"Man thought I would never get through that!" Sisu expressed.
"Was it really that bad?" Jarek asked.
"It was torture!" Sisu declared, "Honestly I couldn't take another second of it!"
Jarek rolled his eyes and nudged Sisu, "Come on Sisu I know you're stronger than that."
Sisu rubbed the spot Jarek had nudged and smirked, "I'm lucky you have such faith in me, Skippy."
Jarek grinned at the return of Sisu's formally happy demeanor, but he could sense there was still tension in the air, "So, "making fog"?"
"Hmm?" Sisu responded.
"During your little tantrum you mentioned me and Reela were going to "make fog"," Jarek repeated Sisu's strange phrase.
It took Sisu a minute to recall what she had said before she answered, "Oh right, I was talking about smoking."
"Smoking? Come on Sisu you know I don't do that," Jarek insisted.
"And you should know me better than that Skippy," Sisu declared, "I know full well what you and Jagan do on your "guys nights"."
"Sisu," Jarek began to defend himself, but when he noticed Sisu's reprimanding expression, "Okay fine sure we have a couple of puffs, but I swear Jagan has this great blend!"
Sisu sighed, "Skippy."
"I'm serious just this mellow taste, smooth upon your tongue, and-"
"Ugh stop! Just be glad no kids are around, wouldn't want their parents to think you're promoting unhealthy habits," Sisu scolded, "That and the way you guzzle down sweets. That and the smoking and by the time you're old, (and trust me we dragons live for a long time), you're going to have breathing problems and a bloated gut."
Even if the mental image was not one Jarek wanted to picture, he had to laugh, "Yeah but I imagine with the way you slurp down noodles you'll probably wind up with a gut yourself!"
"Oh come on!" Sisu exclaimed.
"That and probably a pair of glasses," Jarek added, "Yeah I could see it, plump old Sisu with her little glasses."
"Sisu could only glower as Jarek laughed, "Yeah laugh it up but mark my words, you're going to wind up a chunk butt with a beard that stretches down to the ground."
Jarek flashed a proud grin and stroked his beard, "Hey I've been growing this baby since my voice started to crack, so I would regard that as a mark of pride," He boasted, "And the more I think about it, I don't think I would mind putting on a couple of pounds once I'm retired, at least if I'm living in the lap of luxury."
"You really think you'll be that lucky?" Sisu asked.
"Luckiest man in Kumandra," Jarek reminded, "And I happen to be the only human to become a dragon, that probably makes me more famous than you!"
"Oh, so you boomed the Druun away?" Sisu asked.
"No but come on, you just know the people want to worship this!" Jarek said pointing both of his back claws at himself.
"Oh, they'll worship all right, worship a mountain of blubber!" Sisu shot back, yet there was no malice in her voice.
"You're right, not only will they worship me, but also the mighty Sisudatu, the bottomless noodle pit!" Jarek chuckled.
"Sweet glutton."
"Noodle glutton."
"Future chunky butt."
"Double future chunky butt."
"Soft serve."
"Blubber gut."
"Bearded noodle."
"Glasses noodle."
"I'm not wearing glasses."
"Not yet."
"Oh, what do you know?"
"More than you."
"NOT!" Both dragons said at once.
Staring at one another, both dragons spurred into a fit of laughter. Their laughter quickly peppered out and the pair soon found themselves staring at one another. Soon enough Jarek and Sisu broke away as they realized what they were doing.
"Ahem, yes well it's good to see you laughing again Sisu," Jarek said.
Sisu could only smile and reply, "Yeah, thanks, Skippy. I needed this."
"You know, since I've graduated we haven't spent much time together have we?" Jarek realized.
Thinking back on it Sisu knew Jarek was correct. The time she had formally spent with her former student had grown very few, and with Dragonfest their time had been spent with family. Now Jarek was alone and she could see the glint in his eye.
"You having an idea Skippy?" Sisu asked.
"Oh yeah, how about we go do something? Tomorrow night? You and me?" Jarek asked.
Sisu's eyes lit up, "Really? Just the two of us?"
"You bet, but only if you want to?" Jarek didn't want to force Sisu into anything.
Thankfully, Sisu was rather easygoing, "You know what Skippy? I'll take you up on that offer!"
Jarek grinned from ear to ear, "Really?" Then he composed himself, "I mean sure, yeah, great!"
"So I'll see you tomorrow?" Sisu asked.
Jarek looked into her perfect eyes and replied, "You bet."
With nothing more to say, the two dragons headed to bed. And on that very night, someone had a good dream.
A/N: I'm not very subtle am I?