Sisu blinked curiously, "About Jarek?" She repeated.
Pengu's serious expression never faded, "Yes, I just learned something."
Instinctively Sisu looked back towards their home, "He's...not hurt is he?"
"It's nothing like that...well not entirely," Pengu corrected himself.
"Pengu, if it's something important just tell me," Sisu urged.
Motioning his sister to follow, they moved to the side of their home, at least so that they were out of potential ear shots.
"Bro, what's going on?" Sisu could sense the foreboding feeling in the air.
Pengu likewise could pick up the worry his sister was feeling. There was no time to hold it off, it had to be said.
"Ever since Jarek was brought here, I've been doing research, it always struck me as curious how a human could become a dragon," Pengu stated.
"Well I think everyone has that question on their mind," Sisu stated.
"Right, but I kept thinking back to the story Jarek told us, and I don't think he was telling the whole truth," Pengu felt it was time to get it over with, "I suppose I should start from the beginning."
Sisu kept her ears open for she knew a story was coming, "Long ago, humans and dragons were not as close as they are now, in fact, relations between the two species were downright hostile."
"Wait? Humans and dragons didn't get along?" Hearing such a thing was unheard of to Sisu. From the day she hatched, humans and dragons had coexisted, that was a common fact, and one that worked to her advantage back when she and her friends were trying to get rid of the Druun and restore Kumandra.
"It's a chapter in dragon history that isn't well known, even among the chiefest of dragons, and one we are not proud of," Pengu replied grimly.
Pengu was a well-read and studious dragon, so it was no surprise he would dig this up.
"To humans, dragons were these mysterious beasts who roamed the land, while to dragons humans were chaotic creatures who took whatever they wanted. I won't go into details but there was fighting, deaths, and...well I need not say more." Pengu's expression grew all the grimmer, "In fact, I imagine had things escalated, the Druun would have arrived much sooner, but luckily there was some light within this darkness," And with that Pengu's expression grew hopeful, "One day, a young woman, met with a young dragon. And to the surprise of everyone, they formed a friendship."
That alone was something that resonated with Sisu, and it brought her elation as the dark story suddenly took a brighter turn.
"The pair came together and helped prevent their respective people from destroying one another. To make a long story short, each of the five tribes named their lands after a part of a dragon, while the dragons soon established themselves as protectors of humanity, but the dragon who had helped make this happen decided to bestow a gift, an offering that would symbolize the newfound bond between the two races," Pengu's voice took on an honorable tone, "Taking a portion of his essence, he split it among five artifacts, and presented it to each of the five human tribes."
"Wait? His essence? What is that?" Sisu suddenly asked.
Pengu broke out of his story-telling mode and replied, "Huh?"
"Well I mean was it his blood? His soul? His...sweat?" Sisu prevented several options.
"I...don't...know," Pengu replied, clearly at a loss for words.
"You don't? Well, that's kind of a hole or something right? I mean, if you are going to say essence that leaves it kind of vague."
"Well he left something," Pengu stated as simply as he could, "After that, relations between dragons and humans were peaceful, and the treasures were passed through the chiefs of the tribes."
"You mean like the Dragon Gem?" Sisu asked.
"Not exactly. Though the artifacts contained dragon essence, it wouldn't have stopped the Druun, we created the Gem specifically for that," Pengu explained.
Sisu may not have been the most studious of dragons, but even she understood the basics.
"So what does this have to do with Jarek?" Sisu asked.
Pengu appeared hesitant for a moment. He knew Jarek and Sisu had bonded somewhat during her days of tutoring him, but this had to be said.
"I've replayed Jarek's story in my head multiple times. You remember the river that you found him in?" Pengu asked.
"Yes," Sisu replied.
"I followed that river, it leads directly to Heart."
"So?"
"You mentioned Heart was robbed not too long ago, and I even confirmed it with Princess Raya."
"Yeah?" Sisu asked, her voice growing more concerned.
Pengu felt his confidence fade at that very instant. He could sense it in Sisu's voice but knew this had to be said.
"This is just a thought, but what if the reason Jarek became a dragon was because the essence in the treasure got transferred into him?"
Sisu stood alert. Though she wasn't the most studious of dragons, even she knew what her brother was implying, "Wait? If you're saying that, then do you think?"
"That Jarek may have stolen the artifact...yes." Pengu bluntly stated.
Sisu's face smoothed as it spread out, "That's, that's not true!"
"Sisu-"
"No! I know Jarek! I've been teaching him! No student of mine is a thief," Sisu replied defensively.
Pengu could see the panic that was swelling up within his younger sister. Even if they hadn't known each other for long, Sisu had built up some level of trust with Jarek. Trust was a big thing with Sisu. After all, it was how she based her entire philosophy, and it held merit. It was trust between enemies that had brought Kumandra back to its former glory, completely free of the Druun.
"Sisu, you have a good heart, but I just worry he might be deceiving you," Pengu said concernedly.
"This isn't like Talon!" Sisu protested.
Sisu of course referred to how the Talon chief had tricked her, leaving her at the mercy of the Druun in exchange for the pieces of the Dragon Gem. Even though it did not destroy Sisu's ideals of trust, the incident had left somewhat of a mark upon her. It had gone even before the Druun. Trust was a huge deal for Sisu, but at the same time, it was a detriment, giving the dragoness a naive quality.
Pengu wanted to say something else, anything to keep his sister from thinking he didn't trust her.
"Do you trust me?" It seemed Sisu beat her brother to the punch.
Pengu didn't even hesitate when he answered, "Yes."
If he and his siblings didn't trust Sisu, then the Druun would have overtaken Kumandra. But this was different in a sense. They were dealing with a human, a former human whom they knew nothing about truly.
"Then trust me that I know what I'm doing!" Sisu pleaded.
"Sisu I do trust you, more than anything, but I just worry you'll have your heart broken," Pengu stated.
Sisu's expression softened, staring at her brother intently, "You speak as if Jarek and I are a couple."
"No, but I can tell you two are getting close, a heart can be broken even through friendship," Pengu reminded.
And in that reminder, Sisu recalled how Naamari had once extended her hand in friendship to Raya. Of course, this was all a ploy for Fang to get their hands on the Dragon Gem, and in turn, it led to the Druun returning. And that very return led to six long years of ruin and decay. Ironic that it was Fang who freed Kumandra from the grasp of the creatures they had unleashed. Before it had been he and his siblings, and at that moment they had trusted their dear sister.
Now it would seem he would have to do so again, but even then, he couldn't shake his doubts.
"Just be careful Sisu," Pengu brought his forehead to Sisu's, an expression of care among dragonkind, "I don't want you hurt."
"I won't," Sisu declared with a small smile.
Taking the answer, Pengu smiled and left his sister alone, but as he left, he didn't see Sisu's smile fade away as she gazed at their home.
Thoughts of Jarek filled her head. And as those thoughts became prominent, so did a new emotion: doubt.
XXX
Jarek sucked what remained on his claws. Pranee certainly held many talents in the kitchen, desserts especially. Of course, he took care this time not to make too much of a pig of himself. Mostly because he knew Sisu was watching. But there would be plenty of times later for such things.
As he stepped into the night air, he released a burp towards it. Immediately an aftertaste hit his nose, but it wasn't unpleasant. It wasn't as if burping wasn't anything unusual for him. His sister had often complained of his burps when they were young. His love of sweets had been ingrained back then, so of course, burping after a binge was normal for him. Though he never did reach the levels he had reached during his early period as a dragon. Had his sister been around she would have scolded him something fierce. He wasn't sure if it were these new dragon instincts, but he felt an inner beast had been released.
"How was the food?"
Jarek looked to his left to see Sisu standing near the side of the house.
"Well hey, Ms. Datu! Don't worry I didn't pig out too much, see the gut?" Jarek stuck out his gut to show it barely had any increase.
Jarek had anticipated Sisu would show some pride at this, considering how much she scolded him during his pig out, but he noticed Sisu's demeanor was different. Her usual smile lacked the same level of peppiness she was known for, and a tiny frown lay in its place.
"Sisu?" Jarek asked, breaking the playful formality they had established.
The dragoness didn't crack a smile or even laugh, but merely looked at Jarek bluntly, "Jarek, what were you doing by the river?"
"What?" Jarek questioned.
"The river, the one I found you in," Sisu clarified.
"I don't understand," Jarek answered.
"Please just tell me," Sisu's voice wasn't unkind, but seemed almost like an urging.
Jarek immediately thought about what to say. He had to play this carefully.
"You know...I was just...hanging around...doing stuff," Jarek hesitated between
each word.
"What kind of stuff?" Sisu asked ever so bluntly again.
"You know just...stuff,"
Jarek could feel the tension in the air, and at this moment, Sisu pressed once more.
"You know...I always like visiting the Heart Tribe palace, it's so roomy and spacious," Sisu began.
"I see…" Jarek felt himself trailing off towards the end, but he answered all the same.
"It's just when I step inside, It's like I know where to go, kitchen to the left, bathroom to the right, and the treasure room upstairs.
"Actually it's to the right," Jarek answered.
The pause hit the air like a sharp knife.
"How do you know that?" Sisu asked.
Jarek paused, his eyes growing wide, "I-I-I don't, I was just-"
"And you're nervous," Sisu stated before her eyes looked down for a brief moment as she contemplated, "The river leads from Heart...you were there weren't you, the night Heart was robbed."
"What? Sisu what are you-"
"You were the one who stole from them weren't you?" Sisu pressed.
"Look Sisu I-"
"Just tell me the truth!" Sisu urged.
Jarek paused, his mouth hanging agape, "Sisu...I…"
"Oh my gosh, it was you!" Sisu declared.
Jarek's hesitance to answer was all that she needed to figure it out. Jarek stood there, his mind racing to find an excuse or something to calm her down, but he was drawing a blank. So he said the first thing that came to mind.
"Okay fine it was me, so what?"
Perhaps not the smartest option.
"So what?! Jarek you stole from someone, my best friend's tribe! Plus you lied about it!" Sisu angrily declared.
"Well, would you have helped me had I said "Well howdy there! I stole something from Heart!"!" Jarek put on his best dopey voice to convey the point of how stupid such a decision would be.
"That doesn't matter! You stole something, then you lied to me about being a merchant!" Sisu continued.
"Technically I am a merchant," Jarek insisted, "I mean I do sell the stuff I steal for a quick buck."
Sisu let out a disgusted groan, "I can't believe I had a criminal in my house!"
"Woah I'm not a criminal!" Jarek protested.
"You steal for a living! That's like the definition of a criminal!" Sisu continued, her displeasure clear and day.
"What would you know? I mean you're a dragon, you spend all day being loved and adored by people, while some of us have to struggle to get by!" Jarek argued.
"You can be more than just some thief, you've shown me that!" Sisu counterargued.
"Yeah? Well, it's not like I asked for this!" Jarek spat.
"Like it or not you're a dragon now, and the one thing we dragons don't do is steal! I mean you broke my trust! Trust was like the major focal point of the whole thing with the Dragon Gem!"
Jarek made a scoffing noise, "Trust? Yeah, I trusted someone and I got knifed in the gut!"
Sisu stared hard at Jarek, "Well maybe you trusted the wrong person...just like-"
"What? Like me?" Jarek snapped.
No words escaped Sisu's mouth, though a strong hesitance lay plastered upon her face.
"Whatever, I don't need this," Jarek said, turning around in a huff.
"Jarek wait!" Sisu called, but it was too late.
The former human had taken enough and stormed off as dark clouds gathered in the sky. All Sisu could do was stand there and regret.