Rawr, everyone! Happy Dragon Tuesday! Also, happy Volume 5 premiere for all non-FIRST members. I ended up throwing in the money to be FIRST, because there's no way I'm waiting until after work in the evening on TUESDAY to watch new episodes. Waiting until evening on Saturday is bad enough…

Without spoilers, I think it's promising. There are some things that concern me, but overall, I'm excited. I'll probably talk more in the update to "Shattered Moon," when I'm sure everyone's seen it.

Anyway, enjoy!

That same evening, the rest of Jaune's family arrived. As soon as the airship doors opened, a yellow-haired six year old girl came barreling out, running full-speed into Jaune's arms. She laughed as she was easily lifted up and twirled around. "Jaune's here! Jaune's here!" she shouted.

Jaune let out a wheezing breath as he put her down. "You're gonna be too big for that soon, Jenny." He looked toward the ship. "Are Mommy and Katie okay?"

Jenny stuck out her tongue. "No. They're wimps."

"Hey!" Jaune ruffled her short, yellow hair. "I get airsickness too. Does that make me a wimp?"

"Yep!"

"You're a jerk."

"You're a bigger jerk!"

"Runt."

"Dork."

Pyrrha smiled at the banter, which she gathered was a relatively normal thing for Jaune's family. It must be nice having so many siblings, she mused. You'd never be lonely.

At that moment, a sandy-haired woman emerged from the ship, gripping the hand of a very pale twelve year old. A toddler of about four years walked on her other side. Out of the three, the toddler was the only one who didn't look close to throwing up.

"You okay?" Jaune called over, waiting patiently for his mom and other sisters to approach.

Joan Arc forced a smile. "Oh, I'm okay, sweetie. Give it a few minutes, and I'll be just fine." The twelve year old girl just groaned.

The toddler's face lit up when she saw Jaune. A huge smile illuminated everything, from her bright blue eyes to her rosy cheeks. "Big brother!" she squeaked, trying to run over to him, but quickly tripping and falling on her face.

Jaune closed the distance between them and easily scooped her up. "Hey, Silvia!" He kissed her red cheek and ruffled her hair. "You got an owie?"

Silvia giggled. "No owie. I'm really, really tough. See?" She scrunched her face up in what she surely thought was a tough expression.

"You sure are, kiddo," Jaune said, nodding gravely. "It takes a very strong Arc to not get sick on airships."

Jenny pouted, tugging on Jaune's coat. "Hey, I didn't get sick either!" She looked over at Pyrrha, Ren, and Nora. "Are those your teammates?"

"Sure are." Jaune glanced at his mother and Katie as they made their way over. "Everyone, this is Pyrrha, Ren, and Nora. Guys, this is my mom, Katie, Jenny, and Silvia."

Jenny and Silvia both stared wide-eyed at their brother's teammates. Katie looked at them, saw Ren, and quickly hid behind her mother's back, her cheeks flushing.

Joan smiled gently. "It's a pleasure to meet you all. I'm sorry you have to see me like this."

"Not at all!" Pyrrha assured her. "We already knew about Jaune's airsickness. It's a common thing for many people." She noticed the suitcases being unloaded. "Would you like help with your luggage, Mrs. Arc?"

Joan's smile widened. "Thank you, that would be very helpful. But none of that 'Mrs. Arc,' sweetie. It makes me feel old. Just call me Joan."

The rest of Team JNPR hurried to get the bags while Jaune continued to carry Silvia, who staunchly refused to be put down. They walked toward the guest rooms just as a dragon swooped low overhead. Silvia yelped and hid her face against Jaune's shoulder. Jaune gently rubbed her back until the dragon was out of sight.

When Silvia chanced to look up again, tears were spilling down her cheeks. "That was big…"

Jaune wiped her face with his sleeve. "You know, Silv, I have a dragon now."

Silvia sniffled. "Is it scary?"

"No," he assured her. "Twiggy's the friendliest dragon in the world."

"Dragons are big and have big teeth," Silvia insisted. "I'm small. They'll eat me up!" She smacked her hands together and made a chomping noise. "Like that!"

"Aw, dragons won't eat you up, kiddo," Jaune promised her. "They haven't eaten me. They haven't eaten Daddy, Mary, Sapphire, June, or Autumn."

"They're all bigger," Silvia said stubbornly. "I'm small."

"You know," Pyrrha cut in, falling into step with Jaune as she carried two of Joan's large duffel bags. "Our friend Ruby met a fully-grown dragon when she was even younger than you, and they became best friends. She wasn't eaten at all."

Silvia gave Pyrrha a skeptical look. "Really?"

"Yes. And I'm willing to bet she was smaller than you."

Silvia pondered this for a moment, but was quickly distracted when she realized something else. "Hey! You're the pretty cereal girl!" She looked at Jaune. "Big brother, is she your girlfriend?"

Jaune and Pyrrha's faces turned bright red while Nora burst out laughing and Jenny let out a loud "OOOOOOOH!" Joan, mercifully, came to her son's rescue.

"Sweetie, why don't you let me take Silvia? It looks like Ren's having trouble with that trunk."

He wasn't, but Jaune hurried to help him just the same.

When they got up to where the two rooms Johann had reserved were, they heard talking and laughing coming from nearby. "And then, Iggy fell right into the pool! It took ages to wash all the chlorine from his scales!"

An answering laugh sounded. "Man, I'm not sure what we would've done if Phoenix had been like that."

"Johann?" Joan called.

A moment later, Johann strode out of the room, followed by a man with tanned skin and lighter blond hair. "Hey, honey! Get this: We're rooming right next to Taiyang here! He's Ruby and Yang's dad."

Ruby and Yang ran out of the room. "Hey, Jaune!" Yang said. "Your dad and sisters are totally cool!"

"Yeah, we are," Jenny said, smirking proudly.

Silvia let out a gasp, suddenly wriggling in Joan's arms. "Doggy! Mommy, look! It's a doggy!"

Jaune followed Silvia's gaze. Sure enough, a black and white corgi had padded out of the room and was watching the Arcs curiously. He yipped excitedly at Silvia's enthusiasm.

"Hold it, Jenny!" Joan said, trying to get control over a struggling Silvia as Jenny moved forward with an outstretched arm. "Ask Mister Xiao Long first if you can pet his dog."

Taiyang grinned. "No problem. His name's Zwei, and he's used to dealing with troubled dragons. A few kids won't even faze him."

Silvia gasped. "Doesn't the doggy get eaten up?"

"Of course not!" Taiyang chuckled. "He's friends with my dragons."

"See, Silv?" Jaune smiled. "Zwei's even smaller than you, and dragons don't eat him. What do you say to meeting Twiggy later on? I promise you'll be safe."

Silvia thought for a moment, then nodded. "Okay. Can I pet the doggy?"

Jenny was already kneeling on the floor, giggling as Zwei licked her face. Silvia eagerly joined her, patting the corgi's back and squeaking as he spun around, barking happily.

Katie walked over slowly, holding out her hand for Zwei to sniff. She smiled for the first time as a warm tongue licked her palm.

Jaune grinned. "Looks like you're feeling better, Katie. Want to say hi to my friends?"

Katie blushed, glanced around, and waved once before quickly walking into the room her mother was entering.

Johann smiled fondly after his daughter. "She prefers dragons over people," he explained.

"Hey, me too!" Ruby commented. "I think we'll definitely get along."

Nora came back out of the room after putting her share of the luggage into a corner. She jumped up and down, unable to stop herself as she looked at the families surrounding her. "This is gonna be the best Yule ever! Calling it right now!"

…

That evening after dinner, Jaune, Joan, and Silvia stood outside Twiggy's stall. Jaune entered first, smiling as his dragon bounded up to him and started nuzzling his shoulder. "Hey, girl," he murmured. "I need you to do me a favor, okay?"

Twiggy tilted her head and chirped. A favor? What did Jaune need her help with? She'd do whatever it was, of course.

"My little sister's outside," Jaune explained. "She's scared of dragons, but we're trying to make her not scared anymore. Since you're the smallest dragon here, she might not be scared of you."

Twiggy warbled in confusion. Scared of dragons? Why would anyone be scared of dragons? Then again, Mudslide, Barracuda, and Tornado were pretty scary. She hoped they weren't outside…

"I'm bringing you out. You need to be very quiet and gentle, okay?" Jaune continued. "No bouncing around, and no licking."

Jaune had never asked her not to bounce around or lick before. This was so strange. Still, wanting to please her partner, Twiggy bobbed her head.

"Good girl." Jaune opened the stall door. "We won't be long. I know it's getting cold."

Twiggy agreed with that, shivering as she stepped onto the ground, which now had a thin layer of whiteness that only made her colder. She danced from paw to paw, blowing the white stuff off.

Silvia yelped, hiding behind Joan's leg, her eyes on Twiggy's paws.

"Easy, Twiggy." Jaune put a hand on her neck. "Hold still. Settle."

Twiggy did, though she couldn't help but fidget just a little. She noticed the tiny thing hiding behind the other human. Both of them looked and smelled like Jaune. She took a step forward, sniffing, trying to get a better look at the tiny one. She had never seen a human so small before!

Silvia hugged her mom's leg, trembling as she watched the dragon's nostrils flaring. "S-S-Scary…"

The tiny human was shaking. She was probably cold, just like Twiggy was. She was so small, after all. Twiggy moved around the taller human, unfolding a wing and reaching for the tiny one. She could keep her warm, just like Titan always did for Twiggy with his wing.

Seeing the large wing stretching toward her, Silvia let out a terrified wail, hiding her face against Joan's leg. "Get it away!"

Twiggy jumped back, letting out a startled bark at the human's cry. What was wrong? Was the small one hurt?

Hearing the dragon's loud bark was the last straw for Silvia, who turned and bolted.

Twiggy tried to follow, only to be stopped by Jaune. They watched as the taller human scooped up the little one, whispering soothingly to her. Twiggy whimpered, her heart sinking when she saw the sad look on her partner's face. She had done something wrong. Jaune was disappointed in her. Her wings drooped and she bowed her head.

Jaune quickly turned his attention from Silvia to his dragon. "Easy, girl," he soothed. "It's not your fault. You tried. Don't be sad." When Twiggy didn't lift her head, he knelt down to kiss her snout. "Come on. Who's my best girl?"

Twiggy sniffed. Not her. She wasn't the best. She had scared the tiny one. She was definitely the worst.

Jaune tried in vain to cheer his dragon up for a few more minutes before dejectedly returning her to her stall. He put an extra apple in her food dish, hoping that would be enough to tell her that he wasn't angry or disappointed. "It's okay, Twiggy," he said again. "Sleep well. I love you." He scratched her on the neck a few inches down from her ears, where he knew she loved being scratched the most.

Twiggy chirped once in reply before flopping down on her bed of hay. She waited for Jaune's footsteps to fade before allowing herself to cry. Big, fat tears ran down her scaly cheeks and puddled in the hay. Her tail curled around her paws as she tried to make herself as small as possible. At least that wasn't too difficult for her.

As was always the case when Twiggy was sad, Titan's gentle rumble from the next stall was quick to comfort her. The larger fire dragon's quiet words were soothing to Twiggy, as they always were, but she didn't think she'd be falling asleep any time soon. Still, she warbled gratefully to her brother and closed her eyes.

…..

When Jaune returned to the dorm room, his shoulders slumped, Pyrrha immediately walked over. "Did it not go well?" she asked, touching his arm.

Jaune shook his head. "She was scared, and now Twiggy's depressed because she thinks she did something wrong."

"Aw, what happened?" Nora asked, sitting up, ready to run over and give her leader a hug if necessary.

Jaune quickly told them about the encounter. "I know Twiggy was trying to be comforting, but Silvia was just so scared."

"Do you have any idea why she's scared?" Ren asked. "Did she see something on TV when she was younger?"

"No. She's just really afraid of dragons." Jaune shrugged. "She's the same way with horses and big dogs, but we can keep her away from those without a problem. But what can we do about dragons? We're a family of Dragon Riders, for crying out loud! If she's terrified of our partners, what are we going to do? We'll have to either arrange for her and Mom to live separately from our house, or send her off to boarding school once she's old enough. Mom doesn't want to be away from the dragons, and none of us want to be distant from Silv, but what else can we do if we can't get her over this?!" He realized he was close to tears, and took a few deep breaths to steady himself.

Pyrrha stepped forward, gently hugging him. "Don't worry," she murmured. "Most childhood fears can be overcome, especially through regular interaction with the thing they're scared of. She was scared of Twiggy this time, but maybe things will be better next time."

Jaune sighed, resting his head on her shoulder. "I don't know if there will be a next time. She'll probably refuse to go near any dragons after tonight. And poor Twiggy… She just looked so sad. I kept telling her it was okay, but…"

"So, you'll check on her first thing in the morning and tell her again," Pyrrha said firmly. "Everything will be fine, Jaune. We just need to handle one problem at a time. Let your mother and father figure out what to do about Silvia. She's their responsibility. Twiggy is yours, and you're doing a grand job."

Jaune took a few more deep breaths, drawing comfort from Pyrrha's strong arms and confident voice. "Okay," he murmured. "Thanks, Pyrrha."

"You're welcome." Pyrrha squeezed him once before stepping back. "Now, let's go to sleep. We have a whole break ahead of us."

Jaune nodded, a slight smile returning to his face. "We sure do." He just hoped that his little sister and his little dragon would be okay by the end of it.

"You know," Nora commented as everyone started getting ready for bed. "I was scared of snakes when I was a kid."

"Yeah?" Jaune looked over at her. "Did you get over it?"

"Uh…" Nora noticed Ren giving her a sharp glare. "Yeah! Totally! I love snakes now! They're so…uh…slithery…"

Jaune cast a despairing look to the ceiling while Ren and Pyrrha let out simultaneous groans. "Great…" he muttered. "Just great…"

A nice mix of cuteness and angst. For those who don't know, Jaune's sisters in this and other stories are based on the personalities and names I came up with when writing "Merry Dustmas," one of my favorite commission pieces (I call it the Arkos Behemoth). When I thought about Jaune's youngest sister, I realized it would be interesting if she was afraid of dragons. I've known kids over the years who were scared of varying things at the age of four, after all. One of the kids in my neighborhood used to be terrified of my old beagle. There will be more adorableness in the future, along with Jaune being the best big brother/dragon dad in the world. I seriously love writing him in these situations!

If you like what you see and want to show extra support in exchange for rewards, my P/atreon is Solora Goldsun.

Praise Monty and peace out!