Rawr, everybody! This week's chapter sees us back in Vale. Enjoy!
Soon after the opening ceremony viewing in the crowded common room, Team SSSN's room was turned into the site of a very enthusiastic Dragon Festival viewing party. Teams JNPR and SSSN spent most of the night preparing for the next few days. All projects and homework that had been assigned previously were finished. All mini fridges were packed with snacks, many of which were homemade by Ren, Scarlet, and Sage.
During the first day, a Monday, the eight teens were wholly devoted to being glued to Pyrrha's flatscreen. Whenever they weren't in classes, they were watching the Festival, hoping to catch a glimpse of Team RWBY.
Just then, they were watching a new beauty contest exclusively for members of the new pigmy dragon species. Nora giggled as the tiny, silver-freckled dragons were led in a circle in one of the smaller arenas. "They are pretty cute," she admitted.
"Hopefully, they get enough mental stimulation, and aren't just treated like designer pets," Ren noted, frowning a little as he looked at the fancy collars, tail rings, and bangle bracelets that the dog-sized creatures wore.
Pyrrha was sitting on the floor next to Jaune, cuddled contentedly against his side as they shared a bowl of popcorn. It was amazing how simple and natural this position felt.
Their "talk" about the change in their relationship, which happened a little after Team RWBY left, lasted a grand thirty seconds.
Jaune had been holding her hand as they walked back from the stalls and suddenly asked: "So…are we a thing now?"
Pyrrha had squeezed his hand gently as she responded with another question. "Do you want us to be?"
"Yeah!" Jaune's response had been immediate, and he belatedly wondered if it had been a little too quick to say something. "I mean, sure. I mean…"
Pyrrha had silenced him with a kiss on the cheek. "Good. Me too."
Scarlet and Sage were even closer, with Scarlet curled up in his boyfriend's lap. This was rapidly becoming his favorite position to be in. As the pygmies were shown, he wondered aloud if he could find a fancy collar like that for Nimbus.
"No doubt you could," Sage murmured. "But how much would it cost?"
"Ugh. I wasn't asking for your logical statements, Sage," Scarlet huffed, rolling his eyes before snuggling closer, giggling when Sage kissed his forehead.
Neptune felt pang after pang of envy as he watched the two couples. Even Ren and Nora, who technically weren't "together-together" (though honestly, there were several bets concerning how long that would remain true), were nestled close out of sheer familiarity.
If only it was that easy for Neptune. He'd be able to scoot closer to Sun, who was only a foot away, munching contentedly on some chips. He could brush his friend's wrist with shy fingertips, feel that firm, warm hand grasping his own. Then Sun's tail would come up and wrap snugly around his waist…
Stop! he thought, firmly quashing his fantasy before it could get out of hand. Don't start being weird again. Even though Sun's interest in Blake had apparently waned down to friendship, the likelihood of him returning Neptune's feelings was probably somewhere between zero and as if.
"I wonder if the pygmies are as smart as elementals," Sun said, looking at the dozy expression of a pastel-pink one. "I mean, they do have Dust in them."
"I'd be willing to guess that they're smarter than broodies, but not as smart as full elementals," Neptune decided. "I mean, they use just enough gravity Dust to keep the dragons from growing too much, and there's really no other purpose for them."
"They could be good for other things," Sage said thoughtfully. "If they're more intelligent than broodies, they're probably more intelligent than dogs. They could be used as law enforcement units, or for search and rescue missions that require a more delicate approach."
"Like if someone is buried in an avalanche?"
"Exactly!"
"This actually does remind me of a dog show," Jaune realized as he watched the judges examine a green and blue-patched pygmy. "How can they tell what the standard is for the breed? Pygmies only became a thing last year!"
"Pfft. Standard." Nora rolled her eyes. "If a dragon's healthy, that's standard enough."
Ren felt a pang as he suddenly realized something. "I suppose watching is all Riders like me can do. If I ever put Ao Guang in a show, his gill deformity would immediately be discovered."
There was a moment of silence as everyone digested this information. "That applies to Titan as well," Pyrrha sighed. "Unless he develops his fire abilities late."
"Twiggy's obviously a runt, so there's no hiding that," Jaune muttered.
"Same with Nimbus's eyes," added Scarlet. "Anyone can see they're messed up."
A somber cloud descended on the eight as memories of Tornado's death pierced their minds like needles. The same question was on all their minds: "What will happen as our dragons grow older? Will the Council order more culls? Who will be next?"
Without a word, Jaune reached for the remote and turned off the television. "I suddenly want to go play with Twiggy."
The others agreed, and hurried to the stables.
The first-year dragons were all outside, still drinking in the novelty of being allowed to just walk out of their stalls whenever they wanted. During the weekend, Riders had been encouraged to go out without their dragons and let them get used to wandering independently. Already, several of the earth dragons had taken to paddling in the mud pools. The fire dragons scuffled on the dry grass. The water dragons rolled around in the dew-covered stones in the morning. The wind dragons climbed the sides of the cliff that stood near their stable, and looked down from the dizzying heights with wide, eager eyes.
The eight found their dragons in the huge stable yard, which was an expanse of grass dotted with trees, shrubs, and a few ponds, and stretched for three square miles before ending at the Emerald Forest.
The dragons were all in different states of play. Twiggy was encouraging Zircon to play tag with her and Titan. Nymph sat next to a dozing Freya, watching the others with a calm expression. Huo was curled up on the ground, sulking due to Fang's absence. Nimbus and Ao Guang were rolling about in the grass, trying and failing to play-fight.
At their Riders' calls, the dragons stopped what they were doing and stampeded over, causing the ground to shake under their large, growing paws.
Sun laughed as Huo headbutted him to the ground. "Easy, buddy! You're getting too big to do that!"
Huo snorted. "No, you're just getting wimpy!"
"Huo, be gentle," Nymph chided. "Sun doesn't have scales." She turned to Neptune, softly nuzzling her Rider's cheek.
Neptune laughed as Nymph's snout tickled his skin. "Hey, girl. I see you're enjoying the open space."
Nymph warbled happily, thumping her large tail on the ground.
Twiggy was purring as Jaune hugged her around the neck. "He had to jump this time!" she noted to Titan. "I'm definitely growing!"
"You sure are," Titan agreed, lowering his head so that Pyrrha could scratch him under the chin.
Zircon licked Sage's hand timidly, his eyes drawn toward a figure walking slowly across the field. He swallowed loudly when he saw who it was. "M-Mudslide…"
The others turned. Sure enough, Mudslide was wandering around the field on her own, looking strangely pensive. She sat down, stood up, glanced at the other dragons, stood up, turned away, and sat down again.
The Riders followed their dragons' gazes and also noticed Mudslide. "You think she's okay?" Jaune asked.
"She's probably still in mourning," Pyrrha guessed. "Dragon siblings are very close, after all."
Twiggy's ears twitched. "Maybe we should go over and try talking to her."
The other dragons gaped at her. "Are you shitting me?" Huo snorted. "After all she did to you?"
"Her brother was killed!" Twiggy snapped. "I feel bad for her, even if she is a bully!"
"You have a big heart, Twiggy," Titan noted. "But she may not want to talk to us."
"Pit knew how to talk to her," Zircon muttered. "I wish he was back."
"I could look for Barracuda or Tank," Nymph suggested.
Jaune noticed a human figure approaching Mudslide. "It's Sky."
The group watched as Sky walked over to the earth dragon. Without hesitation, he wrapped his arms around her neck. The shaking of his shoulders was obvious, even from a distance. Mudslide's wings unfurled and wrapped around the former Wind Rider, hiding him entirely from sight.
Teams JNPR and SSSN quickly turned away and walked further down the field, suddenly feeling like they were intruding on something very intimate.
"Mudslide's been pretty off lately," Twiggy noted. "She's not just sad. She's angry, but a different angry from when she attacked me before. She growls whenever Cardin tells her to do something, and she doesn't seem to be trying hard in class anymore."
"I'd growl at Cardin too if I was her!" Ao Guang snorted. He glanced over his shoulder, feeling a large amount of pity for both her and Sky. "I wish I could cheer them up." An idea occurred to him. "Maybe Cardin will go away, and Sky will be Mudslide's new Rider, and everyone will be happy!" He bounced up and down at the thought.
"I don't think that'll happen," Nymph sighed. "Even though that would be nice."
"Sky comes into the wind stables a lot," Nimbus said, his fins drooping sadly. "He talks to all of us, but he seems completely out of it every time. And he's stumbling… Maybe he's not eating right."
"Or sleeping right," Freya suggested.
While the dragons chatted in a language their Riders couldn't understand, their scales and claws were casually inspected for any dirt or blemishes. Of course, they were in perfect condition.
"I might get Freya some claw polish," Nora said, looking at her dragon's paws. "She's so lazy, she'd probably hold still the whole time I was painting them."
If you paint them quietly, you'd better believe I'm not moving! Freya thought, yawning and curling herself around her Rider. It was still a little chilly, after all. The small human probably needed a shield from the cold.
Ren watched Ao Guang bouncing in a circle around the others, a soft smile on his face. "I wonder if there are toys that help dragons exercise on their own."
"I'm sure there are, but Guang certainly doesn't need any help!" Pyrrha chuckled.
"I don't think any of them do." Neptune smiled fondly at Nymph. "Right, Nymph? You're developing all your swimming muscles perfectly!"
Nymph bobbed her head proudly, her eyes glittering at the easy smile on her Rider's face. He still flinched at the first contact with water, and his movements were very stiff, but he was improving. Within a few months, Nymph was willing to bet that Neptune would be totally over his fears. She hoped so, because swimming was so much fun, and she desperately wanted to enjoy it with her beloved partner.
Huo stiffened, letting out a warning growl as he noticed a familiar water dragon approaching with her Rider.
"Russel," Pyrrha greeted, inclining her head.
"Hey," Russel muttered. "Um, you guys know that one Faunus girl, right?"
There was a pause. A fearful jolt went through all eight of them. Had someone let slip Blake's secret?
"You know, the one with the rabbit ears," Russel continued. "What's her name…?"
The collective sigh of relief was barely contained.
"Why are you looking for her?" Sun asked, his tail lashing. "Wanna see if you can actually take her ears off when you pull them this time?" His eyes flashed angrily.
Russel winced. "No. I, uh…" He rubbed the back of his neck. "Dove and I have been talking. Ever since we started distancing ourselves from Cardin…I dunno, it's suddenly super clear how much of an ass he is. And how assholish we've been, you know?"
Pyrrha quickly realized what he was getting at. "You want to apologize to Velvet?"
Russel nodded. "Yeah. I mean, she probably won't forgive me, but she should know I won't be acting like an ass to her anymore."
The Riders looked at each other with mild surprise, though it was certainly a pleasant surprise. "She's at the Festival now, but we'll tell her you want to talk to her when she gets back," Jaune promised.
"Cool," Russel muttered. "Well, I'm gonna go. See yah."
Barracuda was regarding the other dragons coldly, unsure of how else to be around dragons that apparently weren't her enemies anymore.
"Hi," Ao Guang ventured, though he remained several paces away from his former bully, distinctly remembering several past injuries.
Barracuda blinked once, and nodded just barely before following her Rider toward a distant pond.
Pyrrha shook her head. "It's a shame it took such a tragedy to get them to start changing for the better."
"Hopefully, there won't be any more." Jaune put a protective hand on Twiggy's shoulder, closing his eyes as his dragon nudged his arm gently. "I'll keep you safe, girl."
Twiggy purred, though there was a tremor of apprehension in her voice. Sky was tough, and he hadn't been able to protect Tornado. There were clearly forces at work that were more powerful than her Rider. She wished she knew how to just make them disappear forever.
One glance at the others told her that they were thinking similar thoughts. However, for their Riders' sakes, the dragons continued to warble and purr and act like they still believed that their Riders could easily fix every problem that came their way.
Our little dragonets have become disillusioned with the world. It's a tragedy that happens to everyone. Next week will have some Festival contests, and a moment with Ilia and her dragon. See you then!
If you like what you see and want to show extra support while earning sweet rewards, my P/atreon is Solora Goldsun.
Peace out!