Chapter 2 – Lily's Relatives

The dragons watched as Bowser disappeared into the forest with Kalypso, Kip, and Kass close behind. They turned around to their huts, feeling very relieved to be back home.

"Boy, howdy!" exclaimed Jakkin. "That was one eventful vacation!"

"Tell me about it," said Lily. "So much fun, that's what I can say about our trip all around the Hawaiian Islands, and I really loved everything about it, including all those souvenirs I collected during our travels!"

Lily unpacked her bags and showed her friends all of her souvenirs. They were very impressed with what she bought. Some of them were accessories while others were decorations.

"Wow, you sure have quite the collection, Lily," said Draco. "This is very impressive."

"Come to my hut everyone!" beamed Lily. "I'm going to make you all some really delicious lunch!"

"Yes, some grub!" said Torden, licking his lips.

"I'm starving," said Draco. "I could do with a large helping of some pizza or dim sums."

"Well, you guys are going to get what you're craving," smiled Lily. "Let's get cooking!"

So Lily brought her friends into her hut and got to work preparing a banquet for them. She made several pizzas, each with different toppings, followed by some dim sums packed in baskets, and then an assortment of sweet pastries for dessert. The dragons could sniff the aroma, and already their mouths were watering.

"Oh, boy, this smells good," they said. "When will they be done, Lily?"

"Hang in there, guys," said Lily as she made some touch-ups on the dishes. "Lunch is almost ready."

And soon it was. When Lily served the feast, all the dragons chowed down away at the food. Percival, Cynder, and Lily daintily ate their dishes as they watched Draco, Jakkin, Torden, and Darky ravenously stuffing their faces. They still could not get used to their appalling table manners.

"You four are eating as if you never had anything for a long time," said Percival. "When are you ever going to learn to ease up?"

"Oh, well," said Draco. "The food in Hawaii was great, but Lily's was so much better."

However, Draco's voice was muffled as his mouth was stuffed with food, which made it hard for the others to understand what he was saying.

"For goodness sakes, Draco," said Percival. "Please don't talk with your mouth full. Swallow your food, and then speak."

Draco shrugged before gulping down his food, but before he could speak what he was saying beforehand, he let off a loud, resonant belch. Cynder sweated with embarrassment while desperately trying not to laugh. Jakkin and Torden applauded, and Lily snickered quietly to herself. Percival, on the other hand, was not amused.

"Talk about disgusting," he grumbled.

"What was saying was that the food in Hawaii was great," said Draco. "But Lily's cooking is a lot better, so I couldn't but enjoy the food with so much enthusiasm."

"That makes a lot of sense," said Torden. "Lily is one heck of a cook and she can make even the simplest dishes into something very scrumptious, succulent, and mouth-watering."

"I'm very glad to hear that you like what I cook Draco," smiled Lily. "So your table manners are pardoned."

"There's nothin' like having the original after being out for so long, that's for sure," said Jakkin as he finished his pizza.

Darky relaxed on his seat as he rubbed his now bloated belly. "That really hits the spot," he said. "Thank you for this delicious lunch, Lily."

"Guess we better head back to our huts, though I'm thinking of doing a bit of a workout to get me pumped up for whenever we have to fight again," said Torden, and he turned to Jakkin. "Hey, Jakk, wanna be my sparring partner?"

"With pleasure, Torden," said Jakkin as he got up from his seat.

"I'll be doing a bit of meditating in my hut," said Percival.

"Myself, I'm going to read some of my books," said Cynder. "It's been ages since I've checked out my library."

"It's good to see that you guys are going to unwind with your hobbies after that vacation," said Lily. "What about you, Draco? Got anything planned to do in your room?"

"Actually, I'm going to be at Percival's and play his arcade games," said Draco. "Surely, it shouldn't affect his meditating, right?"

"No, not at all, Draco," said Percival. "The game machine is all yours to play."

"May all of you enjoy yourselves," said Lily. "I myself am going to take a nap and then redecorate my hut. This last couple of weeks has been quite a busy one, and I sure hope we don't have anything to worry about for the time being."

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Surprised, yet curious, Lily went to answer. The others thought it could either be Bowser or Tails and Blaze.

"Who's there?" asked Lily.

"Lily, is that you?" called an unfamiliar female voice.

"It really is you!" exclaimed another voice, this time, a male.

The other dragons never heard those two new voices before, but Lily was the only one who recognised. "Aunt Iris? Uncle Linden?" she asked.

"You do remember!" said Iris, happily. "Please let us in!"

So Lily opened the door, and a pair of dragons entered. Linden was a tall green dragon with a blond mane while Iris is a dark purple dragoness, also with a blonde mane. They smiled at Lily, having not seen her for a long time.

"My goodness, Lily," said Linden. "You have sprouted into a beautiful dragoness. How's your grandmother Peony?"

"She's doing fine, and thanks for the compliment," said Lily. "How did you two find me?"

"We have moved to Japan not too long ago," replied Iris. "And we've been hearing rumours about a pink dragoness living around the area, which made us think of you, so we decided to see how you are since it's been very long since we've seen each other."

"Thanks, Uncle Linden and Aunt Iris," said Lily as she gave them a hug. "Oh, I'd like you to meet my friends! Say hello to Cynder, Draco, Jakkin, Torden, Percival, and Darky! Guys, say to my aunt and uncle!"

"Pleased to meet you two," said the dragons.

"My, that's some wonderful friends you have made there, Lily," smiled Iris. "How did you meet them?"

"It's a bit of a long story," said Lily. "I met first Draco, Cynder, and Darky while I was back in Norway in my hometown of Tromso. They invited me to join their group as they were looking for new friends, so after my best friend Torden decided to align with them, I did the same, and we all had a lot of adventures together. We just came back from a trip in Hawaii."

"Wow, that sounds like you had fun," said Linden. "It's good to know that you have friends to hang around with."

"They're a lot of fun, in spite of the ups and downs would occasionally have," said Lily.

Linden and Iris smiled. Then, they remembered something.

"Lily," they began. "Now that we have found you, there's a favour we'd like you to do for us."

"A favour?" asked Lily. "What kind of favour?"

"This is going to be a surprise to you, Lily," said Iris. "If you accept this, you're going to meet your baby cousin Flora for the first time."

"Well that's good news to he-WHAT?!" exclaimed Lily. "You two have a kid already?"

"That's right," said Linden, feeling very proud. "She's just an infant, but she's growing up into a cute one."

"Oh, sweet," said Lily. "Congratulations, Uncle Linden and Aunt Iris!"

"Thanks, but here's the thing," continued Linden. "Iris and I are going out to do some shopping, and we can't leave our little one on her own. Normally, we'd seek out one of them day care places, but since you're here, I'm sure you could take up the job of babysitting, right?"

Lily thought for a moment. "Okay! I'll be happy to babysit!" she said, happily.

"That's wonderful to hear," smiled Iris.

"However, doing the job alone might be a handful for me," said Lily.

"Maybe your friends can come along and help," suggested Linden.

"Sounds like a good plan," said Lily, and she turned to her friends. "Hey, guys, I was wondering if you'd like to come and help me look after my baby cousin Flora."

All the dragons looked awkwardly at each other. Much as they were close to Lily, they were not so keen on the idea of babysitting, especially when they had other things planned. But there was one dragon Lily knew had no excuse.

"Draco," she began. "How would you like to help me babysit my little cousin?"

"Me?" exclaimed the Charizard as he sweated nervously. "Wha-what makes you think I'd look after a little kid?"

"Oh, come on, Draco," said Lily. "Your video games can wait as it's not really that important, and besides, you and Cynder are always with Darky."

"Just go with Lily, Draco," said Cynder, impatiently. "This is just going to last for a day, you know."

"Alright, fine," conceded Draco. "I'll help you, Lily."

"Oh, big bro, let me come too," said Darky. "I wanna see the little baby dragon girl."

"Sure, you can," smiled Lily. "The more, the merrier, like I always say."

"Perfect," said Linden and Iris. "Now follow me, you three. We shall reach Minabe Village in no time."

Author's Note: Here is where we see theme naming for Lily and her family as they're all named after flowers.