Vignette 7 - Supper of the Dragons

*And now, a minor additional crossover with...The Slayers.*

*Grumble* The things I do to expand my magical repertoire...

The above line of thought came from one Lina Inverse, young sorceress from another realm-one that was outside the Fire Emblem multiverse, no less! Thanks to her experimenting with a instant-travel portal spell, the mistress of the legendary (and infamous) Dragon Slave had accidentally transported herself and her three companions to Askr. Now the four needed to find the necessary ingredients in order for her to cast the spell again and get them back to their own realm, and that, unfortunately...took money. Thus, they were forced to take odd jobs in the town next to Castle Askr, where they learned all about the Order of Heroes from word-of-mouth. Blonde and not-as-bright swordsman Gourry Gabriev, he who wielded the Sword of Light, joined up with a small construction crew as a laborer; Zelgadis Graywords, accidental chimera in search of a cure for his condition, took a position with the local smithy; and Amelia Wil Tesla Saillune, youngest princess of Saillune and an accomplished white magician, volunteered as an aide at the local parish. Which left Lina...working as a server at a rather prominent inn in town. Meaning she had to deal with her very by-the-book boss of a host and innkeeper.

"Inverse!"

Speaking of...Lina, apron over her usual garb, walked over to the innkeeper, a middle-aged woman you'd almost mistake for actress and Robin Hood: Men In Tights cast member Megan Cavanagh, to receive her latest task. "Yes, ma'am?"

The innkeeper briefly flicked off a bit of dust on Lina's left shoulder before she spoke. "Tonight, we have a private party for some members of the Order of Heroes in one of our back rooms."

"Uh-huh, a private party..." Lina said with a nod of her head.

"You are to take their orders..." the innkeeper instructed.

"Got it, take their orders..." Lina repeated to herself.

"Be correct-"

"Right, be 100% correct-"

"And of course, be polite-"

"Absolutely, be polite-"

"And most of all: PUSH the mulled wine, we're unfortunately stuck with it!"

"Push the mulled wine..." Lina repeated as she jotted it down on her little notepad. "We're stuck-"

"Not that part!" the innkeeper emphasized. "Now go!"

"Yes ma'am, right away ma'am!" Lina replied. "(Touchy, touchy...)"

As Lina headed off to the back room where the private party was seated, the innkeeper shook her head before briefly looking our way. "Can't get any good help today...!"

Lina soon found the door to the room, with a little sign that said "Private Gathering" hanging from it. On opening the door, she found herself quite astonished by who was behind it. They weren't just members of the Order of Heroes she'd heard so much about; though they were in human form, Lina could tell-all who were seated at the table were dragons. Some had very visible features that indicated as such, be they pointy ears, visible wings, or a specific shade of green for hair color. All exuded an aura that Lina could sense, and it was one she was quite familiar with.

No way...she thought to herself....I wonder if Filia knows any of them...Based on what Lina was hearing, it appeared that the gathering was some sort of...interdimensional family reunion?

"It is so good to see all of you here," Naga of Realm-I said with a smile on her face. "Rare is the occasion where our brother Askr has everything in perfect alignment for us to catch up on things. I know each of you have your own realms to watch over, but thanks to his allies in Vanaheimr, they will be left untouched until the conflict with Embla is resolved." Aside from Naga, those in attendance included her daughters Tiki (both younger and older versions) and Nagi, along with their longtime guardian, the fire dragon Bantu; Valentia's dragons, Mila and her brother Duma, both also of Realm-I; Nowi and Nah, both from two future eras of Realm-I; Ninian and her brother Nils, ice dragons from Realm-III; Fae, the youngest divine dragon, from the future of Realm-III; Myrrh of Realm-IV; King Deghinsea, his son Prince Kurthnaga, and the Prince's subordinate Ena, all from Realm-V; Corrin and Korrinna, along with their respective future children Kana and Kuro, as well as their retainer Lilith, from Realm-VI; Sothis, Rhea (aka Seiros), Seteth (aka Cichol), and Flayn (aka Cethleann) of Realm-X; and Lumera, Alear, and Alara of Realm-XI.

"Agreed, cousin," Mila chimed in while she looked over towards two more of their number. "It also affords us to connect with those newer generations among us, along with the more distant relations in the family." She was referring to some of the newer faces at the table, namely those faces from Realms-X and XI.

"Much appreciated, dear cousin Mila," Flayn said with a slight bow of her head.

"Sorry that Indech and Macuil couldn't make it," Sothis said with a shrug, "but they send their regards." She then noticed out of the corner of her eye that Rhea was avoiding some of the food on her plate. "(Seiros, please quit fiddling with your vegetables and just eat them.)"

"(Yes, mother,)" Rhea replied as she speared one with her fork and ate it, if a bit reluctantly. The sight of this left Lina dumbfounded, especially considering Sothis looked young enough to be Rhea's daughter.

"The gesture is much appreciated," Naga said. "Be sure to pass along ours in return." She then focused on those next to the dragons of Fódlan. "Lumera, it's been far too long. I mean, your children have grown quite a lot since the last time we spoke!"

"Not just physically, mind you," Lumera said in turn. "They've also become quite skilled with the sword. I couldn't be more proud than I already am!"

"Mother..." both Alear and Alara said, growing a bit pink with embarrassment.

"How come you have hair with two different colors?" Nowi asked the Elyos twins. "I get the eye thing, it happens-but hair?"

"You know, I've never really pondered that till now," Alear replied as he briefly fiddled with one of his bangs.

It was then that the party of dragons heard someone clear their throat, causing them to turn towards Lina, feeling a bit awkward for having unintentionally intruded on their conversation.

"Um...hi," she greeted as she quickly got out her pad and pencil. "Does anyone want soup?"

"Er...do you think you can come back in a little while?" Nah asked in turn, feeling a bit awkward herself.

"We really want to make the most of this time to talk," (older) Tiki added. "This might be our last supper together for another millennia!"

"Hey, cut me some slack, it's my first order!" Lina responded. "Look, just one little question and I'll get out of your hair-are you all together, or is it separate checks?" The party of dragons made some dismissive sounds and motions in response. "Okay, okay, yeesh..."

"Regarding a more important matter," Nagi began to say, "some of us have been wondering if there's been any headway in terms of finding a cure for draconic degeneration."

"Unfortunately, a definitive answer is still not within our grasp," Seteth responded. "In comparing notes with Corrin and Lumera, we currently remain at an inconclusive stage." Nagi frowned at that. "In spite of that, Castle Askr's library has proven to be a great resource, as have the many mages and scholars among our friends and comrades in the Order of Heroes, so we won't be losing hope any time soon."

"That's reassuring to hear," Mila said. "Thankfully, this condition is more of a rare occurrence among those of us in Realm-I, though I do often worry about who among us might be affected more severely."

"Duma?" Lina asked, startling the normally-stoic divine dragon patron of Rigel and getting his attention; he'd been listening intently to the conversation, considering the secret he was keeping about himself, that he almost thought Lina had somehow found him out.

"How do you know my name?" he asked in a firm voice, attempting to regain the iota of dignity he thought lost with his prior response.

"...Your nametag?" Lina replied, pointing to the identifier in question on his chest plate.

Duma looked down, realizing he'd forgotten he had that there; in fact, all the other dragons in attendance had nametags. "Oh," he said, before resuming his super-serious demeanor. "What do you want?"

"Can I interest you in a beverage?" Lina asked in turn, putting on her best salesgirl face. "The mulled wine comes highly-recommended, rated best in town!"

Duma sighed wearily before giving her a dismissive wave. "NO-now leave us. Do not make me say it twice."

"All right, all right. Goddess..." Lina said semi-placatingly.

"Yes?" Naga, Mila, Sothis, and Lumera all responded inquisitively.

"What?" Lina responded.

"What?" Naga asked.

"...What?" a confused Lina replied.

"Yes?" Sothis asked.

Lina, befuddled, rolled her eyes in slight exasperation. "Goddess...!"

"What?" Mila asked confusedly.

"Yes?" Lina asked in turn.

"What?" Lumera asked.

"W-well, you-you said 'what'..." Lina tried to answer, pointing at all four.

"What?" Naga, Mila, Sothis, and Lumera asked, still perplexed; it was a sentiment shared by the other dragons at the table.

Lina scratched her head absent-mindedly with the back of her pencil, before throwing her hands up in 'surrender'. "Forget it, never mind..."

The door to the room then opened, and in walked a teen boy wearing the uniform of Garreg Mach Officer's Academy from Realm-X, though without the jacket. He was carrying an easel and other art supplies in his hands.

"Hi, Ignatz, you made it!" Sothis greeted the newcomer.

"Oh! Uh, that's good, I was afraid I was late," the bespectacled student replied, before bowing in the presence of the other dragons.

Lina was confused by this new development. "Hang on, what's-?"

"It's all good," Sothis said. "I commissioned him to do a group portrait of us."

Ignatz put his supplies down as he took in the scene before him, inspecting it with his artistic eye. "Hmm..."

"Something wrong, Ignatz?" Flayn asked.

Ignatz finished thinking over his initial ideas before he answered her. "Well...it's just that as-is, all I'll be getting are the backs of most of you." He gave it some more thought before he hit upon an idea. "All right, I think I've got something-if I could have those of you on the left side of the table move to the other side, then arrange yourselves with tallest in the back and shortest in front, we should be good to go. Will that be okay?"

The dragons on the left side of the table made some affirmative responses or gestures as they got up from their seats, with the stronger ones lifting the benches and moving them to the other side, where the dragons on that half moved and rearranged their positions based on Ignatz's suggestion. Ignatz himself then set up his easel, put his canvas on it, and quickly mixed up his paints. When his mixtures were ready, he looked up at the group of dragons and instantly saw the composition he was looking for.

"Okay, and...hold it!" he said while pointing his brush at the group. The painting that resulted from his efforts would later be hung in the gallery of Askr Castle, where those who looked at it marveled at the wondrous work Ignatz had done. (While also chuckling a bit at the unexpected addition to the group, as a flustered, caught-unawares Lina had wound up in the shuffle of the dragons' impromptu game of 'musical chairs', with her holding her silvery platter up behind Naga's head. Some observers even remarked how it almost looked like a halo...)