Draconis stared down at the cup in his hands, fascinated by the milky galaxy swirling within. The ceramic was cool to the touch and the colours of the drink seemed to change with every twinkle of the stars within. Between this mystery drink Edian's mother provided, her father silently gazing at him from beside her, and the toddler nagas wrapped around him, he was absolutely enamoured by her family.

"And your name is?" he asked her mother.

"By the stars! I haven't said it yet have I? I'm Mevek Agvain. The twins are Yahya and Al-Yasa," she said, and then she nudged the man beside her, "Go on. This is Edi's dearest friend."

"...Gan Jiang," he said, then with a long pause, almost as if he'd forgotten, he added on, "Drosia."

Draconis chuckled but his thoughts were on Mevek. Her name had made things even stranger since there was no way for him to not recognise the previous Empress of Astra. She had abdicated long before his birth but the lessons were embedded deep within his soul. They had to be. Any noble with half a working mind had to have a basic idea of the world. Especially of the territories right beside theirs.

"Honestly Edi, of everything you mentioned, you never uttered a word of your mother being Astran royalty."

"It's just an awkward thing to bring up," Edian muttered, sipping at her own drink, "'Yes, your majesty, my mother is the woman the war with Astra was fought over. Also, apparently, she's the one you had feelings for when you were a youth or a child or however old you were.' Of course I didn't mention it."

"I wouldn't say fought over," Mevek said with a giggle, "That makes it sound as if there was a suitor from Astra too. I simply rebuffed a proposal and said suitor decided to wage a war due to her bruised ego."

Watching with amusement as her mother's words made Edian sigh and gulp down her drink, Draconis continued to swirl his own. He still hadn't taken a single sip though even he was tempted by the allure of a cold drink in such heat. Not out of mistrust - there was little to question in this family as strange as it surely was - but out of curiosity.

"Yes, I'm well aware of the details-" the prime minister then had been a tyrant, and it had led to their wonderful tradition of the monster and its sacrifice- "but more importantly, what is this?"

Mevek's eyes flickered down to his cup, tongue flicking out before she returned to meet his gaze- "Scale milk. Do you have certain foods you can't take? I can whisk up some juice instead, or some-"

"It's not like that, mama," Edian interjected. Draconis was used to attempts on his life so even among those he trusted, he tended to have some wariness. She addressed him, reassuring, "It's made from grinded up baby scales, shed skin, and cacti water. Maybe sugar."

Now that was a combination. Reptile shed he had never even thought of consuming, and though scales could be boiled... he looked down to where the intertwined tails of the toddler nagas pulling at his hair (one constantly chittering away as the other kept silent) were wrapped around his right arm.

"Baby scales?"

"They're quite fragile and fall out often when they're young. No use letting them go to waste."

"Mama collects them for making all sorts of stuff. Food, jewellery, clothes and dyes too," Edian shrugged, "Only red dyes from the brats though."

Her siblings only had bright scarlet scales after all. Not like her mother whose age showed in the beautiful variety of sunset hues scattered along her body. Scales from adults were edible too, they just didn't come off easily unlike those of babies. And unlike naga or dragons and whatever else, her own scales weren't nearly as tasty, nor did they come off at all without injury. Meanwhile her father didn't have any at all, being a pure lizard.

Yahya squealed as they spoke, laying across Draconis' shoulders. Hissing in some foreign tongue that wasn't being spoken by anyone in the room, much less spoken anywhere on this continent, she proudly showed off her pudgy arms.

"She says the scales and shed in our drinks are hers," Gan Jiang said.

It almost made Draconis blink to see the smile on the man's face, small as it was. There was a gentleness around it and his eyes were similarly soft, though very, very sleepy. It seemed he had been watching the children on him rather than Draconis himself. His presence seemed to mean nothing at all to the man.

"Oh? Is that so?" asked Draconis, feigning surprise as he put down the mug to inspect Yahya's arms, "I appreciate your good will. Thank you~"

Careful with how he touched her, he studied her scales, resisting the urge to squeeze her. She was missing a few here and there, though some already seemed to be regrowing. They'd probably be back after a few sheds. It was a shame he couldn't understand her though. He knew every single one of the dialects in Sol, and the biggest languages and dialects of their immediate neighbours, and even some others because they seemed useful or fun, though half of them he couldn't speak properly simply because they weren't made for humans, but he had no clue of what she was saying and where the language originated from. Magick to understand it also had to be set up properly so he wouldn't understand a word until he got the time to do it later. Oh, that wasn't completely accurate. Draconis was quite sure one of the words she repeated fairly often meant mother, or mama.

Chittering louder, and quicker, Yahya hissed happily. For a few more moments she allowed Draconis to go on before slithering and wrapping around him, her brother staying still as he watched with wide eyes.

"...Yeah. So we're staying a while. That's fine, right baba?"

Gan Jiang nodded, then paused and tilted his head, narrowing his eyes- "Your friend is fine with the cooler?"

"Edi said we'd share her room," Draconis replied in her stead, right hand on Yahya's tail to keep her from choking him in her joy. Of course, with a strength spell on his hand and a shielding one on his body since he couldn't match her without it. He picked up the mug and finally took a sip, appreciating the kick it left behind on his tongue after the mildly sweet drink went down his throat. It soothed the nausea from the spells.

Though if he was anyone else, he would have probably choked on the drink when Gan Jiang spoke, "Huh? I thought you said he was a friend?

"He is a friend," Edian said, picking up one of the cupcakes from the wide spread of snacks, "Nothing more. Does he feel like a dragon to you? Even if Rita can pass as his, Lucy can't."

"They're just bed-sharing, everyone does that," added Mevek, accepting her daughter's words as final. It was a shame her grandchildren hadn't come too but, they came here much more than Edian did and she'd see them occasionally when their visits overlapped because of it.

"...Mm. That's true. A bit hot for him though-" Gan Jiang frowned- "Black hair too. Make sure to cast some cooling magick for him and heating magick for the nights."

Tucking away the knowledge on Astran norms, Draconis studied the food on the table. Both of Edi's parent were considerate, weren't they? Her mother with the drinks, and her father who had prepared the snacks. Easygoing too. Picking up some sliced fruit, and enjoying the fresh crisp texture, he offered some to the toddlers.

"I can set them up myself. There isn't any need to trouble yourself."

Mevek smiled and nudged Gan Jiang- "He's from the main Suldalan nobility. There aren't any magicians that can match them so he won't need any help. The best of them is his sister though. Even when they were small children, she could cast spells I wouldn't dare touch. I still wouldn't."

"Mama," Edian said, her voice half a whine and her lips trembling. She had never told her best friend about who her mother was but, that went both ways. Her parents remained in the dark about her beloved lady. "You shouldn't talk about her."

The sudden change in demeanour took both of Edian's parents aback, Mevek uttering a word of confusion and Gan Jiang sitting up in worry over his daughter's reaction. Draconis simply continued to feed himself and the twins as he spoke up-

"It's fine, Edi. Your parents are long lived; it's only natural for them to not know of every little thing that occurs." He pulled on his fork, Al-Yasa having bit down and refused to let go. "My sister passed soon after our twenty-fifth year. My brother is the strongest now."

Confusion came over Mevek's face- "...You say that she is dead?"

"Disappeared," Edian murmured.

Fork free, though bent, Draconis ate another piece of fruit before explaining, "Hulda wouldn't leave us without a word. Even if she did, she would have returned."

"I understand-" Mevek's expression was still, though her eyes were filled with grief and anger- "So that is what happened."

How strange. Kind, but strange. Draconis knew they had only met her for a few weeks when they were children, even if Hulda had been the one to have spent the most time with her, but perhaps that's why she was upset. To her that was a child gone too soon.

"Part of it. We never learnt what happened. Or who. Or why."

Edian buried her face in her hands. She had just comforted Draconis a little while ago and yet, for some reason she couldn't keep herself together now. The nonchalant way he said it only made things worse. She knew that wasn't how he felt. That any mention of her made the hollow in his chest hurt worse.

Looking to Gan Jiang taking their daughter into his arms to comfort her, Mevek frowned, brows furrowing. For now- "We need to talk to Edian about this. Would you-"

"I'll go set up her room," Draconis said, standing up with the toddlers clinging to him.

They had sensed the mood too, and Yahya had gone quiet. There was no need for him to be here and so he'd take them with him while Edian received some much-needed comfort. The type that he had never been good at giving.

Weaving through the crowded room with ease, he paused- "I'll see you tonight-" then disappeared into the hallway.

Mevek's frown deepened. She had meant for him to stay. It was clear he hadn't wanted to though, and she wouldn't force it.

Hearing him leave deeper into the house, Edian felt even worse and she wrapped her arms around her father in a tight hug, face hidden in his neck, as her tail wound about her mother's torso. She should have stopped him. She knew he needed the comfort too. She knew talking here would make him feel at least the slightest bit better. She knew him.

Her parents didn't.

…

…

…

Her parents would, soon.