Aimless

by The Silent Insomniac

Joshua Renalia finds himself lost in the Dragon Realms with nothing but his sleeping clothes, his knowledge of Spyro lore, and a power beyond his understanding. Cut off from all he knows, the human discovers Spyro's world is alien, unforgiving, brutally shattering his naive expectations. How long can he live here before going insane? Is there a way back home? Why is he even here?

36. (City Life) (38D) Cashing In

Author's Notes:

The first half of this chapter got so long, I actually wanted to cut it in two. Strykeruk, my beta reader (and editor), was like "NOPE! KEEP GOING! I'M ENJOYING THIS."

Sooo get ready for another fat chapter!

(Sorry guys, Stryker didn't give me any opening remarks to tack onto the beginning A/N as of chapter publishing. I'll add it in if he changes his mind.)

Timestamp key: "D" for days, "W" for weeks, "M" for months, "Y" for years, "EM" for early morning, "LM" for late morning, "EA" for early afternoon, "LA" for late afternoon, "EE" for early evening, "LN" for late night, and "AD" for all day. Note that the Realms follows the sexagesimal system for keeping time, just like Earth. (In other words, 60 seconds per minute and 60 minutes per hour.)

Snip category key: There are four categories of snips. "Settling In", "City Life", "Beyond the Wall", and "The Journey Home". All four represent parallel storylines that take place within Aimless, and other than "Settling In", each snip category has at least two subtypes. Those subtypes aren't listed due to potential spoilers.

Enjoy!

---

City Life – Threads of Gold

Chapter 36: Cashing In

"Watson. Come at once if convenient. If inconvenient, all the same."

- Arthur Conan Doyle, in Sherlock Holmes: Adventure of the Creeping Man

---

[38D/LA]

---

"So are you coming with me or not?" Vara stared at the sliding door, ogling the room within.

"...uhh..."

She stomped on the floor. A few passing apprentices paused to glance at her but she didn't mind any of them. "By the Ancestors! It's just the next floor!"

"It's, it's off-limits for a reason, Vara," came the voice from inside.

The fallen noble snarled out of frustration. "Come ooooonnnn, you have plenty to gain from this! I know you're having trouble with the shaping exercises. If you come with me I promise you—on Vulcan's name!—you'll have a better understanding of Fire by tomorrow!"

"I-I don't know..."

The orchid dragoness swiveled her head around. Nobody too close to hear her next words. Great. "Besides," she whispered, "don't you want to see Joshua? You're the only one who didn't think he's a complete monster to begin with."

"Not at the cost of my apprenticeship! I'm not like you. If they drop me I won't have a place to stay! Brother doesn't make enough coin for that. I'll be living in the streets red-eight-to-black like all the other refugees!"

"Serenya, it's not like I've got it better just because I got a roof over my head! I have to—

"I know you hate your parents, but be thankful they're still looking out for you—

"Thankful?" Vara flared her wings. "Thankful?" She pointed at her muzzle, at the bruise. "Oh yes, I'm so thankful Mother cut my snout open a few days ago!"

"Ground yourself! That's not, t-that's not what I meant—

"Stop breathing hailstones. Clearly your liver's too white for anything worth doing."

"Vara!"

The dragoness walked out without looking back.

"Vara! Wait! I—

She clutched the door with her paw and, irked with her friend's cowardice, slammed it shut. She was as a speeding cheetah and dashed away from the room. Vara veered around the other apprentices, the crowd notably thinning out the closer she was to the second-floor landing.

As she finally reached the landing, Vara's mustard eyes trailed each step that led up to the third floor. Wide and thick, they were pseudo-platforms large enough for an adolescent dragoness like her to stand in on all fours. Strange, she thought, wondering how the crystal light around here seemed—felt more foreboding than it did back in the other corridors.

Tingling jolted down Vara from nose to tail. She couldn't suppress the faint whimper escaping her muzzle. Her body suddenly quaking at the sight of these imposing steps, it was clear all her bravado earlier was just for show.

She felt nervous, and understandably so. If she was caught, her apprenticeship was over, and with it, her chances at making a name for herself, for her bloodline. A little voice in her head whined how her friend was right all along, urging her to return to her room, apologize for the outburst, and forget about all this.

Vara sat on her haunches and scratched at her head until a few orchid scales fell off and with them, her hesitation. What was she thinking? Back home there was only her nasty mother and that enabling worm of a father.

"Would've been nice if she went with me," Vara muttered. "Why does she have to be such a smushed egg?" Being alone like this frightened her, but Hairless was up there somewhere, and he owed her.

He owed her big.

That thought was enough to steel Vara's nerves. The dragoness placed her forepaw on the stairs and climbed up the first step. She took a deep breath, to calm herself, and went on.

Vara was visibly nervous by the time she reached the mezzanine. While ascending the first ten steps she fully expected someone would just randomly emerge from any of the three major halls connecting to the stairwell and yell at her. Even stop her.

Had that occurred, Vara would have aborted tonight's attempt to visit the furless ape and save it for another time. Perhaps, next time around, she wouldn't be alone as she'd have that monoscaled smushed egg she had for a friend tagging along with her.

As it turned out, Gintomyr the Prosperous obviously had other plans in mind. Nobody appeared out of the corners to mock her. Nobody walked into view and pulled her back until she regained her common sense. And Vulcan's Flames, there wasn't anyone standing guard at the top to stop any curious dragon from meandering further into the third floor.

Or a foolhardy dragoness, in Vara's case.

The eeriness of the atmosphere intensified from the moment Vara set her paws on the third-floor landing. Even though the place looked no different in her eyes—three branching corridors wide enough to fit three adult dragons, side-to-side—the bleary halls, draped in utter silence, were sharp blades cutting right through her confidence.

The sound of people plodding through these empty corridors whispered in her earholes. Sometimes they came from ahead. Sometimes from the left or from the right. Sometimes, even from behind.

Vara drew mana from her core, taking it and spreading it all over herself as a freezing chill enveloped her and, for a good minute, drove those terrifying thoughts away. "Got to focus." Her mustard eyes panned the space before her. "Egeria's wings... Which way, which way, whiiiich way? Hmmm..."

For a full minute, like a stupid egg Vara stood rooted to the spot with complete, utter disregard for the possibility a guard would come shambling out from the passages. As soon as she realized she might get caught idiotically standing here, she decided it was better to drift along the winds and picked paths at random.

She went straight ahead first, of course.

Vara no longer paid attention to the paths she was taking. Every floor was built like a maze and for as long as Hairless's location remained unknown to her, there wasn't much point in keeping track. I can easily find my way back anyway, Vara thought, for the corridors narrowed the deeper she ventured inside.

Naturally, there was something far more important to figure out: what to do with Hairless when she finally caught him.

Continuing her element training was the principal reason she was up here to begin with. The furless ape's unique, one-of-a-kind ability of feeling how she manipulated her own mana and even directing it for her proved extremely useful back in Alona Hall. There were a few more shaping exercises she wanted to review, and with Joshua overseeing the process, there was no way she'd get them wrong!

"Then again, I always wanted Hairless to lick my paws clean," she mused with a fiendish smirk.

Ever since Vara laid her eyes on Joshua, the devilish thought would flash in her mind every now and then. She knew it was humiliating, it wasn't something they deserved, and it served absolutely no purpose at all in her life's flight plan. Despite these hard and irrefutable realities, she couldn't help fantasizing that dumb egg going on all fours like last time and treating her—worshipping her like the nobility she just knew she was.

By Azeroth the Infinite, a pick-me-up like that was exactly what Vara needed these days. What a thought that was. An incompetent and useless dragoness like her, having the furless ape—the most feared and abhorred creature in the entire City of Dragons—attending to her every need and want. The so-called Dragonbane as her own personal pawlicker!

Best of all, she could actually make this happen in reality! Ha! Nobody would see it coming, and certainly not for a loser like her! Mother wouldn't treat her like a nobody if she knew. The idea was as a tongue of flame in her heart. Something about it excited her for some reason. Vara twirled as she walked, gigging to herself, a mischievous smug on her snout.

A second later the memory of Joshua's hand tightly holding her forearm came to mind. Vara squirmed, having found herself at an impasse. She remembered the sensations she felt on her scales. Those soft fingers of his really did distract her back in Alona Hall. It was clear to her that one touch from him, a gentle and comforting massage, at just the right place, would send any reptile crashing to the floor, dazed and oblivious to the world. None of the other species could do that. Not even the Moles and the spindly little paws they had for hands.

Vara bit her lip. The fallen noble wouldn't mind demanding some vigorous rubbing on her back instead, even if it also had no place in her flight plan. I bet that smushed egg downstairs will change her mind about sneaking up here once she gets a taste of that...

Thick, heavy footsteps that weren't her own entered Vara's earholes. She wrenched herself away from the delusions of her wretched fantasies and looked ahead, her finned ears twitching at every step.

It was a straight path. Much narrower than the main corridors, indicating she was already in one of the floor's four quadrants. She couldn't see anything more than the support columns ahead of her. Were there corners hidden behind them?

The footsteps got louder. Vara could hear the knight's heavy breathing bouncing along the cave walls. The dragoness completely forgot her sadistic fantasies, heartrate inclining at a rapid pace. She couldn't get caught now. She couldn't!

Vara blanched. Hyperventilating, she panicked and hid behind the nearest support column. By her best estimate, the corner was two or three columns away and the knight was closing in. If she didn't do something now her apprenticeship was as good as earthbound! She needed to redirect the guard somehow.

Something to push them away from her.

Something... like a distraction.

Think, Vara! She urged herself. Think, think, think! What do you have that others don't?

The only thing she had was her Element. She wasn't the type to wear a satchel or saddle bags with useful little things in it.

Thank the Lifebringer she wasn't a fire dragon. Anybody could see where her flames would come from, and the same could be said for electricity.

This wouldn't be a problem if she was of the Shadow element. It would be far, far too easy to hide in plain sight especially under the dull light.

Earth dragons would be hard-pressed to find rocks they could manipulate. The magical enchantments infusing the Temple walls were impassable for apprentices. One had to be a Dragon Knight, a Guardian Candidate, a Councilor, or a Purple Dragon to either bypass or overcome the restriction.

As for her Ice, she... she could...

An idea appeared in her head. Yes, she could create a transparent shard of ice and hurl it in the other direction. If she could do it in the first place.

Vara took a deep breath in preparation and raised a forepaw. She reached in to the bitter, freezing cold slumbering within the center of herself and pulled it out. She felt the mana tracing a snaking path as it flowed into her paw. Then, the bottleneck occurred.

The dragoness shut her eyes and returned that moment back in Alona Hall. Her mind recalled the feeling of Joshua's fingers on her scales, of the way Hairless seized her mana against her will and plowed it straight through her arm, overpowering the blockage by force of will. She tried to copy him. Forced the coldness to defy the twists and turns she was accustomed to.

Vara gnashed her teeth together, her fangs bared for all to see. Her arm hurt. Its nerves ached as they resisted the mana flow, yet she persisted, hauling it through what felt like mud until it finally—FINALLY gave way and condensed in the real world. The temperature directly above her pawpads dropped to freezing.

A small cube of ice welcomed Vara when she reopened her eyes. The fallen noble held back the smile forming on her muzzle, the feeling of triumph warming up her chest, and faced the three-way corridor ahead.

With a low upward swing, Vara gracefully chucked the ice cube into the air. Mustard eyes watched it soar, quietly arcing in the halls until it passed the corner and smashed the floor with unmistakable cracks ringing in her ears.

Though a massive improvement for someone with her talent (or lack thereof), it was a failure for any other practicable use. That was fine; it served Vara's intended purpose very well since the footsteps from earlier quickened its pace.

Heart pounding from nervousness, the dragoness leaned on the wall behind one of the support columns and huddled up to it, pushing the entire length of her orchid-scaled body up along the enchanted rock. Hopefully she pressed herself enough to the point she wouldn't be that noticeable to a distracted sentry. In the oppressive silence, Vara sent prayers to the Ancestors and requested fortune.

Vara held her breath the second a large, imposing rhynoc with an equally imposing war axe lumbered into sight. She could hear her own heartbeat, feel her liver clenching tightly. The dragoness gulped down her saliva, her gaze watching the massive guard leer to and fro. He flared his nostrils and snorted. "Heard something," the knight muttered.

He twisted and turned, squinting his eyes. Indecisively the rhynoc axeman swiveled his head around until he finally made his choice. "It came from over there," Vara heard him murmur while he turned away from her and rushed in the direction she threw her ice cube at, the jingling of his armor echoing in the passage.

Before he left, the fallen noble noticed the shape and color of the badge affixed to the knight's chestplate. Vara recognized a badge from Talonpoint Keep. They were always around every time an important figure went through corridors connected to public spaces, and knights from that place were highly renowned for combat prowess and incredible self-discipline. Hairless has very heavy security. Did everybody else really hate him that much?

.

.

.

...oh who was she kidding? Vara herself wanted to kill the Dragonbane too! Not because she hated him. Not because she had a personal agenda against him. No. It was basically all about honor and glory for her bloodline.

Vara spared the boy only because he turned out to be a completely different person from the airstreams churning among the hundreds of apprentices in Warfang Temple. Other people, dragon or otherwise, wouldn't have given Hairless the same chance she did. They would've ended him right on the spot and parade his mutilated carcass for Lord Spyro to fuss over.

In a way, Joshua was lucky he met Vara instead of some other apprentice desperate for status. Really lucky.

Once Vara felt fifteen seconds have passed, she assumed the rhynoc axeman was not coming back anytime soon and charged her way to the corner and turned into the hallway the rhynoc came from.

Quickly realizing the noise her claws made when they clacked on the floor mid-step, Vara slowed her pace and bent her four knees to lower her center of gravity. There was no way she could return to her fantasies now. Not after that encounter!

Suddenly the creepy ambiance returned in greater intensity. The muffled whispers came back. Voices reemerged from the ether.

Vara whipped her head behind her. Did she just hear Father? No, it sounded like Mother screaming. Wait, maybe it was another Talonpoint Knight? Or... was she just hearing things now?

Sweat moistened her paws. Her paw prints trailed behind her as she walked, snout swinging back and forth in growing anxiety. Vara let out a soft whine. Alona forgive her, this was a mistake. This was definitely a mistake.

"It's not," she told herself. "It's not, it's not, it's not—

Squeak!

Vara almost screamed at the noise. Instantly she scrambled up to the nearest sliding door. The dragoness clutched the latch and pulled, only to meet resistance. Azeroth's cloaca! Rooms could be locked from the inside? "Dragon dung, I didn't know this!" she hissed.

More knocking sounds entered her ears from faraway. They came from the rear, from unseen passages, from whatever her eyes could see.

A more distinct knocking sound arose from the din, accompanied by the high-pitched tinkling of metal. All fell silent as Vara realized they were footsteps as heavy as the rhynoc axeman earlier. A tiny, panicked whine escaped her throat; she may as well have roared, for the knocking sound increased in frequency.

Vara whimpered. She couldn't take this anymore! The dragoness broke into a dash, sprinting as fast as her four legs can take her. If she hadn't been paying attention to her route, she most certainly wasn't paying attention to it now. There was no pattern to her turns, but as she continued fleeing from a Talonpoint Knight she hadn't even seen the corridors narrowed.

And narrowed.

And narrowed.

Vara grew more nervous. She started testing the doors, tugging at their latches. After ten failed attempts, she concluded all of them were locked from within. The dragoness stopped running in the middle of the passage and chose to hug the walls in the vain hope her orchid scales were dark enough for her to blend with the enchanted rock.

This was practically a maze! She lamented in her head. Ancestors, just how deeply hidden was Joshua's room? Was he at a cul-de-sac or something? Going by the way things were right now, Vara was becoming increasingly thankful her friend's room was situated near the main corridors. That dragon sure has it easy...

Vara's dorsal fin suddenly perked when she heard the clacking of claws ahead, its source concealed by the eerie, silent labyrinth. Another dragon! The fallen noble grimaced. She began to turn around—find another path—only to pause. The footsteps weren't as heavy as the others, Vara observed. They couldn't even compare to hers. It sounded like it came from a small dragon. Smaller than her... a child?

Vara sighed. At this point, she might as well check it out. So she resumed her path forward and slowly sneaked her way towards the noise, careful not to make noise herself. Her breathing tightened when the clacking grew louder in her earholes. The fins on her cheeks twitched, sensing both the other dragon's footfalls and muted humming, coming from an unseen corner hidden behind a support column ahead. Once again the dragoness huddled against the wall. She crept closer and bravely took a peek.

Her eyes widened. She couldn't believe it. It was a child. A yellow-scaled dragoness who looked like she was somewhere between ten and twelve years old. The little girl nonchalantly strolled through the passageway while happily humming a strange, foreign tune to herself. A human gamer would easily recognize Final Fantasy 7's main theme when they heard it. To Vara, it was simply a melody relaxing enough to lull her away from anxiety.

As Vara stupidly watched the little girl walk on ahead without even glancing in her direction, she remembered Hairless actually had a dragon with him. All the stories said so. The airstreams described her as the furless ape's thrall, while Serenya insisted she was actually his sister. His adopted sister. Looking at her relaxed gait, clearly the latter assertion was true.

Vara reproached herself. How could she forget something this important? She just learned about this yesterday!

"She knows where she's going," Vara said to herself. "I should follow her..."

Indeed, Vara followed Kilat, but only for a few minutes.

The Electric dragoness proved difficult to follow, not because of her speed (she walked slowly; there was no sense of urgency in her motions), but because of her route. Because she chose to live up here with Hairless, all of the guards knew her. Kilat greeted practically every single knight she came across.

Vara couldn't help muttering curses aimed at Kilat or the Ancestors watching over them the first time she stopped. Her mouth popped open when she watched that adorable, innocent-looking dragon child prance up to a trio of knights and exchanged a few words with them. "Damn you, Gintomyr!" Vara hissed. "Damn you and your stupid luck!"

The fallen noble ignored how cute Kilat looked when one of the guards—a leopard—knelt beside her and rubbed her tiny little head. She was still pulling and tugging at her mind to come up with solutions, because there was simply no way Vara could continue following Kilat if she didn't address the three armored goons conversing with her. In the end, she decided to repeat the little trick she pulled on that rhynoc earlier and tossed another fragile shard of ice in the opposite hall.

Kilat paid no mind to the sound, but it sent the three knights scrambling. Suspicion arose among the group.

"Run along, girl," said the leopard talking to her. "There's something we need to do."

"Okay!" Kilat replied and moved on. "Until next time." She made a farewell gesture with her only wing. Vara looked at it and wondered if Hairless had anything to do with that. Didn't sound like something he would do, though...

All three knights waved at her in reply as they left, shuffling in the direction Vara threw the ice shard to. The fallen noble watched them from the relative safety of her support column. Only when their footfalls were barely audible did Vara dart in Kilat's direction, running as fast as possible without making too much noise.

It was awkward. She had to be light on her paws. Vara flinched every time her claws made a loud crack in the air, and every so often she would swivel her head around to see if anybody heard her.

The dragoness easily caught up to the oblivious child still ignorantly sauntering through the mostly empty, dimly-lit corridors of the third floor. Her frustration mounted when she encountered guards again and had a short conversation with them again.

Vara would deal with them the way she dealt with the very first group.

It was only after the third time that the fallen noble finally gave up. Kilat walked past a corner this time around, and with how narrow the passageways were at this point, the guard standing by would definitely see Vara hugging the walls as she stalked the little girl.

Vara eyed the lone knight watching over the corner. There weren't any corridors to exploit this time around. She could lure them towards her, lead them towards one of the cross-sections she already passed. But, what was the point? When she caught up with Kilat again, there would be another guard she's going to say hi to, and at that point, she may not have room to maneuver around anymore. Then what?

Egeria, she would be trapped!

Was this the farthest she could go? Was all the effort she spent sneaking around the Residential Area's third floor for nothing? Vara ground her teeth, irritated at the turn of events. Responding to instinct, the dragoness's body lifted her tail and slapped the floor.

The knight ahead bolted into a state of heightened awareness. "Who's there?" they spoke. It was a dragoness. A large one. A full adult twice her size. She bore an intimidating set of armor that gleamed in the crystal light. Vara could see the Talonpoint insignia embossed on her chestplate. "Show yourself!"

Vara blanched, and took a few steps back in reaction. Getting caught was not how she wanted the night to end. The fallen noble slowly padded away, but when she footsteps of the dragon knight thundered in her earholes, Vara broke into a sprint.

"Come back here!"

Nope, nope, nope, nope! Vara screamed in her mind. She dashed back the way she came. Dread consumed her from within. In her anxiety, the dragoness whipped around, drew out mana from the wellspring of energy deep within her, and ran it through her mouth. Snow condensed in her throat; she spat it out—exhaled it—sent her breath rolling onto the floor.

"Intruder! Intruder on the third floor!"

Without Joshua's help—without the practice she had put into channeling mana through her arms—due to sheer panic the Ice Breath was inefficiently and insufficiently manifested. It glazed the stone floor in patches of transparent ice.

At least it was something she needed.

It took only a few seconds for Vara to hear the results of her work. The dragon knight trailing behind her skidded on all fours and smashed into the wall. "It's an Ice dragon," the knight screeched into the empty halls. "An Ice dragon!"

Vara arrived at a three-way intersection. Her eyes dilated at the sight of Talonpoint knights running at her from both ways. Two coming from the way back; three from the other.

"We see her! Looks like one of the apprentices!"

"Great Hunt, look at her scales. It's, i-it's—

"Get a hold of yourself. That's not really a Purple Dragon!"

"Stay right where you are! There's no point in—

Vara growled. They didn't know who she was. There wasn't any way they could pin this on her until they caught her. The fallen noble took a deep breath and charged at the two knights, a gnorc and an atlawa.

The atlawa dove to the side to avoid her reckless dash. A throwing knife found its way into their hands, but the knight hesitated to hurt an apprentice. "Stop!" they yelled. "Damn pup! Stop or else we'll—

Vara ignored them and continued her sprint. She watched the giant gnorc bare their fangs and immediately put their green, calloused hand on the hilt of their sword. Vara worried about it—it was half her size!—but with no time to lose, she did not hesitate.

Vara sprinted directly to the gnorc's right as fast as possible. At the last second, she piroutted and went to their left. The Talonpoint Knight unsheathed their sword and slashed at her. Luckily she was so fast it didn't—

It caught her leg. The tip of the blade went through her left hind foot and sliced across part of the paw pads. Vara shrieked.

"Give up," the gnorc commanded. A gnarly hand reached for the fallen noble the instant she slowed down.

Vara couldn't hear anything but the pounding of her heart. "N-no. No!" Her Element responded to her panic and suddenly moved. A block of ice formed on her paw just before she swatted the armored hand away with such force that the gnorc actually stumbled backwards.

Had Vara possessed the talent for Ice, she might have been able to suppress the gnorc and their colleague with either Ice Breath or Polar Bomb. Unfortunately, even her Element flaring in tune with her agitated state could not overcome her lack of talent and years of bad practice. The ice on her paw shattered on impact and the only thing that flew out her maw was cold, opaque mist.

A fog cloud.

At least it held the two Talonpoint knights back. Vara took the brief opening it presented to her and exploited it to the maximum. She ran, only to stumble as white, blinding pain stabbed at the bottom of her hindleg. It was that wound on her paw pad. She couldn't run on it.

Horror gripped her heart. This looked like the end. Vara refused to surrender. She still had a chance. "I can still get away," she said to herself. "Yes I can. Yes, I, can..."

The dragoness sprinted as fast as she could. But like a wounded animal, the quadruped limped, unable to put any pressure on her wounded paw pad. Blood did not drip from the cut, but it left a slightly visible pawprint on the occasion it touched the floor.

She could hear voices yelling indistinctly around her, footsteps marching in the halls. Vara no longer hesitated and chose the bigger paths every time she came to an intersection. She managed to elude a few knights by pressing up against the walls.

"Start checking the lavatoria!" Vara overheard someone scream.

"If you don't see her, she's hiding!"

"Come out, pup! Give yourself up!"

Vara gritted her teeth and continued her escape. This was a mistake. The knights knew she was an apprentice, didn't they? What would stop them from seeking her out? They may not have her name or portrait, but there weren't many Ice dragons with her orchid scales. They could easily identify and apprehend her as soon as she flew into a lecture hall tomorrow.

"Ancestors, I'm so stupid." Vara couldn't help but cry. Serenya was right. She should have listened to her. She wouldn't be in this mess now, at great risk of losing her apprenticeship. "Stupid, stupid, stupid!"

All because she wanted to visit Hairless and get some training done with him.

But even if she met him up here, would he actually entertain her? Putting aside the fact she testified for Hairless yesterday before Lord Spyro, Lady Cynder, and Master Volteer—three highflyers an incompetent nobody like her would never normally meet snout-to-snout—he didn't exactly have a reason to let her stay here.

It looked like they were friends. They probably were, too. But for the entire day that they've known each other, Vara treated him the same way she did as anyone who chose to spend time with her. She knew she wasn't the friendliest reptile around, and she had a tendency to be abrasive, like Mother.

Azeroth's wings, did Joshua actually mean it? Or was he just putting on a show? He was under strict questioning. If that kind of headwind was bearing down on her too, she would feign friendship just as well. Even more so, if her life depended on it.

Vara stole a glance back at the way she came. None present save the clanking of armor and voices echoing across the walls. She had a little bit of time. Half a minute at best.

Another Ice Breath aimed at the floor behind her. Once again it was weak, inefficient, yet still practical. A sheet of black ice for the guards to slip on.

That raised her allowance to a full minute.

She arrived at another intersection. The passage going back was slightly larger than the past four she passed along the way. Almost there. A few more intersections and she'd be back in the main corridors.

Vara kept running, as fast as she could despite her injured paw. At the next crossing—a three-way—she spied knights at the corner ahead. Unfortunately they also saw her.

Vara turned left. It was the bigger one anyway. Her tongue dangled from her snout, flaccid. She was panting. Alona, moving on a wounded paw was tiring! Yet the dragoness persisted. She forced herself, even as her legs screamed at her to stop. Vara whipped her head back to see how much distance laid between her and her pursuers. She prayed to Azeroth it was empty—

Two Talonpoint knights turned the corner. Two Moles. They pointed their dirty fingers at her, shouted at her. Vara stuck her tongue out at them. Stop? Now? No way! "Pbbbt!"

The dragon knight from before—the one who started this whole chase—suddenly emerged from the corner. "Out of the way!" A female voice snarled, barreling past both Moles. "She's mine!"

Vara's eyes dilated at the alarming sight. She gasped. The dragoness returned her gaze ahead. A few more steps to the corner! She altered the angle of her approach her lithe and rushed past the edge without taking half her sight off the other, larger dragoness charging right at her.

Only to, just as Vara turned her head and faced the obstacles barring her freedom, run snout-first into something. "Vulcan's Flames!"

Into someone.

"Holy shit!"

Vara's frantic dash for the stairs came to an abrupt stop. Together with her unfortunate victim she collapsed on the floor. Unstoppable momentum sent both bodies rolling—tumbling a few wingspans before they came to a stop.

She groaned. Her hind paw was in horrible shape. It throbbed painfully. The accident widened the cut. Vara couldn't run. Not anymore. She opened her eyes. Shock coursed through her the moment she realized she just locked eyes with the person she was looking for, his face resting closely beside her muzzle. She could feel his breathing.

"...V-Vara?"

Hearing Hairless say her name brought immense relief. The dragoness got on her feet, legs quivering. She avoided putting weight on her injured paw. "G-Gintomyr the Prosperous, I, I finally found you!"

"Oh my God, you're the one they're chasing? This floor's—

Vara stopped listening as soon as she heard the Dragon Knight's booming footfalls again. Her forepaws clutched at the furless ape's tunic. "Hairless, help!" She brought her snout to his shirt, bit down, and began hoisting him up—

"PAWS OFF!" another person shouted, his angry voice powerful, commanding. Vara had enough time to glimpse the shadow of a larger adult dragon coming in too fast for her to react to.

A thick, muscular foreleg struck the dragoness's shoulder and shoved Vara off of Joshua, her mouth inadvertently tearing off a piece of his tunic. She fell on her side. The dragon knight, unrelenting, leaped at her and slammed his massive paw on top of her.

Vara yelped. It hurt.

He was a Fire dragon. The dim light cast a scary glow on his orange scales. Smoke wafted out his nostrils. "You know you're not permitted here, apprentice. State your name."

Vara ogled Joshua. She looked into his eyes. "H-Hairless..." The dragoness reached out to him, her paw lined with sweat.

"Stay aloft!" Her captor slapped her paw away. "Don't make things harder on yourself and state, your, name." He pushed down on her and concentrated a wave of crushing pressure on her hind leg.

Vara screamed.

This spurred Joshua to act. "Stop! Stop, stop, stop! Sir, don't hurt her!" He clamored. The furless ape rushed to the dragoness and pushed at the knight's paw.

The Fire dragon growled violently at Joshua. "Don't tell me how to do my damn job! This dumb egg isn't even supposed to be here. I will see to it she's immediately expelled."

"She's my friend, damn it! Now let her up!" Joshua glared at him.

"Friend?" The dragon scoffed. "Since when did the furless ape have friends? You ought to be grateful! She just wants to run her claws through you like everybody else..."

"Bullshit! You're the one who wants me dead, asshole!" Joshua raised his right hand again and pushed at the burly foreleg. "Now let her up!"

"No."

"F*cker! She just wanted to see me—

"Rules are rules," the knight said, coldly. "They are there for good reason. You don't want me breathing hellfire on you, Dragonbane. Annoy me some more and I swear to Azeroth I'll skewer my horns straight through your—

"Flaraxas!" the adult dragoness from before called, bouncing into view. "Did you catch the—ah, I see you caught our intruder."

Vara whined unconsciously at the sight. Her body shook. She cried. This was it. Her apprenticeship was over...

"She's not an 'intruder'! She's my friend!" Joshua shouted at them. "Her name is Vara." His eyes stared coldly up at the Fire dragon. "And dude, I told you to let her go. Do it."

"Rules are rules."

"I don't give a f*ck about that! Vara is MY friend and I don't see any problem letting her go. Now do it!"

Flaraxas snarled. "If Lady Cynder and Master Volteer didn't—

"I won't ask again, asswipe!"

Wisps of white mist had gathered around Joshua's good hand. Vara's gaze dilated, watching it take the shape of a floating spear. This was the second time she saw the Unknown Element in action, and this time around it felt more foreboding. Ominous. It was as if merely touching the Unknown Element could take her down, if not seriously injure her.

The other dragoness sighed. "I don't get enough coin for this," she murmured before stepping towards the Fire dragon. "Flaraxas," she said, imperiously. "Release her."

Flaraxas snapped his muzzle at her. "What! You want to let this trespassing apprentice go? We must make an example out of her. She violated Over Steward Hoffbar's rule!" He gestured at Joshua with his tail. "The rule that bear made for this Ape's safety!"

"The Ape himself wants her released. I don't think Over Steward Hoffbar will see a problem with that. Besides, we already made an exception for Kilat."

"Emerine, just whose side are you on?" Flaraxas groused. "We can't keep making exceptions. We are from Talonpoint Keep! The Code demands we uphold strict observance of justice and order—

"That doesn't necessarily mean we follow rules like gears in a Mole's contraption. We must be firm, yet flexible. Now let her go."

"...Alright. But you handle any turbulence that may come."

Vara heaved an enormous sigh of relief the moment Flaraxas lifted his heavy paw off of her. Instantly Joshua was on top of her. She felt his fingers sliding across her scales. She couldn't help purring like a hatchling. "Ahh..."

"Vara! Are you okay? Did they hurt you? How did you even"—a gasp—"Jesus Christ, Vara, your paw!"

Vara recoiled her hindleg at Joshua's touch. "Damn it, Hairless, don't touch me there! It hurts!"

"Okay, okay! I was just checking—

"Girl." Emerine, the dragoness from earlier, stared down at her with a scowl. Her scales were green and black, forming a unique pattern rarely seen among Warfang dragons. "Listen. Out of consideration for the furless ape, we'll let you fly unobstructed just for tonight. The next time we see you here—unauthorized—you will be expelled. You understand, Vara?"

Vara hastily said, "Yes. Yes-yes-yes, I understand."

"I guarantee the same will happen to anybody else you might bring up here."

"Alright, I get it! Ancestors, I completely understand what you're saying!"

"Good." Emerine faced the Fire dragon. "Flaraxas, anything to add?"

Flaraxas glanced down at her. "For her? No." He leaned down, brought his muzzle next to Joshua's. He froze. "But I have one for you, ape. The rules apply to you too, which means we'll expel anyone else you bring up here unless you get permission from Lady Cynder or Master Volteer. Got it?"

"Yes, sir."

He twisted his muzzle at him. "What did you say?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Good." Flaraxas turned away and walked off. Vara presumed it was the exit, given the direction he faced.

Emerine questioned, "And where are you going? The furless ape isn't in his room yet."

Flaraxas growled back at her. "He's with his friend, Emerine." The knight spat the word like it was poison. "I think he's safe enough."

"Your shift doesn't end until—

"I don't care! I'll spend the rest of my shift at the landing. Egeria's wings, for all we know she's inspired a few more dragons to follow her flight."

The adult dragoness hissed, but made no move to stop her fellow knight. Emerine turned to the two of them. "I will go inform the other knights to intensify their patrols." Her stern eyes fell on Vara; the fallen noble shrunk beneath their gaze. "I think you're the only one with the Ancestors-damned audacity to come up here, but the Code requires us to be thorough in the line of duty. If we find anyone else, we will not be lenient."

"U-understood." Vara gulped. Were these how Dragon Knights were? How people from Talonpoint Keep acted? They were terrifying! Vara was about to soil herself from fright.

"And you." Emerine faced Joshua. "There won't be anyone escorting you to your room. Is that fine?"

"Yes, ma'am. I-I know my way back." The furless ape glanced down at Vara. For a second they held each other in their gaze. He patted her flank. "Besides, Vara needs my help with something. I can't just send her back downstairs now, can I?"

"Hmm. This apprentice really is your friend." A tone of genuine surprise.

"Well, yeah! Not everyone in Warfang hates me."

"Plenty still do, furless ape. Keep that in mind." Emerine sauntered in Flaraxas' direction. "I must leave now. Got work to do."

"Ancestors be with you," Joshua said.

Vara rounded on him, eyes agape. She did not expect Hairless to say that, not at all.

"And with you," replied the Talonpoint Knight as she finally vanished behind another corner, truly leaving Joshua and Vara alone with each other.

The tension in Vara's body waned as she finally relinquished her fear of expulsion. Her heart slowly returned to normal. She flopped her head on the floor, took a deep breath, and remained in place, sprawled on her side. Joshua, as though sharing her anxiety, relaxed as well. He slumped down on his knees and leaned back on Vara. She could feel the soft fabric comprising his tunic, and the warm arms resting on her flank.

Neither of them spoke. A still, eerie quiet hovered between them. For now they simply needed rest.

.

.

.

Hairless was the first to speak. "Vara?"

Her reply was wordless. Non-committal. "Hn."

"...Clear skies," he said.

If she could slap him now, she would. Alona! If only the moment was right. "Really?" Vara said. "After what just happened, that's the first thing you decide to say?"

"Jesus-Mary-Joseph, you're such a spoiled little princess, aren't you? You didn't have to pick it apart. There is a lot of shit going through my mind right now; I know the same goes for you, but I'd rather not, you, y-you know, deal with this awkward silence."

"Good point," Vara agreed. Then she dropped her end of the greeting, a smile on her muzzle. "Steady winds, then. Hairless, you have no idea how good it is to see you."

"I can imagine. I just saved your scaly hide from expulsion." Joshua grinned back at her.

"I know, I know." Vara extended her neck so she could reach Joshua and give his smooth, hairless neck a quick lick of appreciation. He received it without making a fuss. "Thanks, again."

"You're welcome." He lifted himself up, turned, and faced the adolescent dragoness. "Can you get up?"

"Yeah. Just, just give me a second."

She rolled on her belly and pressed all four paws on the floor. She pushed herself up, only to feel a searing pain on her left hind paw and, with a pitiful whine, fall back down.

Hairless reacted quickly, taking a step towards her with his only hand extended. He caught her paw just as she fell, and gripped it tight. "I got you!" Surprisingly the furless ape held his own against her larger mass.

Hairless is stronger than he looks, thought Vara now that it appeared she had no choice but to lean slightly on him. She could stand fine, as long as she didn't put weight on the injured foot. Walking and running were different stories; it was a lot harder than she expected. Strange, considering the feral quadrupeds people hunted in Avalar and Summer Forest for food, clothing, and gear made it look easy.

Joshua rubbed the underside of her paw. Vara clamped down on the pleased whimper threatening to rumble out of her throat and suppressed it, hard. She shouldn't show any more weakness to him and embarrass herself further. Vara didn't realize Joshua bent over to examine the foot until he exclaimed, "Ah, your paw is bleeding! What happened?"

Vara had a mortified expression on her snout. "One of the knights drew a sword at me while I was running. I thought I could dodge it but... well, you can say I flew too close to the water."

"And you ran the rest of the way? On this?"

Vara shuddered. Hairless's fingers really felt good. Suddenly she felt jealous of Kilat. Gintomyr's horns, that little girl had this to herself? How lucky!

"Hello? C'mon, Princess, don't zone out on me."

Vara shook herself from the stupor. Her wings flared, finally giving Joshua a good slap.

"Hey! I was not lost in the ozone!" She leveled a glare at him.

"Yes you were!"

Vara had a snappy reply prepared, but Hairless had—he had to squeeze her paw. "No I—a-ahh... Argh, Seldoot's horns, stop doing that!"

"Doing what?"

He did it again, unconsciously. Did this idiot even realize what he was doing? Vara went still and shivered. She couldn't stop herself from making a satisfied whimper. "T-that! My mind goes blank when you rub my pads like that. It feels too good!"

Vara gasped. She brought her forepaws upward and clamped her muzzle shut. They held each other's gaze. Azeroth, did she just say that out loud?

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Joshua started laughing.

"Hairless, there is nothing funny about this," Vara sulked.

"Aahhhh, I'm sorry. I'm really sorry, 'Your Highness'. I just never expected you to say that."

Growling, Vara swatted at him with a forepaw. But he was simply too far for her to reach. "That's the first and last time you'll hear me say that tonight!" She noticed he hadn't released her hindpaw. "But why are you still holding me?" She smirked. "Don't tell me... you want to pay tribute, do you?"

Joshua frowned. "Pffft. In your dreams. Get your priorities straight and think some more. In case you haven't noticed, I'm doing you a favor, making sure you won't fall over again and keeping my fingers away from that cut."

Vara blinked. She broke eye contact and gazed down. "Oh."

"Anyway, since you're already here, I'll take you to my room. May as well show you where I live."

They started walking together. Vara almost laughed at how they were basically tracing her steps from earlier. "Don't expect too much though," Joshua added.

"I won't. I have another friend, she lives just downstairs. Her room isn't that great either."

"Is that the dragon you wanted to introduce me to yesterday?"

"Yes. Her name's Serenya. I, I actually invited her to go with me tonight—

"Uh huh. 'Invited'. Riiiight." Vara's tail gave Hairless a light slap. "Oh come on!"

"Don't interrupt. And, she... she didn't want to come. Too risky, she said. That smushed egg."

"What's a 'smushed egg'?"

"That's... that's, what we call someone who's, errr, someone whose insides are so soft they can't handle anything tough."

"...so, like a coward?"

"...Yes?"

"Ehrmmm, Vara, I hate to say this, but your friend's right. I wouldn't have gone with you either if I was in her place. Did you know there were a few Earth dragons waiting for you at the stairs? My escorts and I passed them on our way here."

Vara wilted. "I, never had a chance, did I?"

"Nope. Good thing you ran into me."

They passed the rhynoc axeman Vara snuck past with her ice cube trick earlier. He had a menacing glower on his snout. "Uhm, hello?" Vara said, tail curling up behind her.

His nostrils flared as he snorted and ignored her attempt at a friendly greeting.

Vara quaked. A chill of delight coursed through the dragoness. It came from her paw. "I told you to stop that!" she gyrated and yelled at the furless ape.

"No other way to get your attention without talking," he whispered. "Let's move on. Some of the guards aren't friendly at all, even 'til now."

Vara appreciated his presence. Walking on three legs was a strange and alien experience for the fallen noble. Joshua's palm, resting underneath her hind paw, absorbed the weight she put on it mid-step. They sauntered together, deeper into the third floor. So far they were passing through the same intersections Kilat did.

"Hairless, I'll be honest. You have a special talent with those fingers of yours. If the other dragons learn about it, you'll have them all lining up for that 'special touch' you have. My friend would actually go see you every day."

Joshua grunted. "I'd rather not earn popularity like that. Making a living out of my human touch"—

That's right, Vara mused. Joshua wasn't really an ape. He called himself a "human".

"—like a glorified masseuse? No thank you. Kay-thanks-bye."

"But—

"Besides, yesterday all those other apprentices were clamoring for my attention after I helped you. I would've been your class's hero if Spyro didn't f*ck things up for me."

Vara perked. "Hey, that reminds me. Why does Lord Spyro hate you in the first place?" Thinking of the Purple Dragon chilled her liver. The Savior of the Dragon Realms was exceedingly scary to people he recognized as his enemies. "You're quite harmless. I never would've thought you're the 'Dragonbane' if the airstreams weren't so clear about your looks. Now that I personally know you it's very hard for me to match an imagined butcher to my memory of you groveling on all fours the moment we met."

"I have no idea! That dragon had a problem with me from the start. I don't know why he acts that way towards me."

"I, I can't—I don't have anything to say about that. Lord Spyro's usually very considerate of others. I've seen apprentices come up to him in the Botanic Gardens before. He's very friendly, approachable. Always willing to help, even if it's just a little."

"I am honestly suspecting it has something to do with my Element. It doesn't make sense otherwise! I'm telling you, I've been busting my ass the entire one cycle I lived in Warfang getting people to like me. I don't cause trouble, I follow"—Joshua saw smug expression Vara's muzzle—"I generally follow whatever people tell me, I got a job at the Office of the Keeper, and I—

"So it's true? You're really a manual scavenger?"

"Oh my f*cking God, yes! Yes! And it's such a f*cking disgusting job. You know what I'm saying?"

Vara's muzzle contorted. Even she had heard of this. That face alone spoke for her, as Joshua continued, "Oh you do! Well it's exactly what it sounds: I go under some lavatorium, scrape shit all day, squeeze the piss out of it, or like today, haul carts of it through the utilidors to this staging area where they're packed into sacks and crates and brought to God knows where!

"It is a f*cking miracle I haven't dirtied myself so much like all those Moles I work with. They are batshit crazy! They willingly—happily—dive into all that shit and get the crap all over their fur. Like, who does that? Who the f*ck does that?"

Vara shuddered. She couldn't comprehend how another species would gleefully throw themselves into excreta. "Not us," she said. "I'm pretty sure the other lesser species don't fly like that either. I guess it's a Mole thing."

"I know they practically worship you dragons to a fault, but I just CANNOT understand how they don't see it's soooo gross and unsanitary—

"That makes two of us." Vara hissed. "Ancestors, I always knew Moles were creepy but that... ugh."

"Wait! There's more! There's apparently this mole—he's a pup I think—he's smart enough to have figured out his entire species is a bunch of fanatics. Ever since I ran into him, he's stalking me. God-f*cking-damn it, every single time I go into the utilidors for work, somehow, before the end of the day, Blink manages to find me!"

"What kind of name is 'Blink'?" Vara giggled. "It sounds almost as bad as 'Hairless'."

Joshua glowered at her. "You know my name. Why don't you use it more often?"

She lifted her tail, had it brush against his limp arm. "Because it's more entertaining when I don't."

If Joshua felt anything about her response, he didn't let it show and ignored it completely. "Anyway, who the hell cares? Blink's annoying! All he does is ask me why I'm still a manual scavenger despite the fact I hate the f*cking job and I don't go around prostrating myself to serve you dragons hand and foot.

"'Why don't you say something different, dragon killer'?" Joshua growled out as Vara watched him spit on the floor. "Hey kid, how about you stop asking me every single f*cking day and expecting a different reply each time, huh?"

Vara hummed, in thought.

"I know that tone. You got something to say on it, Princess?"

It took more than a couple seconds to piece a reply altogether. "I think, I think he's lonely. I don't know if you're a manual scavenger by choice—

"It was forced on me. That was the only thing Volteer and Cynder's support could get."

Vara suppressed the urge to whip her hind leg at his face for interrupting her. "The fact is you're the only non-Mole working that job down there. Maybe... maybe you're the only one who stays aloft when he wants to talk about the way his people fly through life."

Joshua remained quiet, his eyes having glazed over. Did he understand her? Or did her words merely soar through his head? Vara frowned. Other species certainly had their own figures of speech, but the human lived with dragons...

"Hairless, should I fly through this crevice again? In a way your stupid little head can comprehend?"

"Huh? No! I totally understood you. Really! It's just that, I was thinking, maybe—no, you're probably right."

She smirked. "I'm always right."

"That's what you think—

Thwack!

"Ow! Damn it, your f*cking tail!"

"Hmph. That's what you get for—a-ahh..." Hissing, Vara nearly slumped over. Her breathing sped up. "Ahh! M-my paw. S-stop...!"

"Now we're equal."

"You dumb, brutish ape! When I get my claws on you, I'll—I'll...! Oh, ooooohh..."

"You do know I can just let you walk on three legs, right?"

Vara glared at him. Of course she knew he was letting her use him for support. But she couldn't stand seeing Hairless with that smug on his face. It had to be her lording it over him. Not the other way around! She growled. "Grrr... I know."

"Glad you do," Joshua said, beaming. How she wanted to slap that smile off right now... "About Blink, I'll take your advice. I'll try to talk to him next time. Thank you."

Hearing Hairless express gratitude—and to her—a useless reptile!—stoked a warm fire within. Any frustrations she still had were abated, but only for a moment since Joshua had the wherewithal to mutter, "Hopefully when I do I won't feel like walloping his snout in."

Vara barked out a sharp laugh. "The way you talk about that kid, lonely or not, it sounds like he has something flying to him." Going by the story alone, she knew she couldn't endure that without doing something either.

"He does," Joshua said. "He does. Anyway, I was thinking about you last night."

"Really?"

"Yes. There's, there's something I want to ask."

"And what's that?"

"You went home after leaving the Audience Chamber, right? How did your parents react to your massive progress with Ice?"

Irritation, sadness, and a depressing emotion Vara couldn't easily describe gnawed at her all at once. It was as heat rising into her head, spikes being thrust into her chest, and a frigid chill colder than her own ice settling on her entire body, from snout to tail.

The fallen noble didn't give an answer, not right away. For one long moment, the only things she could hear were Hairless's footsteps, her own footfalls, their breathing, and the ambient silence roaring at them both.

.

.

.

"...Vara?"

"Mother doesn't care," Vara spouted. "'That's it?'" She mimicked, lifting her pitch and tone of voice in an absurd mockery of Mother's accent. "That's all she said and plodded away. She thinks I'm irredeemable. There's just no pleasing her."

"What about your dad?"

"Father?" The dragoness scoffed. "He's even more of a smushed egg than Serenya! That undragon, he never really sides with anyone. He just goes with whatever's more convenient for him. But, he probably wouldn't support me either even if he actually had the cloaca to stand by something. A couple cycles ago he told me living up to the prestige of my ancestral bloodline is a flight to nowhere." She snarled, recalling that conversation in her memory.

Hairless had the tact not to pry further into her own problems. Vara was thankful for this show of respect. "That's why I'm up here. In the end I only have myself to rely on. You agree, don't you?"

"I'm sorry."

The fins on the side of her head twitched. "Sorry? What're you sorry about? Joshua. You didn't do anything."

He groaned. "...It's a human thing, Vara. We say it to express sympathy. You can just think of it as me saying I feel sad that you have to go through this."

"Alona, you hairless freaks are weird." She chuckled. "Well, clearly that's one thing that separates your species from actual Apes."

"Ah, we're here."

Vara turned her attention away from Joshua and glanced around her surroundings. The corridors had become much narrower than they've ever been, looking more like the inner hallways in the lower floors Residential Area. She was actually in one of the many cul-de-sacs—the many deadends—on Residential 3F. From the corner of her eye, the fallen noble glimpsed a stone door leading to the Temple's utilidor network.

Straight ahead, she saw four Talonpoint Knights standing by the wooden sliding door in the middle. They flanked it, two on each side. A dragon to the left, of the Earth element, it seemed, going by their green scales. The rest were comprised of bipeds: an atlawa, a leopard, and another rhynoc. It was amazing how the feline still looked no less intimidating than the other three in spite of their diminutive size relative to them.

Hairless waved at them. "Hey guys!" To Vara's surprise, the leopard returned the gesture and waved back. The rhynoc also raised its gnarly hand in greetings, while the other two merely stared and ignored his gesture, choosing instead to set their eyes on her.

The rhynoc noticed her presence too. He pointed a finger at Vara. "Furless ape, not alone."

The leopard broke the formation and ambled forward. "Ah, let me guess. This is the Ice dragon Emerine talked about? The one she caught sneaking around up here?"

"That's right," Joshua said. "Copeland, this is my friend Vara." As though on cue, the dragoness wordlessly raised a forepaw in greetings, a gauche expression on her muzzle. Just a little while ago knights like them were chasing her scaly butt and drawing their weapons on her. She found it difficult to let it go, especially with the wound on her hind paw still throbbing a little. "She's one of the apprentices here."

"Your, friend?" Copeland replied. "That's, certainly new."

The atlawa suddenly remarked, "The furless ape got a friend? Here? In Warfang Temple? With another dragon? That's not something I expected this soon."

"Ancestors," the Earth dragon grumbled, "The furless ape has become another apprentice! Grrhh. Maybe I should just request for a transfer. I want to go out and fight real apes."

Copeland took his sword by the scabbard and knocked the adult dragon with the pommel, which clanged against their metal armor. "Hmph, as if you'd survive the brutes from Aldozira! You're more suited for holding defense. The Huntress bestows us all with gear fit for the roles we're meant to have in the Great Hunt! You'll just crawl to your own death if you go off just because you want to."

Vara knew the leopard was blabbering off on the Earth dragon, yet each and every word he verbalized was no different from sharp lances piercing her, and deeply. They applied to her just as well. She felt like crying, or snapping at the feline, but she couldn't just yell at him for no reason. It was inappropriate.

"Leave him alone, dude," Joshua uttered. This time he led the way. Vara could tell from the way he clenched his grip on her hind paw and tugged towards the sliding door in the middle. It took some effort to stop herself from letting her tongue hang loose and breathing out a heavy, content sigh. "I'd support his transfer."

That drew curious looks from everybody, Vara included. She didn't understand why his guards were so friendly with him, even if he was still technically a prisoner, still detested by the vast majority of people living in and outside the Temple. The fallen noble suspected it was either his demeanor—as she experienced herself the other day—or something else. The only thing Vara could think of was the time Submaster Kaos paid him a sudden visit, but she knew none of the details and, considering the way Joshua reacted when she asked about it, she guessed it wasn't something she should pry into.

For now.

Meanwhile, Hairless kept speaking, even as he slowly ushered the dragoness and himself closer to the door. "So what if he doesn't have the natural gifts for it? My people back home, we believe it's better to follow your passion. You know, pursue your dreams, whatever they may be. If that means flying endlessly through the sky chasing rainbows, then so be it. If he dies, then at least he will have died doing what he wanted most." Vara found herself fascinated by his message. "It's bad enough that life throws shit at us all the time. I know everyone's too busy trying to make it all work out, but we shouldn't let that stop us from going after what makes us happy."

Joshua's words were a calming salve on Vara's doubts and fears. For some reason, she felt hopeful. The emotions she felt earlier—the heat, the numbing chill, and the weight on her chest—they were all still there. Yet... yet they did not feel as intense—as bad as before. "Hairless. I—

Copeland growled at Hairless before raising his hands in complete resignation. "Okay, don't listen to me! Do what you think you must, Claytor. Just, if you go out there, be careful. Talonpoint Knights are rare these days, and I'd also hate to lose a friend."

Claytor rumbled. "Azeroth's cloaca, it's not as if I want to die! Tell you what, meet me at Gemcutters tomorrow, before your shift. I'll bring a couple friends from the Keep along. We can talk about it over some drink."

While the two started talking about their plans, the atlawa knight spoke up. "Why are you holding her paw, boy? What's wrong with her?"

"Someone cut her paw pad with a sword while she was running from the other knights," Hairless said. The atlawa visibly flinched in empathy with her ordeal.

"It's okay. He's helping me walk," Vara said. "It should heal by tomorrow."

"Or maybe later tonight," murmured Joshua.

Vara barely heard him. "You say something, Hairless?"

"Nothing."

The biped hummed approvingly. "'Hairless'... ha! A fitting name, dragon. Well, he's a good pup. You won't regret having a friend like him."

"I know, sir."

Joshua literally pulled Vara by her forepaw right up until the door. He all but shooed the four guards away and placed his working hand on the latch. Vara had to set her paw down. It hurt, and it most definitely left another paw print behind, but at least they were done walking. "All right, Vara, we're here. You're about to see just how pathetically the feared 'Dragonbane' lives."

With that, he seemed to brace himself just as he yanked the door open.

Vara recoiled when a yellow blur suddenly leaped out from inside. It crashed into Joshua with enough force to hurl him to the floor on his back.

"Heeeey Joshua-Joshua-Joshua-Joshuaaa!"

Vara's eyes lit up with mirth when she saw Kilat standing on top of Hairless's chest. The child was wagging her tail excitedly, and Vara was snickering to herself as she watched the dragon child continuously and audibly lick his face without regard for the opinions of the people around him.

"Ugh, Kilat! No—stop it—yeckh—goddammit, it's not bath time yet!"

The little girl stopped, only to move on to nuzzling her muzzle all over Hairless's face and neck. "Awww, I'm not giving you a bath, silly! I'm just saying hello."

"You do this all the time! Can't you just act like a normal dragon and do the whole 'clear skies; steady winds' thing y'all do?"

"But we're family!" Kilat cheered. "And because we're family, I can do this!" And the prepubescent whelp gave the furless ape an amusingly long sweep of her tongue across his face.

"See? Don't you feel more welcome like this?" Kilat smiled down at him. Joshua's ire softened for a bit, and he too made a soft smile. There was no doubting the love between the two of them.

Vara sensed Joshua's gaze on her. She met it with her own. He pouted. "Don't you dare laugh, Princess. I don't give a damn what you say; none of it's funny."

She started laughing.

"F*ck you!"

The dragon child finally noticed Vara. It was hard not to overlook her amusement while observing their ecstatic display of affection. Kilat's eyes focused on Vara; she instantly turned to face the fallen noble—her tail smacking poor Hairless in the process—and glowered at her. "Who are you?"

She lowered her posture. "You're the one everybody's chasing, huh?" She bared her fangs. "What do you want with Joshua?"

"Kilat..."

"If you're here to hurt my brother like the others, I swear to the Ancestors I'll—

Vara stayed aloft. She straightened her posture. "You're beating the wind, whelp! I'm not planning anything like that for Hairless!"

"'Hairless'? See? You're lying already! You're just another bully like everyone else!" Kilat stomped forward, stepping off of Joshua as she bared her teeth. "A real friend won't call Joshua names! He even told me how you forced him to stay up there until Spyro started breathing hellfire at him!"

Vara knew she could be overbearing. She knew she could be forceful, sometimes even callous. But a bully? The fallen noble never considered herself to be one to begin with. She was nothing like those other apprentices. How dare this little girl beat the wind? Was she even thinking straight? "Go fly in a volcano!" she retorted. "I'm not bullying Hairless!"

"Then stop calling him that!"

"Why should I? I like to call him that! Ground yourself already! You're—

"I don't believe you! Just get out and—

Joshua's voice cut into the air. "Kilat! Stop!" He sat up and placed his right hand on her, tugged—more like pulled the whelp by the horns. "Vara's my friend, okay? Don't treat her that way."

"But Joshua! Yesterday you said—

"I know what I said, but that's not the whole story. She defended me, twice! And it's also because of her that I might have something interesting coming my way in the future."

"Hmph! You're just saying that! She just wants something from you. A bully is always a bully, and I know one when I see one." She turned away from him, practically wrestling her horns from his hand.

Joshua said, "You're jumping the shark, Kilat."

"Jumping the what now?"

"I mean you're making the wrong assumptions!" he growled out. Vara could feel the restrained anger in there. "Besides, Vara's not like those dragons that bothered you a couple weeks ago."

"Mmrrrrrnnnhhhh... Fine. I'll play nice." Kilat couldn't maintain eye contact with her brother. She ended up looking away. "For now."

"Sorry about that. Kilat's very protective of me." Hairless picked himself up from the floor. Once Vara saw this, she took a few steps forward to proffer her paw for support, its pad facing down. "Ah, thank you." Joshua took the offer.

Vara paid attention to the fact he deliberately avoided gripping the pad. Another sign of respect, she thought. It would've been awkward—humiliating—if she made a dumb egg of herself because of those nice, soft, and wonderful fingers of his. "Least I can do," she said, "for getting your sister off my tail."

Joshua chuckled. "Heh, looks like Princess knows how to show respect to others after all."

"Make another remark like that, Hairless, and I'll drop you like dead weight."

Kilat reacted, again with hostility. "Do that, and I'll make you regret it."

"Jesus Christ, kid! Leave her alone already." Hairless placed his good hand on her rump and began giving the child a few shoves forward. "It's fine, Kilat. Don't worry, don't worry... I don't want to see your scales falling off just because. Let's go back inside, okay?"

Kilat replied, "But what about her?"

"Vara? She's coming in with us too." The little girl was about to protest. Joshua preempted it a split-second before spoke. "Don't worry, it won't be anything major, promise. You'll be there to watch over us."

"Ahhrrrghhmm, fine. Fine!" the child lifted her head and trotted over into the room. Kilat stopped and stared at her for a few seconds... until the girl herself broke it, sticking her pink, glistening tongue at her.

Vara returned it by making a face of her own, not realizing she was the last one outside until Hairless called for her. "You coming in or what?"

"Coming, coming!"

As Vara strolled into Joshua's room, her gait relaxed and natural as it should've been, her thoughts wandered off to what she and countless others expected.

The airstreams thrived with guesswork over the furless ape's living conditions. With most people in Warfang still calling him "Dragonbane" or something similar, most speculated he was in a dungeon, isolated completely from the world. They imagined him hanging in the air by the arms, continuously tortured, barely fed, and sleeping in his own waste.

Vara herself thought the Guardians had him imprisoned in Talonpoint Keep, under slightly more merciful treatment, at least until she met the so-called human in Alona Hall. Then her expectations shifted to something more comfortable than the average apprentice's quarters. A reasonable thing, given all the privileges he had being under Master Volteer's and Lady Cynder's direct endorsement.

Those expectations were shattered the instant she walked in. As Joshua closed the door behind her, locking them all in with a sharp clack going off in her earholes, the fallen noble felt her jaw slacken at how utterly barren his room was.

It was lifeless.

There was nothing inside that even hinted at Joshua's and Kilat's true, inner selves. All they had were the standard mattress, the usual pillows, a sack stuffed with used clothing, a small lampstand (and the lamp itself, shade drawn back), and a drawer. Vara saw what looked like a pair of saddlebags—it was Kilat's, judging by their diminutive size—but there was nothing else.

"So, Princess, what do you think?"

"...It's dead."

"Huh? What was that?"

"I said it's dead. This—you can't call this a room! There's practically nothing in here!"

Even Serenya's room had personality. It had flowers, rolled-up parchments adorned with artwork (sordid attempts at it actually), stacks of notebooks, and a small case containing accessories she'd occasionally wear. On the other paw, Vara's room back in Blowout was a mess, littered with scrolls borrowed from the Temple library, crumpled pieces of paper, cheap curio she got from traders hailing from other Markazian towns, and a chest of medicinal herbs and bandages.

In comparison to either of them, Joshua's room was pitifully bare.

"I'm under room arrest. What else did you expect? I'm still technically a prisoner."

She shut her mouth after that. Hairless had a point there. She took a few more steps—careful not to put too much weight on her injured paw—and sat down on her underbelly. Neck straight, with her tail curled around herself.

He clapped his hands, to get both Vara's and Kilat's attention. "Okay, girls! So, first, official introductions." He gestured towards the Electric dragoness ogling them from the futon. She was sitting on her haunches. "Vara, this is Kilat. My adopted sister. We ran into each other in the canyon not far from here. Nearly killed me, this adorable little girl—

"I said I'm sorry!" yelled Kilat. "Can you stop saying that? Please? You know I thought you were gonna kill me too!"

"I love you, too," Joshua laughed, ignoring her outburst. "Now where was I? Ah, right. Kilat's a prodigy with her Element—supposedly better than Spyro, I've been told—and she's even better now that she's attending Volteer's lectures."

Vara's eyes dilated. This little girl, who was clearly a few years her junior, attended lectures held by the Electric Guardian himself? That meant her peers were Senior Fellows at minimum. People who would teach apprentices of Vara's level. Suddenly the dragoness felt nauseous. She was so glad she didn't annoy Kilat enough for her to start breathing hellfire.

"...looks like a bully to you," Hairless was in the middle of explaining. "But that's just how Vara is. She gave me a chance when no one else would have."

"But, Joshua, what about Red La—Hey!"

Hairless had already turned away from Kilat and faced Vara. "Okay, Princess, we're here. Kilat aside, we're alone and you have my undivided attention. What do you want? Are you here to cash in on that favor I owe you? It's the only reason I can think of right now."

The only reason, indeed. That was the only logical conclusion due to the unnecessary risks Vara exposed herself to in coming here. She had no clue what Hairless meant by "cash in", but the context clues were enough to divine the basic meaning. "Hmmmm, yeaaahhh, you can say that."

"What is it then?"

"You owe me three favors, actually."

"Three?" The human blinked twice. "What the hell? Jesus Christ, I'm not some blue genie from a magic lamp! When the f*ck did that happen?"

Vara had no idea what he just said, but if he didn't want to accept it, she had a predatory grin ready. "Yesterday," she replied. "All of 'em. One for not killing you in Alona Hall"—she caught him in the middle of protesting—"Hey! You were on all fours presenting your neck! Anyone else would've ripped you apart. Not me!"

Kilat looked horrified. "Joshua!"

Both of them ignored her. "And there you go," Vara concluded. "Favor number one. I also stopped Lord Spyro from murdering you right after he saw you with me, and I testified for you after I was dragged to the Audience Chamber for questioning.

"That makes favors number two and three. There you have it, Hairless. You owe me three favors, and I'm—what's that term you used?—ah, 'cashing in' the first one."

"...God, fine," Joshua acquiesced. "You made your f*cking point. Three favors, then. But you're already claiming the second one."

"Wrong! The first one."

"The second one!"

"I just said you're counting it wrong! This is the first time I'm talking to you about this."

Hairless palmed his face with his only good hand. He looked flustered. "I just saved you from expulsion! That's huge, Vara. Huge! It's so damn big I ought to count that against two favors instead of one, but I won't because we're friends."

Joshua and Vara glared at each other until the latter finally relented. "You're right, Joshua. I, I shouldn't have gotten greedy."

"Damn right you shouldn't have," he grumbled, before making a strange clicking noise with his mouth. "Even here people try to take a mile after you give 'em an inch..."

"Alright, second favor. Correction noted." Her tail wagged. "Why don't you come closer to me so I can tell you what I want?"

"Do I have to? I'm right here."

Vara smiled at him. "Please? I don't want Kilat to know. It's... uh, it's a little embarrassing."

Joshua groaned. "Fine." He complied and walked over. "All right, now what's so sensitive about this favor that you have to tell it straight into my ear?"

"Nothing. I just wanted you close enough for me to do this."

Without warning, Vara lunged out at Joshua. She grabbed the human using both forepaws, pulled him close. "W-wait, Vara, VARA—MMPH!"

He fumbled, fell face-first on the base of her neck. Before either he or Kilat could do anything, she brought her muzzle over to his face and swept her tongue across it several times. Joshua spluttered and stammered in protest, trying to push her away. He couldn't get a word out, not with Vara practically smothering him. She tightened her grip on him in response to his struggling. She was not worried about Kilat anymore, not when she completely relaxed, knowing her brother was safe.

Only when Vara decided she was done did she permit Hairless to push himself away from her, his face soaked in transparent slime. "Oh my God!" He spat on the floor. He also wiped his face on his tunic. Vigorously. "Ugh, nasty shit! What the hell did you do that for?"

"My way of saying thanks," she said, smirking at his glistening mien. "For saving my apprenticeship. I couldn't stop myself anymore. I had to do it."

"...Did you have to trick me like that?"

"Yes. I know you find it uncomfortable."

" It's gross as f*ck, that's what it is!"

"That's what you're saying now, Hairless, but you'll get used to it. It's a dragon thing after all."

"That's what I said before!" Kilat chimed in. "And he didn't believe me." The child smiled at her in full approval of her actions. Vara had a feeling she now looked at her in a more favorable light.

"See? I'm just speeding up the process a little more."

"...I hate you." He went over to the drawer, pulled out a small fabric, and began wiping it all over his face. "Jesus-Mary-Joseph," he whispered to himself, "I can still feel it all over my face." He shuddered. "F*ck, so much worse than Kilat's..."

"Sooooo, about that favor I'm cashing in—

"I'm not coming anywhere near you after what you just pulled!" She watched him toss the used cloth in the sack and took out another one from the drawer. "Eghhhhh! I can f*cking taste it. Shit!" he murmured, wiping his tongue dry on the fabric. "Oh my f*cking god..."

The sight amused her. She stilled her snout when he glowered in her direction with narrowed eyes. "Now tell me. What's on your mind?"

Vara studied Joshua. She let off an ominous hum. She nearly tittered at the way he squirmed from the uncertainty. She was tempted—very, very tempted—to demand a complete foot bath, the dragon way. She wanted it done exactly how she fantasized it: nice, slow, with meticulous attention to detail and many repetitions. It would be much better if the whole thing was performed in full view of the knights outside, so news could spread all over the airstreams. Thoughts of a squeamish Joshua practically screaming for mercy put a naughty grin on her muzzle.

...But it was not meant to be, not tonight.

Vara had to agree with Hairless; protecting her from expulsion was enormous. That alone would've been enough to strike off two favors from what he owed her. She might have hesitated if the human had decided that. The dragoness didn't want her connection with Joshua flying away anytime in the foreseeable future.

Luckily, he didn't.

Vara hummed again. Oh, look at Hairless fidget in place. Look how he trembled! The fallen noble beamed. Just having something over the human felt incredible.

It was great to be in control.

"To tell you the truth, Joshua, there's something I really want from you right now. But, I'm thinking it's better to save the best for last."

"Uh huh," he said, slowly. "That makes sense. And?"

"So for my second favor, I want more tutoring."

"Tutoring?" Joshua chortled. "Excuse me? Vara, you realize you're talking to someone who isn't qualified for anything other than manual scavenger work, do you?"

"That's dragon dung and you know it! What you did yesterday really helped me prepare for my test this coming Mazarach! But I need more one-on-one meetings if I want to catch up with the regulars."

"Hmmm, all right. That sooounds, reasonable. Still, you, you didn't mention exactly how many meetings we're talking about here."

"Naturally! That's because I want access to you over an unlimited duration."

Poor Hairless visibly—audibly choked on spit (probably not just his own). His jaw dropped, his eyes dilated, and indescribable horror glazed his expression.

"You've got to be f*cking kidding me!"

"Nope!" Vara said. She straightened her posture and looked him right in the eyes. "I'm being completely serious."

"But... unlimited duration? What the hell! I can't even take visitors right now, let alone a f*cking student—and again, I have no real teaching experience—

"Then I'll start coming here once you can. I'll try to get permission before that, too. Also, give yourself some credit. You taught me when Lord Spyro couldn't. You even stayed with me until I learned. That makes you a better teacher than him at least. I think you can do it."

"But, unlimited duration! No, I can't have that—

"You owe me."

"I am not gonna have my doors open for you to come in whenever and wherever the f*ck you want—

"You, owe, me!"

"A few weeks' worth would've been fine! Maybe even a month or cycle or whatever the f*ck you call it here! But unlimited? Jesus Christ! F*ck you! You're just taking advantage of me!"

"YOU OWE ME, YOU DUMB, STUPID, FURLESS HUMAN THING—

"AND YOU'RE ABUSING ME HERE—

Kilat's innocent laughter stopped their argument before it could continue. Both Vara and Joshua whipped their heads in her direction, practically growling at the little girl.

"What?"

"What's so funny, Kilat?"

The younger dragon rose from the futon and padded over to them—to Vara. She had a knowing smirk on her snout. "Why don't you just say what you really want, Miss Vara?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Vara replied.

"It's obvious to me you just want to be better friends with Joshua! So why don't you say it? There's nothing wrong with that."

It was Vara's turn to choke. The dragoness blanched. "W-w-wait a minute! Joshua's the one who wants my friendship, not me! You got it all wrong! I-I already have friends of my own." She chuckled, but her laughter came out stilted. Nervous. For some reason, she couldn't stare directly at the child, and she didn't—she couldn't understand why. "I mean, who, w-who wants to be friends with the furless ape?"

"Mhmmm, then why are you here?" Kilat, in all her childish naivete, asked. "Why did you go upstairs? It's off-limits to everybody. You know that; you're an apprentice too! I'm only allowed up here because Joshua's my brother and he's not really a prisoner. You would've been expelled if it wasn't for him."

Vara stammered, "That's, t-th-that's because he owes me a few favors! That's, that's all there is to it! Nothing more!" She backed up a few steps, until she felt the wall with her tail. She tilted her head to the right and started scratching it with her hind paw, frantically, to the point her orchid scales began chipping off.

"If you say soooo!" Kilat said singsong.

Joshua heaved a weary sigh. "F*ck me, why did it have to be a goddamn annoying tsundere..."

Vara ogled him. "What did you just call me?"

"Nothing." He closed the gap between them again, with what seemed to be resignation on his primate face. "Vara, if you actually want to spend time with me, that's fine. I'm okay with that. When I said we're friends, I meant it."

A smile started forming on Vara's snout. She couldn't believe it either. "R-really? After—d-despite the way I've been—

"Yes, I mean it. You don't need my permission for that. You can come whenever you want, as long as you find a way to do it without getting into trouble. Later on, once I can freely go around the Temple, maybe I'll go find you myself, or that friend of yours living in the second floor, after you introduce me to her."

Vara had an urge to take him down and lick him again, or just cry. Her paw pads went slick. She felt her wing membranes itch. Ancestors, this was exactly like the time her only friend in the Temple—in all of Warfang—accepted her, and unconditionally so.

"However, anything more than that is negotiable. You want me to actually go out of my way to help you with your Element? That will cost you a favor, and no, it won't be f*cking unlimited!"

"...I... I understand."

Joshua paused. He opened his mouth to speak. He hesitated for a moment. "You know what, let me offer a deal of my own. I need training myself. You won't have to cash in that second favor if you let me use my Element on you. Channeling my Element needs a living person, and sadly I'm not compatible with Electric dragons. Sorry, Kilat." He stroked his sister's head. Vara stared at his fingers, at the way he massaged her. She couldn't help but feel envious of the child, especially when she leaned into it.

"That's okay, Brother. No worries."

"Okay, Vara, what do you say to that? Do we have a deal?"

If Hairless expected her to leap into this agreement without serious deliberation, he would've been disappointed. Vara gave it some consideration. Joshua may be amicable and easy to talk to—and even easier to mess around with—but his power was not a joke. It was a fact that people had died to it. It was possible she could die during these mutual training sessions he was proposing.

But...

She trusted him once.

She could trust him again.

"I accept the arrangement," Vara answered.

The room went silent again. Kilat wordlessly nuzzled Joshua's leg and went back to the futon, curling up to take a nap.

"Joshua. Are... are we going to start now?"

"Why not?" he said. "We're here already, and it isn't late. You might as well stay until the Moles come with our evening meals."

"All right."

He tendered his right hand. "Give me your paw."

Vara licked her chops at the sight of those fingers. Her mind wandered off to how good it would feel to have them sweep across her scales and press on her paw pads. In her opinion, this was even better than his Element.

"Well?"

The fallen noble ignored him. She wanted those fingers on her now. What was waiting for her back home anyway? Back home, all she had was an abusive mother who didn't believe in her, and a father who enabled the abuse. Nobody at home supported her aspirations.

The only people who cared enough about her were both here in the Temple.

She couldn't sleep downstairs in Residential 2F because she was just a regular visitor. But what about up here? Unlike that smushed egg downstairs, Hairless had special privileges. Maybe he could... extend a bit of those to her? She really didn't want to go home tonight.

"One last thing, before we begin."

"What?"

"Can I stay overnight?"

"What?"

He gaped at her as though she asked a stupid question.

"I don't feel like flying home later, so can I sleep here tonight?"

"Princess, we're friends, I like you and all, but no."

She whined. "Awwww, why not? Look, there's an empty spot at the other corner! I can just curl up and sleep there. I won't bother you and Kilat—

"I said no!"

"Pleaaaase, Joshua? Pleeeeeeease?"

"You just want to me to give you a full body massage later! You can't hide it from me. I can see it in your eyes. So, hell no! Fly back home later or else our deal is off."

Vara relented at that. "Azeroth's horns, okay! Okay! I was just asking." Damn it, she thought to herself. So much for that idea.

Maybe she'd have better luck next time.

"Now give me your forepaw, Vara. Let's begin."

She did as he instructed, and stood ready for what came next. Her wings twitched. It was still difficult to ignore the way those fingers felt on her scales, notwithstanding Joshua's efforts to avoid her pad.

"I want to see how far you've gotten on your own. Do the snowball exercise again."

"O-okay."

Yeah, maybe next time...

.

.

.

---

Author's Notes:

And that's a wrap!

Vara is sooo fun to write! And she sure loves that human touch! Maybe she's right, though. Maybe it's not just her… Hehe, I laugh a little when I think about it. Just imagine, Joshua earning his keep as a popular masseuse.

Fun fact about Aimless!Vara: since she had no personality in the source material (AWSW), I decided to give her one. And that personality is based on Valerie, my sister's classmate in University, and Charmaine, a friend of someone I crushed on heavily in my University days.

Charm always got in the way every time I tried to go out with my crush. She would compel my crush to join her instead of coming with me for an afternoon at the mall or whatever, and it did NOT help that they were in varsity for the same fucking sport. She was so damn possessive back then. At least Val was on my side when I was dating her cousin, and hey, she'll be my cousin-in-law in less than three months (as of the date this chapter got published online). XD

Aaaaaand I just reminded myself of the wedding. God. Work on that's starting to get heavy now that it draws near, and the suppliers are sending in the bills. THE BILLS! FUCK. And my IRL job? Yeah, work's getting heavy on that end too, now that the end of the year is coming up on us once again.

Oh wait, not just the end of the year. THE END OF THE FUCKING DECADE. Away, 2010s! And hellloooooo 2020s!

.

.

.

…ahhhh shit. I'm so old. Fuck. I need a drink.

*stares at summary for Chapter 37*

*stares at to-do-list for this business expo I'm attending in China*

Fuck it! I need a drink NOW.

.

.

.

Replies to reviews:

Chaoscontrol108. Thanks for the review!

Yeah, took Joshua more than 30 days after he entered Warfang. That's longer than one month on Earth, if you remember how timekeeping is done in the Dragon Realms. But hey, he can officially channel the Unknown Element as of Day 33. Now all he has to do is figure out the rest of the limitations he has to work with…

That connection you spotted was Kilat was totally unintended. It worked out quite well though!

Guards are getting friendlier with him slowly, yes, and it's the result of being constantly around him. Maybe that's what Spyro needs? Being forced to spend time with him?

And yes! Family talk! XD Glad you liked that.

I hoped you liked this chapter too.

Betrayed666. Thanks for the review, dude. To answer your question, nope, he can't produce them on his own. He needs to get it from others. There's a reason like that, and it's the same reason it isn't really a "Life or Death" element (even though it operates like one).

Velocicopter. Those steady winds will probably continue, with a little bit of turbulence here or there. Real life isn't all tailwinds either, right? That's what daily life is for virtually all of us.

And thank you so much for your review. I'm glad you loved the previous chapter. Lots of sibling fluff, real progress with the Unknown Element, and concrete ROIs from all the goodwill he's been putting much effort into.

I hope you liked this chapter too. :D

Djax80. I LOL'd in front of my friends when you said that. But yeah, it's very funny when you say it like that. "I can finally USE THE POWER! THE POWER! And my first act of greatness shall be…. TO TICKLE MY SISTER!" roflmao

Thanks for the review, Djax, and thanks for being with Aimless from the start. Very grateful for your continued interest in this story.

TheKazostkyKicker. Yeah, it was like that…. Just worse. XD

Bizzleb. Whoa! I never replied to your review. Ooooops.

Thanks for the feedback, as always. It's a pleasure to read your comments, y'know. :D

There's nowhere else to go up, as far as Joshua's case goes. He needs to be more thankful for Kaos though. If it wasn't for that crazy nutjob, he never would've started on the path to social acceptance. He'll need to finish it quickly though… he's got quite the adventure waiting for him beyond the walls.

Oh, and that's because I love your stories. Cliched as hell in some scenes though, but I've always overlooked them since they're still a good read.

Hoping you liked this chapter too. See ya around. I'll DM you if ever I need to. (You know why.)

SonicDJM. Thanks for the review, dude! Uhm… please revisit Chapter 19 for an answer to your question.

Piston24. "The Journey Home" category of chapters is rare, as you've noticed, and for good reason. You'll eventually find out why as I update. (It has something to do with the prerequisites for certain chapters.)

Joshua actually touched upon Rule #3 without realizing it. ^^

Joshua isn't really influencing others. He's erasing their ability to perceive him with the five senses. That power can still be improved, but at much greater personal risk.

Callofz. And that he does! He doesn't do it intentionally though. Thanks for the review, btw!

LoNeWoLf (guest). That's right. It works by ACTUAL INTENTION. Not sure why you got a bit of Venom vibes there… the closest I got was Green Lantern's power ring. Ironically, the inspiration behind Joshua's Element was not the green lantern ring. It was actually the superpower of David Foster, the main OC in my favorite Teen Titans (2003 series) fanfic "Measure of a Titan". (That's another great read, btw. Loved that series. It's such a shame it got so close to the end but never reached there. The writer's on an indefinite hiatus.)

Sigmar. Hello! Thank you so much for your review, and thanks for following. I hope you'll continue to enjoy my story in the chapters to come.

As for your idea… well, calling it "soul" or "spirit" is partially right…

Iceman3423. Heeey Iceman!

Better late than never! I love seeing what my readers have to say about my work. Yeah, yeah, I'm ultimately writing Aimless for myself and all that, but seeing an increasing number of people enjoy what I'm putting up here… it's what keeps me writing this thing. :3

Anyway, glad you loved all that sibling stuff. I hope you liked this chapter. XD It really shows Joshua and Vara's friendship more than the "Keeping Time" chapter, and it's longer than usual!

Guest 1 (guest). Superhuman? Yeah, sort of. He's got much better physical attributes to the point Volteer said he's more like a dragon now, even though he retained his human form. (See the chapter "Field Demonstration #1")

Got better at using the Unknown Element? Of course. It happens with time.

Getting his left arm fixed? He'll need a lot of physical therapy…

Thanks for the review. ^_^

.

.

.

.

.

---

[39D/EA]

[Aorathan Desert, Northern Coast of Markazia – Castle Shadowstone]

---

"I have returned, my Mistress," said the figure, its voice deep and distorted. The dark hems of their robe fluttered as they walked into the chamber. Face mostly clad in shadow, a pair of pale blue eyes took in the familiar sight. A throne room of sorts, albeit laid out with a variety of measuring instruments and transparent specimen containers made from crystal, all surrounding. an empty space in the middle.

Although it was not quite empty as it seemed, for in the very center of the lair hovered a tiny black orb, its depth so impossible to perceive as to appear like a flat image drawn on canvas. It did not even reflect the torchlight illuminating the chamber. Seated on the throne was their mistress, a cerulean reptile tightly grasping a massive staff in her paws. Her eyes ogled the black orb—peered past the purple layer of Convexity enveloping the thing and penetrated even the prismatic colors barely visible at the edge. It was also hard to miss the unsightly red lipstick staining her muzzle.

Not exactly something most people would find attractive, but one did not follow an archmage for their physical appearance.

The reptile noticed their arrival. "At last! I was wondering how your trip to December went. I expect you bring good news?"

They bowed. "Affirmative," they said. "The—

"Oh! Get rid of that ghastly obfuscation spell you cast on yourself! You know you don't need it here."

The figure chuckled. Blue mana ensconced their gloved hand as they waved it in the air. In a second, the shadow obscuring their face vanished and revealed a beige muzzle. Their nose twitched as a feminine voice spoke, "Sorry, Mistress. You know how it is, being out in the field."

Her eyes were still glued to the tiny orb, smaller than the hooded figure's paw. "Report!" she replied tersely.

The witch said, "Very well. Bleakshooter was undeniably thrilled to receive our assistance. It's the first time I've seen somebody so happy to receive our garbage. You should've seen the glee on his ugly face."

"We are magi. Scrolls and enchanted weaponry imbued with mere cantrips and simple spellcraft will always excite barbarians incapable of magic."

"Especially Apes," the witch chuckled.

"Indeed," her mistress laughed with her. "Did Bartholomew return with you?"

"He prefers to be called 'Slam Bam', dear Mistress," answered the witch. "And to answer your question, no. I assigned him guard duty. We can't have the new 'Ape King' dying that easily when he starts raiding the villages."

"Do you expect the Saviors to act?"

"Not at all, but it doesn't hurt to have a backup plan. Warfang will certainly deploy reinforcements to strengthen the local defense forces, which we can't underestimate either. The dragons in December are indomitable, especially that Aurona from Eyria village. Still, I equipped Slam Bam with a... contingency in the highly improbable scenario 'Lord' Spyro visits the Cliffs."

For a moment, the archmage ogled her sole pupil. "Bianca," she said, sternly. "Making a move on the Purple Dragon is extremely dangerous. You better know what you're doing."

Bianca shuddered underneath her mistress's intense gaze. A terrifying aura ensconced the throne room. She shuddered, almost losing her composure. The witch managed to stand her ground and hold herself steady. "T-the World Will won't interfere. I gave Slam Bam one of the camellias we have in stasis."

Her mistress hummed in approval. "Good. You've prepared well." She resumed her study of the black hole floating before her, attention engrossed by whatever her glowing eyes perceived within it.

"It pays to be under the tutelage of the great Sorceress Cauldra," Bianca said with a smirk of her own.

"Enough with the flattery. We both know I am still a student of archmagi greater than either of us combined."

"Even so, I believe you are the closest among them to becoming a Portal Master."

"Whatever makes you feel better."

The witch stepped closer to the tiny black hole. She pulled her hood back, revealing the pink ears of a rabbit. She gaped at the miniature orb with wide, dilated eyes. Her hands unconsciously clung to her long, gigantic ears. "That is so amazing, no matter how many times I see it," Bianca verbalized in wonder. She couldn't stop the awe from showing on her furry muzzle. "How, how are your endeavors 'beyond the edge', dear Mistress?"

"Moderately successful," replied Sorceress Cauldra. "My soul seed currently inhabits an alternate instance of the Dragon Realms. It's currently enacting a plan to harvest the local dragons for the mana it needs to survive a longer voyage through the Space Between Worlds." Then a frown appeared on her crocodilian muzzle. " I should tell you, I met another instance of you there. Made her a student too, actually. But..."

Bianca crossed her arms, scowling herself. "Let me guess. She's too soft?"

"Yes! And worse: her loyalty is uncertain. She hesitates to put an end to some prepubescent purple dragon and his cheetah friend meddling in the harvest."

Bianca yelped, hands covering her muzzle. "No way! There's a Purple Dragon there, too?"

"Thankfully it's not the kind of Purple Dragon you're thinking of," the archmage replied. "He may share names with Warfang's beloved Savior, but he doesn't have a fragment of the World Will embedded in his soul. There is no need for my real body to take action." Sorceress Cauldra stared down at her pupil, disdain filling her gaze. "I'm greatly disappointed that your counterpart will most likely betray my soul seed. Losing it won't kill these expeditions forever, but I'm still hoping for the best."

Bianca gripped her ears tight. "Just kill her," she spoke. "It sounds like she's still young. Sheltered. That's not the kind of apprentice I'd want for myself to be honest. However, I would have a different opinion if she was living in a harsh world like ours."

"Enough, Bianca! What my soul seed chooses to do is not important. You need to be an archmage yourself if you want to get involved with my projects 'beyond the edge'. For now, just focus on weakening the Allied Territories. We need to tempt the Sky Empress enough to declare war on them. If you manage that, it will go a long way in advancing our path of truth."

The rabbit genuflected before her mistress. "Please forgive me," she pleaded. "I overreached my station."

Sorceress Cauldra waved a large, reptilian hand at her, claws dismissing her to the point it gave off an air of indifference. "As I said, we are both magi."

"Thank you, dear Mistress." Bianca rose to her feet and gave her mistress a deep, reverent bow. "Do you have any other work for me? Otherwise I'll return to my lair and—

"As a matter of fact, I do."

Bianca grimaced. So much for advancing her research in transmogrification.

"Schedule a trip to Warfang in the next red cycle," commanded the Sorceress. "I want you to investigate the furless ape."

"Him? What's so special about him? All our spies in Warfang say he's weak." Which was an enormous waste considering how special his Element was, Bianca would've added if a thin—a very thin —stack of documents didn't start floating from some open cabinets on the side.

The papers soared to the rabbit and hovered just long enough for her to catch the pile in her arms. Bianca buckled a little when she realized it was heavier than it looked. "Eep!" she cried. "What's this?"

"Supposedly copies of secret paperwork from Submaster Kaos's lair, anonymously donated by someone from Skylands. Take a look."

Bianca ran her fingers through the thin stack. It didn't exceed four pages. "Uhm..."

"Assuming those papers aren't fabrications, Submaster Kaos believes the furless ape is a Transcendent. The second of their kind. I studied the physical description of this 'Joshua'. It is peculiar. I suspect he's a human being.

"And if that's true, that makes him extra special." The Sorceress bared all her teeth in an evil and rather frightening grin.

"But, Mistress, humans don't exist in the Dragon Realms," said the witch.

The Sorceress corrected her, "That statement applies only to the five continents discovered so far. Skylands' explorers have yet to circumnavigate our world. But remember, Bianca, whether this furless ape is alien or native to the Dragon Realms is irrelevant. The mere possibility he is human is far, far more important than anything else."

A menacing glint shone in her eyes. "Because that means, ignoring the pathetic state he's currently in, this 'Joshua' has the potential to become the next Christopher Van Numen. No magus would be so foolish as to deny that. I am aware one red cycle is not enough time for your research but surely you comprehend the kind of opportunity we have before us. Do you?"

Bianca gave her mistress a respectful bow. An equally sinister smile appeared on her muzzle. "I do. I'll put it in my calendar, Mistress Cauldra."

.

.

.

---

.

.

.

Okay, chapter's really done. See ya!

Until next time.