Author's notes:
All right, time to crank out another chapter of Aimless. While Spyro is prepping himself up for a raid up in the northern reaches of the Allied Territories, we take a look and check in on how Joshua is doing right around the time the purple dragon had received a hero's welcome in Uzali and met up with Bianca.
Messages from my two beta readers below:
AzureDragonZX. Hey guys, Azure here! I've been waiting for this! This is my first time beta reading a Joshua-centric chapter! (Well, aside from any revisions to previous chapters.) I can tell you will all like this one. In fact, I'm already looking forward to reading your reactions to a specific scene, in the reviews! Enjoy the chapter everyone!
Strykeruk. Strykeruk here, thanks to you all for the eager reviews and patience. I can assure you that Silent has plans... many plans for future content haha. But as with Azure I'm particularly looking forward to how you react to this chapter. Enjoy! ;)
My response. Yeah, Azure was really excited when he saw the section in the middle of the chapter. IDK how y'all will react to it XD And yes, he was totally agog about beta-reading his first Joshua-centric chapter. Stryker was looking forward to the next chapter, which I've already started working on (rather than my OG fic), but that doesn't mean he isn't looking forward to how you guys will react to what you're about to read. So... review, review, review! XDDD
Oh, and I'd like to give my readers a huge thank you. Aimless had breached 200K views during the IRL time that had elapsed between the 51st chapter and this one. On top of that, the story has also amassed nearly 750 reviews as of August 2021. Thank you so much for following the story until now in spite of my slow-ass pacing and I hope you continue to follow and enjoy Aimless for as long as it continues to run. XD
Anyway, I held y'all up for long enough so... here's the chapter.
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 Dragon Realms follow 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!
The Journey Home — For Science!
Chapter 52: Field Demonstration 2
"The best kind of accountability on a team is peer-to-peer."
~ Patrick Lambicioni
[50D/EM]
Vara was pulled from deep sleep by the sound of her mother screaming her name. The adolescent dragoness yawned, blinking the crust in her eyes away as she stretched out on a pair of old cushions. Ahhh, what she'd give to sleep on a nice futon like the resident apprentices in the Temple…
"Vara!"
She grunted, feeling a slight headache. Another yawn. Mother was shooting her mouth again. She cast her eyes at the open window. Vara scolded herself briefly, realizing that she had forgotten to close it last night. Orange whisked across the sky in short, infrequent wisps. "Ugh, so early…" Ancestors' rumps, if only she'd let her sleep some more.
"Vara!" Mother called again, and angrily this time around. "Get down here before I come up and make you!"
The dragoness sighed. She wished Mother wouldn't take out her frustrations on her and act like a proper mother. Vara rolled over her flank and forced herself to stand on the stone flooring. "Wish they'd buy a carpet for me," she grumbled as she ambled to the sliding door, the floor cold on her paw pads.
Vara had very little as far as decors went. Other than the cushions she slept on, the dragoness had a bureau containing her possessions, with some of the cheaper curio filling up two saddlebags in the corner. Across from the window was a shelf meant for scroll cases, but its contents were scattered across the room, half-unfurled. Some weren't even hers—just scrolls borrowed from Hookfang Library—but the librarian wasn't so meticulous as to expect apprentices to return the documents in perfect condition.
Next to her sleeping cushions stood a small chest filled with medicinal herbs and other first aid items all to herself—a necessity for Vara given how often Mother abused her and how badly she was sometimes bullied. While nothing extravagant, it was a definite step up above the glorified prison cell that Joshua and his sister called home.
Vara eyed the waste bin that sat on another corner. It was full with crumpled parchment, old food scraps, and used rags.
Her whole room was a mess. Combined with the stuff rotting in the bin, she knew it would only be a matter of days before the musty smell befouled and drew Mother's attention, but even she relished in this sort of petty revenge.
Vara's gaze lingered on the bureau. Atop it was a painting of her and her parents, illustrated and colored by some mole in Meredy Square. Vara was a little whelp back then, climbing over Mother's frills while Father watched them, his muzzle beaming with pride.
Happier days.
Mother's voice echoed from below. "Damn it, girl! I told you to come down."
Shoving the memory from her snout, Vara ambled out of her room. Shutting the door with her tail, the adolescent dragoness bound across the short, narrow hallway. It led to a spacious stairwell illuminated by a chandelier adorned with glowing crystals. The stairs lined all four walls, but there was enough space for Vara to leap through and touch down with the flap of a wing.
"I swear to Azeroth, when I fly up there, I am going to—
Right on time to land right next to her grumbling mother. Vara had heard everything. She glared at the older dragoness, locking eyes on her and her yellow scales. "You're going to what, Mother?" she growled, her tone icy. Vara suppressed the urge to yawn. "I don't know what time it is, but this is too early for a Mazarach morning."
Mother's forepaw twitched, and Vara couldn't stop herself from wincing. "Don't you speak to me with that tone," she snarled, electricity dancing across her fangs. "Haven't you learned your lesson the last time?"
Vara felt her gaze land on the scar she'd inflicted on her snout a few days ago. She shut her eyes and braced herself for another solid hit. It was only after a couple of seconds had passed did Vara crack her eyes open. Why hadn't she struck yet?
"Ventura has his eyes on you today, Vara," Mother sneered, her red eyes narrowing at her. "If it weren't for the knights waiting outside, I would—
"K-Knights!" Vara exclaimed, her drowsiness instantly disappearing. "H-here? At our lair?"
"Looking for you," Mother said. She approached her daughter, her posture betraying her irritation.
Vara paled. She couldn't believe it. "W-what? Me?"
"They refuse to tell me why," Mother said, answering the question written clearly on Vara's snout. "You're being summoned to the Temple." Her tone turned accusatory. "I have no idea what they're planning for a scat egg like you.
"You better not have a high-flyer breathing hellfire on us, Vara. You might be my whelp but I'm not carrying you on my wings, got it? I'm already balancing so much just providing for our family."
Vara shook her head rapidly. "N-n-no, Mother! No! I've never done anything to warrant this kind of attention, promise! You have my neck!"
That was a blatant lie. Luckily, Mother did not know about the storm she'd caused in the Temple a few days ago. The airstreams had correctly identified an apprentice as the perpetrator but not necessarily Vara herself.
Mother snorted derisively. "Useless daughter. Not just a scat egg. A smushed egg, too." She stepped forward, jaws gripping down on Vara's withers, and pulled the smaller dragoness up and towards the large sliding door ahead.
"H-hey! Mother! I can walk by myself! Let me—
A jolt of electricity coursed through the younger dragoness. The muscle spasm was enough to quiet her in time for Mother to reach for the notch with the tip of her wing and slide the door wide open.
As the door loudly struck the wall, Vara was dropped in front of two knights. Both were dragons. She didn't want to see them, preferring to face her mother instead. "Hello!" Vara watched an innocent smile appear on her banded muzzle. "Sorry to keep you waiting. Vara doesn't wake easily in the morning, especially on Mazarach. I had to drag her all the way here from her cushions."
Vara's mustard eyes glared up at Mother, detesting the sickeningly sweet voice she had switched to. It was her weapon of choice when pretending her abuse didn't exist. When she wanted to preserve whatever dignity their "noble bloodline" had remaining. So that's the story she's going with, Vara noted bitterly. She was implying it was her fault—suggesting they should direct their irritation at her.
"That's no problem to us, Ma'am," one of the knights replied. "The summons came without warning. We understand."
"Is there anything I should be concerned about?" Mother asked, worried. "Why is my Vara being summoned to the Temple? Is… is she in trouble?" Vara gnashed her teeth when she saw her frilled ears wilt a little. She could even manipulate her body language to the extent of fooling just about anyone. Disgusting.
The two knights didn't immediately respond. Vara could no longer resist her curiosity (and dread) and finally faced them. "Clear skies—!" Vara gasped, her eyes dilating with surprise.
She recognized them.
Rather, she only recognized one of them.
It was the same dragoness who had chased her through Residential Area 3F nearly half a cycle ago. Vara knew it was her from the signature armor of Talonpoint Keep, as well as the unusual coloration of her body. Green and black together wasn't common. The patterns they made on her body, even less so.
"Steady winds," the knight responded.
"I know you…" Vara mumbled, feeling relief wash over her. This dragon knight—Emerine?—was one of Joshua's guards. That meant a storm hadn't descended on her after all! She had nothing to worry about. Everything was going to be—
Mother's finned ears twitched at her mumbling. She instantly rounded on Vara. "You actually know these people?" She questioned, nonplussed.
Vara let out a squeak. She didn't intend for Mother to hear that! "I, I-I-I, uhm, uhhhhhhh, Mother, I, I can explain." The dragoness continued to stammer, "I don't—I don't actually know them by name. They're from Talonpoint Keep—
Mother gasped. "Talonpoint Keep! Really!"
"—and they're protecting someooonnneeee…"
Her paws began to sweat. She couldn't just drop a direct link to Joshua like that. Just last night her parents had brought up the human during supper and the discussion was mainly Mother grumbling about Warfang's leadership and the "dangerous influence" they were unleashing on "gullible" whelps, not-so-subtly referencing the regulated lecture in Windvale Arena and the alleged fact that Joshua had been seen cavorting with resident apprentices with no supervision whatsoever. And as usual, her white-livered undragon of a father unanimously agreed with every word she said.
How would they react—how would Mother react if she knew her own daughter not only had a personal encounter with Hairless, but also befriended him, risked expulsion to visit him, and indirectly made that "dangerous influence" possible to begin with?
Vara didn't want to explore that option yet. Maybe not until a few more red cycles from now, by the Long Winter's end…
A loud thump brought Vara out of her musings. "And?" Mother asked, impatient. "Who is it? I hope it's not someone I should be flying in circles about." She was trying to hide her anger from the two knights but Vara had enough experience to know the signs of a terrible punishment when she returned home later.
Vara glanced at Emerine and her fellow knight. Neither of them had any inclination of speaking. The other knight had his eyes on the sky. They were giving Vara the courtesy of resolving this herself.
"No, no, not at all! It's just somebodyyyyyy"—she paused for a second before a brilliant idea popped in her mind.—"somebody working directly for Master Volteer and Lady Cynder. They report only to them."
Mother made a strange expression that Vara couldn't properly read. Consternation? Astonishment? Her eyes seemed to take on a different shine. "Well!" She finally exclaimed. "Then it really is nothing to worry about." Her lips curled into a smile.
To most, it would come off as cheerful and relieved. To Vara, it only revealed the fact she was doing mental calculations in her head. Mother could be manipulative to a terrifying degree and it was one of the many things Vara hated about her.
"I'm happy my sweet Vara is starting to flap her wings." The yellow dragon brought her wing down on Vara's rump and shoved her forward, and slightly gentler than the adolescent had expected. "Go on, Little Wing. Mother will always support you." Mother leaned towards Vara's earhole and whispered to her, "As long as you don't trap our family in turbulence. Understand me?"
Vara quavered from the warning. "I-I understand, Mother." She bowed her head at the yellow dragoness out of respect—as trained—and ambled over to the two dragon knights.
"I'm ready." She gazed up at them, putting on a look of determination in an effort not to show the worries crossing her mind. She couldn't get comfortable just because Hairless was somehow involved. What if there really was something serious?
"Good," said the other knight. "We leave now."
They turned and started walking away from the two-story house, to Vara's confusion. "Aren't we flying directly to the Temple?"
"We are," they replied, "but protocol demands that we take off and land a few wingspans away from residences to avoid collisions with dragons flying—hovering—in the vicinity of their properties as provided by Warfang law."
Both Emerine and the other knight crouched down and spread her wings as soon as they cleared a certain distance. "Vara," the former said. "Don't get used to this just because the furless ape is starting to gain altitude. Flights beyond speedway limits are a special privilege rarely granted to anyone who isn't part of the knighthood."
"I'm aware of that, Ma'am," Vara replied. "I'll do my best to earn it when I'm an adult. Eyes straight, ailerons flexed." She couldn't resist making a slight grin after. "Besides, Joshua can't actually fly no matter how high he soars." She'd have to become a high-flyer in her own right in the end. In the overall flight plan, latching on others' tails never worked.
Emerine chuckled. "Glad you understand, girl. Let's go." She barked at the other knight, "Coulombrin, stay behind us."
Vara leaped into the air shortly after Emerine launched herself from the ground. They rose into the air, powerfully drumming their wings as they climbed in the air. Vara couldn't help herself and glanced down, in awe at how high they were soaring. Not only did they rise above Blowout District's tallest structures, but they also ascended past the few dragons flying in the speedways, staying within the glowing crossbars.
It was an exhilarating experience for the fallen noble. Just how many dragons her age could boast of flying at the same height as Talonpoint Knights? Of seeing the beloved City of Dragons unfold before her eyes on an even grander scale than usual? Of delighting in the stronger, cleaner winds that circulated in Warfang airspace? Even the air smelled nicer up on this level, promising serenity and peace rather than adventure.
Vara couldn't resist the urge to spiral playfully in the air, letting out a happy shriek. Up here, higher than the speedways, higher than nearly all of Warfang, where it was just her and the winds… Vara felt free. The memory would stick to her for the rest of her life, overwriting even the very day she had learned to fly.
Absorbed in her own ecstasy, Vara neither saw the reproachful glower on Emerine's snout nor heard Coulombrin assuaging the Earth dragon and asking her to let the young dragoness enjoy herself. The only time she remembered she actually wasn't entitled to the special privilege of unrestricted flight was when Emerine caught up with her to enter into a linear formation. "Enjoy it while it lasts, girl."
And enjoy it she did.
All five minutes of it.
The fact Vara hadn't had enough sleep didn't catch up to her until the trio had touched down on a VTOL point close to the Botanic Gardens, entered the great structure that was the Warfang Temple, and begun walking through the familiar corridors.
Her maw opened wide as she made a massive yawn—the fifth she'd made in the last few minutes. The energy from that once in a lifetime flight all spent, Vara was getting slightly listless. Her pace was slower than normal and she couldn't rid herself of that nasty feeling in her eyes.
Any worries she had for Joshua on the way here had been buried underneath a layer of frustration. Today was Mazarach! First day of the weekend and here she was strolling through the dimly-illuminated corridors. She should be sleeping right now! Her pillows weren't as fluffy as the ones in the Temple, and her parents haven't bothered providing her with the luxury of a blanket, but it was still her bed and she'd much rather be back home instead of…
Where were they even going? Neither Emerine nor Coulombrin had mentioned that at all.
"That's because you never asked," answered the Electric dragon accompanying them. Vara flinched. She had said that out loud?
Hissing to herself, Vara said, "Sorry, sir. I got lost in the clouds earlier. It was an amazing flight…"
"It was, indeed."
"Sir, is it all right if I ask where you are taking me?" They didn't traverse the utilidors, but the passages they had just gone through were the ones open to the apprentices, meaning they were somewhere around the formal teaching chambers. Vara had been studying here long enough to at least know that.
"Certainly," Coulombrin said. "We're bringing you to Proudtail Hall."
Vara hummed. "And, why are you taking me there?" she asked.
"Joshua requested it."
Requested it? So this wasn't urgent? He just wanted to see her for no reason? Ugh… that damn hairless monkey. He could've waited a bit longer!
Vara was scowling from the angry thoughts filling her head. "Did it have to be at such an ungodly hour? Even if we're friends this is just too much! He—
Emerine spun around to face her, a look of irritation on her snout. "Suck an egg, child!" She grunted at the young dragoness. "It is unfair—and foolish—to beat the wind and judge anything without acknowledging the simple fact you don't know everything." It was only then that Vara noticed her eyes had sunken a little; the knight probably wanted to go to sleep herself. "We are here at this hour because Lady Cynder requested discretion and both Master Volteer and Councilor Tuconsis demanded the urgency."
Vara flinched. She couldn't maintain eye contact with Emerine or look at the other knight, bowing her head in apology. "I, I'm sorry," she said. Vara mentally beat herself for the lapse in judgment, catching a glimpse of the distance she needed to go if she ever wanted to soar high in the flight called life. "I didn't think it was going to be this important."
She had never considered the possibility that her nascent friendship with Joshua would put her in proximity with three of the highest authorities in Warfang. Vara knew he was being closely monitored and was moving up in their world, but she didn't expect her relationship with him to impact her life like this.
Emerine snorted at her response and turned away. The Talonpoint Knight didn't bother saying anything and resumed her lead. Vara frowned, but there was nothing she could do now. She had already made her mistake. The dragoness didn't realize she had stopped in place until she felt Coulombrin's forepaw nudging her rump.
Vara jumped. "S-sorry," she apologized again and walked after the Earth dragoness. "Didn't mean to stop. Please let me fly low."
"It's all right, Miss Vara," Coulombrin answered calmly. "Emerine's also cranky from lack of sleep. But you should be thanking her."
"Why?"
"Because she still gave you information you didn't need to know," the knight said. "We're just obeying our commands. Neither of us are obligated to answer any of your questions from the point of takeoff. And, to fly straight with you, you wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for the fact Joshua asked for you."
Every word Coulombrin told her felt like a slap on the face. Vara felt the shame burning her snout. If she was still in the privacy of her own room, she would've buried her muzzle in a cushion and screamed. Of course the knights wouldn't tell her or Mother everything. Of course Joshua wouldn't have been able to summon her on his own name. Of course this would've been important!
How could she have been so dumb? Vara and her family were completely irrelevant to the Allied Territories. The fact their noble lineage could be traced back to the Vulcan the Sunburst Dragon was worthless. It might have been the only thing that pushed Warfang's leaders to give them a home in Blowout District, but that was all.
"Can you at least tell me what's happening in Proudtail Hall? Even just the profile of the landscape?"
"No. You'll find out when you're there."
The answer fell in line with Vara's expectations and did nothing to satisfy her. The dragoness could only hope that Joshua was truly justified in inconveniencing her so much this morning. If he was, she'd be completely understanding. If he wasn't, then there was vengeance to exact. And that meant another favor to squeeze from him. Relationships were always give-and-take, weren't they? This time she would demand a more physical reward, Vara decided. If Hairless wasn't going to commercialize that 'special touch' of his, she might as well monopolize it for herself.
Already she could envision Joshua working hard to service her. If his fingers felt good on her paws, how would they feel like on her wings? ...Lifebringer's mercy, she was starting to feel jealous of Kilat again. That little girl had all the good things to herself—
"We're here," Emerine's voice cut through her musings.
Vara had been so engrossed in her thoughts that she hadn't noticed the familiar entrance to Proudtail Hall even after the three of them had turned the corner. The stone arch rose high above the three dragons, supported by four columns, each carved from a different kind of rock and topped with glowing crystals. The double sliding doors were shut.
"Who's inside right now?" she asked.
"Only the furless ape and his companions," replied Emerine as she reached for the notches with both forepaws. That meant they would go fetch Lady Cynder, Master Volteer, and Councilor Tuconsis as soon as everyone was ready and waiting.
The trio entered the large underground chamber that was Proudtail Hall as soon as the doors were spread open. It looked like all the other enclosed lecture chambers: rows of elevated platforms on the sides that rose on top of one another, an arena in the center, a crystal inlaid with conjuration and alteration magic for summoning practice golems, at least two entrances to the utilidor network, and last, bunches of spirit crystals scattered across both the arena and the audience platforms.
Vara's mustard eyes ignored the other knights stationed all over the lecture hall—some of whom she recognized from her visit to the third floor—and focused only on the group in the center of the arena. Joshua Renalia sat on the cave floor with his back facing her, clearly watching what looked like Kilat and a runt of a mole excitedly blabbering to each other.
Emerine and Coulombrin stepped aside, both knights gesturing at Vara to proceed into the chamber on her own, indicating to the fallen noble that they were about to leave to alert the highflyers to the group's full presence. Muttering her thanks to the two knights, Vara sauntered into the lecture hall and the doors closed shut behind her.
Joshua was the first to react to the sudden sound. The human got to his feet and faced Vara as she was trotting over to him with a frustrated expression. "Vara! Clear skies! Glad you could—
"Steady winds." Vara verbalized the customary response curtly and instinctively added an irritated growl at the end. "Hairless, you better have a damn good reason for calling me here this early in the morning!"
Joshua raised his good hand placatingly, a gesture she'd seen often from him. "I do have a good reason, alright? Jesus, don't get all cranky on me now."
"I sleep in every Mazarach. I always sleep in every Mazarach! Every, single, week! I'm supposed to get up when the sun's shining through the window, not when the sky's just turning orange!" The stupidly happy grin on his face nettled the dragoness enough to toss out the nagging worry on her mind. Vara had stomped right up to Joshua, bringing them snout-to-face. She snorted heavily on his face. Joshua's features contorted, probably from the smell of her breath.
He was about to say something, but Vara anticipated this and preempted it by clutching his yellowish, urine-washed tunic and pulling it down. As soon as she felt their noses bonk into each other, she snarled. "Do you know how hard it is to be someone without a shred of talent? I have to study three times harder than the others just to barely keep up. And that's despite all the help you've given me."
Vara averted her gaze as she spoke. The yellow dragoness was quivering in silent rage, ready to step in and defend her adoptive brother. The mole pup, on the other hand, was more focused on Kilat, maybe trying to stop the child from doing something rash. As long as it kept the overprotective "mother hen" in place, Vara had Joshua all to herself for the moment. "Hairless, why did you summon us to Proudtail?" She questioned the human. "What's happening? Your guards didn't tell me anything! The most that I managed to get from them is that Lady Cynder, Master Volteer, and Councilor Tuconsis are all coming here."
Joshua let out a tired sigh. It was the sort that lamented the way things were being done. The human's breath smelled slightly less meaty than Vara's, indicating that he'd woken up earlier than she did.
Vara focused on his eyes for a split second. The telltale signs of drowsiness were not there.
Had he slept at all last night?
"Joshua?" Vara hesitantly asked. Maybe there was something serious…
Joshua pushed himself off her muzzle. "To tell you the truth, I've recently been making breakthroughs with the Unknown Element." He paused as if expecting a reaction. When he didn't get it, disappointment flashed on his face and it led to him awkwardly chuckling. "I guess you've heard about it then."
"You already used it on me before," Vara reminded him. With a single touch, he had drained her stamina and completely stopped her from moving. "It felt unnatural." She licked her own nose. "But the experience, really puts the airstreams' descriptions of you in context."
Joshua grimaced. "It was the only way I could've gotten you to stop."
She snorted. "I know. I would've ignored you otherwise." A slow blink. "But, after Serenya told me about your recent fight, I started thinking you weren't simply flying blind and you must have made some actual progress."
"...Haaa, should've known you'd put two and two together." A look of astonishment appeared on his face. "Wait... your friend was there? She saw the fight?"
Vara wiggled in agreement. "Close enough to watch it in vivid detail. She didn't mention what she was doing at the time." Serenya did say someone spat a fireball at the bullies when he and the mole were being overwhelmed, but it couldn't have possibly been her, could it? That was the last thing Vara expected from that smushed egg of a dragon. "I think she was one of those who went out and fetched the knights. Either way, I heard a lot of details from her."
Vara couldn't stop herself from smiling. "I'm glad you put those bullies in their place, even if you had help." She warbled, "I've suffered under Levanelle's smelly paw for a long time and Korahnir and his friends are known scat eggs around the second floor." The Disciplinary Subcouncil wouldn't be letting them go with a simple nip on the forepaws like the other times they'd been sent there. Whatever influence their families had in Warfang wouldn't mean much when they had crossed horns with two of the highest officials in the Allied Territories.
"And you did it while showing everyone you can manipulate multiple elements! The qawa houses and taverns will be buzzing with the news!" Vara cackled.
Joshua appeared as though he didn't know what to say. Vara could slightly understand his position. Slightly. "I, uh, guess that sounds like a good thing."
"Believe me, Hairless, it is! That being said... what does that have to do with our presence here in Proudtail Hall?"
"I haven't left the third floor since that fight," Joshua answered. "Kilat still goes out to attend lectures but I've been restricted to my room and the lavatorium for almost a week, meaning I had plenty of time on my hands. I spent all that time going over everything I've done with my element—to you—to Kilat—to the people around me."
"So you have it all figured out by now?"
"Not all of it, duh..." he said, almost mockingly. "But enough to grasp a bit of its nature. Basically, we're about to do a field demonstration of everything I learned. I can't do it with the golems you guys normally use. I need live bodies for it."
A field demonstration? He summoned her there to take part in a field demonstration? "Why us?" Vara grumbled. She glanced over at Kilat, who was still watching them. "You pulled that brat, some boar from Alona knows where, and myself here so you could use us as practice dummies?"
Joshua flinched. "Uh… yes?"
Vara took a moment to process what he just said. When she was done, she felt heat rush to her head. "Azeroth's cloaca! I can't believe you'd rather use your friends!" She butted Joshua's chest and sent him stumbling backwards. "There are so many knights guarding you in shifts! Why didn't you just use them? You didn't have to involve me!" She quickly corrected herself. "To involve us!"
"It's because you're my friends!" Joshua shot back at her. "People here are looking at me differently nowadays, sure, but I trust the three of you more than anyone else around here."
Vara glowered at him, not entirely placated by his words. "Joshua…"
"It will be fine, Vara," Joshua reassured her. "Nothing bad will happen to any of you. You have my neck."
Vara was forced to back down when she saw the serious, determined expression on the human's face. There was a courageous aura around Joshua for once. They held each other's eyes for a second before Vara let out a snort. "All right, fine. You have my neck, too."
The relief in his gaze was palpable. "Oh, thank God! I was worried you'd hold it against me."
"Just answer one question." Vara sat on her haunches and straightened her posture so her mustard gaze met his viridian eyes. "Did it have to be now? As much as I enjoyed seeing Mother squirming in front of your guards, why couldn't you have scheduled this field demonstration—I don't know—on Meredy or Seldoot instead of the Ancestors-damned weekend?"
The human jerked at her innocuous question. Vara immediately caught on to what he was thinking. Her wide, curious stare simmered as she arrived at a certain conclusion. "Don't tell me…"
One of Joshua's strongest points was that he'd always been miraculously good at sensing changes in emotions. Ever since they first met, the feeling that she was continuously exposing her cloaca to him pervaded every conversation. This one was no different. Joshua made this bizarre expression that Vara couldn't interpret as anything other than guilt. "I'm sorry. It's not something that can wait. It isn't something that should wait. The more we know about my element, the sooner we can determine its limits and triggers, and the sooner I can get out of my room."
Vara yawned. "Still, it's only a few days."
"You wouldn't want me stuck up there for long either, Princess. We made a deal, didn't we? How can I keep it if I can't see anyone?"
Vara remembered Joshua packaging it as a deal when it was really just them becoming study partners in a way. He made a good point. And besides… "That's right. And you still owe me a favor."
"Which I can't fulfill if I can't prove that I won't be a danger to the people here or that I can learn to defend myself."
Vara closed her eyes. All excellent points. Yet she couldn't fully believe Joshua. Knowing him, he had most likely pulled the schedule out of his furless, scaleless rump. Anything he said should instead be tantamount to dragon dung.
The dragoness let her gaze linger on Joshua's countenance. A wave of dizziness came over her, then she yawned. Joshua couldn't help yawning after her. "Hairless, I'll fly straight with you. I don't really believe any of that."
"H-hey—!"
"Knowing you, you're just feeding me a bunch of excuses any dumb egg would fall for." Vara reared up and clasped his shoulders, yawning once more. "But I'm too sleepy to care and… I don't know. Maybe you deserve the benefit of the doubt or something." Plus she'd much rather not make herself look foolish in front of so many people. It didn't matter whether they were guards or Joshua's friends.
Vara walked past Joshua and ambled towards the center of Proudtail Hall's arena, where he'd been seated earlier. She had her gaze trained on the mole pup and dragon girl huddled closer to the cave walls. "So that's the mole Serenya mentioned." Vara couldn't hear them, but their animated movements and the energy they put into their voices suggested they were flying well. "Your sister seems to like him."
Joshua nodded his head in an… affirmative manner? She hoped he had read him right. "Turns out they're people of the same mind. Eh, kinda saw it coming. Kilat peppered Blink with all sorts of questions about the tools he's lugging around in that belt of his. It led to stuff about his uncle's lab down in the utilidors and…"
Joshua paused and cocked his head towards the two. After a few seconds, his gaze returned to meet Vara's. "And right now they're trying to figure out how human technology works."
Vara was impressed. He could properly hear them from here? She was a dragoness and even she couldn't make out their conversation from all the echoes bouncing around the cave chamber. "So why is the human himself not part of that conversation, hmm?"
"Blink already asked me before," Joshua said while shrugging his shoulders. The body language vexed Vara. He did this quite frequently and she still couldn't decipher its meaning. "Prob is, my knowledge of the underlying shit isn't detailed. Like, all I know are simply basic overviews from all the Wikipedia pages I've read in my spare time." He snorted. "Honestly, I'm amazed I can still remember most of them."
Several bits of that reply passed through Vara's ears. She frowned, knowing neither what "Wikipedia" was nor how to interpret his use of the word "shit", which was apparently universally applicable to every context. Any annoyance she might have felt disappeared upon concluding she could still understand the general message and upon recalling why the boar's name tickled her thoughts.
"That mole, Blink…"
"Yeah?"
"Is he the one who kept poking your wings in the utilidors before?" Vara could still recall Joshua grumbling about that two weeks ago. "The pup who always called you 'dragon killer'?"
"The very same." Joshua nodded again—in affirmation, Vara deciphered correctly. "To be fair though, all the Moles called me that at first. They only stopped after I spent the last cycle working with Gaudog's labor."
Vara crooned, her muzzle curling up into a smirk. "Sounds like someone took my advice."
Joshua laughed, nodding again. "Yep! And you were right. Turns out Blink really was lonely. The dude couldn't relate to anyone at all. Like, you know how all the other moles practically worship you dragons, right?"
Vara blinked her eyes in agreement. "Everyone in Warfang does," she said, her feelings on the matter somewhat mixed. As nice as it was to receive such reverence, the general creepiness of it bothered her so much more than most dragons hatched and reared among the nobility. (Vara would much rather receive it from certain people.)
"Well, Blink's pretty much the exception to that. The way people profile him as a… a scalelicking fanatic just grinds his—I mean, pokes his wings, as you all like to say."
Vara preened, straightening her wings, feeling rather proud of herself. "And now you have a good friend. All thanks to me!"
Vara didn't see Joshua shake his head or roll his eyes at her. "Yes, yes, you're erudite and wise beyond your years, Princess. I should listen to you more," he droned, the dragoness blatantly ignoring his sarcastic voice.
"Anyway, come on," Joshua beckoned to her. "It's only right to introduce you."
Vara plodded closer to the human, who led her to the prepubescent dragoness and mole pup engrossed in their own conversation. They had just reached hearing distance when Blink leaped to his boots and stared at Kilat. "Oh yes!" he exclaimed. "Yes! That's a wonderful idea! I don't know about the materials, but the concept of storing electricity lines up with how Joshua described"—
Joshua cleared his throat. "Ahem!"
Blink swiveled around to his direction. "Oh! Joshua!" He let out a yawn. "Did… did you hear all that?"
"Not all of it. Just enough to tell you it's a step in the right direction." Joshua gestured his hand to the left, towards the dragoness behind him. "Anyway! Blink, this is Vara." Vara didn't know if it was the drowsiness guiding him, but Joshua brought his good hand to her withers, clasped it, and gave her orchid scales a squeeze. She whimpered, her body shuddering. It felt different. Good different.
"She's the apprentice we were looking for the other day," Joshua continued, oblivious to Vara's reaction. "She's done right by me a lot, and I trust her. But you gotta be patient with her. Vara can be demanding sometimes, like I told you."
Vara let out a disgraced bark. "Demanding!" she exclaimed. The dragoness fluttered her wing on reflex and thwacked the back of Joshua's head. "Tch! You have no idea how much I've been accommodating you and your weird human ways."
"Right back at you!" An equally annoyed Joshua returned fire, the circles underneath his eyes appearing to darken. "Don't you even know how haughty you are?"
She snorted. "It's called confidence, Hairless."
"Confidence is silent. Insecurities are loud."
A wave of silence fell over the group. Vara b linked a few times before she realized what Joshua had actually said. "H-hey! Hey! I am not insecure!"
Kilat broke into laughter. She rolled from her belly onto her back and clutched her underbelly while her hindlegs flailed in the air. The child's giggling echoed throughout the chamber.
Vara heard Blink chuckling. Was he laughing at Kilat? Or was he laughing with her? She rounded on Joshua with a growl. Her? Insecure? How could he insinuate such a thing? That stupid, ugly monkey! "Ancestors, you take that back right now! Take it back!"
Joshua laughed again and stuck his tongue out at her. "...no way!"
"What! Vulcan burn you—
Vara went quiet after she felt the human place his hand on her neck. Why did he have to keep rubbing her withers? She couldn't concentrate! "It's okay to have insecurities, Princess. We all have them. Don't lose your pretty scales over it."
She glared at Joshua and scowled. If there weren't any Talonpoint Knights watching them—if they were all here in Proudtail Hall just to socialize…
Joshua left Vara with a light slap and gestured towards the other two companions. "Kilat, you've already met two weeks ago. The mole next to her is Blink. A great engineer in the making, and a scientist at that."
Vara eyed the mole pup. He wasn't listening to a single word Joshua said, instead scrutinizing Vara's features up and down. The boar eventually muttered, "Exactly as described."
Something about his tone irked her. Vara didn't like it, but she swallowed her pride and greeted the boar cordially. "Clear skies to you." Her gaze fell on Joshua's sister. "You too, Kilat."
Languidly, Kilat gaped at Vara. She neither smiled nor bared her teeth at her. She was tolerating Vara as she had done the last time they met on the Third Floor, neither embracing nor rebuking her presence on an early Mazarach morning. The little girl rolled back on her belly and, stifling a yawn, grunted her response. "Steady winds."
If Kilat's reaction held little respect for Vara, Blink had even less. He merely raised one of his gloved paws. "Hello," he said, deadpan.
Vara and Joshua turned to each other. The human had a perplexed expression on his face, but it was no less exhausted than her muzzle looked. "Very friendly welcome there," the dragoness remarked.
She overheard Blink leaning close to Kilat and whispering into her earholes. Vara heard only snippets of their conversation, much to her chagrin.
"...okay, but a bit of a bully…"
"...true, what she does to Joshua?"
"...Brother tolerates!"
Blink's muzzle visibly soured after a few seconds. "...hoped… Joshua…exaggerating!"
Joshua reacted quickly. He bridged the gap between him and Vara once again in seconds. The dragoness yipped from mild surprise as she saw Joshua's russet arm unexpectedly swoop in around her neck. He pulled her close to his body, pivoting to stop her from observing Blink and maybe leaving it all to Gintomyr by doing something stupid.
"Sorry about that, Vara," Joshua apologized, their positions making it easy for him to pin her muzzle to his cheek. She couldn't twist her snout back if the human didn't allow it. "I guess it'll take a while for them to like you. But I meant what I said just now. You've still been good to me, and that matters."
Vara had no choice but to let Joshua lead her away from Kilat and Blink. Together they strolled to the other side of the rising platform-seats, where the two children wouldn't be in earshot. Any malicious thoughts she might have had never materialized; Joshua's actions had made her feel warm inside. "Thanks, Joshua. You don't have to worry about me. This isn't the first time I flew through this crevice."
He stared at her. "You sure you're alright?"
"I'll be fine. I'll fly well together with them as long as they don't bother me or get in my way."
"That's all I can ask for right now."
Joshua plopped down on the arena, his back to the wall and his legs splayed out. Vara, opting for something more dignified, sat on her haunches. As they waited for Emerine and Coulombrin to return with the three Warfang officials, Joshua struck a conversation about Vara's results in the Summer Examinations.
The subject and how closely it hit her helped Vara stay awake and keep talking about it. She had passed the tests on elemental proficiency, just as Joshua anticipated. It was all because of the shaping exercises he taught her. Vara, however, couldn't hide her grief from Joshua when she said that the proctors had placed her at barely above standard.
When he asked her about her mother's reaction, Vara's mood dipped. She laid down on her belly, snout atop her forepaws, and sulked. "Mother stopped carping at me about my apprenticeship since I got my results. But I can see it in her eyes: she still thinks the whole flight's useless and I'm just delaying my inevitable expulsion."
The dragoness perked at the feeling of Joshua's hand running across the scutes on her back. Five fingers of perfection pushing down her scales, leaving waves of comfort in their wake. Vara groaned, happy at the sensation. Her heart, however, ached. Joshua wouldn't do that for no reason. The notion that he graced her with his human touch out of sheer pity rankled her. "I don't need your sympathy."
"I'm just trying to help, even if it's just this much," the human responded. "This is all I can do."
Vara huffed. "Thank you, but it's not helping! I need to come up with a flight plan on how I can get Mother to"—she felt the warm palm leave her scales.—"Hey! What are you doing?"
"What?" He asked. "You said you don't want it."
"I didn't ask you to take it off."
"...You kinda did?"
Vara replied with a soft growl. "Forget I said that then! Just keep your hand on my back. Please? It… i-it makes me feel better."
Joshua did not answer her. Vara did not look once in his direction, but as she relished the smooth weight on her spine—focused on the small circles he was making with his fingers and the relief emanating from them—the dragoness developed a new appreciation for human compassion. "Thank you," she mumbled to him.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Vara's eyes shot open. She raised her neck and marveled at her surroundings. For a few moments, everything was shrouded in haze. Why was she in a lecture hall? Why were there so many knights standing guard here? And why were some staring in this direction, with what she thought was mild amusement?
"Ah…!" Vara gasped, recalling what just transpired. She must have fallen asleep waiting for Cynder, Volteer, and Tuconsis to arrive—why were they taking so long anyway?
The dragoness moved to stretch and stand, only to realize something was weighing down on her rear. What Vara saw struck her dumb.
Joshua had slumped over her rump. His head rested where her spine met her tail, which curled between her hindlegs and his waist. From the looks of things, Kilat and Blink had joined them in their sleep at some point. The former was now curled up on Joshua's lap, clinging to her brother's right arm and teething the hand, fingers and all. The mole, on the other paw, had taken a spot beside the human and practically copied his position before falling asleep himself.
The sight flustered Vara. It made her so uncomfortable that her sides twitched. She couldn't help her quiet whines. Vara wasn't used to this. Egeria, she wasn't ready for anything like it! As much as she fantasized good ol' Hairless worshipping her like the Moles did with all dragonkind, not once did she expect anything beyond that! And even if she did, such things ought to come from her, and on her own terms. By Azeroth, she had to be in control. She had to!
Vara's tail wriggled as she tried to stand without imbalancing Joshua or disturbing Kilat, but it was fruitless. Two more attempts were made yet she still couldn't get to her feet. Without realizing it, she had begun fluttering her wings out of instinct.
Her wingbeats were loud in the eerie silence that filled Proudtail Hall. It drew attention to her. Vara swore she heard one of the knights sniggering at them. At her. She grimaced, unable to suppress her withering growls. They didn't have to gawk at them! They ought to mind their own business.
"J-Joshua…?" Kilat spoke softly. The child slowly opened her eyes, giving the human fingers a long, tentative lick before she craned her head in the direction of the movement and saw Vara struggling to stand.
Kilat blinked once, twice, before she said something. "Vara." Her voice ascended a few timbres, warningly. "What are you doing?"
Did she always have to be suspicious of her? Why did Kilat always think that she was out to take advantage of Joshua and his infuriating kindness? "What do you think I'm doing?" Vara whispered back. "I'm trying to get out!"
Kilat tilted her head in confusion. "Then give Brother a few pokes. He's a heavy sleeper, but he won't mind."
Alona help her! Were whelps these days that blunt? She didn't want Joshua to find out about this in the first place! It could lead to an awkward conversation, or an argument, and Vara intended to avoid any of those especially when it wasn't the right time for it. Vara put her hindfoot on Joshua's shoulder, hoping that she could set him upright. Praise the Ancestors the highflyers haven't arrived yet!
As though the Great Trickster Seldoot was watching her, the door slabs suddenly snapped open, thundering through the cave chamber. The Talonpoint Knights securing the area immediately went on the alert and straightened their posture.
To her credit, Vara relinquished her caution and instantly erected herself on all fours. Years of abuse under Mother had seen to her swift reflexes.
Joshua jolted awake as he felt his cheek strike the dirt. "W-wha?" He prattled. "What the hell's going on?"
"Hairless!" Vara hissed over Blink's yawning. "Get on your feet. They're here!"
Unfortunately, no amount of Vara's nagging could overcome the lethargy borne from years of a sedentary and relaxed lifestyle. Joshua was just blinking his eyes when three figures ambled into view.
Cynder was the first to walk in. If she was as sleepy as them, she didn't show a hint of it. Her black and maroon scales gleamed in the crystal light, and they were unusually lustrous to Vara. Did she oil them? Or was she naturally that way?
Vara had a chance to smell her when Cynder noticed the group and approached them. (Apparently, she didn't need oil at all. Lucky dragon!) The black dragoness snickered, her emerald eyes dilating from mirth. "Oh. Were we interrupting something?"
Vara twisted her neck to glance at her three companions for the morning. She realized they looked like a lounge of siblings or close friends that had gotten comfortable with each other, fell asleep when they weren't supposed to, and were now scrambling to recover the dignity or discipline they had discarded during their long wait.
And they were failing terribly.
Vara's eyes returned to meet Cynder's. She felt awestruck. Before the fallen noble stood her biggest role model in life. A dragoness who turned her misfortune of being the Dark Master's puppet into a person of authority and influence in the Allied Territories. A heroine who, after her fight with evil, struggled against public perception and thrived in spite of them, her frustrations—her emotions—her unpent rage all concealed by the elegance with which she soared.
Vara couldn't help letting out a soft cry of admiration. She'd never been this close to a true high-flyer before, not even that time she'd been summoned to the Audience Chamber to testify on Joshua's behalf or the time Spyro taught a remedial class in Alona Hall. Cynder was so close she could touch her beautiful scales or study the surface of her six backswept horns.
"N-n-no, Lady Cynder!" Vara stammered nervously. Azeroth the Infinite, she'd been expecting the Savior to keep them at one wing's length or immediately go for the audience seats. "Not interrupting anything at all! We were just getting ready when the three of you came here. We, were—we, w-we weren't asleep at all!" She gave the black dragoness a deep, reverent bow. "Clear skies! We pay our respects—
Vara's attempt at showing her best side ended abruptly thanks to Joshua. "Oh, hey Cyn! Finally!" He yawned. "God. We must've fallen asleep waiting. Why'd you take so long?"
In a blink of an eye, Vara reared back and shoved the human to the wall. Kilat unceremoniously fell to the floor and snapped angrily at her for both the rude behavior and the aggressive snarls she was making to her adoptive brother. Vara ignored them all, pressing her snout up to Joshua's face. "HAIRLESS! Azeroth damn you! Can you just suck an egg? It's Cynder! Lady Cynder! We can't just treat her so casually! She's one of the Saviors! And your benefactor! You can't just wave your scrawny paw at a wyrm like her and"—to Vara's shock, the heroine started laughing behind her.—"L-Lady Cynder!"
Cynder gave the young apprentice a warm and disarming smile. "Ground yourself, Vara. It's all right. Spyro and I never supported these useless formalities either."
Someone let out an irritated grunt behind her. "How disappointing," they harrumphed. Vara peeked around Cynder's flank to see who'd spoken. It was the largest gnorc she had ever laid eyes on in her entire life, his muscular body adorned in thick golden armor. The bulk appeared to hide mechanisms within. "I was expecting some form of discipline after spending nearly a full red cycle with the Hoffbar's labors."
Vara couldn't restrain her instincts for long. Without fail, Mother would claw her scales open whenever she failed to acknowledge a district official or a business partner, and Father always shut down her aspirations every time she dreamt of success. How could she ever hope to become a respected official herself if she always forgot to present herself properly? How could she think she could make it to a mid-ranking position anywhere if she didn't have the talent or charisma that other apprentices had? How could Vara ever believe she could fulfill her parents'—her mother's dream of honoring the Sunburst Dragon by hard work alone?
Determined not to fail at representing herself, Vara bowed subserviently at the gnorc as well. "Clear skies to you as well, Sir. I apologize for their shortcomings."
The gnorc seemed surprised that she had exerted the effort. He grunted in slight approval. Vara started to explain that Joshua and Kilat couldn't be expected to know basic courtesies, only to frown when Blink snorted.
"Joshua was placed under Nydec! That creep would rather watch scalies unload their scat in the lavatoria than implement the concept. Hammer and nails, none of his labors would know what discipline was even if they smelled it!" Blink was glaring at the armored gnorc, a rebellious glint in his eyes. He stood straight, his tail stiff.
Vara wanted to scream. Blink had shown no courtesy to Tuconsis at all, and it was clear the gnorc did not approve. She had also just noticed Kilat sending Cynder a quick and harsh glare before rushing off towards Volteer.
"Volty! Volty!" Vara heard her shriek. "Finally! What took you so long? We were waiting forever!"
Vara wouldn't hear Volteer's reply, for the gnorc—Councilor Tuconsis—responded to Blink. "Galleron!" Huh… so 'Blink' wasn't his actual name. "I should've known you'd be here." He lifted up his helmet a little and rubbed his temples in irritation. "I had hoped you were working with Professor Dumitru this morning."
"And help with that thankless project you gave him? No way! I'd rather be here!"
"The relevance of our project had already been explained to you several times—
"I'm still not working on that, tinhead!"
Tuconsis snarled. "Galleron, disrespect me one more time and—
"And you'll what?" Blink attacked. "Put me on manual scavenger duty again? I'm already on it"—He cocked his pointed muzzle at Cynder.—"thanks to Lady Cynder here." He hastily added in a softer tone, "Though I did somewhat deserve that..."
Tuconsis let out an angry sigh. "I did not come here for this."
Vara tried to salvage the situation, yet she had only opened her mouth when the golden-clad gnorc turned to Cynder. "Lady Cynder, why are there even civilians with us?" He lashed his arm out at Blink and Vara in a dismissive and, if she read him right, retaliatory gesture.
The fallen noble's throat rumbled in anger. She may not know Tuconsis' exact position on the Warfang Council, but he must have had a rather high position if he was privy to something only Cynder and Volteer did. Now he was lumping her together with Blink and possibly Kilat because of everyone else's rude attitude. How could she repair this one? If Mother was here, she would've pawed at her snout again, claws and all, and she'd have no acceptable excuse to escape it.
Cynder, however, was quick to reply. "It was a personal request of Joshua's."
"A 'personal request'? You shouldn't have accommodated him." Tuconsis, scowling, groused in disapproval. "We are about to have a field demonstration that might face heavy backlash, yet you permitted"—he trained his eyes on each one of them in sequence—"the Professor's recalcitrant nephew, some Temple apprentice, and Master Volteer's prized pupil to join us?"
Vara was aghast. After all that effort, she was just "some Temple apprentice"? She had hoped to have made a good impression. Vulcan's Flames, if she could have her way with all three of these dumb eggs right now...
"The furless ape's recent feats suggest greater—better control than before," Tuconsis went on, "but we must not underestimate the dangers, Lady Cynder! Have you forgotten the incident last cycle?"
One of Cynder's wings flapped, the sound of the wind interrupting the gnorc before he could continue. "I understand where you're flying in from, Councilor, but two of them are Joshua's only friends and the third is his sister. Master Volteer and I permitted this because they can support him and consequently he will have the added incentive to keep them safe."
"You don't have to explain something so obvious to me," Tuconsis retorted. "But don't you understand that Joshua will be testing his current limits today? Your mate had an arena all to himself when the Guardians introduced him to elemental channeling all those years ago!"
"Being our Councilor of Defense," Volteer chimed in, plodding closer to them while carrying Kilat on his back. Vara would've cried out if she could. Ancestors, the gnorc really held one of the highest positions in the Allied Territories! Consternation to the others' apathy to who these three were filled her mind as the Guardian of Electricity continued, "You should be aware that this human 'dude'—
"Ugh, Volteer…" Joshua muttered between his teeth.
"—had already put the Unknown Element to use in unregulated and unsupervised situations, multiple times over." All three glowered at Joshua, causing him to flinch and shrink back, laughing awkwardly.
"Sorry," he squeaked.
Vara fanned one of her wings out to cuff the human on the shoulder. "Shh!" she shushed him out of concern.
"To Joshua's credit, he hasn't caused a disaster," Cynder pointed out. "Azeroth be praised."
Tuconsis snorted. "Oh, praise Azeroth indeed," he sneered. "It's just sheer luck and nothing more. Master Cyril would agree with me on this."
"And perhaps he would," Volteer responded. "But it is important to cogitate on the fact that, aside from the bullying incident last Valorem, these three individuals happen to be his primary subjects for experimentation. They are experienced and above all, the fact they are standing before us smooth and whole demonstrates Joshua's self-restraint and control."
Joshua Renalia raised his hand. "May I say something?"
"Hairless!" Vara barked quietly at him, worried he'd say something stupid next.
His silence was worrying. "Look, you don't"—Vara suddenly froze as Joshua placed his hand on her withers and a calming sensation spread from his touch. She suppressed the urge to cry out as he gave the smooth, orchid scales there a good squeeze.
"It's okay, Vara," he leaned in and whispered to her. "I'll be fine."
Vara wilted in dismay, her expression full of shock and worry. Joshua shouldn't fly between them right now. "You, y-you better know what you're doing!"
Joshua didn't so much as glance in Vara's direction or otherwise gesticulate his acknowledgment. Focusing on the three officials before them, he started, "Lady Cynder, Master Volteer, and…"
"Councilor Tuconsis, dude." Volteer interjected, "Warfang's councilor of defense."
Joshua sent a withering look at Volteer's way, or at least, that's how Vara interpreted it. The Electric Guardian seemed not to care, simply giving him a sly grin with a slight bit of intrigue.
"...And Councilor Tuconsis," Joshua continued after a slight pause. "I'm not making this request carelessly. My friends are few, but they're all precious to me." Knowing that Joshua included her in that group made Vara's heart swell. She resisted the urge to trill or warble in gibberish. Of course, the hand stroking her withers surely had nothing to do with it… "I've always been careful with them, especially Vara here. She was the first person to undergo my, err, 'training method', before I even knew it was one."
Despite the pleasure coursing through her, Vara managed to straighten her posture as soon as she realized Joshua and the other three had trained their gazes on her. She fluttered her wings briefly to keep herself alert and to signal for the human to just stop squeezing her scales with those magical fingers and Gintomyr the Prosperous, give her a chance to speak!
Thank the Ancestors he took the hint! Vara then addressed the three highflyers before her. "Hairless—Ah! I, I-I mean Joshua was transparent with me throughout the entire process, and really careful too. I knew there was no way he'd deliberately hurt me." Luckily she didn't have to elaborate on the details. The incident report and her follow-up testimony should be recorded in the Office of the Keeper's scrolls and she was certain they had copies of them in their quarters.
Kilat didn't let Vara have all the attention. "I feel safe with Brother no matter what he does!" she cried out from Volteer's back. "I'm the first dragon he ever met," she boasted, raising her snout high with proud eyes resting on Vara. "And he'd never hurt me. He's used that strange element on me before anyone else and I've always felt his caution."
Tuconsis made a dissatisfied growl. "Unacceptable! However cautious he was, it was still unregulated—still unsupervised—still dangerous! It is no different from playing with swords!" He trained his eyes on Joshua. "And the very same applies to your demonstration. If you need actual people involved, have the knights do it. Your friends can watch from the seats."
"Damn it, Tuconsis! Don't be a killjoy!" Irritatedly Blink snarled, clenching his paws.
It appeared Blink would have said more, but Tuconsis' worsening gaze had Joshua and Vara reacting almost simultaneously. Being slightly closer, Vara pounced on the rude mole pup and coiled around him. "Quiet!" She hissed at him, shoving his muzzle down on her scales with one forepaw and stabilizing herself with the other.
The boar struggled violently. "L-let go of me, scalie!" He raged, his voice muffled. He threw punches at Vara's breast, yet even with the knuckle dusters on his gloves, his blows lacked enough momentum to be anything more than a nuisance. "Your scales stink!" Vara was glad the mole couldn't fully open his mouth and bite through her scales, if he even considered it.
Blink's rebellion only went as far as scratching at her scales and pinching what little he could reach, having been bent down and shoved against her body. Vara's muzzle drooped at the sight. Overpowering the young boar and immobilizing him was no more difficult than it was to do the same to Joshua. Yet she didn't feel any satisfaction at the action. It was just… different.
After taking a moment to acknowledge this, Vara swallowed her discomfort and murmured to the trapped pup. "Just ground yourself and stay quiet," she said. "Hairless told me a few things about you before." Blink gradually stopped struggling when he realized he couldn't break free from her. Perhaps, Vara thought, the fact she wasn't doing anything more to him helped. "I know you don't like most dragons or people like Councilor Tuconsis, but you must endure it. Don't make it harder for him."
Blink took a long time before Vara heard him grunt and mumble his answer. "...Fine…"
By the time he did, Joshua was in the middle of asserting himself against the gnorc. "...besides, remember what happened the last time Master Volteer dictated my demonstration? He went through some whole process of elimination. I got injured by that stupid golem and we still didn't get much information from the Unknown Element."
It would've been nice to have heard how Joshua managed to draw Tuconsis's attention away from Blink, but Vara was satisfied to see the gnorc contemplating Joshua's argument. "I never figured out the specific rules governing my power during any of the other times I went to Proudtail Hall. Ask any of the knights here! They've seen me just spend every two—three hour session sitting around doing nothing. I only started deciphering the rules one by one after I snuck upstairs and revealed myself to Vara!"
Joshua dared to take a step towards the Councilor of Defense. He took a deep breath and glared up at the massive, green biped. He had his eyes straight and ailerons flexed, as Vara would put it. "So I'd much rather do the field demonstration on my terms. Forgive me for saying this, but this is my power and my friends, and you already know—you can see my track record on their safety for yourself! What else do you want?"
Joshua and Tuconsis stood, taciturn. Neither appeared ready to yield to the other. Vara honestly didn't know how it would go. Joshua's and Tuconsis' sides each had their own merits. She was so captivated by the response that Blink managed to slip out of her grasp, yet to his credit, the mole heeded the fallen noble's plea and did nothing but watch, his muzzle devoid of emotion.
Kilat chatted worriedly with Volteer. Vara could see the obvious concern in her body language. Volteer was certainly listening to her, although the fact he said nothing suggested his cold, if clinical, ambivalence to the outcome.
"Joshua deserves a chance to fly," Cynder suddenly said, to Tuconsis' displeasure.
"Lady Cynder, you mustn't do this. The risks—
"The risks are minimal, Councilor. I've listened to everything they said, plus we have an abundance of spirit crystals to address any injuries." She let out a tired sigh. "This… debate over Joshua's methods is making me think how Spyro would've been trained had I not succeeded in separating the Guardians back when everyone called me 'Terror of the Skies'. If Volteer, Cyril, Terrador, and Ignitus had stayed together from the very beginning, would Spyro have been taught the elements the way he'd learned them?"
Vara instantly grasped what Cynder was insinuating. Was she hinting that the four Guardians would've been hovering between a storm and a mountain? Where one side would constantly argue that Spyro needed to learn the skills that would end the Great War, while the other would counter that they couldn't afford Spyro going dark and flying in his predecessor's direction as well? The thought made sense in her mind.
Tuconsis ostensibly came to the same conclusion as well. "Very well," he acquiesced, "We will do as the furless ape desires and let his friends stay with him in the arena." And with that, the gnorc finally left them alone, his boots shuffling up the elevated platforms. He chose a pedestal on the second row, where he'd have a good viewpoint of Joshua and whatever he intended on doing.
Vara instinctively froze when she saw Cynder approaching them once more. Joshua took the opportunity to thank her. "I'm glad for your vote of confidence, Cyn. I will be careful. I swear on Christ's"—he coughed.—"You have my neck, I mean."
Vara's eyes dilated from shock when her role model leaned in and booped Joshua's forehead with the tip of her snout. "My trust is the least you deserve," she said before smiling down at him, her eyes boring down on both Blink and Vara. "I'm happy to see you're finally settling in."
Joshua chuckled. "Hehe, yeah…"
"T-thanks for the help," Vara and Blink muttered at nearly the exact same time. They held each other's gaze for a moment, before turning away with a frustrated snort.
Cynder's tail swished a couple times in response. A sign of pleasure. "You're welcome, and good luck. Stay safe."
"We will, Lady Cynder!" Vara said, buoyed by her interaction with the dragon. She watched Cynder walk over to Volteer.
Kilat snapped at Cynder as she approached. Vara couldn't understand why she despised the dragoness so much when she'd been a massive influence on Joshua's life in Warfang. Yet she continued growling at the Savior without a care for anything and everything she'd ever done for her brother. Vara knew many couldn't forget the role she played as the Terror of the Skies. But there were also plenty of people who managed to look past that, see the good dragoness that she had become, and accept the deeds that she'd done independent of Spyro. Her mother included, surprisingly enough.
So if Kilat was one of those dragons, why couldn't she change her opinion?
Volteer pacified the whelp with a few words of his own. From the look on Kilat's face, it was clear she didn't want to hear a word of it and wanted Volteer to actually stay in the arena with them. However, a stern glare from the Guardian made it abundantly clear this test wasn't happening unless Kilat yielded.
"Kilat!" Blink called out to her. "Calm down! We're doing this for Joshua!" It worked, with Kilat finally fastening her wings and dropping to the arena floor.
"Copying me now, are you?" Vara leered at the mole.
Blink eyed her warily. He didn't reply until Kilat came up to Joshua and sat on her haunches beside him. "It still worked. It's not like you don't have a point. Does it matter to you if I did?"
"Not at all."
Cynder and Volteer spread their wings and took off, landing near Tuconsis in a few beats. As soon as they touched down, both dragons selected their platforms and coiled on top of it, laying down their bellies with heads raised high and alert.
Volteer's voice reached them from the seats. "All right, Joshua! You may commence!"
Author's notes:
As mentioned earlier, I've already begun working on the next and final installment of "Field Demonstration". If you happen to be one of the few people following my OG story, sorry to say, but I'm spending August writing CH53 XD I'm just on a roll here!
Replies to reviews...
JustAnotherReaderPlz. Holy shit! That's a whooolllle lot of reviews there! Thanks so much for your voluminous comments. It was a treat watching the progression of your thoughts on Aimless as you went through the chapters. Kinda surprised you still went through the slice-of-life content, got to admit.
Now as much as I enjoyed watching your enthusiasm, Bartos-87 (guest) is correct in one thing: I can't answer everything all at once and I'm not gonna bother with responding to every single comment you make. It's such a chore to do so.
On the 2nd arc—yes, it's meant to be long. The feeling of repetitiveness was unavoidable, but as I had explained previously in the A/Ns, it was a decision I had to make since I wouldn't have another opportunity to go through the full potential of Joshua's Element. You've already reached CH31 as per your most recent PM to me, so that should be very obvious to you by now, even in hindsight.
On Spyro's OOC-ness towards Joshua—you're gonna see this comment very late given the abysmal speed you're digesting Aimless chapters (which are pretty standard length if you're a regular in the Pokemon, Mass Effect, Harry Potter, HTTYD, or Digimon archives, in which fics with 10K+ chapters are abundant and plentiful), but this will have been partially explained in the recent chapters set in the December Cliffs. Spyro is the main character in that arc, even though he isn't the viewpoint character. Further information will unfold as the chapters progress.
On CH29—hehe, yes, the whole chapter really was to explain the time difference between Earth and the Dragon Realms. It's also a flash forward of Joshua's life, since I've been constantly showing how shit it was early into his arrival in Warfang.
Anyway, thanks again for your reviews and I'm looking forward to your thoughts on certain chapters when you get to them. :P
Djax80. Things are picking up on Spyro's side of the story, but so is Joshua's side. Not in terms of action though. :P Hope you can mind the wait.
Yoshifu101. Thanks for the comment! Glad you're still following the story.
And Altai sure is adorable, yeah? Even Bizzleb (the creator of several characters in Eyria) likes her enough to adopt her into his story if he was still writing. XD
EndlessPossibilities57. The Portal Master "Strykore" has no connections with my beta reader strykeruk. The resemblance in their names is purely coincidental.
Strykore is actually in Skylanders canon and appears during the third season of Skylanders Academy as its main antagonist.
DiabloPProcento. Get your dirty mind out of the gutter! lol
And how the hell did you get another signed review through FFN's system? AFAIK you can't submit more than 1 signed review per chapter...
Anyway, in Aimless, the apes did not die from Malefor's curse when it was lifted, and not all had been affected by it to begin with.
Perhaps someday she will.
Looking forward to hearing from you again!
Piston24. Thanks for the review! Some of those pieces aren't exactly "major players" though, but I'm not gonna spoil anything for you. :P
Re: Lord Caesar. He is not Bleakshooter.
Re: Skylanders terminology. You think that's weird given this is a TLoS fic? The world of Aimless combines the Classic and Skylanders continuities into the Legend Kaos appeared in chapter 30, remember? It was so long ago that you probably forgot. Plus, an actual Skylander (from the franchise) has already appeared, and VERY recently at that. Take a guess who exactly he is...
I'm not gonna comment on Vanish or Skylands though. XD
MysteryWriter175. You don't want to know what happened to those poor dragons.
Bianca is someone to keep an eye on, that much I can tell you.
Joshua will not be involved in the December Cliffs arc. Pay attention to the timestamps.
Thanks again for your review!
Guest #1 (Guest). Whew! Haven't had a completely unsigned reviewer in a while. To answer your question, Ignitus will not be appearing in Aimless for a very, very, VERY long time. It also wouldn't make sense for me to skip ahead to a chapter that he does appear in, as he is Chronicler and is full of heavy, plot-driving stuff. So... if you're hoping to see him here... you'll be quite disappointed.
Henchman1997 (guest). So are you gonna start carefully going through the text like some Aimless readers are doing? XD
All good points that you brought up. Although Kaos did call Joshua "a fat sheep", he provided further context about his ambition at the same time. Something to take note.
Bianca did not leave through a portal in the CH51. Portals in Aimless are stabilized wormholes. Their formation has also been documented as the creation of two micro black holes and space being folded within their singularities. She left via magical flight, and Altai didn't believe her the first time she mentioned it...
Mcchefew. Here you go! An update! XD And the next chapter is coming up soon! I'm gradually writing it out as you read this chapter.
Guest #2 (Guest). Joshua getting major character development? Yes, very much so. Who he is in Day 1 is very different from how he would be in 2Y, if you ever read my oneshot Chasing Leads.
Bartos-87 (Guest). Looks like JustAnotherReaderPlz listened to you. :P