Somewhere Above Breth
A warm room. Two goddesses.
Veyra watched the screen with the focus of someone following a complicated game.
The door behind her opened.
"Still watching?" Eros asked as she stepped inside.
"I never stopped."
Eros walked over and leaned over Veyra's shoulder.
On the screen Kael stood beside a large sealed container, arguing with a merchant.
"…I'm asking for a number," Kael said.
"Roughly a day," the merchant replied nervously.
"That is not a number."
"It is an estimate."
"An estimate of what?"
Eros smiled.
"Oh this is going well."
"Don't start," Veyra said.
"I didn't say anything."
"You smiled."
"I smile constantly."
"That one meant something."
Eros dragged a chair over and sat beside her.
She studied the group on the screen.
"The angry one," she said.
"Rael."
"She's close."
"She doesn't know it."
"They never do."
Eros tilted her head slightly.
"The healer."
"Mira."
"Oh she's already fallen," Eros said lightly. "She just refuses to admit it."
"You sound very confident," Veyra said.
Eros smiled.
"Well, I am the Goddess of Love," she said. "This is literally my field."
"I know."
"And the quiet one," Eros continued.
"Senna."
Eros watched Kael again.
"He's going to marry three of them," Veyra said calmly.
Eros slowly turned.
"…Three?"
"Yes."
Eros smiled.
A very interesting smile.
"Are you sure," she asked sweetly, "that it's only three?"
Veyra frowned.
Eros stood up.
"I happen to know there's exactly one more slot."
She grabbed a small travel bag.
"Already written."
Veyra looked up.
"What are you talking about?"
"Oh nothing."
Eros walked toward the door.
"I just have an errand to run."
"Where?"
"Earth."
Veyra blinked.
Eros waved cheerfully.
"Won't take long."
She opened the door.
"Oh, and wonderful stream by the way," she added. "The demon with the boot nearly killed me."
Then she left.
The door closed.
Veyra stared at it.
"…One more slot?"
She slowly leaned forward again.
"Well."
"Let's see."
The town was called Verath's Crossing.
I discovered this information two hours after we entered it.
In my defense, the merchant had spent the entire walk explaining humidity control for eggs.
Humidity.
For eggs.
For two hours.
We turned onto the main street.
I stopped walking.
Because there were elves.
And beastfolk.
Everywhere.
Just casually walking around like this was completely normal.
A fox-eared woman argued with a vegetable merchant like cabbage prices were a matter of national security.
Two silver-haired elves sat outside a tea house sipping tea with the relaxed confidence of people who had personally watched kingdoms collapse.
A wolf-eared man walked past carrying lumber.
His ears twitched when a cart rattled nearby.
I stopped walking.
"…Damn."
"You stopped," Rael said behind me.
"I noticed."
"Why."
"I'm appreciating the cultural diversity."
"You're staring at the elf."
"I'm appreciating the elf."
Rael followed my gaze.
Then looked back at me.
"…Tch."
She walked past.
"The container. Move."
I moved.
The fox-eared woman's tail flicked as we passed.
I looked up at the sky.
Veyra, I thought loudly, if you designed this town I respect the effort.
No response.
But somewhere above the clouds—
"Pfft."
Someone was definitely laughing.
"Humans aren't enough anymore?"
I turned.
Mira walked beside me, looking straight ahead.
"What?"
"Elves," she said calmly.
"…Yes."
"Beastfolk."
"…Also yes."
"Humans aren't enough."
"That's not what I said."
"You said 'damn.'"
"That was a general observation."
"You said it out loud."
…Right.
"Mira—"
She walked slightly faster.
Not dramatically.
Just enough to create distance.
I looked at Senna.
Senna stared at her book.
She was very clearly watching the situation.
I looked at Rael.
"Pfft."
Rael coughed into her hand.
"Mira," I said.
No response.
"I wasn't comparing anyone."
Nothing.
"You are objectively— I mean humans are obviously— you specifically are very—"
Mira stopped.
I nearly walked into her.
She turned around.
Looked directly at me.
"I know," she said calmly.
"Then why—"
"Because it was funny."
She turned and kept walking.
I stared after her.
"…That was on purpose."
"Yes," she said.
I looked up at the sky again.
My life was starting to feel like a group project where everyone else had read the instructions.
We stopped at an inn one day from the research outpost.
The container was warmer.
The noises inside were louder.
I was not thinking about this.
I was sitting outside eating bread when Rael sat down beside me.
"How's the container?" she asked.
"Warmer."
"…Hmm."
Silence.
"If it hatches," Rael said.
"It won't."
"We have margin."
She looked at me.
"How much margin."
"Roughly a day."
"…Roughly."
"Give or take."
"How much."
"…Half a day."
"…Tch."
Rael stared at the trees.
"In my world," I said, "people used to say at least their job wasn't carrying a bomb."
"And now?"
"And now I'm transporting a lightning dragon."
"Pfft."
Rael covered her mouth.
"If it hatches," she said again.
"We technically delivered an egg."
"That is not how that works."
"It absolutely is."
"We are egg transport specialists."
"What happens after delivery is between the egg and the researchers."
Rael looked at me.
"…You're an idiot."
"I know."
Pause.
"…But technically correct," she said.
"Exactly."
It hatched twenty minutes before we arrived.
The container got hot.
Then hotter.
Then the side opened.
Not broke.
Opened.
The dragon was the size of a large cat.
Pure white.
Deep blue eyes.
It looked at us.
We looked at it.
It opened its mouth.
ZZZT.
Lightning flashed.
"…Ah," Mira said softly.
"…Interesting," Senna murmured, already writing.
"…Hah?" Rael said.
The dragon looked around.
Then walked toward me.
Past Rael.
Past Mira.
Past Senna.
Then sat beside my boot.
Krrt.
I stared down at it.
"…No."
Krrt.
I pointed at Rael.
"THERE IS A WALKING VOLCANO RIGHT THERE."
Rael grabbed my collar.
"Say that again."
"I meant powerful fire specialist."
"…Tch."
She dropped me.
Senna glanced up from her notebook.
"Technically," she said calmly, "Rael does exhibit volcanic thermal output."
"YOU ARE NOT HELPING," I said.
The dragon looked between us.
Krrt.
I pointed at it.
"WHY ME?"
The dragon blinked.
Krrt.
I looked at the sky.
"THIS IS DIVINE HARASSMENT."
The researchers were ecstatic.
"It imprinted," the head researcher whispered.
She looked at Rael.
Then at me.
"…On him?"
"Apparently."
"Ancient class dragons don't imprint," she said.
"They choose."
She looked at the dragon.
The dragon looked at me.
"It chose you."
I looked down.
"…Why."
The dragon blinked.
Krrt.
"…Great," I muttered.
"Extremely helpful."
We received full payment.
Rael stood beside me while I counted the coins.
"Ancient class," she said.
"Apparently."
"It chose you."
"Apparently."
"…Why."
"I asked."
"What did it say."
"Krrt."
"…Hmph."
She nodded.
"It's following us."
I looked at the outpost door.
Lightning flashed under it.
"…Yeah."
Rael looked up at the sky.
"The goddess knew."
"She told me the middle one."
"And the answer was the dragon."
"The answer," I said slowly, "was the dragon."
The outpost door opened.
The small white dragon walked out.
Sat beside my boot again.
Krrt.
I looked up at the sky.
Somewhere above the clouds—
"Pfft."
Someone was absolutely enjoying this.
"Krrt," said the dragon.
"…Yeah," I sighed.
"I know."