The Consequences of Meeting a Dragon

It turned out that Iggy's space pocket contained a small emergency medical kit. It was designed for dragons, of course, but most of what was in it was also usable on cats. And despite Seyli repeating several times that she was only a student and wasn't qualified to do a real examination, she seemed very familiar with the magic tools in the kit and how to use them to check the cat for injuries or signs of illness.

As far as she could tell, he was perfectly healthy apart from a few small scratches, which she treated with healing salve.

But he was also extremely hungry. With Iggy's permission, Seyli took a few snack sticks from the space pocket, and Thenio broke them into pieces for the cat to eat. He had to put them down one or two at a time to keep the ravenous feline from eating too fast and making himself sick.

Since the cat was close to the same size as Tava, Seyli took off her harness and put it on him, along with the leash, so that they could let him move around a little without worrying about him running off. The cat didn't seem to mind. Maybe his owner had leash trained him.

Since the dragons made the cat nervous when they got too close to him, the two of them were exploring the alley together, poking around in corners and sniffing at random things. But they'd only been at it for a few minutes when they both perked their ears up and turned toward the entrance to the alleyway.

A familiar-looking white and brown wolf appeared at the end of the alley, sniffing at the ground as though she'd been following a scent trail. It was Vielle, the Enchanter's Guild master's familiar. When she saw them, she raised her head and wagged her tail.

"I found them!" she called to someone behind her. "They're back here!"

She started to run toward Thenio and Seyli, who were sitting on a couple of wooden crates that they'd taken down from the stack the cat had been hiding in. But the cat didn't appreciate a wolf running at him. He arched his back and let out a fierce hiss, all his fur puffing out just like Tava's scales had earlier.

Vielle stopped and blinked at him. "Oh. I thought I smelled cat...."

"What are you all doing back here?"

Ariom had appeared behind Vielle, accompanied by the redheaded guild master, Kymia Larinos. He also started toward them but paused after a few steps, just like Vielle had. But rather than looking at the cat, he was staring at a spot on the ground and frowning.

"There are recent traces of fire magic here?" Ariom raised his head and looked at the wall where Thenio had been surrounded by the three boys. "And some of Iggy's magic...?" He turned to look back at Thenio and Seyli, his frown deepening. "What happened? And where did that cat come from?"

The cat had stopped hissing, but he was still puffed up and was watching the newcomers warily. Thenio tightened his grip on the leash, just in case the cat decided to run.

"Ariom!" Iggy jumped into the air and flew across the alley, landing on the arm that Ariom held out for him. "Ariom, I saved Thenio! A meanie bully was shooting fire at him and making his magic get scared. So I breathed out my magic and scared all the bullies away! Thenio said he was going to need to go to the hospital. But then he didn't, okay? Because Tava and I saved him!" The little dragon stuck his chest out, looking extremely proud of himself.

Ariom raised his eyebrows briefly before lowering them into a frown again. "I see." He rubbed Iggy's head. "Thank you for helping Thenio. And for calling me to let me know something was wrong. You and Tava both did a really good job. You two can have some fire trout for dinner as a reward, all right?"

"Mmm! Okay!" Iggy waved his tail happily.

Ariom put the little dragon up on his shoulder and then came over to where Thenio and Seyli were sitting. Thenio could tell from the way that Ariom was looking him up and down as he walked that he was checking on the state of his magic circuit.

He came to a stop a few feet away and looked directly at Thenio. "Tell me what happened."

Thenio winced a little and lowered his gaze. "That...I'm sorry. It was really reckless of me. I was worried about the cat, and I just wasn't thinking, and—"

"Stop." Ariom held up a hand to cut him off. "I didn't say you needed to apologize. I just want you to tell me what happened."

"Oh." Thenio blinked a few times. "Well...we got some food from one of the stands in the plaza, and then sat at one of the picnic tables to eat. After we finished, Seyli was cleaning up the dragons, and I went to go put the trash in one of the bins on the edge of the picnic area...."

He told Ariom everything. How he'd seen the boys chasing the cat and wanted to stop them from hurting it. How he'd confronted them but gotten into trouble when one of them started using magic. And how the dragons had come to his rescue just before he was about to lose control and scared the boys away.

Kymia also came closer and listened quietly, standing next to Vielle, who was still watching the cat with interest.

When Thenio had finished, Ariom let out a small sigh. "Thenio. Do I need to explain to you why going after those boys was a stupid thing to do?"

"I.... No. I understand. I was too emotional and didn't think the situation through properly before I acted. Since this is the guild district, I should have assumed that one or more of those boys could use magic and that it was dangerous to try to stop them by myself."

"Good. Then what should you have done in that situation?"

"Probably...asked for help? I should have gone back and told the others about it. The four of us probably could have dealt with it safely if we worked together." Thenio looked down at the cat, who had calmed down a little and was now crouched against the crate he was sitting on, glaring at Vielle. "That might have given them enough time to catch the cat and do something to him, but...well...we probably could have still made it before they...." He didn't finish.

Ariom also looked at the cat for a moment. Then he sighed. "I saw a note in your medical file. About the first time you were treated for magic burns. It said you lost control of your magic because you were upset that your parents had given away your family's pet cat...."

Thenio bit his lip and didn't say anything.

Ariom sighed again. "Just...try to be more careful in the future, all right? Even if you can't save all the cats in the world...remember that there are people—and dragons—that will be unhappy if something happens to you, too. Understand?"

Thenio nodded.

"I agree that coming back to us for help was the best option," Seyli said, looking thoughtful. "We definitely would have been willing to help you rescue a cat. But while you're reflecting on things...I think the next best thing you could have done would have been to take the offensive once they tried to surround you. At that point, you should have rushed at the leader and given him a good punch or two. If you managed to knock him down, the others probably would have panicked enough that it would have been easy to get past them and run back to find us. Groups with a really dominant leader like that will usually fall apart if the leader takes a hit, since they're so used to him always having the upper hand."

They all stared at her.

"You mentioned that you were used to bullies avoiding you because of your magic," Seyli went on, ignoring the stares. "Does that mean you haven't ever been in a fight before?"

Thenio shook his head. "No, not really."

"Have you?" Kymia asked, looking at Seyli curiously.

"Well...not a fist fight. But I did get bullied quite a lot when I was younger. The other kids at my general school thought my family was extremely wealthy because we have so many dragons. Which isn't exactly true...since dragons cost so much to take care of.... But anyways. I was really shy and didn't talk to other people much back then, so some of my classmates started saying I was stuck up and thought I was too good for them. And some girls can get pretty vicious when they're jealous...." Seyli gave a bitter smile. "My brother Toflyn found out and forced some self-defense lessons on me. I hated it, but I eventually learned that he was right—some people really do need a nice hard slap in the face before they're willing to listen to reason."

She'd been through something like that? Thenio frowned a little, remembering guiltily that he'd been jealous when he first met her, too....

"I can see Toflyn doing something like that," Kymia said with a wry chuckle. "Such a warm and friendly guy until you pick on someone close to him. Ariom and I have had to deal with the aftermath of his sense of justice on more than one occasion." She turned to Thenio. "Ariom said you're really good at drawing. Do you remember the faces of the boys who attacked you well enough to draw them for me?"

"I think so. But I don't have any drawing supplies with me...."

Kymia gave him a bright smile. "No problem. You can use mine."

She held out her hands, and a pad of paper and a canvas pencil roll appeared in them. She handed them over to Thenio and then laughed at the look of surprise on his face.

"I'm an aesthetic enchanter," she explained. "Magic luthier, to be specific. I never know when I might run across some kind of inspiration that I want to make a sketch of. So I always carry art supplies with me."

"Oh." Thenio looked down at the paper and pencils. Did that have something to do with Ariom trying to convince him to study aesthetic enchanting? He wasn't exactly sure what kind of relationship Ariom and Kymia had, but they seemed to be on fairly good terms.

"I actually have an idea who those three boys might have been," Kymia went on. "But having a picture would help to confirm it. Well...there's no need to feel pressured, though. Just do the best you can."

Thenio nodded. Then he handed the cat's leash and what was left of the snack sticks over to Seyli so he could focus on drawing. He hesitated a little when he opened the pencil roll and saw that it was filled with top quality pens and pencils. They had probably cost a lot.... But after living with Ariom for a month, he was a little less intimidated by expensive things than he'd been before. And Kymia had told him to use them herself.

He shook his head a little, pulled out a pencil, and started sketching.

While he drew, Ariom and Kymia went back to the spot where the magic clash had happened and stood there, looking around and talking quietly, like detectives analyzing a crime scene. Vielle started walking up and down the alleyway, sniffing at things and chatting with Iggy, who was trotting along next to her with Tava keeping a watchful eye behind him. Seyli had lifted the cat onto her lap and was feeding him the last of the snack sticks and stroking his back in order to distract him from Vielle and the dragons.

It took Thenio about fifteen minutes to complete his drawing. When he walked over and handed it to Kymia, she raised her eyebrows, looking a little surprised.

"Not bad. And quick, too...." She nodded approvingly at the drawing. Her expression turned more serious as she continued to study it. "Yes...these three. I expected as much...." She sighed. "We've suspected them in a few previous incidents, but we didn't have any real evidence. This time, though, we should finally be able to do something."

"I don't remember seeing any of them before," Ariom said, looking over her shoulder and frowning at the drawing. "Is one of them really the son of a guild executive?"

"I wouldn't call him that. But I guess if you really want to stretch the definition of 'executive'...." Kymia rolled her eyes. "He's one of our warehouse managers. The other two are the sons of people who work under him. They've been hanging around here on their days off from school the past few months. We're normally okay with that, as long as the kids don't cause any trouble. But if they do.... Well." She smiled sweetly. "I'll take care of it. They won't be doing this kind of thing ever again."

In spite of her pleasant tone, Thenio couldn't suppress a slight shiver at her words. What had Ariom called her before? 'Maniac?' 'A force to be reckoned with?'

Scary....

Kymia made the drawing vanish into her space pocket. "Well, I think I have everything I need. Come on, Vielle. Let's get back to work."

"Wait...aren't I in trouble for fighting, too?" Thenio asked as Vielle trotted toward them.

Kymia tilted her head. "Do you want to be in trouble?"

"I...no, of course not. But...."

"If you purposely picked a fight in the guild district, then yes, there would be consequences. You're a magic assistant registered with the Enchanter's Guild, after all. So it's my responsibility to discipline you if it's needed. But under the circumstances.... Well. You made a mistake. You were careless. But you didn't have bad intentions, and you didn't actually hurt anyone. You've also already apologized and reflected on your actions. I think any further discipline would be pretty meaningless at this point. Just do what Ariom said—try to be more careful in the future. Okay?"

"Ah...okay." Thenio lowered his gaze. "Thank you. And...I'm sorry for the trouble...."

Kymia reached up and patted his shoulder. "Hey, it's normal for kids to make mistakes, right? The important thing is that you learned something from it." She smiled at him. "Besides, it gave me the chance to see your artistic skills. You have some real talent, you know? Tell me if you're ever interested in studying aesthetic enchanting, all right? I'll give you some lessons."

"Hey." Ariom scowled at her. "He's my assistant. No poaching."

Kymia simply smirked and stuck out her tongue at him before turning to leave.

"Oh, and Thenio," she called back over her shoulder just before she and Vielle left the alleyway. "The next time you have a run-in with bullies here in the guild district, tell them that the Enchanter's Guild master has promised to personally take anyone who messes with you and turn their intestines into lute strings." She gave him an impish grin. "See how many of them dare to think you're lying after that."

Thenio stood and stared after her for a moment. Then, when the two of them had disappeared from view, he looked at Ariom. "She...was joking...right?"

Ariom shrugged. "With her, who knows...?" He turned back to look at the cat, who had finished eating and was settled contentedly on Seyli's lap. "All right, what do we do with that little troublemaker?"

"We could take him home to live at our house!" Iggy said, waving his tail enthusiastically.

"I'm pretty sure he already has a home, Iggy, honey," Seyli told him gently. "He has an identification mark on his shoulder, just like you do. So the people he lives with are probably worried about him. They'll be really sad if someone else takes him home and they never see him again. Not to mention that it's kind of illegal..." she added with a wry smile. Then she turned to Ariom. "There's an animal clinic not too far from here. If we take him there, they should be able to look up his registration information and contact his owners. He might even be one of their patients, if he lives in this area."

"All right. We'll take him there." Ariom sighed. "Come on, everyone. I think we've had enough adventures for one morning. Let's drop the cat off and then go home."

"Leave it to that girl to know exactly where the nearest veterinary clinic is...." Ariom shook his head in admiration as he watched Seyli carrying the cat inside. Then he glanced toward the seat behind him.

Thenio was still acting extremely contrite, in spite of the fact that neither Ariom nor Kymia had scolded him harshly for what had happened. Ariom had increased his magic suppression a little to help him calm down, and now he was leaning against the side of the carriage with a tired expression, his head down and his shoulders hunched.

The dragons both seemed to be worried about him. Thenio had been carrying the cat until a moment ago, and as soon as he'd handed it over to Seyli and she'd left the carriage with it, Tava had whimpered and climbed onto his lap, and Iggy had jumped up onto his shoulder and started licking his face.

Ariom grimaced a little. Really, this kid.... Did he honestly think that everyone in the world hated him or something? It was kind of understandable, considering that he'd grown up being isolated by most of the people around him because of his magic. But still...there were plenty of people trying to help him out now, and there were magic beasts literally climbing all over him. Was he really so broken that he couldn't see any of that?

Ariom looked away, feeling awkward. It would be nice if Uncle Bero were still around. He always seemed to know what to do in these kinds of situations. Things like this didn't come naturally to Ariom at all. That was why he hardly ever took on apprentices.

He thought back to his uncle's advice when he'd had to interact with Thenio's little brother the other day. Would that work with Thenio, too? He was quite a lot older than Kleyo was, but...maybe?

Ariom looked back at Thenio. What would he do if Iggy were the one curled up looking guilty and miserable like that?

Hesitantly, he reached out his hand.

"Hey." He lightly ruffled Thenio's hair, making the boy start and look up. "You don't need to keep making that face. Nobody's mad at you. We're just glad you didn't get hurt. It was an understandable mistake. There's no need to beat yourself up over it. Just learn from it and move on."

"Ah...right," Thenio said in a small voice. "Thanks." He looked away again, obviously still uncomfortable meeting Ariom's gaze. But his posture did relax a little.

Well. One step at a time.

Thenio dreamed about chasing a cat that night.

They were running through a forest, and the cat was only visible as flashes of light-colored fur appearing here and there in the undergrowth. Thenio ran as fast as he could, but it always managed to stay a little distance ahead of him.

After a while, they reached the edge of the forest and ran out onto a grassy cliffside. Thenio could finally see the cat clearly, and he realized it wasn't a cat at all. It was a small white fox. Its fur glittered in the sunlight as it moved, as though it were made from frost crystals.

Thenio realized that the fox was heading toward the cliff, and he suddenly felt a terrible sense of foreboding.

"No! You can't go there!" he shouted after it. "There's something dangerous down there! Come back!"

But the fox either didn't hear him or ignored his warning. It was now running along the cliff edge.

He had to catch it. He couldn't let it fall. Something terrible would happen if it fell...

Thenio used all his strength in order to put on an extra burst of speed and was finally able to move closer to the running animal. That's right. Just a little more. Just a little closer, and he'd be able to reach out and....

There was a sudden, deafening rumble. Thenio felt the ground beneath his feet start to shift and break apart. The cliff was collapsing, and he and the fox were both falling along with it.

As his body tilted downward, Thenio looked down through the rubble and saw...something...running along the bottom of the cliff. It was like a river, but it wasn't water. It was a dark color that shifted and shimmered, and points of light sparkled here and there. It looked like a starry sky that had melted into a running stream.

Thenio had no idea what it was, but the sight horrified him. For some reason, he felt sure that as soon as he fell into that river of stars, the entire world was going to break apart and come crashing down around him....

Then he heard the sound of flapping wings.

No. Not that. You don't need to dream about that.

White and indigo feathers obscured his view. And suddenly the crumbling cliff and the unknown, terrifying river were all gone. He was standing in a familiar, misty forest. The dream beast was there, with one of its huge wings wrapped protectively around him.

Thenio fell to his knees. He felt weak and sick, and his whole body was shaking uncontrollably.

The dream beast knelt down beside him and used its wings to lift him up and cradle him against its chest. Thenio closed his eyes and buried his face into the soft mane. He'd normally feel embarrassed about being held like a child like this, but right now he didn't care. He didn't remember ever being so terrified as he'd been just now, looking at that strange river. He was still trembling....

He wasn't sure how long they stayed like that. Thenio's breathing gradually slowed, and he stopped shaking. The dream beast simply sat and waited, holding him comfortingly.

Finally, Thenio calmed down enough to raise his head a little. "What...was that? That shining...river...thing...?"

It was just a nightmare. Forget about it. The beast's words were gentle but very firm at the same time.

It clearly didn't want to discuss the subject.

Thenio didn't argue. He'd just as soon forget about it...if he could.... He bit his lip and rested his head against the white fur again. He was calmer now, but he still felt drained and weak.

The dream beast sighed a little. I have to be careful not to use too much of my power around you. But...maybe I can make the scenery a little more cheerful....

It tossed its head, and sunlight started seeping through the dim forest, chasing away the mist. A soft chorus of birdsong started up in the surrounding trees, accompanied by the gurgling of a nearby stream.

Thenio raised his head again and looked around.

He recognized this place. He'd dreamed about it before....

They were on the edge of a clearing in a peaceful, sunlit forest. A little distance away, Thenio could see the white and gold shapes of unicorns grazing.

"This place...Ket'qe?"

That's right. This place makes you happy, doesn't it?

"Yeah...it does...." It was true. Thenio didn't understand it, but he felt at ease here in a way that no other place had ever made him feel.

He sat there quietly, watching the unicorns and allowing the pleasant atmosphere to relax and soothe him.

"I met a girl recently who knows a lot about magic beasts," he said after a while. "I asked her if she knew anything about dream beasts."

Oh? And what did she say?

Thenio looked up at the dream beast and then back out across the meadow. "She was pretty sure that they were just a folktale. She said she didn't think any magic beasts like that really exist. So in order for you to be real...you'd have to be something like a mythic beast...."

Is there something wrong with being a mythic beast?

"Well...no...but...." Thenio lowered his gaze, biting his lip again. "I've always heard that mythic beasts don't involve themselves with humans. They're powerful enough that they don't need to pay any attention to us. And I'm not a very useful human. I might be interesting to researchers, but I can't even use magic properly...I had to drop out of school...I explode every time I come in contact with magic...I...." He trailed off, his throat tightening painfully. "I just...don't think a mythic beast would be interested in someone like me...."

The dream beast threw back its head. It didn't make any sound, but the entire forest surrounding them quivered slightly, the air shimmering like it was filled with gold dust.

It was laughing.

The beast was laughing...but...there was an undertone of sadness there as well....

After a minute, it lowered its head again, and its silver blue eyes looked directly into his. Thenio. It was the first time it had called him by name. My poor, silly...insecure.... The dream beast sighed. ...precious boy.

It bent down and gently nuzzled his face, and Thenio felt its wings wrap more securely around him.

I'll always be interested in you. Whether you believe I'm real or not.... Whether you're ever able to control your magic or not.... No matter what happens...I'll always be watching over you. I promise.

Thenio woke up to the feeling of little paws on his chest and a tiny tongue licking his cheek.

"Iggy...?"

The licking stopped. "Oh. Thenio's awake."

Thenio blinked a few times and was able to see the faint outline of a little dragon face peering down at him.

"Did Thenio have a bad dream? You were moving around. And then your eyes started leaking water."

Thenio raised a hand and felt his face. Sure enough, there were traces of tears on his cheeks.

"It...yeah. It was a bad dream at first. Though it got a little better at the end...."

He sighed. Then he lifted Iggy off his chest and sat up. Still holding the little dragon in one arm, he got out of bed and walked over to the window. Moonlight was peeking in around the edges of the curtains. He pushed them aside and knelt down on the window seat to look outside.

Both moons were out tonight, hanging low together in the sky, just over the tops of the mountains. Theimi, the small white moon, was nestled closely beside Emiel, the large grey moon. They were nearly full, and even the darker Emiel was shining brightly.

Thenio sat and stared at them for a while, stroking Iggy.

"Does Thenio like the moons?" the little dragon asked, breaking the long silence.

"Yeah. I've always liked them. Do you?"

"Mmm!" Thenio could feel Iggy's tail waving a little. "The moons are pretty! Like big, shiny marbles in the sky."

Thenio laughed. "Right. Like that."

They were both quiet for a few more minutes.

"Hey, Iggy. Do you remember when we were talking about dream beasts with Seyli at the bookstore this morning?"

"About the wing-deers? Mmm! I remember!"

Thenio stared at the sky, looking at the little white spots scattered over Emiel's dark surface. "Do you think they're real?"

"Um...maybe they're real? Seyli said maybe they were, right? She said maybe they were mythic beasts, right? Like the big turtle!"

"Right. Like Naslunal. Probably not that big, though...."

Naslunal was one of the few mythic beasts whose name and form were well-known. He was an enormous turtle that wandered the ocean like a living, floating island. He occasionally allowed humans to come onto his shell to harvest the rare magic plants that grew there.

"Does Thenio think the wing-deers are real?" Iggy asked curiously.

Thenio was silent for a moment, watching as the moons began sinking down behind the mountains together. "I'm not sure," he said finally. "But I think it would be really nice if they were...."