Jia relaxed on the central ledge of her lair, admiring the many details of her reflection in the pool that surrounded her. She lazily dragged a claw through the water. The ripples spread through her image, but they did not change the fact that the face she looked into was her own. Here she was, back in her cave gazing at herself, the same as before this mess with Twyla had started. Had she really come full circle? No, so many things were different now. It was not just another day, not just another moment in time indistinguishable from one day to the next. Jia lifted her head to look at the fountain Ebony had made for her. Had it really been only a few months ago? For a creature who lived for centuries, the recent past seemed so very crowded.
Twyla had accused them of being lazy, doing nothing but lying in their caves and sleeping. Perhaps that had been true of late. Certainly Jia could not remember much of note beyond a skirmish when Ghaleon had taken her aura and of course the assault on Pentagulia. Beyond the need to be around in the event of any world-threatening disaster, the demands on a dragon's time and energies were relatively low. But perhaps the dragons did have a place in the world, besides as its protectors and anointers of Dragonmasters. To that end, Ebony had begun visiting the many towns of Lunar; not as a scruffy flying cat hiding in the alleyways, but with the full majesty of a black dragon.
He had his reasons.
Firstly, he wanted to show the people firsthand that the Dragon Tribe still existed. Human time passed so quickly to them. The present became the past, the past became history, history faded into legend, and even legends were forgotten. By Ebony simply visiting them, it showed the people that the dragons were there, prepared to defend them when the need arose. A little positive advertising never hurt.
Secondly, Ebony planned to show the world to his new charge, and with good reason. She was the only dragon child now and what she learned would be carried on to the next generation. Twyla had no recollection of her former life. Though Jia suspected that it may return to her someday, for now, at least, she was a child. Ebony said he didn't want her growing up just seeing the insides of a cave, so he intended to give her the world. If nothing else, it would be hard for humans to again forget that "flying cats" are truly young dragons. He was turning out to be a wonderful guardian. He just needed someone to care for.
Jia chuckled quietly to herself, standing up and giving herself a good stretch. He was likely to have a third reason as well; just to be active. Ebony had never liked being idle. If anything at all, the recent events had forced the dragons to take actions they wouldn't have before. She herself wasn't certain she could return to wasting the days away in her cave. Twyla had had a point. Her power could be better spent than wiling away the years in the company of waterworks and lilypads. The dragons weren't meant to be the servants of humankind, but surely there could be a balance.
More than mere activity had about come from this. Though she still didn't know the full story, Nall and Ruby had finally admitted their feelings to each other. While that had subdued their bickering to some degree, it had actually increased it in others. Neither had any experience with such a relationship and they had already run into their first problem. They wished to live together. However, Nall's cave was too cold for Ruby and of course the volcano was too hot for the white dragon. It really didn't help that their elemental preferences were so opposed to each other, but Jia was sure the two would work things out eventually, even if that meant Nall might lose some of his new fur coat in the process. Ruby's temper was as short as ever.
Jia curled her neck around as the sound of beating wings came to her through the sky passage to her lair. She smiled to herself, unsurprised to see Ebony's black form as he made his way into the chamber. He grinned in return as he sailed in for a landing in the empty space beside her on the rocky shelf. Before, he could say a word in greeting, a small form popped up from between his horns.
"Hi Aunt Jia!" piped the little black kitten.
"Hello, dear," said Jia, merrily waving her tail.
"We came to visit you!" She patted the top of Ebony's head, looking down as she did so. "Can I go swimming? Huh, Uncle Ebony?"
Ebony chuckled as he rolled his eyes upward, trying to catch sight of his passenger.
"It's not my cave," he said lightly.
"Oh... can I go swimming, Aunt Jia?"
She looked so adorable that Jia couldn't help smiling. "Of course, my dear. Just be careful and stay out of the deep end."
The small dragon smiled, hopping off Ebony's head and extending her wings. She dove a little too fast in her excitement, her wings not yet ready for that kind of flight. The tiny dragon tumbled over a few times and bounced off Ebony's shoulder before landing in a jumble on the porous white stone, but after a shake of her head she was on her paws again and running towards the lake.
Seeing that she made it all right, Jia's suppressed sigh slipped out as a laugh. That little one had to be a handful. But then, what little dragon wasn't? Jia turned her attention back to Ebony, glancing over him and pleased to see that he seemed fit and healthy. He had a smile on his face that did her heart good. It was as if the Ebony who couldn't stop mourning was gone. Perhaps Twyla had given him a chance to move on, to see a future instead of just the past.
"How are you two getting along?" she asked, moving over to rub her cheek against his.
"Just fine," said Ebony, nuzzling in return and sitting back to look at her, "but I never had that much energy. I don't know where she gets it. She might be older than I am, but she's certainly making the most out of her second childhood."
Jia giggled, amusement in her eyes. "Maybe it's something of the human in her. Or maybe you have nothing to gauge it against, never having been very energetic yourself."
"Not that much!"
Jia snickered as Ebony postured himself in an all too obvious attempt to look innocent. She opened her mouth to speak again when a new presence entered the chamber.
Neither dragon had any warning. No alarms, magic or otherwise, sounded. He was just there. Though Jia and Ebony had never seen him before, there was no mistaking the shimmering form that stood before them. Power dripped off him in a way that rivaled or even exceeded their own. Ebony stepped in front of Jia protectively as the blue dragon cast a look about for Twyla.
"I mean no harm," said the Star Dragon, his gaze drifting over the two larger dragons to the kitten that had stopped swimming long enough to watch him curiously.
"This is the first time you've ever visited... anyone," said Ebony. "You can't blame us for being cautious."
The Star Dragon shifted his bulk, returning the gaze of his now silver eyes to the larger dragons. "I have come about the child," he said.
Ebony pulled himself on the defensive, lowering himself into a position better able to pounce if required. He would eat stardust before their uninvited guest could reach her. Though he had eyes only for the interloper, through his ears he could hear the sound of a playful splash or two as Twyla smacked the water with her paws.
"Calm yourself, black dragon," said the Star Dragon. If he was bothered by any signs of hostility he did not show it. Indeed, the dragon seemed hardly anything but shimmering darkness and those silver eyes. "I am not stealing her from you. She is to be my replacement."
"What do you mean?" Jia asked, stepping forward to rest a paw on Ebony's shoulder. The black dragon loosened up a bit, pulling himself upright, but he refused to sit down, not when he may still need to defend Twyla.
"Do you know my duty?" the Star Dragon asked, answering Jia's question with his own.
"To guard the Star Tower," said Ebony.
"Incorrect," he replied, turning his gaze from the blue dragon to the black. "The tower is merely the passage to that which I watch over."
Jia inhaled sharply. Why hadn't they seen it before? They had thought of "Star Dragon" as merely being a designation such as blue or black, not as a title. Star Dragon. It was in reference to the Blue Star. She had thought that a single tower didn't rate a dragon's sole protection.
"I thought Lucia was the guardian of the Blue Star," said Ebony.
The Star Dragon nodded. "She is. But Althena was the guardian of Lunar, and yet she had dragons. For millennia Lucia was asleep and in no position to watch over her world. Someone had to safeguard what she could not. Her responsibility is restoring it to life. Mine is to see that her work is not disrupted. Like Althena, she cannot be everywhere nor protect everything."
"Fair enough," said Ebony, still with a bad taste in his mouth, "but what does this have to do with Twyla?"
"She is the same as I. I am half human."
His proclamation left Ebony and Jia in stunned silence, and for a brief moment he seemed amused, but then the darkness shifted and the Star Dragon offered a little more explanation, perhaps the most they had ever heard him give.
"My mother was a dragon," he said, "my father a human. Because of my heritage, I have the power of a dragon, but without the limitations of being attached to a single element. I have the ability to learn and adapt, quite rapidly, as might a human. Yet despite my lifespan, I am not the same as other dragons. I had no place in the Dragon Tribe of my generation, so Althena gave me the duty of protecting the Blue Star for as long as I am able."
"That sounds like an important job," said Ebony, finally settling on his haunches, "but I promised Twyla a family, not a duty alone watching over a dead planet. I'm sure Lucia's doing her best down there, but it will be a long time yet before the Blue Star is ready for humanity to return. You're talking about a job that will last for centuries or more."
"She will not have to be alone. I choose to stay apart from this world to better handle my mission. How she performs her duty is her own decision. Her services will not be needed for years to come, but when the time arrives, I will return to begin her training."
"All right," said Ebony, "but it will be her choice." He thumped his tail as he looked the Star Dragon in the eyes. "If she does not want the job, I will do everything in my power to prevent her from being forced into it. She will have a choice."
The Star Dragon met Ebony's gaze for half a minute before he finally spoke.
"As you wish. I will return when it is time."
Jia stepped forward as the shimmering around the Star Dragon intensified.
"Wait, don't go," she said. "You needn't keep yourself separate from us. I don't know what happened to you a long time ago, but times have changed, even for us dragons. The tribe you see here now is not the same one you left. If you want to teach Twyla, you should be in her life beforehand. Any dragon knows that it is not good to be alone for too long. Your human heritage shouldn't keep you apart from us."
The Star Dragon looked to the blue dragon and his features softened, just a little.
"I don't know that I would know how. I have been alone for far too long. But I will consider your words."
And then he was gone, his presence lifted like a curtain holding back the light of the sun. Ebony shook his head and sighed.
"Apparently being alone hasn't helped his manners any," he said, glancing over to Twyla. The small dragon had grown bored with the conversation several minutes ago and had begun paddling her way around Jia's lake, even through the deep end, though the blue dragon had yet to notice that part.
"Everyone should have a family," said Jia, giving her head a sad shake.
The black dragon's features took on a look of worry, then disappeared into a smile of satisfaction as he came to a decision. He nodded to himself as he turned around to face her.
"Yes, a family. I am serving the position as Twyla's father figure, where my father failed in the past, but... She could use a mother," he said, perhaps adding the last part a bit too quickly.
Jia tilted her head, curious. "What are you saying, Ebony?"
He took in a deep breath and tried to hold her gaze. "I'm saying that I love you, Jia. Not as a little sister, but more."
Then Ebony's courage failed him and he looked away.
Jia blinked, trying to see if she had heard right. Ebony was in love with her? But he hadn't given any indication. No, she realized, that wasn't true. She just hadn't known what to look for. The looks he gave her, the way he always protected her, she understood their source. But how did she feel? Of course she loved Ebony, but it had always been as family. She'd never thought about him like this before. She didn't know how she felt.
Ebony needed an answer. To say nothing was worse than the clumsiest appreciation of his words. But what could a dragon say to that? One thing she did know, and that was no matter what conclusion she came to, she would never think any less of him. She loved Ebony, if not yet in the way he would like, then in her own way. She cleared her throat, trying to find the words. Mercifully, she was spared the necessity.
From the ground passage, a figure strode into the chamber. Pulling back a blue cloak and shaking out a soaking mass of blond hair, it raised a fist victoriously.
"I have conquered the trials of the dragon cave," she declared, "and so I, Crystal, the sorceress supreme, have proven myself! So I came to give you another chance at being my sidekick!"
Having delivered her dramatic speech, and recovered from a pose that nearly twisted her ankle, she finally took in the scene in front of her--two dragons staring in her direction with looks of incredible disbelief.
"Like cool, two dragons! So which one of you wants to be my sidekick? I'm not pushy!"
"Not pushy?" Jia echoed. She looked over at Ebony. "Would you care to do the honors?"
"It's your cave," he replied.
Jia's thoughts were still on the conversation that Crystal had interrupted. She lowered her head and said quietly, "Perhaps we should do it together."
Twyla giggled as the human landed ungracefully in the lake. She had such a wonderful family.
"I knew we'd end up here."
"So it's a fixer upper."
Ruby rolled her eyes and looked over to the white dragon, who had the decency to look sheepish--at least, as sheepish as a dragon can look. She turned her attention back to the place Nall had suggested for their home, at least temporarily until they could find a natural cavern suited to their liking. She supposed that beggars really couldn't be choosers, and they had run out of all the obvious choices.
"Taben's Peak?" she said with a huff. "It wasn't so hot even when you had your little clubhouse here. From what I remember of the shoddy workmanship you did, it's probably fallen apart by now."
Nall looked up at the overgrown Grindery. It held so many memories, from the bad to the good, but it was the best place he knew. There weren't many locations built large enough to comfortably accommodate two dragons.
"The Dragon Kids just built on the outside," he offered. "Even if the rooms I added on my own are gone, I'm sure there's lots of space on the inside. It shouldn't be too hard for us dragons since I'm not in hiding this time."
"But everyone who passes in between Meribia and Vane will wander by! It's not very private!" Ruby punctuated her statement with a snort of smoke.
"We're close to Meribia if we need anything! Didn't you want a town nearby so you could raid the fish market? Why are you so picky?"
"If I was so picky I wouldn't be with you!"
Soon, the two rolled around in yet another one of their fights. However, this one ended with Nall's forelegs around Ruby and the two kissed. They held the position for a couple of minutes, then finally Ruby lifted her head.
"I suppose it's not the worst place in the world," she said with a fanged grin.
"Well, high praise from you," Nall replied, teasing.
"As long as it's got you, Nall, it'll do."
The next kiss lasted much longer than a few minutes.