Aoife

With the excitement of our new arrivals finally calming down, we found ourselves facing a difficult question. What should we do about Cyrus?

It was obvious that he’d started searching for us, and as soon as he realized that the pair he sent after the goblins wasn’t going to return, he’d direct much more of his attention towards our general area. Basically, it was only a matter of time before he found us, and if we weren’t prepared when he did, we were pretty much all dead. We needed a plan to stop him for good.

I was lying atop my fluffy mountain, pondering just that, when Willow zipped in through an open window, crashing headfirst into the smothering softness. She scrambled her way through the tangled fabrics until she reached me before flopping her whole (though admittedly meager) body weight on my stomach.

“Having a good day, Willow?”

“Tired.” Her voice was muffled as her face pressed into my shirt. “Turns out taking care of a pair of critically depressed, seriously traumatized 19 year olds is fuckin’ exhausting. Who would’ve thought?”

“I feel that.”

“She says, lounging atop her fuzzy throne.”

“I’ll have you know I kidnapped several chickens today. Plus, I’m not just lying here, I’m pondering.”

It was true, by the way. Our hunting could never be sustainable in the long term, and while I hadn’t seen any cows or pigs (nor was I certain I could carry them), I found a whole flock of chickens and former chickens while scoping out some more rural areas a few days ago. With the help of a cage the Fletchers made over the next few days after, I’d been able to get my hands on a total of 9 chickens, the vast majority of whom were hens. I hoped that this would be a good first step in addressing our hunting concerns.

“Ah, of course, what could possibly be a more productive use of a dragon’s time than pondering?” She rolled over, lying flat on her stomach, meeting my eyes with her own.

“I promise, it’s a hell of a lot more important than you’d think. We’ll be waging war with a regenerating dragon and his small army of angels sooner than either of us would like.” I wrapped my arms around her, mindful of her delicate butterfly wings. “Unfortunately, I’m still drawing a blank on how we could ever actually win this.”

“Well, I for one don’t want to waste any time stressing about that tonight, and you should take a break too. Aimlessly worrying all the time isn’t gonna help anyone.”

“Then what should I do?”

“Have fun!”

*****

At my diminutive girlfriend’s behest, I vacated the fluff pile, emerging from our home into the peaceful evening twilight. Apparently, I was out here to have some fun. Willow said she had a plan, but I couldn’t be sure whether she was telling the truth, or just trying to get me to play along. Knowing her, it was probably a little bit of both.

Once we reached a more open area in the middle of the road, Willow fluttered up ahead and turned to face me.

“So Aoife, you know how this,” she gestured to the fluttering wings behind her, “is awesome?”

I nodded, unsure of where she was going with this.

“Well hear me out. What if we actually tried to come up with some kind of aerial game or sport or something?”

“What, like magical football or something?”

“Kinda. Maybe with a bit less cranial trauma though.” She zipped up close, an almost feral glint in her eye. “C’mon, Aoife. Think about it. You could consider this… aerial combat training… or something. In fact, I have the perfect idea. One second. You’d better be all lizardy when I get back.”

With that, she zoomed away, landing in a crouch on one of our house’s window sills, giving me a pointed look before disappearing inside. I guess that was my queue to get changed. With a heavy sigh and a subtle grin, I let my magic wash through my body, still marveling at the odd sensation of a slow, deliberate transformation. It never hurt, but I could still feel things as they were happening. I could feel my tail slowly stretching longer and longer, the spikes and frills slowly erupting across my body, my wings bursting from my back and assuming their characteristic, butterfly shape.

That’s when I noticed it.

I had butterfly wings now, didn’t I? I guess Alex had his answer now. Moon dragon plus pixie apparently equals butterfly fairy dragon. I felt a comforting brush of icy magic against my mind. I guess he approved of this turn of events. When my change was complete, I strained my neck to get a look at my new additions.

They weren’t extravagant. At least, not in shape. They appeared to be more or less what you’d expect from a monarch butterfly. What made them really interesting was their color. The shade shifted the further they stretched from my body, darkening to a deep purple. Across their surface were uncountable silver specks that shimmered in the light, giving the impression of a clear night sky. They were beautiful, and as soon as Willow realized they were her doing, she was definitely going to lord it over me whenever she had the chance.

I loved that tiny, bossy dork.

Speaking of which, as I stretched and flexed my altered wings, I heard the flapping of a smaller pair behind me… moments before my head was drenched in water. I whirled around and looked up to find Willow, hovering overhead, with a water balloon clutched in one hand.

“I’m gonna be honest, Aoife. I don’t know if I’m strong enough to throw these with any real force.” She dropped the balloon, and in my shock and confusion, it landed squarely on my back. “Thankfully, I’ve got some friends who aren’t quite so constrained.”

It was then that I noticed there were more trees around than normal and only moments later that I noticed the full balloons hanging like ornaments among their branches. I recognized Spruce the treant as they wound up in a pitcher’s stance.

“Aerial maneuver training, also known as having a water balloon fight with my dragon gf, is a go.”

Gods she really was such a dork though.