Kuro snarls, slamming her tail against the wooden ground. She stares down at her sister and bellows, “There has to be another way!”
“There isn’t,” I deadpan. “Frida’s passionate about helping. You’re only upset because she wants to help Nakino.”
Kuro gasps, her eyes glazed with fury. She whips around (nearly smacking her tail against a quickly retreating Nakino) and roars, sulking around the back of the healer’s den like an upset hatchling.
Ugh.
Why is she still acting this way? “Kuro, you promised me you wouldn’t be so mean to the drakons. I’m asking you to consider Frida’s feelings above your own.”
“I’m not—”
“Yes, you are!!”
Kuro snarls, flicking splinters into the air as she drags her talons across the ground. Why is she taking this so personally? Frida is her sister! Doesn’t she want what’s best for her? Beside me, Frida sits with fluffed feathers and half-drawn wings; even she is unnerved by Kuro’s acerbic behavior.
I guess it’s up to me to try to diffuse this.
Gathering my courage, I rise to my talons and cross the den. Kuro has her head held against the wall, her eyes clenched and her fangs gritted. Her hackles rise as she senses my approach.
“Hey,” I whisper.
GRRRRRR…
Kuro’s body bristles as she bares a muzzle full of razer-sharp fangs — Her scent is thick with agitation. Undeterred, I lean my head in close. “I know you’re upset, but you can’t take care of Frida forever. One day, we’re going to live in Ellyntide, and she’ll be an entire continent away.”
A peculiar look flashes in Kuro’s eyes, and she quickly averts her head to growl some more. Taking advantage of the moment, I draw my wing across her flank and obstruct our view from the rest of the den.
“I get it. I don’t like Nakino, either. But it’s not about him, it’s about the flock. The Dragons here are going to be so much healthier if they have two healers.”
Kuro turns to me, but her rankled expression persists. It seems Frida’s utility to the flock isn’t a convincing enough argument.
“Do you remember how overworked Nakino was during the illness?” I pause and privately transmit my voice.
Kuro snorts, a brief smile cracking her muzzle. Across the den, Nakino rustles and leans his neck in closer but keeps his talons still.
I continue in a louder voice. “And when you’re sick or injured, you can fly here and have Frida treat you instead of Nakino. You’d prefer that, wouldn’t you?”
Kuro’s expression fades. She raises her head slightly and sighs, “Yeah. Perhaps you’re right.”
There! I knew I could talk her out of it! Feeling a wave of elation, I fold my wing and quickly rub my head against Kuro’s neck.
“But you’d better treat my sister well!” Kuro roars, pulling away to stare down Nakino. “And I don’t want to see you trying any of your shifty drakon behavior on her!”
Nakino flinches, drawing his talons inwards. “My… what?”
“YOU know what I’m talking about!” Kuro bellows, tucking her wings to confront the black-plumaged healer. “Massaging broken wings. Giving her presents. Taking her to your secret cave in the mountains!”
Nakino blinks, but it’s not long before understanding returns. He flattens his feathers and mumbles, “K-Kuro, I wouldn’t dare—”
“Wouldn’t you?” she chides, her fangs mere talons from Nakino’s face. “I remember what you did to Asha! You were so desperate for a mate that you were willing to hurt her! But here comes my sister, down on her luck and eager to make herself useful to the flock. It all seems rather suspicious, doesn’t it?!”
Nakino’s neck rears back, but he forces himself to endure the verbal assault and hold his ground. I guess I never told Kuro that he apologized for cornering me in a den last frostwing and holding me there until I agreed to become his mate. But, truthfully, it wouldn’t have made any difference to Kuro. She has every right to be suspicious of Nakino. And quite frankly, I’m enjoying watching him squirm. You deserve to feel some of the fear you instilled in me, Nakino!
“Kuro,” Nakino trembles, inching his head forward to gather his courage. “I-It’s nothing like that, I promise. Frida is a charming drakaina, but I don’t have those feelings for her.”
“You’d better not!”
From the front of the den, a new voice barges into the conversation. Standing in the entrance is a copper-plumaged drakon, his wings-half open and his feathers ruffled from recent flight. The scent of freshly butchered prey is strong against his usual metallic scent.
My head tilts sideways. “Enyll?”
“What’s going on here?” Enyll asks, stepping into the den. “Asha? What are you—“
GRRRRROWL….
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
A stiff growl from Kuro interrupts Enyll’s entrance. The two Dragons ruffle as their eyes meet, but neither seems keen to antagonize the other. An uncomfortable silence lingers in the air as Kuro’s growl subsides.
Then, most unexpectedly, Nakino confidently strides past a distracted Kuro. “Me and Kuro were just discussing Frida’s decision to stay at Grandfather Tree and become my assistant.”
“Really!” Enyll exclaims, his eyes sparkling and all traces of anger dissolved. “Oh, Frida, are you’re really gonna do it?”
“Yeah!” she chirps. “I was worried Kuro would be upset, but… well, everything’s okay now!”
I exchange an uncomfortable glance with Kuro. Her feathers are fidgeting like she was forcing herself to keep them flat.
“Oh!!” Enyll exclaims. “That’s fantastic!”
The copper drakon struts forward with a confident gait. He pulls up and kindly rubs his head against Frida’s, who responds in kind. Now standing beside me, Kuro gives up trying to flatten her feathers. She hates seeing Enyll this confident.
“Won’t it be nice to have her around?” Enyll asks, turning his attention to Nakino.
“Oh, yes. She’s really going to help me out around here.” Nakino approaches Enyll with his tail fluttering. He laughs to himself and says, “Maybe I can finally keep the den clean and organized.”
Enyll sighs. “Oh, but you know I’m going to have to hunt for two sets of jaws now.”
“Is that a problem? After all, you hunted with Kuro for so long.”
“No, it isn’t,” Enyll admits, giving a half-shrug of his wings. “It’s just… you know. It’s more special when it’s all for you.”
The two drakons smirk and laugh at each other.
Um, what the fwegh just happened here? Why are the two most single drakons ever acting so confident and assured of themselves? Just who are these Dragons?!
Wait, a wingbeat…
“Oh, no.” A muffled gasp escapes me. “You two? Really?!”
The two Dragons stare at each other for a wingbeat before bursting out in laughter.
“Oh, dear,” Nakino chuckles.
Enyll’s tail thumps loudly against the ground. “They had no idea!”
Desperate for confirmation, I turn to Frida. The huge smile painted across her face is all the proof I need: Nakino and Enyll are mates! I can’t believe it!
“Well, we’ve been kinda busy!” I say, puffing my feathers. “You guys didn’t have to worry about attending a meeting with Keuvra!”
“I can’t believe this,” Kuro says, allowing her wings to droop to the ground. Her face is sullen and her tail twitching — This is perhaps the most defeated I’ve ever seen her. “Seriously? Enyll? This whole time, you had a thing for other drakons?!”
“Y-yeah,” he says, shuffling his wings uncomfortably. “I’ve always felt that way. But it wasn’t until I saw you and Asha mated that I felt safe to explore those feelings. I didn’t think anyone in the flock would accept me, and I didn’t think I could find anyone who felt the same. But, I did.”
Nakino lowers his head and rubs it against Enyll’s neck to comfort him. The two dragons exchange loving growls and nuzzle.
“Awwwwh!” I can’t help but exclaim. “That’s wonderful! You two are such a cute couple!”
This may seem out-of-character for me, especially given just a few moments ago I was rooting for Kuro to pluck Nakino’s feathers out. But I’m serious! These two are a cute couple! And it’s so gratifying to learn that my relationship with Kuro inspired other gay Dragons to step out of the closet and explore their feelings! Perhaps best of all, I no longer have to feel bad about what happened between me and Nakino! Everyone’s found a mate and everyone’s happy!
“Hmph!” Frida smirks, ruffling in satisfaction. “Nakino didn’t think you guys would support them, but I knew you would!”
“Well…” Nakino trails off, and his gaze falls onto me. “I knew you wouldn’t have a problem with two drakons being mated, but…”
Huh? What is he…
…
…Oh.
Right.
I complete his sentence. “You thought I was still upset about what happened in frostwing.”
At that, the affectionate growling stops, replaced by an uncomfortable silence drifting across the den. Enyll gazes up at Nakino, a worried look across his muzzle. Kuro raises her head and looks at me with a soft growl, but I quickly dismiss it with a gentle lowering of my wing.
“You’re right,” I say. “I’m still upset about everything that happened. And just because you’ve taken a mate, that doesn’t mean that you’ve changed as a Dragon.”
Slowly, Nakino sighs, crestfallen that my assessment of him hasn’t changed. Enyll rumbles softly and tries to assuage his mate by nuzzling against his neck.
“I don’t think you’re irredeemable, Son-Of-Yzori. Everyone deserves compassion and forgiveness. But I still don’t feel totally comfortable around you, and I don’t know when, or if, I ever will. I know that must be difficult to accept, but… I hope you understand.”
I hope I can learn to feel comfortable around Nakino, I really do. But with the trajectory my life is heading, I doubt I’ll be spending time around him in the foreseeable future. And even if I’m successful in restoring Ellyntide, me and Kuro will probably end up living in Varecia and won’t have time to travel to Felra very often. I know Nakino values my opinion of him, so it’s best to be honest about these things now, even if it upsets him.
Nakino looks away, a bitter expression across his face. Enyll looks similarly glum, and even Frida seems downtrodden. I guess should probably try to cheer them up.
I shrug my wings and say, “It’s water under the bridge.”
Enyll cocks his head. “The what?”
“Oh, um, right,” I mumble, shuffling my wings. “Um, it’s a Farlander expression that means, ‘What’s happened between us is in the past, and it’s no longer important.’ I’m happy Kuro is my mate, and you’re happy to be with Enyll. And Frida’s found her place, too! Everyone’s happy! So, let’s not dwell on old arguments, okay?”
I’m happy Nakino is improving! Because, quite frankly, I didn’t think he was capable of it. Nakino has an important role in the flock, just like every other Kin. And believe it or not, I’m capable of forgiveness!
…Well, sort of. A small voice reminds me I’ll never forgive Nortane for what they did to me, Calypso, and my family. But Nakino is just a big, featherbrained idiot, not an inherently evil animal like President Weatherlight.
Slowly, a set of smiles grows between the two drakons. They embrace with a happy rumble and nuzzle the heads together.
“I… won’t stop trying to improve,” Nakino says, his face half-buried in Enyll’s fluff.
“I’ll make sure of it!” Enyll smiles.
“Alright, come on! Let’s go share the prey you brought!”
Enyll stares into his mate’s eyes and squeals a rumble of delight. The two Dragons lope through the entrance of the den, leaving me to Kuro and Frida.
Finally, the guise drops.
Kuro exhales a sullen rumble, tearing her talons against the floor of the den. “I still can’t believe this. Why didn’t he just tell me he was into drakons? And why did the two worst drakons in the flock have to be mated? How is that even possible?”
Feeling suddenly confident, I move close to my mate and remind her, “Stranger things have happened.”
At feeling my head against her neck, Kuro’s feathers bristle before slowly relaxing. She stares down at my smile, and slowly, another one grows across her face.
The Princess Feathers: Heir Dragoness is FINISHED and will be available to purchase in TWO DAYS on Wednesday, March 19th!
6 planned books in the Princess's Feathers. It covers the beginning of Asha's journey all the way to chapter 57 of the web novel, the one where Asha explained her plan to chase away the Nortanian fleet and accidentally traumatized Kuro in the process. EVERY chapter has been torn apart with a scalpel to improve the plot structure, pacing, flow of words, you name it! In particular, the Ellyntide arc of the novel has had some serious optimization performed -- Asha now transforms in chapter 8 as opposed to chapter 15 in the web novel! By far, the slow start of the web novel has been the most echoed criticism, so it was a key goal to make that whole arc better. I think I've been able to accomplish this without removing too much!
major changes to them -- I felt it was important to preserve the 'soul' of those pieces -- but if you look closely, you will certainly notice the improvements. In addition, there are some BRAND NEW illustrations along with some other surprises to help familiarize yourself with the world of Jade!
here! I'm also investigating other platforms for the ebook and expanded distribution for the paperback beyond Amazon's sphere of influence. If you're interested in purchasing the book this way, please let me know and I'll make it a priority!