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“Vur…,” Stella said, drawing out her voice. She sat atop Vur’s head with her arms crossed over her chest. Her eyes narrowed as she lowered her gaze to meet his. “What did I say about contracting a wind elemental?”
“You said definitely not to do it,” Vur said with a nod.
“Right, so you heard me,” Stella said. Her head tilted to the side. “So why did you contract with Zilphy?”
Vur glanced at the green runes on his left arm. Sheryl’s runes were curved and wavy like flames, forming into the shape of a sun. Diamant’s runes were straight and blocky, forming a simple rectangular shape that circled around his forearm. Zilphy’s runes were small and glitter-like, ultimately forming the shape of a five-point star on his bicep. When Vur asked why it was in the shape of a star, Zilphy had said stars were the best, so it was only fitting for the best wind elemental to have a star.
“So?” Stella asked while pouting and tugging on Vur’s hair.
Vur scratched his head. “Well…,” he said. He crossed his arms and furrowed his brow. A moment passed. “Because I wanted to.”
Stella fell forward onto her face, planting her head into Vur’s hair. She sighed and pretended to wipe a tear from her eye. “They grow up so fast,” she said and sniffled. “One moment they’re obedient and listening to you; then the next thing you know, they’re all grown and independent and disregard every one of your suggestions.” She sighed again and shook her head. “Well, that’s okay too. I’ll just feed Zilphy to the dragon.” She dissolved into purple motes of light, entering Vur’s body through his head.
Vur glanced at Diamant’s runes as he stood up and dusted off the back of his pants. “Are you happy, Deedee?”
A tired voice came out of his arm. “No.”
“Wow! Are you saying I don’t make you happy?” Zilphy’s voice came out of the same spot on Vur’s right forearm instead of his left bicep. “Then why’d you marry me, blockhead? Huh? Huh?”
“Just like a fairy,” Stella said from Vur’s chest while tutting. “See how noisy your life is going to be now? Don’t worry, I’ll fix things.”
Sheryl materialized onto Vur’s shoulder in the shape of a small flame. “I think Stella’s jealous,” she whispered into his ear. “Like when an older sibling gets a younger sibling and the older sibling’s afraid of their parents loving the younger sibling more.”
“Then why wasn’t she jealous of you?” Vur asked as he made his way out of Zilphy’s cave.
“That’s simple,” Sheryl said. “Since I’m the most reasonable one of everyone here, I’m like the nanny of the family. You’re the dad. Diamant’s a grumpy old neighbor while Stella is the baby that we all spoil. The baby isn’t jealous of the nanny, but Zilphy’s personality directly contends for Stella’s position as the youngest.”
Vur scratched his head. “Why am I the dad? I’m the youngest one here.”
“What?” Sheryl asked. “No way. That aunt of yours said you drank fountain of youth water. Aren’t you like over a few centuries old? Yeah, dragons become adults when they’re like a dozen centuries old. I’m only 463.”
“What!? You’re younger than me?” Zilphy asked. “I’m close to two thousand!”
“Really?” Stella asked. “From the way you were acting, I thought you were twelve.” A purple light flashed on Vur’s arm. “Come with me for a second.”
“Me? Twelve?” Zilphy asked. “How do I act like I’m twelve? And where are we going?”
A green and purple light traveled up Vur’s arm as he stepped out of the cave and squinted into the darkness. The moon wasn’t out, but hundreds of stars were twinkling in the night sky.
“Oh, we’re just going for a short walk,” Stella said. “You act like you’re twelve because you ask too many questions.”
Vur scratched at the green and purple light traveling up his neck. He glanced at Sheryl. “Well, I’m only sixteen. Or seventeen? Oh, Tafel’s birthday passed. I should get her a present for when I see her.” His brow furrowed. “But what do I get her?”
“A star!” Zilphy said from his cheek. “I’d love it if someone got me a star, hint hint, wink wink, Diamant.”
Diamant sighed. “How about diamonds or other gems? There’s a lot of those in the treasury.”
“Ooh, make her a stuffed animal,” Sheryl said. “My friend got a stuffed animal once from her boyfriend. She was so happy.” Her flames dimmed. “I never got one, but I bet I would’ve been happy if I did.”
“I’m sure Tafel will be fine with anything you get her,” Stella said. “After all, her expectations of you when it comes to romance are super low. And she loves you, but the former is the real reason.” The green and purple lights flashed on Vur’s forehead. “Hey, Mr. Mutant Dragon. I brought you a snack!”
The rune on Vur’s head flashed with a golden light.
“What the heck is that!?” Zilphy shouted. A green light zipped down Vur’s face, heading towards Diamant’s runes, but a golden tendril shot out of the rune on Vur’s forehead and entangled the green light. “Diamant, help! You don’t want to become a widower on the day of your marriage!”
“Ah,” Vur said, his eyes lighting up. “I almost forgot why we came to find Zilphy.” He tapped the rune on his head, and the golden light retreated, freeing the now-dim green light. “Did you cause my dwarven soldiers to vanish around a week ago? One of them was named Popp.”
“Dwarven soldiers?” Zilphy asked as she retreated into Diaman’ts runes. “I haven’t left my cave in over a year. It wasn’t me.”
“Oh,” Vur said and turned towards Sheryl. “You were wrong.”
Sheryl’s flame flickered. “I guess so. Sorry, Vur. I was just trying to help.”
“That’s okay,” Vur said and patted the flame on his shoulder. “Besides, I’m lighter and faster now.” He glanced at the sky. “How far away is a star? I want to give one to Tafel.”
“Uh, Vur,” Zilphy said. “When I said star, I wasn’t referring to an actual star, just a star-like object. I don’t think it’s possible to gift someone a star in the sky.”
“Maybe not right now,” Vur said while rubbing his chin. “But when I can maintain my scales and wings for an indefinite amount of time…”
“No, no,” Stella said. “That’s impossible for even a dragon.”
Vur frowned.