Mistle hovered in the air, peering down from within the clouds. This seems like a good place to settle, doesnt it?
It does, a water elental beside her said. But the residents sure love the color pink, huh?
Mm. Must be a cultural thing. Mistle rged into the cloud and fell to the ground as rain.
***
Oh, so youre also from the sa land as Vur and Tafel, Minerva said, leaning against Grimmys massive body. A floating keg filled with foamy liquid was floating in front of her face. She craned her neck forward and swallowed a few beakfuls before leaning back and sighing. I cant rember the last ti I had sothing appropriate to drink. Elves dont have a brewery, you know? And I made a deal with Kondra to stay in the forest. She leaned forward again but pulled her head back while furrowing her brow. Tsk, empty already? Emile! Get another.
Emile frowned. Mom
Are you going or not? Minerva asked, glowering at her son. She snorted before arching her neck towards the sky and shouted, Who wants the favor of a phoenix? The one who brings the best barrel of ale will receive a feather!
Emiles expression darkened as Grimmy burst out into laughter. Youre an interesting phoenix, Grimmy said as he folded his front paws underneath his head. Very interesting. He turned his gaze away from Minerva and scanned the party grounds. The four holy dragon siblings were sitting next to each other in a row, their expressions blank. In front of them, hundreds of people dressed in white robes with painted scale patterns were bowing at them while a person at the front was performing a ritual. An almost imperceptible sigh escaped from Leilas mouth, and her eyes happened to et Grimmys. She gave him a wry smile before turning her attention back towards the worshippers.
M-m-m-miss matriarch phoenix maam!
Grimmy looked down. A woman dressed in black was hunched over, six barrels stacked atop her back like a pyramid. After so struggle, she managed to place them onto the ground without incident and raised her head, then lowered it again after making eye contact with Minerva. I, Shadow Nelly, the greatest scout in the world, present to you these barrels of ale! I stole them from the nobles area; theyre the best drinks available here.
Youve done well, Minerva said and reached forward, her wing hanging above the scouts head. Nelly swallowed and looked up. Receive my blessing! With a whoosh, Minerva slamd her wing down onto Nellys face, causing an explosion of sparks and feathers to fly out. Minerva hiccoughed and pulled her wing back, the six barrels flying into the air in front of her. Faint red marks were left on Nellys face along with two feathers by her side.
Nelly blinked four tis and spat a piece of downy fluff out of her mouth. T-thank you! Her forehead touched the ground as she dropped to her knees. She pocketed the feathers around her and laughed as she ran away. I, Shadow Nelly, am the greatest scout to ever exist!
That womans luck is pretty good, Lindyss said, appearing on Grimmys forehead.
Grimmy rolled his eyes upwards. When did you get here? he asked. He plucked her off and placed her in the crook of his elbow.
I took care of so administrative stuff, Lindyss said before shaking her head. Parties dont run themselves. I managed to sort out the cake and coronation situations a few minutes ago, and the initial chaos between Kondras and the phoenixs fight has finally been settled.
I have a na, you know? Minerva asked and smacked Lindyss head with her wing. Its Minerva. Mi-ner-va. She giggled before dunking her beak into a barrel, gulping with gusto.
Shes a drunkard? Lindyss asked with a scowl.
Interesting, right? Grimmy asked with a chuckle.
Excuse , drunkard has a negative connotation, Minerva said, lifting her face out of the barrel. I prefer to be called a connoisseur of fine wine, crude beer, and anything alcoholic.
A drunkards a drunkard no matter how you spin it, Lindyss said, rolling her eyes. She ignored the phoenix and surveyed her surroundings. Elves, dwarves, humans, and fishn were talking amongst each other. Skeletons were parading around drinks on tal trays will singing. Fairies were playing harmlesssoone scread as the lower half his body turned into a horsespranks on the partygoers. The aristocracy was forced to interact with the peasants with the persuasion of the skeletons. These scenes were repeated outside of the city, revelry filling the surroundings. Even the land where Kondra and Minerva had battled was filled with people. The only ones who werent drinking, dancing, eating, or chatting were the followers of the holy dragons church. They were performing their own ceremony with the holy dragons sitting bored out of their minds. Vur did pretty well in uniting the continent, huh? Hes all grown up now.
Eh, he couldve done better. I wouldve fully removed the church, burned down a few towns, and made sure people respected and feared , Grimmy said and shrugged. Hows he doing?
He should be waking up soon, Lindyss said. Its not like I made him contest against those souls. I already tenderized the al for him; he just has to digest it.
Like feeding your babies! Eat the food and regurgitate it into their waiting mouths, Minerva said, raising a barrel of ale into the air with her leg. Cre, Emile!
I didnt think about it that way, but yes, Lindyss said. Thats essentially what I did. She raised an eyebrow as Emile squawked and struggled, his face avoiding his mothers open beak.
Let feed you! Minerva screeched.
Im not hungry! Emile flapped his wings uselessly as he was held down by his mothers talon. Big sis, save !
Before Minerva could reenact a mother-child feeding scene, Emiles body disappeared with a flash of silver light. He reappeared a few feet away on top of Tafels shoulder. What did I just save you from? Tafel asked, raising an eyebrow. Vur yawned and rubbed his eyes as he stumbled behind Tafel.
Tafel! Minerva said. Perfect timing. Co here for a second. Even though youre my child, Ive never fed you before. Lets fix that.
Err, I think Ill pass, Tafel said and took a step back. She whispered to Emile. Is she drunk?
Uh-huh.
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