The gnoll is lying, Azure thought. His clan is not so distant mory. She considered the problem. A search of the forest would be necessary, but as long as she maintained a high altitude, she should be able to avoid any threats on the ground.
Just as she was about to turn away, a peripheral glance caught sothing unusual in the creature's terrified green eyes. A faint, almost imperceptible fluctuation of mana.
Seeing the blue dragon prepare to leave, Garruk's composure shattered. “Great Blue Dragon, please, accept Garruk as your servant! I can do many things, I swear it!” he blurted out, the words tumbling over one another in a desperate torrent.
His frantic plea seed to work. The blue dragon paused, her body stilling before her head turned back toward him.
Hope, wild and ecstatic, surged through Garruk's chest. “Great Blue Dragon, please believe ! Garruk will be an excellent and capable servant!”
“Hold still,” she commanded. Her voice was a sweet, youthful lody, yet it carried a chill that froze the words in his throat.
Her claw reached out and gently but firmly gripped his head. Garruk felt the razor-sharp talons press against his skull and dared not move a muscle. A single twitch, he knew, and the blue dragon's claws could peel his head like a piece of fruit.
“Widen your eyes.”
Garruk obeyed, stretching his eyelids as far as they would go.
Azure stared into his green irises. There, within the vibrant green, were two deep, concentric rings that pulsed with a faint magical energy. There was no mistaking it. These were Magic Eyes.
She lifted her head, her gaze falling on Aiden's back. He was still thodically stuffing the strange, pungent wild onions into the cuts of at. Did Aiden truly not notice this? A wielder of Magic Eyes was a valuable asset. With a dragon-vein transformation, a creature with D-rank eyes could have the potential to reach the seven stars. If the eyes were of a higher grade, C-rank perhaps, the eight stars was not impossible.
Her claws released his head.
“Great Blue Dragon…” Garruk began.
“Silence,” she hissed. The single, low command was enough. Garruk fell silent, intimidated by the cold, placid depths of her gaze.
Ignoring the now-silent gnoll, Azure rose and walked toward the red dragon.
Scrape. Scrape.
Hearing her approach, Aiden glanced over his shoulder. It was just Azure. He returned his focus to his work. This was the last piece of at. Soon, he could finally demonstrate his culinary artistry.
“Aiden,” Azure's voice ca from his side. “That gnoll possesses Magic Eyes.”
His claws did not pause, pushing the last of the wild onions into the at. And what of it? he thought. They are low-grade. A D-rank at best. It might reach the seven stars, but that would take a century, perhaps two. By the ti it matured, would I still have any need of it?
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“Hmph,” he grunted, a soft, dismissive sound in his throat. It was all the answer he felt was necessary.
Azure's blue eyes studied him, her expression unreadable. It was clear he genuinely did not care whether the gnoll was a magical prodigy or a simple beast.
“May I have the gnoll?” she asked.
Having finished his prep work, Aiden turned his head to look at her. She was sitting patiently, her hind legs splayed, her foreclaws planted on the ground, her deep blue eyes awaiting his reply.
“The gnoll's ownership does not lie with ,” he said, lifting a crimson claw and pointing toward the back of the lair, where a certain white dragon was lost in a world of glittering coins. “You should take that matter up with her.”
A flash of understanding lit Azure's eyes.
“I see,” she said. With a nod, she turned and began walking deeper into the cave.
As her blue form receded into the shadows, Aiden turned back to his work. Good. The interruptions are over. Now, I can cook in peace.
His gaze swept over the spits and the cauldron. Everything was ready. It was ti for the fire.
He opened his maw, and a jet of crimson fire shot forth, streaking beneath the long rack. The kindling ignited instantly. He then turned to the cauldron, expelling another, smaller gout of fla that landed perfectly on the firewood beneath the stone pot.
Whoosh!
The second fire roared to life. He would let the water co to a boil.
He turned his attention back to the roasting rack. The fire was fierce, its two-yard-high flas licking at the at and instantly searing the feathers on its surface. He reached out with his claws and began scraping away the burnt, charred layer on each of the six pieces.
As the charred crust fell away, a faint, delicious aroma began to rise from the at, a tantalizing blend of roasting flesh, sharp Flapepper, and pungent wild onion.
A gleam entered Aiden's red eyes. The sll was magnificent. He sensed that this barbecue would be a culinary triumph. He reached out and carefully turned each of the six skewers.
Sizzle…
A torrent of fat and juice dripped from the at, falling into the fire below and causing the flas to leap even higher. Perfect. Ti to collect the drippings.
He picked up a stone trough he had carved earlier and, holding it in both claws, positioned it beneath the sizzling at, catching the rich, flavorful oil as it fell.
…
Thump, thump.
Hearing the soft footfalls approaching, Bianca imdiately wrapped her white claws protectively around her pile of ‘little darlings.' Her head snapped up, her eyes flashing with undisguised hostility as she saw Azure walking toward her.
Azure stopped, taking in the scene. A small pile of gold coins and a much larger pile of silver. The little fool did well, she mused, her gaze shifting to a collection of magical weapons lying discarded to the side. And yet she ignores the items of true value.
Noticing where Azure was looking, Bianca hastily swept the magical weapons into her embrace as well. Her shining white eyes were fixed on Azure, a look that said, as clearly as any words: Mine. These are all mine, aow.
Azure understood perfectly. The little fool. Does she truly believe any of this belongs to her? I'd be willing to bet, she thought, that by the ti she wakes from her next nap, her treasure will have a new master.
But there was no point in provoking the simple creature. She was here to negotiate. She kept her distance.
“Bianca, was it you who brought back the gnoll?”
Hearing that Azure wasn't after her treasure, the hostility in Bianca's eyes lessened slightly.
“Yes! I caught it on the way back, aow!”
Just as I thought.
“Let us make a trade,” Azure said calmly. “Give the gnoll.”
“No!” Bianca refused without a mont's hesitation.
Azure's eyes narrowed slightly. The response was expected.
“In exchange, I will catch you a wolf to eat later. A much larger one than the gnoll.”
At this, Bianca's white eyes flickered with indecision. A bigger one didn't sound like a bad deal.
Seeing the hesitation, Azure pressed her advantage.
“Two,” she said, upping the ante. “Two bigger wolves.”
“Okay, aow!” Bianca chirped imdiately. “The gnoll is yours!”
“A pleasure doing business with you,” Azure said, a faint smile touching her maw.
Without another word, she turned and walked away. Bianca watched her go, then imdiately turned her attention back to her beloved, glittering hoard.
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