Chapter 317 (Patreon)

Chapter 317

Sophia hitched a ride on Cirrus and introduced her to the rest of the group. Naturally, everyone was rather surprised by the sudden arrival of the blonde on a dragon, and Steph was quite upset over the fact that her sister went on yet another adventure without her. The cloud dragon also reunited with Kel, and the duo spent some time catching up.

“How do your wings work?” The dragons had finished their chat, and the rest of the group also introduced themselves before Chloe immediately got curious about Cirrus and her special properties. “Those are clouds instead of regular tissue, right?”

“They’re indeed clouds.” The dragon spread her wings to give the fox-girl a better look at them. “I am one with the clouds, and I can freely adjust their properties with magic. They’re way better than regular wings could ever be. By changing them mid-flight to adapt to the circumstances, I can fly faster, become more maneuverable, or glide for hours longer than any other dragon ever could.”

“Woah, that’s so cool!” Chloe’s eyes were sparkling.

“I agree that your flying abilities and maneuverability are on a highly skilled level, but gliding, really?” Kel stared right at her. “You don’t actually think that you can glide longer than our wind elder friend? He can literally glide forever.”

"Shush!" She didn't appreciate his talking back on the topic of her boasting.

"Wind friend?" Sophia's ears perked up immediately upon hearing that. "I’d like to hear more about my future new wind friend.”

“You don’t need to worry about him yet.” Kel changed his attention to her. “The wind elder dragon is an elusive one. He doesn’t live anywhere specific and spends almost all of his time soaring in the sky, only occasionally landing wherever the wind takes him.”

“What a free fellow!” She already liked his style. “So, in other words, there's no real way to find him, and it's up to chance and luck to meet him?”

“Something like that.” Both dragons replied the same.

“My guess is next Thursday.” Ari lightly rolled her eyes while looking at Maya next to her.

“I’ll go with Wednesday.” She nodded a few times.

“You two better make sure it happens on one of those days.” The blonde looked at the two. “Else, I’ll be quite disappointed!”

“What are we supposed to do about that?!” The two could only shrug in return.

“You two already started willing him into existence, so I need you to continue doing that and trying really hard to make it happen.”

“Sure.” The duo decided against arguing.

“By the way, what do I need to pay you to get a ride on your back through the air?” Steph was still envious of her sister and faced Cirrus with pleading eyes. While she technically rode a dragon before, being on Kel that is, an actual airborne dragon with massive wings, soaring through the air tickled a completely different itch. “Also, I’d love to learn how to create snow clouds! Are you able to create clouds that generate snow, too? Or is it mainly regular and shiny ones?”

“I’m an expert on every type of cloud.” Cirrus’s voice was filled with pride.

“Awesome!” The wagging intensity of the dog-girl’s tail increased significantly. “I'd love to learn how to create them deliberately! That would be so handy!"

“I’d never turn down a fellow cloud enjoyer.” The pearlescent dragon liked her enthusiasm.

"Let's go!" Steph energetically clapped her hands. "How are the chances of a fellow cloud enjoyer hitching a ride on your back, by the way?"

“I’ll think about it."

"Alright!" It wasn't a no, so she was happy already.

“More importantly, when can we schedule a match with each other?" There already was a fire burning in Aura’s eyes as she looked at the new dragon with her tail wagging from side to side. “Sophia wants to befriend every single elder dragon, but I want to fight all of you!” She had already turned into her regular big size when they arrived on the island, so she was ready to go.

“You just said the same thing twice?” Cirrus sounded confused as she focused on the wolf. “To befriend an elder dragon, you need to fight them.”

“You guys are the best!” Aura became an even bigger fan of them. “So?” I’m ready whenever! Let’s go!”

“Be wary of her, she’s a feisty one.” Kel decided to warn the fellow dragon.

“I can sense that already.” Cirrus reacted with a small nod.

“Don't worry, unless you’re into it, I won’t break off the tip of one of your horns.” The female wolf let out a mocking chuckle in Kel’s direction.

“I’m not into that, either!” The dragon in question raised his voice.

“Oh, so you are the one who broke it off, huh?” Cirrus took a quick peek at Kel’s head before facing Aura again. “That is honestly impressive. Especially considering Kel’s strength and the extreme size difference.”

“Him being so big just makes him an easier target.” Aura let out another chuckle. “I can literally run on him and be a massive menace~.”

“Did you get slower?” The cloud dragon looked at the water one. “I can’t imagine you letting anyone run on top of your body without immediately shaking them off at the very least.”

“I’ve, at best, gotten a little rusty because Sophia woke me up from a rather long nap, and I've yet to return to full form, but that little wolf over there is just purpose-built for speed and burst attacks. Completely fearless, too.”

“Ehehe.” Pure smugness was radiating from every fiber of Aura’s being. “You love to hear it~.”

“Oh, focusing on speed, are we?” Cirrus mustered her. “I’m on the smaller side when it comes to elder dragon, so I like to do the same. My clouds support me quite well with that. Fast and sneaky.”

“Fen mentioned that before.” Aura reacted with a big nod. “I’m itching to find out which of us is better at it.”

“You have my curiosity.” The cloud dragon sent a nod of her own in her direction. “This is not a place to have a challenge, though.” She briefly mustered her surroundings. “I put great care into how everything looks around here, so I don’t want it destroyed.”

“Sophia!” The female wolf immediately faced the blonde. “I’d like to order an arena in the domain!”

“What an unexpected demand.” Sophia let out a small chuckle. “Any special wishes?”

“Any old plain with lots of space will do for me.” The wolf didn’t need anything out of the ordinary for a good fight. “Would you prefer anything special?” She then looked at Cirrus again.

“No, a plain is perfectly fine with me.” She gave her a small nod in return. “You won’t be seeing much if anything at all, anyway.”

“Ohh, I love myself a confident sparring partner.”

“Are we going to do it now?”

“You already got me fired up!” Aura sounded even more excited. “I certainly don’t like getting blue-balled, so of course we are!”

“Well, I certainly would like to find out if you're all bark and no bite or if you've got actual teeth." The voice of the cloud dragon also became more playful.

“I’m all bite and no bark~.” The wolf winked at her.

“You’re also a little bark.” Sophia didn’t believe her.

“Shush!” Aura didn’t appreciate that jab. “Compared to you, everyone is just bark!”

“I’m weaker than a pair of parakeets. How does that make any sense?” She just had to do it. “If anything, I’m the one who’s all bark~.”

“Shut up.” Everyone had the same reaction.

“Hehe.”

----------------

Sophia transported everyone into her domain again, and they ended up in a seemingly endless plain with lush, green grass as far as they could see, along with a few rocks, bushes, and trees, under a pale-blue sky. It also came with a lake big enough to fit Kel. Although, for him, it was more like a small pool, all things considered.

“That’s perfect!” Aura sent a small nod in the blonde’s direction.

“I can work with this, yes.” Cirrus had the same reaction.

“Glad to be of service~.” Sophia was having a good time before facing the newcomer dragon. “Okay, before you two start, some rules to be mindful of. First, I don't care about this area, so it doesn’t matter if it gets destroyed. Though, feel free to make it look cool while tearing it up. Second, accidents happen, but if you intentionally try to hurt her in a lasting way or try to kill her, that won’t be tolerated. Third, the second rule will be monitored and enforced by Blu and Lime.” While saying so, the two birds appeared out of nowhere and landed on each of Sophia’s shoulders, who gave them a gentle pat before looking at Aura. “That applies to you, too.”

“Okay!” Both reacted with a strong nod.

“You better make sure about that.” Kel sounded quite serious as he faced the fellow dragon. “That blue-feathered menace can crush you with a lift of his wing. Don't ask me how I know.”

*Chirp* Blu sent a sassy chirp in Kel’s direction while mockingly waving with his right wing.

“Duly noted.” Cirrus sounded fairly calm about it. “Luckily, my style of fighting isn’t overly violent in nature. I focus on speed, diversion, and confusion most of the time.”

“This is going to be fun~.” Aura’s excitement rose even more.

Afterward, the duo got ready for their match while the rest of the group got comfortable as they watched them from a distance.