The Dragon And The Pony 3 Shakirin-La -The Adventure of Fiery

I can confidently say with a warm, happy purr, that there is no better way to wake up than with your beloved in your forelegs. The fact he was still sleeping, snoring softly into my mane, only made it better! Just seeing that sooo cute ear fluff of his moving back and forth with each breath simply demanded that I give it a stroke.

Normally he would sneak out of my chamber at the break of dawn. Today though, after the incident a few days ago with my dad and brother, I decided I would let him sleep a little while longer. Luckily, Mom is a late riser, and dad wouldn’t mind seeing him sneak out of my chamber.

Also, he earned the right to sleep in after last night. He made especially sure I’d enjoyed turning eighteen so far, if you know what I mean.

“Fiery,” he suddenly and tiredly mumbled while rubbing his nose through my mane until he found my cheek. “you’re purring again.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” I whispered, still purring nonetheless. “It’s hard to control with such an amazing batfriend in my arms.”

I could see his lips curl up, but this was accompanied by him grumbling slightly. He shifted his wings and head a bit until he found a more comfortable position to lay in. After another little grumble, he fell silent.

However, silent didn’t mean motionless. Not too long after settling into his new position, his ear twitched. After that first twitch, his ears went back to being still, only to then flick several times in a row as he growled unhappily.

“What is it?” I wondered.

He sighed. “Just your mom,” he turned around and snuggled against me with his back. “her hooves always make so much noise on the stone floor.”

“Yes,” I giggled, “they do. Even… Wait, what!?” I sat straight up, causing Illu to roll out of bed with a little gasp.

“Ouch!” he said, and then struggled to get free from the blankets. “Why did you do that?”

“Mom shouldn’t be awake yet!” Panicked, I looked towards the door and jumped out of bed. “How are you supposed to get to the guest-chamber now?” I pranced in place nervously. “She mustn't find you in here!” I rushed to the door and pressed my ear against it. Mom's hoofsteps were clearly audible, and they were coming towards my door!

“Ponyfeathers! Quick, hide behind my bed!” I rushed over to him and pressed him down.

“Fiery!” he protested, but we didn’t have time for that.

“Not now! Here -” I threw more pillows on him “- lay still and don’t make a sound! If mom finds you here red clawed, you’re toast!”

It looked like he still wanted to say something, but the idea of my mom finding him here seemed to be more unpleasant, even without him believing how my mom could be.

“Good,” I rearranged his covers a bit and jumped back on my bed just in time, as mom had just arrived at my door. I could hear her whisper to someone, as well as a few whispered replies. Seems the rest of my family was with her too.

I grabbed the last remaining blanket and curled up in a sleeping position, just keeping one eye open for the door.

Slowly, the handle was pressed down and the door opened bit by bit.

I pressed my eyes shut and faked a snore.

“She’s still sleeping,” my mom whispered in delight a few seconds later. The door was then fully opened, and several sets of hooves and claws could be heard as my family entered my room.

Additionally, there was the smell of cake.

However, before I could formulate a plan of action, “Grünchen, no!” escaped the lips of my little brother, Kindling. A second later, Grünchens claws found their way onto my head before he immediately started to nibble on my ear and release a loud, almost choked screech directly into my ear canal in order to wake me up.

For the second time this morning, I sat bolt upright in a split second!

“Surprise!” my whole family yelled in unison while giggling before following it up by singing happy birthday to me.

It would have been quite enjoyable, if not for Illu hiding behind my bed and in danger of getting beheaded…

“Happy birthday big sis,” Kindling yelled when the singing ended before jumping on my bed and giving me a hug.

“Yes, happy birthday,” Nightflame agreed, climbing onto my bed too and rubbing his head against my side, purring.

I wrapped my wings around them and purred in return. “Thank you.” I was going to say more, but I could see Nightflame already sniffing the air, and throwing a suspicious look at the pile of pillows next to my bed.

It wasn’t as if he would spoil anything, it was simply that his behavior, as well as dads as soon as he came over to hug me, would reveal to mom that something wasn’t as it should be. So, with my siblings still in the hug, and Grünchen on my head, I rose up and out of bed, forcing them to move with me.

“Come here,” my mom said as soon as I was out of bed before giving me a tight hug. Not the easiest task with my brothers still in my wings and dad also trying to sneak in with his head to be part of the family hug session. Added onto the challenge was the cake on her back that she had to keep from falling off.

What followed was the usual fluff parents spouted when their bornling reached adulthood. Mom was all happy and emotional, while dad was all purring and cuddles.

Eventually though, it was time for the cake, and given mom’s nature, despite her misgivings with his presence, she probably thought Illu should be able to share in the celebration too.

“Why don’t you go wake your mom and dad, as well as llluminated Cavern, while we move to the kitchen and prepare everything,” she told my dad. “I’m sure they want to congratulate Fiery too.”

“I’m quite busy,” he purred back, still rubbing his head against me. My dad had to be the most cuddle obsessed dragon in the world, well, it was actually either him or Opa, and the verdict on that was still up in the air. “Kindling,” he said, “go and wake the others.”

“Will do!” Kindling yelled, and freed himself from my wing, eager to do as he was told.

“Wait!” I spat out.

He turned his head to me. “Wait for what?”

“I… I… uhm, want to wake Illu myself!” I giggled nervously.

“Oh, okay sis.”

“And while I do so,” I laid a claw on my dad's head, “why don’t you guys gather up in the living room? It may take a moment to wake Illu.”

My mom gave me a look of suspicion.

“I mean, he surely has a present for me too, something romantic that he wants to give me without you all around.”

“I’m sure he does,” my mom said with a sour face.

“I’m confident she’s only referring to a kiss or some other little sweet treasure,” Dad interjected in order to help me out. It was almost a guarantee that he was aware of Illu being in my chamber at this point.

The gaze my mom threw at my father said it all. She was, correctly, assuming that I had inherited his naughtiness, and was more than likely going to act on it when alone with Illu.. For some reason, my mom was quite happy with dad being like this, but not so much so with me inheriting that particular one.

“There’s not much they can do in under five minutes,” his head turned back to me, “and if they need longer, I can always check on them.”

“Sounds fair enough!” I quickly blurted out before mom could voice any objections. “I’ll wake Illu and we’ll meet you at the table in no time!” I started to corral my family out of my room.

I had nearly done so, and saved my batfriend, when suddenly, my haunches started to glow. Or more precisely, my cutiemark. For those of you who don’t know, this is something that happens on occasion when aunt Fortuna, my godmother, drops by.

And indeed, a second later, she appeared out of nowhere, a dark golden kirin with light golden glowing scales and rainbow-coloured wings. Oh, and her eyes were made of starlight, as my dad always described it. They gave glimpses into the void of the universe, at least that’s what I think he said.

“Aunty!” I rushed over and gave her a hug. “You made it!”

“I would never miss my favorite godchild's birthday!” she replied, but in a bit of a hurry. “Though, I barely made it in time!”

“What do you mean? The day’s just started.” I let go of her and made a welcoming gesture towards the living room. “We were just going to eat the cake, why don’t you join us?”

I was really eager to move my family out of my room.

“We don’t have time for that,” Fortuna replied, “only a few minutes till you turn eighteen, and we have to speak before that!”

“What are you talking about?” Mom had joined the conversation at this point. “Fiery’s already eighteen, and what kind of trouble did you bring with you this time?”

Fortuna snorted. “I am not talking about your mortals’ sense of time, Fiery was born seventeen years, twenty-three hours and fifty-four minutes ago, there are only six minutes left! We have to hurry!”

“What is it?” Dad stepped between her and mom, preventing mom from questioning her further.

“I did what I could,” Fortuna started, “held it back as long as possible to give my godchild time to grow up, but the time has finally come.”

“What time?” Mom pushed herself between dad’s leg and wing, making her way over to Fortuna again.

“The azure-gathering, when all the azure kirin’s make a pilgrimage to Shakirin-La!”

“Wait, what!?” It was not clear who’d yelled it faster, mom or I, but the shock was real for both of us!

“Fiery is far too young to go to Shakirin-La! It’s far too dangerous for her -” she removed the cake from her back and placed it on my nightstand, “- no way will I allow her to go!”

“It’s not like you have a choice.” Fortuna shook her head. “In five minutes, Shakin-La will act like a beacon to Firey.” She turned to me. “Your mind will respond to it, drawing you towards it and driving you to create a collection of loyal subjects along the way. There is no use in fighting it.”

I stood there paralyzed for a second. “And you couldn’t tell me this sooner?” I finally spat out.

“Rules,” my godmother just said.

“What can we do?” Dad asked. It seemed like he was calm, but It was obvious that he wasn’t. His need to protect his bornling was making him flick his tail around restlessly.

“You and your mate have to assure Fiery makes it to the mountains of Shakirin-La, that is the part of the game you two have to play now.”

“Are you kidding?” Mom yelled furiously. “Not only do you want her to go to the most dangerous place outside of Equestria, but you also want us to guide her there? Are you crazy?”

“It is her destiny.” Fortuna made clear. “It is not my doing that she is being forced to go, nor my will to put her in danger, but, it is necessary.”

“Does the other god have something to do with that?” suddenly Nightflame asked. “The red one?”

“Aphrodite?” Dad asked. “What does she have to do with this?”

“No, not that one, the male red one.”

“Who are you talking about?” Kindling asked. “We only know Fortuna, Charon, and Aphrodite so far.”

As you can tell, I didn’t bother Kindling with all the details of my dreams.

“There is one more,” Nightflame simply said.

One look at my godmother made it clear that she knew what he was talking about.

“So it is true? That guy from my dreams is a god?” I had to take a seat and rest my head in my claws.

“Which guy?” Mom wondered as she came over to hug me. “ And which dreams?”

“There’s this dream that I’ve been having for a while now,” I started, “I go to Shakirin-La, with an army of kirins to back me up. We conquer the place and, yeah, well, when I am nearly done, some god shows up and, uhm, well, proposes to me.”

“What?” Now Illu yelled and threw off his covers. “You never told me that there was a god proposing to you!”

He was right about that, obviously, though his reaction of leaving his hiding spot was not a good one either. Though, it did prove that dad and Night knew he was around since they didn’t react aggressively to his appearance like they would have if he’d really surprised them. Kindling was also calm, at least after the initial shock.

But mom, mom was not!

Her gaze spun to Illu, and after a split second, over to me. Just a glimpse into my eyes, and the look of guilt I was surely showing, told her everything she needed to know.

Have I ever mentioned how fascinating it looks when a pony turns into a nirik? How a wave of flames roll over their back and turns their coat into hot flames? Mom even has fangs in her nirik form. If you’re wondering how she can do that now, when Charon brought her back from the verge of death, he’d used the magic from her collar to breathe life back into her. Without telling us of course, and therefore, that magic had jumped over to mom, allowing her to become a nirik when she gets really, really angry.

Like now!

With a growl that in no way was a shadow of what dad could do, she jumped forward, right at my batfriend. She was so quick that not even I could react. Poor Illu was so shocked that he didn’t even try to evade.

Mom aimed directly for his throat, her fangs shining in the light of her own fire, and her burning hooves stretched out to rip and tear him apart. Only at the last possible second, Dad saved the day. His jaws snapped forward, grabbing mom by her neck before pulling her back. Her burning hooves only barely missing Illu.

She roared and hissed in his grip. “This scoundrel! This dirty, little…” Another roar prevented mom from cursing further.

Instinctually, Night and I dropped flat on the ground, whimpering in fear while Kindling hastily rushed behind Nightflame to seek shelter.

“Let me go!” Mom yelled at Dad, shaking like crazy, flapping her burning wings and cracking her tail like a whip. Her gaze remained on Illu though. Hate and the unrivaled desire to rip off his head were carved onto her face.

Finally, Illu shook off his paralysis and quickly stepped back. The realisation that what I’d told him about mom was true brought terror to his eyes!

“I don’t think…” Dad struggled a bit with keeping mom under control, “that that would be wise.” He wrapped his arms and wings around her.

“This sneaky lecher has…”

“I know,” Dad replied, but quickly shut mom's snout with his claw. We could only assume that a lot of curses would have followed based on how angrily she growled and mumbled. “I think it would be better if you keep some distance from her for a while,” Dad told Illu. “My mate seems to take issue with you and our daughter having some fun.”

Illu hastily nodded.

“It was a bit inconsiderate of you to do so behind her back,” Dad added, in an attempt to side with mom while not supporting her idea of beheading my batfriend either.

“But… but…” Illu ducked a bit behind the bedframe, “y-y-you you knew. It wasn’t like it was a big secret.”

Mom stopped struggling in Dad's grip.

“That has nothing to do with it!” Dad quickly shouted.

Mom's head began to slowly turn towards Dad.

“Really!” It was obvious from his tone and posture that he was desperately trying to come up with a viable excuse.

My parents’ gazes locked on one another, and the mighty black dragon that was my dad shrunk under the gaze of my pony mom like Night and I would under his whenever we dared hiss or growl at mom when he was around.

However, before things could progress any further, a wave of something hit me pretty hard. “Papa!” I managed to scream quickly before I levitated into the air, and a glowing blue aura formed around me. Not even a second later, I could feel it. A distant call, echoing deep in my mind. Like the voices of a thousand individuals speaking at once.

It was a simple, one word message.

“Come!”

And before I could think, my body reacted. Like an amplifier, I spread the signal, shouting out with my own aura, reaching as far as I could.

Then, without warning, it ended as fast as it had started, causing me to black out.

When I finally regained consciousness, I found myself in the claws of my dad. My whole family was looking at me with concern in their eyes. Mom had even turned back to her pony self for the time being.

“That was… something,” I said a bit unsteadily. I rubbed over my forehead, and found that my scales were still a bit warm from using my aura.

“Are you okay, sweety?” Mom’s sorrowful voice was the first to pipe up, but it was accompanied by Dad and Night’s steady, calm purring.

“Yes, just my head. I feel a bit, groggy.”

“That was to be expected,” Fortuna nodded. “Receiving the…” She stopped mid sentence when Dad pressed me against himself and started to hiss at her when she dared to step closer. Godmother or not, having his vulnerable bornling in his claws made Dad very protective. When she stopped where she was, Dad's head turned back to me and he started to sniff along my body, searching for anything wrong.

“I think I’m fine, Dad, you can put me down,” I said after feeling that my dizziness had worn off. “Seems like this… call, didn’t do any damage.”

“Are you sure you’re okay, sweety?” Mom placed her hooves on my head and began rubbing softly over my scales.

“Yes, I am fine.” I looked up at my father. “Daaaaaad!”

Reluctantly, he let me down. But he raised his wings warningly when Fortuna and Illu both tried to come nearer.

“Illu!” My gaze shot to him and I rushed between him and mom. I was so glad he was still in one piece! And I didn’t want mom to change that anytime soon!

“The issue with your batfriend can wait,” Fortuna said, drawing everyone’s attention to herself. “Now that the call has been made, there are more important things to do!”

“Like what?” Dad asked, while my Mom's gaze locked on Illu again. I could see a light glow below the surface of her backcoat, she was very close to turning into a nirik again!

“You have to prepare for the trip. Pack food, water, maybe tents or whatever you mortals need when going on an adventure. And you don’t have much time. Fiery will go with or without you in a few hours.”

“Actually,” I hesitated a moment to listen to myself once more, “I don’t really feel the need to go.” I looked back at Fortuna. “Are you sure about this?”

“There has never been an exception that I know of where an azure-kirin like you didn’t heed the call. So yes, you have a few hours until you’ll want to leave. Those who created the call made sure you would have time to come prepared and not walk straight towards Shakirin-La for days on end, possibly dying of exhaustion or starvation before even arriving.”

“How nice of them,” Dad grumbled. “If that is so, we should… “ His gaze landed on Mom, switched for a moment to Illu, and then back to her. “We don’t have time for that now, Fluffy!” He grabbed mom by the neck and lifted her up, turning her around to face him in the process. “We have to care for our daughter now,” he kissed her, “you can rip off her batfriends wings afterwards!”

“Don’t think I forgot your role in this!” she replied. Still, when he placed her down, she left Illu in peace and turned to Fortuna. “What happens if she doesn’t go?”

“I told you, that’s not going to happen.”

“But what if we hinder her?”

“I assume the inability to follow the call will drive her mad eventually.” She gave me a look. “Besides, it’s in my, as well as her, best interests that she goes.”

“I assume you want my granddaughter to go to Shakirin-La?” A new voice echoed from within the lair, Oma, my dad's mom, had decided to show up. “Fortuna,” she acknowledged the goddess' presence when she stopped in front of my room.

“Perle,” Fortuna replied.

“How did you know?” Mom asked.

“As an azure dragon, I was of course able to feel the call as well, even though it has no effect on myself.” She clicked her claws on the ground as she said this. “Putting my granddaughter in danger is not something I would normally consider, though, having the new empress of Shakirin-La be my relative does sound tempting.”

“You can’t be serious!” Mom yelled. Of course, she was not happy with the idea. Though, by looking at dad, it seemed like he had to think about it.

As for me? If what I saw in my dreams was true, or could become true, I would rather not go!

“It would be a great benefit to her,” Oma replied. “Being the empress of Shakirin-La would allow her to live her life as she pleases. A great hoard, loyal subject in mass, a harem if she likes.”

At the mention of a harem, Illu dared to come nearer again and laid his hooves possessively around my back.

“Don’t worry,” I whispered and placed a claw on his hoof, “not going to happen.”

“But it’s not safe for her!” Mom yelled. “A hundred-thousand things could happen to her on the way!” She looked at Oma for a second. “And I’m guessing it’s not going to be a friendly discussion about who’s going to become the next empress either with all that azure blood gathering there, am I right?”

“Probably not,” Oma admitted.

“I knew it!” Mom went on. “There’s no way we can let her go! We have to protect our little daughter!”

“Didn’t you listen?” Fortuna shook her head, deciding now to come closer. “You don’t have a say in this. She will go, whether you like it or not.”

“And it’s better for you to guide and help her get there rather than her sneaking out and going on her own,” Oma nodded.

“Has every creature gone crazy? This is our daughter we are talking about!” Mom stomped her hoof and spread her wings in anger. “Big Softy! At least you must agree that this is a bad idea!”

“I don’t think we have much of a choice,” he said. “And if that’s the case, I would prefer to go with her, to protect her.”

“But I don’t want to go!” Suddenly everyone’s attention shifted to me. “You’re all talking like this is something you have to decide on, but it’s me we’re talking about!”

“See?” Mom rushed over to me and shooed Illu away in the process. “Not only is it far too dangerous, but I’m also not going to allow anyone to force my daughter to go either!”

“The call was loud and clear, the magic is strong, even after all these years.” Oma shook her head. “Fortuna is right, I think Fiery will go anyway. The only question is…” she thought for a moment. “The only question is, who activated the beacon spell, and what for?”

“To lure every azure-kirin to Shakirin-La, obviously.” Opa had caught up with Oma and had stopped in the doorframe.

“Indeed, but what for?”

“What purpose does that serve?” Mom wondered.

“Shakirin-La’s layed abandoned for over a thousand years now, and the number of azure-kirins was never really high to begin with. There’s maybe only about two dozen of them now.” Her claw clicked on the ground rhythmically. “What has changed though? What makes this day, or this year, or decade so special? Or in other words, who benefits from this call the most?”

“I don’t care who benefits from this call! We have to find a way for Fiery to not have to go!”

“Why should we?” With a wide yawn, my aunt, Schimmernde Morgenröte, or in ponish, Shimmering Dawn, rose from Omas back where she had been sleeping. “This sounds like a great opportunity.” She jumped off of her mom and made her way over to me. “For the first time in over a thousand years, the title of empress is available, and you’re lucky enough to be alive when it’s happening, Niece. I very well would blame your luck, and therefore Fortuna, for this opportunity.” She paused after this and fetched a small wrapped box from under her wing, presenting it to me. “Also, happy birthday, Fiery.”

I took the present, though most of the eyes were on Fortuna now. What my aunt had said, for sure, had pulled everyone’s attention to the goddess of luck.

“Thank you, Schimmernde Morgenröte,” I said. “But from how it sounds, I don’t feel all too lucky to be honest.”

“You should. For your species, it is the highest and most famous title one can get. It is connected to a lot of might and treasure as well.” She pointed at the box she had given me. “It also makes our present to you more valuable than it already was in the first place. Furthermore, let me offer you my assistance in your attempt to claim the throne.”

Now it was on Oma to get protective. She spread her wings, bit onto her daughter's tail, and pulled her back to herself. “I will not allow you to go on such an adventure! It is far too dangerous if you have no reason to go!”

Schimmernde Morgenröte hissed politely. “I very well will, mother. This is not only an opportunity for my niece, but for me too. If I help her to claim the title, the empress of Shakirin-La would be in my debt. I see that as a great advantage, more so at my young age.”

“We all should help her since she is family, not to gain something for it!” Kindling yelled enraged. “She is my big sister!”

“Yes, that too,” Schimmernde Morgenröte nodded. “Still, for my mom, that would come after protecting her own hatchling.” She turned back to said dragoness. “As I understood it, you would not be allowed to go, nor would dad. I, however, don’t fall under that restriction, and am free to do as I please in that regard. And the possible gain from this adventure is far bigger than the small personal risk I would potentially be taking. Therefore this is an opportunity I am not going to let pass.”

“Wait a moment.” Dad faced his little sister. “Why do you say Mom and Dad can’t go?”

“That is the rules of the call,” she replied. “Mom did some research on the matter of kirins in the past years. Originally, it was for our present, but it comes in clawy now.”

Dad tilted his head. “For the present?” He turned to me. “Unwrap it.”

So I did. The box contained a scroll, and when I unfurled it, a lot of names and family trees showed up.

“This is a list of Azure-Kirins,” Schimmernde Morgenröte explained. “Originally, it was meant to be a list of possible mates for yourself. Now, however, it is a list of your possible competitors. This should provide you with information about them that you may find useful.”

“You do realise I already have a mate?” I said with a flat look.

“For now,” she shrugged. “That may change in the future…”

“Hey!” Illu protested. “Where do you get off saying that!”

Quickly, I rushed over and covered his mouth with my claw. “I’m sorry Schimmernde Morgenröte.” And to Illu I whispered. “Could you please stop trying to kill yourself?” I increased my pressure on his snout when he tried to speak up. “This is not the time for this,” I hissed. “If she or Oma get the idea you are being disrespectful, they’ll kill you!”

I held his gaze and waited till the fire in his eyes dimmed a bit down before I let go of his snout.

“Be it as it may,” Oma spoke up, “I must agree on the assessment of the possible gain of this adventure. Fast Slasher,” she asked, and waved him to her side. “in this matter, your permission is required too. Are you willing to let our daughter go?”

“Mom, Dad is just a black dragon, he…”

A quick strike of Oma’s claw hit Schimmernde Morgenröte, and when her head collided with the ground, Oma placed her wing on it and hissed warningly. “What did I say about how to treat your father?”

Her daughter laid flat on the ground and made little sounds of submission.

As an azure dragon, Schimmernde Morgenröte was far higher in the draconic hierarchy than Opa. However, as Oma’s mate, he had the right to claim her protection and love, so even their own daughter could not treat him like a second class dragon in her presence. Not even Dad, a black dragon himself, had been allowed to challenge him during his youth.

“I don’t like it, but I think she is right,” Opa said. “But our son should watch over her as well, in the position of the dominant dragon when they go.”

“I see.” Oma let go of Schimmernde Morgenröte and looked over to Dad. “Having your little sister with you should provide a great advantage. Her influence on azure-kirins may be negligible, but any possible dragon parent who comes along would be under her spell already.

“What if the parent is an azure dragon?” Kindling asked. “Wouldn’t their protective instinct outweigh the azure influence?”

“No azure dragon would mate with a lower species, Kindling. Any azure-kirin is at least one generation removed from their heritage of azure blood. And besides, it would only work so long as no one attacks their bornlings anyway. And Fiery,” her head turned to me, “even if you don’t want all the fame and might, it is still your responsibility to go.”

“My responsibility?”

“Indeed, if you don’t go, who knows who would claim the throne of Shakirin-La instead. It could very well be an individual with unsavory intentions or a thirst for conquering. Many creatures would suffer if the wrong claw touches that throne instead of yours.”

“You can’t know that,” Mom quickly threw in, “don’t put unnecessary pressure on her!”

“Still, it is possible,” Schimmernde Morgenröte agreed and approached me again. “ So that’s just one more reason for her to go.”

“It could also be somekirin with a more pony like personality who claims the throne and everyone can live happily ever after,” Kindling said.

“Still, Fiery would then be bound to the orders of said Kirin, and we shouldn’t forget this god that took an interest in my grandchild.” Oma nodded slowly to herself. “As far as the information we have goes, it’s the best course of action for Fiery to go on this adventure. Conflict on the way can be avoided, even a retreat should be possible if necessary. But staying here and doing nothing would be the worst kind of action for sure.”

Her words hung in the air for a moment. Not only did her words carry a heavy weight, but she was also right. So that settled it. Also, the idea of being a slave to the throne held by some kirin else was not the most pleasurable one to be honest.

“It looks like I have no other choice after all.” I took a seat and exhaled deeply. “I still don’t want to go, but the alternatives seem to be even worse.”

“Are you sure about this, Fiery?” Illu laid a wing comforting around me.

“As Oma and Fortuna said, there is not really a choice for me here. Either I stay here and go crazy, or even if I stay sane, I get bound to the will of the new emperor anyway.” I looked him in the eyes. “Being a slave doesn’t really fit for me, you know?”

He laid his second wing around me and pulled me in for a hug which was answer enough.

“Alright, Oma, Fortuna, what should I expect and take with me?”

“I would say half an army of kirins,” a new voice rose from the hallway, “at least that is what's waiting for you at the entrance.”

“Aunt Daring!” I rose up and gave her a closer look. “What are you doing here all of a sudden?”

“Well, for some reason, half of the village suddenly got on their hooves and rushed over to your lair.” She made her way past Oma and Opa, which she greeted with a slight bow, and came to a halt in front of me. “I only got the tailend of what you guys were talking about, but given what just happened… Shakirin-La huh? Shame that I can’t join you, but I know you’ll make it, you are a Do after all!”

“What do you mean half the village is at the entrance?” Dad's wings sprung open a bit and his tail tip rose slightly. Having so many creatures invading the lair uninvited was something he definitely took issue with.

“Exactly what I said,” Daring explained. “One moment everyone was minding their own business, next one, every kirin was very confused for a few seconds, then dropped everything and went straight for the lair. Every other creature just watched them leave, wondering what they were doing.” She smiled. “I figured it had something to do with our number one Kirin and her birthday today.”

“Good to see you are still capable of making connections, Daring Do,” Fortuna acknowledged. “At least my blessing is not a total waste for you.”

“Thanks, I guess.” She turned her attention back to me and pulled out a present from under her wing as well. “Ah well, I wanted to give it to you later on, but time seems to be of the essence, so…” She tossed it over to me. “Here you go.”

“Uhm,” I mumbled, unsure of what to do. Like she said, time was against us, and we didn’t have a moment to waste.

“Just unwrap it, you can put it to good use right away on your adventure.”

I did as she said, revealing a compass, a safari pith helmet, a spyglass and... a scroll?

“I assumed you want to take part in the family tradition now that you are an adult.” Daring shrugged. “Gave you everything you need for that, including,” she pointed at the scroll, “a guide to a very promising island not that far away.” She sighed. “Well, not going to happen anytime soon, but Shakirin-La should be as exciting as what I had in mind.”

“You’re making this sound like a family trip, Daring!” Mom accused her while trotting over.

“Well, she is a Do after all. She’ll always land on her hooves, uhm, or claws,” Daring replied. Then, she took the helmet from my claws and placed it on my head. “See, fits perfectly.”

I adjusted the helmet a bit and exhaled deeply once more. “Alright then. So,” I turned to my godmother, “what’s the deal with all the kirins coming here?”