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

I had to be careful now, I had not alarmed my cute batfriend keeping guard next to my bed by waking up just yet. Dangling from one of the tent poles and hanging in a ray of early morning light, he kept watch over me and my surroundings. He and his scarf, that is. Rythil had noticed that I wasn’t sleeping any longer, but a brief talon on my lips signaled him to be quiet. I was positive he would have burst out in joy otherwise. Even now I had to be quicker than I wanted since I couldn’t trust him to not accidentally spoil the news!

When Illu’s attention was directed at some other kirins slowly moving through the tent, I pushed my blanket aside and, as quietly as possible, rose up while spreading my wings. I had to suppress the purr in my throat, but to my chagrin, a happy little hiss escaped my lips as I smiled and revealed my fangs in anticipation.

This little noise, despite how quiet it had been, was still picked up by Illu’s sensitive ears, with one even turning towards me. It was an unintentional thing. Illu was still paying attention to the kirins, but any further hint of my movement would spoil the news to him! I had to act now or never!

I wiggled my hips, lowered my stance, and spread my wings even further. I knew how to hunt bats! To my surprise and disappointment though, the moment I bounced at him, Illu turned around! Something must have alarmed him!

I gave myself an extra burst with my wings and stretched out my claws to grab him, but my aim was slightly off, and Illu hadn’t been born yesterday. As graceful as the night itself, he just flapped his right wing and deflected my claws with the back of his membrane, pushing himself sideways and out of the path of my jump in one swift move. Without missing a beat, he grabbed my tail as I was about to finish passing him and pulled me back like a yoyo!

So, instead of me grabbing him, pulling him down and cuddling him passionately, it was he who now held me in a hug. He was still hanging upside down from the ceiling though and had had to catch me from behind, meaning his face was against my backscales, while his forelegs were around my chest.

“I see my little flame has woken up,” he stated, but there was a hint of worry in his voice.

That had to be taken care of! “Hmm-hm,” I retorted, wiggling my tail. “Best time of the day to hunt bats,” I flirtily purred.

“Fiery!” he sighed. “This is not the time for being naughty! I was worried about you!” He paused. “I still am!”

“Yes, someone poisoned you!” His scarf added. “Both of us were worried!”

“Careful there,” Illu advised and laid a wingtip on Rythil’s snout. A clear response to the growl forming in my throat. “Remember what her mom told us.”

“Oh, right,” Rythil agreed and moved back into position on Illu’s back.

“So you feeling better?” Illu changed the topic.

I attempted to spin around in his grip. “Sure do! Now let me turn around!”

“Given where your claws would surely go the moment I do, no,” he giggled.

“I would never!” I lied with a smirk.

“And that’s why it’s staying no.”

“Spoilsport!”

“You realize we are in a public place?” Illu nodded towards the kirins surrounding us, even though only a few had taken an interest in our conversation.

Now that he mentioned it, I noticed that the amount of kirins had increased. Although, I couldn’t see any feather bushes anymore.

“Am I mistaken, or are there more kirins than when I started my nap?”

“A lot more, the fighting hasn’t gone as well as expected.” I could feel Illu’s expression become a bit grim through my scales. “Those mercenaries know how to punch, that's for sure.”

This took me by surprise. I even forgot to seduce Illu for a moment. “What do you mean ‘the fighting’? No way the merriment got into a battle and no one woke me up!”

“More of a skirmish,” Rythil pointed out. “Your new leader considered your rest more important than your participation in it.” At the words ‘new leader’, Rythil’s voice audibly started dropping off.

“Oh,” I said, calmed down a little. “If Candid decided I should rest, it was the right choice for sure.” I smiled. “A bit more cuddling would surely help too though…”

I could feel Illu and Rythil sharing an uncertain glance with each other.

“What?”

“Ah, nothing,” Illu said.

“Illu…” I said in that tone you use when you know there is more to something.

“Well, you’re not mad that you aren’t leading the merriment anymore?”

This took me by surprise. “Why should I? Candid is a great leader! He will surely claim the throne eventually!” I wiggled my tail happily. “And I am part of his merriment, second in command to be exact. I am one step below the throne already!”

“I see…” Illu replied.

“Come on,” I purred, wiggling to turn around or get free. “The merriment is in good hooves. Don’t you worry! Now let me go!”

“You promise to behave?” Illu asked.

“Sure I will behave,” I smiled innocently.

“Fiery…”

“Okay,” I gave in, “I’ll wait to seduce my amazing batfriend until after we’re no longer out in public.” I smirked. “At least today.”

I could tell that Illu had raised an eyebrow at this.

“This morning,” I offered instead.

He let go of me after giving my nose a quick boop. “Sounds more believable.”

I used my wings to do a half barrel roll, swinging my tail around the tentpole in the process. With my forelegs now free, I pulled Illu in for a hug and rubbed my nose against his. I wasn’t able to stay in this position for long since too much blood would rush to my head eventually, but there could never be a good enough excuse to not find the time to cuddle Illu.

“Hey you two lovebirds,” someone below us suddenly said. “Since your little housecat has woken up, time for her medicine.”

“Bliz!” I shouted, much to the discomfort of some of the tent's inhabitants. “Where have you been?”

“Yes, me,” she said. “Been busy leading part of the skirmish, you know, being third in command now due to our little deal.” She smiled. “Not everyone can sleep through all the fun!”

“Hey, that wasn’t my decision,” I asserted defensively, but with a giggle. I gave Illu another kiss and then let go of the tentpole. “So,” I said when I had landed on all four again, “what else have I slept through? Did we win gloriously over the townsfolk?”

“More or less,” Bliz replied, taking a short pause when Illu and Rythil landed next to us. “Candid, or better Symphonia, placed the families of the townsfolk on the front line against the mercenaries, which put them in a stalemate from the start. With them out of the way, a few volleys of stone from my unit of luftirins at the… militia? Yeah I would call them that. Well, after a few volleys of stones, and them colliding with our frontline, the battle stopped about as fast as it started.”

“So we’ve driven them off?” I asked.

“No, we beat them, but they’re still around. Candid is negotiating with them at the moment. It’s clear they can’t overwhelm us with their families on the frontline, but, we can’t overwhelm them either due to their sheer numbers.”

“He is negotiating right now? Wow, he must have unlimited stamina if he can stay up for two days in a row and lead two battles,” I said approvingly. He really was a great leader, that’s for sure!

“Nah,” Illu clarified. “The actual fighting only lasted an hour or two. When it was clear neither side was really going to be able to win quickly, both sides withdrew. It was nearly nightfall anyway when the fighting was called off.”

“My version sounds more heroic,” Bliz commented while scrunching her snout.

“Yeah, but even kirins need some sleep from time to time,” Illu replied, laying a wing over my back. “Don’t give Fiery any silly ideas!”

“I don’t mind getting some sleep more often than not,” I purred, which earned me a slap on the flank from Illu’s wing.

“Speaking of which,” I started after a particular scent reached my nose.

Bliz did me the favor and blushed slightly.

“Who had the luck of being chosen by Ms. third-in-command?” I finished my sentence.

“Hmm?” Illu wondered, then followed my gaze. “Oh…? Bliz!” She blushed harder. “ You naughty girl!” He shook his head and closed his eyes in disapproval. “Kirins!” He finally judged.

“It takes a naughty creature to pick one as mate for sure,” I agreed, booping Illu’s nose. “Only the most naughty of bats can handle us!”

Now it was on Bliz to sniff the air. “Seems this bat is lacking in his duties though,” she judged jokingly.

“Girls!” Illu protested with reddened cheeks.

“Don’t worry, he is going to change that the moment we’re no longer in public,” I calmly gestured to Bliz and we both giggled. I then started nibbling on Illu’s shoulder, causing him to pull it back slightly with an uncomfortable expression. Not out of unwillingness, but embarrassment.

“Uhm, I am still here too,” Rythil quietly whispered from Illu’s other shoulder.

“You better come over,” Bliz giggled and stretched out a hoof. “I doubt you want to challenge Fiery for a place atop of Illu.”

“All mine,” I mumbled while halfway buried in Illu’s mane, marking my territory.

“Girls!” Illu protested, now a little louder. “This is not the time! Fiery got poisoned yesterday! And we still don’t know who it was! And we don’t know what their goal is either! They could try it again!” He laid his wing once more on my back, more protectively this time. “We have to protect Fiery!”

I purred approvingly, and so did Bliz, as did everykirin else who heard my Batfriends demand to protect his mate. I intensified my efforts to cuddle him, while the kirins around us continued their purring.

“Spoken like a dragon,” Bliz half snickered, half purred as she patted Rythil’s head.

“You proclaiming your desire to protect your marefriend only makes her even more horny,” Rythil pointed out. “Territorial behavior or anything supporting your claim on her will only provoke a naughty response.” He swept his arm across the tent, gesturing to all the kirins present.

Illu facehooved. “I know,” he sighed, then grabbed my head, pulling it out of his mane. “Fiery, you could still be in danger! We have to make sure to find whoever poisoned you! And no naughty times till you are safe! Is that clear?”

“I already feel much safer now that you are back by my side,” I purred, leaning in for more cuddles.

“That is…” Illu started, but stopped when Rythil waved him off.

“You’ll never stop her from being naughty in her current state by proclaiming to protect her,” he explained. “She may be more reasonable in a day or two. Right now, however, the more you try to protect her, the more eager to seduce you she gets.”

“And rightfully so,” Bliz agreed with a wink. Before Illu could reply though, she pulled some herbs out from under her wing. “Before you get too occupied though, here,” she hooved it over to him, “the medicine I was talking about. Two leaves, every four hours, dissolved in some hot milk or water. Fertile Desert can also mix it if you are not good at it,” she added.

“I will see to it that she takes it,” Illu agreed. “Did Fertile Desert say anything else about her treatment?”

“Nothing you hadn’t already heard,” Bliz answered.

“Good, then we should start figuring out who poisoned her.” Illu stored away the leaves and turned to me. “Fiery, who do you suspect? Which creature would be the most likely to have done it?”

“Hmm,” I thought, slightly distracted by Illu’s ears and how they swiveled from side to side. When he noticed, he flicked them back though, very much to my displeasure.

“Focus Fiery!”

“I was focused,” I purred.

“On the problem! You could still be in danger!”

“The only one in danger is her dad,” Bliz chuckled.

“Girls!” Illu protested, while I only shook my head at this old joke.

“You are in a grumpy mood, Illu,” Bliz judged, sticking out her tongue. “Working on your mate is not the only thing on your to-do list for today.”

“Finding the culprit is the only thing on my to-do list today!”

“Hey I don’t m-”

Illu pressed his hoof to my snout, cutting me off.

“No,” he said. “We are not discussing this further. Back to the topic!” He lifted a hoof into the air. “Okay, who are the most likely suspects?”

“Everyone from Candid Diversion’s merriment,” Rythil answered before Bliz or I could. “That much is clear. All of them would have seen it as in their best interest for him to win the duel.”

“That would also explain why the dose was small enough to not kill her,” Bliz threw in after a short pause. “They would have had no interest in killing her, not to mention having Fiery as an addition to his merriment would only benefit them.”

“It not killing me could also be due to the fact I used a fortune cookie,” I explained. “I felt quite weak and was a bit afraid so I broke one to make sure.”

“Good idea,” Illu approved and ruffled through my mane.

“The thing though is, Candid said it wasn’t done on his behalf, nor with his knowledge. So if one of his kirins did it, he wouldn’t know,” Bliz said.

“And it was unlikely to begin with, given the drink was made here in the tent, under the eyes of so many of my kirins,” I added. “Fertile Desert said she made the drink here herself with the help of a few kirins. Every creature would have noticed a kirin sneaking in here. Even without an azure sense, there were simply too many kirins around.”

“And the way from here to you?” Illu asked.

“Fertile Desert brought it directly to me. That is after she boiled the milk, which also would have eliminated that specific poison. At least that's what she said.”

“That’s not just what I said,” Fertile Desert piped up when she approached us. “It is also a fact. Marsh horsetail is completely harmless when boiled.” She shrugged. “It would still taste bad, but that’s a different story.”

We greeted her with a nod, while she did the same for Illu and bowed deeper before Bliz and me.”

“That only leaves the time between the liquid being boiled and the time it was delivered to you,” Illu nodded at me, “for the culprit to poison it.”

“Not much time to do that,” Bliz mumbled in thought.

“Also, not many creatures would have known it was for Fiery in the first place,” Fertile Desert added. “It’s highly unlikely that some kirin from another merriment would find out there was a drink being prepared for our former leader while also happening to have brought some poison along. Not to mention how short their window of opportunity would be, all while in constant danger of being seen or detected by another azure. They couldn’t have known we didn’t have one roaming around here.”

“Not even another azure?” Illu asked. “They would know if one was around, wouldn’t they?”

“Mhh, that is true,” I said. “They would be able to feel if Bliz or me were present. But… it doesn’t make sense why they would risk it. They knew they couldn’t feel huge parts of my merriment, so they wouldn’t dare send an azure in after we had agreed to our duel. Especially with only one or two left in Candid’s merriment.”

“Makes me wonder if regular kirins can sense if someone is from another merriment or not,” Illu wondered before he noticed my head spinning around looking for something. “What is it?” He followed my gaze, trying to see what I was looking for.

“My swamp kirins,” I explained, still looking around. “Now that I mentioned them, I just noticed that I can’t see any of them. Where are they?”

“Uhm,” now the others looked around too. No one spotted a kirin from the swamps though.

“I don’t know,” Bliz finally said. “Yesterday they were still here.”

“I know, I was there when Floating Anchor misbehaved.” A slight growl slipped into my voice. “The tent was full of them yesterday evening, and now there’s not a single one in sight, not even an injured one.”

“Maybe they are at their morning prayers?” Fertile Desert suggested.

“All of them?” I rubbed my nose, then my gaze moved over to Ryhtil. “Shouldn’t you be holding your prayers by the way?”

“I think my duty of protecting my goddess godchild is more important than holding the morning prayers,” he replied. “Your mate is correct that you could still be in… that your wellbeing is still under threat. Therefore, I have to do everything I can to protect you.”

“Wouldn’t you have better chances at doing so if you were in your taller shape?” Bliz inquired. “Just saying, protecting Fiery would be a lot easier if you were bigger than any potential attacker. In your current form,” she patted his head, “you are cute, but not really a hindrance to anyone.”

“Don’t underestimate my scarf!” I raised a talon. “No one should doubt his devotion to protect me.” I lowered my talon and rubbed my nose against Illu. “His or my batfriend’s. There are a lot of fangs between me and any possible attacker.”

“Didn’t protect you from getting poisoned,” Fertile Desert pointed out.

A slight growl of mine caused her to take a step back and lower her head. No one was to question my batfriend’s will to protect me!

“Fiery,” Illu said reproachfully as he shook his head and placed a hoof under my chin, forcing my gaze back on him. My growling stopped. “That’s better. Let’s focus on finding the culprit, not intimidating our friends.”

“Okay…” I ruffled my nose, still wanting to defend his honor, but his cute batpony ways had robbed me of the opportunity to do so.

“Alright, so back to the topic,” Illu pulled me closer. “We know it wasn’t Fertile Desert who poisoned the drink, she couldn’t have done it while in Fiery’s merriment.” Said mare nodded in agreement. “We also know it is very unlikely, even unrealistic, that someone just snuck in here and by happenstance had the poison and the opportunity to use it given not only the circumstance, but Fiery’s luck as well. That just doesn’t sound plausible.” Again nodding, by all of us this time. “It would mean that someone who isn’t, I mean wasn’t, bound to her, must have been in the right place, at the right time, by happenstance, to slip some poison in her drink between the boiling of it and Fertile Desert picking it up. And all of that without anyone noticing something was off.”

“That is a very small window of opportunity that’s dependent on pure chance there,” Bliz said, scratching her cheek. “I doubt horsetail marsh is just laying around here, right?”

“It’s marsh horsetail,” Fertile Desert replied. “And the answer is no. I wouldn’t have something poisonous laying around in the medical tent just… because. I would only do that if there was something useful to create with it, like an antidote or a cure. But, marsh horsetail doesn’t have any medicinal properties.”

“So that means whoever did it must have had the plant with them already, even before he or she noticed that they could slip it in Fiery’s drink.”

“You mean they had already planned to poison Fiery and the duel and all that was just a bonus?” Illu asked.

“Either it was a coincidence that the duel happened at the right moment, or, it was a coincidence that it hit Fiery. It could also be that whoever did it had another kirin in mind and just happened to poison Fiery.” Bliz took a seat and stared at the ceiling, gathering her thoughts. “The circumstances,” she started slowly, “the circumstances would make it look like Fiery was the target and it all fits for that theory, but, it could be that it was just a mishap.”

“Nonsense,” Illu protested. “The motive is quite obvious, not to mention that we already discounted the idea that happenstance could be involved given her godmother. Of all the times and kirins this could have happened to, it happened to her and now, when Fiery is about to claim another merriment? No, that makes no sense with her luck and protection. This had to have been intentional.”

“I agree,” Rythil piped up. “An unfortunate turn of events like this wouldn’t befall my goddess’ godchild. I saw with my own eyes how interested my goddess is in Fiersy’s well being. Being poisoned by a series of unlucky circumstances while so much was at stake… I don’t think Fortuna would have allowed this to happen.”

“You don’t think?” Fertile Desert wondered.

“I do not dare to claim I know what my goddess would or would not do. I am just mentioning what I think would make sense for her to and not to do.”

“Probably for the best,” Illu agreed. “So, we are all in agreement that the culprit had to be here in this tent between the boiling of the milk and the moment Fertile Desert took the medicine to bring it outside. And, it couldn’t be a creature from another merriment or any kirin under Fiery’s claim.”

Everyone nodded.

“That only leaves,” Illu raised his hoof, “a kirin from the swamp, a member of Fiery’s family…

“Nonsense!” I snorted.

… Allerian,” Illu continued, “me, one of the gods. Yes, we have to take that into consideration too, given the stakes of the game, and… no, that seems to be all.”

“None of my family would poison me, silly!” I nudged Illu on the shoulder.

“Well, you did have a serious growl with your aunt,” Bliz threw in.

“That's no reason to poison me! Also, she’s a hatchling, she doesn’t execute such devious plans just yet.”

“An azure hatchling,” Bliz retorted. “She is more advanced in her development than you may think.”

“Nah,” I waved off. “We can completely discard any family member, and…” I looked at Illu, “if this wasn’t some crazy attempt at foreplay, we can also discard Illu as a culprit.”

I simply had to give him a kiss on the nose due to the flat look he gave me.

“Uhm… I would also agree that Schimmernde Morgenröte is out of the question,” Rythil piped up. “Not because she is one of those crazy dragons from the southwest, but, because somecreature would have noticed if your aunt had entered the tent. She isn’t very subtle with how she enters an area.”

“Well, no one’s asked if she’s been around here, right?” Bliz asked.

“I would have noticed her for sure,” Fertile Desert replied. “I might have been very busy, but I would have noticed an azure dragon in the tent. Even a hatchling.”

“Okay, that crosses that out,” Illu said. “Leaving myself out for the moment, that leaves the swamp kirins, allerian, or one of the gods. Hmm, it would be pointless to investigate if the gods had something to do with this. I think we can leave that for Fortuna. So, with that addressed, I doubt it was Allerian, he had nothing to gain from this.”

“Besides a more interesting book maybe,” Fertile Desert added.

“He doesn’t want to be turned into roasted chicken,” I shook my head. “He has a lot of respect for my dad and he knows how he would handle such an attempt.”

“The word you are looking for is fear,” Rythil corrected.

“Not to mention a hoard of kirins ready to rip his limps off,” Bliz added.

“That too,” I agreed.

“It doesn’t hurt to ask where he’s been, though,” Illu suggested. “I think that is a task for you, Fertile Desert. I have to stay with Fiery, otherwise I would do it. And Fiery is needed to investigate the kirins from the swamp. She is the only one they really follow orders from.”

“I don’t think they would directly admit to having poisoned her,” Bliz said with her eyebrows raised. “I am not entirely sure if they could even attempt it without dying in the first place, but, if they did it, they knew the consequences. So they would have a plan to prevent Fiery from finding out.”

“Not if her surviving wasn’t the goal…” Rythil pointed out, making everycreature silent for a moment.

“If that was the plan, I will make sure they don’t get a second chance,” Illu growled, his fangs now visible.

I purred flirtaciously.

“Not now!” He pushed my nose out of his mane. “I may have a head to rip off before you get your fun times again,” he said in a grim tone, trotting towards the exit of the tent.

I followed him with a happy swing in tail. My overprotective batfriend.

“Hey, wait!” Bliz shouted. “You can’t just investigate this without proper guarding! As you said, Fiery could still be in danger! Fee-De, get Summer Moon and one or two other guards and tell them to accompany Fiery around!”

“But, I already need to speak with Allerian, and I am needed here to care for the injured too,” she pointed out.

“Bliz!” I scolded when she started to growl. “You can go and gather some guards if you think I need more protection than Illu and Rythil.”

“We could also ask your dad,” Rythil suggested while floating next to me. “No one who’s seen him fight would dare attack you while he’s around.”

“He has his claws full guarding my family I think. My brothers need his full attention till everything has settled down a bit.”

“Second most scary creature is your mom, I guess,” Rythil replied.

I chuckled. “Yeah, that’s true. Still, same as with my dad.”

“They’ve moved your family’s carriage away from the merriment for the time being,” Illu informed me over his shoulder. “With you no longer being the leader, they wanted some space between your brothers and the merriment, I think.”

“Yeah, sounds like a good idea for them,” I agreed.

“Actually, Allerian and Autumn Blaze are with them, you should start looking for Allerian there, Fertile Desert.”

“Will do,” she nodded.

“Summer Moon and another mare or two will do,” Illu decided. “With Fiery being the second in command, there’s not much anyone can do to stop her, and the swamp kirins will fall to the ground dead if she tells them to stop and they disobey.”

“I still don’t like it,” Bliz grumbled. “Fiery should be better protected than by three mares and a batpony.”

“If you want you can tag along,” I offered.

“That is probably for the best,” she agreed. “Give me a few minutes to gather the others, then we can leave together.”

Illu wasn’t happy about the delay, but since it was for my protection, he agreed. This also gave me a good opportunity to check on his fur and wings again, you know, just in case.

***

When we were ready and left the tent, Symphonia was waiting for us outside. She and Caustic Mercy that is.

“Good morning, Fiery Leadership. Looks like you are already feeling better,” she greeted me.

“Yeah, kinda,” I replied, coming to a halt in front of her. I waited for her to greet Illu too, but she didn’t.

“Morning Symphonia,” Bliz bubbled happily, but felt silent again when I started to growl. The subtle tension which was building up was wasted on Illu I guess. He was none the wiser about it, looking between us confused. But every kirin and dragon present knew instantly what the problem was.

Bliz just lowered her head a little, while Caustic Mercy greeted me, then Illu. I acknowledged his behavior but kept my eyes on Symphonia. My growl intensified. It was clear to me she wanted to growl back, maybe even hiss, but wasn’t allowed to. She shifted from one leg to another, even displaying her fangs a bit here and there, still without directly challenging me though.

“What is going on here?” Illu wondered. “Fiery, what are you doing?” He placed a hoof on my neck scales, softly rubbing up and down.

“Just a question of social standing,” Caustic Mercy generously explained. “As mate of Candid Diversion, Symphonia is entitled to be second in command in his merriment. Wise as he is, however, he granted Fortuna’s godchild that position.”

“And by not greeting you properly, she is challenging Fiery’s authority,” Bliz added.

Illu just facehoofed. “We are trying to find who poisoned you,” he addressed me, but when I kept my eyes on Symphonia, he grabbed my cheek and turned my head to him. “Stop it!” He demanded, then stepped aside and offered a hoof to Symphonia. “Nice to meet you,” he said.

I grumbled unhappily as she grabbed his hoof and shook it. “Likewise,” she said.

“I see how important this whole hierarchy matter is for you,” Illu then turned back so that he was facing me again, “but protecting my marefriend is my most important duty. I insist that this takes priority over squabbles regarding the hierarchy at the moment!”

I would have liked nothing more than to continue this hierarchy squabbling, but Illu’s batfriend tricks were too strong! Looks like he’d taken my mom’s lessons on convincing your mate to heart better than I had! I growled a little, but it quickly turned into little purrs of approval when Illu also straightened his posture, visually proclaiming his intentions to protect me.

“Fine,” I finally agreed before fobbing Symphonia with a snort.

“Good job,” Rythil whispered to Illu when we started to move to, well… when we started trotting. To my displeasure, Symphonia also joined our group.

“Where are the rest of the kirins from the swamp village?” Illu asked Caustic Mercy. “We need to speak with them.”

“They decided to walk back home,” Caustic Mercy said casually, using the same tone he would likely use to tell us about the weather.

“They what?!” I burst out, even flaring my wings in disbelief.

“As I said…” Caustic Mercy began again, but was interrupted by Illu.

“What happened to your wing?!” Illu rushed to my side and grabbed my wing joint to inspect my slashed feathers. “Did Candid do this?!” Now Illu’s fangs were on display and the back of his coat was raised.

I tried to retract my wing from him but he didn’t let go. “Just a little cut during our duel,” I tried to play it down. “It isn’t really that bad,” I added.

“Isn't really that bad?!” Illu shouted furiously. His eyes were filled with flames and his voice had taken on a darker undertone.

“Candid and your mate had a duel,” Symphonia explained. “What did you expect to happen? That they would throw flowers at each other?”

“I am fine,” I once more confirmed and pressed my snout against Illu’s throat, snuggling up to him as best as I could. “No need to get mad!”

“You are not fine!” Illu shouted in anger. “Your wing was nearly cut in half!”

“Only my feather…”

“Before that you got poisoned!” Illu went on, seemingly oblivious to my interjection.

“That was…”

“And the time before that, someone cracked your back scales with an axe!”

“Okay, that one was serious,” I admitted.

“How come everytime you have azure-kirin business to hoofle, someone tries to kill you?!”

“It is not like I am looking for trouble…”

“Trouble should be added as your second surname!” Illu growled, turning his attention towards Bliz and our side guards. “What the hay are you guys doing all day? Isn’t it your duty to protect Fiery? Shame on you!”

All four of them lowered their heads and whimpered apologetically.

“That is not fair,” I protested. “Summer Moon even stormed in on a volandium to protect me! And Bliz wasn’t even there when I got hit by that axe!”

“And still you got injured! And poisoned!” Illu stomped a hoof in anger. “You guys are useless!” he yelled at the present kirins, Symphonia excluded.

“Illu! That is not fair!” I laid a claw on his chest. “In none of those situations could they have done anything! They protected me to the best of their abilities over and over again! Winter Sun even got injured while doing so! Don’t shame them for things they couldn’t have prevented!” I pointed at the four mares now looking sad and in need of head pats and praise.

“Not fair? Rythil here,” he stated, pointing emphatically at the tiny dragon, “got cursed just because you ate some leaves! Yet, those guys fail again and again at protecting you, and all that happens is a ‘you’ll do better next time’?”

Rythil looked like he wanted to say something, but decided to keep his snout shut instead.

“You are just angry that your mate got hurt,” Symphonia piped up. “Understandable, but misguided in this case. I can tell you we had a very hard time getting at her during the battle, in spite of our superior tactics. Her guards did a very fine job at protecting her, despite her lack of skilled leadership.”

“Hey!” I protested again, while the other mares lit up a little due to the indirect praise.

“It is true,” Symphonia emphasized once more. “Your battle tactics were focusing on luck and surprise, not any real strategy. You bumped your nose on our shieldwall and even fell for the decoy azure. If not for your luck, the runehorn ambush would have taken you out then and there.”

Now both Illu and I growled at her.

Symphonia showed me her fangs, but suppressed a growl of her own. That was till Bliz, aware of the hierarchy, started to growl at her as well. The others were a bit unsure for a moment, but then followed suit.

Suddenly cornered, Symphonia did growl a little, even scratching the ground with a hoof. But then she forced herself to relax and closed her eyes, focusing on her magic.

“Fiery Leadership!” Candid’s voice flew through my mind a moment later, “Leave my mate alone! … Please.” It was obvious he was distracted and his mind was currently on something else, but protecting his mate was still his most important issue.

Instantly, I stopped my growl, and so did the others. Except Illu, that is, but I laid a claw on his snout so he would be quiet. He looked at me, anger and confusion in his gaze. It was only when he noticed that everyone else had stopped threatening Symphonia he realized the situation.

“Candid Diversion?” He asked.

“Yup.”

“I will have a talk with him once I see him,” Illu growled and freed his snout from my grip.

“If you talk to my mate, make sure you do it respectfully,” Symphonia demanded.

Illu inhaled for a reply, but I sealed his lips with a kiss, then shook my head when we separated.

He grumbled something under his breath, but fortunately turned around and started trotting ahead.

“See to it that your mate doesn’t cause problems in the merriment,” Symphonina ordered when she stepped next to me.

I pushed her aside with my shoulder when I followed Illu, holding my head higher than hers. Candid said I shall leave her alone, and I did, but I was still higher in the hierarchy than her! She had no right to order me around!

My pursuit of Illu was short-lived though. A few seconds later he remembered we still had to talk to Caustic Mercy about the swamp kirins and where they had gone, so he turned around and approached said priest.

“So your folks just packed up everything and went home?” He asked.

“More or less.” Caustic Mercy kept true to his reputation as a stallion of many words.

“And is there a reason why they just up and left?”

“The command to support Fiery Leadership’s merriment is no longer in effect since that merriment no longer exists.”

“That doesn’t mean they can all just leave!” I shouted.

“Your orders were very clear,” he replied. “The fact that this is no longer your merriment relieves my people of their duty to support it. And with the number of azure-kirins having increased so precipitously recently, the will to remain here dissipated even more.”

“But you stayed,” Rythil pointed out.

“Yes.”

“May I ask why?”

“Lord Hades decided I shall serve Fiery Leadership as punishment.”

Rythil stared at him, waiting for him to continue. Caustic Mercy simply stared back, breathing slowly and calmly.

I boxed his shoulder.

“It is at Lord Hades discretion to decide when this punishment is over, not when I see fit or convenient.” Caustic Mercy said.

I raised my claw again.

“The rest of my people don't share this assumption. For them, as long as they were not told otherwise by Fortunas Godchild, they were free to go.”

“But I told them to listen to Candid’s orders as well! He surely told them to support the merriment while I slept!”

“No, you didn’t,” he replied. “You told them to listen to his orders like they were your own.”

“Ohh,” Rythil instantly understood the problem while I needed another second. “Your orders are only orders if you say so, otherwise they are suggestions,” Rythil pointed out.

I faceclawed. “So they took everything Candid said just as a suggestion!”

“Exactly,” Caustic Mercy nodded.

I took a deep breath. “Who came up with that idea?”

“I don’t follow.”

“Who was the first kirin to have the idea to just ignore Candid’s wishes and head home?”

“To my knowledge, Calmatious Blossom, and given she was the leader of my people before your intercession into their lives, her words carried some weight. Who first mentioned this way of thinking though, that remains a mystery to me.”

“They can’t be that stupid,” Summer Moon suddenly piped up. “They must be aware that Fiery can collect them all back and will not be happy about this.”

“That was a possible outcome,” Caustic Mercy agreed. “Though there is still the chance the conflict with the families from the north would get rid of that specific problem.”

“You mean if I fell, or got wounded enough to not be able to command them?” I inquired.

“Either that, or, the fact you are unable to move in their direction due to the call. The knowledge of what happened to your friend Blizzard Silence has spread through my people. Azures are driven to Shakirin-La and fall ill if they try to go the opposite direction.”

“I think that only counts for leaders,” Bliz said with a flat face expression. “I went mad because I led my merriment away from Shakirin-La. I was okay though the moment I became part of Fiery’s, even before stepping in the direction of Shakirin-La. So for any azure that are part of a merriment but not the leader, it shouldn’t be an issue.”

“Ahh,” Caustic Mercy flatly stated. “Seems that plan leads to nowhere then.”

“Didn’t Candid Diversions merriment also move in the direction of the swamps for a while?” Summer Moon wondered. “That is the opposite direction, isn’t it?”

“We headed in the right direction for weeks,” Symphonia replied. “The Call seems to recognise our general obedience to it and doesn’t take any issue with us claiming another merriment along the way. Whoever created the Call had some brains after all.”

“Seems it is time for me to head back to the swamps then and pluck some feathers… and tails… and maybe horns,” I growled.

“You should ask Candid first,” Symphonia stated.

“Oh, right, yeah, I should do that.”

“We still need to find out who poisoned you too!” Illu protested. “You can’t just hunt through the swamps for days!”

“And definitely not alone either!” Bliz threw in.

“That would indeed be unwise,” Caustic Mercy nodded. “The swamp is not without dangers to outsiders.”

“If you got lost or hurt, you would play right into their hooves,” Bliz pointed out. “Maybe they’re even counting on that,” she added with a growl.

“And if we send Caustic Mercy to get them back?” Rythil suggested quietly. He then cleared his throat and repeated his suggestion a bit louder. “If you order him to tell the other kirins from the swamp to come back in your name, they are forced to obey, right?”

“Only if they don’t find a way to wiggle their way out by twisting the choice of words I tell Caustic to use or pretend to not believe him or any other cheap excuse that may work! No, I have to get them myself!” I scratched a furrow in the grass. “And I will make sure there is no misunderstanding this time.”

“I will inform my mate about the situation,” Symphonia said. “We will see what he decides.”

That was reasonable. So I took a seat and waited, angry but patient for Candid to decide how to progress. He was the leader after all. Illu and Rythil didn’t seem to be that comfortable with this though. I calmly placed my healthy wing over Illu and pulled him closer.

Symphonia needed a while, it was obvious she and Candid were having a discussion about this. When she finally reopened her eyes, she ruffled her nose but told us Candid’s decision.

“You shall stay in the camp for the time being, Fiery Leadership. Your well being must not be endangered by an expedition to the swamp. The issue of you being hurt while under his rule is more concerning than the temporary lack of followers. He is letting you know though that he will take care of that problem once he finishes the negotiations with the families of some of our merriment.”

Illu snorted in agreement while I just huffed. I needed to stay here if those were Candid’s orders, but I really wanted to have a word with my swamp-kirins about loyalty…

A moment of silence followed Symphonia’s words after my huff and Illu’s approval.

“Well, with them out of the picture for the moment,” Rythil flew over from Bliz to me. “We should head to your family's carriage. Our last suspect, Allerian, is there.”

“You just want to push me somewhere safe instead of letting me wander through the new part of the merriment to search for clues, don’t you?” I grabbed him out of the air and held him before my face.

“More or less,” he admitted. “But it is true that Allerian is still one of the suspects.”

“Silly noodle!” I scolded him, but swung him around my neck anyway.

“Candid said he would be the one to question the merriment for any possible kirins acting against his wishes regarding you and how you got your condition.” Symphonia pointed out. “Your family's carriage is therefore the best place for you to go for the moment.”

I had the suspicion she was just supporting the idea for the same reason Rythil was, but it had indeed been Candid’s wish to lead the investigation in the merriment.

“Fine,” I unwillingly agreed. “We might as well visit my family while we wait for Candid to decide our next step.”

My companions seemed far too happy with this outcome for my taste.