“There you are! Oh I am sooo happy I found you!” My friend, Blizzard Silence, wasted no time in prancing in front of me. “It was a close call though, wasn’t it,” she added to no one in particular. “Come, get a hug!” she suddenly requested with a happy smile while extending a hoof and wing while her parents landed behind her.

I hesitated to aproach her. Something didn’t feel right. After a second or two though, I cautiously relaxed my hold on the tentpole Summer Moon had given me before finally impaling it into the ground and moving forward. Before I reached her though, Bliz pranced back and growled, causing Summer Moon to raise her tentpole warningly. But as soon as it had started, Bliz stopped her growling. “No! We will not bite her!” She shook her head and hissed. “Of course she wouldn’t expect it, she is our friend!”

I raised a claw, gesturing for Summer Moon to calm down before I addressed Bliz. “I see you found your advisors already, two little voices in your head, right?”

“How did you know?” Bliz’s head sprung up and turned to me. “Do you hear voices too?” Her eyes were filled with hope.

“Yep, learned today that they’re supposed to guide me. So we’re not going crazy.”

I watched as Bliz’s posture seemed to slaken.

“We may not have gone crazy, however, I am not sure about her,” Calmly threw in.

“And I was thinking I lost it after that little bolt of lightning hit me.”

“I wouldn’t take that off the table just yet,” I said jokingly. “They told you to bite me after all.”

“Right,” Bliz nodded. “Just one of them though. The other one actually believes we should negotiate about something,” she tilted her head and seemed to listen. “She is not sure about what we should negotiate though.”

“About your submission to Fiery,” Winter Sun menacingly demanded before I could stop her.

“My submission?” Blizz raised an eyebrow.

“It is a long story,” I said. “Short version is, all of us azure kirins gather at Shakirin-La, and one of us becomes the new empress of all the kirins. To do so, we have to subdue all the other azure kirins on our way. Like,” I pointed at her merriment, “you already did with your village.”

“So you’re telling me I would become your subject?” Blizzard's voice turned into a growl near the end of her sentence. “Neither of us like that idea.”

“It is not like she has a choice!” Roary proclaimed. “We are more, we are stronger!”

“And we don’t want to fight her,” Calmly added. “Don’t forget about that. Her voice of reason and I may solve this issue nonviolently.”

“It’s not like we have a choice here,” I explained, taking a seat to look less threatening. “That is how this whole thing works. Either I claim you, or you claim me.” I made a gesture that included both our merriments. “It doesn’t have to turn into a huge fight at all though, we also have the option of negotiating it.”

“Sill,” Blizzard Silence’s mom, Blizzard Torrent started, but her daughter just hissed at her, causing her to lay flat on the ground.

“Not now, Mom!” She tilted her head and one of her eyes started to twitch. “I shouldn’t speak that way to mom, no, I shouldn’t do that. Yet, I have every right to, since she is part of my merriment now.”

“I think she’s losing it,” Winter Sun whispered to me.

“I wonder how you would hold up if you were suddenly hit by a magic call that not only put some voices in your head, but caused you to turn your own family into your loyal subjects,” I whispered back. Actually, thinking about it, I would have no problem with becoming more dominant than Dad out of nowhere. Mom however…

“Actually they are all part of my merriment now,” Blizzy went on, not even noticing us or her mom anymore. She then took a seat on the ground and started to slowly rock back and forth while talking to herself.

“If you attack her now, you will have no problem subduing her.” My aunt stepped forward and next to me. “In this condition ,she would be no match for you.”

“I told you to stay with Fluffy,” Dad growled.

“And your mate asked me to watch over Fiery when it was clear no creature was approaching the camp from any other direction.” She snorted. “And I already told you that I was of the opinion that I am more useful out here.”

I threw a gaze at my aunt, ignoring her banter with Dad for the moment. “Do you have any friends back at The Roof Of The World? Like real friends, not just servants or allies?”

“What does that have to do with it?” she asked, confused.

“If the answer was yes, you wouldn’t suggest I attack one of my friends.”

“And again, you are going too easily on creatures, Niece.”

“I don’t think so.” I returned my gaze to Bliz. “Bliz? Are you alright?” I took one step forward and laid a claw on her shoulder.

“Don’t touch us!” In one quick move, Bliz was on her hooves again and putting some distance between us.

“Bliz, I only want to help you.”

“You want to subdue me, to take control.” She growled. “That’s not going to happen!”

“I don’t want to attack you, despite what my advisor suggests or my aunt thinks is the best. We are friends!”

“Yes, yes we are.” Bliz tilted her head and gave me a weird look. “Friends shouldn’t fight each other.” Her eyes became wide. “Especially on your birthday! It's your birthday after all!” Quickly she turned around. “We brought you a gift of course! Yes, yes a gift!” She looked around hecticly. “Where did we put it…?”

“I think we forgot it at home,” Blizzard Torrent said quietly.

“What?” Bliz stomped a hoof. “How could we? I can’t stand here, head held high, when we forgot Fiery’s birthday present!”

“It’s alright, really, we have other things to worry about.”

I mean, I was obviously a little bit upset that she forgot my present, but really just a tiny bit…

“It is rude though,” my Dad threw in.

“I know!” Bliz agreed.” I am soo sorry! I…” she groaned, dropping to her haunches and bringing her left leg up. She then began to scratch the scales just behind her shoulders with her hind leg. “This itching is killing me!” she yelled in frustration.

“I think that is a side effect of ignoring the Call,” my aunt said. “Your friend basically came from the direction we are heading. So it looks to me that she was moving in the opposite direction of Shakirin-La. Could very well be that this is causing some… problems for her.”

I looked at Bliz, seeing that she was now rubbing her back against the ground in an attempt to scratch her scales. “If that is what had awaited me if I’d refused to go, I’m glad I left. Though, didn’t Oma say it would take some time?”

“I can only assume it would have been if she’d just stayed home. Moving away from Shakirin-La, however, surely increased the negative effects.”

“Unpleasant.”

“You have no idea!” Bliz yelled while groaning some more. Eventually, she stopped rolling around and sat back on her haunches. This time though, she twisted her head around and began to use her fangs to scratch over the scales she could reach.

“I am sure we would solve her problems if we just claim her,” Calmly threw in. “If she became this unstable and itchy because she refused the Call, being our subject should alleviate that.”

“Not to mention increase our power,” Roary agreed.

“We are not fighting her!” I mentally yelled at my inner voices. “We are not going to attack her, bite her or any other violent nonsense! She is my friend and we are going to solve this peacefully!”

“It would be the easiest solution, and it would help her too! Just look at her,” Roary demanded. “She is halfway crazy already, we need to help her by claiming her!”

“We could let Dad do it, if you don’t want to. He offered his help already,” Calmly added.

“I said no! Enough of your nonsense! We’re doing this the nice way!” I shook my head so forcefully that my ears slapped against my skull. “Bliz?”

“What is it?” she asked without stopping her nibbling of scales.

“I think if you let me claim you, the itching and your… antics would stop.”

“And I become your puppet, like my parents are for me now? No thank you!” She stopped nibbling her scales and started to argue with herself again. Seems that shifting her attention to her claimed parents had a negative effect on her mental stability.

“No, not as my puppet of course. As my friend and companion. I would not treat you like my servant.”

“That's the role she is supposed to have though,” Winter Sun mentioned. “There can be only one leading the merriment in the end.”

Now it was on me to growl. “Silence!” I yelled, and Winter Sun quickly ducked under my gaze. “So,” I cleared my throat, “as I was saying, you would surely be my friend and advisor along the way instead of one of my servants.”

“I don’t think it would work that way,” Bliz replied, though I could see that she’d at least considered my offer.

“Don’t give away your leadership so easily!” A new voice arose from Bliz’s merriment. And quickly, shouts of support and encouragement followed. “We don’t want to follow her, we want to follow you!”

I couldn’t identify who’d shouted that, but the effect on my friend was clear.

So much for solving this peacefully.

“I think I have to refuse your proposal,” Bliz said a moment later, “seeing as my merriment would surely cause an uproar if I simply submit to you.”

“They would follow your orders,” Schimmernde Morgenröte clarified. “If you decide to serve, they will follow.”

“But I don’t want to serve, I want to lead!”

“She wants to fight! You can see it!” Roary told me eagerly. “We can beat her and claim her the rightful way!”

“Better let our merriment and aunt do the fighting, if we plan to fight at all,” Calmy countered. “Less risk of us getting injured and victory is assured due to our merriment being significantly stronger.”

“But we’ll get less fame and practice in claw to hoof combat. Blizzard Silence is safer to fight than some other kirin we know nothing about.”

“For the last time! We are not fighting Bliz!” I yelled mentally. “Bliz, I do not want to fight with you. I do not want to hurt you. Though I do have the stronger merriment. If you force me, I will send them to fight yours instead. And there’s no doubt about how that will end.”

Bliz’s expression became grim. She looked over my merriment, including Dad and my aunt. I could see it in her eyes that she’d realized what her chances against not only my kirins, but two dragons, were.

“I will not just submit to you,” she finally said. “But we may bargain.”

I let out a sigh of relief. “That sounds great!”

Bliz took a seat again and made an inviting gesture with her wing for me to take the spot in front of her.

“So,” I said, following the invitation and approaching her, “how shall we-” My response was cut short when Bliz rushed forward the moment I sat down and placed a kiss on my lips. “What the…!” I shouted, half jumping as I pulled my head back in confusion and shock. Exactly the reaction Bliz had hoped for it seemed, since she used my disorientation to strike me with an uppercut.

She tricked me! It was a realization that had come a moment too late.

With a challenging growl, and before I’d even had the chance to recover from the blow, she was already up and in the air jumping towards me with her fangs bared. I was barely able to raise my claws in defense to brace for the impact.

“You will be-” Bliz shouted, but was interrupted quite effectively when a tentpole smacked her in the side of the head and let her crash harmless to the ground next to me.

Suddenly, Summer Moon stood between me and Bliz, the tentpole gripped tightly in her magic, growling and going for a second swing. Her sister, Winter Sun, and a few others of my merriment started to form a ring around the three of us, hissing at Bliz’s merriment.

“Stop!” I yelled, briefly wincing in pain when I laid a claw on my jaw and got up. “Don’t.”

Summer Moon growled at Bliz, but followed my order and lowered her tentpole. A quick hiss at my merriment kept them in check as well.

“Arg, my head!” Bliz groaned and put her hooves on the bump she was sure to develop.

“She tried to trick you!” Summer Moon spat out. “Let me beat her up for you and show her what that treachery gets you!”

Of course, several roars and other noises of anger rose from Bliz’s kirins after that statement, some even moving closer.

“No.” I laid a claw on Summer’s shoulder, gave her a thankful nod, but pushed her aside. “She isn’t in her right mind at the moment.”

“That is all your fault,” Bliz complained at as I was calming my merriment. “Just distract and attack her! What a wonderful idea! Damn voice!” She looked up and at her people. “Get back!” she yelled.

Quickly, I threw a look at her merriment as well as mine. Many of her group had moved in a way that if something happened, they could easily charge forward. Fortunately though, they seemed content with simply releasing little growls or other signs of unrest. For now, we were able to hold them back, but who knows for how long? I flicked my ears back. Two azure-kirins fighting when they’re standing between their merriments seemed to be one of the lesser good ideas if one doesn’t want things to escalate.

“I told you the element of surprise would have been on your side. If you had only listened to me,” Schimmernde Morgenröte said in an arrogant tone. “Maybe you’ll learn to listen to me more carefully next time.” She turned around, looking at her brother and her tone turned even more accusatory. “Your daughter is not very skilled in the art of war, is she?”

“She is half pony,” Dad replied.

“I see,” my aunt snorted displeased. “A weakness.”

I ignored their little banter, just happy that Dad still considered Bliz as a child. She may be half a year older than me, but still, seeing us grow up and play together assured that Dad would not just try and kill her for attacking me like he did with Autumn or any other adult who would dare to do so.

“Well, sorry about that,” Bliz demanded my attention back, still rubbing the side of her head. “Wasn’t my original intention, just, you really presented yourself as an easy target there.”

I could see Summer’s tentpoles already rising again and poked her with my wing while shaking my head. Slowly, she lowered her weapon again.

“Nimble told me that these voices can try to take over, force your actions sometimes if you don’t take care of them.”

“We do what we must to protect. To achieve victory,” Roary tried to justify.

“Who is Nimble?” Bliz threw a look at her merriment and released a hiss, pushing some of them back a few steps. Obviously, she didn’t want this to escalate either.

“An azure kirin, just like us. We met him and his mate, a dragoness, just a few hours ago.” I raised my head a bit higher. “And, I claimed him!”

“Which was more or less thanks to me,” Schimmernde Morgenröte threw in, spoiling the moment for me.

“Yeah, thanks to my aunt,” I mumbled. “Anyway, he is part of my merriment now!”

“You already got one?” Bliz looked over my merriment. “Where is he? And what happened with his merriment? I only see your townsfolk here.”

“He is protecting his and his mates' egg. And it was just them two, no merriment so far.”

“Oh, yes, an egg must be protected,” Bliz agreed.

“We can still just claim her,” Roary insisted, already a bit louder. “We have the upper claw, she is already injured and an easy prey! Let us attack her!”

I placed a claw on my temples. “I really understand how annoying your dragon heritage can be,” I grumbled. “Bliz, can we just speak about your prize for being claimed,” I ignored her growl, “before one of our inner voices pushed us to an action we would all regret?”

She didn’t have it any easier than me it seemed. I could see it in her eyes, how her attention shifted between me and her inner conflict. If I hadn’t known about the voices, more so, had my own, I would have just assumed she’d lost it for real.

“Fine…!” she spat out between gritted teeth. “What do you offer?”

“To make you part of my merriment, without any fight or violence. As a friend, not as a servant of course.”

“And… what else?”

I rubbed over my head. “Uhm, what else do you want?”

“The goal is to claim Shakirin-La, right? To become the new empress?”

“Yes…”

“Then half the empire, that would be a good offer!” She hissed at the ground. “No! Not three quarters! Greedy voice!”

“Half my future empire!” I shouted out in disbelief. “That would never work!”

“We would split the spoils of the claiming procedure. I would split the empire in two parts and you can choose, as the kirin in lead, which part you want.” Blizzard smiled mischievously. “That would only be fair.”

“Being in the weaker position and demanding half the spoils is outrageous!” Roary was quite pissed. “Let us smash her head into the mud until she rethinks her demands!”

For once, I was tempted to agree with him. Still, I did want to avoid hurting Bliz as best I could.

“No,” I growled. “Even if we are friends, you are in a far weaker negotiating position than me. And in no position to demand that at all. What I can offer you though, is to be my right claw when I claim the throne.”

“So be your servant after all!” She hissed.

“No!” I shook my head. “To really be my right claw, not a servant at all! I would be the empress, but you would be by my side, only one step lower in hierarchy than me.”

“I don’t want to be your lapdog!”

“What about if I give you a title, and your own…” I growled and had to struggle to ignore my inner voices,” ...duchy to rule over.”

“Giving away a full dutchy to an inferior opponent is madness!” Roary growled. “She should be happy to get a barony!”

“While I appreciate the peaceful negotiation, I agree with Roary. The price is too high.” Calmly added.

“A duchy…” I could see that Blizzard's interest had peaked. For a moment she shifted her attention inward, speaking with her inner voices. “But you can do better,” she finally said. “If you become empress, I want to become a queen.”

“A queen?” I repeated disbelieving.

“That’s what you already offered me in the first place, being your right claw, wasn’t it?” She tilted her head and raised her voice. “You do stand by your offers, don’t you?”

I was well aware that all attention was shifting to me now. My kirins as well as hers. Clever move of her, I had to admit. Either I agree to let her be queen in my empire, or, I would start as a word breaker right from the beginning.

I scratched the ground with a claw, trying to suppress my inner voices uproar. “Fine,” I spat out. “If I become empress, you can become a queen below me.”

My aunt released a disapproving snort at my side.

Bliz smiled widely. “It is settled then.” She started to giggle like a filly. “I think I can accept these terms.”

“Then come closer and bow before me so I can claim you,” I demanded sharply, still fighting my inner struggle.

“As you wish.” Not even my aggressive tone could swipe away Blizzard's triumphant smile. Slowly, she walked over to me and laid on the ground.

Finally, this was all over, I thought. I had managed to convince Blizzard to submit to me without my dream coming true. No dead friend today! I lowered my head to press it against hers when she suddenly jumped up again.

“Wait!” she yelled. “This deal only works if you successfully claim the throne! What if you don’t? What if you have to submit to somekirin else too?”

Enough was enough, forced by Roary’s anger I bounced forward and pushed Blizzard over, pinning her down on her back. “What do you want now?” I half roared, half growled in her face.

“Just a little addition,” she said, squirming under me, presenting her fangs. “If you don’t become empress, I still get whatever rank is right under yours.”

“A reasonable demand!” I roared. Obviously she didn’t demand something crazy or bold, just a kind of insurance if things go wrong for me while she’s following me. Still, I wasn’t really able to hold back my emotions while both fighting Roary and Calmly as well as knowing how much my aunt disapproved of all this. “I accept! Now, bow, down!”

Hesitantly, after I let her get up, she did.

I stretched out with my aura and pressed my forehead against hers.

***

“Well, that was something.” I reopened my eyes and took a step back. If Nimble’s mind could be described as well organized and his advisors bound to his will, Blizzard's mind was… more of a roller coaster.

“That was crazy!” Bliz yelled, her wings springing open before she embraced me in a hug. “Oh Fiery, I am so glad we didn’t fight over this!” Her hug got tighter. “I was sooo close to attacking you again! I am also very sorry for the punch!” She mustered my jaw. “Does it still hurt?”

“I’m fine,” I said, a bit confused about her dramatic change in mood. True, Nimble had immediately turned cuddly after I claimed him, but he hadn’t been that hostile to begin with.

“What a relief!” Bliz said before then picking me up. “Your new leader!” she shouted, presenting me to her merriment. And indeed, I could feel that they had been added to my merriment. Along with something… more.

A roar of agreement arose from my new subjects.

While I was enjoying the moment, Dad moved forward and approached me. Well, that was what I had thought, till he walked past me and into the crowd.

“Dad?” I wondered, but he ignored me, heading straight for Bliz’s parents.

“Your daughter hit mine!” He growled while looking down at them.

I faceclawed. Right… The fact that he still considered Bliz a child might have kept her safe from his wrath, but that meant said wrath was focused on her parents. I shouldn’t have been surprised since he’d done this back when I was in school whenever I had problems with a classmate.

“Put me down, quick!” I ordered Bliz before rushing towards her parents as soon as my hooves and claws touched the ground. “Dad, they didn’t have any control over their daughter when they were her subjects!”

“They are still responsible!” he growled, before hissing at them.

Both of Bliz’s parents cowered, lowering themselves to the ground since they knew how dangerous a dragon could be. Specifically, how dangerous my dad could be when Mom wasn’t around. Mom! Yes, that was the easy solution! I swiftly called out for my mom and the rest of the family.

And indeed, after the few seconds it took for her to arrive, and with only a little bit of purring, rubbing against him and a raised hoof along with some scolding for Bliz’s parents, Mom was able to calm Dad down before any harm could be done.

Bliz, however, used the time to either try to cuddle me or, when Night arrived, tried to pet him. A thing he gladly allowed. Though it didn’t last long. As soon as I finished telling Mom what had happened, as well as Illu, it was about time to try and save what we could of the camp and prepare the place for the night.

“Listen up everykirin!” I hopped on one of the carriages. “Tonight there will be no fights about the hierarchy, we can decide about that tomorrow! It is getting late, and our… my new subjects need to set up their tents from scratch. So first come first serve for tonight! Get yourself a spot and build up your tent or carriage or whatever!”

“Uhm, Fiery?” Bliz piped up and approached my claws.

“What is it?”

Bliz blushed slightly. “We didn’t pack any tents or sleeping bags.”

“You didn’t…?” I looked at her, bewildered.

“Well, yeah,” she rubbed over her leg ashamed. “Seems I was a bit over enthusiastic to reach you or any other azure kirin.”

I faceclawed. “Alright,” I raised my voice to the crowd again. “Since my new subject didn’t bring any camping gear, we will have to host them for tonight. Whoever has a place in their tent will share it! And remember, no dominance fights tonight! You will act like good hosts, and you,” I addressed the newcomers, “will act like good guests!”

“I am happy to share your tent with you,” Bliz threw in with a happy smile from her place by my claws. “Just like a pajama party!”

I raised a claw and was going to object when Nimble approached. Of course, his approach didn’t go unnoticed by Bliz, nor was her presence a secret for him. Like two cats, both of them started to hiss and present their fangs to each other.

“You will not share the tent with our lady!” he proclaimed, and gave her a challenging roar.

“That is not for you to decide!” She replied in kind, flaring her wings and raising her tail warningly.

Quickly, they both started to circle each other, seeking an opportunity to attack.

“Stop it you two!” I roared and jumped down from my carriage, between them. “I said no hierarchy fights today!”

“That's exactly why I object to her sleeping in your tent, Mylady,” Nimble replied growling at Bliz. “She is in no position to claim such an honor!”

“Nor are you allowed to hinder me at it!” she matched his growl with her own.

“It’s a bad idea to allow our azure’s to remain ignorant of their place in our merriment,” Roary mentioned. “Let them fight this out, or they will surely cause tensions to rise and trouble to shortly follow!”

I just waited, knowing that Calmly would add her two cents in a moment.

“We should pick Blizzard Silence as our second in command,” Calmly suggested after a second. “Nimble will leave in the morning anyway.”

“Favoritism will not make our merriment the strongest one, though, in this case, I agree.”

I was baffled. These two agreeing on something?

“Nimble,” I pointed with my claw at him,” you will be below Bliz in the hierarchy.” I was going to explain why to him, but Roary as well as Calmly advised against it.

“But, Mylady!” He sunk to the ground and whimpered, unhappy. “I am far wiser and older than her!”

I growled and he dropped his gaze to the ground.

“A great choice!” Bliz cheered and rushed to me, rubbing her head against my chest and purring loudly. “I will not let you down!”

“Of course not,” I confirmed and started to pat her head, causing her to wave her tail like a flag.

“Still, sleeping in my tent…”

“...will be the best thing ever!” Bliz completed my sentence. She then laid down, tilting her head and changing the tone of her purring to a requesting one.

I had to smile while I rolled my eyes. “Okay, fine.” I started to scratch her between the ears. “If my parents allow it, you can sleep in our tent. But you have to ask them.”

“Whatever you say,” she bubbled while drool began to drip from her mouth as she started to pant lightly.

“Wha… are you alright?” I asked while lifting my claw.

“I am fine,” she purred as she raised her head to make contact with my claw again, encouraging me to scratch her again.

“Are you sure? You look kind of…” I pulled my claw back and stepped aside when the realization hit. “Bliz!”

Slowly, her eyes lost their glassy expression and she made an unhappy sound.

“No way are you sleeping in our tent if you’re going to behave so, so… just like that!”

“I’m not doing anything.” She shook her head and rose to her hooves, trying to rub her head against me.

“I said stop it!” I pushed her head aside and shooed her a few steps away. “What's gotten into you?”

“I don’t know what you are talking about? It just feels sooo good to cuddle you!”

“That’s my job,” Illu commented, stepping between us.

At least he wasn’t mad at her, like he was with every other stallion who dared to try and do that.

“Get yourself a stallion to cuddle, Bliz,” he said jokingly. “This mare is mine.” Calm or not, he still laid a wing possessively on my back. Could be because Nimble was nearby though.

“Don’t you worry, Illu,” Bliz blinked at him. “I will not steal her from you, just, borrow.”

“All mine,” he replied and gave me a kiss on the cheek.

“Sharing is caaaaring,” Bliz purred.

I laid a claw on my face.

“Fiery?”

I moved my attention away from Bliz and towards Wind Root. “Hmm?”

“I wanted to wish you a good night,” he said before lowering his head while making a requesting purr.

Quickly, I stopped Illu from pushing forward to confront Wind Root for his action. “He just wants some head pats. And,” I stepped forward and gave a meaningful nod to Illu, “I can also use this opportunity to tell him no more courting.” Turning away from my batfriend, I addresed the kirin before me. “Wind Root, you shall not court me anymore, understood?”

He whimpered unhappy and tilted his head while wiggling his tail left and right ever so slightly.

“I said no.”

Wind Root scratched the ground uneasily while shifting from one side to the other where he stood. His whimpering intensified.

“No. More. Courting.”

In defeat, he dropped his head and began releasing a quiet, sad purr.

“See,” I said to Illu, “no need to worry about it anymore.”

Illu still kept a close eye on Wind Root, but it seemed that for the time being, he was happy.

I extended my claw to pat Wind Root, when suddenly, Nimble stormed between us and started to growl at him. For a second I was tempted to put Nimble in his place, but I had the feeling it wouldn’t be right. Thinking about it, Nimble was an azure after all, and thus him getting pat first only made sence.

And I was quickly proven correct in my assumptions. After Wind Root quickly stepped back, Nimble turned to me and lowered his head to recieve the pats Wind Root had been so eager to get.

“Mylady,” he said when my claw touched his head, “I wish you a good night and will retreat to my cart for tonight.”

I nodded and ruffled his mane, an action which elicited a purr from him. “Alright, with that being covered, time for us to get some sleep too.” I obviously meant Illu and Bliz, but before we could go to my family’s tent, one after another, members of my merriment began rushing closer, purring requestingly in hopes of getting some head pats too, starting with Wind Root.

“Well, seems you’ll have to stay up a moment longer,” Bliz said.

*

A good while later, when I caught sight of my sleeping spot, a few blankets and pillows on top of a sleeping mat on the right side of the main area of the tent, I came to realize how tired I was. It had been a long day after all, rising early in the morning, traveling for several hours, fighting Nimble, all capped off with my claiming of Bliz. And that wasn’t even considering the banter I’d had with my brother and Dad. I was really looking forward to some sleep and cuddling.

“Where do you think you’re going, young stallion?” Mom’s voice pulled me out of my cozy thoughts. Illu was just standing in the entrance to our tent when Mom caught up to him. “You can sleep in the carriage!” The growl that lingered below her voice was clearly audible.

“Mom!” My sleepiness nearly forgotten, I rushed over to them.

“No way are you sleeping anyway near my daughter tonight!”

Illu, now knowing what would happen if Mom really got angry, hastily stepped back. “I… well I just thought…”

“No! Don’t you dare!” Mom growled.

“Mom! Leave him alone!” I pushed myself between them. “Please,” I added a little bit late.

“No means no, Fiery!” Mom stomped a hoof. Behind her, Night and Kindling snuck into the tent, followed by Dad, who stopped next to Mom, watching the situation.

“Mom, Illu is my batfriend! He can sleep in our tent!”

“He can’t because he is your batfriend!” Her voice became deeper and the growl in her throat came closer to the surface. “I very much remember what you two had been doing last night!”

“But…”

“No! You,” Mom’s hoof pointed at me, “in our tent. You,” her hoof flicked towards Illu, “in our carriage. And don’t you dare come close to our tent tonight!”

“Mom!” I tried to growl at her, but wasn’t able to. Perhaps to my benefit, since Dad was still watching.

“Listen to your Mom, Fiery,” Dad added. He didn’t growl or anything. He didn’t need to.

“It’s okay, Fiery,” Illu said carefully. “I don’t want any further trouble with your mom.” He laid a hoof on my cheek and gave me a goodnight kiss. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

“No,” I tried to hold his hoof so he couldn’t go, but he gave me an apologetic smile and stepped back, towards the carriage.

“Dad!” I looked at him accusingly. “Do something!”

“I said no, Fiery,” Mom insisted.

Ignoring her, I approached Dad. “Dad!” I growled at him, knowing he was the only one able to overrule Mom.

“I share your opinion, but your Mom said no,” he replied.

“How would you react if someone forbid you from cuddling with Mom?”

“That is something quite a bit different,” Mom answered. I could read on Dad’s face though that he understood my point. “Your Dad and I are married and far older than you two.”

“That’s no reason not to allow me to cuddle with Illu!”

“It’s not the… “ Mom lowered her voice slightly, “cuddling I’m worried about.”

“But cuddling is what we want to do!”

“Not letting our daughter cuddle her batfriend is rather callous, Fluffy,” Dad seconded, rubbing his head against Mom’s back. “Cuddling is very important.”

“Don’t think I forgot your role in this either,” Mom held Dad’s gaze for a moment before turning to me again. “You can cuddle your Batfriend all day long on the carriage when we travel, now get in the tent.”

“No!”

Dad was quick to growl. Speaking up to mom was something he would not allow, nor was it something I would normally dare to do, but Illu was important!

“I want to cuddle with Illu!” I stomped a claw and growled challenging at Dad. “You wouldn’t act any different if it was about you cuddling Mom!”

“No, I wouldn’t. Still, you have to obey your Mom’s will,” he replied.

“But it makes no sense!” I yelled.

“Enough of this, Fiery!” Mom roared. “We will not argue about this!”

Once more, I tried to bring myself to growl, or even hiss at her, but wasn't able to. Well, if I couldn’t succeed with behaving like a dragon, it was time for stronger weapons! “I want to cuddle with my batfriend,” I mumbled silently and looked to the ground.

“Fiery…” Mom started, but I was faster, starting to sniffle loudly.

“Oh, don’t you dare!” Mom instantly knew what I was planning. She stretched a hoof out to hold me back, but I evaded and quickly started to sob.

“I want my Illu!” I pressed out, already sobbing, with my eyes beginning to get wet.

“You will not fake cry to force your will on us, Fiery!” Mom scolded me.

I increased my efforts anyway.

“Fiery, stop this!”

“I want my Illu!” Now I was ready and started to cry. Thick tears rolled down my cheeks and I supported my acting with gestures of despair. No one in their right mind would buy it, knowing this was all fake. However… for a dragon who was a father…

With a calming purring, Dad rushed to my side and started to lick over my head, trying to comfort his bornling. Logically, he very well knew what I was doing, but his pure instinct as a dragon dad left him no choice other than to care for his bornling.

“I want Illu,” I cried.

“Fiery, we all know you are faking this!” Mom yelled angrily.

Dad’s purring got louder as he laid a wing on me, doing what he could to comfort me.

“Big Softy!” Now Mom tried it from a different angle. “You know she is not really crying, she just wants to push her will on us!”

Lured by my crying, Nights head peeked out of the tent again. After just a moment of observing, he came over to purr at me as well.

“Not you too! Night back in the tent, and you,” she turned back to Dad who was already picking me up and placing me on his back. “Stop that! She is…”

She came no further. A warning growl from Dad reminded her that I and my brothers were one of the very, very few things that Dad would defend against even her if necessary. Maybe you remember the egg incident with Grünchen Dad told you about? Well, this was kind of a similar situation for Dad.

Under Dad’s purring and other acts of parenting and comforting, I mumbled that I wanted my Illu to cuddle over and over again, letting him know what needed to be done to make his bornling happy again.

It worked of course. After a short while, Dad stood up, walked over to our carriage, and picked up my surprised batfriend, dropping him on his back next to me. Before Illu could express his surprise about his behavior, Dad had already poked him with his snout into my waiting arms.

I made sure with happy purring that Dad knew he had done the right thing and his bornling was happy again. “Shh,” I laid a claw on Illu’s snout. “I will explain it to you later.”

On Dad’s back, under the grumpy eyes of my Mom, we made it into the tent.

“If you try anything funny tonight…” Mom hissed between gritted teeth. If a gaze could kill, Illu would have turned into dust on the spot.

“Don’t you worry Miss Do,” Bliz threw in as she entered the tent behind Mom. “I will keep a close eye on them for you.” Under her foreleg she carried a blanket, a pillow and on her back sat Sealgair, her pet kundeel, a meter long, multi-legged ferret with a head that looked like a fluffy little gecko. “I just saw your show, Fiery, well done!”

“Thanks, I guess.”

Without further delay, as soon as Illu and I climbed off Dad’s back and sat on my bed, she approached us and started to arrange her bedsheets.

“You brought Seagail with you?” When I turned around, the little kundeel jumped off Bliz’s back to approach and sniff at me, earning her some pets on her lizard-like head. “I thought this journey would be far too dangerous so I left Grünchen at home.”

“You know I can’t let her be on her own for long,” she smiled, “she would starve or set the whole town on fire while chasing some mice around.”

Satisfied with the attention she’d gotten from me, Seagail quickly rushed over to Illu, and from him to Night. With her ten legs and long body, she kind of looked like a giant furred noodle as she did so. Just so you know, Seagail, like most creatures, loves warm places to sleep. So my brother or Dad were very much to her liking.

“Come back here, you little do-no-good,” Bliz giggled, and when Seagail did while releasing loud happy chittering, Bliz picked her up and placed her back on her back. “Let us settle in and we’ll have a warm and cozy sleeping spot ourselves.”

I moved a bit to the side and snuggled more intimately against Illu to give Bliz some more space.

“There we go,” Bliz said, spreading her blanket out and snuggling up to me, laying her wing around my side, happily purring.

“Hey!” I protested.

“Hmm?”

I shifted her wing off of me as well as pushed her backward. “Would you mind giving me a little space?”

“Oh… if you wish…” She did as I requested but started to whimper sadly.

I let the back of my head drop to the ground and stared at the ceiling in frustration. “This can’t be true…” I mumbled to myself. “Arg, fine.” I squirmed a bit in my bed sheets and made sure a bit of the side of my belly was free from the blanket. “You can lay your head on my side if you want.”

Bliz didn’t need to be told twice. I’d barely ended my sentence before her head was already occupying the side of my belly. She purred in joy about being able to cuddle me. Meanwhile, Seagail wasted no time in securing her own sleeping spot, eventually finding a comfortable spot around her and my legs.

“I will never be able to sleep if she continues making so much noise,” Illu said after a moment.

I contorted my foreleg to grab Bliz’s snout. “Shh.”

The purring stopped.

In the meantime, the rest of my family had prepared their beddings, and it was time to say goodnight. Night was of course the first to gather his parental cuddles and walked over to Dad to rub his head against his chest, purring and getting some licks over his head and wounds. I was told that creatures not familiar with dragons have problems believing how much cuddling and displays of affection are shared between a dragon and his bornlings. Well, Mom could tell them, since as soon as Night was finished with cuddling Dad, his head found its way into Mom’s fluff and nearly tripped her over in the process. And when Mom opened her wings to steady herself, both Dad and Night snuck their heads below them to cuddle with her soft feathers.

Yes, Mom would never have to worry about Night growing out of the cuddle phase like Kindling had. Speaking of him, he neither wanted the good night kiss from Mom, nor was he really fond of the head rubs by Dad. He had learned to deal with them since Dad would make a huge fuss about it if he refused to let him purr at him. A dragon’s need to check on his bornlings was ingrained in them, and Dad wouldn’t be able to close an eye if he wasn’t sure my brothers and I were safe and well.

You can believe how much trouble that was for grandma and grandpa when we wanted to stay over the weekend without him and Mom, or worse, over the week. Dad was always clear about what would happen if one of us got hurt, and Mom told us that Dad was never able to really relax and was really boisterous when we weren’t around.

But enough of that, now it was my time to get parental attention.

“Goodnight Dad,” I said and raised my head to exchange a head rub. Dad then took a closer look at Illu and Bliz to see if all the ‘kids’ were well.

“Sleep well,” Mom added, giving me a smile before fixing Illu with her gaze for a moment. I could feel how uncomfortable he was as he sank deeper into my embrace.

Before I could react to that though, Kindling spoke up from across the tent. “No, you have your own bed. Go sleep there.”

Unhappy grumbling by Night followed.

When I peaked over, I saw that Night had jumped onto Kindlings bedsheets and had tried to cuddle up to him.

“I don’t want to cuddle,” Kindling insisted. “You used me as a napkin today!”

“I just wanted to cuddle you,” Night replied, trying to sneak his head under Kindlings wing or in his fluff.

“Night, leave your brother alone,” Mom ordered before he could succeed though.

Night’s head sprung around to her and he made a sound close to a whimper before jumping off of Kindlings bedsheets to make his way over to Dad, purring requestingly. I was pretty sure that he would have been able to convince Kindling to cuddle with him like they normally did, but Mom had been too quick.

“You know what your Mom would say to this,” Dad said and exchanged some cuddling with Night while purring.

“But we are not in the lair,” Night countered. “We are sleeping outside, and I don’t have my hoard with me either.” Then he got an idea and came over, purring questiongly at me.

“Sorry, Night, my bed is quite full already.” Normally, I wouldn’t mind him sleeping in my bed from time to time, but with Illu in it, my cuddle priorities were quite different. Also, I had not forgotten that he had stolen Autumn Blaze from me this morning…

Night whimpered unhappy and looked up to Dad.

Dad looked down at Mom but she shook her head.

“No,” he said, “but maybe your sister would be willing to share and let you have Blizzard to cuddle for tonight?”

I growled. Even if I was not so fond of having her sleep with her head on my belly, Night had already stolen one of my kirins from me today, so he wouldn’t get another one for free!

Night laid down on the ground and made unhappy bornling sounds, making Dad restless and uneasy. He swung his tail around, spread his wings and growled at no one in particular. Mom tried to calm him down, but it was pointless as long as Night was making such sounds next to him.

In the end, Dad had an idea. Quickly, he went out of the tent and was gone for several minutes, leaving Mom alone with Night to care for him. When he returned, he had Autumn Blaze grabbed by her mane in his snout along with what seemed to be her bed sheets. Under Mom’s accusing gaze, he dropped her onto Night's bed.

“Uhm, hello everyone,” she said. “Uhm, looks like I am going to sleep here tonight?” She threw an unsure look at Dad.

“Only if you want to,” Mom asserted before Dad could say something. She facehooved and sighed. “Night can’t sleep well under the current circumstances, and Big Softy seems to think that cuddling up next to you would help him.” Her tone became more accusitory towards Dad as she said this.

Night had no problem with adapting to the situation, and rushed over to purr at Autumn, welcoming her in our tent.

That was the moment I noticed Blitz's reaction to Autumn. Her ears had perked up and her tail had raised as well. Her face had also taken on this predatory expression.

It took me a moment to put two and two together. “Oh no,” I said quickly and pushed her head down. “Autumn belongs to my brother, she is not to be claimed.”

Bliz dropped her head back onto my side, but kept her gaze held longingly on Autumn with her ears stood erect.

“No,” I made clear once more and waited till Bliz returned to a relaxed position.

In the meantime, Autumn had started to rub over Night’s head, “Oh, uhm, well, if it helps, I’d be more than willing to help.”

Dad made a proud snort, sure that he had done the right thing again, while Mom just rolled her eyes.

“Fine,” she gave in. “Now let's get to sleep.”

“You can sleep the first half of the night, Fluffy,” Dad said. “I will take the first watch and wake you up for the second one.”

“What?” Mom lifted a hoof in confusion. “Why do you want to set up a watch? We are still near home and surrounded by Fiery’s merriment. There’s no need to set up a watch.”

“You never can be too careful,” he replied. “Her azure aura may attract other azure kirins. We must be prepared and careful.”

“Nonsense,” Mom waved off and tried to pull Dad to their bed. “Your sister will be out there for a few more hours anyway, watching everything. And all the kirins would alert us if something happened.”

“None of them would stop Fiery and Illu from sneaking out and doing something you wouldn’t be fond of,” Dad mentioned, seeking Mom’s gaze. “No Kirin would dare stand in her way, nor tell you. My sister also wouldn’t bother.”

Mom’s head sprung to me and then back to Dad. “A watch is a great idea!” she proclaimed. “I will take the first watch and you take the second one!” She gave Dad a kiss and stormed out of the tent.

Dad looked after her and purred in approval.

*

Author's Note

Artwork by Clarke Otterton
Edits by Schattendrache
Pre-reading: QueenChrysalisForever & Schattendrache