Defeating Dragons

Chapter 13 - Battle Prep

I get to Vaneesa and she starts checking me over. Then sends me to the bed to finish the check-up, getting me to drink a medical soup first. I do, then sit. I can feel my eyelids drooping before I even get the chance to ask her why I have to go to the bed first.

I wake up a long time later. Vaneesa is clearing her breakfast off the table.

"I was just about to wake you. There is some fruit and muesli type breaky for you. When you are finished, wash up and come down." I nod. And do so.

Downstairs, the three girls I am familiar with are there. Itotia smiles, "Good morning, Cody."

"Mornin' Itotia." She nods and goes back to what she is doing.

Akna smirks, but nods in greeting.

"Hi Akna," I say.

Cualli blushes, but looks slightly confused,"Mor-morning." She bows, still timid and all I see.

"Moring Cualli."

I yawn, before turning to Vaneesa, "What's going on?"

She chuckles, her elegance of colour coming out, "Well, Itotia gave me the scales of the Hatmehit fish, so we were set to clean them earlier this morning."

"Indeed, we have had our arms being stunk up in fish," Akna laughs and Cualli blushes even more.

I tilt my head.

Oh, Akna has a yellow stream of colour when she laughs.

"Don't tell him what happened," I vaguely hear Cualli whisper, as she clutches the clothes of Akna.

Akna shakes her head, responding, "Its fine. I won't. Promise," in a whisper back.

I just shrug my shoulders and turn to Itotia, she grins,

"You fell dead asleep yesterday. Cannot say I didn't feel the strain of constant water pressure on my body either, but you falling from sitting to laying on their bed funny was funny." She sounds like he has an accent in comparison to the other girls?

"Uh-huh. I didn't think I'd be that tired either." I scratch the back of my head.

"Pfft." Vanees rolls her eyes, "As soon as he was down, you were struggling not to yawn, unsuccessfully by the way, while you were laughing. You nearly tripped five times, just leaving this place."

Itotia shrugged, "Meh."

Yeah, I'm kind of sad that we aren't in the same school, we'd get along quite well. I stretch my arms and turn to Vaneesa,

"So, what to do today?" I ask

"Well, the fish scales have been sent off to Hadwin and the mess cleaned up, so now we wait."

I raise my eyebrows, "Really, you of all people have nothing for us to do.?"

She cackles up, hearty laughter. Yeh, there's a lot of elegant magenta ribbons spilling out everywhere.

"Ah, I love the responses of kids," she wipes the tears from her eyebrows. "So much more fun than adults. And more perceptive in certain things." She smiles a moment, nostalgia? or remorse?

"Yes, there are always things to do. Else I wouldn't have the girls here from so early."

The three girls nodded seriously. I knew it.

Vaneesa continues,

"There's always more potions to make. For now, we will make some goo and lightning potions." She smirks as she looks to me, waiti8ng. Akna looks to me and Cualli frowns as the necessity of potions means that she is unable to eat their meat. She would love to catch and defeat them all but gets a bit dispirited if it means not adding food to the table. (Despite her small size, she is a large eater, though most of the villagers are).