The Dragon Father

Chapter 4: The Three Punks

────── {Five Years Later} ──────

The day began as all days had on Tenrou, Acnologia rose with the sun to the smell of the ocean and the freshness of the island. He took a short walk, noting that the wild herd of boars had moved further inland and that the berry bushes Mavis usually pursued were growing bare - they'd have to switch to the brambles to the west side of the island again. 

Zera hated those. He'd tell them later... First came the usual routine. A small bath in the inland lake. A morning snack of the local lizard variety. Maybe a meditative moment atop a tree or a quiet practice in tracking. It was always good to keep his senses sharpened, especially after so long in passive uselessness. He'd recovered from his time spent aloft, his body growing back to its healthy size and proportions. The fatigue no longer clung to every sinew or pulled at his bones. It had taken a few years, but his strength had returned and a rigid training regiment had ensured that he hadn't lost too much strength despite his mourning period.

In the final rays of the morning, he ventured to the opposite end of the island to see what the two children were up to.

Mavis and Zera were in the library, surprising no one. Acnologia made sure Mavis had eaten and drank something in the past few hours, and answered a non-record of twenty-six questions before noon. The record was somewhere in the two-hundred's range. In all fairness that had been a very technically intense magic lesson. The average was a solid forty-nine questions pre-noon, and seventy post-noon.

It had become a record game between Zera and Acnologia who would compare notes at the end of the day, silently, as all things were between them. 

After checking in he'd gone out to his favorite sunning rock and blissfully tuned out the world, at least until Mavis finished whatever research session she'd been entranced with. Then, as per tradition, they joined him and the three sat in peace and meditated with the mana and the peace all around them. Usually, these sessions ended with a new question and this time was no different.

"What's that?" Mavis asked. That made twenty-seven. It was never a bad thing to ask questions, and Acnologia did not do it to scorn but to watch Mavis giggle as he and Zera notched another mental tick in their head.

Strange habits between stranger people. She didn't giggle this time, but then again, this was an odd question for the girl.

"What?" Acnologia asked from where he lounged in the sun, feeling just a bit more lizard than human for a moment. He sat up from his lovely rock and squinted into the blue horizon where something cut through the usual still slate of sea.

A ship. Acnologia stood for a moment, walking as far to the edge of the hill as he could before his eyes sharpened into their more draconic forms.

One ship. Only three sailors. Not a particularly impressive crew for the size of the vessel - but they were probably mages, or at the least skilled seafarers. Blondy, Tree-head, and High-Collar he deemed them for now based on appearances alone. He blinked and his pupils returned to normal, the glare of the sun off the waves dotting his vision.

"A ship of mages," he supplied. "Three humans by the look of it. We seem to be their destination."

"What do you think they want?" Mavis pondered aloud. Twenty-eight. He wondered if Zera had caught that one. The wind picked up and that was sign enough - she was talking to Mavis about something.

"Mmm, well thieves or not, we should definitely talk to them!" Mavis grinned, jumping up and down with exaggerated exuberance.

Acnologia sighed and glanced backward to Zera who was very obviously trying to dissuade her friend. Both of them knew that would be a fruitless endeavor once Mavis set her mind on something. They started back towards the library, Mavis ranting about humane interrogation techniques and critical contextualizing-culture something something something -