The Celestial Way

Chapter 8.8 - Haven by the Way

After a while, the intercom chimed, and the door opened on its own. Veralla entered the room.

"Hey!" she said brightly. "What are you doing?"

Airo lifted his head in surprise. The room's light had been discreetly dimmed, probably by Zuckeroff. According to his power armor's HUD, hours had passed. "I am... playing games," he said, blinking away the confusion.

"Oh! Games! Can I play too?"

"If you want to," Airo said patiently, and the dragonet hrrr-ed in joy. He moved to free the seat but Veralla jumped and landed straight in his lap.

"How do you play?" she asked, standing on her hind legs and watching the screen eagerly.

Airo, shocked, struggled to find his voice. "You use these buttons, and..."

"I know, I know," the dragonet said impatiently. "Kiana showed me how to use all kinds of interfaces, even a keyboard, if I had to. I ask how do I win?"

Airo explained the rules of the game. The dragonet began to play. She clicked the keys clumsily with her claws, eyes narrowed at the flatscreen, forked tongue flicking out in concentration. Airo watched her in stunned silence, paying no heed as her absently swaying tail batted him on the head. She was heavy for her small form, weighing about as much as a well-built adult human. He noticed she had grown a little since her hatching, though her body was still rotund and puffy-looking. Her limbs had become a bit longer and her wings, though now tightly tucked against her back, were visibly more developed.

He was about to say something, when Veralla's sinuous neck curved and she turned her head to him. "Are there any games with dragons in them?" she asked.

Airo winced, but nodded. "There are." He had found one entry earlier during his play. "Search the index directory for Soukou Zmei."

She did, and loaded the game. The intro played, and then a dragon with a human on its back began flying through grand ruins amidst a vast ocean and endless skies.

"Why I cannot turn around?" Veralla asked, frantically pressing keys.

"The only way is forward," Airo said. "You must control both the rider and the dragon."

Veralla grabbed the aiming sphere. The human avatar onscreen lifted his enchanted cannon, shooting a stream of glowing bolts. Enemies exploded in brilliant clouds of multi-colored lights. Epic symphony and haunting chimes flowed from the speakers. Veralla hrrr-ed, enthralled.

Airo checked surreptitiously his heads-up display for historical data about the game. He stared at the display in awe. The game was one of the recovered infoclusters from the Codex. It had been made in the time of the Ancients, before the Cataclysm. More than thirty millennia ago.

And yet, perfection reigned immortal.

Veralla played for a long time. Airo sat there, pinned by her, watching her, thinking... thinking nothing. He felt eerily relaxed, despite the fact he was in physical contact with a dragon. Veralla struggled with the controls. Without realizing what he was doing, Airo bent forward, and put his hand on her foreclaw, steadying her aim. The music sang in harmonic resonance, the levels scrolled through dozens of magical vistas, dragon and human united in their quest for good prevailing over evil. Airo guided Veralla...

...why he called her by name?...

...and together they finished the game when the early light of pre-dawn paled onto the wall. Airo hadn't realized this room had a window.

"This was so beautiful," Veralla said in a small voice.

Airo was silent. His tired mind was still going through the ramifications of what had happened, when Veralla suddenly turned, peering intently at him, the tip of her snout inches away from his face.