The Fall of Dragon Haven - A Dragonkeeper Fanfiction

The Mulberry Tree

Yara and Yulan were already at the shaman's when Anh returned.

"What happened to you?!" She exclaimed rubbing Anh's face. Anh winced as she did so near his eye. He could feel the swelling above his eyebrow where he had knocked his head with Tieze Senior's.

What happened! Lu Yu demanded.

Anh cleared his throat. "I, uhm. I bumped into Tieze Senior."

Yulan scoffed. "Told you he'd kill you."

Lao stifled a laugh. "Daddy kicked your ass?"

"I'm still standing, aren't I?" Anh said flatly.

Lao shrugged. "Welcome to the club."

"What club?"

"The 'You Messed Around With My Daughter And Now I Have to Kick your Ass Club.'"

Yara and Anh exchanged glances, both with the same thought on their minds. Only Lu Yu was brave enough to ask what everyone was thinking. Do I even want to know which lady this was?

Lao smirked and went back to focusing on an unrolled scroll between him and the dragons. Yara sat Anh down and rubbed his cheek with a wet cloth. Her rouse to come here under the guise of needing medical care had worked. Her cheek had been freshly cleaned, spare for the minor yellowing at the stitches.

"I'm sorry he hurt you." Yara said as she dabbed the cloth on his eyebrow. A cheeky grin grew over her face. "We're practically twins now."

Anh winked at her. The moment between them caused Yulan to dry retch. "Give it a rest." He said with his arms crossed. He was sat in the corner of the room, as far from the dragons as possible. From his demeanour, anyone would have thought it was he who was cut by a dragon the night before.

Lu Yu, Anh said. The purple dragon looked up from the scroll. Something incredible happened just now.

What was it?

When Tieze Senior and I were fighting, I created this kind of... shield around me. With qi. He shook his head, accidentally knocking Yara's hand from his face. I've never done that before.

Danzi lifted his great head from the scroll and turned to Lu Yu. He's already gaining new skills.

Lu Yu wiggled and made a happy chime. Gao Zi could do that too!

What else could Gao Zi do with his qi?

He was exceptional at using his qi to lift and throw heavy boulders.

Anh's shoulder slumped. That's it?

Lao interjected. Hey, with your toothpicks and broomsticks, the little extra push should be real handy.

Anh rolled his eyes. Lao had a point there, though Anh was hoping for something a little more exciting.

"What are you talking about?" Yara asked, looking between Anh and the dragons.

"Dragon Keeping skills." Anh said explaining that each pair developed unique skills. For Anh, that meant developing new traits with Lu Yu.

"Will your Second Sight change?" She asked.

Anh bit his lip. "I think it is already..."

"To what?"

"I used to know who was nearby at all times, even if I didn't know the person myself. But today I haven't been able to do that at all..."

Lu Yu thought on this for a while. Gao Zi was a good heart reader.

That would explain why Anh was able to read Yulan and Yara much more deeply this evening. There was an inkling of grief there, too. It was not an exceptional skill, but he would miss the quirks of what being Hei Lei's Dragon Keeper came with. Even if it was as mediocre as knowing who was around.