[rework] Minglings - Book 3 chapter 9: School's in session

"Azurill isn't the biggest of the cities, but because Lauruna is sleeping below it, there are more dragons here than in any other city," Emma said as she swam ahead of Jake.

Jake didn't reply, his eyes taking in the immense city around them. He just couldn't stop looking. There was something happening everywhere, from Kobolds that moved through the lower area rushing around in a busy frenzy to immense dragons that seemed to function as haulers.

For the first time since leaving Earth, he felt the awe and wonder he'd always had when moving through the cities back home.

Finally, civilization, he thought.

Deep down, he'd worried he'd have to get used to sleeping in caves or hovels.

High above, a twinkling barrier caused a soft light to filter down on the city below. Large, dimly-glowing coral growths extended across the barrier. He wasn't sure if they created the barrier or if they just grew across, but they were what provided light across the city.

"So where are you taking me?" he asked after a while.

Emma had been quietly swimming behind him, appearing happy that he was awed. Now she giggled and increased her pace.

"School," she said.

"Wait, what?" Jake frowned as he tried to shake the massive awe he was feeling. School? Why is she taking me to school?

Emma didn't answer but increased her pace, shooting forward so fast that Jake had no choice but to rush after her and wait for his answer.

As they got deeper, the city became denser and more chaotic. Sounds, muted and hollow due to the water, blurred together in a constant background noise. Massive coral growths, hollowed out and with crystal windows and beautifully carved doors, became more common. Some larger coral hollows were completely open on one side, and in one, Jake saw small dragons half his size, clasped or curled around flat-topped pillars. Kobolds swam between them, carrying massive fish or plates of what looked like vegetables.

Restaurants? Jake's eyes turned to saucers as he felt his mood skyrocket. The prospect of eating out seemed almost too good to be true. He wondered what the currency was here and decided he needed to ask Emma. No matter what happened, he wanted to eat out at least once.

The city turned into a massive maze, and Jake quickly got lost as he followed Emma. She seemed to know exactly where she had to go, and soon they were swimming through a long coral corridor that reminded him of a downtown street. Openings dotted each side of the skyscraper-high coral, and Kobolds and smaller dragons were swimming both around and above them.

Ahead of them was a large open area, and as Jake followed Emma out of the corridor and into the open, he stopped and gaped.

Separated from the rest of the city by a hundred feet of open water rose a massive coral growth that dwarfed those he'd seen before. It had dozens of openings in a long line from top to bottom. Those near the bottom were small, while the higher he looked, the wider and bigger the openings became. The top one was so big that Jake was sure that ten dragons of his size could swim side by side as they entered.

Weird... he thought as he focused on the others. Those at the bottom were obviously meant for kobolds, and the others for dragons. Was there some reason they hadn't just made them all large enough?

Emma was still swimming ahead of him, making a beeline for an entrance roughly a third of the way up the wall. Jake frowned as he followed her. He might be able to fit, but he would have to squeeze his wings close to his body, hold his breath and pray there weren't any turns. Looking up, he guessed the entrance five or six levels higher would be better suited for him.

"Emma!" he shouted, but Emma continued on without turning.

Afraid she would rush in and force him to follow, he focused, and his emotions became icy. A layer of frost formed around him, and a square plane of ice appeared a few meters ahead of Emma, who shouted in surprise. She made a supple roll to avoid it, then stopped, hovering in front of the ice. Jake swam forward until he was at the other side, dissipating the ice.

"Why did you do that?" Emma said, a confused look on her face.

"How do you expect me to enter there?" Jake said, pointing at the entrance behind her.

Emma's face twitched, and she shrugged. Jake saw the scales on her face darken slightly. "I forgot…" she muttered.

"I thought so. Can we go in over there?" Jake asked, pointing up.

"Not me- I am not allowed. Besides, every entrance is magically sealed and only allows entrance based on power. I am not sure which one you should take, but I guess you could try?" Emma muttered. She seemed to want to say more, hesitated, and finally sighed.

"Wait for a few minutes and then go inside. I'll be waiting for you on the other side," she said. Then she shot away, disappearing inside the opening.

"Which one…?" Jake shouted after her, feeling annoyed. He almost created another ice blockade, then held back.

Whatever, he thought.

With a flap of his tail, he shot up and checked the entrances. Five above the one Emma disappeared in, he reached one he was sure he could fit through without any trouble. Waiting for a bit, he looked around at the city sprawled out behind him.

Dozens of canyon-like paths led through the coral, crawling with Kobolds, Dragons, and small fish. The smattering of colors and glowing areas reminded him of neon signs in the cities back on Earth. Purple and yellow leaf-like growths grew on the bottom of one of the paths that continued further than he could see. Kobolds swam between them with massive baskets, snipping the purple leaves and gathering them.

I guess if I had to stay somewhere, this would be as good a place as any… he thought with a grin. Then he sighed, the air in front of his mouth swirling away. But first, I need to find Mason.

He turned around and examined the entrance. It led through a short tunnel and into a heavily lit, blue area, but he couldn't see much beyond that.

Right, let's see what this is all about, he thought as he sawm forward.

As he passed into the opening, he sensed a soft throb from his chest, but nothing worrisome. Then he entered an empty, spacious chamber. In the back of the room, three paths led away from it, and as he looked around, Emma came blasting through one.

"Jake, over here!" she yelled, and Jake grinned. She was even more excited now, and he wondered what she wanted to do. He had a sneaking suspicion but hoped it was something else.

"Emma, where are we going?" he asked when he reached Emma.

"You will see in a minute!" Emma said, turning around and swimming through the corridors.

Jake followed her through a massive maze of hallways. Many led to rooms, and inside he saw small dragons, some that would barely reach his knees. Had he been that small when he first changed? He didn't think so...

The rooms instantly reminded him of classrooms, with most having small dragons on one side and another, larger one in front of them. He heard soft, muttered explanations of things, then passed a few rooms where dragons were swimming after each other or wrestling.

A few minutes later, they reached a central room. It was filled with loud talking and chatter, and Jake sighed. Looking up, he couldn't see the ceiling. Small coral-like growths hovered in the water, attached to the walls by thick blue vines. Dragons of various sizes hung from them, and Emma was looking around, searching. Jake silently stared at the hundreds of Dragons, remembering how the Antracii had told him that the Dragons had gone extinct. It was obvious they had been wrong... very, very wrong.

"There they are!" Emma shouted as she swam forward.

Jake followed her up and to a side on which four dragons hung. Each was slightly bigger than Emma, and when they saw her head their way, they stopped talking. They were all blue but with distinctive green and purple markings.

Jake quietly observed them.

"Largin! Look! I told you I wasn't lying and making things up? This is Jake!" Emma said in an accusing voice as she confronted a dragon with a purple swath across its flanks.

Ah, crap, Jake thought as he realized he'd been half right. He'd expected Emma to want him to meet her new friends, but this seemed different. Had these guys bullied her? He hoped not.

"Little Mindmelted Emma... Did you bring some random weak-blooded from the lower reef?" the dragon said with a mock sigh.

Listening to its words and seeing the way it smirked, Jake knew he had guessed right.

"No!" Emma said, her voice raising. "You, I…before.." she was trying to get something across but seemed unable to formulate the words.

Largin and the other dragons stared at her and began laughing.

Jake's humor had long since vanished as he saw the frustration in Emma. He'd have preferred not to be put in this situation, but it was too late for that now. A few things he could do flashed through his mind, but he shoved them all away. If Mason had been here, he'd have probably just wrestled them all, but he wasn't Mason.

He took a deep breath, his mind growing cool and calculating, and balls of ice appeared in the water around him. Using his powers, he crushed them, scattering ice fragments everywhere.

The dragons had stopped laughing as soon as the first ice appeared and were now gaping at him.

Just like humans, Jake thought, wondering if all juvenile lifeforms had the tendency to act like this. Perhaps it was some law of nature?

"Emma, let's go. You shouldn't waste your valuable time on fools," he said, using his tail to try and pull Emma away. To his surprise, Emma easily dodged him and moved closer to the other dragons.

"See? Now you get to be lost for words! Everything I told you was true, and that makes you the Mindmelted!" she shouted.

The dragons didn't respond, still staring at Jake and the eyes with wide-eyed wonder.

Emma laughed and turned around, swimming to the entrance she had come from before.

Children, Jake thought as he shook his head.

He took a final look around and saw that all of the dragons, not just the bullies, were staring at him and the ice that drifted by.

Let's hope this doesn't get me into trouble, he thought before turning and swimming after Emma.

"So, that was what we came here for?" he asked, releasing his hold on the ice and feeling a wave of hilarity at the whole situation set in.

Emma didn't look at him but swam forward. "They made so much fun of me, saying I was making it up, dreaming it. It was horrible!"

Jake held back a soft laugh. He had no idea what had happened here, but compared to everything that had happened, it felt... silly. He didn't tell Emma, though. She obviously hadn't had a great time, and he wasn't really a good authority on bullying.

Mason and he had been friends for as long as he could remember, and nobody bullied Mason… ever. That had meant nobody bullied him, and neither he nor Mason enjoyed it the other way around either.

Lost in thought, he swam after Emma, absently looking around the tunnel. Dozens of openings led deeper inside, some immense.

I wonder if there are really dragons here that need those, he thought.

Emma sighed deeply, and he realized it wasn't the first time. Deciding he could reminisce and explore later, he focused his attention on Emma.

"Feel better now?" he asked.

"Yes- no… perhaps. I don't know!" Emma hissed and shook her whole body, her tail flailing around angrily.

Jake barely managed to hold back a snorted laughter.

"Perhaps we should go back to my room? Lady Talia might come back and find us missing," he finally managed.

"You're right..." Emma muttered, looking a little forlorn.

"Oh, I almost forgot," Jake said, deciding to distract her. He grinned widely. "I think I saw restaurants before? Before we go back, can we go eat in one? Or aren't we allowed?"

Emma blinked and perked up immediately. "That's a great idea! I still have enough Taznir stones left! Let me go get them from my cave! Wait here!"

She rushed away, leaving Jake to stare after her in stunned silence.

Taznir stones?

--

Mason swallowed. The thick oily taste of Etag was still there, and his mouth kept watering at the prospect of more. He wished he had found more than three of the large creatures so he could have eaten his fill instead of flying around hungry.

Still, finding three of the horned beasts so close to where they had been hiding had been a happy surprise.

He gazed down at the two bodies he was carrying, drool dripping down. Although their weight dragged him down, he could only hope it would be enough food for the wounded dragon. His stomach rumbled loudly, and he quickly turned his attention back forward.

The fissure wasn't too far now, and he began gliding down, circling a few times while scanning the surroundings. He had to make sure none of those blasted bats were following him. When all seemed safe he folded his wings and dropped down into the fissure.

He'd released a relieved sigh when he saw Baudron, only to blink in surprise when he realized something was going on. Baudron had his wings spread out while the female dragon stood with her back pressed against the wall, staring at him.

What is this fool doing now? Mason groaned.

He spread his wings as he reached them and dropped the two carcasses between Baudron and the other dragon. The air pressure from his descent blew Baudron backward from the ledge, and the Dragon let out a strangled cry of outrage as he was flung back.

Yeah, yeah, Mason grunted as he landed beside the two Etag.

He quickly scanned the female dragon to make sure she was alright. She was the first he had seen, and although objectively he knew she wasn't that different from him or Baudron, his instincts told him a different story. Her long, flexible neck had a sensual curve to it, and the yellow frills falling along her brown-scaled snout somehow made Mason's mouth go dry.

Seriously? He thought, trying to keep a clear head.

He pointed at the Etag.

"Those are for you, to help you heal."

A single big brown eye looked at him unblinkingly.

"Thank you," she said in a husky voice that confused Mason even more.

A rustle came from the side as Baudron landed beside him.

"Why did you push me off?" Baudron muttered, his eyes fixated on the quickly disappearing Etag.

"Why were you forcing her in a corner with your wings?" Mason countered.

"He wasn't trying to scare me!" the female dragon said, looking up from her meal. A long piece of meat dangled from her mouth. "Baudron was just showing me that his wings had healed!"

Mason blinked, then nodded. Her glare surprised him, and he was glad when she continued eating.

"You know her?" he asked Baudron, frowning at the other.

"No. But she seems to know me. Apparently, Maru was a slave in one of the towns I went to dig for Taznir stones," Baudron said.

"Yes, and that big lug never even so much as looked at me!" the female dragon grunted, ripping the last goat apart and trying to find slivers of meat. When she didn't find any, she tossed the carcass across the ledge.

"How did you get free?" Baudron asked, his eyes hungrily following the carcass as it plummeted down.

"Now you ask me," Maru muttered as she hungrily eyed the second Etag body.

Mason was curious about that too. With everything Baudron had told him, it didn't seem like a thing that happened often.

Maru turned from the body and looked at them, her eye gleaming. "It was incredible! A group of rebel drakes attacked the town, trying to free us!"

As she gazed into the distance, her eye glazed over as if she saw something. "I even saw the rebel queen!"

Mason frowned and turned to Baudron. "What is she talking about? I thought you said no drago- drakes came out of the Hounds Eye?"

Baudron shook his head, a dumbfounded look on his face. "I don't know. This is the first I've heard about it... All I know is that there were rumors of trouble near the furthest camps."

Mason frowned. They had been together for a while now, and this was the first time Baudron mentioned anything like that.

"Queen Sandra came to scare those hunters away! She was magnificent!" Maru shouted, a wide grin on her face. "She will make it so we will have a place where we can live free and without trouble!"

Mason almost choked as he stared at Maru. "Say that again?" he managed to say.

Maru looked at him in confusion. "She will create a place for all drakes to live-"

"Not that! Her name!" Mason snarled, causing both dragons to flinch.

"Queen Sandra?" Maru muttered.

Mason groaned and shook his head.

She is never going to stop bringing this up in the future, he thought.