FSE

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"Basajaun?"

The voice was far away to the sleeping dragon. It didn't sound urgent, so maybe a few more minutes of sleep--

"Basajaun."

As if reading his mind, the voice became more insistent. But he was so comfortable, and surely they wouldn't be too upset if--

"Wake up you great draconic tub of lard!"

A sudden impact to Basajaun's snout instantly roused the drake to wakefulness. "Who the hell--?" he began to demand, until the dragon spotted a snowy owl wielding a cane with a decidedly impatient look on her face. "Er, I mean, good morning, Elder Eszes," Basajaun quickly corrected himself, giving the owl a sheepishly apologetic look.

Putting a talon to her beak, Esmeralda gave the dragon a painfully potent glower. "You ought to have better manners at your age," the Elder stated, tapping her cane with a talon as she indicated the leopard that still slept in his bed.

"Um, sorry?" Basajaun apologized quietly, before attempting to roll over and stand. The action ended with the reptile flopping back into his original position as his body rocked fluidly back and forth. Realizing the cause, Basajaun blushed deeply as he looked down at himself, nearly another half a foot of flab having developed mostly around his belly overnight.

A sudden prod in the gut with a cane brought the drake's attention back to the Elder. "Enjoyed yourself last night, I see," Esmeralda observed, a smirk curling her beak.

Basajaun chuckled shyly. "Yes, well, you know me," the dragon said in a hushed tone, covering for the friend that he saw resting peacefully on the bed provided, "I can't resist a good celebratory feast!"

"That's actually what I came here about," Esmeralda stated, "The townspeople missed getting to celebrate with you two yesterday, so they're waiting for you to come and join them for a second round of festivities." Indicating Zachary, the owl continued, "It isn't anything strenuous, so he's okay to join when he wakes up. Just let him know that we're waiting for him when he awakens."

Moving to the stable doors, the Elder turned back to Basajaun with a cheeky grin. "Before that, though, you should probably see if you can still get up, fatty!" with that parting remark, the owl exited the dragon's field of view.

His pride somewhat wounded by the comment, Basajaun immediately braced himself against the tables he still lay next to, heaving himself upright at the wooden frames groaned from the sudden weight.

"Maybe we should slow down a bit with these feeding sessions," Basajaun mumbled to himself as he felt around his now greatly rounded form, before looking over to the sleeping leopard. Dismissing the notion, the drake smiled as he anticipated his friend's reaction to Basajaun's newfound adiposity, moving to settle himself next to Zachary's bed and feeling his middle spread out across the floor as he did so.

"Just let my son live!"

Zachary slowly opened his eyes, groaning in discomfort as his bad arm was lying in a very uncomfortable and painful position. Sitting up with an annoyed huff, the leopard glared at his arm with a foggy gaze, almost growling towards his injured limb as if it were an enemy of some sort.

Glancing around himself with partially opened eyes, the feline's gaze soon settled on something very familiar. He didn't need clear vision to identify the green mass as it lay next to him on the ground. "G'morning, Basa." The leopard greeted before his muzzle broke into a yawn, his long tongue curling out in the process.

Reaching with his good arm towards the dragon, Zachary blinked a couple of times and shook his head as he felt around the dragon's side. "Well, I suppose we succeeded in making that bed more comfortable." The feline chuckled as his vision finally became crystal clear. Pinching the supple fat from the reptile's side, Zachary couldn't believe just how deep and soft the dragon's flesh had gotten over a single night. He glanced at his belly for a second, seeing it splay out on the ground as the dragon lay in a relaxed position. That definitely couldn't be blamed on a full stomach anymore.

"Good morning to you, too," Basajaun greeted, rising to his feet as the leopard felt his side. "What do you think?" the dragon asked, turning once before striking a broad pose with his side facing Zachary, "How's it look?"

"I don't want to sleep on anything else than that from now on!" The leopard pointed a paw at the dragon's belly as it hung lower than ever before, jiggling lightly with every little move the massive reptile made, "You look like a predator who has achieved quite a bit of heft from being a successful hunter." Zachary winked, examining further the changes.

If Basajaun was considered somewhat chubby just some days ago, he was outright plump now. His shoulders, neck, back, legs, and even his tail had become wider and substantially pudgier. Still, the main attraction was the dragon's midsection as it sagged downwards in defeat to the pull of gravity. The sight was a bliss to behold, at least, in the leopard's eyes as they restlessly scanned both the subtle and non-subtle changes on the dragon's steadily expanding body.

The feline's complements made Basajaun's chest swell more than usual. "I'm glad you like it!" the dragon stated, before laying back down beside his friend, "Esmeralda says that the town's waiting for us, by the way. Something about a thank-you celebration for us. She said it would be fine for you to attend.

Basajaun sighed, giving Zachary a look of concern. "Just take it slow, alright?" the dragon requested, "You can ride on my back if walking is too strenuous. I don't want you hurting yourself."

The leopard nodded with a warm smile, feeling a sense of warmness flow through his body upon hearing the dragon's words. He never knew what it was to be liked by others, with the exception of Basajaun of course, until the people of Plainstead showed him what that was truly like. The desire to experience more of that was able to urge the young anthro to get out of the comfort of his bed.

"Don't worry," Zachary began, sitting up rather quickly despite his current state of health, "I'll be okay, thank you." He patted the dragon's neck with a warm smile, getting to his feet. Feeling his weak ribs cry out in protest at the action, the injured anthro let out a quiet hiss, waiting for a second for the pain to subside. Once feeling better, he stood up straight once more, giving a thumb's up over his head to the reptile who still lay behind him on the ground.

"Alright, we can go. Just try to catch me if I fall, will ya?" He said with a chuckle, slowly and carefully making his way towards the stable's door.

Seeing his closest friend struggle to walk filled Basajaun with the desire to pluck up the leopard and place him on the reptile's back, whether he wanted to walk or not. Resisting the urge, the dragon instead simply kept himself as close as possible to Zachary, ready to catch him the instant the feline looked like he might lose his footing.

With slow deliberation, the pair eventually neared the marketplace, where the guards from yesterday tensed at seeing the dragon once more. "Oh, don't get your armor in a bundle," the dragon heard Esmeralda's voice scolding the guards as she emerged from the crowd, gesturing to the slowly moving pair welcomingly.

Glancing at the guards around him with a somewhat hesitant expression, Zachary forced himself to simply walk past them while remaining silent.

"Good... Er... morning everyone?" Zachary greeted with a nervous chuckle as he neared the massive crowd in front of him, seeing anthros with a wide smile on their faces in every possible direction. Most of them looked quite tired, though, possibly recovering from yesterday's drunken celebration as their baggy eyes fixated on Zachary and Basajaun.

"This feels awfully similar to what happened the first time we walked into Plainstead with Basa." The leopard remarked, his ever present joyful comments seeming to have survived his near-death experience as well.

A chorus of enthusiastic greetings responded to Zachary's own. "We have a surprise for you two today," Esmeralda reported, "The guards would like to reinstate themselves in the guardhouse in town, so the one in the woods is going to be basically abandoned."

"But, with you being a forest dragon, Basajaun," the Elder continued, "We came to the agreement that if you were looking for someplace more homey than an empty stable, then perhaps you two would like to take up residence in the forest guardhouse."

Basajaun resisted the urge to immediately shout yes as vehemently as he could, instead turning to Zachary. "That would mean living farther from the town, though," the dragon pointed out, trying to keep his eagerness to accept in check, "I wouldn't want that if you didn't, Zach."

Waving his good paw dismissively, Zachary turned towards Basajaun with a warm smile. "I have absolutely nothing against that, Basa. I'd rather live close to nature than in any town, honestly," The leopard turned back to the crowd, giving a sheepish grin and quickly added, "No offense!"

Glancing down at Esmeralda, Zachary bid his head to the owl. "We'll take it, Elder Eszes. Thank you kindly." He almost gave a low bow, but was quickly discouraged to do so as he could feel his rib bones protesting against the motion.

With the need to withhold his enthusiasm gone, Basajaun nodded vigorously. "Thank you very much, Elder Eszes!" the dragon said sincerely, a wide grin on his face. The action seemed to amuse some of the guards, catching others by surprise.

"Yes, he's a gentle sweetheart," Esmeralda rolled her eyes at the reactions of the guards, "Honestly, you'd think they didn't believe that dragons had feelings before they saw you." Giving the pair a wink, Esmeralda continued, "Well, with the issue of the forest guardhouse out of the way, I think there are many people here that have gifts for you two, and for your new home, as well."

Zachary raised an eyebrow, holding up his finger to ask something before the crowd advanced on him, burying and enveloping him in the middle of a circle full of people.

"Basa! Help!" The leopard shrieked from the sea of anthros as they surrounded him, and although his initial pleading might have sounded a real cry for help, the laugh that followed soon sure wasn't.

The anthros of Plainstead expressed their gratitude to the leopard with thankful words, gifts of all sorts and firm handshakes. Fortunately, nobody attempted to reach for Zachary's bad arm during the process, which was a big relief to the injured leopard as the grateful bunch continued their seemingly endless assault on the utterly overwhelmed and happy leopard.

Virtually in the same situation, Basajaun found himself on the receiving end of far more attention than he was used to. The dragon was given a plethora of pats on the head in place of handshakes, as well as acquiring a not insignificant pile of housewarming gifts to go along with the pair's new home. As the older anthros finished with Basajaun, the town's children came to give their thanks in the form of invitations to play, which he had to turn down at the moment, and small cloth toy gifts, which he accepted with sincere gratitude.

At first overwhelmed, Basajaun's smile steadily grew wider as he was given thanks. The dragon, who had been so alone for decades, felt his heart warming with the loving attention he received from the town. Soon Basajaun found himself struggling to hold back the joyful tears that brimmed in his eyes, having to excuse himself to the edge of town in order to collect himself.

Watching his friend continue to be thanked and rewarded, Basajaun smiled. They were accepted here, and though it had been so for nearly a week, the dragon could only feel pure joy at the thought each time it came to him.

Zachary continued to be showered by love, relishing the experience as much as he could until it lasted. Eventually, the crowd grew smaller, and groups of anthros started forming on the busy marketplace. Once the last person finished with his thanks, Zachary waved his paw at the crowd, eliciting a joyous cheer from them.

Holding his numb left paw in the air from way too many firm handshakes, Zachary quickly spotted Basajaun not too far away on the edge of the market. He glanced behind him, smiling as the crowd began discussing the events of the past few days, laughing between each other in happiness. There was something about the scene that tightened the feline's throat, and he had to look away to suppress his bubbling emotions.

"Too much at once, huh?" the leopard asked with a warm smile as he neared his friend, gesturing at the anthros behind him, "I've never seen so many happy faces at once... it feels good." Patting the dragon's side with his paw, Zachary gave his friend a few gentle strokes as he stared at the serene scene.

Basajaun nodded. "I still haven't gotten used to being around so many people," he admitted, though he smiled as he did, "I can't imagine what it's like in a big city. I'd probably faint from culture shock!" Chuckling a bit, the dragon looked out to the people, simply enjoying the scene for a while. The drake's tail was wrapped loosely around the gifts he had received, ranging from stuffed animals to furniture for their new home.

After a while, Basajaun looked down to Zachary. "What's the guardhouse like?" he asked, "I haven't seen it yet."

The leopard shrugged. "From what I've seen from outside, it looked like a perfect place to live in the middle of the woods. It's quite sturdy, and was built in mind to withstand heavy weather and even possible attacks." Zachary explained, his tone decreasing to a lower volume as he continued.

"I don't know what it looks inside, though. After the... incident with Izom, I couldn't really go check it out. Boris told me to stay put until he was finished, then picked me up... everything after that is kinda hazy." shaking his head to clear the unpleasant thoughts from his mind, Zachary smiled up at Basajaun, "But you'll like it around there, I know you will. Those woodlands are beautiful, and it doesn't look like it's too small either, so there's more than enough room for hunting."

Basajaun gave an eager grin. "I can't wait to see it, then!" he said enthusiastically, his tail gripping the gifts a little tighter, "Perhaps I can do a bit of remodeling under the house; I do prefer living underground, after all. And what about you? What do you want our home to be?"

Zachary smiled warmly when the dragon called it 'their' home, putting his good paw on Basajaun's side gingerly. "As long as I have my bed,' Patting the reptile's pudgy abdomen, the leopard winked at his friend, "I'm fine with anything, really. But we'll figure things out once we're settled in, alright?"

He looked back at the crowd for a moment with an uncertain expression, then back at Basajaun. "Speaking of settling in, when do you think we should leave?"

Basajaun shrugged. "I think everyone's done thanking us," he said, looking around to be sure, "So I'm ready when you are."

"Surely you wouldn't leave without saying goodbye," the Elder's voice said from behind the pair, startling Basajaun into jumping to his feet.

Turning around, the reptile looked Esmeralda directly in the eyes. "How do you do that?" the dragon demanded, finding his inability to hear or smell the owl coming increasingly annoying.

"A lady must keep an air of mystery about her, don't you think?" the owl replied with a wink.

Zachary chuckled, waving a paw at the owl. "You seem to have more mystery about you than necessary, Esmeralda. But I'm not complainin', it proved to be very useful in saving lives."

Pointing at the gifts Zachary had received, the leopard turned to Basajaun. "I'm ready to go, Basa. But... could I ask you to carry those for me, please? I don't think I'm in a condition to do that myself at the moment."

Once again focusing his attention to the owl in front of him, the leopard extended his good paw, smiling widely at the old woman. "We'll meet soon enough, Elder Eszes, I'm sure of it. Until then, goodbye."

Taking the leopard's hand, Esmeralda gave him a smile. "Oh, before you go, Zachary," the owl said, concentrating for a moment, "Now that I've had some rest; Ossa Sanare!"

A spark traveled from the Elder's talons, up Zachary's left arm, and sank into the feline's right arm, setting the bones and causing them to knit slightly. "You can consider that my gift to you," Esmeralda stated tiredly as she released the leopard's hand, turning on her heel to depart, "Do take care, you two!"

The 'gift' almost caused to leopard to simply collapse on the ground as his bones moved inside his arm. He gritted his teeth as much as he could while the healing was in process, standing his ground. Esmeralda was long gone by the time the pain subsided. Opening his eyes, the feline realized that only Basajaun was there with him.

"T-thank you?" The leopard said confusedly to no one in particular as he glanced around him. Deciding that there were enough mysteries involved with the witch, he turned towards Basajaun.

"So, ready to go?" Zachary smiled warmly, testing his right arm. To his surprise, he could actually move it! It was still a little sore, and wasn't as responsive as it used to, but he could safely remove the holders now. And he did just that, sighing in relief as he flexed his right arm and laughed at the feeling.

"You'd think she could at least give you a warning," Basajaun grumbled, glaring after the Elder for a moment before turning back to the leopard, "Yeah, I'm ready to go." Taking the plethora of gifts he had been given, the dragon secured the heavier ones to his saddle, before looking to Zachary, "Would you still like to walk? I can carry you if you start getting tired."

"I think I could use a ride, thank you." Zachary replied with a smile, getting on the dragon's back. As he climbed, he favoured his left arm for pulling himself up, still afraid to put too much strain on the right one. The two then moved to the leopard's gifts, which varied on just as wide of a spectrum than the dragon's. After they had secured them, the pair bid a final goodbye to the anthros, who returned the gesture with a loud cheer.

Soon, the two friends were walking, or more accurately Basajaun was walking and Zachary sitting, through the long grass. The woodlands wasn't located too far away from Plainstead, but with the carriage on the dragon's back, their progress was a little slower.

Pulling his lute from the pile of things, the leopard decided to kill the time by playing some simple melodies on his favourite instrument, just like he had been doing when they stumbled upon the town of Plainstead. Hopefully, there weren't such surprises in store for them until they reached the guardhouse.

Looking around the grasslands, Basajaun greatly looked forward to seeing trees again. The forest dragon could soon smell the arboreal scents as they drew nearer, and a new kick developed in his step as he moved, nearly dancing along with Zach's lute.

Finally, after several minutes of walking, the pair exited the grasslands and came to the edge of the forest. "Trees..." Basajaun sighed euphorically, having to resist the temptation to run to the nearest plant in question and embrace it.

"You can have a look around later, Basa. First we should get to the guardhouse and pack off from you. How's that sound?" Zachary asked with a warm smile, putting his lute aside and patting the dragon's fleshy side.

"We could go explore a little once we are done with that." He proposed, gesturing to the pile of things behind them in question. Surely Basajaun wouldn't want to run around with so many gifts to weigh him down. He had enough natural heft to deal with now, anyway.

Nodding eagerly, the dragon didn't waste time on words as he quickly moved into the woodlands, hastily following the path to the guardhouse. Soon enough, the empty building came into view, seeming to the dragon like a small castle.

"It's... a little big for two people, don't you think?" Basajaun mused aloud, tilting his head as he looked at the building for a moment, before turning back to Zachary, "Not that that's a bad thing!"

Zachary nodded as he examined the building's size as well. "Yeah, it is. But at least you can fit in as well! That is... if we widen the doors for you." The leopard remarked with a chuckle, getting off from the dragon's back and walking the rest of the way on foot.

Nearing the guardhouse, the feline put a paw on the old, worn walls. Despite looking like it had been built a long time ago, their new home was in really good condition. Hopefully the same could be said about the insides, otherwise they would have to do some renovating.

Moving around the outside of the building for a moment, Basajaun found a larger entrance in the back that he assumed was for horses and mounted units. "Looks like we won't need to widen the doors for a while; there's a bigger entryway back here!" the dragon called out, "I'm going to go inside and have a look around."

"Alright! Pack down our stuff while you're at it!" The leopard replied from the other side, walking towards the door where they had confronted Izom. He shivered at the memory, and shook his head to remove the unpleasant thoughts from his mind. The wooden door creaked painfully as it was opened, leaving Zachary gritting his teeth until the annoying sound ended.

Entering the guardhouse, he was greeted with a large main hall of some sort. The whole room was cleaned out of any kind of furniture, probably by the hands of the guards when they left the place. Four entrances, two on each side, led to other rooms, and a fifth much bigger one was just facing Zachary as he continued walking through the hall. It was rather dark, given the lack of windows.

"We're going to need a lot of torches..." The leopard mumbled under his breath, peering through the blackness. Fortunately, his feline instincts soon kicked in, and his eyes adjusted to the room. Now able to take in his surroundings properly, Zachary decided to examine further.

Checking the four sub-rooms first, the leopard gave a mental note to each one, naming them for the future. There were two sleeping chambers, each almost as large as the main hall, a primitive kitchen of some sort, and another one which was most likely used as a storage room. Smiling as he explored the guardhouse, the leopard felt like they could make this place into a really cozy home with his dragon friend. And with the building in almost perfect condition, there wouldn't be too much work involved with it either.

"Basa, this place is perfect!" The leopard shouted after finishing with the examination of the last room, turning towards the larger entrance where probably the dragon was currently at.

Coming into the main chamber, Basajaun nodded, though he had to lower his head slightly to keep from running it into the ceiling. "It just needs a few adjustments," the dragon stated, indicating the ceiling, "But I definitely think we can make this work."

Looking around, Basajaun also noticed the dark atmosphere. "This place needs windows," the drake stated, before noticing a trapdoor in the main chamber that was too small for the dragon to fit through.

"Do you suppose this leads downstairs?" the dragon asked, indicating the door in the ground.

"Only one way to find out!" Zachary replied, opening the wooden trapdoor. A ladder led down to what looked like the guardhouses prison chambers. The iron bars and small cells were an obvious proof of that.

Pulling his head out, the leopard shivered, his body trembling at the sight. "It's a... prison." The leopard informed with a quiet voice, closing his eyes for a moment to calm himself. He knew he shouldn't act like this from seeing an empty and abandoned lockup, but there were too many bad memories about them. Long nights spent in total darkness in a quiet cell, completely alone with no hope for escape, curled up in a ball on a damp mattress and without any means of nourishment in sight; not the best way to spend one's time.

Seeing Zachary's reaction, Basajaun quickly moved to his side and put a claw on the leopard's shoulder. "Hey, you're not going to be locked up anymore," the dragon assured his friend, giving him a warm smile, "I promise."

Snapping out of his near panic attack from the dragon's words, the leopard looked up at Basajaun with the most appreciative expression on his face. "Thank you... I needed that." Zachary admitted with a small smile, giving a gentle stroke on the dragon's scaled arm.

"So," he began, sighing and standing up, "I guess we could check out outside too. Let's see if we can find something interesting in these woodlands." Zachary proposed, walking towards the larger entrance to exit the guardhouse and hopefully get his mind off of the blasted trap door and what's beneath it.

Looking down the trapdoor for a moment, Basajaun followed the leopard out of the guardhouse after removing his saddle and everything attached to it. Moving after Zachary, the dragon looked out to the forest around them with a wide grin. "Now this feels like home!" Basajaun insisted to no one in particular, smiling down to his friend, "I can't even begin to say how much I've missed trees!"

Zachary let out a quiet chuckle, patting Basajaun's soft side with his paw. "I know you have, Basa. I'm glad we are back in the woods, long grass just doesn't do it for me I suppose." The leopard replied, glancing around them to look at the numerous trees that surrounded the pair.

"Hopefully there are a lot of animals here as well. This looks like a peaceful place, let's hope that the guards haven't driven the wildlife away." Zachary mused, spotting a large clearing in the distance and changing directions to check it out.

Busy admiring the trees, Basajaun almost hadn't noticed his friend's change of course. "Hey, try not to wander too far from me," the dragon said in an almost mothering tone as he caught up to Zachary, "You're in no condition to be caught off guard out here, and there could be wolves or other predators, so be careful."

"Yes, Mister Basajaun." Zachary said in a mocking tone, grabbing to hold on the dragon's wing with his paw as he continued walking at a fast pace towards the clearing. As the pair neared the place, the leopard's nose caught something in the air, forcing him to stop.

"A scent." he informed the dragon behind him with a whisper, crouching low to be harder to spot, "Can you identify what kind of animal it belongs to?"

Sniffing the air for a moment, Basajaun smiled when he found that he hadn't lost his predator's senses during his stay in civilization. "Family of boars," the dragon stated, looking down to Zachary, "Feel like pork for lunch?"

Zachary nodded with a wide grin, reaching for his bow, but he grabbed the air on his back. Glancing behind him in disbelief, he looked back at Basajaun with a sheepish smile. "Woops... forgot my bow. Would you be so kind to...?" He pointed in the general direction of the scent with a pleading expression, fluttering his eyes while he stared at the dragon.

Giving the feline a pat on the head, Basajaun motioned for him to stay put before moving off into the trees and disappearing.

Several minutes later, the dragon returned carrying a limp boar hooked onto his spines. "Think we should cook this up now, or catch a few more?" Basajaun inquired, "There are plenty of these boar around, though I've yet to catch scent of any deer. The guards probably hunted those out a while ago."

Zachary acknowledged the statement with a nod, then looked at Basajaun with a playful smile. "Depends," pointing at the single boar on the dragon's back, the feline winked at his friend, "How hungry are you? That catch is more than enough for me, but I don't think the same could be said in your case." He gave the tubby reptile a few encouraging pats on his side, feeling the softness beneath his paw.

Basajaun considered for a moment. "I think we have some work to do today before you go pinning me with my own gut, don't you think?" the dragon stated, though his expression was one of mild disappointment, "Perhaps later for dinner you could do so, though."

Giving the feline a pat on the head, Basajaun looked back towards the direction of their new home. "That'll give us some motivation to do the work to get settled in, hm?" he said with a smile.

Zachary shrugged innocently. "I was only askin'!" He said with a wink, then turned around to start making his way back towards their new home, Basajaun following behind him with his catch.

Soon the pair was back at the guardhouse, somewhat refreshed by the little trip in the new and unknown forest area. "So," the leopard began as they neared the entrance, "Let's have lunch first, and then start with the work. Where do you want to start the fire?" He asked, his gaze shifting between the entrance of the building and outside.

"Well, since we actually have a kitchen now," the dragon said as he followed Zachary into the guardhouse, indicating the room in question, "Don't you think it'd be appropriate to cook food in there?"

Nodding, the leopard made his way in said room. After gathering some leftover branches from around the stove, Zachary started a fire in a few moments, its orange flames grabbing at the oxygen hungrily as they danced.

"Alright," he said, clapping his paws together, "Fire's ready. I think you can fit the whole boar inside of this thing, it was built to be able to cook large amounts of food for a whole platoon of soldiers." The leopard explained as he exited the kitchen and retrieved some of their older berries from one of the sacks.

"Here, I know you like the purple ones." Holding the greenery in his paws, he gave his friend a warm smile, waiting for him to take the only form of way to enrich their meals. Hopefully they could find more berries in the future as the days passed, otherwise their feasts would become rather dull after a while.

Basajaun suddenly remembered something, his face lighting up. "Oh, one of the gifts I received was a collection of assorted herbs and spices," the dragon stated, moving to his saddle and removing the bag in question, "Rosy gave it to me, along with one of her old cookbooks. Why don't we try finding a new way to cook pork?"

Zachary's curiosity was immediately piqued at the dragon's words, and he nodded eagerly while putting the now boring purple berries aside. "Rosy, you're amazing!" he said with a chuckle, looking through the contents of the bag with his head disappearing in it.

After a while of searching he resurfaced from the depths of the bag, inhaling loudly as he presented his catch. "Found the book!" he announced, giving possibly the most suitable gift they had gotten to the dragon before diving once more to search through the assortment of seasoning.

Looking at the book in Zachary's hand, the dragon regarded the letters on the cover curiously. "You did learn how to read, yes?" Basajaun asked, unsure if they would be able to use the gift at all.

"Yes!" Came the muffled answer from Zachary as his head was still buried in the bag. After a few moments, he extracted himself from his new cozy hat and looked at the dragon with a smile.

"There was an old anthro I knew from the streets, Merek, who taught me the basics. He also gave me some books about fairy tales to practice, and I was able to smuggle them with me when I was locked up in prison. I had all the time there to learn reading." The leopard explained, his expression increasingly becoming more and more sour as he spoke.

"Merek disappeared just like the chef, although I had some time to get to know him... He used to be a librarian before he became homeless, that's why he could read. He didn't talk much, but when he did his words were always kind and wise despite our situation." Zachary looked away for a moment, then back at Basajaun with a small smile. "He was the closest thing to a 'friend' I had before I met you."

Hesitating for a moment, Basajaun tapped the book. "Do you think... you could teach me?" the dragon asked, "I'd like to be able to use this, as well."

Zachary raised an eyebrow, looking at the book with an unsure expression. "Well... I suppose I could give it a try. I'm no teacher, but I think if I showed you the letters, you could learn how to read pretty fast." He replied, smiling a little as he added, "You said you had a good memory, after all. Learning and recognizing some symbols shouldn't be a problem for you, right?"

"Of course," the dragon said, "I just never had the opportunity to learn reading, before." Moving into the kitchen, Basajaun looked around, getting acquainted with the space.

"Since you're going to have the recipe," the dragon began, "You'll have to instruct me if I'm going to help you cook."

Zachary could only nod, his eyes already searching through the recipes. He quickly found the section where pork was the main ingredient of a meal, and chose something that looked simple enough to make for the pair.

"This," he put a finger on the recipe's name, looking up at Basajaun with a smile, "Cormarye. Easy enough to make, and takes very little time as well." He then buried his snout in the letters once again, walking subconsciously around the kitchen as he murmured something under his breath.

"Basa," Zachary said, his eyes never leaving the cookbook, "Grab some coriander, caraway, pepper and salt..." he paused for a second, then quickly added, "Oh, and some garlic as well!"

Basajaun made to do as the leopard, when he suddenly realised, "I don't know what any of those things are, except the salt." Bringing the bags of spices to Zachary, the dragon gave him an apologetic expression as he sat himself next to the leopard, looking cluelessly at the labels that adorned the ingredients.

Zachary looked up from the book and glanced at his friend, giving him a pat on his head. "Don't worry, here," The leopard said, pulling some coriander out of the bag and held it next to the book. "This cookbook is really well made, it has pictures of all the ingredients listed so you know which is which." He explained, pointing at the picture depicting a coriander and then waved said plant in his paw in front of the dragon's snout.

"Once you learn how to read, it will be a lot easier. But I'll help you with it, so don't sweat it, Basa." Putting the book down on the ground and sitting next to it, the leopard pulled the bag closer to him, picking the ingredients out one by one while looking at the pictures to identify them. "I'd be pretty lost as well if it wasn't for these depictions."

Looking to the book and its illustrations, Basajaun gave a relieved nod. "Alright, I won't be completely useless, then," flashing Zachary a grin so that he knew the dragon was kidding, Basajaun used the pictures to retrieve all the ingredients they needed, "I guess this is going to be a learning process for both of us, isn't it?"

"Indeed." Zachary replied with a smile, standing up once all the necessary elements were sorted out, "Let's get to cooking then, shall we?"

With the help of their new source of culinary knowledge, the pair was able to slowly but surely make their first real meal. Following the instructions written down, Zachary mixed the spices together and roasted them before enveloping the pork with them. After the meat was enriched and ready to be cooked in the stove, he added some garlic to improve its flavor a little more, then finally let the hot flames do the rest on their lunch.

"Phew..." the leopard sighed, stretching his back before smiling at Basajaun, "Alright, it only has to finish cooking now. Needs around fifteen minutes or so." He announced, sitting down next to the wall, given their lack of chairs, and stared at the fire as it worked on the dish.

Setting himself down next to Zachary, the dragon looked to the book that the leopard still held, and then to the bags of ingredients. "While we wait, would you mind teaching me how to read these labels?" Basajaun requested, pulling the spices over to the pair.

"Sure." Zachary replied with a smile, reaching for a small sack of spice and holding it so both of them could see the label. "You probably know this one, I mean the spice itself." He pulled his finger over the letters, uttering them one by one. "Salt."

His finger stopped at the first letter, and he looked up at Basajaun. "This curly symbol, that looks like a snake, is the letter 'S'." He instructed, taking his sweet time articulating the sound it made. He did the same thing with the following ones as well, then turned to the dragon once more.

"You try now." Covering the rest of the letters, and leaving only one available to see, Zachary pointed at the symbol 'A', waiting for his friend to respond.

Enunciating each later as it was taught to him, Basajaun dove into his impromptu reading lesson with dedication, almost losing track of time as he learned. When the pair had moved on to their seventh label, the dragon suddenly remembered the food in the stove.

Standing, the dragon moved to the cooker and opened it, checking the food. "I think it's done, Zach," Basajaun reported, taking the boar from out of the flames. Taking a platter from the dishes they had been gifted with, the dragon set the food on the large plate and brought it over to Zachary, "Would you like first taste?"

Nodding, the hungry leopard took a chunk of meat from the boar's leg that would satisfy him, sinking his sharp fangs in the dish instantly. His eyes snapped on, and his head slowly turned towards the dragon as he chewed wordlessly. Swallowing hard, Zachary shook his head, not even believing what his tongue was telling him.

"Basa," he began, "I don't think that you will have any objections for future... Er... feedings if this is what you can eat." Ripping another mouthful and swallowing quickly, Zachary grinned at Basajaun. "This is heavenly!"

Taking his own mouthful, the dragon didn't react for a moment. "We're going to need more boar," Basajaun stated after a moment, looking to the leopard with a broad grin, "A lot more! I think you should eat your fill first, because I'm not sure if I can hold back on this." Scooting the food over to Zachary, the dragon waited for him to finish eating.

Nodding, Zachary began tearing big chunks from his lunch, moaning as he swallowed the pieces. It didn't take more than five minutes for him to finish his puny feast, and he glanced at the dragon with a wide smile.

"I'm... full. All yours, bud." He announced, letting out a quiet burp before patting the dragon's chubby side with a paw, grinning at the feeling of flabby flesh beneath his fingers. "We'll organise our things and then head out to hunt. I think we are going to have a big feast tonight."

Nodding eagerly, Basajaun tore into his lunch eagerly, finishing within a few minutes and standing. "Why don't you set up where you think you'll be comfortable?" Basajaun asked, an idea for his own space occurring to him, "I'm going to do the same."

With only a wink for an explanation, Basajaun moved to the trapdoor. Opening it and poking his head down the hole, the dragon took note of the dimensions of the prison before sealing it back up. "I'm going to be outside for a while," the drake stated, moving out through the doors.

Taking a few paces out of the guardhouse, Basajaun stopped once he reached a suitable starting position, finding a spot that was hidden under a patch of obscuring undergrowth. Stretching his muscles before the workout he was about to undertake, the dragon took his sharp claws and began digging into the ground, starting work on his "secret entrance".

Shaking his head and chuckling at his friend's eagerness, the leopard walked back into the main hall. Putting a finger on his chin in thought, Zachary considered his choices for a few moments, his eyes shifting from one room to the other. After deciding to take one of the old sleeping chambers as his temporary sleeping place, the feline sorted through their pile of things.

Eventually he grabbed a dozen or so blankets, his backpack with all his personal belongings in it, and some torches to illuminate his room with. He carried the selected items in smaller portions, afraid to put too much strain on his still weak right arm. In less than an hour, the transaction of his things to his room was finished.

He glanced around, smiling as he stared at his blanket bed in the now much brighter room as the torches lighted it. Jumping with a laugh on the blankets, the leopard sighed in contentment, snuggling his body in the soft clotheware. He didn't even notice at first that his eyes had closed, and he was on his way to fall asleep. In a few seconds, the faint sound of snoring could be heard from one of the sleeping chambers as Zachary slept on his blankets peacefully.

Within an hour, Basajaun had dug his way into the prison beneath the guardhouse, breaking through the aged brick and mortar without much difficulty. Tired but accomplished, the dragon rested for a while, acquainting himself with the space in the dungeon as he caught his breath.

Several minutes later, Basajaun was rested enough to start in on his next task; removing the iron bars from the prison. Moving to the first empty cell, the dragon tested the bars for a moment. They were still sturdy, despite being aged, and would be difficult to extract.

So, taking a breath, the drake did what he knew would inspire him to tear iron from brick; he imagined the prison being used to hold Zachary. Working himself up, Basajaun reared a claw back, and a massive and sustained clanging and clattering sound began rising up from beneath the guardhouse.

Jumping up in an instant upon hearing the sound, Zachary looked around confusedly, not quite awake to comprehend what was happening. Shaking his head, the sleepy leopard walked out of his room, rubbing his eyes and yawning long.

In his tired stupor, the unfortunate feline didn't notice the wooden trapdoor on the ground, which was wide open. In a single, and very ungraceful motion, Zachary fell right through the hole. Only able to let out a quiet squeal during his fall, he landed on the unforgiving, and very hard dirt with a loud thud. If it wasn't for his luck of landing on his butt, the leopard could have easily hurt himself with the accident.

"Blasted trapdoor!" The leopard snapped at the object with rage, shaking his fist at it while the other rubbed his sore bottom. Spotting Basajaun just some meters away from him, the feline scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "Woops... I guess I shouldn't walk around half-asleep." He said in a sheepish tone, raising an eyebrow when he noticed what his friend was working on.

Unable to hear his friend's landing or subsequent outburst over the din of what he was doing, Basajaun continued blithely removing the iron bars from the prison. The process involved striking the metal two or three times with an open claw until it bent, followed by repeated tugging until the bars were pulled from the ceiling and floor.

The dragon wasn't aware of his audience, and so held nothing back in this show of brute force. It was actually a rather therapeutic process, doing wonders to relieve the stress that the dragon had felt from the previous day as he repeatedly imagined himself freeing his friend from the confines of the prison.

Zachary stared wide-eyed at Basajaun, his mouth hanging open. He knew that his friend was strong, given the natural build of dragons, but he had never shown this level of sheer power and force before. It was both fascinating and terrifying to watch as the massive reptile tore big chunks of metal bars with his claws, bending them and ripping them as if they were simple tree branches.

The leopard didn't even notice that he had completely backed away from the working dragon, his back against the wall, barely breathing. He knew perfectly well that he shouldn't be afraid of Basajaun, yet he couldn't ignore his instinctual fear from something as powerful as the massive creature in front of him. He was... scared, no matter how he wanted to look at it. He really didn't want to get on the reptile's bad side, that much was certain. He couldn't even imagine how the dragon looked like if he was truly angered. Perhaps holding back with his teasing in the future would be a smart idea.

Taking a breather as he finished with the first cell, Basajaun panted heavily for a moment, before turning to gather up the twisted metal he had obtained from the prison. Spotting the leopard, however, the dragon felt crestfallen at his friend's fearful expression.

"Um... hi?" the dragon greeted sheepishly, looking between Zachary and the broken metal, rubbing his neck awkwardly.

Trying to think of some way to break the sudden tension, Basajaun smiled and pointed at the ruined cell. "And that's why you don't have to worry about being locked up any more!" the dragon joked with a forced grin.

Basajaun's grin and sincere words helped to ease the situation somewhat, though the lingering feeling of dread still haunted Zachary. Taking a few slow breaths and shaking his head, the leopard quickly cleaned the uneasy feeling from his thoughts. This was Basajaun, his friend... he had nothing to worry about, right?

Clearing his throat, the feline gave a somewhat forced smile to the massive reptile. "It's handy to know that you're able to do..." he gestured at the ruins with his paw, "This if I'm ever in danger." Zachary said, still looking quite hesitant to move an inch as he glanced at the broken pieces of metal nervously.

With a pained expression, Basajaun looked down at the floor. "I'm sorry I frightened you," the dragon apologized, "I suppose I should have warned you before I started in on this. I just... wanted to get rid of what made this space a dungeon, because it made you uncomfortable."

Seeing his friend's reaction and hearing his words, Zachary felt a great deal of guilt beginning to rise in his heart for doubting Basajaun. How could he have possibly thought that the dragon would ever hurt him after saving his life twice? With his fear gone now, the leopard could only curse himself for being so foolish towards him.

"I should apologize for acting the way I did." the leopard began, walking to Basajaun with no fear in his voice or movements whatsoever, "You haven't done anything wrong, Basa. I just got... surprised by your strength. I knew you were strong, but I guess I wasn't really sure what that truly meant until now."

Putting a paw on the dragon's shoulder, the feline smiled warmly at his friend, "Thank you for getting rid of it, by the way. It's looks quite cozy, huh?" With all his earlier nonsensical fear gone, Zachary looked like he was back to normal, as if nothing had happened. His goofy grin bore obvious proof of that.

Basajaun looked up with an appreciative smile. "It's still a work in progress," he pointed out, indicating the remaining cells, "Hopefully I'll be able to call this my room after a few days of work."

Looking between the bars he had removed and Zachary, Basajaun sighed, before giving the leopard a serious expression. "See why I don't like showing my full strength around others?" he asked rhetorically, "It scares people. And I... Since I met you, I've often been able to forget that I frighten people. Yet I can't shake the feeling that I was being deceptive through the act of keeping my strength in check, and when you gave me that fearful look... Zachary, it hurt. A lot."

Finishing his monologue, Basajaun's expression softened. "I can't imagine what it's like for you to pretend that I don't scare you," the dragon stated, "But... I appreciate it."

Zachary swatted lightly at the dragon's nose, glaring at him with a somewhat angry expression. "I wasn't pretending anything!" He exclaimed, panting a little from having to rise his voice. After a few moments, however, he calmed himself. Sighing long, the leopard proceeded to explain himself.

"The only time I was truly scared of you was when we first met. This time I just..." Zachary turned away, hitting his forehead a couple of times for being so utterly stupid, "I overreacted, Basa. I let my instincts dictate my actions, and I shouldn't have. Yes, normal people are afraid of things that are stronger than them, it's natural." The leopard put a paw on the dragon's neck, looking at Basajaun with sorrowful eyes.

"But you've showed me that listening to your instincts isn't always the right thing to do. You showed me kindness and gentleness which I never knew existed. And it was you all along, not an act or deception. It's just who you are, Basa." Zachary embraced Basajaun's neck with all his puny strength, desperate to show that his words were sincere.

"I'm sorry for hurting you. It was my fault, not yours. I promise you to never ever do that again. I hope you can forgive me, but..." The feline looked deeply in the dragon's eyes while remaining in the embrace, his throat tightening as he tried to continue, "Don't ever say that I'm pretending anything when I'm with you, please."

Seeing Zachary's distress, Basajaun held the feline for a moment. "I... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to question your sincerity," the dragon said, "Why don't we just forget this entire misunderstanding ever took place?"

Withdrawing a bit, Basajaun gave the leopard a scolding expression. "You shouldn't exert yourself like you just did, by the way," the drake insisted, "You might hurt yourself in your current condition. And then Esmeralda would have to come out and use her magic again, and I'm pretty sure she wouldn't be happy with either of us!" Shuddering at the thought, Basajaun smiled to Zachary before releasing the leopard.

Zachary gave a painful expression, remembering the agony he had to go through while he was being healed. "Yeah... you're right." Realizing that the dragon was once again concerned about his health, the leopard smiled warmly, although still feeling guilty for hurting his friend. Deciding to just go with Basajaun's suggestion of forgetting this entire situation however, the leopard quickly shifted topics.

"I'm done with my room, by the way." He announced, glancing around to check the dragon's own progress, "What about you? Are you done for the day as well?"

"Yeah, I think so," the dragon said, not wanting to exert himself further for several reasons, "You think we could sell these to Boris?" Basajaun held up the iron bars in his claws, to show what he was talking about. "I think it'd be good for us to start finding ways to earn income," he continued, before licking his snout, "Then we could buy sweet rolls and other food!"

Chuckling at the comment, Zachary patted the dragon's pudgy side playfully. "I think that's a great idea. Good thinking! Perhaps we'll get more in return from Boris, because he knows us. And that only means more food!" The leopard said cheerfully, giving a few experimental strokes on the iron to assay their quality. He was no expert when it came to blacksmith materials, but could easily determine whether or not the iron in his paws was worth something or not.

"Anyway," The feline began, putting the piece of iron aside, "I suppose we could go hunting then, right? We're both finished with work for today, after all."

Basajaun held up a claw. "We are not going hunting," he said with an adamant tone, "I am going hunting while you stay here. You are not in any condition to use a bow."

"But, if you still wanted to help, you could get things ready for dinner while I'm out," the dragon suggested with a sincere smile, patting the feline's head, "Remember; no exerting yourself while you heal, right?"

Zachary cheerfulness was practically thrown out the window, and he was quick to let his friend know that by giving the most disappointed expression he could muster. Lowering his ears and looking at the ground, the feline sniffled a little. What an actor.

"B-But... I'm a hunter." the leopard began, looking up at Basajaun, "I feel more like a housewife at the moment than a predator." Fluttering his eyes and putting his paws together, Zachary stared at Basajaun pleadingly, determined to use all his secret weapons to get what he wanted.

When he saw that the dragon's expression was unchanged, as he was still looking at him with a persistent gaze that clearly disagreed with Zachary's wish, the leopard threw his arms in the air in defeat, turning around with an annoyed huff.

"Fine! I'll stay here and sort some spices out or whatever. Have fun..." He said in a mocking tone as he neared the ladder, muttering something under his breath about persistent dragons and other niceties. Obviously, Zachary didn't mean those words, he was simply annoyed at himself for being injured.

"I demand a consolatory feeding session for this!" The leopard said with as much seriousness to his voice as he could, but his laughter that soon followed was clearly audible as he exited through the trapdoor.

"Yes, dear!" the dragon retorted before joining in the laughter. "I'll be back soon," he called up through the trapdoor before exiting the prison-turning-den through the tunnel he had burrowed.

An hour later, Basajaun entered the guardhouse through the wide doors, carrying a boar in his jaws and three others sticking up from his back spines. "Honey, I'm hooome!" the dragon called out in a teasingly singsong voice, bringing the boars into the kitchen.

Zachary's head slowly turned towards Basajaun as he entered the kitchen and he stared at the dragon with a look that could kill. "You..." The leopard stood up, shaking his finger threateningly while walking towards the reptile. "You..." he reiterated, stopping just a few inches away from the much bigger creature and putting a single finger on his neck. The leopard simply glared at Basajaun for long moments, breathing heavily as he remained unmoving.

Throwing his hands in the air, the leopard turned around to release the laughter that he had been holding in until now. "I can't do it! I know I can't be mad at you, but it seems like I can't even pretend like I'm mad at you." He turned back around in a single motion, his expression once again serious and put a paw under his chin in thought and distress.

"Which disturbs me somewhat..." walking back to Basajaun once more, the leopard whispered in the dragon's ears, "What is your secret?" he asked with a playful smile, obviously enjoying acting around his friend whenever it was possible.

Basajaun played along with the act with an expression of mock horror while it lasted. "Maybe it's my cute face," the drake suggested, smiling to Zachary, "But why are you pretending to be mad at me?" While awaiting the answer, he placed the first boar on the platter from earlier, before looking through the bag of gifts for more dishes of suitable size.

Zachary shrugged, motioning with his paws that he had no clue either. "I like to play around with people as much as I can, if you haven't noticed. Wanted to see if I could give a good enough act to you that you'd think I was angry. I guess I failed..." The leopard responded with a smile, glancing at the dragon's catch and giving an impressed expression.

"Took my demand seriously, I see." he said with a chuckle, helping Basajaun with the search, "I guess it's back to what it used to be before we stumbled upon Plainstead?" Although the comment was meant as a joke, Zachary hoped that it would indeed be the case, finding the possibility of seeing the dragon indulge just as much as he did during their travels very promising.

Basajaun smiled as he rifled through the dishes. "Hey, the only reason we started holding back was because of Izom, right?" the drake reminded Zachary, "But with him out of the picture, I look forward to seeing just how far you can push my predatory side! That is, if you're up for that challenge?" Basajaun pulled what he needed out of the bag, before giving the leopard a wink.

"Is everything ready?" the dragon inquired, appearing quite eager to begin.

"Yeah, I think so." Zachary replied, putting a paw on the dragon's pudgy abdomen, "And I'm up for that challenge, don't you worry! And I hope you will be satisfied with the effects as well, because this," pinching the soft fat from Basajaun's side, the leopard jiggled the plump flesh in his paws for emphasis, "Will only grow bigger after each feeding!" The feline said joyfully, winking back at his friend.

Basajaun grinned at the statement. "You could say I'll be more than satisfied," the dragon admitted with a mild blush, sitting on his haunches and patting his middle, "I'm actually eager to see how much this grows each day."

Pausing for a moment, the reptile had a thought. "Do you suppose we should start taking measurements?" Basajaun wondered aloud as he prepared the day's previous recipe from memory, "I mean, if we really wanted to keep track of how much I'm growing. I'm pretty sure we could get a length of measuring leather in town and say that we need it for arranging furniture." The dragon looked to Zachary to see if he liked the suggestion.

The leopard raise his eyebrows in surprise, not quite expecting this level of eagerness from Basajaun. "I think that's a great idea, Basa." he replied with a smile, waving a paw at the dragon's midriff, "But we'll need to get a really long measuring leather, lest you outgrow it!" The feline laughed playfully, his teasing once more in full motion.

"But I'm glad to hear that you have come to terms with the results of our feeding sessions. Now there's nothing holding us back from seeing just how much you can grow!" Zachary added with a grin, finding the thought very appealing, to say the least.

Basajaun chuckled. "We could get several lengths and tie them together," the dragon said jokingly, "And I'm pretty sure it was your influence that got me to enjoy this so much." Patting his middle, the drake looked to the food he had brought.

"So let's get this ready for us, shall we?" Basajaun invited, "Why don't you see if you can find some other recipes for boar in the book, and I'll finish this one?"

Nodding, Zachary quickly retrieved the cookbook, flipping through the pages until he found the earlier page about pork meat. Muttering something under his breath and shaking his head a couple of times, the leopard eventually looked up at the dragon.

"We'll need to visit Plainstead tomorrow for some supplies, Basa. There are a lot of ingredients here which don't have, so we'll have to buy them from around town." he explained, pointing at the recipe which they had tried out earlier today, "We can only make this now with the things we have. I'm pretty sure you'll love the result just like you did before, and we'll try new things out once we have the proper ingredients, alright? I wouldn't try experimenting that much with spices at the moment, it can ruin the whole meal!" Zachary said with a smile, putting the book aside.

"Alright, that's fine," the dragon sighed a little disappointedly, before smiling once more, "It's still a delicious dish. I've just been spoiled for variety recently!"

Laughing at the realization, Basajaun continued preparing the meal alongside the leopard. "So, how are your ribs and arm treating you?" the drake asked as they moved, "Let me know if you need a rest, I can always take over whenever you need it."

Zachary smiled warmly at Basajaun, patting his neck appreciatively for worrying about him on a constant, and somewhat annoying, basis. "I'm doing okay, Basa. Just had a nap earlier, so I'm as rested as I can get." He replied, moving to mix the required spices together for the meal. As he reached for the sacks, the leopard still favoured using his left arm over the right one, as well as not hunching over to avoid putting too much strain on his ribs.

"I'll need some time to recover, I know that perfectly well." The feline looked up at the dragon with a small smile, shaking his head a little, "But I always forget that I'm injured, so thank you for reminding me that I'm in ruins at the moment." He said the last sentence in a suggestive tone, grinning widely at his friend to ensure him that he was only joking.

Blinking for a moment, the dragon looked over to Zachary sheepishly. "I'm being overprotective, aren't I?" Basajaun asked, realizing that his constant concerns might be becoming irritating, "Sorry, I just don't want you hurting yourself." Patting the feline's head, the drake quieted himself.

Finishing with the mixing of spices, Zachary coated the four boars in the sauce carefully and slowly, eventually getting every last drop of dressing in all the possible areas on the boars' bodies. He then turned back to Basajaun, sighing a little before placing a paw on the dragon's shoulder.

"Believe me, I don't want to hurt myself either." the feline stated in a mocking tone, smiling at his friend, "And I'm thankful for you concern, Basa. It feels like I matter to someone, that you care, which warms my heart immensely, I gotta admit." Stroking Basajaun's shoulder, the feline gave him an appreciative look, "So you can continue being overprotective, just try not reminding me about my condition every hour or so. I'm aware of it, unfortunately." Zachary said with a smile, flexing his right arm a little and hissing quietly at the action.

Having to bite his lip to keep from immediately insisting the leopard sit down because of his hiss, Basajaun simply kept cooking. "I'll try to be less annoying about it," the dragon said, before reaching over and nuzzling the feline's good arm, "Just... can you take it easy, for my peace of mind?"

Chuckling at his friend's sudden cuddling, Zachary returned the gesture with a few strokes on Basajaun's head. "I will, I promise." The leopard replied in an honest tone, once again relishing the feeling of being cared by someone. Putting his paws on his hips, the feline stared at the four sauce coated boards, grinning widely at Basajaun.

"I guess we can start cooking these," he gestured with his head towards the upcoming feast, then looked back to the dragon, "Would you mind handling the cooking process. I don't think I could lift these in the stove even if I had two good arms!"

Nodding, Basajaun took the first boar and placed it into the stove, looking to the others with a wide grin. "Now all we have to do is wait," the drake reported, turning to Zachary, "I suppose we could go over more reading lessons to pass the time." Both activities seemed to bring out an eager joy in Basajaun, who appeared to enjoy learning new skills a great deal.

More than happy to accept the suggestion, Zachary quickly fetched some of the labelled sacks of spices, sitting down next to Basajaun with a smile. He held the first one up in his paw, pulling his finger over the label and saying the word at the same time. "Coriander."

"You already know some of the letters on this, but not all of them. For example, this." he tapped at the letter 'd', pronouncing the sound it made at the same time, "You'll recognize it easily, it looks just like your belly after a big feeding!" The leopard laughed, gesturing at the curve in the symbol, and winked at his friend.

Basajaun laughed, pointing to the "o". "Eventually you're going to get me looking like this!" the dragon joked, nuzzling Zachary's hand before enunciating the letter and committing it to memory.

Patting his friend's head with his paw, Zachary grinned at the statement, the image of seeing Basajaun with more pounds to his body contributing to that in a great deal. "You'd be the best bed, then! I can't lie that I would mind that in the slightest!" He said teasingly, moving on to the next letter, namely "r", and repeating the process of pronouncing it for Basajaun.

Time passed quickly as the pair went over the alphabet, periodically making witty remarks to one another about the shape or sound of a letter. Basajaun retrieved each boar from the stove and placed it onto a platter, before putting the next in.

With the final boar going in, the drake started being able to read labels and small parts of the cookbook on his own. Grinning widely at the accomplishment, the dragon nuzzled Zachary's arm enthusiastically in appreciation. "Thank you!" Basajaun said simply, almost unable to resist the urge to dive straight into the book instead of paying attention to what he was cooking.

"No problem at all." The leopard replied with a warm smile, quite satisfied with himself for being able to teach reading. "But you should be thanking yourself for that big brain of yours," Patting Basajaun's head, Zachary continued, "Normal anthros wouldn't have been able to learn the letters so fast. Your memory is just as amazing as your metabolism, it seems!" He said jokingly, although the statement was completely true. Basajaun was very smart, there was no point, nor reason to deny that obvious fact.

Grinning even wider, the dragon couldn't deny how much he enjoyed having his ego inflated. "If you keep praising me like that, I'm going to get a big head," Basajaun said, trying his best not to start acting vain, "And you know how hard it is for me to resist my pride!" Shoving playfully but lightly on the leopard's good arm, the reptile was very careful not to hurt his friend through the action.

Zachary shrugged, gesturing with his paws in the air as well as if the dragon had missed a big opportunity. "I won't compliment you anymore, then. If that's what you'd like." he announced in a teasing tone, shoving right back at Basajaun with his good arm and giving him a toothy grin.

"Don't you worry, though. I'll make sure to balance the praise with as much teasing as I can. I'll keep that dragon pride of yours in check!" He stated with a laugh, glancing at the stove and noting that the final boar was almost done cooking.

The drake laughed alongside his friend. "Believe it or not, I actually appreciate that!" Basajaun stated, standing and moving to the stove to wait the remaining time until the food was done, "It really does help. This is one thing about being a dragon that I would change in a heartbeat if given the chance. I hate having to beat down this constant feeling of superiority. Honestly, having you to help me with that is a relief."

The leopard waved a paw as he listened to Basajaun's words. "No problem! I like teasing you, if you haven't noticed it yet." he said with a mischievous smile, winking at his friend.

"And it's only natural that you constantly feel like that. Let's be honest here," Zachary gestured with both of his paws at the reptile, "You're a dragon! Who wouldn't feel superior in your shoes, or more accurately, claws? Let me tell you. Nobody!" The leopard concluded with a wide grin, hoping that his words wouldn't overfill the dragon's head with pride.

"Zachary, please don't do that," Basajaun requested, in spite of the obvious smile it brought to his face, "I might be stronger, faster, larger, and have a better memory than most civilized races, but that doesn't make me completely superior."

Taking a deep breath as he took the boar from the stove, the dragon sighed. "For one thing, I find it very difficult to resist my instincts, pride included," Basajaun continued, placing the last boar on its platter before finishing his thought, "You've seen how I react to being outside of a forest, too. And my lifespan..."

The dragon's throat caught for a moment, before he regained composure. "Let's just say that there's something to be said for living as long as those around you, and not much longer," Basajaun shook his head slightly, before looking up to his friend, "So please don't call me superior anymore, alright? I'm not."

Zachary's smile disappeared instantly as he listened to Basajaun. "I won't... I'm sorry I didn't mean to..." he apologized, looking at the ground guiltily, "I didn't even think about what it's like for you. I never even thought that you might be wondering about these things." He admitted, looking up at the dragon with a somewhat hesitant expression.

"I know what you're afraid of, Basa. And I'm honestly not sure how to comfort you in that." he admitted, sighing long, "Let's just enjoy each other's company as much as we can and as long as possible, alright? We shouldn't waste our time worrying about the future, we should focus on the present." He offered a small smile to the reptile, now realizing just how hard it must be for the dragon to be aware of the fact that he will live long after the leopard... was gone. The thought alone made the feline regret his earlier mistake.

"It's alright," Basajaun said, moving to the leopard and nuzzling his face, "You didn't know. It's only natural for us to make mistakes while we're learning more about each other, so don't worry about it."

The dragon gave Zachary a smile. "But if you do it again, I'll have to smack you," he joked, giving the feline's tail a playful tug to relieve the atmosphere a bit.

The leopard squealed at the pull, reaching his tail and holding it to his chest protectively while he stared at the dragon with wide eyes. "You'd hit a crippled boy?!" He demanded with a hurt tone, brilliantly playing along with his act by letting his right arm fall next to his body limply as if he couldn't move it.

"Bad dragon!" Swatting with his good paw lightly in the direction of Basajaun, Zachary let out a giggle, unable to stay in his performance any longer. After a few moments however, his expression became more serious, and he looked at his friend with a determined gaze. "But I promise you not to do it again. I don't want to hurt you feelings, no matter what my constant teasing might suggest." He said with a warm smile, stroking Basajaun's head gingerly.

Basajaun returned the smile, rubbing his head against Zachary's hand. "I believe you," the dragon stated, "But if you're so crippled that I can't even joke about smacking you, maybe we should let you rest and cancel the feeding, hm?" His expression showed that he was very obviously joking, and once again eager to start.

Zachary was quick to jump up, shaking his paws in the air while his head did the same. "No, no, no, I'm fine, really!" he stated with a nervous chuckle, nodding his head rapidly as he moved his right arm around. The motion wasn't painless, but the leopard resisted the urge to hiss at the feeling, lest the dragon start worrying again.

"So," he began, rubbing his right arm a little as it pulsated with mild pain, "Are you ready to give some attention to that stomach of yours?" He inquired with a smile, patting Basajaun's pudgy side with his left paw.

"Absolutely!" Basajaun affirmed, going to the bag and pulling out some cushions, "How do you want to do this today? Up on my belly? On some cushions on the ground?" The dragon had obviously given this some thought, showing how much he anticipated these feedings.

"There's isn't any cushion I would take over your belly, honestly." Zachary admitted with a mild blush, walking next to the dragon. "I think my choice is quite obvious, huh?" he asked with a smile, putting a paw on the chubby reptile's side once more before continuing, "I... actually liked feeling your stomach grow beneath me as you ate, and I was able to give you a more thorough massage as well from that position, so I'd prefer feeding you like yesterday."

Nodding, Basajaun arranged the cushions on the ground, and the four platters around the pillows. Settling down on the cushions, the dragon rolled over onto his back and scooted the platters closer. "Mind if I give you a lift up?" Basajaun asked, pointing to the leopard's right arm, "That might make climbing difficult."

Glancing at his arm and sighing in defeat, Zachary shook his head, walking to Basajaun. "Sure, a little help would be nice, thank you." He said, pulling his paw over the dragon's pudgy side as he walked past him and positioning himself next to the reptile's arm.

"A lift to belly-bed, pronto!" Laughing, the feline braced himself for possible consequences for his teasing as he waited for his friend to help him up on the promising land of soft and pudgy scales.

Gently wrapping his claws around Zachary's torso, the dragon slowly lifted his friend up and set the leopard on his abdomen. "Get yourself comfortable," Basajaun insisted, taking the first boar in his claws and holding it where the feline could reach, "I'm ready when you are!"

"If you say so!" Zachary answered after setting himself comfortably on the small hill of softened flesh and scales, almost beginning to purr instantly at the feeling. He quickly tore a big chunk of meat from the boar with some level of difficulty. Working with a single arm was more annoying than he had thought, but he was able to perform the action after a few moments.

"Time to fill the tank up, huh?" The leopard didn't even wait for the answer to come, too eager to start stuffing his friend with all the available food around him. He offered the hefty piece of boar meat to Basajaun, while his other paw started slowly kneading and caressing the reptile's squishy flab.

After seeing his friend struggle to get a bite-sized chunk off of the boar, Basajaun hesitated. "I could tear it into smaller pieces," he offered, "Then give those to you to feed me."

Zachary nodded, putting the meat back on the platter while he held his right arm with an unreadable expression. "Thanks, I'd appreciate that." he said with a small smile, leaning back on his left arm. He could feel the dragon's flesh give away against the weight, and the leopard's paw sunk deeply in Basajaun's pudge.

Wondering as he waited for the reptile to chop up the pieces, Zachary could only think just how much deeper that soft fat would get on the reptile's belly as the days passed. He smiled warmly at the thought, quite eager to see just how much bigger his friend would be in a few days.

Wasting no time, Basajaun took the boar and tore a leg from the body, almost throwing it in the process. "Woops!" the dragon exclaimed, fumbling for a moment before reestablishing his grip, "Sorry, still set for the bars, I suppose."

The drake grinned up to the leopard on his belly before continuing to reduce each boar into smaller portions. A few moments later, the food was reduced to pieces that would fit easily into the dragon's mouth, and Basajaun handed up the first platter again. "Here you go," he said, opening his muzzle eagerly.

Taking a particularly hefty chunk of meat from the pile, Zachary was quick to put it in the dragon's awaiting mouth. "Back to where we were; Time to fill up the tank!" he reiterated with a chuckle, already grabbing for a second mouthful of food to feed for the hungry reptile.

His arm subconsciously began the usual massage after the leopard realized that the feeding had begun at last. As much as he was used to holding the dragon's pudge in his paws, Zachary knew he would never get bored of the feeling. The urge to knead, caress and rub the soft flesh was simply irresistible, and the feline wasted no time wondering about the cause behind that, rather completely accepted it and tried to relish the feeling as much as he could at every given opportunity.

The massage soon had Basajaun's purr going as well, as he again allowed his maw to be filled with food that soon was packed into his gut, the first mouthfuls acting to kick his appetite into overdrive. The dragon began stroking his middle alongside Zachary's arm, feeling each swallow settle into and expand his stomach just a little further.

As he demolished quickly through the first platter, the dragon reached to scoot the next one into position for when the first was finished. The speed with which he ate surprised Basajaun subconsciously; he seemed to get faster and hungrier with each feeding, the feeling of getting filled with delicious food as irresistible to him as feeding the dragon was to Zachary.

Somewhat perplexed to notice the first boar almost gone, Zachary grinned at Basajaun. "You're either really hungry," He began, pinching the dragon's pudge in his paw and jiggled it lightly, "Or you're getting faster with eating. Either way, I like how quickly you're able to finish a whole boar off! Let's see if you can keep it up after the third one." The leopard invited with a wink, reaching for the second platter of boar after finding the first one already empty.

His paw never stopped its endless caressing, feeling as the dragon's middle slowly expanding with the food he was consuming. Right now, it resulted in the reptile's stomach to become tight, but later would only add more pounds on Basajaun's gloriously fattened form.

The leopard wasted no time in trying to achieve that by starting on the second boar. He began feeding the voracious dragon with just as much speed and eagerness as before, while his paw continued its restless rubbing at his friend's pudgy midriff.

Feeling his midriff beginning to bloat considerably as he gorged on the second boar, Basajaun reached up subconsciously and braced the leopard with a claw to ensure he wouldn't slip off of the rising expanse of his gut. The same claw that held Zachary in place gently stroked the leopard's soft back fur, showing the dragon's appreciation in ways that simple words wouldn't properly express. Besides, his mouth was currently full, and would remain that way until the food was gone.

As the drake felt the feline's fur, he noticed the muscles that had developed on his friend. Remembering Zachary's emaciated state when they first met, Basajaun's heart warmed at the thought that he could help his friend so much that he now had the body of the skilled hunter the leopard had become.

Unable to resist, Basajaun paused the feeding for a moment to reach his long neck up and nuzzle Zachary's face, smiling widely as he did so.

At first confused by the sudden gesture, the leopard was quick to return the gentle motion with a cuddle of his own. "What was that for?" he asked with a grin after a few moments, offering the single piece of meat for the dragon to eat while he answered.

Basajaun took the meat and swallowed quickly in order to answer. "I'm not sure," he admitted, still grinning, "But I think I might be proud of you. For becoming a good hunter. For convincing me to give the town a chance. I can't be certain; I've never been proud of someone besides myself before, but I think that's what I'm feeling towards you at the moment."

Blinking a couple of times at the statement, a warm and wide smile appeared on Zachary's muzzle as he stared at Basajaun. "Thank you... that means a lot to me, really. Especially coming from you." The leopard said, stroking the dragon's abdomen appreciatively.

"I've never made anyone proud before, so this is new for both of us, I suppose. And I'm not even gonna start listing the reasons I'm proud of you... that would take a really long time, and we wouldn't want the dinner to get cold, now would we?" He asked with an eager tone, already holding the next hefty piece of meat for Basajaun to consume.

Laughing at the comment, the dragon nodded. "You can spoil me with compliments later, then!" he suggested, "For now, spoil me with food!" Opening his mouth to be fed again Basajaun snickered lightly at the statement.

"You don't have to ask me twice!" Zachary replied with a chuckle, shoving the next mouthful of meat in the dragon's maw to join the rest of the pile in his increasingly bloated stomach.

With the dragon's pace a lot faster than before, the second boar was finished in a similar way just like the first one. Having consumed that much amount of food, Zachary could clearly see the effects on Basajaun's belly, as it was once more greatly distended with half of his dinner in it.

"Two more to go, Basa. How are you holding up? Full already?" The leopard inquired with a grin, patting the dragon's bloated middle with a paw while the other gestured towards the third platter to be brought for consumption.

The drake laughed out loud. "Not even close!" Basajaun boasted, taking a forelimb and squishing it deeply into his belly to prove his point, grunting lightly from the action, "Still plenty of room in here. Let's try fixing that!"

Taking a platter in each claw, the dragon held both up for Zachary. "Why, are you getting tired, little boy?" Basajaun challenged, before his demeanor changed suddenly to one of concern, "Wait, are you getting tired?"

Zachary let out a loud laugh, shaking his head. After a few moments of trying to catch his breath from his sudden amusement, he grinned widely at Basajaun. "No, don't worry, I'm fine." he replied, still giggling a little.

"You should have gotten more boars, if you have so much room in there!" The feline said teasingly, rubbing the dragon's bloated gut while holding a piece of meat eagerly in front of his snout.

"Well, we do have my half of the sweets the townsfolk gave us," Basajaun reminded the leopard as he took his next mouthful, gulping it down before continuing. "You could give me those, too. Believe me, you've made certain that this," the dragon indicated his middle, "Has grown to be able to hold a lot more than it used to!"

"And it will only be able to hold more, if we keep this up!" Zachary replied with a grin, massaging the dragon's gut. "And I'm more than fine with that idea. Honestly, I hope that sweet stack of yours is really big, otherwise I might be a little disappointed. After yesterday's feast, this feels like it's just an appetizer for you." Chuckling lightly, the leopard gave another chunk from the boar to Basajaun while his free paw kneaded at the dragon's soft abdomen, as always.

As he continued eating, Basajaun reached over to the bag that held the gifts. Fishing around for a moment, the dragon felt the smaller sack within that contained the assorted sweets the pair had received, taking it out and setting it down beside the pair. "Gotta finish my dinner before we start on dessert," he stated, before adding, "And I really want that dessert, so would you mind if we sped things up a bit?" The dragon had very obviously developed a sweet tooth, licking his muzzle at the scent of the baked goods.

Nodding, Zachary picked up the pace at which he was shoveling food into the dragon's mouth, surprised to realize that the hungry reptile had no troubles whatsoever keeping up with it. The third boar disappeared faster than any of the previous ones, and the last one followed soon after. The two hefty bodies joined with the rest in the dragon's outstretched stomach, resulting in an increase of height as it stuck out proudly in the air.

"There, was that fast enough?" the leopard asked with a grin, patting the dragon's overstuffed middle with a paw, "We should really increase your intake. It seems like four boars just doesn't do it for you anymore, which wasn't the case just some weeks ago."

Basajaun laughed. "Tell me about it; I can still breathe easy, even!" rubbing his gut for a moment, the dragon handed up the modest bag of sweets, "If you wanted to continue, half of this is mine. It's not much, but I think we'll both enjoy it while it lasts."

Taking the bag from the dragon's paw, Zachary opened it and searched through the assortment of confections. Smiling at the wide variety of sweets, the leopard looked up at the dragon. "I don't even know what half of these are, but I'm sure they're delicious!" He stated, pulling out a brown cookie with chocolate coating. He examined the treat in his paw for a moment, sniffing at it curiously. Almost immediately, the feline let out a moan as the sugary scent of the sweet met his nostrils.

"Confirmed. These are definitely heavenly!" He announced with a small chuckle, offering the treat for the greedy dragon to devour. "And judging by the amount of sugar on them, they are definitely more fattening than meat." Patting the dragon's overstuffed middle, Zachary winked at Basajaun.

The scent of the confections in the bag nearly stunned the drake as they played across his nose and flickering tongue. "That, here, please," Basajaun requested, pointing from the cookie to his wide open maw.

Looking between the treat and Basajaun's mouth, Zachary smiled at the dragon. "Yes, Sir Dragon." The leopard said, his tone imitating that of a servant of some sort. After putting the sugary deliciousness in the dragon's maw, the feline quickly pulled out another one from the bag, this time something that was covered in violet coating all over it.

Fighting for a little while against the somewhat gluey substance under his fingers, Zachary waved in front of the dragon's snout teasingly. "May I offer another one, my good sir?" He asked, obviously lost in his acting once more.

Basajaun giggled, both at the leopard's act and the incredible flavors that danced across his tongue. "But of course, I'd be delighted to accept!" the dragon said, attempting to join the act, but quickly laughing, unable to keep up the charade for long as he took the next fattening treat, moaning in bliss.

Licking the sticky substance from this snout took a moment after he finished the violet confection, but he didn't want any of the sugary delight to go to waste before he took the next thing offered.

Not waiting a second to continue feeding the eager reptile, Zachary grabbed the closest thing that touched his paw. He smiled widely as he looked the next confection. "And we meet again." He said in a joyful tone as he pulled the sweet roll out of the bag, examining it in his paw for a moment before offering it to the dragon without hesitating.

"Basa's been missing you, don't make him wait." The feline joked, giggling a little as the trait reunited with its biggest fan; Basajaun.

Making a sound that was like a squeal of delight as he saw the sweetroll, Basajaun took his time chewing this particular confection, releasing several moans of pleasure as his toes curled and uncurled, only swallowing after nearly a minute of enjoying the flavor.

Over the next few minutes, the bag slowly lost its contents to Basajaun's bloated belly, until the dragon stopped the feeding after a while. "I think that's half," he said with a sigh of bliss, "I don't want to deprive you of your share, as much as I enjoy sweets."

Zachary waved a paw, offering the rest of the sweets for the dragon. "We can buy any of these anytime in Plainstead, don't worry. We can get all the sweets we want for some boar hides or the iron." He insisted, finding the possibility of stuffing Basajaun with just a little more food to be very appealing. "Go ahead, Basa. It's obvious that you like them very much!"

"Well, if you're sure," the drake hesitated for a moment, before smiling appreciatively, "Thank you very much!" Basajaun opened his mouth again, the thought alone of getting more sweets kicking his purr back into gear.

With the permission to continue granted, Zachary kept feeding the now decently bloated dragon with more fattening treats. Eventually, the fun ended, as the leopard only found air when he reached for another sweat. Sighing in disappointment, the leopard gently rubbed the overstuffed reptile's middle, pinching the pudge in the process.

"I suppose we're done for tonight with the feeding." He announced with a smile, tossing the bag aside to join the empty platters which were scattered around on the ground. Zachary glanced around the pair for a moment, mentally counting just how much food the dragon had consumed. Final conclusion; a lot.

"We really need to hunt for more food for you," the leopard mused, stroking Basajaun's chubby midriff with both of his paws with utter care, "You're swiftly becoming harder and harder to fill up, which is a good thing, because it means longer feeding sessions!" He said with a grin, grabbing a some of the dragon's flab and jiggling it lightly, "And we both know where that leads, as well!"

Basajaun giggled as he felt his body wobble around for a moment. "I think we're going to need to supplement hunting with trading," he said once his belly came to a rest, "I don't want to wind up overhunting this place; it's the only woodlands for miles!"

Thinking for a moment, Basajaun asked, "Do you think anyone in town would hire me? I know that you would be able to find a job; you're talented and a fast learner. But do you suppose I might be able to find employment?"

Looking to Zachary, the dragon smiled. "I ask because I think it'd be a good idea to find some way to bring in income," the reptile explained, patting his middle, "After all, it's not going to be cheap to keep this growing!"

Zachary considered the idea for a moment, putting a finger under his chin in thought while his other paw continued massaging the dragon's middle. "Yeah, that's a really good idea, actually." he stated, smiling at Basajaun, "And I'm sure they would never turn a dragon away if you offered your help. You can do things that they can only dream of, after all... and no, you're not superior... just strong." The leopard explained, shaking his finger in front of the dragon's snout to avoid any sort of misunderstanding with his words.

"We'll ask around town for jobs tomorrow. Given our... reputation, I think there won't be any problems." the leopard concluded with a smile, patting the dragon's middle, "And the extra income will indeed help us with making this bigger." Pinching the deep pudge from Basajaun's belly, Zachary winked at his friend, finding his idea logical and remunerative at the same time.

"That's good," Basajaun affirmed with a yawn, feeling himself growing tired. Looking around, the dragon turned to Zachary. "I think I should move us into the bunk room," he suggested, "There aren't any blankets here in the kitchen."

Zachary nodded with a yawn of his own, snuggling himself tightly against the dragon's soft abdomen. "Would you mind giving me a ride again?" he asked with a smile as he cuddled the comfortable pudge underneath him.

"Sure," Basajaun answered, wrapping his tail around the leopard before rolling onto his feet. The drake could feel his swollen belly pressing out against his legs, yet even so, he didn't feel uncomfortably full this time.

Smiling at the realization and gathering up the cushions in a forelimb, the dragon waddled carefully into the bunk room, before arranging the pillows next to the pile of blankets. Laying down on the cushions once more, Basajaun situated himself on his back, setting the leopard down on his belly once he got himself comfortable. "Here you go," the dragon said as he handed up one of the blankets, finding it harder to stay awake now that he was comfortable again.

There was no response whatsoever from Zachary's side as he lay on the dragon's midriff, snoring quietly. Somewhere halfway through the trip from the kitchen to the bunk room, the leopard had fallen asleep. Apparently, he lied when the dragon asked him if he were tired. His limp body sprawled across the pudgy belly of Basajaun was an obvious proof of that.

And yet, even in his sleep, the feline muttered something under his breath. His words were barely understandable, but it was clear that he was saying a good night to his friend.

Smiling when he realized the leopard was already asleep, Basajaun used his tail and forelimbs to tuck the blanket around Zachary, not wanting him to get cold during the night. With that somewhat tricky task complete, Basajaun released another yawn, feeling his eyes getting heavier with each moment.

"Good night, little friend," the dragon said as he drifted to sleep, a smile still on his face.

The next two weeks passed with relative uneventfulness. As had been suggested, Basajaun and Zachary went into town the following day with their hides and scrap metal. Rather than trading them, the pair sold the materials, in order to familiarize themselves with the currency that Plainstead used.

That out of the way, they went to Esmeralda to ask if she knew of any available jobs. Taking them to the new guardhouse, the Elder said there were positions available, and though the guards were still unsure of Basajaun, Elder Eszes' word was enough to convince them to hire the leopard and dragon as wardens of the forest area, a job that involved monitoring the area for suspicious activity and keeping track of any travellers that used the path through the woods.

With both individuals being given the first real jobs in their lives, the pair took the occasion to celebrate once more. Using the money that they had received from the scrap materials they gathered, Basajaun and Zachary visited Rusty and Rosy's inn.

After thanking them for their gifts again, and purchasing more food and ingredients, the pair returned to the forest to celebrate in their usual manner; fitting as much of what they purchased into the dragon as his stomach could contain!

Taking the next few days to familiarize themselves with the woods, the pair began patrolling them daily, just as they had with their previous territory. It felt good for Basajaun to be partially back into his old routine, and even better to have Zachary accompanying the dragon. It was obvious that the path through the forest didn't see much use; it actually took the pair a while to even uncover where it was, it was so overgrown. Still, they had agreed to keep an eye on its use, and that's what they did.

It took three more days for Basajaun to finish tearing the bars out of the cells below their home. Though at first he thought of only working on the project when Zachary wasn't present, the dragon instead asked the leopard to watch him do it. The drake didn't want his strength scaring his friend any more, so he suggested that seeing Basajaun perform his feats of strength might help Zachary become desensitized to the dragon's incredible physique. And eventually, it worked; the feline no longer became fearful when seeing Basajaun exert himself fully, though Zachary was still impressed by the reptile's ability to tie iron bars in knots without too much effort.

The pair also took the time to make their home more welcoming, setting up the furniture they had been gifted with and acquiring adequate lighting for their household. Soon, the old guardhouse was looking like a proper home for anthros aboveground.

Basajaun had converted the dungeon into his new burrow after removing the cells. He had begun a new bone collection in his spare time, which is something he would entertain himself with if Zachary was out without him. Rather than the bed of twigs and leaves of his old burrow, the dragon had set up some cushions for himself, though usually he would wind up sleeping upstairs in the bunk rooms after his gratuitously large dinners.

On that front, Zachary was now able to indulge Basajaun with a wider variety of foods, now that they had steady income. Each day the evening feast would become slightly larger, with the dragon's gut rising steadily higher from his traditional feeding pose.

The effects of such regular gluttony were plain to see; by the end of their second week living in the guardhouse, Basajaun had gained a singularly incredibly amount of bulk. The dragon's face had begun to soften, his angular features rounding somewhat over time. The flesh of his long neck began bunching up and folding as he flexed it, with a tangible layer of pudge starting thin near his head and growing thicker towards the dragon's torso; the dragon's tail bore its weight similarly, with thick padding near his belly that thinned out towards its end. His shoulders and chest had become much more plush and pliable, yielding easily to pressure, at least until that pressure found its way to the tough muscles that still held strong under Basajaun's padding. His limbs were also rounding out, wobbling slightly with each step the drake took, and even his wings were starting to show signs of pudge. But by far the most obvious and impressive deposit of adipose tissues was Basajaun's gut; when empty, the dragon's belly hung down to his knees with flab, pressing his thighs slightly apart to accommodate the voluminous orb that bounced between them whenever the drake moved. The feeling of his body jiggling with every movement he made was a ticklish one, and often resulted in the dragon seemingly smiling for no reason when he made a motion that was sufficient to send ripples through his form. And though when he first started gaining weight, Basajaun was hesitant about the results; now, the reptile relished waking up to find new layers of fat forming under his scales, ever eager to see how his form would grow further.

Unfortunately, life was not all sunshine and smiles. While Zachary now had a bed that possessed ever increasing comfort, his sleep had begun to be disturbed by vivid dreams. Dreams of a man crying for the life of his son, so real as to feel like a forgotten memory. And eventually, the leopard could no longer ignore the visions.

"Just let my son live!"

"Shut up!" Zachary screamed back in reply to the cry for help as his eyes snapped open for the third time the night, panting hard from the intensity of his dream. He quickly sat up from the comforting softness of the dragon's belly, holding his head in his paws as he rocked back and forth with his body, as if the motion would be of any help to his current situation.

"Just... shut up... please, stop." The leopard pleaded with a weak tone, his voice barely a whisper as he rubbed his baggy eyes with his paw, wiping fresh tears away in the process as well.

Sniffling quietly for a few moments, the disturbed anthro shook his head a little, almost falling right off from Basajaun as he did so, thanks to the dizziness which had steadily become worse and worse over the night. He was exhausted and yet wasn't able to get more than an hour of sleep before waking up again.

'I can't take this anymore...' Zachary thought as he held his forehead in his paws, almost on the edge of breaking down in a panic for the lack of sleep he was getting. He knew perfectly well that not getting enough rest would have gruesome consequences both on his health and mood, as well as his ability to be able to do any physical activities. The latter one scared him the most, given that he had a job to do, and with how things were looking right now, he would be unable to succeed in his work.

Pulling his legs close to his body, Zachary rested his head on his knees as he sat still, leaning in every direction as he fought against the ever present giddiness which tormented his sense of balance.

Feeling something rocking his body, Basajaun slowly cracked open his eyes. "Zachary?" the dragon saw the leopard sitting on his belly, snaking his head up to the feline and nuzzling his arm, "Are you alright?"

The leopard shook his head as it rested on his knees. "No, I'm not." he replied weakly, his words muffled as his mouth was pressed tightly against his legs, "I can't sleep..." Looking at Basajaun with baggy eyes, Zachary gave him a fearful expression as he continued.

"Nightmares... I have been having them for a few days now, but tonight is the worst. I already woke up twice... it's not going away, Basa." The leopard could feel himself tearing up, feeling so tired that he was barely able to hold himself straight as he sat on Basajaun. "I don't know what to do, honestly."

Seeing his friend in distress, Basajaun reached his tail up to the leopard to comfort him, his other limbs having difficulty reaching where Zachary had situated himself. "Hey, I'm here for you," the dragon reminded the feline, stroking his fur gently, "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No." Zachary replied with an upset tone, closing his eyes for a moment and sighing, "I just want to get it out of my head as soon as possible, otherwise I won't be able to sleep a single second tonight." He opened his eyes once more, looking at Basajaun with a painful expression.

"I'm so tired... I'm going to lose it if I can't rest, Basa. You know how I react to being waken after sleeping decently, what do you think happens when I can't sleep altogether...?" The leopard slowly lay down on the dragon's flab, the pudge beneath him immediately relieving some of his stress as he sank in the fatty flesh.

Unsure how to help, Basajaun thought for a moment. "Esmeralda might have some idea what to do about bad dreams," the dragon realized aloud, looking up to Zachary, "She is a witch, after all. Why don't we go into town tomorrow and see if she can help?"

"I'm willing to try everything to get rid of these dreams at this point." the leopard replied with a sigh, resting his head against his comfortable belly-bed, "I'll visit her as first thing in the morning... I really hope she can help..." Zachary thought aloud as he closed his eyes, quickly falling asleep in a matter of seconds.

Basajaun spent a few minutes stroking the leopard's back as he slept, hoping that it would help somehow. Soon, however, the dragon's own tiredness caused him to fall back asleep, though his tail remained up around Zachary to offer some sort of comfort if needed.

Loyal to his words, Zachary awoke with the rising sun, once again disturbed by the pleading chanting which he'd been hearing in his dreams for a while now. After making sure that he didn't wake Basajaun with his movements as he got off of him, the leopard wobbled his way out of the guardhouse, feeling utterly unrested and angry at the same time.

The trip to Plainstead was a long one, yet the leopard felt like it only took a few seconds as he practically daydreamed through the whole way. His legs were carrying him, but his mind was actually half-asleep. Amazingly, he never tripped over anything as he sauntered along. Eventually, and with a great amount of luck, he arrived at the town without suffering any injuries through the cruise.

Glancing around the market and noticing the total absence of any signs of life. 'Of course, it's too early. I'm the only awake...' Zachary realized, making his way slowly to the owl's home which was not too far away from the market.

Nearing her door, Zachary hesitantly knocked on the entrance a couple of times, then leaned his head against it to fight his tired dizziness as he waited for any sort of reaction from the Elder. He hoped she was early to rise in the mornings, otherwise the leopard would be in big trouble for waking her so early.

After a significant pause, there was the sound of footsteps on the other side of the door. The temperature seemed to drop suddenly as the doorknob turned, and the door slowly opened to reveal a less than pleased owl standing in the entryway.

Esmeralda glared into Zachary's face for a moment, before her expression softened. "Well I was going to give you a piece of my mind on waking up an old lady," the Elder said, gesturing for the leopard to enter, "But it looks like you actually need my help, hm?"

Nodding, Zachary slowly walked through the doorway with his eyes half-closed, yawning long. "Yes, I need your help, Esmeralda." the leopard began, leaning against the wall for support, "Can we sit down...? I can't keep standing anymore." When the owl nodded, the feline made his way farther into the elder's home, sitting himself on the closest thing he found and sighing in relief as the soft pillows beneath him offered some level of comfort.

"Nightmares." Zachary said simply as he stared at Esmeralda with baggy eyes, "Can't get rid of them, and I haven't been able to sleep properly for a few days now. Just last night, I woke up three times." He explained, his expression steadily becoming more and more desperate for help.

"It's not going away... and that blasted chanting as well! It drives me crazy!" The leopard gritted his teeth, holding his head in his paws for a moment. "Can you help me? Can you make it go away somehow?"

Esmeralda watched the feline's face for a moment. "Nightmares, huh?" she mused, moving to Zachary and lifting his head. Looking into his eyes for a moment, the owl nodded, before reaching up to the various herbs that hung from her ceiling, gathering up several things as she moved across her home, dodging around a little blue mouse that scuttled its way across the floor. Moving to the small pot over a fire in the room that Zachary sat in, Esmeralda started adding small ingredients to it, before looking over to the leopard. "Can you describe your nightmares to me?" she asked as the mouse scampered up the chair that Zachary sat in, looking at the feline curiously. On closer inspection, the mouse's odd blue color could be seen to come from the fact that it was composed entirely of clear ice, animated through some form of magic.

After staring at the interesting little critter for a few moments, Zachary turned towards Esmeralda as she worked around the pot, throwing all sorts of items which the leopard had no idea what they were.

"Well..." he began, trying to gather all his memories regarding his dreams, "It's the same every time... to be honest." Zachary sighed, "I can only see total blackness for a while, and the crackling fire is the only sound I can hear. After a while, though... things get a little different." Gulping as he stared at his paws, the leopard forced himself to continue.

"I see blood all over around in an endless sea, stretching as far as my eyes can see. For long moments, nothing happens, but then..." Zachary closed his eyes, clutching his fists together, "Someone cries out in agony, it feels like it never stops... and soon comes the chanting as well."

"Just let my son live." Zachary reiterated the phrase out loud, an unreadable expression on his face, "A male voice pleads endlessly as I can hear him choking on something... probably his own blood. There's a thud, and then utter silence." The leopard glanced up at Esmeralda once more with a confused look, "Usually I wake up before the silence ends, but sometimes there's another voice, which simply says 'I'm sorry'... after that the blood disappears and is once again replaced by darkness. I hear... someone sobbing for a few moments. Then I always wake up, without exception..."

With his explanation done, the leopard inhaled deeply, holding the precious air in his lungs for a moment before exhaling. He leaned back in the chair, rubbing his baggy eyes as he waited for the owl's reaction.

As Zachary relayed the details of his dream, Esmeralda listened closely, stirring the pot idly. "Sounds like there's an issue, here," the owl muttered quietly, taking a ladle and pouring some of the concoction in the pot into a cup and bringing it to the feline, "Here, this will wake you up a bit."

The ice mouse hopped off of the chair, running into the kitchen for a moment, before returning with a small cookie, offering it to Zachary after getting his attention again. "Don't mind Snowflake, here," Esmeralda said, patting the mouse's head, "She's my little helper around the house."

Nodding, Zachary took the cookie and the cup in each paws. "Thank you." He said, swinging the contents of his cup in his mouth and swallowing quickly, eager to be rid of his constant tiredness. Surprised to realize that the concoction had no flavor to it whatsoever, the leopard began munching on the cookie as he could feel the effects of his drink immediately.

"So," He started, gulping down the rest of the treat before sighing in relief as his dizziness disappeared, "What do you think? Is there a way I could just get it out of my head for good...? I don't think I can keep going like this for too long if it doesn't go away." Zachary admitted with a serious tone, looking at Esmeralda with a hopeful expression.

Pulling a chair over, the owl sat down in front of the leopard. "I think this might be more than a simple nightmare," the Elder stated after a moment, "Though it might be too early to say that for sure." Taking a breath, Esmeralda seemed to gather her thoughts as Snowflake tapped Zachary's paw lightly, rubbing her face against the leopard's fur. The mouse was cool, but not as cold as she appeared, and her form didn't leave water on surfaces she touched.

"She wants you to pet her," Esmeralda said as she looked up, "Now, I think I can help you. But, what I have in mind is quite an invasion of privacy; when I'm done, you'll have no secrets left that I don't know. But it's necessary if you want my kind of help; still interested?"

Hesitating for a moment at the Elder's words, Zachary offered a gentle rub on the little mouse's head as he considered his options, eventually realizing that he had absolutely no other choice. "Yes... I want this to be over, and I'm willing to sacrifice my secrets for it." The leopard replied, his paw still petting Snowflake, "Let's get it over with, please. I want to be rid of this nightmare as soon as possible." He announced, closing his eyes as he waited for the Elder to do whatever she wanted to help him. Thoughts that this might have been a bad idea crossed his mind, but it was too late now.

Nodding, the owl scooted her chair closer to Zachary, Snowflake scampering over to her owner's shoulder to get out of the way. "Alright, this might feel weird," the Elder warned, placing her taloned hands on the feline's face, closing her eyes and concentrating for a moment, before intoning, "Memoria Visionis."

Zachary's whole body tensed as soon as the owl's words left her beak. He could feel himself slowly falling into a trance of some sort as he slowly fell into unconsciousness.

Opening her eyes, Esmeralda found herself standing in an alleyway. It was somewhere around evening, judging by the moderate darkness which enveloped the empty back street. The rain poured above her head, the droplets of water traveling down her talons until they departed and joined with the rest of their brethren on the dirt.

Glancing around herself, the Elder noted the crates which were scattered around next to the walls, as well as some torn clothes that lay next to a particularly big wooden crate. The sound of quiet sobbing soon caught the owl's attention, and with some hesitation, she walked towards the direction it came from to investigate. What she found was, to say the least, heartbreaking.

A tiny leopard lay inside the crate amongst the dirty and damp clothes. Even through his fur, Esmeralda could clearly see just how emaciated the little one was, with his bones sticking out in places where they shouldn't be. The critter continued his quiet whimpering for long minutes, occasionally sniffling a little as he held his paws over his hollow midsection.

As if sensing something in the air, the feline slowly raised his head from the protection of his shelter, revealing his identity to the Elder.

"Zachary..." Esmeralda whispered quietly as she watched the leopard slowly get up from his crate and walk right through her ghostly form.

Glancing around himself for a moment, Zachary's whole body trembled as he stood in the rain, frantically sniffing at the air a couple of times before bounding off towards the street which led out of the alleyway.

The Elder quickly followed the child with somewhat hesitant steps, eventually turning around the corner. She soon spotted Zachary on the ground with his back was against the wall, as well as the two massive guards who stood above the little one.

"I'm warning you, kid. If I ever catch you begging for food from nobles, you'll only see iron bars around yourself, understood?" One of the guards asked in a loud tone, pressing his foot on the leopard's body until he let out a painful shriek and nodded.

"Perfect. Now get out of my sight before I change my mind!" The guard shouted, pointing a finger towards the alleyway the leopard had come from. Both guards watched Zachary slowly get up and saunter away towards the back street before one of them let out an annoyed sigh.

"Boldrum was right, these homeless anthros are becoming a serious problem." One of them said, slowly turning around to walk away.

"Don't worry," The other called after him, a grin spreading across his face, "He already has a way to deal with them."

Esmeralda couldn't even comprehend what just happened before she felt her body being pulled away by a powerful force. Blackness followed, and soon the Elder was standing in front of an iron cell. For a few moments, nothing happened, until the faint sound of footsteps caught her attention.

"Let me go!" A slightly older Zachary demanded, struggling against the bulky hands of two other anthros as they pulled him across the floor.

"Shut it, thief! You won't be going anywhere for a very long time, don't you worry." One of the anthros replied as they neared the cell. With a heavy shove, Zachary was put behind the cells, and the leopard landed on the ground face first, remaining in the position for long moments.

After a few seconds, the leopard braced his hands against the ground and slowly pushed himself up, fresh tears running from his eyes as he stared at the guards behind the iron door. "I was starving! I didn't have any oth--

"I told you to shut it!" The anthro who spoke earlier snapped, hitting the iron bar with a fist as he glared at the kid on the ground, "We don't care what you did. We're following orders, kid. Just don't talk and you might see the sun again." With that, the two anthros left, carrying the only source of light with them as well.

Esmeralda peered through the darkness, eventually spotting Zachary in the middle of the cell as he sat with his legs pulled tightly against his body. He didn't move for a few minutes, simply sitting there in the complete blackness as he stared at the ground in front of him.

Soon, he was sobbing quietly, trying his best to muffle his crying by burying his face in his legs. Tears flowed from his eyes endlessly, coating his fur in the process. The image slowly drifted off into the distance as the owl was once again pulled away from the scene.

"What is your name, kid?" An anthro asked from a tenish leopard in front of him as he played with some rocks on the ground. Zachary turned his head to look at the anthro, shaking it after a moment of silence.

"I don't have a name." He answered simply, focusing his attention back on his imaginative toys.

The anthro, a turtle, gave a somewhat sorrowful expression, before sighing and sitting next to the playing leopard. "Well, my name is Merek. What are you playing there?" he asked with a smile, pointing at the feline's rocks and leaves.

"I'm cooking food." The painful answer came from Zachary as he proceeded to cut the rock with a leaf before handing it up for Merek. "Do you want some?"

The old turtle stared at the offering with wide eyes, swiftly wiping something from his eye before smiling and taking the rock from the leopard's paw. "Thank you." he said, looking at the tiny pebble in his hands hesitantly before throwing it into his mouth and chewing with a painful expression. "This is really... good!" Merek announced with a forced grin.

The leopard laughed, shaking his head at the old anthro. "You're kinda stupid for eating it, Merek." Zachary stated with a grin before his expression changed back to a sour one. "Are you homeless too?" He asked from the turtle, staring at the ground in front of him.

"Yes, my child, I am." Merek replied after spitting the rock out and looking painfully at the tiny leopard in front of him. The two of them remained silent for a while, with Zachary continuing to indulge in his culinary activities, and the turtle helping him prepare it.

"Where did you get a name?" The little one asked suddenly after long minutes of playing, glancing at the turtle curiously.

The turtle was hesitant to answer as he stared back at the leopard next to him. "I gave it to myself." He replied with a smile. The fact that he was lying was evident on his worn face.

The feline's expression brightened. "So I can give myself a name as well?" He asked enthusiastically, a faint smile appearing on his face. The turtle nodded.

At first excited, the leopard's eagerness soon died down as he realized something. "But... how could I give myself a name? I don't know any names besides Merek. Can I be Merek too?"

The turtle laughed, shaking his head. "I don't think that name would suit you well, my child." Putting a finger under his chin in thought, Merek cocked his head slightly as an idea crossed his mind. "I could give you a few names, if you'd like. You could pick from those."

"Yes! Lemme hear them!" The feline jumped up with joy, his excitement once again present.

The turtle chuckled lightly, waving his hand for the little one to sit down. "How about Zachary? You remind me of someone I used to know," Merek looked away for a moment, clearing his throat before turning back, "You could use his name now. I'm sure he wouldn't mind anymore."

Imitating the turtle's earlier gesture of putting a finger on his chin in thought, the leopard nodded with a smile. "I like that one!" he announced, extending his paw for Merek. "Hello, Merek. My name is Zachary!" The newly christened leopard introduced himself with a wide smile.

Taking the tiny feline's paw gingerly, Merek shook it slowly. "Hi there, Zachary. It's nice to meet you." He greeted back with a warm smile, his voice breaking on several occasions as he spoke.

The image began to disappear once again from the Elder's eyes as she flew through Zachary's timeline. She had to wipe something from her eyes as she felt her body began to fade into the constant flow of the leopard's memories.

Esmeralda endured through the rest of the experience with tearful eyes, experiencing first hand the hardships of a homeless orphan on the streets. She watched as Merek taught Zachary to read, and saw the disappearance of the turtle and the effect it had on the little leopard. Zachary didn't eat for straight three days after he was alone once again.

She watched him in the dark as he sat behind iron bars more times than anyone would deserve. She watched him steal food from a noble family after he'd been starving for days, and never once did she look away.

She saw how everyone the leopard met through his childhood and adolescent years disappeared from his life. Zachary was always alone, always struggling to survive with each passing day. It was hard, but he survived. The leopard beat every problem that was thrown in front of him with endless determination to simply... live.

She heard his painful cries in the night when he lay on the streets, curled up in a ball, hungry as ever. And she listened to his quiet sobs and sniffling. But no matter how much he cried, Zachary always stood up. He never gave up, and that's the only reason he was able to force himself through nineteen years of constant suffering and hardships.

But, one day, which seemed like just the other, he was given a chance. Most people wouldn't think of it as a chance to completely turn your life around, and yet, that's exactly what happened on the fateful day Zachary was banished from Boldrumton.

Watching silently, Esmeralda saw as the leopard failed in his attempt to steal from the mayor of his home town, the trial and resulting banishment, and Judge Hughe's final words to Zachary. The owl followed behind the feline as he was thrown from the edge of Boldrumton, and took his path towards the forest where he first met Basajaun.

Esmeralda smiled as she watched Zachary attempt to hunt his first hare, surprised when she saw Basajaun seem to appear out of nowhere. 'Well, he was skinnier then,' the owl thought to herself with a smirk.

The following days were glossed over, until Esmeralda found the day that the mercenaries attacked. The day seemed to start off like the previous one, until the image suddenly blacked out while the leopard was gathering in the forest. A moment later, the Elder found herself in a dark cave, listening to Basajaun sob as he explained what had happened.

The owl glossed over the pairs flight, until she found the clearing they had stayed in. The memory was sweet, but the Elder was going to pass over it again, when the dragon's odd request to be fed by hand elicited an equally strange mix of emotions from Zachary. Deciding to watch, Esmeralda suddenly found the reason for Basajaun's corpulence, and the amount of joy it brought both leopard and dragon.

Smiling at the silly pair, Esmeralda watched the rest of the memories without skipping them, suddenly quite interested in what she would find. The nightly feedings were an interesting and impressive spectacle for the owl, who soon found herself at the point when the pair wound up in Plainstead.

Glossing over what she already knew, the Elder quickly made her way to the point of Zachary's most recent dream. Watching for herself, Esmeralda got a much clearer understanding of what Zachary was suffering through each night.

The Elder listened carefully to the sounds as she stared at the darkness around her. Just as the leopard had mentioned, she could hear the faint sound of crackling fire. In addition, the creaking of a nearby chair was audible, with a male voice muttering something close to her ears.

"It's alright, little one." the voice said softly, sniffling for a few moments before continuing, "Papa needs to take you somewhere, now. Just stay quiet for me, al--

Esmeralda flinched as a loud thud disturbed the male anthro's words, not even drawing a breath to hear as much detail as she possibly could.

"What are you doing here?" The voice from earlier demanded, drawing a breath to continue before stopping. Sharp metal slicing through flesh. An unmistakable sound.

The familiar voice cried out in agony, coughing and collapsing on the ground with a loud thud. The sound of footsteps draw nearer and nearer to Esmeralda's ears until she could hear someone breathing heavily right next to her in the darkness. The individual panted, his breath coming in short breaks as silence followed.

"Just let my son live! Please, I'm begging you! Just let him live!" The voice pleaded with all his leftover strength between coughing and wheezing. Blood splattered on the floor, and with a final exhale, the voice spoke no more.

There was a long pause as the murderer continued breathing heavily. Something dropped on the floor, and the other voice began crying quietly, sobbing for minutes.

"I-I'm so sorry... I... it was Boldrum's idea... I didn't know you had a..." The murderer stammered between sobbing, his voice was barely audible, as if he were standing some metres away from Zachary's body.

No response followed, and in the utter silence, Zachary began crying softly, his whimpering voice sending chills up the Elder's spine.

Footsteps again, loud crying from the murderer accompanied the baby leopard's quiet weeping. "I can't... I'm sorry." The voice said, as Esmeralda could feel her body being lifted up in the darkness.

Rain splattering against the ground, heavy footsteps in the mud, and constant sobbing. Esmeralda listened to all of them in silence. After a while, the footsteps came to a halt, and the Elder's body was placed on something hard.

"Live." The voice said simply, leaving the owl alone in the darkness as she listened to the rain quietly. After a while, the child leopard began softly whimpering. The crying steadily increased as minutes passed, eventually becoming a loud bawling.

No able to bear the sound anymore, Esmeralda pulled herself out of the memory, knowing that she got what she came for. There was no reason to listen to a soon-to-be homeless orphan's cry for help.

As she exited the leopard's mind, Esmeralda found her face wet with fresh tears. And as Zachary came to, the leopard suddenly felt the sting of being slapped in the face. "Dammit boy, warn a body that you have a tragic past before you ask her to look at it!" the owl scolded the feline, wiping her face dry afterwards.

Zachary rubbed at his face with a paw, barely registering the pain as he slowly became aware of his surroundings. He looked at Esmeralda with his baggy eyes, sighing long. "I'm sorry..." The leopard apologized with a weak tone, glancing at his feet while he fiddled around with his paws.

Sniffling for a few moments, the owl eventually managed to compose herself. "Right, I found what you were looking for," Esmeralda reported, as Snowflake brought the Elder a handkerchief, "Your nightmares are most likely a memory that you're blocking. To end them, you'll need to remember the event fully. I can help you do that. But I warn you; this event could change your life. Are you prepared for that?"

"I-I think so... as long as it ends this torment." Zachary replied with a nod, clutching his paws tightly against the wooden chair. "It can't be much worse than what I already know, Esmeralda." He said, looking at the Elder, knowing that now she was aware of what he had been through.

Nodding, the owl placed a talon between Zachary's eyes. "Meminesse Oblitus!" Esmeralda commanded, forcing the repressed memory to the front of the leopard's mind.

Zachary's mind allowed access to the forgotten memory, and the leopard closed his eyes as the events of his father's murder played out in his brain. Somewhere halfway through the experience, a single tear began slowly flowing from the feline's eye.

Opening his eyes as the memory faded, the leopard looked at the Elder with a painful expression. "Thank you." he said simply, putting a paw on his forehead as he began sobbing quietly.

"I always thought my parents simply left me to die on the streets," Zachary began explaining after a few moments of crying, wiping the tears from his eyes, and finding Snowflake offering another handkerchief to him, "I guess I was wrong." He said, taking the tissue and looking up at Esmeralda with a faint smile.

"But... still..." Zachary stammered, patting the little critter's head in appreciation, "How could anyone... do something like this? Even from Boldrum... that's just too much. And why would he murder my father? What did he accomplish with that?" The leopard asked from the universe itself, rather than the Elder in front of him. It seemed like getting to know the answers only brought more questions.

Esmeralda didn't have an answer, but she knew who might. "The murderer, do you recognize his voice?" the Elder asked, looking into Zachary's eyes seriously, "It doesn't sound like he was acting out of his own volition. I think Boldrum forced this misfortune, and if the one who killed your parents is still alive, he may have answers for you."

The leopard shook his head. "No... but I would recognize it surely if I ever heard it again. It's etched into my mind now." Zachary pointed a finger at his head, "So... does this mean the nightmares are over? Will I be able to get decent sleep now?" He asked with a hopeful expression on his face. Knowing that he would be able to get some amount of rest was able to overpower the urge to dive even deeper into the subject of his past, for now. That would come later.

Esmeralda sighed. "It might take a few days for them to fade completely," she replied with an apologetic expression, "But I can make you something that'll ensure you get a full night's rest, nightmares or not. It's quite potent, so you should only use it if you have to."

"I would appreciate that very much, thank you. And I'll only use it if it's absolutely necessary." Zachary said, lowering his ears as he continued, "And sorry again for not warning you about my... Er... past. I really should have..." The leopard apologized once again, giving a few pats on Snowflake's head.

Esmeralda waved her hand. "You mentioned you were an orphan before," she said, giving her own sorrowful expression. "I suppose I didn't expect that your original town would treat them so... poorly," the owl admitted, "Knowing what I do know, I'm half tempted to make the trek to Boldrumton to freeze the mayor's kneecaps and shatter them with this!" The Elder held up her cane, making a motion like hitting a person's knees.

Zachary stared wide-eyed at the old owl, chuckling nervously at the Elder's sudden brutality. "Well, I wouldn't try to stop you," he pointed at her cane, "That looks like it can do some serious damage to someone's body, so I'd rather stay out of your way, Esmeralda." The leopard admitted, the faintest smile appearing on his face.

"Thank you for opening my eyes about my past." The feline said, standing up and immediately reaching for the chair for support as his dizziness returned. "I'll have to think what to do next... now that I know what truly happened. But for now," Zachary let out a long yawn, "I need to get some sleep... can you give me the thing you were talking about that would help me? You know... just in case."

Esmeralda nodded, standing as well and reaching over to Snowflake. "I'll do that," she answered as the little ice mouse scampered up the owl's arm, "Would you mind if I accompanied you to your home? You look ready to collapse, and I don't want you passing out on the way with no one there to help."

Zachary shook his head, smiling at the Elder. "Not at all." He replied, sauntering his way to the front door and waiting for the owl to follow. "Just make sure you catch me if I fall, I don't feel like breaking my arm again." The leopard joked, too tired to even let out a laugh as he practically had to hold up his head with his paw to avoid falling asleep right then and there.

Gathering up the ingredients she needed for her sleeping aid, the owl set down Snowflake before moving to Zachary's side, holding out a spare cane with a humorous grin. "Think you might need this?" the Elder offered in a not-quite-joking tone as she opened the door, the sun shining onto Zachary's face.

Screaming in discomfort, the leopard swatted at the source of the light for a few moments. "No! Go away!" He demanded from the sun, that seemingly laughed directly in his face as it continued its endless assault on Zachary's eyes.

After a few moments, his vision adjusted to the brightness, and the pair began slowly walking through the market, and into the long grass.

"Esmeralda," Zachary began after a few minutes of walking, slapping himself in the face to stay awake just for a little while, "Can I ask you... not to make Basa worry too much about my past. He knows what I've been through, but not in the way you and me do. You can tell him what you saw... just try not to scare him too much, please." The leopard said, smiling to himself as his thoughts shifted to his friend, "I know how he would react."

Esmeralda actually laughed out loud. "Sorry," she apologized when Zachary gave her a quizzical expression, "I've just never been asked to not scare a dragon before. It was an amusing thought. But you needn't worry; I'll break the news gently."

Straightening herself, the Elder's expression turned curious as she looked to Zachary. "Speaking of Basajaun and your past," Esmeralda began, "I have to ask; what in the world is with the feeding? I mean, I know you don't know, but still, I can't help but wonder. It's so... well unique, to put it one way."

The leopard quickly awoke from his half-slumbering upon hearing the Elder's words, just now realizing that she had seen every last piece of his memories, including the nights spent with stuffing Basajaun to the brim.

"Well..." Zachary stared at his feet, looking lost in thought, "I suppose it might have to do something with me and my... earlier experiences with starvation. I honestly don't know, it just makes me happy to see him eat as much as he can without having to worry about staying hungry." The leopard blushed, coughing a little before continuing.

"And he likes it as well... so I see nothing wrong with it." Zachary allowed himself a grin, glancing at the owl next to him, "Plus, he makes the most comfortable bed in the world!" he said with a laugh, still blushing as intensively as ever.

Esmeralda giggled at the leopard's blush. "Alright boy, I didn't mean to embarrass you," the owl stated, nudging Zachary's side with her elbow, "Don't worry, your secrets, all of them, are safe with me. But, I reserve the right to tease you mercilessly in private, dragonfeeder!" Grinning mischievously, the Elder cackled at her own words.

Zachary put a paw on his forehead, sighing. "I should have thought of this before letting you in my mind!" He said, soon joining in the Elder's laughter.

"But I'm okay with that... as long as this little secret stays a secret." The leopard demanded as the pair slowly reached the woodlands, tall trees replacing the long grass in a matter of seconds.

As she walked through the woods, Esmeralda quieted, looking around herself with a calm smile. It almost seemed like she forgot Zachary was there as she moved, until she looked back to the leopard with a smile.

"You're lucky to live here," the owl stated, "I have to live in town, where I can oversee things and offer my ever-demanded advice. I miss living in the wilds more than I'd care to admit to the townsfolk."

The Elder gave Zachary a smirk. "There, now you have a secret to hold over my head, too!" she said with a chuckle.

"I find that very comforting and relieving at the same time, to be honest." Zachary replied with a chuckle as well, looking around himself and smiling warmly at the view.

"I can only imagine how that feels like. We were only in Plainstead for a week or so with Basa, but both of us were desperate to get back into any kind of forested area as soon as possible." Zachary explained, offering a smile to the elder as he walked alongside her towards the direction of his home.

"I'm lucky I stumbled into a forest dragon on the day I was banished, both of us are obsessed with trees and nature, so there were no debates about where to live during our travels." Yawning once more, the leopard held a paw in front of his mouth as he walked, feeling more and more tired with each step he took. Thankfully, the guardhouse soon came into view, and the exhausted feline let out a sigh of relief as they neared the entrance.

Opening the front door, Zachary gestured for the owl to enter and have a look with a warm smile on his face, although his expression was somewhat ruined by the way his eyelids slowly fell up and down with each second. Poor leopard was really tired.

With the sound of the door opening, Basajaun's voice came up from the basement. "Zachary, is that you?" the dragon called out, his head popping up from the trapdoor to glare at his friend, "You know, you could at least leave a note when you leave, so I know where you..." The dragon paused in his scolding when he saw just how tired the leopard was, "Nevermind, you probably weren't awake enough for that, were you?"

Shaking his head, Zachary didn't bother to explain anything as he quickly rushed towards the cushions which were in one of the sleeping chambers. "Sorry, Basa! Elder Eszes will explain things... I'm off to sleep, good night!" He called out before jumping on the pillows and sighing in contentment as he cuddled himself against the fabric until he was comfortable. Not five seconds later, he was snoring quietly, peacefully curled up in his favourite sleeping position on the soft cushions.

"Elder Eszes?" the dragon repeated, looking to the bunkroom in confusion.

"Yes me, Basajaun," the owl in question responded as the drake turned to look to the open door in surprise, "What, am I not welcome in your home, lizard?"

The dragon shook his head, ignoring the name he had been called. "That's not it, I just wasn't expecting a visit," Basajaun clarified, bowing his head to the person he was now officially supposed to answer to, "It's been a while; welcome to our home Elder Eszes."

Esmeralda waved her hand noncommitally. "You needn't be so formal, Basajaun," the owl said, moving to sit in one of the chairs in the main room, "I'm just here to help Zachary get some rest, if he should need the help I can offer."

"I appreciate that," the dragon said, smiling thankfully, "He was having--"

"Nightmares, I know," Esmeralda finished the drake's statement, "I helped him come to a resolution for the issue behind them, but I'll let Zachary do any further explaining."

Looking to the dragon's position in the trapdoor, the Elder tapped her talon on her cane. "Well, are you just going to stay down there all day?" she demanded after a moment, giving an amused smirk, "Or are you going to come up and entertain your guest?"

Hesitating for a moment, Basajaun nodded. "Of course, but..." the reptile looked down the trapdoor at his greatly softened form, "Just as a warning, so you won't be caught off-guard, I've gotten a little, well, larger since last we met."

Smiling to herself as the dragon retreated from the trapdoor, Esmeralda thrummed her talons across her cane as she waited the few minutes it took for Basajaun reemerge into the room through the wide doors that were meant for cavalry. "Well, that is larger," the Elder snickered, giving the dragon a grin as she beheld his increased proportions for herself.

Taken aback, Basajaun sighed. "Of course you're not surprised," the dragon mumbled, before looking up to the Elder, "Does anything surprise you?"

"Of course," Esmeralda answered as she waved her hand dismissively, "I just had some forewarning about your status before I arrived. But I have to ask; isn't it tiring to carry all of that around?"

Setting himself on his haunches next to the Elder, Basajaun shrugged. "Not really, I'm quite strong," the dragon said simply, despite knowing well that this was an understatement, "I am a dragon, after all. So if it isn't impeding me, why should I mind it?"

Esmeralda nodded, giving the drake a serious expression. "That's good," she said, sighing after a moment and looking up to Basajaun, "Look, Zachary has just been through a rather unpleasant ordeal. I had to go digging for the thorn causing his nightmares, and I..." the Elder's throat caught at the memory, but she continued, "I had to bring a tragic memory he was blocking back to the surface. It isn't my place to describe it, so if you want more details, you'll have to ask your little friend."

Basajaun didn't say anything, simply nodding. "And Basajaun," the Elder added after a moment, "This is a request from me; you keep that boy safe, you hear? He's gone through enough pain in his life, he doesn't need more heartache."

Basajaun wondered what Esmeralda and Zachary had discussed to render the normally eccentric owl so serious. "Y-yeah," the drake replied after a moment, "You can count on me; I would rather take on an army of professional dragon hunters than let harm fall on Zachary."

Seeming to be satisfied with that answer, Esmeralda nodded. "That's right," she affirmed the dragon's statement, though it almost seemed like a subtle threat from the Elder, promising unfortunate things would befall Basajaun if he failed to keep the leopard safe.

After a moment of silence, the dragon offered to get Esmeralda anything. Eventually, the atmosphere between them relaxed to the point that they could engage in small talk as they waited for their mutual friend to awaken.

Zachary's eyes slowly opened, and he sat up from his cushiony bed with a smile on his face. Stretching his back and his arms at the same time, the leopard let out a sigh of relief as he could feel the energy flowing through his body once again. He hadn't felt this rested in a week!

"Finally..." He said to himself as he got up and slowly sauntered his way out to the main hall. Spotting the Elder and the Dragon, the leopard smiled widely. "Hey, you two. How long have I slept?" He asked as he neared the pair, leaning against the wall lightly with his arms crossed.

Basajaun and Esmeralda both smiled warmly to the leopard. "Hey, you're looking a lot better!" the dragon said happily, reaching over and nuzzling Zachary's face, "You've been asleep for about eight hours. I bet that felt good, huh?"

Esmeralda stood up from her seat. "Looks like you didn't need my sleeping aid after all," the stated, "Ah well, it was nice to get out into the woods and visit, anyways. The town's probably going mad trying to find me at this point, though." Moving to the door, Esmeralda smiled to the pair, "I've got to go make sure that Plainstead hasn't burned itself to the ground without me; you two take care now. And take care of each other, too." That last statement seemed more directed at Basajaun, but he nodded anyways as the Elder exited the guardhouse.

Zachary hugged Basajaun's head closely to his body, his voice a whisper as he spoke. "She is scary!" The leopard stated with a chuckle, staying in the embrace as he continued. "But she helped me with the nightmares, so I can deal with that trait of hers, I suppose." Looking at Basajaun after he finished his giggling, Zachary's expression became serious.

"Did she... tell you what happened?" He asked hesitantly, not quite looking forward to explaining things to his friend. But he knew Basajaun deserved to know the truth, and Zachary would tell everything, if that's what the dragon wanted.

"She said something about you going through a lot, but she didn't explain past that," the dragon replied, "But I have a feeling that there's quite a bit she didn't tell me. If it's something that you're uncomfortable with me knowing, then I won't ask." Giving his friend an understanding smile, Basajaun nuzzled his face once more.

Chuckling at first at the cuddling, Zachary's expression turned to a hesitant one. "It's... alright. You deserve to know it." he said, staring into his friend's eye, "But I have to warn you... it's not a pleasant memory, to say the least." The leopard had to look away for a moment as he remembered the way his father cried out in pain and begged for Zachary's life.

"And you should pay close attention... because I'm not sure I can tell you this story twice." The feline said, still looking away. He wiped something from his eye quickly, and recollected himself. With a sigh, he sat down in a chair, waiting for Basajaun to reply before starting.

Seeing the determination in his friend's face, Basajaun nodded and situated himself in front of Zachary. "I'm listening with undivided attention," the dragon assured the feline, smiling reassuringly.

"Well..." Zachary began and recited the entirety of his forgotten memory, mentioning each sound and their possible meanings. He told Basajaun about everything. Every single detail. How his father tried to soothe him, only to be disturbed by someone kicking the door. The sound of the knife cutting deeply in his flesh, and the way he pleaded for his son's life even in the door of death. He didn't leave out any of the murderer's words either as he broke down upon seeing what Boldrum had forced him to do.

"He simply said 'live'... and then left me on the streets. I'd spare you from listening to what happened after that... let's just say it gets worse." The leopard finished, coughing to soothe his throat which had been getting tighter and tighter as he spoke, "Boldrum killed my father, Basa. I don't know why he did it, or what his goal was with it... but he is the reason I became a homeless orphan." Sighing long after finishing with his monologue, Zachary looked down at his feet, remaining in that position as he stared numbly at the ground while he waited for his friend's reaction.

Basajaun didn't speak for a while, though his expression showed a mixture of sadness and anger. A few minutes passed before the dragon took a deep breath to calm himself, giving the leopard as honest a smile as he could. "Thank you for sharing that with me," Basajaun said, his voice still bearing a slight tone of anger, "What are you going to do with this knowledge? Whatever you decide, I'll support you."

Zachary looked at the dragon, hesitating to answer as he stared in Basajaun's eyes. "I'm... not sure..." he replied, his expression changing to angry as he continued, "I want Boldrum to pay for this. For all the things he's done against me... killing my father, and then trying the same thing with me. My brain wants vengeance..." The leopard said, pointing at his head before bringing his paw in front of his chest and tapping it lightly, "But my heart wants to just... forget and move on."

The leopard glanced at his friend with a small smile, putting a paw on the dragon's head. "I've never been happier in my life than right now... and if I choose revenge, I risk losing everything I have. I risk losing this home, never seeing Plainstead again and its people, and my life... " he stared deeply in the dragon's eyes, smiling a little "And I risk losing my best friend as well. I'm not sure I can sacrifice this much for justice... no matter how much I hate and despise Boldrum. And no matter what I do... it won't bring my father back, nor the years I've spent on the streets either." Zachary finished, fresh tears welling up in his eyes as he looked Basajaun confusedly.

Forgiveness or revenge. Both choices could either change his life for better or worse. And Zachary didn't know which was the good one... perhaps there wasn't any.

Basajaun nuzzled the leopard's hand, thinking for a moment. "May I offer my opinion?" the dragon asked, giving his friend a serious expression.

Zachary nodded, stroking Basajaun's head with a paw. His friend's touch was more comforting than anything in the world, that much was certain.

"I don't claim to know what's best for you in this situation," the drake began, "But I know this for certain; as long as Boldrum is in power, he is going to keep abusing his position. And more stories like yours are going to happen. You and I have escaped his reach, and we could just say that he isn't our problem anymore."

Taking a deep breath, Basajaun gave Zachary a look of such fierce determination that it was actually intimidating. "But that's not who I am," the dragon continued, "I can't stand idly by, knowing that, given the chance, Boldrum would try killing you again. As long as he is in power, he'll keep oppressing those without the means to fight back."

"So, I'm going back," Basajaun said, his eyes filled with with fire, "I can't do otherwise; Boldrum has threatened both of our well being, and I now know he's being doing so to you for your whole life. I can't just let that go, Zachary. I might want to just forget and live in peace, but I can't. I just... I can't Zach."

Basajaun set his head in the leopard's lap, looking up to him apologetically. "I know you want to live in peace, too," the drake stated, "So I'm not going to ask you to leave what we have here; you've worked too hard for it. But... I have to at least try and save the others like you."

Zachary stayed silent as he stroked the dragon's head in his lap, staring in front of him with an unreadable expression. "I see," he began, glancing at Basajaun with such determination in his eyes that would have scared even the Elder, "You're right, we have to do something. And I'm not going to just sit here and wait for you to take care of my problems. Not even talking about other lives who are suffering just the same as I have because of Boldrum... I never even wondered that there might be someone else as unfortunate as I'm, but I understand now, Basa." the leopard's eyes burned with the same fiery passion like his friend's, "Boldrum has to pay for what he had done to me, you and every other life he had ruined. And we, both of us, will make him."

The smile that Basajaun gave wasn't the expression of an anthro; it was completely draconic, and able to send shivers up the spine of the most hardened knight. "Then we're going to unseat a tyrant," the dragon said, before seeming to have a thought.

Raising his head and collecting himself, the drake looked back down to Zachary. "Of course, I don't know how many men Boldrum has," Basajaun realized out loud, his countenance falling somewhat, "Or how well armed and trained they are. If they're anything like that dog he sent after us, then I think we'll need some help."

As if remembering something, the leopard smiled back at Basajaun. "I know who will help us." he said, pausing a little before continuing, "The oppressed people of Boldrumton. They are just as displeased with their Mayor as we are, I'm sure they would help us if we offered them the possibility of getting rid of Boldrum." Zachary explained, Judge Hughe's last words echoing in his mind about the increasing resistance against the corrupted Mayor, and the mention of a possible rebellion in the future against him.

Basajaun grinned sheepishly. "As fine as that may be," the dragon said, "I was more thinking of someone in particular. You know, the only person that has legitimately scared me?"

Realizing what the dragon meant, Zachary looked at him somewhat hesitantly. "Elder Eszes might be indeed... very powerful, but she has responsibilities, here, in Plainstead. I'm not sure she would accept, Basa." The leopard said, knowing perfectly well just how many times Esmeralda mentioned that the town would burn down without her. He had a good reason to doubt her willingness to risk her peoples', as well as her life.

Basajaun sighed. "You're probably right; still, I would like to at least ask if she can offer us any help," the dragon insisted, "Even if she can't accompany us, she might have some sort of assistance that she can offer. And she'll know if anyone else in the town has any way to help us."

Zachary nodded. "We'll do that. I'm sure she will be able to help us." he said, giving the dragon a small smile. It was nice knowing that there was a witch on your side, despite how scary said witch was most of the time.

"So, it seems like we're going back to Boldrumton," the leopard reiterated, the statement still making him rather uncomfortable, "But when should we get going? And a more important question..." glancing at the dragon's fairly fattened form, Zachary continued, "How? It's been awhile since you tried flying, right?" he asked with a toothy grin, his gaze lingering on the softened features of Basajaun.

Blinking at the realization, the dragon looked between his middle and his wings, feeling his face fall for a moment. "Oh, right," Basajaun mumbled, looking back to Zachary with a sheepish grin, "Um, I should still be able to fly... maybe..." The dragon whispered that last word, more than a little unsure.

"But I think we should get to Plainstead first, and see what kind of assistance we can get," the drake said with a more confident tone, "Even if it turns out that I can't fly, I have a lot of endurance when it comes to land travel, as you've seen before. I'm willing to walk all the way back to Boldrumton with you on my back, if that's what it takes."

Zachary nodded once again. "Alright, I suppose that can work too... but it's going to take us a lot more time to get there on foot." he mused, "That's not a big problem, though. I enjoyed our last travel thoroughly, and I'm sure I'll this one too." The leopard stated with a wink, thinking of the nightly feedings that had happened throughout their search for a new home.

"Should we visit Plainstead today?" The feline asked, glancing at Basajaun, "Or would you like to spend the rest of the day relaxing before we start preparing for the journey? We won't have too many opportunities to do that while traveling, and even less once we are back in Boldrumton."

Basajaun nodded. "I think resting for another day is a good idea," the dragon agreed, "It sounds like you could use it after what you went through with Esmeralda."

Giving his friend another nuzzle, the drake stood and stretched. "Though we could spend our day relaxing in town," Basajaun suggested smilingly, "I think I'd like to have an opportunity to spend some time with our friends before we have to go."

"I have nothing against that idea." Zachary replied, returning the dragon's smile. Standing up from his chair, the feline stretched in a similar fashion like his friend, giving him a gentle prod in his soft gut.

"Perhaps we could have a little goodbye feast tonight," he suggested with a grin, giving Basajaun's side a few encouraging strokes and feeling the massive amount of pudge in his paws, "We won't be able to do too much feeding sessions if we ever want to reach Boldrumton, so we might as well enjoy ourselves as much as we can before we leave."

Basajaun smiled, cocking an eyebrow. "You wouldn't mind feasting in public?" the dragon asked with a hint of surprise in his voice, "I admit, it'd be one memorable parting image!"

Zachary blinked a couple of times, looking at the dragon confusedly. "Er... I imagined we would come back home and have that feast in private." The leopard admitted with a mild blush, obviously still embarrassed by his unexplainable fondness towards the dragon's increasing weight.

"Oh, alright," the dragon said smilingly, "That works as well. Though I suppose if we told everyone that we're leaving, they'd like to have a meal with us as well. Rusty and Rosy would definitely want that, at least."

Basajaun patted Zachary's shoulder. "Of course, there's nothing stopping us from doing both," the drake grinned as he spoke, giving the leopard a wink as he patted his abdomen, setting it jiggling softly, "Think of it as giving you a head start to getting me completely full by the end of the night!"

Zachary smiled at the image widely, finding it impossible not to stare at the dragon's fat as it was jiggling. "Oh, you will get full," The leopard said with a chuckle, pinching Basajaun's ample flesh, "And then some, you know, for the road!"

"If you're going to be walking all the way back to Boldrumton, you're destined to lose some of that," The feline stated with a somewhat disappointed expression on his face as the realization hit him, "We need to make sure you have some extra 'plush'!"

Seeing his friend's face fall, the dragon thought for a moment. "Hey, don't worry," Basajaun said with a smile, "That just means it'll turn into muscle. And then I'll be even better at hunting, so even if I lose fat, I'll be able to gain it back easily enough. I mean, you've seen how fast this grows!" Taking Zachary's hand gently, the drake put the paw on his belly, pressing it in softly, "See? There's more here than yesterday, and as long as we hunt well, there will always be more for you! That, I can promise!"

"Besides, I was exercising when we were travelling before, remember?" Basajaun added in a reassuring tone, "And flying takes a lot more energy and effort than walking. So I think I'll be gaining more weight, yet."

Zachary's expression immediately brightened upon hearing the dragon's words, and he looked at his friend's sagging middle with a broad smile. "There's no way you could have improved my mood better than by saying that." The leopard admitted with a chuckle, "And it's not only for me. I know that you like it just as much as I do!" Pushing his paw softly in the reptile's flab, the feline gave his friend a playful wink.

"Of course, but it seems to cheer you up most," Basajaun stated, kneeling down for a moment. "Anyways, I think it would be good if we made our way into town now," the dragon continued, offering his back to Zachary, "Would you like to arrive riding in style, little friend?"

Nodding eagerly, the feline quickly jumped on the dragon's back, feeling himself sink in the pudge which had accumulated on his friend's back. "Of course!" he replied with a wide grin, not even bothering to hold on to the dragon anymore, so accustomed he had gotten to riding the massive reptile. "A ride to Plainstead, if you will?" Zachary said in a forced tone, trying his hardest to imitate a noble anthro.

Basajaun chuckled lightly. "Oh, of course, good sir!" the dragon said in an equally posh tone, raising his snout a bit higher as he began to swagger out of the guardhouse. Unfortunately, the exaggerated gait he adopted soon had his pendulous midsection throwing him off balance, and the drake had to catch himself against the doorway to keep from falling.

Bursting out laughing, the dragon looked back to his rider. "You alright back there?" Basajaun giggled, giving a mirthful smile to Zachary.

"Yes!" Zachary replied as he pulled himself over from the side of the dragon. Basajaun's minor topple almost resulted in the leopard falling off of his back, given that he wasn't actually holding on to the reptile. If it wasn't for his instinctive reflexes, he surely would have paid a visit to the ground.

"I don't think flying as an option anymore, Basa." the feline commented with a mischievous smile, patting Basajaun's side with his paw, "Just make sure you don't go walking around like this while we're on our way to Boldrumton. It could lead to some pretty hilarious accidents, I'm certain." He said with a chuckle, remembering how the dragon face planted the dirt the first time he gained weight and attempt flying.

Basajaun adopted a more practical, though somewhat wide, gait as he exited the guardhouse. "Well, I'd at least like to attempt to fly," the dragon insisted, mildly hurt in his friend's lack of faith in his ability to do so, "Even if I can only do so for short bursts, it'd still be faster than walking the entire way to Boldrumton."

Basajaun looked back to his rider as they made their way to Plainstead. "Though I understand if you don't want to be riding me while I make the attempt," the reptile admitted with a warm smile, "I wouldn't want to end up crashing while you're on my back; you might end up being what breaks this fatty's fall!"

"Hey, if you're risking breaking something, then I will too." Zachary replied, giving his friend a determined expression, "We're in this together, Basa. And that includes everything, even testing whether or not you can fly. After all, you will have to be able to perform that while I'm on your back."

"And I didn't mean to discourage you," The leopard clarified with a warm smile, "I was only teasing you. I really think you can still fly." Pinching the fat from Basajaun's back, he added, "This will only make it a little more difficult. It doesn't render you completely earthbound... yet!" Zachary said his last word with a laugh, obviously enjoying every minute of joking around with the dragon's steadily increasing fatness.

"I appreciate the offer!" Basajaun stated with a smile, "But I'm just facing some bruises and sprains, maybe a dislocation at worst. I am a dragon; my bones are tough enough that I've heard stories of weapons being made from dragonbone and outperforming their metal counterparts. What do you think happens when an overweight, twelve meter dragon crashes on top of an anthro that isn't even a sixth of his size after flying in the air? The image is not pleasant. But I thank you for your support, nonetheless."

Shuddering at the possible outcome of the upcoming flight test, Zachary's earlier enthusiasm was quickly diminished by the image. "Well... if you insist." The leopard said, and quickly added, "But I still trust you enough that I would absolutely agree on joining you. I know you won't fall, Basa." He stated with a sincere smile, looking in the dragon's eyes.

"That might change in the future if you keep gaining weight, but currently," Zachary chuckled at the thought, glancing at the reptile's fattened form, "I think we're still good for flying!" He announced with an encouraging grin as the pair exited the woodlands, long grass replacing the comfort of the wide, brown trees.

Giving a tentative nod, Basajaun considered for a moment. "I think it probably would be best if we only spent part of the day flying, though," he stated, "Remember what happened after my second day of nonstop flying? My wings don't have the endurance that my legs do, and now that they have to carry even more weight, I would rather avoid flying for more than an hour or two at once."

"That's probably a smart idea." Zachary agreed, "But I wouldn't want you flying all day, anyway! Do you realize what effect that would have on your glorious figure?!" the leopard inquired in an almost upset tone, giggling quietly as he tried to stay in his act.

"We can't have that! My bed would lose all its plushness... and that would be a huge disappointment." He admitted with a laugh, patting Basajaun's pudgy back with a paw.

Basajaun laughed. "There is that, as well!" the drake agreed as Plainstead emerged from the grass, pausing for a moment as he looked at his figure, then back to the town.

"Well, time to let everyone see how I've grown, I suppose," he sighed, before his smile returned and he continued walking, "I'll bet the children are going to have plenty to say about how different I look!"

"I'm pretty sure everyone will agree with me that you look a lot better!" Zachary stated, "Anthros like soft things, after all." He added with a snicker, glancing around himself as the pair neared the market.

As always, the citizens of Plainstead were busy exchanging their goods with each other, to the point where the crowd didn't even notice the massive, and now properly fat, dragon and his rider. Given that the townsfolk have grown accustomed to the presence of the two friends, it wasn't a big surprise to see their lack of reaction as Basajaun slowly neared the anthros.

"Let's give a visit to Elder Eszes, first. We should discuss our plan in private with her before telling it to anyone else." Zachary suggested, waving his hand to a couple of anthros who had noticed and greeted the pair with a smile on their faces.

Nodding, Basajaun made his way carefully through the noon crowds of Plainstead, careful not to step on anyone as they went about their business. Asking around for the Elder, the pair discovered that she was still in her hut, which was unusual, given that Esmeralda was normally out in the town and available to offer her advice to those who needed it.

Reaching the hut within a few minutes, Basajaun gingerly knocked at the door with a single claw, before kneeling down for Zachary to disembark. "What do you suppose would keep her in?" the dragon wondered out loud.

Zachary jumped off from the dragon's back, giving him a sheepish smile. "Well, I kind of woke her at dawn..." he said, rubbing the back of his beck, "And she had to use one of her spells to help me. If I remember correctly, it drains a lot of her energy, so it's possible that she's sleeping." The leopard explained, leaning against the wall as he waited for the Elder to give sort of sign about her wakefulness.

"And besides... she's very ol--" The sentence was never finished as the door suddenly opened next to the leopard, resulting in the young anthro's body to stiffen and immediately quit his babbling.

"Hey, Elder Eszes!" greeted a currently terrified feline, slowly inching closer and closer to the protection of Basajaun. There was something even the bravest had to respect; the wrath of an old witch.

The Elder gave Zachary a cocked eyebrow as Snowflake sat on her shoulder. "I'm very what now, boy?" Esmeralda asked as she folded her arms, her pet looking up at Basajaun curiously, "Unless the rest of that word was more than a 'd', I suggest you don't finish that thought."

Giving the leopard a "when are you going to learn?" look, Basajaun turned to the owl. "Good afternoon, Esmeralda," the dragon greeted smilingly, "Could we have a word in private?"

"You want to know if I'll help you take Boldrum down, don't you?" the Elder asked rhetorically, looking to Zachary's surprised expression, "I literally know everything about you now, and you didn't expect me to anticipate this?"

Zachary quickly pushed back his hanging jaw in place, looking at the owl with narrowed eyes. "What's my favourite color, then?" he asked, crossing his arms under his chest and smirking to himself.

"Green." Esmeralda replied with a dull expression immediately.

The leopard's shoulders sank, and he let out an annoyed huff. "Not fair." The more than irritated feline stated, sighing as he turned towards the Elder, his expression becoming more serious. "Will you help us?" he asked, staring deeply in the Elder's eyes.

Esmeralda gave the leopard a sincere smile. "Now, boy, you know I owe you after saving our town," the owl said, before turning around, "You just wait here a moment." Not waiting for an answer, the Elder entered her home and closed the door.

The sound of objects being moved came from the other side of the door, as well as Esmeralda's muffled voice. After several minutes of this, Basajaun gave Zachary a curious expression. "How is it she knows everything about you now?" the dragon asked.

Zachary rolled his eyes, now rather annoyed with the consequence of his earlier decision with letting the Elder forage in his brain. "Didn't she tell you that she had to look through my memories to help me with the nightmare?" he replied with a question, cocking an eyebrow at the dragon, "She saw everything I remember, Basa." prodding the reptile's gut, Zachary added with a smile, "And by that I mean everything."

Basajaun felt himself blushing hard. "So... she even saw..." the dragon made eating motions, and then looked down to his belly.

"Well, it's a good thing that she seems to value your privacy highly," he continued, looking back up to Zachary with a shy smile, "She didn't tell me a thing about what she saw. Or that she even saw anything in the first place."

"Consider yourself lucky, then." Zachary said, staring numbly at the ground, "You don't want to see, nor hear anything about my past... trust me." He looked up at the dragon, giving him an unconvincing smile. "It's not exactly pleasant."

Turning to look at the door behind him, the leopard continued. "But I'm glad she handles this situation the way she is. Not everyone would keep someone's deepest secrets... actual secrets. Just one more reason for me to be thankful for her, I suppose." He said, smiling warmly while still looking at the closed door.

Basajaun smiled as he nuzzled his friend's face gently. "Hey, if it makes you feel better, you know all of my secrets," the dragon stated as he tapped his middle, "Even if that does just amount to one thing. It's the only secret I have, as a matter of fact. Of course, that means Emeralda knows it too... but that just means you and I are in the same situation with the witch, doesn't it?"

"Yes it does," Esmeralda answered as she opened the door, a heavy-looking pack being carried by what looked like a pony made of ice. The mouse was gone from Esmeralda's shoulder as she closed the door behind her and the pony, before looking to Zachary and Basajaun with a smile. "So, when are we heading out?" the owl asked.

Zachary simply stared wide-eyed between the Elder and her new pet. He attempted to speak, but couldn't find his words for a few seconds. Raising a finger and opening his mouth at the same time, he was quick to silence himself by bringing his finger in front of his muzzle as he tried to comprehend what Esmeralda just said.

"You...?" he began after moments of failed attempts to speak up, his voice still rather doubtful, "You want to come with us? But what about Plainstead, and the people... and with the thing you said about the town bur--" Zachary gave up and threw his hands in the air, turning around to mutter something under his breath about witches not being trustworthy and lying.

Esmeralda chuckled. "Boy, I think you were taking me too seriously," the owl said as she waved her hand, "Either that or I really need to work on my joking tone. Boris can act in my place. But, as the Elder of Plainstead, I am in my rights to deal with the town's debts in whatever ways I deem necessary. And this town is definitely in your debt. So, like it or not, this old ice witch is going with you if you're going to Boldrumton."

Basajaun was equally caught off guard by the owl's offer, but much more willing to accept. "Thank you, Elder Eszes," the drake said with a sincere smile.

"Thank you." Zachary joined in with the dragon's approval, turning around to point a finger at the owl. "And you indeed need to work on your joking tone!" He said with narrowed eyes, inhaling deeply as he stared at the Elder with an unchanged expression.

Ending his staring practice, the leopard smiled widely. "Alright, so Elder Eszes is joining us," He thought aloud, the statement somehow making him a lot more relieved with confrontation of Boldrum. With a powerful ice witch on their side, the three of them had a lot more chance to succeed.

"But we're only leaving tomorrow, Esmeralda," the leopard stated as he glanced at the owl's backpack and strangely familiar pet, the latter looking rather enthusiastic to begin the journey, "We wanted to relax today."

Esmeralda nodded. "That's alright, Snowflake here doesn't mind carrying my things," the owl stated, patting the ice pony's head and eliciting a smile from the creature.

Basajaun regarded the ice creature curiously, sniffing at its snout. "Is that one of your spells?" he asked, the pony returning the sniff.

"No, this is my familiar," Esmeralda corrected Basajaun, turning to Zachary, "You already met Snowflake. She's an ice spirit, and she can change her form if she has access to ice."

Zachary examined the creature for a moment, smiling as he recognized the Elder's familiar. "Oh, right. Hey there, Snowflake." the leopard greeted, giving a gentle stroke on the icy critter's neck, "You've changed since we last met, sorry for not recognizing you at first glance."

Snowflake made a sound like little crystal bells tinkling as the leopard stroked her, nibbling gently at his arm. "That means she likes what you're doing," Esmeralda commented with a smile.

Turning back to the Elder and Basajaun, the leopard continued. "With this out of the way, I suppose we could go and enjoy ourselves a little with our friends?" He invited with a grin, eager to spend most of the evening in the company of the people he knew and liked the best in the world.

"Of course," Esmeralda agreed, already moving in the direction of the inn, "I'll bet there are more than a few people here in town willing to pitch in for a going away party for you two." The thought warmed Basajaun's heart as he moved to keep up, Snowflake trotting alongside him and regarding the dragon curiously.

"Hey, wait up!" Zachary called out as he bounded after the three, smiling warmly at the Elder's words. He could get used to being liked by others, it was rather pleasant.

"Basa," the leopard began as he closed in on the others, patting his friend's side to get his attention, "I can't consume any alcohol, you hear me? Just simply do not let me. It makes me act... too strange, even by my standards." He admitted with an embarrassed chuckle as the memory of the way he behaved while being intoxicated popped in his mind.

Chuckling lightly, Basajaun patted Zachary's head with a wing as he walked. "I'll tell Rusty and Rosy to keep you sober," the drake assured his companion with a smile, "I won't let you embarrass yourself too much, either."

"Where's the fun in that?" Esmeralda joked from ahead of the pair, somehow gaining distance on them even with her caned walk, "And would you two hurry up? I'd like to get to the inn while I'm still young!" The owl laughed at her own joke, slowing her pace.

"How does she have so much energy?" Basajaun wondered as he watched the owl's seemingly paradoxical gait; it was both youthfully eager and relied heavily on the woman's cane.

Zachary shrugged, giving an "I have no clue" look to the dragon as the quartet continued on their way to the inn. Soon enough, the familiar establishment came into view. There were already quite a lot of anthros around to celebrate... whatever it was. It seemed like after the liberation of Plainstead, the citizens found something each day to celebrate and enjoy themselves.

Zachary was the first to enter the inn, and he glanced around inside, noting the anthros who were currently busy with their own drinks and company. "Good evening!" The leopard greeted with a wide grin, eliciting a cheerful welcome in return with most anthros raising their cup at the same time. The feline smiled warmly at the image, once again quite moved by the love of the people here.

"After you, Elder Eszes." he said to the owl as she entered the inn, gesturing with his paw for Esmeralda, "Would you mind telling them that we're leaving? I think it's more appropriate for you to announce our departure."

Esmeralda nodded as Rusty caught sight of the group. "Hey, Zach!" the raccoon greeted, causing more gazes to land on the leopard and let out a greeting, "It's been a while. Is Basajaun with you?"

"Right here," the dragon greeted as he poked his head through the door, giving the raccoon a smile, before turning to Zachary "I'll be waiting at our usual table."

"Wait a moment," Rusty said, stopping the dragon, "While you two were out in the woods, me and Rosie had another entrance put in. Check the back, big guy!"

Blinking in surprise, Basajaun grinned widely as he retreated from the doorframe. "We have a table set up for you two in a special room in the back," Rusty said, smiling to Zachary, "It'll let you and Basajaun enjoy your time here indoors together."

Shaking his head in disbelief, Zachary smiled warmly at the raccoon. "Wow, Rusty... thank you." he said in appreciative tone, bidding his head to the innkeeper, "I hope the room is able to accommodate more than two people, because we're celebrating tonight!" The leopard announced to Rusty with a grin, glancing to Esmeralda for confirmation.

"Oh, another celebration?" Rusty asked with a smiled as he served drinks to other patrons, "You two sure seem to find plenty of reasons to celebrate!"

"Actually, I have an announcement to make regarding the reason behind this particular occasion," Esmeralda added as she sat herself at the bar, "And I'd appreciate it if you could help spread the word around town."

Rusty nodded, looking to the patrons that were making to leave the inn. "Hey you!" the bartender called out, getting their attention, "Spread the word; the Elder has an announcement to make at the Inn!" The anthros nodded to Rusty and Esmeralda both, exiting the building quickly.

Meanwhile, Basajaun and Snowflake had made their way around back, finding the newly added stable-sized doors. Entering, they found a single room with a large table, beside which was a chair and a bed of hay.

"Hey, big guy!" Rosy called out from the kitchen, waving enthusiastically before turning to the other side of the inn, "Hey Zach, your friend's waiting for you back here!"

"On my way!" The leopard called back, turning around to make his way through the crowd. Passing by quite a lot of anthros, a lot of them grabbed Zachary for a few moments to have a word. Most of them insisted to buy offer him a drink as well, but the feline politely turned them down with a smile.

"Wow." The leopard said as he entered the newly constructed room, wondering at the furnitures and how much space they had. It would be perfect for them to hold their little party at. "I hope you aren't charging extra from us for staying here!" Zachary joked with a grin, talking loud enough so Rusty could hear him.

The raccoon siblings laughed together. "I don't think we'd need to!" Rosy answered as she giggled, "Not with the amount that you two buy from us when you're here."

"That's a fact!" Rusty agreed from the other room, before greeting the next set of anthros to enter the establishment.

Basajaun smiled widely as he settled down on the bed of hay laid out for him, his own padding adding to the comfort it provided. As he was getting comfortable, Snowflake nuzzled his side, getting his attention before she looked between the drake and his bed.

Making some tinkling sounds as she made a pleading expression, the ice spirit nudged on Basajaun's middle a bit and pawed at the hay, until the dragon got the hint. Scooting a bit, he made room for Snowflake to lay down on the hay in front of his belly, which she took with a smile and happier sounding chiming noises.

Basajaun regarded the creature that snuggled herself into his middle curiously, feeling her cool body press into his own much warmer one before looking up to Zachary. "Friendly little girl, isn't she?" he asked with a smile, stroking the icy filly's mane with his wing and eliciting a delighted tintinnabulation from Snowflake.

Zachary chuckled at the two, smiling widely to Basajaun. "Yes she is, and it looks like she has a similar opinion about your softness like I do." Winking, the leopard made his way to the chair which was next to the table and sat down, using his elbow as support below his head as he glanced around the room. The thought that the two raccoons went out of their way to provide just for the dragon and Zachary a place inside the inn warmed his heart immensely, and the young anthro couldn't help but grin widely.

"Hungry yet, Basa?" The feline inquired with a teasing tone, his gaze settling on the rounded dragon on the hay after finishing with the inspection of the room. "I really hope your earlier offer is still available. I'm pretty eager to see how tonight is going to end if you want to go through with it." He admitted with a giggle, giving the dragon a "You know what I mean" look.

Returning Zachary's look, Basajaun joined his laughter. "You know I don't go back on my word, Zach," the dragon answered, grinning to his friend, "And trust me; you've made sure there's plenty of room in here!" Patting his middle, Basajaun chuckled again as the impact sent ripples across his flesh.

Feeling the motion, Snowflake regarded the dragon's gut curiously, pressing her snout into the yielding surface and wiggling it about experimentally. "Hey now, Snowflake," Basajaun giggled, petting the ice pony's head, "Don't you start tickling me indoors; things are liable to get broken!"

Zachary could only join in the dragon's giggle, shaking his head a little as he watched the pair on the hay. Regarding the icy familiar for a few moments, the leopard's thoughts shifted to something interesting as he observed the pony.

"You know, Esmeralda said Snowflake could change her form if she had enough access to ice, right?" he thought aloud, his gaze shifting to Basajaun curiously, "I wonder if she could take the form of a dragon... do you think that's even possible?" The rather intrigued feline inquired, glancing to the entrance of the room to see the Elder entering. Perhaps she had answers.

Looking up to the owl, Snowflake gave a smile that Esmeralda returned as she carried in an extra chair. "That would take a lot of ice to make happen," the Elder said, moving over to sit herself next to Basajaun and her familiar, "And since I'm currently Snowflake's only access to that particular resource, it's not going to happen. At least, not all at once."

Basajaun seemed intrigued. "But you two could do it?" he inquired. When the Elder and Snowflake nodded, the drake seemed to become lost in thought.

"That sounds awesome!" Zachary replied, looking rather enthusiastic about this new discovery about Snowflake's abilities. Having a dragon at your side proved to be very useful, as the leopard was quick to realize since meeting Basajaun, he could only wonder how handy a familiar was who could change its form whenever needed.

"Why a pony, by the way?" the feline asked after a few moments of thinking, looking at the Elder with a curious expression, "I liked Snowflake in her mouse form better. She was more adorable." winking at the pony playfully, Zachary chuckled a little, "Although I imagine it would have been harder for her to carry your things."

Esmeralda shrugged. "I didn't have enough time or energy for a full sized horse," she explained.

Turning to Zachary, the ice spirit made more tinkling noises for a moment. "She adds that she likes ponies," the owl translated, reaching over and petting Snowflake's head.

Zachary nodded, smiling at Snowflake then looking at the Elder once more. "How can you understand what she's saying?" He asked, his gaze shifting between the owl and the pony suspiciously. Perhaps they should make up a secret language with Basajaun as well... for whatever unnecessary reason.

"That's how she speaks," Esmeralda explained, "And I've learned her language, such as it is. She doesn't have the kind of voice that you and I do, so she can't use our language. She understands it, though." Nodding, Snowflake gave another smile to the leopard.

Looking back through the kitchen and into the main inn, Esmeralda thought for a moment. "Everyone should be gathered soon," the Elder stated, turning back to Basajaun and Zachary and standing, "We'd better get out to the front of the inn for our announcement, eh?"

Seeming to have come out of a heavy thought, Basajaun nodded. "Yeah, I'll be right out," the drake announced, standing up alongside Snowflake and moving to the door.

"Right." Zachary agreed, following the Elder through the kitchen and giving a goofy wave to Rosy as they passed her. The raccoon could only shake her head, and smile at the leopard, who seemed to have stayed a child despite his age.

Arriving at the main room of the inn, the feline couldn't help but stare at all the anthros who had gathered around. It was a wonder how so many of them could fit into the inn without breaking anything.

Smiling widely at the crowd in front of him, Zachary waved his paw somewhat hesitantly, feeling rather overwhelmed by the number of anthros that had come. Seeing Basajaun and Snowflake arrive at the main entrance, the leopard turned towards Esmeralda. He bid his head, motioning that it was time to make their announcement.

Nodding, the Elder cleared her throat, the chatter of the inn dying down as everyone gave their attention to the owl. "Alright everyone, as you've heard, I have an announcement to make," Esmeralda began, looking around to make sure all eyes were on her before continuing, "You all know how much we owe Zachary and Basajaun for helping us deal with our 'bandit problem'." The crowd gave a series of affirmations and cheers, which the Elder waited to finish.

"And you know how much we all owe these two brave souls," the owl moved on, patting the leopard's shoulder and nodding to the dragon out front, "Now, they need my help. Zachary has made it clear to me that his original town of residence has its own tyrant ruling over it. This man has made an attempt on the lives of both our newest heroes. And it is my opinion that, if given the chance, he would surely do so again. So, I am going with Basajaun and Zachary to deal with this problem."

The crowd murmured at the news, looking to their Elder quizzically. "I know I have responsibilities here," Esmeralda clarified, sitting herself on one of the tall chairs at the bar, "But one of those responsibilities is dealing with the town's debt. And I think we can all agree that we are indeed indebted to these two fine gentlemen. Boris and I have already discussed the matter, and he will take the role of acting Elder in my absence."

"On to lighter things," the Elder continued on, "I would like to announce a going away party for our two heroes, and myself. You all know what to do about that, right?" The crowd let out a collective cheer. "Then go on; get yourselves ready. The festivities start at once!"

Another cheer rang out as the Elder turned to Zachary. "Plainstead has been celebration ready since you two took care of Izom," Esmeralda explained, stepping down from the stool, "I think they're ready to give you a good and hearty party."

"Thank you again, Elder Eszes." the leopard bid his head, his tone holding an unusual sincerity to it, "It's a relief to have you accompany us on this 'adventure'." Zachary emphasized the last word, giving the owl a wide smile. Turning around, he was greeted with a room full of anthros who were eager to partake in the celebration. Their laughing and constant cheering bore obvious proof of that.

Glancing back over his shoulder to Esmeralda, the feline grinned. "Let's party then, shall we?" Not even waiting for her reaction the eager leopard made his way out from behind the counter, joining with the crowd.

The next hour or so was spent with joyful chatter, jokes and singing. As well as endless consumption of alcoholic beverages, excluding Zachary and Basajaun, who had no troubles celebrating while remaining sober. And although the inn became rather loud and somewhat chaotic after a while, there weren't any issues with any of the celebration's participants. And with all the gold they were getting, the raccoon siblings were more than happy to sacrifice silence for the increased income.

Zachary enjoyed every minute of the festivity, spending all his time beside the fellow citizens of Plainstead and talking with them. Everyone seemed to have something to say, let it be encouragement or just simple, nice words wishing for the three to succeed. And the leopard listened to every last one of them patiently, laughing along when there was a particularly funny anthro making all sorts of jokes about the Elder. Fortunately for Zachary and the other individual, the owl was too busy to hear them talking.

Spotting Basajaun's head in the doorway, the feline quickly excused himself from the crowd and slowly made his way through the sea of anthros.

"Hey!" he greeted his friend with a wide grin, almost forced to shout as he spoke, "I'm getting hungry, are you ready for some appetizer?" He asked with a wink, patting the dragon's nose gingerly as the chatter, laughter and drinking behind him continued endlessly.

Grinning, Basajaun nodded. "I certainly am!" the drake said, raising his voice just loud enough to cut through the din of the celebration, "I'll meet you in the back!"

Excusing himself and extracting his head from the doorway, Basajaun trotted quickly to the back room once more. Snowflake followed along, seeming curious as to what the dragon was up to.

Arriving in the back room, Basajaun was surprised to see the long table already had food on its surface. Looking to Rosy quizzically as she set another platter on the table, the raccoon gave him a grin. "Compliments of the Elder," she explained, "And a couple of others, too. We know you like to eat, big guy!"

The statement made the dragon grin widely. "Give them my thanks, would you?" Basajaun requested, eliciting a nod from Rosy as she made her way back into the kitchen.

Obeying as Basajaun had said, Zachary wormed his way through the anthros once more, having to pause on numerous occasions as some of them insisted to either have a word with him or offer him a drink. He turned the latter down politely each time, but was keen to listen to the people's words.

After a few minutes of struggling, the leopard was free from the grasp of the crowd, and he let out a long sigh to resupply some fresh air for his mildly displeased lungs. When he was sure that there was once more quality oxygen going through them, he began walking towards the kitchen to reach the back room.

Bidding his head to the Elder as she sat by the counter, Zachary gave her a warm smile and regarded her empty wine glass with a surprised expression. When the owl waved her taloned arm, the leopard chuckled and shook his head.

"We didn't even order yet?" Zachary stated while questioning the sudden appearance of food at the same time. He looked at Basajaun and cocked an eyebrow, glancing around the pile and noting its quantity with both eagerness and excitement. It looked like it was more than a simple appetizer, even for a voracious dragon like Basajaun!

"Apparently the Elder and some others ordered for us," the drake stated with a grin, settling down on his hay bed. Snowflake repeated her earlier actions to get her spot on the hay, chiming contentedly once she was comfortable. "Looks like this is going to be one heck of an appetizer!" Basajaun joked, smiling as he looked between Zachary and the food they had been gifted with.

"Don't you worry," Zachary said in a playful tone, gesturing with his paws at the assortment of dishes on the table, "A lot more is going to follow once we're back home!" He stated with a chuckle, walking next to the table and examining the dinner. There was beef, pork, venison and chicken. Accompanied with fillings mostly consisting of other meat and spices, as well as mashed potatoes for seasoning. The sight made the hungry feline drool as he marveled at the wide variety of choices.

"Dinner time!" He announced with a giggle, and tore a chunk from the beef and filling a plate with it as well as some dressing. He was about to start on his food when a thought occurred to him and he glanced at the tubby dragon with a barely visible blush.

"Uhm, Basa," he began, gesturing with his head towards Snowflake and Rosy in the kitchen, "Would you mind helping yourself tonight? I can only give you a 'hand' later." The feline stared at Basajaun with a knowing expression, hoping that the dragon would get the hint. It was alright to hand feed the massive reptile while the two were in private, but the leopard wasn't courageous enough to attempt that in public. His mildly reddened cheeks were an obvious indicator of that.

Basajaun gave the leopard a nod, even as Snowflake gave the pair an inquisitive expression at the request. "Don't worry about it," the dragon said with a smile, "I'll make sure you have a good start to work with, without getting too far ahead."

The ice filly seemed to become confused at the dragon and leopard's sudden ambiguity, but eventually shrugged and laid her head down on the dried grass, snuggling herself into the drake's middle a bit.

"I think I have another fan," Basajaun mused, stroking the spirit's mane for a bit before looking to the feast in front of him and back through the kitchen, "Do you think we should invite anyone to join us?"

Zachary nodded, swallowing the mouthful of food which he had started before the dragon's question. Proper table manners weren't really taught for the homeless.

"Yeah, I think we should. At least Esmeralda and the raccoons, the others are too busy with their drinks anyway." He replied with a laugh, putting another delicious chunk of meat in his mouth and moaning quietly before swallowing. "Unless you feel like eating it all alone! To be completely honest, I wouldn't mind that either." Winking and laughing at the same time, the feline sat down in his chair, looking quite happy to indulge in his delightful dinner.

Nodding as he stood, Basajaun moved to the kitchen and looked in until he spotted Rosy. "Do you think you and your brother could join us?" the dragon invited smilingly, "There's plenty back here to go around, if you're not too busy."

Rosy smiled back, but shook her head. "We've got to make sure that everyone is served," the cook said, patting the drake's snout, "Thank you for the invitation, though. You're sweet!"

Nodding, the dragon extended his head past the kitchen to look to the Elder. "Think you'd be interested in joining us?" Basajaun invited over the noise of the other party goers, "We've got a lot back here!"

"Thanks, I'll pass," Esmeralda answered, looking to her people with a smile as she sipped her own drink slowly, "Gotta keep an eye on this rowdy bunch. I only have today left to be an overbearing old coot for this town, so I'm going to enjoy it while it lasts!"

Basajaun laughed at the statement. "Well, you enjoy yourself, then!" the dragon insisted, before retracting his head through the kitchen and getting out of Rosy's way.

Looking to Zachary as he settled himself back down, his middle pressing against Snowflake, Basajaun relayed what he had been told. "Looks like it's just the three of us back here," the reptile reported, taking a whole roasted chicken in his mouth, the bird providing a decent bite for him.

Cocking an eyebrow at the statement in surprise, Zachary shrugged and continued on his dinner while smiling at the dragon. "More for you to enjoy, I suppose." The leopard said with a chuckle, another little piece of meat disappearing in his mouth as his plate slowly neared its end. As if remembering something, he pointed his finger to Snowflake and stopped eating for a moment.

"I'm sorry to ask but... do you... Er... consume nourishment?" He inquired with a curious expression as he regarded the icy creature on the hay. Given that his knowledge about familiars and magic was basically zero, the question was logical, and the leopard was rather interested to know the answer.

Lifting her head up from the hay, Snowflake nodded, but then pointed to the food on the table with her snout and shook her head.

Basajaun looked to the creature cuddled against him curiously. "So, you do eat?" he guessed, equally curious to learn about the spirit, "But not this?"

Nodding, the spirit pointed to the pitcher of water that was on the table and then to her own form.

"Oh!" the dragon exclaimed as he comprehended, "That makes sense. Your nourishment is water, right?"

Nodding again, Snowflake nuzzled Basajaun's nose before laying down once more, seemingly content with snuggling against the dragon's soft hide for now.

"Huh," Zachary said with a hint of curiosity in his tone, smiling at the cold critter, "You keep surprising me, Snowflake." He admitted with a chuckle, going back to finish the rest of his dinner in a few moments. Once all the heavenly meat and dressing was gone, the leopard leaned back in his chair and let out a sigh of contentment.

"Well, that was just delightful. I'm going to miss Rosy's cooking a lot, that I know for sure." He stated, glancing at the dragon then back at the pile before giving his friend an encouraging motion with his head towards the pile of food. "Go on, big guy. Finish off your appetizer before it gets cold!" Zachary invited with a giggle, his tone holding its usual playfulness.

"You know I don't go as fast on my own," Basajaun reminded the leopard, steadily eating the dinner that had been provided to them. "Besides you're right about Rosy's cooking; I'd like to savor this a bit," he continued, patting Zachary's leg, "So no rushing me, alright?" The dragon winked to his friend as he continued eating at his own determined pace, the massive meal slowly being packed away into his stomach.

Looking at just how much food there was, Basajaun sighed smilingly. "You might want to get comfortable, this could take a while," he said, chuckling lightly.

"Alright, as you wish." Zachary said with a mischievous smile as he stood up. Not giving any time for the dragon realize what was happening, he quickly rushed to the reptile's side and practically jumped on the hay while giggling.

"This defines comfortable." The leopard stated, still laughing to himself as he snuggled himself close to Basajaun's soft flab. The supple pudge practically enveloped his body as he leaned back against the dragon's abdomen. The soft, yielding flesh had grown to such proportions that Zachary never thought it would, and the his friend's comment about gaining even more weight during their upcoming journey could only make the feline eager to experience it firsthand.

"You know I was only teasing you earlier, Basa." Zachary declared with a smile as he looked up to the dragon, "You can eat as slow as you want; I'm comfortable enough here, so I can wait."

"I know," Basajaun replied as he swallowed his current mouthful, "I was attempting to tease back."

Snowflake regarded the leopard's sudden invasion of the soft spot she had discovered with a cocked head, before cuddling into her portion of the drake's belly possessively. "You don't mind sharing, do you, Zach?" the dragon giggled, biting into the next bit of food.

The leopard glanced at the pony with slightly narrowed eyes, then shuffled himself protectively in the dragon's side. After a few moments of an almost challenging stare between the two, Zachary chuckled and patted his friend's fatty abdomen with a paw. "Nah, there's plenty for both of us." He replied with a snicker, glancing up at Basajaun and sticking his tongue out playfully.

Settling himself once again in a relaxed position, the feline listened to the muffled chatter and laughter from the other room. He smiled at the sounds of joyful cheers, and his sensitive ear caught some of the occupants mentioning the two friends' name on many occasion. Perhaps the citizens of Plainstead would miss the two just as much as Zachary and Basajaun will them. The thought made his smile grow wider, and he let out a quiet purr as he felt the dragon's warmth and softness on his back.

Basajaun listened as well, catching the compliments towards the pair. Each one made him smile while he continued eating, and he knew he was going to miss being in his new home. Though he had once thought that civilized living was backwards, his time residing alongside the people of Plainstead had broadened his horizons, in more ways than one.

Chuckling at his mental joke, the dragon reached his wing down to snuggle his company into his form a bit more. This was another thing that had changed for the better; Basajaun had friends. After over seven decades of solitude, the thought still seemed a little surreal to him, though it was one that brought a grin to his face each time it occurred to him.

Distracted by his thoughts, Basajaun hadn't noticed how much time had passed, or how he had nearly consumed half of the feast laid out for he and Zachary. It was only when the drake felt Snowflake repositioning herself so that she wouldn't get pushed off of the hay by his steadily expanding gut that Basajaun realized how much he had eaten.

Yet, as he noticed this, the dragon also realized that he only felt slightly filled. "Seems like I might be able to finish this whole banquet on my own," Basajaun mused, glancing down to Zachary with a proud expression.

Grinning back to his friend, Zachary patted the dragon's mildly distended midriff with his paw. "Go ahead, then. This may be the last time we are able to savor civilized delicacies for a while, after all." The leopard said, the thought bringing up the subject of their departure.

Zachary and Basajaun left Boldrumton exclusively to search for a new home, and yet, after only some weeks after finding it, they were going back. It was rather ironic, to say the least. But as ironic as that might be, Zachary knew they had no other choice. Boldrum had to pay for his actions, and if it wasn't for these four, nobody would make him.

Although their destiny to confront the self-proclaimed tyranny of Boldrumton was inevitable, the young anthro couldn't help but wonder what the cost might be. He was nearly killed when they attempted the same thing with Izom, what if it would happen again? Or worse... what if something happened to his friends? It would be all his fault, just because they wanted to help him with his problem. He hadn't even understood up until now the reality and danger of this mission. Basajaun, Esmeralda and Snowflake; They were practically risking their lives with this. There was no way he could bear losing any of them...

Zachary had to realize that they couldn't fail, or else all of them would have to pay the ultimate price. There was no place for failure. They simply had to succeed, and they would. Boldrum would be brought down, and the people of Boldrumton liberated of the cruel tyrant. Chanting these statements somehow provided comfort to Zachary's harboring thoughts.

Not even noticing how lost in thought he had become, the leopard simply stared in front of him with an unreadable expression. Even the dragon's soft hide was disregarded at the moment as Zachary's mind raced with worry, dread, hesitation, and at the same time, with endless determination for justice.

Noticing the leopard's expression changing, Snowflake observed for a moment, before reaching over and nuzzling the leopard's face, tinkling in what was apparently a concerned tone.

Seeing the action, Basajaun also noted the feline's face. "Everything alright, Zach?" the dragon inquired, pausing his eating to give his attention to the leopard.

Shaking his head for a moment and exiting his trance, Zachary glanced between Snowflake and Basajaun with a confused expression. "Oh, yeah..." he cleared his throat, forcing a smile on his muzzle, "I was just thinking, you know. I do that sometimes, as unbelievable as that sounds." He joked, giving a weak chuckle to the two friends next to him. Even when fear was eating away at his heart, the leopard was able to put on a smile, afraid to make the people he liked worry about him.

Basajaun gave the leopard a serious expression. "You know you can tell me anything, Zach," the dragon reminded his friend, "I think I know you well enough to know when something is bothering you. And it seems like you've got something heavy on your mind."

"I'm alright, Basa." Zachary insisted, sighing, "I'm just..." He glanced to Snowflake for a moment, then back to Basajaun with a concerned expression. "I'm worried about us... about you all, my friends." He finally blurted out, pausing for a few moments to gather his thoughts before continuing, "We aren't going on a safe little trip, to put it mildly. I don't know what's going to happen, I can't possibly know that... but I can't help but feel concerned what's awaiting us back in Boldrumton." Zachary shook his head, looking up at Basajaun with fearful eyes.

"I don't want any of you to get hurt just because of... me, and my past. I know you want to help the people of Boldrumton, Basa, and I do too. But you wouldn't risk your... life for them, if it wasn't for me. I'm the reason you know about what Boldrum is doing, and I would be the reason of anything happened to you. I don't think I could..." The words died on Zachary's lips, and he had to look away for a moment to recollect himself. Sighing long, he spoke before the dragon could. "I just don't want you... or any of you for that matter, risking your lives on my account."

Listening quietly, Basajaun sighed a few moments after Zachary had finished. "Yes, you are the reason I'm risking my life," the dragon agreed, looking to his friend with a kind smile before continuing, "You're the reason I see the lives of others as worth risking my own to safeguard. A month ago, I would have seen this errand as foolhardy, because my own survival was the foremost concern in my mind."

The drake pulled Zachary and Snowflake both into his warm embrace. "Zachary, you taught me how to be giving," Basajaun carried on, "How to... nourish others through my own efforts. How that was its own reward. So yes, the reasons behind this trip are entirely your fault, but it's my decision to do this. And I would be spitting in the face of everything I learned from you if I didn't go through with this."

The leopard shook his head and sighed, glancing up at Basajaun with a hopeless expression. "I knew it was impossible to reason with you. You're way too persistent, dragon." Zachary added that last bit with a small smile, which soon changed to a frown.

"If you dare even scratching your scales, I will..." the feline glared at his friend, waving his finger threateningly at the much bigger and stronger creature, "You don't even want to know! Just... promise me we'll come out of this safely, all of us. Promise me that you won't put other's lives in front of yours. I don't want to even think about los--" Zachary didn't have to finish his sentence, and he wasn't even able to either as his throat became more and more tightened. He stared at the dragon with a pleading expression, embracing his comforting softness with all his might.

Basajaun sighed. "I can't promise you that," the drake said sadly, "But I can promise you that I will do everything I can to make sure that we get back safely."

"And I will, as well," Esmeralda's voice came from the kitchen door, the owl leaning against the doorway as she watched the snuggling trio debating, "I'll make sure you two are good and ready by the time we arrive in Boldrumton."

Jumping from the intruder's sudden voice, Zachary looked at the owl after breaking the soft embrace. "You have to stop doing that." He said with an annoyed tone, glaring at the Elder who seemingly found extreme pleasure in sneaking up on unsuspecting individuals.

Sighing in defeat, the leopard simply nodded to Basajaun and Esmeralda. "I suppose trying to dissuade any of you is just a waste of time... it's way too late for that." Zachary thought aloud, glancing around the occupants of the room before continuing, "But I'll kill you if anything happens to any of you, got it?" The leopard threatened in the most illogical way possible and pointed his finger to each and every one of his friends, glaring at them with narrowed eyes in turn. How daunting.

Esmeralda burst out laughing. "You don't have to worry about me as much as you seem to," the old owl assured Zachary, moving to the chair she had placed at the table, "I can take care of myself, push come to shove. And despite all this," the Elder poked Basajaun's girthy middle with her cane, "I'm pretty sure that your dragon friend here can defend himself well. He grew up in the wilds, after all, so I'm pretty sure that Basajaun has learned a thing or two about self defense."

Batting the cane away gently, Basajaun nodded. "What about Snowflake?" he asked, looking to the ice spirit as she snuggled against him, apparently asleep, "Is she one hundred percent lover, or can she do more than cuddle and be cute?"

"She's my familiar," Esmeralda reminded the dragon, "We grant each other strength by our presence. Besides, who do you think taught me so much about ice magic?"

The revelation caused Basajaun to regard the spirit with a bit more respect. "See Zach?" the drake said as he turned to the feline with a reassuring smile, "Your friends can take care of themselves!"

"I wasn't doubting that." Zachary replied, shaking his head and chuckling a little, "I was just concerned that yo-- " He threw his arms in the air in defeat, and just simply smiled at his friends.

"Whatever... you asked me what was on my mind, and I told you. Now with that out of the way, I suppose we could continue celebrating?" He proposed, rubbing the back of his neck while smiling sheepishly at the Elder and dragon. "Sorry for ruining the mood, by the way." The feline apologized, sighing and leaning once again against the reptile's soft abdomen. "Carry on."

About to press the issue further, a sudden subtle look from Esmeralda dissuaded Basajaun from doing so. Shrugging, the dragon simply nuzzled Zachary's face. "I appreciate you telling me what was on your mind," Basajaun assured the leopard, before returning to the last half of his feast.

Esmeralda looked to Basajaun with an eyebrow cocked. "That's an awful lot of food to be eating on your own," she stated, flicking her eyes over to Zachary, "Wouldn't your friend enjoy this kind of experience?"

Basajaun nearly spat his mouthful before remembering that the Elder was in on the leopard's seemingly odd interest. "Er, I'm enjoying this meal on my own," the dragon explained, "We're having another at home for Zachary. Right?" Basajaun looked to his friend for support, hoping he would actually give it this time around.

"Yup." the friend in question replied bluntly, glancing at the owl with a dull expression, "And I do enjoy this kind of experience, indeed. But I'd much rather enjoy it in private without having to explain anything to anyone." Zachary clarified, now knowing that being honest with the Elder was the best choice for him, given that she knew almost everything about him. The thought was both irritating and, somehow, warmed the young anthro's heart at the same time. It was nice to know that there was someone who understood him completely.

Esmeralda simply nodded, watching with mild interest as Basajaun continued eating. The extra set of eyes was a little awkward for the dragon; Snowflake had simply snuggled herself against the drake's steadily bloating middle, but the owl's gaze always seemed to almost drill through his body.

After a moment, Basajaun was able to tune the Elder's glower out and pick up his earlier pace, the banquet slowly diminishing in size. A few minutes into this, Snowflake looked up to Zachary with a begging expression, before pointing at the pitcher of water with her snout again.

Noticing the pony's not so subtle pleading, Zachary smiled warmly at the familiar. "Sure." he said simply, standing up to retrieve the pitcher from the table and carrying it back to Snowflake, "Here you go, girl." The leopard put the water down on the ground next to the hay, stopping in the middle of the motion as something crossed his mind. He glanced at the Elder with a curious expression after leaving the pitcher on the ground for the familiar.

"You mentioned that Snowflake could change forms whenever ice was accessible," he began, his gaze shifting between the pony and the owl, "Does she have a... default form? Or was her mouse form from earlier that?" He asked from Esmeralda, stroking the familiar's mane tenderly.

"That would be the same as her name; when I met her, she had the form of a very large snowflake," the Elder answered, holding her talons about two of her hand widths apart, "Just about this big. I'll leave the tale of how I met her for another time. For now, let's just say I got caught in a blizzard, and leave it at that."

As Snowflake drank from the pitcher, Esmeralda looked between Zachary and her familiar, before smiling mischievously. "Would you like to see one of her more common traveling forms?" the owl offered, causing the ice spirit to look up to the Elder with her head cocked.

"Of course!" A rather enthusiastic leopard replied, glancing between Esmeralda and Snowflake with wide eyes. He snuggled himself closer to the dragon's body protectively, feeling somewhat daunted by the Elder's crooked smile, but eager nonetheless.

Taking another of pitcher from the table, Esmeralda blew softly down onto the water, her breath appearing like it would in winter. As the mist touched the water, it caused the liquid to crystallize rapidly into ice.

"Here, you know the one, Snowflake," the Elder affirmed, handing the frozen water to her familiar, "The one you use to keep bandits away."

Nodding, Snowflake reached her snout down into the pitcher, drawing the ice up into her form as though it were still a liquid. The spirit's body steadily lost definition until she was an indistinct, quadrupedal mass of ice the size of a fully grown horse. Remaining in that form for a moment, Snowflake's features slowly came into focus once more with the sound of popping and cracking ice.

It was immediately obvious that the spirit wasn't turning into a horse; nor in fact was she becoming any mammal. As Snowflake shifted her shape, the texture of scales soon became apparent, along with frosty spines along her back. The ice spirit's muzzle elongated and sharpened into a beak-like snout, and horns grow back from her brow to extend over her neck. A long, muscular tail formed at her rear, and icy reptilian claws formed from Snowflake's limbs. Soon, the ice spirit had the form of a relatively small, wingless dragon. Her proportions were less serpentine and sinuous than Basajaun's, but the spirit was definitely a dragon.

Zachary regarded Snowflake with awe and amazement, staring with wide eyes at the ice dragon in front of him. Blinking in disbelief and rubbing his eyes for a few moments, the leopard looked at Esmeralda with a perplexed expression. "That's... amazing!" he exclaimed, standing up to get a view of Snowflake from other perspectives as well.

Catching the commotion, Basajaun looked down to the ice spirit. Not having watched the transformation, the dragon looked down to find another dragon suddenly right next to him.

Caught completely off guard, the drake coughed up his mouthful, jumped to his feet as his wings flared, and let loose a low, hissing growl as he backed away several steps from Snowflake.

Hearing Basajaun's growl, Zachary quickly whipped his head to look at his friend, seeing the dragon was in full defense mode. "Hey, Basa," the leopard began, raising his voice a little to get the reptile's attention as he walked to him with a relaxed posture, "It's alright, you silly dragon. That's Snowflake!" He stated with calm tone, putting a paw on his friend's neck and stroking the pudgy surface tenderly to calm the suddenly distressed dragon.

Breathing heavily as Snowflake retreated fearfully behind a deathly calm Elder Eszes, Basajaun slowly came to from his instinctual reaction. Shaking his head and taking several deep breaths, the drake's expression changed from aggressive to ashamed as he slowly sank to the ground. "I..." unable to think of any excuse, Basajaun turned away from the Elder and her familiar with a pained expression, only able to say, "I'm sorry."

After a moment, Basajaun turned to Zachary. "I told you it's hard for me to control my instincts," he said plainly, resting his head on the leopard's shoulder, "Thank you for not panicking."

"It's alright, Basa." Zachary said in a soft tone, stroking Basajaun's head with a paw for a few moments to provide as much comfort for his friend as possible, "And of course I wouldn't panic. I know you well enough not to be scared of your instincts. They are natural, Basa, and you are able to control it, just like you have now." The leopard reassured the dragon, nuzzling his neck gingerly before turning back to Esmeralda.

"He's not used to seeing dragons," the feline explained, giving a few pats on the dragon's neck while smiling sheepishly at the Elder, "As a matter of fact, this is quite possibly the first dragon he had seen in seventy years. You can't blame him for reacting this way." Zachary gave the owl a serious look, knowing perfectly well that she of all people would know when the leopard was right, "He was just caught off guard, that's it."

Glancing behind the Elder and finding a more than scared ice dragon behind her, Zachary sighed. "Are you alright, Snowflake?" he asked, looking past Esmeralda to focus his attention on the spirit, "Basa didn't mean to scare you, girl. You scared him, actually!" He added with a chuckle, hoping to brighten the mood in the suddenly tense situation.

Lifting herself up and peaking from behind the Elder, Snowflake gave a few tinkling sounds as she looked between Basajaun and Esmeralda. "Go on, go apologize," the owl insisted, before turning to the forest dragon, "And I will as well; I am sorry, Basajaun. I didn't know you had such strong territorial instincts, or I would have warned you."

Moving over to the drake with slow, cautious steps, Snowflake nuzzled the reptile's shoulder until he looked to her again. The sight filled him with the same territorial impulse, but Basajaun took a deep breath and held it for a few moments, until he could regain total control of himself. "I'm sorry, too," the chubby dragon repeated, hesitantly reaching his snout over to nuzzle Snowflake back.

The contact established, Basajaun's mind seemed to calm significantly as he felt his inner beasts retreating back where they belonged. "You really startled me good, there!" the dragon managed to joke lightly, smiling to Snowflake, an expression she returned.

Looking over to Esmeralda, the dragon gave a sheepish grin. "Thank you for not just freezing me into a statue when I threatened your familiar," Basajaun said sincerely.

Esmeralda waved her hand, the spark that traveled between her talons revealing that she was dangerously close to doing just that only moments ago. "I figured it was an involuntary reaction," the owl stated, giving a gentle smile, "Like I said, I should have warned you."

Standing up with a sigh, Zachary glanced between the occupants of the room, clapping his paws together. "Now with all the apologizing out of our way, can we take a second to realize just how awesome Snowflake is?!" the leopard almost exclaimed, pointing a finger at the ice dragon, "I mean, waow! She can take up any form she wants, how amazing is that?" He inquired, looking at the Elder with an open mouth and expecting her to be just as awestruck as he was. When the owl cocked an eyebrow at the leopard, Zachary giggled sheepishly.

"I guess I'm not used to seeing too much magic and shapeshifting all those other mysterious things..." he thought aloud, his gaze settling on Basajaun once more, "Are you alright now, Basa? You can take a minute to get some fresh air if you want, bud." Zachary proposed, kneeling down to give his friend a warm smile, obvious concern apparent on his face.

"I think I'm okay," the drake replied, standing up after a moment and patting Snowflake's head, showing that his initial reaction was over, "See? I'm myself again."

Esmeralda watched with an intrigued expression as Basajaun moved to return to his original position. "You have strong instincts, don't you?" the owl asked, continuing once the dragon nodded, "That's an some mental fortitude you have to just override a reaction like that. You can color me impressed!"

Unsure of whether to take that statement as a compliment or not, Basajaun simply nodded as he looked at the little food that was left. Finishing his meal quickly and in silence, the drake seemed to be lost in thought again as he ate, though the fact that Snowflake eventually took her position back at the dragon's front helped to relieve his mood as he stroked the ice spirit's back. He was surprised to find that Snowflake's flesh felt almost exactly like his did before he met Zachary, despite being made from ice. The difference being that the spirit's scales felt a bit harder to him, though he thought that could have been from being used to the softened texture of his own flesh.

When he finished his meal, Basajaun stood and stretched feeling the food settle heavily in his middle. "Ready to head back to the guardhouse?" the dragon asked Zachary, eager to get back home after the recent incident.

"I am if you are," Esmeralda said, a smirk on her beak when Basajaun turned to her quizzically.

Zachary slowly turned towards the Elder with a sinister look on his face, giving a crooked smile as he started walking towards the owl. "Remember when I said I'd much prefer having our dinners with Basa in private?" he asked in an almost threatening tone, fluttering his eyes and letting out a muffled chuckle as he stopped in front of Esmeralda. It was hard to keep up the act while fighting against the urge to burst out laughing, as he was quick to let everyone know by giving up and giggling to himself for a few moments before suddenly changing his expression to humorless one.

"But seriously, did you mean that or not?" Zachary stared at the Elder with narrowed eyes, having no clue whether or not the owl's statement was serious.

"Oh I was serious," Esmeralda informed the leopard, "I'd rather not have to wait at my hut tomorrow for you two to pick me up and risk something happening along the way, however unlikely that is."

"Besides, we're going to be travelling together," she reminded the feline before he could argue, "So if you want to continue with your little 'hobby' while we're on the road, then it's better for you to get used to having me close by sooner than later."

About to argue, Basajaun stopped, giving Zachary a look that said, "She's right".

Waving his arms around in the air in utter annoyance at how right the Elder was, Zachary simply nodded and murmured something incomprehensible under his breath before turning towards the kitchen.

"Alright, then. I suppose we are all going home, I'm going to say goodbye to the people before we leave." the leopard announced, already on his way towards the main room of the inn. He quickly exchanged words with both raccoon siblings, giving Rosy a hug and a firm handshake to Rusty.

"Hey, you loud bunch!" Zachary shouted at the crowd in front of him, laughing a little when confused, and utterly intoxicated, faces turned towards him. The anthros cheered at the leopard almost instantly. Apparently they didn't need any reason or speech to be happy whatsoever.

"I want to thank you for tonight, all of you!" the leopard continued, eliciting another joyful applause from the occupants of the inn, "It's been an amazing celebration, but we have to get Esmeralda to bed as soon as possible. We all know how grumpy elderly people can get if they don't get enough sleep." The laughter that followed was quite possibly the longest and most intense performance of hilarity Zachary had ever heard in his life. A few anthros simply spat out their drink as they tried to catch their breath between coughing and guffawing. Finding their joy contagious, the feline soon joined in with their laughter, chuckling to himself for a few moments before realizing what consequences he would have to face later. It was still worth it.

Clearing his throat to get the crowd's attention once more after long moments of laughing, he could clearly hear a few individuals snickering under their breath. "But to take matters seriously, we're saying goodbye to you, the people of Plainstead for now. You all are the best anthros any town can only wish for! Thank you again, and see you soon enough!"

The leopard's words elicited a loud roar from the people, who raised their cup in return when Zachary waved his paw with a wide grin on his face. Turning around to the kitchen, he could clearly hear their names being chanted in unison by the crowd, which only resulted in his grin to grow even wider... right up until the point he noticed Esmeralda standing right in front of him.

Tapping her cane with a talon, Esmeralda cocked her eyebrow at the feline. "Elderly people get grumpy when they aren't given the proper respect, too," the owl said flatly, before her beak curled slowly into a mischievous smile, "Though I appreciate you giving the townsfolk a laugh. But be warned; I know where you sleep!"

Laughing wickedly, Esmeralda turned and moved into the back room before mounting on a kneeling Snowflake. "Shall we ride back to your home in style?" the Elder invited, indicating Basajaun, "We'd make quite the image; a pair of dragon riders trotting off into the grasslands astride two magnificent beasts. That'd be a memorable sight!"

Basajaun smiled at the thought. "I like that idea!" he said, his ego more than a little inflated at being referred to as magnificent. As he stood up from his bed of hay, the dragon felt his bloated middle pressing against his thighs and spreading them slightly apart, giving him a wider stance than when he had started his celebratory feast.

Still a little taken aback by the Elder's comment and crooked smile, Zachary simply nodded, swallowing the lump in his throat. "Let's go home, then." he said after a few moments of recovery, walking next to Basajaun and swiftly jumping on his back with ease and routine. And didn't even have to wait for the dragon to kneel down for him, so easy it had gotten for the agile feline to get on his friend's back.

Glancing down to the tinier dragon next to Basajaun, Zachary gave Snowflake a warm smile, still quite amazed by the spirit's ability to change forms, and not believing how convincing the results were. He patted Basajaun's soft side with a paw, indicating that he was ready.

Letting the Elder take the lead, Basajaun followed Snowflake out of the wide doors. He still felt uneasy looking at what was apparently another dragon, but the drake was able to soldier through it, forcing himself to look at the spirit and mentally accept the new form. He didn't want to wind up having to ask her to change her shape again, especially since Zachary seemed so enamored with it.

"I can see why my mother wanted me out of her territory now," Basajaun said as he looked back to the leopard riding him, "Seeing another dragon raises up some singularly unpleasant reactions. I guess it's nice to finally have some perspective and understand why she gave me the boot as soon as possible."

Zachary smiled warmly at his friend, stroking his back a little. "She made a huge mistake," he began, patting the dragon beneath him, "She missed the opportunity to enjoy your company. Instincts or not, I see that as a waste of potential." The leopard laughed a little, but soon changed his expression to serious.

"And I don't know what it's like for you, Basa. But I know for a fact that you're able to overcome your impulses." Zachary stated, pointing at himself with a paw, "You've done it with me already, so there won't be any problems, I know it."

Basajaun gave a hesitant nod. "I can also see why I haven't heard of any dragon settlements," the dragon continued his train of thought, "It's hard to build a community when your immediate reaction to a stranger is to challenge them. You anthros are definitely lucky in that. And I'd like to think I'm a lucky dragon for learning to exist in your community, even if it is just on the fringes of it."

"We're also lucky to have you, Basajaun," the Elder stated as Snowflake allowed the larger dragon to catch up next to her, the owl's expression oddly sincere, "You've proven yourself a loyal and productive member of this community, as you call it. Believe you me, if I didn't think that about both of you, I wouldn't have offered to come with you at all."

"And we thank you for that, Elder Eszes." Zachary replied with a smile, "Knowing that you'll be accompanying us is more relieving than I care to admit," the leopard rolled his eyes and quickly added, "But I'm sure you know that already. You know everything about me, I don't even know why I'm even trying anymore." He let out a chuckle, then frowned upon realizing the reality of that statement. Privacy was a luxury Zachary could only dream about while being in the witch's presence.

"I can't just read your mind on a whim, Zachary," Esmeralda said, patting the leopard's thigh, "I merely know you very well, now. Your thoughts are your own, from the point I actually did see your memories onward. So set your mind at ease, I'm not just passively monitoring your mind over here."

As they walked next to each other, Basajaun felt Snowflake rub her face against his shoulder, giving him a warm smile as he looked to the smaller dragon. With a little less hesitation, the drake nuzzled her face back, grateful that there were no hard feelings for his earlier overreaction.

Sighing in relief at the Elder's words, Zachary noticed the two dragons' friendly cuddling, and couldn't help but smile warmly at the sight, happy for Basajaun who had seemingly conquered his negative instincts already. His gaze eventually settled on Esmeralda, finding an equally relieved and happy expression on the old owl's face.

On dragonback, the trip to the Guardhouse was a lot quicker, not even mentioning the luxury the riders were enjoying as well. Wide, tall trees replaced the crowded long grass, the color green dominating as far as the eye could see. It was well into the night when the quartet arrived at the woodlands, but its peacefulness and stillness only complimented the time of the day. The silvery lunar rays shone through the canopy in patches, illuminating the path ahead of the four friends, as if guiding them to their destination.

The music of the crickets was clearly audible as they endlessly played their usual piece, endorsing the serene calmness of the woods. The weak, night breeze rustled the green leaves in the forest canopy, swaying the branches lightly back and forth.

Zachary closed his eyes as they walked through the woodlands, relishing the tranquil place they called home. Out of all the things they were leaving behind, he knew he would miss the placid feeling he got each time he walked through these woods. There were simply no words to express his endless fascination with nature. Someone who grew up on dirty, cold streets, knew all the more how to appreciate the simple harmony this place provided for anyone to experience. One just had to take a minute, and let themselves marvel at the beautiful creations of the environment around them.

The leopard smiled when the guardhouse, their home, came into view. The sturdy-looking building was not exactly something someone would call the ideal home. And yet, through hard work and determination, the two friends managed to make it one themselves. As long as the trees surrounded them, a simple clearing would be enough to call it a shelter.

Similar thoughts crossed Basajaun's mind as they moved through the woodlands, the drake taking in the sights in quiet. He knew he was more used to being outside of a forest by now, but he would still miss having the cover of the trees during their travels.

By the time the dragon saw the guardhouse, his stomach was beginning to complain from being jostled around by his movement. Mentally reassuring his overfilled gut, Basajaun made his way around back to the large doors alongside Snowflake, ducking into the building quickly in order to give his belly a rest from bouncing about with his steps.

"Welcome to our little home, Snowflake," the dragon said with a sincere smile, as this was the first time he knew of that the spirit had come to the guardhouse.

"Come, Snowflake, lemme show you around!" Zachary proposed with a smile, getting off from Basajaun's back and taking the spirit's blue paw, "This is the back entrance for Basa, you know, he's kinda big so we ne--" The enthusiastic leopard's words died down as he exited with the ice dragon in tow, leaving Esmeralda and Basajaun alone in the room.

Occasionally, the Elder and the forest dragon could spot the other two running across the main hall as Zachary introduced each and every room to the new guest. The sight was comical, to say the least. An excited feline pulling a more than confused and overwhelmed ice dragon from room to room without stopping once.

The owl and drake both grinned at the amusing spectacle. "Where would you like to stay while you're here?" Basajaun eventually asked as he looked to the Elder.

Shrugging, Esmeralda indicated the bunkroom opposite the one that Zachary used. "I'll probably be in there while you two do your thing," the owl replied as she moved towards the room in question, "It's getting rather late, so I'll be getting myself settled in for a rest. Zachary, I need my familiar back, now."

"Fiiiine." A disappointed voice called back from the kitchen, and soon the two strays emerged. Zachary let go of the ice dragon's paw, waving his own arm to Snowflake as she walked past him.

"Good night, Esmeralda." He said with a warm smile, making his way towards Basajaun and leaning lightly against his shoulder as he waited for the other two to take their room.

Giving a nod, the Elder walked into the room and closed the door behind her, a few sounds of unpacking coming from the chamber before there was quiet again.

Basajaun looked down to Zachary with an enthusiastic grin after a moment. "Well then, shall we?" he invited, flicking his eyes toward the kitchen.

"Yes, we shall." The leopard replied with a grin, patting the dragon's somewhat distended side with a paw. "How full are you?" He asked, cocking an eyebrow and examining the reptile's belly. It was hard to see how full Basajaun was lately, given the increased amount of pudge around his middle which coated it.

Waving his paw for the reptile to follow, Zachary began walking towards the kitchen with fast steps, his tail swaying behind him eagerly. It was obvious that he couldn't control his evident excitement. It was made clear a long time ago that stuffing Basajaun to the brim would never become boring for the feline.

Basajaun chuckled at the leopard's enthusiasm as he followed into the kitchen. "Don't worry, I have plenty of room left," the dragon assured his companion, sitting on his haunches near the stove and feeling his middle spread out slightly against the floor, "Since we're going to be travelling, why don't we see how much of our food stores we can clear out tonight? It'd be a shame to leave them to spoil, don't you think?"

Zachary's ears raised high as he listened to the suggestion, a smile spreading across his muzzle as he turned towards Basajaun. "You," he pointed a finger at the chubby dragon, "I like the way you think." The leopard stated with a chuckle, turning back to fumble around with some spices as well as searching for the cooking book at the same time.

"Would you mind checking what we have left?" he asked his friend, giving him a pleading expression before gesturing at the spices and cookbook in front of him, "I'm going to prepare some things."

Giving a nod, Basajaun moved out to the storage room. The food stores were always fluctuating, given the pair's favorite pastime, though they were reasonably well stocked at the moment. There was a moderate amount of assorted meats left, with some fruits and vegetables. What thrilled the dragon to bits was the surplus of sweets they had stockpiled for special occasions, and Basajaun figured this occasion was special enough for the rest of the confections.

Taking as much food as he could fit into the saddle bags he carried, as well as on the saddle itself and in a foreleg, Basajaun waddled his way somewhat awkwardly into the kitchen once more. "There's about twice this much food," the drake reported to Zachary as he moved into the doorway, setting the ingredients on the counters and table.

"I didn't even know we were so stocked up in food." The leopard replied as he scanned the massive amount of food which the dragon had brought. This much nourishment would have been more than enough for Basajaun just some weeks ago, but times changed, and with that changed the voracious reptile's capacity and appetite as well.

"Do you want to bring the rest in, or do you think that would be too much?" Zachary asked, glancing around and noting the venison, boar and hare meat, as well as the wide variety of vegetables and fruits. His mind was already racing through the possible recipe's, happy to have learned some of them by heart from the cookbook.

"If it wasn't for the feast back in the inn, I'm sure you could finish all of our stored foods.... perhaps you could even now, with some help." Winking, the leopard grabbed some ingredients from the table, namely venison and a few vegetables, and began preparing one of the many courses.

Grinning, Basajaun patted his gut. "Hey, whatever doesn't fit in here we can take on the road," he suggested with a wink of his own, "So I think I will go get the rest. Be back in a moment!"

With a jovial smile, Basajaun turned and made his way back into the storage room. As he gathered up the rest of the food, the dragon steadily became aware of a set of eyes watching him. "I thought you were cooking?" he stated, expecting to find Zachary when he turned around.

Instead, the drake's eyes landed on Snowflake, who was standing in the doorway of the storeroom, sans saddle and bags and bearing a curious expression. "Oh, you're not Zach," Basajaun realized with a mildly sheepish tone, "Did you need something, Snowflake?"

Shaking her head, the frosty dragon simply watched Basajaun weigh himself down with ingredients, before moving into the storage room. Offering her back, Snowflake looked to the last bit of food and back to the drake.

"Oh, thank you," Basajaun said as he realized what the spirit was offering. Placing some of the stored food on her back, Basajaun was able to return to the kitchen without the awkward waddle he used before.

"This is the last of it, Zach," the dragon stated as he entered with Snowflake following closely, "Thank you for helping, Snowflake."

"Yeah, thanks for h-- wait what?" Zachary swiftly turned around with a confused expression, cocking an eyebrow at the ice dragon, "Thought you went to sleep?" The leopard inquired, pointing the end of his hunting knife at Snowflake for a few moments before returning his attention back to the slicing some of the vegetables.

Throwing all the required ingredients in an oversized pan, the feline sighed and put his knife on the counter, motioning with his head for Basajaun to help him lift the massive pan in the stove. It had become pretty obvious for Zachary not to even attempt lifting the thing when it was packed with food, unless he wanted to break one of his arms again.

"So... Er... is there something you need, Snowflake?" The leopard asked, moving away from the counter. He flicked through the pages of the cookbook, occasionally glancing up at the ice dragon curiously.

Shaking her head again, Snowflake moved to set the ingredients down with the others. Once unencumbered, the spirit said a few words in her tinkling language, making a writing motion with one of her claws.

Basajaun nodded, walking to the store room once again and retrieving some of the writing materials that the pair had bought for the dragon's reading lessons. Back in the kitchen, the drake handed Snowflake some parchment and a quill, along with a vial of ink. "Here you go," Basajaun said smilingly.

Returning the smile, Snowflake quickly opened the ink and dipped the quill in before writing out a note and handing it to Basajaun. "Can I help?" the dragon read aloud, turning to Zachary, "Would you mind that, Zach?"

Hesitating for a moment, the leopard looked at the ice dragon with a thoughtful expression, before shrugging. "Nah, you can help us if you'd like." He replied, giving a small smile to Snowflake. Focusing his attention on the cookbook once more, the feline cook swiftly searched through some of the assortment of ingredients on the table, murmuring something under his breath as his finger searched on the pages.

Tapping a furry finger on the recipe he chose, Zachary began preparing the second course in another pan, with the first one still waiting to be put in the stove. "You could put that pan in the stove, Snowflake." The busy feline suggested, waving his paw behind him in the general direction of the object in question.

With an enthusiastic smile and chime, Snowflake moved to the full pan and, with a bit of effort, lifted it into the stove. That done, the familiar moved to the parchment again and wrote something down, about to hand it to Basajaun when she noticed he had begun preparing his own recipe.

Looking between the busy pair for a moment, Snowflake eventually saw a lull in Zachary's activity as a chance to get her message to him, handing the leopard a note that read, "Can I cook too? I know a lot of recipes."

Setting the note down on the table, Zachary cocked his head. "You do, huh?" he wondered aloud, then patted the spirit's neck with a warm smile, "In that case, you can prepare a whole other pan with your own recipe, if you'd like." The feline suggested, gesturing with his head at the third, and yet empty, pan on the counter.

With the task given to the rather enthusiastic Snowflake, the leopard returned to his own cooking, swiftly preparing all the required ingredients at a faster pace. It was getting late, and they would need all the rest they can get for tomorrow.

Smiling joyfully as she worked, Snowflake took to her task with eager enthusiasm. With the trio working together, they soon had another banquet sized meal in the works, and very quickly nearing completion.

It was evident that the spirit was used to doing these kinds of household chores, as she eventually began flawlessly multitasking with two or three recipes at once, one of which Basajaun had never seen before. Snowflake had gathered up and juiced a good deal of the remaining fruits, along with cream, eggs, and sugar. After beating the eggs and sugar together and boiling them for a while, the spirit added the cream to thicken the recipe. Once done, she added the fruit juice, before taking the entire concoction and pouring it into a large bowl. Sitting on her haunches with the bowl in her forepaws, Snowflake appeared to concentrate for a few moments as the contents of the bowl steadily froze over and thickened.

"And, done!" Zachary announced with a grin as the last, namely the fifth, pan was completed and ready to be cooked. He turned around to ask Snowflake for help when he noticed the bowl in her paws. Cocking an eyebrow, the leopard peered at the contents of the pot.

"What do you have there, girl?" The feline asked with a curious expression, trying to make something out of the indistinct mass, but found that it was to no avail.

Taking one of the pots out of the stove to make room for the last, Basajaun looked to the food that Snowflake had made as well. "I wasn't aware of a recipe that required cooling the ingredient rather than heating them," he said as he placed the pot on the heavily laden table, moving to watch the spirit's work as he flickered his forked tongue. "Hey, that smells very sweet!" the dragon realized as his expression brightened.

Looking up with a shy smile as the pair observed her, Snowflake placed the large bowl on the counter once it was finished freezing. Taking her parchment and quill, the familiar jotted down a note and handed it to Basajaun. "My specialty is desserts," the dragon read, "This one is called 'Ice Cream'."

Looking up to Zachary, Basajaun flashed a broad grin. "Well now, that's handy!" he said enthusiastically.

Returning the dragon's grin, Zachary nodded and glanced at Snowflake. "Basa has a very close relationship with sweets." the leopard explained with a chuckle, patting the chubby dragon's side, "Your culinary knowledge will be very useful during our travels, I'm certain now. Your company would have been enough, but I suppose this makes things even better." The feline said with a warm smile, watching as the flames slowly worked on the feast inside the stove. After a few moments, he turned his gaze back to Snowflake.

"Is your... Er.. Ice Cream ready? Can we have a taste with Basa?" Zachary asked, glancing between the pot on the counter and the familiar with a hopeful expression. His nose wasn't as sensitive as the forest dragon's, but he could clearly smell the sweet scent radiating from the bowl, making him rather eager to test Snowflake's mysterious recipe.

Snowflake nodded, writing down another note before handing it to Zachary, this one reading, "Eat it slowly. It can give you a headache if you don't."

Somewhat discouraged by the warning, the leopard hesitated for a moment before giving in to the temptation. Grabbing a wooden spoon from the table, Zachary plunged it under the surface of the fruity mass, letting the concoction slowly envelop his spoon before raising it to his mouth and giving it an experimental lick. As soon as his tongue touched the cold substance, the feline's eyes widened in surprise and he wasted no time in simply swallowing the spoonful of ice cream.

"This... is... so sweet!" He announced with a wide grin, motioning with his head for Basajaun to try it as well. He had himself a couple more spoonfuls from the delightful dessert before leaving the rest, remembering Snowflake's warning.

Taking his own spoon, Basajaun sampled the ice cream, almost choking when the cold and sweet flavor hit him, it was so new. "Wow," the dragon managed sigh after he swallowed the mouthful of heaven, "Just... wow."

Smiling at the pair's reaction to her cooking, Snowflake jotted down a note and handed it to Basajaun. "You should get some warm food in you first," the drake read, glancing over to Zachary for a moment before continuing, "I don't want you getting a tummy ache."

Basajaun cocked his head at the spirit. "You don't think this can handle a little cold?" he asked as he patted his stomach. When Snowflake gave him a resolute expression, Basajaun sighed and turned to Zachary. "Well then, let's get that warm food in me so I can enjoy some more of this!" the drake proclaimed eagerly.

Zachary chuckled at his friend's words, shaking his head a little. "You say that as if it were a nuisance to eat warm food." he said with a smile, "Although I can understand your reason for saying that. Snowflake's Ice Cream is heavenly!" Winking at the familiar, the feline turned towards the stove and checked the dinner for a few moments, noting that they were nearing completion.

"You'll have to wait a little, Basa," he stated, turning back to the two dragons and realizing something once his eyes glanced at Snowflake. For a few moments, Zachary remained silent, looking lost in thought. Clearing his throat and giving a somewhat hesitant expression the leopard's eyes shifted between Basajaun and Snowflake.

"Er... I assume you weren't planning on going to sleep, Snowflake?" Zachary asked with a rather weak voice, feeling his cheeks reddening at realization that the familiar most likely wanted to stay in the kitchen while the leopard fed Basajaun with the warm food. He wasn't joking when he told Esmeralda that this was an event he'd rather prefer holding in private. His mild blush bore an obvious proof of that.

Seeing the leopard's expression, Snowflake's face fell before she picked up her writing materials and writing another note before handing it to Zachary. "I don't need to sleep that much, and Esmeralda is asleep right now," the note read, "It's boring on my own at night. Can I just stay and watch?"

Zachary's cheeks only reddened more as he read the note, and he had to look away for a moment from Snowflake. He breathed heavily for a few seconds, handing the piece of paper to Basajaun while still trying to recover from his embarrassment. After a few seconds, the leopard managed to calm himself, and he looked up at Basajaun with a hesitant expression as he waited for the dragon to read the spirit's words.

Looking between the note, Snowflake, and Zachary, Basajaun gave his own hesitant smile. "Well, I'm okay with that if you are, Zach," he announced after a moment, "I'd feel a little bad if I just sent Snowflake away for our own enjoyment."

The frosty dragoness' expression brightened a bit at the statement as she looked to Zachary with the cutest pleading expression she could manage. It looked like Snowflake had quite a bit of practise with the expression, as the ice spirit's face ironically made Basajaun's heart feel as though it were melting with warmness.

"Don't you pull that on me!" Zachary said in an utterly unconvincing threatening tone, pointing a finger at the adorable dragoness, "That's not fair, Snowflake. Stop being cute!" He commanded, sighing once the spirit's reaction was fluttering her blue eyes as they practically stared into the leopard's fragile soul.

Managing to withstand the forces of cuteness for some moments, the feline eventually gave up. "I'd feel bad for sending you away too..." he stated, rolling his eyes at the spirit, "Sure, you can stay." Zachary announced, a small smile appearing on his muzzle. He knew that, eventually, Snowflake would have discovered their feeding sessions with Basajaun during their travels. It was a better choice to let her know what to expect, rather than keeping it a secret.

Clapping her foreclaws in approval, Snowflake bounded over and nuzzled Zachary's face, hopping over to Basajaun and doing the same with him before settling herself next to the larger dragon, snuggling into his side as he situated himself on his back once more.

"I think you could learn a bit in the way of manipulation from this girl," Basajaun chuckled as he patted Snowflake's head, "She doesn't even need to talk to get what she wants!"

Zachary snorted and waved a paw at the statement. "With the ability to transform yourself into the cutest living being on earth, I don't see that as a huge accomplishment." The leopard teased at the ice dragoness, giving her a wink and a smile to let her know that he was joking.

Glancing at the stove behind him and seeing that the dinner was done, the feline put his paws on his hips as he gazed at Basajaun, who had seemingly situated himself quite comfortably on the ground. "Snowflake," he began, waving a paw at the chubby dragon, "Could you help me with the pans? It looks like Basa forgot that I can't lift them alone." Zachary said in a teasing tone, narrowing his eyes as he glared playfully at his friend.

"Oh, right," Basajaun mumbled, grinning sheepishly, "I suppose I got a little over eager..."

Smiling and giving a chiming laugh, Snowflake stood and took the last pot from the stove, careful to use oven mitts, and placed it on the table with the rest. Looking around for a moment, the spirit gave the leopard an "is that all?" expression.

Zachary shook his head, smiling a little. "The table is too far away from Basa. I kinda need to be in arm's length distance with the pans to ensure... Er... to avoid pausing." the leopard explained, then coughed a little as he glanced at the lying dragon, "Unless someone could scoot a little closer to the table." He said with a grin, giving Basajaun a playful expression.

Nodding, Basajaun scooted to put himself adjacent to the most fully laden part of the table, looking to Zachary and patting his abdomen. "Ready when you are, sir!" the dragon announced in a playful tone as Snowflake nuzzled and cuddled into the hefty drake's side, resting on his wing as it curled slightly around her.

Chuckling at the sight of the two dragons cuddling, Zachary was quick to climb on Basajaun's pudgy middle. He felt his paws sink in deeply into the supple flesh before the dragon's slightly distended stomach provided the resistance against the leopard's puny weight. The conquest of the chubby hill took some seconds to perform, but eventually the feline was able to position himself on top of the reptile's midriff.

"First bite on the way!" Zachary announced with a giggle, grabbing a massive chunk of meat and seasoning from the first pan. He offered the hefty snack for the voracious reptile, while his other paw began its usual job of massaging the ample, soft flesh beneath him.

The massage kickstarted the drake's purr as he took the first mouthful, moaning in the undiminished bliss that he felt when his already filled stomach took in even more food. And with this being only the beginning, the dragon smiled widely as he awaited each new mouthful.

Happy to provide the desired nourishment for the greedy drake, Zachary quickly began offering the large pieces of food at a steady pace. As expected from Basajaun, each of said chunks of meat and dressing disappeared in the dragon's awaiting mouth, resulting in his already stuffed stomach to begin expanding even further under the leopard.

While one of his paws was busy with shoveling food into the reptile's hungry maw, the other explored the surface of his abdomen. As Zachary's fingers caressed the soft hide, he couldn't help but be surprised just by the amount of fat Basajaun's belly held. The squishy, yielding pudge easily obeyed the leopard's delicate paw as he fondled the flesh gingerly. It was a lot more than some days ago.

It was fascinating to feel the results of the reptile's diet between his fingers. And with Basajaun's words still lingering in his mind, Zachary knew that the drake's fat would only grow more. The thought alone was able to send the leopard to purring as well, as he slowly got lost in the feeding and rubbing the soft substance under him.

As time went on, Snowflake felt the dragon's expanding sides begin to press against her more. Looking up curiously, the icy dragoness noticed how much larger Basajaun's middle was, and how he and Zachary were still continuing the feeding. The familiar knew that the drake had a big appetite, but seeing this amount of food getting packed away was a novel and awe inspiring sight.

Pressing her snout into the drake's side, Snowflake noticed that there wasn't quite as much give to it as there was just some moments ago. But Basajaun's belly still held its plush texture that the spirit found comfortable to rest against, so she simply repositioned herself a bit further out on his wing, pretty sure that the motion wasn't even noticed by the pair that were lost in their feeding frenzy.

On Basajaun's part, he could only moan as his stomach started audibly gurgling. The organ had gotten used to the massive amounts that Zachary piled into it, and knew when to kick into overdrive to quickly make room for more food. Although mostly unaware of this development, Basajaun had noticed that he seemed to be able to eat more and faster as his feeding sessions with Zachary increased in magnitude.

Not sparing time for thoughts about how this process worked, the drake simply gulped down each new mouthful offered to him, the thought of the creamy, frozen reward at the end spurring him on. "F-faster!" Basajaun moaned, feeling his gut with both paws. Even the dragon's tail had begun wrapping around the orb that pressed him down, massaging at the flesh with its constrictor like muscles.

"Well, someone is quite eager tonight, huh?" Zachary asked with a chuckle before acknowledging the dragon's request with a nod. There was no need to ask him twice when it came to feeding Basajaun with even more food. And he was more than happy to fulfill the pleasant request.

With a new, and exponentially faster, pace picked up, the pair practically destroyed through the pans of food on the table. With the pile decreasing at a rapid rate, the size of Basajaun's stomach increased proportionally. Even through the deep fat which enveloped the dragon's middle, Zachary could clearly feel the gluttonous reptile's stomach expanding and tightening as more nourishment joined to their consumed brethren. The massaging paw never paused throughout the whole experience, kneading and caressing the drake's slowly expanding abdomen as it grew. Soon enough, the pair more than halfway through the entirety of their stored food.

Zachary found himself more than amazed by Basajaun's ability of pure gluttony. Given that the dragon alone had consumed a banquet earlier, it was fascinating to experience just with how much ease he managed to gulp down each mouthful of food which was offered. The leopard knew Basajaun had an almost insatiable craving for nourishment, but this display of gluttony was beyond his imagination.

Naturally, the access for more food soon began to run out, and Zachary could only sigh disappointedly once he noticed that there was only a few mouthfuls left. "Almost done, Basa," the leopard reassured his friend with a wide grin, patting the dragon's utterly distended stomach with a paw, "How are you holding up?" He asked, offering one of the last pieces of meat from the pile.

Basajaun nodded with a sloppy grin for an answer, apparently still lost in the bliss of the moment. As the last few bites made their way down the drake's gullet, he only barely registered Snowflake standing up from his wing.

A moment later, the ice spirit returned to the dragon's side, holding the bowl of ice cream up to Zachary. Her more than impressed expression showed that Snowflake was intrigued by Basajaun's appetite, and though perhaps not in the same way as the leopard was, the spirit was clearly amazed by the spectacle she had just witnessed.

Along with the frosty treat, the spirit passed Zachary a note that read, "Is he going to be alright?"

Zachary took the bowl of ice cream with a smile, plunging his finger in the delicious treat and having himself a couple of licks. "Don't worry," the leopard began, patting Basajaun's swollen middle with a paw, "We've had a bit of practice. Although I have to admit, this must be the most amount of food Basa had consumed at once... ever." Zachary stated with an impressed expression, before looking down to his overstuffed friend with a smile.

"Up for dessert, tubby?" The feline proposed with a giggle, finding the dragon's situation to be perfect time for some old-fashioned teasing.

"Mm... yes," the drake nearly cooed with a wide smile. It almost seemed like he was half asleep from being so stuffed, though he was clearly eager for the last bit of his meal.

Snowflake made what sounded like a giggle as she saw the drake's continued enthusiasm. Standing on her hind legs and pressing her cool paws into Basajaun's expanded abdomen, the spirit felt around for a bit while dessert was in progress.

"Alrighty, then." The feline said in a playful tone, repositioning his grip on the bowl before bringing it to the overstuffed dragon's open mouth. Figuring that there was no reason to take things slowly anymore, Zachary simply began slowly dumping the contents of the pot in the reptile's awaiting jaws.

He paid careful attention to not tilt the bowl too far and cause the whole concoction to slide in the dragon's mouth at once. He didn't want to choke his friend on ice cream, after all. Despite the somewhat slow pace, the cold treat quickly disappeared in the reptile's bottomless gullet.

Drinking in the cold cream, Basajaun's toes curled at the extremely sweet flavor, the coolness feeling good as it spread out through his throat and stomach. The pair of masseuses spoiling his engorged gut helped to keep him taking in more nourishment, despite the massive amount that the drake's stomach already packed away.

When the creamy confection was nearly finished, Snowflake pawed at Zachary's thigh to get his attention. Pointing to the bowl and then to Basajaun, the familiar gave her best "Can I try?" expression that she could.

Glancing at the bowl and then back to Snowflake, Zachary smiled widely. "Sure, here you go." He handed the pot for the ice dragoness, and began massaging the dragon's absolutely bloated abdomen with both of his paws. He made delicate and slow motions, knowing that it aided the voracious drake's uncomfortable feeling when he was stuffed to the brim.

Taking the bowl and a spoon, Snowflake moved to the drake's head and scooped out the final remaining bits of her special recipe, placing each spoonful delicately into Basajaun's awaiting maw. The dragon barely noticed that his feeders had changed, his purr still vibrating and sending small ripples through his glutted body.

When the last of the ice cream finally fell through Basajaun's mouth and into his stomach, Snowflake set the bowl aside and gingerly felt the reptile's absolutely full middle, smiling at the softness that enveloped his tightly packed stomach. She didn't have any of civilization's negative preconceptions of adiposity; she just felt a texture that was soft and pleasing, something that would be great for cuddling with. And in her mind, this was a good thing that should be encouraged.

These thoughts in mind, Snowflake settled herself once more on the drake's wing, nuzzling and kneading at the simultaneously taut and yielding surface as she expressed her approval at this event.

Noticing the ice dragoness' unexpected fondness towards Basajaun's middle, Zachary could only grin widely. "Looks like I'm not alone with this, after all." He said in a soft tone, pinching the fat from the dragon's belly as he glanced at Snowflake with a knowing expression. It was undoubtedly evident that the familiar expressed the same feelings the leopard had when he first realized his unexplainable affection towards the drake's pudge.

Feeling somehow relieved with the realization, Zachary turned his attention to his favourite subject of his secret devotion. "I gotta say, Basa." he started, stroking the dragon's midriff with both of his paws tenderly, "I'm really impressed. I have seen you glut yourself to stupor before, but never on this level. I hope the experience was just as pleasant for you as it was for me," the leopard gestured towards the ice dragon and added with a wink, "And for Snowflake as well."

Giving a final nod, Basajaun was unable to keep himself awake any longer, falling into his inevitable food coma. Seeing the dragon fall asleep, Snowflake began to do her equivalent of singing as she continued to enjoy the bloated softness of the dragon's belly, a lullaby made from sounds like crystalline bells filling the room. At this slower pace of speaking, individual "words" became evident in the spirit's song, and though neither of the creatures present in the room understood her language, the sound was both beautiful and relaxing to the ear.

"That's... beautiful." Zachary stated as he listened to the alluring song Snowflake was singing. He was about to continue talking, but eventually decided against it, completely transfixed by the familiar's lullaby.

The leopard yawned long, indicating that the song was doing its job the way it was supposed to. Seeing that Basajaun had fallen asleep already, the anthro figured it was time to get some rest as well. With the nightmares gone, he was actually looking forward to sleeping once again.

"Good night, Snowflake." He purred happily as he cuddled himself tightly against the drake's soft and warm abdomen, feeling himself rise and fall with each breath the massive reptile took. The constant motion, as well as the fascinating melody, soon carried Zachary to a peaceful slumber.

As she watched the leopard join Basajaun in sleep, Snowflake quieted her melody somewhat as she curled herself up against the fatted drake's middle, snuggling as deeply into the yielding flesh as she could. The spirit had slept all she needed to at Basajaun's earlier feast, but she knew that her flesh and blood friends needed more rest. So Snowflake simply continued to gently massage the dragon's belly, enjoying herself as she passed the time needed for her companions to get their rest.

As she felt around the pudge of Basajaun's gut, feeling the gurgling it made as it processed its biggest meal yet, Snowflake's snout broke into a grin. She knew now that Zachary and Basajaun both wanted this mound of fat to grow. So, concentrating a bit and focusing her thoughts on the blubbery animals of her home region, the spirit gave a small incantation and breathed a tiny cloud of lightly glowing mist onto the drake's midsection, watching with a satisfied smirk as it melded into the soft flesh and began to aid the dragon's overworked stomach.

Giving a nod, the spirit settled herself down, entering into her hibernating state as she felt the dragon's softness press against her.

A loud, gurgling sound right next to his ear forced Zachary to leave the long-desired pleasantness of his dream. Opening his eyes and giving an annoyed grunt at the cruel intruder of his sleep, the leopard decided to have his sweet revenge. Raising his unsteady, and still half asleep, arm high in the air, the feline brought it against the dragon's stomach. The blow could barely be called a nudge, as the impact was deadened by something exceptionally soft.

Blinking in surprise for a few moments, the feline attempted to sit up, feeling himself sink in deep in what seemed to be a whole lot of fat under his weight. "Er... Basa?" Zachary called out with a weak voice to awaken his friend, still quite not believing what he was lying on, "You're officially... a fatty." The leopard announced with a hesitant chuckle, giving an experimental pinch on the dragon's belly fat.

Giggling as he felt the pinch on his gut, Basajaun slowly opened his eyes. "What are you...?" the dragon began to ask, stopping as he saw his own belly rising above him.

Staring for a moment in disbelief at the extra two and a half feet of flab that had appeared on his midsection, with the rest of his body filled out to a lesser, but proportional degree. "Okay, did I eat more than I remember having last night?" Basajaun questioned the leopard situated on his stomach.

Hearing the pair talking, Snowflake jumped up happily to greet the pair, giving a variety of pleasant ringing sounds as she bounced around Basajaun and Zachary.

Following with his eyes the ice dragoness' hopping for a few moments, the leopard had to tore his gaze away, not quite awake to cope with this much amount of energy just yet. Returning his attention to Basajaun, the leopard shrugged and grinned sheepishly as he fondled the dragon's soft flesh in his paws.

"No, you haven't," Zachary began, testing the deep pudge between his fingers, as if it were only an illusion, "I really don't know how you've managed to gain this much... but," The leopard's muzzle broke into a wide grin, and he practically embraced the reptile's fatty middle with his whole body, "I love it!" He admitted with a giggle, cuddling the huge amount of soft flesh with his face.

Hearing the leopard's questioning tone, Snowflake bounced over to her parchment and quill, quickly writing out a note and handing it to Basajaun, since Zachary was busy enjoying himself.

Reading the note to himself first, the dragon looked up to the leopard. "Snowflake says she's responsible for this," Basajaun relayed, grabbing a clawful of blubber and wobbling it about, rocking the feline at its apex, "She says she used a spell that mages in frozen regions use to protect their livestock from the cold. It apparently doubles the nutritional value of food eaten, which would explain... all of this additional tonnage."

Pausing in his bliss of enjoying the dragon's newfound fatness, Zachary gave a thumb's up to Snowflake. "Now that's what I'd call a useful spell!" The leopard stated with a laugh, smiling widely at the familiar, before something crossed his mind and he sat up once again.

"Why did you use that spell on Basa, Snowflake?" the leopard asked, cocking his head slightly as his paws continued massaging the flabby flesh beneath him, "I'm not asking because I'm mad, or anything," he explained, and then gestured with his head towards Basajaun, "And I have a suspicion that this tubby dragon doesn't mind it that much either, although I'm not quite sure." he gave his friend a few encouraging pats on his belly, before finishing "I'm only asking because I'm curious."

Writing down another note as Basajaun and Zachary idly felt around the dragon's new flab, Snowflake handed it up to the feline with a slightly shy smile. "I really like soft things," the note read simply.

Smiling back warmly, Zachary handed a note to Basajaun. "I'm with you on that one, Snowflake." the leopard replied, now realizing what that statement meant for the familiar; she simply liked the dragon's softness which came with his fatness.

"Looks like your gut has another fan, Basa." The feline stated with a laugh, fondling around with the dragon's flab as he waited for the reptile to read Snowflake's note.

Smiling to the familiar after he finished her note, Basajaun nodded his head to her. "I appreciate the assistance!" he said honestly, taking a few more minutes to enjoy the plushness of his middle before looking to Snowflake curiously.

"When does Esmeralda usually wake up?" the dragon asked, "I think it'd be best to get going as soon as possible."

Snowflake shook her head vehemently, before scratching out and handing Basajaun another note. "She's not a morning person," the drake read aloud, taking a moment to realize why that fact caused the spirit to react like she did to the thought of waking the Elder up.

"I think it'd be best if we just wait for the old bird to get up on her own," Basajaun stated, looking up to Zachary, "Do you agree?"

Zachary nodded eagerly. "You know what I'm like in the mornings, now imagine the same with Esmeralda... but even worse." The leopard said in a quiet tone and glanced at the doorway in fear, as if expecting the Elder to just appear out of nowhere like she did whenever the young anthro tried to say something negative about her. To his relief, the old owl didn't seem to be awake... yet.

Patting his friend's middle before sliding down quickly from the comfortable bed, Zachary stretched his back until his spine popped satisfyingly. He glanced at the mountain of pudge next to him as Basajaun lay on his back. Whether he liked it or not, the amount the reptile had gained overnight was unbelievable.

"How about you get used to your... new weight while we wait for Esmeralda to wake up." Zachary proposed, moving next to Snowflake and patting her neck tenderly, "And don't forget that you have a test flight to do as well." He added with a chuckle as he continued stroking the ice dragoness' neck, showing that he appreciated her contribution to Basajaun's fattening too.

Nodding, the dragon made an attempt to roll onto his legs. Unused to the sudden massive weight he bore, Basajaun simply wound up sloshing back and forth a couple of times. "Well, that was embarrassing," the drake grumbled when the fluid motions came to a stop.

Walking over to Basajaun, Snowflake grabbed onto one of his forelimbs with a smile. Accepting the aid, the dragons heaved until Basajaun was upright once more. Patting the soft reptile's side, the spirit backed up as the drake hefted himself to his feet.

"Yeah, I've definitely gotten heavier," Basajaun mused, feeling his belly sag and roll down past his knees. Looking back, the drake felt even more impressed when he found his middle hanging halfway to the ground, possibly even a little more than that.

Looking to Zachary, the dragon turned to face his side towards the leopard. "Still looking good?" Basajaun asked, pretty sure he already knew the answer.

Not being able to answer for a few moments, Zachary simply stared at the alluring sight, his jaw almost coming as close to touching the ground as Basajaun's belly. Shaking his head, the feline's muzzle broke into a wide grin.

"Not good," he began, gesturing with both of his paws at the dragon's body, "You look superb! I actually have to resist the urge to simply force you on your back and continue enjoying quite possibly the best bed in the whole world!" Zachary stated, nudging Snowflake's side for confirmation, knowing perfectly well that the ice dragoness had similar view on Basajaun's increased girth.

As Snowflake nodded, Basajaun attempted to take a few steps. However, the pendulous sphere between his knees tripped the dragon up almost immediately, and he stumbled forward until he landed on the ground, his pudgy chest and belly cushioning the impact.

The drake looked up to Zachary and Snowflake with an embarrassed smile. "I don't suppose you'd believe me if I said that was deliberate, would you?" he asked, feeling his face burn with a blush as the spirit loosed a chiming laugh.

Waving a paw, Zachary sent a snicker down to the deepest parts of his soul, not wanting to embarrass his friend even more. "It's alright, Basa," the leopard reassured with a warm smile, moving next to the collapsed dragon and putting a paw on his soft shoulder, "That was the first attempt, I'm sure the second one won't be fruitless. You'll get used to having this around." He patted the drake's belly as it splayed out to the side on the ground.

"Try again." Zachary insisted with a smile, giving an encouraging stroke on Basajaun's neck before backing away. No matter how much of his strength he put into his push, he knew couldn't possibly provide any help for the heavy reptile in front of him, so decided against even attempting it. Besides, Basajaun needed to do this alone, and the leopard was aware of that. His pride wouldn't allow the dragon otherwise.

Nodding, the drake stood and flexed his legs, feeling how his gut pressed newly against his rear limbs. Taking it slower, Basajaun steadily made his way around the kitchen, picking up speed until he could walk at his normal pace again.

Despite widening his stance, the dragon could feel his belly bouncing against his thighs with each step he took, and despite his earlier pratfall, Basajaun began to get accustomed to the feeling. "Right, I think I'm going to need more time to get completely used to this," he stated, looking to the two sets of eyes that watched him, "But I think I'm done falling on my face."

Snowflake clapped at the announcement, moving to Basajaun and nuzzling his snout.

Zachary nodded with a grin, chuckling lightly as Snowflake cuddled the much bigger and fatter dragon. "You see? I told you that it wouldn't be a problem for second try." The leopard said, moving next to Basajaun's side once again to give him a few cuddles of his own and feeling his paws sink into the dragon's soft pudge.

"Feel like giving a chance to flying?" The feline asked after a few moments, giving his friend an uncertain expression. Even with the knowledge about the dragon's empowered bones, Zachary couldn't help but feel somewhat worried that Basajaun might hurt himself while attempting to fly. Given how he had troubles with walking, his fears were understandable.

"Um, I'm not sure how that would turn out," Basajaun admitted with a sigh, "But I at least have to give it a try." Looking over to Esmeralda's still closed door for a moment, the drake turned his gaze back to the leopard, "I think I'll do that now, while we're waiting for the Elder to wake up."

"Alright, let's get outside, then." Zachary said with a smile, turning around to walk outside of the kitchen and gesturing with his paw for Snowflake to follow. The trio quickly made their way out of the guardhouse through the back entrance, bright light shining through the forest canopy seemingly with the cruel intention to blind a more than annoyed leopard.

Swatting at the sun for a few moments before his eyes adjusted to the brightness outside, Zachary inhaled deeply, filling his lungs with the fresh morning air and exhaling with a wide smile on his face. He glanced around himself for a moment, noting the familiar sight he had seen dozen of times before with the same feeling as if it were the first time.

Facing the back entrance of the guardhouse was a moderately sized clearing, perfect for a fat dragon to attempt flying. Zachary walked towards the clearing with slow and relaxed steps, marveling at the sight of brown trees and green bushes, as well as the sound of birds chirping quietly to compliment the sight perfectly. Sitting down with a sigh at the edge of the clearing, the leopard laid back on his arms as his eyes continued wandering around his surroundings.

"I think this clearing is big enough, Basa!" He called out to the dragon behind him, gesturing with his paws for the both Snowflake and Basajaun to join him.

As Snowflake happily situated herself next to Zachary, the forest dragon moved out into the clearing. "Yes, this will do," Basajaun agreed, waddling to the clearing's edge and flapping his wings a bit. Now that he was moving them, the drake realized that even his wings felt heavier, which made him doubt the likelihood of a successful takeoff even more.

"I'm relatively certain this is going to end poorly," Basajaun admitted as he looked to his audience, "Just... could I ask you not to laugh too much when it does?"

Zachary nodded with a smile, putting a paw on Snowflake's head and gently pushing up and down until the familiar appeared to be nodding as well. "We won't, Basa. Just give it your best, bud!" The leopard said enthusiastically, thrusting his fist in the air to encourage the fatty drake as much as he could, despite suspecting what the outcome of this test would most likely be.

Looking out to the clearing, Basajaun crouched down before bounding forward. It didn't take too many steps for the dragon to wind up skidding along the clearing in a painfully familiar fashion. Growling softly as he straightened himself, Basajaun didn't look over to the pair watching him, he simply returned to his starting position and tried again.

It took a few attempts for the drake to be able to simply run across the clearing without winding up on his face. But, with that accomplished, Basajaun was ready to try flying. Looking over to Zachary and receiving another encouraging gesture, the dragon crouched down once more with his wings spread wide, ready to use all sixty feet of his wingspan to get off the ground.

Once again racing forward, Basajaun grunted as he strained his wings. Flapping with all his might, the drake clenched his eyes shut with effort, a mistake that caused him to lose track of where the clearing ended and the trees began. He only realized he had passed that border when his shoulder smashed into the trunk of a tree, sending him and it both toppling loudly into the trees behind it.

It took several felled trees to completely stop the dragon's momentum, leaving him under a pile of fallen trunks. "Ow..." Basajaun's voice crept weakly up from the pile of lumber.

"Oh... crap." Zachary said under his breath, quickly jumping up and bounding towards the hole where Basajaun had cleared the trees. Following the trail of fallen trees and destroyed bushes, the leopard had to hop over broken trunks on several occasions, the sight leaving him more than worried about his friend's health.

"Basa!" A currently rather scared feline called out after spotting a green tail poking out from beneath a massive pile of fallen trees. Rushing to his friend's side in a blink of an eye, the leopard had to search for a moment before he was able to find Basajaun's head. "Hey, are you alright?" Zachary inquired with a concerned tone, groaning loudly as he tried to move a massive trunk from the dragon's body, and failing miserably.

Snowflake followed closely behind Zachary, though she had only slightly better success with trying to move the logs. "My body isn't hurt," Basajaun stated after a moment, standing up from the pile seemingly effortlessly as the trees rolled off of his back, shaking the debris from his scales before continuing, "My pride, on the other hand, is currently shattered."

Rubbing his shoulder, Basajaun gave the worried pair a reassuring, though embarrassed grin. "Just a bit of bruising," he insisted, flexing his limbs to be sure, "I'll be fine. I had a lot of padding to soften the blow."

Forcing his second snicker down today, Zachary cleared his throat and smiled warmly at his friend. "That's a relief... for a second, I thought you hurt yourself pretty badly." He admitted, his concerned tone returning for a second. He sighed and put a paw on the dragon's shoulder, feeling around the minor bruise carefully and noting that it was indeed not serious at all.

Once assured that Basajaun hadn't suffered from any major injuries, Zachary grinned sheepishly at the dragon. "As for your pride, Basa," he began, pointing a finger at the reptile, "You told me you had a problem with it being too big. I suppose that problem has been resolved, huh?" Letting out a laugh, the feline hoped his comment, although meant as a joke, sounded logical to his friend.

Hissing slightly as the leopard pressed on the forming bruise, Basajaun nodded. "I'm actually a little surprised to be unhurt, to be honest," the dragon admitted with a thoughtful expression as he looked back to his initial point of contact, "I would have expected a dislocation or something like that with an impact like that."

A grin spread out across Basajaun's muzzle as he realized the cause. "I think I just found a practical use for this!" the dragon said with a cheerful tone, indicating the layer of pudge under his scales, "Impact protection!"

Zachary laughed along with his friend, unable to contain his amusement anymore. "Seems like it's not only good for a bed," the leopard remarked, patting the dragon's fatty side with a paw, "But saves you from breaking a bone when you're sprinting around with your eyes closed!" the leopard's tone suddenly changed to a more serious one as he continued, "Don't you think I haven't noticed it, you silly lizard." He swatted lightly against the reptile's neck, giving him a rather unconvincing, threatening look.

Rubbing his neck, Basajaun grinned sheepishly. "Hey, I was concentrating!" the dragon tried to defend himself, before heaving a sigh, "It looks like I'm not going to be flying, though. But, on the positive side, I have this luxuriously soft new form of armor!" Though he tried to see things positively, the drake couldn't hide his disappointment at being rendered grounded, eliciting another reassuring nuzzle from the ice spirit.

Seeing Basajaun in mild distress, Zachary put a finger under his chin in thought, remaining in that position before he pointed said finger towards the ice dragon. "Snowflake can't fly either, Basa." he stated, and continued before Basajaun could interrupt him, "I didn't say that to make you feel like you aren't alone. I said it because I realized that your ability to fly would be pretty useless for our upcoming journey." Zachary smiled as he carried on, "With the Elder and Snowflake joining us, you wouldn't have been able to utilize that skill, given that those two have to walk all the way anyway. And even if Snowflake changed to a smaller form, you wouldn't be able to carry me, Esmeralda and all the bags on your back while flying." Clapping his paws, the feline glanced between the two dragons as he neared his explanation, "In conclusion; your inability to fly does not affect our travels whatsoever." Zachary almost gave a bow at the end, but decided against it eventually.

Basajaun blinked for a moment when he realized that Zachary was right. "I didn't think of that," the dragon stated with a flat tone, making his way back to the clearing, sighing once more as he did so, "Though I'm still going to miss flying, if I'm being honest."

As the trio emerged from the fallen trees, they could see a less than amused owl standing in the doorway. "Does anyone want to explain what that racket was?" Esmeralda demanded from across the clearing, her voice losing none of its bite on the way over.

Zachary's body stiffened at the familiar voice, and he could only gulp as he noticed the Elder's more than displeased tone. Hesitating for a few moments, he eventually gathered the strength to reply, using his paws at the sides of his mouth to form a funnel of some sort as he called back.

"Just a 'lil accident, Elder Eszes! Nothing to see here!" The leopard answered, his voice breaking on several occasions. He glanced at the dragons next to him for support, gesturing with his head towards the grumpy owl and giving an expression which clearly said "say something".

"I, er, well, you see," Basajaun attempted to come up with an excusing, before giving up with a heavy sigh and resuming his march towards the other side of the clearing, "I crashed while trying to see if I could still fly."

Folding her arms, Esmeralda regarded the drake's voluminously bouncing form with an unreadable expression, making him want to sink into the ground to escape the Elder's gaze. Snowflake seemed to be immune to the owl's stare, her usual spritely step unimpeded by it as she passed Basajaun by.

"I see," she said with a surprisingly calm tone, apparently satisfied with the crash being punishment enough for the din it caused. Once Snowflake reached the owl's side, Esmeralda gave a nod. "I've finished packing for us," the Elder stated, turning back to step into the guardhouse, "So we can get going as soon as you two think you're ready."

Only able to nod at the owl's statement, Zachary waited until she disappeared behind the doorway. Exhaling the air which he had been holding in for more time than necessary, the leopard glanced at his friend with a frown. "She is even scarier in the morning." He remarked, a small smile slowly spreading across his muzzle as he looked at Basajaun.

"And to go back on our earlier conversation, I know that you're going to miss flying, Basa." Zachary said with a sincere tone, "And I don't know what that's like, but you shouldn't assume that you won't be able to fly ever anymore." He reassured his friend with a smile before continuing, "I think, with time and some work, you can get used to your weight, and build up some muscle in your wings. Your body will adjust to the changes slowly, you only need to practice flight each day a little, and I'm sure you will be able to take off from the ground once again." Giving a few encouraging pats on Basajaun's soft shoulder, Zachary glanced back at his belly and chuckled.

"For the time being, I hope that your 'impact protection' will provide a little consolation. And if it comes down to the worst, you'll still be my favorite bed, earthbound or not." The feline stated with a wide grin, his gaze holding a comforting hopefulness in it as he stared at the dragon.

Basajaun pointed at the leopard's smile with his wing. "That, right there," he said with a sincere and warm smile, "That is all the consolation I need. All this extra weight is worth getting to see that every time you see me getting heavier."

Zachary immediately embraced his friend upon hearing his words, hugging himself close to Basajaun's soft body until he was almost convinced that he was pressing the air out of him, as unbelievable as that might sound.

"Thank you." The leopard said simply after a while, glancing up at the chubby dragon with the widest smile he could give without risking splitting his head in half.

Smiling back, Basajaun returned the feline's embrace, before tapping his shoulder. "Come one, we don't want to keep grumpy waiting," the dragon said very quietly, not wanting the owl in question to overhear his statement, given how perturbed she seemed this morning.

Nodding and chuckling at the comment, Zachary pulled away from the dragon. "I don't think that would be smart, indeed." The leopard remarked, his whole body shaking at the thought of angering the seemingly annoyed owl and the possible punishment which would follow.

Entering through the wide doorway, the leopard was surprised to find Basajaun's saddle, as well as the bags attached to it lying on the ground. The saddlebags looked like they were filled to brim with things the Elder must have thought necessary to bring with them. Not doubting the owl's ability to select useful items to carry with themselves, Zachary could only nod at the sight.

"I suppose she skipped for us the nuisance of preparation." Zachary thought aloud as he glanced at Basajaun behind him, "Let's get this up on you, bud." He offered with a smile, lifting the somewhat heavy saddle with great effort and bringing it close to the massive dragon.

Slipping his head under the saddle and sliding it down the back of his neck, Basajaun got the saddle situated in its proper place before attempting to slip his limbs through the straps. The leather of the straps soon gave out an alarming creaking, and the dragon stopped immediately when he recognized the issue.

Smiling over to Zachary, Basajaun indicated the saddle. "Would you mind doing the honors?" the drake inquired, tapping the adjustment straps with a claw.

"Of course not." The leopard replied with a chuckle, moving to adjust the straps on the saddle, loosening it enough to accommodate the dragon's increased girth. He had to loosen a lot more than he initially thought would be necessary, eventually forced to push the adjustment straps almost to their fullest extension.

With that out of the way, Zachary moved to connect the straps under the dragon's belly, taking his sweet time with the adjustment and noting once more that they couldn't keep adjusting the saddle forever. Patting Basajaun's fatty side with a paw, Zachary clapped his paws together, backing away a few steps to appreciate the sight.

"So graceful." The feline stated with a soft tone as he rubbed his paws together, giggling when he noticed the way the dragon's empty belly stuck out on both sides.

"Well thank you kind sir!" Basajaun chuckled at the comment, reaching over and nuzzling the leopard's face.

A moment later, Esmeralda emerged from her room with a similarly saddled Snowflake in tow. "Looks like you two are close to ready," the owl said, giving the pair a smile, "I'd like to head out as soon as possible, so do try to be prompt, hm?"

Moving out the door, Snowflake gave Zachary and Basajaun each a smile as she passed, not losing any distance to her mistress in the process.

Shaking his head at the Elder, Zachary stuck his tongue out after she exited through the door. "Bossy bird." He commented with smile, quickly hopping on Basajaun's back and getting himself in position. Sighing as he glanced around him, the leopard's face bore a simultaneously sad and happy expression.

"I guess it's time to say goodbye to our home for a while," the leopard thought aloud, patting his friend's back, "I'm going to miss this dark, dull and dirty dump more than I care to admit." Zachary stated with a laugh, his eyes wandering around the insides of the guardhouse.

"Yeah, it was really starting to feel like an actual home, wasn't it?" Basajaun thought aloud in reply. A few moments of taking their last looks later, the drake glanced back to his rider. "Ready to go?" he asked, a touch of sorrow to his voice.

"Yeah," the feline answered with a smile, "It's not like we're leaving forever. We are going to come back, together." Zachary said with a confident and determined tone, taking a last glance at his room and stopping when he noticed something laid against the wall. The leopard let out a quiet growl when he realized what he was actually looking at.

"Esmeralda..." The feline uttered the owl's name with a sinister voice, quickly jumping off from the dragon's back and disappearing in his room. Emerging after a few seconds, Zachary held his lute in his paws, and could only shook his head as he mounted reptile once again.

"I can't believe I almost left it here. How could she leave this out of the bags?" He asked from no one in particular, his question directed at the bird in question rather than Basajaun. Sighing and putting the lute next to him on the saddle, Zachary patted his friend's side. "Now, I'm ready."

Nodding, Basajaun moved out through the doors, seeing Esmeralda waiting on her familiar's back with a book held in her hands. "We're ready, Elder Eszes," the drake stated.

Looking over to Zachary, the owl spotted the lute at his side. "Is that something you think you'll need on this trip?" Esmeralda asked with a cocked eyebrow, "We're not going to a band audition here."

"I thought I told you to work on your joking tone, Esmeralda." Zachary snapped back with narrowed eyes, hugging his beloved instrument close to his chest, as if afraid that the cruel owl might tear it from his grasp, "And it is indeed a vital addition to our items," the leopard explained with a smile, "Music keeps us all in good mood! And besides, if it wasn't for this lute right here, we wouldn't have stumbled into Plainstead with Basajaun. It brought luck once, perhaps it will again."

Looking to how Zachary embraced his instrument, Esmeralda sighed. "You're right, I'm sorry," the owl said, catching everyone off guard, "Forgive me for being such a curmudgeon, I'm just trying to keep us in one piece by the time we get back from Boldrumton. I might have gotten a bit too strict with my packing standards, so you'll have to excuse that."

"C...Curmudgeon?" Zachary uttered the word aloud, seemingly stuck on that little part of the owl's speech as he blinked a couple of times at the strange expression. As if only understanding the rest of the Elder's after his sudden bafflement was out of the way, the leopard's expression softened.

"I-It's alright, Esmeralda. I didn't mean to question your choice of items or the way you packed our things." he explained, smiling at his lute, "I just value this instrument a lot, given that we could practically be grateful for it for finding us a new home with Basa." patting his friend's back, Zachary continued, "And I appreciate your determination to help us on this quest, truly. You needn't look for excuses."

"Well then, I won't give any more!" the owl assured the leopard, before laughing and patting Snowflake's side, "Alright, let's get a move on, we're losing daylight with this chatter."

Nodding, Basajaun followed after the Elder and her familiar. "So you know the way?" the dragon inquired, wondering if Esmeralda had been to Boldrumton before.

The owl held up her book in reply. "I have an atlas," she stated simply, "So yes."

Zachary cocked an eyebrow at the Elder as he fumbled around with the tuning keys on his lute. "A map, huh? Well, that would have been useful when we were searching for a place with Basa just some weeks ago." The leopard stated with chuckle, giving an experimental strum on his lute and smiling when the desired notes greeted him back.

As the quartet picked up a decent traveling pace, Zachary began playing a new melody on his instrument, which was a lot more complex than what he used to play back in Boldrumton. The tune complimented the feeling of traveling perfectly, almost matching the two dragons' footsteps as they continued walking through the woodlands, eventually exiting the green expanse and entering the domain of the familiar long grass.

Exiting the trees and seeing the grasslands, Basajaun sighed as he moved along. "There goes my comfort," he muttered under his breath, before looking ahead with a resolute expression; he had done this before, he could do it again.

Esmeralda had her beak buried in her book, apparently memorizing their route. The spirit she sat on, however, seemed to enjoy the leopard's tune, joining in once she had the melody figured out, her bell-like voice making a unique and pleasant combination with the leopard's lute. The energetic beat soon had Basajaun smiling once more, though he kept his attention on the road. He still remembered what happened the last time he lost focus on where he was going.

Blinking, Basajaun suddenly realized that the four of them actually were on a road. "Um, Esmeralda?" the dragon got the Elder's attention, "Are you sure it's a good idea to use roads? I mean, most travellers aren't going to react positively to seeing a dragon--"

"That's their problem, isn't it?" the owl interrupted, giving Basajaun a smile, "We're using the road because it's the smoothest path to Boldrumton and doesn't risk us getting lost. Besides, call me crazy, but I think you should share your kind heart with others. More people need to know that not all dragons are violent and rapacious."

Basajaun was hesitant to accept the Elder's reasoning, but eventually relented. "I'll try to make a good impression, then," the drake said, not exactly confident, but reasonably sure that he could manage meeting new anthros better than he could in the past.

Zachary paused in his concert with Snowflake for a second, patting the dragon's side with a paw and smiling. "You'll do just fine, bud. Besides, people love soft and cuddly things. And you fulfill those two characteristics perfectly now!" the leopard stated with a chuckle, "Another positive side effect of your increasing size, I suppose." Glancing down at the dragon's middle for a second after that remark, Zachary watched as it swayed left to right with each step Basajaun took.

"How's walking, by the way? Better than earlier?" He inquired with a grin, his gaze allured by the sight of the fatty reptile's belly bouncing.

"Much better," the dragon replied, his wing patting the rounded surface of his abdomen, "Thank you again, Snowflake. This was a wonderful surprise!"

"Surprise?" Esmeralda repeated, looking between her familiar and Basajaun, before her eyes settled on the creature she rode, "Snowflake, you're responsible for that?" As the owl pointed to the drake's middle, the spirit nodded happily.

"Well, that would explain how you got so much larger overnight, then," the Elder mused, looking to Zachary and Basajaun, "You should be grateful, Snowflake only uses her magic for people that she considers to have kind hearts and a potential to do good."

Zachary blinked, looking at Snowflake with a cocked eyebrow. "We are grateful." he replied, regarding the ice dragoness with mildly surprised expression. The revelation that Snowflake looked at the him and Basajaun with such thoughts warmed the leopard's heart. He smiled widely at the familiar.

"And we only let people join us in our special dinners we consider friends." Zachary stated, his grin only growing wider. Tapping a paw on his lute, he began playing his earlier melody, humming something under his breath as he pulled on the strings with ease and precision.

Snowflake reached back and nuzzled the leopard's leg appreciatively. "She wants to know if she can join you again next time," Esmeralda translated as the icy dragoness spoke, though the owl seemed too preoccupied with her maps to take part in the current conversation herself.

Giving Snowflake a friendly smile, Basajaun looked back to his rider. "I wouldn't mind that, would you?" the reptile asked.

Zachary shook his head, stopping in his song for a second. "I don't mind it at all! Especially if she feels like using that spell of hers again." The leopard admitted with a chuckle, patting the dragon's soft side before continuing with his melody.

As the quartet continued their way on the worn, dirt road, Zachary noticed the long grass beginning to get sparse around them. Soon enough, the grass became greener and shorter as the four travellers entered the plains. With the wall of protection gone, the leopard couldn't help but feel a little worried about possible encounters with other travellers. After all, they were riding on the back of two dragons. Chanting Esmeralda's words in his head, Zachary was able to calm his harboring thoughts, knowing that he could trust the old owl's decisions.

As the four travellers steadily made their way along the road, Basajaun was relieved to find himself only moderately anxious about being in the open. Though the feeling was far from pleasant, the drake was able to distract himself by conversing with his companions and listening to Zachary and Snowflake's songs as they took turns choosing melodies.

The hours passed uneventfully, with the two dragons keeping a steady pace. Through the use of a widened stance, Basajaun was able to trot forward with his usual endurance without tripping over his own excess baggage, and Snowflake seemed as endlessly full of energy by the time the sun began lowering as she did at the beginning of the day.

When the sun began to creep down beyond the horizon, Esmeralda motioned for the group to stop. "Alright, we should make camp here for now," the Elder said, dismounting her familiar, "I think that was a good amount of progress for today."

Nodding, Zachary did the same, stretching his limbs once he was on the ground. Glancing around himself, the leopard held up a finger. "I think we should make a camp further away from the road, don't you think?" he proposed, looking at Esmeralda, "Less chance for someone spotting Basa or Snowflake. We still don't know how people would react, it's best to stay cautious for now."

Turning around, the leopard surveyed the area around them, spotting a lonely, large tree just some distance away on the endless expansion of green plainfields. "That'll do." Zachary said with a smile, gesturing with his head for the others to follow before stepping off from the road and making his way through the ankle-high grass.

The lone tree was somewhat of a relief for Basajaun, who eagerly made his way under its branches. Sighing as he took his not-insignificant weight off of his feet, the dragon flexed his claws as he watched Esmeralda take an assortment of long sticks and cloth from the frost dragon's saddlebags.

"You have a tent in Basajaun's right bag, Zachary," the owl stated as she began to assemble her own shelter under the branches of the tree, Snowflake assisting as she did so.

Raising his eyebrows in surprise, the feline searched through the contents of the bag in question, pulling out the parts of the tent one by one. Staring at the unfamiliar and novel assortment of items on the ground, Zachary cocked his head left to right, trying to make head or tail of the unknown object.

"I... Er..." he began after a few moments, blinking and furrowing his brows as he continued to examine the tent's parts, "I don't really know how to..." He didn't have to finish his sentence as he tried to connect two completely wrong parts together, resulting in one of the thin support beams to swat him across the face as it protested against the action.

"Ow..." Zachary murmured under his breath, rubbing his sore cheek with a paw before standing up and clearing his throat. "I think I'm going to go hunting... I'll try to assemble this," he glared at the cruel tent which assaulted him, "Later. I'll be back soon." With his announcement done, the feline walked to the other bag on Basajaun's saddle, searching through the contents with a somewhat embarrassed expression.

The dragon gave his friend a teasing smile. "I didn't know one could lose a fight with an inanimate object," Basajaun said in a tone of mock awe, causing Esmeralda to laugh out loud as she quickly pitched her tent, the shelter coming together with ease in her practised hands.

"You'd be surprised how wicked that tent is." Zachary replied with a flat tone, still searching through the saddlebag with an increasingly annoyed expression. "Where did you put my b-- Ah, there you are!" The leopard said with a relieved sigh, pulling his bone bow, arrows and quiver out of the bag with a wide smile on his muzzle. Checking the string with a finger and noting that it was just as tight as before, Zachary swiftly attached the quiver to his back with the help of the leather straps, putting the dozen or so arrows in it. When the feline turned around to begin his hunt with eagerness, a thought crossed his mind and he stopped in his tracks.

"I might need a little help from either Basa or Snowflake," Zachary stated, glancing between the two dragons, "I can't carry back a big catch alone, if I'm lucky enough to find one. Any volunteers?" He inquired with a smile, pointing his finger to the spirit and forest dragon in turns.

Just as Basajaun was about to stand and join the leopard, Snowflake bounded over to Zachary with an enthusiastic smile, saying something in her language and glancing between the hunter and her mistress.

"Yes, you can go," Esmeralda answered, looking to Zachary, "She gets bored easily, if you haven't noticed. I'd appreciate it if you took Snowflake with you so that she has something to do."

Nodding, Zachary glanced at Basajaun with a toothy grin. "Too late, bud!" he stated the obvious, sticking his tongue out at the forest dragon before turning around and gesturing with his paw for Snowflake to follow.

"Oh, we're going to have so much fun! Too bad Basajaun has to stay here with Esmeralda!" The leopard's voice called back after he and the ice dragon were some distance away from their temporary camp. A chuckle soon followed from the same individual who had spoken, before the pair of hunters disappeared from eyesight behind a small, green hill.

Laughing softly, Basajaun heaved a relieved sigh as he smiled to the Elder. "It's nice to have someone besides me to help with hunting," he said, attempting small talk, "I was enjoying letting my feet rest anyways."

While the dragon and owl picked up a light conversation, Snowflake followed Zachary eagerly into the plains, her tail wagging excitedly behind her as she moved. The spirit hadn't had the opportunity to go hunting in a while, and she looked forward to spending more time with her interesting new friend.

Sniffing at the air a couple of times, Zachary furrowed his brows, grumbling something under his breath. He stopped walking for a moment and glanced around him, narrowing his eyes as he realized what the problem was.

"Well, seems like larger animals do not favor the plains that much," the archer mused, tapping a finger on his chin in thought, "I can't catch a single scent here... we might have to go a little further out and hope that we find a better area." He reported, looking at Snowflake with a smile and giving her a humorous expression.

"I suppose you don't have a spell for tracking prey, right?" he asked in a joking tone, turning around to continue on his way further into the plains.

Shaking her head, Snowflake pressed forward, cresting a hill and standing up tall on her hind legs. The spirit held still for a moment, watching and listening in all directions. As she concentrated on finding anything, the grass nearest to the icy dragon began frosting over, until Snowflake finally caught sight of a heat source behind a nearby hill.

Pointing with a claw, the familiar smiled to Zachary to let him know she had found something worth investigating.

Arriving next to Snowflake on the tiny hill, the feline cocked an eyebrow as he glanced in the direction the familiar was pointing. "I don't see anything." he stated with a confused expression, then shrugged, "But I suppose we can check it out, if you say so."

Giving the ice dragon a smile, the feline swiftly bounded up on the other hill, his steps as light as feathers as he crested the hill with ease. Putting his bow on the ground and crouching low once he was on top, Zachary grinned widely as he spotted the herd of buffalo some distance away on the plains. Fortunately, the animals were too busy grazing on the green grass beneath their hooves, not even bothering to lift their heavy heads up.

"Good job, Snowflake," The eager hunter whispered to the ice dragon as she reached him, patting the familiar's neck with a paw. As he observed the herd with careful attention, Zachary came up with a plan that required a lot of assistance from the spirit, but was definitely fruitful if they managed to succeed.

He turned to Snowflake once again with a toothy grin. "Now, I'm going to need you to listen, girl. I have an idea."

As the leopard and spirit were discussing their plans, Basajaun took the break in activity as an opportunity to strengthen his flight muscles. Although his four legs were as stalwart as ever, the disuse of his wings was something that the drake was looking to rectify.

Moving past the tree, so that it was between him and the road, Basajaun turned back to Esmeralda. "I'm going to do a bit of exercise," he informed her, beating his wings a bit, "I'll be more useful to all of us with flight, I should think."

Nodding absentmindedly, Esmeralda returned to her set of books, apparently too deep in her research to pay attention to the drake's activity.

Stretching all six of his limbs, Basajaun readied himself, before bounding forward, his wings beating hard as he sprinted. Remembering to keep his eyes open this time, the dragon didn't suffer any more humiliating pratfalls, though his pride still took a hit each time his wings failed to lift him from the ground.

As stubborn as he was, Basajaun kept at this exercise for nearly an hour, still not managing to do more than glide down from a high jump. Growling in disgust and humiliation, the dragon had to stop when his wings began burning too much to continue, moving back to and laying under the tree in a huff.

"You know you could just lose some of that weight, right?" Esmeralda stated, not lifting her head from her books, "Then you'd be back to flying in no time."

Tensing at the suggestion, Basajaun looked over to the elderly owl with an irritated expression. "You know how that would make Zach feel," the dragon stated curtly, "I'm not going to do that to him."

Shrugging in response, Esmeralda kept her beak in her books. "It's your body," she said, her voice containing an unidentifiable tone.

Snorting, Basajaun repositioned himself so that he was facing away from the owl, his expression brightening as he spotted Zachary and Snowflake cresting a hill on their way back.

"We're awesome!" A rather amused voice called out from a distance as the two hunters slowly made their way towards the lonely tree, the owner of the voice continuously talking to the ice dragon next to him, practically bouncing up and down and waving his arms around in joy. From Basajaun's point of view, he could clearly see two heavy-looking buffalo on Snowflake's back, as well as the constant hopping and chatting from the leopard's part.

Slowly but surely, the two arrived back at the camp and Zachary instantly rushed to Basajaun with a goofy grin on his face. "Basa, you should have seen it! I can't believe how effective that plan was!" The feline began enthusiastically, seemingly oblivious to the fact that he gave no context to the forest dragon whatsoever, and still expected from him to comprehend what he was babbling about.

Nonetheless, the young anthro continued with his tale, reciting the way he and Snowflake were able to hunt down two buffalo. "Then, I told Snowflake to sneak behind the herd, and only come out on my command. When I gave her the signal, she bounded at them, and held every single one of them in control in a circle so they couldn't escape, you know, like a shepherd would with sheep!" The archer reached for his bow, making a few motions as if he were shooting with it.

"From there, it was easy for me to just simply shoot some of them down. If it wasn't for the fact that Snowflake couldn't carry more than two, we would have returned with a lot more." Zachary stated with a chuckle, patting the familiar's neck once she arrived next to him with their catch, "You did really good back there, Snowflake. We have to try this technique again in the future, or perhaps with Basa. It's extremely efficient!" The leopard finished, glancing at a rather overwhelmed forest dragon with a smile.

Smiling at the leopard's enthusiasm, Basajaun watched Snowflake unload the buffalo from her back, feeling just a little disappointed at the relatively small amount that the hunting pair had brought back. "Nice work, you two," the dragon said, regardless of this fact, looking over to Esmeralda as she put her books away.

"Zachary, a moment, if you would," the owl ordered, a serious expression on her face.

The leopard's smile died down as he noticed the owl's expression, cocking an eyebrow and looking at Basajaun questioningly. When the dragon shrugged, Zachary slowly turned to the Elder, somewhat hesitantly walking towards her until he was standing right next to the owl.

"Yes, Elder Eszes?" The feline said in a weak voice, clearing his throat as he fumbled with his paws behind his back.

"Can you fight?" Esmeralda asked simply, folding her arms across her chest.

Blinking at the question, Zachary held up his bow. "I can use this quite well..." he replied, swallowing hard, "But outside of that, I have no experience with other weapons at all."

Looking the leopard up and down, the Elder sighed. "Do you know what happens to pure archers when a melee combatant gets to them?" Esmeralda asked, her face and voice both showing her concern. Basajaun and Snowflake watched quietly, knowing better than to interfere with this procession of events.

The feline's whole body tensed at the realization, and he slowly nodded his head with evident hesitation in his eyes. "Something very unpleasant... I should think." Zachary answered, feeling himself getting a little discouraged about this little mission. He hadn't even thought of the possibility that someone could get close enough to him to strike him, but now he knew how that encounter would end; it wouldn't be in the leopard's favor.

Esmeralda nodded. "Which is exactly why I packed something for you," she said, retrieving a small bundle from her bags. Unwrapping the bundle, the Elder revealed a small, curved sword in its sheath.

"This was my sword when I was a soldier," the owl stated, drawing the blade and revealing that it's hamon pattern was reminiscent of ice crystals, "I think it would serve you well." Esmeralda sheathed the short sword and offered it to Zachary.

Blinking in disbelief, the leopard looked at the Elder with wide eyes. "A-Are you sure?" he asked, reaching for the sword after Esmeralda nodded. As soon as his paw made contact with the weapon's sheath, Zachary could feel a freezing chill radiating from the blade even through the sword's covering.

Swiftly repositioning his grip so he was holding on to the weapon's handle, the feline regarded it with awe, his eyes marveling at the fine craftsmanship for long moments and noting how comfortable and light the sword was.

Looking back to the Elder, Zachary smiled. "I really don't know what to say, Esmeralda." he admitted, his gaze shifting back to his new weapon, "Just, thank you."

Smiling, the owl waved her hand dismissively. "I use something lighter nowadays," Esmeralda stated, tapping a talon on her cane, "So don't worry about it."

The Elder gave Zachary a serious expression once more. "What you should worry about is learning how to use that properly," she continued, reaching up to the lower branches of the tree and knocking down a branch roughly the same size and shape as the weapon she had just given to the feline.

"Here," Esmeralda tossed the branch to Zachary, holding up her cane like a sword, "Take a swing at me."

Almost dropping his new weapon as he tried to catch the branch, Zachary eventually regained his grip on both items, setting the sword on the ground and holding his wooden one in his paws.

Cocking an eyebrow at the Elder, the feline hesitated. "I'm not sure I wa--" He stopped in his words, his expression changing to utter confusion as he realized something. "Wait... what did you say about being a soldier? How on ear--" Zachary was interrupted once again, although this time, it wasn't by himself.

Groaning as he fought against the Elder's cane with his branch, the feline was grateful for his natural reflexes, otherwise the owl's surprise attack would have reached its destination, namely Zachary's chest. Fortunately, his wooden weapon collided with Esmeralda's cane in the last second, saving him from possibly a few minutes of pain and moaning.

"I didn't say ask me questions, I said have a swing at me," Esmeralda scolded the leopard, taking up her defensive stance again, "You're going to learn some basics tonight."

Although his first instinct was to protect Zachary from the old bird, Basajaun knew this was for his friend's own good. "Hey, why don't we get dinner going?" the drake whispered to Snowflake, "I'm not sure I want to watch Zach get his hind end handed to him."

Snowflake nodded, the two dragons preparing the meat for cooking as Esmeralda awaited the leopard's first strike.

Snorting at the request, Zachary inhaled deeply, trying to gather his strength for his strike before exhaling. "Alright, if you say so." With those words, the leopard extended his stance to provide better balance for himself, and held onto his trusty branch with both of his paws.

His gaze locked on the Elder in front of him, and noted her stance with an impressed expression. The old bird's posture held sheer poise and confidence to it, even to the eyes of an amateur like Zachary. Apparently the witch didn't lie about her earlier occupation.

With his little analysis done, the feline raised his weapon in the air, and struck at the Elder on her left side. Although not wanting to defy her request, his strike was a lot weaker than he wanted, still a little afraid to hurt the fragile looking owl.

Rather than blocking the blow outright, Esmeralda parried, redirecting the force downwards and causing the leopard to stumble past her. "Don't go easy on me just because I'm old, boy," the owl ordered as she swatted her cane roughly against the feline's backside, "When I say 'have a swing at me', you damn well better give it your all."

The loss of his balance, as well as the hard blow on his back resulted in the feline to give a visit to the ground face first, as usual. Hissing and rubbing at his back with a paw, Zachary jumped up almost as soon as he came to a stop on the green grass. Spitting some dirt and greenery from his mouth, he hissed quietly at the owl as his adrenaline overwhelmed the pain on his back.

"As you command, Elder Eszes." The leopard growled, an unfamiliar fire burning in his eyes as he glared at the owl. With a roar, he struck once again, this time only using one of his arms while providing balance with the other. He put all his strength in his blow, feeling rather frustrated at Esmeralda at the moment.

"Good!" the owl shouted, a grin across her beak as she parried again, redirecting the force upwards and giving the feline's nose a quick prod from her cane. Though the impact wasn't enough to break anything, it was still painful.

This routine continued for several minutes, the Elder talking Zachary through different forms and stances as they went about their mock battle, demonstrating each technique as she explained it. The result was more than a few bruises to the leopard's body and ego alike, as the owl almost seemed like she was enjoying herself. Eventually, Zachary managed to get in some hits of his own, though the force behind them was lessened significantly by Esmeralda's parrying. Even this didn't seem to wipe the smile from the Elder's beak; if anything, her enthusiastic grin only widened at the feline's improvement.

As the two anthros went about their training, Basajaun and Snowflake finished cooking the group's dinner, even having time to add some of the different spices that Esmeralda had packed for them.

Snowflake seemed to have a good wealth of culinary knowledge; when dinner was done, it not only smelled wonderful, it even looked pretty! The spirit's flair for cooking was quite obvious, even to someone as uncultured as Basajaun, who paid close attention to her techniques, committing them to his impressive memory.

"Alright, Zach, let's take a breather," Esmeralda panted after around half an hour of instruction. Sitting down on the ground, the owl shook her head and set her cane aside. "Whew, I haven't done that in a while," the Elder sighed, rubbing her shoulders, "I think I might be a bit out of practise."

Zachary breathed quite heavily and rapidly as well, although he wasn't as out of breath as the old owl. Nodding, the feline tossed his branch aside, which surprisingly withstood the whole ordeal.

Sitting down with a huff, the leopard groaned as his adrenaline subsided, once again becoming fully aware of his senses, especially the one responsible for the feeling of pain. Rubbing his sore body while hissing quietly, the feline remained silent, simply staring numbly at the vast expanse of green in front of him.

The evening breeze lazily swayed the grass, creating a motion very similar to ripples on the surface of water. The setting sun's weak orange rays swept through the sky, providing a minor amount of light for the time being. Clouds of all shapes in the infinite blueness enriched the view perfectly, providing a marginal amount of comfort for the currently somewhat worn-out and hurting leopard.

As he watched the serene sight, Zachary continued with the examination of his injuries. Eventually giving up with counting, the leopard settled with having a lot of unpleasant, and rather painful, bruises and scratches of all sorts on his body as his diagnosis. Unexpected from him, the leopard didn't open his mouth to speak as he sat on the grass, his breathing and quiet hissing the only sounds which came from his part.

Moving over to his sore friend, Basajaun nuzzled the feline's face. "Hey, how're you doing?" the drake asked, setting himself down next to Zachary. The dragon's tone held no teasing to it; he was legitimately concerned.

The leopard patted the dragon's head, sighing as he closed his eyes for a few seconds. "Fantastic." he replied with a flat tone, his breathing slowly leveling out as his energy was slowly returning, although not completely.

Looking at the dragon with a tired expression, Zachary rubbed his left arm; the place he had gotten the most hits on. "I don't think I like close combat that much." He admitted, smiling weakly as he picked at the branch on the ground with his feet.

"Basajaun," Esmeralda called out, just as the drake was going to comfort Zach, "Your turn."

Looking over to the elderly owl who still sat on the ground while catching her breath, the dragon gave her a very confused expression. "What?" Basajaun managed to ask, still caught off guard.

Esmeralda pointed to Snowflake. "We're all going to make sure we're good and ready for anything by the time we get to Boldrumton," the Elder stated, "You're going to spar with Snowflake."

His mouth opening and closing for a moment, Basajaun shook his head. "You do realize that your familiar has a very good chance of breaking if she spars with me?" he retorted, looking to the ice spirit that was just barely half his size.

Snowflake looked back to Basajaun with her usual cheerful smile as Esmeralda stood. "Don't be so presumptuous," the owl said, making a sweeping motion with her talon and shouting, "Glaciem!"

The blue sparks that were becoming a familiar sight sprayed across the ground, a wall of ice nearly as large as Basajaun erupting from the soil. Sighing from the exertion, Esmeralda moved to her tent. "Well, I'm turning in for the night," the owl announced as Snowflake brought her mistress her dinner, "Try not to be too noisy while you're being trounced, fatty!"

Growling softly at the name, Basajaun glared after the owl for a moment, before Snowflake caught his attention as she touched the wall of ice. The spirit's form appeared to meld into the frost fluidly; a few moments later, the small glacier began creaking as it reformed, steadily taking the shape of a dragon Basajaun's size.

In her new form, Snowflake appeared as lithe and sinuous as the dragon she now faced, though she lacked his abundant amount of adipose. The dragoness' form was more feminine than Basajaun's, bearing both a regal poise and a kind smile, revealing razor sharp fangs. The spirit's entire form was as clear as the purest crystals, refracting the last light of the setting sun and creating a kaleidoscopic display against the grass.

Snowflake's four legs ended in wickedly sharp talons, contrasting strongly against the soft forms of her body. In this form, the dragoness bore wings; slender, yet sturdily built, the membranes that spread between the supporting fingers of her flying limbs bore the pattern of large snowflakes, such that, when they were flapped, it gave the illusion of falling snow.

Basajaun sat dumbfounded. While her small, stocky, wingless form had elicited an immediate territorial reaction from him, the drake was experiencing a different instinctual impulse with the sight of this sleeker, sinuous form.

"Uh... um... wow," the drake managed to sputter out, suddenly feeling very awkward as a bashful grin spread across his face, "That's... something."

Not as taken aback by the sight as his friend, Zachary gave an impressed expression nonetheless. "Well, don't you look just pretty?" he said with a warm smile, his current pains and injuries nearly forgotten as he marveled at the beautiful ice dragoness in front of him.

Glancing for a second at Basajaun and catching a glimpse of his reddened face, the leopard let out a loud laugh as he almost instantly realized the reason behind the massive reptile's blush. "Go ahead, bud." Zachary insisted with a toothy grin, patting his friend's side, "I think you have some fighting to do, huh?" Swatting at the dragon's haunches encouragingly and hoping that it would break his trance, the feline chuckled once again.

Jumping forward in surprise at the impact to his rear, Basajaun swallowed hard and moved to face Snowflake. "Er, hi again," the drake greeted, his mouth feeling very dry, "So, we're supposed to spar?"

Snowflake nodded, taking a few steps back and crouching down. The stance was reminiscent of a playful puppy, and made Basajaun giggle a bit. "Uh, okay then," the dragon said after a bit, taking his own crouching stance, "I don't want to hurt you, so why don't you show me what you can do, first?"

Nodding enthusiastically, Snowflake wiggled her rear a bit, before bounding forward. Attempting to sidestep the dragoness' move, Basajaun succeeded in avoiding her head and body, but never saw the slender tail that wrapped around his forelimb coming.

Leaping up powerfully, Snowflake pulled the drake backward off of his feet, and he landed with a graceless thud on his back, the wind getting knocked from him as his body wobbled voluminously back and forth. Stunned and caught off guard, Basajaun could only wonder what had happened as he stared up, not sure if the stars he saw were real or not.

Attempting to hold down a snicker, Zachary failed miserably to do so. He began laughing loudly, clutching his sides with his paws as he rolled around on the grass under him. Somehow seeing Basajaun getting beaten by Snowflake filled him with immensive amount of joy, and he was quick to let the two dragons know as he practically struggled to catch his breath while laughing.

"Nice one, Snowflake!" He managed to call out between his fit of giggles, giving a thumb's up to the ice dragon as he finished with his amusement session. Wiping joyful tears from his eyes and trying to contain his recurring giggling, Zachary looked at Basajaun on the ground, the sight of his pudgy belly sticking proudly in the air didn't help his fight against the forces of laughter.

"Hey, Basa, get up and show her what you can do!" The feline shouted enthusiastically, thrusting his fist in the air as a way to encourage the chubby dragon. As funny as witnessing the last few moments had been, Basajaun was still his best friend, and it looked like he needed a good amount of confidence boost right now.

Getting the breath knocked out of him was apparently enough to knock Basajaun out of his state of entrancement at Snowflake's form. Wriggling a bit, the drake rolled onto his feet, giving the dragoness a much more wary and respectful look. "Alright, my turn," he growled quietly as Snowflake returned to her playful crouch.

Bounding left and right, Basajaun attempted to swipe his opponent's claws out from under her with his own tail as he spun around at the last second. Thinking he had succeeded at first when he felt his tail connect, Basajaun suddenly found himself rotating further than he had intended.

Looking back, the drake saw his tail in Snowflake's forelimbs, the dragoness redirecting his blow and using it to power her counter move; throwing the drake into the air. Suddenly soaring, Basajaun spread his still sore wings to break his fall, gliding down to the plain and turning to Snowflake.

Clearly the spirit had seen a lot more conflict than Basajaun had, as her seemingly effortless and jovial execution of these maneuvers revealed. Yet now that his ego was on the line, Basajaun started taking this sparring match more seriously.

Despite this, within half an hour, the drake was in the same boat as his leopard friend; battered, bruised, and beaten. "Okay, I yield!" Basajaun cried out the twelfth time he found himself on his back, deciding to quit while he was ahead.

Giving a victorious ring, like the sound of a church bell, Snowflake pranced over to the corpulent dragon and nuzzled his face, giving him a warm smile.

"Damn it, I can't stay mad at you if you do that!" Basajaun growled, lightly shoving the dragoness' face away.

"You really shouldn't stay mad at her," the leopard called out from under the tree, swallowing his last mouthful from his dinner before pointing a finger at Basajaun, "Do you even realize how delicious this is?" Zachary inquired, tapping his empty plate, "You really want to risk not getting to taste this deliciousness just because she beat you in a fight?"

Standing up and stretching his back, the leopard hissed as his still painful body was moved. He sighed once the pain subsided, glancing at his empty plate with a smile. Apparently he helped himself with some dinner while the two dragons were busy with their fighting. A smart move, considering that Basajaun still hadn't eaten anything, and would most likely finish off every last bit that was left with all the exercise he had done today. With a smile on his face, he began walking towards the dragons.

"Are you alright, by the way?" Zachary asked as he neared the two much bigger creatures, looking at Basajaun with a concerned expression as he examined the bruises and scratches on his body.

Grunting, Basajaun once more shifted onto his feet. "I feel like we already had this conversation," the drake grumbled, sighing as he looked over to Zachary, "Yes, I'm fine."

Snowflake rubbed her face and neck against Basajaun's side to get his attention. Seeing her concerned smile, the drake sighed again. "Alright, no hard feelings," he relented, returning the dragoness' gesture, "You beat me fair and square."

Clapping her forelimbs, Snowflake pranced over to the remaining food, beckoning Basajaun and Zachary over.

Raising an eyebrow at the ice dragoness' enthusiasm, Zachary glanced at Basajaun. "Well, someone is excited." he stated, quickly turning around and joining by the familiar's side.

Sighing as he sat down, the leopard hissed long as a particularly painful part of his body rubbed over his vest. Readjusting his posture so he was more comfortable, the feline glanced at Basajaun with an unreadable expression.

"Sorry for feeling concerned, by the way. I'll make sure not to do it too much in the future, if it annoys you." He said with a plain tone, crossing his arms under his chest and hissing once again as his sore left arm was moved. "Stupid close combat!" Zachary remarked with an obviously frustrated tone, mumbling something under his breath as he rubbed his arm. Evidently, he wasn't in a good mood.

The feline's sudden shift of mood caught both dragons off guard. Sitting next to Zachary, Basajaun wrapped a wing around his friend's shoulders. "Hey, I do appreciate your concern," the drake insisted, hugging the leopard close as Snowflake nuzzled his right shoulder, "I'm just a bit of a sore loser, is all. Thank you for checking on me."

The leopard sighed once again, Basajaun's embrace improving his mood by a marginal amount. "Yeah... no problem." he said, clenching his eyes when Snowflake nuzzled his sore arm, but withstanding the pain as he knew she only wanted to comfort him.

"Sorry for that remark just now... I'm a bit annoyed at the moment." the feline apologized for the second time tonight, although this time it was sincere, "I know that it's good for me to learn how to handle myself in close combat, but I wasn't built for this." he explained, looking at his bow on the ground, "I'd prefer operating from a distance, if possible. Although I doubt Boldrum's men would give me that luxury if I missed an arrow." His whole body shivered at the thought, and the leopard remained silent for a while before turning to Basajaun with a serious expression.

"And who cares if Snowflake beat you in a fight? She's our friend, you shouldn't feel bad for losing against her." Zachary reasoned, glancing at the familiar, "You should only feel bad if you were beaten by our enemy, not when by someone you consider your friend." Rubbing his left arm, the leopard added with, "And we're both losers, by the way. Esmeralda gave me a good trouncing as well."

Grunting in response, Basajaun looked to the dragoness next to him. "How did you two get to be such accomplished fighters?" he asked, before realizing that Snowflake had no way to answer him at the moment.

"Er, nevermind," the drake continued looking back down to Zachary, "Would you like to cheer yourself up with these?" Basajaun tapped the remaining food, as well as his middle, indicating what he meant.

"I don't think I would ever be able to turn down that offer, no matter how frustrated I was." Zachary replied, a sincere smile appearing on his muzzle for the first time in a while.

Glancing at the ice dragon with the same smile, the leopard gestured with his head towards the buffalo meat. "Want to join us, Snowflake?" he asked, already suspecting what the answer might be.

Nodding eagerly, the dragoness took Basajaun's forelimbs, the drake blinking in surprise as he was tugged on until he realized that Snowflake was attempting to help him onto his back. Smiling a little, Basajaun obeyed the motion, rolling over until he was looking up to the sky.

Moving away for a moment and digging through Basajaun's saddlebags, Snowflake found the sleeping bag that Esmeralda had packed for Zachary. Looking to the leopard, Snowflake pointed at the sleeping bag, held it behind her head, and rested her head against it. She then pointed to the bag again, and then to Basajaun's head, giving Zachary an expression that seemed like she was asking for permission for something.

Blinking in confusion for a couple of seconds, Zachary's expression brightened when he realized what the spirit wanted. "Oh, yeah, sure. I don't think I'm going to sleep in that anyway..." the leopard admitted with a chuckle, standing up and walking next to Basajaun's side.

"Mind if I take my usual spot?" He asked with a grin, not even waiting for the dragon to answer as he began climbing on the hill of pudge. Once again, he was surprised just how deep his limbs sunk in the supple flesh. That spell did wonders to the dragon's waistline, that much was certain.

Positioning himself on top of the flabby midsection of the dragon, Zachary waited for Snowflake to finish whatever she was doing. To nobody's surprise, he killed his time by playing around with the fatty dragon's ample fat, giggling to himself couple of times as he enjoyed the softness between his fingers.

At first grunting a bit from the lingering discomfort his body felt, Basajaun was able to relax once Zachary got himself situated. Lifting his head as Snowflake got the drake's "pillow" situated, he was immediately grateful for the added comfort it provided.

"Thank you, that's much better," Basajaun stated, giving Snowflake a thankful smile.

Nodding, Snowflake retrieved the remnants of dinner, bringing them within reach of Zachary, flashing him a toothy grin, pointing between the leopard and dragoness, and then to Basajaun's mouth.

"No," Zachary shook his head, smiling warmly at the familiar and lifting his arms up, giving an expression that looked the simple motion required a lot of effort, "I'll leave the feeding for your tonight, girl. My arms are waaaay too sore for me to lift those chunks." The leopard said, winking at Snowflake and giving her a knowing grin.

"I'll just enjoy this," He grabbed a pawful of fat from the dragon's belly, wobbling it around, "While you take care of the rest, namely getting it bigger!" Chuckling a little, Zachary began massaging the soft flab in circular motions with both of his paws, relishing the feeling of the yielding surface beneath his sensitive fingers.

With a thrilled smile, Snowflake nuzzled Zachary's face gratefully, before turning down to Basajaun. The drake felt somewhat strange not being fed by his usual friend, but the thought of being spoiled by Snowflake was somehow intriguing.

As the dragoness took the first plate in one forelimb, the other came up to rest behind Zachary, feeling the soft belly for a moment before Snowflake moved the plate over the pudgy drake's mouth, opening her own wide as if instructing Basajaun on what he was supposed to do next.

Hesitating a moment for reasons he couldn't quite identify, Basajaun eventually nodded, opening his mouth and accepting the dragoness' offering. The plate held enough food to be considered a meal for the average anthro, but it was a simple mouthful for the hungry dragon, who relished Snowflake's amazing cooking for a moment before swallowing, his maw reopening to receive the next portion.

Seeing the two massive creatures enjoy themselves, Zachary smiled at the image and continued with the massaging of his friend's pudgy midriff. He could only hope that his tiny paws provided some level of comfort for Basajaun as he was hand fed and massaged by the much bigger Snowflake. The leopard was sure that the ice dragon's huge paws were able to cover more area, but that couldn't be compared to the tenderness and carefulness Zachary's own fingers were able to achieve while they rubbed and caressed Basajaun's soft hide.

"Esmeralda could have changed Snowflake's size before we went hunting," the leopard thought aloud as he glanced at the giant ice dragon, "We could have carried a lot more food back that way..." he stated, looking at the pile of food disappointedly and smirking, "This is just a snack for you now, Basa. Right?"

Giving a slight nod, the dragon nonetheless enjoyed himself with Snowflake's one large paw rubbing in broad motions across his middle, and Zachary's smaller paws providing a finer, more localized massage. The combination was enough to rapidly send the drake into euphoria, in spite of the relatively small size of the meal he was eating.

Unlike Zachary, the spirit's feeding style was quite slow and gentle, almost teasing as she held each new mouthful just out of reach until Basajaun had fully cleared his mouth of the previous load. What Snowflake did have in common with the leopard regarding the feeding, was that she relished the utter softness of the drake's body, her paw exploring across Basajaun's chest and long neck, as well as his rounded abdomen. She was careful not to dislodge the feline that laid atop the fat dragon's hill-like middle with her own efforts, periodically pressing her paw into that yielding gut to feel how full Basajaun was getting, each time displacing the flab enough to cause Zachary to rise slightly.

Remaining silent as he continued with his massage, Zachary occasionally glanced away from the pair of dragons, staring out in the distance and watching the stars in the sky as they shone brightly against the darkness. The image caused the leopard to smile, as well as elicit an unexpected yawn.

Blinking a couple of times and shaking his head, the feline tried concentrating on the soft flab beneath him. He kneaded and caressed the flesh with utter care and gingerness. But no matter how much amusement he got from the reptile's pudge, he couldn't fight the increasing sleepiness which grew quickly inside him.

Glancing up at Basajaun and letting out another long yawn, the leopard sighed as he noticed that the dragon was rather preoccupied with Snowflake at the moment. For a second doubting that his decision of overacting so the ice dragon could have a chance at feeding his friend was smart, the leopard quickly shook the unpleasant thought out of his mind. He had experienced the joy behind stuffing the forest dragon on number of occasions, he could surely survive with leaving one out for Snowflake's sake. It was obvious that she enjoyed it just as much as Zachary.

With his mind completely distracted on such matters, the leopard didn't even notice that he had been pushed off to the side of the dragon's belly sometime ago. Blinking at the realization and wondering how he got here, the feline shrugged, too tired to care anymore. With a last glance at Basajaun and Snowflake and seeing how lost the pair was in their fun, Zachary slowly slid off from the dragon's middle, pretty sure that his quiet departure would go unnoticed.

Stretching his back and yawning once more, the leopard rubbed his eyes with his paws, glancing around himself for a place to sleep. After a moment of searching, Zachary hit his forehead with a paw upon realizing that his sleeping bag was under Basajaun's head. Sighing internally in frustration, the leopard sauntered towards the saddlebags on the ground, quickly searching through the contents and pulling out his blanket which he had bought during their travels with his friend.

Smiling at the memory, the leopard was simply too worn-out to look for a better place to sleep, deciding to simply lay the blanket on the grass and lie down on it. With a single roll of his body, Zachary was able to cover himself fully with the cloth, coming to a stop once he was facing the sky. He stared at the many stars up in the infinite blackness for a few moments before closing his eyes and curling up in his usual ball. The exhausted anthro was asleep in less than a minute.

Lost in the mutual bliss of feeding, it wasn't until after the food stopped coming that Basajaun finally noticed that something was missing. "Hey, where's--" the drake began, until his searching eyes fell on the sleeping form, "Oh. When did he get there?"

With Snowflake's help Basajaun rolled upright, his moderately distended belly failing to slow the reptile down as he moved over to Zachary. 'He must have gotten tired,' Basajaun thought as he lay down next to his sleeping friend, curling his neck and tail around the anthro as his wing extended to cover the leopard.

Snowflake laid herself down on the other side of Zachary, nuzzling both of her snuggling partners gently before her own tail and neck wrapped around the outside of Basajaun's. Waiting for the drake to fall asleep, Snowflake intoned her spell once more, attempting to make up for the small size of the meal she had provided for the voracious dragon.

This done, Snowflake settled her head down on Basajaun's shoulder, steadily falling into her hibernation state with a warm smile.

"Alright, up and at 'em, everyone!" an elderly voice ripped through the peaceful rest that the cuddling trio was enjoying, "Time to get packed up and move on!"

Raising his head up groggily as Snowflake snapped to her feet enthusiastically, Basajaun looked around until he was able to spot what he was looking for; the sun. The yellow circle was only just beginning to peak over the horizon, letting the dragon know just how early it was.

Groaning and hiding his head under his wing, Basajaun mumbled, "I thought you weren't a morning person?"

Prodding at a bruised spot on the drake's back with her cane, Esmeralda smirked as Basajaun squealed and jumped to his feet, glaring daggers at the owl. "I am when I need to be," the Elder informed the reptile, "Now hurry up and get ready; we need to get on the road as soon as possible."

Grumbling something under his breath, Basajaun nudged at Zachary's back in a place where he was relatively certain the feline had no bruises. "Come on, Zach," the drake said, nudging a bit more roughly when his efforts amounted to naught, "We need to get up."

Groaning and extracting one of his arms from the confinement of his blanket, Zachary swatted weakly in the general direction he thought the intruder of his dreams would be. Pawing at the air for a few moments, the feline's arm simply dropped on the ground, completely limp. The feline murmured something under his breath, then attempted to stand up.

The sight was fascinating to behold, to say the least. As the feline stood up, still enveloped tightly in his blanket, a common observer would have easily mistaken him for a walking sausage. Once standing unsteadily on his feet, Zachary attempted to take make his way towards the general direction he expected the saddlebags to be. With his eyes still closed, the sausage leopard jumped once, then simply fell over and landed on the ground with a quiet thud.

Instead of a scream or a silly remark, the only thing which came from the feline was quiet snoring. Amazingly, he had fallen asleep once again as soon as his body was in a horizontal position. If a blow to the face didn't manage to wake him up from his slumber, it was safe to assume that nothing would. Unlike Esmeralda, Zachary simply couldn't be a morning person, no matter what.

Chuckling quietly, Basajaun simply donned his saddle with Snowflake's help, before assisting the dragoness with adjusting and fitting into her own saddle. Esmeralda had apparently taken her familiar's ability to change size into account, because her saddle had portions that folded out to accommodate Snowflake's larger size, as well as unusually lengthy adjustment straps

Once packed and ready, Basajaun gingerly wrapped his tail around Zachary, careful not to wake the sleeping leopard as he situated his friend into the saddle, blanket and all.

Shaking her head with an amused expression, Esmeralda climbed up onto her familiar's back and into the saddle located there. "Alright, let's get this show on the road!" the Elder invited, pointing toward the path in question.

Returning to the road, there was no longer room for the two dragons to walk side by side, so Basajaun let the Elder and Snowflake take the road while he walked alongside them in the grass.

After a moment of watching Snowflake's graceful gait, Basajaun felt his cheeks burn when he realized he was staring. Trying to think of something to say, the drake looked to Esmeralda and asked, "So, how did you learn how to understand Snowflake's language?"

Looking up from her maps, the Elder gave Basajaun a smile. "Why, are you interested in learning?" she inquired in return.

"Well, yes," the dragon replied, giving the spirit a shy smile as she looked back to him, "It would make things easier if I didn't need a translator. And since we're becoming friends, I thought it would be nice to, you know... actually be able to hold a conversation instead of passing notes."

Considering for a moment, Esmeralda nodded. "Alright, we can teach you a few things," the owl stated with a smile, patting her mount's neck, "Can't we, girl?"

Nodding, Snowflake turned to face Basajaun, speaking a few words in her language. "She says, 'thank you for taking an interest, it'll be nice to have another person to talk to'," Esmeralda translated.

For the next few hours, Basajaun received some basic lessons in Glacian, which was what Esmeralda called her familiar's language. By the time the group had been travelling for three hours, the drake had memorized enough basic Glacian words to hold very simple conversations, which was enough to start learning without needing the owl to translate.

"You really do learn fast," Esmeralda commented after a moment of listening to Basajaun talk to Snowflake with almost no misunderstandings.

Grinning, Basajaun nodded. "I tend to not forget things when I learn them," the dragon stated, hoping there wasn't too much pride in his voice, "Picking up new skills has always been easy for me."

"That's amazing, forest friend!" Snowflake replied. Unable to come close to pronouncing Basajaun's name, the spirit had taken to calling the dragon by relevant nicknames, instead.

The compliments starting to inflate the drake's ego more than he was comfortable allowing it to grow, Basajaun waved a wing dismissively, unintentionally jostling his rider.

Groaning loudly as he was tossed around in the saddle, Zachary slowly but surely began to enter consciousness. Opening his eyes, and almost immediately closing them once the bright light assaulted him, the leopard sat up, his blanket slipping off of him as he stretched his arms in the air with a long yawn, hissing quietly as his sore body was moved.

"Ugh... why is the ground mov--" the feline stopped in his questioning as he realized that he was on Basajaun's back. With a sigh, he returned to lying on his back, staring up at the blue sky and the clouds that adorned it. "I overslept, haven't I?"

"Well look who's finally awake," Esmeralda greeted as she nudged the feline riding next to her, "You need to work on waking up, young man."

Looking back, Basajaun gave his friend a warm smile. "Good morning," the drake greeted in turn, "Did you rest well?"

Nodding, Zachary sat up once again, rubbing his eyes with his paws for a moment. "Yeah, I haven't had any problems with sleeping since... you know." The leopard didn't have to finish his words; it was rather obvious what he meant.

Turning to the Elder, the young anthro gave her a sheepish smile. "And I know that my inability to get up in the mornings should be resolved... but I simply can't control it, Esmeralda. I cannot get up, even if I get decent sleep. Now what do you think happens when I don't?" He asked rhetorically, raising his eyebrows and tapping a finger on his head.

Esmeralda nodded at the question, seeming to get the picture. "By the way, did you get too tired for our dinner last night?" Basajaun asked, looking to Zachary with a concerned smile, "I missed your excellent massaging when the food was gone."

The leopard grinned at the compliment and nodded his head. "Someway halfway through I got so sleepy that I just couldn't stay up anymore," he explained, gesturing with his head at the ice dragon, "And I figured since Snowflake was there, you wouldn't mind if I went to sleep. That little exercise with Esmeralda wore me out more than I expected." He admitted with a chuckle, rubbing his sore left arm with his other.

As he examined his injuries, Zachary noted that he was feeling somewhat better than yesterday, although only by a marginal amount. The bruises and scratches on his body were still aching, but now particularly when he moved his body, unlike the day before. Realizing that he would most likely have to go through the same torment today, the young anthro could only hope his injuries wouldn't worsen. If the owl kept at her brutal training, he would arrive at Boldrumton as a cripple.

Esmeralda gave the leopard the kindest smile she could manage. "Don't worry, you'll build up your endurance," the owl said, patting the leopard's thigh, "I just hope that a few days' instruction is going to be enough to help against what we're likely going to be facing. I am doing this for your own good, you know."

Zachary sighed. "Yes, I know." He stated, turning to Esmeralda and chuckling a little, "But knowing that doesn't make me feel less pain." The leopard said with a teasing tone, apparently awake enough to start on his usual routine of joking around whenever he could.

As the quartet continued marching through the vast expanse of the green plains, eventually the sight of trees in the distance replaced the dull and plain grass. From Zachary's view, it looked like the road they were following lead straight into the small forest in front of them. As soon as he realized this, the feline jumped up on his feet with a single motion, disregarding the unpleasant feeling he got from the sudden motion, as well as the jostling of Basajaun's saddle.

Peering in the distance with narrowed eyes and confirming that they were actually walking towards woodlands, Zachary pointed ahead of them with a wide grin across his muzzle. "Trees!" He stated the obvious with an enthusiastic tone, looking rather proud at being able to spot an unmissable expanse of tall trees on the completely plain and flat plainlands.

Grinning at the sight, as well as Zachary's enthusiasm, Basajaun picked up his pace, Snowflake doing the same. "There should be a stream running through those woods," the Elder stated as she glanced down to her atlas, "We can refill our supply of water and take a breather there."

Spurred on further by Esmeralda's statement, Basajaun and Snowflake soon arrived at the woods. The path becoming narrower in the trees, the drake allowed the dragoness to go in first, wanting to be curteous. Able to watch Snowflake's movements, the dragon was soon transfixed by the fluid grace of her steps, though he had no clue as to the cause of his entrancement.

Not even paying the slightest of heed to where Basajaun was looking, Zachary was simply too busy marveling at the sight which surrounded the four travellers. Similar to the woodlands back at Plainstead, the wide and tall trees spread out as far as the eye could see, occasionally accompanied by bushes of all sorts, which were littered with a wide variety of berries. The sight instantly reminded the leopard of Basajaun's first home, the peaceful forest next to Boldrumton where the two had met for the first time.

Chuckling quietly at the memory of kicking the dragon as a way of introducing himself, the leopard continued with the observation of the view around him. Glancing up in the sky, Zachary was more than grateful for the forest canopy above his head for blocking the bright light of the sun and saving him from its recurring, and very unpleasant, assault of his sensitive eyes.

When the faint sound of running water joined in with the chirping of birds, as well as the light breeze rustling the leaves, the leopard didn't have to think too much to realize that they had arrived at the small stream Esmeralda had mentioned. Soon enough, the endlessly flowing, crystal clear current came into view, eliciting a relieved sigh and wide smile from the suddenly very thirsty leopard.

"Water!" Snowflake cried out happily, looking eagerly back to the owl that rode her as she bounced slightly on her forefeet.

Esmeralda chuckled as she dismounted. "Let me get the saddle off first, then you can have at it," the Elder replied, quickly undoing the straps around her familiar. "Alright, go have fun," the old owl said, Snowflake already bounding towards the stream happily.

Kneeling down, Basajaun smiled at the sight of the jovial dragoness leaping up and landing in the small stream with a splash. "Hey, watch the bags, Snowflake!" the drake chided half heartedly as his wings shielded his saddlebags.

Wiping the cold water, which Snowflake had sent at him from, his furry face, Zachary growled playfully and grinned at the spirit. "Oh, now you're gonna get it!" The leopard challenged with a laugh, dismounting Basajaun with such grace and ease that only a feline could possess. If it wasn't for his aching body, the feat wouldn't have ended with a loud hiss as Zachary landed on his feet with a thud, his vest brushing painfully against the bruise on his back.

Too determined up to have his revenge, the young anthro simply disregarded the unpleasant feeling, sprinting quickly towards Snowflake before jumping right next to her in the water, causing the liquid to splash her directly in her face. Although taking his rightful vengeance at the familiar felt oh so sweet, even that couldn't make up for the excruciating pain he felt as the cold water touched his wounds.

The leopard jumped up from the water faster than anyone had ever seen him do before, emitting a somewhat loud, and very unmanly, shriek. Bounding out of the water as quickly as he could, Zachary hissed and groaned quietly once he was on the comfort of the grass once again.

"It was still worth it!" The currently very hurting leopard stated, shaking his fist threateningly at Snowflake while he attempted to lessen his torment by licking at the scratches on his left arm. Whimpering exaggeratedly, the feline sat down on the ground with an obviously regretful expression on his muzzle as he continued with his hilarious way of healing himself.

Laughing in her chiming manner at the leopard's attempt at getting justice, Snowflake dove her head underwater before bringing it back up, splashing the water down her back like a water fowl. "Forest friend, play with me!" the spirit invited, crouching down in the water and wiggling her rear.

Knowing that pose, Basajaun shook his head smilingly. "I know what that pose leads to!" the drake responded, indicating one of the bruises on his back as he moved to the stream, taking a few swallows of water.

Huffing, the familiar looked to Zachary, giving him the same pose and invitation.

Swallowing hard as he recalled the way Snowflake trounced Basajaun just the day before, Zachary shook his head vehemently. "Not a chance! Nuh-uh." The leopard replied, crossing his arms under his chest once he was sure that his licking wouldn't do much good to them.

"It would probably just lead to an ugly accident if I tried to play with you," the young anthro stated, gesturing at the spirit's massive body, then back to his puny one, "We aren't in the same league, I'm afraid." Standing up and moving to the stream with fearful steps, Zachary knelt down to quench his thirst, sighing in relief after pulling back from the cold water. He leaned back on his forearms, looking lost in thought as his gaze shifted between the beautiful sights the forest provided.

Heaving out a creaking whine, Snowflake sank down dejectedly, the water coming up to her shoulders as the familiar lay in the stream bed. With her icy clear nature, the dragoness looked almost invisible under the water, only the disturbed sediment at the bottom giving away her submerged form.

"You know you have a lot more energy than the rest of us do, Snowflake," Esmeralda chuckled lightly as she refilled her canteens, "Just give us a moment to rest and we'll get back on the road again."

Giving a disappointed nod, Snowflake poked at the water as she sat sulking in the stream. Seeing the dragoness' fallen expression, Basajaun heaved a sigh before giving her a smile. "Fine, we can play," the drake relented, eliciting an enthusiastically happy squeal from the ice spirit as he waded into the water, the cold not seeming to bother him much.

As if realizing something out of nowhere, Zachary tore his eyes away from the marvelous view, looking at the two dragons with a confused expression. "Wait... Basa, how did you understand what Snowflake said just some moments ago?" He inquired, cocking his head slightly right, perking up his round ears in curiosity.

"Esmeralda and Snowflake gave me some basic pointers on the way here," the drake replied, turning to Zachary once he was out in the middle of the stream, "So I can understand enough to have a conversation--"

The dragon was cut off as Snowflake splashed him. "We can talk on the road!" the spirit said impatiently, bobbing up and down in the water, "Play while we can!"

Snorting the water out of his snout, Basajaun glared grinningly at the familiar. "Oh, you're going to get it now!" he laughed, plowing his wing through the water to splash the dragoness back.

Snorting at Basajaun's answer, the leopard stood up from the grass under him to avoid getting wet from the two dragons' playing. "Alright, that sounds useful I guess." he said bluntly, stretching his back as he began walking back towards the saddlebags to fill his own canteen as well.

As he arrived next to the saddle and kneeled down to search through the bags, Zachary's sensitive ears picked up an indistinct chatter coming from somewhere in the distance. At first thinking that he was only hearing Basajaun's and Snowflake's conversation, the feline paid no heed to the new discovery.

However, as he pulled his canteen from the bag and stood up, the familiar chatter reappeared once again, this time sounding like it was a lot closer. Furrowing his eyebrows at the realization that the chatter couldn't possibly come from his friends, given that it was moving, and towards them. Glancing back to the two dragons for a second and noticing how busy the two were, Zachary heaved a sigh and decided to investigate himself.

With somewhat hesitant steps, the feline began walking towards the source of the sound. Nearing the dirt road just some distance away from the stream, Zachary looked where the four of them had come from, not noticing anything whatsoever. As he glanced in the other direction, however, his heart skipped a beat.

The image of two strangers walking towards the feline filled him with dread and worry, not being able to breathe for some moments as he remained unmoved. Endless possibilities of how badly this could end raced through his mind, each new one worse than the previous. He was so lost in thought, and in his fear, that he didn't even notice as the two anthros spotted him.

"Hey there, fellow traveller!" An old, brassy voice greeted the currently perplexed leopard, smiling cheerfully and waving his paw as he closed the remaining distance with his companion between them and Zachary.

Knocked out from his trance from the voice, the leopard shook his head, suddenly finding himself facing the two strangers. As his eyes wandered on the two anthros, Zachary let out a small sigh of relief upon realizing that they were two elderly tortoises. And although the pair looked rather innocuous, the long crossbow on the back of the one who greeted him urged the feline to stay alert.

Clearing his throat and gathering his voice, Zachary forced a small smile on his muzzle. "Good day!" he greeted back, bidding his head to the male and female anthros in front of him in turn.

"Well, aren't you just polite, my boy." the other tortoise said in a feminine voice and a warm smile, turning back to her partner, "Would you look at that, pa? I can't remember the last time I was given respect by the younger generation!"

"Pa", as the leopard knew him now, chuckled, giving a small kiss on the female tortoise before looking back to a more than tense Zachary. "We don't meet too many people who travel without at least a companion, boy. Aren't you a little young to be wandering the road all on your own?" The old tortoise inquired, looking up and down the leopard in front of him for a moment.

Blinking at the question for a few seconds, Zachary felt a little more than annoyed as the stranger sized him up with his eyes. "I'm not alo--" He managed to blurt out, only realizing what he had done when it was too late. The leopard put both of his paws on his mouth, staring with wide eyes at the tortoise pair and mentally cursing himself infinite amount of times.

"Oh, is that so? Where are your travel mates, then?" glancing at the exact opposite direction his friends were and finding nothing, the tortoise shrugged with a smile, "I don't see anyone ar--" The old anthro's breath caught in his throat as he looked the other way, staring with a terrified expression at the two dragons playing around in the stream. From his point of view, the scene looked nothing like reality. With fear coating his common sense, the elderly tortoise could only see two monsters fighting with each other to the death.

"Ma, get behind me this instant!" The utterly scared anthro commanded, swiftly pushing the other tortoise behind him and reaching with for the long crossbow on his back. Before Zachary could even react, the anthro mounted his arrow and aimed at the leopard's friends before shooting a glance at the feline. "Get out of here, boy! Run!"

Seeing the evident fear in the anthro's eyes, Zachary had to realize that the tortoise was too scared to think rationally, convincing the leopard that he would release his arrow in a matter of seconds.

Time seemed to slow down as the feline realized what was about to happen. "No, wait!" He called out with all his might, not even thinking what he was doing. His body moved freely on itself, his brain not even needed to decide whether or not to protect his friends with every last bit of his muscles. He closed his eyes, breathing heavily for a few moments as utter silence followed.

Opening his eyes hesitantly, Zachary found himself staring straight into the tip of an arrow, his arms extended on both sides as he stood in front of the armed tortoise. Breathing heavily as he tried to calm himself in the suddenly very tense situation, the leopard had to gather all his strength to tear his eyes away from the sharp-looking bolt which was awfully close to his face.

"Are you out of your mind?! What the hell do you think you're doing protecting those monsters?!" The last word elicited a quiet growl from Zachary as he stared up at the tortoise with fearless determination and fire in his eyes.

"They are not monsters! They are my friends!" The leopard practically screamed back, not moving an inch. He watched the anthro's face change from fear to confusion for a second, before his expression eventually settled on both terrified and angry.

"You're completely nuts, boy! Get outta my way and let me end the lives of th--"

"You will not hurt them." Zachary growled at the tortoise in an unfamiliarly deep tone, his spotted tail swishing behind him as he stared at the anthro with an obvious predatory look in his eyes. "You will have to kill me first, because I sure as hell ain't letting you even give them the tiniest scratch!"

Seeing the anthro's expression softening for a moment, the leopard thought he had convinced the stranger, right up until the point he realized that the crossbow was still aiming straight at his head. Noticing the hesitation in the tortoise's eyes, Zachary threw caution to the wind.

"Just go, get out of here! Run, now!" The feline shouted with a hiss, panting heavily as he remained in the same position with his arms extended on both of his sides.

The tortoise was about to argue, when a prod from his back forced himself to glance back. "Leave while we can, Pa. This boy is not kidding, and I know you would never kill him. Let's just go, come." The female anthro pulled on the shoulder of the other, forcing the crossbow to land on his side. For a few moments, the weapon wielder hesitated, glancing between Zachary and the dragons behind the leopard fearfully.

When the tortoise finally nodded and lowered his weapon completely, Zachary was mentally revealed, although he didn't show this outside as he kept glaring at the two travellers. "Go!" He commanded for the last time, his legs trembling as he tried to appear strong.

Shaking his head and turning around, the old anthro quickly grabbed onto the female tortoise's arm, forcing to stumble behind him as he began to jog off with a surprisingly great speed, given how elderly the couple appeared.

Not moving until the anthros were completely out of sight, Zachary practically collapsed on the ground, panting heavily as he tried to catch his breath. He pulled his legs close to his body, resting his head on top of his knees, his whole body trembling as his mind entered the aftershock of the last few moments.

Esmeralda and the two dragons had stopped their activities to watch the scene unfold, none of them making a move until the crossbow was no longer pointing at their companion's head.

As the elderly pair ran out of sight, the old owl walked behind Zachary, the feline's ear suddenly being pinched between two talons. "That, my boy, is what we call the opposite of a good impression!" Esmeralda hissed as she gripped the leopard's ear roughly, "Which is what I thought we had established we were trying to achieve. Am I wrong?"

Yelping for a few moments as his sensitive ear was pulled, Zachary tore the Elder's hand away from him. "What the hell was I supposed to do?!" the leopard demanded with an upset tone, glaring at the owl as he tried to contain his bubbling emotions and fighting against his trembling, "He wanted to kill both Snowflake and Basajaun! I could see it clearly in his eyes... the fear... he wanted to shoot them down, I know."

Putting a paw on his head, Zachary's voice suddenly softened. "I... just... I got scared..." he said, evidently fighting against the urge to break down, "It happened so fast... and Basa and Snowflake were playing... and they didn't notice and I..." The feline stammered, sniffling a little before he looked up at the Elder with fiery passion in his eyes, which shone brilliantly through the fresh tears, "I just wanted to protect them... I wasn't even thinking what I was doing."

Wiping his eyes, Zachary sat down on the ground once again, staring at the grass under him. "I'm sorry..." he apologized with a sincere and powerless tone, his head hanging low enough so that it was almost touching the ground.

"Elder Eszes, you know he's right," Basajaun said as he arrived next to the leopard, nuzzling the feline gently as he draped a wing around his friend, "I think it's partially me and Snowflake's fault for getting rough, too. So if someone's going to take the blame and punishment, give it to me. I knew better than to start roughhousing where I might be seen."

Looking to Basajaun's protective expression, Esmeralda sighed. "Next time that you even think you notice someone coming," the owl began, turning back to where the group's bags were, "You come tell me, and don't go off investigating on your own anymore. For all you knew, those two could have been bandits."

Remaining silent and unmoving, Zachary could only nod as he kept looking at the ground below him. After a few moments of letting the shock subside in his body, the leopard had enough strength to talk once again. "I won't." He said bluntly with an evidently hurt and frustrated tone, drawing circles in the dirt under him with his finger.

Although he knew perfectly well that the Elder was right in regards to the danger he had risked by investigating alone, yet he couldn't help but feel like the owl was mad at him because he choose to protect his friends in a fast and tense situation, which forced him to make a hasty decision. He of course questioned whether or not the his choice was right, but he simply couldn't blame himself for his actions.

While the Elder began to saddle up her familiar, Basajaun stayed with Zachary. "I thought that was very brave of you," the drake stated, lifting the feline's face gently, "Thank you for protecting me."

Smiling and laughing lightheartedly, the reptile sat next to Zachary. "I've never said that before!" Basajaun continued, nudging his companion's arm, "I suppose there's a first time for everything though, eh?"

His friend's laugh was able to lift his spirits a little, and the feline looked up at the dragon with a small smile before nodding. "No problem, bud." Zachary said, his face falling as he continued, "I wish this encounter had went better, just like Esmeralda, I really do." the leopard explained with a regretful expression, "I only went to check for a noise I heard, and I... just froze when I spotted those two on the road." he admitted, sighing long, "Next thing I knew, they were right up in my face, greeting me and asking me questions... and then they spotted you two... you can probably figure out the rest."

"It's okay," Basajaun reassured the feline, gently patting his head, "You made the best of the situation. Don't let a senile old bird make you doubt that." The last part was said under the drake's breath just loud enough for Zachary to hear, before Basajaun quickly glanced over his shoulder with an expression of mock terror, as though expecting the owl to be right behind him.

Smiling, Zachary waved a paw. "Don't worry, she won't hear it. She must be practically deaf to not have heard those two travellers coming. They were making an awful lot of noise!" The leopard stated, chuckling lightly for the first time in a while.

Glancing at the Elder and Snowflake for a moment, the leopard sighed. "Come on, we should get ready as well before Esmeralda gets mad at me again." The volume of the feline's voice steadily died down as he finished his sentence, snorting before standing up from the dragon's embrace and making his way towards the forest dragon's saddle.

Sighing when he noticed he had failed to improve the leopard's mood, Basajaun stood and followed to the saddle. He wasn't sure what else he could do to cheer up his friend, the drake simply gave Zachary a kind smile whenever he could, hoping it might eventually get passed on to the feline.

Moving out once they were packed and ready, the group followed the path through and out of the small woods, the end of the trees eliciting a rather exaggerated sigh from the forest dragon in their midst.

The rest of the day was uneventful, though the pair of dragons had begun to talk more and more as the hours passed. Basajaun attempted to bring Zachary into the conversation, trying to explain some of the basic words so that the feline could start learning as well.

"Green?" Zachary asked for the twelfth time, and Basajaun shook his head for the twelfth time as well. Gritting his teeth in frustration at not being able to memorize a particularly easy word from the ice spirit's language, the leopard sighed painfully. "This language is way too difficult..." He stated with an annoyed tone, putting a finger on his chin in thought before giving a hopeful smile as he attempted again.

"Tree...? Please, let it be tree." When the dragon shook his head again, Zachary threw his hands in the air as a sign of giving up with the little language lesson. Sighing once again to calm himself, the leopard glanced away from his friend, staring into the plains for a few moments as he slowly slipped into sulking by his inability to learn even the basics of Snowflake's language.

"You were close," Basajaun assured the feline, trying once more to cheer him up, "It's plant. Green and tree are just slightly different."

"Glacian is a very hard language for not-ice-people to learn," Snowflake admitted, giving Zachary a warm smile as Basajaun translated for her.

"It took me many years to begin communicating effectively with Snowflake," Esmeralda added, flipping through the pages of a different book than her usual atlas, "I wouldn't worry about not being able to learn the word 'plant' in a few hours. Believe me; learning just how to understand 'hello' took more than a few weeks for me!"

Nodding as a way of acknowledging the Elder's statement, her words provided a great amount of relief for Zachary. Eventually growing tired of the boring view the plain provided, the leopard decided to kill his time by playing some tunes on his lute. As he searched for his instrument, however, he spotted the sword Esmeralda had given him just the day before. Thinking for a moment, Zachary pulled the weapon out in its sheath, observing it for a few seconds in his hands.

Curious, the young anthro unsheathed the blade, the weapon coming out of its cover smoothly as it was pulled. Holding the fine sword in his paws, Zachary noticed the distinct patterns which adorned it. For a few seconds, the leopard could see ice radiating from the blade, almost looking like the patterns were moving. The motion stopped, however, and the leopard could only blink in confusion as he waited for something, anything else to happen.

When the staring of the blade didn't seem to bring any results, Zachary sighed and attempted to put the weapon back in its sheath. As soon as the steel touched its cover, the same spectacular event happened like some moments ago. Observing closely as the icy mist swirled around the blade, then disappeared once again, the feline snapped his fingers as he realized what was going on.

'It reacts to touch!' He concluded in his mind, smiling widely when he tested his suspicion by pulling a finger over the blade and eliciting more pure white fog to evaporate from it. Not even realizing how cold his finger had gotten from a simple touch, Zachary only pulled his paw away when it began to practically cause discomfort for him. Raising his finger close to his eyes, the leopard raised an eyebrow when he noticed the small freckles of ice which coated his fur.

Glancing between his finger and the blade, Zachary grinned. It didn't take a genius to figure out what this blade would do if it was struck against something, or someone. With the Elder being an ice witch, the leopard found the freezing of the weapon's victim to be rather appropriate.

"Esmeralda?" Zachary called out with an enthusiastic tone, lifting the sword in his paws, "Is this blade... Er..." he paused for a second, looking for the right word, "Magical?"

Looking back, Esmeralda smiled. "Yes it is," she answered, before a concerned expression crossed her face, "Don't you go touching that blade for too long, if you want to avoid getting frostbite."

"Frostbite..." Zachary reiterated the Elder's last word, looking lost in thought for a few seconds before a goofy grin spread across his muzzle, "Alright, I'll make sure not to touch Frostbite too often!" The leopard said with a laugh, thrusting his newly christened weapon in the air.

Esmeralda blinked for a moment before she realized what Zachary meant. "I suppose you can rename it, since it's yours now," the snowy owl responded with a smile, "I hope Frostbite serves you well. It was one of the first weapons I had the chance to enchant, after learning to do so." The Elder tapped the book in her lap subconsciously.

"You can learn... er... enchanting?" Zachary asked with a surprised expression, obviously having no idea or the slightest clue about magic and spells, "I always thought that you could only learn anything involving magic or wizardry if you were born with it, is that true?" Glancing at Frostbite, then back to the Elder, the leopard cocked his head a little, perking his ears in curiosity.

The Elder laughed. "No, no, I learned almost all I know from Snowflake," Esmeralda informed the inquisitive youth, "Some of it comes down to natural talent, but mostly magic is a learned skill, just like swordplay. I actually didn't start learning magic until after my days in the militia. I can tell you that story after our sparring session tonight, if you're interested."

Nodding eagerly and with a wide smile on his face, Zachary's mood had seemingly improved by a massive amount as he practically exploded with joy. Putting his sword back in its sheath and in the saddlebag, the happy leopard retrieved his favourite instrument quickly.

"I'd love that, Esmeralda." He replied as he began playing a fast and joyous tune, occasionally spicing it up by putting a particularly high note between two lower ones. The result was a melody which could only be compared to a song that would be played in a circus to improve on the mood of the visitors.

The rest of the day was uneventful as the group made their way through the plains, the sea of ankle-high grass not making for the most interesting scenery. Monotonous as the area was, the quiet tranquility was relaxing, and the quartet was hardly feeling fatigued at all by the time the sun began to set.

Making camp once more, Basajaun was disappointed to find not a single tree to shelter under this time. Sighing, the drake let his rider down as Esmeralda picked a spot away from the road once more. "Looks like I don't have any branches for comfort, out here," Basajaun grumbled, before smiling to Zachary, "Looks like I'm just going to have to look to my friends to comfort me, instead!"

After dismounting Basajaun, the leopard instantly rushed to hug his neck tightly, nuzzling the soft flesh with his face. "That good enough, bud?" He asked with a grin as he looked up at the chubby dragon, kneading the yielding surface with both of his paws and purring quietly. The reptile's neck didn't have as much fat on it as his middle, but apparently it was deep enough for Zachary to get lost in the feeling of caressing the flab.

Grinning, the dragon hugged his friend close. "More than enough," he replied, already feeling better.

"If you two lovebirds are quite done," Esmeralda's voice cut through the tender moment, "We have a camp to set up.

Looking to Esmeralda and back to Zachary, Basajaun mouthed, "Grouch."

Giggling quietly and rolling his eyes at the Elder, the leopard pulled away from the embrace. "Yes, my mistress. As you wish, my mistress." Zachary gave an exaggerated bow, remaining in that pose as he shuffled his way towards the Elder while snickering to himself under his breath.

Snickering, Basajaun followed after, playing along with the feline's game as he bowed to Esmeralda in kind. "We are ever at your beck and call, Mistress Eszes," the reptile chuckled as he crawled to the campsite.

Raising an eyebrow, Esmeralda folded her arms. "Oh you are, are you?" the Elder inquired, her tone bearing mock superiority, "Go get me some firewood, then, slaves."

Sighing, the owl gave the pair a more serious look. "But really, it looks like we're not getting a fire going tonight," the Elder continued, looking to her companions, "Not without a good deal of searching, at least."

"Why don't you three go out hunting," Esmeralda more ordered than suggested, "And see if you can't find any bushes or something else we can burn. I'll stay and set up camp."

"I was going to anyways, Mistress Eszes." Zachary stated with obvious mock in his tone, smiling at the Elder before turning around and pulling out his usual hunting gear from Basajaun's saddlebags.

Once his quiver, filled with arrows, and his trusty bone bow was on his back, the leopard walked back to the two dragons with a thoughtful expression. "We should split up," he suggested after he arrived next to the two much bigger creatures, "We can cover a lot more area that way, so we'll have a bigger chance of finding food and firewood."

The two dragons nodded. "We'll meet back here once we have all we can carry, deal?" Basajaun proposed, turning to face the plains and Snowflake nodded once more, "See you in a bit!"

As he was about to move forward, Snowflake bounded a few steps before flapping her wings, lifting off in only a few of her paces. "Alright, that's just not fair," Basajaun grumbled, his countenance falling as he trudged forward on foot.

"I know that feeling, bud!" Zachary's voice called out from the opposite direction, with a loud laughter soon following the teasing leopard's words.

Shaking his head a little, the young anthro began to focus on his task at hand. After a few minutes of walking through the dull and utterly uninteresting plains, Zachary sniffed at the air a couple of times. Sighing when he wasn't able to catch a single scent, the feline repeated the action a couple of times as he continued with his relaxed, and currently rather pointless, wandering.

Time flew by relatively fast as Zachary explored the seemingly infinite land which surrounded him as far as he could see. Occasionally he spotted a few birds in the sky, but was smart enough not to waste his arrows at them. They were always too high up in the air, thus hitting them would be a hard and laborious task, especially with the night breeze blowing over his head and rustling his fur.

Outside of the airborne creatures that ruled over the sky, the feline hunter wasn't lucky when it came to finding any other prey to shoot at. If that wasn't enough, the absence of anything other than grass was quickly driving him mad as he desperately tried to find even the tiniest bush or branch on the ground. But there was nothing. Just grass.

Not even noticing how dark it was getting, Zachary was simply too busy in his enthusiasm to fulfill his duties, only realizing that the sun had crept beyond the horizon when his eyes had to adjust to the conquering darkness.

"This is just the worst..." The leopard grumbled under his breath, glancing around himself as the stifling blackness began to subside thanks to his feline ability to see through it with ease. Zachary wasn't concerned in the slightest that he might be lost, knowing well enough that he could follow his own scent back easily to the camp. The thing which made his blood boil was the fact that no matter how hard he tried, he could only see the same, old, boring grass around him.

It would have been appropriate to consider the leopard as a good and talented hunter, although this wasn't showing at the moment as he continued his frantic search for any animal to hunt, and failing miserably. Growling in frustration, Zachary kept at his pursuit for prey. As stubborn as he was, the leopard would feel rather crestfallen if he had to return to the camp with nothing in hand, so he simply pressed on with determination.

Unfortunately, his dedication ran out after a while, namely after spending more than another hour with hunting.

'I can't believe this! Where are the goddamn animals? Or bushes, or trees, or anything?!" Zachary demanded in his mind, putting a paw on his face and closing his eyes. Staying in that position for long moments, the feline's ears perked up once the sound of leaves rustling in the breeze caught his attention.

Not even bothering to open his eyes, the impatient feline mounted an arrow in a blink of an eye and sent it flying in the direction of the sound. The impact was registered by a quiet thud. He hit something!

Opening his eyes with a hopeful expression, Zachary could only breathe heavily and glare at his catch. He caught a bush. Truly an excellent hunter, indeed.

Sighing painfully at the sight of his arrow sticking out from the lonely bush's leaves, Zachary walked to retrieve his bolt. Using its sharp end to cut down a couple of branches from his victim, the leopard quite shamefully held onto the tiny amount of firewood he had collected as he began making his way back to the camp.

The way back was long and rather tiring for the currently frustrated Zachary. When he noticed the fire burning just some distance away from where their camp was supposed to be, the leopard's face fell.

"I'm back." The leopard announced with a flat tone as he neared his other three companions, tossing the firewood on the ground ungracefully. He sat down on the grass with a loud thud, sighing in relief as his weight was removed from his sore feet.

Rubbing at the aching limbs, Zachary caught a glimpse of the massive amount of firewood next to the fire which probably came from Basajaun and Snowflake, as well as the amount of food they had brought back. Altogether he counted six limp deer corpses on the ground.

In comparison to the two dragons, the leopard assisted the group with a total amount of nine branches and twigs. Zachary's productiveness and usefulness was easily debatable by his today's shameful performance, to put it mildly.

Not even noticing how little the leopard had retrieved, Basajaun gave his friend a happy smile. "Hey, welcome back!" the dragon greeted cheerfully as he helped Snowflake and her mistress cook the food the dragons had caught, "Snowflake is quite the huntress; look at how much she and I managed to get! And that's not even counting what you were able to catch!"

Closing his eyes and breathing very, very slowly, Zachary practically became a ball of yellow fur as he curled up in the most shameful position he could manage. "Good job." He mumbled from his fuzzy fortress, his voice barely understandable as he buried his face in his knees. One could not simply express the feeling he got by his best friend's words. It hurt. And it hurt a lot.

The comment only made him feel even more useless and irrelevant in every possible aspect than he already was. Zachary felt like he could just simply disappear right now. Anything just to avoid facing the ugly truth that, currently, he was the most worthless member of their little travelling group.

The feline simply didn't talk anymore, as he continued his sulking in the protection of his own body, which provided only enough comfort for him not to simply stand up and walk away from the fire and return to the plains. Even out there he would be more useful than sitting here right now.

Basajaun's face fell as he watched his friend retreat inwardly. Setting the food he was working on aside, the drake stood and moved to Zachary's side. "Hey," he greeted once more, gently nuzzling the leopard's arm, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Zachary mumbled back after a long pause, pulling himself away from his friend's cuddling. It wasn't helping... it just made him feel even worse. He returns with nothing in hand, and he is the one getting comforted? Pathetic, to say the least.

Feeling himself getting frustrated, the leopard let out quiet growl as he kept flogging and blaming himself inside his mind. "Just leave me be for a moment, please." Zachary managed to mutter, fighting at the urge to snap at Basajaun for his earlier comment. He felt completely infuriated and angered, mostly at himself, but there was a small amount which originated from his friend's words too.

'Look at how much she and I managed to get...' The painful sentence endlessly echoed in Zachary's mind, forcing the leopard to become more and more angry as he sat on the grass.

'Rub it in while you're at it, Basa, thank you.' The feline practically growled in his mind, feeling his anger subside, and instantly being replaced by infinite amount of sorrow and misery. Out of all the people he knew, hearing this comment from his best friend made him feel as sad as he hadn't been in a long time ago; back in Boldrumton.

Blinking in surprise, Basajaun sighed. "Oh, alright," he responded quietly. Turning away, the dragon moved a few steps before glancing back and adding, "I'm always here if you need me."

Stepping over to the fire, Basajaun nuzzled Snowflake in greeting as he settled himself down. Although he returned to cooking, the drake's gaze periodically lifted back up to check on his friend, feeling saddened that Zachary's mood had gone sour and not being able to help brighten it.

The sulking leopard stayed in his fuzzy confinement for a long time, not even moving an inch as his mood shifted between angry and sad. When the night breeze began to rustle the fur on his back, Zachary felt himself getting colder as he sat on the grass, far away from the warmth of the fire.

With a sudden huff, he stood up and moved past the firewood, sending his own marginal amount flying through the air with a frustrated kick. Not even bothering to stop in his march, the leopard went straight to Basajaun's saddlebags.

Pulling out Frostbite, the feline didn't say a single word as he turned around and began making his way in the utter darkness with his sword in his paw. His iron grip on the weapon never loosened as he continued his determined, and rather fast, march in the night. Within a few seconds, the leopard's body disappeared in the blackness as he began sprinting towards a straight direction.

"Wait, Zach!" Basajaun called out, realizing too late what the feline was doing as he watched his friend sprint off into the night.

Esmeralda observed quietly as the leopard ran off with her old sword in hand. "Don't bother, Basajaun," the owl scolded after a moment, causing the drake's gaze to turn to her, "He didn't catch anything tonight."

Blinking, the reptile looked back in the direction that Zachary ran off. "So, he's going hunting again?" Basajaun wondered aloud, before a rock hit him square in the back of the head.

"For being so intelligent, you're a real idiot!" Esmeralda snapped as the drake rubbed his now sore skull, wondering how the old witch could still throw so hard, "Look at how much you and Snowflake caught, and then think about the fact that Zachary only brought back a few twigs. And I mean think about it hard."

Doing so, Basajaun suddenly realized what was wrong. "Oh..." he mumbled, looking back once more.

Snowflake looked after the leopard as well. "I didn't mean to outshine him," the spirit insisted, looking rather abashed, "I thought it would make him happy to have this much feed for Forest Dragon."

Folding her arms, Esmeralda pinched the tip of her beak in thought. "You two have so much physical potence to you," the owl reasoned aloud for the dragons, who apparently weren't as observant as they thought, "And I have experience in both magic and swordplay. Aside from his archery, Zachary must be feeling downright useless compared to us."

No one responded. The realization weighed heavy on everyone's mind as they looked out into the darkness. "Zachary..." Basajaun breathed, hoping his best friend would be alright.

"Stupid plains!" The leopard screamed on top of his lungs in the utter darkness, swishing at the air with his blade repeatedly as a way of containing his anger. The feline walked with fast steps, almost constantly mumbling something under his breath. He cursed the plains, the green grass under his feet, the darkness, the animals, hunting in general, and even the absence of trees and bushes. He was furious at almost everything in the world at the moment.

Continuing with his way of dealing with pent up frustration, the feline didn't even notice how far he was getting from the camp as time passed. He didn't even bother sniffing at the air, frantically searching with his eyes through the darkness for anything to stick his blade in.

He wanted to feel his prey's blood on his paws, hear its cry of agony as it struggled for life. He wanted to feel accomplishment, even just the slightest amount. He wanted to feel... relevant. He wanted to feel like he made a difference. He wanted to feel like he mattered. He wanted to be useful for once!

Slashing his blade in anger, Zachary panted heavily, feeling the muscles in his arms burning. With all the strikes at the air, the leopard was surely making up for the missed exercise with Esmeralda, as his aching body was quick to let him know. He was getting tired.

Inhaling deeply, the leopard's stomach let out a craving growl, forcing the feline to almost choke in his breath as he was surprised by the loud sound. Coughing for a few moments, the leopard stopped in his tracks, putting a paw on his empty midsection. He was getting hungry as well.

Standing still in the completely blackness, Zachary simply stared at the ground below him, his mind racing with unpleasant thoughts. As he remained unmoved, his body began to get colder as the chilly, night breeze blew endlessly. Trembling at the cold air, the leopard hugged his arms close to his chest, his sword falling to his side. He was getting cold too.

Keeping up at his steady pace, the leopard walked with no goal in mind. As his eyes glanced around him in the darkness, Zachary spotted a shadowy figure moving through the plains just some distance away from him. Blinking for a few moments in disbelief, the leopard's energy suddenly returned when he identified the figure. It was a deer.

With a sinister look on his face, the leopard's whole mentality shifted to predator as he crouched low. Gripping Frostbite in his right paw with such force that he thought he would break its handle, the hunter silently, but with extreme speed, charged at his unsuspecting target, slashing his sword with all his might when the deer's body was close enough.

Unfortunately, his strike went wide, and he only managed to hit the unfortunate animal on its foreleg, the flesh parting slightly at the blade's sharpness like butter. Almost instantly, the deer cried out in agony, managing to take a few steps ahead before collapsing on its side.

Heaving a long sigh, Zachary turned to his catch with a look on his face that was nothing close to his usual joyful expression. He watched as his prey trembled on the ground, unable to move its right foreleg, the one Zachary had hit. When he arrived at the deer's side, the leopard realized the reason behind it. The upper part of the animal's foreleg was covered in ice, most of it centered around the gaping wound which the leopard had caused with his powerful slash.

Not wanting to make his catch suffer more than necessary, Zachary raised Frostbite high in the air, targeting the deer's neck for a swift death. As he was about to end the poor creature's life, however, the leopard stopped. He could only stare with wide eyes as a tiny fawn appeared from behind the deer's body. The little one had apparently been hiding behind the bigger animal, and Zachary must have missed it when he first noticed the deer walking through the plains.

The tiny fawn jumped over her mother's lying form with great effort, walking with unbalanced and uncertain steps towards Zachary. The puny creature stopped at his mother's neck, nuzzling her form and eliciting a loud bellow from the deer. Suddenly, the fawn looked up at the bloodthirsty leopard, staring into his eyes.

The feline could feel his heart stop beating when the puny creature bellowed at him in a weak and quiet voice, its searching and confused gaze practically drilling a hole in his soul. The little one didn't move, simply staying by her mother's side and staring up at Zachary with a fearful expression.

Realizing why the image was so familiar to him, the young anthro's eyes welled up with tears. The little fawn was protecting his mother the same way Zachary had done earlier that day, with the same determination and endless love towards the one it would give its short life for.

Frostbite fell on the ground with a quiet thud, the grass deadening its impact. The leopard fell on his knees, tears flowing from his eyes as he continued staring at what he had done. After a few moments, he had to look away from the sight of the deer lying on its side and trembling while the little fawn stood its ground against the leopard, who had wounded its mother.

Zachary simply couldn't take it anymore, and he broke down in sobs as he watered the grass under him with his tears. He cried for long minutes, finally letting all his bottled up emotions out. All his anger and unpleasant feelings left his body with every tear as he wept.

Feeling a nudge on his head, the leopard looked up with red eyes, blinking in surprise when he saw that the fawn was standing in front of him. The little creature cocked its head to the side, hesitating for a few moments before nudging Zachary's face once again. This time, it was a lot softer... almost identical to a nuzzle.

Closing his eyes as he felt his heart shatter to pieces at the creature's pure innocence, the leopard sighed long, wiping the tears away from the wet fur on his face. Sniffling for a few moments, Zachary stood up, his knees trembling beneath his weight.

Fearfully glancing at his victim on the ground, the leopard exhaled raggedly in relief. The ice was completely gone from the deer's leg, the only thing staying was the long and ugly slash across it. As if realizing that the ice was gone, the deer attempted to stand up once again, crying out in pain as it put some of its weight on its wounded leg. Although shakily, the animal actually managed to stand up, and began taking a few steps ahead, favoring its left side.

The tiny fawn was quick to follow behind its limping mother, leaving Zachary completely alone in the darkness once the two shadowy figures disappeared from his sight. The leopard retrieved his weapon with an unreadable expression on his face, closing his eyes once he noticed the blood on his blade, he sheathed it as fast as he could. Turning around, the leopard began walking back the way he came from with uncertain steps.

It took him around an hour to make his way back to the camp. By the time he noticed the fire, Zachary could barely keep his eyes open. His legs kept walking on their own, his brain practically half-asleep from exhaustion.

Not even bothering to give any explanation whatsoever, he walked past the fire and towards Basajaun's saddle, the leopard practically collapsed on the "bed" he chose, his weapon landing next to him in the grass. He pulled his right arm close to his head, a shiver running up his spine when he noticed the deer's blood on his paw.

Closing his eyes, Zachary attempted to sleep, but the image of the tiny fawn standing up against him tormented his thoughts, and the leopard began sobbing quietly as he lay on the saddle.

Seeing their friend return with nothing once more, Basajaun and Snowflake both moved to position themselves on opposite sides of the leopard, nuzzling him softly. They didn't say anything, they just made themselves available for the leopard as he worked through his emotions, stroking his back and nuzzling his arms.

At first tensing at the touch, Zachary's body slowly relaxed as his sobbing slowly died down to whimpering before stopping completely. Attempting to wipe the leftover tears from his eyes, the leopard managed to smudge his face with the deer's blood still on his right paw.

Too tired to care anymore, the leopard hesitantly put one of his paws on Basajaun's head, while his tail curled around one of Snowflake's massive claws. Sighing long, the leopard quickly fell into peaceful slumber as he was nuzzled by the dragons.

Cuddling with Zachary for several minutes after he had fallen asleep, the peaceful moment was broken by a low gurgling sound originating in Basajaun's gut. The drake sighed; he had planned to wait for Zachary to start their nightly feeding session, but it looked like his friend didn't have the energy for it this night.

Basajaun stood and stretched, Snowflake standing soon afterwards. "Do you still want to eat all this?" the dragoness quietly asked with an unsure expression, nodding to the huge amount of food that had already been cooked, "I know that feeding is a special event for you and Spotted Hunter; I don't want to overstep any boundaries by doing it without him."

Hesitating a moment, the drake nodded. "It'll go to waste, otherwise," Basajaun reasoned in an equally soft tone, moving over beside the fire, "Zach went to sleep without his dinner though, so I think we should set aside a portion for him when he wakes up."

Giving her own nod, Snowflake took an amount from the food prepared consistent with how much she knew the leopard usually ate and arranged it caringly on a plate, before moving to set it on her doffed saddle, covering the food with a cloth to keep insects away.

Satisfied, the dragoness returned to Basajaun's side, watching for a moment as he fed himself, for a change. "You don't want any help tonight?" Snowflake asked with a cocked head.

Pausing, the reptile turned to his icy companion. "Hey, if I just let others feed me all the time, I'm going to wind up forgetting how to do it myself!" Basajaun joked lightly, popping another bite of meat into his mouth.

"I don't see that becoming a real problem with Spotted Hunter and I around," Snowflake teased back, nuzzling the drake's full cheek.

For some reason, the gesture made Basajaun blush. "Er, well," the dragon stammered for a moment, before finding his voice again, "Yes, I suppose you're right about that." Turning to the spirit, the reptile gave her a shy smile before continuing, "I guess I don't have any reason to not accept your help, as long as you're offering it."

Snowflake returned the smile as she nodded. "I am offering it, silly," the dragoness affirmed, gently taking the food from Basajaun's hands, "Go ahead and get yourself comfortable; I can take over from here."

Inexplicably hesitant, the drake eventually nodded, setting himself on his side and settling the grass beneath him into a comfortable arrangement. "Alright," Basajaun said after a moment, "I'm ready."

Opening his mouth, the dragon was rewarded with a mouthful of venison, the modest size of the bite in line with Snowflake's earlier feeding. As more bites came, Basajaun felt the cool paw of the frozen dragoness feeding him contacting his slowly filling gut, pressing lightly into the flesh and moving about in slow, broad motions.

Falling quickly into the stupor he always wound up in when being fed and massaged simultaneously, Basajaun's worries were quick to fade as he was spoiled by Snowflake. For her part, the spirit remained lucid throughout the experience, maintaining a steady flow of food while careful not to overstuff the drake that had rendered himself helpless to resist the next mouthful as it came.

The slow pace didn't seem to bother Basajaun; as long as the food kept coming, he was content to be lost in the feeling of more and more food sliding down his throat and getting packed tightly away in his stomach.

And tight that stomach was quickly becoming. Despite more than four feet of flab covering his gut, Snowflake was soon able to feel Basajaun's expanding stomach through the drake's soft flesh. The spirit smiled, knowing that with each new mouthful, the dragon she fed would become even softer come tomorrow.

It took nearly an hour with Snowflake's pace, but Basajaun was eventually able to fit all six deer's worth of food into his now-immobilizing belly. Taking deep breaths, the drake was glad not to be on his back this time; his gut was getting heavy! Much more and just breathing while he was on his back was going to become a chore for the fattening dragon.

Panting for a moment, the reptile caught his breath again before looking up to Snowflake. "Thanks, that was great!" Basajaun said gratefully, grinning widely.

"You're very welcome," the spirit replied cheerfully, nuzzling the dragon's massively bloated midsection, "I had fun, too!"

Heaving a satisfied sigh, Basajaun looked over to his sleeping friend and felt his face fall for a bit. "Hey, Snowflake," the drake began, pointing over to Zachary, "Could you scoot my saddle over here? I don't want Zach to get cold during the night."

Giving a nod, the spirit moved over to Zachary, gingerly taking hold of the saddle he slept in and carefully sliding it over to Basajaun, not even once jostling the sleeping feline. "Thank you," the drake whispered, putting as much of his wing over the leopard as he could reach past his stomach, just managing to cover his curled up friend.

Laying down on the other side of the saddle, Snowflake nuzzled her companions, before casting her nutrient boosting spell. "That's really tingly!" Basajaun hissed quietly, trying to suppress a ticklish giggle as the spell moved into the drake's stomach. Sighing as the process completed, the dragon nuzzled Snowflake back, pulling the saddle slightly closer as he fell asleep, the spirit soon following suit.

Amazingly, Zachary awoke on his own at dawn, opening his eyes slowly and staring up in the sky as the first rays of the sun began to creep across it. Glancing at his body with groggy eyes and rubbing them with a paw, the leopard sighed as he slowly extracted himself from Basajaun's blanket. He made with deliberately careful and slow movements, eventually getting out of the dragon's reach.

Standing on the grass and stretching his back, the leopard let out a quiet yawn, his tongue curling out as he did so. He watched with awe as top of the giant circle of light appeared over the horizon. Not being a morning person, Zachary wasn't given the chance to enjoy the sunrise on too many occasions before.

A loud grumbling cut through the serene moment, and the feline glared at the suspect. Sighing and putting a paw on his empty stomach, Zachary glanced around the camp in search for any means of nourishment

.

When he noticed that all the deer were gone, the leopard looked at Basajaun and Snowflake with a crestfallen expression. For a few moments, he simply stared at his companions, snorting quietly before heaving a disappointed sigh.

Moving through the campsite with quiet steps to avoid waking anyone, Zachary eventually found the plate of venison on the ground. His mouth watering at the sight, the famished leopard quickly snatched his din--

Breakfast with a small smile on across his muzzle. As his fur on his face was stretched by the motion, Zachary could feel the deer's clotted blood tear at his yellow coat. Putting a paw on his face and trying to get rid of the smeared blood from himself, the leopard realized that it was to no avail.

Sitting down on the grass, the feline watched in silence as the sun rose higher and higher over the horizon. He dig in his food with gusto, sating his craving hunger with the cold meat and chewing thoughtfully.

As he ate, Zachary perked up his ears as heard movement from behind him. Turning back with a cocked eyebrow and full mouth, the leopard gave sight when he noticed Esmeralda coming out of her tent.

He held up his bloodied right arm in greeting, while his blood-smeared muzzle broke into a sheepish smile. Turning back ahead, he continued eating his breakfast, remaining silent as he chewed and marveled at the beautiful sight the rising sun provided.

"Well, you're up surprisingly early," Esmeralda greeted, moving to stand next to the leopard and giving him a warm smile, "Did you find what you were looking for out there?"

Zachary shrugged. "I certainly found something that helped." he replied, looking up at the Elder with a small smile, "But I'm not sure it's what I was looking for... let's just say that it showed me how to look at things from a different perspective. That's enough for me."

The owl placed her hand on Zachary's shoulder. "Sometimes that's all we need," Esmeralda assured the feline, before giving the blood in his fur a poke, "You might want to get that out. You look like you got into a fight with a bear." Walking to her bags, the Elder dug through them until she found what she was looking for. "Here," she offered, tossing the leopard what looked like a brush with stiff bristles, "I use that for when Snowflake gets things caught in her mane, when she has one. It should work well enough on you."

Catching the brush in his paws, Zachary's face fell for a moment and he looked out in the plains numbly. "I would rather fight off five bears at once than go through that experience from yesterday ever again..." the leopard stated, pulling the brush over his bloodied fur a couple of times, "I haven't felt this ashamed of myself since Boldrumton..."

Pausing in her activities, the Elder looked over to Zachary. "I know I'm not the most comforting person to talk to," Esmeralda admitted, "But if you want to talk about what happened, I could try to be more comforting than usual."

Raising an eyebrow at the Elder's offer, the leopard hesitated for a moment, before heaving a sigh. "Alright." Zachary replied, gathering his thoughts as he began reciting yesterday's events and problems from start to finish.

He told her about his fruitless first hunting, and how long he tried to find anything to return with, yet failing to do so nonetheless. He told her how he felt when he arrived back at the camp. The sheer feeling of utter uselessness was something he could not cope with. He spoke of the pain and sadness he felt from Basajaun's words, and how much it angered him at that time.

When the part of his departure from the camp and encounter with the deer and its infant came, Zachary's voice began to weaken. His throat tightened as he told Esmeralda about the whole experience and how furious he felt, and how much he wanted to prove himself. He spoke of his success in finding a prey, and the accomplishment he felt for being able to bring the animal down.

"I was about to end its life... so it wouldn't suffer anymore when..." Zachary's breath caught in his throat. He was unable to continue for several long moments, but eventually found his voice once again.

"The deer's infant appeared out of nowhere... it... it stood its ground against me, not leaving its mothers side. The look on its face... Esmeralda... I just couldn't do it," the leopard wiped something from his eye, "That little creature must have been only a week old... but wanted to protect its mother with all its might. I can still remember the fear and confusion in its eyes as it stared at me... into my soul."

"That little infant... it reminded me of myself. It was just as tiny, weak and irrelevant as me. And yet, it used its body as a shield against me... against my sword... just like I have when I stood in front of that tortoise's arrow yesterday." Zachary looked up at the Esmeralda with a hopeful smile, his eyelids brimmed with tears.

"I realized that no matter how useless... or weak I was, I would always protect the ones I loved, even if it cost my life. I suppose I needed an infant's help to understand... that it didn't matter how worthless I was, I would still try to make a difference. And that I would keep going, as long as I had someone worth fighting for." The leopard glanced back at the two sleeping dragons for a moment, heaving a sigh.

"At the end, I let the deer go," Zachary carried on, shaking his head, "I felt so ashamed of myself for causing so much pain to a creature just because I was angry at myself... and because of the stupid idea that I had something to prove." The leopard finished his monologue with a sigh, sniffling a little as he stared at the rising sun.

There was a pause as Esmeralda finished dismantling her tent. "You aren't worthless," the Elder insisted with a somewhat angry expression, as though the thought of anyone considering the feline useless was inherently offensive, "Yes, you aren't the strongest fighter. You don't have magic or wings to fly. But take a moment to look around you. And then ask yourself; who's the one that brought these four individuals together?" Snowflake and Basajaun had awoken during the leopard's retelling of the previous night's events, watching as the owl attempted to comfort their friend.

Zachary snorted, shaking his head. "Yes, it's my fault." he stated, "If it wasn't for me and my past, Basajaun wouldn't have needed to leave his home. I brought trouble to him... and that's why he had to completely abandon his life." the leopard glanced up at Esmeralda with a regretful expression, "I have no idea why Basa doesn't hate me for that... I would deserve it."

"No!" Basajaun shouted, getting to his feet and walking unsteadily to Zachary's side, "No, you don't. Look at me, Zach." The drake gently lifted his friend's face to meet his gaze and continued, "I did have to leave my territory, but... I'm not sad about it. I mean, I was at first, to tell the truth. And then, you made me stop in Plainstead in give the people a chance. Zachary, if it weren't for you, I would still be on my own, living my life without knowing how miserable I really was without someone to keep me company."

The dragon pulled his friend into his soft embrace. "I could never hate anyone for showing me the kindness in people's hearts," Basajaun affirmed resolutely, "You lead me to where I am today; in the company of friends, not isolated in a burrow. Hatred for such a thing would be madness. No... for what you've done, you only have my sincerest gratitude."

Zachary hesitantly returned Basajaun's embrace, each of his kind words sending pulses of warmth through the sorrowful leopard's heart. Although still feeling hurt from his best friend's remark from yesterday, the feline couldn't help but relish the comfort the hug provided for him. He needed that hug.

"I thought you were sleeping..." the leopard mumbled from the depths dragon's embrace before looking up with tearful eyes and a wide grin on his face, "Apparently I haven't shown you enough yet, silly dragon. I was talking with Esmeralda, it's rude to cut through other people's conversation." Zachary stated with a teasing tone, sniffling a little as he let out a weak giggle.

"It's hard to sleep through a friend's heartache," Basajaun said, his own voice more comforting than teasing as he looked over to Esmeralda, "I didn't mean to interrupt, by the way. I just had to make sure my feelings were known." The drake patted Zachary's head, hugging him once more.

As the pair embraced, Snowflake joined their side and nuzzled the leopard's face. "Mistress thought I might be making you feel like you're not a good hunter," the spirit said as Basajaun translated for her, "I didn't mean to... I'm sorry. I was only trying to help."

Growling in frustration that his point didn't make it across, Zachary put a paw on his forehead and shook his head. "I wasn't angry at you, Snowflake..." the leopard reassured the spirit, sighing, "I was angry at myself for failing miserably to catch anything other than a few twigs while the two of you returned with more things than I could hunt in a whole day." laughing as he explained, the leopard added with a smile, "But you should have seen the way I brought down that bush! Do you know how hard it is to hit a stationary target from three steps afar?" The leopard inquired with an ironic tone, cocking an eyebrow at the spirit.

Snowflake didn't know how to respond to that, simply giving the feline a reassuring smile before moving to her mistress to be saddled. "Alright, let's get moving," the Elder prompted, pointing to Basajaun's saddle, "The early bird gets the worm, after all."

The familiar's face suddenly brightened. "Birds!" Snowflake cried out happily, looking to Zachary with a smile, "I can't catch birds on my own!" Confused by the statement, it took a moment for either Basajaun or Esmeralda to translate for Zachary.

Raising his eyebrows, the leopard looked back at the spirit with a confused expression. "Uh... so? I can't catch them either... they're usually too high up in the sky for me to hit them from the gro--" Zachary stopped, blinking for a few seconds as the realization of what the spirit had meant hit him.

"Am I thinking what you're thinking...?" The feline asked fearfully, glancing at the ice dragoness' wings and swallowing the lump in his throat.

Snowflake flapped her wings excitedly. "Birds are a lot more maneuverable in the air than I am at this size," the ice spirit stated with an eager smile, Esmeralda translating the words that Basajaun didn't know yet, "They can usually dodge me when I try catching them. But with your bow, I think you and I could catch some fowl if we work together!"

Looking to Zachary, Basajaun smiled. "Hey, you and I tried mounted archery before," the drake assured his friend, "And it turned out pretty well. How different could flying archery be?"

Slowly turning his head towards his friend, Zachary could only open and close his mouth at the dragon's utterly foolish question. "Do you know... how long it took me to hit a target I wanted, which was stationary and close to me, and there wasn't the slightest breeze affecting my arrow's path?" The leopard asked, not even waiting for his friend to comprehend the question before answering it himself.

"A whole month! And I practiced every single day!" Zachary stated with wide eyes, shaking his head at the dragon, "Mounted archery is the most difficult way of handling a bow, because you have to take into consideration the creature under you, how fast it moves, how fast your target is moving, whether or not he leans slightly to the right or the left, the rushing of the wind, as well as the constant feeling of getting jostled around by your mount's gait... Let's just say that there are a lot of variables." The leopard sighed, rolling his eyes.

"And when we tried mounted archery, you were standing still, or walking very slowly and carefully." he stated, gesturing at Snowflake's wings before continuing, "Now, think how many variables are with flying archery... which doesn't even exist, to be honest. It's completely different, and most likely almost impossible to execute. Unless the archer and mount are both extremely skilled, and can understand each other's every move and work together as one."

With a disappointed expression, Snowflake sighed and gave Zachary a pleading look. "Can we at least try?" she asked, Basajaun translating this time.

Glancing back at the ice dragon with an uncertain look on his face, the leopard nodded eventually. "Y-Yeah... " he replied, giving a small smile to Snowflake before his expression shifted to a serious one, "But I demand a saddle that guarantees complete and absolute security! If I'm not secured tightly against your back, I won't be able to aim properly..." The leopard explained, shaking his head a little. Why had he agreed to this?

Esmeralda laughed at the feline's words. "You act like my saddle doesn't have that," the old witch retorted, reaching her hand under her familiar's saddle and pulling out several straps, "Flying was one of my favorite means of travel, back in my day. Snowflake was a winged horse at the time, rather than a dragon, but the saddle will work nonetheless."

Smiling, the Elder looked over to Zachary. "It's probably best if you get accustomed to riding Snowflake if you two want to try this," Esmeralda continued, beckoning the leopard over, "So why don't we switch mounts for today, hm?"

The thought made Basajaun hesitate, looking to his feline friend. "Well," he mumbled, not exactly relishing the thought of giving the witch a ride, "I guess I'm alright with that if you are, Zach."

Standing up and shrugging, Zachary used the comb Esmeralda had given him to extract the last pieces of clotted blood from his fur, hissing a little as he had to tug on it forcefully. "Yeah, sure. Dragon and a dragon, doesn't make too much difference I suppose..." the leopard replied as he finished with fancying his fur. Leaning to close Basajaun's ear, he continued with a whisper.

"I'm already missing your softness. Have fun with the bird." he said with a chuckle, patting the dragon's head in sympathy and pulling away.

"Alright, let's get going, then." Zachary proposed, moving to retrieve Frostbite and his all his bow equipment, as well as his lute from Basajaun's saddlebags before making his way towards Snowflake.

Nuzzling the leopard as he approached, Snowflake knelt down for him as he mounted her, Basajaun doing the same for Esmeralda once she had taken a few books from her saddlebags.

Soon they were on the road again. Surprisingly, even though she didn't have the plush softness of Basajaun, Snowflake's experience with being ridden allowed her to move in such a way as to make for a very smooth and comfortable ride. It almost seemed like the spirit was holding still while the landscape moved past her, rather than the other way around.

Looking back to her rider, Snowflake gave a questioning expression as she asked, "How does riding feel? Am I jostling you too much?" Esmeralda translated for her familiar as she read.

Shaking his head, Zachary patted Snowflake's neck tenderly. "No, not all." he replied, giving a toothy grin and a wink to the familiar before continuing with a slightly louder and mocking tone, "In fact, it feels a lot smoother and comfortable riding you than Basa!" The leopard stated, snickering a little. Although the statement was meant as a joke, there was a slight amount of craving in the feline's heart to get back at his friend for his comment just the day before.

"Hey, you know I'm right here, don't you?" Basajaun mock whined at the joke, smiling lightheartedly, before looking back to Esmeralda, "How about you? Are you riding well?"

The owl looked up to the drake with an incredulous expression. "Let's just say you could use some lessons in giving a smooth ride," the Elder stated flatly, before smiling, "Though I do admit that your plushiness is quite nice, Fatty!" The name wasn't meant as an insult by now, and Basajaun picked up on the fact that it was becoming more of a term of endearment.

Grinning, the reptile nodded. "See why Zach, Snowflake, and I enjoy it so much?" Basajaun asked rhetorically, eliciting a nod from the Elder.

Zachary smiled warmly at the dragon's question, remembering the first time he realized just how amazing the reptile's soft flesh felt beneath his paws. The memory reminded the leopard of the absence of the six deer in the morning. Glancing back at Basajaun, the leopard could no longer tell whether or not the dragon had gained more weight, so deep the fat had gotten on his body.

"How was the deer yesterday, by the way?" The feline asked casually, turning away from his friend to look at the road ahead of them.

Basajaun hesitated somewhat before answering. "Well, it was good," he replied, the thought causing him to take note of how his new weight pulled at his body, "But I think it would have been better if you had joined us. I missed your enthusiasm last night!"

Snowflake glanced back with a questioning expression. "N-not that there was anything wrong with... the slower approach," the drake stammered, his face burning, "It was good, but I... and Zach, he... I'm going to shut up now..."

Raising an eyebrow, Zachary cocked his head slightly as he glanced at the dragon he was currently riding. "So... Snowflake helped you with the food while I was sleeping?" The leopard asked with a thoughtful expression, sighing before lying on his back in the saddle. He didn't talk for a few seconds, simply staring up in the sky before continuing.

"I'm glad there was someone else there to help you with that, hope you two had fun." The feline stated, sitting up once more and forcing a small smile on his muzzle as he looked back at Basajaun.

"We did," the drake smiled back as he answered, "But I think it would have been more so with you there."

Nodding with a grin, Zachary waved a paw. "We can make up for it tonight, if you'd like." the leopard proposed with a wink, patting the familiar's neck, "You might as well get to taste some bird meat. If we can catch something with Snowflake, that is. Let's hope that my hunting will be more fruitful than yesterday..."

The familiar glanced back with an eager smile. "Does that mean you're ready to try flying?" she asked, Basajaun translating when he noticed that his rider was focused on her reading.

Hesitating for a moment, Zachary shrugged eventually. "Sure... if you'd like. Let me get ready first." Pulling the straps close to himself, the leopard quickly secured himself tightly to the spirit's saddle, smiling widely when he could feel his whole lower body moving along with Snowflake's steps.

Putting the quiver on his back and filling it with all his arrows, Zachary tightened his grip on his bow as he could feel himself getting more and more tense. It had been a while since he flew on Basajaun's back, and even then, the two were travelling and not dancing through the sky to catch some birds.

"Alright... I'm ready." The leopard announced after gathering his strength to say that sentence. He looked back to Basajaun, extending his arm towards his friend with a fearful expression. "Catch me if I fall, will ya?" Fluttering his eyes and turning back with a snicker, Zachary sighed and patted Snowflake's neck softly, indicating that he was ready for takeoff.

Chiming happily, Snowflake bounded forward, flapping her wings twice to get airborne. The spirit took her time with climbing higher, making wide circles around their two grounded companions. "Everything holding together?" she asked, before remembering that they didn't have a translator with them. Looking back, the dragoness pointed her snout at the straps, and then looked to Zachary questioningly.

"Whaaaat?!" The currently terrified leopard inquired with a shout as the wind flew past him. Realizing what Snowflake meant after her gesture, Zachary nodded. Glancing down at the ground for the first time since their liftoff, the feline's fear was replaced with the feeling of excitement as he marveled at the sight.

"Hey, Basa!" Zachary called down with a wide grin, waving his bow in the air for a few moments. It looked like the leopard was back to his usual joyous self, which had taken a few hard hits in the last couple of days.

Looking up to the leopard, Basajaun smiled when he saw his friend's expression. Glancing at his own wings, however, his face soon fell as he trudged forward. He didn't say anything, sure that it would cause the owl on his back to make the same suggestion that she had before, instead using a wing to wave back at the leopard.

In the sky, Snowflake was smiling happily, her wings tinkling softly as they flapped. Now that she had been assured of her rider's security, the dragoness steepened her ascent slightly, soon at the altitude used by the birds they were aiming to eventually hunt.

Concentrating, the ice spirit raised a forelimb and spoke a word in her bell-like language. What appeared to be a single snowflake shot forward from her claw, growing until it was the size of a horse and maintaining a position ahead of the flying pair. Turning back to her rider, Snowflake looked to his bow, and then nodded to the large crystal that floated ahead of them.

Nodding as he got the hint, Zachary drew an arrow from his quiver in a single motion, mounting the bolt on the bony bow's string. Inhaling and narrow his eyes as he looked at the target, the leopard attempted to aim. The beating of the dragon's wings cause her body to jostle the archer's aim up and down, and for a second, Zachary glanced at the ice dragon with a hopeless expression. He was about to speak, when a thought crossed his mind.

Closing his eyes for a moment and sighing, the leopard gave a fiercely determined look to Snowflake. "I'm going to try something, don't freak out." he said, staring deeply into the familiar's crystal blue eyes, "Trust me."

Reaching for the straps, Zachary gathered all his willpower to do what he was about to. Resolute to go with his decision, the leopard loosened the straps around his body. Almost instantly, he could feel his body slowly lifting away from the saddle. To his relief, the widened straps prevented him from going any further, and also granting him more space to move.

Securing both of his feet tightly in the saddle's stirrups, the leopard lifted slowly extended his legs to the point where he was almost standing up. Taking a moment to calm his ever increasing fear, the leopard began adjusting his body's movement to the beating of Snowflake's wings.

Deadening the up and down movement the familiar's flying caused by flexing his legs simultaneously with the motion, Zachary was able to slowly pick up the pace at which the ice dragon was beating her wings. Soon enough, his upper body was completely still, while his lower parts perfectly moved together with the spirit's.

Grinning widely as he was stable, Zachary mounted his arrow once again. Only taking a single second to aim, the leopard let go of the bolt. The arrow flew through the air with great speed, seemingly unaffected by the wind. To his utter surprise, it hit the large target directly in the middle.

Laughing loudly and thrusting his arms in the air, the leopard let out a victorious roar. Still practically standing up while Snowflake kept flying, Zachary glanced at the ground with a grin that endangered to split his head in half.

"Did you see that, Basa?! I hit it! While flying!" The feline practically exploded with joy as he continued celebrating his accomplishment with an ecstatic expression on his face.

Unable to hear his friend, Basajaun nonetheless watched with a smile on his face, just able to make out the arrow hitting the target. Extending his wings, the dragon waved again with both limbs.

Giving her own pleased grin, Snowflake beckoned the target closer, taking the arrow from it and handing it back to her rider. "Good job!" the spirit congratulated, hoping her tone and expression would get the message across.

Waving her arms, the target reset its position, this time moving in a slight figure eight ahead of the flying pair, rather in a fixed point relative to them. Looking back, Snowflake gave her rider a good-natured challenging expression.

Hesitating for a moment as he watched the target fly through the air, Zachary nodded with a smile. "Let's see what I can do..." the leopard said under his breath, inhaling deeply as he mounted the same arrow he had used just some moments ago. Taking a moment to adjust his lower body's movements to Snowflake's motion, soon the archer's upper part was balanced once again.

He looked at the large snowflake as it danced around in front of him, taking his sweet time to aim. After a few moments of observing the target's path, Zachary noticed something strange. The snowflake seemed to be following a consistent pattern, going on the same exact track each time it completed its route.

Smiling widely at the realization, it took the leopard not more than a moment to predict where the target would be in the next second. Letting his arrow go and and exhaling at the same time, the bolt once again hit in the center.

Once again congratulating the leopard, Snowflake drew in the target and returned the arrow to Zachary again. The spirit bore an impressed expression, before another challenging grin crossed her face. Gesturing over the target, it moved to take its place once more.

Suddenly, the target broke apart into small fragments, before the shards of ice coalesced into a flock of ten goose-shaped birds. The targets moved in such a way that, if it weren't for their frosty white appearance, they would have been indistinguishable from ordinary geese.

"Try that!" Snowflake challenged, her tone showing that she was obviously having fun with this "game".

Only able to blink with wide eyes at the targets for several second, Zachary's expression became focused once more. "You are not making it easy, you know." The leopard grumbled as he mounted the same arrow on the string in the third row.

Narrowing his eyes as he observed the flock of icy shards flying through the air, the leopard was able to recognize their formation. The herd of targets remained in a constant structure, which reminded Zachary of the letter 'V'.

With the white shards being a lot smaller than his previous targets, the feline had to take more time to adjust his aim. Once completely sure that his aiming wouldn't be affected by Snowflake's constant moving under him, the leopard's gaze settled on the first fragment of ice.

He focused and inhaled deeply, feeling as the rushing wind rustled the fur all over his body. Catching a particularly good opening to take his shot, Zachary didn't hesitate. The arrow glided through the air with high velocity, giving a whistling sound as it flew straight towards the leopard's target.

The tip of the bolt collided with the small remnant, but slided off from the smooth surface, this time not drilling its way deep into the crystal. Watching with a sorrowful expression as his arrow fell towards the ground, Zachary looked at Snowflake, pouting. "I still hit it..."

As Zachary turned away, the ice bird he had hit dove down, catching the arrow that hit it and flying back up, landing on the front of the saddle with the arrow in its "beak". "I know far-hunter's whistling-stingers are important, so I'll try to catch them for you!" Snowflake explained, having too much fun to care whether or not her rider understood her at the moment. After the first target handed the arrow back, it returned to its spot in the formation.

Shaking his head as a way of letting the dragoness know that he had no clue what she just said, the leopard took his arrow with a wide smile nonetheless. Seeing the icy bird return to its formation, Zachary sighed and could only chuckle at Snowflake's determination to keep going.

"Alright. Let's see how many shots I will miss!" The leopard invited with a toothy grin, popping the bones in his shoulders as he rotated them around. With a resolute expression, Zachary mounted his arrow once more.

The training continued for more hours, Snowflake seemingly enjoying the experience to its fullest extent, and Zachary sharing the feeling just the same. As the leopard kept hitting his targets one by one, he felt more and more accomplished by his ability to handle his bow on this level. After yesterday's events, he really needed that confidence boost. The impression of his uselessness was slowly but surely diminished as the increasingly smaller were shot down each time he drew an arrow.

With the leopard's self-confidence steadily rising from its ashes, continued the escalation of the target practice's difficulty just the same. After a while, Snowflake began breaking off the icy shard's formation, simply letting the fragments drift across the sky in completely random directions, changing velocity and height. But no matter how much zigzagging or evading the shards were doing, they couldn't escape Zachary's deadly precise arrows. The targets dropped down from the skies in turns as the archer leopard continued putting his bolts in them one by one, never once missing a shot.

Surprise came when Snowflake began moving the shards to Zachary's sides, forcing him to turn his upper body and aim sideways. The leopard could only stare in surprise as his arrow sailed past his target. Although the arrow was close to nailing the shard, the feline had missed his first shot.

Grumbling in frustration, the leopard was quick to realize what happened. Since his arrows weren't flying towards the rushing wind, they were simply blown away by the force it applied to them, affecting its path to direct in the way the air was blowing. With that knowledge in his possession, the leopard was able to figure out how much he had to aim ahead of his target to hit, even with the wind affecting his arrow's path from sidewards.

Zachary let out a proud snort when his bolt hit the flying shard completely in its centre, feeling his ruined self-assurance returning to him as he continued hitting the targets. Even when Snowflake directed the fragments of ice to sail over his head, or even under the dragoness herself, the leopard was able to drill his arrows in the bodies of the remnants. No matter what she came up with anymore, the leopard's aim would always come out victorious as the training slowly neared the three hour mark.

The longer he watched his friends having fun in the sky, the more downtrodden Basajaun began to feel, his wings subconsciously moving up and down slightly as he looked up in the air. 'That's it, I'm going to fly again if it kills me,' the dragon thought to himself, nodding at the resolution.

"Alright, I think it's time that you two came down," Esmeralda said, her voice not even raised as she seemed to be addressing Snowflake. Looking back to the old owl, Basajaun wondered if she had finally started to go senile as she talked to someone that couldn't possibly hear her voice.

Unknown to Basajaun, the ice spirit in the sky nodded, recalling the shards of ice into her body and angling downward.

Sensing Snowflake's sudden change of direction, Zachary had to force himself down onto the dragoness' back. The loosened belts might have provided a lot of possibilities for more precise archery, but they certainly weren't helping that much when it came to simple flying as the leopard tried clinging to the familiar's body with all his might to avoid getting jostled around.

When Snowflake landed on the ground gracefully, the leopard sighed in relief, letting his arms drop to his sides. While the loosened belts had been simply unnoticable from a distance, it wasn't the case now as the results of leopard's dangerous decision to relax the straps were clearly displayed for both the Elder and Basajaun. Zachary didn't even realize how badly this could have ended for him if he wasn't so lucky.

"Er, Zach, did you notice the straps loosening?" Basajaun asked with a concerned tone, "Because they seem a little looser to me."

Esmeralda folded her arms, giving Zachary and Snowflake both a stern look. "I know you wouldn't be foolish enough to loosen the straps deliberately just for some target practice," the Elder said, her tone showing that she very much suspected that this was the case. The owl's gaze made Snowflake shrink inwards slightly as she gave a sheepish smile.

Lowering his ears to his head and giving a similar expression, Zachary put a paw on Snowflake's neck protectively. "It was my idea. Snowflake had nothing to do with it." The leopard stated with a resolute expression, looking absolutely willing to take all the blame from the displeased Elder.

"But it worked!" Zachary continued, grinning sheepishly, "I wouldn't have been able to hit anything if I hadn't loosened them. I was jostled around by Snowflake's movement way too much under me to aim properly." He explained with a small smile, patting the familiar under him and looking at Esmeralda with an apologetic expression.

Glaring for a moment, the Elder heaved a relenting sigh. "Fine, if that's what it takes," she said, returning to her books, "It's nice to see you're not out of practice, Snowflake."

The familiar nodded as Basajaun looked to Esmeralda. "How did she hear you call her back?" the dragon asked, "You didn't even shout!"

The owl waved a talon dismissively. "Snowflake and I have spent so much time together that we've formed an empathic bond," she explained, not lifting her gaze from her book, "It's part of what makes her my familiar, rather than just my friend. That and her being my magical mentor."

Nodding, Basajaun turned to give Zachary a smile. "Very nice shooting up there, by the way!" the drake said, bearing an impressed tone, "You're amazing with that bow!"

The feline smiled warmly at the compliment. "Thanks, I tried my best!" he said, before furrowing his brows, "But I still missed one shot... so I guess I still have some practicing to do." Zachary mused, turning to Esmeralda after a few moments of looking lost in thought.

"Elder Eszes," the leopard began, cocking his head slightly to the right, "Is it possible for me and Basa to form an... Er... empathic bond as well? And if yes, how can we do it? And how much time would it take for that bond to form? Does Basa have to be a magical mentor for me as well?" Zachary practically bombarded the old witch with his questions, suddenly looking rather intrigued about the topic of magic and familiars.

Esmeralda looked up from her book, giving the feline a smile. "The kind of empathic bond Snowflake and I possess forms naturally over time between a spirit and their closest friends, so it's not just going to happen for you and Basajaun," the witch explained, leaning back a bit in the drake's saddle, "There are artificial ways to invoke such a bond, but the two of you would have to do it yourselves. And I've never heard of a dragon using magic before; I don't even know if they can."

Heaving a disappointed sigh, Zachary looked back at Basajaun with an expression that looked like the dragon had hurt him somehow. "Thank you very much for being a dragon, Basa. Now we can't form that... bond or whatever." the leopard said, pouting, "We could have been so cool!"

Turning away from his friend with an exaggerated huff, the feline mumbled something under his breath about silly dragons and how good of a chance they had missed with Basajaun.

"Hey, she didn't say we couldn't!" Basajaun replied in a tone of faux hurt, "She said she didn't know if we could."

Smiling at the teasing banter, Esmeralda nodded. "You could very well be capable of the artificial version of Snowflake and I's empathic bond," she admitted, though her expression was unsure, "Of course, that's assuming you two even have an interest in learning magic, which is what one uses to form such a bond."

Whipping his head back in a single and fast motion, and causing the bones in his neck to pop, Zachary stared with wide eyes at the Elder. "What if I said that I wa-- we were interested?" the leopard asked with a hopeful expression, perking his ears up in eagerness, "Could you... perhaps... teach us about magic?"

The Elder paused, her talon tapping her book. "Well... I suppose I could," she answered after a moment, looking down to her bags, "Not everyone has a natural talent for magic, so it might take you years to learn your first spell, or it might take you a single lesson. Still interested?"

Basajaun nodded. "I'm always up for learning new skills," the dragon said, a smile crossing his face as he looked Zachary, "What about you, Zach?"

Nodding so vehemently as to risk losing his head from the quick motion, Zachary looked at the Elder with a wide grin. "More than ever!" he replied enthusiastically, his tail swishing back and forth behind him in excitement, "When are we starting?"

"Snowflake, would you get Zachary the book containing the lessons you taught me?" the owl requested.

Nodding, the familiar used her wing to reach into one of her saddlebags, retrieving the book and handing it to Zachary with a smile. "That has basic lessons about magic in the beginning," Esmeralda informed the leopard, "And moves on to advanced ice magic. Glaciomancy is Snowflake and I's specialty if you haven't noticed."

Taking the dark blue book from the familiar's claws with wide eyes, Zachary ran a finger over the bold, icy patterns which adorned its edges, giving the impression as if it were frozen. After a few seconds of marveling at the book, the leopard looked up at the Elder with a warm smile.

"Thank you," he said in a sincere tone, opening the book and flipping through the pages before continuing, "So... I'll be able to use magic if I read this? It's that simple?"

Laughing, Esmeralda shook her head. "Probably not!" she answered, still giggling a little, "That'll teach you how magic works, though. Like a manual on how to wield a sword, reading it isn't going to make you a master, but it will give you a better grasp of the basics."

Looking to the book with a curious eye, Basajaun glanced back to the owl on his back. "What about me?" the drake asked.

"You get to keep your eyes on the road and continue walking," Esmeralda stated, patting her mount's fleshy neck, "You'll get your turn with my books at camp."

Heaving a disappointed sigh, Basajaun's eyes returned to the road. "I could tell you what's in the book," Snowflake said, giving the reptile a friendly nuzzle, "I remember everything in it." His expression brightening, Basajaun nodded enthusiastically.

Nodding at the Elder's answer, Zachary quickly flipped to the first page before looking back to Basajaun with a smile. "Don't worry, bud. I got you." The leopard said with a warm smile before his gaze settled on the letters in the book and he began reading out loud.

"Basics of magic, first part; Introduction to energies." Zachary raised an eyebrow at the subtitle, looking up to Esmeralda with a confused expression for a second before he continued reading.

With a sudden novel interest in mind, the leopard delved into the basics of magic with seemingly endless eagerness as he kept studying and scanning through the pages of the book without stopping once. With Zachary too lost in his excitement to learn, he didn't even detect how fast time was going. Minutes slowly turned into hours of reading, the ambitious leopard simply lost and determined to gather as much knowledge from the mysterious book as he could.

It was only well in the evening when Zachary began noticing how weak his voice had gotten from having to read out loud, as well as the unpleasant feeling in his eyes, which protested strongly against the leopard's dedication to continue reading.

"Alright..." he began, rubbing his sore eyes before reaching for his canteen and providing much needed liquid for his dry throat, "I think that was enough reading for now. My eyes are killing me!" Zachary stated with a chuckle, closing the book and looking up for the first time in hours.

"Oh... when did it get so late?" The leopard inquired with a confused expression as he noticed the sun already setting behind the horizon.

Laughing, Esmeralda pointed at her book. "While you were reading, and sending me on a very pleasant trip down memory lane," the owl answered, a nostalgic look still in her eyes as she dismounted the drake she rode. "Alright you three, you know the drill. I stay and set up camp, you go hunting."

Nodding as Esmeralda removed his saddle, Basajaun made to move off into the grasslands when he noticed that Zachary was staying near the Elder as she built the fire after unsaddling Snowflake. "Zach, are you coming?" the dragon asked quizzically.

Shaking his head and looking lost in thought, Zachary didn't even bother to look up at Basajaun as he spoke. "No, you two go hunting. Good luck." The leopard stated with a flat tone, mumbling something under his breath before quickly rushing to the book and opening it again. He flipped through the pages quickly, as if searching for something.

"I'll stay and read a little... more... about... this." Zachary managed to finish his sentence as his attention was focused increasingly on the text which he was reading. Obviously, the leopard was more than interested in the topic of magic.

Once more smiling at the leopard's enthusiasm, Snowflake and Basajaun moved off into the plains. After a moment, Esmeralda entered Zachary's field of view. "If you're going to stay, you could at least help me with setting up camp," the Elder said in a slightly commanding tone with her arms folded, apparently unenthused with doing all the work while a young person sat around.

Grumbling in annoyance, the feline put the book down, standing up and moving to help for the Elder. With the two of them working together, the fire and the Elder's tent was set up in less than ten minutes. Zachary immediately returned to his reading as he was finished with setting up the camp, burying his short snout in the pages.

'Spellcasting, basic spells...' The leopard read in his mind, a wide smile spreading across his muzzle as he finally found what he was looking for. Glossing over the text with surprising swiftness, Zachary remained completely unmoved for a long time as he memorized the contents of the page. Thankfully, the fire behind him provided enough light for the leopard to properly see the letters.

Suddenly closing the book, Zachary put it aside on the grass, sighing long as he recalled all the necessary instructions. He stood up on his feet and closed his eyes, not moving a single muscle as he concentrated. He disregarded everything around him, paying no heed to the way the wind rustled his fur or the soft crackling sound which emitted from the fire behind him. He focused all his senses and full focus on the top of his index finger on his right arm.

Inhaling deeply, the leopard slowly raised his arm and opened his eyes. With a delicate and careful motion, he pulled his finger across the air in front of him.

When a bright, fluorescent green light followed along on his finger's path, Zachary's eyes widened in utter surprise as he stared at the floating line in the air. Blinking in disbelief and double checking, the leopard could only gasp when he continued pulling his finger in the air, and finding himself staring at the same result once again.

"I... did I just...?" The leopard stammered, still not quite believing what just happened. Shaking his head a little when the floating line disappeared from his eyes, Zachary furrowed his brows. Closing his eyes and focusing on top of his index finger, the young anthro repeated the same motion once again.

"Oh... my..." Zachary managed to mumble out as the same bright, green light appeared from nothing under his finger's path. "Esmeralda!" The leopard called out joyfully, still staring at his creation with wide eyes, "I-I just drew my energy-line or whatever! This is amazing!" He stated with a laugh, drawing another fluorescent, glowing and green light through the air with ease.

"That's nice, Zachary," Esmeralda replied with mild disinterest, her beak in her own book, "After all, you have been--what did you just say?" The owl whipped her head up so fast she almost pulled something, staring at the leopard with a look of moderate disbelief.

Turning around with the widest grin he could manage, Zachary rushed to the Elder's side in a blink of an eye. "Look!" He said with a laugh, concentrating for a second before pulling his finger in the air in a circular motion.

The result was a shining green circle, which floated with seemingly no effort in front of the owl. Zachary looked at the Elder with an ecstatic expression, shaking his head in disbelief as well, still not quite ready to comprehend that he had casted a spell on his own.

Wide eyed, Esmeralda watched as the green circle faded away. "You did that on your first try?" the old witch breathed, seeming not quite able to comprehend what she was seeing, "On your own, without an instructor, just from reading the book?"

After a moment, the owl's expression changed to a subtle smile. "Well... that is truly something," the Elder stated with a clear tone of respect, which is something that she had yet to use while speaking with Zachary, "You, boy, are either insanely lucky, or you have the kind of magical talent that I could only dream of."

Zachary blinked, mouth agape with incredulity. He didn't respond for a few seconds, simply too dumbfounded by that statement to find his voice. "What do you mean...?" The leopard asked, shaking his head in confusion and wondering if the Elder was serious at the moment.

"I just followed the instructions written in the book after finding a very easy and simple spell... Here, look," Zachary retrieved the item in question, handing it to Esmeralda after finding the spell he had just used and pointing a finger on the text, "It's just beginner magic. It's not hard to execute this spell for a newcomer in the fields of sorcery... all you have to do is follow the instructions, right...?" The leopard inquired, quite convinced that the old witch exaggerated with her earlier comment.

Blinking for a few seconds, the old owl looked between the book and Zachary for a moment. "When you were reading the beginning of the book, do you remember it saying what the difference was between manipulating existing things and creating new ones?" Esmeralda asked softly, flipping to the page in question and reading a segment aloud, "A mage should begin with the manipulation of light, easily movable objects to familiarize themselves with the magical process. Do not become discouraged if this takes several attempts, as it can take weeks for one to figure out how to access one's magical ability."

Looking up briefly, Esmeralda held up her talon for Zachary to wait as she found the next section. "Once you have become confident in your ability to access and maintain your magical energies," the Elder continued, her gaze flicking up periodically to watch the leopard's face, "Then you may move on to creation magics, such as the Energy Line spell detailed later on in this book." Closing the book, the owl watched the feline's reactions.

Staring into nothing for several long moments, Zachary glanced at the Elder with an unreadable expression, opening and closing his mouth as he was unable to find his words. "I... s-started with the wrong spell? I... must have skipped a page by accident." the leopard wondered aloud with a worried look on his face, "Is... that a bad thing? Did I do something incorrectly, or in the wrong order?" He asked from the Elder, apparently still not fully realizing what he had just done.

Esmeralda sighed, giving Zachary a small smile. "You didn't do anything wrong, so don't worry," the Elder reassured the feline, patting him on the shoulder, "But I want to see if this was just a fluke. So..."

Opening the book once more, the witch found the spell she was looking for. Reaching down, the Elder plucked up a blade of grass, holding it out to the leopard. "You're going to try to levitate this," Esmeralda ordered, handing Zachary the book as well, "And I'm going to watch you this time."

Taking the book with a confused expression and nodding, the feline quickly memorized the instructions for the levitating spell, closing the book once he was finished. "Alright... let's see..."

Closing his eyes and inhaling until his lungs were completely full, the leopard extended his arm towards the Elder's talon, hovering his paw over the grass with his palm facing it. His fingers spread out slowly, giving the impression as if Zachary was trying to hold onto something.

Exhaling and opening his eyes at the same time, Zachary began raising his paw with a slow and delicate motion, his fingers grabbing at the air as his palm rose further and further away from the blade of grass.

Almost instantly, the tiny, green haulm began vibrating softly in the Elder's talon. When the single blade of grass gently lifted in the air, Zachary gave a loud gasp as he watched it float with no effort whatsoever. Unbeknownst to the leopard, he missed an important step in the spell's instruction, namely intoning the required incantation, and yet, the casting was still a success.

"Wow..." Zachary voiced with wide eyes, moving his arm slightly to the right and smiling widely when the grass followed. He played around with the haulm in the air for some time, chuckling to himself lightly as he watched it follow his paw's commands.

Observing the floating grass for a moment, Esmeralda looked back to her pupil. "You didn't use the incantation," she stated, her eyes sparkling with excitement, "And it still worked!"

Snatching the book back from Zachary, the owl flipped to another spell. "Here, try this one!" the Elder ordered, clearly eager to see just what the leopard could do.

Pulling away his hand from the floating haulm, and resulting in the blade of grass to immediately drop on the ground, Zachary looked at the text containing the instructions for the spell Esmeralda had chosen. Furrowing his brows as he read through the paragraph, the leopard gave an uncertain expression. "This sounds kinda hard..." He admitted with a sheepish smile, but proceeded to attempt casting the spell nevertheless.

Picking up the haulm which had fallen on the ground, Zachary placed the green blade of grass on the center of his palm. Looking around him for a second as if searching for something, the leopard shrugged eventually, putting his index finger on his spotted fur, while his other paw still held the haulm.

Focusing all his senses and concentrating on his fur's pattern for long moments, Zachary pulled his finger away from his body, before touching the green blade of grass with it. The result was a sight to behold, as the previously green colored haulm began to slowly shift its coloration and pattern, only stopping once it was finished with the transformation completely.

Staring with wide eyes at the black spotted and yellow grass in his paw, the leopard's muzzle broke into a wide grin. "Here, a gift for you!" Zachary said with an utterly joyous chuckle, handing the former blade of grass, which now bore the same coloration and pattern like the leopard's fur, to the old witch.

Taking the grass, Esmeralda inspected the length thoroughly, before giving a wide grin. "First try again," the owl said with an obviously impressed tone, looking the leopard up and down as though seeing him for the first time, "I'm going to say it again, and this time with more certainty; you have talent, plain and simple."

Giving a grin as wide as his muzzle, Zachary began bouncing around with the enthusiasm of a child in front of the Elder, laughing ecstatically to himself. The hilarious scene continued for a few moments, before the leopard stopped suddenly, shaking his head for a moment.

"Ah... I'm feelin' dizzy..." the leopard reported, putting a paw on his forehead, "I need to... sit down for a moment..." With those words said, Zachary did just that, lowering himself on the grass and taking slow breaths. Feeling his lost energy return as he relaxed on the ground, the leopard began laughing happily once again. He felt like he was on top of the world at the moment.

Laughing lightheartedly, Esmeralda joined the leopard's side. "Don't worry, you'll build up some endurance after a while," the owl assured Zachary as she sat next to him, "Certainly more than I have at my age." The Elder seemed to regard the feline with a newfound respect as she sat smiling beside him.

"Who'd have guessed that you had such a profound natural ability for magic," the old witched mused aloud as she gazed into the fire, "It took me days to figure my way through that levitation spell, and you made it look like second nature."

Whipping his head to the old owl, Zachary gave her an utterly surprised expression. "Are you serious?" he asked with wide eyes, blinking in disbelief when the Elder nodded, "But I'm just following the spell's instructions... that's all I'm doing, really." Zachary explained, raising his paw in front of him and staring while slowly rotating it, as if trying to figure out its secrets.

"I..." Zachary began after a few seconds of examining his paw, turning back to Esmeralda with the warmest smile he could manage, "I want to say how thankful I am for giving me a chance," the leopard said, unable to resist the urge to quickly embrace the owl for the first time since the two had known each other, "I cannot even express my gratitude with words. I hope this will suffice."

Hugging the old owl close to his body and feeling her downy, soft feathers brush against his fur, Zachary pulled away from the embrace with a smile. "I haven't felt this thrilled and excited in a very long time... thank you, Esmeralda."

The Elder nudged the side of Zachary's face with her cane. "Next time you want a hug, warn me first," Esmeralda insisted, though her smile showed that she wasn't upset, "As for giving you a chance with magic, don't thank me yet. Now that I know you have talent, I'm going to drill as much magical knowledge into your head as I can. I'll be damned if I let a prodigy like you go to waste!"

Feeling both terrified and inspired by the Elder's words, Zachary could only nod his head slowly with a small smile. "I'm quite sure I'm going to regret saying this later... but I'll gladly take that offer!" He announced with a grin, his tail swishing behind him happily.

As if realizing something, Zachary's tail suddenly halted, and he cocked his head slightly to the side. "What about the close combat training?" he asked, "Am I going to have to do that alongside with my... er... magical training?"

Esmeralda nodded. "Absolutely," the Elder affirmed, looking to Zachary with a serious expression, "Mental endurance and physical endurance go hand in hand. You might not enjoy it as much as the magical part of training, but now more than ever, you're going to have to start exercising. And I'll be right there with you to get us both in shape."

Standing up, the owl extended her talon to her student. "Let's get that exercise started, shall we?" Esmeralda invited, with a wide and energetic grin across her face, "I'm not going easy on you anymore, by the way. You're going to start your real training, now!"

Zachary took the Elder's talon with a chuckle, shaking his head as he stood on his feet. "I'll go through anything if my reward is being able to learn more about magic." The leopard stated, nodding his head and giving Esmeralda a resolute expression.

"I haven't been this eager and enthusiastic about learning something since I started practicing archery. Give me all you have!" The leopard challenged with a wide grin, winking at the Elder.

Esmeralda did just that. The old owl was surprisingly sprightly during this night's training, apparently invigorated by Zachary's performance. The leopard quickly came to regret this, as the Elder seemed to have even less trouble dealing with the feline's blows than before.

Luckily, this increased poise meant that Esmeralda no longer struck back quite as painfully as she had, resorting to simply stating when a blow of hers would have gone through Zachary's guard. Her tone was goading, as though she was attempting to challenge the leopard forward to see how quickly he could improve.

Although Zachary's newest discovery of his magical potential boosted the leopard's confidence and eagerness exponentially, the same couldn't be said about the progress he was making in close combat. It just seemed like he couldn't grasp the concept of striking with his sword.

His slashes almost always went wide no matter how much, or how little, strength he used to strike at the Elder with. At first, the leopard simply blamed the owl's flawless execution of parrying and dodging his attempts to hit her. After a while, however, Zachary had to realize that the problem was with himself.

Fortunately, as bad as he was at attacking, the feline's defense brought more fruitful results. A few hours into the training, Zachary began figuring out the fine motions and precise predictions when it came to parrying and redirecting the Elder's blows. He was able to draw a great deal of help from his archery skills, since hitting an arrow at a moving target required one to be able to predict where it was going. The same could be applied to close combat, where knowing at which place the next strike was going to come was crucial.

A little disappointed at his inability to get the grasp of the offensive aspect of melee combat, Zachary's enthusiasm never left as he continued the exercise with the same determination he had started with.

Near the end of the usual half hour of training, Basajaun and Snowflake returned carrying a similar amount of food as the previous night. "Hey, we're back!" the drake called over the sounds of the anthro pair's sparring, eliciting a nod from Esmeralda.

"Alright Zach, that's enough for now," the owl stated. Though their first training session had tired the Elder, she still seemed to be full of energy after this one.

The leopard nodded, almost immediately dropping the branch he had used to practice with from his paws. Turning to look at the two dragons, Zachary gave the pair a wide smile, seemingly unaffected by the intense training he had just done.

"Hey, you two!" the feline greeted with an overly joyous tone, waving his paw at his friends vehemently, and being in a constant ecstatic mood for no apparent reason, "How was hunting?"

"Take a look," Basajaun replied, setting down the two bison he carried as Snowflake did the same, "There's a big herd in these plains. How was the book? Learn anything interesting?"

Zachary gave a toothy grin, then quickly wiped the expression from his face and shrugged. "Nah, not really." He said in a casual tone, closing his eyes for a split second before he began waving the index finger on his right arm in the air. The result was a zigzagging, green and fluorescent line which floated in front of the leopard without any support whatsoever.

The leopard continued waving his finger in the air, drawing random patterns in a single, continuous line as a wide smile began spreading across his muzzle. It was hard to stay in an act when one was as excited and joyous as Zachary was at the moment.

Caught off guard at first, Basajaun smiled widely as Snowflake stood dumbfounded, paused in the middle of skinning her catch. "Great job!" the dragon said, sincerely pleased in his friend's newly discovered ability. "I thought you said that learning magic was going to take more than just a night?" Basajaun asked as he turned to Esmeralda.

The owl bore a grin almost as wide as Zachary's. "Apparently your little friend is a natural spellcaster," the Elder responded looking over to Snowflake as the spirit shook her head in disbelief, "He cast all the novice level spells I threw at him on the first try. His talent is nothing short of amazing, in my book!"

Zachary's smile only grew wider from the Elder's words until it was threatening to split his head in half, he waved a paw dismissively. Feeling warm and pleasant pulses fill his whole body from the compliments, the leopard glanced back at the owl. "I don't think I've ever heard you praise me as much as you have in the last hour or so," he stated with a chuckle, "I could get used to it!"

Turning back to Basajaun, the leopard stopped drawing his energy line, a little afraid that it would drain too much of his energy. "And thank you, Basa." Zachary said with a sincere tone, giving his friend a warm smile as the green line slowly faded away into nothing.

Moving over to the leopard, his infectious enthusiasm moving to Basajaun as he nuzzled his friend's face. "So, magic's easy for you, eh?" he asked, internally relieved that Zachary had found a way to improve himself. He was becoming worried by the leopard's steadily declining mood.

Nuzzling Basajaun back and purring as he did so, Zachary shrugged with a small smile. "I suppose... after all, Esmeralda is saying so, and I'm not about to question her." the leopard leaned closer to his friend's ear, whispering as he added, "I seriously don't want to question her... I fear for my life too much."

Chuckling lightly and pulling away, the leopard patted his friend's neck tenderly. "Why don't you have a go at it as well? I'm sure you'll be just as good, if not better, as me." Zachary proposed, giving an encouraging stroke on the dragon's soft hide.

Smiling, Basajaun looked over to the witch that approached. "May I?" he requested, curious to see if he himself had any talent.

Esmeralda nodded. "Of course," she answered, retrieving her book and bringing it to the drake. "Here, we'll start with the right spell for a beginner, this time," the Elder stated, flashing a smile to Zachary as she opened up the page to the spell used for levitation of small objects, "You heard all the basics on the way here, so let's see what you can do with them."

Taking the book, Basajaun quickly read through the directions as Esmeralda picked another haulm of grass from the ground. "Alright, what am I casting this on?" the dragon said after a moment, before spotting the grass in the owl's hand and adding, "Oh." Taking a breath and concentrating on the blade of grass, Basajaun made a grasping motion towards the plant in the Elder's hands, intoning, "Levo!"

Nothing. The grass didn't even twitch. Confused, the dragon tried again, and once more after that. "Is there something I'm missing here?" Basajaun asked in a mildly disappointed tone, rereading the book.

"No, you're doing it right," Snowflake answered as she watched, cooking the food as the other three went about their magic lesson, "It just usually takes most people a while to access their magic. You might have a more average knack for magic than Spotted Hunter does."

Sighing disappointedly, Basajaun closed the book. "Oh well," the dragon mumbled, before looking up to Zachary with a small smile, "Looks like we finally found something that you're better at than I am, besides archery." Realizing how arrogant that sounded, Basajaun tried to correct himself, "Er, what I mean is... you've... I... blast it that was supposed to be a compliment!" The drake hit himself lightly on the forehead.

Laughing at his friend, Zachary shook his head with a warm smile. "Don't worry, bud, I know what you meant with it." he reassured Basajaun, patting the dragon's head, "Thank you, and don't get discouraged, Basa. Elder Eszes said that it can take even weeks for anyone to get a grasp at magic."

Giving a sheepish expression, Zachary waved a paw. "I just happen to be lucky enough to I have a little more... talent for spellcasting. You'll get it eventually, I know it!" The stated enthusiastically, trying to encourage his friend as much as he could.

"Thanks," Basajaun said sincerely, returning the book to its owner, "I have something else I'd like to focus on, though."

Looking back to his wings and flapping them feebly, Basajaun sighed. "I'll be a lot more useful to all of us once I can fly again," the drake stated resolutely as he turned back to Zachary and the others and announcing, "I'm going to be working on that for a while. Does anyone mind if I exercise my wings while dinner is being made?"

Opening his mouth for a second and raising a finger with a somewhat scared expression, Zachary eventually kept his feelings about the dragon's announcement to himself.

Shaking his head, the leopard gave his friend a small smile. "You do that, bud. Make sure you don't strain your wings too much, though." The leopard suggested in a mildly concerned tone, turning around and making his way towards the Elder.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine," the dragon affirmed, moving out into the hills.

Making to put her spellbook away, Esmeralda paused when she noticed the feline approaching. "Looking for more spells, young man?" the Elder asked, waving her book.

Zachary raised an eyebrow for a moment, surprised that Esmeralda knew exactly what his intention was. "Am I this predictable?" the leopard asked with a grin, nodding his head, "Yes, I'd like to read a little more... if it's possible." The feline fluttered his eyes at the Elder, giving her an adorable pleading expression reminiscent to something a kitten would do.

Laughing, Esmeralda shook her head. "You're going to wind up exhausting yourself if you try to do too much more tonight," the owl stated, an agreeing chime coming from her familiar, "You may read more, but don't try any more spells for now. It's not healthy for you, no matter how much talent you have."

Pouting, Zachary nodded. "Alright... I won't. I promise." he said in a mildly disappointed tone, knowing better than to question the Elder's advice. His expression changed to a joyous one as he continued.

"I just want to read more about magic in general. I'm really interested in the topic, if you haven't noticed," the leopard explained with a smile, "And I want to get good at it, truly." Extending his arm, Zachary held out a paw for what he wanted.

"Oh, in that case," the Elder said as she handed her spellbook over to Zachary, before turning and digging through her bags, "I have other books on the subject in here. That one's just my personal spellbook. Ah, here we go." Pulling out another three large books, Esmeralda turned and handed them over to the feline and said, "Have fun with those!"

Zachary groaned quietly as he took the heavy books, grinning widely nonetheless at the Elder. "Thank you!" Turning around and shuffling his way close to the fire, the leopard sat down and put the books aside on the grass.

Looking at the titles which were imprinted on the covers, Zachary put a finger on his chin in thought, his eyes shifting between the four books. Smiling and eventually picking the one on the far right, the leopard pulled his finger over the bold title, which looked like it was written with gold as it shone brilliantly, reflecting the image of the burning flames of the fire.

"Universal Magic for Sorcerers." The feline read the title out with a wide grin on his face, opening the book and burying his snout in the pages as he began reading with endless enthusiasm to learn more about his new favourite subject.

Meanwhile, out in the plains, Basajaun had picked a spot out of sight of the camp to begin his attempts at flying, so as not to draw unwanted laughter from failed attempts. In the middle of his seventh sprint across the hilly plains, Basajaun's wings beat furiously as he tried once again, not getting more than a minor amount of lift.

"Come on, wings," the drake growled frustratedly, feeling the muscles in his chest and wings beginning to burn from over exertion, "Come on!"

Jumping up as he sprinted, Basajaun only managed to flutter weakly down to the ground again. Suppressing an aggravated roar, the dragon stopped his sprint as he came to the end of the little valley he was using as a track, panting heavily and feeling his body wobble with the leftover momentum of his run.

'Blast it, wings' the dragon thought to himself as he flopped down on the grass tiredly, 'I know you don't have the best endurance, but you could be doing a lot better than this.'

'You could always lose the weight, you know,' Esmeralda's words echoed again through the drake's head, eliciting a snort as Basajaun almost dismissed the idea, until it started rolling around his mind and bringing up other thoughts.

The four were moving closer to their target, and the drake knew it. He also knew that, while the extra mass wasn't weighing him down, the extra volume on his body was definitely starting to trip him up. In a heated battle, that could prove deadly to him and his allies.

The thought wracked against Basajaun's mind as he looked back towards the campsite. His thoughts turned to Zachary, and the promises he had made to the leopard. He wanted to help his friend take care of the Boldrum issue, but the drake also wanted to provide the soft growth that Zachary had come to enjoy so much.

And now, it seemed like these goals were butting heads in Basajaun's mind. He had promised to do both, and yet as he thought, the drake began to wonder if he could do them at the same time. He couldn't go back on his word, his pride would not allow that, but with two duties now in apparent opposition, the dragon felt himself becoming torn.

Heaving a long sigh, the drake picked himself up and began running again, attempting to get the unpleasant train of thought out of his head. Yet as he began to beat his sore wings again, once more failing to lift off, the thoughts only grew more present at the front of his mind.

'I can't go back on a promise,' Basajaun told himself, his head starting to ache from the self-inflicted conundrum he had found himself in, 'I'll just do both. I know I can. If I could just get flying again, the extra bulk won't matter in the air. So come on wings, get me airborne!'

Flapping furiously, Basajaun crested one of the hills of the plains, the dragon kicked hard, leaping high into the air as his wings strained to pick up his weight. "Yes!" the drake cried out as he felt himself lifting up, only to feel his weight begin to drag him down again.

"No, no!" Basajaun roared angrily, gritting his teeth so hard he thought he would fracture a fang, "Lift up! Fly, Basajaun! Do it for Zachary!"

His cries were to no effect; the dragon fluttered in the air just a moment longer, before his fatigued wings gave out under the load that they could not carry. Landing hard enough to leave impressions of his feet and belly in the ground, Basajaun roared wordlessly in frustration, his claws tearing at the divots as though they were a deliberate attempt on the ground's part to offend him.

Panting again, the drake slowly sank to the ground as he regained his composure, looking back to his wings when he realized how painfully sore they had become from his exercise. Huffing in irritation, Basajaun stood and began to trudge slowly back towards the camp, knowing better than to try again.

While Basajaun struggled both physically and mentally with his inability to fly, Zachary's eyes never lifted up from the book even once. The leopard's mind scanned through the wall of texts with unbreakable determination, taking every little detail and information involving magic to heart. The reason behind the feline's resolution to learn as much as he could about the subject was simple, yet a difficult one to achieve.

He simply wanted to feel more useful. He wanted to become a valued member of his party, not someone the others had to pull after themselves like a dead weight that was only slowing them down. Although now knowing perfectly well that he was loved by his friends despite his shortcomings, he wanted nothing more than to be just as relevant as the rest of team. And Zachary's mind, there was only one way to achieve that.

'By becoming the best sorcerer Esmeralda had ever seen.' Zachary declared his goal with fiery passion. Now in the knowledge that he was talented in the arts of magic and spell casting, the leopard was determined to learn all about the subject more than he was with anything else before. There was simply no other way, he had to succeed.

'And I will. No matter at what cost.' With those words at the front of his mind, the feline continued his studying with renewed enthusiasm, completely disregarding how sore his eyes were becoming for spending most of the day staring at letters on paper endlessly.

Intrigued by a particularly fascinating chapter in his book, Zachary glanced up from his book for the first time in an hour when a question began forming in his head.

"Esmeralda," the leopard began, not continuing until the Elder's attention was on him, "It says here that most people who can use magic are only able to specialize on a limited spectrum of magic, just like you and Snowflake are with ice magic and healing." Zachary explained, giving the owl a curious, and at the same time, a serious expression, "Are there people who are able to cast spells on a wider range, having almost no limitations on how many subtypes of spells they can learn and cast? Would that even be possible?"

Esmeralda blinked for a moment. "I'm not sure," she admitted, looking over to the leopard as she sat near the fire, "I've never come across someone like that. But I suppose it's possible."

Nodding and looking lost in thought for several seconds, Zachary's eyes went back to his book. "I see. Thank you." The leopard said with a small smile as he began reading through the pages with a new and exorbitant goal in his mind.

The feline went back to his studying for a few more minutes, before the faint sound of heavy footsteps caught his attention. Perking up his round ears, Zachary almost instantly recognized the familiar sound. "Welcome back, pal." he greeted with a happy tone, not even bothering to look up from his book, "How was flying?"

The drake snorted in reply, finding a spot next to the fire and simply dropping. "It didn't happen," Basajaun stated, his tone significantly less than happy as he poked around the fire with his bare claws.

Noticing the sadness in his friend's voice, Zachary sighed, closing his book and standing up. "It's alright, Basa..." the leopard reassured him, sitting down next to the massive dragon and putting a paw on his shoulder, "You will fly. You just have to keep exercising every day, and you'll be able to dance in the sky once again."

Heaving a sigh, Basajaun looked to his friend as Snowflake situated herself on the drake's other side. "I know, but I don't have forever," he stated in a tone of mixed sadness and frustration, "I only have until we reach Boldrumton. And at this rate, I don't know if I'll be ready once we get there."

Nodding his head slightly and sighing in agreement, Zachary scratched behind his round ear with his finger as he looked up at Basajaun. "You really want to be able to fly by the time we return to Boldrumton, huh?" the leopard mused, looking lost in thought for several seconds, "Would your ability to fly give us a better chance at taking down Boldrum... and a better chance for all of us to make it out safely?"

The dragon nodded. "You're an archer and Esmeralda is a witch," Basajaun reminded his friend, "Neither of you should be within reach of melee combatants. And if both Snowflake and I can fly, we can keep you both out of reach of anyone except other archers and spellcasters. And I don't know if Boldrum has mages in his employ, but I can guarantee he has units outfitted with bows."

Closing his eyes, Zachary gave a sorrowful expression. He knew this was coming. The only question was when. But he had to do it...

Shaking his head and opening his eyes, the leopard stood up. "Then you will." he stated simply, staring at his friend with a resolute look on his face, "But there's only one way to achieve that..." Zachary hesitated for a moment before pointing a finger at Basajaun's fattened body, "You're going on a diet, Basa."

Basajaun and Snowflake both looked at the feline as though he had just turned green. "But I..." the drake started, looking down at his claws, "I promised you that I would always keep gaining weight. I don't want to go back on my word."

Forcing a small smile on his muzzle, Zachary waved a paw. "You don't have to, bud," moving in front of his friend's head and lifting it gently, the leopard patted the dragon, "I hereby exempt you from keeping that promise." The leopard uttered the words out with surprising ease, pulling away and giving the plump reptile a warm smile.

The dragon hesitated. "But what about the feeding?" he asked, not quite willing to let it go just like that, "That's something that the three of us enjoy so much. Do you really want to just stop?"

Zachary laughed and shook his head. "No, I don't want to," he admitted, giving a serious expression, "But I have to. I can't possibly be selfish enough to place my own preferences and likes before of all of you," gesturing around the individuals who sat next to the fire, the leopard continued, "I'm not like that, Basa. No matter how much I enjoy... our feedings and the results, we have something way more important to care about."

The leopard stared off to the distance where the road led, entirely convinced that he was looking at Boldrumton. "We have a pig to bring down. And if your weight risks succeeding in that..." Zachary turned back, sighing, "Then you're going on a diet, just as I said."

Looking to the amount of food that the dragons had caught, Basajaun shook his head. "Does that diet have to start right now?" the drake asked, "Most of what we caught tonight will go to waste if it does, not to mention all the work that Snowflake put into cooking it." Throughout the conversation, Esmeralda and Snowflake remained still and quiet, knowing better than to butt in.

Sighing in frustration and pinching his nose as he closed his eyes, Zachary shook his head. "No... it doesn't have to start right now. But I'd appreciate if you could finally make up your mind on what you want, Basa." the leopard remarked, giving his friend a serious expression, "I have nothing against the idea, but all that food is only going to make things more difficult for you. Are you sure you don't mind eating all that and having to work it all down later?"

"I..." Basajaun balked at having to make a choice, before sighing long, "You're right. It'll only make things harder."

Snowflake made a slight motion, before waving a claw to draw everyone's attention to her. "If I could suggest a solution for a compromise," the ice spirit requested, Esmeralda translating for her, "The spell I've been using on Forest Friend after the feedings does have a counterpart. It reduces the nutritional value of food by half, so that we can still enjoy the feedings, without them ruining his chances to get more fit."

Zachary's expression brightened almost immediately. "Yes, that could work. Good thinking, Snowflake." The leopard said in a sincere tone, bidding his head to the familiar. He turned back to Basajaun, slapping his paws together.

"It's settled, then." the feline announced, trying to hide his utter disappointment but failing miserably, "You're going to... lose some weight until you can fly again..." hesitating for a moment, Zachary quickly added, "But no more than that!"

"Chuckling lightly, Basajaun nodded. "You can be sure of that," the dragon said, patting his belly, "I've grown rather fond of all this. It'll be sad to see some of it go."

As Snowflake nodded in agreement, Esmeralda stood and stretched. "You three have fun with that," the Elder yawned, turning to her tent, "I'm turning in for the night. Zachary, make sure you put my books away if you're done with them."

"Of course, my Mistress. I'll put your books away really good, my mistress." Zachary said in a high voice, bowing to the owl repeatedly and trying to contain his snickering.

"You'd better!" the owl called out from her tent, "I'll be very upset if you misplace my tomes!"

Chuckling at the Elder, Zachary turned back to the two dragons with a smile on his face. "So, shall we start?" He asked, his smile slowly forming into a wide grin as he made his way to the prepared food and carved a small portion for himself, before sitting down next to the fire.

"Basa," the leopard began, swallowing a mouthful of meat from his puny dinner, "Why don't you get comfortable while I finish this?"

Nodding, Basajaun scooted and rolled himself so that he was on his side with his belly facing away from the fire. Turning to face the leopard, the dragon inquired, "How's the bison taste?" Snowflake placed herself so that she was at the dragon's head, providing her own tail as a cushion for him.

"It's 'eally gud!" Zachary managed to mumble out with a full mouth, moaning as the spirit's fantastic culinary creation caressed his tastebuds. Giving a thumb's up to the ice dragoness, the leopard swallowed.

"You're an amazing cook, Snowflake!" He stated, showing just how serious he was with that statement by finishing his dinner in an impressive span of two minutes. Letting out a quiet belch and giving a sheepish smile after it, Zachary moved to Basajaun's side. "I haven't had the opportunity to feed you in two days. I hope you're really hungry, bud."

Basajaun nodded again, smiling to his friend. "I'll go ahead and let you do all of the feeding," Snowflake said as she smiled to the leopard as well, Basajaun translating for her, "Since it's been awhile for you."

"Thanks, Snowflake." Zachary extended his arm, putting a paw on the familiar's neck and slowly stroking up and down in appreciation. With this night being possibly the last time the leopard could enjoy Basajaun's softness, he took the offer without any second thoughts.

Glancing at the prepared food and then back at the two massive dragons, Zachary gave a sheepish smile. "Could one of you bring that a little closer? I don't think I can lift all that food on my own!" the leopard requested, taking his spot next to Basajaun on the grass so he was in reach of his head while still having access to the fat reptile's flabby midsection.

Each using what limbs would reach the food, Basajaun and Snowflake brought the bison meat close enough for Zachary to reach. "There you go; that goes here, if you would," the drake chuckled lightly as he pointed at the food, opening his mouth wide and pointing to it as though it weren't an obvious enough cavity to spot.

Rolling his eyes and chuckling as well, Zachary grabbed the first piece of meat from the food next to him. "Silly dragon." He remarked with a smile, slowly putting the big chunk of bison meat in the reptile's awaiting mouth.

As if sensing that the feeding had begun, the leopard's other paw almost instantly found its way on the dragon's soft middle. Pinching a big fold of fat in his paw, Zachary wobbled the ample flesh for a moment. "I'm gonna miss you, bed." the leopard said to the pawful of fatty tissue, pouting.

Humming as he enjoyed the taste of the bison, Basajaun looked to Zachary's face and patted the leopard's shoulder reassuringly. "It's not all going away," he reminded the feline, though his own voice held disappointment to it as well, "Just enough to get me flying again. Then, after Boldrumton, we can get all that I lose back together, and then some!"

Grinning widely at the thought, Zachary stroked the dragon's belly tenderly. "I'll hold you to that!" The leopard said, chuckling a little.

Offering another chunk of meat for the hungry reptile, the feline's other paw continued its endless exploration of the fatty drake's abdomen. The supple flesh was kneaded, carressed and rubbed with utter tenderness and slow, deliberate movements. Sometimes the motion sent Basajaun's flab jiggling, which amused the feeder leopard greatly as he continued with his nearly perfected massage.

As he fell into the feeding rhythm that Basajaun had become accustomed to, the drake felt Snowflake join in his massage, this time careful not to crowd out the feline as he did his own part. The two sets of hands on his middle set the drake's form vibrating and jiggling lightly as he purred deeply. He was in bliss, glad that this part of his routine wouldn't have to be abandoned.

Keeping a steady pace at which Zachary was offering the pieces for the dragon, the leopard soon followed his friend into the blissful feeling he was sure he would never grow bored of. Since he hadn't taken part in the last two feedings of Basajaun, the leopard relished every moment of the experience, wishing it would never end.

The massive pile of bison meat dwindled steadily as the eager feline kept hand feeding the voracious, and now properly overweight, dragon. With each mouthful disappearing in the reptile's gullet, his stomach stretched further and further out. Thanks to the deep fat which coated Basajaun's midsection, Zachary was only able to notice the dragon's belly expanding when the pair was already halfway through the dinner.

Under all the flab, Basajaun's stomach kept expanding as mood food was shoveled down the reptile's throat. When the dragon's midriff began pushing against Zachary's body, the leopard didn't move, appreciating the feeling of Basajaun's soft flesh enveloping his body.

As he felt himself pressing against his friend, the dragon let out a tiny giggle. It was definitely a good indicator of how much he was getting stuffed with, but with how much his stomach was accustomed to holding, Basajaun had yet to start feeling full. It was an invigorating feeling, being able to hold so much nourishment within his form. The predator in the drake loved it, and he was happy to indulge this part of himself as much as his companions were willing.

For her part, Snowflake was also saddened to think that the interesting new kind of softness she had discovered so recently would start to get more firm over the next few days. But she was determined to enjoy it while it lasted, snuggling her body against that of the drake beside her as her foreclaws explored as much of the round, yielding form as they could reach.

With a steady pace at feeding, and with Basajaun's hunger continuing to defy Zachary's definition of gluttony, their food source eventually ran out. Sighing in disappointment when his paw grabbed at the air instead of another chunk of meat to stuff the dragon with, Zachary patted his friend's bloated belly with his paw.

"Well... that went by fast," the leopard remarked with a chuckle, "Either I was enjoying myself so much that I lost track of time, or you're simply too hard to fill up now, tubby." Winking, Zachary began massaging the dragon's soft flesh with both of his paws.

"Well, I've definitely had to increase my capacity since meeting you!" Basajaun laughed in response as his friends spoiled his belly, "Funnily enough, I don't feel as stuffed as I would have just a few days ago with this much in me."

The statement started a new train of thought in Zachary's mind. "Basa," The leopard began, smirking a little and raising an eyebrow at his friend, "I know we agreed on you starting the diet... but will you actually be able to do it? I mean, with your appetite," he gestured at the dragon's fatty belly, "It's going to be quite difficult, right? Or are you seriously only able to eat this much amount of food when someone else is feeding you?"

Basajaun grimaced. "I hadn't thought of that," he admitted, not enjoying the thought in the slightest, "With how much I've gotten used to eating, this diet is probably not going to be pleasant. But I think I'll manage, with a bit of support from friends." The drake looked to Snowflake and Zachary with a preemptively grateful expression, the ice spirit nodding in reply.

The leopard gave the same gesture. "You can always come to me for support, Basa." Zachary nuzzled his friend's neck, "Always." Just from the young anthro's tone, anyone would have been able to tell that his words were sincere.

About to say something else, the feline was interrupted by an unexpected yawn. Blinking a little and only now realizing just how much training he had done in a single day, Zachary rubbed his eyes softly. His tail curled around his body as the leopard let out another long yawn.

"I forgot how... tired I was. I think I'm goi--" Not able to finish his sentence, Zachary simply collapsed next to the dragon's side, his body leaning on his friend's protruding middle as the feline closed his eyes and almost immediately fell asleep. He was truly exhausted.

"Poor little one," Snowflake sighed with a smile, draping her wing over the leopard, "He had such a full day. No wonder he couldn't stay awake."

Gently pulling Zachary into his embrace, Basajaun nuzzled the leopard tiredly. "He's not the only one," the drake mused quietly, feeling his own fatigue catching up to him, "Could you cast the dieting spell now?"

Nodding, Snowflake complied, touching her snout to the dragon's middle and chiming the spell. It felt similar to the previous magic to Basajaun, but somehow it was much less pleasant. "Thank you," he said regardless, idly stroking his abdomen with a wing as he slowly fell asleep.

When the sun started to creep over the horizon, Snowflake lifted her head from the plush cushion of her friend's middle, noticing that Esmeralda had yet to leave her tent. Carefully standing and sliding her tail out from under Basajaun's head, the dragoness moved over to the owl's shelter.

"Mistress?" the familiar greeted quietly, sensing that the Elder was awake, "Is there something wrong?"

Looking up from her spellbooks, Esmeralda noticed what time it was. "No, I was just lost in thought," the owl answered through the tent walls. Closing her books, the Elder stood and stretched, her joints popping in several places, before moving out into the grass, feeling the cool dew against her talons.

"Come on, let's get things moving," Esmeralda directed as she packed her things, turning to dismantle her tent afterwards.

"It's the boy's magical talent that's on your mind, isn't it?" the familiar asked, moving to help her mistress.

The Elder didn't respond immediately, waiting until they were finished packing. "I've never seen such raw potential before," Esmeralda stated, leaning lightly against the spirit, "And I know he's a good man. But... I can't help but be a little concerned at the thought of how strong a mage Zachary could wind up becoming. The thought of teaching him how to literally master the world around him... well, it's a little intimidating, to be honest."

Snowflake smiled warmly as she nuzzled the owl's feathers. "That's the responsibility we take when we teach magic," the spirit reminded her mistress, "Now you know how I felt when I started teaching you. And look how you turned out."

Laughing lightly, Esmeralda nodded. "I suppose you're right," she agreed, looking to the sleeping pair, "Come on, let's get these two up and moving. We're late getting moving."

Giving a nod, Snowflake moved alongside the owl as they reached the dragon and leopard. "Alright you two," Esmeralda said, her usual kind but strict tone returning, "Time to get moving."

Grumbling lightly, Basajaun lifted his head and looked around blearily. Seeing the pair of prepared travelers standing over him, the drake grunted in moderate annoyance. Making to roll onto his feet, he almost forgot about the feline he was holding gently, a small avalanche of flab partially burying the leopard for a moment.

At first grumbling that his dreams were disturbed, Zachary almost immediately began purring as the soft flesh squashed against his sleeping form. Giggling lightly, the leopard opened his eyes and found himself staring at a hill of pudge.

"Well... that's a nice way to wake me up." the feline mumbled with a smile, patting the squishy substance with a paw before extracting himself from under its weight. Standing up and stretching all his limbs at the same time, the leopard looked around him with half closed eyes, noting the rising sun with a happy expression, which soon shifted to a confused one.

"How am I up so early...?" Zachary thought aloud as he realized what the time was. Figuring that his ability to wake up in the morning wasn't a bad thing by any stretch of the imagination, however, the leopard simply shrugged.

Closing his eyes as he yawned, the feline's thoughts changed to his discovery from yesterday. Grinning widely as he recalled the memory of the green energy line floating in the air, Zachary turned to the Elder and Snowflake.

"G'morning," he greeted, waving his paw in the air, "How did you tw--" Zachary stopped, his head turning slowly to his paw and staring wide eyed at the wide, green line which had appeared out of nowhere in its path. The difference compared to yesterday's feat was huge, given that the glowing light was just as wide as the feline's palm.

"I... I... why... I didn't even..." the feline managed to mumble with an utterly shocked and confused expression, his gaze settling back on the Elder as he shook his head, "I-I didn't want to... I d-didn't mean to..."

The leopard's companions blinked in surprise. "You didn't mean to?" the Elder repeated questioningly, observing the line as it faded away, "What do you mean to didn't mean to? What did you just do?"

"Nothing!" Zachary replied with a worried expression, clutching his paw tightly to his chest and looking at it with disbelief, "I... don't know..." The leopard looked up at the Elder with fearful eyes, shaking his head in confusion.

"I... didn't mean to cast the spell..." he admitted with a weak tone, his grip on his fist never loosening, "I was... I was just thinking about the energy line I drew yesterday and then..." Zachary didn't have to finish his sentence.

Esmeralda's eyes widened. "Just thinking about it," the Elder breathed, shaking her head in disbelief, before giving Zachary a serious expression, "Can you do that again?" Her tone was one of concern.

"I-I'm not sure..." the leopard replied, slowly lifting his paw from his chest and letting go of it with the other. Rotating his hand and observing it for a few moments for a few moments, Zachary sighed. Closing his eyes for a split second and imagining the green line for even less time, the feline hesitantly dragged his paw across the air.

Just like before, the same glowing, green light appeared in its path. Although this time, it was noticeably brighter than the previous one. The leopard slowly let his arm fall to his side, the green line following its wake for some time before stopping. He looked up Esmeralda with a baffled and frightened expression.

Several thoughts occurred to the Elder at once, not many of them pleasant. "It's literally effortless," the owl mused as she took the feline's arm and looked at his hand, her expression one of worry as she looked back to Zachary, "How are you feeling? Any fatigue?"

Taking a few moments to check himself, the leopard shook his head weakly. "No... I-I'm not feeling anything yet. I'm fine." he replied, his gaze searching the owl's face as he asked, "Is... is this normal?"

Snowflake and Esmeralda both shook their heads, their concern worrying Basajaun as well. "No, no it's not," the owl answered, holding the feline's hand tighter than she meant to, "Listen to me Zachary; I'm not an expert on magic, and neither is Snowflake. Neither of us has seen this sort of thing before, and I don't know what kind of effects this is going to have on you. So I need you to not think about the spells you know. Do whatever you can to keep them out of your head. You could wind up dangerously exhausted if you keep using magic like this." The revelation filled Basajaun with dread as he looked to his friend, almost involuntarily nuzzling the leopard's face with concern.

Zachary's eyes widened in utter shock. "But... I..." he stammered, shaking his head in confusion and pulling his paw away from the Elder, "I-I'm not sure I'd be able to do that, Esmeralda..." The leopard looked down at his arm for a few moments, then turned his gaze back at the owl.

"Literally all I think about is magic since yesterday... and I-I wanted to keep reading the books as well... and I... " Zachary's voice broke as he spoke, and he could only stare at the ground numbly as the realization that he couldn't practice magic started to sink in. The thought was horrible.

Snowflake looked to Emeralda. "This is dangerous," the spirit said flatly, looking down the road before returning her gaze to her mistress, "Even if we don't teach him more, what he already knows is enough to pose a serious risk to him."

"I know that," the Elder replied, pinching her beak as she thought hard, "We need to find someone who's seen this before."

Basajaun, who had remained stunned into silence, suddenly spoke up. "But what about Boldrum?" he demanded, looking to the road, "We were--"

"I know what we were going to do," Esmeralda snapped, before looking to Zachary, "This is going to have to supercede that. Zach, I'm sorry, but from what I know, this could put your life in danger. We need an expert, and there's only one place that I know for sure has that."

Looking back the way they had come, the Elder sighed. "We're going to Centrum," she announced.

"No!" Zachary shouted with passion, breathing heavily for a few moments before calming himself. "We have to take down Boldrum, Esmeralda. That's the most important thing right now, not my..." the leopard stopped, shaking his head, "I'm sure this isn't as serious as you two think, seriously I'm feeling fine! There's no need to worry, look," Zachary waved his paw in the air vehemently, "See? It's already go--" The feline stopped, looking to his right and spotting an even brighter green light which had appeared.

Growling in frustration and swatting at the light, the leopard only made it worse as more fluorescent lines began appearing next to the first one in random patterns. "No, go away, goddamnit!" Zachary demanded with an annoyed tone as he continued to fight against his own creations.

"Zach, stop!" Esmeralda ordered, grabbing one of his flailing limbs. "This is what I'm talking about," she said in a resolute tone, her expression deathly serious as Snowflake saddled the dragon next to her, "Think about something else, anything else. Just get on Basajaun while you do it. And for goodness' sake, the next time it happens, hold still or you're going to draw a longer line and drain more of your energy."

Hissing at the light in front of him, Zachary breathed deeply for a few moments, folding his arms under his chest and accidentally touching his green vest with his paws. Closing his eyes, the leopard tried to think of something... anything else.

He remained unmoved for several moments, finally opening his eyes and sighing. "Alright... I think it st--" The leopard had to bury his face in his paws as he glanced down at his vest for a split second. "Come on, you've gotta be kidding me!" he growled and hissed at the same time, looking at the black spotted and yellow colored patches where his paws touched his vest. He used a spell again involuntarily.

Sighing, Esmeralda pointed at Basajaun's saddle. "Mount up, now," she ordered again, "And when I said think of something else, I meant something besides another spell. Focus on archery or something."

Mumbling something under his breath and holding his paws in the air as if surrendering, Zachary walked to the dragon's side with slow steps, looking at the ground and sighing.

"I can't believe this," the leopard said as he climbed on the saddle, sitting down with a huff and not daring to move his paws, simply holding them out as if they were dangerous, "Just when I find something I'm good at, what happens? That's right, blasted problems. I'm so fed up with problems!" Zachary stated with a growl, hitting his paws against his head.

Reaching back, Basajaun nuzzled his friend's face. "I'm here for you, Zach," he said simply while Esmeralda mounted her familiar.

"Come on, we should hurry," the Elder stated, urging Snowflake forward with a pat to her side, "Centrum is the capital, and it has a large college of magic that should have the information we need."

Basajaun smiled. "See, we have a solution, Zach," the drake assured his companion as he made his way back to the road, "We just have to get to the anthro capital and... now wait a moment!"

The dragon halted in his tracks, causing Snowflake to turn and face him. "Are we all forgetting something very important?" Basajaun demanded, pointing at himself, "Namely that I'm a dragon, and you're asking me to saunter right into the place with the greatest population of dragon hunters?"

Zachary extracted his head from his paws, looking to Basajaun for a second before his gaze shifted to the Elder. "He's right! And I sure as hell won't force Basa to go in there and risk his life just because I have... a little... problem with... ma-magic..." The leopard's eyelids slowly fell up and down, suddenly feeling more exhausted than he was just the day before.

Raising a finger as he closed his eyes and yawned, Zachary struggled to keep his eyes open. "I... don't..." Unfortunately for the feline, he could never finish his sentence as his body simply fell on the dragon's back, his arms falling to the reptile's sides. The only sound leaving his mouth was his slow and balanced breathing.

"We don't have time to argue, Basajaun," Esmeralda stated, her expression and tone unyieldingly adamant, "If you value Zach's life, you're going to have to risk your own a little. You don't have to enter the city, you just have to get us close to it."

Hesitating a moment longer, the thought of helping his friend steeled the dragon's nerves. "Alright, let's just get going," Basajaun relented, looking up with a determined expression, "Lead the way."

The drake didn't have to ask twice; Snowflake took the lead, her quickened pace setting the bar for the day. "It isn't far," Esmeralda said as she reviewed her atlas, "We can get there by the end of the day if we hurry."

The way the owl used "we" was mildly irritating to Basajaun as he hustled after the familiar ahead of him. The effort was made slightly more difficult by the pendulous mass that the dragon's rear legs had to squeeze against to take their longer strides, but he disregarded the discomfort. His only thought was getting Zachary the help he needed.

This pace lasted hours, Basajaun beginning to feel his weight more and more as time passed. By noon, the drake was panting quite heavily, but he refused to slow his stride, even when his legs began to burn with the exercise.

"How much... farther?" the dragon called out through his heavy breathing.

"We're almost halfway there," Esmeralda replied, "I'm sorry, Basajaun. Just keep going."

The news was not pleasing, and not just because he had to double the distance he had already covered. By nightfall, they would be near the place that Basajaun had spent his entire life avoiding. The thought of all the armed soldiers and experienced dragon hunters he would be within walking distance of filled the drake with an ever increasing feeling of dread.

Clenching his jaws, Basajaun powered through the trepidation. He focused his thoughts instead on the leopard on his back, and that he would do anything for his friend. "For Zachary," he whispered, the words granting him a second wind.

Suddenly picking up the pace, the drake quickly overtook Snowflake. "Come on, I need you to lead the way!" Basajaun said as he ran past the pair of females. Nodding in reply, the spirit matched her stride to the dragon's, running forward to take the lead once more.

As the sun began to near the horizon once more, the group finally spotted the skyline of Centrum. Slowing his pace to a trot, Basajaun moved off to the side of the road and collapsed onto his right side, his body wobbling voluminously from the impact. The dragon's breath came in ragged fits, his legs still twitching slightly as though expecting to be forced to run even more.

Joining the dragon, Snowflake nuzzled his face as Esmeralda dismounted. "You did good, Basajaun," the Elder assured the drake, "Just rest here, Snowflake will take care of you."

Moving to the leopard that had been tossed from the saddle, the owl shook Zachary's shoulder. "Come on, wake up," she insisted, smacking the side of the feline's face lightly to help him regain consciousness.

Zachary's eyes almost immediately snapped open from the impact, his body tensing as he jumped on his feet and readied himself in a defensive stance. "Who was that? Come out and try ag--" the leopard stopped as he spotted the Elder in front of him, "Oh... woops, sorry." he said with a sheepish smile, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment.

Glancing around himself and noting the change of scenery, Zachary cocked an eyebrow at the owl. "Where are we?" He asked with a confused expression on his face, before realizing where the four had been heading before he was knocked out. Sighing and waving a paw dismissively at Esmeralda so she wouldn't answer the question, the leopard glanced behind him for a second, spotting Basajaun on the ground as he struggled to catch his breath.

"Hey," the feline began, quickly rushing to his friend's side, "Are you alright, Basa? Did something happen?" Zachary asked with a concerned tone, wondering what could have caused the dragon to be in such a poor state.

"He just spent the entire day running to get you here," Esmeralda said flatly, answering for the breathless dragon. Lifting his head and looking to his friend, Basajaun gave his best attempt at a reassuring smile, before he finally passed out from exertion, Snowflake catching his head before it impacted the ground. "Don't make his effort go to waste," the Elder continued as she beckoned to Zachary, "Come on, we need to get you to the college."

Hesitating as he looked at Basajaun with a regretful expression, Zachary stroked the dragon's head softly for a few moments, before he nodded and stood up. "Let's go, then." The leopard said, following behind the Elder as they began walking towards the capital.

The way towards Centrum was uneventful, rarely occurring sights of abandoned farms and buildings littering the plains as the pair followed the road ahead of them. Although one would expect to find a lot of travelers on their way to the capital, it wasn't the case. With the time of the day nearing night, it wasn't a big surprise to find the road almost completely empty. Only a few other anthros passed the leopard and the owl as they kept walking towards their destination.

Zachary remained silent for the most part, only asking questions from the Elder when he couldn't resist the urge to do so. One of these questions had been bugging his mind since they started walking, and the leopard couldn't keep it to himself anymore.

"What if they can't help me...?" The leopard finally blurted out after long moments of hesitation, looking at the ground with an unreadable expression as he followed behind the Elder.

Esmeralda didn't want to answer that question, but heaving a sigh, she turned to the leopard. "Then you're going to be crippled by your own magic," she answered honestly, a pained expression on her face, "I'm not going to lie to you; I don't know for sure whether this has happened before, or if there is a solution. But I'll do whatever I can to help you, Zach."

The leopard closed his eyes at the revelation, almost stopping in his tracks as the reality of that statement began to sink in. "I... see." he replied with a weak tone, clutching his arms tightly against his body and frowning when a thin green line followed his finger's path.

"I never should have asked you about magic..." Zachary thought aloud, clenching both of his paws in fists to stop the energy line, "We wouldn't be in this situation if it wasn't for me. I really think I'm cursed with bad luck... I... I just keep making problems for everyone around me."

Staring ahead of himself with a sorrowful expression, Zachary's eyes widened as the giant towers and walls of the capital kept getting closer and closer. The sight was fascinating to behold, with the pure white, brick wall stretching up towards the sky, as if attempting to reach the clouds, and with the tall, wide towers looking down at the puny leopard. Only able to blink in fascination and awe, the leopard observed the general outline of the city with his eyes, completely baffled by the idea that anthros had built this place.

"Zachary, don't blame yourself, it's nobody's fault," Esmeralda said, placing a hand on the feline's shoulder, "We'll figure this out. I know we will." The owl seemed less focused on the scenery, carefully watching for any more bouts of stray magic.

Meanwhile, Snowflake was repositioning Basajaun farther from the road. Lucky for the pair of beasts, the city had planted a small woods around it's perimeter, providing a nearby spot to hide for them. Rolling and dragging the heavy drake, Snowflake was eventually able to get him out of sight of the road, chiming quietly with relief as she leaned against Basajaun's soft body and waited for the anthros to return.

"I really hope so..." Zachary said, inhaling deeply to clear his mind of his increasingly worsening thoughts. As the feline followed the Elder, he noticed more and more buildings on the plains, although they didn't look like they were abandoned. Farm animals of all kinds stood in small stables, accompanied by a few anthros as they went about their usual nightly routines and lives, not even bothering to pay any heed to the leopard and the Elder.

To Zachary's utter relief, he was able to focus his thoughts on the task at hand, rather than thinking about anything spells. Although he knew his talent in the fields of magic was a double edged sword, the leopard knew he wouldn't be able to completely withhold his endless fascination from the subject. He didn't want to abandon his chance of learning more about the mages and magic, and if Esmeralda was right, his only chance of continuing with it was in Centrum. He was more determined to look for answers in the capital than ever before.

With keeping a steady pace in the walking, the two soon began closing in on the city, as the massive walls drew nearer and nearer in an almost intimidating fashion. When the Elder and Zachary arrived at a bridge, which arched over a beautiful and wide crisp river, the leopard's worries seemed to disappear as the open gates of the Capital awaited him on the other side.

"Let's hurry," the feline insisted, burying his paws under his vest to avoid raising any suspicion that he was casting spells involuntarily, "I want this to stop. And I want it now." Taking the lead ahead of the Elder, Zachary crossed the bridge with a determined expression on his face, the city gates looming over him as they stretched high in the dark sky.

Nodding, Esmeralda followed the feline closely as her cane tapped quickly against the ground. Nearing the gate and its guards, the owl smiled warmly to them, her harmless old lady act returning to her as she slowed and hunched over her cane. "Zachary, try to follow my lead," she requested, her voice taking on the stereotypical shakiness of old age.

Nodding, Zachary stepped behind the Elder, his expression becoming as harmless as a little kitten's.

"Stop right there!" One of the guards, a rather tall bull, called out, raising his arm for the two to hold in their tracks. Glancing back at the other soldiers for a moment and mumbling something, the bull sighed, shaking his head as he walked towards Zachary and Esmeralda, pulling out a parchment from under his shiny armor.

"Name, occupation," the bull began reading in a monotone tone, rolling his eyes and waving his hooves around in frustration, "You probably know the drill, granny. What business do you two have in Centrum?"

Zachary didn't respond, looking fearfully up at the bull and trying his hardest to stay in his act. Apparently, he was succeeding, as the guard gave a forced smile to the leopard.

"I'm Esmeralda Eszes, and this is Zachary Eszes, my grandson," the old owl replied, giving a kind smile, "We're here visiting relatives. As for my occupation, I'm just the old lady everyone comes to for advice. And Zach here is a hunter. But right now, he's my little helper."

The bull snorted, his eyes looking up and down the leopard. "Him? A hunter?" he asked with a toothy grin, chuckling a little. Zachary gritted his teeth with all his might, hoping they wouldn't break by the force he was flexing the muscles in his jaws. Taking a deep breath, the leopard gave the guard a forced smile.

"I'm just a beginner, but I shot my first hare just yesterday! Pa said that I would become a great hunter!" Zachary said in a childish tone, cocking his head slightly to the right as his tail swished behind him adorably.

The guard gave a hearty laugh and patted the feline's head with his hooves. "Good on ya, kid." Turning back to Esmeralda and putting his hands on his hips, the guard sighed and shook his head. "I'm pretty sure you two are harmless, but my protocol forces me to ask this question to everyone who enters Centrum; are you carrying any weapons with you at the moment, or are you able to access any magical spells?"

The feline's whole body tensed at the question. Clutching his paws in fists and forcing them next to his body, he glanced at the Elder with an eye, giving her a somewhat fearful expression.

Esmeralda nodded, lifting up her cane. "Why yes, I do have something in case of bandits," she stated with a cheerful tone, twisting the cane's handle once. Pulling the handle from the haft, a long, thin blade followed the hilt. "Always catches them by surprise, too," she boasted enthusiastically.

The bull gave an impressed expression as he observed the blade. "That looks quite sharp and well crafted for an old lady like yourself," he stated, sighing and extending an arm, "I'm afraid I can't let you bring that in with you, unless you have a permit allowing you to carry a weapon because of your occupation."

Zachary frowned, before he gave a terrified expression to the bull. "B-But what if someone attacks us inside? H-How will we defend ourselves?"

The guard looked to the feline and his fearful face, sighing once again. Glancing back at the other guards behind him for a second, the bull turned back to the two. "Put that blade away, granny." he commanded, waving his arm and shaking his head, "And make sure nobody sees it. I'm going to let you pass this once, but if I hear that you two got into trouble," the guard gave a deathly serious expression, pointing at the Elder and Zachary, "I'll make sure you two never enter through these gates ever again. Understood?"

The feline nodded immediately, giving a forced smile to the guard before turning to Esmeralda.

"Oh, thank you so much, young gentleman," the Elder replied, giving the guard a smile, "As for magic, neither of us is much of a spellcaster. I wish I could cast spells like all the young mages up in your tower. Ah well, come on, Zachary."

The guard rolled his eyes and put his parchment away. "Open the gates! These two can enter!" he called out, gesturing for the pair to proceed, "I'm so bored of this job..." the bull said with sigh as he walked away, waving an arm at the leopard and the owl, "Welcome to Centrum, enjoy your stay and bloody bla bla bla, whatever. Have fun."

Zachary watched the bull walk away with raised eyebrows, leaning a little closer to Esmeralda as they began walking towards the slowly opening gates. "Well, we got lucky there."

"Not really, he wasn't exactly the wariest guard I've ever seen," the Elder stated with a small smile, "That really reminded me of my younger days, though. And you did a good job, Zachary."

Zachary nodded. "I can act pretty good when the situation calls for it." he stated with a grin, bidding his head to the other guards as they walked past them, "Although this bull made it really hard... how could he assume that I wasn't good hunter? I'm a good hunter... stupid guard." The leopard growled quietly, giving a bemused expression as they made their way through the gates and were greeted with a massive, circular area, which was absolutely crowded with anthros.

In the center, a large fountain was placed, the water flowing from it with seemingly no effort. Stalls of all kinds stood on the edge of the area, with still a lot of customers going about their way despite the time of the day. The market place was nothing more than utter chaos in the leopard's eyes, and he couldn't help but inch closer to the Elder as he watched the sea of anthros walk around in front of him. "Er... you lead the way."

Taking Zachary's hand, the Elder pulled the pair through the crowd, her eyes flicking up to look at one of the tall spires reaching up from the city. "That's what we're headed towards," Esmeralda stated with her voice raised to get through the din of the crowd, pointing up to the tower, "If we wind up getting separated, just head there."

"Why would we get separated?" The leopard asked with a loud voice, unable to imagine how that could happen. As if reading his thoughts, an anthro bumped into the feline, forcing him to tear his paw away from Esmeralda and looking up at him with a smile.

"Oh, hello there, young boy! Would you be in--"

"No, I don't care, I don't have money, go away." Zachary replied as quickly as he could, following fast behind the Elder before she could disappear. Glancing down and noticing that his paws were exposed, the leopard quickly hid them beneath his vest. As he made his way through the crowd, the feline tried to appear as tiny as possible, avoiding even the slightest physical contact, lest he raise any attention to himself and risk revealing his ability to cast spells.

"Are we there yet?" He asked from the Elder with a loud voice, dodging another anthro as it tried to cut him off from his way.

Shoving roughly to get back to Zachary, Esmeralda locked her arm with his this time. "Not too far, it's just this cursed throng that we need to wade through," the owl affirmed, starting to use her cane to enforce her space in the marketplace.

"I never did like the city," the Elder grumbled as she moved slowly towards the college tower, careful not to lose her grip on Zachary's arm again.

"I can see why..." Zachary replied, shoving against a body which came dangerously close to him, "This is way too cramped. It feels like I'm suffocating."

Fortunately for both the Elder and the leopard, the crowd soon became more scarce as they slowly exited the circular marketplace. Breathing deeply as he was free from the grasp of the anthros, Zachary noted the wide street they were walking on, looking at the wall of houses which followed alongside. Some of them had open windows, where occasionally an anthro was standing and observing the street, as if defending its territory.

"There's the entrance!" The feline called out joyfully as they neared the tall tower, its iron gates wide open for anyone to enter. Raising an eyebrow at the sight and wondering why they would allow anthros to enter at night in the college, Zachary shrugged eventually, knowing better than questioning the reason behind. After all, it only made the leopard's and owl's lives easier.

As they crossed the threshold, Esmeralda glanced around, her curiosity almost getting the better of her for a moment. "Alright," she said, shaking her head to regain her focus, "Let's find someone in charge."

Her gaze fell on a little bat anthro reading a book at the counter, a sign over the counter reading "Guest Services". "Looks like a good place to start," the owl mused with a smile, moving to the counter and clearing her throat, "Excuse me young man, I have a question for you."

Looking up from his book, the bat gave a smile. "Hello, how may I help?" he greeted with a somewhat practised smile.

Looking to Zachary, Esmeralda gave him a reassuring nod. "Show him, Zach," the Elder prompted.

Hesitating for a few moments, Zachary slowly pulled his paws out from under his vest. Sighing and giving a dull expression to the bat, the leopard ran his paw in the air, leaving the same wide and green line which he had come to hate in its wake.

The bat raised an eyebrow and shrugged. "That's an energy line spell, alright." he stated with a confused look on his face, "I don't really see any problems with it. Now, can you tell me what you need help with or do I ne--"

"I knew bats had a bad eyesight, but not realizing what you just witnessed worries me, Rupert." A voice called out from around the corner. The form soon emerged, revealing a tall lynx as he stood hooded in a brown robe, which covered his entire body from top to bottom.

The bat jumped with a yelp, dropping his book from his as he quickly turned around to face the approaching lynx. "I-I'm sorry, Master." The anthro gave a low bow.

Waving a paw dismissively and smiling down at the bat, the lynx gestured with his arm for Rupert that he was excused. The anthro obeyed, leaving the three alone.

"Now," the lynx began, giving a deathly serious expression to Zachary as he stared into his eyes for a few moments, before turning to Esmeralda with a warm smile. "I'd gladly assist the two of you, especially this young boy right here. I'm Master Xergon, the principal of Centrum's college of Magic."

When the lynx seemed to recognize Zachary's ability, Esmeralda finally felt the weight lift off of her shoulders. "Oh thank the gods," the owl sighed heavily, leaning on her cane for more support than usual as she looked Xergon in the eyes, "Please tell me you've seen this before."

Xergon nodded, but almost immediately held up a paw. "Yes, I have. But not enough times to not be completely fascinated by it," the lynx turned to the leopard, pulling the hood from his head and revealing a pair of pointy airs, "What's your name, young one?"

"Zach... I mean... Zachary." The feline stammered.

Smiling down at leopard for a few moments, Xergon waved a paw in the air similar to how Zachary had done just some seconds ago. "Could you draw your energy line again for me?"

Nodding, the leopard quickly obeyed, pulling his paw in the air without even thinking too much about the green line. It took him literally no effort to cast the spell anymore.

The lynx's smile widened. "Prodigious." he stated, "I haven't seen anyone casting a spell like that in decades. And I've never seen it once done by someone this young." Xergon turned to Esmeralda, gesturing with his paw at the leopard next to her. "Have you brought this prodigy here to study in our institution? If so, my immediate answer is yes."

Esmeralda paused for a moment. "Well, there's actually a matter that we were in the middle of attending to when this development occurred," the Elder replied, "As much as I would love for Zachary to have the opportunity to study under you, it's not my decision. We came to you to see if you knew a way to help him get control of his abilities, though I don't know how long that would take."

Something suddenly occurred to the owl as she felt a prompt from her familiar. "Oh, and there's also another possible pupil for your establishment," Esmeralda stated, crossing her arms, "But I'm afraid he couldn't make it into the city for... cultural reasons. He doesn't have the same raw potential as Zachary here, but he is interested in learning. And I think you might be able to learn a bit from him yourself."

Xergon stood completely dumbfounded for long moments, staring with wide eyes at Zachary. Clearing his throat and recollecting himself, the lynx slowly pointed a finger at the leopard. "Excuse me, I must have misheard you. Did you just say that this boy here has troubles controlling his magic?" He asked with a serious expression, looking at Esmeralda with his calmness completely thrown out of the window.

Zachary looked up at the lynx with a fearful look on his face, feeling himself getting increasingly displeased with how things were advancing. He glanced at Esmeralda, giving her a slow nod.

Esmeralda baulked slightly at the lynx's expression and tone. "It keeps happening whenever he thinks about a spell," the Elder said, knowing better than to try backing out of this situation, "I knew that would be dangerous to him, so I brought Zachary here."

The lynx didn't speak, simply looking numbly at Zachary. "It's not dangerous for him." Xergon stated, "It's dangerous for his enemies. If what you're saying is true, then this boy is..." hesitating for a moment, the anthro shook his head in disbelief, "A multicaster."

Zachary blinked, completely baffled. "A... m-multicaster? W-What does that even mean?"

"It means that you're able to cast multiple spells at once," Xergon breathed, "Multiple spells... and from every form of magic that exists. Every little subtype, let it be the magic of the elements, biomancy, enchanting, charms or even necromancy. There are simply no boundaries for a multicaster. You have the ability to access magic on a wider spectrum than almost everyone in the world. It is the rarest talent a sorcerer can possess." Excusing himself and sitting down behind the counter, the lynx breathed slowly for a few moments, trying to calm himself.

Meanwhile, Zachary was practically brain dead, as he stood completely unmoving, not even breathing for a long time. "I-I still don't understand why I can't control my magic... it just happens without me wanting it."

Xergon shook his head and waved a paw. "That's where I know you're a multicaster, boy." he explained, "Only people with such power are unable to control their spells. It's known as a common, as much as being a multicaster can be considered that, fact that sorcerers with this ability have troubles taming their magic, because their minds are practically wired to cast multiple spells at once. It interferes with their thoughts, causing them to cast spells even when they don't want to." heaving a sigh, Xergon gave a concerned expression to Zachary, "It is the price that comes with this talent, I'm afraid."

The leopard's knees trembled at the revelation, his mind racing with thoughts, each and every single one of them unpleasant.

Standing up, the Master put a paw on Zachary's shoulder. "I didn't mean to frighten you, boy." Xergon smiled, "Your inability to control your magic shouldn't concern you. This is not a bad thing. I was just utterly surprised, is all!" The anthro admitted, shaking his head as if still not believing what he had just discovered.

"What do you mean it shouldn't concern me?!" The leopard snapped, looking up fearfully to the Master, "What if I cast a spell by accident and hurt myself, or someone else?"

Xergon simply waved a paw. "As much of a common problem that is with multicasters, it can be learned how to tame your power. It's not even that hard to do on your own, but I can help you with that." Putting a finger on the leopard's forehead, the Master chanted some words, a small white and bright light appearing where his finger was placed.

Finishing the incantation, Xergon pulled his paw away, smiling widely at Zachary. "There, that should help."

Rubbing his forehead and looking confusedly at the lynx, the leopard cocked an eyebrow. "W-What did you just do?"

"Something that every student of our institution is given," Xergon stated with a warm smile, "The spell is called 'the blessing of concentration'. I suppose you can figure out what it does. It will help you control your magic until you're fully able to control it yourself. All you have to do is do the opposite you do when casting a spell, concentrate on not casting it. It will probably take you a few days, or even a week to get the hang of it." the lynx explained, giving a relieved sigh and turning to Esmeralda, "Did you have any idea what this boy was?"

Esmeralda shook her head. "No, I didn't," she answered, giving Zachary a warm smile and pat on the shoulder, "But I figured he was something special."

The owl's expression turned to a more serious one. "But Zachary, it looks like this place is a much more fitting option than learning on the road," she stated, her hand still on the leopard's shoulder, "And they know how to train someone like you. But, it would mean putting our other objective on hold. Is that something you could live with?"

Zachary shook his head almost instantly, turning to Esmeralda. "No... this can wait. Our first goal is much more important than this at the moment... my education has to wait, I guess." The leopard answered in a rather unconvincing tone, sighing somewhat disappointedly.

Turning back to Xergon, the leopard gave him a hesitant smile. "So, I'll be able to control my magic with this spell?" The lynx nodded, eliciting a sigh of utter relief from the feline.

"It will wear off once you can control it yourself, which shouldn't take long for a multicaster to figure out. You've just started practicing magic some days ago, correct?" the Master asked and when Zachary nodded, he continued, "I figured as much. Your mind and body haven't gotten used to your power just yet, it seems. But it should happen soon enough, don't worry. As for the time being, the spell I gave you will aid you in taming your talent for now."

Heaving a disappointed sigh, Xergon gave Zachary a let down expression. "Are you sure you don't want to study here at our college, Zachary? You would be the second multicaster learning at us. And it's been more than thirty years since the first one roamed our great halls!" the lynx admitted, chuckling lightheartedly, "And I could help you get with controlling your magic as well. Not even mentioning our library, which contains more spellbooks than we can count!" As much as the Master was trying to avoid looking like a merchant trying to convince a customer to buy his product, he was failing miserably.

"I... I'm not sure..." the leopard replied, the offer more than appealing for him, "We have other things to attend to as well... urgent things." In his mind, Zachary tried his hardest to convince himself that taking down Boldrum was their most important objective, yet he couldn't help but start considering the offer.

"We could stay and figure things out for a few days... I suppose." the feline mused, looking to the Elder for support, "Is that something we could do, Elder Eszes?"

The owl nodded lightly. "I don't have any issues with that," she answered, before adding, "Basajaun, on the other hand, might not be so eager to stay. It could take some convincing to get him to remain where he is for a few days."

Xergon raised an eyebrow. "Is that the other pupil you were talking about earlier?" the lynx inquired, continuing when Zachary nodded, "Is this... Basajaun afraid of the city? Or is he allergic to crowds and foul blokes roaming the streets?" The master gave a soft chuckle, apparently enjoying his own joke.

Zachary rolled his eyes and shook his head. "No, he's just a little... different from the others. He has a hard time getting himself accustomed to people."

"That is unfortunate. I suppose he won't visit our college anytime soon, then?" Xergon asked, putting his hood back on.

"No... I don't think so." Zachary answered, shaking his head once again.

Nodding in acknowledgement, the lynx extended his paw for the feline and gave him a warm smile. "It seems like you'll be learning at us for some time, Zachary. Welcome, and enjoy your stay... even if that means only a couple of days."

Taking the lynx's paw, Zachary returned the smile. "Thank you, Master Xergon."

Bidding his head and pulling away, the anthro heaved a long sigh. "Now, that was a pleasantly surprising experience," he admitted with a chuckle, "I never would have thought that I could meet a multicaster in person, and teach him as well. I'm looking forward to your time spent here, Zachary. But for now, I have to get going. I have a college to run, after all." Xergon stated with a wide smile, bidding his head to the Elder as well, "Come to me as soon as you're ready to learn, young boy. I'll be waiting eagerly for your arrival."

Turning around and taking a few steps towards one of the great halls, the lynx stopped and glanced back with a smile. "As for Basajaun, our books can be borrowed by our students. But make sure you return them after a week! Our librarian is a little sensitive with those things..."

Watching with a confused expression as the Master disappeared around the corner, Zachary turned to Esmeralda and gave her the most relieved sigh and smile he could muster. "This turned out way better than I expected..." he admitted with a chuckle, "And I'm a multicaster, apparently. That's kinda cool, I guess." The leopard grinned widely, a gesture he hadn't used since yesterday.

Patting Zachary's shoulder, Esmeralda sat down in one of the chairs provided. "As amazing as that news is," the owl began, her expression still one of relief, "I'm just happy I didn't wind up crippling you with the knowledge I shared. Believe me, when that thought occurred to me, I nearly fainted with worry!"

Sitting beside the Elder, Zachary gave the owl a comforting smile. "It wouldn't have been your fault, Esmeralda. You just allowed me to learn something new." he reassured her, putting a paw on her shoulder and chuckling, "But I'm glad I won't be crippled by myself as well, believe it or not!"

Laughing along with the leopard, Esmeralda leaned back in her chair. "Still, a multicaster," the Elder wondered aloud, giving Zachary an impressed look, "It sounds like your abilities aren't just limited to picking up magic like it's second nature. And now that I know about them, I think I'd like to remain a part of your learning, if you'd still have me."

Zachary raised his nose high the air and put a finger on his chin as he considered the offer. "Yeah, I suppose you could stay. You're not half as bad as others might think you are." The leopard said in an evidently teasing voice, snickering to himself as he fought the urge to break into a fit of laughter.

"Don't you go telling everyone else that I'm nice, you hear," Esmeralda said in a threatening tone, poking the leopard's nose with her cane, "I like the way they give me their fear and respect; it helps my duties as the Elder if people are afraid to cross me. But I'd like to think I'm not quite a tyrant."

Zachary shook his head. "No, you aren't..." he reassured the owl, looking lost in thought for several long moments as the word 'tyrant' brought up unpleasant and daunting concerns regarding their common enemy.

Shaking his head and standing, the leopard offered his paw for the Elder. "We should get back to Basa and Snowflake and tell them that I won't cripple myself horribly by my own magic," Zachary proposed with a grin, which only grew wider as a thought crossed his mind, "But first, we'll give a visit to the library. I'm not going to turn down the Master's offer. Once I despoiled their entire collection, we can leave."

Smiling, Esmeralda stood and nodded. "I'm also eager to see what they have," the owl stated, "Come on, let's go take a look."

The way to the library was easily found, as there were clearly written directions at regular intervals throughout the tower. The few individuals that they passed were too engrossed in their own activities to give the pair any notice, and Esmeralda wondered at the lax security as they made their way undisturbed through the college. It actually started to make her nervous; if they felt that they didn't need guards, just what was it that the college did rely on for security?

As much as Esmeralda was concerned on such matters, Zachary couldn't care less. The young anthro's mind was exclusively fixated on a single thing, namely his newest discovery of being a multicaster. The revelation filled him with dread at first, but thanks to Xergon's comforting words and advices, Zachary was able to overcome his worries.

With a wide grin on his face, the leopard barged through the halls, completely disregarding almost everything and everyone around him. He would have time to marvel at the paintings and tapestries which adorned the walls later. For now, he wanted nothing more than get as much books as he could to sate his seemingly endless craving for learning magic. With rather impatient steps, Zachary and Esmeralda finally found what they were looking for.

"That's it," the leopard reported with a smile, pointing at the sign above the door, "Let's gather some books and then get out of here." When Esmeralda nodded, Zachary entered through the open door. Being a homeless anthro who grew up on the streets, the feline hadn't seen too many libraries throughout his life, for one reason or another. But as he passed the doorway, Zachary was sure that this was not an ordinary library.

The sight was fascinating to behold. The never-ending shelves stretched as far as the leopard's eyes could see. Books of all sorts weighed heavily on the wooden furnitures, their coloration giving the impression as if Zachary was looking at a rainbow of boundless information and knowledge. He couldn't wait to get his paws on the inviting tomes.

In his awe, the feline failed to notice the little counter which was situated right next to the entrance, as well as its more than displeased occupant.

Frowning upon realizing that she was completely unnoticed, the ocelot cleared her throat and tapped on the counter a couple of times to grab Zachary's attention. "Can I help you with something?" She inquired in a rather high-pitched tone, pushing up her glasses on her nose.

Looking down where the sound came from, the leopard could only blink for a few moments as he stared at the young ocelot behind the counter. Her big, brown eyes glanced back at him with an impatient look, eliciting a few nervous coughs from the spellbound Zachary. "I... uh... books... I mean, borrow books?" he stammered, shaking his head a little to recollect himself.

The ocelot raised an eyebrow and asked, "Are you a student?" The leopard nodded vehemently, eliciting a sigh from the librarian as she rolled her eyes. "Have fun, then. Borrow as many books as you want. But I'd advise you to return them by the end of the week, unless you want to be choked by your tail." With those words out, the female turned back to her own book, not even giving a second glance to Zachary.

The leopard could only stand and stare at the librarian, not sure from what to be more stunned; her threat, or her more than appealing appearance. Eventually deciding to disregard both and focus his attention back on learning, Zachary gave a nervous smile to the ocelot. "I-I will... return.... I mean, the books, you know. I meant the books... not me... but I will come back too, perhaps... but definitely with the books..." Entirely convinced that his inability to form logical sentences would only result in embarrassing himself even more, the feline simply whispered as he continued, "I'll just shut up and leave now."

"Yes, that would be a wise decision." The ocelot replied, smiling a little as she continued reading her book.

Waving a paw and turning around, Zachary had to breath deeply to clear his thoughts. With a goofy grin on his face, the leopard began walking towards the wall of tomes, his mind occasionally drifting to a certain librarian as he scanned the limitless selection of books at his disposal.

Eventually, Zachary and Esmeralda collected a total of five books. Each of them was carefully selected by the eager feline and the owl, both of them choosing subjects which piqued their interest the most. With their loot in their possession, and with wide smiles on their face, the two left the library. Zachary was sure to give a friendly wave to the ocelot as they passed her. To his surprise, she returned the gesture, although never once did she look up from her own book.

Carrying a rather large tome on advanced frost magic and a smaller book on biomancy, Esmeralda flipped through the pages of the first grimoire idly as the pair made their way back through the tower, occasionally glancing over to the more generalized books that Zachary carried. The feline seemed to be equally engrossed in what he carried with him, though as they made their way back out into the city, Esmeralda called his attention to their surroundings.

"Late night in the city isn't the time to be caught off guard," the Elder cautioned, carrying her tomes in one hand while the other gripped her cane tightly, apparently even more nervous of the city now that the crowds had died down, "Stay alert, Zach. I don't want some robber trying to come at us."

Nodding, Zachary instinctually reached to his back, mumbling something under his breath when he grabbed at the air instead of his bow. Shaking his head and continuing on the way out of the city, the leopard occasionally glanced around the pair, hoping he wouldn't find himself staring at a thief or anyone at all.

Fortunately for the two, the way back to the gates was uneventful. As late as it was, the casual noise of the anthros in their houses and in inns followed them throughout. Apparently, the city didn't sleep, no matter the time of the day.

Thanks to the lack of crowd on the marketplace, Zachary and Esmeralda were able to cross the circular place in a few seconds, rather than long minutes of constant struggling through the sea of anthros. When the leopard noticed the same bull, who had let them in just a couple of hours ago in the city, standing under the gates, he glanced at Esmeralda worriedly. "Do you have a plan again?"

Esmeralda turned to the feline with a wicked grin. "Why would a nice old lady who revealed her hidden sword to the strapping young guard be hiding anything else?" the owl said, her demeanor returning to that of the harmless granny as she approached the guard.

The bull looked like he was half asleep as the leopard and the owl reached him, only opening his eyes when he heard their footsteps. Shaking his head and grabbing his spear, the guard peered through the darkness raising his eyebrows once he recognized the two figures approaching.

"Well I'll be damned if that isn't the granny and the hunter boy," the bull said with a mock tone, tapping a hoof on his thigh, "That was a fast visit. How're the relatives, eh?" He inquired, giving a confused look when he noticed the books in the pair's hands.

Zachary noted the expression on the guard. He had to improvise. "They are doing really good!" he answered, his childish tone returning, "And they were really kind as well. Look, they gave us books about fairy tales!" The leopard gestured to their tomes, hoping the guard wasn't a bright one.

The guard's gaze shifted between the books and their carriers, his eyes roaming the titles of the items in question before he gave a nervous smile. "Good for you, kid." he said, turning to the Elder, "Why are you two out here so late? Leaving already?"

"We can't afford your big city inns," the owl answered with a smile, pointing at the trees a ways off, "So we decided to do some old fashioned camping in your lovely woods. It's been awhile since I've done some tent pitching!"

The guard gave a surprised expression, before he began laughing heartily. "You keep surprisin' me, granny. Keep at it and I might invite you for a pint of root beer!" the bull said with a grin, shaking his head at the two, "I guess you want me to open the gates for you, then?"

Zachary nodded eagerly, looking up at the bull with hopeful eyes. "Yes please, mister guard!" The sentence elicited another laugh from the bull, and he could only shake his head as he disappeared behind a wooden door.

The leopard looked to Esmeralda, giving her a mischievous grin. "This is a complete idiot." he whispered to the owl, snickering to himself.

Shaking her head as she smiled, Esmeralda watched as the gates opened after a moment. "At least he's a sweety," she commented, staying in her own act in case they were being observed, "Come on then, Zachy, let's go find a good spot for our camping trip."

"Call me Zachy again and I w-- Bye bye mister guard!" Zachary had to stop himself when the bull reappeared. Grabbing his spear and watching as the gates opened, the guard turned to the Elder once again. "Will you be returning tomorrow?"

"Oh yes," Esmeralda nodded, holding up her books as she moved to step out through the gate, "We're just borrowing these, after all. It'd be right impolite to just take off with them."

The bull nodded, taking his previous position next to the wall and waiting for the two to pass the open gates. "See you tomorrow, then," he said, leaning on his spear and snorting, "Watch yourselves in those woods. You never know what lurks around in the wilderness. You might stumble into monstrous dragons, even!" The bull said with a wide grin, obviously wanting to scare the young leopard with his words.

Zachary had to close his eyes for a moment as he breathed deeply. 'Count to ten, calm yourself. He's just a moron. Don't waste your energy on sending him somewhere the sun doesn't shine.' The leopard chanted those words to himself for a few seconds, able to resist the urge to give the guard a well-deserved punch in the face.

"That's silly, mister guard!" the feline said, already back in his act, "Dragons don't come so close to cities! And I'm not scared of them!" Zachary gave a brave expression.

Laughing again, the bull waved a hoof. "Alright, kid. Show those dragons who is the boss!" he gave an encouraging thrust with his spear, smiling at the leopard, "Stay safe out there."

Nodding as they passed the guard, Zachary and Esmeralda exited Centrum through the open gates. Although they came with worry and fear in their hearts, the two left with smiles on their faces.

Moving along the road, Esmeralda turned to the feline beside her once the pair was out of earshot of the guard. "That's why I want people to get to know Basajaun," she stated, pointing back at the bull, "It wasn't too long ago when I regarded dragons with the same attitude. Things would be much better for dragons everywhere if more people regarded them like we do."

"Not every dragon is like Basa," Zachary cautioned, glancing at the Elder, "He's special. I haven't met a whole lot of dragons in my life, but I'm sure the stereotypes about their kind were created for a reason." He explained, looking ahead of them on the road as the pair continued walking.

"I would give a chance to every dragon I meet. But that's only because of Basa... if it wasn't for him, I would regard their entire race the same way I have before I met him." the leopard admitted, glancing at the stars above their heads, "I want my best friend to be accepted by others just like you do... perhaps even more. I know he wants it more than anything to be liked by people. I haven't seen him happier than he was in Plainstead when they accepted him."

The owl nodded, becoming lost in thought after a few more steps. Soon enough, they passed by the last of the abandoned farms, coming to the edge of the woods. "Alright, Snowflake, where'd you two get off to?" the Elder asked out loud, turning to her left after a moment and moving into the trees, "This way, Zachary."

The feline nodded, following behind the Elder. "This bond is pretty cool." Zachary stated with a grin, "I hope Basa and I can form it one day as well."

The two soon entered to the deeper parts of the forest, where the trees were much more and dense, resulting in the feline to get lost in the scenery as he walked behind the owl. The tall, wide pillars of brown wood stretched above his head, their green canopy blocking the light from the moon, only letting it shine through in tiny holes. The sight was marvelous, and the leopard didn't even notice the little clearing they had arrived at for long moments as his attention was focused on his surroundings.

"Welcome to our little home!" Snowflake greeted happily but quietly as she lay next to a still sleeping Basajaun, her wing placed affectionately over the drake, "Good to see you two, especially after that scare with the magic."

Nodding in greeting, Esmeralda moved to the saddlebags that had been removed from both dragons. "I take it he hasn't been awake yet," the Elder said curiously as she set the books she borrowed aside to get her tent set up.

Shaking her head, Snowflake stroked the drake's long neck. "He must have been completely exhausted by the time we got here," the spirit replied, giving the elder a small scowl after a moment, "You should be translating this, you know."

"Right," Esmeralda sighed tiredly, looking over to Zachary, "She says that Basa's been asleep since we arrived."

Zachary nodded, glancing at his sleeping friend for a moment. "He ran all the way to Centrum with me on his back, and risking his life by coming close to the city." the leopard sighed, shaking his head, "He deserves rest more than anyone."

Moving next to Basajaun and Snowflake, the feline gave patted the familiar's neck appreciatively. "Thank you for looking after him," he said in a sincere tone, looking at the forest dragon on the ground and smiling warmly as he slept peacefully, "You keep making these favors for me, Basa... and I don't even know how to return them." Putting his books aside, the feline snuggled himself close to the dragon's body, softly embracing his friend's neck and sighing long.

After a moment of the contact, one of the drake's forelimbs came up and draped over the feline, a small smile appearing on Basajaun's still-sleeping face. "Alright, that's adorable," Esmeralda chuckled lightly, shaking her head slowly as she picked a spot for her tent and began pitching the shelter.

Zachary remained in the embrace for long minutes, enjoying the peacefulness and comforting nature of the experience. His mind shifted to pleasant thoughts of how he met Basajaun for the first time, their mutual awkwardness and nervousness between each other at the start. And yet, against the odds, the two became almost inseparable friends. A friendship that would last until the end of their lives. One that most people can only dream of having. Something that the young anthro cherished more than anything in the world.

"Friends for life, you silly lizard." the feline whispered softly, finally pulling away from the dragon and wiping small tears of utter joy and happiness from his eyes, "Thank you." Zachary meant everything when he said those words. Everything Basajaun had done for him since the two knew each other. He had so much to thank him for, he only hoped he could return his friend's deeds one day.

Standing up and sighing, the leopard looked out in the forest, his eyes searching between the many trees for long moments. "I'm going to take a look around and see if I can catch us something to eat," the leopard stated, glancing at Snowflake with a smile, "You stay here and keep that overgrown lizard safe and warm, alright?"

Nodding, the familiar curled around Basajaun, her cool body warming up slowly. "We should probably try to find some food in the city tomorrow," Esmeralda said, pointing at her saddlebags, "I made sure to pack some money for necessities in there. I'm not sure whether hunting in these woods is legal or not, but it should be fine for one night."

Zachary rolled his eyes, waving a paw. "I'm quite sure the disappearance of three or four hares will go unnoticed," the leopard said with a mischievous smile, "I'll be back soon, don't worry." With those words, the feline retrieved his bow and arrows and slowly made his way deeper in the woods, disappearing from the Elder and Snowflake soon behind the wide trees.

Snowflake smiled as she watched the feline head off into the woods. "I'm glad he's alright," the familiar said.

Nodding in agreement, Esmeralda loosed a long yawn. "Well, I don't think I'll be awake for dinner," the owl said, taking her two books as she moved to her tent, "Do make some noise if someone stumbles across us, won't you?"

"Yes, Mistress," the dragoness replied, smiling to the Elder as she entered her shelter.

Her gaze settled on the dragon that she embraced after a moment, Snowflake carefully repositioned the forelimb that had moved back to a more comfortable position, petting Basajaun's soft forms for several minutes. Soon, the spirit felt the events of the day weighing on her, and she settled her head near the drake's, heaving a sigh as she slipped off into hibernation.

"Gotcha." Zachary said with a wide grin as his second hare was gifted with a precise arrow in its neck. Standing up from his crouching position and walking towards his catch, the leopard could only think how bountiful this forest was. In less than ten minutes, the feline hunter already had two hares at his disposal.

Zachary reached for his kill with his right paw, but soon stopped. "Oh... no... not again!" The green line which he had come to hate floated in almost a mocking manner in front of his eyes, eliciting a frustrated growl from leopard. His anger kept rising at a steady pace as he stared at his creation. He wanted to choke the light at the moment. The fact that the object didn't possess a neck concerned him the least.

Remembering what the Master had said to him earlier, the feline closed his eyes and breathed deeply. Soon, he was able to calm himself once again. Opening his eyes, Zachary let out a relieved sigh when the absence of his energy line greeted him.

'Xergon was right... I-I just need to concentrate and stay calm. You can do this, Zach. You can do this.' The leopard comforted himself in his mind, raising his paw and twisting it around for a few moments in front of him. For a few seconds, nothing happened, but soon Zachary was able to see the green light forming on his fingertips.

Instead of panicking, the feline closed his eyes again. 'I'm not casting a spell. Go away. I don't want to cast a spell, come back when you're called. Go away, go away... just go away.' The young anthro practically pleaded with his eyes still closed. He was afraid to open them.

Inhaling deeply once again and exhaling slowly, Zachary focused all his attention exclusively on the energy line spell. He imagined it floating around in the air in front of him, just like he would when he wanted to cast the spell. But instead, he made the green line disappear in his mind. He watched as it slowly faded away in his imagination.

Opening his eyes, the leopard's muzzle broke into a wide grin. "Yes!" He screamed in joy, turning his paw this way and that and laughing happily when nothing happened. With a relieved sigh, the leopard finally took his catch from the ground. He held the two hares in his paws by their long ears as he turned around the way he came, rather pleased with his catch.

The way back to the clearing was serene. The rays of the moon penetrated the forest canopy in small patches, practically leading the way for Zachary as he walked with relaxed steps. Now calm that he had a way of controlling his newfound talent, a constant smile adorned the leopard's face.

'Multicaster, huh?' The feline's smile only grew wider as he thought about the word. Who would have thought that a homeless orphan from the streets of Boldrumton would be such. A born sorcerer.

As he walked, Zachary wondered just how much he could learn about magic. If Xergon's words were true, there were simply no limitations. The young anthro was eager to delve into the subject now more than ever. What the future held for him, he didn't know. But as long as he had his friends, his magic and a healthy body, Zachary knew he would always be happy. A feeling he would have never experienced in Boldrumton.

'Thank goodness I was banished!' The feline laughed, shaking his head at the memory. At first, he thought his punishment was equivalent to death. And yet, now, he knew it was the best thing that happened to him through his whole life.

He never would have met Basajaun. And the pair never would have freed Plainstead from the bandits. He wouldn't have felt the love of the people, something he didn't know even existed before leaving Boldrumton. He never would have met the Elder, Snowflake, all his other friends. And he never would have discovered his talent in magic.

He would have lived a short and sad life. For this one thing, Zachary could thank Boldrum. 'I'll make sure I thank him before taking revenge.' The leopard promised to himself with a chuckle, glancing around himself as he traversed through the woods. Nature always fascinated him. He didn't want to live in a city anymore. And he wouldn't.

The leopard's train of thoughts were interrupted as he noticed the little clearing ahead of him. Smiling warmly, Zachary emerged from the trees, holding up his catch proudly. "Hey, I'm back! Look what I fo--" The feline put a paw over his mouth as quick as he could upon noticing that all of his companions have fallen asleep.

Chuckling quietly and advancing with silent steps, Zachary soon arrived next to the two dragons' side. Glancing at the two sleeping forms with a warm smile, he turned to Esmeralda's newly constructed tent, shaking his head a little and wondering why the old owl liked that shelter so much.

As much as he succeeded in remaining silent, his stomach was quick to ruin his stealth operation by releasing a loud growl. Quickly putting a paw over his middle, as if that silence it, Zachary glanced at his friends for a moment. He heaved a relieved sigh. His stomach hadn't woken anyone.

While the others were on a holiday to dreamland, the leopard cooked his dinner. The fire took a few tries to light, but eventually he was able to get it going. Skinning the hares didn't take too much of his time, and the feline found himself humming quietly as he worked on the bodies.

When all the preparations were finished, Zachary held his food over the fire. The image of the flames enveloping the meat reminded him of the first day he had spent with Basajaun. He was holding his dinner in the fire just like he had then, the only difference being that this time around, the leopard caught his own dinner.

'But he taught me how to hunt as well.' Zachary reminded himself, glancing at the sleeping forest dragon behind him, 'Just another favor I'll have to return, I suppose.' Chuckling, the feline stood up from the fire for a moment, retrieving one of the books he had borrowed from the library.

He killed his time with reading through the pages of the heavy tome. The book basically described magic in general; the energy which was found in every living being, but could only be brought forth by the gifted ones. Some pages later, Zachary found a segment mentioning multicasters, calling such individuals as 'the top of the food chain in magic'.

The leopard could only chuckle and shake his head at the statement. Even if he himself was one of these gifted people, he would never associate himself with such a title. It was way too pretentious and conceited.

As the smell of roasted hare made its way in the feline's sensitive nose, Zachary extracted his snout from the book. His dinner was ready. Smiling and closing the book for now, the leopard enjoyed his food quietly. The delightful juices from the meat practically caressed his tastebuds. As much as he liked Snowflake's cooking, the hare still provided a tasteful dinner, even with the lack of culinary sorcery the ice dragoness blessed her cooking with.

When the dinner was finished, Zachary continued reading his book for some time. The subject fascinated him, to say the least. Yet no matter how much he enjoyed learning more about the ways of magic, the leopard began noticing his increasing tiredness soon. When the third yawn interrupted him in his eager studying, the feline decided to call it a day.

Gathering his books in a pile and carrying them to Basajaun's saddlebags, the leopard placed them carefully down. The librarian left a rather big impression on the young anthro, for more reasons he cared to admit, he didn't want to unintentionally damage the tomes.

With everything done, the leopard glanced around him for a moment, looking for a place to sleep. His eyes eventually fell upon the sleeping dragons, and he shrugged with a warm smile. Positioning himself comfortably between the two sleeping forms without waking them, Zachary sighed in comfort. His paw occasionally made its way on Basajaun's soft side, rubbing the ample flesh and eliciting another smile from the leopard. It only stopped its massage when the feline fell asleep, his slow and balanced breathing joining to Basajaun's and Snowflake's.

Before the sun rose the following day, Basajaun lifted his head and yawned as he woke up, looking around as he wondered how he had wound up in a forest clearing. Suddenly remembering the previous day's events, the drake felt a moment of panic, before feeling Zachary's soft fur against his body.

As the dragon sighed in relief, Snowflake lifted her own head. "Hey, welcome back to wakefulness," the dragoness greeted softly, the pair sharing a greeting nuzzle and looking down to the little form between them.

"Did they find a solution to Zach's issue?" Basajaun whispered, softly petting his friend's arm as the feline slept.

Snowflake nodded. "It turns out that Spotted Hunter is a special sort of magic user," the spirit reported, "I heard the conversation that Mistress had with the master of the place of learning. I don't have a word for what they called him, though... I'd never even heard of this sort of thing before."

"So he's going to be okay," the drake breathed, feeling a massive wave of relief washing over him as Snowflake confirmed his statement with a nod, "I was really worried there. I don't know what I would have done if..." Not wanting to finish that line of thinking, Basajaun shook his head to rid himself of the unpleasant train of thought.

"It's okay," Snowflake reassured her draconic companion, nuzzling his face gently, "You did a good job getting him here."

The dragon smiled, before his expression soured. "It would have been easier with flight," he stated somewhat curtly, a forelimb subconsciously running across his expansive midsection, "I need to get flying again, Snowflake. This is just another affirmation of that fact."

Hesitating a moment, Snowflake gave her equivalent of a sigh. "I can't argue with that, Forest," she stated, giving a regretful expression to the drake, "I'm sorry, I can't help but feel like that first spell I used on you is what grounded you."

Basajaun waved his claw dismissively. "You were trying to help; I can't be mad at you for that," he stated, patting Snowflake's shoulder. After a moment, Basajaun sighed and looked to the spirit before asking, "Could you take Zachary? I'm going to go exercise my wings some more. Maybe I have enough muscle for flight by now."

Giving a nod, Snowflake slowly and gently repositioned the feline until his weight was entirely against her. Taking the opportunity, Basajaun stood and moved a few steps away, stretching his still uncomfortable legs for a moment, before giving the dragoness a wave and departing into the trees.

A few minutes later, Basajaun found a spot beyond the far tree line that was out of sight of the city and road both. It was a valley between two small hills, a perfect track for him to try lifting off from once more. Positioning himself at one end, Basajaun took a deep breath, and began his wing exercise routine.

Back at camp, it took another hour or so for Esmeralda to wake up, rising with the sun. Standing and stretching her old bones, the owl took her books and exited her tent. "Good morning, Snowflake," she greeted, looking around for a moment, "Where's Fatty?"

"He went to go exercise his wings," the familiar reported, giving her mistress a smile, "I don't think there's much more for him to do here, considering where we are."

"Mm, I suppose not," Esmeralda agreed, looking to the leopard in the spirit's arms, "See if you can wake him up; I want to get started on these books, and all three of us can learn something from them."

Obeying, Snowflake nuzzled at Zachary's face. "Hey, time to get up!" the spirit rang loudly, with a sound like many bells ringing at once, "It's time for some magic!"

The sound proved to be rather effective, as the leopard practically jumped up with a gasp, holding up his paws in fists, as if ready to fight off the one who had ruined his dreams. "Who goes there?!" Zachary demanded with closed eyes as he slowly lowered his arms. Yawning long and curling out his tongue at the same time, the feline curled his tail around him adorably, rubbing his eyes before opening them.

"Ugh... g'morning." he greeted upon noticing the ice dragon next to him, but raised an eyebrow when he noticed his cushiony pillow missing, "Where's Basa?"

"Exercising," Esmeralda replied, before holding up her books, "Ready for some in depth magical research? No better way to start the day!" Not waiting for an answer, the owl got the fire going again, before sitting Zachary down and starting an in depth review of what he already knew to warm the leopard up for learning more.

Meanwhile, Basajaun was into his second hour of exercise, stubbornly refusing to quit the activity long after his wings began burning with fatigue. He was so sure that each new attempt would be the one to get him in the air, and every failed effort only fueled his resolution to keep going.

"Come on, Basajaun," the drake growled at himself, panting heavily all the while, "You're a dragon, you can do this. Just one more try, and you'll be airborne."

Stretching his wings painfully, Basajaun ignored the discomfort as he dashed forward once more, beating hard as he ran the length of the track. Cresting the hill at the end, the dragon kicked off once more, catching as much air in his wings as he could. Suddenly, he found himself rising a few meters.

"I... I'm flying?" Basajaun stuttered in disbelief, before a small laugh escaped him, "I'm flying! I'M FLYING!!" The drake let out an involuntary roar of utter joy. He wasn't climbing the air anywhere even close to the rate that he used to, but he was definitely flying. At least, he was until his exhausted wings finally gave out from forced exertion.

His forelimbs holding his muzzle so that he wouldn't roar again, Basajaun fell the four or five meters to the ground, knowing landing was going to hurt. Clenching his eyes shut, the dragon tucked and rolled as he impacted the ground, his plushy form absorbing the impact harmlessly, but not quite painlessly.

Jumping to his feet once he stopped rolling, Basajaun shot his forelimbs into the air joyously, as though he had just won a protracted battle. The act set his body jiggling, but he disregarded the motion, too overjoyed with his wings once more serving their designated purpose.

Turning back to the woods, Basajaun followed his own scent back to through the trees, sauntering victoriously as he made his way to his friends, eager to share his good news with them.

"Esmeralda, look!" Zachary called out joyously, glancing at the Elder as he gestured to his paw. Directly under the leopard's hand one of the heavy books levitated, seemingly unaffected by the gravity which pulled at its weight stubbornly.

The leopard grinned toothily as he played around with the object in the air, bringing his paw in every possible direction and watching in awe as the tome followed. Eventually, Zachary was even able to have it levitate above his paw, rather than under it. The feline could only laugh happily as he tossed the book high in the air with a single motion, and caught it without having to touch it once.

Snowflake and her mistress both watched with smiling faces. "Careful with that, Zach," Esmeralda cautioned, regardless of her impressed expression, "You don't want to damage any of the books."

Returning her gaze to the tome that she held, Esmeralda held up the book and tapped her talon on one of the advanced ice spells as she looked to Snowflake. "Now why haven't you thought of this before?" she asked, her teasingly scolding tone showing she wasn't really mad.

The old owl seemed much younger as she read through the books they had checked out. It was like learning more about magic turned her back to Zachary's age, with the slightly goofy grin of a child in a candy store.

The feline continued playing with the book for a few more moments after the Elder's warning, but soon he was sitting in the grass once again. Opening the book he had been reading for an hour now, Zachary glanced at his paw, then back at thin pages. Grinning widely, the leopard began turning the pages without touching them, using the levitating spell to grab at the papers.

He browsed through the assortment of basic spells with eagerness, his eyes scanning the walls of text with limitless desire to learn. After a few minutes of reading, Zachary's eyes widened as he found a spell which piqued his curiosity more than any before.

"Oooo, now that sounds interesting!" He mumbled under his breath with a giggle, his mind already memorizing the instructions. Closing his book after he was sure he knew the spell, Zachary walked to the fire with quick steps, grinning widely the entire time.

Closing his eyes and breathing deeply, the leopard extended his paw towards the fire. The warmth of the flames quickly became unpleasant, but Zachary wasn't saddened as he pulled his paw away. He already had what he come for.

Standing up from the fire and rubbing his paws together, the feline clenched his hands tightly against each other. Leaning down and blowing on his paws once, Zachary opened them again. The sight caused the leopard to practically explode with joy.

"Fire!" He observed with an ecstatic tone, turning around to show his newest feat for the two ice mages. Sure enough, a tiny flame glimmered in his right paw, its tiny flames grabbing at the air hungrily. The puny fire wasn't in contact with his fur as it floated above his paw, its warmth pleasant rather than painful.

"Good job!" Snowflake congratulated, even as she subconsciously retreated a little from the little flame over the feline's hands.

Laughing a little, Esmeralda patted her familiar's arm. "Magic fire doesn't agree with Snowflake," the Elder informed the leopard, "Try to keep that particular kind of magic away from her, okay?"

Zachary could only nod in answer as he observed the glimmering flames in his paw with a wide grin across his muzzle. Turning away from the two ice mages, the leopard walked some steps farther from them, still looking at the fire as it danced around.

"This... is... so... cool!" The feline declared with a laugh, waving his paw around in front of him and watching as the fire followed along with it. Remembering the spell's instructions, Zachary closed his eyes again. Breathing deeply and opening his eyes, the feline blew on the tiny flame softly, causing it to grow in size and intensity. "Waow..." The leopard breathed with an impressed tone, lowering his paw a little once he finished marveling at the orange flames.

Now that his vision wasn't fixated exclusively on the spell in his hand, Zachary could see Basajaun's round form approaching from behind the wide trees. Smiling widely, the leopard waved at his friend, the flame in his paw still burning as he greeted the dragon. "Hey, Basa!"

Smiling at the greeting, Basajaun saw the flame in his friend's hand. "I see the magic practise is going well," he observed, smiling tiredly at his friend, "I've got some good news of my own."

Moving past the leopard, Basajaun settled down next to the fire, holding his sore limbs over the flames and sighing happily as the heat helped to relax his muscles. Looking back up to the group with a victorious grin, Basajaun announced, "I flew."

Closing his right paw in a fist and killing the flames in the process, Zachary gave an impressed expression. "That's amazing news!" the leopard stated with a chuckle, moving to sit next the tired dragon and patting his soft side, "Good job, bud. I knew you could do it, regardless of your extra baggage." The feline winked and gave a toothy grin, his characteristic teasing seemingly unaffected by his discoveries of being a multicaster.

Rubbing his middle, the dragon's smile only widened at the feline's words. "I think I'm going to make a habit of flying at least two hours a day," he resolved aloud, looking back to Zachary.

"Once I've built my flying muscles back up, we can put an end to this stupid diet," he assured the leopard, already starting to feel himself growing hungry from his exercise and lack of the amount of nutrition he was used to. Looking to Snowflake, Basajaun added, "But no more nutrient-boosting spells until after we take care of Boldrum. It makes me grow heavier faster than my wings can adapt."

The spirit gave a nod as Esmeralda cleared her throat. "Would you like to join us now, Basajaun?" the owl invited, giving the drake a smile, "These grimoires we borrowed have a lot more variety than what I was able to provide. We might even find a kind of magic you're gifted at!"

Blinking for a moment, Basajaun looked to Zachary. "Borrowed?" he asked, feeling a little uninformed.

The leopard rubbed the back of his neck and gave a sheepish smile. "Yeah, from the library in the college. And we borrowed them because... Er..." Zachary glanced at the Elder and Snowflake, giving them both a somewhat disappointed expression for not telling Basajaun what they had agreed on, "We're staying for a few days in Centrum."

Doing a double take, Basajaun worked his mouth for a moment, no words coming out. Taking a deep breath, the dragon tried again. "A few days," he repeated, trying very hard not to snap at the group for leaving him out of this decision, "Does this have to do with the solution to your magic troubles?" Despite his calm tone, the dragon's expression revealed he was significantly less than pleased at this development.

"Partly..." Zachary answered, his face falling upon noticing his friend's expression, "I was offered an opportunity to study at the college in Centrum. The headmaster wants to teach me... and help me overcome my inability to control my spells." he explained, sighing and hesitantly stroking his friend's neck. He knew Basajaun wouldn't like the news.

"I'm sorry, bud. But I... I can't miss the chance to learn more about magic. If anything, it will make our lives easier once we reach Boldrumton. I'm going to be actually useful!" Zachary explained, chuckling nervously as he tried to calm the dragon, "I know it's hard for you, Basa. But it's only for a few days..." remembering something, the leopard quickly added, "You can take the time to get used to flying completely. That's a nice consolation, right?"

Heaving a prolonged sigh, Basajaun nodded. "It's okay, really," he said, forcing a smile on his face, "But, I just want to remind you that this place is dangerous to me. I'm staying because I know that you need this, but... if I'm discovered, I'm going to have to run. And I'm going to have to run far. We might wind up getting separated for a while. So... just try to hurry, okay? I don't want to wind up losing you because I have to flee from an angry mob."

Zachary shook his head with a confused expression. "Do you really think I don't know how dangerous this is for you?" he asked, heaving a sigh, "I'm not only doing this because I want it... we are going to need every help we can get for Boldrum. And that clearly includes me getting to be more than an archer." the leopard explained, looking at his friend with an apologetic look on his face, "We'll leave as soon as I'm able to control my magic fully, and once I'm able to make myself a little more useful."

The feline suddenly embraced the dragon. "And even if you're forced to leave, I won't stop looking for you until I find you," Zachary stated with a determined tone, "I promise."

Returning the feline's embrace, Basajaun's expression softened. "Thank you," he said after a moment, "I know this is important; I think I might have been letting my fear get the better of me again. You're right, you should take this opportunity. I'm sorry for not supporting you immediately; you have my word that I will do so from now on."

Zachary chuckled as he pulled away. "I understand your concern, Basa. Believe it or not, I'm just as worried about your life as you are." the leopard admitted with a warm smile and turned back to the owl and Snowflake, shaking his head a little, "You two could have told him earlier. We could have avoided getting him all worked up!" He glared playfully at the ice dragoness and the Elder, putting a paw protectively on his friend's neck.

Snowflake smiled sheepishly while Esmeralda waved her talons dismissively. "You do realize that you're the best one to give him this kind of new, right?" the owl responded, "Besides, I didn't have the opportunity until you did. And Snowflake hates giving bad news." The familiar in question nodded apologetically.

"It's fine, really," Basajaun assured his companions, forcing a smile, "I'm more used to being near anthros than I was before we got to Plainstead. I'm just nervous, is all."

Nodding, Esmeralda tapped her book. "So, are you going to answer my question, now that the drama's out of the way?" she asked, a small smile curling the Elder's beak.

"Oh, right, sorry," Basajaun apologized, not meaning to ignore the owl, "Sure, I'd love to learn a bit more, even if I don't have Zach's natural talent."

Zachary waved a paw and snorted. "It's not that big of a deal, really." the leopard stated with a shy smile, glancing at his paw for a moment before looking up at Basajaun again, "I'm sure you'll find a type of magic you're good at as well. The only difference between us that I can access... well... every type of magic that exists. Apparently, I'm not limited like most magic users are." He explained, obviously not wanting to appear pretentious in front of his friends.

Basajaun gave an impressed expression. "Really? That's amazing!" he stated truthfully, "I knew you were special, Zach." The drake reached over and nuzzled his friend's face before looking back to the other two.

"So, do you think I might have some form of magic that I excel at?" the dragon asked, genuinely curious, "It'd be nice to be more useful to others. Not that I'm not already useful; I just know that it's always good to find all of one's skills."

Snowflake nodded. "I'd be surprised if you didn't have some sort of magic you could perform," the spirit said, giving the drake a supportive smile and turning to Esmeralda as the owl nodded.

"Zachary, would you mind if we focused on Basajaun for a moment?" the Elder asked, smiling to the leopard, "You learn magic at the drop of a hat, so I don't think it'd hurt you to help Basajaun find out whether he has any magical talent."

Zachary shook his head with a wide smile. "Of course not! I can learn by helping him just as much as I would on my own," the leopard explained, standing up and moving to the books he had borrowed.

He was about to reach and pick them up when a thought crossed his mind, and the feline smirked to himself. Quickly stacking the books up, Zachary closed his eyes and concentrated for a moment, gathering his energy as his paw hovered above the tomes. Inhaling deeply and opening his eyes, the leopard slowly raised his hand in the air, resulting in the stack of books to start lifting off from the ground.

Grinning widely that he was able to perform the feat, the feline exhaled. It took him a lot more effort to levitate three books at once than before with a single one, but it wasn't all that tiring at all. Carrying the tomes back while having them drift through the air, Zachary eventually settled down next to the his companions. "No, I'm not a show-off at all," he stated with a chuckle, setting the books down next to Basajaun and patting them, "There you go, bud. You can use these if you'd like." The leopard informed his friend with a smile, leaning lightly against the soft form of the dragon.

"Alright, you have the basics of magic down, right?" Esmeralda checked, continuing once Basajaun nodded, "Then why don't we flip to the beginner spells in each tome, and see if you can pick any up right away?"

Complying, the drake opened each of the books to their beginner's section. "Alright, let's start off with the obvious thing for dragons, no offense; fire magic," Esmeralda teased, tapping the spell that Zachary had just used.

Basajaun actually laughed at that suggestion. "No offense taken," he giggled, reading through the instructions. Apparently the dragon found the fire-breathing stereotype amusing.

Once ready, Basajaun tried the spell, holding his forelimbs in the fire for a moment, before retracting them and blowing between his claws. When nothing happened, the drake tried a few more times, before looking up with a smile. "Looks like this is another stereotype I don't fit into!" he joked, chuckling once more.

Afterwards, they tried ice magic, then lightning, enchanting, earth, air, and even a little necromancy using the hides from one of the hares that Zachary had caught. At first enthusiastic, Basajaun's disappointment steadily became apparent with each failure, an irritated expression crossing his face after his most recent failure.

"Bah, how inept can I be?" he growled under his breath has he flipped through to the next spell, in a quite obviously sour mood.

Zachary put a paw on his friend's shoulder, stroking up and down to comfort the distressed dragon. "You're everything but inept, Basa," he reassured the reptile, giving him an encouraging smile, "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll find some form of magic you're good at... you just have to give it some time, don't give up after only a few tries." The leopard said, his tone more commanding than suggestive.

Taking a breath to calm himself a bit, Basajaun looked at the header for this next section of spells; "Biomancy for Beginners". Reading through the section, the dragon found the description of this magic unusually appealing; it allowed one to manipulate the body. It was commonly used for healing and transformation, and skilled casters were even able to temporarily alter their own form.

Seeing the interest in Basajaun's eyes, a knowing and eager glance was shared between the owl and her familiar. "Found something you'd like to try?" the Elder asked.

"Yes, this biomancy sounds intriguing," the dragon stated, not pulling his eyes from the pages as he drank in their knowledge.

"Well, let's give that a shot!" Esmeralda urged, leaning forward slightly.

Nodding, Basajaun placed down the book after reading through the instructions of the beginner spell provided. Looking around, he settled his gaze on one of the burnt logs nearby, picking it up and focusing on its pattern. "Chamaeleon," the dragon intoned.

Suddenly, the claw holding the log adapted the color and pattern of the burned wood. And that wasn't all; Basajaun's striped green pattern shifted and changed to match that of the grass beneath him, making the dragon seem nearly invisible, except for a floating grey log and claw.

Looking at himself, Basajaun's eyes widened in surprise, before a large grin split his head, revealing his white teeth. "I think we found my field of magic!" the dragon announced the obvious news, so self-satisfied that he actually started purring.

Zachary grinned widely as well, moving to put a paw on the dragon's shoulder. "There you go, bud! I knew you co--" the leopard stopped as his hand grabbed at the air, and he had to search around for a second before finding his friend's body, "I knew you could do it!" he finished with a chuckle, giving a few pats on the reptile's shoulder.

"This spell is kinda cool. I'll give a try later, too." The feline announced as he observed the effects of the biomancy magic. It looked like it could make hunting a whole lot easier if one were able to disguise themselves so effectively.

Turning a limb as he observed it, Basajaun's grin grew wider as similar thoughts occurred to him. "Oh yes, I could definitely find some uses for this kind of magic!" the dragon stated enthusiastically, watching as his normal coloration steadily returned.

Standing and moving to Basajaun's side, Esmeralda smiled as she looked over the effects of the drake's spell. "Looks like you do have a talent for magic, after all," the Elder stated with a satisfied nod, "It's not as broad as Zachary's, but there are few people that can cast a spell on their first try. Nice going, Fatty."

Now knowing that he wasn't completely incapable of magic, Basajaun felt his earlier frustration completely abating. He was used to being the best of the best, and even though that wasn't the case for magic, finding an area he excelled in was enough to settle his hurt pride.

"Thank you, Esmeralda," the dragon said simply, not wanting to have his ego inflated with praise. Looking over to Zachary with his smile still plastered to his face, Basajaun tapped the biomancy section of the book he was reading. "Do you think you could get a book on biomancy from where you got these?" he requested, his enthusiasm to learn more quite evident.

Zachary nodded with a smile. "Of course, bud. I'll make sure I keep an eye on biomancy tomes for you." he replied, glancing at the rising sun behind the tall trees, "I need to get going soon, anyway. Master Xergon is waiting for me in the college," the leopard stood up, stretching his back and sighing, "He looked very enthusiastic about teaching me, so I guess I shouldn't keep him waiting for too long."

Moving to the books, the feline quickly stacked them on each other, this time favoring his paws to do the job. He didn't want to completely exhaust himself before his real lessons started, after all. Once the books were all neatly positioned, Zachary turned back and gave a smile to his companions. "Will you be joining me, Esmeralda?" he inquired from the Elder, giving her a few playful and encouraging waves with his paw.

"Absolutely!" the owl replied, her expression already eager, "I'm just as interested as you are to see what the college has to offer." Turning to Basajaun, she indicated one of her own spellbooks before offering, "I know a bit on biomancy myself, particularly the healing kind. You can look over my notes on the topic, if you'd like."

Smiling gratefully, the drake nodded. "Thank you, Elder Eszes," he replied with a sincere smile, "I'll do that while you two are out there."

Taking the books she had borrowed, Esmeralda handed the tome on biomacy to Basajaun before moving to her saddlebags and retrieving a small pouch and securing it under her clothing. That done, she joined Zachary's side, the ice magic grimoire in her arm. "Lead on, young man," she invited with a wave of her cane.

"With pleasure, my Mistress," Zachary said with a goofy grin, giving a low bow and extending his paw towards the way out of the forest, "If you'd follow me, my Mistress." Snickering as he pulled out of his act, the leopard practically bounced his way towards their destination.

The way out of the forest was rather quick as the feline led the way. The reason behind it was quite simple, Zachary could barely contain himself through the whole way, constantly speaking of his expectations for this fateful day. Esmeralda didn't seem to mind the young anthro's babbling, nodding to practically everything and smiling the whole time.

As the two reached the dirt road, the leopard actually let himself enjoy the scenery. He wasn't in a particularly good mood the day before, therefore didn't pay too much attention to his surroundings. Now, however, Zachary's gaze settled on anything that was able to grab his attention. And although the abandoned farms didn't provide a sight which could be called marvelous, the feline apparently had no problems doing just that, releasing sounds of awe and astonishment while pointing at the deserted buildings.

Zachary continued his childish fascination with the scenery around him as long as it lasted, but eventually the pair reached the gates of Centrum again. Even from a distance, the leopard could see the familiar guard standing below the massive pair of doors.

Nudging the Elder's shoulder to warn her about the presence of the bull, Zachary quickly got into his act. "Good morning, mister guard!" He greeted cheerfully from far away, waving his paw vehemently in the air.

The bull chuckled and shook his head as he noticed the pair approaching. "How was campin', huh? Granny must have been complaining since the start of the day because of her aching back. I know how much it hurts when you can't sleep in a bed!" The guard stated with a grin as his eyes settled on the old owl.

In her stooped posture, Esmeralda gave the guard a smile. "Oh now, don't you worry about me," she reassured the bull, "I'm a tough old bird. I can take little roughing it." Pointing at the gate with her cane, the owl asked, "Would you be a sweety and open the gate? We got folks waiting on us in there."

"Them relatives must like you two a lot for not giving you a place to sleep at night," the bull remarked with a chuckle, shaking his head a little, "But yeah, sure. I'll be a sweety and open this thing for ya two." Turning around and gesturing with his hoof for the other guards, the bulky anthro turned back and bid his head to Zachary and Esmeralda, "Have fun and stay safe in there." He said before turning away and making his way back to his previous post.

"I'm starting to like this guy," Zachary whispered with a chuckle to his companion, looking at the guard as he leaned heavily against the wall, "He's not as bad as I initially thought." The leopard admitted as the two made their way through the open gates.

Nodding, Esmeralda scowled a bit at the sight of the beginning of the day's crowd. "Come on, let's get to the tower before it gets too crowded around here," she urged, picking up her pace slightly.

Zachary followed closely behind the owl as the two cut their way through the tempestuous crowd. Fortunately for both, it was still rather early in the morning, as the crowd wasn't nearly as big as it had been yesterday.

Once out on the streets, the leopard and the owl followed the signs towards the college, not quite remembering where the establishment was located, now that it was daylight. Eventually they found the building, its gates wide open just like the day before.

"Alright, let's learn then, shall we?" Zachary invited with a wide grin, gesturing with his paw for the Elder to follow as he started walking towards the open doors, his evident enthusiasm displayed by his practically wagging tail.

With eager steps, the pair crossed the threshold of the tower once more. Rupert was back at the counter, his nose in a book like before. Looking up, the bat smiled at the sight of the two anthros. "Welcome back!" the bat greeted, reaching over and tapping a symbol on his counter, before seeming to address it, "Master Xergon, the students you were waiting for have arrived."

Looking back to the owl and leopard, Rupert indicated the seats provided. "He'll be right with you shortly," the bat informed them, before looking back to his book.

Nodding, Zachary sat down in one of the wooden chairs, his legs bouncing up and down as he waited impatiently. "I can't wait to see what spells and tricks I'm going to learn!" The leopard declared with a wide smile, attempting to stay quiet but failing to do so as his excitement overwhelmed his manners.

The feline occasionally leaned backwards and forwards to glance at two wide corridors which were divided by the bat's counter in the middle, hoping to spot the lynx approaching and begin his magical training.

Opening her tome as she waited, Esmeralda smiled at the leopard's infectious enthusiasm. "Don't get too excited there, Zach," the owl said in a tone of teasing warning, "You don't want to pop before he gets here."

Zachary completely disregarded the owl's teasing, way too eager to even pay the slightest of heed to the sarcastic comment. To his utter relief, he spotted the Master walking down the hallway, his steps just as bouncy as the leopard's.

He stood up from his chair immediately, watching keenly as the lynx neared them. "Good morning... Er... Master Xergon?" Zachary greeted hesitantly, his tongue not quite accustomed to calling others by their proper titles.

Xergon smiled warmly as he stopped before the two anthros. "Good morning to you two, as well. I'm really glad to see you both returning to us, truly." the lynx said with a sincere tone, bidding his head for the Elder and the feline, "And I hope you will enjoy your stay here, as brief as it will be."

"I'm quite sure that we will, don't worry." Zachary stated with the widest smile he could give, glancing at the Elder for a moment.

Standing after Zachary, Esmeralda smiled to the lynx as well. "It's already enjoyable," she said with a small wink, before her expression straightened, "I meant to ask; isn't there some form of fee for joining the college? It seems strange to me to just let anyone in without some form of payment."

Xergon chuckled and shook his head. "No, my dear. We do not charge anything from our students," he stated, turning around and gesturing for the two to follow him as he began walking towards one of the long corridors.

Zachary followed behind, raising an eyebrow at the lynx's answer. "How are you able to run this college, then?" he inquired, only noticing that his question was rather ill-mannered when it was too late, "If you don't mind me asking... Master Xergon."

The lynx laughed again, glancing over his shoulder to look at the pair behind him. "We run exclusively on donations, both from our pleased students and the government of Centrum." he explained, gesturing at the tapestries and paintings on the walls, "It's been like this since the establishment was first opened. Here at Centrum's College of Magic, we take the view that every living being should be given the opportunity to learn the ways of magic, regardless of their heritage, cultural and financial state or even their species." Stopping in his tracks and turning back to the two anthros, Xergon gave them a warm smile.

"Every headmaster before me followed this philosophy, and each and every one will follow it after my retirement," the lynx stated, chuckling lightly and adding, "But it's going to be a while before that happens, I'm not as old as I look!"

Zachary laughed along the lynx as well, shaking his head a little as he followed behind the other feline. "That's a philosophy I can completely support." he stated, his thoughts drifting to his dragon friend and wondering whether or not he would be welcomed in the college.

"Even their species," the owl repeated under her breath, a smile crossing her beak. "That is an excellent way to run a place of learning," the Elder stated as she followed the pair of felines, "I'm impressed by how your establishment handles their funds; this place seems to be running quite well."

Xergon nodded as he continued walking down the long corridor. "Our students are generous, and we're more than grateful for that," he stated, glancing around him for a moment and admiring a particularly well-decorated vase with a pair of beautiful, purple colored flowers in it, "We provide them a place they can safely learn and practice magic, and in return they are willingly charitable, and help us keep the college running." The lynx explained with a warm smile, picking one of the marvelous flowers out of the vase and handing it to Esmeralda.

"The government's endless support keeps us afloat as well. It seems like the people of Centrum aren't as close-minded when it comes to magic as most people are. It makes our work and lives a great deal easier." Xergon's muzzle broke into a grin as he leaned closer to the two anthros and added with a whisper, "Just don't tell them that we're doing so well. They might decide to lower their donation!"

Zachary could only chuckle at the Master's words. He never would have guessed that a principal of such a serious establishment could be so cheer and friendly. "We'll keep our mouths shut!" The leopard replied, giving a toothy grin to the lynx, who returned the gesture and continued walking down the hallway.

Nodding in agreement, Esmeralda admired the flower the lynx had given to her with a smile. "So, where are you taking us, Master Xergon?" the Elder inquired, noting that they were going in a different direction than the leopard and owl had taken the previous day.

"To your teachers, of course!" Xergon replied cheerfully, the statement causing Zachary to stop in his tracks as he looked at the lynx with a confused expression.

"I thought you were going to teach me?" The leopard demanded with a somewhat disappointed tone, which Xergon was able to pick up almost immediately. Turning around, the Master gave Zachary a small smile.

"I'm sorry, Zachary, but I have a school to run. Believe me, I would love to be your guide in your quest to become a powerful sorcerer, but I'm simply too busy." he explained, putting a paw on the leopard's shoulder and squeezing it gently, "Don't worry, though, the teacher you're getting is probably the best magic user in the whole province! I know because he keeps reminding me that he beat me in every magic spar we've had..." Xergon laughed and shook his head, "You'll be in good hands, Zachary, I assure you."

Sighing, the feline nodded slowly, apparently acknowledging and accepting the answer despite his negative feelings about it. "Alright, I understand." he said, eliciting a nod from the lynx and a warm smile.

"And don't think I've forgotten about you, my lady." Xergon stated with a chuckle, turning to Esmeralda, "I haven't been able to find you a teacher yet, but that's only because I simply do not know what type of magic user I'm dealing with. Would you mind providing me this crucial information?"

"My primary field is glaciomancy," the Elder replied, smiling at the headmaster's offer, "I've also done some research in biomancy of the healing sort. I'm by no means a master of either, though; to be honest, I've never had access to a college of magic. I learned what I know from an ice spirit and individual research."

Xergon gave an impressed expression. "From a spirit, you say? That is indeed not the usual way of learning the ways of magic, though I imagine it has similar results." he explained, giving the Elder a warm smile, "Glaciomancy and Biomancy teacher... let me think for a moment," the lynx mumbled something under his breath for some time, before snapping his furry fingers, "Right, Miss Oyuu is just the person we're looking for. She is a very talented Glaciomancer, and can help you out on the fields of Biomancy as well."

Zachary gave the owl an encouraging smile. "Look at that, Esmeralda. They have a teacher even for you! Just make sure you don't lecture her back when she tries to teach you." The leopard chuckled, grinning teasingly at the Elder.

Esmeralda gave the feline an innocent look. "Me, lecture someone?" the owl asked with an exaggeratedly offended tone, "I would never. I am ever the humble student towards others."

Both of the felines snickered, Xergon finding the old owl's ironic statement very amusing. "In that case, let's find Miss Oyuu for yo--"

"Did you call me, Xergon?" A high-pitched voice called out from behind the tree, forcing Zachary to whip his head towards its owner and finding a somewhat small-statured arctic fox standing right behind the Lynx, who could only shake his head at the tiny lady.

"You really need to stop doing that, Oyuu... You're going to give me a heart attack one day." Xergon remarked, glaring rather unconvincingly at the white fox.

Said creature waved a furry paw. "Don't exaggerate, Xergon. You're not nearly old for that..." Oyuu stated with a teasing smile, adding, "...yet."

The lynx raised both of his eyebrows, before he broke into a chuckle. "Alright, that's quite enough. Off you go, and be sure to give this lady here a proper lesson," Xergon raised a finger and waved it at the fox, "I don't want to find any frozen students anymore after your classes, Oyuu. We had to wait three hours for the last one to thaw out." The feline said in a serious tone, although his amusement about this particular event was obvious as he tried to hold back a smile.

Her beak breaking out into a grin, Esmeralda gave her new teacher a shallow bow. "Thank you for accepting me as a student," the owl said gratefully, her amused smile still on her face, "I have a feeling we're going to get along just swimmingly." Giving Zachary a wave farewell, the Elder walked alongside Oyuu and began chatting about the nuances of ice magic, a very satisfied expression soon visible on her face.

Zachary smiled warmly as he watched the owl depart, a little surprised to see Esmeralda behaving like she was at the moment. Evidently the Elder was just as enthusiastic to learn as the leopard, despite her age.

Turning to Xergon, Zachary's muzzle broke into a wide grin. "My turn now?" He inquired in an almost childishly excited tone, eliciting a chuckle from the Master.

"Yes, boy. It's your turn now." He reassured the feline, putting a paw on his shoulder before motioning for him to follow. The two walked the remaining way of the long hallway with quick steps, taking the spiral stairs once they reached the end of the corridor.

"Where are we going?" Zachary asked, putting his furry feet on the steps in turns as he followed behind the Lynx. Said feline glanced behind his shoulder and gave a smile to the leopard.

"To the top of the tower, of course. Talib doesn't prefer teaching more than a single student at once," Xergon explained, turning ahead once again, "It's the way he teaches. He has a little different set of mentality when it comes to educating our students, but that shouldn't discourage you, Zachary. I think you two will get along just fine... I hope." The master added that last remark with a silent whisper.

The leopard blinked for a moment, feeling some of his earlier enthusiasm slowly leaving his mind. "I... alright." he said simply, eliciting a nod and a smile from Xergon. The cresting of the spiral stairs took a few more moments to conquer, but eventually the pair came to a rather large and wide wooden door.

"And here we... are," Xergon announced, trying to catch his breath as he panted heavily, "I... don't... I need to ask Talib to change his office to one on the lower levels. Climbing these stairs is just a nuisance and tiring for my poor legs. Of course, he has it easy just slithering around!" The lynx stated with a chuckle.

Giving the most confused and baffled expression he could, Zachary slowly nodded, remaining silent as he waited for the lynx's next move or baffling remark. Straightening himself after he was finished with his little break, Xergon knocked on the wooden door twice. "Talib, I brought you your new student."

Rather than footsteps, there was a light scraping sound that approached the door. After the sound of a heavy lock sliding out of place, the door opened to reveal a serpentine face with ebony scales. "Xergon," the snake greeted with a deep voice, nodding his head and opening the door the rest of the way.

Talib had a long, sinuous form so common to snakes. Where the light hit the serpent's black scales, they shone with a rainbow iridescence. He had no legs, instead bearing a humanoid torso at the end of a lengthy series of coils. The snake regarded the leopard beside the headmaster with an inscrutable expression, as though he were appraising the feline.

"This is the multicaster?" Talib asked as his gaze returned to Xergon.

The lynx nodded with a smile, putting a paw on the leopard in question. "Yes, he's the one I was telling you about yesterday," he explained with a somewhat proud expression, holding up a finger to Talib, "And I want to remind you that he isn't only a multicaster, but your new student as well. Treat him as such, Talib."

Zachary stared at the snake with an unreadable expression, before shaking his head a little as if realizing where he was and who he was talking to. "My name is Zachary, Master Talib, it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm looking forward to our lessons." The leopard said in a monotonous tone, feeling rather intimidated by the serpentine's earlier gaze and curt choice of words.

Looking between the two for a moment, the snake sighed. "Fine, I'll find out what kind of potential he has," Talib said as he addressed Xergon, before shifting his gaze to the leopard and gesturing for him to enter.

Zachary straightened himself and made to move, before he was stopped by a paw on his shoulder. Turning back, the leopard found himself facing Xergon.

"Don't let yourself be scared by him," he said with a smile, gesturing his head towards the snake, "He's a softy at heart." Xergon stated, snickering quietly as he turned around and started moving down the stairs, "I'll be back once your lesson is over, Zachary. Have fun and good luck..." the lynx said in a kind tone, before silently adding, "... you're going to need it."

Zachary blinked at those last words, his enthusiasm quickly shifting to hesitation and uncertainness. He could probably guess the reason why Xergon had said those words, but was quite unwilling to face them, although knowing that he would eventually, no matter what.

Sighing, the feline moved through the doorway, glancing curiously around the circular room. A wide, red painted window provided most of the light, its unusual coloring lending a slightly rose hue to the expanse of the place. Zachary noted the wooden shelves leaned against the walls, not exactly surprised to find row of books weighing them down. With the exception of a few other wooden furnitures, namely two tables, one large and one small, the latter heavily littered with both unlighted and lighted candles, the room was completely empty. Because of the absence of the usual household appliance, there was a lot more place in the room than one would normally expect.

Shaking his head to stop observing the snake's private chamber, Zachary straightened himself and settled his gaze on the serpent in front of him, feeling both eager to learn, and somewhat hesitant to be taught by Talib at the same time.

Moving to his bookshelf, the snake perused his selection for a moment. "Xergon assures me that you have a talent for magic," Talib said after a moment, not looking to the feline he addressed, "I'm going to assume you know the basics, so we're going to see just how advanced your spellcasting is."

Taking one of the books from his shelf, the serpent placed it on his larger table. "I'm afraid I don't have chairs," Talib stated as he wrapped his coils into a "seat" of his own, tapping the book, "So you'll have to make do with standing for now. Regardless, I'll review what you are already capable of, and see if you're really what Xergon believes you to be. This book contains spells for more advanced novices. If you have talent, you'll find you'll be able to cast them. If not, then you are a waste of my time."

Zachary simply couldn't help to decide how to feel at the moment. For one, the serpent's assumption that he knew the basics was a long overstatement in his head; he only knew four spells altogether! And two, Talib's words weren't exactly what he expected to receive. Xergon's subtle hints of the snake being an individual who is hard to deal with were proven to be true.

Instead of wasting his time on being hurt, the feline simply nodded, now more than determined to show what he could do than before. He didn't like when people underestimated his capabilities in the slightest, and he surely wouldn't let anyone.

With a resolute expression on his face, Zachary took the book from the table, opening and quickly flipping through the pages. He observed and scanned the contents of the tome for a few minutes, his gaze jumping from spell to spell as he searched for the right one. Something that even the snake couldn't snort at.

Stopping in his enthusiastic search as soon as his eyes settled on an interesting spell. 'Yes, that will do.' The feline stated in his mind, already memorizing the instructions and narrowing his eyes occasionally as he read through them. He already knew this wasn't going to be easy.

Shaking his head as if the thought would cause him to perform the spell unsuccessfully, Zachary closed the book and put it on the ground. For a few moments, the leopard glanced around himself, looking like he was searching for something. Eventually, his eyes settled on the books which decorated the wooden shelves.

Shrugging, the feline moved to the shelf and took one of the heavy tomes without saying a single word. There was no explanation needed. Turning the book in his paws in every direction as he walked, Zachary ran his hand over the object slowly, as if examining its shape and curves. Once done, he put the book next to the other one on the ground.

Sighing and closing his eyes, the leopard remained unmoved for long moments. The spell required a lot more concentration and preparing than the ones he already knew, given its advanced difficulty. Even for it being just a novice spell, Zachary had unwillingly chosen one of the hardest ones available.

With his eyes still closed, the feline slowly raised both of his arms towards the two books on the floor. Stretching and flexing his furry fingers for a few moments, Zachary suddenly clenched his paws in fists. He opened his eyes, a fiery passion evidently burning endlessly in his gaze as he stared at the two objects.

In a single and quick motion, Zachary squeezed his fists together so the two were facing each other. Not hesitating a single second, he yawed his paws slowly in the opposite directions, only stopping once they were completely turned.

He watched as the two books slowly began to lose their coloration, their shapes and eventually absorbed into nothingness. It only took a fraction of a second for them to reappear, although they weren't the same anymore. They changed places.

Exhaling loudly and relaxing his posture, Zachary resisted the urge to smile widely that he was able to perform the spell successfully, simply glancing up at the snake with an unreadable expression. Although the casting of the spell was an obvious success, it wasn't done in the usual and complete way. Zachary hadn't used the incantation once again.

Talib's face remained unmoved, except for a slightly cocked brow. Motioning to the book he had presented to Zachary, the tome rose up and settled itself in front of the serpent. "Put that back where you found it," he ordered, before selecting a spell and turning the tome on the table to face the leopard, "And then give this spell an attempt."

Zachary gave a bemused expression. That wasn't the reaction he expected. After a few moments of looking surprised, the leopard sighed and nodded. "Alright." He replied, his tone lacking his usual joyfulness. He picked the book up in his paw and placed it back where he found it, before walking back to the table and giving a look to the spell Talib had selected.

His eyes steadily widened as he read through the instructions, as well as narrowing them and shaking his head occasionally. "This... is... well." Zachary stammered, feeling himself getting increasingly discouraged while memorizing the spell. Not wanting to appear, however, the feline quickly pulled himself together and nodded.

Taking a few steps away from Talib once he was certain he knew the spell well enough, Zachary closed his eyes once more. Inhaling as much as air as his lungs could accommodate, the feline stopped moving completely. Although appearing unmoved outside, it wasn't the case inside the leopard's mind. His brain worked through hundreds of images at once, analyzing each one carefully and trying to draw as much information from them as he could.

With the spell requiring a lot more mental preparation rather than physical, it took even more time for the feline to be ready than with the previous one. Finally exhaling after long moments, the leopard's eyes remained closed. He slowly raised one of his fingers up in the air, bringing it to his forehead and touching it gently. Taking another deep breath, Zachary clenched his eyes as he began pulling his paw away.

On his finger's path, a weak and thin white line followed, seemingly floating out from the leopard's head as he kept steadily distancing his arm away. A few seconds into this, the line began to widen as it neared its end, eventually stopping once all its length was outside.

Zachary finally opened his eyes, for a few moments only able to admire the shining, bright light as it floated around in front of him, before he began to swipe at the unrecognizable canvas gently and slowly with his finger.

The unidentifiable floating light slowly began to change form, bunching up in a single ball. It remained unmoved for a few moments, simply levitating in front of Zachary. Suddenly, the ball started to change form once more, its body both getting longer and wider, as well as growing and stretching in six different directions.

The transformation lasted for some seconds, the shapeless orb slowly beginning to take a form of its own, growing limbs and smoothing its main body as well with finer details. When the spell was finished, Zachary simply couldn't help but smile at the image.

The illusion he had casted stood on its four legs, its tail swishing behind it while the wings on its sides rested against its body. It turned its head this way and that, as if searching for something before spotting the leopard.

'Hi there, Basa.' Zachary greeted in his mind as he observed his creation. The tiny, white and transparent dragon looked up at him, cocking its head slightly to the right as it waited for a command. If it weren't for the difference in size and ghostly appearance, the feline couldn't have distinguished the result of his spell from the actual dragon, so similar the two appeared.

Rising from his coils, Talib moved to the image, leaning down to examine it thoroughly. After a moment, the snake nodded, returning to his position at the table. "Good detail," he said simply, nodding to his book as the pages turned of their own volition, "This next spell is easier, to give you the opportunity to restore some of your energy. When you are ready, give it an attempt."

"I'm fi--" Zachary was about to answer when the known dizziness from using magic suddenly appeared. Shaking his head and stumbling, the leopard had to catch himself from falling as he fought against the unpleasant feeling. He quickly killed his previous illusion spell with a wave of his paw, knowing perfectly well that having it around would continue to drain his leftover energy. The tiny, white dragon disappeared in a mist, slowly absorbing into the air.

Breathing heavily as he leaned on his knees, Zachary held up a finger. "Just... a... moment." He announced with a weak tone, shaking his head once again and putting a paw on his head. As much as he tried not to admit it himself, he felt almost completely exhausted.

The snake looked to his student with a dispassionate expression. "You have the endurance of a novice," Talib stated with a mild tone of disdain, "Work on that. I don't need my lessons to be half filled with you struggling to stay awake." Beckoning to another book on the shelf, the tome came to its owner as he waited with an impatient expression for the leopard to catch his breath.

Almost absentmindedly, Talib picked up a quill from the table, snapping it in two in his hand before pitching the broken utensil to Zachary's feet. "You will mend that once you have your energy back," the snake ordered, his attention seeming to leave his student.

As much as the snake's words frustrated him, Zachary was grateful for them. The ebony serpent's remark was practically oil to the fire, as the feeling the leopard got from it overwhelmed his tiredness. Breathing heavily for a last time and straightening himself, the feline looked at Talib with a piercing gaze, although its effectiveness was somewhat reduced by the way Zachary tried to focus his vision.

"As you wish." He said with an unusually cold tone, moving unsteadily to the spellbook on the table and reading through the instructions. He had to backtrack on several occasions, his blurry vision not helping him in recognizing the suddenly hazy letters. Eventually, he was able to memorize the details. Thankfully, it didn't sound as hard as the last two.

Walking back and picking up the remains of the quill from the ground, Zachary closed his eyes and inhaled, pulling his finger slowly over the broken object while trying to place them together at the same time. For the first time, the leopard showed signs of struggling as he casted the spell in his mind. But he didn't give up, fueled by his endless determination, regardless of how his teacher was treating him.

Eventually the quill mended under his paws, and the leopard didn't show any signs of feeling accomplished as he simply tossed it back on Talib's table. He retreated to his previous position, trying to catch his breath as he leaned heavily on his knees. He was not feeling good.

Looking over to the feline, Talib sighed. "We're done for today," the snake said curtly, releasing his book and sending it floating back to its place on the shelf. Rising up, he gave the feline a disappointed look. "Multicaster you may be," the serpent said, folding his arms arrogantly over his chest, "But I find myself underwhelmed. If you're going to continue being my student, build up your endurance before you come back tomorrow. I don't want to be disappointed again, understood?"

Zachary glanced up with one of his eyes open as he fought against the constant and overwhelming dizziness, giving a shocked expression. "But... I... have..." He managed to stammer out, but gave up soon once he noticed the look on the snake's face. It was evident that there was no way convincing him otherwise, and the leopard knew that perfectly well.

"I... understand. Thank... you for the... lesson." The feline said with an even weaker tone, attempting to straighten himself and almost falling over as he did. After a few tries, he was able to stand up properly. Moving to the door and leaving without saying anything else to Talib, Zachary bumped into someone, who seemingly appeared out of nowhere in front of his eyes.

"Oh, Zachary, I'm sorry, I didn't see you there." Xergon apologized with a small smile, before his face fell as he noticed the poor state of the leopard in front of him, "Are you alright?" He asked with a concerned tone, glancing at Talib with a confused expression.

The feline shook his head and simply walked past the lynx. "No... see you tomorrow." He said, his voice getting weaker and weaker with every letter. With unbalanced steps, Zachary made his way to the stairs and disappeared from the Master's sight.

Blinking in confusion, Xergon turned his gaze towards the snake. "I take it the lesson didn't go well?"

Talib gave the lynx an incredulous look. "You said he was a talented spellcaster," the snake reminded Xergon, "But if I had to judge from his endurance, he acts like he's been practising magic for less than a week."

Xergon attempted to remove his facial features with his fingers as he pulled his fingers over his face. "That boy casted his first spell two days ago, Talib." the lynx stated, extracting his head from his paws, "He can barely be considered a beginner, judging by the amount of practice and time he spent with magic." the lynx shook his head and put a paw on his forehead as he looked after Zachary, "Please tell me you didn't say anything discouraging to him. That boy right there is the youngest and most talented sorcerer I've ever laid my eyes upon."

Blinking for a moment, Talib looked down the stairs after the leopard. "Two days?" he repeated, an impressed expression crossing his face for just a second, "Well, that would explain it."

Glancing back to Xergon, the snake patted the lynx's shoulder. "He'll be back," Talib stated, turning back to his room, "And I'll have a more fitting lesson for him tomorrow. Do let the boy know that there was a misunderstanding, won't you?" Not waiting for an answer, the serpent closed the door behind him, the sounds of slithering and books being arranged audible through the wooden frame.

Xergon snorted and knocked loudly on the door twice. "No, I won't! You'll apologize yourself!" The lynx stated with a serious tone, shaking his head and turning around. With quick steps, the feline moved to the stairs, hopeful to find Zachary.

Unfortunately for both, the leopard in question was already on his way out of the city, cursing constantly and making a tantrum as he walked on the streets. 'What a jerk! Blasted pretentious, arrogant, snob of serpent!' The characterization of Talib continued for the whole way, with the frustrated and exhausted Zachary giving such beautiful attributes to his new teacher. Although feeling utterly outrageous, the leopard's tiredness granted him the ability to completely disregard everything around him as he moved through the city.

Even the bull at the gate could notice his mood, and didn't bother to attempt a proper conversation with the leopard, simply deciding to open the gates for him. Zachary gave him a thumb's up and mumbled something under his breath, eliciting a few minutes of confused blinking from the guard as he watched the leopard depart.

"I'm... back." Zachary announced as he stumbled his way into the little clearing, taking a few more steps before simply collapsing on the ground. No other words left the leopard's lips after that. He fell asleep almost instantly his face made contact with the ground.

Seeing his friend return in such an exhausted state, Basajaun set the book he was reading aside and moved over to the sleeping feline. Nuzzling the leopard's face, he sighed when his friend wouldn't awaken. "Poor little guy," the drake cooed, gingerly picking Zachary up in his tail. Moving back to the fire, the dragon settled down on his left side with his belly facing the flames, situating his sleeping friend in front of himself and placing his wing over the leopard, snuggling Zachary into his softness.

"He must have done a lot of magic," Snowflake thought aloud, taking up a position next to Basajaun's head and gently nuzzling the feline's head, "It'll take him awhile to build up his stamina."

Petting the leopard's fur softly for several minutes more, the dragons returned their attention to Basajaun's learning. The drake, having learned of his talent for biomancy, had spent the day reading as much on the subject as he could. He had yet to cast any additional spells aside from that first camouflaging spell; he first wanted to be sure he had a more sure grasp of the field and its nuances, as well as wanting to be fully rested before attempting any more magic.

It was around an hour later when the last member of the group returned to the clearing, several bags in hand, along with a new book. "I brought food," Esmeralda stated, looking to the still-sleeping leopard with a sympathetic expression. The owl bore a tired smile, evidently having had a fulfilling experience at the college.

"Welcome back, Mistress," the Elder's familiar greeted, standing and moving to take the bags from the owl.

His own gaze shifting to Esmeralda, Basajaun smiled warmly. "I take it you had a good time?" the drake inquired, seeing her satisfied expression.

Nodding, the Elder moved to sit herself beside the fire, heaving a pleased sigh. "I take it Zachary's been asleep since he got back?" Esmeralda asked in turn.

"Yes he has," the drake replied, stroking the feline with his wing, "He looked totally exhausted when he got here."

Giving another nod, Esmeralda leaned back in the grass. "His teacher must have pushed him pretty hard," the owl mused, her eyes on the sleeping leopard, "It's best we let him rest and wake up on his own. I could use a little shut-eye myself, to be honest."

Standing up, the Elder stretched and gave Basajaun and Snowflake an overly serious expression. "Don't you two go chewing through the food I brought all at once while I'm napping," Esmeralda said, shaking her talon at the dragons, "That's for all of us, you hear?"

Grinning in synchronized innocence, the dragons nodded to the owl. "Don't worry, Elder Eszes," Basajaun reassured Esmeralda, "I'm on a diet, remember?"

"Right," the Elder replied in a tone of mock disbelief as she entered her tent, "Wake me up once Zach's up, alright?"

"Yes, Mistress," Snowflake answered, settling herself down once more beside the dragon and leopard. Continuing their review of biomancy quietly, they awaited Zachary's awakening.

The leopard in question only started to show the signs of waking up a few hours later. Occasionally, he mumbled something under his breath, turning his body this way and that and pulling gently on his "blanket" to cover more of his furry body. When there was resistance brought forth against his wish, namely Basajaun's wing being attached to his body thus not allowing Zachary to pull on it as much as he liked, he grumbled and opened his eyes finally.

Sitting up and rubbing his eyes, the feline let loose a long yawn, his tongue curling out and his ears lowering to the side of his head as he did so. He glanced around him blearily, his vision not quite ready to take in his surroundings yet. Although the familiar green color of his friend was something he would recognize always, no matter how groggy he was.

"Hi." The leopard greeted with a warm tone, the hint of a smile appearing across his muzzle as he blinked a couple of times to get his eyes working. His tail curled around the dragon's claw instinctually, its spotted length covering the green scales as Zachary tried to wake up properly. It would take him a few more minutes, but he continued his little adorable habits he would do right after leaving dreamland.

"Hey, welcome back," Basajaun greeted in turn, reaching his neck around his middle to nuzzle the leopard, "You looked pretty tired when you got back. Was the lesson worth it?" Seeing Zachary awaken, Snowflake moved over to Esmeralda's tent, tapping lightly on the shelter's frame and chiming a few words to her mistress.

The leopard patted the dragon's head, looking at him with an unsure expression. "Well... it was definitely worth it, but..." Zachary stopped for a moment, shrugging, "The teacher was not what I expected, to be honest. He was so... arrogant and... pretentious." he hissed, sighing and shaking his head, "But if it wasn't for his last remark, I would have felt satisfied... He told me that he was disappointed in me, especially my endurance. I... I got really tired after casting the third spell, and I just couldn't keep going anymore. He called off the lesson and told me to work on my stamina... and that I should only go back once I've built up enough."

Zachary looked away from his friend for a moment, staring out in the distance as if searching for a solution among the tall trees. "So yeah... I don't really know what to think of this lesson. I learned new spells and I was able to cast them on the first try, but... I feel disappointed in myself as well," he admitted, turning back to Basajaun with a resolute look on his face, "So, I'm going to work on my endurance until I get better. I will not let that snob snake's words discourage me."

Esmeralda had exited her tent by the time the leopard finished his recounting of his lesson. Stretching for a moment, the owl moved to sit beside the fire, giving Zachary a reassuring look. "Sometimes the best teachers are those that will challenge their students to their limit," the Elder said, smiling to the feline, "I'm sure the headmaster had his reasons for sitting you with this particular teacher." Settling beside her mistress, Snowflake gave a nod at the owl's words.

Zachary shrugged. "Probably... but he could at least try not to act like a jerk all the time. He had me cast two advanced spells, a teleportation and illusion spell, and he didn't give me any feedback or advice other than a few words," he explained, sighing once more, "I can't improve if I don't know whether I'm doing it right or wrong. And he didn't do much to help me with that, to say the least." The leopard explained, leaning back in the dragon's cushiony side and looking lost in thought.

The Elder leaned toward Zachary with widened eyes. "Well no wonder you'd be worn out!" Esmeralda exclaimed, shaking her head, "Most mages wouldn't even start on those spells until at least a few months into their training. Zachary, I don't think this teacher knew how young of a spellcaster you were. Or if he did, then he's one crazy snake; and that's saying something, coming from me."

Basajaun looked between the owl and leopard. "So how do we go about improving Zachary's stamina?" the drake asked, stroking his friend's arm softly, "His teacher sounds like he's not exactly reasonable, so if he's going to keep teaching Zach, we need to help him."

Smiling, Esmeralda gave Zachary a nod. "That's actually rather simple, if a bit tiring," she said, standing to move closer to the feline, "You just have to keep casting your basic spells and try to keep them going as long as you can."

Zachary rolled his eyes and nodded, before blinking for a few moments as if remembering something. He turned towards Basajaun with a wide smile on his face. "I just happen to know the best spell for that." The leopard announced enthusiastically, standing up from the dragon's side and stretching his limbs before he stopped moving.

Closing his eyes and concentrating, the feline remained unmoved for a few seconds, his breathing completely leveled out as he prepared his body and mind for the spell. Replicating the illusion spell he had used a few hours ago, the feline soon had summoned his tiny, and just as adorable, dragon in the image of Basajaun.

The little ghost glanced around itself confusedly after he was assembled, only stopping in his search once he spotted Zachary in front of him. Sitting on its haunches, the illusion wagged its tail behind its body excitedly, waiting for a command from his master.

Exhaling in relief once the spell was finished, the feline gave his dragon friend a grin, presenting his creation by gesturing at it with his paws. "I hope you don't mind I used you as a reference. It said in the spell description that one should choose an image and a person he knows the best, and one he feels himself attached to," Zachary explained with a shy smile, "I couldn't think of anyone else."

The rest of the group admired the little dragon with shared smiles. "Well, that's not exactly a basic spell," Esmeralda mused, before nodding, "But a good one for building up your stamina."

"Speaking of which," the Elder continued, turning to Basajaun, "We've yet to establish what kind of endurance for spellcasting you have, Fatty. If it's anything like your fortitude in a forced march, I think I'll be rather impressed."

Basajaun gave a nod. "Did you have something in mind for testing that?" he asked, cocking his head somewhat.

Pointing to the book near the dragon, Esmeralda nodded. "That first spell you cast is perfect," she stated, moving over to the illusory Basajaun and kneeling down beside it. "You could make money off of how well you're casting this," the Elder thought aloud, giving Zachary a grin, "It's utterly adorable!"

The illusion observed the owl for a moment, before turning to Zachary and cocking its head slightly to the right. "Hug her." The leopard commanded with a warm smile, eliciting a nod from the tiny dragon before it practically jumped on the Elder.

The feline could only chuckle loudly as he watched the much smaller and transparent Basajaun snuggle its body close to Esmeralda, not stopping in its endless cuddle assault once, unless Zachary commanded. With the leopard laughing his lungs at the moment, it would probably take a while before that happened.

"You're right," he said between his fit of giggling, "Little Basa is just as loveable as the real one." Zachary stated with a wide grin, giving a wink to Basajaun before he returned to the observation of the nuzzle attack.

Laughing as the pudgy little dragon bounced on her, Esmeralda sat down beside Zachary. "It's even tangible!" the Elder mused, petting the illusion's back and giving another impressed smile over to the leopard, "You have yet to stop amazing me with this talent of yours, you know that?"

As the bird and feline conversed, Basajaun concentrated as he recited his own spell's instructions in his head, concentrating on the color and pattern of the grass he lay in. "Chamaeleon," he intoned quietly, his own coloration changing to match the grass once more. Smiling at his success, Basajaun kept the pattern of the grass in his mind, in order to continue the spell's effects, while turning to watch his miniature doppelganger play with Esmeralda.

Zachary let the cat-sized illusion have its fun with the Elder, simply finding the scene too adorable to interrupt. He turned to where he expected Basajaun to find, having to correct his balance a little from turning too fast, as well as blinking when he found himself staring at green grass.

"Basa?" He called out with a quiet tone, looking around confusedly for a moment before his eyes settled on the place the dragon had been lying on just some seconds ago. Narrowing his eyes a little as he peered at the ground, the leopard could only chuckle after he realized that his friend never left his place. "There you are! Waow, this spell is really effective," he stated with a smile, before his eyes widened, "Imagine what we could do with this camouflage while hunting! Not a single animal would be able to notice you coming with that spell on!"

The drake grinned, the appearance of his white fangs helping to determine where his face was. "I'm not sure how well this works while I'm moving," Basajaun said, looking back to the book he had learned the spell from, "The description says that those who are wary can still spot someone under the effects of this spell. Not to mention I have to keep the patterns I'm mimicking in mind."

Moving over to Basajaun's side, Snowflake nuzzled his face unerringly. "And it doesn't work at all against someone that can see heat, like I do," the spirit said, giving the drake a smile as he translated for her.

Zachary nodded. "It's still cool, though," he stated, admiring the effects of the spell for long moments before he gave a thoughtful expression. Putting a finger under his chin and mumbling something incomprehensible under his breath, the leopard glanced at the illusion behind him for a second.

"What if..." the feline thought out loud, looking between the ghostly dragon and the nearly invisible one, "Come here." Zachary commanded quietly, not even having to mention a name as the illusion almost instantly stopped playing with Esmeralda and situated itself in front of the leopard.

"Stay, don't move." Zachary continued, patting the illusion's head with a smile before closing his eyes and remaining silent afterwards. His body was completely still, the only movement coming from his chest as he breathed slowly.

Esmeralda gave the feline a halfhearted scowl. "I was enjoying that," the Elder said flatly, before noticing that Zachary was concentrating. "Ah, I see," she said quietly, her and Snowflake both watching with keen interest as the leopard prepared himself. Flipping through the pages of his biomancy tome while he concentrated on maintaining his own spell, Basajaun hadn't noticed the change in activity around him.

Zachary remained steady for long minutes. Outside, it looked like the leopard was at peace, but that wasn't the case inside his brain at the moment. While maintaining the illusion spell didn't tax too much of his concentration, the action he was attempting required more preparation than any spell he had done before.

The first movement from the leopard's part came in the form of a single raise of his paw. It hovered in the air with slow motions, deliberately approaching the feline's body. With his eyes still shut tight, Zachary rested his palm on his own fur, exhaling loudly as he clenched his eyes.

Pulling his paw away and kneeling down, the feline finally opened his eyes, bringing his paw to his illusion and touching its back. "Ch-chamaeleon." Zachary managed to hiss an incantation for the first time through his teeth, panting heavily as he watched with a hopeful expression the results.

Almost instantly, the illusion's ghostly appearance began shift and change, the leopard's coloration slowly spreading over its body. Zachary collapsed on his knees, trying to catch his breath with all his might as he waited for the spell to finish. He lowered his head, finding it simply too heavy to lift anymore.

"D-Did... it... w-work?" He asked between coughing and wheezing, struggling to keep up his balance as his body slowly swayed left to right. His paw was still on the illusion's body, the leopard not knowing whether or not the spell was entirely finished as he stared at the ground, his vision becoming blurry with each second passing.

Seeing Zachary's fatigue, Esmeralda put her hand on the feline's shoulder. "Yes, now call it off," she replied calmly, watching the transparent, leopard spotted illusion begin to flicker in and out, "You did good, take a break."

The feline was able to lift his head for a fraction of a second to examine the results, before he simply let his body fall to the ground. Immediately, the black spotted and yellow illusion disappeared into nothing, only leaving a swirling, white mist in its wake.

Zachary panted heavily as he lay on the ground. For long minutes, he wasn't able to do anything but struggle to catch his breath, even that simple action making him struggle to perform. "I... guess," he began after minutes passed, still lying on the ground with his limbs splayed out limp on the grass, "I guess... Xergon wasn't joking." A weak chuckle followed, before it was interrupted by coughing and more heavy breathing from the exhausted feline's part.

Basajaun's spell petered out as his attention shifted to his exhausted friend. "You need to be careful with that, Zach," he said concernedly, nudging the leopard's side gingerly, "I'm pretty sure you could knock yourself out trying to do what you just did."

Patting the drake reassuringly, Esmeralda smiled down to the feline. "It was an impressive display, though," the owl observed smilingly, "But Fatty's right, you need to be more careful with your multicasting while you're learning. Try taking it a bit slower, alright?"

Zachary gave a slow nod, his breathing somewhat slowing. "I... just wanted to... try it." He explained, slowly sliding his arm under his body and pushing up with all his might. His arm trembled under his tiny weight, and the leopard eventually fell back on the ground.

"That was... embarrassing." He stated with a weak giggle, grunting as he rolled over to his back, the motion leaving him panting for a few moments. Sighing, an unmistakable, and broad, smile spread across the leopard's muzzle. "Casting two spells at once feels... amazing," Zachary admitted, glancing up at his friends with a teasing grin, "I feel so cool right now."

Once it was clear that the feline was fine, Basajaun laughed alongside him. "I can only imagine," the dragon replied, looking down at himself when he noticed his spell had worn off. "Blast, you broke my concentration with your coolness, Zach," the drake teased back, poking the leopard's nose with his tail.

Zachary chuckled, swatting the dragon's tail away gently. "No problem, bud. Just tell me when you need another dose of coolness any time, and I'll be happy to provide." He shot back at his friend, letting loose a loud laugh as he could feel his eyes tearing up with joyful tears.

"I'll be sure and do that," the drake said smilingly. Making to turn his attention back to the grass to cast his spell again, Basajaun stopped as a thought crossed his mind, instead looking to Zachary's coloration and smiling. Touching the leopard's fur with a claw, the dragon intoned his blending spell once more, watching with an intrigued expression as he adopted the leopard's yellow and black coloration.

"Hey Zach, think this looks as good on me as it does on you?" Basajaun asked in a teasing tone while he looked himself over.

Wiping tears of joy from his eyes as he finished laughing, Zachary glanced up at Basajaun at his question. Almost instantly, he began laughing even harder than before as he observed the familiar pattern on the dragon's body.

"Get out... of my eyesight! I can't breathe!" The guffawing leopard managed to demand, his fit of laughter interrupting his words on numerous occasions. He simply couldn't help himself. Seeing the reptile in his species' colors and pattern just looked plain ridiculous in his eyes.

The dragon grinned at the leopard's statement. "Oh, you find this amusing, do you?" Basajaun asked with a mischievous tone. Standing up and making to leave the feline's sight, the drake suddenly whipped around, bounding back in front of his friend with a deliberately ridiculous expression, his body jiggling with each exaggerated step he took. "How about this, still amusing?" he inquired with an innocent tone as he pranced about.

One would expect from a normal person to have a limited amount of range in their laughter, starting from a quiet giggle and ending with full-hearted laughing. Zachary, in this case, couldn't be considered a normal individual as he began practically screaming and shrieking in amusement, topping his previous intensity of laughter.

Closing his eyes, and soaking the entirety of his face with tears of joy, Zachary clutched at his sides with both of his paws, only pausing in his howling occasionally when he tried to draw breath. He rolled over so his mouth was facing the grass under him, his muffled laughter just as audible as before. With slow and deliberate motions, he attempted to crawl away on the ground to avoid dying of laughter. His escape was rather shameful, as he practically dragged his whole body and face on the ground, lest he get assaulted by another surprise attack from Basajaun.

The rest of the group laughing along, Basajaun retreated mercifully from Zachary's sight as he shifted his spell to adapt to the grass once more. "That's payback for not rescuing me from that mob of tickling children!" the drake announced, a smug grin on his face as he watched the feline crawl away.

"You and your damn memory!" Zachary called out between his giggling after he pulled his head away from the ground. Wiping his tears and tittering the whole time, the leopard shook his head. "I don't think I've laughed so much in my life before," he admitted, sighing gratefully as he could feel the forces of laughter retreating, "This was definitely more dangerous than multicasting. I almost choked myself."

Zachary let loose an expansive, and very unexpected, yawn as he sat on the grass, shaking his head a little. "Ugh... multicasting is more taxing than I thought," he stated, rubbing his eyes for a few moments and glancing at his friends as his eyelids slowly fluttered up and down, "But it's so worth it." The feline added with a small smile, yawning once again and curling his tail around his body in the process.

Moving to the leopard as his camouflage kicked in, Basajaun patted Zachary's head. "Need a soft place to rest for a bit?" the dragon asked, patting his belly and hoping the motion was visible enough for his offer to get across.

As soon as it was touched however, the drake's gut emitted a long, loud growl. As Snowflake looked to the source of the noise with a concerned expression, it suddenly occurred to Basajaun that he hadn't eaten since before their arrival near Centrum, and his stomach was becoming very loud about this fact. "Stupid diet," the dragon mumbled quietly as he moved next to the fire, laying down near the two females and watching the flames. The unpleasant emptiness in his stomach was now very present in the drake's mind, almost making him forget his offer to Zachary.

The leopard in question apparently didn't notice the dragon's distress, simply too tired to process what was happening around him. "Yeah... I wouldn't mind sleeping on my favourite bed right now." He stated with a small smile, his head on his knees as he fought against the urge to fall asleep right then and there.

He would have attempted to comfort his friend if it weren't for his inability to pay attention to his surroundings. Unfortunately for both Zachary and Basajaun, the leopard was in no state to be able to perform that simple action.

The feline's head occasionally began to lean to its right side, and the tired anthro had to catch himself from falling over. "Basa?" he asked with a quiet voice after a while of waiting, glancing up at his friend with hazy eyes, "Is the offer still up...? Could you possibly give me a lift, bud?" Zachary closed his eyes once more, letting his head fall on his knees while he waited for the dragon's answer. No matter what Basajaun's answer would be, the exhausted feline would most likely be asleep in a few minutes at most.

Remembering the awaiting leopard, the dragon turned back to give his friend a smile, rolling over onto his back as his tail wrapped gently around the feline. "Here you go," Basajaun said, placing Zachary on the crest of his soft belly, "I hope I haven't lost too much comfort value with all this exercise." Throughout his motions, the drake kept his mind partially on his spell, still waiting to find his endurance limit.

Sighing in utter comfort, Zachary began fondling the supple flesh in his paws gingerly. "Nah, you're still just as cushioned as before." He reported with a weak chuckle, enjoying the fat between his fingers as well as under his body, the dragon's remark reminding him of his friend's diet.

The leopard glanced up at Basajaun, giving him a small smile. "Diet or not, make sure you eat something... please. You were able to fly in the morning... so you should be okay to give a bit of love to this," wobbling the dragon's pudgy belly gently, Zachary lay his head down on the squishy substance, "Just... eat... a little." The leopard requested, no more words leaving his lips after that.

Petting the feline's back, Basajaun sighed relentingly. "I will," he said, before looking up to the two females of the group. "How much of that food you bought is my share?" he inquired.

Opening the bag, Snowflake offered an amount of food equivalent to a large hare. "I can hunt more for you if you need it," the spirit said, nuzzling Basajaun's soft neck.

Taking the food, the drake shook his head. "This is fine," he stated a little unwillingly, "I'll get more for myself later, if I need to."

While the dragon fed himself, Snowflake watched for a moment with a sad expression. Unlike Zachary, she could already feel the dragon's fat being converted into muscle. And though she knew it was for the best at the moment, the spirit was still disappointed with the reduction in Basajaun's softness.

After watching the rest of the group cuddle for a while, Esmeralda sighed. "You know, if you learn more about biomancy," she began, looking up to the drake she addressed, "You could just convert that fluff into muscle when you needed it, instead of losing it."

Basajaun stopped eating for a moment, his head snaking up to look to the owl hidden behind his own belly. "Come again?" he asked, not sure if the Elder was serious.

"You three enjoy that silly hobby of yours so much; I can't stand seeing you miserable anymore," Esmeralda continued, pointing to the book she had left with Basajaun, "There should be spells in there for converting fat to muscle, and vice versa. If you learn those, you won't need to diet anymore."

Blinking in disbelief, Basajaun smiled as he looked to the tome. "Oh really now?" the dragon asked, almost forgetting to keep his current spell up. He was beginning to feel the fatigue it brought, but was determined to hold out as long as he could.

Snowflake clapped her hands approvingly. "Why didn't I think of that?" she wondered aloud, snatching up the book and flipping through the pages eagerly. "Yes, right here!" the dragoness announced, showing the metabolism-affecting spells to Basajaun, "They're more advanced, though. It might take a while for you to be able to use these. But it's something to work towards!"

Grinning eagerly, the drake read over the spells. They were definitely more difficult than what he had already tried, referencing techniques he had yet to learn about. But here it was; a solution to his conundrum.

Turning to Esmeralda, Basajaun grinned wide. "Thank you!" he said fervently, before an inquisitive expression crossed his face, "I thought you weren't interested in the whole fatness thing we have going on?"

Sighing, the Elder gave the pair of dragons looking to her a soft smile. "I'm not," she affirmed, before adding, "I just can't stand watching you three looking so disappointed every time that diet of yours is mentioned. And now that we know you've got a talent for biomancy, you've got another solution to your flight problem."

Nodding, Basajaun flipped the pages back to where he had left off in his reading. Before he could pick up his reading again, a sudden yawn broke his sight from the book. "Wow, that spell fatigue sets in quick!" the dragon mused aloud, shaking his head as he noticed how tired he was getting. Cutting off his spell, lest he become too exhausted, Basajaun looked to the Elder and observed, "I think we've established my current endurance."

Nodding, Esmeralda stood and stretched. "Good, get some rest then," the owl ordered, moving to her tent, "I've got some studying of my own to do. Gotta make sure this old bird can still learn new tricks." Waving slightly, the Elder retreated into her tent with her book in hand.

Yawning again, Basajaun looked to Snowflake with a smile. "Mind if I rest my head on your side?" he asked, "You're softer than the ground."

Nodding, the spirit repositioned herself to provide a cushion for the dragon. "As long as you don't mind returning the favor," she replied once Basajaun's head rested on her torso, Snowflake's own head settling down on the drake's soft chest, feeling the strengthened flight muscles beneath his flab.

Heaving a tired sigh, Basajaun fell asleep before he had a chance to respond.

"But, it's been almost a month, Sir B-"

"I don't care, Liam!"

"M-My name is not L-"

"I still don't care..." Sir Boldrum reiterated, emphasizing each tone very carefully to get his point across. Tearing his eyes away from the windows, the ponderous pig turned back to his servant in a single motion, his glower drilling holes in the currently terrified servant. "Are you entirely certain that the whole expanse of the forest was searched through? Every last tree, bush, bloody cave and blasted burrow underground?!"

The Mayor's demanding and intimidating tone sent his newest assistant, a short-statured weasel, into complete shock. It has only been a few weeks since he started working in this position, and although he looked forward to it eagerly in the beginning, that was far from the case now. He was utterly scared of Boldrum, more from the power he held rather than his actual strength.

Swallowing hard, the weasel slowly nodded. "Yes, Sir Boldrum. Your guards have checked everything in the forest area surrounding Boldrumton," he reported, his voice steadily getting weaker as the pig glared at him, "There's definitely no leopard or dragon in these woods."

Boldrum looked furious. "Unbelievable!" he stated with a raised voice, swatting at one of the golden cups on the large, wooden table next to him and sending it flying through the air, "I haven't met a more useless bunch than the whole lot of you in my life! I asked for a very simple thing, Liam; find that lizard and the cat, and capture them!"

Once done with his remainder, Boldrum was left panting, seemingly exhausted from having to simply raise his voice. Moving to his chair, the pig sat down with a loud thud, heaving a frustrated sigh and shaking his head.

"I-I apologize for our incompetence, Sir Bo-"

"To hell with your apology," Boldrum cut his servant off, slamming his hoof against the table, "I don't need that. I need that bloody leopard boy to get what he deserves!" He demanded, glaring at his servant with an angry expression on his fat cheeks.

The weasel swallowed once again. "W-What would be your highness' next command?"

The pig snorted, leaning back in his chair which creaked loudly at the action. "I can't send my troops outside of our boundaries, so I might as well just... give up?" Boldrum gave a thoughtful expression, looking like he considered the idea.

The only other individual in the room heaved a quiet and relieved sigh. "I-I think that would be a wise choice, your grace."

Boldrum nodded slowly, putting a hoof under his double chin. "Damn those borders and the province's laws," the pig hissed, shaking his head for a moment before a sinister smile spread across his face, "As much as I'm limited to send my troops outside of our borders, the laws of our government actually encourage me to hunt down criminals." He thought aloud, his smile slowly forming into a wide grin.

"Liam," Boldrum called out for his servant, eliciting a flinch from the person in question, "I want wanted posters of that thief placed all around Boldrumton and our borders as well. Everyone, every single soul who can see and read, must see that this leopard boy is a criminal." Boldrum commanded, standing up from his chair with great effort, "The news will spread, and if we're lucky, some bounty hunters will do the job for us instead."

The weasel hesitated for a moment, raising a finger. "W-With due respect, your grace. I thought that the leopard boy was already given a punishment in the form of banishment from Boldrumton. Wouldn't we... deceive people by calling him a criminal on the run?" The servant inquired, his lack of experience with Boldrum showing evidently.

The pig didn't respond for a few moments. "There was once a Liam before you, Liam," he began, resting his arms behind his back as he started walking towards the weasel with slow steps, "He was a good servant, one of the best. But he wasn't flawless, nobody is," stopping in front of his servant, the pig leaned closer as he continued, "He dared to question my decision. For the first time, I forgave him. But... that wasn't the case the second time." Putting a hoof on the weasel's shoulders and squeezing it with more force than required, Boldrum gave his servant a sinister look.

"This is your first warning, Liam six. Do not question me ever again if your life is dear to you." Giving a warm smile, the pig pulled away from the weasel and walked back to his table.

The servant simply stood there in the middle of the large room, not even drawing a single breath as his eyes looked after Boldrum in fear. Shaking his head and swallowing hard, the weasel attempted to gather his voice. "I w-won't, Sir Bo-"

"Good," the pig cut him off for the second time, "Now, obey as I commanded before I consider depriving you of your second chance." Boldrum threatened in an otherworldly calm tone, returning to the window and observing the streets and its occupants.

"Y-Yes, your grace." The weasel gave a low bow, walking out from the room with quick steps.

Boldrum watched with mild interest the townsfolk go about their ways on the dirty streets. Even the sight he usually enjoyed observing didn't help to get his mind off of from a particular individual.

'Where are you hiding, you insect?' The pig demanded in his mind, clenching his teeth as his thoughts fixated completely on the leopard and his whereabouts.

Zachary slowly opened his eyes as he returned to consciousness, smiling warmly as he remembered where he had fallen asleep. Stroking Basajaun's soft gut under him, the feline let out a loud purr as his paw caressed the squishy hide under him. A few moments into this, the leopard suddenly found himself frowning as he continued with the inspection of his friend's middle.

'Yup... that's definitely less.' He reassured himself, sighing in disappointment as he examined the depth of the reptile's fat. Although knowing perfectly well what the consequences of his diet would be, Zachary couldn't help but feel crestfallen at the revelation. He really didn't like the results of the dragon's decreased portion in food, and his increased amount of exercise. The change was noticeable.

Shaking his head to clear such selfish thoughts from his mind, Zachary simply lay himself back on the dragon's pudgy gut, fondling the yielding flab gingerly. He wanted to enjoy it until it lasted.

After a moment of this action, Basajaun started giggling in his sleep, his eyes opening and his gaze landing on Zachary. "You know, it's kind of hard to take a nap when I'm being tickled," the drake said. The sound and motions caught Snowflake's attention, the spirit lifting her head and chiming a greeting to the pair.

The feline gave a sheepish smile. "Sorry..." he apologized, giving Basajaun a somewhat disappointed expression, "I just thought I would enjoy your softness a little before it disappeared. Good... job on your diet, by the way. It's already showing." Zachary stated, forcing an encouraging smile on his muzzle, his displeasure with the diet's results rather evident nonetheless.

Nodding slowly, Basajaun suddenly remembered Esmeralda's suggestion as Snowflake tapped the book. "Oh! We have another solution to my flying problem!" the drake stated, giving Zachary a grin as the dragoness handed the leopard the book, which was open to the metabolism spells, "Have a look at this!"

The feline raised an eyebrow at the two dragons in confusion, before his gaze settled on the title of the spell. Giving a surprised expression, he glossed over the description and instruction of the spell quickly, at first a small smile adoring his muzzle which grew wider and wider as head continued reading.

"Yes!" he exclaimed in utter relief, snuggling himself close to the dragon's soft body and purring louder than ever before, "This is just the best news to wake up to." He stated with a chuckle, embracing Basajaun's squishy body as much as he could.

Patting Zachary's back, the drake took the book back. "Of course, I've got some studying to do before I can use magic this advanced," Basajaun stated, once again turning the pages back to where he had left off, "But now more than ever, I'm going to put as much energy as I can to learning this biomancy."

"Wait..." the leopard began, fluttering his eyes as a realization hit him, "This means that your diet is over!" he announced cheerfully, grinning widely at Basajaun, "You'll be able to convert your fat into muscle when you wanted, so there's no need for you to keep starving yourself!"

Basajaun hesitated for a moment. "Well, I think we should still take it slow with the feeding," he said, giving Zachary a sheepish smile, "At least until I'm actually able to cast these spells. Then we can let loose again."

Giving a slight nod, Snowflake positioned herself so that she could read along with Basajaun. "Then make sure you hurry!" she said, nuzzling the drake's cheek for a moment as he translated for her, "I can't wait to feel you getting softer again."

Laughing heartily, Zachary patted Snowflake's head before turning to Basajaun. "I'm with her on that one," he admitted, pinching the pudge from the dragon's belly and wobbling it tenderly, "I wouldn't mind having an even more comfortable bed than before."

Laughing, Basajaun lifted his gaze from his book to Zachary. "If I can master this biomancy, you can make me however comfortable you want!" the dragon agreed, patting the leopard's head, before grabbing his own clawful of belly, "Heck, we could even get this so big that I'd be unable to reach the ground with my claws. If I had to move, I'd just convert some of it for a moment to get where I needed to go. The sky's the limit now, Zach!"

Grinning widely at the realization, the leopard nodded eagerly. "Then make sure you master that spell real good, because you're going to need it!" He said with a chuckle, patting the dragon's plump midriff under him.

When the feline was about to continue, his gaze accidentally met the book in Basajaun's paws, and his face fell almost instantly. "Oh... crap." Zachary breather as the realization hit him harder than a ton of bricks. Sliding off from the reptile's side quickly and letting out a quiet shriek as he noticed that it was already evening, Zachary rushed to his assortment of books on the ground, stacking them up in less than a second by levitating them and stacking them on each other.

"I need to return these!" he announced with a terrified tone, recalling the librarian's warning and flinching a little, "I'll be back later!" Taking the books in his paws, Zachary practically bounded into the woods, not bothering to give any further explanations to his friends.

With the leopard gone before either dragon could react, the pair simply shrugged. Rolling from on his back to on his side, Basajaun kept his snout in his book, a fierce determination to learn as much as he could urging him ever onward in his pursuit of knowledge.

With Snowflake at the dragon's side, Basajaun moved from spells to change his scale coloration to spells that affected his scale shape, sharpened his claws and fangs, and affected other modifications to the drake's external anatomy. Each spell was temporary, lasting as long as they were concentrated upon, or for a set duration lasting a few minutes.

Though his progress was impressive, it wasn't too long before the drake had exhausted himself again. In the middle of memorizing the instructions for his next spell, Basajaun's advancement was interrupted by a long yawn. "Blast it," the dragon cursed quietly, shaking his head to clear his suddenly blurry vision, "Magic fatigue feels a lot different from physical fatigue. It just sneaks up on you all at once!"

Snowflake nodded with a smile. "You did a good job," the dragoness stated, rubbing her face against Basajaun's, "You're making great progress. Rest for now; I'll go hunt something for you as a reward for when you wake up again."

Not waiting for an answer, Snowflake stood and moved off into the woods as Basajaun set the biomancy grimoire aside, rubbing his tired eyes for a moment. 'Just you wait, Zachary,' Basajaun thought to himself as he laid his head on his arms, 'I'll be able to use those spells soon. Then I can keep both of my promises to you.' The thought brought a smile to the dragon's face as he slipped off into sleep.

With a much more quickened pace than usual, Zachary was able to make his way back to Centrum in mere minutes, his fear of the consequences he might be facing from not returning his books in time fueling his steps.

"Good evening, mister guard. Would you be so kind and open the gate for me?" The leopard inquired in his childish tone once again as he reached the city gates, looking at the familiar bull pleadingly.

The guard cocked an eyebrow at the leopard's enthusiasm, then simply shrugged. "Sure, kid," he replied, yawning long before he gestured for the other guards to open the gates, "Why the hurr- Where did he go?" The bull blinked in disbelief for a few moments, glancing around himself in search for the feline who had been standing right in front of him just a moment ago.

"Thank you, mister guard!" Zachary called out as he squeezed his lean body through the barely open gates, disappearing from the bull's sight and leaving said anthro more than confused.

Cutting his way through the intense crowd and bounding in the direction of the college, the leopard panted heavily once his feet crossed the doorway of the establishment. Taking a second to provide some much needed oxygen to his demanding lugs, the feline's gaze settled on the counter, and the anthro behind it.

"Is the library still open?" The leopard asked with an unnecessarily loud tone, eliciting a similar reaction from Rupert as from the guard before.

"Y-Yes, it is. But it's friday, so it's going to close very so--"

"Thank you!" Zachary said, cutting off the bat unintentionally and turning away from the counter to walk towards the library. Halfway through the long hallway, the leopard bumped into Xergon by accident, hurrying too much to notice the lynx exiting a door in front of him.

Stumbling backwards a little from the impact, the leopard's firm grasp on the tomes loosened, the objects flying from his paws straight to the ground. "Oh... crap." The feline whispered, not even bothering to use his hands as he quickly levitated the books on top of each other and picked them up in less than a second.

After recovering from the collision himself, Xergon gave Zachary an impressed expression. "That's probably the fastest casting of the levitation spell I've seen in my life," he stated with a small smile, his gaze settling on the tomes and then on the leopard's terrified expression, "Books, library, now!" the lynx practically commanded, joining Zachary's frightened expression with his own, "Fast, before she leaves! Go, go!"

Feeling the master's shove on his back, Zachary nodded, bounding in the direction of the library even faster than before. Xergon watched him leave, shaking his head and chuckling at the display. He knew perfectly well what the leopard would have to deal with once he arrived at the library.

"Hi!" Zachary greeted between coughing and panting, slamming the books on the counter and glancing up hesitantly at the ocelot behind the counter.

The anthro in question had her furry arms crossed beneath her chest, her piercing gaze forcing the leopard to look away fearfully. For a few moments, the ocelot simply drilled holes in Zachary's soul with her glower, tapping a finger on her arm in evident frustration.

"You're late," the ocelot stated with an otherworldly calm tone, her glare never leaving the leopard's face, "The library closed exactly fifteen seconds ago."

Zachary glanced at the ocelot, smiling sheepishly. "I-I'm sorry... I kinda overslept." he apologized, his voice a quiet whisper as he spoke, "I hope it's not a big problem."

Rolling her eyes and leaving full offensive stance, the ocelot sighed. "Lucky for you, I'm in a good mood today. I'll let you live with this single mistake." The librarian reached for the tomes on the counter, only to be stopped by Zachary's paw on her own once she touched the heavy books.

"I... I..." The leopard stammered, only now realizing that his paw was touching the ocelot's. Gasping quietly and pulling his arm away a little, the feline swallowed. "I-I brought them back. But I want to borrow them again... for the rest of the weekend."

The librarian's eyes widened in surprise, for a moment not quite sure whether she should be surprised of the earlier contact with the leopard or his request. Eventually, she settled on the latter. "I can't let you do that," she stated curtly, giving an unreadable expression to Zachary, "Students can't borrow books for the weekend."

Reaching for the tomes on the counter once again and pulling them towards herself, the ocelot felt a minor resistance against her tugging. Glancing up at Zachary and seeing his paws on the books once again, she exhaled rather loudly. "Are you deaf by any chance? I said that yo--"

"I need these." Zachary replied, amazed that he had the power to cut the ocelot off, "I mean... I'm only staying in Centrum for a few days, and I'll need these books at my side as much as I can."

The ocelot blinked. "And how is that my concern?" she shot back, shaking her head a little, "There are rules here. And they clearly say that students can't have the library's books with them on weekends." The ocelot explained, once again tugging at the tomes with greater force than before.

Zachary fought against the tugging with his own. "B-But... could you possibly make an exception? I really, really need these for my lessons with TalIB: " The leopard stated as he pulled at the books forcefully, only to feel himself stumbling backwards and land on his bottom once the ocelot let go of the tomes.

"You're the multicaster?" she asked in disbelief, snickering silently as she watched the leopard rubbing at his sore bottom on the ground, "Your name is Zachary, right?"

Nodding, the leopard stood up, hissing a little. "Yeah... that's me," he replied with a small smile, walking back to the counter and placing the books on the wooden surface gingerly, "So, are you g--"

"My name is Lya, thank you for asking," the ocelot said with a mock of newfound tease to her tone, extending her puny paw for the leopard, "And I'm still going to kill you if you bring back any books late ever again, multicaster or not." Lya gave Zachary a smile, which only made her previous statement all the more terrifying in his eyes.

Chuckling nervously, Zachary took the ocelot's paw, feeling a blush creeping on his cheeks from the contact. "I... nice to... I.... hey," the leopard stuttered, eliciting a small titter from Lya.

"What's gotten into you? You aren't talking to a teacher or a master, I'm a student just like you are." The ocelot stated, pulling her paw away from the leopard, who could only flutter his eyes at the statement.

"Wait... how are you a student and the librarian at the same time?" Zachary inquired, obviously confused by that revelation.

Lya rolled her eyes once again. "It's my way of repaying the college, I suppose. I don't have money to help them with donations, so I took the job once it was open. And besides," raising her own book from behind the counter, the ocelot smiled warmly, "I like to read, so it's a perfect match."

Zachary nodded. "I-I see. That's... Er... nice." Cursing himself in his mind for being unable to hold a proper and very simple conversation, the leopard could only smile back nervously at the ocelot.

His goofy grin seemed to work wonders on the usually deadly serious librarian, as she let out a chuckle and shook her head. "I'm sure a lot of people have told you this before, but you're kinda weird, Zach," Lya remarked, taking off her glasses to wipe their lids with a small tissue.

Almost instantly, the leopard's eyes widened. Although he had to admit that the ocelot's natural appearance was rather alluring even with glasses on, now she looked outright alluring without them. Zachary could feel his cheeks reddening as he stared at the sight, finding it practically impossible to tear his eyes away from Lya.

"So," the ocelot began after she was finished with the cleaning of her glasses, resting them back on her nose before looking up at Zachary and noting his blush with a smile, "You wanted to borrow these for the weekend?" She tapped a furry finger on the stack of tomes on the counter.

Shaking his head to exit his trance, the leopard nodded slowly. "Y-yes. And the ones that my friend borrowed as well," he added, quite surprised that he was able to think of Esmeralda at the moment, "W-Would it be possible?"

Lya nodded. "Master Xergon informed me of your situation. So yes, this is an exception I'm willing to accept this one time, considering the circumstances," the ocelot reassured Zachary, pushing the books closer to the leopard, "Just make sure you return them before you leave the city. I'd feel kinda bad having to maul your face..." Lya stopped for a moment, shaking her head and laughing, "Oh gods, why did I just say that?"

The leopard remained unmoved for several long moments, slowly opening and closing his mouth as if searching for a good reply. "A-Alright. I'll bring them back, I promise." Zachary replied, mentally practically choking himself for that answer.

'Very smooth, Zach. Good job...' The leopard congratulated himself in the most cynical way he could, completely and utterly disappointed in himself.

Lya smiled at Zachary. "Good," she said curtly, standing up from behind the counter and stretching her body. Once again, the leopard had to stop himself from staring, a crimson blush adorning his cheeks as he looked away. "Hey," Lya began after a few seconds, bringing Zachary's attention to her once more, "Are you... going to borrow more books tomorrow?" she asked, before she looked like she realized something, "I-I'm only asking because I... could gather the books for you which are the best for multicasters thanks to their diversity, you know."

Zachary blinked for a few moments, before he gave a wide smile to Lya and nodded. "I would appreciate that, Lya. Thank you," he said, relieved to finally find himself being able to converse properly once again, "I'll give yo-- I mean, the library a visit, tomorrow. Yes, tomorrow... because it's late and I... the day... tomorrow is good for me." And back to stammering once again.

Lya laughed joyfully at the leopard's stuttering. Even her laughter was beautiful. "Okay, see you tomorrow, then." The ocelot said with a small smile, taking her book in her paw and glancing at the leopard as if expecting something.

Zachary didn't get the hint for a long moments, only able to realize what Lya wanted when she gestured with her head towards the open doors. "Oh! Right, I'm going... to leave, yes. I... Er... see you tomorrow." He said, turning around with his books in his paws and almost immediately knocking his head against the doorframe.

He could hear Lya's laughter coming from behind him, and the leopard could only wave his paw in embarrassment as he exited through the open doors, this time more careful not to have any accidents.

The way back to the little clearing passed faster than Zachary was able to comprehend, his mind entirely focused on the librarian as his legs were practically moving on their own. For some inexplicable reason, the young anthro couldn't shake Lya out of his thoughts.

The way she talked, her voice, her eyes, the curvature of her cheeks and even her threatenings were something that Zachary found, somehow, enthralling. He couldn't explain why, but it's just the way he felt. It was a novel and interesting feeling, something he never had the opportunity to experience before.

Sighing, the leopard smiled goofily at his thoughts, practically prancing his way back to the small clearing and paying no heed to the people around him. Even the guard at the gate was only able to shake his head at the sight and simply let Zachary on his way.

"Hey, I'm back!" The feline announced as he entered the small clearing, still evident lightness and joyfulness in his steps. Bouncing his way towards the fire, Zachary sat down, sighing happily when his weight was taken off from his legs. He put his books next to him on grass, simply staring up in the star-filled blackness with the same silly smile which had been plastered on his muzzle since he left the library.

Looking up from the biomancy grimoire, Snowflake smiled happily at the leopard's infectious mood. Reaching over to Basajaun's face, the spirit gently nuzzled the dragon awake. "Spotted Hunter is back," the familiar stated, giving the drake a warm smile as he woke up for the third time in one day.

Blinking blearily, Basajaun rubbed his eyes and looked over to the feline, smiling at his expression. "Hey, I take it things went well?" he inquired, raising his head from the ground and yawning expansively.

Zachary didn't reply, his gaze fixated on the bright lights as they shone brilliantly in the infinite darkness. For several moments, the leopard simply stared at the sight, not sure which was more alluring, the stars or a particular librarian.

Shaking his head a little once he realized that Basajaun had asked a question, Zachary glanced at his friend with a sheepish smile. "Huh? What did you say?"

Rolling over to position his face closer to Zachary, Basajaun repeated, "I was asking if things went well. You look quite satisfied about something!"

The feline shrugged and gave a wide smile. "Yeah, I've got the books covered for us until we leave Centrum," he replied, before he raised an eyebrow at Basajaun, "Do I really? Huh, I guess I'm weird like that!" Zachary chuckled, mainly from practically quoting Lya's earlier words.

The dragons cocked their heads in near unison. "Did you have alcohol again?" Basajaun asked, a concerned look on his face, "You're acting very strange."

Zachary laughed heartily, shaking his head. "No, I haven't, don't worry," he reassured his friend, scooting closer to the dragon's head and stroking the reptile gingerly between his eyes, 'I'm just happy, is all."

"That's good!" Basajaun stated, sighing with relief, crossing his eyes to watch the leopard's hand for a moment, "I was a little worried there for a moment, to be honest."

Moving from her position beside the drake, Snowflake resituated herself on the opposite side of Zachary, giving a thorough look over. Smiling as she realized something, the spirit laughed for a moment, before patting the leopard's head, not explaining herself to either males present.

Basajaun shook his head at the spirit's behavior. "And now Snowflake's acting weird," the drake muttered quietly, giving Zachary a smile. Rolling over and making to stand, the dragon's vision suddenly blurred as his head raised from the ground.

Groaning and shaking his head, Basajaun tried to focus his vision, catching the familiar's attention. "Try to relax, Forest Friend," the spirit said, reaching over and tugging the drake's neck downward to get him to lay down, "You've been casting spells all day; you're going to exhaust yourself with any more activity."

"But... I have more to learn," the dragon replied looking over to the biomacy book, or at least where his currently compromised eyes told him the book was.

Looking up at Basajaun with a concerned expression and seeing his exhausted state, Zachary shook his finger at his friend. "Yeah, no more spellcasting for you, Basa," he stated, his tone sounding more like command than a request, "I know you've been doing that... the... whole... day?" the leopard blinked for a few moments, glancing between the two dragons with an utterly confused look on his face, "I mean... I think you've been doing that? I... I'm not sure... Have you been casting spells all day?!"

Basajaun laid his head down as he nodded. "How did you know?" he asked, before looking over to Snowflake as a thought dawned on him.

The familiar smiled. "The soul bond between a spirit and her friends develops naturally over time," Snowflake reminded the dragon, giving Zachary a smile, "But not usually this fast. It must be because he's special."

"Soul bond?" Basajaun repeated, looking between the leopard and dragoness, "You mean empathic link? It's already developing between you two?" He didn't know why, but the drake felt a tinge of jealousy at that revelation.

Zachary shook his head in disbelief, motioning with his arms the universal gesture of "I have no clue" as well. Looking up at Snowflake with narrowed eyes, the leopard put a finger under his chin in thought. "So, this... Er... soul bond will grant me the ability to understand you?" The leopard asked curiously, still not quite believing that he would be able to form such a bond with the ice dragon under such a short amount of time.

The spirit gave a nod, before closing her eyes for a moment. After a few minutes, there was what felt like a nudge against the leopard's mind. It was as though a sudden, foreign thought had appeared from nowhere, but it wasn't completely formed; like the last dreams one has at night, the thought was without context or definite shape, but it was still there.

Zachary closed his eyes as well as the feeling overwhelmed him. At first, he was hesitant to concentrate on the thought, but was soon entirely convinced that embracing it would do him no harm. A bright light flashed in his mind, enveloping the entirety of his subconsciousness, before it began to slowly retreat and eventually disappear altogether.

Opening his eyes, the leopard shook his head, then gave a smile to Snowflake. "D-Did you see it too?" He asked, knowing perfectly well that there was no need for further explanation.

Smiling, Snowflake nodded. "It's definitely developing," the spirit said to Basajaun.

Trying to raise his head again, Basajaun grimaced when the same unpleasant dizziness returned. "How long is this disorientation going to last?" he asked, knowing full well he shouldn't be jealous of his friend's ability and wanting to change the subject. It somehow burned the drake's heart that he had spent so much time with the familiar, only to have his friend be the first to start making a deeper connection with her.

"You should probably just rest for tonight," Snowflake replied in a concerned tone, "Any more spells and you're going to seriously risk going into shock, Forest Friend."

Huffing disappointedly, Basajaun took the tome once more regardless. "I'll just do some review, then," he said flatly, not sure why his mood was suddenly becoming so sour.

Noticing Basajaun's distress, Zachary leaned closer to his friend and gave him a sheepish smile. "Soul bond or not, I still have no clue what she just said," the leopard admitted with a titter, patting the dragon's neck gingerly, "Would you mind translating for me, my bilingual friend?"

"She says I might go into shock if I try more magic tonight," Basajaun said as he read through the book. Heaving a disappointed sigh, the dragon looked to his friend with a forced smile, trying to ignore the unpleasant emotions that kept bubbling up within him. "Which is a shame; I'm really trying my best to learn as fast as I can," he assured Zachary, tapping his book with a claw.

The leopard smiled warmly. "I know you are, bud. And you're doing fantastically, don't worry. With the progress you're making, you'll be casting advanced biomancy spells in no time!" Zachary stated with a grin, turning to Snowflake as his paw kept stroking Basajaun's neck.

"Am I in danger of going into... uh... a shock too?" he inquired, glancing at himself for a moment then back to the ice dragoness, "I don't feel dizzy at all for some reason, and I wanted to work on my endurance more before going to bed."

"Then you should start working on your body again," Esmeralda's voice came from directly behind the leopard, "I told you; mental and physical endurance go hand in hand."

Letting out a shriek and jumping up from the ground, Zachary's paw was on his heart, and he could feel it thudding incredibly fast from the scare he just got. "Esmeralda!" the feline began, glaring at the owl, "You almost gave me a heart attack! What if I..." The leopard stopped upon noticing the long, wooden branches in the Elder's talons. It didn't take a genius to figure out what the bird's intention was.

Sighing and relaxing his body, Zachary lowered his head and simply extended his paw towards one of the branches in defeat. "I hate close combat." He stated under his breath, mumbling something incomprehensible afterwards. He knew perfectly well that there was no way convincing Esmeralda to leave this kind of training out of the leopard's life altogether.

"Quit whining and get your furry butt over here," the owl ordered as she tossed the leopard his branch, situating herself away from the fire slightly, "This is an important part of keeping your mind sharp, no matter how bad you are at this particular part of training. Do well and I'll even let you give Basajaun an extra large portion of dinner tonight."

Basajaun blinked over to the owl confusedly. "Let him? Excuse me, my portion size is my choi--" the dragon tried to say.

"Shut up and help me motivate this kitten, would you?" the owl snapped at the dragon, before turning back to the leopard, "Do poorly, and Basajaun eats without you tonight. You're going to start improving, spotty boy, if it's the last thing I help you do!"

"K-K-Kitten?" Zachary hissed through his teeth with an incredibly enraged expression on his face, one that almost never even visited the leopard's constant joyful look and mentality. "Did you... really just call me a... kitten?" He inquired, shaking his head in disbelief. It was rather evident that the feline was quite sensitive when it came to nicknames, and he obviously didn't appreciate the one that Esmeralda dared to give him.

Esmeralda smiled, getting exactly what she was looking for. "You might have turned out to be a big shot when it comes to magic," she said goadingly, pointing a talon to the leopard in an almost accusatory manner, "But when it comes to defending yourself from an armed assailant, you're just a mewling kitten searching blindly for his mother's teats! Now get your arse over here and show me what you can do!" The pair of dragons near the fire regarded the owl with stunned and unbelieving expressions, both held in place by the shock of what the Elder had just said to the leopard.

Zachary's breath caught in his throat. For long moments, he could only stare at Esmeralda with an unreadable expression. "How... how could you...?" feeling the lump in his throat and his eyes welling up with tears, the leopard gave the Elder the most disappointed and hurt expression his facial muscles allowed, "HOW DARE YOU!?" He shouted with all his might, his mind completely engulfed by rage and fury.

Not even waiting for an answer, the leopard charged at the owl faster than he would even when bounding after a prey, his iron grip on his "weapon" almost breaking the wooden branch in the process. He was in striking range of the Elder in a blink of an eye, and he struck down almost instantly, unintentionally strengthening his blow by using the levitating spell in an offensive manner.

Thanks to the added force from the spell, Zachary's already enraged strike became even stronger, nearing the sheer power of the blow from a trained soldier. Droplets of tears drifted through the sky as the leopard came to a halt from his sprinting, the branch precisely hitting the Esmeralda where the feline wanted, and with more force than ever before.

There was a loud clang as the wooden weapon struck the owl's body. "Arma Glaciem," the owl muttered under her breath, apparently having completed her spell before its incantation. The Elder grinned at the leopard cruelly, a mad spark in her eye.

"Mistress, don't!" Snowflake cried, hearing the owl's malevolent thoughts.

"Disappeared?" Esmeralda mumbled; her deepening voice no longer seeming her own, "Moron! They had the good sense to leave that damned town on their own! But you just had to be an idiot and try stealing one last thing before departing, didn't you?! It's no wonder you got caught if you were stupid enough to try that!"

Zachary was crying. His tears coated his furry cheeks for the first time in days. An utterly painful and enraged expression crossed the wet face of the leopard, and he had to step back a few steps from the Elder. "STOP!" he screamed, "STOP IT!" and again, growling loudly at Esmeralda and slowly creeping into a completely predatory stature. The leopard who stared at the Elder looked nothing like Zachary. He was completely out of himself.

"THEY DIDN'T DISAPPEAR! THEY WERE MURDERED!" Zachary shouted before he began charging at the owl once again, this time knowing what to expect from her. He called out the flame in his paw in a blink of an eye. Before he struck down, the feline pulled the fire over the branch, almost instantly setting it up in flames. At the same time, he casted the levitation spell as well, giving it the extra force like before, but on even bigger level. There was no way blocking the strike with either a branch or ice.

"Stop it! Leave him alone!" Basajaun added his cries to the leopard's, trying once again to stand, falling into the fire. The flames obscured his vision almost as much as the dragon's tears of fury and vengeance.

The elder's cane didn't meet Zachary's branch. What did, however, was a more disturbing sight. The owl's taloned claws bit into the wood, her digits blackened as if from frostbite. The flesh receded from her talons, creating a longer, more wicked appearance. There was a sudden chill in the air, strong enough to put out both the campfire and the flame upon Zachary's weapon.

"Thieves like you deserve what Boldrum did. You should have had the common decency to die in the wilderness, like the worthless insect you are."

It wasn't Esmeralda's voice; nor was it a voice at all. It was a pervasive, rapacious, unholy thought that forced itself upon all three present to hear it. As the owl gripped Zachary's weapon, the feline's gaze was drawn to her face.

It wasn't mortal.

The Elder's face was only recognizable by its remaining avian aspects; a thin smattering of white feathers across her black body, and her frozen, cracked-looking beak. Where eyes should have been, there was ice; red, like frozen blood. The being that replaced Esmeralda grinned with the vilest of malevolence, fangs like icicles dripping from her beak.

"Maybe you should die here instead."

Snowflake's voice rang out strong, a cold wind blasting the creature away from Zachary, before encasing it in three meters of ice. "Don't move!" Snowflake cried out, looking to Basajaun to translate for her.

"Zach, hold still!" the drake said afterwards.

Zachary couldn't move, even if he wanted to, his body completely still. He simply stared in front of him with an unreadable expression on his face, his tears still flowing from his eyes slowly.

He was in a shock.

He didn't blink. He didn't swallow. He didn't breathe. He just stood there, his legs amazingly holding him up despite their constant trembling. The burned, black branch from his paws dropped on the ground, emitting the only sound of a quiet thud is it landed in the grass.

Snowflake carefully approached the frozen creature, a soft lullaby beginning to emit from her. This time, Basajaun understood the words.

"Cold stranger, walking these warm lands,

Your touch robs life with frozen hands,

Sleep now again, peace fills your mind,

That you may no longer wander among our kind."

The spirit repeated this verse over and over as she approached the thing in the ice. As she sang, it slowly reverted back to being Esmeralda, the owl appearing asleep in the frozen tomb.

Spending a few more minutes singing her lullaby, Snowflake finally stopped after nearly half an hour had passed, urging the other two to hold still any time they made to move. Touching her snout to the ice, the spirit reabsorbed the frost into herself, Esmeralda settling down on the grass with a peaceful expression.

Zachary managed to fight off his initial shock throughout Snowflake's singing, and he finally collapsed on the ground. Putting a paw on his forehead, he remained silent. He couldn't find his voice, his mind racing with too many thoughts at once, not a single one among them at the moment.

Spending a few moments simply sitting down, the feline's thoughts slowly began to worsen, as he began to recall the things that Esmeralda had said. He hadn't felt this betrayed or disappointed in anyone before his whole life. Pulling his legs closer to his body, Zachary rested his head on his knees, sobbing quietly while his tail curled around himself and his ears lowered.

The leopard was an emotional wreck.

Dragging himself from the extinguished fire, Basajaun eventually managed to get himself to Zachary's side. "Shh, I'm here for you, Zach," the drake said in a quiet voice, pulling the leopard into his embrace, "None of what she said was true. You're not worthless, you're not..." Basajaun had to catch himself from breaking down into tears, holding himself together for Zachary's sake as he squeezed the feline gently. The rage and indignation that the dragon felt was pushed aside; he had to help his friend.

The feline soaked his fur with his tears for long minutes, Esmeralda's words drilling holes in his heart like cold daggers. Not a single word left his mouth. He had simply nothing to say.

Eventually, he leaned in his friend's comforting hug, his sobbing dying down to quiet sniffling. He kept wiping the fresh tears from his eyes constantly, their endless flowing not stopping as long as his mind was practically strangled by anguish and sorrow. There were simply no words to describe how he felt.

He was so happy just a while ago. Happiness always helped him; it made him forget about the past, about his life, about his hardships, all the things that had tormented him throughout his life. But now, everything was brought forth once again. No amount of happiness or joyfulness would make him forget this. Ever.

Snowflake moved the embracing pair, a look of sincerest regret on her face as she carried her unconscious mistress. "She didn't mean to," the spirit said, her crystalline voice filled with sorrow, "I'm sorry, she didn't mean to. It wasn't her fault. Please. She didn't mean it. It wasn't..."

For the first time, they heard what Snowflake sounded like when she cried. It was like the bells of funeral, filled with guilt and sorrow. "Please don't hate Mistress," the familiar begged, "Please."

Despite her pleading, Basajaun couldn't translate for the spirit. His only thoughts were comforting the leopard in his arms. "You're alright, Zach," he tried to insist, as though that would change the reality of what had just happened, "It's okay. That thing can't hurt you anymore."

"Why...?" Zachary's muffled voice came silently, "Why did she...?" The leopard began sobbing once again. His quiet crying would have sent a chill up anyone's spine. He coughed loudly, his lungs trying to fight against his crying, but failing to do so anymore.

"I don't feel good," the feline stated with a weak voice, wheezing and trying to catch his breath, "My... chest... my heart hurts." Zachary gripped at his chest and panted heavily, his sobbing only worsening his state as it caused him to cough even more.

As Snowflake continued begging for her mistress, Basajaun tuned the spirit's ringing voice out. "Zach, try to take deep breaths," the drake directed, having spent the last two days straight learning all he could about the body and its workings, "I know it's hard, but try to slow down your breathing. Can you do that for me, Zach?"

The leopard nodded slowly, extracting his head from between his legs and drawing a deep breath. He coughed on several occasions while attempting to do so, his lungs protesting against the action. It seemed like Izom had left him a permanent gift.

It took Zachary long minutes of struggling to calm himself and began breathing properly, but he kept wheezing each time he inhaled. Opening his eyes for the first time since he had sat on the ground, the leopard found himself staring at Esmeralda's body in Snowflake's arms.

He flinched visibly at the sight.

With an utterly terrified and disdainful expression on his face, he turned away, simply lying against Basajaun's side and sniffling quietly. He had nothing to say. The look on his face was enough.

When he saw Zachary getting a hold of himself, Basajaun turned to the unconscious Esmeralda with an expression of betrayal. "There had better be a very good excuse for this, Snowflake," the dragon said with a deceptively calm tone.

"She's possessed, alright?" Snowflake nearly bawled, clutching her mistress protectively against her chest, "She's been possessed for years! You don't know... what it's like for her!"

After a moment of taking in this revelation, Basajaun's expression suddenly changed to a softer one. "She's possessed," the dragon repeated, partly for Zachary to know, and partly to process the information himself.

"What it's like for her?" Zachary asked in a quiet voice, before he stood up on shaky legs and gave Snowflake the saddest expression on his face yet, "WHAT IT'S LIKE FOR HER?" He reiterated, his voice holding a newfound strength and anger in it. The leopard growled loudly.

"Do you... realize what she just said to me? Do you realize that she knows every part of my memory, and fucking tossed them back against me!?" he demanded, his growling never leaving, "A bawling kitten looking for his mother's teats!? A worthless filth!? A fucking... orphan from the streets?" He was crying again.

"Is that who I am? Is that how she looks at me now that she knows literally everything about me and my past!?" the leopard wiped the tears from his eyes quickly, his piercing and furious gaze drilling holes in Snowflake's soul, "And you still have the gall to tell me that I don't know what it's like for her?"

Snowflake suddenly extended her free arm and touched the leopard's forehead, using her wing to touch Basajaun's. "Memory vision!" the spirit cried, unable to explain for her mistress. The entire group suddenly fell back into the owl's past.

It was cold. Very cold. Perfect for what Esmeralda had in mind. "Right, let's see if what this book says is right," a much younger snowy owl said aloud as she ventured across a frozen tundra, the cold kept out by her feathers and thick clothing.

She walked with a cheerful kick in her step, carrying a familiar dark blue book. It was strange for the young anthro to be out in the tundra on her own, without any apparent means of safety from the howling winds and frequent flurries. But Esmeralda seemed wholly unaffected by the weather, walking with a happy gait as she neared the most severe part of the storm.

Opening her grimoire, the owl flipped the pages for a moment. "Ah, here we go; summoning frost spirits," Esmeralda read aloud, glossing over the instructions. It was actually strange how the owl seemed to skip over parts she didn't deem important; given what the observers knew about magic, this was a foolhardy and risky move, and a hallmark of a reckless beginner.

Finishing up quickly, Esmeralda nodded and placed her book in her bag. 'Learning from a spirit is going to be much less boring than reading all these musty tomes,' the owl thought to herself, taking a deep breath and bringing her arms up. A circle of runes composed of suspended ice began forming in the epicenter of the blizzard.

"I call upon the voices of winter!" the owl commanded, raising her voice over the storm, "Heed my order and come unto me, that I might know frost as you do! That I might master the blizzard by my will and word, and bear cold fury to smite my enemies!"

There was only the sound of the storm for a moment, before the winds suddenly ended abruptly. The snow was held in the air by an unseen force, and in this frozen storm, Esmeralda watched as the ice began to coalesce into one large snowflake, twice the size of her hand.

The flake of ice floated in the air for a moment, before a familiar chiming voice came from it. It seemed confused and curious, but not aggressive.

"Yes!" the owl cheered, lowering her arms. She didn't know she had broken concentration on the spell too early.

Approaching the spirit, Esmeralda held out the gift she had prepared; a hand carved statuette of a pine tree made from ice. "Hey there, little spirit," the owl said in a friendly tone, "I'm Esmeralda."

The snowflake regarded the gift curiously, before touching its surface and absorbing it into itself. With a happier tinkling, the spirit settled down in Esmeralda's outstretched hands, chiming in a friendly manner.

Distracted with her apparent success, Esmeralda didn't notice the symbols of ice she had created beginning to darken, twisting into new and more malevolent sigils. And she was standing in the center of them.

The presence in Esmeralda's mind went unnoticed for several minutes as she marvelled at the spirit. And when she finally did take notice of it, it was only because the being had seized her mind and body alike.

"Free at last. You have my thanks, mortal; I'll be feeding well this century!"

Screaming as she felt herself being lifted off the ground, Esmeralda knew immediately what had gone wrong as she looked to the glyphs floating in the air. Losing control of her body, the owl lost consciousness as well.

Esmeralda awoke covered in chains. Blearily, she gazed around, her eyes eventually settling on her father and teacher. "What... what happened?" the owl asked, looking down to the chains that bore sealing symbols on each link.

"Esmeralda, don't move!" the older owl ordered, not looking back to his daughter as he frantically searched through his tomes.

The spirit she had summoned was beside Esmeralda's father, but without a face, it was hard to tell what it was doing. "Can't banish it..." the male owl muttered under his breath, "It's too late for that. Need to contain it. Need to keep it locked up."

"He's talking about you."

The voice came from nowhere, making Esmeralda jump. She felt an iron grip tightening over her mind with the motion. "Don't move, for the love of the gods!" her father repeated, approaching with several items in his hands.

"He's going to lock you away for your disobedience."

"Daddy, what is that?" Esmeralda asked, holding as still as she could, "What's going on?"

"It's going to be okay sweety," the nearly panicking wizard insisted, "Just hold still for me, okay? And don't listen to whatever it's saying. I need you to trust me."

"It's a trick; he'll seal you away in a dark place for what you've done."

Esmeralda's eyes began tearing up. "What are you?" the owl demanded, her eyes searching frantically as her head remained still, "Leave me alone!"

Her father panted with effort as he moved across the room. Setting up a ring of candles around his daughter, the owl turned to the spirit and placed his hand over his throat. "You know what to do, yes?" he asked, a tinkling sound accompanying the owl's voice. The spirit responded with its own chimes, floating up and settling down next to the candles.

"Sweetheart, this is going to hurt," Esmeralda's father stated through his own tears, "But you absolutely must not move. I need you to do that for me."

Esmeralda slowly realized what had happened out in the tundra. "Y... yes daddy," the owl said, taking a deep breath, "I'm... I'm sorry... I just wanted to..."

Her father placed a hand on Esmeralda's head. "I know," he said simply, before lighting the candles. Taking a deep breath, the owl began to sing in a bass voice;

"Cold stranger, walking these warm lands,

Your touch robs life with frozen hands,

Sleep now again, peace fills your mind,

That you may no longer wander among our kind."

The voice in Esmeralda's head screamed as soon as the chant began. Clenching her jaw, Esmeralda fought hard against the pain, holding herself as still as a statue as the spirit joined in the song.

Some time during the process, the owl lost consciousness again.

Waking once more, Esmeralda glanced blearily around in the darkness. Only one of the candles was still lit; the rest were covered in thick ice. Taking a trembling talon, Esmeralda grasped the candle, peering around in the darkness until she saw her father laying on the floor.

Crawling over to the still form, Esmeralda's eyes swiftly blurred with tears. "Oh gods, what have I done?" the owl gasped; the wizard was covered in frost and unmoving.

"Daddy, no!"

It was years later. Esmeralda was alone, like she had been since that hellish day, with only an ice spirit for company. The owl dared not venture far from her lonely hut; the dark thoughts that plagued her never stopped, and she feared what she might do if she was near another mortal. The hateful chanting never ended, and she was only alive because Snowflake would bring her food.

Even more years went by before this began to change. Slowly learning Snowflake's language, the owl was able to at least converse with another intelligent being. But the thoughts never left; they were always there, screaming for blood, begging for sin.

But with Snowflake's help, Esmeralda slowly built up her mental resistance. She steadily began to regain function. It took years, but the owl was eventually able to suppress the foreign mind locked in her soul.

She spent her whole youth in that shack.

A large period of time was skipped over, and the witnesses landed in a familiar scene. "Quit whining and get your furry butt over here," a more familiar-looking Esmeralda ordered, like deja-vu.

'The boy's life is in danger as long as he's lacking in martial skill,' the owl's thoughts were audible to the witnesses as they rewatched the scene playing out, 'If I can't find some way to help him improve, he's not going to last long against Boldrum's men.'

"Hurt him. Hurt him like Boldrum did."

Esmeralda ignored the thoughts like she always did at first, until she realized that a goading approach might actually help the leopard. 'I'll be damned if you haven't just given me the first good advice in decades,' the owl thought with a mental smirk, 'Just a bit of prodding in some sensitive emotional areas. That should motivate him better. Nothing more; the sweetheart's been through enough.'

That's all she had meant to do; motivate Zachary to improve himself. But as they watched Esmeralda's goading again, the witnesses also saw the thoughts taking root from the first relenting moment they had received from Esmeralda in decades.

Distracted as she was with the lesson she was trying to teach Zachary, the owl's momentary lapse in her mental defenses was all the dark being needed to begin growing, like a cancerous weed in the owl's soul.

The vision cut out before the hateful remarks could be repeated.

Zachary fell on the ground as soon as he was brought out of the memory. For a few moments, the leopard simply stared at the grass under him, an unreadable expression evident on his face. He stayed completely unmoved as his mind processed the information he was just presented with. Looking up at Snowflake and Esmeralda in her arms, the feline's eyes welled up with tears.

He was smiling.

"It wasn't her," the feline said quietly, "It wasn't her..." The way he looked at Snowflake was everything the spirit needed. The relief on the young anthro's face was as evident as the shining stars in the sky above them.

Snowflake nodded, still hugging tightly to her mistress. "She would never hurt you like that... thing did," the spirit said, Basajaun translating as soon as his mental faculties had returned, "Whatever it is, it hates every living being and wants to make them suffer however it can. Mistress... she has to endure its thoughts every single day. The sealing spell her father used worked to hold it in check, but she has to spend her every waking moment fighting to keep control of her own mind."

Basajaun shook his head slowly as he finished repeating the familiar's words for Zachary. He suddenly had a lot more respect for the elderly bird, knowing what she had to go through.

The leopard listened to Snowflake's explanation with a fiercely determined look on his face. He always thought that his life was horrible, and that nobody would even come close to his struggling. And yet, it seemed like just as miserable people as him truly existed; and one of them was Esmeralda.

"We need to help her," Zachary stated, glancing at Snowflake, "We need to... help her, somehow. I don't care how, or if it's even possible, but we have to help her," the leopard's face bore an otherworldly resolute expression as he spoke, "No matter how much learning or practicing it's going to take, I'll help her. Nobody... nobody should be forced to live like this."

Basajaun looked over to the spires that rose above the city. "Do you think there's someone that can help in the city?" the drake wondered aloud. His vision had cleared from being held in trance-like rest.

The spirit sighed. "We've tried," Snowflake stated, setting Esmeralda down gently on the grass, "It's so strong; no one's been able to banish it yet. And I don't know if Mistress is even able to withstand exorcisms at her age."

There was a stirring from the owl. "Are you... calling me old, Snowflake?" the Elder asked, her eyes opening slowly, "You know I don't take kindly to that."

Zachary crawled towards the Elder on the ground, almost instantly embracing the old owl as soon as he was in touching distance. He didn't say anything. He simply hugged Esmeralda in his paws with all his might, droplets of tears landing on the owl's shoulders. He sniffled quietly, not wanting to let go of the Elder for long moments.

"Zachary, less strength, please!" the owl wheezed out, "Still sore!"

The leopard chuckled weakly at Esmeralda's pleading, pulling away and flicking the owl's beak with a finger. "That's for thinking that I wouldn't last long against Boldrum's men," he explained, flicking at her beak once again, "And that's for being a stubborn old bird who keeps her secrets from her friends," Zachary leaned in to embrace the owl once more, this time with utter care, his voice a soft whisper as he added, "And that's for... you know what."

This time the owl returned the hug. "I'm sorry," the owl whispered with a shaky voice, "I lost control and... it hurt you. I don't know how I can even start to make up for that." Basajaun and Snowflake both draped their wings over the anthros, words not able to express their feelings.

"Shh, it's okay," Zachary reassured Esmeralda, giving her a smile and wiping the tears away from his eyes after he pulled away, "It only... hurt because I thought it was coming from you, Esmeralda. I thought... that..." feeling his throat tightening, the feline could only wave a paw and chuckle in relief, "It wasn't you. That's all that matters to me."

Taking a deep breath, Esmeralda calmed herself as she sat up, holding her head in her hands for a moment before looking to Zachary. "So, now that we've both seen each other's secrets," the owl said with a small smile, "I guess we can call each other even. But I have to ask; who do you think's got the more sappy story?" The Elder's usual teasing tone was steadily returning to her.

Zachary returned the teasing smile with his own. "You have nothing on me, Elder Eszy," he replied, his trademarked joking seemingly back in full motion, "Mine's better. Let's admit, people would be all over it if someone wrote a book about it!" Grinning toothily at the Elder, the leopard glanced to Basajaun, fluttering his eyes and hoping that the hint for support wouldn't go unnoticed.

The dragons laughed. "Oh no, you're not pulling me into your drama battle!" Basajaun replied as he shook his head, "I have every reason to not cross either of you right now!"

Esmeralda chuckled as well. "Fair enough," she said, looking to the leopard once more, "You're sweet to want to help me, by the way. But, I stopped looking for a cure to my 'condition' a long time ago. Whatever the thing stuck in my soul is, I've basically accepted that it's going to be stuck there for good."

Zachary shook his head and smiled warmly at the Elder. "But I won't give up," he stated with a determined tone, taking the owl's hand in his paws and squeezing it gingerly, "And I won't accept it. It's not going to stay there for good. It had enough time to leech on you, now it's time it left," the leopard touched Esmeralda's hand to his chest, "I'll free you from that demon. No matter what it takes, I'll try to help you while I can draw a breath."

Chuckling lightheartedly, the feline gave the Elder a teasing smile. "I'm a multicaster, remember? If there's anyone who can help you, it's me. And I will," Zachary hugged the owl's talons to his body tightly, "We will do this, together."

Esmeralda smiled at the leopard's words. "Your optimism is heartening, at least," the owl said, her voice showing how tired she was becoming, "Unfortunately, this conversation is going to have to be put on hold; I'm just about ready to fall over." Standing with Snowflake's help, Esmeralda nodded to her group. "I'm sorry for the scare; I'll find some way to make it up to you tomorrow."

Zachary nodded with a warm smile. "Good night, Elder Eszes." he said, watching as the owl retreated to her tent and heaving a long sigh. Turning to Basajaun, the leopard chuckled and shook his head.

"What's with us and problems, seriously?" he demanded, grinning at his friend and putting a paw on his neck, "They just keep appearing out of nowhere, deliberately trying to ruin our good moods each time we have the chance to enjoy them."

Basajaun shook his head as Snowflake returned to the pair's side. "Still, it kind of puts things in perspective, learning about the kind of problems that Esmeralda has to deal with," the drake said, looking over to the Elder's tent, "She holds her poise well, though."

"Don't worry," Zachary began, glancing at the dark sky and smiling as the stars practically returned his gesture with their endless shining, "We will help her deal with her demons," The leopard turned back to Basajaun, and gave him a wide grin, "And deal with my demon, Boldrum, as well."

Zachary's expression bore no hesitation or uncertainness as he looked at his best friend with a smile that could have encouraged even the most miserable and hopeless to stand up and fight. "Because that's how we deal with our problems;" turning his gaze back to the stars in the infinite blackness, the leopard chuckled and snorted in amusement at the simplicity of his statement,

"We solve them."