Chapter Four #3
“Let’s go, shall we, before we attract too much attention?
We can talk more once we’re through the portal,” Garin suggests.
Part of me wants to protest about leaving this place—there’s still so much I could see and do—but that would be beyond selfish, since this is their home and they’re going to have to leave it forever.
Not to mention, the reason we’re leaving now is to make the arrangements to ensure they don’t die with it.
Saying “I want to look at your pretty trees some more” seems a little tactless in that context.
We make our way back inside the building and through a few hallways. Gideon sticks even closer to my side now that we’re surrounded by strangers, and oddly, so does Dustin. He’s quiet at first, then he takes a deep breath and turns on his charm.
“Have you enjoyed your visit, David? I know most of it was taken up by business, but I hope your impression of our home hasn’t been overshadowed by our recent troubles.”
Recent troubles? That’s a very genteel way of putting it.
“It’s been lovely. Your world is truly amazing. I’m only sorry my visit couldn’t have been different,” I say, choosing my words carefully.
He nods, somehow looking sad and impossibly young even while smiling.
“Yes. I was born after the travel ban went into effect, of course, and I’m so excited to see Earth, but these aren’t the circumstances I’d always hoped for.
” The smile turns wistful. “I haven’t even been able to see my own world in its real glory.
The time blips had already begun when I was born.
It wasn’t so bad at first, and I believe my childhood was comparable to those of my parents and other elders, but there are so many things I wanted to do and see as an adult that never happened. ”
“I can never hope to understand,” I begin, then my brain snags on what he said about the blips not being so bad when he was born.
Didn’t those begin thousands of years ago?
Do dragons develop more slowly than we do?
Our lives are much longer than human ones, but most of our brain development is complete by the age of twenty-five.
I would put Dustin as being in his late teens, early twenties at most, but he’s talking as though he’s been alive for millennia.
Something else to add to my list of questions to discreetly ask. Maybe Noah will have learned something about this from Eerika.
“Uh,” I stumble a little, having lost my train of thought. “I wish this hadn’t happened, but I’m so very glad that our people have been able to reconnect—and of course, we’re happy to welcome you to Earth.”
“Thank you, David. We’re so grateful. When my grandfather told me, I…
it… We’re so grateful.” He clears his throat.
“I have a liking for adventure, and I spent some time reading about Earth, hoping the travel ban would be revoked at some stage and I could visit. Garin said it’s very different from how it used to be. ”
“Yes. Our species have remained the same, more or less, but even without the societal shift, things have changed a lot. The most important thing for you to remember is that you can never let humans know we other species exist. Not ever,” I emphasize, remembering Caolan’s warning that dragons liked to play fast and loose with rules.
“The magic caused them to forget us because they were trying to wipe us out of existence. Nothing that we’ve ever learned has indicated their stance might be different now, so secrecy is the only thing keeping us alive. ”
He swallows hard. “We have to live in hiding?” There’s a slight tremor to his voice that makes me feel like an ass. Good one, David. Traumatize the kid.
“Not entirely,” I say, while Gideon huffs slightly at my other side.
“We live openly, but we keep parts of ourselves secret. Gideon, for example, uses a glamor to hide his horns when he’s amongst humans, and he would never teleport if he knew one might be able to see.
Other than that….” I shrug. It’s a bit of a simplistic explanation, but hopefully will give him the idea.
“Oh. That should be okay. Will we be able to shift?” The tremor is fainter, but still there.
“Yes.” I make it sound as firm as I can.
“We’re still working out some of the details, because dragons are bigger than the shifters we already have, but we will absolutely make sure there are places you can safely shift—and fly.
Caolan said you were able to hide yourself from sight?
” I hope he was right. We’re kind of counting on that.
“A distortion shield?” Dustin sounds intrigued all of a sudden.
“Sure. I’ve only ever used it for short periods, to…
uh… while playing games with friends and stuff.
” He avoids my gaze, and I guess that a distortion shield is the tool of choice for anonymous pranks.
“But there’s no reason why I couldn’t maintain one for longer.
I wonder if it would be possible to…” He trails off, clearly considering all the angles of adapting a spell.
I know the feeling—sometimes I get lost in thought for hours when I’m designing new weaves.
Which reminds me, I keep meaning to ask someone about the similarities and differences between sorcery and elfin magic. That’s something Dustin can help with and fits right into his new job description as liaison between our people.
But a glance at his face shows he’s completely wrapped up in whatever he’s thinking, and anyway, I recognize this corridor—the portal room is just up ahead. Vacation time is almost over; time to start preparing for the mountain of work ahead.
And oh, fuck. I still need to knock it into my team’s heads to stop encouraging Caolan. Mostly because I don’t know how much longer I can hold out now that I’ve seen him on his home ground, orders from Percy notwithstanding.
An evil little voice in the back of my head begins to whisper.
You saw how excited Percy was about Caolan bringing you breakfast. And things are pretty solid now between the elves and us.
The king agreed to a ceremony and everything.
I bet if you told Percy you wanted to give things a shot with Caolan, he’d be okay with it.
“Talk to me,” I beg Gideon desperately. He startles and immediately scans the vicinity.
“What?” he asks, his eyes asking questions that have nothing to do with my current problem.
“Talk. Distract me from my thoughts.”
He relaxes slightly and smirks—well, it’s what passes for a smirk for Gideon. On anyone else, it might be called a twitch of the lips.
“Sure. Your birthday’s coming up, isn’t it?” It’s just a tiny bit louder than it really needs to be, causing heads to turn.
“Not for a week,” I mutter, still trying to keep my brain off the thought of tangling my hands in Caolan’s beautiful, silky hair.
“It’s your birth day?” Dustin comes out of his reverie to ask, sounding both confused and curious. “I think my translator spell is not working correctly.”
“Not my actual day of birth,” I explain. “The anniversary of that day.”
His face lights up. “This is something you commemorate? How?”
Well, it’s a distraction. “We note it,” I correct.
“Commemoration is mostly for young children or special landmark ages. Though it’s not uncommon to spend part of the day with friends or family—a meal or drinks.
” Or, if you’re Elinor, a week of movie nights that match snacks and drinks to the theme of the movie.
Alistair hasn’t had a birthday since joining the team, but it’s coming up soon, and that’s causing low-level dread.
“What do you do for young children? This could be something to excite them about leaving their home.”
I’m taken aback, but he’s right. Caolan was totally justified to suggest he act as liaison—he’s already planning to have a positive impact.
“A birthday party is the most common celebration, although they can take many forms depending on the child’s preferences and the family’s budget.
Usually there is a cake. At some point during the event, small candles are put on top and lit, and then everyone sings ‘Happy Birthday’—uh, a song specific to that purpose.
The birthday person blows the candles out and makes a wish, then cuts the cake and everyone has a piece. ”
“What kind of wish?” he wants to know. “Is there a criteria? Who is responsible for the fulfilment of the wish?”
I wince. “It doesn’t work that way. There’s no guarantee that the wish will come true.
In fact, it’s bad luck to say out loud what you’ve wished for.
It’s just something we use to teach children it’s okay to dream, I suppose.
” I stop, because I’ve never really thought about it before.
How many times have kids made wishes that could never possibly come true, but done it anyway?
Hope is a powerful thing.
“There’s also usually gifts,” I race on, not wanting to get sidetracked—or worse, have him decide that we should develop some kind of standard for wish-making and a committee responsible for fulfilling them.
“What kind of gifts?” He seems fascinated by the idea. In fact, we seem to be getting a lot of attention from those around us. Wishes and gifts are the kind of things people want to be part of, I guess. How much farther is the portal room?
“That depends on the person, the age, and the givers. There’s not really a standard. Small children often receive toys or books or clothes. As specific interests begin to develop, their close family and friends would tailor gift choices to suit those.”
“This is very exciting. I think I need to learn more about children’s birthday parties. Would that be possible?”