The only constant of the "spontaneous" family trips was that the Verhens would always split into two groups. One with Kamila and the other with Shargein.
"Thank you for accompanying ." Elina caressed the Wyrmling's long neck, making him coo with joy. "Are you sure the bags are not heavy?"
He was carrying many groceries for Elina in saddlebags strapped to his back. She could have stored them in her dinsional amulet, but Shargein loved to feel useful. "Shargein strong." He puffed smoke out of his nostrils with pride. "Bags light. Shargein can carry much more."
"You should stop talking about yourself in the third person, sweetie. Elina giggled. "It sounds silly."
"It does?" Shargein raised his head as the feathers on his body quivered in embarrassnt.
"A little." Elina reassured him. "Have you ever heard your mom and dad talk like that?" "No." He scratched his head while recalling Leegaain's and Salaark's speech patterns. "You should say: the bags are light. I can carry them easily." She patted his scaly head. "No, Auntic. Bags light for Shargein. Heavy for you."
"I know." Elina chuckled. "That's why I said you were supposed to say those words."
Shargein pondered the issue for a while before repeating after her:
"The bags are light. I can carry them easily."
"You are a smart kid, Shargein." Elina said. "I hope I'm not boring you with my chores." They had gone to the coastal city of Gamhat to buy saltwater fish and scafood. The Verhens had spent most of their lives in the mainland of the Kingdom and rarely had the opportunity to eat fish. Even when they did, it was always freshwater fish.
After traveling with Lith to Vinea, Elina had acquired a taste for the local products and wanted to surprise her family by cooking a true Vinean al for them.
"Boring? How?" Shargein wagged his tail in enthusiasm. "City slls good. Looks good. People funny!"
He had never left the Blood Desert except to visit Leegaain's lair or Lutia. Shargein had never slled the sea or seen so many different people in the sa place at once.
Every food stall and every shop was a surprise for him, especially since Elina bought snacks for him often.
"Thank you, Auntie. Shargein... I'm happy." He handed her a miniature of Elina carved
aside from the size.
"Thank you, sweetie. It's beautiful." The figurine emanated the sharp, sweet refreshing scent of Snowpine, shielding Elina's nose from the pungent sll of the hard-working n of Gamhat's harbor. "I've never worn these clothes before.
"How did you know I would wear them today for the first ti?"
"I didn't." Shargein replied. "Made figurine today while waiting outside shop."
The behavior of the people of Gamhat that Shargein called "funny" was actually sheer fear. The Wyrmling was just over a year old but he was already big enough to look an adult man in the eyes even when he walked on all fours.
On top of that, the entire Mogar rembered all too well the Dragon Dance that had taken place on the day of his birth. There were countless legends about the revenge of angry Dragon parents and no one wanted to be the protagonist of a new one.
People always made way for Shargein and Elina, no matter how packed a road was. Those who called the guards ended up giving the weird pair an even wider berth after Elina showed her ID to the local soldiers.
"Gods, that's the Supre Magus' mother." A pickpocket said.
"Don't provoke her. Rember what happened to those idiots in Vinea." Another replied. "Thousands died because they couldn't mind their own business. Verhen's forgiveness lies on the tip of his sword. Once he gives it to you, you're dead"
Elina moved to the local branch of the Mage Association to Warp to Alstar.
"This is our last stop, Shargein. We pick fruit and vegetables and we can go back ho."
"Why?" The Wyrmling whined. "Too soon! I want to see more."
"Don't worry, sweetie. There will be a next t-"
The mont they stepped out of Alstar's branch of the Mage Association and into the city square, a Warping Array moved them to a clearing in the middle of nowhere, hundreds of kiloters away from the city.
'I need to stay calm. Lith warned that the most likely ambush point is right after a Warp, when our security detail of the Queen's Corps has yet to establish a periter.' Elina thought.
"Who's there? What do you want from ?" She actually said, her voice trembling with honest fear.
All the warnings on Mogar couldn't quell her survival instinct or the dread that the idea of eting her disowned son aroused in her.
"Don't worry, we won't hurt you unless you force us to. A gorgeous woman with
blonde hair and blue oves etenned forward with her emntu hande raised. "Re auiet and
this will be over before you know it.
"We have nothing against you. We need your help to get in contact with your son."
Shargein snarled and growled, sniffing the presence of a second, hidden Awakened. The man was checking on the dinsional scaling array he had conjured. It ensured that no signal could leave the area and no one could reopen the closed Warp Array. "Did ln send you?" Elina moved behind Shargein who stood on his hind legs, dropping the saddle bags as he tried to act nacing.
"Who? The Incontinent King?" The woman laughed like it was the best joke ever. "as if I'd work for a loser like him. I only work for the best. Myself"
"I don't understand." Elina was still trapped but she sighed in relief at the news.
"You don't need to and you've already bored ." The woman used Fusion Magic to move so fast that she turned into a blur.
She appeared behind Elina, striking her at the base of neck to cripple her.
Or at least, she tried.
Shargein's taloned fingers intercepted the woman's wrist and tossed her away like she
weighed nothing.
"What the fuck?" The Awakened woman used Life Vision, discovering that the
Wyrmling had an orange core.
"What's taking you so long, Janya?" The second Awakened appeared from behind one of the few trees in the clearing. "They are just a human and the pup of a lesser Divine
Beast."
To their defense, Shargein's existence was a secret and in his hybrid form he didn't look like either a Dragon or a Phoenix, making the assumption of the second
Awakened valid.
"Whatever that thing is it's fast, Gavi." She replied. "He caught like a fly."
The man had yellow eyes with black slitted pupils and purple feathered wings that identified him as a Behemoth.
"A re orange core?" Gavi said in disbelief as Shargein released his aura and unleashed his full power. "Now you've made curious."
He and Janya were both at the bright violet which made her claim sound insane.
Yet Shargein followed and blocked Gavi's movents just like he had done with Janya.
"Impressive!" The Behemoth laughed as he overpowered the small Wyrmling with sheer strength before Shargein could uproot Gavi from the ground.
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