Author's Notes, Parts One & Two
canisaries
you should've known the price of evil
Hey all, Canis here! Some months earlier, I posted a three-part story named Attack of the 50-Foot Brent and mentioned it was a spinoff to a story named Dragony. Well, this is that Dragony! And if you liked 50-Foot Brent, chances are you'll like this one as well.
Dragony was the second PMD "few-shot" I wrote, first being Pletora's Story, and its worldbuilding is rather similar considering the two share a universe. There's nothing explicitly tying the two together outside this fact, though, so in no way is one required reading for the other.
Now, before we continue to the fic itself, I want to let everyone know that I know this story has pacing issues and tone drift - the first parts read almost like crackfic, while the rest (while still comedic in tone) do not. This was due to poor planning on my part, and it remains unfixed to this day because I burnt out writing the end and I still don't feel like revisiting the issues I had with the fic. However, despite these problems, Dragony turned out to be somewhat of a reader favorite, and I decided I should upload it here as well for ease of access.
So, for the point I'm trying to make: I will likely not implement critique to this story, at least not for the foreseeable future. I am, however, always interested in hearing critique, so it will still be appreciated! It may be helpful with future writing, after all. I just don't want people to feel like their commentary is "going to waste", so I'm warning about this in advance.
Alright, enough babbling. This is Dragony, the story of an eevee that really wanted to be a dragon. Rated teen for dark humor and mild language. The story is comprised of six Parts, which I will be uploading two at a time to make things a little faster. Enjoy!
“Once upon a time, in a faraway land, there was a beautiful kingdom of castles and towers galore. This kingdom had an equally beautiful princess. She was a lopunny with the finest and purest golden fur of all the kingdom, but even purer was her heart.”
Boring...
Keith sighed, studying his soft, pink eevee paw pads while the teacher told her dreary story. He glanced around the classroom, noting that his boredom was shared by most others in the predominantly eevee-occupied classroom.
The teacher, a glaceon whose icy crest was already beginning to turn cloudy with age, ignored the disinterest of her students and continued on. “The king, a graying diggersby, loved his daughter above all else, buying her the prettiest and sparkliest of dresses, even if the princess was humble and always said she didn't deserve them…”
Keith rolled his eyes. Ugh, so boring! How long until the break?
“But one day, the peace in the kingdom was disturbed greatly, when a terrifying dragon appeared --”
Keith’s ears, formerly flopped to his sides, perked up high. Wait. Dragon? There’s a dragon?
“-- and flew to the tower where the princess lived. With its big, scaly hand, it reached into the window and grabbed the maiden, then flew away with a sharp-toothed grin on its fearsome face!”
The eevee sat up straight in his seat, like a model student. His bushy tail began to wag. Yes! Awesome! Go dragon!
“Distraught, the king ordered his best knights to attack the dragon’s cave and bring back his daughter, but none succeeded. The dragon was simply too strong with its armor-like scales and fiery breath.”
Yes! So cool!
Keith’s frantic tail-flailing and shining grin had now gotten the attention of a few students, who exchanged looks ranging from discomforted to anticipating. At the back of the class, an aipom quietly snickered.
“But one day, a prince from another kingdom came to see the diggersby king. He claimed that he could defeat the dragon and rescue the princess. The king’s knights laughed at the claim, as the prince was only a togetic, but the king was desperate enough to put hope in this stranger. He promised that should the togetic succeed, he would have the princess’s hand in marriage.”
Aw, boring! Go back to the dragon!
“So the prince set out to rescue the damsel, riding on the back of his trusty stoutland steed, and finally came face to face with the monster!
Yess!
“As the dragon raised its giant hand to swipe at the prince with its sickle-like talons...”
Yes! Let him have it! Show him just how cool you are!
“...the prince drew his mighty sword glowing with fairy energy...”
Wait, oh no!
“...and with one precise swing…”
Keith nibbled on his tiny claws. No, no no no...
“...he pierced the dragon’s scales like hot butter and slayed the fearsome beast!”
“Noooooo!”
The entire class quieted, turning to Keith. The eevee realized his mistake and crouched, as if weighed down by the dirty looks he was receiving.
The teacher sighed. “Is there a problem, Keith?”
Keith could feel his face heat up. “U-uhh…”
“There's no problem,” interjected Mila, the eevee sat next to Keith. “Please continue,” she added in her monotone voice.
“Very well, then…” The teacher cleared her throat and resumed telling her story. Not much was left of it, but enough to draw the other students’ attention away from Keith.
“...And so the prince and princess married and lived happily ever after.” The teacher closed the book on her desk, picked up a piece of chalk and moved over to the blackboard. With the help of a light, wooden plank, she drew four columns, then labeled each after a character in the story. Princess, Prince, King, Dragon.
“Alright, everyone,” she spoke up, pointing to the board. “In these columns, we're going to be adding words that describe the characters. Remember that words that describe things are called ‘adjectives’.” For emphasis, she wrote the word above the columns. “Now, please name a character and a word that describes them.”
Keith's paw shot up.
The teacher suppressed a sigh. “What do you have, Keith?”
“I have a word for the dragon,” he blurted. “M-misunderstood!”
Mila covered her face with a paw. The aipom at the back of the class had trouble concealing his giggles.
“Keith, how was the dragon misunderstood?” the teacher asked tiredly.
“Well, like…” Keith hesitated, but gulped down his fear. If I don't defend the dragons, who will? “I-if the dragon took the princess, he must have been lonely or something! He didn't deserve to die. They should've talked it out.”
“Keith, I'm glad that you're showing interest in literary analysis,” she said, though her tone much implied otherwise, “but you seem to be seeing things that aren't there. While I didn't explicitly specify it, this dragon is just like the dragons in our world - a bloodthirsty beast or at best a barbarian. Even if it was lonely, which I doubt dragons can be, it should have gone back to its own kind. All this considered, the dragon is well understood... although, to be fair, he is currently misunderstood by you. Which creates an interesting paradox, but I would much rather move on. Does anyone else have a suggestion?”
“B-but --” Keith tried, but the teacher wasn’t having it.
“Do not interrupt me again, Keith,” she said sternly, “unless you want to spend the rest of class in the corner.”
Keith humphed and leaned onto his forelegs.
“If you want to argue about dragons,” the teacher continued, “you should do that in your history class instead. You can hear all about dragons and their uncivil ways over there. Now, who can give me an adjective?”
The teacher continued to take answers, all of them rather obvious, and write them on the blackboard. From behind him, Keith’s ears could catch a quiet conversation.
“I have a word for Keith,” the aipom whispered to a classmate. “Crazy...”
Snorts arose from the area. Keith shrunk in his fur, scowling. He stayed silent for the remainder of the lesson.
Some years passed. Keith’s cublike traits faded as his ears and tail lengthened and limbs grew a bit lankier, but unlike most of his peers, he still remained an eevee.
Keith paced onward along the cobblestone road leading away from his school. He tried his best to place his paws on the stones and avoid the wet crevices, but every few moments he dipped a toe or four in the cold, dirty water and grimaced. He hoped a proper winter day would soon come again and freeze the puddles over. It might be slippery, but it wouldn’t get his paws all wet and gross.
Well, at least it’s not raining, he thought and circled a larger patch of water.
“Hey, Keith!”
Keith missed a step and only barely avoided sliding into the puddle. He took a deep breath and tried to walk faster, but the one who called him was more determined and caught up, blocking his path.
It was Oliver, the aipom who’d unfortunately stayed in Keith’s class despite many threats of expulsion. A mischievous grin shone on the monkey's face, practically his trademark.
Keith could hear further footsteps behind him, so he turned to see what else he was up against. Minccino, jolteon, linoone… Oliver's usual sidekicks, it seemed, but some watchog was also among them. He looked somewhat older, and the others kept glancing at him to monitor his reactions.
“Seen any dragons lately, Keith?” Oliver asked mockingly, his gang and guest of honor as audience now.
Keith wrinkled his nose and humphed. “Of course not. It's winter and they usually don't go outside.”
“So kinda like you, ‘cause you have no life?”
The fur on Keith's back bristled. Oliver’s sidekicks snorted, but the watchog stayed unimpressed.
“Oh, are you angry?” Oliver continued. “Whatcha gonna do, breathe your dragon breath at us? Poke us with your horns?” He dangled his tail hand in front of Keith’s face. “Gonna bite my fingers off?”
“A dragon would eat you whole,” retorted Keith, but then remembered he wanted to avoid perpetuating the image of the savage dragon. “Or they could, but they wouldn't, because they are civilized,” he added.
Oliver turned to the watchog. “You hear that, Benny? He thinks dragons are civilized!”
“You think so, huh?” the watchog said to Keith, crossing his arms, though he still sounded rather uninterested. “You know about their war crimes, right?”
Keith raised a paw with a fire in his eyes. “Hey, I’ve looked into those, and they are greatly exaggerated!”
“Oooh, really?” Oliver pressed on, jumping from one foot to another. “You know, you should fight to settle who’s right! Come on, Benny, kick his ass!”
“Can you guys just stop?” a new voice spoke.
The group of mon flinched, spotting the vaporeon who’d seemingly appeared from nowhere. The puddle under her feet explained her sudden appearance, however. Keith had always wondered what it was like to melt into water and travel across it.
“Come on, Mila,” Oliver said, “you really gonna side with the wyrb?”
Benny raised an eyebrow. “Wyrb?”
“You know, wyrmaboo.”
“Uh-huh.”
Mila glared at Oliver. “If you don’t leave now, you’re gonna regret it.”
“Tch, yeah, like you could do anyth-”
Mila crouched, and something cold clasped around Oliver’s tail. The aipom turned and saw a fish-tail rising out of the puddle right behind him, its fins keeping his tail in a clammy hold.
“Whuh-”
The fins yanked back, and Oliver lost his balance, falling into the dirty water. The splash struck the mon standing next to the aipom, and that was Benny.
“Eugh!” The watchog shook his soaked feet in disgust. “Screw this, I’m out!” he shouted, marching away.
“Benny, wait!” Oliver clambered up and ran after Benny. His friends followed with worried looks on their faces. The mon disappeared behind a turn in the road, unlikely to return in a while.
Mila stepped closer to Keith, sighing. “They didn’t do anything, did they?”
“They insulted dragons,” Keith muttered.
“You have to tone down this whole dragon thing. It’s basically social suicide.”
“But I have to defend the dragons! If I don’t --”
“Who will, yeah, I know.” Mila sighed again, then shook her head. “You know what, that can wait. I actually had something else I wanted to talk to you about.”
“Is it about dragons?”
“No,” Mila growled. “I wanted to let you know that this one group is arranging another pilgrimage to the Cascade Rock for the ones who missed the main season. You could evolve into a vaporeon like me, and get the real pilgrimage experience too, instead of just using a boring old souvenir.”
Keith pouted.
Mila’s frills drooped. “Oh, Keith… don’t tell me you still want to --”
“Yes I do! I wanna be a dragon!”
“Sweetie, I don’t know how many times I have to tell you. There is no dragon evolution for eevee.”
Keith threw his paws in the air. “Why wouldn’t there be? Eevee’s whole thing is turning into different types! And-and we have sylveon, that’s like the anti-dragon, they need to have a dragon for balance!”
“Like they need a ground type for jolteon?”
“...Yes.”
“Keith, you do know that story of the eevee who wanted to be flying and jumped off a mountain, right? It didn’t end well for him.”
“I’m not like that! It’s not like I’m gonna climb into a dragon’s mouth to evolve or something!”
Keith paused.
“Oh my Gods, you’re thinking of it now, aren’t you?” Mila shouted.
“N-no I’m not.”
Mila sighed, now losing count of how many times she’d done so since the beginning of the conversation. “Just go on the pilgrimage. Become a vaporeon. It’s the closest thing you’re gonna get to a dragon. And it’s not that far! Look!” She extended her foreleg, showing off the glimmering scales. “Scales and frills and a big ol’ meaty tail. You’d love it!”
“No wings, no horns, no fiery breath.”
“Gods, you’re impossible to please. I’m leaving.” Mila turned away, but gave Keith one last look. “At least think about it, won’t you?”
“Fine,” Keith groaned, and Mila was on her way.
Keith, too, continued on his path towards home. Familiar sights of stone and brick buildings went by, a few leafless trees, some passersby. An espeon, a leafeon - poor thing all wrapped up in scarves to manage in the plant-hostile temperatures - then a pair of frolicking eevee cubs. Lots of members of the eevee family, a signature attribute for the small but well defended guild of Pelton. The eevee family’s wide range of elements gave the guild advantage over almost all types.
But lots of other mon took residence in Pelton as well, though they were predominantly of the normal type. Keith walked by many such examples - a persian, an ursaring family, a munchlax and then a mon he didn’t recognize, but one that looked somewhat draconic --
Wait a second!
Keith took another look at the feathered green-and-white mon in front of the hut marked with the symbol of an apple. Long serpentine neck. Scaly snout. Could it be?
Keith galloped to the stranger, who barely noticed him before the eevee’s final strides, too preoccupied before with talking to the spectacled flareon on the other side of the counter.
“Uhh, so, yeah,” the stranger quickly said to the salesman, his voice hoarse. “Ten apples, that’s my order.” The salesman nodded and turned away to pack his wares, missing the eevee zooming towards his store.
Close enough to the stranger, Keith stumbled to an ungraceful halt, then stared straight into the unknown mon’s eyes.
“Sir! Madam! Other!” Keith spoke, unblinking. “Are you a dragon?”
The stranger raised his wing-hands covered in fluffy white feathers and shushed. “Keep it down! You wanna start a mob?” He tucked his hands back in the rest of his fluff. “But yes, yes I am,” he added quietly. “A drampa. Half normal, half dragon.”
Keith trembled with excitement. The stranger gave a worried look.
After making a noise that resembled a boiling kettle’s wheeze, Keith finally returned to using his words. “I love, love, love, love dragons,” he gushed.
“Uhh… okay.”
“I’ve only ever seen real dragons from afar and my mom and dad won’t let me get close because they say dragons are dangerous but I think that’s a lie unless they’re feral in which case I understand but they really looked civilized and that’s why I’m mad at them and really want them to let me talk to them!” Keith drew in a massive breath to replenish his oxygen supply.
“That’s… good for you,” the drampa said, glancing at the salesman still packing the ordered apples.
“What’s it like to be a dragon?”
“...What kind of question is th-”
“No, no wait, limited time, need to prioritize questions,” Keith interrupted. “So, like, uhh, uhh, do you think that, uhh, you know how eevee, uhh, uhh...”
“Just… take your time, kid.” the drampa said. “You don’t wanna pass out from hyperventilation.”
“Yes, yes, wise dragon, dragon advice...” Keith closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. Still keeping his eyes closed, he carefully presented his question. “Do you think. That there could be a dragon type evolution for eevee. And if so. How would that evolution happen.” He opened his eyes one at a time, seeming surprised he didn’t explode or something similar.
The drampa brought a claw to his chin. “Uhh, well, lemme think… a dragon evolution for eevee. Possible? I mean, maybe, I’m not an eevee expert. How it would happen? Hmm… maybe a dragon scale or something? I mean, I’ve heard that a lot of your evolutions happen with some special objects related to the evolution’s type.”
“Cool! Yes! But I’ve-I’ve tried it with some scales, though. Ones I found on the ground or bought from souvenir shops.”
“Well, maybe they weren’t fresh enough or something. I’ve had this loose one for a while, you can have --” The drampa picked a scale off his skin, visibly flinching while doing so, and offered it to the eevee. “This one.”
The eevee nabbed the scale instantly with his paw, popped it into his mouth and swallowed.
“...What in the Gods’ names --”
“I don’t think it worked...” Keith said, his ears drooping. “Y-you have to have some other suggestion, though!”
“Uhh… I don’t really know...”
“Please!” Keith threw himself on the ground and pulled at the hem of the drampa’s feather coat. “There must be something!” he cried, drawing odd and disapproving glances from a few passersby.
“I, uhh, w-well there is the Draco Plate,” the stranger stuttered, yanking back his feathers and hoping that the mon on the street weren’t making any ill judgements about him.
Keith brought his paws together. “Go on.”
“I-I don’t really know if it would work, but I’ve heard that these Plates can affect the environment and mon around them according to its type,” the stranger said. “I don’t know if it’s an evolutionary way, but that’s the closest thing I can think of.”
“Great! Where is it?”
“Um, well, that’s really the bad news here… it belongs to the King. So it would probably be in his castle.”
“So in Farindon, right?”
“The capital, yes.”
“Awesome!” Keith jumped upright, his tail wagging rapidly. “Thank you so much!”
“Hey, hey, hold on a minute here,” the stranger said. “You can’t just waltz right into the heart of the Dragon Kingdom --”
“Why not?”
The intense stare from the eevee’s eyes lowered the drampa’s interest in continuing the conversation drastically. This eevee was clearly doomed regardless of any answer given.
“Ten apples,” announced the shopkeeper, lowering a bag onto the counter and snapping the stranger out of his thoughts.
“Right, yes.” The stranger dug his wallet out of his bag and gave the salesman what he owed.
“Have a nice day,” the flareon chimed as the drampa claimed the bag and turned away from the stand.
“A-anyway, thank you so much!” Keith said, tailing the leaving drampa. “Your long life has truly made you wise beyond comparison!”
“I’m twenty-three!” the drampa growled.
“Centuries? Wow… the things you must have seen!”
The drampa shook his head and finally turned away for good.
“Thank you! Bye!” Keith shouted after the mon, waving his paw, then returned to his path home with starry eyes and a wide smile.
Keith patted his saddlebags. Full and ready. Two weeks’ gathering of supplies had finally reached its completion, and now he was ready for the trip.
Keith opened his window, unfazed by the cold, moonlit night thanks to his warm scarf and fur. He heaved his bags through onto the snow outside and climbed on the sill, but a conversation in the other room caught his ear.
“Honey, I'm worried about Keith.”
It was his father's voice, followed by a sigh from his mother.
“Not this again,” she grunted. “I keep telling you, it's just a phase. It'll go away with time.”
“I-it's not showing any signs of fading, though. If anything, he’s become more determined lately!”
“I haven't noticed any difference. It’s just the full moon messing with your head.”
“It's been longer than that! And you really should stop playing that moon card.”
Keith's mother groaned. “What exactly are you afraid of in his dragon obsession, anyway? Even if he by some black magic manages to gain dragon traits, you're a sylveon.”
“Exactly! He'll have all the reason to hate me! Fairies are the anti-dragon!”
“And I'm a glaceon. Big deal.”
“He doesn't need dragon powers to s-slit my throat when I'm sleeping!”
“Honey, come on. Does that sound like Keith to you?”
“Maybe not now, but if he radicalizes, turns into one of those draconationalists…”
“Honey, that will not happen. This is definitely the moon, no matter what you say.”
“Stop playing the card!”
Keith had no real interest in staying behind to listen to his parents argue, so he jumped down onto the snow and closed the window behind him.
Keith’s heart became heavy for a brief moment upon realizing that he never had said goodbye, but he knew that telling his parents about his plans would only make them stop him. And as an eevee against two adult ‘eons, he'd really stand no chance.
Don't worry, Mom and Dad, he thought with a self-encouraging smile, I'll be back before you know it, as a brand new evolution!
With that echoing in his mind, he picked up his saddlebags and set off on his way to the piers.
“Halt!”
“Ahh!” Keith stopped in his tracks. Wh-who said that?
“Who goes there?” the stern voice continued.
“J-just me, Eevee Keith!”
“Oh, no worries, then!” The voice now came from right beside Keith, causing the eevee to flinch.
The full moon and the flickering torches on the guild wall lit a large, quadrupedal figure with glowing yellow ring-shaped markings. It was definitely the bulkiest umbreon Keith had ever seen. Oh, he must be a guard.
“Thought you were a thief, you see,” the guard continued.
“Where did you come from?”
“My mother's womb, of course,” the umbreon replied, then laughed. “No, I traveled through shadow. Which is rather everywhere during the nighttime.”
“Whoa, you can do that?”
“Yes, we Pelton umbreon can… did they not teach you this in school?”
“Uhh… probably, but I just didn’t listen…”
“You should really pay more attention at school, boy. But either way, where might you be headed?”
“I'm… taking a lapras ride to the continent to…” Keith spoke slowly to buy himself time to think of a lie. “...get my parents a surprise gift!”
“Ooh, a gift! You're a good son, you are. But beware of those dragons! It might be winter, but they still need to hunt from time to time.”
“I… I will, thanks,” Keith said and began walking again. He was relieved to see the umbreon not follow.
“Best of luck to you!” the umbreon said with a wave, then melted back into the shadows.
Keith picked up his pace, not wanting to push his luck.
Some minutes of walking later, Keith reached the piers. The rim of the beach was mostly covered in ice, but near the horizon, the waves were too big and strong to freeze over. Some floes could be seen floating closer to the beach, however.
Keith set his course for the building by one of the larger piers. Warm, golden light shined from its windows, alluring to Keith even with his cold-resistant coat. He trotted the last few meters, then entered through the door, causing a bell to ring.
“Oh, hello,” spoke a bibarel behind the counter directly ahead. Some parts of his fur appeared shining and clumped, which Keith guessed was due to a recent swim and a sloppy drying with a towel. “How can I help you?”
“Yea, I reserved a lapras ride a few days ago? Name was Eevee Keith.”
“Alright, lemme check...” The bibarel opened and went through a book on the counter. “Ah, there you are. Nancy’s your ride. Looks like you paid in advance, too, so you’re all set. Just gotta get the raft hooked up.
The bibarel waddled around the counter and advanced to the right side of the building. Its ceiling much was higher, and its floor was replaced by the sea’s water save for a few walkways and the right end of the room, which was dedicated to a passageway lined by numerous harnesses on the wall. A few rafts floated in the water, bearing rather modest shelters atop them.
The bibarel walked to the end of one walkway and pulled a lever on the wall, causing the gate to the water next to him to open up with a rattle.
The bibarel leaned out towards the open sea and startled Keith with a shockingly loud yell. “Ay! Nancy! Get your tail over here! You got a customer!”
“Whaaat?” sounded a voice from somewhere far away.
Keith knew now to cover his ears before the bibarel responded.
“Naaancyyyy! Heeereee!”
“Fiiiine!” the voice responded, though Keith barely heard it through his paws. Luckily, it seemed like the bibarel was done shouting for now, allowing him to uncover his poor ears.
Eventually, a sea-green lapras swam into the room. It spun around to face the sea, then gave the bibarel an expecting stare.
The bibarel sighed. “Yeah, yeah, I just got done drying off is all...”
He passed Keith to grab one of the harnesses. He took a minute to untangle it, then dove in the water. Keith dodged a few splashes.
As the bibarel was fastening the harness onto the lapras, she turned to Keith. “Ye're heided tae the continent, huh?”
Keith nodded. “M-hm.”
“Weel, A'm sure ye've been hearing it a lot, but watch oot fer drugans. A'm telt eevee are their favourite food.”
Keith pouted. “Mm-hmmm…”
“Alright, harness on...” said the bibarel, now thoroughly wet, then attached the leash of the harness to the front of the raft. “And raft hooked up. You're all set!”
He leaped from the water with a powerful flick of his flat tail and waddled to Keith. “Safe travels!” he said, opening the door to the shelter atop the raft and gesturing the eevee to go in.
Keith thanked the bibarel and entered. Inside the shelter was a flimsy desk, a bed of somewhat higher quality and an oil lantern, but not much else - only a couple of pots Keith wondered the purpose of, then guessed were reserved for different kinds of wastes. One might have been drinking water. He would have to ask Nancy to be sure if he needed either.
Keith climbed up on the bed, leaving his saddlebags on the floor, and so they were ready to depart. Nancy paddled out of the building, the gate closing behind her, and set out to the open sea.
“Be sure tae enjoy the view while it lasts,” said Nancy as the torch-lit beach grew more and more distant. “Affer we lose secht ae the island, it's only the black sea and the dim stars in the sky.”
Keith nodded, though afterwards realized Nancy couldn't see him through the shack.
“So… on clear nights like this, you have the stars, but how do you not get lost on cloudy nights?” he asked.
“Inbuilt compass,” Nancy replied. “Tis how the feral eens migrate. We jist ken fit way is fit.”
“Huh.”
Keith remembered Nancy's encouragement to look outside and peered out of the little window above the bed. He'd looked before, but he didn't mind looking again.
He watched the icy shore and the floes get smaller and smaller and eventually reduce to a mere line of light in the darkness around. He wondered what the coast of their destination would look like. Would the light of the capital reach all the way there? Farindon wasn’t that far from the edge of the continent. And it was said to be the greatest city ever built! Keith was excited to see it with his own eyes even outside of the dragon inhabitants.
He yawned and realized he didn’t really have any reason to stay awake. It was nighttime, and he would need to walk a considerable amount the following day. I should go to sleep, he thought, and lay down on the bed beneath him.
Keith sighed contently, closing his eyes. To think that by this time tomorrow, I may already be a real, honest-to-Gods dragon…
He stretched his paws and curled up. He tucked his snout in his fluffy tail. I guess I probably won’t have all this fur anymore then, but it’s a small price to pay. And that drampa did have feathers. Maybe my dragon evolution will have feathers too? I hope it doesn’t take away from the dragonness if that ends up happening. Though I know I’ll still be happy with anything I get, since I’ll be a dragon and that’s what really matters…
Wondering what his new form would look like, Keith slowly slipped to sleep. Outside the shelter, Nancy continued sliding through the blackness, unflinching at the cold waves crashing onto her skin.
“Gahh!” Keith snapped out of his sleep with a jolt as a loud thumping came from outside. He looked around, disorientated as the furniture of his own room was nowhere to be seen until he remembered where he was.
“I’ve aither clients tae be seeing tae, ye ken,” Nancy groaned and slapped the shelter’s outer wall with her fin once more, creating another thump.
“C-coming!” Keith called and jumped off the bed. He dove underneath the strap connecting his saddlebags, stood up supporting it on his back and opened the door.
“Mind the g-” Nancy tried, but Keith had already taken his step on nonexistent ground. With a wail, the eevee tumbled down onto the fresh snow on the pier’s planks, face naturally first.
“Aff tae a braw start,” the lapras mumbled and jerked her body so that the shelter’s door swung to a close. “Weel, be seeing ye, love. Try nae tae be catching a caul. Or drugan teeth.”
Keith got up, shaking the snow out of his fur. After making sure his saddlebags were intact and still full, he thanked Nancy for the ride and bid her farewell. Nancy responded with a wave of her forefin and returned to the sea.
Finally! Keith thought with a grin as his paws met solid ground at the root of the pier. The continent! The same mass of land that the Dragon King and all his subjects tread! And so many wild dragons, too!
Keith looked around, but the area was void of mon, civilized or feral. Hm. I guess it’s a slow day for this harbor. I should really talk to someone to find out where the nearest transportation service is, though…
As he finished that thought, he saw the door of a nearby shack open and a poliwhirl step out.
“Hey! You!” Keith shouted, leaping into a run towards the mon. The poliwhirl flinched, startled, and seemed to briefly consider going back in.
“Uh, yes, what is it?” he asked as the oddly enthusiastic eevee arrived before him.
“Do you know what the best way to get to Farindon from here is?”
The mon eyed Keith with worry. “...You sure you wanna go there?”
Ugh, not another wet blanket. “Yes,” Keith groaned. “I know what I’m doing.”
“Well, if you say so… you should consider Thunderhoof Ride Rents. Just follow that road and it should take you there.” He gestured to one of the paths leading into the forest of leafless birch trees that surrounded the harbor. All paths bore only a few sets of footprints.
“Thanks!” said Keith, then studied the pattern on the poliwhirl’s belly. “I like your spiral.”
“Thanks! It’s my small intestine.”
“Aaaand now I hate it,” Keith whispered as he turned around and headed for the path shown.
The path continued for quite a while. The road stayed relatively straight and the striped, snow-topped trees flanked it all the way. The sky above was covered with a white blanket of clouds and the wind appeared still.
To pass the time, Keith hummed to himself and imagined all the things he could do as a dragon. He could melt the road clean of snow with his fiery breath. He might not have the need for roads at all if he could fly! It was an entertaining thought, but Keith had to admit it was probably unlikely. No other evolution for eevee known to date had wings or could fly.
Something slowly wormed into his mind, so subtly that it took him several seconds to notice it. A droning noise had appeared, disturbing the previously silent soundscape. What is that? I don't think any mon sounds like that.
The noise gradually strengthened, unnerving Keith. What if it's some kind of attack? Why would someone attack me? What did I do?
It only continued getting louder. His fear getting the best of him, Keith skittered off the path into the shelter of the trees and lay down, eyes flicking around the sky where the noise appeared to come from.
“I'm sorry!” he squeaked. “Whatever I did, I'm sorry! Please don't attack me!”
It was then that he saw it - a red figure, blurred by its incredible speed, zooming straight through the sky. As Keith understood the figure had gone past and left him utterly ignored, he exhaled practically all the air in his lungs.
What was that about? he thought as he returned to the path, the droning still in the background, now fading. Was that a dragon? Are they really that fast? Or… was that only an odd type of bird?
Keith continued to ponder this until a change of scenery gave him something else to think about. He'd arrived at a clearing with a large wooden building in the middle. The snow on the paths that left it was stamped flat with arc-shaped feet. Twittering of feral bird mon split the silence that had returned after the droning. Keith instantly sensed a livelier air. Also a faint smell of manure.
As he came close enough to the building, he could read the sign above what he assumed was the front door. ‘Thunderhoof Ride Rents’, just as the poliwhirl had given it, but the ‘Th’ was scratched over with the letters ‘Bl’ written above it. Keith held his head tilted for a brief while, but then entered.
He pushed at the door, the heavy wood providing greater resistance than he'd expected. As it swung shut behind him, the stable's stench assaulted his nostrils. At least it’s warmer in here, Keith thought and walked through the first room, craning his neck to spot any employees in the adjacent rooms. He couldn’t spot any yet, though, only feral zebstrika standing in their stalls, their eyes vacant, small and far apart on their faces. Oddly enough, there was one zebstrika not in any stall, but in the middle of the passageway --
“Oh, hey there.”
“Ngah!” Keith hopped back, staring at the zebstrika who’d turned around to greet him. “Oh, you aren’t feral.”
“Nope,” the mon replied, his speech and alert eyes confirming his claim. “They all are, though.”
“Uhh… alright. Well, do you know where the owner of this place is?”
“Yep. That’s me, Jack.”
Keith’s eyes narrowed. “You're a civilized zebstrika running a stable of feral zebstrika?”
“Yep. Something wrong with that?”
“No, no, no… I mean, if you're okay with it, then so am I.”
Jack snorted. “Did you have some business here?”
“Oh, yes. I need a ride to the capital.”
“You su-”
“Yes!”
“Alright, then,” Jack said and ambled to the back wall covered in reins hung by hooks. He grabbed one with his teeth and returned to Keith. “Hold dish, pleashe.”
Keith grabbed the reins, avoiding the spot Jack had touched with his mouth. Jack walked to one of the stalls and opened the gate. A feral zebstrika with a drooping forelock traipsed out, eyeing the small brown creature before it.
“This is Nimbus,” Jack said. “You’ll be riding her, as she’s the set-path type and strong enough to fend off feral dragons. Since, well, you don’t really look like you can do that on your own.”
Even if Jack was completely correct, Keith felt a little insulted.
“Don’t worry about any steering,” Jack added. “Once I tell her where to go, she knows my word weighs more than any traveller’s. She’ll follow the shortest path to Farindon --”
A whinny came from the back of the stable, followed by restless thumping of hooves.
“Oh, get over it!” Jack growled in the noises’ direction. He turned back to Keith and lowered his voice. “Sorry about Taima. On her first and last trip to the capital, she got bitten by a feral gabite. Or should I say gabitten. Haha.”
Jack cleared his throat and stepped back. “Anyway, as I was saying, she’ll follow the shortest path to the capital regardless of any accidental or deliberate rein-pulling that doesn’t simply mean ‘stop’. Then when you’ve reached your destination, she’ll wait until you mount her again and then bring you right back here. Simple, but effective. And makes thievery harder.”
Jack lowered his head with a glare, startling Keith. The electric type’s mane and stripes glowed, and a crackling arc of electricity formed between his two-pronged forelock. “You are planning on returning her, aren’t you?”
“Y-yes, sir!”
Jack leaned back, his glow fading. “Good. Just making sure. Now let me just get the saddle...”
The sapient zebstrika left the room for a moment, then returned with a saddle hanging by its straps from his teeth. He swung it onto the feral’s back and somehow - Keith couldn’t see with Jack’s body in the way - fastened it.
“Whoa, how’d you do that?” Keith gasped. “With just your mouth?”
“Well, being an electric-type helps. When metal parts are involved, that is.”
“Oh, that magnesium thing.”
“Magnetism. Stay in school.”
Jack then took Keith to the counter in the first room and named his price. Keith dug his wallet out of his saddlebag and gave the necessary coins, which Jack gathered in a specific bag and locked away.
They returned to the stable, and with some help from Jack, Keith lowered his bags onto Nimbus’s saddle and then climbed atop it himself. Utilizing some kind of equine body language, Jack led Nimbus out of the building and to the root of one of the paths.
“Anything else?” Jack asked.
“Right, yeah,” Keith said and pointed at the front door. “The sign --”
“I'm aware. I don’t mind it too much. It’s not like there’s any other stable close by that customers would be scared off to.”
“Oh, alright. If you say so.”
After Jack had given Nimbus her destination in very clear words, Keith and his new steed were off. The stable soon disappeared behind the grayscale trees. Back to the monotone zone…
Keith sighed. He was making good progress and getting ever closer to the capital, yes, but he’d hoped he would have seen at least one dragon by now - one that wasn't a big, blurry, hyper-speed question mark. The Dragon Kingdom should be full of dragons, shouldn’t it? I get that it’s winter, but… it’s not that cold out here!
Nimbus let out a faint whine and flicked her ears.
“Hm?” Keith leaned forwards, trying to get a view of his steed's face. He noticed her eye was glancing around. “What is it, Nimbus?”
Unprompted, the feral sped up to a trot. Keith grabbed onto the saddle for dear life, unprepared for the rougher ride. “Whoa, seriously, what is it?”
The sequence of events that followed were so fast that Keith had trouble processing them. Without warning, something small flew in from out of sight and crashed into the zebstrika’s left cheek with a crack and flash. The feral whinnied, and Keith was promptly thrown off his ride's back, tumbling down on the snowy ground.
“Hey! Wh-what the...” Keith yelled, twisting himself upwards. Though his vision shook with disorientation, he relocated the zebstrika, seeing her buck and discharge electricity like she'd lost her mind. His saddlebags were on the ground, flung off just like him.
Keith ran towards the mon gone wild, but froze as something moved at the edge of his vision. Thumping of two heavy feet arose as the figure approached. Keith leapt to face the stranger, his teeth bared by some primal instinct, though his fear and confusion morphed the snarl to more of a grimace.
Unsurprisingly, the stranger was not intimidated, but rather dug his claws into Keith's scruff and lifted him up with little protest. That lack of struggle prompted a puzzled waver in the stranger's fierce expression. A waver that only strengthened as the eevee appeared to have stopped moving and emoting entirely.
This was not due to fear. Such feelings had fled Keith's mind entirely, for he had recognized the stranger's species - haxorus.
Dragon! Dragon! Dragon!
It indeed was a haxorus, though unlike the illustrations Keith had seen, this one wore clothes. It did make sense for a cold-blooded mon to bundle up for the winter, but Keith had to admit it looked a little silly. Or a fraction of Keith, the one that still retained a regular train of thought, as everything else was overwhelmed by the vicinity and touch of a real, breathing full-blooded dragon type.
The haxorus lightly shook the eevee around. “Uhh… you there?”
No vocalizations, no changes in expression. Only a permanent, frozen face of shock.
The haxorus tilted his head. “Did you… die?”
No response. The zebstrika was still whinnying in the background, however.
“...Okay, then,” the haxorus said, shrugging, and placed the eevee underneath his arm. He briskly walked to the saddlebags on the ground and set them on his shoulder, keeping a close eye on the still thrashing feral in case of a deliberate attack. As she still seemed to be in her own little chaotic world, the dragon sighed in relief and ran back the way he came.
He continued treading through the forest, retracing the tracks he’d previously left, tracks that seemed to take some odd turns and loops every now and then. Every now and then, he glanced back at the eevee, each time finding the creature to still be immobile and stiff. He’d never even caught it blinking.
Eventually, the dragon reached a low and wide snow-covered building. From afar, it appeared simply like a normal hill, but the dark planks peeking out underneath the mass of snow broke the illusion.
The snow around the building, for whatever reason, was much higher than elsewhere, reaching up to the haxorus's waist as he waded through it to reach the front door. Had Keith been the one walking, he would probably have found himself completely submerged.
The dragon knocked on the door five times, then skipped a beat, then gave the final knock. Quiet stomps approached from the other side, followed by the peep slot sliding open. Stern eyes glared out.
“It’s just me,” the haxorus said. The mon on the other side gave an acknowledging grunt, then unlocked and opened the door.
D-d-d-d-d-double dragons!
A large dragonite, eyebrows especially short and thick, stepped aside to let the haxorus in. As the green dragon entered, the orange one pointed to the eevee with an intrigued grunt. It seemed that the dragonite was a mon of few words.
“Yep,” the haxorus responded, smiling. “We’ll be eating well tonight. But for now, I need you to cover those tracks.”
The dragonite nodded and tramped outside, shutting the door. As the haxorus locked it, Keith could hear a strong, howling wind pick up outside.
The haxorus knocked his feet on the wooden floor a few times, getting rid of the excess snow. He let out a shuddering sigh of relief as his toes began warming up.
“Someone there?” called a female voice from the next room.
“Me, Ared,” the haxorus responded. “Rog went out to cover my tracks.”
“Oh, find anything good?”
Ared grinned. “Sure did.”
He took Keith from under his arm, again grabbing the mon by the scruff, and proceeded to the other room of the rather shabby-looking house.
Four chairs of varying sizes and shapes, all appearing homemade and somewhat sloppily so, surrounded a low table of similar quality in the center of the room. An oil lamp lay on the table, providing the room's illumination as there were no windows to let the day's light in - none that weren't boarded shut, at least.
Next to the lamp lay a few worn books, some odd, pinkish grime on them. The grime’s source wasn’t hard to guess, however, as a fifth chair, pulled away from the table, was occupied by a goodra with a book in her slimy hands. Her spots and eyes were pink, just like her slime.
The goodra looked up, and her eyes widened. “An eevee?”
Ared nodded proudly.
The goodra got up and rushed to the haxorus, but then stopped with suspicion. “How come it doesn’t have its winter coat?”
“Uhh… I dunno, maybe it’s a mutant?” Ared shrugged. “Does it really matter?”
The goodra glared, crossing her arms. “Ared, that’s not a feral, is it?”
“What?” Ared feigned surprise. “It sure acted like one, sniffing stuff and yelping...”
“Where’d those bags come from then?” the goodra asked accusingly, pointing at the saddlebags on Ared’s shoulder.
“I found a civilized mon too and mugged him! It’s his!”
“And he just happened to have saddlebags that perfectly fit an eevee?” The goodra turned around. “I’m getting Bella.”
Ared threw his head back and groaned. “Oh, come on --”
“Bella!” the goodra called to the door frame at the back of the room. “We need your expertise!”
“Hold on, coming!” a bright voice replied beyond the frame. Soon after, an altaria hopped into view, her falling speed just a bit slower than it was for most. As she spotted the little brown mammal hanging from Ared’s talons, her lower beak dropped.
“Eevee!” she squealed with glee, but only half a second later, her face was twisted with rage. “Let go of him right now!”
“...How can you tell it’s a ‘he’?” mumbled Ared. “I didn’t see any --”
Bella slid through the air with one powerful flap of her wings and snatched Keith from Ared's hold. She turned around, sheltering the mon with her body. “What did you do to him?” she shouted.
“So he’s not a feral?” Doris asked.
“No! Ferals don't have the whites of their eyes be this visible, their snouts are a different shape… and the ones around here would definitely have a winter coat right now!”
“So I was right!” Doris exclaimed, looking back at the haxorus. “Tell me, Ared, why are you bringing home a dead person?”
Ared raised his palms defensively. “H-he was already dead, okay? Or, well, he wasn't, and I tried to talk to him, but when he saw me, he just froze up! I figured he got a heart attack or something, and that's unfortunate, but, like…” He brought his claws together, mareepish. “...if he's already dead, there's nothing really wrong about eating him, right?”
Doris opened her mouth, disgusted expression forewarning a scolding, but Bella raised her wing.
“Wait,” the altaria said, much calmer than before. “I don't think he's dead.”
“What?” asked the other two in unison.
“He's breathing and he has a pulse.”
“How's that possible?” asked Ared. “He was totally immobile for the whole way here!”
“Well, are you sure you didn't use a stun seed?” said Doris.
“I'm certain. I only used a totter seed on his zebstrika. It went crazy just like it was supposed to, and the seed never hit the eevee!”
“Hmm...” Bella waved her wing in front of Keith's eyes. “Maybe it's some kind of instinct? Playing dead around predators? Would be odd for a non-feral to still have that, but it's possible…”
She scooped Keith up in her wings. “I think I'm gonna take him to my room for a bit. I'm likely the least predator-looking one of us all. Well, there's also you, Doris, but I’ve read that eevee like to keep themselves clean. Your attribute might just stress him out further.”
“Just say slime,” Doris grumbled. “I'm a goodra. No point in using fancy words.”
“Fair enough,” Bella replied and carried the eevee through the doorframe from which she'd arrived.
A brief silence arose in the room.
“So…” began Ared. “I take it that we’re not eating him?”
“We are not eating him!” Doris snapped.
“Ugh, fine...” Ared lifted the saddlebags off his shoulder. “I guess we’ll just settle on whatever he packed for lunch.”
Five knocks came from the front door, followed by a delayed sixth.
“Must be Rog,” said Ared, lowering the bags onto the floor. He went to check the peep slot, then let the bulky dragonite in.
Rog shuddered as the door closed behind him, but he smiled warmly as he uttered a gargled yet hopeful word to Ared. “Eevee?”
Ared's glum expression slowly spread to Rog.
“Sorry, it looks we won't be eating the eevee after all,” the haxorus muttered.
“Graooghhh!” Rog groaned and hung his head.
“I know, buddy,” Ared sighed and placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. “I'm hungry too.”
Bella closed the door to her room. She placed Keith on her bed, sat down herself and smiled softly.
“It’s okay, sweetie,” she started. “The dragons are gone. It’s just you and me now. There’s nothing to be afraid of anymore.”
The dumbfounded look stayed on Keith’s face, and his body remained stiff.
Bella opened her wings - though not fully, to avoid scaring the eevee with her size - and lightly flapped them. “Look! Just a nice, happy bird. Friendly bird. No scary dragons!”
No change.
“Hmm, am I still too intimidating?” She hopped off the bed and to the corner of the room. “Alright, sweetie, the big birdie is going to sleep now,” she said, curling up into a ball and tucking her head in her feathers. “Goodnight,” her muffled voice spoke, then fell silent.
Keith blinked. Then he blinked again. Then he quietly, very quietly, shifted his position to a more comfortable one.
He rubbed his forehead. Gods, this is awkward… but if I don’t put a stop to this now, I’ll have to be a statue forever.
After a few seconds of building up courage, he cleared his throat.
Bella’s crest feathers twitched, but she retained her posture.
“U-uhh...” Keith began. “Aren’t altaria dragons too, though…?”
“...Oh, no, no they're not,” Bella assured. “We're nice, friendly birds, nothing to be afraid of.”
“No, I'm not scared of dragons,” Keith said. “In fact, I like them. A lot! I'm a huge fan. It's just that I…” He twiddled his paws, quieting.
Bella peeked from within her plumage. “Your instincts got the better of you?”
“No, it’s not that either. What happened was that, um… the haxorus came, and I was kinda overwhelmed that a real dragon was touching me, so I froze up. And then I kept being frozen ‘cause I didn't really know what I should say, and then I’d already been frozen for such a long time that it would've been awkward to just start talking, so I was trying to wait for a time I was alone or something… and here we are.”
The altaria straightened her neck. “So you were… afraid you'd make a poor impression?”
Keith scratched the back of his head. “Yeah, I think that's the best way to describe it. P-please don’t tell them, okay?”
Bella waddled to the bed and smiled. “My lips are sealed. I mean, if I had any.”
Keith sighed. “Okay, thanks.”
The altaria jumped back on the bed, barely shaking it. She kept staring at Keith, smile unwavering - only growing wide, if anything.
“...Why are you giving me that look?” Keith slowly asked.
“I'm sorry, it's just… I really like eevee,” she replied. “And all other little mammals, like minccino and skitty and pachirisu. You're just so fluffy and cute!”
Keith snorted and smirked. “Well, don't get too used to it. I'm gonna be a dragon too!”
“Dragon? There's a dragon evolution for eevee?”
“I know there must be! It’s why I came here. I came here so I could find something that could --”
“Oh crap! Bella!” shouted Doris from the living room. “Lati alert!”
Bella scrambled off the bed. “Oh, sorry, I have to go do something quick. You can stay here while I take care of...”
“Quickly!” Doris added. “It’s already close! I-I couldn’t hear it sooner because I was tuning out to give you guys some privacy!”
“Coming!” Bella responded, visibly in more of a hurry now. She rushed out of the room, through the halls and finally out of the front door. After Bella had left their vision, Ared and Rog focused again on Doris, her eyes closed and antennae extended in concentration.
As for Keith, he stayed on the bed, puzzled.
Lati alert?
Dragony was the second PMD "few-shot" I wrote, first being Pletora's Story, and its worldbuilding is rather similar considering the two share a universe. There's nothing explicitly tying the two together outside this fact, though, so in no way is one required reading for the other.
Now, before we continue to the fic itself, I want to let everyone know that I know this story has pacing issues and tone drift - the first parts read almost like crackfic, while the rest (while still comedic in tone) do not. This was due to poor planning on my part, and it remains unfixed to this day because I burnt out writing the end and I still don't feel like revisiting the issues I had with the fic. However, despite these problems, Dragony turned out to be somewhat of a reader favorite, and I decided I should upload it here as well for ease of access.
So, for the point I'm trying to make: I will likely not implement critique to this story, at least not for the foreseeable future. I am, however, always interested in hearing critique, so it will still be appreciated! It may be helpful with future writing, after all. I just don't want people to feel like their commentary is "going to waste", so I'm warning about this in advance.
Alright, enough babbling. This is Dragony, the story of an eevee that really wanted to be a dragon. Rated teen for dark humor and mild language. The story is comprised of six Parts, which I will be uploading two at a time to make things a little faster. Enjoy!
---
DRAGONY
Synopsis:
Eevee Keith loves dragons more than anything and wishes to evolve into one himself. But eevee don't have a dragon evolution. Or do they? Keith believes so, and will travel to the heart of the Dragon Kingdom to prove it.
Genre:
Adventure, Comedy
Started:
12 January 2019
Status:
Finished 2 June 2019
Length:
32 000 words, 6 Parts
---
Part One
---
DRAGONY
Synopsis:
Eevee Keith loves dragons more than anything and wishes to evolve into one himself. But eevee don't have a dragon evolution. Or do they? Keith believes so, and will travel to the heart of the Dragon Kingdom to prove it.
Genre:
Adventure, Comedy
Started:
12 January 2019
Status:
Finished 2 June 2019
Length:
32 000 words, 6 Parts
---
Part One
---
“Once upon a time, in a faraway land, there was a beautiful kingdom of castles and towers galore. This kingdom had an equally beautiful princess. She was a lopunny with the finest and purest golden fur of all the kingdom, but even purer was her heart.”
Boring...
Keith sighed, studying his soft, pink eevee paw pads while the teacher told her dreary story. He glanced around the classroom, noting that his boredom was shared by most others in the predominantly eevee-occupied classroom.
The teacher, a glaceon whose icy crest was already beginning to turn cloudy with age, ignored the disinterest of her students and continued on. “The king, a graying diggersby, loved his daughter above all else, buying her the prettiest and sparkliest of dresses, even if the princess was humble and always said she didn't deserve them…”
Keith rolled his eyes. Ugh, so boring! How long until the break?
“But one day, the peace in the kingdom was disturbed greatly, when a terrifying dragon appeared --”
Keith’s ears, formerly flopped to his sides, perked up high. Wait. Dragon? There’s a dragon?
“-- and flew to the tower where the princess lived. With its big, scaly hand, it reached into the window and grabbed the maiden, then flew away with a sharp-toothed grin on its fearsome face!”
The eevee sat up straight in his seat, like a model student. His bushy tail began to wag. Yes! Awesome! Go dragon!
“Distraught, the king ordered his best knights to attack the dragon’s cave and bring back his daughter, but none succeeded. The dragon was simply too strong with its armor-like scales and fiery breath.”
Yes! So cool!
Keith’s frantic tail-flailing and shining grin had now gotten the attention of a few students, who exchanged looks ranging from discomforted to anticipating. At the back of the class, an aipom quietly snickered.
“But one day, a prince from another kingdom came to see the diggersby king. He claimed that he could defeat the dragon and rescue the princess. The king’s knights laughed at the claim, as the prince was only a togetic, but the king was desperate enough to put hope in this stranger. He promised that should the togetic succeed, he would have the princess’s hand in marriage.”
Aw, boring! Go back to the dragon!
“So the prince set out to rescue the damsel, riding on the back of his trusty stoutland steed, and finally came face to face with the monster!
Yess!
“As the dragon raised its giant hand to swipe at the prince with its sickle-like talons...”
Yes! Let him have it! Show him just how cool you are!
“...the prince drew his mighty sword glowing with fairy energy...”
Wait, oh no!
“...and with one precise swing…”
Keith nibbled on his tiny claws. No, no no no...
“...he pierced the dragon’s scales like hot butter and slayed the fearsome beast!”
“Noooooo!”
The entire class quieted, turning to Keith. The eevee realized his mistake and crouched, as if weighed down by the dirty looks he was receiving.
The teacher sighed. “Is there a problem, Keith?”
Keith could feel his face heat up. “U-uhh…”
“There's no problem,” interjected Mila, the eevee sat next to Keith. “Please continue,” she added in her monotone voice.
“Very well, then…” The teacher cleared her throat and resumed telling her story. Not much was left of it, but enough to draw the other students’ attention away from Keith.
“...And so the prince and princess married and lived happily ever after.” The teacher closed the book on her desk, picked up a piece of chalk and moved over to the blackboard. With the help of a light, wooden plank, she drew four columns, then labeled each after a character in the story. Princess, Prince, King, Dragon.
“Alright, everyone,” she spoke up, pointing to the board. “In these columns, we're going to be adding words that describe the characters. Remember that words that describe things are called ‘adjectives’.” For emphasis, she wrote the word above the columns. “Now, please name a character and a word that describes them.”
Keith's paw shot up.
The teacher suppressed a sigh. “What do you have, Keith?”
“I have a word for the dragon,” he blurted. “M-misunderstood!”
Mila covered her face with a paw. The aipom at the back of the class had trouble concealing his giggles.
“Keith, how was the dragon misunderstood?” the teacher asked tiredly.
“Well, like…” Keith hesitated, but gulped down his fear. If I don't defend the dragons, who will? “I-if the dragon took the princess, he must have been lonely or something! He didn't deserve to die. They should've talked it out.”
“Keith, I'm glad that you're showing interest in literary analysis,” she said, though her tone much implied otherwise, “but you seem to be seeing things that aren't there. While I didn't explicitly specify it, this dragon is just like the dragons in our world - a bloodthirsty beast or at best a barbarian. Even if it was lonely, which I doubt dragons can be, it should have gone back to its own kind. All this considered, the dragon is well understood... although, to be fair, he is currently misunderstood by you. Which creates an interesting paradox, but I would much rather move on. Does anyone else have a suggestion?”
“B-but --” Keith tried, but the teacher wasn’t having it.
“Do not interrupt me again, Keith,” she said sternly, “unless you want to spend the rest of class in the corner.”
Keith humphed and leaned onto his forelegs.
“If you want to argue about dragons,” the teacher continued, “you should do that in your history class instead. You can hear all about dragons and their uncivil ways over there. Now, who can give me an adjective?”
The teacher continued to take answers, all of them rather obvious, and write them on the blackboard. From behind him, Keith’s ears could catch a quiet conversation.
“I have a word for Keith,” the aipom whispered to a classmate. “Crazy...”
Snorts arose from the area. Keith shrunk in his fur, scowling. He stayed silent for the remainder of the lesson.
---
Some years passed. Keith’s cublike traits faded as his ears and tail lengthened and limbs grew a bit lankier, but unlike most of his peers, he still remained an eevee.
Keith paced onward along the cobblestone road leading away from his school. He tried his best to place his paws on the stones and avoid the wet crevices, but every few moments he dipped a toe or four in the cold, dirty water and grimaced. He hoped a proper winter day would soon come again and freeze the puddles over. It might be slippery, but it wouldn’t get his paws all wet and gross.
Well, at least it’s not raining, he thought and circled a larger patch of water.
“Hey, Keith!”
Keith missed a step and only barely avoided sliding into the puddle. He took a deep breath and tried to walk faster, but the one who called him was more determined and caught up, blocking his path.
It was Oliver, the aipom who’d unfortunately stayed in Keith’s class despite many threats of expulsion. A mischievous grin shone on the monkey's face, practically his trademark.
Keith could hear further footsteps behind him, so he turned to see what else he was up against. Minccino, jolteon, linoone… Oliver's usual sidekicks, it seemed, but some watchog was also among them. He looked somewhat older, and the others kept glancing at him to monitor his reactions.
“Seen any dragons lately, Keith?” Oliver asked mockingly, his gang and guest of honor as audience now.
Keith wrinkled his nose and humphed. “Of course not. It's winter and they usually don't go outside.”
“So kinda like you, ‘cause you have no life?”
The fur on Keith's back bristled. Oliver’s sidekicks snorted, but the watchog stayed unimpressed.
“Oh, are you angry?” Oliver continued. “Whatcha gonna do, breathe your dragon breath at us? Poke us with your horns?” He dangled his tail hand in front of Keith’s face. “Gonna bite my fingers off?”
“A dragon would eat you whole,” retorted Keith, but then remembered he wanted to avoid perpetuating the image of the savage dragon. “Or they could, but they wouldn't, because they are civilized,” he added.
Oliver turned to the watchog. “You hear that, Benny? He thinks dragons are civilized!”
“You think so, huh?” the watchog said to Keith, crossing his arms, though he still sounded rather uninterested. “You know about their war crimes, right?”
Keith raised a paw with a fire in his eyes. “Hey, I’ve looked into those, and they are greatly exaggerated!”
“Oooh, really?” Oliver pressed on, jumping from one foot to another. “You know, you should fight to settle who’s right! Come on, Benny, kick his ass!”
“Can you guys just stop?” a new voice spoke.
The group of mon flinched, spotting the vaporeon who’d seemingly appeared from nowhere. The puddle under her feet explained her sudden appearance, however. Keith had always wondered what it was like to melt into water and travel across it.
“Come on, Mila,” Oliver said, “you really gonna side with the wyrb?”
Benny raised an eyebrow. “Wyrb?”
“You know, wyrmaboo.”
“Uh-huh.”
Mila glared at Oliver. “If you don’t leave now, you’re gonna regret it.”
“Tch, yeah, like you could do anyth-”
Mila crouched, and something cold clasped around Oliver’s tail. The aipom turned and saw a fish-tail rising out of the puddle right behind him, its fins keeping his tail in a clammy hold.
“Whuh-”
The fins yanked back, and Oliver lost his balance, falling into the dirty water. The splash struck the mon standing next to the aipom, and that was Benny.
“Eugh!” The watchog shook his soaked feet in disgust. “Screw this, I’m out!” he shouted, marching away.
“Benny, wait!” Oliver clambered up and ran after Benny. His friends followed with worried looks on their faces. The mon disappeared behind a turn in the road, unlikely to return in a while.
Mila stepped closer to Keith, sighing. “They didn’t do anything, did they?”
“They insulted dragons,” Keith muttered.
“You have to tone down this whole dragon thing. It’s basically social suicide.”
“But I have to defend the dragons! If I don’t --”
“Who will, yeah, I know.” Mila sighed again, then shook her head. “You know what, that can wait. I actually had something else I wanted to talk to you about.”
“Is it about dragons?”
“No,” Mila growled. “I wanted to let you know that this one group is arranging another pilgrimage to the Cascade Rock for the ones who missed the main season. You could evolve into a vaporeon like me, and get the real pilgrimage experience too, instead of just using a boring old souvenir.”
Keith pouted.
Mila’s frills drooped. “Oh, Keith… don’t tell me you still want to --”
“Yes I do! I wanna be a dragon!”
“Sweetie, I don’t know how many times I have to tell you. There is no dragon evolution for eevee.”
Keith threw his paws in the air. “Why wouldn’t there be? Eevee’s whole thing is turning into different types! And-and we have sylveon, that’s like the anti-dragon, they need to have a dragon for balance!”
“Like they need a ground type for jolteon?”
“...Yes.”
“Keith, you do know that story of the eevee who wanted to be flying and jumped off a mountain, right? It didn’t end well for him.”
“I’m not like that! It’s not like I’m gonna climb into a dragon’s mouth to evolve or something!”
Keith paused.
“Oh my Gods, you’re thinking of it now, aren’t you?” Mila shouted.
“N-no I’m not.”
Mila sighed, now losing count of how many times she’d done so since the beginning of the conversation. “Just go on the pilgrimage. Become a vaporeon. It’s the closest thing you’re gonna get to a dragon. And it’s not that far! Look!” She extended her foreleg, showing off the glimmering scales. “Scales and frills and a big ol’ meaty tail. You’d love it!”
“No wings, no horns, no fiery breath.”
“Gods, you’re impossible to please. I’m leaving.” Mila turned away, but gave Keith one last look. “At least think about it, won’t you?”
“Fine,” Keith groaned, and Mila was on her way.
Keith, too, continued on his path towards home. Familiar sights of stone and brick buildings went by, a few leafless trees, some passersby. An espeon, a leafeon - poor thing all wrapped up in scarves to manage in the plant-hostile temperatures - then a pair of frolicking eevee cubs. Lots of members of the eevee family, a signature attribute for the small but well defended guild of Pelton. The eevee family’s wide range of elements gave the guild advantage over almost all types.
But lots of other mon took residence in Pelton as well, though they were predominantly of the normal type. Keith walked by many such examples - a persian, an ursaring family, a munchlax and then a mon he didn’t recognize, but one that looked somewhat draconic --
Wait a second!
Keith took another look at the feathered green-and-white mon in front of the hut marked with the symbol of an apple. Long serpentine neck. Scaly snout. Could it be?
Keith galloped to the stranger, who barely noticed him before the eevee’s final strides, too preoccupied before with talking to the spectacled flareon on the other side of the counter.
“Uhh, so, yeah,” the stranger quickly said to the salesman, his voice hoarse. “Ten apples, that’s my order.” The salesman nodded and turned away to pack his wares, missing the eevee zooming towards his store.
Close enough to the stranger, Keith stumbled to an ungraceful halt, then stared straight into the unknown mon’s eyes.
“Sir! Madam! Other!” Keith spoke, unblinking. “Are you a dragon?”
The stranger raised his wing-hands covered in fluffy white feathers and shushed. “Keep it down! You wanna start a mob?” He tucked his hands back in the rest of his fluff. “But yes, yes I am,” he added quietly. “A drampa. Half normal, half dragon.”
Keith trembled with excitement. The stranger gave a worried look.
After making a noise that resembled a boiling kettle’s wheeze, Keith finally returned to using his words. “I love, love, love, love dragons,” he gushed.
“Uhh… okay.”
“I’ve only ever seen real dragons from afar and my mom and dad won’t let me get close because they say dragons are dangerous but I think that’s a lie unless they’re feral in which case I understand but they really looked civilized and that’s why I’m mad at them and really want them to let me talk to them!” Keith drew in a massive breath to replenish his oxygen supply.
“That’s… good for you,” the drampa said, glancing at the salesman still packing the ordered apples.
“What’s it like to be a dragon?”
“...What kind of question is th-”
“No, no wait, limited time, need to prioritize questions,” Keith interrupted. “So, like, uhh, uhh, do you think that, uhh, you know how eevee, uhh, uhh...”
“Just… take your time, kid.” the drampa said. “You don’t wanna pass out from hyperventilation.”
“Yes, yes, wise dragon, dragon advice...” Keith closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. Still keeping his eyes closed, he carefully presented his question. “Do you think. That there could be a dragon type evolution for eevee. And if so. How would that evolution happen.” He opened his eyes one at a time, seeming surprised he didn’t explode or something similar.
The drampa brought a claw to his chin. “Uhh, well, lemme think… a dragon evolution for eevee. Possible? I mean, maybe, I’m not an eevee expert. How it would happen? Hmm… maybe a dragon scale or something? I mean, I’ve heard that a lot of your evolutions happen with some special objects related to the evolution’s type.”
“Cool! Yes! But I’ve-I’ve tried it with some scales, though. Ones I found on the ground or bought from souvenir shops.”
“Well, maybe they weren’t fresh enough or something. I’ve had this loose one for a while, you can have --” The drampa picked a scale off his skin, visibly flinching while doing so, and offered it to the eevee. “This one.”
The eevee nabbed the scale instantly with his paw, popped it into his mouth and swallowed.
“...What in the Gods’ names --”
“I don’t think it worked...” Keith said, his ears drooping. “Y-you have to have some other suggestion, though!”
“Uhh… I don’t really know...”
“Please!” Keith threw himself on the ground and pulled at the hem of the drampa’s feather coat. “There must be something!” he cried, drawing odd and disapproving glances from a few passersby.
“I, uhh, w-well there is the Draco Plate,” the stranger stuttered, yanking back his feathers and hoping that the mon on the street weren’t making any ill judgements about him.
Keith brought his paws together. “Go on.”
“I-I don’t really know if it would work, but I’ve heard that these Plates can affect the environment and mon around them according to its type,” the stranger said. “I don’t know if it’s an evolutionary way, but that’s the closest thing I can think of.”
“Great! Where is it?”
“Um, well, that’s really the bad news here… it belongs to the King. So it would probably be in his castle.”
“So in Farindon, right?”
“The capital, yes.”
“Awesome!” Keith jumped upright, his tail wagging rapidly. “Thank you so much!”
“Hey, hey, hold on a minute here,” the stranger said. “You can’t just waltz right into the heart of the Dragon Kingdom --”
“Why not?”
The intense stare from the eevee’s eyes lowered the drampa’s interest in continuing the conversation drastically. This eevee was clearly doomed regardless of any answer given.
“Ten apples,” announced the shopkeeper, lowering a bag onto the counter and snapping the stranger out of his thoughts.
“Right, yes.” The stranger dug his wallet out of his bag and gave the salesman what he owed.
“Have a nice day,” the flareon chimed as the drampa claimed the bag and turned away from the stand.
“A-anyway, thank you so much!” Keith said, tailing the leaving drampa. “Your long life has truly made you wise beyond comparison!”
“I’m twenty-three!” the drampa growled.
“Centuries? Wow… the things you must have seen!”
The drampa shook his head and finally turned away for good.
“Thank you! Bye!” Keith shouted after the mon, waving his paw, then returned to his path home with starry eyes and a wide smile.
---
Keith patted his saddlebags. Full and ready. Two weeks’ gathering of supplies had finally reached its completion, and now he was ready for the trip.
Keith opened his window, unfazed by the cold, moonlit night thanks to his warm scarf and fur. He heaved his bags through onto the snow outside and climbed on the sill, but a conversation in the other room caught his ear.
“Honey, I'm worried about Keith.”
It was his father's voice, followed by a sigh from his mother.
“Not this again,” she grunted. “I keep telling you, it's just a phase. It'll go away with time.”
“I-it's not showing any signs of fading, though. If anything, he’s become more determined lately!”
“I haven't noticed any difference. It’s just the full moon messing with your head.”
“It's been longer than that! And you really should stop playing that moon card.”
Keith's mother groaned. “What exactly are you afraid of in his dragon obsession, anyway? Even if he by some black magic manages to gain dragon traits, you're a sylveon.”
“Exactly! He'll have all the reason to hate me! Fairies are the anti-dragon!”
“And I'm a glaceon. Big deal.”
“He doesn't need dragon powers to s-slit my throat when I'm sleeping!”
“Honey, come on. Does that sound like Keith to you?”
“Maybe not now, but if he radicalizes, turns into one of those draconationalists…”
“Honey, that will not happen. This is definitely the moon, no matter what you say.”
“Stop playing the card!”
Keith had no real interest in staying behind to listen to his parents argue, so he jumped down onto the snow and closed the window behind him.
Keith’s heart became heavy for a brief moment upon realizing that he never had said goodbye, but he knew that telling his parents about his plans would only make them stop him. And as an eevee against two adult ‘eons, he'd really stand no chance.
Don't worry, Mom and Dad, he thought with a self-encouraging smile, I'll be back before you know it, as a brand new evolution!
With that echoing in his mind, he picked up his saddlebags and set off on his way to the piers.
---
“Halt!”
“Ahh!” Keith stopped in his tracks. Wh-who said that?
“Who goes there?” the stern voice continued.
“J-just me, Eevee Keith!”
“Oh, no worries, then!” The voice now came from right beside Keith, causing the eevee to flinch.
The full moon and the flickering torches on the guild wall lit a large, quadrupedal figure with glowing yellow ring-shaped markings. It was definitely the bulkiest umbreon Keith had ever seen. Oh, he must be a guard.
“Thought you were a thief, you see,” the guard continued.
“Where did you come from?”
“My mother's womb, of course,” the umbreon replied, then laughed. “No, I traveled through shadow. Which is rather everywhere during the nighttime.”
“Whoa, you can do that?”
“Yes, we Pelton umbreon can… did they not teach you this in school?”
“Uhh… probably, but I just didn’t listen…”
“You should really pay more attention at school, boy. But either way, where might you be headed?”
“I'm… taking a lapras ride to the continent to…” Keith spoke slowly to buy himself time to think of a lie. “...get my parents a surprise gift!”
“Ooh, a gift! You're a good son, you are. But beware of those dragons! It might be winter, but they still need to hunt from time to time.”
“I… I will, thanks,” Keith said and began walking again. He was relieved to see the umbreon not follow.
“Best of luck to you!” the umbreon said with a wave, then melted back into the shadows.
Keith picked up his pace, not wanting to push his luck.
Some minutes of walking later, Keith reached the piers. The rim of the beach was mostly covered in ice, but near the horizon, the waves were too big and strong to freeze over. Some floes could be seen floating closer to the beach, however.
Keith set his course for the building by one of the larger piers. Warm, golden light shined from its windows, alluring to Keith even with his cold-resistant coat. He trotted the last few meters, then entered through the door, causing a bell to ring.
“Oh, hello,” spoke a bibarel behind the counter directly ahead. Some parts of his fur appeared shining and clumped, which Keith guessed was due to a recent swim and a sloppy drying with a towel. “How can I help you?”
“Yea, I reserved a lapras ride a few days ago? Name was Eevee Keith.”
“Alright, lemme check...” The bibarel opened and went through a book on the counter. “Ah, there you are. Nancy’s your ride. Looks like you paid in advance, too, so you’re all set. Just gotta get the raft hooked up.
The bibarel waddled around the counter and advanced to the right side of the building. Its ceiling much was higher, and its floor was replaced by the sea’s water save for a few walkways and the right end of the room, which was dedicated to a passageway lined by numerous harnesses on the wall. A few rafts floated in the water, bearing rather modest shelters atop them.
The bibarel walked to the end of one walkway and pulled a lever on the wall, causing the gate to the water next to him to open up with a rattle.
The bibarel leaned out towards the open sea and startled Keith with a shockingly loud yell. “Ay! Nancy! Get your tail over here! You got a customer!”
“Whaaat?” sounded a voice from somewhere far away.
Keith knew now to cover his ears before the bibarel responded.
“Naaancyyyy! Heeereee!”
“Fiiiine!” the voice responded, though Keith barely heard it through his paws. Luckily, it seemed like the bibarel was done shouting for now, allowing him to uncover his poor ears.
Eventually, a sea-green lapras swam into the room. It spun around to face the sea, then gave the bibarel an expecting stare.
The bibarel sighed. “Yeah, yeah, I just got done drying off is all...”
He passed Keith to grab one of the harnesses. He took a minute to untangle it, then dove in the water. Keith dodged a few splashes.
As the bibarel was fastening the harness onto the lapras, she turned to Keith. “Ye're heided tae the continent, huh?”
Keith nodded. “M-hm.”
“Weel, A'm sure ye've been hearing it a lot, but watch oot fer drugans. A'm telt eevee are their favourite food.”
Keith pouted. “Mm-hmmm…”
“Alright, harness on...” said the bibarel, now thoroughly wet, then attached the leash of the harness to the front of the raft. “And raft hooked up. You're all set!”
He leaped from the water with a powerful flick of his flat tail and waddled to Keith. “Safe travels!” he said, opening the door to the shelter atop the raft and gesturing the eevee to go in.
Keith thanked the bibarel and entered. Inside the shelter was a flimsy desk, a bed of somewhat higher quality and an oil lantern, but not much else - only a couple of pots Keith wondered the purpose of, then guessed were reserved for different kinds of wastes. One might have been drinking water. He would have to ask Nancy to be sure if he needed either.
Keith climbed up on the bed, leaving his saddlebags on the floor, and so they were ready to depart. Nancy paddled out of the building, the gate closing behind her, and set out to the open sea.
“Be sure tae enjoy the view while it lasts,” said Nancy as the torch-lit beach grew more and more distant. “Affer we lose secht ae the island, it's only the black sea and the dim stars in the sky.”
Keith nodded, though afterwards realized Nancy couldn't see him through the shack.
“So… on clear nights like this, you have the stars, but how do you not get lost on cloudy nights?” he asked.
“Inbuilt compass,” Nancy replied. “Tis how the feral eens migrate. We jist ken fit way is fit.”
“Huh.”
Keith remembered Nancy's encouragement to look outside and peered out of the little window above the bed. He'd looked before, but he didn't mind looking again.
He watched the icy shore and the floes get smaller and smaller and eventually reduce to a mere line of light in the darkness around. He wondered what the coast of their destination would look like. Would the light of the capital reach all the way there? Farindon wasn’t that far from the edge of the continent. And it was said to be the greatest city ever built! Keith was excited to see it with his own eyes even outside of the dragon inhabitants.
He yawned and realized he didn’t really have any reason to stay awake. It was nighttime, and he would need to walk a considerable amount the following day. I should go to sleep, he thought, and lay down on the bed beneath him.
Keith sighed contently, closing his eyes. To think that by this time tomorrow, I may already be a real, honest-to-Gods dragon…
He stretched his paws and curled up. He tucked his snout in his fluffy tail. I guess I probably won’t have all this fur anymore then, but it’s a small price to pay. And that drampa did have feathers. Maybe my dragon evolution will have feathers too? I hope it doesn’t take away from the dragonness if that ends up happening. Though I know I’ll still be happy with anything I get, since I’ll be a dragon and that’s what really matters…
Wondering what his new form would look like, Keith slowly slipped to sleep. Outside the shelter, Nancy continued sliding through the blackness, unflinching at the cold waves crashing onto her skin.
---
Part Two
---
“Hey, A said wake yersel!”Part Two
---
“Gahh!” Keith snapped out of his sleep with a jolt as a loud thumping came from outside. He looked around, disorientated as the furniture of his own room was nowhere to be seen until he remembered where he was.
“I’ve aither clients tae be seeing tae, ye ken,” Nancy groaned and slapped the shelter’s outer wall with her fin once more, creating another thump.
“C-coming!” Keith called and jumped off the bed. He dove underneath the strap connecting his saddlebags, stood up supporting it on his back and opened the door.
“Mind the g-” Nancy tried, but Keith had already taken his step on nonexistent ground. With a wail, the eevee tumbled down onto the fresh snow on the pier’s planks, face naturally first.
“Aff tae a braw start,” the lapras mumbled and jerked her body so that the shelter’s door swung to a close. “Weel, be seeing ye, love. Try nae tae be catching a caul. Or drugan teeth.”
Keith got up, shaking the snow out of his fur. After making sure his saddlebags were intact and still full, he thanked Nancy for the ride and bid her farewell. Nancy responded with a wave of her forefin and returned to the sea.
Finally! Keith thought with a grin as his paws met solid ground at the root of the pier. The continent! The same mass of land that the Dragon King and all his subjects tread! And so many wild dragons, too!
Keith looked around, but the area was void of mon, civilized or feral. Hm. I guess it’s a slow day for this harbor. I should really talk to someone to find out where the nearest transportation service is, though…
As he finished that thought, he saw the door of a nearby shack open and a poliwhirl step out.
“Hey! You!” Keith shouted, leaping into a run towards the mon. The poliwhirl flinched, startled, and seemed to briefly consider going back in.
“Uh, yes, what is it?” he asked as the oddly enthusiastic eevee arrived before him.
“Do you know what the best way to get to Farindon from here is?”
The mon eyed Keith with worry. “...You sure you wanna go there?”
Ugh, not another wet blanket. “Yes,” Keith groaned. “I know what I’m doing.”
“Well, if you say so… you should consider Thunderhoof Ride Rents. Just follow that road and it should take you there.” He gestured to one of the paths leading into the forest of leafless birch trees that surrounded the harbor. All paths bore only a few sets of footprints.
“Thanks!” said Keith, then studied the pattern on the poliwhirl’s belly. “I like your spiral.”
“Thanks! It’s my small intestine.”
“Aaaand now I hate it,” Keith whispered as he turned around and headed for the path shown.
The path continued for quite a while. The road stayed relatively straight and the striped, snow-topped trees flanked it all the way. The sky above was covered with a white blanket of clouds and the wind appeared still.
To pass the time, Keith hummed to himself and imagined all the things he could do as a dragon. He could melt the road clean of snow with his fiery breath. He might not have the need for roads at all if he could fly! It was an entertaining thought, but Keith had to admit it was probably unlikely. No other evolution for eevee known to date had wings or could fly.
Something slowly wormed into his mind, so subtly that it took him several seconds to notice it. A droning noise had appeared, disturbing the previously silent soundscape. What is that? I don't think any mon sounds like that.
The noise gradually strengthened, unnerving Keith. What if it's some kind of attack? Why would someone attack me? What did I do?
It only continued getting louder. His fear getting the best of him, Keith skittered off the path into the shelter of the trees and lay down, eyes flicking around the sky where the noise appeared to come from.
“I'm sorry!” he squeaked. “Whatever I did, I'm sorry! Please don't attack me!”
It was then that he saw it - a red figure, blurred by its incredible speed, zooming straight through the sky. As Keith understood the figure had gone past and left him utterly ignored, he exhaled practically all the air in his lungs.
What was that about? he thought as he returned to the path, the droning still in the background, now fading. Was that a dragon? Are they really that fast? Or… was that only an odd type of bird?
Keith continued to ponder this until a change of scenery gave him something else to think about. He'd arrived at a clearing with a large wooden building in the middle. The snow on the paths that left it was stamped flat with arc-shaped feet. Twittering of feral bird mon split the silence that had returned after the droning. Keith instantly sensed a livelier air. Also a faint smell of manure.
As he came close enough to the building, he could read the sign above what he assumed was the front door. ‘Thunderhoof Ride Rents’, just as the poliwhirl had given it, but the ‘Th’ was scratched over with the letters ‘Bl’ written above it. Keith held his head tilted for a brief while, but then entered.
He pushed at the door, the heavy wood providing greater resistance than he'd expected. As it swung shut behind him, the stable's stench assaulted his nostrils. At least it’s warmer in here, Keith thought and walked through the first room, craning his neck to spot any employees in the adjacent rooms. He couldn’t spot any yet, though, only feral zebstrika standing in their stalls, their eyes vacant, small and far apart on their faces. Oddly enough, there was one zebstrika not in any stall, but in the middle of the passageway --
“Oh, hey there.”
“Ngah!” Keith hopped back, staring at the zebstrika who’d turned around to greet him. “Oh, you aren’t feral.”
“Nope,” the mon replied, his speech and alert eyes confirming his claim. “They all are, though.”
“Uhh… alright. Well, do you know where the owner of this place is?”
“Yep. That’s me, Jack.”
Keith’s eyes narrowed. “You're a civilized zebstrika running a stable of feral zebstrika?”
“Yep. Something wrong with that?”
“No, no, no… I mean, if you're okay with it, then so am I.”
Jack snorted. “Did you have some business here?”
“Oh, yes. I need a ride to the capital.”
“You su-”
“Yes!”
“Alright, then,” Jack said and ambled to the back wall covered in reins hung by hooks. He grabbed one with his teeth and returned to Keith. “Hold dish, pleashe.”
Keith grabbed the reins, avoiding the spot Jack had touched with his mouth. Jack walked to one of the stalls and opened the gate. A feral zebstrika with a drooping forelock traipsed out, eyeing the small brown creature before it.
“This is Nimbus,” Jack said. “You’ll be riding her, as she’s the set-path type and strong enough to fend off feral dragons. Since, well, you don’t really look like you can do that on your own.”
Even if Jack was completely correct, Keith felt a little insulted.
“Don’t worry about any steering,” Jack added. “Once I tell her where to go, she knows my word weighs more than any traveller’s. She’ll follow the shortest path to Farindon --”
A whinny came from the back of the stable, followed by restless thumping of hooves.
“Oh, get over it!” Jack growled in the noises’ direction. He turned back to Keith and lowered his voice. “Sorry about Taima. On her first and last trip to the capital, she got bitten by a feral gabite. Or should I say gabitten. Haha.”
Jack cleared his throat and stepped back. “Anyway, as I was saying, she’ll follow the shortest path to the capital regardless of any accidental or deliberate rein-pulling that doesn’t simply mean ‘stop’. Then when you’ve reached your destination, she’ll wait until you mount her again and then bring you right back here. Simple, but effective. And makes thievery harder.”
Jack lowered his head with a glare, startling Keith. The electric type’s mane and stripes glowed, and a crackling arc of electricity formed between his two-pronged forelock. “You are planning on returning her, aren’t you?”
“Y-yes, sir!”
Jack leaned back, his glow fading. “Good. Just making sure. Now let me just get the saddle...”
The sapient zebstrika left the room for a moment, then returned with a saddle hanging by its straps from his teeth. He swung it onto the feral’s back and somehow - Keith couldn’t see with Jack’s body in the way - fastened it.
“Whoa, how’d you do that?” Keith gasped. “With just your mouth?”
“Well, being an electric-type helps. When metal parts are involved, that is.”
“Oh, that magnesium thing.”
“Magnetism. Stay in school.”
Jack then took Keith to the counter in the first room and named his price. Keith dug his wallet out of his saddlebag and gave the necessary coins, which Jack gathered in a specific bag and locked away.
They returned to the stable, and with some help from Jack, Keith lowered his bags onto Nimbus’s saddle and then climbed atop it himself. Utilizing some kind of equine body language, Jack led Nimbus out of the building and to the root of one of the paths.
“Anything else?” Jack asked.
“Right, yeah,” Keith said and pointed at the front door. “The sign --”
“I'm aware. I don’t mind it too much. It’s not like there’s any other stable close by that customers would be scared off to.”
“Oh, alright. If you say so.”
After Jack had given Nimbus her destination in very clear words, Keith and his new steed were off. The stable soon disappeared behind the grayscale trees. Back to the monotone zone…
Keith sighed. He was making good progress and getting ever closer to the capital, yes, but he’d hoped he would have seen at least one dragon by now - one that wasn't a big, blurry, hyper-speed question mark. The Dragon Kingdom should be full of dragons, shouldn’t it? I get that it’s winter, but… it’s not that cold out here!
Nimbus let out a faint whine and flicked her ears.
“Hm?” Keith leaned forwards, trying to get a view of his steed's face. He noticed her eye was glancing around. “What is it, Nimbus?”
Unprompted, the feral sped up to a trot. Keith grabbed onto the saddle for dear life, unprepared for the rougher ride. “Whoa, seriously, what is it?”
The sequence of events that followed were so fast that Keith had trouble processing them. Without warning, something small flew in from out of sight and crashed into the zebstrika’s left cheek with a crack and flash. The feral whinnied, and Keith was promptly thrown off his ride's back, tumbling down on the snowy ground.
“Hey! Wh-what the...” Keith yelled, twisting himself upwards. Though his vision shook with disorientation, he relocated the zebstrika, seeing her buck and discharge electricity like she'd lost her mind. His saddlebags were on the ground, flung off just like him.
Keith ran towards the mon gone wild, but froze as something moved at the edge of his vision. Thumping of two heavy feet arose as the figure approached. Keith leapt to face the stranger, his teeth bared by some primal instinct, though his fear and confusion morphed the snarl to more of a grimace.
Unsurprisingly, the stranger was not intimidated, but rather dug his claws into Keith's scruff and lifted him up with little protest. That lack of struggle prompted a puzzled waver in the stranger's fierce expression. A waver that only strengthened as the eevee appeared to have stopped moving and emoting entirely.
This was not due to fear. Such feelings had fled Keith's mind entirely, for he had recognized the stranger's species - haxorus.
Dragon! Dragon! Dragon!
It indeed was a haxorus, though unlike the illustrations Keith had seen, this one wore clothes. It did make sense for a cold-blooded mon to bundle up for the winter, but Keith had to admit it looked a little silly. Or a fraction of Keith, the one that still retained a regular train of thought, as everything else was overwhelmed by the vicinity and touch of a real, breathing full-blooded dragon type.
The haxorus lightly shook the eevee around. “Uhh… you there?”
No vocalizations, no changes in expression. Only a permanent, frozen face of shock.
The haxorus tilted his head. “Did you… die?”
No response. The zebstrika was still whinnying in the background, however.
“...Okay, then,” the haxorus said, shrugging, and placed the eevee underneath his arm. He briskly walked to the saddlebags on the ground and set them on his shoulder, keeping a close eye on the still thrashing feral in case of a deliberate attack. As she still seemed to be in her own little chaotic world, the dragon sighed in relief and ran back the way he came.
He continued treading through the forest, retracing the tracks he’d previously left, tracks that seemed to take some odd turns and loops every now and then. Every now and then, he glanced back at the eevee, each time finding the creature to still be immobile and stiff. He’d never even caught it blinking.
Eventually, the dragon reached a low and wide snow-covered building. From afar, it appeared simply like a normal hill, but the dark planks peeking out underneath the mass of snow broke the illusion.
The snow around the building, for whatever reason, was much higher than elsewhere, reaching up to the haxorus's waist as he waded through it to reach the front door. Had Keith been the one walking, he would probably have found himself completely submerged.
The dragon knocked on the door five times, then skipped a beat, then gave the final knock. Quiet stomps approached from the other side, followed by the peep slot sliding open. Stern eyes glared out.
“It’s just me,” the haxorus said. The mon on the other side gave an acknowledging grunt, then unlocked and opened the door.
D-d-d-d-d-double dragons!
A large dragonite, eyebrows especially short and thick, stepped aside to let the haxorus in. As the green dragon entered, the orange one pointed to the eevee with an intrigued grunt. It seemed that the dragonite was a mon of few words.
“Yep,” the haxorus responded, smiling. “We’ll be eating well tonight. But for now, I need you to cover those tracks.”
The dragonite nodded and tramped outside, shutting the door. As the haxorus locked it, Keith could hear a strong, howling wind pick up outside.
The haxorus knocked his feet on the wooden floor a few times, getting rid of the excess snow. He let out a shuddering sigh of relief as his toes began warming up.
“Someone there?” called a female voice from the next room.
“Me, Ared,” the haxorus responded. “Rog went out to cover my tracks.”
“Oh, find anything good?”
Ared grinned. “Sure did.”
He took Keith from under his arm, again grabbing the mon by the scruff, and proceeded to the other room of the rather shabby-looking house.
Four chairs of varying sizes and shapes, all appearing homemade and somewhat sloppily so, surrounded a low table of similar quality in the center of the room. An oil lamp lay on the table, providing the room's illumination as there were no windows to let the day's light in - none that weren't boarded shut, at least.
Next to the lamp lay a few worn books, some odd, pinkish grime on them. The grime’s source wasn’t hard to guess, however, as a fifth chair, pulled away from the table, was occupied by a goodra with a book in her slimy hands. Her spots and eyes were pink, just like her slime.
The goodra looked up, and her eyes widened. “An eevee?”
Ared nodded proudly.
The goodra got up and rushed to the haxorus, but then stopped with suspicion. “How come it doesn’t have its winter coat?”
“Uhh… I dunno, maybe it’s a mutant?” Ared shrugged. “Does it really matter?”
The goodra glared, crossing her arms. “Ared, that’s not a feral, is it?”
“What?” Ared feigned surprise. “It sure acted like one, sniffing stuff and yelping...”
“Where’d those bags come from then?” the goodra asked accusingly, pointing at the saddlebags on Ared’s shoulder.
“I found a civilized mon too and mugged him! It’s his!”
“And he just happened to have saddlebags that perfectly fit an eevee?” The goodra turned around. “I’m getting Bella.”
Ared threw his head back and groaned. “Oh, come on --”
“Bella!” the goodra called to the door frame at the back of the room. “We need your expertise!”
“Hold on, coming!” a bright voice replied beyond the frame. Soon after, an altaria hopped into view, her falling speed just a bit slower than it was for most. As she spotted the little brown mammal hanging from Ared’s talons, her lower beak dropped.
“Eevee!” she squealed with glee, but only half a second later, her face was twisted with rage. “Let go of him right now!”
“...How can you tell it’s a ‘he’?” mumbled Ared. “I didn’t see any --”
Bella slid through the air with one powerful flap of her wings and snatched Keith from Ared's hold. She turned around, sheltering the mon with her body. “What did you do to him?” she shouted.
“So he’s not a feral?” Doris asked.
“No! Ferals don't have the whites of their eyes be this visible, their snouts are a different shape… and the ones around here would definitely have a winter coat right now!”
“So I was right!” Doris exclaimed, looking back at the haxorus. “Tell me, Ared, why are you bringing home a dead person?”
Ared raised his palms defensively. “H-he was already dead, okay? Or, well, he wasn't, and I tried to talk to him, but when he saw me, he just froze up! I figured he got a heart attack or something, and that's unfortunate, but, like…” He brought his claws together, mareepish. “...if he's already dead, there's nothing really wrong about eating him, right?”
Doris opened her mouth, disgusted expression forewarning a scolding, but Bella raised her wing.
“Wait,” the altaria said, much calmer than before. “I don't think he's dead.”
“What?” asked the other two in unison.
“He's breathing and he has a pulse.”
“How's that possible?” asked Ared. “He was totally immobile for the whole way here!”
“Well, are you sure you didn't use a stun seed?” said Doris.
“I'm certain. I only used a totter seed on his zebstrika. It went crazy just like it was supposed to, and the seed never hit the eevee!”
“Hmm...” Bella waved her wing in front of Keith's eyes. “Maybe it's some kind of instinct? Playing dead around predators? Would be odd for a non-feral to still have that, but it's possible…”
She scooped Keith up in her wings. “I think I'm gonna take him to my room for a bit. I'm likely the least predator-looking one of us all. Well, there's also you, Doris, but I’ve read that eevee like to keep themselves clean. Your attribute might just stress him out further.”
“Just say slime,” Doris grumbled. “I'm a goodra. No point in using fancy words.”
“Fair enough,” Bella replied and carried the eevee through the doorframe from which she'd arrived.
A brief silence arose in the room.
“So…” began Ared. “I take it that we’re not eating him?”
“We are not eating him!” Doris snapped.
“Ugh, fine...” Ared lifted the saddlebags off his shoulder. “I guess we’ll just settle on whatever he packed for lunch.”
Five knocks came from the front door, followed by a delayed sixth.
“Must be Rog,” said Ared, lowering the bags onto the floor. He went to check the peep slot, then let the bulky dragonite in.
Rog shuddered as the door closed behind him, but he smiled warmly as he uttered a gargled yet hopeful word to Ared. “Eevee?”
Ared's glum expression slowly spread to Rog.
“Sorry, it looks we won't be eating the eevee after all,” the haxorus muttered.
“Graooghhh!” Rog groaned and hung his head.
“I know, buddy,” Ared sighed and placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. “I'm hungry too.”
---
Bella closed the door to her room. She placed Keith on her bed, sat down herself and smiled softly.
“It’s okay, sweetie,” she started. “The dragons are gone. It’s just you and me now. There’s nothing to be afraid of anymore.”
The dumbfounded look stayed on Keith’s face, and his body remained stiff.
Bella opened her wings - though not fully, to avoid scaring the eevee with her size - and lightly flapped them. “Look! Just a nice, happy bird. Friendly bird. No scary dragons!”
No change.
“Hmm, am I still too intimidating?” She hopped off the bed and to the corner of the room. “Alright, sweetie, the big birdie is going to sleep now,” she said, curling up into a ball and tucking her head in her feathers. “Goodnight,” her muffled voice spoke, then fell silent.
Keith blinked. Then he blinked again. Then he quietly, very quietly, shifted his position to a more comfortable one.
He rubbed his forehead. Gods, this is awkward… but if I don’t put a stop to this now, I’ll have to be a statue forever.
After a few seconds of building up courage, he cleared his throat.
Bella’s crest feathers twitched, but she retained her posture.
“U-uhh...” Keith began. “Aren’t altaria dragons too, though…?”
“...Oh, no, no they're not,” Bella assured. “We're nice, friendly birds, nothing to be afraid of.”
“No, I'm not scared of dragons,” Keith said. “In fact, I like them. A lot! I'm a huge fan. It's just that I…” He twiddled his paws, quieting.
Bella peeked from within her plumage. “Your instincts got the better of you?”
“No, it’s not that either. What happened was that, um… the haxorus came, and I was kinda overwhelmed that a real dragon was touching me, so I froze up. And then I kept being frozen ‘cause I didn't really know what I should say, and then I’d already been frozen for such a long time that it would've been awkward to just start talking, so I was trying to wait for a time I was alone or something… and here we are.”
The altaria straightened her neck. “So you were… afraid you'd make a poor impression?”
Keith scratched the back of his head. “Yeah, I think that's the best way to describe it. P-please don’t tell them, okay?”
Bella waddled to the bed and smiled. “My lips are sealed. I mean, if I had any.”
Keith sighed. “Okay, thanks.”
The altaria jumped back on the bed, barely shaking it. She kept staring at Keith, smile unwavering - only growing wide, if anything.
“...Why are you giving me that look?” Keith slowly asked.
“I'm sorry, it's just… I really like eevee,” she replied. “And all other little mammals, like minccino and skitty and pachirisu. You're just so fluffy and cute!”
Keith snorted and smirked. “Well, don't get too used to it. I'm gonna be a dragon too!”
“Dragon? There's a dragon evolution for eevee?”
“I know there must be! It’s why I came here. I came here so I could find something that could --”
“Oh crap! Bella!” shouted Doris from the living room. “Lati alert!”
Bella scrambled off the bed. “Oh, sorry, I have to go do something quick. You can stay here while I take care of...”
“Quickly!” Doris added. “It’s already close! I-I couldn’t hear it sooner because I was tuning out to give you guys some privacy!”
“Coming!” Bella responded, visibly in more of a hurry now. She rushed out of the room, through the halls and finally out of the front door. After Bella had left their vision, Ared and Rog focused again on Doris, her eyes closed and antennae extended in concentration.
As for Keith, he stayed on the bed, puzzled.
Lati alert?
---
