Dawning Skye

586 Party Like A Dragon

A deathly silence filled the courtyard as the wall crumbled from the force of Zazzy’s tail. The specially ordered lights fell and sparked with the section, causing a domino effect across the entire courtyard. The other decorations they had painstakingly made and put up on and along the walls for the party toppled with it, and crashed to the ground.

Zazzy craned her neck and watched with trepidation as the courtyard dimmed, and gasps erupted. The music and dancing had instantly stopped, along with everything else as everyone’s eyes fell on the Extremely embarrassed dragon. As the whispers about her began to grow louder, Zazzy lifted her wings to take off..

Bai Lei burst out laughing as he walked towards her; “Well that was unexpected! But it’s fine, Zazzy. It’s just a wall..”

“I am no fool, my friend. I knew that this was a possibility when we planned the party. With the amount of people that showed up, I figured that many things would need to be replaced. A wall is no more expensive than the vase that one of the guests knocked over on their way in. That was an antique, and it is fine. So don’t worry, my friend.”

Even though Bai Lei had been utterly sincere, Zazzy still felt terrible. Everyone was still staring at her, and commenting on everything from her size, to her uncoordinated dancing. When someone absentmindedly asked if dragons were known to be clumsy, she shrank back with a low trill.

Skye immediately dropped her violin, and waded through the crowds to get to Zazzy. Tidas was already by her front, trying to get her attention by the time she’d reached them. Zazzy’s inner voice was frantic with remorse, despite the fact that Bai Lei had reassured her.

After a good ten minutes of explaining that the cost was minimal to fix it, Skye smacked her forehead; “Bloody hell, Ima idiot sometimes.. Nevermind the cost, I’ll just fix it real quick. I canna do anythin’ about the lights, though. I’ve only just started ta read about Sai’s advancements in electronics, and electricity in general.”

Bai Lei grinned; “That’s more than fine! To have my wall fixed by the Guardian of the Last Dragon is something I will brag about for years to come!”

Skye grinned as she turned away, and stifled a laugh. He was intentionally being dramatic, to make sure that everyone heard about Skye’s generous offer. It was just a bit of magic for her, but to the majority of the world, she was undertaking a task that usually took several days to fix.

.....

Magic seemed so commonplace for her and Tidas that she sometimes forgot that mages weren’t very common anywhere in the world. Magical items created by Manics had recently become popular, but seeing a mage preform magic was still a sight to see. And rarely ever free.

The people pressed and pushed until it turned into shoving, and Genie had to step in. He’d been staying back by Mei, Rukia, Hang, and Hana for the majority of the time. They’d been socializing with the guests, and many had requested to meet the little family due to the rumors..

It was known that the Alconians favored the Lei family. But the fact that Zazzy did as well had made a huge impact on the amount of support they’d been receiving lately. It wasn’t so much Bai Lei that the undecided Senators were beginning to warm up to, but Hang; who supported his father-in-law’s policies.

They liked how practical he was, and how he explained things from a less sentimental point of view. He held ideals from both parties, but based on what was morally acceptable. It rubbed party members on both sides the wrong way, but he was firmly under the wing of Bai Lei.

Couple that with his connection to the Alconians and Zazzy via his wife, and Hang was beginning to look like the perfect politician to the general populace. The rumor was that Zazzy approved of him, so his thoughts and given wisdom were some how connected to her; like she was his council.

Hang’s status had grown tenfold since Skye and Tidas had came to Sai, and he knew it. He also understood that their influence had essentially made both him, and his family targets for Senator Tokuga. It was a double-edged sword, but one he was determined to master..

As Genie corralled the spectators, Hang ushered his family towards Zazzy. As soon as she saw Rukia, she calmed down, and bent over to get her snout hugged by the tiny toddler. Tidas moved over to Skye’s side, who was just finishing up the section of wall Zazzy had destroyed.

As soon as she was done, Peggy had appeared behind her holding her violin. It was a little dusty and scratched from her dropping it, but no real damage had been done to it. After quickly checking the strings, Skye fiddled a bit to make sure that it was in tune, then looked over at Zazzy..

“See, lassie? All fixed! And I didna even break a sweat doin’ it, so I don’t wanna hear anymore fussin’ over it from ya, ye ken?”

Zazzy had looked up from being drooled all over and listened to her mother. Rukia helped to drive the point home by lightly smacking the side of her snout, and telling her; “No more sad! Got it?!”

She’d spoken in a very slurred form of Alconian, having practiced a few simple words with her mother. Zazzy didn’t quite understand what her little friend had said, but the sentiment of it, so she gently nodded in the positive. As soon as Skye heard Zazzy’s internal monologue agree, she began to slide her bow across the strings to her violin..

Within a few minutes, it was like the party had never stopped. Zazzy moved far more cautiously with Rukia dancing around her, and grabbing onto her every few seconds. Tidas watched on nervously for a while before Hang broke away, and came up to his side to talk.

While crossing his arms over his chest and leaning against the newly-mended wall, Hang spoke with a matter-of -fact tone; “They grow up so fast, don’t they.”

Tidas glanced at him; “She’s two and the size of a castle.. Fast is an understatement..”

Hang smiled at Tidas’ reply before giving his own; “She’s a dragon. Don’t tell me that you expected her to stay small.”

“...No. I knew she’d get big, just not so friggin’ fast. I know she misses when she was smaller because she’s told me as much.. I guess I’m just worried that this is going to mess with her head.”

“Like a complex? Only if you make her feel awkward about it,” Hang said in a completely serious voice.

Tidas looked at him with slightly widened eyes; “I could never-”

“Then what’s the issue?” Hang replied quickly, cutting him off.

Tidas looked at Hang, who had a rightfully smug expression. He stared at the man for all of a second before Tidas began to chuckle and nod. Hang found the Alconian Prince a humble and honest man, although he seemed to have a bit of a jealous streak in him.

It wasn’t anything that he worried about, but Hang did notice the way the prince watched whenever Genie and Skye interacted. Occasionally, he’d let a grimace cross his face, but he always quickly hid it back behind a placid expression. Considering his own situation, Hang had empathy for Tidas in his, even though he knew that the man had nothing to worry about.

The two chatted while the celebration around them went on. Skye went back to playing with the other musicians, and their music got most of the people attending dancing in some form. Whether it was tapping their feet, or full-blown dancing: everyone was enjoying the holiday.

When the other musicians needed a break, Skye switched to her own version of traditional Yuletide songs. The crowds were captivated, and Zazzy loved to listen to songs from home. The whole evening turned out wonderful, and Zazzy couldn’t have been happier.

The food, drinks, and decorations were nothing compared to how happy their efforts had made her. She’d been feeling extremely lonely lately, and couldn’t quite figure out why. Even now, there was a minuscule part of her that was still wanting for something, but her heart was full.

Rukia made the rest of the night a myriad of dancing, talking, and eating. Since Tidas was nearby, Rukia kept pulling him away to translate for her. Skye usually played the interpreter, but since she was currently preoccupied, the task was left to Tidas.

He didn’t really mind, especially since she was so cute about it when she asked. Hang danced with both her and Mei, although that was more for show. Hana danced with Genie, which apparently was normal at any functions calling for it.

The party went on until the wee hours of the early morning. Zazzy was swaying by the time she was ready for bed, having danced for several hours straight. Rukia had gone off to bed hours prior, so Mei and Hana had danced with her after they had put her to bed.

Skye and Tidas had also danced with their scaly bairn several times throughout the night, along with several other people. By the end of the night, everyone that had attended had nothing but praises to sing about her, and the Alconians. By the morning, their reputations for being the life of the party had stretched across the capital.

Several invitations were sent out for the whole Lei family, and their guests were included in every one. Many were for the upcoming festival, which Tidas and Skye knew little about. Skye recalled going to a few festivals with Mei when they were children, but she wasn’t sure if they were the same until lunchtime the following day.

“The Festival of New Dawn is a time-honored tradition for Sai. It’s essentially our New Years, and the entire republic celebrates it. This year is particularly special, thanks to Zazzy. There is a part that’s never been seen before, much like the change in that dance you saw the priestesses preform,” Bai Lei had told them.

“Why does Zazzy being here matter? I thought that it was an annual celebration?” Tidas asked as he wolfed down several pieces of bacon.

Genie had walked into the dining room right as Tidas had asked, and replied; “The festival is about the New Year, but more importantly: this year celebrates the day when dragons return.”

Skye took a hefty bite of a meat bun after asking; “Dragons? As in plural?”

Bai Lei chimed in; “That’s why this year is special. It’s believed that once one dragon appears, then the others will return as well. There’s an ancient manuscript that says that dragons fled from man’s greed: they didn’t die out.”

Tidas choked on his bacon slightly; “Wait, are you saying that Zazzy may not be the last of her kind?!”

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