Two Peas In A Pod

Surai's nose recognized the smell of cooking food before she saw it or heard the child. The two made it to the kitchen and Surai's tail waved in the air happily, "It smells wonderful." she crooned, "What is it? And... how do you cook it without a fire?" she asked curiously, keeping out of May's way, but eying the mysterious stove top.

"It's something called pancakes, we also have sausage and eggs. It's more of a western thing; back in another country. But, we like it." May shrugged to that continuing her cooking. "As for how it cooks, it basically heat things up by a special gas. I really don't know how it works though."

"Could we go to the park? I wanna see Surai's dragon form." Miranda seemed excited about the idea still.

May tapped her chin, then grinned. "I don't see why not. We'll find a place with a lot more room and go from there, okay? Soon as we're done eating. I'm surprised your big brother isn't up. Must've burnt himself out again with school homework, that boy of mine..." She smiled shaking her head.

None of the names of the foods meant anything much to her except for eggs. But judging by the size of them, they came from a much smaller creature; Surai sighed slightly in relief. May's response didn't discourage her either, "That is incredible! To generate heat without a flame... ingenious." she murmured. The dragon was about to touch the stove bare-handed when Miranda spoke up. She retracted her hand and faced the girl and smiled, walking over to her so May could have more space. She was working so fast, Surai had a hard time keeping up with what she was doing even though she was talking to them.

"I would be thrilled to show you my true form, Miranda." she said with excitement. "It will be good to be back in my element." she said thoughtfully. This had been the longest she'd ever stayed in human form. The first time she even slept in the form in fact. Human bodies were incredibly weak, even one with the soul of a dragon; too fragile. She was surprised that she managed to stay in it for so long, but it was probably because Miranda, May, and Dysis had been so kind to her.

"Should we wake him?" she asked, hoping that Dysis was okay. "It sounds terrible." she frowned a little, but judging by May's expression, it was probably a figure of speech. "Is he... stressed?" she asked, trying to come up with the right words. Dragons knew far too many of them to always keep them in order.

May didn't miss a beat, still cooking but able to hold a conversation at the same time to the young dragon. "Ah. It's not as bad, its just Dysis tends to work himself too hard and makes himself tired after. Hes a bit of a perfectionist to certain things you see." She explained, stirring a metal bowel with what looked like some sort of pancake mix. "I don't think he's stressed though. Dysis works hard but he's learn not to let things get to him. Anyway, why not go wake him? I'm sure he won't mind and a good breakfast could be just what he needs!"

Miranda only really heard the last part, taking Surai's hand with her own tiny ones. "Let's go wake him."

As it turned out, Dysis' door was already cracked. Miranda peaked her small head in at first before coming in with the older female. "Are you up big brother? Mommy said breakfast was ready."

Dysis was sprawled almost comically across the bed; the nearby desk a mess with paperwork and books. It was so different from how he usually was but somewhat expected as people let their guard down.

"..Breakfast...?" The older Dhampir said, slowly opening his eyes to focus. His head was spinning and his body felt tired, but once he was up, he was up. There was no normally going back to sleep.

Surai's tail wagged excitedly as she felt the dhampir's hands grasp her own, "Yes, let's." she smiled at her, letting the little girl lead her to her big brother's room. The interior didn't phase Surai a bit, she just looked around with her usual wonder. At the sight of some heavy textbooks, her hand drifted slightly from Miranda's as she gently flipped one open with the tip of her tail. His murmuring reply drew her attention back to their task and she squeezed Miranda's hand slightly as she grinned, "I don't know what most of it is, but it smells delicious! I wouldn't miss it, if I were you." she urged, though noting how exhausted he looked. "Maybe we should get him some water?" she asked, looking at Miranda. "It's better for you than coffee; the caffeine will only tire you out more." she suggested.

Dysis was still groggy, it took him a minute or two to finally wake back up. Even still he heard what Surai was saying, finding her interactions and reactions to things rather cute. "I'll keep that in mind. You two go ahead, I need to clean up and get dressed then I'll be with you."

"Okay!" Miranda, as per usual gently tugged Surai along. Though because of the strength gap, Miranda really couldn't take Surai with her anywhere unless she wanted to. But it seemed the two were quite fond of each other already, so it wasn't even a issue.

The breakfast table was littered with plates, pancakes, sausage and eggs. May turned to the two. "Go ahead and make yourselves comfortable. Breakfast is ready."

Not missing a beat, the small Dhampir hopped into a chair..or rather she had to climb up on it first because of height. Then she realized she was still too short, so she wandered over to the side, getting a thick phone book which she carried without strain surprisingly. She pushed it onto the chair, grunting and puffing before it was in place. Satisfied, she climbed on and sat down, feeling quite proud of herself.

She nodded, "Alright, we'll see you at the... table!" she said happily, remembering that they were to eat on furniture, rather than slabs of rock the way she was used to back home. Surai happily followed Miranda along, letting her tug her anywhere she wanted. At the table, Surai sniffed curiously at the pancakes, though she didn't stick her nose in it of course.
Right as she was about to turn to the child to ask her what the flattened breads were called, she noticed that she needed help getting to the chair. The dragon was ready to help her but smiled and stepped back instead as she watched her do it all by herself. "Well done, Miranda!" she congratulated her and walked over to push her chair in for her. "There you go, you are quite resourceful, aren't you? So good to see in younglings." she said and patted her head gently before taking the seat beside her; patiently waiting for May and Dysis.

"Thank you Surai." Miranda looked at her older friend, holding a fork. "See you eat it um..like this? But you gotta put syrup on it first. See?" She went to demonstrate for the dragon, pouring a bit of syrup on her plate. Then she took her fork to eat some of it, chewing happily and swallowing. "See? Now you try."

She had to lean forward jut to push the syrup to Surai's end, but Miranda liked doing things herself and would protest otherwise. May was amused, she tended to let her daughter do things on her own, but would interfere when it was really something she couldn't do.

"Morning." Dysis came in, fully clean and ready for the day as he sat down.

"Morning." May replied cheerfully, eating her own food. "I was thinking of letting Surai met Elder Loraine. I think you'd like that Surai. She's a Kerlodian, its another race that look like a T-rex but much bigger and more powerful. Like dragons they have a human form too."

Surai nodded, taking a fork in her right hand and a butter knife in her left. She got herself a pancake and cut it up a bit to make things easier. She set her utensils down again, "Thank you, Miranda." she smiled as she took the bottle of syrup from her. She poured herself a little and set the bottle down, took her fork and knife, and ran a piece of pancake through the syrup before eating it as well. Surai let out a soft dragon-squeal of delight. Instinct took over and just as Dysis entered and greeted them, he would see Surai bending toward her plate with her tongue sticking out and lapping at the syrup.
Her wings were sticking out again as well, but this time she made sure to keep them closed and pressed firmly against her back; her tail thumping against the floor happily like a puppy.

Miranda and May couldn't help but both start giggling but May got a hold of herself enough to speak. Dysis was just amused, but didn't say anything. "Sweetie, sweetie, calm down. It's not going anywhere, we have plenty more where that came from promise. But if you really like syrup, I'll have to get some from Canada. They have a lot of different flavors and they make it really good, I'm sure you'd like it even more."

By now, her tongue had forked and elongated like that of a lizards'. At least she wasn't getting any on her face. At the prospect of "more," Surai sat up at attention. Her eyes dilated like a kitten that found catnip. "You mean to tell me that this liquid flows freely!?" She said in amazement. "'Syrup' you say? What is it made of? I've never tasted anything like this before in my life!" She sighed wistfully and leaned back in her chair. "Its so good.... my tongue went numb." Surai murmured, her tongue reverting back to normal.

The breakfast more or less continued without a hitch, May putting the plates away but Dysis went to help. Once that was done, it was time to get going to the park, Miranda as usual taking Surai's hand again and Dysis' who smiled at her before all four of them headed out.

"So how do you like our world so far, Surai?" May asked the young dragon, more curious then anything else.

Surai remained seated, recovering from the intense sugar rush, but was ready to go when Miranda took her hand. Surai smiled back at the both of them as they left, her tail waving in the air to it's own happy beat. "I like it well enough," she replied to May. "For one, there are so many yummy things to eat. I'm afraid my stomach may burst!" she chuckled. "And it's the first time I've really eaten something that was cooked well... I'm used to the burnt or raw variety." she explained. "You cook so well, May. If I was a human all the time, I'd want to cook as well as you do." she complimented her, looking up to her like a mother-figure. Surai didn't remember her mother, when she was born, she lived alone.

"What is a park?" she asked when they were outside, occasionally pausing a bit to gawk at something, like an enormous billboard advertisement with flashing lights. The tug of Miranda's hand would immediately make her legs move and walk with them again, but there was so much to look at, the dragon would surely be lost within moments if they let her go astray.

May and Dysis were amused by how Surai acted, though it was more then likely they didn't have any of the buildings and things from their world on hers after what they had been told. May was eager to teach Surai more about the world she lived in and show her things. Surai was old enough she technically didn't need a mother figure, but May couldn't help but feel motherly towards the young woman. Maternal intution told her Surai would like that, but she couldn't say for sure.

 The older woman beamed. "Why thank you Surai. I could still teach you how to cook like I do for when you do feel like making it for yourself. All it takes is practice and patience, just like most of everything else."

 Another thing May had observed; some of the questions however innocent depressed May. Surai didn't know what a park was, or many of the other things they took for granted here. No matter. May was determined to show Surai all the many wonders and things she had enjoyed, maybe even take Surai to a few spots she enjoyed when she was a child. And ice cream! May was sure Surai would love it.

"A park..is basically a field, sort of." Dysis tried to explain. "You'll notice in cities like this, there isn't much room for tree's and such, right? We'll, there's places reserved for where there's more of them, little areas for people to relax. You'll see it soon."

A bit of further walking they finally reached central park, the tree's having grown taller and there was a lush green field. Though usually having a lot more people, today was pretty scarce as far as other people went.

The idea of having a huge area dedicated to nature in the midst of this metropolis both intrigued and confused her. "I'm even more excited now," she grinned, "People don't tend too many trees in the midst of their cities where I'm from. At least not the cities I've seen. I can't wait!" she chuckled, not realizing how much worse she was making her planet sound.

A few blocks down, and plenty of time spent gawking, they arrived at central park. The lush green of the forested area made her quiver slightly in anticipation. "It looks... so beautiful..." she sighed, her wings starting to protrude slowly. They had woods like this, forests, and sparse areas of jungle left on Aenrald; her planet. But nothing like this. So much green in one spot was rare; usually, forests back home had a large area of vegetation with many dying spots in between. There was a time, once, when her whole planet looked like a great emerald in outer space, but that was long before she was even conceived.

"What exactly do people do at the park?" she asked, looking at each of them.

May smiled at that. "Whatever they want. Most of the time its people just spending time with their loved ones and relaxing--or playing games. Even barbecuing..it's like a special type of cooking. If you want, you're allowed to use your dragon form around around here, plenty of enough space around for you to use. It's about a few miles out."

Miranda seemed visibly excited about that, she really wanted to see Surai's form again when she was in the right frame of mind.

At the sound of Dysis' words, Surai could feel her energy building up to spring her into the sky, she could also sense Miranda's excitement as well. She gently pulled her hand from the girls', only looking into her eyes and smiling before she turned away. She began walking, then jogged, and eventually sprinted across the field. Before she came within a few feet of the treeline she looked like she dived but in a blink she'd taken her dragon form again. An echoing cry sounded from her toothed lips and she turned again and ran back toward them a few paces. Her tail whipping around fluidly as her wings fanned, taking in the breeze. Still a few yards away from them, Surai finally calmed down and walked slowly toward them, laying down on her stomach and peeing up at them with unblinking grey-blue eyes.
She was about the size of a luxury charter bus, same height too, so she was probably smaller than most dragons they'd seen. She looked harmless, save for the claws, when her mouth was closed but when they opened, gleaming fangs protruded in neat rows; at least she had good teeth. Surai began licking the back of her claw and rubbing it against her forehead, like a cat, panting slightly. Her excitement made her heart rate faster than it should've been, but she was happy.
"Can I really go out and explore this place? Like this?" she asked, conflicted between staying and spending time with them and taking to the skies and getting lost in the trees.

Miranda watched with amazement as Surai transformed, and when she was done and came over, she ran over to Surai. She hesitated only for a moment before trying to pet her head. "Wow Surai, you're like..really big.."

 "You can if you want too." Dysis watched his little sister amused. Surai was like a big kid herself in some ways at times.

 May nodded, offering her two cents. "Yes, its all right for you to travel in this form around here. There's plenty of room without you having to worry about bumping into buildings. If we had something maybe me and Miranda could ride on your back." Then May blushed. "W-we'll only if you wanted to that is.." She liked Surai and already thought of her like a older daughter, so she hadn't wanted to upset her in anyway. Dysis sincerely doubt Surai would have just for asking but that's how his mother was at times.

The dragon made soft crooning sounds to encourage Miranda to pet her, tilting her head slightly so that she didn't touch some of the spines that protruded. “Thank you, Miranda,” she closed her eyes happily, “I'm actually much smaller than a lot of dragons back home.” she chuckled, though the sound was like a piglet's grunt as she laid on her belly.
Surai's eyes blinked open, she didn't move to enable Miranda to pet her as long as she liked, but she was bashful, “I-It's not that I wouldn't want you to!” she stammered, “I've never had anyone ride my back before. Such a thing hasn't been done on my planet since our Elder Queen was a child. It was over a thousand years ago. I wouldn't know how to seat you or I'd be too scared that someone might...” she winced, “-fall off. I could never forgive myself.” she murmured, crawling a little closer on her stomach and rested her head near May's feet.

To the tiny Dhampir, hearing the words 'small' and Surai together didn't compute. "How big are they then?"

May listened to the young woman patiently, nodding. "It's all right. From what I hear you usually need a harness or something. Hm..I'll have to look into it first." May gave the other woman a warm smile. "So don't worry or stress about it, okay? Besides, even if we can't ride, I'm sure you like being in your natural form like this."

"Mom pretty much said what I wanted to. We'll work it out later." There was something Dysis wanted to ask, that he was curious about. "Your Elder Queen, what's her name and what are they like? If you don't mind me asking."

"Oh, most are at least twice my size." she said as if it were nothing strange. The description May gave of a harness sounded familiar; like the ones shapeshifters and the orcs used to sit on their demon mounts. She wasn't sure if it was entirely comfortable but was willing to try wearing one if it was for any of them. Suddenly, Surai went still and began emitting soft humming noises; Miranda found a good petting spot.

Dysis' question pulled her from her momentary trance, "Our Elder, Kagrenzel, has been alive since before the war; last of her era. She is our record keeper of the ages and All-Wise one." she told them with great reverence. "She is special to us all, like everyone's grandmother. Her only successors are her sons Raldbthar and Irkngthand. They formed the knights to guard her and gave all dragon-kind a reason to remain connected; not die out like the demon lords from her time. They gave us a chance to survive." she said quietly.

Miranada and May seemed sad at that, though the former kept petting Surai almost as if to comfort her. It didn't help that her being half Nosferatu made her a empath by nature, the same with Dysis even if he had much better control of it.

May sighed softly. "I really wish there was something more I could do." She glanced at the distance seeing what looked like a hot dog stand mixed with ice cream. Now that would cheer Surai up a bit more as well. "I'll be right back, keep a eye on Miranada for me."

Dysis didn't need to be told twice, but he grabbed a small note book from his pocket and a pen then sat down indian style nearby. "Surai." He said, his voice echoing in her mind. "I'm talking to you mentally right now so Miranda doesn't over hear. She doesn't need to, she's obviously too young. That said..I think...I could help you, but I can't make any promises. From all that was said about your world and the people struggling..the Earth Realm,its people and their allies couldn't just stand there idly. It just needs to be gotten out there."

"I need to know a bit more so I can document it, whatever you're comfortable with." Dysis shifted a bit to make himself more comfortable. "How did the war start? From the sounds of it, humans messed up the world first, then decided on a shortcut by using other races as fuel and for other things. And if the question is sensitive you don't have to answer..but do the humans keep..farms for lack a better word? What I'm saying is, keeping a number of races around so they can breed together for a steady energy source. If I put this down, and then evidence is shown for all the atrocities being made..then the World Council will act."

Surai was satiated solely from the wonderful grooming Miranda was giving her. It had been long since she had a mate or child and she was fond of nuzzles, petting, and scratching. Her nature made her ignorant to how sad her world was, perhaps that was her secret, to "kill with kindness". "Please, don't trouble yourself over it." she tried to reassure May, "Just as the sick must face disease and the poor face hardship, it is my lot in life." she wasn't sure if her words made things better or worse; she just wanted them to understand that she was fine with the way she'd been living and made the most of it.

When May wandered away, Surai turned her head, "Where are you- ooh, that's another good spot!" she crooned, going still and closing her eyes; looking as satisfied as a cat. Dysis' voice in her head didn't bother her, though it took her by surprise, few others besides dragons ever brushed the mental recesses of her mind. At first she blinked her eyes open then closed them again in response to his words; he was right, she'd been foolish, no child should know of pain and death.

"These are truly questions for Kagrenzel," she replied, "I will answer what I can, but if are truly ready to journey there, with me, I will take you to her myself." she sighed softly, curling her body and tail around them protectively to get into a more comfortable position.
"Let's see, from what I know, balance of power shifted when the humans created technologies. There was... some sort of dispute. I don't know the details, but war broke out soon afterwards. Humans outnumbered us, and still do, and when the war was over they realized they needed us to continue their lifestyles. So they hunted us for our magic, for dragon bone and blood, and fae medicine and elven intelligence. Among... other things." she grunted a bit and he got an image of a large, green man with meaty muscles and blood splatters on his figure. It was an image of an orc.
His latter question puzzled her, "That I do not know. I always assumed they wiped us out permanently. Whenever they reach a city or any settlement it always disappears. No word goes in or out. We treat them as ruins and new human territory and move on. It would be something interesting to suggest to Kagrenzel, I will give you that." she told him, intrigued by the idea. It made sense, if anything, it was why they still lived on now. Because humans didn't need to hunt them as ferociously as they did before.
"Who exactly are the World Council?" she asked curiously, unaware of other worlds until she came to this one. Theirs was likely on the outskirts of most civilized galaxy, it was no wonder no one had heard of them until now.

Miranda gave a soft giggle as Surai crooned and continued what she was doing.

"I see. I would have thought that would be common knowledge of how it all began considering the history is important. As for traveling with you..If you plan on coming back, I will come with you. I have too much here, but I could go for a time if not." May would be hysterical and would be crying and begging for them not to go. "..Heads up. May is going to likely have a break down when she hears you're still going back when the time comes. She's..very protective of what little family she has and gets attached. You count as that already I can tell."

"As for the World Council..it's basically the ruling body of Earth of the rulers of the different countries and races that live on earth. That's the name of this planet. We have different countries that do their own thing like the elves having a country of their own, but in the end we're united. We've learned to get anywhere, we have to work together to protect ourselves and our way of life." Dysis indicated towards the left. There were people of multiple races having a picnic together. "That's more then worth dying for, so Miranda could just be a kid and those like her never have to worry. If I wasn't being a teacher, I'd probably joined the army just for that. We can't be naive enough to think there aren't hostile things out there."

"Sorry got off track. Earth Realm has a few allies. You have Alus, and Eldar. Both planets are far more advanced, as is another named Patria. Then we have the Demon Realm and Asgard. Asgard is a realm directly connected to this one, in a sense. I'm sure if things go through, Alus or Eldar could also restore your planet back to its former beauty."

"I'm back!" May called out cheerfully, looking happy, holding a few hot dogs. "I got some for you too Surai, but its probably better to turn back into your human form when you're ready to eat them. A bit too small for you as they are now I'm afraid." She teased good naturedly.

Surai chuckled mentally, "How grand that would be, if we all knew of the stories. But poor Kagrenzel has told them a thousand-fold and I would not dry her old tongue for a nesting tale." she replied, but he could feel the happiness of the thought. "I completely understand. I would never ask you to leave your home behind."


The thought of May's heart breaking made Surai feel an enormous sense of guilt that she could barely stomach. "I don't want to put her through that... I only hope she understands that my world is my home, no matter what. I am one of the few that has fought and survived battle... over and over again." she paused, recalling the horrible memories. Of being able to still feel the wind under her wings and the warmth of the sun, while her brethren rotted and bled beneath her retreating shadow.


Shaking the thoughts away, coming back to the conversation, Surai nodded, "That makes sense. I'm sure that, if things were on equal ground, my world would be the same; as it once was. There would be order and everyone would be, for the most part, happy." she sighed softly. "I do not understand suffering. There are means that we are capable of reaching in order to prevent it. There should not be suffering." her thoughts strayed somewhat but as he spoke she paid close attention; curious to learn more about the system of the World Council and Earth's allies.
The idea that there was a Demon Realm took her off guard though, the demons of her world were nothing more than beasts now. She trembled slightly, wondering if they were bigger in their own realm; demons frequently competed with dragons for territory and food. Some could take an adult dragon down on their own.

Her head suddenly tilted to the side, like a dog hearing a whistle, and she turned to see May. Before she saw the woman though, the smell made her nostrils flare and her pupils dilate slightly. She was going to have to curb her senses while on this planet, she thought, otherwise the enhanced smell of cooked food was going to drive her crazy. Surai didn't move or speak to Dysis any more until she heard May's suggestion to revert to her human form; it happened in a second and her eyes were fixated on the hot dogs. She was sitting cross legged on the ground, Miranda's hand, if she'd kept petting her, would find itself on her head. Surai's tail was still even as she now looked up at May; like a good dragon waiting for a treat.