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The next morning, I awoke somewhat groggily. I stretched, bracing myself for the inevitable protest from my various bumps and bruises. I was surprised when none came. Sneaky dragon must have hit me with a healing spell while I was asleep. I breathed deeply, the cool morning air drifting through the mouth of the cave filling my nose. I paused. That wasn't right. Where was the warm aroma of waffles?

I exited our room to find Orion sifting through the contents of his satchel. He smiled when he noticed me. "Good morning, Sirius. Sleep well?"

"Better than I expected, thanks to you." I tried to muster the will to glare at him, but just yawned and rubbed the remaining sleep from my eyes.

"Sorry, wolfling. Couldn't take you into the village looking like you'd been thrown into the walls all night." I grinned at him. It wasn't too far from what had actually happened. My first few attempts at the_Spells of Flight_ had been... uncontrolled, to put it mildly. "Speaking of village folk reacting poorly, I need you to promise me something." This was odd. Orion rarely asked me to make an actual promise, usually trusting just my word.

"What is it?" My head was cocked to the side. Why was he so serious all of a sudden?

"While we're in the village, you must not, under any circumstances, use your magic." I started to voice a protest, but he silenced me with a gesture. "They expect it from me, because I am a dragon. But simple folk like this don't understand how magic really works, and so when it shows up in other species, they fear it. They think that dragons are otherworldly creatures, and so any 'normal' species that has magic must be possessed by a demon or some other such tripe. I know that it's foolish and ignorant, Sirius, but please, promise me you won't use it. It will be much easier that way." I sighed.

"Fine. I promise I won't use my magic in the village." I tried to pout a little, just to show him that I wasn't happy about it, but my plans were again thwarted by a long yawn. Blast those healing spells.

"You'll be able to fly under your own power most of the way there, but when we get close, I'll carry you. No point in hiding your magic in the village if they see you fly into it in the first place. Also, while we're there, you may hear the villagers refer to me as 'Master Orion'. It's a title of respect that they confer on me because I've helped the village out of a few tight spots over the years. If anyone asks, you are to tell them that you are 'Master Orion's ward'. Got it?" I nodded, a question forming in my head. Orion beat me to it. "And don't, by the gods, mention that you are my mate. The villagers will not look kindly upon it. They will see you as a normal child, though you are far, far beyond your years, they do not understand that as I do." I nodded again. Point taken. "Alright. I think that's everything. Go get dressed and we can leave right away."

"Breakfast?" The word was a question unto itself. We'd never broken our morning routine.

"Oh, there will be plenty to eat at the festival. Waffles will strike you as quite plain after some of the treats you'll have today." He grinned slyly. That was motivation enough for me to struggle once more with the tunic.

---

After finally donning the uncomfortable garment, I met Orion at the mouth of the cave. He shouldered the satchel, grinning at me. "Keep up, if you can." He launched himself of the cliff, his huge wings stretching to catch the wind as he cleared the rock face. I took a moment to laugh a bit, as the large black wings looked ridiculous against his robes, the red and purple design drab in comparison to his gleaming scales. He circled around, his huge wings beating at the air. "Come along, wolfling, or they'll start without us." I needed no further encouragement.

The spells came to mind easily. I felt the wind gathering around me. At first, I felt lighter, as if I was suddenly hollow, then I felt as if I had no weight at all. Now came the tricky part. I willed myself upwards, away from the ground. Rocketing skyward, I tried to reign back on the spell, limiting the power put into it. Eventually, I slowed to a more manageable speed. I attempted a few exploratory circles, getting the hang of steering the unruly spell. I sped up, then slowed down, gauging the responsiveness of the magic. Orion glided lazily by. "We haven't got all day, Sirius." I glared at him, darting towards him, pulling three tight circles just outside his wingspan and then let the spell loose, accelerating incredibly fast in the direction he was pointed.

"Keep up, if you can!," I shouted over my shoulder, only to realize that he was moving much faster than a moment ago. He pulled even with me, giving a challenging look. We moved faster and faster, each pulling ahead just a little before the other sped up to match. We were both laughing as we flew over the thick carpet of trees that covered the valley. A river flowed through the woods, providing a break in the trees that we dove into. We skimmed the surface of the rushing water, kicking up spray before vaulting back into the sky. When I could control where I was going, this was actually pretty fun. I laughed, letting out a howl of delight before I was impacted by a large scaly body. I let out an involuntary squeak as large arms wrapped around me. When I managed to straighten myself out and glare at him, Orion's eyes held the familiar twinkling laughter. Sneaky dragon. "What was that for?"

"We're getting close, don't want to take any chances." His grin made me think he had chosen that particular moment for other reasons, but I just nodded and watched the forest passing below us. The trees finally gave way to fields and farms, small wooden fences and large painted buildings. I let out a gasp of delight at all of the new things. I begin pointing them out, a stream of questions forming in my mind. Orion did his best to answer them, and by the time that we had reached the village proper, my head was full of new information. Orion glided down smoothly, coming to a gentle stop on a broad cobbled path. There were so many people of varying species, dressed in bright colors, and with grins on their faces. As they noticed our approach, a cry went up, many in the crowd waving to Orion and calling out his name.

An older squirrel broke away from the crowd, hurriedly approaching us. "Master Orion, I'm so glad to see you." Her voice was strained with age, but it was still light and pleasing to the ears. Orion set me gently on my feet. The squirrel woman, leaned in close to my face, as if to see me better. "And who is this little one, eh?" I did my best to grin at her, but it felt kind of forced with her face so close to mine. She smelled like mint and juniper, and it burnt my nose being so close to her. Orion laughed at my apparently evident distress.

"Hello to you as well, Holly. This little one is Sirius, my ward." The squirrel looked up at him, surprise clear on her features.

"Sirius? That's a dragon's..." Orion's eyes narrowed, apparently silencing the squirrel. A dragon's what? I looked up to Orion, and he merely shook his head.

"What's the matter, Holly? I imagine you wouldn't seek me out so quickly were it not important." I was suddenly very aware of the large claw atop my head. It seemed almost a clinical touch, nothing at all like the affection he usually showed me. The squirrel seemed a bit taken aback, as if trying to remember what she'd come to talk to Orion about.

"Ah, yes. One of the little ones broke into a very hot fever this morning. My herbs aren't doing much and I was hoping you could help to cure the poor thing." Orion's face was suddenly very serious. He knelt, turning to me.

"Sirius, can I trust you to not get into any trouble if I let you explore by yourself?" I was nodding emphatically before he'd even finished the sentence. "I need to go with Holly and help this cub. You stay out of trouble, and be polite to the villagers. Take this, and use it to buy any treats you may want. Try not to eat too much." He tied a small purse to the belt of my tunic. "Remember, it's ten coppers to a silver, just in case you need to ask for change." He patted me on the head before following the squirrel into a building just off the path. I was suddenly alone, surrounded by new sights, new smells, and new experiences to be had. It was a shame Orion couldn't come with me, but that wasn't about to ruin my fun.

The festival was amazing. There were all kinds of food, but I was only passingly interested in that. There was so much to see. I bought a piece of roasted meat on a stick from one of the vendors, enjoying the hot, crispy texture. I was surprised by the sharpness and complexity of the flavor. It wasn't anything like the things Orion cooked. On closer examination, I saw that it was covered in flecks of what looked like herbs. How interesting! The fragments were too small for me to tell what kind they were, but I recognized one of the notes as rosemary, which grew wild on the mountain. I made a mental note to tell Orion about it.

The people milling about were a constant distraction. Species that I'd read about, but never seen in person. All shapes and sizes and colors. Each of them wore a brightly adorned outfit. Mine was actually fairly muted in comparison. The two most prevalent colors were red and yellow. They filled swathes of fabric, glinted off cuffs and embroideries, and hung in streamers from the eaves of the buildings. Finishing my roasted treat, I set out to see as much of this total sensory assault as I could. I began planning a barrage of questions for Orion. I was broken off from my reverie when a sharp tone reached my ears.

"Just make this easy on yourself, cub. Just hand it over and we won't have to beat you silly." I followed the sound to a gap between two of the buildings. Two adolescent dogs of some mixed breed had cornered a much younger fox. They shoved the cub between them, laughing at their apparent distress. Some part of me told me to leave it be, Orion said to stay out of trouble, after all. That part was ignored entirely in the face of the booming voice in my head that said to put a stop to their cruelty.

As I entered into the alley, one of the dogs shoved the fox cub into the other with a bit more force. "Hold 'im, Jon." The dog put the struggling cub into a head lock. This was getting ugly.

"Let him go!" I did my best to sound commanding, but it didn't have the dramatic effect I could have added with a simple spell. Oh well, it did the job. Both dogs turned on the spot, searching for the one who'd interrupted them. I saw then that they were almost identical. Short muzzles, floppy ears with rounded ends, white bodies with brown splotches and a black patch around one eye. That was their only visible difference, it seemed. The one called Jon, still holding the struggling fox, had the patch around his left eye, while his brother's was around his right. Twins. I briefly made note of the encounter on my list of new experiences. They didn't release the young fox, just staring at me instead. I sighed. "I said 'let him go' and I meant it. I don't want this to get rough, but I'll make you do it." The two cast each other a sidelong glance. They burst out laughing.

"Did you hear 'im, Jon? Pipsqueak here wants us to," His voice raised into a mocking tone, "'let him go' and he MEANS it." He trailed off into laughter.

"Oh, I heard 'im, Jim. What's he gonna do? Yip at us?" Ah, so the other one was Jim. Good. Now I could give their names to Orion, later. At the moment, though, there was a fox who needed saving.

"Well, I had planned on forcibly impacting the ground with your heads, but if yipping is enough to scare you cowards off, then that'll suffice." Their laughter stopped. I leveled a calm gaze at them. There was no way they could take me. I'm sure Orion would understand if I needed to use just a little bit of magic.

"New plan, Jon. Pummel the pipsqueak." The fox was unceremoniously dropped in the dirt. Well, that was step one. Now to get out of this with my hide intact. The brothers rushed at me, Jim reaching me first. He took a swing at me, which was easy enough to dodge. They weren't nearly as fast as Orion. I grinned. I wasn't going to have to break my promise after all. "What're you smiling about, pipsqueak?" I grinned wider.

"Oh, just enjoying how easy it's going to be flattening you both." I really shouldn't have taunted them. They both began to swing wildly, nothing like the measured blows that I was used to. Luckily, they were slow and uncoordinated. Often, I didn't even need to dodge, just make sure I didn't step into it. One of them, I'd lost track of which, threw a rather forward jab. Sidestepping, I kicked his leg out from underneath him. Too far overextended to save himself, he landed with a satisfying thud. His brother, not having time to realize what had happened, tripped over his sibling, landing in a similar situation. I chuckled a bit to myself. It was sad, really. While they gathered their wits, I dashed over to the fox cub.

The fox seemed to be a bit younger than myself. Thankfully, he didn't seem to be hurt, just shaken. I helped him up. "Hey there. I'm Sirius. Nice to meet you." The cub seemed shaken by my calm.

"Um... Thanks, Sirius. My name's Tobias." He spoke softly, his voice not much more than a whisper. I heard shuffling behind me as the twins scrambled to regain their feet.

"Hm, we should get out of here before I have to repeat my performance. Orion will kill me if I get these clothes messed up." Tobias seemed to react to Orion's name, but I was too busy pushing him out of the alley to really interrogate him about it. We rejoined the bustle of the festival. I didn't think they would try and start something where all these people could see them, but I stayed on guard anyway. Tobias grabbed my paw, leading me through the paths of the village. Eventually, we emerged from the festival area into a more quiet area of the village. The buildings here didn't have signs over them, and the windows seemed more for lighting than display. I assumed it to be the residential area.

"Much better. It's so noisy in the festival." He grinned up at me. He was clearly a purebred fox. Classic red fur with black accents on the ears and paws, and a splash of white down the front. Presumably it extended the length of his stomach, but I couldn't tell with his clothing. It was different from my tunic, resembling closer to Orion's robes, though it lacked the drooping sleeves and sash about the waist. I'd seen several of the older folks wearing a nearly identical garment, but as far as I'd noticed, they had all been female. I made a note to ask Orion about it. Although, now that I looked closely, I'm not sure I would have been able to discern that Tobias was a 'him' unless I'd heard the twins say it. Even his scent was a bit ambiguous. I almost asked the fox about it, but was interrupted by a lilting voice from behind us.

"Tobias, you little scamp, where have you been?" A young cat ran over to us, no more than a couple summers older than me. Her fur was a varying shade of orange, with a white patch under her chin, stretching down until it was hidden by the garment she wore. It was the same style of clothing that Tobias was wearing. She, and it was definitely a she, knelt down so she was at eye level with the fox. "Mako was worried sick when you disappeared. You know how he gets. And why is there dirt all over your dress?" Here she dusted some of the dirt off his clothing where he'd landed in the dirt. I noted the name she used for the garment and filed it away in my mind. Tobias fidgeted under her touch.

"Jim and Jon had a go at me again." The cat suddenly had murder in her eyes. I'd never seen someone look so angry. Which, I realized, wasn't saying much. Tobias quickly waved his paws in front of her face. "It's fine, Riza. Sirius here saved me and gave them a taste of their own medicine at the same time. Knocked 'em both flat on their butts. It was cool." The cat, Riza, seemed to notice me for the first time. She gave me a skeptical look, as if she wasn't sure whether or not Tobias was being serious.

"It was nothing, really." I found myself absently rubbing at the back of my head, like Orion did from time to time. I tried to keep myself from fidgeting under the cat's assessing eyes. I could physically feel her looking at me, it was creepy. Her gaze softened, and I had to restrain myself from sighing my relief.

"Thanks for taking care of those two bullies. They like to pick on Tobias, 'cause he's small and won't fight back. He's usually fine if me or Mako is there with him, but_someone_," she leveled an icy gaze at the fox, "decided he was going to run off on his own into the festival." Tobias seemed completely unperturbed by the frigid glance.

"I'm sorry I ran off, okay? I was just tired of being fussed over. You and Mako are worse than a couple of old bags." Riza glared at him again, but he just giggled and smiled up at her, which seemed to melt her cool exterior. Well played, Tobias.

"Speaking of Mako, we should be getting back to him, before he works himself into a fit." She grabbed at Tobias's paw, leading him away down one of the paths. Tobias tried to resist a bit, but his fidgeting wasn't very effective. He turned and waved, stumbling as Riza kept pulling him along.

"I'll see you later, Sirius. I'll introduce you to Mako, you two will get along great." I shook my head. He was being dragged off, and he still sounded so cheery.

---

The rest of the morning was a blur of new people, new smells, and new tastes. I purchased a small treat that the vendor called a 'sticky bun'. It lived up to its name, and I thoroughly enjoyed licking the delicious syrup off of my paws. I was just finishing my treat when I saw a familiar scaled head above the crowd. I broke into a full tilt run, and would have leapt into Orion's arms if he hadn't shot me a warning look. Right, I couldn't act like his mate in town. I stifled a frown, grinning up at him instead.

"Have you had fun, Sirius? I do hope you didn't miss me too much." He knelt down beside me and spoke quietly, as if trying to make sure that people didn't overhear. I fidgeted a bit, repressing the urge to hug him.

"I had fun, met some other cubs. Which, uh, I should actually tell you about..." I recounted my encounter with Jim and Jon to him, doing my best to gloss over the bit where I almost just fireballed them. He listened attentively, and I noticed that he choked back a laugh when I described how I'd gotten Tobias and myself away from them. I told him about all of the things I'd tried so far, and then I began asking questions. What is a dress? How is it different from a tunic? Why did they put herbs on the roasted meat? Why was it so delicious? What was IN a sticky bun, anyway? He did his best to answer the stream of questions without grinning too broadly. I noticed a small smile sneaking through, anyway, and I was internally very proud of that. I was just getting around to the topic of what exactly the word 'bully' meant when he places a scaled claw atop my head.

"Later, wolfling. For now, the show is about to begin." I looked around, confused. The crowd was thinning out, and I realized that all of the people were moving in the same direction. He stood, and began walking with them, giving a glance over his shoulder to indicate that I should follow. I had about a dozen more questions all of a sudden, but hoped that they would answer themselves shortly. I scrambled to catch up, pinching some his robe between my fingers so that I didn't lose him in the sudden press of bodies. There were incredibly tall benches, all in a row, filled with people around a central clear area. I couldn't tell much more than that, small as I was, until Orion scooped me up and placed me on his shoulders. I thought he was violating his own rule until I noticed that several other cubs had taken up similar positions on adults' shoulders. There was a raised area in the center of the clearing, which the multitude of conversations around me identified as a 'stage'. I leaned forward, resting my chin on my hands and my elbows on Orion's head. Seemed I'd be up here a while. There was a lot of noise, with all of these people packed into this space, and sound seemed to echo weirdly, making it sound louder than it was. The benches were full of people as well, sitting shoulder to shoulder and talking in small clusters, until an older raccoon walked out onto the stage. The crowd fell silent with stunning rapidity.

"Thank you, all, for joining me in this celebration. Today marks the hundredth year since the founding of our village of Glowlake, and I am happy to say that it is as prosperous as ever. True, we have not the walls of a city, or their bustling trade roads and fancy nobility, but we have something that we should value far more. We have peace, tranquility, and the blessing of magnificent people working and living in harmony. Why, just this morning, my daughter fell violently ill. Holly, our wonderfully talented herbalist, did all she could, but the sickness was beyond her knowledge. As fair luck would have it, Master Orion arrived in time to work his mystic arts and spare her life." The people began smacking their paws together, making an uproarious noise interspersed with hoots and hollers. I laid my ears back against my head to shelter them from the sudden jump in volume. The elderly raccoon held up a hand, and the crowd fell silent. "Yes, we are truly blessed. Now, as you are all aware, every year at this festival, we hire a bard to sing the_Ballad of Bran_, the story of our village's founding. Sadly, this year, we could find no bard available to make the journey into our valley." The crowd groaned audibly. Very audibly. I had no idea what a bard was, but even I felt a bit disappointed. The raccoon held his hand up once more, and continued once silence had reigned for a moment. "And once again we have been blessed. This year, it is my privilege, honor, and joy to present one of our own youngsters to sing the_Ballad of Bran_." Here a young fox, in a dress the color of the sky, walked calmly onto the stage. Sparkling blue stones lined their ears, and they wore a crown of bluebells. "Ladies and gentlemen, the youngest of the Blackglove clan, performing the_Ballad of Bran_!"

I had another handful of questions whistle through my mind, but the only word I managed to get out was "Pretty." My vision seemed fixed on the young fox, unable to move away. There was another round of paw-smacking and cheers, until the young fox breathed deeply, and then sang in a voice high, clear, and sweet. I would not have ever believed that such sound had come from such a tiny body if I had not heard it myself.

"Bran, our lord, was slim and quick, when he was still but a cub, He lived on the streets of Asmodel, His nation's greatest trade hub.

But Bran had eyes that saw more, And tarried not in that dark place, He walked o'er field and hill, To where shadows would not chase.

He found there, a glowing lake, Its waters all a-fire, And he spoke there with the fae, Who asked his heart's desire.

'I seek peace,' said he, 'a place without fear., All I wish is a place to call home.' And the fae did wonder, at this wisdom, Spouted from a boy not yet man-grown.

'We shall grant your wish, young-wise wolf, And you shall make your home upon this shore, Gather others who seek your peace, And lead them evermore.'

And so Bran sought others of his mind, To live together in peace, away from fears, He told the tale of the glowing lake and its fae, But his story fell 'pon deaf ears.

Madman, vagabond, wretch, and witch, The names fell hard and fast, He who once held hope, Felt it could not last.

'Til a child of summers three, Came and pulled 'pon his ragged cloak, 'Sire, I'll follow you, and my friends as well' Such were the words the child spoke.

In that moment Bran saw the truth, Of those who needed his hope, He gathered up the destitute, the lost, and all of those who could not cope.

He welcomed all to that fiery shore, Madmen, vagabonds, wretches, and witches, Called them together before the fae, To join in his new home's riches.

'Well met, young-wise one, You have proved your heart free of hate, Now gather all about the shore, And from it your thirst sate.'

At the fae's command, they drank Each of them sipping the light filled water, And each of them was blessed, Every man and child, son and daughter.

The mad were made sane, And the wretched smiled and laughed, The vagabonds built new homes, And the witches did good with Craft.

And so now Glowlake stands, Upon that fiery shore, And though Bran's with the fae now, He guides us evermore."

The crowd, myself included, was held in rapt silence until the final echoing of the sweet voice faded from the air. Then the crowd erupted, those who were sitting down stood, the paw-smacking reached a new height, and I swear I heard howling from somewhere. Flowers rained down upon the stage, apparently thrown by villagers in the crowd. The fox cub did a neat curtsy, one of the small pleasantries that Orion had taught me. It was a female response, if I remembered correctly. I leaned down next to Orion's ear so that I could be heard over the din. "Wow, she can really sing, huh? And she's pretty. I'm kinda jealous." My dragon just chuckled beneath me, a response that I felt more than heard.

"Oh yes," he said, his voice just audible over the crowd, "little Tobias is quite the blessed young cub." I almost fell off his shoulders.

"That was Tobias?!" I couldn't even begin to hide my disbelief, and I felt the rumble of a laugh build in Orion's chest. He stopped himself, but I saw the grin hiding at the corners of his lips. I resisted the urge to give his head a swat. I almost fell off his shoulders again as he began to move through the crowd, slipping by with surprising ease considering his comparatively large frame.

---

Okay. That's all for now. Feedback is appreciated, as well as any errors you notice, as that spares me the trouble of panicking over having missed one when I finally finish this monster and edit it. Thank you all for the wonderful support and positive feedback thus far <3