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The Persistent Dragon, chapter 16: The Persistent Dragon Attends a Luncheon

"A letter!?" Penelope gasped in excitement. "From Jenni? I got to meet her. She's really, really nice! And she loves dragons! What did it say, what did it say? Did she mention me?"

Jacob couldn't help but smile at the dragon's excitement as she circled around him impatiently. "She did mention you, yes," he replied, causing the dragon to croon in excitement and flattery. "And the letter said that she wanted us to meet her at some tavern in the east quarter of the city."

"When?" the dragon sat down in front of him and curled her long, scaly tail around her front feet, eagerly expecting an answer.

"The letter said she wanted to meet this coming Saturday, at two o'clock."

The dragon was taken aback, with jaw dropping low. "But that's today!"

Jacob nodded. "Yep! I wrote her a letter yesterday telling her we'd be there. And now that my exams are over, we have all the free time in the world." He smiled.

Penelope gawked. "A letter? And you didn't give it to me? I could have delivered it!"

Jacob shrugged. "The east quarter is pretty far, definitely out of your way. Regardless, it doesn't matter anymore. We'll both get to see her in a little bit."

"Is Jasper going to be there too?" the dragon asked.

"I think so, yes."

"Ooooh! Ooh, ooh, ooh!" Penelope padded her feet on the ground in excitement. "It'll be like a double date! Just like in one of Lucy's books!" the dragon churred.

Jacob threw his hands up to his forehead. "Oh, for cripes sake, Nel ..." he laughed. "It's not a double date if they're not dating!"

"But what about us, Jake?" the dragon innocently asked. "We're mates ... does that mean we're dates, too?"

"Ah, jeez, dragon ..." Jacob groaned. He immediately broke eye contact, looking around the backyard of the estate. Thankfully, no one was in earshot. He turned back to Penelope and rested a hand on her shoulder. "Look, I don't know what we are, okay? I don't know if we're mates, or dates, or ... whatever. All I know is that we're a guy and a dragon that sometimes ... do things. Alright?"

Penelope's chipper expression slowly faded into a frown. "I ... I'm confused."

Jacob sighed and leaned on his dragon. "You know what, Penelope? Me too ... me too."

After a short pause, Jacob collected himself and stood up straight. "You know ..." he took out his pocket watch and glanced at it. "We're going to have to leave in a little bit if we are to make it on time."

"Ooh, ooh! Are you going to ride me into the city?" the lavender dragon churred.

Jacob began to chuckle. "You want me to?"

"Of course!" Penelope replied. "I love having you on my back ... all hunched over ... holding onto me tight ..." the dragon began to giggle deviously.

"Oh cripes ... fine!" Jacob began to shake his head, a tiny smile betraying his body language. He opened the door to the dragon's stable and let himself in, grabbing the reins and halter. But, just as he reached up to unmount the dragon's padded shoulder saddle off the wall hook, a thought came to him that stopped the young man in his tracks.

"Wait a sec," Jacob's brow furrowed. "If we're going to be around other dragons, I don't think riding you in is a good idea."

"Why?" Penelope innocently asked.

"Because the wild-born always get offended when they see a domesticate being saddled and controlled like a horse."

"But I don't mind!" The dragon nodded reassuringly. "Let's do it!"

Jacob shook his head and reluctantly put the dragon's riding gear back on the shelves and closed the door to Penelope's stable behind him. "It's best to not step on anyone's toes. Come on, I'll ride you bareback until we get close to the east quarter. Then it's on-foot, for both of us."

Penelope folded her ears flat in a show of disappointment. "Okay, I suppose that's fair ..." The lavender and daffodil-scaled dragon came alongside her keeper and splayed her wings down and out slightly, exposing her back. She then lowered her head for easy mounting.

Standing tall, Penelope's haunches came up to roughly Jacob's hip bone; she was nearly the perfect height for riding; although Jacob understood the dragon had not quite yet reached full size. He swung a leg over Penelope's scaly neck and situated himself on the strong, muscular shoulders of her wings. It was a somewhat uncomfortable sit for both parties, as not having the saddle to distribute Jacob's weight put more force on Penelope's spine, and Jacob had to permanently lean forward for balance, but the pair had done enough bareback riding in the past that both could manage for a while. After getting comfy, he then leaned forward to give Penelope an affectionate rub along her scaly throat.

"Alright, dragon ..." he smiled and patted the side of her neck. "To the city!"

Penelope padded the grass below her feet with an eager impatience. "Okay!" she cried, and took off in a brisk canter.

The pair rode off in silence, with the lavender-scaled dragon humming happily to herself as she carried her keeper away.

--=-=--

Jacob furrowed his brow as a frown formed on his face.

"This ... looks like the place. I think."

Rough-cut brick walls held the roof aloft, which were reinforced with ancient mortar that was cracked and falling apart. The shingles were heavily weathered and in dire need of repair or replacement. A wooden sign out on the front advertised the daily specials and meals. Bustle and noise could be heard from the first floor, but second story windows were dim ... indicating that whoever ran the place likely lived here as well. The place looked like it had seen a fair bit of history over the years and upkeep on the structure seemed to be minimal. A water trough for horses was situated in the front, but was currently empty ... not that that was a huge deal nowadays. Horses weren't quite as common of a sight as they used to be. Along the extensive wooden porch were strewn a few blue-collar workers sitting at two-person tables, nursing a tankard or enjoying a snack. Over the front entrance hung an old-fashioned wooden tavern sign, with the cut-out image of a rearing horse and the formal lettering "The Dark Horse Grille" burnt into the wood.

Jacob took a few tentative steps towards the building. "Wait here a second, Penelope," he cautioned. He stepped up onto the worn planks of the porch, each plank crying out in distress as Jacob put weight on it. One of the patrons sitting outside--an old, bearded man in overalls--gave Jacob a strange look as he sipped his tankard.

Jacob gulped his apprehension down and stepped inside the open door. Tables and chairs--roughly cut, well worn, and minimally adorned--were strewn about the cramped interior. Most of them lay empty, typical for this time of day. A couple of men were hunched over the bar on tall stools. Behind the bar, a shapely woman with a pretty face stood on-hand. She had neatly-combed black hair that fell down to her shoulders and was conspicuously missing a hairpin and bonnet that Jacob was used to seeing. She had been blessed with an unusually large bust which she freely flaunted with a low-cut dress. No doubt she used them as leverage to increase her tips. She wore a messy, stained apron over her plain striped dress, and was leaning back against the wall, picking at her dirty nails as Jacob reluctantly approached.

The woman raised one eyebrow as she gave Jacob a once-over, and Jacob immediately realized his fancy collared dress shirt, trim summer vest, and neatly-pressed pants were a tad out-of-place in a room full of dusty overalls and cotton pullovers. "Can I help you?" she asked, conspicuously hiding her fingers from view. "Sir?" she added, after a pause.

Jacob bit his lower lip. "Hello, um ... I'm here for a scheduled luncheon, with a woman--Jenivive, and a dragon, Jas--"

"We serve dragons in the back. Go back outside, take a left, and walk around to the back patio," the woman interrupted him, pointing a thumb behind her shoulder.

"Right ... thanks." Jacob offered, and stiffly turned around. As he exited, he heard a patron slam the bar with an empty tankard and grumpily yell, "Anna, this ale tastes like cow piss!"

"Yeah, well have you tried not pissin' in it, first?" the wench angrily retorted, earning a couple of laughs from the customers.

Outside, Penelope was waiting impatiently. "Well?" she called out, when she saw Jacob reappear.

"I'm not so sure about this place ..." Jacob swallowed. "But maybe it'll be better in the back. Come on, let's go." Together, the pair walked around the side of the restaurant.

As it turns out, it wasn't.

A simple cobblestone wall segregated the back area from the rest of the city. Large, circular tables with a thick, central stone pillar instead of four traditional legs were neatly arranged around the cobblestone flooring. Jacob noted a deliberate lack of wood in the construction, and even the tables seemed to be polished and treated to be fire-resistant. While open to the air, the area was protected with a shingled roof supported by brick columns. Attached to each one were traditional oil lanterns that would keep the place lit in the evening, but they were currently dark. An open-faced fireplace was arranged in the center with a brick chimney, which was also currently un-used. The construction of this back area was noticeably more recent than the main building, but the plain and boring architecture was definitely not what Jacob was used to. He turned his attention back to the tables, which seemed larger and higher than they should be, and noticed the lack of available chairs.

And situated at several of the tables, sitting on the cobblestone floor with their forelegs resting on the tables, were several dragons.

These dragons were among the growing number that attempted to integrate with human society, and were paying customers no different than the ones at the bar inside. While the very thought of performing labor or services in exchange for coin was demeaning and even offensive to many dragons, the luxuries of human society could prove to be a strong temptation for some. A comfy bed to sleep in ... a lantern for convenient light at night ... medicine for common illnesses.

And most importantly, food and drink on demand ... every dragon's dream!

Jacob scanned the room for Jasper, not knowing what to expect of Jenivive's appearance. Knowing only that she was Jasper's landlord (who apparently catered exclusively to dragons) he already had formulated an idea of what she might look like. But right away, his expectations were shattered when he spied the blue-green drake at a table, sitting across from a tall woman with fiery red hair that had her back to Jacob. Her hair was thick and curly and it fell down past her shoulders instead of being properly held up by a pin and bonnet like most high-class women. She was leaned over the table with her right foot hooked around the back of her left ankle--a jarringly unrefined, unfeminine pose. When Jasper spotted the pair he rose and spread his left wing to signal the two to come over, and it was then that Jenivive turned around.

Jacob raised his brow in surprise as he was greeted with bright green eyes, rosy cheeks, and wide smile. Bearing high cheekbones and freckled skin, Jenivive's face was not as homely as he had imagined. And, while still older than he, she appeared much younger than he had expected. Her cream-colored summer dress was plain and commonplace, and she carried no umbrella, fan, or handbag like most classy women Jacob was familiar being around. Her shoes were plain black and heavily worn. Like the bartender, it was very clear to Jacob that Jenivive came from a commoner's upbringing, and didn't have the money to spend on such frivolities such as an umbrella to shade oneself from the sun.

"Jenni! Hi!" Penelope trotted forward ahead of Jacob.

"Ah, Penelope, there's your cute face again," Jenivive cooed to the dragon. She then turned to Jacob. "And you must be Mr. Broyal. Hello!"

Jacob blinked. Jenivive had not curtsied, nor did she give a formal greeting, nor put her hand out for him to take and bow. He didn't know what to do at first. "Ah, umm ... yes, it's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Harston." He smiled politely and, after a short pause, gave a small bow. "Please, call me Jacob."

Jenivive flashed a warm smile. "Alright, Jacob it is, then. And likewise, call me Jenivive. Well, don't be shy, you two, come on over!" she motioned to them with a hand, and the pair followed.

Jasper nodded to Jacob as he took a place at the standing table, which came up to Jacob's stomach--way too high for a normal table. "Hello, Jacob," The drake clearly enunciated. He was better at the pronunciation of the common language than any other dragon Jacob had met. "I'm quite glad you could make it. And you too, Penelope," he motioned to the dragoness with a nod.

"Hello, Jasper," Jacob gave the dragon a polite smile, but on the inside, the only thing he could think of was that the drake had had sex with Penelope not even two weeks ago, and immediate feelings of jealousy and loathing flooded his mind. He did his best to push them away.

"Hi, Jassy!" Penelope gushed.

Jacob flinched. 'Jassy?' So he was 'Jas' and 'Jassy', now? How many pet names was Penelope going to give the drake? What was next, Jassy-kins? Jassy-wassy? Jassy-poo? Even Jacob was just simply "Jake" to the dragon!

"Thank you for accepting my request and agreeing to meet with me, Jacob," Jenivive began. "I admit I felt worried that a ... a man of your stature might have been too busy to accept such a frivolous request from a commoner you didn't even know."

Jacob shook his head, laughing. "Not at all. My father is the busy one. I'm still merely a student--one that fortunately will have a lot of free time in the next coming months! I admit I was a tad unsure about the letter when I first read it, but Penelope said you were awfully nice to her when she met you, so I figured there'd be little harm in meeting you as well."

"Aw, Penny, thank you for the kind words!" she said to the dragon, earning a happy trill in response. She then turned to Jacob. "Well, that's fantastic. I trust that this place wasn't too hard to find?"

"No, although it was quite a long trip down from the hillcrest where my family's estate is. Speaking of which ... pardon my curiosity, but how were you able to get that estate's address for the letter you sent? Unless--did you ask Penelope?"

Jenivive smirked, raising a single brow. "No offense, Jacob, but once Jasper told me your father owns the Berrati Mountains Trading Company, all it took was a little inquiring at the right places. You were surprisingly easy to find."

Jacob nodded with resignation. That was one question scratched off his list. "Yeah, that's definitely one of the pitfalls of being well-off and well-known. So!" He placed his hands down on the table. He then looked around, seeing three pairs of eyes staring at him, and felt suddenly apprehensive. "Um, well ... now that we're all here, l'd like to know what the occasion is for. That is--if you don't mind telling, Jenivive. Your letter was a tad vague."

Jenivive threw back her head and laughed. "Straight and direct. Such a business-like attitude! But no, I don't mind. As I said in the letter, I simply desired for the four of us to have a casual luncheon together and chat a bit. After you getting to meet Jasper, and me getting to meet Penelope, I felt it only natural for you and me to also properly acquaint ourselves."

"I trust Jasper and Penelope had good things to say about me?" Jacob asked, smirking. Hopefully nothing too personal, he thought to himself. He was rather confident Jasper and Jenivive knew nothing ... unless Penelope had let something slip. He dared not dwell on such a possibility.

"Mm, perhaps," Jenivive playfully answered, and Jacob hesitantly laughed, feeling no better about the subject than before.

"I told Jenni you were my keeper and that you were really nice and kind and handsome and thoughtful and fun to poke and tease," Penelope nodded self-assuringly, causing Jacob to groan and put a hand to his forehead.

"Sheesh, dragon, don't go around telling people I'm fun to tease ..."

"What? Why not?" Penelope innocently asked.

Meanwhile, Jenivive was laughing. "To be honest, from the way Penny described you, you just seemed a little ... different than most rich folk. In a good way. And it seems like my hunch is being confirmed."

Jacob furrowed his brow. "What do you mean?"

Jenivive laid her hands out palms up on the table. "Well, you're a dragon person. So am I."

Jacob shook his head. "Oh, no no no ... I've never really considered myself a 'dragon person'. I don't especially like dragons ... I'm just really close with Penelope, that's all."

"And that's why you're a dragon person!" Jenivive proclaimed. "From the way Penny gushes about you I could tell that you don't treat her like a tool to do your bidding or a fancy trophy to show off. You actually treat her like a person! That's already a lot more than what most rich folk do. And that told me that you're probably a fair bit more intelligent than most rich folk, as well."

Jacob chuckled, not knowing what to say. "Penelope's a tad smitten with me, I'll give her that."

"Maybe ... maybe not." Penelope let out a little giggle at the comment. The tip of her tongue stuck out as she grinned.

Jenivive pointed at herself with her thumb, a shockingly unrefined act for Jacob to witness. "And as for me, I've worked with dragons my whole life. Heck, they practically are my life now." Jenivive laughed. "I know dragons better than anyone. And shoot, I trust them more than some folk I know, too."

Jacob silently picked up on the changes in her speech and mannerisms ... it was apparent she was initially trying to act more modest in front of this "rich folk" she had just met, but it seemed like after seeing how casual Jacob was acting, she was starting to become more relaxed and comfortable as well. He smiled.

The group was interrupted by the waitress, who happened to be the same wench Jacob had met at the bar. She placed down four cloth napkins, and then a pair of menus and silverware for Jacob and Jenivive--but none for either of the dragons.

"Welcome to The Dark Horse Grille. My name's Annabelle and I'll be your waitress today. What can I get you folks?" she asked, flashing a big smile.

"Ah--may I have a menu, too, please?" Jasper politely asked. "I can read quite well."

Annabelle gave Jasper an odd look. "The options for dragons aren't printed out anywhere."

"That's quite all right. I'd like to look anyway, if I may. There may be a human dish that catches my eye."

The waitress shrugged. "Well ... sure. Here you go," she leaned over the table to slide a menu his way, inadvertently showing off some cleavage from her already-revealing dress in the process. Jacob did his best to not stare for too long.

"Thank you, dear!" Jasper picked up the menu in his front paws--using his dewclaws as thumbs to grip the cardstock securely--and began to pour over the menu, mouthing each word to himself silently as he read.

Jacob eagerly picked up his own menu, but pressed his lips tight in displeasure at the state of the thing. The menu was printed out on plain cardstock and felt flimsy. It was minimally embellished and happened to be worn and stained from use, much like everything else in the restaurant. Although he hesitated to call this place outright seedy or grimy, there was a certain lack of refinement and class that Jacob was definitely not used to and it made him uncomfortable. There was no well-dressed waiter with pristine white gloves to offer wine by the bottle, no food cart to put on display the choices of appetizer salads, no maid to offer a wash basin to cleanse his hands, and no string quartet to entertain while the food was being prepared. Heck, there weren't even chairs--although Jacob was beginning to understand why: the standing tables were ideal for a hungry dragon sitting on their haunches, and weren't made for humans.

"Ooh, this place has really good roasts and broils, Jacob," Jenivive eagerly described. "They got real, home-town comfort food here: everything's loaded with fats and juices and seasoning. Very filling."

"Jake ..." Penelope sheepishly nudged her keeper with her snout. "I've never been to a restaurant before. How does this work?"

The waitress opened her mouth before Jacob could respond. "You don't need to sweat the details, honey, just tell me which type of meat you'd prefer and I'll have the cook whip up something fit for a dragon your size."

The dragon looked up at the waitress with big, soulful eyes. "Any type of meat? You mean it?"

Annabelle sweetly smiled. "Well, in order of cheapest to most expensive, we have chicken, pork, beef, mutton, duck, fresh tuna from the city docks, and lamb."

"What's a mutton?" Penelope asked.

"Sheep, Nel," Jacob whispered. "Same as lamb, but only the meat comes from an adult, so it's less tender."

Jasper stirred in place, a tiny growl welling up in his throat. "Mrrf, it's been a long while since I've had a good leg of lamb. Or a bad leg of lamb. Or any leg of lamb, really ..."

"I ... I don't know what to get!" Penelope stammered.

"Money's not an issue, Penelope. Just get what you want. And that goes for all of you," Jacob motioned around the table. "I'm paying."

"You don't have to--"

"Oh, pish-posh, Jenivive ..." Jacob interrupted her, giving the woman a sly smile. "You know I can afford it. Don't be so modest. This place isn't even very expensive."

"Well, all right ... and thank you!" Jenivive gushed.

"Indeed, it is much appreciated!" Jasper added.

At the sound of the exchange, Jacob heard Annabelle suck in a short breath as the prospect of a generous tip from a wealthy patron filled her thoughts. She leaned over to Penelope's side. "May I suggest the lamb, then? It's one of our most popular choices among dragons. All of our meats are slow-roasted, rare, over an open fire, and garnished appropriately for a dragon."

Penelope looked at the waitress quizzically. "What's rare about it?"

Annabelle smiled. "That means the meat will be seared on the outside to lock in the juices, but will stay mostly red inside, keeping that tender, juicy, raw meat taste." The waitress leaned in close and half-whispered into Penelope's ear. Jacob watched them raise up high as she spoke. "And it comes with all the bones still attached. After tearing the meat off, you can lick 'em clean, gnaw on the thick tendons, crack 'em open to get at all the tender marrow ..."

It became readily apparent to Jacob that Annabelle certainly was no stranger to pandering to dragons. Penelope gazed hungrily into the waitress' eyes and said nothing. Jacob was almost expecting her to drool right on the table.

"Nel, do you want the lamb?" Jacob asked the dragon, as if he actually needed to question her.

"Please?" Penelope squeaked.

He turned to the waitress, chuckling. "She'll have the lamb."

"And make that two!" Jasper piped up.

"Got it," Anabelle nodded, writing down the order on her little scratchpad. "And for the miss?" she asked, turning to Jenivive.

"Well, I'll have ... Hmmm." Jenivive mused over the menu for a moment. "I'll have the tomato salad to start with, and the rosemary chicken broil as my main dish."

"And you, sir?" Annabelle asked, turning towards Jacob.

Jacob gave another look at the menu, feeling indecisive. "I've never had half of these things before ... 'smoked pig jowl', 'broiled beef tongue', 'deviled sheep kidneys' ..." he looked up at Jenivive, bewildered. "Do commoners actually eat this stuff? It sounds more like dragon food."

"Hey!" Jenivive protested. "Deviled sheep kidneys are actually really good. Not everyone can afford filet mignon on a silver platter for every day of their lives," she retorted.

The comment was harsh as well as unexpected, especially coming from a woman he had just met. But it made Jacob realize he had probably not asked the most considerate of questions. He was, after all, out of his element. "Fair enough," he muttered, finally settling on the most familiar thing he could find on the menu. "I'll take the clam chowder as my appetizer, and, er ... the roast beef with sage, cooked medium, and a side of boiled potatoes."

The waitress nodded. "Very well, sir ... and, anything to drink?"

Jacob glanced once more at the menu. Just the basic amenities were offered: tea, milk, coffee, wine (likely all cheap brands, he reasoned), and several types of ale on tap.

"Hmm," Jacob pondered. "I'll have some coffee," he decided upon. "With cream and sugar. And I'd like a glass of oloroso served with my meal, please."

Annabell frowned. "We have merlot, port, chardonnay, sherry ..."

Jacob forced a smile and held up a hand to stop her. This waitress was not the most knowledgeable on dining wines. "I meant, the sherry. Whatever type it is, I'll have it."

"Okay," Annabelle nodded, jotting the order down.

"I'll have tea," Jenivive piped up, setting down the menu.

"Get a wine to go with dinner, too," Jacob offered. "Might as well. I'm paying."

"Oh, thank you!" Jenivive eagerly rubbed her hands together and picked the menu back up. "In that case ... Okay! I'll also have a chardonnay with my meal."

"Very well," The waitress nodded. "And you?" she asked, looking to Jasper. "We have a number of ales on tap, including-"

"Just some tea will be fine, thanks." Jasper called out, causing the waitress to cock her head and give him a funny look.

"Tea for the drake, too, eh? Can't say I hear that one very often."

Jasper adopted an apologetic expression. "Err, I blame my past owner," he replied, earning a chuckle between Jacob and Jenivive.

"And for the dragoness?" Annabelle asked, turning to Penelope.

"Do you have water?" she meeped, causing the waitress to laugh.

"Of course we do. It'll even come in a special dragon flagon."

"What?" Jacob laughed at the silliness of the name. "What's a dragon flagon?"

Annabelle grinned. "Oh it's something of a joke here at The Dark Horse Grille. Dragons can't pucker their lips to sip a drink, yeah? So we gotta serve 'em drinks in large flagons. They got a handle to wrap their paw around, and a spout to pour into their mouth. They'll often spill from anything else we give 'em."

Jacob wrinkled his brow. "So ... they're not much different from a regular flagon."

Annabelle shook her head. "Nope--er, no sir! Like I said, it's mostly a just a joke among the staff here. Now, I'll go ahead put your orders in right away." The waitress bent over the table to gather up the menus, once again inadvertently blessing Jacob with an absurd amount of cleavage in front of his face. He bit his lip and said nothing. She then turned around, but paused briefly, and faced the table once more performing a quick little curtsy. "I'll be back with everyone's drinks in a minute, sir."

It was obvious to Jacob that Annabelle had not had much experience attempting a proper curtsy ... in fact, Jacob was sure she had only done it because she heard he was rich and was trying to appeal to him. However, Jacob shrugged the revelation off. It felt hard not to judge, but after being so used to high class society, the unrefined mannerisms and talking habits of common folk were something of an oddity to Jacob.

"I'm sorry for that comment about the filet mignon," Jenivive quickly offered once the waitress was out of earshot. She apprehensively tucked a lock of curly red hair behind her ears and began to play with it, staring at the floor. "You kinda touched a nerve in me, and ... well, I know I may not act the most lady-like at times, and I apologize."

Jacob waved the apology off, chuckling to himself. "It's fine ... I admit I'm a bit sheltered when it comes to life outside of garden parties and state dinners. But for all its supposed appeal, I can't say I enjoy all the pomp and formalities of high class. Actually, I find it incredibly boring. So if you want to take a jab at my rich and snobby background, go ahead!" Jacob shrugged unapologetically. "I'm not even much of a gentleman, to be honest. My mother used to always fuss about my lack of proper graces and politeness, but now that I'm an adult she seems to have backed off somewhat."

"My family did have money when I was growing up ..." Jenivive sighed. "But that was a long time ago. I've been on my own for years, struggling to make ends meet. It's hard for a woman to make a living when you don't have a husband to fall back on ... and being the owner of a dragon shelter isn't the most lucrative endeavor, trust me."

"Yeah ... about that." Jacob cocked his head. "How exactly did you end up becoming the landlady for a host of dragons, anyway?"

"Well, first off, you should know that it's technically not land leasing. Landlady is more of a tongue-in-cheek title that my dragons have given me." Jenivive grinned. "The truth is, dragons cannot become citizens and therefore cannot buy property. Legally, what I do is run a dragon shelter. It is a safe place, a haven for our scaled friends in this large and bustling city. I provide basic amenities such as a safe place to sleep, clean water, and a roof over their head. I also help newcomers become situated, find work, and otherwise try and help anyway I can. And in return for all this ... my dragons help support me with some of their earnings, or they otherwise purchase for me things I need such as food. This means I eat a lot of meat nowadays!" she laughed. "I don't ask for much, really ... this whole project of mine is really more of a labor of love, than anything."

"I assume you don't get people asking to buy your dragons, correct?"

"Heavens no, I wouldn't let them! But they're available to hire out for simple jobs. There are uses for a dragon in the city ... even if they aren't immediately apparent. Agile wings and a strong pair of legs are always useful at the docks, for instance."

Jacob nodded. A dragon or two was not an uncommon sight amongst the loading barges, pulling crates and unloading supplies. "Why run a shelter, though?" he asked. "If you want to work with dragons, why not just find another job as a stablehand or something? Aren't those decent pay?"

"They can be, but ..." Jenivive frowned. "After all the years of seeing what dragons have to put up with in this world, I wanted to do something about it. A lot of them have been raised as pets and have no idea how to care for themselves. Others come from the wild and were lured by the temptations of human society: the prospect of food whenever you want it, a warm and dry place to sleep every night, and gold coin in abundance. But those dragons quickly find out that having to work to make a living is no easier than having to hunt for every meal of your life. And then there's the prejudice ... a lot of people don't like the idea of dragons running around unsupervised in the city. I get a lot of complaints from it. And the common folk that live outside the walls hate them the most, since many of them raise cattle or goats and are no strangers to dragons poaching their livestock. Some dragons ... they just want to have a place to call home without being treated like some dumb animal. And I wanted to be able to provide that for them."

"And all of Jenivive's effort is very much appreciated," Jasper added, nodding. "Why, without Jenivive, me and the other city dragons would have nowhere to roost. Well, at least--not within the city walls. Some of Jenivive's dragons are wild-born, and could return to their territory, I suppose. But as for me ... well," Jasper ruffled his wings. "As Jenivive mentioned, being raised in the comforts of wealthy human society hasn't exactly prepared me for life outside of civilization. And plus," he winced. "The wild-born that live far away from human cities aren't exactly accepting of domesticates with open wings ... they're more likely to kill me out of disgust than let me live among them."

"It's a good thing I don't mind keeping you around, then!" Jenivive playfully commented, nudging Jasper with an elbow. The drake let out a quiet laugh, but his smile quickly faded as the thought of surviving on his own lingered in his mind.

"But why?" Jacob asked. "I would think they'd instead take pity on a dragon who hasn't had a chance to live as one."

Jasper shook his head. "The wild-born view domesticates like me and Penelope as tainted by human influence, corrupted and twisted from our true nature. And they do have a point, in a sense!"

"Oh, come off that, Jasper," Jenivive said, laying a hand on the drake's shoulder. "I've told you many times there's nothing wrong with you for how you were brought up."

Jasper shook his head and brought a paw to his chest. "Jenivive, my dear, I only mean that me and Penelope ... we share many human traits. Human mannerisms. Human behaviors. We spend so much time around humans that we eventually start acting like them."

"That's it!" Jacob suddenly announced, snapping his fingers and causing everyone to look his way in confusion. "I've noticed for a long time now that most city dragons are gruff, cold, and unfriendly ... and then there's you two." He motioned to Jasper and Penelope. "You act so ... different, but I couldn't put my finger on why until now. It's because you've picked up on human behaviors!"

Jenivive nodded. "It's surprising how much a dragon's upbringing can affect their behavior in later life, isn't it? Once they get past a certain age though, they become pretty set in their ways. But I suppose that goes for people, too."

Meanwhile, Penelope took in Jasper's information silently. She stared down at the table and thought to herself. "I'm ... I'm different because I'm a domesticate?" she frowned. "Other dragons won't like me just because of how I'm raised?"

Jenivive and Jacob reached over to reassure the concerned dragon. "Oh, hun," Jenivive cooed. "There's nothing wrong with how you were raised, don't fret over it."

At this time, Annabelle reappeared with the beverages and appetizers. Sure enough, Jasper's and Penelope's drinks came as a pair of rugged-looking steel flagons with a handle and a wide pouring lip on one side. Annabelle bent over the circular table as she poured Jenivive and Jasper's tea, gracing Jacob with another peek of her low-cut dress. At this point he felt certain that there was no way she was doing this on accident. It seemed like she was trying her hardest to get a good tip from a rich customer.

... not that he was complaining!

"Thanks, Anna," Jacob said as he prepared his coffee. He took a sip, but quickly put it down--it was way too hot to drink and almost burnt his tongue! His soup was the next item of interest. He frowned when he saw his clam chowder placed in front of him so soon, as it meant the soup had been already prepared earlier and was likely sitting around in a heated pot for who knows how long. But again, he remembered to try and not judge the place for being not as classy as he was used to, and cast the thought out of his mind as he took a sip.

Hmm ... savory, but slightly watery, under-seasoned, and over-salted. Definitely not the best he had had, but it wasn't horrible. He glanced over at Jenivive's salad, but there was nothing remarkable about it ... just lettuce, tomatoes, a few croutons, and an olive or two. The dressing looked to be a simple vinagrete.

"Everything in order?" the waitress asked. "Sir?"

Jacob nodded and smiled. "Yes, thank you."

"Thank you, Annabelle." Jasper politely said to the waitress as she left.

Penelope stared at her flagon in utter confusion. She raised a claw and played with the lid a little out of curiosity, flipping it up and down repeatedly. To Jacob's knowledge Penelope had never drank from a flagon in her entire life. She had a basic water trough in her stable and had only drank out of human cups a small handful of times, always with Jacob to hold it for her.

"Like this, dear." Jasper offered. He slipped one paw in the handle, grasped around it tightly with his other, and raised it to his mouth. He then slowly tilted the side with the lip towards his awaiting maw until the tea began to pour into the back of his mouth. He then closed his jaws, swallowed, and then set the flagon back down. "Now, you try. Just don't pour too quickly."

"Oh! Okay." Tentatively, the dragoness lifted her flagon to her head. All three pairs of eyes were on her as she turned the flagon so its pouring lip was facing her and very, very slowly tipped the flagon toward her awaiting mouth. The lid began to quiver and finally lift as a tiny trickle of water began to flow out. As she tipped the flagon even more, Penelope extended her tongue (something Jasper had deliberately not done), causing the water to splash on it and fly everywhere. She desperately began to lap at the stream of trickling water, which only caused more water to splatter, all of which had Jacob chuckling. Penelope then quickly set the flagon back down and ducked her head in embarrassment.

"I want my water trough," she muttered, water dripping down her lower jaw. The pitiable dragon had Jenivive letting out an endearing "Aw" and Jacob giving her a reassuring hug around the shoulders with one arm.

Sliding over to Jacob's side of the table, Jenivive took Penelope's head in her hands and stroked her cheeks, causing the dragon to quickly forget about her watery mishap and churr warmly. "Ooh, Jacob ... Penelope is just adorable; I'm almost jealous! She's easily the cutest Zephrin I've ever come across. And such a rare coloring, too! Her scales make her look like she's covered in lilacs. So pretty!

"Really?" Jacob cocked his head. "I didn't know Penelope's colors were rare."

"Your typical Zephrin looks more like Jasper, here," she motioned to the drake. "Their scales are usually shades of blue-green and indigo, and ... what?" Jenivive asked, when Jacob began to give her a strange look.

"Hold on, what did you call her?" he asked.

"Penelope and Jasper are Bluefin Zephrins, Jacob," Jenivive matter-of-factly stated. "They come from a rather rare line of dragons, for sure."

"I'm a what?" Penelope squeaked, cocking her head. Jacob was equally puzzled.

"That's news to me." Jacob shrugged.

Jenivive frowned. "You didn't know?" she gawked, as if that should have been common knowledge. "Just look at their cheek fins. They're tipped in blue. They both have the trademark rounded snout noses, that distinctive ear shape, and the blue horny growths on the back of their head and neck. Aren't you familiar with their traits?"

Jacob held his hands out and shook his head, causing Jenivive to frown.

"Well, let me give you a little dragon lesson, then. Bluefin Zephrins are a western species, found far away across the ocean, high up in the mountains there. Penelope's a long ways away from her kind's home. Zephrins are very social in the wild and highly sought-after for their friendly and amiable disposition. Many dragon handlers consider them to be easy and agreeable to work with, which is why they're popular, albeit very expensive pets ..." Jenivive cocked her head in confusion. "You honestly didn't know this? Your parents didn't tell you anything when you got her?"

Jacob shrugged. "I got Penelope when I was only six, and don't remember much from that time, aside from being really excited that I was getting a dragon that could learn how to talk. But since then, Penelope's just simply been a 'dragon' to me and my family, nothing more." Jacob furrowed his brow. "You know, I guess I never really thought about there being different, err ... breeds of dragon."

Jenivive laid both hands down on the table, showing a clear disappointment in her face that Jacob did not understand.

"Different ancestral lines of dragon," Jasper corrected him, pausing to grasp his flagon between two sets of dragon claws and pouring some hot tea into his awaiting mouth. "That's the term that most of my kind prefers. Think of it as no different from there being different races of humans. Using the term 'breed' like that can--ah, be a little offensive to some of my kind ... though, I do not take offense, so no worries!"

"Right, I'm sorry. Won't happen again." Jacob candidly offered.

"Look, I grew up handling dragons," Jenivive began. She began playing with a lock of curly red-orange hair behind her ear. "Trust me, I know them like the back of my own hand, and I've worked with enough Zephrins to be able to spot one on sight. They're pretty unmistakable, in my opinion."

So Jenivive was--or at least had been a dragon handler herself. Jacob was genuinely impressed. "Wow ... that's pretty fascinating, actually," he offered. "So Jasper and Penelope are the same kind of dragon?"

Jenivive appeared almost offended. She gestured to both dragons. "Well--yes! Just look at them! They're roughly the same height at the haunch. They have similar facial features, similar color patterning ... but the most telling detail is that they have blue on the spines of their cheek fins and ears."

Jacob looked at Jasper, then back at Penelope. Now that he had the opportunity to compare the two side-by-side, the two did look rather similar ... he had just had never really paid it much attention before! Their snouts had the same rounded shape to them, their blue eyes were large, oval, and expressive, and they both had wide cheekbones that made the snout look narrow in comparison. Their ears were well-defined and full of emotion. Their underbellies were similar--although, Penelope's was more yellowish and Jasper's more tan. Their horns were both dark grey and gently curved downward in a graceful curve. And yes, their cheek fins, ears, and spines were all tipped in blue, though it was harder to notice on Jasper's aquamarine scales. Jasper was also the larger dragon--being around four feet at the shoulder, while Penelope was closer to three and a half. Though, Jasper was also no doubt older as well, and the scaly protrusions on his head and the back of his neck were longer and more defined, looking more like fully-fledged spines than the conical nubs Penelope had. Jacob wondered if Penelope's spines would grow out and end up looking more like Jasper's as she grew older.

"Yeah," Jacob nodded. "Now that you mention it I can see quite a resemblance."

"Why, I find it hard to believe you're just now noticing!" Jasper scoffed, taking another drink of his tea. "It seemed as plain as day to me the moment I met Penelope. She looks like a Silvingdraa, smells like a Silvingdraa, acts like a Silvingdraa ..."

Jenivive once again noticed the strange look on Jacob's face. "Silvingdraa, Jacob." She enunciated, taking effort to roll the "r" sound. "It roughly means 'blue dragon of the cliffs'. That's more or less the dragon word for what we call a Bluefin Zephrin. Are you not familiar with dragon-tongue?"

Jacob shook his head. "Not at all. Penelope doesn't know a lick of it either."

"That's not true, I know draakin!" Penelope piped up. "That's a dragon's word for a dragon!" she nodded proudly.

Jasper began to grin. "Well, you're close, my dear! Saying draakin is more like saying 'a dragon that you know and trust'. If you want to talk about dragons in the generic sense, you just use draa. _D_raa implies any dragon you're not familiar with ... which are most dragons, after all!" He turned to Jacob and put a paw to his chest. "You see, my kind has always been wary by nature, so merely saying draa can imply any dragon that you don't know well enough to trust."

"Ah, interesting." Jacob's brow then began to furrow. "But what if you want to mention all dragons, both ones you trust and ones you don't? What's the word for that?"

"There isn't one," Jasper matter-of-factly stated. "One would simply have to use both words. Like saying 'my friends, family, and everyone else'."

Jacob squinted his eyes in hard thought. "Weird. By the way ... how do you know dragon-tongue when you were raised by humans just like Penelope?"

"Ah!" Jasper sat up straight and cleared his throat. "There's a simple explanation for that, really. Naturally, I knew nothing of my native language growing up, but I've spent much time around my wild-born brethren as an adult. I am not quite fluent but I pick up on what I can. A while back I also picked up a book a human wrote on dragon-tongue, though I have yet to finish it."

"Here's a fun little fact, Jacob," Jenivive added, "Long, long ago, humans borrowed the word draakin for our own language because we heard dragons using it to refer to each other, so we started doing that too. Eventually it simply became pronounced as 'dragon'."

Jacob began to laugh. "Wow, it's ... how did you know that?"

"As I told you before, I've worked with dragons for most of my life."

"Well ..." Jacob drummed his fingers on the table. "We're not going anywhere for a while. Tell me more about that. What did you do growing up?"

Jenivive raised her eyebrows and nodded. "Fair enough ... my father used to tend to the royal dragon stables. And so did his father before him. And his father before him. But just because our family worked for the castle did not mean we were nobles or wealthy. I did not live the life of an upper-class young girl, learning the feminine graces such as table manners, singing, and speaking politely. No ... my childhood was in the stables, helping my father tend to the wonderful dragons who lived there. But I loved it. Nearly every one of the Royal Dragonguard--the king's elite dragon riders--knew me by name. They called me 'Jenni the dragon master'." She laughed. "Of course, it was just a joke. I suppose to all the soldiers, seeing an eight-year-old girl with a dirty face and frizzy red hair rush around helping the riders and their dragons saddle up was a funny thing to them."

Jacob grinned at the mental image, and at the tenacious personality of this woman he had just met.

"Even though I was a commoner, I got to rub elbows with a lot of higher-ups when I was growing up: after all, a lot of nobles and some of the king's court own dragons ... even if it's just a formality these days. I've even met King Edwin more than once, and his dragon, Bastion, is the most majestic thing on two wings you'd ever see in your entire life." Jenivive looked off into the distance, a twinkle in her eye forming as she remembered days long past.

"Wow, so dragons were basically your whole life." Jacob surmised.

"Very true!" Jenivive nodded. "Once my father passed away, the Royal Air Marshal let me take his place as main stable hand despite me being a woman ... having grown up around the dragons and their riders, I knew the dragons better than anyone at that point, and he knew me long enough to feel confident in trusting me with the job. I was comfortably working this job up until about five years ago, when one day ... I was let go, along with a few other handlers." Jenivive sighed and looked away.

"What? Why?" Jacob asked.

"Because times change, and so do Royal Air Marshals ... and this new marshal wasn't as kind as the man who had known me and my father for years. He wasn't keen on letting a woman be in charge of the dragon handling. He told me 'The King no longer needed my services' ... which was a filthy, utter lie and everyone knew it." Jenivive huddled over her cup of tea, her orange-red hair falling around her face. "After that I didn't know what to do or how to support myself," she muttered.

Jacob struggled for words, finally managing to speak up after a pause, "That's ... that's really tough. I'm sorry," and going back to sipping his coffee. It felt so odd for him to imagine what Jenivive's position must have been like. He had never held a job in his life, had no clue what it was like to be financially strained, and the concept of "work" was usually in the context of schooling, not something you do for money!

Jenivive brushed a lock of curly red hair out of her face. "It's quite alright. To be honest, after I was let go, I was more worried about the dragons than myself! I missed them. Heck, I was probably one of the reasons some of them even bothered to hang around in the first place. And I knew that if I--"

At that moment, a loud thump and crash was heard behind Jacob, causing him to whip his head around. At one of the tables were a group of four dragons: a green dragon, two black ones, and a red one-all looking to be noticeably larger than Penelope. And the crash was from the black dragon, who had toppled over from drunkenness. He was still grasping his flagon and frothy ale had spilled everywhere, including all over his black and grey scales. The other three dragons were cackling and roaring with laughter. Black snorted smoke and tried to right himself, but quickly fell back down in his drunken stupor, earning more laughter from the three remaining dragons. The dragon closest to him, a massive dragon predominantly red in color, slapped Black in the rump with his tail for good measure. Even sitting down, Red had to be a good five feet at the shoulder at least.

In the heat of the hilarity, the green dragon on the left extended a wing around the back of the dragon next to him, another black dragon with a broken left horn. Green went in for a dragon kiss: a lick and a nibble on the underside of the other dragon's chin. This caused Broken Horn's eyes to widen and quickly head-butt Green in the chest with a loud growl. Jacob watched as Green's flagon of ale went flying, and suddenly he was on the dirty cobblestone ground right on top of Black, with both covered in spilled ale. The pair grunted and struggled to untangle themselves, and all Jacob could see is a mess of wings and limbs getting caught on each other. This caused the two remaining dragons, Broken Horn and Red, to start the laughter up all over again. Jacob heard a lot of talk between the four, but it was all in dragon-tongue, and he had no idea what they were saying. It sounded more like a bunch of hisses, grunts, grumbles, and growls to him.

Annabelle appeared at The Dark Horse Grille's back door to rush out and give the four dragons an angry speech. By this time Black and Green had righted themselves, but their scales were still shimmering with spilled ale. From their body language, none of the dragons seemed to give the waitress an ounce of respect, not bothering to look at her in the eye or even acknowledge she was there. Then, while Annabelle was in mid-sentence, Black breathed a small puff of fire in her direction, causing her to shriek and jump back in surprise. He then held out his empty flagon to her, opened his mouth, and spoke to the poor woman in with a thick accent.

"Human female ... shut up and bring me more beer." On top of the guttural, draconic accent, the words were so heavily slurred that Jacob could barely make them out, but the rest of the table seemed to understand and began to rumble in approval.

Annabelle crossed her arms over her chest. "You lot have had enough. No more beer! Now sober up and get on outta here when you do!" she pointed out toward the back exit. "And if you give me any more trouble I'll call the police!" The group of four dragons hissed and jeered, not being intimidated in the least. She then angrily stomped off and went back inside the tavern.

Jacob slowly turned back to his own table, not knowing what to say, only mouthing a silent, "Wow."

Jasper folded his ears back and hid his snout in his claws out of embarrassment. "Not my kind's finest moments, I assure you," he mumbled.

"Jasper, what were those words they kept hissing as she left?" Jacob asked.

Jasper winced as if he was pinched. "Ah, well ... it, uh ..." he let out a nervous laugh and didn't finish his sentence, and instead shrunk back and hunched his shoulders.

"They were throwing insults and racial slurs at her, Jacob," Jenivive coldly intervened, causing Jasper to duck his head in shame. "A lot of unsavory or negative words in dragon-tongue have extended 's' syllables that sound like hissing."

Jacob frowned. "What were they saying, Jasper?"

Jasper was silent, casting his blue eyes to the ground and pressing his lips together tight.

"Jenivive?" Jacob turned to the freckled woman.

Jenivive sighed. "Duussku is a derogatory word for human. It means 'two-legs', but it has a really negative connotation, as if having only two legs gets you only half of the respect you should normally get. Vissuuk has no direct translation, but it roughly means 'a smelly, rotted carcass that's not even worth scavenging from.' Calling someone vissuuk is like saying someone is trash, or is worthless."

"That's mean!" Penelope objected. The dragon let out a huff. "Anna seems like a nice lady. And she doesn't smell like she's rotting at all!"

"Does stuff like that happen often here?" Jacob asked.

Jasper's eyes darted to the table. "Sadly ... yes. It's quite a regular occurrence."

Jacob thought for a brief moment. "Hmm ... how did you say that one word for 'human'? 'Doo-skew, doo-skew' ..." he repeated. "That's kind of fun to say out loud, actually," he chuckled.

"No-no, duussku ... like saying 'due', and then 'ssssskoo'," Jenivive corrected him, drawing out the "s" sound like a short hiss. "That's really not a word you should commit to learning, though!"

"Can we change the subject, please?" Jasper flatly remarked. It was clear that he was not comfortable talking about anti-human sentiment in front of humans.

Jenivive nodded. "That's a fair request. Now, as I was about to say, most dragons love the bitter taste of ale. And they can get pretty rowdy when they're drunk. But there's not a lot of places in the city that will serve dragons, and only a few those will serve them alcohol."

"Yeah, I can see why," Jacob wryly commented, frowning.

"Which means more business for the few places that are willing to take that risk. Not many dragons have coin to spend, but the ones who do, spend nearly all of it on food and drink. Those four back there are probably regular customers to this place, and are good business, trouble aside."

Jacob furrowed his brow. "It's weird to think about dragons as paying customers to taverns, though ... err, no offence, Jasper."

The drake shook his head. "None taken."

"Well, it wasn't always this way," Jenivive began. "This whole idea of catering to dragons only started a couple decades ago. Before that ..."

"What?"

Jenivive frowned. "Well, it wasn't very good. I suppose a little history lesson is required, here. As you probably know, some domesticated dragons have always felt their role in human society was a little ... well, oppressive and humiliating. After all, they're commonly treated like tools or pets." Jacob noticed Jasper nodding at the comment. "But, it wasn't until about a hundred years ago or so ago that serious friction began to form. Some of the Royal Dragonguard mounts--the ones who could speak our language well enough--started demanding to be paid for serving the king just as their human riders were. Those demands, of course ... weren't taken seriously."

"After seeing the group behind me, I get the feeling that those Dragonguard mounts weren't exactly the most respectful in their request," Jacob wryly added. Jasper made an unpleasant face at the comment.

"My father told me that the tension between species was high for many years ... until one day, the exodus began: many dragon mounts fled the stables to live free amongst their own kind. And little could be done to stop them, naturally. Dragons can fly, and they're not only large but also stubborn, so they're quite hard to subdue. Finding replacements that would willingly stay at the stables became progressively more difficult."

Jacob frowned. Immediately, his thoughts went to his father, and how his own dragon abandoned him when he was but a young boy. Before that had happened, Desmond had tried nearly everything to get him to stay, even resorting to keeping his dragon chained to his stable walls like a prisoner. What had started as a close companionship turned into a bitter, mutual hatred.

"It's hard to imagine," Jenivive continued, "but the Dragonguard has dwindled down from a hundred and twenty to just a few dozen over the past hundred years ... they're largely just a ceremonial position, now. It's hard to get dragons to stick around, leading to less and less work for the stablehands. Things were already pretty bad for my father, and even worse after I took over for him."

Why didn't the dragons just stay, though?" Jacob asked. "We've been at peace, so there's very little job hazard. You get free room and board, free food, and a team of stablehands to take care of you ... and I bet being part of the king's guard meant you got pretty lavish treatment, too."

Jenivive shrugged. "That's all well and true, Jacob ... you raise good points, but--"

"But it was not a life they chose to live!" Jasper adamantly added, slapping both forepaws on the table. "And furthermore, you have to be put up with being saddled and forced to do your rider's bidding like some ... some farmhand's mule!" Jasper drew a paw to his chest. "Why, I consider it a blessing that I've never been put up to such a menial and demeaning task!"

"Hey!" Penelope protested. "Being ridden isn't so bad! Me and Jake ride all the time. It's more like teamwork! You have to trust your rider and he has to trust you, and you work together to go places!"

"But the dragon does all the work!" Jasper angrily proclaimed, his wings and fins beginning to splay out a little from the heightened emotion. "He shoulders all of the burden; he has to follow all the orders! How is that even remotely-"

"I believe," Jenivive intervened, giving Jasper a glare. "I was in the middle of telling Jacob a story, if you don't mind."

Jasper stared at Jenivive for a brief moment, his blue eyes full of indignant anger. He then pulled his gaze away, ruffled his wings, and let out a huff. "My apologies," he grumbled.

Jacob said nothing on the matter, but was silently thankful for Jenivive's damage control. "Please continue," he requested.

"Right! Well ..." Jenivive hummed for a moment as she recalled where she left off. "Oh yes, so many of the Royal Dragonguard left to live their own lives in the wild. But what was even worse, was that the king's dragon mounts had set an example by fleeing human society, and when word spread to other dragons' ears, more started getting similar ideas. Then things really started getting bad, with many dragons wanting to follow suit ... and naturally, their owners were not happy about that. Which led to a lot of conflict. There was public unrest on both sides, protests, fighting ... the works. It was not unheard to see bloodshed between dragons and their owners over the growing issue of dragon sovereignty, back in the day."

"I can imagine." Jacob nodded. "Gosh, I had no idea things were so ... strained between people and dragons back then. That's scary to think about."

Jenivive shrugged. "Most people treat dragons like animals. And most dragons treat humans as beneath them. There's too much ego on both sides."

"Most, but not all, Jenivive," Jasper added, raising a single claw in the air as a human would with their index finger. "I consider myself rather fortunate in that my owner came to respect my intelligence, and likewise I respected him back. We had a rather synergetic relationship, I must say!"

"Well, when I think about it--sure, there's some mutual resentment between people and dragons nowadays, but to consider actually spilling blood?" Jacob shook his head. "That's crazy to imagine."

"It's not crazy, and it happened many times, actually," Jenivive insisted. "I've seen it before first-hand. Have you ever heard of the practice of slashing a dragon's wing webbing to prevent it from flying away?"

"No, but ..." Jacob was taken aback. "People actually did that back then?"

Jenivive solemnly nodded. "It's mostly fallen out of practice now, but people have been doing it for hundreds of years. It was not only barbaric but also incredibly humiliating for dragons, who take great pride in being able to fly. For many dragons, losing their wings broke their will to live and sent them into a severe depression. I have an old drake back at the shelter who had his wings slashed when he was young. He's never been the same."

Penelope gasped. "T-that's terrible!" She shuddered and tucked her wings close to her body, as if she were afraid someone would harm them. Jasper simply closed his eyes and let out a disapproving huff, likely having heard of this story before.

Jenivive laid her hands out on the table. "It was ... but so were domesticate dragons who hated humans so much that they killed their owners' families, even the children."

"You mean, in retaliation?" Jacob asked, feeling mortified. In his mind's eye he was struck with the image of a mournful and bleeding dragon, the webbing cut from their wings. And then--that same dragon, its jaws and chin dripping with fresh blood from an innocent child's neck. Blood for blood ... flesh for flesh.

Jenivive shook her head. "Sometimes, but not always. I've seen some dragons get pampered and doted on their whole life, with the best treatment money could buy ... and one day, they suddenly snap and go on senseless killing sprees before flying away, never to be seen again. They'd stalk and cruely play with their adoptive human family: break the ankles or legs to prevent escape, rip out the throat to prevent calling for help, and take joy in watching humans suffer and slowly bleed out. Other families have been burned alive. Some dragons are just full of nothing but spite and hate."

Jacob stood there with jaw agape and said nothing. He was too shocked for words.

"Now, King Edwin--bless his heart--was not a fool when it came to the growing dragon problem," Jenivive continued. "Many years ago he made a public decree that granted amnesty to adult dragons, meaning any domesticate dragon was free to leave their ownership without fear of punishment--provided they were considered to be of-age. This was, of course, very upsetting to a lot of rich folk. A lot of dragons left the stables that day, and never looked back. But it caused a lot of drama to settle, and for good."

"And that's what I eventually did, too!" Jasper piped up. "Though I assure you that the decision was not born of ill will toward my owner. He was sad to see me part ways, and I him, but ..." Jasper proudly puffed out his chest and spread his wings into the air, "as the saying goes, 'you can't clip a dragon's wings!' I desired to see the world, I did, and live my own life! No draa wants to be tethered by the chains of ownership for all eternity."

Jacob furrowed his brow. There was that word again, draa. With the "r" sound rolled on the tongue, almost like a growl.

"However," Jenivive added, "even though fully-grown dragons have been granted amnesty, the trade and sale of eggs, hatchlings, and whelps is still legal. That will probably never change. There's too much money in the business. Many people like the idea of owning such an exotic creature as a dragon ..."

Jasper looked away and let out a grumpy snort at the comment. "Yes, and it's a terrible thing, that. Why, it is downright barbarous, even! You don't see dragons making humans breed and selling the babies for amusement and fortune, do you? What nonsense!"

"Now Jasper," Jenivive said, turning to the drake. "To be fair, many dragon eggs go unwanted by the parents, and would have otherwise died had they not been sold to humans. A lot of young, horny female dragons have sex freely during their heat, never thinking about the consequences."

Jasper let out another unhappy huff, but could not retort her claim.

"When was this amnesty?" Jacob asked. "I've never heard about any of this before."

Jenivive laid a finger against her cheek. "Hmm, the decree must have been about ... oh, a couple of decades ago. Somewhere around then. I was just a young girl at time ... you must have been just a baby, or not even born at all!"

Jacob shook his head. "Twenty years ago would have made me about one or two."

Jenivive nodded. "Ah, well, there you go! That's why you don't remember. Now, I know better than to assume the amnesty was granted out of compassion. It most certainly was not. And it wasn't a popular decision with a lot of people, either. Actually, it made quite a lot of the richer folk angry--the ones who owned dragons, naturally. But it was a political necessity, you see."

"Um ... actually, I don't." Jacob admitted. "What's the point of granting freedom to dragons when they can fly away regardless of whether you want them to?"

"But that's just it, Jacob!" Jenivive pressed. "For a law to be upheld, it needs to be enforced. And how are you going to enforce a law that says dragons bought by humans are property and belong to their owner? Dragons are strong, cunning, stubborn, and can fly. Only so much can be done to control them. If they want to escape badly enough, they will. And so ... if they're going to fly away regardless of the law, why not just make it legal for them to do so? It's less hassle for both parties."

"That makes a lot of sense ... but wait, wait!" Jacob blurted out, thoughts of his father and Penelope still on his mind. "How are adult dragons supposed to know they are free to leave their owners? It's not like they're all going to show up for a town hall meeting or anything."

"It's up to the owner to let them know," Jenivive replied.

"But what if their owners don't tell them?" Jacob ventured. Jenivive said nothing, but the sadness in her face told Jacob all he needed to know.

"So that means ..." he turned to Penelope. "Nel, you're actually allowed to leave our estate for good once you become old enough! And that means--" Jacob sucked in a sudden breath. All this time ... his father had to have known about that amnesty decree. No wonder he was so convinced that Penelope was going to abandon the family eventually ... she was legally allowed to!

"But I don't wanna leave!" the dragon protested, causing him to smile.

"I know, Nel ..." Jacob replied. "But remember, as long as Father thinks otherwise, we can use that to our advantage." The dragon nodded solemnly in agreement.

"Anyway," Jenivive continued, "That's how it's been for the past few decades. Now, not every dragon left their owner, but the ones that did ... most didn't know what to do with their new-found lease on life. Some of them flew away to try and make it off in the wild, never to be seen again. And I suspect many died out there, not knowing how to survive on their own, and being too prideful to come crawling back to their owners. Others, being unwilling to leave the protection of human civilization, attempted to live as humans do, and looked for work to support themselves." She motioned to Jasper, who humbly nodded. "And, as of the last four years, when they need a place to lay their head, they often come to me, and ..." Jenivive shrugged. "There you have it, now we've come full circle."

"Wow," Jacob mustered. "I ... I feel so sheltered. I had no idea about any of this."

Jenivive looked down and stirred her tea aimlessly. "Anyway, I'm sorry ... I didn't mean to ramble. I've got some tales to spin, as you can tell."

Jacob held his hands up. "No, no ... it's quite all right. Everything you've said has been rather fascinating, actually."

"Yeah, I suppose ..." Jenivive looked up, meeting Jacob in the eye. "So what about you?"

Jacob flinched. "Me? Oh ... gosh, my life hasn't been nearly as interesting. I have no good story to tell. I'm positively boring in comparison!"

Jenivive tilted her head. "Surely there must be something. Why not just start at the beginning?"

Jacob sighed. "Alright, well ..." He looked into the distance for a brief moment as he gathered his thoughts. "So, I was born into a life of luxury, as you know. My father is one of the most tenacious and ambitious people I've ever met. He's spent his entire life, more or less, building up the Berrati Mountains Trading Company into a massive fiscal empire, and he's now an incredibly rich and powerful man, with trade contacts across the western ocean and beyond. Growing up in his shadow has been ... intimidating, to say the least."

"I can imagine," Jenivive frowned. "You don't seem the type to enjoy the limelight."

Jacob shook his head. "I don't like it at all. I'm a pretty quiet, reserved person. Nothing like my father. So anyway, I received a dragon whelp as a present for my sixth birthday--an adorable little purple dragoness with a bubbly and excitable personality."

"That was me!" Penelope cheerfully piped up, causing Jacob to smile and Jenivive to giggle.

"I was home-schooled by a personal tutor and am an only child, so I didn't have many friends growing up. Penelope's basically been my best friend for as long as I can remember." He tucked an arm around the dragon's shoulders and gave her a playful squeeze, causing the dragon to churr and lean into the hug.

"Aww, that's so sweet," Jenivive gushed.

"Now I'm attending the university for a business degree, to follow in my father's footsteps. Penelope does odds-and-ends jobs at my father's whims. I come home and often do my homework in her stable. Sometimes I read to her, or we go riding on the trails near my father's estate." He shrugged. "Sometimes we just sit and spend time together, in the gardens, or stargazing at night. We'll have a lot of time for that now that my final exams are over." Jacob grinned.

"That's really cute, you and her." Jenivive cooed. She then pointed at the pair with two fingers. "So, how did the two of you end up in a relationship?"

Jacob's smile immediately vanished from his face. "Wait, what?"

TO BE CONTINUED

Post-story notes:

~ Okay, I know this was a huge, huge departure from the tone of my previous chapters, and I apologize in advance for having to make you read through it all. I realize there was a ton of information here and it's all pretty disorganized and haphazard. I completely did not intend for this chapter to balloon out of proportion as much as it did, but now that it's here I didn't know what to do with it all.

~ All of the themes I am exploring here in this chapter are concepts I've envisioned for the setting of The Persistent Dragon for years and am just now getting to flesh out. But, there's a specific reason for the fleshing out, and the answer is that I am experimenting. More specifically, I am practicing world-building for a novel I wish to write some day. A lot of what I've envisioned for this chapter of TPD are more or less similar for what I want to write for this novel. Think of it as me testing the waters for deeper narrative building.

~ What's this novel about? Well, it will be set in a dystopic world and explore a lot of themes that fall in line with a typical dystopia, such as prejudice, racial inequality, oppression, and revolution ... the catch is the setting is in a classic fantasy world with castles and magic and whatnot! So yes, it will be a dark fantasy. But it will also have comedic elements with very colorful characters along the likes of Penelope and Jasper. Ah, but there's no dragons, though.