A Space Oddity

by J. J. Pavlov

  "Are you sure you should attack the animals out in the open?" Lenoly voices her concern. As a goat demon, she may feel pity for the sheep about to be eaten, though there were plenty of mutton dishes in the academy's canteen.

  "Well, it'll be faster than waiting for nightfall. If I do it quickly, we can be in the air sooner." Shrugging, Asoko looks back toward the capital where the smoke still rises into the air. Maybe the fire did indeed get out of control and is consuming all of the slums. Under these circumstances, the academy will most likely not send out any pursuers when they don't even know whether or not their targets are still alive.

  Senka, who has been peeking out of the backpack to survey their rear, suddenly jumps up and stares into the distance intently. Then she turns to the group with a haunted expression while pointing at the city.

  "Dragon!" That's all she shouts, upon which Asoko jumps into action by transforming into her full red-tinted Crawling Chaos form and rushing down the hill toward the livestock with mind-bending movements. She has the presence of mind to at least keep her true face obscured with a blank mask, as aside from Hestia, nobody here has been exposed to it before.

  "Is that Dregana?" Lenoly asks, clutching her staff in apparent fear. She was there last night and faced Thorvald and the other mages of the academy, but being chased by a dragon is still a reason to be scared.

  "There's somebody else." Senka announces in an alarmed tone. She's looking through her curled up hand as if it's a spyglass and appears to have spotted a person riding on the flying dragonkin's back. "But I don't know who that is. Doesn't look human."

  Her words trail off when she exchanges a glance with the others. Daica has already taken out several vials filled with colorful liquids and is mixing something together in preparation for the battle.

  "A member of the Demon Mages Society? Why would they send a demon to catch us?" Lenoly is left to wonder, relaxing a little from her fear. Maybe they can be negotiated with.

  Hestia is trying to discern the tiny silhouette of what is doubtlessly a giant dragon coming toward them from the faraway city. Her impacted eyesight causes things to be blurry just a few dozen paces away.

  "When they arrive, I will lure Dregana away." The fallen angel suddenly announces in a tone that leaves no room for argument before spreading her wings. At this point, even she can see the blurred shape of something red flying toward them. Once it becomes large enough for her to make out details, she's going to take to the skies.

  "So, we're left to deal with whoever is riding on her back?" The little bakari tries to hide her relief. There's a huge difference between talking it over with members of the Demon Mages Society while a dragonkin professor is out to fry them, and only having to deal with a fellow demon.

  "Will you be alright?" Senka asks Hestia with a concerned expression, clearly referring to her deteriorated eyesight.

  "I am the only one here who can hurt a dragon at range." She replies with a determined look at the approaching target.

  "You forget me." Suddenly, Asoko appears behind them, back in her human form. The pasture she attacked has been emptied of livestock, and her mass should be more than enough to recreate a dragon's body.

  "It's Tamariki!" With a surprised shout, Lenoly points at the person riding on Dregana's back. The angel girl stares intently, but the red dragon and the red-skinned girl blend together in her eyes. However, everybody at the academy knows that the demon girl is a special existence similar to what Chaos was.

  "What is she doing here?" Muttering to herself, Hestia searches her memories for any information she has on Tamariki. There were plenty of rumors about the horned girl whom nobody dared to approach, but nothing concrete. Except for History and Ritual Day, she barely even appeared in the academy, so her magical abilities are unknown. Judging by her big body and muscular frame, she's at least physically gifted.

  "I can deal with a musclehead." Asoko comments while looking into the distance herself. She has applied the template for a Fata's eyes to see better and seems to have gotten a false impression of Tamariki.

  "Better not underestimate her. She's from the academy after all." Lenoly warns Asoko while clutching her staff. She appears ready to chant a spell but still harbors the hope of talking it over with her fellow demon.

  "It's time." Hestia brandishes her small wand - a replacement catalyst after hers was taken away when she was locked up in the castle's dungeon. She then spreads her wings and speaks a short wind incantation, which propels her up into the air. Hovering for a moment as if silently beckoning Dregana over, she then begins to fly toward the lake.

  "I-I hope t-this works." Daica has finished mixing her brew and corks it up. The liquid in the beaker is a dark green and appears to be toxic, although the delivery method is questionable, to say the least.

  "What is that?" Asoko asks with an eyebrow raised.

  "Incoming." Lenoly takes off her straw hat to expose her remaining horn so that Tamariki has an easier time recognizing her.

  In the next moment, Dregana turns around to follow Hestia. At the same time, a tall humanoid figure separates from her and falls toward them from at least a hundred paces in the air.

  "Superhero landing?" Senka asks while looking up.

  "Oh?" Asoko watches the approaching Tamariki, who soon impacts the ground a few dozen steps away from them, landing on one knee with a fist on the ground. She's wearing a shirt made from rough linen that exposes her muscular arms even while her legs are covered in the standard-issue academy skirt. The outfit, combined with her short and spiky blond hair tied into two long braids in the back, gives her the appearance of a high school delinquent.

  An exceptionally tall and physically impressive high school delinquent who also happens to have two twisted horns that grow horizontally from her forehead right above her eyebrows.

  "Superhero landing." Asoko and Senka speak in unison before nodding with grim satisfaction.

  "Does that mean we are the baddies?" The Crawling Chaos then mutters to Senka, who shrugs. Morals never factored into her actions, so this is clearly just a comedic quip rather than a serious question.

  "You certainly are, Chloe Marcott." Righting herself and cracking her neck, Tamariki answers after having overheard it from so far away. Her expression holds grim determination, no hint of mercy in her gaze. "You'll pay for what you did."

  "You got the wrong person." Tilting her head, Asoko states with a blank expression.

  "I don't think so." Cracking her knuckles, the towering demon growls.

  "Well, here's the character route you wanted, Makoto." Senka mutters while rolling her eyes up toward the sky. "And you aren't even here to witness it."

  Chapter 76 - Lost In Communication

  Hestia knows that Dregana can fly faster than her. In her childhood, they raced often enough for her to understand that the dragonkin was holding back every single time.

  The truth is that dragonkin are born without wings. However, this particular member is a unique exception in whom several unlikely factors came together. Her mother was a regular dragonkin, but her father was one of the few remaining true dragons from the Dragon Mountains in the south of the Fatas Triarchy.

  While in her dragon form, she had been caught by one of those true dragons. He had been unable to find a mate and let out his frustration on what he perceived a lesser being.

  The child born from this unwilling union had the traits of both races. Unable to stand the constant reminder of her humiliation, the mother abandoned Dregana in the wilderness. If not for poachers finding her, she would have died soon after. But maybe it would have been a better fate than the slavery that followed for many years until Hestia's father bought her and freed her. For that, she was undyingly loyal to him.

  But Hestia understood that Dregana was also loyal to her. If not, she wouldn't have become angry on the Fata's behalf when she first collapsed under Chloe's corruption. And she wouldn't have returned to the academy after being sent away. She was like a dog who couldn't lea
ve its owner despite having been kicked out.

  And seeing the dragonkin not chasing her at full speed was proof of that. If Dregana had wanted to catch or even kill her, she could have easily caught up and burned to a crisp. Instead, she has only been utilizing the coarse voice she possesses when in dragon form to call out to her.

  "Miss Hestia! Please hear me out!" She pleads with the Fata in a desperate tone, but it sounds aggressive when it's spoken in a roar. "Your father, he wishes for you to return home!"

  At these words, Hestia balls her fists in anger but keeps flying without looking back. Only her last memory of that man's eyes when he sent her away keep her from turning around on the spot and scream at Dregana for mentioning him.

  Even though he was the one who exiled her as she became a liability to his position, he has the nerve to call her back now? And this confirms her suspicion that Dregana went back to the Fatas Triarchy to report to that man about his illegitimate child's complete corruption. Maybe he now wants to use her as a different kind of political tool, after which she will doubtlessly be discarded once again.

  "He says they can revert the corruption!" Dregana roars, upon which Hestia's anger wells up even further. It's still not enough to cause her to slow down, but her patience is running thin.

  Why would she want her corruption reverted? This is proof of her connection to Chloe. She'd rather live as a fugitive for the rest of her life than return to being a bird in that man's cage for even a day.

  "Your father gave me an order, and I can't refuse him!" The dragonkin's pleading falls on deaf ears, as Hestia blocks out her voice and continues to aim for a small island in the middle of the Gletsjersoen.

  It appears that she was right in her assumption that Dregana will continue to chase her without attacking, as they soon reach the island with a small forest in the middle. Descending onto it, Hestia lands in a clearing and finally turns around.

  Moments later, the dragonkin crashes through the trees and lands heavily on all fours before the Fata. She doesn't even bat an eye at the violent descent of her opposite. Despite carrying a wand, she doesn't speak an incantation.

  "Do you think I do not know my father's true intentions?" Once the wind ceases and Dregana settles down, Hestia asks with a sad smile while looking straight into the dragonkin's constantly angry-looking eyes. "If you wish to take me back, you will have to make do with my ashes."

  Even though a dragon's face lacks the muscles to show human-like emotions, her widening eyes clearly indicate her surprise. Her massive jaw, filled with sharp teeth with the sole purpose to rend flesh and grind bones, opens and closes without speaking a word. Her breathing is quickened due to the physical exertion of flying so much even when her form isn't suited for it. Heated squalls of air are blown towards the Fata, but no flames are visible between the armor plates that would announce a blast of fire.

  "Or are you ignorant of the truth?" Tilting her head back, Hestia sneers at Dregana. She was never smart or even cunning; for that reason, she had been given to the Fata as a pet and bodyguard. Somebody to be with her, but who wouldn't be able to conspire with her.

  "Please, Miss Hestia-" The dragonkin begins, but is immediately interrupted.

  "Choose now: Let me go or kill me." Hestia is well aware of the fact that if she wanted to, Dregana could easily capture her in her jaws and take her back by force. But she already knows that it won't happen.

  Staring at the Fata with her golden eyes, the massive dragon doesn't move a single muscle. A heavy blanket of silence lays itself over them, and only the wind in the trees creates a rustling sound like a wave breaking on the beach. Hestia can clearly see the conflict in Dregana's eyes, but she knows that this lengthy hesitation is in and of itself already a decision. She's only trying to come to terms with it now.

  Suddenly, the dragonkin's form vanishes in a burst of flames that dissipate as quickly as they appeared. Within the scorched circle in the undergrowth kneels Dregana, naked and gasping for air. Whenever she returns to her human form, she becomes incapacitated for a while due to the strain that maintaining her dragon form takes on her. The longer she does so, the longer she remains in a weakened state from which she can't transform again.

  "I can't make such a choice, Miss Hestia." She finally mutters, looking up at Hestia with tears in her eyes. Her appearance is miserable, with disheveled hair and sweat coating her skin. Although her haircut makes it look like she's constantly glaring, she appears incredibly meek and powerless in her current state. "I can't ignore your father's orders, but I can't kill you either!"

  Her shoulders shake from suppressing her tears. It would appear that she chose to make no choice and leave the final decision to Hestia after all. Her insight was correct then that Dregana had been given orders to bring her back or kill her in case she refused. The dragonkin's loyalty is commendable, albeit misplaced, but it seems that her love for Hestia carries equal weight.

  "My father is undeserving of your loyalty." Hestia announces in a cold tone while stepping forward to peer down at Dregana with a cold gaze.

  "He saved me from a miserable life of slavery!" The red-headed woman musters her strength to retort. It's all she can hold onto despite all the evidence pointing toward ulterior motives in his acquisition of her. "He gave me a home, treated me as a person..."

  "That man exiled his own daughter and left her to die in a foreign land because she was no longer useful to him." Spreading her black wings, Hestia lets her words rain down mercilessly from above. Dregana stares up with an expression of shock, not because she didn't know but because she didn't expect it to be stated in such a harsh matter of fact tone. "And he sent you to bring me back or kill me. That is not treating you as a person, but as a tool."

  "No, that..." Dregana lowers her gaze and trails off, unable to refute the statement.

  "Do you truly believe that someone despicable enough to order his own daughter murdered deserves your loyalty?" Hestia maintains her cold demeanor, and the naked woman on the ground flinches at her words. "To him, you are only an asset. A slave he removed the shackles of so that you would be bound to him in your gratitude."

  The black Fata kneels before the naked Dregana and puts a hand on her tear-stained cheek. The latter looks up in despair, upon which Hestia shows her a warm smile filled with forgiveness.

  "I would never make you do something like that, Dregana." With these words, she hugs the naked woman to her chest. In reality, Hestia still remembers how the dragonkin attacked Chloe last night with the clear intent to kill her.

  She could easily kill Dregana in her currently weakened state, but it would be better to turn her into an ally for the future. For everything she has done against Chloe, she can atone by being useful to her - even if that should take the form of becoming food for her.

  "Come with me. Free yourself from that man's chains." Whispering sweet words into the redhead's ears, Hestia pets her hair.

  "But..." Dregana separates from her and mutters while glancing at the Fata's black wings. The latter can't suppress her eyebrow from twitching once but holds herself back from showing anything else. The blackness of her feathers is proof of her relationship with Chloe. How dare she view them as something negative.

  "This is evidence for the lie that the senate has been spinning for centuries." Hestia stands up and spreads her wings while announcing in a firm voice that seems to echo across the clearing. Fatas all have a magical ability to let their voices carry across large areas and reverberate as if spoken by the gods themselves. It's used on the battlefield to instill awe in humans and is one the reasons they're viewed as divine beings. "That man must have known about this."

  Doubt enters Dregana's gaze as she considers the matter seemingly for the first time in her life. The triarchy, headed by the three supreme oracles, appears infallible to all the lesser races - which also includes dragonkin. To humans, they're the messengers of the gods, so nobody would ever question them.

  "I am still alive, and I have never felt as
good as I do now." Twirling around herself, the black-winged Fata speaks like a girl enjoying her life. She would surely enjoy it more if Chloe were with her. "I have been freed from all the fetters that were binding my spirit before."

  "But your purity..." Dregana can't bring herself to finish the sentence. This utterance irritates Hestia to no end, but she doesn't let it show on her face and instead focuses her thoughts on Chloe. Thinking about her lover brings joy and pushes away murderous urges.

  "That is something I gave away willingly - to the person I love." She states with a beaming smile meant to wipe away all doubts. Her feelings for Chloe far surpasses the concept of love, but in lack of a better word, that is all she can use to express them. "I believe it is the most wonderful thing to be able to do that. I would suffer that fleeting moment of pain a thousand times over just to experience the pleasure of that first time once more."

  Dregana's cheeks turn red at Hestia's unhesitating honesty. The latter knows that the dragonkin did not mean her virginity but the perceived purity that wings the color of freshly fallen snow represent among the Fatas. But judging by that response, a new thought enters her mind.

  "Miss Hestia, I..." The red-headed woman's eyes are swimming all over the place, unable to look at the black Fata directly.

  "You are a virgin?" Lifting her chin, Hestia forces the former to return her gaze. That unabashed question causes her eyes to widen in surprise before her entire face flushes red, and her lips tremble. That reaction makes a verbal reply wholly unnecessary.

  "Wh-what are you saying, Miss Hestia?" Dregana backs away and averts her eyes, covering her nakedness with her arms. Although she was alright with being exposed until now, the question made her self-conscious. Chloe would have surely found this meek gesture endearing.

  "Do you think you can still carry out your orders?" Hestia suddenly asks, her expression turning serious once again. Upon seeing it, the redness in the dragonkin's cheeks fades away quickly, and she lowers her gaze to avoid meeting her gaze. It's clear that she has found her answer but doesn't want to say it. "Come with me."