Isher Notra

No matter how long Stella pondered, she couldn't get a solid grip on a satisfying answer.

Yuki-onna knelt before her, looking down at the dirt, perfectly still like the statues she produced all day. The downsides of her ace in the hole had finally caught up to her.

There wouldn't be any resistance from the sorceress, it appeared. The young girl was faced with the answer alone.

...Or was she?

Stella quickly turned to search for Lien, her eyes glimmering with hope.

...But her packmate was nowhere to be found. Was she trying to free Gentō from his icy prison all along?

"I'll come back to you in a sec," she assured the Yūrei before sprinting towards the crater at the other side of the glade. When she finally reached it...

...

No one was inside. Not even Gentō.

A chill struck Stella's spine, followed by a surge of bitterness as she ran back to the sorceress. This amount of cardio would've killed her a month ago.

"That's IT!" she cried before returning to the fallen witch, panting. "What did you do?! Lien wouldn't have left me without giving me a heads-up!"

Slowly, Yuki-onna's gaze rose to meet Stella's. Then, after a childish scoff, a giggle was unleashed from her mouth. "Who knows, Stella? This could de the final trick deneath ny sleeve. The Daien still hasn't detrayed ne, of course..."

Stella growled, raising her fist in the air. "I should've known... You're the worst of the worst!"

"Yes, yes..." the Yūrei murmured with a sickening calmness. "You see what I try to tell you now? Your deloved Wolf is in the Tizohi's Chosen's clutches as we talk. She wouldn't de the first..."

The Human's fist ignited with energy. "Shut. Up."

"Lien is in good care now. Ny conrades in the alliance should convince her of your true nature soon enough..." Yuki-onna's grin widened.

"Cut it out!" Stella's breathing became erratic, her raised arm trembling. "I am NOT who you think I am!"

"Even if it's true, ny nission is set." With a solemn face, the witch closed her wide eyes and opened her arms. "Only death will release ne from it."

Stella's anger returned to full force, mixed with a paralyzing anxiety and worry for her dear pup. The exposed Yūrei was seen through the red haze as a necessary target for her survival and a prime subject to release this pent-up aggression at. Hell, Lien was willing to mortally injure the witch for her, so there wasn't a single reason why she should spare this hateful waste of bones.

Yuki-onna was nothing but an obstacle. Yuki-onna wasn't worth the trouble.

...

......

.........

So why? Fucking why?

Why was Stella still holding back?

A pained exhale seeped through her teeth, a vein popping out of her forehead as she abruptly lowered her fist. The golden aura immediately dissipated into the wind.

Yuki-onna, sensing the change, opened her eyes, her expression twisting with... questions.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

Stella fiercely pointed at the witch, her stare piercing like daggers. "I. Am. Not. Your. Maid." Her wrist flickered with each pause. "You want to die? Do it by yourself!"

And with that, she stormed off, heading for the woods. She had no direction, no concrete plan other than to be far away from here. Her mind was a boiling cauldron of emotion, clouding any shred of a plan she could've conjured.

She needed time. Lots of it.

"Where are you going...?" Yuki-onna asked, though it sounded more like a breathless plea.

"Away from you!" Stella did not look back.

"No..." The Icy Sorceress's tone was clogged up by... sobbing. "This doesn't nake any sense..."

A foolish tug was made on the child's heart, a faint reminder of her enemy's past. Nonetheless, she shook all of it off her back. It was too late for sympa-

A pillar of fire engulfed her vision, erupting from the ground as she stumbled and fell on her bottom!

"The fuck's this?!" Stella's skin tingled from the heat, her vision expanding to see more flames barring the passage between her and the deeper woods, spanning through the entire contour of the glade.

This... was the bard's doing?

The voice that came after this question answered indirectly, booming with unquestionable power that was felt over her skin, utterly intimidating in a polar opposite way from Mx. Shade's.

"I WAS EXPECTING AT LEAST ONE MORE PUNCH ON HER PRETENTIOUS FACE."

Stella quickly identified the source coming from above, witnessing an enormous silhouette distinguished against the full moon, bearing broad, flapping wings with a similar shape to a bat's.

"BUT I'LL STILL SAY THIS WAS A SATISFACTORY CONCLUSION."

The creature lowered, creating gusts of wind that carried clouds of dust stronger by the moment, forcing the Human to shut her eyes and brace herself. Still, some dirt clung to her throat, prompting an uncontrollable cough.

"Apologies." The voice had lost its unnatural intensity. Yet, it carried a daunting roughness in its feminine tone. "Landing isn't the most discreet act for a Dragon."

A loud thud, followed by a noticeable tremor beneath Stella's soles, marked the end of the dust cloud. Carefully, she opened her eyelids and...

...Her mouth opened outside her control, awe clinging onto her as she stared at the large creature before her.

Carmine scales covered their body while a blanched almond tone spread from the throat, down the neck, the rest hidden under spiky obsidian armor with lilac and lavender cloth accents that cascaded like an ankle-high skirt, protecting their shoulders, chest, and belly while leaving the magnificently muscled limbs and vast, leathery wings exposed, casting a sea of shadow over the young girl. Sturdy, glimmering, burgundy claws, lengthy enough to impale a couple of Stellas to form a Human kebab, sprouted at the tips of their fingers and toes, only less impressive than the rows of sharp, conical teeth hidden between their elongated, crocodilian muzzle. Two amber orbs peered from the top, complemented by the reptile's flowy, imperial red hair behind.

"Who..." Stella's entire being shook as she took a few steps back, almost falling once more. "Are..."

The scaled beast put one massive hand over their shoulder. "Salutations, Human child. Odd that we meet in such unusual circumstances, but we must make do with what we're given." Her blazing eyes shone brighter, narrowing ever so slightly. "I am Queen Malka, ruler of Sayama."

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Oh...

That changed everything...

All that fear was now entirely converted into unadulterated wonder. The first time Stella heard that this forest was ruled by a Dragon queen, her mind ran wild with possibilities of what she was like.

And now that she stood before the real deal? No disappointments here.

...How strange. A familiar sensation blew on her ear...

"Stella?!"

The queen's eyes shifted to something on the Human's side. Was it rel-

"STELLA!!!"

The girl jolted as the childish voice pulled her back from the haze of awe. Back to the dirt, she went.

"Did Yuki-onna make you deaf?" Lien questioned, extending a paw to her, bearing her usual smile. "Living with four senses only isn't too bad, in my experience!"

Stella, once her eyes settled on her packmate, alive and well, took the help to get up so she could pull the canine to the tightest hug she had ever given. "You're here! You're really here!!!" Her cheeks warmed, not by blushing, but by uncontrollable tears.

"'Course, I am!" Lien returned the embrace with equal passion. "You think I'll ever leave you outside my sniff radius?"

The Human chuckled, her heart a racing furnace as she pulled away and cupped the Wolf's face, staring tenderly at her milky eyes. "You silly girl..." Her eyelids closed while she boldly pulled her girlfriend to a kiss. Catharsis settled in as she reveled in shameless indulgence on her beloved's warm, fuzzy, tickly lips.

Time held no meaning once it began.

A loud cough clumsily cut through the mood like a half-broken glass bottle in a bar fight.

"I'm here and well too, for your peace of mind..."

The girl's lips pulled away, still smooching the air as if they didn't accept that it was over. The heat on her face intensified with a flush of shame as she stared at a visibly irritated Baku, a piece of lavender cloth draped around him like a towel held to his chest. Queen Malka must've shared it with him.

"H-Hey!" Stella sheepishly smiled while awkwardly waving. "I-I'm so happy to see you, dude!"

Her eyes moved back to Lien, who was utterly catatonic, save for her flickering tail. Her jaw was almost on the floor.

"Lien?" The Human nudged the canine's shoulder.

"We've kissed so many times..." she whispered with a concerningly thrilling amount of bliss. "But why does this feel so... much better now?"

The comment brought heat to Stella's cheeks and fluttering heart.

...And somewhere else.

"As much as I hate interrupting your courtship..." The Dragon had turned towards the pathetic Yuki-onna in the distance, granting everyone the sight of her tail, as lengthy as she was tall, thick and round at the base, then narrowing as it reached the tip like a natural whip, dragged across the floor. "You must refrain from it while I bring you to your guardian."

The Human's eyes widened in realization. "Asra..." She rapidly ran to the 11'5'' reptile. "Is he okay? Have you seen him?"

The queen's gaze did not shift. "I don't know. I was hoping you would."

"Yuki-onna told me she fought him in the grand city," Stella shared. "Take me there. Please!"

Malka's massive hand opened at her, a simple gesture enough to prompt her mouth to shut. "Soon."

Stella stood quietly as Lien and Gentō imitated her, forming a straight line in waiting for... whatever the queen was waiting for.

Almost a minute later, two guards had appeared from the woods, quickly closing in on the fallen Yūrei as if she were any danger in that pitiful state. One of the soldiers looked like a black bovine with a heavy mane. The other had an odd body structure, more akin to someone like Jakaang, only with a segmented tail at the end of its body and familiar-shaped frontmost limbs. Were those... pincers?

Oh. It was a Scorpion. Those venomous bugs were the bane of everyone's existence in the slums, hiding where one would least expect.

Yet, Stella's curiosity flared immediately. Would the queen be bothered if-

A loud crack behind her annihilated any further drive to pry. Upon rotating her head to see what it was about, she discovered a dent in the ground and a thin dust cloud formed around the Dragon's tail.

"More are on their way," the queen clarified, her wings opening even further. "Time to go, children."

The Baku scoffed, averting his gaze.

"I said what I've said."

Ruthless jab aside, all three jumped on the Dragon's back. Stella clung the highest, her legs hanging from the reptile's shoulders, while Lien clung to her rear, much to her discomfort and comfort.

"This is fun!" the Wolf gushed, practically vibrating behind...

Uh, should I keep that in? Ugh, that didn't come out right, either.

"Kind of..." Stella chuckled, her heart battering with worry for her fellow Human, prompting her to hold a bit too tight on Queen Malka's curved, swept-back horns, previously hidden under her mane.

"Watch it," the Dragon warned as she bent down to carry the Baku in her arms. It should've been expected that he wouldn't be able to latch onto anything.

"Sorry." Stella eased up on her grasp, taking a deep breath. "First time Dragon-riding."

Huh. Why did the term sound familiar...?

"No need to worry, Stella!" Lien reassured her. "I got my first time just a few minutes ago! It's more exciting than I thought! Totally different from Kreef!"

"The Amikiri, correct?" Malka questioned. "I've deployed a few guards to nurse him back to health."

Gentō exhaled in relief, swooning dramatically. "Oh, thank the heavens! Thank you, my magnificent queen, for-"

"Save your breath." The queen bent her knees before her wings spread fully. "Time to go."

Rather than the smooth ascension from Kreef's flight, Malka's take-off was turbulent, to say the least. Her wings flapped, creating vast, strong currents around her as her bigger mass left the ground, picking up speed as she rose past the canopy.

As the Dragon Queen's momentum went unimpeded, smoothly sailing through the wind, the full moon a crown jewel of the nightly horizon, where the grand city of Chikukei stood at the far end, Stella's anxiety quelled, replaced with the shared excitement of her clingy packmate...

...Also, the sweet sting of remembrance came along...

"Oh my god, it's just like How To Train Your Dragon!" She bumped her fists in the air. "I'm fucking Hiccup, motherfucker!!!"

"Language." The Dragon Queen sighed. "The Knight didn't fib about your manners..."

"Damnit, Stella..." she berated herself, fighting the urge to bonk her own head with a hammer. "You're being lame in front of the giant, hot-"

"Hey," Lien's whisper echoed sweetly in Stella's ear.

Stella hummed in acknowledgment, adjusting her composure.

"I'm sorry for leaving you by yourself..." The pup's hold on her chest tightened. Her words came out as a guilty whimper. "Ms. Queen told me you'd be alright. But I'm still sad about it..."

Stella's heart clenched, the urge to pet the brave yet sensitive huntress dueling with the creeping fear of what would happen if she let go of the fire-breather's horns.

...But then, her rational brain picked up on something else. She was too hung up on meeting the Queen of Sayama and finding out Lien and Gentō were safe to ask the simplest of questions: Where the fuck was Lien while she fought Yuki-onna for her life?

"Wait, the Queen asked you to not help me?" Her eyes darted between the pup and the flying reptile. Her tone carried a demand for an explanation, although she tried her best to not sound rude to the one between them and a deadly fall.

"You can place the blame on me," Malka confessed, her voice neutral. "I had approached the clearing while you were charging blindly at the Icy Sorceress. Lien was at the crater, trying to remove the frozen Baku when I intervened and defrosted him."

"Saved by Queen Malka herself!" Gentō giggled. "If that's not fate's sign of my greatness, I don't know what-"

Stella's words cut through his drivel impatiently. "Why the hell didn't you save me? What, did you only put those flames at the edges and call it a day?"

"I have heard much about you through The Silver Knight's daily reports, especially when he returned to the castle amidst the bi-weekly patrols," the Dragon presented her explanation without a moment of hesitation to gather her thoughts. "Take this not as an offense, but I was afraid his opinions of you could've been... biased."

Stella couldn't disagree much with that. Asra could be a tad too optimistic and dramatic.

"When I saw you and Yuki-onna battling to your last breath, I detected the glaring problem with the Yūrei's Saniya, drawing the conclusion that the outcome of your battle was already decided." Queen Malka tilted her head, her amber eye meeting Stella's. "Although your foolish taunting brought greater drive to her, making me reevaluate my opinion until your final struggle against her sickle."

Stella blushed, averting her gaze while a sheepish smile was all she could muster.

"I took the opportunity to evaluate your morals, to see if you truly value a Monoke's life, even one who you have a strong reason to eliminate. Meanwhile, I've kept myself to the skies with Lien and Gentō, keeping an eye on the fight with my heightened sight. Perks of my species."

The Human's hold on the horns loosened, her fingers fiddling with them as her mind was wrought with uncertainty. "You got lucky. I could've killed her." Her entire body trembled. "I wanted to."

Queen Malka's eyes returned to their objective, the distance now halved. Stella wondered if the Dragon could fly faster and was purposefully prolonging this trip for the conversation. She felt less of the wind blowing on her face, just as she reflected on it.

"Why didn't you?" the queen questioned.

Exhausted mentally, the girl's mouth uttered the first thing that came to mind, even if it was nonsense.

"There's no noble reason for it, if that's what you want to hear. I just don't like killing. I never killed anyone, period. I like fighting a lot, especially when I'm beating the crap out of everyone who tries to force themselves on others because they think they're all that." She sighed. "But taking a life? It makes me sick just thinking about it."

The Dragon hummed. "Good enough." And then, she suddenly picked up speed when her wings flapped once, forcing Stella to hold on to her horns tight and proving the fledgling theory.

For someone so big, the queen sure was sneaky.

Stella respected that.