Roar of Dragons

[Xander – 13 years]

Sig and the others wanted to go for one last hay ride for the season, even though they're on straw bales instead of hay bales. Today's the final day of the Autumn Festival, and that means it's the last day for hay rides until next autumn. Except that the straw bales have blankets on them because of how cold it is, so while it'll still be a little pokey, it won't be as bad. That makes it a little bit different from the hay rides around Halloween.

The blankets might make them tolerable.

"You can sit on it to feel," the woman working the rides entrance tells me. "That's actually why we have the bale there, so people who aren't familiar with what it feels like can know if it's something they're comfortable with or not. The blanket's the same kind we use on the rides."

I examine the straw bale with a blanket covering it. The blanket is a more rough one, and it covers the top and front of the bale. A square bale, even though it's rectangular on all sides rather than square. That still doesn't make sense to me even after Carter, Knox, Tate, and the others all explained that it's more of just terminology rather than properly descriptive.

It might be fine since I'm wearing jeans and a hoodie, but what if it's not? Though that's why I asked if it was okay if I tried sitting on it to know how it feels. Not all textures feel great even with clothes between me and them.

"Okay," I set my plate of funnel cake on the air and sit on the covered straw bale as Trenton moves from my shoulder to my hands. "Hm…"

Maybe I can put up with it if I try not to think about it during the ride.

"How long is the ride?" I ask.

"They come in different lengths," the worker informs me. "The shortest one is ten minutes, then we have a fifteen-minute one, a twenty-minute one, and a thirty-minute one."

Knowing my friends as well as I do, I'm certain they'll want the one taking half an hour. Ten minutes would be easier for me to tolerate this for. Should I just ride it separately from my friends? But part of the reason I came here was so I could go on a ride with them. That was the main reason I came here.

So going on a different ride would go against that. At the same time, however, I'm not sure if I can handle this for half an hour.

"Okay," I get up from the bale and move Trenton back to my shoulder before grabbing my plate. "I need to think about some stuff. Thanks for letting me try that."

"No worries!" She smiles. "Like I said, we have the bale set up there so people can see what it feels like if they're not sure. You do need a parent or guardian to sign for you to go on the ride, though."

A parent or guardian isn't necessary to enter the farm's festival zone, just to do certain things in it.

"My parents are here," I tell her. "They were admiring the cornucopia displays in the shop."

Not ones made from goat horns, just baskets shaped kind of like them. That's how the farm is displaying some of the produce from their final natural harvests for sale. They have some greenhouses, so they'll still have some produce throughout winter. Most of what they'll be selling in winter are jams and sauces, though. They'll also make money off of sleigh rides.

Aurum said that Solaris wants to draw a sleigh for sleigh rides at the Martinses' ranch, but he's not allowed to because he's too young still. He has to wait until he's at least one year old, since that's when he'll be an adult and strong enough to pull a sleigh with people on it.

I think I'll do a sleigh ride at Carter's before doing one elsewhere, since Carter's my friend. But they don't do hay/straw rides there for festivals and stuff, which is why I'm here instead of there.

"Xander!" A voice cheerfully calls out. "You're here?"

I look over to Sig, who's approaching with Connor, Jake, Sam, Isaac, and Niko. Being the only living family they like, Ms. Rachel is hosting Niko and his parents at their house this week. Niko's parents are staying in the spare bedroom, while Niko's staying on the couch in the basement. The Autumn Festival is a celebration where people spend time with family and friends they like, sort of like the Winter Festival, so it makes sense they're visiting.

I'd thought that Sig and Ms. Rachel might go to visit them, but they're hosting instead.

"Hi," I greet the group as they approach. "Yeah. I think I'm here. I'm not astral projecting, am I?"

"Nope!" Jake answers.

"Okay."

"Funnel cake?" Niko asks.

"You can get them from a food stand over that way," I point with my free hand. "It's really good."

"Isn't it a bit cold for funnel cake?" He asks.

"No," I answer. "You can even get them on a plate designed to keep them warm if you want, though those cost more. Especially since they're disposable paper plates. They're made from the bark of a tree with fire magics, though, so they ain't as expensive. The warmth is just a part of their nature rather than an enchantment."

"Xander likes funnel cake," Sig tells him. "It doesn't surprise me in the slightest that he's got some. No strawberry stuff on it?"

"They were out of the strawberry compote," I tell him. "And they let me try a sample of the blueberry compote, but it didn't taste good so I just got powdered sugar and honey instead."

"Ah," he says. "Did you come for the hay rides?"

"Which one are you doing?"

"The big one!" He answers. "It's starting in about five minutes, if they've got enough people for it. I think?"

"Correct," the woman working here says. "We need at least ten people for the ride. There are seven of you, plus guardians."

"Does it have to be a guardian?" Isaac asks. "Or can it be a guardian for someone we're with? My dad's not here. We came with Mr. Thompson and Mr. Richardson."

"That works," she answers. "We're not looking for legal guardians, necessarily, just the guardian of the group."

"I don't think Dad wants to do the ride," Connor says. "Or Mr. Richardson. Uh… do you have four others? Wait. Would they need to be on the ride, or just to approve it? They didn't have to ride it with us at the other farm for the Halloween spooky hay rides, but I guess it makes sense you might be different."

"Four?" Niko asks. "There are seven of us."

"Xander doesn't do hay rides," the others say in unison.

As much as I don't want to do the half-hour one, I'll probably be able to sit next to Sig for it. That's better than hoping for there to be six others for a ten-minute one and not getting to sit beside Sig for it.

"I was thinking of maybe joining this one," I tell them. "I tried sitting on the bale with the blanket and I think I can handle that for the ride. Maybe."

"That's seven," she says. "And it's just to approve the ride, they don't have to ride. But if you misbehave, know that you'll get banned from future ones. And no, we don't have any others. We aren't too busy today. This is the only ride we know for sure has anyone interested, and that's because of you all."

"Mom and Dad told me to see if I wanted to do a ride," I say. "And if I did, they'd both join. So we have only nine people. Oh. I think Dad just texted me."

I pull out my phone to find a text from Dad asking me where I am. I let him know that I'm at the spot for the rides and the one my friends are going on is starting in around five minutes.

"He says they'll be right over," I let them know after Dad gets clarification that I do want to go on the ride.

Only sort of, but going on a ride with Sig for half an hour is better than going on a ride without him. The other guests on it being my friends only makes it better. A ride that's shorter also has no guarantee to happen.

Which means either I go on this ride, or I might not get to do a ride at all. Since the woman working the station and the young man acting as the driver for the wagon are both liked by the not-real fairies, it should be fine to ride it.

Except that there's not ten of us planning on going on the ride, which means they can't do the ride.

"Looks like we've got ten," the woman says.

"Um…" I say. "I know it's bad to correct adults, but there are only nine of us for the ride. Me, my five friends, my parents, and Niko."

"And your bear!" She smiles.

"He's not a person, though."

"Xander," Dad leans down to whisper to me. "She's fudging the rules to let us on with one fewer person than required."

Is that something she's allowed to do? I don't want her getting into trouble. But if I don't accept her bending the rules, then my friends won't get to go on the ride. They really want to, too. I can feel it. But she might get into trouble. Mr. Thompson and Mr. Richardson don't want to do the ride, so it would also be wrong to be the reason one of them does.

"Is it okay if we take a minute?" Mom quietly asks the worker. "Xander's getting worked up and might need a few to calm down. He doesn't like it when rules get bent, but we should be fine in a few minutes."

"That's fine," the woman tells her. "The schedule isn't strict when we're slow like this."

It's still wrong. It's still wrong. It's still wrong. But if I don't, my friends will be upset and disappointed. Upset and disappointed. Upset and disappointed.

[Greyson – 11 years]

If I tweak the lines like this, that should improve the flow of magic more efficiently than if I adjusted the alloy a little. Just as I finish making the adjustments and reinstalling the part, my phone beeps. It's only eleven in the morning, who would be texting me right now? Dad said I just have to be home by four to start getting ready for our big family dinner for the Autumn Festival's close and no other restrictions.

Oh! It might be Cody or Finn! We've been texting a lot since this break began. I did mute the group chat and let them know I was doing that until I finished here for today, though, so it's not that. One of the might have messaged me directly, though, if they thought something was really funny and wanted me to see it sooner.

Even though I told them I want focus time.

I roll out from under the mega-computer, wipe my hands clean, and grab my phone. It's not from one of my friends.

[Best Bellman Boy]: Wanna do a snowy hay ride? We need ten but only have nine.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

Ooh! Hay rides! I did one earlier this week, but I'm always happy to do more! They're really fun, especially when it's through a snowy landscape! But why is S.G. asking me instead of one of his millions of friends?

[Fluffy Griffin King]: Sure! Where at and when?

He lets me know the place, and the ride's apparently supposed to be starting right around now. That must be why he's asking – so they have a tenth person for an immediate ride. His other friends would take at least twenty minutes or so to reach the orchard they're at, but I can teleport and be there instantly.

I let him know I'll be there after I get my stuff on, then I change outfits, pull on my coat, beanie, and gloves. Once those are on, I grab my backpack and pull it on as I teleport to the orchard.

"Hello," I greet an employee. "I was told there's a hay ride in need of a tenth person. Where's it at?"

The employee gives me directions, and I walk over to a group of eleven people, including Xander. He's panicking right now for some reason and is rocking back and forth while clutching Trenton against his chest really hard.

Why's he levitating a plate with a mostly-eaten piece of funnel cake?

"Hi!" I say. "Is this the group for the hay ride? There are eleven of you, though, and I was told nine."

"Dad and Mr. Richardson don't like hay rides," Connor tells me. "So it's nine unless one of them agreed to join us, but we didn't get a chance for that yet. How'd you know we needed one more?"

"S.G. told me!" I answer. "Guess since I can teleport, it'd be easier for me to get here than someone else!"

"The rides aren't uncomfortable for you?" Sam asks. "Aren't you sensitive to texture, too? Wait. Now that I think about it-" Sam looks at Xander, who's still breathing quickly and is looking a little pale. "Uh… won't that be a problem for you, too?"

"I've got special blankets just for hay rides!" I say. "They're plusher than the thinner ones they stick on them for the snowy rides by many times. I've only been told twice I can't use my own, but most places allow it."

I stare at the woman very clearly in charge of letting people on the ride.

"It's allowed here," she chuckles. "Some people even bring a blanket to cover themselves with for the ride."

"Xander?" Mr. Caldwell quietly says. "Greyson's here for the ride, so we've got ten."

"Do I have time to get hot chocolate?" I ask the employee. "There's a station selling it right over there. And are we allowed to have hot chocolate on the ride here?"

A snowy hay ride isn't complete without hot chocolate to drink while on it.

"You are," she answers. "As long as you do your best not to spill it. And yes, you do. However… as you're not a part of this group, we'll need permission from your parent or guardian."

She must consider me separate because I'm a lot younger than the others and I showed up separately. That's despite it being clear I was called in to make up numbers.

"He's Xander's cousin," S.G. tells her. "Well, second cousin, but close enough. So that means he'd fall under Mr. Caldwell's jurisdiction."

"Yeah!" I pull out my phone. "Look! Here's a picture of me and Xander from Tuesday."

The picture I show her has me giving the camera a peace sign, while Xander's just staring blankly at it. We're in the woods outside of the workshop, and Puffy is lying on the ground in front of us, looking at the camera. His fur seems to blend into the layer of snow on the ground, making it difficult to tell where the snow ends and he begins.

That was true even in-person. Blizzard wolves are amazing.

Convincing Xander to allow me to take the picture was a task and a half and involved a bribe of three cheesecakes and a hundred and eighty cookies.

"That seems like a random picture," S.G. says. "Xander doesn't like pictures that are taken just for the sake of it…"

Normally, it has to be to show off something or as a photo memory of something. Like when he's baking or playing with friends. A picture where we're posed for a picture is definitely not something he likes. That's why the bribe was so big that it even included three hundred caramels.

"I wanted a picture with Puffy," I tell him. "But Puffy refused to let me take a picture of him unless Xander was in it, so I asked Xander. And Xander, I was planning on dropping this off at your place tonight, but I finished making it this morning. Here!"

I pull out the first box from the bribe and hand it to Xander, who pulls off his backpack to stick it inside.

Then the next box of cheesecake, then the next. Then the boxes of cookies. Then the boxes of caramels. Then the box containing three hundred gummy worms. All of them disappear into his backpack with ease, though he doesn't say a word.

I can tell he's happy, though. His face lets me know that. It's okay for him to not say anything, since he got overwhelmed and is probably going to be nonverbal for a little bit. I get that way sometimes, too.

"Okay!" I say. "I'm gonna go get my hot chocolate now!"

The others all get hot chocolate or apple cider, and S.G. gets an apple cider for Xander. They're all in to-go cups rather than regular ones, so spilling them on the ride would be difficult unless someone dropped theirs. When we all return to where Xander and his parents are waiting for us, the woman working the station is looking at something on her phone and has nerves radiating out of her.

I use magic to take a peek at what she's looking at. It looks liked she searched "Xander and Greyson kids using spatial magic bags are they cousins?". Ah. One of those types of people.

At least she got results which confirmed we are cousins. Also that we're the magitech engineers behind Xanson Technologies. She's currently watching the clip of Xander one-shotting a leviathan.

I tried doing that and got chased off by the beast.

How did she not already know who Xander is, though? He's been in the news a lot and he's local. Did she not see any of the articles about the Barbecue With a Dragon (and Other Magical Creatures)?

An edit to her feeds might be in order, so that she sees local news and learns about the glorious god walking among us.

We're allowed onto the wagon (I'm counted as part of Xander's group since he is my cousin), and I make sure to put down my blanket. Xander sits on a different part, but he uses one of my hay ride blankets to cover his seat as well. He also uses one over him for warmth, and snuggles a little against S.G.

All of the couples here are snuggling someone, while everyone is under my blankets (though not everyone is sitting on one).

As they snuggle and sip their mulled cider, I sip my hot chocolate and watch the area we pass through for the ride. We initially go through part of the fruit orchard, the trees bare and fruit and leaves but with a layer of snow on them. A heavy snowfall occurred a few days ago so it'll be awhile before it all melts, especially with the temperatures having dropped to be in the 30s regularly now.

It makes the fields sparkle a little, but soon, we're in a lightly-wooded area. Everything apart from the trail is covered in snow. Not all animals are in hiding, though. Winter-attuned ones are out.

Like the hare I just saw hopping through the snow. It's not an icicle hare but still looks similar. While I'm not entirely sure, I can tell it has some sort of snow magics in it. That bird looks almost as if it's made entirely out of snow.

The stream we pass by isn't frozen, but icicles dangle above from branches overhanging it. A snow-white bird dives down and grabs something from the water without pausing for even a moment. The fish is small and minnow-like, but with a body resembling ice.

Oh! The winter butterflies are out early this year! They don't normally start showing themselves until closer to the solstice. With black markings on ice-clear wings with blue accents and slim bodies resembling icicles, they're really beautiful creatures. Their wings are also useful in certain potions and alloys.

Though I never grab any from someone's farm or orchard. Going out to the woods to catch them is much better. It reduces the chances of getting yelled at or messing up a farm or orchard's system. The butterflies are much more abundant in the wild, too.

When I look at Xander, his gaze is fixed on something in the woods. I can't spot anything there, which means it's likely something invisible or imperceptible even to my magics. Or it's magic which has his attention.

I return to looking around. A half-hour hay ride in a place like this is always full of beauty and I don't want to miss a single moment more than necessary.

[Sig – 13 years]

I'm beyond grateful that Greyson was available and willing to join us. Xander calmed down a lot after his cousin arrived to act as our tenth member. It was easy to tell that the thought of Mr. Thompson or Mr. Richardson becoming the tenth was stressing him out more. He looked at them and his panic increased.

I think he didn't want to make someone who didn't want to go on a ride do so just to fill in the numbers. Thank goodness I had Greyson's number, or I'm not sure what would have happened. Xander probably would have ended up not going on the ride, while I'm sure the employees wouldn't have minded letting us go in a smaller group than usual.

It was a really nice ride, and I got a lot of good pictures. Xander seemed to be watching something out of our range of perception, but I think he enjoyed it, too.

Unfortunately, he hasn't said a word since his panic. The fact that he cuddled me a little during the ride was surprising and nice, but I wish he was feeling good enough to talk again. It's time for us to split up and head home now.

"See you tomorrow?" I tell Xander, who just gives me a hug. "Alright."

I return the hug, and Xander nestles his head against my shoulder for a moment. That tells me all I need to know.

"Let us know if you're feeling well enough to hang out tomorrow, alright?" I ask. "Remember, it's my place, four o'clock."

Tomorrow is when we're all setting up our Christmas trees. Mr. Thompson's invited me over to help him since Connor and I became friends, then we'd have a big feast. I won't be doing that this year, since I've got to help Aunt Rachel with a tree. We'll still be doing a big dinner after – but at our place rather than Connor's. The whole friend group and their dads are coming.

Xander and his parents and grandparents are supposed to come as well. We technically don't have enough room for all of us, but Niko and his parents are leaving this evening and us kids will be in the basement for most of it. Things should be fine with that arrangement.

Xander starts pulling away and when I look at him, he suddenly gives me a kiss. It's only our second one and catches me as off-guard as our first. I manage to recover in time to return the kiss, then he hurries over to his parents. He looks back at me and waves one of Trenton's paws, then turns back around and leaves with his parents.

After a few moments of watching him leave, I turn and look at my friends.

"You know that he probably teleported boxes of cookies into our backpacks, don't you?" I ask. "Mine got a little heavier there at the end."

"Is that what happened?" Niko asks. "I noticed him casting some sort of spell, but it was really fast."

"Yeah," Jake snorts. "Guess he didn't feel up to handing out a box to each of us so just teleported them in."

"It's time for us to head out," Mr. Thompson says. "Sig and Niko have to be back soon."

Rather than doing the big festival meal as dinner, we're doing it for a slightly-late lunch instead. We say our goodbyes to those not coming with us, then we, Connor, and Jake get into Mr. Thompson's car.

Once we're dropped off, Niko and I head inside to the smell of turkey, stuffing, and more. Aunt Rachel and Aunt Tracey are putting the food out on a table set up for this, while Uncle Kyle is carving the turkey.

"Need help?" I ask.

"Nope," Aunt Rachel answers. "We've got this covered. Why don't you put your things away and get cleaned up? We're just about ready."

Niko and I drop our things off downstairs and change into more comfortable indoor clothes, then return upstairs. The turkey is the last thing set out on the table, then it's time for us to serve ourselves.

Until Connor and I became friends, I only ever just went to the park to get food for the big festival meal. The town hosts it every day during the festival in the community center there, and it's batch-made food on a catering level. Not a high-end one, so it's not amazing, but it's still good enough to satisfy.

The after Connor and I became friends, I'd go to his place for it, since my parents never did anything for the meals. It's tradition to do one big meal to finish off the harvest seasons and welcome in winter, even for those not farmers. With it being just the two of them (and me), they don't make as much food as for a bigger group.

A Final Harvest Meal for five has a lot more food, it seems. At Mr. Thompson's, there was turkey, mashed potatoes, rolls, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and green bean casserole for the main meal. Some of the leftovers came home with me, while they ate the rest for the next several days.

All of that is here, but in bigger quantities. There's also corn casserole, sweet potato casserole, and succotash. I know we're getting both pumpkin pie and pecan pie for dessert, while Mr. Thompson would let Connor and me choose ahead of time which one it was (usually pumpkin pie).

I haven't had sweet potato casserole or succotash before, so grab a little of each of those to try them out. Everything else, I grab plenty of for my first serving. Before eating, I snap a picture and send it to Xander.

If he's not returned to being verbal yet but he's doing okay, this will get me a picture response… at some point. But I'm also kind of happy to have so much to eat for the meal, too. And to have so many people to eat it with.

Eating it with Connor and Mr. Thompson always felt great, and he does feel like a dad to me. They feel like family… but it still feels different to eat this with Aunt Rachel and the others. A lot different. It makes me really happy.

And tears start streaming down my cheeks.

"Seb?" Niko asks. "You okay?"

"Y-yeah," I answer. "I'm just… really happy."

Niko frowns for a moment.

"Sig," Aunt Rachel says, and I look at her. "Come over here."

I move over to my aunt, who puts her plate on the coffee table, then pulls me in for a hug without getting up from the couch. That makes me practically fall onto her.

"Oof!" I grunt. "Aunt Racheeeel!"

"Feeling better?" She chuckles.

"Yeah," I answer, then hug her back. "Thanks, Aunt Rachel."

"Alright," she says. "Now get back to eating. If you don't have seconds, I'm going to wonder if I need to take you to the hospital."

"Seconds?" I ask. "I could probably manage thirds!"

Once our lunch is over, we hang out and talk for awhile, then Uncle Kyle serves pie to all of us, with extra whipped cream on mine, just as I request. It's only after we've portioned out leftovers and Niko and his parents have left that I get a response from Xander.

His dad must have taken the picture, since Xander and Ms. Katie are working on baking pies in it. Considering the time, they probably did their festival dinner at regular dinnertime rather than earlier. Though those pies look really good.

[Xander]: These ones are for dessert for tonight, but I was wondering if I should make some for tomorrow's celebration?

"Xander wants to know if he should bring pies for dessert tomorrow," I tell Aunt Rachel.

"If he wants," she answers. "But he doesn't need to."

"It's Xander," I say. "He'll probably be making them whether he brings them or not."

"Fair enough," she chuckles. "He can bring the pies if he wants, then."

"Alright!" I text Xander to let him know. "And Aunt Rachel?"

"Yes?"

"Thanks for being awesome."