NOVEL NEXT Chapter 18: Mom Time
Lucillia
I want fooood~, gimme foooood~
*YOINK*
NYOOO!!! Don't take it away!! Bring it back right now!!!
"...Lia?" [Silvania]
"Hai." [Lucillia]
"Can you stop struggling for ten seconds? Please? For me?" [Silvania]
"Hmmmmmmm, nope." [Lucillia]
"Haah....haah...GAHH, I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!! SOMEONE DO SOMETHING!!!" [Silvania]
*CREEEEEE-*
"KEHEHEHE, KWAHAHAHA, MWAAAAHAHAHAAA!!! FREEDOM!!!" [Silvania]
"Uhm, eeep." [Lucillia]
Uhhh, hello? Is anyone out there? My sister's broken again and I don't know how to fix her. She just started cackling out of nowhere and ran through this big, giant crack in the air that came out of nowhere. Oh, and she dragged me with her after I got captured. So uh, yeah, I think we could use some help.
*insert inter-dimensional travel elevator music here even though the actual process would be instantaneous because they're travelling faster than the speed of liiiight~*
Oh look, we're home. That was fast.
"Welcome home, girls." [Corinna]
"AHAHA, AAAHAH-ACK!!!" [Silvania]
"That's an odd way to greet your mother." [Corinna]
Uhh, is she falling? I think she's falling? That means I'm falling too!! AND THE FOOD!! NOT THE FOOOD!!!
"Shouldn't you be worrying about yourself first?" [Corinna]
"Dismount." [Lucillia]
"Ooh, good landing." [Corinna]
"There is no need to worry about the food, Lia. I have it right here." [Lunestia]
Hmm, is it just me or is her tail smoking? Also, there's a big tail mark on Big Sis' forehead. Should I be concerned?
...
Nah. I'll just move on.
"Yay!" [Lucillia]
"Hold it." [Corinna]
"Booo." [Lucillia]
"I'll let you eat in a second, so just tell me this first. What did you do to your sister?" [Corinna]
"Hmmmm...exist?" [Lucillia]
That's really all I did, I swear! I'm innocent!
"That sounds about right. Okay, you can go now." [Corinna]
"Yay!" [Lucillia]
"Actually, wait." [Corinna]
"Ughhh." [Lucillia]
"Hold on now. I was just going to ask you to wait for everyone else so we could all eat together." [Corinna]
"Finneee." [Lucillia]
Grumble grumble, why can't I just eat everything so we don't have to wait for everyone else, grumble grumble...
Blehhh, now I'm bored. Why is everything so boringgg?
What is the meaning of life when it always returns to boredom? Why do we continue to live if we are not entertained?
"Hey, stop that. No existential crises until you've outlived a planet." [Corinna]
"Then when does this planet end?" [Lucillia]
"In a very long time." [Corinna]
"Blehhh, that's boringgg." [Lucillia]
"Calm down, you can hang out with me for now while your sisters do their thing." [Corinna]
"Eh? Mama's not busy?" [Lucillia]
"Why are you so surprised? Even I can finish my work early." [Corinna]
"But Mama's a paper dragon. Don't you need to be around paper to live?" [Lucillia]
"Excuse me child, but do I look like I'm made of paper?" [Corinna]
"Mmmm, sometimes. It's only when you're busy, though." [Lucillia]
I swear, every time I see Mama, she's always covered in paper. Either that, or she's holding a bunch of paper, or reading a big stack of paper. Sometimes, she even brings a bunch of paper when we're eating dinner.
"Well, I think I should take that as a sign that we don't see each other enough...alright, starting from now, you'll be hanging out with me." [Corinna]
"Eh?" [Lucillia]
"Mmm, that's right. I always forget because of how independent you girls are, but it's pretty normal for little dragons like you to stay in the nest for a couple hundred years. I figured Mira would be enough, but I guess you have been feeling a little lonely, huh?" [Corinna]
"I'm not lonely." [Lucillia]
"Then why have you been stuck to my tail this whole time?" [Corinna]
"'Cuz I like it?" [Lucillia]
"Then that's all the more reason for us to hang out more." [Corinna]
Hmm, hmmmmmm, alright, I have come to a conclusion! I accept these conditions!
"Sweetie, you're supposed to say that after negotiating the terms, not when you've only just heard them." [Corinna]
"But I like them the way they are." [Lucillia]
"Alright, that's enough of you flattering me. Let's go check on your sisters." [Corinna]
"WAIT!" [Lucillia]
"Hm? What's up?" [Corinna]
"Do the swingy thingy!" [Lucillia]
"Sure. Make sure to hold on tight." [Corinna]
"Ehehe~" [Lucillia]
One adventure later
"Girls? Are you done yet? Any longer and your sister will start chewing things again." [Corinna]
"*omma nomma nom*" [Lucillia]
"Never mind, it's already begun." [Corinna]
"We're good. Silvie just came back to life a minute ago." [Caelenia]
"Good. Let's have lunch, then." [Corinna]
Another adventure later
The dragons all gathered and sat themselves at a table outside.
"*you already know what goes here*" [Lucillia]
"Munch, munch, gulp, sooooo, what did we learn~?" [Caelenia]
"...Please don't talk to me." [Silvania]
Unlike the other dragons that were happily nomming away, this one chose to lay on the table half dead. Overall, the meal was quite similar to one that happened recently, only now the small dragon and the mother joined the sisters.
The small one was sitting on the mother's lap while trying to take her sister's portion of the lunch after she finished her own. Of course, she made it no further than her mother's arm as their tight embrace served as a leash. She then retaliated by chomping on her mother's arm.
Fortunately, the mother decided to wear short sleeves that day.
"Hey, stop that. Use your chew toy if you want to bite something." [Corinna]
"But I wanna bite Mama." [Lucillia]
"You can't. It'll ruin your teeth if you do it for too long. Here, open up so I can check." [Corinna]
"Ahhhhhhhhhh-" [Lucillia]
True to her word, the mother inspected each and every tooth within her daughter's mouth. No fractures were detected, only bits of sandwich could be found.
"Alright, I don't see anything which means you should be fine. But remember, no more biting me." [Corinna]
"Ehhhhh? But I wannaaa." [Lucillia]
"I'm not saying you can't bite people, I'm just saying you can't bite me in particular. You can bite your sisters all you want, especially your big sister when she comes home." [Corinna]
"Why can't I bite Mama? I wanna bite Mama!" [Lucillia]
"Because my scales are way too hard for your teeth to handle. Your sisters are much younger, so their scales aren't nearly as dangerous for you." [Corinna]
"So when can I bite you?" [Lucillia]
"When you're...as old as I am...maybe." [Corinna]
"How old is Mama?" [Lucillia]
"More than you can count." [Corinna]
The little one took that as a challenge, so she started counting in her head. That is, until she got distracted by a butterfly, lost count, and went back to trying to steal her sister's sandwiches.
She didn't chomp on her mother this time, so the mother ignored it and finished her own portion of lunch. She then drained her cup of tea and stood up with the child in hand, literally.
"If you'll excuse me, girls, I'll be taking your little sister for some bonding time. Do your best to revive your other little sister fully, and don't blow up the house again." [Corinna]
"Kay~, but you know, Mother, you always say 'again' as if I was even alive when that happened." [Caelenia]
So said the middle child whose alibi was quite accurate.
"Hm, Luna? Your defense?" [Corinna]
"The culprit of that event is currently not present." [Lunestia]
The next defendant made her claim with the usual stoic face, and the claim itself was certainly plausible. However...
"Really now? I seem to remember seeing a rainbow sheep appear somewhere in the midst of all that. It was quite fluffy." [Corinna]
"..." [Lunestia]
In an unusual turn of events, the calm and collected one did not have an immediate answer. Only with significant hesitation did she offer a rebuttal.
"That...was not my fault. It was Solis who started it." [Lunestia]
"Really? The same Solis that was completely attached to your tail tried to blow up her beloved sister? Come on now, be honest with me. The mystery has gone on long enough." [Corinna]
In reality, the mystery was solved the moment the mother returned home that day, but it was a rare moment where she could tease her children, so why not?
Plus, seeing her oldest behave like a child again almost brought tears to her eyes from the burst of nostalgia. This entire conversation actually brought back so many memories of the girls' childhoods that the mother had to wrap things up quickly or else she would have to deal with the awkward situation of crying in front of them.
Fortunately, the oldest was about to finally come clean about what happened.
"Forgive me Mother, it was me. I blew up the house. The rainbow sheep was something I found in the forest, and when I brought it home, I may have spent too much time fluffing it as Solis became very jealous and tried to take it away. One thing led to another, and, well, I may have overdone it." [Lunestia]
'Twas one of the incredibly rare moments in which the oldest child behaved so meekly. So rare in fact, that the middle child's eyes were practically popping out of their sockets.
The mother on the other hand had yet another burst of nostalgia and rewarded her daughter with some headpats-
"Well done. You finally came forward and told me the truth after a measly twenty thousand years. Mwah~, and there's no need to be so afraid of showing this side of yourself, dear. It's quite adorable." [Corinna]
-and perhaps a kiss or two.
Fortunately for her, the only ones to witness this moment were her sisters and her mother. The youngest sister had fallen asleep due to food coma and the warm embrace of their mother's arms, the second youngest was still half-dead, and the third one was experiencing too much shock to properly register what just happened.
In other words, the only one who actually bore witness to it all was her mother which meant her status as the cool older sister was preserved.
"And Silvie, don't put yourself down so much, you did really well for your first time babysitting alone, mkay? It takes time and practice to get good at anything, and you'll have plenty of both along the line. Just hang in there, okay?" [Corinna]
"...kay." [Silvania]
"Good. Cheer up now, alright? Mwah~." [Corinna]
And with that, the mother and her youngest daughter left the scene.
The fishy maid quickly followed after grabbing a barrel of juice as well as the child's cup.
.....
The three relocated to the living room when the little one finally woke up from her nap.
"Fwahhh~. Hweh? Where am I? Who am I? WHY AM I?!" [Lucillia]
"You are my adorable menace to society, and we are in the living room. As for your last question, first of all I have no idea that that's supposed to mean, and second, use your indoor voice when we're indoors." [Corinna]
"Sowwy." [Lucillia]
"As long as you understand. So, what do you want to do today?" [Corinna]
"Hmmmmm, I dunno. Mama can pick! Or Mira!" [Lucillia]
Unexpectedly, or perhaps it was to be expected, but the child did not provide a proper response. As a result, the mother put a finger on her chin and somewhat resembled the image of a certain yellow face. The fish on the hand poured a cup of juice.
"How about we practice some magic? I'm sure you've been quite eager to try things out after your last attempt with it." [Corinna]
"Can I blow stuff up?" [Lucillia]
"As long as it's not the house or something alive, then yes." [Corinna]
"Woooo." [Lucillia]
"I thought you'd be more excited. Why was that so monotone?" [Corinna]
"Mmmmm, blowing things up is only fun if it's other people." [Lucillia]
"I suppose, but you won't be making many friends that way." [Corinna]
"I have Mama, so it's okay." [Lucillia]
"That's very sweet of you, but you forgot about your sisters again, and your aunt, and Mira, and everyone else you've met." [Corinna]
"Them too." [Lucillia]
"Okay, back to the main topic. Blowing stuff up isn't the only thing you can do with magic you know, but if you aren't that excited for it, we can still do something else." [Corinna]
"*sip*" [Lucillia]
The little dragon stuck to her role of moral support as usual, so the mother dragon turned to the fish instead.
"Mira? Your thoughts?" [Corinna]
"If I may, Your Majesty, it is becoming increasingly difficult to dress Her Highness as her wingspan continues to grow. It would be much more convenient if she learned how to put away her extra appendages." [Mira]
"You know what, I completely forget about that. Alrighty then, Lia, listen up!" [Corinna]
"(hai)." [Lucillia]
The child had given herself a lesson in vacuum sealing by sucking enough air ftom her cup to 'attach' it to her mouth.1Even if ya say ain't dun it, I know ya dun did it as a kid!
"First of all, put the cup down." [Corinna]
"(kay). *POP*" [Lucillia]
"Second, your wings and tail weren't always there, but you can move them quite naturally, yes?" [Corinna]
"Mmm!" [Lucillia]
"Now take any of them and try tucking it into your body. You may have to squeeze a bit." [Corinna]
The next few minutes were spent with the little dragon flapping around as her wings refused to cooperate. On the bright side, she made it a few centimeters off her mother's lap before she gave up.
"Mama! They're broken!" [Lucillia]
"Hmm, I'll help you just this once." [Corinna]
Mama dragon gently took hold of one of the child's wings and WHAMMED it back into her, well, back.
As if it was magic, which it technically was, the wing disappeared without a trace.
The child, of course, was quite intrigued by this phenomenon and flapped her remaining wing repeatedly to convince herself it was not a dream.
"Why did it work for Mama but not me?!" [Lucillia]
"Because I've been doing this a lot longer than you have. Plus, you've only just started, you know. Try again and get more practice, it's the only way to get better." [Corinna]
"Kay." [Lucillia]
Some more trials and tribulations, a few grunts here and there, and even a couple awkward, one-winged mini-flights took place. But by the end of it, the child's efforts were not in vain for she had once again become a wingless dragon!
The tail still remained, though.
The tail always remains.
