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“Oh? He smells like Teeba does he?" The large drake Neebis inquired and gave Luke a judgmental look. “I wonder why that is."

With a nervous chuckle, Luke ran his fingers through his hair and shook his head. “She gave me a ride into town because my truck died," he explained, but felt like the drake didn't completely believe him when he raised his eye ridge skeptically.

“You two must be close," Neebis said critically before shuffling his wings. “Not many dragons let humans ride them, unless they are VERY close friends."

“It wasn't my first choice," Luke replied softly. Walking up the hill towards the house and pool on Teeba's property, he couldn't help but feel like he was being marched toward an interrogation. With a glance over his shoulder, he caught sight of Teeba and the teal dragoness, Reevian, entering her barn to begin preparing dinner, the grey-and-purple dragoness pausing just long enough to give him a reassuring nod. Beside him pranced Reeva, a small hatchling no taller than his knees, and beside her strode Neebis. The pale white dragon looked like he would have been a prime candidate for military work or pulling heavy equipment, and Luke couldn't help but notice the strong muscles rolling with every step the dragon took.

“So… how do you know Teeba?" Luke asked, in an attempt to break the awkward silence that was beginning to settle between them, now that they were away from Teeba.

The white dragon's crimson frill twitched as he turned his head to look down at Luke with amber eyes that seemed to almost glow in the afternoon sun. “We call her Aunty Teeba, but she isn't really my aunty!" offered Reeva, her high-pitched voice cutting off her father as he opened his mouth. “But we call her aunty, 'cause she's family," the hatchling explained cheerfully, blissfully unaware of the stress Luke was feeling.

“She didn't tell you? Teeba was a business partner of ours," Neebis said, his voice deep and powerful, yet in no way condescending. “She's also a close friend," he continued.

Luke looked up at him and nodded in understanding and then glanced back down the hill toward the barn. “She mentioned that she sold a business, but wasn't very specific." he said. He had been meaning to ask her about what the business she had helped make, but felt it rude. It must have sold for a significant amount of money, as he couldn't fathom how much it would have cost to purchase Windsoar Farm, let alone the expenses of renovating the barn to its current state. Additionally, the way she casually mentioned paying for the remodeling of her friend's bar, and how she seemed to have no qualms about offering money to solve his own problems, indicated she must have received a decent payout. “And what sort of business was it?"

“Food!!!" exclaimed Reeva with glee, wiggling with excitement.

“Sorta right!" Neebis grinned as they crested the hill and stepped onto the paved area surrounding the pool. The pool itself was quite large, and if Luke had to guess, it could have multiple adult dragons in it at one time, albeit, if they kept their wings folded. One look at the cool water was all it took for the small hatchling to almost vibrate with excitement. “Go on then," Neebis said, and in an instant, the small dragon scampered across the pavers and leapt into the cool water with a loud splash.

“We made a company that links small restaurants with dragons who get paid to deliver food to customers, it meant smaller businesses could compete against larger chains that had their own dedicated delivery staff," Neebis said while moving far enough from the pool to avoid being splashed and kept a keen eye on his daughter. “Which Drag'n'Drop now dominates the market with," he added, giving Luke a brief nod as he lay down.

Luke knew of Drag'n'Drop; the large mega-corporation seemed to have its finger in every pie, but it had recently started a food delivery company in the major cities. “Grub-Wyrm, right? That's owned by them, isn't it?" he asked, briefly interrupted by Reeva giggling like mad before diving under the surface again. Noticing that the large drake had made himself comfortable, he took a few steps and rotated a tired-looking deck chair to a polite angle.

“It is now," Neebis said as Luke sat down and, when he tore his gaze off his child, gave him the briefest of winks. “We sold it to them," the pale drake added while stretching his wings and pulling his neck back as far as he could before shaking his whole body.

Luke's lips parted as his jaw went slack in realization. Living so far away from their delivery zones, he hadn't had a chance to order through it, but he wasn't ignorant of the service that connected local restaurants with a convenient app for customers to order and pay. With each delivery performed by dragons, wait times were incredibly short, and he imagined it would be a lucrative business for whoever owned the company. “That's incredible. So you guys actually made Grub-Wyrm?"

“Teeba did all the computer stuff. I mostly tried to get the food vendors on board," he explained before lifting his head higher to watch Reeva swimming at the bottom of the pool. After a few seconds, the hatchling kicked off the bottom and sprang to the surface to take another breath, then dove back down again. “But we had to sell it," he added softly before turning to look at Luke. “The real question is, how do you know Teeba? She hasn't told us about you before."

Scratching his head, Luke was glad the dragon was lying down, as he seemed significantly less intimidating, even if he still had to look up slightly to hold the drake's gaze. “Oh, we've been online friends for ages, but I didn't get much of a chance to play when I joined the Marines. Then I left the Corps to come back here and take care of some family stuff," he explained, noticing the dragon's eyes blink sharply at the mention of his family.

“That's pretty honorable, leaving your work to take care of the family, I bet they were grateful." Neebis remarked, and Luke wasn't sure if he should correct the drake or not.

“Well, then we were playing online and I discovered Teeba moved here too. So we met up in person for the first time just a few days ago. It was a complete surprise to me that she was a dragon, if I'm honest," Luke added, which seemed to amuse the drake.

“That's good that she has a friend out here. We were all surprised when she said she was coming out here, but I think it will do her some good," Neebis said, crossing his forepaws over one another as Reeva leapt out of the pool, only to jump off the side and splash loudly back in. “Living in the city is good, but god, is it good to get some fresh air," he sniffed the clean country air with a look of nostalgia, “are you going to stay for dinner, or do you need to get back to the family?"

Luke could see through the veiled question and nodded. “I'll be here for dinner. Teeba has offered for me to stay in the house here until some shit between me and my folks calms down," he said, fidgeting with his hands. Deep down, he knew it was unlikely his parents would ever forgive him, and if he was honest with himself, he wasn't sure he could ever forgive them. The look of absolute fear Teeba had while being held at gunpoint by his father was still fresh in his mind and made his hands clench each other tighter.

“Problems at home, eh?" Neebis asked, looking at him out of the corner of his eye while continuing to watch Reeva play. The drake rolled onto his side and let a large wing drape across him and the paved area around his feet. Despite the drake's powerful muscles, it was clear that he needed to rest after flying for so long and carrying the added weight of his daughter.

“That… would be an understatement," Luke said as he slowly exhaled but waved a hand to dismiss the drake. “I doubt it will ever be solved, though. Us country folk can be a bit stubborn."

The pale drake scoffed with amusement and nodded. “Yeah. We do, don't we?" he said and grinned when Luke gave him a confused look. “Oh, I didn't grow up in the city. I grew up…" He paused as he looked around to get his bearings and gestured toward the east with a folded wing. “About half a day's flight that way. Wookshod farms, or well… that's what it was called before they got bought out."

Luke nodded and was surprised that the drake grew up not far from Crestmead. “Yeah, I know them. They're still called Wookshod. I've done a few jobs out there; I do irrigation systems," he explained, relieved to see the drake's expression soften now that they had common ground. “Yeah, they had a pump that kept breaking—"

“Yeah, it was loud and right next to the barn we all slept in," Neebis grinned mischievously. “We all used to joke about breaking it to get some sleep, but the owners were pretty good folk, so we never did," he said and sat up straighter. “Does Ryylak still work there? Big, old, green drake, missing a horn and whistles through his teeth when he talks?"

“Sorry, I'm not sure. There were a lot of dragons there, but I was just there to fix the pump," Luke said, noticing the drake's frill droop in disappointment.

“I hope he's doing good. He was kinda like the father figure for us lost eggs," Neebis said as his eyes became unfocused and a small nostalgic smile pulled at his lips. With a shiver, the drake turned his attention back to the present and focused on Luke. “I hope whatever is going on between you and your folks works out. You are lucky to have them, not everyone is lucky enough to have their parents around."

Unable to hold his gaze, Luke watched Reeva as she surfaced, then dove back under the water when she saw them watching her. “I appreciate the words of wisdom, but they lost my respect when they pointed a shotgun at Teeba—"

“What!"

Luke nodded and glanced toward the pale drake, noticing he had rolled onto his front as if ready to get up. “Yup. They thought Teeba and I were more than just friends and kicked me out. Then Tea dropped by to explain that we aren't a thing, and my dad took it upon himself to be a fuckwit," he said, quickly glancing toward the pool to check if the young hatchling had heard him swear. Thankfully, the small dragoness was submerged and looked to be attacking the odd bubble that came from the pump's water jets. “So… yeah, I don't think that's something I can forgive easily."

The drake looked lost for words as he opened and closed his mouth again and again, until finally he shook his head. “No. That's messed up. Is she okay?" he asked, still looking on edge when Luke nodded. “Are you sure?"

“I mean, she was pretty shaken up. But she wasn't hurt. I got there just in time and put a stop to it all," Luke explained, noticing the look of genuine concern in the drake's amber eyes. “So, because I needed a place to live, she has offered me this place," he added, nodding towards the old home. “I imagine my folks aren't thrilled that I'm staying here, but I'm beyond caring."

Neebis' jaw clenched and slowly unclenched as he looked between the house and Luke, then glanced back to Teeba's barn. “She has always been eager to help, although I don't know if it's always the best thing for her," he said before recoiling his head as he realised what he had said. “Sorry, I don't mean anything against you, it's just she has had a bit of a rough few years, and she has had mates take advantage of her before—"

“Well, good thing I'm just a friend then," Luke finished, earning himself a sceptical look from the large dragon as if he didn't believe him. “Trust me, it ain't like that at all. She is a good friend, but I'm not about that. Two legs is enough for me, no offence," he added, catching a flicker of a smile on Neebis' snout before he tilted his head from side to side. “Besides, I'm not trying to take advantage of her, or get with her in any way."

“Four legs are twice as good as two. Are you sure you don't have any intentions with her?" the dragon asked, and Luke felt his cheeks begin to burn. “Lovely 'ness, new to the area…"

When he looked up, he saw the playful glint in Neebis' eyes and realised the drake was playing with him. “I'm sure she is an absolute catch for the right guy." After a pause, Luke frowned, thinking this may be a good opportunity to find out more about Teeba. “You mentioned she had been through some trouble?"

Nodding, the drake looked down the hill towards the barn before shrugging his wings. “She used to be with an absolute jerk of a drake—a proper smashed egg sorta guy who played her for a bit. When she left him, the bastard didn't take it well and made her life a living hell. She had to leave her job and career because of drama," he explained, pausing when he noticed the look of shock on Luke's face. “Oh, but Teeba isn't helpless. She made sure she got paid for her troubles, which was really fortunate actually, as she used that money to help us make Grub-Wyrm."

“She does like to help, doesn't she?"

“Yup. I pitched her my idea when I was delivering her some food, and she practically agreed to help then and there," Neebis said, picking at his claws. “Although, I still can't thank her enough for how she stopped Drag'n'Drop from taking it all from us," he added, shrugging his wings when Luke frowned at him. “Long and rough story short, it was a lot of long days and sleepless nights. But we built the company up from nothing—the app, the vendors, the customers. We poured our souls into making it work, and Drag'n'Drop waited until we were starting to turn a profit before they swooped in with lawyers and everything."

Luke followed the white dragon's gaze as he focused on his hatchling, who had begun lazily paddling on her back, using just her tail to propel herself around the pool with her paws tucked close to her body. “They said we were in breach of their patents or some nonsense and owed them a fortune. Then, they were 'kind' enough to offer us a deal: they take our company, and we walk away with nothing," he added before tucking his wings close to his body. “But Teeba came in and properly saved us—managed to renegotiate a deal where we got paid an absurd amount of money, but they still got to keep the company."

Luke could see a look in the dragon's eyes that he couldn't quite place—something between regret and longing, or a mixture of both. “What was it like handing over something you made?" he offered, looking up at the drake.

“Strange," Neebis concluded after a moment of thought. “We worked so hard on making it what it was, but it was only meant to be a means to an end. We were expecting Reeva, and I was just trying to build something to help. It got so popular so quickly—Reevian's market stall became a madhouse, and she couldn't keep up with the extra work," he said before his voice became hoarse, and he cleared his throat. “Did Teeba tell you about why she moved out here, and what happened to her apartment?"

“I think she said something about it burning down," Luke said, and frowned. “Hey, between you and me, were Drag'n'Drop behind it?" he asked. Teeba had been coy with her answer, but he hoped he could learn the truth from the white drake.

“After we signed the deal with Drag'n'Drop, both Teeba's apartment and ours went up in flames. Gas leaks apparently." he said, using the small clawed fingers on his folded wings to gesture air quotes. “Thankfully, Teeba was at a friend's place at the time, but I almost lost both Reevian and Reeva."

“What the fuck?" Luke exclaimed, and he heard a gasp from the pool. Looking over, he saw the small hatchling with a side-eyed expression quickly grin and dive back under the water. “Sorry, your place and hers went up? On the same night? What did the police say?"

Neebis, thankfully, didn't chastise him for accidentally cursing in front of his child. Instead, he swallowed and looked back toward the barn. “Like I said, gas leak. Just a coincidence that it happened to both of us at the same time," the drake said, tightening his wings against his sides.

“It sounds like they were trying to knock you guys off," Luke retorted, and when the drake nodded, he felt his blood boil that someone would try such a thing.

“It won't happen again, though," Neebis said cryptically, which did little to quell Luke's rage.

“How can you be sure?"

The pale drake's lips pursed before he shook his head. He waited until Reeva had dipped below the surface before lowering his voice to just above a whisper. “Well… the bitch from Drag'n'Drop who wanted to take our company—she must have celebrated too much and overdosed. The cops found her near the river a few days later," Neebis explained, curling his tail around his paws. “We haven't had any trouble since then."

Frowning, Luke looked up at the drake and tried to formulate the best way to ask the drake if he had been involved. During his deployment, conversation over missions and engagements was quite common with many of the newer service members being quite animated about their first time engaging the enemy. However, this wasn't a war story, or a tale from a distant battlefield. Instead, this was the civilian world, where consequences for their actions meant long periods of incarceration. Luke found himself becoming quite concerned about being so close to a drake that seemed so nonchalant about an executive being killed. He was well aware that, like humans, dragons in lower socioeconomic areas had been known to be engaged in gang or even mafia level activities. Studying the drake's features, he could see an innocence in the drake's eyes that reassured Luke that he wasn't some thug, but he couldn't shake the feeling that the drake knew more than he was letting on.

“I didn't do it," Neebis remarked with a hint of a smirk. “And neither did Teeba. Trust me, the police were very concerned that we had done something. Reevian, she has a brother who works in the Police. He took care of us and was a big help once he heard what had happened."

“That is crazy. But what about you guys? You still live in the city, after all that?" Luke asked and turned when he heard a splash from the pool. Reeva had leapt out of the water and was taking a run-up to then leap across the water, her wings flapping as hard as she could. The small dragon's wings were by no means strong enough to sustain any semblance of flight and, with another splash, she crashed into the water.

“The city, Liberty Scales, well… It's where Reevian grew up, where she made her market stall, and she didn't want to leave it all behind," the dragon said and turned his head to look towards the setting sun. “I think that if we left, it would be admitting defeat. Like you said, us country folk can be a bit stubborn," he added with a smirk. “Also, I want Reeva to go to a good school and well… the best are in the city."

“Guys! Time to get washed up!" came Teeba's voice from the barn.

Neebis raised a wing and extended it to indicate he had heard, then began to rise to his feet. “Reeva, sweetie. Time to get ready for dinner," he said, his neck frill flattening as the hatchling pouted. “Come on, we need to hose the chlorine off you, or else your wings will itch."

“But they aren't itchy, I'm fine!" The small dragoness remarked until lifting her head up suddenly with wide eyes. “Maybe I'm an aquatic! They are so cool! They can swim forever! Dad, have you seen an aquatic?"

“Yes sweetie, now come on. You can't eat dinner in the pool."

“Aquatic dragons eat under water… Dad… Does that make their food taste funny? How do they eat nachos?" asked the hatchling, and Luke smirked as Neebis began to try and negotiate with the small dragoness to get her out of the pool.

Standing up from the deck chair, Luke caught a whiff of himself and realised that it had been over a day since he had a chance to bathe or have a shower. Since leaving his parents house, he had been 'testing' clients' irrigation systems in the mornings, but now looked forward to having a proper shower. “I'm going to take a quick shower, I'll meet y'all down there," he said and when the drake nodded, made his way towards the house.

“See Reeva, even Luke is getting cleaned up." he heard Neebis say as he entered the home and nodded enthusiastically to help encourage the dragoness.

Collecting his least dirty clothes from his box of laundry as well as his toiletries and began navigating his way towards the bathrooms. Like the rest of the house, they had not received much care over the years and the walls showed signs of mold and mildew forming in the corners. Turning on the brass taps, the pipes throughout the house shuddered violently and he made a mental note to test the rest of the fixtures in the house. He waited patiently for the water in the shower to heat up, before finally sighing in resignation as the water remained cold. Stripping off, he then stepped into the icy stream and shivered. Moving quickly, as if he was having a shower back on his deployment, he lathered himself in shower gel, before rinsing and washed away the grime of the past few days. Once finished, he looked down at his feet and was glad that, at least, the water from the shower seemed to be draining fine. Grabbing the towel he had taken from his family home, he quickly dried himself and pulled on some clothes.

Emerging from the home cleaned and refreshed, Luke heard splashing from the pool and discovered the small dragoness was still refusing to leave her watery refuge. With a smirk, he walked to the corner of the house and began unraveling a hose for Neebis to use once he had coaxed her out. He had expected the fatherly drake to become angry or bad tempered at his daughter's stubbornness, like his father had on countless occasions. Instead, the white drake seemed to possess an abundance of patience as Reeva continued to tread water in the middle of the pool.

“Reeva, come on," the pale drake implored, stretching his long neck over the pool as far as he could. Despite his long body, his child remained just out of reach as she giggled madly and splashed his snout with pool water.

“Noooooo, more pool!" Reeva cried as Neebis placed his forepaws on the edge of the pool and stretched further.

“No more pool? Okay! Come on out then," the drake teased in mock ignorance and snapped his jaws closed near her with a loud clack, much to the hatchling's excitement.

The excited giggling from the small dragon was infectious, and Luke couldn't help but watch in amusement as Neebis bounded around the pool to try and find a closer angle to get to his daughter without entering himself. His antics escalated her giggling further as she continued to paddle out of his reach with glee.

“Guys! Food! Now!" Teeba's voice came again, and Neebis gasped in shock.

“She is gonna be mad! You don't want to make Teeba mad, do you?" The large drake said and glanced at Luke for support.

“Oh no, you don't want that! She scares me when she is mad," Luke added dramatically and turned the tap on the wall. Immediately the hose splurted water across the paved area and he heard Reeva gasp in mock fear. Folding the end of the hose over itself to stem its flow to a dribble, Luke smirked as he dragged the long hose with him to the pool's edge. “Come on, or the hose will getcha!" he added and unfolded the hose briefly to jet a line of icy cold water toward the hatchling. The result was an almost deafening squeal of excitement and a flutter of her wings in the water as she tried to get away from the stream. Following up with more squirts from the hose, Luke began to corral the dragoness toward her father until, with a sudden lunge, the white drake latched his mouth where her neck met her shoulders and hauled her out of the water.

“Daaaaad! That's no fair!" Reeva protested, while her body went almost completely limp as her father's teeth gently pressed against a cluster of nerves. Scruffed and helpless, the dragoness looked at Luke with begging eyes as she tried to rally him to her injustice.

“Ooo ouu iind?" the pale drake asked through his teeth, holding the dragoness out at the man's level. It took Luke a moment to understand what he was asking, but when the drake gestured with a folded wing towards the hose in Luke's hand. With a twist of his wrist, he quickly adjusted the nozzle into a spray and began to hose down the hatchling.

“No-no-no!" Squealed the hatchling but her body seemed incapable of resisting as Luke worked. “Dats too Cawwwld!" Reeva squealed, but only her toes twitched as she was held still by her father.

“It will warm up," Luke lied, moving quickly to make sure he rinsed both sides of each of her wings. Her paws dangled limply below her as Neebis curled his neck to rotate her around and help Luke get to the hard-to-reach places. Working together, they got the hatchling washed down, and at the end, Luke adjusted the nozzle to the finest of mists to delicately wash her neck frill without drenching Neebis' snout too much. Flicking the hose back and forth down the small dragon's body, he looked to Neebis and when the drake nodded, he then folded the hose over itself to stop the spray of water.

Lowering his daughter to the ground, the pale drake finally released his grip and nuzzled her small snout. “There, that wasn't too horrible, was it?" he asked, giving her a lick on the cheek.

“It WAS horrible!" Reeva corrected with a pout, stretching her small wings before flapping them wildly to dry them off. “I'm tellin' mom!" she added, and when Neebis gasped dramatically, she whipped her head toward the barn and broke into a sprint.

“Well, the run will dry her off," Neebis chuckled as the hatchling bounded across the cut lawn. “Thanks. Hoses can be a bit of a fiddle, but having an itchy hatchling is so much worse," he explained, waiting for Luke to finish wrapping up the hose and turning off the tap.

“No worries," Luke mused, and together they began to walk toward Teeba's barn. The sun had already started to sink below the horizon, and he could hear crickets beginning their nightly performance. With the barn doors open, the warm amber glow of the countless string lights around the rafters cast the interior in a homely and welcoming atmosphere.

Luke glanced towards the large solar array on Teeba's roof and remembered her words of being close to being off the grid. At the time, he thought that it was for some kind of environmental reason that she wanted to be disconnected from civilization, but now, he began to realise that her need for privacy was likely the reason for their installment. If she had been attacked as Neebis had alluded, he was surprised that she had opened herself up to meeting him in person, and then realised just how frightened she must have been when his father threatened her life.

Approaching the barn, Luke could smell the most delightful aroma of something cooking. He couldn't place exactly what it smelled like, but the scent was exotic and made his mouth water. Voices from within began to become more clear as they came closer, and he heard Reeva retelling her tale of woe to the others. He shared a smile with Neebis as he heard her explain how they had fought her and together pinned her down to torture her. Her audience providing a commentary of mixed with gasps and stifled chuckles from the older 'nesses. “... It was like ice! So cold it made my scales go blue! But… More blue!!!!"

“Oh, you poor thing," chuckled Reevian, and as the males entered through the barn doors, all three of the dragonesses turned to face them. Both Reevian and Teeba pretended to look upset with the pair, but Luke found the look on Reeva's face priceless. The small dragon looked positively proud of herself that she had convinced the adults of her side of the story. “Boys can be big meanies, can't they?" the large teal dragoness added with a small nod of thanks to them both.

“That's right, all boys are meanies. So stay away from them," Neebis retorted with a cheeky grin, then gestured vaguely to Luke with a folded wing. “But Luke here, he is a good egg," he added, and Luke could tell by the drake's tone that he was conveying a message to his mate. A strange feeling washed over Luke, while hadn't thought that he needed the drake's approval in any way, he still felt more at ease knowing that the drake had no objections to him being there.

“I don't know, Neebis, hearing how Luke just waterboarded Reeva here… makes me wonder if he is a good egg after all," Teeba teased with a broad grin and moved closer to stand beside Reeva. “Like, how could you? To such a precious little 'ness of all people!" she added while lowering her wing protectively around the smug hatchling. Due to their size difference, Reeva was almost completely enveloped by the larger dragon's wing to the point that only her head and neck were visible as Teeba tucked her close to her foreleg.

“Hey, officially Marines don't do waterboarding," Luke retorted quickly while matching her smile. “Unofficially, however... well, we get results," he said while crouching down to come to Reeva's eye level. “Don't we?" he added, giving a small lunge forward to spook the dragoness, who squealed in excitement and retreated behind Teeba's hind leg.

“Well, if she doesn't eat all her dinner, you can torture her more," Teeba said, chuckling as the small dragoness whined at her betrayal. “Come on, before it goes cold," she added, and with a dip of her snout, she gestured toward the collection of large bowls on the kitchen island.

Luke was in awe of what the dragonesses had created in such a short amount of time. Each of the large stainless steel bowls contained its own unique mixture of meats, stir-fried vegetables, noodles, and either rice or thick egg noodles. The accompanying smells made his mouth water, but he waited as the larger dragons took their places around the kitchen island, and empty bowls were distributed among them. He was about to offer to get drinks but noticed that someone had already taken the liberty of placing them on the table, in his mind he quickly began to make a note of who was going to sit where. With a large glass of red wine at one end of the table alongside a wide disposable cup of what looked like juice, Luke assumed that would be where Reeva and one of her parents were sitting. To the right, stood a matching wine glass, followed by a cocktail he didn't recognise, its lime green liquid looked refreshing yet incredibly sweet. Finally, a bottle of beer had been placed where a tall chair stood. A smirk began to creep on Luke's face as he felt like he had a high chair compared to the others, but said nothing as each of the large creatures took a side of the island each. The dragons all opted to sit on their haunches while beginning to scoop their desired food into their bowls with large spoons.

With a nod of thanks, Luke took his place beside Teeba and found her closeness unavoidable as they all shared the cramped table. While the dragons complimented the cooking and made their requests for which food they wanted, Luke looked around for Reeva and smiled as he saw Neebis place a paw on the countertop to support his foreleg, allowing the small hatchling to leap up onto the crook of his elbow. The dragoness seemed perfectly capable of balancing on her father's muscular forearm and made herself comfortable while looking at the mountains of food with hungry eyes.

“Luke, Teeba said you were in the Marines," Reevian inquired while depositing a large portion of food into a bowl for him. The spoon she held in one paw clattered softly against the edge of the bowl as it gently trembled in her grip. “Were you a forward observer as well?"

Luke frowned and shook his head. The role of forward observation was a function best served by dragons, and while he knew their units did include humans, the men and women were often behind radios and maps while their dragons were out in the field. “No, I was more of a boots-on-the-ground kinda Marine. Kicking doors and clearing rooms, that sorta thing," he explained and noticed a look of either disappointment or confusion flicker across her features before she handed the bowl over to him.

“Oh damn," he said as he looked down at his almost overflowing bowl. Luke knew there was far too much food for just himself, but he didn't complain as he collected his fork. In the corner of his eye, he saw Reevian still looking at him curiously. “Why do you ask?"

The teal dragoness seemed to stiffen, and he caught a glimpse of her lip quivering before she shook her head and looked down at her own meal. “I swear I've seen you somewhere. Your face... it looks so familiar," she said before taking a polite mouthful of her food. “Are you sure you haven't come to the markets or something?"

Luke shook his head as he began curling his noodles around his fork. “No, I don't think so. I guess I just have one of those faces," he offered but could tell that she wasn't convinced. Taking a bite, he couldn't stop the groan of bliss escaping his throat as he savored the perfect blend of spice, sweetness, and tender noodles. “Oh gawd damn!" he said with a mouthful, much to the amusement of the dragons.

“I don't think he's been to your stall," Teeba giggled as Luke swallowed and began to assemble another forkful. “Reevian makes the best noodles, doesn't she?" she asked, and Luke could only nod as he took another bite.

“My favourite is beef!" Reeva added as she used both of her forepaws to balance her small dessert bowl of food on the back of her father's paw and continued to eat. Thick sauce stained her sky-blue snout, but no one seemed to mind since she kept most of her mess contained to her bowl.

“Were you ever deployed?" Reevian asked after eating another few mouthfuls. Compared to her daughter, the dragoness looked quite elegant as she ate slowly, but Luke couldn't shake the feeling that he was still being interrogated by Teeba's friends.

“Four tours. Mostly the Middle East, but between tours we came back and did some stuff back stateside," he explained and noticed the teal dragoness's eyes widened slightly.

“Were there many dragons in your unit?"

Luke tilted his head from side to side as he chewed before swallowing and nodding. “At first, no. It was just a bunch of us dudes in a Humvee. But we took on a Delta—that's what we call a dragon in the service—and ran a tour with her," clearing his throat, he forced a swallow before continuing, “But then we got a second Delta. So it was the five of us plus two dragons."

“Her?" Teeba asked with a sly grin. “I didn't think there were many 'nesses in the corps," she chuckled, and Luke forced a smile in acknowledgement.

With a nod, Luke focused on his food and gave another shrug. He knew dragonesses were by far the minority in the corps, but he hadn't thought too much of it, knowing they were just as capable as the males. Memories of how the dragoness in his unit had performed a slow pass on a building harbouring hostiles came back to him, making his eyes lose focus. She had been able to breathe fire and blasted the building with a long jet of orange flame from her maw; the flame penetrated the structure and released thick black smoke from its windows, while her wings spiralled the dark clouds with every wingbeat. “They are pretty rare, but I wouldn't have wanted to cross ours. Taalli was really–"

“Taalli!" Reevian said, slapping a forepaw onto the hard countertop. The loud smack startled the rest of the group, and Reeva had to extend her wings to maintain her balance on her father's arm. “You knew Taalli!?"

Luke recoiled into his chair and looked between the dragons. Teeba, Neebis, and Reeva all stared at the teal dragoness in confusion at her revelation, and Luke swallowed. He hadn't known much about his squadmate, but it was clear Reevian must have known her from somewhere. “Um… yes," he said, and waited as the teal dragoness pulled her head back, her eyes becoming glossy, and her mouth opened and closed repeatedly. “You knew her?" he asked, and his heart sank when she nodded with an emotional sniff to hold back tears. “I'm so sorry."

Seeing the rest of the group look at him in confusion, he cleared his throat and tried to ignore the knot of tension forming there. “Taalli was one of the Deltas in our squad, and well…" he forced another swallow as he felt his buried emotions welling up. “She got taken out," he managed, glanced to Teeba to see a worried frown etched on her snout. Her eyes locked with his and her eyeridges narrowed, but before he could continue she had shuffled closer towards him

Luke watched as Neebis slipped his daughter's bowl off the back of his paw and, while carrying Reeva, moved to his mate's side to extend a wing and comfort her. The teal dragoness let out a broken croon as she pressed back into Neebis, her chest hitching as she held back tears. “Now I know," Reevian said weakly, before sniffing and looking down at Luke with large, glossy eyes. “Now I know where I've seen you," she explained, dipping her head to wipe her cheeks with the back of her paw. “My brother, Rii…" Her voice failed completely, and she breathed rapidly to compose herself before looking back at him. “He trained with her. With Taalli, I mean. I had a photo of her them all after some exercise. It had him…" she said, her voice hoarse.

Luke's jaw dropped in realization, and a cold chill began creeping up his spine as he remembered the photo and who she was referring to. It had been taken just before their second-to-last tour; Zulu squad had embarked on a joint training exercise with members from all specialties, including forward observers. He was very familiar with the photo and knew exactly which box he kept his copy. Of all the images he had from when he served, it was one of his favorite, since it showed the squad at the end of a grueling mission, all covered in sweat, dirt, grime, and orange chalk from training munitions. “Had?" he asked, looking up at her in confusion. “You don't have it anymore?"

“I kept it in my apartment. But in the fire…" Reevian croaked, leaning further into Neebis for support. “I lost it… I lost almost everything I had of Riimack." She said and looked at Luke with tear filled eyes. “My big, little brother. It was the last photo I got of him, before… he–he got shot down."

Seeing the large dragoness shudder emotionally tore at Luke's heart and he found himself unable to hold her gaze. Staring down at his forgotten meal, he forced a swallow past the lump in his throat and nodded. His voice was hardly more than a whisper as he felt the tight fist of pain tighten on his vocal chords. “I know… I was there."