Chapter 97. Dragons

"What do we do?" The words left my mouth in a calmness I didn't feel.

Tarakona's mother! Was she hostile? Was she nice? Where the hell is her father? Why the hell is she coming here?

I tried to settle my racing mind by thinking of the facts I already knew.

Tarakona is a frost Dragon while her mother is a fire one. Tarakona was forced to leave her birth nest early because it physically hurt to be around her mother...

That's it. That's all I knew.

And now I had said fire Dragon literally about to breathe down my neck.

[We can do nothing. If we hid she would just burn down the house until we came out though that won't be a problem.]

Like the seasons decided to change in that split second the entire farm went from bright and sunny to the middle of winter. Frost grew along the newly growing grass while the lake froze. Voras and Zeldi both stopped their game of catch when they noticed the change.

I was failing to see how this wasn't a problem. And also very impressed with what Tarakona could do, or was she suppressing it all this time?

She did mention that the environment around a frost Dragon gets rather icy so she might have been purposely holding it all in this whole time.

Ask her later Clovek, I think the giant fire Dragon coming your way is a little bit more important than the ice currently forming in your land.

Hey Deed. Any help you can give?

You are invincible. That is my assistance... Good luck.

Great.

Though to be fair that is incredibly helpful.

"Is she friendly?" I asked in the vain hopes that we weren't about to have the land undergo scorched earth.

Tarakona brought herself down onto all fours and tilted her head in contemplation.

[I don't know. I haven't seen her in close to one hundred and forty years.]

Why did she seem so calm about this?

Here she was acting like a fire ball was just another Tuesday in the office.

Zeldi and Voras were both using their multiple legs to spread themselves out like the ground was about to become slippery but the moment Voras saw the burning Dragon she vanished. Apparently that was a bit too much for her right now and I couldn't blame her.

Zeldi winced and silently begged in my direction so I nodded my head and she vanished as well. I could have brought up the whole head mare thing as a way of keeping her here but even with invincibility I wasn't going to force her. And she was pregnant. Safer to keep her away from everything that could threaten her.

"Soooo should I be worried about my farm or..." I drew out trying to keep the panic that was building inside.

[I... I am unsure. In theory she should have no idea where I was living so I am surprised she is even here.]

I started to make a mental list of everything I could afford to lose if she went on a rampage and apart from the house and it's magical rooms I was strangely okay with losing everything else. Within reason of course, I'd still rather not lose anything.

Tarakona's frost picked up another level as snow began to build along the ground just as her mother became a lot clearer. Even from here I could tell that she was bigger than her daughter and while I shouldn't have been surprised, seeing a creature bigger than my own four story tall Dragon was a little surprising. And daunting.

As her mother approached instead of landing directly in front of us she banked and started to make slow circles as if judging what she was seeing.

"Please tell me your mother knows about us." I called out watching her literally burning the air around my farm even with Tarakona freezing it.

[She doesn't even know I'm a Livestock my love. It would be very hard for her to not know that but still know about us. Could you allow her to enter the land? It wouldn't do us much to refuse her as she would just burn everything until we gave in.]

That was not helpful at all. Doubly so when Tarakona moved closer to me and placed her tail protectively behind my back with the blade resting to my left.

[She is not trying to speak to me however.]

"Is that a good thing?" I really hope it was because otherwise this was going to be a mistake.

I mentally brought up Trespassing and added Tarakona's mother to the list of creatures that could enter.

[Mother. Stop unnecessarily dragging this out and join us.]

Her mother actually listened by completing one more circle before bringing herself down. I had some hope she was nice when I noticed she specifically picked an area some distance from us so that her fire didn't harm Tarakona.

That thought immediately died with the grass I'd just gotten to start growing as the fire Dragon made contact with the ground.

The ice melted then evaporated as the very ground blistered and cracked before she had even touched it. Tarakona tried to put more effort into her own frost but her mother just drowned her efforts with her own heat as easily as breathing.

I was thankful spared the worst of it by being so close to my frost Dragon but my land did not. It almost looked like it had when I first found it, all barron and lifeless in the area around the Fire Dragon.

The trees were thankfully far enough away that they didn't catch but some of the more closer ones shriveled just from the heat.

[Mother please do not destroy this land. It belongs to my mate and he has put a lot of effort into cultivating it.]

The fire Dragon snorted and I watched her face move as if she were talking.

[No mother, if you wish to talk with me please include Clovek in our conversation. And stop burning his land.]

Tarakona's tail moved ever so slightly to make me more visible to her mother and I was glad I stayed standing when the full brunt of her gaze landed on me. Her fire thankfully dimmed to a level that Tarakona's frost could offset the damage to the surroundings.

{And how prey tell are you my daughters mate, small thing?}

Tarakona's mother's voice boomed in my head like a grenade, completely dominating every thought I had. I felt briefly stunned and unable to respond.

Tarakona herself always sounded soft like a mothers embrace but this fire Dragon sounded like her every word was a command.

"I. Ummm. I'm the owner of this land." I got out as the fire Dragon's face got closer and closer. She stopped just far enough back that she wasn't burning Tarakona.

{Is that supposed to mean anything to me, small thing?}

[Mother be nice.]

Tarakona moved before her mother could react and brought her own face close enough that she could boop noses together.

Her mother panicked and quickly flinched back and the first bit of surprise could be seen running across her face.

She didn't want to hurt her daughter.

{Tarakona what are you doing?}

Tarakona didn't respond and followed her mother as she tried to backpedal. The flames that had been simmering on her scales vanished as she tried to decrease her body temperature as quickly as she could.

{Tarakona! Stop I could kill...}

[No you cannot. My mate makes me invulnerable to anything that could harm me while I live on his land. Including your fire.]

Her mother stopped retreating at that. Her tail was almost touching the treeline but the fire had been turned down so much nothing was in danger.

Tarakona likewise stopped her advances as she waited for her mother to make the first move.

Tentatively, like she didn't quite believe what her daughter had said Tarakona's mother reached out with a single clawed hand and touched just the tip of Tarakona's horns.

There was a sizzle like something might have been burning but was actually the mothers claws reacting with the frost coating Tarakona's horns.

{I don't believe it. How?}

Her hand grew more bold as she ran the back of her hand down the horn and just lightly touched Tarakona's head before flinching back to inspect the area for any harm.

[Like I said Mother. My mate has made sure no harm will ever come to me so long as I'm with him. His protection doesn't extend to you however.]

{That has never mattered dear. You are not old enough to harm me with a little chill anyway.}

She grew bolder and touched Tarakona's check before flinching back yet again like she was being lied to.

Tarakona hummed and lept forward taking her mother by surprise and wrapping her front limbs around her mothers shoulders while her neck bumped up against her chin.

I was left completely ignored and and was happy about it. This was totally so that Tarakona could have this lovely moment with her mother and not because she could quite literally pummel me into the ground by just stepping on me. I have many kinks but being stepped on by a giant Dragon was not on there no matter how closely I looked.

[I have wanted to do that for a long time mother. I am sorry for leaving the nest without saying anything.]

{Never apologize for that my dear. You did what you needed to for your survival and I wished only the best for you and your future. I never thought you would gain this, I always pictured our reunions with a bit more distance between us.}

[You will have to thank my mate for this gift. I wouldn't be able to do this without his power.]

Calling the abilities I get from the Deed my own power might be a bit of a stretch but when a literal mall sized dragon looks at you with what was almost respect, I suddenly accepted that it was mine and mine alone.

{Well then mate of my daughter, I shall give you a proper introduction.}