Private Centaurs & Werewolves & Dragons, Oh My!

Kara gracefully floated along the dirt path, situated along a roaring stream in the center of a mountain valley. The colors of summer were all around, the birds were chirping in earnest, and between the two massive walls on either side of them, the sun shone down in a cloudless sky.

"How you doing back there?" Kara called back to her girlfriend, whom she'd forcibly dragged politely asked out to spend the day with her. There was a famous spot for picnics in a meadow just a little bit ahead. She hefted her knapsack and casually waved at some wood nymphs who were playing in the stream.

"Hi! It's a lovely day!" she called over to the scantily-clad plant women. Kara had opted for a form-fitting tank top and athletic shorts, with a sturdy pair of sneakers on her feet. Also, she had her trusty spear in an easy-access pocket of her backpack. She was optimistic, not stupid, after all.

@Soban

"That was one time! Wolves are adorable." Retorted the valkree stubbornly, sliding alongside Sacre and touching down to walk.

"Not much further now! My friend will meet us in the meadow ahead." Gravity explained.

This was absolutely amazing. It was like Ayenee all over again, except more cohesive! Just now, a wolf the size of a horse came trotting by with a man riding atop it in a leather saddle. He was dressed in the Manta Carlos Forest Rangers' uniform, with a badge and gun on his hip and a rifle tucked into a scabbard on the saddle. Gravity just about melted. And it was clear that later she'd be looking into the logistics of keeping a giant wolf in the apartment.

"Afternoon, ladies. Stay safe out here. Dehydration'll kill you quick." the man said curtly before the wolf padded off the trail and into the wilderness.

Sacre might have noticed that the man looked suspiciously like a grown up version of Addaiel from the dragon village a few years back.

It's a small multiverse after all.

Gravity giggled and floated up into the air, coming down to wrap her arms around Sacre's neck from behind in a weightless piggyback.

"Don't say that!" chided the catgirl, nuzzling into Sacre's cheek. "You're the 'Keeper of the Brain Cell' in this duo. If anything, you're off helping the world, and I'm... I dunno... a professional ant-farmer."

The trail opened up to reveal a massive meadow. About a mile across, and two long, it was covered in knee-high grass and summer flowers that swayed in the mountain breeze. It was bisected down the middle by the same stream they'd been following all day. There were people just about everywhere, of just about every species, scattered around the valley enjoying their day. Centaurs galloping around with their fauns, satyrs playing ancient-looking instruments, and even a werewolf sitting before an easel, painting all before her.

The centerpiece of all of this was the tallest mountain in the valley. Atop it was a massive, black dragon, who lay coiled around the summit several times like a serpent. So massive, that even from this distance, one could see its emotionless, golden eyes flitting about the meadow in bored disinterest. It gave its massive wings a small flutter to ease the stiffness, and a gentle breeze rushed through the meadow.

"We're here!" Gravity whispered in awe.

"Oh, Sacre, we're not here to climb the dragon!" Gravity chided with a dismissive wave of her hands. She placed her hands on her hips with a satisfied smile.

A moment of silence passed.

"VINDIVIR!" The blue valkree screamed. Behind her, the dragon's eyes locked onto Sacre's girlfriend. It slowly raised its massive head, its wings spreading to their full breadth in preparation for flight. Gravity turned her back on the dragon in the distance to face Sacre.

"We're having him over for lunch!"

The dragon beat its wings hard. A blast of wind raced through the valley and jolted anyone who wasn't prepared.

"Oh, I can't wait for you to meet my friend!" Gravity sighed cheerily, as the dragon's successive wing beats knocked the grass flat and sent her braid flopping around like a tornado.

"You two are going to get along like sake and gyoza!"

The dragon launched itself off the mountain, causing a devastating rockslide.

"I met him at school! He's the librarian."

The dragon unfurled its wings and began gliding towards the duo's location. A roaring like a jetliner filled the air, growing steadily louder. The very ground beneath their feet (or tail) began rumbling.

"Oh, he's a swordsman, too! You two should have much to talk about concerning blades!"

Any guests in the vicinity began fleeing.

The vibrations beneath their feet and the roaring of huge wings on the air rose to a deafening crescendo. With a powerful beat of his wings that immediately stopped his bulk and blew away a few logs that were just sitting on the ground, Vindivir landed on all fours and created a shaking of the earth that probably measured on the richter scale. When all was quite, the massive reptile lowered its head to the ground, so that one of the fiery eyes on the sides of his head was level with Sacre.

A greeting of equals, or at least courtesy. Long ago, a younger Vindivir would have remained standing tall in an effort to intimidate and inspire awe. But he was no longer young, and was secure enough in his own power and strength to "deign" to greet mortals in a non-egotistical fashion.

//It has been long since I have spoken this language. If I recall, when I last spoke with one of my kinsmen, the mammoth was in the process of extinction, and the Great Winter was coming to an end. I know this language, yes, but it has been long.//

His voice carried such age. Where Apollo had been a few centuries old at most, Vindivir was in the midst of his twentieth millenium. But it was a humble voice, dare it be called a kind voice. Like one's grandfather, wise and compassionate. He didn't want Sacre to be either in awe or intimidated, for he was just an old man with many memories and the luck to survive for as long as he had.

//Kara, your mate gives me a gift. The gift of memory, by speaking to me in a tongue long-forgotten.// he told the catgirl standing beside Sacre, who seemed about ready to burst from dragon-overload.

"We do not need to speak so, if that is uncomfortable." Vindivir said verbally to Sacre, his voice low and articulate. "Thank you, Sacre. I shall repay you with a similar gift: the gift of knowledge. Whenever you are ready, you may ask me a question, and I shall do my best to answer. I have lived for a long time, and remember things that many do not remember. Things lost to history."

In the valley around them, the other people began to timidly reenter the valley. The werewolf artist, however, seemed unfazed.