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“Her appearance is a precursor to the return of dragon kind. The reason she’s so important is because the legend says that the Guardians will eventually control all dragons, for a short period of time. That a Great War will erupt, and that the dragons will follow whomever has earned their trust.”

Skye and Tidas shared an uneasy look between them, which made Genie ask; “Do you two know something about the legend?”

Tidas cleared his throat; “Well, the Highlanders believe that dragons are merely hiding, and there’s no real proof that they died out, other that no one seeing them for a few centuries. So I guess it’s possible.”

“Tis not like the whole world’s been discovered, let alone explored,” Skye half-mumbled as she slowly munched on her food.

Mei had been quietly listening, and caught what Skye had said. Curious, she asked her what she meant by the comment. Skye wiped her mouth with a napkin, then turned to Mei; “There be a whole continent north of the Highlands and across the sea that’s not on any map. Trust me: I’ve checked..”

“It looked like it was covered in ice, though, so I doubt there’s people there. But I could see dragons makin’ a home there. Wish I could go explore it some day. I think I’d be fun! So long as I had a Fire trait..”

Bai Lei and Genie had exchanged surprised glances several times as Skye had spoke. Neither of them had heard of any land being north, let alone a whole continent. With a skeptical look on his face, Genie asked Skye where she had heard of this so-called mystery land.

Skye poked at her food as she answered, which Tidas found odd as he watched and listened; “I didna hear about it, or even read about it: I saw it. Long story short, I had a dream, and I saw it while I was fallin’ from the sky.”

.....

“That doesn’t make it real,” Hang commented.

“...I think ya can trust me on this. It’s there,” was all Skye would say further on the matter.

Pushing at her plate slightly, Skye stood up as she announced; “Ima gonna go spend the day wit Zazzy, but I’ll be back before dinner. Our gifts to ya guys are under the tree in the common room, so send word when yer ready ta open’em. I see Rukia’s probably gonna need a few more hours, eh?”

Everyone looked towards the small child, who’s head was slung backwards. Her eyes were closed, and her mouth was open as she gently snored between her parents. They both instantly tried to get her to sit up and eat, but the child wasn’t having it.

Deciding that Skye was right, Mei and Hana took Rukia off to put her back to bed. She’d stayed up quite late passed her usual bedtime last night, and was currently suffering the consequences of it. Dancing and playing on Zazzy had been worth it, but it had also zapped her energy that she needed to open presents.

Rukia’s parents had explained that the presents weren’t going anywhere if she wanted to sleep in. But she wanted to check on them herself first. After thoroughly counting them, the smell of miso had lured her to the dining room, but that was as far as her little body could go.

Once everyone split off, Skye and Tidas made their way to Zazzy. It worried him that Skye had been silent nearly the entire walk there, but her attitude changed as soon as they were with their scaly bairn. They played, and went for a ride over the city before heading off to her favorite place.

The water was icy, but that didn’t stop Skye from splashing water on her face when Zazzy flew off to find lunch in the afternoon. She and Tidas had stayed behind, so as not to hinder her hunting. Peggy had packed them a lunch, and he was setting it out when he began to gently prod at his wife..

“Are you alright? You barely ate at breakfast this morning, and you hardly seem to care that Peggy managed to get everything for her signature salad. What’s going on?”

Skye sighed; “Ima fine, just tired. I woke up a lot last night, and me magic feels a bit off today.”

“Probably because you haven’t eaten enough the past few days.. What’s really going on, Skye? You’ve had bad dreams before..”

Skye rubbed at her arms as if she were cold; “None like these.. I’ve been havin’em almost since we got here. But the ones I’ve had lately are...very disturbing.”

Tidas straightened up as he asked her in a gentled voice; “What are they about?”

Skye paused for a few moments, hesitant to tell her husband about her early ones. They involved Magnus, and the sea of blood consuming the capital..

But these latest ones were about Moonshire, and Skye’s parents. Her home burned to ash, Warrick Forest leveled, and her parents all but dead. Her mother would disappear into the smoke surrounding the castle, and her father would disappear after she closed her eyes, and heard the echoing sound of a blade.

Once she told Tidas the recent dreams she’d been having, his face clouded over with concern; “Do they feel like the others? Like the ones about being the Catalyst?”

Skye’s face contorted slightly; “I think, but I dunno.. I can’t tell if they really aren’t, or if I just don’t want’em ta be..”

Seeing his wife so distraught made Tidas instantly go to her, and wrap his arms around her. They stood together for a time, listening to the gentle rush of the waterfall, and the rustling of wind-blown trees. After several calming minutes had passed, Skye turned in her husband’s arms so she could lock her fingers around the back of his neck.

His vivid green eyes searched hers, as if looking for some kind of answer. But all he got was more questions, once he saw the struggle in them. Believing it was to do with the dream, Tidas tried to reassure her that both her parents and their home would be intact when they returned.

“Your father is the richest man in Alcon, and my Father’s good friend. He has as many guards monitoring his property as my Father does at when he leaves the palace.. I don’t think anyone in their right mind would go after your parents, so don’t worry needlessly, love.”

Skye nodded her understanding, but Tidas could tell that she wasn’t convinced yet, so he added; “Besides, Shasta or Zas, or someone would send us word if there was something wrong back home. We have too many friends: they wouldn’t leave us in the dark.”

“I ken, but dinna ya think tis odd that All we’ve gotten is reports? No letters from me parents, or Shasta, or even a personal notation from yer da.. It’s unsettlin’, is all Ima gettin’ at.”

Tidas quirked an eyebrow; “Are you sure that you’re not just homesick?”

Wanting to drop the subject, Skye replied as neutrally as she could; “Tis possible.. I guess Ima just sad that me parents didna send a card.”

Tidas nodded; “Well, you sent them one a while ago, so I’m sure they did as well. It might take a while if they sent it from Moonshire. The snow piles up there during wintertime.”

“That’s true..Aye! That’s what Ima goin’ wit then,” Skye replied with a chipper face.

Tidas still felt like something was off with her, but he also recognized that Skye didn’t want to talk about it anymore.. ‘Pushing now will make her shut down, so I’ll leave it at this for now.. Under one condition..’

“Good. Now, let’s eat before Zazzy gets back. We told her we’d be done by the time she came back to rinse off.”

Skye ate as much as her stomach would allow, but Tidas still didn’t think it was enough. He poked and prodded at her until she nearly snapped at him. Thankfully Zazzy had returned, excited about going back, and playing with her parents for a bit longer.

The rest of the day was full of presents, well wishes, good food, and great company. Zazzy got even more presents, although they mostly turned out to be food this time around. There were a few presents that were actual items, but only one actually had Zazzy howling with delight.

Her favorite present from Yuletide turned out to be a beaded charm ring that went around a claw on her front paw. It matched the one that Rukia wore around her wrist, and she called them ‘friendship bracelets’. She’d spent the last two weeks picking out each bead, and stringing them herself.

Zazzy was so touched by the gift that she gave Rukia a scale from her own back. It didn’t seem like much to the Alconians, but it was a huge honor in Sai to be given a scale from a dragon. Skye had told Zazzy about it when she and Tidas had explained the importance of dragons in their culture, and warned her to avoid Tokuga’s land.

Rukia was a little confused at first, but Mei explained that since Zazzy was a dragon, she couldn’t go into stores, and buy things like everyone else could. The child had accepted the gift wholeheartedly before the explanation, since it was literally a piece of her best friend. Hang wasn’t a fan of how his daughter described it to everyone, but he still let her tell her unnecessarily gory-sounding story.

Hana liked creepy things, so Rukia liked them, too, despite her father’s protests at first. Anyone that knew Rukia understood, but the occasional inappropriate comment would slip to a stranger. Forcing Hang and Mei to do damage control.

Mei was more amused by it than anything, so she didn’t mind having to explain her daughter’s quirkiness on occasion. And Hang didn’t mind as much anymore, especially since her current story involved receiving a scale from the Last Dragon. Once their gift exchanges were finished, and Zazzy was tucked in for the night; the group had a lovely, festive dinner.

Peggy had gone all-out with the chefs to make traditional Alconian Yuletide dishes. It was how she’d had the ingredients to make her signature salad, which Skye had mentioned missing. As the food was brought out and offered, Mei, Bai Lei, and the rest of them looked on with watering mouths.

A whole ham that had been glazed in something savory was offered first. Followed by a roasted turkey, and several stuffed and roasted chickens. The stuffing had bits of apples, cranberries, and purple grape slices mixed in, and gave the meat a slight sweetness. There was also a haunch of elk that had been shredded, and mixed with a kind of barbecue sauce.

Bread, vegetables, and a vast selection of potatoes was offered next. Peggy’s signature salad, a mixed fruit salad, and several versions of potatoes were all trotted out for them, and offered. Skye was especially happy to see the roasted potato squares that Peggy had made, and loaded up her plate.

Tidas was relieved to see her eating and talking like normal again, but he still worried about her dream.. ‘My Father would never allow anything bad to happen to Moonie.. And if something ever did, Father would most definitely send word to us.. Then he’d want revenge.. Skye must just be homesick...at least, I hope that’s what it is..’