ã€ŠField Trip 2 Electric bogalooã€‹


 Part 1

    HoH Field Trip 2 Electric Boogaloo part 1

    ¡°Right then people. Your passports.¡± Tom declared, handing out the stack of little red pamphlets. Saph looked down at her new piece of paperwork, paging through it. She was more than a little excited. Today would be the first time they would be allowed to simply go where they pleased. No meetings, no official business, no massive escorts, dignitaries, or politicians. Just a nice field trip with some friends to go see some things and have a nice day out.

    They had dreamt of this for a long time by now and Saph didn¡¯t want to say it but Jacky winning that bet with Tom was certainly worth losing to her on purpose. A girls day out plus Tom not some big group trip with so many people it would just become another guided tour. This was going to be awesome.

    ¡°Seems almost familiar,¡± Essy chuckled, rubbing the pages together. ¡°Nice and simple.¡±

    ¡°My picture looks off,¡± Fengi protested, showing it to Jacky, who didn¡¯t seem amused. Jacky showed Fengi her own picture, which left Fengi trying not to break out laughing.

    ¡°Why did you try to bare your teeth?¡±

    ¡°Tom said you smile in pictures¡­¡± Jacky replied slack-earedly.

    ¡°Then smile you dumb dumb. Not grin maniacally like you are ready to eat the camera!¡± Fengi burst out as she broke down laughing, the others made their way around to look at the photo too.

    ¡°Hey, I tried to look friendly!¡±

    ¡°You know you are gonna have to do that face at every person who has to let you in,¡± Dakota chuckled, Jacky looking pleadingly to Tom. Their little human just nodded very seriously, though there was just a slight twitch of a smile on his face.

    ¡°Oh for fucks sake!¡± she protested, flicking her head back in annoyance. ¡°Why did we need these things anyway?¡±

    ¡°Because you are now Danish citizens. That is your documentation of such, which will allow you to go a lot of places and not get stopped by, say, police; or worse, taken in for interrogation or experimentation¡­ Theoretically,¡± Tom replied, seeming a touch uncomfortable. ¡°We¡¯ll be fine, I¡¯m sure. I know most of you have been before, but just be aware most people here will never have seen anything like you before. Except maybe on the news or internet.¡±

    Saph just lifted an eyebrow at that, looking at him and hoping he would explain that a bit more, but their human tour guide was apparently not feeling forthcoming.

    ¡°I can¡¯t hold mine,¡± Jarix rumbled, looking down at them.

    ¡°I¡¯ve got it, big guy. Don¡¯t you worry¡­ You look good in yours,¡± Saph went, holding up the passport for him to see, the dragon bringing his head down to inspect the document. Zarko and Radexi had gotten tied up in military paperwork and didn¡¯t have passports yet, so Jarix would be accompanying them without a crew. It wasn¡¯t like he would need them anyway, if Tom¡¯s claims of how safe his world was were to be believed, and they could use a ride, so why not bring the fastest flier around.

    ¡°You¡¯re right. You nearly can¡¯t see how hard it was to get my head in that booth,¡± the dragon replied, nodding a bit, seeming quite pleased with himself.

    ¡°Anywho. We have quite the program ahead of us,¡± Tom interjected, getting their attention. ¡°You all have your belts? Wouldn¡¯t want anyone keeling over with a heart attack or something, now would we?¡±

    ¡°You didn¡¯t mention that last time we went,¡± Dakota grumbled, checking over the anti-grav belts. ¡°It¡¯s just push the button, right?¡±

    ¡°Yup. Haven¡¯t figured out how to make them adjustable, but they should help a lot. How¡¯s your harness, Jarix?¡±

    ¡°Seems fine. Don¡¯t feel any different.¡±

    ¡°You will, don¡¯t you worry. Saph, you are gonna want to turn it on as soon as we are through.¡±

    ¡°Sir, yes, sir,¡± Saph replied, doing a salute as she stood next to Tiguan.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t we technically diplomats?¡± Dakota questioned, putting away her passport.

    ¡°Yup. Bizmati Keep diplomatic corp. Every one of us. Don¡¯t think that will be important until we leave the country though.¡±

    ¡°Right, many countries. Where are we going?¡± Saph asked, not actually having heard what the program was. The last few days had been bureaucratic hell, and Tom had never actually told them in detail.

    ¡°Well, first stop is just the nearest big city. I think someone needs to go shopping.¡±

    ¡°But Tom, we don¡¯t have any human money,¡± Ray pointed out, seeming quite confused. Saph saw Essy pull a slight smile, as if she already knew something Ray didn¡¯t.

    ¡°Do they take gold?¡± Fengi asked with a head tilt.

    ¡°Nope¡­ I mean someone might, wouldn¡¯t recommend it though. I¡¯ve had something sorted out though. I think we are good,¡± Tom went with a knowing smirk.

    ¡°You know, selling off a few of Linkosta¡¯s hobby projects isn¡¯t as smart as it sounds, Tom,¡± Dakota interjected, shaking her head a little. ¡°They had sentimental value.¡±

    ¡°She gave me a shopping list in exchange. I think she¡¯ll be quite happy in the end. You wouldn¡¯t believe what the US military would pay for magic homing systems.¡±

    ¡°Wait, so you are rich now?¡± Jacky questioned, snapping to attention.

    ¡°He was already rich. You really are flying upwind today, aren¡¯t you?¡± Shiva added, not seeming terribly impressed, though the smith had generally been in a pretty good mood thus far. Even her stony facade seemingly struggling with not being excited about seeing another world. She had been before to see about some of the materials they were planning to trade for. According to Jacky, she hadn¡¯t shut up for three days after going to see a human steelworks.

    ¡°I hate paperwork,¡± Jacky admitted, looking down before something clicked in her mind. ¡°Do we get to see a gun store?¡±

    ¡°Yes Jacky, we get to see a gun store at some point,¡± Tom admitted with a bit of a sigh. Jacky¡¯s enthusiasm was quite contagious though, as she cheered loudly, raising her arms high before running over to pick Tom up. ¡°I knew you would come through for me!¡±

    ¡°I did most of your paperwork too, Sweetie,¡± Tom protested as Jacky hugged him a little tighter, smiling wide.

    ¡°Aww come on!¡± Fengi protested, Dakota and Essy just looking at each other, not sure what the fuss was about.

    After Jacky had put down her beloved Tom, the group had made for the newest building that had been erected surrounding the old keep. The bunker-like structure, built of granite blocks, housed the portal they had managed to establish nearly a year ago. Not that much had come of it until the truly massive bureaucratic shit-show had been settled. Now though, it sounded like they were soon going to be running the portal as often as they could fuel it. Saph had been through it only twice before, and that had been for short visits, not counting the ¡®first contact¡¯ they had made¡ªwhich had been one hell of a day. After their initial visit, they had left the contact and diplomacy to the actual trained diplomats.

    Now though, it was their turn to get to experience an entirely alien world in full. Even if they had cheated a bit before with the whole jump apparatus Tom had fashioned. That was expensive to use though. This was much smarter, and they could actually go out in public proper. Even if Tom had warned them they would likely get a lot of attention.

    Walking through the open doors to the portal room, the large rotating disk was already humming away. Tom had insisted on calling it the ¡°big ass stargate¡± for some reason. Likely yet another movie they would have to see at some point.

    The sensation was just as strange as ever, if not even stranger, since it was slower than Saph remembered it. The world went blurry as she ran through, hoping to make the experience as quick as possible. A Kaleidoscope of colors danced over her vision as her back was cooked while her front felt like she had flown into a blizzard. Then it was over as quickly as it had started. They all came jogging down the ramp on the other side, staggering a little, Ray seeming a little sick. It was her first time after all, but Saph had insisted on bringing her along. It just felt wrong to leave her.

    They cleared the ramp and Jarix came barreling through, Saph watching in anticipation to see what the heavy gravity would do to the dragon. She had two gold riding on this after all.

    She let out a cheer as the dragon stumbled and fell over with a crash, sliding along the ramp before coming to stop with a pained expression on his face.

    ¡°Welcome to Earth, Jarix. I hope you¡¯ll like it,¡± Tom chuckled as Saph quickly ran over and turned on his harness, the dragon lifting himself off the ground.

    ¡°Aowww¡­ For the record, that didn¡¯t happen.¡±

    ¡°Of course not,¡± Tom replied, turning to walk out of the very similar-looking room, Saph glancing at one of the security cameras on the wall.

    ¡®Sure it didn¡¯t,¡¯ she snickered to herself as she joined the others. Jacky rushed ahead excitedly, Fengi fast on her tail. ¡®Here we go then.¡¯

    __________________________________________________________________________________

    ¡®Oh my gods, this is amazing!¡¯ Ray squeaked to herself, looking down at all the strange scenery sliding by below. So many little trees and what looked more like parts of a city just built in the middle of forests and fields. And those rolling fields! There were so many of them, stretching as far as the eye could see. She had seen pictures before, but this was the real thing. They had to take a picnic or something out there at one point. She was a little sad Tiguan wasn¡¯t coming this time around, but he would get his chance, she was sure of that. That means she needed to learn as much as she could on this trip so she could take him to go see things too. It certainly sounded like Tom had a lot planned.

    She wasn¡¯t so sure about going to a big city, but that was the first thing they had planned. She had talked with Fengi too, the younger huntress deciding to rest a bit on Jarix¡¯s back as they flew. Ray knew all about Fengi¡¯s past by now, so to say the both of them weren¡¯t fond of cities was not a stretch. Then again, this was an entirely different kind of city with entirely different people, and, by the sounds of it, there would be no hiding in dark alleys here.

    As they flew, several ¡°villages¡± as Tom called them glided by down below. Several of them Ray would have called towns at least, but Tom was adamant. When they passed what he called a ¡°town,¡± she could see why. It certainly couldn¡¯t compare with the capital, but they were big and there were many of them. Then the big city had hoved into view and Ray had to agree. This one certainly could compete with the capital for size. It was all so flat though. No massive cliff spire in the middle, and most of the buildings didn¡¯t seem that tall.

    Tom had been using something he called asat navto navigate. It had calmed Jarix down quite a bit that they did in fact know where they were and where they were going thanks to the magic-yet-not-magic map. Apparently, they only had certain places they were allowed to fly, and only below a certain height too. It certainly suited Jarix just fine. He liked to fly lower and faster than Tiguan. It was good fun.

    This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

    They had come down in this big black patch of very smooth stone with white lines painted all over it making little boxes that the cars she had seen in a lot of the pictures were sitting in.

    ¡°Really. Our first destination is a parking lot?¡± Dakota had asked as Jarix looked around.

    ¡°You aren¡¯t leaving me here, right?¡± the dragon asked, seeming a little worried as he eyed the abandoned vehicles and the rather quickly growing crowd.

    ¡°No, not for long at least. That¡¯s a supermarket. I thought we should go grab a few snacks for the trip. Besides, I have no clue how to buy a parking ticket for you, so we will have to be quick.¡±

    ¡°A ticket?¡± the dragon questioned, clearly not following.

    ¡°If someone comes up to you speaking a weird language trying to give you a fine, just snarl a bit at them. I doubt they would know how to deal with that.¡±

    ¡°Uhm¡­ okay... Do they have anything in dragon size in there?¡± Jarix asked with the expression of someone who knew that was a joke but kinda hoped it wasn¡¯t.

    ¡°Tell you what, I¡¯ll have a look,¡± Tom replied, seeming entirely serious as those who had been riding the dragon disembarked, the others coming in for a landing.

    ¡°I¡¯ll stay with Jarix,¡± Saph went, going over to lean up the dragon¡¯s front leg. ¡°Just get me some chocolate.¡±

    ¡°You mean all the chocolate,¡± Fengi replied, nearly jogging in place with anticipation.

    ¡°Indeed, all the chocolate,¡± Tom echoed.

    Ray had heard of this chocolate before, but she hadn¡¯t actually tried it yet. Looking around, people had already started following them, looking intently. Many of them took out those funny little phone things holding them up while looking at them, some talking into them. Ray just smiled and waved as she followed the others, sticking close. She had kinda hoped Saph wouldn¡¯t stay behind, but Essy and Dakota wouldn¡¯t back down, and they had Jacky if it came to it. So she was safe here, even with all this attention pointing her way.

    That didn¡¯t make her feel much better, though, until they entered the large glass doors, which just moved out of the way for them. Ray caught herself bowing to the door when she assumed there must have been a doorman. Her attention was quickly snapped away though, as she beheld the massive rows of shelves with all manner of items strewn everywhere. Their group came to a halt to marvel at all the things on display as she heard Tom and a few of the others chuckling behind her. She didn¡¯t care, though, as she tried to make out some things she recognized. Most of it was so alien. So colorful. Everything looked pretty, even a bucket full of shovels looked good. The shovels actually shone like they had been lacquered!

    ¡°Welcome to Bilka. We don¡¯t need that much here, but they have the largest candy department I know of, so come along now,¡± Tom went, leading the way. People cleared a path for them and gawked as they walked by.

    It just kept going and going with more and more random things. There had been an entire area with what was apparently products to make you look better. Tom was only just about managing to keep them moving to their first stop. After a quick discussion between what must be an employee and Tom in that strange language, several boxes had been brought out for them. Tom opened one showing them their newphones.

    When Ray was handed hers, she inspected the odd slab of glass and metal. It was undoubtedly pretty even as it was, but after looking over Fengi¡¯s shoulder, she managed to get it to light up. The screen was the most marvelous blue as they all started doing what Tom told them. One of the employees came over to help her, looking both very excited and almost scared at the same time.

    She just smiled at him, looking down to see what he was doing with interest. After a bit the phone looked much like Tom¡¯s one that she had gotten to use a few times before. She bowed her head slightly at the guy, who smiled back and moved off to help Fengi. As she began exploring this new phone, Ray was struck by a sudden realisation.

    ¡°Wait. Are you paying for all this?¡±

    ¡°Yup. Well, I guess the keep is. But ehm¡­ yeah, let¡¯s just say the money spent is gonna be trivial in relation to what we are going to be making.¡±

    Ray just looked to Fengi, who looked as incredulous as Ray felt right now. ¡®Whatever did you do to deserve this place,¡¯ she chuckled to herself, clutching the phone to her chest for a second before going back to figuring out how it worked.

    ¡°Hey, I got the camera to work,¡± Fengi let out, pointing the phone at Jacky. ¡°Smile!¡±

    ¡°Not funny¡­ How do I make it play games?¡± Jacky questioned, tapping away on the screen to no avail.

    ¡°I thought you were supposed to be good at this, Jacky?¡± Dakota questioned, looking over to Essy, who was deep in concentration. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±

    ¡°I think it¡¯s for sending messages and talking with people¡­ Have you got Messenger to work yet?¡± Essy questioned, looking over at Dakota¡¯s phone, their fearless leader clearing her throat once.

    ¡°Not quite yet¡­ where is that?¡± She questioned, looking to her old friend¡¯s phone, clearly trying to work out what she was looking for.

    ¡®Messenger,¡¯ Ray thought to herself as she started searching too. ¡®I wonder how you spell that? Oh no, it¡¯s not draconic... ¡¯ she muttered, looking around for the nice guy. She was really not very good at reading English yet. She had gotten okay at speaking it though. She spotted the nice guy from before, going over and gently poking him on the shoulder. ¡°nessenger, please?¡± she questioned, showing him the phone.

    ¡°Of course, ma¡¯am, just one second,¡± he replied, very kindly taking the phone.

    ¡®Wow, they are all really nice¡­ I wonder if it¡¯s because we just spent a lot of money?¡¯

    __________________________________________________________________________________

    ¡°Right then¡­ What do we do now?¡± Jarix questioned, trying to get comfortable on the admittedly rather warm black stone the humans calledtarmac.

    ¡°I don¡¯t really know,¡± Saph replied, looking around at all the people who didn¡¯t look like they knew if getting closer was a good idea. ¡°I think you have plenty of potential new friends to talk to though¡­ Think any of them have flown on dragon back before?¡±

    ¡°No¡­¡± Jarix replied half-heartedly as his head tilted. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±

    Saph looked over to see what he had caught a glimpse of, seeing an odd, furry, four legged thing secured by a leash, standing next to a young looking human man. The guy was clearly gossiping with a woman next to him who seemed about the same age, with a wide smile on his face. ¡®awww a human couple¡¯ Saph mused sweetly. looking down at the furry pet.

    ¡°I think that¡¯s a dog. Haven¡¯t seen that kind before though. There are a lot of them apparently. Like really a lot.¡±

    ¡°I see¡­¡± the dragon replied, moving his head a bit closer as the dog began barking, causing him to pull his head back. ¡°What an angry little creature.¡±

    ¡°No, Tom said they are protective,¡± Saph went, getting up. ¡°He also said they are very friendly though. Let me go have a chat. I want to pet it.¡±

    The human man had yanked on the leash, scolding the dog who to its credit did shut up, sitting next to the man¡¯s leg, staring up at Jarix.

    ¡°Hi. Is that your dog?¡± Saph questioned, reaching out her hand to him and trying her best to sound like Tom, though she could only cringe at the accent she still had. It was probably unavoidable though, so what the hell. The dog certainly looked suspicious, letting out a slight growl before the man tugged on the leash again, giving her his other hand. ¡°Yes, this is Yogi. Don¡¯t mind him, he hasn¡¯t seen¡­ dragons before.¡±

    ¡°Yorgii,¡± Saph echoed, looking down at the dog. ¡°I have not seen dog before,¡± she replied.

    ¡°Is that so¡­¡± The man replied with what she took for genuine surprise ¡°Well he¡¯s a border collie. Doesn¡¯t normally bite... perhaps take it a little slow though. No offense.¡±

    ¡°None taken,¡± Saph went, crouching down and slowly reaching out her hand to the dog who started sniffing her, not seeming sold on the whole idea.

    ¡°Maybe try a treat?¡± the man suggested, starting to rummage around his pockets, eventually handing her a funny-looking little brown thing. She sniffed it a few times, and it didn¡¯t actually smell half-bad. Maybe a bit like dried field rations, but not bad. Looking back to the dog, she certainly had its attention now, as it was doing little tippy taps with its front paws, licking its mouth.

    ¡°Yogi, d?k,¡± the man ordered, Yogi lying down on the ground, still looking at Saph. ¡°Oh, he does tricks?¡± she questioned as she delicately handed the dog the treat, fearing it might snap at her fingers. It just started licking her hand, though, until she gave up the treat, which it quickly chewed, clearly happy, tail wagging furiously.

    ¡°There we go,¡± Saph went as she experimentally moved her hand closer to the dog, eventually petting it on the head. ¡®Great success.¡¯

    ¡°N?r hvordan f?les det at blive klappet af en alien?¡± the guy went in a questioning tone, Saph looking up at him.

    ¡°Sorry. I don¡¯t speak Lego,¡± Saph chuckled, tilting her head.

    ¡°Oh sorry. I was speaking to Yogi,¡± the man replied in an apologetic tone, seemingly not deciding to translate.

    ¡°I see,¡± Saph just went back to petting the dog, feeling its soft fur. ¡°Oh you are a fluffy one. Yes, you are,¡± she chuckled as the dog rolled over in submission tail wagging. ¡®Huh¡­ that was easy,¡¯ she mused to herself as she kept petting. ¡®I guess you aren¡¯t much of a warrior after all.¡¯

    ¡°Uhm, Saph?...¡± came the rather unsure voice of a dragon from behind her in draconic. Looking back, she saw a person in a black uniform with some kind of neon green vest on, currently looking at Jarix. ¡°They are making strange noises and looking at a piece of paper.¡±

    ¡°Right¡­ I¡¯ll be right back,¡± Saph went with a smile, giving the dog a last pat and getting up, going to confront this new person. ¡°So. How I help you?¡±

    __________________________________________________________________________________

    ¡°Three thousand crowns for a parking ticket,¡± Tom grumbled as Jarix walked alongside, following the human as he lead the way out of the car park ¡°Damn robbery if you ask me.¡±

    ¡°Well, it was only seven fifty per parking space,¡± Saph shrugged. ¡°And how was I supposed to know it was a fine? She just said ¡°pay¡± and gave me a slip of paper then ran off looking scared.¡±

    ¡°Saph, you haven¡¯t learned the value of their money yet?¡± Shiva questioned with a sigh. ¡®Someone didn¡¯t do their homework. I could get a lot of their nice aluminum for that¡­ I wonder how much might be in one of those cars?¡¯ Shiva pondered to herself, looking around the car park. ¡®Almost a shame they are so good at painting. I would love to see one with a mirror polish.¡¯

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s not like Jarix has a number plate, so I¡¯m not paying this,¡± Tom chuckled, waving at a group of children that looked up at Jarix awestruck.

    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that make us criminals?¡± Dakota questioned, seeming a touch skeptical.

    ¡°I doubt dragon parking laws are a thing yet.¡±

    ¡°Fair point¡­¡± The gilded huntress yielded ¡°So where to now then?¡±

    ¡°Well the shopping strip. It¡¯s just a long street with nothing but stores lining either side. Jarix won¡¯t fit in a mall, so this is the next best thing.¡±

    ¡°So¡­ Do we have like a budget, or how is this going to work?¡± Jacky questioned, looking to Ray, who was busy being taught which chocolates were the tastiest by Fengi as they walked.

    ¡°Indeed you do,¡± Tom went, climbing up Jarix¡¯s leg onto his harness, gesturing for the dragon to just keep walking as he fetched something from the harness.

    ¡°Can¡¯t actually remember last time I held this much cash,¡± he chuckled as he started bringing out bundles of bills. ¡°You all have your new wallets, right?¡±

    They all quickly got out their freshly acquired money-holding devices as Tom handed out the wads of cash. Shiva did a quick count. ¡®Not bad,¡¯ the smith mused, looking to Ray, who was predictably looking down at the bundle eyes wide, with chocolate staining the edges of her mouth.

    ¡°This is your pocket money. It¡¯s yours. What you don¡¯t use you get to keep. Just keep in mind that¡¯s for this whole little trip. I think you will find it sufficient. We¡¯ll get you some credit cards another time.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the magic money card you have, right?¡± Jacky questioned, looking at Tom as she was organizing her wallet.

    ¡°And your mother,¡± Shiva smirked from behind Jacky, causing her daughter to look back at her in confusion. ¡°What? You thought I bought enough metal to equip a small army with paper?¡±

    ¡°How much money is on it?¡±

    ¡°A large amount that is for the procurement of materials for the keep. Not our entertainment.¡±

    Jacky¡¯s expression grew a little questioning before she turned back to Tom, tilting her head over once again, trying to imitate Fengi. ¡®You aren¡¯t cute, silly girl. He won¡¯t fall for it.¡¯

    ¡°You have more than enough money, sweety. If you don¡¯t spend it all on jewelry, you could buy a very nice rifle or something like that.¡±

    ¡°Oh, are the products of my forge not up to standard?¡± Shiva asked teasingly, causing Jacky to whip around again.

    ¡°It¡¯s for the collection. I want a human one too.¡±

    ¡°Fair. How else would you see the difference in craftsmanship?¡± Shiva chuckled. She knew exactly what she wanted to buy with her money and that Jacky had no chance of limiting herself to one gun. It was her money though, she could do with it what she pleased.

    It had certainly been interesting to walk down the street, looking up she constantly felt like there should be more there but it was just open sky after two or three stories of building. It had been stuffed to bursting with humans, an ever-growing contingent of people with cameras joining their impromptu entourage. One person with a microphone came up to Shiva as she was looking through a window into what seemed to be a handbag maker¡¯s shop. They had started speaking in that funny-sounding language, Shiva not being able to make much of it out. Her Danish vocabulary was mostly swear words.

    She had just let them speak, then when they held out the microphone she had replied in draconic. She told them they really should consider growing a brain then turned to leave. To her surprise, that didn¡¯t seem to phase the person. as she felt them grab her hand and start again in English.

    ¡°Sorry. Didn¡¯t mean to offend. Would you care to give a statement on why you are here today out in public?¡±

    Shiva turned back to her, pulling back her hand, pointedly looming over the hilariously small woman. She would honestly look small next to Unkai, it was all she could manage not to start laughing right away as she did her best to seem ominous, which was quite clearly working as the human shrank further. ¡°Shopping trip.¡±

    ¡°Yo mum. You have to try this,¡± came the very excited voice of Jacky from behind her. The smith turned away from her quarry to see what Jacky had found this time, having an odd looking cone with some balls stacked atop it thrust into her face. ¡°Ice cream cone. And I know you like chocolate too. There is caramel in there too.¡±

    ¡°What is caramel?¡± Shiva questioned, taking the delicate looking item and looking to Jacky, who was busy licking a very similar looking contraption.

    ¡°Just try it. Come on, before it melts.¡±

    Shiva did as instructed, eyes going wide as she quickly started lapping up the delectable concoction. ¡®This is amazing.¡¯

    ¡°Excuse me me, but I have...¡± the voice piped up from behind her again as Shiva and Jacky started walking off with their treats. Shiva just ignored them, slapping them in the face with her tail as she concentrated whole heartedly on the ice cream. ¡°What did this marvelous thing cost?¡±

    ¡°Like Fifty of those crown things. Can¡¯t even get a decent lunch for that here.¡±

    ¡°Incredible.¡±

 Part 2

    HoH Field Trip 2 Electric Boogaloo part 2 (1-year anniversary special)

    ¡°So, what would you like to order?¡± the very kind waiter asked, having made it around to Ray. The others had already ordered except for Jacky, who was talking to the second waiter. Ray had tried really hard to read the English menu but was struggling to say the least. Luckily she was sitting next to Saph, who was quite good at reading the stuff. There was just so much to choose from though.

    ¡°I have no idea¡­ What is a¡­ burger?¡± Ray questioned, looking up apologetically. The guy looked rather taken aback, clearly considering his response to that one. ¡®Oh no, now I look like an idiot,¡¯ Ray cursed as she felt her ears lower a bit.

    ¡°A burger is two slices of bread with a ground beef patty, various greens, dressings, and sometimes bacon and cheese inside.¡±

    ¡°I like cheese and bacon¡­ Can I have one with both?¡± Ray questioned hopefully, looking up at the waiter.

    ¡°Of course. What would you like to drink with your cheese and bacon burger? We have a selection of wines, beer, and hot drinks.¡±

    ¡°Something warm and sweet please. If you have it.¡±

    ¡°I could get you a hot chocolate,¡± the man asked leadingly.

    ¡°Yes please.¡±

    ¡°Would you like whipped cream and sprinkles on it?¡± he asked again, even more leadingly this time. Ray pondered that for a second before nodding excitedly. She was sure he knew best what was good here. He did work here after all. She didn¡¯t even know what sprinkles were.

    ¡°Very well, one hot chocolate with all the garnishings. I¡¯ll be right back.¡±

    The waiter bowed slightly and walked off to the kitchen with their orders, Ray letting out a breath looking over to Jacky who had also finished ordering. ¡°What did you get?¡±

    ¡°Large beer and a bearnaise steak with fries. Tom said I had to try this bearnaise thing.¡±

    ¡°Second best sauce in the world,¡± Tom replied happily as he continued inspecting the menu. ¡°They don¡¯t have half-bad desserts here either by the looks of it.¡±

    ¡°Do they have cake?¡± Ray questioned, looking over at the human.

    ¡°Sure do. Quite a few types too.¡±

    ¡°Hope there¡¯s room then¡­ Is a burger a large meal?¡±

    ¡°I mean¡­ I don¡¯t know this place, maybe. Just leave a bit to make room for dessert. Things aren¡¯t rationed here.¡±

    ¡°Some habits die hard,¡± Ray chuckled, looking over to Sapphire, who had moved to the dessert section of the menu too. ¡°Found anything that sounds good?¡±

    It didn¡¯t take long for their food to arrive, at least not by Ray¡¯s reckoning. Then again, it had been a long time since she had last ordered food anywhere.

    It certainly looked delicious, and the smell was heavenly as she sniffed her meal. They had given her utensils, but it looked more like a tall sandwich and really rather unstable. ¡°Is it okay if I use my hands?¡± she questioned, looking to Tom.

    ¡°Of course, have at it.¡±

    Ray shrugged, opening wide as she took a bite of the tall burger. The bread was so soft and the lettuce fresh and crunchy. She had no clue what the red disks were, but they had a very nice delicate taste. The crunchy bacon and savory beef patty took the cake though. This was food fit for celebrations, and they were just on a little trip. And with the money Tom had given her, she would be able to afford so many burgers. ¡®I love this place.¡¯

    The sounds of approval were universal, going down the table. Jacky¡¯s shoulders sagged as she looked at the sky, her face one of pure bliss. ¡°Your steak is better than ours. No arguing that,¡± she let out once she finished savoring her bite, going for another right away.

    For once, Tom seemed to be reveling in the food just as much as in their reactions. Ray guessed it had been awhile since he had gotten meals like this after all. ¡°Do all humans eat like this?¡± she had questioned once she finished chewing.

    ¡°No¡­ Not everyday at least. But we do tend to eat very well around these parts,¡± Tom replied, chewing away on his steak.

    ¡°But you could if you wanted to?¡± Essy questioned from further down the table.

    ¡°Sure. A little expensive, but not impossible,¡± Tom shrugged.

    Ray took a delicate sip of her hot chocolate, the smooth and almost soft feeling liquid running down into her mouth as her eyes went wide. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t mind living here,¡± she let out as she put down the glass with reverence, catching Saph looking at her funny. ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°You got something around your mouth,¡± Saph chuckled, gesturing for Ray to wipe her snout.

    ¡°Oh!¡± Ray squeaked, quickly licking the whipped cream from around her mouth. ¡°Even the cream is sweet,¡± she sighed in delight as she took another sip of the hot chocolate, Saph starting to giggle again. She was gonna need more than one of these.

    ¡°Well, if the portal works as well as we hope, we might just be able to order takeaway,¡± Tom chuckled, taking another bite of his steak and chewing away. ¡°No, even better. Jarix is going through a drive through¡­ Oh hell yeah, we need to do that,¡± the human laughed out, prompting some curious glances from around the table. ¡°Shame he wouldn¡¯t fit in a car wash either. That would be funny as hell.¡±

    That had triggered a fresh round of questions for the human as they chatted away over the delicious meal. When time had come for dessert, Ray had chosen something called a bleeding heart chocolate cake. It sounded almost sad, but the server was adamant it was the best chocolate dessert they had and it was cake so it had to be good. It was certainly not disappointing, that was for sure. She had her doubts it would fit in her stomach when she got it and after she was done she believed she might have been right. It had tasted so good though.

    They had all ordered dessert, and every last one of them looked like they regretted it when they were done, Fengi actually letting her head dangle over the back of the chair, tongue hanging out. Tom though, was of course just laughing at their expense.

    ¡°Waiter, I think I could use another soda. It¡¯s gonna take a bit before they can move again.¡±

    __________________________________________________________________________________

    ¡°Holy shit,¡± Jacky let out as her eyes beheld the largest armory she had ever seen. And it was all for sale.

    She only just about managed to rip away her eyes to look at her mother, who to Jacky¡¯s extreme delight was for once awestruck too. ¡°They are certainly productive. I will give them that,¡± the smith got out as Jacky rubbed her hands together, looking for an employee. If there was anything she had learned on this trip, it was that the people working in stores were incredibly helpful.

    ¡°You,¡± she went, pointing at a guy. ¡°I need assistance.¡±

    ¡°Certainly¡­ Miss?¡± the designated helpful individual questioned, looking her over, seeming almost concerned.

    ¡°Jacky will do. Now, I want to see as much of your inventory as possible. Starting with the biggest rifles you are allowed to sell me.¡±

    ¡°Of course, Jacky,¡± the guy replied. ¡°I¡¯m Jesper. We do have a catalogue if you would like.¡±

    ¡°I came to see real guns, not pictures. And I have plenty of time.¡± She swore she could see him swallow as she did her best not to start cackling.

    ¡°Okay then. Right this way.¡±

    He led her deeper into the store, Tom and Shiva following along. The rest of the girls had prefered staying back downtown to keep shopping. It had taken some convincing to let them go off on their own, but Tom had eventually yielded and gone with Jacky and Shiva. Luckily for them, Jarix had rather quickly gotten tired of ducking out of the way of signs and constantly being careful not to step on someone or swipe a kid with his tail, so he had happily taken them to the store, which was out on what must be the outskirts of the city.

    Her mother was quick to start inspecting some of the weapons on display as Jacky waited for her helper to bring out the good stuff. ¡°Hey, Tom, do they sell cannons here? I know you said no machineguns.¡± she questioned as they walked deeper into the store.

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid not. It must be able to be classified as a rifle. I think they might be able to get close though,¡± he went with a knowing smile. She knew that expression; this was gonna be good.

    __________________________________________________________________________________

    ¡°Oh, by Ishan. You look amazing!¡± Essy preened as Ray came out of the changing room. The fact humans were down two limbs and a tail had made this clothes shopping thing a lot harder than anticipated, but the tenacity of the small flock of women that had come together to help them was to be commended.

    Ray all but froze, looking in the mirror as she turned around to look at herself from behind. ¡°It¡¯s beautiful,¡± she let out, sounding almost like she was going to call a bluff on something. The combination of a low cut back and loose skirt worked beautifully, even if finding something that accommodated their larger rib cage had been problematic. They had done it though. The dress fit perfectly, and with a very pretty silver necklace and gold earrings Ray looked more like a noble at a gala than a frontier keeps woman, let alone a street beggar.

    ¡°Yes, she likes it!¡± one of the women that had helped them let out, cheers ringing out from the rest of the humans as high fives were had. ¡°I wonder if we can find some sunglasses that would fit her?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fetching some armbands. What¡¯s her size again?¡±

    ¡°Girls, we need to pick a perfume for her¡­ Darling, what scent would you like?¡±

    Ray just looked around at them flabbergasted, not sure what to do. ¡°Uhm¡­ I like flowers.¡±

    ¡°I will bring them all,¡± the older woman declared, hurrying off as fast as the strange shoes would let her.

    ¡°Damn, you girls better do me next,¡± Fengi laughed, taking off her crown and comparing it to some of the jewelry on display.

    ¡°Well of course, darling. I simply have to ask: those tiaras you are wearing, Do they mean something, or are they just fashion?¡± One of the other younger women asked, walking up to Sapphire and looking at her crown.

    Saph obliged, taking it off and handing it over to the woman, who took it with extreme care, looking it over.

    ¡°Is this all handmade?¡± The woman asked appraisingly as she studied it.

    ¡°Of course. It symbolizes my rank as Silvered Huntress along with my armor,¡± Saph clarified.

    ¡°Armor?¡± the woman questioned, a touch confused.

    ¡°Well yes. I like living after all,¡± Saph chuckled, Fengi letting out a snicker too.

    ¡°Like knight armor?¡±

    ¡°No, I¡¯m no knight. Dakota will inherit her mother¡¯s plate armor when the time comes. So I guess she¡¯s a knight of sorts, being a noble.¡±

    ¡°You''re a noble?¡± another of the women questioned, turning to Dakota, who had been busy looking at a rack of scarves.

    ¡°Yes. Dakota Bizmati, of Bizmati Keep.¡± Saph heard a few of the women start whispering at the sound of Bizmati, it only made sense with the portal and everything. It did make her wonder just how much weight that name might carry around here.

    ¡°Is that what the gold means?¡±

    ¡°No, that just means I¡¯m in charge of this merry band. So if they misbehave just let me know,¡± Dakota went with a warm smile, Fengi looking at Saph with a less confident expression.

    You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

    ¡°This is so exciting. A noble alien and a whole group of warrior women in our store.¡±

    ¡°Please, ma¡¯am. We are dragonettes,¡± Dakota corrected.

    ¡°Oh, my apologies. Dragonettes,¡± the woman went with a slight bow. ¡°Oh, we simply have to get a picture when you are all done. Is there anything that strikes your fancy?¡± she questioned, gesturing to the rack of scarves.

    ¡°Yes, I would quite like to try some of these. How good are they with water?¡±

    __________________________________________________________________________________

    ¡°You want all of them?¡±

    ¡°Yes, how much would that cost?¡±

    ¡°The old Krieghoff is probably one of the most expensive guns we have.¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes, how much?¡±

    ¡°That alone would be one hundred and twenty thousand.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, what?¡± Jacky had to ask, hoping she had misheard.

    ¡°This is why you look at price tags,¡± Tom chuckled sarcastically.

    ¡°I can¡¯t afford that¡­¡± she replied, still trying to process that number. ¡°What about the others?¡±

    ¡°The Marlin is fourteen thousand. The Sako is twenty-nine; the Browning semi-auto was thirty.¡±

    ¡°Holy shit,¡± Jacky let out, shoulders sagging.

    ¡°Weapons are expensive. Well, if you want the flashy ones. What about this?¡± he went, holding up a still very nice looking gun, though it lacked much of the engraving and other things she had kinda wanted. ¡°If fires 458 Win Mag,¡± Tom went, as if trying to convince her. ¡°And it¡¯s only nine thousand.¡±

    ¡°Sold,¡± Jacky went, taking the gun. One thing was for sure, she wanted a rifle that was bigger than Tom¡¯s. It was only right. ¡°What about the browning?¡± She questioned hoping he had a cheaper way of getting her a semi auto shotgun. She couldn¡¯t think of a better weapon for air to air combat.

    ¡°We do have cheaper options available. Maybe something good for very rugged terrain.¡± The attendant asked very helpfully. He had been rather quick to catch on to what sort of requirements Jackalope had for a gun. Mainly big, loud, pretty, and built to last for decades at minimum.

    ¡°Yup. I don¡¯t want no pussy gun that¡¯s gonna fall apart,¡± Jacky went with a nod.

    ¡°A Baikal then. I¡¯ll go fetch some,¡± their attendant said with a nod before jogging off.

    ¡°What about scopes? They are really expensive too, right?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that. I have an idea for that,¡± Tom smiled. Jacky looked at him curiously before shrugging, going back to inspecting the CZ rifle. ¡°Don¡¯t you think this would be better for hunting? Shiva has already made you the fifty?¡±

    ¡°I guess. I really liked the Krighoos¡­ The double barreled one. Think I can still get to shoot it?¡±

    ¡°Maybe. We need to get everyone to a range one day. And an airshow, that¡¯s for sure.¡±

    ¡°Those both sound sweet. I guess Dakota will get to have her wish of going to a museum though.¡±

    ¡°Oh come on, can¡¯t be that bad if there are guns on display.¡±

    ¡°But you don¡¯t get to shoot any of them,¡± she protested. ¡°That¡¯s the whole point of guns.¡±

    ¡°I know. We¡¯ll figure something out.¡±

    With the selection modified to better fit her budget of nearly all the money she had been given and a deal stuck with Tom to exchange a bit of gold from back home for her, she had what she wanted and a decent amount of ammunition to boot. She had paid the prerequisite sum, though the guy behind the counter had looked quite confused when she started counting out bills for it. ¡°Don¡¯t have a money card yet,¡± she had just stated, plonking down the cash.

    ¡°Might need some help carrying all this to the dragon in the carpark.¡±

    ¡°Dragon¡­ Right, of course, Jacky,¡± the cashier replied, going to call for more people to help her. ¡®This is amazing. I need to come here more often,¡¯ she mused, turning to look at Tom, who was standing behind her. ¡°How do you think Jarix is doing?¡±

    ¡°No clue, guessing he¡¯s just dozing in the sun,¡± Tom said as an excited attendant ran in, shouting something in Lego to one of his friends, both of them and another customer rushing outside.

    ¡°Or maybe not,¡± Tom sighed with a smile. ¡°I think you want to see this Jacky.¡±

    -

    ¡°Go Jarix! Put your back into it!¡± Jacky shouted as the dragon dug into the soft grass, holding his ground as the pickup truck spun its tires, making a marvelous cloud of white and black smoke. ¡°Woo hoo!¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s doing better than I expected,¡± Tom observed, watching the display next to her as the dragon started slowly gaining ground, straining against the chain one slow step at a time.

    ¡°Jarix or the truck thing?¡±

    ¡°The truck,¡± Tom mused. ¡°I¡¯m surprised they aren''t mad about their lawn though.¡±

    ¡°Oh for fuck¡¯s sake. Shut up about the lawn and cheer!¡± Jacky ordered as she scooted between his legs, standing up with him on her shoulders. ¡°Fuck him up Jarix!¡± Tom yielded, cheering out loudly too, cupping his hands in front of his mouth and shouting away.

    Jarix looked back at them, stopping in place, the edges of his mouth creeping into an evil grin before he continued his advance with a nasty sounding snarl, claws digging in deep and digging up the pretty lawn.

    It would seem the guy in the truck finally had enough, as he came off the throttle, the truck rolling backwards in defeat.

    ¡°Whooo!¡± Jacky shouted out, doing a little jump in place.

    ¡°Right... Who¡¯s next?¡± the dragon questioned as he stood head hanging a little low, breathing heavily.

    ¡°I think you¡¯ve shown them up pretty good, big guy,¡± Tom chuckled, leaning on Jacky¡¯s head.

    ¡°Oi, I¡¯m not a table,¡± she laughed out, adjusting him a litte. ¡°And you are really heavy here.¡±

    ¡°Yeah yeah. You were the one that picked me up, remember?¡±

    ¡°I do seem to recall,'''' Jacky replied, turning to her left as a human came jogging up to them shouting excitedly in Lego. He seemed kinda fat, bald but with a pretty big beard, and there was definitely oil on his shirt. Taking a sniff, he smelled of something different too. a Harsh chemical smell she didn¡¯t know. She could make out Tractor though, so this was probably something she wanted to hear.

    ¡°English please, for their sake,¡± Tom replied in English, beating her to it. The guy looked a touch apologetic, bowing his head as he took off a really rather dirty looking cap.

    ¡°You are with that thing, right?¡± the man asked, pointing at Jarix, clearly trying to contain his excitement.

    ¡®Oh, he is fucking addorable,¡¯ Jacky mused as she nodded.

    ¡°You need to come to the pull tomorrow. Never had a dragon in front of the sled before... it would be a world first!¡±

    ¡°I heard pull?¡± Jarix questioned, walking up behind the man, who turned looking up at the dragon wide-eyed and getting a little smaller. Jarix just gave the man a nod, awaiting clarification.

    ¡°Tractor pull, Jarix. A sport about pulling a big heavy sled as far as you can.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m in,¡± the dragon replied with a grin. ¡°You got to choose all the places today. I¡¯m pulling my card.¡± Tom just shrugged, seemingly quite happy to let this happen.

    ¡°Oh sweet mother in heaven,¡± the guy replied, nodding frantically at the dragon. ¡°I¡¯ll deal with the paperwork and all that. You won''t have to worry about anything. What¡¯s your name?¡±

    ¡°Jarix.¡±

    ¡°Yes, good. Brande Arena, you know where that is?¡± the guy questioned, looking up at Tom, who was still leaning on Jacky¡¯s head.

    ¡°I do¡­ What are they running?¡±

    ¡°Championship round,¡± the guy replied with a big nod still clutching his cap.

    ¡°Fuck yeah,¡± Jacky let out. She had been worried it would be some little pissy event. This sounded important though. ¡°Could use some reinforcenents though, Jarix being a lightweight and all.¡±

    ¡°Light-Lightweight!?¡± the guy questioned, seeming a touch flabbergasted.

    ¡°I¡¯m not skinny, I¡¯m lean,¡± Jarix protested, sitting down pointedly, slapping the ground with his tail.

    ¡°But you¡¯re only an eight tonner,¡± Jacky protested. ¡°Imagine what Baron could pull.¡±

    ¡°How big is this Baron?¡± the human questioned, looking to Jacky.

    ¡°Thirty six if I¡­ rene... think right,¡± Jacky replied with a smile. ¡°Yo Tom, could you make that happen?¡±

    ¡°You want me to see if I can get diplomatic papers of some kind to get a warhero who is also a walking tank and flamethrower¡­ to a tractor pull?¡±

    ¡°The army will be swinging round to show off if that helps,¡± the man added hopefully, Jacky deciding that she liked this guy.

    ¡°Yeah, see. It¡¯s clearly some kind of trial. They need to evalu¡­ you know the word. Baron to see how awesome he is.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m right here you know,¡± Jarix grumbled looking down at them.

    ¡°Fucking hell, fine. I¡¯ll make some calls, if only because I wanna see that too.¡±

    ¡°Thanks sweety, you¡¯re the best.¡±

    ¡°So¡­ Do I add this Baron to the team lists too?¡±

    ¡°Maybe just leave the name blank for now. I have no clue¡± Tom interjected.

    ¡°Oh maybe Glira would be up for it,¡± Jacky replied happily, looking to the front of the store and seeing two of the attendants coming out with her guns. Shiva was trailing behind.

    ¡°Sweet,¡± she went, jogging over as she felt Tom hang onto her horns with one hand, phone likely already out in the other. ¡°Hey Jarix, look what I bought!¡± The dragon swung his head around to look at the two guys approaching.

    ¡°I guess I¡¯m the pack oxen then. Fine. Find a place to stow it,¡± he went, laying down, shuffling his shoulders a little and stretching out, letting out a satisfied grunt. The two human attendants just stood there gawking, holding the bags with the guns and the boxes of ammo. ¡°Well come on, haven''t got all day. I don¡¯t bite.¡±

    ¡°Much,¡± Jacky added as she heard Tom let out a low chuckle. ¡°Just don¡¯t drop my guns though.¡±

    The two guys slowly and carefully advanced, one of them seeming a bit braver as he climbed up onto Jarix¡¯s forleg, though he seemed stumped at what to do after that. ¡°Oh look, he¡¯s thinking,¡± Jacky muttered under her breath in draconic, trying not to laugh. Jarix wasn¡¯t doing them any favors either, not having lowered a wing for them or even held out a leg to make it easy, and he was also wearing a shit eating grin as he looked down at the two, looming over them.

    ¡°It would seem your tales of your people¡¯s bravery were exaggerated,¡± Shiva went, Tom looking down at her for a rare change. ¡°Slightly,¡± she amended, though not seeming terribly sincere.

    ¡°Mom, you missed the truck pull with Jarix,¡± Jacky protested, shoulders sagging a little.

    ¡°And I acquired a fine blade instead,¡± she went, holding up a wicked looking knife.

    ¡°Sick.¡±

    ¡°Indeed. It¡¯s not metal.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°They claim it¡¯s made from coal spun into a fiber. I will have to learn more. It weighs nothing,¡± Shiva went, handing Jacky the blade.

    ¡°Fuck...¡± was all Jacky got out as she held it. ¡®It¡¯s like it¡¯s made of feathers?¡¯

    ¡°Mind your language, and at least swear in draconic so they won¡¯t know what you said,¡± Shiva went as she took back the knife. ¡°Those two need help,¡± the smith continued, nodding at the two shop attendants. One of whom had climbed Jarix¡¯s harness by now and was reaching down to grab the boxes of ammunition from the other one, Jarix having rolled over just far enough that they couldn¡¯t reach.

    ¡°Nah. This is quality entertainment.¡±

    __________________________________________________________________________________

    ¡°Who would have thought nice smells in a bottle could be that expensive?¡± Fengi questioned as they landed at the next location, Ray getting off a slightly exhausted Essy¡¯s back. The whole taking flight thing was very handy when it came to avoiding the constantly increasing size of crowds that tended to form around them, but it had worked better when they had Jarix with them. Attention was good and all, but it could quickly get too much, and all the bags were heavy too. At least it wasn¡¯t Tom Essy had been asked to carry.

    ¡°It was still very cheap compared to back home, I can assure you of that,¡± Essy replied, She had been very pleased with her purchases thus far. They had to be some of the most wonderful perfumes she had ever smelled, and she had a whole bag of them.

    ¡°And they gave us quite the discount,¡± Dakota added. ¡°Never thought someone would be that up in arms about meeting a noble.¡±

    ¡°I still maintain you should have gone with royalty. How were they ever going to know?¡± Fengi chuckled. ¡°Maybe I could get away with saying I was a noble too. Almost no other dragonettes could just come here and walk around. Should be an easy sell.¡±

    ¡°We don¡¯t lie, Fengi,¡± Dakota scolded, looking back at the younger huntress. ¡°Besides, I don¡¯t think we need to. We have gotten plenty of nice things as it is.¡±

    Essy had to admit the scarves she and Dakota had bought did look great. They felt nice too. So soft and silky. She was a bit envious of Fengi, who had a way easier time finding clothes that fit since she was the smallest of them. Human women really were smaller than the men, just like Tom had said. Essy was not as strongly built as the others, so she had found a very fetching cobalt blue dress, open back obviously, that actually fit her quite snugly.

    The fabric was so stretchy too, she had almost been able to move like it wasn¡¯t there when she tried it on, and it weighed next to nothing, unlike the armor and thick leather clothes she was used to. Fengi had really wanted a set of those sweatpants they had in the mens department, but short of a tail amputation that was not going to happen with what the stores had. Fengi luckily hadn¡¯t noticed Essy buying a few pairs anyway, hoping it would be possible to modify them back home.

    ¡°Where are we headed anyway?¡± Essy questioned, looking around for which building was the destination.

    ¡°We are meeting them at some place called ¡®street food¡¯ in English, then we are looking for Arkaden. Whatever that is,¡± Dakota replied with a shrug.

    ¡°Food first, then some games as far as I¡¯ve understood. No Jarix though. Guess we¡¯re early,¡± Saph went, looking around the place as they rounded the corner. There were a few people milling about, a lot of heads obviously turning to look at them immediately.

    ¡°Aww, I wanted to hand off some of all these bags¡­ Do you think they would steal them if we put some at a table?¡± Fengi questioned, eyeing the crowd suspiciously. Essy knew she would never consider something like that in a city back home. This was rather different though¡­ and they did all have quite a few bags.

    ¡°Do we even have a table like that last place?¡± Esmeralda questioned as they approached the building. It looked like some big old warehouse, quite run down even, and it was right up against the water, which certainly took some getting used to.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Dakota admitted, stopping in her tracks to look around for someone they knew.

    ¡°I¡¯ll just text Tom real quick,¡± Saph went, pulling out her new phone. ¡°Anyone got his number?¡±

    ¡°I have Jacky,¡± Fengi went, getting out her phone too.

    ¡°A gold says we won''t get an answer,¡± Saph chuckeld, holding out her hand to Fengi.

    ¡°Deal,¡± Fengi replied, shaking it with a confident smile on her face.

    Essy just chuckled, feeling her phone vibrate in her pocket. ¡®Tom¡¯s in the group chat too, Saph.¡¯

    They had taken to walking around a little, inspecting the place. There were a lot of tables, both inside and out, and people were sitting here and there. The inside of the building was filled with little food stands making all kinds of delicacies. A quick walk around was more than enough to make their mouths water. The selection was truly staggering, with many of the vendors almost fighting for their attention to give them little tasters of what they sold. They had agreed not to buy anything until the others got here. It was only courteous after all, but a little snack wouldn¡¯t hurt.

    Essy had been trying to read some of the signs when the rather large amount of commotion outside alerted them of their big blue friend¡¯s arrival. ¡°Sweet, dinner time,¡± Fengi let out happily as she and Saph trotted back to their table to get their bags, Essy taking a more leisurely speed. They weren¡¯t in any rush after all. Not with this much food to try.

    ¡°Am I supposed to go in there?¡± the dragon questioned, eyeing the building aft¨¦r his passengers had gotten off.

    ¡°Yup. Don¡¯t worry, they were told to expect you. A perk of calling ahead and coming here on a relatively quiet day. Might have been problematic on the weekends,¡± Tom had replied, waving the dragon along towards the warehouse.

    ¡°Hey Jarix, mind if we stow some stuff?¡± Saph questioned.

    ¡°Couldn¡¯t you take some off instead? I¡¯ll lug it around later, but I would quite like to get this stuff off for a little bit. Don¡¯t wanna roll over and smash something,¡± Jarix replied in a hopeful tone.

    ¡°Oh¡­ right,¡± Saph replied. Fengi just got to it, handing her own bags to Saph then started unloading the dragon. Essy went over to help, the older huntress of course having a look at what was being unloaded when she had the chance. ¡®The hell is all this?

    ¡°Tom¡­ Is this legal?¡±

    ¡°Diplomatic immunity,¡± Tom had replied, walking over to them. ¡°But maybe don¡¯t show them off too much.¡±

    ¡°Bottom of the pile, got it,¡± Esmeralda replied, seeing to it that what she assumed was Jacky¡¯s shopping spree was hidden beneath the more innocuous items.

    Some people that seemingly worked here had come out and started setting up tables inside the big warehouse so Jarix could rest his head next to the conversation while they all ate. When they had set about making preparations for the dragon''s meal though, Jarix had seemed rather surprised to say the least.

    ¡°Wait, I¡¯m eating here?¡±

    ¡°yup, thought what better way to find out what you might like than try as much as possible in one go?¡±

    ¡°Oh, this should be quite good,¡± Essy chuckled with a wide smile at the dragon¡¯s bewildered expression.

 part 3

    HoH Field Trip 2 Electric Boogaloo part 3 (1-year anniversary special)

    ¡°Wait, I¡¯m eating here? They serve dragons?¡± Jarix questioned, not quite sure what to expect. It was nice to be inside for a change, that was for sure. They had partially closed the larger entrance behind him, a kind of rolling door coming down from above. It was much warmer inside than it had any right to be given the lack of large fires.. He wondered if that had something to do with the amount of people running around. They were supposedly all warm after all, and well, he had felt Tom¡¯s body heat a few times before. ¡®yeah that must be it.¡¯

    The noise and smells though, They were the real party piece of this place. So many people were all talking vividly, and mostly about them. That wasn¡¯t too surprising, he had started getting used to it by now. But the sheer amount of people who questioned if he could breathe fire was just getting annoying. It wasn¡¯t like fire was any better than lightning. He had promised not to do a demonstration though. It didn¡¯t seem like a good idea anyway with this many people around.

    ¡°Well, we are going to find out,¡± Tom replied, looking back over from talking with what must be some kind of waiter, or perhaps they ran the place.

    Looking around, he tried to concentrate on some of the various smells. The amount was staggering, but they were so distinct at the same time. He recognized some. Various spices he knew, sizzling beef on a hot pan, there was a really aged cheese in here somewhere, and an impressive amount of things being fried in oil.

    ¡°Any idea what you would like to try, big guy?¡± Tom questioned, looking up at the dragon, the person he had been talking to standing behind Tom with a clipboard at the ready.

    ¡°I honestly have no idea¡­ How big are the portions gonna be?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t really know that to be honest¡­ I¡¯m not guessing that big. It will probably be something along the lines of a dragon Tapas if I was to hazard a guess.¡±

    ¡°Tapas?¡± Jarix questioned, tilting his head. He hadn¡¯t heard that one before.

    ¡°Eh¡­ Many small portions,¡± Tom replied with a shrug. ¡°We could just start with one of everything.¡±

    ¡°Uhm¡­ Sure. This sounds very expensive?¡± Jarix questioned. He hadn¡¯t actually been given any money thus far. Then again, there hadn¡¯t really been anything to spend it on. He had kinda hoped they would visit a large butcher so he could buy some smoked hams. He really liked those, even if they were expensive as hell. Or maybe a brewery to buy a few barrels of something strong, or even just a lot of beer.

    ¡°Feeding a dragon is never a cheap thing. Just ask Dakota.¡±

    ¡°I hunt for most of my food and some to spare,¡± Jarix protested.

    ¡°Oh yeah, and as such today you are dining on Bizmati dime, so dig in, big guy. I think this might take a while though.¡±

    ¡°Okay then,¡± Jarix replied with a content nod. He certainly couldn¡¯t argue with that. The others had scattered to go buy whatever food they fancied from all the various stalls as Jarix waited, the predictable crowd starting to form. Pictures were taken with and without flash, and some of the onlookers were getting perhaps a little too brave.

    Sighing, he raised his head up high enough to look over the lot of them and spoke. ¡°I would rather like to just eat in peace¡­ It¡¯s been a long day okay. So, let¡¯s get this over with. I¡¯m Jarix. I¡¯m a blue dragon. I weigh 8 tons. I breathe lightning. I am officially seconded to Bizmati keep. If the kids want to touch, I¡¯ll put my tail around there,¡± he went, gesturing with his head towards the door. ¡°You may all have a lovely evening, and please don¡¯t hassle my friends. Or I''ll fry you alive.¡±

    Looking down to Tom, the human raised a hand, not looking entirely happy¡ªlikely on account of that last part. He did lower it again though, settling for just looking at Jarix, seemingly pondering something.

    ¡°What? I want to enjoy my meal.¡±

    It took a bit before the plates started arriving, and they all sat down with their food waiting for the stragglers to return with theirs. Fengi was the last to join them, and she had some strange looking little rolls.

    ¡°Right then. Dig in,¡± Dakota went as they all set about their food. Jarix included this time, much to his delight.

    His food was on big serving trays, something he had never tried before, nor did he really know how to go about eating it all. They had brought out some white clothes and even cleaned his front talons for him at Tom¡¯s behest, so he set about picking food off the plates, savoring the delicious smells coming off it before putting it in his mouth. He wasn¡¯t gonna lie; he had been rather jealous at lunch that the dragonettes all got to try out all manner of different foods while he had to mostly deal with curious onlookers and adventurous kids.

    As he chewed though, that all vanished. He had no clue what he had just eaten, but it was delicious and spicy. It had an almost tingling sensation that spread around his mouth, not unlike when he got a bit of blitz gel in his mouth by accident. He had never tried anything like that before, and he went to lick up the alien yellow sauce from the plate that seemed to be the reason for the spicyness. As he licked the plate, he heard a pair of hands slap together a small cheer ringing out from one of the stands. Turning to look, he saw a pair of human women that seemed darker skinned than most of the people around here but definitely not black like some of the humans he had seen in the movies.

    Guessing that they were the ones that had cooked the plate he just cleaned, he nodded to them graciously, the two of them seeming quite surprised before bowing in return. ¡®This is amazing,¡¯ he pondered, going back for the next dish which held some of those burger things some of them had gotten for lunch and Jacky was seemingly munching on the same thing right now. He had quite a few though, and they looked just about right to be picked up between two claws.

    They weren¡¯t spicy, but they were crunchy and very delicious. Much to his annoyance, the second one fell apart when he tried to pick it up. The last one he just skewered, picking it off his claws in his mouth, which worked rather well. The bowl of soup had required some help, which was not so dignified to say the least. He had never had soup either. He had gotten some portions of stew a few times before, which had been rather nice. This was just next level though. How water of all things could contain so many flavours at once was simply beyond him, but it was certainly worth the indignity of having someone pour it into his mouth.

    By the time the others had finished, he only made it through a bit over half the trays that had been brought out for him. There had been a few more spicy things in there, some of them tasting truly awesome, and the warm tingling sensation spread almost up into his nose as he chewed on the odd amalgamation of meats and what he was told were peppers mixed in with some white rice. He had almost gotten a little sad when the trays had finally run out as he licked off the remains of what was without a doubt the best meal he had ever had.

    ¡°So, found any favorites?¡± Tom had questioned, Jarix looking over at him with a contented smile.

    ¡°That curry thing was great¡­ Kinda wish there had been more¡­ Think you can get those crunchy french fries somewhere but with a spicy sauce? You know, the ones with minced duck in them?¡±

    ¡°Well, we can certainly ask.¡±

    ¡°Hmm?¡± Jarix questioned, licking his chops.

    ¡°Hey, think they have a dessert for Jarix too?¡± Jacky spoke up as the dragonettes started to stir, getting up from their seats.

    ¡°Dessert?¡±

    ¡°Well, I guess that depends. How hungry are you?¡± Tom questioned with a shrug.

    ¡°Wait. I¡¯m not done?¡±

    ¡°All you can eat my friend. Might as well use it.¡±

    ¡°Uhh,¡± was all Jarix got out in reply. That was certainly new¡­ He could have anything he wanted from in here and as much as he wanted. ¡®Oh, I could get used to this,¡¯ he mused to himself, mulling over the options. ¡°Some more of that curry stuff please. And the fries if they can make them¡­ Does anyone else have something spicy?¡±

    Tom didn¡¯t reply, simply nodding then walking off at a brisk pace towards the stand that had made the first dish and started speaking that ridiculous language.

    It took a bit longer before the dishes started coming again, but this time they just kept coming, and he got a big pot of the curry dish all mixed together, which had him licking the container without a care in the world, nearly burning his tongue a few times.

    ¡°Careful, you better leave room for dessert,¡± Tom chuckled once Jarix got his snout back out of the pot, grabbing some more of the duck fries with hot sauce.

    ¡°What¡¯s for dessert?¡± the dragon questioned as he munched away.

    ¡°We are all having this softice stuff,¡± Ray replied with a wide smile and a kind tone as always. ¡°It¡¯s really good.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s sweet, right?¡± Jarix questioned, looking to her with a head tilt.

    ¡°Yup, very. You¡¯re gonna love it,¡± she replied, taking another spoonful. The fact that Fengi looked like she was nearly vibrating confirmed that the sugar content was likely substantial.

    ¡°That would cost a fortune though, right?¡± Jarix questioned, looking to Tom and trying not to get his hopes up. He had been allowed to have a bit of sugar back at the keep just to try and get a taste. Even then it had felt wrong eating something that valuable.

    ¡°We aren¡¯t back home. Ice cream is cheap here¡­ I¡¯ll find a big bucket or something,¡± Tom went, turning to leave once more.

    ¡°I¡¯m having ice cream?¡± Jarix questioned almost in disbelief, following Tom with his eyes as the human made his way to what was apparently an ice cream stand.

    __________________________________________________________________________________

    To say the all you can eat dessert buffet had an effect was a gross understatement. Fengi felt ready to run up the walls with sheer energy. Jarix¡¯s foray into the magical world of ice cream had turned into a betting competition on just how much he could manage and when he had finally thrown in the towel, she swore she could feel electricity in the air.

    Tom had wisely decided that they needed to run off some steam, Jarix in particular. The dragon had beaten him to it though. His slightly tired demeanor from before they got here had melted away and been replaced with unbridled enthusiasm. ¡®I fucking love this stuff,¡¯ Fengi chittered as the dragon set about giving joyrides to those brave enough, the constant climbing to altitude followed by hard manuvers rather quickly bringing him back to a more resonable energy level. Fengi, Saph, and Jacky even joined in the fun, taking a few kids up too just for the fun of it. Jacky''s passenger''s bravery had run out during the aerobatics though, leading to a rather awkward moment of handing the crying kid back to the mother. To her credit though, the human mother was very understanding, quickly setting about calming the scared kid down.

    This, of course, had the unwanted side effect of increasing the crowd around them tenfold. Their Group all being in one place for this long already resulting in quite a few people coming down to watch. So they had made a break for freedom and flown off to their next destination. This Arcaden, whatever it was, where they were apparently going to play some kind of game. Tom had called it laser tag.

    -

    Dakota was in charge of their team. They had Dakota, Essy, Ray, and Fengi vs Tom, Jacky, Shiva, and Saph. Fengi wasn¡¯t entirely sure that was fair with Jacky, Tom, and Saph all being on one team, but that was not gonna slow her down. They had been allowed a chance to cool down, and she was still bursting with energy. They had four random schmucks on their team, all seemingly more intent on staring at them, or asking questions, than playing the game. At least that had the advantage of giving her a ready supply of meat shields, which proved very handy.

    ¡°Enemy is that way,¡± she snarled as the guy who had been following her took a hit, taking off a life.

    The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    ¡°Why are they so fast?¡± he grumbled, firing blindly around a corner.

    ¡°Well, you just told them where you are by sticking your gun out and got nothing out of it.¡±

    ¡°Are you some kind of soldier or something?¡± he questioned, seemingly not understanding. ¡°The internet said you were all medieval. How are you this good with guns!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve killed more people than you can seemingly count. Now move! Jacky will be coming around the right side to kill your ass!¡±

    ¡®Well, at least he didn¡¯t argue,¡¯ Fengi cursed as he got his slow ass up and started moving left where she gestured, hoping to make an ambush. That was just the thing though; he was slow as fuck, and Jacky wasn¡¯t. The silvered huntress came up over the wall, shooting all the way down and landing in a combat roll. Fengi nailed her twice, which was enough for a kill on the already wounded Jacky, but the guy was dead and Fengi lost a life too. ¡®Dammit!¡¯

    ¡°Aww, I nearly got both of you,¡± Jacky laughed, getting up and turning her back to Fengi as she walked back to her side. Fengi took the chance and ran at Jacky, leaping up onto her shoulders and kicking off into the air back over the wall Jacky had just crossed. Surely some of their humans had followed Jacky. Targets ripe for harvest.

    ¡°I¡¯m coming for you, humans,¡± she chuckled, landing gracefully on the other side and setting off down the flank unopposed. Her gamble was rewarded as she rounded a corner, finding two guys with their damn phones out, of all things. She had them both dead before they even got their guns up.

    ¡°Come on. How are you this shit!?¡±

    ¡°We want to tweet about this,¡± one of them protested like she knew what that was¡­ She should probably find out though.

    This should be this flank cleared, so hopefully she was behind them now. She made for their spawn, turning back towards the center and moving fast, but trying her best to be quiet. One human still heard her coming, turning around in the nick of time to point at her as she rounded a corner down a short corridor. She dropped down to her knees, sliding along the ground as she kept firing, the guy just sorta standing there looking at her. His gunnery wasn¡¯t even good as he missed her completely.

    ¡°Scratch four,¡± she laughed, springing back to her feet as she started moving more slowly into what was apparently supposed to be a building; she kept her gun high and stance low as she started sweeping, cursing her lack of back up right now. She found nothing though, sticking her head out into another corridor, checking to see if the coast was clear before moving up.

    and then her harness started beeping as she froze. She didn¡¯t have cover anywhere, but they hadn¡¯t killed her yet, which likely only meant one thing. ¡°Tom, are you hiding somewhere?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± the reply came, Fengi''s shoulders sagging as she stayed in place, ears starting to swivel to find him.

    ¡°Where are you?¡±

    ¡°Hidden.¡±

    ¡°I hate you.¡±

    ¡°Nah¡­ You are in a difficult position though,¡± the human replied, sounding quite close and seemingly behind her.

    ¡°Yup,¡± Fengi replied as she got a fix. ¡°Tom, what¡¯s twitter?¡± she asked, giving the human just under a second to get deep enough into thought to be slow on the trigger. Then¡­ she cheated.

    Wrapping her wings around her front, she covered the receptors as she turned to face him, backing away into another building, hoping to find a way to come up behind Tom¡¯s little hidey hole. Moving fast through the buildings, she was hoping he didn¡¯t know she had made his position.

    ¡®Gotcha now,¡¯ she snickered as she burst through the door, finding nothing there. Cursing to herself she started looking around and then her vest started blaring again.

    ¡°Oh, come on!¡± she burst out, turning back around to see Tom standing in the doorway she had just come through.

    ¡°Too quick. And you cheated,¡± Tom mused, lowering his gun.

    Fengi just grumbled in defeat, walking back to spawn. ¡°I will get you one day.¡±

    ¡°Hah. Not likely.¡±

    __________________________________________________________________________________

    ¡°Wooow! This is a big hall!¡± Ray let out in awe as they stepped into the cinema. All of the running around and pretending to be fighting had certainly calmed the younger women back down , and in true human fashion it seemed the next stop was more food. Shiva had started to grasp this concept rather quickly ever since she visited the steel mill a while back. When the workers there had learned she had never had a hotdog before, it hadn¡¯t even been a consideration whether she should pay for it. Now, Tom had absolutely insisted they try this popcorn. She had to admit, the small puffy nuggets had a delightful crunch, and she did enjoy salty foods. The black drink they had gotten was rather refreshing too, especially since they had gotten rather warm from all the indoor exercise in the laser game.

    ¡°What are we watching?¡± Jacky questioned impatiently.

    ¡°Patience. And do try to keep quiet, there are a lot of people in here.¡±

    ¡°Yes mom,¡± Jacky replied with an entirely uncalled for amount of sass as they found their seats.

    ¡°What¡¯s the movie?¡± she immediately asked Tom once they had sat down, Shiva sighing as she found a decent spot for her popcorn. The seats were very soft and nice, but clearly not built with a dragonette in mind, and she couldn¡¯t fit her tail around her side like Fengi next to her, so she would have to sit on it for however long this was going to take. ¡®I should bring my own damn chair in the future.¡¯

    Much to her delight, Tom remained silent. As the lights started dimming, a lot of other people came in and sat down around them. In equally traditional fashion, a couple were escorted out for taking pictures, which was apparently not allowed in here. ¡®

    Fengi had damn near spilled her popcorn as the sound systems roared to life with some kind of logo coming onto the massive screen. ¡°I do say,¡± Shiva let out, thoroughly impressed. Thus far she had only seen big screens or good screens, but this somehow managed to be both. And those speakers were incredible. If nothing else, this should at least be nice to look at and listen too.

    The movie started with a view of an older aircraft circling a large group of ships. According to the text, the ships were a merchant convoy trying to cross an ocean called the Atlantic. Shiva hadn¡¯t done much map studying, but she was relatively sure that was the ocean between them and that America place. ¡®So, another war movie then¡­ Okay,¡¯ she mused, leaning back, skewering a popcorn with a claw and delicately putting it in her mouth.

    ¡°So like, where are they going¡­ They are sailing in formation, right?¡± Jacky started questioning as the camera moved to the bridge of the vessel. Shiva just reached a hand over, clamping her mouth shut.

    ¡°Shsss.¡±

    Jacky had tried her hand at interrupting a few more times, resorting to whispering to Tom instead, which was an acceptable level of distraction as Shiva took in the scope of the movie.

    ¡®Crazy humans and their boats,¡¯ she mused as the ships made their way across the ocean.

    __________________________________________________________________________________

    ¡°Why would they do that!¡± Ray protested to Saph, who had followed her outside the theater doors. The poor woman was breathing quickly and shallowly. ¡°There were people in those metal boxes.¡±

    ¡°Submarines,¡± Saph corrected. ¡°We knew humans were crazy and they were killing left and right. You can¡¯t feel sorry for people like that.¡±

    ¡°But imagine dying like that! And the people in the water. They only saved nine!¡±

    ¡°But they did try to save them all. You just don¡¯t win every time, and they did make it in the end.¡±

    ¡°But they won against soldiers, Saph¡­ Do you think all the people down below were evil?¡±

    ¡°No, but they were soldiers. You know what that entails. If anything, I think they died quick. Blowing up like that...¡± Saph replied, voice heavy with apprehension. She had flinched when the first submarine exploded. It had shot water so high in the air¡­ She doubted anything would have survived locked in a tube with that.

    ¡°But the guy next to me said they would slip into the deep, trapped in there. And what about the first one? That didn¡¯t blow up, Saph. They would just have sunk slowly, trying to get out.¡±

    ¡®Why didn¡¯t we put you in the middle?¡¯ Saph cursed, trying to come up with a slightly more sensitive way to put it. That would be a horrible way to go.

    ¡°It was just a movie. You know. Like theater. Actors and those effects Tom keeps talking about.¡±

    ¡°I guess... ¡° Ray relented as the doors swung open again and people started pouring out. They all seemed quite happy to Saph at least. ¡®I guess they didn¡¯t give a shit,¡¯ she pondered, looking around, spotting the horns of Jacky sticking up over the crowd. ¡®And here comes the number one fan.¡¯

    ¡°Yo, Tom, could we go see one of those things for real? The ship, not the little coward boat.¡±

    ¡®Only Jacky,¡¯ Saph cursed, shaking her head and taking a deep breath, starting to feel just how tired she was. ¡®And here comes the sugar withdrawal,¡¯ she cursed. Tom had only let them have a small soda, which was likely a good idea, she had to give him that. But despite not doing much for the last however long that movie had taken, she was exhausted.

    To her relief, she hadn¡¯t been the only one as they walked out the cinema half-hanging onto each other. Tom of course seemed utterly unfazed. Fengi had made a halfhearted attempt to convince them they needed to try the night life around here, but she was quickly outvoted. It was time for bed, and they all knew it.

    Luckily for all of them, Jarix had seemingly not been as harshly affected by the day¡¯s activities, the blue graciously giving most of them a ride, leaving just Saph and Jacky on their own wings, Saph thought that was rather unfair, but the promise of a nice room and a soft bed was all the motivation she needed as they flew into the night.. She took the time to admire the multitude of lights that had sprung up all over the city. It was hardly dark actually, with every street illuminated vividly.

    ¡°I guess navigating at night won¡¯t be much of a problem then,¡± she mused to herself, letting the cold air keep her awake as she glided in Jarix¡¯s wake, silence reigning in the sky.

    It was beautiful actually. The hustle and bustle of the city seemingly was not coming to an end, but far enough away it was still quiet. ¡®Maybe Fengi was right that a trip on the town at night here would be worth it,¡¯ Saph pondered, looking at the streams of cars filtering through the streets, distant music playing from a few places. ¡®Another time, not like we only have one day.¡¯

    They were apparently staying at a hotel, which was like an inn but much larger. She had never actually been to a hotel before. By Tom¡¯s reckoning, they did have some inn¡¯s in the capital that could pass as a hotel, but well, they still called them inn¡¯s.

    What they had gotten was a rather nice looking squat white building . To Saph¡¯s surprise, Jarix had headed for the roof where a tent had seemingly been erected, a very large one at that.

    She and Jacky had landed first, finding people she assumed worked there already standing ready. They bid them welcome in English, bowing courteously. Saph replied in kind, trying not to seem too surprised at all this before looking up to Jarix, who was having another go at an approach in the dark.

    ¡°Hey uhm¡­ Sure this place is built for this?¡±

    ¡°Yes, the helipad is built for things like that,¡± a very smartly dressed female employee replied.

    ¡°... Ookay then,¡± Saph replied with a shrug, looking up as Jarix came down on the big yellow H, looking around rather confused.

    ¡°I was told not to land on roofs?¡±

    ¡°Yes, don¡¯t worry, we have mapped out where you are allowed to step with all the yellow cones. Stay within those and you¡¯ll be fine. We do apologize for not being able to provide more suitable accommodations for you, sir.¡±

    ¡°Uhm¡­ I mean I think this is fine¡­ Is it warm in there?¡±

    ¡°Oh certainly, follow me,¡± the attendant went, leading Jarix into his tent as everyone got off, all looking rather tired.

    More people had started appearing seemingly from nowhere to take their bags for them and start leading them downstairs into what Saph had to admit was a very nicely decorated building, if rather minimalist. To Saph though, the whole ''let''s fit in some more gold'' mentality was rather grating, but this was nice.

    They had been given twin rooms, which fitted Saph just fine. She had bunked up with Ray for the night. Much to Saph¡¯s, relief Tom and Jacky had waddled off down the corridor as Essy and Fengi set up shop next door. Dakota and Shiva were across from them. Saph doubted even Jacky would have any energy left, she certainly didn¡¯t. At least not until they managed to get the door open.

    ¡°Holy shit.¡±

    __________________________________________________________________________________

    ¡°Are we staying here?... Look at it! It¡¯s beautiful!¡± Ray Shrieked as the two of them moved through the door, being met with a little hallway with a door on their left. On the right were places to put your armor or clothes before going inside properly with a big soft mat on the floor. They wiped their feet on the mat, Saph going through the door as Ray went down the hallway to have a look around.

    ¡°There are paintings on the walls! And they''re pretty!¡± Ray exclaimed, peaking around the corner and gawking at their room proper. ¡°We have chairs, a table... I think those are games. This is amazing!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the bed like?¡± Saph questioned from the room behind Ray.

    ¡°Oh. Looks like we¡¯re sharing a bed¡­ It¡¯s big though,¡± Ray said over her shoulder as she went to touch the huge bed in the center of the room. The sheets looked so soft and were the purest white. There were massive windows with a view of the city and all the pretty lights too.

    Pushing on the bed, it was incredibly soft and springy, Ray looked around real quick to see if anyone was watching, more on instinct than anything else, before she climbed onto the bed on all fours and started to bounce a litte. It felt like she wasn¡¯t allowed to be in here, it was surreal, feeling her hands and feet sink into the impossibly soft and thick pillows and duvet¡­ she wasn¡¯t even sure she had ever had a duvet before¡­ It didn''t really make sense unless you had hot stones after all, all you would get out of it was a cold morning¡­

    ¡°Think they have hot stones here?¡±

    ¡°I have no clue. You need to see this though!¡± Saph half-shouted from the other room she had passed coming in. She crawled off the bed, going back and looking inside the smaller room, which honestly still wasn¡¯t that small. It was entirely white with tiles covering everything and some big slabs of black polished granite that looked almost like a night sky. ¡°What is this?¡±

    ¡°The bath room. Look at the shower and bath!¡± Saph let out in excitement, gesturing at something Ray had never seen before. They had showers back at the keep by now thanks to Tom¡¯s machinations, but this was different. It was metal and polished to the point even Shiva would likely approve, with many places for the water to come out all around; it looked very intricate in fact. The bath was more familiar, a big white slab of, well Ray guessed marble, also polished to the point she could see her face in it. She didn¡¯t even dare think what a marble bath like that would cost back home. This was a room fit for a princess at least.

    ¡°This is incredible! And it¡¯s all just for taking a bath?¡± she had to ask, not sure if maybe there was some hidden function.

    ¡°Yes!¡± Saph replied excitedly. ¡°Well, and there''s a toilet over there. I know I don¡¯t need it, but I¡¯m having a bath. You wanna join?¡±

    ¡°Uhm¡­ sure,¡± Ray replied, inspecting the bath more closely. ¡°What are these for?¡± she questioned, clinking a claw against some polished metal things down in the bath, Saph coming over to look at it too.

    ¡°I have no idea...Eh, we¡¯ll find out. Might have to do with that thing?¡± Saph replied, pointing at a bunch of buttons on the side. ¡°We need to fill it up first though.¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Ray replied, taking a second to look around the room, noticing her feet were warm. ¡°Why¡¯s the floor hot?¡±

    ¡°Humans do that in the bathrooms. Don¡¯t know why it¡¯s not more normal to have it everywhere.¡±

    ¡°The floor is heated?!¡± Ray let out in surprise, going down on her knees to touch it with her hand. It was indeed a nice pleasant warmth.

    ¡°Pretty great, right?¡± Saph questioned as Ray just looked up at her mouth agape.

    ¡°This is soo awesome.¡±

    ¡°And it¡¯s all for us. I¡¯ll get the bath running. I don¡¯t even think we need to pay for the water.¡±

    ¡°You pay for water here?¡± Ray questioned with a head tilt.

    ¡°Well, you don¡¯t have to go get it yourself either.¡±

    ¡°Fair point,¡± Ray conceded, sitting down on the floor and looking into the bath. ¡°We could try out the new swimwear.¡±

    ¡°Great idea. Is the bed nice?¡± Saph replied as she turned on the water, which just streamed out in a torrent.

    ¡°Oh it is just the best,¡± Ray replied, letting out a little wistful sigh. ¡°So soft and bouncy. And it has all the pillows¡­¡±

    ¡°Okay, plan time. Fill up the bath, quick pillow fight, then relax in the tub.¡±

    ¡°Yeah!¡±

 Part 4

    HoH Field Trip 2 Electric Boogaloo part 4

    ¡°Right, so we have Ray sleeping in the tub in her and Saph¡¯s room. Jacky is refusing to leave the pillow fort. Fengi has learned that mixing perfumes is not the best idea. Essy forgot to charge her phone and thought she had broken it. Shiva has found a comfy chair, and I don¡¯t dare wake her. Jarix has apparently run them out of sandwiches. And Saph is laying siege to Jacky¡¯s fort,¡± Dakota went with a sigh.

    ¡°Great success!¡± the human just laughed, turning to the poor woman that had apparently been assigned to see to it that they had a comfortable stay. ¡°I guess we made it through without any major damage. We will see to it that the pillows are returned.¡±

    ¡°Very good. We shall try to acquire more food for the dragon. We really should have seen that coming, I do apologise,¡± the woman replied with a polite nod.

    ¡°Better not. We want him to be able to fly after all. He ate till he damn near burst yesterday, so I think he should be good for a while,¡± Dakota replied, giving the woman a nod in return.

    ¡°Very good, Ma¡¯am. Well in that case breakfast is being served down in the restaurant when you are able to join us,¡± the woman went before turning to walk back down the hall in a dignified manner.

    ¡°These people are pros; they don¡¯t even stare,¡± Dakota mused as the two of them walked back down the hall, looking to see about resolving some of the morning¡¯s issues. First stop had been the siege in Jacky and Tom¡¯s room, which Dakota knew Tom was at least partially responsible for. Mainly since he had been the one to build the damn fort, of course. At least Jacky had stopped trying to break into rooms to acquire more pillows now that she was busy defending her keep from Saph.

    This was all rather embarrassing to Dakota, but Tom didn¡¯t seem to mind, maybe this was acceptable behavior here? She would need to inquire about that at some point. The hotel stays she had enjoyed with her mother here certainly hadn¡¯t gone like this thus far.

    ¡°So how¡¯s the assault going?¡± Dakota questioned as they came up to Saph, who was sitting crouched back to the wall in the hallway next to the door to the room.

    ¡°Not great. She managed to recruit reinforcements.¡±

    ¡°What?... How?¡± Dakota demanded, realising this had likely just become more complicated.

    ¡°I was going looking for more ammo and some kids walked by... ¡° Saph replied with a wide smile on her face.

    ¡°Okay then,¡± Dakota went, shaking her head a little. ¡®I really hope we aren¡¯t getting accused of kidnapping for this.¡¯

    ¡°This is the best hotel stay ever,¡± Tom chuckled, picking up a pillow.

    ¡®Great, so this isn¡¯t normal¡­ Perfect.¡¯

    __________________________________________________________________________________

    ¡°How are we looking, second lieutenant?¡± Jacky questioned her newest recruit, who was busy organizing their spare ammunition.

    ¡°Four... uhm¡­ skud,¡± the girl replied, Jacky shrugging. Communication had proven a problem with the forign troops under her command, but thus far no major incidents had resulted.

    ¡°That is very low. Can we get more?¡± Jacky tried, in her best combination of senior officer and school teacher, while only slightly hampered by not knowing what the word was for ¡®acquire.¡¯ Wasn¡¯t likely they knew it anyway.

    ¡°No¡­ Tom.¡±

    ¡°No, Tom is out there. He¡¯s my boyfriend.¡±

    ¡°No! Room Tom!¡± the kid protested, seeming very adamant.

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    ¡°Tom means empty,¡± the slightly older boy replied.

    ¡°Really?... Thank you very much,¡± Jacky went with an evil grin. This was useful information indeed. ¡°Okay then. Don''t shoot, just hit,¡± Jacky commanded, peeking up over the edge of the fort that had been reduced mostly to sheets and duvets by now since most of the pillows were reserved for offensive action. All the towels in the nearby rooms had also proven excellent wall building materials. ¡°Shit, three of them!¡±

    ¡°Oh ooh,¡± the boy went, looking up over the edge, clutching the fruit bowl he was using as a helmet. ¡°Der er tree. Men det er ikke mor,¡± the kid snickered, going back down again.

    ¡®I wanted a damn helmet too. Stupid round head and no horns,¡¯ Jacky cursed as she peaked over the edge too. ¡°You¡¯ll never take us alive. We stand!¡± she roared out in defiance.

    ¡°Ja. Kom og tag os!¡± the girl joined in, sticking her head up and sticking her tongue out.

    ¡°You know, I don¡¯t know if that gibberish is cute or disturbing,¡± Jacky went, looking down at the girl.

    ¡°Hva?¡± she questioned, looking up at Jacky. Then the first pillow hit, knocking down some of the top wall. ¡°Vi under angreb!¡±

    ¡°Communication would be aided by a common¡­ ahr, fuck it,¡± Jacky snarled, returning fire and nailing Dakota in the face, the confident woman having walked into the doorway, likely going to start some kind of speach.

    ¡°Hey!... I was being inspired,¡± Dakota shouted in reply, flinging the pillow back at them just as the boy stuck his head up, taking it straight in the fruit bowl, sending it flying. Jacky almost thought the kid might just start crying, but instead his sister popped up and started shaking her fist while shouting something Jacky didn¡¯t even bother trying to translate. The boy seemed more distraught with losing his helmet than with being hit, but he was soon back on his feet as Saph, Dakota and Tom all moved into the room in formation.

    ¡®Unbeatable odds. A noble end,¡¯ Jacky chuckled as she crouched behind the wall. It was just high enough to see the attack coming. As Saph tried to climb it, Jacky reached forwards, grabbing her by the wrists and dragging her up and into the fort. ¡°Get her. Get her while she¡¯s down!¡± she shouted as the kids started beating the crap out of Saph with pillows. Well, as much as possible considering they were likely not even 5 years old yet.

    ¡°How old are you actually?¡± Jacky questioned as Saph squirmed in her iron grip.

    ¡°Eight.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m ten,¡± the boy replied as they kept beating, Dakota and Tom taking a suspiciously long time to come to Saph¡¯s rescue. ¡°How old are you?¡±

    ¡°Huh¡­ I¡¯m thirty one.¡±

    ¡°No you not,¡± the boy replied, the girl agreeing with a nod as she slammed the pillow down on Saph¡¯s back.

    ¡°Where are you guys? Please!¡± Saph pleaded as the beating continued.

    ¡°Yes I am,¡± Jacky protested.

    ¡°No. You not boring.¡±

    ¡°Aww. Thank you,¡± Jacky went as the boy slammed Saph in the face with his pillow.

    ¡°Right, they have had their fun,¡± Dakota interrupted, moving up, Jacky looking up at the hostiles trying to climb the walls.

    ¡°Retreat! Fall back!¡± Jacky shouted as she let go of Saph, the boy running towards Dakota tripping on Saph¡¯s leg and face planting at the noble¡¯s feet.

    ¡°Well, he¡¯s dead,¡± the girl went, clutching her pillow as Jacky scooted up against the far wall, the boy quickly being subdued by Tom. Saph got up and adjusted her crown, looking less than pleased as she and Dakota moved on Jacky and the girl.

    ¡°Hey kiddo. Ever flown before?¡± Jacky questioned, looking down at her.

    ¡°Yeah?¡± she replied, looking up at Jacky with a curious expression.

    ¡°Great,¡± Jacky chuckled, dropping her pillow and picking up the kid before vaulting over the back wall of the keep. She popped open the window and jumped, laughing uproariously, though to her surprise the kid started screaming for some reason.

    ¡°I meant airplane!¡±

    __________________________________________________________________________________

    ¡°So, planning on kidnapping anyone at our next stop?¡± Saph chuckled as they flew in tight formation behind Jarix so they could have a little chat.

    ¡°I said sorry,¡± Jacky protested. Tom had been less than pleased about the whole jumping out of a building with an unknown kid in tow thing. Dakota had also taken the opportunity to lecture them on how they were to behave themselves. They were here to have fun and relax, but they were still representatives of an entire people.

    The fact that the boy had immediately asked for a go too had made it a bit tough to keep arguing though. That of course didn¡¯t mean Saph couldn¡¯t tease the hapless woman with it.

    ¡°Maybe some young strapping human will come along and suplex you into the ocean because you said you had gone swimming before?¡±

    ¡°Geez, I said I¡¯m sorry. Not like she didn¡¯t start laughing after a little bit.¡±

    ¡°Well, they certainly had some stories to tell when they ran off to tell their parents.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, the mother did not look pleased with you,¡± Fengi laughed.

    ¡±No, but the dad did. Not my problem though. Where are we going again, this is not the city?¡± Jacky asked, looking at the increasingly rural landscape below.

    ¡°Racing,¡± Saph replied confidently. ¡°I¡¯m beating the crap out of all of you.¡±

    ¡°Not damn likely,¡± Jacky protested. ¡°I¡¯m the queen of engines!¡±

    ¡°I thought it was dakka?¡± Fengi questioned, clearly being sarcastic. ¡°Can you be queen of more than one thing?¡±

    ¡°Well if she¡¯s not careful, queen of kidnapping is going to be on the list,¡± Dakota grumbled, seeming less enthusiastic.

    ¡°Oh cheer up, no harm no foul.¡±

    The racetracks were an interesting sight to say the least. Just a large ribbon of dirty tarmac with dirt and gravel making up part of the track. It looked almost half finished if Saph was honest. There was a second smaller track which looked more proper. At least according to what little she knew of human racetracks, which was mainly some videos and pictures of them. This one was all more or less in the middle of nowhere too, well as nowhere as it got around here. There were just little houses everywhere, even in what Tom insisted was in fact the countryside.

    None of that was going to hamper Saph¡¯s excitement though, and she knew Jacky was stoked too. They had sorta tried driving before, but they had never been ¡®behind the wheel¡¯ as Tom called it.

    As expected, there had been some gawking faces when they landed in the car park, Jarix taking a second to appreciate the soft gravel under his feet. There weren''t a lot of people though, which was a nice change of pace. Maybe 20 tops. Tom had disembarked and gone over to have a chat with some of the people as the rest of them waited with Jarix. All their heads turned as the sound of an engine roared to life somewhere to their left. Even Jarix craned his head to try and see the source, but to no avail.

    After a bit Tom came back laughing and shaking his head a bit.

    ¡°Well, the guy who owns the place thought it was a joke when someone had booked the track for eight dragonettes. Sounds like we will still have the track for a bit though.¡±

    ¡°We have the track to ourselves?¡± Dakota questioned skeptically.

    ¡°Yup,¡± Tom replied. ¡°Eight people in four cars, meaning four teams. We¡¯ll take turns driving. First though, I think you all need a few lessons.¡±

    ¡°Let me guess. You and Jacky get a car to smooch in?¡± Saph chuckled with a shit eating grin on her face.

    ¡°Correct,¡± Tom chuckled.

    ¡°Do the rest of us also get the privilege of an assigned human?¡± Fengi asked, clearly poking a bit of fun too.

    ¡°You do indeed. Three instructors will be helping us. Then when it¡¯s time for some actual racing, you will be on your own.¡±

    ¡°Uhm¡­ What kind of racing?¡± Ray asked, holding up her hand. ¡°What happens if we break something?¡±

    ¡°People¡¯s racing. It¡¯s meant to be for everyone. And if you crash, I recommend having a good laugh about it. Don¡¯t try to kill the cars on purpose though. Then it will be a short day.¡±

    ¡°Okay¡­ I might not be that fast.¡±

    ¡°Oh don¡¯t be so shy. You¡¯ll get the hang of it,¡± Jacky chuckled, giving Ray a delicate nudge on the shoulder, the woman letting out a rather nervous laugh.

    ¡°Yeah, don¡¯t worry about it,¡± Tom confirmed. ¡°Come on you lot, let¡¯s go try and see if we can somehow make a helmet fit you.¡±

    __________________________________________________________________________________

    ¡°So I push that one when changing gear¡­ Right?¡± Essy questioned, looking down at the pedals. ¡®This is really complicated.¡¯

    ¡°Yes. And then you go to the next gear with the stick on your right,¡± the very kind, if by now slightly strained-sounding instructor confirmed. Essy and Ray had gotten a very nice older man who was honestly quite fat. Not that it really mattered, it was just a bit odd to see when racing was concerned. His patience was to be commended though, which was likely why he had been stuck with the two slowpokes of the group. This was all very interesting, but Essy couldn¡¯t honestly state she wasn¡¯t a little scared of all this. There was so much to learn, and a lot of it was hardly intuitive in her opinion.

    ¡°And that doesn¡¯t just need to go forwards. It goes to the higher number right? One, two, three and so on?¡±

    ¡°Indeed.¡±

    ¡°Okay. Let¡¯s try again then,¡± Essy concluded as she turned the key, the car lurching forward as she pulled her hand back confused. ¡°Sorry.¡±

    Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

    ¡°You are still in gear. Clutch in, or put it in neutral.¡±

    ¡°Whoops,¡± Essy chuckled nervously, taking the car out of gear again. Tom had told them not to take this too seriously. These were apparently old beat up cars and not worth much, hard as that was to believe. Looking at them from the outside seemed to back that up though. They looked like someone had tried to hammer them into a new shape or something¡­ Maybe actually they had been.

    On her second try the car came to life as she pushed the throttle a few times like she had been told to keep it from dying as they called it. She still found it a touch odd how these people seemed to treat the car as a living thing, then at the same time abuse it like a mob boss would some street scum.

    ¡°There you go, Essy,¡± Ray shouted over the loud engine from where she stood next to the car, holding the door open.

    ¡°Do I need to put my helmet on?¡± Essy questioned, looking to the instructor who had his on already.

    He took a second to think about it before he nodded. ¡°Probably for the best.¡±

    ¡°Okay then,¡± she replied, trying not to sound disappointed. It was not very nice on the ears, and it was so hard to put on with her horns having to go through the freshly drilled holes in the open faced helmet. With some difficulty she got it on though. She was so sure she looked like an absolute idiot too, cheeks squished together and all.

    ¡°Have fun,¡± Ray said in an encouraging tone as she closed the door. Then closed it again. And a third time, getting progressively rougher without any luck.

    ¡°No, slam it,¡± the instructor corrected, leaning over Essy a bit to try and help.

    Ray did as she was told, and the door slammed shut as the instructor leaned back in his seat doing up the belts. Essy did the same.

    ¡°Whenever you are ready, miss,¡± he said, gesturing ahead. Essy took a breath before she put it in gear, slowly letting out the clutch.

    ¡°We¡¯re moving!¡± she let out in triumph as the car started to roll. She could hear the engine get quiet, so she pushed the right pedal again as she continued to let out the clutch pedal.

    ¡°You¡¯ll get used to it!¡± the instructor shouted over the screaming engine as she kept letting out the clutch. He was certainly sounding a bit strange, like he wanted to tell her she was doing something wrong, her attention turning to him as they slowly rolled forwards. ¡°A bit less gas. You¡¯re burning the clutch.¡±

    ¡°Oh sorry,¡± Essy replied, taking her foot off the clutch. The car lurched forward, though it didn¡¯t cut out as they started moving faster. ¡°Eyy, I¡¯m driving!¡± she cheered as they picked up speed.

    ¡°Very good. There we go.¡±

    ¡°Okay, I¡¯m gonna try and change gear.¡±

    She tensed as she pushed in the right pedal and moved the stick down into second gear with a satisfying click. ¡®Oh thank the gods, no crunch,¡¯ she chuckled to herself as she let the clutch back out, the car lurching once more.

    ¡°There we go, now that¡¯s down there is a corner. Just leave it in second, but slow down a bit.¡±

    ¡°Okay,¡± Essy replied, taking her foot off the gas and pushing the middle pedal, the car slowing down beautifully as she turned to go around the corner. It was a little hard to straighten it out afterwards, leading to a bit of a wobble as she fought with the wheel.

    ¡°Just let it straighten. Softer on the wheel. It wants to help you,¡± the instructor went, placing a calming hand on her shoulder, Essy noting just how tense she had gotten and taking a breath. As she stopped fighting the wheel, the car magically straightened out again. ¡°How did it do that?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, some clever bastard with a pencil. Now let¡¯s try taking the next one without any of that wobbling.¡±

    ¡°How did Ray do?¡±

    ¡°Very good, just like you. You are being very careful,¡± the instructor replied in a warm tone as another car came screaming past on their inside, Essy instinctively flinching left, turning into the guardrail.

    ¡°Sorry!¡±

    __________________________________________________________________________________

    ¡®Okay¡­ Focus,¡¯ Fengi told herself, looking at the red light. She had seen Ray and Essy struggle to even get the car to move; they were not a threat. Dakota and Shiva had done well enough during their instructions, so she needed to watch out for them. Jacky had obviously gotten way more time than them and she had Tom on her team, which was hardly fair.

    She and Saph were not going down without a fight though. Fengi had made good use of her phone last night and early this morning, learning what she could ahead of time, watching videos and reading what she could find. Even if she had been quite frustrated to learn that rally and rallycross were totally not the same thing. Still she was willing to bet she knew more than everyone here that wasn¡¯t Tom or Jacky, so she and Saph might just have a chance.

    That chance did count on Jacky either breaking the car or crashing. Which, granted, was quite likely. Otherwise Fengi would be happy if she and Saph got second place. Tom had said anything could happen in this strange sport though, so who knew? Maybe they could actually win this fair and square.

    They were doing 4 heats, so they would all get a chance to drive twice. They got points based on position from each heat, racking up a total at the end. She had won the coin toss, so she was going first, much to Saph¡¯s annoyance. She wasn¡¯t letting them down though, that was for sure, even if she was going up against Tom.

    The instructor had said to launch at 4 on the dial, so she just held it there by ear, eyes locked on the light as the green came on.

    ¡°GO GO GO!¡± Saph shouted from the passenger seat as Fengi dumped the clutch and floored the old Volvo, tires screeching on the dirty tarmac as they set off down the opening straight. Looking out the side window, she saw the ghastly green car of Shiva and Dakota, the noble being at the wheel for the first heat and staying right alongside them as Tom pulled ahead, Ray nowhere to be seen.

    ¡°How the hell did he do that?!¡± Saph shouted out as Fengi concentrated, grabbing second gear, gaining a bit on Dakota. The first corner was a sharp left hander with a wide run off area with enough space for three cars. She was hoping she could cut in front of Dakota before that corner, which was going to mean braking late like the instructor had told her.

    ¡°Fengi!¡± Saph let out in alarm as Fengi slammed on the brakes, turning left, cocking her head as the car kept going straight for some reason.

    ¡®What!?¡¯ In dismay she looked ahead, watching Tom¡¯s car turn with ease as the far side barrier of the corner started getting closer really damn fast.

    ¡°Too much brake! Ahr fuck...¡± Saph sighed, bracing against the roll cage as Fengi released the brake. The car turned sharply left, the back end suddenly deciding to slide instead as they slammed into the earth berm sideways, coming to an abrupt halt.

    ¡°You dumb dumb,¡± Saph laughed after they came back down onto four wheles, confirming she was probably okay.

    Fengi couldn¡¯t feel anything that hurt too much, so she just floored the car again, pulling away from her little accident as Dakota came driving past, Ray actually coming up behind her.

    ¡°The internet said Volvo¡¯s don¡¯t do that!¡± Fengi protested as she cut off Ray¡¯s attempt to get past, picking back up speed and chasing after Dakota.

    ¡°What¡¯s a Folvo?¡±

    ¡°This car, he told us.¡±

    ¡°Oooh,¡± Saph replied, nodding a little. ¡°But it did just lock the wheel?¡±

    ¡°Yes I know!¡± Fengi snapped, trying to look for a way to catch up to Dakota.

    ¡°But it¡¯s a Folve?¡±

    ¡°Folvo¡­ I think. Okay, I don¡¯t know,¡± Fengi admitted

    ¡°Eh, just go faster than them and it will be fine.¡±

    ¡°Geez, thanks for the advice oh wise one,¡± Fengi chuckled, Saph breaking out laughing.

    ¡°Any time, nips.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t call me that!¡±

    ¡°But you are such a little nippy girl.¡±

    ¡°Shut up, Lips.¡±

    ¡°Now that¡¯s just uncalled for.¡±

    __________________________________________________________________________________

    ¡°Fengi on our tail,¡± Shiva concluded calmly if loudly as Dakota braked for the turn.

    ¡®Slow and steady wins the race,¡¯ Dakota chuckled to herself. Fengi had already crashed twice now trying to get past, shouldn¡¯t be too hard to make that three.

    ¡°She¡¯s trying outside.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Shiva,¡± Dakota replied as she turned in to give Fengi some room to run wide, hoping she would go for it.

    ¡°And here she comes,¡± Shiva chuckled, clearly quite bemused with how predictable the young huntress was being right now.

    ¡°Oh no, I think we are sliding,¡± Dakota said sarcastically as she turned just a little bit less right than she needed to, pushing Fengi up against the dirt bank. There was a bit of a knock and a jolt as they hit and then a spray of dirt as Shiva laughed uproariously at their opponent''s misfortune.

    ¡°Expertly done.¡±

    ¡°I swear it was an accident,¡± Dakota joked as she looked in the rearview mirror, shaking her head at the once again stuck car.

    ¡°Of course. Where is Ray at?¡± Shiva questioned, trying to look in the side mirror, seemingly forgetting it was no longer there.

    ¡°She¡¯s keeping up, just about,¡± Dakota confirmed.

    ¡°And Tom is nowhere to be seen. This thing won¡¯t go faster now, will it?¡±

    ¡°Sure it can. If you want to end up like Fengi.¡±

    ¡°I would rather not get out and push.¡±

    ¡°Oh come on you old grunt. Isn¡¯t it in the Furlong spirit to excel at sports or trials?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s just better at pushing a pedal, hardly worthy of note. Just don¡¯t let him lap us. That would be embarrassing. And there¡¯s the line. Eight down, two left.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s fast, but not that fast,¡± Dakota smirked, looking in the mirror and seeing two cars there. ¡°Oh you have got to be kidding me.¡±

    ¡°Lord Murphy strikes again,¡± Shiva chuckled darkly. ¡°Now would you please step on it?¡±

    Dakota grumbled in annoyance as she moved wider for the next corner, breaking a little less. ¡°I will hear no whining if we crash.¡±

    ¡°I do not whine.¡±

    __________________________________________________________________________________

    ¡°Get her! Get her! Get her!¡± Jacky shouted out, nearly bouncing in her seat as Tom looked for a way around Ray, giving her car a loving little bump, which seemingly made her flinch at the wheel.

    ¡°Calm down, would you?¡± Tom chuckled, having a look for a hole. Ray didn¡¯t tend to cut corners very tight, so there would probably be room on the inside of the s-turn that was coming up next.

    Predictably enough, Ray stayed more or less in the middle of the track as Tom shot inside her line, going a bit late on the breaking and forcing her to give him room. She didn¡¯t even try to cut him off like Fengi did, just a nice wide considerate gap to drive through.

    ¡°Think she would have pulled aside if I flashed my lights!?¡± Tom shouted out as the old Opel revved it¡¯s nuts off to pull in front of the Saab.

    ¡°Does that mean move over!?¡± Jacky questioned excitedly as Tom pulled out of the s-turns, eyeing the car in front of him.

    ¡°In a way.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m gonna buy a flashlight then!¡±

    ¡°Why stop there?! You need a spotlight at least!¡±

    ¡°Yes, definitely!¡±

    Tom just laughed as he set to work reeling in Dakota. She was putting on a pretty good pace though, having sped up quite a lot since the first few laps. He did not expect her to let him past that easily either for that matter.

    It took him nearly a lap to close the range, and at that point he could see Ray battling with Fengi in the rearview mirror again. It clearly didn¡¯t matter to Fengi that she was down a lap on the rest of them thanks to her antics. Two on Tom and Jacky for that matter.

    ¡°Come on, dude. Faster!¡± Jacky shouted as she leaned forwards, pushing against the belts.

    ¡°Certainly, ma¡¯am,¡± Tom replied as he put himself directly behind Dakota, looking to ¡®lend¡¯ some of her brakes.

    ¡°I ain¡¯t no fucking ma¡¯am you dunce!¡± Jacky laughed as Tom rammed Dakota from behind when she braked, flashing his lights and blowing the horn.

    ¡°Pensioner in the road!¡± he shouted out, Jacky jumping at the idea.

    ¡°Yeah, let the real racers through! You¡¯re slower than a snail going uphill!¡±

    ¡°Like a Lada on a hill!¡±

    ¡°The fuck¡¯s a Lada?!¡± she questioned, looking at him, head tilted.

    ¡°A car. Doesn¡¯t matter.¡±

    ¡°Their car is the Gord, right?¡±

    ¡°No, Ford.¡±

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t that mean river?¡±

    ¡°Not now, Jacky,¡± Tom dismissed her, getting a bit of a grump in reply as he started trying to find a way around Dakota. She was not having any of it though, even managing to push him into the back once.

    ¡°Inside, go inside!¡± Jacky tried helping, pointing eagerly. ¡°Just ram her ass!¡±

    ¡°Language,¡± Tom replied, trying his best to sound offended as he put a wheel on the inside of Dakota¡¯s ford.

    ¡°What do you¡­ Oh you little shit!¡± Jacky laughed out. ¡°I ought to- Aow!¡± she shouted out as someone ramed them from behind instead. ¡°Fuck you Fengi!¡±

    Dakota had started turning in to the corner, with Tom and Jacky being pushed into her side, forcing the old ford sideways as its front dug into the earth berm on their left.

    ¡°Ah shit,¡± Tom winced as Dakota¡¯s car rolled the front of the old opel he and Jacky were driving, catching on the side of Dakota''s ford, sending him and Jacky up and over.

    ¡°WOOOUUU!!!!¡± Jacky shouted out as they sailed through the air, coming down at a less than ideal angle, the front right corner of the car digging into the ground and rolling them over onto the roof too. They came skidding to a stop up against the berm on the far side of the corner, wheels spinning aimlessly as Tom cut the power to the engine.

    ¡°You okay?¡± he questioned, looking over at the stunned Jacky, who slowly turned to look at him.

    ¡°That¡­ Was awesome!¡± she replied, looking downright giddy as she squirmed a bit in her seat, punching the roof and stamping on the floor repeatedly. Tom just laughed and looked out the side window only to see Ray drive past, Fengi already having speed off. The Ford of Dakota and Shiva was looking rather rough, but they were at least the right side up. She didn¡¯t waste any time either, the old rust bucket coughing to life as they limped off, dragging a wheel.

    It took a little bit for the marshals to get everyone to stop, Ray and Essy not noticing the flags for over a lap. When they finally got the all clear, Jacky had clicked out of her harness, not so gracefully falling down onto the roof of the car before clambering out the door, telling him to stay put.

    ¡°Sure thing,¡± Tom chuckled. This was hardly the most comfortable position, but he could manage for a bit.

    Out the front window he could see the forklift driving along, coming to flip them over. Then the car started to rock a bit.

    ¡°You are gonna have to try harder than that,¡± Tom chuckled, trying to see where she was.

    ¡°Fuck you,¡± Jacky responded before letting out a grunt of effort, the car slowly tipping over as Tom braced for the hit of coming back down. ¡°Hah! Back to racing!¡±

    ¡°Could you be a bit more gentle with me next time? That was very uncomfortable,¡± Tom said in his most sarcastic tone as she looked at the rather confused forklift driver, who just shrugged then set about driving back to base.

    ¡°Nope,¡± came the simple reply as Jacky slid back into her seat, buckling up as Tom turned the power back on.

    ¡°Aww. I thought you loved me¡­ Right, no throttle and just let it crank for a bit. It will smoke like hell.¡±

    ¡°No, I¡¯m just here for the guns and engines,¡± Jacky chuckled as Tom cranked the poor Opel Kadett to life.

    ¡°Fucking hell,¡± Jacky coughed and spluttered as the cabin was filled with white smoke, Tom chuckling like a maniac to himself as he took in the smell.

    ¡®Good god I¡¯ve missed this.¡¯

    __________________________________________________________________________________

    After Shiva had gotten out of the wrecked car and finished giving Dakota no small amount of grief for losing, she had taken a quick look around to see how the others were doing.

    With all the chaos going on, Fengi had declared herself the winner until it was brought to her attention that she was in fact a lap down on Ray and Essy, thus actually making them the winners of the race. To Shiva¡¯s slight annoyance that did also mean Dakota had actually managed second, the younger noble looking quite accusingly at the smith.

    Shiva just ignored her, instead focusing on the downright heartwarming scene of Ray and Essy celebrating their victory.

    Dakota had decided on using Tom and Jacky as the outlet for her frustrations, blaming them for the crash. Luckily Jacky had dealt with the situation by using her tried and tested tactic of pointing at Fengi and Saph and claiming they did it. Tom had backed her up with some incomprehensible technical talk that had seemingly managed to convince Dakota, leading to the usual sigh of defeat as Dakota pattered over to Fengi to discern if she was telling the truth. In all honesty, Shiva didn¡¯t care though. It had been good fun, even if the damage to their car was rather extensive.

    ¡°Tom? How would they fix this?¡± she questioned, feeling out some of the mangled metal plates before looking at where the wheel had been ripped away.

    ¡°Eh. Probably have a few donor cars around here somewhere. Only looks like a few suspension components. They will get it fixed eventually.¡±

    ¡°I guess we are out for now then,¡± Shiva sighed. She had rather wanted to have a go in one of these. No matter. She would have her chance in due time.

    ¡°Oh no, we¡¯ll just get another one,¡± Tom chirped up like it was no big deal.

    ¡°Is that so? I was under the impression cars were expensive¡­ even in a state of¡­ disrepair,¡± Shiva answered carefully, looking at the banged up vehicle. There was not a single panel on it that wasn¡¯t dented. Including the roof. Still wouldn¡¯t do to insult their host if the car was considered of great value.

    ¡°Nah. They¡¯re shitboxes the lot of them. Hardly worth the tank of fuel you put in.¡±

    ¡°AKA why they are perfect for smashing,¡± Jacky added, going up and giving Shiva a slap on the shoulder.

    ¡°I will keep that in mind,¡± Shiva replied, trying to be at least a bit ominous as she looked down at Jacky. ¡®Not another stupid word to learn. What could AKA mean?¡¯

    ¡°Hey. We went over too. Don¡¯t come after me.¡±

    ¡°I would never.¡±

    __________________________________________________________________________________

    ¡°You better not drive my car like that!¡± Tom protested with a laugh as the revlimiter reminded Jacky it was time for a gear change.¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± Can¡¯t hear you! Having too much fun!¡± Jacky roared out as she slammed home fourth gear. It was finally her turn to drive, and it was definitely worth the wait. ¡°This is soo fucking awesome!¡±

    ¡°Luxury hotel room¡ªaow¡ªTop quality food. A trip to the gun store. And this is the biggest smile I¡¯ve seen on you¡ªaow!¡ªyet!¡± Tom laughed out as they went over some bumps.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t get to shoot the guns yet!¡± Jacky countered as she came off the throttle, trying to slow down.

    Then the blue car, with Saph at the wheel, rammed them from behind. ¡°You bitch!¡± Jacky protested as they went wide, clipping the barrier. Saph tried to take advantage and sneak up the inside. ¡°Oh no you don¡¯t!¡±

    Tom just laughed, hanging on for dear life as she floored their Opel. Such an odd name, but it hadn¡¯t blown up yet, so that was good.

    ¡°She¡¯s heavier than you, remember that.¡±

    ¡°Yes yes, I¡¯m light like a wasp,¡± Jacky snapped as she kept her foot down.

    ¡°No, float like a butterfly, sting like a bee,¡± Tom corrected.

    ¡°I¡¯ll give you sting,¡± Jacky chuckled evilly as she tried pushing Saph out of the way, not getting much of a result.

    ¡°Oh, she¡¯s learning,¡± Tom chuckled, looking at the red volvo.

    ¡°What? What is she doing?!¡± Jacky questioned, hoping Tom had some secret trick or something.

    ¡°Don¡¯t mash the brake or throttle if you want to turn. Lift off the throttle, now turn right!¡± Tom ordered, Jacky doing as she was told as the two cars came away from each other, Saph accelerating ahead.

    ¡°Oh come o-¡±

    ¡°Hard left,¡± Tom commanded, Jacky looking at Saph¡¯s car having just about made it past them.

    ¡°Okay!¡± she let out enthusiastically, realising the plan as she smashed into the vovlo¡¯s rear corner, giggling with delight as they began to spin her little Opel screaming past as she went for third.

    ¡°That¡¯s payback, you bitch!¡± Jackyk roared out, laughing heartily.

    ¡°And that¡¯s how it¡¯s done,¡± Tom laughed as well, looking back at Saph and Fengi getting smaller in the mirror. ¡°Just don¡¯t do that on the road.¡±

    ¡°Oh, can we go on the road too?¡±

    ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°Oh why not!?¡± she protested looking over at him. ¡°Please...¡±

    ¡°No. You need a licence for that.¡±

    ¡°Then I''ll get one.¡±

    ¡°And the whole country will be running in fear,¡± Tom chuckled.

    ¡°Of how much better I am than them,¡± she laughed as she turned in, going down a gear, the old car revving well up into the red.

    ¡°Too fast,¡± Tom scolded as he grabbed his harness.

    ¡°You said second?¡± Jacky questioned as they started running wide. ¡°Oh dammit!¡± she cursed as they caught the bank, the car lifting up at a 30 degree angle with a jolt as they came to a stop.

    ¡°So. Miss perfect driver. How do you plead?¡±

    ¡°Fuck you!¡±

 part 5

    HoH Field Trip 2 Electric Boogaloo part 5

    __________________________________________________________________________________

    ¡°Wait, so we got 10 points, right?¡± Essy questioned as Tom tallied up the scores in the little cafeteria at the race track.

    ¡°Yup. So did Dakota and Shiva, so you tie for second. Me and Jacky got thirteen. Fengi and Saph got seven.¡±

    ¡°Oh come on!¡± Fengi let out, crossing her arms and leaning back in her chair.

    ¡°You broke two cars in the last two runs,¡± Tom countered, putting away the pen. That¡¯s two counts of 1 point. You''re lucky you didn¡¯t get zero for not finishing.

    ¡°They still drove,¡± Fengi protested, holding up her arms.

    ¡°Yeah. They limped home after glorious battle,¡± Jacky chuckled, looking very proud. ¡®As well she should be,¡¯ Tom thought. She had won both her races, despite her little blunder in the second heat.

    ¡°Are you done having fun then?¡± Jarix questioned from outside, looking in the open window, causing an old man to nearly choke on his coffee, the poor guy clearly not quite having gotten used to the dragon yet.

    ¡°Yup. Next up is a sport just for you,¡± Tom chuckled, looking to Jarix with a smirk.

    ¡°Can¡¯t wait. It¡¯s fun watching you drive and all¡­ But it did get a little boring in the end. The crashes were great though.¡±

    ¡°Yeah yeah, it¡¯s always funny when something goes wrong. With a bit of luck we might get to see something blow up today. But first our lazy ride needs to make it to the arena,¡± Tom replied, getting up from the small table and giving the guy behind the counter a polite nod.

    ¡°Lazy?! Do you have any idea just how insulting that is to the guy carrying you around all day?¡± Jarix joked with a loud rumble, pulling his head back from the window.

    ¡°Oh, I meant it as more of a blanket statement,¡± Tom chuckled as he got up from the table.

    ¡°If you weren¡¯t the reason for the best dinner I can remember, I might just leave you here.¡±

    ¡°And miss your chance to compete against the mighty tractors?¡± Jacky added, already having made it to the door and opened it. ¡°I don¡¯t believe you.¡±

    ¡°Just because for once you stand no chance,¡± Jarix retorted with an exaggerated huff.

    ¡°Hey, I¡¯m not the one that needs to compete with heavy farm equipment.¡±

    ¡°Not even her ass is that fat,¡± Saph added with a laugh as they all walked outside, Shava shaking her head behind the younger huntress.

    ¡°I guess she¡¯s flying by herself then,¡± Jarix declared. ¡°All the decent people aboard.¡±

    ¡°Oh come on!?¡± Jacky protested, raising her arms above her head, Tom walking up and giving her a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. There is literally nothing I can do.¡±

    ¡°Oh you fuck!¡±

    __________________________________________________________________________________

    ¡°Look, they have a runway!¡± Saph announced, pointing down at the perfectly straight strip of dirt. They were flying in formation with Jarix, the huntresses going under their own power with Jarix breaking the wind as per usual. It was good exercise if nothing else, and it was already a bit cramped on the young dragon¡¯s back with three and all the things they had bought.

    ¡°I thought they were supposed to be black!?¡± Essy shouted out over the wind as Jarix descended towards their destination.

    ¡°It¡¯s not a runway. That¡¯s the track. And judging by everyone running around, they are busy prepping,¡± Tom shouted back at them.

    ¡°So where do I land? That is a lot of people,¡± Jarix asked, looking down at the scene below him.

    Saph had to agree with that. There were a shit ton of people down there. ¡®I guess this is kind of a big thing then¡­ well shit. I hope Ray is gonna be fine.¡¯

    ¡°Track is probably still the best actually. Give them a quick circle. Hopefully they will get the message and clear out.¡±

    ¡°Right then, down we go.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t forget to show off a bit!¡± Jacky shouted out, wiggling around a little in Jarix''s wake, letting the wind throw her around.

    ¡°Are we doing this then?¡± Saph asked, looking around at the rest of the fliers.

    ¡°Jarix, we don¡¯t want anything falling off. Low flyby followed by a lazy banking right turn. Girls, corkscrew and roll around Jarix¡¯s axis. That should do fine,¡± Dakota ordered, the girls falling back and fanning out.

    ¡®I guess they just got an airshow thrown in then,¡¯ Tom chuckled, turning around to watch them fly for a bit.

    Jarix dove down to the field, flying along the track a few meters above the cab of a John Deere that was currently busy prepping the track. The poor sixteen year old at the wheel veered off the track at the sight of a dragon diving at him. Jarix just let out a bemused chuckle as he pulled back up, going into the turn. The flying dragonettes pulled a corkscrew in formation around Jarix.

    Nothing fancy by their standards, but it still looked quite good. Tom¡¯s attention was snatched away by the sound of revving engines from down below, someone apparently deciding a salute was in order.

    Jarix had come in to land as soon as he came back around, finding the course clear of tractors and people, coming to a running stop and looking around at all the people staring at him, seeming a little confused at what to do. Saph and the other huntresses stayed airborne, Dakota leading into a vertical climb above Jarix. Stalling and falling back down, they went into spindives, pulling back up again before setting down on the ground. Saph and Jacky both bowed as the rest of them just looked around at all the people wide eyed. There were a lot of people here. All looking at them either from the ground or up on grandstands looking down.

    ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll admit it. I¡¯ve missed this part a little,¡± Saph chuckled, giving another bow as some people actually started cheering, seemingly having gotten over the initial shock. A loud voice saying something incomprehensible over what she recognized to be speakers on big poles for some reason. She guessed it might be some sort of announcer. ¡®Singing our praises, I¡¯m sure,¡¯ she chuckled to herself as she turned back to see Tom disembarking and walking towards some people who were coming over in a hurried jog.

    More Danish was exchanged before the guy switched over to English, looking up at Jarix.

    ¡°Now that¡¯s what I call an entrance. Come on, you¡¯re late for weigh in!¡±

    ¡°Oh¡­ right, the scales. Tom talked about that,¡± the dragon replied, seeming a little taken aback by the amount of attention, raising a foot to wave at the crowds for a second.

    ¡°Yes. We need to put you in a weight class. If nothing else then just for the hell of it. Were you the only one coming?¡±

    ¡°No. We have a second one incoming. Don¡¯t know when they will be here though,¡± Tom clarified, looking up at Jarix with a bemused expression.

    ¡°Do they have a name?¡± the guy asked, looking to Tom.

    ¡°Yup. Tirexia, apparently. I asked for Baron, but he couldn¡¯t make it.¡±

    ¡°You have got to be shitting me,¡± Jarix let out in draconic, looking down at Tom.

    ¡°What?... You know her?¡±

    ¡°Know her? Saph and the others met her. She flies with the princess normally¡­ is she coming too?¡±

    ¡°Uhm¡­ they didn¡¯t say so¡­ I rather hope not.¡±

    ¡°What are yah saying?¡± the guy tried in English, glancing between the two of them.

    ¡°There might be a princess coming too,¡± Jacky laughed.

    ¡°No there isn¡¯t,¡± Dakota corrected, looking to Tom and carrying on in English. ¡°If there was, we would have been swarmed in guards already, not to mention some grand declaration to everyone here.¡±

    ¡°Yup,¡± Saph echoed, shaking her head. ¡°But still. She was damn huge! Biggest dragon I¡¯ve ever seen.¡±

    Tom for his part just looked to the organiser. ¡°Well then. I guess we are gonna need some heavy chain and padding of some sort.¡±

    ¡°Oh right. A harness of some kind. This is gonna be some show. We¡¯ll slot you in between the actual competition. We have been working on a harness for the blue guy.¡±

    ¡°Wait, I can¡¯t compete?¡± the dragon questioned, looking down at the guy. ¡°Aww maaan.¡±

    ¡°I uhm¡­ I¡¯ll have a ask around, but uhm¡­ you aren¡¯t a tractor,¡± the guy replied with a nod, looking up, Saph spotting just a hint of fear in there before he backed off. Curiously he gave Jacky a quick wave, which she reciprocated.

    ¡°You know we are gonna call you tractor for quite a while now right?¡± Jacky snickered as she walked up behind Tom, rustling his hair.

    ¡°Fuck you,¡± Jarix grumbled, though there was a smile on his face. Jacky just stuck her tongue out at him, leaning on Tom.

    ¡°Think we can get a drink around here? Those look like beers to me.¡±

    ¡°I believe that could be arranged.¡±

    __________________________________________________________________________________

    ¡®Good god it¡¯s hideous,¡¯ Jarix grumbled to himself, looking down at the big rubber mats, lengths of study chain, and rolls of tape that had been scrounged up for making his improvised pulling harness. The mats at least looked thick enough to make it decently comfortable, and the chains would probably hold but still. It was hideous.

    ¡°Right, is that comfy enough?¡± Essy asked, pulling one of the chains that went under his chest.

    It was just her, Ray, and Tom working on it right now, even if Ray was more here to hide from some of all the attention behind Jarix. Dakota had taken charge of finding and putting together a harness for Tirexia, taking Shiva and Fengi. Jacky and Saph for their part had been put in charge of finding something to drink for all of them. ¡®Cause that will end brilliantly,¡¯ Jarix snickered to himself as he tried to imagine all the disasters that could result from that combination.

    To his further annoyance, they had to put the working harness over his proper one since the damn gravity thingy was in his own harness. It did at least mean he wasn¡¯t looking like a complete tramp infront of all of the cameras. ¡®Should have seen this coming, Jarix. But noooo, you had to go pull heavy shit to show off¡­ dammit, I better not do so bad that it¡¯s embarrassing too.¡¯

    ¡°I think that¡¯s as good as we are going to get it,¡± Tom went. ¡°Unless you want your own harness and the grav belt taken off. Might help you dig in those claws.¡±

    Jarix took a second to think, looking at the strange device, a smile starting to creep onto his face. ¡°Hehe this is brilliant.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s got you worked up now?¡± Tom asked in draconic as Jarix got up and started walking slowly over to the weighbridge.

    ¡°My belt, I¡¯ll turn it off before the pull. But don¡¯t tell anyone.¡±

    ¡°Oh you sneaky bastard,¡± Tom chuckled. ¡°Still. I think you¡¯ll need all the cheating you can get.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean? They put me in the smallest class?¡±

    ¡°No. They put you in standard class. It¡¯s pretty hard to make an argument that you have been modified or even just tuned for that matter.¡±

    ¡°I would have you know I¡¯m tuned to perfection.¡±

    ¡°Sure you are¡­ right, up you go. For the record, tuning is allowed. Just within certain limits for this class.¡±

    ¡°How accurate is this thing?¡± Jarix asked in his best English, looking at what he guessed was the operator as he got on.

    The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    ¡°Nearest kilo,¡± the man replied as the result came up on a small screen. ¡°4312,¡± the man echoed, looking to Jarix. ¡°You are allowed 180 kay gee extra weight¡­ how are you so light?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m a bit skinny. I think I¡¯m fine like this. I don¡¯t want weights jangling around,¡± Jarix replied, stepping back off again. The guy just took off his hat, scratching his hair before putting it back on and giving a shrug.

    ¡°Weighing in a skinny dragon¡­ That¡¯s going on the CV.¡±

    Having been weighed in, he went to walk towards the paddock where there was apparently a spot reserved for him to lie down in. It had been a rather long day after all. A quick rest surely wouldn¡¯t hurt.

    ¡°You don¡¯t wanna go see your competition?¡± Tom asked as he watched Jarix start to walk off.

    Jarix just swung his head around to look at Tom, tilting it a bit. ¡°What do you mean?

    ¡°Come on. I¡¯m sure we can find a spot where you can see as well rather than laying back there.¡±

    ¡°Oh¡­ right okay,¡± Jarix replied, turning back around to follow the very excited looking human. There was even a spring in his step as he jogged¡­ no actually ran towards one of the guys they had been talking with earlier. ¡°I¡¯ve not seen him this excited for a while.¡±

    ¡°No¡­ it¡¯s fascinating to see,¡± Essy echoed, clearly having noticed as well. ¡°I guess he really must like it here.¡±

    ¡°I think he¡¯s been here before¡­ a lot,¡± Ray added, looking over at the crowds. ¡°Look at all the kids.¡±

    ¡°Ohhh, I think you¡¯re right,¡± Essy replied, looking around¡­ ¡°Look at all the little Toms.¡±

    ¡°I bet half of them are crazy too,¡± Jarix chuckled as Tom waved at him, gesturing for him to follow.

    He got a nice spot on the far side of the track, near the end, where he could see everything. They had moved a tractor that was apparently tending the track between runs so he could have a nice lie down at the same time. Tom, Essy, and Ray all sat down on his forelegs and feet as he let out a sigh, getting comfortable.

    He had heard a few of the tractors go down the track, but he hadn¡¯t watched one yet. A small old rusty looking machine was currently backing up to the sled he was apparently supposed to pull. It didn¡¯t look like a sled to him, but what did he know.

    ¡®I guess they are getting the chaff out of the way first then?¡¯ He had seen pictures of tractors before. This one looked positively puny, almost cute in fact.

    ¡°Pay attention now. See the guy with the flag out front?¡± Tom said, pointing down the track, Jarix craning his head.

    ¡°Yup.¡±

    ¡°Green means go, red means stop. Stay inside the lines and I think you should be good. If you ever stop moving, he¡¯ll wave the red flag.¡±

    ¡°Easy,¡± Jarix chuckled, looking as the small tractor picked up the slack, smoke starting to pour from the pipe sticking out of the hood. ¡°Is it broken? The cars don¡¯t smoke¡­ also it¡¯s not moving. It is making noise though.¡±

    ¡°No no. Someone just had some fun with that thing in a shed.¡±

    ¡°Talk about picking your words,¡± Jarix chuckled as Essy shook her head, Ray just looking at him a little uncomfortably.

    ¡°Oh for fucks sake, you big blue baby. It makes more power now, but it burns a shit ton of fuel to do so.¡±

    ¡°Ahr, I see. So what is it¡­ oh,¡± Jarix replied, his snicker faltering as the little cute tractor apparently decided it was time to go. Fire and thick black smoke spat from the pipe as it reared up, dirt flying everywhere. The thick black smoke poured up and over the sled as it started moving down the track, making a ridiculous amount of noise.

    ¡°And there¡¯s the turbo,¡± Tom chuckled, looking after the small tractor as Jarix just stared.

    ¡°Whaaaat theeee fuuuuck¡­.¡±

    ¡°I told you cheating is not gonna be a bad idea here.¡±

    ¡°Why is it so damn loud? It¡¯s worse than the cars you were driving,¡± Jarix protested as Ray and Essy both clamped their hands down over their ears.

    ¡°Oh you¡¯ve heard nothing yet,¡± Tom laughed, waving at a couple of staring guys that were apparently working the track, leaning back against Jarix.

    ¡°Are you showing off right now?¡±

    ¡°Only a little bit.¡±

    __________________________________________________________________________________

    ¡®Stupid fences,¡¯ Jacky grumbled, her and Saph finally managing to find a way around to where Jarix had plonked down without crossing the track.

    She couldn¡¯t wait to see what all the fuss was actually about, though the sound of engines that damn near made her teeth rattle certainly boded well. She had gotten a few glimpses in too while Saph had been queuing for beer. Jacky got a way better idea than to just stand there looking dumb though when someone came up to them asking for a picture. One kid hoisted up on her shoulder and a big smile later she had managed to acquire two fancy collapsable chairs from the dad of the family.

    So with Saph queuing, she had started taking pictures with the small stream of people that resulted from letting one have a picture. She had thus far acquired five different hats, which she now had hanging from her horns, four chairs, a box of earplugs, and some sort of loud horn she couldn¡¯t work out how to make work. All of which she was now hauling after Sapphire, who was in charge of carrying the beer.

    ¡°Right, we got drinks,¡± Saph declared as they finally managed to make it up to Jarix.

    ¡°And chairs. Earplugs too, pass them around,¡± Jacky added, handing the box to Essy, already having put in a pair herself. ¡°They work great.¡±

    ¡°You look ridiculous,¡± Tom laughed. Jacky put down the chairs.

    ¡°Hey, we can¡¯t all rely on someone else to sit on.¡±

    ¡°I think it¡¯s a noble effort,¡± Jarix replied with a nod, looking down to the start of the track. ¡°Oh there they go, next class starting.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a pro or super stock tractor, 3500 kg. You might be up next, big guy. 4500 standard is after 3500 super.¡±

    ¡°Oh shit. I better get up then. Go sit in your fancy new chairs. Any word on Tirexia?¡±

    ¡°Nope, not yet. I somehow doubt she would be carrying a cellphone.¡±

    ¡°Right obviously¡­ I¡¯ll be off then. Wish me luck.¡±

    ¡°You got it, big guy. Remember, speed is your friend!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, go kick their ass,¡± Jacky cheered, folding out her chair and sitting down. Saph handed her a beer that was slotted into the convenient cup holder.

    ¡°He¡¯s gonna lose so bad, isn¡¯t he?¡± Saph chuckled, taking a draught of hers.

    ¡°Yup. But I¡¯m winning right now,¡± Jacky replied, taking a sip of her beer. ¡°Shit, it¡¯s cold too! Damn it¡¯s good as well.¡±

    The machines had just kept roaring past, and they all had front row seats. Even if they did now have a few people standing around nearby. Tom eventually plopped his ass down in front of Jacky. She of course just swung her legs up to rest on his shoulders as he leaned against the backrest.

    All in all she was very comfy as she hooted and cheered the struggling machines. The sound alone was amazing, and with her ears plugged it didn¡¯t even hurt as she could feel the ground shake under the chair and even see the vibrations in the beer.

    ¡°Hey, Tom. Think they will let me drive one of those things?¡±

    ¡°Not in a million years.¡±

    ¡°Hmpf. Pessimist.¡±

    By the time it was Jarix¡¯s class¡¯s turn, some slightly larger but rather more dull looking tractors had rolled out and up in front of the sled. They had been nowhere near as fun as they slowly trundled down the track. Nowhere near as much of the rearing up and snaking down the track that made the others fun to watch. They still made a good sound though.

    ¡°Hey Jacky, could I have one of those hats?¡± Saph asked, looking over as a particularly sad specimen of a tractor failed to even move the sled, instead making a puff of white smoke.

    ¡°Sure. Which one do you want?¡±

    ¡°Blue one, obviously.¡±

    ¡°Fine, here you go. Tom, what do these mean anyway?¡±

    ¡°They are brands. Blue one is Ford. New Holland is blue too.¡±

    ¡°Oh¡­ well we oughta be on the blue team then, right girls?¡± Fengi added in, having sat down in the grass.

    ¡°Obviously. What have I got¡­ A green and two red ones¡­ dammit,¡± Jacky let out, inspecting her remaining caps. Saph just snickered a little from her chair, taking another drink.

    ¡°Oh, just say you wanna stick a ford badge on Jarix. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll get all the merch you want,¡± Tom chuckled, Jacky slapping one of the red caps on him for his trouble.

    ¡°No, we are cheering for the big red that¡¯s apparently dropping by.¡±

    ¡°Oh, he¡¯s not gonna like that,¡± Saph let out as they all laughed a little. ¡°Speak of the devil, there he is.¡±

    __________________________________________________________________________________

    When Jarix got the green, he seemed determined to put on a show, kicking off hard and seemingly going for a gallop right out of the gate, clearly taking Tom¡¯s advice. He stormed down the track before eventually starting to slow down by the half way marker, eventually reduced to a crawl.

    Dakota had to admit Jarix was definitely putting his back into it as the chains strained under the force, his hindlegs digging into the thick clay and leaving deep gouges, his front legs clawing at the ground. ¡®I guess all that field work has done some wonders,¡¯ Dakota chuckled to herself, pulling a smile at the display.

    ¡°Go JARIX!¡± Fengi shouted out, lifting her beer, Essy and the others joining in. The stands got remarkably quiet though as everyone watched the dragon work his ass off as he slowly crawled down the track. He made it past the 70 meter marker, clearly struggling by now as the sled made a noise, the dragon rearing up and putting his full weight into the harness.

    ¡°Girls. Go cheer for the poor guy,¡± Dakota ordered, ushering them to go down the track. ¡°Race guy said the barriers are for safety in case something blows up. Jarix won''t. Go cheer him on.¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t argue with that¡­ just stay off the track!¡± Tom shouted after Saph and Fengi, who were already moving. After a short wait, even Ray got to her feet, running after them.

    Tom just laughed a bit before getting cut short by Jacky hauling him to his feet against his will.

    ¡°Run yourself, or I¡¯ll carry you in front of all those people. That¡¯s a threat.¡±

    Tom just set off running without even looking back at her, like he was fleeing, Jacky giving chase as they ran down the track.

    ¡®Kids,¡¯ Dakota just chuckled to herself, shaking her head. ¡°What about you, Shiva?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m just enjoying the show,¡± the smith replied, sitting down in Jacky¡¯s now empty chair with a sigh. ¡°He¡¯s putting in a good effort though.¡±

    ¡°Shame Ralf isn¡¯t here though.¡±

    ¡°Oh he would have loved this,¡± Shiva chuckled as Jarix was clearly giving it what he could by now. One foot at a time stamped down hard into the ground as his forelegs tried desperately to keep their footing, his hindlegs digging deep trenches in the track.

    Tom and the girls were busy trying to cheer him on from the side of the track, shouting and hooting. Even the crowd, which had been quiet thus far, started joining in, chanting ¡°Jarix, Jarix, Jarix.¡±

    Much to Dakota¡¯s disbelief, he seemed to just keep going eventually, abandoning using his forelegs, instead just walking on the hindlegs and putting his full weight into the harness.

    ¡°I think he¡¯s going to make it.¡±

    ¡°It would seem so¡­ intriguing,¡± Shiva chuckled in reply, tilting her head and taking a deep draught of the beer. ¡°Screw it. Come on you overgrown lizard!¡±

    ¡°Language.¡±

    ¡°Well, you have to give it to him,¡± Shiva chuckled. ¡°He¡¯s in it to win it.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s just hope our ride isn¡¯t about to need a healer,¡± Dakota countered as the two of them leaned back in their chairs.

    ¡°If what Tom said of the amount of beer and food they have here is true, we¡¯ll be fine,¡± Shiva chuckled, looking very comfortable, sunken into her chair.

    __________________________________________________________________________________

    ¡®Useless long fucking track!¡¯ Jarix cursed to himself as he saw the 90 meter mark slowly creep by. ¡®Soo tired.¡¯

    They all just kept cheering, though he could just stop now. The sleigh was so damn heavy by now though. He really wished he had just tried to build up some speed in the beginning like all those damn little tractors.

    He almost didn¡¯t register when the guy out front waved the red flag and Jarix let himself collapse on the spot, panting and looking pleadingly at the guy. ¡°Why the hell did you do that? I wasn¡¯t done you arsehole,¡± he cursed in draconic before he heard laughing off to the side.

    ¡°Jarix, you dumb ass, you did it!¡± Jacky shouted out before joining in the laughing.

    ¡°Congrats, you get to go to the next pull too,¡± Tom added in, laughing quite heartily himself.

    Jarix just turned to look at them, the sense of despair washing over him. ¡°You have got to be shitting me.¡±

    ¡°Nope. Better get you some water. You ain¡¯t got long.¡±

    __________________________________________________________________________________

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ The¡­ hardes¡­ ever done,¡± Jarix let out, collapsing into a pile at the 80 meter mark on his second pull, which was apparently enough to secure him second place in his class, at least for now.

    ¡°Oh come on big guy, can¡¯t be that bad. It¡¯s just a bit of hard labour,¡± Fengi chuckled, walking up to his head and giving him a pat.

    ¡°I¡­ hate¡­ you,¡± Jarix sighed, laying his head on the ground as sled crew started trying to unhitch him.

    ¡°No you don¡¯t¡­ and you especially won¡¯t hate the prize.¡±

    ¡°What prize?¡±

    ¡°Well we had a little chat with the organizers while you were waiting. Let¡¯s just say it¡¯s gonna be on the house tonight.¡±

    ¡°What is?¡±

    ¡°Drinks you big dumb dumb. Drinks on the house. The organizers said that was a fair trade.¡±

    ¡°I think they just want to see a drunk dragon,¡± Tom added with a chuckle, Jacky nodding her agreement as she let out a snicker.

    ¡°You¡¯re shitting me?¡± Jarix let out, suddenly feeling a bit better.

    ¡°Nope. I¡¯m Jacky,¡± she replied, giving Tom a punch to the shoulder, sending him off balance.

    ¡°Oh shit. Incoming,¡± Saph cried out pointing at the sky.

    ¡°Wha?... oh,¡± Jarix let out, looking up at the massive red shape that came down with a crash in front of him, regal head held high and peering down at him.

    For his part, he just laid there looking up at Tirexia, a truly massive red dragon.

    ¡°Sleeping on the job, greenhorn?¡±

    ¡°Non-n-no,¡± Jarix stammered out, staring in awe at the pissed looking red dragon before she broke out laughing.

    ¡°You have got to be kidding me. On your feet, soldier. Can¡¯t have you lying in the dirt with people watching.¡±

    ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am,¡± Jarix spluttered out, getting to his feet, his expression turning to a combination of scared awe and confusion.

    ¡°Now, what was it about a competition with the human army? I didn¡¯t come all the way out here to go on parade or back up that prancy princess. I will lay them to ruin.¡±

    ¡°Oh shit, right¡­ actually, the girls would probably want to see that. It would be out in the paddocks that way,¡± Tom added in, pointing down to the end of the track.

    ¡°Marvelous. You may come with me to show me, human.¡±

    __________________________________________________________________________________

    ¡°She seems¡­ different,¡± Saph got out, staring after the huge red dragon as she and Jarix walked off towards the paddocks, Tom running alongside to explain what exactly was going on. She, Jacky, Essy, Fengi, and Ray just stood there gawking for a moment, not sure if they should follow.

    ¡°And no crew¡­¡± Essy added, tilting her head.

    ¡°Is this a day off for her perhaps?¡± Fengi tried, shrugging.

    ¡°I guess so¡­ might be on leave,¡± Saph agreed, tilting her head. ¡°Think she doesn¡¯t like her crew?¡±

    ¡°This is going to be soo damn cool,¡± Jacky declared enthusiastically. ¡°That¡¯s the biggest dragon I¡¯ve ever seen. And she¡¯s going to be competing with human traktor things.¡±

    ¡°Yup¡­ and the army for some reason? Wouldn¡¯t those guys be dressing like Tom used to be back in the day?¡±

    ¡°I guess so,¡± Essy replied as they all started scanning the crowd. ¡°There¡¯s one,¡± Fengi let out, pointing at the crowd, a trio of guys standing amongst the crowd clad in green and brown. ¡°It¡¯s not quite the same, but I guess it¡¯s close enough.¡±

    ¡°Right¡­ I guess we can go say hi in a bit or follow them out into the paddocks later, but we are going to need a LOT more beer,¡± Saph replied, looking over towards the beer tent. ¡°As in more beer than I¡¯ve ever seen before. I guess that¡¯s our job, girls.¡±

    ¡°Yes, let¡¯s get on it. I want more too,¡± Jacky let happily out, setting off towards the tent. The rest of them went to follow. ¡°Then I wanna see what the army brought.¡±

    Queuing was boring as ever, but they were rewarded with more of the cardboard holders full of beer. Saph handed them to Jacky, who chuged the first one right away. Saph just chuckled going out back looking for someone who seemed to run the place. She got a fair few curious glances from the people serving up beer to the thirsty spectators.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think you can be back here, miss,¡± a kind spoken man went, stopping her.

    ¡°About that¡­¡± she leaned in. ¡°We have a bit of a request if you wouldn¡¯t mind.¡±

    ¡°Which is?¡±

    ¡°We are gonna need a looot of beer.¡±

    ¡°Well you are free to buy as many as you want. There is no limit.¡±

    ¡°Oh no. Not glasses. Jarix was promised some beer for competing¡­ and I think Tirexia is gonna want her share too.¡±

    ¡°The dragons want beer?¡± the man asked, peering over his glasses at her, sounding rather sceptical.

    ¡°Yeah, wouldn¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°I mean, I guess soo¡­ where do we get that much¡­ They can surely drink hundreds of liters.¡±

    ¡°Yeah probably,¡± Saph replied sheepishly at the sight of the man scratching the back of his head.

    ¡°Right¡­ I¡¯ll have to make a few calls. Do they drink liquor?¡±

    ¡°Oh yeah,¡± she replied with a big nod.

    ¡°Okay¡­ I¡¯ll see what I can do¡­ who¡¯s paying?¡±

    ¡°Organizers. We just need to make it happen.¡±

    ¡°Fucking hell. Right, out you go. You still can¡¯t be back here. I¡¯ll see if I can get a tanker or something.¡±

    ¡°Tanker¡­ tank¡­ Jacky!¡± Saph shouted out, walking back out the bar as she was told, waving down the tall woman whose horns made her rather easy to find in the crowd. Finding her was not made harder by the fact she had now somehow managed to secure four of the cardboard racks full of beer happily drinking as a rather large fat man was pouring beer in her mouth from his own plastic glass.

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°The army. I bet you they brought a tank like Tom showed us way back.¡±

    ¡°Those big steel boxes with cannons?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Jacky, one of those.¡±

    ¡°Oh we are going to the paddocks right now! Thanks for the beer, man!¡±

    __________________________________________________________________________________

 Part 6

    ¡°Right, where are they? Can¡¯t be that hard to find, they were supposed to be huge¡± Jacky grumbled as they trotted around the paddocks looking for this remarkably elusive tank. ¡°But Tirexia went with Tom there¡­ just need to find her then,¡± she muttered to herself as she spotted a large set of red shoulders sticking up over the ridge of a tent. ¡°That way!¡±

    The group of girls all followed along, though with some complaining from Essy and Fengi about the muddy feet they were all getting.

    ¡°I thought we were going to get the beer and carry it back?¡± Ray asked cautiously. ¡°I don¡¯t think the ones we got will do.¡±

    ¡°No no, these are for us¡­ actually, everyone grab another beer,¡± Jacky went, stopping and setting down the four cardboard holders at a table, leaving them for the others to pick up. She grabbed two beers for herself and set off at a jog, trying hard not to spill anything which she sorta managed.

    She rounded the corner and was confronted with both the dragons standing in the middle of the road that ran through the paddocks, surrounded by guys and girls in green. But the real prize was the tank sitting in one of the paddocks. ¡°Oh my god. That is an actual fucking tank!¡± she let out, setting off at a sprint, one guy turning to face her with a friendly smile on his face, holding up his hand to shake.

    A beat of her wings and a jump sent her sailing over his head, flipping around mid air, eyes locked on the beer, making sure to keep it in the plastic glasses. She came down with a thunk on the roof of the tank, standing up and looking around at where she was standing.

    ¡°What kind of tank is it? Is this all steel!? That¡¯s a machine gun, right?¡±

    ¡°Uhm¡­ I mean it¡¯s a leopard¡­ would you please come down from there?¡± the kind man responded, his gaze having followed her through the air. He was currently gawking at her, arm still held out for a shake.

    ¡°What? Why?¡±

    ¡°Just so you don¡¯t break anything,¡± the very polite sounding guy replied, Jacky snapping her head up for a quick look around. It would seem she had gotten the attention of most of the people here, including Tom.

    ¡°Jacky. Please do as the nice man says. I¡¯m sure he would be quite happy to show you around the tank if you ask nicely.¡±

    ¡°But¡­ it¡¯s literally a box of steel. How would I ever break it?¡±

    ¡°Cause it¡¯s full of delicate and very, very expensive equipment,¡± Tom tried again in that calm diplomatic tone he so often used when she knew he just thought she was being a bit dumb.

    ¡°Fine fine,¡± she let out annoyedly, hopping down to the ground and reaching out one of her two beers to the nice man as payment. ¡°Wanna show me around?¡±

    ¡°I wanna see too,¡± Fengi then let out as the younger woman came running over with just the one beer, Saph hot on her heels, Essy and Ray taking it more slowly coming up further behind.

    ¡°Uhm¡­ It¡¯s a bit cramped in there¡­ maybe one at a time?¡± the guy went, looking around at them and glancing down at the beer.

    ¡°Man up, Jens! Can¡¯t complain of being lonely and then stand up three girls that want a tour of your baby!¡± one of the larger, more burly guys laughed out, walking over. Tom just watched, clearly amused, before turning back to talking with some dude with more rank tabs on his shoulder, Tirexia paying attention to said conversation.

    ¡®Hmpf fine, leave me with the big burly soldier, see if I care,¡¯ Jacky muttered to herself, turning back to the small polite guy and pointedly ignoring the big loud one. ¡°Sooo?¡±

    ¡°Oh sure¡­ I¡¯ll give you the tour¡­ Uhm. Maybe just stick your heads down through the hatches or something¡­ you seem to have quite long necks.¡±

    ¡°Yeah¡­ we¡¯re dragonettes,¡± Saph replied, seeming a little nonplussed.

    ¡°Right, yes, of course¡­ I noticed,¡± the guy muttered, sounding rather unsure of himself as he turned back to his tank, spreading his arms wide.

    ¡°This is a leopard 2 A 7 DK. That means it¡¯s Danish¡­ Right. It¡¯s got 48 liter twin turbo diesel with 1500 horsepower and is armed with a 120 millimeter main gun that fires¡­¡±

    ¡®I am soo bribing that guy into letting me drive this thing¡­ or maybe just ride along¡­ I¡¯ll give him a hug or something, that should do¡­ Hehehe Jacky, you are a genius.¡¯

    The nice man did indeed show them his baby in great detail, his earlier unease going dissappearing as soon as he had to talk tech rather than talk with three girls it would seem. It turned out he was the driver, with the loud guy from before being their loader. Jacky thought she might make a very good loader, but the driver wouldn¡¯t let her handle the shells for some odd reason. He did let her sit in the gunner¡¯s seat though, and he let her play with the controls. The tank wasn¡¯t on right now so they didn¡¯t do anything, but it was still awesome.

    ¡°Enjoying yourself down there?¡± an older sounding man questioned from above, Jacky looking up through the open hatch seeing the higher ranked guy Tom had been talking to looking down at her.

    ¡°Sir, yes sir!¡± she replied enthusiastically. ¡°Are you the commander?¡±

    ¡°Yup, I see someone has taken my seat?¡± the man questioned, looking at where Saph was sitting. She just waved at him, seeming quite comfortable.

    ¡°So it¡¯s your tank?¡± Jacky asked curiously.

    ¡°Sure is,¡± the commander chuckled heartily.

    ¡°Oooh, I wanna ask a favor,¡± Jacky tried, getting ready to lay on the charm.

    ¡°Which is?¡±

    ¡°Could we ride along for the pull?¡±

    ¡°No, why would we want to give up those seats? and can¡¯t just have you sitting on the roof now, can we?¡± The commander chuckled shaking his head a little.

    ¡°Drink¡¯s on me afterwards?¡± Jacky attempted, doing her best to pull a Fengi, blinking a few times at the commander. ¡°Pretty plea-¡±

    ¡°Done deal, welcome aboard,¡± the commander replied, looking away while still standing above her. ¡°Drinks on the tall one tonight, Per! I don¡¯t want you walking tomorrow morning.¡±

    ¡°Sir, yes sir!¡± came from somewhere outside, Jacky turning to look at Saph who was just staring at her.

    ¡°Well I guess that¡¯s one way to make friends.¡±

    ¡°This is gonna be expensive isn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°Mhmm.¡±

    __________________________________________________________________________________

    The girls had come back to where Dakota and Shiva were sitting comfortably, bringing more beer as well as assuring her and Shiva that drinks for Jarix would be in order even if it would take some time.

    The blue had returned to his spot behind them and promptly proceeded to take a nap. Quit why he thought trying to sleep near the track was a good idea was beyond Dakota, but he was soon wide awake again as the next class started, the machines only growing louder and louder as the sun started to set.

    Then all of a sudden after the announcer spoke up about the next class, Fengi, Saph, and Jacky all had places to be, Dakota just lifted an eyebrow and looking at them confused as they got up and jogged off in a hurry, some of them ¡ªnamely Jacky¡ª swaying alarmingly by now.

    ¡°Where do you think they are going?¡± Dakota questioned, crossing her fingers that she wouldn¡¯t have to do anything about it. She had just gotten nice and comfy, not to mention they still had cold, fresh beer.

    ¡°Tirexia must be about to pull. Other than that I have no idea,¡± Shiva replied disinterestedly. ¡°But we might have to go grab ourselves a beer without them.¡±

    ¡°Catastrophic.¡±

    ¡°Quite.¡±

    ¡°I could go get some,¡± Ray spoke up, Dakota turning to look at the cripple, not sure if she wanted to accept that offer.

    ¡°... Why don¡¯t we drink ours then go together. I wouldn¡¯t mind finding a human or two to chat with either, surely there must be some interesting people mixed in here and there.¡±

    ¡°Okay,¡± Ray replied, glancing at the large crowd, clearly unsure if she wanted that particularly much. It didn¡¯t help that there was apparently a bit of a fight going on right now between a pair of very large bellied individuals.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure the kids would love to say hi,¡± Essy added with a warm smile, putting a hand on Ray¡¯s thigh.

    ¡°Oh¡­ oh yeah, I guess we could do that,¡± Ray replied, livening up a bit, clearly more happy with that solution.

    __________________________________________________________________________________

    It was mostly dark when Tirexia walked out onto the track, the huge dragon taking up nearly the full width of the track, standing at over six meters tall at the shoulder. She had apparently decided to turn off her belt for the weigh in, probably wanting to show off just how big she was. She had weighed in at 57 tons which, incredibly, still had her be the lighter one of the two when it came to pulling against the tank. Saph had asked Tom who he thought would win, and he hadn¡¯t been able to give a straight answer. He had just started mumbling about claws and traction and rubber pads on the tracks. Saph dind¡¯t really care, she was voting for Team Tank cause she and Jacky both got to sit in the turret, even if she had to give up the commander¡¯s seat for the man himself.

    Fengi had somehow managed to convince the guy to let her hang on to the top of the tank despite some protests. She had pointed out how they were used to doing this with a living being with a tendency for sudden dives and corkscrews, which had done the trick. As well as a promise of getting to try the real thing on Jarix, something which Saph was quite sure the blue didn¡¯t know anything about.

    They had all watched from the tank as Tirexia had started wandering down the track at a steady pace. Clearly not buying the whole ¡®get some speed¡¯ part, she simply marched on inexorably, all four clawed feet digging in equally.

    ¡°Looks like the red lizard has fourwheel drive,¡± the loader had quipped, standing on top of the turret to better see. ¡°Look at the fucking flames, guys? We¡¯re sure that¡¯s a living thing, right?!¡±

    Saph looked up at the big display that was there to make it easier for people to see what was going on. In the dim light one could see the jets of flame shooting from her nostrils with every laboured breath as she hauled.

    ¡°What, you think she was only a red for show?¡± Jacky chuckled happily. ¡°Just be happy she¡¯s not a green.¡±

    ¡°Fucking hell, lad¡­ Boss, we aren¡¯t allowed to pull the restrictors, right?¡±

    ¡°No, Per,¡± the commander replied with a sigh. ¡°Not like losing would lead to a war now, would it?¡±

    ¡°If it helps, I¡¯m sure the king could be convinced to trade a dragon or two for a few tanks,¡± Saph snickered, watching on as Tirexia¡¯s claws betrayed her, the dragon clearly having more strength but no way to use it as she came to a stop, all four legs still digging away, the track thoroughly ruined as far as Saph could tell.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure he would. 90.1, guys, that¡¯s our mark. Try not to break anything.¡±

    __________________________________________________________________________________

    ¡°Oooh come on, Kevin, can¡¯t be that bad loosing firebreathing dragon,¡± the loader, Per, laughed, patting the poor driver on the back.

    The run had been a little uneventful if Fengi was being totally honest. The tank just rumbled along slowly to the point she couldn¡¯t really work out why they hadn¡¯t just all been sitting on the roof. It had lurched back and forth a bit as the driver changed gears or something, but in the end they had just come to a nice dignified stop as the tracks had started to spin, kicking up a bit of dirt. It had been nothing like the other tractors, that was for sure. But Jacky had promised drinks, and the tanker for the dragons had indeed arrived, so now it was party time.

    There were still some far more boring tractors pulling away out on the track, but they had seen enough. When Fengi had worked out there was a dance floor, she knew what she would be doing with the evening. Aside from getting all the drinks. She had even managed to get Jacky and Saph to come along, both of them rather plastered.

    Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

    There was no shortage of guys, but there were some girls too, Fengi even guessed they weren¡¯t too far off in terms of age, and one of them could definitely dance. The music was far too loud for talking, so they had just danced without a care in the world. It was quite nice really, even if Jacky did have to be restrained after knocking out a dude for some reason or another. It seems like it was all a misunderstanding, as five minutes later he had his picture taken with his head in her jaws.

    They had all ducked for cover though as Tirexia let out a gust of flame over their heads perfectly timed with the odd song named Feure Frie they were playing. The old red had laughed so hard at their reaction that her bassy voice actually managed to cut through the speakers, lending a rather more sinister vibe to the music before she let loose again at the encore. The drunker people on the floor, that¡¯s to say those around Jacky, soon caught on. Spurred on by the gun nut they all got well and truely into shouting and or screaming along with the music. Fengi just shook her head before noticing that her dance partner was still cowering, hunched down low behind Fengi.

    ¡°Oh come on, she¡¯s been doing that for hundreds of years. She¡¯s not gonna grill anyone by accident,¡± Fengi sighed, grabbing the human woman and helping her up. ¡°Nothing to be afraid of,¡± she carried on with a big smile as the woman staggered to her feet, not seeming that sure.

    ¡°Are you sure! She seems a little drunk to me!¡± Saph had shouted, holding her head close to Fengi to try and be heard. ¡°And I¡¯m pretty sure that hose she¡¯s got is just beer.¡±

    ¡°Oh¡­ heh, I¡¯m sure it will be fine,¡± Fengi chuckled suddenly a touch nervouse. Then she spied Jacky drunkenly making her way to the guy in charge of the music, clearly demanding his attention. ¡®Oh what now, Jacky?¡¯

    __________________________________________________________________________________

    ¡°Oooohhh, I know this song,¡± Jarix giggled to himself, picking up the big metal glass of beer the nice people had made for him. Apparently they had just cut the lid off of something they called a keg, but oh well. They just kept filling it though, so he was gonna do his part. ¡®This bubbly stuff is amazing. It tickles soooo much,¡¯ he mused happily, starting to make his way over to the dance floor thingy, limping on three legs so he didn¡¯t have to put down his beer yet.

    The dance floor was more of a platform with a bunch of lights and speakers strewn around, all under open sky so he wouldn¡¯t try stepping on it afraid he would break something. He had seen what Tirexia had pulled though and he was not to be outdone.

    ¡°Aaaoaa aoaaw Thunder¡­ Thunder!¡± he chuckled before setting down the keg, getting ready. He was being very quiet and very sneaky. His blue blended in brilliantly with the darkness, in his mind, as he kept the humming along to a minimum, waiting for his moment to strike.

    ¡°Thunderstruck!¡± the music blared out as he turned his head skywards and let rip, trying not to giggle while firing as the deafening crackle of electricity rang out shooting towards the sky.

    ¡°Hehehe¡­ oooh I got them there.¡±

    ¡°JARIX!¡± some angry sounding woman let out, he started looking around trying to work out who that might have been or where it came from, just in case it was actually someone he should worry about. Who he spoted was Dakota and she was walking his way not looking very happy as Tirexia laughed her ass off. Back at the beer truck.

    ¡°Whaaaat? I didn¡¯t hit anything¡­ I think.¡±

    ¡°No shooting lightning bolts, okay?! There are too many people around, what if that¡¯s illegal?¡±

    ¡°They have laws against breath weapons here?¡±

    ¡°No.. I mean¡­ Just don¡¯t, okay!?¡±

    ¡°Fiiiine,¡± Jarix sighed, turning away from the dance floor, doing his best to look ashamed¡­ for about three seconds till he could hear the encore coming on again.

    ¡°Jarix!... don¡¯t you dare.¡±

    Jarix just snickered mischievously, lowering down and getting ready to run as Dakota¡¯s face turned to one of horror. Jarix once more raised his head towards the sky and let loose as he set off running back towards the beer truck. ¡°Thundeeeeeeeeer!¡±

    Dakota had set off after him, but she had no chance as Jarix skidded to a stop, picking up the other keg which had now been filled and starting to drink. The crew of the truck looked on a touch nervous to him but oh well, the were probably just scared of his awesomeness or something.

    He just about finished the keg as Dakota caught up and he set off again, running a ring around the angry sounding woman and heading back to where he had left his first keg. They couldn¡¯t fill his drinks for him if he didn¡¯t give the empty one back after all. As he stopped to pick it up, he made out up the sound of wing beats closing in. A slight twist of his head revealed Dakota coming in on the wing, heading right for his head. So he just lowered it down, causing her to go sailing past, swearing rather viciously, followed by a crashing sound as she impacted some sets of chairs and tables.

    ¡°oops¡­¡±

    __________________________________________________________________________________

    Dakota skidded to a stop underneath a wooden table, looking up at the rather bewildered human sitting at said table with beer and sausage in hand. She had known that having a crack at flying while inebriated wasn¡¯t smart, but dammit how else was she going to catch that damn dragon. Jarix for his part was just laughing his ass off at her misfortune, struggling to breathe and starting to wheeze.

    ¡°N????rrr. Her, have lidt medicin til s?rende,¡± the rather fat human bumbled incoherently. He was both drunk and speaking Danish. She stood no chance. But he did hold his glass down for her. She wasn¡¯t really sure she wanted to share a glass with the man, but fuck it,. As she reached up for the plastic cup he just pulled it away from her. She turned to stare at the man with a very annoyed expression. She was in no mood for this right now. She actually just wanted that damn beer.

    ¡°Ah ah. ?ben op. Aaahhh,¡± the guy replied, opening his mouth wide, seemingly demonstrating for her what to do.

    ¡°Oh for fuck sake¡­¡± she just grumbled in draconic, looking at him as meanly as she could manage. It did not seem to faze him one bit as he just held the cup there expectantly, opening and closing his mouth once more going ¡°ahhhhhhr¡± like he was talking to a damn toddler. Things were not improved by Jarix still laughing to the point he was now writhing on the floor completely out of air.

    ¡®Well, someone finds it funny at least¡­ Oh whatever, get arrested you damn dragon, see if I care,¡¯ Dakota finally relented as she just opened up, leaning her head back a bit and closing her eyes.

    ¡°Awwww god lille pige.¡±

    ¡®I swear, if I ever work out what that means, I will probably be very angry,¡¯

    __________________________________________________________________________________

    ¡°HEEEY GUYS!¡± Jacky shouted out, holding up her empty cup and shaking it a bit. ¡°What else we got?¡±

    ¡°Shots, shots, shots!¡± one of the drunken guys Per had found started chanting, soon being joined by more and more people around them.

    ¡°Like whiskey?!¡± she tried shouting into Per¡¯s ear, grabbing him by the hair and pulling his head closer. He didn¡¯t seem to mind as he just nodded.

    ¡°SURE! We have other shit too though!¡±

    ¡°Sweet!¡± Jacky just replied with a laugh, letting him go and turning to try and make her way to the bar, the rest of the group doing the same thing.

    ¡°Okay we can do sweet!¡± he just shouted out, pushing some people aside to take the lead, walking up to the bartender and starting to speak gibberish.

    ¡®Sweet whiskey?... that sounds strange?¡¯ Jacky thought to herself, having a look at the dance floor where the party had truly got going. She had started collecting more of those cap things, hanging them from her horns, and she also had someone¡¯s sandal up there now. She didn¡¯t really know where it had come from, but it was hers now.

    The bartender started pouring some sort of bright liquids into the cutest little plastic glasses she had seen yet, and he was pouring a lot of them. Two sets of six as far as she could count right now. And there was blue, red, green, a few yellows, and a clear glass there. ¡®Oooh. A tasting board. Wait, is this on my bill?... I can¡¯t remember,¡¯ Jacky pondered, once more leaning in close to Per and shouting at him. ¡°Did I pay for this?!¡±

    ¡°Fuck yeah you did! Start at that end, one at a time going this way. Ready?!¡±

    ¡°Fuck yeah,¡± Jacky answered on pure instinct as other people had some of these shots poured for them, raising their glasses and looking around at each other expectantly.

    Then Per started them off with some sort of chant. ¡°Kan, Jacky! Kan Jacky drikke ud! Kan Jacky! Kan Jacky drike ud!¡±

    She had no clue what it meant, but Per took the first shot and just slammed it down. So she did likewise.

    It was fucking delicious, some kind of sweet yet sour apple taste. She could drink more of this stuff for sure, so she grabbed the second one right away and slammed it just as Per asked if she liked it. He quickly downed his own then had to try really hard to keep up as Jacky went down the line of sweet concoctions, the crowd cheering and taking their own shots.

    When Jacky put down her last glass she felt all warm and fuzzy inside, and she could feel the sugar in there, it shouldn¡¯t be long before that worked its magic.

    ¡°Saph has to try this! I¡¯ll be right back!¡± she shouted at the group, going looking for her friend in the chaos easily enough leaving the boys behind through superior shoving.

    She found her sitting at a bench just outside the dance floor along with Ray, chatting with some girls she guessed they had found.

    ¡°Saph! Saph! You have got to try these shot things!¡±

    ¡°We want shots?¡± one of the girls perked up, looking around at the others.

    ¡°Shots?¡± another one questioned as the third confirmed. ¡°Shoooots wooohooo!¡±

    Saph and Ray seemed a little confused but, they just shrugged looking at each other.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go get some, I know the bar guy. Wait here,¡± the first girl replied, getting up and walking off, leaving Jacky a little conflicted. Did she stay here or go back to the floor? It was great fun in there.

    Saph clearly picked up on it and patted the bench next to her that was now free. ¡°Stay for the shots then you can go back.¡±

    ¡°Great idea,¡± Jacky agreed, pointing at her and going to sit down next to Saph. ¡°Oh hi Dakota, how are you doing?¡±

    __________________________________________________________________________________

    ¡®Oh dear,¡¯ was Ray¡¯s only response as Dakota sat down, placing her arms on the table and burying her head in them, the other girls making space for her. She was dripping with beer and muddy all over.

    ¡°I don¡¯t wanna talk about it.¡±

    ¡°Want a drink or something? I think we¡¯re about to try shots,¡± Saph tried hopefully. Ray reached over to give Dakota a pat on the arm.

    ¡°There there, it is only mud.¡±

    ¡°Girl, you need a drink,¡± one of the nice ladies they had sat down with offered, pushing a glass with some colorful liquid towards Dakota, who raised her head up just enough to peek at the glass.

    ¡°What¡¯s in it?¡±

    The woman leant in a bit, holding a hand up to her mouth as if to whisper. ¡°Vodka and Redbull. I heard you people like sugar, and between the two of us, it looks like you need a pick me up.¡±

    Dakota looked to Ray and Essy questioningly. Essy just shrugged, and Ray didn¡¯t know what to say.

    ¡°I- I haven¡¯t had one, I don¡¯t know what it tastes like. I got a¡­ no- nohiiito. I think.¡±

    ¡°Mojito!¡± the three human girls shrieked out in unison. ¡°That one is very good too. But you need this one, I promise you,¡± the very loudly whispering woman reassured, pushing the glass a bit closer.

    Dakota looked at the woman then back to the drink once or twice then sat up proper in her seat, forcing on a smile and reaching for the glass. ¡°Thanks.¡±

    ¡®I hope Tom won¡¯t be mad we didn¡¯t ask him¡­¡¯

    ¡°Essy, where is Tom?¡± Ray questioned, leaning in a bit closer to Essy.

    ¡°I think he¡¯s with Shiva, Tirexia, and the tanker folk. He seemed to get along with them well. Maybe they know each other? I know Tirexia is mostly just annoying Jarix.¡±

    ¡°Ooohhh¡­ Yeah, that would make sense,¡± Ray agreed, nodding excessively before going back for a sip of her own very lovely drink. It was much better than the beer, even if one did have to watch it with the sugar.

    __________________________________________________________________________________

    ¡°Oooooh yeah! I¡¯ve killed dragons, darklings, night terrors, fucking everything. I love guns and Tom showed me a bike once. Seems fucking awesome. Any of you got one?¡± Jacky questioned, looking around at the group of guys having once more made it back after yet more shots. She would definitely be lying if she said she wasn¡¯t enjoying the attention just a little. The alcohol probably helped, but this had to be what Saph used to feel like when she was a racer.

    They had gotten plenty of attention coming here thus far of course, but that was more just gawking, the fact they were a novelty, alien even. But this wasn¡¯t that. This was admiration, and it was fun! That and she was very sloshed by now. Those cute little shot thingies just tasted so lovely. And they gave her the jitters too. She was fucking hyper right now.

    She was about to launch into the epic retelling of how she, Jackalope furlong, slayer of dragons and layer of humans had brought low a red dragon all by herself with no help at all when Dakota of all people came storming onto the dancefloor hauling a very confused looking Fengi after her, who didn¡¯t seem to quite get what was going on.

    ¡°What theeee¡­. Huh?¡± Jacky questioned gawkig, tilting her head a little, drink going with as she started to pour it out on the floor. One of the guys was at least kind enough to take her drink and put it on the table for her.

    Dakota ushered Fengi to do some dance moves for some reason, and then proceed to copy happily, a massive grin on her face, teeth on full display, as she went to town with more enthusiasm than even Fengi.

    ¡°Someone¡¯s having fun,¡± Per chuckled, leaning  back in his chair staring at the two dragonettes as they really got going. Some young human man came up, seemingly wanting in, and started spinning around on the floor. Fengi looked at him a touch confused, probably trying to work out what he was doing or something. Dakota just had a go at it with little success. Then she tried again¡­ and again¡­ and again. ¡°Well I guess we know why she¡¯s gotten so muddy then. Yoo is someone filming?¡±

    ¡°Yup,¡± someone snickered from somewhere. ¡°This is sooo going on youtube, bro.¡±

    Jacky looked down to see if something had gotten in her drink, finding her hand empty. ¡®Hmmm¡­ where did it go?... hmmmm¡­.¡¯

    ¡°Think someone gave her drugs or something?¡± one of the guys asked, sounding a little worried.

    ¡°Naaah man, it¡¯s the sugar shit. I bet you she got an energy drink.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Jacky asked, perking up. That sounded VERY interesting.

    One trip to the bar later and this strange mystery drink had been procured, she downed it in one go obviously. It was nice and bubbly, sweet, and tasted quite nice. She had no clue what of though. As she pondered the taste and confirmed that she felt just fine to the worried of one of the guys, she started feeling this very strange tickling. She had already been quite hyper if she was being totally honest, but this shit was different.

    ¡°Hey, you. Per, big guy. Arm wrestle now!¡± Jacky growled with a cruel smile on her face, pointing at the table. She had wanted to get around to that at some point, so why not now. Per was big, his shoulders were even wider than hers and his arms were thicker. So she would just cheat obviously. But she wanted to see what this strange tingling stuff did.

    When she promptly slammed Per¡¯s poor hand into the table with enough force to send him off the bench he was sitting on, she just stared at her own hand in awe, a massive shiteating grin starting to spread across her face as the others either stared in awe or went to help poor Per, who was struggling to work out what just happened.

    ¡°Oh I wanna start a fight right now!¡±

    ¡°Woo woo woo, Let¡¯s try not to kill anyone.¡±

    ¡°Right, sorry! What about pulling something, that¡¯s what this place is for!¡±

    ¡°I mean we could try that, I guess?¡± the careful guy replied, not seeming overly confident, shrinking a little every time her eyes flicked to him. ¡®Heh, he¡¯s scared¡­ fucking adorable.¡¯

    _________________________________________________________________________________

    ¡°Tom?... Why is Jacky pulling around an upside down table with five guys and a dog on it?¡± the tank commander questioned as they all stared at the odd sight coming by ever so slowly. Jacky was really putting her back into it to the point Tom was wondering if maybe she had felt left out earlier when the dragons had a go at it. Eyes shining bright too in the dim light of the various lights dotted around the arena.

    ¡°I have no idea¡­¡± Tom admitted, wondering if he really wanted to know. He hadn¡¯t been scared of some guy running off with his girlfriend. Quite the opposite really, he had been mostly worried about what would happen to the poor guy who tried his luck. But of all the ways Jacky had showed off before, this had to be the strangest for sure. ¡®At least she didn¡¯t try flying,¡¯ Tom sighed to himself, wondering if perhaps some oversight was needed. There had been both Dakota, and Essy to try and keep things calm. Surely they didn¡¯t need him too.

    Shiva just let out a very long and very disappointed sigh as she too stared, Jacky slowly moving past them and up the now disused clay track. ¡°Does that even count as embarrassing herself?¡±

    ¡°I-I mean... S-She¡¯s doing it,¡± Jarix slurred out, head swaying from side to side.

    ¡°Awwwww. The little baby blue has gotten all wooozey,¡± Tirexia said like she was talking to a baby, stroking the side of Jarix''s neck with the back of a single claw. ¡°Is it time for bed yet?¡±

    Jarix didn¡¯t respond to her, instead just looking down at Tom indignantly. ¡°See Tom? *Hiccup* This is what I get for everything I have done¡­ It¡¯s not very dige-... dine-... digenefide,¡± he finally got out, Tom trying his best not to chuckle. The tank commander just blinked a few times, staring at the two dragons as Kevin the driver scratched the back of his neck. ¡°This is not how I envisioned this moment. Not at all.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll get used to it,¡± Tom chuckled, shaking his head a bit. ¡°At least it¡¯s never boring.¡±

    _________________________________________________________________________________