WFT 06

World’s Fluffiest Teacher

06: In The City, The City

They drew close to the city, and the wyverns peeled off towards the docks. They ‘asked’ Prismatia for her leave to depart— wyverns, as a more animalistic sort of dragonkin, firmly respected the hierarchy of draconic authority. She sent them off with an indulgent huff and a reminder to not harass the fisherfolk too much.

 
“If you’re worried about the wyverns being this close to the town, don’t be,” Prismatia snorted, shaking her head at the wyverns showy aerial antics as they winged towards the docks.

“Why is that?” Raine called out, voice a little strained. Prismatia reached out with her Mana and whispered words, grabbing onto the wind and shaping it so that Raine would feel less wind pressure and be more easily heard. It had the side effect of forcing some of that air towards her wings in such a way that it acted like an airfoil, but that was to be expected. This was, after all, a derivation of a spell she’d created exactly for the purpose of being more aerodynamic.

“Oh, wow, that is nice, thank you Prismatia,” Raine said, patting Prismatia’s neck. “But as I was saying. Those are huge, at least by my world’s predators’ standards. A lot of places would be wary of such big carnivores nearby. Hell, while it doesn’t happen much anymore, in the old days people would exterminate such predators near settlements, even see it as a Heroic or Knightly calling.”

“Wyverns can be... domesticated, after a fashion. They’re about as intelligent as a particularly smart dog or the smarter sorts of monkey. Coastal wyverns are prone to falling into this sort of arrangement due to their pack-bonding tendencies and sociable natures,” Prismatia explained. “As such, they tend to develop symbiotic relationships with coastal settlements. Some are still hostile, certainly, but this group isn’t. Especially with me around.”

“Fascinating,” Raine breathed, staring off at the lazily departing wyverns as Prismatia made her final pass and descended upon a beautiful, stonework city half built into the rocky hillsides along the shore. They landed near a bubbling marble fountain, Prismatia’s landing causing no undue alarm among the locals, with some even waving. Then, Raine asked a very important question. “Can I pet one?”

Prismatia let out a giggle— which in her true form was a loud, booming noise, and nodded before letting out a distinctly draconic growl towards the wyverns, asking that one of them follow her to the town. One of the pair chirped nervously and followed, as the other continued towards the docks.

The wyvern landed awkwardly in the courtyard as Prismatia twisted in the air, her form gradually shrinking back to her humanoid state as she took Raine into her arms and slowly descended towards the ground. She landed next to the wyvern, the impact making a much quieter noise than the horse-sized reptile’s did.

 “Welcome to Warren’s Folly,” The dragoness said, a slight smirk on her face.

Raine, hesitantly, reached for the very subservient wyvern displaying all the hallmarks of submission. Averted eyes, bowed head, low tail, wings close to body, the works. As it should, Prismatia thought smugly. It wasn’t strictly a thought she liked having, but the subservience scratched a sort of instinctive itch in her brain.

And the way the wyvern behaved was gratifying for other reasons, like the satisfaction one derives from getting a small child to behave or from training a pet to follow a command.

Raine slowly smiled as she touched the wyvern’s horn ridges that melded into blue scales, before slowly applying a scratch underneath its chin. The nervous wyvern slowly responded, relaxing into her touch as got a particularly good spot it likely couldn’t reach normally. The wyvern’s tail slowly didn’t so much wag as it swayed in a sign of enjoyment, releasing a deep rumble from its chest.

“Aww, it’s like a big, scaley puppy,” Raine gushed, grin big. She didn’t seem to notice her own tail mirroring the wyvern’s as she pet it.

“Quite. There are even fully domestic wyvern lines specifically bred for things like guard work, combat, pest control, and the like. Coastal wyvern derived lineages get along pretty well with boat dogs, for example,” Prismatia grinned, gently scratching at the base of one of the creature’s neck spines. “The locals, whether wild or domestic, often assist fishermen and merchants in return for a portion of the catch.”

“Man, this is so cool,” Raine said, her tail picking up speed.

It was at this point a small child emerged, pushing between the legs of the small crowd who’d gathered to watch the spectacle. After a moment’s hesitation, they ran up. The wyvern noticed, immediately, turning to face the child. After eyeing Prismatia a moment for direction, it, again, bowed its head. The child slowly pet the wyvern’s neck, and then lit up with giggles, hopping in place with a squeal as a very apologetic mother ran up.

The wyvern nuzzled the small child affectionately, before turning back to Prismatia and chirping in a very ‘can I leave now’ way.

“I had the impression you were a homebody, but I’m glad to see I was less than correct,” Prismatia snarked, but couldn’t keep a grin off her face. “That said, it is quite something, huh? Amazing what a little perspective can do for things that might otherwise seem ordinary.”

“A bit, but I always wanted to pet a dinosaur,” Raine said as the Wyvern jumped, lifting up with a few great sweeps of its wings before ascending to ride thermals over the city. “Oh, right, dinosaur is Latin, I think. My world’s name for great extinct, er, sorta reptiles but not really. Complicated and kinda not a tangent I want to go on. Come, I wanna see the city!” Raine said, pulling on Prismatia’s hand.

“Oh, yes. The great warm-blooded reptiles that are the common ancestor of birds, dragons, and some other lineages. The draconic word for them translates roughly to ‘primal dragonkin’ but I believe other languages use different terms,” Prismatia would have continued, but Raine was having none of it.

“Come on, I wanna get going. First city here! We can talk about primordial animals later,” Raine whined, ears twitching with excitement.

“Ah, right. My apologies. I get...carried away. You’re an academic, you know how it is,” Prismatia said, hoping it came across as cheeky rather than dismissive. “Want to talk about the town and its history as we walk?”

“Naturally!” Raine said happily as she fell in just to the side of Prismatia as they took off into the city.

The city was a wonderful example of mortal beauty, in a sense. There were greater cities out there, places that defied common logic like glass cities, or towers of gold, or cities spread across a great lake like a magnificent flower, but Warren’s Folly was built and founded by mortals, working with the local sandstone they often carved by hand to make their home. Every building reflected this artistry, but also a careful attention to planning as no roads were cramped. All were even paved with cobblestone, and periodically public fountains graced with local animals, most often the local wyverns, were scattered around, distributing clean, fresh water for all.

But it wasn’t just the structure. The people were vibrant too. Most were well fed and cheerful as they went about their work, either waving at Prismatia in recognition or singing quiet songs as they went about their day. Humans predominated in practical clothing and robes, but other races made appearances from the likes of elves and dwarves peddling their wares to harpies to even the odd Yokai tourist making their way and snapping pictures with their personal grimoires.

“Warren’s Folly was named after Captain Simon Warren, who intended to found a new colony overseas... and ended up over seven hundred kilometers off course and on quite the wrong continent,” Prismatia explained, a soft smile on the dragoness’s lips and her eyes clouding over with old memories. “However, his settlement was successful enough and, in an area unclaimed by any of the preeminent powers of the time. As such, they were incorporated into the Undersea Empire and he was given citizenship. Which was quite fortunate, since the whole endeavor got him banished from his homeland.”

Raine snickered. “He managed to land on the wrong continent?”

“Oh, yes. There was a really big storm and they were... fortunate enough to survive it,” The dragoness said, giving Raine a knowing smirk. She pointed at a statue in the town square as the two of them slowly made their way towards it. “That’s him. Not quite accurate to the man himself, but... well, you know.”

“Huh. You’d think he’d have had his nose touched up. Most founder type figures usually do. Guess he had a very honest view of himself?” Raine said, admiring — or more accurately gawking— at the founder’s very distinctive nose and kinda greasy looking hair, which was honestly impressive stonework given it was a marble statue.

“Oh, the greasy hair and the big nose are accurate, but he was actually more handsome than the statue shows. Stubborn bastard was oddly humble given the scale of his ambitions and delusions,” Prismatia giggled.

“Is this going to be a case where it turns out you knew him and he owed you, like, twenty bucks, er, gold or something?” Raine asked.

“Ehh, no. Simon was a friend of mine but not exactly like that, you know? I’m pretty sure his folks don’t owe me any outstanding debts, anyway.” Prismatia sighed, pushing down a surge of memories that cropped up in regards to the man. “You hungry?”

“I could eat!” the kitsune enthused, tail wagging and eyes perking up.

Prismatia grinned, rapidly rifling through their options. “C’mon, let me show you a place!”

~~~~

Raine hummed to herself, enjoying the sound of the fountain  as it burbled cheerfully and birds chirped. People came and went without sparing her much of a glance, which was fine by her.

She’d gotten some lovely crepes with Prismatia, went on a tour of the local architecture, and had visited a gift shop where Prismatia got her a book called Warren’s Folly: a Comprehensive Guide to the Dumbest Founding of a Settlement ever Made. Unlike the tourist trap brochures back home, this book felt made with actual effort, with a good hardback and clear love and care put into the designs.

They’d found this bench by the fountain to take a rest, but Prismatia had been flagged by an acquaintance she’d known and hadn’t seen in some time. Some time translated to a literal century, which reinforced Prismatia wasn’t just a scaley woman but was a full-blown dragon.

They’d gone to catch up, Raine waving off Prismatia’s worries as Raine felt perfectly happy on her own. She had a nice spot next to a cool fountain, the air was crisp and clear, and she could see out over much of the city clear to the sea and boats raising and lowering sails. In her old world, photographers would have had fist fights for the view she had right now.

Raine sighed happily, flipping over to a new page as she began one of her favorite past times: reading in a lovely place.

A black-haired and furred kitsune woman with multiples tails who looked to be about in her mid-thirties elbowed the woman next to her, who happened to be another kitsune, this one white-furred. “Sae, love, is that a kit wandering out on her own?” she asked, aghast, before rapidly approaching Raine with her wife in tow.

“Hello there, little miss. Where are your parents?” The white-haired kitsune asked. “I’m Sae Tenko, and this is my wife Sai.”

Raine looked up, a little puzzled. “Parents? I’m afraid I don’t have any,” she said, thinking of her parents in another world. Rain’s mom was long gone, and her dad…

Raine deflated a little, worrying and feeling a little bit of shame as she hadn’t thought of him. He must’ve been worried sick about her. Her ears folded and tail felt less poofy…

“How irresponsible of them,” Sai clicked her tongue. “Well, come along then. There’s plenty of room in the Great Den for everyone.”

Raine blinked. “E-excuse me?” What were they even talking about?

“For someone so young to be out on your own— it’s a miracle you can manage human shape without having your second tail or being born a hybrid...” Sae shook her head. “Some irresponsible foxes getting themselves killed or abandoning you out in the world and you’re left like this. We’ll take you to a safe place.”

“What? Do… do you think I’m, like, five? I’m clearly grown,” Raine said confusedly, gesturing vaguely at herself and decidedly adult form. Her single tail twitched in agitation. Nothing about her could be confused for a child, she was a bit over six foot for crying out loud!

“Oh no, clearly you’re in your thirties, sweetie, but kitsune don’t age the same way humans or hybrids do. It’s not safe for you to be out here looking like that— someone could take advantage of you!” Sai sighed, making a distinctly foxy geckering as a hole opened in a nearby wall in response. What was beyond the hole was... clearly not what had been there just before, as it was a long stony tunnel with a soft, carpeted floor and lanterns along the walls.

The strange sounds they made elicited odd noises to bubble up in Raine’s own throat, almost a counter chorus, a counter geckering of high-pitched sounds, but she swallowed it down. “Okay, seriously, I think you are misunderstanding,” Raine said, standing. “I—”

Whatever Raine was going to say was lost as the second kitsune, Sae, had sneaked up behind her and gave a firm push that sent her tumbling into the hole beyond. From there, she could only squeak as she fell down the fox hole.

~~~~

AN:

HiddenMaster: Poor Raine had no idea she was making her case worse. Poor one tailed foxxo.

BookDragon: Ar nar, a foxnapping! From their perspective, Raine shouldn’t be able to appear in a human or humanoid form at the moment, and one-tails are generally seen as children, so they’re basically assuming she’s a kid using her acting chops and advanced shapeshifting to pretend to be an adult. Kitsune can smell whether someone’s a kitsune, a hybrid, or a different sort of magical beastie. If she was a pipe fop or a hybrid with another kind of beastie, she could have one tail and be an adult, but since she smells like a ‘pure’ Kitsune to them, the misunderstanding occurs.

Kitsu: Poor Raine is foxxnapped. Foxxo gonna be geckering and rushed to be brought into the den with the rest of the foxxos, and all of the kits and adults will think she’s a silly fop that doesn’t know better.

BookDragon: Muffled sounds of dragon violence ensue

HiddenMaster: Lol.

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