Kiki was uncharacteristically quiet while we waited for the guild to come to rescue us. I tuned out the banter between Kalli and Quetzy until they got tired of each other.

Sitting next to my sister, I nudged her with my shoulder, “So what happened between you and dragons?”

“I don’t want to talk about it”, she whispered, turning away from me.

I placed my hand on her shoulder consolingly, “Do you hate all dragons, or is there a specific one?”

Kiki huffed and seemed to deflate, “All dragons are jerks.”

We sat in silence and I wondered if I was getting through to the girl. Her mood had completely changed the instant she saw the dragon. In an attempt to change the subject, I began, “How long do you think until…”

“It was my first negotiation”, she began all of a sudden, “The one that defined my class back when I was just a little girl.”

The question I was about to ask died in my throat as I struggled to comprehend what she was telling me. I didn’t need to reply because she continued, “The day I awakened, a dragon sought me out. He told me that I was special. Made me feel special. In the end, all he did was use me. He betrayed my trust. Never trust a dragon.”

My new inner voice decided to comment. This one doesn’t like dragons. I noticed her reaction when she first saw me. Get her to tell you the name of this dragon.

Kalli chided the dragon. Shush Quetzy. Let them talk.

My curiosity was piqued as well, “Did this dragon hurt you?”

Kiki scoffed, her upper lip rising in a snarl, “Hurt me? As if. I escaped from that fool of a dragon first chance I got.”

“What do you mean, escaped?”, I asked suddenly, thinking about a young and vulnerable Kiki trapped in a dragon’s lair.

“Well, I…”, she started to say right when voices echoed down the hall from the direction of Quetzalcoatl’s chamber.

They found us. A team of guild officials that I didn’t recognize entered our small cave. One of them spoke into something that looked like my M-Phone, “We found them right at the breach. There is no sign of the rogue dungeon at this level.”

Kiki looked at me suspiciously but asked in group chat. What happened to the dragon?

I looked at her and shrugged. However, my sister wasn’t buying it. Melvin Murphy. What did you do with that dragon? Please tell me you didn’t make a deal with it.

While I suddenly found my shoes to be very fascinating, the other half of our group had taken notice of what Kiki was saying and Joe replied. You guys found a dragon over there? What floor are you on? We just made it to 30.

Run answered for our group. We had to stop on 21. Melvin and Kiki broke through a wall that led outside of the dungeon. The guild just rescued them.

Wendy sounded concerned when she spoke. Are you two okay? Should we stop and head up?

Kalliphae was the one who seemed to be coordinating with Fina as she replied. Our team is going to exit the dungeon early since they can’t reunite us down here. Your team should continue. You still have tomorrow.

Kiki glared at me and leaned close to whisper to me, “You are going to explain what happened later, right?”

With Quetzalcoatl gone from the area, we were in an underground cavern in the underbelly of downtown Los Angeles. The guild had sent powerful Earth mages to shift the ground around us as we ascended.

The two of us were provided with hard hats and told to follow at a safe distance behind the team of mages who worked to blast through the dirt and rocks in a cloud of dust.

I snickered to myself while I watched them work. Kiki whispered something that was drowned out by the sounds of magical demolition. When I shrugged in confusion, she yelled, “What’s so funny?”

Coughing a bit when I inhaled some of the dust, I shouted back, “They remind me of gophers.”

One of the Earth mages currently depositing soft Earth behind us laughed, “I’ve heard all of the animal jokes before. We are more like an earthquake. Have you ever heard of liquefaction? If you send just the right amount of vibration into the Earth, it becomes soft and easy to work with.”

Once we were topside, our group was taken directly to the guildhall. Fina looked the two of us over and said, “We’re lucky you two didn’t breach into a parallel dungeon. There are several known entities down there. I need to go report the incident. I’ll see you guys next weekend. That is if this misadventure didn’t scare you off.”

I gave my advisor a reassuring grin and announced, “We will be back. Hopefully, next time we find lots of treasure.”

She grinned back and replied, “I’ll make sure of it.”

Once she left, we were reunited with Kalli and Run. A very aggravated Byakko poked his head out from behind Kalli, growling, “Let me at him.”

The tiger cub evaporated into my tattoo and immediately went off on my new dragon friend. Remove yourself from my bond at once. I am the guardian of the true west. You are nothing but an imposter.

Quetzy roared from within my core in response. Imposter? Bah. Come out this instant. I will devour you.

I rubbed my temples in frustration, having had enough of the two guardians of the west already.

Either you two be quiet or I’m going to evict you both. I’ll unsummon you, Byakko. As for you Quetzy, I’ll complete your quest by shoving your book where the Sun don’t shine.”

My core flared momentarily as the serpent grew excited. Do you know of a place that even the Sun cannot penetrate? Take me there this instant.

I rolled my eyes and began to explain.

What I’m saying is that I’ll shove the book up your…

Kalliphae cut me off. Boys, calm down. You two gods need to control yourselves. Mel will speak to you when he needs you. Otherwise, give us some privacy.

Relief washed over me when Kalli took charge. I looked at her gratefully and smiled.

It looks like our questing class ended a day early. What do you want to do tomorrow?

The pyromancer rubbed her chin thoughtfully for a while. Finally settlings on an idea, she suggested. How about we go home? I want to check on Mrs. Hodgins and you can visit your mother.

Kalliphae calling it home made me smile. My original plan had been to take her on a date but this was even better.

I like the sound of that.

Kiki disappeared right after Fina left. I thought I saw her walking through the same door that our advisor had left through but the guild office was so crowded that I couldn’t be sure.

Rundell started back toward the exit and said, “I guess that’s it for the weekend guys. Joe and Rave are still in the dungeon. I think I’m going to head home until Monday. You two have a good weekend.”

“Do you live around here?”, I asked the short boy who was already halfway to the door.

He shook his head and explained, “Not really but I can get there in a couple of hours if I take the train. I usually hang out with the guys, so I never see my parents.”

Then he was gone, leaving Kalliphae and me alone. We looked at one another and shared a laugh. Kalli smiled. I guess we’re all alone.

So we are.

She took my hand in hers. That never happens.

Byakko helpfully supplied. You’re never alone.

Kalliphae sent a growl through the connection that startled me. Yes, we are. You two butt out.

They didn’t challenge her.

I suppose girls can be scarier than gods.

Kalli giggled and towed me out the door. The sun had gone down but I still wasn’t tired.

What should we do tonight?

The redhead was radiant in my eyes as she turned back to me, her ponytail swinging over her shoulder. Let’s go for a walk.

She slowly guided me back toward the dorms, stopping from time to time to look in the windows of various businesses that we passed. She squealed when we passed by a McDonald’s. This place is so colorful. Do you think they will let us go inside?

I laughed and marveled at the girl’s curiosity.

Sure they will. Are you hungry?

Kalli gasped. This is a restaurant?

Sort of. They call it fast food.

She turned back to the window, placing her hands against it and peering inside. Do we have to catch our meal or something?

No. They just prepare it quickly.

She giggled and announced. Let’s try it.

I didn’t have the heart to tell her that I’d eaten there hundreds of times. She took a few minutes reading the menu before turning to me and asking. What should we get?

I ordered us a couple of kid’s meals. Kalli smiled brightly when I pointed out that our meals came with toys. She made a show of opening both toys from our meals and working out how to best play with them.

The meals came with chicken nuggets and I made sure to pay extra so Kalli could try all of the sauces. She picked up a nugget and asked. What kind of monster meat is this?

It’s chicken. That’s more of an animal than a monster.

After trying all of the sauces, Kalliphae decided that she preferred barbecue sauce. I told her that my favorite was the hot mustard. She tried mixing them and crinkled her nose. That didn’t taste good at all. I guess it’s not like our mana.

Hey, that’s a great idea. Let’s use our mana instead of sauce.

We looked down at the last nugget and I took her hand in mine. As usual, I started by pushing my mana over her hand. Only my mana, which had previously been a babbling brook, was now a raging rapid.

Kalliphae shuddered as my mana flooded over her. Mel, what is this feeling? Is this what Quetzy meant by god mana?

I fought against the current in an attempt to control the mana. The sounds of Quetzalcoatl’s laughter rang in our ears. To a bystander, it would appear that Kalli and I were treating the last nugget like some sort of ouija board.

We held our hands over the nugget with strained looks on our faces. Once I got my mana under control, Kalli let hers out to mix with mine. Instead of our normal blue flame, it was completely white. The flame dripped from our clasped hands over the nugget, seeping into the tiny hunk of meat.

Kalli ignored our experiment and squeezed my hand, holding it up to her face to examine our bond. I looked around at the other customers seated near us but they weren’t paying attention. The unawakened never ceased to amaze me how they managed to block out things they didn’t understand.

In our merger, both of us had stopped paying attention to the nugget, which was glowing softly on the table. Kalli looked down and informed me. Mel, I think we made some more of that Ambrosia. This time out of a chicken.

She groaned when I removed my hand from hers to pick up the chicken nugget. I broke it in half and offered a piece to Kalli. She surprised me when she opened her mouth expectantly. I wasted no time depositing her share. Mmmm.

Her simple reply was perfect and made me want to try mine. It no longer tasted like a product made by McDonald’s. While it was still chicken, the meat no longer tasted processed. Dipping sauce wasn’t necessary either. It had the spiciness of Kalliphae and sweet juiciness from my mana.

On top of our combined flavor enhancing the nugget, the mana gave the meal a boost that made me feel like I wouldn’t need sleep for a week after just half a bite. Kalli and I shared a knowing glance and she sent me back to order more nuggets.

It was getting late when we made it back to the dorms. I invited Kalli to my dorm since all of our dorm mates were either gone or spending the night in the dungeon.

We snuggled on the couch in the common room. Kalli twirled my unkempt blonde hair around her finger. I realized last night that I like sleeping with you. It makes the loneliness go away.

I cupped her face in my hands and kissed her on the lips. She gave me a puzzled look. Why did you do that?

Because I love you.

Her eyes widened. Do you really? I mean, really love me. Isn’t that something you say when you want to spend the rest of your life with someone? Aren’t we a little young for that?

I could feel that she wasn’t panicking or anything. She was just expressing what she was feeling at the moment.

Of course, I do. I can’t tell you that I know what the future will bring but the way I feel right now, I want to stay with you forever.

Kalli touched her finger to her lips. Have you ever kissed anyone else? How do you know you won’t like it better if you do?

Just my mom and she doesn’t count. I don’t want to kiss anyone but you. Do you want to kiss someone else?

She smiled when she felt my anxiety as I waited for her reply. Answering with a kiss, she said. Oh, Mel. You’re the only one I’ve ever kissed and the only one I’ll ever want to kiss.

I wrapped my arms around her and kissed her back. Her reply made me so incredibly happy. She surprised me by pulling away from me and rising to her feet.

Where are you going?

She giggled shyly and moved toward my dorm room. I always pee before bed. I’ll be right back.

You didn’t last night.

She was gone but I still felt her blush. I used one of those magical cloths in the dungeon but I prefer to do it naturally when I’m at home.

That night we slept on the couch in the common room because we didn’t want to be monitored in my private room.