I was so giddy about getting to do something cool that when the Priestess returned to my side, I actually interrupted her, because I want to show off a trick I've just now come up with!

  "What can be seen, but not touched, and if you put it on a meteor, it'll make it lighter?"

  "Fire?" the Priestess asked.

  "No no no," I said, wagging my finger. "I'll show you."

  I turned to the meteor, focused and gathered my power, gathering it into a single focused beam as I blasted my breath out like a mighty beam straight out of one of my favorite shows from back when I was a human. Had my mouth not been full of, uh, energy? power-

  Well if I hadn't had my own breath in my mouth I would've shouted a cool attack name!

  Wait I could still do it, I could just do the same thing I do for the music and just forcibly vibrate the air to produce the sound, in fact I could still do it now-

  Unfortunately I ran out of time, my breath hit the meteor and went right through the middle. I must've underestimated the distance a little bit, that took a really long time to hit. The meteor had to be like, dinosaur-extinctiony-big, because the hole I left in it with my breath was surprisingly small.

  "Oh! A hole! You can see it but you can't touch it and if you put a hole on something it'll be lighter, that makes sense!"

  She clapped her hands.

  "I'm impressed, Great One!" she said, putting her hand on her brow to block the sun from her sight as she squinted and tried to glimpse the incredibly distant meteor. "But it must be an incredibly resistant meteor if it sustained a hit from your mighty breath!"

  "No no, hold it, I'm trying this new thing," I said, "you know how the giant flying furball we fought earlier could explode its attacks in mid air? I figure, I have to try it, it seems really useful for fights when my opponent is a fast flier, so... just give it a sec... I must've miscalculated-"

  A white star lit the sky, and its impossibly radiant light erased the night in the distance.

  And then it faded, though it also left me with spots in my vision.

  "Ah, there it is!" I called. "I need to work on the comedic timing though, so I can turn around and not look at the explosion."

  "... but why though?" the Priestess asked.

  "Well, for you it's so far away it's just a bright light," I pointed out, then turned to face her, gesturing at her eyes, "but to me it's really not too different than having it go off right in front of my face," I gestured at my own, a claw poking the side of my head under one of my horns, "I have to wait until my eyes regenerate because I think I burned them out a little."

  "Are you okay?" she asked, "I think I can see the burnt spots..."

  They were healing up. "I'll be fiiiine," I said. "Probably."

  "Great One I think you take your own health and safety too lightly," she pointed out, putting one hand on her hip and wagging a finger with the other hand, it was honestly kind of cute to see something so small trying to admonish me. It was like a really small dog trying to chastise a wolf. A house cat trying to educate a wild big cat. "... because watching you get injured is demoralizing!"

  "I'm sorry I really wasn't paying any attention," I said, "I was thinking about the fact that you'd look cute with cat ears."

  "... I don't know what that is."

  "You know the monsters that hunt the flying nefarious marmots?" I asked. "Think like those, but smaller, and like twice as lethal."

  "Oh! I see!" she tilted her head. "I think I prefer having horns like you Great One," she spoke. "Maybe you could make Kobolds with," she struggled to pronounce it, "cat ears," she managed to get it mostly right, impressive.

  "Huh. I guess you're right," I responded. "But I'm happy with the ones I have right now."

  "Well I'm sure they'd be happy to learn about that," the Priestess said. "We should probably keep moving, however. With an attack that size, there's no way Lady Aqua doesn't know where you are, Great One."

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  "Oh, I wouldn't worry about that!"

  I was confused. "Why wouldn't you worry about that?" I asked, turning to Aqua, standing there, hands on her hips. "Oh hey Aqua."

  "Hello Lady Aqua!" the priestess called, waving at her with a smile.

  "O-Oh, you found me," I hummed. "Heheh, how'd you like that, uhm, that chasing game?" I asked. "Because I totally wasn't running away from you! Honest!"

  "Did you know your tail shakes when you lie?" she asked.

  I turned to my long tail, and the tip was shaking like a rattlesnake's. "Oh you-"

  "I just made that up I can't believe you fell for that," Aqua said, palming her face. "Okay, I get it, you've been stressed, I've been very demanding, I understand you need some time to yourself as well. I can give you time if you would but ask me."

  "I- I-"

  I couldn't bring myself to form words.

  It was such an awkward, difficult conversation to have. "It's just- it's all been about making a whelp and it's like the only thing I'm good for is just for mating, and I'm chafing you know," I didn't know why I was saying what I was saying, flying by the seat of my pants as I was, "I just- I want to go back to when we went on dates and had fun and played games together!"

  "Okay," she replied. "We can do that."

  "W-We can?" I asked, looking at her.

  "But first, you'll make up for lost time," she spoke, raising a hand and pointing at me. "I require your power to finish constructing the distillery, we need Dragoncraft Metal," she spoke, "and unfortunately I can't create it myself."

  "Oh. Ohhh, I thought-"

  "Also I wish to engage in mating again," she interrupted me. "But that can wait until you feel better. I believe after a romantic dinner under the moonlight," and it was obvious to me that she was quoting something she'd been told but I appreciate that she's trying, "and some deep, thoughtful and emotional conversation, we may try again once more."

  "Aquaaaa," I hung my head. "Did you just come looking for me because you want me to help you process the Strananas into tastier drinks?"

  Aqua floated up from the rock she was standing as if she was just rising in water, letting her dragony bits out, scales, tail, fins, all of them growing more pronounced. "I came here looking for you because I became less than comfortable without your company," she spoke. "Is that a satisfactory response?"

  "Yeah," I agreed, that's the best I'm gonna get, I guess.

  "I feel really awkward here," the Priestess spoke. "Should I be here? Would you two rather I go back?"

  "No," Aqua said, "I've brought Ariel with me... she should be catching up soon," she added when she noticed the School of Mermaids wasn't with her. "When she does catch up we shall send back the required items, and then, we shall have our date."

  "Like, right now?" I asked.

  "Yes, right now. I believe it is currently the custom to go on family trips, since you encourage the Dragonguard to travel."

  "... I do?" I asked.

  "Was it not your orders that they should go on pilgrimages and visit other nations and bring back items to represent the friends they've made in distant lands?" asked Aqua.

  "Did I say that?" I looked up. "Oh shit I think I said that," I muttered, it was a long time ago, many naps ago even, but I think I remember I did tell the Dragonguard that they should go on those trips and I would reward them when they came back.

  Well that explains where the souvenirs from other cultures I've been stashing underground come from, I'd totally forgotten about that!

  "Huh, I totally forgot, I guess that's good - so it's catching on beyond the Dragonguard too?" I asked.

  "Yes, among your humans it is considered romantic to travel somewhere with your partner and bring back a trophy," explained Aqua.

  "Oh! Yes! It's very popular for young women to travel and bring back a foreign gift to propose to their partners with!" the priestess gushed. "I've seen the most incredible gifts on the Permanent Partnership Ceremonies!"

  Ah, weird ass translation pattern strikes again!

  "Why, a young girl even brought me a gemstone from a far southern tribe!" the priestess stated.

  "Ah. So you got proposed to?" I asked, now genuinely curious, but then remembering, as I thought of proposals, "oh shit right I forgot! Priestess! You went to check out the village right?" I asked.

  "Oh. A festival. Is that not a perfect date location?" Aqua asked.

  "It will be! It is a festival dedicated to their Goddess of Fertility! They welcome outsiders," the Priestess spoke.

  "Right! Only issue, I'm really big," I gestured at myself. "And Shrinking is hard, annoying, uncomfortable and I don't know how to do it well enough, let alone humanizing."

  "You could make a proxy," Aqua pointed out. "Just create a miniature of yourself and control it remotely."

  I thought for a moment. Could I do that? I brought my claws together and forged, out of the same materials I created most of my armor from, a small statue, a miniature version of myself that would be able to comfortably sit upon Aqua's shoulder, though a bit too big for the Priestess.

  Could I control it?

  Focusing my will and my power upon it... yeah okay I didn't give it eyes. Gotta fix that. Okay, eyes, eyes... no that's not it... ah, there, perfect! Those eyes would work, opening the eyelids, first having to actually give the statue functional eyelids, that worked, and then... yeah, I could see through its eyes.

  I had to concentrate and build a link to it, but I could see through its eyes, it was a start...

  "Oh this works, I don't think this is ideal but, I think this works, what a great idea!" I called, "great idea Aqua!"

  "Of course," Aqua said, smiling to herself as she floated down next to the Priestess, where I was even after a few minutes still ironing out the kinks with my little substitute statue. "The time until the Mermaids, and my followers, arrive shall serve to practice the use of the double, and when it is ready, we shall go visit the festival together."

  "Ah- then I-"

  "You will be coming with us, naturally," Aqua spoke, "Silver Dragon Priestess, you are the only one of us that possesses any knowledge about these people," she explained.

  "Oh. I suppose-"

  "Then inform me, so that we may create plans for the date," Aqua spoke, "until we're ready."

  They would be focusing on that, meanwhile, I would consume myself in tinkering with my little remote controlled double...