I laugh out loud at Nina, then activate my gravity spell to slow our descent to a gentle landing. After our fall has stopped for a few moments, I feel her grip on my back relax and she looks around in confusion.
She dismounts and walks around to give me a glare, inferring what happened. I put on my best poker face.
"My bad, I guess my aim was a little off because of the extra cargo." (Mizuki)
Her glare transitions into a pouting face, and she looks down at the ground.
"Jeez, you could've just said you didn't want me around all the time, Mizuki." (Nina)
Hmm…I could've, but where's the fun in that. I wanted to spring something on you, like you did to me with that comment. Although…
"Actually, I'm not opposed to the idea. I want to focus on adventuring and other stuff soon. I was thinking about asking you to join me, but I wasn't sure how much that would interest a dragon. How about we discuss the idea after this is all over?" (Mizuki)
Her expression instantly changes to one of surprise, then she smiles and nods approvingly. I can sense happiness and gratitude from her.
"I'd like that. Now, get going! The sooner this is done, the sooner we can go have fun!" (Nina)
Well, that's not a bad attitude to have, I guess. I do hope that she takes this seriously, though. I'd hate to have any screw ups.
I nod and wave goodbye, then teleport back to my inn room.
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Nedonera the Elder Dragon of earth, or Nina to Mizuki, has spent the last several centuries in excruciating boredom. On Azura, the Elder Dragons tower above all other creatures as the pinnacle of strength, and it is not in their nature to empathize with or value the other relatively weak creatures.
Consequently, Elder Dragons are limited to one another's company. On Nina's home planet, most would mate and form families. However, there are only four Elder Dragons on Azura. One of them, Cerilia of ice, Nina holds neutral feelings towards. Cerilia is hermitic by nature, however, and she typically isolates herself in the abandoned polar continents of Azura.
The other two, Halzar of wind and Veyron of fire, are loathed by Nina. She considers them boisterous, conceited, and obsessed with strength. On at least one occasion each, they attacked Nina over disagreements or just for sport, and left her suffering in a pitiful physical state. Then, they mocked her for her weakness.
While she values strength like every dragon, strength alone isn't appealing to her. So, the idea of their company is intolerable to Nina. Frankly, she wonders if Cerilia lives in isolation solely to avoid them.
Nina finds the personalities of some other races to be much more interesting. However, they are weak and short-lived, and in the case of humans, an attempted invasion in the forest several centuries ago left her with a poor impression. The exceptions were two strange humans she met – Azazel's travelers from different worlds. She considered them amusing and more agreeable than local humans.
Unfortunately, while they were much stronger than normal humans, they were still significantly weaker than her. So, being a dragon, she found it hard to meaningfully connect with them. Still, she appreciated the modest enrichment they brought to her life. Alas, the last of them had passed on several centuries ago.
Thus, she'd spent a frustrating several millennia without friends or prospective mates, and being treated poorly by her own kind, and the loneliness had finally started to weigh on her. This was the irritable state of mind she'd found herself in when Mizuki came to her nest and disrupted her monotonous existence.
Initially, Nina mistook him for a regular human and attacked him. To her complete shock, however, he easily evaded her attacks, and he remained calm friendly towards her. When she ignored his attempts at peaceful discussion and tried to kill him, he overwhelmed her in combat. Nina was shocked by the sheer decisiveness of his abilities – she'd never been so outmatched.
It appeared that the defeat would cost her life, and she became bitter upon having her weakness once again brought to her attention. Much to her surprise, however, Mizuki intervened and saved her life.
Unlike Halzar and Veyron, who mocked her as lesser after such altercations and left her to suffer, Mizuki tended to her wounds and treated her kindly. Nina was as shocked by this kindness as she was intrigued by it, and her hostility towards him evaporated in an instant.
When she regained consciousness after their fight, she noticed that Mizuki had the eyes of one of Azazel's travelers, and her curiosity deepened. She was also surprised to hear that a member of elven royalty had requested his help in locating her, and that he'd earned their trust without even revealing his strength. Instead, he resorted to seemingly whimsical scheming.
As she spoke with Mizuki, Nina realized that she thoroughly enjoyed his company, his playful and gentle nature, and the chaos he'd infused into her otherwise boring existence. Mizuki's short visit had already made her life more exciting than it had been in millennia. What's more, ever since he'd offered her his friendship, the loneliness that had been plaguing her was nowhere to be found.