Dragons burn

Chapter 4: Deathly Vortex

"I was hoping I'd be able to relax today but..."

Shira soon looked ahead during her walk in order to see Ryuki and Mira talking amongst themselves for a moment before moving back in order to stand in Shira's way.

"Alright! We thought about it and Myra thinks we can let you go do stuff by yourself...if you spend half the day with us!"

"Why is my freedom being held hostage?! Can't you just go bother master...?"

"Mr Angel and Akina left to visit someone...and we don't know you that well so we'd like to bond with you..."

"Mm..."

 
Shira simply stared at the girl in front of her. Although she just wanted to spend the day sleeping, she did feel bad denying Myra and Ryuki. With a heavy sigh, she eventually submitted to their request.

"Fine...I guess half a day isn't so bad...but I refuse to spend any more time!"

"Kay! In that case I know exactly what we can do!"

Myra and Shira simply stared at Ryuki, unsure of what the girl had planned. Despite their confusion, Ryuki refused to elaborate. Simply beginning to walk, which forced the other two to quickly follow in pursuit. Despite being able to fly well over the speed of sound, they chose to simply walk at a normal pace. Viewing the wandering town folk who, minus a few glances, paid them no mind.

Eventually the trio had arrived at Ryuki's desired location. Allowing them to view the lake in front of them which was surrounded by a couple of blue colored dragons which were mixed into the multitude of colorful flowers scattered around. With little explanation, Ryuki simply took off her clothing before jumping into the cold water in front of her.

"Eh?! Ryuki?!"

Myra called out while Shira simply stood with visible confusion. It took a couple of seconds before Ryuki's head finally emerged from the water. Quickly looking up towards her two friends before raising both arms to wave them.

"Come on! It's super cold!"

Both Myra and Shira simply stared for a moment, unsure if they were comfortable with the situation. But Myra had trust in Ryuki, so she went anyway, despite her hesitation. She eventually removed her own clothing just so she could join the fire Ryuki. Her body quickly shivered upon making contact with the liquid.

"S-So cold..."

"Come on Shi!"

"Yeaaah...I'm okay, thanks."

Ryuki simply pouted in response to the female's reply. Although Myra couldn't say much due her quiet whimpering from the coldness of the lake. Still, her input wasn't needed as, despite Shira's efforts, Ryuki's stare was more than enough to eventually prompt the girl to sigh before doing the same action the other two had done. Her own body flinched for a moment in response to being consumed by the chilling water around her.

"Are you guys okay...? Is it really that cold?"

"Y-You're a fire dragon...you're naturally resistant towards cold stuff...we aren't. It'll take me a while to get used to it..."

"M-Mhm...and back at the castle, I-I never touched cold water before s-so I'm not used to this temperature..."

Ryuki took a moment to think to herself before she eventually allowed her body to begin heating up. Allowing the water to slowly warm up until it was to the point it remained refreshing yet tolerable for the other two. Immediately allowing them to relax and settle into the lake, their feet just barely brushing against the bottom.

"This...is a lot more relaxing than I assumed..."

"M-Mhm...Mr Angel and Akina would probably like this..."

"Seee? You guys just needed to trust me! I found this place a while ago but I totally forgot about it!"

"Just this once..."

Shira found herself yawning before her body leaned back. Resting gently against the smooth rocks neatly lined around the edges of the lake. Her eyes begin to shut, finding it difficult to remain awake and yet doing everything in her power to keep herself from drifting off to sleep.

"Oh. Right! Ms Shira, how come you were alone before Mr Angel found you?"

"Ohhh...yeah, yeah! I wanna know too!"

"Eh...? No real reason. I just didn't like being around my clan...they were too loud and I prefer solitude. But I figured I might as well live with you folks...what about you? Aren't you a princess? You should probably head back home..."

"My family knows I'm safe...even without words, we have a connection that allows us to sense whenever the other is in distress...I'm sure the moment you all helped me, they sensed I was safe and sound..."

"Mm...that's so unfair! Everyone has something cool but me! Aki can read minds and Myra can...um...do her thing!"

"A-Aha...we don't have a name for our connection stuff...we're pretty bad at names..."

"Either way, it's not like I have anything special to me...I'm pretty standard for a void dragon..."

"Hmph...I bet you can like...blow people up and stuff! What are you hiding?!"

Ryuki soon swam over towards the relaxing Shira who simply responded by raising her hands. Her own cheeks were a bit red due to the situation she was in, finding herself growing more flustered and embarrassed due to how close Ryuki was.

"I-I'm not hiding anything! Personal space!"

"Hmmmmm...kay!"

Ryuki soon shifted back while Myra simply chuckled quietly in response to what she had witnessed. Shira soon calmed down, even if she was still embarrassed by everything that occurred.

"I'm sure there's something special about you Ryuki...and you too Shira. We just have to find out what it is..."

"I'm fine with whatever...I just want to enjoy a peaceful life and being special ain't gonna make that easy..."

"Hm...I don't know what I want! I want something super duper cool and epic! Something that'll make master go wow!"

"A-Aha...that might be a bit vague...but I'm sure you'll find that thing!"

"I'm sure I'll find the reasoning for why there are three dragons in my lake."

The trio soon turned in order to witness a bizarre looking girl, clearly having features of a Dragon, stand before them. Although Myra and Shira were nervous, Ryuki hardly showed much of a reaction.

"Ah! This was yours? Sorry! Wanna join us?"

The stranger simply stared towards the girl in utter confusion. But eventually she simply smiled before nodding, her own clothes being removed before allowing herself to enter the lake.

"It's a pleasure to meet all of you. My little water dragons must've viewed you as non-threatening if they allowed you inside...but that's besides the point. My name is Cirno."

Cirno merely smiled which prompted Ryuki to smile back. The other two slowly lowered their guard since Cirno seemed to have been non threatening. Eventually, despite the new appearance, the situation returned back to the relaxing nature it was before. Allowing the four to continue enjoying the peaceful moment while socializing.