The Land of Dragons

Chapter 25

After Chapter 24

Lando woke up to the sudden gush of air as the blanket was pulled off him. He felt something climb over him and stop on his chest. He opened his eyes, slightly puzzled.

A blue, triangle-shaped head was staring at him.

"Hi" the dragonet squeaked. Lando frowned, trying to decide whether he was dreaming or not.

"That's a funny face," his dragon commented.

"You can talk?" the Brit asked exactly the same question as Charles less than ten minutes before.

"Well, I don't suppose I am barking, am I?" the dragonet asked.

"No, I don't think so," Lando replied, still in disbelief.

"Oh, and my name is Helios," the blue dragonet said.

Good name, Lando thought. It matched his orange wings.

As he moved, sunlight streaked through his wings. Lando realised it was already morning.

"I am hungryyy! Let's go eat!" Helios squeaked.

The young Brit realised he was also hungry. He got up, Helios jumped into his hood, and they set off towards the big cave room.

"Hi," Charles greeted them. Lando waved as a reply.

"Did you know these dragons can speak?" he asked.

"Well, I realised it when my dragon woke me up because he was hungry. Precisely, he started jumping on my belly." the Monegasque smiled. Lando laughed and told him he had been also woken by his dragon.

After they finished talking, they fed their dragonets. Playing tug-of-war with a fish was considerably messy but equally funny.

Max also arrived. He was a bit grumpy but his mood improved quickly when he saw the other two drivers playing.

"Were you also woken?" he asked. Lando and Charles nodded and, at Lando's invitation, he even joined the game with his dragon Julunggul.

Carlos was the next one to appear. His dragon was sitting on his shoulder and singing.

Lando greeted then with a huge smile, an idea forming in his head.

"Carlos, let's play tug-of-war!" he said.

"Where's the rope?" the Spaniard stared at him blankly.

Lando rolled his eyes and shook a fish in front of his friend.

"Who said we need a rope? We'll do it with this, like Tharion and Charles."

"And who is the dragon?" Carlos continued to stare blankly. There was only one reply for that.

"You!" Lando laughed. "But you don't have to grab it with your mouth. And also your dragon can eat it instead of you if you win."

"He's Apalalo," Carlos said.

"Alright, hello, Apalalo." Lando waved. "So if you win, he can eat the fish, but if I win, Helios can have it. Are you in?"

Carlos' competitive self arose, and he looked at his dragon.

"Apalalo, I'll get your fish in a minute," he said, accepting the challenge.

Before they could begin, Alex and Pierre also arrived. The Thai was limping but he seemed to be in a better shape than the previous day. They joined the drivers around Lando and Carlos. Charles drew a line on the ground with a slimy fish and positioned the two competitors on either side. They played rock-paper-scissors to decide who can hold the tail of the fish. Lando won, so he grabbed the fish with a smile. Carlos took the head straight-faced.

"Three, two, one, go!" Charles counted back.

Lando and Carlos both pulled the fish. Carlos was stronger and Lando began sliding towards the line. Then he heaved and suddenly the fish cracked and fell into two pieces. Both drivers stumbled backwards, the spectators laughing.

"That's a tie," Charles said. "Your dragons can eat what you have in your hand."

Apalalo and Helios appeared immediately when they heard the word "eat" and they finished the fish in no time. Then they grabbed another one and moved to either side of the tug-of-war line.

"What are you doing?" Carlos asked suspiciously.

"Tug-of-war." Apalalo replied shortly.

The dragons heaved on the fish, but dragonet teeth are sharp and the fish fell apart again. Max, Pierre, Alex and Charles cheered at the two dragonets as they picked up the pieces, which were around the same size.

The dragonets approached Carlos and Lando with the fish in their mouths, putting them down in front of them with an unmistakable message.

"I won a fish for you. Eat it!" Apalalo squeaked with an innocent face.

"But I don't like raw fish! And I certainly don't like raw fish with dragon dribble!" Carlos objected. He heard Lando arguing about the same thing with Helios.

Apalalo looked at Carlos with puppy eyes and he finally gave in.

"Fine, but only one bite," he said. "And only this time, never again. Clear?"

"Hmm... OK." Apalalo pretended thinking.

Lando hadn't heard their conversation because he was still talking to Helios. He also missed the sight of Carlos' face as he took a bite of the rather disgusting fish. The others around him cheered, and Lando finally glanced at him.

"What? You really ate that fish?" he said in disbelief.

"I tried it. It wasn't that bad," the Spaniard replied, maintaining a straight face. After all, it was Lando who got him into this tug-of-war!

"If you say so..." Lando said, unconvinced. Helios presented all his cuteness to try to persuade him into eating it.

"Alright." Lando gave in.

He closed his eyes and lifted the fish to his mouth. He almost threw up as he took a bite, but fought the urge and managed to swallow the fish. He was rewarded by a huge cheering from everyone. Seb gave him a glass of water and he drank gratefully.

"Not that bad, right?" he told Carlos accusingly.

"You really believed it?!" his friend smiled, slapping him on the shoulder. Lando laughed and slapped back to show there was no bad blood between them.

Seb saw that the game was finished and invited them to the table.

"If you are finished, maybe we should have breakfast," he said and they all sat down to eat.

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Yaay, Carlando podium today!

This chapter was so good to post today that I had to finish it as soon as possible!

Edited 16.04.2024