“Just toss them out into the grass,” Scalla said. “The miffles will take care of them.”
Yes, do. It has been some time since I’ve eaten miffle.
“What’s a miffle?”
Scalla didn’t need to answer. Flea tossed his bone out and a couple of furry heads popped up, then dove down into the grass in search of it. There were some heated squeaking noises and then I saw one burst out of the foliage, bone in paws. It hunched over its prey, growling when other miffles emerged.
“Oh. My. God,” I said.
Are you well? Miazydar asked. Flick your remains closer. I don’t feel like lunging for the little blighters.
A miffle was apparently the name of some kind of land otter. They had overly large rounded heads and their bodies were covered in silvery fur that was lighter on top than their bodies and looked rumpled like a kid who’d just gotten out of bed. They had big brown eyes and tiny little ears that were more like afterthoughts. “Aww!” I said, leaning forward as the creature gnawed at the bones, its fluffy paws wrapped tightly around it. Another miffle came over, sniffing at the ground near the first one’s meal. The one with the bone began to growl as it came closer, his voice growing louder and louder as the other drew near before he dropped the bone and launched himself at the intruder, the two of them merging into one squabbling, scratching, biting ball of angry cuteness. Sure enough, another zipped out of the grass and stole the prize from the first two, disappearing back into the vegetation.
“Whoa, are they like rats or something?” Flea said, pulling the food closer to us.
“No, they can’t be! They are so much cuter,” I said.
“It’s what they use keletha for normally,” Scalla said. “They’re voracious eaters, so the inflammation and vomiting is an effective if slow death for them.”
“These cute little guys?” I said as a couple crept out of the grass, sniffing the air and moving very slowly and warily towards us.
She nodded. “The pity is they’re the plate spiders’ natural enemy and they’re very good at keeping them under control.”
“Oh god, then we need to kidnap a bunch and take them home,” I said.
“Of course, then the miffles will start getting out of control,” Scalla said. “They’re always having to thin their numbers at the middens.”
“So that’s what they’re going to say the order of keletha was for? To poison the miffles?” I said, pulling the document out of my pocket. We’d cleaned it up as best we could, so it was less sticky.
“Yes, but this is enough to poison every miffle in the whole county and still have more leftover. How heavy did Miazydar say the package he removed was?” Scalla said.
Just under ten kilos, he said. I relayed this to Scalla.
“This is for several times that quantity, hence my suspicion. There’s no legitimate use for so much keletha, not even if you were trying to drive the miffle to extinction.” One of the little guys that had snuck closer squeaked at those words and bounded back into the grass.
“So, poisoning students is the most likely explanation,” I said, tapping my lip. “I need to bring this to Captain Keya.” Scalla went very still beside me as I reached for a sandwich. It was lovely, some kind of salty meat, chees
e and tangy pickled vegetables. “What?”
“I know you have quite a good relationship with our tutors, particularly Lieutenant Bowmere, but...” Scalla looked over the field to where a large grey shadow drew closer. “They’re here.” She got to her feet, bundling up the basket, Flea left empty-handed and searching for more, and hauled it over to Miazydar to mind. He bared his teeth in carnivorous glee as miffle poured out of the grass to follow it, then fell over themselves to get away from him.
Miazydar’s head jerked up to watch the newcomers arrive, his eyes widening. “Oh,” was all he said.
I admit I was surprised to see another dragon. It was huge, much bigger than Miazydar, but something made me think it was older. Its scales were a purplish colour, though they looked like they’d faded somewhat, the sun seeming to be absorbed by them rather than reflected. It landed heavily in the clearing, as if glad to be earthbound again. A woman climbed down its back and approached us, wearing the same kind of business casual many Aravisians seemed to favour, with heavy goggles their only concession to air travel.
“Nadice!” Scalla called out, running up to the leader.
“Scalla, my dear,” a woman said, coming over and clasping her in her arms. In a country full of tall people, this woman was damn near statuesque. She pushed her goggles back into the cloud of her curly black hair, her deep brown skin shining like mahogany in the summer sun, her smile bright. “And this is Miazydar? Greetings, Great One.”
He didn’t seem to notice the people, his eyes straining to take in every inch of the other dragon. Finally, he moved to his feet, being forced to stop and untangle a claw from the picnic basket first, then hiss scorn at the surge of miffles emerging from the grass. Once he was steady, his body covering the basket, he bowed his head low, crossing his forelegs. “Greetings, my queen,” was all he said.
Everyone’s eyes swivelled to look at the dusty purple dragon. She didn’t notice at first, considering the view before her with a measuring eye, the silence stretching between us until she curled her neck around, nodding slightly in Miazydar’s direction. “Greetings to you, Scarlet Catalyst, I am Greynell,” she replied in a deep voice with enough of a creak in it to make it seem that she used it rarely. “I had feared I would never see you rise again, yet here you are. Bring the food, human/elves, and let us sit down for a repast. The tale I have to tell, show, is a long and painful one and I wish a full stomach when doing so.”
“Of miffles?” I said, not really wanting to hear the answer. I could see that they were voracious little shits and that they needed an apex predator to keep them in check, but they were so damn cute. Heads popped up over the top of the grass as Scalla brought over the picnic basket, followed by a sea of little fuzzy balls.
Greynell sighed. “Another soft-hearted human. I sometimes wonder how I have managed to live this long, surrounded by them. No, I was forced to haul the corpse of a tau along with us like so much luggage. Young Catalyst, you may share the beast with me, if you wish.”
Miazydar moved over to the stately female dragon with a curious claw dragging gait. He avoided looking into her eyes, moving slowly enough that she could shoo him away if she wished.