Double Date: a dragon story for you!
(Backstory: Elaina and Depth are one of my breeding pairs. Aaand in my personal canon, their maren familiars are girlfriends. The premise of this date is that each couple cooks for the other.)
Elaina tapped anxiously on her pearl. “Are you sure they’re gonna eat that?” she asked.
Depth sighed. “You worry too much,” he said. He sat back on his tail, narrowing his eyes and flattening his crests in concentration. “It may be different from what they’d get in their native waters, but it’s not like the concept is unfamiliar.”
Elaina peered over her mate’s shoulder. Each of the two plates in front of him held a fish fillet on a bed of water lettuce. She watched as he garnished each plate with berries and flower petals. “At least it looks nice,” she said.
Depth’s crests flicked appreciatively. “Thank you,” he said. “Johan taught me. He’s kind of got an eye for plating. Speaking of, can you get these?”
“Absolutely.” Elaina took a deep breath and focused her mind on lifting the plates. A pale pink aura surrounded each dish and lifted it. The plates floated ahead of the two dragons as they approached a small pool.
As they arrived, two maren maidens lifted their heads. Elaina’s wavesinger waved her tail and nudged the scout at her side, who was bonded to Depth. “Hello,” called the two maren.
“How’d it go for you two?” asked Elaina.
The wavesinger, who went by Kayeline, giggled. “Catching the bugs was the hardest part. You should’ve seen Yenna, it was pretty funny.”
“Oh hush,” said the scout, Yenna, digging her elbow into Kayeline’s ribs before wrapping an arm around her waist. “Anyway, we do hope you like what we made.”
“And I hope the same for you,” said Depth.
Elaina magically lowered the plates onto a small rock beside the two maren. In turn, Yenna presented a plate to each dragon - slices of watermelon and sugarmelon adorned with roasted insects.
At his first taste of the dish, Depth’s crests flared out and fluttered. “Wow,” he said. “I’m not usually one for fruits, but I love how sweet this dish is.”
Yenna sighed with relief. “And you did a wonderful job on these fish, Depth. Where’d you get them?”
“Where else do you think? Fishing,” he said.
Elaina and the maren girls laughed. Once again, dry fae humor wins the day.