Her unexpected genius in linguistics was something that should be celebrated. From my knowledge inherited from my kin, it would take some number of years before we could speak the universal tongue.
One more person who understood us was a good thing, as we didn't have to worry about communication issues when Hathor was away.
I nodded towards Luna; I flashed her a warm smile.
For some reason, she flinched. Which made me lose my smile.
Was she overwhelmed by my dragon beauty?
I shook my head and spoke.
[Excellent, a prodigy stands before us.]
The white wolf before me let out a toothy grin.
[I guess.] My sister turned from Luna, before adding her input, her focus back on my hand that was rubbing her head.
[Yes, this way I can support my father better.] Her silver eyes gleamed like a full moon; her words came out a bit clumsy but still understandable.
With this, she can even learn draconic spells, which imitate the might of dragons.
Unfortunately, we were still too early in our lives to teach someone else magic, as we ourselves lacked any.
Hathor looked at his daughter with a small smile, his chin slightly raised, as his usual expression as a leader softened. His eyes glowed with warmth and admiration as if to say that was his daughter, and she got it from him.
Although I doubted that, I didn't interject in his moment.
[What did I do to deserve such a daughter?] The white wolf howled in excitement, his daughter joining him. Soon, the whole pack joined in.
I glanced at my sister, who was still reveling in my hand. Unlike last time, she was not moved enough to join in.
I removed my hand, as I didn't want to indulge her too much.
She let out a disappointed noise and glared at me with her narrowed eyes. She puffed a huff of smoke from her nose and turned away.
I rolled my eyes at her behavior and turned towards the wolves, who had just finished howling.
It was time to talk logistics
[How many wolves do you house?]
[Fifty my liege, twenty that can fight, and thirty that cannot] His seriousness returned as he talked about his pack.
[Our clan is filled with fighters far stronger than the average life in this land.] He raised his head slightly, his gaze distant as he reminisced. [If it weren't for...] He grimaced. [If it weren't for that Devil wolf, we would have been the strongest in this forest.] He let out a sigh before continuing [As it stands, our only rivals are the mountain lords that sit adjacent.]
I knocked on Tiamat's head, who was absent-mindedly staring outside. She turned quickly to face me, her glare more pronounced than before, her dragon eyes narrowing. The corners of her lips pulled downward into an arc, while her lower lip trembled incessantly.
[Pay attention.] I spoke the words in our ancient tongue, one that only we should have access to.
[Why must I listen to this bug brother?] Her voice trembled in irritation, her dragon claws clenching.
I sighed as I looked at her. Was it too much to expect some maturity from a day-old dragon?
Maybe.
Regardless, if I were summoned in an emergency and I had to stay much longer, how would she fare without me?
[If I were gone, how would you manage?] It was a question I knew I shouldn't have asked as soon as it left my lips.
Her big, round eyes widened, her lower lip started to tremble again, this time in a different manner, as her eyes softened and started to glisten.
[But brother would never leave?] Her words were soft in a weak manner, which made me want to pull her into a hug.
[Right?] Her big, round eyes stared at me with an expectant look, her usual proud demeaner far gone, replaced by someone on the verge of tears.
Okay fine.
I relented on lecturing her, I wanted to pinch the bridge of my nose, but in fear of looking too strange, I didn't.
[Never] I assured her and pulled her in closer, and I started to give her head pats. Her eyes didn't leave my face, and unlike last time, she didn't push her head into my hand only idly stared.
Damn this cute little shit.
Could I split my essence? No, she would grow out of it, I'm sure of it. Besides, she was only a day old; her opinion would change.
It wasn't like dragons were stubborn...
I sighed [Just pay attention, this might all be yours one day]
She nodded, getting closer to me.
Hathor watched us patiently and then began to speak again. I was glad he was informing us of our only rivals, which was going to be my next question.
[Mountain bears, a family of them.] He paused before continuing, [and a giant serpent inhabited the other.] He gauged our reaction upon hearing about the serpent.
I, however didn't care.
What was a snake to a dragon?
Nothing.
[Both are equivalent to my previous self, with only the father of the bears matching my strength.]
[Neither are known to leave their lairs.]
What type of creature relaxes near a dormant tiger? Either they accept my rule, or I will drive them out. Whether it was into the embrace of the next cycle or in peace.
First, we should start with the bears. If his words are correct, they are no match for him now.
As soon as I was about to issue an order to prepare for war, a strong drowsiness overcame me. My eyelids were pulling down like they were weighted. I blinked rapidly in an attempt to fight off the sandman, a small part of me thought it wouldn't be so bad to just close my eyes and lie down.
The damn slothfulness of a Dragon.
It wasn't in a dragon's nature to be proactive; it was the reason why dragons had no society. Their inner laziness killed off any attempt to progress.
I desperately fought with all my strength, harder than when I finished off Jaskier. A hint of alertness was all I could manage.
I looked around, Luna was sitting patiently, staring at me and Tiamat.
While Hathor eagerly awaited my next words.
My hand was still absentmindedly rubbing Tiamat's head.
Her face, which previously looked like the start of a tantrum, now looked relaxed, her previous worries leaving her as she sat there receiving my pats.
Hathor's eyes grew big before returning to normal. realization flashing in his eyes, like a bulb was lit.
[I have something I wish to report.]
I nodded at him to continue, even that small effort sapped strength from my fight.
[All the members of my clan swore allegiance to the dragon lords, under a sacred oath to the moon.]
I thought that was obvious enough, but I was glad he took the extra step to tell me. The thoughts in my head started to turn sluggish, I wanted to wrap this up quickly.
[Congratulations! You have conquered Hathor's Tribe.]
[New tab open!]
[Factions]
I ignored the new message as I did with most things related to the text. My mind is in no condition to think of things I don't understand.
I would simply ask my summon later or investigate myself.
I nodded towards Hathor and opened my mouth to speak, my lips felt as heavy as my eyelid, but just as I managed to hold my eyes open, I spoke.
[Good.] It was tough even getting a single word out, the mere exhaustion that came over me was intense, I gritted my teeth and opened my mouth.
[Alas...] I swallowed [The call of Hypnos beckons me] Curse this damned way of speaking. [And my body screams to join Somnus in his journey.]
Good, I barely managed to get it out, I stifled a giant yawn that was about to erupt, and looked at my sister.
Tiamat, however, was not as lucky. She let out a big yawn, her large, round eyes blinking repeatedly.
I didn't know if she was better at hiding it than me, or if she was simply not tired.
Hathor nodded, his snout opening.
Damn you Hathor let me be on my way.
[Then I will stand guard, and make sure no harm befalls upon you.] His head tilted upwards as he stood upright, the setting sun casting an ethereal glow on him.
Yeah, cool. Now, please let me go to sleep.
[Then we will hunt for food to grace your return.] His eyes looked at me, it was obvious he was excited to start serving us in earnest.
Good, now please, for the love of all that is holy, stop talking.
[I will personally stand guard to make sure none disturbs your slumber.]
It would have warmed my heart if I weren't fighting my hardest battle yet. All my willpower concentrated on staying awake.
[With you keeping watch, I feel safe.] The words left my mouth in a hurry, but they came out slow and graceful.
[We will take the deepest parts of this cave.] I continued, as I fought off the mythical god of sleep.
[It is yours] He nodded, before turning towards his daughter, speaking with her in their beastly tongue.
I headed towards the deepest parts, my sister following beside me. We passed many types of wolves, children, male and female, the only commonality was the species.
I was too busy trying my best to reach our destination to care, although with the little awareness that I had left, I could sense their curiosity.
Paying no mind to it, I curled up into a ball and laid down, Tiamat lying next to me, inching closer until we were together. I wrapped my wings around her and closed my eyes.
I started to think about what we should do next, and my fleeting thoughts drifted into the realm of Morpheus.
Before I knew it, I was awake my eyes readjusting to the darkness. I blinked repeatedly as I let out a mighty dragon yawn, my limbs stretching as I walked around to readjust myself.
[You have earned 200 XP!]
My eyes widened as I stared into the text. Could I gain points just from sleeping? If so, this was the perfect ability for a dragon.
The inherent laziness was too strong to ignore, I only hoped I would get better at repelling it.
I took a look around, no one could be seen. Hathor must have been guarding much further than this.
My eyes naturally made their way to my sister, her eyes closed tightly as she snored loudly.
Turning away after mentally capturing the image, I decided to do some investigating.
'Status Window'
[Name: Bahamut]
[Level. 3]
[XP 300/500
[Growth Stage: Baby]
[Levels to Next Stage 2]
[Race: Dragon]
[Role: Deity]
[Divinity: 35]
[Skills]
[Sp.3]
[Party]
[Quest]
[Rewards]
[Stats]
[Factions]
I ignored the obvious ones and decided to focus on the unknowns. My eyes focusing and un focusing on my role.
Deity? Was that just not another word for a god?
'Role'
I tried to think of the word, hoping it would pop up a new menu like the stats. It was to no avail, nothing new, nor did a description show up.
I tried the same for Divinity, and it had the same result.
The corners of my lips pulled downwards, I could feel a frown forming on my face. It would be nice to know what being a Deity meant.
My summon also called me a god, but what did that mean? I pondered for a while before giving up, it wasn't something I could find out right now, so I decided to temporarily put it aside.
'Party'
[You can add three or more people to join you in a party]
[You will share XP and gain based on your contribution. Progress towards quests will be marked]
[Available List]
[Luna]
[Hathor]
[Diana]
[Tiamat]
Diana's name was greyed out. It was clear to me that it was from the distance between us. I was a bit curious about why only those four, but I paid it no more attention.
I nodded. This was pretty self-explanatory. Why did this one have a description but not the role?
The Frown on my face deepened.
'Quest'
[Declare the forest of sorrows as your dominion and proclaim the divine right to rule.]
[Failure = None]
[Reward = A Monarch's Aura]
As I was about to investigate the new tabs. My sister's yawning pulled my attention away.