Chapter 416: Journey down the mountain

"So where are we going, Grandma Syra?" Essie asked as she hopped alongside the bard Dragoness.

Syra gave her a warm smile in response and patted her head affectionately before answering, "As I've said, the real mortal realm."

"Oh, but why can't we just fly there?" Puzzled Essie asked before adding, "Brother Sidus can hide our tracks very well!"

"That, I'm sure he can, but—" Syra paused and turned to look behind her, where the group of three Dragons were struggling to walk in a normal line, "They still need time to get used to their bodies."

Seeing that, Essie giggled and nodded in agreement. "Sister Immy is already starting to get the hang of it," she said.

The white Dragoness was indeed walking somewhat normally compared to her siblings. Sidus had a bit more trouble compared to her, but the worst of them all was Ynos.

He could barely walk a couple of steps before tumbling down to the ground, followed by a string of curses.

"I hate this! Why must I degrade myself to this inferior form?!" His arms flailed about as he stood up, only to fall once more. In a fit of rage, he clenched his fist and hit the ground leaving behind a small crater, but causing both Sidus and Immy to fall down.

"Damn it Ynos! I was just getting the hang of it!" Sidus by his side barred his teeth in annoyance, while Immy simply rolled her eyes with a sigh.

Breta followed along behind them, with a faint almost untraceable smile on her face. If Aether was here, he'd be able to tell that she was very much amused by the whole scene unfolding before her.

"At this rate, we might never leave this mountain," Immy sighed one more time and muttered under her breath.

"Oh please, like you are any better. I can see your legs trembling," Sidus said with a glare.

"At least I can walk without kissing the ground every three steps," She shot back.

"That's Ynos, I can walk just fine!" Sidus answered with a glare.

"What did I do?!" Ynos asked from behind only to be met with a glare from both of them.

"Shut up!" They both replied simultaneously before almost tumbling to the ground once more.

"Damn it, this is not working well. How humiliating," Sidus cursed before turning to his sister.

Although he hated to admit it, she was indeed one step better at adapting to this flimsy body than he was. Swallowing back his pride he spoke to her, "I call for a momentary truce."

Surprised, Immy raised her brow in a very humane expression, "Oh?"

"As much as I hate to admit it, this is only wasting our time. S-Support me from my left and I'll do it from your right," he stuttered as he extended his hand.

Immy glanced at it and then back at him before silently taking his hand. They both placed their arms on each other's shoulders and began to walk slowly side by side, their steps gaining more momentum and more confidence as they went.

"Hey wait! Wait! What about me?!" Ynos cried out from behind as the duo slowly left him.

"Damn it, that's not fair!" He cursed and turned his head, his eyes meeting with Breta's almost emotionless face. A wide grin made its way across his face as he 'shyly' extended his hand toward her.

"Help?"

Shaking her head, Breta silently grabbed his shoulder and dragged him along.

"Wait, wait! Slow down, I'm going to fall again, wait!"

Ynos's cries echoed throughout the mountain range as the group slowly descended from the peak, leaving behind a group of anxious disciples who still had a hard time understanding what had just happened.

*****

"We'll camp here for the night," Syra said as the group reached a green valley in the middle of the mountain range.

"Oh, why?" I can finally walk now!" Ynos said by her side. Sidus and Immy were standing in two opposite directions, refusing to acknowledge one another, while Essie was glancing at their surroundings in curiosity.

"It's too late and too dark. It's best to get some rest," Syra said as she began to set camp.

"Too dark?" Confused, Ynos turned to look at the group, and Breta simply shrugged.

"But, we can still see?" He asked again.

Syria chuckled as she sat down around a fire that she somehow managed to make almost instantly. She patted the ground beside her and spoke, "Yes you can, my child. But for now, you are a 'human'. And humans take rests at night, and they cannot see when it's too dark."

"But I'm a dragon…" Ynos whispered to himself in confusion.

"She means we are pretending to be humans, so it's best if we act like ones," Essie whispered to him by his side.

"Ah," Ynos nodded in understanding.

Soon, the entire group was sitting around the fire each lost in their own chain of thoughts.

"Why did you choose to stay in the Mortal world, Grandma Syra?" Essie suddenly asked.

Syria who was gently caressing her lute replied, "Well dear, mortals can be quite fascinating at times. And I suppose I enjoy the tranquility of living there."

Immy who had been silent this whole time finally spoke, "Tranquility? I agree that mortals are intriguing, but aren't they also known for waging wars all the time? Just from the time I've spent here, I've seen all manners of politics and schemes, I'm not sure I would call it tranquil,"

"Oh, you've spent some time here you say?" Syra asked.

Immy nodded and pointed back to the way they came from with her head, "I've stayed at the church along with Brother Aether's disciples."

"Aether huh, that's the child that's been going around making all that mess," Syra chuckled lightly. Still, her words caused a frown to make its way across Sidus's face.

"Well, dear. I'm not sure If we can call what you did, living amongst the mortals. Sure, you've stayed with them up there, but you were worshipped. Akin to a God like the lass sitting over there,"

Breta pointed at herself in confusion at suddenly being called out.

"The thing is, to truly understand them. You must experience what it really means to be them."

"And that's by putting on this fake— display?" Sidus asked with a frown.

Ynos nodded by his side and added, "We are no mortals, we are proud dragons!"

Another chuckle escaped Syra's mouth as she continued, "No one said you weren't dear. But sometimes, it's good to know more about the world we inhabit. We share this entire place amongst each other, after all," she said as she raised her head to glance at the stars.