Pet Shopping

As the sun began to rise and the birds began to sing their morning tune, Ro ignored the majestic beauty of the morning to instead focus on her research that had left her with very little sleep. Ever since she began her work on fixing Lucy's bee state and the whole "sex zombie virus" she had an unintentional part in creating, Ro wanted the issue resolved before the little bee demon ended up destroying their carriage with her hive.

"So... Why am I here?" Kiola mumbled while sitting herself up against a tree and staring at the plague bringer as she worked on a makeshift desk. "Mist. I want your mist." Ro responded flatly, her fingers running along the captured cockroach.

"Is that all you wanted? I could have put some in a jar or somethin'." The dragon's eyes began to wander over to Nvr, who was standing besides a tree like an idle doll. "And why did you need Stitches?" 

"Lucy said she worked under a doctor who could do practically anything. Why would I not have her?" 

"Did bumble mention that she's a corpse guard? Like, she's hollow and stuff?"

"She may have mentioned in passing about Nvr being a biological weapon capable of destroying a whole city if ordered..." Ro let out a slight cough as she waved Kiola's complaints away dismissively. The dragoness wasn't used to being this bored, and with her two current companions occupied, she decided to wander around the dense forest to search for a new pet.

Kiola began her wander, searching for anything that she would even remotely consider to be worthy of Cyel's replacement, she was instead distracted by a waterfall. Sensing a seemingly powerful presence somewhere around it, Kiola let out a giddy noise of delight as she out stretched her wings. 

"To the beast that lives here, reveal ya self!" She yelled with a callous and arrogant tone, mist leaving her scaled lips that quickly began to overflow. Kiola began working herself up into an excited frenzy over just the mere thought of a powerful pet, that she actually began frothing at the mouth with mist. 

With a stomp of her foot and a loud roar, Kiola leapt into the waterfall, flying through it and into a cave hidden by the water, something she was surprised by, since she was just going to punch the water and hope it angered whatever presence she felt.

"So dark..." She grumbled, trailing her hands against the cave walls to try and guide her way. But she soon grew bored of trying to find her way through. "Ugh... Stupid non steampunk fantasy bullshit... Wait, steampunk bullshit!" 

Kiola reached into her breast pocket, pulling out a normal looking lighter that she personally decorated in tiny gears. "My invention! The Fire Starter!" She cackled, holding it up triumphantly despite the fact that she was alone right now... Or so she thought.

"Stupid... Bloody... Work damnit!"

Kiola had been trying her hardest to light the "Fire Starter" for a few minutes, but her claws were too meaty to properly use it. 

"Need a hand, Miss?" A charismatically prideful masculine voice called out from in front of Kiola, making her fumble using her lighter. "Damnit! Stupid ass, #### #### #### lighter! Why did I steal you!" She yelled, frustrated at the simple act of using a lighter and throwing it in front of her, accidentally striking the figure in front of her.

"Ow! What was that for?" The figure yelled out as flames left his mouth, illuminating the cave with the torches mounted on the wall with a humungous glowing pile of treasure shining behind the revealed red draconic figure who stood larger than Kiola in her current humanoid height.

"That's... A pretty small hoard." Kiola said, unimpressed by the red dragon's collection. "Why thank you- Wait, what? This is the largest collection in all these lands!" He called back in a snarky tone, looming down to her level.

"I own more." Kiola said with a dismissive flick of her tail, walking past him to look more closely at the other dragon's treasure. She had to admit, it looked impressive, but none of it was that impressive. No ancient artefacts, no random potions, no buildings kept in plastic containers. It was quite boring to Kiola.

"Hey, no touching." The great red dragon, Pheya, growled, yanking Kiola back by her tail. "Ya better watch it or else!" She called out as she was suddenly dangled in front of the dragon's face by her tail.

"And what are you gonna do about it, Pipsqueak?" He laughed, teasingly tapping her head. Pheya didn't really seem hostile, but just really enjoyed making fun of Kiola.

"I can do this."

She quickly enveloped herself in mist, transforming into her true draconic form that quickly took up most of the cave, dwarfing Pheya significantly in comparison as she easily freed herself from his now shaken grip. 

"Woah... I didn't know you were so..."

"Big? Bo-unti-ful? Uhm... Humungous? Yeah. That one works. Ya best beware my greatnest!"

"Uh... Did you just say great-Nest?" 

"Are ya questioning my words?"

"Yeah." He laughed, swinging side to side as he hung from his tail. Kiola didn't seem to catch on to her own mispronunciation of greatness, beginning to get frustrated over being laughed at. "Shut it, you red radish coloured bitch!" 

Pheya couldn't help but laugh harder at Kiola's rather childish insult. "God, you're really bad at this. Alright, alright... How about you let me go, Bluey?"

Kiola looked at the dragon held in her claws before glancing over to his treasure, a cruel grin growing on her face. "I'll let you go... If ya gimmie all ye treasure!"

"And what if I say no?"

Kiola didn't think that far ahead, her outsmarting having been outsmarted by such a simple question. To her, she had met a dragon of great wisdom and intellect. She was befuddled, confused, completely outmatched... So she did what she did best.

"Hey, wait what are you doing?" Pheya yelled, watching helplessly as Kiola grabbed a chunk of the gold and ate it. "Wha- Wait... Why- Who... Who does that!?" He yelled in a vexed tone. Kiola looked at him blankly, tilting her head slightly. 

"I thought you wouldn't mind me taking a snack?"

"A snack? A SNACK? You ate literal GOLD!? If I did that, I would have choked to death already! How are you alive?"

Kiola was now just as confused as before, the two locking eyes of utter befuddlement. "Do you not eat gold?" She asked, scratching her head with her tail. "No. I just collect it. Why would a dragon eat gold? We eat meat."

"Speak for yourself." Kiola smirked, taking another handful and gobbling it down without a second thought, tossing Pheya to the side as she found herself enjoying the taste more. The red dragon let out a growl, smoke leaving his mouth as he yelled for her to stop eating his hoard.

But Kiola, shrinking back to her more humanoid draconic form, laid on the pile, eating coins like cookies. "Are the dragons of this world really such pansies?" She yelled up to the now rather intimidating red dragon looming above her. 

"What do you mean "This world"? Are you..." 

"A size shifting dragon pirate with a mannish voice from another world who is currently trying to turn her demon bbf (Best boss friend) back into a demon after she accidentally turned herself into a bee?" 

"Just like me..."

"Wait, you're also a size shifting dragon pirate with a mannish voice from another world who is currently trying to turn her demon bbf back into a demon after she accidentally turned herself into a bee?"

"Not exactly that." He grumbled, blowing a puff of smoke in her face. Kiola let out a sigh of mist as Pheya began telling her his backstory about his former life in another world, yet she didn't really care. Her attention was more drawn to a jar filled with even more gold that was revealed due to her feasting. 

"Is that..." She quickly swept up the jar of gold, looking inside to see every bit of treasure she had collected over her many exploits in her home world, Astroglen. "Why in the seven skies do ya have my stuff!?" Kiola growled, holding up the sealed jar. 

Pheya turned around, noticing the jar in the blue dragon's claw before shrugging his wings. "Some human from that little town of bugs gave it to me. She said it was some sorta payment to keep me at bay... I mean, I wasn't gonna attack the place, but I took it anyway. It had a neat clock tower. Have it if ya like. I don't need it." He smirked, blowing more smoke at the aggravated reptile.

"Now back to what I was saying. I was hit by a truck and ended up in this strange place. This blue haired goddess gave me the chance to reincarnate as anything I wanted, so I chose something everyone wouldn't mess with. A dragon. And..." 

As Pheya went on and on about his reincarnation and talking about his insecurities, Kiola's cold, literal blue blood boiled at the thought of her stuff being given to some sap who died to a truck. 

But as he continued to ramble, Kiola had made come to an amazing realisation, since Pheya was clearly weaker then her and since she did need an intelligent pet, she decided that she'd have him. Kiola subtly began exhaling her mist, slowly filling the cave with it.

The red dragon was none the wiser as he continued his rambling about how the goddess he met seemed rather bored, failing to notice his height slowly begin to dwindle as he paced around. But he soon became aware of the shrinkage once Kiola rolled a coin beside him.

His eyes slowly widened at the sight of the gigantic coin that passed him. Pheya turned back to see the already tall Kiola look titanic in comparison. Kiola gave a playful smirk, scooping him up and holding the jar of her treasure in the other.

"I think you could use a new friend, pipsqueak. Well, I guess you got one." She grinned, beginning to make her way out of the cave as Pheya began yelling for his release, yet easily overpowered by the blue dragon holding his mouth shut. 

"Let's go, new Cyel!"

"Kiola... Did you just kidnap this dragon?" Nvr asked flatly, her thin slits resembling eyes looking over the miniaturised red dragon. Kiola gave a playful shrug, folding her wings. "What? He seemed alone, and blah blah blah, he's from another world. Eh, eh? Perfect for me- I mean for the team." She said as she shoved Pheya closer and closer to the unflinching Nvr's face.

But as Kiola kept her insistence over keep her new pet, Ro let out a triumphant cheer, holding up the now cured Raz above her head. "I've figured out a basic cure! My skills are unparalleled!" The plague bringer cheered, though accidentally dropping the cockroach with a cough.

"Watch it..." Raz grumbled, her antenna twitching as she slowly got up from the grass. 

Ro quickly adjusting her mask before holding up a syringe. "And with this, I shall cure Lucy and everyone! All shall remember why I was feared! NONE SHALL BE PURE!"

"Isn't that the opposite of what you're tryin' to do?" Kiola asked with a raised hand, but Ro let out a coughing fit that resembled laughter. 

"Well then... Shall I gather everyone to the carriage?"