The Local Tavern

After our elite team had turned 16 they were given special permission to either go on missions or to the closest town. Now they were 18 and everyone in town knew them. They especially knew how Rowan and Abrecan would act. So, it didn't surprise the people in the town when Rowan ran through the town yelling with Abrecan under his arm.

"RAAAAAA!" He yelled as he headed straight for the Tavern. Meanwhile Abrecan was under his arm. "Rowan! Watch where you are go… OW!" He screamed out in pain as Rowan rammed his head straight into the doorframe of the tavern.

"Oi, sorry Abrecan. Didn't see your head there." Rowan said with a chuckle as he set Abrecan down.

Abrecan rubbed his head. "I'm amazed I can still think properly with the amount of times you grab me and throw my head into things."

Elle and Anora were chuckling. Anora walked over and her hand lit up a tiny bit as she placed it on Abrecan's head. "Does that feel any better?"

Abrecan stuttered. "Um… Wha… Ye.. Yeah, thanks."

Elle and Rowan burst out laughing. Elle put a hand on Anora's shoulder. "He's fine now, but I think you broke him."

Rowan stepped forward. "Well, if he is so broke that he can't walk, I'll pick him up again."

That snapped Abrecan back to normal. "No! I'm fine. I can walk." To prove his point he walked into the tavern. 

The woman who ran the tavern pointed at an empty table. "You four sit right there. I'll grab you some dinner and something to drink."

"Thanks mum!" Rowan called out to the woman. Rowan was definitely taller and built bigger than her, but the facial features proved that she was his mum. When she dropped Rowan at the camp, she moved nearby and opened the tavern to keep an eye on her boy. After the group was allowed to leave camp, Rowan introduced them to his mum. Very quickly she was treating them like her own children. This caused the tavern to be one of their favorite hang out spots. 

As she brought out their food, Abrecan was quick to complain. "Miss Cecily, your son ran my head into your doorframe."

Cecily gasped at her son. "Rowan, now you know better. If you damage my doorframe, you better be there to fix it."

Rowan chuckled. "Sorry mum. I'll make sure to keep his head away from injuring your tavern."

Abrecan looked shocked. "But what about my head."

Cecily chuckled and whispered. "You have a thick dragon skull. I don't think a little doorframe is going to hurt you that badly." She said as she ruffled his hair. 

She put a plate down in front of Rowan, pulled up a chair, and stared at her son. "So, what's bothering you?"

Rowan looked at her in surprise. "Who said something was bothering me?"

Cecily smirked. "I'm your mother. I can see it in your eyes. So?"

Elle spoke for him. "We just lost in a four on one fight. New guy came in and beat us all in the blink of an eye. It has all of us a bit out of sorts. He says he is here to train us, but we don't know anything about him."

A voice spoke behind her. "I'm sorry. I should have properly introduced myself before I did that to all of you, but I wanted to get a sense of how you fought."

The group turned and saw Rai standing near the table. He bowed his head. "I'm sorry for interrupting your conversation. I was told this was a good place to get food that wasn't at the camp. I wanted to see the nearby town and get an idea of the area."

Cecily stood up. "You may take this seat. I'll fix you something to eat."

Rai shook his head. "I'm afraid they don't trust me enough to sit with them, and I don't want to intrude."

Rowan growled. "Did you just tell my mum no? That is against the rules around here. So you better sit down."

Cecily chuckled as she grabbed Rai gently by the hand and had him sit down next to Rowan. Cecily walked off as Rowan spoke. "Listen, just because you beat us doesn't mean that we hate you. We just don't know you yet."

Elle nodded. "We haven't had someone beat us in a fight since… wait…"

Anora giggled "Since before Elle arrived at our camp. We have been sparring together every day, and gave each other ways to get stronger. We didn't think anyone could beat us."

Rai nodded. "Well, I was trained by my father as well as other dragons in the council on how to fight. I've been fighting for a while and going on missions by myself since I was… younger."

Cecily brought out Rai's food and placed it in front of him. She smiled. "As long as you get along with my son, you are welcome here at any time. I'm like a mother to this group, and if you keep being friends then I wouldn't mind being your mother too."

Rai looked at her with a sad smile. "Thanks. I miss my mom a lot. She died quite a few years ago, and so that means a lot to me."

Cecily smiled. "Then I hope you do treat my boy right, because you seem like a good guy."

Rai nodded. "Thanks, and this food smells delicious."

The group ate their food in as calm a manner as a group of half-dragons could. This day was the start to a whole lot of new adventures and surprises. This was something Elle could just sense. Elle stared at Rai as he ate. There was something about him that drew her to him. Something different than any other half-dragons she had been around.