He was stunned when a group of the same statues they saw all around the place came flying with a few baskets, all landing in the arena.
"The Sentinels are our main defense force" Stella explained "They usually make sure no one enters or leaves the Archipelago without permission and take care of dragons that are sick, hurt or too old, they are dragons with thick skin that usually don't move much, so they look like a bunch of gargoyles, but provoke them and you will have a big surprise!"
He watched with fascination as the heavy looking dragons landed briefly to deliver the baskets and left without saying a word.
Nicholas only had time to see their milky, unfocused and blind eyes.
"These guys are efficient workers" Stella said "But don't talk much, they do like to hear others, so, if you ever get the chance to sit down and babble a bit, that will make their day"
Nicholas couldn't help but smile at that.
A gargoyle that likes to hear others babbling?
That's that first time that he heard a dragon be described as such, and, by the others' expressions, it was first to them too.
"I have taken notice of their eyes" An old dragon said.
"Sentinels are born blind" The woman said "But that don't make them any less dangerous than the other dragons, they can learn all and every kind of pattern that a intruder or a fugitive use, you might fool them with a trick once, but never twice, they are the best guarding unit ever, it's engraved in their blood, even a Sentinel that wasn't trained will protect a territory"
A guardian dragon by birth?
That 's new.
"I actually came to see learn more about them"
An old demon came out of the crowd, his hooves baking loud noises as he approached.
He knew this demon.
It was Black Horn, the Academy director.
"Camm me Black Horn" The old demon said with a polite bow "I am the director of the Academy, Dragon Pride told me about the Sentinels and I wanted to know if it was possible to buy them"
Nicholas and the rest of the Dragons In Mana were still a bit uncomfortable with the idea of a dragon being sold, but seeing how the Dragons In Flesh themselves didn't seem to care, he was a bit more relaxed.
"I don't mind" The woman said "Actually, the sale of Sentinels is only permitted to a few organizations like the Academies, guilds and few others, like the Mage Tower or Alchemist Hall, if you bring the proper documentation that proves your part of these organizations, I can sell them to you, and I can even send one of my dragons to help with the training process if needed"
Nicholas nodded at that.
If the Sentinels were as efficient as she said, it would be bad if anyone could simply buy them.
The old demon was about to ask more questions when a loud voice came from the skies.
/Star!/
He didn't even have time to look up when a black figure ran over Stella, throwing her to the ground.
He was stunned for a moment before he properly looked at what hit the woman.
It was a small dragon, bigger than a Terrible Terror, but wasn't that big either.
She was black like the night and had beautiful green eyes, having also a jovial beauty that added some charm to her muscular figure.
She topped the woman with a doggy grin as the woman herself groaned on the floor.
/Noir!/
A second dragon came soon after, very similar to the black one, but white, he could be said to be the type of dragon most Dragons In Mana consider the ideal type, with slender delicate appearances, yet with a very strong build.
He would have thought this new one was an albino variant.
But he did notice a few differences, like build, tail and wings, even mana circulation.
Similar, yet different.
The male came close and dragged the female by the tail, freeing the woman.
/Mel!/
/Oh don't give any of that! You just knocked or Rider!/
The two of them bickered as a Hunter helped Stella to stand.
"Well" She said "Seems like I won't need to look for them anymore"
With a few more pained grunts and ugly faces, she whistled, catching the attention of the pair, who moved to her side while still bickering and ignoring everyone.
"These are Melchior and Noir" She introduced the two "Two of my personal dragons, Melchior is a male Light Fury and Noir is a female Night Fury"
/I am terribly sorry for my sister's behavior/ Melchior said.
/I am not!/ Noir stated happily.
/Of course you aren't/ Stella mused.
As much as he found the situation funny, Nicholas was extremely curious.
And not only him.
"May I ask the difference between Light Furies and Night Furies?"
It was little Johann who asked, his eyes bright.
The boy had always been a curious little thing, Nicholas had to admit that he was responsible for that since he was the one to introduce the boy to his grandmother's library.
Since then the boy never stopped asking questions, and Nicholas loved to answer them.
"That's an excellent question!"
Stella, too, was pleased with his curiosity and proceeded to explain.
"The Night Furies, also known as 'The unholy offspring of lightning and death itself', are a medium size nocturnal species that use their black scales to hide in the night sky, the smartest species among the dragons on the archipelago, they are one of the best fliers around here too, they even have echolocation ability, they also normally have yellow eyes, but Noir here if a special rare case"
/I know, I'm just that awesome!/ The young lady said with arrogance.
Her brother just rolled his eyes as Stella continued.
"Night Furies were once a extremely rare race of dragons, before coming here, the species was being hunted to extinction by dragon hunters, but the population had come back to a less worrying level now, so yeah, Night Furies will still be protected species for some time, just a few can be sold for now"
/My Ma was actually hunted down when haven't even hatched/ Noir said /Mel's Ma took my egg and raised me as one of them/
Nicholas was quite surprised to hear that.
A protected dragon species?
That was worrying and calming.
It's good to know that the species was being protected, but it was worrying that it had to be protected in the first place.
It's a dragon after all.
He was still a by shaken by that when Stella explained about Light Furies.
"In general, Light Furies are practically identical to Night Furies, they are just as smart, strong and capable, but they have one thing that Night Furies don't have"
With a nod from Stella, Melchior took flight.
They all watched in confusion as the dragon circled around the arena a few times before shooting a blast that exploded mid air.
Nicholas had to admit, it not only had a beautiful appearance, but he could also see that it was a powerful shot.
Yet, he was surprised to see Melchior throwing himself into the remains of the blast and disappearing.
They were all shocked by this, even more when someone added that there was no magic in the process.
They all watched in wonder as the dragon made himself visible after a few moments and Stella started to explain.
"When heated, Light Furies scales gain the ability to reflect the surroundings, giving the impression that they disappeared, Night Furies can do it too, but it takes too much energy and they need to be surrounded by electricity for them to absorb, so it's not as efficient"
Melchior landed gracefully on the ground, head high with pride as he approached them.
But then he stopped, stuck in place.
He was like that for a few moments before walking over the group of Hunters.
Curious, he looked at where the dragon was going.
Only to freeze.
Melchior stopped in front of Johan, staring at the boy from head to toe and sniffing him.
Nicholas was confused and started to think about what might have gotten the dragon's attention.
He watched curiously, just like the other dragons, as Melchior finished whatever inspection he might be doing, but got anxious when the Light Fury froze at Johan's left leg.
The Light Fury then stood in front of the boy, a solen expression as he turned to Stella, opening his mouth to speak, but was interrupted.
/No/
Stella gave him a stern look that made him shut his mouth, but not stop the fire in his eyes.
Nicholas was actually wondering if he should ask what was that when a shadow covered him from behind.
He turned and looked up, expecting another Sentinel.
But he was wrong, oh so wrong.
He couldn't contain himself, and he partially transformed back, showing his tail, with horns and scales here and there.
The most beautiful dragon he had ever seen just landed in front of him and he was not ok.
***
Things were… awkward.
Gargoyle, the now known Stormcutter, had just arrived and part of the half of the dragons that were trying to keep their composure and the ones who were already in frivolous mode lost it nearly immediately when he arrived.
Johann was actually surprised that Nicholas, too, was flustered.
He had long learned the standards of beauty of the dragons and he knew how picky Nicholas was, having rejected more suitors than his great- grandfather's dragon had lived in this world.
And that was something to consider.
Now there he was, completely stunned by this new guy that appeared out of nowhere, with parts of his original form revealing themselves.
But his reaction was somewhat tamed compared with the others.
Damn, he saw one dragon that seemed this close to pouncing on the guy.
The only ones somewhat composed where the elderly, who gave the guy a considerably long look, before looking away with dreamy expression.
Said guy was completely oblivious to that, more focused on Johann himself.
/You have a good energy kid/ He said /You'll definitely find a good partner/
/T-Thanks/ He said nervously.
He honestly didn't know how to react to the praise, he was still confused by the dragons reaction and scared at how hungry they looked for the guy.
He had to change subjects!
/M-May I ask what are these things you brought?/
Gargoyle and the Sentinels had brought two fruits that Johann had never seen before and a few baskets of grass.
Stella took the chance to start explaining.
"These two fruits are Vanehein fruits and Sage fruits" She said grabbing each fruit "Well, I'm not a specialist in Dragons In Mana, so I asked the Sentinels to bring them since all species can eat them, dragon or not, and Sage fruits…"
She gave a quick look to the Dragons In Mana.
"Sage fruit is something I give to the dragons here to keep them calm" She said "It work for all species except for one, so I wanted to know if Dragons In Mana are affected by it"
Johann saw the way the dragons looked at the moment.
Well, it's definitely worth a try.
He was quick to act, approaching a basket and fetching a Sage fruit before running to Nicholas, giving him the fruit.
Nicholas was still a bit dazed, but ate it.
The effect was immediate.
The moment Nicholas started to chew the fruit, his body relaxed and his dragon parts started to disappear.
/It 's so good!/ He said happily.
That immediately caught the others' attention.
One by one, the other Tamers made their dragons eat the fruit, the elderly did it themselves without having to be asked, more for curiosity of the taste as they also took the Vanehein fruit.
Easy to say that they soon forgot about Gargoyle.
Well, not really, but at least they were more racional now.
And there were other distractions, like Duncan spitting the Sage fruit the moment it touched his tongue.
He was viciously washing his mouth as Stella explained the reason for that.
"Sage fruits are only edible for dragons" She said before looking at Johann "And Dragon Tamers, apparently"
Johann and a few other Dragon Tamers were eating the Sage fruits.
Well, it looked too good for him not to try.
And he had to admit, he might want to take some with him back to the city, he had never been so calm before!
Nicholas was sitting by his side, looking fulfilled with life as he ate the Vanehein fruit.
/I've never eaten something so good!/ He said, a few other dragons nodded.
And Johann had to admit, not only did it taste good, but it also had a big bonus.
The Vanehein fruit had an absurd amount of mana despite its size, and it was so gentle and calm that even the mortals could eat with no problem, like exploding with mana overflow.
He could already see it being used as an ingredient for potions.
But it was the third basket that made things interesting.
"This is dragonnip" Stella said.
Everyone gave her strange looks, well, except the two curious dragons that came too close to the basket and now were burying themselves in the grass.
"It's like catnip" She said "Keep the dragons beyond calm by just having it around, it's a good way to keep them at bay"
Johann watched with amusement as Stella single handedly tucked both dragons that were nearly twice her size under her arms and dragged them out of the basket, bringing them back to their Tamers, both fully red in embarrassment as their dragons were not only completely covered in the grass, but one was giggling drunkenly while the other was out to the dreamland.
But it was quite surprising since these two were well known for their temperament, it's so bad that the Sage fruit only had a mild effect on them.
So, as embarrassed as their Tamers were, they were obviously relieved at the sight of their (now) calm dragons.
He did hear the Tamer of the one with the worst attitude among the two if she could buy the dragonnip in a bulk, to which Stella agreed with a sympathetic expression.
("It took me a lot of patience, smalltalk, food, dragonnip, and Sage fruits to calm Mel" She said "Would you believe me if I said he once was the worst dragon in all archipelago?"
The girl looked at the well behaved Melchior that was politely talking with the elderly, she wasn't the only one doing so.
"... Please! Show me your ways!"
Many protests were heard in that moment)
Johann was quietly watching the situation when Melchior approached him.
/Hey kid/ He said /It's ok if I take you to see someone?/
He frowned, confused.
/I have to ask my family first/ He answered /They'll get worried if I disappeared/
Melchior nodded and followed Johann to his cousin.
"Duncan?"
Duncan, who was aggressively eating a Vanehein fruit while glaring at a cackling Sally, stopped and turned to him.
"Hey kid, Melchior, is something up?"
"Melchior wants me to meet someone" He said.
Duncan raised a brow and looked at Melchior.
"It's ok for me to know who?" He asked.
The dragon nodded.
/It's my-/
/PUT ME DOWN YOU FUCKER!/
Johann and Duncan were startled at the sudden yell, especially for Johann since it was an unfamiliar voice, yet Melchior winced and frowned.
A shadow covered the arena (that's how the Dragons in Flesh called this part of the Academy) and Johann looked up.
There was a male Changewing flying above them carrying a Light Fury by the tail, he had a vicious gleam on his eyes while showing a malicious grin to the Light Fury.
He said something for the Light Fury, way too far for him to hear.
He only gave a moment for the Light Fury to understand what he had just said.
Then he let go of the Light Fury's tail.
Johann was not worried at first, he had wings after all.
But the Light Fury didn't fly, he flapped his wings madly and, even though he did slow his own fall, he did not fly.
/KID!/
It was only when both Gargoyle, Melchior and Stella (Who was suddenly on the Light Fury's back) took a desperate flight in his direction that he became worried.
Gargoyle caught the dragon by his back with his claws while Melchior and Stella chased the fleeing Changewing with murder in their eyes.
Gargoyle brought the Light Fury to the ground, saind Light Fury looked a bit shaken, but not hurt, he even recovered fast and gave the Stormcutter a nod.
/Thanks uncle/
/What even was that?/ Gargoyle asked with a serious tone.
The Light Fury scoffed in disdain.
/The idiot got mad 'cause the girl he liked courted me/ He said /I rejected her, but the guy didn't like that I have more charm than him/
/You should be more careful/
/No promises/
Gargoyle rolled his eyes in amusement and frustration before tapping on the Light Fury's head with one of his wings.
/You're just like your aunt/
/I'll take that as a compliment/
"Pfff"
Johann covered his mouth as the pair of dragons turned to him.
/Right/ Gargoyle said with a smile /I'm pretty sure Melchior wanted to introduce you the young Dragon Tamer/
/Pops did?/
That caught the Light Fury's attention, who approached him curiously.
/My old man is not the type of guy that would go around introducing me to anyone/ He said /What 's so special about you kid?/
/I-I don't know? He just got all serious when he sniffed my prosthesis/
He watched as both dragons froze at the mention of the prosthesis.
Johann, who's mother was a sea folk, was born from an egg, but said egg broke after an accident that killed his mother before he was fully formed, so he only had one leg and needed a prosthesis.
He still thinks that this is one of the reasons his father doesn't like him.
The Light Fury's expression became solemn, gentle even, but with a hint of dry amusement.
/Well/ He said, voice sore /Now I know the reason/
He then set on the stone ground, bringing his tail forwards and, at that moment, Johann saw it.
The tail with only one tail fin.
/Well, crippleds must stay together, I guess/