Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Dragon Rising ❯ Chapter Four ( Chapter 4 )

In which Yugi discoverssome practical magic and that he no longer likes his steak well done

 

A normal teenager would question sanity and the definition of reality at having two people of fey nature in their home every day for the last week. They would also question sanity and reality at the revelation that they were supposedly not totally human. Yugi figured he was going insane and reality had been a questionable thing since the ordeal with Pegasus. Still, he thought as he licked the back of his spoon clean of cherry pie filling and homemade vanilla ice cream, it wasn't too bad. Alianna was an excellent cook, better than his grandfather (which was saying something), and Drizzt was fun to have around. The drow was always ready with a cunning remark or bawdy limerick to add some interest to a conversation.

 

Really, all things considered, the situation could be worse. He was starting to accept that his mother had, in fact, lived and made her home in another world. He was even contemplating accepting that he was only half human, as much as he didn't like it. He eyed his fingernails, which were a bit sharper and thicker than they'd been before. Physical evidence was rather difficult to dismiss.

 

“Solomon!” Drizzt called from the living room.

 

Yugi turned to see what the commotion was about. The drow was tossing pillows in the air and generally wreaking havoc on the sitting area.

 

“What?” his grandfather called from the office.

 

“Where's the gods-damned remote?!”

 

“On the coffee table!”

 

“Oh.”

 

Yugi rolled his eyes as the drow meekly tidied the mess he'd made before sitting down and beginning to channel surf. All things considered—the situation could be much worse. He'd just put his bowl and spoon in the dishwasher when the front door opened and Alianna walked in, each arm carrying a sack of groceries and a cell phone shouldered to her ear. “Don't be ridiculous, Jade,” she was saying, “The book is right on the shelf where I left it. Of course I'm sure! It's my lab, I know where everything is!”

 

The door shut by itself behind her when she glared at it after setting the groceries down. Yugi blinked.

 

“What do you mean it's not there? I haven't touched it in two months!”

 

The groceries began to unload themselves from the bags and store themselves in the proper locations

 

“Well, I didn't do anything to move it. Yes, Skot and Skywise have access to my lab. So does my brother, but he doesn't normally use it.”

 

A package of roasted cashews rattled menacingly at him when he reached out the poke it.

 

“Then they probably did something. I know, they're sloppy pigs with no idea of the artistry behind potion making, but they're themselves. Look, check in the drawer under the work table.”

 

Now the paper sacks were neatly folding themselves and settling under the cabinet with the others.

 

“It's there? Good, that's where they usually throw things.”

 

Alianna now began to pull out pots and pans and set up her work space for dinner preparations.

 

“Then get those two in there. They may be sloppy but they remember where they put everything.”

 

A package of expensive steaks flitted out of the refrigerator to sit by the cutting board and spices Alianna was setting out.

 

“Alright, glad to help. Yes, I think we'll be coming back soon. No, I don't know exactly when. Yes, Jade. No, look, just do whatever it is you normally do, keep those two in line for me and I'll see you when we get back.”

 

“Tell her I say hello and send my love,” Drizzt said from the living room.

 

“Drizzt says hello and sends his love to you, darling. Yes, I'll tell him. Alright. I'll see you then. Gods bless.”

 

She hung up the phone and tucked it in her jeans pocket, “Solomon! Jade says hi!” Solomon poked his head out of the office, “Hi back. What was that about?”

 

“Oh, she just needed one of my books from my workroom.”

 

The female elf walked into the living room to Drizzt, who looked up from the T.V. “Jade says hello and sends you a kiss,” Alianna said and kissed the drow lightly on the mouth.

 

He grinned, “She so misses me.”

 

She rolled her eyes and gave him a light push before walking back to the kitchen and pulling out a knife. Yugi sat on a stool on the other side of the bar, facing her. “Can I learn to do that whole…” he waved his hand, “Whatever it is you just did?”

 

Fresh mushroom that he was fairly sure weren't sold in normal markets began to be finely sliced, “If you wanted to.”

 

“Want some help?”

 

Another cutting board and knife was handed over, along with several colorful sweet peppers.

 

“Purple?” he said, staring a particularly large one.

 

“I do my shopping in the healthy markets, thank you.”

 

He stared.

 

“What? Just wait until you can smell what humans put on their produce. It's absolutely disgusting. I'm surprised they haven't sprouted more limbs and gods know what else.”

 

“Okay,” he said, deciding it best not to ask more. He began slicing up the peppers and removing the bitter white pith inside.

 

Solomon walked in a few minutes later and stood by Alianna to see what was being dissected. “Deep mushrooms! I haven't seen one of those in years!” he said with a grin, “Don't mind me.” He snitched a slice and popped it into his mouth. Drizzt seemed to have suddenly just appeared, “I heard deep mushrooms.” Alianna shot him a look that said “pig” but grinned and tossed him one anyway. The dark elf snagged it easily with one hand and bit into it, walking over to sit by Yugi on a barstool. “Try some,” he said, pulling a dagger from his boot and cutting a piece off for the boy. Yugi just looked at him, “Aren't you trying to appear human?”

 

“Yeah, so?” he blinked.

 

“Humans don't walk around with knives in their boots anymore.”

 

“Then how the hells are they supposed to protect themselves?”

 

“Now they have pocket knives. Or a concealed carry permit.”

 

The drow snorted with disdain, “Puh-lease. Those little folding blades are pathetic. As for your “guns”, they're too…conspicuous. Try the mushroom.”

 

Yugi rolled his eyes and took the piece of fungi from his dark skinned friend and tried it. He blinked. “Butter and lemon?” he said in confusion.

“And sage,” Solomon added.

 

Alianna grinned, “They grow in the Underground in secluded groves near fresh, running water.” She pushed the completed pile to the side and grabbed several bunches of green, fragrant herbs. “Now these can be found here, too,” she said, laying a stem of each out and naming them. “Rosemary, basil, dill, and cinnamon basil,” she pointed to each in turn. She shredded them neatly with a few cuts from the knife and pushed them by the mushrooms. “Now, as for your spices,” she pointed to several small bowls, “Garlic will discourage a vampire from biting, but won't necessarily stop them. Cinnamon can be used as a substitute for several ingredients in several potions, the main component of a love charm, and a cleanser for the air. Poppy seed, when crushed, can help a weak divination spell focus in, and salt can be used as a ward against dark witches and many of the fey folk can't stand it. Running salt water can be used to break some curses.”

 

“What about pepper?” Yugi asked.

 

“Seasoning. Or, if you're in dire straights, throw it in your opponent's face and he'll be too preoccupied to hinder your escape,” Drizzt replied with a grin, “Ask your grandfather about that one.”

 

Yugi looked at his grandfather, “Grampa?”

Solomon had the decency to look abashed, “It was the only way that I could think of to stop a dire rat from biting me.”

 

“A what?”

 

“A really fuckin' big rat,” Drizzt said, “And really, really mean.”

 

Yugi was silent for a moment. “Alright,” he said, finishing cutting the peppers, “You have my attention. What else can you do with stuff?” The three adults grinned and the two fey began to instruct Yugi on the art that was “practical magic” while Solomon made iced tea to go with their supper.

 

“Yugi, how do you take your steak?” Alianna asked once she started putting them on the electric grill to cook.

 

“Well done,” Yugi said without looking up from the calming poultice he was now grinding in a mortar under Drizzt's careful eye. A lovely aroma of lavender, rosemary and mint was rising from the contents of the smooth wooden bowl.

 

Alianna blinked and raised an eyebrow, “You sure?”

 

“Yeah, why?”

 

“O-okay…Drizzt?”

 

“Same as you, Ali.”

 

“Solomon?”

 

“Medium well, thank you.”

 

By the time the last steak was off and plated next to roasted sweet pepper and squash, sautéed mushrooms with herbs and a light wine sauce, Yugi was finishing the tincture by adding the tiniest amount of pure spring water and pouring it into a small bottle. “How'd I do?” he asked the drow, who took the bottle and poured a drop onto a fingertip. “Smells right, consistency is good…hey, Solomon, give me your hand a second,” he said. The old man paused in filling the tea glassed and held out a hand. The drow rubbed the poultice over the old, wrinkled knuckles. “Better?” came the inquiry.

Solomon gave his fingers an experimental flex, “Hmm…much. I think he has his mother's gift of natural healing.” He smiled and patted his grandson's shoulder, “Well done.”

 

Yugi grinned widely at the praise and the comparison to his mother.

 

“Food's up!” Alianna said, placing the last dish on the table.

 

The four sat down and began filling their plates, all the while Drizzt took the liberty of quizzing Yugi on his new knowledge of the natural part of practical magic. Yugi only paused in rapid fire answering to look inquisitively at Alianna's and Drizzt's steaks, which were practically raw, cooked only to the point of being heated completely through and grilled on the outside. “Uhm…” he began, trying to find a polite way to ask. The two fey grinned. “Basic fey education,” Alianna said, pointing her fork at Drizzt, “Drow eat a lot of their food raw. My tribe have the blood of the wild wolves in them. The only reason this piece of meat is not dripping blood and warm from the hunt is because one, I didn't catch it myself or among my tribe, so I won't eat it like that, and two, I'm among humans, who have this weird twitch factor about it.”

 

“Seriously, that's it,” Drizzt added, “Usually it's only cooked when there's a revel and even then, there's always another that's not.”

 

“Oh,” Yugi said, then looked at his grandfather, “And you're not weirded out…?”

 

Solomon smiled as he stirred sugar into his glass, “Because I have seen this before.”

 

“Okay then.”

 

“You're sure you want well done?” Alianna asked.

 

Yugi nodded, “I'm sure. I don't exactly find bloody meat appealing.”

 

The two fey exchanged glances, shrugged, and went back to their food.

 

A few minutes later, animated conversation was interrupted by an odd cough and a grimace on Yugi's face, who looked like he'd just swallowed a particularly large grub only to have it burst right at the back of his throat. “What's the matter, lad?” Drizzt asked, lightly patting the boy's back as he coughed again and drank half his tea in one gulp. Finally, Yugi swallowed a last time and gently pushed his plate away from him in a rather embarrassed sort of way. “Uhm…” he began, then cleared his throat, “If it's not too much trouble, on second thought, I don't think I'll be having well done anymore. It's like eating a piece of coal. Or solidified tar.” The two fey stared at him, then grinned in understanding as Solomon chuckled and passed a plate to Yugi.

 

“Ah, it seems the dragon's taste kicked in,” Alianna said. “Luckily, I figured this might happen. Put the petrified one on the plate and take the other one. It's medium rare. We'll start light.”

 

Yugi smiled a weak thank you and did as he was told, “I won't…you know…get the urge to devour an entire flock of sheep or anything, will I?”

 

“Probably not. One, you're only half, so just medium rare or rare meat should suffice,” Alianna said.

 

“But, black dragons have a taste for fish and seafood,” Solomon put in.

 

“What's that mean?”

 

“That means, boyo, that you can eat raw fish and be quite fine. Although they taste much better when baked or grilled with lemon and herbs,” Drizzt said.

 

“And stay away from pickled herring,” Alianna said with a teasing note.

 

Yugi swallowed the bite of steak and vegetables he'd taken and raised an eyebrow,

 

“What?”

“Black dragons love to pickle their prey in the swamp water by letting it get good and rancid in said water. Gives it bite, so they've said,” Solomon replied without missing a beat.

 

The look on his grandson's face was priceless. His face went from curious to a mask of disgust and horror all at once. “Ugh!”

 

“You going to finish that?” Drizzt said, casually pointing to his plate and raising a snowy eyebrow.

 

“Back off. That's a disgusting fact, but this is my food,” came the territorial reply.

 

“Oh yeah,” the drow chuckled, looking at Alianna, “That's the dragon talking, alright.”

 

Yugi rolled his eyes as the three adults laughed. Non-dragons could be so very pesky sometimes.

 

 

********

 

A few notes to clarify some confusion that might happen:

 

I've divided magic into three categories;

 

Practical magic—used for everyday things like cooking, cleaning, healing, potion making; the sort of thing that Alianna had it going for in the story. There's natural, which means it involved plants and organic things, so it's usually for healing and health purposes, and then there's arcane, which if used for the rest of the things like moving them and cleaning. It's usually rather overlooked.

 

Arcane magic—used for the mighty purposes of wizards and sorcerers. It's the type of grand stuff you always read about in stories and myths, with great storms being summoned and magicians hurling fireballs at one another. You get the idea.

 

Divine magic—this category is the kind clerics use for divining and magical healing. It's granted by a cleric's god and, depending on the favor of the god, how much a cleric will be able to summon and control.

 

I know Yugi is half black dragon demon in this story. Just for reference, in this race, it varies from person to person whether the demon or dragon is more prevalent. In Yugi's case, the dragon blood is more prevalent with the demon adding subtle things like the desire in the last chapter to broil the siren and listen to her hiss and steam as she cooked over a fire. Black dragon's, while nasty, would go about destroying the siren in a different way—such as smashing her with a paw or just melting her with acid after making her give up her treasure. The demon also gives Yugi's blood the faint traces of black that is in it.

 

Finally, in case I confused some of you about Alianna's relationship with Drizzt, they are strictly friends. Jade, the one Alianna was on the phone with, is the one with the romantic relationship with Drizzt. However, Alianna and Drizzt are comfortable enough in their friendship to joke around and poke fun at romance people sometimes mistake between them and for Alianna to pass on a kiss from Jade to Drizzt.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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