A Daily Life of a Fire Dragon

8.Christmas in a cave

“Shi Lang! What are you doing?” A high pitched voice rings over the spacious cave.

“Decorating,” Shi Lang answers calmly while hanging red glass ornaments on a tree.

“Why did you drag a tree inside? Are you making a playground for me? How can I enjoy it with all that glass?” The voice is still high pitched, but much closer. Shi Lang looks down at his feet, and there she is. His tiny companion. The dark red fur glistens with snow, her golden eyes are accusing him silently for things he has no idea about.

“Still unable to hold your human form? Dayin, it’s been five hundred years. If you’d take cultivating half as seriously as you do playing, you would have no problems staying human for more than half an hour,” Shi Lang shakes his head. The little squirrel at his feet huffs and puffs in anger every time he brings up cultivating.

He ignores her little tantrum and dedicates himself to making the tree look nicer. Should he add a different colour? But, red is his favourite. He even dresses in red all the time. His outer robe is burgundy red flowing to black today. All the gold embroidering stands out in stark contrast. Soft burgundy coloured pants and a bright red shirt complement his exquisite taste. Of course, the long sleeves are a bit of a nuisance with decorating, but he can’t be all savage and only half dressed. Not even in the comfort of his own home. That’s another thing Dayin doesn’t understand. One would think that being over five hundred years old she would understand the concept of clothes. There are several steps to proper garments, but she only uses a semi transparent outer robe.

The little tease is driving him crazy with her behaviour. He has to give her the kudos of accomplishing what no one else ever has. In ten thousand years no one ever got under his skin like she does. He loves her dearly, but at the rate of her cultivation, he’s going to wait forever for her to catch up. What can a dragon and a squirrel do besides talk if she can’t hold her human form? He’s too old to play games, but she can bring the child in him out from time to time. She is good at distracting him from what’s really important. Like nabbing one of his ornaments. Did she think he wouldn’t notice?

“Dayin! Give that back!” He shouts. Chasing a squirrel around the cave that serves as their living quarters, is less than dignified. Luckily, there is no one here to see it. He would just die of embarrassment if anyone found out about it. Not that he has friends, acquaintances mostly, if best. But, if she drags the ornament inside her private space, he will never see it again. Sometimes he regrets building the miniature pagoda for her. She spends all her time there. With seven levels of playground and an elaborate bed just big enough for her squirrel body. “I’m burning down this damn thing! You can live in a bedroom from now on!”

“Noooo!” Dayin squeaks. “I’ll give it back. Just tell me what it's for?”

“It’s for the Christmas tree,” he answers.

“What’s Christmas?” Dayin seems confused, but she returns the ornament.

“It’s a western holiday. I just like the decorations,” Shi Lang smiles. He’s back to his tree with the last of the glass ornaments.

“Huh? A what?” Dayin follows him closely. She climbs up his robe to sit on his shoulder. It’s something that irritates him to no end, but she does it all the time.

“A holiday. You know what holidays are?” He gives her a side eye that he knows she will ignore, and just pretend it’s perfectly normal for her to be on his shoulder.

“Like Shangyuan, Dongzhi, Duanwu?” Dayin lists a few of her favourites. The light festival, Shagyuan, is high on the list, but he prefers the dragon boat festival, Duanwu.

“Christmas corresponds to Dongzhi in terms of time, but I can’t really explain it…” he trails off. He said before that he just likes the decorations.

“I still don’t get it. West is Junmeng, but…” Dayin sighs. It’s just too much for her to understand what he means.

“West as in Europe,” Shi Lang chuckles.

“Oh! You were spying on the humans!” The screech she gave off so close to his ear makes him cringe.

“Do not yell into my ear!” He roars. Going from feeling playful to irritated is just a thing of the moment when Dayin is involved. Shi Lang puffs smoke from his nostrils just to remind her that he’s not human. Then he drops her outside in the deep snow at the side of the cave entrance. He needs to get away from her before he hurts her by mistake.

Shi Lang transforms into his natural form. A huge red dragon with a long black mane that trails behind his head. His snake-like body shivers at the contact with the cold snow. Then he takes to the air. Flying helps to clear his head. He looks back and chuckles deeply. The whole area in front of his cave looks like a snow plough ran a few rounds around the mountain. He better not mention this to Dayin, she has no idea what a snow plough is. It’s his hobby to spy on humans. This time he just went a bit further and looked beyond The Great Wall. Junmeng is fun, but the cultivators don’t do anything new. With all the magic at their disposal, they have no need for human technology. Neither does he.

With his anger back in check, he returns to the cave. Dayin is actually sitting on the cushions in front of the fireplace. Her slender figure and long black hair are highlighted by the orange glow of the fire. She is beautiful like this. Now he feels sorry that he dropped her into the snow. He drapes a cloak over her shoulders to keep her warm. It looks homey inside, but it’s still just a cave. His bedroom is a bit more insulated because it’s further inside the mountain, but she refuses to use the one next to his. That damn pagoda he built for her was meant to be a plaything, not living quarters.

She doesn’t say anything when he sits next to her. Is she still angry? The burning incense and tea kettle on the low table are a dead giveaway that she is trying hard to be human. By the remains of the incense stick, he can judge how long she has been keeping this form. It’s a way of practice they have developed. Every time she transforms, she lights an incense stick. It’s great to track time, and progress. This one is almost burned out. Does it mean she transformed shortly after he dropped her off?

“If you can hold on for an hour, I’ll take you to Junmeng for Osmanthus wine and those flower cakes you love so much,” Shi Lang offers.

“For the winter solstice festival?” She beams at him. Her smile is contagious. Not to mention those huge golden eyes. He loves her features, but those eyes mesmerise him every time.

“Yeah. I know you love it,” he chuckles. Making it about her will appease her better.

Flying down the mountain is a spur of the moment for Shi Lang. Dayin is safely hidden inside his magical sleeves. He can hear her giggling in excitement. She loves the hustle and bustle of these festivals, and he indulges her. Shi Lang would much prefer to spend them in the peace and quiet of his mountain cave. This time he remains in human form. A flying sword trick is really easy. No need to alert the cultivators to his presence. Some call him deity, but most treat him like he’s the worst kind of a demon. In reality, he’s neither. Dragons are a species of magical creatures. They can decide whether to be good or bad, but mostly, they are just indifferent.