Nend Ardhon Chronicles - Complete

Chapter 19.1 – Visiting Lodon Lunn – part 1.1

Inside Lodon’s room, he had a couple of claw beautifiers with a matching necklace and was leaning on a chair with his eyes closed and a light blue snout mask. His mother was on another chair with a light brown mask, and Byia had a tiara and matching necklaces on both arms with a light-yellow snout mask.

Tarya Lunn took a slow, deep breath and asked, “Byia, is your friend Guyi always like that? He seemed very nice when he arrived, but the way he was looking at Lodon and telling all those things… Was all that true? Lodon was mean, as he said?”

“Yeah, Guyi is too serious, and he tends to exaggerate a bit if he thinks I am doing something foolish. I guess he still doesn’t believe that I am Lodon’s friend. Your sweet daughter used to be very mean, but we had a very nice chat, and she realized she was being stupid. I can be a wonderful friend if she gives me an opportunity. I can also be her worst nightmare if she tries to mock me or annoy me again. Guyi was right about one thing. I think Lodon only pretended to be mean in front of her friends, probably because she thought they would like her more. Either that, or there was a young male in that group that she liked, and she wanted to impress him.”

Tarya forced herself not to smile, so that she didn’t ruin her snout mask, but she had to ask, “Really, Lodon? Who is that young male that you like? He is pretty?”

Lodon trembled a bit. The conversation was going to some weird places that he didn’t want to hear or talk about, but he tried to remain calm while answering, “Nonsense, mother. I am not interested in a male; I am too young for that. Besides, I am not the one who gathers the attention of every young male that I meet. Byia has the monopoly on that.”

Byia frowned, and she quickly fixed the wrinkles on the mask with her left paw. “What are you talking about? I don’t gather any attention! Maybe because of what I did to Nayima or my older brother helping me out in the Principal’s office called too much attention upon me, but gathering the attention of every male that I meet? That’s absurd!”

Lodon held the mask and tried his best not to shout in anger, “Really? You don’t notice in School when every young male of our age, and even the older ones, stares at you with a dumb look when you pass by? You honestly don’t notice that? Or the way they stop talking and look at you when you approach, and they smile like fools?”

“No… I… Never noticed it. Maybe… Maybe because I am always fooling around with Guyi or playing with my Rodhocetus… They all stare at me? Why?”

Lodon forced himself to calm down and tried to sound casual. “I am not sure, but maybe it’s the way your scales reflect the light or the way you smile that can almost fill an entire room with light? Or your contagious laugh that makes everyone smile when they hear you? Or the color of your eyes that keep changing, showing your emotions to everyone who looks at you? Probably all that and some more, maybe.”

Tarya Lunn smiled and quickly fixed the mask again. “My, my, Lodon, if I didn’t know you, I might think you like Byia! Tough luck! You have a rival downstairs that will fight for Byia’s heart till the end.”

Byia opened wide her eyes, destroying her snout mask. “What? Guyi? No way! We have known each other since we were little! We even came out of our eggs on the same day! He doesn’t see me like that, and I… I don’t see him like that! He is my best friend in the World! There is no way for him to be interested in me!”

Tarya shrugged and continued teasing. “Okay… sorry for saying that. But if not him, who do you like? For sure, there is a young male somewhere that makes your heart skip a beat or two!”

Lodon felt his heart pumping like crazy, and he waited for Byia’s answer. She frowned while trying to fix her mask. “No one. I don’t have time for males right now. I have too many things to take care of before having time to worry about males and such. Besides, I am way too young for that!”

“Oh dear, a female is never too young to make plans about her married future or dream about kissing a male. I was four… no, five Tides old when I met Lodon’s father, and I knew in that instant that he was the one I was going to marry. And look at me now!”

Byia leaned back again in her chair and spoke with a gentle voice, “Yeah, look at you now, peacefully relaxing with us and trying to find out our deepest secrets! You are evil, Miss Tarya Lunn, very evil! Hehehe!”

“That’s what we are supposed to do during a girl’s talk, right? Talk about boys, crushes, and secrets… Right, Lodon?”

Lodon made a slight smile. He liked hearing his mother having fun like that, but he also felt sad, because if his sister was alive, she could do things like that with her almost every day.

After a while, Tarya suggested going downstairs for the Judge to see them, and Byia happily agreed. Lodon tried to excuse himself by saying he didn’t want to, but he couldn’t convince them.

Downstairs, Guyi was poking Rodhy’s snout and getting a poke on his in return when the movement in the water made him look back, and he almost fell from his chair.

In front of him, Byia was smiling while glowing, and Lodon was at her side with a big necklace around his neck and two intricate claw beautifiers looking awkwardly at him.

Guyi did his best not to laugh, and he then faced Tarya Lunn, who was wearing a big, flowered tiara and a matching necklace. “This is very difficult; you all look beautiful. I don’t know…”

Tarya Lunn winked one eye. “I made biscuits, and judging by the smell in the water, they are ready.”

Guyi jumped from his chair and shouted, “Miss Tarya Lunn is the winner! Byia is right after her, and in the last place is the pretty Lodon Lunn! Let’s go eat! I am starving, and the smell is driving me crazy! You were taking too long to come down!”

Byia frowned, and Lodon pointed an accusing finger while shouting, “Hey, no fair! You were supposed to be impartial, and my mother just won because she bought you with food? That’s not cool!”

Guyi muffled laughter. “Pfff!… No way, you were really trying to win, Lodon? You don’t have all the screws in your head, you know that, right?”

Lodon turned bright red and tried to find an excuse: “No… I… just like to see my mother happy… and I… was having fun…”

“Yeah, you are really messed up, Lodon! Stop trying to shoot me with your eyes, Byia, and let’s eat!”

Tarya quickly swam towards the kitchen, leaving behind the other two contestants who were arguing with the Judge. When she returned with a bowl of biscuits, Lodon was still arguing, and Byia was grabbing Guyi’s collar and shaking him, with Guyi laughing his heart out. Tarya placed the bowl on the table and signaled for Rodhy to join her.

While Tarya was giving a biscuit to him, she asked, “No one wants to eat a biscuit? Good, more for me and Rodhy, then. Here, you pretty thing, have another one.”

Byia let go of Guyi, seated with a smile, and said, “The smell, oh, sweet temptation! Come here, your tasty biscuit! Hehehe!”

Tarya smiled at her son and the laughing Guyi. She didn’t know why Guyi was mocking Lodon so much, but it was fun seeing Lodon annoyed or smiling now and then. She asked while eating another biscuit, “So, young Guyi Mohryi, if you are not interested in Lodon, who is the female who makes your heart beat harder?”

Guyi almost choked on his food and made a forced smile. “Until I came here, no one. But after meeting you, my heart is beating really fast, but it is also sad because you are already taken. I guess I don’t have another remedy than being a bachelor forever.”

Tarya Lunn laughed and spoke after giving another biscuit to Rodhy, “Hahaha! Well, well, Mister Guyi Mohryi, I never thought you were such a ladies’ man! Perhaps you can give a chance to Byia or Lodon, now that you saw them all dressed up and ready to conquer every young male out there!”

Guyi disguised his nervousness and spoke. “No, Byia is too crazy for my taste. As for Lodon, I already told you that I would rather take her head off and put it over a sharp stick in my room. I like to annoy Lodon, but more than that, thanks, but no thanks.”

Lodon frowned and mumbled with his mouth full, “Thanks… Like I would… want to be with you… more than this…”

Guyi pinched Lodon’s left cheek. “Pretty girls don’t talk with their mouths full! Didn’t your mother teach you that? I guess I need to teach you how to behave, or you will never get married! Don’t worry, from now on, you will always be with us, and we will make sure to turn you into a sweet and very friendly Water-Dragon that everyone will like instead of the strange one you are nowadays! Your mother will be so proud of you when she sees your good grades and politeness that she will kiss you a lot!”

Tarya spoke while rubbing Lodon’s head. “What are you talking about, Guyi? I don’t need an excuse to suffocate my sweet daughter with kisses!”

Guyi spoke while smiling weirdly at Lodon, making Tarya Lunn burst into laughter. “Yeah, I would rather suffocate Lodon with my hands around her neck and squeeze until her eyes pop out, but judging by the way Lodon is looking at me, maybe a few kisses would have the same effect. Come here, you pretty thing, and let me give you a lot of kisses on that pretty head of yours!”

Lodon jumped away and began to swim around the table, trying to flee from Guyi and his pointy lips, ready to kiss. “Get away from me, you crazy! Mother, grab him; he is going to drool all over me with his mouth full of biscuits!”

Tarya Lunn laughed while giving another biscuit to Rodhy and elbowed Byia, who was smiling at the two crazies that were swimming around. “They are funny together, right? What about you? You want to catch one of them and give them a kiss or two?”

Byia vigorously shook her head. “No way, I don’t want to get near those two! Imagine if I kissed one of them and the other also wanted a kiss? A cute and sweet little female like me can’t do such a thing! Let them take care of their business; they will stop eventually. Lodon will get tired in a few minutes, and Guyi will catch her. Besides, Guyi is faster than Lodon, and he is only messing up with her.”

Tarya ate one more biscuit while looking at the funny duo. Eventually, Guyi caught Lodon, and when he was about to kiss his head, Byia sent a mental order, and Rodhy stood in the middle of them, gaining Guyi’s kiss.

Lodon took that opportunity to grab a chair and hide behind it, putting some distance between him and Guyi’s weird smile. “Stop that! I don’t want a kiss from you!”

Guyi tilted his head and continued to smile. “You don’t know what you are missing! I am a great kisser!”

“Yeah? Who told you that? When was the last time you kissed someone besides a mirror?”

Guyi shrugged. “My mirror never complained. In fact, my other self in the mirror always smiled at me after I kissed him.”

Lodon had his eyes wide open. “How can you admit so easily doing something as weird as that?”

“Easy; I don’t care what anyone may think of me. You, on the other hand, were always strangely worried about your reputation and what others thought of you. You should try to be more relaxed and just go with the flow; it does wonders for the mind.”

Byia and Tarya divided among them the last biscuit while Guyi was trying to take the chair from Lodon, and Byia spoke while rubbing her belly, “Thanks, Miss Tarya. The biscuits were amazing as always. This was fun, but it’s getting late, and we need to go home. We will come for another visit another day, okay?”

Tarya hugged her while smiling. “Of course, my dear. This was fun. I don’t remember the last time I had so much fun. Thanks for this, my dear.”

Tarya hugged Rodhy and pulled Guyi away from Lodon to hug him as well. She carefully took what belonged to Byia from Lodon and her and put everything inside her bag.

While Tarya was rubbing Rodhy’s head and opening the door for Byia, Guyi whispered to Lodon’s left ear, “We have a place to go this evening. When your parents go to sleep, come to Byia’s house and wait in the street, at the corner between her house and mine. Don’t you dare to refuse my kind invitation, or tomorrow morning the entire School will have a good laugh when I tell everyone what you did here today.”

“You wouldn’t… Why… This evening? What do you mean…”

Guyi placed one claw over Lodon’s lips while signaling with his head to Tarya Lunn, who was kissing Byia on the forehead. “Shut up and do as I say, stupid! See you later!”

Guyi quickly joined Byia and made a tip with his lips, waiting for a kiss, only to get a tap on his head from a laughing Tarya Lunn. “Stop that, you! I am married! Hahaha! Thanks for this visit. I had a lot of fun.”

Guyi smiled and waved at her while getting out. As soon as the door closed, Byia pulled Guyi next to her by his collar. “What was your idea, you moron? Why do you want him to always be with us? How are we supposed to go to the Guild with him?”

“Relax; it’s all part of my well-thought-out plan. Who knows? You might start to see Lodon differently, or he may prove to be extremely useful. Let’s go; it’s getting dark, and your mother will be worried if we arrive too late.”

Byia mounted on Rodhy and frowned while ordering him to swim. “You were acting strangely in there… You are plotting something weird, Guyi Mohryi…”

Rodhy swam at high speed, dragging Guyi with him, and went straight to Byia’s home.