Wait
Old Man Travis held his belly and groaned. "Even for an Adept, that was a lot of food," he complained.
"No one said you had to eat all of it," Fate told him. He himself had asked for a to-go box, where the other half of his sandwich now sat in. Kravoss had finished all of his fries and was pleasantly full.
"Didn't anyone tell you it's impolite to leave food on your plate?" Travis asked.
"That's when it's free. And when you can't ask to take it home and eat it later."
"Bah, you wouldn't understand." The old man beckoned to the waitress, and told paid for the meal when she came over.
The silver-haired man then slid himself out of the booth with the sluggishness of a sloth, letting out an "oof" every time he stopped to breathe. Fate rolled his eyes and helped him up.
"You really shouldn't have eaten so much," he admonished.
After helping him out of the booth, they said their goodbyes and Fate and Kravoss headed back to the dorms. It was getting late, and he still had class tomorrow.
When they got back, Kravoss took a single look around and asked 'where am I supposed to sleep?'
'You can use the couch for now. We'll get you a bed tomorrow.'
The Dracok grumpily settled on the couch and promptly went to sleep, Fate drifting off on his own after sticking his leftovers in the fridge.
Something he hadn't learned yet, on account of not having the chance to read the handbook, was that Familiars and their masters shared dreams.
Fate opened his eyes to find himself atop a mountain, a few hundred feet away from the peak. The wind brushed against his skin, chillingly cold, and yet he felt no discomfort. The heat coming from his own body was more than enough to fight off the chill, even melting the snow around his feet.
He looked down to find himself covered head-to-toe in black scales, with not a scrap of clothing on him. A slight itch gnawed at his back, just below his shoulder blades, but no matter how hard he scratched with his new claws, he couldn't get it to go away.
A call to his back caught his attention.
A massive Dragon Chicken, easily half as tall as the mountain they stood on, stood on the very top of the mountain, claws clutching the rocky point as it spread its huge blue wings and crowed proudly.
The song traveled for miles, the force of the call sending visible shockwaves through the air and to the villages below.
Even though Fate couldn't speak chicken, he knew what the beast was saying.
"Soon, my power shall be unsealed! My enemies will tremble in fear at my might and my foes shall fall into many blood-soaked puddles beneath my talons! My ancestors shall gaze down at my form in awe from above as I accomplish all they've done and more!"
"Damn, dragons really are narcissists," Fate muttered.
The chicken's huge head snapped in Fate's direction, blue eyes regarding the dragon man suspiciously.
"Who are you, to intrude on my domain?" the Dracok asked haughtily.
"Your master, Fate?" Fate said. "We met earlier today?"
"Oh, it's you." The beast let out a snort, the pressure from such a simple action splitting the clouds above. "I am not Kravoss. I am his ancestor, his bloodline. As he sleeps, he unravels my secrets and grows in power."
"Alright, but why am I covered in scales?"
"This is a world of dragons," the Dragon Chicken rumbled. "The scales are necessary to survive. Without it, the chill would destroy you."
"Then why is it so damn cold here? You're a water Dracok, not an ice one."
"Dragons are not supposed to be nice," replied the Dracok, whose beak split in a grin at its own joke. "And while water is not as adept as ice at freezing temperatures, denser water means colder temperatures.
"This cold should not be seen as my power, merely a result of it. Each of these clouds above contains enough water to fill an ocean by itself, and yet they float on my power alone."
"Right, but this is a dream. Those clouds aren't real. And why am I here, anyway?"
"These clouds are as real as the hair upon your head. Why do you think you can feel their chill? And as the master," the chicken spit to the side, a house-sized glob of water sailing through the air and down the mountain. "As the master of Kravoss, you are entitled to knowledge of my existence.
"Care for my descendant and you shall be graced with a place at his side atop the throne of existence."
"Throne of existence? I heard dragons were arrogant, but not by this much."
"You'll soon find out that without the belief that you will succeed, success is impossible. This confidence is what brought dragons to the top of the world back in the era of the Nine Races, and this is what will return us to that peak."
"Still didn't say why I'm here, and couldn't just be told this by Kravoss."
The Dragon Chicken chuckled. As it did, the clouds ebbed and flowed like the ocean in a storm, crashing against each other and making massive upside-down waves. "There is a reason I have brought you here, but are you up to the task?"
"Just tell me what it is."
"A test. You have earned Kravoss' acknowledgment, but mine is a different matter. I wish to see if you are truly worthy of commanding me and my vessel."
The surroundings shook, the mountain on which Fate stood crumbling around him. As the stone cracked and the earth shifted, he lost his footing and tripped, falling into one of the chasms that opened up.
As his descent started, he caught the smug look in the Dracok's eye as it watched him fall.
"Pass these three tests, and I will deem you worthy of commanding my descendant, at least for now."
Fate crossed his arms and sighed as his speed increased. Judging by how tall this mountain was, it was going to be a long fall. With nothing better to do, he settled in to wait.