Origin (Scales 'n' Spells 1)

“Pansexual. All dragons are.”

Cameron blinked at him. “Get out. All of you?”

“All of us.” Ravi shrugged as if this wasn’t anything to be surprised by. “We’re just made that way. I can’t think of a single exception to that rule. I think part of it is that we never know what gender our true mate will be, and so dragons are just naturally open to any possibility.”

Fascinating. Cameron was truly intrigued by this turn in the conversation. “Baldewin said something to me about needing mages to have kids with, so I guess I assumed you guys were mostly straight.”

Ravi snorted. “Not at all the case. The majority of mages are female, that much is true. I’d say about eighty percent of mages are women. Male or nonbinary mages are in the minority there. It’s why when I first picked up your scent, I assumed you female.”

Cameron felt the world tilt a little bit more on him. “Whoa. Seriously? Most of them are women? No wonder Alric was excited to hear I have a twin sister, then.”

“It really makes sense to me. When we do see male or nonbinary mages, they’re generally a twin. Or at least, every male mage I’ve known was a twin.” Ravi thought about it for another moment before offering, “If you’re curious, you should ask Gunter about it. He knows more than I do.”

“I will totally do that. I suddenly have a lot of questions about this.”

“I bet. And as for Alric, trust me, he’s interested. I’m not sure why he’s holding back, either. But it’s obvious to all of us that he’s interested. Do not let up on him, okay? I honestly cannot remember the last time he even flirted with a guy. Could be he’s out of practice.”

“Oh. Yeah, I didn’t think of that. I thought maybe culture gap?”

“Maybe also playing into it. My advice? Go for it, be even more obvious. And he does better if you say things outright instead of hinting through actions.”

“That…is very good to know. Thanks.”

“My pleasure. Hopefully soon to be yours.” Ravi slowed at a cross-road and stopped. Mischief danced across his face as he turned to look at Cameron. “I know you said you wanted to go into town….”

Cameron eyed him suspiciously. Should he trust that expression? “Yes, and?”

“Well, do you want to blow off a little steam first?”

Oh, it might be the fun kind of mischief. “Sure? What do you have in mind?”

Gesturing off to the left road, Ravi explained in growing excitement, “There’s a spot over here where paragliders go. You want to do a little skydiving? I can catch you.”

“Wait.” Cameron held up a hand. “Wait, you’re suggesting I jump off a cliff and freefall, and trust you to catch me? In dragon form?”

Ravi waggled his eyebrows outrageously.

“That is by far the stupidest thing I’ve heard suggested all year.” Cameron pointed toward the cliffs. “Let’s do it.”

Ravi cackled as he made the turn.

Cameron belatedly realized that he maybe should have asked a few more questions. “You have done this before?”

“Of course! And think of it this way, it’s good practice. If we’re ever in a situation where you need to run for it, you can call for a pickup and throw yourself into the air. Easier for us to catch you than land and try to take off again.”

That all sounded valid enough. It didn’t explain the smirk on Ravi’s face. “It’s a total adrenaline rush for you. Isn’t it?”

Ravi tossed a hand. “That goes without saying. Don’t worry, I’ve never missed. Even if by some bad luck I do, you’ll have a parachute. You’ll get safely to the ground.”

That all sounded reasonable enough to Cameron. And fun. And frankly, he could use some fun about now. “Then let’s do it.”

They may or may not have skipped out of the Jeep once they arrived. And there may have been nothing more than a minute crash course of how to operate the parachute. It came down to ‘pull this cord, bend your knees, and roll as you land.’ Cameron’s caution didn’t get a chance to say much in between Ravi’s quick explanation. There wasn’t anyone else out here, just a locked building with parachutes lined up along the wall, some hang-gliding equipment. It looked like a storage container left up here for people’s convenience instead of an actual shop. “Is this in your clan’s territory?”

“Hmm? Oh, sure. We sky-dive with our mages, this is our storage cache for the gear.”

Ravi went dragon and then shook like a dog exiting a bath. He looked around, getting his bearings, and his tail lashed side to side in a happy wag. “It always feels so good letting loose like this.”

“I bet. Does it feel like you’re too confined in human form?”

Ravi cocked his giant head, thinking about it. The morning sun touched his skin and for a moment his blue hide looked gilded, like something out of a painting. “Not really the way I’d describe it. It’s more I’m aware of my other form, and sometimes it feels claustrophobic to stay only in one. Switching back and forth between them feels more natural.”