Liar, Liar, the Mage's Desire Vol. 4 (The Oumeno Menace)

Year Of The Dragon

    "Whoooaaaa! This is so cool!!" Kokichi exclaimed. He was with Himiko and her younger sisters, Tomiko and Kimiko, at their magical autumn village, Harvest Moon. They were in the center of the town, which was filled with many Autumn Mages attending the Harvest Moon Dragon Festival. There were dragon floats from the dragon parade that went through the village earlier, dragon shows where the autumn dragons would perform tricks. There were vendors selling snacks and souvenirs. Music and the smell of food lingered in the air. Kokichi had never imagined he'd be in a magical village celebrating dragons, and he was loving every moment of it. 

   "Nyeh...yup! This is the Harvest Moon Dragon Festival," Himiko explained to Kokichi. "It happens every twelve years."

   "Twelve years?" Kokichi asked. "Why such a long time?"

    "Because we hold this festival in the year of the dragon," Himiko replied. 

   "Ohhh...and since that's the cycle of each Chinese zodiac animal...okay! I get it now!" Kokichi replied.

    "That's right," Himiko said. 

   "So, what do you guys do in the Harvest Moon Dragon Festival?" Kokichi asked.

   "Nyeh...the festival begins with an air show featuring the autumn dragons," Himiko explained. "Then, we watch the March of the Dragons, which is a parade made up of huge, colorful dragon floats. And then, after that, you can basically do whatever. You can watch dragons perform in the Dragon Show, or play some dragon games...but I recommend not doing that. Nyeh...those games are rigged."

   "Nyeh...but those aren't the reasons why we're here!" Kimiko said, taking a bite of her fire cotton candy. 

   "Yeah, there's a better reason why we're here," Tomiko added. "Something that only happens at the Harvest Moon Dragon Festival." Himiko turned to Kokichi.

   "Mommy's letting Tomiko and Kimiko adopt a baby dragon," she said. "Usually, you'd have to buy one from a dragon pet store, but during the Harvest Moon Dragon Festival, you get to adopt one for free." Kokichi's eyes lit up.

   "You can keep a dragon as a pet?! " he exclaimed. Himiko nodded.

   "Mm-hm!"

   "That's sooo badass!" Kokichi marveled. 

   "Now that Himi's outta the house, we don't hafta worry about her peeing her pants every time she sees a dragon," Kimiko giggled mischievously, reminding Himiko of her fear of dragons. 

   "Kimiko!!" Himiko shouted, blushing with embarrassment.  

   "Wait, wait, wait...!" Kokichi said. "Show me the baby dragons! I wanna see them!" Himiko led her sisters and Kokichi over to the dragon pens, where a large crowd of Autumn Mage children were huddled. In each pen were many varieties of baby dragons: short and chunky, long and slender, dragons standing on two legs, and others on four, colorful dragons ranging from red to purple, from pink to blue, and every color in between. Though they were scaly, fire-breathing creatures, they all resembled puppies, personality-wise.