***Magnus's POV***
As he was set to head out in the woods tomorrow in search of dragons, he was allowed the rest of the evening to rest and prepare. Never one to miss a night on the town Magnus found himself heading out to the Full Moon Tavern. The sun was fading over the horizon as he pushed his way inside the small establishment. Barstools were lined up against the counter in a neat row, spotted cowhide sewn into each one. Several of them were taken up by casual patrons already.
"I'll have my usual blend Maia dearest." He called out.
Maia was bartending this evening. The establishment was her adoptive father's business. Magnus had met Luke several times in the past. He was a good friend, the kind that one could always grab a drink with.
"About time you showed up Magnus. Cut off any heads today?" Magnus accepted the wooden mug she nudged his way. The liquid was filled with strong alcohol, a slight burning taste at the back of his throat as he swallowed down a gulp. It was like a breath of fresh air to him.
"No. But you'll be the first to know if I do."
"Good. Those murderous reptiles deserve to be buried in the ground."
Maia's anger toward dragon-kind was not undeserved. A savage beast had murdered her birth family after a sale gone wrong. Her family had never been kind to her to Magnus's knowledge, but having a family —even if they hated you needlessly—was still better than having no family at all.
"Yes they do. Are the others here?"
Maia nodded, her angry scowl temporarily fading. "Clary and Simon are waiting for you in the back room already."
"And what about Raphael?"
He didn't bother asking about Ragnor and Catarina. Bars like this were a place they would rarely be seen at, if they were seen at all. Magnus would have to stop by their shared apartment before he left the city.
"He didn't show up. Something about hating social events, and most people in general." Maia chuckled.
"I guess I shouldn't have expected anything less from Raphael. Though I'll make an extrovert out of him yet." Magnus responded cheerfully.
Maia rolled her eyes. "Yes, because I'm sure that will go well."
"Will you join us when your shift is over?"
"Of course Magnus. Now let me get back to work. These mugs aren't going to fill themselves." Maia gestured to the many set up mugs just waiting to be filled with alcohol. The kegs sat behind the bar promisingly, just waiting to be tapped into.
"This is true. See you later."
After giving his friend a copious tip he went into the back room. Unlike the rest of the bar, this place was closed off. A pool table sat in the middle of the room underneath an overhanging lamp light. The balls were already cued up with Clary and Simon leaning over it. Simon's stick was poised to strike.
Thunk.
He hit the white ball. It made its inexorable path to strike two of the striped balls. The little thuds as they landed in their pockets was satisfying to hear. Clary was leaning up against the wall, sipping her drink in one hand while the other was wrapped around her own pool stick.
"Magnus! You're finally here!" Clary said, delighted.
Simon looked up from his spot positioned over the cold balls. "Hey Magnus. How was your day. Sorry we started playing without you, but Clary was getting impatient."
Clary let out a huff, smacking her friend on the back. "Si. I was not."
"Yes you were."
"Never mind that." Magnus shook his head fondly at their behavior. "I have news to share and not much time to share it." He waved his hands in the air for dramatic effect. It had the desired effect of making Simon intrigued. Clary just look amused at her friend's antics.
"Ooh we have news too Magnus! We'll have to swap tales as it were," Simon said.
This made him curious. "Oh, and what news do you two have to share?"
"Should I tell him or should you?" Simon asked Clary,
"I'll tell him, because you'll just start rambling if you get to."
"I do not ramble." At the 'are you serious' expressions he received from both Magnus and Clary, the nerdy boy looked away. "Fair enough." He mumbled.
"Good. So tell me Clary."
"I will, though I'm not sure how much you're going to like it. Catarina has found something super important: a dragon spring!"
"A dragon spring. . .what does that have to do with anything?"
"Well you know how Simon and I, like a good number of other villagers, don't find dragons to be horrible and instead see them as—"
"As possible friends and allies. I know Biscuit. Your idiotic life choices are beyond me."
Who could trust those psychotic monsters? They're awful. Just awful. He was reminded of his mother. The way she used to tell him stories about the beauty of the dragons, how they brought good luck to all who met them. Fat lot of luck that did her, what with them murdering her and all. Magnus had yet to find the dragon who was responsible, but he knew he would recognize him when the time came. The king of dragons will be at my mercy soon enough.
"They're not idiotic, you just don't understand dragons the way we do." Clary argued. "You've let one bad experience ruin all bad dragons for you."
"Sure Biscuit. Whatever you say."
He thinks of the dead hunters he'd found in the past. Their bodies were charred by flames, almost unrecognizable in the midst of blood sodden soil. In fact, once Magnus had mistaken one dead corpse for a deer carcass. That had been a very strange day indeed.
"You have Magnus. Whether you admit it or not."
"Ahem. How about we get back on topic." Simon interjects. His hands are clasped together behind his head awkwardly, glasses hanging on the bridge of his nose.
"Yes Sherrington. This topic is rather irksome anyways." Clary rolled her eyes, but said nothing.
"Great. So, Clary and I are planning to visit the spring with Catarina," Simon said cheerfully, ignoring Magnus's terrible habit of calling him by the wrong name for what had to be close to the billionth time. There was a time the bespectacled teen might've argued about it, but he accepted it now as Magnus being Magnus.
"You're what? You can't be serious. Two dragon lovers like you will be torn apart if any dragon dares land there." Magnus fretted. Neither of his friends knew how to use weapons properly. Dragons of any shape or form would make a quick meal out of them in minutes.
"No they won't. And besides, Catarina is coming with us too. We hope that together we'll be able to convince a dragon to take us back to their sacred homeland. Once there we can finally try to negotiate peace with the dragon king."
Clary was smiling a delightful smile, her green eyes gleaming. There was a thin cloak wrapped around her shoulders. It depicted two dragons with their foreheads pressed together in love. Magnus knew the story it depicted. His mother had told it to him long ago.
A human giving up everything to be with a dragon is absolutely ridiculous though, so I'm sure the story never really happened. The story used to make him smile as a child. Now, all he felt was a bitter grief. However, Clary's words did give him an idea. A very awful idea.
"Hmm, well in that case, would you mind if I tagged along." The more he thought about it, the more the plan seemed like a fantastic idea. For him, not so much for the dragons.
Clary frowned, perplexed. "Why would you want to come along? You don't exactly like dragons."
"All the more reason for me to come dear Biscuit. If you wish for there to be peace between the humans and dragons then surely the people most against dragons will need to be one over. This is your chance to show me why you love dragons so much." The lies fell from his lips seamlessly. If Clary and Simon knew what he was planing they would no doubt be horrified. They'll forgive me someday, once they realize I've saved them all.
"Really? That would be amazing Magnus!" Simon exclaimed excitedly. It was easy to get the nerdy boy to agree to his agenda unknowingly. Magnus had done it so many times he'd lost count.
"I don't know."
Clary regarded him with suspicion. If she was a dragon, Magnus was sure her long neck would be reaching out to him, pressing her forehead to his so she could peer at him with long, slit eyes.
"Come on Clary. It'll be great. Like he said, if we want peace with dragons then the dragon hunters have to interact with dragons at some point right?" Simon said.
"I suppose so. Okay, Magnus can come. But I'll be keeping a close eye on you, you hear." Clary raised a fist at him, shaking it justly.
Magnus laughed. "I'll keep that in mind."