Chapter 7 - The Holy Dragon
Stepping into Ling-Li was akin to stepping into a different world. 
Carriages drifted by carried along by giant sharp-toothed creatures with twin horns. Their enormous bodies somehow dwarfed the already large assortment of bears Giu spotted wandering about.
Some dawned bright blouses with floral patterns. Others had dark suit jackets that seemed to blend in with the night sky. Or perhaps they would have if not for the bright blue lanterns scattered throughout the streets. Tea’s eyes seemed to glow as they passed them.
“Been a while since I had to come back here,” the pixie said.
“You a regular?”
“No. Yes. I don’t know. It’s complicated, Gi.”
As they walked, Giu noticed a significant lack of soldiers in white armor. In fact, there didn’t look to be any security force patrolling the streets of Ling-Li. Instead, he spotted concealed weapons on the town residents.
The bears all eyed him carefully.
“Friendly folk,” Giu said.
“You’ll get used to it. Outsiders don’t usually come to Ling-Li. But I sent word to the Holy Dragon we’d be coming.”
“Holy Dragon?”
“Mr. Jian. Don’t call him that. Ever.”
There was an edge to the pixie’s voice. 
Giu kept his eyes forward, trying his best not to make eye contact. The last thing he needed was another squad of bears at their throats.
***
Suits fell away in favor of ragged shirts and exorbitant tattoos the farther the two traveled. A small group was blowing smoke into the air. They all looked up as one. Giu turned away, lingering close to his shorter boss. Tea didn’t say a word.
Not a lot of canines around, huh? 
Turning the corner, they were greeted with the crackle of laughter. Bottles crashed against a faraway wall, a trio of bears stumbling through the alley. Their slurred words came off as complete gibberish. Not that Giu wanted to hear them anyhow.
Tea stopped at a black door sitting between two giants with swords.
“The Holy Dragon’s expecting us,” the pixie declared.
The giants stepped forward. 
Tea extended their arms up, a look warning Giu to do the same. He shivered. Large hands moved around his frame, patting down every part, no matter how sensitive. The giants nodded when finished, stepping back to usher the two outsiders within.
Tea fixed their skirt, Giu following behind while the bears brought up the rear. The house of the Holy Dragon was as colorful as the rest of town.
The scent of burning incense drifted through the air. Small potted plants decorated the walls. A red dragon snaked across the ceiling, the lit candle in its mouth lighting up the entire room. Tea picked up the pace, flying down a set of stairs until they were turning into an open room.
A potted tree with glowing pink flowers greeted them. A single occupant sat at the rounded table before it.
“It is an honor to see you again, Great Holy Dragon.”
Tea bowed, their paw forcing Giu to do the same. A gruff voice bellowed out a response.
“Pint size. You’ve grown taller.”
Tea let him go, both rising as Giu managed to get a look at the person they'd come all the way to Ling-Li to see.
He wasn’t as large as the other bears, but he dwarfed both Giu and Tea. The muscles under his dark brown fur were on full display through the open vest he wore, a red dragon tattoo embedded over his chest. Tea flew over, the elder bear immediately pulling them in for a hug.
“And you’ve put some meat on, too,” the Holy Dragon said. “That’s my pint size.”
Tea squirmed out of his grip, cheeks flaming red. Giu hid his smile.
Something about the bear seemed familiar, though it was difficult to place. Something about his face. The way his gray beard hugged his chin. How his amber gaze shone with a mixture of power and fury. The canine pulled up a chair.
“I didn’t do it on purpose,” Tea explained. “Gin ripped me off. I had to kill him for the change-back spell.”
“Oh, then you can make yourself small then?” The elder bear nodded. “Leave it to you to make any setback a gain. I take it you just like the form, huh?”
“It’s useful, yes. Though maybe I have been in it a bit long.”
“No, it suits you. Like a new coat. You’re still my little pint size, though, less you forget.”
He stroked the pixie’s head, earning a deeper blush in the process. This is the so-called Holy Dragon? If not for the two giants standing behind him, Giu could have mistaken the man for someone’s goofy grandpa.
And, of course, there was Tea. Since when were they so timid? All it took were a few head pats, and suddenly they turned redder than him.
“I’m guessing you’re the new guy I’ve heard about.”
Giu smirked. “You’ve heard about me, your Holiness?”
Tea groaned. “Please don’t.”
The elder bear chuckled. “Nothing to be ashamed of, pint size. He’s got strong eyes. And I hear you pack a wallop, too. Not many people can take my son one-on-one.”
“Your…son?”
“Redge? He’s a little on the short side, but you’d know him if you saw him. He’s always got his entourage with him.”
Giu felt a jolt. Like a freight train, he realized why the elder bear’s face felt familiar. In those amber eyes, he saw the same murderous gaze he’d been given weeks ago. Minutes before he'd had to uppercut an angry bear in the jaw.
He gave a nervous chuckle.
“O-oh. That Redge. H-how is he?”
“Pissed off and ready for round two last I heard.” The Holy Dragon grinned. “I imagine he’s excited to have a new sparring partner.”
Giu gave a slightly more pitched chuckle. Oh boy. Suddenly, he couldn’t help but think back to Tea’s words at the bar. Their oh-so-generous warning. And the out he’d disregarded.  That’s probably gonna bite me in the tail later. He tried to push the thought away.
“So, I imagine you two are here about the Dragon Thief?” the elder bear asked.
“That’s right,” Tea said. “Any info you can give us?”
The Holy Dragon stroked his beard, eyes shutting a moment.
“I’ll be frank, pint size. That one’s an enigma. I ran the name by my contacts but only drew up blanks. He’s a complete unknown.”
Tea’s ears flattened.
“What about his magic?” Giu asked. “Know anything about that?”
“Probably no more than you do. A few of our boys had run-ins with him on the job. Usually with Mystics, you can prep yourself if you know they’re coming. But since the guy wears a mask, you never know when he’s casting. Not until it’s too late.”
“What about Nature magic?” Tea asked.
“Works in theory, yeah. But the man’s no pushover. Uma managed to chase him off with light magic, but he slipped away before she could finish the job. His ice spells are nothing to sneeze at.”
Both Giu and Tea nodded. Though the icicles were gone, it was hard to forget the sensation of frozen fur. Or how quick the man broke through Tea’s attack. Or how he tanked the form change with a single hand.
Tea shifted.
“If Twin Tail Uma could take him, I might have a chance. Maybe. I’ll need something stronger than the tsuchluyavan, though. Maybe an explosive or something.”
“Dark powder does tend to get the job done,” the Holy Dragon agreed. “But it doesn’t seem your style, pint size. Since when are you so quick to dismiss your ace?”
“I already tried it. Had no effect. Doused him in booze and everything. It froze.”
The pixie practically spat the last words. The elder nodded, offering Tea another head pat. For as much as they tried to appear collected, Giu could hear a hum rising from within the pixie’s throat. Almost like a purr.
The elder bear gestured to one of his men, who left the room.
“Then it sounds like all you need is something that won’t freeze.”
The pixie’s ears rose. 
When the giant returned, he had a bottle full of clear liquid. It had no label or inscriptions, but when Tea was handed the bottle, their face lit up.
“This is…”
“Two-hundred proof, finely aged, oaken spirit,” the Holy Dragon said. “Been saving it for the day Redge finally brings me a grandcub. But I figure if my pint size needs it more, who am I to deny that. Besides. If you’re looking for something that even the Frost Lion couldn’t freeze, this is your bottle.”
Tea smiled, holding the spirit close to their chest. Their eyes shined a moment. The pixie wiped them.
“You’d just give me this?"
"Oh course. What, do you need something stronger?"
"No! This is fine. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Jian."
The elder hugged Tea again, though this time they hugged him back. Giu sniffled. As did the other bears behind him. Though fleeting, it was nice to see Tea had a heart somewhere under that bossy orange fur.
The pixie pulled away.
“I do have one last request, though,” they said. “Can I borrow a few of these guys? My plan might work better with backup.”
The pixie flicked an ear at the bears. The Holy Dragon laughed.
“Long as you bring ‘em back in one piece, take as many as you like.”
Tea smiled, hugging the elder bear again.
“I’ll make you proud, Great Holy Dragon. I promise.”
***
It was a day’s trip from Ling-Li to Ridion, but it was more than worth it in Giu’s eyes.
He sat on his perch, waiting patiently while his ears twitched at the distant sounds. Smoke was rising in the distance. Along with the roars and quakes of magic being thrown about. But through it all, he kept his attention on a single sound.
The scree of ice moving through the forest.
A horde of bears charged through the woods, axes and swords raised as they flung magic at will. The thief in front of them was riding a pillar of ice, shooting spears behind him every so often, which would be blocked by one of the casters.
“For the glory of the Dragon!” the bears were shouting.
Giu smiled. Showtime. He crouched at the ready, rolling out his joints as he waited for the ice to get closer. Closer. He spotted the mask under his branch.
The masked thief turned to shoot and the canine lept forward, crashing straight into his target, boots first. But rather than the crunch of contact, he felt his body continue onward.
The thief had shattered on impact.
When Giu fell to the ground, it caved under him, pulling him down like quicksand. He heard laughter from above, though he only saw floating eyeballs in the sky. Welp, that was fast. He armored up his skin. Any time now, T.
The illusion vanished, Giu squinting against sunlight as he found the ground lying beneath him. The familiar smell of burning alcohol filled his nostrils. As did the scent of the pixie before him. 
“Phase one complete,” Tea said, extending a hand.
He smiled, taking it.
Following the smoke, Giu spotted the thief in all his flaming glory.
He was shooting ice in all directions, bears swarming him only to get blown back by frozen spears and javelines rising from the ground. Blades of wind flew in his direction, but walls of ice blocked the attack, being shattered by the bears moments later.
“D-did it work?” Giu asked.
“You’re not still seeing illusions are you?”
Giu pinched himself. “I don’t think so. This is real?”
The thief weaved around the bears clawing at him, pushing one aside with an ice pillar while the other got knocked out with a kick. The thief was burning like a candle, but he managed to break through everything thrown his way. Did he even notice?
Tea folded their arms.
“I guess the Holy Dragon wasn’t joking. He's a tough cookie.” The pixie smacked Giu’s arm. “But he can’t use illusions if he’s burning. Go get ‘em, Gi.”
The canine shrugged. As long I get to punch him.
For perhaps the fourth time, Giu went in for an assault. He braced for the instant mind manipulation, half-expecting the trees to come alive or for the ground to eat him or for whatever strange concoction the thief would throw his way.
A spear of ice rammed into his forehead. Giu smiled. Oh. The pillar broke on contact.
My turn.
His leg swished through the air, the thief narrowly ducking the blow.