A group of seven dragons can be seeing walking along the slopes of Stolis Mountain. They are heading towards a campsite, favorite spot of one of them: Billy Brown. He was a scientist, and believed that where they were going, he could find a lot of spirits. Normally, scientists don’t believe in spirits and fairies, but he knew better: he has a Pnevma spirit living inside of him! Those spirits are all female, so legend tells, and when one falls in love with a mortal, she is forced to live inside of him. But this time, he wasn’t looking for Pnevmas. He was looking for another race of spirits.

 

Billy was followed by Sarah Jovi, Anna Nashon and the Deep Rockers. Pik Rance, the drummer of the band, being an amphibian, needed water very often, and it’s been over an hour since the last time he drank. That made him very tired, and he panted hard as he tried to keep up with the rest. Even further behind, Babe Cleave followed the rest of the gang. He didn’t feel that he should be going with them… ever since he got turned into a robot he avoided doing things that “normal” people do. But Sarah, the girl he loved begged him, so he gave in. Unlike the rest, he was no tired at all, and couldn’t wait for the time to come to go back to the laboratory and practice on his weapons. He still had a lot of weapons he didn’t know how to use, and he was sure he had more weapons that he already knew!

 

At last, they reached the top. Billy walked over to the edge of the cliff, and looked down at the valley. “It’s so beautiful,” Anna said as she hugged him. “I’m so glad I came with you…” Billy smiled and nuzzled her snout.

 

“I know…” he said and kissed her. “I just wished Michelle could come with us…” he said, tears in his eyes. Billy was a divorced father, his daughter living with her mother. He could see her only at weekends and that broke his heart. He knew he’d miss many things from his daughter as she grew up, and deep down inside his heart, he wished he hadn’t ruined things with his marriage. But the emotions between himself and his wife had long been gone, and there was no alternative solution.

 

He turned around to face the rest of the gang, only to see tired faces. Ace and Kia were sitting on a log, panting, and Pik was trying to “re-fuel” himself, by sitting in a puddle!

 

“My God guys! You’re so weak! Come on! Get up! Lets make something to eat”

 

As soon as he heard food being mentioned, James rushed over to Billy and stuffed his snout in his backpack. He could smell food in there, and as usual, James was always hungry. Ever since a polluted dragon bite irradiated him, he developed animal instincts and senses. His animal form also changed, instead of transforming into an animal, he changed into a 70m tall anthro. Those transformations always made him hungrier than ever. But he had to pay a price for all those “gifts”. He often suffered from intense headaches and stomach cramps, and he couldn’t control his animal behavior. He would very often behave like an animal, without noticing he did so. Kia always joked about that, saying that he made a cute pet.

 

“So Bill…” Ace said as he ate his food “what are you searching for?”

 

“Oh come on Ace! You had to ask him??” Sarah said jokingly. “Now he’ll start all his science talk!” Bill laughed and reassured the rest that he wouldn’t. Kia was watching Ace eating his food. She was very worried about him. He was very thin, and she never saw him eat a decent meal. Deep in her mind, she worried in case he suffered from anorexia, but she wasn’t sure if that wasn’t a girl-only disease. And besides, anorexia people usually suffer from mental illnesses. Ace was healthy and had a happy life, even though he is adopted.

 

She then looked over her shoulder towards the cliff. She saw Babe there, sitting alone, not wanting to join them in their feast. She was ready to call him, when she saw Sarah approaching him. She smiled and remembered the days back at high school. Babe was her first lover. But they broke up when they had to go to college. They were both going at different cities, and they thought that a long-distance relationship wouldn’t work. She always loved him until she became a Deep Rocker and met Pik Rance. From that moment on, her heart was given to him.

 

“Hey Baby…” Sarah said as she lay on his lap. “Want some company?” Babe smiled and stroke her head as gently as his heavy hands would let him. She bit her lips as she felt tears in her eyes “He’s so cold…” she thought “and hard. Made of metal…” At times like that she realized that the man she loved was not an anthro. He was a robot, unable of making love and doing things that a normal lover would do. She knew she would never have a family with him, never go to long family trips, she won’t be feeling his breath on her neck while they slept in the same bed… they wouldn’t even sleep in the same bed. Thoughts like that made her want to leave him and live a normal life. But her heart couldn’t do that. She loved him with all her might and she didn’t want to see him sad. Suddenly, as if he knew what she was thinking, or maybe he could sense her heartbeat, he lifted her head up slowly and kissed her on her lips. He couldn’t feel her taste, he couldn’t feel lust. But he loved her. He wanted her. He needed her.

 

He sighted and watched the moon. It was gonna be a long night