“Dragon courtship isn’t. You find your mate. You present your hoard. You build a nest together. Simple.”
“Sam doesn’t have a hoard.”
“He could share ours.”
Mabon’s dragon stirred at the thought - Sam curled up in their treasury, surrounded by gold and jewels, safe, cherished, andtheirs. He shoved the image away. First, they had to get Sam to actually like them.
Urien returned looking defeated.
“He gave me a free cookie.”
Mabon looked up from his phone. “That’s good?”
“He gave it to me because he thought I was sad.” Urien slumped onto the sofa. “He patted my hand and said everyone has rough days.”
“You were supposed to be mysterious, not depressed.”
“I was being reserved and enigmatic.”
“You have the emotional range of a brick wall when you’re trying,” Rux said. “What did that look like?”
“I ordered coffee. I didn’t make small talk. I just stared out the window pensively.”
“And he thought you were having a crisis.”
“Apparently, my pensive face looks like my grief-stricken face.”
Mabon made another note:Mystery without context reads as distress.
“Did you eat the cookie?” Rux asked.
“Of course, I ate the cookie. He gave it to me.”
“What kind?”
“Chocolate chip. It was still warm.” Urien’s expression softened slightly. “He said he baked them this morning.”
The room went quiet. Sam baked cookies and made so many different types of coffee. He also smiled patiently at difficult customers and worried when people seemed upset.
And the three of them were running experiments as if Sam was a market to manipulate rather than a person to cherish.
Mabon’s dragon growled its disapproval.
“This isn’t working,” Mabon said quietly.
“No argument here.” Rux swirled his whiskey. “What’s left to try?”
Mabon ditched his phone for his laptop and pulled up his research again, scrolling through pages of contradictory advice. Be confidentbut not arrogant. Be mysterious but not distant. Show interest but don’t overwhelm. Give gifts, but don’t buy affection.
Somewhere in all this noise was supposed to be the secret to winning Sam’s heart.
But all Mabon saw was static.
“Maybe...” Urien started, then stopped.
“What?”
“Maybe we’re approaching this wrong.” Urien sat forward. “We’ve been trying strategies, following advice written for humans courting humans.”
