Disclaimer: I own nothing involved in this story unless I invented it myself. This is written for fun, not for profit.
Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh Duel Monsters
Title: Breaking of Tradition
Romance: Seto x Pegasus (hints of Seto x Kisara and Pegasus x Cyndia)
Word Count: 11,112||Status: One-shot
Genre: Fantasy, Romance||Rated: PG-13
Challenge: Yu-Gi-Oh Pairings Challenge: Season 11, Round 1: Seto x Pegasus (Toonshipping)
Feedback: All forms eagerly accepted. Concrit is loved the most, but everything is welcome.
Summary: Traditionally, dragons take humans prisoner, for whatever reasons. Not everyone wants to go along with tradition. And there are those who take offense to that.
"Dragon! Dragon!" In the same moment that the terrified shriek rose from the guard on top of the watchtower, an alarm rang out bright and strong over the city. Within moments, the streets thronged with people howling at the top of their lungs, some attempting to get out of the city, while others attempted to get into it, and everyone getting into each other's way.
Pegasus sipped his cup of wine patiently, watching as all of his fellow customers deserted the tiny outdoor café, none of them looking together enough to so much as remember to pay their bill before going off in the throes of terror. He paid no attention to the alarms. He heard them, of course, as it would have taken someone stone deaf not to do so, but he wanted to finish his drink before he did anything else.
A dragon. He tilted his head back, scanning the sky curiously, only to see nothing. At least not yet. Dragons seldom were subtle about what they wanted. He sipped again; this could well be something interesting. He hadn't met a dragon, at least not that he knew of, in all of his years of wandering. He'd come to this city for that reason alone.
"Sir, didn't you hear the alarm?" The young girl who'd brought him his wine stumbled to a halt in front of him, eyes wide and full of fear. "There's a dragon attacking the city. You need to get out of here!"
"Yes, I heard. I'm quite content where I am for now." Pegasus took another drink, no more excited than he'd been when he'd first sat down here. "You'd best be on your way, dear."
The serving girl stared at him, confusion in her large eyes, before the alarm rang once again and she lost all desire to argue with him, skittering out of sight in a matter of moments.
Pegasus finished the last few sips of his wine, set the cup down, and rose, gathered the bag he carried his tools in before he chose a direction and strolled casually down the lane. Still the alarms rang, but he saw no need to hurry his pace. The dragon hadn't left yet. He could be patient.
It wasn't that difficult to find the creature. He only had to go to where the least people gathered, since all of them did their best to get away from the invader as quickly as they could. He didn't step out and challenge it, though. That would've been insane, even for him.
Instead, he concealed himself behind a large, probably empty building, and took a long look. He knew enough about dragons to know that much as any other predator, it was movement that frequently caught their attention, especially any movement that looked like prey trying to run away. So he didn't try that at all. If he needed to, he could become invisible, but that was neither his best skill nor one he chose to employ often.
Not to mention that a dragon didn't always need to see one to attack, since they could track by scent as well as sight and a gout of flame would incinerate one whether they could be seen or not. No, invisibility wasn't the answer here.
Regardless of what might protect him, he could see the creature now, crouched in the center of the city's largest square, wings raised high, head tilted back, drawing in deep breaths. It only took Pegasus a moment to realize what was about to happen and he ducked his head back just in time. He couldn't see it, but the wash of superheated air and the whoosh of flame told him clearly what had just happened. The crash of masonry and the crackle of fire not that far away gave an even better image.
"Give him back." Words wrapped in flame and in rage echoed through the air, and it took Pegasus a few seconds to realize that it was the dragon who spoke. "Give him back or your city burns!"
Well, now. This was getting more and more interesting. Pegasus didn't know what the dragon meant, but before he could take the chance to step out and ask, the sound of great wings beating and a blast of sharp, dry wind alerted him to something else: the dragon was leaving.
Over his head the creature flew, with one last blast of flame toward a high rising building, reduced in moments from three stories to two as the flames crackled around it. Pegasus had never seen a dragon's fire up close and personal before, and now he knew why so few seldom had. The fire brigade would be hard put to extinguish this before it burned the entire building down. Though from the marks he'd seen on the rest of the area, they did seem to have enough practice in recent days.
It took hours for any of the cityfolk to get calm enough to gather together in the second largest square and try to figure out what was going on. Pegasus spent the intervening time listening to as many huddled conversations as he could, trying to piece together everything into a coherent whole. Since not that many people were coherent, it took longer than he would've liked.
"This is the sixth attack this month, and it's always the same dragon!" One strident voice rose from the gathered masses. "We've tried sending our best warriors and if they come back, they can't even put a scratch on a scale! What are we going to do?"
"It keeps demanding someone. Maybe it's missing a prince or something? Don't dragons take princes and princesses?" Another person asked, stepping forward, battered hat clenched tightly between his fingers. "Are there any of those missing anyway?"
"We haven't had a prince or princess since the King married," someone else replied, a touch of scorn in his tone. "But it probably wants a prisoner that escaped. Good for whoever that is."
"Dragons don't always keep prisoners." Pegasus spoke up from where he'd found himself a good, quiet seat on what had probably begun life as a bench to admire the local scenery from. Or at least it was a good seat. Quiet wasn't available, with virtually every living person in the city crammed into a square meant to hold perhaps half of them at one time, and most of them yelling something or other more often than they weren't. "This could be something else altogether." Several looks were cast in his general direction, most of them curious, a few annoyed. One or two looked offended he even dared to speak up, given that he wasn't from there at all.
"What would you know about dragons?" The first person who'd spoken asked, giving him one of those offended looks. Heavily muscled and covered with a burn-spotted leather apron, Pegasus presumed he was a blacksmith of some kind. From the glowering looks he sent, he seemed quite used to getting his own way as well. "What are you, a sage or something?"
"Not quite." Pegasus smiled his best sly smile, brushing his fingers through the silver wash of hair that covered half of his face as he did. To the careful observer, a glint of gold twinkled for a brief moment there. "But I do know quite a few things about dragons. And I know about talking to people. Since this dragon can talk, why doesn't anyone just go ask what he wants?" Really, the most simple of solutions and everyone preferred to run around like the proverbial chicken with its head cut off. He was surprised no one had yet popped up suggesting they stake out virgins for the beast to feast on.
At least he wouldn't qualify for that, if someone did suggest it.
Several people muttered and shuffled among themselves at his suggestion, looking from him to others, and back again. Pegasus looked at them all, trying hard not to laugh at their expressions. He knew what they were going to suggest before any of them opened their mouths.
"If you want me to that badly, then I will go and talk to the dragon myself." He wasn't normally one to put himself into danger for the sake of others, but dragons fascinated him. He wanted to know what this one wanted. He'd come here for no other reason than this anyway. He didn't find it necessary to let them in on it. They'd probably think he was insane.
He hadn't yet figured out if he was or not, either. Oh, well. It didn't matter.
"You go do that." The conversation turned almost at once to more ways to deal with the dragon that they hadn't tried yet, with not one of them paying the slightest bit of attention to Pegasus.
He smiled again. He liked people like this. They were so easy to deal with and they frequently never realized they'd been 'dealt with' until he'd left. Without any other words of his own, he stood up and strolled down the nearest street to the city gates. Whatever they decided meant little to him. He did hope the dragon was in the mood to chat. It would be quite annoying to spend hours hunting for the creature and then find out it had no intentions of talking.
Still, Pegasus prided himself on being able to get to the heart of matters, whether or not whoever he spoke with wanted him to, and he saw few difficulties here that he didn't know how to surmount.
Locating the dragon would be the most difficult task, and the one he needed to tackle the quickest. He knew the types of places a dragon would most likely lair up, but he hadn't been in the area long enough to know where those places most likely were.
Not to mention there were other places where a dragon could live concealed, even among humans. Still, this one didn't appear all that likely to hide like that. It made matters just a trifle less complicated.
He struck out in the direction he'd seen the dragon departing, and once he'd made it outside of the city gates, took a long look around. It would've been easier to locate the lair if the dragon had lurked in the area long enough for signs to build up. Droppings, possible fallen scales, skeletons of prey, that sort of thing. Instead, he had to do this the hard way.
What made it more annoying was the fact that dragons could fly. For all he knew, the beast lived hundreds of miles away and came here only to search for whomever that mysterious 'he' was.
Not likely that this is a captive. Dragons don't take prisoners like that. Despite what a thousand years of fairy tales, myths, and legends said, dragons simply didn't do that. Most of the various breeds weren't sociable enough to want someone around that often, especially not a human.
He thought over what he'd seen in his few glimpses of the great beast. Clearly an adult, and likely in full possession and mastery of every power that dragons held, it stood twice as tall as the tallest war-stallion he'd ever encountered in his life, with a broad wingspan more than capable of taking it up in flight. Every inch of it gleamed bright with dark purple scales, complete with silver teeth and claws sharp enough to shred through meat in a matter of moments. A long tail spread out behind it, spikes running from the tip of the tail all the way up the dragon's back to the head, with a circle of half a dozen small spikes on the head itself.
The dragon had struck the city sometime just after noon and it took hours for everyone to get calmed down and organized enough to try to figure out what to do. Or more precisely, yell about how this had happened before and would likely happen again and why couldn't they get anything done about it. But the point remained. By the time Pegasus made it to the lands outside the city, the sun stood but a finger or two above the western horizon.
Perhaps I should've waited until tomorrow. There was no guarantee the dragon wouldn't attack the next day, which would make finding the lair while it was gone even harder. It wouldn't be the first time he'd camped overnight, though it was hardly his favored location for rest. He much preferred the solidity of a roof over his head and food that he didn't cook himself.
Perhaps he could find a good cave somewhere. The city stood in the embrace of a vast mountain range, and that was likely where the lair was anyway. If he couldn't find the right cave, he'd at least find one he could rest in until morning.
Getting to those mountains took longer than he'd thought. For all of his experience in travel, distances could be deceptive, and by the time he reached the mountains themselves, the first star twinkled brightly in the heavens. He turned back to look at the city, marking some of the fires that still burned from the dragon's attack.
What is it that you're looking for? Or who? He'd find out. His own curiosity pushed him toward that, if nothing else. Dragons seldom bothered with humans, unless the humans had something they wanted. Finding it and giving it to them was the best bet, he'd learned. So that is what I will do.
Though with how dark it already was, Pegasus decided he'd take the first unoccupied cave he could find for his resting place. He set off to where he'd seen the dark mouth of one yawning ahead of him before the shadows fell too thickly to see anything, already missing the bed and bath he hadn't had a chance to reserve for himself at the inn he'd chosen for his nightly lodgings.
Perhaps if he could find what this dragon wanted, he could request a small reward from either the dragon or the citizens, and be able to make up for the loss. A few extra good meals or glasses of wine (perhaps even something from Kuragari; that land had more fine wines than any he'd ever known) wouldn't go amiss either.
He thought it was the wind at first, low and deep and sighing through the trees, flavored with a scent he couldn't identify. Only when it dawned on him that no flower in the world gave off the aroma of brimstone did he realize that something else was there. He stopped, trying to identify it, and only a moment too late did he realize he'd heard breathing, not the wind.
"What are you doing here? Do you have him?" That same voice he'd heard before in the city, only deeper and a little louder, now that he was that much closer to the dragon. Brilliant blue eyes, cold, sharp, and menacing, appeared in the darkness before him, focused entirely on him. He couldn't tell if the dragon laired in that one cave he'd seen or not, but it lounged in between him and it nevertheless.
Pegasus had never been this close to a dragon, not even during those brief moments in the square. His experience grew entirely out of books and the lessons of others. They'd told him of dragonfear, of how just being too close to one made it impossible to think or breathe, and that was how dragons caught their prey. He hadn't believed it, not down to the core of his being.
Not until now, when he stared into a dragon's cold eyes and knew how a mouse or a squirrel felt when the talons of a hawk hovered over them, only moments from piercing in.
"Answer me." There was the tiniest breath of movement. Pegasus didn't know if it was the dragon moving closer or preparing to blast him, but he also found he didn't care.
"I can't bring you who you want until I know who it is that you want. Can you tell me?" He slipped one hand into his bag, searching as unobtrusively as he could until he found what he was looking for. He knew their shape by touch, and he hoped he could get them out fast enough if the dragon made to attack. If not…
If not, he'd be a small pile of ashes, if not a pile of bloody meat.
The dragon growled low, head bending closer to him, breath hot and stronger than before. "I want Mokuba back."
"Mokuba?" It wasn't a name he'd heard before. "Who might that be?" He didn't let go of the tools in his bag. One shoulder tensed, however, ready to draw what he needed out at a moment's notice.
"My brother." The dragon moved just another fraction closer, hot breath blowing across Pegasus' face, sending his hair blowing away from his eye. He tried his best to bring it back down quickly, though the dragon didn't seem to care. "He's there. In that city."
A brother. Dragons had families, of course, anyone knew that, but he'd never thought that they were that close. Not close enough to come burning a city down because one wasn't around.
"I haven't seen him." At least not so that he'd noticed. Dragons were so very clever at hiding, after all. Still, he thought he could recognize one, no matter what disguise they wore.
A glimmer of rage shone deeper within the dragon's eyes. "He wasn't like this. He changed."
Pegasus knew better than most what the energies of magic felt like. He'd discovered whole new ways to use them, after all. And yet, he still stiffened just a fraction when energy wove around the dragon, encapsulating him in a sphere of brilliant white light for the space of half a dozen heartbeats. When it faded, a tall young man stood in front of him, wearing a coat much the same deep purple that the dragon's scales were, and with those same intense blue eyes staring at him.
"He's like this. And he can't change back. They did something to him." The voice was much the same, though not quite as deep, given how it came from a human shaped chest now.
"Who took him?" Pegasus had seen plenty of attractive people, both men and women, in his day, and yet he couldn't deny that this person before him stood above most of them in many ways. "Do you know who it was?"
Even without hand-long fangs, the other bared his teeth in a way that suggested the crunching of bones and tearing of meat. "If I did, they would already be dead."
Pegasus couldn't argue with that. "What is your name?" He wasn't sure if he could find a lost dragon, but if he did, knowing who was searching for him would probably help.
Again those fierce eyes pierced him, but Pegasus stood firm. He could do something even worse if he had to, though in all truth, he didn't know if it would have any effect on a dragon. Now wasn't the time to try and fail, either.
"Seto, of the line of Kaiba."
Pegasus considered; he'd learned some matters of dragon lineage and clans, and the Kaiba line were warrior dragons, fierce, proud, and seldom, if ever, compromising on any situation. They wanted what they wanted and took it, and woe betide anyone who got in their way.
"Pegasus Crawford, at your service." He bent his head a little, not so much that it would indicate giving himself over as prey, but as one sentient being to another.
"The only service I want is my brother's return." Seto bit each word off as if tearing a chunk of raw meat out of some defenseless creature's hide.
"I can do that." Pegasus smiled, on far more comfortable ground now that the formalities were out of the way. "I'm a sorcerer, you see."
Blue eyes flashed bright and Pegasus knew if he didn't say something, all bargains would end in less time than it took to breathe. "I've nothing to do with his disappearance. I said that I would help you get him back." He snapped the words as harshly as he could in an effort to get through to the enraged dragon. "But if I spread the word that I want dragon's blood, then whoever has him will come to me."
He had no idea of how he'd spoken swiftly enough to catch Seto before the dragon changed to his true form and took a bite out of him, but somehow, he had. The other remained still, staring down at him.
"If you have him harmed, I'll eat you." There wasn't a shred of reluctance or doubt or argument in the other's tones. Seto meant every single word that he said.
"Of course, of course." Pegasus waved away the threat; it was hardly the first time in his life someone threatened to kill him and he doubted it would be the past. Granted, most of them didn't threaten to eat him, but he brushed it off as being much the same thing. "Now, what can you tell me about what happened and who took little Mokuba?"
Seto's eyes didn't leave Pegasus for a moment, not even when the other chose a convenient rock to sit down on and waved for the dragon to do the same. Or whatever would make him comfortable. The sorcerer didn't intend to wear himself out standing up more than he needed to.
He wasn't going to let himself starve, either. While waiting for the dragon to start talking, he rummaged around in his bag and pulled out a few supplies. Cooking wasn't even remotely one of his skills, but he didn't need to cook to break off a hunk of bread and a small wedge of cheese.
"Are you hungry?" He glanced over at Seto, wondering if dragons in human form could even eat this sort of meal. They couldn't as dragons, he knew that much. Their teeth weren't set up for it.
"I ate already." Seto looked over his shoulder and Pegasus found himself pleased that he couldn't see whatever the dragon had eaten. He applied himself to his dinner, such as it was, trying hard not to think about what he'd planned earlier. While he loved cheese thoroughly, he still gave a few passing thoughts to a delicately flavored roast he'd intended to dine upon.
Slowly Seto settled down on another rock, moving as if he weren't used to doing so. Pegasus wondered how often he'd taken human form, if this was something new to him. He chose not to ask; there were more important matters to deal with for now.
"I was teaching him to change. He's good at it." Dragon or human, pride glowed strong in Seto's voice at that. "He wanted to fish down at the lake when we'd finished practicing for the day." He jerked his head to indicate the far side of the city, where Pegasus hadn't yet been. The moon hadn't yet risen, but the stars twinkled both in the sky and reflected in a broad lake. "We lived on the other side of it. After this, we'll move."
One hand clasped around a smaller rock, turning it over and over, then tightened on it until the rock collapsed into dust. Pegasus noted to himself that the stories were true: a dragon kept his strength even when changed into another form.
"It was safe there. We'd fished there before, but he'd never gone alone. I wanted to hunt, so while he fished, I flew. I wasn't gone long. When I came back, I saw what happened. I could smell magic." Seto's eyes flashed brilliant and fiery in the dark of the night. "His magic and theirs. He'd changed for some reason. I don't know why. But they used theirs to knock him out and take him away."
Pegasus nodded; he'd never taken care of a child himself, but he could only imagine what it would be like to leave yours doing something harmless and come back to find them gone. The cityfolk were likely lucky that Seto hadn't burned the whole place down already.
"And you're sure he's there?" He wanted to make certain they hadn't taken the dragonchild off somewhere else.
"I can smell him there. I know he went in, but he hasn't left. There are too many humans to know where he is there."
Pegasus considered that; someone had obviously gone out looking for dragons in particular to bring back. Young dragons were easier to capture, since they didn't have the same kind of strength or resistance to magic that an adult did. What Seto could've ignored, Mokuba would've fallen prey to.
And if they hunted dragons in particular, there were multiple fates that could've befallen the young creature once in their hands. He chose not to mention the worst of them; certain internal organs were reputed to have magical properties and it wouldn't be the first time a young dragon died to provide them to the unscrupulous. Blood was the most likely option, though, or scales.
Or at least, those were the options that would keep him alive the longest. Pegasus knew better than to hope for the best, without also planning for the worst.
"Then I'll do as I said. I'll go back to the city tomorrow and advertise that I'm in the market for dragon blood." He tossed the remains of his dinner off to where any scavenger birds could find them. "I should hear something soon."
"How soon?" Another rock fell victim to Seto's strength, scattering dust all over.
"I can't say for sure. But probably sooner than it would be if you don't go back and try to burn them all down. They might try something with him if you keep at it." Pegasus winced at the fury that flared in Seto's eyes. He was just as glad he hadn't built a fire; seeing the full expression would've been far worse.
Seto rose up to his feet and turned away. "If you fail, I'll burn the city down and eat anyone I can catch until I can find him."
Pegasus could not help but shake his head at this. "And that will probably mean they kill him, if they haven't already."
He wondered a heartbeat later how he found himself flat on his back, with a dragon's claws holding him to the ground, and a dragon's hot breath in his face.
"If they harm a scale on him, then they all die. Starting with you."
Pegasus glared up at the dragon, one hand trying to reach to his bag. Unfortunately, it was just out of reach, no matter how hard he stretched his fingers. "You have a serious problem with overreaction, my boy." He wasn't sure if that was the right term to use for a dragon, but he wasn't going to go rifling through his vocabulary at the moment. "Killing me won't bring him back."
Seto growled low and deep, but moved away from Pegasus, heading farther up the mountains. "Bring him back soon."
If this is what all dragons are like, I'm just as glad I haven't met any until now. Though in all truth, there was something about that proud rage, the eternal defense of what mattered most, that Pegasus found to his liking. It reminded him…of himself.
He took a look up at the sky and decided there would likely not be rain tonight, and any predators would sensibly have taken themselves off to anywhere that didn't contain a dragon. He brushed himself off, lips twisting at the thought of what his laundry bill would look like when he reached a place he could get it done. At least he had blankets he could sleep on, instead of the bare grass.
He could still hear Seto breathing as he curled up, now that he was aware of what the sound was. Deep, regular breaths, far deeper and louder than anything a human could make. He hadn't expected the dragon to remain human for the night, nor was there any reason that he should. Yet there was a tiny spark in the back of his mind where he seldom looked that wondered what it might have been like if he had.
Dawn broke far too soon, so far as Pegasus was concerned, warm rays of sunlight brushing across his face. Not nearly as pleasant as the quiet voice of a servant bringing him breakfast in bed. He rolled over, wanting to stick his head under a pillow and pretend it wasn't even close to time to get up just yet. Unfortunately, the lack of a pillow made that close to impossible. He blinked a few times at that realization, trying to remember just where he was, until memory rushed back in, helped by the sudden appearance of a pair of quasi-familiar blue eyes right in front of him.
"You're leaving soon?" Seto asked, having taken on his human form. Pegasus decided he was grateful for that; one close encounter with a dragon was one too many in his opinion. At least Seto looked human like this.
"Yes." He sat up and looked around, getting his bearings. It would probably take as long to get to the city as it had taken him to get up here, and then he had to find the right portion of it to ask his questions in. He thought he knew where to go, but he hadn't been there long enough to know all the sordid little details.
Still, he had his ways.
"Walking is too slow." Seto's attention flickered from the city to Pegasus. "You'll need more time."
Pegasus eyed him cautiously. "I'm not good on a horse." He'd never been able to get the hang of riding one and preferred to stick to his own legs when he had a choice. Carriages were quite suitable, but he didn't think one of those would appear out of nowhere around here. At least not unless he made one for himself, which wasn't impossible.
The dragon said nothing else, only shifted to his true form and crouched low near to the sorcerer. Pegasus wasn't entirely certain of what the other meant, until he growled low, "Get on. If I take you, you'll be there faster."
Pegasus chose to question this at another time. Dragons weren't known for providing transportation, but he supposed this qualified as a special case. Slinging his bag over one shoulder, he scrambled on top of the dragon, settling himself behind the great neck ridges. "How's this?"
The only answer he received was the beating of broad wings, and Seto rose in the air as easily as if he didn't have a full grown human on his back at all. He shot forward far faster than any horse, riding or pulling a carriage, Pegasus had ever known before, and the sorcerer found himself seizing onto the ridge before him in an attempt to stay on.
He had idea of how long the trip took, only that he hardly had time to get used to it before Seto settled down beside the river that flowed past the city and into the lake.
"Get off." The dragon growled, and Pegasus hurried to do just that. He expected the other to fly back immediately to his temporary lair. Instead, there was a brief flash of light, and Seto stood there in his human form. "Let's go."
"What do you think you're doing?" Pegasus didn't yelp at the thought of a dragon entering the city, even one in human form, but only because he had too much practice keeping control over his voice.
Seto turned to look at him, one eyebrow rising a fraction. "Going to find my brother."
"I thought that was what I was doing."
"I'm not going to sit up there and wait for you. If you offer to buy blood, they might bring him there right away." Again Seto proved he didn't need fangs to smile like a dragon. "Then I take him back."
Pegasus bit back a sigh. "If they know dragons are in the area, and they know that they have a dragon, which they do, and they likely know about all those visits you've been making, then if someone like you turns up, you're going to either put them on their guard entirely or scare them off and we might never find little Mokuba."
Transformed human teeth grinding sounded much like natural born human teeth grinding, Pegasus noted. He kept talking, regardless of the look in Seto's eyes. "There are ways that we can get around that, though. I don't think you'd like it." The idea had just sprung into his head, and far from 'liking' it, he wouldn't have been surprised if the dragon shredded him and burned the city down on general principles once he suggested it.
"What?" Seto's eyes narrowed, his hands flexing as if he wanted to wrap them around something and start crushing. Pegasus almost feared for those who'd taken his brother. Being eaten would likely be too kind of a fate for them.
"They could identify you as a dragon, but they might not know that you're the brother of the dragon that they have. We could pose as a sorcerer and his enslaved dragon." He'd seen it happen before, though he didn't want to say that out loud. Dragons didn't take kindly to chains and bonds of any kind.
Seto's growl shook the ground beneath them and he took a step back, mouth opening as if about to strike. Pegasus shrugged.
"You don't have to do it. But it's probably the only way that we could get in there and not risk his life. It's a chance, and it might not even work."
The dragon's gaze jittered between the city and the sorcerer once again, likely weighing the benefits against the indignity of being called a slave, true or not.
"Better make up your mind fast, Seto boy." Pegasus let a hint of an amused smile flicker over his lips. "The day's passing." It was scarcely midmorning, but the sooner they began this, the better off they would all be.
"Don't expect me to call you 'master'." Seto spoke as he started toward the city, every move fluid and powerful. Pegasus's smile widened at the words and he hurried to catch up.
"I would never expect any such thing from you. If anyone asks, you're my bodyguard and I raised you from a hatchling." That he'd never heard of before, and if he hadn't, it was a safe wager that those here never had either. And what they didn't know, they couldn't say didn't exist.
He also didn't envy the next cow, sheep, or goat that Seto chose for his dinner. From the way those teeth ground against one another, it would be shredded to nothingness in the space of a heartbeat.
"Why did you put us down here?" Pegasus hadn't noticed it right away, but this was the exact opposite side of the city from where he'd left.
"This is the way they brought Mokuba in." Seto replied, stalking forward with a predator's grace. "I'll know where he is from here."
Pegasus could think of all manner of ways a smell could be tricked or blocked, especially since Seto already said he couldn't find the child by scent alone, given how many humans, and probably other types of people, there were in the city. Still, if it made the dragon feel as if he were doing something, Pegasus wouldn't argue. He suspected his way would get results faster.
"I came here before, like this." Seto glanced briefly towards Pegasus as they drew closer to the great gates, blending in as best they could with the people going in and out. "He's still here. I know it."
Which was probably why he'd resorted to attacking the place and demanding the return of his brother. Pegasus wasn't entirely sure, now that he thought about it, if the little dragon were necessarily still there. If a scent could be hidden or drowned out, then they could have done so in order to smuggle him out of the city. He'd heard of dragon smugglers who carried their targets far from their homelands and trained them to obey humans from an early age. If that happened to this dragon child, then this city would burn.
Not that he especially cared for the city, but he'd made a commitment. He didn't like seeing anyone separated from someone they cared about. He'd had it happen before, and once was far more than enough.
"Hey, you!" One of the guards stepped forward, glaring at the two of them. "You're new here, aren't you?"
Pegasus smiled in his most charming fashion. "Not at all. I arrived in your lovely city just a few days ago. I stepped out to do some business, that's all."
"And what would it matter if we were?" Seto stood at least a hand higher than the guard and stared down at him as if he were an especially tasty morsel. "Does your city prevent visitors?"
"When they might be wild dragons looking to cause trouble, yes. We had one of those yesterday." The guard grounded his spear and shot watchful looks at them.
Pegasus shook his head and clucked his tongue. "Really, my boy, you needn't be so suspicious. Why would we be here to cause trouble?" He liked being able to get by people without actually lying. Lying was too easy for someone like him anyway.
"That doesn't mean one of you isn't a dragon. The beasts can change, you know." The guard didn't look inclined to let them pass any time soon, and Pegasus could see Seto's jaw rippling.
Well, best to get this taken care of, then. He stepped forward, concentrating all of his energy into his left eye. He thought he knew what the guard wanted, but before he wasted his money, he wanted confirmation. It didn't take more than a few moments to get that, either.
Just what I thought.
"I don't believe that's something you need to worry yourself about, my boy." Pegasus reached out to clasp the man's shoulder. As he did, something slipped from his grip and fell to the cobbled road with a brilliant chime. The guard glanced downward automatically, and Pegasus smiled, turning his attention toward Seto just in time to see the dragon baring his teeth. He shook his head; the last thing he wanted was for Seto to blow their cover by eating an annoying guardsman. "We can go now, can't we?"
"What?" The guard snatched up the gold coin Pegasus dropped and bit into it for a moment before tucking it out of sight. "Of course, of course! You're perfectly welcome. Enjoy your stay in our city!"
Pegasus motioned Seto along and strolled through the gates, a satisfied tilt to his lips. Seto waited until they were some distance from them before he spoke, his words pitched low to avoid being overheard by anyone else.
"What did you do?"
"He wanted a bribe. He's been doing it for months to anyone he thinks can afford it. He has quite the nest egg saved up from it, actually. And ever since you start attacking, he's managed to get even more by accusing people of being shapechanged dragons. They pay to get into the city to accomplish their business and he gets more money." Pegasus's smile flashed hard for a moment. "He'll have a small surprise when he gets home and checks what I gave him."
He caught a flicker of curiosity in Seto's eyes when he looked to see the dragon's reaction. He did rather like boasting about what he did, after all. "Two spells on it." Pegasus lifted up one finger. "One, an illusion so that what I gave him reacts just as he would expect a gold coin to. Two, so long as he keeps his other bribes, they will become exactly what I gave him: a coin carved out of wood."
Silence came from the dragon for a few moments. "You did that in under a minute?"
"I always carry a few prepared spells in case of annoyances. Or emergencies. He's not the first guard I've met trying to get more money than he actually earns."
Another few breaths of silence. "How did you know?"
"I have my ways." Pegasus didn't speak of everything else he knew about what the guard did with his life. He wasn't the worst person the sorcerer had ever met, by any means. Petty lives and petty crimes, not daring to do anything actually worth talking about. It made him tired sometimes, seeing what people failed to aspire to do when they had a chance.
"That way." Seto set a hand on Pegasus's shoulder, and the sorcerer wasn't surprised to feel dragon talons there. A dragon could change as much as he liked, but was still a dragon underneath the skin.
He looked to see which way Seto indicated and wasn't surprised at all to see a burned out building halfway down the street. "Your work?"
"The last place I could find a trace of him. But he wasn't there." Seto's claws bit harder into Pegasus's shoulder and the other pushed him off with a slightly sour look. There were no apologies, expected or received.
"Then, we go about this my way." Pegasus considered for a few moments, scanning the entire area and everyone in it. He didn't stay long, only dipping into their minds just enough to find out what he needed to know. "Come along. Try to look dangerous."
An odd sort of noise came from Seto and Pegasus had to look at him twice before he realized what it was: laughter. "I'm always dangerous."
"So you are." Pegasus acknowledged that with a slight smile and headed directly toward a dingy, run-down tavern that had several dingy and run-down people lounging around outside of it. It wasn't all the kind of place someone like Pegasus would normally be seen entering openly, especially since places like this didn't often entertain a great many customers until after dark. Pegasus never did like to play by the rules.
The loungers gave him wary looks the closer he drew, but Seto stared each of them back down. A dragon in human form didn't exude dragonfear to the same extent as he did as a dragon, but some still hovered about him. These folk definitely knew something was up, as they inched away from the door before Pegasus even got close enough to open it.
"You are handy to have around," he murmured, amused by the slight twitch of one of Seto's eyebrows. He turned his attention inside the tavern itself, then headed over to the bar where a burly man had just picked up a carved wooden cup and started to wipe it out. Pegasus doubted the attempt at cleaning would do much good, given the state of the cup and the even worse state of the towel being used for that. "Hello, my good man. I'm here on a business venture."
"What is it I can do for you?" The bartender, shabby clothes covered in a shabbier and stained apron, didn't stop wiping the cup at all. His attention switched between Pegasus and Seto, his hands shaking as he kept up with his busywork. "I can get you a beer if that's what you'd like, but we don't have any of the good years."
"No, I didn't think you would." Pegasus cast a glance at the seats and chose not to take one. He wouldn't be there long enough, anyway. "I've heard that if one needs certain exotic ingredients for certain…parts of one's business, this is a good place to find them. Or someone who knows about them."
"Maybe." Again and again the bartender ran the cloth outside the cup and inside. "What is it that you might need?"
"I seem to have found myself woefully short of dragon's blood. Fresh dragon's blood at that." Pegasus leaned forward, knowing how the dim lights would catch in his eyes, visible and not. "Is there anything you can do to help me with that?"
The bartender's eyes jerked to Seto and back again. "Uh, I'm not sure. That's not easy to come by."
"A pity." Pegasus started to turn away, gesturing for Seto to follow. "I would've paid handsomely for it as well. I suppose I'll have to look somewhere else."
He hadn't taken more than two steps away before the bartender spoke up. "I said it wasn't easy, not that I couldn't do it. You'd probably have to pay extra to get it, too. I mean, delivery charge."
"Oh, is that so?" Pegasus didn't look back, giving every impression he was ready to leave at a moment's notice. "All the suppliers that I usually work with keep a donor on hand at all times. Difficult, I understand, but it can be done."
The bartender shifted, taking a step closer. "If you come back this evening, after sunset, there might be someone who can help you more than I can. I can't say for sure, but you can ask him."
"Him?" Pegasus turned his head just enough so he could watch the bartender, one finely crafted silver eyebrow rising upward. "And who might this be?"
"We don't use his name." The bartender just shook his head. "But you'll know him when you see him, if you come back tonight. Can't do anything else for you."
Pegasus frowned. He didn't like it, but he could tell the other spoke the truth. He gestured to Seto again, this time heading out the door seriously, and turning his steps toward where he thought he could find a decent inn.
"If we wasted our time with someone who doesn't have Mokuba…" Something in Seto's voice spoke strongly of flame and smoke and screams.
"We didn't. He's telling the truth." Pegasus shook his head, moving carefully to avoid drawing too much attention. It wasn't that easy, but he had quite a bit of practice. They had hours until sunset, and he had matters he would have to tend to before they returned there. Those matters would be best dealt with under a roof of some kind. Zooming back and forth between here and the cave would draw more attention than he wanted.
"How can you be sure?"
Pegasus let his hair fall just a little, enough so that Seto could see behind it if he looked quickly enough. "I have my ways. I told you that already."
In a city this size, several inns were available, all depending on what one's purse had to offer. Pegasus chose his carefully; he didn't doubt for a minute they were being watched, and it would all come back to whoever it was they were going to speak with that night. Choosing a poor, cheap inn wouldn't speak well for his ability to pay whatever the stranger would charge.
"They could just cut him and bring you the blood." Seto kept his voice down, though Pegasus had no idea of how, given how he bit the words off so sharply. "We might not see him."
"Oh, I have a plan to deal with that. You don't need to worry. If this is the one who has him, and I'll know if it is, then you and your little brother will be taking off into the sunset this very evening."
Pegasus settled himself into the inn room he'd chosen. It wasn't as plush as some places he'd lived, but it would do until this whole mess had been cleared up. He set his bag on the table and started to reach inside, intent on sorting everything out and making certain he had everything he needed before the 'purchase' that afternoon.
"What are you doing?" Seto stood there, almost as rigid as if he was at attention, and Pegasus shook his head.
"You need to relax. You're going to strain something if you don't." He began to remove various tools from inside the bag, trying not to think too much about the fact he was alone with a dragon. Granted, he'd been alone with him before, up in the mountains, but this somehow felt different.
We're alone in a room at an inn. Outside, there would have been room to get away if he'd needed to. Inside, his options for doing so were limited, if not non-existent. He didn't think Seto would randomly change and shred him, but one could never be too certain.
Other thoughts about what could be done in a room at an inn tried to creep into his mind, but he paid little attention to them. He hadn't participated in activities of that nature in nearly seven years and saw no reason to start up again now.
Not that Seto wasn't a handsome figure, no matter what his shape. Indeed, Pegasus didn't think he'd seen many who were more attractive.
"What is all of that?" Seto stepped closer and Pegasus, distracted from the necessity of attempting to save a small dragon he'd never even met, noticed the economy of Seto's movements, how he didn't waste a single motion. The dragon's attention focused on what Pegasus drew out of his bag, a curious tilt to his head.
"This is how I work my magic. Most of it, at least." Pegasus sorted out the tools carefully. He hadn't had a chance to speak to too many people concerning how he used his abilities. Most people didn't want to talk very much to a sorcerer anyway, scared of what he could do to them. Few of the others he really wanted to talk to himself.
Though there had been that nice young djinn he'd met once. From the Otogi clan, Pegasus thought, sporting the most delicious and enticing pair of green eyes he'd ever seen. Perhaps he'd drop in on him again one of these days.
He pulled himself back to the present quickly; he could daydream another time. Seto still stared at what lay spread out on the table between them.
"They look like cards."
Pegasus smiled. "They are cards. Just magical ones." He touched one of them carefully, one that held an image of a somewhat humanoid black rabbit, wearing white gloves. "This one is just an ordinary monster, but I can give it greater strength with other cards."
"What do you mean?" Seto settled himself into a chair, more interest in his eyes than Pegasus had seen since they met.
The sorcerer spread out the cards; he'd taught some people of how to use these, but few of them had the flair or the drive that he did, much less the commitment to bonding with the cards. Would a dragon be different?
He hoped so.
Explaining how the monsters, spells, and traps worked together caused the day to fly by far more quickly than Pegasus would've imagined. While he had a deck of his own he used more than any other, he also kept spares, just in case they became necessary. One never knew when some new situation would rise up requiring a quick change. But spares now meant he could help Seto create a deck of his own.
"Is this something only sorcerers can do?" Seto prodded at one of the cards with the tip of one finger.
"Yes and no. Sorcerers can create new cards. Someone who isn't one can use some of the cards, though it's best if they find ones that they resonate to. These cards all have their own souls to them and if the soul of the cards doesn't match to the soul of the user, then the two would eternally clash."
He considered for a few moments, then sorted through the cards until he found the one that he wanted. "What do you think of this?"
Seto glanced at it curiously at first, then froze where he sat, eyes wider and more shocked than Pegasus had ever seen him before. "How did you make this?"
"I met a young woman several cities away from here." Pegasus watched Seto cautiously, wondering at his reaction. "We didn't speak long, but she inspired the card's image." He looked down at the beautiful dragon depicted on the card, a shimmering creature of power, grace, and elegance, with no special effects and yet some of the highest strength he'd ever seen. Silver-white scales and shimmering blue eyes, much like Seto's own.
"Kisara."
Pegasus tilted his head back. "You know her?" He didn't think dragons associated with humans enough for that. Unless…
"She's my mate. This is her human form." Seto's fingers almost seemed to caress the card's image. "She's taking care of our eggs in another lair."
That explained a great deal. Young dragons weren't always as careful as they should be around eggs, and while dragon eggs were tough indeed, it was said only a dragon could break another dragon. Mokuba could well hurt them without even realizing it.
"Keep these." He slid two more out of his bag. "These are the only ones that exist."
Seto picked them up, handling them with enormous care, a softness around his eyes. Pegasus wanted to ask so many questions about dragons and how they worked, how they lived and played and grew, but he didn't think asking now would accomplish anything. Not from how Seto carefully held those cards, staring at the image of his mate as if he hadn't seen her in centuries and might not ever see her again.
He knew well how that felt. His hand touched his own deck, where another card slept.
"You remind me of her a little." Pegasus looked up to see Seto looking back at him, still with the cards cradled in his hands. "Your hair, mostly."
Pegasus thought back to when he'd met that girl; yes, her name had been Kisara, she'd told him that during their brief meeting. Their hair wasn't identical; his gleamed metallic silver, mark of his sorcery from birth, while hers shimmered like pale moonlight. But he could see what the other meant.
"How long has it been since you saw her?" Pegasus returned to sorting through his cards, intent on making certain he had everything he needed when the time came that night. He refused to think any other thoughts that yearned to roam through his mind.
Or other parts of his body, which reminded him that seven years were a very long time.
"Not since two summers ago, when we had our mating flight." Pegasus recognized the even more distant look in Seto's eyes.
"Dragon eggs take five years…five summers to hatch, don't they?" He remembered that from his tutors, covering what was known about the great creatures. Cyndia had made it plain that she was extremely glad they weren't dragons.
"Yes." Seto looked up at him, eyes now sharp and focused as always. "Tell me more about how these cards are used, and what you plan to do to get Mokuba back."
Well, it looked as if happy reminiscing time was over with. Pegasus threw himself into teaching Seto. He had not one whiff of surprise to discover the dragon had a natural gift for using the cards, putting together quick and powerful combinations that took Pegasus's breath away.
He had even less surprise when he paid a trifle more attention to how Seto's hands moved and the hot scent of his breath when they moved closer to one another than he probably should have.
"Dragons are monogamous, aren't they?" He asked it without thinking, looking at a different dragon card when he spoke. Seto didn't answer right away.
"Yes. We are." His words were as clipped and cold as ever. Pegasus mentally shrugged. He'd already known that. Just because he found himself a little attracted to the other didn't mean it was mutual or that they could do anything about it.
Pegasus gathered his cards up and put them back inside the bag where he could get to them most easily. He didn't like anyone else seeing what he could do with them until he knew they couldn't counter his moves. This would do for now. "I think it's time for dinner. What would you like?"
Seto rose to his feet and started toward the door. "I'll get it myself."
Before Pegasus could say a single word in protest, the other was already gone. From the lack of screams and shock, he remained in his human form at least until he was out of town.
Well, that was interesting. Pegasus shrugged and headed downstairs to the common room. He'd heard this place did serve some excellent meals and wished to test that for himself. Magic did require energy, after all, and he refused to go into battle without all of his weapons at full strength.
After nightfall, Pegasus stalked his way through the streets with a predatory grace to match Seto's. He knew the matter would be settled before sunrise, if not before midnight. What he didn't know was how much trouble the supplier would give before handing Mokuba over.
Torches tried to illuminate the area outside the tavern, but did a very poor job of it, sputtering and flickering in the wind, and being made of poor materials besides. They provided enough light for the few stragglers outside to see the two well-dressed people coming toward them, however, and to get out of their way as quickly as they could.
Pegasus didn't bother to open the door, at least not in the traditional way. Image was everything to scum like this, and he wanted it clear he was no one they should consider trifling with. A flick of one finger sent the door swinging open and he started to step inside. Started to, until Seto set a hand on his shoulder and shook his head.
Oh, of course. My bodyguard. All to the better, then. He waited for Seto to enter ahead of him and scout the place out. Dragonfear might well be lessened with the dragon in human form, but Seto's cold eyes and killer's demeanor would serve just as well.
"It's suitable." Seto spoke without looking over his shoulder and Pegasus entered, for all the world as if they'd done this a thousand times. He took a look of his own and sniffed in disdain.
"We shall have to discuss your definition of 'suitable', dear boy."
The room didn't look much different than it had during the day, save for the inclusion of several patrons who gave the impression of having crawled out from under various rocks, as well as being only mildly acquainted with the concepts of soap, water, and regular grooming. He hadn't expected anything different.
Most of the gathered people hunched on stools at the bar, or settled around small tables, muttering amongst themselves about matters best left ignored. Dragon attacks meant nothing to them. Their lives ground on the same regardless. Only if the city itself burned to the ground would that be any different.
In one corner, however, someone else lounged, chewing on a clove of garlic, strong enough for Pegasus to catch the scent of all the way across the room. Seto's nose wrinkled as well as he looked, and tensed almost at once. Pegasus couldn't ask why, but he had his own guesses, spurred on by the fact the lounger held a black-haired boy, looking no older than eleven or twelve, on a leash that reeked of binding magic.
However, instead of going over there, Pegasus turned to the bar, where the same bartender they'd spoken to earlier stood, once again nervously wiping out a glass.
"Well?" Pegasus said only one word, but it was all that was necessary. The bartender jerked his head toward the lounger, fear written in every line of his body. Pegasus didn't bother to read his mind this time. The fool clearly feared for the safety of his run-down establishment.
Probably with good reason. If it survived until dawn, Pegasus knew he'd misjudged Seto on a large scale.
Still, he gave no sign he'd noticed anything unusual at all as he strolled over to the indicated corner and took a seat in front of the supplier without being invited. "I presume you know what I want."
"So I've heard. Dragon's blood, hm? Fresh dragon's blood." The supplier's gaze flicked between Seto and Pegasus. "You've got your own supply right there, I see. So why ask me?"
"Him?" Pegasus shot a dismissive look up at Seto for a brief moment. "No, he isn't what I need. For what I have in mind, I need an immature dragon. He's also my bodyguard and taking the blood from him would make him too weak for his duties."
He did all within his power not to look at the little boy with anything like compassion. Instead, he looked the child up and down as if judging him only on his youth and suitability. "Are you quite certain he's a dragon? He looks like any other brat to me."
"I caught him myself. He was quite a fighter, until we got the collar on him." The supplier chuckled at that, either not noticing or ignoring Seto's sudden intake of breath. "Of course, if he's not suitable enough, I have a few others you can try. But he's the freshest one."
Pegasus turned his full attention on the supplier. He supposed the other had a name, but he didn't care to hear it. Vile trash like this didn't deserve a name. "What price are you asking for three vials?"
"That's a lot. He won't be good for giving any other blood for about two weeks."
That got only a shrug from Pegasus. "That isn't a price." He had to finish this soon, before Seto lost control of his temper. Not that this place and these people wouldn't burn, but only when the time was right.
The price the other did name would've made Pegasus leave the table without a word if matters had been different. Even with all the trouble a collared and controlled dragon could cause, he was being overcharged. Still, he merely arched an eyebrow. "Are you certain? I'm certain I could find someone more willing to negotiate."
"Hey, keeping a dozen little dragons isn't that easy. Do you know what the price of meat's been like since that one purple dragon's been attacking the city?" The supplier shook his head. "I'm going to have to move soon just so I can keep them fed without going broke myself."
As if he cared about the problems of a slaver and a dragon parts seller. Especially not when he heard splintering wood coming from behind him, a sound that could only have come from Seto's grip on the back of his chair, and he had to hold back a groan.
"What's bothering your pet there?" The supplier's eyes narrowed, one hand dropping to a heavy dagger tucked into his waistband. "Didn't you train him well enough?"
"Oh, he's very well-trained indeed." Pegasus decided the whole deception was at an end. "Let me show you. Seto, is this who we were looking for?"
"Yes." Seto's voice sounded far more like it did when he was in dragon form than it ever had before. "That's Mokuba."
"Oh, good. One second, please." Before the supplier or those who were likely his guards moved any closer, Pegasus whipped out his deck and slapped two cards down. "Oscillo Hero #2, Holy Doll! This place needs redecorating. In fact, it needs rebuilding from the ground up. See to it, would you?"
"What are you-" The supplier didn't have time to finish the sentence before a small armored creature surrounded by lighting leaped into existence, followed a moment later by a metallic cloaked figure that hovered several feet off the ground (mostly due to the fact it had no legs). They waited no longer than a heartbeat before following Pegasus's command, lashing out with mage energies and thunderbolts at everything in sight.
Seto didn't wait himself, but leaped across the table, backhanding the supplier hard enough to knock him into the wall, dragon claw marks shredding his face, and yanking the leash out of the other's hand. If you could call "pulping the supplier's wrist and snatching the leash when it fell" yanking. Pegasus considered it semantics, at best.
"Let's go, Mokuba." Seto's fingers clamped across the collar, bending it as if it were nothing more than badly made paper, and threw the mangled remains across the room.
"Big brother!" Mokuba threw his arms around Seto and hugged him as hard as he could, which on Pegasus would likely have broken a rib or two. "I knew you'd come!"
Pegasus rose to his feet, watching calmly as his two servants destroyed the inn. People rushed here and there much as they had during Seto's attack on the city, and accomplished about as much. He couldn't tell if the supplier escaped or not, and decided it didn't matter. With the two dragons only a step ahead of him, he strolled for the door.
No one noticed them moving calmly through the streets, since most people around there paid far more attention to the burning building. It didn't take long before they stood once again outside the city, looking at one another. Seto had whispered the tale of their search for him to Mokuba while they left, and now the little dragon looked upon Pegasus with curious eyes.
"You want to mate with my brother, don't you?"
Very seldom did Pegasus find himself without words. His lips worked just a little, but nothing came out from them. Mokuba grinned even more. "Don't worry, Kisara won't mind. You're not a dragon!"
The implications of that dawned on Pegasus in only a few moments. He turned to look at Seto, choosing to believe the hints of red on his cheeks were the result of the firelight from the city below.
"Perhaps we should talk somewhere else," Pegasus said after a few moments. There was a great deal to talk about, and not just what Mokuba mentioned. Those other dragons the supplier mentioned needed dealing with as well.
But for now, Seto caught his eye, and a hint of a smile touched both faces.
"Let's go."
And with the city burning merrily behind them and the future stretching unknown before them, they did.
The End