Disclaimer: I own nothing except for this AU.
Road to Nowhere
"You're late," Bowen said with little amusement as he watched the young man run down the hillside, almost tripping repeatedly over the jagged rocks hidden in the tall grass.
"Sorry," Geoff apologized as he doubled over and flopped down beside the knight, laying on his back and closing his eyes. "Had to clean the stables. Brother Gilbert and Friar Peter wouldn't let me go till I was finished."
Bowen chuckled. "And such is the life of a stable boy," he mused, earning himself a playful shove from Geoff. "If cleaning stables tires you so, I can't imagine what makes you think you'll make it as a knight."
"I'll make it as knight just fine!" Geoff said in his own defense, opening his eyes and propping himself up on one elbow to look at Bowen. "I'd rather swing a sword around all day than haul hay around."
"Just because you'd rather swing a sword around," Bowen air-quoted Geoff, "doesn't mean it's going to be easier than hauling hay around with a pitchfork. Keep that in mind, boy." A knight's life was a dangerous one. Bowen personally thought Geoff would be better off tending to the stables until he was old and gray, living a life so sheltered it could make Brother Gilbert jealous.
"Yeah, yeah," Geoff huffed, wrinkling his nose. "So, what did I miss?" He asked, now leaning back on both elbows and looking up at the sky.
"Not a damned thing," Bowen replied, stifling a yawn. "This is going nowhere fast."
"Really?" Geoff asked and suddenly snapped his attention westward, watching the beast in the sky heading toward them. There was a smaller body held loosely in the large dragon's talons, and a smaller set of wings were spread out, flapping every once in a while. Not a moment later, the smaller body was released and plummeting to the ground in a clumsy free-fall.
"Really," Bowen laughed as he stood himself up and jogged casually over to the young, fallen dragon. Geoff chuckled softly as he reluctantly hoisted himself up to follow after the knight, ignoring the ache in his legs from his previous sprint.
"I'm alright," Drake mumbled before either human could open their mouths to get the inevitable question out. He stood slowly on uneasy legs to shake himself free of uprooted grass and weeds.
Geoff smirked and brushed a stubborn piece of grass from the young dragon's shoulder. "Yeah? And what about your pride?"
Drake smiled half-heartedly at his human friend. "It's not my pride I'm worried about," he said quietly and shrunk back a little when his father landed behind Bowen and Geoff, brow furrowed and jaw clenched in aggravation.
"Oh..." Geoff mumbled and slowly stepped away from Drake, walking around him to stand at Bowen's side. As much as he liked Drake, he definitely didn't want to be caught between him and his father's wrath.
"Go easy on him, Draco," Bowen said and didn't bother hiding the fact that he was obviously amused by the situation. Draco had been trying to get Drake airborne since the break of dawn and now, at noon, the young one was still grounded.
"I have been going easy on him, Knight," the older dragon said with a deep sigh. Drake winced at the tone in his father's voice and bowed his head, eyes focused on the ground beneath his clenched foretalons. "I fear he's the one giving me a hard time," Draco continued and, despite his agitation, reached out to tap his son's chin, causing Drake to meet his gaze.
He wasn't angry, just frustrated and he wanted his son to know he harbored no hard feelings toward him.
"What's the problem, exactly?" Geoff asked from his place beside Bowen, arms crossed over his chest and head cocked to the side.
"He won't flap his wings when Draco releases him," Bowen said simply. "Goes stiff like a board and falls out of the sky every time."
"Oh," Geoff said quietly. "Well," he looked at Drake, "have you tried taking off on your own?"
"Yes," Draco answered for his son. "Given the fall was far less stunning on his part," he ignored the laugh from Bowen, "but the result was the same in the long run."
"Then I'm all out of ideas," Geoff said and smiled apologetically at his friend. Drake gave Geoff a half-smile back and let his wings droop against his haunches.
"This is hopeless," the young dragon murmured to no one in particular. An arm suddenly slung around his neck made him smile to himself and he was thankful for Geoff's silent encouragement.
"You'll never get off the ground if that's way you're thinking," Bowen said, eyebrow arched and arms crossed over his chest. Drake cocked his head to one side and it took everything Bowen had to ignore the equally curious look Draco was giving him.
He once told Einon that no one ever found victory in the dirt. This situation was hardly any different.
Breathing out heavily through his nose, causing plumes of smoke to rise from his nostrils, Draco looked from Bowen to Drake. "Right then," he sighed and spread his wings, pushing himself into the air easily without knocking either Bowen of Geoff over in the process, "once more."
"Are you sure?" Drake questioned as his father took him into his grasp again.
"You've tried my patience quiet enough for today, don't make me start repeating myself as well," Draco said with a little sigh as he rose higher into the air.
"I'm sorry," Drake apologized and watched as Bowen ushered Geoff back, forcing the stable boy to sit on the grass with him again.
"Don't apologize," Draco murmured, glancing down at his son, rising higher and higher still.
"But–"
"No buts," Draco insisted and glanced down at the younger dragon, a small smirk on his lips. "Just flap," he said simply, now hovering in one place, wings moving vertically to keep him upright.
"Just... What?" Drake questioned and suddenly his father's grip on him loosened. "Father!" He exclaimed in surprise and instinctively clawed at Draco's hands as he pulled away, barely managing to knick him, never mind hold onto him.
"Flap, child!" Draco snapped, albeit too late. Drake was already in free-fall again. Groaning, Draco ran a hand over his face in an all too human-like manner.
Bowen laughed as Drake rose to stand a few feet away and, once again, shook himself free of the grass and weeds. Bowen only laughed harder when the young dragon sighed in aggravation, a sigh that could put his father's to shame and let himself fall back to the ground, flat onto his stomach, with a rather loud thud.
-End
