"I'm not eating that." Roxas gave Axel a tired glare. He'd worked hard all morning cleaning out the stables and just didn't need this.
"Stop being a primma donna!" Roxas snapped then sighed as Axel gave him a wounded look. "I'm sorry Axel. But really, it should be fine."
"It's not." Axel's tone was flat as he looked at the raw meat spread out in the usual spot and Roxas blinked. He'd hardly ever heard Axel use that tone of voice. "I don't know what's wrong with it but it smells bad. Here." Axel shifted to his human form and glanced around. "Where do they keep the shovels? I'll help you clean it up." Putting it back in the wheelbarrow was going to be a pain, which was why Roxas hadn't wanted to do it. The blonde bit his lip.
"Are you sure? You're feeling well enough?" He said anxiously. The sprained wing/rib were healing, but slowly. Axel grinned briefly.
"I'll just take it slow. Aeris said some exercise would do me good anyway." That was reassuring and Roxas quickly found them some shovels. Axel winced a few times as they worked but soon they were getting the meat piled back up in the wheelbarrow. Vincent was talking quietly to Chaos, his black female, and Roxas looked up as the older Dragon Knight walked over.
"What are you doing?" Roxas paused, glancing down at the heap of meat. There was still a lot to go.
"Axel says the meat doesn't smell right. I was going to get him another barrow." Roxas explained and Vincent frowned thoughtfully, looking at the meat. He picked up a piece and examined it.
"It looks fine, but dragons have a very acute sense of smell. Make sure to get a clean wheelbarrow." Vincent instructed and Roxas nodded. He'd been planning on that anyway. The barrows were cleaned thoroughly every night, another task he was helping with. "And put that one in the dirty ones. Perhaps someone didn't rinse it thoroughly." Roxas looked at the wheelbarrow thoughtfully and nodded again. That was a possibility he hadn't thought of and the caustic cleaners used to get rid of the blood and flesh might very well be harmful to a dragon. He completely failed to notice the elder Dragon Knight tucking away the piece of meat in a pocket. "Let me help you." Vincent found another shovel and Roxas couldn't hide his surprise then.
"You don't have to sir." He protested but Vincent was already quickly and efficiently moving the meat. Roxas gathered his wits and began to help as quickly as he could. Things went much faster with Vincent helping. Axel was trying but he just couldn't move quickly.
"It's no problem." Vincent actually smiled, although it was a small, thin smile. "We've all been put on probation once in a while." Roxas had trouble imagining the quiet, intense Knight on probation. Although maybe that was because he couldn't imagine Vincent being careless or breaking the rules in a small way. A big way, yes, but Vincent was not the sort of person to do anything by halves. "There you go." The meat was all loaded up and Axel took the shovels, putting them away as Roxas picked up the barrow.
"Thank you sir." He said politely and Vincent nodded, walking over to Chaos and speaking with her very softly. Roxas caught a few of the words but didn't understand them. They seemed to be in another language. Well, it wasn't polite to eavesdrop anyway. Roxas quickly dumped the meat into the midden pile and went to get another barrow. The Citadel required a lot of meat and the ranchers in the plains below made a good living supplying them. All the butchering was done on site though, so the meat was very fresh. Roxas soon had a batch of fresh meat and was carting it back to Axel. This time he waited for the red dragon to sniff it before he dumped out the wheelbarrow.
"This is fine." Axel delicately took a chunk of meat off the top and Roxas smiled before he dumped the meat in the usual spot. Vincent was right, it must have been the cleaners on that barrow. He made a mental note to mention it to the Master of the Stables. He could give the boys a lecture about cleaning out the wheelbarrows properly. Wasting food wasn't a good thing. That reminded him…
"Axel?" The redhead looked up from his meal as Roxas leaned against the wall, smiling. "I was wondering. Would you like to come to supper with mother and me sometime?" Axel tilted his head, flicking his ears forward in a way that struck Roxas as alert and intrigued.
"That could be fun." Axel said brightly. He'd still have to eat his meal in the stables beforehand, of course. Dragon shape shifting led to some peculiar dietary requirements. If a dragon planned to stay in human form all the time, he could get by on a much smaller amount of food, although other humans would still be wincing at the amount he or she put away. But if they were going to be in dragon form, they needed to eat the large amounts of meat a dragon required. So eating with Roxas' mother would mostly be a social thing, but Axel thought it was a grand idea. "Riku's been telling me about 'table manners.' I'm not sure what it is yet, can you show me?" Axel said innocently and Roxas winced before he caught the hint of mischief in Axel's eyes.
"You silly!" Roxas affectionately rubbed Axel's soft nose, smiling. "You already know." Axel nuzzled him and Roxas felt the red dragon's warm breath on his hand. Roxas smiled to himself. Axel was just so cute like this.
"I do know." The dragon admitted, shifting slightly to stretch out on the floor of his stable. "But I've never done it before. You'll have to show me how." Axel was vaguely aware of human utensils and their purposes but how did you use them? Roxas winced at the thought then laughed, hugging Axel's face for a moment and making the dragon snort in surprise.
"Don't worry, mom and I will show you." He promised. Roxas was sure Aeris wouldn't mind showing Axel the art of using a fork and a knife. "Would tomorrow be good?" Axel chuckled softly in response.
"Any day is good for me." One day or another didn't mean much to him, except in terms of what exercises they were doing. Well, and what females he was seducing, but Axel could easily put that aside for the night. "Tomorrow then." Axel stretched his injured wing for a moment, testing it before pulling himself to his feet. "I think I'll go take a short flight." His wing still hurt quite a bit, but tiny flights would strengthen it. Roxas nodded.
"Just don't push it." He cautioned. Axel didn't need to strain himself. The dragon snorted softly, then laughed.
"Yes mother." Roxas laughed with him and watched Axel go with a smile. The red dragon moved with a sinuous grace, even injured, and several of the females watched him go. Including Chaos but she seemed more thoughtful than lustful, Roxas noticed. For a moment he felt an odd wistfulness but then pushed the feeling away as he went back to work.
There was always plenty of work to be done.
"Mmm." Axel was sampling human food for the first time and was appreciating it greatly. Aeris smiled in pleasure as she sliced a piece of bread and slid it over to him. The bread and butter had come from the main bakery but the casserole she had made herself on the small cast iron stove in their quarters. It was a lamb casserole with exotic spices and Roxas vaguely wondered where his mother had gotten them. The food at the Citadel was usually flavored only with garlic and sometimes mint. Axel licked his spoon appreciatively after every bite. What he was really appreciating, though, was the tang of the metal from the spoon. It seasoned every bite and made him desperately want more –
Tink. Click. Aeris and Roxas stared as Axel neatly nipped the head off his spoon and chewed once before he realized what he had done. Axel stopped with the expression of a child caught doing something naughty, the spoon tucked into his cheek.
"Uh, sorry." Axel managed to say as he looked down at his decapitated spoon. Aeris blinked and drew a breath.
"It's quite alright. It's just an old spoon." It was nothing but tin and very cheap. "Axel, have you been using the chew bars?" Aeris immediately slipped into dragon medic mode and Axel grimaced for a moment before chewing and swallowing the piece of metal.
"I've been trying but the females always have them. I was going to go over to the quarry as soon as my wing healed up." Axel admitted and Aeris frowned. Roxas hesitated before finally venturing a question.
"Mama? Are you talking about those metal bars in the stables?" Roxas had never been quite sure what they were for although he'd learned how to clean them, like everything else. They were bars of various metals, ranging from copper to bronze to tin, and had very sturdy wooden handles. The dragons seemed to like gripping them by the handles and slowly chewing on the metal.
"Hm, you should have learned about that in class." Roxas blushed, aware that it was something he'd probably forgotten. "No matter. Roxas, dragons need to eat metal, particularly when they're growing." Aeris smiled gently as Roxas blinked. "We're not entirely sure why. But chewing on those rods gives them the metal they need as well as wears down their teeth a bit. In the mountains, dragons chew on ore for both those purposes." Axel nodded before quickly stuffing the rest of the spoon in his mouth. It was broken anyway so he might as well finish it. Roxas had to hold back a giggle at the guilty look on his face as it tinkled as he chewed. "Maybe we need more bars. I'll have to check. They do wear out eventually and I don't think we've done an inventory in a while." She mused. They couldn't really afford to have their dragons heading off to the abandoned quarry too often. It was a long flight. Roxas nodded and went to fetch Axel a new spoon, an old wooden one this time. The redhead accepted it with a smile.
"Thanks Roxas." The rest of the meal passed pleasantly. Before they left Aeris checked Axel's ribs and the redhead tried to flirt with her a bit. That annoyed Roxas. He'd told Axel to stay away from his mom! Although the dragon was likely just keeping his hand in.
"Do you flirt with everything?" Roxas muttered as they were walking back to the stables. Axel flashed him a quick grin then thought about it a moment.
"No, I don't flirt with rocks. Or toads. Or other males." Axel said cheerfully. Roxas eyed him sidelong for a moment then let that pass. Although he sometimes wished Axel would flirt with him.
It was a pity that was never going to happen.
"Sir, I have something to report." The Dragon Master immediately touched the pattern of roses as Vincent shut the door. There could only be one thing Vincent wanted to speak to him about. "Someone tried to poison Axel yesterday." He said and the Dragon Master's eyes widened.
"Poison? What kind?" He asked, sounding shocked. Vincent frowned before he answered.
"Hex berries." The Dragon Master blinked at that and frowned. "I know, dragons eat them. But not in this quantity. I had Aeris check the meat and she says this amount of Hex berry would cause a dragon to go into convulsions and probably die."
"Surely you didn't tell her why you were asking?" The Dragon Master asked, alarmed. He was sure Aeris would not be able to keep a secret from Roxas. Vincent shook his head.
"No. She thinks the berries were accidentally found in the meat processing area. I didn't tell her the meat came from Roxas' wheelbarrow." The Dragon Master walked over to the window, gazing over the training area. Vincent waited patiently for several minutes. "Sir?"
"This puts a different complexion on things. Fetch Quistis and Sora." He commanded. Vincent nodded and exited the room. It took a bit of time for him to find the two of them and when they entered the Dragon Master was standing behind his desk. The expression on his face was grim. "Sora, Quistis, Vincent has uncovered something most troubling." He quickly related the poisoning attempt and the two Dragon Knights exchanged a shocked glance. "I believe this particular agent was used because it is something dragons eat normally. The poisoner might have thought Axel wouldn't detect it."
"That's… logical. It's a good thing he did. Who would do something like this?" Sora sounded shaken.
"Not one of the other boys." The Dragon Master sounded truly upset and they all looked at him, surprised. "The other boys… filled with jealous anger, they could easily strike out at Roxas. If Roxas died in a tragic accident, Axel might choose a new partner from them. But to harm a dragon…" The Dragon Master shook his head and the other Dragon Knights could easily follow his logic. Even the most jealous boy wouldn't hurt Axel. That would just be stupid, since they all desperately wanted a dragon and small though the chances might be, Roxas' death would give them a chance.
"There is something almost deranged about this." Vincent said after a moment and Sora blinked, an arrested expression crossing his face. "Sora? You've thought of something?"
"Um… maybe." Sora swallowed and looked at the grey haired Dragon Master. "I mean no offense sir." He said carefully and the Dragon Master lifted an eyebrow at him. "But perhaps we've been looking at the wrong age range. My aunt had a brainstorm when she was, um, around your age." Sora blushed as the Dragon Master waited patiently. "She had no self control after that. Most of the time she was fine but sometimes she just… did what she wanted. And if what she wanted was to take off all her clothes and run down the hall, she would."
"I remember that." The Dragon Master was smiling now in remembrance. "I think it traumatized half the boys in the Keep. You think that someone might be suffering such an ailment?" The Dragon Master rubbed his chin as Sora nodded. "It's possible. It might explain the use of the Hex berries. Not many of the younger boys would know that the dragons eat them." Then he frowned. "It's all the more urgent that we keep our investigation secret."
"Sir? Why is that?" Quistis asked and he gave her a sad smile.
"Because if Sora is correct, whoever is doing this is my age or older. He or she has probably given us decades of hard work, and has a family in the Keep. We should not shame them unless we have to." The Dragon Master said firmly and Sora winced. Vincent nodded thoughtfully as Quistis frowned. "True, this person must have harbored bitterness for many years, but having thoughts and feeling is not a crime. We need to find out who this is so we can have them examined by the healers to determine what would be best."
"Yes sir." Put that way, they could all understand the need for secrecy. Sora could remember how difficult dealing with a brainstorm had been for his aunt's family and could imagine how much worse it would have been if she had done something malicious instead of just immodest. "We should see if anyone was lingering around the food longer than they should have." Vincent said thoughtfully. "Chaos only said that she hadn't seen any of the boys there." He hadn't thought to ask his dragon about the older staff and Chaos knew they were searching for someone in Roxas' age range. The Dragon Master nodded.
"That would be a good first step. Please, find the perpetrator as soon as you can." Taking that for a dismissal, the three Dragon Knights left the room. When they were gone the Dragon Master looked out the window again. "Someone my age…" He frowned, hoping the Knights found the poisoner soon.
Someone his age would be far more dangerous than a jealous boy.
Roxas sighed, watching his breath puff out in the cold night air.
It was very late for him to be wandering the halls, but he'd found he couldn't sleep. Strange thoughts and urges were pricking at him like an itch he couldn't scratch. Most of the time he was exhausted from the work in the stables and had no trouble sleeping, but today the workload had been strangely light. So now he was left with more energy than he could stand.
Aimless wandering brought him near the stables. All the dragons were safely asleep and for a moment, Roxas wished he could go visit Axel. But the red dragon would be asleep. This really wasn't –
Roxas froze as he heard an odd sound. A muffled gasp? It hadn't sounded like a dragon. He hesitated a moment then carefully went to investigate. The soft sounds were coming from behind the wood pile. Roxas tentatively peered past it.
Shock froze the blond in place as he saw the brown haired boy lying on a warm sheepskin blanket, seemingly oblivious to the cold morning air. A small part of his brain that was still functional realized it was Sora, Sora and a silver haired boy who could only be Riku. Riku rubbed his body slowly against the Dragon Knight and whispered something in Sora's ear that made the brunette smile. Then Riku ducked his head, finding a nipple and slowly mouthing the sensitive nub of flesh –
Roxas stumbled away, just barely remembering to move quietly. The two lovers didn't notice, too caught up in each other to care about such minor things as a bit of noise. Roxas found himself in the stables, moving towards Axel's stall.
"Axel?" He whispered, touching the red dragon's head. The stable was very warm and comfortable, thanks to the magically heated stone. "Axel?" The dragon's snores stuttered a moment and a large green eye slowly opened.
"Roxas?" Axel yawned and blinked as he realized it was still dark. "What's wrong?" Roxas blushed and shook his head.
"Nothing. Can I stay here with you tonight?" Somehow, the thought of going back to his lonely bed was just too much. He wanted to be with someone, if only to be held. The dragon looked mystified but nodded.
"Sure, if you want." Roxas settled down beside Axel and sighed as a scaled wing slid over him, sheltering him like a precious egg. The blonde refused to think about what he'd seen and concentrated on the warm body beside him and the spicy, smoky smell that was Axel.
There would be plenty of time to think about that in the morning.