Title: Dragon Trainers Chapter 2
Author: Alta Lemur!!! (love the latin)
Rating: err… PG-13?
Pairing: J/S eventually
Spoilers: none!... I think
Disclaimer: *cries* Now I feel bad for misleading people. No, I didn't come up with the term "dragon companion." I just used it to show the equality in the relationship, instead of a dominant term such as "Dragon Master" or "Dragon Tamer." I got it out of a book I bought, but haven't had the time to read yet. So technically I Do own it, a copy, but not the rights to it. Oh, I don't own YuGiOh either, but I like to think I own the rights to Seto's psyche and Blue Eyes' personality.
Summary: AU shounen ai. Night falls and the sun rises. Watch the rising and falling of love in a world of magic and dragons. (probably not going to be as sappy as the summary)
An ocean breeze drifted over the land, gently lulling branches and scattering bits of earth. In the early morning the sun shone down on the land with a caressing gaze, giving vibrant colors to the sky and the reflecting waters of the bay. Wispy white clouds obscured the sun for a few seconds, and then continued on in slow drifts.
Lying on a sea of waving tan grass was a youth. Jou breathed in the crisp salty air. He willingly lost himself in his surroundings and allowed his mind to fill with the serenity of the scenery. His eyes were closed, but he knew that if he opened them, he'd see a blue sky tinged with oranges and reds where the sun was beginning its journey upwards. Jou loved this spot. It was a sort of a plateau, a cliff overlooking the city he lived in as well as the ocean.
Jou opened his eyes then and prop himself up with his elbow to gaze toward the east. Anyone that looked at the ocean couldn't help be spell bound by it, he often thought. It went on forever, boundless. It seemed to always change, yet somehow it had a steadiness to it all. Now, when the sun was rising, it showed nothing but a reflection, as if it covered itself most when light was shone on it. But at night, sometimes Jou imagined that he could see all the dark secrets of the ocean come forth in the docile darkness.
Jou sighed and turned his gaze toward the city. Domino wasn't as impressive as the Capitol or some of the cities with major Universities, but it was over average. It was mostly the trading port on Avola Bay, with a fairly good mage school. From Jou's vantage point, he could see most of the city, but not where he was living. He'd have to risk falling off the cliff to do that. Instead he found his eyes seeking the medical buildings, positioned just off of the center of the city. His sister was training there to be a mediwitch. It was no big surprise to Jou when she was accepted. She had always been taking in stray alley cats or dogs, and she always patched Jou up after some of his fights with natural ease.
Jou felt a little pang of loneliness. He hadn't seen his sister for a couple of weeks now. Usually they would get together and have lunch or just go out and have fun at least four days out of the week. Lately it just seemed that they were extraordinarily busy. Jou had to watch over all the business while his master was off on some emergency, and Shizuka had been introduced into a new level of responsibilities, which meant a butt load of work that neither of them had learned to balance yet.
Right now Jou especially wished that he could see to his sister. He wanted to talk to her about something. Lately it just seemed that Jou was missing something, not just the presence of his sister, but he was suddenly missing an important organ, or an arm, something. It seemed like he was looking at a jigsaw puzzle with that infamous left corner piece missing. He didn't know if Shizuka could actually help him, but he knew talking to her about it would make him feel better.
He had already talked to Yugi about it. His friend had just gotten a thoughtful look for a moment and then suggested to Jou that maybe he needed a change. Hmph, what more change did he need? He was already working his butt off as it was, not to mention two years ago the biggest change in his entire life happened. He had gotten into yet another fight, except that Honda wasn't around to back him up. He was about to the point that he thought he would black out when out of the darkness of the alleyway, a gleaming black dragon swooped down in front of him, then turned to growl menacingly at the thuggish boys. Needless to say they fled with their tails between their legs. Next thing Jou knew, he was linked to a dragon companion and apprenticing at the house of a local master dragon trainer.
Jou actually liked it at the dragon training grounds. It was fairly big, mostly for the benefit of the dragons, and it was real nice there. He had made quick friends with his master's grandkid, Yugi. The young mage was the warmest and friendliest guy Jou ever met. His master, Solomon Motou, was a friendly guy too. But Jou supposed that being friendly didn't stop him from being stern in his training. Solomon expected Jou to always give his full effort, which Jou hadn't been used to at the time. But despite all the work, the past two years had been the best of his life. He just felt as if something was missing… Maybe Yugi was right. Maybe he did need a change.
He looked again into the east where the sun was rising. It was true morning now. The sun was fully emerged, and no doubt everyone would be rising as well in a short time. Jou sighed. He would have to see to the two diamond backed dragons first. They made a huge fuss if they weren't fed right away. Once when Jou had overslept, he had to duck under several aggressive tail swipes.
Jou had stood up and was brushing himself off when something else in the horizon caught his attention. It was just a speck, but it was coming closer. Soon enough, Jou's semi-trained eye recognized the dark splotch as the outline of a dragon. As it came closer, he could make out a rider. He knew it couldn't be his returning master; the dragon was of a different breed by the look of its shape and Solomon had left towards the north. It wasn't uncommon for a mage or sorcerer to come to the city via dragon or gryphon back. In fact the plateau Jou stood on served as a natural landing spot. But despite frequent visits by dragons, Jou couldn't help but look on at the approaching pair. They were still far off, and despite traveling on the wind currents over the bay, it would still take them a while to reach the plateau. But Jou couldn't help but pray for the next detail revealed about the strange dark spots.
Then Jou remembered the reason he had stood up. For some reason staying and watching the approaching visitors fought for priority with his morning duties at the dragon training grounds. He couldn't place a finger over why exactly, but something told him he needed to figure this traveling person and the dragon out.
Then Jou realized that this was another one of those unexplained feelings, like his supposed need for a change. In fact, they seemed to both come from the same place within him. Jou scoffed. He had enough of these stupid feeling things. With a bit of hesitation, Jou finally wrenched his gaze away from the elusive pair and headed down a trail to the dragon training grounds. He had to squelch the urge to look over his shoulder at least three times before the horizon was blocked from site by the turf.
****
Blue Eyes landed with most of her usual grace on the landing site, which was really just a natural plateau overlooking the ocean with parts of it cleared and the international orange and red flag signaling a landing site. She let out an exhausted sigh and then proceeded to plop down on her haunches. The trip hadn't been extremely tough, but it had been the longest she had gone before in one day's flight. Mostly they had just stopped to eat and for a few hours of sleep.
Seto let out a yelp of surprise when his dragon companion suddenly sat down. Usually she waited until he was dismounted. He rode just above the juncture between her neck and her shoulders. With Blue Eyes' long neck, it was the most comfortable position for both Seto and the dragon. Needless to say, when you're riding on a dragon's neck and said dragon suddenly goes from horizontal to nearly vertical, you suddenly remember how much you want your feet on the ground.
The journeyman dragon trainer soon removed the straps holding him into the dragon saddle and got off the dragon before she decided she wanted to fully plop down onto the ground. Seto sighed gratefully when his feet touched the ground. Then he stretched out a few sore muscles. It had been a long journey. Blue Eyes decided to stretch out her wings. Thankfully Seto wasn't in her way.
The dragon groaned. 'Next time, you fly us,' she said dryly.
Seto gave a short bark of laughter. 'Ok, and next time you can be the one who casts the wind spells so I can fly faster.'
Her only response was a scoff and some more stretching of her own. It's not like she wouldn't if she could. Dragons used Rapid magic, while most humans used Designed magic. Over all, Rapid magic tended to be more powerful, more destructive, and more chaotic, back lashing when attempted to be control. Designed magic, as far as she was concerned, was just a bunch of book reading and a few funny sounding words. It tended to manipulate nature, gently coerce it, while Rapid magic just pushed everything out of its path. Not to say that dragons couldn't perform Designed magic, but only the older dragons ever found the patience for it. Likewise, only Sorcerers were inclined towards Rapid magic.
When she was done stretching, Blue Eyes looked derisively at the packs attached to her sides.
'Can't I take those off yet? The straps are tugging at my scales.'
Seto took his gaze off of the new surroundings to look toward the fussing dragon. 'No, we need to go into town and find out where the local master dragon trainer is. We'll probably end up staying at his dragon training grounds.' He paused as he looked at what must be the trail leading into the city. 'And I'm sure you want to stop at an outdoor restaurant to eat breakfast. On our way here, you were practically fizzing over eating at one.'
Then Blue Eyes remembered her earlier excitement at the beginning of the trip. She turned to her human companion and gave him an expectant and gleeful look.
'Well, let's go then! Come on!'
Seto chuckled lightly and headed toward the trail into the city. No doubt that there would be some sort of business catering toward dragons and dragon trainers close to the landing plateau. Blue Eyes nearly bounced next to him, sometimes looping in front of him and then going to his other side. He was glad of this trip. Even if he didn't find the answers he was looking for, his dragon companion was having the time of her life. Well, he did hope that he would find his answers here. Seto quickened his pace to ease some of Blue Eyes' eagerness. He supposed that this was as good a place as any. Sometimes solutions came in the oddest forms.
A/N: Da da! Yet another chapter! So are any of you on the edge of your seats wondering how the two will meet? Will it be love at first sight, an aggressive clash, or both?! Well, review and find out.
Dragon Companion quote:
" 'Our guest,' he hissed, smokily.
" 'Guest? What guest?' mumbled Murdan the Historian.
" 'The one you just ordered burned at the stake,'the Dragon pointed out."
Author: Alta Lemur!!! (love the latin)
Rating: err… PG-13?
Pairing: J/S eventually
Spoilers: none!... I think
Disclaimer: *cries* Now I feel bad for misleading people. No, I didn't come up with the term "dragon companion." I just used it to show the equality in the relationship, instead of a dominant term such as "Dragon Master" or "Dragon Tamer." I got it out of a book I bought, but haven't had the time to read yet. So technically I Do own it, a copy, but not the rights to it. Oh, I don't own YuGiOh either, but I like to think I own the rights to Seto's psyche and Blue Eyes' personality.
Summary: AU shounen ai. Night falls and the sun rises. Watch the rising and falling of love in a world of magic and dragons. (probably not going to be as sappy as the summary)
An ocean breeze drifted over the land, gently lulling branches and scattering bits of earth. In the early morning the sun shone down on the land with a caressing gaze, giving vibrant colors to the sky and the reflecting waters of the bay. Wispy white clouds obscured the sun for a few seconds, and then continued on in slow drifts.
Lying on a sea of waving tan grass was a youth. Jou breathed in the crisp salty air. He willingly lost himself in his surroundings and allowed his mind to fill with the serenity of the scenery. His eyes were closed, but he knew that if he opened them, he'd see a blue sky tinged with oranges and reds where the sun was beginning its journey upwards. Jou loved this spot. It was a sort of a plateau, a cliff overlooking the city he lived in as well as the ocean.
Jou opened his eyes then and prop himself up with his elbow to gaze toward the east. Anyone that looked at the ocean couldn't help be spell bound by it, he often thought. It went on forever, boundless. It seemed to always change, yet somehow it had a steadiness to it all. Now, when the sun was rising, it showed nothing but a reflection, as if it covered itself most when light was shone on it. But at night, sometimes Jou imagined that he could see all the dark secrets of the ocean come forth in the docile darkness.
Jou sighed and turned his gaze toward the city. Domino wasn't as impressive as the Capitol or some of the cities with major Universities, but it was over average. It was mostly the trading port on Avola Bay, with a fairly good mage school. From Jou's vantage point, he could see most of the city, but not where he was living. He'd have to risk falling off the cliff to do that. Instead he found his eyes seeking the medical buildings, positioned just off of the center of the city. His sister was training there to be a mediwitch. It was no big surprise to Jou when she was accepted. She had always been taking in stray alley cats or dogs, and she always patched Jou up after some of his fights with natural ease.
Jou felt a little pang of loneliness. He hadn't seen his sister for a couple of weeks now. Usually they would get together and have lunch or just go out and have fun at least four days out of the week. Lately it just seemed that they were extraordinarily busy. Jou had to watch over all the business while his master was off on some emergency, and Shizuka had been introduced into a new level of responsibilities, which meant a butt load of work that neither of them had learned to balance yet.
Right now Jou especially wished that he could see to his sister. He wanted to talk to her about something. Lately it just seemed that Jou was missing something, not just the presence of his sister, but he was suddenly missing an important organ, or an arm, something. It seemed like he was looking at a jigsaw puzzle with that infamous left corner piece missing. He didn't know if Shizuka could actually help him, but he knew talking to her about it would make him feel better.
He had already talked to Yugi about it. His friend had just gotten a thoughtful look for a moment and then suggested to Jou that maybe he needed a change. Hmph, what more change did he need? He was already working his butt off as it was, not to mention two years ago the biggest change in his entire life happened. He had gotten into yet another fight, except that Honda wasn't around to back him up. He was about to the point that he thought he would black out when out of the darkness of the alleyway, a gleaming black dragon swooped down in front of him, then turned to growl menacingly at the thuggish boys. Needless to say they fled with their tails between their legs. Next thing Jou knew, he was linked to a dragon companion and apprenticing at the house of a local master dragon trainer.
Jou actually liked it at the dragon training grounds. It was fairly big, mostly for the benefit of the dragons, and it was real nice there. He had made quick friends with his master's grandkid, Yugi. The young mage was the warmest and friendliest guy Jou ever met. His master, Solomon Motou, was a friendly guy too. But Jou supposed that being friendly didn't stop him from being stern in his training. Solomon expected Jou to always give his full effort, which Jou hadn't been used to at the time. But despite all the work, the past two years had been the best of his life. He just felt as if something was missing… Maybe Yugi was right. Maybe he did need a change.
He looked again into the east where the sun was rising. It was true morning now. The sun was fully emerged, and no doubt everyone would be rising as well in a short time. Jou sighed. He would have to see to the two diamond backed dragons first. They made a huge fuss if they weren't fed right away. Once when Jou had overslept, he had to duck under several aggressive tail swipes.
Jou had stood up and was brushing himself off when something else in the horizon caught his attention. It was just a speck, but it was coming closer. Soon enough, Jou's semi-trained eye recognized the dark splotch as the outline of a dragon. As it came closer, he could make out a rider. He knew it couldn't be his returning master; the dragon was of a different breed by the look of its shape and Solomon had left towards the north. It wasn't uncommon for a mage or sorcerer to come to the city via dragon or gryphon back. In fact the plateau Jou stood on served as a natural landing spot. But despite frequent visits by dragons, Jou couldn't help but look on at the approaching pair. They were still far off, and despite traveling on the wind currents over the bay, it would still take them a while to reach the plateau. But Jou couldn't help but pray for the next detail revealed about the strange dark spots.
Then Jou remembered the reason he had stood up. For some reason staying and watching the approaching visitors fought for priority with his morning duties at the dragon training grounds. He couldn't place a finger over why exactly, but something told him he needed to figure this traveling person and the dragon out.
Then Jou realized that this was another one of those unexplained feelings, like his supposed need for a change. In fact, they seemed to both come from the same place within him. Jou scoffed. He had enough of these stupid feeling things. With a bit of hesitation, Jou finally wrenched his gaze away from the elusive pair and headed down a trail to the dragon training grounds. He had to squelch the urge to look over his shoulder at least three times before the horizon was blocked from site by the turf.
****
Blue Eyes landed with most of her usual grace on the landing site, which was really just a natural plateau overlooking the ocean with parts of it cleared and the international orange and red flag signaling a landing site. She let out an exhausted sigh and then proceeded to plop down on her haunches. The trip hadn't been extremely tough, but it had been the longest she had gone before in one day's flight. Mostly they had just stopped to eat and for a few hours of sleep.
Seto let out a yelp of surprise when his dragon companion suddenly sat down. Usually she waited until he was dismounted. He rode just above the juncture between her neck and her shoulders. With Blue Eyes' long neck, it was the most comfortable position for both Seto and the dragon. Needless to say, when you're riding on a dragon's neck and said dragon suddenly goes from horizontal to nearly vertical, you suddenly remember how much you want your feet on the ground.
The journeyman dragon trainer soon removed the straps holding him into the dragon saddle and got off the dragon before she decided she wanted to fully plop down onto the ground. Seto sighed gratefully when his feet touched the ground. Then he stretched out a few sore muscles. It had been a long journey. Blue Eyes decided to stretch out her wings. Thankfully Seto wasn't in her way.
The dragon groaned. 'Next time, you fly us,' she said dryly.
Seto gave a short bark of laughter. 'Ok, and next time you can be the one who casts the wind spells so I can fly faster.'
Her only response was a scoff and some more stretching of her own. It's not like she wouldn't if she could. Dragons used Rapid magic, while most humans used Designed magic. Over all, Rapid magic tended to be more powerful, more destructive, and more chaotic, back lashing when attempted to be control. Designed magic, as far as she was concerned, was just a bunch of book reading and a few funny sounding words. It tended to manipulate nature, gently coerce it, while Rapid magic just pushed everything out of its path. Not to say that dragons couldn't perform Designed magic, but only the older dragons ever found the patience for it. Likewise, only Sorcerers were inclined towards Rapid magic.
When she was done stretching, Blue Eyes looked derisively at the packs attached to her sides.
'Can't I take those off yet? The straps are tugging at my scales.'
Seto took his gaze off of the new surroundings to look toward the fussing dragon. 'No, we need to go into town and find out where the local master dragon trainer is. We'll probably end up staying at his dragon training grounds.' He paused as he looked at what must be the trail leading into the city. 'And I'm sure you want to stop at an outdoor restaurant to eat breakfast. On our way here, you were practically fizzing over eating at one.'
Then Blue Eyes remembered her earlier excitement at the beginning of the trip. She turned to her human companion and gave him an expectant and gleeful look.
'Well, let's go then! Come on!'
Seto chuckled lightly and headed toward the trail into the city. No doubt that there would be some sort of business catering toward dragons and dragon trainers close to the landing plateau. Blue Eyes nearly bounced next to him, sometimes looping in front of him and then going to his other side. He was glad of this trip. Even if he didn't find the answers he was looking for, his dragon companion was having the time of her life. Well, he did hope that he would find his answers here. Seto quickened his pace to ease some of Blue Eyes' eagerness. He supposed that this was as good a place as any. Sometimes solutions came in the oddest forms.
A/N: Da da! Yet another chapter! So are any of you on the edge of your seats wondering how the two will meet? Will it be love at first sight, an aggressive clash, or both?! Well, review and find out.
Dragon Companion quote:
" 'Our guest,' he hissed, smokily.
" 'Guest? What guest?' mumbled Murdan the Historian.
" 'The one you just ordered burned at the stake,'the Dragon pointed out."
