Warm winds wept through the autumn foliage of Central park,stirring up most of the darkening leaves that still remained attached to the branches of the large,sturdy trees that lined about the way on the path two young teens were bicycling down together.One of them,an Asian-American teenager,felt himself the most at ease he had been in a long time.Just for pellucidity,to make sure that this was still for real,he turned to the girl riding next to him.She was his age,looking quite primed as she lifted herself up from her seat and glided along not far from him.Watching her movements,how she could take on nearly any difficult task with a certain amount of grace but also demonstaring ulterior power and force,was just one of the many reasons he felt the way he did about her.Pumping just enough to keep up as he kept his charcoal eyes on her,he nearly rode his neon-yellow bike into a porcelain fountain that had just appeared in the middle of the dirt route but swerved at the last moment when she had caught sight of him staring at her and had moved her cerulean eyes ahead just in time to warn him.
"Jake,"Rose began when he had resumed alongside her as they made a turn right,her voice marked by light-hearted imploring towards him."Why do you have to daydream about me inside our dreams?"
He gave what she has asked some thought and shrugged unwittingly as they now passed a silvery-blue,shimmering lake,still recovering a bit from his near collision."I dunno.I guess I just got to thinking things have sort of settled down a lot these last few days or so.Usually I get it pretty heavy with dragon chores and school."
"You're right,I haven't even been back for two weeks and everything is way less hectic then I imagined it would be..."she agreed with some amazement clinging to her words,trying to persuade him tacitly to turn down the small,still fairly verdant hill that lead to a delicately crafted oak and wrought bench just ten or so feet from the lake's edge."...You know,more uptight.The Huntsman hadn't let his guard down whenever I entered a room for the few months after I almost sla-um,after we left for the Academy and I had to redeem myself."
"Speakin' of you're pain-in-the-butt Huntsclan life,did he tell you when he was going after the next skull for sure?I mean,I like hanging out here in slumberland with you just as much as the next dude,"Jake adopted a cool grin as they laid there bikes down onto the smoothly setaceous ground and sat themselves just a small distance apart to overlook clear and shining waters."But maybe we should be a little more alert then we have been,"his words became tinged and foreheard writhed in concern,as he watched her lean forward and lace her fingers together."You don't seem to be as on the ball about worrying about the Huntsman lately,what's up with that?"
Rose continued to concentrate pensively outwards,seeming to take great consideration now into what she wanted to tell him."Have you ever felt like there's a part of you who's not in control?"she inquired in a measured voice,still not meeting his eyes however."That there's a part of you still burning with some desire?"
He raised his brows at that and repeated with interest."Burning with desire,are we?"
"Jake."She replied flatly but turned to look at him,seriousness flowing in her medium blue eyes."I just want to know if you have ever felt that way?Like,a part of you isjust beneath the surface and wanting to come up?"
Her words sank into him meaningfully to a point but he didn't see clearly what she meant.To the teenage dragon,he was who he was and although sometimes he wanted to cast away a lot of the nagging duties he had to be put through,he never felt like he was forced to be something he was not and never would be something he was not.As the silence between them lingered,Jake turned to stare out for the first time at the crystal,argent overhead and pondered more on what Rose was really asking him.Was it possible she was trying to relate their lifes or something?Which he had to admitt,were very contrasted in a lot of ways but that didn't mean they weren't trying their best at leading regular lifes.Thinking intensely so he that he wouldn't appear clueless,somehow he had managed to come to the conclusion she was talking about her own life and just as his face lit up in realisation,before he could turn to tell her,she had already gotten up and was standing with a small breeze lifting up her somewhat bushy but still naturally beautiful aureate hair;appearing seraphic for a moment.
"Hey,I didn't mean seem like I wasn't trying to get what you meant but..."He began to apologise a little off-balanced."I really have never felt like I'm in some sort of inner competition with myself.Of course,"the volume of his words sank a little as he muttered to himself about not ever having to be evil like her and then he proclaimed as they were now face-to-face,his contorting some."I don't know what it's like to have a whole different personality,Rose.Is,is that what you mean by there being another part of you?"
Rose blinked once and then let an amused smile part on her damask lips."I guess I forget you're not a real deep thinker sometimes,"she laughed a little,outstretching her arms and parting her thin fingers to the sky,letting out a short yawn as she brought them back down at her sides."But I do agree we need to be more on the uptake,even though the Huntsman and Huntsboys won't return for another four days or so.Even though I presented him with that dragon skin and he's left me in charge of researching around the city for the next possible occurance of a creature with a skull,I have been shirking a bit because he hasn't been coming down so harsh on me."
Jake sighed raspily."I wonder why I even brought up the 'were not being alert enough' thing.All it did was upset you..."he let his sentence trail to think for a few moments and then told her with a slow but confident smile crossing his tawned features."Listen,Rose,when we first partnered up back at our school dance;you agreed to help me all you could,right?Well,same goes for me.There isn't a part of me who wouldn't do the exact thing for you.Like...a give and take kind of thing.You give and I-uh...I mean,I give and you take and vice versa."
"So,how's you're sister's dragon training going?"She asked him casually,changing the subject as a bit of color speckled onto her round,normally fair cheeks."I always wondered what it would be like to have a younger brother or sister,they sound like a handful the way you describe having one sometimes."
They continued to talk for a while longer,as their subliminal tryplan blue sky commenced in growing a few shades deeper and the imaginary air around them grew a little more chilled.Sharing dreams at different,beautiful and sometimes even exotic places the last week or so had been one of the most wonderful things Jake had ever had access to.He made sure he didn't become obessed with them but he found himself more concentrated with his dragon training,becoming even more relaxed with perfecting some of his skating moves and if that all wasn't enough,his grades were also looking a bit brighter...And it's all because she came back into my life,he thought euphorically after the two had ceased their discussion on a phoenix reservation in Florida and as the sky now melted into a smooth violet in the derivation of their dream sunset over the now still,slightly murkier blue lake,Jake could not help but to look over at her fading image one more time,savoring every moment with her.
The deepening of her golden hair and the nightly shade of cobalt seeping into her eyes that held a far off look as she still gazed out,made Jake realise that they were both waking up and with a wordless smile,he slipped an arm across her shoulders and she in turn pressed herself down just a little because of their height difference,against him only for a very short time because of the darkness setting in and then the rays of daylight streaming through.
"Good morning,Rose."Jake whispered to her before her solidness disseminated.
"Bye.Same time tonight,alright?"Rose whispered back,her voice having softened to his fidelity.
That afternoon...
Jake skated along with Spud and Trixie in tow behind him,his mind had been exceptionally open and clearly focused that day after he had somehow managed to ace his midterm with flying colors in which had been one of the last things he had been well prepared for and had also found the time to download some new music into his MP3 player using one of the library computers afer he had retrieved some vital information for a history assignment over the Civil War.Now he coasted along in the early spring weather,every so often hopping over a fire hydrant or even performing a couple of unsung tricks with his sprouted tail when no one was watching,until they reached the electronic shop and halted to a perfect stop at the door but when Jake turned in the direction of the to enter as they were going in,he noticed Trixie shaking her head disapprovingly at him.
"You're flauntin' it way more then usual,Jakey.I mean,it's good that you've been in a better mood compared to when miss ninja thing wasn't here but everyone has to learn to tone it down a little."She explained to him as they proceeded through the clear,glass-plated shop door and into the oddly quiet room.
He frowned at her,finding her observation piffling."I'm on a lucky streak and thinking about it might jinx it."
"Jinx?"Spud spoke up with curiousness to his tone."You mean that thing you told us you fought at the dance?"
"It might just be me,of course.But I just think you've been expecting everything to turn out more in you're favor lately way too often for it to be considered normal,"her inducing words died down as they started to take in the lack of noise level in the shop and were replaced by ones filled with slight discomfort."Um,is it just me or does it seem like someone kicked the can in here?Cause it's way too quiet even for this place."
"It would appear that a most strange and foreboding immateriality has descended upon us."Spud said randomly,his eyes narrowing as he surveyed around the front anteroom."And I would even go as far as to say it's a poltergist,because just at the mighty hurricane is silent right before it unleashes it's furious nature,"he gestured around in every direction."So does the..."
"My Gramps is having a meeting in the back,Spud."Jake interjected his friend suddenly,putting hishands on his arms to lower them down and allowing a reassuring smile to cross his countenance at them both."He wanted to see me after they talked to tell me about some sort of important news.'Sides,there's no such things as ghosts."
Trixie's umber brown eyes aggrandised some at the word 'important'."Is it Huntsclan business?"
"That's what I'm trying to figure out,G didn't want me to do much of anything today besides show up and listen to them after they talk,so something is definitely up."He went on more regardfully this time,walking over to the farthest side of the shop's desk and placing a hand on it's pointed corner,began to bevel a bit forward towards the scarlet shawl that draped the entrance and changed his regular ear into his long,scaled one.If Grandpa is having to talk it over with someone this high up the ladder,it's gotta be some serious stuff.But...he leaned forthwith more daring...what?
"No fair,"Spud told him plaintively,coming up to his side and glaring enviously at him."Me and Trix don't have glasses to press up against the door which,technically,isn't there either but still it would be kind of thoughtful to whip us up a ome sort of magical hearing device so we can hear too."
"I'm terrible at potions,remember."He replied back in an almost mussitated voice and then put a hand to his friend's mouth to impede him from talking as words now reached his ears more vividly and almost as if he were in the room."They're...they're talking about me.It sounds like a couple of the Dragon Council members.They're...they're telling Gramps something...something about a new postion needing to be filled in their order and now they're pausing,kay,now their asking him if he wants to..."
He couldn't believe his ears;they had just gotten down to the matter almost right after it seemed he had eavsedropped on them and it almost made him wonder if they had overheard the three and had assumed that he would just automatically try listening in.But dismissing that scenario,he turned back to where an anxious Trixie and Spud were looking at him,to where he could have almost have breathed in their whim.
"So...?"Trixie coached him slowly.
"...please say their going to let us use crocodile saliva to create miniature,de-fanged kelpies again..."Spud inserted hopefully,recalling an event that they had promised never to speak of again after it had been banned.
Jake shook his head and told them with mild tristfullness."They want to move Gramps to the postion of Council Member and if he takes it,then he'll have to leave New York City to live on the Isle of Draco."
"That's only part of the yet to be undertaken project,Mr. Long."Councilior Andam spoke up behind him and when Jake looked up,he saw the middle-aged man's face staring quite knowingly down at him,the Councilior patiently waited while the young dragon grinned sheepishly and took a place in between his friends before continuing."As you know...Chang has been locked away for some time now and we are in slight desperate need of a new addition.Though we have gone through many applications and offers,we want a dragon of more years and experience then most.So,of course their was only one actual choice."
"So what's the other part?"Jake advocated somewhat abruptly,still not sure he liked where the idea was going and not wanting to hear what might be coming after this."What's...uh,what's going to happen to the shop if you leave Gramps,"he turned to his grandfather and asked tried to mask his uncertainty when he asked him a bit irrelevantly."Certainly you're not about to let Fu Dog take over?You don't even leave him alone for an hour!"
"Let him finish before jumping to conclusions."Laoshi instructed him with a tad bit of short-temperedness,possibly more for the fact that Jake had disobeyed him then he was at him for interrupting him.
Andam glanced off at him briefly but continued on to Jake equanimously."Though you have displayed a rather unique style in the last year and a half,Jacob.You have also displayed three qualities that I and the remaining Council find quite admirable,"he turned to the three other members that accompanied him and Laoshi,then back to look Jake directly in the face."The ability to admit yourself even when you're to blame:honesty,the will to prove you are capable even if the face of circumstances:endurance and then finally...the one key thing besides being adeptly trained and well knowledged on magical creatures.The gift to show others that all is not lost even in great times of peril,in other manners of speaking;fa-"
"Hold fast,"Trixie intervened pertly,hands on hips as she was prompt to begin to share her views when they all turned to her."First you wanna take away Jake's dragon master and now you're complimentin' him?"
"Ai-yah,"Laoshi groaned miserably under his breath and then told the there of them sternly."I am not going to speak of this again,when any member of the Council is speaking you are too remain quiet,understand?"
"Understood."Jake replied back and then turned to ask Andam calmly."So what is it you wanted to tell me?"
"Politeness,a good sign.Well...in a matter of four days we will be putting you to several more advanced tests that we put all pre-graduate dragon students through before they are allowed to return back to their specified country to resume their normal duties of safeguarding their magical communities from all forces of evil."
"Pre-graduated dragon students..."The American Dragon repeated haltingly and then the message sparked up in his mind."You..."he gaped at them all and the corners of his mouth rose in an excited grin."...you don't m-"
"Under certain conditions."Councilor Omina,the Atlantian Dragon,cut him off quickly in her light but still firmly put voice."As we did in the exception of making you're grandfather you're dragon master in the first place,we will be adding several restrictions and our check-ups would be at our digression.You should heed all of this."
"Yo,I'll be succedin' at heedin' anything ya'll throw at me,I'll..."Jake paused mid-boasting and dropped his arms behind his back,nodding slowly and discreetly."Um,that is,I'll take some time to think about it."
Finally,the ultimate thing that could make his life perfect was happening.Finally...he was going to be able to set at least some of his own rules for how he did things and how much he did them.Nothing could go wrong.Cipher.
To Be Continued...
A/N:Yes,this takes place before Homecoming and everything.No,things aren't going to turn pretty.lol.
LP