Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Wings of Fire or the story of Home on the Range, only how the story goes. The characters of Wings of Fire belongs to Tui T. Sutherland and Home on the Range belongs to Disney. I apologize for any errors in grammar and/or if I was not accurate in reference to something.
A/N: I'm not sure if I will put the song in this chapter or the next. We'll just have to wait and see.
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Chapter Five: The Cattle Drive
The sun was starting to set as the girls had walked a good distance from Chugwater. And it was not smooth sailing for everyone as someone decided to pass the time; by singing…
Kinkajou: Oh, give me a home
Where the buffalo roam
And the deer-
She had to stop when she coughed. Taking a moment to clear her throat Kinkajou started again…
Kinkajou: And the antelope pla-a-ay
Where seldom is heard
A discouraging word
While she kept singing, Kestrel was hardly phased by it while Tsunami cringed from the bad singing. The two looked to each other as one thought she was about to go crazy. Her singing was also starting to drive the Chinese driver crazy as he plugged his ears. He glanced back and muttered in Chinese, "No wonder they were free!"
He snapped the reins while Kinkajou took up another verse of singing. She stopped when someone shouted, "Sold!"
"What was that?" She asked before they all looked to the left to see an auction of sorts going on. Tsunami felt sad inside as she recognized the place but still said, "It's a farm auction, ladies."
"And that's the last of furniture." The auctioneer said before banging his gavel. Then he said, "The final item to be auctioned off is this piece of real property known heretofore as the Dixon farm."
Tsunami looked down as they walked by. They walked by a barn and could see a lot of awards in one of the stalls. Kinkajou was worried when she asked, "What's going to happen to the dragon who lived there?"
"She'll be okay." Tsunami said as she looked heartbroken. The other two looked to her and Kinkajou asked, "How do you know?"
"'Cause you're lookin' right at her." Tsunami said, surprising the two. Kinkajou then asked, "This was your old farm?"
"Mm-hmm." Tsunami nodded. Then she said, "We had, like, a family, too, you know."
"What happened?" Kinkajou asked her, wondering what could drive Tsunami to living at Patch of Heaven. Tsunami shook her head as she slightly remembered, "Alameda Slim happened."
She closed her eyes as she remembered what she could.
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(Flashback)
Evil laughter rang over the once prosperous farm and all the cows looked around. The looks of her scared friends before everything blacked out. And when she woke up, they were gone.
(End of flashback)
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Kestrel and Kinkajou looked to Tsunami with sad faces as they understood her a little better. The sound of a gavel made them look back to the auction. The auctioneer then said, "Sold to Mr. Yancy O'Del!"
A large man in a business suit carrying a cane and a bag came strolling up to the podium. He tossed the bag onto the podium and chuckled as he said, "Pleasure doing business with you, partner."
Tsunami looked back down as she knew that she would never see the place again. Kestrel and Kinkajou both looked to her with looks of sympathy as they kept on walking. As the chuck wagon left, Mr. O'Del came over and placed a sign that told people who owned the property. Then he walked off without another word.
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It was late during the night when the girls had finally made it to the dragon drive. A group of men were sitting by a fire and having themselves a little supper while one of them started playing the harmonica. Their dragons slept soundly around them. Perking up a little, Tsunami looked to the other two and said, "Dragon drive. Told ya. You both owe me a dollar."
"Step lightly, girls." Kestrel said as she looked about the drive and saw that it completely comprised of male dragons. She was a little nervous as she knew that they could be too aggressive, "The male of the species can be extremely hostile."
"Oh, come on, Kestrel." Tsunami shook her head. Then she pointed out, "It's not like they haven't seen a dragoness before."
"Mmm?" One of the males, a Seawing, said as he woke up. When he saw who was walking by, he lifted his head with an, "Ohh…"
Using his big tail to wake up the dragon next to him, another Seawing, it made a smack sound it woke him up. The dragon sat up as the first Seawing said, "Hey, Riptide. Wake up."
"What? Huh?" Riptide said looking to his friend. The first Seawing motioned for him to look while saying, "Check it out."
"Ooh, dragonesses!" Riptide said, making the other males wake up as well. They all saw the girls and said, "Oooh!"
"Oh, hey, how's it going?" Kinkajou said as they were all staring at them. They all stared while nodding or waving back. She tried to be friendly as she said to them, "Oh, hello. Let me guess. You're a Draco."
"Look, just keep moving and avoid eye contact." Kestrel suggested. But it wouldn't work when Turtle and the other Seawing walked up to them. Kestrel turned to find Riptide standing next to him when he said, "Ahem."
"Oh!' Kestrel gasped. Riptide then said, "Pardon me for frightening you, but what are three lovely ladies like you…"
"Doing on a drive like this?" The other Seawing beside Kinkajou finished. Both Kestrel and Tsunami seemed to be annoyed by the two and the former said, "Just ignore them, and perhaps they'll go away on their own."
"Oh, they seem like nice guys." Kinkajou thought. An idea came to her and she suggested, "Maybe they can help us."
"Why, sure we can help you." The Seawing named Turtle said. Riptide then laughed before adding, "Maybe we can help each other."
Tsunami and Kestrel knew what the two meant and were put off by it. But when they didn't stop going 'hmm', she leaned over to Riptide and said, "Look, lover-dragon, we're here strictly on business."
"Ooh, sounds pretty exciting." Turtle said. Then he asked, "What kind of business?"
While Kestrel and Tsunami tried ignoring them, Kinkajou then told them, "We're on the look out for a dragon rustler named Alameda Slim."
"Kinkajou!" The other two scolded before shushing her. Kinkajou then argued, "Hey, it doesn't hurt to ask."
"Slim?" Turtle asked. Both he and Riptide started laughing at the name. Riptide then said, "Why, Slim is just a scary bedtime story to make to get little dragonets to behave."
Behind one of the sleeping dragons, someone moved a pistol into position and then fired. The bullet knocked the kettles from their perches and onto the fire, putting the flames out and blinding everyone in the dark. The three dragon-men were a little frightened but were quickly grabbed from behind. Even the Chinese dragon driver was knocked out and grabbed. Becoming worried, Kestrel asked, "What was that?"
"It must be Slim and the Willies." Kinkajou accurately guessed. This caused most of the males to shout, "Slim and the Willies?!"
Riptide pressed up against Kestrel and said, "Don't worry, darlin'. I'll be here to protect you."
"You have exactly two seconds to remove your talons before a snap it at the knee." Kestrel with warned with a deadpanned look. Riptide then said, "Oh, uh, sorry, ma'am. I thought you were the Seawing."
Kestrel responded by punching Riptide in the face. Riptide fell the ground with a thud. The Willies put the unconscious men against a tree before tying them up. Seeing that this was their chance, Tsunami said, 'Come on, girls. It's time to lose there here ropes."
Tsunami and Kestrel were more successful at getting their ropes off when they heard someone shouting in the distance, "Where you going? Ho-yah! Hyah!"
They looked to see a man on a Wyvern running through the herd. They came up on a hill and the Wyvern jumped high into the air. Kinkajou was having a little trouble with her rope and she said, "Tsunami, I'm stuck. Help me out here."
"Look out!" Kestrel warned as the two came down from the air. They moved out of the way as the Wyvern with Slim on his back landed on the ground. Their landing caused a few cracks in the ground but the didn't seem to care. From their spot at the wagon, Tsunami, Kestrel and Kinkajou watched as Slim pulled down his face mask before looking around with a snarl. Seeing that it was him, Tsunami was ready as she hissed, "It's payback time." Then to the two she said, "Cover me!"
"With what?" Kinkajou asked, not getting the message. The Willie brothers all had smiles as they said, "Howdy, Slim."
But they were silenced when Slim slapped them in their faces. Then he warned them, "Quiet, you fools. We've got our work to do."
Tsunami pushed past the males to get to her quarry and charged at him as Slim started to sing…
Slim: Now listen up
There are crooks in this here west
He slid off the Wyvern as he looked at a poster with a grin…
Who have claimed to be the best
And they think that they wrote the book on how to rustle
The Willie brothers tried to stop Tsunami, but they ended up just getting comically run over by the angry Seawing. She kept running at Slim who sidestepped her and her horns got stuck into the post. Tsunami tried to free herself as Slim kept singing…
Slim: Well, as good as they may be
Not a one's as good as me
And I barely have to move a single muscle
Tsunami was able to rip the post out of the ground and once again charged at Slim. He once again moved out of the way when she came running and ended up tripping over a rock. The Seawing flipped over onto her back while Slim wrapped his arms around four dragons' neck and sang…
Slim: They call me mean, boys
Depraved and nasty, too
And they ain't seen, boys
The cruelest thing I do
Tsunami was able to free herself and prepared to charge for a third time. One of the Willie brothers tossed something over to Slim who caught it. He aimed it at Tsunami and she charged forward. Kestrel and Kinkajou winced at what they thought would come next. But it turned out to be a guitar as Slim started to…
Slim: You see I
Yodel-adle-eedle-idle-odle
The sweetest way of rustlin' yet devised
Slim's suit became shiny from rhinestones and it caused Tsunami to slid to a stop. And as Slim kept yodeling, her mind went blank as her tongue lolled out of her head and her eyes started to swirl in different colors. The whole world seemed to change colors as he led Tsunami and the boys while continuing…
Slim: 'Cause when I yodel-adle-eedle-idle-odle
Why, looky, how them dragons get hypnotized
He jumped onto the back of the Wyvern and kept strumming the guitar while the dragon under him looked to him with an annoyed glance. Both Kestrel and Kinkajou looked at the scene oddly before Kestrel too fell under the spell. The Willies came in as Kestrel joined the herd and the three henchmen sang…
Willies: He don't proud,
He don't yell
Still he drives them dogies well
They came up to Slim when he jumped off the Wyvern's back and grabbed his pants and one pulled them and sang…
Willies: Which ain't easy when your chaps are labeled
X-X-X-X-L
Slim bumped them away with his backside and they fell to the ground. Kinkajou tried to get free to help her friends, but the rope held fast. Slim, the Wyvern, Tsunami and Kestrel started to square dance as the rustler then sang…
Slim: Yes, if yer lookin' from a dragons point of view
I sure can yodel-adle-eedle-idle
Yodel-adle-eedle-idle
Yodel-adle-eedle-idle-oo
Slim tossed his hat in the air and it spun as it flew before coming back down on his head. Then moving to where a crevice in a rock wall he was seen, he then ordered while aiming the guitar like a gun, "Here we go, boys! Five thousand dragons in the side pocket!"
The dragons all marched forward as Slim started to yodel the William Tell Overture. They all moved into straight lines while Slim, on the Wyvern's back, stayed in the middle. He switched over to Yankee Doodle Dandy and the dragons moved in single file formation before turning to their left and started walking in the other direction. Slim jumped off the Wyvern's back and bounced along the other dragon's backs as he kept yodeling. When he landed he changed it to Beethoven's Ode to Joy. The dragons kept marching in single file lines while walking past each other in an 'x' formation with Slim hopping from dragon back to dragon back again. The dragons then formed one single file line and Slim started singing again…
Slim: Ooh
While the hypnotized dragons continued follow the rustlers, Kinkajou tried to stop them, "Tsunami! Kestrel! Snap out of it!"
She grabbed their tails with her talons, but since she was stuck to the wagon and it caught on a rock she strained to hold them. They slipped from her grasp and she fell back against the wagon. This time Willies sang…
Willies: A sound that dragons truly take to heart
After moving the wagon, Kinkajou found herself on a rock formation. The dragons walked as Slim bounced on the Wyvern's back and he sang…
Slim: Yeah, I can yodel-adle-eedle-idle
And smack my big old rump if that ain't art
One of the Willies did it and Slim retaliated by swinging his guitar. But the one Willie ducked and it smacked into his brother. Kinkajou didn't watch the wagon as she thought of a plan. Soon it knocked into her and it rolled down the hill. Luckily, it scooped up Tsunami and Kestrel and knocked them out of the trance. The three dragonesses screamed as they were carried away. The three Willies then sang…
Willies: He don't rope
Not a chance
He just puts 'em in a trance
He's a pioneer pied piper in ten-gallon underpants
One of the Willies pulled out Slim's underwear to show it. Slim responded by kicking them away. They landed on a trio of horses that were somewhat like them as he sang…
Slim: Yep, I'm the real rip-roarin' deal
To those who moo
The Willies' horses danced into the opening in the rock wall while the boys themselves tipped their hats. Slim smirked as he sang…
Slim: Thanks to my yodel-adle-eedle-idle
Yodel-adle-eedle-idle
He looked back and could see a few cowboys riding up with angry looking faces. Then turning to the right he saw Rico riding on Spirit coming at them. Slim laughed as he sang…
Slim: I got dragons out the old wazoo
'Cause I can yodel-adle-eedle-idle-oo
He took off his spurs when he saw the rock above him. Then with a simple toss, they struck the rock and it fell into the crevice. Slim had a big grin as he finished…
Slim: Yodel-adle-eedle-idle-oo
Then he disappeared behind the rock when it crashed down between him and his pursuers with a laugh.
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Author's Note: So, I was able to do the song in this chapter. And I am amazed at how fast that I'm getting done with this story. I'm gonna keep on going with it and another story that I started around the same time. And I do wonder which one will get bigger as time goes on. I look forward to reading your reviews. Be sure to leave a comment either about if I've done something wrong or if you want something specifically to happen. See you next time.