*Chapter 39*
"Ol, hold her still, I can't get a good look at this!" Zane complained with a disgruntled laugh; Oliver largely scratched underneath Lickity's chin, which caused her hind legs to lightly twitch and fidget. Her tail lazily flopped around as well, which nearly sent her large tail fins to topple over Zane's head.
"Sorry, just trying to keep her occupied," Oliver shook his head at Lickity, though she kept her full attention on Oliver, who was stationed at her snout; the three were inside Zane's large garage, underneath his Loft. The single, wide garage door was open to let in the warm, Dead Zed sunshine.
"It seems, this saddle has been fitted to Lickity," Zane said in a sorrowful way as he was largely bent over, underneath her belly.
"Isn't that the point?" Oliver asked in confusion, rather than sarcasm.
"Yeah, but... Whoever made this saddle for Lickity, had no intention of taking it off of her," Zane said sadly as he stood, with a gentle grunt. He rubbed the back of his head and messed with his jet black faux-hawk, "Who knows just how long this saddle has been strapped to Lickity..."
"Sad," Oliver said as he furrowed his eyebrows and studied the dragon's face, before him; she looked content as it was, though the healed scars and gashes on her snout suggested otherwise, "I hope her fur and feathers, under the saddle, aren't matted."
"Only one way to find out," Zane muttered as he crossed his garage and opened a drawer in one of his higher, work station counter tops. He rummaged through the mess for a second before he pulled out a sharp, cutting knife, "Make sure she stays still. I'm going to have to cut it off of her."
"Uhh," Oliver started nervously, "You sure about that? What if you accidentally cut her? I'm sure dragons have no amount of forgiveness in their code, for that kind of thing."
"I won't cut her," Zane breathed with a confident smile as he neared Lickity's snout, with Oliver.
He tenderly held the knife out, before her, and let her smell it. Lickity's intelligent, curious eyes lightly scanned the sharp weapon laid in Zane's hands. Her bat-like ears largely perked forward as her snout began to wrinkle over and over, as if to assess if this was a weapon, or a tool. After a moment of getting used to the idea of Zane handling a sharp knife, for Lickity's sake, she finally let her ears relax. She softly glanced upwards at Zane and tilted her head, just barely, as if to question if he had enough love in his heart to free her of the prison she was strapped to, though she would be the last one to show any signs of grief over the burden she carried. Zane tenderly rubbed her snout with his free hand and smiled.
"That was easy," Oliver chuffed as he furrowed his eyebrows; he curiously watched Zane move to Lickity's belly, though he felt his heart drop once the large dragon perked up and turned her head over her shoulder, in an owl-like manner, as if to watch Zane's every move.
"That's because that was the easy part," Zane grunted as he squat down and peered underneath Lickity's belly; it looked as if the tight straps of leather, that hugged Lickity's belly, tail and neck, had been burned to keep their shape where it was, so it couldn't be removed, Zane heaved a hard sigh and continued, "Yeah... It looks like her previous owner had no idea what he was doing."
As tenderly as he could, he slipped the cold blade between Lickity's thick, beige skin and the strap of leather that hugged under her large tail. He bit his lower lip in a fit of a massive amount of concentration that fell over him. As easily and carefully as he could, he began sawing at the taught leather. To his surprise, he eased through it like butter and it snapped loose after a few moments. Zane beamed in accomplishment and slowly got to his feet again.
"Okay, one strap down, two more to go," Zane urged as he quickly sunk back down and tried his hardest to get underneath Lickity, "Make sure she stays still... I'm right near her hind feet, here."
"Not much I can do from this stand point," Oliver complained as he gestured to Lickity, though she quickly flattened her ears and peered back at Oliver, as if to convey a sense of understanding as to what was taking place. Oliver raised his eyebrows in surprise and lightly held the undersides of Lickity's jaw in his large hands, "Aw... I think she knows we're trying to help her."
"Good," Zane grunted as he was able to snap the second strap free from Lickity's skin. He inhaled a hiss of a breath through grit teeth, "Sheesh... These straps were really tight to her skin. These are some harsh indents."
"Hopefully something we can fix?" Oliver worried as his large thumbs stroked the sides of Lickity's cheeks; she lulled her eyes closed and relaxed in Oliver's grip.
"Yeah," Zane breathed as he quickly scoot to underneath Lickity's broad chest and neck, where the last strap remained, "If Tessa codes Lickity to Sugar Rush, she can give Lickity a reset and her scales and cuts and everything will go back to how she was programmed."
"That'd be cool," Oliver eased, though he raised his eyebrows in surprised as Zane snapped the last strap.
As quickly as he could, he set his large knife aside and stood. Lickity perked her ears and stood up a bit straighter, as if to wonder if she was finally free from her straight-jacket like saddle. Zane beamed a curious, wide smile, and as if to show impatience for it being on her any longer, he quickly gripped the leather and slid it off of Lickity's back with all of his strength. With a hard grunt, he slumped the heavy saddle to the ground and exhaled a hard noise of annoyance. He panted softly and glared down at the saddle he freed from her.
"User," Zane hissed, "I didn't realize how heavy that thing was."
"She's free!" Oliver beamed, though Lickity nervously spread her wings, just barely, as if to seem confused. She froze and raised her ears in a curious way. Oliver winced, however, and noticed the fur and feathers on Lickity's spine were harshly matted, dirty and dreaded in some parts, "Uh oh... Looks like Tessa has some work to do."
"Whoever owned Lickity last," Zane trailed off and shook his head in pure grief. As tenderly as he could, he pet the very soft, tender scales on Lickity's back, where the saddle used to sit, "They had NO idea what they were doing."
"I wonder why they didn't want to be able to remove the saddle, from Lickity," Oliver wondered as he lovingly stroked the top of Lickity's head.
"I don't know," Zane furrowed his eyebrows in anger and gazed down at the saddle on the ground. He bent down and lightly pulled back the leather in which he snapped, "They made this saddle out of heavy metal and covered it with leather. Hardly something that breathes or is lightweight. If they had Lickity for a racing dragon, they certainly didn't keep in mind that metal doesn't make a faster dragon."
"Maybe she wasn't used for racing?" Oliver wondered, though both him and Zane largely flinched once Lickity lifted her head and largely shook her whole head, neck and body. Her feet lightly shook about as she finally shook herself free of dust and stretched her muscles, as if she were a wet dog freeing itself of water. She grunted a funny, gurgling noise in the process as her wings remained taut to her body, though they flopped about a bit too.
"That feels better, huh," Zane laughed quietly as he brought his hands to her snout, once she released herself from her shaking fit. Lickity grumbled a noise of extreme gratefulness and let her eyes lull closed in relief.
After a mentally exhausted few hours at Academy, Tessa, Penny, Emery and Tammy slowly moseyed into Academy's front lobby. They filed out of the building with a few other, straggling students. Tessa gently lugged her backpack farther onto her shoulders and let her eyes gaze off into space. She furrowed her eyebrows as the blinding light, from the station outside of Academy, pierced her pupils through the open, double doors. She felt her mind race with thoughts; she inwardly cursed herself for the sheer fact that she didn't obtain any outside material today, from school. Her brain acted like a sponge that was already soaked to the brim with messy, gooey thoughts. She felt a hot sense of anger rise on her skin, how Selka could put such a thought-writhing idea in her head for her to sit on all day. She wondered just when the stewing would stop, just when the sighing would ease away. She felt as if sighing had replaced her breathing; she felt nauseous and knew just what a crazy amount of sighing meant. She knew this little, flicker-flame of a crush towards Zane was delicate and fragile, though she could clearly see it becoming a roaring event of passionate fire and explosions in no time flat, if she wasn't careful.
"Alright, if you sigh, one more time, I swear to User," Penny suddenly snapped; Tessa largely flinched and gazed at her cousin in shock, though she finally became aware of just how many times she had exhaled a deep, thoughtful sigh in the past five minutes.
"I'm sorry," Tessa complained gently; her ears pricked in confusion. She could swear she hadn't heard her own voice all day.
"Are you mad or something?" Penny wondered as Tammy and Emery slowly distanced themselves and head in the direction of Sugar Rush, which hung at the opposite end of the Academy in Game Central Station.
"No, not at all," Tessa complained as she glanced at Dead Zed's outlet; she felt her heart jolt in a fit of excitement as she could see Oliver, Zane and Lickity hanging in his outlet. She caught her breath and shook her head, though she nervously caught eyes with Penny, "I-I'm not mad, I'm just... Confused."
"Confused?" Penny wrinkled her nose and beamed a wide smile of disbelief, "Y'know what they say about someone that sighs THAT much."
"What?" Tessa inquired as she furrowed her eyebrows; Penny shot her a sweet, though sly smile.
"It means you're in love," Penny said quietly, in a gentle tone. Tessa furrowed her eyebrows, though she rolled her eyes and shot Penny a look of incredulous doubt to cover any of her true emotions.
"In love," Tessa repeated as she cocked an eyebrow, "Yeah, like that'd go over well."
"I may be two weeks younger," Penny shook her head and shot her cousin a look of almost annoyed maturity, "But I'm not stupid. I know it when I see it. You wonder why I don't tease Tammy about Kito? They're not in love. They go on dates here and there, but there is no twinkle in their eye. There's no sense of urgency, no desire to just, hold the other... Not like what I see in you and Zane."
"What are you saying?" Tessa furrowed her eyebrows and gave Penny a confused look, though as if she wanted her to press on. The two girls slowly stopped half way on their venture to Dead Zed's outlet.
"Trust me," Penny exhaled a gentle giggle and glanced back at Zane, "You don't need to worry yourself into oblivion, like you have been all day. Zane will come around. You worried he doesn't like you?"
"I don't know," Tessa slumped her hands to her sides and looked around in a fit of flustered frustration. She exhaled a hard sigh as her eyes darted around the station beyond Penny, "I-I... I guess, I figured after the dance, and after our kiss...es... H-He'd at least ask me out, or something."
"Why don't you ask him?" Penny wondered with a cute, cheeky smile and an innocent shrug.
"I'm not hard wired for that," Tessa grumbled as she glanced down to the ground.
"Course you are," Penny rolled her eyes, "You kissed him, didn'tcha?"
"Yeah," Tessa slumped her shoulders, she breathed a breath of pure, confused, delightful sorrow, "It was so wonderful."
"Zane is extremely shy," Penny giggled, "I'm sure he wants the same things you do. You just have to show him that his efforts are safe and valid with you. I'm sure he's just worried he's going to scare you off, and he's definitely not one to put himself on the line unless he's certain the other person will reciprocate positively."
"I guess," Tessa mumbled as she got lost in a comfortable gaze on Penny's feet. Penny exhaled a small giggle and lovingly took Tessa's hand in hers and squeezed it.
"C'mon... It'll be alright," Penny eased as she glanced over to Zane, Oliver and Lickity, who were curiously waiting for the two, "Why don't you ask Zane to Tapper's for a fun night out? Just talk and get to know each other more. I'm sure if you let him in, and vice versa, it'll push things along."
"Thanks, Penny," Tessa said gently to her cousin as they finally locked eyes, "You're right... I just have so many worries in my head."
"Well, knock it off," Penny giggled gently as the two pressed on, once and for all, "And, don't let outside voices bother your intuition. You and Zane have to go at your own pace. And once you're there, it'll be wonderful... And you'll tell me all about it."
"Are you just going to live vicariously through me for the rest of our lives?" Tessa beamed, the two girls shared a laugh.
"No," Penny waved her hand, "I'll just be really secretive about my love life and make you think that I'm living vicariously through you."
"That's not fair," Tessa wrinkled her nose, though Penny largely shrugged and beamed a playful smile.
"Hey," Zane finally chimed as the two girls neared the two boys and Lickity.
"Hey, sorry," Penny said kindly with a gentle shrug, "We were just dicussing our homework."
"Oh," Zane nodded in an understanding way as he shrugged his hands into his pockets, "Have a lot for the weekend?"
"Surprisingly, no," Tessa exhaled a small laugh as her and Penny gave each other incredulous looks, "Though, I guess we shouldn't get used to it."
"Bah, you'll be just fine," Zane waved his hand gently, though he held his eyes trained to Tessa as her eyes bulged; she glued her whole attention to Lickity and let out a small gasp.
"Oh my User," Tessa hissed as she slowly neared Lickity, who was nearly bouncing with excitement to see her owner. Tessa furrowed her eyebrows in pure grief, though she welcomed Lickity into her presence with ease, "You... You got the saddle off of her? How long has it been on her? Poor thing..."
"It was burned on," Oliver said sadly as he lightly pat Lickity's back, "Her previous owner made it so he couldn't remove it."
"But, that's abuse," Tessa worried as she delicately ran her fingers along Lickity's raw back and matted fur and feather combination.
"Her previous owner was a jerk," Zane spat as he shook his head, Tessa nervously peered all along Lickity's back and exhaled a breath of disbelief. She peered into Zane's eyes and squinted.
"What's the point in a saddle you can't remove?" Tessa wondered as she shook her head; Zane shrugged lightly and gazed back at her with the same force of sorrow.
"So you can be lazy? Taking care of a pet isn't easy work," Zane said gently as he lightly pat Lickity's snout, "Some people just aren't cut out for it."
"That's why she's mine, now," Tessa said deeply with a firm nod, though she gently gazed back at Zane and let a smile of appreciation sprawl her face, "Thanks, you guys... For doing this for her. We'll get these mats and cuts cleaned."
"You're going to add her to the code room?" Oliver wondered with a curious smile, as did Penny; Tessa nodded and peered back to Lickity.
"If she will allow me," Tessa beamed, Zane scoffed a noise of delight and nodded.
"I know she will," Zane eased, "She's ready for a new rider."
Tessa lightly raised her eyebrows and let her gaze attach to Zane's at his insinuation. She knew she'd be brave enough to fly Lickity one day, though the fact that that very day seemed to creep closer and closer had Tessa's heart already soaring. She gave Zane a small smile and felt a huge pile up of questions come rocketing to the forefront of her mind. Will he be there to help fly Lickity? Would he join her for a random night flight, if the mood called? She opened her mouth to speak, though nothing came out. She exhaled a small breath and shook her head in a flustered way, though she could practically feel Zane sitting on the edge of his world, as if he wanted to rush to her aid of overflowing, nervous questions with positive answers, like band-aids to open wounds. She was starting to wonder if their little flicker of hope would rely solely on body language, as opposed to the verbal communication neither of them could seem to afford.
"C'mon, Olly," Penny suddenly chimed as she nudged his arm and definitely got the hint, "We should probably help your mom and dad get dinner started."
"Right," Oliver sublty caught on and gently began to remove himself from Lickity's, Tessa's and Zane's tight bubble, "We'll catch you guys in a bit, yeah?"
"Yeah," Zane scoffed as he bulged his eyes and turned around. He waved his arm and pointed at Oliver, "Hey, thanks for helping out, today."
"This better become routine, dude," Oliver laughed; Zane beamed and nodded in agreement.
"Monday, EZ Living, we'll see how Lickity handles those waves," Zane laughed, as did Oliver.
"You're nuts," Oliver spat as him and Penny slowly began to walk away. They both kindly waved before finally tearing themselves from the group and heading towards Sugar Rush.
"Thanks for looking out for him, today," Tessa said softly to Zane as he calmed his demeanor and smiled into Tessa's eyes.
"Don't mention it," Zane chuckled with a shrug, "It was a lot of fun. Oliver is shaping up to be a pretty cool guy. You guys should be proud."
"Yeah, he's not too shabby," Tessa breathed as she lightly crossed her arms and let her gaze softly chase after her little brother in a loving way, "I'll keep him, I guess."
"It'll be too bad, once he joins Academy," Zane smiled and looked down, "Lickity and I will be pretty lonely. Though, she's great company, too."
"Didn't cause too much trouble, did she?" Tessa wondered as Lickity garbled a noise, as if to convey she understood what they were saying.
"You kidding? She's the tamest Dead Zed dragon, I've seen," Zane hissed as he lovingly pet Lickity's snout, "I'm sure all the abuse, she's endured, has softened her a bit."
"I wonder if she has that bite, deep down," Tessa wondered as she, too, lightly stroked the side of Lickity's neck.
"Every kind being has it's core instincts," Zane said gently as his eyes caught with Tessa's, "Push one too far and what comes out is something unlike anything you've ever seen."
"Figures," Tessa eased in a curious way, though she had to wonder if they were on the same wavelength; she gently held her breath and hoped Zane's insinuation was intended.
"I'm sure Lickity's is buried deep," Zane smiled into Lickity's eyes; she lightly opened her mouth and exhaled a noise as if to blindly agree, "You going to code her to Sugar Rush, tonight?"
"Yeah, that'd be a good idea," Tessa nodded lightly and looked down and to the side. She inhaled a readied breath and furrowed her eyebrows, "I-I was thinking... Did you maybe want to go to Tapper's tonight? Just us?"
"J-just us?" Zane wondered, as if he wasn't sure if he heard correctly, as if the gold he struck was fools-gold, "Just us- sure! I-I'd love that."
"Really?" Tessa furrowed her eyebrows with an incredulous smile, "Okay, awesome."
"It is a Friday night, after all," Zane shrugged and inhaled a deep breath, as if he was just given a potion of strength and confidence, "Why not?"
"Great," Tessa inhaled a faltered, nervous breath and felt her face get hot. She bravely opened her mouth to continue, "It's a date."
Zane smiled gently, his electric gaze stared back at her with a sudden sweep of happiness, as if Tessa was the source to his health-status, "It's a date."