"FU DOG!"
Fu's ears perked up in reaction to the old man's shout. He took the short jump from the couch to the floor and padded to the top of the stairs. He opened the door and called down, "What's happening, Gramps?"
"Get down here." There was a pause and then Gramps added, with an explosive yell, "NOW!"
Quickened by the aging man's cry, Fu swiftly careened down the steep stairs into the shop. Gramps was perched on the edge of a stool, parked behind the counter behind the computer screen. He was angrily bashing a first against one side of the ancient monitor, grumbling under his breath in Chinese.
"You, uh, might not want to beat the computer," Fu suggested gently, not wanting to inflame the red-faced man any further. "It's not really good to do that."
"Well," Lao Shi huffed, turning his head to glare at the dog, "It is not doing what I want it to. When it does what I want it to, I shall stop hitting it."
"What are you trying to do?" Fu asked, sidling up the computer and peeking up at the screen to try and get a sense of what Lao Shi was trying to accomplish.
"I have an online meeting with the Council in a minute and I cannot get this program," Lao Shi spat the word as though it were a curse in itself, "to work properly! Damn them for going all 'new age' and 'high tech'! What's wrong with letters and meeting in person? That worked a few months ago! It should still work now!"
"It also takes time to send letters back and forth and to fly us out to meet in person. Talking through the webcam means quick and easy communication, which is probably what the Council is trying to accomplish," Fu explained. Before Lao Shi could launch into a rant, he asked a question: "What program are they using to reach you?"
Lao Shi huffed, peering at the instructions that he had received from the Council. He squinted at the small type. "Skeepe."
"Skype?" Fu corrected with a laugh. "That's easy enough to set up; you're getting old, Gramps. Look, all you do is press this button, type this in, press a few more buttons and voila! You are good to go with the Dragon Council!"
Lao Shi glared at the dog, who was grinning up at him mischievously. "Sometimes," the old man announced, crossing his arms over his chest, "I really hate you."
Fu shrugged. "Eh. I hate you all the time," he joked. Lao Shi, however, didn't seem amused and Fu tucked his tail. "I mean, you're totally the greatest Dragon I've ever had the honour of serving … I'm going to go into the back room now, okay? Okay. I'll be right behind the curtain if you need me. Um, good luck with your meeting, I hope everything goes well. So, yeah. See ya." With that, Fu dashed behind the curtain the separated the front of the shop from the back of it.
Free from distraction, Lao Shi faced his computer screen which presented him with an image of the Dragon Council in full.
"Good morning, Councilors," he greeted, trying to be patient with them, compared to his impatience and frustration with Fu Dog.
"Good morning, Lao Shi," Councilor Andam welcomed as soon as the webcam clicked on. "Thank you for making this meeting – unconventional as it may be."
"Not to be blunt," Lao Shi said, though with humour – as the entire Dragon Council knew, Lao Shi was nothing but blunt, "But I would like to get right into the heart of the matter. Your letter said very little about why, exactly, this meeting was called."
Councilor Andam nodded with understanding. "I believe the responsibility of explaining that falls to Councilor Kukulkan." Councilor Andam nodded to the aforementioned Council member; the Central American Dragon. "If you would."
Councilor Kukulkan rose to his feet and cleared his throat. "We have been receiving some troubling reports, as of late. In the beginning we regret to admit that we did not believe the reports and thus lost precious time tracking down the accuracy. Sightings of the Dark Dragon have been reported in the few months." Councilor Kukulkan paused to let the horror of the situation sink into Lao Shi.
The Dark Dragon, the Chinese Dragon thought, and, despite himself, he trembled. The Dark Dragon was the number one threat to the magical community. He had faced the despicable creature once, decades ago, when he had been young, strong, and capable and the Dark Dragon had not yet reached the height of his power. It was Jake, just before the drugs forced him into a hiatus, who was the last known person to face the Dark Dragon and live through the experience. It was Jake that had delivered a fearsome blow to the Dark Dragon – one that the Dragon Council thought was fatal; one that Lao Shi knew couldn't have killed him.
And now he was back.
"In what capacity?" Lao Shi stuttered. "What has he been doing?"
"This is the puzzling part," Councilor Kukulkan admitted. "While he has being killing normal human citizens and magical creatures that have gotten in his way, he is not hunting them down; not as he has in the past. In the past the Dark Dragon has always had the goal of destruction. Because of his hatred of us, the dragons, he has been hell bent on wiping out our race for good. That does not appear to be the case this time, and it has been troubling us."
"So what has he been doing?" Lao Shi asked through his dry mouth.
"He has been, as far as we can concern from the erratic nature of his actions, collecting supplies." Councilor Kukulkan answered.
"Supplies?" Lao Shi started at the word. "Supplies for what?"
"We do not know," Councilor Andam took the conversation back. "Our original idea was that he was gathering ingredients for a spell, but he has not raided any magical places. Instead he has been raiding human establishments."
"For what?" Lao Shi repeated.
Councilor Omina cleared her throat. "May I suggest something?"
"Of course," Councilor Andam consented.
"I have a theory that the Dark Dragon is not working alone. I think that he may have found a partner and I don't think that partner is necessarily magical."
A partner, Lao Shi mused. Yes, that would make sense, wouldn't it? The Dark Dragon must be gathering human supplies for his human cohort.
"But," Councilor Kulde asked. "Here is the question we must ask ourselves: what person would fall in with the Dark Dragon? I think it may be a wizard gone bad. What has Eli Pandarus been up to these days, Lao Shi? He still lives in New York, correct?"
Lao Shi shook his head. "Your information is outdated, Councilor. Eli Pandarus has been dead for over a year now."
"Well," Councilor Kulde continued, unaffected by the news of Eli Pandarus, "That doesn't mean it's not a wizard."
"Look at the facts," Lao Shi insisted. "A human partner would make much more sense than a magical one – if said partner isn't hypothetical, of course. By your own admission, Council, The Dark Dragon is seeking the downfall of Dragons and, by extension, magical creatures. It would make sense for him to work with someone who shared his goals; not a magical creature who supported their community or an ordinary human who is ignorant of our world."
"So, what you're saying then, Lao Shi," Councilor Andam paraphrased, "is that the Dark Dragon is working with someone like, oh I don't know, the Huntsclan?"
"No," Lao Shi growled, his dragon's voice coming out in his anger. "The Huntsclan no longer shares the same goals as the Dark Dragon. Everyone here is aware of that."
"Everyone here is aware of what the Huntsclan is saying their goals are. The only person here, however, who seems to be buying it is you!" Councilor Andam roared, anger suddenly flaring within the usually calm dragon.
"There is nothing to buy! I don't know why you have to continuously doubt them! It's almost as though you're against peace. Or are you against working with someone? The Dragon Council is not the final word in everything; you do not control our world. And I hope that you get over yourself soon you miserable, arrogant toads!" With a flourish, Lao Shi stabbed the off button on his computer, effectively exterminating the increasingly aggravating conversation.
The nerve of the Council!
"Uh, Gramps?" Fu asked, peeking his furry head around the edge of the curtain. "I wasn't trying to eavesdrop –"
Lao Shi smirked, despite his annoyance at the Council. Eavesdropping had been exactly Fu's intention when he had walked behind the curtain rather than returning back upstairs to whatever activity he had been immersed in before Lao Shi had called for assistance.
"But?" Lao Shi prompted after his dog fell silent.
"But the Council is made up of assholes."
"The Council needs to get their heads out of their asses," Lao Shi agreed.
"So," Fu asked seriously. "Do you think the Dark Dragon is really back?"
Lao Shi nodded. "Their reports on the Dark Dragon I am taking seriously. You and I both know that he is alive and he has been up to something all of this time that he has been lying low. The theory of a partner is troubling – plausible, likely, and troubling."
"Do you think we could possibly know who his partner is?" Fu asked.
"Anything is possible," Lao Shi allowed. "And their comment about the Huntsclan intrigues me."
"Why?" Fu snorted. "Rose leads the Clan now. She wants peace. She's not about the old ideals."
"What if someone was?" Lao Shi questioned intensely. "What if there was a discontented Clan member who hated the new order? They would likely leave the Clan and attempt to bring around the downfall of magical creatures through other means."
"I'd agree with that theory were it not for one thing." Fu commented.
"Oh?" Lao Shi raised his eyebrows in anticipation. "And what would this one thing be, Fu Dog?"
"A Clan member and a dragon working together? You are going senile in your old age, Gramps. They would kill each other on sight."
Lao Shi's wrinkled brow furrowed further. "I … Yes, you are right. They would destroy each other before a partnership was ever formed."
"Of course I'm right. The Dark Dragon would probably consent to work with another magical creature – not a dragon; he hates his own race too strongly – but a wizard or something along those lines. But I would never, for one second, believe a Clan member whose convictions were still with the old order would work with a magical creature. You remember how immense their hatred was. I'm still mildly impressed that Rose didn't murder Jake the moment he revealed himself to her."
"You are, of course, right." Lao Shi stated again. "I overlooked that crucial detail."
"Detail or no, the Council were still being miserable, arrogant toads," Fu chortled.
Lao Shi swiped at the dog. "Hush now; that's enough out of you."
(-.-)
Jake propped himself up on one elbow, looking down at Rose. She had fallen asleep after their … exercise … and he was taking the opportunity to drink her in. In her absence, he realized how little he could remember about her body. He could call to mind the map of her face; he could recall exactly how she walked. But he had forgotten all about that cluster of five freckles under her left ear. He had forgotten the curve of her ankle or the line of her thigh.
There had been little details – the rhythm of callouses along her palms – that he had forgotten entirely. He didn't want to forget any piece of her, ever again. He never intended on losing her; never intended on giving himself a chance to forget again, but he wanted to be able to remember the exact colour of her birthmark. He wanted to remember the little whistle of her breathing (it only occurred when she was asleep).
He didn't want to remember just her big picture.
He wanted to remember all of her little details too.
I don't own anything recognizable.
~TLL~