Title: Blue Bird
Part: 1
Author: ShyroFox
Rating: PG-13
Pairings: KuroganexFai (TSU), DoumekixWatanuki (XXX), SyaoranxSakura (CCS),
Warnings: Dragon AU, Evil Ashura,
Disclaimer: Copyright CLAMP
Summary: AU, After being forced on a vacation by the ever-loving princess Tomoyo, Kurogane is caught up in a maelstrom of misfortune and misunderstanding as he ventures into a cold town and meets an even colder dragon.
Note: This is currently being written for NaNoWriMo, and while I don't exactly not edit my work (as you are supposed to) I haven't gone over the entirety of it with red ink, so any errors, mistakes, or potentially "out of character" characters will be fixed if anyone feels the need to point them out. Anyone offering services as beta-reader would be appreciated. Thank you!
---
After a small amount of questioning, Kurogane had found out that Fai had wandered off on some little mission. At least, that was as far as Souma or Mokona would tell him. Kyle probably would have been more helpful, but the physician hadn't been seen since dawn.
So, in essence, it probably would have been a better idea to wait at the camp for something to happen or someone to lead him back to town. Instead, he had wandered off into the woods and promptly gotten himself very, very lost.
It was less a stab at freedom then it was just something to do. But the trees all looked quite similar in the area for Kurogane was unfamiliar with the breeds. Some had eight-pointed leaves, some had three, some had spikes. What the hell kind of place was this anyway?
But the empty camp was just so damn boring! How could he have just stayed there? And what would he do? Tinker with stones and twigs all day?
Kurogane trudged through the forest. He swatted away branches and bugs with the irritation only grown from dealing with a continuous and persistent problem. That problem being the forest and the fact that he had no idea where he was in it. There was great possibility that if he could remove the entire forest from existence for only a minute or so, he could perhaps find his way back to civilization. Or some random cabin. Or the camp. Anything really, that wasn't merely trees and wildlife.
He should have been better trained for such a situation, being a guard for Tomoyo-hime and all. But, he could not help but feel that the woods were partially to blame for his blunders. For example, he could not see the sun for all the trees. He could see small glimpses of light here and there, but the beams were so overloaded with tree branch shadows that even telling their direction was difficult. If he could find another clearing this problem would be solved easily. Although it did little to help him seeing that he had no idea what direction he was from the town. Was he taken South? West? The only ones who knew, or so he supposed, were the dragons.
Speaking of which, his initial reason for leaving still remained to be found. Dragons were apparently more elusive than the game Kurogane was used to hunting back in his home country. Not that he wanted to hunt them or anything, but tracking skills are tracking skills no matter who you use them on.
At least now he had a good idea of what skills he desperately needed to improve on. Which, he bitterly wanted to deny, where many in number.
Ripping a branch from its tree, Kurogane flung it in irritation. He was greatly relieved to hear a splash in the direction he had thrown it and was partially surprised it had made it through the thick forest trees. Running through the tall grass and muck he almost cried out in joy over the finding of water.
This meant many happy things for Kurogane. It meant that he could have a good drink and fill up his water skin. It also meant that he could probably find his way easily back to town, for there was only one great body of water in the near forest and that was the Akin River.
Happily, or as happy as he ever got, he drank down large desperate gulps of the refreshing liquid.
And, once more, he was surprised by the unfortunate gaze of someone staring at him.
How the hell did he not notice these things sooner!?
It was a large, dark grey dragon that was resting its body downstream from Kurogane. It shifted its head this way and that, looking him over with a quiet ease.
It rose its long and slender body out of the water. The liquid flowed off of its glimmering scales like it would off the feathers of a swan. Its jagged ears swayed in the breeze and it immediately made Kurogane think of the bird calls he heard in the background.
With a solemn splash the dragon melted away into the water.
And left before him a very disgruntled and very naked Kyle.
"Do you often make a habit of intruding on others during their bathing time?" He asked, wringing his hair up and wrapping it into a ponytail with a band that had previously been tied around his wrist.
Kurogane sputtered and turned away, taken aback by the man's total nonchalance, refusing to look anymore until the man had put on a decent amount of clothing.
Kyle looked at him strangely. "Prude." He muttered, slipping out of the water on Kurogane's side of the bank and shaking the droplets of water off his feet.
"What did you say?" Kurogane barked, looking at him before abruptly realizing that this was what he was trying so very hard no to do.
"I said nothing!" Kyle called back, slipping on his pants. The a curiosity overtook him. "How did you get out here, anyway?" He called. "This is a clear four miles from camp? You aren't stupid enough to wander off on your own in a place you have no familiarity with, are you?"
"I did no such thing!"
"Ha, I can't wait to tell Fai all about this..."
---
"Welcome!" Fai greeted, as they reached camp.
As it turned out that while Kyle could fly with relative ease, he refused to do so for the sake of tormenting Kurogane, or so the man suspected. So the whole length of the trip was filled with subtle taunts and teasing and Kurogane would be the first to blame Kyle for the entire, miserable time.
Although he had found out that Kyle was a storm dragon, and that his bathing was for the express purpose of regenerating his water concentration, much like that of a rain cloud. This was amongst the taunting and teasing, of course.
Kurogane looked gruffly back at Fai. "Where were you?" He asked, eyeing him suspiciously, noticing that the leader looked a far cry calmer and than he had the previous day. What the hell had that guy eaten?
Kurogane made a very resolute vow to himself not to eat anything suspicious in nature he found in the forest.
The blonde blinked at him innocently. "I was escorting Yuuko-san back to her encampment." He stated, as if it should have been obvious.
"Isn't she a part of your group?"
Fai shook his head. "No, no, no. She is much too elegant to live with us ruffians all the time!" With that Mokona cheered an agreement. Kurogane frowned, maybe he was just an idiot after all.
"That's the truth." Kyle said was mild bitterness, shaking the some straggling droplets from his hair.
Fai looked between the two questioningly. "Did Kurogane join you for your bath, Kyle?" Fai asked, eyebrow raised. His expression was almost a leer.
"Well," Kyle sighed, like he were exasperated, "he tried to, but I just couldn't allow it." He shook his head as if he were a chiding parent.
Souma stared. "Did Kyle of all people just say that?"
Kyle stared at her out of one eye. Souma stared more nobly with two.
Fai clapped a hand on Kurogane's should distracting him from the on goings of their bickering. "Are they always like this?" He asked. Kyle hadn't seemed this type of person yesterday.
Fai gave him a level stare. "One thing you may want to know about dragons," he said, making gestures with his hands for emphasis, "they are all dictated by their breed."
"Race?" Kurogane asked, slightly bewildered.
The dragon shook his head. "No. Breed."
"So you are all just like a pack of mismatched dogs then?"
"Something like that. You see, Kyle is a storm dragon. He's never," Fai paused and glanced at the two still bickering, Kyle threatening to smother Souma while she slept, "quite a happy person. Storms are often not pleasant. However, once he has regained a balance and a calm he is quite a more lively person. As far as I know this happens mostly after bathing."
Kurogane absorbed the information like a sponge or a small child being told a bedtime story. He was almost ashamed of how curiously this fascinated him. "So what kind of dragon are you?"
Fai tapped his chin in thought. "It's no fun just to ask and be told." He said, as if giving sagely advice. "I know!" He snapped his fingers and Kurogane realized that whatever the dragon leader was going to say next would most certainly annoy him.
"I'll have you guess! You get three chances, so don't waste them on petty tries or I'll never tell you." He told him, a grin adorning his face.
The guard scoffed. "As if I care that much what type of dragon you are!"
Fai grinned at him. "I'm sure you care more than you let on." He said.
Kurogane twitched, annoyed at what might actually have been true.
Since when was he a dolt that fell in love at first sight. Not that he loved the dragon or anything. He hardly knew him!
Instead of focusing on that at the moment, he had a feeling he may never win despite himself, he decided that this game might actually have some value in it. Indeed, it seemed that the dragon's personalities were deeply intertwined with what type of dragon they were. So it only made sense that to get to know Fai better he had to figure this out first of all.
Not that he wanted to get to know Fai better or anything like that. He wasn't growing soft. Not at all. Nope.
Kurogane felt his stomach churn as Mokona bounded into the field and clung to his leg like a needy little puppy. He kicked her off gently and begin to pace around the camp without really realizing he was doing it. The present dragons watched him with vague amusement.
What type of dragon was Fai? What type of dragon was Fai?
Well, he had been entirely too floaty and ethereal last night to be something heavy like earth, although that had been the influence of something he had eaten. Kyle was of that nature, and he was a storm dragon, and that showed, so perhaps he was related to the sky. But what? What elements of sky were there? There were probably clouds, air, so on... Was sunset an element?
Fai turned to Mokona. "He's thinking rather hard on this isn't he, Moko-chan?" He cooed.
Mokona giggle. "Mokona would think that Kurogane would have realized that he is guessing from a blank box!" She exclaimed.
Kurogane whirled on them. "I knew it!" He cried pointed an accusing finger at the dragon. "You never gave anything for me to choose from! I don't know how many of your stupid breeds there are." With this he threw his hands in the air, childishly displaying his exasperation.
Fai laughed. "You should have asked beforehand, but it is too late now! It would be cheating for me to tell you such things!" He called, sing-songing his words in a lilting tone.
Kurogane glared. "So you want me to guess from absolutely no knowledge of what kind of breeds of dragon there are?" He asked, knowing that they were simply going in circles now.
Fai nodded. And then paused, looking down at Mokona with a thoughtful expression. "I suppose that Kuro-wan can use books that list all sorts of dragons. That's not cheating because who knows what their actual accuracy levels are." He clapped his hands together as if he had triumphantly found a way to make the enter game fair.
Kurogane sighed. "Yes, but how am I going to access any of that kind of knowledge. We are stranded in the forest!"
Fai looked at him like a confused child. "We're not stranded."
"I'm stranded, you idiot! And I doubt that any of you will point me in the right direction of the town!" He grumbled, crossing his arms defiantly.
"What makes you think that?" Asked Fai curiously.
"Aren't I your captive? Or something?" Replied Kurogane, knowing now that he really had no good reason to think that.
Fai's lips curled into a playful grin and he leered at Kurogane. "You want to be my caaaaaaptive…?" He asked. Then his face emptied of that emotion and filled with a small amount of embarrassment. "I mean, no, you're not our captive anymore." He said.
Kurogane stared. He kind of knew this from their letting him go an all, but the fact that he had stuck around seemed like it needed some outside cause. He couldn't just be here for his own sake, could he?
Fai looked at him with a curious gaze. "Would you like to leave?"
The guard looked at Fai. The dragon's eyes glittered in the late morning sun. Kurogane wished for a moment that he could see what emotions the blonde had behind those blue eyes, but he was not so skilled. "I don't know." He scratched the back of his head. "It's not like I brought very many things with me. And I'm sure the inn-keeper will hold onto them if I return. Probably." Kurogane frowned. "I hope so."
The dragon looked away for a moment, then back, as if an idea had hit him. "We could send Syaoran!" He proclaimed.
"Who?"
"The boy from earlier. I heard from Souma that he came by and thanked you for what you did for Sakura."
"Oh, him. So, you're going to send him to fetch all my stuff?"
Fai nodded. "Hopefully he'll come by some time again soon. I'm sure Touya-san and Yukito-kun wouldn't just toss your belongings. Especially when you're a daring knight that saved the princess from a terrible demise!"
Kurogane gave him a wry look. "Knights kill dragons in stories, you know."
The blonde grinned. "But those are just stories! They aren't real."
"Yeah, and I thought that about dragons until a little while ago." He said solemnly.
They stood there in silence for a moment. Kurogane wondering what he was doing here exactly. Fai wondering about something or other, probably unimportant, Kurogane guessed.
"I want breakfast!" And thus, the shrill whine of Mokona broke the silence.
---
"Hello, Kuro-chii!" Cried Mokona, as she perched in a trees, slowly devouring an apple.
Kurogane waved her off, wandering over to the logs by the fire and sitting. He felt himself spending a lot of time here. It was monotonous, mostly, especially with many of the dragons gone at all times of the day. No matter how much he explored of the forest, he could never quite pinpoint where they all went off to.
It was later in the day that very many of the other dragons appeared. Kyle has disappeared sometime earlier and had yet to be seen by anyone. Although Kurogane seemed to question this, no one else did, and thus he thought perhaps this was a normal occurrence.
He felt odd about the idea of getting used to such a thing. This was because he felt odd about getting used to the idea of staying with the dragons in general. Especially because they were apparently prone to kidnapping. The Mayor had been returned yesterday, with no ill injury upon him. He was actually more enjoyable than when he had been taken in by the dragons, or so Kurogane had been told. For all he knew the Mayor was a horrible person and by being enjoyable, he was "dead".
But as Fai told it, the Mayor was just misguided and had been attacking various colonies of dragons for years just out of his fear of them. The towns people had no knowledge of this because all the attacks took place in the Incuba Forest, which was apparently where they were. It had been forbidden for travelers and villages, so it wasn't even a place he was accustomed to thinking about, since it was never a useful path on journeys. So, in staying with the dragons over night they had treated him to a meal and had a proper discussion about the elegancies of diplomacy and the fair treating of dragons.
The strange thing was, Fai had this look on his face while he was telling Kurogane this that spoke of the dragon being extremely detached from the entire scenario. Most likely he hadn't had anything to do with the event at all, but the way when talking about Ashura he looked devoid of emotion.
And that was somewhat worrying for Kurogane. Had something occurred between the two? Perhaps one of the attacks…?
Kurogane stopped this train of though, feeling admittedly nauseous at the idea of such a laughter of innocents. He may have killed quite a lot of men in his time, but they all had deserved it, one way or another. Kurogane had made sure of that.
Albeit, this information had all been from a dragon's mouth. Kurogane began to wonder quite wildly about how many dragons there actually were out here. He had thought at first thought that maybe there was only a handful. Fai's group and perhaps some more aside from that. He was now beginning to suspect that there maybe be hundreds of them. Although the forest was limited and made that imagery a little non-realistic, it was still a thought.
Either way, he had decided that the last few days may have very well changed his life entirely. Before them he had had no knowledge of dragons whatsoever.
And once again, he merely wondered if Tomoyo-hime had seen this coming. He hadn't taken a vacation in years and to suddenly prompt that he leave for one seemed awkward and abrupt. At the time he suspected something was going on at the castle that perhaps he was not to be present for. It was doubtful that it was something that he would enjoy. More or less likely it was a Prince coming to charm the princess.
Those events he had been fond of, only for the opportunity to scare the petty and insolent little pests away. He had yet to meet anyone suited enough to be the future king of the country, let alone Tomoyo-hime's husband.
In retrospect, he wondered how he ever got away with such unruly conduct. It was not conducive to be beneficial for the environment of the court, after all. He had worked with a lot of skilled and dangerous people. And those had been his allies!
Come to thing about it, his allies currently were dragons. Were they even individuals that he could call his allies? He didn't know. He was, however, going to stick close to Fai until they officially released him. After that he didn't know, but, Fai seemed to like him and was powerful enough that the other dragons probably wouldn't try to interfere with the outsider like they might otherwise do.
He felt like a rat taking shelter underneath and cat, and the feeling didn't sit well with him.
"Kuro-min!" Called Fai, waving the guard over and interrupting him from his thoughts.
Kurogane grumbled from his spot and stared dejectedly at the being that asked him to move. He always got thoughtful when he was comfortable and he currently wanted to stay comfortable. It was the cold season and the fire was a pleasant thing to be near. Leaving it was entirely too unpleasant to bear. Thus the decision was made for him.
Fai stared at the unmoving guard and then, deciding that Kurogane most likely hadn't heard him, called louder. "Kuro-coo!" He called and Kurogane twitched avoiding the eye contact that he knew would lead to him leaving his spot.
"I have a surprise for you!" Called the dragon, looking anxiously at the guard's back, or so Kurogane imagined from the whine in his tone.
Kurogane turned slightly to see if Fai was holding the said surprise.
And indeed, Fai had Kurogane's bag and extra sword from the inn. The kid must have come by when Kurogane wasn't paying attention. Or maybe the blue dragon had wandered off himself in search of him.
Kurogane stormed over into the cold grasp of the pleased dragon. "Give me those." He ordered, swiping the bag away from Fai and reaching for the remaining sword. Fai smiled and hopped backwards, brandishing the sheathed item out of Kurogane's reach.
Kurogane frowned. "That's not a toy and I would prefer if you did not treat it as such." He commented, stepping forward, hand outstretched.
Fai shuffled backwards, slinging the sword over his shoulder. "Kuro-chii loves his blades more than me…" He sniffled, a grin hypocritically resting on his lips.
The guard's face grew red and he hoped the dim lighting of the forest prevented Fai from noticing such a thing. In fact, he was sure it did. Although the dragon was handsome, he…
Kurogane mentally smacked himself. He was not going to go down this road. No, he was not. It was the road of inter-specie misfortune and humiliating acts of lovesick school children,
He did not like the dragon. Not like that. No.
Fai looked at Kurogane and laughed. The guard had frozen stock still and was staring forward. "Are you fighting some type of war in there?" Fai asked, curiously waving a hand in front of his face. "I didn't know your duties continued into the realms or your mind." He said tauntingly.
Kurogane blinked and grabbed the waving arm on reflex. As he realized who's arm he had grabbed--and their skin was touching!!--he promptly released it, storming off in a random direction.
The dragon looked at the man walking away and then at the sword in his hand. Immediately a worn look fell on his face and he propped the item up against a tree, knowing the man would probably spot it at some point and take it.
Fai had never really like swords much.
---
It was some time later, after Kurogane had a short trip away from the camp, making sure to carefully mark trees with a powdery, red stone, that he realized exactly what had happened. Storming back into the camp he stomped up to Fai, pointing a very accusing finger at the confused and innocent looking blonde.
"You!" He growled, posture rigid and shaking. "Where is my sword?"
Fai licked his lips. "What? Do you need it to slay me?" He asked, feigning nonchalance.
A shiver of pleasure went up Kurogane's spine and it was quickly squelched. He was not like that. He was… he was loyal to Tomoyo-hime! He had no time for such foolishness.
Kurogane sniffed indignantly turning his head away from the leering dragon. "I have no idea what you're implying." He stated. Then, as if he had realized that hadn't sounded quite right, he amended it with, "...but if you are suggesting that I would kill you if I had my sword then you are quite mistaken." He pulled up his coat a bit, uncovering his first sword.
Fai stared at it as it gleamed in the dim light. The he looked up at Kurogane. "So you want to kill me with that sword?" he asked, looking vaguely uncertain.
Kurogane jumped, "No, I don't want to kill you with any sword."
"What do you want to kill me with then?" Fai asked, grinning.
Kurogane internally groaned. "I don't! I don't want to kill you!" He threw his hands into the air, at a loss for it.
Fai laughed. "Oh, well that's good." he said, standing and stretching his legs. "I don't want to kill you either." He tilted his head. "I would have thought that such a brave guard would notice his sword lying over there." Fai said, pointing quite near where Kurogane had entered camp from.
The man stared at it, biting his tongue so as to not curse. How had he missed that…?
Fai began to wander from the camp in the opposite direction, and when Kurogane noticed this he somewhat wished he could see his expression.
Souma padded up to him and watched Fai's back as he left. "You know, he's never interacted with any of us as much as he does you." She stated. Kurogane wondered what she was trying to imply and decided that he probably didn't want to know.
Kyle grimaced from where he was sitting by the fire. If the dragon wasn't missing he was a lump on a log that took great interest in reading.
Mokona, who had been previously lounging in a tree, dropped down from it, landing neatly on her feet. "It's almost time! It's almost time!" She cheered.
Kyle snorted and shut his book roughly. "Thankfully." He muttered, shaking his head ruefully.
Kurogane looked over at Souma. "What?" He asked.
Souma paused before, "Well, every year or so, on a certain night chosen by the group leaders, we clans get together." She shrugged. "We're a very cheerful species by nature, so we celebrate together every once in a while."
Kurogane stared. "So you're going to be having a party?" He asked, mildly intrigued by the idea of a bunch of merry dragons singing and drinking and eating together.
"Indeed. You're invited, probably. There aren't many humans amongst us that are allowed to get as close as you have. I can only think that Fai must think you incredibly special, since he's turned away more valiant and noble humans that you."
"Turned away?" Kurogane asked, feeling himself parroting her words.
She looked at him curiously. "Yes. You didn't think you were the only human that wanted to join a pack of dragons, did you?"
Kurogane blinked. "Well, I don't know if I wanted to join…" He made an empty gesture with his hands.
The dragon waved it off. "Well, you aren't planning on leaving soon, are you?"
"I do have somewhere I'm supposed to return to in a couple months…"
Souma stared at him critically, and despite his training he felt her gaze illicit a feeling of sheepishness in him. Shaking her head she spoke again. "Anyway, you have gained a one of a kind chance, so I suggest you show up to it. Dragons are more insulted by ingratitude than anything else."
"Well, as long as I know about these things, I'm sure it won't be a problem." He grumbled, irritated that no one had told him about this. Although he didn't expect them to, but apparently they expected him to know about them.
The guard grew curious and couldn't help but prod Souma further. "But, why did Fai choose me over others? I haven't even been here three days!"
Souma bit her lip and looked away. "I don't know…" She said.
Kyle looked up at the two. "I have a theory."
Souma and Kurogane looked over curiously, waiting for him to continue. When Kyle was satisfied that he had their full attention, he did.
"I believe," he began, "that Fai has the uncanny, magical ability to see the good in people, if there is any. I think this is not merely a trait of his personality, but rather an actual ability." Kyle directed his dark gaze at Kurogane. "And you, he has decided, is worthy of that kind of respect.
Kurogane was silent. He fiddled with his sword hilt like he was wont to do when he was embarrassed. It was generally good at giving those around him a entirely different idea about how he was feeling. He stopped, realizing that he may not really want them to. Then he spoke again. "I would say that I would work hard to show that I am worthy of that kind of trust, but if I were to work at it then it may be that I am not at all."
Kyle nodded. "Indeed. All you can do is continue on as you have so far. If you leave, then so be it. However, I am sure that this would make Fai quite sad."
Kurogane looked at him with thought. "I shall have to leave in a couple months. I am in the service of a princess and this is just a vacation that she has... forced upon me quite eagerly."
Mokona giggled. "Kurogane's princess forced that upon Kurogane?" She asked, looking at him with an air of curiosity. "Perhaps it is better if Kurogane stays then, since even his own princess does not need him!"
Kurogane sighed. "I very much doubt that she would do that..." The he looked sharply at the pink-haired girl. "Well, maybe she would..."
Souma shook her head and clapped her hands to gain a piece of silence. "Calm down all. The meeting is in a few hours." Kurogane frowned. "At the fourth quarter of the night to be exact. We should all prepare."
She grabbed Mokona by the ear and the pink haired girl yelped. "You," chided Souma, "need to go bathe. Promptly." And with that she booted Mokona out of the camp until the girl came back clean.
Kyle crossed his arms. "You are not ordering me around like last time Souma." He proclaimed bitterly.
The dragon in question smirked. "And your best ornaments are where? You can't meekly try to hide in your human outfits this time. You have to actually dress for the respect of the council."
Kyle stared at her, before veering around and grumbling on his way into the forest.
The guard stared at her, wondering what chore she was going to bestow upon him. She noticed this and grabbed his shoulder reassuringly. "You and I are going to go and find you know who."
The guard sniffed indignantly, at least he hoped he knew who...
---
Fai was harder to locate than Kurogane had first presumed he would be. The silence between the two searchers and the chatter of the forest creatures distractedly led Kurogane on his trail of thought about what type of dragon Fai was. He had already confirmed, within his own mind, that Fai was most likely not an earth dragon since they were of the nature of being grounded individuals. It was doubtful that he was steel, either, since that nature seemed to not match Fai's dragon appearance.
He looked at Souma's back, who was walking ahead of him, artfully dodging the scattered debris of the forest floor. He had a thought and decided he might as well give it a try. "What type of dragon is Fai?" He asked, hoping his plan wasn't entirely futile.
The she-dragon looked skeptically over her shoulder. "You know I can't tell you that. You made an agreement with Fai that you would figure it out on your own... or with the help of some books, but mostly on your own."
Kurogane cursed mentally. Well, that hadn't worked the way he had wanted it to. Oh, well.
"Then can you at least tell me the basic type of dragons? I have no real knowledge of your species, and this makes the game somewhat unfair."
Souma's ears twitching in annoyance. "I think it makes the game more fun, but I might be able to yield to you a vague idea of what types there are." She paused. "Just so you don't go off guessing that he's some weird breed. Like a cow dragon. We eat cows. He could never be part cow."
Kurogane suspected that she hadn't just come up with that example on her own. "So, someone guessed that he was a cow dragon before?"
Her shoulders slumped from up ahead of him, but he could not see her expression. "No... they guessed that I was a cow dragon. What a total fool. I'm half to believe that he said that just to be insulting, but he lost his last try, so what could I do for him but chase him off before I torched him for it." The guard felt that there may have been more to this story than he was being told, but he decided against questioning it.
Instead he came up with a very good question. "So you do this often?"
She looked back at him with a bit of confusion. "Yes, we do. You had no knowledge of this?" She asked.
Kurogane felt the urge to growl rise in him. "I had no knowledge of dragons a mere three or four days ago! I can't even remember how long it has been!" He grumbled.
Souma sighed. "That happens sometimes. Mokona was integrated into our group so fast I'm sure her tiny pink head spun."
"She's a dragon, though."
"Same difference, really. We judge the same. It's just that we meet so many more dragons than we do humans."
"Hn… So about the dragon types?"
Souma clicked her tongue. "Well, let's see. There are earth, water, fire, sky, wood, and metal dragons, for starters."
Kurogane keened his ears for the "continuers".
When the silence stayed for longer than was normal, Souma looked back at him. "That's all I'm telling you, in case you were wondering."
"You can't tell me any more?"
"No, that would be called cheating."
"This all seems unfair." Kurogane grumbled. She shrugged and graceful dodged a fallen tree that was laying in there path. Kurogane, however, did not gracefully dodge it, and thus landed in the dirt despite himself.
A cheerful laughter echoed from a short distance away and the two travelers looked up to find themselves face to face with the object of their search.
Fai grinned as he pulled back a branch and stepped around it. It swung back on his release. "So what are you two doing out here so late?" He asked, clapping the dirt of his hands gracefully.
Kurogane picked himself up from the ground, blushing and humiliated. How did that guy always catch him at the worst moments?
Kurogane paused and thought about this. No, he was sure that wasn't true. He must've been exaggerating.
At least, he hoped so.
The she-dragon looked at him strangely. "What are you doing out here so late?"
Fai shrugged. "Things."
The two stared at each other. Souma shrugged it off. "We were looking for you, you idiot. If you miss the meetings again then they'll begin to think you don't care and stop inviting you."
The blonde grinned. "And what's wrong with not being invited anymore? I personally don't like going. But, you always seem he insist." He sighed, a tinge of hopelessness fresh on his voice.
Kurogane dusted his pants off, mildly angry at them for getting so dirty. As if it was their fault.
---
When they got back to camp, Kurogane was vaguely floored by the appearance of both Mokona and Kyle. He was not expecting to see the two so dressed up, let alone in their dragon forms.
Mokona, who he had not seen in dragon form, was somewhat predictable. Her body was lithe, but while she only was a few yards long, she had a larger width than both Fai or Kyle. Her scales were a tender pink and small clumps of soft white feathers jutted out at angles behind her ears and at the joints of her legs. The small gold earring hung from her ear, twinkling with an inanimate cheer. A band of silk hung around her neck. It was a brighter pink than her form and had a rabbit pattern on it. Kyle wore a similar silk band that was a navy blue with a speckled grey pattern. Kurogane supposed that this was what comprised of fancy clothing for the dragons. It reminded him of the soft clothing the women of the east were known to wear.
"Aaaah!" Fai cooed, gazing Mokona over with an almost fatherly pride. "You look so lovely! It is quite rare to see you in that form!"
Mokona bent her long neck in a sort of playful humility. "Fai complimented Mokona! Mokona doesn't like this form much. Mokona is much more agile as a human!" She chirped, swaying her head teasingly.
Kurogane realized for the first time that day, that he was the most abnormal in the group. That was a very bizarre feeling, and he didn't much like the taste of it. However, there was nothing that could be done. They would walk to this festival, meeting, whatever and Kurogane would be the odd one out. Probably.
He had the fleeting thought of getting to ride one of them, then promptly thought this dirty and shooed it away. He did not need images of things like that in his head. Not of blue dragons. No.
He bit his tongue and hoped he was less in denial than he had the feeling he was.
Deciding it was wise to say something on the appearance of the cheery girl, he stared at her trying to find something to compliment. "Your scales look… quite shiny and pink." He said.
For that, he almost slapped himself. That was a statement, not a compliment!
Mokona grinned, a toothy (although the teeth themselves were small and thin) dragon grin. "That's what Mokona's dad used to say to Mokona!" She twittered. Kurogane twitched, realizing he had no idea if this was a compliment or not, either. Things evened out, he figured.
Fai clasped his hands together looking longingly at the two. "Ahhh! Kuro-myuu is like Moko-chan's father?" He tilted his head in thought. "Then he must be the daddy of the group!" Kyle snorted somewhere above his head, but the sky was beginning to get to dark to be able to see the dragon clearly.
The guard shuddered. "I am no one's father!" He yelped, anguished by the idea of having to watch out for that annoying pink bun of a girl.
Fai laughed. "Daddy is being silly, isn't he, Moko-chan?"
The young dragon giggled. "Silly daddy!" She crowed.
Souma, who was searching through a bag for something, looked up at them. "Does this make Fai the mommy?" She asked, blatant sarcasm abound in her tone.
Fai's eyes widened, as if this had never occurred to him. And just like Kurogane predicted, he latched onto the idea like a predator to prey. "Indeed!" He pounded his fist into his hand. Looking over at Kurogane with a grin he said, "I'm the mommy!" At this, Kyle blanched, his mouth twisting into a form of disgust.
Kurogane felt the urge to shudder again and shirked the feeling. He was a man, and men did not cower at the sight of other men claiming to be mothers.
"No." Kurogane said, daring anyone to argue against him.
"I'll second that." Whispered Kyle, loud enough for the group to hear him, although he hadn't meant to be.
Fai pouted, "You are all so cruel!" He mewled. Looking over to the confused looking Mokona, he asked, "You're the one in question! Who's your mommy and daddy?"
Mokona tilted her head. "Well, my mommy and daddy are my mommy and daddy, but Fai and Kurogane can be their substitutes when they're not around!" She answered, seeming pleased with herself.
Souma walked up with a couple more of those neck scarves and looked expectantly at Fai. Fai grabbed the light blue one with clouds on it and slung it over his human shoulders. It hung low, looking very much like it didn't belong there at all.
Kurogane looked at the neck band, then at Kyle's. His mind rolled over the idea of using one of the guess, and he looked at Fai with a bit of determination. "I think I would like t guess what kind of dragon you are." He stated, slightly embarrassed that this gained the attention of the surrounding dragons.
"Wai! Kuro-wanko is going to use a guess!" Proclaimed Fai, thought it didn't need to be. "I hope he didn't waste it on something silly!"
Kurogane glared. "Of course I wouldn't do that, you idiot!"
"Then what is it?"
"Well…" He looked at the expectant dragons and felt slightly uneasy. Why were they so voyeuristic?
"Are you a sky dragon?" He asked.
Fai looked at him thoughtfully. "Hmm… Kuro-nyah has good guesses, but he's wrong! Fai is not a sky dragon."
Kurogane frowned, suppressing the urge to look crestfallen. He wasn't going to lose this, thus there was no room for any form of childish pouting. He wouldn't lose this, of that he was sure.
Noticing his silent distress, Fai wandered near, the loop of silk hanging perilously from his human neck. "Don't worry Kuro-chu!" He said, flicking the guard on the nose. Kurogane jerked back attempting to hide the heating of his face, that he knew was visible to the others. "You were really close! Just be more observant next time. The clues are all around you."
Kurogane searched Fai's eyes for clues, and at finding them empty of supplying him with furthering information, he figured Fai had to be lying. Somewhat. Even if it wasn't purposeful.
Souma sighed. "Everyone, we need to hurry up. The meeting is soon." She gestured with the silk cloth for emphasis, before draping the deep green scarf over her own neck.
Kurogane felt this fashion statement to look rather silly.
That was before both Souma and Fai changed into their respective forms.
Fai's musical, thin body was accompanied by Souma's smooth, earthy appearance. She was quite obviously from a different thread of breeding than the others. Her body was designed in less a slim and lengthy fashion. Although she did have the long neck and body, she was stronger and more sturdy than the other dragons. Her belly scales were riddled with a brown snake-like pattern, while her surrounding scales were a dark, forest green. A dark, almost black stripe ran across her face and eyes.
Kurogane felt it was safe to say that she was some breed of earth dragon. And, he also felt it safe to say that the scarves look much less ridiculous now.
The small encampment was unsurprisingly crowded with the change of the four dragons into their normal states.
Fai looked at the others, singing his head with the motion. "So, I presume everyone is ready?" He asked, outright joking. There was no possible way they could have stayed in the camp like this.
All grumbled a varied form of yes, feeling it necessary to at least answer the question, despite its sarcastic nature.
Fai turned to the guard, his stature semi-towering over the man. "So…" He began, gaining Kurogane's attention. "…does Kuro-min want to ride mommy?"
---
The trip to the meeting was not long nor arduous. It was average length and this did not necessarily make it a short trip.
After twenty minutes of grumbling, sputtering, and humiliated blushing, Kurogane finally accepted to let Fai carry him much like a large bareback horse.
Only, because he was slowing them down, though. There were no other reasons aside from that. None. Especially not Fai's inappropriate and perverted reasons, of which Mokona was hopefully unable to understand.
Fai felt different then he looked.
Kurogane sat at the curve of his back, right behind the jutting shoulder blades that hypnotically moved back in forth with a refined ease. His hold was entirely dependant on Fai's smooth movement and the long draping wings lightly pinning his legs safely to the dragon's sides.
To Kurogane the scales looked sleek and immobile. However, that was entirely untrue. He was more snake-like than anything else Kurogane had encountered in his short life. Except, of course, a snake. The muscles rippled and contracted underneath him and the scales floated over his movement like a thin layer of cloth would over human skin.
Kurogane, although admittedly charmed by the whimsical nature of his wannabe-steed, did not exactly find this form attractive on a human level. He was not a luster of dragons.
Or at least, he hoped he wasn't. He was pretty sure he wasn't. The only reason he felt the way he did currently--that being like his stomach was infested with dragonflies--was because of Fai's magic and his already apparent attraction for the dragon in human form.
Nobody had to tell him that Fai had magic. His lyrical transformation reeked something awful of "theme song".
Mokona wandered up beside Fai, her head only coming up to his wingtips. "Kuro-chii enjoying the ride?" She asked, keeping stride with the long legged Fai. It wasn't difficult for her, but she certainly was exuding much more effort than the older dragon was.
Kurogane looked down at the her, once again getting a strange sense of awe at how high he was. This was possibly two to three times higher than a horse, which was the closest thing he had ridden compared to this. "Hn." He grumbled, not knowing what to answer, for fear it would give Fai wrong ideas.
Well, right ideas that were wrong, Something along those lines.
Kurogane mentally kicked himself for being so confusing the in confines of his own mind.
Fai turned his long neck to look at Kurogane out of the corner of his eye, and the guard was once again reminded of a horse. "Awww. I think that means yes!" He said, taking delight in his own speculation.
Kurogane denied answering, staring ahead at the night sky. Soft glowing lights were visible in the far distance. They had reached a thinner part of the forest, and thus the refulgent distance was visible through the wiry branches of the native trees.
"It's such a lovely sight to see again…" Souma said, admiring the distant spectacle with honest bliss.
Fai nodded, ears bobbing with the movement. "I would have to agree that, that is one of the better features of it."
A thought struck the guard. "How often do you have this meeting?"
"Once a year or so." Replied Kyle, striding a long at a smooth gait. He seemed quite eager to get to the celebration. "I thought I had said that earlier…"
Mokona piped up from beside Fai, "Although some years we don't have it and it makes Mokona really sad!"
"Why wouldn't you have it?"
"Well," began Fai, sounding much like a teacher humoring a student, "Sometimes the seasons shift and the phase of the moon we hold this occasion on comes much earlier in the year. It's impossible to organize, because events like that are entirely unpredictable."
Kurogane nodded. That made sense. Probably. To the dragons at least. To him it sounded rather odd and he wasn't very sure he understood the connotations of what they were saying. Like, for example, when did the moon phase change or speed up without warning? That was unheard of in the towns.
He internally sighed. If there was one thing he missed from civilization it was the food cooked by his fellow humans. Dragons ate a diet consisting mainly of meat. Healthy for a dragon, pleasing for a man on occasion, unhealthy if served every single meal.
The lights in the distance grew closer and closer by the second. Kurogane was slightly taken aback to see just exactly how fast they were moving now that there was a point of reference. With this in mind, he held onto Fai just a little bit tighter. When Fai laughed, he figured it was at something else. Probably something that someone had said. It was most certainly not about him.
In a matter of minutes they were to arrive at the grove of the dragons.
---
Kurogane was certain that he had never seen something so beautiful in his entire life. And this was not a compliment he gave out often. He had seen women he thought of as beautiful, architecture he had thought of as beautiful, and various other items and places he had given this word to describe it.
None could ever compare to this.
The field was alive with fires and dragons speckled the entire area of it with varying degrees of colors and shapes. There were also a few that had remained in their semi-human forms, ears proudly displayed as they were wont to do. Amongst them, sprinkled like dew drops, were the sole humans allowed into the different sects of dragons. Or, at least, who he had thought were dragons. According to Fai and the others it was only the worst of manners to keep ones ears concealed amongst other dragons.
The shades and breeds of all the dragons were more than Kurogane could count on one hand. There was a group nearby that had what he could only guess was a moon dragon for the way it glowed in the moonlight and the symbol on its forehead. Off to the right there was a fire dragon, proudly displaying its abilities to a group of pale blue and green dragons.
Kurogane could not imagine himself ever forgetting this sight, lest the night he had in store. It was like he was a child seeing a festival for the very first time.
Coming to a stand still, the group paused on the hill overlooking the field. The field itself was bowl in shape, gently sloping hills surrounding it on all sides. Fai swirled his head around entirely, butting Kurogane in the chest with his snout. "Are you prepared to dismount and be introduced to the largest grouping of dragons in the entirety of the west countries?"
Kurogane snapped his attention away from the field reluctantly and looked at Fai. "I am?" He asked, not really thinking about what he was saying.
Mokona launched herself at Kurogane, lightly tackling the guard off the blue dragon. She laughed and nuzzled him in the chest as though she had known him her entire life. "Kurogane is, Kurogane is!" She cheered, grabbing at his shirt and attempting to pull him along.
Kyle snapped the young dragon up in his mouth, preventing her from potentially mauling the poor man. He presumably chided her, but it was lost in a muffled speech as she wriggled and squirmed.
Kurogane stared from his position on the grass. Luckily it wasn't dirt or the robes Fai and the group had let him borrow would have been ruined entirely. Brown was not a good color on black, despite it having a low visibility.
Fai picked the flustered guard off the ground as well and placed him upright. "I'm sure you'll get used to it." He said, which Kurogane most certainly did not want to hear.
Souma gave a faint smile, looking at the group. "Excuse me," she interrupted, "But I'm going to head off. I have a few individuals I want to talk with before the night's over." And with that she trotted down the hill, melting into the swarm of dragons.
The sugar bun, as Kurogane was bitterly determined to call after that jumping stunt, squealed and took off into the mass as well saying something about how she was going to find Yuuko.
Kyle looked at the Fai and Kurogane, then looked at the field, then looked at the two again. "Well, I'm gone." He said, wandering down as well, as though he couldn't get away from them fast enough.
Fai laughed as Kyle disappeared into the mass. "I'm sure we'll be seeing less of him now. I very much doubt he wanted to be in our group all that much, but he was stuck with us until now." At Kurogane's confused looked the dragon grinned. "Kuro-min is so cute, being so helpless on his own!" He cheered wagging his tail like a dog.
"Well, if you're not going to tell me what you mean, then fine." He grumbled, crossing his arms. It was hard to maintain that kind of expression when staring down at a magnificent sea of sparkling scales and shining fur, but he was Kurogane, guard to the royal Princess Tomoyo, he could handle it.
"This night is the night that the groups of dragons are arranged. We aren't set into determined packs, but for one year we must remain with the individuals that are chosen, whether we want to or not."
Kurogane's eyes widened. "So you mean that we may never see any of them again?" He asked. He didn't want to let out the fact that he was vaguely saddened by this, albeit it was obvious to Fai. He never even got to say goodbye to any of them.
"No, no, no." Fai interrupted the guard's sulking. "We will probably see them a lot in the days to come. Dragons don't make it a habit to say partings to one another. It's considered bad luck and is only done if the two parties never wish to see each other again."
"Will they still be in our group?"
With this the dragon paused in thought. "I don't think Kyle will, although has was a wonderful teacher for Mokona. I think his thought process was a far cry different than ours to ever be truly compatible. But, I'm sure we'll see him again. You may have not wandered far enough from the camp to see them, but fellow groups aren't that hard to find."
A silence fell on them as Kurogane pondered his future and the future he had with the dragons. He wondered, with no small amount of sadness, if his future would even contain such creatures.
But, that was for later. Now was the time of the great gathering of the dragons.
---