Conrart leaned forward in his saddle and patted Temeraire's neck with one hand to get the dragon's attention. "Do you remember that book Yuri brought back from the library on his last visit? The one on temporal theory?" At the dragon's nod he continued. "I don't think you should tell them who you are. You are far to curious for your own good my dear and faced with the knowledge of what is to come, a younger you might try to change it and could end up damaging the Future."
Temeraire sighed, "You're right." He replied after a minutes hesitation. "Had I hatched to you what would you have called me?"
Conrart smiled, "I cannot say, my friend to me you have always been Temeraire even when I couldn't pronounce it. Besides in the interest of simplicity we should make sure it is something we can remember drunk on fatigue. Your name means rash or reckless in French according to the Great Sage, so perhaps we should simply use a word from my language that means the same?"
The Dragon considered it briefly before responding, "Maximus approaches, we haven't the time to contemplate them all, prey Conrart give me a name that I may introduce us."
"Hasshin," Conrart supplied after a second.
Temeraire inclined his head briefly and hovered in place as Nitidus winged up beside him. The little Pascal's Blue looked nervous, but he and his captain would never be laxed in their duty. He was briefly reminded of a time when he would have done anything for Brittan because Laurence had loved his country – now – well if not for his continued love of his first Captain he would sooner see the country reduced to the same state big Shimeron had been in less than a year ago after their stupid king had tried to kill his Conrart.
Conrart had been wholly appalled by the devastation he'd wrought in his rage. He'd made what Lien had done in the Battle of Shoeburyness to give Napoleon a chance to escape look like a hatchling's attempt at imitating the Divine wind. She may have created a huge wave which sank Admiral Nelson's entire Fleet, but He hadn't left two stone's on top of each-other. That idiot Balar was going to be too busy rebuilding for at least the next decade to even look beyond his borders.
Conrart's ankle – thankfully the only true injury he'd suffered beyond several abrasions and contusions (one of which had covered the entire left side of his face and the better part of his neck and arm) – had not yet finished healing.
He sighed and suppressed his rage, rage would make him stupid and he and Conrart couldn't afford that now. He was no longer Temeraire, that title belonged to the much younger him currently flying in formation, with a full crew compliment. No He was Hasshin and it was time to put the past behind him. Although he was very greatful Conrart had been interested in learning to speak not only Chinese, but Japanese, and Napoleonic English but a whole slew of others as well. In Conrart he'd finally found someone who shared his thirst for knowledge.
"I am Captain Micah Warren of his majesty's Aerial Corps, Captain to Nitidus. Who are you and what business do you have in England?"
Conrart sighed, and shifted in his saddle, but it was Hasshin who responded. "I am Hasshin, this is my Companion Lord Conrart Weller, second son of Queen Cecilia of Shin Makoku , and we are simply passing through."
Warren shifted slightly and Hasshin couldn't help noticing the odd looks Nitidus's Crew was giving to his harness, and his rider. Conrart he knew was likely unaffected by their staring. The Young demon had been and still was a prince in addition to a military officer; he was accustomed to eyes watching him. But Hasshin couldn't help feeling that they were judging his rider. He was well aware of the fact that Conrart's uniform was relatively plane. Conrart had once told him it made him harder to spot on the battlefield, and since Demon tribe leaders fought at the head of their armies it was wise not to stand out to much. There was nothing spectacular about his customary field uniform, but Hasshin couldn't help thinking that despite being sopping wet and shivering in his saddle, his Conrart's dignity was undiminished.
"With that introduction and given the status of things at the moment, the admirals will have to decide what to do with you and your beast." Warren said after a moment's silence.
Hasshin sighed, banked and slid into place behind his old formation, less than a minute later he was surrounded, Maximus on his left, Lily, Nitidus, Dulcia, Immortalis and Messoria, were ahead of him. Kulingile flanked him to the right and as odd as it sounded his own Younger self slid into place behind him.
Hasshin vaguely remembered being there. He remembered His curiosity at finding another Celestrial Dragon so far from China. He'd been curious about the other, obviously older dragon's Captain, and the odd harness he'd been sitting in. Now all he could do was shudder slightly and suppress the urge to moan. His Conrart was in danger, and he knew was going to be facing a few very difficult couple of days. His younger-self was concerned only with getting himself and Laurence back into Brittan's good graces, so that they could stay. Laurence himself was worried about the impending battles, and the appearance of a 'foreign dragon.'
It was odd in some ways his loyalties were strangely divided.
In some ways his loyalties still laid with Laurence his first Captain, but Conrart was his first captain reborn, and honestly he'd spent far more time in his company then he ever could in Laurence's. it was a simple fact that Laurence's life was so limited so fragile; while his Conrart would live at least another two centuries.
Laurence was his past and Conrart was his future, but sometimes it was hard to separate oneself from the emotions of the past.
KKMHMDKKMHMD
Admiral of the Air Jane Roland stood proudly in the Courtyard of Dover Convert, Chenery and Dulcia had flown back an hour ago ahead of the rest of their formation and informed her of the unusual situation. Another Chinese Celestrial dragon had been seen flying past the cliffs of Dover this afternoon by one of their patrols. When detained the Dragon's Captain had introduced himself as Lord Weller supposedly a prince of some far off land who was simply passing through. She couldn't help hoping they could draft the services of both the dragon and his handler, but it would have to be handled with the utmost care the last thing Britten needed was another angry Celestrial, or for that matter another angry nation on their doorstep.
At last the sound of beating wings heralded the arrival of Lily's formation and she stood quietly watching as each of the dragons came down. The first thing she noticed about the new arrival was his striking resemblance to Temeraire, he was larger though not by much, and appeared to outweigh him by a good bit though the difference in mass appeared to be muscle. She didn't know if the Dragon's handler was indeed a prince, but the finery adorning the Dragon made a good case for him at least being very wealthy. He wore a pendent identical to the one Laurence had given to Temeraire Years ago, and a net of fine gold chainmail set with precious gems adorned the great Dragon's Frill. There were other signs of wealth as well, more supple ones like the quality of the soft blue leather that made up the dragon's rig. Or the fact that it was died to almost the exact shade of the dragon's markings so that it harmonized beautifully. It was also tooled leather; it must have taken an age and a large sum of money to have that rig so eloquently and intricately embossed.
The Rider himself looked to be a bit disheveled, and it took her a minute to realize he was mostly wet, as if had taken a swim in a lake before being caught by her patrol, the leather of his rig she noticed was similarly wet. As she watched the young man unstrapped his legs from the Dragon's saddle and climbed down. His leg buckled about halfway down. For one horrifying moment Jane thought he would fall to his death from his own dragons back.
She shouldn't have worried.
The dragon handled his rider.
Catching him easily with his long tail and lowering him to the ground, she heard the oddly familiar, deep, resonant voice spoke from above her.
"Are you alright Conrart?" The Dragon asked as he lowered his great head.
The man steadied himself against the Dragon's tail as he replied. "I'm fine thank you Hasshin," in a mild voice.
"You should brace that ankle." Hasshin replied.
Conrart smiled at his dragon and straitened his clothing before stepping away. "I will as soon as I get the chance, but thank you for your concern." Then he slipped into a language she couldn't understand.
"Come with me." Jane said firmly as soon as the man had stopped talking to his dragon.
The man turned his attention toward her and she more then expected the usual male posturing and puffery at being ordered about by a female. However it never came, the man simply inclined his head politely and followed her without a word of protest. Which was wholly refreshing, she didn't expect it last once they were in private and he figured out she was female.
She watched him as she ushered him into her office wondering just how long it would be before he realized her gender. After a moment she decided he was either unobservant or uninterested in how a woman had achieved military rank.
After a minute she introduced herself and waited for his reaction.
It wasn't what she expected.
UDWUDWUDW
In some ways it was odd he remembered Jane Roland from his dreams of the time when he'd originally been William Laurence, but she looked completely different when viewed through the eyes and experiences of Conrart Weller. Idly he wondered what the formidable woman thought of him. In many ways they were the same. When people saw her, the first thing they saw was her gender, not the experienced military officer, when his own people saw him many still saw his tainted human blood first. He had earned the title the lion of Luttenberg more than a century ago and yet people still saw his blood first.
He didn't really know what he saw when he saw her.
She was strong and confident, her blond hair going gray, but there was still a sharpness in her scared face, that reminded him of what Laurence had seen in her all those years ago. It was official; this was going to be weird!
He inclined his head politely and introduced himself formally as soon as she had finished introducing herself. He couldn't help being slightly amused at the odd look on her face at the perceived strangeness of his name. He was well aware of the fact that it sounded almost Germanic. After a moment's thought he added "You may call me Conrad if you wish, it is closer to English and easier to pronounce."
Jane actually smiled at him and then quite deliberately said his first name properly, before addressing him as 'Weller'. He forced himself not to laugh.
UDWUDWUDW
Conrart sighed as he walked through the halls of the Convert, on his way to the courtyard to see his dragon, Hasshin he'd have to remember to call Temeraire, Hasshin. It would be disastrous if he slipped up. Admiral Roland wanted him and 'Hasshin' to fight alongside the British forces against Napoleon. He hadn't committed himself one way or another as of yet, and honestly didn't intend to. What he needed to do now was find a way to get them both home, before they screwed up the timeline or something equally cosmically devastating. In order to do that he needed to sit down and plan out a course of action with the only living entity on earth that was currently older then he was.
Idly he wondered what the Great One expected them to accomplish here.
He was most of the way down a flight of stairs when his ankle decided to give out again – he really was going to have to brace it, or risk breaking his neck. Horrified at the prospect of falling down a flight of stairs and never getting home to his mate and son, he flailed almost wildly trying to get a grip on the unforgiving stone wall.
"Careful," a deep voice said as a strong hand clamped down on his bicep, steadying him.
Conrart recognized Matthew Berkley's voice before he even turned his head; thankfully he remembered not to address the man as if they'd already met. "Thank you, for your help." He replied mildly. "I'm Conrart Weller, companion to the Dragon Hasshin."
"Matthew Berkley, Maximus's Captain. You should get that leg looked at before it get you killed." Berkley Replied.
Conrart couldn't help smiling, the man was just as he remembered him, heavy set, red faced and curiously coatless, without his necktie. He wondered would he to be able to call the man a friend? It was odd but in some ways the man reminded him of Yozak with his free speech and less then proper behavior, but Yozak was by far the more brazen.
He missed his Husband and son already. Yozak constantly teased him about that weak ankle. The Lion of Luttenburg disabled by a human and a crushed ankle. It had taken all of Gisela's skill and a lot of tender love and care from his husband to return the use of his leg. However it was still weak and stressing the joint too much could be further damaging. Yozak wrapped it for him every night after rubbing a salve meant to help with the nerve damage into his heel and ankle.
He could have done it himself – but Yozak had always insisted on applying it.
He had both the salve and the brace he normally wore in his bags strapped to Temeraire's saddle, so at least he could look after his own needs, but still he knew he would miss Yozak's touch that night and the comfort of the other man's embrace.
"I have a brace in my packs, my-" he stopped short remembering the things he'd learned about this era in earth's history and comparing them to the odds and ends he remembered from his dreams. "Wife" he amended after realizing that admitting to the fact that he was routinely bedded by another man was likely to get him killed here. "Saw to it that I packed it before Hasshin and I arrived here rather unexpectedly."
Berkley nodded, "Your Hasshin has an odd harness, looks more like a saddle really. Do your people only ride one to a dragon regardless of its size and weight category?" he asked as he pulled Conrart's arm over his shoulders. "Lean on me Weller, we'll get you down the stairs safely so you can brace that leg."
"My thanks Berkley," Conrart replied, "and no we don't ride one to a harness regardless of the Dragon's weight and size. For the most part we don't really ride dragons. In my culture they are protected. I am the first person to actually ride a dragon in 4100 years."
Berkley blinked, "that is a long time, your Aerial Corps must be a mess after so long with all your dragons permanently banished to the breeding grounds. However did you manage to get them to resurrect it?"
"We don't have an Aerial Corps, Hasshin chose me, and came looking for me to be his companion, as such I am the only 'dragon rider'. It was simply easier to have me on his back telling him what he can't eat then it is to have a hungry dragon flying about the capital city."