A big thank you to my beta reader, xfallenangel13x who got this chapter done in record time.
Sandra: Like how I got a beta, par your request. What'd you think, she does a great job, yeah? Thanks for your fantastic review.
FallenAngel: Of course, I owe you a huge thank you.
Iwini:Thanks! I am going to be exploring this side of Seto more, he is a classy business man, that doesn't mean he knows anything about being social.
Dancing Elf: Thank ya' very much : )
Smells like Mary: I love your user name, and kudos to you for picking up on this chapter, I hope your enjoy it.
Bears of the West: Your wish is my command.
Snow crunched loudly under a pair of large boots, moonlight casting a beautiful shade of blue over the silent meadow beneath. The calm of the silence helped settle Joey, who was grumpily trudging back to the barns, empty-handed. Much to his dismay, the streams and rivers had frozen over, locking away a very precious resource - also known as fish.
This was the third night Ciaran would have to go without food, a fact that made Joey's stomach clench with guilt. Sliding the entrance door open to the barn, Joey thought momentarily about letting her go. It was a thought that had crossed his mind often in the years that had passed. She would be able to fly freely, hunt openly, and be happy.
One dreary night, full of dark thoughts and after a night of drinking with Tristan, he had even given it a try, only feeling worse when the drake wouldn't leave his side. Rather than fly off into a promising mountain range, she had stood by his side, nuzzling him in reassurance. Her loyalty would be her death, the young tamer was sure.
Kicking off the old, tattered boots he had found Joey made his way to Ciaran, stepping into her open stall. "I got nothin'," he admitted, hands empty in front of him, eyes cast guiltily at the floor. All the insults his father spouted at him, about not being able to care for a dragon, or tame a dragon flooded his head. His arms dropped to his sides.
Rather than dismiss the sulking teenager, Ciaran stood, her body now filling half of the stall, her long wings tucked gracefully to her sides. Mindful of her two horns, the dragon pressed her head to Joey's chest, knocking the wind from him as she tried to comfort her master.
Inhaling deeply, Joey lifted his hands to scratch her behind the horns, something she had enjoyed since she was just a hatchling. "Maybe we should drop by Tristan's, eh?" he mused out loud.
Hooking a hand around one of her horns, Joey led Ciaran from the stall and out of the stable, slipping on his shoes before they left. A cold wisp of wind wrapped around Joey, causing him to shiver. Seeing this, Ciaran let out a long breath of hot air, warming him immediately. Joey smiled at her in appreciation, the process being repeated as they made the walk to Tristan's house.
Regretfully, they weren't greeted by Wally, but instead by a new dog, one who didn't serve his purpose as a junkyard dog. In his place lay a pit bull, one with a light pink nose and a beautiful coat of brown, boasting a beautiful white chest. She perked her ears up and stood, wagging her tail at the duo.
"Hey, Boo," he greeted her, giving her a pat as he passed by. She wined and followed next to Joey, ignoring Ciaran as she towered over the canine. Much unlike Wally, Boo's soul purpose in life was to be the center of attention, and she desperately sought to fulfill that purpose every time Joey came over.
As they passed by a pile of metal, Ciaran made to pull away from Joey, but he held tightly onto her horn. "Hey, now," he scolded gently, "You know better; you have to ask first."
The dragon whined softly at the correction, but ambled along as they approached Tristan's house. Kicking the snow off his boots against the concrete porch, Joey stepped up to the door and gave it a solid knock, stepping back and waiting. The lock clicked open from behind the door, and Tristan's mother stood on the other side of the screen.
"Joey!" she exclaimed, her face turning from excited to concerned quickly. "Why on earth don't you have a jacket?! My god, get in here!" She reached out and softly took his arm, pulling him into the warmth of the house.
"Don't you move," the teen warned his drake from over his shoulder, whose red eyes were watching the scene unfold. She tucked her wings closely to her body and lay down, curling her tail closely around her body, although her eyes shifted over to trash can hungrily. Joey shot her a warning look before the door was closed behind him, cutting him from view.
"Jack, Tristan, Joey is here!" the woman's voice rang through the house.
It was Tristan who came from his room first. "Joey! Dude, you were supposed to come back months ago!" His brown hair was messed up, and he only wore a pair of sweat pants. Joey would have bet he'd been sleeping. They embraced in a quick hug, Joey's cold arms stinging against Tristan's warm skin. A moment of jealousy rushed over Joey, one that he quickly pushed away.
Jack, Tristan's father, showed up next, and before he had a chance to say hello, the Misses had dragged him off into another room, whispering to him along the way.
Tristan rolled his eyes and looked back at Joey. "It's late, is everything okay?"
Realizing he'd been standing there like an idiot, Joey scratched the back of his head.
"Yeah, yeah... The rivers are frozen over, and I can't catch anything for Ciaran. Do you think…? " He trailed off, not able to bring himself to ask for help.
Since that fight with his father, more had followed, each becoming increasingly violent. Joey was older now, and able to hold his ground. For some odd reason this had led to Joey becoming a "no good piece of shit, who thought everything should be given to him". Only last week, they had gotten into a scrap because Joey had, apparently, looked at him the wrong way. Who knew glancing was a crime?
Their broken relationship left Joey with close to nothing, and Tristan's family had been constantly helping him, giving him clothes, food, and occasionally money. It was their generosity that had kept him away the past six months; he felt like he was somehow taking advantage of them.
"We were wondering when you'd come back around. Hang on, I'll go throw some clothes on." Tristen said, not needing more of an explanation. He turned and left to get changed, Joey standing alone in the living room.
While he was waiting, Jack came back into the room, fully dressed, carrying an extra jacket. "Here, put this on before you freeze to death." He shoved the article of clothing towards Joey, forcing it into his hands.
Joey slipped the jacket on and zipped it up, following after Jack as they left the house. Ciaran was laying where Joey had left her, earning praise from the teenager that caused her tail to thump pleasantly.
"She's huge!" Jack said, surprised when the dragon stood, standing a good five feet taller than Joey.
"And hungry," Joey laughed, finding it amusing himself. He thought she would had grown like a weed, but in fact, dragons matured slowly. Ciaran had just reached her adult height, and even now he wasn't so certain her wings were done growing.
"I'm sure." Jack gave her massive chest a small pat in appreciation. "Well, if you think she can find something that will appease her, then have at it."
"You sure?" Joey asked hesitantly, knowing just how much Ciaran could eat.
Jack nodded and Joey gave Ciaran a release word, allowing her to do what she wanted. Both men watched in awe as the dragon hopped up, spread her great wings and took flight, hovering over a large pile of junk cars she had been eyeing.
With her claws she gripped onto the roof of a car, and thrust her powerful wings. The car tore away from the pile, and she dropped it back to the ground, the vehicle crashing against the earth. Unfazed by the loud noise, Ciaran promptly came down from the sky, on top of the car, and destroyed the hood with her powerful jaws. Her head sank down low, and she ripped the engine clear out of the car. With the large block hanging from her mouth she laid back down and began to devour her meal.
"Well, then..." Jack said dimly, at a loss for further words.
"Heh... Uh, sorry about that," Joey said sheepishly. "She likes the pistons."
Jack shrugged it off. "Don't worry about it." He turned to look at Joey, his face more serious. "Joey, listen. Sarah and I are worried about you. Are you sure you're doing alright?" His eyes looked over the boy, who looked thoroughly over-worked and under-fed. His body was toned from the work of heavy lifting, but his face wasn't as full and healthy as he had once seen it.
"I'm fine," Joey fibbed, thinking about the few pairs of clothes he had and the old blanket he was sleeping with in Ciaran's stall. Not to mention to extreme lack of food. "I jus' wanna make sure Ciaran is taken care of."
Jack's walnut-colored eyes looked critically at Joey. "You're a horrible liar."
Joey gave a one-shouldered shrug. "I know." It was a fact, not an accusation.
"Look, let's get you fixed up - Sarah is making you some soup. We can talk about what has been going on." Jack's large hand gripped Joey's shoulder reassuringly as they walked together back into the house.
The food tasted great, and of course Joey found himself comfortable and warm. It didn't make him want to talk about things though. Things like how Seto now owned the stables, about how he believed his father hated him, or how he never got to see his sister. How he worried that Ciaran would never be a good fighter, and about the fear he had of losing her. So he didn't. He simply insisted things were better than what they were.
No-one at the table believed him, but they didn't pressure him, either. They said their goodbyes with hugs and made sure Joey had some food to leave with, a warm jacket, and a pair of boots that fit. He was especially grateful for the gloves that Sarah had passed to him before he went out the door with Tristan, stepping out into the cold winter night.
"Holy shit!" the brunette yelled when he closed the door behind them, his hands flying to his hair in astonishment at the sight in front of them. "Dude, she ate our cars!"
Indeed, Ciaran had been busy, having consumed a good amount of engines - at least eight by Joey's count. "Well…" Joey tried to think of a silver lining to the situation. "At least they were all broken."
Rolling his eyes, Tristan gave Joey a shove before stepping off of the porch. "Show me what she knows," he insisted, watching as Ciaran ate another piston from a torn-up engine block.
"What she knows?" Joey asked, confused.
"Yeah, you are training her for the pits, right?" Tristan asked as Boo came up, leaning against his leg, begging for attention.
"Oh… right." Joey realized what he was meaning and called Ciaran over, the dragon willingly leaving her meal behind. She trotted over to him quickly and stood facing him, attentive as ever.
"Ciaran, up!" He lifted a hand in the air, and the dragon shoved her front legs off the ground, coming to sit back on her hind legs.
"Raise!" His hand went even higher, and the dragon stood up on her back legs, her thighs shaking with effort.
"Drop!" He let his hand fall, close to the ground, and the dragon followed with it.
"Tail!" The blonde whipped his hand out to the side, and Ciaran shifted her weight, lashing out with her solid, sharp-tipped tail.
"Breath!" Joey brought his fingertips together, then opened them, the dragon inhaling deeply then exhaling a wave of fire that lit up the night sky.
"Enough." His fingers closed back together and the stream of fire ceased.
"And a' course, she knows how ta' bite, too." Joey added, snapping his fingers. Ciaran responded by snapping her jaw shut, a gnashing sound echoing loudly as her teeth clashed together.
Tristan stood, looking impressed, his eyebrows raised and his eyes staring openly at the creature, captivated by the show. "Not bad. At all, really."
Joey couldn't help but feel proud at that moment, despite their hardships. "Yeah, she is a good girl. Hey, tell ya' parents thanks for me, okay? I appreciate it."
"Psh, don't sweat it! If anything, that big lizard of yours can come around in the summer and melt some metal for us," Tristen said as he bent down and rubbed Boo's ears.
"I don't think she'd mind." Joey smiled and looked back to Ciaran, who was attempting to sneak another piston.
Laughing to himself Joey let her snatch it then took her gently by the horn, leading her out of the junkyard. He waved back to Tristan over his shoulder, who then went back into the house with his dog.
Together the two walked back to the stables, Ciaran enjoying a game of snowball-fetch along the way. Joey looked down the driveway from afar as he watched a black SUV leave the barn, a trail of dust billowing behind as it sped down the gravel road. Eyebrows furrowed in curiosity, Joey went to put Ciaran up for the night, but was stopped in his tracks upon entering her stall. In the center sat a large pile of fish, and while the smell was horrible, Ciaran let out an excited roar, shoving Joey aside to eat her fill.
"What the…?" Joey looked around for the source of the supplier but found himself alone, confused, but extremely grateful.
The next morning rushed by quickly, Joey didn't waste time in cleaning pens, feeding, or watering. At this point the basic chores of the morning were child's play, and he only slowed down when it came time to bathe the dragons; a task he found more relaxing than anything.
Leaving out of a side door, Joey stepped into the cold and tip-toed, bare footed, into another stable, dancing on the warm concrete as he did so. His toes were stinging from the abuse of the icy snow that covered the ground outside, punishing him for making the trip without shoes.
Unlike the other barn, this one had few stalls, and the temperature inside was hotter. In each stall was a low-set bath, large enough to comfortably fit even the largest of dragons. They were separated by bars, allowing someone to keep an eye on the reptiles, but stay safe in the event of an outburst.
Joey swung one of the large, barred doors open and walked around the edge of the tub, banging his fist against the wooden wall. One of the wooden panels shook loose and fell forward, bringing a metal pipe with it that hovered over the tub. Walking back out, he repeated the process with the other three rooms, then stepped back into the wide corridor, pressing buttons on a pad that was located at the front of the bathhouse.
Simultaneously, steaming water began to flow from each of the pipes, filling the baths slowly. Experience told Joey he had plenty of time to go back to the breeding barn and ready a few dragons. When Seto insisted the bathhouse be built Joey rebutted, insisting it was a stupid idea. They rolled around in hay - and occasionally dirt - all day! What did a dragon care if they were dirty or not?
But, much to his chagrin, Joey had been proven wrong once he'd been ordered to give the dragons their first bath. Even the fiercest of the giants had fallen apart and resorted to hatchling-like behavior: squeaking, rolling around, and batting their tails against the water. They loved having their scales scrubbed, and when polished and primed, Joey couldn't help but notice their change in disposition, seeming calmer and more content.
It was for this reason Joey pulled the most difficult dragons first; it calmed them down and left Joey with less work later.
As the tubs filled, Joey went and pushed another button and a large metal door withdrew into the ceiling at the front of the bathhouse, leaving a large entrance for the dragons. Quickly Joey skipped across the snow and back into the breeding barn.
Recalling the best pairings in his head, Joey shoved open the doors to stalls two, four, eight, and eleven. The three females and the one male looked curiously out of the stalls, then followed Joey's direction as he led the male out of the barn and into the bathhouse.
"Move along, Addis," Joey said, not bothering with a harness. Yugi had taught him long ago how uncomfortable those could be; the cold bit against their teeth, the pressure against the backs of their heads, all of which resulted in Joey's refusal to use them again. it humored Joey that the only ones to complain were the owners of the dragons, who had quickly shut up when Joey led the animals easily by their horns.
Addis didn't need to be told twice as he was directed to the bathhouse. Once the large, white dragon realized where they were headed, he trotted ahead of Joey and plunged into one of the full tubs, sending a wave of water rushing over the sides and onto the floor.
Accustomed to this, Joey just closed the door behind Addis, making sure the other three didn't fight over a bath. Once everyone was resting comfortably in the water, Joey turned off the flow of water, closed the bathhouse doors, and began the process of scrubbing each reptile. The females had settled quickly, but once Joey had gone into Addis's bath, the dragon stopped its child-like swimming and stared at Joey.
"Easy, Addis," Joey tried to sooth him, holding up a wire scrub-brush to show he meant no harm.
The dragon let out a low rumble in warning, the water vibrating around him from the deep, loud noise. Addis had loved grooming, but a few months back, a stall boy had harshly groomed him, taking the wire brush to the soft scales on the underside of the dragon. The treatment had resulted in scraping wounds along Addis's stomach, and the boy was now missing three fingers, and a job.
Since then, Addis had refused to let anyone near him with a brush, even Seto. It had taken both Yugi and working with the dragon to decrease his hyper aggression, and the low rumble he was emitting now was a far cry from the thrashing he'd tried just a week ago.
Slowly Joey inched closer, eyes looking pointedly away as he approached. Addis snapped his teeth anxiously and shifted in the now-murky, steaming water.
"Gently…. gently…" Joey whispered to himself, and with a shaky hand, touched Addis's long, scaled neck with the brush, relieved when the creature didn't lash out.
Letting out a sigh of relief, Joey began to move the wire brush in small, gentle circles, careful to stay away fron the softer scales of his inner neck and belly.
"See? S'not so bad." He didn't know if he was encouraging himself or the dragon, but either way Addis began to thrum and sway, eyes closing softly, clearly enjoying the treatment.
Joey dipped the brush into the water, the dirt dispersing into the water, then put it back to Addis, unaware that Seto had now entered the bath house. Joey began to sing a silly song, one about a dragon who ate too many gems and turned to stone as he scrubbed the great beast.
"You know Wheeler, you could get a job at the local bar, I'm almost sure of it," Seto sneered.
Startled, Joey jumped and the brush slid from his hands and dropped into the murky water. Addis stirred, and unfortunately for Joey his soft-scaled paw had landed directly on the wire brush. Instantaneously the dragon screamed, trashing about wildly. Joey ducked quickly to avoid his tail, then pushed himself back through the bars, narrowly avoiding his trashing wings.
A stream of fire engulfed the bathhouse, setting fire to the roof. Knowing there was little hope of calming the raging dragon Joey did the only thing he knew to do, and quickly set to letting the three females out, worried the fire may spread. It was true that dragons couldn't die by fire, but the resulting smoke could kill.
While Joey was leading them out of the burning bathhouse, Seto and opened the door and dove into the bath with Addis, leaving his black trench coat on the floor.
"Addis, settle!" he yelled, trying to grab a hold of the dragon's trashing head, knowing if he could just get a firm grasp on Addis he would calm down.
Deaf to his master's pleas, Addis stood on both back legs and roared again, no longer in pain, but wild with anger. His law claw slammed down into the water close to Seto, but still he persisted. +
"Seto, come on!" Joey was back, only this time he was pulling Seto out of the bath rather than a dragon. "Just let him go, there's nothing you can do!"
"Wheeler, get off!" he shouted back, trying to shove the blonde off him. As fate would have it, the blonde, doing nothing but heavy lifting, could easily fight off the brunette's feeble attempts to get back to his dragon.
The roof began to burn faster, as the steam had now left the bath house, and a piece of charred rafter came crashing to the floor beside the tussling teens. Knowing there wasn't much time to spare, Joey did something he never, in his wildest dreams, thought he would ever do: he picked Seto up, bridal style, and ran out of the bathhouse, leaving Addis behind.
Behind them, the white beast was biting at the bars to the door, close to tearing it down. Once outside, Joey lost his footing, unbalanced from Seto's extra weight, and sent both of them sprawling out onto the snow. Back inside the bath house Addis could be heard ripping down the door to his enclosure, but that didn't stop Seto from quickly attempting to regain his footing.
"Seto, don't!" Joey shrieked, lunging forward from the ground, tripping the boy.
Knowing nothing else would work, Seto aimed a kick at Joey, missed, and yelled again when Joey pinned him to the ground face-first in the snow. "Joey, I swear to God I'll sell your fucking dragon to a meat house!" he threatened.
"You can't go back in there!" he yelled back louder, making sure to keep Seto's hands firmly gripped behind his back. In the back of Joey's mind he knew if Seto got loose he'd beat him worse than his father ever could.
As Joey finished speaking, as if on cue, the roof caved in, exploding in a mass of ember and smoke. From the hole Addis emerged, letting out a stream of triumphant fire as he took flight, leaving Seto to watch hopelessly from the ground.
Knowing there wasn't a chance in hell of getting him back now, Seto let his face drop into the snow, and finally Joey let go of his hands, backing away quickly in fear of retaliation. In the distance sirens could be heard, and Joey saw Yugi's grandfather pulling into the driveway with haste.
"Wheeler... Have I ever told you how much I hate you?" grumbled the brunette, with hos face still lodged in the white snow.
Thus begins the start of something special between our two tamers. Hope you enjoyed. : )