Breath of Fresh Air

"Oh! There's no rush, of course. I would never kick out guests," Mr. Harn said, ruffling Noah's hair.

Noah giggled. "Father, this is important. We can come visit you again. But I really do think Grandpa Jenkins would like to see you more, at the moment." He glanced briefly at Lily, his eyebrows furrowing. "Actually, I think maybe Jasper's the one we should warn. Right?" He looked back up at his father and gave him a lopsided smile. "It's not you. Jasper has . . . some history, with Upper Floaten. Absolutely hates it and everyone involved with it. I'm still not sure how I got him to tolerate me," he admitted.

"Hm. Well, Mr. Jenkins has a pipe phone. Lily, suppose you call him and see if Jasper's there - and if he is, you can speak to Jasper directly and ask him?" Mr. Harn offered. "Noah can show you where the pipe phone is."
 
Lily muffled a laugh into her hand when Noah talked about Jasper, shaking her head. "He's really more my problem than he is yours," she said with a shake of her head, thinking she could talk Jasper down if he started to act up too much, "but calling ahead is a good idea!" She got to her feet with Pumpkin still held close against her shoulder like a baby, and paused to think. "I'm sure if he's around, he's out working, but at least Mr. Jenkins can give him a holler to let him know we're coming." She gave them a sheepish smile. "Apologies in advance if he's kind of an asshole at first. He let's his temper get the best of him sometimes, but I promise he's not so bad."

Jasper had taken the morning to finish off his prototype dragon paw, and was in that moment working with Nel and other Dragonry staff to see if they could get the large dragoness Koatl to try it on for them, so he could see what adjustments needed to be made with the final product. It was one of his most difficult projects yet, so he would be too focused to break away for phone calls.
 
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Mr. Harn waved a hand. "Quite all right. I've known more than one asshole in my lifetime. I'm not worried," he replied with a smile.

He went over to call Mr. Jenkins on the pipe phone, and the old man picked up on the third ring. "Eeeyup. Who's there?" he asked.

The breath caught in Mr. Harn's throat, and he swallowed and nodded to Lily. Hopefully in the time it took her to explain, he could get his bearings and reply more easily.

Noah patted his father's arm and smiled. Then he stood beside Lily and waved, as though Mr. Jenkins could see him. "Hi, Grandpa!"

"Oh! Noah! Lily there with ya too?" Mr. Jenkins asked happily.
 
Lily only smiled and walked off after them to go and use the pipe phone, and was ready to jump in for poor Mr. Harn when Noah did. She felt bad for the man, being so nervous to talk to family he hadn't seen in who knew how long. She saw her own family once every week or two, and had pretty much always been on good terms with them, so she couldn't imagine.

"Right here!" She chimed in when Mr. Jenkins asked after her, her smile showing through in her voice. "We wanted to give you a ring and see if you were feeling up to company today! I got your letter delivered safe and sound, and the three of us were thinking of taking a trip back down to see you, if that's okay." She paused long enough to let Mr. Jenkins realize who the third person was, then pressed on. "On that note, is Jasper around? I don't want him to throw a hissy fit if we surprise him by showing up, but I wasn't sure if he'd stayed home today."
 
Mr. Jenkin's voice grew quieter for a moment. "Oh. Oh, is that so?" he asked. He cleared his throat and swallowed. "I'm mighty glad to hear that. I'd be very much happy if he came to visit." Then he chuckled when Lily mentioned Jasper. "He's workin' on something at the Dragonry - I think I seen him carryin' a bunch of metal parts for a limb. But ah can go run out and tell him about the visit, so he can avoid it if he wants. When are y'all comin'? I'd need at least an hour or two to get there and back."

"How about maybe for supper?" Noah offered. "We could bring supper, if you want!"

"Ah think that's a mighty fine idea," Mr. Jenkins said softly. "Should ah have anything ready for you all when you come back? A spare bed or three, maybe?"
 
Lily looked up at Mr. Harn, eyes sparkling when it was clear that their desire for reunion was a mutual one, but bit her lip to keep from saying anything before Mr. Jenkins was done speaking. She was so excited, even though it wasn't her own family. It was her friends, and they were going to be a family again and be happy, so she was happy.

"Ooh, the foot is done!" She said with a bit of surprise. "I wondered how much longer he would work on the prototype. Ah, but if it's too much of a walk, I can always run ahead when we're back and let him know! No trouble!" She thought for a moment, then gave her head a little shake. "I think it's probably best if Jasper and I go home tonight, but we'll stay for a while!" She didn't want to intrude on family time, and she didn't want Jasper to have time to snap at anyone.
 
"But you'll stay fer dinner, right?" Mr. Jenkins asked. "At least you, ah mean? I can save some of the food for Jasper for later. I ain't goin' to force him to come to meeting and miss a delicious dinner."

Noah giggled. "You don't even know what it's going to be yet."

". . . No. But I'll be gettin' to see my son-in-law again, and that'll make whatever the food is taste the best in the world," Mr. Jenkins said softly.

Axle swallowed, wiping away a stray happy tear or two that rolled down his cheek.

"Anyway, far as tellin' Jasper goes . . . I do wanna see what he's been workin' on. I'd be more than happy to go off an' tell him what to expect fer tonight," Mr. Jenkins added. "Now, uh - anything else y'all want to talk about before I start headin' on out?"
 
"Of course!" Lily said with a grin. "Wouldn't miss it for the world! I'm sure we can get Jasper to bite his tongue long enough to eat dinner." It would be fine, she was sure. Jasper would be happy that Mr. Jenkins was happy - even his curmudgeon tendencies couldn't survive through that.

Politely, she did not turn and look at Mr. Harn when she could all but feel him crying at their side, in case he wanted to pretend it hadn't happened.

"If you don't mind," she said graciously to Mr. Jenkins instead, not going to fight against the light physical activity. He wasn't that old. "I think we're all set here. See you soon!"

Koatl would only be part of the way through the fitting of the prosthetic leg by the time Mr. Jenkins arrived, though Jasper was sitting in the grass a bit out of the way while Nel and another attendant worked with the dragon to get it in place. Jasper would get involved again once it was on to check the fit and how it functioned, but for now was sitting aside with bruises already blooming along the side of his jaw, and reddened scratches on one forearm where his sleeve had been ripped by dragon scales. It hadn't been a very big motion that caught him off guard, but such were the hazards of working with larger dragons. More annoying than the scratches was the blood he had to turn and spit out into the grass from where the strike had made him bite his tongue. That was going to be annoying for days.
 
Mr. Jenkins nodded and smiled. "I'll be lookin' forward to seein' you all. Thank ya kindly." And with that, he hung up the pipe phone.

Axle let out a long, heavy sigh and wiped his eyes. "Thank you both. I can already tell I'm going to be an absolute mess at dinner."

"It's okay, Father," Noah said gently. "I think all of us might be. Uh, speaking of which - what should we make for dinner?"

"Hm." The man sat down in a nearby chair, propping his feet up on a stool. "You both know Mr. Jenkins best. What does he like? Maybe you'd both be willing to help me cook something?"

---

Mr. Jenkins ambled up to Jasper a short while later, waving an arm. "Afternoon there, Jasper!" he greeted. "Ya got time to chat fer a moment?" Then he realized what state the boy was in, and he blinked. ". . . Do ya need some bandages an' medicine? Yer lookin' a bit rough, kiddo."
 
Lily smiled patiently, staying on her feet to rock Pumpkin gently like she was holding a baby. "Of course," she said gently, though she wasn't sure she'd really done anything besides bring the letter and do the talking on the phone.

"Hmmm, what to do for dinner. . ." She'd eaten at Mr. Jenkins house more than a few times before, but couldn't think of anything specific. "I get the feeling he likes dessert more than dinner, but maybe something that can be eaten cold so we don't have to reheat it? Like, a pasta salad with chicken, or something like that. . ." She wasn't sure she was the best person to ask for culinary things. It wasn't like she never cooked, but she and Jasper usually ate simply, and if they were feeding more than themselves always made something easy and/or cheap for feeding larger groups of people, like pasta, or rice dishes.

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Jasper swore quietly under his breath when he saw Mr. Jenkin's coming, having wanted to get himself cleaned up or possibly even make it all the way home, before he faced anyone, but he managed a little wave anyway and didn't go so far as to get up and flee. He gave a soft tch under his breath and just wiped his mouth on the back of a hand, eyes aimed away like he'd done something wrong.

"'M fine," he muttered, only a little irritably. "Gotta check it once it's on. Just clocked me one when I wasn't lookin'." He made an annoyed sound and picked at his ruined sleeve. "I liked this shirt." It wasn't her fault, he knew. She'd just gotten nervous and moved a little too fast, she hadn't meant to hurt him. It didn't mean it didn't smart still, but he was determined to see the job through before he went and washed the scratches.
 
Mr. Harn's eyes twinkled. "He likes dessert more than dinner?" he asked. He set his hands on Noah's shoulders, chuckling. "Now who does that remind you of?"

"Father," Noah protested, giggling in reply. "That's both of us."

"Uh-huh. So it's a good guess he'll like some of the same foods we do - and pasta salad with chicken sounds amazing, Lily. Excellent suggestion." The man ruffled Noah's hair and headed for the kitchen. "Now, shall we get dinner started? I'll need some help taste testing various things."

"Sweet! C'mon, Lily. That means we get to eat stuff," Noah explained, taking her hand and trying to lead her towards the kitchen again.

------

"Well, as long as yer okay," Mr. Jenkins said at last. "Anyway, I wouldn't normally bother ya - but I thought you should know." He took a deep breath, rubbing the back of his neck. "My son in law, Mr. Harn, is finally comin' to visit tonight. I asked him to. An' yer more than welcome to be there - but considerin' yer views on Upper Floaten, I'd understand if ya wanted to not be there," he explained.
 
Lily gave a little laugh at the way Mr. Harn and Noah talked to each other, amused by the banter despite feeling a bit like she didn't belong. It was nice that they got along so well, and apparently were very alike. She was happy she got to see them both together.

"Don't eat too much or you'll miss out on dessert!" She insisted with a little laugh as Noah pulled her along, holding Pumpkin carefully with one arm as she followed them both to the kitchen which was bigger and fancier than she'd ever been in in her life. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

******************​

Jasper was quiet for a long moment, staring off at where Nel and the others were still working with the large dragoness his prosthetic was for, fingers curling loosely in and out of a fist. No, he did not like Upper Floaten - thought pretty much everyone that lived there was trash, really - but Noah was turning out okay. And for Mr. Jenkins, it wasn't just someone from Upper Floaten, it was family that was important, that he'd been missing and hurting over for a long time.

". . . I can come over when this is done," he said finally, shifting his weight a bit awkwardly and unsure how to say that if it was for the old man, he could stand a few hours of deep irritation, "You'll help me bandage this arm? Don't wanna look too bad for your guests." He already looked like he'd gotten into a nasty fistfight.
 
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"Yes," Mr. Harn told Lily at once. "Keep Noah's fingers out of the bowl until I've actually finished using it."

"Awww," Noah said, still smiling widely. "But I thought we could taste test stuff!"

Mr. Harn snorted. "Yes. When I hand it to you. Also Lily, if you'd like, I'd love some help washing and tossing the greens for the salad. There should be a bowl in the cabinet next to the fridge, and some greens in the fridge. I'll start cutting the chicken," he added, gathering various ingredients. For his part, he almost couldn't believe how well Lily fit into his family. But then, she had been spending a lot of time with Noah - so maybe he shouldn't be too surprised.

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The older man blinked in a mixture of shock and delight. He wondered, briefly, whether Jasper only wanted to come because Mr. Jenkins would be there and he wanted to keep him safe. The thought made him smile. "Ah'd very much enjoy that. So will the others. But keep in mind, yer free to leave any time."

He nodded earnestly. "Of course I'll help ya patch up! The crew ain't due till dinner time. We've got hours before. Ya want to help me make a dessert for 'em after we get you patched up?"
 
Lily only laughed when Mr. Harn told her to stop Noah's grabby hands, imagining just how often Noah must have interfered with his father's cooking as a child. "Looks like somebody's got you pegged, Noah. What a troublemaker!"

She shook her head a little, still smiling as she shifted Pumpkin carefully up until he could sit in her shoulder. "All right, little Pumpkin, I need my hands but you hang on and keep me company while I wash leaves, okay?" He could still be with her if she walked carefully and didn't accidentally dump him off her shoulder.

It was a strangely awkward feeling, navigating around someone else's kitchen for the first time, but she did well enough finding the bowl, and picking out the greens from the fridge. She was careful and diligent in washing them at the sink, humming a little tune under her breath as she worked because she was used to doing so when she was home alone doing the same sorts of things. As much as she liked living with Jasper, it was nice being with more than one person, listening to their smiles as they teased each other. It almost made her miss her own family.

****************

Jasper was quiet again as Mr. Jenkins talked, but finally he huffed a little breath of laughter and deigned to look up at Mr. Jenkins from where he sat. "Thanks, Papa J. . . I'd be happy to help." It felt weird, agreeing to have dinner with someone he hated before he even met them, but he would do anything, really, for his last remaining family, even suffer through people he didn't like. He would just have to work hard at keeping his temper controlled so he didn't ruin it.

When Nel finally turned and gave a little wave, Jasper finally pushed himself up to his feet, only groaning and wincing just a little on his way there, and gave his head a little shake to clear it. "Gotta go check on that piece before it breaks," he said, and for Mr. Jenkins managed a little smile through the aches. "No promises I won't get beat up again."
 
Noah blushed and ran a hand through his hair. "Who, me?"

"Yes, you," Mr. Harn replied with a laugh.

Pumpkin chirped and curled his tail carefully around Lily's upper shoulder and arm, settling in against her neck with perfect poise and balance.

Axle glanced over from setting the chicken on a cutting board. And on seeing Pumpkin settle in on Lily's shoulder, he smiled wistfully. "Ah, the shoulder. Always been one of his favorite spots," he murmured.

------

"I know ya would be, Jasper. You always are," Mr. Jenkins agreed. He smiled gently at the boy and nodded to him, watching him head off towards the dragon again. "You just watch yerself this time, eh? But don't worry. I got plenty of ice an' plenty of medicine at home to clean ya up with. We'll have you lookin' right as rain when everyone arrives."

He made his way to a nearby fence and sat down on a lower post, watching Jasper head back over towards the dragon. He held his breath and hoped he wouldn't be too injured this time.
 
Lily was smiling as she listened, though focused on her task, and only glanced over when Mr. Harn noted the way Pumpkin was sitting. For a moment she had a very vivid, heart wrenching thought that Noah's mother might have done the same things, in the same place, with the same little dragon on her shoulder. It didn't feel right to be standing in her place. She hoped she wasn't making anyone upset by being there.

"He's good at balancing," she said with a little smile still, though it had faded just slightly. It still made her happy to be a part of helping get their family back together again. "My usual dragon's much too big for shoulder sitting - he'd squash me!" She giggled at the very idea of Infernus trying to do what Pumpkin did, and at the image of them switching sizes and having Pumpkin be big and Infernus be small.

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Jasper gave Mr. Jenkins a little wave and a glance over his shoulder, as if to make the promise anyway that he would be safe. With Nel around, and everyone a bit more wary, things would go a lot smoother, he was sure.

"All right, Koatl," he said softly as he approached, keeping his hands where they could be seen and tilting his head back a bit to look up at the way she looked down at him. "It's gonna be all right. I promise I won't move too fast, and I promise I won't hurt you." When she reached her head down to him with a low, worried rumble, he reached up with his good arm to give her muzzle a gentle pet. "I know you didn't mean it, girl. . . Let's figure out this new paw, hm? We'll get it off y' soon, and some day you'll be walkin' on a better one, like nothin' ever happened."

He didn't get to work until she was reassured, and with Nel's help went through adjusting the fit, seeing how long the net of straps that would go up the dragons leg to her shoulder and chest would need to be, and how much bigger or smaller the base of the foot needed to be to fit comfortably around the stump at the end of her leg with room for padding. It was oddly fulfilling, seeing the way they could help her learn to press the paw into a log so it would clamp down, and then press again to make it let go, to see the way she marveled at it and fluttered her wings in excitement. Even if it was just one dragon, he hoped some day soon he would perfect the model enough that she could walk on and use it comfortably, and function just as well as any other dragon could. If he got a little hurt getting her there, he thought he could accept the risk.
 
But when Noah glanced over at Mr. Harn's face, a bit worried about the same thing, he was immensely relieved. Mr. Harn was still smiling. The older man took a breath and relaxed, nodding to Lily. "He suits you, you know. I haven't seen him look that at home since my wife passed. You have a very calming presence," he added as he went back to chopping the chicken. "I imagine he'll be splitting his time between you, Noah, and Mr. Jenkins to maximize on cuddles."

------

After seeing the way Koatl apologized to Jasper and the way Jasper carefully got back to work, Mr. Jenkins let out the breath he was holding. He was content to look on and observe the way the new foot worked and how Koatl learned how to use it.

He couldn't help thinking about how clever his grandson was to have designed something so life changing.
 
Lily was glad that Mr. Harn was looking at his own hands, so he missed the way she had to stop and blink rapidly for a moment to keep her eyes from watering. To think that she could be anywhere approaching a surrogate for Pumpkin's old human companion, and that Mr. Harn thought she was worthy of it, was overwhelming.

"Thank you," she managed after a pause to collect herself, quiet and almost shy at the praise, one hand touching gently at one of Pumpkin's paws. Finally, she managed to smile again, and carefully drained the water out of the greens she'd finished washing. "He really is all about the cuddles." And if it made Pumpkin happy, she would gladly give him all the snuggles he wanted.

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The fitting took a while, but thankfully there were no more incidents than when the dragoness was surprised by the way the paw locked and released and pulled it back up a little too fast. Jasper and the older man helping him had enough time to move out of the way, at least, and laughed it off when Koatl seemed less frightened about the contraption. Nel assisted in taking very exact measurements from the end of her leg up to her shoulder and chest, and eventually when Jasper thought he'd gotten a good enough idea of what to do for the next iteration and had taken enough notes, they were careful in getting the fake paw back off.

While Nel soothed Koatl after the experience and started to lead her away, Jasper folded up the temporary straps he'd made out of canvas rather than leather, and hauled the metal contraption back to where Mr. Jenkins was waiting. "Okay," he said with a little shrug, carefully holding the paw with his good arm though it was heavy and feeling a bit strange about having someone watch him work. "Ready to head back?" Nobu and Naga were around, somewhere, but at the Dragonry they were free to wander on their own. They would find him eventually.
 
Pumpkin licked her hand, and then the tears off her cheek, chirping softly and fluttering his wings as though to ask if she was okay. It had been a while since he'd caught the scent of tears, but he knew they usually meant pain or sadness.

"You're quite welcome," Mr. Harn replied with a gentle smile. He scraped the chicken into a bowl, and then scooped up two spoonfuls. "All right, first taste test. Who wants shredded chicken?"

"Oooh! Me!" Noah called, reaching for a spoon and popping it into his mouth at once. The chicken had already been cooked, so there was no risk of getting salmonella.

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Mr. Jenkins jumped up for a brief moment when Koatl startled. Luckily, the pair had enough time to react and move, and nobody was hurt.

And once Jasper came over, Mr. Jenkins offered his arms. "I sure am. Ya want any help carryin' that thing back? Looks damn heavy."
 
Lily turned a little to talk to Pumpkin, and to hide her face as she wiped away the tear that had fallen, taking a careful, slow breath to help the feeling go away. "I'm okay, I'm okay," she murmured quietly for just Pumpkin to hear, and petted gently at his head to both soothe and thank him even as she raised her voice enough to be heard by others. "No, no, thank you, though. I think I'll wait for the finished product."

She was glad to let them be distracted by the tasting, as it gave her the seconds she needed to compose herself, and after receiving a little snuggle from Pumpkin she felt more like her smile was an honest one. "All washed and drained over here. Is there anything else I can do? I'm decent with a knife, if there's stuff that needs choppin'!" Something to do would keep her from thinking too hard about the things she really had no right to be crying over.

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Jasper made a little face at the thought of carrying the metal contraption all the way back, then just winced when it pulled at the sore parts of his face. "It's pretty heavy. . ." He agreed, not wanting to make Mr. Jenkins carry it, but finally accepted his own limits and angled it a bit towards the man. "You take that end, I'll take the other?" It would be all right with two people to take the weight, and they could walk slowly if they needed to. "I can use my other arm, if it's too heavy. They're just scratches."
 
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