Breath of Fresh Air

Noah smiled in relief. "That's good to hear. I like dragons in general, but I definitely prefer tamer ones. That's for sure." He yawned lightly and laid his head down on a pillow, letting his eyes slip closed. "I'll see you in a few hours, probably." And with that, he drifted off into a nap.

It was about a few hours later that he eventually woke up again. He was still sore, but he wasn't stiff any longer, and he sat up and stretched carefully. "Mmpfh. Afternoon." He rubbed at his stomach and blinked. "It's about lunch time, is it? Could I persuade you to grab something for us to eat and drink?" he asked Jasper.

He sat up a bit straighter and blinked. It was amazing how much progress the boy had made in just a few hours; he was an absolute workhorse. He was starting to see why Lily worried about him not getting enough sleep, or stopping to eat when he should.
 
By the time Noah woke, Jasper was buried firmly in his work, having spent the hours he was sleeping finishing the second half of the spin-lock mechanism and assembled some of the fake dragon claws he'd already shaped days prior - it was a prototype, just to make sure the design worked, so it wasn’t anything fancy, but it was probably three times the size of Naga or Nobu's relatively small paw-hands. He was still working on how to keep the metal from degrading itself as it moved together, and had grease streaked across his hands, and a bit on his forehead where he had unthinkingly wiped away sweat from being too near Naga's flames for too long.

Lost in a project, the sound of Noah's voice might have been startling, if he were someone prone to being startled. As it was, he only looked the younger man's way from where he was bent over a work table with his hand half-buried in a claw, threading through the needed connections that would make the appendages flex and hold, and after a pause finally dropped the end of the chain he'd been holding in his teeth.

"Yeah, yeah," he muttered mostly to himself, stepping back and taking a moment to roll his shoulders and give a stretch. Speaking, at least, reminded him that he needed to drink water. "Don't waste your breath climbing the stairs again."

While he was not exactly prone to sympathy, given Noah had only bumps, bruises, and sore spots, he wouldn't insist on making the boy trek uncomfortably up the flight of stairs just to get lunch. "I'm in the middle of something, so I hope you're fine with sandwiches." He gave Noah a little smirk as he walked by, holding up grease-stained fingers for him to see in passing and wondering idly if the rich kid had ever done dirty work in his life. "Promise I’ll wash up first."
 
Jasper certainly had his work cut out for him. The prosthetic prototype was huge, and even a single claw of the thing was larger than his hand. Noah blinked and thought about how big the dragon must be. And if this was a prototype, the real prosthetic might be larger. He knew his family's company made larger than life saddles. But having never seen a dragon in person - except in passing, from a distance - Noah didn't have much sense of scale for the creatures. After all, the saddles only rested on part of a dragon's back; they didn't take up the whole length of a dragon.

He smiled warmly when Jasper tried to hide his kindness under an insult. "Thanks," he replied, relaxing back against the couch cushions. "I won't. I appreciate it." His stomach growled, and he chuckled awkwardly. "I'm not in a position to be picky. I could go for anything edible right now. I don't care what. Thank you."

Then he giggled again when Jasper showed him his dirty hands. "I trust you." His or his father's hands looked like that on rare occasions, when they were working on custom saddles. They had machines for more generic saddles - machines that Noah should really learn how to operate and fix sometime - but more unique orders required intensive leather working. Noah didn't know machines, but he certainly knew leather. "I'll yell for you if Naga tries to eat me or something."
 
Jasper only laughed on his way up the stairs, but given Naga's penchant for causing trouble, he did keep an ear out while he was away. He took a few minutes to wash his hands and face, then put together a couple of basic sandwiches, just deli meat, cheese, condiments and a bit of lettuce on top. Next to it on each plate he placed slices of apple for each of them, and brought down two glasses of water. Handling dragons and complicated projects gave him plenty of experience multitasking and balancing things, so it wasn’t much of a struggle to make it back down the stairs with it all.

"Up and at 'em," he murmured as he walked over to the couch, making sure Noah was ready before handing over one plate and one glass. "You can give Nobu an apple slice, but only one. He'll take it from you gently enough." He wasn’t the one that tried to take off fingers at the same time, and was already patiently waiting by Noah's side after having sought out more pets.

Jasper took his own food back to his workbench to set it down, and did finally pull over a chair to rest for a short break. "Naga." He called, and when her head lifted and swiveled in his direction gave a slice of apple a toss that carried it clear across the workshop, only to be snatched up midair as she flew to catch up. Hunting for her food had always been more her thing than Nobu's, who had taken well to a life of pampering and playtime.
 
Noah had quite quickly taken the opportunity to give Nobu some more pets, absolutely delighted with the little dragon. He looked up at the same time as Nobu did when Jasper returned downstairs. Then he carefully took his food and drink, set the cup aside, and gave Nobu the first slice of apple. "You know, I'm glad I fell down here," he admitted at last. "You and the dragons and Lily are so nice. And you're so relaxed about everything. People in Upper Floaten always have sticks up their asses. 'Don't walk on my flowers! Don't breathe my air! Don't come to dinner with anything less than a three-piece suit on!'" he added, mimicking an old woman's voice.

He bit into his sandwich and chewed thoughtfully. "I mean, my father's not like that. But a lot of other people are. And it's kind of hard to make real friends up there, too," he added with his mouth full. "Like, people know who I am because of the family business. And it's hard to tell who actually wants to be friends and who's just trying to gain influence."

Noah smiled then, pointing at Jasper with his sandwich before taking another bite of it. "You and Lily and the dragons, though - you both are actually good people. I can tell. So, do you want to be friends?"
 
Nobu was delicate, taking the apple slice with his front teeth and waiting until Noah's hand was gone to give his head a little toss, chew once or twice, and then swallow it mostly whole. Like a begging dog, he sat and watched the boy eat with big, eager eyes. It was why Jasper had specifically said only one. Nobu would never look like he’d had enough.

Jasper glanced over when Noah started talking, and for a moment looked heavenward as if wondering if God would help him - or if Lily would please come home early. As used to working by himself all day with only the dragons for company as he was, it was strange bordering on intrusive to have another voice in the shop. Not bad, per say, but very different.

Finally, he gave a little sigh and picked up a wrench to tighten a few connection on the half-completed foot between bites of lunch. "Money and privilege do that to people," He said with a shrug. "They're not the only things, but they’re probably the fastest." After a pause, he gave Noah a very dry, sidelong look. "I haven't kicked you out yet. Let’s start with that."

It felt like talking to a child, asking to be friends like it was their first day of grade school. But, Jasper supposed hearing a positive, innocent outlook like that could be refreshing, every once in a while. And Lily would definitely latch onto it immediately. For now, until something gave him a reason not to, he would keep an eye out so the boy didn't get himself into trouble on his way to visit.
 
With a soft chuckle, Noah nodded and tore into the rest of his sandwich. "Good enough," he decided at Jasper's response. He'd have to ask Lily whether that was Jasper's way of saying yes to being friends. But Noah had hardly ever asked anyone to be genuine friends, and he was thrilled to have gotten a positive response.

He settled quietly into his meal and, probably to Nobu's disappointment, ate every last bite and drained the glass of water. "Say," he asked quietly, "I don't suppose you have any scrap leather or leather working tools lying around? I didn't bring my supplies with me because I fell from the sky, but - then I could kind of fiddle with things for a while."

He was really well rested by this point, and while he'd gladly continue petting Nobu, he figured the dragon would eventually get bored and he'd have to find something else to do. Jasper was clearly the type of person to prefer doing something over just talking, so Noah thought he'd try to join in.
 
Jasper was content to work, and occasionally eat more, while Noah was quiet nearby, and gave a silent sigh when the boy spoke up again, resolving to himself that he was probably not going to work at a steady pace for the rest of the day. If he was truly rude to their guest, Lily would have his head for it later.

"Haven't touched the leathers in a while," he said with a shrug, and pointed to the far corner of the shop. "Tools and machines are on that side. Scraps should be in a box near the tools."

He had an old, but still very effective sewing machine meant for leather, and a handful of tools of the trade stored in a box nearby, and if Noah wanted there was table space next to the machine. As he'd said, he hadn’t had need of a leather working project in a while, and if any of his supplies that actually mattered dwindled by the time the boy was done playing, he was sure enough by now he could get reimbursed for it with hardly any effort. Besides, he knew sitting around with Nobu staring would get boring, after a while. While there would be hell to pay for touching his actual projects, if fiddling with bits of leftover leather entertained the boy, Jasper had very little to complain about.
 
"Thank you!" Noah said with delight, and he got up from the couch and made his way over. His sore muscles were barely aching now compared to a few hours ago. "Come on, Nobu. I need a muse." He sat down next to the leather table with a soft groan, and then examined all the pieces and tools available to him. There was quite a large variety, and even a leather sewing machine.

He sorted through the scraps first, feeling each one and testing how flexible and durable each was. Normally he'd make a saddle. But Nobu was too small for one, and he didn't want to upset him or Jasper by trying to get the dragon's measurements for a mini saddle. So instead he decided to make two leather dragons for Nobu and Naga to play with.

He fell into a quiet trance of working, though he took frequent breaks to give Nobu some pets or hold out a piece of leather for him to sniff just for fun. He hardly noticed the time pass as he worked on hand stitching and cutting two small leather dragon chew toys.
 
Nobu perked up at the sound of his own name, eagerly hopping down from the couch to hurry after Noah and stick his head into the box of treated animal hides. He wasn’t always allowed to touch things, but was curious like most animals were and didn’t get yelled at from afar, so just sat back and watched to see what Noah was doing after. While the boy worked he wandered back and forth, at times going to nose at Jasper for attention, or taking little breaks to run about the workshop with Naga, chasing and playing with each other.

Jasper worked steadily once the room was mostly quiet, and only got up when his plate eventually emptied, knowing if he didn’t take the dishes now they would sit around until he was scolded over it. It was when he came back down from putting them upstairs that he realized Noah was actually making something, and wandered over finally to have a look, standing a bit behind and off to the side of the boy and bending over to see.

"What are you doing?" He asked, half because he wanted to know and half because he wanted to see if Noah would jump after being so focused on his task. Nobu was sitting by the boy's side again, watching curiously, and got up to do an eager little shimmy like he knew it was almost done. Jasper only chuckled at the small dragon's antics. "I think he's cheering you on."
 
Unlike Jasper, Noah wasn't used to sudden interruptions in his work. He jumped so much he nearly fell out of his chair, and he clutched what he was working on tightly in his hands. Then he laughed and relaxed again. "Skies above, you scared me." He held up both leather dragons, smiling happily. "I'm making Nobu and Naga some chew toys. I don't think they'll last long, but hey. Something to do."

The dragons were fairly nearly finished, except for some details he'd been adding with stitching. He set them down on the table again to finish it up, beaming at Nobu's little shimmy. "I think Nobu knows one of these is for him. I used the pieces of leather he sniffed to make his dragon; he seemed to like those pieces better."

A few moments later, he nodded proudly and held one of the leather chew toys out to Nobu. "Here, Nobu. This one's yours. You want it?"
 
Jasper laughed when Noah jumped, smiling and looking proud of himself for getting the reaction he’d somewhat been hoping for. "Definitely won't last long, but you never know. They might like 'em." Naga would most definitely chew hers to death soon enough, but it would make her happy a while.

Nobu was already circling Noah's chair and came around front again when spoken to. On hearing 'want it' and his name, Naga came running over to see what was happening - and to see if she was getting something too, whatever it was.

Nobu gave a little hop with just his front feet, then came forward to take the toy from Noah just as delicately as he’d taken the apple from before, then immediately turned and ran off with it to a different corner of the shop.

Jasper just laughed and watched him go. "He does that sometimes. I think he’s got a tiny hoard tucked away somewhere. Means he likes it, at least. . . You're gonna want to toss Naga's when it’s done. She likes to chase things." And she did not take things gently like Nobu.
 
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"I hope they do. It was something to pass the time with, anyway," Noah said with a smile. He watched eagerly as Nobu ever so gently took his chew toy and hurried off with it, and his eyes glittered when Jasper said the dragon liked it. "Aw, I'm glad he does. Hopefully he and Naga will get at least a few minutes of fun out of those."

Then he noticed Naga sitting beside him. He chuckled and turned to finish the detailing on her leather dragon. Then, at Jasper's insistence, he picked the toy up and leaned back. "Naga, ready? Catch!" he called, and he threw the toy across the room.

Nobu's gentle grab of the toy was adorable, but a small part of him also wanted to see Naga latch onto the toy and tear it to shreds like a tiny crocodile. He knew each dragon showed their delight in different ways, and he was eager to see Naga happy.
 
Jasper stuck around, both interested in Noah's careful needlework and wanting to see what Naga would do. When the toy was finished and held up, Naga dropped into her 'about to jump' stance, legs bent and wings up, then took off after the toy the moment it was thrown. It wasn’t very heavy, so she caught up to it and snatched it out of the air long before it would have hit the ground. She banked and came right back, though, snapping her wings out and stopping nearby, then flopping onto the ground to gnaw on the tough leather of the toy with it held in both front paws.

Jasper laughed, running a hand back through his hair to get it away from his eyes. "I'd say that means she likes you. Chewing near you is her bonding time."
 
Noah smiled proudly, and his eyes even shimmered slightly. "How about that? The first two dragons I've met in person and they both like me," he said happily. "And thanks again for letting me use those leather scraps. They make great chew toys."

He got up from the workbench, cleaned everything up, and then stretched and cracked his back a bit. "I've kind of lost track of time. How many hours did I spend making those chew toys, huh? I can't feel my legs any more," he joked.

Then he made his way towards the couch, which was still directly next to Naga so he could watch her chew, and he flopped down with a soft groan. "Good girl, Naga. Kill it," he said with a chuckle. "Oh! Speaking of leather - do you happen to have Fern's measurements?"
 
Jasper shrugged off the thanks, watching Naga with a little smile. "They weren't much use to me, just sitting around. Made them happy, at least." Catering to his little dragon helpers did a lot towards getting on his good side, not that he would ever admit it. "You do pretty good work, rich boy."

"Three maybe?" He said with a little shrug as he walked away, wandering back to his own work to consider where to go with it next. "Lily should be home soon." He paused, when questioned about Fern's measurements, and gave Noah an almost suspicious sort of look. "I might have them laying around somewhere. Why?"

More talk of charity? They didn’t need a Harn saddle, his pride insisted. The custom saddle he'd made for Lily was still in good condition, and tailored to her needs. . . But her birthday wasn't far away. And she did deserve to have nice things. Maybe if Noah would extend his charity into letting Jasper commission something and just pay the difference between a standard and custom order, that wouldn't be so bad.
 
"Heh, thanks," Noah said with a grin. "I sure like to think so. And so do our customers. My neighbors might disagree, though."

He very nearly laughed at Jasper's suspicious expression. But he realized the young man did have a right to be at least sort of concerned. "Well . . . I know Lily already has a custom saddle. Bound to be high quality too, if you made it. But I was wondering if she'd want a Harn saddle, too. Then she could switch between them and they'd both last longer," Noah explained with a smile. "You know, as a sort of thank you gift, aside from the donations to the Dragonry."

Noah eased himself down onto the couch further and lay down. Then he patted his stomach and gave a soft whistle. "Nogu, you want to come over and get a few pets?" he offered. "Lily's going to be home soon and I'll probably head home shortly after."
 
Noah was trying to suck up by saying her current saddle was nice, Jasper was sure. It wasn’t like he'd seen it, and there wasn’t much around of his own leather work right now, not in the shop. Still, with Lily not around, it would be easier to let the son of a rich family give away as much money as he wanted to. Was it really 'taking advantage' if the boy really wanted to give them something and Jasper was just saying yes?

Probably. But still.

"I’ll make you a deal." Jasper said finally, after a pause to consider. "I find Fern's measurements somewhere, I draft up a basic plan for what she needs, and next time you find yourself down in the depths, I'll hand it off. You play around with it a little if you want, and maybe we have it ready before her next birthday." It didn’t need to be sooner than that, really. If Noah wanted to make his own design based off of Jasper's basic draft, he could take his time.

Nobu, hearing his name, popped seemingly out of nowhere and trotted over to hop up onto the couch with his brush in his mouth, which he promptly dropped in Noah's lap. He would take as many pets and scratches as he could get.

Jasper rolled his eyes, but with a little smile on his face, and turned back to his work. "You'll spoil him. Soak it in, y' scaley little baby. Soon Papa Fern'll be here to set y' straight." He paused then, shaking his head, and glanced over at Noah. "His name is actually Infernus, by the way. Lily just calls him Fern 'cause she thinks it’s 'cuter'." A fire-breathing dragon named after a plant. Only she would do something so whimsical without a hint of joke behind it.
 
Noah's eyes lit up. "A birthday present! That's a great idea," he burst out. "When's her birthday? And for that matter, when's your birthday?" After having witnessed Lily kiss Jasper on the cheek, he was pretty certain the pair were dating on some level. And he wanted to make sure it didn't seem like he was going after Lily. He wanted both her and Jasper as friends, after all. "Otherwise yeah, that sounds like a deal! Hopefully next time I come down here it won't be because I fell."

He giggled and picked up Nobu's brush at once when the dragon dropped it into his lap, and then he began brushing Nobu's scales. His smile faded slightly as he thought for a moment. "You know . . . speaking of having fallen . . . I wonder what I saw near that abandoned space cruiser hanger. If it was dragons, I wonder if they had riders. Or maybe . . ." He paused again, rubbing his cheek. "I wonder if it was a family of feral dragons. Is there a way to tell at a distance whether dragons have riders or not?"
 
Jasper wrinkled his nose a little at the idea of his own birthday, waving a dismissive hand at the idea of someone giving him presents. "Hers is still a few months away. We've got plenty of time. She usually runs off to go see her parents, around then, so we can get it ready for her to take with her." He was sure her family didn't care much for him, and he had only visited them with her a couple times when one or both of them had thought she wouldn’t be safe in the journey.

"Feral dragons are only really obvious when you're too close already, or if you watch them for a long time," Jasper shrugged a little, not sure how else to explain. "Experts might be able to tell from a distance. I’m sure some of the people at the Dragonry probably could. Otherwise, mostly it's just how they interact with people. Unless they’re defending territory or actively hunting, they’re not usually very aggressive."