Breath of Fresh Air

Noah burst out laughing at Jasper's reaction to his cruiser. It was unusual, he knew that much, but it was the closest thing to having his own dragon to ride. He brought the cruiser around back and parked it inside the bay as instructed.

Then he blinked and tilted his head. ". . . I did dress down," he said in confusion. "All this stuff is thrifted. Even the cruiser. I even painted it and added pretend wings so it would look more homemade." He rubbed his chin and shrugged. "You both will have to help me out with what sort of clothes to wear here, I guess."

He smiled a bit at Jasper's sentiment, which came through even more clearly with Lily's translation. "I appreciate it, Jasper. Thanks. I wasn't sure how else to get down here. I remembered your warning about other dragon riders dropping me out of the sky, so - I thought I'd better bring myself down."

Noah headed inside as casually as if he lived there and glanced around for Naga and Nobu. "How are the dragons? Did they destroy their chew toys yet? And how are you both?"
 
Jasper heaved a big, put-upon sigh again, and just resigned himself to babysitting. "Dragon riders from here." He said with a shake of his head. "I'm sure anyone that's even allowed to ride up there would gladly take your money to leave you down here."

Lily rolled her eyes and just walked a circle around the small vehicle, with a big smile on her face. "I'm so used to seeing dragons, these things are neat to me."

Nobu and Naga, upon hearing the commotion, came soaring over to inspect the vehicle with interest. While Jasper batted at Naga's muzzle for trying to bite the wings, Nobu finished his inspection and hurried over to Noah to jump and flap his wings, crashing into the boys' arms.

Lily gave a startled shout and hurried to help support Noah with her hands behind his shoulders, not wanting Nobu to bowl him over. "Sorry!" She cried with a little laugh mixed in, "I think he remembers you!"

Jasper laughed at the enthusiasm, even as he picked Naga up off the cruiser so she couldn't destroy it. "Naga's was toast the day you gave it to her. I think Nobu's is still half intact somewhere. He likes to hide things so she can't have them."
 
The young man couldn't help but smile proudly when the dragons came over to examine his cruiser. He knew it probably wasn't the case, but it was fun to imagine they thought his ship was another dragon and were trying to say hello. Then he spotted Nobu bolting towards him with seconds to spare.

He gave a soft grunt and staggered slightly as the dragon leapt upon him, but he held his ground, and he laughed in delight and held Nobu close. "Hey, buddy!" he burst out. "It's good to see you, too! You been good?" He ruffled the scales on top of Nobu's head and grinned at Lily. "Aw, don't apologize. I love getting a chance to play with dragons."

Then he held Nobu with one arm and gently petted his back with the other. "So, what have you both been up to today? Can I maybe go for a fly with one of you and Infernus? Oh! That reminds me, did the donation to the Dragonry go through?"
 
Lily let Noah go when she was sure Nobu wouldn't knock the boy over, grinning at the small dragon when he was left peeking over his shoulder. "Oh, Jasper doesn't usually take rides with Fern. He's my dragon, so he mostly only likes me." It wasn't that he wouldn't let Jasper ride him, if she asked him to, but he wouldn't like it. Like many dragons did, her Fern had chosen her as his, and wouldn't accept anyone else.

Jasper gave his head a shake, setting Naga down and letting her stay at his feet without shooing her away since she wasn't chewing things just yet. "Dragonry got the money, and sends their thanks. I'm sure the letter will come soon enough."

Lily nodded and gave Noah a big smile. "I didn't expect you and your family to give so much! Thank you! They'll be able to do good work with that money, and maybe even help out sister organizations in other places that have a lot of dragons around. That's where Fern is right now, actually! We could go see him, if you don't mind the walk." She was sure it would be okay, as long as he stayed close and didn't cause any trouble by running off once he saw dragons.
 
Noah tilted his head. "Huh. So dragons sort of just pick one person and stick to them, huh?" he asked with a grin. He blinked and glanced briefly from Nobu to Jasper. ". . . Uh-oh. I hope I didn't accidentally let him imprint on me. S - sorry." He grimaced and gently set Nobu down on the floor. "Guess I gotta be careful with getting too friendly with anybody, huh?"

Then Jasper and Lily confirmed that the Dragonry had gotten the donation, and he relaxed a bit. "My father and I are both happy to help," Noah said, smiling and blushing a little in embarrassment. "We've both always had an interest in dragons. It's why we got into the saddle business," he added.

His eyes widened at Lily's offer. "Oh - ! We could go to the actual Dragonry?! That would be amazing! I'd love to see it! And all the dragons! Holy fuck!" he burst out, jumping up and down a bit. He nodded eagerly and grinned. "I'd love to go. It'll be great! And I promise, I won't cause any trouble!"
 
Jasper only raised an eyebrow at Noah as he set Nobu on the ground, and tried to remind himself that he was dealing with someone who knew absolutely nothing about dragons. "I've had these two since they hatched," he said, with a faintly incredulous note to his voice. "Sorry to burst your bubble, but they're not gonna choose you over me. Nobu just likes you."

Lily gave him a grin, despite how harshly she knew his words could be taken. "He's basically Dad," she explained with a little laugh, "and you're their friend." Nobu liked Noah a lot, and Naga was interested in him, but they were still at Jasper's beck and call, and Noah didn't need to worry about making them want to leave or anything of the sort.

She was trying to be reassuring, but when his excitement about the Dragonry came through, Lily couldn't help breaking into startled laughter at his language.

Jasper was standing back with his arms crossed still, though if she looked close enough Lily could see him fighting back a smile. "The bouncing and the shouting is not doing a whole lot to convince me you don't need a backpack leash."
 
Luckily, though, Noah seemed relieved he wouldn't accidentally break the dragons' bond with Jasper. "Good," he replied with a sigh of relief. "You had me worried there for a minute. I'd hate to accidentally come between any of you."

Then he laughed when Jasper suggested a backpack leash. "Actually . . . Nah, just kidding. I promise I'll behave without one. I just - the chance to see so many dragons! I can't wait. It's going to be fantastic," he added. He glanced to Lily and grinned. "I'm ready to go when you are! Just say the word. Wow, the Dragonry! I can't - I'm just beside myself right now," he gushed.

Once Lily was ready to go, he gave Jasper a friendly greeting goodbye and gave Nobu a few more pets. Then he strolled off after Lily - or at least tried to calmly stroll - and was full to bursting with questions on the way. How many dragons did the Dragonry have? Where did they come from? Did any of the dragons get ridden? How did one become a dragon rider? Could he become a dragon rider? And on and on and on.
 
Jasper was not entirely convinced, still, but the Dragonry was more than capable of handling him. He told them to be safe, as was his usual goodbye, then just waved and let them go once she had her mask and oxygen tank, should she need them. He would take Nobu and Naga out while they were gone, then get back to work while there was no one around to stop him.

"I'm glad you're excited," she said, smiling as she put on her mask on their way out, and set a sort of upbeat walking pace for them as they left the shop. "To tell you the truth, I was a little worried everyone up top just hated dragons on principle." It was a thought that made her sad, since she loved Fern and spent so much time around him. Dragons were smarter than people gave them credit for and weren't inherently evil - they were just big, and as such caused more chaos than other predators.

"Slow down, slow down," she said with a good natured laugh as his questions came one after the other. "Dragons mostly choose their riders themselves - there are more riders around who never intended to become one than you think, but once a dragon chooses you it's really best to just go with the flow. They're big, and expensive to care for, and they can be dangerous in the wrong hands, but it takes a lot to make them give up on you, and I wouldn't trade Fern for the world!"

He had caused her trouble plenty of times, growing up, but she knew he never meant to. It was all just the risk one took when caring for dragons. The people at the Dragonry could really tell him more than she could. Hopefully there would be people around that she knew would be okay explaining things so she could introduce him.
 
"What? No way," Noah said, waving a hand. "I mean, probably a few people do. But most people just view them as vague annoyances, or necessary protection tools, or loud and boisterous pets that just won't fit in the city." He shrugged and gave a half-hearted smile. "Their loss."

But it didn't dampen his excitement for long, and he was in awe when Lily told him most dragons just picked a human to ride them. "Whoa," he murmured. "So maybe I could be a dragon rider! How do you know when they pick you? What do they do?" he burst out. Big? No worries. Expensive? Even less worries. Dangerous? Hell, most of the adventures Noah picked out for himself were already dangerous. He thought he'd make a perfect dragon rider.

As the pair approached the Dragonry, there was a large woman with purple hair in a braid and a copper prosthetic leg, painting a side of the stables in a fresh coat of red. The rest of the stables were currently empty for cleaning, and a large aqua colored dragon who had the body shape of a noodle was spraying the rest of the stables to help clean them out.

The woman, named Jubilee, heard footsteps and turned around. Her face lit up in a smile, accented with purple lipstick and freckles. "Hey, Lily!" she called out. "Who'd you bring to the stables with ya? Friend of yours?"
 
Vague annoyances was better than hatred, Lily thought, though she wished people would be more open minded. At least she could content herself with the fact that dragons were probably just shooed away instead of mistreated. She hoped the ones that worked in Upper Floaten were pampered.

"It's possible," she said with a little shrug when Noah just about lost his mind at the idea of being a rider. She couldn't tell him it wasn't exciting, even with the dangers it could come with. "They won't leave you alone, that's for sure. Fern was little when he latched on to me, thankfully, but he stalked me all the way home and nearly ate our neighbors' cat when I was a kid." It was a funny memory, but she knew it could have been dangerous, since she'd been pretty young when he decided he liked her. "There's something about people that they sense that we'll probably never understand, that just makes them . . . resonate with people, I guess is the best I can describe it. Like they see right through you, and they like what they see." It was hard to put into words.

When they reached the first few buildings of the Dragonry's large plot of land, Lily gave Jubilee a wave and a smile. "Good morning! A new friend of mine! We're gonna take Fern out for some exercise." She paused, uncertain if Noah wanted her to introduce him as his full name, but deciding if he felt like doing so he could say the whole thing himself as he introduced himself. "Noah, this is Jubilee. Jubilee, Noah. She's worked here for a long time!" She turned to the woman again with a smile obvious even with half her face covered by a mask, and looked around at the barn. "A fresh coat of paint and this place looks brand new!"

She worried if the woman's leg was in need of any maintenance, but knew that she would reach out if it did. While Jasper didn't fully make prosthetics for people, given just how much more fragile they were than dragons, if he knew the person well enough he was one of a few people in town that could be talked into helping out with tune-ups when doctors or official manufacturers were too expensive.
 
Noah sighed wistfully, pushing a few locks of messy hair out of his face. "That sounds incredible," he murmured. "I sure wouldn't mind having a dragon with me all the time!" His father spent time with him when he could, of course. But most of the day he was busy working. And besides Lily and Jasper, it was hard for Noah to find genuine friends. At least he'd know a dragon liked him for him and not for his money.

He found himself a bit surprised, and then relieved, that Lily hadn't shared his full name. Of course! Why hadn't he thought of that before? If people didn't know who he was, they'd have to get to know the real him! He'd have to thank her afterwards for giving him an idea to make more friends. But for the moment, he waved back at Jubilee and grinned. "It's nice to meet you. Who's your dragon? Can I pet her?" he asked.

Jubilee laughed and shook her head. She tossed the paint brush into a can, cleaned her hands on a towel, and hopped off the ladder with a short whistle. Her dragon came slithering along through the grass beside her. "Clara. Boop," she said.

Clara, whose full name was Clarity, slithered up to Noah and booped her muzzle against his hand.

Noah almost squealed and gently petted her muzzle.

"Yep, I can tell why Lily brought you here," Jubilee said with a warm smile. "She knows who likes dragons. Lily, is he here about the you-know-what?" she added, referring to the adoption program.
 
Lily thought Jasper would tell Noah to stop asking to pet every dragon he saw, but she didn't want to dampen his enthusiasm. It was good to be happy about things, and she was there to help if it made his caution sink a little too low.

"Good morning, Clara!" She said with a big smile s the dragon greeted Noah, and let him have her to himself so she could wave her hands back and forth in front of her at Jubilee, trying to dismiss the idea. "Ah- not yet, not yet. We're working on familiarity and knowledge, first!"

Noah needed to learn a bit more about dragons, she thought, before he could think of adopting one even to just visit often at the Dragonry rather than to take it home. She hadn't known as much as she needed to when she was little, but at least she'd lived a life mostly aware of dragons and some of their habits. Noah had lived a bit too far from them, she thought, and she was still trying to get a feel for how much he actually knew. She wouldn't deny her friend forever, after all. When he was a bit less excitable about every one he saw, she would be sure to tell him all about it.

"Have you seen Fern lately?" She asked, just letting Noah have his time to say hello. "Is it all right if I go look for him?" Fern was hers, but since she had him stay at the Dragonry for lack of space in her own home, as many did, it was always good form to ask. If there were any dragons around that were not in great moods or just needed to be avoided, it was best she know about it before she went wandering the open pastures to look for him.
 
Jubilee nodded. "Sure! He was by the waterfall, last I saw him, and all the dragons are a bit excitable - but no one too grumpy. Even Boulderface is behaving well today," she added. Then she gasped as Clara suddenly rolled over and showed her belly. "Oh!"

Noah heard the inflection in her voice and froze, staring up in horror. "D - did I hurt her?!" he stammered in a panic.

"No! No. It's just I haven't seen her roll over like that for almost anyone," Jubilee murmured. "Either you found her favorite spot on the chin to be scratched, or she really likes you."

The young man relaxed at once and sighed, reaching down to give Clara a few more pets. "Good. I don't want to accidentally hurt anybody," he said softly.

"Hun, trust me. It would take a lot to accidentally hurt a dragon Clara's size," Jubilee said with a snicker.

"Hm. Oh! That reminds me - Jasper said to talk to you both. I saw some weird dragon shapes in the abandoned space cruiser in Upper Floaten. I was wondering if there might be like feral dragons or something there?" Noah added.
 
Lily smiled at the way Clara showed her belly and wondered if Noah would end up a sort of Dragon Whisperer, as she liked to call them. Someone that pretty much every dragon liked, or could at least tolerate. She only knew one other, a young man named Nel, who was one of the few who lived at the Dragonry rather than just worked there. She was rather sure he hadn't met a dragon that didn't like him, yet.

"Feral dragons?" Lily questioned, thoughtfully, and looked up as if she could possibly see the wreck in question from where they stood. "It's possible. Some dragons like caves, and a big enough cruiser would have lots of room to hide. Have you heard anything, Lee? Maybe Mal knows?"

Malia helped run the Dragonry, after all, and as someone specialized in veterinary services for the large beats often kept her ear to the ground about any nearby places with dragons that needed help, or humans that needed help with dragons. She was often on the move, though, and hard to find at any given moment.
 
"Hm. No, I haven't heard anything," Jubilee admitted, messing with Clara's ear fins as she often did while thinking. "How long ago did you see these dragon shapes, Noah?"

"Uh - two days ago," Noah said. He purposely left out that he'd seen them from Upper Floaten. He didn't want to cause a scene.

Jubilee nodded. "Recent, then. If I had to guess, it's either a group of feral dragons, someone released a dragon or two they couldn't keep any more like a damned idiot, or a group of riders were up where they shouldn't be. Hm. Lily, who do you think we should send up there to check it out?"

"I'll go!" Noah said at once. "I want to make sure they're okay."

"I don't know, Noah. Have you had any experience with dragons?" Jubilee asked gently.

Noah fidgeted. ". . . Not exactly. But I did pet a few the last few days!"

Jubilee quirked an eyebrow and glanced at Lily for context. It was - odd, to say the least, that someone who loved dragons as much as Noah had barely any experience with dragons. Maybe he only liked the idea of them?
 
Lily gave Jubliee a sheepish sort of smile when looked at for answers, just shrugging as if she didn't know either. "His family thinks dragons are too dangerous," she said, because it was as close to the truth as she could get and she didn't like lying, and put a finger to her lips with a little smile like they were keeping secrets. "We're being rebellious."

At the thought of who could go, though, she really hadn't a clue. "Fern and I could go have a look from afar. We're small and quick. Or maybe someone bigger could go, like Mika and Joachim." He was a large red dragon, easily three times Fern's size, and would be in less danger approaching ferals, but might also be seen as more of a threat. It was a difficult decision to make, but best left to someone more experienced than her. Aside from the occasional scouting from a distance as a favor to her friends at the Dragonry, she really was just a mail carrier.
 
Jubilee's expression softened, and she patted Noah's shoulder. "Ah. Well, as long as you're already being this rebellious . . . why don't you go with, Noah? Hell, Lily, why don't Clara and I tag along, too? I think some smaller dragons that can hold their own and evade well would do great. And Noah's the only one who's seen them before. He can tell us a bit about what to expect."

"What about the stables?" Noah asked, tilting his head.

"Aww, pfft. We need a break from washing and painting, anyway," Jubilee said, motioning for Clara to get into a ridable position. "Besides, we're just going up to take a look at what's going on. We're not going to do anything yet. Noah, can you tell us about what you saw?"

Noah clicked his tongue. "Well, honestly - I don't know if they were actually dragons. They just looked like dragon shapes. But there was four or five, and they were kind of circling around this one bay in particular."

Jubilee rubbed her chin and nodded. "Interesting. Anything else?"

"That's, uh - that's all I had a chance to make out," Noah admitted.

"Fair enough. Why don't you two go get Infernus, and I'll get Clara ready to go?" Jubilee deciddd with a smile.
 
Lily breathed a little sigh of relief when Jubilee offered to go with them, though she hadn't expected to go immediately. "Thanks, Lee. It'd be nice to have someone else with us. Come on, Noah. Stay close to me as we walk through, and we'll bring Fern back to get his saddle on."

She waved him along with her as she hurried off, looking left and right as they made their way towards the waterfall. There were about a dozen dragons around, in different states of repose in the grass or sunning on top of rocks, and a couple off to one side that were playing. It might have looked like fighting to some, but she knew it was play and wasn't worried, since they weren't really biting hard and were mostly just tossing around in the grass together.

"Fern!" She called with a wave when she saw him, careful not to raise her voice too much so as not to startle any others. She didn't have to do more to get him to come to her, his head picking up eagerly at the sound of her voice before he pulled himself out of the water where he'd been washing off his scales. When he got to her and gave his wings a little flap to toss off the water, she gave a little shriek and laugh, wrapping her arms around his muzzle when he pressed his head into her chest.

"You're all wet!" she cried. "That's cold!" Fern only chuffed a few times in a row, as much of a laugh as one could get from a dragon, and nuzzled her very gently before she let him go to look at Noah. More calmly, and less affectionately, he did stretch his head out for the boy to pet him.
 
Noah was absolutely beside himself with delight as they walked. There were dragons everywhere. Some were sunning themselves, some were playing, and some were grooming their scales. He was so distracted by the other dragons that he didn't realize Infernus was covered in water until he was suddenly splattered with ice cold droplets. He gasped in surprise and shivered. Then he laughed. "Yeah, no kidding! Brr! I thought dragons were cold-blooded?"

Then he realized Infernus was stretching out his head towards him to be pet. His eyes twinkled, and he gently stretched out a hand to give Infernus a few pets. "Hi there, good boy. Good to see you," he murmured. When the dragon at last withdrew, he took a breath and glanced toward Lily. "Can I ride with you and Infernus again?" he asked hopefully.

The group eventually made it back to the main stable area. Jubilee had put the painting supplies away and gathered a few supplies for the trip just in case, like bandages, medicine, food, and extra air and masks. Her saddle was situated on one segment of Clara's noodle like body, and Jubilee swayed a bit with it as her dragon undulated across the grass. "You all ready to go?" she asked the group.
 
Fern gave a low, pleased rumble in way of greeting, even going so far as to close his eyes as Noah pet him like a particularly comfortable cat. He had no problems keeping himself warm in cold water, or cold weather.

"Of course!" Lily said with a smile as they started to walk back, with Fern following close behind. "You'll be nice and safe with us."

When they got back to where Jubilee waited, she switched out her oxygen tank for a filter mask to save on the compressed air for now, since they would soon be high enough she would be away from the poor air quality anyway. She was quick to drag out Fern's saddle and get him into it, the dragon assisting in practiced motions and making it easier for her given her small height compared to him. When it was ready, she stored her things in his saddle bags, put a small emergency pack on the opposite side, and made sure everything was tightened so they wouldn't risk anything coming undone.

"All right, I think we're ready." She said, hands resting on her hips as she looked the saddle over. "Noah knows where we're going, so I guess we'll lead the charge, and keep our distance." She wouldn't get herself or anyone else into danger on purpose, but the possibility of feral dragons needed investigating.
 
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