Breath of Fresh Air

[FaithLeafCat]

Noah burst out laughing. "What? Oh. Huh . . . maybe. But it's not technically official so I'm gonna keep pretending he's my brother," he decided.

And when Lily mentioned practicing with Infernus' training saddle, he beamed. "That's very kind of you to offer! Thanks. I'll definitely take you up on that at some point," he promised. "Also, I think I'll wait until after training to talk to Nel about adopting him into the family. I don't want to ruin the whole training session if it goes poorly, you know?"

Eventually the pair made their way back to the Old Windmill to pick up their dragons. Chaital let out a guttural greeting sound as she leapt to her feet and ran over, tail swishing behind her. She head butted Noah so hard that he fell over with a grunt.

He scoffed and pushed her head away, grinning. "Chaital! You butt." The dragon chuffed and licked his hair before picking him up and setting him on her shoulders, where he sighed and gave her a few neck pats. "Yeah, yeah. Good to see you, too. Infernus? Lily? Ready to head out for training?"

----

Axle let out a slow breath and nodded. "I think you're right. I suppose I'm just afraid that once he does get angry, he might not want to spend time with me or the family any more. I'd hate to drive him away," he added softly.

Then he smiled thinly and nodded. "Breakfast for dinner sounds wonderful. Just let me know the day and place, all right?"

 

[CanaryCry]

Lily grinned, proud of herself for making him laugh again, just agreeing with his ideas for waiting a while before approaching Nel. It didn’t take long to make it back to the dragons, and while Chaital was much more forceful in her affection Infernus approached more calmly and was very gentle when he lowered his head to nudge gently at Lily's with his muzzle. His human was small and fragile, and he had learned when they were both young that he could hurt her if he moved too quickly, so he was always careful with her.

She smiled for him with affection in her eyes that had never once faded in all their time together, reaching up to take his muzzle in both hands in a loose embrace and pressing a kiss to his scales. "I’d say we’re ready." She agreed, and clambered up onto Infernus' back with all the ease of practice. "I'll swing by where his saddle is kept and meet you at the general supply building in a minute!" Infernus' saddle was kept in a space she rented for private storage, rather than where the training saddles came from, but they were quick and wouldn't take long to come back to Noah and Chaital again. Then they would just have to look for Nel.

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

Malia gave Axle a gentle, sympathetic sort of smile, and freed a hand to wave the idea away. "I'm sure it won’t be as bad as you think. He has a lot of prejudice against the Upper city, but he’s got a good heart. Give it time. He'll come around." His only other option was to give up what little family he had left, and she was sure enough that he would fight tooth and nail for it rather than give up.

"That," she added with a little laugh at the idea, "or Henry will knock some sense into him for you. Jasper looks up to him, you know. And he is not too old to be scolded." She shook her head at the amusing idea of seeing the older man put his foot down, and freed another couple of grapes from the basket. "I'll check my schedule and get back to you on a date. For now, another grape?" They were almost back to her office, so she would take the time she had to tease him at the same time that she tried to reassure him.

 

[FaithLeafCat]

"Sounds good! If Nel's not there, we can do a flyover and look for him once I get my saddle and harness on," Noah decided. "We'll meet you both there. Let's go, Chaital!"

Chaital chirped happily, and she galloped off across the fields, flapping her wings as Noah squealed in delight and hung onto her neck to keep from falling off.

Although he hadn't been fully saddle trained yet, Noah showed a promising amount of skill in bareback riding, partially thanks to how much time he spent sitting on Chaital throughout the day.

-----

"I suppose you're right. Thank you, Malia. I appreciate your advice," Axle murmured, giving her a small but warm smile and shifting Pumpkin's weight in his arms.

Then she asked if he wanted another grape. His face lit up, and he chuckled again and blushed, his ears immediately turning red. "I - I suppose I could go for another grape. Thank you."

Pumpkin's ear fins perked up, and he squeaked and looked over his shoulder, his face upside down as he gazed at Malia expectantly. If Axle got another grape, surely he would, too.

 

[CanaryCry]

Lily gave a wave and laughed as Noah took off, giving Infernus a pat. "They’re pretty daring, huh, Fern? Let’s go get dressed." Noah was rather impressive with his willingness to ride so rough. Infernus was much more careful with Lily on his back, not going much faster than a trot as they went to get his saddle.

Once Infernus was all suited up, it was much easier to fly over to the normal supply shed, with her new tow line attached just to make Noah feel better. It wasn’t a long flight, so she met up with him pretty quickly, staying on Infernus' back since she couldn’t see Nel yet. "All suited up?" She asked with a smile, seeing Chaital's saddle on. "Want me to check on anything?"

Further away from the buildings of the Dragonry, out in the fields, Nel had only just started to walk back towards the supply shed after checking on some of the larger, more solitary dragons in the fields, Soot trailing along at his side.

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

"I'm sure you’ve met more volatile characters before," Malia said with a shrug, thinking of others she had met before. "If he really didn’t want you around, he'd have left himself, or tried to scare you off. At least he appears to be trying to tolerate you. Things can only go up from there, I think." His charity work was enough to tell her Jasper was a good kid, even if she didn’t spend a great deal of time around him herself. He would accept Axle eventually, if only because Mr. Jenkin's wanted the man around.

When Axle turned red, she smiled and murmured a playful little 'ahh' as she fed him another grape, then laughed softly at Pumpkin's eagerness and gave him one as well. "I won't forget you, little one. And you don’t forget who gives you good snacks."

 

[FaithLeafCat]

Noah was already on Chaital's back when Lily arrived, but he beamed and unhooked his tow line before hopping off. "That'd be great, thanks. I'm getting pretty good at putting on the training saddle and harness, I like to think."

He quickly spotted the blue tow line on Lily's saddle and grinned. "How's your new tow line working?"

Off in the fields, it didn't take Soot long to locate the scents of Chaital and Infernus. He gave off a distant call of greeting. Then he flapped his wings anxiously and ran ahead a few paces, only to pause and wait for Nel to catch up. He was eager to meet the other dragons, but he wouldn't leave his rider behind.

-----

Axle nodded. "Oh, certainly. But I never wanted to make friends with them before. This is very different - Jasper's part of the family, and I want him to know how much I care about him. But you're right. I'm sure he'll come around eventually."

He chuckled a bit and opened his mouth, very carefully taking the grape from Malia's hands. "Thank you. I appreciate it. I know Pumpkin does as well."

Pumpkin squeaked and licked the grape into his mouth, chirring softly and then licking Malia's hand to say thank you.

All too soon, the group arrived at Malia's office. Axle smiled and moved Pumpkin to his shoulder. "Well, ah - suppose I swung by again with lunch tomorrow? Never hurts to have a fresh meal on one's break."

 

[CanaryCry]

"I believe you," Lily reassured as she undid her line and hopped down off of Infernus' back with practiced ease, "but if I don’t check Nel will pout at me for it and I’ll crumble and admit guilt instantly."

She laughed softly as she checked over his harness with careful though not quite gentle tugs, and did the same for Chaital's saddle while she was at it. "Pre-flight check complete!" She declared with a little mock salute and a giggle, and looked almost shyly down at the line dangling against her leg. "Working good so far. I didn’t get tangled and fall on my face, so I’d call that a bonus."

Infernus, on hearing Soot's call, raised his head and called back, a loud, barking cry that made Lily wince a bit but would travel clearly across the fields and give Soot their location. He knew their new friend was like a hatchling, some ways, and wanted to make sure he wasn't alone and worried.

Nel only smiled when he heard both calls and watched Soot hurrying ahead, just giving the dragon a little shooing gesture to encourage him on. "It’s all right, Soot. You’re much faster than me, but I’ll catch up soon. You can run on ahead." He didn’t want to hold the dragon back just because his human legs were inferior. The more time Soot spent just a little away from his side, the better the dragon would get at accepting they couldn’t always be attached at the hip.

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

"Any time." Malia said with a cheeky little smile when he’d taken the grape from her, and gave Pumpkin a light little boop on the tip of his muzzle as she pulled her hand away. "Don't you get used to being spoiled, too."

When they stopped outside of her building, she handed off the basket for Axle to take home, tucking a lock of hair almost shyly behind her ear. "If you aren’t busy," she said softly, "I think I would like that. Thank you for lunch, Axle, and for our walk. I’ll see you around."

Giving him a little wave, she turned to walk inside before she could be tempted to stay out longer and postpone her work. There was a lot to do. She couldn’t get distracted because of a blooming crush.

 

[FaithLeafCat]

Noah chuckled and nodded, slipping his hands into his pockets. "Sweet! Glad everything checks out. Thanks, Lily," he added with a grin. "And I'm glad your tow line's working well. I'm - " He paused and covered his ears when Infernus' call carried across the fields. Then he lowered his hands again. "I'm glad our business can help support local riders like ourselves."

He heard distant thumping and glanced over in surprise. "Oh, shit. Here comes Soot!" he said with a laugh.

After having been given the go-ahead by Nel, Soot was galloping through the fields towards his new friends. He called again when he came into view. And a few moments later, he skidded to a stop, ducking his head slightly but too excited to show completely submissive body language. He chirped and stretched his neck out to try and nuzzle both Chaital and Infernus.

Chaital rumbled happily and began preening his scales at once, making soft little clicks and happy sounds.

"Aww. You're all so cute!" Nel squealed.

-----

Axle blushed and shifted Pumpkin's weight in his arms again. "Even if I was busy - which I'm not - I'd make time," he promised with a smile. "I wouldn't want to miss lunch with you." He bowed slightly and smiled. "Thank you, too. We'll see you tomorrow. Have a wonderful night."

And with that, he turned and ambled back towards the Old Windmill, humming happily to himself and rocking Pumpkin in his arms. Today couldn't have gone any better.

 

[CanaryCry]

Lily giggled when Noah covered his ears, despite still wincing a bit at Infernus' last call. "You get used to it, after a while. At least it’s not a long, consistent noise or I’d be half deaf by now." Usually she had more warning, too, but she hadn’t been looking at Infernus and he had called suddenly to show Soot the way.

"Thanks again, for the line." She added a bit more shyly, feeling strange still about receiving gifts that she felt were expensive. "You really didn’t have to. . ."

Infernus didn't bow, as a more experienced, self-assured dragon on his home turf, but when Soot stopped nearby he closed the distance between them and rubbed their heads together on the opposite side of Chaital's preening, a low, friendly rumble in his throat.

"Best of friends," Lily agreed with a big smile, having turned to watch the displays of affection. "I'm glad Soot is doing better now." Nel would surely catch up and meet them in a minute, she thought, and was proved right not long later when he came walking through the grass towards them, not quite hurried but at a decent enough pace so as not to keep them waiting.

"Sorry I'm late," Nel said sheepishly as he approached, despite their not having set a specific minute or hour to meet. "I didn’t expect you to be back so soon. Your trip went very quickly."

 

[FaithLeafCat]

"Aw, don't worry about it!" Noah told her, gently nudging her arm with his elbow and grinning. "I know I didn't have to. But it's nice, getting to spoil the people I care about. You know?"

He turned to watch the dragons greet each other, leaning slightly against Lily without even thinking about it. He smiled and hummed softly. "Soot's been doing great. Dollars to doughnuts, it's because Nel's been working with him so much. And probably because Chaital and Infernus have been so kind."

And when he spotted Nel arriving, he waved an arm happily, walking over to meet him. Then he chuckled a bit in spite of himself. "Nel, you can't be late to something if there's no set time to show up for it. Don't worry, you're right on time."

Soot craned his neck around, licking Nel's hair like he'd seen Chaital do with Noah so often.

Chaital's eyes sparkled, and she reached out to do the same to Noah, who giggled again and closed his eyes. "Thanks, Chaital." He opened his eyes again and turned in a slow circle. "Oh! Can you check me and Chaital's saddle and harness? Lily looked 'em over too, but it never hurts to double check."

 

[CanaryCry]

Lily smiled a little, warm at the idea of Noah showing affection even if she wasn’t used to getting expensive gifts, and when he leaned into her she leaned right back without much thought, laughing softly at the dragons being cuddly together. "It really does help to have good friends." Nel had been working hard with Soot for a long time, but meeting others, she thought, had really helped the dragon come out of his shell.

Nel shuffled a little, shyly, at the idea of being late, but shook it off with a smile when Soot twisted around to lick him. "Thank you, Soot," he murmured agreeably, giving the dragon's muzzle a couple pats as if he really did want dragon saliva in his hair. "I’m sure if Lily checked it, it should be all right, but I can check again if you want me to." He didn’t want her to feel like he was doubting her knowledge, but making sure Noah was comfortable with his own safety was important so he did make a thorough check anyway of both Noah's harness and Chaital's saddle.

"Everything looks good," he confirmed with a smile, without having to tighten or loosen anything. "You’re getting used to it already. Let me go and get a saddle for Soot, we'll be ready soon."

Lily only smiled back, pleasant and patient. "Take your time!"

 

[FaithLeafCat]

Noah's eyes glittered. Normally it was easy to focus on training and riding - but knowing what he was going to ask Nel afterwards made him so excited it was already hard to keep his mind in the present. Still, a gentle nudge from Chaital's muzzle brought him back easily enough. He laughed and climbed up onto her back, hooking his safety harness into place and attaching his tow line. "Okay, okay. I'll get us both ready."

Chaital chuffed and bobbed her head in a nod. Then she flexed her wings and stretched her front legs out, warming up for a full few hours of training.

Soot, meanwhile, noticed Nel heading for the shed and chirped excitedly. He bounded after him through the grass. And once the pair was close to the shed, he laid down and rolled on the ground, eager to put his saddle on so the group could go flying.

Noah smiled. And after watching Soot for a few minutes, he met eyes with Lily. "So! What do you think Nel's gonna have us practice today?"

 

[CanaryCry]

Nel glanced back and laughed softly when Soot chase after him, just watching the dragon roll around as he got to the door. "I know, I know," he reassured, "you can’t wait to get back in the air, hm? I promise to go quickly."

Infernus was calm, slowly stretching his body out as long as possible, then his wings as far out to the sides as they went, than gave himself a little shake and settled in as Lily came to climb back up onto his back again. "Us?" She grinned at the thought of training together, liking the idea of not being excluded just because she knew what she was doing already. "I don’t know. Maybe some tight turns, or sudden stops? I'm sure you’ve figured out that if Chaital moves too fast in one direction you can smack into her body pretty hard." Stopping forward or downward momentum suddenly was fine for the dragon, but if their rider wasn’t pressed into them tightly enough the force could smack their bodies together in ways that could be painful. It was good to know how to move with your dragon.

"Oh, look at Soot being such a good boy!" She cooed, getting up to her feet on Infernus' back to better see how eager Soot was as Nel got his saddle on. "I can’t believe he’s so comfortable with it already!" She gave her head a curious tilt at Nel's own stup. "What's with the harness today?" She knew he'd ridden before, enough not to need the training harness still - she’d even seen him riding bareback once or twice before, she was sure of it, though she knew he didn’t ever ride for very long.

Nel only gave a small, hesitant smile as he got Soot buckled in. "It makes him feel better. I think he’s worried about dropping me."