Breath of Fresh Air

With a soft, gurgling sound, Pumpkin pressed his head further against Nel, closing his eyes blissfully and very much enjoying the massage. There was nothing the little dragon liked more than cuddles and attention - except maybe treats.

Axle tried to hide his smile behind a hand, chuckling a bit. "Where do you think he learned it from, Jasper? I've gotten quite a bit better at hiding it, but I'm a bit of a trash mouth myself."

Noah patted Chaital's neck gently and beamed. "Aw, c'mon. It's not hurting anybody. I'm glad you had a relaxing time with the other dragons, Jasper! What's Grandpa up to?"

While Jasper had been cleaning up, Mr. Jenkins had been busy making a list of supplies for the new additions to the windmill, happily chatting to Boulder about them.
 
"What a friendly dragon," Nel murmured softly to Pumpkin as if he'd forgotten anyone else was around, caressing him gently and watching the way he relaxed. Pumpkin had come in with Chaital, he knew, but the small dragon had to have experience with humans before or he wouldn’t have been so docile and willing to be vulnerable on his back like he was. "Do you like the Dragonry, little one? Having fun with your new friends?

Jasper only made a thoughtful sort of face, then gave a little shrug at the idea of Axle Harn of the mighty Harn Saddles being a potty mouth. He'd mostly been joking anyway. "Papa J's been looking around, making notes for your remodel, probably. He's so giddy about it he’s talkin' out loud as he goes." He said it like he didn’t ramble idly to his own dragons while he worked, but that was neither here nor there.

"Come on, troublemaker," he continued with a sigh, stepping over to pick Naga up off of Nel's shoulders despite her wail of protest. "My back's the only one you’re allowed to break. I’ll find ya a good bone to chomp on later."
 
Axle's expression softened, and he wandered over to sit beside Nel and the dragons, sighing quietly. "Pumpkin's always been exceptionally friendly. Anna did a great job socializing him and having him interact with people," he murmured. He didn't talk about his departed wife much, but he had so many happy memories with her and he couldn't ignore them all.

Noah grinned and smiled. "I'm glad heMs having a good time. Think Lily's gonna be back soon?" His smile faded a bit. ". . . I hope everything went okay. I hope she's safe. I - I know she and Infernus are a great team, but . . . not going to lie, I'm a little worried about them."

Chaital finished her drink and wiped her face off on the grass, swishing her wings before folding her wings and settling back on her haunches. Then she gave Noah a few licks to try and help him calm down.
 
Nel looked up at Axle as the man came over, and smiled gently at the man's tone. He didn’t know who Anna was, but it sounded like the man cared for her deeply. Still, given Pumpkin was here and she was not, he had to think that something had happened to her. "That's great, especially for smaller dragons. Since they don’t get very big, they need help often, so it’s good that he knows how to go to people for help. Does he stay with you?" He’d been with Jasper when he arrived, and had looked rather comfortable, so Nel wasn’t sure who he was housed with.

Jasper gave a little shrug, waving Noah's concern off with a little flick of his wrist since his arms were occupied holding Naga while she chewed on the collar of his shirt. "She’s a big girl. The Riders association might be full of selfrighteous pricks but they’re do-gooders. They might be verbally nasty, but she's safe enough. I’m sure she'll be back any second." He gave a little smirk, thinking of any one of the riders so much as lifting a finger against her. "Besides, if they even scratched her, Infernus would chew their hands off."
 
"You know, funny enough, I think he's been staying with my son Noah. But there was a bit of time after Anna passed that he stayed with Chaital, I think," Axle said, reaching out to give Pumpkin's head a scratch. "At the moment, he's mainly staying at the Old Windmill with Mr. Jenkins and following whoever happens to be doing the most exciting thing."

Noah relaxed at once, smiling gently. ". . . Yeah, I guess you got a point," he admitted. "Some of the dragon riders might be snooty, but they're not as cruel as the rest of Upper Floaten. And Lily can handle herself." He tried to ignore the what ifs thag kept popping back into his mind. Lily would be fine. Besides, the weather was clear and calm. There was no cause for concern on any account.
 
Ah, so she was gone. Nel nodded solemnly along but didn’t offer his condolences, not wanting to make the man dwell on his lost loved one for too long. He knew what it was like, to have someone say sorry years after the fact, and while he understood the sentiment behind it, it wasn’t always helpful.

"That sounds like fun," he said instead with a little smile. "A new adventure every day. I’m glad he feels comfortable enough to move around freely."

Nobu gave a little wriggle now that Axle was sitting on the ground, working his way out of Nel's lap to go and get affection from the older man.


"She’s got a dragon bodyguard, so she'll be fine." Jasper said with a little nod, and turned his eyes to the skies to see if he could spot them coming in. After a moment he pointed off towards the nearest section of Upper Floaten, where a speck was moving. "Could be her, or could be anyone. If you want to wait for her, we could go hang out near the main offices. She'll be coming in to see Malia as soon as she lands."
 
Axle smiled gently, nodding and scratching Pumpkin's neck, who tumbled happily. "That's right. Every day's a new adventure." Then he noticed Nobu making his way over and laughed. "Aww, are you jealous, Nobu? Come on over. I can give you some cuddles." He scooped the dragon into his lap, stroking him carefully. "Aren't you a good dragon?"

Noah's eyes glittered. "I'd love to go wait for her,"he told Jasper at once. He climbed up onto Chaital's shoulders, patting the space behind him. "Want to ride over with us? We'll just walk on the ground for now."

His father glanced up and chuckled. "You can drop me off at home with the dragons. I'd love to spend some time with them. They're all so wonderful - although I suppose Naga probably won't let me pet her her. Just as well. I only have two hands."
 
Nobu gave a happy, burbling sound as he was pulled into the older man's lap, slapping his spiney tail against Axle's legs once or twice before getting himself settled comfortably reclined in his arms.

Nel laughed softly, both at Nobu's want to be coddled, and Axle's eagerness to do so. They made a cute pair. "Nobu is very tame. Jasper raised him from an egg, so he's always been used to being handled. Naga was feral, for some of the beginning of her life, so she's much more reactive, and much less gentle."

Jasper frowned a little, holding Naga like a baby to let her see over his shoulder, and would've shaken his head if she wasn’t chewing on his hair to occupy herself. "I would not," he said, in a tone that was serious though not scolding, "under any circumstances, attempt to pet her without me there, or at least Lily or Nel. I'm really not kidding when I say she might just decide to draw blood if you touch her wrong." She was little, but she was still a dragon.

Nel nodded along, a small smile on his face despite the talk of dangerous dragon teeth. "Feral dragons can be tricky. They might be completely fine following directions and being gentle most of the time, but sometimes old instincts that helped them survive will kick in and they'll snap their teeth or hit. Usually it means something is bothering them, but it can be hard to figure out what. They're a bit like cats or dogs that way, not really showing that anything is wrong until the problem gets out of hand."

Jasper hefted Naga up a little higher so he could switch which arm was carrying most of her weight, and waved Noah off with a little flick of his fingers since the rest of him was otherwise occupied with the dragon growling low in his ear like she thought he was going to put her down. "I’ll walk, thanks. They can go hang out with Boulder if you want to swing by Papa J's on the way back. Swear to god if I see him out there with a ladder I’m gonna let Naga light it on fire."

Mr. Jenkins wasn’t ancient or anything, but at his age it was still better to have another person present nearby when his feet weren’t on the ground. Still, if anything happened Boulder could be relied upon to go and bring help of some sort.
 
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"Don't worry," Mr. Harn promised. "I'll make sure to give her her space." Then he chuckled lightly at the idea of Naga lighting a ladder on fire. "I'm sure he's got enough sense not to go up without a spotter. But yes, heading to Mr. Jenkins' home for a bit is a grand idea." He got to his feet, passing Nobu briefly to Noah so he could get onto Chaital. Then he took the baby dragon back and smiled, rocking him in his arms. "All right! Off we go, then!"

"Bye, Nel!" Noah called as Chaital began moving off. "Thanks for all your help today! I'll try and catch up with you sometime tomorrow," he added, waving.

Once the group reached the old windmill, Axle slid off and made his way inside, still holding Nobu. "Grandpa Jenkins! We're home!" he called out.

"Ah! Welcome in," Grandpa Jenkins called from inside. "Ah got stew brewin' if anybody's hungry."
 
"Plenty of sense," Jasper agreed with a little roll of his eyes, "but also the stubbornness of a dragon guarding its lunch." It was probably fine, but it was in his nature to fuss over people if he had even an inkling that they needed his help, and to grouch while doing so.

Nobu made soft, confused little grunts at being passed around, looking happily enough at Noah when he was in the boy's arms, and then at Axle when he was cradled in the man's arms again. His tail gave a couple almost irritable slaps against Axle's upper arm as he wiggled about to get his wings netter situated, then settled when he was comfortable enough to dangle his head backwards trying to see where they were going.

Jasper shook his head at the coddling and, feeling Naga squirm, set his feet a bit wider apart to shift her to both hands, give her a swing, and heave her up into the air so she could snap out her wings and fly off. She liked to move more than she liked being carried, and would either fly back and forth along their path or make wide circles around them in the air as they made their way back.

"Sounds good," Jasper agreed when they got back and Papa J met them with promises of food. "We're gonna go get Lily and bring her back. Shouldn’t take long." He was sure she would be back by now, even if he hadn’t quite been watching the skies to see if Infernus flew in. The blue dragon was fast, so he could have just missed it.
 
Once the group of smaller dragons had filtered in and settled down near his son-in-law, Grandpa Jenkins beamed, patting Jasper's shoulder. "Ah'd be delighted to have everyone join us. I'll set the table. You an' Noah go get Lily, an' then we can all eat together. I made enough stew fer the dragons to get a taste, too."

"How big a pot are you cooking in?" Axle asked, blinking.

The older man gestured towards the huge pot in the fireplace. "Ol' Boulder knows he gets stew on stew nights. Can't leave him out of somethin' so delicious."

Mr. Harn smiled and lifted a hand to carefully scritch Nobu's head. "You're going to get the other dragons hooked on it, you know."

"Good! All the more reason fer everyone to come visit me," Mr. Jenkins said with a laugh.

Noah giggled lightly and waved. "We'll see you all soon! Be back in a flash." And with that, he and Chaital turned and headed back towards the field. Noah leaned as far down as he could go, both to test his far it would be until he fell and also so Jasper could hear him better. "You sure you don't want a lift?" he offered. "We might have a ways to go until we find Lily."
 
Jasper only shook his head and kept his mouth shut about letting Mr. Jenkins spoil the dragons. They would be all right, if they didn’t eat too much. It would be a special treat. He was sure to kneel down next to Naga and pull her chin gently up so she would look at him before they left, telling her seriously that he would find her a good bone to bring back so she should wait to chew things until he returned. It would, hopefully, keep her from destroying any furniture while he was gone. When he turned to go she made an upset sound, but wandered off to follow Mr. Jenkins curiously around and see what he was doing - Axle's grabbing hands were not something she wanted like Nobu did.

As they started off towards the offices, Jasper gave Noah an incredulous shake of his head. "We're just walking. You'd think after all your adventuring you'd be used to it." He couldn’t have caught a ride everywhere, even with all the wealth in the world. Jasper was used to being on his feet, working or walking or carrying small but hefty dragons. Some walking wasn’t going to exhaust him.
 
Thankfully, Axle knew enough to give Naga her space - and were Nobu to try and escape, he would set him down gently on the floor. But for now he enjoyed cuddling the chunky dragon.

Grandpa Jenkins, meanwhile, loved being followed by Naga. He knew by now she liked to chew on things, and had a few supplies prepared for just such an occasion. He shuffled over to a cupboard, pulled it open, and took out a large, heavy stick. "Here, Naga. Want to chew on this?" he asked, tossing the stick for her. It was really more of a small log, but still just thin enough for her to get her jaws around.

-----

"Well, yeah, I'm used to walking on my own feet. But I'm gonna be a dragon scout! I have to get used to riding Chaital more," Noah explained, nodding. He paused and tapped his chin. "Speaking of which, maybe I should practice getting on and off while she's moving. Might come in handy. That okay, Chaital?"

Chaital rumbled and bobbed her head, and Noah smiled.

He jumped off her side and rolled onto the ground in a tumble. Then he attempted to climb back up while she was walking. Despite her slow pace, it was hard to get a grip, and he fell off several times into the dust. Chaital chuffed a bit as though she was laughing.

"Yeah, yeah. But it's my first time!" Noah retorted, brushing his cotton sleeves off. "Just give me a second!" He kept trying, and after a few minutes, he managed to clamber onto Chaital, where he promptly pretended to collapse dramatically. "I lived," he mumbled. "But just barely. Jasper, give everyone my fondest regards."
 
Nobu was content still to be held and doted on, not quite unsettled enough to need to move around and explore. Axle was still new, but the little red dragon could tell that he could stay where he was as long as he wanted to and keep getting pets.

Naga hopped back, surprised at the big stick and excited when it was offered to her. She did try to catch it, but misjudged the size by just enough it only bounced off her muzzle onto the ground, sneezed a bit dramatically at the smack, then grabbed it up again as best she could and held it up to look at Mr. Jenkins and see what he was doing. If he sat or stood still long enough, she would settle near his feet to gnaw happily on the wood.

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

"I guess that might be handy," Jasper said with a shrug, and only muffled a few urges to laugh as Noah tumbled repeatedly in the dirt as he went through a few dismounts - planned and unplanned.

When Noah flopped dramatically on Chaital's back, he finally cracked and laughed, helpless in the face of each fall and all the dirt that had gotten on Noah's clothes. "I'll pass on your last will and testament," he managed with an amused smile when the laughter had faded away. "In the meantime, here’s a thought. Maybe plan where your feet are gonna go before you just go for it?"

He chuckled again, hands resting loosely in his pockets, and looked towards the sky in time to see Infernus coming in hot near the offices down the way. "Maybe we'll catch Lily on her way out. She shouldn’t be long."
 
Mr. Jenkins chuckled, and he smiled and nodded. "Atta girl. You get that stick." Then he turned and shuffled back towards the pot. He stayed mostly in that area, adding seasonings to the stew, stirring it, and beginning to scoop some into bowls to set at the table.

----

Noah's face lit up. Jasper didn't laugh often, and every time he showed joy on his face, it gave Noah an even greater amount of joy. "Oh! Plan where my feet are going. That's good advice, I'll remember that."

He pointed at Infernus when he saw the blue dragon landing. "Oh! There they are!" he burst out. "I hope she brought back good news."

A few minutes later, Chaital arrived at Infernus' side. She called out a greeting and folded her wings, stretching her neck out to try and lick his scales to groom him.
 
Naga followed back and forth after Mr. Jenkins feet for a minute or two, then wandered a bit away when she decided he wasn’t going anywhere and settled on the ground to chew on the stick where she could see him as he worked. She wasn’t the cuddliest of dragons, but she knew he was important to Jasper, so Mr. Jenkins had always been a point of interest for her, too. She would stay still and watch him working as long as he was within sight.

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

Jasper was done laughing, but had a faint smile on his face for a while still as they walked, just picturing the way Noah had fallen. He was so eager about everything dragon he was literally falling all over himself, Jasper couldn’t help finding it funny. He tried not to think about whether the news was good or bad.

Infernus had been watching the door Lily disappeared into but turned almost before Chaital called to him, standing up to greet her and rumbling happily as he groomed her in turn.

"As fast a trip as ever," Jasper murmured as he moved around them to detach the Dragonry's flag from beneath Infernus' saddle so it would stop bunching up around his legs, and folded it quietly at they waited for Lily's return. "No hands were bitten off, I take it?" He raised an eyebrow at Infernus, as if he would answer, and only got a hair lick in response that had him making faces and pushing Infernus' big head away even as the dragon made little laughter chuffs at him for it. "You’re disgusting," he scolded, though there was fondness behind the dry words. "Keep your dead goat breath aimed at Chaital and away from me."
 
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"Good to see you, Infernus," Noah greeted, waving a hand and smiling. Maybe one day he'd be close enough to the dragon to also receive a hair lick. Sure, it made one's hair messy and stick out in weird places - but it was one of the clearest signs to Noah that a dragon liked him.

In any case, he was glad to see Infernus in a fairly good mood. Hopefully it meant things had gone well.

Noah leaned back against Chaital's shoulder, still pretty dusty despite brushing himself off several times. Then he watched the door and waited for Lily to come out.

Chaital kept herself occupied with cleaning Infernus' scales for a few minutes. But on noticing how dusty Noah was, she lowered her head and began licking him clean, too. Noah laughed in delight. "Chaital! That tickles!"
 
Infernus turned and gave Noah a gentle nudge with his muzzle, careful not to dump him off Chaital's back and sniffing curiously at his dusty clothes. He nuzzled at Chaital again afterwards, pleased with their presence even when she wasn’t grooming him anymore, and got to his feet just a few seconds before Lily came through the door, having heard her footsteps before she touched it. She’d changed out of her rider uniform already and back into her normal clothes.

"She returns," Jasper murmured softly, holding his good arm out to her as she got closer and drawing her into a sort of half hug she returned with a squeeze.

"You came to wait for me?" She said with a grin as she pulled away, turning to look at Noah on Chaital's back and blinking at him in baffled surprise. "What happened to you?"

"Lets just call it poor planning." Jasper said, ushering her in with a hand on her back so she could move away from the intimidating task as soon as possible. "Maybe he'll give us a repeat performance on the way back. Papa J's got stew on for everyone."

"Repeat performance?" She repeated, with a bit of hesitant laughter in her voice. "I've gotta get Fern's saddle off."

He only shook his head and kept pushing gently so she would walk. "We'll get it at the house, now chop chop, stew waits for no man."
 
Noah scoffed. "Poor execution, maybe. But not poor planning! I'd say it pretty smart of me to plan ahead for getting on a dragon while they're moving." He smiled and shrugged, turning towards Lily as the group started out towards the old windmill. "Anyway, I was practicing mounting while Chaital was on the move. Thought it might come in handy later."

Chaital chirped and walked a few steps, swishing her tail and glancing at Noah.

"Oh! Yeah. I should probably practice on the way back, too," Noah agreed. "Even if Jasper does get a repeat performance, then." He ran up and lunged. But this time, he took Jasper's advice and thought about where his feet ought to be landing. His boots caught the scales on Chaital's shoulder, and he pushed himself upward into the saddle. Then he beamed and glanced down at Jasper. "Jasper! It worked! Thanks, man!"
 
Jasper only rolled his eyes at Noah's semantics, though he was not convinced poor planning was the wrong phrase, and started to walk at a not quite hurried pace back towards the windmill. "Maybe master getting into the saddle while she’s standing still first." He prodded, and only winced when Lily elbowed him for it.

"Oooh," she said with a soft intrigue in her voice as Chaital started to speed up a little, giving them both a smile, "Fern and I have done that before! I usually just try to vault up as high as I can, and he sort of hunches and shoves his body under me to do the rest of the work. It scrapes up my knees, but we've managed it before. Practice is a good idea!"

Jasper wasn’t sure, exactly, what situation would require someone to mount up in motion when getting on in a hurry but while standing still seemed just as fast, given there was less fumbling. Still, it wasn’t as if he made a habit of riding dragons for any reason one could call urgent. His were small, and while Infernus didn’t truly mind Jasper riding solo he generally only got on the dragon's back with Lily around. They were rarely separate, after all.

"I don’t think I really did anything," he said with a shrug and a doubtful expression, "but you’re welcome, I guess?"