Authors: Sophie Duncan
"Barely one day and she has the big bad soldier wrapped around her tiny little wing," Malachi disparaged, but ended up smiling broadly.
"No discipline, that's the problem," Yakov agreed gravely, hiding his grin behind his hand.
Drekken turned back to his little charge and told her, "Ignore them, Baby D."
However, after the two difficult days, it was time to let off some steam in the safety of the cave and, dropping his right hand below the water, Drekken let his dragon fire build up in the palm of his hand. His natural control of the magical flame was much smaller than when he used his implants in combination with his gauntlets, but he had trained without them and his fingers tingled as he felt the fire form between them. The water steamed, but under his direction, the fire resisted the natural extinguisher and, with a flick of his wrist, he sent the orb sailing just under the surface, right at his taunters. He turned only when he heard Yakov squeal and he was in time to see the two youths part and dive, one onto the beach and the other into deeper water. Drekken had intended on exploding the orb of fire close enough to make the youths wince, however, since they had vacated the area, he brought the flames back under control and, showing off again, brought it up hissing and sizzling to rest on the surface of the water.
Drekken liked the feel of magic running under his skin, something that his implants, in their efforts to make things more efficient, sometimes hid. Dragon fire was the oldest gift bestowed by the bonding of human and dragon and Drekken dallied a while in the experience, sinking his senses into the impossible ball of flames licking at the water. The mock attack over, Drekken was vaguely aware of Malachi and Yakov closing in on the spectacle, but it wasn't until he felt the tongues of fire begin to weaken that he let them go and he blinked at two awed faces as his equilibrium expanded back to the real world. His raw magic was something intimate that he normally only shared with Miri and, feeling exposed by his indulgence, Drekken scooped Baby D off her rock and splashed his way out of the pool. He sat down on the far side of the fire from the others and cradled the infant to him.
Silence followed him and he felt foolish, but then Yakov asked quietly from the pool, "Drekken, are you alright?"
Then he felt really foolish and he laughed, but did not have a clear reply for his companions. He was not surprised when Yakov padded out of the water and crouched down on the opposite side of the hearth, arms resting on his knees and expression openly concerned. Drekken didn't have much choice but to look into the youth's blue gaze and eventually he had to say something.
"Blame it on hormones," he threw out flippantly and scratched Baby D's head.
The infant shivered and made a funny little sound at the back of her throat and ripples of pleasure ran through Drekken. He concentrated on the child, expecting a scoff from Yakov. However, there was silence, which made looking up again compulsory, and he was met with the same considering stare.
"You might be right," Yakov finally revealed his thoughts.
"I was joking," Drekken replied quickly, trying to stifle a small shot of anxiety that there was something affecting him.
"Still, it would explain how moody you were yesterday," Yakov shrugged.
That floored Drekken for a few seconds, but then he spotted a twitch at the corner of the youth's mouth and he realised he was being teased for a second, more subtle time.
"Cheeky Ba-," Drekken began, but Yakov held up a hand and waggled a finger at him, interrupting, "Ah, ah, ah, children present."
The youth chuckled then, which was annoyingly endearing and Drekken felt a smile forming on his face without his conscious consent. Keeping Baby D cradled on his lap with one arm, Drekken lifted the other and threatened, "Lightly roasted I think."
However, he kept his palm facing away from Yakov, a precaution drummed into him from his very early training, and let a gentle flame dance over his fingers for a second. Yakov didn't even move, just grinned at him and settled his chin on his arms.
"You've spent too much time around dragons," Drekken observed, relaxing and then wincing as his shoulder complained when he returned his hand to his lap.
"And you’re in pain," Yakov returned, amusement falling away and concern coming back to his expressive eyes.
"Just a damaged muscle," Drekken shrugged and regretted it.
Yakov's response was surprisingly positive: he smiled and stood up and announced as he walked around the fire, "Now that I can help with."
"It's okay," Drekken dismissed, a little uncomfortable with letting a relative stranger near.
That did not deter Yakov, and was also the catalyst for Malachi to exit the pool, dragons in tow.
"He's very good with his hands," Malachi offered, sitting down in the position Yakov had vacated, and the smile he sent Drekken was not an innocent one.
The dragons all found their own places round the fire, and, hemmed in, Drekken had nowhere to go when Yakov sunk down behind him. The youth hissed through his teeth and then ran a light finger down the right side of Drekken's spine.
"You have bruising all down here," Yakov told him and Drekken shivered. "Is this where your wings are?"
"One of them," Drekken replied, shifting a little under the scrutiny, "and they’re called gliders."
"How do they disappear like that, there's only a faint line?" Yakov was revealing himself to be a curious sort.
"You'd have to ask a tech that; I only use them," Drekken fobbed his helper off, growing more uncomfortable.
"Yakov, help," Malachi interrupted the questioning with an earnest glare at Yakov.
"Sorry, I also talk too much," Yakov responded immediately and then asked, "Do you have any ointment, or oil in your belt?"
"Left front," Drekken replied and then nodded gratefully to Malachi.
Drekken found himself being observed again, by Malachi this time, as Yakov busied himself finding the first aid kit. Malachi was older than Yakov, Drekken judged, and wiser if the considering look in his darker eyes was anything to go by. He had been trained to observe and he had watched the youths all day. Malachi was the clear leader of the pair, a much stronger character, and he cared for Yakov very deeply. The only person Drekken held in that kind of regard was Miri and, his curiosity raised, he asked, "So what led you two into the mountains?"
Malachi blinked at him, apparently surprised by the question and, realising he was intruding, Drekken explained himself quickly, "I mean, I know empaths often look after young dragons because of the use of emotions before they learn to thought-speak, but why in the middle of nowhere?"
Drekken fell silent, having caught himself out for the umpteenth time that evening, and Malachi regarded him with surprise. However, before he could feel even more awkward, Malachi smiled and replied, "After his bond-mate died, Master Besthan came up to the mountains to go wild."
That wasn't the start Drekken had expected, but made sense, many dragons who lost bond-mates, especially early in life, returned to the dragon country to retreat from society.
"But he found an abandoned nest on his second night on the slopes and one of the eggs hatched," Malachi's smile widened at what had to have been an often told story. "He tended the child and brought her down to Willendorf. When people heard about what he had done, they brought other orphans to him and he decided to dedicate his life to helping the children. He couldn't do it alone, so he started training empaths as well."
"And why did you two volunteer?"
"We're orphans too," Yakov replied rather more quickly than Malachi was expecting if the flash of disquiet in the young man's eyes was anything to go by, but Yakov barrelled on before Drekken, or Malachi could respond, "Now, this is going to hurt, but it will feel better soon."
A hand came down on his shoulder and fingers dug into the spot between his shoulderblade and his spine and then Drekken saw stars as pain lanced out from the injury site. He tensed, shuddered and then went embarrassingly weak, falling backwards against Yakov's chest. He fought the collapse, but Yakov tightened the hold on his shoulder and told him, "Stay still, deep breaths, let it happen."
The pain receded in successive waves of trembling and Drekken could do nothing but obey his holder. His muscles were tingling by the time his strength began to return and then Yakov gently pushed him forward and began to massage the same spot he had attacked. It was still sore, but his shoulder relaxed with an ease that had been missing since his fall. The feeling was almost orgasmic and, closing his eyes, Drekken actually groaned.
"I told you he was good," Malachi murmured and sent messages to other parts of Drekken's body as well.
"So you're orphans," Drekken tried to clear his head and avoid any embarrassing reactions, especially with Baby D in his lap.
When he opened his eyes, the vision of Malachi all dark, wet bangs and dark eyes staring at him did not help his concentration, but Yakov, at least, kept on talking.
"We've been together since I was three and Mal was four. My mum couldn't cope with me, not with three other kids, so she gave me up and Mal took me under his wing at the group home. No-one wanted a couple of kids who could read minds, at least that's what they all thought, so we stuck it out until we were sixteen and then we saw an article about Master Besthan and he agreed to train us."
Yakov gave out the information very freely as he continued to massage Drekken's back, but there was more pain in Malachi's eyes, which made Drekken wonder how much he had shielded Yakov from.
"That was nearly three years ago…"
Yakov sounded like he was going to go on, but Malachi stepped in and asked quickly, "And you, how did you land up in our village?"
Drekken laughed to himself and, partly because of the lovely endorphins Yakov had released into his system, and partly because he owed his companions for Yakov's honesty, he admitted, "I fell off my dragon."
"Fell off?" Malachi checked, his face breaking into a grin.
"It happens; wouldn't need gliders otherwise," Drekken shrugged and then groaned again as his movement set off another wave of shivers.
Drekken gave in to the sensations and let his head loll forward. The fire was warming his bones, the massage was relaxing his muscles and the tension that had been keeping him alert began to fail him. He blinked at Baby D, who was nestled in her sling in his lap and she moved in and out of focus. She sniffed at him and then dropped her head over her hind-quarters and closed her eyes and Drekken's next blink took longer than it should have. There was something more at the back of his mind to carry on the conversation, but the last tremble had taken away all his energy and he couldn't bring his thoughts forward. His next blink didn't finish at all and he was left listening to the wispy crackling of the dragon fire over the stones. It was a very soothing sound, and, coupled with the lovely sensations in his body, he let it take over and the world drifted away.
~*~
Drekken woke up because his nose twitched and his stomach rumbled and his senses focused in on the wonderful scent of cooked rabbit. There was something soft behind his head and he was half propped up and he stretched instinctively. His shoulder ached a little, but it was not the much reduced pain that then woke him more quickly, it was a start of alarm when he realised that his movement met resistance. However, he opened his eyes first and any further reaction came to a stunned and conflicted halt, because it was not Feras binders that were holding him, it was dragon. Baby D was still curled up in his lap fast asleep, but sometime since Drekken had fallen asleep, she had been joined by all five of her fellow orphans.
Ghemas was lying partly on the rock against which Drekken was propped, but her front quarters and head were draped down over his right shoulder. Keril was tucked between his right arm and his hip, lying over his wrist and Renar had the whole left side of his torso pinned with just head and one leg. Isthy and Misthy, the Sandy twins, finished his sleeping restraints draped over his thighs and shins respectively.
His movements so far had not awoken the sleeping children, but Drekken stilled completely, uncomfortable with becoming a human pillow, but at the same time not wanting to wake the hatchlings. Malachi was kneeling at the edge of the fire, slicing up their dinner and Drekken appealed to him in a whisper, "Hey."
The youth looked up and smiled, but continued unhelpfully with his task.
"Sleep well?" breath and sound touched his ear and made Drekken shiver and shift as a mixture of surprise and pleasure skittered out from the contact.
Ghemas grumbled in her sleep at the sudden movement, but did not wake and Drekken relaxed again, gingerly turning his head to find Yakov lying supine over the rock ledge to the left of his head. The young man gave him an upside down smile and, almost cheek to cheek and still a little sleepy, Drekken forgot about the dragons for a moment and lost himself in those blue eyes.
"I seem to be pinned down by dragons," Drekken eventually forced himself to speak, because much more of the teasing that had been going on since he had sealed them in the cave and his reaction would not be suitable for children.
"You give off dragon vibes," Yakov returned in the silkiest voice Drekken had ever heard.
From the dilation in Yakov's pupils, it was clear that, although that comforted the hatchlings, it did something entirely different to his friend.
"Why are you flirting with me?" Drekken decided to be blunt.
Yakov's grin grew wider and Drekken heard Malachi snort a laugh, but he concentrated on Yakov, playing with the nice feelings that the youth's attention generated in him.
"Don't you like it?" Yakov skirted the question, his eyes twinkling with mischief.
"You are spoken for," Drekken retorted quietly, so as not to wake the youngsters, but his tone suggested rather more of what he was feeling than any reproof.
"So?"
It was Malachi who spoke then and caught Drekken's attention. He glanced at the youth, who stood up and walked around the fire to Yakov's ledge, holding Drekken all the way with what Drekken was discovering could be a very sultry set to his features for one so young. It had been a long time since Drekken had been taken in by a handsome face, let alone two of them, and he was close to blaming Baby D's effect on him for his unguarded reactions. Yet, the feeling was nice, if disconcerting.