Work Text:
*******
It was raining again, a cold, almost freezing rain that made Andrew want to curl up and sleep… well, sleep even more. To remain unmoving inside the old fort he’d claimed as his own after THAT day, more out of luck than anything.
The old stone building was drafty and the upper levels slowly rotting away, but it was spacious enough for him to walk around the first floor, it kept the rain and snow off of his head and gave Aaron and Nicky a place to rest when they came by (for however much longer they insisted on bothering him). Andrew could always start a fire in one of the numerous fireplaces, but that would require him bringing in wood which would require effort, so no. What was the point of being cursed into a near indestructible form in the first place, after all? Not so one could perish from a late autumn rain, surely.
Hmm, but he’d enjoyed nights like these back before THAT day, when he’d finally gotten him and Aaron away from Tilda, when the servitude contracts had ended and he was free at last to do whatever he wanted. When he could spend a miserable night next to a fire and read a book rather than keep the hearths going in some damn forge or braziers and lanterns burning for the craftsmen or whatever else his current contract required of him.
There were downsides of being cursed into dragon-form, but there were benefits, too. Not having to do a damn thing he didn’t want certainly was one of them. He might not be able to read another book for the rest of his life, but at least he’d be able to sleep the boredom away.
At first he thought the faint sound he heard was the family of squirrels that had taken up residence in the one linen closet, but then he caught the distinct sound of a human voice cursing along with the scent of blood. Annoyed at having his boredom interrupted by another knight hoping to make their reputation by slaughtering an endangered mythological creature – not to mention a clumsy idiot if they’d already hurt themselves – Andrew forced himself up onto his feet and went to face the latest pest.
Hmm, maybe they would have some supplies he could take for the ‘inconvenience’ of being bothered; Aaron and Nicky had left a bunch of cured hams and other goods before they’d gone off, but there wasn’t much left. At least, all of the bread was gone, and Andrew was bored of ham and jerky.
Moving quietly through the main hall and toward the one side entrance where the muffled curse had come from, Andrew drew in a deep breath in preparation of exhaling an impressive blast of fire upon his intruder, the beast inside of him upset at someone daring to come into their home, their territory. He rounded the corner and came into the foyer filled with dead leaves and cobwebs, the large open area illuminated by cracked and dirty windows to reveal…
… not a knight.
Huh. Even the beast inside of Andrew was a bit taken back at that.
A young man clad in a worn and wet cloak stood in front of him, barely reaching up to the bottom of Andrew’s chest which would make him a little more than five feet tall or so, rather short by human standards (though a little taller than Andrew had been as a human, annoyingly enough). The cloak hung on his lean frame, the hood pushed back to reveal damp auburn curls which framed a face where Andrew’s attention didn’t know if it wanted to settle on the big, pale blue eyes fixed on him or the full bottom lip hanging just a little open in surprise or the high cheekbones – or the black raven brand on the curve of the left cheekbone, too sharp and precise to have been made with anything but magic.
Andrew snapped himself out of his daze and noticed other important details about his intruder, such as that not all of the moisture on the cloak appeared to be from rain, that the young man – kid, really - was wavering on his feet as if exhausted, and that the hand held out toward Andrew had a faint white glow around it. A glow of aether magic.
The kid stared at him for another second or two and then began to laugh, the sound so broken and brittle that Andrew found himself huffing out a bit of smoke in surprise. “Of course,” the intruder said in-between the jagged sounds. “Of course the rumors were true.” The glow faded from his hand as he tore it through his hair, the laugh giving way to a hiss of pain. “Just… just make it quick,” he said as he stumbled over to a wall and slumped against it with his eyes closed.
Andrew studied him for a few seconds – the expression of resignation on that intriguing face, the growing scent of blood, the brand which brought a certain kingdom to mind and the impression of strong magic he got from the idiot. Oh, and a bag, he was interested to note, slung over one hunched shoulder.
/Have anything good to eat?/ he asked, even though the bag looked rather flat.
“Wuh-what?” Those pale blue eyes snapped open and grew wide once more as the kid gaped at Andrew. “You… you can speak?”
/Huh, the thing is probably as empty as your head, it figures,/ Andrew declared. /If you don’t have anything good to share, stay out of my way. You can have the upper floors until you decide to leave./ The kid had ‘desperate’ and ‘runner’ written all over him, so Andrew figured all he needed was a few days to recover and then he’d be gone.
“But… aren’t you… the rumors…,” the idiot stammered. “You don’t eat people?”
/Not when they’re a filthy mess like you,/ Andrew pointed out to the idiot with disgust. /Go away, you sound annoying and you interrupted my nap./ He left the kid there as he returned to the main hall. As he curled up on his preferred spot on the stone floor, he heard the creaking of old wooden floorboards above which indicated that the intruder had decided to stay. Not that much of a surprise, considering the weather outside, but he'd give it a day or two at the most.
Then he thought about that magical tattoo, about the scent of fresh blood and the desperation all but radiating off of the idiot, and Andrew heaved a weary sigh before he once more shoved himself onto his feet as the inner beast nagged at him to do something. A certain idiot better appreciate his suffering....
The rain was cold, dammit, and there was little Andrew liked less than being cold and wet and exerting effort. However, his suspicions were proven correct less than halfway down the mountain when he came across a couple of knights in Evermore colors, of all things, knights with the ability to cast air and earth magic - not that it did them any good. Andrew was able to vent a bit of frustration and was rewarded for his efforts when one of the horses became entangled in a thick growth of bushes in its blind attempt to flee, and so returned back to the fort bearing a couple of very full saddlebags. Saddlebags that smelled of more than dirty laundry.
The cloths got thrown into the fireplace and burned, but the wine skin was an unexpected bonus which Andrew split open with a sharp claw and drank the potent contents with some satisfaction. Hmm, not bad, if much too little. There were some wrapped pasties in the other bag, meat and cheese, which were inhaled in moments, clean clothes which went the way of the dirty, a couple of books which he set aside with some longing, and something wrapped in a cloth bag which made both him and the beast hiss. It took some tugging and tearing with his claws to open the bag, and out tumbled a pair of shining metal cuffs made with excellent craftsmanship, metal cuffs bearing runes which Andrew, with his limited magical training, knew enough that they would stifle a magic user's ability once they were snapped closed. Metal cuffs without any key.
He thought about a bedraggled, wounded kid possessing aether magic and a raven's brand seeking shelter in an old fort rumored to be a dragon's lair, being chased by Evermore knights bearing cuffs like that. About the stories of Evermore's royal family, about how powerful and ruthless they were, about the demon bound in human flesh who served them.
Aether magic was demon magic.
It was enough to make him forget about the rainy weather, the leaking roof and drafts and everything for a while. To placate the inner grumbling inside over allowing a stranger into his home, his home. As if a rundown, crumbling stone fort was much to protect, and against a scrawny kid whom Andrew could bat halfway down the mountain without even trying. A kid who would be gone soon enough.
******
The idiot kid was still around.
Andrew didn't know if he was bemused or not over that fact, and figured that the rain turning to snow was largely to blame for his continuing 'company'. The idiot was quiet and stuck to the upper levels, hadn't stolen anything from the kitchen and mostly snuck out during the early morning, when Andrew was still asleep. From what Andrew could tell, he managed to forage some food around the fort and had a small fire going in one of the fireplaces, so the idiot knew a thing or two about taking care of himself. Not just an average runaway, then.
He came across the kid out in the courtyard late one morning, when he was on his way to stretch his wings and the idiot was fetching some water from the well. The kid went still with a perfectness that spoke of too much practice, of too much experience in trying not to draw attention to oneself - experience Andrew knew from his own childhood, of years spent in all those different 'apprenticeships' with 'masters' only too happy to have - he let out a thin curl of smoke and noticed how those blue eyes took on a sheen of white even though the kid remained still. Someone had gotten a bit of rest in the last few days, but he still was too thin and worn down.
The beast stirred inside of Andrew for some reason at the sight of the idiot, but not with the need to lash out and burn, to protect the fort. Andrew waited to see how it would react... but it settled after a moment.
When all he did was stand there and breathe out smoke, the idiot let out a slow breath himself and motioned to the pump. "Uhm... this is okay, right?" He was shivering from being out in the cold, his cloak and clothes just as worn as he was, and the well water would be freezing; Nicky always complained about that fact until Andrew heated it for him just to get the pest to shut up.
/It's water, I don't care,/ Andrew admitted. /Leave my food alone./
"I am," the idiot said with a bit of heat as he resumed pumping the water into an old wooden bucket he must have found somewhere. Off to the side were a couple of old, withered apples and gutted fish, which Andrew assumed were his own food for the day.
He watched as the kid spared some of the frigid water to rinse off the apples and fish, his shivering intensifying the entire time, before he wrapped the food in a clean cloth and then grabbed the bucket so he could carry it inside. Spurred on by something - the look of resolution on the kid's face perhaps, how someone was taking in his presence with such calmness when they usually tried to either kill him or run away - Andrew wasn't sure, to be honest, but he felt the urge to offer it anyway. /There's a bathing tub on the first floor, and other metal buckets./
The kid stopped walking away to look back at Andrew, his expression guarded. "So? You told me to stay to the upper levels."
/I did./ Andrew let out another plume of smoke at having his words turned back on him. /How about a deal?/ He caught how narrow shoulders stiffened at those words. /You tell me a simple truth, and I heat up things for you, like a bath./ The idiot didn't look too dirty, but it was cold and a fire could only do so much, especially with how old and blocked up the chimneys were around here.
He could tell that the kid was considering the offer, especially when those blue eyes darted toward the bucket of cold water. "You want me to tell you the truth... what, you ask me questions or something?"
/Yes, we trade magic for truth,/ Andrew repeated; someone truly was an idiot.
The kid seemed to think about it for several seconds, but as the bucket shifted in his grip and cold water sloshed onto his leg, he shivered again and made up his mind. "Okay, what do you want to know?" There was enough wariness in his tone that it was clear that Andrew had best not press for anything too personal at first.
/What are you running from?/ he settled on, since it was only fair that he knew that truth. When the idiot's face became a blank mask, he snorted out several sparks. /You're hiding in my fort, and I chased off a couple of knights, the night you arrived. I want to know if more will show up./
The idiot remained silent for a few more seconds before he sighed and set the bucket down so he could run his trembling right hand through the tousled auburn mess of his hair; Andrew felt something twist inside of him at the sight, and didn't think it was the beast reacting that time. "I... you're right," the kid admitted. "Riko Moriyama sent them after me." His fingers flickered over the brand on his left cheek for a moment. "He seems to think he... well, there's a disagreement between us, over me belonging to him." Those last few words were spoken with evident defiance, with the white glow back in those startling eyes. "He doesn't own me," the kid insisted.
/I see./ Andrew studied the kid for a moment before bobbing his head. /Will they be back?/
The kid shrugged. "With luck, they'll think you ate me or something."
/With luck./ He studied the idiot in front of him and let out a large plume of smoke which made the kid cough and splutter for air. Oh yes, the knights would be back because no one bothered with a brand like that on a whim, or had cuffs created without intending for their target to be hauled back in them. Once again, the beast stirred inside of Andrew, only that time it didn't retreat so quickly. /Come before sundown and you can have your bath./
"Uhm, okay." The kid sputtered a little more as he picked up the bucket. "Ah... what are you called?" he asked, the question tentative as if he wasn't certain of an answer.
Andrew paused in turning around, his tail twitching several times with the need to... he didn't know so he made it curl up around him instead. /Andrew,/ he told the idiot.
"Ah, okay." For some reason the kid smile just then, an expression which made the beast purr of all things and once again twisted up Andrew's insides. "You can call me Neil."
'Neil', huh? Andrew noticed that 'call me' part and would save the question for another day.
/Go away, you smell,/ he told the idiot as he stalked inside.
*******
The bath was the start of the first of many barters, of truths exchanged for magic. Andrew found out that Neil was almost eighteen years old, that his mother was dead and his father wasn't (he had the impression that the kid much wished that things were reversed on that matter), that yes, his magic affinity was for aether but he didn't know too much other than offensive spells and defense, on how to ward and destroy things or create illusions. He had also picked up an interesting set of life skills, in that he knew how to pick pockets and set snares and fight with a variety of weapons, but hadn't learned any traditional trades.
"We were always on the run, my mum and I," Neil explained one day in the bath while Andrew lounged near the huge copper tub so he could reheat the water when needed; lately he found the beast... well, 'sulking' was the only word for it if he wasn't near Neil as much as possible, wasn't in the idiot's presence whenever the kid spent time on the first floor instead of upstairs where the floors wouldn't support Andrew's weight. "It wasn't very conducive to teaching things like carpentry or accounting."
/Because your father gave you to the Moriyamas./ That much had come out over time, though there was still an important piece missing. Andrew had learned that patience was needed when it came to Neil, who was as flighty as a skittish rabbit running from a hungry wolf.
"Yeah." Neil sank down a little more in the faintly steaming water, his damp hair curling even more from the humidity in the bathing room. He stayed immersed in the water for a couple of minutes, only his nose above it so he could breathe, while Andrew tapped an extended claw against the tub, then rose up with an annoyed sigh. "I'll need to go out for more food tomorrow, if it doesn't snow."
/Hmm./ Andrew allowed the change of topic, aware that Neil wasn't ready to reveal the entirety of that truth just yet. /You said you're good at warding, right?/
"Yeah?" Neil sounded cautious as he rested his arms on the edge of the tub, which exposed the scars on his shoulders and back. Scars which made the beast inside of Andrew rumble with displeasure, which made Andrew’s eyes narrow and sparks rain down from his mouth. Neil frowned at the display but showed no fear, used to him by now.
/Nicky and Aaron always try to ward the place, but they fade over time. Think you can do better?/
Now Neil's expression was contemplative as he looked up at Andrew. "What's in it for me if I do?"
/No pesky knights barging in while you sleep?/ Andrew held Neil's gaze as the kid - no, young man, he told himself as he once more considered those scars - for several seconds. /And a truth./
"Okay.” Neil tapped his fingers against the tub a couple of times before he spoke again. "You can't... well, there's a story there, right? You're not a normal dragon."
Andrew had wondered when Neil would dare to ask him for the truth about himself, and what would happen afterward. /Not quite./ The beast inside snarled at that, but Andrew batted him down with practiced ease. /I had a human body up until not long after one night when some spoiled assholes decided to take offense at my cousin Nicky flirting with a friend of theirs, as they were part of a sect who frown upon same sex relationships./ He waited for a reaction from Neil, but there was none other than apparent slight interest in the story; he took that to mean that Neil didn’t favor the Marnos sect. /They showed that ‘offense’ by using their magic and fists against him, all four of them, so I returned the favor./ Now he bared his fangs, while Neil’s eyes went wide and he shook his head.
“They attacked him, really?” He sounded appalled at that part and rose up in the tub, which exposed more of his scarred torso to Andrew; at first he had been shy at revealing his scars, until he realized that Andrew wouldn’t comment on them. “Just because he flirted with one of them?”
/Yes./
“And you were able to take on all four of them?” Neil eyed him with some consideration. “You must be very powerful. Fire, right?”
/Yes,/ Andrew repeated, and told himself he wasn’t pleased with Neil’s regard just then. /Unfortunately, they had a powerful mage as a cousin, one who felt that I had been a bit… excessive in my defense of Nicky, and he believed cursing me was an adequate punishment for his family./ Andrew breathed out smoke and sparks as he curled his long neck and spread out his wings as much as the room allowed; even a couple of years later, he felt so much rage at what the bastard had done to him – and why. /I’ve been like this for the last… oh, two years?/ And he would remain like it until some knight killed him or he died. If he died.
Now Neil was glaring at him while he fanned away the smoke. “That’s not right! His family started it, dammit!” Then his expression became bitter as he sank back into the tub of water. “Why is it as long as you have enough magic or power, you can do whatever you want?” His gaze grew vacant as he traced a finger along the raven brand.
/The world is cruel,/ Andrew informed him with only a slightly mocking tone.
“No, it’s the people in it who are cruel,” Neil insisted. Considering the scars he bore… Andrew wasn’t about to argue.
Despite finding out that Andrew had been human, Neil showed no hesitation in getting out of the tub in front of him, in showing off a lean, graceful body which made Andrew curse his situation anew despite the scars and months of hard living Neil had gone through while running from the Moriyama knights. Neil showed no understanding of flirtation or attraction or flaunting or anything sexual, so Andrew didn’t think he was doing it on purpose, was taunting him or anything like that… it just figured that when Andrew had been cursed into a damn dragon and had found himself a remote, rundown hole to live in, an improbable, gorgeous redhead had to show up and add to his misery. An oblivious, improbable, gorgeous redhead with a prince hunting him down.
Neil cast the wards two nights later, after scavenging enough food to give him the energy for the feat since the magic would cost him. Andrew watched him do it while out in the courtyard, and once again became convinced that his little rabbit wasn’t a common runaway, not when Neil practically glowed with aether magic, not when he caught a whiff of roses and something that reminded him of the forest while Andrew could feel the wards ‘sink’ into place around the fort.
The glow slowly faded from Neil’s eyes and hands once he was done and he wavered on his feet. Without thinking of what he was doing, Andrew’s tail unfurled and wrapped around Neil to steady him.
“Uhm?” Neil blinked a few times and held out his hands before slowly setting them on Andrew’s tail, while Andrew was still and waiting to see how the idiot reacted as they’d never touched each other before. “Wow, you’re really… you’re so soft,” Neil said in obvious wonderment as his hands lightly stroked along Andrew’s scales.
/And you’re an idiot,/ Andrew scoffed while the beast inside of him took to doing that annoying purring thing. /I’m not going to do anything if you fall and spill out what little brains you have onto the courtyard other than laugh./
Neil smiled at that for some reason. “Sorry, but it took more effort than I thought – the fort’s really big.” He made as if to move forward but would have fallen if not for Andrew’s tail, judging by the way his knees gave out. “Ooh, thanks.”
/You are hopeless./ Andrew gave his tail an experimental twitch; he knew he could use it to lift heavy things, but he’d never tried a human being. /If you’re sick, I’m making you clean it up,/ he declared before he lifted Neil up to carry him to the bathing room.
“Wait, wah- oooh.” Neil’s hands latched on to Andrew’s tail and he made a breathless sound, but he didn’t throw up or complain, he just allowed himself to be carried inside with wide eyes and mouth slightly agape. Once in the bathing room, Andrew set him on the stool and told him to stay before going to fetch some water for the tub.
By the time it was full and he’d heated it, Neil seemed to have regained some strength and had no problems stripping down to crawl inside. Once he sunk into the hot water, he made a breathy moan which had Andrew grateful he was stuck in a damn dragon’s body for once, as if he’d been human just then his body would betray him with some sort of reaction.
He didn’t understand why – okay, that was a lie. Neil was gorgeous, he was sort of intelligent when he wasn’t being an idiot, he was stubborn and knew the value of being quiet, of not pushing things and – he was so much of what Andrew wanted in a person, wrapped up in a lean, scarred body. And he didn’t seem to be put off by Andrew being a dragon, didn’t care that he spent his days with a monster.
Nothing would come from any of this, it was senseless to hope that Neil would stay past the first thaw – and then what? What if he did? Andrew was still stuck in this cursed form despite Nicky and Aaron’s pathetic attempts to break the curse so what? It was useless, to want Neil to stay.
The beast stirred inside of him and voiced its displeasure at the thought of Neil leaving, and Andrew found his tail twitching with the need to wrap around Neil once again, to grab him and drag him deep within the fort, to hide him away from everyone and everything. Dammit, the longer he was trapped in the cursed form, the stronger the beast influenced his thoughts.
Though really, he wouldn’t mind if Neil stayed….
“Hmm, so what do I owe you for this bath?” Neil asked, his voice slurred from exhaustion and demeanor fatigued even as he looked up at Andrew through heavy-lidded eyes, his arms folded on the edge of the tub with his chin rested on top of it.
Andrew so wished just then that he had human hands so he could tuck back the wet strands of auburn hair falling onto Neil’s face just then, that he could cup that raven-marked cheek and-
/Whatever you wish to give up,/ he said as he forced his thoughts away from such useless, hopeless things, smoke billowing out of his nostrils.
Neil coughed a little at the smoke filling the bathing room, but Andrew had a feeling that the idiot was getting used to him doing that by now – that the idiot had more than enough demon blood to handle all the smoke. One day he’d ask Neil about his parentage… but not that night.
“Ah.” Neil’s eyes grew unfocused as he seemed to think about something for a minute or two, then he retreated to the center of the tub with the hot water lapping at his chin. “Riko… he’s after me because apparently, my father promised me to him as… uhm, I’m supposed to be his fiancé.”
Andrew didn’t think it was the heat of the water that made Neil’s cheeks so red just then. /So you ran because you couldn’t stand the thought of being married to a man?/
“I ran because I don’t want to be married to a sadistic bastard!” Neil shouted. Then he shook his head, droplets flickering in the dim light of the bathing room as he took several deep breaths, his fingers pressed against the brand on his cheek. “I didn’t know about it until my father caught up to me and-“ His eyes closed as if he was remembering some horror. “I was dragged to Evermore and handed over to Riko, was branded and locked up and-“ He fell quiet again. “I’m not going to marry him,” he insisted, his voice quiet yet fervent.
/So you don’t have a problem being married to man?/
Neil opened his eyes to give Andrew a confused look. “I don’t… I don’t care,” he admitted as his hand fell into the water. “I don’t care about men or women, I don’t feel anything for them. Either of them. I just want to be left alone.”
That sounded…. Andrew blew out a thin plume of smoke as he thought about how Neil didn’t seem to care about exposing himself to Andrew, how he treated his nudity as a casual thing once it became clear his scars wouldn’t be discussed. Andrew knew that some people didn’t care for sex, that it wasn’t relevant for them, and wondered if Neil was one of them. /I’m guessing that Riko doesn’t feel the same./
Neil’s face twisted in annoyance. “You could say that.” His hand traced along some of the scars on his chest, which made both Andrew and the beast enraged at the implications. “I won’t go back to the Raven’s Nest, I won’t,” Neil swore.
No, he wouldn’t if Andrew had any say in the matter. When Neil was done soaking, he dried off and put on one of the robes that Aaron had left behind. /There’s some tea in the kitchen,/ Andrew offered, which garnered a tremulous smile from the idiot.
“Really? I haven’t had some in… well, it’s been a long time,” Neil admitted.
/Then come on./ Without thinking, Andrew wrapped his tail around Neil’s waist to pick him up and carry him to the kitchen, but Neil merely continued to smile so he assumed that it was fine.
Andrew set him on the counter while he lit the oven, and Neil was quick to rinse out the dusty tea kettle and fill it with water while Andrew fetched the tea which Aaron and Nicky had left behind. While the water boiled and then steeped in the one pot, Neil regaled Andrew with some stories about him and his mother fleecing people at various festivals, which led Andrew to confirm his belief that Neil’s mother had demon blood as well and wasn’t a very moral woman.
Neil enjoyed the tea so much that Andrew told him to come down for some more whenever he wanted some, and soon enough it became a regular occurrence, him curled up in the kitchen with Neil sitting on the counter. The beast was very pleased about the fact, and Andrew didn’t complain when Neil started to bring in whatever he managed to catch from his forays out in the mountain – be it fish or fowl or animal, or wilted herbs or whatnot. Andrew had managed the last couple of winters on the cured meats that Aaron and Nicky had left him, and now he shared in the fresh stews and soups that Neil cobbled together, apologizing the entire time for his lack of cooking skills.
“If I had some milk or eggs I could probably make some bread,” Neil admitted. “Nothing fancy, you need yeast for that, but my mom and I managed some simple stuff while on the road.”
Andrew perked up at that. /Aaron and Nicky should be back in the early spring./ Back to try to break the curse.
“Really?” Then Neil grew pensive. “You probably don’t want me to stay that long.” He scraped at the bowl in front of him, even though he’d finished the rabbit stew a few minutes ago. “It would be best if I was gone by then, considering….”
Andrew regarded him from where he was curled up on the kitchen floor, his head resting just shy of Neil’s knees. /We’ve the wards, so what are you worried about?/
Neil was quiet for a few more seconds before he dropped his bowl into the sink and took a deep breath. “Because of Riko,” he confessed. “And my father.” He locked eyes with Andrew while he appeared ready to give up a truth without exchanging magic for once. “My name isn’t really Neil, it’s… it’s Nathaniel Wesninski.” He flinched while speaking, as if admitting that much pained him. “My father is Nathan Wesninski, the Butcher, and he gave me to Riko Moriyama… well, I’m not entirely sure why, but probably because he’s sworn to the family.”
That explained why ‘Neil’s talent was so powerful, why his aether magic was so strong when it was a ‘demon’ magic. Why Riko had branded him and sent knights with magic-dampening cuffs after him. Still, all Andrew did was huff a little and rest his chin on Neil’s bony knees. /Why ‘Neil’?/
Neil stiffened at the question and then sighed. “Because I don’t want to be ‘Nathaniel’ anymore.” The noise he produced just then sounded perilously close to a sob as his fingers lightly caressed Andrew’s sensitive nose. “I don’t want anything to do with my father, with his wealth and power, with Riko or-“ He shook his head, auburn curls flashing about since he was in desperate need for a haircut, and sighed again. “I just want to be free. I want to find a safe place to be myself and to be left in peace, I don’t care about the titles or anything else.”
The beast roared inside of Andrew, clawed at him to claim Neil, to wrap him up and keep him safe. Yet all Andrew did was blow a bit of smoke around the idiot. /What do you think you’ve found? Such an idiot you are./
Neil gaped at him as his fingers stilled, at least until Andrew nudged him to continue with the caresses. “But… really?” he asked, his voice and expression incredulous. “What if Riko sends his people here to look for me?”
/There’s always been assholes coming here who want to fight a dragon, I’m used to it,/ Andrew admitted. /At least now I have your wards./
At first Neil continued to gape at him, and then his expression grew determined. “You’ll have my wards and my magic if anyone wants to hurt you,” he insisted, his hand curling around Andrew’s jaw. “I’m not going to let them harm you.”
Something sparked inside of Andrew upon hearing Neil declare that, upon knowing that someone would fight for him, even as he blew smoke in the idiot’s face. /Don’t get in my way, you can’t even cast wards without nearly passing out./
“Because I cast them around the entire- oh go to hell,” Neil yelled even as he scratched along Andrew’s nose. “So ungrateful!”
/Says the person who doesn’t appreciate cold baths,/ Andrew pointed out. /So more scratches and less attitude./
“You’re a bastard,” Neil said, his tone surly even as he scratched up and down Andrew’s nose. “So, what are you going to do with those books you’ve been gathering in the one main room?”
Andrew perked up at that question. /You do know how to read, don’t you?/
Neil glared at him as his fingers stilled. “What did I say about you being a bastard?”
/I don’t need to know that much more stuff about you,/ Andrew pointed out, /how much do you like your hot baths?/
Neil muttered something in a foreign language even as he scratched beneath Andrew’s chin. “Fine, I can read,” he hissed. “Can you cook?”
So nice to know that there was more than just a pretty face to Neil, such as a strong streak of demon blood and menace, Andrew thought as he closed his eyes in pleasure.
*******
It was getting toward the end of winter, though Andrew felt less apprehension about that fact than he had a month or so before, not when Neil had basically moved down to the first floor and was talking about things like being excited about the various fruit tree groves blooming (apparently he really liked fresh fruit) and maybe them getting a couple of goats for milk. Things which made it clear that he wasn’t planning on disappearing as soon as the paths leading down the mountain were accessible once the snow melted, something which settled the beast inside of Andrew and made him… well, for the first time the damn curse had taken effect, Andrew felt some odd sort of peace. Odd because there was something resembling happiness in having Neil curled up against him during the day and reading aloud from the few books he’d collected over the last couple of years, yet a bitterness over the fact that he’d found someone who put up with his moods and biting sense of humor and him being a dragon and he couldn’t do anything other than wrap his tail around the gorgeous idiot or tuck him under his wing.
It was just a little frustrating.
So when the snow finally melted and the weather gradually warmed up, he internally held his breath and waited for Neil to sneak off one night, to rabbit away, while the beast raged inside of him – it demanded that he lock Neil away inside of the fort, that he keep Neil safe and hide him away from the cruel world. That he do what Riko had tried to do and make Neil a prisoner.
That was something he’d never do.
No matter how much the beast demanded it, no matter how much he wanted to do it, he’d let Neil leave if that was what the idiot decided to do. He’d spent too much of his life without having any control over it to do that to another person.
Even someone he wanted more than anything. Especially someone he wanted more than anything.
Yet all Neil did was stand out in the middle of the courtyard and smile up at the clear sky one morning. “I bet the fruit trees are about to bloom any day now, so it won’t be long now for the plums and then the apples.”
/How disgusting, you’re an optimist,/ Andrew sneered.
Neil laughed at that. “I am when it comes to fresh fruit.” He appeared thoughtful as he approached the wards. “Hmm, if your family brings some flour and sugar, maybe I can try to bake something.” Andrew perked up at that. “Until then, want to come with me while I catch some fish?”
/I suppose, if only to keep you out of trouble./
Neil smiled despite the jab (even if it was true), and they made their way to the one lake where Neil fished while chatting with the naiads. They had given up on flirting with him a while ago upon realizing that he was a lost cause, not that Andrew thought that his idiot had picked up on that fact, but they enjoyed the chance to talk to someone and share the gossip they’d picked up over the last few days from the dryads.
Once Neil had caught enough fish to feed them over the next day or two, Andrew picked him up and carried him back to the fort. Unfortunately, it seemed that a couple of ‘guests’ had arrived while they had been away – some unaffiliated knights who were displeased at being warded out of the fort. That explained why Neil had moaned as if in pain right before they returned to their home.
Andrew let out a blast of fire to cover his landing as he set down in the courtyard with Neil tucked between his front paws while he faced off against the knights, secure behind the wards.
“-the hell?” The older knight encased in worn but solid leather and chainmail armor gawked at Andrew. “They never said anything about wards!”
The younger knight swung his sword into the air as if he could batter down the magical defense. “So what? The kid is here, let’s get kill the beast, grab him and leave.”
The older woman looked at him as if he was an idiot – oh, wait, he was. “We can’t break down these wards!”
Neil stirred against Andrew, his eyes overcome by the silver-white of his aether magic. “No, you can’t,” he declared, his voice so cold just then that Andrew was impressed. “So fuck off!” He backed up his words with a blast of aether magic which made the knights yelp in surprise as they dodged the destructive bolt which ate up a good bit of the ground where they had been standing.
Andrew followed that with another blast of flame. /Go away before you’re nothing but ash./
“But Prince Riko-“ The younger knight yelped when he got singed for saying that name; only the quick action of his older partner saved him from losing more than the outer layer of his leather armor.
“Come on, there’s nothing we can do here,” she told him as she pulled his smoldering body away from the fort; Andrew watched them leave before he carried Neil – and the fish – into the kitchen.
The fish were dumped into the sink and Neil set onto the counter, where he sat in pensive silent for almost a minute. /What idiocy is going on in that empty head of yours?/ Andrew demanded as he blew smoke in Neil’s face.
“Dammit,” Neil coughed as he waved his right hand about to clear the air. “It’s not… Riko’s going to know that I’m here now,” he told Andrew, his expression sullen and eyes filled with silver sparks. “There’s going to be more knights.”
/There’s always going to be more knights,/ Andrew huffed with a few sparks. /I’m a dragon./ He waited until Neil looked at him to blow a little more smoke in the idiot’s face. /So do you deal with them chasing you on the road and me over them wanting to prove something stupid, or do we face them together so I can protect you?/
Neil’s expression turned defiant for a couple of seconds and then it crumpled as he reached out to stroke his fingers along Andrew’s nose in an invitation for Andrew to rest his chin on the idiot’s lap. “I can protect myself,” Neil didn’t seem to appreciate Andrew’s huff of derision right then, “and I just… I don’t want to be a bother,” Neil confessed, his tone uncertain and quiet.
/Too late for that./ When Neil’s fingers stilled on Andrew’s nose, he huffed again. /Who else is going to read to me and make me something to eat?/
“I see, you just want menial labor.” Still, Neil’s fingers scratched along Andrew’s chin just the way he liked and the idiot’s tone was light, so he knew that Neil wasn’t upset anymore.
/And you just want hot baths,/ Andrew retorted.
“Yes, that’s it.” Neil sounded a little odd just then, and his fingers lingered on Andrew’s chin a little before scratching along his jaw. “I’m only staying here because I can’t do without hot water.”
/I knew it./ Andrew closed his eyes to enjoy the feel of Neil’s fingers a little more, the beast all but curled up in a purring ball inside of him. /So you’re staying./
“As long as I don’t cause too much trouble for you,” Neil argued.
It was much too late for that, but Andrew supposed that the idiot meant in regards to the Moriyamas and the knights. /Just make some tea and our dinner and then read to me,/ he insisted, not willing to continue the argument any longer. /Before I take to dangling idiots to amuse myself./
Neil sputtered a little as he shoved Andrew’s head off of his lap. “You… you’re such an asshole! Someone likes being this big, powerful, tyrant of a dragon a bit too much, I think!” Yet there was a hint of a smile on his face while he jumped off the counter so he could get to work.
Andrew didn’t care about princes or demons, he wasn’t going to let anyone take this away from him, not unless Neil wanted to walk away. He’d already had enough taken away from him that he wasn’t going to lose anything else important without one hell of a fight.
*******
A couple of weeks and a couple of bothersome knights later, Aaron and Nicky finally arrived, heralded by much noise. Neil and Andrew were in the kitchen, where Neil was drinking tea and Andrew flicking his bare feet with the tip of his tail, when there was the loud neigh of a horse and then Nicky’s annoying voice. “What the – there’s a ward? Andrew, when did you cast a ward?”
/Wonderful, the pest has returned,/ Andrew remarked with a thick plume of smoke.
Neil coughed a little as he set aside the weak tea. “Good, we really need some supplies.” He jumped down from the counter and then arched an eyebrow when Andrew wrapped his tail around the idiot’s waist. “What?”
For a moment Andrew felt torn about allowing Neil outside, on having his brother and cousin seeing his… on seeing Neil. He didn’t want to share the young man with them, didn’t want – he had to bat down the beast, which was roaring at him to protect Neil, to keep him inside and far away from everyone, which was not helping. /Stay close, let’s make sure this isn’t some kind of trick./
“Uhm, okay.” Neil’s brows drew together but he didn’t argue and he walked close to Andrew’s side as they went outside to find Nicky and Aaron waiting for them, their clothes dusty from travel, the horses weary and a large cart filled with supplies.
“It’s about time, Andrew,” Nicky called out. “When did you – whoa, who is that!” His dark brown eyes went wide as he pointed at Neil, who pressed against Andrew’s side and didn’t object when Andrew draped a wing over him.
As for Aaron, he merely gave Andrew a cool look for a couple of seconds before turning his attention to the horse beside him. “Guess that explains the rumors we heard along the way about you kidnapping some poor kid.”
Neil stirred at that. “He did no such thing!”
/Let them past the ward,/ Andrew told Neil while his tail twitched in annoyance.
“Okay.” There was a flash of Neil’s magic, and a moment later Nicky took a cautious step forward. Once he made it past the ward’s outer edge, Aaron followed, but he didn’t rush forward like the pest did to come grinning over to Andrew and Neil.
“Luna, you’re a cutie!” he told Neil as he got a closer look at him, then beamed up at Andrew. “He’s a cutie, An- ack!” He coughed when he got a face full of smoke.
“And you’re an idiot,” Aaron called out from where he was unhooking the horses from the cart. “So is the kid really Riko Moriyama’s fiancé?”
“No,” Neil shouted. “I’m not a kid and I never consented to the engagement!”
Nicky stopped coughing and once more took to staring at Neil. “Wait, so you really are Nathaniel Wes-“
Neil cut him off with a virulent look and by waving a glow silver hand in his face. “My name is Neil.”
/I would listen to him,/ Andrew advised as he used his tail to nudge Neil back toward the fort. /Neil’s staying here now-/
“Well, I’m staying here as long as it doesn’t cause too much trouble.”
/He’s staying here,/ Andrew reiterated as he picked up the idiot to carry him inside, which earned a weary sigh from Neil, /so I hope you brought some books. The idiot can’t do much, but he can read./
“Yes, so much better than being on the run,” Neil muttered, and then squeaked when Andrew turned him upside down. “Bastard.”
/Idiot./
“Oh sweet heavens, we leave you alone one winter and you got yourself a cutie!” Nicky babbled as he carried a bag of supplies behind them.
Of course Aaron waited until Nicky and Neil were busy stocking all of the supplies to ‘talk’ to Andrew alone, which made Andrew suspicious in and of itself. Despite them being twins, they didn’t ‘talk’ much; Andrew still didn’t understand exactly why Aaron was trying to help him out and break the curse. Yes, Nicky’s part in it all was clear since Andrew had been cursed for saving his cousin. But Aaron? Andrew supposed there was guilt over how Tilda had basically sold him off to support the ‘family’, had whored Andrew off for his magical talent while she’d kept Aaron. For what Andrew had done for Aaron when he’d finally been able to buy himself free and then gone back to confront Tilda. But in the end, guilt was a useless emotion to him, so he didn’t want someone ‘helping’ him because of it.
Aaron leaned against the wall, his arms crossed across his chest and still dressed in the dusty black tunic and leggings he’d arrived in earlier; it hurt Andrew to look at him, to see the body he would still possess if it wasn’t for the damn curse. “You know the Moriyamas are offering a reward for ‘Neil’ there. Riko seems very concerned about his poor, kidnapped darling.”
Andrew snorted at that, a thin plume of smoke snaking through the air. /Yes, I’m sure he does. Neil can tell you horror stories about his ‘concern’./
Aaron seemed to consider that. “Is that why you’re letting him stay here? Because Riko is forcing him against his will and… other things?”
/He stays as long as he wants,/ Andrew insisted. /It’s not up for debate./ He backed that with a few sparks.
His brother was quiet for about a minute as he regarded Andrew the entire time. “You haven’t cared about a damn thing since you’ve been cursed, except maybe biting the head off of that asshole mage who did this to you. And now you’ve taken in a runaway who’s more demon than human with a prince hot on his ass? Are you that eager to die?” For once Aaron showed something more than annoyance – he seemed to be filled with contempt for Andrew. “If so just let me know so Nicky and I can go back home.”
/You can go home whenever you want, I’m not making you do anything,/ Andrew said. /And I’m not eager to die./ For once… for once he was speaking the truth. /Now go away, you’re annoying./ He blew smoke and sparks at his twin until Aaron sputtered curses and stalked away.
They had a decent meal that evening, courtesy of the fresh supplies, and the next day, after Nicky and Aaron had rested, they tried yet another spell to reverse the curse. It didn’t work, it never worked, yet for the first time Andrew felt disappointed over that fact. Disappointed and let down, especially when Neil asked questions about what Nicky and Aaron were doing, about their efforts and so forth. He didn’t know much about spellcasting, but he seemed interested and of course Nicky was happy to have someone to talk to about their ‘project’.
Aaron and Nicky didn’t stay long that time; they wanted to do some more research and now that Neil was there, they needed more supplies such as clothes for him and books so Neil could read to Andrew, and some other items that Neil had requested. Aaron gave Andrew a considering look once again before they left, which annoyed him for some reason.
“So your family is trying to reverse the curse?” Neil asked later in the night when they were alone again.
/They’re idiots, too,/ Andrew proclaimed. /It’s not going to work./
Neil shook his head. “Curses have been broken in the past, I’ve heard stories about it.” Grief flickered over his face for a moment. “My mother… well, she knew a little about such things.” Then his expression hardened. “My father knows about it, too, but… well, can’t exactly ask him, can we?”
Considering that the little Neil had talked about his father was to indicate that the man had been responsible for his mother’s death and handing him over to Riko, along with a good bit of the scars on his body… no, Andrew supposed not. Andrew also supposed that if he ever ran into Nathan ‘the Butcher’ Wesninski, he would take great delight in burning the bastard to ash, something which the beast wholeheartedly agreed. /Right, and Aaron and Nicky will break this one – it’s the stuff of legends./
Neil winced at the sarcasm in Andrew’s voice. “They might not be the most knowledgeable, but sometimes it’s not so much experience as will that wins out.” He gave Andrew a pointed look. “You have to want it to work. You know that magic is often about want.”
/Drink your tea,/ Andrew chided his idiot, which Neil did after an aggrieved sigh. /Are you saying you’re tired of me being a dragon?/ The beast didn’t like that, no it didn’t.
After a few sips of tea, Neil shook his head. “No, it’s not that.” Now his expression was contemplative. “I like you… uhm.” There was a hint of color on his cheeks just then, which Andrew didn’t think was from the heat of the beverage. “But if you’re unhappy with the curse, then I want it broken.”
That was a bit unclear… but then again, so much was when it came to Neil. Andrew didn’t understand how someone could put up with him like this, could act like living with a dragon of all things was so normal, but Neil did. He didn’t know if it was the demon blood in the idiot, was the fact that Neil had been raised by a demon father and mother with demon blood, had spent a good bit of his life on the run and so had a rather dubious upbringing at best. That Neil came from a very powerful magic bloodline even if his talent wasn’t the most practical.
That Neil had been around so much pain and abuse in his short life that living with a dragon instead of monsters in human form was a vast improvement, in his mind. Not that Andrew could understand that rationale at all, oh no.
Andrew didn’t know if Neil would care at all, if he had his human form back – the idiot hadn’t reacted at all to Aaron, when he’d found out that Aaron was Andrew’s twin brother. But he’d never know if he was stuck as a dragon forever, would he?
So when Aaron and Nicky returned a couple of weeks later, that time bringing a few goats which Neil hoped wouldn’t be too scared of Andrew and could supply them with a bit of milk, along with some staples so he could try his hand at baking (‘try’ he kept stressing), Andrew prepared himself for another attempt at breaking the curse.
“We did some more research,” Nicky explained as he pulled out some crystals and a bunch of herbs. “We think maybe tying it to some other type of transformation magic might help, might give it some added strength, so maybe to the moonrise?”
“What he’s saying is, we’re going to see if we can get the curse to weaken with the sunset,” Aaron said. “There’s been a lot of work done in that regard, we think we have something here.”
/Whatever, so long as you don’t have me turn into a werewolf,/ Andrew told them.
“Ha! A werewolf dragon, wouldn’t that be funny?” Nicky grinned at the three of them, then sighed when no one else grinned back. “I think it’s funny.”
/You’re a moron,/ Andrew reminded him.
“A wonderful moron who’s going to turn your scaly grumpy ass back into a short, grumpy human,” Nicky retorted, then ducked behind Neil before Andrew could singe him. “Let’s get to it!”
The casting seemed to take forever, with Aaron and Nicky exhausted at the end of it and Andrew left tingling from the spells. Neil fetched some fish chowder he’d made so everyone could eat, including some sweet bread spread with preserves for Andrew, and was scratching Andrew’s chin while Aaron and Nicky argued about some possible spells when the sun started to set. At first Andrew didn’t feel anything, and then the tingle increased in his body until he had to move, had to crawl away from Neil, had to twist about and-
It hurt, somewhat, not too painful and more like an all-over ache, and the world became blurry as he heard excited cries all around him, as there was a strong flash of magic – and then Andrew found himself crouched naked on the hard stone floor of the main room, his body trembling as he struggled to remember how to move arms and legs which he hadn’t possessed in a couple of years, as he craned a neck which wasn’t several feet long, as he fought to balance without a tail.
“Oh Luna, it worked! It worked!” Nicky babbled. “Did we break it?”
“Calm down and let him speak, dammit,” Aaron chided. “Andrew, are you all right?”
He could still feel the beast, the dragon, inside of him, panicked and outraged over what had happened. As Andrew struggled to calm it and move, he caught a motion out of the corner of his eye and almost fell over as he tried to spin around in reaction.
“Here.” Neil was mindful not to approach too close, as if aware of how out of sorts Andrew felt just then, but he’d pulled off the loose grey jerkin he wore over his tunic and tossed it the slight distance between them so Andrew could have something to wear; his presence – the sight of him, the feel of his magic and the scent of him on the warm article of clothing helped to calm down the dragon. “Uhm, are you all right?” For some reason he was blushing, his cheeks a bright red and his gaze locked on Andrew’s face.
“Yes.” Andrew’s voice came out low and raspy, since he hadn’t used it in ages; Neil’s cheeks blazed even brighter and he glanced aside as if struggling for composure.
Andrew had just been handed back his human body and had no clue if Aaron and Nicky had broken the curse or not (he was thinking ‘not’, considering the dragon was still there), said human body didn’t seem to want to cooperate very well and all he could do was clutch Neil’s jerkin in his lap at the moment… yet he felt a thrill of satisfaction at a certain idiot’s reaction just then. “Thanks,” he replied, voice still husky from disuse, and even the beast was pleased at the way Neil shivered in response before appearing confused as hell over what he’d just done.
“Uhm… you’re welcome?” Neil rubbed at his face as he looked at Andrew, then seemed to realize that he was staring at Andrew’s naked chest before he stumbled away. “Ah, I’ll get… more clothes.” He sounded decidedly panicked just then.
His departure meant that Nicky and Aaron had a chance to approach. “It worked!” Nicky crowed as he took to circling Andrew. “We need to see how long it lasts and if there’s any side-effects. How do you feel? Do you need anything?”
“Some clothes,” Aaron muttered as he eyed Andrew’s naked form.
“And alcohol,” Andrew rasped. “The dragon’s still there… but it worked.” He nodded in appreciation to his brother and cousin.
Nicky’s smile slipped a little, but soon rallied. “Then we know what we need to do now, don’t we?” As he rambled on about how to alter the spell, Andrew allowed himself to feel a bit of hope for the first time since being cursed… hope and to look forward to when Aaron and Nicky would leave, so he could explore that new reaction with a certain idiot.
******