Mint and Honey

[KieranSoares]

"I'll do that when you actually need it," Alex said as he laid back in the grass. "That kind of treatment is reserved for special cases."

 

[heartofcourage]

"So, only when I'm dying, suffer a head injury, or have a child." Yasmine murmured as she laid as his side, wrapping her arm around his chest as she rested her head against his shoulder. "I see how things are."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Or when I'm feeling particularly kind," Alex tucked an arm behind his head and wrapped the other around Yasmine. "People get lazy when you give them too much slack."

 

[heartofcourage]

"We wouldn't want you to spoil me too much." Yasmine chuckled as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and held her tightly.

 

[KieranSoares]

"Exactly," Alex agreed, but Yasmine felt him jolt slightly when Bahir came to nudge at him and nip his arm for attention. "Hey-!" Soon Fatin joined in, and the two dragged Alex away by a sleeve and his trouser leg so Bahir could nestle quite happily beside Yasmine, Fatin against her other side. Alex sighed heavily. "I blame you," he called over the drakes to Yasmine. "They think you're their mother."

 

[heartofcourage]

"There are worse things that I could be." Yasmine said with a chuckle as the drakes curled around her, leaving Alex out in the cold. "It's not my fault that they like me more. I protect and feed them. You just use them for work."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I look after Fatin just as much as you do," Alex protested as Fatin nuzzled his head against Yasmine's side.

"When will you learn that animals just prefer women?" A voice made Alex sit up to see Ria approaching them.

"Just because most of the best trainers around here are women doesn't make that true," Alex chuckled.

"You'll admit it someday." Ria leaned down to kiss his forehead before coming over to peer between the drakes at Yasmine. "Yasmine. I have a request. I would ask my daughter-in-law, but she's a little too busy with family."

 

[heartofcourage]

"You know Annie would drop everything to help you, so this must be a special request." Yasmine murmured as she sat up and gave Ria her full attention. "What can I help you with?"

 

[KieranSoares]

"Well, I don't want to take her attention away from the little ones. If you aren't too busy yourself, I have a Drake who desperately needs a competent trainer's help. He's hopelessly timid and I need him to be able to handle tight quarters and sailing."

 

[heartofcourage]

"What's his history?" Yasmine asked, standing and dusting herself off, pushing Bahir's face away as he went to nuzzle against her.

 

[KieranSoares]

"No idea. Poor thing came wandering up to the bins outside the tavern and nearly had a heart attack when I came outside. He's a northern, but that's all I know."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Abandoned, probably. The drakes that have been traded for are still all accounted for to the best of my knowledge." Yasmine said as she turned to look at Alex. "Care to come with us? Or do you have more pressing things to take care of?"

 

[KieranSoares]

"I'm sure he could use a look, Alex," Ria offered, and Alex nodded and rose.

"Sure." He sent Fatin and Bahir off to roam, knowing Bahir would keep them out of trouble.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Lead the way." Yasmine said as she started to follow after Ria to where the drake was being kept.

 

[KieranSoares]

Ria led the two to the old stable she and Gerald kept. Since they hadn't kept horses of their own for a while, it had become a small storage barn. Now it had been cleared out and inside was the strangest color of drake Alex or Yasmine had ever seen. Most drakes of bluish color were some aquatic hue, the too-skinny, young, black-furred drake they found hiding in the barn was royal, almost electric blue, a color that was incredibly rare in nature. Hearing the barn door, he quickly bolted behind a stack of crates.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Grandma, he came out and ate a little bit." Silas said, glancing over at the door as Ria came back.

He had been helping her that morning while his Da had taken Danny to the docks to unload a ship and Annie had been busy with Bridget. She had tasked him with keeping an eye on the drake, making sure that he didn't hurt himself as she had gone to fetch Yasmine.

"What did he eat?" Yasmine asked of the little boy, reaching out to Alex for a pair of leather gloves.

"Mostly the rice. He doesn't seem to like the meat." Silas murmured, coming to lean into Ria's side as he wrapped his arms around he waist.

 

[KieranSoares]

Ria ran her fingers through Silas' hair, but stepped away from him ahead of Yasmine. "Just stand still," she told Yasmine and Alex. "He'll come out with some help."

Ria slowly stepped behind the crates, and soon she backed out with the drake's head in her hands. Ria was a powerful sort of woman, confident to a fault. But she also had a deep empathy for those abused and terrified of the world. The drake hesitated when he was revealed to the group, but Ria coaxed him onward until he was close enough to touch.

"Silas," Ria murmured. "Bring in a fresh bucket of water, will you?" She knelt down and the drake slowly sat, keeping eye contact with her.

"Has he been aggressive at all?" Alex asked softly, making the drake practically wince at the sound.

"Not in the slightest. He's been sweet and helpful to me, and he adores Silas. But if anyone else comes around, he hides unless I have hold of him."

 

[heartofcourage]

Silas scurried away to get the water that she had asked him for. Yasmine watched her bring out the drake with a curious look on her face. She had seen abused animals, but this one seemed to be a special case. An unusual color with no marks from hard work.

"If I didn't know any better, I would say we're looking at an imperial animal." She said as she slowly stepped forward, placing her gloved hand gently on his scales. "One that's been bred for color and not for heavy lifting."

 

[KieranSoares]

"One that never learned a job. He doesn't even have any harness wear around his chest and shoulders. Doesn't seem like he was socialized either."

Ria sighed, cradling the drake's head. "That sounds about right. He cries when he's lonely, but he's too scared to approach other drakes. He probably doesn't even know how to interact with them. It would be like being raised in solitude and never learning a language or how to exist in society."

 

[heartofcourage]

"So, how did he end up abandoned?" Yasmine asked, looking over at Ria. "It doesn't make sense if he was raised in seclusion. Is it possible to keep a drake as a house pet?"

Yasmine glanced over as Silas returned with a bucket of water, dutifully placing it next to his grandmother as he looked at the drake with intense interest. He loved horses, but drakes were his new passion. He talked about nothing else with his Da at night and he swore to anyone that would listen that he would own a drake of his own some day. He might have only been six years old, but he had been working every job that he could handle, saving up his money to buy the drake of his dreams.

 

[KieranSoares]

"I have an idea of where he came from... Back when I was still a sailor, I saw cargo like him fairly often. Beasts, all kinds, raised for a specific use and rejected, so they get sold off to the first half-interested person who comes along. Always unsocialized, always untrained, always underfed. And with the influx of drakes around here, he was probably brought in to sell on auction. They probably couldn't get back his cost in food, so they just left him. No one around here wants to spend that kind of money on a beast that can't be put to work. And such a skittish personality probably soured the deal further. He'd be useless in any military situation thanks to his color. I'd bet he was bred to be a carriage drake, but his tendency to bolt made him unusable. Whatever his case, he was digging through trash when I found him, and no one in the area recognizes him."

Ria reached out to Silas, sitting on her knees and bringing the boy against her side. Her hand over his, she placed his palm gently on the drake's maw. The beast seemed mostly unbothered by the little boy, staring at him with wide, mismatched green and blue eyes.

"I don't care where he came from, really. He's a sweetheart. But to keep him, I need to teach him to pull his weight. Gerald and I could use him, and he'd be good for Silas to learn from."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Until he is socialized, I think it's wise to keep him away from the drakes at the keep. They are having eggs and the males would tear him apart since he can't pick up on their social cues." Yasmine said softly as Silas pet the drake with his grandmother's help. "We can start him off with Bahir and Fatin. They would be good for him. Perhaps even Owen Blackstone's drake."

"I can help pay for him, Grandma." Silas said softly, looking up at her as she mentioned keeping him. "Grandpa pays me to clean the tavern and Mama pays me to clean out the stables. I have coins saved up."

 

[KieranSoares]

"You keep that money, sweetheart. Grandma has enough to last til he can work. Besides, I want your help with him." Ria kissed the boy's cheek and let him pet the drake alone. She was quite certain.that the very most the beast would do was nip if he was upset. "We need a good name for him. Something strong but gentle."

 

[heartofcourage]

“We should name him Thor! Or Zeus!” Silas piped up immediately, petting the drake until it seemed as if he’d had enough. “Like one of the Greek legends. Those are strong names.”

 

[KieranSoares]

"Well, I'll let you come up with a good name for him." Ria let the drake slink slowly back to his hiding place, keeping close to the ground til he was nearly dragging his belly. Looking to Alex and Yasmine, Ria added, "He doesn't seem to eat much meat. I know drakes are omnivores, but I thought their diet was mostly meat."

"Especially northerns," Alex nodded. "Strange. It explains why he doesn't have much muscle mass."