Dragon Wings: The Clean War - Chapter II

Aug 16, 2012 21:10




That night, after an afternoon of working on their stamina and a quick dinner, Jensen collapsed into bed. Jared followed him in a slower fashion and curled himself around the dragon, who was making small sounds of hurt in his throat. He didn’t think Jensen was even aware that he was making them. He shushed his mate and kissed behind his ear.

“Tomorrow I’ll go to the infirmary and see if they have some liniment. Is it bad?”

Jensen shuddered. “The muscles we use to fly are different to the muscles we use at any other time, but having to hover puts an even greater strain on them.” He took a breath and released it shakily. “Most small things don’t follow us from dragon form to human - like when Chris bit me and I clawed him; those marks don’t appear anywhere on our human bodies - but muscle aches do.” Another small whimper escaped him.

“I’m sorry.” Jared whispered and held him tighter, hoping his warmth might help ease the pain. “I wish I could make it go away.”

“Mmmmm.” Jensen agreed, apparently satisfied with the sentiment alone. Then he took another deep breath. “Jared?”

“Yeah, Jen?”

“About earlier... I’m sorry I volunteered us for the mission without asking you. I should have discussed it with you first. Your life is on the line too.” His voice was small.

Jared sighed. “Oh, baby, you did nothing wrong. You were right when you said that if it had any chance of working it was worth the risk. Besides, you did check before you fully committed to it.”

“So...you didn’t feel forced? You didn’t agree because you felt you had to?”

Snorting, Jared asked, “Do you seriously think I would risk my life because I was too embarrassed to say no?”

Jensen huffed out a laugh, and then moaned. “No, I guess not.”

“No.” Jared affirmed. “Now, try to get some sleep and I’ll head over to the infirmary first thing, okay?”

“Okay.”

***
Jared’s return to Jensen the next morning with the much-needed liniment was delayed; first by running into Steve who was on the same errand, and then by a runner from the airfield. The harnesses that Eirian and Grymus had fitted for before leaving Dallas had arrived. Jared wasn’t sure that Jensen would be up to trying it out, but Steve had assured him that flying would be the best thing for him, as long as they didn’t practice any more hovering. He had to admit, he was excited to see Jensen’s reaction to the harness. Once the harness-keeper had taken the measurements, he had pulled Steve and Jared aside to choose a design. Each harness was custom made to the dragon’s size, shape and personality. The decoration on the harness was decided by the rider and was either the treasure or shame of their dragon.

He also couldn’t wait to finally be able to ride his dragon.

Entering their tent, Jared saw that Jensen was exactly where he had left him; laid out flat on the bed, limbs akimbo, and snoring softly. Jared knew he was whipped when he found the sight utterly adorable. Still, they had to get up and about, so he went over and gently shook the sleeping man. “Jen? Wake up, baby. I have the liniment.”

Jensen moaned. Jared wasn’t sure if it was pain, displeasure over being woken up, or pleasure at the anticipated relief. “M’wake.”

“Nice try.” Jared snorted. “Open your eyes and look at me or I won’t be rubbing this in.” Jensen’s eyes blinked open drowsily, seeming to weigh a tonne as they blinked up and down. The green was dull. “Are you too sore to fly today? I need to know the truth.”

Instead of the immediate assurance he had expected, Jared got a considering silence, then, “No. No, I think it will be okay, as long as I keep moving.”

“Good. In that case, I have a surprise for you after breakfast.” Jared smiled. That smile grew when Jensen’s eyes glowed, just a little bit.

“My harness is here?” He sounded beautifully eager.

“It is.” Jensen’s beaming smile was possibly the brightest he had ever seen it. “Now lay still. I’ll rub this in, we’ll get some food, and then we’ll get that harness on you.”

***
The harnesses were laid out, under cloths to protect them from the damp air, on the ground beside one of the runways. There were three. The reason became apparent when Bradley and Colin sauntered over. Bradley smiled widely, Colin less so, and greeted, “Well, what a lovely morning you have for your first foray as true partners.”

Chris laughed. “Seriously?”

Bradley shrugged, unabashed. They got the impression that very little could embarrass the other man. “So I’m told, and there is nothing like the rush of being one with your mate as you fly.”

“I can’t wait.” Jensen was almost bouncing on the spot. “Please, Jay, show me.”

Jared wasn’t surprised by the request. He stepped over to the harness and lifted the protective cloth off of it. The leather was dark, almost black, and tooled with swirling, Celtic patterns. The studs and rivets used to hold it all together were almost the same gleaming copper of Eirian’s hide. The most work, however, had gone into the breastplate. It was a large triangular plate that would cover, and protect, most of Eirian’s barrelled chest. For functionality it was made from galvanised steel, a full inch thick. For beauty, it was plated with enamel. The outer border was a deep navy with a thin inner border of copper. Within this smaller border was an emerald green and golden swirl. The final coat of hard resin made the whole thing shine like a polished mirror. Jensen’s eyes glowed, that same brilliant green, as was clearly the intent.

Colin jerked where he stood. “His eyes are glowing.” He looked to Chris, a question clear. “His eyes are glowing.”

Chris shrugged. “Yeah. They do that sometimes.” Colin seemed to get the message that that was all the answer he would receive.

Then it was Steve’s turn to reveal the design of his harness to Chris. Lifting the cloth, he raised an eyebrow. Steve had also gone for the dark leather, but the fasteners were highly polished steel. The breastplate was blood red with a silver claw slash that almost looked like it had been gouged from the plate itself, so well had the artisans done their job. Chris made a grumbling sound of pleasure. “Perfect.”

“Okay, are we all happy? Yes?” Bradley clapped his hands and rubbed them together. “We’re here to show you how to get a harness on a dragon who is quite a bit bigger than you are. Ready?” He waited for them to all nod. “Alright, Merlin, get scaly.” Colin glared at his rider in a manner that promised retribution, but quickly stripped off and changed. Merlin was a milk white midweight with deep red eyes. Bradley patted his shoulder proudly. Jensen and Chris followed his lead, and suddenly there were three dragons standing together. Merlin had looked big until he was stood side by side with the two heavyweights. “So, this is - and you’ll have to excuse the comparison - not much different from getting a harness on a dog. Arrange the harness so that the breastplate is laid face down on the ground and hold the neck strap up, like so.” Jared and Steve copied Bradley’s arrangement and stance, except they were holding their straps higher. “The dragons now need to slip their head through the noose.” Merlin grumbled but Bradley continued to grin, the mischief clear in his eyes, so the dragon let out a deep sigh and stepped forward, slotting his head through the loop of the neck strap before standing upright, thus lifting the breastplate into its position, hanging from his neck. “As you can see, in this manner it is the dragon doing the hard work of lifting the plate. They are, as you can imagine, quite heavy, and even more so in your case, so it is best that we don’t try it.”

“Doesn’t it weigh them down while flying?” Jared asked. He had had this concern since he had first seen them.

“It is an added weight.” Bradley confirmed. “However, the protection it provides is well worth it, like a knight in armour. Better tired than dead, yeah?” He paused while Eirian and Grymus mimicked Merlin’s earlier movement, slipping the neck strap over their heads and pulling the breastplate up into place. They did look most magnificent. Merlin’s own was enamelled in black with a skyful of silver stars. It was offset nicely against his white hide.

“Right, so the next step is getting the front legs through the right holes and pulling the belly strap back into position.” Again he demonstrated and the others copied. “Now, as you can see, the back strap is just trailing along on the ground, completely useless. The dragon will need to pick it up and pass it over his own back so you can buckle it.” Merlin picked up the long strap, almost curled around on himself, and draped it over his back. Bradley grabbed it and lifted the other end off of the ground, quickly pulling the tip through the buckle and pulling it tight. “Make sure you buckle it properly. The leather can get stiff, but this thing is all that is keeping you from falling off up there.”

Jared and Steve watched their dragons copy Merlin’s instruction, almost in perfect time with one another, some kind of strange dragon dance. Then they had their hands full, the thick straps requiring both hands to pull through the triple buckle that would hold them in place. They looked to Bradley who nodded, pleased. “Now the last part is the tail strap. Watch yourselves because the dragons don’t like it and, if they aren’t paying attention to what you are doing, they are likely to swipe at you with their tail.”

“What do you mean ‘they don’t like it’?” Jared asked sharply.

Bradley blinked, surprised by the hostility. “Dragons don’t like anyone, or anything, touching their tails, except their riders. It doesn’t hurt them, just...irritates them a little bit, until they’re used to it. Like putting a ring on for the first time.” He picked up the last trailing strap - thinner than the belly strap, but still as thick as his arm - and made quick work of looping it around Merlin’s tail and buckling it up.

Warily, Steve stepped up to Grymus and cinched the strap around him. Since the dragon had been watching him the whole time, there was no tail swipe involved. In fact, Steve started to chuckle before hitting his dragon in the side. “Trust you to think of that.” Seeing the others looking at him, he shrugged, as though apologising in advance. “He said he’s never letting me near a cock ring.”

Bradley burst into laughter and narrowly avoided Merlin taking a belated swing at him. Jared snickered and soothed Eirian, “I’m sure it isn’t as bad as all that.” He quickly finished the job of buckling the harness and then walked forward to where Eirian had his head lowered for him. The dragon was rumbling in something like a cat’s purr and Jared patted him fondly. “Yes, now we can go flying.”

There were three items still sitting on the tarmac; the riders’ harnesses. It was a simple enough garment to put on. All three men picked them up, put their arms through the loops that sat over each shoulder and then buckled the waist strap around their middle. From the waist, a strap went down the outside of each leg, which buckled around their ankles. This left four straps - two from the waist and one from each ankle - that would attach to the dragon’s neck harness once they were on their back. They pulled on the flying coats they had brought with them and clambered up over the dragons’ shoulders, using the neck strap to haul themselves up into position, and locked their harnesses to those of their dragons.

Bradley had a few last words of advice. “Always give them a good yank to make sure they are properly secured. Your life literally depends on it. And always check that all feels well with your mate. If a strap is twisted, too tight or slipping, it is dangerous for you and can be harmful to them. Apart from that...just let them do what comes natural. Let’s fly!”

Merlin leaped into the air, Grymus and Eirian following suit. They quickly climbed to a few hundred feet before levelling out. Jared could feel Eirian’s excitement through their link, and it was infectious. He knew he was grinning like an idiot, but the exhilaration was simply too great to care. Then Eirian spoke to him. Bradley wants us to try some manoeuvres. Do you feel secure? Jared gave him an affirmative, and Steve must have done the same to Grymus, for the next thing they knew, Merlin was spiralling. Jared grabbed the (mostly) superfluous hand strap in front of him an instant before Eirian also began to spiral. It should have been sickening, but it just felt like freedom, and Jared cheered loudly. He felt his mate’s amusement and wondered if that wasn’t also where this feeling of freedom stemmed from. When they levelled out again, Merlin flew in close between the two larger dragons and Bradley signed that he was heading back. Eirian confirmed the signal. They are returning to base, but we have leave to continue as we sit fit. Steve and Jared waved the other pair off, and then it was the four of them once more.

“Does anyone have any ideas where we should go?” Jared asked.

A moment later, Eirian replied, Grymus is suggesting we just keep flying north until we feel we must stop. I concur.

So that is what they did. It was easy to settle into the slow rise and fall of their dragons’ wings, watching the land pass by beneath you. Every now and then one of the dragons would fly higher and then coast down on the currents until they were grouped once more. They flew over London, then the sprawling satellite towns and farmlands. When it got too cold for their riders, the dragons would drop even lower, skimming along just above the treetops. They flew over a herd of sheep and waved to the startled shepherd boy. They stopped off at a small village pub for lunch, Jensen and Chris barely decent, barefoot in Jared and Steve’s knee-length flying coats. They enjoyed a simple, hearty stew with heavy sourdough bread, but declined the beer offered by the barkeep, pressing the money upon him when he would have insisted they eat for free. Everyone knew the job that the dragons and their riders were doing; keeping them safe from invasion.

Afterwards, they headed back out to the clearing they had originally landed in, only to find a group of children waiting amongst their harnesses for them. They wanted to see the dragons. Jensen had blushed, clearly concerned about flashing the impressionable youths, but Jared made a game of it and had them turn around and shut their eyes long enough for the two men to shrug off their coats and change. When they were allowed to turn back around, the children were awed. A brave young girl approached Eirian and put her hand on his leg. Eirian’s head came around to look at her, but she gamely held her ground, and the big dragon purred, a deep rumbling sound. Jared smiled to himself, but told the children, “He likes that. He is always complaining that I don’t pat him enough.” Grymus made a sound suspiciously like a bark of laughter, but stayed still when some of the little ones also came to stroke him where they could reach. This lasted until a harried teacher came running up, chastising the children for sneaking out, and the riders for entertaining them and not sending them back. That stopped when Eirian turned and bumped her with his head. She huffed, but then broke into a smile and scratched him behind his eye.

“My aunt is a lightweight. She likes a good scratch too.” She admitted before gathering the children and shooing them off down the road.

With laughter in their minds, the dragons and their riders repeated the process to get the harnesses on. Then they turned and made their way leisurely back to the airfield.

Chapter III: http://lady-krystal-79.livejournal.com/39652.html

dragon wings, jared/jensen, nc-17, bradley/colin, rps, au, chris/steve

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