Dragon Fruit #8, #1; Gummy Bunnies
Author: Lumelle
Title: Lovely Little Lies
'Verse: Dragons
Challenge: Dragon Fruit #8: before I remember you're dead
Toppings/Extras: Gummy Bunnies (500themes; "The power of goodbye")
Word Count: 1,981
Rating: PG+ for thematic reasons
Summary: Everything is empty and quiet even as Adrian's smell lingers. Raymond's old friend tries to help, but all he wants is to get far, far away.
"You all set up now?"
"Yes. Yes, I am." Raymond adjusted the collar of his coat. It never seemed to settle right, at least not when he was trying to do something about it. Whenever he had tried to make it presentable, he had asked Adrian to help.
Heh. Much good that would do now.
"Don't worry, I'll keep a close eye on the place." Conan closed the door after them, making sure it was locked before stepping away, slipping the key into his pocket. It was still strange, thinking of leaving the place he had been living in for so long, but he knew Conan would indeed take good care of his home. "It'll be good as new when you come back!"
"Right." When he came back. Of course he was going to come back at some point; it wasn't like he could just leave his entire life behind. And his life was what was now locked up inside the apartment, in the endless shelves of books lining the walls, the letters folded away by meticulous hands, notes and journals that spanned times no human could ever hope to observe. He had been carrying some of that around long since before Conan had been born, and Conan was no little boy. It wasn't something he could just walk away from and never look back; such things were for the young and foolish, and Raymond sure hoped he was neither.
Right now, though, he needed a break. Just a little time away from everything. Just a little air that didn't invade his senses with Adrian's scent.
Raymond wondered how long it would be before the scent faded enough that he wouldn't notice it anymore. Raising his head toward the darkening sky, he found himself thinking it never might. Perhaps it would linger, just like the smells of traffic and pollution hung about the city even when he didn't see any cars at the moment. After all, it seemed inconceivable that Adrian's presence would just leave the place.
As he closed his eyes to shield them from the first drops of a light drizzle, he could almost swear he heard soft steps beside him, felt the touch of warm breath against his skin as Adrian leaned close. The light brush of long, silky hair against his arm.
*
By the time Raymond got home, Adrian was asleep.
Not that he exactly faulted hir for not waiting longer, of course. He hadn't meant to be out quite this late. Midnight had come and gone, and Adrian had had a full day. If anything, he was glad ze had chosen to get some sleep instead of being stubborn.
He paused at the side of the bed, looking down at hir motionless form. In the darkness of the bedroom ze looked almost fragile, which he knew to be untrue. Such a strange, pale little creature, like a dream that would shatter if he dared approach it.
Raymond brushed his hand against hir cheek, almost startled as he found it to be warm under his touch. A faint smile curled his lips as Adrian turned toward the touch, seeking to be close in hir sleep.
Ze looked so peaceful asleep, so calm. There wasn't a hint of a frown on hir face, nor of the usual smug smirk when ze was happy with how things were going. Just quiet peace.
Sometimes, he wondered if Adrian ever smiled. Ze certainly never had in all the time Raymond had known hir.
Other times, he wondered if any smile could be more beautiful than this.
*
He opened his eyes, and all he found was Conan looking at him with badly concealed concern in his eyes. "You ready to go?"
"I told you already." He glanced back over his shoulder. "Not like there's anything here that I would need."
Nothing he needed anymore.
"What about the critters?" Conan asked after a moment of walking through the rain. "They're not with you, are they?" He gave Raymond a suspicious glance as though expecting one of the rats to peek out from his collar any moment now.
"No. I could not find them." Raymond shook his head. "Suppose they liked hir more than me in the end." It was amusing, in a very morbid way. Rats tended to like his kind, yet these had scattered the moment they had no Adrian to return to. He wasn't worried about them, though; they were smart for rats, and survival was a basic skill of their species. Now that Adrian was not there, they would hide in the corners, living their little ratty lives, and soon forget they had ever had tasty bits of vegetables and a goodnight story every day.
Certainly sooner than he would forget the warmth and scent of another body lying close to his.
Conan fell silent then, appearing to have run out of things to say. Not that Raymond could blame him. He was quite at a loss for words himself. Somehow idle chatter would have felt more offensive than anything. A part of him was screaming that it would have been terrible to forget Adrian like that, to think of anything but hir, while another part just wanted to get as far away from the painful memories as possible.
"You got your book, right?"
His only answer to Conan's question was a snort. As though he could forget it. However many times had he told his friend the book followed him and not the other way around? And yet, Conan found it necessary to worry about it. Silly old mutt.
"Oh, right." Conan's words were almost muffled by his beard. "Librarian stuff. Should know better than to ask."
"It's not the question that's the problem. It's just that I've told you several times." If questions had been the problem, he would not have lasted long with Adrian. For someone whose attention seemed to be for the most part in finding the most appropriate spots for a dramatic stand before entering the battle, Adrian had showed plenty of healthy curiosity. It was a good feature in a human, at least when it was combined with the ability to learn. And Adrian had always been a quick study.
Sometimes, he wondered if Adrian had not understood such things better than Raymond himself.
*
"Where did you get that? Looks old."
"The Grand Library." Raymond did not look at Adrian, all too well aware of the eyes on himself. "I was bored and happened to come across this one. It seems interesting enough." The Old English of the manuscript took some headwork, but then he had never been averse to using his brain.
"Oh. Must be nice, being a Librarian." Adrian ran a finger along the edge of the book. "Just think of a book and there you have it."
"It doesn't go like that, though." He kept reading the manuscript, trying to ignore the intense stare of his partner.
"So how does it work, then?" Adrian narrowed hir eyes. "I do doubt it's just random."
"Look, it's kind of like finding something," Raymond sighed. How was he supposed to explain something he didn't even understand himself? "Imagine you are wandering through an actual, physical library. One that has not been organized very well, and the backs of the books are all blank and uniform. You won't know what's in each book until you pull it out."
"But once you've done it once, you will know what is in that book, don't you? And where to find it."
"Yes. And that is what some of us prefer to do. They just find a few books that work for them, be they spell books or whatever, and memorise how to get them. Others, like myself, prefer to leave it more up to chance." Raymond placed his hand on the page. "Of course, I have more leeway than most, as I am not entirely helpless even without my book. Therefore, I can just run through the aisles of the metaphorical library and pull out whatever book is closest at the moment."
"So that is why you have trouble finding the same thing again afterwards," Adrian concluded. "You never noticed where you got it from the first place."
"Yes. Exactly. And now I would like to finish my book before I return it, so if you don't mind, I would prefer a moment of peace." Come to think of it, that did explain why he had trouble finding things again.
"Oh, fine." Adrian leaned forward just enough to place a kiss on his temple. "Just remember it's your turn to check up on the switching point tonight."
"As though I could forget." And then Adrian was away, with no further comment than the brush of a long, raven lock against Raymond's cheek.
He had thought Adrian had forgotten all about it, or at least held no more interest in it, as they had no more discussions about the exact mechanics of how the book of a Librarian worked. That was, until they got dragged into a battle some weeks later, the discussion well gone from Raymond's memory at least.
"Raymond!" yelled Adrian, hir voice almost drowning in the sounds of fairy steel meeting claws. Whoever had thought it would be a good idea to release a cerberos on the streets would be dead the moment Raymond found them. Before they could get to that, though, they had to stop the beast itself. "Get the largest book you can and drop it on this thing!"
"What?" Even in battle Raymond could take a moment to stare at his partner. "What do you mean by that?"
"Just grab the largest book you can find in the shelf nearest to you!" Adrian blocked another attack by the beast, making use of the distraction hir rats provided. "If even I can't cut its hide, we'll have to try blunt force instead!"
It wasn't supposed to work, Raymond thought, his mind reeling. He had never got something like that to work before.
He had never before even seen a book as big as the one that fell on the beast's head, some form of ancient tome by the looks of it, but it did work to stop the snarling monster for the moment.
Of course, he wasn't quite sure even the victory was quite worth the self-satisfied smirk on Adrian's face.
*
Raymond was startled from his thoughts by the realisation that Conan was calling for him. "Well?"
"Ah, do forgive me." He shook his head. "I did not quite realize you were speaking to me."
"Just pointing out we're here." The gaze Conan gave him was quite sympathetic. "Thoughts elsewhere?"
"Something like that," Raymond said, waiting until Conan's back was turned before glancing at the case that held his actual passport and little else. The latest version of his passport, anyway. Using his actual birth date would have raised certain questions he would rather avoid. "Worry not, I'll be careful. As always."
"Just see to it, eh?" Conan gave him a sharp glance over his shoulder. "Don't want any more tragedies around my corners, you hear? You just take a little spin, gather some more of your little stories, and make sure to come back."
"My little stories," he murmured, looking a bit to the side. "Right."
If you wait long enough, every story will be marked down.
From his key ring hung a simple plastic pocket, transparent on one side. This allowed him to see the photograph inside, were he to pull it out of its most secure nesting place in his shirt pocket.
He didn't, though. Even without looking he knew what he would see. The one picture he had been hoping to find for years and years.
And if you wait even longer, even the lies will become true.
In the picture, Adrian was smiling.
Author: Lumelle
Title: Small Steps
'Verse: Dragons
Challenge: Dragon Fruit #1: if you play the opening wrong, the game is already lost
Toppings/Extras: Gummy bunnies (500themes; "Dragon of Shadow"
Word Count: 1,171
Rating: PG for mild language
Summary: The boy he has been placed in charge of is not exactly happy. Not that Raymond can blame the poor kid. However, somehow he will have to adjust, because he is not going back to his father. First, though, it's time for sandwiches.
Notes: Meet Aarni, a young dragon with some major issues. It's not easy when the man who raised you turns out to be the villain. Especially not if he's caught while you're still too young to look after yourself.
The boy hadn't said a word since Raymond had brought him home. Not that he could exactly blame the child; it had been a very trying night for them all.
"You should eat something." It was a logical enough point, especially given that the boy was currently sitting at the kitchen table, moodily staring at its surface. "Preferably something warm."
"I'm not hungry." Aarni did not look at him.
"I don't recall asking if you're hungry. I just said you should eat something. You exhausted yourself quite thoroughly; it's not good for you not to replenish your energy after such efforts." Never mind that, the boy looked malnourished just in general.
This time, there was no response.
"I'm going to make some sandwiches and something warm to drink. I expect you to eat."
This at least got him some snapped words. "What, trying to raise my nutritional value?"
Raymond snorted as he started getting out the sandwich ingredients. "First off, child, I'm a vampire, not a cannibal," he said. "Secondly, feeding from live humans is illegal without consent and entirely prohibited from minors. Even in the unlikely case that I was about to engage in such crimes, I would hardly do so when the people in charge of enforcing such laws know who I am, where I live, and that until I sign off any responsibility I'm the only vampire with any chance to get near you."
"Right." For a while Aarni was quiet. "What's going to happen to Dad?"
Well. He supposed the question was going to come up sooner or later. "He's facing quite serious charges," Raymond admitted. "Kidnapping, threats, clear plan and intent to murder, forcing a minor to aid in a crime." Because while Aarni himself might not have thought he was being forced, the magical law might well disagree with him. In a species as family-oriented as dragons, parental authority was not a minor matter. "Furthermore, after the general courts are done with him, the dragon jurisdiction will probably want to have a couple of harsh words with him."
Aarni nodded slowly. "For trying to kill a dragon heart?"
"Not only that." Raymond shook his head. "They're not happy with that, no, nor are they going to look kindly at purposefully provoking the twin instinct for two young dragons. However, those are light offences compared with the worst of it." At Aarni's questioning gaze, he sighed. "You."
Now, Aarni frowned. "What do you mean, me? Far as I know, existing isn't a crime."
"You're not the one in trouble, your father is." Raymond gave him a grim look. "I don't know what he has told you, but you obviously know you're not his biological child."
"Well, obviously not." Aarni snorted. "He made it clear enough in all his lectures about how my family abandoned me."
"Except they didn't." Oh, the tragedy. "You were never marked for adoption, Aarni. You were simply placed in the vault with the intent to bring you out as a little brother for Pyry once you were safely out of the twin instinct zone, to keep you both safe from each other. Standard procedure, as you should be aware."
"But then why would I have ended up with father?" The boy frowned, now. "If they'd mixed up the eggs, he couldn't have known where I came from."
"Quite simple, dear boy." Raymond sighed again. "He stole you."
Aarni paled. "What?"
"He stole you from the vault. Which, as you can imagine, does not sit well with the local elders."
For a moment, Aarni was quiet. As he spoke at last, his voice was barely audible. "I'm not going to see him again, am I?"
"I don't think you are, no." Dragon laws were quite vicious. The poor man would be lucky to escape death. Not that he got any sympathy from Raymond.
Another pause, longer this time. "And what's going to happen to me?"
"At the moment? You will stay with me until we figure things out. And before you make any snappy comments, I'm not only your teacher, I'm also a former Guardian and an all-around useful guy. The local officials know they can trust me to look after you." Whether it was to keep Aarni safe from others or the other way around.
"And after you do?"
"It depends." Okay, sandwiches almost done. "Most likely, you're going to be adopted. To a magical family, before you even ask. Locating strongly magical species in a newton family is just asking for trouble."
"Except no magical family will ever take me. Not when I'm like this."
"Blood-spattered and starved? I don't know, some people have very strong nurturing tendencies."
"You know damn well that's not what I mean." Even without looking he knew the dark eyes were glaring at him.
"Language, young man. Save it for when you really mean it or it will lose all meaning." Now to get some tea done. Or perhaps hot chocolate would be more agreeable? "You can't help being born a shadow. True, there are plenty of people prejudiced against it, but also others who are willing to be more reasonable."
"Yeah, right." Aarni sighed. "Nobody will ever want me."
"Well, then. Maybe that means you'll just have to stay with me until you turn eighteen at least, hmm?" He carried the plate with sandwiches to the table. "In which case, you'd better get used to my caring about your nutritional values. Meaning, eat up."
For a moment, the boy just looked at him somewhat dubiously, the almost-black eyes unreadable. Then, however, his stomach growled quite audibly. Raymond somehow managed to hold back a chuckle; better not aggravate the poor kid any further.
"I'll have some hot chocolate for you soon," he said as he turned away, figuring it might be easier for Aarni to swallow his pride and food if he wasn't being watched. "You can sleep in the guest room for now. I'll handle things with the school; I don't expect any of you to get back to school for the rest of the week."
"Why are you doing this?" The question was even sharper than the comments before. It might have startled Raymond if he had not been unfortunately well versed on dealing with less than cheerful characters.
"Why? Because I feel responsible for you, one way or another," he said. "Because without training and control you're a danger to both yourself and others. Because I somewhat miss having some life around the house." He paused, then, reaching for a couple of cups. Darn the high shelves. "Because I know all too well the feeling that nobody will ever accept you, nobody will ever understand you, and unless you find yourself a violent death chances are you will outlive most of your loved ones."
Aarni did not respond to that. However, after a moment's silence, Raymond could hear the sounds of someone biting into a sandwich.
Well. He supposed it was as good a start as any.
Title: Lovely Little Lies
'Verse: Dragons
Challenge: Dragon Fruit #8: before I remember you're dead
Toppings/Extras: Gummy Bunnies (500themes; "The power of goodbye")
Word Count: 1,981
Rating: PG+ for thematic reasons
Summary: Everything is empty and quiet even as Adrian's smell lingers. Raymond's old friend tries to help, but all he wants is to get far, far away.
"You all set up now?"
"Yes. Yes, I am." Raymond adjusted the collar of his coat. It never seemed to settle right, at least not when he was trying to do something about it. Whenever he had tried to make it presentable, he had asked Adrian to help.
Heh. Much good that would do now.
"Don't worry, I'll keep a close eye on the place." Conan closed the door after them, making sure it was locked before stepping away, slipping the key into his pocket. It was still strange, thinking of leaving the place he had been living in for so long, but he knew Conan would indeed take good care of his home. "It'll be good as new when you come back!"
"Right." When he came back. Of course he was going to come back at some point; it wasn't like he could just leave his entire life behind. And his life was what was now locked up inside the apartment, in the endless shelves of books lining the walls, the letters folded away by meticulous hands, notes and journals that spanned times no human could ever hope to observe. He had been carrying some of that around long since before Conan had been born, and Conan was no little boy. It wasn't something he could just walk away from and never look back; such things were for the young and foolish, and Raymond sure hoped he was neither.
Right now, though, he needed a break. Just a little time away from everything. Just a little air that didn't invade his senses with Adrian's scent.
Raymond wondered how long it would be before the scent faded enough that he wouldn't notice it anymore. Raising his head toward the darkening sky, he found himself thinking it never might. Perhaps it would linger, just like the smells of traffic and pollution hung about the city even when he didn't see any cars at the moment. After all, it seemed inconceivable that Adrian's presence would just leave the place.
As he closed his eyes to shield them from the first drops of a light drizzle, he could almost swear he heard soft steps beside him, felt the touch of warm breath against his skin as Adrian leaned close. The light brush of long, silky hair against his arm.
*
By the time Raymond got home, Adrian was asleep.
Not that he exactly faulted hir for not waiting longer, of course. He hadn't meant to be out quite this late. Midnight had come and gone, and Adrian had had a full day. If anything, he was glad ze had chosen to get some sleep instead of being stubborn.
He paused at the side of the bed, looking down at hir motionless form. In the darkness of the bedroom ze looked almost fragile, which he knew to be untrue. Such a strange, pale little creature, like a dream that would shatter if he dared approach it.
Raymond brushed his hand against hir cheek, almost startled as he found it to be warm under his touch. A faint smile curled his lips as Adrian turned toward the touch, seeking to be close in hir sleep.
Ze looked so peaceful asleep, so calm. There wasn't a hint of a frown on hir face, nor of the usual smug smirk when ze was happy with how things were going. Just quiet peace.
Sometimes, he wondered if Adrian ever smiled. Ze certainly never had in all the time Raymond had known hir.
Other times, he wondered if any smile could be more beautiful than this.
*
He opened his eyes, and all he found was Conan looking at him with badly concealed concern in his eyes. "You ready to go?"
"I told you already." He glanced back over his shoulder. "Not like there's anything here that I would need."
Nothing he needed anymore.
"What about the critters?" Conan asked after a moment of walking through the rain. "They're not with you, are they?" He gave Raymond a suspicious glance as though expecting one of the rats to peek out from his collar any moment now.
"No. I could not find them." Raymond shook his head. "Suppose they liked hir more than me in the end." It was amusing, in a very morbid way. Rats tended to like his kind, yet these had scattered the moment they had no Adrian to return to. He wasn't worried about them, though; they were smart for rats, and survival was a basic skill of their species. Now that Adrian was not there, they would hide in the corners, living their little ratty lives, and soon forget they had ever had tasty bits of vegetables and a goodnight story every day.
Certainly sooner than he would forget the warmth and scent of another body lying close to his.
Conan fell silent then, appearing to have run out of things to say. Not that Raymond could blame him. He was quite at a loss for words himself. Somehow idle chatter would have felt more offensive than anything. A part of him was screaming that it would have been terrible to forget Adrian like that, to think of anything but hir, while another part just wanted to get as far away from the painful memories as possible.
"You got your book, right?"
His only answer to Conan's question was a snort. As though he could forget it. However many times had he told his friend the book followed him and not the other way around? And yet, Conan found it necessary to worry about it. Silly old mutt.
"Oh, right." Conan's words were almost muffled by his beard. "Librarian stuff. Should know better than to ask."
"It's not the question that's the problem. It's just that I've told you several times." If questions had been the problem, he would not have lasted long with Adrian. For someone whose attention seemed to be for the most part in finding the most appropriate spots for a dramatic stand before entering the battle, Adrian had showed plenty of healthy curiosity. It was a good feature in a human, at least when it was combined with the ability to learn. And Adrian had always been a quick study.
Sometimes, he wondered if Adrian had not understood such things better than Raymond himself.
*
"Where did you get that? Looks old."
"The Grand Library." Raymond did not look at Adrian, all too well aware of the eyes on himself. "I was bored and happened to come across this one. It seems interesting enough." The Old English of the manuscript took some headwork, but then he had never been averse to using his brain.
"Oh. Must be nice, being a Librarian." Adrian ran a finger along the edge of the book. "Just think of a book and there you have it."
"It doesn't go like that, though." He kept reading the manuscript, trying to ignore the intense stare of his partner.
"So how does it work, then?" Adrian narrowed hir eyes. "I do doubt it's just random."
"Look, it's kind of like finding something," Raymond sighed. How was he supposed to explain something he didn't even understand himself? "Imagine you are wandering through an actual, physical library. One that has not been organized very well, and the backs of the books are all blank and uniform. You won't know what's in each book until you pull it out."
"But once you've done it once, you will know what is in that book, don't you? And where to find it."
"Yes. And that is what some of us prefer to do. They just find a few books that work for them, be they spell books or whatever, and memorise how to get them. Others, like myself, prefer to leave it more up to chance." Raymond placed his hand on the page. "Of course, I have more leeway than most, as I am not entirely helpless even without my book. Therefore, I can just run through the aisles of the metaphorical library and pull out whatever book is closest at the moment."
"So that is why you have trouble finding the same thing again afterwards," Adrian concluded. "You never noticed where you got it from the first place."
"Yes. Exactly. And now I would like to finish my book before I return it, so if you don't mind, I would prefer a moment of peace." Come to think of it, that did explain why he had trouble finding things again.
"Oh, fine." Adrian leaned forward just enough to place a kiss on his temple. "Just remember it's your turn to check up on the switching point tonight."
"As though I could forget." And then Adrian was away, with no further comment than the brush of a long, raven lock against Raymond's cheek.
He had thought Adrian had forgotten all about it, or at least held no more interest in it, as they had no more discussions about the exact mechanics of how the book of a Librarian worked. That was, until they got dragged into a battle some weeks later, the discussion well gone from Raymond's memory at least.
"Raymond!" yelled Adrian, hir voice almost drowning in the sounds of fairy steel meeting claws. Whoever had thought it would be a good idea to release a cerberos on the streets would be dead the moment Raymond found them. Before they could get to that, though, they had to stop the beast itself. "Get the largest book you can and drop it on this thing!"
"What?" Even in battle Raymond could take a moment to stare at his partner. "What do you mean by that?"
"Just grab the largest book you can find in the shelf nearest to you!" Adrian blocked another attack by the beast, making use of the distraction hir rats provided. "If even I can't cut its hide, we'll have to try blunt force instead!"
It wasn't supposed to work, Raymond thought, his mind reeling. He had never got something like that to work before.
He had never before even seen a book as big as the one that fell on the beast's head, some form of ancient tome by the looks of it, but it did work to stop the snarling monster for the moment.
Of course, he wasn't quite sure even the victory was quite worth the self-satisfied smirk on Adrian's face.
*
Raymond was startled from his thoughts by the realisation that Conan was calling for him. "Well?"
"Ah, do forgive me." He shook his head. "I did not quite realize you were speaking to me."
"Just pointing out we're here." The gaze Conan gave him was quite sympathetic. "Thoughts elsewhere?"
"Something like that," Raymond said, waiting until Conan's back was turned before glancing at the case that held his actual passport and little else. The latest version of his passport, anyway. Using his actual birth date would have raised certain questions he would rather avoid. "Worry not, I'll be careful. As always."
"Just see to it, eh?" Conan gave him a sharp glance over his shoulder. "Don't want any more tragedies around my corners, you hear? You just take a little spin, gather some more of your little stories, and make sure to come back."
"My little stories," he murmured, looking a bit to the side. "Right."
If you wait long enough, every story will be marked down.
From his key ring hung a simple plastic pocket, transparent on one side. This allowed him to see the photograph inside, were he to pull it out of its most secure nesting place in his shirt pocket.
He didn't, though. Even without looking he knew what he would see. The one picture he had been hoping to find for years and years.
And if you wait even longer, even the lies will become true.
In the picture, Adrian was smiling.
Author: Lumelle
Title: Small Steps
'Verse: Dragons
Challenge: Dragon Fruit #1: if you play the opening wrong, the game is already lost
Toppings/Extras: Gummy bunnies (500themes; "Dragon of Shadow"
Word Count: 1,171
Rating: PG for mild language
Summary: The boy he has been placed in charge of is not exactly happy. Not that Raymond can blame the poor kid. However, somehow he will have to adjust, because he is not going back to his father. First, though, it's time for sandwiches.
Notes: Meet Aarni, a young dragon with some major issues. It's not easy when the man who raised you turns out to be the villain. Especially not if he's caught while you're still too young to look after yourself.
The boy hadn't said a word since Raymond had brought him home. Not that he could exactly blame the child; it had been a very trying night for them all.
"You should eat something." It was a logical enough point, especially given that the boy was currently sitting at the kitchen table, moodily staring at its surface. "Preferably something warm."
"I'm not hungry." Aarni did not look at him.
"I don't recall asking if you're hungry. I just said you should eat something. You exhausted yourself quite thoroughly; it's not good for you not to replenish your energy after such efforts." Never mind that, the boy looked malnourished just in general.
This time, there was no response.
"I'm going to make some sandwiches and something warm to drink. I expect you to eat."
This at least got him some snapped words. "What, trying to raise my nutritional value?"
Raymond snorted as he started getting out the sandwich ingredients. "First off, child, I'm a vampire, not a cannibal," he said. "Secondly, feeding from live humans is illegal without consent and entirely prohibited from minors. Even in the unlikely case that I was about to engage in such crimes, I would hardly do so when the people in charge of enforcing such laws know who I am, where I live, and that until I sign off any responsibility I'm the only vampire with any chance to get near you."
"Right." For a while Aarni was quiet. "What's going to happen to Dad?"
Well. He supposed the question was going to come up sooner or later. "He's facing quite serious charges," Raymond admitted. "Kidnapping, threats, clear plan and intent to murder, forcing a minor to aid in a crime." Because while Aarni himself might not have thought he was being forced, the magical law might well disagree with him. In a species as family-oriented as dragons, parental authority was not a minor matter. "Furthermore, after the general courts are done with him, the dragon jurisdiction will probably want to have a couple of harsh words with him."
Aarni nodded slowly. "For trying to kill a dragon heart?"
"Not only that." Raymond shook his head. "They're not happy with that, no, nor are they going to look kindly at purposefully provoking the twin instinct for two young dragons. However, those are light offences compared with the worst of it." At Aarni's questioning gaze, he sighed. "You."
Now, Aarni frowned. "What do you mean, me? Far as I know, existing isn't a crime."
"You're not the one in trouble, your father is." Raymond gave him a grim look. "I don't know what he has told you, but you obviously know you're not his biological child."
"Well, obviously not." Aarni snorted. "He made it clear enough in all his lectures about how my family abandoned me."
"Except they didn't." Oh, the tragedy. "You were never marked for adoption, Aarni. You were simply placed in the vault with the intent to bring you out as a little brother for Pyry once you were safely out of the twin instinct zone, to keep you both safe from each other. Standard procedure, as you should be aware."
"But then why would I have ended up with father?" The boy frowned, now. "If they'd mixed up the eggs, he couldn't have known where I came from."
"Quite simple, dear boy." Raymond sighed again. "He stole you."
Aarni paled. "What?"
"He stole you from the vault. Which, as you can imagine, does not sit well with the local elders."
For a moment, Aarni was quiet. As he spoke at last, his voice was barely audible. "I'm not going to see him again, am I?"
"I don't think you are, no." Dragon laws were quite vicious. The poor man would be lucky to escape death. Not that he got any sympathy from Raymond.
Another pause, longer this time. "And what's going to happen to me?"
"At the moment? You will stay with me until we figure things out. And before you make any snappy comments, I'm not only your teacher, I'm also a former Guardian and an all-around useful guy. The local officials know they can trust me to look after you." Whether it was to keep Aarni safe from others or the other way around.
"And after you do?"
"It depends." Okay, sandwiches almost done. "Most likely, you're going to be adopted. To a magical family, before you even ask. Locating strongly magical species in a newton family is just asking for trouble."
"Except no magical family will ever take me. Not when I'm like this."
"Blood-spattered and starved? I don't know, some people have very strong nurturing tendencies."
"You know damn well that's not what I mean." Even without looking he knew the dark eyes were glaring at him.
"Language, young man. Save it for when you really mean it or it will lose all meaning." Now to get some tea done. Or perhaps hot chocolate would be more agreeable? "You can't help being born a shadow. True, there are plenty of people prejudiced against it, but also others who are willing to be more reasonable."
"Yeah, right." Aarni sighed. "Nobody will ever want me."
"Well, then. Maybe that means you'll just have to stay with me until you turn eighteen at least, hmm?" He carried the plate with sandwiches to the table. "In which case, you'd better get used to my caring about your nutritional values. Meaning, eat up."
For a moment, the boy just looked at him somewhat dubiously, the almost-black eyes unreadable. Then, however, his stomach growled quite audibly. Raymond somehow managed to hold back a chuckle; better not aggravate the poor kid any further.
"I'll have some hot chocolate for you soon," he said as he turned away, figuring it might be easier for Aarni to swallow his pride and food if he wasn't being watched. "You can sleep in the guest room for now. I'll handle things with the school; I don't expect any of you to get back to school for the rest of the week."
"Why are you doing this?" The question was even sharper than the comments before. It might have startled Raymond if he had not been unfortunately well versed on dealing with less than cheerful characters.
"Why? Because I feel responsible for you, one way or another," he said. "Because without training and control you're a danger to both yourself and others. Because I somewhat miss having some life around the house." He paused, then, reaching for a couple of cups. Darn the high shelves. "Because I know all too well the feeling that nobody will ever accept you, nobody will ever understand you, and unless you find yourself a violent death chances are you will outlive most of your loved ones."
Aarni did not respond to that. However, after a moment's silence, Raymond could hear the sounds of someone biting into a sandwich.
Well. He supposed it was as good a start as any.