Author's Note: Again, humans with dragon wings and tails.
Also, planning another chapter for this anyway, so please don't ask for more of this story. If you do, I will know you don't read my author's notes, and that just ticks me off, since a lot of questions can be answered here and I have warnings up here anyway.
On another note, slight mentions of sexual abuse/rape. But only slight.
Black and White
Seto cursed as he looked the tracks over. They were almost human—though the toes came to an odd point, and they were interspersed by quite a few feet. It was strange, new, and aggravating, especially because he couldn't gauge what he was tracking. All he knew was that he needed to find whatever it was and kill it, so it would stop attacking the farmers' cattle. If he didn't… he and his brother would be sold off to different people.
Whatever. It was probably just a bear with small feet. Or a wolf with a limp. Or… something he knew how to deal with. In any case, he would kill whatever it was and go home, content with the fact that, for now, he and his brother weren't going to be separated.
His eyes narrowed as he found blood on the ground, and he couldn't help but curse again. He'd hoped to be able to keep the stupid cow from being killed, since that meant he'd be paid less. Then again, as long as he was bringing in
some money, he could rest assured that he and his brother would not be separated. All he had to do was cut off the predator's tail or paws and bring it back to the village—
"
Anything but the head," his foster mother had told him.
"Just the pelt, if you can. I don't want to see anything gruesome!" Seto snorted in contempt. An untreated pelt would be just as gruesome as bringing home the creature's head. As far as he was concerned, he was only bringing the tail back; he didn't want to bring back a pelt that wouldn't even be made so that he could benefit from it. His foster parents were
idiots. The blood was getting thicker, smeared around more. It was along the tall grasses and splattered up against trees, as if the bovine had been stumbling more. It was probably safe to say the cow was dead now. Well, at least he could kill the predator, hack some of the beef off the cow's carcass, and hide the meat somewhere to retrieve later, so he and Mokuba could have some protein that wasn't beans or… beans.
He was starting to
hate beans.
Slowing as he heard low grunts and snarling, Seto began edging from tree to tree. The cow had obviously fallen nearby, and he was coming upon the creature that had killed it and quite a few others. Pulling out the knife he'd been given, he hoped six inches of blade would be enough to protect himself and bring down the creature he heard. It sounded a lot like a bear. Six inches wasn't usually enough to kill a bear, even with the upper hand of surprise.
Seto took a deep breath, steeling his nerves, then ducked out from around the tree he had been leaning against and lunged, swiping the knife at the area the creature was at. When the black-green blur dodged away, he slashed his knife again, just barely slicing its side open. He ducked back to regroup and narrowed his eyes.
They immediately widened again when he saw who his adversary was.
The creature he was facing off wasn't a bear, or a wolf, or even a coyote afflicted with madness. It was… it was almost
human. It had a human body, human arms and legs, even a human head. What it had that
weren't human, however, were large, shiny black wings and a long black tail with a barb on the end. Its eyes were round like a human's, but they were a dark crimson, the pupils slitted as smoke was snorted out of its nose.
Dragons… Dragons were a
myth. They didn't
exist. If they had ever existed, they should have died out
years ago—
"
SHIT!" Seto grunted and as something dug into his side painfully and swung his knife around quickly, immediately reaching down to cover the wound he'd been given. He turned to keep his eye on the other creature, pressing down on the gash in his side and gritting his teeth in pain. He couldn't help a smirk as he saw the thin slice across the blond's chest. "I take it you underestimated me, hmm?"
The Dragon hissed, narrowing its eyes at him, then crouched down, spreading its wings in what the brunet assumed was a threatening manner. "Maybe I did. But humans are usually so fat and lazy, can ya really blame me?"
The brunet growled in annoyance but didn't allow himself to be manipulated into anger like the dragon was obviously trying to do. "Well with worthless devil's spawn like you out of the way, what reason did we have to stay strong and fit?"
Seto saw the demon's eyes flare brighter at the insult, and the dragon let out a screech that made his ears ring just before he lunged at him, claws extended to rip him to shreds. The human only had a split second to duck back before the claw-tipped fingers gripped his shirt and tore at him. He hissed as he felt the sharp nails digging into his flesh and struggled away, stabbing the Dragon in the side as he finally managed to slip his shirt over his head and stumble backward.
The blond roared in fury even as he lurched backward, ripping the fabric to shreds as he glared at him. "I'll make you regret even
thinkin' that-! …What is
that," he hissed angrily, bristling.
"What the hell-?" Seto was almost confused, until he saw the angry red glare was directed at his chest. Looking down, he saw the blue crystal that his parents had left him—that he hadn't taken off, ever, even when he bathed.
"Humans
aren't s'posed t' have those," the dragon hissed, then roared and lunged at him again. "GIVE IT TO ME!"
"The fuck!" Seto yelped as he felt the blond's nails rake across his chest. He stumbled and nearly fell, just barely catching himself against a tree so he didn't go tumbling onto his face. "Shit-!"
The blond purred smugly as he gave the crystal a little nuzzle, then turned, raising his wings arrogantly. "How worthless am I now?" he began, only to have his purr end abruptly as he saw the white, leathery wings unfurling from the brunet's back. Squeaking quietly, he immediately dove down onto the ground, flattening his wings into the dirt as he stretched prostrate before the other man. "My sincerest apologies, my lord."
Seto stared at him in confusion, baffled. "What the hell are you-? Gah!" He turned his head sharply and squeaked in alarm as he saw the large, twitching white wing beside him. Eyes following the curve of the wing, he squeaked again. "Oh God. Oh
God." He shuddered as he felt something brush against his spine—an extension of his spine? What—
what was going on-! Turning, he could only stare as he saw the long, white, tiered tail extending from his body. "…Oh God…!"
Turning toward the blond sharply, he snarled, flinching as he scratched his tongue on newly sharpened eyeteeth. "What the hell is this! And what the hell are you doing!"
The Dragon flinched, then carefully slid up into a sitting position, eyes still carefully on the ground and wings pressed flat on the ground as he tucked his knees in meekly. "I'm… doin' what I'm s'posed t' do."
Seto whined. "I don't understand!"
"…I s'pose ya wouldn't," the blond whispered. Sighing, he looked up at the larger man and tried to flatten his wings even further. "Where we come from—Aeria—the color of your scales dictates where ya are in society's peckin' order. Black… black scales are the lowest, 'cause they're the color of th' earth. 'nd we left the earth behind with the filthy humans that drove us away. And since black scales are the lowest, ya… ya must see that…"
"But
why? I'm
human. I'm not… I'm not
this!" the brunet exclaimed, turning grab his wing and yank on it, as if to tear it off. He snarled as pain tore through his back.
The black-winged boy stood and rushed over to him. "Don't do that!" He yelped as his hands were smacked away and immediately lurched backward, then hurriedly dropped to his knees and flattened his wings to the ground again. "'m sorry, my lord."
"Don't fucking call me that!" Seto roared, glaring at him. Growing angrier still when the blond merely ducked his head submissively, he was immediately shocked back into horror as his tail whipped around and smacked him across the face.
The blond tumbled to the side with a surprised whine and scurried back a few steps, leaning forward into his even more submissive position of lying prostrate. "'m sorry, my lord!"
Seto stared. "…Why are you doing this to me? You wanted to kill me. And now you're bowing to me?"
"White dragons disappeared from Aeria years ago," the smaller man explained quietly. "But just 'cause the royal family's been missin' doesn't mean that even a black dragon like me doesn't show proper respect. I'm sorry, my lord, for attackin' ya and hurtin' ya." He squeaked in terror as he caught sight of the blue gem in his hand and hurriedly scrambled forward to leave it on the ground for him. Then, he scrambled back to his original position. Away from him. "I'm s-sorry I took your mating gem, my lord."
Seto stared between him and the gem for a few moments before whispering an emphatic, "What the
fuck."
"…P-perhaps the elders will be able t' explain it better," the blond muttered, looking up at the white dragon hopefully. "I won't be able t' stay with ya, but I can take ya there. I'll… I promise I won't eat anymore cows while you're gone. I'll stay outta the way."
The brunet turned a glare on him immediately, making him shrink backward. "I can't just leave my brother! What the hell are you suggesting!"
"I-I'll keep an eye on him while you're gone. I won't let anyone hurt him, I swear." The black dragon cowered backward as the brunet roared at him angrily. "I-I wouldn't let anything happen t' a white dragon! I promise! I'll make sure he stays safe! I wouldn't—I would never—"
Seto snatched his gem from the ground and slipped the chain over his head, eyes widening as the wings and tail immediately disappeared. Pulling the necklace off again, he watched the wings and tail flicker back into sight, feeling prickling sensations as they materialized and dematerialized each time he lifted off and set back on his necklace.
The blond keened quietly. "
Please. The elders will be able to explain! If ya just come with me t' Aeria, the elders can explain everything, and—"
"…Do… I really have a choice anymore…?" The brunet stared at his wings a few moments, then sighed, letting his new but somehow familiar appendages sag bonelessly, hitting the ground with soft thwaps. "…You'll take care of my brother while I'm gone?" he asked quietly.
The other Dragon nodded quickly. "Of course! Anything for a white dragon, my lord!"
Seto grunted irritably as he cautiously lifted his wings; he didn't understand how he could control these things when he'd never seen them before in his life. "Stop saying that."
The blond blinked. "Stop saying what?"
"Stop calling me 'lord.' And stop fucking groveling to me! Get up!" he snapped angrily. "No one at home treats me like that and I don't want to start that shit now!"
The black dragon flinched backward, eyes wide in horrified awe. "How could people at your home treat ya without respect? You're a white dragon!"
"I'm not a dragon! And they treat me like shit because I'm an orphan!" Seto snarled, spinning to glare at him again. "Orphans are useless! The only reason my brother and I aren't sold off is because we manage to work off our debt to our foster parents!" He growled when the blond appeared stricken by his statement. "Don't look at me like that. I don't need your fucking pity!"
The blond bowed his head and flattened his wings further. "…If… if ya don't want me t' call ya 'lord' then… what should I call ya?"
"You can call me—" The larger man started, glaring at him, then sighed, feeling drained and tired. "…Seto. You can call me Seto."
The black dragon beamed at him. "Alright. Seto. I'll take ya t' Aeria, Seto."
Seto frowned as the blond scurried to his feet and hurried to scrape the mud and dirt from his wings. As he crouched low and lifted his wings, he asked, "Well?"
The younger boy turned to blink at him. "Well, what?"
"What's
your name?" he asked impatiently.
The blond looked honestly surprised, wings lowering awkwardly. "…You… ya want
my name?" When the white Dragon snarled at him, he cringed, looking away bashfully. "'m sorry. Ya didn't… Ya shouldn't want the name of a black dragon, Seto," he muttered. "I only bring trouble."
"I don't care. I don't want to call you 'you' or 'hey' all the time. Tell me your name," Seto ordered sharply.
The black dragon flinched. "…My name is Joey, sir."
The brunet huffed. "Joey. Hmm. Somehow it suits you."
"If… if we could go, Seto?" Joey whispered, keeping his eyes down. He crouched again and spread his wings. "Just like this. It should come naturally to ya. Dragons fly before they can walk."
Seto paused, then slowly crouched down and spread his wings. He flapped them a few times and was unable to help a smile as the blond giggled in amusement. "And this will come naturally?"
"Ya probably won't be able to fly as long as I can, but once ya build up the muscles in them, it should be fine," the blond explained, then began beating his wings violently. He turned to look longingly at the cow carcass before letting out a roar and shoving away from the ground, beating the air roughly until he gained enough air to flap comfortably.
He looked down at the brunet and smiled. "Now you try, Seto."
Seto flapped his wings again, then began imitating what he'd seen.
And Joey was right. Flying just came naturally.
.-.-.-.-.-.
Seto tucked his wings back and frowned as the blond beside him immediately dropped to prostrate himself on the ground, wings spreading out across the marble floor. "What are you-?" He tilted his head, then began to kneel.
Joey hissed at him, offended. "No! You never bow! White dragons
never bow! To anyone! Except the person they want to mate with!" He swiped at the brunet's legs. "Stand up straight! And if the elders try t' guilt ya into bowin' because you've been gone so long, just give them the meanest glare ya got! I know they're pretty mean," he added, then hurriedly ducked his head as the doors to the throne room—which had long been abandoned—burst open.
A startled screech escaped his throat as he was accosted by old but strong hands pinching his cheeks and grabbing his arms and all around mauling him. "WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING!" Seto roared, shrinking back from the dozen or so elderly dragons that had set upon him.
He looked down quickly as the black dragon keened in pain, horrified when he saw that the elders were standing or walking across his wings and tail without a care. He almost knelt to help him, but then he was caught in a crimson gaze that clearly told him, 'do not bring attention to me or I will kill you.' So, he lifted his gaze from the ground—and the dragon splayed on it—and glared at the elders looking at him expectantly.
"What are you looking at?" he spat sharply, even though he realized what they were looking at very well. They were all gazing at his scales, and he could tell they were looking for any sort of blemish they could find. Joey had told him that the elders had enjoyed an increase of power after the ruling white dragons had left and would probably do their best to discredit him.
Finally, though, one of the elderly ladies smiled, reached out to touch his arm, then dipped her head in a short bow, her green scales shimmering with the movement. "Welcome back, my lord."
…Based on the way Joey was bowing to everyone, even allowing them to walk on his wings and tails, Seto had to admit he was sort of disappointed.
Apparently, his glance at the smaller dragon was all one of the elders needed to dismiss him. The greasy-haired man sneered at the black-scaled boy and made a shooing motion with his hand. "Run along, filth! Try not to let your worthlessness rub off on his highness!"
Joey keened quietly as the elders stepped off of his wings, allowing him to crawl away until he was able to scramble to his feet. He sneaked one last peek at them before he scampered out of the room.
Seto watched him go, frowning, and he realized, as the doors nearly slammed on the blond's tail, why his parents may have left the floating city of Aeria.
.-.-.-.-.-.
His brother had been born with dark scales.
Seto scowled. His brother's scales weren't white like the rest of his family's, and it was attributed to a great-great-great grandparent who had had an affair but the child had had white scales so—And then he'd stopped listening. He'd been shown a piece of pale hematite, had been told that that's what his brother's scales had looked like. Seto had said nothing, but he thought that the hematite had been incredibly beautiful, and he knew the hematite matched his brother's eyes.
But he truly did understand why his parents had left now. If his brother had been treated the same way as he'd seen Joey treated, he wanted no part of that either. Joey had taken being shoved aside, called cruel names, stepped on. He'd be so enraged if his brother had to deal with this… this cruelty. He was glad to deal with humans where they hated both he and his brother, instead of just one of them.
Joey had been so kind after his initial rudeness, being helpful and teaching him how to do things. He'd watched out for him, telling him what was expected of him as a white dragon, so he could use his position to his full advantage. Seeing him told to go whore himself or get out of the way while he'd been passing him with the elders later on… that hurt him almost as much as if he'd been told that himself.
He didn't like Aeria. He didn't like it at all. And, despite the pleas from the elders for him to return (with or without his brother), he found his life back with humans more desirable.
"GET OUT OF HERE, YOU WORTHLESS FILTH!"
Seto jumped as he heard pans crashing and watched the blond he'd been thinking of dodge out of a room, a sweet bun hanging out of his mouth while his arms were filled with various vegetables. "…What…?"
Joey mewed around the bun. "Mmf!"
The brunet blinked at him slowly, then reached out to pull the bun from his mouth. "What are you-?"
The younger boy hurriedly swallowed the bite in his mouth, then ducked his head in embarrassment. "Living away from Aeria, I… I don't get a lot of vegetables. I get wild berries and some tubers, but…" He blushed a little. "…I just thought…"
"And a sweet bun obviously gives you much needed vitamins," Seto snorted, then took a bit of the bun himself. He hummed. "This is good."
"Hey! That's my sweet bun!" Joey squeaked when he realized who he'd snapped at and ducked his head again. "But… but if you want it…"
The brunet chuckled and shoved the bun back into the younger boy's mouth. "Here. Do you mind if I walk with you?"
His expression said, 'why do you want to walk with
me?' However, the blond
did allow him to walk beside him, shuffling his food in his arms so he could grasp his bun and eat it properly. "So. What'd the elders say?"
Seto sighed and crossed his arms, frowning. "The elders want me to come back, with or without my little brother. I'm not going anywhere without my brother, but I don't want to bring him here just to be treated like trash—for a matter as stupid as the color of his fucking
scales!"
Joey snorted quietly in what almost sounded like contempt, then turned to look up at him, a sad, bitter smile on his lips. "It doesn't matter whether your brother has dark scales or not. You're a white dragon. If ya want him t' be treated like a white dragon, everyone will follow your orders. All ya hafta do is tell Mokuba t' tell ya if anyone treats him the wrong way, and you can punish that person. What color his scales are don't matter because
your scales are white."
"Does that count for you as well? If I asked for them to treat you at least decently," the white dragon began, frowning, only to jerk backward as the smaller man immediately turned toward him.
The blond whined. "Please don't do that. I know ya don't know how our society works but
please don't try t' do that. That'll just make it worse for me no matter how much ya want it t' work. I'm
not equal. I'm dirt. I'm worthless. It's always been that way for black dragons. Just… You can stretch the rules for your brother, for your kin, but not for
me."
Seto scowled. "And just why not?"
"…Because I have black scales, and black scales are meant to be the bottom rung." He shifted the food in his arms. "I'll go look after your brother now. If I stay here any longer, the other dragons make think they get t' push me around again because I don't have a matin' gem," he muttered.
The brunet frowned. "Mating gem? You said that before. Why is it called a mating gem?"
Joey blinked up at him in confusion before he realized that the older boy may have no idea what he was talking about. "Oh. Um… It's called a matin' gem because it… When ya find someone ya like, ya trade matin' gems to show you're mated with each other. I don't have one, so… I-I can't have a mate, but… I can be used." He turned his gaze away awkwardly. "…So I don't stay here, and I steal human's cattle t' eat. I'll go watch over your brother now, though, okay?"
"…Okay," the brunet answered after a moment. "Thank you for watching my brother while I'm gone." His heart thumped in his throat when the younger boy smiled at him so sweetly despite the pain he'd had to deal with, seemingly pleased with just being thanked by a white dragon. He wanted to do something about it so badly… But he realized that Joey wouldn't accept it.
He watched the blond leave, frowning, and sighed, crossing his arms, then shook his head sadly.
'If you're so intent to avoid the rest of the dragon society, then why should I want to be with them either? What do you know that I don't, Joey?'
.-.-.-.-.-.
A few days later, while he was in the library, he knew. He knew what Joey had already known, and it broke his heart even more.
He'd seen red-brown eyes, first, red-brown eyes full of emotion and life. He'd thought it had been Joey at first, and he'd been happy, because all of the people he was surrounded by were stuffy and polite and… boring. So he was disappointed by the fact that the eyes were set in a girl's pale face framed by brown hair. Her scales were gray, so he labeled her middle-class.
But there was just… something about those eyes…
Seto stepped up beside her as she reached up for a book just out of her reach. He pulled the book down for her and raised an eyebrow when she didn't immediately bow in gratitude. When she blushed and hurriedly bowed, sputtering thanks, he chuckled, realizing she'd been too confused to grasp that it was
he who had gotten it for her. "You're welcome."
She took the book and blushed a little more. "Th-thank you. I…" She cleared her throat. "Thank you." She bowed again. "My name is Serenity."
"Serenity. That's a lovely name." The white dragon stared at her a moment longer before asking, "Do you know the black dragon? The one that doesn't stay here, that lives down on earth. Are you related to him?"
Serenity shook her head, baffled. "No. I had an older brother, once," she answered slowly. "But he was born with black scales, so my grandparents drowned him at birth while my parents were sleeping." Seeing the older man's stricken expression, she managed a sad smile. "I know. It's sad. The black dragon you're talking about, well.. he was sent away before I was old enough to remember seeing him. I was never allowed to meet him anyway," she added quietly.
"Serenity! Get your fuckin' book so we can go!"
The two turned sharply, and Seto felt icicles stab up his spine when he saw the older man with graying blond hair. His nose flared as he took in the bitter scent of alcohol, and he was terrified to realize that, with his sense of smell so much better now, he could smell sex and booze on the man over anything else.
He was even more horrified by the fact that he could see some of the curves of Joey's face in the older man's. Joey was Serenity's older brother, and Serenity had no idea. She thought her older brother was dead.
And that was when he realized that there was another reason other than unwanted advances that Joey didn't want to stay in Aeria. He was ashamed of himself, and he didn't want his sister to be related to something as worthless as him.
He didn't like Aeria. He didn't like it at all. But his brother had a better chance here. They could eat some decent meals here, get stronger, and then leave again. Joey could survive outside of Aeria. And with their mating gems working to stifle their dragon blood, making them appear human, Seto was certain that they could survive as gypsies if they had to.
.-.-.-.-.-.
Joey looked up as he heard the sound of wings beating the air and couldn't help a smile as he saw the white dragon descending nearby. "I took some of that cow to your brother and left it outside. It lasted him days!"
"Right. Listen, Joey, I—What are you
doing?" Seto asked, raising an eyebrow when he realized that the blond was naked and his pants were hanging from a tree branch.
The blond blushed and covered himself with his wings. "Oh. M-my pants were dirty, so I washed 'em, and, well—" He gasped as the white dragon gently grasped his wings and pulled them open, blushing darker as the brunet looked his body up and down. "S-Seto-?"
"…You don' t need to hide yourself from me," the brunet assured quietly. He cupped the black's dragon's cheek. "I like your scales. They're lovely. And I like
you."
Joey blushed even more. "Oh… But ya really shouldn't, my l—Seto—and—"
Seto scowled sternly. "Your sister says you were drowned at birth."
"Oh." The blond jerked his head away quickly, cheeks still rosy even as his eyes were turned toward the ground in shame. "…They… they say that, but… I was sent to my uncle, another black dragon. He raised me, and then… when he died… I just left. They treated me like shit anyway. I didn't see a point in stayin'."
He whimpered in confusion as the brunet cupped his cheeks. "Why are ya doin' this? You're a white dragon. Ya shouldn't even be seen with me, and… and you're talkin' t' me? You're
touchin' me!"
Seto snorted. "I already told you. I like you."
"…But…" The blond swallowed, both confused and disbelieving. "You shouldn't! Ya shouldn't even talk t' me! My dirt's gonna rub off on ya, and—" He squealed as the white dragon dipped his head to give him a quick peck on the lips and jerked backward, stumbling over a stick and tumbling back into the creek. "Gah!"
He looked so pathetically cute like that, soaking wet and looking so confused by what happened that he could only sit in the water and blink adorably. The brunet purred quietly and advanced toward him. "You look pretty clean to me."
Joey keened to himself quietly, eyes widening as the brunet began to kneel between his legs. "You—I—Wha—" He scrambled desperately for an idea to keep the white dragon from doing something he'd regret—that something being himself. Luckily, he remembered what he'd been talking about just before the brunet had come onto him. "Your brother!"
Seto stared at him for a moment, baffled as to how his brother had anything to do with what he had planned for the little black dragon. When he remembered that he'd been gone a few days, however, he realized he needed to get home, if only to keep his brother from thinking he'd been murdered by whatever had killed all of the cattle that had gone missing. …Not to mention that his foster parents might try to sell him off thinking that the elder brother wouldn't come back and raise an unholy fuss.
"…Is he okay?" he asked, sighing, as he stood up straight. He offered the blond his hand to help him up.
Joey jerked his gaze away quickly even as he hesitantly slid his hand into the older man's. "Your brother worried while ya were gone, but he figured the meat I left was from ya, so he's still waitin' for ya t' come back." He gasped as he was yanked up swiftly. "Oh!"
The white dragon sighed again, feeling a little ashamed of leaving his brother for so long. "Right."
The blond frowned. "Oh. And… it… The people he lives with. Those humans 've been talkin' to a really shifty man."
"Tch. They're probably trying to sell Mokuba off since I haven't been seen or heard from," Seto began, face twisting in disgust. After a moment, though, he frowned and turned to the blond. "…A… shifty man, you said?"
Joey nodded. "Yeah, with gray hair and a funny lookin' thing on his lip." He held his finger up over his upper lip. "Looked like hair. Do all humans have hair on their faces?"
…It only struck Seto then that none of the dragons he'd seen had ever had facial hair. …Facial hair…
"Gray hair and a moustache!" Seto exclaimed in disbelief. "The shifty man had gray hair and a moustache?"
Joey turned to blink up at him, frowning. "…Y-yes…"
"Fuck! Fuck infinity!" the brunet roared, throwing his hands up as he turned to run back to his human home. "Damn it! Fuck!
DAMN IT!"
The black dragon continued to blink as other man used his mating gem to revert to a human form. "…Did I say somethin' wrong?" he asked quietly, frowning in concern. After a moment, he hurried to put his still damp pants back on before he flapped his wings and took to the air so that he could get to the village as well.
Well, that was the plan, until he heard the sound of a child's terrified scream.
Twisting in midair, he blinked again as he stared down at the forest below him until he heard the scream again. He zoned in on where it came from and began flying toward it quickly. He carefully peered past all of the branches to find the child that had screamed.
Joey yelped as he found the child—Mokuba—running through the forest, and he hurried to catch up with him.
'What are you running from? What's going on?' His wings vibrated as the air shook with a roar that made his ears hurt, and he turned sharply in horror to find a huge brown bear chasing him.
'Fuck! Is this what they were talking to the moustache-man about? Humans are terrible!' Flying up a little, Joey tucked his wings to his body in a sharp dive, scraping through the branches wildly as he slammed into the bear with a roar of his own. He had the element of surprise on his side; the bear was too stunned by his attack to do any damage before he began tearing at its throat with his claws.
Joey squealed as the bear threw him away, wheezing as the breath was knocked out of him when he hit the ground. "Jeez…! What are you!" he roared, glaring at the bear angrily, then snarled and leapt on it with renewed vigor, tearing at it and beating it with his poison barb.
Eventually, the bear fell. He glared at it, panting, then immediately turned to Mokuba, who had taken to hiding in the bushes. Despite his better judgment, since he
was covered with blood, Joey went over and knelt in front of him, pulling the boy into a tight hug to hopefully comfort him.
Mokuba screamed and tried to pull away, beating frantically on his shoulders, but the blond refused to release him. He struggled a little longer, mind still trying to comprehend what had happened, until he realized that the blond had saved him, was holding him—didn't seem to be planning on killing him and eating his remains. Sobbing in relief, he hugged the strange creature holding him, crying quietly into his chest.
Joey smiled as he heard some whimpers for his brother, glad that he was now able to tell him that his brother was fine. Leaning back, he made sure the boy saw his smile before he began to speak.
Mokuba sniffled and looked up at him, wiping his eyes with his grubby sleeve. He saw the blond's mouth curve into a smile that surprisingly made him feel better, and he managed a small smile of his own as he peeked up at the strange creature's face. When he saw the man's mouth open, he expected to hear something kind, or comforting, but was instead confused to hear a long, low keen that almost sounded as if he was… in pain?
Joey let out another wail and turned, knocking his attacker away quickly. Perhaps he hadn't entirely killed the bear-! He whined in confusion as he found the shifty man he'd seen Mokuba's foster-parents talking with behind him, wielding a knife that was dripping with what he could only assume was his blood. He took a step back in confusion. Perhaps the man hadn't seen he wasn't a threat? That he might be just as dangerous as the bear?
He smiled awkwardly, trying to show he wasn't a threat. When the man only continued to glare at him, eyes glittering with some strange sort of greed, however, his smile began to fade. Turning his head to look at the damage already caused, mewed when he saw the blood dribbling down his back. It was like the man had tried to chop his wing
off, and—
Joey shrieked as the man leapt on him and shoved him to the ground, clawing at the dirt in confusion as he felt the knife hacking at his wing again. "No! Get off! What are you—
GAAAAHHHHHHH!" He screamed and tried to beat him off with his uninjured wing, unable to do anything but bat at him awkwardly with his hands. "Stop it! That hurts!
NO!"
Mokuba could only watch in horror for a few moments, stunned. When he realized what was happening, though, he let out an angry roar and lunged forward, shoving the older man off of his rescuer. "Stop hurting him!"
The pain stopped for a moment, giving the blond enough time to turn and slam his claws into the man's neck, ripping the flesh open with a wet splatter. The man sputtered, choked, and gasped, falling to his knees. Joey keened at him half in pain and half in anger, watching the life fade from the human's eyes as blood sprayed from his lips with his last breaths.
Once he saw that the man was dead, however, he whined and turned to scamper away, flapping his wings to try and escape. He wailed again when his injured wing made a sickening crunching sound.
'Humans are awful! Awful!'
.-.-.-.-.-.
"Mokuba! Mokuba!"
Mokuba turned sharply, eyes filling with more tears of relief as he recognized the voice calling him. "Seto!"
"Mokuba?"
As soon as his brother appeared through the pushes, the younger boy sobbed and ran into his arms. "Seto! I thought you were dead!"
"No, I just had something I had to look into," Seto replied, holding him tightly. Seeing some blood on the younger boy's shirt, he immediately yanked him to arms' length so he could check him for injuries. "Are you okay? Where are you hurt?"
Mokuba squirmed a little. "I'm not hurt-! I'm fine! Some weird thing saved me!"
"Weird thing? Saved you?" Taking a moment to examine their surroundings more carefully, the brunet squeaked as he saw the bear and Gozaburo on the ground, both covered in blood. "What is-?"
"A man—I think it was a man—he attacked the bear! Gozaburo was using me as bait to bring it to him!" the younger boy explained breathlessly. "He had blond hair! And it was really weird—he had black wings on his back! And a tail!" He held his arms back as if they were wings. "And then Gozaburo came and tried to cut one of his wings off, so he ripped out Gozaburo's throat and ran away!" He gasped and looked up at his older brother in terror. "There was so much blood—and he was moving funny! Seto, I think he's hurt! We have to go help him!"
Seto glanced down at the trail of blood leading away from the area and frowned. "Somehow, I don't think it will be difficult to find him."
.-.-.-.-.-.
Seto frowned as he saw the wing dragging awkwardly behind the blond as he continued to move away from where he'd been attacked. He was crawling, now, but that was mostly because his wing kept banging on things when he was upright.
"Mokuba, stay back here," he ordered softly.
Mokuba nodded and huddled further back so he wouldn't frighten the obviously disturbed blond. "Okay."
The brunet began toward the dragon slowly, lifting his hands to hopefully convey that he didn't mean any harm. "Joey? I'm going to help you, okay?"
Joey looked up at him sharply, eyes wide with terror.
'Human! But I know this human-! Don't I? He looks familiar! But humans are bad! Humans try to hack my wings off! No! If he touches me he'll hurt me! He'll rip me to pieces!' Seto reached out to gently touch his injured wing. "We need to get this cleaned and bandaged—"
"
NO!" The blond lunged away, eyes darting around wildly. He yowled as the human began toward him and dodged his hand again. "Get away!
Get away! NO!"
When the brunet continued to try toward him, he snarled and dodged his hands, flapping his wings violently. He grunted as his injured wing crunched with each agonizing flap, choking back his whimpers of pain, until he finally got airborne and hovered over the trees. His wing continued to crunch, making him whine in the back of his throat, until it suddenly gave.
He squealed as he plummeted down to crash back into the trees, yelping with each branch and limb he bashed into on the way back down to the ground.
Seto could only gape in reaction. "…What the hell?"
"Now he's even more hurt! Come on, Seto! This time he's hurt because of us!" Mokuba exclaimed, pulling on his brother's arm. "It wasn't that far away! We can get there in ten minutes! Come on!"
The brunet nodded and hurried after him. "Alright, I'm coming!"
.-.-.-.-.-.
"Bear meat isn't that bad."
Seto shrugged and pulled a hunk of skewered meat from the fire, testing it gingerly with his fingers. "I would have expected a little more disbelief from you about all this."
"Mmph." Mokuba took a bite of his meat and turned to look at his silvery scales. "…Hmm. I guess I'm not really surprised."
The brunet was immediately annoyed;
he had been surprised and terrified, and his little brother wasn't even really surprised? "What?"
"I've always sort of known I was different," the younger boy explained, picking some of the crispy skin off and chewing on it. "That there was something about me that I just
couldn't fit in."
"…Hmm." Seto was still annoyed. But he supposed he understood.
Turning to look into the cave they'd found the blond had crawled to, he sighed quietly, then stood and began inside, making sure to spread his wings to show he wasn't a human. "Joey?"
Joey turned to look up at him, eyes still wide and frightened, until he saw the pearly white wings shining in the dim light. Swallowing thickly, he managed the cracked squeak of, "Yeah?"
"…I've brought you some food," Seto told him quietly, squatting beside him. "It's meat. I cooked it…"
"You shouldn't cook for me," the blond muttered, frowning, as he looked away.
The white dragon scowled and grabbed his hair to yank him around to face him. "Joey, I'll cook for you if I want to. You're injured. I want to cook for you. Is that good enough for you?"
Joey flinched and bit his bottom lip, nodding quickly. "Yes." He fumbled for the meat as it was shoved into his hands, then glanced aside, unable to help feeling he was putting the older man out. "…Why do ya wanna help me? Why are ya so nice to me? You should… you should be treating me the worst."
Seto turned to glare at him, but his scathing look faded when he saw how small and sad he looked, the bandages wrapped tightly around the base of his injured wing tinted a light pink. Sighing, he reached out to touch his shoulder. "I'll treat you however I want. I'm a white dragon. Isn't that good enough for you?"
The blond frowned. "No."
"…" It took all he had not to grab the younger boy by the shoulders and shake him. Sighing quietly, he rolled his eyes, then sat down beside him. "Joey? Do you know what else is black?"
The younger man huffed sadly. "Darkness and despair?"
Seto turned a sharp glare on him. "
No. I was talking about the night sky."
"Oh." Joey blushed a little. He hadn't realized it had been a serious question.
The brunet glared at him a little longer. "You know what else is white?"
The blond took a deep breath.
"That I'm thinking of right now."
The deep breath was immediately exhaled.
"I thought so." Seto sighed and reached out to cup the blond's cheek, deciding to ignore the nervous flinch he received for the action. "What I'm thinking about are stars. Stars are white. They get along with the night sky just fine, don't you think? After all… the stars wouldn't be white without the black there to make them stand out."
Joey frowned and looked down at the meat in his hands, picking at some of the skin. "…I guess…" He gasped as he felt something soft brush his cheek and jerked away quickly, blushing brightly when he realized the brunet had kissed him. "Wha-!"
"…Because I'm a white dragon and I wanted to," the brunet whispered, leaning into kiss the corner of his mouth.
The blond could only stare, eyes wide as he watched the white dragon stand and dust himself off. He left the cave with only a short half-smile thrown back at him, and he heard the brunet begin speaking with his brother.
Joey blushed a little more and looked down at the meat he was still holding, flattered, stunned, and very confused. He'd always heard that white dragons were so far above him, that they were royal and elegant and graceful, and… Seto didn't really act that way. He swore when he was angry and he still had trouble with his dragon appendages.
And he kept kissing and touching him. From what he'd heard, white dragons were pretty uptight about displays of affection, so…
…Seto was just as big a freak as he was.
Joey gasped at the thought, already feeling ashamed for thinking such a thing, when he realized that… the white dragon probably didn't even care. If there was one thing about white dragons that he displayed completely, it was that he really didn't care what others thought about him.
Unable to help a nervous giggle, he bit into the meat, enjoying the pleasant crunch. He wasn't sure what to think of Seto, or what to think of his little brother. But, somehow… he knew he wouldn't mind spending time with them. At least until they returned to Aeria. Then he'd be back on his own.
But he was okay with that. He was alone a lot anyway.
