Broken

[Broken]

“Nonono! How many times must I tell you! Don’t throw my laptop like that! You’ll spoil it!” I hollered, as I watched my bag sail off Aurak’s back, as he tossed it callously off, and it landed with a thud, making me wince.

The dragon snorted disdainfully. “You care so much about that chunk of metal and plastic. What about me, your bonded?”

I went over to the bag and opened it, pulled out the laptop and opened that too, relieved to see the screen come to life unscathed. “What?! You’re comparing yourself to a computer now?! There’s not even any basis- How the hell did that get into that head of yours?!” I spluttered, putting the laptop away.

“When it so much as drops, you come running, but when I ask you to come, you always insist that I wait, no matter how urgent the matter is!” He snarled, glaring. “You’d might as well be bonded to that stupid hunk of metal!”

My jaw dropped. This really was the pits. I had been quarrelling with him on and off for the past year, and it was an understatement to say that the relationship had soured over the years. “This thing can break if it drops. You won’t disappear if you have to wait five minutes. I mean come on! Your timing is crap, admit it! Who the hell will ask someone to go flying now when the guy is taking a shit! Be reasonable for fuck’s sake!” I snapped, picking up my bag. “Now, I have a lesson to attend. I’d better get going or I’ll be late.”

Aurak snorted again. “See what I mean? You dismiss me so easily. Like I’m your servant!”

“You’re not my servant. Far from it!” I snapped, then started walking, “I don’t have time for this! We’ll settle this later!”

As I walked, I heard the dragon mutter, “Wish I had chosen someone else.”

At first, that statement would have hurt, a lot. However, he had been saying it for what, the past four maybe five months. Now, the best it would get is a sigh. I tried, I really did, but school and my other commitments robbed me of the time that I would otherwise spend with him. It wasn’t like when I was in primary school, when school only ate up maybe eight hours, after which we were free to do as we wished. I had grown up alongside the dragon, for he chose me to be his companion for life. I didn’t like him at first, but he somewhat grew on me, and I grew to care for him, treating him first as a friend then as my own brother.

However, things change, and change they did. As I moved my way up the academic ladder, I found more and more of my time devoted to my studies, and less for the dragon, whose lessons went far, far slower, for their lives were long, and they had time. Although my own lifespan would now be identical to his, I still had to go through the same education system as everyone else, as mandated by law, especially since my family refused to send me to a private school. Hence, as the years went by, my time started to be chewed up by tuition classes, extra lessons, homework, studying, co-curricular activities and consultations with my teachers.

By the time I landed in my final year of this pre-university course, I had no time for anything but studying. Most dragons would be supportive, but Aurak was not. He kept demanding more of my time. Time that I couldn't give.  I needed to do well to get into a university, and to qualify to do a rider-friendly course. I told him about it, but he refused to accept it, insisting that he get the number one priority for everything.

Of course, that could not be done, as the school ramped up the revision process as the final national exams drew near. At this point, I was in school for nearly the entire day, leaving the house at six in the morning, and walking out of the school gates only at seven in the evening, and my day would not end there. I had extra tuition classes which my parents arranged to help me revise on top of school, which led to my days ending mostly at ten plus at night, thanks to either tuition or simply sitting down to study. Even my laptop, formerly used for gaming was not spared, as I deleted the games, and filled it with study guides and notes.

I was stressed, and I knew it. Some nights I couldn’t sleep, while others I spent slogging through practice paper after practice paper, trying to perfect my answering technique. I had allocated too much time for Aurak in year one, and not enough for studying, and now, I paid the price, as I nearly went mad studying.

My room had become a mess, inundated with paper everywhere, comprising of notes, finished test papers and textbooks. The only clear areas were my bed, Aurak’s bed, and a small patch on my table which was what remained of my workspace. In a corner sat my desktop computer, it’s side panel open, and inside, it could be seen that I had ripped the whole thing apart, so that I wouldn’t touch it…

Of course, like a cherry on top of the stress sundae, Aurak was far from happy. In fact he was seriously pissed, always showing a black face. I tried explaining, but he would not listen. He wanted me around more often, and as much as it frustrated me, I didn’t blame him. However, when he started saying that he regretted choosing me at all, I felt the ghosts of my initial dislike of the dragon began to return to haunt me. When he had first come to me when I was doing my second year in primary school, I chased him off, my gut telling me that he would be trouble, and at that time, my gut was more or less all I listened to…

I suppressed the hate as much as I could, but there was only so much that my bottle could take, for it was already full, as I struggled to keep myself focused on my studies, bottling up all the worries I had about the exam results.

Most dragons were extremely supportive, helping their partners along, keeping them company when they studied, and listening patiently to their rants. I had a friend who had a complete meltdown sometime in the previous week, and if his companion hadn’t been there to calm him down, goodness knows what would have happened. Many said that he would have committed suicide. No surprise, though, as this course is stressful enough to have one of the highest student suicide rates in the nation.

Yet, Aurak still refused to see reason, and carried on the way he was. He knew everything, but refused to acknowledge it, and every day he got more and more bitter, and less and less like the dragon I had bonded with. He said it more and more often now, about regretting his decision of bonding with me, and now, I was starting to regret the same decision. My bottle was going to blow, and I knew it… Yet, Aurak still wouldn’t stop, adding not wood to the fire, but throwing in bottles of petrol. He was pumping air into a bursting tyre…

I made my way to the classroom in the tuition centre, and took out my things as usual. I always bordered on being late, because of the arguments I had with Aurak before and after moving off, leading to a huge wastage of time. I would often have to have my meals during lessons because of this, much to the displeasure of my teachers…

The lesson was the usual revision session, and we went through one chapter before doing questions. At the back of my mind, I could feel Aurak’s simmering displeasure and anger, making it difficult to focus on getting the calculations done.

Eventually, the lesson ended, and I walked back to the parking lot to find that Aurak had just taken off in a huff, saying in my mind, <Go home yourself. I’m not your servant, neither am I your personal bus.>

I groaned, but said nothing. This wasn’t the first time, and surely wasn’t the last. Luckily, I had my bus pass on hand, and caught a bus home.

Of course, by the time I got home, the dragon was already in the room, sprawled out lazily on his bed in his smaller form, which was the size of a large dog. I wasn’t sure if he was asleep, and was too tired to bother finding out. It was already eleven and I just wanted a bath.

I took a quick hot shower, before changing into a T-shirt and shorts to sleep.

“What took you so long?” The dragon remarked, as he got up, “Shall we go flying now?”

I glared at him. “You’ve gotta be kidding me.”

“But we fly every Thursday night!” He protested, flaring his wings to emphasise his point.

“Fuck you.” I snapped, getting onto my bed. “You make me take a bus back, reach and nearly midnight and have the cheek to ask me to go flying with you. Right. Go fly yourself. I’m tired in more ways than one and I have school tomorrow.”

Aurak snarled. “Now you refuse to follow an arrangement that we’ve had for years! You’re tired. You’re always tired! I’m sick of your excuses!”

I sat up and pointed at my eyebags. “Yes, I’m always tired because I’m studying, or arguing with a bloody stinkmouth called Aurak! Fuck off!”

Aurak growled, but backed off. “Should have gone to someone else.”

I had enough. The bottle broke and I took it all out on him. “Someone else. Right. Then go. GO! Get the fuck out of my LIFE!” I screamed, as I got up and picked the dragon up by the scruff of his neck. “You’re so unhappy right? Fine. Since you regret taking me, then go! I regret giving you a chance!”

Still holding the stunned Aurak, I went out of my room and straight to the front door. I opened the door, and tossed him roughly outside. He hit the ground with a dull thud and a grunt of pain. As he picked himself off the ground, I added, “And DON’T even THINK of COMING BACK!”

He tried to run back in but I slammed the door, hitting his snout, judging from the sound he made. I made sure to lock everything before returning to my room… Only to find that he had flown up into the balcony, and let himself back in.

I gritted my teeth, and glared at him. He seemed at a loss for what to do, for I had never gotten so angry before, but that didn’t stop me from kicking him back into the balcony. I had had enough, and I was not going to let him off.

I grabbed my wallet and rummaged around, finding his ID. I threw that out on the balcony with him, hitting him on the snout. I pulled open my drawer and tossed out his passport as well, along with the scale he had given me when I first bonded with him. “Take your things and get out.” I told him coldly, before closing and locking the balcony door.

Yet, he still stayed. I took out my rider card and snapped it into two in front of him before tossing it into the bin. I saw his green eyes widen, and his ear frills sag, before he slinked out of my sight, and eventually flew off in silence.

I switched off the lights and went to bed.
-------------------------------------------

I took the bus to school the next day, and carried on with my studies as usual. At the end of the day, I saw him waiting for me in the carpark as usual. Out of habit, I was already walking towards him. He seemed hopeful, and was watching me intently with those green eyes of his.

Instead, I diverted myself and walked past him, and went out the school gate to the bus stop. I would be damned if I was going to take him back after I run him out of the house like that. Besides, at least now I had a lot less on my plate. It was liberating, and as I took the late bus to a nearby hawker centre for dinner, I knew that he was following.

Only he had the power to break the bond, and he hadn’t broken it yet.

I sat alone, having a plate of noodles, when he came over again and nudged my leg. As much as I would have liked to kick him across the room, I decided to do nothing. The easiest way to show a dragon that he was no longer wanted was to ignore him, and that was what I was going to do.

However, he kept nudging me all through my dinner, making me annoyed enough to react. “You don’t get it do you?” I snapped, glaring down at him.

He didn’t say anything, but I could sense that he wanted to apologise. I would have none of it. I had exploded at him once before, over the same issue, but not as badly. He had apologised and I had forgiven him, but after a week, he reverted back to his old pattern. The same thing would happen here for sure. He never changed, but expected everyone else to change for him, even if it was not possible…

I went back to eating, adding, “Don’t bother. I already gave you what you want. Go and find someone else. Whenever you said it, you cut me. I’m tired of being cut, and I’m cut so bad that I don’t feel anything anymore.” I felt no remorse, just some sort of numbness.

He stared at me for a while, full of disbelief, before slinking away, while I felt him withdraw from my mind, leaving behind a trail of hurt and sadness. I felt nothing, only numb.

I finished up my food and left for tuition, while reorganising my schedule and re-allocating my time. Now, at least I could take more breaks without having to give buffer time for arguments with the dragon.

The rest of the day went the way it did, uneventful. I took a bus home, reaching at halfpast ten, only to find the dragon waiting in my room. I must have forgotten to take his key back.

I glanced at him and stretched out my hand. “Key.”

He shook his head. “No. You misunderstand.”

I scowled. “There’s nothing left to misunderstand, dragon. Return the key and get out of my house before I call the police.”

Again, he replied, “No.” Then added, “I can explain.”

I folded my arms, and looked up at the wall clock. “I’m not interested. You have one minute to drop the key and get out, starting now.”

His head drooped at the coldness in my voice, but he delivered his explanation anyway. “They made me test you. I didn’t mean all those things… Please, don’t do this…”

I glared at him. “Ha ha. Nice try, but you’re a really bad liar. I’m not an idiot, so don’t treat me like one. So surreptitious, huh, ‘it was all a test’. I would have known if it was a test, idiot. I have my own set of friends, you know.”

His head drooped further. “Please, just another chance. I’ll change, you’ll see.”

I grabbed my phone and dialled in triple nine, and showed it to the dragon. Of course, by then, I had already deregistered myself from the system. On paper, I was already not his companion. I let my finger hover over the call button. “Your last chance is my not calling the police. Drop the key and get out.”

He said nothing, and opened the pouch that was strapped to his leg. Yellow, to match his gold scales. I remembered buying it for him.

He silently placed the key on the ground, before leaving, his wings and tail dragging on the floor. I pocketed the key, then went out to lock the door.

Of course, that wasn’t the end of it. Life is never that simple. He still followed me everywhere, and would occasionally try talking, but I would ignore him. I eventually took the exam, and while waiting for the results to be released, started to learn to drive. Most riders couldn’t drive, because if you had a dragon who was more than happy to fly you everywhere, there was no need. However, given my circumstances, I decided to learn, for the family car sat unused at home, for my family had immigrated to Australia, leaving me behind to finish my studies first.

However, since I needed to wait for results, and since there was a car around to use, I decided to learn, for the family intended to keep it, as we visited relatives here quite often.

I ended up going to the driving centre everyday, driving around the circuit, on the roads outside. By the time the results came out five months later, I already had a licence, and drove down to collect them. By then, I had already forgotten about the dragon, who had more or less melted into the background. Besides, what was on my mind was the fact that I would have to go in for my two years of mandatory military service soon. By soon, I meant that I would have to go in a week after the results were out.

All I managed were three Cs and one A, but it did get me into university, so it was good enough. Of course, I couldn’t get the highly sought after rider-friendly degree course, which had a far more spaced out curriculum, but that didn’t matter anymore.

I also vaguely remembered that that month’s makeup festival was going on somewhere in the vicinity. It was something celebrated by bonded humans and dragons, where they go to resolve their differences, be it through shouting, or full scale fights. A call came through from Ryan, a friend of mine. He had been having trouble with his companion, and they had agreed to go and slog it out at the festival. However, because his dragon was angry with him, and vice versa, he had no transport. I had agreed to pick him from the nearby train station and drive him down to the large field where the thing was held. He had called to say that he had arrived.

I said my goodbyes to my former classmates, and drove down to the station. Ryan had collected his results earlier, and done far better than me. The conversation in the car mostly revolved around the results, and my taste in music, which Ryan didn’t quite agree with. I jokingly threatened to drop him by the roadside, resolving the argument.

The crowd at the field was something to see. Random people and dragons milling around, some watching, while others screaming and shouting at one another. The whole thing had just started, so no one had really come to blows yet.

“Say, don’t you have a Bonded?” Ryan remarked, as I drive around, looking for the carpark.

I shrugged as I turned into a lot. “Not anymore. Alright your stop. I’ll go down to the snack stand to get a snack, then I’ll be off. Good luck, and don’t break too many bones.”

Ryan laughed. “I’ll try. Enjoy your snack.”

At least he had enough decency not to badger me about what happened, unlike most. I cut myself off from the rider community in general after I chased off the dragon, for they kept pestering me to give him another chance; something that I had no intention of doing. Ryan was the only one I still really talked to.

I made my way to the small snack store, manned by humans and dragons alike. The first thing that people noticed, however, was not my lack of a dragon partner, but the fact that there was actually a car in the carpark. Since the festival was held only for those that were bonded, nearly no one drove. This must have been the first time…

The second thing they noticed that I was alone, ordering food. They asked, of course, why I had no dragon, and I just shrugged, replying, “Dropped off a friend, got hungry.”

The stallholders nodded, while the dragons, in biped form, looked amused, especially with the fact that Ryan had to be driven, meaning that the issue must have been severe.

I returned to the car to find an old friend of mine waiting there. He smirked when he saw me, and pointed to the car, “Yours?”

“Pfft. My dad’s. Can’t afford my own, prices keep going up.” I replied, half smiling. He was probably just around to watch or help out, as he had a reputation for getting along famously with his dragon, who was presently looking over the vehicle with interest.

“I see. Can we take a ride? I rarely get to sit in one.” He replied, with a glance to his dragon, a large red, who shrunk himself down to fit in the car with a snort.

My gut told me that something was up, but this was an innocent enough request, and I had no reason to say no. I just shrugged, “Why not. Have a seat, belt up.”

The first thing he said was, “Flayme says that Aurak is here.”

I raised an eyebrow. “So?”

The dragon spoke, his voice deep. “He’s still waiting for you to forgive him, you know.”

I shrugged as I made a turn around the area. “Then he can wait forever. It’s not going to happen.”

They didn’t pursue the matter further, and the conversation turned to other things. In the end, I ended up having a drink with the two of them at the same snack store, talking about random things.

I was quite sure I saw Aurak some distance off, but there were quite a few gold dragons milling about, so I wasn’t sure. However, I soon saw him being led over by none other than Ryan and his green dragon, who had obviously made up. Ryan sported an impressive set of bruises, while the green, known as Zooks sported a black eye. They evidently hadn’t gone to see the medic yet.

Upon seeing Aurak, I stood up, sending my chair tumbling over. “It was a setup, a bloody setup. I can’t believe you people! Ugh!”

Zooks nodded sheepishly, while Aurak simply hung his head and kept quiet.

I looked around, to see that quite a crowd had gathered, probably because of my outburst. They were expecting another fight. I shook my head. “No. I’ll be damned before I so much as talk to that lizard.” Then, I turned and walked off, towards the car, only to be blocked by a random black dragon who snorted at me.

“Go back and make amends. He has been here every month waiting for you.” He said, nudging me gently back towards the gold dragon.

Aurak still said nothing, but stood there looking wretched. I glared at him, scowling. He avoided my gaze.

“Not happening.” I snapped, and sidestepped the black, only to have a random person block me. I gritted my teeth. “No.”

I shoved past the guy and stalked to the car, while I felt the eyes of the entire crowd boring into me, full of pity, of all things. I felt a tendril of thought brush my mind, and I smacked it aside. I wanted nothing to do with that dragon.

Yet, I had to go back anyway, because someone had pick pocketed my keys, and given them to Aurak, who was quietly toying with them with his foreclaws, and he lay on the ground, the size of a large dog.

I walked up to the dragon and stuck out my hand. “Keys.”

He looked up, his green eyes filled with resolve. “No.”

“Fine. I’ll beat the crap out of you, then I’ll take it, and I’ll go home. Without you.” I replied coldly. The eyes of the crowd were on me, I could feel it…

Aurak nodded sadly. “If that is what you want.”

I raised an eyebrow, sarcastic. “What, not going to argue? Not going to rip me into two? I’m impressed.”

The dragon said nothing, and dipped his head sadly, but held firmly onto my keys.


I scowled, and kicked him once, hard. He warbled in shock and pain, as he flew a short distance. He landed with a soft thud, still holding onto the keys. I stomped on his foreleg until he let go. I snatched up the keys and turned to leave adding, “You shouldn’t have bothered. Thanks for the keys.”

Everyone seemed to expect me to suddenly smile and help the dragon up, as everyone would, but instead, I walked off, pushing my way out of the crowd. The dragon just lay there, crying to himself.

Then, I was stopped by the same black dragon and forced to turn back. Aurak saw this as another chance, and peeled himself off the ground. When he came to me, I kicked him away. “Don’t bloody come near me, lizard. I’m here because they won’t let me leave.” I spat, then stood there and folded my arms.

Aurak shook his head sadly. “They want us to make amends.”

I gritted my teeth. “Not happening. In case you don’t remember, I didn’t want you at the start either. It was a mistake to let myself like you, you know that?”

He said nothing, and I continued, “Don’t you realise? I ignored you when you came to poke at me. I stayed in the classroom when everyone crowded around your egg. Didn’t that even seem weird to you, or are you too bloody dumb to realise, huh?”

He still kept quiet, and I picked him up by the scruff of his neck, then brought him up to eye level. “ANSWER ME!”

He nodded, quietly, tears running down his snout.

“THEN?!” I snapped, and dumped him on the ground and tried to walk off again, only to be turned back once more…

He grunted, then got up again. “You were different.”

“Bah.” I spat. “Different because I hid in a classroom? Don’t bullshit me. I made it clear enough that I didn’t want you, but you kept bugging me. For the record, I said ‘wait’, only because I didn’t even know that it was a dragon poking my foot. I thought it was someone coming to tell me that it was all done and that I could go home!”

“But yet you accepted me in the end. That counts, doe it not?” He replied, looking up at me and pleading with his eyes.

“Because I had no choice.” I snapped and turned away. “Now I have one, and I’ve made up my mind.”

He said nothing again, and I just stood there, knowing that the crowd would not let me through. Then, I turned and kicked him again, on the head. He fell over, dazed. I noticed that the days hadn’t been kind to him, for his ribs showed on one side. He hadn’t been eating well.

I walked past him and tried again to shove my way out of the crowd. This time, I managed to get out, and walked to the car, only to smack right into Zook’s right foreleg. Ryan waved from the dragon’s back and I gave him the finger. He shrugged, and offered me a ride, asking if I missed flying.

In actual fact, I did, but I still turned down the offer, holding up the car key as my reason. Ryan shrugged and flew off, while I unlocked the car and got in.

Out of nowhere, Aurak sailed right in and landed in the passenger seat, possibly given a boost by one of the bigger dragons.

Deciding not to bother with him anymore and to just let him do whatever it is that he wanted, I closed my door, started the engine and drove off without even a glance at the slightly stunned dragon.

He tried to come and sit in my lap, like he used to, and I just ignored him and let him. He sat there for a while, not noticing that I had driven out to the countryside. I stopped the car next to a large field, and reached behind and rummaged around till I found a large plastic bag. I got out, spilling the dragon onto the warm tarmac outside. He looked at me, questions in his eyes.

I picked him up by the scruff of his neck again and tossed him into the field, along with the bag, where I placed a bathe of water. “Don’t come back.” I spat, and got back into the car.

The dragon landed with a dull thud, not bothering to even open his wings. He rolled for a bit, then stopped and just lay there.

However, a second later, Zooks brought him back, and placed him gently on the bonnet.

“Fuck.” I muttered, and got out again. This was proving to be very tiresome.

I glared at the green dragon. “You could have taken it somewhere else.”

Zooks shook his head. “Like it or not, he’s still your bonded, and it’s obvious that he wants you back. Why else would he not fight back?”

“Don’t know, don’t care. Get rid of that trash.” I snapped, glaring at the gold dragon, who sat there quietly sobbing to himself. He still cared for me, that was for sure, and I had no idea why. Didn’t matter, though, because I stopped caring long ago.

Zooks snorted. “He has nowhere to stay. At least take him back with you. Think of this as perhaps a fresh start?”

“A fresh start to a new disaster. No, I’m not letting that animal in again.” I snapped and pushed the gold off the bonnet and onto the ground. “If you want it, it’s yours, because it’s definitely not mine.”

Zooks snorted, and nosed Aurak gently. “No, he is your bonded. He is here to help you and you are here to help him.”

“Help me? Bah what a joke. He made my life harder and harder every year. I’m better off alone.” I spat, and reached over to open the car door.

“So I’ve herd.” Zooks replied, and placed Aurak on my shoulder, where he perched. “But he has changed, mark my words. Let him show you himself.”

I glanced at the gold, who nodded, but kept quiet, the scowled. “You lot won’t leave me alone till I take it. Fine. Let it show me, then I’ll decide.”

Of course, Aurak heard this all well enough and burst out in a loud bugle of joy, nearly deafening my left ear. He wrapped his tail around my left arm possessively, and nudged my cheek gently. “Thankyou! I won’t disappoint, I promise!”

I glared at him. “You’re not off the hook. Get down and get in the car.”

However, whatever I said failed to dampen his spirits, as he jumped off my shoulder and landed gracefully in the passenger seat, where he curled up.

Of course, I didn’t really want to have anything to do with him, but this was the only way to get the others off my back. Once he reconnected the bond, he also found that out soon enough, and shot me a look of sheer betrayal.

I scowled. “You have a long way to go before I call you by name, dragon. I still don’t want you, never forget that.”

His head drooped a little but he didn’t revert to the previous depressed state. “I will try to win your trust again.” He replied, with resolve.

I rolled my eyes. “Not happening.”

He snorted. “You’ll see.”

I stopped the car at another field. “No, I won’t. Look, let’s get this one thing straight: I’m not your bonded. I once was, but not anymore, and I’m not going to acknowledge that you’ve bonded with me again. Your friend from months ago is gone, got it?”

Aurak dropped into silence again, and I could feel his depression returning through the bond. I shrugged and drove off again.

“I got you to accept me before…” he muttered, as I drove.

I scoffed. “Don’t delude yourself. I got used to you. There was no acceptance there. I never really did accept you. Maybe that’s why you’re so pathetic now.”

Aurak gave a half-hearted growl. “Don’t insult me so! You accepted me! Both of us know that!”

I then noticed that he still had the pouch that I had given him. Seeing that I was looking at it, the dragon nodded. “I kept it. In the hope that you would come back.”

“You’d might as well throw it away.” I replied coldly.

“I don’t believe that you’ve become so bitter to just brush me off like that…” The dragon replied, as a lone tear rolled down his snout. “I know that I was wrong to treat you so. I won’t do it again…”

I didn’t reply as I was in the midst of parking the car, once done, I got out, and let the dragon out, before returning to my apartment.

Of course, I had sold his bed long ago, to make space. He had to sleep on the floor, and he almost immediately fell asleep once he plonked himself down.

In the cold air conditioning, the dragon shivered, and feeling a pinch of sympathy, I threw my blanket over him. For some reason, that woke him, and he looked up for a moment. There was hope in his eyes.
-------------------------------

Of course, he didn’t know that I was slated to go into the army, and early one Monday morning, I simply disappeared, shipped off to the offshore training facility.

About a week into my training, I was called down to the parade square by one of the sergeants. “Recruit Tan! There’s someone looking for you.”

“Who, ah, sergeant?” I replied, looking around, trying to find the person.

“In the cookhouse. Go there now. He’s waiting.” Was the reply, as I was pointed in the right direction.

I nodded. “Yes sergeant” and ran down.

Inside the cookhouse sat a lieutenant, and Aurak sat next to him. The first one to speak was the lieutenant. “This your dragon?”

I raised an eyebrow. “Yes sir.”

“You know what he did today?” there was a hint of danger in his voice. Aurak shot me a guilty look. Trouble.

I shook my head. “No, sir. What happened?”

“This morning, he turned up at the ferry terminal demanding to come here and see you. When they denied entry, he became violent. He wounded three guards before we could subdue him.” Came the reply, as the officer read off a clipboard, no doubt the after action report.

I glanced at the dragon and scowled. “They wouldn’t let me in…” was all he said.

“Idiot. You could have called first.” I snapped. “Then I could have arranged things. Now, we’re both in trouble. I hope you’re happy.”

“Two of you will face trial later today. Him for assaulting three servicemen, and you, his handler, for failing to control your charge. Got it?” The lieutenant continued.

I nodded, and he walked off, saying that we had the rest of the day to try to formulate some form of defence. I scowled at the dragon. “You haven’t changed. At all. Fucking idiot. Once this is done, you’d better disappear, because kicking you is the nicest thing I’ll do to you.”

Aurak gave me a pleading look, adding, “I tried calling. I couldn’t get through. I thought something happened… I worried…”

“And I’m not a kid anymore.” I snapped, glaring. “You’ll probably end up in prison or something, along with me.”

“We could just leave.” Was his simple reply. “I can carry you and we can fly away. We can live among other dragons instead.”

“Tempting, I must admit.” I replied, still scowling.

“And then perhaps I can finally make amends with you with a mediator to help.” He replied, suddenly enthusiastic.

The next thing I knew, he changed to his full size, which was the size of a large bungalow, plonked me neatly on his back and flew off, much to the astonishment of the entire training centre.

On his back, I ended up laughing at the absurdity of it all, He was actually serious… He seemed amused, and as he cruised high above the city, finally asked for forgiveness.

“What happened to your mediator?” I remarked, prodding his neck.

“I don’t think we’ll need one.” He replied, turning to look at me, “Now, I beg your forgiveness. For not being a proper companion, and not understanding your situation well…”

I blinked, surprised at his direct approach, then shook my head. “Fuck you. You ask me now when I can only say yes, lest you drop me on my head. Fine, you have it, but you still have a lot more to prove to me.”

Aurak nodded, his head bobbing up and down on his long neck. “I understand.”
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