Who: Dante Abellard and Finn Campbell(-King-Merritt?) What: Dragon Rage! When: 1 June 2019 | Afternoon Where: Near the Administration Building Warnings: Raging Dragon Burninating the Countryside, but otherwise Tame
The sky was the kind of blue that was a painter's dream, perfectly cloudless with the sun a perfect white-gold disc hanging directly overhead. It wasn't as cold out now as it had been when he first got to the Reserve, which was great. The cold was not Dante's friend, and he was really hoping he'd be able to move on from here before it came on again in earnest.
He was currently attending a small plot of non-magical vegetation that could have been a garden at one point, but benign neglect had left it slightly overrun. It wasn't a wreck, but it definitely needed a little TLC. Waving his wand, he began coaxing some of the more gnarly weeds into giving up their stronghold. A shadow passed overhead, fast moving, and Dante dismissed it as a large bird. It happened in the area, so he didn't give it much thought. A few seconds passed, and it happened again, but this time a sudden rush of wind rustled the plants and pulled at the fabric of his shirt.
There was just a moment, a change in the air pressure that made his instincts scream for him to Get Out of the Way. He threw himself bodily backwards right as a gout of flame engulfed the little plot of land he'd been working on. That was when he heard it: a teeth rattling roar and the shouts of witches and wizards trying--too late--to warn him of the runaway dragon that was now looming overhead, circling the area and letting out the occasional strafing run of fire.
Finn, for all the bubbly happy presence that she seemed to give off, was a bit of a nervous wreck now that she knew June 30th and the end of her fellowship was fast approaching. Her dissertation was in and it would be a few weeks before she would be called to defend it. It was only after that would she get a shiny certification and be free to discover everything the world had to offer. Only she had to wait those blasted few weeks and that was driving her absolutely mad.
The Redbones could sense her unease and reacted to it in their own way, which usually manifested in rowdier than normal behaviors. So while Finn wouldn't take the blame for what would happen next, she certainly understood when one of the larger males broke free of the containment spells and made his displeasure known. To make matters worse there was a staff member, facilities judging by his clothes, right in the middle of the danger zone.
Trusting her colleagues to take care of the dragon, after all they were wranglers to her conservation fellow, Finn was quick to cast a shielding charm over the unknown facilities man. It wouldn't keep all the heat at bay, but it would ensure the worst of the dragon's breath would be absorbed. It would give the man a few more precious moments to get away and if not, at least allow her to summon him to safety.
It wasn't so much that Dante was afraid of the fire itself. That was a non-issue as far as he was concerned. No, his worry lay in the inevitable questions that might come up if he got caught in a wall of flame and walked out without so much as a singed eyebrow. Sure, his clothes wouldn't fare so well, but the rest of him would be aces. He had to affect a flinch backwards, and watched as a sheet of flame licked at the blue shield someone had just erected over him.
The ground shook tremendously as something landed heavily behind him. He didn't necessarily want to turn, because he was pretty sure he knew what he'd see when he did. But this shield wasn't going to last forever. The Redbone dragon loomed over him, and the sunlight set its scales on figurative fire. The effect would have been dazzling, probably literally blinding, but Dante didn't have that issue. He stared at the dragon, and the dragon stared right back: a deadly blinking contest.
Surely it was her imagination, but it was like someone had cast a freezing charm on the entire area. Finn could hear her heart pounding in her ears and if she didn't act soon they would have a tragic incident on their conscience. "Would you bloody well stun him?" she shouted to the closest wrangler as she summoned the prone man to her and away from the danger zone.
Alright, maybe it wasn't the most elegant way to pull someone to safety, but Finn wasn't going for elegance. A few bumps and bruises was vastly preferred over being burnt to a crisp. She dropped to her knees as her hand went to her hip for her water bottle. "Here." She untwisted the cap and thrust the bottle forward. "Drink."
He'd just been on the cusp of something like an understanding in the contest of wills that had sprung up between him and the dragon when a spell sent him flying back. He landed roughly and rolled before skidding to an unceremonious stop. The sky above him tilted crazily as he laid in the warmed grass, limbs spread like he might start making angels at any second. Another shadow leaned over him, smaller and person shaped with a woman's accented voice from from it. Water was being put in his face, but he ignored it in favor of bolting upright as the red light of two or three stunning spells lit up his periphery.
"No..." Dante struggled to his feet, pushing aside the bottle. Her skin felt cold, but he doubted that was the case. It was far more likely that his own was burning to the touch. "Something's wrong. He's upset. They're gonna make it worse. Call them off. Call them off!"
A flash of heat, like touching a hot pan, had Finn pulling back. There was something in the man's voice that had her reacting, bringing two fingers to her mouth to give a sharp and piercing whistle. There was too much noise to properly shout instructions, but the whistle seemed to do its job. It gave everyone a momentary pause as the Redbone flapped its wings in a show of dominance.
The great beast had reared back, heatwaves turning the air wobbly and claws and teeth bared for maximum effect. It beat the air and roared its displeasure. Dante cast an amplification spell on his throat and roared right back as he raced to get in front of the pissed off giant lizard. This was some David and Goliath level posturing. The world seemed to hold its breath as wizard and dragon regarded each other for a long moment.
The wings beat the air once, and its chest expanded. For a tense second, Dante wondered if there were about to be more questions than he was strictly comfortable with owing from not being flambéd as it looked like he was about to be. The ground shook again as the Redbone came down heavily, right in front of him. It eyed him briefly, considering, and then bumped its head lightly into his chest. He staggered back a couple of steps, but brought a hand up to pat along its massive jaw. "What's wrong, my man?" he said to it low. "Why're you trippin'?"
He didn't expect a real answer, but he did get a low sort of grumble from the calmed creature. Something had set it off. Something had made it want to run. It was a feeling Dante got, a kind of vibe.
Finn couldn't do much but watch in awe as the man got up and touched the aggravated dragon. She wanted to shout a whole bevy of warnings, but each caught in her throat as she witnessed something remarkable. Sure, she and many of the other dragon specialists got up and close to the creatures, but not when they were about to go on a rampage. And that was after a good amount of training.
Slowly, she edged closer to the pair, making sure that the dragon could see her. Startling him would quite possibly end up with an endless number of incident reports. And some that she might not even fill out because she might be dead. But no, she wasn't going to think about that.
Once she got close enough to the pair, Finn spoke softly. "It seems silly to ask, but is everything alright?"
Those great lizard eyes rolled toward Finn and blinked slowly. Dante pressed his hand in a little harder in a silent demand for the dragon's attention. It looked back at him--good, good--and Dante gave it a bit of space as it began to curl its immense body inward, jaws coming to rest on its wickedly clawed forelegs. He stayed close to it, but didn't feel the need to have the physical connection anymore. His movements were slow and deliberately non-threatening as he turned slightly toward Finn. "He just got spooked, is all. Couldn't say about what, ma'am, but he's all right now. Thanks for trying to pull me back. I know I probably seemed like a crazy person just now."
“Name’s Finn. No need for honorifics here.” It was a trivial matter, but hearing ma’am made Finn start looking around for her mother, one of her aunts, or her gran. She was barely a miss. Or maybe that was a misses as she was married. But she was losing her gain of thought. “And you’re talking to one of the dragon lot. We’re all a little mad here.”
Finn beamed up at the stranger. “Thank you for doing… whatever you did. What did you do, exactly? Because it’s brilliant and you don’t know how many of us would like to do exactly what you just did. Not having to use spells? Brilliant!” Turning away for a moment, Finn focused on the Redbone in front of her. She took in the creature’s body position and newly-calmed demeanor. That was seriously amazing.
"Dante," he offered his name after acknowledging her introduction with a slight nod and a slightly larger smile at the description. "The 'ma'am' might slip out anyway. Force of habit, but I'll try to keep your preference in mind."
But the smile faded just a hair as she went on, and he found himself in unenviable position of balancing the truth with an outright lie. In the end, he found some middle ground. He scuffed a toe into the scorched grass and shoved his hands into his back pocket in an obvious attempt not to fidget. In actuality, he was an amazing liar, but every good lie had at least a kernel of truth. "Would you believe confidence and intimidation, with a healthy dose of devil-may-care idiocy? Trust me, as soon as you guys get the big man cleared away, I'll be a bundle of jangled nerves and washed out adrenaline."
He wasn't about to tell her that it was a sense that went so much deeper than that, like-speaking to-like. Had the Redbone been a non-fire breathing type, this would have gone much, much worse.
"Aye, I would." One didn't go into dragon handling to be the retiring sort. She was sure many had used 'devil-may-care idiocy' or a similar term to describe her at one point or another. "Though I dare say ye may have missed yer calling to work with dragons.” Because she knew people who would love to be able to do what Dante just did.
But he was right, the post-adrenaline crash was nearly imminent and she knew from experience that it was never a pretty sight. The wranglers were already moving in to move the dragon into its enclosure, giving her a perfect opportunity to start to lead Dante away. “Why don’t we get ye a spot of tea? Or coffee as ye Yanks seem to prefer.”
Watching the wranglers approach, Dante spared a second to reach back out along this line he had with the dragon, gently pushing another wave of calm into it. It was like a slow lick of flame, bright and warm between them. He still didn't know exactly what had set the huge beast off, but he hoped the handlers figured it out soon. Without thinking, he reached out again and patted the Redbone right on the tip of its nose and then fell into step with Finn.
"Coffee might be a terrible idea, all things considered. I might just shake apart." He laughed quietly. "I think tea would do me just fine, thanks." There was a brief pause where they simply walked toward the closest building, but it was soon broken when Dante glanced over at his companion. "I hope you don't mind me asking, but what part of Scotland are you from? I can't quite place the region."
Finn's smile brightened just a fraction when Dante recognized her accent as at least belonging to the right country, though he couldn't place it's exact origins. "I grew up in Mull, in the Inner Hebrides, surrounded what seemed like an entire clan of cousins, aunts, and uncles. And where did you grow up?" There was no hope in Finn being able to pinpoint an accent. Except in the most extreme circumstances, American accents all sounded the same to her ear.
Lucky for them, the closest building happened to be where they stored their coffee supplies, and--in Finn's case--tea. "Don't sit in that chair in the corner. It has a wonky wheel." Pointing out the chair in question, she bustled over to the cabinet to pull out her tea bags and mugs. "How do you take your tea?"
"I never had a chance to get outside of Edinburgh, and I was mostly just passing through there once anyway. I've heard it's gorgeous country, though. Maybe I can get back there eventually. As for me? Born and raised in Louisiana, ma--" he affected a short cough to cover the near-slip. "Just me and my mom in this tiny postage stamp called La Belize."
What he'd halfway joked about before was coming to pass. Dante could feel the inevitable adrenaline crash starting to prickle along his nerves as soon as they were inside and made it to a small break room. He was careful not to sit where she'd indicated, but also tempted to pull the chair over to see if he could see about fixing the 'wonky wheel.' The debate was still going on in his head when he replied automatically, "Milk, two sugars, please."
There were a bevy of reasons why he should have checked his answer before giving it, as it maybe had relayed far too much about his experiences than he normally would have right off the cuff. It wasn't exactly the most American request, after all. He could still salvage it. Dante smiled slowly. "Maybe a splash of whiskey, if you've got any stashed away."
"It would be against regulations to have any alcohol so close to the enclosures." Despite whatever warnings she gave, Finn was pulling out a small bottle of whisky her family had brought with them when they visited a few months back. A few splashes in her tea was enough to take the chill off any snowy day. Or to fortify a person after an encounter with a dragon. Finn wouldn't tell.
After the kettle came to a boil, Finn fixed two mugs of tea to their likings, complete with the requested addition of spirits. She also found a package of unopened biscuits and brought them over as well. "I've never been to Louisiana, though people tell me New Orleans is unlike any other city in the AWC."
The hand that wrapped around the mug didn't feel its heat at all. He didn't even blow at the small swirls of steam rising from the surface, just took a straight sip of the scalding liquid without a flinch. Dante nodded thoughtfully. "My mom had to go there a bunch for work when I was a kid, and I got to tag along a lot when I wasn't in school. There really is something about the place. Like it has an old soul or something. Or like it's haunted--and not by the ghosts like we're used to. It's a strange feeling, like the veil's worn too thin there, blurring the lines between the living and the dead. I like it, but it can get unnerving."
His gaze had gone distant with memories that he hadn't really thought about for years now, but they snapped back to Finn with an apologetic laugh. "Sorry, I really drifted away for a second there, didn't I. Have you been able to visit anywhere else around here?"
Finn simply listened as Dante talked. She liked his accent, she decided, propping her chin up on a hand. "I understand what ye mean about New Orleans. My mates and I went to Prague the summer after our seventh year. There was a whole atmosphere in the Old City… I think ye described it perfectly."
She waved away any apologies. He was allowed to have as many moments as he needed as far as she was concerned. "I visited New York City." Her nose wrinkled at the memory. "I dinna like it at all. It was too…" She made a vague gesture, trying to grasp at the word "...frenetic. Too much for an island girl like me." She'd been happy for the experience, but Brightstar and Snowcap were more her speed. "And I've been to Las Vegas of course," only the barest hint of a blush there, "and there was a conference in Albuquerque about six months ago."
The biscuits were just sitting there and Finn was never the sort to let them go to waste. She quickly opened the package and took two for herself, indicating that Dante should partake as well. "I would like to see what else the country has to offer. And the world. There's just so much, I barely know where to start."
Ah, Prague. There were some colorful memories there, but they weren't the kind that Dante was going to go sharing with just anyone, least of all a young dragon keeper he'd just met. Instead, he smiled and snagged a cookie when it was offered. "My unsolicited advice? Start with putting one foot outside your door. Sometimes life takes care of the rest."
The tea and hint of spirits had gone a long way in rekindling a warmth inside him that burned off the last of any jittery feelings that had been dancing in his gut since he'd first identified what had been flying overhead just a few minutes back. He ate the cookie in a couple of bites and drained his cup with slightly less finesse than he usually would have employed. "Well," he pushed himself to his feet, "I don't really want to rush off, but I should probably see what I can salvage of the area we were just in." He gave her a slightly lopsided smile. "It's kind of in my job description, after all. Maybe next time I should keep the wrangling to the professionals."
"Aye." Finn's grin went a bit crooked. "I don't mind going into the great unknown. I'm a Gryffindor, after all." Though by experience she knew people didn't always know what that meant this side of the pond. "I ended up here with a plan. Surely that bodes well for my luck."
Standing when he did, Finn hoped it wasn't too forward of her to reach up and pat his shoulder. "If yer ever in the mood for a career change, I think you may have a chance with the dragons." One never fully got over the nerves, of course, but she'd never seen someone connect to a dragon the way Dante had. It would be a shame to waste that sort of talent.