Adrenaline Rush - Ignition

Story by Serathin on SoFurry

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#1 of Adrenaline Rush

An art trade for Zennith, though I have to admit I seriously enjoyed writing this one. A grad student racing enthusiast meets up with a gearhead who has connections with an underground racing league.


Adrenaline Rush - Ignition

Zennith Mehathvin, or Zenny as his friends called him, rushed back from his lab into his dorm room, quickly opening his computer to the campus provided internet. The blue and yellow dragon waited with baited breath as his e-mail loaded. It had been almost a month since he had put the substantial amount of money, from both his job and as his graduation gift, down on the car he had painstakingly picked out since he had actually left college. That made it fitting that it was on his first week of grad school he received the e-mail that the car had been delivered to the campus parking lot. He had to resist the urge to shout for joy, tearing apart his desk until he found the keys that had arrived almost a week earlier.

"Yes!" The grad student shouted as he saw his pride and joy sitting there, a yellow Viper SRT-10. It was used, but from what he could tell it was a very gentle use as he took the time to inspect every inch of the polished metal. He was almost afraid to touch it, that it would suddenly disappear under his scaled hands in a puff of smoke as he traced his hands along the door. Keys in hand he unlocked it and slowly slid inside, breathing in the faint whiff of the leather seats as he positioned himself behind the wheel. True to word the odometer was less than ten thousand, which was reflected in the engine as he revved it up. The vibration traveled easily through the petals, the wheels, and the seat up through his body. Even just sitting there in the parking lot he could feel his excitement rise, though it was very short-lived as he turned the engine back off.

Though it pained him, Zenny left the comfortable interior of his new prized possession and back out into the warm summer evening air. The car almost seemed to call back out to him, wanting him to go inside and take a drive. Unfortunately he had several papers he wanted to do before his work shift that night, and if he didn't want to tear his horns out he knew he had to stay ahead of his graduate work. "That is quite a machine you got there." He suddenly heard behind him as he turned to head back to his dorm.

"Sorry?" Zenny said as looked to see a Siberian Husky, his coloration red instead of the usual black, smiling at him.

"Your car is a beauty, both in looks and in engine." The red and white furred dog said as he reached out to shake his hand. "Name's Ember, grad student at the Engineering department and lover of fine racing vehicles such as yours. If I may ask, how did you come across such a fine specimen?"

"It was a graduation gift." Zenny answered after he introduced himself, feeling a slight swelling of pride at being asked about his new ride. "The engine is mint, only a couple thousand miles on it from the last owner. It's something that I've wanted for quite some time now, though I feel it's a bit of a shame that I'm only going to be able to ride it too and from work. Of course I suppose I can go to the country on weekends, let it out a little bit on the open roads."

"Well you're right, that certainly is a shame." Ember stated as he walked around the car. "Especially since I know of a way to get some serious cash with a beauty like this. Oh well, like you said it can get you to work at least, right? Well I have to get to class, but thanks for indulging me Zenny, it was a pleasure meeting you. Enjoy your ride."

The dragon stared, slightly dumbfounded, as he watched the husky walk down the pathway with his tail swaying in the air. He had never thought about doing anything with his car other than the occasional drive, a guilty pleasure reserved for him on weekends when he could find the time. What Ember had suggested seemed ridiculous at first, but as he walked back to his dorm the idea started to eat away at him. Even as he tried to focus back on his papers all he could think about was the idea of letting his new car roar on the racetrack.

"What a silly idea..." Zenny chuckled to himself. "Me racing..." Even though he tried to reassure himself of that the thought of racing wasn't for him, he bit his scaly lip as his eyes slipped from his papers to the small pile of racing magazines in the corner of his desk.

It took another ten minutes before his resolve finally caved in and he ran outside, the campus lights flickering to life as he sprinted towards the Engineering building. The building was huge, divided into several subsections where graduate students could work on anything from buildings to space station components. On an educated guess he headed towards the automotive and aeronautics areas, the area dominated with huge garages filled with car, ship, and planes that the students worked on. As he looked from bay to bay he noticed with some dismay that everything was electronically locked, which meant he could only look through the windows to try and find the mysterious husky.

Luckily for him Ember was right out in the open, working on a computer next to what looked like half a V8 engine. He knocked on the door, grabbing the student's attention as he waved in the window. The husky quickly hopped off the stool, grinning broadly as he opened the door to let him inside. "I take it you're not just here to help me with my graduate work?" He joked.

"Not really." Zenny replied sheepishly. The entire area certainly didn't look like a normal garage, the area filled with computers and calibration equipment. There was the faint smell of synthetic oil in the air, as well as something he couldn't quite place. After a brief tour of the facility by his new friend, Ember led them to a relatively clear table where they could sit down and talk. "So you mentioned something about a race?"

"Ah yes, I knew you were interested." Ember said as he tossed him a soda. "I could see it in your eyes, as soon as you left that car and looked like you were about to cry."

Zenny chuckled as he popped open the can. "Yeah, I suppose you have me pegged on that. I'm a bit surprised though, I thought that you were in class or something."

"Independent study." Ember smiled. "Allows me access to the building, and in exchange for doing a bit of TA work I'm allowed to stay here all night without being checked on by security. This makes it perfect for our little side project, since your car is going to need a bit of modding before it can be considered race-worthy."

"Mods?" Zenny replied nervously. He had just gotten his new wheels, and the thought of someone potentially ruining it with something just to make it go a bit faster scared the scales off of him. "What sort of mods?"

"Turbo system for starters." Ember said as he brought him over to a computer screen. As he opened several more files the dragon couldn't help but grin, realizing that he had these files ready in preparation for his caving-in to the offer of racing. While it wasn't his specialty, the specs looked very impressive and clearly advanced. Once the husky had made his case he told him not to worry, that he wouldn't do anything that would harm his car.

After a brief period of conversation they retrieved Zenny's car and brought it into the garage so that Ember could start the modifications right away. Despite some initial reservations he left the husky to work on it, especially with all the work he had to do. The rest of the night progressed as usual, besides having to call a co-worker to pick him up for work at the restaurant he was a waiter at. Even as he tried to keep a smile as he took down orders his mind was back on his car, wondering what it would look like once his new friend was finished.

Zenny's shift ended at midnight, which meant that even though he wanted to call Ember he was probably in bed for the night. He worked for another hour to finish up his reports, and as he was about to turn in for the night he was surprised when his phone rang. As soon as he saw the picture of the husky he had taken earlier on his screen he immediately answered it, receiving word that the initial upgrades were finished. Even though it was two in the morning he felt more awake than ever, his excitement fueling him as he ran back down to the Engineering building and Ember's garage.

"You're lucky I don't have classes for the weekend." The dragon said as he was let inside.

"Neither do I, which is why I wanted to get this done immediately." Ember replied as wiped the grease off of his hands. The husky had changed into a pair of work overalls since they had last met, stained with grease and oil as he walked him to the car. The outside of his Viper looked exactly the same as he had left it, which he stated was intentional as he pointed out the additional pieces of hardware that were installed underneath.

"I upgraded a few or your systems, electronic fuel injection, etc." The husky continued as he opened the door. "I also made some reinforcements to the body and added a limited slip differential to help with your turning radius. Now what's going to really get your rocks off is the turbo system, nothing like it on the face of the planet. There's no jerk, the acceleration is smoother than glass, and the power is hotter than the sun itself. You'll have to be careful not to ruin your seats when you push that button, trust me."

As Zenny tucked his tail in and slid into the seats he saw that several new gauges had been added to his dash, not to mention a hefty increase on the limit of his speedometer. Aside from that the only new addition was a joystick like device with a trigger set for each finger. "Four triggers?" The dragon asked as he ran a finger over the smooth metal.

"It's too prevent... accidental misfire." Ember replied as he sat back down in front of his computer. "You don't want to use it until the right time so you can get that extra edge. Every car in this particular league has it though, so skill and instincts are the most important things you can have right now. That and a genius engineer that can tweak it to give us an even bigger edge."

Zenny sat back in the seat as he tried to digest all the information his apparent new partner had given him. While he had always fantasized about racing, he had never actually considered doing it. Now he was in a heavily modded car listening to some gearhead he had just met tell him about everything that he did to his car. It was surreal, but as he gripped the wheel he had to admit that the thrill was most exhilarating.

"Well it seems like you're chomping at the bit." Ember stated, which snapped Zenny back to reality as he realized the husky had climbed into the passenger seat. "Ready for a little test drive?"

*************************************************

As the yellow Viper roared through the city the night had reached its zenith. The crowd that he had just catered to a few hours ago had all hunkered down for the night, which left the streets almost entirely empty. Ember led them to the west side of the city, where the shrinking industrial sector had left a patchwork of abandoned factories and warehouses. It was one of those factories that he was led too, the employee parking lot filled with custom cars. Zenny gulped slightly as he realized that some of the cars in that lot were worth ten times the amount he had paid for his.

"Are you sure I'm ready for this?" The dragon said nervously as they got out of the cars. "There's a lot of money on display here."

"Don't worry, you're a natural." Ember replied. "Besides, there's different divisions of races, it's not like you'll be going up against the top dog right away. We'll be hitting a Dawn Derby anyway, since you're a newcomer you'll have to race in one of these to start anyway. No one likes these races, since they're close to morning and everyone is tired. Plus if the cops catch wind to the race location early then the race doesn't even happen. Still, they'll be out for blood, so don't let your guard down."

As the two walked into the factory they were blasted with rave music, echoing throughout the building as a wave of heat and musk washed over them. Half of the floor had been converted into a large club while the other was dominated with several whiteboards that had a list of names that he assumed were drivers. As they walked over to the club section he found it divided into several large platforms, each one set higher than the last until the highest level sat on a second floor balcony.

What Zenny assumed were the other racers sat on sofas and overstuffed chairs on the platforms, and as he looked over each of them he found with some surprise that none of them had less than a six pack for abs. As his eyes traveled higher the males only got more muscular, to the point where the ones at the top looked like professional athletes. Most of them had some type of tattoo or other type of piercing as well, though they weren't punk rocker or goth or even biker-like, but rather merely exuded an aura of 'bad-ass' that was hard to place. The dragon immediately felt extremely out of place as they walked over to the gathering at the ground floor, though once they had reached the group he was immediately given a cup that smelt strongly of alcohol and tasted even more so when he brought it to his lips as they introduced themselves.

"It's great meeting you all, I'm Zennith." Zenny replied. "I have to say you guys are much more... welcoming than I thought."

"Well we can smell a new-blood racer when they come into our fold." A lynx said with a fanged grin. "Besides, any friend of Gear is a friend of ours."

"Gear?" Zenny gave a side-ways glance to the husky, who grinned sheepishly back at him.

"Anyway, we've got a Viper SRT-10 looking for a Dawn Derby." Ember said as he looked at the group. "Any openings?"

"Always have openings in the dirt division." A smooth, rumbling voice said behind him as he felt a hand run across his scaled neck. The rest of the group all snarled and growled as Zenny quickly spun around. A panther, wearing nothing but a pair of extremely tight white leather pants and white leather collar, smirked at the group. There was an arrogance about him that put him off, but it was combined with a predatory glint in his eyes that unnerved him. "A dragon... no wings, but still rather exotic, a fine addition for me."

"Fuck off Korin!" Ember shouted, trying to posture though he stood behind Zenny.

Korin chuckled and took a step closer, which caused the husky to take a step back. "Awwww, puppy trying to bark? How cute. I wouldn't waste my time with you low-tier wannabes anyway."

"Don't posture Korin, we know you're just sore after your continued loss to Nightmare." A rather large Eagle said after he had drained the last of his drink. "Surprised you can even walk down here after the number he probably did on you. I hear you're his favorite."

Korin's face soured at the insult, but instead of retorting he merely sneered and walked back up to the higher levels. As Zenny watched him go up he noticed that he went all the way up to the highest level, where it appeared several more racers had appeared from a section of the platform that was blocked from view by makeshift walls. Even before the rest of the group filled him in he knew that those were the racing elites, and their leader was the massively muscled, black-haired, god-like Arabian that sat in the huge chair in the middle of all of them. He was about to ask the group about the angry feline when Ember quickly began to lead him towards the other side of the factory so they could still register for their race.

"That's the prime platform man, where the top racers get to be." Ember explained as they moved towards the whiteboards. "At the center of them all is Nightmare, whose been winning these races for years. There's been a few upsets, but Nightmare has always reclaimed his throne as the top dog after only a race or two. I think you have what it takes to upset him though."

"I don't know Ember... or should I say Gear?" Zenny asked, which caused the husky to look down. "When you said racing, I thought you meant some sort of racetrack type thing, not street racing! This is like a whole different world, one that you've apparently been a part of already. Can you please tell me what's going on here?"

"Look, it's really complicated, ok?" Gear said as he stopped him near the entrance. "All I can say is that I know a racer when I see it, and as soon as I saw you I know that you were right for this. Just give it one race, and if you're not completely satisfied than I'll take all the mods out of your car and you'll never have to hear from me again. Just go back to the car, I'll have the locale for you in a minute."

Zenny looked into the husky's pleading eyes, then sighed and shook his head. "I guess." Almost immediately he was leapt upon by the excited dog, then was almost spun completely around as he raced towards the boards. Meanwhile the dragon went back to the car and waited, wondering how he got himself in this situation. He also wanted to know how Ember was involved in the racing world... even though he hardly knew the guy he couldn't help but feel a growing friendship between them. It didn't hurt that they shared things in common, with racing being one of them.

It wasn't long before the excited husky came back with an address two blocks from their current location. As they drove to the spot Ember briefed him on the protocol for races. The races had pre-coordinated routes which scouts sat on to make sure they weren't being watched or compromised. Then when the racers gather they sign up at the factory, and then when they reached the starting line they had to check in with a coordinator so that there weren't any unsanctioned racers. He also explained that when he got to higher level races he would have to come back to the factory for various prizes... though for the Dawn Derby races it was not required.

The location turned out to be under a covered conveyor belt for a decamped munitions factory, several other cars already parked underneath it when they arrived there. While a lot of the cars were in the same class as his, there were a few that beat his by at least double his car's worth. It was slightly intimidating, though when he pulled up he noticed that many were from the group he had talked to on the factory floor. Once he parked his car he was guided over to a very heavyset naga, who looked him over. "You're Zen with the Viper SRT-10, right?"

"It's Zenny actually..." Zenny started to say, but by the time he had started to talk the naga had already moved on to the eagle with a Chevy Cobalt SS.

"Alright, this track is fairly straightforward." Ember said as he pulled out what looked like a composite aerial photo of the area. "It's straight track until you hit this tractor warehouse, then you're going to want to do a drift into the service alley. Now it's only wide enough for one car, so you'll be locked in until you can turn out here. Now my friend in the track coordination squad says that they're going to a sidewinder, so give yourself a lot of leeway on your first turn so you can hit the opposite turn without losing your buzz. After that you're going into a shipping lane, so hit that turbo as soon as you regain straight control. Everything is marked by flares, so don't worry about it if you don't remember."

"Thanks Gear." Zenny teased as he slid back into the car. "Wish me luck."

"Good luck Zen." Ember teased right back as he slammed the door and walked over to an area with a few other observers.

After a few minutes the naga guided him onto the starting line, putting him between the Cobalt he had seen earlier as well as a black Chevy Camaro RS SS. He started up his car, the engine roaring to life as the gauges all went into the green. Ember's modifications were amazing, even though he could feel the increased engine power the body vibrations had actually decreased. The husky was a hell of a mechanic; he had to give him that.

He didn't have too long to think about it though, as one of three flares hanging above them suddenly lit up. Everyone on the line began to rev their engines, including Zenny as the second red flare came to life. Adrenaline coursed through his body as his scaly hands gripped the wheel, occasionally stealing glances at the other racers. As he looked at their faces they were all smiles, not the usual stone-faces that you get when people are determined to win a race. They were here for the sheer love of racing, he thought to himself, and it was a very endearing prospect.

Suddenly a flash of green turned his attention back to the front, the green flare springing to life which caused everyone to hit the gas. Smoke billowed in the air as tires spun, engines blaring as they jumped forward. While Zenny was quick off the line there were at least three cars that managed to get a head start on him, seeing their taillights as they ran down the straightaway. The dragon quickly shifted into second as he tried to gain some position, his heart leaping up into his chest as he tried to get past the Camaro before the alleyway. As he laid out more gas he felt his entire body began to tingle and throb, whether from the excitement of the race or the thrill of competition, and by the time he hit the point where he was about to drift his entire body seemed to thrum in tune with his vehicle. When he managed to pass the Camaro that feeling intensified two-fold to the point where he let out an audible gasp as he gripped the steering wheel for the drift.

Ember had been right about the size of the alleyway, there was no way he was going to pass anyone in those narrow quarters. He would have to wait until after the sidewinder before he could try and get a few more places. There was a chance he could pass someone in the sidewinder as well, but that was a lot of risk for his new car. Still, as he watched the taillights of the car, a beautiful Pontiac Firebird, in front of him he was almost overwhelmed by the desire to try and try to take the inside curve on the sidewinder...

As they hit the first curve his hands shook slightly, but while he wanted to try and pass the Firebird his inexperience took over and he hung back instead. Unfortunately he was not the only one who had the idea and he saw the Camaro try and take him on the inside. As they both prepared for the second turn though he remembered Ember's advice and kept enough berth to make it, but that allowed his fellow racer to get the jump on him and pass him up. He felt a strange feeling pass through his boy as he was passed, like he was being drained of energy. But that feeling quickly passed, and he shifted once more to gain some speed as they all came into the final straightaway.

"Alright Ember, time to shine." Zenny said as he put his hand on the turbo trigger. As he gripped the stick he pressed down on the metal triggers, which lit up the green button on top. After a second of hesitation he pressed the button, the gauges on his dash jumping forward as the turbo activated. His mouth opened as he felt a surge of energy rush through his body, his breathing quickening as he passed the Camaro once more. His grip on the turbo increased as he could feel his pants tent, hips bucking in the air slightly as he held onto the wheel for dear life. It made him feel... powerful, his lips curling up in a smile as he could feel the sheer force wash over him. The whole race almost felt like a build-up to that moment where his car, and himself, were completely unleashed on the road.

If Zenny could have he would have cried out in pleasure, but his focus was squarely on the illuminated finish line and the Firebird in front of him. Everything in his entire being screamed at him to pass the car, even if it was just to finish once place better as his speed skyrocketed. His instincts told him how much better it would be to beat him, to show the other racer that he was better, stronger than him. He bared his fangs as he came up closer to the Firebird, flexing his claws as though to strike. All he wanted to do was to beat that car... to dominate it...

It wasn't enough though; the car ahead of him passed the finish line half a car length ahead of him before it hit the brakes with a loud screech and turned off the main lane into a safer zone. Once the dragon had passed it himself he did the same thing, going off to the side and disengaging his hand from the turbo as he panted heavily. The feeling of euphoria from the previous moment stayed with him though, his hands still shaking as he struggled with the emotions surging through him, especially the overwhelming horniness he felt. His erection threatened to break through his zipper as he looked at the other cars just finishing and growling, licking his lips...

"Great job!" Zenny heard suddenly, his attention turning to Ember as he hopped in the car. "You got in fifth place, not bad for a newcomer! I think you may have impressed-" his sentence was stopped short as the dragon grabbed him by the back of the head and pushed him into a deep kiss, the husky letting out a surprised gasp which only allowed his thick reptilian tongue to push inside. It wasn't long before he felt a hand slide down his pants, claws making quick work of his pants before he broke the kiss.

As the two males locked eyes Zenny had a brief moment of clarity, realizing what he had done. He wasn't ashamed of it, and as his sweet husky's smile only grew bigger he knew that he didn't either. "We should get back to the garage if you think you can hold it until then..." he suggested. In the next second they were off, tires screeching into the night as they bolted off the property back towards the campus.

****************************************************

In half the time it took to get there Zenny had gotten the two of them back to the garage, speeding the entire way as the morning light had begun to creep over the horizon. While it was fun to speed down the empty streets though, he couldn't find the same rush that he had while racing. In comparison the drive back felt very dull, and by the time they had pulled into the campus garage he was feeling extremely frustrated. The only thing that kept him in check was Ember, who got out of the car before it even came to a complete stop.

"We can keep the car here." The husky said as he waited for Zenny to get out. "I'll say it's part of my project, no one will care."

"Good." Was all Zenny replied as he rushed forward and began his assault on the husky's clothing anew.

Ember lied back against one of the work tables as the dragon stripped him naked, his long fur gleaming in the light of the garage as their muzzles pressed tightly against one another. He let the dragon take control of his body, tongue hanging out as Zenny moved down his neck and chest, roughly grabbing him by his bare ass and thrusting him against the table. The dominating dragon quickly pulled off his own clothes, erect member pressing against his inner thigh as he grabbed and squeezed his every muscle. As he tried to reciprocate the favor he felt his own hard cock rub against his scaly stomach, causing his toes to curl as he wrapped his arms around him.

The husky's moans quickly turned into a sharp cry as Zenny pushed nearly half of his cock into his tailhole, his partner's walls stretching to accommodate the sudden invader as he felt the veined flesh pulse in his insides. He grabbed those furry hips and quickly pushed the rest of it inside, watching with sheer pleasure as the subby dog took it. Furry hands gripped the side of the table, feeling every bump and ridge as it slid out of him, only to have in thrust in even harder. The dog whimpered in his powerful grasp as he was forced to roll over, cock still buried deeply inside of him as he got on all fours.

"Mmmm, you like that Ember?" Zenny said as his hands wrapped around the other male's very hard shaft. An electric tremor shot up his spine as he saw the husky nod his head, which only turned him on more as he slid in and out of his hole. It aroused him to see the male submit to him, submit to his cock as it he pushed it harder and harder into him, snarling in pleasure as he took his body as his own. He had total control over the helpless male, which was exactly how it should be as they pushed into each other in rhythm. But even though he was on top didn't mean they both couldn't enjoy themselves, and his hands continued to stroke the hot spire of canine flesh as he pressed into the husky's g-spot.

It wasn't long before Ember let out a long, orgasmic howl, his hot seed spraying onto the steel table as he pushed back hard into Zennith's groin, who finished soon after. For several minutes both males stood there, Ember's tailhole still squeezing the large cock inside of him for every last drop of seed as they both shook slightly from the pleasurable tingles that seemed to pass through their body. As the sexual heat faded the dragon took a few steps back, which caused his partner to groan slightly as the semi-hard member was pulled out of him. The husky, no longer propped up by the thick cock in his ass, flopped to his side as he grinned like an idiot.

As Zenny's rationality returned to him it took him a bit to process the scene in front of him, from the end of the race to the cum-filled canine in front of him. He was normally not one to rush into a relationship, yet he had just had very animalistic sex with someone he had just met. Stranger still was how he felt, the rush he had gotten when he bowed down to his every whim, let him use his body like some sort of fuck toy... and enjoyed it. "Ember, what is this?" He asked, feeling slightly fearful yet also still intrigued by these strange new feelings.

"It's the rush..." ember replied simply as he hopped off the table and got something to clean up the mess. "Don't ask me how or why, but what you experience when you race in that league... I'm told it's like nothing ever experienced before. It unlocks something primal in you, something the others call the 'inner beast'. It's better than any drug, and the higher you place the better it gets. Plus I told you it would leave you completely satisfied."

"You... knew this would happen?" Zenny replied, mouth agape. "You knew we would... do that?"

Ember chuckled and tossed the cum-soaked rag aside, then gave him a soda as he popped open one himself. "Well it would have depended on how you placed; if it was low enough you would have gotten buzzed but not much else. But you're a natural racer, and you did so well... that 'inner beast' of yours got all riled up for its first time. After the race though, the beast needs to be calmed down... and I was more than happy to oblige as your 'release valve'."

Zenny looked down at the can idly as the husky went on to sing his praises on how well he did in the race. He couldn't help but wonder if this was right, it was apparent this wasn't the first time his mechanic was a 'release valve' for someone else. Even though he believed he had the best of intentions, it still seemed like an unhealthy relationship. But... as he looked at his car and thought back to the race what he felt on that track was completely indescribable. He wanted nothing more than to get back in that seat and race again, especially using that turbo...

"I can sense your hesitation." Ember said. "If it's about me, don't worry, I love a dominant male. If you're having reservations, I can say that you didn't do anything you haven't at least fantasized about. Plus there's the thrill of racing, which you've experienced first-hand. Plus if all of that hasn't enough, we have your fifth place winnings."

Zenny blinked as a small manila envelope was dangled in front of his face, grabbing and opening it. "Oh my God." He gawked as he pulled out five hundred dollars. "This is for fifth place? Did you bet on me or something?"

"Nah man, that's our winnings." Ember smiled. "The pay-outs are from this guy, I guess he watches the races and is independently wealthy or something. That's just the Dawn Derby too, imagine what Nightmare makes."

Ember watched as Zenny looked over at his car, then at him, then at the money in hands again, the dragon gnawing on his lips as he looked at it all. "So what do you say... in or out?"