Dragon in the Dishwater, Ch 7
Dragon in the Dishwater
Chapter 7
copyright 2009 comidacomida
Eric proceeded down the stairs, the little dragon perched on his shoulder, tail wrapped around the backside of his neck. The youth took some time to consider what he had been told but, more so, what he had been shown. Reaching the bottom stair, Eric looked to the post-it he still held in his hand, upon which the words "NOT HERE" were clearly written.
"So..." he began hesitantly, holding the folded post-it up to the dragon, "What's the deal with the paper?"
Hiraeth accepted the small note and folded it several more times before speaking, "It is known as a focus. It provides a way for someone to confine their thoughts to the task at hand. In this case, writing 'not here' on the paper was useful for defining the effect that I desired. I carried it with me for the duration of the effect so that I could have a tangible reminder of what I wanted."
"You mean, it didn't matter that it was folded and I couldn't read it because it was for your benefit and not mine?" Eric inquired.
"Precisely. If I did not wish for you to notice me, why would I invite your attention by presenting you with something to read?" the dragon countered, hopping from his shoulder to the table as they entered the kitchen.
"I guess that makes sense... in a kooky kind of way." Eric acknowledged, moving to the fridge, "So... um... sandwiches?"
"If you would like." Hiraeth responded noncommittally, "I would just be content with the meat portion, assuming it is not pig... I do not eat pig."
"Oh... are you a Jewish dragon?" Eric inquired before he bothered thinking.
"Many sects of Muslims also do not eat pig." Hiraeth offered.
"Then.... you're Muslim?" Eric asked, pausing as he turned to regard the dragon.
"No, I am neither Jewish nor Muslim." Hiraeth answered matter-of-factly.
"Then why did-- okay... never mind." the young man responded, confused.
"I was hoping to offer you feedback to assist you with averting another potentially embarrassing discussion." the dragon explained.
"My hero." Eric noted blandly, "We've established that I know nothing when it comes to the rest of the world, so do you want to rub it in further?"
"Rubbing it in, as you say, and enlightening you are completely different things, Eric."
"Ah... so now you are the learned sage and I am but the lowly pupil?" the young man asked flatly, sifting through the refrigerator as he sought out sandwich fixings.
"The wisest sage knows there is something to learn from any student." Hiraeth offered.
"Nice fucking quote... so are you supposed to be teaching me, or am I supposed to be teaching you?" Eric demanded, "Are you some kind of magical instructor?"
"If that is how you would like to think of it." Hiraeth responded with a casual half-shrug of his wings, "Personally, I had hoped we might mutually learn from one another."
"Now you're just being an ass." Eric responded casually, setting numerous items on the counter and closing the fridge door, "What could you possibly need to learn from me?"
"You become offensive when you turn defensive." Hiraeth made the observation in a plain tone.
"Ugh..." Eric rolled his eyes, opening the bag of bread on the counter and pulling out two slices, "I don't know what bothers me more: the fact that you can't seem to carry on a straight-forward discussion or--"
"or the thought that the discussions we hold together go in a direction more meaningful than most you have." Hiraeth interjected.
The interruption knocked Eric's argument off course, not just because he was forced to analyze the dragon's comment but, he couldn't deny, it was full of a lot of truth. The thought got him thinking, and he held off on any retort as he continued making his sandwich. The young man's mind played across what Hiraeth had said, looking both at it, and the possible significance of what it meant if the dragon was right.
"I offer observations, not insults." Hiraeth spoke up, breaking the silence.
"And you're pretty high-and-mighty about it too." Eric retorted, placing several slices of meat on the sandwich before closing the bread. He turned to glance at the dragon, plate in hand. Hiraeth stood on the table, perched on his hind legs with his tail providing vertical support. The dragon regarded him for several seconds. "Well you are." Eric argued further in response to the dragon's silence.
"That is a very traditional sandwich." Hiraeth remarked.
"Are there other ways to make them?" Eric asked, looking down at the bread and meat.
"I am certain there are." the dragon responded, slowly sliding back down to sit in a more dog or catlike manner, "What defines what a 'sandwich' is?"
"Meat and bread." Eric replied, bored, "I hope this isn't some kind of philosophical discussion, because that was one fucking bad question if it was supposed to make me think."
"Grilled cheese is not a sandwich?" Hiraeth countered.
Eric paused... then picked right back up, "Well, yea... but it has cheese... that comes from an animal, so it's like meat." he put his plate down and went to the cabinet to get a smaller one, placing several slices of lunch meat on it.
The little dragon's muzzle almost looked like it grinned at that, "And peanut butter and jelly?"
"It's..." Eric dropped the meat plate down in front of Hiraeth, "Oh shut up."
Hiraeth said nothing, but continued watching Eric. The youth took a seat opposite the dragon, and bit into his sandwich, chewing glumly while he watched the lizard-like creature gingerly pick at the small pile of food supplied to him. As he chewed, Eric contemplated that his sandwich did taste different.
"You do not put much on your sandwich." Hiraeth offered.
Glancing at the condiments set on the counter, Eric was just about to speak up when he realized what the dragon meant, "Oh... fuck." Eric stood back up, returning to the unused jar of mustard and mayo. He glanced at the cheese and the lettuce. Hiraeth leaped across from the table to the counter, and looked down at the many items.
"You meant to include those things with the meat on your bread?" the dragon inquired.
"I was too busy talking to you... my mind must have wandered." Eric noted, feeling a little embarrassed, and a little angry... but mostly embarrassed.
"Even when I pointed it out?" Hiraeth asked.
"Pointed what out?" Eric glanced at him.
"We had a talk about your sandwich... didn't we?" the dragon inquired, little ear sails rising as his translucent eyelids blinked.
"We.... what?" Eric paused, going back through the events in the kitchen in his mind. "Why didn't you say somethin--" and he realized exactly what Hiraeth meant. "That..." the young man paused, "That was another spell, wasn't it?" he grabbed for the mustard.
"No..." Hiraeth responded, hopping back to the table, "That was just you not listening."
Eric felt his teeth grate, and he squeezed both hands in frustration. With a loud, wet spurt, the mustard container in his right hand released its contents in a large, yellow geyser. Hiraeth glanced in his direction, ear sails up, head cocked sideways in confusion at Eric's laughter. The youth had no idea where it came from, but the anger was gone, replaced by complete, total, embarrassing, stupid laughter.
* * * * * *
Ten minutes and a half of a roll of paper towel later, Eric had the opportunity to finish making and then finish eating his sandwich. Hiraeth made quick work of his small mound of lunch meat and sat patiently while Eric finished his own dinner. Eric didn't instigate any further conversation, keeping his attention securely on his meal but, once he was finished, the two could only sit in silence as the youth stared at his empty plate.
"Tell me about your family." Hiraeth spoke up suddenly, completely sideswiping Eric's haphazard meditation of his barren dinner plate.
"You mean my mom?" Eric asked, his brain taking a moment to kick start, "My mom's pretty much my only family." he rolled his eyes after being forced to say it.
"Your only family is your mother?" Hiraeth inquired, gazing at him intently.
"Well... no... I'm not like a modern Jesus or anything... I mean, I have a dad, he's just not really family... hasn't been for a long time." Eric noted, squeezing the edge of the table as he spoke the words.
"Why is that?" the dragon asked, cocking his head to the side.
"Can we change the subject?" the young man inquired, his tone decisively impolite. He hoped it would be enough for Hiraeth to get the idea that he didn't want to talk about his family. Apparently it was not.
"You have a brother, yes?" Hiraeth asked, ear sails raised.
"No." Eric noted flatly, "And I meant change the subject away from the family."
"Oh." the dragon responded amiably, "You had implied that you would like the discussion changed away from your dad. I did not realize that you meant your entire family."
"I WOULD have had a baby brother, but my mom ended the preganency. It's a sensitive subject around here." Eric noted.
"I see. Then I apologize for prying." Hiraeth offered. At first Eric thought the comment seemed condescending but, for once, he didn't snap immediately back. The extra few seconds made him realize something: the dragon was actually cowed by the discussion. Any victory Eric might have normally felt for coming out ahead on a conversation with Hiraeth was quickly diverted as he realized that his comment probably came out wrong.
"She didn't want to have to." he spoke up quickly, "I mean... they both wanted another kid... my parents, that is. I did too, I guess... er... a brother... not a kid-- I'm too young for that. I..." Eric paused to catch his breath, feeling self conscious immediately at his rambling.
"It was a health concern." Hiraeth spoke up before Eric could start again.
The youth nodded in response, "Yea... she got really sick, and the doctor said it would be either her or the baby." Eric shook his head, "I think that's probably when things really started to go bad."
"Go bad?" Hiraeth asked calmly, stretching his neck out, moving his face closer to Eric without his body changing position, "In what way?"
"My parents split up a few years ago." Eric said, pausing after the words escaped his mouth. It had been a long time since he had ever gotten that far in any conversation about his parents, "They're divorced now." he added quickly. Any and all conversations about his family were usually put to rest with the 'divorce' word-- it's one he had come to rely on to avoid family discussions. Apparently Hiraeth didn't get the memo regarding the 'd' word, and the conversation didn't die.
"Why?"
"Are you some kind of god damn three year old?" Eric demanded, feeling his face flush red in frustration, "You have to ask 'why' after every fucking thing!" he stood up, letting the chair fall back from under him and slide across the kitchen floor.
"I ask why because I am interested." Hiraeth responded calmly. That calmness angered Eric even more. It was a diplomatic answer, and it disgusted him. He wasn't THAT interesting. The consideration, however, forced some of his anger bleed out and the pressure started to release, like a tea kettle taken off of the burner.
"Well stop it... I feel like I'm under a fucking microscope." he offered one last spout of vehemence before righting the chair and pushing it in. He left his dish on the table and walked out of the kitchen, "I'm going back to my room." he noted dismissively.
"You would like to be alone right now." Hiraeth commented.
"Damn right."
The little dragon bobbed its head up and down, "Very well. I will remain down on this level and use the television in the living room. Is that acceptable?" The dragon's request for permission seemed almost submissive. The comment sounded so out of nature for Hiraeth that Eric's confused response was fundamentally basic.
"Huh?"
The little dragon hopped across the kitchen to the counter next to Eric and looked up at him, perched on its hind legs as it spoke, "I will stay in the living room because you look like you want some time alone." Hiraeth offered, "You are frustrated, and will feel inclined to say hurtful things and be generally antisocial if not given time to yourself."
Eric took a moment to study Hiraeth. The little dragon's steady gaze was as unflinching as always, save for a blink of his translucent eyelids. Something about it seemed reserved... almost plaintive. Eric didn't know why, but that concerned him. The two stared at one another for several long moments before Eric spoke, after taking a deep breath, "Yea... I think that's probably a good idea."
Without another word, Hiraeth nodded, and leaped from the counter. Eric gasped as the little dragon's wings snapped open, and the maneuver became more than a short, agile jump. Two flaps brought the small dragon all the way across the kitchen, where he impacted against the wall without a sound and, in a split second, had changed direction and launched himself into the air again, having successfully turned the corner into the living room.
Eric stood stunned at that, having just had his first experience of watching a dragon in flight. Although he wasn't the traditional fantasy story fan, he did occasionally read stories about magic and the supernatural, and he had always thought dragons to be large, lumbering fliers. The incredible grace and nimbleness shown by Hiraeth made him change him impression.
Eric stood in the kitchen for several moments before collecting his thoughts. The little dragon had a strange knack for keeping him off balance, both emotionally and intellectually. Any other person would have been written off long ago, and avoided with as much prejudice as possible. He couldn't think of the last time anyone had caused him so much frustration without being blacklisted.
The youth grit his teeth, more out of habit than true frustration. That was another thing that bothered him... it was like he had to keep working at being angry with Hiraeth. The dragon had probed into his personal life, had continued to push when he gave all the signs that he wanted Hiraeth to back off, and repeatedly criticized him. Anyone else would have been booted out the metaphorical door. Why was Hiraeth any different.
"Duh... he's a dragon, you moron." Eric answered himself, heading to the stairs. His first inclination was to go back and ask Hiraeth about the flying-- the dragon had mentioned that he could fly, so it shouldn't have surprised Eric that much. The young man realized, however, that the maneuver could very well have been a passive aggressive way to get Eric to hang out and talk more, and Eric hated passive aggressive. No... Eric wasn't going to fall for that; he'd dealt with it enough with his mom.
He usually tromped up the steps to accentuate his mood, somehow equating the loud, booming sound of his footsteps to a suitable expression of displeasure. Somehow, at that moment, they just didn't feel right, and he ascended the staircase with barely a sound. Rounding the corner to the hallway, Eric walked to his room, mind racing a mile a minute as jumbled thoughts collided, disappeared, reappeared, and multiplied.
Moving to his bed, he shoved the crumpled blanket to one side, providing him more room to sit. He grabbed for his controller, and turned on his game console. Hiraeth had been right about video games... he found them to be a great way to quiet his mind and help him think. He really needed to think... and blow stuff up. It wasn't long before he was in a familiar situation.
The MIG was on his tail and the missile lock warning was going off. His vision was flashing, and he knew he'd have to do something, or it would end right there. Pressing forward on the stick, Eric hit the afterburner control. He had executed the stunt plenty of times and he knew it wouldn't help... not alone, anyway. The greenery far below filled his vision, with little black tinges around the edge of his sight showing that the descent was too fast... that it would mean a blackout and, shortly thereafter, one very sudden stop when his F-16 met up with the earth.
He pulled back sharply on the stick, quickly using his thumb to press down on the arrow pad while he mashed the R1 button with his index finger. The enemy missile sped by him, exploding harmlessly to the side as it connected with his flare. Hands shaking, barely able to continue holding onto the controls, Eric quickly punched several buttons in rapid succession, realigning his aircraft as the MIG rocketed past him.
It didn't take long for him to line up behind it. The missile lock counted down with progressively faster beeps until it was one solid sound and his missile lock targeting reticle turned green. He confirmed his shot, launching two missiles which streaked unerring to their destination, destroying the MIG in a single volley.
"WOO!" he exclaimed with a shout, tossing the controller onto the bed beside him, falling back to the mattress, breathing heavily as he stared at the ceiling. He had done it; he had finally beat the mission he had begun to think was unbeatable. F-16: Gulf Attack wasn't impossible after all! He laughed, hugging himself in glee at the accomplishment. "R1 and down..." he blathered, practically giggling at its simplicity.
Once he finally began to calm, Eric gazed to the side at the DVD case resting on the nightstand next to his bed. The colorful cover of game case had the game's name stenciled army-style across it in bright white lettering with a picture of a jet fighter emerging from a huge fireball. That picture was the selling point for him when he had been looking at it in the stores. Reaching over to his nightstand, Eric opened the case. Sitting up, he removed the manual from inside the case and began to read it for the first time.
* * * * * *
Nearly an hour had passed since Eric went up the stairs to his room. He had beaten the mission that had caused him so much frustration, he had read the manual for the game cover to cover, and he had finally calmed down. In that time, he had also had more than one revelation, not the least of which being that there were good reason to read instructions. He had accomplished a lot in an hour, but there was still at least one more thing he wanted to get done.
Hiraeth was in the living room, perched on one of the arm rests of the sofa. He was watching one of the many teen dramas that aired during the prime time Sunday line up, tail trailing down to one of the cushions where the remote sat. The dragon didn't spend very much time with any one show, using the tip of his tail to change the channel every few minutes.
what really surprised Eric was that Hiraeth seemed to take more of an interest in the commercials than the shows. Before he realized it, Eric had spent almost a half hour watching the dragon watch television. Deciding it was time to speak up, Eric cleared his throat. Hiraeth turned to regard him, ear sails raising. With a single motion from his tail, the dragon had the television off, and gave Eric his full attention.
"Listen..." Eric said, wringing his hands together. The words were going to be uncomfortable, he knew, but the youth realized they were important, "I'm.... well..." he rubbed the back of his head, looking away from the dragon, "I'm not very good at this stuff..."
Hiraeth continued to watch him, thankfully (for once), not saying anything. The dragon waited patiently as Eric took a moment to fidget, ending up with leaning one palm against the wall, the other on his hip as he looked down at his feet. The dragon continued to say nothing.
Eric cleared his throat again, "I'm sorry... I guess."
"May I ask why?" Hiraeth inquired simply. Something about the dragon's tone, and the addition of 'may I ask' made the question much less agitating than the simple one word 'why'. Eric snickered at that, somehow feeling better because of it.
"Because... well..." the longer he thought of it, the stranger it seemed for him to be apologizing. It felt like the right thing to do, but why was he doing it. "I... don't know." it seemed like an odd answer, but it was an honest one. Honesty was something Eric appreciated, and he always tried to be honest, but it felt like raw honesty, especially because he almost never admitted to not knowing even when he didn't, "It... it just feels like I should."
The dragon took the opportunity to snicker. Strangely, Eric wasn't angered by the reaction; he surprised himself. He was, however, curious, "What's so funny?"
"You were worried that I was upset with how you were acting." Hiraeth ventured. That accusation finally hit a nerve, and Eric felt the twinge of indignation acutely.
"If you--" Eric stopped himself from making a snide comeback. The teen did not want Hiraeth to feel bad. He had walked out of the kitchen on relatively harsh terms, and the dragon, looking more like a whipped dog than Eric had seen before, relocated to the livin groom so that Eric could have some time alone. Eric did worry that he hurt Hiraeth's feelings.
"Empathy." Hiraeth noted, "You were worried about how someone else was feeling because you could identify with the emotion... and perhaps feel it too."
"Yea..." Eric said, straightening up, "And I'm sorry." he added, with more conviction, "I know you weren't trying to make me angry and... well... right-- I'm sorry."
"You do not talk about your family often, do you, Eric?" Hiraeth asked calmly.
"No."
"It bothers you to talk about it?"
"Yea... pretty much." Eric nodded.
"May I ask a favor of you, then. so I will not inadvertently upset you, and you will be able to minimize your apologies?" the dragon's muzzle pulled back, revealing a pointy-toothed grin.
"You'd like me to let you know if I'd rather not talk about something, right?" Eric ventured.
"Yes." Hiraeth nodded, the smile slowly fading, "And I would like to apologize to you as well, Eric."
Eric was taken aback. Had he not been as surprised, moments later he realized he would have definitely repeated the same 'may I ask why?' comment that Hiraeth used, but it was too late by the time his brain caught up to the conversation, "Uh... okay." he chided himself for sounding like a Forest Gump impersonator.
"I realized after the fact that you made many attempts to change the conversation or to put an end to it. My curiosity had taken control, and I did not realize the warning signs that you were uncomfortable and hesitant. I acted poorly, and I apologize." the dragon bowed his head, neck arching forward slightly as his wings half-spread. The action looked amazingly like a bow, and the action charmed Eric immediately.
"Um..." Eric berated himself for feeling a deep blush form on his cheeks. He'd never been bowed to before, "Sure." he managed to stifle a decidedly girly giggle. There was something about Hiraeth that seemed regal and refined, despite the simplistic and archaic way at which the dragon viewed the world. Hiraeth seemed to lack the pragmatic viewpoint of what Eric would consider the 'modern era'... and he found it refreshing.
"May I return with you to your room, or would you like more time alone, Eric?" Hiraeth asked graciously.
"Nah... it's okay. I have a few things to take care of before bed anyway. It's Sunday night, which means school tomorrow."
"Yes. Of course." Hiraeth acknowledged, hopping from one arm of the sofa to the other and, with barely a moment's hesitation, bounded from the couch to Eric's shoulder, "I am certain you will enjoy returning to a scheduled regimen. You have had to deal with many new developments in your life... like a dragon."
Eric laughed at the comment. He didn't really consider Hiraeth one for making fun of himself, but it came across well, "Yea... but new developments aren't always bad." he surprised himself with the comment, but smiled after he considered the implication. For all of Hiraeth's faults, Eric had to admit that he liked the little dragon.
"I think I will enjoy going to school with you tomorrow." the comment froze Eric in his tracks.
"Uh... what?"