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Dragon Ranch: Epilogue

Fifteen minutes later, Emily swung the screen door open with a groan and walked into the ranch house. Finally inside, she breathed a sigh of relief and leaned against the doorpost for a moment. Her frizzy, burnt orange hair was a mess. Tiny beads of sweat dotted her forehead. Dust and dirt marred her cheeks. She took out a handkerchief and wiped her brow.

"Hey, Jake... come here." she called out to the house, not wanting to walk around with her dirty boots inside.

Emily's stern-looking dragon trainer appeared from the threshold of the family room with a somber look on his face. "....Hey, Em," he spoke quietly. His tone of voice was unemotional and cold.

"So..." she bit her upper lip. "How is he?"

"Alive. Breathing. Conscious." He shrugged.

"Are we going to need to call an ambulance?"

"Maybe.... The good thing is he's not coughing up blood or anything...." Jake trailed off.

Emily waited for him to continue.

Jake looked at the ground for a moment and sighed before meeting Kyle's cousin's eyes again.

"The hit dislocated his shoulder."

Emily nodded, trying hard to keep a calm expression upon hearing the news. "Is it serious?"

"No." He shook his head. "It popped back into place real easily."

"Good."

"But he hit the back of his head real hard, too." Jake continued. "The force of the tail took him off his feet and he got thrown backwards head-first right into the side of the truck. Doesn't even remember what happened." Jake frowned.

"So, he got a--"

"Concussion." Jake finished the sentence for her, nodding solemnly.

"Christ..." Emily ran her hand through her hair and looked off to the ceiling for a moment.

"But hey... it could have been worse." Jake stuck his hands in his pockets and looked at the ground, unwilling to be more specific.

There was a quiet pause as both handlers took in the seriousness of the situation.

"Is Mitka doing fine?" Jake asked abruptly.

Emily flinched and nodded. "Mitka's down. The tranquilizers worked fine. He's in the truck, sleeping soundly. We managed to pop the two broken dividers back into place as well."

"What about those loose Yellowtails?"

"We found Kobal hiding in the pond. Poor guy's whole body was quivering in fear, stirring up the water. As for Nixi...." She frowned.

Jake peered at her, feeling uncertain about her hesitation. "What?"

"We're still looking. To be honest, I think she's hiding because she's hurt. We found blood in the trailer."

Jake raised a worried eyebrow. "How much?"

"Enough to make me worry...."

Abruptly, Emily sighed and dropped her head to her chest. She said nothing for a moment. The rancher was deep in thought. The worried, stressful look on her face was impossible for Jake to miss.

"Em?"

Emily shut her eyes tight and turned away. "I can't believe I let this all happen, Jake.... Mitka went out of control, my cousin nearly got killed, Paul's trailer is damaged, one of my dragons are loose and hurt. All on my ranch. I should have been in control of the situation..... I should have... I've just..." she cut herself off and was unable to finish the sentence. Giving herself a moment, the ranch owner took a deep breath and let it out in a long sigh.

"I was scared," she reluctantly admitted. "Watching what happened brought back too many bad memories..."

Jake gave the upset ranch owner an apologetic rub on the arm and a warm smile. "Ah, it'll all be fine, Em. Just don't beat yourself up over it too much. I know you're a tough girl."

"It's just that... Ah, well..." Emily managed to collect herself and stood up straight, letting out a large sigh. "Anyway, Paul's getting anxious." She folded her arms across her chest, putting her serious expression back on. "The sun's already down. He says he needed to get on the road about a half hour ago. We need to find her before it gets too dark, so I gotta get going." She turned and headed for the door, before pausing. "You stay here and keep an eye on Kyle, got it?"

Jake nodded, and watched as Emily flew out the door. He went to the screen door and watched disappear in the dusky night air. After a few seconds, a flashlight turned on, and he watched the beam of light bounce along the ground before she moved out of sight. Taking a moment to reflect on the situation, he eventually removed himself and returned to the family room.

There on the couch, was Kyle. The injured ranch-hand was lying down with one icepack on his shoulder, and another on the back of his head. His shirt had been taken off. There was a series of very large and evenly-spaced bruises along his shoulder and chest, each one the marking spot for one of the dulled spikes on Mitka's tail. Normally, the fist-wide spikes grew out to more than a foot, but Mitka's had been cut down to knobs long ago. Most domesticated Spiketail Slivers had their tail spikes dulled as a common safety precaution, and Jake thought Kyle to be very lucky that Mitka was properly cared for on the ranch. That had probably saved his life.

Kyle slowly opened his eyes as Jake re-entered the room.

"I heard you guys say something about an ambulance," he muttered slowly, before pausing and taking a breath. "Don't you dare call 911. I don't have insurance and shit would cost me a fortune. I'd rather be hit by two tails." He laughed, then immediately groaned in pain from the heaving of his bruised ribs.

Jake chuckled. "Humor is good. Still, I gotta keep watch for now. Make sure you don't fall asleep or suddenly pass out. There's a chance you could slip into a coma from the concussion."

"Really? Holy crap...." Kyle closed his eyes, taking in the information silently. His head was on fire. It throbbed and ached. He felt like he was drunk... his eyes had trouble focusing. His mind was fuzzy. His shoulder ached horribly, and it hurt to move his chest. Kyle took a deep, painful breath and sighed.

"I know how nasty concussions can be. Well, not personally, but... I've seen them before."

"What, when you used to work in a vet hospital something?" Kyle asked with a suspicious look.

"Err, no. This was way back before I started dating Rach and she dragged me to this ranch!" He said with a chuckle. "Nah, I played football way back when... you know, college. Saw it happen to a few guys."

"Ah. Never knew you played football." Kyle paused and took a deep breath. "I got a killer headache right now." He groaned. "My chest hurts really bad, too. You sure I didn't break anything?"

Jake shrugged. "I dunno for sure, man. Felt and pressed all along your ribs and shoulder without you screaming in pain, so that counts for something. Your ribs have got to be bruised at least, but I don't think they're actually broken. I'm mainly worried about the huge bruise over the acrominal end of your right clavicle." he pointed to Kyle's shoulder. "Its a good place for a ligament separation."

Everyone considered Jake the unofficial medic on the ranch, though it was more a term of endearment than anything. He knew basic first aid and how to treat common dragon injuries and ailments, but Jake was humble enough to readily admit he was no substitute for a real practitioner, and had already reminded Kyle of such several times.

...But at least, it seemed to Kyle that the man knew what he was talking about with his injuries. He didn't even know what his clavicle was, let alone which end was which. "So... yay or nay to a hospital trip?" he asked.

"I don't think it's urgent, but you know I'd say yes just to be on the safe side. I understand what ER visits cost though, and won't blame you if you decide not to go."

Kyle nodded and put his head back down on the ice pack, letting out an aching sigh. "I think we'll play it by ear."

Jake nodded.

"So, did you see what happened?"

Jake shrugged. "Only sorta. I saw Mitka whip his tail around. It caught you in the shoulder mostly. I saw you crumple to the ground after being slammed against the truck. We tried to corral Mitka away as fast as possible before he stepped on you." He shook his head. "....You were completely out of it, man. You tried to stand up, but you fell back down again as soon as you managed to get back on your feet. I grabbed your hand to pull you back up, but when I lifted your arm, you immediately cried out in pain."

He couldn't remember most of it, but Kyle winced just from hearing the description. Perhaps it was a good thing, he thought, considering the pain involved.

"Yours wasn't the first dislocation I've had to reset, thankfully. I was able to pop your shoulder back into place while you were on the ground. Good thing is that it went in so easily it might not have even been a full dislocation." He paused. "Man, Emily was totally freaking out, though.... you should have seen her. Anyway, Ethan got the ATV and we hoisted you up in the back and moved you here. That's about it." Jake frowned.

The ATV ride was the first clear memory he had that happened after the hit. He could somewhat remember the popping sensation of his arm being set back into place. He vaguely remembered Emily being hysterical and yelling at everyone. Kyle closed his eyes, trying to recall anything else.

Suddenly, he sat up, but then quickly winced in pain from his shoulder. "Ow! Shit. Gah... I just remembered... what about Nixi?"

Jake shrugged. "I don't know, man. I've been here with you the entire time. You heard what Em said. I wouldn't worry, though. The ranch is completely fenced off and she still was wearing a wing band so she couldn't have flown away... There's only so many places she could hide. We'll find her eventually."

"Right..." Kyle frowned. There went what little hope he had of Nixi somehow escaping her fate of being transferred to Paul's ranch. He had to admit it was a bit of a selfish thought, anyway.

With a loud sigh, Kyle slowly laid back down. "I'm just worried about her." he mumbled, closing his eyes once again. "I'm also really tired."

Jake leaned against the entranceway of the living room and folded his arms over his chest. "Well, you can't go to sleep just yet. We're probably gonna keep you here for a while just to be sure you're okay, and then we'll get someone to drive you home where you can get all the rest you need. "

"Drive me home?" Kyle asked.

"Don't need you behind the wheel with a concussion." Jake nodded. "And once you get home, rest. You're gonna need to take a few days at the very least, man. And don't hesitate to consider the hospital if any of your symptoms get worse." He paused. "You know, that joint's gonna be real sore for a few months."

Kyle looked up in surprise. "Months?!"

Jake nodded grimly. "Yeah, man. Just think of how many ligaments in there you stretched or tore. Maybe it'll be less if you're lucky. Just try to use your arm as little as possible for the time being. Heck, get a sling if you have to. No heavy lifting or sudden movements and you should be fine in the short-term. And later, once it stops hurting, you'll need to go through some strength training exercises, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

Kyle winced in pain as he adjusted his laying position. He stayed silent for a moment as he processed the severity of his injuries.

"Well..." he finally spoke. "Damn, that tail really screwed me up, didn't it?" he muttered.

"I think you'll be fine, though." Jake responded with an encouraging smile. "Just take things easy for a while."

Kyle nodded. The ranch-hand was in too much discomfort and his mind was too muddled to complain much. He was worried about Nixi, worried about Emily getting upset, and worried about his shoulder.... But with all the pain and exhaustion overcoming him, Kyle found it hard to feel too much of anything else at the moment.

.....

One quiet drive later, Kyle began favoring his shoulder as he climbed out of the passenger side of his own truck. He felt much better. That was not to say he wasn't still in a lot of pain, though. But his head was clearer, it didn't hurt to breathe as much, and his shoulder didn't hurt too much if he didn't move it. That was something, at least.

Kyle found himself in the parking lot of the apartment complex he called home. Already, his hand had instinctively reached for the room keys in his pocket, forgetting they were on the same key ring as the car keys that he currently didn't have. It was late. Everything was dark and covered in a pale orange glow from the streetlights overhead. The wind was just a tad chilly. Kyle closed the door quietly as Emily climbed out of the driver's seat. She shut the door with a slam and tossed Kyle his keys with an apologetic smile. Kyle bobbled the keys before securing them with his good hand.

"'Kay now, Rach is gonna drive me back in her car. You sure you'll be alright?" She put on a worried look.

"Emmie, I'm fine..." Kyle forced a smile. "Just tired and aching. You know..."

She nodded, refusing to drop her concerned expression. "Yeah.... Hey, did you call Aunt Lucy and tell her what happened?" she asked, referring to Kyle's mother.

"Already did before we left. She was hysterical, of course." He rolled his eyes. "I told her you had everything under control, though. I think Mom's ready to jump on a flight to come coddle and baby me at a moment's notice, but hopefully Dad'll hold her back if I'm lucky." He laughed.

Emily didn't share in the joke. She just stood there, looking at him and still wearing that same expression. That look bothered Kyle; it told him she was still really upset. He knew his cousin would blame herself for what happened. She would blame herself and let the regret eat away at her insides. He could read it on her face, in the way she immediately had trouble meeting his eyes.

"Actually, Emmie, I'm worried about you." Kyle abruptly started. "I know the night's been crazy, but it was all a big accident, that's all. It wasn't your fault."

Emily looked down at the ground and hugged her own shoulder, saying nothing.

Kyle continued. "No one can be in total control of an animal at all times, especially when they get scared or angry. That's got nothing to do with how careful you were being or how well-trained Mitka is.... You did all the right things."

He paused again. Emily did nothing but continue to stand there in silence. He felt the situation was starting to feel awkward.

"You know...." he began to fish for something to say. "I guess you were right all along... all those lectures on safety and the talks about how dragons are dangerous, unpredictable creatures no matter how well trained they are!" He tried to get her to laugh. "Remember when-"

"Kyle, I don't need this. Please."

His forced smile immediately dropped. "Emmie..."

Emily sighed and finally looked up to meet his gaze with a harsh gaze. "There's a reason I harp on safety so much, Kyle," she barked at him, coldly. She looked down again. "...I was afraid this would have been the second time, and I just couldn't..." She looked away, unable to finish her sentence.

The words hit him like a punch in the gut. Of course... Uncle Carl, Emily's father. The accident had been so long ago that he had nearly forgot.

Kyle touched his cousin on the arm. "Em, this was nothing like what happened with your dad! And it's not like you could have done anything to prevent that, either! Just because-"

Kyle immediately shut his mouth, instantly regretting the last few words that came out of it. It was a bad time to stir up those memories.

"Kyle. I..." Her face started to contort as her emotions began to get the better of her.

Seeing her start to tear at the seams, Kyle approached her. "Ah! Hey, hey.... I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Come here." He quickly wrapped up Emily in a one-armed hug. "The important thing is that I'm fine.... we're all okay."

Kyle felt her return the hug as his cousin buried her face on the collar of his shirt and cluched him tight. And several seconds into the hug, Kyle heard his cousin let out a single sob. He rocked slowly with her, saying nothing as the two embraced, encouraging Emily to let all her pent-up emotions out on his shoulder. For a while, the only sound heard in the parking lot was that of crickets singing in the night air.

Kyle listened to them chirp and croon as he swayed, holding his cousin tight.

"I needed that." Emily finally spoke, before pulling away and letting out a sudden chuckle. She wiped a tear from her freckled face with her handkerchief and folded it back in her pocket. "Sometimes you just gotta let the stress out..." she muttered, and Kyle smiled.

Emily turned away and abruptly switched tangents, eager to tear her mind away from her emotions. "Don't worry about coming in tomorrow. Heck, don't worry about coming in for a while. Just call when you're feeling better. I'm sure we can still put you to use without your shoulder. And in the mean time, if you need anything like first aid stuff or even a trip to the clinic, I'll cover the bill for ya."

Kyle nodded, knowing that was probably as much of a heart-to-heart he was going to get out of her. "Thanks, Emmie."

"Anyway, I got to get going. Rachel's waiting to take me back home." she motioned to the still-running red sedan parked one spot over from Kyle's truck. Emily quickly turned and opened the passenger door to the car.

"Hey Emily..."

She paused and looked back.

"I was serious about what I said with it not being your fault. No one is going to blame you for what happened tonight. Not me, not Paul.... not even Uncle Carl."

Emily shook her head. "Yeah... I know. But it's my ranch, my dragons, my responsibility...." She looked back at him solemnly.

"... and I'll still blame myself."

The car door slammed shut, and Kyle watched as the red sedan backed out of the parking lot and hit the road.

He was alone.

Kyle sighed and leaned against his truck, lost in his thoughts. It had been one heck of a night. His shoulder hurt. His head throbbed. He had huge, purple bruises on his chest. Mitka had to be shot with tranquilizers. Paul and his son Silas had broken gates in their trailer. Relia and Nixi were leaving for his breeding facility. Relia was being bred and coming back... but Paul had purchased Nixi off of Emily to increase his stock on the ranch, and probably for more money than Kyle wanted to know. Dragons were expensive, exotic animals. He didn't even know if they had found Nixi by the time he left....

It probably didn't matter anymore. The ranch was several acres big, but there were only so many places to hide. Paul had to have been on the road by now. Kyle took comfort in knowing he had at least gotten to say goodbye.

With a grunt, Kyle pushed himself away from his truck and made for his apartment, ready to be done with the night.

But just as soon as he started, an odd sound caused him to stop in his tracks. It was an strange shuffling sound. He turned around. ... It sounded like something scraping against the bed of his truck trailer.

"Wait a second...." he muttered. Kyle's hair stood on it's end. All of the sudden he had a wild and crazy idea... Too crazy to even admit to himself. "No way...."

It was too ridiculous. Too improbable. But Kyle walked back to his truck anyway and put a hand on the lip of the tarp-covered trailer. He knew had heard a sound. Tentatively, and with a twinge of hesitation, he whispered a word, feeling embarrassed to say it too loudly:

... "Nixi?"

Silence.

"Nixi, you better not be in there..." he hissed.

All of the sudden, the tarp stretched over the top of his tuck trailer bulged upward, and Kyle's mouth dropped open. A blue and green dragon snout, still wearing a protective muzzle halter, wormed its way out from underneath the edge of the tarp. It's scaled jaws opened and let out a familiar sounding yowl.

She had been hiding there all this time.

Kyle's fingers flew like lightning as he fumbled with the tarp. He practically ripped it off his truck in haste. Underneath, amid extra pairs of work gloves and miscellaneous tools was a frightened and scared Yellowtail Garl.

"Nixi!" Kyle's eyes lit up in shock and surprise.

The dragon looked up at him with an wide-eyed expression of joy and trilled exuberantly, immediately jumping into Kyle's arms.

"Nix-Ahhh!"

Kyle screamed in pain as he tried to hold her weight up with his recently dislocated shoulder. He staggered backwards with the dragon in his arms and fell against the car parked next to him, setting off the alarm. The loud sounds scared the Yellowtail and she squirmed and flailed in Kyle's already weak grip.

"Ooph!"

In her fright, the Yellowtail accidentally kicked Kyle in the stomach, causing him to fall to the ground in pain. Both man and dragon were brought down to rough asphalt in a messy tangle of wings and limbs. The pair struggled for a moment to right themselves.

Kyle breathed heavily as he picked himself up, completely in shock at finding her stowed away under his tarp all along.

Nixi... After being scared by Mitka's rampage and escaping from the trailer, she had picked his truck to hide in, of all spots. No wonder nobody could find her. He knew Nixi loved to go on rides, and Kyle had taken her for one just earlier that day.... She even knew what his truck looked and smelled like. Maybe she thought it was safe there. Maybe she had hoped to wait for Kyle all along. Who knows.

What mattered was that the dragon was now found, and more importantly, safe.

Kyle dusted the grit and asphalt off his jeans. He quickly grabbed hold of Nixi by the neck before she got out of his reach.

"Come on, girl," he yelled through the screaming car alarm, and grabbed hold of her halter. Kyle jogged for the apartment complex at the end of the parking lot. Timidly, the Yellowtail followed on his heels. The duo weaved through the parked cars and made their way under the sickly orange glow of the streetlights. When he had reached the steps leading to the doors of his apartment complex, Kyle turned and stopped. He looked down at the dragon in tow and immediately collapsed on the steps, suddenly overwhelmed with current turn of events.

"Oh, brother..." he moaned, pulling the dragon towards him and unclipping the wing band from her wings to allow the dragon to stretch. "What am I going to do with you, girl? When the heck did you manage to climb into my truck trailer, anyway? You should be with Paul by now!" He idly patted the Yellowtail's neck, shaking his head in disbelief.

Nixi stayed close to him, feeling unsure of her dark and alien surroundings. There was too much concrete, too much asphalt, and everything was covered in artificial light. She didn't like any of it. Still frightened from the horns and sirens of the car alarm, the Yellowtail looked to Kyle for reassurance.

And that was when ranch-hand noticed the blood.

"Oh shoot..." Kyle frowned, instantly leaning down to get a better look, but he couldn't really see too well in the oarnge light of the parking lot. "You okay, girl?" he muttered.

The dragon looked back at him with a worried expression. Nixi had trails of dried blood seeped in between the cracks of the splotchy green scales on her left foreleg and shoulder. There were a couple spots where the skin had been raggedly torn open, revealing a dark red underneath. None of the wounds looked particularly deep, though, which Kyle thought was a good sign. She must have gotten hurt somehow in the scuffle when Mitka threw himself against the bars of her gate and took the entire thing off its hinges. Underneath her coat of scales, the dragon probably had a bit of bruising as well. No doubt she ached and hurt just like Kyle. He drew his hand close, but stopped short of touching the wounds, feeling unwilling to cause the dragon any pain.

"Oh man..." Kyle ran a hand through his hair as he mulled his options. Nixi should be with Paul now, who had left the ranch long ago. Paul's breeding facility was a whole state-and-a-half away... And since Paul was going to be busy overseeing the breeding of over 300 Yellowtails from ranches all over for their endangered species breeding program, Kyle figured it wasn't like he would be in a position to drive back any time soon.

Neither could Kyle drive Nixi back to the ranch himself. He was tired, had recently received a concussion, and was certainly not in good shape either physically nor mentally to get back on the road. Getting behind the wheel could be like driving drunk.

He looked back at the Yellowtail once more, ignoring a nagging, ridiculous thought in the back of his mind.... Reluctantly, he pulled out his phone, knowing the right thing to do was to let Emily know. The only problem was that after explaining things to her, Kyle felt like he'd be hard pressed to convince her that he didn't try to stow the dragon away somehow...

After a few rings, he heard his cousin pick up.

"Yeah, Kyle? Something wrong?" she asked.

"I... uh...." suddenly, his words caught in his throat. "Um, Emmie? I was just... wondering about Nixi," he tentatively spoke.

"Oh! Well, we never found her. Paul had to get on the road, so he just left without her. I felt really bad for making him wait so long, but he said it wasn't a big deal.... he'd find another Yellowtail from one of the hundreds that he's gonna be having at his breeding facility during the next week or so. I paid him back the money from her purchase and that was that. Nixi is still ours, if we can find her."

Kyle was pretty sure he had never wore a bigger grin in his life. Hearing this new information opened up a whole world of new possibilities of what to do. Kyle finally let himself think about that nagging thought cooped up in the back of his mind...

"I know you took a liking to that dragon, so I bet you're happy to hear that, right?" Emily asked.

Kyle snapped out of his wandering thoughts. "Hm? Oh, yeah... sounds cool," he muttered in distraction.

"I'm starting to think she might have broken her wing band and flown off somewhere, though. We might not be able to find her for days if that's the case...."

...No, It was a horrible, horrible idea, Kyle thought. Heck, it wasn't even legal for a number of reasons. Nixi was a potentially dangerous, exotic animal, not a domesticated pet....

"So are you going to keep the search up tomorrow?" Kyle asked.

"Mm, probably not. Nixi's a smart little girl. She knows her home is here, and our ranch is isolated enough for me to not have to worry about her showing up in town or something. She'll come back when she gets hungry, I'm sure. I'll give her a day or so to show up before I start getting worried."

...Kyle knew his landlord would absolutely freak if he found out. Not to mention all sorts of trouble Nixi could get in to around here. She was horribly energetic and inquisitive for a dragon. Bad traits for a tiny apartment...

"Anyway, I know you're worried about her, so I'll let you know if something comes up."

....and yet Kyle couldn't get the idea out of his mind....

"Okay, thanks, Emmie...." Kyle paused. His heart was jumping in his chest as he pondered what to say next. "Well, Em..."

"Yeah, what?"

... and suddenly, before he even knew why, Kyle made his decision.

"....Um, goodnight."

"You too. Hope you feel better tomorrow."

Kyle hung up. He had made up his mind.

He was going to keep the dragon at his place.

Kyle looked to the Yellowtail at his side with a wide grin. "Well, Nix... I think you're gonna crash at my place for now. Come on, girl... let's get you inside."

Hooking two fingers under her muzzle guard again, Kyle guided an uncertain Nixi up the flights of stairs. He lived on the third floor, and was desperately wishing no one would be up at this hour. Kyle reached his apartment, thankful for finding no one in the hallway. Fumbling for his keys with his bad arm, he pulled them out and unlocked his door.

"Home, sweet home, Nixi," he whispered, removing her muzzle harness and ushering the dragon inside.

Nixi took a look around. Black claws clicked on faux wood flooring as the Yellowtail stepped forward. There was a small kitchen that opened up into a dining room with a tiny table set for one. A stale pizza box was shoved into the trash can despite being too big to fit. Dividing the apartment in half was a cramped living room with carpet, a TV, and a cheap sofa. Down a hallway was a bathroom and small bedroom. A dirty bike was propped up against the closet by the door. A large sliding door on the far side of the living room opened to a small, bare balcony. There were so many strange and unfamiliar things for the dragon....

Kyle let the Yellowtail explore and sniff around for a while, keeping a cautious eye on her, unable to hold back a yawn. He was exhausted, and hoped the dragon was just as tired and could be coaxed to sleep as well. He briefly sneaked away to change out of his work clothes, but the the Yellowtail followed and began to explore his bedroom. He leaned against the hallway to brush his teeth as he watched the Yellowtail look around. Nixi tipped over an empty soda can on his computer desk, enticed by the sweet scent of sugar. She nosed around and pawed at the dirty clothes on the floor, finding everything in his room fascinating. Kyle chuckled at her inquisitive nature.

Everything in the room smelled like Kyle to the dragon, especially the bed. The dragon jumped up on it, finding the object he slept on to be soft and springy, much to her delight.

"Hey!" Kyle objected. "Get down from there, Nix." Kyle guided the dragon back onto the floor. Her displeased look caused him to chuckle.

Kyle figured the living room gave the dragon the most room to sleep. He did his best to quietly pick up and move his furniture with his one good arm to leave a large, carpeted area for Nixi to lie down on. He then spread a few extra sheets out for her. Nixi watched him with piqued interest.

With a large corner of empty floor prepared for her, Kyle sat Nixi down on the sheets and knelt down on a knee to look her in the eye. "Okay, girl... this is the best I have for a bed for you. I'm sure you're tired too, so I need to get you to sleep and we'll figure out what to do in the morning."

The Yellowtail cocked her head at Kyle, and he scratched her chin affectionately.

"You stay here for the night, okay?" He smiled, and gave the dragon a pat on the neck before turning the lights off and retiring to his room down the hallway.

But no sooner after Kyle had jumped into bed that he heard a scratch on his door.

He frowned.

There was a lonesome warble and another scratch as Kyle got back up and opened the door.

"Nixi, I-"

As soon as the door was open, the Yellowtail wormed her snout between the door and the doorway, opening it wider and forcing herself inside, nearly bowling Kyle over. The dragon made a bee-line for his bed and jumped up on the mattress before turning around to face Kyle.

Kyle sighed. "Come on, girl... get down from there." He tried to nudge the dragon off, but she gave a terse growl and resisted, planting her haunches firmly on the sheets and refusing to budge.

Both human and dragon had a stare-down for a moment as each sized the other up. Kyle wasn't in the mood for this... He was tired, in pain, and he just wanted to sleep.

"Nixi, that's my bed," he spoke. He put his hands on his hips, quite sure that the dragon knew exactly whose bed it was and did not care in the slightest.

The Yellowtail laid down in the center of the bed and stared at him with a rather pleased expression.

"No," he spoke.

Kyle grabbed her horn with his good arm and tried to pull her off, but the dragon growled again and dug her claws into the mattress. He knew the Yellowtail would not like her horns grabbed, and she flailed in his grip, pulling back with all her might, snorting and growling loudly. Kyle had good leverage. But as the dragon began to slide off the bed, taking the sheets with her, Nixi began to huff and suddenly took in a deep breath. Opening her mouth up, the dragon then coughed a tiny plume of fire in the air to try and get him to back off. The puff of fire briefly lit up the dark room for a moment, casting everything in an orange flash.

Kyle swore, having felt the heat of the flame on his arms. She could easily start a fire in here! But as much as the dragon objected and struggled, Kyle succeed in pulling her off, sheets and all, and quickly jumped into bed before she could turn around.

His victory was short gained, however, as Nixi quickly jumped back in with him with a growl, this time accidentally stepping on Kyle's stomach, causing him to flinch and let out an "Oof!" and causing him to painfully tweak his shoulder.

"Nixi!" he complained. "I'm not in the mood for this. Get off!" He pushed her with his good arm, but the Yellowtail only held her ground, staring back at him triumphantly, pleased that she had gotten the better of him. She laid down once more and curled into a ball right in the center of the bed with a huff, forcing Kyle up against the wall with barely any room. The dragon was keen to claim the bed as her spot to sleep.

Kyle let out a sigh, too tired, aching, and grumpy to put up with a power struggle.

"Fine," he mumbled. He shook his head in exasperation, but smiled at her insistence. He adjusted his position, lying down on his good shoulder with his back up against the wall. There he laid his other hand on the Yellowtail's waist, right where her splotchy green topcoat met her banded blue underbelly. He had barely any room between the wall and the dragon, but he could manage for the night.

"You freakin' dragon..." he sighed. "I don't care if you you lie here or not. I just want to sleep...."

The Yellowtail next to him trilled quietly and leaned back into him, letting out a big breath and finally settling down. Her long, blue-finned tail was draped over the edge of the bed and swayed softly, making tiny thumps against the side of the mattress.

Kyle waited a while to make sure the dragon was not going to fuss around any more before finally letting himself relax and close his eyes. And after a while of listening to the silence, Kyle found himself smiling at the current turn of events. In the quiet dark of his room, he felt the dragon's pretense next to him, the weight of her body sinking into his mattress. Her chest slowly expanding with every inhale, the almost silent hush of her breath. She was calm, quiet. And Kyle realized he liked having her here.

And with an invisible flinch, Kyle quickly second-guessed himself. He knew this was still a horrible idea, keeping her in his apartment like this. He had no permit to own an exotic animal. He had no tools or supplies to care for her. He would have to keep it a secret from everyone, especially his landlord. ....But it was just for a little while, he told himself, and then he could drive Nixi back whenever he wanted, as long as he didn't leave Emily getting too worried about her. She could just mysteriously turn up back on the ranch and none would be the wiser. It wasn't the best plan he had, but it could definitely work.

... and in the mean time, Kyle had the dragon all to himself.

The way things had turned out were definitely a far cry from how the the day had meant to be, but Kyle wasn't going to complain. Nixi was safe, was staying on the ranch, and he had no fear of losing her again. That was enough.

Kyle couldn't help but grin a bit as he drifted off to sleep, holding the little dragon in his arms.

Nixi... a dragon in suburbia. A little Yellowtail living in his apartment. He liked that.

THE END

_Post story notes:

~ Why write a clean chapter? Because I'm tired of writing smut. That, and I needed to dedicate a lot of room to wrap up all the plot stuff I had building up. Anyway, It will be interesting to see how many people will read this despite not having any porn in it. I'm expecting a huge drop-off of readers for this one. Not that I mind... I know how porn-centric the fandom is. (you unappreciative bastards. :P)

~This is the end to dragon ranch. Finally. I've had this in the works since forever ago. Want proof? Well...

~Two chapters ago: Driving Miss Nixi. Kyle took her for a truck ride. She jumped in his truck before he even took the tarp off, and played underneath. She knew it belonged to him: she smelled his scent on it. These are all details I put in two chapters ago. So don't nobody say "WTF that hiding-in-the-car thing came out of nowhere." :P_

~Emily has been harping on about safety on the ranch and how dragons are unpredictable and dangerous since I first introduced her, which I believe was in chapter 3. That was all intentional. Well, now you can piece together that Emily's father died in an accident involving an out-of-control dragon many years ago, which is why she's a bit paranoid about those things.

~Man, this thing with Nixi being left behind and Paul leaving without her and instead buying another Yellowtail due to this endangered species breeding program thing... that has been in the plot since at least chapter.... chapter 8, maybe? Since whatever chapter had me talking about breeding Yellowtails for the first time. It was a long-ass time ago, lol.

~The breeders who are named Paul and Silas are taken from the bible. In the book of Acts, those two guys are locked up in prison when their prison doors miraculously flew open and they escape. Does that remind you of what happened with a certain pair of dragons whose gates were miraculously broken, allowing them to escape? Cause if it doesn't I should smack you for not paying attention. :P Also, don't ask me why I pulled a bible story to put into a story about dragon porn. I dunno why.

~My goal in the last chapter was to get someone to cry at the scene where Kyle says goodbye to Nixi. Writing sex is easy. Writing such a deep emotional connection that you get someone to shed tears is hard. I removed all chapter notes to really emphasize the gut-punch of that last cliff-hanger. I thought that having that be the last thing you would read (and not having some notes to distract you and take the focus off) would leave a greater impact.

~It feels good to finally have this story come full-circle and end it. Well... I know what you're thinking and yes, there is wiggle room for more after this chapter. Heck, looking back, there's even wiggle room for "lost chapters" cause I referenced lots of sex scenes I never wrote. So while I consider the story done and probably wont work on it any more, if someone wants to commission me to write more far in the future I have that option. :P But until then, I feel this is a great place to end it and I am glad to finally put these characters on a shelf and say I'm done working with them for now. It's still crazy to think that chapter 1 was the first story I had ever written, which was about a year ago. I've improved and changed my style and learned quite a lot about writing since then, I think. It's been quite a journey.

~I hope all you guys (and girls!) enjoyed my stories!