FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Ryan looked around the garden with his jaw dropped in amazement. He had never seen the like before. The trees towered over him, the flowers and shrubs full and fragrant, all well tended. Paths wound their way throughout he garden, around water features, fountains, making bridges over the little ponds and creeks that flowed through the garden.

"This is just fantastic," Ryan murmured.

Tanner nodded. "Yes, rather. The ones outside of London are not quite this large but are amazing in their own right."

Ryan looked around, feeling a little overwhelmed. "Which path should we follow?"

"Hmm," Tanner said, considering. "Let's take the center. It should lead to the central fountain; most dragon gardens have them. I guess you could say it's a tradition of sorts."

Ryan nodded and they set out along the red bricked path. Islands of flowers rose up on either side and their scent was nearly intoxicating and Ryan was sure he would be quite nearly overwhelmed were he in his dragon form. The wind blew through the branches of the trees and the tall ornamental grasses, making a sweet susurration. The sound of bees busily working, buzzing from flower to flower, set the air to humming with an energy that was quite nearly palpable. It felt as if the pair had entered into another world that neither human nor dragon had touched.

They came to a clearing of sorts, where the path opened into d shaped area. Inside the d was a greenhouse and several dragons were working inside, all in their bipedal forms. Ryan stared at them in interest and one of them looked up, smiled at him, and went back to what he or she was doing. A thought suddenly occurred to Ryan.

"Tanner?"

"Yes?"

"How can you tell male dragons from female?"

"Ah, dragons don't generally wear clothes, Ryan."

"No, I mean from a distance," Ryan said, blushing.

"Oh! Well, it varies from breed to breed. With some the male has horns while the female does not, in others it could be coloration or size. Some you can't really tell."

Ryan considered for a moment. "I am sure they probably smell different."

Tanner laughed. "Couldn't tell you! Walking up to a dragon and asking to sniff it would probably get me splattered."

Ryan nearly growled. "Not if I have anything to say about it."

Tanner looked a him, eyebrows raised in surprise. "Easy, Ryan!"

Ryan ducked his head. "Sorry, Tanner," he said and Tanner patted him on the back. They continued on towards the central fountain, finally reaching it after several minutes of walking. The fountain was a huge affair, as one would expect from dragons, around fifty feet in diameter with a statue of, what else, a dragon in the center spraying water high into the air. The sides of the fountain were sculpted with various images of dragons and mountain scenes. Ryan looked at it in delight. "This is so very wonderful!"

"I agree," Tanner said quietly smiling at him.

They stood in companionable silence for a while when a man walked towards them. "Excuse me, sir, are you Tanner Wilberforce?" the man asked and Tanner nodded. "Cladden requests your presence, sir. He said that Norian left some information for you."

"Oh!" Tanner exclaimed. "I need to go see what it is Ryan; I'm sure Norian is very worried about me."

"But I wish to stay out here!"

Tanner sighed. "I told your parents that I would look after you, Ryan, and stay with you. I cannot just let you stay out here without me."

"But Sulvius says that I am so very safe here!"

"Ryan, I cannot go against your father's wishes."

"I am so very tired of my father's wishes!" Ryan snapped. "He never allows me to do anything!"

"Hey! Easy, Ryan! He's just worried for your safety is all Ryan, there's no need to raise a fuss, the gardens aren't going anywhere. Now come on, lets head back and I we can explore later."

Ryan sighed and followed Tanner back to the house. Tanner turned to Ryan, "You can find your way back to your room?"

"Yes, Tanner," Ryan said sullenly.

"Oh stop that! There's more than enough time, Ryan. You need to be patient, little dragon."

Ryan looked at him, a little startled that Tanner called him little dragon, something his parents would say. "Yes, Tanner."

"All right then, I will see you later," Tanner said, patting Ryan on the shoulder, then turning to follow the other man to Cladden's office.

Ryan, while normally a very well behaved child, was feeling rather put out by his father insisting that he be watched and hinting that he should stay in his human form, even at the safe house, and even felt a little off by Tanner calling him little dragon. Perhaps for those reasons Ryan hesitated before going to the elevator to head back to his rooms. He abruptly turned and went back into the garden. After all, he reasoned, Sulvius said that it was safe here and he trusted Sulvius.

He made his way back into the garden, following the path to the main fountain that he and Tanner had taken before, occasionally stopping to sniff at this flower or that, or look more closely at a tree, even watching a butterfly as it drank the sweet nectar from a flower.

At the main fountain he decided to take one of the side paths to see where it lead. Following it up a slight grade, it twisted and turned and finally came to another, smaller, fountain. The fountain looked like the central fountain in miniature, with small benches surrounding it. One of the benches had a small dragon statue on it and Ryan walked up to it, curious as to why this bench alone and a state on it.

The statue turned to look at him curiously and Ryan yelled and jumped back. The statue blinked. "I am sorry to have startled you," the statue said.

"Th-that's quite all right," Ryan stammered, heart still pounding. "I thought you were a statue!"

"Oh, that," the statue said. It climbed down off the bench and suddenly shifted to a bright blue color. "I can blend in with things. See?" It walked over to the wall of the fountain and suddenly changed colors to mirror the fountain wall, blending in so well that Ryan couldn't tell the dragon was there.

"That is so very amazing!" Ryan said and the tiny dragon smiled. It changed back to a blue color, which Ryan assumed to be it's natural color.

"My name is Pax," he said in a small, but still deep voice, slightly british accented.

"I am Ryan."

"A pleasure to have met you. You are here with your family?"

"Ah, yes," Ryan said, uncertain of what to say. "Are you?"

Pax looked up at him and blinked. "No."

"Oh," Ryan said and looked at Pax. He couldn't be much older than he was, perhaps younger as he was smaller than Ryan in his small form. Perhaps he was here like it was a summer camp, Ryan thought. Pax climbed back onto the bench and looked out at the water.

"I come out here sometimes when it gets to hectic inside. It is so very peaceful to simply watch the water."

"Yeah," Ryan said, though he had no idea how hectic things became inside the house, having not even been there a day. He wondered what kind of small talk to make with a dragon. School was a common subject he supposed. "Where do you go to school?"

Pax looked at him, cocking his head. "Ryan, I doubt the school that I went to even stands any longer."

"Oh," Ryan said. Now what? Any interesting scents? Fly anywhere cool? Maybe Pax liked games. "Do you like video games?"

"I know not, I have never played any."

"Er," Ryan said, a bit stymied. Maybe his parents didn't allow him games. "I am taking computer courses at school. They are not so very good and we do not get much time, but father says I should be grateful to have any time on a computer at all."

Pax considered him for a moment and then sighed deeply. "Ryan, do you know who was president when I was in school?"

"No?" he ventured.

"John Adams, he had just been sworn in in fact."

Ryan started at him. "I thought you were-"

"A young dragon?" Pax said tersely.

"Well, yes, I did not know that your small form was so very--"

"This is not my small form!" Pax said abruptly. Ryan stepped back, looking confused. "You must not be familiar with my breed."

"I am not so very familiar with any breed!"

Pax frowned. "How is that possible?"

"Ah, I need to get back to the house," Ryan said, suddenly nervous that he had given too much away.

Pax cocked his head and his eyes suddenly widened. "Oh! I am so very my prince! I did not know what you looked like. Please forgive me. I understand that you were raised by humans so I cannot fault you for not knowing. My breed is the smallest dragon breed; this is my full sized form."

"Oh!" Ryan said, fascinated. "You will not tell anyone I am the prince?" he asked worriedly "They are not supposed to know yet, I do not think."

Pax shook his head. "I should not tell anyone."

"No, you shouldn't."

Pax smiled. "I mean that I will not. I am sorry, sometimes I fall into the speech of my youth. "

"Ah," Ryan said, feeling a little overwhelmed by all this new information.

Pax smiled. "Well, to answer all your unspoken, this is my small form," he said and shifted. Ryan stared in amazement; he couldn't have been more than a foot from nose to tail! He could have easily perched on Ryan's shoulder! "This is my bipedal form," he said and shifted. He couldn't have stood more than three and a half feet tall! "And of course, my human form." He shifted and a short man, about 50 years old, stood before Ryan, smiling.

"As you can see, only my human form is close to 'normal' size, and even then I am a bit short by normal standards."

Ryan shook his head. "You are so very amazing!"

Pax laughed. "Well, I do not know that anyone else would say so, but thank you very much."

"How did you know who I was?"

"I work for Cladden as a clerk. I knew that he had been talking about the prince being found and reasoned you must be him. Plus he set me at liberty for the next three days, so it stand to reason he is doing something that should not be public knowledge yet." He snorted. "As if he could hide something from me."

Ryan grinned and looked up at the sky, noticing that more time had passed than he was really comfortable with while breaking the rules. "I need to get back to the house before I get into trouble."

Pax cocked his head and shifted to his small form. With a quick flit of his wings he landed on Ryan's shoulder, draping his tail over Ryan's opposite shoulder. "I need to get back as well. Follow that path there, it will lead us out of the garden and we can make our way back without all the twists and turns."

Ryan followed his directions, amazed at how light Pax was on his shoulder. The tiny dragon had one fore claw resting gently against the side of his head, wings slightly open to help maintain balance. Ryan nearly grinned. How awesome was it to have a dragon riding on your shoulder? He wasn't about to say anything to Pax about it; it would probably insult the tiny dragon's pride.

They had only gone a short distance outside the garden when a man stepped out with a mocking smile on his face. He was tall, muscular, short black hair and stern features. Pax stiffened and Ryan felt him move closer to his head. "Do not say anything about me being here!" he hissed softly. Ryan glanced over and saw that Pax and blended in with his hair and clothes.

"So it is true. They have found you, freak," the man said in a low, amused voice.

Tanner read over the email that Norian sent and sighed in relief. "At least they have not gotten wind of Ryan's discovery back home or at least made no major moves. Perhaps those men were working for dragons over here."

Cladden nodded. "Norian seems to think so and I agree, though I would not put out the idea that there could be more than one faction."

"Yes," Kith said, "Always better to keep ones flight plan open in case the unexpected should arise."

Tanner sat back, sighing in relief. "And I know that Per is taking good care of my guinea pig."

Kith laughed. "Guinea pig?"

"Yes," Tanner said a little defensively. "I like them; they make wonderful pets."

"Per!" Cladden laughed. "Is he still acting as if he owns all of Hampton shire?"

Tanner snorted. "Of course! He thinks it's funny."

"I should make a trip home someday. Perhaps after all this fun is over," Cladden mused.

"If this is your idea of fun I'd hate to see what trouble is," Kith said.

Tanner grinned. "So what's next?"

Cladden shrugged. "I am planning to call together some of the more senior members of the council and some others that I trust and come up with a plan to protect the prince and introduce him. We need to figure out what the other side is up to, what their assets are, and a way of bringing them down without disrupting all of dragonkind. I am sure that Ryan can be used as a rallying point if need be."

"I don't know that I'd want to do that to him," Tanner said cautiously. "He really knows little of dragonkind and, as you have seen, he is rather unsure of himself."

"I understand but there may be little choice in the matter."

"Have they done anything visible otherwise?"

"There have be small signs here and there. We know of certain companies that they know who have made hostile bids to take over our own companies or groups friendly to our side. There has been attempts to place their people in some of our organizations, all stopped fortunately. It is all cloak and dagger I'm afraid, nothing big enough to draw enough attention to call a council meeting over or that would draw the dragons together. We value our anonymity as you well know."

"Indeed. I'm sure I'll be told to butt out before too long."

"I am not so very certain of that," Kith said quietly. "Ryan seems to like and respect you and that will go a long ways towards keeping in company with him and the council. You were the one who managed to coax him out after Kheros scared him." She shrugged. "If the prince responds well to you I see no reason the council would tell you to 'butt out' as you say."

"I just worry they won't want a human involved with their prince."

"They will have to get used to the idea. His parents are humans and I cannot see him allowing them to be put away," Cladden said. "The whole idea of not allowing dragon friends near the royal family goes back to the idea that they could be used to harm them. Clearly that didn't work out too well."

"All of this can be discussed later," Kith said in her soft voice. "For now, let us plan the dinner for Ryan and make sure he feels welcome. I think now more than anything he needs to know that he's accepted and is safe with dragonkind."

Tanner nodded. "Yes. He's not had a life full of acceptance up tot his point. Bullied, stressed because of his situation and so on. It would be good for him to feel loved and welcomed by his own as it were."

"Just don't over do it," Kith cautioned.

Cladden nodded. "I agree. So do you have any idea of his favorite foods?"

"Why do you call me that?" Ryan asked in a shaky voice.

"Because you are freak! Using your voice to control people, skulking in the shadows, saying that you're only a figurehead and yet controlling everything. All lies!" the man spat.

"I know not what you are talking about! I have no authority or power at all! I have never trilled or hurt anyone!"

He laughed. "Not yet, perhaps, but why let the infestation linger? You have two choices, boy, you may submit to our rule or you may die."

"Keep him talking and move towards the garden," Pax said softly in his ear and Ryan felt grateful to have Pax there, even if he was so very small.

"I have done nothing to you. Why do you wish me dead?" Ryan said, taking a slow careful step towards the garden.

"Your family has and that is more than enough."

"That was such a very long time ago!"

"Yes, but some of us remember. Some of us still feel the pain of the punishment inflicted on our forefathers and mothers."

"And you would take that out on a hatchling?" Ryan demanded, taking another step.

"We will hunt down your breed to the very last dragon," he said, voice practically dipping with venom.

Ryan took another small step. "What do you wish of me? Should I join you?"

"We will use your power to better all of dragonkind and remove the human menace once and for all. We know you have feelings for those...hairless apes that raised you and promise not to harm them if you follow us."

"First you say my ability is an abomination and then you wish to use it to control others? You are inconsistent!" Ryan said with a disgusted laugh, taking another step.

The man waved his hand dismissively. "In our hands it is...useful." He narrowed his gaze. "Choose boy," he growled.

"I know not. You are making sense, humans can be a problem..."

The man suddenly lunged forward and Ryan jumped back, shifting forms between the leap and the landing. He opened his jaws and hissed threateningly. The man laughed mockingly. "Oh all spit and fire are you hatchling?" He shifted to his bipedal form and Ryan took an involuntary step back. The man was huge, about seven feet tall, not quite as large as Kheros but still much larger than he. Horns curled back form his head and his jaws were long with many rows of sharp teeth. His eyes blazed a baleful orange color and his belly was the same lurid orange, breaking down into pale spots. He was quite repulsive to Ryan's site. "You cannot fight me, boy." Ryan growled, hoping that someone would see what was going and save him.

Suddenly Pax burst from his shoulder, shifting forms mid flight, hissing and screaming. He dove at the other dragon, slashing at his head and biting. "Run Ryan!" he roared.