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Norian and Mikail where talking together quietly when Pax walked in the room. "Ah, you two are finally here," the tiny dragon said.

Norian nodded. "And how are you my friend?"

"As well as can be expected," Pax said, and filled them in on the situation.

Mikail yawned. "Typical!"

"Glad you think so," Pax replied.

"Same as they always do. The evil ones seem to lack creativity."

"Just do not get complacent," Pax warned.

"Never."

Pax looked around the room, then cocked his head. "Where is Tanner?"

"He has his own rooms," Norian said.

Pax frowned. "Away from you and Ryan?"

"Tanner is not going to see Ryan."

Pax's colors actually flickered. "That is not a good idea, pardon me for saying."

Mikail flicked an ear. "Best thing for Ryan."

"I have to object."

"Objection noted," Mikail grumbled.

Pax's colors shifted to a dark, dark blue. "Norian, you cannot possibly allow this!"

"I am afraid I have been overruled and I actually agree with him."

Pax shook his head in disgust. "Wonderful! I will head down to the healers now then."

"Why?" Norian asked, confused.

"To let them know they're going to have a psychotic dragon to deal with."

Mikail snorted. "You are overreacting."

Pax laughed coldly. "No. No, I do not think so. I have been with Ryan since he came to the safehouse. I know him as well or better than anyone save for his parents and Tanner. He is not going to manage this, at all, and you are an utter ass if you think otherwise!"

Mikail snarled and Norian stepped between them. "Stop it! Both of you!" He looked down at Pax. "I am going to carefully explain the situation to Ryan."

"Are you ready for him to hate you?"

"It will not go that far."

"You would be utterly amazed at how strong his emotions are," Pax said. "His will is formidable and his emotions only drive it all the further. But you will not listen to me, so by all means, do whatever you think to be right." Pax turned, flicked his tail and then left without a by your leave.

"What?" Tanner yelled, swilling down another rum and coke. The door opened and Pax walked in, then recoiled at the smell.

"Good Lord! What are you trying to do, pickle your liver?"

"I don't need you telling me how to handle things," Tanner said, glaring at the tiny dragon through blood shot eyes.

"And I seriously doubt that Ryan needs you in an alcoholic stupor!"

Tanner laughed harshly, waving his drink, sloshing a little out. "What does it matter? I can't see him or didn't they tell you that?"

"And you are going to listen to them?" Pax said, cocking his head slightly.

"Of course I am," Tanner slurred. "It's Norian and Mikail commanding. I'd be foolish and stupid to disobey them."

Pax walked over to him and looked up at him. "Tanner, stupid in this case is letting Ryan face this down alone. I told them it was a terrible idea and it would hurt Ryan, but they think they know best."

"It's stupid!" Tanner yelled.

"You needn't tell me that, Tanner."

"You're right. You're right, little dragon, you're right. I should go see Ryan now," Tanner said and stood up shakily, then nearly fell over. Pax just managed to push him back onto the couch.

"I think you need to sober up a bit first."

"I'm fine!" Tanner muttered.

Pax snorted. "You cannot walk, you can barely stand for that matter, and you say you are fine?"

Tanner belched. "I'll be fine!"

Pax sighed. "Do you wish for Ryan to see you like this?"

Tanner stopped and looked down at his chest. "No," he said quietly.

"Then lets get you sobered up, shall we? I will go head off the disaster that is about to befall as best I can, and you get a nice hot shower, some sleep, and I will bring Ryan to you or take you to him."

Tanner stared at Pax. "Why are you doing this?"

"Because I love Ryan nearly as much as you do and have been with him long enough to know how he feels about you and how much he's going to need you."

Tanner smiled. "Thanks."

"Do not mention it. Now get showered; you smell like a brewery."

"And?" Skerios asked Alexis from where he sat, curled around a dark burgundy colored female of sleek lines who was idly nipping at his neck.

She glared. "Norian and Mikail are here with that human. Kheros has been asking around for information but has only the details we wanted him to have."

Skerios yawned and nuzzled the female. "And Pax?"

Alexis' lashed her tail. "Who cares?"

Skerios growled. "I do. What has he been doing?"

"Nothing that I can tell!"

Skerios rumbled threateningly and the female stretched herself out against him, pulling him down on to her. He thrummed and started to move suggestively. Alexis growled softly, deep down in her throat, and Skerios smirked to himself in suppressed mirth. "My dear, Pax is too clever, too clever by half, and will at the least get a tremendous amount of information from his breed and clan. We need to know what he knows."

"Fine! I will find out," she said sullenly.

"I am so very glad that you will," Skerios said and shifted his position about the female. "Find out what they are doing to do with the prince as well."

Alexis flattened her ears. "As you wish."

Skerios grinned at her and then started to bite at the females neck, causing her to hiss quietly in pleasure, arching herself. "I most assuredly do wish. Oh, and remember, we have moved up the convocation."

Alexis started. "What?"

"Yes, we moved it up. Just in case someone had some idea of disrupting it," Skerios said sweetly. "I know that all of us are loyal but," he shrugged with a flick of his ears, then bit down hard, pushing the female's tail out of the way with one of his hind legs, pinning it against her. She nearly roared, then whimpered.

"But that gives us no time to maneuver!" Alexis objected.

"Us, my dear? Or perhaps just you? Or perhaps others who are going to try to betray me?," Skerios said, looking over at her. "Do not forget, Alexis, that I know far more than you do. Now, unless you wish to watch me take this lovely little dragoness, I suggest you go." He paused and looked at her with a smirk. "Or maybe you would like to. It would be quite educational and I am quite virile. I could be ready for you in matter of minutes. You could help me clean up and then we could rut for awhile."

She hissed at him, rearing back, and he just laughed. "Do not bother! Now, run along," he said dismissively. He mounted the female firmly and she roared with pleasure. Alexis glared, trembling in rage, watching as Skerios drove himself on, then stalked out of the room to the sounds of them hissing and snarling in pleasure.

"He is doing fairly well, all things considered. Why are you asking?" Sulvius asked Norian, ears perked forward.

"I am trying to decide when to tell him or how to tell him that Tanner is going to be...delayed."

Sulvius looked at Norian, startled. "Why? Is he ill?"

"No, we just think it best that they be separated right now."

"Are you out of your bloody mind!" Sulvius exclaimed. "He is already stressed enough! He doesn't need this added as well!"

"It would not be at all good for them to see him with Tanner or for him to be so very dependent upon Tanner."

"Be that as it may what's done is done and there is no way I can think of to keep the two of them apart without causing Ryan a great deal of stress and possible harm."

"So you think the two should be bound?" Norian challenged.

"I did not say that. I said that now is not a good time to go trying to keep them apart. If you wish to intervene then it needs to be done later."

Norian started to pace. "I do not like the idea of waiting. Tanner could be in danger from all of this."

"He's been in danger since he found the prince, Norian, and he's done well to avoid it. I know you helped to raise him, but he's as well protected here as anywhere," Sulvius said, trying to soothe him.

Norian continued to pace. "Not near safe enough. I do not wish to have him seen with Ryan here."

"They already know he's close to the prince, Norian."

Norian stopped and looked at Sulvius sharply. "What do you mean?"

"You know that Ryan and Tanner were injured at the safe house," Sulvius said quietly. "Ebony was after Tanner, not Ryan. They were going to use him to force Ryan to surrender."

Norian growled. "Why was I not informed!"

"Because we knew it would upset you and there was no longer any need."

Norian snarled and started to pace. "I am going to take Tanner and get him away from here. There is no way I will allow him to stay."

"I think that's up to him, don't you?" Sulvius said mildly.

"Tanner is in danger!"

"As I said, he has been since he discovered the prince. Norian, this is not the time to try to separate them. If it needs be done, then it can be done later, as I said."

"It may be too late for Tanner then!"

"And Ryan?"

"Best thing for him, that he not be bound to Tanner!" Norian huffed a sigh and went back to pacing.

Sulvius sighed and walked to the window overlooking one of the great valleys that the council complex lay in. "Norian, if it happens it happens. There is little we can do about it if it does. The dragons are just going to have to adjust to it."

"That is not going to go over at all well."

Sulvius shrugged. "Then they will revolt."

Norian stopped. "Do you have any idea of what you are saying?" he said quietly.

"Yes. If it brings us down then so be it. If the dragons cannot be so very flexible any longer, then perhaps it is time for such a change."

"I--" Norian said, then shook his head and started to pace again, rumbling to himself. Sulvius watched him for a moment.

"Unless of course you wish to kill Tanner."

Norian snarled. "Never!"

Sulvius just stared. "Why? You seem to think it would be the best thing for Ryan."

Norian growled deep in his throat and held Sulvius' gaze. He finally gave a huge sigh. "No. No, I will never, ever allow Tanner to be harmed."

"Even if the council ordered his death?"

"Even then."

"Even for Ryan?"

"I said never!"

"So you do understand," Sulvius mused. "Ryan is every bit as close to Tanner as you are, if not more so and--" he stopped and stared at Norian. "You are jealous!"

Norian winced. "That is such a strong word."

"And it fits! Norian!" Sulvius shook his head. "I thought you to be wiser than this."

"What, I am not supposed to be so very protective of, so very jealous for a human that I practically raised from a hatchling?" he challenged.

"I would expect that you would do so! I would also expect that you knew you would feel such things and take steps to keep it from getting out of hand, Norian."

"And you, of course, have never felt like this!"

"Oh stop it, Norian; we all have."

"Not like me!"

Sulvius sighed and laughed quietly. "Oh my friend! I know that you have many generations with the Wilberforce family and that you are very, very close to him, but we have all felt such things, any of us who have been close to humans or even other dragons. It's nothing unusual or rare, you know this, but you need to take steps now that we know."

Norian grumbled and started to pace, wings rustling irritably. "Foolishness. That's what it is."

Sulvius walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Honored one, it is not," he said gently. "You love Tanner. I understand that, and it's hard to let him go or what feels like letting him go. He's an adult, Norian, even if he is so very young by our standards. Like with Ryan or any young dragon you need to let him spread his wings and fly."

"And I have! It is just this..." Norian shook his head. "I do not begrudge Ryan."

"That is not what the real question is, my friend. It's more that there is danger to your friend and your prince."

Norian actually trembled. "You are right."

"And you will also, like all of us, take steps to insure that they both are safe."

"You have that right!"

Sulvius smiled at him. "So, as I was saying, you need to allow Tanner to see Ryan, even if we are going to keep them apart as much as possible while here and keep Tanner out of the line of fire, so to speak. If they must be separated permanently it can be handled later, but not now. Okay?"

Norian snorted. "Yes, oh wise one!"

Sulvius grinned. "You are most welcome!"

"Sulvius!" Pax called and lit on the larger dragon's shoulder without even asking for permission.

Sulvlius looked over at the tiny dragon in surprise. "Pax?"

"You need to talk to Norian and Mikail about Tanner and Ryan. They are making a terrible mistake!" the tiny dragon said urgently

Sulvius carefully cocked his head to avoid unsettling Pax. "And that is?"

"They are trying to keep them apart. Tanner is drinking hard and Ryan is going to go to pieces over it."

Sulvius frowned. "You are correct. I do need to do something."

Pax sighed in relief. "I am so very glad you see things correctly."

Sulvius nodded. "Indeed. I see you are very worried."

"I do love Ryan and have grown close to him. I would not see him harmed in any way."

"I see," Sulvius said gravely. "Well, I will have to make sure that something is done though it will not be so very easy. They are both old and so very stubborn. It will take all I can to pull it off."

"I have faith in you," Pax said earnestly.

Sulvius sighed. "This is a very big thing."

"And I will be indebted to you for it."

Sulvius' ears perked. "Really?"

Pax nodded. "Yes, this is so very important."

"That you would be indebted to me? Sulvius of all people?" Sulvius said, his eyes wide in amazement.

Pax sighed. "I would."

"Promise?"

Pax grumbled. "I said that I would!"

"Excellent," Sulvius said and took a few steps. "Oh, by the way, the problem is resolved. I just talked to Norian about it."

"What?" Pax said, looking startled, his colors flickering.

"I talked to Norian a bit ago. He has agreed to let Tanner see Ryan and understands that part of the problem on his part was his own instincts."

Pax mulled his over then growled. "That does not count!"

"Oh, I am so very afraid that it does, my little friend," Sulvius said with a sad smile. "You owe me one."

Pax growled and Sulvius pat him on the head. "There there, Pax. You cannot always be so very clever."

"Tanner?" Norian said quietly, hesitantly, as he stepped into Tanner's room.

"Huh?" Tanner said drowsily, where he lay on his couch, naked after his shower.

Norian sighed and fetched a blanket to cover him. "Silly human," he muttered fondly.

Tanner sat up and blinked, looking around blearily. "Norian? Norian! I'm naked!" he exclaimed.

"I just covered you and you have nothing I have not seen before. I changed your diapers as I recall."

"That's different!" Tanner said, pulling the blanket tighter around himself. He glared at Norian then hung his head. "I am sorry for being such a problem, sir."

Norian sat down next to him. "No, boy, it is more my fault than yours. I let my instincts get the better of me."

"You?" Tanner said in surprise.

"Even I can get carried away, boy."

Tanner shook his head. "Sir, I don't understand."

Norian was silent a moment. "I love you, Tanner."

Tanner shook his head. "I know that and I love you too, sir. But what has that to do with this?"

Norian snorted. "It is not so very easy for me to say."

"And I know that as well; it's a dragon thing," Tanner said patting the dragon on the shoulder. "But I'm still a little lost."

"I...am protective of you. It is instinctive," Norian explained.

Tanner rolled his eyes. "Why thank you for the instruction in dragon 101 Norian! I would never have known any of this!"

Norian grumbled. "I was jealous."

Tanner looked confused. "Of Ryan?"

"Yes."

Tanner looked dumfounded. "Why? That has nothing to do with my relationship with you."

Norian sighed. "For someone who knows so very much about dragons you can be impossible dense sometimes, boy."

"Sorry!" Tanner said, offended.

Norian smiled. "It was just jealousy, Tanner. Not really explainable and I was not even thinking of it. I have problems with you being bound to Ryan otherwise, but being jealous made it so very much harder."

Tanner stood up and then clutched at the blanket and sat back down, blushing. "You really though that Ryan could take me from you?" Norian just stared at him and Tanner laughed. "Sir, you can be awful silly."

Norian growled. "It is not limited to humans."

Tanner hugged the dragon tightly. "You're going to let me see Ryan?"

"Yes, but you need to promise me that you will try to keep it to the minimum you can without harming the young prince or yourself and to be so very certain that no one else knows."

"I understand, sir."

"Then get dressed and let's go see your friend."

Ryan dozed, settled between his parents. His mother occasionally pet him and scratched him around the chin or ears, setting him to thrumming for awhile before he fell back into a deeper sleep. She smiled at him, still amazed after all these years.

His father did the same, perhaps a little more uncertainly, but still pet his son and still so amazed to be petting a dragon, a dragon that looked to him and called him father.

Irian watched the pair out of the corner of his eye, approving, but worrying all the same. They loved him and that was the most any of the dragon could ever have hoped for, he supposed. Even still there were so many worries and complications...

Pax lay on the couch, next to Ryan, blended in, unseen in his own thoughts.

Sulvius paced, waiting to see what Norian was going to do.

All of them were unaware that another set of eyes watched them closely.

Tanner swallowed nervously, looking at Norian for reassurance. Norian sighed. "You act as if he would reject you."

"It's not that, it's--" he shrugged. "It's a human thing."

"Obviously."

They both walked through the door and Kheros nearly tackled the both of them before realizing who they were. He rumbled in annoyance. "Announce who you are, blast it!"

"Sheesh!" Tanner said, grasping at his chest. "Touchy!"

"Tough times, Tanner," Kheros rumbled, pointing down the hall to the main room.

The pair walked in and Allen looked up from where he was sitting and tensed. Beth smiled at him and motioned her head to where Ryan was resting on the couch. Pax stayed hidden and Irian went to greet the two of them. "About time!"

"Sorry, things came up," Norian said, clasping Irian's forearm.

Tanner went directly to where Ryan as laying, a look of worry on his face. He looked at the little dragon's parents, nodding and smiling in greeting. Allen grunted but Beth nodded in return. "He's been asking about you, Tanner," she said softly.

"He's been well?" Tanner asked, trying to keep the stress from his voice.

"He's fine, Tanner, just worried about you," Beth reassured him.

"I'm...sorry," Tanner said, looking down.

Beth sighed. "It's hard to understand, Tanner, but we're trying."

Allen grunted again. "Yes, trying."

Tanner winced. "I mean no harm to him, Allen; you know that."

"I know and I do believe you, but it's not the intentional harm that I worry over, Tanner."

"I know, and I promise that I'll do everything in my power to avoid hurting him."

Allen nodded. "I guess that's the best we can ask."

Tanner looked down at the sleeping little dragon. "So peaceful," he murmured.

Beth laughed. "Yes, it's time like this you forget what a little handful he can be! So peaceful and innocent--" she broke off, swallowing hard. "Innocent," she said in a rough, choked voice.

"I'm afraid it always comes to an end, and usually far to soon," Norian said from behind Tanner, startling the human.

"You're all to right," Beth said.

"He's a fine young dragon," Norian assured her. "He will survive and prosper."

Beth rubbed at her eye with her sleeve. "I just worries with all the trouble that's coming."

"Troubles only polish what is within," Pax said. "They only show what our character is and I think you've little to worry about in this case."

All of them started and looked at the couch where two golden eyes peered up at them, the rest of the tiny dragon still blended in where he lay close to Ryan. Tanner laughed. "Pest!"

"I do my best," Pax said and lowered his head to his foreclaws, still watching over Ryan.

Tanner hesitantly reached out to pet the young dragon, then stopped, looking over at Ryan's parents. They nodded and he carefully ran his hand over Ryan's head a few times, then started to scratch around his cheeks and chin. Ryan thrummed at the attention, then suddenly sat up straight, eyes wide. "Tanner!"

"I'm here, Ryan," Tanner said, smiling.

The young prince nearly bowled him over, diving into his arms, thrumming, laughing, and crying, all at the same time, biting gently at Tanner, marking him with scent glands that oozed profusely. Tanner just held onto the little dragon as tightly as he could, himself crying hard.

Everyone looked on, not a dry eye amongst them, as Tanner finally calmed the dragon enough to sit down on the couch with him, settled into his lap. The little dragon looked up at him, eyes locked on the human's face, as Tanner rubbed his nose against the dragons. "There's my dragon," he said, voice thick with emotion. "There's my little dragon."

"I missed you, Tanner," Ryan whispered.

"I know, my friend, I know."

He looked at all the other dragons who were tearing up wiping at their muzzles and generally trying, but failing, to maintain some sort of dignity, yet looking rather tense. Ryan trilled, long, low, and sweet and all of the dragons relaxed, smiling, thrumming in pleasure. "I am doing so very well, and you have all done so very good," the young prince said. "Thank you for bringing Tanner to me and for supporting me."

Everyone laughed a little. "Ah, my little Ryan, you've done so well while knowing so little!" Irian said. "Your parents would be so very proud of you."

"Agreed," Sulvius said. "They could not have used the trill more appropriately"

Norian growled and everyone looked at him, startled by the sound. "Foolish little hatchling! Making an old dragon like me cry!