FSE

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Dedicated to Lith The Dragon who's read part one so much he can apparently quote it o.o

I really do hope that this chapter does justice to whatever quirks made the first one sodarn popular o.o

Tending the dragons heart part 2

It was almost night, and Lyersen was just returning from a flight, labouring through the air under the weight of her Master, her breath shallow and fast, wings straining, shoulder muscles burning with the exertion.

It wasn't that her Master was heavy, but the parcels she had been required to carry were. And she hadn't been able to rest on the way back.

There was a loud thud as she touched down, sprawling flat on her stomach as she did. A cry was heard from above her as her Master gave a yell and slid sideways off her, the bands that held her saddle on snapping under the strain and sending rider and saddle both to the ground and a hard impact.

The golden dragon winced and turned a head, worriedly, to her Master, snuffling at him in concern, her eyes wide. "Did Lyersen hurt Master?!"

"She did!" Came the violent reply, and a fist hit her in the nose, making her whine and pull back. It didn't physically, but it scarred her a little on the inside. "Look at this!" He said, holding up the broken saddle, shaking it at her, enraged. "You broke it!"

Lyersen stared at him, cringing back a little, one of her wingtips flared, almost covering her face, cowed. "Lyersen wouldn't have broken it if Master had one made properly in the first place..." She muttered resentfully.

"What did you say?!" He asked, his eyes narrowing, taking a step forwards, dropping the saddle and raising his fist.

"Lyersen didn't say anything!" She said hurriedly, shying away again. It was an amazingly, and sad sight, at the same time, to see such a large, magnificent creature balking at such a puny, angry little man.

'Master' scowled slightly, and then his eyes fell on the saddle for a moment, and then rose to her, staring at her neck, and then back to her face. The dragon gave a nervous little twitch, following his gaze.

"This isn't the saddle I put on you..." He said softly, silkily, and somehow, his voice seemed all the more menacing for it. "Who put this on you?!"

"The saddlemaster!" Lyersen squeaked in reply, her wing rising to hide more of her, tail thrashing anxiously.

"I don't believe you." 'Master' said in a voice that was no more than a venomous hiss. "Who. Put. It. On. You?!" He asked, with every bit of dominant control in his voice as possible.

"The saddlemaster! Lyersen's other saddle snapped when Master wasn't here, so Lyersen got a new one so Master wouldn't have to worry!" She replied hurriedly, staring at him with wide eye, her heart pounding in her chest. "Lyersen promises..."

Her Master eyed her for a long moment, and then lowered his fist, picking up the saddle. "Useless, ugly animal." He said with a scowl, as he walked past her and out of the pen, not bothering to look back, leaving the golden dragon to lie back against the wall, tears welling in her large eyes.

She was a bad dragon, a very bad dragon...oh she had lied to Master! She had promised him a lie! Oh she was such a bad, bad dragon...

* * *

Her head snapped up, and her eyes narrowed slowly, pupils dilating, a soft hiss escaping her, not one of anger, or warning, but of anticipation. She could smell the meat that Jaten brought with him when he came to see her!

She rose to her feet and bounded eagerly towards the smell, like an eager puppy, and odd sight for sure, skidding to the edge of the doorway and peering around it, whining softly and frowning deeply as she saw the source. A wheelbarrow stood there, unattended for god knows how long. Heaving a sigh, she turned around to go back into the pen, and then eeped and bounced backwards, causing an ominous cracking from the wall behind her.

Jaten was standing right there, smiling at her.

Her tail slithered back and forth eagerly, and she moved forwards instantly to nuzzle at him, purring with delight as he threw his arms around her neck and hugged her, her wingtips fluttering, wishing harder than she had ever wished that she had real arms with which to hug him back.

Eventually though, Jaten broke the hug, and she gave a wistful whine, licking his cheek lovingly. "Lyersen missed you..." She murmured.

He nodded once, and stroked at her cheek gently. "Your Master got back a lot quicker than I thought he would. He must have hired healers."

Lyersen nodded once, and then sighed. "Master wanted to be back on his duties faster...and Lyersen thinks he gets more money working for the week he could have taken off and hiring a healer." She said with a wrinkled nose.

"...do you wish your Master was still abed?" Jaten asked innocently.

The golden dragon grumbled softly. "If Master was still stuck in bed then Lyersen could fly with Jaten again." She said, nodding vigorously, as if talking to herself, "Because he's so much better than Master when flying. He doesn't yell and hit Lyersen and make sure the straps are too tight on Lyersen and helps her and is nice to her..." She frowned deeply, and then her eyes went wide, her paws covering his muzzle. "Lyersen didn't mean any of that! Please don't tell mater that Lyersen said that...." She said, whining plaintively.

He smiled and gently stroked at her cheek and the side of her neck. "Anything you tell me is just between the two of us..."

She nodded once, shakily, his tail quivering slightly, his wingtips fanning nervously. "L-Lyersen..." she paused, swallowing audibly, and then said in a rush, "Lyersen thinks she likes Jaten more than Master!" and then flushed, her cheeks crimson, wingtip fanning to hide herself slightly behind it.

Jaten couldn't help but smile, gently rubbing her chin with his palm after reaching past her wing. "Well that's okay...your Master isn't a very nice person." He replied bitterly.

Lyersen tilted her head at him curiously, raising a brow, blinking at him. "Why does Jaten talk as if he knows Master? Lyersen is curious now..."

"It's along story..." Jaten replied, frowning a little. "But he's not a nice person to anyone..."

Lyersen whined softly, and her talons dug into the ground, her nose wrinkling. "Lyersen...Lyersen...agrees..." She murmured, shaking her head a little, her tail thrashing, before she whined again, just softly. "Did Jaten bring Lyersen any food?" She asked hopefully. "Lyersen is hungry from the scent of meat-in-a-barrow outside..."

Jaten laughed a little, and stroked at her head once more, kissing the top of her muzzle, halfway between her nose and eyes. "Wait here, I'll go get it." He said affectionately.

The golden dragon crouched down on her haunches and nodded vigorously, watching him like a hawk as he left and returned with the wheelbarrow full of meat, and she fell upon it with vigour, burying her muzzle in it eagerly, purring at him in gratitude.

He took the opportunity to circle around her, inspecting her hide, frowning to himself.

"Lyersen...how long has it been since you were oiled?" He asked in concern, stretching out a hand to rub at a patch on her wing that was dry and cracked.

"Lyersen can't remember..." she said, lifting her head from her meal for a second to peer at him, and then fluttering her wing just slightly, making it crake like canvas in high wing, unlike the silky smooth sound it should have made.

"Useless..." He muttered to himself, and then turned to her, "Wait here, I'll go get the oil, just keep eating." He said with a firm nod, and then smiled a little. It wasn't like she would go anywhere, all things considered. He doubted she had ever left the pen other than for feeding and flying.

The golden dragon nodded once, and then returned to her meal, the edges of her muzzle slightly slick with blood, tailtip swishing back and forth with her happiness.

He was only gone a few minutes, returning with a large jar full of a swirly, almost transparent liquid, touching her side gently. "Can I...Get up on your back?" he asked.

She nodded once in reply, peering at him a moment, before returning to licking at the edges of the now-empty barrow.

Jaten smiled, and vaulted up onto her back, pausing a moment to relish the sensation. So this was what riding a dragon would feel like...

Casting aside his speculations, he gripped the jar of liquid firmly in his hands, and unscrewed the lid, starting to lather the liquid over the leading edges of her wings, and then smearing it backwards over the delicate membranes.

Lyersen shifted a little, and then lowered herself slowly to the ground, careful not to move too quickly lest she jar him, her tailtip whispering as it slid over the floor behind her, her wings slowly extending so he could get to them better.

His hands slid over her wings, caressing them affectionately, rubbing the lubricating oil into them slowly, massaging the sensitive flesh as he went.

He was slightly irritated during the process, by the sheer lack of attention her ‘Master' paid her. Her wings were so dry that they were starting to crack, and if they got too much drier, she'd end up tearing them.

The golden dragon crooned happily, and her wings twitched as he caressed them, feeling the hide, once dry and patchy, becoming smooth and supple under his attentions, her eyes closing happily, head shifting a little on the ground.

It was probably due to her contentment that she didn't notice it until it was too late, and the pair of boots were standing by her muzzle.

"What are you doing eh, boy?!" Came the harsh voice of her Master.

Lyersen's head shot up, and her cheeks flushed deeply, her wings lifting slightly to try and hide the human atop her back. "Lyersen thinks Master is seeing things!" She said with a hurried nod.

"I am not seeing things!" He roared, and then punched her square on the nose. She yelped and cringed, and Jaten went tumbling from the back, slipping on the lubricated wings, the jar shattering as it hit the ground besides him, spraying him with oil and shards of glass.

Lyersen's 'master' stalked around her, eyes on Jaten, looking murderous, and Jaten quickly scrambled to his feet, brushing himself off.

"What are you playing at, eh boy?!" He asked again, raising his fist.

Jaten stared at him, refusing to break eye contact, his hands coming up warily, starting to circle the older, larger man carefully. "I'm doing what you _never_did." He said, his eyes narrowed, full of hate.

"What did I never do, eh?!" He asked, taking a step forwards and also trying to hit the ‘boy', his fist missing by mere inches as Jaten leant backwards and stepped nimbly away.

"You don't care for your dragon at all! You treat her like a beast, like she doesn't have feelings, like she isn't worth you time!"

Lyersen squeaked a little and hid her head behind her wings, flushing furiously, whining and trying to block out the voiced, though it was impossible. She couldn't decide what to do. Instinct told her to protect her Master...but...

"She doesn't deserve my time!" Came the angry reply, and another swing, this time caught on Jaten's blocking arm, deflected.

"Well I'm giving her the time you won't give her, you cold hearted bastard!" He said back, his eyes narrowed, voice dripping with venom.

"I am her rider, boy! And you'll not go near her!"

Jaten clenched his fists tighter, and this time, when the larger man tried to take a swing at him, he stepped into the arm of the punch, and blocked it with a raised arm, and then gave him a short, sharp jab to chin, making him reel backwards slightly. "I'm not a little boy any more...I don't have to listen to you out of fear, father. So if you want fight, then we shall fight!"

Jaten's father glared at him, and then ran the short distance to his son, tackling him hard.

* * *

Lyersen sighed softly, her oiled wings rustling a little as she shifted position, her tail sweeping slightly as she scripted at her side. Everything was different now, ever since the Fight. She could hear him coming now, and lifted her head a little, rising to her feet. Her master liked her to be ready to saddled when he got there.

Her saddle still stung like a stripe of fire when it was tightened, at least that hadn't changed...

The scent of a poultice came wafting up from her master as he climbed into the saddle, and for some reason, it brought back memories of the aftermath of the fight, which had also involved a poultice.

The fight hadn't lasted long, but she could remember every sound, every blow, every breath each fighter took.

She remembered hearing her Master's cry of pain as Jaten had landed a punch on his brow, and then a kick to his knee, and it had hurt her too, to know he was being hurt and she wasn't doing anything about it...

And then had come Jaten's cry of pain as his father had grabbed his leg and viciously twisted it, giving him a swift kick to the side before disengaging.

And the pain then, and the instincts to protect, had someone seemed the same strength, maybe even stronger...

And then they were rolling on the ground, wrestling, each unable to support their weight due to their leg injuries, and the yelps and mingled cries of pain had driven her to tears at her helplessness.

But then, as they had rolled against her side, and she felt her Masters hardest punch go awry and hit her leg, she realised...she could stop them!

It was then that she dropped her wings and given a swift blow to each man, cringing inside at having to hurt either of them, but still leaning forwards and roaring at them both with her most fierce tone.

She had been gratified to see them stop instantly and give her a new kind of a look. A look of mingled fear and respect, and she had liked it, the way it had made her feel.

And then came the other people, and the talking. They forced the father and son to separate, holding them back so they couldn't go at eachother again, and Lyersen herself had moved between them, crouching down subserviently, her brief bout of ferocious dominance having passed.

She didn't remember exactly what they had said, but there was a lot of shouting, that her Master was no good as a dragon rider, and that he shouldn't be allowed to ride dragons any more, and much shouting from her Master that his son was a worthless cur, and a stain on his honour, and if he could do a better job as dragon-rider, he was welcome to demonstrate somewhere else, somewhere far, far away.

But then, the master of the dragon flights had turned to her, and a silence had fallen. She had flushed as every eye had turned to her.

"Who do you want to choose?" He had asked, and she had tried once more to hide, unbelieving. They couldn't expect her to choose! She was just a dragon...a poor, ugly, useless dragon...

But again the question was asked, and she was forced to bring back her wing, whining. She couldn't choose...she just couldn't.

"L-lyersen only knows one thing..." She had managed to say, "Lyersen only knows how to obey her master..."

And then had come more words, but she only remembered a few. They had told her that she could choose a new master, and she had hardly believed her ears...a new master...of her choosing?

And her Master had said, in her stern tone, "Lyersen, do as your master commands! Choose your master!"

She had nodded once, and turned to Jaten, and there were tears running down her muzzle. She could remember the tears hot on her cheeks as she had murmured to him, "Lyersen only knows how to follow her master..." And then she had turned back to Master, and then back to Jaten, speaking to them both "Lyersen is sorry...Lyersen chooses her master..."

* * *

And now her master was putting that hard saddle on her. She wished the saddle she had gotten before hadn't broken, this one burnt so fiercely against her scales...

An unfamiliar lump formed in her throat, and her chest grew tight as she felt her master gently pat at her neck as he climbed atop her...What was this unfamiliar feeling...happiness?

And as she rose to her feet and spread her wings, she couldn't help but smile as her master spoke:

"Sorry about the saddle, Lyersen, it'll just have to do until I can get another one like the last one I gave you." Her new master, the one she had chosen: Jaten, said, patting her neck lovingly.

* * *

[Post script! To explain this to those people who will obviously not be able to read between the lines: Lyersen is kinda simple in her ways of thinking. When she said "I choose master" she was referring to Jaten. See, as soon as she chose Jaten, he became ‘master', and that's what she started referring to him as from the moment she chose ^^]