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"The Negotiator"Written By: t-shirt Disclaimer: Gundam Wing and its characters are
copyright to Sunrise, Bandai, Sotsu Agency, and associated parties.
I make no money with this fic. Rating: NC 17 Warnings: AU/Fantasy/Adventure, Angst, Fluff,
Sexual favors from a dragon? ^0^ (non graphic), Eventual Lemon, Mild
violence, My corky humor lol ^-^ Pairings: 1x2, 3x4, 5xM Beta’ed by the wonderful Mechante Fille *hugs*
You’re the best baby! ^__^ Summary: Duo Maxwell finds himself on the adventure of a lifetime when he is hired by the future king of Lagrange to aid in dealing with an encroaching Dragon. However, he quickly discovers that not everything is as it seems. Wizards, Dragons and magic abound in this epic tale of adventure and discovery when one young man finds himself between two worlds and suddenly the future depends solely on his skills as The Negotiator. View art work commissioned
by SkyLark and drawn by t_shirt for "The Negotiator" - Click
HERE "The Negotiator" Ch 5 They began their investigation the following day, beginning with a wide aerial search for evidence pertaining to the case. Duo explained that Kiya had set out to climb the mountain some weeks prior and Alicia had followed her steps about five weeks before. They spent the next couple of days walking the land between the mountain and the village trying to pick up the scent but recent storms and the passage of time had allowed the Earth to absorb any traces of them. “I’ll have to check closer to the village,” Duo reasoned late in the afternoon of the third fruitless day. ”I will accompany you.” “You’ll start a riot,” Duo chuckled, slipping his arm under and around the beast’s cheek when his huge head nuzzled his side. ”You’ll need my nose,” Hiiro grinned, lowering his head until he could bathe the side of Duo’s calf with is tongue. “I’m sure I can find someone who would be willing to help,” Duo assured him, absently scratching the top of his scaly head. “But you’ll need to return to the den. No creature within ten miles would answer the call with you here.” ”Hn, very well,” the dragon agreed, moving slowly up to bathe the cotton breeches on his thigh. ”But should any animal or fowl disrespect you I will eat them.” “Hiiro.” The dragon retracted his tongue, huffed loudly and blew his frustration out in a big puff of black smoke as his enormous body flopped and crashed to the ground. “Stop pouting, you big oaf,” Duo chuckled. “How will we contact each other when I’m done?” ”Say my name,” the beast grumbled. Duo smiled affectionately and complied, “Hiiro.” The dragon shook softly with sheer delight and rolled his head to grin at his friend. The silly expression of pure, sappy happiness in the creature’s large, iridescent eyes made Duo’s lips spread wider still as he opened his mouth and played the game. “Hiiiiiroooooooo.” Their laugher filled the small glen when the dragon jumped up and knocked him to the ground, nuzzling and licking his chest and face like some grossly huge, over affectionate hound. “All right!” Duo chortled, pushing at the immovable skull that was home to the most dexterous appendage that was ticking him silly. “Answer the question so I can get on with it,” he insisted, adding by means of serious coercion, “The sooner I leave the sooner I can return.” ”Say my name,” Hiiro reiterated, wrapping his tongue around the braided one and standing him on his feet. “Hiiro,” Duo complied but the playfulness had seeped from his tone. It took a moment before Duo realized the silly grin on his companion’s face meant more than he had enjoyed their romp. “What?” ”You asked how to contact me,” Hiiro raised a brow. Duo blinked. “You mean… all I have to do is…” ”Say my name,” Hiiro smiled, moving close enough to gently lick his cheek and neck before he whispered, “I will always hear you.” Duo shivered right down to the tips of his toes, making the huge dragon chuckle amusedly as he withdrew. “Um… ok,” he nodded, unable to banish the sudden weakness in his knees as he turned and stumbled down the rock face. He paused a moment to look back at his friend as the magnitude of the events of his life came sharply into focus and smiled at the grinning dragon before he suddenly found his step and bounced happily into the trees. Hiiro’s departure soon followed and was easily discerned by the rush of wind and unique sound of his wings taking flight but Duo knew he would have to move far away from the site before there was any hope of any creature answering the call. He moved on for nearly an hour before settling on a stone near a brook and letting the mire he usually held firmly inside him waft out over the land. It was the best way to call to the animals and most probably the only reason the predators didn’t eat him on sight but it had to be disturbingly confusing to answer the call to mate and find something of another species initiating it. He had not expected his first reply to be a familiar one. “Duo?” came the shaky intonation of his friend and mount. “Kuro!” Duo smiled, jumping to his feet but the big, black horse stepped back as if afraid, his reaction stealing the braided one’s elation away. “What…?” “You reek of dragon,” the horse informed him, sniffing disdainfully. “Oh,” Duo blushed, dusting his clothes as if he could rid himself of the scent. “Sorry.” “They will not approach with you smelling like that,” Kuro reasoned, daring to come a little closer. “I hadn’t thought of that,” Duo sighed. “But I need a sensitive nose.” “Can I be of service?” the horse inquired, sniffing and snorting distastefully in his rider’s direction. “A weasel or wolf would be best,” Duo sighed explaining, “The trail is old.” “I’ll see what I can do,” Kuro offered, easing warily into the underbrush. It took some time but when he reemerged there was a rustle in the leaves behind him that told Duo he had found someone that seemed willing to help. That someone however, refused to show themselves, choosing to remain cautiously unseen in the shadows. “Come on,” Kuro sighed. “You see? He’s not a dragon, he just smells like one.” “I mean you no harm,” Duo coaxed, hopefully smiling with some satisfaction when a large, nervous looking boar poked its nose into the light. “It stinks of heat and death,” the hairy snout declared, quickly disappeared again. “Turn it down,” Kuro advised. Duo blinked then started and clamped down on the pungent emissions of his body as he tried to make amends. “Sorry, I meant no disrespect but I need your help.” The snout poked out and sniffed again. “Why do you smell of dragon?” “I… he’s… my friend,” Duo replied, unable to control the heat on his cheeks. “The scent is heavy.” “He’s a Celestial,” Duo began barking, “But he’s nowhere nearby!” when the snout suddenly vanished again. “Please, I swear he won’t harm you. I need to track two human females that may have been lost in these woods. Will you help me?” “I have seen no humans here,” the boar informed him, stepping tentatively into the open. Duo smiled absently, measuring the large creature to be at least a thousand pounds. He was a huge male almost as tall as Duo and sporting tusks that rivaled Hiiro’s canines in length. “It would have been before the last moon,” Duo explained. “Will your dragon leave these woods alone and hunt elsewhere if I agree to aid you?” the boar asked cautiously. Duo’s grin widened considerably. “I believe he will.” They searched for the better part of the evening, slowly making their way back toward the village but had made no progress when the night finally grew deep enough to force a break. Tauc-Nir, who prided himself on his acute sense of smell, had turned up two lost arrows, a woman’s riding hat and someone’s long forgotten treasure box from six inches below the ground near an old elm that contained the precious trinkets of a boy’s life. Duo kept the arrows, tossed the hat and covered the box lovingly with his own hands, leaving it safely buried in its timeless grave. Tauc-Nir then turned his nose to the task of rooting out a meal while Duo set up camp and mixed some honey and oats for his mount. The past week had taken its toll on him however, and he soon dozed in the warmth of the fire, letting his mind drift back over the wonderful days he had spent in the dragon’s company. It truly disturbed him when he stopped to think about how happy he was just laying in the den and listening to the ancient creature tell the incredible tales of his life. The times he had seen amazed and bewildered him, leaving him feeling wholly inadequate and desperately mortal in comparison. But Duo was no mere mortal, he had always known this. Even he wasn’t sure how many years he had walked the Earth but he knew it was much longer than his appearance suggested. For all his conviction that he was not of elfin blood, he couldn’t explain his apparent longevity nor was he aware of how long it would last. Still, he did not bear the finer characteristics of the elves, no pointed ears, his height was less than that of the fey creatures and though they were known to be severely protective over their own kind, Duo had never so much as seen one himself. It was a riddle he had long since given up finding an answer to so he pushed it aside and snuggled down into his blanket and let his mind revel in the warm memories of brightly sparkling, blue eyes and the welcome heat of a velvet embrace. He woke with a start to the horrendous sound of Tauc-Nir’s terrified squeals as Kuro screamed, reared and thundered off into the dark. A quick search of the chaos proved that the boar had gotten himself hung up in the tangle of some large roots at the edge of their camp and was currently thrashing so hard the brambles were cutting into his flesh as he rattled the trees with his horrified screeches. ”Who’s the pork chop?” “Shit!” Duo barked, clasping a hand to his heart at the sound of the dragon’s thunderous tone, a moment later his eyes snapped open wide as it all suddenly made sense. “Tauc-Nir!” “DRAGOON!” the boar shrieked flailing harder yet as Duo rushed to his side. “Stop it!” Duo shouted, avoiding the animal’s wildly thrashing limbs. “He won’t hurt you! I swear! Stop! You’re hurting yourself!” he reasoned but the boar’s only response was a wild eyed scream of… “DRAGOON!” “Stop it!” Duo reiterated. “He hasn’t come for you! Stop thrashing about so I can help you get free!” Free seemed to be the magic word and suddenly the frightened boar settled into a trembling, panting, barely clinging to sanity heap but he maintained while Duo worked on the tangle of roots. “You promised he wouldn’t hunt in these woods!” Tauc-Nir rasped fearfully. ”If that is Duo’s wish,” the dragon casually interjected. “No hunting here!” the boar persisted. ”Duo’s word is my law,” Hiiro agreed, laying his front legs inside the border of the camp since that was all of him that would fit. “He won’t harm you,” Duo soothed, gently helping the terrified boar gather himself. Tauc-Nir’s beady, black eyes darted from one to the other, noting the strange way the dragon watched the braided one, the softness of his eyes and small smile hiding in the corner of his mouth and felt the fear slowly recede to a point that when he was finally free he no longer felt the need to flee. “See that he doesn’t,” he snorted, taking his time to turn his tail up in the air before he trotted briskly off into the dark. “What are you doing here?” Duo sighed. Hiiro looked inexorably confused as he replied, ”You called me.” “No I didn…” Duo began but the words were suddenly cut off as his mind did a quick search and came up with a rather disturbing image of him laying naked on a cloud with Hiiro’s tongue firmly inserted in his…”Shit,” he groaned, falling back on his ass. “Sorry, I guess I must have called out to you in my sleep.” Hiiro’s smile nearly lit the heavens. ”I miss you, too,” he purred, nuzzling Duo’s chest. “It’s only been a few hours,” Duo chuckled, laying his hand along the satiny scales of his face. ”A moment is more than I wish to bear,” Hiiro cooed as he began to wash Duo’s neck. The velvet heat of his tongue brought Duo’s dream back to him with crystal clarity, causing his face to flame and his hands to push him away. “You’d better go.” ”Already?” Hiiro pouted. “It’ll be light soon,” Duo reasoned. “We’ll finish the sweep by midday then I’ll call you and tell you what we’ve learned.” ”As you wish,” the dragon agreed, licking his cheek again before he left. Duo was left with the strangest mixture of dopey elation and sickening dread in his heart as he watched him fly away. When had he become a paraphiliac? And toward a male beast at that. His sighed deeply, wiping the fatigue from his eyes and groaned inwardly at the depth of his own deviation. It was not acceptable to fall in love with an animal no matter how wonderful he was, the complications were just… mind boggling but there were more pressing matters to consider so he set about breaking camp and rounding up his wayward assistant. Kuro was nowhere to be found and Duo expected he probably wouldn’t stop until his legs had given out but Tauc-Nir was already rooting around on the trail they had been working the night before. “You didn’t mention you were a wizard,” the boar commented absently as he turned over a rock with his thick nose. “I’m not,” Duo replied nonplussed. Tauc-Nir raised his gnarly head to regard him. “What other than magic could elicit such devotion from a demon?” he asked suspiciously. “He’s got the hots for me,” Duo shrugged. “Find anything?” The boar narrowed his beady eyes a moment before snorting loudly in reply, “No.” They continued their search well into the afternoon, having a scary moment when Brawn spotted them while they were near the village and almost put an arrow in Tauc-Nir. Duo had explained that the boar was with him and the boy took it as the huge hog was his property and left it at that. He also informed them that the village was on high alert due to the possible arrival of unfriendly visitors from the west. Duo knew of the desert people that made their home in the endless sands but he couldn’t reason why they would come here or what incident might have made Wufei believe them to be unfriendly. The news made his chest hurt when he considered it might be the presence of his dragon that was stirring things up. He thanked the boy and assured him he was doing everything in his power to remedy the situation before heading back toward the mountain. “I’m sorry I wasn’t more help,” Tauc-Nir offered when they neared his part of the woods. “You did your best,” Duo consoled. “I appreciate the effort.” “Will the dragon honor our agreement anyway?” “Of course,” Duo smiled patting the crest of his high, sparsely haired shoulders. “He would never hunt a personal friend of mine.” “If I learn of anything that might be of help I will inform you,” the boar smiled. “Thank you,” Duo returned and smiled fondly as he watched him disappear into the trees. He waited a good ten minutes before he turned his face to the sky and firmly intoned, “Hiiro!” but the instantaneous appearance of the beast behind him rocked him off his axis. “Geez! Where the hell were you?!” ”Hovering above,” Hiiro smiled, touching first his back then front legs to the ground before he asked, ”Did you find anything?” “No,” Duo sighed, stepping forward to brush his hand down the ridge of his nose. “The trail is too old,” he explained while the dragon purred and rubbed his face against his hand. He chuckled at the sight of the thing thrumming contentedly beneath his hand and grinned with more relief than he cared to admit as he ordered, “Take me home you silly brute.” ”By your command,” Hiiro smiled and Duo paused to consider the odd sparkle in his eye before dismissing it as another dragon mystery and climbing aboard. Hiiro fussed over him so much he was beginning to feel a bit claustrophobic by the time they settled down to sleep but it felt good to be in his own bed and under the secure, protective gaze of his den mate. The heat made him restless though so he turned this way and that, kicking his furs off then pulling them back on and moving his braid from one side to the other until Hiiro finally raised his huge head and inquired… ”Are you all right?” “I’m itchy,” Duo sighed, laying his braid aside again. ”We can visit the Mother’s Womb tomorrow if you like,” Hiiro offered. “No,” Duo sighed, flopping onto his back. “It’s too far. We can’t spare the time. We’ll have to widen our search in the morning.” There was an ominous silence that seemed to steal his breath away before the dragon softly intoned, ”There is another way,” His chest tightened as his mind screamed its warnings but his treacherous mouth would only ask, “How?” ”I can bathe you,” Hiiro explained, moving very slowly to slither up to his side. “Hiiro, I don’t think…” ”Shhhh,” the dragon soothed, using his mouth to pull the furs away before he nuzzled down deep in the nest beside his companion. ”It’s the way we clean our young,” he coaxed, pulling Duo and the thick fur he was lying on over to lie in the cradle of his front claw. “Hiiro…” Duo breathed but the stars that hovered around the dragon’s form dazzled his eyes, causing them to slip shut as a familiar warmth, soft and sure, began to lap at his bare ankles. “Damn,” he sighed, relaxing under the comforting touch then giggled when the beasts forked tongue tickled his feet. The giddy feeling evaporated once the grinning dragon moved to his calves and he began to feel the heat of his tongue mirrored inside the crevice of his body. His mind supplied him with visions of their first meeting and the dangerous acid that had dripped from his mouth but there was no evidence of it here, only the delicious heat and velvet softness that was making him feel more cherished than anything in Heaven or Earth. He knew he should stop, knew down deep in his soul he was moving toward something that broke all the laws of nature but his desire had grown to such a smoldering degree by the time his thighs were clean he gasped when the sumptuously long, decadent strokes disappeared, skipping the parts he wanted so desperately to share and moving on to his stomach and chest. Hiiro used his mouth to root around and remove his pants and it hit him with brilliant clarity as he trembled inside just exactly what he’d been hoping for. He suddenly felt his entire body ignite in a scarlet flame and dubiously turned onto his stomach to hide his shameful reactions. He wanted to call out, to beg him to stop the delicious torture but doing so would not only have caused him to stop, it would have alerted his attendant to his state of being, one such as he had to gather the folds of his discarded clothes beneath him so the evidence wouldn’t poke the dragons palm. He couldn’t breathe but he bit down on the fur beneath him to keep Hiiro from noticing as the long swipes of his tongue touched him from his toes to the nape of his neck. It missed nothing in between, wrapping deftly around his thighs and dipping into the crevice between the cheeks of his ass before moving slowly up and blanketing his back with moist heat. There was a moment he gasped for breath when Hiiro stopped at his neck to lap thoroughly at the base of his hair before beginning the trek all over again. The action touched Duo in a way that caressed his deepest, most secret desires and all at once his body tensed and betrayed him, spilling his passion and his secret and suddenly all he wanted to do was sink into the stone. Hiiro paused; a moment that took less than the blink of an eye but held voluminous comprehension before his tongue carefully finished its trail. Duo squeezed his eyes shut against the rising embarrassment and felt his body being returned to his bed, the furs tucked lovingly around his half naked, trembling form and heard the tell tale sound of claws on stone before the presence of his den mate and… friend disappeared on the silent winds of the night. He groaned as relief flooded his body and buried his head deep in his bed, thanking all the Gods he could recall the names of that the dragon was of noble heart. Facing him just then would have been way past mortifying, he wasn’t even sure he could cope with it later but for the moment he was given sanctuary and the time to pull his shit together and try to figure out what the hell he was going to do. He had not slept nor come to any conclusion when the dawn’s light brought Hiiro back to him. The dragon’s sudden appearance caused him to nearly jump from his bed and he realized there had been a part of his heart that hadn’t been sure he would return at all as relief again filled him up. “Hiiro,” he began with an uncertain smile but he wasn’t at all sure what he was supposed to say next so he turned his attention to the barrel the dragon was depositing on the floor. “Where do you get this stuff anyway?” he asked, going to take an inventory of the haul. It was, as usual, filled with fruits, flatbread and roasted meats of all kinds, a second he recognized as the same one Hiiro always brought water in filled to overflowing by its side. ”From the temple at Meir Groat,” Hiiro replied. Duo blinked. “You stole it from another god’s temple?” ”It is a false god,” the dragon reasoned, curling into a scaly mound near the rear of the cave. ”If I didn’t take it, it would simply rot.” Duo thought for a moment then tossed him a roast and took a big bite of a huge green apple as he wondered, “When do you hunt?” ”Why should I hunt the wild game when the humans are so willing to share what they farm?” came the distracted reply as the dragon swallowed and uncertainly made room in the crick of his front legs for Duo to crawl into. “You ate the villager’s sheep,” the braided one recalled, resting in the offered seat. ”It would be impolite to refuse such a gracious offering,” Hiiro smiled curling his head wearily around his companion. Duo smiled and snuggled down in the warmth of the circle of his neck and poked the core of his apple between his lips, his arms coming to wrap lazily around the hulking skull as his eyes finally drooped and he contentedly recited, “…but for the noble dragon’s heart.” Hiiro smiled, having heard the poem before and closed his eyes on the rising morning sun. When Duo awoke it was to the sight of soft blue eyes and a gentle smile that warmed his heart in such a way he just couldn’t make himself get up so Hiiro claw fed him and they spoke of past adventures and far away lands, what Duo’s favorite foods were and his compulsion to never let the flesh of an animal pass his lips. Hiiro told him of the Saddletine Wars and how he had served the good King Bryant as both a mount and a friend during the age of dragon riders and Duo tried to conjure up something that would give him a clue as to his race and origin but he knew so little about it himself it was of little help. Hiiro was delighted to know he appeared to come from a race with long lives however, and promised to help him discover himself. The sun had come and gone unnoticed during this time and other than the need to make short comfort trips into the woods, Duo spent the time cradled in the dragon’s arms, his heart as warm as the summer sun and his mind drifted in a sky of utter serenity. He had become completely unaware of the passage of time, the world outside fading from his mind as he soaked in the luxurious feelings being with the dragon afforded until the creature brought it all back one evening as he nuzzled and bathed the braided one’s neck and chest. ”What will your question be?” “What?” Duo gasped softly where he lay in the cradle of Hiiro’s left claw. “But it’s not time yet.” ”Evening has come,” Hiiro commented, turning to gaze out at the fuchsia sky. “But,” Duo whispered distantly. “It can’t be a week already.” Hiiro smiled as he turned back to nibble and lick his neck some more. ”You can wait if you like,” Duo swallowed, knowing full well he had no right to make the others wait. He’d come here with a job to do and he meant to do it. His question was infinitely less disturbing this time as he was not faced with the possibility of hearing his friend had committed an atrocity. However, he was aware that the answer could very well end his time here and force him to return to the human world. ”Duo?” “Where will you go when you leave?” Hiiro stared. ”Is that your question?” “No,” Duo sighed, wilting into his paws. “It’s just…” ”I will ever be by your side,” the dragon comforted, licking at his neck again. Duo chuckled, letting the warm reassurance fill him up before taking a deep breath to steady his voice. “Why did you come here?” He was wholly unprepared when the beast openly replied, ”I have come for Chang Wufei.” “What?!” Duo gasped, rolling out of his arms to gape fearfully at him. “Why?! What has he done!?” Hiiro’s scaly brows rose in mild surprise as he replied, ”He has been chosen,” “For what?! He’s a man of nobility in both blood and heart! A good leader of deepest integrity! What do you want with him?! He’s done nothing to…” but Duo’s words suddenly stopped when a massive clawed foot suddenly cracked the stone floor beneath them. The entire mountain rumbled in fear as the dragons fiery blue eyes crackled with evil intent and Duo swallowed a huge lump in his throat when Hiiro hissed his smoky inquiry, ”Have you feelings for this man?” “Not… intimate ones,” Duo confessed, hoping to defuse the demonic light in the dragon’s eyes as quickly as possible. ”But you care for him?” Hiiro persisted. Duo took heart in the fact that his tone had gentled and his eyes were less on the side of ravenous rage. “Yes,” he confirmed. “He has been kind to me and is good to his people. I don’t believe he deserves any punishment.” All manner of hostility drained from Hiiro’s eyes and he smiled affectionately and poked his big head into Duo’s personal space, ”I never said I came to punish him.” “Then…?” Duo breathed, gratefully wrapping his arms around the huge skull. ”He has been chosen as the new Dragon Lord,” the dragon explained, pulling back to grin at his small friend’s amazement. Duo thought back over the history of the world, quickly putting what he knew together with the tales that Hiiro had told him and came up with, “King Bryant.” ”Was the last,” Hiiro nodded. ”But that was over a thousand years ago and the world’s nations have forgotten their common bond. Chang Wufei will lead them back into a unified state.” “And you’re here to help him,” Duo smiled. ”Hai,” Hiiro confirmed, reaching forward to nuzzle him again but Duo was suddenly a furious blur. “We have to tell him!” he grinned, running to stuff his things in his pack. ”Duo?” the dragon hissed warily as he watched him scurry about. “Oh shit,” the braided one suddenly stopped. “You can’t come with me, not yet.” ”You’re leaving?!” Hiiro gasped. “Only for a couple of days,” Duo smiled, adding, “Don’t worry,” as he bounced over and planted a kiss on the top lip of Hiiro’s mouth leaving him blinking in delighted confusion before the exuberant youth suddenly commanded, “Now, take me to the eastern edge of the forest,” and did a swan dive out of the cavern’s mouth. Hiiro almost burst something darting out to rocket down and get under him but there was a smile plastered all over his face when Duo clung on and howled as they rose into the brilliant sunset sky. He was loathe to land when they reached their destination because his passenger had wrapped his long arms around his neck and snuggled him the whole way but making more than one wide sweep would have alerted his small passenger to his reluctance so he finally brought them down. “Everything is going to be all right,” Duo smiled, kissing his lip again and giggling when Hiiro’s tongue flicked out and licked the entire left half of his face. ”You’ll call as soon as you can?” the dragon murmured. “Of course I will,” Duo smiled. “Don’t go near the village before I return,” he instructed leaving the enormous reptile with a sad smile as he headed toward the castle. ** “Master Elf!” “I am not an elf!” Duo sang, snatching the stable boy up to spin him around and drop him back on the ground before he asked, “Where is your Master?” “I…in the Keep,” the boy chuckled breathlessly. “Lord Wufei!” Duo called brightly, ignoring the astonished faces of the men and women that populated the main hall as he breezed by. “Where is the elegant leader of this illustrious land?!” he sang, his expression glowing as bright as the sun as he spied the stunned object of his search. “Good day to you, My Liege,” he beamed sketching a low bow as Wufei trotted down the stairs to greet him. “Might I have a word with, Your Eminence?” “What in the world are you babbling about?” Wufei inquired in uncertain amusement. “Is this not a proper greeting for the King of the World?” Duo grinned smugly, laughing out loud at the scandalous shock that washed over his host’s face. “Come, my good man,” he grinned, throwing an arm around him to lead him away, “We have much to discuss.” ~ “Are you certain?” Wufei asked for the tenth time. Duo grinned as he kicked back another long drought of ale and nodded. “Then he has come to serve you?” Wufei’s chief advisor and childhood mentor, Master O, inquired. “No,” Wufei grinned and Duo mirrored the expression as he watched his black eyes calculate and plan. “The ancient scrolls describe it as an alliance. He has come in partnership.” “Every nation on the planet will come to the table once they learn of his presence,” Duo smiled. “A Celestial Dragon allied with the Chang Dynasty,” O breathed reverently. “It is a gift from the Gods.” “It is an enormous responsibility,” Duo reminded them. “Do not deign to pass his conviction off as divine intervention. He is as real as you or I, fully capable of making mistakes and prone to misunderstanding.” “A partner,” Wufei agreed, bringing a brilliant smile to Duo’s lips and they all raised their cups in salute when O chimed in with… “To the common good!”
tbc... |
