FSE

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"Just a blasted minute!" Allen yelled, staggering towards the door. He opened to to find a tan and beige dragoness in her bipedal form looking up at him slightly, being a little shorter than he. Her wings were long enough that they nearly trailed on the ground. He just stared at her, wondering why she had awoken him and Beth.

"Sir, I need beg you and your mate to come. You must go," she said.

"Go? Where? What about Ryan?"

"He is being ready. Please, hurry, Cladden says you must," she said urgently, her voice carrying an accent the tones of which he could not place.

"What is it?" Beth asked, coming up behind Allen.

"She says we have to go."

"Yes, please! You will come?" the dragoness asked hopefully.

"What about Ryan? Where is he?" Beth said looking at Allen in confusion.

"Your prince is being taken," the dragoness said, frowning, muttering something in draconic. "He is being taken with. Brought..." she shook her head. "Please, hurry, Cladden says!" she added urgently.

"Alright, alight!" Allen said, going to the bedroom to pack some clothes. Beth invited the dragoness inside, who nodded and followed her in, looking around the room curiously.

"Would you like something to drink?" Beth asked, trying to be courteous.

The dragoness looked puzzled. "Drink?"

"Ah, yes, water? Tea? Soda?" Beth offered.

"Oh!" The dragoness said, ducking her head slightly. "I am not so honored."

"Okay," Beth said lamely, totally at a loss on how to respond.

The dragons looked towards the room where Allen was packing rapidly. "He comes?"

"Yes, yes, he's coming, he's just getting our clothes!"

She bobbed her head again. "Hurry! Hurry!" she said and then yawned in evident nervousness and stretched out her wings slightly. Beth gasped at the sight of them. They were nearly opalescent, the webbing between the spars very fine, almost transparent. The dragoness looked at her curiously.

"You are so very pretty!" Beth told her.

The dragoness cocked her head. "Pretty?"

"Yes, beautiful."

"Oh!" the dragoness said, ducking her head once more. "Please, not so very much honor. I have...little need? None?" she hissed quietly, trying to come up with the words. "Please, you are kind, but hurry, we must. Cladden says."

Allen staggered into the room dragging two suitcases. "I got the basics. Ready?"

"As ready as I could be," Beth said. She looks down at the dragoness who was even shorter than she was. "What is your name, lady?"

The dragoness blinked and drew her head back, then ducked it again. "I was hatched..." she paused. "Moonlight, I think in your tongue. Luna? Yes, Luna."

Beth smiled. "Very well, Luna. Lead on."

She bobbed her head again, ducking once more, then quickly lead them up several flights of stars to the roof. The emerged onto a helipad where a helicopter was sitting idle, blades spinning. Kheros was sitting in the pilots seat, flipping switches and looking over gauges, going over a checklist. Ryan sat between Sulvius and Cladden in his small form, tail lashing, looking angry. They hurried over to him.

Ryan looked up at his parents and his face fell. "Mother! They will not bring Tanner! They will not say where he is!"

"Ryan, he had to go for a little while," Beth said soothingly.

"I will not leave without him!" Ryan said, lashing his tail again.

Beth looked at Sulvius helplessly and Allen reached down and grabbed Ryan's wing by the spar. The little dragon chirped in surprise. "You are going to get onboard that helicopter and there's not going to be any trouble, is there?"

Ryan looked startled and then growled threateningly. "Do not grab me!"

Allen's eyes flashed in anger. "Why you!"

"Allen, no!" Sulvius said, startled.

Ryan trilled sharply and Cladden stepped in front of him, hissing at Allen in anger. Allen staggered back and Ryan snarled. "Do not to tell me what to do! Do not try to stop me! Where is Tanner?"

Cladden shook off the effects of the trill and spun on Ryan, who looked him right in the eyes, nearly rigid in anger. Sulvius snatched the little dragon up and spanked him on the flank twice, hard, and sat him down in the helicopter hard enough that he squeaked. Ryan looked at Sulvius with an expression of surprise and fear.

"Ryan, we have gone over this before. You do not trill to get your way and you never, ever trill at or threat your parents! Do you understand me?"

Ryan whimpered. "Sulvius, I wish to have Tanner here!"

"Ryan...he will be along soon."

Ryan looked down. "Promise me."

"I promise, Ryan," Sulvius said.

The little dragon shook his head. "No. Promise me as the prince, as your loyalty to me, as on your honor that you will bring Tanner to me so very quickly."

Sulvius looked startled and then looked over at Cladden, and then at Irian who had just run up. Irian shrugged and him and Cladden gave a half smile. "And you were so very worried that he would not pick up on it!"

Sulvius laughed. "Right." He looked at Ryan. "As a dragon, on my honor, on my loyalty and on my love for you, Ryan, I promise that I will bring Tanner to you as soon as possible."

Ryan stared at him for moment, head cocked. "I believe you."

"Great. Now everyone into human forms and lets go!"

They piled aboard the helicopter, Allen sitting as far away from Ryan as possible, his face like thunder. Ryan looked at his mother and she shook her head slightly at the stricken look on his face. He started to say something to her and she shook her head and mouthed, "Not now." He nodded and she smiled and lifted her hand in the "I love you sign" and he smiled, reassured.

"Where is Pax?" Ryan wondered.

"Up here," Pax said. Ryan looked up and the tiny dragon laughed. "No, up in the cockpit with Kheros."

Ryan looked over his shoulder and Pax waved to him form where he was sitting in the copilot seat in his human form. Ryan grinned at him, not used to seeing him in human form. "You can fly?"

"All dragons can fly, Ryan."

"I mean the helicopter!"

"Oh, yes. That too."

"And he's not bad for a half pint!" Kheros yelled over the noise of the blades.

Pax glared at him and Kheros laughed. "Yes, well, at any rate I am copiloting, not that I think that big lump will need any help," Pax yelled. "Now get your headset on so we can leave."

Ryan pulled his headset on and keyed the mic. "Are Isabelle and Mikhail coming?"

"They will be along in another chopper," Sulvius said, his voice sounding tinny in the headset. "We need to get underway."

"Where are we going?" Ryan wondered.

"To the council chambers; a convocation has been called.

"Tanner," a voice whispered. Tanner mumbled something and tried to roll over and ignore it.

"Tanner!" the voice said more urgently and he opened one eye to see Norian staring down at him in his full dragon form.

"What? It's too early!" Tanner groused from where he was laying in Norian's forearms.

"Hardly that. We need to go."

"Go where?"

The dragon sighed and nuzzled Tanner carefully. "The council has called a convocation."

Tanner sat up straight. "What? Why?"

"There are claims that Ryan's parents have been found."

Tanner looked startled. "Is it true?"

Norian shook his head. "Possible? I suppose that I could be, but we very seriously doubt it. It is a ploy to get us to move."

"Then why in the world are we moving and playing their game?"

"Because if they make a convincing enough case they can shut Ryan out all together or at least make it much harder on him. If we do not protest and bring Ryan out now it will forever cast doubt on things, especially in those minds that were predisposed to doubt in the first place. It would stir up trouble that will benefit them, not us."

"So they are taking Ryan there now?"

"Yes, and you need to get ready and hurt. Mikail has arranged for a private jet to get there. Ryan is not going to tolerate you being gone for long I do not think."

"We're not bound yet, sir," Tanner said quietly.

"I know, but he is still dependent on you. Hurry along, little one."

Tanner packed his clothes and they both went to the waiting cab, piling in the back.

"Is your mate coming, Norian?"

He shook his head. "Not, Charis is staying in England to manage things there."

Tanner nodded and found himself learning against Norian comfortably; the dragon patted him on the back fondly. In so many ways Norian had been his father every bit as much as his actual father had been. Clive approved of the relationship and encouraged the two to spend time together and frequently. Before Clive passed away, he explained that in part it was how hard Norian would take the loss of him and that if Tanner had children that he would encourage them to have the same relationship.

Tanner was very well aware how strong the relationship was. He loved Norian enough that he would do practically anything for him, and they were not even bound. What did that mean for him and Ryan should things progress, he wondered. He wasn't sure and wasn't sure he wanted to know; it scared him a little, he had to admit. There again, he knew he loved Ryan dearly and wanted to be there for the young dragon in any way possible.

It was such an odd thing really, he reflected, how strong some human and dragon relationships could be, how the two difference species could effect each other. Norian would never openly admit it, but Tanner knew that he loved him and his family every bit as much as he did his own children and grand children. There was a certain bond there, not the binding of a dragon to a human, but a strong friendship and bond between them.

Other dragon friends had commented on their own relationships in the same way. Once you were attached to "your" dragon it could be hard to be apart from them and not spend time with them to the point of even neglecting human relationships.

And that Ryan could be bound to him in a much stronger way...

Tanner thought about it, troubled, all the way to the airport.

He sat in the luxurious private jet, still mulling over those questions, as Norian sat down next to him. "Well boy?"

"What, sir?"

"What are you going to do about Ryan?"

"Sir," he stopped, shaking his head. "What should I do?" he asked quietly.

"I cannot make that choice for you, Tanner."

"You must have an opinion!"

Norian shook his head. "I see both good and bad, but my choice would not be unbiased. I have been with humans, perhaps not bound to but with, for many generations. Though you can be very annoying I have come to care for you all."

Tanner smiled at the way Norian avoided the use of the word love. "So you would encourage Ryan."

"Perhaps."

Tanner sighed, lowering his chin to his chest. "I...I just am not sure, sir."

"It is a very big responsibility."

"I know that."

"Caring for any young dragon is, no matter the circumstance," Norian continued. "And in this? It would be far deeper. You know how Ryan responds to you currently and that magnified many times? It is a big duty, Tanner."

"I know that, but I'm not sure I can choose, sir."

Norian snorted, a gesture that carried over from his dragon form, "And who could then?"

"I'm not sure. Perhaps Ryan should make the choice; it involves him."

"He is far from old enough to make such a decision, Tanner, to say nothing of not being fully comfortable as a dragon," Mikail said as he walked unsteadily up the isle towards them and sat down, grumbling. "Blasted two legs and no tail. How the hell do you manage."

"We have no choice, honored one."

"There is that," Mikail conceded. "Tanner, you are going to have to be the adult and choose in this situation. You cannot leave it to Ryan; you know well what he will do."

"He would choose me," Tanner said quietly.

"Of course he would, but is that right?" Mikail asked.

Tanner shrugged. "I'm not sure."

"Then stay away from him," Mikail said bluntly, "If you are confused about it it is only going to confuse him during a time when he needs to be alert and at his best."

"No," Tanner said firmly.

Norian sighed. "Tanner..."

"Sir, you said that I had to choose what I though to be right and I can certainly say that Ryan being without me isn't going to make him in any way confident."

"You being there is going to cause confusion," Mikail said.

"My leaving is going to hurt him!"

"What is worse and which will he get over?"

Tanner looked down. "Sir..."

"Stop badgering my friend," Norian said.

"If he cannot fly with the dragons-"

"Oh shut up," Tanner interrupted irritably, "I'm in no mood for your platitudes or trite sayings."

Mikail glared at him and Norian burst out laughing. "Ah, Tanner, I had forgotten what kind of spunk you Wilberforce's are capable of. Stand down, boy, Mikail is not your enemy and he means well."

"Sorry sir, honored one."

Mikail grunted. "As you wish. But remember all that has been said. I will ask you, at least, to stay busy and stay back from him while we are there, at least most of the time. You will like as not be barred form the council chambers anyway and restricted while at the compound."

Tanner sighed. "Yes, honored one."

Norian rubbed Tanner's back. "It will be fine, little one."

Tanner gave Norian a half hearted smile and looked out the window, brooding as the miles wore on.