"I can't believe this!"

Zale winced, just a little, and Wiro nuzzled his arm from her seat on the floor beside him. She had refused to let him talk to Cothran alone-- or, more appropriately, get yelled at by Cothran. The man had somehow not discovered that Zale had been one of the candidates who had been chosen at what was generally being referred to as the "zappy" hatching-- apparently that's what those lightning marks on Wiro's hide made her, "zappy"-- and he had been shocked briefly speechless when, at their regular weekly status meeting, his least-promising recovering addict came drifting in with a large, silver dragon-baby trailing along behind him. The speechlessness hadn't lasted long, as Zale had expected, giving way to angry bluster. Zale weathered it like he always had, only this time he had support.

It had only been two days since their bonding, and already Zale could hardly imagine life without Wiro. Or, he could, but he couldn't imagine how he'd gotten along or been anything remotely like happy. The worst moments had been when she'd woken up-- just after he had woken, himself, and had just enough time to remember who that large, silver thing sprawled half-against him, half-on him was-- starving and only half-aware, and he had nearly panicked trying to find something in his nearly-empty fridge to satisfy her. Even then, that wasn't so bad, because once he'd sent an entire package of balogna down her throat, her hunger had abated enough to make her coherent again, and she'd apologized profusely for scaring him. He'd forgiven her immediately, of course.

Thankfully, before he could start to worry about how he could possibly afford to look after Wiro if a whole package of lunchmeat was only a small snack for her now, the young lady who'd mispronounced his name when she let him know of Wiro's hatching called again, inviting him to move into the housing provided for new dragoner pairs. She'd even given him an address on the second deck where he and Wiro were assigned, until Wiro had finished growing and the two of them had learned all there was to learn about their bond, the duties and abilities of dragons, and how to look after each other. Even better, she'd told him that, for anything that was directly related to Wiro's care growing up or his own basic necessities until she was full grown, he would receive a substantial discount. Adding together with his rehabilitation-discount, good until his case-worker Cothran deemed him as recovered as he cold get and took away the privilage, he would be buying things at even below wholesale cost. Money would not be an issue, and maybe he could even start to save, at long last.

The move had been simple, especially given that whatever department covered hatchings had sent a few hovering platforms and their operators for his sparse belongings, and now he and Wiro were comfortably settled in at a very spacious apartment that he was assured that Wiro would grow into, with rooms attached that were more Zale's size. It was much nicer than where he'd lived before, and Wiro had a shower she fit into, so he wasn't about to complain. There was even easy-access to a private, new-dragoner butcher for her daily meals-- he was told that those would slow down to every couple days once she grew some, which would be a relief-- for a very reasonable fee.

All that was left after that, really, was telling the few people he knew who he thought would care to know. First, of course, had been Ian. His brother had been surprised, of course, even shocked. But Wiro had won him over quickly enough with her sweet nature and adorable face, and Zale had actually managed to make a rare, halfway-coherent explanation and assurance that he knew what he was doing. He actually thought that having Wiro's love and encouragement in the back of his mind was helping him make vocal sense of what was going on in his head, or at least be bold enough to say it: even if he sounded stupid, she would still love him. He also thought that it might have been his obvious affection for the hatchling dragon that finally proved to Ian that he might actually be able to look after her, or that he would at least do his best to do so.

Cothran would probably be more difficult to convince, especially since he was taking the surprise so badly. The big man-- why he was a rehab case-worker, Zale had no idea; he looked more like a beefed-up security guard or policeman-- had even abandoned his desk to pace, as he only did when he was at his most agitated. Zale had driven him to that point once or twice, to his chagrin. He was, after all, Cothran's least-promising case: he hadn't relapsed yet, but he wasn't really recovering, either.

:I think you've been doing fine,: Wiro commented on that line of thought. :I'm sure other people would have relapsed, but you've been strong.:

Not exactly strong, he admitted ruefully. I just haven't had much opportunity.

:You've been strong,: she repeated with stubborn surety, and he couldn't help but smile.

"What, you think this is funny??" Cothran demanded, rounding on him and catching the smile.

"No, sir," Zale said dutifully, though the sight of the man's round face so red and flustered-looking was a little amusing. Zale hadn't had many opportunities to surprise his caseworker, and he found he was enjoying it this time. 

"Well, good, because it's not! You're nowhere near ready for this, Runnoe. This is a big responsibility, you know! You can't just go about bonding yourself dragons on a whim, you have to plan, you have to think, you have to know what you're getting into--"

"But I did."

That normally silent, submissive Zale would interrupt his loud case-work stopped Cothran short. "I did think," Zale repeated simply. "And I thought...." He paused, trying to gather his thoughts, and Cothran, used to long silences, waited, still looking a bit stunned. "I thought this would... help. She. Wiro."

Cothran's eyes went back to the silver dragonet and his brows came together again. Wiro blinked and tilted her head sweetly at him. "Wiro," Cothran muttered, then rubbed at his face with a hand. "And is she helping?"

Zale nodded once, stroking Wiro's neck absently. "Better than music," he said. "And." He smiled faintly. "Don't need to talk."

:Though I like when you talk,: Wiro reminded him.

And maybe I'll get better at it, someday, just for you. The wash of love at the thought was more than enough to make him promise himself to do just that. It seemed like a small thing to try, just to make her happy.

"So you think this is good for you," Cothran stated, rather than asked. Zale knew that tone: Cothran knew he'd made a point, but he didn't want to admit it. He nodded, anyway, and the big caseworker grunted. "And you think you can afford taking care of her? You feel like you're ready for this kind of responsibility?"

"Don't have a choice, sir," he answered the second question, smiling some. "But yes. And yes," he added for the first question. At Cothran's skeptical look, he explained, "Discounts, sir. For new pairs."

"Oh. Yes." Either Cothran didn't know, or he'd forgotten. Quite likely the first, since Cothran didn't have a dragon of his own and, mostly likely, none of his other cases did, either. Not too many recovering druggies went and got themselves dragon-bonded, he guessed. He thought that he might be very lucky, to have bonded, himself. Glancing down at Wiro, he decided that it wasn't just "might", he was lucky.

"So, you're a dragoner now," Cothran interrupted his thoughts, speaking with grudging acceptance that turned slowly into his usual brisk, business-like manner. "We're going to have to have some talks about what all that means for you, what all your responsibilities are now, what I can do to help you, and what this will do to your recovery." He had sat down at his desk again, meaning he had finally gotten his own thoughts in order.

:Is he always this... blustery?:

Yes. Though he's not that bad, usually, he's just surprised.

"Unfortunately, that will have to wait for next week, so I can do a little research. I assume the hatching department has filled you in on what you'll be doing until then, at least?" They had, and it turned out that there were actual classes to take. At Zale's nod, Cothran gave a little sigh, running his thick fingers through shaggy, ruddy-brown hair. "Well, I guess that's it for today," he finally said. "I'll see you next week. Both of you, I guess."

As Zale was holding the door for Wiro to squeeze herself out of, Cothran added, "Good luck to you. And congratulations."

Zale's answer was a smile, before he slipped out after his dragon.

Chapter Six

Back