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Why had Tommy agreed to this? The massive cave does little to instill confidence in his quivering heart. It suddenly made sense why all his coworkers declined the job, leaving the youngest to do it. When they remarked the three customers live on the side of the mountain they sure didn’t include the fact that it was inside the mountain. Instead of a cozy cabin with a few memorabilia, he is instead standing at the mouth of a FUCKING CAVE. One that doesn’t seem all that appealing all of a sudden. What did these random men have worth appraising anyways? They lived in a cold, damp, totally not scary cave.
Was he supposed to knock? What is the proper etiquette for entering a cave? The last thing he wanted was to be reported for some random shit, his boss warned him he had one more chance before he got the boot. Not his fault people were so sensitive about their worthless items.
In an attempt to save his knuckles from the rough rock, he simply edged closer to the entrance, toeing at the dirt that lay just before the start of the stone floor. “Hello!? Is anyone here!?” A rough noise could be heard echoing out of the mouth of the cave, sounding more like two rocks colliding with each other than a person coming to greet him. “I was told to come up and appraise some stuff.” The sound of his voice echoed painfully back out of the cave, the ringing making him wince at how harsh it sounded. “I'm a fucking idiot. It's probably not a fucking cave dumbass.”
Tommy’s hands flipped through the papers on his clipboard, ignoring the slightly crumpled papers. The directions given to him were no different from what they were earlier, leaving Tommy right back where he started. AT A FUCKING CAVE. The blond slowly turned his back to the dark void, eying the trees for any sort of cabin or even a tent nearby. Anything that would make more sense than some hole in the side of the mountain.
“You’re a lot smaller than I expected.” Tommy whipped around, the voice behind him being loud and rough. The edges of it felt like it was stabbing into the boy’s spine, leaving his heart pounding. His fucking coworkers had sent him to his death, he was going to fucking murder them when he got back. Or maybe haunt them if this was his final destination.
The crimson eyes were squinted slightly, probably due to the light that originated from behind the blond. “I'm sorry Mr. Dragon sir. I was unaware this was your cave.” Smoke curled out of the beast’s nose, the cloud curling around the set of horns on its head. The ends of which were broken and chipped, as if they had been broken off. “Look, my coworkers sent me up here to appraise some stuff for some customers. I'll get out of your hair- er- scales? Horns? Do you know where a Mr.Phil- umm... Philza? Resides? Tommy's voice wavered uncharacteristically, the normally brave and slightly brash boy left in a stuttering mess.
“Calm down kid, this is the right place. Come on in, I'm sure Phil will be ecstatic he was finally able to get someone to come up.” The beast turned, the tight space proving little difficulty as the dragon squeezed around the hard rock. The dark red scales smoothly slid over themselves, revealing a gold underside that hid in between the scales. Tommy’s light footsteps felt none existent beside the thundering steps of the dragon.
“My boss wanted me to have you fill out this form. It asks just basic information about the customer so we have it on file if you ever need our service again in the future.” The red dragon turned his head to look at the boy, his head barely tall enough to dust the bottom side of his underbelly. “I mean if you don’t want to I'm sure we can just skip that step!”
“Calm down kid, you act like I'm going to eat you or something.”
“You can’t blame me, can you? The townspeople think you moved out centuries ago, so I wasn’t expecting to see you.”
“Yeah well, we haven’t been out and about much.” The dragon had to crouch down a bit to walk through the threshold of a larger chamber. Its horns nearly collided with the rough roof. “When the humans stopped trying to hunt us we stopped trying to destroy them.”
Tommy eyed the moving form of the beast, reveling in the mesmerizing gold and red scales. His eyes lingered on the lighter-colored scales that encircled the beast’s neck, muzzle, legs, and wings in thick bands. “So it was all self-defense.” The blond looked at the ground, his brain trying to keep up with everything happening. “That's not what they told us, but that makes a lot more sense to me than you being some bloodthirsty human eater.”
The dragon simply nodded before motioning his head behind Tommy, leaving the boy to slowly turn around. The cave was much cozier than he expected, evident by the large cerulean blue dragon that lay on a pile of fabric. Its ultramarine eyes were lazy as they caught Tommy’s own blue eyes. The red dragon hummed roughly behind him. “That is Wilbur, Phil should be here shortly.”
The blue dragon, Wilbur, nodded at the teen, showing off his icy underbelly and the copper undertones that nestled between his scales. “We don't get many visitors, humans have customs. Can I get you some water? That's human, right Tech?” Tommy couldn’t help the snort that escaped him, the noise startling both dragons that towered over him. Wilbur buried his nose in the blankets below him, presumably embarrassed if Tommy was to guess. Techno simply sat down behind Tommy before he too laid down.
“Sorry, that wasn’t very nice. I appreciate your effort.” Tommy attempted to squander the giggles building in his throat. “I just find it funny two dragons are being more hospitable than almost all my human customers.”
The red dragon let out a high-pitched noise, similar to what Tommy guessed was a chuckle. “Wilbur, get your nose out of the blankets. Stop acting like a hatchling.”
“Shut your fucking snout Techno, it wasn’t you that embarrassed yourself.” Wilbur lifted his head, baring his extremely sharp teeth at the other dragon, his chest letting out an unsettling rattle. Techno, the red dragon simply responded with an even glare, his chest letting out a loud and antagonistic hiss.
Tommy, who currently stood between them took a few steps back, trying to avoid being toasted like a roast chicken. His steps were light and silent as he tried to expertly dance from between two presumably angry overgrown lizards. What he didn’t expect was a third deeper clicking to suddenly start up behind him, reminiscent of the time his boss had him remove an owl from the attic, its beak snapping ominously at him. But this time it filled the entire space, making the hair on Tommy’s body freeze. Both Wilbur and Techno abruptly stopped their noise, leaving the third to linger a little longer before it cut off.
The sudden silence left Tommy to turn around, the large chest of a third dragon standing barely a foot behind him, leaving Tommy craning his neck in an attempt to look at its head. This dragon’s scales were dark green, so dark they almost looked black if it weren’t for the flicker of light emitting from some torches that lined the walls. The small gaps between them reveal slivers of bronze, not nearly as flashy and bright as the gold tones of Techno. This dragon's horns curved in a regal arch before turning into a corkscrew, unlike Wilbur's that laid back against his skull in an aerodynamic shape.
“Please excuse those two, they are not used to guests. Or acting civil.” A heavy glare was shot over Tommy’s head. “Wilbur, go back to your river to cool off, you can join us afterward. Techno, go to your chamber, the same is for you.” Both dragons huffed before standing, Techno’s red tail could be seen disappearing around a corner while Wilbur’s sunk into a small pool of water that hung to the side of the cave, one that was much deeper than Tommy thought as it sunk into black oblivion.
“Are you Mr. Philza?”
“Just Phil is fine mate. Sorry about those two again.”
Phil carefully slid around Tommy, careful not to touch the teen. While he wasn’t nearly as bulky or tall as Techno his wings were large and his tail and body were long and thin. “It’s alright, I accidentally kinda started it. Can I ask what the noises were? If that's not rude I mean!”
The sound of Phil’s claws scraping on the stone was all the noise that fluttered around the save as the pair wandered deeper. “Well, they both have the same meaning; It's a show of dominance or warning. Techno’s hiss was the sound his fire makes in his chest, and Wilbur, who is incapable of making fire has his noise.” Phil looked back, probably checking Tommy was following. “We refer to it as a death rattle, it doesn’t have the same meaning to dragons as it does humans. It's just his gills and other water-breathing organs vibrating inside his lungs.”
Tommy nodded along, genuinely curious. “If it's a sign of dominance does that mean you're the boss here? They stopped when you started.”
Phil let out a melodic laugh, the edges of it sounding slightly bird-like. “You could say that I guess. I'm their dad so as long as I'm alive they better listen to me. Little shits beg to differ though. Heads up, by human definition I am a bit of a hoarder. But it’s just my hoard I have collected over the years.
“That's fine, I have been in quite a few large collections. I've gotten good at going quick.” Tommy chuckled, the clipboard that still was in his hands feeling a bit slick from his sweaty hands. “I was talking to Techno, if you were alright with it my boss wants everyone to fill out this form.” Tommy turned the clipboard so it was facing the dragon as he turned to look back. Heat rose in his cheeks as he tried to hide the sloppy doodles on the front paper.
“That's fine, whatever you need. You will have to be the one to fill it out though.”
“We can do that after.” The slight slope leveled out as the entrance to a bigger cave approached, the inside littered with items of all sorts.
Phil used his claws to delicately scoop some items up, gently placing them on top of a nearby pile. “I told you there was a lot. You will probably be down here for a while so if you need anything, and I mean anything, just ask.”
Tommy couldn’t help the flutter of anxiety at the sight of the dragon's hoard. The overwhelming amount of stuff not helping. “Alright, well. Are you sure you are alright with me riffling around in your hoard big man? Don't wanna overstep any boundaries.”
Phil nodded, his body wrapping around itself as he turned to face the teen. Carefully lifting his tail so it went over Tommy’s head. As the dragon settled on the rocky floor Tommy kneeled beside the first pile. Trinkets and random bits all shoved in a pile, left for a poor unsuspecting teen to sort. With every object revealed Phil simply snorted, telling a story about how he acquired it as he lay his chin on his front feet.
It wasn’t long after Tommy finished off the first stack of items that Techno came slithering in, the space quickly becoming cramped as Techno carefully stepped over the items Tommy recently displaced. When the tip of his tail grazed the top of it he swiftly looked back to apologize, which Tommy swiftly waved off. Even if Phil’s stories were extremely interesting Techno’s addition was spectacular. Each time Phil would say something the Crimson dragon gave his input, dry remarks that poked fun at the “old man”.
With two dragons laying side by side, pressed against the wall it left a surprising lack of space for Tommy to move objects around in. His clipboard sat beside him as he marked down the estimated price of each item. His knees were starting to ache as his legs slowly went numb from lack of blood flow, he changed from kneeling to sitting around the same time Wilbur showed up.
This time the dragon looked like he was half asleep, tail colliding with the pile Tommy was currently working on. When Wilbur finally looked down, realizing his mistake he carefully stepped aside, effectively stepping on Techno's foot leaving his brother growling as he nipped at the offending leg. At the threat of Techno’s sharp teeth, the blue dragon startled back, colliding with the pile he was so skillfully trying to avoid. The slick pile of golden jewelry Tommy had been trying to sort left the beast slipping before colliding with the floor, his wing smacked Tommy on the way down. Luckily the rest of Wilbur’s body missed the substantially smaller boy, unfortunately, the pile of jewelry was scattered, effectively erasing most of Tommy’s completed work.
As soon as Wilbur lost his balance Phil stood, his front claws outstretched as if trying to catch Wilbur. Techno in his attempt to scurry away from the falling weight flared his much larger wings, the scarred leathery flesh barely missing another pile of items before Wilbur effectively trapped it between him and the floor.
In a matter of seconds, all of the work Tommy did was lost in scattered oblivion, along with the wind that was nestled between his ribs at the sudden assault from Wilbur’s muscled wing. The sound of his gasped breaths was enough to send Phil into a panic apparently, his razor-sharp claws being surprisingly gentle as he scooped up the wheezing boy, holding him alarmingly close to his face. As if Tommy touching the reptilian eyeball would allow Phil to see inside his body, and reveal any unnoticed injury.
“Are you alright? Can you breathe?” Phil’s breath was hot, probably appropriate coming from a fire-breathing dragon. “I'm so sorry Tommy, he didn’t mean to hurt you!” Tommy simply waved his hand, his breath slowly returning as his diaphragm stopped seizing. His head fell to rest on his chest as he let his head drop back, colliding with the hard scales of Phil’s hand.
“I'm fine, although I will probably have to come back tomorrow to restart this. I don’t really wanna hike off the mountain at night.” Techno could be seen looking down at Tommy over Phil’s shoulder, his height allowing his view to be unobscured. Wilbur on the other hand sat off to the side, his tail wrapped tightly around his feet as he slouched in on himself. The massive beast appeared more like a kicked puppy than the bloodthirsty monster Tommy was raised to know them as. “Don’t worry about it Wilbur, honest mistake.”
Techno lightly tapped the tip of his snout against Tommy’s chest, startling the boy. “Why don’t you just stay up here till you finish? Or let one of us fly you down to the base of the mountain.” Phil simply nodded along, a quiet hum filling the small space as if he was purring along with the idea.
“Whatever you guys would prefer, it's no issue though.”
“Nonsense, you would have been a quarter of the way done before I ruined hours of your work.” Wilbur kept his chin down, his wings pressed close against his back “You can start early in the morning if that's what you wish.”
Tommy shrugged uncommittedly, his legs aching at the thought of hiking down only to have to hike back up in the morning. Phil’s claws shifted suddenly leaving Tommy flailing slightly, his hands scrambling to grasp at the claws under him. With only one of Phil’s hands holding the boy left him shimmying up the cave, towards the main living area, the other two following closely. It wasn’t till Tommy was gently placed in the pile of blankets Wilbur previously lay in. “Stay here, I don’t want you getting hurt further.”
“I'm not even hurt, Wilbur’s wing just knocked the breath out of me.”
“I don’t care, don't you dare argue with me. If you even think about leaving this pile I will simply place you back here like a rambunctious hatchling.”
Techno and Wilbur stood side by side in the doorway they just entered, both dragons snickering about Phil going “Dadza Mode”. Although both quickly shut their mouths when Phil turned, his clicking from earlier returning. Wilbur immediately excused himself, stating he was going to go locate more blankets, mumbling about finding more “human-sized” objects while he was at it. Techno started in the opposite direction, walking towards the entrance they had entered in. His excuse is something along the lines of going hunting for the boy and his “weak digestive system”.
Phil simply nodded along, his pupils fluctuating in size as he crossed the room. His actions seemed to be driven by another person as he rearranged the pile around the blond, or as he pressed close to hear Tommy’s breathing as if Wilbur punctured his lung. It didn’t take long for Techno to return, his jaw holding a bloody Elk.
The thought of venison calms the deep ache of hunger. The meat is a whole lot better than the cheap porridge his boss gives him as part of the negotiated payment. While watching Techno struggle was funny, the large sharp claws struggling to remove the hide from the animal. Taking the chance as Phil’s back was turned Tommy slowly crept from the nest. The knife that was hidden on the inside of his pants was easy to retrieve.
The gleam of the sharp metal seemed to startle Techno, a snort of smoke making Tommy’s lungs seize as he kneeled beside the majestic beast the dragon had caught. It wasn’t long before Techno realized what the blond was doing, opting to help move the 700+ pounds of animal. The pair made the operation fast and efficient, with adequate amounts of meat retrieved before Tommy cleaned the blood off his blade on the fur of the Elk.
The chunk of meat Tommy had butchered was handed to Techno as he stretched his claws out. The dragon turned away from Tommy, his chest rumbling as he released a small burst of flames, the outside immediately darkening from the heat and char. The flame was a violet blue, the heat could be felt rolling over the room, even as Techno was facing away to protect the boy from the heat directly. The venison still steamed as it was roughly placed on a golden platter that Phil had retrieved at some point.
The older dragon seemed to just notice Tommy’s absence from the nest-like structure, his clicking returning as he edged towards the boy. While it didn’t have the same instinctual effect on Tommy as it did on Phil’s actual sons it was still startlingly effective. A creeping chill ran up Tommy’s spine, his amygdala informing him of the evolutionary struggle of predator and prey. Tommy shrunk back, his eyes widening as his body suddenly filled with a rush of adrenaline. Techno thankfully intervened, his body separating the pair as he crouched down, lowering his body so it was below Phil’s. The whole interaction reminded Tommy of when wolves interacted.
The should of Techno rumbling, his chest letting out a low growl, more similar to a purr. The actions seemed to snap Phil out of his trance, leaving him shaking his head as he nuzzled Techno’s cheek. “You were scaring him, Tommy isn’t used to dragons, Phil. He doesn’t understand your noises.”
“I’m sorry Tommy, instincts got ahold of me there.” Phil ducked down, his chest resting on the stone floor, similar to when a cat crouches down. “Can you head back over to the nest, mate? You can eat there.”
Tommy simply scurried back over, his body trying to wake up from the fear-induced haze. Everything after that seemed to pass in a blur. The food was delicious and made Tommy’s eyes heavy as it settled in his stomach. Wilbur had returned at some point, a little golden chalice of water clutched in his grasp. He pranced about, a look of pride and he showed it off to Tommy.
Before he knew it Tommy lay in a ball in the nest, blankets bunched around him keeping the chill of the night out. Along with the fire, Techno started just for him in mind. The three dragons lay circled him, at first being a bit worrisome but now was everything but. Wilbur’s cool scales are padded with blankets to keep him from stealing the boy's heat. Techno’s on the other hand ran warm, leaving the blond unconsciously pressing up against the beast's side, his wing carefully draped over him. Phil lay under Tommy’s feet, his mass blocking out the wind coming down into the cave from outside, his eyes open as he presumably stands guard over his sons… and Tommy.
—-
The morning was a bit hard to differentiate. The sun's rays not seeping anywhere near the nest, leaving Tommy to trust his internal clock more than anything. The sound of three dragons breathing filled the cavern, leaving Tommy to just lay there and stare at the dark ceiling. No shame was felt as he pressed himself against Techno, even more, reveling in the warm scales. The dragon rolled slightly, allowing Tommy to press against the softer scales of its underbelly instead of the harder sharper scales that protected his side.
It wasn’t long after Techno moved that his eyes cracked open, his neck bending as he wrapped it around to look at Tommy. His slitted eyes constricted as Tommy looked up, the chin of the beast resting beside the puny human boy.
“You wanna get up, get some breakfast before you start work again?” Techno’s whisper was soft and rough from misuse.
“I'm not hungry, never really eat breakfast anyways. Can we just get started, or should we wait for Phil?”
“We can go down, he will find us when he and Wilbur get up.” The chill that attached itself to Tommy was startling as Techno stood, pulling himself away from the bundle of warmth and family. As the pair carefully crept down the corridor again. Surprisingly the morning chill wasn’t as strong, the deeper they went. Even as the stone stayed cool the air warmed slightly, helped by Techno relighting touches along the way.
It didn’t take long to locate the clipboard from the night prior, his hands scooping the scattered items back into the pile so he could restart the process.
It was possibly an hour or so before the other two crept into the room, carefully avoiding the piles this time. The trio lay in a cramped pile, wings and tail intertwining as one of them, probably Wilbur, purred as they watched Tommy sort and examine.
As the new piles grew and grew the original ones shrunk down. Tommy at some point had asked for a pillow or blanket, which Phil promptly retrieved. The padding under his knees did wonders for the aching pain that shot up and down his legs.
It seemed to take forever to sort through everything, but eventually, Tommy grabbed the last item. His eyes danced over it looking for scratches or damage, finding none he carefully marked the estimated worth down on his paperwork.
“Alright Phil, here is your estimated worth.” The boy turned the clipboard around, holding it for the dragon to look over. His claw was delicately lifted before tapping on one of the items listed.
"What do you mean that's only worth 20 bucks? When I bought it it was worth so much more!" His eyes danced down the page further, his confused expression just deepening more. “Actually why is this whole section too cheap?”
Tommy glanced down at the section Phil was talking about, the words written there leaving Tommy rolling his eyes. A defeated sigh escaped his lips before he could stop it, leaving both Techno and Wilbur giggling along.
"These items are practically ancient! Who uses pagers, Walkmans, and the entire collection of Disney's movies… ON VHS TAPES!!!" Phil sputtered, his eyes widening at the sass.
“Fine, I can’t sign your signature line. Just do it for me.” Tommy simply nodded, signing a simple ‘Philza’ on the line. It wasn’t long after that the three dragons untangled themselves from each other. The group slowly surfaced from the cave. The blinding sunlight was so vastly different it left Tommy squinting, his eyes watering at the assault.
It didn’t take much convincing for Tommy to be talked into climbing up on Techno’s back. The spines down his spine left a perfect spot for Tommy to sit, the littler barbs making excellent handles as the muscles of Techno’s back shifted under him as Techno shifted. The size of him requiring Techno to lay down for Tommy to scramble up his slick scales. Phil nuzzled the underside of Techno’s jaw, a quiet chirp leaving his mouth as what Tommy assumed was a “goodbye”, or possibly a “be safe”. Wilbur did much the same, although as he pulled away his sharp teeth nipped at Techno’s scales, leaving the red dragon to nip back before releasing a chuff. Phil simply shook his head in fond exasperation.
Phil however didn't stop there, he slowly crept back till he was beside Techno, his nose jabbing at Tommy’s chest as he released a burst of warm air. “Feel free to come back anytime mate. We have plenty of time and stories to share if you wish.”
The offer was tempting, the memory of warm nights and even warmer food. Cuddles and protection, even if it came from giant beasts who claimed sharp claws and even sharper teeth.
Wilbur following Phil's lead also nuzzled close, his head angled down so he could press Tommy between the horns on top of his head. Tommy simply reached his arms around Wilbur’s head, or at least as much as he could. A firm squeeze is given to the water dragon as a goodbye.
The moment is over long before Tommy wants it to be. He's not sure when he started enjoying the trio's company, finding a part of his soul longing for calm warm nights spent with the scaly beasts. Either way, he has a life down in the village to return to. Cold lonely nights, minimal amounts of food, being scammed out of money by his boss but pretending not to notice. He was suddenly having a hard time romanticizing that life.
Tommy’s thoughts quickly cleared as Techno stood, the grip on his spine being tested at the unevenly moving surface. “You ready kid?”
“Yup, please don’t drop me.” Techno snorted out a laugh, smoking rising before dispersing in the air. Techno’s wings unfolded, spreading to their full size for the first time in Tommy’s presence. The sight was jaw-dropping, the sheer size making Tommy’s brain flip. The scarred scales becoming more clear as the flesh stretched. Perhaps the cause of Techno’s scars was one of the stories Tommy would have to come back for. Yeah, he would have to come back to learn about Techno’s past. It would be rude not to, right?
The sudden rush of wind and shift of gravity made the boy let out an alarmed shriek. His hands scrambled for a tighter hold. It only took maybe two flaps before they were high above the ground, the large leathery wings locking in an extended position as they glided through the brisk air. With his wings out Tommy felt a whole lot safer, the appendages protecting him from immediately falling thanks to him sitting between them.
Tommy couldn’t help leaning back, his spine straightening as he threw his arms out, trusting Techno to hold steady as his arms danced in the wind. Shrill shrieks and hollers bubbled out of his throat as he pumped his arms. Techno’s roar joined him, the ribs under Tommy’s legs vibrating with the volume.
Much like Wilbur’s hug, the moment ended a lot faster than he wanted it to. Techno attempted to land as gently as possible, the jolt still shuddered through Tommy though, his unprepared jaw painfully colliding with itself. Getting on Techno was one feat, getting off was another. Tommy’s actions are very ungraceful as Techno lies down. When getting on Tommy had Phil and Wilbur to help him, practically scooping him up with their noses. Without that assistance now everything seemed so much harder.
Following Techno’s instructions, he carefully scooted out onto his wing. He could have walked as Techno stated but the sudden shift from solid scales to leathery membrane startled Tommy. The gentle give similar to a trampoline or tightly strung net made anxiety bubble in Tommy’s gut. The fear of ripping through the membrane, of hurting Techno, drove him to sit down. His arms slowly scootched himself forward as techno snickered. What Tommy would give for Phil and his terrifying clicking to be here.
With Techno’s head wrapped around, leaving Tommy to grasp his horn as the dragon lowered his wing allowing his feet to finally reach the ground. His knee’s shaky from the sudden change from Techno to the ground leaving him stumbling.
“I landed a little bit away from the village, close to the farms around it. Can you make it back from here? I don't need a brave fool thinking he could take me on.” Tommy nodded, his eyes drifting through the trees that lined the clearing to the road. “Come back soon. You don’t know it yet but Phil and Wilbur have grown extremely fond of you. Besides, it seemed like you enjoyed the flight.” Tommy snuggled his head against Techno’s, his arms attempting to hug the massive snout. “I have some places I wanna show you, trips to go on. So you have to come back.”
“Only if you tell me the stories of your scars.” Techno's wings folded in tight to his body. An anxiety sign if Tommy ever saw one. “Maybe not. Whenever you’re comfortable king.”
Techno snorted before pulling his head away, his snout pushing Tommy in the direction of the road. “Better get going if you want to be back before dark.”
“Thank you Techno.”
“Anytime Runt.” Techno’s wings expanded once more, massive pumps lifting him above the trees before he circled overhead. A small burst of flame blew at Tommy as he made eye contact. And just like that, Techno turned, his body angled towards the mountains as he slowly shrunk into the distance.
The wind caressed Tommy’s cheeks.
Maybe he would have to go back. Just maybe.