Corrected version -- thank you so much for your help, saphi! :)
~~~~~
PIXIE
*Adair, you can't do it! It belongs to the girl, and you really shouldn't do this!*
*Bull**it! Look how she treats the poor thing! It will be dead within a few weeks if I don't do it!*
*But you know this isn't right. It's a crime!*
*F*ck you. This is vis major. A higher power which puts me on a test. It's necessary to save a life.*
Adair snorted angrily. The only crime here was this 8 years old little brat in her neat, ruffled, white-pink dress with cute pigtails and a voice like a banshee gone crazy if she didn't get what she wanted. Adair didn't hate children, on the contrary! But in this special case, this special child (sorry Adair, I know you don't call her 'child', but nevertheless she is one ...) ... yes, this special child - he hated, with all his heart. And to make matters worse - her name was - Elizabeth ...
*No, this brat neither deserves 'it' nor the name Elizabeth ... and now cut it out; I'm going through with it.*
But back to the beginning:
Headmaster Morituri and his son Adair had traveled to the capital of the 4th domain, Estros, where Morituri had to manage some affairs when they met an old friend of his. After an initial greeting and some chatting, they got an invitation to visit Morituri's friend in his 'modest home'. They agreed, and so the next day, after Morituri's business was settled, they paid a visit to the man and his modest home.
When Adair saw the house, he didn't exactly think of the word 'modest'. The first sight of this house was breathtaking. Adair guessed that there was enough space that everyone in the academy could easily live and study in this house. When they entered the hall, Adair saw that the hall alone was almost the size of the floorplan of Morituri's castle!
Now Morituri's friend advanced to them, smiling. He welcomed them and asked them to join him into the salon.
When the host sat with his guests over a glass of wine (Adair with a glass of lemonade - he disliked wine for he noticed a while ago that it made him sick) Adair saw her for the first time. She rushed into the salon to see her father, then she went to and fro and babbled at his guests. Finally, she stood still before Adair, pointed at him and asked her dad bluntly: "Oh, he is sooo pretty - may I keep him?"
'O////////O' — Adair blushed and choked at his lemonade. Morituri tried to hide a grin.
"No, my little sunshine, that's impossible," her father told her, patiently. "He's one of our guests: Adair de'Khell, Master Morituri's son! - Morituri, Master de'Khell, this is Elizabeth, my little sunshine."
Adair's face turned from red to pale. He rather thought of her as a lightning-strike ... It was cordial antipathy at first sight.
For a moment, she pouted. Then she obviously decided to make the best of it and not to leave Adair's side anymore. To his annoyance, she took a great fancy of his long hair and was determined to favour him with braiding it. Well, when Diego braided his hair because he was tipsy, it was funny ... but Diego usually didn't tear on his hair as if he wanted to rip it out ... Adair suppressed a growling. A shapeshifter who got his hair braided from a little brat like this?!? He would have loved to turn now into his original shape and show her how "pretty" he really was!
Of course, Morituri guessed his mind. He looked at his son and made a sign to him to calm down and bear it, for his sake ... *Now, I do love you, father*, Adair thought, *but this is a big favour you ask from me ...*
Adair was glad when finally the evening came and they would return into their hotel. However, to his horror, Morituri's friend invited them to stay for the night ... and Morituri couldn't refuse it. Luckily, he could manage that they got two rooms side by side which had a connecting door.
The evening went long, and after dinner the 'little sunshine' decided to show Adair something - "my new pet - I got it from daddy, at my 8th birthday!" Because her mother died when she was a baby, her father gave her everything he could and she wanted - and thus he made a spoiled and moody girl of her. When she returned from her rooms with a cage in her hands, Adair saw that her father really did everything for her. He even gave her as a birthday-present a real dragon!
Beaming with joy, she ran to Adair to show it to him. "It even can imitate animals - it can meow like a cat, or bark like a dog, or chirp like a bird ... come, dragon ... do chirp!" She impatiently shook the cage and pouted when there came no sound from the little dragon.
Adair tried to hide his rising anger. There sat a cute little dragon girl in this cage, only about 40 centimeter small, disheartened and dispirited. She had beautiful teal-coloured scales which shimered in the light of the candles in different colours - blue, green, orange, yellow ... her furry mane was fawn-coloured, and the delicate teal wings were scratched from the cage in which she obviously sat day and night. When Adair said "Hey, little one", she looked up to him, with stunning golden eyes, but with so much sadness in them it almost broke his heart. He remembered a tradition which existed in some domains - when a child was born, a pixie was caught and put into a cage to be a lucky charm for the baby. "Poor little pixie", he said quietly.
"Foolish dragon", the 'lightning-strike' ranted, "do chirp! Now!!" Annoyed, she shook the cage once more.
"Elizabeth", Adair addressed her (oh, he hated to call her by this name ...) and forced himself not to choke her, "the little dragon is afraid of you, that's why she doesn't chirp. It's not good for her when you shake the cage!" *In fact, the whole cage isn't good for her, you rotten brat. Indeed you should sit in this cage!*
"Boooring", 'lightning-strike'-Elizabeth decided and ran away. "I want to have my dolls now! Daddy, I want a new doll!" And off she was and left the cage with the sad little dragon standing on a table near Adair.
While he spoke with his friend, Morituri noticed what happened between his son, Elizabeth and the little dragon. He knew Adair well enough to guess his thoughts.
After the evening meal, Adair and Morituri thanked their host and drew back into their rooms. Adair sat on his bed; in his thoughts he argued with himself (as we saw at the beginning of this story). *Yes - No - Yes ...* Morituri watched him sceptical as Adair scratched unconsciously at his sheets. "Son, please - these are not our beds ..."
Adair looked up. "Ouh ..."
Morituri sighed. "I know what you're thinking ... but we can't do anything ..."
"Yes, we can!", Adair answered grumpily. ò_ó "I could!"
[Morituri] "... Adair, it is her dragon ..."
[Adair] "This brat, this little monster, this ..."
"Sssh," Morituri hushed him down, "- be quiet! You're too loud!"
"Sorry", Adair mumbled. "But, this ... this annoying something with petticoats and pink hair-bows is disgusting and hideous and malicious! The dragon will be dead within short time!" He growled.
"Adair," Morituri pleaded, "dear boy, I do understand you, but ..." He stopped and looked at him. Finally, when he saw that there was no chance to change his mind, he added "... watch out so you won't get caught."
Without an answer, Adair shifted into a black cat and slipped out of the door which Morituri opened for him.
Adair sneaked through the sleeping house, silent and attentive for every sound. He would begin in the salon in which they sat at afternoon - he hoped the cage would be still there; he wouldn't want to search it in her rooms ... for what if this little monster woke up and wanted to keep the 'black cat?' Too risky!
He sneaked on - and suddenly heard steps. He instantly hid behind a big flower-vase. A servant maid on her way to the servant's quarters ... Whoah, that was close ...
When he finally arrived at the wing where the salon was located, he looked around. *There's the room!* Yes --- the cage still stood there! She forgot her new pet, for it hadn't been interesting anymore. For a moment, Adair shifted into his elven form and went to the cage. "Ssh", he sounded when he opened the cage door, "be quiet - I'll help you!" He got the little dragon out and opened the windows. "Now fly away as far as you can!"
The little dragon looked at him with golden glowing eyes. Then she took wing and flew away into the night.
Adair smiled. He closed the window and laid the open cage on it's side on the floor so everyone would be busy tomorrow with searching for a small dragon in this huge house. With an inward chuckle, he shifted into his cat shape and sneaked back to their rooms.
"Oh, what a cute kitten", he suddenly heard a female voice and felt somebody lifting him up. "How did you come in here? This foolish kitchen maid left up the backdoor again ..."
When he looked up, he recognised the servant maid, wearing now a chemise and a nightcap. "Come, cutie, I'll give you some milk - but then you have to leave!"
He hissed impatiently and scratched her. He didn't want any milk now, he wanted to get back into his rooms, for he had to shift back! Just some more minutes, and she would hold a grown-up shapeshifter on her arms. "Aauh!", the maid shouted, "... you little beast!" She angrily headed after the cat, but she only found the dark empty corridors of the house.
"Useless ... I wouldn't find anything ... But tomorrow I'll get you!", she ranted.
Finally - finally Adair could sneak into his chamber. Morituri already waited for him. "Thank the gods ... could you manage it?"
Adair shifted back and answered, "Yes - it's free." He grinned complacently. "Tomorrow everybody here will have fun with searching a tiny dragon in this palace - a dragon which is already up and away ..."
"Fine, son", Morituri said yawning, "and now please let's sleep - tomorrow we must get up soon. The ferry boat leaves at 10 o'clock, and we still have to return to the hotel to get our luggage."
Adair agreed. Morituri cast a spell at the doors so nobody could enter by chance and would see Adair in his shapeshifter-form, then they went to bed.
~~~~~
The next day, after breakfast, Adair and Morituri bade farewell to their host who was a little bit stressed out for his sunshine's new pet disappeared overnight. As Adair guessed, the whole household was up and about to search for it. And in the background the 'lightning-strike' screamed banshee-like that she would want her dragon RIGHT NOW - and no, she didn't want a new one, she wanted this one! "NOWNOWNOW!!!!" *stamps her feet on and on, her face red with anger*.
Adair hid a smile. It was only when they sat in the carriage which brought them to their hotel that he began to laugh. "They will have a hard day today!"
Even Morituri chuckled. "I must say I am a little bit sorry for my friend ... but I also hope that they won't find the dragon and get her back."
"I told her to fly away as far as possible", Adair replied. "And I am convinced she did."
"Did she say something to you?", Morituri asked his son.
"No," Adair answered. "She didn't speak. Maybe she's too young?"
"As far as I could see her, she was already grown-up. You know, there are different sizes of dragons - from as small as this one, to the size of Elias and even bigger. She was young, yes, but she should be able to speak. But now, my boy, hurry - let's get our luggage and leave. I want to return to our Academy; I have had enough of big cities."
~~~~~
During the passage on the ferry boat, Adair still thought of the little dragon. "Where may she be now?" he said, staring into space.
"Over there is the answer", Morituri rejoined and pointed with his eyes towards the railing. Adair looked up.
There she sat, patiently viewing Adair. He smiled. "So you followed us, he?"
The dragon meowed ...
Adair chuckled. Then he opened his bag - and a teal lightning rushed into it and crawled up happily upon his clothes.
When Adair closed the bag, Morituri sighed.
"I fear for the future I will never know if it's you who meows or your dragon ... By the way, for it seems she can't speak - how will you name her?"
"... I think I'll name her 'Pixie' ...^^"
~~~
The idea to this story came to me when I saw this cute pic, and I thought, if Adair gets a dragon for himself, it shouldn't be huge - there is already Elias, and in the mountains there is his friend Talyann (which is indeed only a friend - she doesn't see him as her master). And so his dragon had to be small - a teal-coloured, rascally, clever and amazing miniature dragon which has always pranks in her mind. She didn't speak before she came to him and only learned dragon language from Elias, and even now she sometimes barks, meows, chirps, and makes whatever noises she hears ...
By the way, while creating this horrible brat I thought of Veruka Salt from the movie "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory"^^. Sorry, Eliz, that I took your name for her - but this idea was just too much fun for not to do so!
If you want to leave a comment to this story, I made a pic to it, here: http://www.dolldivine.com/Anime/Kytheira-3033291. Oh, and there surely will follow more stories with little Pixie! ^^
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This is a TheNightWatchers - Fanstory.
The Night Watchers, Morituri, Elizabeth (the real one) and Elias belong to AvalonTheQuin
Adair and Pixie belong to me :) |
