Closed to [tacticalvisor]

[chickenleggy]

Being on the street.... kind of sucks. Between avoiding dogs, avoiding cars, and trying to find enough food to not starve, he doesn't have much time or energy to think about anything else, like making his life any better.

Currently it is, of course, raining, and he's dragged a scrap of a trash bag over his head. Just enough to keep the rain off of his face as he peers out at the passing humans. The long coils of his body are still out in the rain, his tail tucked up beside him.

Once the rain passes he can go out scrounging - there's a cafe a few blocks away that will feed him if the young chinese woman working there is there. For now, he's left waiting. He's partially sheltered by a roof, but to leave where he is will mean going out into a chilly early spring downpour. Which will not be very great at all.

He lays his head down on his tiny paws and watches the world go by. His stomach is growling, the rain is ticklish where it's tracking down between blue scales, and his mane is sticking to his neck something fierce.

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[chickenleggy]

Blue looks around the rooms as Jack walks through them, his quiet voice soothing enough despite the gravel to have Blue nodding off despite his wishes to stay otherwise.

But when Jack heads into another room that is so obviously his... Blue lifts his head. Unlike the common areas, this room is soaked in Jack's scent. He doesn't much care that it's messy, and instead stands and leaps to the bed, gracefully springing from shoulder to blankets. He chuffs again as he smells the blankets. The mattress is broken in under his paws, so he flops down in the center, the mattress firm around him.

He blinks up at Jack, then sighs, closes his eyes, and drifts to sleep without much more hesitation.

[tacticalvisor]

Apparently, the noise helps the dragon sleep, too. Alternatively; dragons are also victims of the dreaded state known as 'food coma'. Jack chuckles once, running his hand lightly down 'Blue's' back, then starts to settle himself in. Jacket off, TV glanced at to see if there's anything on - doesn't seem interesting, just the news, something about a robotics factory - and he reaches for his tablet as he lies down on the bed.

Right, so - his own research about dragons. Fairly intelligent, ferociously loyal (now just where had this guy come from?), and usually only the pets of the rich and famous. He whistles softly when he sees some of the setups with them, wondering just how deep the hole he's found himself in, is. He starts broadening his searches, finding a few interesting myths and legends about them, and easily loses himself in the stories.

Looks like there were even a couple generals who had them, way back in time. He doesn't feel so bad, anymore, not being rich enough to own the entire complex. The paintings are interesting, too, one having man and dragon so intertwined they look like they're one and the same creature.

[chickenleggy]

Blue stirs after a while of sleeping. He stretches and blinks, then lifts his head. Looking around, he crawls to Jack, letting his body stretch out as he does, and curls back up with his head on Jack's thigh.

It's impossible to deny that this wasn't the right choice. Jack is warm and present, his breathing deep and steady. Slowly, he crawls up again, then all the way into Jack's lap. He sighs and blinks up at Jack, resting his head on Jack's chest, the sprawl of his body limp and boneless. Blue sighs again, utterly at peace.

He doesn't stir even when the door opens again. "I'm back," Angela calls, swinging the door shut behind her. She was carrying a single bag, but inside was more than just flea shampoo. "Jack?" She's in the doorway a minute later, and stops, hands on either side of the doorframe. Jack, sprawled on the bed with his tablet in hand, the sleeping blue dragon across his lap. "He must be feeling better." She nods to the dragon.

[tacticalvisor]

The stirring dragon gets a glance. Then observation, as he - Jack's pretty sure it's a 'he', now, based on the look of him and what he's researched - crawls on over. And while Jack is a little hesitant at first, he lowers his hand to stroke at the guy's scales, taking in the feel of them.

He only looks back up when the door opens, hand going a little tight. He doesn't do very well with being startled, but it's a small enough surprise that he doesn't spook too badly. And by the time Angela's in the doorway, there's no tension to behold; he seems easy enough. "Full belly can do that to you," he confirms, arching his brow with a little frown. "How much did you get there?"

Sure, she said not to worry about it, but- he has an allowance. He's never liked others taking care of him. Or, apparently, his pets...

[chickenleggy]

"Not much," she says, stepping into Jack's room. Blue comes awake as soon as she steps in, but he's blinking slowly and barely turning to look at her, so he's not obviously distressed by her presence. Instead, he looks content, like a cat stirred from a lazy afternoon nap. He's so skinny she can see his ribs even through the scales, and the scales themselves are a bit dull - some are even missing, mostly around his sides like he'd been scraping them off against something - but he's a beautiful blue color anyways, dusky along his back with an almost electric blue belly and ivory legs that are scuffed up with mud.

"Just enough so you can take him into a pet store to get more things." She opens the bag to show Jack: flea shampoo, a cat harness, and a leash.

Blue, who's really not paying all that much attention since Jack's still petting him, lets out a quiet, satisfied groan, and closes his eyes again.

[tacticalvisor]

Disturbed or not, the dragon earns another slow stroke down his scales for his motions. As though Jack's trying to calm him down, even with it not being in the least bit required. It's interesting, having something that gains his attention like this, and the lingering rainfall outside makes it quite peaceful.

Though, as much as he would like to sit up, he's got the thing nestled quite securely on him. Jack gives it a wry look, then looks back up. Shampoo looks easy enough, and the leash, and-"-is that a harness?" he asks skeptically, though it makes sense once he's said it. 'Blue' isn't quite large enough to where a collar will be anything but frustrating for the both of them.

[chickenleggy]

The word "harness" definitely wakes Blue up. He blinks and lifts his head, startled. Angela smiles down at him, but it's definitely the devious smile of a woman who's soon going to be attempting to wrestle him into a harness.

He looks up at Jack then whines. It's a purposefully needy, unhappy sound, and he presses his nose into Jack's chest, wriggling against his touch. If Angela's the bad guy with the harness, then Jack's going to save him, right? He whines again, scrabbling up to shove his muzzle and whiskers into the crook of Jack's neck.

[tacticalvisor]

Uh oh. Jack automatically shifts his grip on the dragon, supporting the weight as the thing clambers on to hide against him. It's pretty clear what he's so upset about, and Jack can't really blame him. He forces a smile of his own towards Angela as he tries to unwrap his new friend and cradle him against his chest because those whiskers are a little ticklish.

"I can just keep him in my jacket." Yes. This is an excellent plan. "I mean, it's not like he's really that heavy."

...he may still be slightly tipsy. Look, he can handle his liquor pretty well, but when you drink enough to get kicked out of a bar when there's still light out you're going to feel the effects for a while. At least he has enough presence of mind to divert-

"-I, uh, thought of some names?" Because he's still not calling the guy Blue.

[chickenleggy]

Blue lets Jack uncurl him, but stays pressed close against his chest. He turns his head and rests it on Jack's collarbone. He stares at Angela, whiskers twitching, but feeling rather smug. Jack's got his arm under his back, supporting him, and he doesn't have to wear the harness, so it's all alright to him. A bath sounds good, too. Warm water, even if it came with being shampooed, was going to be nice, after so long just out in the rain and the wind.

Angela sighs. The dragon looks unbearably smug, curled up on Jack's chest. The dragon is a manipulator, and already has Jack wrapped around its little claws. "Oh yeah?" She looks up at Jack. He's still a bit drunk, but looks better than he did when he first came home - his reactions seem faster. "What names?" She sits on the edge of the bed, setting the bag down on the floor, then reaches out to touch the dragon. He stares at her suspiciously, but allows her to pet his side. The scales under her fingers feel a bit waxy and soft. She's pretty sure they're not supposed to be like that. If she had to guess, she would say it was from malnutrition, but it's impossible to discount a possible disease of some kind.

"You'll have to talk to the vet tomorrow about his scales. They definitely don't look right, I'm pretty sure they're not supposed to be soft." Blue leaned forward to sniff her fingers as she touched him, then reached out and grabbed her fingers with his little paws. He pulled her hand towards him then licked. She tasted like lotion, mostly. "Let's get him washed, then you can head to the pet store and buy him somewhere to sleep that's not your dirty bed."

[tacticalvisor]

"Yeah. Take a look." The tablet is proffered, pages still open to the old stories and tales about fighting side by side. You can take the man out of the fight...

A couple hours later, Jack and 'Hanzo', as Jack seems to have decided on, are on their way to the pet store. Jack with a new set of scratches due to his adventure with the whole bath thing, and a different jacket which he's using to carry the dragon since trying to get him in to the harness had been...interesting. So, loose clothing, long sleeves to cover his scratches, a somewhat more grumpy mood than he had before-

What's wrong with my bed?

-and he's ducking inside. It's not too crowded, which is always a good thing; he hates crowds, even in bars. Avoiding the saleshelp's gaze and greeting, he resolves to find what he needs on his own, one arm tucked around his chest to support the weight wrapped around him as he hunts for the 'dragon' section.

...if they even have one.

[chickenleggy]

Hanzo was a much better name. Still, it didn't quite make up for the spray of the showerhead and being wrestled into the harness afterwards. He'd wanted a soaking and instead of gotten rained on - warm water or not, it might as well have been rain.

Still, he allowed Jack to carry him anyways - shredding the leash had helped his mood a little, but the harness had defeated him... for now. The harness had managed to withstand his teeth, but only because he couldn't get a good angle on the fabric. Hanzo sighed and closed his eyes, turning his head to rest his forehead against Jack's throat. The fight in the tub had worn him out, but Angela had fed him another can of tuna after the duel with the leash, so once he woke up and was more active, he might even have been able to help Jack shop.

By the time they stepped into the pet store, Hanzo was awake and relaxed into the crook of Jack's arm. His front paws are braced on Jack's shoulder and he's looking around curiously. He huffs into Jack's face, exhaling a fishy sigh directly into his mouth and nose, then turns more. He wasn't sure what Angela thought they needed from here. She's already forced him into the harness, and tuna was good to eat, and he could sleep on Jack's bed.

But that bed on the wall looked comfortable. He chirrs into Jack's ear and leans forward, whiskers twitching. It's the same electric blue as his belly, and is big and fluffy - more than large enough to fit him, with plenty of spare. He leans out, trusting Jack to support him, and reaches with his paw towards the bed, hoping Jack will understand.

He doesn't need a bed in Jack's room, but maybe in the living room would be nice? Some place to watch from, or relax.

[tacticalvisor]

He'd tried to make it as comfortable as possible, all right...?

Jack wrinkles his nose at the smell, raising a hand to wave it away. Not that he doesn't like tuna, but having it concentrated at his face? "Look, I want to head back too, all right?" At least there's not many people, he keeps telling himself. Someone with a dog, someone with their kid talking about ferrets, and-

-he can get the hint. Especially when he's juggling an armful of dragon, blinking in surprise. All right, well - that makes things easy. "That one, huh?" he can't help but ask, reaching to take a look at it...and the price tag.

Well, that sure is an expression. "What the hell is this made out of, gold?"

[chickenleggy]

Hanzo whines and reaches out for it. They're standing close enough that he can reach out and grab ahold of it. He looks from Jack to the bed and back, hoping Jack will say yes, he can have the bed.

"Is there anything I can help you with over here?" It was one of the employees. Hanzo jumped, startled, and let go of the bed to instead cling to Jack again. He stares at the worker, and lets out a little nice into Jack's face: a sigh, and almost exasperated if a dragon could be or sound exasperated. "Oh, is that a dragon? I've never seen one before."

Hanzo puffs up, both pleased at the attention and unhappy that his time shopping with Jack was being interrupted.

[tacticalvisor]

Jack starts a bit as well, surprised even if he knows he shouldn't be. It's a good thing that Hanzo lets go, because he's turning to face the employees, arms automatically moving up to steady the creature on his chest.

"Ah- yeah. It is." Just someone doing their job, but some habits die so very hard. "You, ah, got some kind of dragon section, or will these-" he gestures towards the beds, "work fine for 'em?"

Please let there be a dragon section. Please let the stuff be cheaper, or at least seem more durable. Hanzo's claws seem like they could shred through that bed in a week.

[chickenleggy]

"Uh... We really don't... I think most people who have dragons don't shop here anyways... I know there's a place across town that might sell stuff for dragons..." The young man hesitates. "I mean, these should be fine. We have stuff for reptiles, but I think anything we have for ferrets would be too small." He squints at Hanzo, who stares back at him uncertainly.

Finally, Hanzo leans out to sniff the employee curiously. His whiskers twitch as he leans out, but not terribly far: just enough to have the man reaching out in turn, a rather wondrous expression on his face. Hanzo snuffles at his outstretched hand, then pulls himself back to curl against Jack again. He lays his head on Jack's shoulder and watches the employee.

"We do have some tougher canvas ones. They're not as soft, and they're a bit harder, but... those are some really wicked claws." Hanzo huffs, body curling in pleasure at what he takes as a compliment.

[tacticalvisor]

It's an odd surge of possession that Jack feels as the employee reaches out and Hanzo leans out in turn. He suppresses it with only a nod, managing to hide the satisfaction when his the dragon moves back to rest against him. he thinks. Probably. Stupid feeling, anyway, he just met the thing yesterday. "Maybe the canvas ones, yeah. I guess I can throw a blanket or something on it if it's too rough for him," he adds, glancing down at Hanzo as he makes to follow the employee.

By now, though, there's a couple others who have noticed the exotic pet - a young girl gasping down an aisle with a Mommy, Mommy! Jack adjusts Hanzo's weight once more, hoping that the creature will be happy with a more durable bed and pick one quickly.

[chickenleggy]

Hanzo whines as they move away from the pretty, bright blue bed and towards plain brown ones. He cries unhappily into Jack's neck, twisting to watch the bed as they walk away from it.

He's so distracted by the bed that he doesn't pay much attention to the change in Jack's scent or body language, the tightening of the grip around his lower body. He reaches up with his paws to grab a pawful of the hair at the side of Jack's head as he leverages himself up to look back better.

The employee pauses at the area with the heavier canvas beds. They were indeed cheaper than the other beds - much cheaper than the blue one especially, but Hanzo still only had eyes for that one - and the little girl dragging her mother along behind her. He glances between her and the blue bed, then up at Jack.

He registers Jack's tension and then the change in his smell almost at the same moment. He blinks at Jack, taking his attention off of the little girl - then nuzzles into Jack with a small, questioning noise.

[tacticalvisor]

Hanzo's cries - in addition to being rather pitiful - have the unfortunate side effect of attracting even more attention. There's a subtle tension underneath Jack's skin, suppressed out of habit but building bit by bit as he feels more eyes on him. Back when he came home after - everything - he was hailed as a local celebrity, something that quickly turned out to be more aggravating than anything else. While he's come a long way since feeling suffocated by that sort of attention, he still hates it (needs a couple drinks to be able to remotely deal with it, already he's craving one) and is having an unfortunate sensation of deja vu.

Swallow it down. Jack ignores it - and Hanzo, aside from adjusting to accommodate for the shift in weight, the noise doesn't get much if any of a response - and reaches to take one of the begs. Actually take, not caring about the pricetag. He'll get Hanzo a flannel blanket or something, whatever can take the claws. "This'll work for now. I need-" Shit, what else had Angela brought up? "-a rope toy or something. Whatever can take some abuse."

Is that a dragon? someone asks from off to the side, voice hushed. Jack hears it nonetheless, registers it's directed to their friend as opposed to him, but can't dismiss the additional person on his internal radar.

[chickenleggy]

The employee - who seems to notice Jack's tension at about the same time that Hanzo does - nods. "Yeah. Probably something for dogs... We have a whole aisle, there's a lot of choice." He turns to lead the way, sidestepping the few gawkers while looking uncomfortable at the idea of confronting them.

Hanzo stares at Jack, unsure also of what to do, then leans forward again. He jabs his nose into Jack's ear and snuffles, claws grabbing to Jack's shirt tightly. He makes another noise - louder than before, trying to draw Jack's attention.