transfuture is our future

When Vren Wessex showed up for their volunteer shift at the dragon clinic that Wednesday, the place was under guard by task force agents and their massive twelve foot tall dragons.

Well, that’s new, Vren thought to themself as they got out of their car and tentatively made their way over to the front door.

“Halt. Name, I.D., and reason for visiting please,” one of the guards said while her dragon spread one of its wings to block the massive sliding double doors, sized so that even the dragon could fit through.

Vren complied. While the guard inspected their I.D., Vren glanced at the exposed left shoulders of both the guard and her dragon where their bond symbols were displayed. A black mark not unlike a tattoo, these symbols were unique to every bonded human-dragon pair and usually revealed something about their bearers. These two shared a shield marking.

“You may enter,” the guard said as she handed back the I.D. badge. Her dragon folded back its wing.

“Thank you. Can I ask what the extra security is for?” Vren inquired.

“Ask the meds,” the guard replied.

Vren eyed the security team one more time before stepping through the clinic’s door.

Everything looked startlingly normal. The lobby that doubled as a waiting room held a few people, some with their dragons of varying types and some without, but Vren recognised most of them as the clinic’s usual patients. None of the ones they didn’t recognise stood out as particularly strange or important either. Vren quickly ducked into the medical halls before any of them could entrap Vren with small talk. Hopefully the head of the clinic, Sharron Stone, would have some answers as to what was going on.

The first few halls of the med bay were strangely empty as well. The active wards had medics in where they were needed, but other than that the place was deserted. Usually there were handfuls of medics gathered around chatting or trying to make themselves useful.

Vren didn’t encounter anyone until they reached the staff lounge. There were a few tired looking meds eating sandwiches or clutching cups of warm coffee as though their careers depended on the contents of the mug. Their dragons, all of which were significantly smaller than the ones guarding the front, lay around the room or draped over their bondeds’ shoulders. Vren waved hello, but only received half hearted acknowledgements in return. Vren shuffled past them and spotted Sharron seated at a table. She was hunched over an array of files. Her dragon, Bitty, a small bioluminescent dragon not much larger than the palm of Sharron’s hand, sat on the table amidst the papers. Their bond symbol could be seen on Bitty’s left shoulder and through a cut out in the sleeve of Sharron’s scrubs.

“Good afternoon, Sharron. Bitty,” Vren said.

Sharron and Bitty jolted, sending papers fluttering. “Vren! I didn’t realize it was time for you to come in!” She shuffled the papers into their files and hastily shut them.

“I didn’t mean to startle you,” Vren said slowly. “Is this a bad time?”

“No no, you’re fine. These past few hours have been eventful, that’s all. I’m sure you noticed the guards out front.”

“Kind of hard to miss. Why are they here?”

Sharron sighed. “I’m afraid I can’t tell you that since you’re technically only a volunteer. But I don’t want you to worry; we’ve got things under control.”

“Ah, okay. Well, do you have anything for me to do today?”

“Yes, actually,” Sharron said, perking up a bit. “Greg’s been having trouble with a particularly sour bubble dragon. I’m sure he’d appreciate your help. He’s in ward twenty three.”

“Of course, I’ll head right there,” Vren said.

They left the staff lounge and headed back the way they’d come in. Ward twenty three was one of the smaller wards, which made sense given that bubble dragons weren’t much larger than a medium sized dog. When Vren reached the ward, they peered in through the window in the door so they could get a sense of what they were about to walk into. It was worse than they’d thought.

Greg stood on a teetering chair, doing his best to reach a very disgruntled looking two foot long iridescent wyvern, which was crouched atop the cabinets. The dragon’s tail swished back and forth in a rapid, jerking manner, yet Greg continued to reach for it. Vren watched as the sleek, slippery dragon leapt off of the cabinets, landed on Greg’s head, and slid down his back while Greg plummeted hard onto the counter. Meanwhile the bubble dragon skidded under the examination table.

Vren took that as their cue to enter. They opened the door only just enough so that they could get in and then quickly shut it behind them. “Good afternoon, Dr. Mills,” they said.

Greg startled. “Mx. Wessex!” He grunted and wrapped his arm around his middle.

Greg was in his late twenties, around fifteen years younger than Vren, and relatively new to being a dragon medic. He had a vast amount of technical knowledge, but he hadn’t yet developed the gentle touch needed when it came to interacting with aggravated and injured dragons.

“Dr. Stone said you might want some help with your latest patient,” Vren said.

Greg gave them a pained smile. “Help would be appreciated, yes. My patient is a bubble dragon named Sudsy. Her wing needs to be splinted, but she won’t sit still long enough for me to actually do that.”

“Did you try using a bubble wand?” Vren asked.

“What?”

“Aside from looking like and exhaling bubbles, this type of dragon also really likes to play with bubbles.”

“Yeah, but I need her to sit still, not jump around trying to pop bubbles,” Greg said.

Vren shook their head. “Just be ready with the splint. I’ll get her up on the table.”

Greg raised an eyebrow, but did as he was told. Meanwhile, Vren got a large bubble wand out from one of the lower cabinets. They walked over to the table and crouched down to where Sudsy was hiding.

“Hello little one,” Vren said in a soft voice.

Sudsy growled in response.

“It’s okay. I’m here to play.” Vren pulled the wand from the tube.

Sudsy’s pupils went wide, immediately transfixed by the iridescent solution swirling in the oval. Moving slowly so as not to accidentally create a bubble, Vren started backing up. Sudsy followed the wand’s movements. She was limping on her right wing. Vren guided the wand over to and up the ramp onto the table then held it right at the edge. Sudsy sat on the table, completely enamored with the wand.

“Wow,” Greg said as he moved in with the splint.

Sudsy didn’t move an inch while he set and splinted her wing. When Greg was done, he gave Vren a thumbs up and they sheathed the bubble wand.

The little dragon blinked and shook herself out. Then she looked down at her wing, moved it, and gave an elated chirp when she realized it didn’t hurt anymore.

“Yes, that’s right. Greg just wanted to help, that’s all,” Vren said as they stroked the grateful dragon’s smooth head.

“Incredible,” Greg said. “Now I know why everyone around here says you’re a dragon whisperer.”

“Thank you, but I just know a few tricks is all.”

“Not from what I’ve heard. The other meds have told me that you have an incredible well of knowledge about dragons, and are able to help bonded pairs with problems even experienced dragon handlers struggle with. I just didn’t believe them before now because I didn’t think someone without a dragon would know so much about them.”

Vren flinched. Sudsy cooed as they pulled their hand away.

Greg’s face fell. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t—”

“It’s fine,” Vren said.

They looked at the cradle shaped bond mark Greg had on his left shoulder, and then down at the wave shaped mark on Sudsy’s shoulder. A knot of emotion surged into Vren’s chest and throat, but with a practiced breath they shoved the knot back down before it could start to show.

“I should go see if anyone else needs my help,” Vren said. They had left the ward before Greg could so much as say bye.

Vren spent the rest of the afternoon going around and helping where they were needed. The other meds in the front wards of the clinic seemed rather stressed as well, and some wards were understaffed. Vren didn’t ask why. If Sharron couldn’t tell them, then they knew to leave well enough alone. When their volunteer shift was over, they went to find Sharron and tell her that they were headed out, but she was nowhere to be seen. Vren eventually gave up, figuring Sharron was busy, and headed out to their car.

The guards had changed, but none of them acknowledged Vren on their way out. Once they were in their car, Vren exhaled and finally relented to the knot of emotion that had been demanding release since earlier. They let a few tears run down their face.

Then they inhaled sharply through their nose, and exhaled slowly through their mouth. Once they’d wiped the tears from their eyes, they started the drive home.

The following morning Vren clocked in to their job at the local grocery store. They’d only been working there for a few months and while it wasn’t exactly glamorous, it paid better than the last job they’d had working at a car wash. Besides, their manager was very laid back and didn’t care about the fact that Vren volunteered Wednesday and weekend afternoons.

They spent eight hours wearing their patented customer service smile while they alternated between working the checkout, stocking shelves, directing customers to items just one aisle over, or patiently explaining that this particular grocery store has never carried that brand of saddle oil and no they’re not calling the customer a liar.

At the end of the day, when they were back in the safety of their loft, they flopped on the couch and just lay there for a moment to decompress. They’d probably start looking for a new job soon. See if they couldn’t find something part time that still paid well. Wouldn’t that be nice? Maybe the next place they worked would allow dragons inside as well. Vren understood why the company had such a policy, but it still made Vren sad that they couldn’t at least see the different dragons people had bonded with.

Heh, if that wasn’t the irony of it all. Despite their pain, they still longed to be around dragons. It was simultaneously the thing that made Vren the happiest, and what could bring them to their worst.

Vren couldn’t imagine their life without dragons, and it was all because of her. They brought their arm over their eyes and chuckled bitterly to themself. “Oh Onyx. What would you think of me if you could see me now?”

That Saturday, once their shift at the grocery store was over, Vren headed for the clinic. Earlier that day someone had come into the store wearing only swim trunks and an inflatable rubber duck inter tube despite it almost being winter, so Vren was pretty sure the most eventful part of the day had passed.

They were wrong.

Once they were past the guards Vren found Sharron waiting for them in the lobby. In all the years that Vren had volunteered at this clinic they had never seen Sharron outside the medical wing. Even on the rare occasion when the clinic had no patients there was always some task that kept Sharron busy.

“Hey Vren! Glad you’re here,” she said. The bags beneath her eyes were even darker than they had been a few days ago. Her hair was pulled up in a haphazard bun and Bitty was passed out in one of Sharron’s coat pockets, visible only because of her glow.

“Hi Sharron,” Vren said cautiously. “Is something wrong?”

“You know that thing I couldn’t tell you about on Wednesday?” Sharron asked.

“Yeah?”

“Well, I’m gonna tell you about it.”

“Oh, alright,” Vren said, unsure what to expect.

They followed Sharron back to the staff lounge. The doctor had once again spread out a number of papers and files on the back table. She grabbed one of the files off the table and held it out towards Vren. “Take a look at the photos inside,” she instructed.

Vren gingerly took the file from her as though they were scared it would spontaneously combust. Peeling open the folder, their eyes were met with a sight that caused their whole body to tense. The first photo was of a medium sized male silver drake with metallic scales. Or rather, a drake that should have had metallic scales. Entire plates along its front legs and back were gone, leaving raw exposed skin that had been covered in burns and scars.

Vren’s hand shook as they moved the first photo aside to look at the second one. Nothing could have prepared them for what was depicted. On the dragon’s right shoulder someone had burned a false bond mark into the dragon’s skin. The symbol chosen was of two chain links.

Vren nearly dropped the folder.

“Wha-Who would…?” they whispered.

“The police are trying to keep this as under wraps as possible, so you are not permitted to talk to anyone about this, but earlier this week we received a call asking if we could take in six heavily injured dragons. They’d been rescued from a man who claimed he could force bonds for those whom no dragon will bond with. The man has been arrested, but the police have yet to apprehend his customers,” Sharron explained.

Vren needed to sit down. They could hardly comprehend that someone would even think to violate the bond between humans and dragons like this. While their mind reeled at the images before them, a question surfaced through the raging thoughts and emotions. “Why are you telling me about this if no one outside the staff is supposed to know?”

Sharron took the seat next to Vren. She leaned forward and clasped her hands in front of herself, looking Vren directly in the eyes. “Because we need your help. That drake? His name is Glist, and he is in much worse shape than the other five. When the police found the operation, the man they apprehended was actively trying to force a bond between Glist and another person who the police have yet to find. After everything this dragon has been through, he’s become understandably deeply distrustful. However, he won’t let me or any of the other doctors get close enough to treat his injuries. Given your track record, I was hoping you’d be willing to work with him so that we can have the chance to save his life.”

“I’ll do it,” Vren said.

Sharron smiled. “Thank you.”

When Vren informed their boss at the grocery store that they wouldn’t be able to come back in for an undetermined amount of time they got laid off, which Vren didn’t particularly care about. Sharron had essentially brought Vren on as a full time employee so that they could work with Glist and the clinic wouldn’t get in any legal trouble. While working with Glist, Vren would be paid the same as any of the meds. That was way more than they’d been getting paid at the store, which was a nice change of pace, but still not what Vren cared about.

They couldn’t fathom the kind of person who would do something like this. Every time they closed their eyes, the images from that folder came to the forefront of their mind. They needed to do everything in their power to make this right. All those missing scales…

While they drove to the clinic, their mind wandered to the last time they had seen a dragon with so many missing scales. Beautiful black and rust red scales, which had once shone so brightly in the light, flaking and dropping as Vren held their best friend's face in their lap for the last time.

Vren had to pull off to the side of the road until their vision cleared and their hands stopped trembling. “Come on, now is not the time for that. There’s a dragon that needs you right now, so focus,” they said forcefully to themself.

Once they felt stable again, they drove the rest of the way to the clinic.

Sharron showed Vren into the back of the medical wing. The wards here were much larger and were usually used for dragons between twenty and fifty feet long. Anything bigger than that and patients would have to go to a larger clinic. Most of the staff was back here. They bustled about, some looking more ragged than others. When Sharron and Vren got to the ward where Glist was, Vren peered through the long viewing window in the ward’s wall.

Glist’s file said he was twenty three feet long, but curled up on a dragon bed in the middle of the ward, the dragon looked so small. His injuries didn’t look any better in person, and Vren noticed for the first time just how underfed Glist was. The dragon was lying facing away from the door, so Vren could see the burn on his shoulder where a bond mark would be.

“There are a few things you should know before you go in,” Sharron said.

Vren turned their attention to her and she continued. “First, Glist has magnetic abilities, but he won’t let any metal near him. We think the false bond symbol was burned on using a branding iron.”

Vren’s fists clenched in their pockets. Meanwhile Sharron pulled a photo out of one of the files she was holding. “Second, the police were able to ID the man who they saw fleeing the scene the day they rescued the dragons. His name is Joseph Connors. If you see him, call the cops immediately.”

Vren took the photo and examined it. It was a blown up print of Joseph’s ID photo. Vren looked at it hard, but nothing jumped out at them as particularly menacing. Joseph looked like an ordinary man. Pale skin with dark brown eyes and hair. The thought that this man could go around looking unassuming like this, meanwhile this dragon had to bear the marks of his choices, sickened Vren.

“I also have Glist’s complete medical file here for you. Inside you’ll find plenty of information about Glist, including what we’ve tried so far. When you finish reviewing this, you may begin working with Glist how you see fit. Any resources you need we will provide at your request.”

“Thank you. Would it be possible for me to get at least one more set of scrubs? I only have one.”

Sharron nodded. “Of course. I take it you still don’t want to display your bond symbol?”

Vren simply shook their head in response.

“Alright. I’ll be back in a moment,” Sharron said. There was something in her eyes as she turned to walk away. Pity mixed with a sympathetic sadness.

Vren shook it off and took one more look at the dragon whose life they now held in their hands before sitting down in one of the hall chairs to review the file.

After reviewing the files, Vren had to completely rethink their approach to this case. A decent chunk of their tactics had already been tried by the doctors here. Glist hadn’t taken well to being socialized with any of the doctors or even other dragons. Simply trying to get Glist accustomed to people and dragons in the room by sitting in a corner had made him so nervous he stopped sleeping. Attempting to introduce toys into the dragon’s environment garnered suspicion from him. Worse still, simply trying to get within a certain distance of him caused him to turn hostile. No one had managed to touch him yet. One doctor had even used Vren’s favorite tactic, which was simply talking to the dragon, but all attempts were ignored.

Still, Vren wasn’t anywhere close to being out of options. The dragon was hardly eating. Vren read over a list of the foods Glist had rejected, and found that he only ate when he really needed to; rejecting the same food he had eaten the very next day. “Picky eater, huh?” Vren smiled. This was a common problem with a little known, yet very simple solution. In other words, this was their way in.

Vren spent the next few hours in the clinic’s kitchen. Vren had plenty of experience preparing food for dragons; since food tended to bring people together it was a great mediator. Feisty dragons could usually be won over with a well prepared treat. Today, Vren prepared three dishes. They made sure each one had a different flavor profile and complexity level. They finished right around dinner time, and after acquiring a cart Vren made their way to Glist’s ward.

The door to Glist’s ward opened automatically after Vren scanned their ID. Glist immediately whipped his head to face the door. “Hello Glist. My name is Vren,” they said as they wheeled the cart in. While reading Glist’s file, they had paid special attention to how close the doctors had been able to get before upsetting Glist. Vren’s working theory was that Glist wasn’t letting people within his magnetization radius. Given what he’d been through, it made sense that he wouldn’t want any people, or metal, within a certain distance. However, if Vren’s theory was correct, then this meant Glist was a very powerful dragon. His full diameter spanned half the room. That was three times the distance a metallic drake could normally affect.

They were working off a hunch, but given that they’d been around dragons since they were seven, Vren had learned to trust their instincts. They’d found plastic trays for the food, but hadn’t been able to find a cart that wasn’t made of metal, so they carefully balanced all three plates on their arms upon entering the ward and left the cart by the door. This action seemed to garner curiosity from Glist. He tilted his head, though his eyes remained narrow.

“I heard you haven’t been eating much, and I know hospital food isn’t all that good. So, I’ve prepared some options for you tonight.” Vren made sure to pay attention to how close they were getting. They couldn’t know for sure what Glist’s exact magnetization radius was, so they guessed and left a little room for error by playing it on the safe side.

When they reached the imaginary edge, they set down the three dishes in a row. As they did, they began to present each one. “Your first option is a rack of boar ribs cooked medium rare and lightly salted. Next we have a slightly sweeter option, with a bundle of ruby cherry plums drizzled in honey. Finally, there’s a hefty amount of slow roasted salmon.”

When Vren was done setting out the food they looked up at Glist and noticed that one of those had clearly gotten the dragon’s interest. His pupils had expanded and his gaze seemed fixated on one of the plates, but Vren couldn’t tell which one. A small amount of pride bloomed in their chest. Now for the next step. “You are welcome to whichever of these you want, and whatever you don’t want I’ll take to someone else,” Vren explained. They then backed towards the door. However, they didn’t leave the room. Instead they turned around to face Glist and waited. Glist had clearly been waiting for Vren to leave, and seemed startled that they weren’t.

After a moment Vren smiled and said, “Well, which one are you going to choose?”

Glist raised his head and regarded Vren suspiciously.

“What? You need to pick so that I can take the ones you don’t want. You’re welcome to all of them, if that’s what you want, but you need to tell me if that’s the case.”

Glist waited for a few more moments, staring at Vren. Vren didn’t break Glist’s gaze, nor did they move. The two were firmly engaged in a silent battle of wills, and Vren had all the time in the world. Eventually, Glist’s gaze darted back down to the food in front of him, and he huffed in begrudging surrender. He got up from his bed and cautiously made his way to the three meals. The whole time Glist kept an eye on Vren, and Vren made sure not to make a move.

When Glist made it to the food, he picked the ruby cherry plums and pulled the dish back to his bed, all without taking his gaze off Vren. Vren waited patiently until Glist was settled before moving towards the remaining food. They picked up the plates, and in a show of trust they hoped would win them points with Glist, turned their back to the dragon and walked towards the door. Once they’d taken the cart with the two remaining meals on it out of the ward and the door closed behind them they quickly rushed to the viewing window. To their absolute delight, Glist was happily enjoying the sweet honey drizzled ruby cherry plums.

The next day Vren repeated the same tactic of giving Glist options in order to get him to eat for all three meals. It worked, and each time Vren took note of which flavor profile and complexity level Glist was drawn to. Another small victory earned was that by dinner Glist was willing to take his gaze off of Vren while dragging his food back to his bed. Vren kept this up for two more days, giving the extra food to bonded doctors to give to their dragons. By the fifth day, Vren felt as though they had a fairly decent understanding of Glist’s food preferences. So, for breakfast that day, they only prepared one meal for him.

“Good morning, Glist!” Vren said as they walked in.

The dragon picked his head up with a yawn, and did a double take when he noticed Vren was only carrying one plate. Vren chuckled a bit. “Don’t worry, I promise you’ll enjoy what I’ve made for you.”

They set down and explained the dish, which was silver peaches with a golden brown syrup glaze. They returned to the door and sure enough Glist went to claim his breakfast. While he was dragging it back, Vren reached out into the hall where they had left the cart and grabbed a second plate off of it as well as a chair they’d set beside the cart. When they turned back, Glist was staring at them. He’d stopped halfway back to his bed. “I thought we could eat together today,” Vren said as they held up what they’d grabbed so the dragon could see.

Glist continued to stare at them. “Don’t worry, I’ll keep my distance,” Vren added.

Glist huffed and went back to dragging the plate. Vren took this to mean Glist was okay with them staying. They set up their chair at the spot they usually placed Glist’s food and began to eat their breakfast BLT. Glist eyed Vren for a moment more before digging into his food. The two enjoyed their meal together in silence, the crunch of peaches and bacon filling the space.

After lunch Vren spent time just talking to Glist. Vren talked about some of the doctors they’d met while working here and their bonds with their dragons. Glist didn’t protest, but he didn’t seem the most interested either. After dinner they did the same thing, talking about some of the other pairs they’d met at the various jobs they’d had over the past few years. That part of the discussion seemed to at least mildly intrigue Glist, so the next day Vren talked more about various grocery stores, restaurants, and construction projects around the city. However any interest Glist had displayed the previous day had abruptly fizzled, as when Vren got to how self checkouts were now becoming more and more common they were interrupted by Glist not so subtly yawning. Glist dragged it out until he was sure Vren was done talking. Vren just looked at him with mild contempt. “I get the point.”

Vren wasn’t really sure what they could talk about that would hold the dragon’s interest, so for the next couple of days Vren talked about whatever came to mind. They sometimes used conversation starters like would you rather, and other times tried to guess Glist’s favorite things. Occasionally Glist would show mild interest, and the rest of the time Vren would be met with complete indifference. While it wasn’t quite the reaction Vren had been hoping for, it was better than nothing. During this time, Vren noticed that Glist’s wounds were beginning to look better. Dragons were known to have an impressive rate of healing, but it was greatly affected by their mood. Eventually, about half a week into eating with Glist and talking to him, Vren decided to try the next step. Once the two had finished dinner one afternoon, Vren asked, “Glist, would you let me get a bit closer to you?”

Glist raised his head and tilted it in confusion. “Meaning,” Vren said as they stood up from their chair and took a step towards Glist. Immediately they were met with a guttural growl. Glist’s pupils had narrowed to slits and his teeth were bared.

“Okay, I understand,” Vren said calmly as they backed away.

Glist calmed down, and Vren felt their heart sink.

The next morning Vren made their way to the kitchen only to find that most of the fruits and other ingredients were gone. “Uh, hey Dave, where’s all the food?” they asked one of the doctors in the room.

“Oh, apparently the delivery truck is running a bit behind today. Traffic or something,” Dave replied.

Vren sighed before looking over what little they had left in supplies. With a jolt, they realized they had the perfect amount of ingredients for a particularly special dish. They hesitated, a part of them almost resigning to waiting for the delivery truck to show up. However, they’d worked so hard to get Glist accustomed to a schedule. Disrupting it now could set them back days. Gritting their teeth, Vren grabbed three components out of the fridge and two from the pantry and got to work.

Once they were done, they made their way to Glist’s ward. Upon arrival, they found Glist awake and waiting. Vren allowed a small smile to form as they walked in. “Good morning, Glist. I’ve got something a bit different for you today. You’ll have to forgive me; the kitchen was running low on supplies.”

Glist sniffed the air curiously as Vren set the dish down next to their chair. “This is an omelet, dragon style. Made with egg, cheese, perch, dawn dust peppers, and cilantro,” Vren explained as they backed up towards the door.

Glist approached the dish cautiously and began to sniff it. Vren stood nervously against the wall. This was well outside Glist’s usual preferred palate, but they wanted so badly for Glist to accept this dish, more than any other one previously. After a minute, Glist huffed and began dragging the plate back. Vren relaxed, releasing tension they hadn’t realized they’d been holding. They went and took their place in their chair. After he’d gotten comfortable, Glist looked up at Vren expectantly. It took Vren a moment to figure out why. “Oh, no breakfast for me today. The kitchen didn’t have enough food left. But don’t worry, I’ll get something a little later. You go ahead and eat now.”

Glist grumbled a bit before taking a bite. After considering the taste, his pupils dilated and he began to greedily consume the omelet. Vren smiled from ear to ear and laughed a little. Glist glanced up at the sound. “Oh, it’s nothing. I’m just happy you like it.”

Glist went back to eating and Vren looked down at their hands folded in their lap. Quietly, they said, “Looks like someone else likes your omelet, Onyx.”

The sound of Glist’s chewing stopped abruptly. Vren looked up to see Glist looking at them with great interest, the omelet only half finished. “Oh, sorry I didn’t mean for you to hear that. Don’t let me disrupt you.”

Glist didn’t take another bite. He just continued to stare at Vren. Vren shifted uncomfortably in their seat. “Um, I guess I’ll go see if the delivery truck has arrived. I’m getting kind of hungry. I’ll see you at lunch, okay?”

Vren got up to go, and watched as Glist’s expression turned from intrigue, to crestfallen disappointment.

When Vren returned for lunch, they found their chair had been smashed to pieces. Glist was lying with his back to the door. “Glist, what did you do?” Vren asked incredulously, setting down the dishes they’d brought with them just inside the door.

They made their way to the remains of the plastic chair, only for Glist to whip around and growl at them. “Glist, wha—”

Glist growled louder and harsher. Vren was forced to back away. “What’s wrong? Glist you have to tell—”

Glist’s growl turned to a roar. He slammed his claws on the floor and continued to growl at Vren until they had backed up all the way out of the room, the door sliding shut between them.

For the next three days, no matter what Vren tried, Glist wouldn’t let them get past the first foot of the room. All they could do was come in, drop off the food, and leave. Anything else, and Glist would show signs of hostility. They went to confer with Sharron. “Well, this is certainly not good. You’re basically back at square one. What went wrong?”

“That’s the thing, I don’t know. It could be that I broke the routine by not having breakfast prepared for myself, but if that’s the reason, his reaction seems disproportionate to say the least.”

“Well, do you think you can figure it out? Or do you want to consider passing the baton?” Vren grimaced. “I don’t want to give up. I just need some help figuring out what went wrong so I can figure out my next approach.”

Sharron considered for a moment. “The best I can tell you is to think back on exactly what happened that morning and look for anything that could have set the dragon off. You know him best out of anyone here. If you don’t think it was that you didn’t have a meal yourself, then I would say trust your instincts, and look for something else irregular that happened.”

Vren nodded, the doctor having just confirmed something they had known in their gut for the past few days, yet hadn’t wanted to admit. Vren knew exactly why Glist was acting up, or at least what had set him off, even if they didn’t quite understand the extreme response. Glist wanted to know more about Onyx.

That night back at their loft, Vren paced back and forth, unable to sleep. “Why? Why does he want to know about Onyx? She’s none of his business. My past is none of his business.”

They groaned, which quickly turned into a yell of frustration. The more they thought about Glist, the more frustrated they became. “We’ve made so much progress; why is he throwing it away over this?”

They thought back over the events of the past two weeks. Glist had hardly put in any effort for a while now. “Why should I be expected to share something I don’t want to when I’m the one doing all the hard work here? The least he could do is try! I mean come on,” Vren continued as they walked towards the bathroom, placing their hands firmly on the sink top and facing the mirror. “Why won’t he open up to me?”

Looking at their face as they said it, realization dawned on them. Their hard expression softened. Their hands slid off the countertop to their sides as they heaved a heavy sigh.

The next morning Vren marched into work with a new purpose. They stormed right past the kitchen, beelining for Glist’s ward. Upon arrival, they scanned their ID and stepped through the moment they could, not even waiting for the door to open fully. Glist turned, a growl on his lips, but before he could make a sound Vren said, “Onyx.”

Glist’s demeanor changed abruptly, a look of surprise overtaking his features. “You want to know about her?”

Glist nodded. “Okay, then give me a bit to make breakfast and get a new chair; then we’ll talk.”

They ate breakfast in anticipatory silence. Vren was mentally rehearsing what they were going to say. In truth, they weren’t sure if they were ready for this, but they knew it was something they needed to do. Once they were both done, Vren set their plate down, Glist watching them closely the whole time. Vren took a deep, steadying breath, then, unable to put it off any longer, began. “Onyx was my bonded.”

Glist’s eyes widened in momentary shock. He sat up straighter and waited for Vren to continue. “We met when I was seven. At the time I lived in a small house with my parents out near the woods of Opelise. My folks would let me wander the forest during the day, so long as I was back before nightfall. Except that one day I found myself in a particularly dense part of the woods, where the leaves blocked out the sky, and I lost track of time and lost my way. It wasn’t long before I was crying and hyperventilating on the forest floor. That’s how she found me. Onyx lived in those woods. When she found me crying, she comforted me by making silly noises and faces until I calmed down.” Vren chuckled at the memory.

“She was a year older than me,” Vren continued. “She was so kind and gentle. She had endless patience, which was good because I needed some of that. That day, Onyx led me out of the woods and back to my house. It was night when we got there, and my parents had gone out to look for me, so Onyx stayed with me while I waited for them to come back. When they did, it was my mom who noticed the bond mark on my shoulder first.”

Vren rolled up their sleeve to reveal a faded mark in the shape of a stylized tree on their shoulder. “This bond mark.”

Glist leaned in closer to get a look, and to Vren’s amazement, he got up and took a few steps closer. Vren continued, leaving their sleeve rolled up. “She was my best friend. Onyx and I did everything together. She took me to school and waited until I got out so she could take me home. We spent hours playing together with our friends or just with each other. When she got big enough to carry me on her back, she took me for a flight around our entire town to celebrate.

“She was the first of us to set sights on racing. I didn’t know how far we would go, but she wanted to try it out so bad, and her excitement was infectious. It became a dream we both shared, and before I knew it we were signed up for a local race when I was sixteen and she was seventeen.”

Vren was beginning to feel their chest tightening up, but Glist was still moving closer, so they couldn’t stop now. “To my great excitement we got third place. We kept racing, and eventually, we started winning. Onyx and I appeared in our local paper a couple times, and each time we did my parents would save the articles. They were so proud of us, and my friends w-were,” Vren choked.

Glist made a noise of concern, which Vren waved away. “I’m okay. My friends and family attended every race. They were so excited, and so were Onyx and I. We started going to bigger races and one day, an agent approached us and asked us to sign with their company. We took the deal and were featured in a magazine, Racers Weekly, as an up and coming pair the world should keep their eyes on. My parents had me sign their copy, which they then framed. My dad always said someday it would be worth quite a lot. Onyx kept getting stronger and stronger all the while. That is, until she started coughing and wheezing. When I was twenty three, Onyx was diagnosed with a rare degenerative disease. One of the few sicknesses that can overpower a dragon's healing factor. The best the treatments could do was elongate her life by a few months. Onyx, she…”

Vren couldn't continue. Tears filled their vision as the anguish they kept locked away behind a wall in their heart came bursting through. Vren felt like they were under siege. Their body shook and their breath shuttered. They covered their face with their hands and willed the flow to stop but it would not abide. It had been held back for too long and would no longer be denied.

Then, to Vren’s absolute shock, they felt a weight in their lap. They looked down to see the silver scaled head of Glist resting on their legs. Glist’s eyes were full of remorse as he lay in front of Vren. Gently, Vren placed their hand on Glist’s nose, and when Glist didn’t pull away, Vren continued to cry while holding the metallic dragon’s head in their arms.

The next week was hard for Vren, but in a way that they needed. Each day they came in and told Glist more about Onyx and their life before and after she died. They told him about how Onyx had invented the dragon style omelet by dumping ingredients into the pan while their mom had been making breakfast. They described their childhood friends, and how some of them had gone on to form bonds as they got older. They fondly recounted how none of their friends could best them and Onyx in a race, though that never stopped their friends from trying. They also spoke of how, after Onyx had died, Vren had stopped talking to all of them. How a year later they moved away and had barely heard from anyone since. How they’d spent the nearly two decades since bouncing around from thing to thing. How Vren had used the knowledge they’d gained from their racing days to get a volunteer position at the clinic, because despite the pain they felt they couldn’t give up dragons entirely, since then they’d be giving up what little of Onyx they had left.

Vren’s parents used to visit as often as they could, but eventually their parents had grown too old for the trip, and it still hurt Vren too much to go home. They still called on holidays, but Vren missed them. Vren missed a lot of things. They missed their friends, the woods of Opelise, the town of Opelise, their old house, the race track where Onyx and Vren had spent most of their free time. But most of all, they missed Onyx.

Glist was perfectly attentive the whole time. Even when the doctors came in to treat him he didn’t pay them any mind and kept his focus on Vren. His scales were looking much better. The ones that hadn’t fallen off started to shine like Onyx’s once had. For that alone, Vren felt this was worth it. Although, the false bond mark had been burned so deeply into Glist’s shoulder tissue that the symbol came through on his scales. Glist caught Vren looking at it one time and bumped his nose against Vren’s faded bond mark. Vren wasn’t sure what he meant, but rubbed his nose anyway.

Days went by, and it was finally looking like Glist would be discharged soon. Vren was happy for him of course, but they’d grown attached to Glist. So, one day after lunch they went into Sharron’s office to ask what would happen to the dragon once he got a clean bill of health.

“He is currently under police protection, so I’m not entirely sure, but you can rest easy knowing he will be kept safe.”

Vren’s emotions warred within them. “I’m glad he’ll be protected, but I guess that means I won’t be able to see him again, huh?”

Sharron’s expression turned empathetic. She placed a hand on Vren’s shoulder. “The work you’ve done with him is nothing short of incredible. He will live because of you.”

Vren nodded, their expression a bittersweet one. “I guess I should begin to say my goodbyes.”

That evening after dinner, Vren set their plate down just off Glist’s bed before leaning back against the dragon’s side. Glist placed his head in Vren’s lap, and Vren placed their hand on the dragon’s nose. “I’m so proud of you, Glist.”

The dragon huffed as if to say, ‘naturally.’

Vren let a moment pass before continuing. “Soon, you’ll be able to leave here and move on with your life.”

Glist side eyed Vren curiously. Vren continued. “I likely won’t be able to see you again after this.”

Glist lifted his head and whined, his eyes desperately searching Vren’s face. Vren reached out and placed their hand on the side of Glist’s face. “I don’t want you to be sad buddy. You’ve come so far, and helped me so much, arguably more than I’ve helped you. But you’re healthy now, and it’s time you move on to the next thing in your life. I don’t know what that will be, but you’ll be safe, and I know in my heart that you’ll be happy.”

Glist cooed and placed his nose against Vren’s chest. Vren breathed out a small laugh. “You don’t have to worry about me. Thanks to you I think I’ve finally begun to heal. I’m going to try going back to Opelise soon, maybe catch up with some old friends.”

A small smile decorated Glist’s face. The two sat there together for a bit longer, allowing the evening to turn into night. Eventually, Vren patted Glist’s head and said, “I think it’s about time I head out.”

Glist sighed and moved his head, allowing Vren to get up. They walked to the door, turning around to look at Glist one more time as they scanned their ID. “I’ll see you in the morning,” they said.

Then they turned around and were met with a baseball bat to the head.

Vren tumbled back and fell hard on their rear, blood already trickling down their face. Their ears rang and their vision tunneled. They faintly heard Glist cry out, but he sounded far away. Vren looked up to try and find the position of their assailant, and was met with the face of a man they knew only from a photo, but they hated more than they’d ever hated someone before.

“Glist, I’ve finally found you!” Joseph Connors declared happily as he rushed into the room past Vren, who was now lying on the floor with no recollection of falling over.

Vren watched helplessly as Joseph approached a terrified Glist. The dragon had leapt up from his bed and was now backing away from Joseph as fast as the man was approaching him. Joseph slowed his approach. “What? You’re not happy to see me?”

Glist whimpered and shrank away, lowering his head while keeping his wide eyes focused on Joseph. “What’s with the act Glist? I know you’re happy to see your bonded.” Joseph rolled up his sleeve to reveal a burn mark that perfectly matched Glist’s. Glist whined at the sight. “Quit being so pathetic and let's go already. We might not have long before someone comes in and tries to take me away from you,” Joseph growled.

Joseph reached out his free hand, and Glist flinched away from his touch. Vren couldn’t see the man’s face from their angle, but based on Glist’s terror, they guessed it had turned to stormy anger. “Oh, I see how it is. You’re playing the victim and making me look like the bad guy when it was you who made the bonding process so difficult. It’s not my fault you got so beat up. Now, come on and let's go.”

Glist was trembling now, but he didn’t budge from his spot in the corner of the room. He raised his head in slight defiance.

Joseph began to yell. “What is wrong with you? You’re my dragon now, so you’re supposed to do as I say!”

He looked around the room, and his eyes landed on Vren, still unable to get up from the floor. Malice gleamed in Joseph’s eyes. “Does it have something to do with them?” he asked with a chilling calm as he turned his gaze back to Glist. Somehow the fear in Glist’s expression managed to double. Vren saw Joseph’s grip on the baseball bat tighten. “Well then, I think it's time I taught your new friend here how impolite it is to mess with other people’s things.”

Vren tried to get up, or at the very least move out of the way as Joseph began walking towards them, but their head throbbed with the slightest motion. In seconds the man was standing over them, their bat raised. “Pay attention Glist, from now on this is what happens when you whine to others about things that don’t concern them!”

Vren braced themself, but just as Joseph began to swing, Glist dashed the length of the room and rammed his head into Joseph. The man was thrown through the ward door, which then slammed shut so fast that Glist must have used his magnetism on it.

Vren and Glist watched through the long viewing window as Joseph slowly rolled over onto his back, but didn’t get up. Then, the guards from the front entrance came running in with their dragons. When Glist saw them approaching, he turned and lowered his head to be eye level with Vren. Concern covered every inch of the dragon’s face as he looked Vren over.

Vren tried for a smile, hoping it didn’t come off as pained. They reached out and patted Glist’s nose. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be okay. You did so good Glist. So good.”

Glist made a low cooing sound and pressed his nose into Vren’s palm.

Suddenly, Vren felt a sensation that they’d only ever felt once before. They saw it on Glist’s shoulder before looking in disbelief at their own.

Below Vren and Glist’s first marks, a new one had formed. This bond mark was in the shape of a blooming lotus.

Vren began to laugh. A joyous, disbelieving laugh. They gently grabbed Glist’s head and pulled his forehead to theirs. Vren knew that they should probably get checked out by a doctor; they knew that the guards would be entering the room as soon as they could get the door open to see if Vren and Glist were okay; they knew that there would be a lot of questions from everyone in the next few hours, but in that moment none of it mattered.

Vren had never heard of someone forming two bonds in their lifetime, human or dragon, but the question of how barely crossed their mind. This felt right. Both Vren and Glist knew, finally, that they were going to be okay.