Chapter Two: How to “train” your dragon

During the first few weeks, things seemed to move fairly well, both adjusting to the fact that Hayle was living in his apartment, mostly staying inside, often watching tv to help him learn about the world, or reading books much for the same reason. Chris had gotten him some “for dummies” books which he had first been kinda annoyed with, then he had realized that although the name might indicate that he was dumb, it was a teaching book that went into the smaller simple details. For Chris, it had become a bit of a comfort coming home to a lit apartment, someone there to talk to after a long workday or workdays.

It was of course what he had expected to happen, yet he could not help feeling a little disheartened when he opened the door to see a sofa in pieces, books all over, and a dragon huddled up in a corner. Stepping carefully around broken glass, and books, he kneeled before Hayle, who looked like he was trying to hide from the world. It was a little cold around him, but as the memory of their first meeting flashed before his eyes, he had to admit, he was happy his apartment wasn’t covered in three meters of ice.

“So…. what happened?”

There was a small stir in the figure ahead of him, a slight sigh, and then two very tired and saddened blue eyes upon him.

“I’m sorry.. I…”

Sadness, that was what he felt from the dragon, but why he was still unsure of. Gently resting a hand on Hayle’s shoulder, he looked around the room, trying to see what could have triggered sadness in this amount, noticing the tv had seen better days as well.

“Something on the tv upset you huh?”
“…”
“Come on, come…”

He was about to say come sit with me on the sofa when his mind remembered that he had no sofa, as it had been torn to tiny pieces and was littered all over the room. Thinking for a second, he ended with the bed. It was still standing in the bedroom, and apart from one still living kitchen chair, it was the only thing they could sit on together. Coaxing the young dragon out of its corner, he found himself sitting with his arms around a sobbing dragon for a while before he could finally ask him what had upset him so much.

“So, what did you see that was so bad?”
“A house, in ruins, and people trying to find those under the rubble..”

Chris lifted an eyebrow as two sad, reddened blue eyes locked with his seeking comfort and understanding. He realized he had probably seen the news, and with that, seen one of the places Chris had been working.

“Yeah, natural disasters tend to hurt people. But, why did you get so sad?”
“Sad?”

Chris chuckled, which got him a look from Hayle he had learned to recognize these last two weeks. It was a mix of curiosity and indignation in many ways.

“At least I think so? Tell me how you feel.”

Hayle sighed, how did he really feel? He wasn’t sure, he had been watching the news to learn about the world when the disaster suddenly appeared on the screen, and watching all those people try and help those stuck under the rubble of a large building just struck him. Memories as well, from something long ago mixed into what he was watching.

“I ehm… it’s complicated.”
“Emotions mostly are, that’s why they are hard.”
“It’s like I wanted to reach through the screen and help them, and I wondered how it would be if someone I cared for were trapped under there.. “
“And?”

He realized there was something more to it, something the dragon was not all too willing to admit to. Something that was now bothering them quite a lot.

“I remembered something I did…”

Hayle’s voice broke as that same feeling from before washed over him again. The comforting arm wrapped around him was the only reason he didn’t get up and walk around on the floor.

“Try and tell me, maybe it helps with what you’re feeling.”
“I destroyed a village… an entire village filled with people who worshiped me just because they didn’t bring enough tribute.. I was like that earthquake thing.. Just worse!”
“Why worse.”
“Because I did it, I did it for no other reason than wanting to set an example… what kinda god does that?”

As he had no real answer, Chris just wrapped both arms around the now once again crying dragon, realizing this was not only sadness but also guilt. Looking around the bedroom, the many large shelves filled with books, he wondered how many of the fairytales in them, perhaps had their ground in gods like Hayle, and their actions. Feeling how the sobbing slowly subsided, he looked back at Hayle, gently putting a hand under his chin to make him look back up at him. 

“One thing my boss told me once, that I think you might benefit from as well. You can’t change the past, it is what it is, but you can choose what you do with your future.”

He smiled softly as the questioning-looking dragon watched him closely.

“Sadness and guilt aren’t bad feelings, they help guide you, to tell you what is right and wrong in many ways. Although sadness can come from doing the right thing as well.”
“Why are human feelings so complicated?”
“I think a lot of them would like to know this as well.”

He chuckled at the surprised look he got, and then he pulled Hayle to his feet. He had learned in these two weeks that whenever he was told about an emotion that he had, he would learn about it, so for now, he would let the dragon learn, and he knew with that, came questions.

“How about we clean up this mess, and then go get some new furniture and a new tv.”
“Okay.. thank you, Chris, for well, everything.”

He smiled, letting Hayle walk back to the living room where the two started the work, while Hayle asked Chris some questions, more about his work and that disaster, if he had been there, and so on. In a way, their life settled into its own little routine. Chris would be at work, come home, and most times find Hayle reading something or watching something, but on occasion, it would be one of those days where emotions had taken over, and his poor apartment needed new stuff. It meant Haye slowly learned about emotions over the next half year, and they learned which ones he learned to handle fairly well, and what ones were much harder for him to control.

“NO!”
“Open the door, it can’t be that bad?”
“NO!”

There was a crash, and he was sure for a second that the building shook, and he wondered if this solution was actually a safe one. He knew what emotion Hayle was struggling with, or well he had a good idea, it was either anger or anxiety. It was the two he had the most problem controlling. Sighing, he simply stepped through the door, which had him lift an eyebrow at what he saw.

“How?”
“Reaper, doors do not really stop me. So?
“I…”

Hayle turned away, he had seen them, his horns and his scales had started showing the more angry he got, and what he was angry at was something so minor he was embarrassed at how angry it made him. It was simply that the dough that he had worked so hard on, had completely failed and his surprise for Chris was ruined. He felt stupid for being so angry over such a silly little thing, but he was. Sighing he tried again. 

“I messed up something I wanted to surprise you with… and I got so angry.. I think, and sad at the same time, frustrated I guess, although I still prefer what you called it once, the sad-mad.”
“So we need a new kitchen, it’s okay though, the landlord is always happy when we upgrade things.”

He put a hand on Hayle’s shoulder, quite fascinated really by the sudden horns and scales on top of the dragon’s blue eyes. He seemed calmer, which was instantly reflected in the scales slowly vanishing again.

“So scales and horns?”
“Yeah, it’s what my brother calls an avatar form.. I thought I could control that, but well.”
“Can I see it, fully?”
“Sure…”

Somehow he had expected wings, but of course, as Hayle was an old serpent god, there was not, instead there were shimmering icy scales and horns.

“What?”
“I was somehow expecting wings.”

There was a chuckle from Hayle, then a slight shake of the head, before he turned into the more human form that Chris had become so used to by now, guiding Hayle out into the living room, so they could clean up the slight mess the kitchen was in.

“So what were you trying to make?”
“Those buns you treated me to.. I found a recipe but well, I did something wrong.”
“I see, I never cooked a thing in my life, I doubt i would be of much help with that.”
“Well, a kitchen will take time, so I have time to read and try and understand before I try again.”

Chris nodded, he didn’t really know anyone that cooked so he couldn’t just give him a teacher, perhaps it was good for him to try and learn on his own. After they had finished cleaning out the last small pieces of the kitchen, they sat on the sofa with a program running on the tv, while they looked for a new kitchen.

“Wow…”
“Yeah, that is nice, but this is a small apartment, it won’t fit.”
“Oh…”
“What?”
“Does everyone live in small apartments like this, I would guess not, as they make kitchens like that.”

Chris smiled, swapping what they were looking for from kitchens to apartments and houses. It was comfy to sit like this, the low sounds from the TV as mostly a background noise, the feel of Hayle sitting close to him, and his voice coming with questions had become a comfort to him if he was honest. It took his brain out of his work, and into the here and now, and he had to admit he loved it.

“So why this small apartment?”
“I didn’t need more, I like where it is, the people around here are nice, and have some really nice food.”
“But we don’t need to eat?”
“Doesn’t mean it doesn’t taste nice” 

Hayle nodded, the things he had tasted here so far had indeed all been nice, comforting and tasty to eat. His eyes fell on houses though, and his mind could not help to wonder how it was to have something so big to live in. Without thinking, he leaned his head on the reaper’s shoulder, scrolling through the many images, imagining how it would be to live somewhere like it. Chris just smiled, realizing if the dragon stayed, perhaps it was better to get them somewhere better to live. As much as he liked it here, having someone stay most of the time in this small apartment was perhaps not that much fun.

A thing Hayle slowly learned was to read how the reaper’s day at work had been. At first, he hadn’t noticed, but the longer he stayed, the more he noticed the smaller things in his demeanor and the way he would act when he came home. After almost a year, he had learned enough to instantly see when it was one of those really bad days. And instead of panicking and freaking out not knowing what to do, he had now learned that the best he could do was just hug Chris, and sit down and talk with him. Have him tell him everything that was bothering him, how his workday had gone, and also to try and understand he asked why it was bothering him. This often made Chris smile after a while, and he found himself feeling happy whenever he managed to bring a smile from him which surprised him. To be happy because someone else was happy was something he enjoyed.

Chapter 1, the meeting

He tilted his head slightly to the pull, it was a familiar pull, one only one person could make him feel. As he passed the mirror in the hallway of the small apartment that he had somehow gotten after she had told him he could have somewhere to call home. Home was a strange thing after he became a reaper, he knew he once had a different one but he had no memory of it. He once again wondered if the person in the mirror looked anything like what he had once used to, it was something that made him question the choice to forget. He knew what he had been told, he chose to forget who he once was, and then he had chosen this look, and his own name; Christian.

Shaking his head, he noted how the short, well-kept turquoise hair fell back into place as if by magic. “After so many years.. You still wonder huh.” He smiled as he opened the door, shoving the thought back to where it belonged in the back of his mind. He had made that choice back then, he was sure it was for a good reason.

Stepping out on the streets, it was the usual looks from those around him. He didn’t fit into the standard look where he lived, he was basically the opposite of them with his white skin and mixed eye color. On the other hand, several but him had fairly spacy hair colors, so at least that was common ground. No one treated him badly, but he got some looks and sometimes he could hear the whispers as he passed on what someone like him would be doing living here.

If he was honest about it, he simply liked it here. The tall buildings were like a frame, the busy road made it feel filled with life, and for someone in his line of work, feeling happiness and life, was something he craved. On top of that, he loved the street food, and although he had no need to eat it, he would just enjoy the taste. As he passed a corner, and his eyes saw he was alone, he vanished from sight only to reappear next to a woman standing on top of one of the many skyscrapers.

“So much for my time off huh?” He winked at her, as she pointed at something he had instantly noticed. It was mid-summer, one of the warmest in a very long time, yet, what he could see underneath him, filling the streets and crawling up the sides of the buildings was ice. Thick, heavy ice. 

“So?” He watched the female standing next to him. 

They were best friends and in the same line of work, it had been her who had given him the choice to start with, many years ago, when he first died. She had not changed a thing from back then, a touch shorter than him, slim, long white hair, and now those red eyes locking with his multi-colored ones.

“Well you know, sometimes I need your brain to work alongside mine.” She chuckled, as she pointed down to what seemed to be a person sitting in the middle of all the ice, rocking back and forth. “Have you ever seen something like that?”

“Is that… a person having a meltdown.”
“Hah! I knew you would notice it as well.” she chuckled with a pleased smile. “That person is a god. Hayle, an ancient god of ice and snow.”
“So a god, in human form, having a meltdown? One would think them to be above this.”
“Hmm, we both know it doesn’t work like that,” she sighed and pointed towards the one sitting on the ground. “That poor one though? It seems his brother had told him all about humans, and then convinced him it was a great idea to try human form.” 

She glanced over at Chris, who in return lifted an eyebrow. “He neglected to tell him that with human form comes human emotions, which we know are not the easiest to deal with. I don’t believe that little dragon ever felt anything like it, and, as you can see, it’s not dealing well.”

He leaned forwards, looking down towards the little figure sitting on the ice, hugging their legs. They knew of the old dragon gods, and they knew of Hayle and his brother, but to see them sit here like a human had them wondering just what his brother’s plan had been. 

“So why us?” He looked back at Nat who just rolled her eyes at him as if the answer to that was perfectly obvious. “Oh come now, killing him just because he was tricked into human form?” 

She shrugged her shoulders in reply, as he knew, just as well as her, that it was part of their job, they were among the few reapers who could kill a god. Throwing another glance over the end of the building they were standing on, they gave a sigh, the ice was killing people, which of course is why the option to take out the one causing the chaos was there.

“Fine you win, I’ll try.” There was a chuckle from behind him as he descended into the cold below.

Sighing he landed softly just a few steps from the huddled-up figure. The closer he got, the more acute the chill on his skin was, seeing several people frozen in the ice. At first, the god did not seem to notice him at all, but as he took the first step on the innermost ice, two slightly darker blue dragon eyes met his. 

“Don’t worry, you can’t freeze me,” Chris smiled.

There was a small tilt of the dragon’s head as if trying to assert what the person in front of them was, as the realization dawned on them, they lifted their hands, and with that action, the cold that one wouldn’t think could go lower seemed to drop.

“I’m not here to do what you think, but you need to calm down, your ice is killing people. Innocent people.” He kneeled in front of the huddled-up figure, the short, light gray almost blue hair contrasting nicely with the deep blue eyes, and the light gray skin. 

“Can you try and calm down for me?” He gently put a hand on the young god’s shoulder. He knew that Hayle, although several thousand centuries old, was considered young by a god standard. 

“I can try,” The voice was meek, almost like that of a child, but with their eyes locked on the reaper in front of them, they slowly started to feel calmer. 

“What are you feeling?” Calm eyes were watching him as the reaper waited for his reply.
“I’m not sure. It’s hard to explain. Like,” he paused as if seeking the right words. “Like, I want to run, hide, scream, and fight all at once.” 

Chris nodded, realizing what the dragon explained was probably fear. 

“I believe what you are feeling is fear. Did something scare you?” 

“Am I supposed to know that?”

Chris couldn’t help but smile, as they slowly realized just how unprepared the young dragon had been before being sent out on his own, and part of him would like to have words with his brother about this little idea or theirs. But for now, he would focus on what was right in front of him.

“Normally you would say yes, but in your case, it’s probably hard to say. So, you are just going to have to trust me, that you have nothing to fear here, so just take a deep breath, if it’s easier for you, you can try and breathe like I do.” They gave the dragon a nod. 

“Not even death?” Chris shook his head, he had no intentions of taking this one’s life, he simply wanted to help him calm down, and well, perhaps send him back home. Sitting there quietly for a bit, while the dragon sorted their thoughts, and their breathing fell in line with Chris’s, they smiled again when they looked at him again.

“See, not that bad was it?” He held out his hand, pulling the now much calmer dragon god to their feet, noticing several of his colleagues doing their work with those that had not survived the dragon’s ice. 

“I’m sorry, I know enough about the balance of life to know this is not right.” Chris nodded, guiding the dragon away from the scene as well as to a less populated space they knew close by. Giving Nat a nod as he saw her take command of the work that was now on their hands, he went back to watching Hayle. 

“Better though?”

Hayle on his end sighed deeply, he wished he had not let his brother talk him into this, it had been nothing like how he had expected it to be, although he now believed his expectations were a construct of his brother, who was probably sitting somewhere laughing at him while enjoying to see him mess things up. 

“Better, thank you… where are you taking me?”

There was a slight worry in him still, he knew of reapers, and he could feel that this one, this one could take their life.

“Oh, just the cafe over there, so we can talk and have you properly calm.”

Chris smiled as he guided them both over to the small cafe. He knew at this early in the day, there would not be that many there, so it was a good place for them to sit and talk while he decided what to do with this god. 

“Have you tried coffee yet?” 

The puzzled look and the shake of the head had him smile. They sat together as Chris ordered a Mocha for both, as well as their specialty, a wheat bun with raisins. He had fallen for while visiting different countries with his work. The smell of freshly baked goods and fresh coffee lingered over the small cafe, which was a little hole in the wall, with a few seats inside, and a couple of tables outside. On the walls you could see signs from the many places that they had been to or at least so he assumed. And outside the small flimsy-ish-looking chairs had blankets on them to make them a little less hard to sit on in summer, and slightly less cold in winter.

“Here, mocha and their specialty baked goods.” 

He noticed Hayle’s eyes had now changed, taking on a more human look to them, not the dragon-blue eyes that had looked at him before. 

“Why all this?” Hayle asked previously mentioned eyes, watching the reaper suspiciously.

Chris shrugged his shoulders, sitting down on the chair, and taking a sip of his coffee. 

“Simple, because I like to have this after a bad day, so I figured maybe a dragon would like it too.” he smiled slightly, taking another sip of his coffee. “What do you intend to do now?” 

He chuckled watching the dragon devour both the hot drink and the baked goods in a tempo he had not quite seen before, and then the dragon’s attention was once again turned to him, and his previous question.

“I have a choice?”

They looked puzzled, clearly, they had not expected to be offered anything. Chris smiled, nodding. 

“Sure, although only if you think you can handle it?”
“I have no idea, maybe. -they sighed, slumping their shoulders- Maybe it is better if I just go back home.”

The look Chris got from them though, told them that it was not really what the young dragon wanted. There was a silence between them for a bit, as they were both thinking about options, without really coming up with anything good.

“Figured you had gone here.”

The voice snapped both out of their thinking, Nat sitting down on a chair with them watching them both.

“So, what’s the plan?”
“Undecided.”

Chris watched Hayle, there was a part of him that knew it was best to just send the dragon home, but also a part that wanted them to have the experience they had come here for.

“Well it’s simple enough really, you want to try being human some more, or do you want to go home?”
“I would like to stay, but what if this happens again?”
“We’ll keep an eye on you, or well, more to the point, Chris can.”
“I Can?”

There was a chuckle from Nat as both of them stared at her wondering in their own way how she could say this so nonchalantly. 

“Well, it’s not like he needs constant supervision, and you did good back there in calming him down, so why not be his mentor to humanity?”
“And work won’t be in the way?”
“It will, work is always in the way, but I think you can handle it, I mean, if you want to.”

Chris looked at Hayle, who watched them both with a very puzzled look.

“Well it’s still up to you, do you want to stay?”
“Yes… but I don’t want what happened to happen again, it gives a horrible feeling afterward.”
“It does, it’s one of many things you will have to learn, what all these emotions are. But if you are willing to try, I would be too.”
“What do I need to do?”

Nat just smiled as the two talked back and forth for a while. To take care and teach a dragon to be human, was no small undertaking after all so having them talk and think it through would be good. For her though, she saw what her father had mentioned once before with Chris, and it made her wonder what this could lead to.

“Apartment?”
“Yes, I have one thanks to that one over there.”

He gave a nod towards Nat who chuckled, it had been her idea after all for him to have one.

“It’s not huge, but it is quite cozy.”
“Cozy?”

Chris just chuckled, wondering just how this would work. He was after all mostly away with work, and he had a hunch this dragon might need more guidance than he would be able to give him. 

“You’ll see, how about I take you to it, and you rest. And hey, perhaps once tv and some of the books I have can be a helping hand.”
“Books I like.. TV?
“Ah, plenty of things to learn.”

After a quick talk with Nat, Chris portaled the two of them back to his home, making sure they landed in his apartment to not have to deal with everything around his home right now. Showing Hayle how most things worked, he pondered if maybe he should get the young god a phone, just so they could call him if something happened.

“I’ll be back later, then we can go for a walk.”
“Later?”
“Yes, sadly my work does not let me give you a set time, but Nat promised to take on some of mine, so I’ll have some extra time with you.”

“Okay.”
Taking one last look behind him as he headed to the door, he saw the young dragon sit with a book in his hand, and a soda on the table. Hoping that when he came home, his apartment would still be in the same state as when he left.