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Miko ran through the tall grass and lush forests of the Orion Pax dragon preserve with more pep in her step than usual. While the photographer loved most of the dragons on the reserve there was nothing the public loved more than the sight of a new dragon so as soon as Raf even mentioned that a new friend had somehow made its way to the park she was in her car and leaving the young intern in her dust.
Raf did eventually catch up, clipboard and tagging equipment in hand as he tried not to trip over his lab coat or his rubber boots. The new dragon had landed and set up in the more marshy jungle of the park and unlike Miko, he would have to go back to work once her pictures were taken. Wet shoes would not help a long work day.
“I swear to god Raf if you make me miss him I’m going to put you in a costume and take pictures of you!” Raf could only huff a laugh as he finally met her pace.
“Like you wouldn’t do that anyway- Oh wait you have. Don’t worry this one seems to be settling in. He’s already made a little home for himself and everything. If he was just intrigued he would have left by now.”
Miko made an affronted noise. “Augh! I thought you said he just got here! How long has he actually been here, did I miss anything good?”
Raf thought back. “Well, I was worried that he might run off if too many people bothered him so I waited for him to at least build a den. I got some pictures of that if you want them even if they’re not “professional”. Soundwave also made a flyby and they sniffed at each other. I got a quick picture of that. Umm….oh! Bee and Starscream also scoped him out. They stayed pretty far away and just watched him so I couldn’t get anything good.”
Miko’s voice fell. “O-kay. So nothing really good. No Megs showdown or Optimus cuteness?” She caught Raf shaking his head.
“He hasn’t really left the jungle and they’re too big to fit without really tearing up the place. I think he knows that too. We need to be careful, he’s really intelligent. After Starscream left he went around his den and dug a massive trench so he must have seen him too and he wasn’t too happy having such a massive dragon so close.” Miko laughed breathlessly.
“Yeah, too bad Starscream can fly. So, not that smart.”
“Maybe but he might not have known that. It’s definitely too narrow for that though and it filled up with water and he covered it in leaves. If it did catch Starscream off guard he’d sink like a stone and drown trying to get out. Fowler says we might have to chase him out to fill it in. I’ve marked where it is on our maps and set up a small bridge for us to cross safely so watch your step when we get close.”
Miko nodded, her camera bobbing with her movement.“Got it. Megs must have sent Soundwave though, right? How did that go down?”
“He... well,” Raf shrugged, “He sort of just tried to pretend he wasn’t there. Soundwave would get in close, he was practically pestering him he got so close but the new guy would just keep turning around to ignore him and sleep. They traded a few half-hearted swipes when he realized Soundwave wasn’t leaving without some sort of attention and the new guy growled a bit and showed off his flames and Soundwave backed off but then the new guy just went to his den and returned to his sunny spot when Soundwave flew off.”
Miko crooned. “Aww~ So do you think he’s friendly? Nice enough to bring tourists around? Do you think you could convince him to join Optimus’ court?”
“Let’s see how he takes your few pictures and if I can get close enough to tag him before getting to that.”
The conversation turned idle as the two finished their trek through the jungle, only slowing when they were finally near the new dragon’s makeshift moat. Miko was surprised it was as big as it was as the two crossed the precarious board. Raf had been right the dragon had camouflaged his trap so well it just looked like a board left in the jungle.
“Jeez, you weren’t kidding! One dragon really did this himself?”
“Took him all day, he seems to have some sort of special ability. A few I think. Probably why Soundwave left without messing with him too badly. Can’t imagine he wants to get in a fight with someone that might be able to match him. This guys a lot smaller though so I don’t think it would be much of a fight at all.”
Miko scoffed proudly. “Soundwave is such a cool dragon. Not as cool as Bulkhead but he’s a close second. I doubt he’d be afraid of any dragon even if they did have abilities. He was probably just being merciful.” The two laughed softly at Miko’s dramatic tone and macabre humor before growing silent as they grew close. Miko even following Raf to the damp jungle floor as they made their way through some thick bushes. Finally at the spot, Raf pointed the dragons way.
He was easy to spot, bright red and gold and sitting in a rare sunray. He certainly wasn’t like any of the other more beastly dragons but he was familiar. “No way! He looks like a qilin! It’s been ages since an Asian styled dragon has shown up!” Raf shushed Miko instinctively even though she was already in as hushed a tone as she could get despite her excitement. Miko quickly learned why even at the cost of her annoyance.
The qilin’s head had popped up and he was lazily looking around his small spot. Miko flew into action taking a few quick pictures in case he ran off back to his den. The dragon attributed the noise with the loud cackling of the few tropical birds the park housed, his eyes sharply scanning the trees. Finding nothing alarming he went back to his sunbathing. Taking their chance the two snuck around to get a better angle of the beast.
“He needs a name still, you wanna do the honors, Miko?”
“I’d be honored Raf.” Sticking the end of her camera through the dark green foliage of their new hiding spot, Miko got her first real look of the qilin through her viewfinder. “Hmm, something flame related? Hot stuff. Scorch. He’s got a mane made of fire Raf it doesn’t seem that hard.”
Raf was unconvinced. “Those really don’t suit him though those seem like...names for bigger dragons. We have too many flame boy’s thanks to Fowler’s poor creativity anyway so...do better.” Miko tried to squash her laughter as she went back to the drawing board.
“What about Fancyfeet. Have you seen the tiny stompers he has! How does he even manage with those?”
That got Raf chuckling. The qilin certainly was a dainty dragon for sure but that didn’t fit either. “No names that could mislead the public you know that Miko. We don’t know if he’s friendly.”
“They give that name to boxers! Not all boxers are friendly, they might punch your teeth in.”
“Something else Miko.” The woman groaned dramatically.
“Fine~. How about The Don. Kiss my ring.” Bad Italian accent or no Raf knew what Miko was going off of for that one. The qilin had some strange armor pieces, maybe even just decorative jewelry all over his body. Even his aforementioned hooves were tipped in gold. Raf had proposed that the dragon might have been honored quite some time ago before the Orion stone reawoke all the dragons and the poor things found themselves in a strange new world.
“He certainly has that air, doesn’t he? I don’t think he’s going to aim for a Lord position any time soon though. I’ll definitely add it on to his sheet if he ever does though.” Another groan from Miko. “Go back to the boxer thing. That kind of fits him. He’s not much of a fighter but when he does he is pretty in and out of there with his blows.” Miko rolled her eyes as she caught Raf miming a boxing stance, punching at nothing but a few leaves.
“How about Knock Out then? Small, spunky, pretty, maybe a criminal. Bada boop boys go knock his blocks off and send his corpse off with a kiss from yours truly and if I don’t see the damn lipstick mark in his photo when the papers find out you knows what’s gonna happen to ya~.”
Raf quickly brought a hand to his mouth as he cut off his laugh thanks to Miko trading in one poor accent for another. “Wow, you really want this poor guy to be a mobster. Now I bet he’s super friendly. Let’s get closer and see if I can tag Knock Out here.” Miko carefully followed behind determined to prove her point.
“You can’t tell me he doesn’t look like the type to smuggle illegal dragon booze across state lines and have his enemies axed off in the middle of the night. That’s why his hooves are so small, to leave less noticeable blood trails!” Raf had to quickly hush her again when they managed to get to quite a close bush. Knock Out still seemed pretty calm, mane billowing softly and blackening the ground around it as it flared and faded. It would be awkward with the qilin in the middle of the small strange almost island-like platform of land he’d claimed but Raf was positive he could quickly make it back to a bush should Knock Out’s mood turn.
He’d just gotten halfway to Knock Out when a familiar snorting caught his attention. Miko heard it too. “Is that Bulkhead? What’s he doing down from the mountains?” Raf quickly shot back to the bush. He couldn’t take the chance.
“It...might be Bulkhead.” Miko noticed his hesitation immediately.
“What do you mean might-” the woman was cut off by the sound of cascading earth splashing into the rivers below and even louder snorting. Something heavy was trying to make its way to Knock Out’s tiny island and wasn’t having the easiest time.
Knock Out was fully awake now but like Soundwave didn’t seem like giving whoever was bothering him the time of day. Cautious as ever though, he’d pulled his back legs under him, ready to act if things turned violent.
As Raf feared a massive blue form burst from the brush, claws digging furrows in the soft earth as it tried to drag its heavy body up and safely onto the flat platform. “Who the hell is that! Did he really just show up? He looks like he came out of a damn video game!” Raf swiftly grabbed Miko to stop her and her rising camera.
“That’s Breakdown. We rescued him from a research lab that’s why he’s so wounded. He’s way too traumatized by people and too burly for drugs so we couldn’t do long treatments. June did her best. And for the love of everything do not use flash or he’ll rampage. The lab kept renting him to a local zoo and they weren’t equipped to house him. This might turn ugly so stay back and stay quiet.” The two watched Breakdown finally get his footing. For Raf it was strange seeing the dragon move so cautiously, when they had first released him in the mountains he’d been ecstatic and rambunctious, eagerly tearing up the mountains to claim his territory but he seemed to know he was going into another dragon’s territory and was nervous even after catching a good sight of the much smaller dragon. Perhaps he wanted to make a good impression?
Knock Out sniffed and snorted baring his teeth with a sneering growl but not moving from his spot. Breakdown dropped low to his front legs and inched slowly closer, back legs kicking up a mess of dirt. It was almost playful in a way, certainly not a threatening display so Knock Out let the bigger dragon come to him. Almost lovingly Breakdown nosed his horn against Knock Out’s jaw before pressing it against Knock Out’s own horn. The two sat like that for a long moment before Knock Out stood and did a walk around of the bigger dragon. He seemed observant, eyes smart and judging. Raf heard the quick click of Miko’s camera and prayed even the sound wouldn’t ruin whatever was happening. Knock Out seemingly satisfied continued his walk around, the gold accents on his svelte frame suddenly sparking with a strange blue light. A light almost like the one that had come from the Orion stone.
Miko’s camera snaps became incessant as the charge started to build and travel along the qilin’s frame, collecting at the tip of his horn. Ready Knock Out returned to Breakdown’s front and he lowered his head so their horns met again.
Breakdown fell backwards to his side with a yelping roar as whatever energy discharged around him but as he flailed and swiped at his face the strange blue energy coated him and slowly dissipated leaving his once wounded skin and puss filled scabbed over eye almost perfectly healed. There were scars, but they were clean faded ones and the claw that had been ripped from one of Breakdown’s paws had completely grown back.
Surprisingly content he rolled and wriggled like a happy dog, stubby tail wagging as fast as it could. Knock Out only blinked sagely, nosing Breakdown’s underside with his horn gently, a calm “Happy now? Get going.” but Breakdown only flopped cheekily right in Knock Out’s sun ray. Knock Out snorted loudly and lightly pounded the ground with his front hooves with a few half jumps. When Breakdown was not moved he lowered his head and shook his fiery mane in a light threatening display. More of an irritated “move~” than anything serious.
Like Soundwave when Breakdown decided he quite liked his spot Knock Out feigned a bite, but turned with a lashing tail back to his den. Confused as to why his new friend was leaving so angrily Breakdown rolled back to his front and lunged forward to grab the qilin by his tail. Knock Out yelped as Breakdown bit down and tried to dig his sharp hooves in as he was dragged back but Breakdown just wanted to play or at least say thanks. Getting Knock Out back to the sunray he let go of the other dragons tail and quickly sat on top of him, stubby tongue already licking at the flame in an attempt to groom him.
Succumbing to his fate of Breakdown’s pointless ministrations and heavy body Knock Out snorted a sigh and rested his head on his thin legs. Miko cooed at the sight. “Aww look at them~ They’re gonna fuck.”
“Miko!” As much as Raf didn’t want to put too much thought into the idea Miko had a point. Aside from familial kindness in court dragons or just family units, dragons were rarely this close to one another and any sort of kinship usually resulted in a breeding pair even just for a season. Raf was at least glad he could go back to professor Fowler and June with good news about Breakdown. Unfortunately, they were probably going to have to chase the two off if Breakdown committed to courting Knock Out. Raf was surprised the strange stone dragon was able to cross Knock Out’s moat safely. Either he was smarter than they had originally thought and found the plank or he could actually swim despite his girth. Either way, the mission was over. “Come on Miko, we should head off. I won’t be able to get close with Breakdown there so get your last photos.