Archive of Our Own

Hyunjin was a reasonable sort of dragon. 

He assumed so anyway.

It was one of those things that was hard to judge, being the last of his species, but compared to the rest of the dragons, incapable of shifting and rather ignorant and stubborn about dealings with humans, Hyunjin was definitely on the more reasonable side of the spectrum. 

Well, he wasn’t a gronkle. It would take a lot for him to just roll over and submit, but that’s what made him the chief’s dragon anyway. Chan wouldn’t have liked him any other way, and the village wouldn’t have respected him the way they did.

Of course, Hyunjin’s reputation was the furthest from his mind currently, sprawled in his human form in front of the grand hall’s fire pit, while Chan and Minho poured over a little book they were writing, collecting and organizing all dragon knowledge they had collected since Chan had first renounced dragon killing and turned civilization as they understood it on it’s head.

“That’s not right… that’s not right…” Chan kept saying, before he clicked his tongue and turned towards Hyunjin, “Hyune, do you know anything about courting practices of dragons?”

Hyunjin scoffed, “Dragons are idiots. They literally become babies to try and find a mate, humiliating themselves to no limit for the females to notice them.”

“Oh.” Minho blinked like he hadn’t realized this, “I thought… I thought there would be more of a pattern to it. Some logic, like trying to make themselves look stronger or more protective than other potential mates. Like other animals, you know?”

Hyunjin lazily raised one eyebrow, “I dunno, loverboy, you tell me. You humans are the kings of making yourselves fools for a mate. Is there any rhyme or reason to when you give flower corpses to Ryujin to declare your affections?”

Chan failed to hide a laugh behind his hand while Minho sputtered and turned an embarrassed shade of red.

It was always in good spirits. Long gone were the days where Hyunjin actually had to worry about getting on Minho or anyone else’s good side. He was best friend’s with the chief’s son, the bridge between men and dragons, hero and friend to all.

It wasn’t bad to be Hyunjin right about now.

“Alright,” Chan leaned down on top of Hyunjin’s back, his dragon form cutting through the air effortlessly, “One more time around the island, and then dinner, hm? Patrol is looking pretty dull these days.”

Hyunjin rumbled deep in chest, passing by the cove where Chan had first shot him down with the intentions to bring his wings to his father for some strange human blessing, only for Hyunjin to shift and bring all his presuppositions crashing to the ground.

Fond memories.

Chan chuckled, “What a long way we’ve come from there, right Hyune?”

Hyunjin made a low rumbling that imitated a laugh, remembering when he'd shut himself in his dragon form when he was mad with Chan.

Good times.

"Well, off to dinner then," Chan pulled Hyunjin around, "Heard Sunmi was making beef stew… hope it's better than her pickled onion and fish… man, I felt that for weeks…"

Although Hyunjin had no particular love for any of Sunmi's dishes, he had to say he agreed with Chan. Even his dragon stomach of iron hadn't been able to handle it, and he was prone to eating fish raw in dragon form.

But before he could agree, a bright shuffling in the forest caught his eye, and he paused mid turn, hovering curiously.

Chan was immediately at attention, "Hm? What's wrong?"

Their instincts as one had gotten better over the years— battling pirates and territorially murderous dragons and land-hungry warlords had a funny way of doing that— but they weren’t quite the same mind.

Chan was only human, after all.

“What is it?” Chan whispered, “Threat?”

It wasn’t, Hyunjin’s senses wild but not like they were about to be killed… not like those times they’d been shot down, or either of them had been taken captive.

This was different.

In a way he couldn’t explain to Chan.

So with a grunt, he playfully whacked Chan with his ear and turned them around, back to the Great Hall. His instinct told him this wasn’t something Chan could handle.

Which was odd. There wasn’t a thing in the past six years of their friendship that Hyunjin didn’t find Chan perfectly capable, adequately informed, or readily willing to take on. The two of them, together.

“Oh, you’re back, good—“ Jisung slid his bowl across the table till Hyunjin stopped it from toppling off the side of the table, “Please, for the love of all that is holy, please take this burden from me.”

“Stop being dramatic,” Seungmin scolded.

Changbin nodded sagely, “This is the best thing that woman—“

“Don’t be rude,” Minho whacked him on the side of the head, even as he not so subtly gave his bowl to Ryujin to wolf down and finish for him.

“It’s not rude! It’s the truth!” He threw up his hands defensively as Chaeryeong started to laugh at him, “ Hey don’t tell me you don’t— don’t tell me this is the best thing you’ve eaten—“

Jeongin rolled his eyes, unamused, “Nobody said it was the best, but there’s no need to harass a poor old lady because your tongue is made of pig leather.”

Minho blinked a couple of times at their newest addition to dragon riding, before pointing him out to Chan, “I like this one. Where have you been hiding him?”

“The same place I’m about to hide your saddle if you don’t ground your butt till your leg heals,” he waved his hand vaguely at Ryujin, “Can you do something about this man?”

Ryujin’s eyes widened and she turned them accusingly at Minho, “I’m sorry, what is this?”

Before Minho could get a word in, Jisung proudly stood up and told it all for him, “He fell! From the sky!”

“And didn’t land well,” Seungmin added unhelpfully, “Because he decided he wanted to train his Deadly-enough Nadder to be able to fly through a field of dragon root—“

Ryujin’s gaze was fiery as she whirled around at Minho, “WHAT?!”

Minho stammered and threw something at Chan, embarrassingly trying to redeem himself that, “Minju was getting good at it! We were fine, she was doing well and- and-“ he pointed at Changbin, “I brought supervision!”

Changbin snorted, “You told me to sit with FlameMaster on the side of a cliff and watch, you did not tell me I needed to be at the ready to catch a madman falling from the sky.”

The conversation burst into a frenzy, poor Chaeryeong staring with wide-eyes, hyper fixated on only one point: “We have a whole field of dragon-root?!”

Which made Lia cackle until she was clutching her stomach and leaning against Felix for support, Jisung still pawning off his bowl of stew.

It was loud, and normal, and should have been comfortable, except for the itch of curiosity beneath Hyunjin’s skin that told him to go search for whatever he had felt and sensed in the forest. Alone.

He played with the unappetizing bowl of food before him, lightly listening and smiling whenever someone noticed him, pretending to be involved. Chan noticed he wasn’t– or he would if he wasn’t distracted.

And then Sana leaned over the table and flashed that sweet smile that made Chan stammer and breathless.

“Hey, Channie~”

Hyunjin took his distraction and bolted, already in dragon-form before the chill night air hit his face, up into the night and spearheaded for that place where he’d heard the sound first.

His feet hit the ground near the spot, and he carefully shifted, not as soundless in his human form as in his dragon form, but smaller and easier to hide at a moment’s notice. Brushing his hair back from his face, he gave his eyes a moment to adjust, the night vision carrying over in both forms, but not quite as seamlessly. 

When the trees were more than shadows and vague blotches of light, he began to creep towards the sound he had heard, careful and intentional in every step, slowing his rabbiting heart from beating clean from his chest.

The feeling hit him before he realized what was going on.

An absolute infatuation. Every part of him was stunned. 

Because there, by the river…

… was her.

Hyunjin had never been so star-struck.

She was a dragon, but she was… beautiful. Graceful in every step, magnetic in her every movement– Hyunjin couldn't remember ever analyzing another dragon's movement to admire it as much as he did for her. There was a glitter to her scales, a lithe adeptness in every measured and particular move.

And she was just drinking water.

Hyunjin was mystified.

Whipped.

Because this dragon was not just another dragon . This dragon looked like him. This dragon was a shifter.

Now, a more reasonable line of thought would have followed the wonder and amazement of this, as Hyunjin had assumed, much like the rest of the world, that he was the last shifter. A shifter of any kind was something to be amazed at, never mind that she was female.

Only, Hyunjin’s mind was far from logical at this moment, and she was gorgeous.

Something about the moonlight on her scales, something about the way she purred to herself, something about the sense of peace that seemed to be surrounding her. As he stared, he noticed she was avoiding stepping on her front leg– had she been injured? 

Hyunjin leaned forward as she moved out of sight, and was so focused on her he didn't notice his own center of balance shifting until he fell properly from his hiding spot, down the hill to where she was, shifting mid fall to cushion himself, only to add more weight to his roll and land himself under her very nose.

Humiliating!

Scrambling to sit up, he tried to look more dignified– dragon-like and presentable.

She took one look at him— and flew off.

Wait! He screeched out, bounding up after her, Wait, wait I didn’t—

She screeched something he couldn't understand and shot a flame back at him. Before Hyunjin could clear the smoke away, the sky was inky dark, and she was gone.

Hyunjin hovered in the sky for several moments. Waiting. Watching.

Before a sad rumbling escaped him and he ducked back into Chan’s house, in through the open window to the bed beneath it that had been his for years.

He didn’t mind it before, but now it felt cold and uncomfortable.

~

“Something’s wrong with Hyunjin.”

Minho said it while they’re all in the stables, weaving leather into saddles and drawing up plans for the dragon barn expansion, but it doesn’t really catch anyone’s attention.

“It’s sick season,” Seungmin grumbled unhelpfully, “Anyone who’s anyone has something wrong with that.”

Minho sighed, “Do you have to be so contrary.”

Without missing a beat, Seungmin replied, “Yes.”

“No, I know what you mean,” Ryujin sidled up to him, quiet, focused on painting new flag pennants for their ships, “He’s seemed… down? Almost?”

Changbin raised an unimpressed finger up at the patio above his head, “I think you mean up.”

They finally all looked to where Hyunjin, in his dragon form, had lazily sprawled himself on a perch made for a much smaller dragon, eyes half-lidded, watching the horizon.

Jeongin narrowed his eyes at Changbin, “…You’re not funny.”

Changbin flourished his hands, “Actually? I’m hysterical, Yang, get with the program.”

Coming up to Minho’s workbench, Felix slouched and narrowed his eyes at the dragon-shifter sadly, “He didn’t eat. Not even when we put out dragon feed in the morning supply buckets. It was… strange.”

Minho sighed, eyes on Hyunjin as he flicked his tail back and forth, not even interested enough to turn and look at them, although it was clear he knew they were talking about him, “Does Chan know?”

Lia smiled into her hands, “You know, there’s a lot Chan doesn't know. And sometimes? It’s better that way.”

“Wait,” Jeongin’s eyes went why, “Chan doesn’t know?”

At this, Seungmin burst out laughing, Jisung curling in on himself, embarrassed.

“What,” Minho narrowed his eyes, “What’s so funny?”

Jisung stammered, playing with the edges of his fingers which Minho only now noticed were bandaged, “Um yeah, about that…”

Seungmin leaned back cockily, “I don’t think certain individuals in our gang are very keen on getting Chan’s attention anytime soon.”

Minho blinked at Seungmin for several seconds, before throwing down his wrench and looking around, “Right, anyone going to explain before Kim Seungmin pisses me off more or–”

“ Well , Minho,” Chaeryeong laid out new nails to sort on her work table and giggled to herself, “You see when a girl discovers a new and novel weapon that she knows her leader and chieftan to-be would disapprove of—“

Ryujin kicked a foot up, flourishing a knife from her belt and pointing it at Chaeryeong, “That’s besides the point.”

“—and she knows her fiancé would highly disapprove of her testing said weapon in the village—“

Minho had already narrowed his eyes at Ryujin as she shrugged and made a show of making sure he knew, “She’s lying. Chaeryeong always lies. ”

But Chaeryeong happily pressed on ahead, encouraged by Lia making goading sounds at her table, “—she makes sure to hand off said danger to her warrior status and love-life to the next most incompetent fool who doesn’t have the constrains of a love-life or any good-standing with said chieftan to-be—“

Jeongin blinked dumbly, “What happened to Yuna?”

At this, Jisung wailed from where he’d already buried himself under his arms while Felix cackled like some undead witch, “ Don’t bring Yuna into this! Yuna and I are fine, you hear?!”

“—forgetting said idiot is more likely to blow his fingers off before following instructions,” Chaeryeong finished, with a pointed stare at Ryujin, “So really, this is your fault.”

“No it isn’t!” Ryujin assured calmly, “I disowned the damn thing before I handed it off. Not my responsibility!”

“Oh, please, ” Jisung rolled his eyes up at her, “Everyone knows I’m too stupid to build something as clever as a time-bomb.”

Changbin choked and dropped his hammer from the opposite bench, “Bomb?! That was a bomb?!”

It was Ryujin’s turn to stammer helplessly while Minho gave her unimpressed eyes, “It was— I mean, it wasn’t— okay, so maybe it had some explosive qualities that could qualify it as a bomb. If ,” She spun back at Jisung, “exposed to Terrible Terror flames, and Terrible Terror flames only. Which is why I left specific instructions to—“

Jisung threw his arms up, “I don’t do well with instructions. We know I don’t do well with instructions! I’ve been Han Can’t-follow-instructions Jisung since I was old enough to throw things, we know this!”

Lia frowned, “Whatever happened to Han Unable-to-keep-secrets Jisung?”

“That’s my story,” Jeongin sat on Seungmin’s table, “I’m waiting to see how much of him is left when Minho eats him for nearly killing his girlfriend before I have my turn.”

Minho was bright red and whirled on Jisung, “WHAT?!”

“She wasn’t supposed to follow me! I didn’t expect her to!”

“Of course I did, Mr Can’t-follow-instructions I’m not an idiot!”

Chaeryeong raised an eyebrow, “Actually, that’s unclear at the moment.”

Changbin scoffed, “What’s truly unclear is why the hell was there a bomb being built to begin with!”

Jisung pointed at Changbin, “See?! See. See? I am not—“

“We have dragons,” Changbin made a confused hand gesture, “Why the hell would we need…?”

Ryujin stood on Minho’s workbench, “Which is why, today, we will be talking about dragon dependency, and how the era of dragon-riding has made us incompetent warriors!”

Seungmin nodded sagely, “Here, here.”

From her feet, Jisung screamed, “That’s not the point! Nobody cares! Chan is going to eat me alive, and nobody cares!”

“ Chan, ” Minho gave Jisung dangerously icy eyes, “Is the least of your worries, if you don’t tell me how you almost killed Ryujin.”

Jisung’s eyes went wide and hurt, “I—! She—!”

Before that could even begin to spiral out of control, a glorious little sound of a familiar chieftain to-be whistling wafted in.

“Mornin, gang,” Chan threw open the doors to their little workspace, chipper attitude as always.

Ryujin flashed Minho an innocent smile as Jisung dove under the table, “Well, this'll be fun."

Whatever Minho and the rest of the gang imagined would happen next disappeared as Hyunjin suddenly leapt down, shifting as his feet hit the ground, and grabbed Chan's hand, as graceful and swift as he always was, except with a lack of his usual teasing and playful energy. Some unsettling energy followed him as he tugged Chan out the way he’d entered.

"We need to talk," was all they heard before Chan and Hyunjin were gone again.

They all stared at the door for a moment.

Before Seungmin sighed, "How anticlimactic."

Minho’s thoughts were slightly different, and giving Ryujin’s hand a tight reassuring squeeze, he slipped out after Chan and Hyunjin. 

For all Minho’s competencies as Chan’s right hand, as a dragon-rider, and as an intellect, he was sorely unprepared for walking into the conversation he did.

“Wait hold on, slow down, back up,” Chan held his head, “You met a dragon?”

“Yes.”

“Was she injured?”

“Yes! And even with that, she moved like–”

“Nu-uh,” Chan put a hand up, “Explain the injury.”

Minho was quiet as he listened. Chan never usually interrupted Hyunjin, not unless the shifter was spiraling into the unnecessary, away from particular time-critical details that an acting-chief would need to deal with, with reasonable urgency. 

Hyunjin seemed to understand this as well, huffing and wringing his hands in frustration to try and slow himself down. 

“Right, front leg. No, I didn’t see blood, and no , it didn’t seem like a hunter injury. She just… it was just…” Hyunjin clutches his hair in annoyance at the words not coming out, “Chan, she was beautiful, and she was just like me, and– and– I don’t know, I need to see her again, and I don’t know to approach her without looking like an absolute fool!”

Ah, Minho bit his tongue as he shared a look with Chan.

They knew exactly what this was.

So they sat Hyunjin down and had him explain it to them slowly– she was a shifter then? You couldn’t understand her? 

“Well, you are more domestic than most dragons,” Chan reasoned, “If we haven’t come across her before, there’s a good chance she… well, wilder than most wild dragons. Remember when we tried to communicate with that Skrill? Maybe she’s never had to interact with domesticated dragons before.”

Hyunjin scrunched his nose at the word “domesticated,” although he knew exactly what Chan meant, and couldn’t dispute with the fact that, even as a shifter, he was perhaps more in tun with his human side than his dragon. 

He turned to Minho, who had been listening careful, “What do you think, lover-boy?”

Minho startled, “What? Me?”

“Yes you, ” Hyunjin huffed in annoyance, “How do you get a girl’s attention?”

Minho stammered, Chan taking much amusement in his once aggressive and argumentative friend who couldn’t begin to dream of a woman listening to him, suddenly the expert on the fairer sex. 

“Well, have you tried… approaching her gently?”

“...What a novel idea,” Hyunjin sneered, “Got anything else?”

Hyunjin was relentless. The moon was high in the sky by the time he was done gleaning whatever wisdom he could from Minho’s poor experience and inadequate research with Chan. And even then, when Chan and Minho were practically falling asleep where they sat, Hyunjin buzzed to revisit the place he’d last seen her right that instant.

“Hyunjin–”

“Come, come!” he tugged, before shifting and leaving them to walk the distance on their own feet, eager in every sense of the word.

Chan took a deep breath as Minho pulled him up on Minju, no time to argue with his friend that Minho was technically supposed to be grounded, the Nadder taking to the skies to follow Hyunjin as best she could before he completely blended with the night and disappeared.

For whatever reason, neither Minho nor Chan had a very hopeful feeling as they flew after him.

~

Hyunjin approached a little more confidently this time. He rounded the grove to give her time to expect his presence before landing on his feet, tall and dignified before her.

She had been curled up, about to sleep perhaps, and recoiled, staring at him with piercingly confused eyes.

But at least she didn't run.

Hi~ he tried in the common dragon tongue, only for her to scrunch her face and pull back several steps in confusion.

He tilted his head and stepped around her, showing his wings, his tail, his teeth— look at this! They retract!— and he tried to speak in the garbled, human-influenced tongue he knows, buzzing with excitement and—

She stared at him like he was crazy.

He stopped, his tail falling to the ground. 

She said something he couldn't understand, a crooning sound from the back of her throat that sounded Nadder-ish, only more refined— something about family and peace and Hyunjin cocked his head to the side and tried to imitate her words back.

You… come… with… me?

He flashed his eyes hopefully, adding a chirp on the end like he’d seen the robins do during hatching season. She scrunched her nose and pulls back, going back to tucking her head beneath her wing. 

But Hyunjin would not be deterred.

He jumped into the water, startling her for a moment, before sticking his head up and leaning on his back legs, front legs bent in front of him.

I… Hyunjin!

At this at least, she cocked her head to the side and rumbled some sort of understanding.

Ye… ji.

Hyunjin preened, cooing and repeating it back, Yeji? You… you're… Yeji? Yeji?

He must get too close because Yeji huffed smoke into his face and took a step back. But Hyunjin didn't mind.

Yeji! 

He purred and crooned her name, before pausing.

This wasn't how it was done.

He caught Minho and Chan, over by the edge of the forest, motioning to him with their bodies. He vaguely recalled them talking of mating dances males did to get the attention of females and – oh… perhaps –

Hyunjin suddenly stuck his wings out, making a show of how broad and strong their were, before sidestepping left and right and then bobbing his head, like how Chan had shown him the colorful birds had done it.

Yeji was unimpressed, staring at him frightfully.

New approach then–

Spinning around, he waved his tail and bounded around her, like those dances he's seen Minho sweep Ryujin off her feet with in the town square to the tune of a fiddle, spinning around and around her on his four legs, dancing to impress.

Yeji actually retreated a couple of steps.

Chan and Minho were shaking their heads and waving their arms for him to stop and– okay, maybe not that approach.

He tried to think of what else he could do, suddenly remembering Sana.

She'd simply walked up confidently to the table, and Chan had been a goner, hadn't he?

So with renewed energy, he stalked straight up to her, face pulled in as charming a smile as he could manage and–

Wha– hey!

Yeji pawed at his face till Hyunjin sputtered and pulled back.

She looked terribly concerned, like he was sick, or had something on his face.

Do I have something on my face? Mortification rising, he groaned as she turned around and sauntered back carefully to her corner under the bushes to sleep, curling up and ignoring him.

Dejected, Hyunjin dragged his feet back to Chan and Minho, shifting and falling face first into the moss.

"Ah well…" Chan pet his hair gently, "You gave it a try, bud. She's just not interested."

" Yet," Minho corrected with a smirk, "Women are strange like that. Just give her space, maybe she'll come around."

Hyunjin's spirits lifted at the thought. Space? Time? He could do that!

"She's quite amazing," Chan strained to look at her around the trees, "If she weren't so skittish I would have loved to meet her… it's incredible, she's like you, Hyunjin, but… brighter . Where your scales seem to absorb light and make you invisible, hers seem to… reflect it? Minho, am I making any sense?"

Minho, who was clearly not listening as he stared at the back of Hyunjin's head from where he'd face-planted in the ground, startled and raised an eyebrow, "Hm? What about rainbows?"

Rolling his eyes, Chan sat up on his heels, "Well, nevermind then. Another time discussion, when we've all adequately slept. Come, Hyunjin, we'll try again in the morning."

By some strike of energy from the heavens, Hyunjin pulled his head up from the moss and resolutely replied, "No."

Chan frowned, not used to being opposed by his friend, "No?"

Minho laughed, not used to seeing the two ever at odds in plan of actions, "No?"

Even Minju, perched a ways off while she waited for them, squawked in surprise, not understanding a single thing, No?!

"No." Bouncing up, Hyunjin dusted himself off, "Not until I gain her trust. You go, I'll come by supper tomorrow if I'm unsuccessful."

At this, Minho and Chan's eyebrows collectively flew up to their hairline. Hyunjin opposing Chan's wisdom was unusual, but planning to miss free food for two whole meals? Downright suspicious!

"Hyunjin…"

Hyunjin couldn't be persuaded, shaking his head resolutely, "I've got to meet her. If for nothing else… then just to meet a fellow shifter. Just that. No underlying motives of anything else, just pure and simple curiosity. That's it."

Hyunjin sounded as believable as Jisung when he'd stolen Chan's equipment and tried to blame it on a Zippleback. Minho and Chan exchanged unimpressed looks, before climbing on top of Minju’s back, the nadder thoroughly confused why they had flown all this way for nothing, the two vikings resigned to the fact that Hyunjin was a man on a mission.

…dragon on a mission. Shifter in-love on a mission.

Chan pointed at Hyunjin sternly, "Nothing stupid. Don't scare her off."

"Promise! I'm not you. "

"I– what is that supposed to mean?"

As they flew off, Chan managing to take control of the nadder to give Minho's injured leg a rest, Hyunjin took a deep and calming breath, and turned to where Yeji was pretending he didn't exist, curled into her white scales and sleeping.

He took a deep, fortifying breath, and resolved with himself:

He wasn't leaving until she could at least learn his name.

And as stupid as it sounded, even to himself, he walked back to the grove, and set to work with just that.

~

For all his efforts, Hyunjin truly didn’t expect things to be as hard as they were. Over the years, his adventures with Chan had led him to the most stubborn and headstrong (quite literally) of dragons, and there had never been a problem they hadn't been able to overcome together, usually with happy dragons all around.

Although , he supposed, hair smelling of smoke and ash from Yeji giving him her two-sense on his advances, Yeji seemed pretty happy with the current engagement.

Hyunjin tried a plethora of creative advances– he went and caught fish for her, smoked them till they were well cooked; he weaved her flower crowns from the huge, sweet-smelling stalks that hosted bees of unimaginable temper; he even flew to the high cliffs to bring sweet smelling grass and weave a bed for her before the sun rose. 

The biggest reaction she graced him with was a subtle tilt of the head.

Hyunjin could take a hint.

By midday, he was sitting in his human form with a stick to the sand, drawing aimlessly in the sand.

Stupid. 

Hyunjin truly didn’t know what was wrong with him. He didn’t care about getting another dragon’s approval before.

Grumbling, he drew out Yeji's eyes, the softer curves her ears had compared to his, the way she tilted her head forward, sharp glare in her eyes when she stared at him. It was a habit he’d picked up from Chan– to doodle in the sand aimlessly when things were seemingly unsolvable. 

Granted, Chan could draw whole maps of the archipelago from his memory and Hyunjin had only just learned how to make semblances of dragons, which he used to his advantage, usually, to make fun of them and watch them squawk and fluster in dragon-ish unamusement.

He would be so lucky to get any sort of rise from Yeji.

Stupid. 

Engrossed in his sleep-deprived bitterness, he didn’t notice a certain dragon looming over his shoulder, till she let out a huff of smoke that gently disturbed the sand and gave drawing-Yeji a smattering of scales. 

“Mm, now you’re interested,” Hyunjin muttered to himself as he finished off the little ridges in her ears, “Well, don’t get your tail in a knot, I’m drawing you after all.”

Hyunjin didn’t dare even look at her, even as she made a dragon-ish sound that sounded roughly like “Really?” and hobbled over to get a better look at it. He didn’t really care if she liked it or not, as most of his experience with wild, untamed dragons and sand-drawings generally ended with–

“Oh. Brilliant .” He stood up as she swept her tail over the sand to erase it, sarcastically smiling at her, “Thanks.”

Yeji began grumbling under her breath herself, and although he tried to ignore it, he found himself surprised when she uprooted a sapling and dragged it across the ground, laying it in front of Hyunjin’s feet with a huff.

He blinked at it, not understanding.

“What… you want me to draw with this?” he raised an eyebrow, and tilted his head.

She blinked at him a couple times, before tilting her head in imitation.

For a whirling moment, Hyunjin was thrown back to when he’d first met Chan, and he had tried to imitate the young viking in his dragon form, dragging a whole tree through the sand to imitate his new friend and try to impress him.

But Yeji wasn’t trying to impress Hyunjin.

She was making requests of him.

“That’s… a little hard to hold with these hands,” he frowned, imitating picking the tree up and struggling.

Yeji let out a puff of smoke, and took it between her teeth again, shaking it around before placing it before him. 

Oh, he realized, she wants me to shift.

So he did. 

And as soon as he bent down to take the tree between his mouth–

–she snatched it and ran.

Hey! He chirped out, before taking off after her, What’s the deal?!

Sha garbled out something akin to a laugh, before shooting through the woods, leading Hyunjin on a mad chase between trees and under bushes. It felt like a little dash of wild, and a little dash of something maddening. 

Where are you going?! He called out, only for her to warble something back he could barely understand, and disappear over the crest of a hill. 

Hyunjin shouldn't have followed.

Yeji was wild, untamed, and incomprehensible.

But a little string tugging at his heart pulled him along anyway, and he was lost in the forest following her shadow anyway.

It took him pouncing and sending them tumbling down the hill, until she dropped the stick and it didn't matter because they were hurling headfirst into the field, and it was exhilarating.

Up until Yeji shrieked in pain mid-tumble, and his dragon paws suddenly felt scales turn into something fleshier and more fragile that was trying to wiggle away beneath his claws, and in a blind panic of trying not to break her and having down this stunt with certain clumsy vikings, he curled around her body till the world stopped twisting and turning and they were properly still in the dry grass.

How stupid can you get? He warbled out, gently rolling till she flopped on the ground beneath him and he could shake the rocky ride from his head properly, You're safer in your dragon form! You… stupid…

Yeji's face was contorted, a mangled sound of pain wrung from her as she clutched her arm to her chest.

The same arm that would have correlated to the leg she was limping on as a dragon.

Ah.

Hyunjin gently shifted and hesitantly hovered over her.

She had probably shifted to make herself smaller and put less weight on it as she fell, and to make it easier to slip out of their little tousle, but the human form of a shifter was physically weaker-boned.

Like any human was.

"Don't move it too much," Hyunjin whispered, before clicking his tongue, "It needs a split, hang on–"

He rushed to grab some reeds and a stronger branch, which he snapped to length.

"Minho's very clumsy, I've seen him do this a couple times for himself, or for the younger boys," he crouched by Yeji and gently reached for her arm.

She hissed like a cat, baring her teeth and pulling her arm away from him.

"I know, I know, I'll be gentle…"

Hyunjin wasn't sure why Yeji cautiously let her guard down, eyes sharp and set fiercely on his every move, but he managed to wrap the limp securely so she couldn't injure it more.

"There. It'll need whatever potion Lia uses that works like magic, but it'll heal," Hyunjin huffed, "If only I could convince you to come back with me to care for it properly… humans are better at this."

Yeji's face drew closer to his, with round, curious eyes. Hyunjin hated to admit it, particularly after narrowly losing a fight with her, but she was quite charming in this form, as much as in all her grace and elegance as a dragon. There was something in her eyes that seemed to grasp onto things like a newborn calf, her mouth rounded in intense concentration and curiosity.

"Hu…mans?" She repeated clumsily, before putting her un-splinted arm up and wiggling her fingers and pointing at her toes, "These ones? Clumsy… sleep ones?"

Hyunjin blinked. And then laughed.

"I suppose that's one way to describe them. But, um, yes. Those ones. They can help," he pointed at her arm, and then made a fist of strength, "Heal it."

Looking between her arm and his, she furrowed her eyebrows, "Help Yeji?"

"Yes! Yes, help Yeji… make Yeji's arm… better?" He pointed towards the village, "Hyunjin and humans… that way."

Yeji blinked, before turning and pointing to the sky in the opposite direction, "Yeji… that way."

Hyunjin followed her hand and tried to imagine the lands in that direction, falling short as he realized there was little habitable from what he and Chan had explored, "Oh? Yeji lives there? With other dragons? More… more dragons? Home?"

A series of sad sounds came from Yeji's throat, and she ended by shaking her head, "No… more. No more home. No."

"Oh. Sorry."

"Hyunjin… live there?" Yeji pointed to the village, "With… humans?"

Hyunjin nodded, "Yes. Yes I do."

"Why."

There were several things on the tip of Hyunjin's tongue which he wanted to say, about Chan's kindness and the abundance of food and the warmth and safety of a roof over his head, and people he called family who wouldn't fight him for position. 

But Yeji didn't care about that.

"Why… humans? Why no…" she pointed to the sky, "You… dragons. We with dragons, so why… why?"

"We're dragons… but also humans, aren't we?"

Yeji shook her head insistently, "No, not safe, must stay… stay dragon. Bigger. Safe. Yes?"

"Yes… but…" Hyunjin remembered his time as a dragon skipping the archipelago, fighting bigger dragons for kills, springing smaller ones from traps, shifting only to hide amongst humans when dragon-hunters got on his scent.

He hadn't realized how lonely it was till he met Chan, who apologized and praised and fell asleep hugging Hyunjin tightly. Till Felix wanted to braid his hair, and Lia inquisitively brought him different fish to get his dragon-opinion on their taste, and Ryujin and Minho fussed over him doing too much as the bridge between men and dragons, while Jisung goaded him to do more, and Seungmin saved him a seat in the hall for banquets, and Jeongin gave him funny stories about the silly little people in the village, as Chaeryeong made saddles that fit him comfortably and armor that protected him securely, and Yuna squeaked at how tall he was and thanked him for all the times he had helped save the village.

A solitary dragon would have never dreamed of being so wanted, of being so loved.

He looked at Yeji and realized she had no idea. She couldn't have any idea.

"Safer… with many others. We… take care. Protect each other." He looked in her eyes and watched as they stared, not understanding, and sighed, "You come and see, hm? They'll patch you up and you'll see."

Yeji considered it for a moment, before curtly nodding, like the proposition suited her.

Hyunjin couldn't help but let a small laugh escape at how endearing it was.

"Alright then, follow me. Chan's going to have fun with you…"

As she followed, she tugged on the back of his shirt to keep up, and Hyunjin let the little infatuation grow again in his chest, warm and soft around his heart.

And he smiled at his feet.

~

"...We just going to ignore the obvious then?"

Lia elbowed Changbin clean between the ribs, as unsubtly as possible, making him cry out and clutch his middle, unintentionally kicking Seungmin in the process and starting a rather usual brawl in the middle of the great hall.

Chan stared at them for a moment, wondering whether he should intervene, before turning to Yeji with his hands in the air, "Yeah that's pretty normal around here, sorry about them."

For her part, Yeji stared at everyone and everything with complete wonder and absolute shock. Her sheer fright at a mug of ale being pounded onto the table before her told Chan enough he needed to know about her acclimation to general human society.

He put her at the end of the table with Minho and Ryujin and Hyunjin, and tried to contain the chaos of the rest of their crew to the other side.

"You're hiding the new girl, it's not fair!" Felix whined, only for Chaeryeong to pointedly drape herself on his back and point out: "I don't think dragons are familiar with hugs, except when they're fighting to the death or mating."

Jeongin blinked at her a couple of times, mid-chicken chew, before– "Oh. Oh  ew! C'mon! "

"They're all stupid," Ryujin informed Yeji, making a circle motion by her fear with her finger, "Raging mad. Eel crazy. Chan keeps them because no one else will. They're mental. "

Minho was careful as he put salve on Yeji's arm while she was distracted, adjusting a proper splint in place of Hyunjin's sloppy one, "Wonder what that says about you, darling."

Ryujin promptly kicked Minho in the shin, "Oi. Shut it you."

Smiling, Hyunjin leaned close to Yeji and whispered, "They fancy each other. They do that because they're so in love, you see?"

"I... see?" she pointed at her eyes, "Yes...?"

"Oh. No, um," Hyunjin clicked his tongue, "You see is like... you understand? Like... yes. Saying 'I see' means 'I understand'.... which is a little strange if you think about it, because you can 'see' something but not quite understand it-- like every terrible terror in existence stalking you with their beady eyes, but no matter how many times you tell them not to steal they're not going to understa--"

Suddenly, Yeji put a hand to his mouth to stop him, making Hyunjin blush furiously. She had done this a few times now, and Chan had gently pointed out that she probably couldn't keep up with his fast, human-ized talking.

"Sorry," Hyunjin muttered.

Yeji stared at them both, before leaning towards Hyunjin, "They both… mate?"

"Um… yeah. Something like that."

"Mhm… okay." Yeji picked up on their vocabulary rather quickly, all things considered, "I see."

Then Hyunjin was shy and speechless for a different reason, proud and secretly giddy.

Chan snuck around them to crouch next to Hyunjin, "So?"

Oblivious, Hyunjin frowned at his rather silly and generally stupid human, "So… what?"

"Is she staying?" Chan smiled, "For you? With us?"

To his credit, Hyunjin had no idea. Yeji had clearly become more comfortable in the village as soon as they'd offered her heaping piles of food and not attempted to fight her for any of it, but now that her arm was patched up… Hyunjin couldn't say.

"She said her home is gone now, whatever that means…" Hyunjin frowned, "But… I can't say. I don't know. Why would she stay?"

Something soft spread on Chan's face and he ruffled Hyunjin's hair like he was scratching the scales on his head, "Because you're here. And you're quite special, if I do say so myself."

Hyunjin felt the red spread across his cheeks, was it hot in here? "Don't be silly."

"I'm not," Chan smiled, "Doesn't it feel right?"

Even though it did, Hyunjin couldn't be sure Yeji felt the same. It was a little like when Changbin had met FlameMaster, the monstrous nightmare a perfect match of strength and stubbornness, but seemingly far too wild to be tamed for a dragon rider.

It had taken an unfortunate incident with eel soup for the pair to bond, an event Hyunjin was loathe to repeat, no matter how much he thought Yeji belonged with him and the other riders in the village.

He took a deep breath and promised himself to stay strong when she left– because she would leave– and turned to find her staring at him.

She tilted her head to the side curiously, watching where Chan had gone to speak to some of the elders in the village, "You… are close. With him."

"Mm, he saved me," Hyunjin smiled, "He's… family."

"I… see."

Hyunjin let out a laugh, "No, you don't."

Blinking a couple of times, Yeji quickly agreed, "No, I don't."

"That's alright. You'll learn. It's like… my flock." He pointed down the table, to the very end where Yuna had come to giggle at Jisung and Sana had come looking for Chan, Ryujin leaning against Minho watching Felix and Jisung gang up with Seungmin and Lia to argue with Changbin as Chaeryeong laughed till her stomach hurt.

Yeji hummed, something deep and dragon-ish.

She looked at Ryujin and Minho laughing together and leaned back into Hyunjin.

"I see. Your… people."

"Yeah," Hyunjin smiled, "My people."

And then he smiled wider when Yeji settled against his arm, looking around at them with a smile.

"Then, my people too. Yes?"

Hyunjin looped his arm around her shoulder and held her tight, giddy with joy as it all felt just as it should be, and just as it had always been.

"Yeah. Yeah, your people too, Yeji," he smiled at all their silly human faces, beaming with joy, "Our people."