Unlikely Pairs - The Dragon Ch. 05

DISCLAIMER:

The following starts off as a slow-burn romance without any spicy action for a while. As well, this is my first time putting to words a story idea I've had for a long time, and my first foray into proper writing in general.

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[Early March]

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Several weeks had passed since Jiva, the dragon of the valley, and the local gnome clan came to an agreement that would ultimately benefit both parties. The fairy folk easily slipped into their new role as caretakers to the dragon's garden chamber, and they had even been allowed to undertake a degree of mining operations in some of the deeper and less explored regions of the cave system that Jiva had created within Naked Mountain. She didn't go down to those levels herself, so she felt no need to disbar their mining activities so long as they were careful to not disrupt the overall stability of her carefully crafted home.

With this developed working relationship, the central interior of Jiva's lair had become a bustling hub of activity as gnomes were constantly moving around and attending to different duties between different chambers and through portal holes that led to the valley outside.

On this particular day, Jiva headed towards the western wall of the garden chamber. The wall split down the middle and slid away, allowing her to walk through the tunnel. As she approached the opposite end of the tunnel, the rock wall opened up for her, ushering her into a large open chamber that was somewhat smaller than the main garden chamber and lit up by cyan blue clusters of crystals. However, it still had more than enough space for her to comfortably pace around in, especially since there weren't large growing plots taking up the majority of the centre.

There were rocky outcroppings dotted along the sides of the circular chamber, but upon closer inspection revealed themselves to be small houses that the gnomes had made for themselves. They were quite sophisticated already given the low amount of time the minor fairies had to build them, but then they did have a knack for crafting things with ease. As the dragon walked up to the one closest to the wall gate, scores of her workers filed past through the gate behind her before it closed.

Jiva laid down next to this building and waited patiently. While she waited, she could see that Willy and Millie were playing with their friends nearby. As the gnome children kicked their woven ball around, the dragon watched intently. When one of the older boys managed to accidentally trip Millie to get the ball away from her, Jiva saw fit to add her contribution. She blew hard in the direction of that older boy, knocking him onto his butt with the sudden gust and allowing Sullivan and Celine's daughter to regain her footing to steal the ball back. Millie was quite thankful as she shouted from the middle of the chamber.

"Thank you, Lady Jiva!"

Jiva chuckled. "You're very welcome, little one!"

While the opposing team were grumbling about how it was unfair that Millie and Willy's team got help from their dragon landlady, that didn't stop them from continuing their game.

Soon enough, the doors of the house closest to the left side of the wall gate opened up. Lewis stepped out first, having to duck under to get through the doorway; Sullivan and Celine followed him. They were continuing a conversation they had been having inside the house, with Lewis being a bit exasperated.

"I dunno, Sullivan, it just doesn't seem like a good idea."

By comparison, the bearded clan leader and father was more optimistic. "Nonsense, milord! I've heard the reports from our scouts out in the valley. Kent Valley residents could use the reimbursement of fresh produce."

"Okay, but we don't have any licenses or permits-- Oh! Hey Jiva."

Upon seeing Jiva, Sullivan was quick to take on an apologetic tone. "So sorry fer not seeing ye there, milady!"

Sullivan and Celine politely bowed their heads to Jiva, who curtsied her head in kind. Lewis had managed to get the gnomes to not be so formal with him personally, but he knew that such gestures of formality were an important part of maintaining amicable and stable relations between magical denizens from time to time; it was better to simply let the dragon and the minor fairies do as they wished. The artist merely gave a smile to his enormous friend, who gave him one in return. When she turned her attention to Sullivan and Celine, she took on a more neutral tone as she addressed them.

"Do you have anything to report to me on the wider valley?"

Celine spoke up this time, straightening out her dress as she stood tall. "We've seen movement from the char trolls on the other side of the river, but nothing ta worry yerself over presently, milady. Those coal heads just be butting heads against each other, mostly."

Jiva gave a snort and nod of approval. "Thank you for the update, Celine."

"Of course, milady. Excuse me, but I need to bring in me spuds for their lunch." Celine bowed her head and headed out into the centre of the chamber.

She began yelling up a storm at the kids. "WILLY! MILLIE! GET YER FECKIN' ARSES BACK IN THE HOUSE! AND WASH THEM SHITE-COVERED HANDS NICELY BEFORE LUNCH! REST O' YE LOT BEST HEAD HOME TOO BEFORE I THROTTLE YE ALL!!"

The gnome children all dispersed quickly and headed back to their homes; Willy and Millie smiled and waved to Jiva before they headed back inside their house as per their mother's request. Lewis chuckled at the flagrant swearing and threats displayed by the otherwise extremely sweet and loving little woman. It was just how these fairies conducted themselves among fellow gnomes and similar magical species, but it had taken some getting used to by the artist at first.

Celine followed her kids back into the house, leaving Sullivan, Lewis, and Jiva alone outside. The gnome leader adjusted the straps on his overalls and tried to stand tall before the dragon.

"Milady, if I might have yer thoughts?"

Jiva looked at Sullivan with a bit of curiosity. "Go on then, Sullivan."

"Right then. So I be speakin' with Lord Lewis here...,"

The artist put his finger to his temple in annoyance at being referred to by his official title among the gnomes, to which Sullivan simply chuckled a bit and continued on like normal. "And I brought up the reports o' Kent Valley. They be needin' produce reimbursement, which got the clan talkin' 'bout skimmin' a little off the top o' our stores to help 'em out."

Lewis interjected with some amount of frustration. "And I told Sully that's not a good idea, as they aren't likely to just take anything we give them even if you're okay giving them anything. They'll probably hold us up with legal documents of some kind if I just rock up with crates of fresh produce in tow and--"

"ENOUGH." Jiva silenced this disagreement promptly with a small bit of her commanding authority.

She recomposed herself and spoke with her more plain facts voice once more. "Lewis, with the excess yield we have in reserve, we do need to offload some amount of it even with the gnomes slowing down their work and taking extra for their own reserves. It has been awhile since my garden's harvest has been so bountiful, but the flaws of this bounty are evident."

The artist couldn't help but agree with the simple facts of the matter. The lair's produce storage was being pushed to its limits even with the new measures in place to reduce the overflow, and the dragon hated having to deal with wasted food. And in truth, Lewis had been curious about going back to the town of Kent Valley from time to time. The past two months had been a drastic shift for him, one that he had taken in stride and adjusted to quickly given how much better it was than his old life.

Indecisiveness filled the artist's expression, which Jiva had picked up on. She lowered her head to be at eye level with him and stared him down intently; Sullivan took a step back to let the two companions speak more directly with each other.

"Lewis, do you.... not wish to go back to that town?"

Lewis sighed as he put his hand on Jiva's snout tenderly. "No..... maybe. I dunno. Feels weird, the idea of going back now. My life's been amazing with you and everyone else here."

Jiva let out a small growl from the back of her throat, one of approval. "Yes, it has been a nice change of pace. Will you at least give Sullivan's idea a try?"

Lewis sighed with a little hint of exasperation. "I can never just say 'no' to you, Jiva. I can't guarantee anything, though. If they don't take to this, then that leaves us back at step one."

"Then we will figure out what to do if it comes to that. Come, we will supervise the gnomes as they load up what you'll be bringing."

Jiva stood up on the spot and headed toward the wall gate; Lewis jogged behind her. While the unlikely pair headed through, Celine stepped out from the house and joined her husband. She leaned her head against her husband's neck and held hands with him; both of them were smiling.

"Those two make an odd couple, don't they, love? A rather unlikely pair. Should we push 'em?"

Sullivan chuckled. "Nah, best leave 'em be. They'll figure it out."

A loud banging noise rang out from the house, prompting Celine to sigh at her children causing trouble. The two of them began to head back into their home.

"WILLY! MILLIE! YE SPUDS BEST NOT HAVE BROKEN ANYTHIN' FRAGILE!!"

"BEST FESS UP WITH YER MOTHER, LEST YE WANT ME TO KICK YER FECKIN' ARSES MESELF!!"

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At the edge of the opening leading out into the valley, Lewis was sitting atop Jiva's neck just behind her head. While she stood tall and proud as she looked out over the cliff's edge, gnomes were ferrying crates and loading them into what looked like a massive metal basket that would be suited for Jiva's enormous stature. Upon closer inspection, it looked to have been shaped from the dump bed of a large-scale rigid dump truck, like those used in strip mining operations. There were also a few other pieces of metal added to properly shape it into a proper basket, with a handle on top for the dragon to carry it by.

This was the first time that Lewis had ever seen this specific part of his best friend's collection, and he was rather curious about it.

"So clearly you've had that thing around for a while. Does it have a story?"

"Oh, it's nothing, really. There was a mining operation that was run nearby a few years back. I simply took the metal plate on one of their vessels when it was left by itself. That was all."

Lewis expressed a bit of skepticism. "Really? Only that?"

Jiva chuckled a bit. "I may have also collapsed their operation entirely to drive them out and keep the natural beauty of my territory intact."

"Naturally. Well, at least it makes for a handy basket to carry all these crates of produce." Lewis patted the side of the dragon's neck. "Okay, whenever you're ready."

Jiva snorted and walked over to the big makeshift basket. She got up on her hindlegs and put her forelimbs onto the large handle, then began pushing it towards the edge of the cliff. With the open skies upon the pair, the dragon spread out her wings and began to slowly flap them to generate some lift.

Soon enough, she began to take off and dragged the giant basket out with her. At first, the increase in weight on her front half dragged her down slightly, but her wing flapping quickly adjusted to the weight difference. Soon enough, she was flying nearly as well as she normally did and made a slow descent into the direction of Kent Valley. As the pair continued downward towards the forest, Jiva shifted to the right a little once she spotted her intended landing zone: a small clearing next to a wooden cabin and a dirt road leading into town.

The dragon made a steeper descent toward the clearing, making sure to slow down and hover over the spot as she lowered her basket to the ground. It made a loud thud as she let it hit the ground as gently as she could.

Jiva lowered her head down to allow Lewis to slide off. He took a look around at his surroundings, seeing the cabin and an old pickup truck with a simple utility trailer hooked to the back; the artist then looked back at Jiva and the basket. The dragon was picking up the crates in her large fingers and was loading them into the truck and its trailer, paying no mind to her human friend. There were a few gnomes that had come out of the forest as well and began to help out where they could.

A thought crept into Lewis's mind as he watched. What exactly was up with this cabin? Jiva displayed familiarity with this location, as did the fairy people. However, he had never been told about any of this, nor was it ever anywhere that Jiva visited when they flew together. The artist decided to question his companion about this.

"Jiva, you seem familiar with this place."

Jiva put down the crate she was carrying, letting the minor fairies load it with the others into the pickup truck and trailer.

She studied Lewis for a bit, then simply gave him a small smile. "I've visited this place a few times before. It used to belong to a human that studied the animals that lived in this region. But when that human died, the gnomes took over since it was a convenient location to keep an eye on Kent Valley."

The gnomes finished loading up the last of the crates of fresh produce. Some of them tested the car, starting its engines to make sure it was working properly. Once they deemed it satisfactory, they stopped the car and brought the keys to the truck to Lewis; he hesitantly took them and stuffed them into his aviator jacket pocket. He looked at the fairies with a bit of confusion.

"You know how to keep a pickup truck working?"

One of the young women among the present gnomes spoke up. "We might keep to ourselves, milord, but we keep an eye on human activity. Figured we'd knick this sweet ride fer emergencies, learn how to keep it in workin' order."

Lewis couldn't help but chuckle. "Well it's quite convenient. Thank you everyone."

The fairy people all headed back into the forest, leaving Jiva and Lewis alone together. The dragon lowered her head to her friend, who affectionately placed his hand on her snout.

"I don't know how this'll go."

Jiva let out a particular low humming growl, a sign of affection. "I will be waiting from the skies. When you return here, I will know."

Jiva put her hands atop the carrying handle for her big metal basket and began flapping her wings, slowly lifting herself up off the ground. Soon enough, she was back in the air, cloaked by natural dragon magics that obscured her from all but those whom she wanted to see her; the artist was one of those lucky few who would always be able to see her in the skies. But right now, on the ground at this abandoned but well-maintained research station, Lewis was fully by himself for the first time in a long time.

"Alright, time to see if they'll take uncertified fruits and vegetables."

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The drive into the town of Kent Valley was an awkward one for the artist. It had been nearly two months since he had last been here, and back then it was as a homeless drifter that had spent the last of his money making the trip. Lewis didn't miss those times, as he was aimlessly wandering around the province back then trying to figure out if he wanted to find a stable job or if he wanted to pursue his passions.

There were plenty of odd looks levied by the townspeople as he drove down the main road. No one had expected to see this pickup truck and its utility trailer filled with crates of fresh fruits and vegetables to come in from one of the unused dirt roads, especially at this time of year. Lewis shrugged them off and kept going to the address that the gnomes had given him, eventually pulling into the back alley behind the grocery store along the main central strip. The place was called "Stanley's Sundries and Groceries", and looked like your average small town grocery store.

Lewis stopped the truck and stepped out of the vehicle. He walked up to the backdoor and put up his hand to knock on it, but he hesitated for a moment; various thoughts crossed his mind in his hesitation.

Was it even worth it giving this idea a try? The gnomes and Jiva might've been aware of people living modern lives in the valley, but they hadn't lived that life themselves. Would the store owner even bother giving him the time of day, a random stranger that had his job application rejected just months prior? There was certainly a high probability that showing up unannounced with assorted produce would ring alarm bells.

Eventually, though, Lewis pushed those thoughts down and knocked on the door. For the first minute, nobody answered, and the artist made ready to turn and leave. However, the sound of the door opening got him to turn back around.

"Hello? You knocked?"

A bald darker-skinned man in a simple dark green sweater and a beige apron was now standing in the open doorway. He seemed quite confused as he looked at Lewis. For his part, the artist was a bit nervous as he spoke up.

"Uh, yeah, I uh.... I heard you had--"

The store owner squinted a bit, then seemed to come to some semblance of recognition. "Wait, I remember you. Yeah, yeah, I remember now. You came here a few months back to try and get a job, right?"

Lewis nervously chuckled a bit as he rubbed the back of his head. "Heh, yeah.... Wasn't doing too great then. But I'm better now."

"Yeah, you look better. I'd ask what you're here for, but your load tells me you've heard about my supply issues. I'm Stanley Brown, and you are--"

"Lewis. Name's Lewis Greene."

Stanley put his hand out, and Lewis firmly shook it. The store owner walked out of the doorway to inspect the crates that the artist brought with him. He inspected some of the vegetables, closely looking at them and smelling them intently. It was clear that this was a man who took his produce quality seriously, as he spent the better part of the next five minutes on each individual crate to inspect samples of all the different fruits and vegetables.

After he finished his inspection, he stepped back and took one last look at the truck's haul. He then looked at Lewis, who was a bit nervous about what he'd say next. Stanley's expression was entirely unreadable, as he had a rather impressive poker face as he spoke.

"These are the highest quality fruits and vegetables I've ever seen."

This response had taken Lewis by surprise. "Wait, r-really?"

Stanley nodded his approval. "Mmm-hmm. My mama taught me to only look out for the best, even if it meant compromising on quantity. It's why I've been having supply issues, as my usual suppliers went to shit after going corporate. I always personally vet what they bring me, with other folks around here giving me looks for sticking to my principles."

Lewis could only nod, as he knew all too well from living with Jiva how much of a stickler some people could be with doing things exactly to their standards. However, this left a few lingering concerns in his mind.

"That's great and all, but I don't exactly have any permits or licenses. And I can't say where I got this stuff, other than that it's grown where I live and--"

Stanley put up a finger, which silenced Lewis. He then relaxed a little, smiling a bit.

"Tell you what, Lewis. I can tell these were grown with love and care, and something tells me you ain't one to bullshit me. I'm getting a bit desperate, so you let me handle the bookkeeping. Can you get me another shipment like this in, same time next week? If it's too much of an ask, I'll still take this load off your hands."

Lewis finally relaxed and chuckled a bit at the notion of not being able to meet these supply demands. "I got ya covered. My friends and I have a pretty efficient operation going."

Stanley clapped his hands together and pointed at Lewis. "Hah! I'll be the judge of that! If I were a superstitious man, I'd think you grew these with magic! Here, help me load these in and I'll get your payment squared away. Stick around afterwards, and I'll treat you to lunch."

"You got it, Stanley."

Lewis walked around to the crates and helped to unload them with Stanley. As he took them out of the pickup truck and its utility trailer, he couldn't help but smile at the fact that he had lucked into finding the one grocery store owner principled enough in matters of ingredient quality yet also flexible enough in legal bookkeeping to overlook the source of this new supply chain. The artist also found himself having to withhold a laugh at the fact that the produce he was being paid for was in fact literally grown with magical assistance.

Perhaps staying in town a bit longer wouldn't be such a bad idea, after all.