My Life with a Dragon Ch. 06

Chapter 6 Night on the town

The sun was warm and high in the afternoon sky as Sarah and Michael walked down the street. The shops on a Saturday were busy with people and non humans. All the shops had branched out and changed their stock to accommodate a wide variety of Interspecies people. In doing so it seemed to make the street a little more inclusive and welcoming to all the new people. Everywhere Sarah looked she was seeing new faces. A lamia's long tail sat across the street while she ogled a large display cake, while her host admired the same dessert. They stepped over the tail without breaking stride and began to see many different types of extra species. People seemed to be talking and enjoying each other's company, as though this was perfectly normal and nothing was unusual about it.

"I guess things are progressing well for the exchange program. Don't you think?"

Michael nodded as he looked around. Sarah looked at him quizzically, he seemed to be scanning the crowd with the eyes of a predator. "Hey Michael are you ok? You look like you're about to rip someone's head off," She looked around at the passing faces and they seemed visibly concerned by his intense stare. "And you're scaring people."

Michael looked at her and his face softened in embarrassment, he began to rub the bridge of his snout. "I'm sorry, I'm just still a little on edge from yesterday. I don't want anything to happen to you again."

"Hey," Sarah took his hand and squeezed it tightly. He looked at their hands and then to her. "I'm fine, I'm going to be fine as long as you're with me. We can't live in fear of what might happen. Life doesn't work like that, you have to live." Michael smiled. Sarah thought his smile was brighter than the sun in the sky. They stared at each other as people passed and examined them curiously. Finally Sarah noticed a passing girl with her arm wrapped around a young man's arm and floppy rabbit ears on the top of her head. She seemed to be studying them as she passed. She eyed Michael and then her hands intertwined with his. The stranger looked back at Sarah and gave her a wink and lipped something to her with a large smile before resting her head on her host's shoulder as they walked away. Sarah wasn't sure what the rabbit girl had said but best she could tell was, "You go girl".

They walked further down the street entering shops, they all seemed to advertise a special selection for all extra species people. As they entered friendly faces greeted them and showed them wares on wares. One shop, a sweet shop, claimed to tailor their confections to the specific needs of may extra species due to their special digestion systems and tastes. Sarah had no idea the amount of considerations some species needed just to be able to eat a cupcake. Michael looked around, smelling the sweet air and began to brows until he found some things that resembled lollipops but appeared to be covered in frosting of a solid deep brown and then crisscrossing lines of lighter frosting and dots of white. The treat intrigued him and he asked the woman behind the counter for two. Sarah was browsing also, taking in all the beautiful treats that looked too beautiful to eat, until she saw it. To the right was a display, a 3 layer cake covered in white frosting and red rose accents flowing into green vines. Making the cake look as though it were covered in a latus work of green vines. Adorning the top of the cake were two figures, a man and a woman. She was wearing a long white dress and a veil covering her face and the man had on a tuxedo and top hat. She looked closer and their arms connected from the elbow down until their hands were wrapped into one. She guessed it was symbolic of the connection and how two become one in marriage. She smiled as she looked at the two little people and thought about what her wedding day would be like.

"Very beautiful." Michael's voice jumped her, she let out a small squeak in her surprise.

"HAHA, ya it is. I really like the roses, they are so pretty and look so real." She looked up at him and he was smiling at her.

"I wasn't talking about the cake." Sarah blushed, looking away from the dragon and into his hands.

"Is one of those for me?"

"Oh yes. Um, I wasn't sure if you like chocolate, but I thought everyone likes chocolate so I got this cake thing on a stick." She smiled again as she took it from his offering hand.

"Chocolate's my favorite."

They left the shop nibbling on their sweet treats. It was a brownie that had been dipped in a dark chocolate frosting, forming the shell and then the accents were a mint infused fudge. Two of Sarah's favorite flavors, especially paired together. Sarah was telling how she remembered when she first moved to Japan and how she had gotten lost so many times she stopped going out for almost a week. They both laughed as she recanted taking the train from Tokyo to Kyoto to Sendai up north and then taking the wrong train again to Nagoya. Finally, after almost a whole day, she got back to Tokyo and had to wander her way back home in the middle of the night. The whole experience was amazing and terrifying. She spoke little Japanese and no one seemed to be interested in helping. So she did the only thing she could and found her own way.

"Wow, a real adventure." Michael laughed at the story and the description of how Sarah just kept going and refusing to quit until she figured out a solution to her situation.

"Ya I guess you could say so. I barely got to do or see anything cause I was running from station to station trying to find one going to Tokyo. God, and it all happened because I got off in the wrong place. I mean that's all it takes one wrong turn and then WHAM! everything changes."

"Wham," Michael mimicked Sarah and he smiled again listening to the story. "Well maybe we will get lost some time and have to find our way back home. I always liked getting lost as a kid. This one time I wandered through the forest for 3 days before I finally found my way back. I was dehydrated hungry and half dead." He laughed remembering how happy he had been when he finally got home and ate some food and drinks.

Sarah's eyes opened wide. "Oh my god! weren't your parents worried about you?"

"Oh ya, but I'd done things like that before. I was always going off and doing whatever, they really freaked when I joined the army and went to fight the blight. They were terrified"

Sarah stopped in her tracks and looked up at him with a combination of confusion and awe. "You were a soldier?"

He smiled but it was a fake smile. "Ya I was, I was in the infantry, 1-3-6-2. That was my placement I guess you could say. There is a constant land war with the blight dragons."

"Blight dragons?"

"Ya, along time ago there was one dragon kingdom, right. And around the same time the brother of the king thought the world should belong to the dragons and serve us, but the king wanted peace and before him there had been and after him he intended to keep it that way. But the brother believed that one day a huge war would break out across the world and then we would be enslaved. The king dismissed him but his brother was so jealous of his brother that the only way he saw to solve this was he had to lead the kingdom. So he tried to stage a coup."

"He tried to kill the king?"

"Yup, him and 6 of his followers, they tried to ambush the king but they thought he was just an old man and underestimated him. There is a saying in the army, "Beware the old man in a profession where men usually die young. He was that man. It's kinda funny though, you would think the brother would tell his assassins how dangerous his brother was but I think if he had they wouldn't have even tried to attack him." Michael and Sarah passed a small noodle stand, claiming to have the hottest ramen bowel in all of Tokyo. "OOO I love spicy, are you hungry?"

Sarah looked at the stand and nodded. "Ya I could eat, it is lunch time after all."

They placed their orders and the cook has a slight smile hearing Michael order the akuma bowl, "The devil bowl." As they waited Sarah listened to the rest of the story.

"So it goes the king was unarmed and when the first assassin rushed him he, simply disarmed him, took his sword and killed him. Then the others rushed in and all anyone saw was the flash of a sword and 6 dead bodies lying on the floor. Only the brother was left. He laid down his sword and begged for his life. The king did but he probably shouldn't have. The brother fled established a small town then a city and now a kingdom." The cook handed them their cups and 2 pairs of chopsticks. "Arigato," they both thanked the man and began to walk down the street again and talk as they ate.

"Oh my god! This is crazy hot!" Sarah laughed at Michael as he sucked air into his mouth trying to cool the burning that had already set in.

"I thought you liked spicy." She said slurping noodles from her cup.

"I do I love hot, but this, this is torture. I can't even taste anything now. Oh god i think my gums are bleeding." Sarah began to laugh so hard she couldn't control herself letting out a few snorts as she tried to catch her breath.

"So can I ask you, what was it like for you in the army?"

Michael shrugged. "It was cold, we were in the mountains, and we don't use guns like humans. Old weapons and old tactics i guess. Um it was hard, we hunted food a lot of the time. And we would usually meet the blight in big fields and have these huge fights. We would lose some and they would lose some but a lot of us didn't die. I don't think that was the purpose really. No one wants to die. What we usually do is wear colored pieces of cloth and then we would just fight. Sometimes guys would die but it was expected it just sucked." He sipped his Udon broth as they walked, and Sarah could tell he didn't wanna talk about the fighting anymore so she changed the subject before he started to think about it too much.

"So I was thinking if we are going to be out all day maybe we should stay out a little longer if you'd want too?"

Michael looked confused not really sure what she was thinking but he was willing to do anything as long as she was there. "Um sure, what do you have in mind?"

"Well maybe we could grab dinner and I know this dance club downtown that opens at 10. Maybe we could have a drink and maybe dance a little."

He hadn't ever been to a dance club before but he was there to experience everything in Japan so why not. "Sure I think that would be a lot of fun, but I have to warn you I've never danced before."

"Don't worry about it I can show, its super easy."

They continued to walk making their way towards the club but making stops to look around and take in whatever they came across. Eventually the sun started to sink below the skyline, the street lights and storefront lit up the city now. It was beautiful, Michael hadn't ever seen anything like it.

"Do you like it?" Sarah asked him.

"Ya the lights are amazing."

"Follow me I can show you something way cooler."

Sarah led the way, she seemed to know the route perfectly but Michael lost his way quickly with all the turns. He didn't see anything familiar but Sarah stopped and made a motion like she was presenting some type of prize.

"Here we are."

The two started up the stairs of a shrine that seemed to go on forever but once they reached the top Sarah led him behind one of the buildings. From there they could see over the whole city. The lights looked like an ocean of stars. The roads looked like flowing rivers of light and the office buildings were spires of crystal, reflecting everything around them, moving and changing from moment to moment.

"I love it up here, It's so pretty." Sarah was mesmerized by the lights and the rhythm of the city. Michael, on the other hand looked beside him. The lights were reflecting in her eyes and she was smiling so big, mesmerized by the city. He looked down at her hand and slowly took it into his, finally looking out into the city. Sarah felt him take her hand but her smile just grew a little bigger feeling him, the feeling began to make her heart thump harder. She lifted his hand and side stepped closer into him until she was against him and his massive arm was wrapped around her shoulder. Sarah let her head fall to Michael's chest and he squeezed her closer while they watched the city glow.

"Well good evening you two." The voice made them both jump and push away from one another as they turned to see who was approaching.

"WHAT! Oh hey, ya we weren't doing anything." Sarah stammered.

"Oh ya we were just taking in the view that all."Michael looked at Sarah and she returned his look of concern, wondering if the old woman bought the lie.

The old woman began to laugh hysterically. "Yes, yes you were. Many young lovers come here to look out into the city and many proclaim their love for each other, right there." She pointed with her cane, to where they were standing. "It's been that way since I was your age and even my late husband proposed to me. Bending his knee right there where you're standing young man." She smiled remembering that happy day

"Oh it's not like that. The interspecies exchange bill prohibits that kind of thing and," Sarah was cut off by the old woman's laugh.

"Trust me young lady I know the laws, I hear about them on the radio. But the heart wants what the heart wants." The woman shrugged as she spoke and walked closer to the couple. "And i remember there was a time when government tried to control that, you know who can marry who and who can love who actually but it never works. Love is love, it's uncontrollable and resilient. It can bend it can fade and it can even be forgotten, but it never goes away. In a moment it can come back stronger than ever and if it's connected two people, I don't care WHAT extra species they may be." She eyed the hulking dragon standing beside her, looking particularly in his dark eyes. Michael could feel her gaze, it was intense and made him feel like she was looking into him. She continued and returned to looking out to the metropolis in front of her. "Then they are maybe in for a rough go. But as long as they have each other, love always prevails. And besides young lady I'm old not blind, I can see you two love each other." Michael looked at Sarah and she at him. "See, there is love between you, I can feel it." They couldn't take their eyes off one another, it was true, it was all true. The old woman's words were right and she could see everything between them. "You two come here." She motioned them closer together. "Give me your hands." She grabbed them and pulled them together, placing Michael's over Sarah's. Holding them together with her's on top and bottom, sandwiching their hands between her palms. "Holy spirit I ask you to look over and care for these young lovers. They are in a time of uncertainty and will face hardship and struggle. Please look after them and care for them when they are at their peaks and lift them up when they are at their lowest. Help them find each other if they become separated and may they find happiness in one another, forever." The Old woman looked up from her prayer and saw they weren't looking at her, they were looking at each other. She smiled as she removed her hands and began to walk back to the temple. "Go live you to, life is too short and I should know."

Sarah led the way from the temple to the dance club, they hardly spoke about what the old woman had said. Maybe it was because nothing else needed to be said. They arrived at a plain brick exterior building with a small sign and two large doors under the sign, if it wasn't for the thumping coming from the walls and the sign you almost wouldn't know what the place was. The club's doors opened, a harpy and a man fell out of it. They both were laughing and talking about keeping the party going. Sarah and Michael just shrugged and entered pulling the large doors open.

Inside was a huge dance floor filled with not just humans but extra species of every kind. Felines, lamia, lizard folk, multiple sea dwelling species, dog, rabbit and even a few centaurs. Sarah grabbed Michael's hand and led him to the bar.

"Can I get 2 vodka and cranberry's please?" The bartender smiled and gave her a thumbs up. The bass was bumpin and Sarah began to tap her foot and gyrate her hips to the rhythm. All Michael could do was stare and watch as she moved, he was mesmerized by her hips. The bartender handed the drinks to Sarah and she handed one to Michael. She quickly swallowed the glass and Michael did the same. It was his first human drink, he barely tasted anything but the cranberry juice. There was a slight heat to the drink though and he liked it.

"Come on let's go!" Sarah yelled over the music.

"Go where?"

"Out there!" She pointed to the packed dance floor. Michael became nervous and shook his head.

"I told you I don't know how to dance and there a lot of people. I don't wanna step on someone's feet or anything."

Sarah smiled and grabbed his hand and began to pull him. "Come on I will show you how." They pushed through the crowd and found some space on the dance floor. Sarah pulled him close to her. "Look it's simple, you hear the music?" Michael nodded, he wasn't sure why she asked he could barely hear her over how loud it was. "Ok now sway and feel it, feel the music." She had a little space and began to gyrate and sway to the sound of the electro beat. Michael started to tap his feet in rhythm with the music and slowly began to do the same, swaying and following her lead. Before he knew it he was doing it. Sarah reached out and put his hands on her waist and she around his neck and the two began to move in unison to the quick techno. Just as they were finding their rhythm the DJ cut the track and came on the PA.

"OOOOhhhh I see a lot love bird out there," A Cheer rang out through the crowd. "I see a lot beautiful ladies out there with some very very lucky guys out there," Another cheer rang out. "Well you know what! this one is for all the lovers here tonight, So I suggest if you don't have someone grab somebody and get on this dance floor. Love is in the air tonight and we are gonna dance all night!" The crowd cheered louder than last time as the DJ spun up a slow soft R&B track. The lights began to dim as another set dropped and began to flash and spin blue and violet washing the crowd in an ocean of dim light. The atmosphere was perfect, like something out of a high school romance movie. Sarah swayed slow and Michael followed her. Eventually they were pressed against each other and Sarah could feel his heartbeat. Michael nuzzled her as they swayed and began to rub her back slowly as the track played. Sarah pulled away and looked around, Everyone was embracing, all the extra species with other extra species, human and humans and a mix of both. She finally looked up at Michael with desire in her eyes. He knew what she wanted and in the blink of an eye his lips were to her's. He wrapped his arms around her tight and she did the same. The song ended and so did their kiss but they didn't take their eyes off each other.

"Do you wanna go home?" Michael's words were soft and Sarah felt a chill when he whispered them too her.

"Yes. I'm just gonna go for a second." Sarah took Michael's hand and led him to the bathroom to wait for her. "I just need to use the little girls room and then we can go, Ok?"

Michael nodded looking around as people went in and out of the hallway that led to the bathrooms. She moved past the few humans and extra species who were either waiting for their partners or just engaging in casual conversation. They talked about clothes, food and sometimes the bolder of the two would make a comment about how cute the other was, usually the male of the two took the leap. Of the couples Sarah saw none seemed put off by the other. Everyone was dressed casually and seemed to be interested in the other, some even had an obvious air of lust about them and they were quick to act on it. She walked past a couple, a kobold and a young man who were in the midst of a heavy make out session. They seemed so bold as to have their hands in each others pants, obviously "sizing" up each other. Sarah ignored them and entered the bathroom, to her surprise it was much of what was outside, girls with some guys pressed against them kissing, touching and filling the air with their passion. She smiled remembering that it hadn't been like this before the integration maybe it was the animal magnetism of the extra species driving all the boys and girls crazy. Sarah looked at the stalls, some obviously occupied by two if not more, but the last stall was unoccupied. It was a large stall for handicapped humans but seemed to be able to accommodate the larger of extra species, lamias came to Sarah's mind as she sat down on the porcelain. The stall door next to her opened and quickly slammed and locked. Two voices were whispering but not quiet enough to not be heard.