Something About Dragons

James walked into the Leaky, he had taken the day off from work due to the sick dragon he had in his pins. Luckily he was able to move the poor thing into the isolation room so that he could carefully monitor everything going on with the poor thing. He received an owl from Avery who worked in his department about a dragon. So he responded telling her where to meet him and what time, he had showered and changed into his regular clothing. Which of course was just a pair of blue jeans, black t-shirt with his leather jacket, and his black steel toed boots. He was glad that the burns from his dragon were healed up nicely and didn't leave a scar despite having left them like that for a while. He shook his head slightly to attempt to forget why it had been left as it was, he knew Alejandro would kill him if he found out what happened.

He looked around for a place to sit when one of the regulars came up to him and began chatting away. They talked for a good twenty minutes before James walked to a booth and sat down, he ordered himself something to eat as he thought about his sick dragon. He wondered what Avery was doing with a dragon, he wondered if it was Robin's dragon Fergus, to whom she was referring. He had space in his pins for another dragon because the ones that were there, had been sent to Romania to live in a colony after they were rested up.

When his food arrived, he began eating slowly as he looked around at everyone that crowded the Leaky. The waitress came back with a mug of something telling him it was from a woman at the bar. He raised an eyebrow and looked towards where the woman was. Seeing him looking her way she smiled and winked at him, he couldn't help but laugh. He politely turned it down and told the waitress to tell the woman that he was flattered, but he was seeing someone. He went back to his meal when the woman came over with a look of rage on her face, that when he knew he was in trouble.

"What? Are you gay?" She asked crossing her arms looking at him.

James almost choked on his food at her words, "No I'm not gay." He said after taking a drink from his glass.

"Then what is it? I know your not with anyone. You come in here often enough that most everyone knows that your single." She said with a smirk.

James was cursing his luck when he saw Avery walk in, "Excuse me for a moment." He got up before she could respond and walked up to Avery. He lowered his voice and said, "I'll do anything you ask, if you help me out right now. I need you to help with this crazy woman who's down my throat because I refused a drink from her. Please help me." He said looking at her hoping that she would agree. "Say your a friend and know my girlfriend or something like that. Anything I'm begging you."

Avery didn't want to have to move Fergus away, but as he grew, he became more rebellious. She wasn't a trainer but rather someone determined to protect them. To find the right people who could take care or rescue ones who would end up getting into trouble. It was rather simpler than what someone like James did, to be sure, but with a daughter and taking care of her without help, Avery didn't have the time to learn anything new or to move up.

He had received her owl, agreeing to a meeting at the Leaky Cauldron, and almost as soon as she arrived, he stood up to greet her. Of course, it wasn't at all what she had expected. As subtly as she could manage, Avery glanced over towards the woman in question, making it look like she was just looking around the pub while he spoke to her.

It was difficult for her to avoid lifting her eyebrows disapprovingly after his explanation. Not at him, mind, but at the woman in question. That lady seriously needed a reality check if she assumed that any single man would be interested in her. It was rude, in Avery's opinion. It was actually quite nice to see someone who felt confident in herself. But to attack someone for saying no was far too much.

So she just gave him a warm smile and took his arm as they walked back to his table. The woman was clearly unimpressed with Avery's appearance, and Avery wasn't entirely sure she could blame her. James was nice enough, wasn't he? And not half bad-looking if one cared to notice. But relationships weren't built off looks or sudden feelings. They took weeks, months, years. This woman perhaps needed to grow up a little bit. Avery had done more than her fair share of growing up and it was not fun in the slightest.

"James," she began loudly, looking from him to the woman in question. "Why didn't you tell me someone else would be joining us? I thought you wanted to tell me some news. I do hope you've finally proposed. She's been waiting for ages, you know."

Okay, so Avery got a little bit posh with her accent and wording when she chose to be dramatic. But it was actually rather fun, so the smile on her face was, surprisingly, entirely genuine.

James was in a panic and he wondered if Avery would save him from the crazy psycho woman who liked following him. He looked at Avery then saw her look at the woman whom he was attempting to avoid at all costs. He knew that she was his one shot at getting the woman away from him for good or at least for a while.

Seeing her smile warmly at him, made his anxiety fade quickly as they walked back to the table. The woman gave Avery a venomous look as she watched them approach. He was hoping that the woman would disappear and go back to where she came from. He looked at Avery out of the corner of his eye, he gave a small smile. He knew the woman was jealous because of how beautiful Avery was and that she 'had' him instead. He just hoped that this wouldn't come to bite him in the arse later, he knew he would already have to deal with Alejandro when he finds out.

"I wasn't expecting anyone else to join us." He said with then almost laughed when she said something about him proposing. "I...." Before he could speak the woman decided on some 'revenge'.

"I don't think who ever he's dating would want him. He's a floosy, just yesterday he was here with a woman. They were both well drunk and both all over each other then left together." The woman sighed softly. "Well see you."

James ran a hand down his face as he sat down in the booth. "Sorry about that and please don't repeat anything that she said to you. It's not something I do often or at all. I tend to stick to my work, of course you know all about that." He said softly as he took a big drink from his glass. "Golnar isn't doing all that well. I haven't been able to move him, I asked for someone at the Ministry to take a look at him today." He said softly. "Now you wanted to talk about Fergus right? I'll do what I can to help you I promise you that."

"You could have told her the woman you were with is the girl you're marrying, but from the sound of it, that wasn't entirely purposeful," Avery commented, sitting down opposite him. She lifted a hand to call for one of the waitstaff so she could order something as well.

"I'm sorry to hear about that," she added with a knowing frown. "I wish I knew more about their health. I'm really much more of an organizer than anything else. Calling people in to pick up a dragon, things like that."

In truth, it sounded quite dull when she said it like that. If she trusted the people in her life to take care of Sophie in the same way she would, perhaps learning new things and expanding upon her job wouldn't be so dangerous.

After she requested her drink, she turned back to James. "Yes, Fergus. He's..." She focused her gaze on the table, shaking her head slightly. "He's not as he was before. It was baffling, really, how well he liked my husband, but now that Robin's gone- ... Well, I don't know. Maybe he knows I have trouble being around him. I'm not sure he's that perceptive, though, when he's burning things and making a mess. "

Avery sighed, surprised when a drink landed in front of her on the table. Glancing up, she nodded in thanks at the girl who had levitated it over.

"I need someone to train him, to make it safe for people to be around him. My daughter, she'd love to see him. And it would be a great story about her father. But it isn't safe."

"Yeah I don't think I'd be able to keep her off for long unfortunately. She has it in her little head that we'd make the perfect couple." He said rolling his eyes as he leaned back against the bench seat once more.

"It's okay, he's getting old and everything." He said softly. "Yeah, I just wish there was something more I can do for him. The most I can do it give him something to ease the pain other than that I'm at a loss. I'll have to get someone with more expertise to help me though I don't think it would do me any good."

He watched her as she spoke listening to her words. "Sometimes that happens with dragons when they get attached to their keepers. Dragons are smart and they tend to notice certain things, he may be a little flustered because your having trouble around him. He's grieving too you know, that's what he's burning things and making a big ol' mess." He said looking at her with a small smile.

"I can train him up for you, I'll have to use a different technique on him than what I did with Mercy." He said then thought about something else. "You know I'll have to work with training you too. You'll have to get used to being around a dragon and learning a few things to get them to calm down." He looked at curious about whether or not she would accept. "We would work with my girl Mercy, she kinda reminds me of you a little bit." He gave her a grin, as he took a sip from his glass.

"Charming."

Of course, Avery was fully sarcastic when she dropped that response. But she presumed that James was wise enough to take it that way, so she just waited for his thoughts on the rest of her points.

She reached out, though, when she caught the pain behind his voice. She couldn't blame him. Pets were like family, dragons or not. So Avery let her hand settle on top of his, sympathy darkening her features. What he said next seemed to follow along with her thoughts and she nodded, retracting her hand and twining her fingers together on top of the table.

"I know," she conceded, "but I haven't ever been around him without Robin. And I certainly haven't had Sophie around Fergus without him. I- I don't-"

James spoke about being able to train Fergus, which would inevitably be a good decision. So that brought a smile to her face - that is, until he tossed a cheeky comment her way.

"I'm sorry," Avery asked, trying much too hard not to laugh, "did you just compare me to a dragon that needed training?"

She lifted her eyebrow at him, waiting until he had put his drink down to lift her own, peering over the top of it at him.

"Oh yes very charming." He said laughing at her sarcastic response. He felt at ease with Avery because she never was one to pester him until he said something, which was a welcome relief to say the least. He also like her company, he found that he like being around her.

He felt her hand on top of his and covered it with his other taking the comfort she offered. He knew that she would understand about how the dragons were like family to the keepers as well as any pet would be. He allowed her to take her hand back and he listened to her words.

"You can do it Avery, I can train him so you and Sophie will be safe around him." He said with a smile at her, he knew that he could do it.

He almost spit out his drink at her words about him comparing her to his dragon Mercy.

"Oh no Mercy is fully trained. No I'm comparing you to her because she has a big heart like you do and she can be really stubborn at times. She also is feisty, much like you are." He said with grin waiting to see what she would say about his words. "You can't say I'm wrong either, you and I both know that you are stubborn and feisty."

She smiled at him gratefully when he assured her that it could be done. As nervous as he idea did in fact make her, she wanted him to be right. They both needed a piece of Robin back after he had been gone for over a year. Time helped, but they weren't exactly fixed, yet. Perhaps James would be able to help with that.

A smirk pulled at her lips when the surprise hit him, and she couldn't help but find his explanation interesting. She was glad to call James a friend, but she hadn't realized he was so observant about her in particular. Perhaps he noticed things about everybody, but she found his description to be quite accurate.

So she scrunched her nose up and shook her head at him teasingly, as if he were so far off that she just couldn't believe it. But he continued and she tipped her head back and laughed openly once he called her out on it.

"Alright, alright. So maybe you've got a point. I think," she conceded as her expression fell slightly to one more neutral, "that things have been getting better lately. It doesn't really go away, the missing him."

Avery rolled her lips together, tilting her head and looking down at her glass. "But it's fine, somehow, to still find happiness. He'd want that. That's what people always say, isn't it?"

Her eyes lifted to his again, a smaller smile returning. "So.. thank you, James. I think this is just what we need."

James smiled back at her, he knew that she was nervous to come into contact with Fergus, it was something he knew would help. He knew that sometimes you need a little of someone back after you lost them. He would gladly help them in any way that he could.

He saw a smirk on her face and knew that she knew that he was right about what he said. He called Avery a friend, but he knew that she couldn't know why he knew those things. He noticed a lot of things about people, but he observant of her more than he should have been. Before he knew that she was married he had a crush on her, when he learned that she was married and to one of the people he worked with. He immediately felt guilty and attempted to block everything out, he felt guilty even now.

"Of course I have a point." He said with a grin then nodded at her next words. "Missing him is something that you will always do. It will get easier, but you won't stop missing them. It the hardest part about losing someone you love, the only thing I can say is that sometimes depending on what your doing you can feel them next to you." He said softly.

"He would want you to find happiness Avery," He said looking at her seriously. "He was a good man and a good friend to me, he would want you to have happiness. Your smile could light up an entire room, someday I would love to see that smile cross your face again."

"Your welcome." He said with a smile


((OOC: Sorry couldn't help myself.))

James' words about being able to feel Robin's presence sometimes should have struck home, but they didn't. She had felt quite alone, but now she desperately wanted that feeling. Perhaps spending time with Fergus would give her that. Avery really didn't know.

She glanced down at her drink as he went on, rolling the pad of her forefinger around the rim of it. When he paid her the compliment, however, she stopped, blinking slowly. More than a year later and it still felt strange to receive anything like that from someone outside of her family. Robin hadn't been the sort, really, to put things like that into words.

It wasn't that she minded hearing something as nice as that, by any means. She just was no longer used to responding to those things. His last sentence was much easier to respond to for someone like her.

So Avery looked up and sought out his gaze. "I'll admit, I haven't quite been the same. But I'm sure that's pretty obvious. If learning to spend time around Fergus is what turns things around, I'll owe you massively, James. Genuinely," she said, lifting her eyebrows a little for emphasis, "if you ever need anything, or- or want help with anything... I'll do what I can."

She rolled her lips together before lifting the glass to take a drink. When she set it down, she decided that she definitely wanted to go through with this. "When would you have time to come see him with me?"