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Define Arc	By : BlackberryPatch Category: +M to R > Pet Shop of Horrors Views: 8525 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Pet Shop of Horrors, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 1-Desecration
- 2-Despot
- 3-Damask
- 4-Definition
- 5-Damsel
- 6-Dearth
- 7-Dirigere
- 8-Disturbance
- 9-Decadence
- 10-Disease
- 11-Draht
- 12-Darkness
- 13-Dva
- 14-Daguerreotype
- 15-Draconigenae
- 16-Deification
- 17-Deviant
- 18-Doyoubi
- 14
- 15
- 16
Disclaimer: I do not own Pet Shop of Horrors and I am making no money from this or any other fan related work.

Warnings: language.

Note: The title is a Latin word meaning "born of the dragon."

-------------------------

-

"Draconigenae"

-

Chris stood in front of the pet shop, blinking blearily up
at the dark night sky. Tetsu stood beside him, tapping a foot
impatiently, as Pon-chan wandered about in front of them exploring the sounds of
the night. Chris shivered; it might be California, but it was still
January and it got cold, especially with the sun absent from the sky. T-chan moved closer to
the boy
and Chris leaned on him, wondering why Tetsu didn't seem cold. "What are we waiting for again?"
Chris asked,
rubbing at his eyes with one hand while he held a blanket wrapped around himself
with the other.

Pon-chan shrugged, looking back at them. "Honlon told you what it was."

Tetsu grumbled softly and pulled the blanket closer around
Chris in an almost maternal gesture that made Pon-chan giggle. T-chan
snarled at her, but then turned to remind Chris, "We don't know what it is- only
you do. She said it would come tonight," he growled at the sky and the
surrounding darkness, "so it better show up soon."

The wind suddenly blew around them colder, as if disturbed
by some great, winged beast, and they all shielded their eyes. When Chris
lowered his hand to look again, he found a slender red dragon hovering in their air before him;
it was
supported by wide, spidery wings and the whole creature was only just longer
than the length of his arm. It regarded him
with sharp, black eyes, huge with intelligence, and spoke.

"Greetings, Christopher Orcot."
Its voice boomed loudly in his head for such a small creature, and Chris' eyes
were opened wide as he reached out a wondering hand to the creature; it came to rest
on that perch and Chris thought, looking into those black eyes, that he had
always known what was coming this night and it had always known him. Claws too huge for
the small form of the dragon curled with amazing
tenderness around Chris's arm as wings and a long, spaded tail spread and
curled to help maintain the dragon's balance.

Tetsu growled at the creature, but Pon-chan shushed him.
"Did Honlon bring you here?" she asked, peering closely at the dragon.

It turned coal black eyes on her derisively.
"No one
brought me, earthdweller," it said with finality before
admitting grudgingly, "That youngling's
call does have bearing on my appearance this night, though allowing myself
to be summoned in such a manner would truly be a fitting thing on this Twelfth Night.
It is fortunate, for my own pride, that such is not the only tradition I uphold on this
night."

"Tradition?" Tetsu asked suspiciously.

The dragon turned its gaze on him before directing its
shadowy eyes back at Chris. "The
celebration of the day of
the kings bringing gifts to the Child."

Pon-chan and T-chan both looked at
Chris. Suddenly realizing he was the center of attention, Chris
blushed and couldn't suppress a sleepy yawn. "I... think we
should go inside so you can say hello to Honlon," he suggested
hesitantly.

The dragon walked the length of
his arm to curl around the boy's shoulders. "That is an
excellent idea." It was warm against Chris' neck and Chris
wrapped the blanket around them both. The dragon touched its
muzzle to Chris' cheek. "My name is Emrys, Chris."

"Hello Emrys," Chris said with a sleepy smile.
The small creature was making his whole body warm, and a feeling of well-being
filled him. He led the way into the pet shop, making his way to Honlon's
room. The way was so familiar he could have found his way there in his
sleep, but he found himself jolted awake upon arriving. Kanan was not
sleepy.

"What took you so long, you worthless old fart?!"
She glared evilly at Emrys. "I bet I could fly around the world twice in
half the time it took you to get here!"

Chris frowned at her, but soon found that the newcomer,
though small, needed no defense from him.

The dragon seemed even smaller as it flew over to land on the
ground in front of the raging girl, but Emrys merely looked up at her and Kanan suddenly
fell silent. "Silence is better," it murmured
approvingly. "Now, may I speak with
the rational one?"

Kanan grumbled but Shuko bowed formally to the smaller
dragon. "Elder," she said softly.

The dragon bowed its head in return. "You
asked for my presence." It turned its head to glance at Chris.
"And I agree that the consequences of what could befall here are indeed
far-reaching."

Shuko nodded, smiling as she also turned to look at Chris.
"Indeed." Chris blushed again, even though he had no idea what they were
talking about. "I think the hour is getting late."

Emrys seemed to agree. It took to its wings and
flitted over to where Chris stood. "Chris, would you show me where I
may rest this night?"

Chris nodded, the words penetrating his brain slowly.
"You can stay with me," he offered, not really knowing why he did, but
knowing it felt right. "You can talk to Count D in the morning," he
added, unable to think of any reason why someone would come all this way and not
want to see the Count.

"Yes, I will do that." Emrys looked mysterious.
"And your
brother?"

"Yes, he stays here too." Chris meandered his way
through the shop to
his bed and collapsed onto it, pulling the blankets around him while Emrys
perched itself on the corner, curling up- tail flicked over its nose like a cat-
until it resembled a pile of dusty red stones that caught the light like rubies.
"Goodnight,"
Chris murmured, and was asleep before he heard Emrys' response, if there was any.

No time seemed to pass at all when there was suddenly sunlight falling over
him, and Chris blinked himself awake. He heard his brother and the Count in
the kitchen, Leon's loud voice followed by D's soft laughter. He stretched in his bed,
his fingers brushing against cool scales and he remembered his late night
visitor. Pushing himself up on his elbows, Chris looked for Emrys.
The dragon raised its own head and blinked curiously at him. Chris smiled.
"I thought maybe I dreamed you," he confessed to the dragon.

"I am no dream, Christopher, I can assure you of
that." Emrys uncurled itself and stretched like a cat.
"Is that breakfast I smell?"

"Yep. Smells good." Chris climbed out of bed and held
out an arm for Emrys, the dragon crawling up the length of it to sit on Chris'
shoulder.

Together they came upon the kitchen, in search of the
source of the smells, but as Chris stepped through the
doorway he paused. Hoping he hadn't been
noticed, he stepped silently back and peered around the corner while Emrys curled around
from his shoulder perch to see. Chris smiled; D was standing by the sink, holding
something- a plate, Chris thought. Leon stood behind him, his hands to either side of the Count's
body, resting on the counter, and he leaned forward to whisper something in D's
ear, the Count turning toward him and smiling easily.

"They care for each other very much."

Chris jumped to hear Emrys' voice in his mind, amazed that
no one else could hear the thundering words. Steadying himself he peeked
back around into the kitchen to see his brother kissing the Count softly, D
reaching up to caress Leon's face. "Yes," Chris said, in response
to Emrys.

"What do you feel?" Emrys asked him, pushing
him on the issue as no one else ever had. Chris looked into those coal
black eyes and didn't even think about his response.

"I'm... happy." He smiled, the expression
sliding over his face, and he was unable to stop it. "I'm very happy, and I
want to stay here, with them, as long as I can." He frowned then, the
weight of years beyond his frame seeming to fall on his shoulders and on his
face. He was thinking of Honlon's words to him, that he might have to
leave the shop, and the more he thought of them the more he felt they were more
than just words, rather a prophesy of truth. It hurt him to think of it, because,
more than anything, he did not wish to be torn yet again from this safety he
had built to shelter himself within.

Emrys nuzzled his cheek but the creature's words were
serious. "If you are truly happy in this life then do not fear any
shadow that might rise to oppose you. You have the power within you to
make your own fate."

Chris looked at it, as if seeing the dragon for the first
time, wonder and doubt in his expression. Rather than respond, he diverted
attention away from himself. "Let's see if they're done with
breakfast."

Chris stepped into the kitchen again, purposefully pushing
the chair nearest him, scraping it on the floor. Leon jerked around at the sound, wide-eyed and worried, but Chris smiled at him
shyly and as they looked at each other the two brothers seemed to know and
understand each other's secrets. Leon's eyes fell on Emrys. "Who's
your friend, Chris?"

The Count stepped around Leon, setting a plate on the
table for Chris, but freezing when he caught sight of the dragon.
Remembering his guest, Chris held up his arm so that Emrys could walk down the
length of it and come easily to the table, where it sat for a moment still as
any statue of chiseled carnelian, wings slightly spread, tail curled catlike around its
feet, and exuding an aura of power that made Chris blink.
"Count, this is Emrys," he said, softly, suddenly feeling unworthy to make
the introduction. "Emrys came last night, to..." Chris realized
he really had no idea why the dragon had come, last night of all nights, and finished hesitantly, "To
see you?"

Emrys turned its head and nodded to Chris.
"Thank you, Christopher." It turned to the wide-eyed Count.
"It is not you I have traveled to meet, though the line and purpose of D
is known to me." The end of its tail twitched and its reptilian
gaze was warm and thoughtful. "Indeed, I know your originator and it
is in part he who sent me." Emrys turned glowing ebony eyes on
Chris. "I have come for the child."

Emrys seemed to have woven a spell over the room with his
words as everyone stared at him, D slack-jawed in shock, but at his last statement Leon stepped forward, raising a hand
threateningly as his eyes flashed. "The fuck you're doing anything to Chris..."
He subsided when Emrys' eyes met his, and the two of them seemed to share a
conversation the rest of the world was not a part of. Leon's jaw tightened
as he held Emrys' gaze. "No," he said fiercely, but as they looked at each
other, Leon seemed to calm. D touched the detective's arm
worriedly, but Leon covered the hand with his own and smiled thinly. "'M okay," he murmured,
blinking as he turned away from Emrys, his expression softening as his eyes
met D's.

"I do not come to bring discord." Emrys rose
from its seated position to stand on the table. Hardly taller than the
length of Leon's arm, the creature still dominated the room.
"Indeed, discord brings itself."

Leon snorted, but he seemed to relax. Turning to D,
he kissed him, whispering something to him softly, then he came over to Chris.
Ruffling his brother's hair, Leon crouched down to Chris' level. "I've gotta get to work," he said, the explanation almost unnecessary, but then he
reached out and touched Chris' face before pulling his brother against him.
"I love you," Leon murmured in his ear, then released him and left in his usual
swirling furor.

Chris stood, stunned, for a long moment and stared after
Leon's departed back. He knew how Leon felt about him- didn't he?- but
such a straight up confession was unheard of from his normally emotionally reserved older
brother. D set more dishes on the table and Chris jolted out of his
reverie, turning to look with wonder at the Count.

The Count had turned to Emrys. "My lord," D inclined his head to
the dragon. "I
apologize for being unable to offer you anything more fitting for your meal, but
you were... not expected."

As Chris took his seat at the table he saw D place a bowl
of fruit before Emrys. The dragon's eyes sparkled. "This is
most fitting, Child of the line of D, and I am well-disposed for your gracious
hospitality."

Stepping back from the table, D bowed more formally,
kneeling with arms folded across his chest. Chris' eyes were wide in
surprise; Emrys felt important, in the way he was so loud in Chris' head, but to
see the Count bowing so formally to this apparently tiny dragon perched on the
table seemed to give a greater emphasis to the creature's power. Hunger won out over curiosity and
Chris bent to his breakfast, stealing
glances at the petite dragon as it nibbled fruit out of the bowl with great relish.

-o-o-o-o-

It was midmorning when, Ari coming for her usual
visit, Chris introduced his newest friend to another of his friends.

Chris has met Ari on one of her many trips to the
shop to watch over little Leiella and he had often joined the girl in
her vigil. It was obvious early on- as Chris sat watching a little
girl sleeping in Leiella's bed while Ari spoke of her Chihuahua puppy- that there were things about the shop that
he and Ari didn't see eye to eye on, but- like Leon- Ari accepted
Chris and his way of seeing things without question. She talked
and he listened, and she invited him to join her, Bruno, and Faolan when
they played catch. He would nod, mute as always,
but with an especial weight behind his wordlessness.

Introducing her to Emrys was a rather uneventful experience.
Whatever reaction Chris has expected, it wasn't what he got; the dragon nodded its head to her and Ari nodded in
return, both polite but seemingly unimpressed, Ari confessing to Chris
later when she thought she was out of the
dragon's hearing that she much preferred creatures with fur.

The whole gang was in front of the pet shop, Ari teasing
Tetsu as Chris tried to explain to her with urgent motions how that was a very bad idea, when
Chris happened to look up and see a pair of familiar faces walking down
the street. He stood, so quickly Pon-chan and Faolan, who were
both leaning against him, went sprawling. Faolan yelped, Bruno
looked up from where he was watching Ari tempt fate, and Ari herself
turned to Chris with a question on her face, not having seen what had
upset him. Pon-chan and T-chan both looked at Chris as well, but
he saw none of them.

The pair of girls walking down the street stopped
in front of the shop. "Hello Chris," the shorter one said,
stepping forward hesitantly. She held her hand out to Chris, but he flinched
back from her touch, turning and running into the pet shop.

The girl tried to go after him, but Ari stopped
her, catching a hold of her coat belligerently. "Hey! What's going on here? Who
are you?"

Her face contorted with sorrow, the girl tried to pull
away from Ari. "Please! Chris is my brother, let me talk to him!"
She stopped pulling, standing still under Ari's fierce gaze. "I
just wanted to apologize..."

The door of the shop opened, all three girls
turning toward the sound. D stood framed in the entrance, his
shadowed expression unreadable. "You must be Sam and Josie."
He smiled, but the expression was flat, like a mask. "Do come in."

Ari released her hold on Sam, standing back to
lean against Bruno as he and Faolan looked up at her questioningly.
She watched as the strange girls followed the Count inside, then she
sighed. "I guess we should go home, eh Bruno?" Faolan
nuzzled her, asking her to stay, but she shoved his shoulder
good-naturedly. "You go look after Chris, alright?" Slipping
up to the door she held it open for Faolan, Pon-chan, and T-chan to go
back into the shop. "You look after Chris too Goat-man," Ari
called after Tetsu, shutting the door behind the trio. She was
walking down the street, hands buried in Bruno's thick fur, when she
realized belatedly that she had watched Emrys disappear into thin air- right in front of her-
when the other girls had walked up to Chris.

-o-o-o-o-

Chris ran. It took him a moment to remember
where he was going, but his feet knew the way better than he did and
were already carrying him toward Honlon's chamber. He paused to
breathe when his hand touched the door, and he caressed the ornate
surface as he gulped in air. Pushing it open, he called, "Shuko?"

"Chris."

He turned toward the sound of his name, but it was
Junrei who crept toward him and clung to his sleeve. Tears were in
her eyes and he forgot his own troubles at the expression on her face.
"What's wrong Junrei?"

"Shuko's asleep; she won't wake up. And
now," she sniffled, "Kanan won't talk to me at all!" She clung to
Chris, wailing. "They're my sisters, and they won't talk to me!"

Chris hugged her worriedly. "It'll be
alright. Let me try and talk to Kanan."

Junrei shook her head. "It's no use.
Kanan said you have to figure it out for yourself."

Chris frowned. "What? What does she
mean?"

"I don't know!" Junrei wailed, and Chris tried to
comfort her.

"What about Shuko?" He called
again, "Shuko!"

She was looking at him suddenly from Junrei's
moist eyes. "Chris." Her voice was soft and husky, as if she
too had been crying.

"Shuko, I... my sisters are here. Sam...
I don't know what to do." He looked at her imploringly.

Shuko smiled sadly and sighed. "I knew I
shouldn't have answered you, but I wanted to..."

Chris frowned. "You shouldn't shut Junrei
out like that. She's your sister! You should talk to her."

Shuko smiled softly, secretly. She touched
his cheek, and then she was gone again, Junrei crying in his arms.

"Don't cry Junrei." He stroked her
back, trying to soothe her, secretly wondering what had gotten into the
other two girls. "It'll be alright."

"Will it?" Chris recognized
the deep voice of Emrys instantly, looking up to see the dragon curling
through the air above them. "Why will it be alright?"

"Because..." He cast around wildly
for a reason, his hands curling into fists. "It has to." He
glared defiantly at Emrys. "They're sisters; they can't not
talk to each other."

Emrys hovered in place above him, tilting its head to one side.
"You do not speak with your sisters."

"That's different." He hesitated.
"I just... They're not really my sisters."

"But they think of themselves that way.
They love you that deeply." It cocked its head again,
birdlike, as it scrutinized Chris. "Or am I mistaken?
Is the one Samantha a liar when she says this?"

Chris found himself jumping to his feet and facing
Emrys angrily before he really thought about it. "Sam's no
liar! She's the only one who ever told me the truth! Always."
He stopped, listening to himself.

"Ah." Emrys alighted on the
back of a chair, not really smiling but its aura exuding satisfaction.
"She is a truth-speaker then. Such a quality is rare in
humans. Rare enough that it should be prized."

Chris nodded, eyes wide as his thoughts tumbled
back over events in his head. "It is. I mean, I do. She
was the only one who would tell me about my mom. Even Leon
didn't." He looked up at Emrys. "If it wasn't for her
I never would have known about my mom."

"She spoke those words in anger. She
did not mean to tell you the truth."

Chris shook his head. "Anger is a kind of
truth too."

Emrys seemed impressed. "That is deep
philosophy for one so young." Its eyes seemed to bore into
Chris', seeking out his soul. "So, why do you run from
her? Do you now fear the truth?"

Chris hesitated. "No. No, I..."
He took a deep breath. "I think they are here to... to take me
with them, and I don't want to go." He kicked at the floor. "That's
not all of it either, not really. I... I always run away from
stuff." He scowled at his own accurate self appraisal.
"I ran to the pet shop to get away from Sam and the truth, and now I'm still
running away from her."

Emrys flitted over from the chair to curl lightly
around Chris shoulders. "Christopher, did I not tell you?
You have the power to make your own fate."

Chris frowned. "What is that supposed to
mean? What is fate, and how do I make it? I'm just a kid; I have to do
what grown-ups say." He spoke with thoughtfulness rather than
rancor, as if he truly thought that having the answers to those
questions would make everything clearer.

Emrys glowed with a sudden strange internal light.
"Fate is what happens to you." He blew a smoky
breath that smelled of moss and stone and sea water across Chris' face.
"Fate is what you make it to be."

"I still don't understand. How do I make
it when I'm just a kid?"

Emrys rumbled; Chris thought it might have been
laughing. "The one who once commanded in the name of Gidora
wonders where he will find the strength to tame fate." The
dragon's head brushed his cheek, then Emrys was gone, its fading voice
the only echo of its presence. "Look for strength where you
have always found it- in the truth. And perhaps you should seek
out you Samantha? Do
you think she also deserves to hear the truth from you now?"

Chris hesitated. "Yes," he said,
nodding firmly. He turned to the door and went back out into the
shop in search of Sam.
-o-o-o-o-

"Would you like some tea?" D smiled tightly
at the young woman sitting on the chaise.

She regarded him with an equal measure of
restraint. "Yes, thank you."

He poured her a glass and handed
it to her, the two of them regarding each other carefully.

"So," she spoke first, "has Chris
been well?"
"Yes, he is
doing very well," D responded.

She looked around the shop with a
wary smile. "He... stays here with you?"

D's chin rose fractionally, and he wasn't sure
what made him respond, "He stays with
his brother, who lives here with me."

Her eyes flashed slightly as her lip curled.
"Oh, I see." She took a sip of tea. "Mother and father neglected
to mention that."
"I believe
they were unaware, as such was not the case at the time of their visit."
He sipped at his tea. "May I ask what inspired this
particular visit?"

Josie set her teacup down on the table and flicked
her hair back off her shoulder. "Sam wanted to apologize to Chris.
She's wanted to do so ever since it happened, but she finally got so
insistent I decided to bring her down. Anyway, it's time Chris
came home."
About to take a
sip of tea, D paused. "Home?"

Josie didn't notice. "Yes,
home with his family, where he belongs."

-o-o-o-o-

Sam was running through the pet shop and it was a
toss up whether she was more worried, confused, or scared. There
were so many strange people back here- and where had all these rooms
come from??- and she didn't think she was ever going to find Chris.
Not that it mattered; he obviously hated her. Why shouldn't he??
She'd been the one to do the unforgivable. It had just been a
stupid toy. Why had she been such a brat about it?

"Sam?"

She turned around at the sound of her name.
"Chris?" she asked hopefully, and sure enough it was him. He came
out of the darkness to stand beside her, taking her hand.

He looked up at her from under his
shaggy
hair and smiled hesitantly. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have
broken your doll."

"Oh... oh, Chris." She threw
her arms around him and held him tight. "It doesn't matter!
It was stupid. Please, forgive me for what I said. I didn't
mean to hurt you." She held his hands tightly, looking in his
eyes searchingly. "Please, forgive me."

He smiled at her,
and he looked like
he was really about to forgive her when suddenly something red filled
her vision. Sam flinched away, crying out in surprise, flinging
her hands up to shield her face. Peering between her fingers, she
felt her mouth forming a perfect O of shock as she realized the creature
hovering in the air between her and Chris was a dragon. "Chris,"
she murmured, then, "Get away from Chris!" she tried to push the
creature away, but it turned, fixing an eye on her, and she found she
couldn't move.

It turned to Chris then, fixing
its gaze on him. "You cheapen both their feelings with your
lies. Be gone."

Chris' face curled in a very un-Chris-like sneer
as he glared at the dragon. "I keep him with us, where he
belongs."
"There is only one who can
decide where Christopher belongs; you are not he. I say again, Be
gone." Suddenly Chris wasn't standing there anymore, but
an angry looking fox with a glorious multitude of tails who glared at
her and bounded away.

"Chris?" she called after it,
imploringly. If that wasn't Chris, where was he? Would she
ever find him? She fell to her knees, wrapping her arms around
herself, suddenly feeling cold as she stared at the floor in depression.

"Patience and faith, child. All find
what they truly seek."

Sam looked up at the sound of that voice, to see
Chris standing before her, hesitantly. "Chris?" she asked.
"Are you really Chris?"

He nodded, the ghost of a smile
touching his lips. He moved toward her, his mouth forming the
shape of her name.

"Chris?" she asked again,
reaching out to take his hands in hers and hold them tightly. "Can you
forgive me?"
He shook his
head, vehemently, and she pulled away, desolate, when he reached out and took
her gently by the wrist.

"Sam," he said, his voice creaking like the hinges of an unused door.
"Sam, there is... nothing to forgive." He took her other hand in his
and dropped to kneel before her on the floor as he tried to make her
feel the depth and honesty of his words. "Sam, you told me the truth when no one else would.
No one. I... I wanted to say thank you to you for that."

She looked at him, her eyes wide. "I... I
only wanted to hurt you." She flushed, embarrassed, and turned
away. "I was mad at you, and I wanted to hurt you, because you
broke my doll. My stupid doll... It was so stupid Chris, I'm so
sorry." She looked up at him again, tears in her eyes.

He brushed them away, touching his forehead to
hers. "There is nothing to forgive, my sister. Thank you, for
telling me the truth." He held her hands tightly in his own.
"I just... I wanted to tell you the truth," he continued, pausing- now that he had
said what was needed- to marvel at the sound of his own voice. "It
hurt me when you told me, but I think we learn from being hurt and I
think we grow, and we get smarter, and we grow up." They smiled at
each other.
"Oh Chris."
She hugged him. "You really have grown up. I've missed
you so much! Will you come home with us?"

-o-o-o-o-

"Home? This is his home." D felt his
hands gripping the teacup tightly.

Josie snorted. "This was
never meant to be his home, only a place he could cool off after what
Sam said to him." Her expression grew determined as she sensed a fight
coming on. "Look, if it wasn't for what Sam said he'd still think
we were his family- mother, father, sisters, everything.
He's coming home with us."

Any response D was going to make was forestalled by the door chime as
Leon returned from work. He saw D first, and his lover's defensive
posture caused him to narrow his eyes intently before he caught sight of
his niece. "Hey Josie. How's things?"

She stood, keeping a wary eye on D. "Leon,"
she acknowledged him with a nod. "Look,
no beating around the bush. We came to bring Chris back with us.
It's breaking Sam's heart to have him gone, and you always knew this
wasn't going to be permanent anyway, right?"

Leon glared at her, his jaw
tightening as he held back a few choice words he wouldn't have minded
right then
using to refer to the girl. But a flash of red distracted him, as Emrys flew in to land with a delicate grace on the arm of the chaise.
Josie was staring at the dragon with eyes like saucers that seemed to insist in
disbelieving what they were seeing. So intent was she on Emrys,
that she almost didn't see Chris and Sam entering the room walking hand
in hand.

"Chris," Josie saw him.
"Are you ready to go?" She smiled winningly and held her
arms out to him.
D
felt his chin go up and he glared at Josie defiantly, but he
looked at Leon through the fall of his hair and was amazed to find the man standing calmly, arms crossed, looking
at Chris passively.
Chris
paused, looking at Leon as well, but his brother stood as still as a
monolith and as silent as Chris himself. Chris watched him for
some sign as Josie motioned to him impatiently. Sam squeezed
Chris' hand, then dropped it and went to stand with her sister.
"Chris," Josie called imperatively, but the boy shook his head.
"Chris," she said again, beseechingly.

Chris
looked at Sam. "No," he said clearly. He looked at
Josie. "I want to stay here." He smiled at Sam.
"For now."
Josie stared at
him, in shock as being denied outright, but Leon and D were also
staring for a different reason.

"Chris," Leon
murmured, startled out of his passivity.

Chris blushed slightly, smiling, but Josie stepped
up closer to him. "Chris, you need to come home with us now.
Everyone misses you, Sam most of all. Everyone will feel bad if
you don't come."
Chris met
her eyes and she stepped back. "Sam and I talked about it,
and we made our peace.
Josie, I will miss you too but there are things I need to do here.
I will come back to you and Mom and Dad, but not yet." He shook his head.
"Not yet." She stared at him, nodding dumbly. She continued
to move automatically as she presented her cheek for a kiss before
hugging Chris goodbye. Sam took her by the hand to lead her out
of the door, turning back to smile warmly at Chris.

The door closed behind them and there was a moment
of silence in the shop before Leon stepped forward, kneeling in front of
Chris, warmth in his voice as he murmured his brother's name in wonder.
"Chris, your voice..."

Chris
blushed again. "I just... I
had to talk to Sam. So I did."

Leon enveloped him in a hug
and Chris, after the shock wore off, hugged him back. After, Chris
looked at D hesitantly, but the Count wrapped his arms around the boy as
well. "I'm very happy for you Chris," he said quietly in Chris'
ear.

"Thank you, Count." He hesitated, then
leaned in to murmur, "I think you should check on Shuko and Kanan.
They're not talking to Junrei for some reason, and she's really sad."

D smiled, stroking Chris' hair softly. "I
believe that should you ask them you would find the matter resolved by
now, but thank you for your concern."

"Indeed." Emrys alighted on
the back of the chaise, scanning the group with its dark eyes.
"Christopher's concern is touching; and we are all concerned with
him." He fixed the hard beads of his eyes on the boy.
"Well, Christopher? Are you worthy of our concern?"

Chris looked up at the dragon. "I... try,"
he said after a moment. "I don't think I am worth your
trouble especially, but I will try to be." He frowned. "To
be worthy of you." He looked around him. "Of all of you."

He could see Tetsu standing behind
Emrys. "Chris," he said, but his words were soft, as if
coming from a great distance.

Chris felt a sadness welling up
inside him. Was he losing the shop, as Shuko had said so long ago
would happen when he regained his human speech?

"Because I knew he would have
to leave, eventually, someday. No human has ever been called to us
permanently. Oh fine, but that is the exception that proves the
rule. I had thought that he would leave us to rejoin the normal
world... but after all, what is normal?"

Chris blinked. Someone was
talking in his head, and it was a strange feeling. He looked at
Leon, who was watching him worriedly. "Are you alright Chris?"

Chris nodded. He was. He had to be.
There was still so much to be done. "Shuko told me that I would
have to leave the shop," he murmured, clinging to Leon as he tried to
figure out why his eyes were suddenly blurry and his ears seemed to be
full of cotton. "When I remembered how to talk, I would have to
leave, but then she told me too that the shop would always be a part of
me and I've decided. I've decided there's something I need to do,
so I can't leave yet." He frowned. "I'm not sure what it is yet,
but I can't leave until I've done it." He nodded firmly,
determinedly, and the strange pain in his head suddenly eased.

He blinked his eyes open to find
Emrys curled up on his shoulder, looking at him. "I trust
you are feeling better."

Chris nodded. "Yes, but I..."

Tetsu ruffled his hair.
"Don't worry kiddo, we aren't gonna let you get away that easy."

Pon-chan grabbed his hand and
grinned up at him. " What would we do without you?"

Chris stared at them in wonder; he could hear
Emrys' now familiar rumbled laughter in the back of his mind.
"You chose your fate. I have... encouraged you in that way.
Is this not the day of the kings bringing gifts to the child??"
Emrys' head rubbed his cheek again, then the dragon winged away
into the shop, leaving Chris standing with Leon and D.

-o-o-o-o-

Pet Catalog & notes:
- Emrys is a
  
  Welsh dragon, in the style of the national symbol. The
  name means "immortal." Emrys is, for all
  intents and purposes, immortal; the
  reason Chris never sees its human form is that Emrys is powerful
  enough to control its appearance which it has learned to do through
  its extremely long life.
- Twelfth Night (Jan. 5) is the night before Epiphany- Epiphany being
  the traditional day of celebration of the Wise Men bringing gifts to the
  young Jesus. (The Twelve Days of Christmas are the twelve days
  after Christmas, Dec 26-Jan 6, not the twelve days
  preceding.) In English tradition, Twelfth Night is also
  celebrated as being a night of opposites, when servants would become
  lords and vice versa.
- (Josie- I made her a bit more
  of a bitch than she was in the manga, but I needed an antagonist
  and honestly I think, while her personality is slightly more
  abrasive, her attitude of "we are Chris' real family" is totally
  justified by her brief appearance in the manga.)
-o-O-o-
- 14
- 15
- 16
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Define Arc

-"Draconigenae" -

-o-O-o-

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"Draconigenae"

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