I just want to know where you are tonight/I run in the dark looking for some light

[fromfryingpantofire]

Hunters and dragons.

It was one of the oldest partnerships known to man. Hunters protected the towns and villages in their area with the help of a dragon that they had tamed. Sometimes, Hunters that couldn't find a dragon or had lost theirs would team up with other Hunters that did.

Which was what Sam had been doing for the last few years, ever since Dean had found Baby. But it's a measure of a Hunter's skill and power to have a dragon of their own. Which is how Sam found himself in the mountains, far from the village he'd grown up in and where Dean still was. This was something that Sam had to do himself.

Which didn't stop the mountains he was traversing from being really fucking cold. Sam reaches up, blowing on his hands through his gloves as he looks around.

Comments

[low_key_angel]

The Hunters that could convince a dragon to bond with them, to ride them into battle and call them companion for life were a rare damned lot. Dragons lived very long lives and a bond could grant a similar boon to the human. After all, why bond with a human only to lose them in sixty or seventy short years?

They could have it. Gabriel, known only as Loki to the dragon flock that had taken up residence in the mountains, wasn't interested. He was far older than the others knew and perfectly content to keep it a secret.

Interesting. A large bronze head pokes out of a cave to regard the human, warming his hands before shoving them back into his pockets. Not exactly common to see hikers in the area.

His head is narrow, almost birdlike with a thick ruff of bronze and gold fur and bright, intelligent eyes. As most dragons go he's not one of the biggest, body compact and powerful with nimble forelegs and wings folded in close against scales the colors of honeyed whiskey.

"You look lost," he says as the human passes along the entrance to his cave.

[fromfryingpantofire]

Sam jumps, hand going to the knife at his belt as he turns to look for the voice. And pauses when he catches sight of the dragon in the cave.

It takes him a moment or two to allow his back to relax, straightening up as he looks closer at the dragon. Probably not one that would be a good choice for a partner, unfortunately, no matter how much Sam personally liked his scales and eyes. Dragons that were out alone like this were loners for their own reasons and unlikely to take to a Hunter.

Which makes Sam sad, looking at the dragon almost wistfully before shaking his head. "No, not lost. Not much, at least. I know there's a dragon flock here in the mountains. I've come to speak with them, see if one might be willing to partner with a Hunter such as myself."

[low_key_angel]

Good reflexes. His eyes narrow a fraction as he listens before snorting, smoke curling from his nostrils. "Those idiots? Trust me, I'm saving you the trip. Baldur and his flock blame the humans for the state of the world. The Demonic Wars, the conflict that makes Hunters necessary in the first place. If you were lucky they might turn you away with a firm 'piss off'. Or eat you."

He tosses his head towards his own cave. "You won't make anywhere warm before nightfall and I can smell snow in the air. Come inside before you freeze those fingers clean off."

Gabriel's cave is warm and well dug in the rocks. A fire burns merrily in the center. Off to one corner is a large stack of books and another holds puzzles of every kind imaginable. Not every dragon hoards gold and treasure, after all. The dragon pokes around his belongings. "Should have something in here to keep you warm tonight, just a tic kiddo."

[fromfryingpantofire]

It's not like there's a lot that Sam can say to that. It is really cold and if there's snow coming, he can't be caught out in the open like this. He had been hoping to make it to the local flock before the weather turned, but it sounds like it would have been a waste of a trip.

Assuming this dragon can be trusted, at least.

Sam sighs, resettling his pack on his back before walking to the cave and stepping in, looking around with no little wonder. The dragon speaking, though, snaps him back to reality and he turns to set his pack down. "That...that would be great. I mean, I have a blanket in my pack, but I wasn't expecting the temperatures to drop quite so dramatically this early in the season."

[low_key_angel]

Gabriel hums in agreement, retrieving a thick pile of furs from a pile. His forelegs gather them up and he tosses them in Sam's direction. "Weather's been unsettled since spring. The amount of magic being thrown around is messing with the balance."

Either that or his brother is dicking around in the mountains looking for him.

The dragon sits up on his rear legs, tapping a claw against a wing in thought. Humans need more than just warmth, but it's been awhile so he has to remember. "Get settled. I'll go nab some dinner and then you can tell me what got you into such a ridiculously dangerous trade."

[fromfryingpantofire]

The furs look incredibly inviting, though Sam pauses a moment at the offer of more hospitality. Still, he can't entirely say no because he hasn't been able to hunt for himself for a few days. It's not impossible this high in the mountains, but it's more difficult and if he can spare his travel rations for another day, it certainly wouldn't hurt.

"All right," he says after that few seconds of thought. "I don't suppose you have any dry wood here?" Sure, it's a dragon cave and the dragon could probably just start whatever fire it wants. But humans tend to feel better with their own fires.

Also, the cave was going to be a bit dark otherwise.

[low_key_angel]

"Just outside the cave," a toss of Gabriel's head in that direction before the dragon shifts to all fours and gives himself a shake. "Get a fire going. I'll be back with food in a second."

He doesn't take to the air until he's clear of the mouth of the cave. Gabriel is a tad careful of his wings and who he shows them to. Six wings do tend to out one's particular heritage and he doesn't want to quite give himself away just yet.

Gabriel doesn't take long to run down a pair of deer, landing before the cave again with a pair of carcasses. "Dinner's on kiddo." His nostrils flare at the smell of wood smoke. "Looks like you got the fire going."

[fromfryingpantofire]

It doesn't take long for Sam to get a fire going. He and his brother used to hunt on foot before Dean had a dragon, so a tinder box never stopped being part of their personal packs.

He looks up when the dragon returns, grinning. "Yeah, doesn't take much when you know what you're doing. I mean, we can't all have fire breath." He makes his way over to look at the deer carcasses before he pulls out his knife to start dressing one of them. After all, he couldn't exactly cook it with the skin on. "Thank you. I doubt I would have found much in the mountains myself, though I do have rations in my pack. They would have lasted me until I was down below the treeline again."

[low_key_angel]

Gabriel gives an amused snort. Self-sufficient. He likes that. Sam may want to dress his deer and take time to cook it, but the dragon is just as happy to dig in as-is. But he waits, until Sam has some meat cut and ready to roast over the fire he'd managed to build.

"The winds are cold and dry enough. Give it a day or two and you can have enough rations to get you further down than just the scraggly trees."

He stretches, resting his muzzle on folded forelimbs. "So what brought a big ol' human like you into the insane world of hunting?"

[fromfryingpantofire]

"I'll set up some meat for drying after eating." It was the easiest way to handle it. Because the dragon is right. It wouldn't take much for it, after all, and he could use the additions to his rations.

Sam settles back after putting the meat over the fire. "My parents, actually. Mom was from a long line of Hunters, the Campbells. When she married Dad, she meant to retire. Would have done had there not been talk of demons in the surrounding area not long after I was born. The demon killed her." He reaches out, stirring up the fire a bit. "Dad went a little crazy after that. Learned what he could about Hunting and went searching. My brother and I spent our lives traveling the land with him and he taught us what he knew as we grew up."

[low_key_angel]

"Should be some things you can use in the back to set up a decent drying rack," Gabriel offers. Or he'll just create one while Sam sleeps that night. He kind of likes the human, likes his tenacity and his ability to adapt.

He harrumphs at the mention of demons. Handiwork of dear brother and a total hassle for the human population at large. "Demons," casual derision thick in his voice.

"So you learned it growing up huh? Hell of a way to grow up."

[fromfryingpantofire]

Sam tilts his head for a moment, looking at the dragon before him seriously before nodding. "I'll look to see what you have. I've gotten pretty good at that sort of thing."

He settles back, stretching out his legs. "We did, yeah. Dad would leave us with one of his friends for a while, but we spent a lot of time on the road. Dad never wanted to take on a dragon, so we learned how to do pretty much everything on our own." But it had been a lonely life, growing up with just Dean as a companion.

"I'm Sam, by the way. Sam Winchester." Since he realizes now he hadn't introduced himself at all.

[low_key_angel]

A Hunter without a dragon is a rare thing indeed. Either the guy was really good, or really crazy. Considering he brought his two kids with him? Gabriel knows which direction he's leaning. But he doesn't comment. His upbringing wasn't exactly conventional even by draconic standards.

Then the kid mentions his name and it takes all of Gabriel's self control not to react. Sweet Hopping Hell. A Winchester. One of the few remaining bloodlines that could tame one of the ancients and form a bond without his head caving in.

"Gabe," he offers. Not exactly his true name, but it's close enough in this instance. "I can find a few saplings for you to strap up if the racks don't work."

"So why hunt without a dragon? Seems like that'd be safer. The right breeds are fierce defenders of kids."

[fromfryingpantofire]

Honestly, Sam would definitely agree on which way Gabe was leaning, but he wouldn't say it out loud. Especially not around his brother, though Sam's had the feeling for a while that Dean might privately agree with him.

"I kinda asked him once, after we first met Bobby and his dragon, Rumsfeld." Name might not mean much to Gabe, but Sam feels like he should mention the dragon, anyway. "Well, I asked Bobby first, then asked Dad. Apparently, it has to do with my paternal granddad. He wasn't much of a fan of hunters in the first place and less of a fan of their dragons. He wasn't best pleased with Dad marrying a Campbell, either, but since she stopped Hunting, he apparently wasn't going to say anything." Sam shakes his head, reaching out to poke at the fire. "He died just before Dean was even born, but by that point, Dad already had the ideas in his head. I doubt a dragon would have been willing to bond with him. I think, though, that he was pretty careful about not putting those ideas in Dean's head or my own."

[low_key_angel]

"Not all hunters are bonding material," Gabriel agrees. "It all comes down to a few basics in the end." Well, basics plus blood. Only the right sort of human was capable of forming a strong bond with a dragon, the sort of human who might still carry a drop or two of draconic blood in them.

"Sounds like you two managed to get those ideas in your head all by yourself," he points out.

[fromfryingpantofire]

"I meant the ideas of hating dragons." Sam doesn't know much about how bonding dragons comes about or bloodlines or any of that. Dean had told him what he could, but Bobby had made it sound like it was something that was different for each bonding.

His mouth twists slightly as he leans forward, checking the meat and turning it so that it would cook evenly. "It's possible I'm not bonding material, either. Which would be all right, I suppose. I'd keep hunting with Dean and Baby, retire when I had to." Assuming he lived that long. "But I had to try."

[low_key_angel]

He gives a dismissive snort at the idea of Sam not being bonding material. "If your brother bonded to a dragon, you're bonding material kid. It runs in the bloodlines of families. There's the question of compatibility sure, but unless you're strong enough to handle the weight of a bond you can't form a lasting one."

[fromfryingpantofire]

Sam blinks at that, settling back with a soft 'huh'. "I guess that makes sense. There are only a few families that seem to run to hunting. I'm guessing that ones that seem like outliers probably have members of those families in their ancestry." Probably a mother who had married out, so the name changed. "But, yeah. Dean bonded a dragon a few years back."

[low_key_angel]

"And let me guess, he didn't exactly bond to a hatchling fresh out of the shell did he?" Nope. Gabriel is willing to bet his entire stash of honeycomb that Sam's brother bonded to an elder dragon which is no small thing in the world of human-dragon relations.

[fromfryingpantofire]

"I know that bonding out of the shell is more common, but no. Baby's fully grown." It takes a moment for Sam to think, poking at the fire a bit. "Also, I should point out that Baby is not the dragon's actual name. But the way I understand it is that most dragons have the name that they share with other dragons and with their Hunter, should they choose one, and then one that a paired dragon responds to around others?"

[low_key_angel]

"Mhm," he agrees. "Names have power, particularly dragon names. It refers to who they are, their lineage and their power. In the hands of the wrong person - could be trouble." Gabriel shifts to scratch at a wing.

"But if you bond with a Hunter, you share that power. It works out well for both parties."

And admittedly, it's something Gabriel has come to want again.

[fromfryingpantofire]

"I have to admit, it's definitely come in handy." Though it had been weird, at first. Sam had spent so much of his life as the only other person in Dean's life. Learning to actually share with Baby had been an experience. One he wasn't entirely proud of when it came to his own reactions.

He'd gotten over it, but the little jealous stabs had taken time to deal with. Now, he's mostly just glad that Dean has someone else to watch his back.

"I guess I'm going to have to find a new lead, now. If the clan in this part of the mountains is as prickly as you say."

[low_key_angel]

"So. I've heard about you and your family, but what do you know about us dragon types?" He asks with a lazy roll of a claw. Gabriel has already finished his meal and was poking around in his stack of puzzles for something to keep his talons busy while he listened. "The older ones, for example."

Maybe a test of a sort, but he wants to see how much humans still remember about the first four who came to the realm.

[fromfryingpantofire]

You don't really ask dragons questions. At least, that's the way that Sam was brought up. So he's fine with Gabe asking questions. It gives him something to think about, anyway.

Sam hums, sitting back and letting his eyes fall shut as he considers the question. "Depends on the sources you look at. Some of them say that all dragons are descended from four who came into being when the world was young, created by the one who set the world to turning as protectors of the land." He glances to Gabe. "Not everybody agrees with that, mostly because that would require at least one of the first to be female and more likely two of them. Still, others say that the other dragons came later, a larger group also created by the one above. Different from the first four, who were more powerful but regarded these new ones as brothers and sisters to watch over."

[low_key_angel]

The dragon cants his head as Sam begins to speak and Gabriel has to admit that he's pleased. At least someone knows the old stories and managed to get them straight. Although the debate over the sexes of the first four earns a snort of laughter. "Humans. So preoccupied with sex." Still chuckling he winks. "And there are older legends that the four could change sex depending on their mood. Not that all of them did, of course." Don't even get him started on how prissy Michael and Lucifer would get over such things.

"Do you believe they're still out there?"

[fromfryingpantofire]

Sam manages a half grin, shrugging. "Not a lot to do during the winter in these parts. Sex is useful for staying warm, or so I've heard." He'd spent a lot of his childhood and adolescent years huddled with his brother for warmth. Something that had come easier with the addition of Baby. Dragons, after all, were basically furnaces.

Stretching his legs out, Sam considers that for a moment. "I think that dragons had to come from somewhere, of course, and the first four are as good a place as any," he says slowly. "But I think that, if they are still out there, there must be a reason why they haven't shown themselves for so long that the stories about them have faded to just that, stories. It might even be a good reason, given the Demons and the way that the world is going."

[low_key_angel]

The dragon gives an amused snort, shifting to scratch behind a wing. Sam's observation is astute and frankly, right on target. "You might be right. With one of the Fallen stirring things up, if the rest were to show they'd probably be drawn back into the fight, into another war."

And frankly he's got enough scars along his thick hide and the webbing on his wings. Been there, done that.

[fromfryingpantofire]

There's something about that phrasing that catches Sam's attention. He frowns, watching the dragon for a moment, trying to put together what he knew of the old stories with what Gabe had just said.

Then pauses. And blinks. "Oh, fuck me."

[low_key_angel]

Smart kid. Gabriel gives an approving nod. "You got me, kiddo." He holds up a claw before he panics, runs or does anything else particularly boneheaded. "Yes. Gabriel. I was one of the Four. I'm impressed Sam, not many people would have been able to do the math like that."

"You need a dragon. And maybe it's time I take on a rider, but I have one condition. Nobody knows I'm one of the Four. That'll draw ten kinds of hell on both our heads."

[fromfryingpantofire]

"You did just about spell it out." He doesn't think it would take anybody too smart to figure it out, but who knew?

But he wasn't going to run. Running into one of the Four, even if it scared the piss out of him, was too much for Sam to just leave behind.

The rest of it, though, makes Sam push to his feet, walking over to Gabe--Gabriel. "Wait. You want to take a rider. You want...ME as a rider?"

[low_key_angel]

"Did I stutter?" A claw taps his jaw. "I didn't lapse into old Draconic, you still have your eyes."

"Yes kiddo. You need a dragon and I think you and me.. we'd do good together."

[fromfryingpantofire]

"I'm not..." Sam trails off, then shakes himself and tries again. "I mean, yes, of course. I just...I think I'd gotten used to the idea that I wasn't going to find a dragon."

It was already getting harder for many Hunters to find dragons. So many groups were like the ones that Gabriel had warned him away from. They wouldn't want to get involved because they considered Demons to be a human problem.

"And, of course, I won't tell anybody that you're one of the Four. If anybody besides me knows that, that's for you to decide." He steps forward, putting his hand on Gabriel's shoulder. Well, close to his shoulder, at least. To feel those warm scales beneath his hand.

[low_key_angel]

Gabriel blows out a breath, turning to nuzzle against Sam's shoulder. A shimmer of magic and warm scales shift and change - becoming warm and bare skin instead of warm and bare scales. He shakes out his hair, dragging his hands through the mess. How long has it been since he'd shifted? Too long.

"There. That's better. We can bond like this."

[fromfryingpantofire]

There's a moment, just after the change, where Sam just stares. Because...well, there were stories, of course there were stories. But he's never thought that they were true.

Then he blinks and suddenly there are so many questions. "So. Is this something all dragons can do? Or is it just a thing that you can do? Or the original four?"

Well. It's better than freaking out, which he also could have done.

[low_key_angel]

Amusement sparkles brightly in his eyes as Sam starts in with the questions. Oh yes, he's chosen well all right. Gabriel snorts. "Hang on, hang on. Let a dragon get dressed first."

It doesn't take him long to find a robe buried behind one of his stashes of puzzles and slip it on, belting it firmly around his waist. "Okay. Where were we? Oh yes, a million questions. Only the four can transform like this. It was either a parting gift or a cheap shot from our Creator before he.." Gabriel mimes a bird flying away with his hands. "Depends on which of us you ask."

[fromfryingpantofire]

"That's...the stories don't remember that part." And Sam has done enough research that he would have come across it. He's always loved the old stories of the dragons.

He pauses, though, tilting his head as he considers Gabriel in his new form. "Where does the rest of it go?" he finally asks. "I mean...you're not exactly small for a dragon."