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]

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."