The rest of the day went smoothly at the museum. Well, as smoothly as things could go while I was incredibly distracted. This concept was still somewhat new to me, the idea of killing humans. I knew it wasn’t off the table for the Council of Dragons to make such a decision, but I also knew it wasn’t something they did lightly. I had never experienced it myself. I don’t think they even considered me capable of doing such a thing, which was probably why Kenji was the one to do it. But still, it rattled my soul knowing someone I had only just seen the other day was now dead because of his association with dragon hunters. Two someones.

I know Beth noticed my unusual behavior by the way she looked at me, but thankfully she said nothing. A part of me almost wanted her to say something, to acknowledge it, but what would I even say back to her? How would I respond if she asked me what the matter was? Telling her the truth would be the right thing to do, but not telling her also felt like the right thing. It felt wrong to trouble her with something that was out of her control, and mine for that matter. No, it was probably better that she didn’t say anything at all, that way I wouldn’t have to say anything either.

My ride home was also quiet. I usually played music or at least something like an audio book just to kill the silence, but I had trouble listening to anything today so I simply turned it off about ten minutes in. A horrible feeling was filling up my stomach, one I struggled to push down. I had learned to cope with most emotions over the few centuries I’ve been around by now, but even still emotions were troublesome and had a mind of their own it would seem.

I suppose this whole thing brings me one step closer to knowing what Kenji does as a job. He likely works directly for the Council - at least part-time - to be tasked with killing dragon hunters. It was not a job given out to just anyone, and it only brought more questions about who he was, and how he got here. Perhaps it would better explain the reason the Council paired us. Being desperate couldn’t be their only explanation, surely they could have found another Plains Dragon somewhere who was willing to have offspring. I’m surprised they didn’t fall back on Francis, though I’m sure he’s very busy as a member of the Council now.

My stomach makes an odd clenching feeling at the thought of Francis. I hadn’t seen him in well over a century, and the Council hasn’t made any attempts at putting him back in my life. I should be glad, after all he was the reason I was stuck like this for the foreseeable future. It wasn’t all bad, I suppose, but no one really goes through life expecting to live for a good few centuries. Honestly, I don’t really know what the cap-off is for a dragon dying of old age. Any dragon that old usually becomes a loner. Not really a rogue who could do any number of things, but a dragon who has aged so far they’ve stopped interacting with others.

This line of thinking only brings me back to Kenji. How old is he anyway? Dragons slow down in aging like reptiles. That, coupled with magic, meant that their human form was a very poor indicator of age. It took a well trained eye to tell the age of a dragon in their feral form on a good day, but I suppose that’s the point of magic that’s meant to hide you amongst potential predators. Humans, for as soft as they looked, were undoubtedly the top of the food chain.

I’m left considering this as I pull into my driveway, using my remote to open the garage and pull in. Anxiety tries to chip it’s away at my very being. My heart rate has kicked up and my palms are clammy. I hate that I feel like this. A part of me feels like it’s irrational, that it’s no big deal and that these things happen. I’m over two centuries old, I should be past these kinds of things.

But I’m not.

With a deep breath, I get out of my car. I drag my shoulder bag out with me, pulling it across from the passenger seat. I focus on just going through the motions, on closing the garage and locking all of the doors for the night. It helps as I slow my breathing and focus on what I’m doing rather than what I’m worrying about. I turn around and hurry inside, locking the door behind me.

When I enter the living room, I find Kenji sitting on the couch with his computer. He’s busy typing away on the keyboard, and for a moment I debate saying something. Obviously I can’t strike up a conversation if he’s busy, but I’m also nervous just to say hello. I’m not sure why, there’s really nothing to be scared of. That is, so long as I don’t do something so incredibly stupid that the Council would rather have me off dead. I’m stuck contemplating this when Kenji stops typing and angles his head towards me.

“Did you want to talk about it?” He asks in a quiet tone. I feel myself go rigid, though I try not to let it show.

“What? Oh, um.” I stumbled on my words for a moment. I hadn’t considered he would bring up the conversation, or even mention what had happened earlier. Every situation I had thought up had revolved around me initiating the conversation, so now my brain was left scrambling for what it was I wanted to say.

“I mean, only if you want to.” I manage to say at last.

“If I didn’t want to, I wouldn’t have asked.” Kenji replies in a flat tone. Ah, so it was like that. I swallow nervously before tentatively moving towards the living room. I clutch the strap of my work bag like it’s the only thing keeping me afloat. I carefully turn the bag to my side as I sit down on the couch opposite Kenji, taking a deep breath. He still hasn’t looked directly at me, even now he’s turned to face the large windows and the cliffs just beyond it.

“Is it… your regular job?” I ask tentatively after a moment’s silence. Kenji casts me a quick glance before looking back out the window. I swallow, a hard lump forming inside my throat at the growing silence.

“Not exactly.” Kenji replies. “It’s one of the things I am often tasked with though.” He didn’t elaborate, and for a moment I considered changing the topic. However, I couldn’t help but wonder at how exactly he had pulled this off. The two men had come into the museum just yesterday, and already Kenji found them and… removed them.

“How?” I say it before I really process it, it being the one word that has filled my mind. “I mean, how did you do it so fast?” I specify. I certainly don’t want to hear the details of how he killed two men. Kenji turned to look at me then, really look at me and not just give me a side eye glance.

“The council gave me a job to do, and so I did it.” He replied, his tone flat and face expressionless. It was as if he was totally devoid of emotion, like he had buried it deep inside himself.

“Right,” I say, almost cringing at the shakiness in my voice. Kenji sighs and closes his computer.

“The Council asked me to take care of it as quickly as possible.” Kenji explains. “It wasn’t hard to find them, and it wasn’t hard to get into their messages and emails.” I must look surprised because a hint of a smirk appears on his face before it quickly fades back into passiveness. “That is, it’s not hard for someone who knows how to get into those things.” Kenji continues. “The two were hired for the one time only, just a small in and out job. They were given minimal details but knew enough information to look for dragons. They were already paid and what they found out was relaid, which was minimal thanks to your efforts.” I feel a small sense of pride in myself, though it it quickly dampened as Kenji continues. “It’s unlikely they’ll be terribly missed, though I admit their disappearance will eventually go noticed.” Kenji states this in a flat, practical tone. I have to suppress a shudder of fear at the idea of what it would be like if he turned that kind of attention on me. No, I definitely don’t want to get on his bad side.

“But it’s why I was chosen to come here,” Kenji continues. “I’m here to protect the assets the Council has placed here.” I’m sure my confusion is written across my face because Kenji answers my question before I could even finish thinking it. “The frozen juvenile is just one of the assets, this house is another one. I’m guessing they didn’t tell you since you clearly don’t know about it,” ouch, that one hurt a little. “This house is part of a den, there’s a cave network in these cliffs just below.” Ah, that would explain why this place was so nice. Not only was it likely intended for someone of higher status, it could have held a large family as evidenced by the bedrooms.

Dragon dens were hard to find, and even harder to keep safe. Most dragons gave birth as humans nowadays because of the troubles associated with raising young dragons. Nevertheless, the option of having several dragonets as opposed to one or two human children always enticed a few dragons here and there to hunker down for the twelve months of pregnancy and the five years it took to raise their young dragons. Knowing this new information sent a little jolt of worry through me, and I hoped I wasn’t expected to use the den just below my house.

“And of course there’s you.” Kenji said, startling me from my thoughts.

“Me?” I ask incredulously. Kenji quirked an impatient eyebrow at me.

“You may not be a lead paleontologist,” - yikes, it was like he was out for blood tonight. “But your work is still important. Not to mention of course the…” Kenji turned back to looking outside the window, though his eyes seemed distant. “The benefits of being female.” He said quietly. At this point, I feel like he’s taken quite a few heavy hits at me. They were all true, but it still hurt to hear them. It’s hard to ignore my emotions now as they swim with fear and hurt. It was a lot to throw on at once, and I don’t have the same handle on my emotions as older dragons would.

“I’m gonna go get washed up.” I say in a forced tone. I don’t wait for a response as I get up and quickly turn to head down the hall to my room. I do my best to make my steps even and slow, but my heart is racing and my body is screaming at me to run. I force it to be calm, closing my bedroom door behind me and locking it. A very small part of me feels guilty for doing so, but I don’t undo it. Instead I head into my private bathroom, quickly stripping off and turning the heat on high. I spend a good half hour just sitting under the heat of the shower. I let the warm water wash away all of my feelings, as if I could melt away with the stream.

When I finally return, I find Kenji making dinner again. He seems to either be studiously ignoring me, or very focused on his work. He doesn’t say anything when I first enter the room. I’m not sure which of the two I would prefer.

When I sidle up to the kitchen island, I take in the pleasant scent of the room. At first, all I really notice is the food - something fried again, which has my stomach threatening to rumble in anticipation. Then of course there’s the usual house smell, and Kenji. Between the smell of food and my long shower, I feel a comforting warmth spread through me, settling my beating heart. It was nice, until I noticed something that lingered beneath it all. There was a scent in the house that I couldn’t quite place. It wasn’t necessarily wrong just… different.

“There is something else I would like to discuss,” Kenji said over his shoulder, startling me from my thoughts. “That is, if you’re open to it.” Kenji cast a glance in my direction, and for a moment I thought he looked worried. Then he turned back to the food. Maybe I was just projecting, but it would be nice to see a little more emotion from him.