What's in a name?

[Dragon]

Dragon looked at Kinley, wishing with all his heart that he could understand what he was saying because it sounded important. But all he could do was stare blankly.

Yes. Tim. he said. Go with Tim? Go with this new person? Was... Kinley sending him away for good? Dragon searched him, his gaze, trying to understand.

"No... Kiney... no." He clutched at Kinley, at the front of his shirt, and shook his head vehemently. He didn't want to go with Tim. He wanted to stay with Kinley, with the person who drew him into this human world. Dragon only came for him--albeit accidentally, since the portal sucked him in. But Kinley, somehow, was the one who helped to activate the portal.

"No Kiney..."

[Kinley Sima]

This was probably the hardest thing he'd ever had to do in his relatively short life. It was even harder than having to hear that Kaiden might never come back. Kinley had been so, so angry with him, so upset, so betrayed. Were they not close enough for him to divulge information to his own brothers? When did they become so separate that they couldn't confide to one another anymore? That was partly why Kinley let Kero into more than he should have (probably to his mother's eternal chagrin.)

But it was hard to try and translate the importance of the moment to anybody else, least of all Dragon. It broke Kinley's heart to see him so upset and he'd only really known him for a little while. The thing was, Dragon really didn't know anything but him in this world. If Kinley was somewhere he didn't know, with people he didn't know who spoke a language he didn't understand, he could only imagine how weird it was. Even more scary when he mixed in the thought that Dragon didn't come from a world like this. He couldn't have; he didn't know about pants! Aiya! And his parents were just going to let him go off with a person he knew nothing about? He didn't even dare sneak a glance at them at this point--he was sure his mother was about to grab him by the ear and give him a lecture.

He couldn't even communicate that it was only for a little while... because if he tried, his parents would know before Dragon did--which would only ensure that they kept an eye on him all night. Still, he tried to somehow communicate the fact that it wasn't forever through the way he looked at Dragon. Kinda... not really easy to do, honestly. How did one say I'll be right behind you! without saying it?!

"Yes," he said again, but this time he intwined his fingers with Dragon's. "Okay?"

[Dragon]

Dragon didn't know... He didn't know how long the portal would stay closed. Would it open up again and pull him back? Or was it closed forever? Was he to remain here, in the human world, forever? The thought disconcerted him, the uncertainty and the realization that he had nowhere else to go and no one who understood him, if he was to be here forever.

He had yet to speak to Tim, though--not in his native language. If he understood Tim, perhaps Tim understood him... But Dragon didn't want to speak in front of the humans. He knew that humans, as a whole, weren't very understanding of his kind. That was why he couldn't change back into his original form, and why he was reluctant to enter the portal in the first place. It just wasn't time yet for Dragon to do what he was called here to do--by the master, not by Kinley.

His fingers tightened around Kinley's, squeezing hard. Kinley wanted him to go with Tim. And Dragon had to trust him, because he had no one else to trust. Slowly, he lowered his head, swallowing past the fear and anxiety of not knowing what was happening. "...yes." Dragon pulled his hand away and glanced at Tim, who gave him an encouraging nod.

"Come on," Tim said, and reluctantly, Dragon broke away to follow him.

"BUTTHETATTOOONHISBACK! IT'SSTILLMOVING!" The small one shouted again as Dragon stepped away, even though every cell of his body screamed for him to stay with Kinley. Even the dragon on his back slipped over his shoulder, restless, agitated.

"UH." Tim, eyes wide, leapt forward and threw his jacket at Dragon. "Haha! We'd better get going!" He tugged Dragon outside, staying so close to him that Dragon didn't even have a chance to turn and take a last look at Kinley.

[Kinley Sima]

He cut his gaze over to Kero, who didn't know when to keep his mouth SHUT. Glowering at him, he tried to make a hushing motion before his mother looked back in his direction. By the time his parents looked at Dragon, there was a jacket hastily covering him up and Kinley let out a small sigh of relief. He waved, although both Tim and Dragon weren't looking and seemed to be preoccupied with getting out of the office. Once they were gone--and it seemed the cop had left at some point--Kinley had no idea when--he was left with just his family.

Slowly, he reached down to grab the bloodied jacket he'd used to cover up Dragon earlier. It didn't look like it was going to be saved, what with a giant hole in the arm and blood everywhere. He balled it up and settled it under his arm. His mother was staring at him, with a look halfway between relief that he was alive and irritation that he just wouldn't do as she wanted him to. His father, on the other hand, seemed deeply contemplative, as if something had occurred to him during the entire exchange.

"Go to your room," his mother said finally, in the silent aftermath. Kinley wanted to ask if he could at least take a shower but he didn't. He only skirted around her and headed to the house. Part of him hoped Tim was still around, that he could just make a break for it and head for the car now. But his parents were pretty hot on his tail and he could hear them telling Kero to get in the house, too.

[Kero Sima]

All in a daze, Kero followed everyone back into the house. He nodded silently when he was told to go to his room by his parents--although the second that he heard them talking downstairs, he silently stole out of his room. Down the hallway Kero crept, pausing occasionally to listen to the conversation downstairs. It was about Kinley, to no one's surprise, though he couldn't make out the subject of it. Mostly it was his mom talking heatedly and his dad speaking quietly.

Tap tap tap!

Kero rapped softly on Kinley's door. "Kin! It's me!" He hissed into the crack at the door, looking fearfully over his shoulder. "Open up!"

He HAD to know about the tattoo! The dragon that moved! Was it connected to the magic card that Kinley was telling him about? Kero had to find out! (And then possibly blab it to everybody he knew, because he didn't know how to keep a secret.)

[Kinley Sima]

Once he was in his own bedroom and alone, Kinley grabbed a backpack and started throwing things into it. Clothes, mostly. He figured the rest of his stuff would follow later. He froze midway through packing though. His phone. His stuff. Kero probably had it. Funny that he was thinking of Kero when he heard his voice at his door. His heart immediately leapt into his throat and then beat double time. He threw his backpack over to the other side of his bed, hoping that Kero wouldn't see it when he walked in.

He got up and opened the door to see Kero hunched at the door like he was afraid he'd be caught colluding with Kinley the Criminal. Looking over Kero's shoulder, he didn't see his parents anywhere in the hallway. It sounded like they were still downstairs, probably discussing how long Kinley would be grounded. I'm eighteen, FFS! They can't keep doing this to me! What did he even do wrong, here? He was just trying to help and protect somebody. Why did he have to be snippety with Mrs. Briggs? He couldn't help thinking this would go down a lot smoother had it not been for that.

Closing the door behind Kero after he entered, he plopped down at the edge of his bed. "Listen," he started, not even sure how to get out what he needed to say.

[Kero Sima]

"Thetattoo! ThetattooitwasmovingKinleywhywasitmovindidyouseeit?!?!"

Kero's words came out all in a rush, so fast that he was left breathless after he spit them like bullets at his brother. He collapsed onto Kinley's bed, beside him, looking owlishly up at him. He just couldn't believe it! A real live moving tattoo! A dragon! It looked pretty cool, though. Kero would have liked something like that on his back--so good was he at imitating everyone else. But then he thought about how much that would hurt and he decided nah.

"Kin..." Kero reached over to shake his brother's leg. He thought he saw the strap of what looked like a backpack laying by the side of the bed, but his mind was still reeling about the guy with the moving tattoo. "What was it?!"

[Kinley Sima]

"It was..."

How did he explain it? There was a lot of explaining to do, honestly. Kinley started to do so about the card... which was also somewhere... wasn't it? It should be with his phone and his other bag--the one he'd been carrying from dance class. It was probably somewhere downstairs and if he went for it now, he'd only arouse suspicions. Maybe he'd just have to say goodbye to that phone and get a new one.

"Remember how I was telling you about the drawings? The ones that don't look anything like my stuff?" Everybody who knew Kinley knew he was a shitty artist, despite how he and Kero loved to draw their story and share it with the internet trolls that laughed at it. He sprang up--awfully spry for somebody who wanted to collapse and fall asleep at that point--and he went to his desk where he dug out the images he and Dragon had created together.

"I found a tarot card with a dragon on it," he said, "and when I touched it, I could make stuff like this." He showed Kero the pictures in person, the ones that Kero had dismissed as pictures he stole from real artists on DeviantArt. "Anyway, the dragon in that card... it... left the card and it became a person."

[Kero Sima]

"Yeah? The ones you showed me today?" Kero flopped over on his stomach to watch Kinley rummaging through his drawers. "Oooh..." He bounded off the bed and went over to look. Sure looked like somebody drew them, instead of just printing them out. Kero supposed that Kinley could have traced them but what reason would Kinley have to lie to him about it? Sure he might lie to the idiots on the internet, but not to his own brother!

'WHAT?!" Kero's head swung around so hard, he hurt his neck. He swore he heard something crack, even. "He-the-Dragon guy is DRAGON GUY?" It didn't really make sense--and Kero was being overdramatic. Or... under-dramatic? He didn't know if Kinley was pulling his leg at this point or not but Kinley sure looked serious! Kero's chest heaved as he thought about this new development.

"He... that guy came from a card?" He wanted to believe it... but it was unbelievable! Kero dropped the drawings onto the table and sank down into Kinley's chair, feeling a little weak. "B-but. How Kin?!"

[Kinley Sima]

"Yeah..." It sounded like bullshit to Kinley as he said it aloud but it was true. He wasn't even sure he'd believe it if he hadn't seen it with his own eyes. He looked down at the drawings as Kero dropped them and then he leaned against the desk, feeling drained and tired all over again. How was poor Dragon right now? Probably scared and nervous. Maybe he thought he would never see Kinley again. At the thought, he felt a stab of guilt in his chest.

"I don't know. I guess magic? People talk about magic all the time but I just thought they were crazy or superstitious." He stared at the wall, most of his mind still focused on Dragon. "But it's true. He came out of the card and it's him. They're one and the same... You saw it, right?" His gaze returned to Kero. "The dragon on his back, it's the same one that was on the card."

[Kero Sima]

Kero frowned. "Magic..." Magic. Magic! It just didn't accord with what he knew about the world. Growing up, Kero knew that all sorts of weird stuff happened in Hazleton but their parents found ways to explain it all away. It was a coincidence, or an accident, or a freak of nature incident, or just somebody pulling a dumb prank. Nobody in this day and age believed in real magic!

But Kero also had no reason to believe that Kinley was tricking him or playing a prank on him. Not with that look in his eyes and not when he had seen, with his own two eyes, that dragon tattoo moving around on the Dragon guy. Kero also wanted it to be real--magic. He wanted there to be demons and monsters that went bump in the night... albeit not ones under his bed. What kid didn't want magic to be real, anyway?

"It was?" He asked, awe-struck. "He really came out of the card? Is that why he was naked?" Kero blinked. "Were you guys really having sex in the woods too?!" Oh yeah--he remembered that, when Mrs. Briggs told their parents about Kinley "being indecent with another boy" on school grounds!

Sure, Kero emulated his brother in everything... but maybe he didn't want to be doing stuff like that right out in the open. Definitely not near the school!

[Kinley Sima]

"Heh, yeah," he said with a little laugh, then quickly stared at Kero. Violently, he shook his head. The first part of the question, yes. That applied. The second part--hah... Well, his mother would murder him and bury him and then unbury the corpse just to spit on him if she knew he was talking about sex with his little brother! (Okay, it wouldn't be that bad but he had a real big feeling she didn't want him passing his weirdness down to Kero.)

"No, no, no. I just said that to piss off Mrs. Briggs." Still, he felt his neck and ears heating up at the thought. Adventurous as he often could be, Kinley had never had sex with anybody right out in the open like that and he doubted he'd be adventurous enough to do it any time soon. Especially that place, now that he'd been maybe shot at and poor Dragon had been glommed on by a scary wolf.

"I wasn't undressed, was I?"

[Kero Sima]

"Well... I guess not..." Kero had doubts but he put them aside for now. There were more important things to talk about, like magic! A part of him was getting excited already, thinking about all of the weird things that had happened even in recent weeks, and attributing them to magical causes. Werewolves? Could they be real? And vampires? What about the whispers of witches and potions? Were those REAL?

Before he could babble out his thoughts, though, a tiny tap came at their window. Then another, and another; it sounded like somebody lightly tossing pebbles at Kinley's window. Kero ran to it and lifted it, just as their front doorbell also sounded. "Tim's outside!" He looked at his brother. "I thought he left with that Dragon guy!"

[Kinley Sima]

Oh.

Oh. Man.

He was so stupid. His phone was on him the whole time. Because when he heard the tapping at his window, he reached for his phone automatically, and there it was... in his back pocket, where he'd put it... after contacting Tim. He let out a small laugh at himself as he pulled it out, but found that it was dead. Well. No wonder he didn't feel it vibrating or get a warning from Tim beforehand. Letting out a sigh, he followed Kero to the window and he could see that he was right. Tim was there. Kinley heard the doorbell, too.

Who's that? Was it part of Tim's brilliant plan? Because if it was, it was going to backfire majorly when his parents had to come up to get Kero... only to find him with Kinley, who would be trying to make his getaway. Damn! He thought he had more time!

Quickly, he dived for the backpack on his floor and slid it over one shoulder.

"Listen," he said more urgently this time, "I wanted to tell you this earlier but I've gotta go. I'll be back, though. I just... I have to help him. Dragon. He doesn't know anything about this place and he's scared."

[Kero Sima]

"Wh-what? No! What're you doing?!" Kero hissed, latching onto Kinley's backpack. "You can't leave! Mom and dad are gonna kill you!" His eyes widened as he heard voices downstairs--their parents', definitely. Were they getting closer? ...no, just a little louder, as whoever was at the door spoke to them.

"Kero!" Their mom was calling now. "Kero, your friend is here to see you!"

Friend?! Kero's head swerved to the door. He wasn't expecting any friends! Who could it even be?? Another pebble struck the window--this time a little harder. "UH! COMING MOM!" Kero yelled, skittering for the door. Well. Nothing for it now, he had to help Kinley bail out! Even if he hated the thought of being left behind, after Kinley teased him with stories about people popping out of cards and magic.

"You better come back Kin!" Kero shook a fist at Kinley in his indignation, and then quickly slid outside. He ran down the hallway to his room, made a show of opening the door and slamming it shut and ran downstairs to see who his 'friend' was. "Andy?!"