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The first time it happened, the experience had caught him so off guard that Jason hadn't processed what it meant until much later.
It was early in his stay with Tim, he'd just gotten used to the library organization, and Tim had asked if he'd take a break for a day for a different type of cataloging.
Jason had seen glimpses of the main treasure room before, but Tim led him directly across the threshold and paused while Jason absorbed the sight before him. The room was lavish with impossibly high polished marble walls, gleaming displays of jewels and and and clothes, and shelves filled with all the rarest of tombs.
Tim wasn't so pedantic as to leave his gold coins in unsorted piles and mixed in with the jewels, no he had a single nest shaped lump of gold, decorated in fine silks and furs, and then organized trunks sorting all the other loose treasures together.
Jason was in love. He'd already come to appreciate Tim's organization of the books but this was another level that made him itch for his notebook to scribble down observations.
“Don’t wear your shoes–” the dragon said as Jason gaped, “in fact, go over to that area and just change into something appropriate.” Tim bobbed his large head over to what appeared to be a staging area. There was a privacy screen, two tall armoires, and a few racks of clothes. There was also a bowl filled with water that was obviously for Jason to wash off in.
“You want me to clean up and change in order to explore the room?” Jason questioned even as he headed over to the area.
“Something like that,” the dragon mumbled as he settled down on his large paws to watch.
Jason had become used to the dragon’s gaze, so he didn’t let him affect him as he wiped down the best he could with the scented water. Sometimes he wondered how the dragon managed to work the smaller objects like the basin of warm water or the plates of food he served Jason. Jason never saw the dragon directly interact with the human sized objects (other than the books he delicately picked up with his claws) but things always moved around.
He looked through the clothes and found most to be ridiculous frivolous pieces of silk, heavily embroidered with gold thread and adorned with jewels. The pants he finallly selected sat low on his waist wrapping across his hips and showing the dark trail of hair below his navel. They were billowy and loose around his legs and then cuffed just above his ankles in a way Jason had only seen in books, never in person. To top it off, all Jason could find shirt wise was sleeveless vests that left his chest exposed.
“I’m practically naked here Tim!” Jason complained at the dragon. “Where are the clothes?”
A slow unconcerned blink came from the dragon as he met Jason’s gaze. “Are you uncomfortable or cold?”
Jason couldn’t help but give an exasperated huff. “The temperature is fine, but I feel like a clown.”
“You arent done yet,” the dragon said as he straightened up and moved to the side of the area.
“Oh good,” Jason couldn’t quite keep the sarcasm from his tone, “do you have a robe or–”
Jason cut off as the dragon nudged a large chest over, and lifted the lid delicately with a large claw. The inside glowed as it was apparently filled with gold. Jason blinked at the shiny objects that were obviously various pieces of jewerly.
“Uhh Tim, what's this?”
“Jewerly,” Tim confirmed in his deep dragonic rumble.
Nope, nope. “I’m not wearing that.” Jason shut the lid and looked up.
The dragon twitched in response. “You need to–”
“You aren’t explaining anything, Tim,” Jason stated calmly. “Tell me why and you know I’ll listen.”
The dragon blinked slowly as he considered Jason’s words. “You need to look like hoard in the hoard room,” he responded after a moment.
Jason glanced about again at all the gleaming displays and then yet unexplored middle. The room was vast and obviously many rare treasures were ready to be discovered. He sighed. “Tim, I don’t even know if I can put all this on by myself.” He bent down to open the lid again, already feeling uncomfortable with the extravagance the dragon was demanding.
Pale hands reached in front of him and Jason fell backwards in shock as a man, that had appeared out of nowhere picked up a set of thin chains from the box.
“These are tricky to get to hang exactly right,” Tim’s voice said from the man’s mouth. “Stand up straight and I’ll show you how to wear this piece.”
“What the actual hell?” Jason gaped.
“Come on, Jason,” the man encouraged and Jason watched his lips form the words and heard Tim’s voice again in his ears. Jason glanced around, but his dragon was gone.
“No way,” Jason whispered as the pieces fell into place. “You can turn into a human?!”
The man frowned and Jason saw the eyes were definitely his dragon’s. He was handsome in human form, appearing close to Jason’s own age, but with messy hair that perfectly suited his dragon’s personality. He was cute, in a scholarly way, deceptively slender…
“Do you retain your dragon strength in human form?” Jason questioned as he eyed the petite musculature of the man before him. “Can you breathe fire?”
“Jason,” the dragon’s blue eyes flashed and any doubt left in Jason’s mind that this was the same creature. “It is Hoard Day. You are dressing appropriately for Hoard Day and then I am having my full Hoard Day. Tomorrow you can go back to asking questions and I will answer them but today. is. Hoard. Day.”
Jason swallowed, eyeing the angry man cautiously. “Okay, but one last question, and I promise this is important…”
Tim’s eyes narrowed, split pupils focused, but Jason held up his hands in surrender. “I’ll put the stuff on Tim I swear–”
“Show me.” The dragon’s tone booked no room for argument.
Jason snatched up the first thing, wrist cuffs that were solid gold and covered half the length of his forearm, and clasped them in place. He was momentarily distracted by the flowing etching, trying to decipher if he recognized the language when he remembered his question.
“Tim, what’s Hoard Day?”
Tim was already moving forward with the thin gold chains he'd picked up and drapping them over Jason like a bizarre backwards cape. It went around his neck and under his vest, forcing him to lift his arms while Tim fastened the chains in place. It caused the dragon to be completely up close and in Jasons personal space– and that's when Jason realized how long it’d been since he'd felt a human touch on his skin.
Goosebumps erupted all over and his breath caught in his throat as soft fingers danced over his bare skin arranging the thin chains to lay against him. Jason stared at the dragon's face but Tim was completely concentrating on his task of wrapping Jason in gold.
“Hoard day,” Tim suddenly said and Jason jerked back to the moment to stare at pink lips forming words. “Is an important routine to a dragon's magic.”
Jason stared, unable to really process or form thoughts as he watched the silky dark hair flutter when Tim bent down to pick up the next item. Jason’s throat tightened and he swallowed down the strange sounds that wanted to bubble out as Tim scooted forward kneeling in front of him.
The dragon cuffed his ankles in gold that matched the braces around Jason’s forearms. They didnt restrict movement but Jason’s stomach was beginning to burn, his skin growing hot as he realized he really was being decorated.
“A dragon's hoard is essentially what we gain magic from, the stronger of an attachment we have to our hoard, the stronger our feelings of devotion. The more care we give, the more the magic reciprocates and our powers grow.”
The knowledge bomb rocked through Jason as he thought of the few dragon cases he'd studied and then the dragons he met…
“So…”
“No more questions today,” Tim dismissed. He stepped back and examined Jason with a critical eye and then snatched more from the chest. Jason was passed rings for his fingers while Tim hung a necklace on him that encompassed his entire collar bone. The last touch was a golden circlet that rested around his head, pushing down his curls. Tim again stepped back to observe and Jason looked away, feeling the flush of embarrassment.
It was a strange mixture of feelings that rolled through him– appreciation for being included, being part of something more than just himself, knowing he was somehow helping his dragon friend and then sheer embarrassment of being adorned like he was being worshiped, like he was a rich king or a treasured idol.
“Jason,” Tim called and Jason’s eyes darted up. Tim smiled and the shock of how handsome the dragon was once more rolled through Jason. “Lets look at the hoard now. You can pick a few items and I'll tell you the full history of them.”
Jason brightened at the idea, ignoring how he jingled as he walked thanks to all the thin ropes of chains clinking together. Soon he forgot all about them as Tim led him through the hoard and shared stories. Jason tried to commit them all to memory and asked next time to bring his journal so he could sketch and note the history he was learning.
Tim was indulgent through it all.
Then they reached the bed of gold. It was fully dragon sized, more like a solid gold platform with slightly raised edges, except for a soft looking pile of furs near the edge. Remembering how little he was wearing (and how uncomfortable it really was) Jason finally paused.
Cautiously he pointed and asked: “Are we sleeping in that?”
Tim blinked and suddenly his dragon reappeared. “Yes, we sleep with the hoard on Hoard Day.” His head nudged Jason forward until he was pushed into the pile of furs. It was just as soft as it looked from afar.
Blankets tangled about Jason’s legs as he struggled through the massive pile. He finally managed to straighten up in time to see the dragon settle around the pile. Jason kicked a few pieces of fabric back and pulled a particularly soft blanket free of the pile to settle down next to the dragon. Tim’s scales were warm as Jason leaned back against him, pulling the blanket over his legs.
A soft rumble came from the dragon and Jason felt sleep pulling on his senses.
“So,” Jason opened his favorite journal and tested his pencil as he caught Tim’s attention. “I have some questions.”
The dragon titled his head but Jason was having none of the innocent act. “First topic: Hoards. What’s the deal with that anyway? … Actually I think that’s going to be the title of my study.” Jason scribbled down the thought as Tim seemed to consider the question.
“What do you want to know?”
“Maybe I start with what I already know and you can correct and expand my theories,” Jason proposed as he began outlining his list.
“All dragons have hoards,” he stated and looked to the dragon in the room for confirmation.
“To be fair, that statement is a lot like saying all humans live in homes and wear clothes. It's normal, it's expected and it's better, but it's not an absolute.”
“Fair enough. Now when we visited the elf guy–”
“Dick isn’t an elf.”
“That’s still being reviewed,” Jason noted, ignoring Tims eye roll. “Anyway he said that ‘Human Hoardings were rare but treasured.’ If they are treasured, then why are they rare?”
Tims focus was intense as he studied Jason. “Well you went right to the heart of the matter.”
Jason’s head jerked up and he stared at the dragon. “I did?”
“Oh yeah,” Tim’s head bobbed as he straightened up. “This calls for hoard time.”
Jason froze, pencil in hand. “No Tim, this is supposed to be question time, not hoard time.
“They can be the same.” Tim blinked and his large dragon form sidled up next to Jason already beginning to nudge him in the direction of the treasure room.
Jason grunted, tried to plant his feet firmly, but the dragon kept bullying him in the direction of the doorway. When they neared a chair, Jason quickly dropped down and refused to budge. “No, I would like answers before–”
Tim picked up the chair with his front paws and began an awkward shuffle forward. Dragons were better balanced on four legs so the ride was anything but smooth and Jason was forced to clutch the arms of the chair tightly to keep from falling out. “Tim put me down! I’ll go! I’ll go!”
The dragon toppled forward, the chair hit the floor and Jason’s body was jarred, but remained in place. He stood on shaky legs but stumbled forward to the hoard room with the dragon following steadily behind.
“Are you really going to make me go through the ritual?” Jason refused to whine but it was a near thing. The ritual of dressing for Hoard Day was only enjoyable because it included Tim’s soft hands running against bare skin, otherwise Jason hated the clunky jewerly and revealing outfits it brought.
“I need to explain Hoard Day better in here, but I understand your clothes are comfy,” Tim shifted foot to foot, his tail swaying uneasily.
Jason sighed. “Compromise then? I’ll put on some of the jewerly, but I get to keep on my clothes.”
“The chain dress won’t lay right over your shirt. You can keep your pants and don’t have to wear the cuffs. The chain dress and circlet are a must.”
Better than nothing Jason supposed…
“Oh and no shoes in the Hoard!” Tim stated. Then the human Tim appeared and began pulling out the chain dress that was his preferred choice for Jason. Jason pulled off his shirt and gave into the whims of the dragon.
“Really, will part of your answers include what about this ritual is so important?”
“Yes actually. It’s just,” Tim hesitated as he picked up the golden circlet that would rest across Jason’s brow, “it’s a decently kept secret and you are intending on actually documenting the data whereas most humans would hide this information too.”
Jason’s curiosity was fully piqued. “Oh?”
“Hoards are the source of a dragon’s magic. And I know the obvious answer would be the bigger the hoard, the more powerful the dragon, but the truth isn’t that simple. What you put into your hoard is what you get back.”
Tim’s hand slid into Jason’s and tugged him deeper into the room, heading towards the dias that made up the dragon’s bed.
Jason was momentarily silent as he processed the information, but the question eventually formed to help his understanding. “So if a dragon has a well tended hoard, he gets power off that?” Jason mused as he followed along.
“So with things like gold and jewels, it’s about treating them as treasure. Things should be neat and tidy. Books are trickier for dragons as they are fragile, but I learned early in my life that it’s about enjoying the knowledge they share to make the magic work. Weapons want to be used, clothes worn, and humans…”
“Cared for,” Jason surmised, pencil scratching furiously across his note book as they paused.
“Basically,” Tim agreed. He pulled a blanket out for them to sit on along with a few pillows to ensure Jason was comfortable. “It’s more than that though. You see you can mistreat hoards and the power can backfire. If you let your books go to waste, if you leave the clothes and fabrics dirty, let the weapons rust and so forth.” Tim paused and looked out over his well tended hoard showing pride in his smile. Jason felt a smile tugging at his own mouth as Tim continued his speech.
“But with humans, you have the opportunity to form a reciprocal bond. What you provide to a human can be given back by them. Show a human kindness and they can show you kindness in return. That’s what makes human hoards more powerful and more risky.”
Jason’s pen slowed as the implications fired through his brain. “So inanimate objects can be cared for and that creates hoard magic or humans can be cared for which creates reciprocal magic? … but if a human doesn’t care for it…”
“It's powerful magic. It’s why we treasure human hoard… Not that it’s completely selfish exactly. The magic doesn’t let it be. If the human is unhappy then the dragon’s magic is drained in response.”
“Wait, so what about dragon’s with large territories? How does that work?”
Tim sucked in a breath, “you ask a lot of dangerous questions.”
“I’m just a curious guy,” Jason defended, clutching his journal of notes close.
“I know,” Tim smiled softly, “but you still ask dangerous questions. Territories are like hoards. You can amass a large amount, but if you don’t take care of them properly and the inhabitants grow to dislike you, it weakens you greatly. The dragon has to be strong willed to define his magic on what the relationship is doing. If he is set to protect the territory from invasions, and they get invaded, the magic can rebel. If you say you want to protect all the inhabitants and a plague strikes… The magic can’t tell the difference. It’s dangerous to hoard territory.”
“But–” Jason started to ask the question, knowing he grew up in a dragon ‘territory’ but Tim waved his hand.
“Yes, Bruce is the only dragon I know of that has successfully maintained an occupied territory hoard. His hoard is more than just territory though so it’s still not simple.”
Jason finally picked up his pencil and added some notes. “So hoard day is actually magic replenishment day. You always saying you want to make me ‘look like hoard’ is your way of… including me.”
“Worshiping you really,” Tim stated factually, and Jason burned from the blunt admission. “I know it seems self-serving, but when you entered my hoard you became the most important thing. The happier you are, the happier I am.”
Jason shifted a bit uncomfortably. “Wouldn’t just any human do then? Just pluck up a random person and treat them like a prize?”
Tim shuddered and suddenly Jason had a large lizard wrapping tightly around his body. “I don’t know how to explain this bit but no. You have a thirst for knowledge that genuinely matches my hoard. It’s why I couldn’t, why I can’t let you leave. I have tried to hoard other humans but it didn’t work at all. It takes a certain level of compatibility. You are special.”
Jason pushed aside the burn embarrassment and embraced the curiosity this explanation gave him. He made some more notes, forming his own theories on compatibility among other things. He leaned back into the warm scales that had quickly become his favorite position and continued to write out his thoughts.
“I know you’ve answered a lot today Tim,” Jason softly admitted after a few beats of silence. “Thanks.”
“Hmmm, it’s easy to do it for you,” the dragon tightened around him and Jason relaxed into the warmth.