"You know, you could just allow the thought of the Music Dragons and Damen meeting be- ya know, just that? A thought?"
No, no I couldn't :3 Here's 3.7k words of it!
The Music Dragons belong to @bluetorchsky
Damen Michaels belongs to me
A little note!: Accordion and Violin ARE NOT part of the Music Dragons in this story. I've set Damen's age to be about a year younger than them for a reason.
Tw: Threat (violent but not a death threat). Swearing.
~~
Giving a sigh to himself, Damen stepped away from his workshop to check the outside world. Dark, he had been working all day, again, to try and meet demands of a new client he had. Very blunt and demanding at it. He could only shake his head, moving his greasy, smoke-ridden hair into a bun. Now, Damen didn't look as he currently did, much younger with dark brown hair, the orange being hinted at his roots and with the shining light, it only made it seem a bit reddish. His headband wasn't his headband, it being a blue bandana with designs on it, which was enough to cover his roots and hide his natural color. He wasn't much older than 20 in his outlooks, barely out of high school and living on his own. He wouldn't answer to how the property is his, but it was, legal documents and all.
He did take a moment outside, however, allowing his lungs to catch a breath of fresh air around him rather than the smoke of wood. A ventelator may be a good investment...
His thoughts got interrupted with the sound of wheels on the road, his expression souring as he hoped it wasn't police driving out near his property. They've harassed him enough for today, and it was getting little ridiculous how much they were actually harassing him. He stepped towards the edge of the buildings, glancing around to see a... What the..? He waved his hand to try and signal he was there, effectively getting the car to slow down and stop in front of him. It was a carvan, a large one at that, but it looked older than the two people in the drivers and passengers seat. He walked towards it, glancing towards the back as his eyes stayed squinted to adjust to the dark.
"Hey, you folks lost? It's awful late to be driving on these smaller roads." Damen spoke, standing a bit away from the passenger door just so he could see inside of it. He tilted his head a bit to the side, getting a better look at the driver in the process. Seemingly male presenting, taller than the person in the passenger seat.
"Oh, uhm.." The heavy sigh that came from the person in the passenger was clear, glancing out of the rolled down window. "Yeah, we are lost, tired, and just trying to find a place to settle down for the night." The Italian accent broke through, leaning out the window and towards Damen. "Listen, if you could point us in the direction of civilization, we'd greatly appreciate it." He spoke, waiting for Damen's response and direction.
"Listen, fellas, that won't be necessary. I have plenty of space on my land for you guys. It's too dangerous out at night, critters jumping in the road and what not." Damen then turned to look at his shop, and the space between be buildings. "Come on and park. It'll be alright." He said, motioning and going towards the direction of his spot. He knew they were following with the van, since he headlights start illuminating his path. He rounded the corner, wide enough for the carvan to fit as well, before stopping short of the woods to move his dirt bike out of the way. It was his only form of transportation as the moment, but it worked.
He heard the carvans tire stop rolling on the dirt, moving towards his shop and opening the door to allow more light to flood the outside, and reveal a grown deer standing in the doorway. Damen could only look down, moving his hand to pet the top of her head. "Hi there, Ila. Isn't Buck waiting for you at home?" He questioned, getting a response that could only be described as deer nonsense. Well, to the others. He chuckled at it and patted her neck. "Yeah, I know. I'll be safe, don't get Buck to bust down the back door. Again. For the third time in a row." He said, getting a huff as the doe quickly ran into the woods.
"Whoa..!!" Damen jumped at the exclamation, turning around to see at least seven guys outside of the carvan. And more getting out. It looked like a whole family getting out of a clown car, but he wasn't going to let that thought out. The guy who exclaimed it out stepped forward, his right arm being made of a crystal-like thing that Damen hadn't ever seen before. His eyes were glowing with his set up, even though it was.. Uh, very put together and barely complete. "Manuel! Come look at this!"
Another guy, who just popped out of the carvan itself, came over to the member in the door. Manuel's eyes also widened at the sight. "You're a blacksmith as well?" Manuel asked, with the member beside him practically bouncing in his spot with excitement. Damen glanced to the two, before he gave a short nod. "Yeah, I am. Specialty in weapons." He said, with the currently unnamed male giving a cheer at that.
"Shane! Calm down a bit. Let's rest for tonight, you can geek out about smithing tomorrow." The German voice broke through, causing the excited blacksmith to visible deflate at his words. "I need to shut it down in here, if you wanna come check it out. It isn't.. The best, I'd say." Damen spoke, which regain the fire in Shane's attitude. He bounded inside, grabbing Manuel and dragging the male quickly along to look at everything.
Damen shook his head softly, glancing back towards the two leaders. "If you go over to the apartment building, I'll meet you guys there. The house light is a motion sensor." He spoke, before heading inside with the two blacksmiths.
The shorter male gave a small, unsure hum as the sight of the three inside, glancing towards the varies members to see them stretching out their cramped limbs, all in various states of sleepiness and desperate need of rest from the road. He looked up towards the driver, giving another hum, this time of question. "Are you sure we can trust him, Gherry?" The Italian spoke, gaining the attention of a few of the other members, including Gherry.
The taller male gave an assuring hum, smiling softly. "We're the Music Dragons, Frankie, this is just one guy.. We'll be safe, okay?" He said, moving his hand down to drag his nails lightly across his shoulder, pulling him just that bit closer in a small side-hug. "Now, let's get insi-"
"BUCK- YOU CANNOT EAT THE METAL!" There's a phrase you don't hear everyday. Gherry and Frankie watched as a large buck with even large antlers ran out of the shop, giving random deer noises at the door, turning around and stomping his hooves on the ground. Damen walked to the doors, Manuel and Shane following close behind him and heading towards the other Music Dragons. "I said no, Buck. You CANNOT eat metal. You're a deer. God, for some big ass antlers, you don't have a lot between them." He flicked off the shop light and flicked on a light switch in his hand. More deer noises caused Damen to point the light at the large buck. "End. Of. Discussion. You are a deer. Deer do NOT eat metal." With a huff from the buck, he walked away in a pout, which didn't waver Damen's face in the slightest as he shut the large doors to the shop.
He then pointed the light towards the carvan, giving a motion to follow him with the said light. "C'mon." He began walking towards the front of the house, which flicked the light on, and as they got to the apartment. He had to practically fall into it to get it to open, but found it successful as he flicked the light on. "Alright-" He flicked the flashlight off, allowing the members to flood in, before motioning to the stairs. "The rooms start upstairs. You're free to anything; community washroom and showers are the doors after the stairs, to the right."
"We really appreciate this.." Gherry started, trialing off as he held his hand out towards Damen in a proper-meet fashion. His hand was met with Damen's, cringing just slightly at how calloused his hand felt comparative to his.
"Damen Michaels. My place is free to you guys anytime." Damen spoke, giving a small nod towards the group, particularly to Frankie as he let go of Gherry's hand to meet Frankie's.
"Gherry, and my husband Frankie. We're The Music Dragons." Gherry spoke, setting his hand on Frankie's shoulders, with Frankie placing himself against Gherry's side after him and Damen dropped hands.
"Wonderful. I would show you guys to your rooms, but I.. Don't trust myself on stairs right now. If you need anything, I'll be in the house we passed. And, I mean anything, doesn't matter the time of night or day." Damen said, giving his nod towards them again, before he walked towards the door, to be met with Ila the doe, holding a key ring in her mouth.
"Ah, perfect, Ila. Thank you." Damen said, turning around and using the doorframe for support, before handing the keys over to Gherry and Frankie. "Use however many rooms you need. The conditions of some rooms are.. Better than others, just a warning. Only the sink and toilet water works in the rooms. Lock your doors at night, or you'll wake up to a deer in your room. Don't mind if there's deer in the hallway, Ila and Buck's family likes to make sure guests are safe."
This information was.. The weirdest bit of information Gherry had heard, nodding softly at each part of it before looking to the key in his hand. "This works for all the doors..?" Upon getting a nod and brief explanation (knobs being changed for easier usage), he gave his thanks towards Damen, pretty much saying that if they needed anything, they'd come towards his house.
Gherry then turned to the group and motioned them upstairs to get them rested. It took a bit of opening doors and making sure everyone was settled, before Gherry and Frankie took to a room together. They had to get out of the increasingly uncomfortable daytime clothing, but soon laid down on the surprisingly clean mattress and sheets. With Frankie closer to the wall, he had his arms open for Gherry to lay down. No, the height difference didn't matter to them, as Gherry moved over to lay down and snuggle into Frankie's chest. "See? Nothing to worry about.. Other than odd acting deer."
Frankie gave a chuckle at that, moving his hand up to pet Gherry's hair. "Yeah, okay, maybe you're right.. He is pretty helpful.."
"GODDAMN, DYLAN, STOP EATING THE FUCKING DOOR!"
Although it was muffled, the loud cackling of their own, Yvonne, followed after the loud exclamation of.. Honestly, the two couldn't decide what they wanted it to be, but Gherry could only chuckle and look up to Frankie. "Ever yelled at a deer before?"
"Shut up and go to sleep."
~~
Morning came around, with Damen already up and getting himself ready for the day. He knew not much was going to happen, given that his knee was NOT happy with him, causing his limp to be more noticable and steps being taken as lightly as possible. He left out of his room, hearing the gentle knock on his door. Soft, rhythmic, and just enough to get his attention. He went over to the door, opening it up and glancing towards who was there.
"Hi, I'm Sherr. I'm with The Music Dragons. Uhm.. I was wondering if I was able to use some of your groceries to make food for our group? It's alright if the answer is no, I'm just-" They got cut short by Damen's chuckle and wave of his hand, as if to stop them from talking for a moment.
"Of course it's okay. Civiliation isn't for another hour or so, that's IF the cops don't harass you. Swear, they don't have anything better to do with their time." Damen said, moving out of the way for Sherr to come inside. The kitchen was in view of the door, the house being.. Oddly small, even for one person to be living in it. They moved towards the kitchen, checking in the fridge for what Damen had available. "If you need, I have a big pot in one of the lower cabinets. I can make a fire, make some soup, cook up some meat in here."
That didn't sound like a bad idea.. Sherr nodded at that, grabbing out some vegetables that were in there, before setting them on the counter. "If you don't mind.. Could you possibly cook the meat after the fire is made? I'm guessing what's in there is deer.." They said, with Damen nodding.
"Of course I can. Have you had deer meat before?" He asked, earning a 'no' from the Music Dragon. "It has a natural kick to it, tender. Think of a pot roast texture." He pulled out the meat and started on the hearing up the stove to cook it, while Sherr started on peeling the potatoes and carrots, tossing them into the pot.
It only took about twenty minutes for the meat to cook, around sixty minutes total to get enough meat cooked, and while Sherr finished with the vegetables, he went outside to started on building the fire. Sherr watched him go outside, giving a chuckle to themselves and filling part of the pot with broth, along with some seasonings and spices.
"And we have fire!" This got Sherr to chuckle, glancing out of the window to see the fire constructed, with Damen beside it with his arms in the air in achievement. A bit of swearing happened as Damen stood, seemingly of pain to Sherr's understanding, before he came back inside and reached into a cabinet, pulling out two things: A large, wooden spoon, and a metal cage-like contraption to fit the pot above the fire. He looked over to Sherr, smiling. "Let's get it on the fire, yeah? He said, with Sherr giggling a bit and attempting to lift the pot. Yeah, attempting. It was much heavier than they expected, huffing in defeat.
"Can you..?" Damne's chuckle assured them, as he gave the cooking instruments over to Sherr, before lifting the pot up from the counter, walking it outside. Sherr was right behind him, shutting the door and setting the cage down over the fire, unsure if they did it right, but trusting Damen as he settled the pot in its cage, moving it enough to be over the fire to cook, before standing up and grabbing some logs before beside the house. They were cut in half, able to settle on the ground smoothly, as makeshift seats. There was enough for all the Music Dragons to sit, two on each of them.. But not enough for Damen to sit. Sherr had checked the calculations.
"You are joining us for breakfast, right?" This stunned Damen, glancing to Sherr to see if their question was serious or joking. They were serious. "It would be a bit rude to not invite the host to join our meal, especially one he helped make."
"I.. Wasn't planning on it.. You guys are a group, I'd rather not be intrusi- EEP!" His exclamation came from Sherr grabbing his arm and pulling him down to the ground beside him.
"Oh, hush it. There's enough for all of us, including you." Sherr said, and making it very clear they weren't taking 'no' for an answer. Damen could only chuckle, shifting himself around to get more comfortable on the ground, swearing at how bent his knee was from the topple. Once he got it more straightened out, he rested his weight on Sherr' log.
Slowly but surely, the Music Dragons came out of the apartment, either dressed for the day, or freshly washed in pajamas. To each their own, Damen wasn't one to judge. As more and more came out, a few deer came out as well. Mainly doe, but a buck or two was mixed in. Ila, the deer practically attached to him, and Buck, her himbo of a deer husband, were sitting on either side of him. Buck had himself a bit away as to avoid hitting anyone with his antlers, while Ila laid behind Damen, pressed against his back.
"You've got some strange animals, fella." A male, who announced himself as Zane, spoke as he looked to the doe between him and Yvonne. Yvonne was willingly petting the doe, their eyes wide with how soft ans gentle she was.
Damen cocked an eyebrow at Zane's statement, glancing towards the male with a confused gaze. "I don't know what you mean. They're just normal deer." He spoke, which gained Frankie's attention, turning towards Damen. "Deer act like this, around you, all the time?" The host nodded at that statement, lightly petting Ila's head. "Yeah, all the time. Deer just act like this."
A glance between Frankie and Gherry, the two locking eyes and whistling notes towards each other. Damen couldn't understand it, assuming it was a different language they communicated by. He shook his head, ignoring it as he leaned forward to grab a bowl, tapping the side with the ladle, which got almost all of the deer to start moving to retreat back to the forest. All except if Ila, who stayed behind Damen.
"You gotta go too, Ila. It's getting too bright for your eyes." Damen said, earning a huff and a reluctantly moving doe to go from behind him. She went over to Buck, nudging his horns with her head, before the two ran off towards the forest to find a place to rest after a night of worrying over the safety of guests.
After that, the Music Dragons, and Damen, began to eat at the soup that was made. Multiple compliments went towards Sherr's cooking, and how the fire made a difference in taste. Damen scooted himself backwards a bit, eating at his own soup while listening to the chatting of the group. He didn't join in, mainly because he didn't have much to contribute to the conversation. Well, that was until he heard the small 'woop' of a police siren. He gave a groan, setting his bowl down on the ground and standing up, before heading over to the officer.
"Well, Mr. Michaels. What do we have here?" The officer said, trying his damnedest to seem like he was busting criminals. Damen stood in front of the door, slamming it shut when the officer tried to get out. "Someone who's on my property and STILL harassing me after- What? Four years? Give. It. Up. And leave me the fuck alone."
"No can do, Mr. Michaels, I think that-" Damen wasn't listening to it, grabbing the officer by his collar and pulling him halfway out of his vehicle window, getting right in his face. "No, no, no, YOU listen to me: The next one of you motherfuckers that comes up here to harass me OR my guest, no matter the fucking record they have, I'm driving a knife through their fucking kneecaps and breaking them in. Do I make myself clear?"
"L-Loud and clear, Mr. Michaels!" The officer stammered, being shoved back into his care with a distant 'good', before frantically driving off, panicking to get his thoughts together.
Damen had to take a deep breath in, shaking his head as he let it out again. He made his way back to the group, sitting down to where his, now cold, bowl of soup was. He ignored the confused and shocked looks, waving his hand dismissively, as he didn't want to explain it then and there. His energy was already running low, and he'd only been awake three hours at this point.
"If you don't mind, Damen, us lingering around for another hour or so? I'm just wanting to make sure with you beforehand." Gherry spoke, breaking the silence that had filled the air. Damen gave a nod at that. "Yeah, you guys are free to stay as long as you need." He spoke, standing up and gathering the empty bowls, along with the empty pot, to clean it up. Or, he was going to, if Zane didn't come up beforehand and grab the pot and bowls from Damen's hand with an assuring hum.
This greatly confused Damen, being so used to having to do everything for himself. He grabbed the cage, glancing to see the Music Dragons putting the logs back in their spots, Zane being in the kitchen cleaning the dirty dishes, and he just stood for a moment, stunned by the helpfulness as he looked to the ash of the burnt wood. He tried to stammer up anything, a noise, a phrase..Nothing left his vocal cords, confusion written all over his face.. The only thing that pulled him out was Gherry patting between his shoulders. He looked over, being met with a smile. "Don't work yourself too much. Our group thanks you for your kindness."
Damen watched them retreat back towards the apartment, various humming and vocalizing being voiced, as they went to retrieve their things and make the rooms back up. He looked to the cage in his hand, trying his best not to tear up as that whole scene replayed in his head. It failed, to say the least, a sniffle leaving him as he frantically used his sleeve to wipe the tears and shut himself before anyone heard.
He moved towards his own house, still on the verge of tearing up, and set the cage back in its place. He looked up, to see Zane finishing the last bowl, setting it on the dish rack and flicking his hands of water. He used a nearby rag to wipe them dry, turning around to Damen and giving a wave. Humming was leaving him, almost calming Damen of his nerves, as he signed a short 'thank you', before leaving out of the house to gather his own things.
The Music Dragons hit the road about two hours later, and as Damen watched them, he hoped to himself that this encounter wasn't the only one they would have..