The Hunter and His Dragon

Insults and Burns

***Magnus's POV***

After Alec and Maryse's long discussion in a language he couldn't understand, his stomach was rumbling as loud as ever. The last time he ate was breakfast that morning. So he was reasonably starved. But he would not say so out loud as the dragons led them to a patchwork of caves. The last thing he wanted was to remind the dragons of their own hunger. He did not feel like getting eaten today. Simon had no such reservations, and neither did Clary.

"I'm hungry!" Biscuit whined.

"Yeah, me too. What do you dragons have to eat around here?" Simon asked.

"If they weren't in such a rush to leave this morning we could've had lunch." Magnus muttered under his breath.

Catarina rolled her eyes. "Don't be too hard on them. They were excited. If you felt the same way they did I'm sure you'd understand."

"You're right. But I don't. So it doesn't matter."Catarina sighed, shaking her head at his unsympathetic attitude. He steadily ignored her obvious disappointment, switching up his conversation partner to the large beasts. Jace and Izzy were flanking them on the right and left. Maryse was a cold presence at the front while Alec brought up the rear. Clary was edging towards Jace as though she could not help but be drawn to him. Seeing the blue eyed dragon frowning at the pair, Magnus was happy he wasn't the only one who disapproved of their closeness. A human and dragon pair would never work. "Dragon, where are you taking us?" He questioned Alec.

The dark dragon kept his expression carefully blank. "You know I have a name right."

Magnus snorted. "Pets have names, names given to them by humans. You're not a human or a pet."

"Uh huh, so I'm just a monster right? That's what you said the last time." Alec seemed to not care what Magnus thought of him. He felt a twinge of disappointment.

"Exactly." Two could play the game. If Alec wanted to act unaffected, so could he. "So answer my question."

"For being so impudent we should head you off to the dungeons," Alec said. They were traveling up a steady rise, the grass becoming thicker with height and less dragon paws stomping down on the long strands.

"You dragons have dungeons? I realized you must live in squalor, but dungeons seem to be something only a civilized society must have." Magnus was baiting him.

Alec let out a plume of smoke from his nose, his tail flicking behind him. "I think you'll find we're just as civilized as your human city. What was it, AlaChina? Or maybe it's Alcapone. Humans come up with so many silly names for their homelands."

"That's nowhere close to correct Alec. It's Alicante. And we do not." Magnus felt a prickle of annoyance. He couldn't tell if it was because the dark dragon bested him or because he had a point. Alicante was a pretty strange name, but then aren't most names?

"You called me by my name. I'm surprised." Alec was grinning smugly.

"Well don't get used to me doing so. I don't plan on sticking around for too long." Magnus responded.

"Hmm, probably for the best, seeing as you tried to sneak in those weapons earlier." Alec's words made him freeze up. His walking became still like a rusted robot. "Did you really think I wouldn't notice? You should be ashamed of yourself for doing something so dastardly."

Magnus resisted the urge to leap at Alec right then and there. The strong tugging feeling had not left his heart, hurting Alec would not do him any good. And neither would killing him. For a hunter there sure was something screwy with his mind. Just what kept him from striking the pesky dragon down? He supposed it was because Alec saved his life sixteen years ago. Yes, that has to be it. Can't be anything else.

He bit the inside of his lip hard enough that there was the metallic taste of blood. "I guess it just goes to show how untrustworthy you are."

"Excuse me? What exactly do you mean by that?" Alec asked. The dragon's wings were a dark obsidian under the shade of the trees shooting up from the ground. Magnus suspected they were almost at their destination.

"Well, dragons can't trust humans because they're conniving snakes is all I'm saying." Magnus waved his hand in the air nonchalantly, like what he said wasn't meant to be anything other than a simplistic fact.

"I can't believe you." Alec shook his head. Thin trails of smoke still traveled from his nostrils.

"Believe me, most people don't know just how brilliant I am." If his hair was still grown out to his shoulders like it had been during last winter, he would've tossed it just so. But he doubted Alec would've understood the gesture for one, and there was also the fact his hair was short again to deal with the dreary heat.

"Heh. I'm sure plenty of idiots tell you that. They probably think bragging is a good thing too and not just for self-conceited fools," Alec shot back.

The urge to stab something was that much stronger. Once again his hands dove to his weapons belt, and once again he was left frustrated that the holsters were empty. He felt oddly naked without any of his weapons. There was a vulnerability which came with the absence of swords and knifes and chains and whips he had never experienced around dragons before. There was a terror too; it would be very hard for him to kill any dragons right now. Their scales were much to tough to get through without something sharp. Magnus would have to be creative if he had to kill. The thought should have been exhilarating for a hunter like him.

But he couldn't feel excited, not when his vulnerability put his friends in even more danger. Magnus would have to be careful, whether he liked it or not.