A young woman walked down the hall towards the locker room, her stick and skates slung over her shoulder. The security guard posted outside the door glared as the 5'4" blue-eyed blonde approached. "Hey there." Emily said as she neared, "First day, huh?"
The guard narrowed his eyes and glared. Emily shrugged and continued towards the door. The guard cleared his throat. "Uh, miss, you can't go in there."
Emily looked at the guard in disbelief, her delicate features twisted slightly in disgust at this idiot. "Yes I can."
"Oh no you can't," the man said as he rose from his seat. "The locker room is for the team and coaches only."
"I'm on the team." Emily said through clenched teeth.
"Nice try sister, but girls don't play hockey." The security guard said, advancing on her. Emily's eyes flashed fire, and her stick hit the ground with a clatter.
"Hey Em!' Daren said, rounding the corner in a nonchalant manner. Not a thing about him even hinted that he'd ran down the last hall to prevent Emily from gifting someone with her whopper of a left hook. They never saw it coming, what with lefties being so rare. Emily, distracted, looked up at the team's 1st string goalie. She didn't say anything, but she did growl. "What's the problem?" He asked the security guard.
"This doll here's trying to get in the locker room."
Daren blinked before answering. "Yeah, so?"
The guard looked at him like he was diseased. "Girls don't play hockey." He repeated.
Daren saw Emily's fist clench, and was quick to move the guard away, with his arm around his shoulders. "Aw man… Didn't they tell you this is a coed team? If you'd pulled this on Aisu, she would have dropped you for sure."
"Aisu?" the guard asked, stupefied.
"Alternate Captain Ichiban." Daren explained. "I do suggest you get a program and figure out who you are supposed to let in before you insult someone."
The guard sat down. "I suppose I should." He said with bizarre hesitance.
Daren patted him on the shoulder and then went to pick up his thinks. "C'mon em - we've got to be ready. The WildCats are gonna cry…" Emily tugged the door open, and held it while he went in, turning back momentarily to stick her tongue out at the guard.
* * *
Ryan the 5'8" forward was already in the locker room with Galen and Russel, doing some preliminary stretching clad only in a pair of bright blue sweatpants. A tattoo glistened on his copper skin - a black hawk on his right shoulderblade. "Hey Em, Daren." He said, arching back to get a good look.
"Hi Ry." Daren said, setting his things before his locker.
"I can't believe that guy!" Emily growled, flinging open her locker.
"Ok, who did what to Emily?" Howard said, stepping out from the bathrooms.
"The new security guard wouldn't let her in." Daren said, addressing the 5'7" center.
Howie swore colorfully. "I would've dropped him." He replied, opening his locker.
"I would have, if Daren hadn't come skating in when he did." Em said, her eyes still flashing.
"Save that energy for the game, Em. The WildCats aren't gonna play nice after how we beat 'em yesterday." Ryan said, leaping to his feet.
Emily grinned ferally and turned back to her locker.
Aisu and the other girls got in without any troubles, and soon everything was well underway.
"Crap!" Jakob exclaimed, slamming his locker door and heading for the exit.
"What now, Jake?" Amanda said, putting her broad shouldered self between him and the door. Her hair was cut very short, to keep the tight curls at bay.
"I forgot my lucky charm." He said, eyes a bit damp.
"There's no time now to go back and get it." Owen, the second string goaltender said calmly. "You'll have to play without it."
"The hell you say!" Jakob snapped.
"Aw quit your fussing! Wear this one." Mandy said, tugging a silver herringbone chain with a silver snowflake on it from a pocket in her parka.
"You rotten…" Jakob said, snatching it from her.
"Rotten nothin'! I saw you drop it and picked it up." Mandy retorted.
"If you wanna fight…"
"Save it for the game, guys!" Ryan called, and the coach stuck his head in. "Ten minute warning! Get your tails in gear, Dragons!"
* * *
The team skated out onto the ice for warm-ups to a cheering, clapping crowd. The arena was far from full, but it was at least 30 minutes from gametime - plenty of time to get their tails in the door. Their die hard fans were already packed in, their blue and white jerseys speckled with a few off-colors, but not many. They were all grinning like fools. It had been a bit shocking for Mandy and the other freshmen players at their first game this season, but they'd had all of practice to get used to the idea.
They were playing the second game in a series against the North WildCats tonight, a team that was known for its vicious offense, but the Dragons were ready to face this menace.
The game started off fast, with two goals for the Dragons in the first 2 and 10. After that, things got rough. Aisu did time in the penalty box for roughing, but took two of theirs with her. Daren blocked 13 of the WildCats' attempts on the net, and their starting center was starting to get pissy. With 40 on the clock, the WildCats charged. Unfortunately, the Dragons were ready, and took possession of the puck. That angry center took a page from Aisu's book, and charged, smashing Daren into the net. Play was suspended with eleven seconds left; that charge alone would have cost the WildCats a ten minute major penalty, but Daren was injured.
He'd hit the net so hard his left arm had been broken. He would be out for the rest of the season. That center was ejected so forcefully from the game, his ears would be ringing for weeks.
Owen Sanger, the 2nd string goalie stepped in, and play continued. The Fans made room for a patched-up Daren to sit in their midst. If he wasn't on the ice, he belonged with them, didn't he?
The Dragons won 9-1, sweeping the WildCats. Kendrah had almost picked up a hat trick, but her third goal had been disallowed. Conor, the intellectual forward picked one up - living up to his nickname "Trick.'
* * *
Back in the locker room, everyone was in high spirits from the win, and they were talking excitedly, mostly about their upcoming publicity trip, but some chatter wasn't so focused. "I still can't believe how someone as queer as you ended up a hockey player, Duck!"
"Just because Duck would rather jump in the sack with you than with Aisu doesn't make him any worse on the ice than you, Stu!" Kendrah said, pulling her jersey over her head, exposing the heavy padding that every player wears, male or female.
"Hell Ken, you'd rather bed down with Ichiban than with Stu!" Dilan jibed.
"Face it Dilan, we all know Aisu won't have me OR you." Kendrah said, stripping out of her gear. There were some good natured "oohs" groaned after that stab, but everyone knew Kendrah and Dilan had been friends for years.
"So who will you have, Kanchou?" someone called.
"I'll let you know AFTER the fact, Kasai!" Aisu called, and the water turning on in the showers squashed that conversation.
After a short while, the team loaded their gear and themselves on the bus, and they headed up north for the publicity shoot on the harbor. As the night drew on, the Dragons slipped one by one into sleep, and the driver dimmed the lights.
* * *
The sun reflecting off the snow was bright. Too bright. Kendrah took her sunglasses out of her pocket and slipped them on.
"So… are we dreaming?" Owen said from behind her, and Kendrah turned to look. Owen didn't talk much, and when he did, it was good practice to take notice.
Jonathan reached out and pinched Howard's behind.
"DUCK!" Howie said, rounding on his fellow forward.
"We're not dreaming, folks." Duck said solemnly. Howie looked around at the sun, shading his dark eyes with a large hand.
"We must be dead then." Jackel said with a feral grin.
"Is this heaven or hell?" Dilan queried, hefting his bag to his shoulder.
"Who cares!" Ryan shouted, the eternal optimist. "We're together, and we've got our gear - let's find some ice and play some hockey!"
Wild cheers erupted, and when they died down, Captain Gregory Brooks took control, more or less. "So which way do we go?"
Conor looked skyward. "Noonish…" he murmured, "but I cant see anything. The likelihood of finding…"
"Okay, south it is." Carter said, picking up his own bag.
"Let's move!" Greg said, shouldering his own things and starting off. 21 others followed suit.
After a bit, two birds came into view - but as time passed, it became very clear that these were no birds. On no. Blue and Green, and they were huge.
"I'll be a monkey's uncle!" Stewart laughed. "Dragons!!" They burst into a fit of cheering and waving.
The dragons landed remarkably close to each other, and to the team.
"I don't think I've ever been greeted like this before." Maiahn whispered.
"Me either; and I'm the Searcher!" J'rin whispered back.
Funny… there are more than I thought…
"Would you guys and gals like a ride?" J'rin asked, grinning.
"Sure - but where's there to go?" Duck asked.
"Ryslen, of course." Maiahn said with a smile. Mandy frowned slightly, confused. "Where the dragons live, eat, play…"
"And hatch." J'rin said.
"Hatch?" Duck echoed in surprise. "Can I watch?"
J'rin laughed. "If we get there in time."
We're going to need some help. Yemlith purred.
"J'rin, we'll need an assist-" Maiahn's speech was cut off by the trumpeting of half a dozen dragons - Texia and Remembreth, T'gre and Garionth, G'rin and Adjantith, R'lan and Ancith, Tylar and Isemoth, and Ar'wen and Camoth. Between the eight of them, they managed to get everyone and everything to Ryslen.
"Now that is what I call an assist." Someone whispered.
As they unloaded the dragons, J'rin and the others explained that they might feel a bit off because they arrived twenty minutes before they left, so they'd have time to get to the hatching.
T'gre and G'rin gave the Dragons a crash course in dragons; how dragons had traditionally come in gold, bronze, brown, blue and green, and how golds and greens were female, and the rest were male.
"G for girl, B for boy." Conor observed.
"Right… generally, that's what they choose for their riders too. Greens do choose gay males, and blues and browns sometimes choose." "Butch females." Kendrah said with a wry grin.
"Err… yeah.' G'rin said. He should have expected that.
"Sometimes a white dragon hatches, but that seems to be getting more common. The entirety of the current clutch has white in its lineage." T'gre explained.
"So we don't know what to expect." G'rin said.
"How about cotton candy pink?" Dilan suggested.
"Now that you mention it…" T'gre's face bloomed in a hugely amused grin.
A deep rumbling, much like a giant cat purring alarmed the team. "What's that?"
"That's the signal that the hatching is imminent. Let's get you settled to watch. If you'll follow me…"
The Dragons are candidates for Ryslen's Flurry Clutch Hatching!
Background by Tiyanni!