The Hunt

Yah the Travelling Tattooist

    Yakir was heading to his 5th or 6th job of the day. He had stopped at the hotel he was staying at and showered, throwing on something casual before he left. He enjoyed keeping busy so whatever city he found himself roaming to he found work there for a couple of days or until another storm caught his attention. He was currently working in the city of Keles in Iiawah. Keles was a regularly visited city for Yakir since it stormed a lot here and it was in the west of Detinu where his clan was scattered for the most part. 

    Yakir was a Lyfew. One of five of the great Dragon Clans. Also one of the two clans that was nearly wiped out in the Great Dragon Wars all those years ago. His clans’numbers had dwindled to nearly nothing at all. They were growing steadily but by his count there were still less than 20 of the Lyfew left. They of course had the dragon clans under their protection tht helped build their numbers but it was not the same as Lyfew blooded dragons. That is why he and his other clansmen were trying to restore the Lyfew clan to its former glory and come back better than ever. Being nomadic dragons the Lyfew were not only scattered but forever relocating. This only made it harder to keep up with them.

    ‘Such bad weather in such a big city.’ he mused. That didn’t seem to stop the residence of Keles though. They moved at a fast pace well into the night every night. Just the way Yakir liked it. He roamed to a tattoo parlor called Monsters’ Ink. 

    “Yakir, you’re still here?” said a tattoo artist who had helped him get a gig covering for an artist. It also gave him a single place to have some clients he had lined up to meet him.

    “I leave tomorrow. I happened to have a few more clients here though so I had to extend my stay.”

    “Well it’s always good to have you in the shop.” he smirked "You instill a lot of terror in some of the city people when you frolic in the stormy skies." he said his fangs clearly being seen It was expected of a vampire to enjoy the terror in others

Yakir scowled at the man "I don't frolic."

    "Well whatever you do when the weather gets bad. Oh heads up looks like your first customer is here." the man said nodding towards the ringing door. A woman appeared. She was pretty with shiny red hair and striking grey eyes. She walked in with a smile. "Hey YahYah" in a sing song fashion

    He rolled his eyes "Isis if you insist on being a pain in my ass you can simply go and I’ll give you back your deposit."

    "Oh Yakir don't be like that. I waited all this time for you to do my tattoos, don't punish me for being excited." She said chipperly.

    Isis was a person he had done several tattoos on, on his many trips to Keles. She seemed to favor the style of tattoo he provided so she usually had a tattoo for him to do for her anytime he was here. He snorted "Being excited is one thing being a pest is another. I hate it when you call me Yahyah." He said scratching his beard in irritation as he lead her to the back

"But It's cute." She whined as she followed.

"Cute is not a word I would use to describe myself so you shouldn't use it either."

"Well you're no fun at all then." She said hopping on his table. She took off her shirt and then laid on her back. He showed her his sketch of her under breast tattoos and as usual she loved it on sight so he got to work.

    For most tattoo artist it takes a lot of time to carefully draw the tattoos. Yakir however moved much faster than the normal artist due to his super speed innate ability. 

    In 2 hours he was able to finish the piece that looked as if a crystal chandelier had been put on her chest. He was very proud of his work and felt even more validated as Isis squealed her approval of the piece

“Its beautiful Yah!” she said in awe as she held her breast and turned at her torso to see the tattoo from different angles.

“I’m glad that you like it.” he said admiring his work.

“If you were here for more than a few weeks you could make a killing in Keles.”

“Why the f**k should I limit myself to just Keles’s money when I can travel freely and take everyones money.” he said 

“Greedy dragon.” she said with a pout but then went back to admiring his work.

    He went back to the front to wait for her to come pay him. He took notice that the owner of the shop, Welan, had made an appearance tonight. The horned man looked up from the cash register as Yakir approached.

“You’re still here. I was sure you left days ago.”

“Nope still here but no worries I’ll be gone in the morning.”

“As long as you make the money you make in here for me you can come and go as you please.” His bright hazel eyes glittered with greed

“That’s appreciated .”

    Isis walked out, paid and for the next few hours Yakir kept himself busy with any new customers and the few he had scheduled for his last day here. It was nearly 3 a.m. and Yakir was finally done but a ring at the door drew his attention but before he could think to look at who came in he heard in a triumphant tone "I found you!"

    Yakir froze as a chill ran down his spine he turned to see a familiar head of bright orange hair. There stood the princess who had the audacity to ride him without his permission 2 months ago.

"How the f**k did you find me?"he roared feeling trapped suddenly.

    "It wasn’t easy for sure. You are not an easy dragon to keep tabs on." she said placing her hands on her hips but keeping her eyes on him. "I didn't have much to go on. When you so rudely dropped me in water and abandoned me in the dessert I had nothing to go on. So as I trekked my way out of the desert I could only think about that fine naked body of yours." she paused to look at his tall body with obvious interest, licking her lips she forced her eyes back to his annoyed face.

"This little story have a point? I’m about ready to stab myself in the eye with it." he said sarcastically gathering his things.

    She scowled at him "Impatient beast, as I was saying as I pondered on your finely sculpted body I figured, even if you put all those tattoos on yourself there was no way you can reach everywhere. Since that was the only thing I could go on, I put the word out to the daeva people that frequent or own a tattoo parlor."

    At that moment Yakir knew he had been sold out. The owner of this shop was a damn daeva. "Welan you    son of a b***h, you sold me out!" Yakir yelled out, cutting Zirri off. 

    Zirri scowled at him. "Welan stepped out for me. You have been spotted by many of my people. That's how I found out you are a travelling tattoo artist. The quickest and most detailed tattoos is what goes around about your work. Such a talented beast that you have a nationwide reputation. Yah the travelling tattooist. I have come close to tracking you down so many times now. You are always just outside my reach. If I was on the right track You would have just left town if I was on the wrong track it sent me on some wild dragon chase that yielded terrible results. However, I have found you now, I finally caught up with you."

    He cursed as he realized his extra day in Keles allowed her to catch up with him. Had he left earlier today like he usually would have she would have missed him again. He had no idea he was being reported on or that she was even still looking for him. He rose a suspicious eyebrow at her. "Have you been tracking me since you saw me last."

    "Yep every day for 2 months I've been hunting you." She said not hiding her obvious satisfaction in the horror on his face.“Don’t be like that. Has no one ever wanted to tame you.”

    He growled, “Since I can’t be tamed most people try to slay me.” he said pacing like a wild cornered animal

“I don’t wish to slay you.” she said calmly eyeing him

“You wish to tame me, which is the same damn thing to me.”

    “I want you to be my dragon. You can be as wild as you want to be. Once you have accepted me and I have obtained your beast soul it would be the next best thing to taming you. I’ve searched for you for 2 months with that in mind. You will be no pet and be as free and wild as you wish to be” she said moving out of the doorway.

    "You have wasted 2 months of your life then." racing to the door in a flash Zirri could not keep up with and as soon as he touched the door there was a concussive blast that blew him back.

    "I wouldn't say that." she said with a smirk as she settled herself on the counter watching him crash into the opposite wall.

Yakir hopped to his feet stalking over to her menacingly. “What the hell was that?”

“A long shot is what it was.” she said laughing to herself trying not to cackle

“You little b…”

“Now before you go calling me names, let's just say that while researching dragons I came across a couple of runes that are supposed to help me capture you.  So I spray painted the runes markings on the shop and set a condition and boom I have myself a dragon trap.” she said with a triumphant grin

“You little b***h let me out of here, you can’t just keep me hostage at Welan’s shop you f*****g psycho.”

“No.” she said simply.

“Then I kill you.”

“That won’t free you dorakt(beast).” she said using her native language of Ikrean. “Kill me and you make the first condition of your release impossible. I have to walk out first, alive, before you would be free. Why would I lock myself in here with a hostile dragon without some assurance? It’s like the only advantage I have since you aren’t wild. That and the looks. You really are beautiful as a man and a dragon.”

“Don’t be weird.” he said, scowling and turning away from her running to a window but was again blasted back. He raced around trying every exit and was blown back every time. When he finally got tired of trying to fight the spell she was using he stood before her seething in barely contained anger for being tossed around like he was.

She was leaning on the large counter next to the register. She was wearing more clothes than the bikini wet suit combination he remembered her being in. She had on black and white plaid pants and a tube top with sleeves in a mustard yellow that read ‘f**k it Up Buttercup’ in black.She had matching yellow socks and stylish white tennis shoes. Everything he has seen her in seemed to cling to her body and was never what he expected a princess to wear. “You don’t respond to flattery well.” she said making him come out of his slow perusal of her body.

“s**t is pointless for me. People are full of s**t and most people don’t mean half of what they say.” he said turning 

“I mean everything I say.” she said crossing her legs.

“Other bullshit ass people have said the same stupid s**t you just said.”

“You know I am not phased by the foul language but you really have a filthy mouth.”

“Is it too much for your royal ears? If you let me out then I will be sure to get out of ear shot.”

“Again I don’t care if you have a filthy mouth or not I was just making conversation.”

“I don’t want to have a conversation with you stalker.”

“I am hunting you not stalking you.”

“I am sure it is the same thing in your case Prihaala.” he said calling her princess in the old language. “I am also sure it is illegal both ways.”

 She paused taking his words in but just as soon brushed them off, “I have no ill intent towards you though.”

“Every stalker who has killed the person they were stalking said the same thing, I’m sure.”

“You are of no use to me dead Yahyah.” she said assuringly

“Ugh why the f**k do women call me that. My name is Yakir not f*****g Yahyah.” he said turning away from her.

“Yakir is your name?”

He paused and stiffened and no sooner than he realized his mistake he felt her hot body latch onto him from the back. He could feel her tugging at the collar of his shirt. “ What the hell are y..” he stopped as she gasped and jumped off him.

“I knew you were rare but that mark on your neck that couldn’t be. And the color...you’re a ...a...Fuck!” she exclaimed placing her hands on her hips.

“Don’t get excited.” he said warily as he realized she had caught a glimpse of his clan mark on the back of his neck. Even surrounded by tattoos the silver mark still stood out. It had 3 curved hooks that converged on one long line and connected to that line was a lightning bolt.

“How could I not get excited!” she exclaimed, which made him groan and roll his eyes. He walked towards the back to get away from her giddy excitement for finally being able to place him in the clan he belonged to. Of course his stalker would follow him. “You are a Lyfew. One of the Great Dragon clans and one of the rarest of Dragons.” she paused and then there was a shove that barely moved the big dragon but it did make him turn back towards her. She was scowling up at him again. “ You keep making it sound like me being royal is such a bad thing when you are of royal blood yourself.”

“I told you it was you I didn’t like. Your royal blood has nothing to do with it.”

“Its like 20 of you left right? If what I read is correct about the Lyfews that would explain so much about you. The reason why a storm always would have just passed prior to me finding your location, why you travel, why I’ve never seen a dragon like you. It all makes sense now.”

“Stop following me you little pest.”

“If I did that we would never complete the conditional task.”

“Which is?”

    “All you have to do is willingly tell me 3 personal things about you and then the runes will be deactivated.”

    “You have got to be f*****g kidding me!” he growled not believing he could get more agitated than what he already was.

    “The original script says I can set up to 3 conditions on a container that must be met to be opened to whatever it is trapping. I set two. One that I walk out of here unharmed before you do and you have to give me 3 genuinely personal facts about you.”

“Nothing I could tell you will give you the secret trick to taming me.”

“Oh I have no doubt we won’t come to an agreement but I would love to understand you better. You get more interesting the more I learn about you, Yakir Lyfew.”

    Hearing his name on her lips brought an uncomfortable feeling over him that he couldn’t quite shake. He scowled “I like storms, I’m the son of the current head of the Lyfew clan, and I like the color black. Can I go now?”

    “I knew about the storms, I deduced the clan thing with no help from you, and your favorite color is not nearly personal enough.” she said sitting on one of the tattoo tables. “Tell me something I don’t know and make it juicy.”

     He approached her and placed his hands on either side of her palm down on the table. This was infuriating, he wanted to choke the life out of her but the idea of being stuck in this building until who knows how long didn’t make the temptation hard to resist. Looking into her white irises surrounded by black he knew she was willing to sit here until she got what she wanted from him. Yakir sighed hanging his head in defeat. “How personal we talking?”

    “Bare your soul if necessary.” she said with a smirk.