Knight Me Another Name

Chapter Nine: Rock and Stone Home

{Possible trigger warnings: incorrect pronouns/misgendering, swearing, fire mentions, various innuendos (it's Remus, what did you expect?)

If I miss something, I apologize and please let me know}

At least having two dragons with them meant that Virgil didn't have to be careful about scouting ahead. Roman and Remus had been sneaking around this place since they were a hatchling, and they guided Patton and Virgil through different areas that probably would have taken them hours otherwise.

"Is there anywhere we can stay safely tonight, or do we need to push on in the dark?" Virgil asked as the sun began to go down.

"Dragons aren't nocturnal, are they?" Patton glanced at Roman and Remus. "Will we be in danger?"

Remus grinned. "Oh we're always in danger here."

Roman shook his head. "Dragon's aren't nocturnal, no, but they like to stay in one place and sun themselves during the day. Once it's dark out in a little bit, they'll be hunting or going to their caves, and either way they'll be moving a lot more than they do during the day."

"We need somewhere sheltered that we can camp for the night." Virgil interjected firmly. "I assume you two know somewhere that we could do that, so let's get there and lets get some sleep."

"You got it, tall, dark, and bossy." Remus snickered as he and Roman began to lead the way towards a nearby cave. "This one's nice and quiet."

"Should we light a fire?" Patton asked Virgil as they entered the cave.

"For what, light?" Virgil snorted, tapping his staff around the area near his feet.

Patton smiled a little and shook his head. "For heat, Virgil. I know you can't see, but you can still freeze to death and we're in a stone hole."

The wanderer paused, then grunted and carefully sat down. "Feel free. I can light it if you want to get the rest of what we need."

"Alright. I'll be back."

Patton went to Roman and Remus, who were in the process of pulling a few larger pieces of stone in front of the opening of the cave. "Do I have to go back outside to find brush to make a fire?"

"Probably not." Roman glanced over his shoulder. "If you go into the cave a little farther you'll be able to find some dead brush, there's usually some in places like this. Remus and I have prepped most of the caves as hidey holes."

"Are the other dragons really mean to you?" Patton frowned at them.

"They're the worst!" Roman announced loudly as he and Remus finished moving the rock. "They're always pushing us around, picking on us, calling us names. I hate them!"

"He hates them. I've got a shame kink." Remus grinned.

"Knock it off, you're in the presence of a lady." Roman flicked his forehead.

Patton winced, his stomach rolling at the word 'lady', then squared his shoulders. "Actually I'm not a lady. My name is Patton, and I'm a man."

He was painfully aware of how high pitched his voice sounded as he said it, but the dragon twins just paused and looked him over.

"Oh!" Roman finally chirped after a moment. "Like Aunt Veris."

"Right, Aunt Veris. She was a fun one." Remus nodded.

Patton blinked a few times, frowning. "Uh. What?"

"We had an aunt who wasn't an aunt when we were really little hatchlings." Roman shrugged. "That's good to know, Patton. Sorry for getting it wrong before."

"O-oh. Uh- thank you for correcting yourself." Patton smiled weakly, trying to hide happy tears. "I'm just gonna- uh, yeah- I'm gonna go look for firewood or everything else."

Roman waved him off. "Go for it. We'll look after Mr. Dark-and-Stormy."

Patton giggled and scurried off into the cave, wiping his eyes subtly.

He found several small piles of brush stacked in the back of the cage and pulled his tunic off to use it as a tarp to drag the stack, leaving only his undershirt and leggings on.

"I found firewood!" He announced as he made his way back to the group. "I think this will be enough for the night, if we take shifts to keep the fire alive."

"And how do you plan to start it?" Remus asked. "Roman's no help with that, y'know."

"Neither are you!" Roman retorted, annoyed.

Patton hesitated. "Oh- I didn't think of that."

"I've got it."

They all turned to look at Virgil, who was pulling some small stones from his belt.

"What are you gonna do, Blind-Boy?" Remus teased.

"Knock it off." Patton admonished. "Virgil knows what he's doing, he's been out here by himself for a long time."

"So have we!" Roman pointed out, his and Remus's arms crossing.

Virgil crouched in front of the little fireplace he had either found or created already, holding the two rocks out in front of him. He ran his fingertip along the side of one of them, paused, and switched them between his hands before striking them together.

"You two left a hole somewhere for the smoke to go, correct?" He asked once the kindling had caught and a small campfire was starting to burn.

"Of course we did, we're not heathens." Roman scoffed.

"I'm not into that kind of asphyxiation." Remus added. Patton shook his head.

"I might not be able to see you, but my aim is still good." Virgil sat back, waving in the dragons' general direction. "Don't test me."

Patton smiled and sat down at the fire, curling his knees up to his chest. "Maybe it isn't the best place to spend the night, but at least it's warm and dry, right?"

As if on cue, thunder rumbled outside of the cave. Remus and Roman jumped, glancing over their shoulders.

"Hell of a lot better than it is out there." Virgil leaned back on his hands, sighing. Aidan landed on his knee and began to preen quietly.

"Do we need to sleep in shifts?" Patton asked after a few minutes. "We aren't going to get ambushed in here, are we?"

Roman tilted his head back and forth, as if listening to something." I don't think we will, but it never hurts to be cautious."

"I'll go first." Virgil sat up again. "You all get some sleep."