Lala would never ever say no to a nice cozy sketching session with dragons! I mean jfc, dragons! But this, this Whatever-Thy-Name-Is Sanctuary at the top of the bloody Alps, balls freezing cold and—ugh, effort, was not what she had signed up for. And portkey. Bloody portkey. There was a reason she still used the good ole tube instead of any magical transportation; the tube had a good nice relationships with the contents of her stomach. Everything else didn't. And it was too early for this shit.

Regardless, Layla Styles was ready to meet some dragons, despite the cold and casual warning she may have received about their keeper. Jason wouldn't send her to a serial killer. Would he? Then again he was dating her, so his general senses simply shouldn't be trusted. And she came with cake! Cake always made an impression, right? Or rum, depending how you looked at it. The cake wasn't intentional, in truth... Just—it didn't count as drinking alone if you were making rum cake with it, okay?

After what felt like an eternity she was finally faced with a house. A very nice one, very natural and organic, if her artistic sense did allow her to think so indeed. Catching her breath, she pushed her backpack off her shoulder and extracted a cinnamon coffee container, taking a long swig. Once the backpack was pulled close and again on her shoulder, she switched the carton box with the cake to the other hand and knocked. God, she hoped she wasn't late. Why was she always late despite leaving half an hour early?

Felix had been up since before dawn. He’d left Violet’s by way of floo, and it had been a bit of a dizzying journey. Once he made it, though, it was time to get ready for his day. He made a delicious breakfast complete with eggs, bacon, and toast, a fresh pot of coffee, and ended it with a wonderfully steaming shower. He had another cup of coffee as he shaved and got dressed, sauntering out in his socks back towards the kitchen.

As much as he would have enjoyed sleeping in... there was too much work still. He finished off a bit of bacon before pulling his boots on on the porch, lacing the cool dragon hide up tight, his feet already starting to feel warm. The chill in the morning air was enough to force white clouds into the air with each breath. It felt good in a way he couldn’t explain. The thinner air took some time to grow accustomed to, but then it felt like home after that.

His more frequent trips to London didn’t make him miss the city. If anything, it only encouraged him to run home quick. If he wasn’t busy with Violet, then he figured he should be home, tending to the ranch. The dragon hide gloves he pulled on would warm his hands by the time he got to the barn.

It was a few hours later when he finally took a break. The sun had come up well beyond the break of dawn, but not quite to noon yet. He’d already worked up a sweat shortly after starting, and his shirt was pushed up to above his elbows as he cleaned out the dragon stalls. Currently he only had two dragons, an aging Antipodean Opaleye that was well trained and fairly docile, as long as no one touched its food, and a nearly mature Common Welsh Green. It still had a few months to go before he would ship it back to the native reservation.

Felix gave them names so he could have something to grumble at when they bothered him. When one spent enough time around dragons, they learned some common quirks.

He remembered he was expecting company when he saw someone walking towards the house. Felix squinted, hand reaching up to shield his vision, smirking to himself before pulling his gloves off and pushing them into the back pocket of his trousers. Jason had sent him an owl about sending his little friend on down.

When he was halfway up to the house he shouted out. “Good morning!” He wasn’t always so chipper. Felix stepped up slowly and extended a hand, grinning as friendly as he could muster. He was a flirt even when he didn’t mean to be. Felix took her in and couldn’t keep the surprise off his face. “Are you-” out of Hogwarts seemed to be a little too rude, yet. “-Layla? Jason’s latest girl?”

He gave her a wink before pushing the door open and waiting for her. “Go on, kitchen is straight on through.”

Lala turned around in full panic, having not expected a voice to come from anywhere but inside the house, arms going defensively in front of her, and back ramming into the door with an ungentle squawk, attempting to make herself one with the wood. "Holymotherfuckinshitballs" she screeched through her teeth, one hand coming to pull her beanie (that had caught in the door and subsequently lowered in the front) out of her wide-open eyes. "Good my ass" she muttered again for good measure, quickly pulling herself into a less I will cut you pose and cleared her throat, moving towards the guy.

And then... Have you ever seen a really attractive person and just wished you hadn't? No? Well, this was one of those moments. Dragon Keeper definitely did not equate attractive hunky dude in her brain, but then again, Lala herself should know that Lala's brain should simply not be trusted regarding men, alcohol, the combination of both or entrusted with life-changing decisions. That's why she had Ellie, after all. She had only a few seconds to stare unabashedly, mouth parted maybe just a wee bit, before the dude gave her an analyzing look and Lala simply couldn't help but arch her eyebrow unimpressed as if in a well, do I pass muster?

But his next words had her eyebrow falling flat, her lips thinned and her head tilting a little to the side, eyes squinted. Had he just implied that she was merely one in a string of others? Bitch, please, I will dragon kick you in the throat and w— "Lala, Just-Lala-Thanks" she replied with a sweet smile, ignoring everything else, a vein throbbing just a wee bit at her temple, as the mofo winked at her. She pushed the carton box at his stomach almost violently, as she entered past him. "Cake" she offered almost preening, taking in the architecture and furnishing and nodding approvingly, if grudgingly. This was going to be a long day.

"Felix, was it?" she inquired, batting her eyelashes innocently. She may look calm... but in her mind she'd made use of an iron maiden and a Catherine wheel already.

Scaring the crap out of her had not been his intention, but Felix was ok with collateral damage. He couldn’t help but laugh, hands coming up defensively as he continued on his hike up to the porch. Thank Merlin she didn’t pull her wand out, he supposed. No need to dodge dragon fire and hexes. His hands dropped down unceremoniously as he made his way up the stairs.

Felix noticed the change of expressions on her face, but chose not to mention it. If Jason liked his girls crazy, who was he to say anything? “...Lala.” His voice was flat as he blinked at her. What an interesting... nickname. He smirked and gave her a thumbs up. He accepted the box and glanced at it with a weird look on his face.

Cake, oh. “Thanks.” He lifted it to his nose and sniffed it before making a ‘this-doesn’t-smell-poisoned’ look and nodding to himself, walking in and letting the door shut. “Yes. Felix. Fe-Fe if you really want.” Then he realized that was a little rude and he laughed. “Felix Dagon, this is my ranch. Come on in, don’t mind the dog.” As if on queue, barking commenced. He continued past her and set the cake down on the kitchen counter.

“Tea? Coffee? Piece of your cake?” Merlin was already attacking Layla with excitement and slobber. “How’s Jason doing? Still working too hard?” Since Felix hadn’t seen him in a while, he figured he had to be.

Lala merely blinked at him, as if daring him to continue whatever it was that made him utter her name that way. Thus an exchange of blinks was had and Lala immediately declared him Troglodyte Numero Dos. And to follow in the footsteps of Rick Donovan?! Now that meant doing something terribly, awfully, horribly damn wrong. Lala turned around just in time to see him sniff the box and her arms were crossed over her chest in two seconds flat, weight on one hip and one eyebrow comically raised. Asswipe.

And then he was taking the mickey at her, and this dude was just asking for a slap wasn't he? She scrunched her teeth subtly and relaxed her posture, still tense and prickly as a fuckin' cactus. "Don't mind if I do" she muttered, with a painfully fake smile. "Fe-Fe" she added after a beat with a barely contained snort. There'd be many a-doodle sessions where this dude would receive bunny ears and catchphrases like notice me, senpai. Oh look, and he had a dog. The resemblances kept growing. Fates would be cruel to ever have those two meet.

However... dog. Before she knew it her smile grew into a grin and she lowered on her knees to rub behind his ears and coo at him. "No thanks" she said absently, with just a hint of a scowl as she continued throwing affection at the dog. "Yep, yep he do" she replied with a smirk, barely managing not to let out just how long and hard he was working. She snorted and patted the dog one last time. She wanted to ask just how did they know each other, how was Jason even around such an ass, (not that Jason couldn't be a complete ass if he wanted, mind you), but she felt like that would only give him satisfaction she was not willing to dole out.

"So" she straightened her back, hands coming to rest on her hips "how are we doing this?"

It wasn’t Felix’s fault if she took offense over his box-sniffing. He just wasn’t acquainted with her, and he knew to be cautious when accepting candy from strangers. Even if Jason had said nice things about her. He had to make his own opinion, after all, and it would start with her first impression (which was hilarious, given she had nearly jumped through the wall) and end with the last.

Fe-Fe. He laughed and shook his head before moving further into the house. He might’ve muttered something about kids these days, but it was very quiet and didn’t carry back far.

He looked over his shoulder while Merlin attacked. With slobber and tongue. He was the worst guard dog ever. Felix rolled his eyes at Layla’s reaction before he started to make himself a cup of tea. Felix wasn’t completely unaware of talking to children. He had his own, after all, and she had her own learning curve. He wondered what had made Jason come to the dark side of younger prey, though.

Or, maybe not prey so much.

As the kettle was sat over the fire on the stove, Felix moved to the sink and washed his hands, drowning their conversation out after her question. Once he had properly cleaned them, he wiped them off and pulled a mug down. “You sure you don’t want a cup?” After a moment of preparing his for when the tea was done, Felix leaned on the counter and shrugged. “I don’t know how you plan to do it. There are two dragons here, an older one who usually is easy enough to get close to without worrying about singed eyebrows, and a little tyke who is still learning how to strut her stuff.”

The kettle started to sing, and he took it off the heat, pouring himself a nice, steaming cup of tea. Once he was content with it, he motioned back to the door. “I’ll show you down there, and you can decide if you’d prefer inside or out.” The barn had its own brand of rustic feel; he had built that after the house, and had to update it when he found time (and leaks). Felix pushed the door open again and held it for her. “How close have you gotten to a dragon before?”

"No thank you" she said wit a more polite smile now that her cuteness overload quota had been met with the doggy. She opened her bag and took her thermos out, shaking it a bit as if to point to it. It wasn't that she didn't trust the dude's beverages, but— "I'm not much of a tea gal." Ugh, tea - the British pastime. How droll. Tea was for colds or fancy outings at tea shops with summer patios or small chic cafes. She felt like such a hipster. Lala shuddered.

Coming closer to the counter, she opened the thermos and poured herself a cup in the container's lid, taking a sniff of the strong cinnamon coffee and sighing pleased. "Heeeeee, tiny dragon" she said excited, eyes big and sparkly at hearing about the smaller one. She nodded at his instruction, rummaging through her rucksack for her sketchbook and pencil case. This was going to be awesome. "It's just going to be studies, mainly anatomy. So I'd like to be able to also see them moving? Flying too... Maybe?" she half-shrugged-asked, furrowing her eyebrows.

An apologetic expression followed his question and scratched absently at the back of her head. "Not at all" she said finally, swallowing nervously. "I really wasn't into CoMC" she apologized with a flimsy shrug of her shoulders. "I've done studies before, because I draw a lot of dragons for video game concept art, but I never had the opportunity t get up close and personal with one." Taking a deep breath and putting it all out there, she instructed her expression into something serious and warning.

"Idon'ttrustmyselfaroundmagicalanythings" she said really fast, barely a word properly made out, lips pursed and a twitch of her nose. "All still so strange" she mused, looking anywhere but at the dragon handler. God she hoped he wasn't going to kick her out. It wasn't her fault her magic was still not cooperating fully with her.

Felix glanced at the thermos briefly before finally shrugging, a very faint lift of his shoulder as he examined her carefully. “It can take a little getting used to, I guess.” How it was much different than coffee, he didn’t know. A little weaker, perhaps, in the way black tea brewed.

His eyebrow rose at her giddiness over a dangerous dragon that could decide to make her its next meal. He supposed that was why he was there, though. No need to go irritating Jason by getting his new thing all burnt up. Felix scratched his arm absentmindedly and nodded. “Sure. They had a little exercise this morning, and it’s nearly time for the afternoon run.” If it was a little earlier than normal, that wouldn’t be the end of the world.

The next little admission by the girl had his lips tighten, just slightly, before he resisted the urge to roll his eyes. She hadn’t done any research, then? Or maybe a little, from the sounds of it. He looked her outfit over before motioning at it. “We’ll need to change this a bit.” The rushed words had him blinking at her, blankly, for a few moments. He ran his tongue across his teeth behind his lips. Oh, Merlin. “You’re... a witch though, right?”

Jason wouldn’t have been stupid enough to send a muggle to him, right? Felix let out a breath and took a sip of tea, waiting for her to pass him before stepping back out into the cool day. “You’ll put on the fireproof waders and jacket. No arguing, and if I tell you to run, you do it.” Once he had her dressed, he pulled his gloves from his pocket and motioned her towards the barn. “Come on, then.”

Felix had nearly finished his cup of tea by the time they got to the barn. He set it down on the table outside of it before tugging on the gloves. “It’s very warm inside. Stay to the left and I’ll bring the older one out. She’s an Antipodean Opaleye, and as long as you steer clear of the lamb I’m going to feed her, you’ll keep your fingers.” He hoped.

He pulled the barn door open and headed in, walking to the small freezer he had packed full of meat. It was important that the smell was one way, so that the dragons didn’t get overly excited and tear the barn apart looking for a meal they didn’t need. His voice raised a bit as he came back out with a rack of lamb. “She’s behind the larger gate; if you’d like, you can stand there-” he motioned before he continued. “-And you’ll have a great view.”

Lala blinked in response, start of a grimace hanging at the corner of her lips. How was it a matter of getting used to? She just didn't particularly enjoy it... "Yeah, sure" she said, popping her lips absently, taking a swig of her perfect cinnamon coffee.

"Awesome" she said, voice actually full of awe, because bloody dragons. Tho hearing that they had a little exercise had her giggling a bit, because again.... dragons. One didn't really think about those two words in the same sentence, you know?

His face said just about anything she needed, and she fidgeted with her sketchbook, looking anywhere but at dragon dude. What? It wasn't her fault that not everybody had the chance to see a dragon in the flesh and close enough to study it properly. She was sure there were loads of witches and wizards who hadn't. She looked down at her outfit with a frown, because wth? This was one of her most sensible outfits. She went climbing in this! Well, minus the boots, she guessed. But looking at the man-mountain in front of her she was suddenly very happy she'd chosen a bit of heel.

Her face lifted to him, with a shocked, confusedly blinking gaze as the dude's words filtered through, and... what. "I'm sorry did you say waders?" Because hell nah, no, nope, nein. Never.  His ridiculous question, however, was met with a bitch, please expression, head pulled back, lips pursed and eyebrows doing a funny little dance. She may be shit with a wand most of the time, but she was a witch through and through. "Oh, I'll run, trust me" she said, squinting her eyes. She had no problems admitting danger was a no go, abort mission sort of situation for her. Her Slytherin self-preservation had always made her house proud.

She grabbed her thermos, sketchbook and  pencil case and quickly followed, still antsy about the waders idea and even more fervently grounded in the idea that the cactus was strong in this one... Because he was a prick, right? She had barely managed to take another quick mouthful of coffee as the dude went on to say it was an - oh my god - Opaleye. What? In he was telling her now? She could've brought her pastels for that! It would've been brilliant... She huffed and pouted, glaring at the dude's back, before positioning herself where she'd been instructed to, muttering and cursing silently.

The meat hunk made her grimace, because that was lamb once, and lambs were cute... But tasty, she had to admit it. Making sure she was where I'm An Awesome Dragon Keeper Dude and You're Existence Is Bothering had told her to, she  pulled her sketch out, flipping the pages slowly to an empty one, before she realized half of her most recent sketches were of Jason and the horror in her eyes as she looked to see whether Dagon had seen them or not, spoke volumes about the exact nature of said sketches. She choked, flipping faster, blood rushing to her head to stain her cheeks a violent shade of red. Her head was decidedly buried into her sketchbook. "All-all ready" she barely grunted, hoping the earth would do her a favor and just swallow her.

He pursed his lips very briefly before taking a deep breath, holding it for three seconds, and then finally letting it out before forcing a smile on his lips. “Yes.” If she wanted to get close to the dragons, she would wear the proper attire. Felix lifted some off the hook near the door and offered them to her. “I can’t let you near the dragons without following proper protocol. Visitors have to wear fireproof waders and a jacket.”

In the barn, however, he had real things to do. Like make sure the meat he pulled out was fresh enough, and that he didn’t slip in something along the way. It was well lit, warm, and a little humid inside. His own boots echoed across the fireproof encased wood flooring; he was not close enough to see the sketchbook, but the way Layla was lit up... Felix decided he didn’t need to know what she drew.

“Make sure your hair is back, and keep the jacket zipped.” Once he made sure she complied, he whistled. “Lunch time!” Once the lamb was set out (because he didn’t want to lose an arm), Felix opened the dragon gate with a flick of his wand, moving to the side for her to get the best view.

The Opaleye came out, suspicion on her face as she eyed the area around her. A huff of smoke escaped her nostrils before she deemed everything appropriate, moving with surprising speed to the lamb, chewing into it with fervor. Felix stood near Layla, motioning as the dragon ate. “They prefer fresh caught, but they ate the sheep and lamb out of the valley a couple years ago. The frozen meat, as you can see, is lit on fire and lightly roasted before she eats it.”

He continued to explain how it all worked, where the fire started from and where it came out of, and how important it was to wait until she was done eating to try and get a closer work. "Unless you want to be a little crispier."

With a barely there cringe and a tight, loud swallow she nodded gravely at the waders and jacket thing. It would be horrible, but no one would be there to see her. Except this guy. And this guy didn't really matter. She put them on hastily and felt pretty much like a seven year old in her mother's clothes. Which is how she generally felt in most everybody else's close. Bloody short genes.

While the dude dealt with his prepping, Lala dealt with her own--pulling out her sketchbook and her utensils, hanging two mechanical pencils in the neckline of her shirt, one soft for shading, a 4B, the other sharp, for sketching, 2H, tucking a piece of black charcoal behind her left ear, and a white charcoal pencil behind her right and, finally, a graphite pencil was dangerously shoved under the strap of her bra. Her case, open next to her, held an art gum eraser, her Rotrings, older than even Lala herself, but still as reliable and amazing as ever, and an old, treasured set of Faber Castell colored pencils, with some of the pencils barely two centimeters long now. Her cutter, at the last three blades, had been with her for the past year, and done its job of sharpening her tools marvelously.

Her head came up as Dagon's voice cut through her concentration, eyes big and eyebrows raised, and it took her a second of frowning to realize what he had said. Something about hair. "Oh! Sure" she said with a grin, shaking her head once, her locks suddenly withdrawing into themselves and softly changing color, until she was left with a strawberry blonde pixie cut. Nothing to pull back if her hair was barely two inches long. And the way it tended to get into her eyes... or, worse, paints, when she worked was really incredibly annoying.

The jacket zipping would not however work in her favor. She'd have to constantly shove her hands int it for her instruments, and she had a certain order for things, maybe a bit OCD. She frowned ad muttered something, but zipped it up. It was big enough on her that her hand could easily slip to the opening. As soon as the dragon was out, however, she was jaw-slacked and staring in awe, a glint of pure adrenaline and excitement in her eyes. "Holy mother of dragons, GRRM would be so jelly right now" she said, not even realizing she'd said it out loud.

As the dragon moved, she was woken out of her reverie, her hand darting inside her jacket, momentarily choking herself as she extracted the 2H, pushing the button on top twice and quickly set to sketching the creature as it ate. Gross, she might've added, with a little scowl. The razor sharp teeth were glistening with blood, and Lala's hand was viciously moving over the sketchbook. "That is disgusting. Epic, but disgusting" she remarked with a grimace, eyes drawn at the middle in concentration.

Her hand stopped for a moment, looking at the guy, while blinking rapidly. Because... "Those poor sheep, man" she said with a soft, sad little sound. And she couldn't help an amused little snort at thinking dragons liked their food barbecued. It made sense, she guessed. As Dagon kept talking, Lala kept sketching, barely there shapes, glimpses of anatomy, the way its jaw opened, how it moved its body and the expressions made, if one could say that about dragons. "No, the only thing I'd like crispy right now are some hot wings, thank you very much" she said absently, no idea what exactly she was saying as she was focused on her task.

"How many joints in their wings, would you say? And how thin are the folds--err, patagium?" she frowned, having done her homework, but she still thought it a really weird name.