Solo 3 - Mike

Saxophone and Vocals

A southern boy raised in Yankee locales thanks to his father belonging to the military. His mother was a stay-at-home mom, and he was given a home school education. That meant, oddly enough, that he learned far more about a variety of music than his other age-peers.

The things that made the biggest impression on him were so diverse and yet work well in him. Jazz and Punk, both complimented by his strong ability with the saxophone and his hard edged but expert voice.

When the group was captured, he was performing in a small bar in New Orleans, his birthplace, and wowing them with some improv. He still enjoys improv - especially when it pisses the Vocorr off.

Standing at Star City Dragonry - Mayonaka's clutch

When Sara and Todd came back with dragons, of course everyone wanted to see them up close. Who wouldn't? Mike was never really into all that fantasy crap, his mom was. Since his dad was rarely home, Mike learned to entertain himself in other ways - and being a somewhat rebelious youth he found that punk music was "it".

But not dragons. They were ... weird. They weren't like dogs. Mike considered himself a dog person. Didn't they have some kind of dog things? Somewhere in space? Other than ones in pirate ships running the controls?

"Come on, Mike, you've got to see them!" Jenny said over her subcom, "they're just incredible! The colors and-"

"I'm not interested," he grunted, and began playing something new on his sax. But that was something that interested the dragons too - music. Their riders had played a lot while they were at the Cy Rave, so they were used to a certain kind. But this was new to them, so they flew around the big mining colony turned music broadcast web, and found Mike within a few minutes.

Tagarok, a blue-orange mixed male, butted his head against the nearest wall and made it go 'gonnnnng' to alert Mike they were there. But he'd known they were, he could sense it too. Just like the others, they were all kind of connected now.

Why don't you like us? The dragon asked.

"I didn't say I didn't like you, I said I wasn't interested." He grunted and went on playing.

Searoun, Sara's violet-red female, tilted her head and listened to the music. They knew at least, that Mike would continue playing while he had an audience. He wasn't shy that way, not like some people they all knew back home on earth.

"Music soothing the savage beasts," Todd said, smiling. Tagarok chuffled and flared his wings. Finally Mike put the sax down and looked the dragons over a little more closely.

"Well they are pretty big," he said, "that's bonus."

"Of course it is," Sara said, rolling her eyes. "They're strong and fast, and they can teleport. We don't need a ship."

"We would need more than just these two to fly around with all our stuff," Mike pointed out. Todd nodded in agreement.

"That's why we've ... taken the liberty of signing you up at another dragonry."

It took a moment for that to register. Mike turned a nasty shade of red, matching his fiery hair. "You what?!"

"It's a clutch you'll probably love," Sara commented, "it's got some really strange kind of dragons at it. I bet they'll like you. They're all supposed to be pretty angry..."

"I'm not always angry!" Mike bellowed, and then, flustered, balled up his fists and threw one into the nearest metal structure. It clanged - it didn't damage him, for some reason. Just because it was 'his' place in this area, perhaps it'd grown to like him. He would have fits like that anyway, no point in breaking his perfectly good hand, when all he really needed was to get some steam off.

"Well, where is it?" He asked, abruptly and while nursing the pain in his fingers.

"It's called Star City dragonry," Sara said, "we'll take you there. Heck, we should just arrange a gig there, huh?" She looked at Todd and they got that 'we're conspiring for the good of the group' look again.

Shortly, with Mike's meager things (a couple ripped shirts and a pair of ratty jeans, his boots and such already on him, and of course his sax) the dragons collected Mike and flew off. Through space, rather than dimensions, Mike noticed.

How he knew that, who could guess? He was good at it, space and depth. Probably from dodging bottles thrown at him, in little dive bars...

Mike's stay at Star City was almost uneventful. Unless you count, oh, say, the hatching!

He was content to wander around, jam with local musicians when they'd let him. He began to think that he might get one of those spiffy lumiwire things or a filigree tattoo. That would be pretty cool, actually. He was just about to comission one (a green and gold bar of music around his right bicep) when he heard the loudspeaker summon everyone who had signed on, to the hatching sands.

"I'll be back!" He yelled at the attendant at the 'tat parlor. He noticed that the guy had a kind of sick look on his face - maybe when he realized that this was for the Xeno clutch, and not a normal dragon hatching!

Mike fled around the corner and made it into the hatching hall. He slowed, and his breath caught in his throat. He hadn't been back in here recently. The xenos had plastered herd animals and ... other things... on the walls of the chamber, and each one of them he knew was filled with a living xenodragon waiting to pop out. The creatures hosting those vile little guys began to squirm - and scream, when their chests burst open with the birth of their shared offspring.

The queen and her mate stood watching all this, proudly. Mike made sure that he kept himself safe, after all those beer bottles were about the same size as some of the little burster hatchlings...

There were many of them bursting and breaking eggs all at once, but Mike felt a presence at his side. Behind him, a differently built dragonet butted her wide head against his knee.

Hey you. I'm Chlorinie. Now come this way! She bespoke to him alone. He knew that this would be an interesting bonding when she abruptly stood up and vanished into the crowd. Bewildered he followed her, passing by the records keeper to mutter her name at him.

She'd found the meat, that was obvious. And it was obvious too that she wanted to get as much of it into her gullet as possible before the mass of other dragons and xenos found it!

***

Chlorinie flew around the Solo's space digs and came to roost on one of the tall mining colony pillars. This place is good enough for me, so if you need me I will be here.

"Thanks, Chlorinie," Mike muttered. He'd been able to tolerate the way he was treated by this blue and black bitch, and perhaps even... appreciated it. She would help keep the blues away when he really needed help. That, he knew deep in the back of his mind. She was pragmatic about their relationship - he hadn't even thought that a dragon, let alone a xeno-halfbreed like her, could think so clearly about things.

He unpacked his stuff, and set about recording another couple tunes on his sax when they got home. Since they had bonded, his music had turned a little different. Not outside of the experience for blues performers - but more closer to jazz fusion. It was harder music, more complicated. Not for everyone - difficult to follow and very hard to reproduce more than once.

But you will, Mike. Keep playing that tune. Maybe it will become famous.

"Thanks, Chlorinie," Mike said with a smirk turning around the reed.