Plink.

Plink-plink.

Plink.

Tiny pebbles against glass. Someone throwing rocks at his window in the middle of the night. Good thing he was already awake, having just arrived a few minutes earlier, tired and drowsy from another stressful day of school intermixed with magic shenanigans. Nngh.

Looking out the window Jake saw a familiar dark shape; he fumbled with his achy fingers to open the lock. His entire body felt numb. He was split into parts, disconnected from one another and barely able to make anything compute damn he was so tired.

Good thing the person who was pestering him was the only one who could put an end to a dragon's misery.

Rose jumped and slid inside the room. She didn't take off her mask, meaning she was in a hurry, but she did take the time to reach and hug him to her chest. She could feel the fatigue in his muscles, leaving him soft and weak-limbed; he felt warm and vulnerable in her arms. She could easily kill him like this, but she was hardly one of the members of the Huntsclan who would act on it.

"Jake" she murmured, her hand softly caressing the nape of his neck. He practically purred, an inquisitive sound riding the vibration at the end to show he was listening - or at least trying to. "I just got new orders about the latest trouble in the magical community. The Hunstclan is making a move." Rose paused, thinking the boy was asleep. It wouldn't be the first time. He squirmed, rubbing his tired eyes against her shoulder in an attempt to get rid of the itch.

"Oh man, I know what you mean." Jake groused, his voice muffled as he pressed his face against her shirt. "Fu had just been telling me about the Council's decision. They're freaking out about that nutjob wrecking havoc in the UK. Cuz apparently he was supposed to be dead but somehow he isn't anymore and now he has giants and werevolves and freakin' Dementors on his side… So, besides all that, he made this big shift in the magical ecosystem which, as we can all see, is affecting the entire world… And now we're the ones who have to be to fix this entire mess he constantly leaves behind…" Jake groaned, his voice cracking from exhaustion. "Ugh, this summer feels ten times worse than any other, in all my years as the AmDrag!" Rose hissed in sympathy and rubbed his back.

"Yeah, the Hunstclan is on high alert too. He's a wild card, self-centered and untrustworthy so they're wary of becoming involved or make any sort of deal with him. And they know the Dragon Council is planning something too, so they want me to go on the low and investigate." Jake raised his head from her shoulder to look at her face. "That's what they told me to do too! Well, not sure how on the low, since I'm gonna be doing it as the American Dragon, but…" He then smiled at her, a bit more awake at the idea. "So we'd actually get to spend some time together? Awesome!" His arms, left limp along his sides before, curled around her middle to give her a soft squeeze. Foreheads pressed against one another, Rose's blue eyes looked regretful. "Yeah, but we're supposed to be enemies, remember? So if we really do end up in the same place, it might actually make each other's missions more difficult. We'll be practically in the eye of the storm, so we have to stay focused. We can't let ourselves be distracted."

"Aw man" Jake whined, exasperation now in his voice. "I was afraid you were gonna say that." Before she could respond, he continued. "I get it though. Where I'm going apparently has some of the highest security measures magic can create; you can never know who's watching, even when you least expect it. And I can't change into human form there until the Council thinks it's safe. Says there's all this cultural stuff in the way and very few know that there are dragons that can turn into humans out there. The Council thinks it'll be a big shock so they're not sure if it's safe to let the entire wizard community know about us. Which is also why I just got my ear talked off by Grandpa about how a big "no-no" it is to turn without permission there." He sighed as Rose kept combing her fingers through his hair, listening. "But even I'm not stupid enough to try that, no matter how annoying it is. Ugh, stupid crazy wizard, why can't he just stay deaaaddd…" he trailed off in a low tired mumble, eyes shut. They've been burning him lately due to his lack of a proper good night's rest.

Rose squeezed the boy in her arms tighter and pressed a kiss on his neck through her mask. "I will do everything I can and watch your back; I promise you that, Jake." His shoulders, tense during the time he had spoken, slumped once more and he looked at her. "Thanks. I promise I'll try and do the same for you too." Resting his head in the space between her neck and shoulder, he continued talking, this time looking for something to lighten the sour mood.

"The Council took care of covering for me at school. Hayley's gonna fill in for me while I'm gone and Spud and Trixie are gonna help her too, so at least that's out of the way. I mostly have to walk around the place, check on the magical creatures there, report back to tell the Council about the situation, take a peek at the general attitude of the population yadda yadda yadda… Hey, the last part rhymed." He chuckled to himself, exhaustion making the whole thing more amusing. "Maybe I'll get some sleep for once if the AmDrag duties will only be diplomatic stuff like that."

The girl rolled her eyes, a smile under her mask but no joy in her voice. "I'm supposed to investigate the Ministry's intentions, see how they plan to deal with the Dark Wizard's return. And be on the lookout for what that guy's planning to do. I'll be playing bodyguard basically, at least until the Hunstclan makes their decision on where we stand in this whole thing. A great opportunity to gain more experience too, uncle said." Her face was hidden but her voice showed a slight bitter sadness. "He also said it, that the place I'll be going to is really heavily guarded. He said that there are eyes in practically every wall and if you're not careful enough they can betray every secret you hide. It would be better to keep my mask on at all times."

They hugged each other tighter, frustrated and helpless little kids in the middle of the night, tired and yearning for a bit more time before they had to part. "We'll have to keep our distance and make it look like we hate each other" "Don't we always?" "But this whole mission could take months."

"It sounds like hell."