At the first hint of Ishida stirring, Erich slowly unwrapped his wings to give the boy more space without yet revealing him to the thoughtful gaze of Ukitake. The Shinigami had remained with him for the rest of the night, both of them dozing off and on as they waited for the dawn to arrive.
They had spoken in brief intervals, exchanging fragments of plans until Erich was certain they had something approximating a full plan between the two of them. It might even work.
(Flexible enough to adapt, fleshed out enough to function.)
(Ukitake was good and clearly used to working as part of an equal pair.)
“Rerugen-san..?” Ishida murmured in confusion, rubbing at his eyes and squinting up at Erich’s face. “I… fell asleep?” An embarrassed blush rose in Ishida’s cheeks and he scrubbed at his face harder. “You… you should have just moved me? That couldn’t have been comfortable for you…”
“I caught enough sleep,” Erich reassured the boy. He combed a hand through Ishida’s mussed hair, bringing a bit of order to the wild strands. “I don’t require as much as you do, and sleeping upright is this form is easy enough.”
“O-oh.” Ishida sat up and tugged at his clothes in an attempt to straighten them, squinting at Erich’s wings. “Why..?”
Erich chuckled and offered the boy his glasses. “I figured you wouldn’t want to face a Shinigami again while still half-asleep?”
“A— wait! He came back and then stayed?” Ishida yelped, fumbling his glasses in place and casting wary looks around as if he could spot Ukitake through Erich’s wings.
“Mmm. He made the harness I require to carry you, and then we discussed plans until late. We now have a plan that we both feel is solid.” Ishida’s skeptical look had Erich smiling in response. “As solid as any plan can be,” he acknowledged, “but having something is better than nothing. And now we both know what to expect out of each other during the execution, so we are better able to adapt on the fly.”
“I thought… I thought Quincy and Shinigami… didn’t get along?”
“He’s an acceptable sort,” Erich repeated with amusement, moving one wing enough to send Ukitake an amused look.
“Why thank you, Rerugen-san,” Ukitake replied while inclining his head. “High praise from a man such as yourself, I suspect.”
Erich hummed in acknowledgment and gave Ishida once-over. The boy looked put together and prepared, so Erich spread his wings wide and climbed to his feet. It felt good to stretch after so long in one position, and almost divine to flex cramped muscles and shake the stiffness from his wings.
He loosely folded back his wings and scanned the area, prowling the edge of his ward and scenting the air for any trace of hidden Shinigami. Ishida didn’t seem to understand his actions but Ukitake did; the man made no protest or profession of innocence, simply allowed Erich his check without interruption. It was more a sign of trust than a part of him had expected but at the same time…
At the same time, it felt very much in line with the man he was beginning to learn Ukitake was.
Erich made one last circuit of his ward before moving towards the center. “If you could move over there?” he asked Ishida, indicating another part of the ward with a nod. When Ishida had moved aside, Erich let himself change. A heartbeat of intangibility, a rush of power, and the ward shattered from within as his true draconic form emerged from the mist.
Ukitake scrambled to his feet and backed away, a startled expression on his face that slowly morphed into awe as he stared up at Erich.
Erich let his wings stretch slowly, shading both Ukitake and Ishida with them and allowing them a glimpse at his full wingspan before snapping them closed once more. He arched his neck and swiveled his head, scanning the grounds from his new vantage and rechecking everything with his sharper senses.
Still no hidden Shinigami. Still no indication that Ukitake was playing him false.
“You are as large as I remember,” Ishida murmured. He slowly approached Erich and set one hand on Erich’s lower foreleg, fingers tracing the heavy scales that protected it from harm. “You… carried me. In your paws.”
Laughter rumbled in Erich’s throat at the boy’s awe and he nodded in agreement. “It was the easiest way to carry you, yes.”
“And… this time?”
“You’ll sit in a harness directly behind my head.” Erich gestured towards the collection of ropes that lay near where Ukitake had been sitting. “I will walk you through the steps to attach it and then yourself when it is time. But for now, Ukitake-san has brought breakfast that you should eat.”
A mulish expression settled on Ishida’s face and Erich braced himself for an argument. He wasn’t yet certain over what — Ishida had eaten the food Ukitake brought without protest the previous night — but he recognized that expression from his time as a Clan Head and a father.
“What of yourself?” Ukitake asked unexpectedly, drawing both their attention to him. “Will you not eat?”
Erich snorted and moved his head to give the human-sized basket full of human-sized food a pointed look. “Human food is not the kindest on draconic stomachs, even if we are provided with quantities large enough,” he said when Ukitake began to get a considering look. “In this form, my diet is akin to that of a hawk or a cat. Even in our war-form we need to take care.”
Ishida’s brows furrowed in thought. “Then why not simply change forms?”
“Won’t do any good, this late,” Erich explained. He took a couple steps to the side and settled on the ground, relaxing in a loose sprawl. “If I want the energy, I need to stay in that form until I digest my meal, otherwise it simply gets broken down during the change for a fraction of the value.”
That seemed to appease both of them, though Ukitake gained a look about him that had Erich cautiously curious. He wasn’t certain what the man was planning to do but he would give him the benefit of a doubt; so far, Ukitake had dealt with him fairly. Whether their unusual truce remained in effect after the execution was yet to be seen, but Erich found he didn’t truly mind the thought.
(How strange the thought. Allies with a Shinigami of all beings.)
Erich remained on guard, scanning the grounds as Ishida finally settled down and began to nibble on some of the food Ukitake had brought. But nothing came. No indication of betrayal or a hint of another Shinigami about them.
(He couldn’t let down his guard, no matter how unlikely the chance of betrayal would be.)
He turned his attention from the slowly brightening world and to Ukitake instead, watching the man and considering the plan they’d built over the night. The man planned to break into a warded storeroom in order to steal an artifact that would be useful to their plan. Ukitake was certain he could do it but Erich knew the benefit of having a backup plan.
Erich arched his neck and slowly scanned the ground around him, sharp eyes settling on a hopefully human-sized rock that Ukitake wouldn’t have difficulty carrying. He reached out and carefully plucked it up between two sharp claws and dropping it into the palm of his other paw.
“Rerugen-san?” Ukitake asked.
He hummed and focused, drawing out a thread of mana and his Quincy nature, spinning them together into a crude set-spell that he hoped would ease Ukitake’s way if the man needed it. “A ward-breaker,” Erich said as he plucked up the stone once more and held it out to Ukitake. “It should help you out. Just throw it at whatever ward you wish to break and the spell will trigger.”
Ukitake caught the stone when Erich dropped it. “Ah… thank you, Rerugen-san,” he said with a bright smile. “I hope I won’t need it, but thank you nevertheless.”
Erich nodded and tipped his head towards Ishida. “Finished?” At the boy’s nod he made a pleased noise and flattened himself further, laying his head on the ground and nudging Ishida with the tip of his muzzle. “Then we should get the harness sorted out.” Erich hesitated a moment while he considered his options, then added, “You may also help if you wish, Ukitake-san.”
(He had already trusted the man to build the harness.)
“I would be honored.” Ukitake rose from his seat, clothing rustling as he moved around Erich’s muzzle and stood directly in front of him. “Ishida-kun, here. If you would take this side? I believe I recall how Rerugen-san showed me it sits on his head.”
Erich made an amused noise and let his eyes slide closed, relying on his other senses as the two moved to bracket his head. He listened as Ukitake began to speak, occasionally speaking up to correct an instruction. Otherwise he let them follow Ukitake’s direction, holding as still as possible as they scrambled around and sorted out the simple harness.
The minute they had it sorted and stepped away, Erich sat up and gave himself a shake. The harness shifted a bit but remained in place. “Feels good,” he told both of them. The ropes pulled at his thick mane here and there but nothing unusual for the design and how crude the harness was. “Ishida-kun, we will leave in a few hours and I will explain the plan while we are in the air. Ukitake-san, I wish you luck and will see you on Sōkyoku Hill.”
“And luck to you as well,” Ukitake replied. He gave a shallow bow and turned to leave, striding away from the two of them with a steady pace.
Erich stretched and shook himself again, waiting for Ukitake to leave hearing range. “Since we have a few hours before we’re needed anywhere,” Erich began once the man was gone, “do you have any questions for me?”
Ishida sent him a startled look, fidgeting with his glasses. “You’re certain?”
“I am.” He nodded firmly and rearranged himself into a lounging posture, using his tail to gently pull Ishida into the crook of his elbow so he could relax as well and they could speak in comfort.
He would do his best to answer anything Ishida asked.
It was the least he could do for the boy, and maybe it would set Ishida’s mind more at ease after the trouble with the Lieden Hant.
(He hoped it would.)