Ashers to Ashers, Dust to Dust (Gee I wonder who this is)

As someone far more mouse than cat, Isaac knew the gist of what Asher was saying. "Yeah, but age brings experience," he pointed out. "And bigger means if some creep ever dared to snatch him away after work . . ." Isaac couldn't even finish the thought. He practically gagged on his words as he said them, Asher's arms likely feeling a noticeable shudder from Isaac's fear. "You're right, though. Elliot's a real bright kid. Much as I worry about him, I know he's gonna be fine in the end. Hell, if anything, I'm sure he'll end up leaving me in the dust.

At least Isaac wouldn't be left behind at the cafe, if his butt was apparently enjoyable enough to "accidentally" grab like that. At the mention of the incident Isaac's face lit up a neon red, Elliot's giggles only making it worse. "I thought that was really an accident . . . " he sputtered, trying to remember which of the maids it was. The cafe was really packed that day, and the staff was basically forced to run from table to table in a giant disorganized mob. All he could remember was a light squeeze and an ethereal "Sorry!" drifting through the crowd. Come to think of it, that sorry came with a few "innocent" giggles, didn't it?

It was a headache. Then again, so were Asher's attempts at using Digimon techniques. "You could call it a headache too," Elliot chirped innocently. "I mean, a headache's just a lot of pressure someplace in your skull, right? This one's just caused by a lot of mystic shenanigans instead of of sinuses."

Mystic shenanigans also would've enabled these two brothers to fight on relatively even terms, even with one having a bad leg. "You know? We've never actually had the chance to check," Isaac mused, shooting Elliot a curious look. "We could totally try showing you, if you wanted." Elliot grinned in response, as if daring Isaac to bring it on.

Asher cast that gauntlet first, however, by asking if Elliot could show how to possibly hold back attacks. "Okay! Check this out," Elliot said, clutching his Digivice tightly. In a cocoon of white-hot flames, Strikedramon appeared where he was previously standing. "Now, I'm not using my pillow. Even a gentle hit could really ruin the fluffiness. But I could use this cactus," Elliot said, pointing to a conveniently placed cactus on the horizon.

Aiming his tail high in the sky, Elliot fired an incredibly strong gout of flame for Asher to witness. "This one's a full powered Tailblzer," he explained, drawing little circles of flame in the sky like an incredibly irresponsible fireman playing with his hose. "Now I'm gonna do it again, but without even singing this cactus." He turned his tail to the cactus before firing again, the flame this time far smaller and duller. Occasionally a tongue of flame lapped at the plant, but it didn't seem to have nearly enough heat behind it to do much more than singe it. He then turned his tail away from the cactus and re-intensified the blast, sending a stream of flames right past the plant.

"Pretty cool, huh?" he asked, turning back to Asher and smiling proudly.

"Heh. Yeah, they'd have some major trouble on their hands, wouldn't they?" Isaac asked, imagining the look on any would-be threat's face when they realized what Elliot was capable of. "We've got a really strict no Digimon in the human world policy. At least, nothing bigger than our Rookie forms whenever we're in a place where someone could spot us. I'm sure Elliot knows I'd give him free reign to bulk up and flash fry anyone who tries to lay a finger on him, though." One fire analogy was met with another, however, Asher asking about Elliot's flame being stifled. "He's burning way too bright for that. This point I'm just watching out for water.

. . . These analogies are getting weird."

Not as weird as the cafe's super-intentional butt slapping policy. "I mean, at least they're friendlier?" Isaac suggested, the hopeful tone in his voice snuffing out as he decided that no, this is still weird and uncomfortable. "Yeah, but no, not gonna let that happen anymore," he decided, already realizing the futility of constantly watching his back while focusing on his customers. "And now you see why this isn't exactly a place I want my little bro working at."

Elliot shrugged as Asher mentioned the one setting his attacks seemed to have. "Oh, that's always what it starts off like. This isn't your power, after all," he said. "Borrow it enough times and work in sync with your spirit for a while, however, and you can make it yours. You can always still fall back on their instincts and pushes, but if they don't agree with you they can really throw a wrench in your plans. So learning to control your power is really key.

That goes for limbs you're not used to, too. Tails are way more fun when you actually know how to move them!" As if to demonstrate, Elliot moved his tail as smoothly as precisely as anyone else could an arm. "Don't be like Isaac and spend your first day flying into every building you see because you don't know how to slow down."

". . . Thanks, Elliot." It seemed casually bringing up each others' shortcomings was the norm between the bros, wasn't it?

"Yeah, and you should've heard the lecture Elliot had for me when I told him about it," Isaac said. "We figured it's out of the way enough for it to not really count, but still better to be safe than sorry." It seemed like the bros really had this planned out.

"I mean, we need ground rules, right?" Elliot asked. "The secret's way too important to let out like that. Especially when somebody thinks all problems in life can be solved by turning into a giant dragon!" There was a very pointed glare aimed Isaac's way, the older brother smiling sheepishly.

Only half of my problems, bro," Isaac corrected. "Shame those are all the fun ones, eh?"  Ass grabbing wasn't really a problem that could be solved by being a dragon, for example.  Sure, people wouldn't want to grab a dragon's ass, but a dragon also wasn't very capable of working at a maid cafe. "Still, it's not the kind of thing I'd let ruin work for me. I may have my boundaries, but I also like actually having money. And at least it's only been, how often? Once out of all of these days? It's no big deal."
Okay, no. It was a big deal. But the last thing Isaac wanted was Asher getting all worked up on his behalf. "Thanks for the offer to look after my bro for me, by the way. Means a lot," he added.

He was much less thankful for Asher's mockery over his flying. "Of course I did!" he blurted. "Last I checked, it's not easy suddenly having a bunch of other limbs. I've got this weird snakey body, and a giant tail I have to steer with, and my wings have all these tears in them. But then again, I've got a way better handler on attacking stuff than you, so I guess we're even."

"Maybe it's based on how you guys think about the situation," Elliot theorized. "I dunno. Brains and bodies are really weird, especially working together like that. But if Isaac could figure out what he has trouble with, I'm sure you can too!" It seemed Elliot was ever the optimist, even as his brother glowered at Asher for the bragging and mockery.

". . . You guys think we're any closer, by the way? I'm starting to get really thirsty."

"Good," Isaac said, grinning a bit. "I look more like mom than he does, but he definitely got her ability to cook up a mean lecture. Trust me, when he's upset with you, you can practically feel it." Was the lecture really that bad? Probably not. Isaac couldn't resist another chance at trying to strike fear in the heart of Asher, though, even if through the medium of a small yet eager child.

Elliot, on the other hand, was quite shocked. "Wait, you think?" he asked, blushing a little from the compliment. "I dunno. I mean, I did a really bad job of training you. What if I'm just really not that good at that kind of stuff?" It sounded like quite the job, though. Elliot loved helping people and learning new things. If he was really capable of it, he may have just found a new career idea! He'd still write, though. That'd never change.

Neither would Isaac's rather blunt problem solving tendencies. He laughed at Asher's description of it, trying to add other ridiculous dragon excuses onto the pile. "Yeah, sorry, I can't come to that party," Isaac started. "Y'see, I'm way too big to fit through the door. Maybe if we could have one at a castle?"

He blinked at what Asher had to say. Offers of help being refused? "Hey, come on, sometimes I let you help," he said. "But you don't gotta let helping turn into worry. I've been looking out for myself for a long time, so I've got that all under control." Except, apparently, when it came to noticing his butt being grabbed. Then again, that was a very new situation to him. Maybe a few more unexpected squeezes and it'd make the list of things to watch out for.

Spirit trading was quite unexpected as well, yet the conversation turned there with no problems. "I don't even think we can do that," Elliot pointed out. "But I've fused with him before, so I know what he means. Those tattered wings are real pains to steer." It seemed wing control was the one thing Elliot preferred Gargoylemon with. Then again, how could he not? Those wings were so fluffy!

As Asher called out a town, Elliot squinted forward into the distance. Sure enough, one was coming over the horizon. "I think we're almost there!" Elliot said, clear relief in his voice. "Unless it's a mirage. That'd really suck."

Elliot's blush deepened at the string of compliments heading his way. Did Asher have to put himself down in the process, though? "You're not impossible! I just need to get better," he protested, shaking his head insistently. "Anyway, I'm not sure what I'd want to teach yet. Anything but math, probably." He paused, turning to Asher with hope in his eyes. "Oh! Maybe English? I just really want to help encourage people to come up with ideas like I do, or at least get better at saying the ones they already have," he suggested, loving the plan more the more he described it.

Whereas Elliot was getting more and more complimented, Isaac was getting more and more ignored. "Of course I do!" he said, somewhat shocked. "Remember the fondant? Heck, I've been asking for your help a lot around the cafe." Isaac may've had a lot of pride, but he at least knew when he was out of his element. The cafe was basically a constant string of those moments, and he'd been swallowing his pride more than his customers had been swallowing their drinks.

Elliot sighed at relief about Asher not being serious. That said, Isaac turned to Elliot with a curious look in his eye. "Y'know, if we can fuse freely like that, do you think we'd be able to swap? I mean, heck, it sounds like ours are just two halves of a whole, right?"

"I think you're right," Elliot said, trying to envision what the heck that would even be like. "Maybe we should try it sometime!"

Of course, some time could wait to be a time that wasn't being lost in the middle of the desert. "It's real, I think," he said, squinting. Just in case he started picking up the pace, his walking stick leaving a small trail in the sand. "C'mon, let's check it out!"

"I've already seen it with Isaac's teachers," Elliot said, perhaps a bit too bluntly. "They've always thought he was impossible to work with too. Now he's doing great with learning! Okay, sure. It's sign language, not anything he's being graded on. But he's still actually got the drive to learn now, and that's huge!"

Slowly, a mischievous grin spread across Elliot's face. "Maybe I just gotta find a cute person for you to date," he mused, a sing-song tone to his voice. Uh oh.

That said, Asher wasn't the only one being paired up with his true love. Elliot's, writing, sounded more enticing by the second. Did Asher really think he'd be able to pull off being a creative writing teacher? "I'll think about that," Elliot said, still half-distracted by his plans to set up a date for Asher. "Thank you for the idea."

Isaac was distracted too, especially when Asher brought up moments of anger he tossed away hours ago. "I already told you. You know I can't stay mad at you," he grumbled. "I'm sorry, okay? Just forget about all of that stuff. As long as you're not leaving my brother out in the cold again, it's fine."

Elliot didn't even seem to notice what was going on, too busy thinking on the idea of spirit swaps. "Would they? I mean, they're okay enough fusing, which is an even bigger switch-up. It makes me wonder just how tied together they are." he wondered. "Maybe I'll look into it more. It's an interesting question, at least."

The town was getting closer, and it looked very much not like a mirage! Sure, it was kinda wobbly looking, but that just seemed to be the heat shimmering through the air. Finally, civilization was in reach.