Introductions : "The Magician & his Dragon"

"Wait, they're here? They're back??"

"Aye missy, ye don'afta be nervous t'all. I mean 'ey if we didn' like ya, wouldn'ta saved ya. HAR HAR HAR!"

With that deep chuckle, he slapped me on the back, knocking me forward on to the floor, where I found myself staring at a pair of rather nice shiny, black shoes. Then a white -gloved hand (with the fingertips cut out) appeared in front of my face.

"Let me help you up, there. Ol' "Scruffybear" doesn't know his own strength."

I took the hand and it pulled me to my feet, and now I was gazing into the kind face of a man, well-dressed, dark glasses, and an unmistakable top hat.
This had to be Huey.

"Oy there!" the Captain bellowed, "Ye don' be callin' me thaht! No pet names for this bear I tell ye! I'll slice yer innards up and cook'em in oil and gobble 'em up for me supper if ye call me thaht again!"

Huey was unmoved. In fact, the half-smirk on his face expanded to a full grin.

"You always say that. Drama bear." He rolled his eyes, and turned to me.

"My name is Huey," he said gently as he took off his hat and bowed, "This stuffed-animal and myself were the ones who saved you the other night. Got to be careful out on those streets. Bad folks and rough times. Quite fortunate we were around. How are you feeling today, Miss....Casey, right?"

"Yes, but you can call me Case if you want. Most people do."

"I like Casey actually. Makes me think of Casey Jones."

"Haha, sure. I mean I wish. He made the name Casey cool, after all. Can't fight like him though."

"That can be remedied."

Huey had a kind disposition, but he was definitely mysterious. And the Captain was right, from looking at his attire, you'd think he stepped out of an 19th century novel. He looked like a sort of Sherlock Holmes gone "magician".
Then came the noise....

"RAHHKK!"

I jumped--As if out of no where, a silvery dragon appeared on Huey's shoulder, its long, thin tail curling around him gently. It was about the size of a small dog, and its skin was bright, shiny, almost metallic in appearance. This must have been the dragon the Captain told me about, but seeing it was still a shock. I was literally stunned.

"Hush Monte!" Huey stroked the dragon's long neck that was stretching towards me, "This is our friend, Miss Casey. We stopped those men from hurting her, remember? So be nice to her."

I guessed that this creature's neck was like that soft spot on a dog's belly. As soon as it was stroked, the dragon calmed down almost immediately, even making a sound reminiscent of a cat purring.

"Monte's a mercury dragon, in case you are wondering. Found him about a year ago. Can't tell you where I'm afraid. No one knows. It's classified information. Would be too risky to tell."

"So what do you tell people who ask you?"

"Well, usually he stays hidden, or on occasion I don't bring him along, but that is very rare. Otherwise, I just tell people I like to dress up my poodle."

Monte growled.

Huey laughed.

I smiled.

And the Captain....was snoring.

I looked over and he was sitting in on one of the couches, his head back, big jaws open, snoring rather loudly.
Huey whispered to me,

"Ol' fool's had a long couple of days. Not sleepin' much. I believe it is because he is worried and anxious about his crew on mission."

"I see. Ah, poor fellow. I'm sure they are okay, though."

At that moment, more noise came--banging, clanging, footsteps, voices.

More were returning.....