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Scales and Honor: Swirling Storm

Chapter 15

Ramakox guided Fremra back to his lair midst the rain. He passed above the towering old trees, the rain battering against his scales and drenching his wings. He wondered if the lighting could strike them from the sky. He knew it would only tickle his s_cales, but he was unsure about the dragoness flying practically wing tip to wing tip with him. He glanced to Fremra, whose face still had a lingering hint of sadness lurking within her eyes. He wondered if she were controlling her emotions, and keeping the storm raging above them in check. They flew in silence, he stealing a few more glances as they skimmed the treetops. He watched her eyes widen slowly with each beat of her wings, as he could practically feel her anticipation in the air. He winced as a bolt of lightning arched across the sky, illuminating the dark clouds in brilliant white flash. Thunder roared almost instantly afterwords to signal the fury that mother nature was capable of._Although a dragoness returning home to find her mate and offspring dead? Ramakox grumbled in the back of his throat, picturing the scene in his head, as he angled his wings towards his home. I imagine she would toss out more devastation than even _ that _was capable of.

The vast entrance to his mountain lair came into view moments later. The darkness of his cave illuminated by the numerous magical torches that lined the walls, and filled the stone with a warm soft glow. "Here we are." he announced to her, quickly back winging, and landing carefully with a soft bump onto the smooth wet stone.

"I know." Fremra replied softly, landing right beside him without a sound. Not even her talons made a clink against the rock. "I came here sometimes during my heat." She looked away, and refolded her wings against her back. "However each time you were not here...Although I think you were near by."

"Y-you came here during your heat?" Ramakox gasped, thinking back to the nights he had the hardest time falling asleep, trying desperately to not think about rutting the female before him. For a moment he thought she was joking with him, but that thought was cast from his mind with the sly grin that she shot him. "Why?" he wrinkled his snout, and pulled his neck back into the shape of an S. "I thought you said something about wanting to be left alone? Something about not wanting to bear my clutch?" he raised a brow as he tilted his head to the side.

"I..I.." She stammered, shutting her snout when the words would not flow freely. She closed her eyes for a moment, and let out a long sigh. "Was lonely....and I...against my better thoughts...came to see you.,.Despite the heat...Despite the chance you would lose control and mate me...Despite the risk I would be swollen with your clutch....I just hate.."

"To be alone." Ramakox finished her sentence with a heavy snort. "Trust me..I know." His thoughts went to the cave of his that had been mostly empty for the last few years. The cold that sank into his scales, and the quiet that would make his hide itch. He was amazed how used he had gotten to Jandar's presence...and did not notice it till the human was gone.

She hung her head as she sat down onto her haunches, and curled her tail gently around her. "To not hear the scampering of their claws...The feeling of their breath on my scales when we slept together..."

"The incantations of his spells." Ramakox trailed off, visually thinking to all the mornings he had awoken to the sound and scents of his human meditating. Or the sound of an explosion that would rock the cave as the teen had experimented with his spell craft. "They always seem to stick with you." He let out a sigh, picturing the smiling human's face before him, making his chest feel warm. "And worm their way into your heart...Until you can't bear to see them go."

"Mhmm." Fremra murmured as Ramakox guided her gently into his cave away from the rain, and towards the cave filled with his treasure.

"This is my hoard." He said, sweeping with a forepaw to the piles of treasure and various other trinkets. He tried to not sound _too_proud of his collection, but of course he failed and had to end his sentence with a grin. He slowly turned his head to Fremra, waiting for her reaction in her eyes. He watched as her spheres glared out to all the sparkling coin, the well crafted furniture, and the bookcases that now dotted his cave. "What do you think?" He asked after several minutes of silence, the anticipation itching his scales. He kicked himself for sounding so smug. He brought her here to show her the books and the harp, not to show off and gloat for her. "I meant about the books." he added, shifting his weight from paw to paw nervously.

"Its....nice." She whispered, taking a few tentative steps towards the mounds of coins. "I never was one for coins though...Had enough shiny things to keep me occupied." She flicked her tail, brushing against Ramakox's scales. She suddenly came to a stop, her breath building in her chest before she let it out in a long drawn out sigh. She sniffed and wiped at her eyes with a forelimb, making Ramakox pad over to her. She held out a claw and stopped him. "It's alright..I was just remembering his scales."

"Your mates? He asked, feeling her sadness lingering in the air. It was all he could do, to not embrace her as the sea foam scales trembled once more as she gazed out to the treasure.

"They were bronze..the brightest I had ever known..." She hung her head slowly, giving another loud, mournful sniff. "They would shimmer in the mid-day sun, so delightful to the eye I could watch him all day." She turned back towards the entrance of the cave which was still being pelted with rain drops. "But...You don't want to hear about him."

But he did. Ramakox wanted to hear every single word that passed from Fremra's maw. He moved closer to her and nuzzled her snout with his own to show her he did. "I will listen to anything you wish to talk about..You are my guest...And you should not be burdened as such." He offered her another affectionate, reassuring nuzzle, and to his delight she pressed against him and sniffed. "Besides..I am not embarrassed to hear about past lovers. Life should be enjoyed, and those times cherished as such...Our past is what makes us who we are." He shifted his gaze from the entrance of his cave to the sea foam snout of the dragoness pressed against him.

"You mentioned a harp?" She asked with a half smile, her eyes still misting from the tears.

"I did in fact mention a harp." He rumbled, licking her snout with his tongue and casting away her tears. He let out a pleased rumble when she giggled under the caress of his slippery tongue."

"I wish to see the harp Ramakox." She laughed, holding up a paw and pushing him away lightly until she was snout to snout with him. "Enough licking the dragoness.." She smiled. "And yes I know how that sounds." She licked right on the snout as she flicked her tail. "Now show me this harp....I wish to play it."

"I can do that." He rumbled, swinging one of his wings around her body. He felt her scales press up against him as they walked side by side through the mounds of his treasure trove. He brought her passed a pile of coins that was misshapen and had a rounded shield still face down in the coins. He laughed and pointed it out to the dragoness who asked about it. "That is where Jandar used to ride down the coins with that shield." He remembered the human's joyous cries into the air, and his own of worry for damaging of anything. "He got into so much mischief around here as he grew." he trailed off, amazed he had let him get away with so much over the years."

"Let a human move and possibly break your treasure?" she laughed. "I would have never thought you had such restraint Ramakox."

"Hmmpf." the dragon snorted, starting to wonder in what other ways the human had shifted his behavior over the years. "It was worth it."

"And what....are these?" Fremra gasped in fits of laughter as they passed a section of woman's garments that were laid out for all to see. "Woman's clothing?" She turned to Ramakox, with the biggest smile he had seen her throw out recently. "Are you not telling me something?"

"Oh yes..I _love_to put on mortal woman's clothing and prance around in here when no ones looking." he rolled his eyes with a laugh as he continued walking passed the garments.

"You're the one that said it...not me." She chuckled from behind, quickly catching up to him and brushing her scales firmly against his. "It's okay if you like to wear those clothes..I will not judge you."

"Unwind your mind about that." he grinned, wrapping his wing around her once more. "And focus on the white ivory wood of my harp."

"Is that an innuendo?" She raised a brow as they passed yet another mound of coins.

"Oh...I guess it is...But that harp is not white." he gleefully smiled when the harp came into view. "Here....we are." He gestured towards the instrument with a gentle wave of his forepaw. He briefly remembered digging the thing out when Jandar had first discovered it within his lair. He had shifted aside some coins, and placed it neatly level with the floor. He felt blood rush to his cheeks when she let out a loud pleased trill into the air, that brought warmth to his heart. He turned to her, delighted when he saw her grinning ear to ear.

"It....Its..Beautiful" Fremra fidgeted, her tail curling around her to brush against Ramakox's own. She turned to him with large eyes filled with excitement. "And you don't mind that I play it?"

"Why would I mind?" he rumbled, trying to play it off like it was no big deal for her to use it. He pulled his neck into the shape of an S as he grinned at her. "Someone has to play it..Jandar certainly didn't."

"He wanted to play it?" she bounded over towards the harp in the blink of an eye, scattering some coins with her tail. Fremra stepped around the harp, lowering her snout to inspect every detail of the pristine ivory wood. He watched her frills flutter as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, her scales shivering.

"No.." Ramakox wrinkled his snout. "But I sort of hoped he would...I kind of have a chink in my scales for music." He said softly, twirling a talon through some coins.

"And_you_never learned how to play?" She sat upright, laughing softly as she curled her tail around the instrument. "When you had all this time on your paws?"

"It's not easy for a dragon such as myself." he snorted, looking away from her coy smile. "I can't shapeshift or change size. It makes things like playing the harp...beyond my reach." He grumbled, shifting his eyes as she giggled again.

"Oh that's right." She splayed her ears, casting her eyes back to the snowy white harp. "I had forgotten."

"Trust me...It irritates me as well." the dragon replied with a taught voice. "Many things would be easier if I could simply change my skin or size."

"It's okay." she playfully pushed him when he sat down next to her. "I will play it for you." She brushed against him with a soft rumbling purr that brought a smile to the blue dragon's snout, and made his heart beat a tad faster than normal. She took another sniff of the wood, her tail tapping him happily as she did so. "I always loved the smell of worked wood." She laughed, taking a seat beside the harp.

"Wait.." Ramakox settled close beside her, worry starting to sneak it's way into him as her talons neared the fine strings of the harp with every passing moment. "Should you not transform? That way you do not end up breaking the strings?"

The dragoness paused for a moment, wiggling her digits as a small smirk came to her snout. "Silly male..You will find that I have _quite_nimble digits."

Ramakox's head started to pound as she neared the harp. His senses were tingling as her talons reached out for the fine wire. All it would take from her was a simple wrong movement, and the thing would be damaged. A valuable piece like this in his hoard tarnished. He drummed his talons against the stone with soft clinks as he swallowed down his worry. This was for her after all, this was to help her. If she managed to damage something in the attempt... He almost snapped at her, yelled at her to stop as his stomach felt all queezy. However when he looked up and into her eyes, he saw radiant joy in them. Joy that made him smile and return, and casually flick his tail. So with a soft sigh he said to himself, It would be worth it. The words brought slight comfort to him, and allowed him to not raise objection. It will be worth it. "You may play it." he said calmly, closing his eyes briefly and taking a deep breath.

"Thanks...But I was already going to." she plucked one of the strings gently, causing the instrument to vibrate and let it's soft note fill the air.

Ramakox would have scolded her but kept the thought down with another repetition in his mind that this was good for her. The thought absolutely vanished from his mind when she plucked another string, the sound sending a shiver radiating down his spine. He thumped his tail against the coins, watching the dragoness flow her digits across the harp, and continue to play with her eyes closed.

Fremra plucked another string, then another as the music seemed to flow through her. The lone notes soon joined together to form a pleasing melody, that had Ramakox settling his snout down into his paws, as he lowered himself to his belly. The music brought him back to the days when Jandar would be running around close by, his laughter begrudgingly working it's way into the dragon's heart until he smiled. He sighed as he remembered the long summers they would train out in the fields near his home. The magical lines they would draw in the air together, as the human grew into the man he knew today. They would end each of those nights by staring up into the sky, with him pointing out constellations above, and telling stories of the dragons that resided up there.

He shifted his weight as the melody changed around him, making the older dragon remember the cold winters that he and Jandar spent out in the snow. He recalled one such day when the child had insisted that he could not produce a snow angel. The little child had held such a smug grin as he thrust a finger out towards the dragon. So what was a dragon supposed to do when such a thing questioned his abilities? So of course with a snort and a grin he had flopped down into the cold snow, wiggling his body to no abandon. He pulled himself from the memory with a snort. He tapped his tail as he felt his heart start to ache again. He looked up to watch Fremra continue to play, her tail tapping on the floor beneath in tune to the melody that she was letting loose from her heart. He smiled as she looked at peace, the music seemingly soothed her spirit.

Fremra continued on for quite some time, never seeming to tire, always shifting to another tune to brighten the mood of the dreary weather outside. Each tune would take Ramakox to another place, another time, another memory that brought warm feelings to his now trembling limbs. He was reminded of every pained failure, every joyous victory, the bad moments, the good. He felt his eyes go misty for a moment as he looked to the cave entrance, and saw the waving smiling face of his blue scaled son. He wiped his eyes with a paw, and blinking away the forming tears.

Fremra finished with the music, and she did it with a heavy sigh. She sniffed only once as she rose a claw to wipe her eyes, and flick the crystalline tears that had sprung forth to the cavern floor.

"T-that was beautiful Fremra." Ramakox said softly, his nerves still tingling from the wonderful music. "I had no idea...That talent graced your scales so."

"Thank you." she said, a warm smile spreading to her face when she met his eyes. She strode passed him, her tail brushing underneath his snout softly. Causing the blue dragon to release a pleased rumble from his throat. She continued forth with a confident stride until she was peaking her snout into his books, checking the spines for the ones she knew.

Ramakox grumbled once, shaking the comfort from the music from his body as he rose too all fours and gave a long tongue curling yawn.

"I thought you were going to show me the books." She asked, curling her neck back to gaze at him. Her frills started to flutter on either side of her head as her eyes darted from the dragon to the bookcase.

"How could I forget..." he stretched his limbs, snapping his snout shut several times. He rose up, shaking his scales with a soft clink before joining the teal beauty by his old books. He closed the distance between them like a dragon years younger, a prance in his step as he admired her features. He could not help it, she was pleasing to the eye,and she kept sliding that tail underneath his jaw and tempting him to sneak a peak at her nethers. "Just had to stretch is all."

"Oh no you were not." She laughed quietly as he stopped before her. "I saw you showing off yourself to me, and that little prance in your step. "Typical male." she sighed, turning back to the books. "Have a female in their cave, and all they can think of is showing off for her and trying to get her wet and needy."

"I..was not doing that." he replied, tilting his head to the side. For a moment he was not sure if it was a natural instinct or not. He looked back to see that the way he was standing, he was indeed giving her a good peak at his dragon-hood's hiding spot. He quickly adjusted his footing and returned to her face with a smile. "See..Not trying that at all!"

"Uh-huh." she smiled, nudging him gently with her shoulder. "I'm flattered Rammy. Honest." She flicked her tail as her eyes scanned the books. "Now where did you hide the ones I mentioned to you."

"Here....and here." he pointed out with his claws to every book that she had mentioned to him outside in the rain. It was a fair collection as he rattled off each one. Some were adventure stories, pitting dragon, mortal, and monster at odds. Some were kind stories to tell children, of lessons they must learn through story. There were romantic novels, horror, mystery. Ramakox gave pleased croons to each one as he remembered the stories by heart. It was not long before she was curled up against him in his soft bed with a book held within her talons, and her snout ever so close to the pages to read. She threw her head back into his chest as she let out a loud laugh into the air.

"And then thanks to this book..He leapt up and shouted at us. No_I am_the best hunter around!" The dragoness wiggled against his scales, as Ramakox pictured her little wrymling's cute face snarling up at his much larger father. "But...That was long ago." She set the book down, settling it with the others they had read somewhat part of the way. She had always stopped reading to recall some event that she and her family had shared.

"But not forgotten." Ramakox licked at her snout, releasing a pleased croon when she leaned against him with a sigh. "So are you staying the night then?" Ramakox rumbled, wrapping his forelimb tighter around her as he thumped his tail."

"I thought about it." Fremra closed her eyes, resting her head next to his own. "But it's still raining out...and I don't want to get struck by lightning."

"But you could walk." he smiled, already picturing her trotting along the muddy grass, her tail swishing behind her she made her way back to her empty home. He wrinkled his snout as he realized that lonely fact. He pulled her tighter and delighted in the feeling of her warm scales against his own. It had been far too long since he had someone to warm his bed with, and to fall asleep to the sound of their heart and breaths.

"I could.....But my limbs are all tired and ache from use." she sighed again, running a scaled limb up his neck tenderly. "Besides..the company is more enjoyable here...and warm." She wiggled against his underside and made him rumble his approval. "So if you will have me...I think I will rest here with you."

"That is most enjoyable." he rumbled, pulling her closer against him as he cast his head down onto his bed with a pleased sigh. He closed his eyes as he felt her scooch up closer to him, until her head was right beside his own.

"Thank you for everything." She said softly.

"You're welcome." he smiled, blood quickly rushing to his cheeks when he felt he kiss him right on the snout once.

"Good night Ramakox." she settled herself snugly against him, making him never want to move away from her pleasing warmth.

"Good night Fremra." He rumbled, and fell asleep to the sound of her breaths, the beating of her heart, and the warmth of her scales pressed tenderly against his own. For the longest time in awhile, Ramakox, the might Swirling Storm, did not feel alone.