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Restless: A Night in Crater-Vale

Part 1: Lalep's Bliss

Lalep was bloody, exhausted and slouched over as he left the training halls. Every step took more and more effort as he passed through Crater-Vale's hub, a three tiered hall thousands of feet long end to end and sixty wide, corridors and stairs lined each side in regular intervals. The wiry mustard-yellow kobold approached centre-point of the hub, a vast and complicated waterclock acting both as timepiece and decoration. The mechanical wonder rattled and ticked, depicting an hour passing. Bronze gears spun as the water flow started anew, gathering in the upper basins in expertly timed drips, even as the bottom-most one now drained.

The mechanism, a gift of solidarity with the surface dwelling Overcaver humans, wasn't necessary to the kobolds but it made a natural gathering point for the subterranean city. They were a race that worked by infallible schedule through discipline and mostly wilful obedience to their emperor and dragonlord, a figure depicted on the plethora of flags overhead along with the national green banner.

'By Tooth and Claw; One Nation' it read in draconic, and other flags simply depicted the massive green dragon himself, his muscular frame obvious on the design in full body profile.

Lalep stopped here, sitting on a bench at the clocks base, one of several open backed seats allowing for room for his solid, muscular tail as long as his body and head were combined. The hour was one turn before summer sunfall, eight in the evening the clock numerals displayed, and he had a very important person to meet. He settled his four fingered hands together in his lap.

No sooner that the clock reset its function, a modest bustle of civilisation poured from every entrance up and down the hall, all floors. This was no major gathering though, as both Lalep and his clan-mates were on a late shift, nocturnal as they were. Perhaps only two hundred of the denizens of Crater-Vale moved by the waterclock compared to the thousands who lived there, but the next hour would bring most of the clan into action. Many gave a short bow to Lalep as they moved past him, and he waved in response, touched by the respect even now.

Lalep felt his weary heart soar higher yet as he saw her and stood tall, filled with renewed vigour. A uniquely white kobold standing out in the crowd of many coloured, broad hipped hatchery nurses. A female, elegant and slender compared to her companions, moving through the group who kept a respectful distance from her, letting her pass freely compared to the dodging and winding the others had to deal with. The dry dirt lifted into low clouds from the rapid activity, the three-clawed feet patter combining to mask the dripping of the waterclock as she made a direct approach to Lalep.

The pair locked gazes, and each smiled warmly, his pink and her grey eyes looked over each other longingly. As the crowd moved on to their destinations, though, Lalep couldn't help but notice her frown with worry. He heard the dripping of water become audible again as the last of his kin vanished from view. The hub was at last empty, and the pair embraced. Lalep dabbed his tongue on her cheek but as they pulled apart, the female looked down at one of several bloody smears on her brilliant scales.

"Vala, I's can explain!" Lalep took both her hands in his and squeezed them, bowing slightly. He was shorter than her average three foot height by a few inches, and ducking lower left him looking up over her muzzle at her still worried eyes.

"How many, Lalep?" Vala asked with a firm tone despite its melodic tinge.

"....four?" he mumbled, lying. He was an open book, and he knew it as she narrowed her eyes at him.

"How. Many. Lalep?" The strong emphasis on each word Lalep feel smaller than he already was.

"...seven," he confessed.

"Seven? At once!? What are you thinking!?" Vala stamped her foot in frustration. "You're supposed to be sparring, not fighting a one kobold war!" Angry as she sounded, her hands still firmly gripped Lalep's. He felt some relief in that, although her stare made him continue to feel smaller. Even so, she started pulling him further along the hub, releasing one hand only and walking like a true couple, with a true couples' squabble ongoing.

"But Vala, they's too easy! I's even beatin' Sergeant Tuha now!" He was truthful there at least. Lalep couldn't help but feel pride in his accomplishments. Tuha was a brutal kobold, easily the strongest in Crater-Vale, but his swings and thrusts just couldn't connect any more as Lalep's deepening experience married with his now famed speed and reflexes.

"It's not that it isn't impressive, my sweet," Vala said, stopped and looked directly at him, "but we are days from another Overcaver audience. What if you got injured? Halarton is a hundred miles away and we can't delay like before, Emperor Firaegin says it's urgent."

"I's sorry, Vala. I's just wanna be as good as I's can be; for you, for Emperor Firaegin an' all the kobolds." Lalep looked down out of shame, whimpering. He then felt Vala's breath on him as she sighed silently. She pressed her muzzle against the top of his head and licked him.

"Well, you seem alright at least. Just promise me you will take it steady. Nobody becomes a master in a day and one can't improve if injured."

"I's swearings, Vala. Sorry."

Vala brushed her hand on Lalep's muzzle to lift his gaze to hers, smiling, then turned from him as they walked up two flights of stairs, still hand in hand. They reached the top floor of the hub, a balcony that was exclusively theirs. This was Lalep's home, and he still couldn't believe the flag hanging over it.

Against the national flags, and those of his Emperor, Lalep couldn't help but stare at the less common flag, the one above his door and scattered about the hub, the flag of an Exemplar; a clan hero, a champion that all other clanmates look to as a triumph of all kobold ability. One of whom they should all aspire.

A yellow kobold, holding a huge sword aloft in one hand, and a horned man-kin head in the other, standing atop several other man-kin bodies. Lalep thought it was a bit silly, since events of the previous year never happened like that, but Firaegin had assured him it was better for morale. Then again, Lalep also never thought he would have been capable of fighting seven kobold soldiers at once and win. Vala's voice pulled his attention back to his loving mate.

"Come on, my sweet." Vala opened their door, nodding to him. "Let's go get cleaned up."

The couple entered their living quarters, Lalep closed the door behind them and slid a bolt into place to secure it. Here he wasn't a famous face, he was just Lalep, and he relaxed since he no longer had standards to live up to.

A single large room by appearance, with an imported Overcaver style bed covered in simple brown sheets and blankets. There was a small but ornate desk Vala wrote letters for her job as Crater-Vale's ambassador when not assisting the nursery like today, with the flat steel mirror hanging over it and their outfits hanging either side.

Vala's clothes were the finest that Lalep had seen on a kobold, and as their trips to the surface had demonstrated, clothing apparently made you important up there. She would wear silken robes, black with Firaegin's scale green highlights as a trim in contrast to her pure white. A small Overcaver beret, with fine cords to allow it to be tied to her horns to help it from slipping off, completed the outfit. Kobolds didn't normally wear clothing, but Lalep thought she looked adorable in it.

The Exemplar looked to his armour and clothing both, a full suit of tightly stitched green Overcaver padding, gambeson as the surfacers called it, form fit with metal plates as reinforcements on the chest and limbs. His blades, the same sword that carried him through his victory over Caladar's henchmen reforged and fitted with a true grip, and a new dagger designed for catching and parrying, thick at the base and sharper at the point than a dragon's tooth. Lalep smiled and felt heroic all over again.

Vala briefly looked at herself in the mirror, and at the small patches of her lovers' blood and shook her head. She beckoned to him, and they headed to one of several wall hangings. This was a little secret for them alone, as they almost never had visitors but Lalep knew the presence of this side chamber would have sparked discussion. Vala moved the hanging fabric aside and revealed a tunnel deeper in.

They stepped through, letting the cloth fall to cover the entrance and followed up an angled stone stairway some thirty feet away from the hub into a large cavern. It was an old, failed mine; a rich deposit where the entrance now was but after digging for more and finding little else but water making further digging a risk, it was abandoned. Now, it was a large chamber with a pool of flowing warm volcanic spring water, perfect for Lalep and especially his mate.

Vala reached the bottom of the stairs and continued away as Lalep stretched and yawned, wincing as his small wounds were pulled wider. A subtle shift of water, and a giggle that sounded from higher than his spot on the stairs made Lalep stop. No sooner as he opened his eyes from wincing, a large muzzle wrapped around him. Sharp teeth touching but not piercing Lalep's scales, he managed to hold his panic as a white dragoness now filled most of the chamber, every bit as slender and elegant as her kobold guise but now with silver frills lining her wingless giant body.

"Okies, okies, Vala! Easy with the teeth! Just put me dow-aaaaagh!" He fell twenty feet into the deepest pool, coughing as he got back to the surface. Vala, in her true form, made Lalep draw silent for a moment, and she couldn't help but smile at his almost worshipping gaze. Her smooth features and soft-lipped muzzle stood out against most dragons who had slightly beaked, hard scaled faces and broader heads.

"You's always're so impressive, my silver light!" He gawped, slack jawed. She lowered her head and Lalep wrapped his arms around her muzzle, they held for a few moments to just enjoy her true self, since she spent likely only a few hours a week this way. Her dark grey tongue darted out, licking his body, he let go as she cleaned him all over. He felt a familiar stirring within, but it was at odds with his fatigue so Lalep decided not to speak up.

Ever the thorough sort, Vala gently lifted him up in both hands and looked him over. Her twenty foot long neck moved with grace to crane around him to look at all angles as she continued to pat her tongue on Lalep's wounds, occasionally scooping water from below to pour over him. Vala's extremely long, fifty foot tail moved slowly, snaking in the water in a calm rhythm as the dutiful mate tended to her warrior partner. Her slim, fine scaled thirty foot long body still bore a firm musculature present in all dragons, but she looked very frail compared to Emperor Firaegin and his mate, Jaraesi.

The continued attention was now reaching a distracting level. Lalep looked down and saw his groin bulging, about to breach the covering slit.

"Vala? Do you's think we could....I's meaning, has your cycle ended yet?" Lalep always felt a bit awkward asking this, but he had to show caution. He longed to have a family with her, a lineage, but the pair had agreed to keep things simple for a while as neither they nor Firaegin knew what a mating would result in. Whether they would be large kobolds, small dragons or something in between would naturally cause issues to the standard flow of life in Crater-Vale. Besides a dragonlord, their mate and young, no other dragons would normally be permitted in one clan.

"Hmm, maaaybe?" Vala looked between his legs and the corners of her mouth crooked up "Am I stirring your 'boldness', my sweet?" Her subtle purr caused Lalep to shiver. She narrowed her grey eyes and slowly brought her clawed digits around him. Lalep felt the excitement of being in her gentle grip, but he only just stifled a yawn, the past twenty hours of guard duty and training couldn't be ignored.

"Oh, well that just won't do, will it? If I have your say so? May I?" Vala purred deeper, her voice had such power in her natural form, yet it was still soft and flowed with a beautiful cadence.

Lalep nodded to her implied request, and her horns, regrown from their curse induced and self inflicted damage, pulled outward. Folds of silver fins encircled her head like a flower as she sang a hushed melody; it was strange to him, as the words almost seemed familiar in form but every similar sound was mixed with a disjointed and throaty, almost bestial tone.

Lalep may not have understood the words, but his very being filled with energy with each verse. The Siren dragon, a breed that only appeared in the most obscure books in the Crater-Vale library, had power over every living thing given time to enthral and bewitch. Vala was one of the most potent beings in Goshev, and yet she detested the evils her powers could inflict and never used them without due cause. Of course for Lalep these rules were skewed, as he respected her restraint but in private, consent was all that mattered.

With the short song over, Lalep felt well rested although he knew this was a temporary effect. Vala's fins flattened back to her usual sleek form, and with a sultry gaze, she dabbed her dark grey tongue repeatedly between his legs. He gasped as his copper coloured shaft stood from his slit, twitching thicker and longer as each of Vala's licks send a shudder up his spine, making his tail twitch fiercely out of his control. The kobold's member was a thick-based shaft, conical and tapered to a thin tip, the underside had a row of hard protrusions, and yet more finer and slightly softer points on either side.

Her thin tongue tip danced around his length, subtly pushing his shaft back and forth. With amazing control, she encircled his length with smooth, slow motions. Lalep breathed faster as Vala began retracting her tongue and performing the motion over, the tip brushing all points on each side in turn, a solid wave of pleasure rushed through him. Every unwrapping made his back arch and each coiling a firm clench of his muscles.

"Tha'ss real nice...hahh," he moaned, smiling at the dragoness. Her grip suddenly changed.

Vala carefully cradled him in one hand, and ran the blunt of her index claw over Lalep's cock. The dragon coaxed along his points, each gentle flicker sending an individual tingle through him, keeping him on edge. Not content with simple teases though, Vala then cautiously pinched his shaft in her digits and gently made tiny jerking motions, the pressure and sheer size of her brought Lalep to his limit. His scales started flexing out, the normally smooth surface of his body now angled and pointed as his eyes rolled back and drool dripped from his mouth. He cried a low groan and writhed in her hand, gripping her tightly, and even her subtle giggle almost finished him off.

The dragoness brought Lalep higher, to her muzzle, and began to insert Lalep's lower half into her mouth while keeping him face up. A mild fear of being swallowed did little to quell his lusts, though he did get pulled from the edge just a little, enough to flatten his scales. Vala was getting wise to his limits, and Lalep had never been in her mouth like this before, he couldn't bare the suspense on what she planned. He had enjoyed the occasional 'tongue bath', being mulled around as one would sample a new food, yet being held in place was new.

The warm, slick and oddly comfortable interior of her mouth surrounded his body, her tongue gently licked under him and pulled his tail inside. Then she clamped her flexible muzzle around him, and inhaled. The growing suction on his body instantly pulled at his cock.

"Ah, AAHhh!! Th-that's new!! HNNNGG" Lalep squealed as the pressure was reduced and increased over and over, his scales once more flexing out as she suckled on him. His legs and tail were clamped in, meaning all the suction was pulling at his shaft. Lalep was struggling to breathe as each change of force induced a whole new sensation that he simply couldn't fight back against. He felt his groin clench and he drew a sharp breath.

Lalep looked at her hungry eyes, gripped at her snout as he came explosively in her maw with a long scream that echoed in the large chamber. He panted, trying to draw in air, but tensed as he gushed again, a slightly more subtle grunt this time and stars swam in his vision. The tongue of his mate pooled his fluids around his cock, he released a third time and felt his scales flatten once more, going slack. There was one last pull of pressure as Vala swallowed, then she slowly let Lalep slide back into her hand, having to grip his body again as he still recovered.

Vala stood on her hind legs so as to maintain her gentle handling on her lover, and moved them to a shallower area. Lalep felt himself being lowered into the warm water as he finally started moving by himself, shaft retracting and the biggest smile on his face.

"Ah....okie....hah! By the blood, that....that was...hehe..." Lalep gasped, and watched as Vala bowed her head to the praise. He slowly caught his breath and sat up as strength returned to his limbs, scooping up water to wash himself over. He smiled at Vala.

"I's guessin' that's a no to the egg cycle?" Lalep's grin sunk "....now I's just feel a bit guilty."

"Hm? And why is that, my precious Lalep?" she lay on her belly, head inches away from him.

"I's was hopin' we could both enjoy this. 'specially after makin' you mad about the sparring thingie" He fiddled with his fingers.

"Oh, that? Well...." She raised her head and her fins stretched once more. She sang a single, potent note that sent Lalep back to full erection, his eyes shot wide and pupils narrowed as his focus was forced onto Vala; the same power she used on him when her curse had been broken. As with that moment, lust overpowered him, the refractory weakness of his orgasm overwritten by magic. He had agreed to her power use, after all.

"I never said I was on my cycle...and I CERTAINLY never said you were finished." She gave a wicked giggle as her body glowed. She shrank to her kobold form, and parted both her legs, then with one hand, her cloacal folds. She beckoned to him with her other hand, looking every part the dragonlord despite her servant form.

"Your dragoness demands service!" Vala roared with authority, just inducing the lightest edge of her power to make him stand and approach. Lalep could have refused to move, but as he once said to her before, you can't manipulate the willing.

He lowered himself, moving to match his shaft with her welcoming gap, only she bumped his snout with an open hand, holding him at bay.

"No. You must EARN the right, servant!" She smirked at him, eyes lidded and she licked her sharp teeth like a predator measuring her prey. Lalep bowed like a good kobold should and lowered himself into the shallow water, muzzle skirting the surface, and licked around her silver inner flesh. She sighed and leaned against the pools natural slope as he worked the inside of her wide but short oval opening, before pulling back and inserting his fingers into her folds.

Vala smiled and slowly arched her back as he gently pinched the inner and outer skin and scale, her breathing slightly stronger as pleasure started to mount. The wide opening giving a subtle flex around Lalep's clawtips as he carefully inserted one hand, keeping his other at use with the gentle lip massage. He pushed a finger into the first opening, and while Vala continued to breathe in slightly drawn out gasps, she didn't react as he hoped and so Lalep dug deeper.

This time, as he ran a finger around the next opening, she grunted and his hand was enveloped in her muscular walls.

"Mm....there...more. I demand....more!" Vala's tone kept the dominant dragon theme even as her eyes filled with a soft lovers longing.

Lalep had a secret weapon as he brought a second finger into the opening, the mating passage. He had been reading a translated Overcaver book on dragon and kobold mating, and he sought a particular area within. With one last push, and with Vala's legs wriggling and clenching, he felt a series of small raised ridges. She yelped as Lalep's claw brushed against them, sensitivity meaning he couldn't risk going further with his hands and his sharp claws.

Vala sighed with disappointment as Lalep brought his hand out, though he made a point to look her in the eye as he licked clean the sticky coating from his hand. Lalep winked at her, bringing his head lower, circling her legs with his arms and squeezing her thighs. Once more, his tongue snaked within, and he felt the muscles within once more clench.

He worked deeper, snagging the two openings within with his tongue-tip and realised he needed reach. Lalep inhaled deeply through his nostrils, his mind swimming with pleasure as he breathed nothing but the pungent scent of her eager sex, and buried his narrow muzzle within. Vala gasped and immediately clenched around him, but she was trying to relax to help him reach deeper.

Lalep probed at the warm interior, tongue drinking of her, digging a little further each time Vala relaxed. He sucked air in through the still exposed corners of his muzzle; he refused to stop pleasing his mate until she gave the say so. His tongue darted and flicked against the ridges.

"L..Lalep! Please...yes!!" Vala broke her domineering persona as Lalep found the prize. She melted to his efforts.

Just as his shaft bore protrusions to snag, the female ridges were there to receive. His tongue roughly stroked at the series of ridges on both sides of her passage. She clenched hard on his muzzle, just barely relaxing her cloacal muscles enough for him to continue. Vala was moaning in long, low cries. Lalep looked up and saw her eyes were starting to roll back, tongue lolled and dripping.

Not wishing it over too soon, Lalep only danced briefly on the sensitive ridges, and sucking in one last breath, he pushed his muzzle into her in full, earning him a slight shriek.

"O..okay!! C...careffff.....haaaAAA!!" she began writhing, shaking him about in tow. He ignored it, and slowly opened his mouth, stretching her just a tiny bit more and pushed the thicker parts of his tongue against the pleasure points within.

Once more Lalep looked up at Vala along her smooth belly and flat chest, the wriggling surface bulging lightly as she sucked rapid breaths. There was nothing on her face but a mind broken with lust; with one eye closed and the other twitching about, her harder scales of her arms, shoulders and cheeks on edge. Her legs pulled Lalep deeper still and she shrieked, an accidental blast of her power causing the cavern walls to shake. Even in this tiny form, her voice could shake mountains, and Lalep felt even prouder than his sparring accolades that HE was the cause.

Lalep was also running out of air, and he pushed the full extent of his tongue on the pleasure grooves of her mating passage in a series of rapid raking motions as if lapping up water. His hearing temporarily blanked out as she screamed, and her fluids smothered Lalep's face, gushing even outside of her and pouring into the water.

Vala was throwing herself around so hard he couldn't resist being pulled about, and she finally released him mid flail, earning him an accidental kick to the snout. The pain was secondary to the joy he felt at her violent gushing from her folds, and he beamed a grin at his efforts.

Vala flexed and thrashed in the water, clutching her muzzle shut to resist the urge to keep from bellowing her overpowering voice. She finally slowed her jerking motions and looked at Lalep, eyes open wide and clearly still not finished, almost enraged. Lalep quickly splashed water over his face as Vala snarled at him.

"You....fuck me...NOW!" She had been driven beyond reason, and her draconic ego took hold; the dominant beast behind all dragonlords surfacing and overriding her gentle nature. Despite this, she still managed to hold off abusing her power, and Lalep lowered himself onto her and pushing his slick shaft into her eager and engorged folds.

Both already well motivated and with no extra play needed, Lalep began thrusting against her bucking hips in a slowly but growing rhythm. He cradled her head with one hand and they kissed, tongues dancing together, muzzles nipped and they stared into each others' eyes. His shaft may have lacked the focused attention of his tongue, but she clearly didn't care as she gasped and moaned, bliss plentiful and making her writhe all over again.

Each intensifying push just strengthened their thirst for each other. Lalep could feel a growing pressure in his groin that demanded he drive faster, and he could only assume Vala felt the same as her sympathetic motions extended each stroke, savouring each and every bump on ridge. They were now just two beasts, doing as instinct demanded.

Lalep growled and grabbed her arms, pinning them either side of her head and pumped to full hilt, his famous speed making him move at a ferocious pace, protrusions raking her pleasure spots dozens of times in seconds and crushing any other senses. Neither the slap of their joinings, the splash of water below or the chamber echoing softly in spite of its size with the light clack of wetted scale on scale, hip on hip were heard.

Vala and Lalep's scales once more flexed out, and with one last act, she pulled her arms free from his grip. She wrapped them as well as her legs around his back to pull him into her as he roared into another orgasm, his mate crying out as she felt his seed wash over her inner passage and trigger her own sexual release. His raw screech met her melodic cry, discordant but thick with emotion; a perfectly matched pair, inseparable.

The coppery shaft within was held in place by the mating ridges, her inner muscles milked every last drop from him, and only when his protrusions lost stiffness could he uncouple from her. They both finally relaxed into each other, tasting each others' frantic breaths. Lalep knew as his mind returned that if Vala was on her egg cycle, they'd be in deep trouble, but at that point he'd risk fighting Firaegin himself; anything and everything was worth this feeling.

He twisted slightly so they both lay on their sides in the shallow water, limbs intertwined, and they kissed again, deeply and lovingly, tongues matching and plucking each others' sharp teeth.

"I know there's no word in draconic but the Overcaver one works...." She then whispered in the surface tongue. "I love you, Lalep."

Lalep felt giddy, his desire sated and heart filled with boundless joy. He carefully considered his words, not letting his erratic thoughts sully his speech like normal. He formed his sentences carefully, gradually.

"I was nothing before you, Vala, and I am everything with you. You are my Empress. My silver light."

* * * * *

Part 2: Firaegin's Trust

Firaegin thundered back and forth in his lair; pacing, growling and deeply on edge. Each footfall sending a tremor through the ground, small loose coins clinking and tumbling off of their pile behind him. His mind swam with alien sensations of temptation and fury in a horrifying balance. Firaegin is an immense and powerful dragon, ninety feet tall standing upright on his hind legs; he is the emperor of a vast and growing nation with lesser dragons bowing to his demands as human leaders submitting to his superior rule.

Yet on this evening Firaegin's intelligence was dimmed, his senses scattered as he tried to pay attention to a small group of kobolds in his presence. He was aware they were making an earnest request; a simple thing; a small favour about a letter he had sent a day before this affliction began. He should just let them finish. Just let them finish talking and agree to whatever it was. They would finish, then he would say yes, and they would leave.

Yet they kept talking. They talked and talked. Endless and banal chatter, falling over each others words. Firaegin's bass growl silenced them for a merciful moment. He clenched a forest-green hand into a fist, concealing the yellow thin-scaled palm and an involuntary spasm shaking his foreleg. Firaegin forced the offending limb down, punching the floor so hard the ground shook and fractured, a small cascade of shining metal behind him.

"Mightiest Emperor, what's wrong? Are you unwell?" one female asked with honest and heartfelt concern. Such trust between master and servant was usually so strong that such a simple display of empathy at any other time would have made Firaegin smile. He would politely dismiss the concern, then send a small reward at a later time in thanks. A kobold's lot in life deserved praise, especially when they went beyond their station to assist, and Firaegin would have it no other way.

Today it felt like an insult, a damned joke of a question deserving only of scorn. He tensed to full severity, his massive shoulders and wing-pectoral muscles forcing his thick scales apart with the absurd mass lurking within. Firaegin clenched his bared teeth together as his thoughts strayed and he opened his vast mouth to scream at the kobolds, demand they leave.

Suddenly, a voice called from the opposite end of the chamber, a kobold with clear authority and confidence. The speaker was a soothing balm on Firaegin's frantic mind.

"Pardon my interruption, Oh Mighty One. Allow me." A scarlet scaled kobold reached his kin and placed a friendly hand on the lead females shoulder, addressing her with a respectful bow.

"Our Emperor is very tired, and I feel this discussion would be best finished on the morrow. If urgent, you may have a scribe send me a written request and I shall attend to it in person, Alchemist Hiwa" His tone was calm and well spoken as he gently pushed the group into leaving.

Once they had exited the great lair completely, he turned his worried yellow eyes back to Firaegin. The dragon looked ashamed at the need of assistance but nodded to the kobold anyway.

"Thank you, Kaja....this is ridiculous! Absurd!! WHY ISN'T IT FADING!?" Firaegin spouted a green fog from his mouth with his final shout, crackles of electricity snapping through it, each pass diminishing the mass before fading in full.

Firaegin's body shuddered, another uncontrolled spasm making him quiver from nose to tail. He finally submitted to the last collapse of the dignity held from his meeting with the alchemists. With only Kaja in the chamber, Firaegin felt his infamously vast dragon-hood begin poking from his groin.

The vast shaft, vibrant red in colour, was largely similar to a kobolds in shape only more bulbous and tapered later on the length. No kin alive could take Firaegin's member, not even his mate Jaraesi, one of the largest female dragons in the land. Their usually frequent couplings needed his unique pliability spell to not split her apart, a spell that was potent enough that Firaegin himself could squeeze through caves a quarter of his size.

Even to himself, it was a ridiculous thing. His own hand, which could circle the average dragons' neck with space to spare, could only surround half of his cock. He wrapped both around it as best he could and attempted to sate his desires, only to snarl and bare his teeth as the empty sensation annoyed him further. Just as it had with numerous futile attempts in the last few hours.

"My Emperor...." Kaja hesitated, and once again looked about to ensure they were alone. "Firaegin, like I have already said, one cannot simply urge away a dragon rut. It is a gift from the All-Dragon himself to ensure that even the most solitary drake will carry on his lineage. You are truly a unique dragonlord, but this is not within your power to conquer."

"A solution then, Kaja... what have you learned?" Firaegin sucked in a few deep breaths, trying to still his mind and slow his heart. Kaja chewed on his muzzle in a nervous fashion and the emperor braced himself for disappointment.

"I apologise, but I could not find the study on mating. I fear some less studious kobold has misplaced the manuscript." Kaja bowed low to Firaegin, who turned from the kobold to vent his frustrations, raking his hand across his hoard as if striking a sworn enemy. The vast mountain of coins, jewels and sculpted precious metals rang noisily in the vast cavern as they scattered about into the walls hundreds of feet away. Firaegin once more gripped his shaft then stopped, then resuming and shaking his head and ceasing once more.

"There must be some way? I will not be bested by a base instinct! I AM FIRAEGIN!! I REFUSE TO SUBMIT!!" Another foggy crackle of green lightning fizzed in his vision and his voice echoed through the vast expanse of the lair, the dragon lay as flat as his forearm thick member would allow and closed his hands around his head. He blocked out the world and tried to envision a scene to distract himself. His mind pictured short, rapid landscapes before forming into the shape of his mate, Jaraesi.

Firaegin grumbled as he saw her cunning sky blue eyes, the sapphire blue scales and grey underbelly form in his mind. He could almost feel her muscular frame in his hands, the power of her, second only to his. He could taste the cold sea-air tinge of her breath. He could envision the deep purple folds of her eager cloaca, the heady scent of it, the longing passage eager for his dragon-hood. He knew she was away with their hatchlings for a week, teaching them to swim in the ocean, but she felt so near at that moment.

Firaegin was brought back to reality by a muffled shout. He felt his shaft scraping the stone beneath him as he bucked his hips and Kaja's voice calling to him. The words took time to process through the dragons head as his visions faded in full.

"Firaegin! Your kobold form! Try it! Please!" He spoke slowly, Firaegin realised that Kaja had likely been repeating it for some time while he was lost in his thoughts.

The dragon stood and tried to gather his focus. Karoesila's spell came to him, or Vala as she preferred to be called in her new life as a kobold.

It was a special gift that had restored so many freedoms; the ability to move through Crater-Vale as a normal kobold instead of its ruler, experiencing life in its simple pleasures. Firaegin could indulge in one-to-one connections he once had in his previous life and most crucially it allowed him to interact with Kaja on a far more personal level. It truly was a gift that far outstripped the modest requests she made, a debt that Firaegin hoped to repay in full in time.

Vala's trust and growing friendship to him, honed during their repeated diplomatic meetings and exchange of experiences giving him a basis of focus. He followed the chain of thought, thinking of Vala's mate, the earnest and heroic Lalep and his outstanding performance while fighting off humans and rescuing the Siren dragon in one effort.

Unlike his previous attempt at distraction he found these details a delight to recall, and his memory returned to Vala once more, her transformation from dragon to kobold in Lalep's tale. A cycle of these thoughts gave his mind a sense of rigidity, quelling the storm in his head. He smiled for the first time in hours and mentally enacted the spell; a mnemonic procedure of words, numbers and shapes in sequence and intensity.

He felt the draw of magic from his whole being, a subtle weakening to his supernatural strength as the energy pooled into his heart. The energy flowed over every blood vessel and nerve within him, pulling his colossal mass inward. His scales glowed as the power was left as a phantom of his normal size, drawing slowly inward as Firaegin saw his perspective shift, his wings absorbed into his torso. His limbs reformed to a bipedal orientation, muscles reducing to 'merely' powerful rather than monstrous.

Firaegin opened his orange eyes and he breathed a massive sigh of relief to the almost hollow sensation in his thoughts. The frustrations and lust were there, nagging and poking, but his mind was his to use once more albeit with a newfound reduction in scope; thoughts a moment slower and recollection an aspect more difficult. The former dragon turned over onto his back and sat up, chuckling at how his motions no longer echoed throughout the chamber. He stretched his body to get used to his new proportions as Kaja approached him with a gentle smile.

"Do you feel like Figin or Firaegin today?" The scarlet kobold smirked. It was a legitimate question, as their society placed a great deal of importance on name length, to the point some expected great things from kobolds with five letters in a name instead of the typical four. Even Kaja had once bore the name of Karajan, when he was a dragon. Two former dragons now kobolds, one permanent and the other not so. They reached to each other.

"Anythin' to distance myself from those feelings...Figin'll do nicely." His voice gained a casual tone as the expanse of his draconic mind was now reduced by the kobold form; it was very much how he spoke before his transformation. The still forest green kobold gripped Kaja's hand and pulled himself up. As with his dragon form and even before his ascension to it, Figin was a huge kobold. A clear four feet tall against the three foot average and almost as muscular as the clans strongest, Tuha.

It was this first and foremost that earned him his title as Underboss years ago, and his study of magic that lead him to become a dragon through an old rite. Figin had essentially cheated a ritual designed to allow a degree of 'seepage' as the power transfer occurred. Firaegin bore twice as much potency as was natural. Karajan had sacrificed his own ageing and diminishing body to Figin, his thousand year old, magic saturated soul imbuing the kobold with more power than had ever been seen in a single being.

This ritual, The Passing of the Flame, was merely a bullet point in their fifty year history. Even when Kaja was an old and selfish dragon, Figin remembered developing a fondness for Karajan that he couldn't put his finger on until recently. The tireless and supportive Underboss and the powerful dragon had a trust in each other that went beyond the norm but back then it was seldom acted upon. Now, on opposite ends of their old relationship, it was far more obvious.

Figin pulled Kaja's towards him and wrapped the smaller kobold in his thick limbs, resting his head onto the scarlet kobolds own. Kaja responded by nuzzling his emperor's broad chest, closing his eyes and sighing with palpable relief. They held for as long as they dared in the vast lair, fearing intrusion from another kobold issue.

Being four feet tall again, the sheer enormity of the dome shaped cavern really did take a lot to sink in. A hundred feet high and some three hundred foot from center to wall, it allowed Firaegin room for himself, Jaraesi and one visiting dragon besides humans and kobolds. His hoard, also his bed, filled a crescent starting from the far sides and pooling mostly at the opposite end of the cave from the hub passage. A large opening in the roof was a dragons only real way in and out, as the hub entryway tapered down to ten feet high when it reached the vast corridor.

"Thanks, Kaja. Good thinkin', as always. This at least buys us some time. I don't know how you old fashioned dragons dealt with this ruttin' business." Figin felt his mind shift, the form affecting his thoughts. The draconic ego that was rampaging through his head now slumbered in the spells influence, however temporarily.

He likely had a few hours of focus, and he didn't want them squandered. Even if his rut was permanently quelled as a kobold he lacked Vala's experience with this spell, he was only able to sustain the form for a day when at peak focus compared to her week long jaunts.

"To be completely fair, we must face the facts." Kaja snapped Figin back to focus as he spoke. "You are a fifty eight year old mind in the body of a three hundred year old dragon. A dragon will rut at least twice, once during adolescence and another during their prime. I suspect that you are either lacking experience to resist or you are possibly in the midst of both ruts at once. It has also only taken two days to reach full strength instead of a month long build."

Figin smirked and wrapped an arm around Kaja's head, firmly grinding his knuckles against the Underboss' skull in an affectionate, if slightly bullying act.

"Quit talkin' like you're impressing anyone, Kaj! It's just us." The emperor laughed and stopped gripping the smaller male, who rubbed his head.

"Oh, fuck off, Figin!" Kaja grumbled as his eloquence was shattered and punched the larger kobold in the arm. "I've JUST started getting my old speech patterns back and I need to practice! Not all of us want to go through life sounding like a common kobold, ESPECIALLY with humans in attendance. They already think we're idiots!"

"I'mma do feelin' dumber alreadies!" Kaja stared for a moment in response to Figin's blunt stereotypical drawl, then his muzzle quivered as he failed to suppress an outburst. The two laughed like old friends, hands on each others shoulders.

"Ahah...whew. Seriously though, any idea what we could do? I don't wanna feel like that again."

"That why I hoped I could find that book on draconic mating." Kaja raised a pointed finger, going into his usual lecture state. "An outsider opinion might have shone light on less natural dragon issues. Normally, dragons just start feeling the urge to mate, find a willing female long before the two week mark, and mate.

"I remember mine being just like that, I had a few hatchlings but I did not stay with them to be a true parent, I started getting more interested in....well, you know...?" Kaja smirked and ran a hand down Figin's arm and gently pinched his hand. The green kobold responded by grabbing Kaja's in response and squeezing it properly as fingers interlocked.

"I still think back to servicin' you as Karajan. It's a memory I'll never forget. I remember standin' on your back, feelin' your every muscle as a vast swell and personally handlin' your 'might' when allowed, of course." Figin winked, then looked Kaja over to take him in.

The Underboss was very much a typically proportioned male kobold; three feet tall, slim build, solid hips and thick tail, but he had a regal air to him, with longer than normal horns and a deep gaze that spoke of the scarlet kobold's millennia of knowledge. His eye-ridges still held a draconic quality; harder angles that gave him a decidedly handsome appearance.

Figin looked down at Kaja's dark grey underbelly scales, the soft mesh almost a flawless smooth skin wrapping around his modest muscles, the smooth rise and fall of his chest as the Underboss breathed. Kaja was a striking figure and the emperor would never get tired of admiring him; he stared and his mind wandered from attraction to something deeper.

Figin realised his mistake too late as he felt his shaft swell from his slit and his mind swam with lust, awash in thoughts of pinning Kaja down and having his way with him. The draconic rut overtook his simpler kobold mind and found his current form unsuitable for the strength of his ego, trying to change him back. The dragon within took hold of Figin's arousal, lured as a predator would to fresh blood and flesh. It tried to adopt the kobolds skin as its own, to act on behalf of his mind on the singular purpose of mating.

The green kobold's muscles swelling and height briefly increasing a few more inches before the ego found the male before him lacking in the ways it desired, the changes ceasing. Figin staggered as this happened in the span of a few seconds, and he fell away from Kaja.

"Easy, easy!" Kaja uttered as he was pulled along a few paces. Still holding hands, the scarlet kobold caught the emperor and kept him falling over, being pulled by his increased weight with surprise before regaining his balance. He looked into Figin's eyes with growing concern, as the ailing larger kobold looked at him with a growing hunger. Figin was pulled back to Kaja, and while his ego no longer demanded a mate, it still sent him to the edge of his own attraction.

Kaja felt something poke against his belly, and he looked down at the still absurdly sized bright red eight inch long shaft. The Underboss gulped as Figin breathed heavily.

"I think we might need a little privacy..." Kaja twiddled his fingers, distracted but in control. "Uh, to see if we can rectify your condition! Figin, we should....Figin? Figin!!" Kaja shouted and the green kobold finally seemed to recover.

"I'm fine! Sorry....sorry. Okay, right." Figin shook his head, let go of Kaja's hand and slapped the sides of his face. The once sleeping ego within, having had its run of dominating his thoughts, now growled and crawled back into the recesses of the spell that formed his kobold mind. It was disappointed in the lack of a female dragon. With such simple desires were left wanting, it grew disinterested and its grip waned.

"Damn, I don't think my rut likes you like I do." Figin covered his eyes and slowed his breathing. His length slowly retracted as he conquered his instincts once more, shrinking back to four feet tall.

Kaja sighed with relief, then looked around in deep thought, a wry grin on his muzzle as he stroked his chin. Figin trusted Kaja deeply, and knew before any words were said that this would be a great idea.

"Meet me in my quarters, I need to get some supplies." Kaja turned to head to the hub, before Figin grabbed his shoulder. This suddenly didn't sound like a great idea.

"Wait, supplies? Dare I even ask?"

Kaja looked back with a rather sinister grin and pulled free, fleeing at full speed. Figin suddenly felt a sense of dread, and jogged to the hub.

The great hall was quiet, the lair entrance was almost completely opposite Kaja's quarters. The concept was sound; in times of crisis, the kobolds would be near a leader figure of some sort regardless of where they were. Firaegin at one end near the surface entrance, Kaja at the other by the Great Tunnel to Jaraesi's old lair and the middle housed the various kobold section leaders, from hatchery matrons to the master-scout office.

It didn't make things easier on the distracted emperor though, even if he enjoyed the experience of moving to a sprint on two legs once more. Dragons lacked the need to exercise; the magic flowing through them maintained their physique until old age, but in the body of a kobold his heavy frame did him no favours despite their naturally deep reserves of stamina.

He saw Kaja in the distance move into the engineering wing, and Figin wondered which of the many crafting teams he sought; alchemy seemed likely against the smithy, trapmakers, builders and architects. He ran past without slowing, and passed the recently installed waterclock, noting they were a number of minutes away from the majority of Crater-Vale awakening for the night.

As he reached the final third of the trip, Figin stopped and caught his breath. He saw Vala leaving her and Lalep's quarters, closing the door gently to cause less noise. The white kobold turned and was halfway down the stairs when she noticed him and smiled. It had been a few days since they last talked.

"Fair sunfall my emp-uh, Figin." Vala half bowed only after ensuring they were alone.

"Everythin' alright? Shouldn't you be sleepin'?"

"Oh, I was going to, but I've been feeling some distractions." Vala moved to Figin, so they could talk in whispers. "I just used my dragon form to attend to Lalep, and I think it may have shaken something loose in my mind. I've been having...urges that I don't think can be dealt with in this body."

Most would think the topic a bit private, but under normal circumstances, they shared much of their experiences together. Their oddly opposing common ground of kobold as a dragon and dragon as a kobold meant they always supported each other in the unusual quirks they both dealt with almost daily.

Figin at first sympathised, mulling over what she was experiencing, but his mind started wandering again. He could smell her slightly sweet scent as well as a 'rival' male on her, but it was the female dragon's partially masked pheromones that tugged at his rut and his mind once more formed thoughts against his will. He grabbed her shoulder and stared into her pretty grey eyes, face inches from hers.

He wanted her. Badly. He wanted to drag her to his lair. Figin would assume his dragon form and force her to change back, biting her neck to pin her in place so he could truly have her. He could sense she was off her egg bearing cycle by her smell, but it mattered little; if he had to bury her beneath his body and stay within her until as she succumbed to a heat, he would do it.

He suddenly felt sickened by these thoughts of betrayal and drank the disgust in to give him enough focus to release her.

"I wish I could help you, I really do, but you have to go before I do somethin' I regret. Somethin'....destructive to all of us." He felt his groin flex and he fought back his instincts. Vala sniffed the air as well and looked panicked, clearly she knew what was wrong. She immediately fled back the way Figin came, and the two dragons in kobold form moved as far away from each other as quickly as possible.

Finally Figin reached the Underboss' quarters; a rather grand door on a solitary stair set away from many others. He entered and slammed the door behind him, glad to be away from any other distractions. He looked over the room, the shape familiar but the furnishings new.

Piles upon piles of letters, maps, books and writing utensils filled the Underboss' stone slab desk. It was an endless battle of approaching issues and yet lingering flaws; the knowing of how to handle each a delicate balance. Thousands of clawed hands, each pushing Crater-Vale to and from efficiency and chaos with every new order given. Every received note a new war-map; each penned response the orders to strike back. Books of topics beyond even Kaja's vastly experienced mind were a reassuring sign that he took his duties with almost overbearing seriousness.

The green kobold looked at the title of one of the most recently read; 'Societal norms of the Underboss', penned by Figin's own predecessor, Voko. He remembered its lessons well; guidelines on how to deal with the less educated, how to inspire the downtrodden and maintain order. Kaja had become far kinder as his years as a kobold gathered but this book clearly demonstrated he still struggled to understand the less intelligent kin and how to respond in turn.

Old pride and frustrations lingered despite the lack of an ego whereas the emperor had once ruled by mingling and getting his hands dirty alongside his clan.

Figin always knew that being Underboss was a far tougher task now than he had to deal with with the clans waning state though. After this was over, he hoped he would have time to give Kaja the attention he deserved for putting up with so much of Crater-Vale's problems.

Figin lifted his tail as sat down on the bed, a surface child's cot, and looked about still filled with nostalgia. He even saw the old black and red Underboss sash hooked in one corner, laughing at the outdated practice, then lay back. He could smell Kaja on the sheets; a light, smoky scent that had lingered from his fire breathing dragon days, and again he felt himself grow aroused.

Supplies or no, he couldn't wait much longer to feel the scarlet kobold in his arms, taste his tongue, the feel of his mouth around his length and the texture of Kaja's in return. He was two entities in one; as a dragon his mind turned to Jaraesi as the most important thing in his life, yet as a kobold, Kaja drove him crazy.

The door slammed open, Kaja entered bearing a satchel and a length of rope. He took one look at Figin, who lay on his bed clutching his swollen cock and kicked the door shut behind him, not even looking away from the green kobold as he slid the bolt into place.

"Figin! It is an offence to lay in the Underboss' bed without permission! Come here so that I may reprimand you!" Kaja pointed down to his feet, chin held high. Figin shook away from his lust once more and smirked, playing along. The bigger kobold moved to Kaja and loomed over him but the scarlet Underboss eyed him with false contempt, desperately trying to not stare at Figin's erection.

"On your knees, kobold!" He barked. Figin raised an eye-ridge and continued to grin, but did so. Kaja took the rope in hand, and performed a typical kobold capture knot; thrice bound hands then tied to the tail and waist.

"Alright, Underboss Kaja, I'm at your....tender mercies" he tested the ropes, unable to budge an inch as the scarlet kobold moved in front of him, finally taller. He smiled down at Figin briefly, leaning down for a deep kiss. Their tongues pressed against each other, a minor struggle for dominance as Kaja's hands cradled Figin's face. The emperor doubted this break of character was supposed to go on as long as it did, but after a solid minute of raw emotional fulfilment, Kaja sighed and leaned back away.

"I have an idea," he said, smiling but he looked a bit worried. "Just...play along and I think this will work. Please trust me, because things are going to get a little weird."

"I look forward to seein' what's going on in that devious head of yours, old flame. It's been a while since I've seen you so inspired." Figin stretched up, licking at Kaja's neck and earned a wistful sigh in response as the Underboss stepped back, face turning serious. He placed the satchel beside the bed and opened it, producing a few small bottles.

Kaja poured a small amount of one substance into a large mouthed bottle, then topped it up with another. He plugged it with a finger and shook it as he approached Figin. He reached down and massaged the vast member with his other hand, caressing the protrusions. Figin grunted and smiled, then watched as Kaja poured the fluid onto his length. The warm, slick substance felt nice, before he noticed an odd, slightly numbing sensation flow over his shaft.

"I thought we were supposed to be encouragin' me, not nulli-" Figin was silenced as Kaja gripped his snout. The green kobold watched Kaja give him an extended, judgemental stare before releasing.

"Trust. Right." Figin mumbled. The Underboss moved to and threw his bedding onto the floor, then walked back to his partner and nodded.

"Alright, let us begin!"

Kaja brought his hands up, casting a spell. Most kobolds needed gestures and sometimes words to cast, tying the odd mental notions to physical movements or noises to allow the energies to move through the body as needed where dragons simply didn't need to. As such, it was a somewhat different method; energy inherent in the kobold form could only do so much, and thus energy was pulled from beyond. The air drew thin at casting, as if something was taken from the area however unseen. It was subtle, but an experienced practitioner would be able to tell something was afoot even if by then it would be too late to respond.

The Underboss slowly walked behind Figin and the tied kobold felt hands circle his waist. Kaja lifted him with ease and placed him central on the bedding. The strength spell made sense if Kaja wanted to pursue a dominant tone. Figin was growing more intrigued by the moment; an elaborate plan considering the short time since they were in his lair.

Then at long last, as Kaja made sure Figin was comfortable, he reached around and wrapped his hands around the vast cock of his master. He ran his clawtips gently over each protrusion, flicking them in slow sequence. Figin didn't feel much, although the attention more than the act was something he was enjoying, still confused at the numbness. The strokes grew faster and more pressure was used, squeezing the stiff member. It resisted but the rougher treatment started earning a subtle thrum from Figin's throat as the slow build carried on.

Kaja shifted grip, dedicating both hands to the harder ridges of the underside of Figin's dick, the stiffness causing a series of vibrations to course through Figin's body. His shaft may have been numb, but the shaking rocked through to his core, stirring something within. At last he started feeling less frustration, and more actual arousal. It was beginning to make sense; the numbness letting the Underboss use strong actions to create the slowest built possible; Figin's mind was already in a state of arousal barely held at bay and this was playing for time.

Figin hummed as Kaja maintained the raking of the prongs for a while longer, running his hands over it as one would pull a rope and pulley, then stopped. Instead he placed his hands between the front of Figin's hips, pressing into him. The dragon felt a growing pressure on his internal testes, the feeling not fully fading as Kaja removed his hands.

"Getting there..." the Underboss whispered. Once more there was a murmur of a spell, a subtle shift to the air. A blue scaled hand gripped his shoulder, and a female voice called from behind him.

"My blessed mate, you seem troubled." Jaraesi's voice, but lacking the room filling potency. Stepping around Figin, an impressive depiction of the emperors mate as a kobold, all the colours right, the muscles of correct proportion. Figin went slack-jawed.

"By the blood...when did you learn your old Glamour spell?" Figin grunted as 'Jaraesi' stroked her hands over her own ridged curves. Kaja as a dragon could change the perception of others, a fairly unique power but one he lost when he gave his dragon soul over.

"I'll tell you later....blessed mate." She winked, tongue dancing around her teeth. Figin exhaled slowly, getting into this unique show of power and dominance. It was a fascinating change of pace to their usual tumbles in the Underboss' room. He couldn't comprehend the things Kaja could fool him into thinking was actually happening; the mere thought of it just drove Figin deeper into his growing arousal.

The 'female' kobold pressed a foot onto his chest and pushed him onto his back, then pressed the same foot onto his twitching cock, dragging her toes across the prongs. Not much sensation, but the idea of Jaraesi dominating him roused the dragon ego within. It found the concept of a dominant female wrong, and demanded he take charge. Figin shivered and licked his muzzle as his breathing quickened.

"I do wonder, my dear, if you would enjoy filling me with more eggs. I do so enjoy being stretched to mindless arousal by your castle-crushing cock and leaving me hopelessly gravid, filled to my utmost with your dominant children. I wonder if you deserve it though, bound and weak as you are!" The haughty tone wasn't bad and the compliments stroked Figin's pride and his ego both. The common ground was dangerous, leaving him struggling to wrap his head around fact and fiction as the ego within continued to make demands.

'Jaraesi' lowered herself onto Figin's length, rubbing it between her legs. While Figin's attraction to her was diminished as a kobold, his growing instincts of having an apparent female dragon on him was irresistible. He felt that uncontrollable ego rise higher, stealing control. He tried to fight back but that's when 'Jaraesi' played dirty; she turned and raised her tail presenting her deep purple folds.

The dragon in Figin broke free and he roared in a very non-kobold like way. His eyes glowed as burning embers, extra horns sprouted from his head as he felt his kobold form start fracturing. He could feel the floor slowly scrape at his back as he began growing larger, four feet becoming five and the ropes hurting as they drew tighter. His cock and testicles swelled enormously as the magic holding his form back weakened at the most motivated parts.

"A s-show of weakness? H-how unbecoming!" the voice, despite cracking in worry, was now perfect to his fragmented mind. This WAS Jaraesi. He had to bend her over and fuck her into a writhing pile of lust crushed flesh, fill her with so much cum she would be made immobile with countless eggs for a decade.

He felt his testicles bulge to their fullest as the mating instinct was all that remained. He bellowed an unnatural scream at her in such a way that 'Jaraesi' gasped in absolute fear, and the illusion broke. Kaja was grinding his rump and tail along Figin's cock with a terrified expression on his face. The Underboss on his body, complete with purple shaft seeping pre over Figin's yellow belly and his smell reminded the ego that he wasn't with a mate, but instead a male kobold. It took Kaja a few seconds to come back from his obvious state of fear.

The dragon within once more got pushed back, and the emperor shrank back down as his magic reapplied itself. Unfortunately the additional seed his draconic ego had produced was still there. Figin felt a massive discomfort in his lower body.

"Okay, fuck! That might have gone too far." Kaja gently pressed his hands onto Figin's abdomen and he grinned. "Matters not, NOW we're ready." he smirked and climbed off. Figin looked down at himself, and gasped as he saw his muscle corded abdomen bore two huge swells. His swollen testes were filled beyond capacity, each likely bigger than his fists. They ached, churning and he wriggled his legs apart about to try and accommodate their vast size. The ache was on the knife-edge between pleasing and painful.

Kaja returned with another bottle and poured it over Figin's length. He sighed with relief as sensation returned to a conventional level. Kaja once more gestured to cast a spell, and Figin grinned as the Underboss grew in size to six feet tall and forced the scarlet kobold to crouch down with the low ceiling.

"N-now we're talkin'...." Figin drooled as he gasped and expected a rapid release.

The scarlet kobold mounted Figin, pressing his more evenly sized cock against the dragons' own. Kaja wrapped his hands around both, and began stroking back and forth, thrusting with his hips. Figin immediately cried out with a moan as shivers sparked up his spine and down to his groin. His already erect shaft bulged as true arousal caused him to buck back, wanting a sweet release. He could feel his scales flex outward.

Then Kaja stopped. He stood and crossed his arms.

"What're you fuckin' doin', Kaj!? Please! I can't take much more!!" Figin snarled as his scales flattened.

"You can and you will. Trust me" Kaja offered back, but it fell on deaf ears as Figin looked at him with a growing anger.

The bound kobold writhed and tried to free himself to finish off the job, but again the ropes resisted. He felt every twitch of his cock as Kaja slowly lowered himself once more and raked a finger across both sides of his softer prongs. Figin felt his scales flex out, then sink back with the lack of further attention. Then Kaja ran his tongue across the under of his length, and the dragon once more wriggled about and felt a tiny bit closer to the release, only to be pulled from the brink.

The torture carried on, each time Figin was brought to the edge of orgasm by lick or stroke, it stopped woefully short.

Figin was drooling, his eyes watered and couldn't make out any detail, all rational thought left him. He was blubbering, begging Kaja with no ability to speak sense. He felt elation, joy, anger, pain and more but the scenery, the world beyond him made no sense any more. All Figin knew was his cock was suddenly surrounded with a warm, wet feeling. A tongue wriggled between his prongs and a slow build resumed rather than the sudden spikes he wished for.

It felt like hours passed as his scales slowly flexed out and held rather than flattening. The pressure building in his groin squeezed his testes like nothing before and finally the only feeling in Figin's mind was pleasure. His body stopped feeling anything outside of what was between his legs. Figin felt air reach his length again and he was vaguely aware of being lifted, and placed down on an uneven surface, and something wet graced his tail-hole. He was being penetrated.

Figin felt the extra pressure rail into him over and over, his already aroused state had made his back passage extremely tight. The large probe penetrating into him again, endlessly teasing a release only to feel a warmth spread within him. A voice called to Figin but he couldn't tell what was said.

Then he felt a pair of large hands grab his twitching, pre-cum drenched cock and pump him with rapid, relieving pulls. At last, two individual fingers dragged themselves expertly on his side prongs at potent and rapid intensity. Figin twitched at each individual pluck and began trembling violently as he reached a plateau. He felt weightless, the same feeling he had when flying skyward and turning into a rapid dive, devoid of gravity and floating.

Kaja then clenched Figin's cock between his hands, his crippled mind could only detect the pain as the single biggest shock of pleasure he had ever felt.

The world Figin could still feel exploded and vision's vision swam with shining lights and colours he'd never seen before. He felt his mouth open and his lungs push air through his throat. He could only assume he was roaring despite his inability to hear. His length erupted with such force that his seed splashed into the ceiling, spraying all over the pair. He couldn't count how many times he came, the only thing he felt was his body flailing wildly, and the outrageous relief as his balls shrank as more cum sprayed over the room.

Figin regained a sense of self even as he felt the last throes of his orgasm, shooting smaller and smaller amounts as a pool of his ejaculation grew around his length as the last seeping strands left him. He realised he was laying on his side, red arms around his body trying to hold him still, but crucially the most telling thing was the silence in his head.

A vast void of calm; his rut was over.

Even so the emperor lay still, filling himself with air as his body continued to tingle and the slightest move of air stung his slowly retracting cock.

The Underboss' room was glazed over with glistening strings. He had smothered Jaraesi and Kaja before with his ridiculous capacity of dragon-seed, but he'd never ejaculated this much as a kobold. This was a whole new type of mess; the strands trickled about like a flowing spiderweb, the result of a dragons sexual fullness passing through a kobolds form.

"By the blood!" Kaja cackled as he stood over Figin's still tense body. "How many times do I have to tell you? You are magnificent in everything you do! I have never seen a bigger demonstration of your 'might'."

"Untie me." Figin said, hushed and drained.

"Ah, of course, Figin. Forgive me. How do you feel?" He dug his claws across the ropes and untied him. Figin grunted as he brought his arms in front of him and slowly sat up.

"Clear. Calm...." Once more, Kaja offered a hand and pulled Figin to his feet, legs shaky. The Underboss was still larger than Figin, a form he used to gently hold the emperor to ensure he didn't fall back over.

It was well founded fear as Figin collapsed into his arms. Kaja leaned down and muzzle met muzzle again, the emperor could even taste himself on the scarlet kobold's palate.

Once Figin's strength returned in earnest, some ten minutes later, Kaja released his enhanced height. Size and scale reversed yet the kiss was expertly maintained, such was their shared relief. The most powerful being in the land gently squeezing his most adored subject with a firmness that the world could not break.

Neither could take a full breath as each continued to taste of one another, moments into seconds into minutes. With great regret, their muzzles finally separated.

"You, my dearest Kaja, are a genius! I'm sorry if I scared you, old flame."

"It is fine, I knew I was playing with 'fire'." Kaja first smirked at the play on Figin's pet name for the Underboss, but then he looked ashamed, "I am sorry about the Empress Jaraesi thing...."

"I won't say anythin' if you won't. That was actually pretty impressive. Drake's spit, the fact you've relearned your Glamour spell? That's amazin'!" Figin chuckled and lifted Kaja off the floor, spinning him around.

"One aims to please, my most precious Figin. You look exhausted though. Go on, get some much needed sleep, I shall arrange a few duty details and...wow, get someone to clean this up discretely. Wait, let me just give you a quick wipe over with...uh...with..." Kaja looked about for something not utterly coated and yet he found nothing suitable. He couldn't help but chuckle at the absurd situation. He eventually elected to throw an already coated blanket over Figin to provide some coverage. "Might I suggest a quick visit to the baths before you retire?"

They met with yet one more kiss before parting ways, Kaja laughing at the state of his room again and Figin left.

Figin felt the world around him vibrate with energy as he entered Crater-Vale proper. It was abuzz with activity.

Kobolds of a vast breadth of colours and ages walked with purpose around the central hub of the city. Eight thousand strong by last count, each was busy sharpening spears, carving rock, and tending to hatchlings; it was the very image of kobold efficiency, all under his watchful eye.

He received some interesting stares, and Figin was well aware he was covered in his own seed, blanket or not; he simply didn't care that much. He made his way to the bathhouse by the breeding halls, splashing himself down with a permanent smile on his face. He almost skipped back to his lair and ensuring privacy, he released his spell. Dust from the stone floor was kicked up to make room for his ninety foot tall and vastly muscular dragon form, ground shuddering at his immense mass as he resumed standing on all four legs.

Firaegin sighed, deeply contented, and stretched. He started feeling desperately tired from the past two days of relentless urges and having come down from his sexual high, so he calmly lay atop his uncountable hoard to sleep.

Then a tickle at the back of his mind, the feeling he had two days ago. The rut was starting again.

Kaja's plan seemed correct; the Underboss had overwhelmed his senses, triggered the ego into a mating frenzy with its deepest desires and he had been brought to an orgasmic high he had never experienced before. It had worked, otherwise it wouldn't have cleared his thoughts as much as it had. No other attempt to sate his lusts even made the slightest dent.

Suddenly, a recent conversation came to mind.

'I just used my dragon form to attend to Lalep, and I think it may have shaken something loose in my mind. I've been having...urges that I don't think can be dealt with in this body.'

Vala's plight. Of course; a dragon rut couldn't simply be quelled by being kobold. It seemed obvious but he was hardly of sound mind when last in his natural shape. Free from his worst urges, he felt sorry for Vala, as Firaegin had Jaraesi despite her current absence.

Who would help the Siren though? A flicker of disgust met his face as he considered himself as a means to calm her urges, the ego within already tainting his thoughts. A betrayal of that nature to Lalep, one of his closest subjects, abhorred him to the core. He felt a burning hatred of himself for even considering it. That was twice now, Firaegin growled at his accursed state of mind and selfish thoughts.

Sadly, selfishness was all he could use at that moment. Hopefully, his own urges could perhaps shine light on an alternative. He had time at least to plan for this, and he once more considered Kaja's use of edging to overwhelm the mind, almost resetting it. It worked once, it could work again. Not being as intense a rut though, he hoped it wouldn't need to be quite so drawn out. A new experience as it was, Firaegin wasn't sure he wanted to go through that any time soon.

The fly in the ointment though was he would need to be in his natural form to make it stick. Firaegin's eyes widened for a moment, turning back the pages of his thoughts, to Vala and Lalep. He looked across to a specific spot on the wall of his lair. He would need a secret he had been hiding for a year, and a place of privacy to use it.

"Attendance!" Figin barked, rising from his hoard and placing himself in his usual place of address for meetings. A kobold emerged from the hub in a sprint, and dropped to his knees, bowing low.

"Your majesty! How can I be of assistance?"

Firaegin was glad to have his cordial mind once when dealing with his followers. He knew this one, a diligent and cunning trapsmith, and enjoyed the simple fact he could treat the servant with the respect they all were owed for their allegiance.

"Inform Kaja to meet me on the third peak, alone, in three hours. Thank you, Safa. I shall have extra ale rations brought to the trapmakers today for the whole crew by shifts end. Your superb work on the new Crag-biter deterrent is inspired." Firaegin smiled warmly and nodded to the kobold as the servant stood, bowing in return.

"We're honoured, Mighty One! Thank you!" The kobold beamed a smile and retreated to the hub.

The emperor then turned and pulled a large rock from the wall, a small chest within. He pinched it from the cavity, placing it on the ground and once more assumed his kobold form. From within Figin pulled a bottle, wrapped in rope and clinking with several other vessels within.

"I hope you can forgive me for this, Kaja, but it seems this is the only way..." He muttered, nodding to himself with grimace.

This restless night wasn't over.

* * * * *

Part 3: Vala's Dream

"INCOMING!!" A shout cried out, echoing throughout the cavern. The kobold dug his foot-claws into the stone and with tremendous effort he tore ahead with peerless speed. A precipice reached after a short hop, legs bending upon touching ground to compress and spring as high and far as he could reach. A valiant launch, worthy of a dragon to reach the lofty skies, skyward bound but for a moment. He reached his zenith, tucking in his legs as he bore down onto the hungry waves.

Lalep hit the deepest section of the widest body of water and created a plume that sprayed across the rest of the pool, catching Vala with both the splash and the wave afterwards. She giggled and couldn't help but applaud, playing along in his boyish enthusiasm as he resurfaced and swam over to her.

"Hah! Told ya's I's could do it!" Lalep said, beaming a smile with pointy teeth, "you owes me a kiss!"

"You'll devalue them if you're not careful, my sweet." Vala reached up as Lalep pulled himself from the water, bringing muzzles close and tangling their tongues for a few moments.

"I's supposin' we should be gettin' to bed though." Lalep blinked slowly, his shoulders sank and his breathing slowed. Vala knew her song of endurance was waning so she stood and wrapped an arm around her mate's shoulder.

"Come along then." Vala lead the pair back towards the stairway up to the passage back to their bedchamber. No sooner had they reached the top that Lalep staggered, eyes closing. Vala wrapped both of her arms around him, and slowly adjusted her grip to cradle Lalep as he fell unconscious.

She sighed. The song of endurance couldn't produce stamina from nothing but rather it drew the extended strength a kobold possessed, shortening the duration but intensifying the potency. This song, like many of Vala's 'spells' just manipulated those around her. She only knew one true spell, her kobold transformation, with everything else she could do rooted in a Siren dragon's actual being. Vala, as with the few others of her rare lineage, were dangerous.

Vala drew a deep breath, securing an arm beneath Lalep's knees and around the back under his arms, hoisting him up. Vala stepped both feet down each individual step on the way back to their room, afraid of hurting her mate. It was slow going, but it gave her time to think.

That a year ago she couldn't lift a human's sword, yet now she was as strong as any other kobold, was humbling. She was now a picture of health thanks to Crater-Vale, and while this was also true of Vala's dragon body, she was never going to be as strong as Firaegin or Jaraesi. That she was on equal footing with most other kobolds was such an amazing feeling.

Might and strength simply wasn't a Siren's lot in life, but instead to make others act on their behalf; songs that could coax the mind and body in a multitude of ways from nullifying pain, freezing listeners in place and more. This was her burden, and one of the many reasons she chose to live as a kobold. She was contributing just fine without her powers. She had a circle of friends in the nursery and a few others all over Crater-Vale; they were peers, not servants.

She didn't mind singing for Lalep as he seemed to understand the dangers of it; just the occasional song here and there. Maybe a few times a week, compared to the everyday evils she had been expected to create before being cursed. The Siren shuddered and forced her mind away from those years.

Vala had been to visit several human towns, and traded words without ever needing to use her powers. She would voice Firaegin's concerns and talk the human leaders' problems through, as she wished she could have with her previous mate. Yet one more reason Vala enjoyed her new life; any attempt to distance herself from her draconic nature, and Firaegin was correct to use this labour to move further from the abuse she had sown. That she was using her words to convince, to improve the lives of others instead of her powers to force the change was deeply gratifying.

If only she could forget everything else. Her past....again, she forced her mind to the present.

Vala looked at the young kobold in her arms and did her utmost to hold back her tears. The joy she felt at her liberation would never wane; as guilty as she still felt her her past misdeeds. Lalep's faith and adoration for a monster such as she gave her peace of mind. He was too decent to be wrong, despite her own persistent doubts.

She gently pushed through the hanging cloth, pinching it in her fingers as she did and dragging the material behind herself. Vala deftly dropped the cloth onto her tail and flicked it onto the bed, laying the yellow kobold down on top and began drying him. She dutifully patted him dry with the lightest of touches, inspecting his wounds. Small cracks lined his scales, growing in number each time he fought both down here and above. Vala sighed heavily.

It reminded her that this was the price she was paying for her secrecy in Crater-Vale, but she didn't hold it against Firaegin. Every kobold had to work; a community of endless purpose could punch through any barricade, trial and issue. Lalep had grown a great deal in a short time because of this duty. Vala's presence continued to bear confidence for him, but he was still remarkable on his own merits. She had watched him practice on occasion without announcing herself; the natural quickness of the average kobold was almost laughable to Lalep's speed.

He would likely never overpower another scout or soldier by raw might, but he never needed to. He could step and strike in the time the average soldier could raise a weapon to swing, or dodge between two slashes at once with no hesitation or misstep. Sadly, Lalep's history of proving himself to everyone was a dangerous mindset to take, as his sparring with seven kobolds at once had demonstrated. If he would go in with his guile first rather than using it as a last resort, Vala would feel safer for him.

She finished patting Lalep dry, then moved to the other side of the bed. She rolled up the cover, returned to Lalep's side, and gently turned him onto the exposed sheets. Vala took the hanging cloth back to its rung, and took another to briskly dry herself. Finally prepared, she tossed the cover over Lalep, and climbed into her side of the bed. Vala leaned across to him.

"Thank you," she whispered, as she did every night, "for everything." She stroked his face, laid her head on her pillow, and found quick sleep with an arm draped over her mate.

Not for the first time, the seeded doubts within her thoughts bloomed. Her ego, already called forth from Lalep's pleasuring earlier, forced its way into an almost restful sleep as the dragon that she was combined with her current state. An agenda to push and a memory to propagate, lest it be forgotten.

It would be noticed. It had to be noticed.

For both of their sakes.

The kobold was a dragon once more. Vala gave way to her true draconic self, her true name of Karoesila, and her mind was pushed back a hundred years...the darkest century...

With a gritting of her teeth, Vala resisted, she slowly writhed in the bed with her hands clutching her face. Even the spectre of the memory caused her to cry out.

"I'm sorry! Forgive....me...." Vala sobbed as she faded beneath conscious thought; her exhausted mate too deep within his own slumber to respond more than a subtle creasing of his scaled brow. By willpower alone, Vala pushed back until absolute exhaustion claimed her and she once more became Karoesila, the time in her mind skirting the worst of her past. A less painful memory, the lesser of her evils, as she finally relived days nearer to forty years ago. It was a merciful pain by comparison...

* * *

Karoesila wandered the land at night as a kobold. She was still getting used to being sensitive to the light, though without a set destination in mind, she simply wandered the land. Grief filled her heart, rest was fleeting and she experienced the weeping of tears so often that it had stopped being a new experience. Eventually, she happened upon a town near a pretty coastline.

Solitary for a month, Karoesila had starting missing the companionship of others. Being afraid of meeting another dragon like....him, never forget hi-.... or being reminded of her failings with his kobolds, she found herself wishing to learn more on humans. She found a cave by the small coastal town named Crayfield. She would sneak around the town at night as a kobold to observe them, and listen as near as she dared as a dragon during the day.

They were simple folk yet Karoesila found them inefficient, if endearing. Listless, few had true purpose as most were happy to work a few hours and do little else. Exposed on the surface though, they soon found themselves in trouble. Karoesila intervened, not wishing them harmed, her song could be heard from the town. Raiders crashed themselves upon the rocks to reach her voice, bandit raids deterred as fellow turned against fellow, obeying her songs.

'You just had to interfere, didn't you? You just can't help yourself; you're a plague on those around you! Torturer! MONSTER!' A voice cackled, muffled and faded. It was familiar, the same that tried to drag her mind into her worst memories. She knew what was to come was better than those memories, the ones from before....with him and them. Just focus on the now.... she slipped back into the well woven fabric of her memories.

So began the worship of her as Valarie, the human saint of seas, trade and luck reborn. She was soon stifled with requests to keep singing; to keep tugging and manipulating people in an attempt to appease them, just as he had. Gifts of devotion filled the entrance of her lair. Not even valuable things worthy of adding to her slowly growing hoard, but personal ones, anything to keep her singing. Karoesila once more realised she was destroying these people, and once more she fled, leaving behind broken people who relied on her songs to find meaning. In kobold form once more, she fled at night to evade notice.

'Always the coward. Create a mess, and flee. Leave the less broken to pick up the pieces, if they even survived! You got what was coming to you! REMEMBER THEM! EVERY LAST ONE!' The voice snarled.

That was when she heard it; a long ringing sound, distant. It was so similar to how her mother would call to Karoesila and her siblings, to stop them from playing when their attentions were demanded. She found herself still and unable to move. From the edge of her paralysed vision a man emerged, with horns on his head and draconic eyes.

"Yes, you're the one. You just don't find natural white kobolds. You are a most interesting breed of drake." He said, stroking her head as she tried to move. "Your blood will be crucial to me, but I doubt you will give it to me willingly."

He crouched low, tapping an object against her horn; a pair of metal bars attached to a handle vibrating a sinister tone.

"Be trapped within yourself, Siren, in a sea of your mind; live beneath the surface, my words your source of air. I curse you, Dragon Valarie. Until servants key meets masters lock, the attempt to release life beyond yourself. Forever shall you comply." His words burned into her mind, and she bowed her head.

"Servants key.....masters lock." Karoesila wanted to shout, get help from the still nearby town, yet nothing but those words emerged from her mouth. They were a cruel mercy, a brief window of meagre control when uttered. Every time she did, she was somewhere else; another field, a cave, then a circular chamber with a pool fed by a small waterfall.

She roamed the cave, broken, sipping dirty water and eating tiny fish. Her only companions; humans coming to force her to obediently allow them to bleed her, and one nephew of a Crayfield resident with a vendetta. An understandable wish for revenge. He would command her to change into her kobold form and beat her.

'Every blow was justified! You are a monster!' the voice whispered in her ear but the tone was filled with loathing. It was true...every word.

"Servants key.....masters lock." Karoesila struck her head against the wall. The pain felt oddly good, it kept her aware of herself, buried beneath the curse, and sometimes she managed to knock herself out for a merciful time so she could forget it all. She wanted it to end. All of it.

* * *

"Servants key.....masters lock." Vala struck her head against the wall, away from the bed and her eyes adjusted to her chamber once more. She grunted in pain and clutched her face, looking at her hand for blood but felt relief as none was present.

She was back in Crater-Vale; the comfortable room around her was a gift she didn't deserve, the mate still sleeping in the bed was a reward she hadn't earned. She wept silently for a while, Vala didn't want to worry Lalep with her weakness. This had happened before, and she simply couldn't bare to tell Lalep why; about him, about what she did to those kobolds....

Vala refocused, taking deep breaths.

She hadn't slept long; she still felt tired, despite managing to limit her experience of her worst memories. Even worse, a base and carnal desire had lodged itself into her mind. The logical leap from her horrific nightmare's end to her salvation; Lalep, imbued with a stolen potion created by her scalecaster kidnapper, grown giant and they mated for the first time which broke her torment.

His 'key' and her 'lock'; a perverse but devious curse since no normal kobold would dare befoul a dragon, a fact he obeyed yet Vala took charge of the situation, and that was how they first truly met. The kobold was inexperienced and she was desperate; it was probably the worst pairing she had ever had and yet the most important as she guided herself onto his reluctant body. Something deep inside her wanted to experience it again, to prove her worth as a dragon; she feared she was developing a heat.

It was rare, but just as a male dragon would rut a few times in their younger years, a dragoness would experience a heat if their ego wasn't properly sated for a time or if exposed to a rutting dragon. Vala's sexual antics with Lalep were as many as she could wish for, but she thought back to servicing him at the spring, the taste and scent of him on her actual tongue. Immediately followed by her ego taking over from Vala's mind thanks to Lalep's focused and highly enjoyable attentions. Her neglected ego within was angry; it demanded to be heard and its own needs met.

Fortunately, unlike a rut, the heat could be fought back while still new. Male dragon egos were beasts of raw instinct, but the ego of a dragoness would have the will to remain safe in times of desperate need; be it to protect young or preserve a mates lair.

Vala looked at Lalep, wishing he would wake up and comfort her. Instead she briskly left, closing the door quietly behind her. She needed time to meditate in her true form; somewhere above, with open space instead of the cramped cave. Vala began to descend the stairs, only to see the hunched over and short of breath kobold form of Crater-Vale's emperor looking up at her.

"Fair sunfall my emp-uh, Figin." Vala offered a short bow even as she addressed him in the name he often preferred in this shape, catching herself as she hadn't properly looked around for any other kobolds. Thankfully they were alone.

"Everythin' alright? Shouldn't you be sleepin'?" Figin was a striking figure even in this form. Large, muscular and he still bore both boundless power and kindness in his gaze. If Vala didn't have her most adored Lalep as a mate, he was the ideal second she would pursue, if he were actually a kobold. Lalep was simply not draconic in his bearing, but that made him extra special to her. None could sway her heart away from such a gentle yet powerful soul, a simple kobold with such promise.

Vala did, however, stilll deeply appreciate Figin's advice in terms of living as a kobold and she had offered him assistance in his draconic bearing in return. She once more felt selfish for imposing on him, drawing near and speaking in a hushed whisper. There was something in the air, Vala suddenly noted, but she couldn't quite pin down.

"Oh, I was going to, but I've been feeling some distractions." Vala buried the sensible urge to mention her nightmare, to seek help with the root of her trouble in a trusted friend. "I just used my dragon form to attend to Lalep, and I think it may have shaken something loose in my mind. I've been having...urges that I don't think can be dealt with in this body."

Figin's eyes glowed and he stared not at her, but rather into her. For a moment Vala assumed he was trying to impose his draconic will on her, a type of hypnosis used to pull truths from kobold minds. This made no sense as she was too aware to be swayed by such a thing; she knew he had dug into her mind while cursed a second time but she had no choice then, trapped within herself as she was. Then she heard his breathing stiffen, he was sniffing her. Figin suddenly reached for her, grabbing her shoulder painfully and his face was inches from her own.

Vala caught a strong smell. He was rutting, and it was more potent than she thought a dragon in kobold form could exude. He suddenly looked disgusted, looking away and releasing her but the damage was done; Vala's ego was bolstered by the odour and she began growing aroused.

"I wish I could help you, I really do, but you have to go before I do somethin' I regret. Somethin'....destructive to all of us." He shook his head and turned from her. Vala fled as quickly as she could, knowing her own issues would only worsen his. Everything about this restless night was horrible, and she made for the front exit of Crater-Vale as fast as her legs could carry her.

Vala only stopped to retrieve a pair of topside goggles at a scout post near the entrance. A new accessory in the last few months; two well ground and polished volcanic glass lenses affixed to a leather strap that tied to the chin and horns, allowing a kobold to see during sun hours. She doubted she needed them as such, but in case she had to make a hasty exit in kobold form and lurked outside until sunrise, she took some anyway. No need for guards watching them either, as all kobolds under Firaegin's rule wouldn't dare steal from the clan.

Vala moved through the trap-free route of the exit, and sighed with relief as she reached the surface. The air was warm, the ground still bore heat from a day under the blistering summer sun, and the sky was a vast ocean of brilliance.

A million distant points engaged her light sensitive eyes, each blazing and flickering like a distant torch instead of the pretty dots she knew them to be as a dragon. Yet one more reason to enjoy her kobold form, but now wasn't the time for such pleasant thoughts.

Distancing herself and ensuring she was beyond the view of any of the concealed entrance guards, Vala released her form.

She fell forward onto all fours, and her body stretched longer first and foremost, only gaining modest broadness. She shook, relocating her limbs and mobility. Without any reason to wait, she ran to full sprint in search of a quiet place to wait out the rest of the night, perching the goggles in her lips.

The Goshev mountains were a vast forest of stone peaks, three major mountains and gentle slopes on all sides. They took up the vast central point of a large landmass, with coastal towns scattered around it and a few at the foot of the old dormant volcano itself such as the grand capital of Marfield. It was a perfect place for a dragon's lair as attacking by land was extremely difficult; all attention would be focused down one channel.

Vala had heard of the exchange of dragonlord from Firaegin himself; that Karajan had defended the place with a hundred kobolds for as long as he did before Jaraesi struck was a testament to how strong the Goshev's as a lair were. Now, nearing ten thousand kobolds and so many reinforcements to be pulled from the dragons of the region who welcomed their new emperor, they were all but untouchable.

The dragoness scrambled over an outcrop some forty feet above the ground, finding herself on a flat plateau that could comfortably hold her large form. Vala nodded to the conditions, placed the goggles to one side and simply coiled around herself, laying down with eyes open. She took long, deep breaths and focused on the sensation in her head. The desire was growing but it was nothing she couldn't handle so long as her thoughts were uninterrupted.

The calm and warming air was soothing to her and she lost herself in her own meditations. An unknown number of minutes ran by as Vala watched the stars above while deep in thought.

Then said thoughts were interrupted by a high voice, grunting with effort. A yellow kobold with pink eyes clawed his way over the ridge. Lalep waved with a big smile, despite his obvious exertion.

"Phew...hey, Vala! Fancied a walk?" He rested his hands to his knees and caught his breath.

"But...how did...you were asleep and my song had exhausted you! I fled without being seen!" She reared her head back at the incredulity. He smirked.

"Scout trickeries!" Lalep stood proud, fists on hips. "We's real good at fast-nappin'. I hearings you leave so I's followed you out, an' found your footprints. So, ya wanna relax outside? I's never really get's to do that much."

Vala couldn't help but growl.

"Lalep, please, not now....you can't help me." she sighed and turned her head away from him.

"I's always can and always will, my silver light. You's just have to-"

"This isn't like that!! Go home, Lalep!" Vala snarled, twisting herself around to look away from her mate. Lalep growled back.

"It's the dreaming's again, isn't it? Ya know what, Vala? Make me!" How petulant. Childish. This kobold was barely out of his adolescence, twenty this year in a two hundred year lifespan, disobeying a dragoness a little over two centuries old. Vala felt bad for such a clearly draconic judgement, but her ego was pushing her to arrogance.

"I will! I will order you back to Crater-Vale! Do yourself a favour and start climbing down so I won't have to force you." Vala heard his gentle, pattering steps hurry him to in front of her. Lalep grasped her snout as her eyes looked around him, trying to avoid his focused gaze.

"Vala. I's not goin' ANYWHERE until you tell me what's this dream is! You's are my mate an' dragonlord! I's your kobold, your protector and I's will never leave you! WE IS ONE CLAN!" He screeched, before wincing. He gently stroked her lips and slumped against her muzzle, clearly upset with himself.

"I's get it, I's really do! You's don't wanna order people around, an' you messed up with those man-kin! You made a mistake, Vala. I's mess up a bunch, even now! It's normal. I's know you don't wanna tell me about you's last mate, but....what harm could there be's in tellin' me?" He looked equal parts frustrated and deeply saddened. He then steeled himself and continued.

"Do I's not deserve it? Do I's need to beg!? Lalep the Bold will beg! The runt who done an' killed six fuckin' humans will bend knees and beg!" She remembered those victories; Four rescuing her from and including Caladar, the scalecaster who had cursed her twice, and two while protecting Vala on the roads as ambassador alongside the usual kobold guard contingent. Even if two during her rescue were assisted by her screams and songs, he had achieved more than most kobolds could in their whole lifetimes; a small squad was needed to kill a human, and a sole kobold besting four alone was exceptional.

He took several steps backwards and started to drop to his knees. He hated going into a full bow ever since he was given pass to perform a standing bow to Firaegin, both as Exemplar and Vala's kobold instead of the emperor's. Exemplars were even owed respect from other dragonlords, given special treatment and only expected to bend to one knee in greeting.

He wore his pride openly and refused to submit to anyone, but not out of self importance or glory; but because he felt she deserved the best mate he could be, because he thought that he was still weak without her support and he had to do better for her. He wanted to be her hero now and forever. Vala felt horrible for reducing him to this, but her rising, ego backed anger refused to let him try and make her succumb to guilt.

"LALEP! GO HOME! NOW!!" Vala roared with her teeth bared and Lalep twitched as though physically touched by the words, freezing in place. It was a draconic order; all dragons could command kobolds, but those bound to their dragonlord were especially susceptible. The words would become everything the subject could do, from immediate orders to long term acts such as forgetting things the kobold knew as fact.

Lalep's face twisted in a balance of pain and sadness as he desperately tried to resist the command. He nonetheless turned in place and started towards the cliff-side he had just climbed. Vala watched for a moment, breathing hard through her bared teeth, before it finally sunk in what she had done. Vala panicked and stood.

"Wait, Lalep, stop! Don't leave me!" Lalep stopped in place, turning back towards her with a hurt expression. She went to sigh, only to have it turn into a low croon; dragons couldn't week like kobolds and instead had a nictitating membrane, a secondary eyelid, to clear the eyes of debris or keep them moist in flight without blinking. Instead, dragons would emit a low, warbling cry when upset.

Lalep's eyes immediately went damp and he held back a sob of his own. He wiped a forearm across his eye and approached her again. Vala snatched him up in her hand and brought her mate to her muzzle and they held each other as best their sizes would allow.

"I'm so sorry, Lalep. I didn't mean to do that. There's something wrong with me but...I don't know what will happen if I tell you why. It's too much..."

"It's okay's, Vala. Tell me what I's can do, an' I'll do it. I'm yours, my silver light. But I's can't do what you's need unless I's know what's wrong." The couple stared into each others' eyes for a few moments, before Vala closed her eyes and breathed deeply.

"Alright...."

Vala settled down, laying flat once more, and placed Lalep on the soft fins of her neck for comfort. She spent a few moments collecting herself, picking a point to begin or perhaps even a way to postpone the focus of her fears and doubts. Once calm, focusing on the feeling of her mate resting on her and his ever present support, she began.

"I suppose I should start with a clean slate. No more lies between us; you have given me every truth and every fibre of your being openly...most of the time," she gave him a funny growl as they both remembered his attempt at worming out of admitting his excessive training and he chuckled nervously in response, "and yet I have withheld this from you all this time. So, let us begin with introducing myself properly.

"As you are aware, I am known in these lands as a Siren dragon; my kin live far, far away from the Goshev's in the northern realms. Where I am from, old draconic is still used in the form of our songs. My species would be known as 'Karoe vur Draxaeyn', a dragonlord of song. My true name is Karoesila; 'My Third Song'. I was the youngest of three siblings."

"Tha's a pretty name! Kare....uh...Karro...." Lalep chewed on the word like a savage. The still present ego in Vala found it insulting but she forced the frustration back down.

"You need to let your tongue brush the top of your mouth in the lightest flick."

"Kalo....Karloe....Karoe...Karoe! Karoesila!" Unable to see him, she could still feel his proud smile just by the tone of his voice.

"It is still a name I feel unworthy of though, and we must keep this secret with Crater-Vale. Only Firaegin and Jaraesi know the truth."

"Oh, okies. I s'pose," he sounded quite disappointed, "I's just glad I's knows you as you, my silver light! Vala or Kal...Karoesila. You's still my all."

Vala smiled briefly, then forced the pain back to the front of her mind. No details hidden, everything from that terrible life she had lived. She gathered all the courage she had gained with her most adored mate, steeled her mind as best she could and talked as if in trance; the less she thought about it, the more likely she would be to tell all.

* * *

"Karoesila, come! The audience is starting." A deep rumble of a voice echoed down the lonely hall. Karoesila awoke, standing and following the voice. She had to attend as it was her duty. She could not fail him or there would be a punishment. Karoesila was the stranger here as a dragon from far to the north. She, as with her Northern kin, were physically weaker and less robust compared to the tougher and stronger Southern drakes. She had nonetheless been accepted in his presence and had to please him in all means as thanks.

Karoesila had willingly submitted to him. Having struck out on her own from her mothers care, quickly came to peril as her first lair collapsed in a violent storm. Her attempt to escape had sent her careening down a mountain and grievously injured. As with all dragons her wounds healed with time even without external care, but just his willingness to keep her fed, sheltered and giving her access to the clan kobolds for her needs was the kindest thing she could have hoped for.

Karoesila's saviour? Her mate, Reyaerik; a caring but firm dragon who had taken her in, brought her back to health and in seeking ways to return the immeasurable favour, she unveiled her gifts of singing and coercion. Their efforts combined to make the clan the best it could be. A worthy goal.

It had began small; convincing humans to divulge secrets, an extra gift here and there. Now Reyaerik asked for everything from anything he considered his. He would dangle the idea of actually mating her for hatchlings as a reward, yet always had his way with her when she was off her cycle.

'Poor little harlot...only worthy of affection when the toll had been paid...' said a voice beyond the trance. That voice again, an enemy within.

That meant that on this day, as with so many before in the forty years she had been with him, she would be required to sing. She was known back home as a dragon of song, but locally they called them Sirens; a species that made up for their physical weakness with a voice that could spin the mind into shapes that they so desired and convince the body to obey. For Karoesila, this meant dominating the minds of an upcoming audience with the humans within her mate's domain.

'You were but a tool,' the voice mockingly laughed.

The Siren moved through the narrow cave from her lair, separate from his. She watched kobolds bow on either side of the small openings along the way, the lesser beings knew their place well. Of course they did, for they served a great dragonlord. Karoesila exited the narrow pass and entered a vast chamber, her mate's lair. Long banners hung about, all depicting him, a mighty dragon indeed.

He sat atop his hoard, belly swollen from nearly half a century of effortless victory and brokered success with Karoesila beside him. She hoped she was some helpful part of that as she moved to just beside the largest stack of gold, melted into a large platform of golden bricks then topped with spent and flattened pillows. He looked down, eyeing her with concern. Not for her well-being, Karoesila knew, but for his plans.

"I trust you are prepared? I do not want a repeat of last time, my pet." He rumbled. The great green belly wobbled freely of the thicker black scales that covered the rest of him as he resettled onto his vast throne.

"Of course, my liege, my all. All glory to Reyaerik, Lord of the Skies and Earth." The siren turned her slender neck towards but not up to him, bowing low, holding still until his modest approval was delivered in the form of a barely satisfied grunt.

A company of humans arrived and Karoesila began singing a low, wordless song; an ambience to soften the mind. She paid no heed to the human leader, who exchanged words with her mate. Some coin given as a gift, a promise of more to come. The male dragon demanded more, and she heard his tail drag across the gold, a sign for her to act.

Karoesila began singing deeper, a stronger tune to crush human will to utter obedience. The lackeys of the human leader all lowered their heads as the tone lulled them into complete submission, but the leader clutched his ears, stepping forward and shouting not merely to be heard but to dull the song. The siren had no choice but to hear his words. She winced, and not for the first time, at what was spoken.

"My people are struggling, Lord Reyaerik! The ships we need to trade for your coin were destroyed by pirates! We have no way of creating what you demand and we even lack the coin to feed ourselves! I beg you! We need time!!" He fell to his knees. "Please have mercy on us!"

Reyaerik laughed loudly, mockingly. He patted his stomach as the human wept. Karoesila stopped singing, looking at the human with pity. This situation made no sense to her; these pirates were a group that Reyaerik had received tribute from before but she bit her tongue rather than speak her concerns, afraid of worsening the situation.

"Why did you stop!? Ingrates! BOTH of you!" he bellowed, a whirl of savage winds pouring from his mouth. The banners depicting his younger and less rotund form billowed and whipped about. Reyaerik turned back to the human with rage in his dark brown eyes and bile on his tone.

"I should tear you limb from limb, worm! Bah, yet that would give you too much import! Return to your worthless hovels and count the days until I strike back at your greed! Who has protected your town from bandits and more!? ME!"

Karoesila winced, looking across to the kobolds watching on from aside. The real protectors, if Reyaerik could be bothered to order them to help, stood obediently silent. Her mate roared and snarled, wishing the humans gone. The human representatives fled the chamber at the primal if not somewhat childish display of anger. With only kin remaining in the lair once more, he dragged his excessive self down and off of his throne. Karoesila lay flat and prepared, she felt his hand grab her neck in the same place he always did.

'You were his slave,' the voice continued.

"Listen, you pathetic whore! I did not have you pulled from that canyon, broken and battered, so you could betray me! Perhaps a wingless cretin like you deserved it? I could, after all these years, dig you another hole to cast you into, hm!?" He bared his teeth and pulled her head next to his.

"F-forgive...me, my liege...m...my all." Karoesila whimpered and she struggled to take in air. She would have cried in panic louder if it wouldn't have further upset her mate. She couldn't keep disappointing him like this. She wished it could be like before.

Forty more years of this treatment came and went. Every few days another group of humans. Karoesila began do her utmost to please her mate, but her weakness would often throw her against Reyaerik's wishes as she developed sympathy for the surfacers. Her time alone became a double edged blessing; for a dragon of songs, it was torture as they thrived on the company of others, yet now it was her only time to try and be herself. Her only companions were the kobolds who respected her as a dragon, and little else. Karoesila desired the apparent freedoms the kobolds enjoyed; a place in the world unspoken, work with companionship...to live such a life....

'You became one, inside and out...fitting for such weakness!' The voice affirmed her wishes as plainly as they could. It was most certainly weakness yet compared to the pressure of being Reyaerik's mate, it was the deepest blessing.

Her wish to escape drifted her dreams into a spell. Her only true spell, in fact. Her pity of the kobolds, her study of their forms and sympathy for their burdens. She awoke one day to find herself a small, tiny thing. Her head flooded with the words, symbols and numbers to enact it again at her choosing.

Karoesila wandered in honest glee for the first time in nearly a century under Reyaerik. She watched them work, relax and simply talk, the most basic pleasure she could enjoy with her mate. She saw the mining group, exhausted and fretting about falling behind schedule. With a determined smile, she walked to the middle of their group, and called to mind a song; a song of battle, courage and grit. A song her mother had given her for desperate times, in the oldest tongue in the land. Words of hidden power were called forth, none but she knew their meaning, but they had to be sung traditionally.

She began to sing...

* * *

"Waiting's! I's know that one, that's the singing's you did to me earlier!" Lalep broke Vala's focus. She was actually thankful for the distraction as she briefly forgot what was to come.

"Oh...yes, my sweet! Would you like to know the words in modern draconic?"

"You's betcha!" Lalep pulled himself off Vala as she flicked her fins. She then sat upright to give a proper performance, without the old language it lacked power but she felt her fins extend all the same;

"Please rise my friend, to victory wend, battle yet to be fought

Be strong of mind, for dragon kind, 'gainst that our foes hath wrought

Stand by my side, on courage ride, our fate in troubles fraught

Be stilled of heart, as we depart, on that your masters taught

"With shields affixed, and stood betwixt, one 'nother and abreast

On endless strength, and at spears length, your skill and valour blessed

They'll break on charge, 'gainst bloody targe, on martial prowess test

With hours long, please heed my song, and soon we shall all rest

"Once more my friend, loss to amend, our kin and allies grieve

You stand again, ne'er to be slain, foe heart and neck to cleave

A call beyond, fear to recond, your spirit please believe

With dragon's cry, we cannot die, your rest yet to receive"

Lalep applauded with all the enthusiasm he usually gave; an exhaustive but endearing amount. Vala at first bowed, but remembered the songs place in her tale. She lay flat and let Lalep climb onto her neck once more. The siren grew sullen and continued. This was it. This was what would cost her everything she cared for.

* * *

With each ancient word, the miners felt their blood quicken with power. They would work more hours than they ever had before, and they would no longer be punished for falling behind. They had to work hard for their dragonlord with increasing demand, and harder still when he realised they were capable of seemingly endless work.

Karoesila helped them whenever she could, as often as needed for the miners to achieve their dragonlord's lofty expectations. Other kobolds from other professions would help, a vast community effort to appease Reyaerik; a new vein of gold, ripe for the plucking. A months work; the deadline was a few days. Karoesila wouldn't let them fail!

'Yet you failed them! To appease Reyaerik, no less! Yes.....remember them. Each and every one! Male and female, young and old! So many 'friends' ended. Monster....you deserved to die with them!' The voice was a venomous whisper.

Dead bodies. Kobolds of all walks of life lined the mines, slumped and still as the damage from her songs had taken their toll; their faces twisted in final attempts to breathe, chests clutched as hearts stopped; the cessation of her magic took the last of their very souls from them. Each was ran thin from malnourishment and none had slept in days. She had betrayed them for Reyaerik's approval.

Karoesila screamed in horror and her voice shook the mines. The ceiling caved, and she fled. She reached the commons and the other kobolds, the few that had remained, looked at her; they said nothing, but the stares...the accusations....all unvoiced but clear; they could not say such things to their dragonlord's mate.

She staggered to her chamber, turned back to her monstrous body and crooned, the low cry warbling down the corridor and filled the whole clan network.

Reyaerik screamed at her to come to him but for the first time since becoming his mate, she refused. He couldn't fit down the corridor and she desired solitude, as long as was needed to come to terms with her grief. If she ever came to terms; her spirit had finally broke from a century of torment with Reyaerik.

The humans, lead by dragon hunters, attacked just days after. With few kobolds to defend him and hugely unfit, Reyaerik was slain while she fled down the kobold tunnels from her tiny lair. Karoesila escaped from the clan caves with the few kobolds that remained, but like a coward she continued on in dragon form when the sun rose, leaving them behind to fend for themselves. They were blind in the light, and they didn't stand a chance alone, but she was terrified beyond thinking.

'You should have protected them! What kind of dragon are you!? Coward!!' The voice roared in disgust. The bellowing call cowed her own mind into submission, pushing her back out of her trance...

* * *

Vala gasped and Lalep fell from her neck as she struggled for air. She wasn't sure if she had held her breath or it was merely the panic. Collecting herself, Vala continued without drifting back; keeping with the now. She couldn't face that voice again; it was deeply troubling.

"I-I just wanted to help." She sank back to the floor. Lalep once more approached and placed a gentle hand on her cheek.

"It's okay, Vala...I's know you, you wouldn't hurting's anyone on purpose who didn't deserving's it."

"I thought I knew the risks....I cost so many lives to appease Reyaerik. Even worse, I left them to fend for themselves when the hunters came! I was such a coward...I'm a monster!" Vala barely held back the urge to croon again. Only Lalep's gentle, stroking hands kept her from doing so; once more, his tiny form a pillar of boundless strength for her.

"Then after I fled, that was when I went to the humans in Crayfield. So now you know all of me. I'm sorry....I'm so sorry! I don't deserve you. I don't deserve any of the things given to me!" She buried her head in her hands. She expected Lalep's hand to pull away, to leave her and never return.

It never did. He kept slowly stroking her.

There was a moment of silence and the pair both considered what she had said about her past. Vala grew somewhat more comfortable as Lalep continued to remain with her; once more her hero in a time of need. Even so she felt a deep sense that perhaps he was hiding his true feelings; of disgust at her and her vile acts against his kin. The doubts refused to fade as the ego continued to tug within.

"You know what? It doesn't matter." Lalep said and held her neck as tightly as his arms would allow. He was speaking slowly again, cautiously and smoothly. "You're not a monster, Vala. You're beautiful, and kind. Me and Crater-Vale are lucky to have you. You're the best thing to happen to me, and I wouldn't even matter if I didn't have you by my side." Lalep pecked her cheek, a light dab of the tongue. Vala couldn't help but give him the lightest nuzzle she could out of fear of knocking him off his feet.

"I's sad for them kobolds," Lalep returned to his normal speaking pace and climbed on her fins again, "but....you's couldn't know, Vala. You's were doin' your best to help them like a good dragonlord should. An' I's remember you tryin' to carry me back when we first meetin'; you couldn't carry all them kobolds alone when you's were scared out of your mind." Vala felt his hands stroke her fins. It reminded her of how her mother would pet her as a hatchling, tiny blunts of her claw tips running in gentle patterns.

"I wonder if Reyaerik ever really cared about me." Vala sighed, realising it wasn't an question Lalep could answer, then she winced as she realised she was simply asking for more pity, the ego grew even more restless as her doubts carried on; the selfish beast always wishing to be the centre of attention. Her heart was feeling less clouded at Lalep's words but her slowly building heat was still a concern and her mind was still disturbed by it.

"Fuck'em. Reyaerik didn't deserve you's. If he were still alive, I'd stab out his eyes." Vala couldn't help but snicker at the brazen disrespect to a dragonlord. Bold indeed. His enthusiasm bringing a lighter tone that plucked her from endless melancholy.

"Oh, are we upgrading from humans to dragons now? Should I fear for my own life, my sweet?" Vala flinched her fins slightly, trying to suggest he climb off again, yet he was too busy with his tangent.

"Pfft, dumb bastard'd never see me comin'. No dragon but Emperor Firaegin'll best me!" He chuckled. He then yelped as Vala flicked her fins open and launched him off of her. Lalep controlled the flip and landed on his feet, flawlessly.

"In fact, I's bet I can tame you's, mighty dragoness! This ego of you's is no match for Lalep the Bold!" He thumbed his own chest, standing as mighty and tall as one could in the presence of a dragon. The two foot and nine inch kobold had a soul in him many times his size. Vala couldn't believe that despite her horrific tale and the barely buried emotions within her, he made her grin...no, she fully smiled.

"I have no doubt, my sweet but...." She sat up, thumb gesturing to herself in the same way with one hand, then peeked at Lalep between her other thumb and index claw, sizing him up. Her slender body alone was ten times longer than he was tall, not including the strikingly long fifty foot tail; standing upright and extending her graceful neck, she would be taller than Jaraesi's impressive and stockier forty five foot standing height. "I have the utmost respect, my heroic kobold, but I don't think you've thought it through."

"I's thinkin', I's thinkin'! Jus' need a li'l time is all." He relaxed a little, rubbing one of his horns. Vala lay flat again, and Lalep leaned against her neck, arms folded behind his head as he reclined against her.

If nothing else, Vala was glad for the stillness in her chest once more. Her sadness had emptied and yet again she felt Lalep had pulled her through a crisis, giving her another chance to try and rid her mind of the ever-present heat. Minutes turned to an hour as they simply lay in silence. Lalep suddenly snorted and giggled.

"So....how's about a tongue bath? If you's feelin' up to it?" Lalep stood and looked her in the eye up close, eye-ridges crooked into a weird form of gentle frown yet still grinning. She saw his expression and knew it well; he was plotting something incredibly brilliant or exceptionally stupid.

"I-I suppose, but no funny business while you're in there! I don't feel like choking on my mate tonight and I swear if you touch yourself....part of that lewdness is likely to be what caused this to begin with!"

"Exemplar's honour! I's will not pull any tricks in you's mouth!" He bowed his head and clasped his hands together.

Vala didn't trust him in the slightest at that point and yet she still felt guilty for ordering him earlier. She picked him from the floor and held him to her muzzle again; her dark grey tongue once more pulled gentle strokes across his form, feeling every divot and crease of his tight muscles. Eventually she gently placed him into her maw and mulled him around within, coating him in her saliva. It was one thing to feel his body in her hands, but the intimate sensation of orally feeling him wasn't helping her still present heat.

Vala had to occasionally adjust his position with a hand in her mouth to keep him from going too far back. Despite his good behaviour, she felt herself become increasingly flustered at having him in her mouth again. Memories of her earlier act, suckling on her mate's shaft and lower body flooded her mind. The sensation of holding Lalep's life in such gentle balance was exciting for both; Lalep even enjoyed the feeling, saying it gave him a constant reminder of how powerful Vala was, even if she wouldn't admit to how it made her ego feel. Said ego's predatory thoughts flared and drove her heat higher.

After a few minutes of tasting her mate, she opened her jaws and placed her hand next to it. Lalep crawled out, utterly soaked, and she lowered him to the ground.

"Satisfied? I will say though, thank you for keeping yourself under control." Vala managed to maintain her composure with her tone, although now she could feel a distinct tingle at her nethers. Lalep winked up at her and nodded, then looked skyward.

"Y'know, bein' under the stars reminding's me of the first time we's coupled as kobolds. The cold, my heating's spell, the stars....heh, we were pretty gentle comparing's to what we do now, eh?" Lalep rubbed her saliva over himself, his body glistening in the starlight. Vala looked at his fine, tight muscles, mind going into sultry places alongside the memories of their pairings. She wanted to shift back into a kobold and run her tongue along his scales one by one, and feel the subtle motions of his muscles as he gripped her in his arms and took her as his mate.

"Mmmh," Vala didn't even realise how sultry the short moan was, "even thinking of our first coupling, as crude as it was. I was so desperate, I was practically a rutting male; mindlessly eager. I screamed my mating call over and over until we both collapsed from exhaustion. A shame you can't make yourself bigger or this whole mess would be over." Vala could feel the heat tension in her mind swell; it was no longer a lurking thought, it was now fighting her.

Lalep bringing up their first moments together didn't help much either; she felt her cloacal folds finally engorge and spread as she recalled the feeling of his enlarged kobold-hood in her, the relentless smack of flesh on flesh her awakening call from the first curse.

Already tense, Vala lowered her front and raised her haunches trying to get air to herself, to cool the heat. She let her rump rise and fall to waft the breeze around it, letting out a low moan as her ego poked at her arousal, making demands that Vala struggled to ignore. She could control this. She at least hoped she could. She felt the driving urge to use her mating call and turn back to a kobold; to once more have Lalep have his way with her. It wouldn't help but the temptation was staggering.

Lalep was even a slightly soothing presence having been able to voice her nightmare to him, despite his odd request and....shining form. He was a striking figure in spite of his tiny size, the tightness of his slim muscles. Vala shook her head; the distractions were at a dangerous level. If she didn't know any better, he did all of this on purpose; the memories of their pairings wouldn't leave her mind.

Just the look of him was now starting to drive her wild; the pointed features of his face, the smooth curve of his horns, the dark edges of his pink eyes. Vala watched the slow rise and fall of his chest, the soft pale belly, the definition of the cords of muscle that ran from his core to his tail, close to harder scales around his groin, concealing the copper-toned shaft within...she clenched below and nibbled her lip. Her mind was mired in obscene thoughts and she started breathing harder and faster.

"I'm gonna jog a bit, get'n the feelin' of air on my wet scales," Lalep called as he jogged around and behind her. The words barely pulled her from the depths of her immense lust; her thoughts ran away with the idea of rubbing her folds against the cliff for some sort of release. Vala tried to tell herself it wouldn't work, that she was too far gone. She needed something to calm her but her mind swam in the need to mate. She clutched her hands around her eyes and began to shiver; her heat was in full effect.

"Ahhn!.... S-sure thing, m-my sweet. Don't mind me, just trying to geOOH-WHAT-IN-THE-FUCKING-ALL-DRAGON!?" Vala screamed. A squish, a lightning bolt up her spine, a pressure in her folds and a surge of pleasure. Lalep had flung himself into her cloaca head first. He squirmed and pulled himself in deeper, his claws tickling her insides.

Her passage, as with all female dragons, was well suited to the hard and even somewhat sharp lower protrusions of a dragons cock, with Lalep's tiny claws and horns being a fair comparison; an almost perfect one in fact to her addled mind. She dragged her own claws against the ground, cutting small chunks from the stone surface as she felt her mind get dragged, kicking and screaming even further from sensible thought.

Vala hated to admit it but the thought of having her mate literally inside her was now a fetish she didn't even realise she had, making her plunge deeper into her already relentless lusts. She wouldn't, however, let it come to full fruition without voicing her concerns.

"GET OUT!! HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND!?" she roared, even invoking her commands in a panic, but Lalep was so deep inside her now she wasn't sure he could hear. She felt the saliva pooling in her muzzle as her mind was awash in a war of anger and arousal. She convulsed, her long back and tail rippling like a violent ocean wave as Lalep continued to push against her inner folds. She tried to clench and force him out, only to find him make rapid progress deeper, his narrow body stretching her to her utmost.

"L...Lalep! You h-have to stop! I can't.....c....ccaaan't....I'm losing...con..." Vala pleaded, no longer able to muster the mental focus to shout. It was useless, and she knew it; if her earlier roar went unheard then there was no way this weak cry would stop him.

Her mind grew weaker still, and the ego was getting stronger, demanding to take over. Every single touch was sending pulses up her body, her muzzle twisting into a smile that betrayed any attempt at outrage. The fact he was inside her continued to baffle the last rational parts of her mind, squashing the emotion of anger at his audacity and revel in how he was doing this for her. Her kobold mate was successfully pleasuring her as a dragon!

It was absurd, it was dangerous, and it was maddeningly brash. It was also exciting, it was driving her adrenaline beyond anything Vala had ever felt and the adoration of the risk he was taking for her sake was the last thought she could muster before she decided to give in on her own terms. She was going to enjoy this, and damn the consequences.

Vala moaned in rapid and noisy gasps, acting more like a mating hall pleasure kobold than a dragonlord. Vala scraped her thin scaled chest against the ground as she lost control, wriggling against the rocky surface and continued to shiver. Then she pinched her muzzle shut to hold back the inevitable pleasured shriek as Lalep's hand glanced and plucked her sensitive inner ridges. Between the physical, emotional and raw sensation of the act, Vala had never felt so loved; this was more than everything she had ever hoped for from Reyaerik but with the absolute kindness of her dearest Lalep.

This was no single smooth tongue; these was raking hands, flicking passes, light slaps and worse...or better. Her vision swam and Vala did her best to hold back her scream as an orgasm rocked through her, sending her collapsing to the ground. Despite the rushing deluge within, Lalep continued to work her; the last whimsical thought she held was that she swore he was fighting a battle in there. Then she lost her mind's grip on her body as gallons of sticky juices began pouring from her cloaca.

Normal thought overwhelmed, Vala briefly slumped and grew still before the dragon ego within finally brought itself to dominance. The proud and vicious dragon stood to take control; Vala was expecting a swift and forceful end to this whole mess, the draconic outrage at being used by a servant surely could not stand. It may have demanded Lalep pleasure her kobold body, but as a dragon? It would be an insult of the highest order. Her mate even seemed to retreat at the changing of her mind, and the dragoness heard the subtle sound of Lalep taking several gasping breaths after parting the outer walls of her cloaca.

Vala realised this was the opportunity her ego needed as it twisted her neck to face her back half; she just needed to demand he leave her body and things could go back to normal.

"More, you glorious, tiny bastard! I demand more! I'M YOURS TO BREAK!!"

Vala would have gone slack jawed if she had control over it.

The dragon within bellowed a laugh of wanton joy. Vala realised the ego had even made the lustful cries a command, and she felt Lalep obediently crawl back inside her under their power. The ego began bracing herself for the coming storm before falling into a rapid rhythm of shameless gasps and heady moans that could likely be heard by Crater-Vale's entrance.

The ego seemed to rejoice in her triumph over Vala's crushed hopes at bringing this to any brisk end, and she swore the rampant slut of an ego was moaning as loud as possible to draw attention to or embarrass her further. Once more, Lalep began throwing his whole body at her inner walls.

"YES! YES!! HARDER!!" The ego bellowed, voice echoing in the air with growing force and volume.

Reaching another frantic peak, her mating passage contracted around Lalep and ceased some of his movements only to have him sink a gentle bite on her sensitive grooves. Vala's whole body went rigid, her torso slowly widening as she drew one last breath and her neck fins splaying out as her ego finally attained her own orgasm. She expressed her joy the only way she could; she screamed with absolute force.

Vala hadn't unleashed such a scream in centuries. It was the Siren equivalent of dragon's breath; a vocal outburst of a magnitude that could rip a human to pieces up close. A visible shock-wave of sound shattered the stone all around her, and her cloaca sprayed a nearby cliff with a loud splash before gushing like a waterfall to fill the cracked floor. How Lalep remained within her was a mystery, not that Vala really could make sense of anything at this point.

Vala's mouth dribbled openly and her eyes crossed, the world faded to blurry and muting colours as she collapsed for a second time, smacking her face into the floor and tongue wiggling across the rock in wild spasms. Even now, Lalep did not relent but his continued efforts no longer earned him the convulsions and guttural screams.

Vala had no reason or thought processes left, she was a quivering mass of flesh, bone and scale as three lesser gushes poured from within her, each earning an exhausted moan since she lacked the motor control to scream. Vala was no longer moving beyond small convulsions, and a moment later she felt something move from within, exiting her. A yellow smudge crossed her vision.

"Folaxetha jirabe hexip's? Vala? Vala!?" The funny shape said. It moved part of its form closer to her, but she couldn't make out what, her senses failed and she was beyond even confusion.

"Wait, what? What beneath sky and cloud is going on!? I know that's draconic! Why isn't it making sense!?" Vala was suddenly aware of being inside of a cavity, viewing the world as if stuck in a bubble made of her actual head; it was almost like being cursed all over again and her voice was muffled and quiet. It didn't make any sense now though, nor did the fact she was in kobold form or even that there was another kobold by her; identical to her but covered in the frills and fins of her dragon form.

"I do believe Lalep has fucked us senseless. Haha! Good boy! Just as ordered," said the finned kobold with a massive grin, before she held out her hand to her companion, "Karoesila, by the way. I'm your dragon ego in case you forgot, which judging by the loneliness in my heart, is highly likely. Just call me Karoe." Vala stared for a moment before taking it and shook it in return.

"What is actually happening?" Vala asked_._ She became aware Karoe had no problem talking here.

"I just told you! We've been fucked senseless." Karoe gestured around them. "I don't really get this bubble either, I think it might be based on how you felt while out of control such as when we were cursed. Either that or our brain is so out of itself that we've been forced to actually meet as separate entities instead of the usual overlap. Hmph, well, whatever's the case we might as well spend the time working out 'us'."

"What do you mean?"

"We're in this mess because YOU keep ignoring me!" Karoe pointed an accusing, wagging finger. "Spending weeks as a servant? Being mated by the help? Not taking a proper dragon dick for decades? Any of this ring any bells?"

"Oooh, du! Jur's caraxet? Rezuselit yaxatorim's, Vala!? Hey, Vala! Jur's caraxet!?" The yellow blur said in an increasing panic.

"He's worried he's damaged us. That's actually very sweet. A worthy attribute in a mate. A far cry from that bloated fuck." Karoe mused.

"Lalep did this to us....?" Vala paused before laughed at the absurdity of it all; a kobold a fraction of her size driving her over an edge even Reyaerik couldn't. "I never would have imagined that he could....hah, but he did say he'd do it." She giggled and clutched at her cheeks.

"I mean sure, he's good with you as a kobold, but I wasn't going to be left out of the picture." Karoe shrugged but bared her teeth in a wide smile and placed her hands on her cheeks. "I've never felt like that before...damned runt is a keeper! But YOU, Vala, need to quit hating me... us, even. It's unbecoming and it's putting a strain on our little big mate out there." Karoe nodded to the yellow mass that continued to move about in their blurred vision, no doubt pacing in a panic.

"But...all the people I've hurt..." Vala wanted to cry to display sympathy, but she was a joined figment of both her and her ego's thoughts; Karoe wouldn't allow it, forcing Vala to notice the circumstances of her failures. For a moment, they were one entity.

"Think as I do, Vala. Do you feel that? The chain around our neck made of gratitude, fear and guilt from that fat bastard Reyaerik? The absolute terror fleeing the humans and abandoning the kobolds? Even if you COULD think rationally then, we couldn't carry all of them! Should we have played favourites? Slowed ourselves and got caught against humans who wanted us ALL dead!?"

"_Then we should have stopped and fought! Reyaerik's kobolds deserved to live! We are a dragon, and we had a choice!! I heard you in my dreams, you were belittling me! You hated how I acted!"_Vala screamed back at Karoe, who shrugged.

"You don't get it, do you? Those words in your dream were YOU! YOUR doubts, your own fucking weaknesses! I was trying to help you out of the pit you had dug yourself into!" Karoe snarled. Vala looked shocked to silence, so Karoe continued.

"We weren't a dragon then, either! You were Reyaerik's pet! You were his fucking KOBOLD before you could even turn into one! Why'd you think you're obsessed with being one!? It was pounded into us for a hundred years along with that fat bastard's dick, and we THANKED HIM for it!! Whoever we sang to, we ruined; just as we had been told to! Oh, and do you seriously think we had a chance against an actual dragon hunting party? That was when I finally took control, for a brief fucking moment! We would be DEAD without me!"

Vala looked through Karoe's memories a few times, and realised the truth; her ego was right. They were broken long before they had been cursed and she had no experience fighting humans, let alone those who knew how to fight dragons. Every true instinct within her was squashed by Reyaerik first, but also by her own foolishness carried it on. Only absolute fear had made her react sensibly, the utter fear of death.

"As for Crayfield?" Karoe shrugged, her tone dismissive, "humans fight against each other all the time; they're chaotic creatures with odd whims beyond our limited experience and understanding. We may have imposed ourselves on Crayfield because we wanted to like them and keep them safe, but let's face reality; every time we helped them, we weakened them. They relied on us for everything!"

"I-I guess. I mean, we tried, I suppose. They made me feel guilty for ignoring them. The gifts, the hours of pleading. Our whole life has been a huge failure since we struck out on our own, and I hadn't been happy for so long until Lalep saved us and supported us. I doubt-"

An overwhelming vibration shook both imaginary mind kobolds into falling over as their form physically said something, a response to Vala and Karoe matching thoughts. They clutched their heads and the three aspects spoke at the same time.

"Idixi tohi! Idixi tohi! Yaaaaay!!" Their body said, and slapped the yellow cloud with her tongue.

Karoe giggled to herself. Vala dreaded the translation.

"'Yellow boy, yellow boy, yay'? That seals it, even without a working brain we adore him." Karoe tried to stop giggling but couldn't. Vala shook her own head in embarrassment, but couldn't help but laugh alongside her ego. They both stood, and regarded each other more as friends, rather than distant rivals.

"That works for me!" A strange weight lifted from Vala's mind, her voice strengthened. _"_Alright, I forgive you...me? Us! I guess a dragon can only run for so long. Although we have to stick to how things are. Lalep's still Crater-Vale's Exemplar, so while we live here, we have to stick to Firaegin's rules."

"Good point, but swear to me!" Karoe grabbed Vala's shoulders and brought the two of them close."We're in this together once more, and we have a caring mate this time. He may not be a dragon, but you better believe he's still doing everything we could ask of him. As much as I want us to be a dragon, we're going to have to follow your lead here, as the kobold of the two of us.

"So quit being a brooding, self loathing idiot, wake up, and go hug that 'yellow boy'. Either that or make him a drooling pile on the floor like us in revenge. In any case, Karoesila, Vala...both of us. Kobold or dragon, we are one clan!"

"Yes, I swear! One clan; kobold, dragon and mate!" Vala gestured to herself, her companion and to the yellow blur in turn. She couldn't help but smile as things made more sense than ever before. She felt complete for the first time in a hundred and forty years; since the night of her collapsing lair. Karoe pulled Vala's attention to her again with a less than subtle giggle.

"Oh, and he IS doing this to us again." Karoe licked her muzzle. "You're gonna have to keep scratching MY itch at least once in a while or I'll force him to. I'll let you ask first though. I'd probably demand he service us like this every day if you don't."

"Hah. Sure, I swear that too. I might even enjoy it more than you do, Karoe."

The two held each others arms. They tilted their heads down and pressed their foreheads together.

The now unified entity that formed Karoesila snapped awake, feeling her face pull strands from the floor from the copious amounts of drool she was bathing in. She felt warm throughout her whole body; a deeply fulfilled sense of comfort, peace of heart and mind. More than anything, she felt powerful; as a dragon should. This despite the fact everything was still hazy as she was still recovering from the cause of her catatonia.

"Oh, thankies to the All-Dragon...you's okay, Vala?" Lalep peered into her eyes with equal parts concern and joy. Right, she still had to call herself that. His concern almost seemed silly, but her heart thumped with joy and she looked back with a longing smile.

"It came from over here! Double time!" Another kobold voice called from nearby before Vala could respond. She tried to turn into a kobold, but she found her thoughts still just a little too disjointed to bring the spell together.

Vala sucked in a strong breath and snapped up Lalep in her maw, leaping to her feet. She swept her gaze about to find a route, and saw a reachable lip above from the plateau they had been on. Vala dashed as fast as she dared, scrambling up the ledge and putting as much distance between her and the approaching patrol as possible but her size meant she had to move quickly. She reached a flat, open plain and spotted a cave a good distance away.

Vala lowered her head as she charged towards the opening, slowly letting Lalep from her maw. With the same expert balance he always used, he dropped to a run without breaking stride. Vala again tried to shift forms, catching small parts of it right but failing at the last moment. Her form glowed over and over as the energy was invoked but not put to use. They reached the cave, and Lalep looked up to her.

"You's can do it, Vala! Thinking small!" He called as loud as he dared with the nearby pursuit.

"Think small....think small...think....eep!" Vala did indeed turn into a kobold, but way up where her body was instead of shrinking down by her feet; she had miscalculated the final step of the spell. She cried out as she fell the twenty feet her mid-body stood above the ground, only to feel her landing cushioned by a hard body with a loud, male grunt. Thanks to their tough scales and light weight, there would likely only be bruises to worry about as Lalep withstood the impact of her body after leaping beneath her.

Despite clearly being winded, he growled with effort and stood with Vala in his arms, legs and back supported the same way she had done to him earlier. She pointed to the cave.

"Onward, my heroic Lalep!" Vala giggled before pretending to swoon dramatically.

"Of coursing's, my silver light!"

Lalep carried Vala through the cave gap, only a small shelter within, and the two panted for breath at the excitement as she dismounted from his arms. They may have just been fleeing their own clan but even so, it felt just scary enough to get the adrenaline flowing. A little adventure for Vala and Lalep, as with those before and no doubt many after.

This night though, Vala turned and pinned her mate to the wall, kissing him. They were both covered in partially dried saliva, female ejaculate and they may not have even bathed again when they got home, all that mattered right now was the company they were in. He pushed her back, spun them around and repeated the gesture back on her, pinning her arms low and by her hips and resumed tasting each others mouths. They stopped after countless moments, Lalep gently releasing her.

"You's feelin' better now, Vala?" He looked serious, and Vala couldn't help but giggle, making him sigh with relief a moment after.

"Yes! Lalep the Bold has conquered a dragon this night." She pushed him back again, then they came to a wordless agreement; balance. The couple stood away from the wall, wrapped in each others arms, and enjoyed the simple feeling of scale on scale. Any and all lust had cleared, and all they wanted was to feel each other; the beat of their hearts, the rise and fall of their chests and the squeeze of each others arms.

At least for that night. Both were far too appeased with the evenings activities.

There would be time to explore the new sensations they had felt, the new freedoms and quirks they had developed. They did take note of this cave, to that end, for when Vala's ego next needed attention. They would need some bedding brought here, but that was a problem for another day.

Vala's confessions to Lalep and accepting her past aside, nothing would really change between them after this night. It didn't need to.

Vala had Lalep, and Lalep had Vala. As before and forever on.

Vala was now finally living her dream, and Lalep once more lived in bliss.

* * * * *

Part 4: Kaja's Duty

Kaja ran his hand over the fire. He winced, but no more than one would at being pinched. It had been years since his change from dragon to kobold and yet he still felt a subtle amazement that his once fireproof scales still protected him from actual harm; amazement, but also a sense of being unable to move from it. He removed his hand from the flame and leaned back, immersed up to his waist in hot water; a still filling granite basin, the water pouring through a shallow copper tube above the fire, heating as it trickled through.

A moment of peace in the chaos that Crater-Vale delivered unto him daily. This was Kaja's duty; a penance for his gross neglect of once loyal kobolds in his life as a dragon. It was stressful, tiring and relentless but it granted him a catharsis that soothed his soul. Every time he looked at the hatchery reports numbers increasing, the gradings of his now fellow kobolds thriving he felt the villain he had once been fall a little further away.

It had started at eighty kobolds cut down from a hundred by the time Firaegin had cowed Jaraesi. They lived, these lucky few; they may be faces in a growing crowd, but they lived. Of course Jaraesi's clan had melded with Crater-Vale; Clan Hoar-Frost no longer existed, and the three thousand of the Empress' numbers allowed the rapid growth. Many of these surviving Crater-Valeans were the more famous kobolds now, owing to Jaraesi's early disregard to the 'lesser kins' worth and the struggles of maintaining Crater-Vale bringing the best from each of Karajan's dwindling numbers.

Kaja remembered every name of the twenty lost. He spent an hour of his rest schedule dedicated to remembering the names of these kin as well as those from further back on record from Karajan's tenure as dragonlord. He prayed to the All-Dragon for them to be the soul of a good drake somewhere; a better purpose than the one he forced upon them. To any other Underboss, it would almost seem pointless living in the past as he did; yet for Kaja, a mind who had seen over a thousand years, it was still too soon to let them go.

Their names, their souls, their coloured scales; a tapestry of wasted lives, the assessments of the hatchery nurses who spoke of their promise, the dreams and hopes of each drove him to do better. He had to; for Firaegin, for Jaraesi, to every single kobold that made Crater-Vale the greatest clan in the known world. Kaja was the Underboss, and he would do better.

Kaja wouldn't cry for their losses, though. An old rule he himself had instated during the times of struggle beneath Underboss Figin; Do not waste water; be it spilled of cup or eye. A rule that had been long since abolished; many hands saw to the simple plumbing, as well as those who ran the purifier supplies. To Kaja, it remained gospel; the rules he had forced the kobolds to live under were now his litany of living. If they were forced upon those he ruled over in a time of desperation and need, then in these days of plenty Kaja would enact these rules on himself.

It was only fair he exact these conditions on himself. He sneered at his long sleeps to ignore the pitiful state Crater-Vale had been under. Passing the Flame had been his only positive act in the last few centuries of his draconic lifespan, and it didn't outweigh his guilt. Thirty self imposed rules until Firaegin controlled the whole land.

The only soul around who could break his rules was, in fact, Firaegin himself. Kaja's heart fluttered as he thought of him. His power; second to the All-Dragon. His kindness; endless as the sky. Kobolds were a race bred of singular purpose, and now they had a ruler who offered them the world.

Kaja pulled a chain, shutting off the water-flow. No more water, this was plenty despite the basin only being a third full. He deserved no luxury until a thousand years of being wrong was cleared of his mind. It might never happen, for he only had likely a hundred and fifty years to pay the debt owed back. He almost wished he could run the outer fringes of Firaegin's empire instead of the safe haven of Crater-Vale, but then he wouldn't be near his most adored emperor.

The Underboss opened a small jar nearby, a refreshing smell coming from within. It wasn't his favourite scale pumicite blend but it would do; he dabbed an meagre amount on a rough, soaked cloth and set to scrubbing himself. As much as he enjoyed being covered in his emperor's potent scent, this was a time for duty, not carnal pleasures. He had already sent a trusted cleaner to his quarters, complete with the reward of a bottle of wine for the fellow, after Kaja's cure for his emperor came to fruition. To be of such service to Firaegin sent a pleasant warmth up Kaja's body.

He sat back and smiled. Kaja's tasks; to move sand from one desert to another in scope, but Firaegin was his oasis.

Kaja adored him like no other he had met; dragon or kobold. Perhaps it was his weakening body as Karajan, perhaps his encroaching mortality had finally broken his foolish assumption that the spiritual bond between he and his servant was a strength beyond the scrap of extra power it had afforded him, or maybe Kaja simply had 'a type' as kobolds tend to gain over the years of breeding. Whatever the case, his emperor made his spirit soar. If he could have Firaegin or Figin by his side all the time, Kaja would never get anything done, but he could live with that to be in his presence.

Kaja sighed and then thought of Jaraesi. He appreciated the place she had in Firaegin's heart, and that her cowing to his magnificence was the logical outcome to the freshly born dragon obeying the ego that had suddenly appeared in his mind. That wouldn't stop Kaja from feeling jealous of her affections. He knew he could never compete with her; A dragonlord and a kobold competing for their emperors heart?

Kaja simply sighed with a bitter taste forming on his tongue.

Kaja finished cleaning himself with a quick rinse and climbed from the bath, kicking open the sluice panel and drying himself on a clean towel. No sooner as he did, Trapsmith Safa entered and saluted, orange scaled hand just above green eye; clearly he had been waiting for the sound of draining water and the order was important yet not urgent.

"Underboss Kaja! Our Mighty Emperor has requested you meet him at the third peak in two hours and fifty five minutes!"

"Oh? Did His Grace mention what it concerned?" Kaja threw the towel over a drying rack.

"Afraid not, Underboss! But... um....uh..." Safa stumbled with his words and Kaja nodded for him to continue. "I'd heard from the alchemists that His Greatness was unwell....is everything alright, boss?" Safa wrung his hands. Kaja shook his head and gently patted the Trapsmith on the shoulder.

"He is well! Listen to your heart, my friend." Kaja took one of Safa's hands and placed it against the Trapsmith's chest. "Do you feel it? The energy and power within? Does that feel like a kobold in the service of an unwell dragonlord?" Safa obeyed the direction, looking down and splaying his fingers, palm to chest. Even Kaja felt the firm rhythm within.

"You're right, boss! Forgive my doubts." Safa looked relaxed at last. "Thank you. Work calls, sir. Excuse me."

"All as one beneath All-Dragon and Emperor, Trapsmith! To the glory of Crater-Vale!" Kaja smiled and pointed to the exit. Safa beamed a grin, saluted and darted off. Kaja's smile dropped and he gently scratched his chin.

"What could Firaegin need....hmph, no matter. Duty calls." Kaja stepped outside of the private bath chamber and into the common baths. Kobolds from all walks of life were enjoying the warming spring water with the subtle smell of soap and perfumed pumicite throughout. The off-run, a near opaque and murky collection of the kobold baths, ran down and into a more polluted channel of unmixed colours and a foul smell. It reminded Kaja of his first task; Alchemist Hiwa.

The Underboss left the bathhouse and looked down the hall to the waterclock. He was ashamed to admit it, but when the clock as a gift was proposed, Firaegin only accepted it for Kaja's benefit. Try as he might, he still hadn't quite got used to the internal scheduling a naturally born kobold developed. He looked at the mechanism and planned how to spend his time.

"So...hour walk to the third peak....right, alchemist, duty rosters, walk the floor, Firaegin..." Kaja repeated the list to himself a few times as he walked to the engineering wing for the second time since waking at eight in the evening. The smell of furnaces, chemicals and grease washed over him as he walked through the calm foyer and turned off towards the smokey entrance to the alchemist lab.

As was always the case, Kaja winced as a burning sensation tickled his eyes; the constant sting of unpleasant vapours as was usual. He approached two alchemists dressed in full leather aprons that featured full arm and leg cover; their safety was at the greatest risk. Each kobold here was individually brilliant and the alchemist teams were hard at work brewing the various everyday concoctions that made Crater-Vale work, new constructs to improve their lives if it's citizens and worsen those of it's foes.

Pumice stones were ground and mixed into pumicite paste and introduced to finer smelling oils and a new and improved healing salve made from puffball and several exotic Overcaver herbs.

Sticky Puffball was a local cave fungus that was so rich in nutrients it was the de facto ration of Crater-Vale. It was a miraculous fungus; a single blue, sticky sphere could give a kobold enough energy for a full day and the strength of the elasticity within the sticky slime it would create when 'ripe' made it a tremendous adhesive if refined. It was also extremely sensitive to light, smouldering under firelight and bursting into flame if put into contact with a fire source or exposed to the sun; Lalep had famously used some of these fungi to slay an Overcaver with armour too thick to pierce with his blades.

This attribute of combustibility had to be curbed for medical use so many of the herbs were there to stabilise this property, but two other herbs of note sprung to Kaja's mind; they were named after Overcaver saints.

St. Gareg's root was a toxin that could stop a human's heart in minutes; it was named after the saint of death and rebirth This was an apt connection to kobold use as in the correct dosage it slowed the pulse and thickened the blood to aid clotting. It was a rather infamous substance in Overcaver society; a number of important figures had been slain by its use, yet nobody dared question Firaegin when he sent Vala to procure a regular supply of the dense root; either they had a sensible trust in the emperor or they realised if he wanted someone dead, he could just ask and be obeyed.

St. Phoebe's weed, when dried and ground to a fine powder, was an interesting substance; an aphrodisiac as befitting the saint of love and fertility. It was rare for a compound to share the same effect on both human and kobold alike but, in sensible doses, it gave a degree of almost immediate well-being. Perhaps it was just as well the powder was under cautious use; the Underboss doubted much work would get done if its surface use became common knowledge.

Kaja found where he needed to be as he approached a table with two squabbling alchemists over on the munitions bench. Alchemists Hiwa and Cawa were bickering; clutch siblings that were very much of a kind.

"...I's still say Mightiest Emperor Firaegin wanted ta rend our foes down like cookin' fat! Firebomb!" Hiwa pushed her brother, who growled back.

"REND! It's like rendin' with claws! It's a slashy bladey bomb!" Cawa shoved his sister back.

"GAS bomb! How's you gonna cut with gas!? Y'can't get enough pressure or heat for that in a throwin' bomb!"

"That's just gonna be the propellant! Fixed slots, narrow channels, circular blades with flukin' on top and beneath to hold'em until deployment!"

Kaja mentally amended his earlier designation that the alchemists were geniuses. They were exceptional at what they do, but there's a reason they generally stuck to themselves. Better to keep them away from the social aspect of kobold life.

"Friends! Calm." Kaja pushed between them. Both moved further apart, and obeyed the order. "Tell me from the beginning; What is this 'rending' business?"

"We got a dictated letter from Mightiest Emperor Firaegin about wantin' a gas bomb that...uh....where's that letter?"

The pair scrambled to their workbench, picking through papers. Cawa waved one above him with a triumphant squeak, only for Hiwa to snatch it and hand it to Kaja. It was smothered in dirt, sticky in places and half the words were now illegible. The Underboss narrowed his eyes, tried to wipe off some of the chemical residue and looked through it before gently slapping himself in the face and dragging his palm over his muzzle.

"'A gas based bomb with which to rend foes unconscious'. When someone hands you a letter from his Mightiness himself, might I suggest a little more care!?"

The siblings, both a subtle tone of light blue, looked at each other, then back at Kaja. Cawa's dark red and Hiwa's dark pink eyes met his yellow own, and they both laughed.

"We're idiots!" Hiwa reached across and the siblings hugged each other. "Sorry, Cawa, I's didn't really mean I was gonna melt off your horns. Oh, thanks boss! We'll have a workin' formula by days end!" Hiwa turned to the bench and began gathering reagents.

"The casing'll be right behind it!" Cawa scampered off to the supply hall.

Kaja still hadn't taken his hand off of his face. He simply placed the letter on the desk, turned, and left. He bit his tongue and counted to ten. He deeply respected his kobold brethren, but a lifetime of dragon arrogance and superiority was a hard state of mind to ignore. Just another rule he had to follow; Do not induce strife but find rapid but firm solutions. Kaja counted to ten again all the same.

He then attended to the duty rosters, visiting the section leaders in turn, weighing in injuries against light and main duties. He settled into a meditative flow with this as the section leaders were hand picked by both Firaegin and himself over the last few years. Each was likely Exemplar material if pressed, but in this time of peace there was little in the way of heroics to be involved in.

That was likely going to change; Kaja and Firaegin were planning to have the surface cities and towns dedicate a section of buildings to create kobold missions, or embassies. Groups of some fifty kobolds would be sent to the surface to live with the humans for a while, watched by the more mature and well trusted fellows of each section leader. Firaegin was being cunning about this; as much as they both cared about their kobolds, the mission leaders were going to be reporting on which towns had the most tension with the newcomers.

Kaja felt bad for using kin as bait, but the sooner kobold and human relationships began to actually take hold, and those Overcaver settlements outed themselves as potentially hostile and be dealt with, the sooner they could classify the country of Goshev as safe. Lands further afield would undergo the same treatment. Kaja handed the list back to the current Master-Scout, Kugu. He was a century and a half old; a gruff, pragmatic and wily kobold of pale green scales and dark grey eyes. One of Karajan's survivors.

"Good, thanks. Seeya next week, Underboss." Kugu nodded and started copying the roster down. Kaja cleared his throat.

"Kugu, a question if I may; what do you...uh..." The Underboss tried to mask his creasing expression as the query got stuck in his throat; he was dreading the answer to his coming question. The Master-Scout wordlessly gestured to him to continue.

"What do you remember about Karajan?" The sound of a coarse scratch on the paper. Kaja winced and his heart stopped for a moment.

"Fuck Karajan."

Kaja felt enraged for but a moment. It was an empty anger, the ghost of a missing ego. The scarlet kobold sniffed the air and formed a sensible response.

"One should not disrespect a dragonlord, Master-Scout, regardless of hatred or if they are dead."

Kugu slammed his hands into the desk and stood. He eyed the Underboss with a brief scowl before taking a deep sigh to cool himself off.

"Let me tell you something, Underboss. You're young...you're, what, forty?" Kugu walked around his desk while Kaja simply nodded, unsure of his actual exact age but it was near that physically. "You don't know how bad things were. Figin did his best. He cared about us, like you seem to, but you don't get the measure of a kobold until they're put to strain. No offence or anything but you don't seem the sturdy type if things get heated."

"None taken. Hopefully we will not need to; Firaegin's rules has seen a peace unlike any seen before." Kaja cleared his throat as Kugu ran a finger over a long scar he carried, across his snout and down to his neck.

"Yeah, best hope it lasts, 'cause I worry folks're getting soft. You're no true Underboss until you've had to deal with that. I thought Figin was dead, but apparently he just left for a time. Heard he's been appearing here and there recently...'course you know all about that." Kugu grinned. He was the current Master-Scout for a reason, Kaja mused.

"But yeah, Karajan? My mother, All-Dragon bless her soul, told me about grand ol' Karajan. Master of the Goshev's back then, only of the Southern Slopes by the time I was fully grown. A dragonlord of modest size but tremendous cunning and magical brilliance. I remember he wouldn't attack directly, nah...he'd make other dragons think he was in one place and be in another, wear'em down. He could dismiss the magic of other dragons and kobolds with but a thought. 'All glory to the great red dragon,'" Kugu chuckled, sarcasm thick. He wasn't smiling.

Kaja remembered his strategy well. It worked almost flawlessly as illusions were a rare magic type. He remembered dreaming of a mirage in a desert, the shimmering air and thus the movement of an image and made the spell by this inspiration, as many dragons do. The numbers, gestures and words only recently came back to memory, manifest as his gift to Firaegin by adopting a kobold form of Jaraesi.

The years crept up though, and he as Karajan started to spend his powers on maintaining appearances as he weakened; vanity and denial over practical use. Kaja felt sick at the memory. Jaraesi expertly capitalised on this weakness after Karajan had attempted to sue for peace by offering his potent lineage. He was a dominant male and his magic was infamous once upon a time. That state, however, had long since passed as he tried to work up the ability to mate her as she wanted her physical strength and his arcane potency in their offspring.

It was an embarrassment, and his late life hedonism and preference of male companionship lead to a hasty retreat; he even took out his frustrations on Figin, although thankfully not in a physical way.

Now, Jaraesi had such raw strength in her and Firaegin's compounded together. Their cyan scaled children would certainly grow up as a truly overpowering brood once they struck out on their own after thirty to fifty years of sheltered growth.

"So," Kugu almost made Kaja jump out of his scales as he suddenly resumed, "when Karajan started just sleeping and hiding, nobody could tell what was wrong because of his magic but I was catching on. The shrinking pile of gold and the kobolds getting sicker and weaker. He could have just surrendered to another dragonlord, spared us suffering, and gone off to the final sleep. He was too fucking greedy, too selfish, like most dragons are. Fuck Karajan, and All-Dragon praise Firaegin."

"All-Dragon praise him and all of us. Thank you, Master-Scout. I should get to my rounds." Kaja nodded and left.

Kaja was well aware of his own cowardice in avoiding the final sleep; a wilful end to a dragon's life, the hoard was their tribute for easy passage in joining his soul to all other kin in the All-Dragon's heart. The hoard had other uses, naturally, but this was the main reason. A dragon with a large hoard was said to have a greater connection to the blessings from the All-Dragon, such as inspiration for spells and more potent offspring, and the amassed wealth would improve the chances of a dragons soul becoming another dragon in turn. Those falling short would become numerous kobolds, or the truly unworthy be left to power spells of their kin if they died in disgrace.

Kaja had simply skipped the dying and rebirth aspect, although he feared he would have been fuel for greater spirits than he had become late in life. Another reason to try harder for his kin and emperor.

The First Dragon had no shrines or chapels like they did on the surface but the wealth a dragon held formed their focus of faith and the symbolism of the world in kind.

Raw minerals from the underground home of kobolds, usually refined and sculpted by humans on the surface, kept safe for the All-Dragon by his nearest kin who mastered both land and sky.

Kaja re-emerged on the hub and checked the clock. He was well on schedule thanks to the simple answer to the alchemy problem and even despite the extra minutes spent being unintentionally talked down to by Kugu. At least that was one job finished; the roster for the next couple of days would do just fine. Kaja spent some time wandering up and down the hub, heading back towards his quarters first. Small issues cropped up here and there; genial advice was all that was needed, the occasional concern to note for another time but Crater-Vale was very much running as it should.

Until a patch of chaos ahead of the Underboss' route; a scuffle had broken out. Kaja increased his pace, a circle of kobolds were gathered around the chiefly residential Great Tunnel end of the hub. He recognised most of them, most notably a soldier trying her utmost to keep the peace. A female soldier wasn't rare; kobolds were equally strong in both genders, but when a female became gravid, their hips would be stretched and their running pace hindered permanently by the growing clutch. This made them tremendous defenders and peacekeepers though; wide stances and a mother's instincts both.

This indigo scaled and orange eyed soldier was presently in her prime, and Kaja already bit his lip as to the reason she hadn't mated. No doubt time for another awkward conversation, but business first.

"There'll be order here or I'll break your fuckin' legs!" She bellowed. Two male kobolds, smaller and thinner than she were trying to get at each other but her physical presence kept the pair just shy of slashing with the claws.

"Shieldbearer Casai! What appears to be the concern?" Kaja approached. Casai turned, gasping at the voice of the Underboss.

"Ah, forgive me! One of the new refugees from the Imperial border! He's-hey!" Her distracted attention had let the pair clash once more, small flecks of blood spattering on the dirt floor. She grabbed one and Kaja, looking to assist, grabbed the shoulder of the unknown kobold; a stocky, burgundy male who spun and slammed his fist into Kaja's face. Kaja hit the floor and a collective gasp went through the gathering and even the other brawler, a dark orange scaled miner by the name of Naha who was rather notorious for getting under every kobold's scales, went still.

The dark scaled kobold looked at the now silent mob, before all eyes turned to him back.

Then they all screeched; a cacophonous war-cry from the general public. Before Kaja or Casai could react, the mob descended on the Underboss' assailant. This was the typical reaction, but a dangerous one; a protective mentality that extended to protecting respected leaders and all the way to a bloodthirsty communal rage if their dragonlord was attacked. Kaja was at least glad for that unspoken approval yet he needed order maintained.

"STOP!" Kaja bellowed, and stood. He dug his way into the crowd and continued to scream at them to calm down. It was slow going, but finally he reached the battered looking newcomer. The kobolds all backed away but kept a tight circle, eager to finish the job on an upstart outsider.

"You are new here, as I understand it?" Kaja dabbed a grey thin-scaled palm against his mouth, the sting of a cut lip present, and looked at the blood. He then eyed the new kobold calmly, who now had an eye closed and several claw gashes on his face and body.

"Howo. Clan Black-Stone...the fuck're you?" Black-Stone rang some uncomfortable bells. A disorganised rabble of a clan, though expected for one not familiar with Firaegin or Craver-Vale. Once more, it seemed, Kaja's home was expected to be a soft touch due to their glorious cooperative mindset.

"Underboss Kaja." The scarlet kobold grinned and offered a hand; this was an opportunity to demonstrate superiority first and foremost but also get a take on just how unruly this outsider was, only this time he had a plan in mind if things turned back to violence. Howo hesitated before taking the open hand. There was an uneasy silence as the two looked at each other, Kaja stared into the outsiders dark blue eyes.

"Shieldbearer Casai. Place this one straight on latrine duty. One rag, no spares." Kaja didn't break eye contact, but the newcomer pulled his hand away and snarled.

"Fuck that, you runt!" Howo pulled back to take another swing. Kaja swerved aside and cast a spell, muttering words in rapid pace as his fingers traced shapes in the air.

"By All-Father, by All-Dragon. May sight fail this one, as the first of His six, His majesty unseen until too late."

To everyone else around them, nothing had changed, but Howo began punching the air to strike an intangible foe and dodging unseen attacks. Eventually the Underboss chuckled, and the upstart screamed in panic, throwing himself against the floor as he clawed as his scales as though covered by biting, stinging vermin. Kaja calmly circled him, finger pointed skyward adjacent to his head with his other arm tucked behind him; it was time for a lecture.

"You are not the first to assume we are unwilling to harm kin, Howo. This is not the case, but we shall do our utmost. However, allow me to make one thing perfectly clear; I WILL have order! Every kobold here is a superior spirit, uplifted by glorious purpose under His Grace, the Mighty Emperor Firaegin.

"We are NOT a soft scaled, limp-bellied cabal of squabbling kin beneath fearful gaze of a dragonlord as Black-Stone apparently does. We are the foremost clan in strength, talent and passion for improvement. We are Crater-Vale, and if you wish to partake in our glorious community, you WILL walk in our stride!"

"Jus' make it stop! Gett'em offa me!" Howo cried as he continued clawing at himself. Kaja shrugged, and the burgundy kobold grew still, gasping for air from the panic. He looked around at the grinning circle and Kaja gestured to Casai. The large female saluted, grabbing and lifting the wounded kobold to his feet effortlessly, but the Underboss raised his hand to stop her.

"Hmph, actually I suppose he should be cleaned and healed before his labour in the latrines. I shall escort you, in case he tries anything further."

With the squabble over, the circle broke up and largely headed towards the centre of the hub. A deep orange kobold stood from the floor and attempted to make himself scarce.

"Naha, stop right there!" Kaja snarled, the miner stopping as though commanded by a dragon himself.

"Y-yes, Underboss?"

"No inciting or persisting against the peace! You can take care of Howo's task in the latrines until he is healed and ready. Hop to it, kobold!"

"Ah, fuck! Uh, yessir! Right away, sir!" Naha sprinted off with a little less enthusiasm as before.

Kaja sighed and shook his head, then gestured for Casai to begin 'escorting' Howo. He counted the seconds in expectation, and after roughly twenty, Casai began clearing her throat and looking at Kaja in awkward, sideways glances. He knew what was coming, and it was at least the fourth time it was going to be brought up. Kaja decided to stop the unasked question ahead of time.

"No, Shieldbearer Casai, I do not currently have any plans to visit the breeding halls." Kaja tried to nip the situation in the bud and yet immediately felt guilty as soon as Casai gave a dejected grumble.

"Oh, okay, boss. I-Is it because I'm too young or...oh, nevermind" She was sounding increasingly hurt. Kaja felt his shoulder slump. If only it was as simple as that. Casai was almost half Kaja's physical age, despite his clearer maturity beyond that. It wasn't an unusual gap, but it was clear Casai was grasping for reasons at his rejections.

"Let us deliver Howo to his destination, then we shall talk in earnest," Kaja muttered.

The awkward silence did little to help things, although it gave Kaja a chance to try and think of how to let the large, well muscled female down gently. It was an impossible task; as with many of his clan, Kaja cared about her. The fact that she clearly had an infatuation with him was fairly unique as well. Respect was typical, caring was a strong clans normal reaction to one another, but this? Kaja had never experienced this outside of Figin.

The three kobolds reached the central hub and Howo was taken in to be treated. He still had the look of a kobold deeply bested, both physically and mentally. Kaja then steeled himself for the discussion.

Casai looked down at the Underboss, confused. Things were so much simpler as a dragon. What you said was all that mattered; you could simply ignore and deflect so that no kobold could pry an answer from you. As with so many times before, Kaja wanted to do his best for Casai, and reached for the only truth he could think of.

"Casai, I am flattered you desire me as your mate. Truly, I am. I do not believe I deserve your affections, and I must confess to you; my heart belongs to another." Kaja watched as Casai's shoulders slumped, and she rubbed her snout and looked to the ground with a slight frown appearing on her features. Crater-Vale would be better off without his sinful blood, but voicing such a thing would likely spread like wildfire; a kobold not willing to pass on their lineage was no kobold at all, a full betrayal of their purpose to bring a clan to greatness.

"She's a lucky one, Underboss." She began walking away. Kaja cleared his throat. It was time for the truth, though covertly delivered.

"My heart belongs to Firaegin, Casai. I dare say that until the day I pass away, this will always be so. By extension, my heart belongs to Crater-Vale." He hoped that would be enough; Kaja respected Casai too much to just dismiss her, even if the excuse felt forced even by his standards.

Casai didn't change her expression, she simply turned for a moment as if to speak, then walked away with a barely withheld sob. Kaja felt the horrible sense he had betrayed her despite his best intentions; he wished he could call out to her, say something to reassure her, but he feared it would only make things worse.

It would be so much easier if everyone just followed the old, dragon mandated rules for an optimal lineage; kobolds were once picked based on skills and health and then they simply mated together regularly each day until the female was with eggs. No hassle or dramatics like now; kobolds were allowed to postpone and pick their preferred mates. It slowed down the population growth but improved morale, a worthwhile effort during peacetime and one both enacted and celebrated by the emperor.

Even so, Kaja growled to himself and grabbed his horns, as if trying to tug them apart. Once more he wished he was still a dragon; no 'offending' kobolds and never feeling bad for 'betraying', his word as law and nothing else. Now there was just a growing frustration; his desire to treat all of his kin properly at odds with his lingering introversive and prideful nature.

"Underboss!" came a cry from down the hall. A pair of scouts approached; this nightfalls entrance watchers Kaja noted as he watched them approach. While they stood out amongst the civilians, being armed and armoured as they were, one of them held an oddly arranged leather strap in his hand.

"What is the concern, Reja? Arom?" Kaja swallowed down his anger and refocused; by the expressions on their faces, there was a genuine worry.

"Report from the surface; we've heard loud crying, gasping and screaming-" Reja began.

"-really really LOUD screaming! Fuckin' hurt my earholes!" Arom continued.

"We located what we thought was the source only to find shattered stone ground, dragon-claw marks, some sticky fluid that....was pretty distracting, and this!" Reja held out the leather straps. Shattered dark lenses affixed to an arrangement designed with horns in mind; it was a pair of Crater-Vale's surface goggles.

"We also have reports of Ambassador Vala and Exemplar Lalep approaching the surface not long before." Arom finished.

Kaja's blood froze; Vala was a kobold with unique gifts, and her voice could certainly reach the potency of the scream heard outside. He couldn't put his finger on where he had heard of her powers before, but she was nonetheless an important member of clan Crater-Vale. Lalep himself was a highly skilled scout and likely the best duellist the clan had ever seen, on top of being the clan Exemplar; the sort of figure one could always use to spur others to greater deeds. The thought of losing both of them spun Kaja to a panic; he grabbed the scouts' shoulders and spoke as loudly and clearly as his rapid pulsing heart would allow.

"Send out three full search parties; spread two to skirt the main Goshev footpaths and the third push directly across from your findings! Muster the lead scouts to fan out, equip them with signal whistles and send them between the gaps! Get the shieldbearers to keep watch on both entrances! This is a high alert! MOVE!"

The orders were heard not just by the scouts before him, but by every kobold in the immediate area. A split second of hesitation to let the orders sink in and Crater-Vale mobilised; the patter of bare, three-clawed feet grew to block almost all sound shy of the echoed shrill cry of the alert status while the scouts moved to deliver the main orders to the appropriate parties. Elected non-combatants armed themselves and grouped in their work positions to protect the unguarded majority. Within minutes the hub emptied out as three groups of armed and armoured kobolds, each a hundred strong, began to form up.

Kaja ran ahead and set about overseeing the trapmakers and their task of 'opening' the main entrance. The entry cave of Crater-Vale was a series of variably sized tunnels; only one route was designated safe, and it changed every six hours. A board, featuring a series of pegs in a grid to indicate the current route, was updated as the trap sets were modified and kobolds attempting to re-enter Crater-Vale after this time frame would be required an escort to enter.

Poisoned spikes and razor wire, acid and naphtha spraying apparatus, flechette micro-crossbow batteries with toxic tips, explosive mines and the final word, the cave-shaker pistons; a vast tower of iron arranged at the core of each entrance. They were designed to fall and collapse the tunnel from the impact, with an identical one at the dragon entrance in Firaegin's lair and a recently finished one at the Great Tunnel. Each was disabled in rapid response, and each time an armed contingent of kobolds moved in to cover; not even an insect could get through the cave without notice.

If Crater-Vale was sealed in under siege conditions or the pistons were dropped, not only would it have a surplus to last a year as it stood, but the 'final plan' meant they would dig themselves deeper and outward to seek the surface. Even then, they had a practically infinite supply of water from the springs, rodent farms for meat and sticky puffball gardens; a foodstuff not to every kobold's tastes but a nutrient rich one that could be rationed as one per day per kobold. Even Firaegin and Jaraesi could either flee to seek aid or if forced to remain due to the speed of an attack, each dragon could hibernate for a year to let the kobolds enact the plan with their hatchlings safe nearby.

Crater-Vale would never fall. Likewise, it wouldn't let the prospective loss of two of its most important kobolds go unanswered; if a foe, be it dragon or not, was still in the area then they would be foolish to have lingered. Kaja moved outside ahead of the search party; he would travel with the search party to examine the location found by the scouts himself, and then he was going to find Firaegin.

Every soldier moved out in perfect structure, merging inward to exit the cave, spreading out and moving in impeccable timing with each others steps.

Each hundred kobold squad lined up; Sergeant Tuha, a charcoal scaled kobold with dark purple eyes, Master-Scout Kugu and Head Martial Instructor Vusha, the oldest female kobold still in action; slightly older than even Kugu with many scars marring her black scales.

Vusha was Tuha's mother, but she never stopped serving even after giving her egg clutches to the clan and had witnessed the front line of Jaraesi's attack, along with a vast number of other skirmishes before. Vusha's solitary red eye could put the fear of the All-Dragon in even the famously bold Lalep. If there was a creature alive that needed killing, Vusha likely knew how to get the job done; after all, she was a dragonslayer.

Any who faced Crater-Vale would face such a reckoning that a new flag, just as Lalep's had been made for his worthy task in saving Vala, would be required to demonstrate the severity of such an action. Kaja grinned for a moment, appropriately proud; ten minutes and they were combat ready, just as drilled. He stepped before the three leaders and cleared his throat.

"Your orders; Ambassador Vala and Exemplar Lalep have been observed leaving Crater-Vale! Scouts have reported screams likely within the bounds of the Ambassador's powers and dragon-claw markings have been located at the likely point of the incident; foul play is suspected! This is, first and foremost, a search and rescue mission! Scouts are to whistle thusly; one call to attract myself to report and advise on evidence of their passage, two to call all scouts on locating either or both the Ambassador and Exemplar. Lastly, three to summon all if an attack is detected!"

Each leader stamped their spear twice, each leaders' contingent called as one with their own spears raised.

"For The All-Dragon! For The Emperor! For Crater-Vale!"

"Advance!" Kaja yelled. The scouts bolted in all directions while the combat leaders all moved up in a rapid march in their respective directions. Kaja followed alongside Vusha, who lead the group approaching the likely location of the incident; if anyone was going to fend off a potential dragon attack, Vusha was their best option. She had slain one offending drake with a squad while Karajan slept; she still wore one of his teeth around her neck.

"You've gotten better, young'un," Vusha chuckled. Her deep rasping voice sent a shiver up Kaja's spine, "a few more years and maybe I'll salute you."

"Hah, no need. I should bow to reverence in return, Instructor." Another of Karajan's survivors, and with good reason. Few had her experience and only age now factored into her no longer being clan warchief. Tuha was getting there, but he needed more experience despite his hundred years of age largely being involved in combat; he was still too much of a blunt instrument for the planning aspects of the task.

Just as well they were in a time of peace since the seat of warchief was currently empty; once a kobold was given the seat, anywhere from fifty to sixty years could pass and the less restructuring that was required if things turned sour, the better. The warchief needed to know who, when and where he could deploy his kobolds in a moments notice should an ambush begin and a clan war occur from the result; for now, Vusha would still to be relied upon in such a circumstance. She looked to Kaja as they marched.

"Which reminds me; when do you intend to take basic combat training? I don't care how fancy your magic is, boy, no Underboss can lead without being able to stick someone in with a spear."

"We are still in the throes of arranging the kobold missions; progress is slow but most of the Overcaver leaders have begun to arrange places in each chosen settlement. Once we have established our kin in the Overcaver towns and cities, I shall bow to your instruction," Kaja offered.

"Pfft. Utter shit. Nothing good can come from mingling with Man-kin." Her scar-formed grimace tightened. "Better off keeping segregated, let'em have the surface....ah, there's the plateau," she said as she gestured to the cracked structure, some forty foot above ground level in the distance.

Kaja frowned and took in the scene; he could see the fractures formed a fairly uniform distance around the plateau proper, nestled into the side of another thirty foot cliff overlooking it. A tremendous amount of force must have created such a thing from a single point of origin. Vala was powerful, but such damage could only be enacted by a dragon. Kaja frowned, his mind bunched details together in fine strands of likely facts, but something was preventing him from tying it all together to form a cohesive cloth.

The contingent moved to find a safer passage, but Kaja elected to climb. He raised a hand, rotating it with thumb and index finger extended, breathing a short prayer that was almost inaudible. The words weren't necessarily what drew the magic to him, instead it fired parts of his mind that would draw the energy within him and beckon more to join. It was a practised sequence with flawless recall.

"By All-Father, by All-Dragon, by the fourth of His six, invest unto me the might of His true lineage and suffuse it within this body. His strength able to lift the very sky and shatter the air itself." He called to the ever-present spirits of drake and kobold around him to draw into his being; to enhance the muscles in his body with the supernatural strength dragons possessed with no change to his appearance.

Sufficiently strong enough to lift his body weight with a single hand, the climb was easy. He could pinch tiny outcrops or even stab his claws into the stone. Kaja reached the lip and climbed up. He gagged as the strength of the aroma of the area reached him; it wasn't implicitly offensive as it smelled of a female dragon, but as if said dragoness had decided to mark her territory while mating. The strength of it was firing parts of his mind he didn't care for; breeding and procreation.

The warm air only strengthened the odour but he looked around anyway; claw marks in the ground a foot apart, each a solid four inches deep. A still lingering puddle of draconic sexual 'leavings' in some of the deeper cracks, but especially at the cliff-side base. Firaegin was out and roaming, but these were far to small and fine for him or Jaraesi; not to mention he likely would have collapsed the plateau beneath his vast size. He also had neither the opportunity nor the wish to mate with another female, and such an intruder would have been noticed by the Emperor.

Kaja's yellow eyes narrowed. Something didn't add up and it was making his head hurt; as if he was under the influence of a draconic order to force him to not make the connection, but what could Firaegin possibly not want Kaja to find? He shook his head; the scarlet kobold had faith in his Emperor. If something was being hidden from him it was for a good reason, but once more that didn't account for the missing ambassador and exemplar.

He observed the surroundings once more; the claw marks on the ground, dragged backwards as if pulling from something but unable to move or simply raking the ground. Kaja spotted similarly sized clawmarks on the lip of the cliff. He climbed higher, reaching a large plain.

There, a flash. A vague flicker of a thing at the corner of his eye. He looked in that direction. A small cave. Another flash. He smirked and cast another spell, crossing an arm to the opposing shoulder, clenching a fist, then dragging his hand down to his belly.

"By All-Father, by All-Dragon, may I become as a true drake; standing tall, as per His lineage. The second of His six and the grandest; His single scale; an island, His tooth; a mountain."

His perspective shifted as he doubled in size in a rapid, smooth motion. Rolling his shoulders, he approached the cave. The flashes were a concern; fire flickered within, and he couldn't tell if it was magic or by device as no hand seemed to guide it. Whatever it was, he was prepared. This was it; the smell of dragoness flowed from the entrance.

Then, the shrill squeak of Vala; Kaja bolted through the entrance, fists clenched. A panicked shriek, and a ball of fire slammed into the Underboss' chest. He grunted, but once more his scales prevented harm.

"UNHAND HER OR FACE MY WRATH!!" Kaja first bellowed, then his anger turned to confusion, then morphed back to rage. "I-I...what the fuck....are you....is going...." he spat; not a righteous fury in defence of Crater-Vale. Something far worse.

Before him, the unkempt and embarrassed forms of both missing parties; Lalep's hand, pointed to the entrance in a form Kaja recognised as the Exemplar's fire summoning spell. Vala lay partially pinned beneath the smaller kobold, his uncasting hand playfully splayed over the female's belly, who had her hands gently holding the yellow kobolds' sides. They were playing, that much was obvious. Kaja wasn't.

"The FUCK do you think you're doing!?" Kaja could feel the spittle drip from his chin; decorum was a dead and buried concept for him. He hated everything at that moment.

"Spell practicin' and tickle....fightin'?" Lalep cleared his throat and let Vala stand, the pair looking deeply embarrassed.

"I have three hundred and fifty of Crater-Vale's best scouts and defenders out there, leaving the clan at risk, because you decided NOW would be a good time to go out and have a FUCKING TICKLE FIGHT!?" Kaja's eyeridges twitched, his teeth clenched.

"Underboss Kaja, forgive me!" Vala stepped before the still towering scarlet kobold, and bowed her head, "I know I left the clan grounds without announcing so and Lalep only followed me because of that. Please, just trust me; there's something I should discuss with Firaegin and I'm sure he can explain everything!"

Kaja, still twitching with rage, dispelled his magic on reflex. It wasn't a smooth process, he shrank in short, drastic bursts. Without a suitable verbal outlet to draw from his mind, and the frustrations of this night at a blazing peak, he instead raised his hand and slapped Vala across the face. Even before the impact, Kaja's face turned to horror.

"By the blood, I-I'm sorry, I di-"

A yellow projectile and a snarled, shrill voice. A tumble, limbs glancing, bodies compressing and rolling. At stillness, Kaja on his back, modest but ceaseless blows raining upon his face. Furious pink eyes twisted in rage, covered briefly as the Underboss attempted to push his attacker off, but each attempted blocking arm was shoved aside in the time it took for Kaja to blink. The speed combined with the mounting pain, and Kaja felt his limbs flop to his sides as he was struck dumb.

Things turned blurry, but then a white figure pulled the yellow attacker from him. A throbbing pain through Kaja's head, then he felt himself being cradled slightly. A voice cut through the fog, at first a whisper but it grew in clarity as Kaja felt his pain subside.

He could finally make out the scene; Vala was quietly singing to him in a language both similar yet unnaturally toned to draconic, and while he still felt the ringing in his head, the pain itself was mostly subdued.

"Forgive my mate, his protective instinct is...overt, shall we say? So, Lalep? I believe you have something to say?" Vala said, firmly and with barely withheld anger.

"I'm sorries, Underboss....I...I's overreacteted! Are you's okay?" Lalep crouched down next to both of them. Less common than before his ascent to Exemplar, Lalep nonetheless looked close to tears.

"What's even-oh fuck, it hurts to talk," Kaja stammered and managed a low chuckle as he clutched his muzzle, "I don't even think want I to know any more. Not tonight...ugh..." He closed his eyes and wrapped his hands around his face

His pride and rage were soundly crushed and the modesty he could both affect and had read about in Voko's book sprang to him; 'inspire and uplift, even in the negative acts'. The fight must have lasted maybe six seconds, but how many blows had landed? Thirty? None were individually devastating, but the pace, the clear concussion Vala had removed...

"All-Dragon's breath, Lalep.... incredible. I ha-nng!" Kaja gasped as he felt his jaw crunch; he couldn't tell if something had gone back in or out of place, "I've never seen such speed and ferocity; I'd read the reports, but to witness it first hand? And Vala... I let my frustrations control my actions. I shouldn't have struck you over such a thing. I'm sorry. I've not been having the best of nights either, I suppose."

"It's alright, I have suffered worse," Vala gently caressed Kaja's face, looking troubled, "I daresay we've all been a bit tested and restless this night. I also apologise once more for my actions; I should have announced leaving the clan grounds to someone, but I wasn't thinking straight. Please, let us alert the search parties of our safe return, go home and we shall submit to your punishment." She slowly helped Kaja from the ground, and Lalep moved around his other side to support the scarlet kobold.

The trio left the cave to the scene of Vusha standing with her contingent, along with a number of scouts. It was hard to read her as always, owing to her scar-bound features, but she looked like she was smirking.

"I almost dread to ask what the fuck happened in there, but frankly, it looks like it's none of my business. By your leave, Underboss?" she chuckled, using the proper term if only due to the presence of the pair supporting Kaja. He nodded. Vusha snapped her fingers and pointed to a nearby scout. He wordlessly pulled the whistle to his muzzle, a hollow spoon-shaped mouthpiece to help allow a seal with a muzzle. The shrill tone called out twice.

"Alright, you dregs! Back home and get yourselves an ale! I expect you back at your posts in an hour!!" Vusha watched the troops turn and jog back for a few paces before turning back to the weary three. "So, no dragon?"

"So it would seem, Instructor." Vala shrugged. Vusha's eye twitched slightly; the same confusion that rang through Kaja evident. Kaja hoped Firaegin would explain. He then went rigid and almost dug his claws into his supporting kin.

He was going to be late to his meeting with Firaegin!

Kaja pried himself off of Lalep and Vala, stumbling slightly.

"I have an arranged meeting with the Emperor! Everyone get back to Crater-Vale, I will be back as soon as I am able." He ignored any calls for him and ran as fast as his legs could carry him.

It was a fair distance to the third peak, a fair spire with a wide, flat basin at its foot. During spring and winter it was a small lake and river fed by the facing half of the peak but during the summer and early autumn, it was a rather fine and secluded spot for secret meetings.

Kaja once more enacted his strength spell to ease the travel, but even so he knew he was well behind schedule. He mentally planned his apology in advance, but worried over drawing a pall over the night with the disastrous situation with Lalep and Vala. He would punish them as per clan rules, but to strike the ambassador open faced was a memory that Kaja would carry for a while.

Running up the narrow channel that the seasonal lake drained through, Kaja reached the top with gasping breaths. Firaegin sat still and calm with eyes closed in clear meditation, but he subtly grinned. A dragon could use the subtle flow of magic in the air to detect kobolds, or the pocket of no arcane presence for humans within a small radius. Small, perhaps, was relative; Firaegin had demonstrated detecting a presence entering the clan grounds while in his lair, a distance of several hundred feet.

"I see timekeeping still eludes you, old flame," Firaegin rumbled a low chuckle. Kaja felt the floor shake from the simple utterance, and immediately his mind spun with his adulation. He peered at the emperor from the ground up and as with every time he saw Firaegin, Kaja simply had to study his master in full detail. Claws as long as a human was tall, hands that could crush most any other drake's skull, such a deep and lustrous shine to his dark green scale hands and feet sat a foot and a half deep into the ground from the immeasurable weight he possessed.

Firaegin's thick limbs, each arm and leg twenty and five foot respectively up to the underbelly from hand and foot, rippled with the slightest motions. The usually soft yellow underbelly was heavy with slabs of abdominal muscle; a row of flowing rectangular shapes against the thin scaly skin that connected to cords which run along his waist, meshed with his thigh and back and around to support his powerful tail. Of course these ran a circle around the well hidden genital slit that hid the emperor's almost unreasonably vast dragon-hood. Kaja tore his attention away and higher, lest he stop there and spend the rest of the night awash in his own desires.

The foreleg, shoulder and wing pectorals amassed together around Firaegin's upper body, leading to one of his most striking features; a mass of raw power that actually caused him some pain to fully flex owing to the interlocking scales being stretched out and pulled apart. One could almost consider it a weakness, if it didn't also mean he was about to strike something at full force; a dragon capable of causing building shaking tremors by walking alone, his strikes could break most anything he desired. Such strength of course was needed to enable the largest dragon on record the great gift of flight.

Firaegin's wings half-circled his shoulders, the majestic limbs were individually as almost as long as he was nose to tail when unfurled; easily a hundred and eighty foot total in span. The emperor wasn't the best of fliers, even Kaja conceded that point, as his sheer weight made taking off sluggish and gliding inefficient. Even so much of this could be mitigated by Firaegin shrinking himself as almost all dragons could; the loss of size making him more manoeuvrable if only by virtue of having to keep less mass airborne.

Lastly, of course, Firaegin's seventy foot sitting form topped with the regally horned head. Ten horns total; two major at the upper 'corners' of the skull reaching the full length of his head, in close proximity either side to smaller, half length counterparts. Four were affixed, top and bottom, to the major horns, with the remaining four both half way 'cheek' and at the lower jaw in perfect symmetry.

The ember-like eyes stared back, the slitted pupils narrowing as the dragon drew in the finer details even at this distance; with sight and hearing, dragons could communicate with a kobold without either party raising their voice, as well as read a message penned by kobold hands if held open in fine detail. Kaja wasn't even aware how long he had been simply drinking in the emperor, but the bemused stare down at him gave way to concern.

"Who has hurt you!?" Firaegin's voice hissed.

Kaja had just enough time to stand upright before, with a familiar glow, Firaegin's dragon form once more turned to kobold. He rushed to the Underboss and gently caressed the smaller kobold's injured jaw. Kaja couldn't help but sigh and close his eyes at the sensation, despite the lingering pain. To be in his arms again was the sweetest sensation after the past few hours.

"Lalep, but it was a vast misunderstanding. Vala was experiencing some issue, and Lalep of course went along with her, I overreacted. I-I struck her, and the Exemplar naturally sought to defend his mate. I...." Kaja stopped as the green kobold brought him into a deep embrace. The scarlet kobold once more gently nuzzled against the muscled pectorals of his master.

"You had best explain, but first..." Firaegin swept Kaja into his arms and carried him back to where he had been sitting, stepping over the indentation left from his natural form. They approached an old chest. Kaja looked at it with confusion, but Firaegin sat against it with the Underboss now resting across the emperors lap and held near. Kaja's heart couldn't help but beat harder as he leaned against his partner.

"Firstly, Firaegin is fine, I am myself this time," he said, Kaja appreciating the clarification before things got confusing, "so, how does one go from Vala sufferin' from an issue to strikin' her?" Kaja covered the last three hours in full; from getting the message, the alchemists, the scuffle with the newcomer and Casai all the way up to the disastrous search and rescue of Vala and Lalep. Firaegin smiled, and chuckled under his breath.

"Ah, I see." He responded almost dismissively. Kaja frowned in response.

"I know you're covering for Vala....I am sure you have your reasons, but still, a lot of confusion could have been avoided with a little honesty here, Firaegin."

"Well, I guess, but I'd brace yourself. How about the fact she's a Siren dragon?"

The profound truth so great that Kaja's still aching head throbbed and the Underboss brought a hand to his brow, gasping as if winded. A great many things suddenly made sense; the claw marks, the scent and the damage wrought by screaming. Even loose threads tied together such as Firaegin's ability to turn into a kobold soon after Vala had joined Crater-Vale. Revelatory as this was, it roused other questions.

"Wait, does Lalep know? And why didn't you tell me?"

"Vala was worried you wouldn't treat her like a kobold if you knew. Guess that worked out pretty well in the end if you actually struck a dragon in a rage." The emperor smile dropped a little as Kaja's expression turned to deeper strife; the guilt felt even worse. "Hey, it's alright; Vala's tougher than she looks, she's been through some horrific trials in her time and I doubt being slapped by you will put her off too much. You need to remember she used to be routinely beaten when in captivity with Caladar and his bastard cohorts.

"As for Lalep knowin'? Oh, definitely! Why do you think he attacked you that hard and fast? Vala's his dragonlord, not me; Lalep couldn't control himself when you slapped her, even if it didn't really hurt. You'd do the same for me and you wouldn't even know it. Heh, lucky bastard's the only kobold I know who's got his own dragon." Firaegin poked a finger against Kaja's nose. "Okay, one of two kobolds, I suppose."

"At least he does not have to share." Kaja felt deep despair, even despite the affectionate hold on him. Firaegin sighed and ran a hand over the Underboss' thigh.

"Yeah, I know....it's complicated," Firaegin bowed his head for a moment before staring Kaja in the eyes, "if I could separate myself into two, I would! That'd be impressive, eh? Still, you know you're welcome to find another partner. I know a few kobolds who like you, inside and out. What we have will never fade, old flame, but you torture yourself in so many ways. You shouldn't, because you deserve to be happy as well."

"I understand your feelings, but....I deserve no such comforts." Kaja said. He leaned in to Firaegin, not wanting to look him in the eyes. "These last few hours have proven that; I have lost my temper over foolish concerns, I have hurt someone who has an attraction to me to prevent my pride from being harmed in turn by being truthful and I was rightly beaten for daring to raise a hand against Vala...a dragon, no less! I am still a.....a villain! I-I don't know why you picked me to be Underboss."

"Oh, but that's exactly why, Kaj," Firaegin said. The green kobold squeezed his smaller scarlet companion in his arms reassuringly. "Think about it; if I let you just fall into the throngs of the other kobolds to do normal work, as my partner on the side, you'd still be exactly who you say you are. You'd just do the job and shut yourself away. You're better than that, Kaj!

"I remember when Lalep brought Vala to me, cursed and still," the emperor said, "you called her 'just another kobold' to start with but when Lalep got upset over what happened between him and Moda in the cage, suddenly you offered him a better room and a lavish food to make him cheer up. You're growin' as a kobold, but you can't keep punishing yourself; it ain't doin' you any good and it keeps you at arms length from everyone."

"That is simply because it is the Underboss' duty to do so," Kaja said and raised a pointed finger as he quoted Voko's book, "'support the kobolds beneath you to inspire them to greatness but to keep back and observe.' Any imbecile can do that after reading that book."

"Sure, sure. I read that book." Firaegin shrugged. "I didn't need it though. You think the book told me to let Lalep keep tryin' and failin' the scout trials? To spar with him personally so he would relax and expose who he really was inside? You've gotta be invested in those around you. Drake's breath, Kaj....just how many friends do you have in Crater-Vale?"

Kaja stopped and thought deeply about it.

"There's your problem." Firaegin was reading Kaja's flat expression, then smiled warmly. "How're you supposed to care about them if you don't let yourself know who they are?

"You don't need a report to know Lalep's brilliant but flawed; he's let the pride of his position make him push himself too hard in trainin', yet he has a temper because of bein' overprotective and not just to Vala, but everyone. I don't need to sit down and study a book to know that Kugu's unhappy at bein' isolated from his old scout companions since they're retired or passed on, but that he loves tellin' stories. I'd like to see the letters tellin' me Vusha's proud to burstin' that Tuha's almost warchief or that she loves surfacer whiskey. If she gets drunk she actually smiles if you talk about him! Not that toothy smirk either, but an honest to the All-Dragon smile. She's all heart, she just hates showin' it."

"But there are so many of them....how do you take it all in? It is not like I only have a hundred constituents to worry about as you did as Underboss." Kaja said as he settled his head down on Firaegin's shoulder and closed his eyes, absorbing the words.

"Of course not. You're a kobold now, Kaj. If you know one kobold, you know fifty and they'll know a hundred each! Let's give you an example; I know Lalep's mother, Yula, had a hatch-sister who lost two of her three eggs. The remainin' one? Casai. Her mother gave her a 'big' name, tryin' to make her special and gave her extra portions from her own rations to make sure she grew up strong. Casai now wants hatchlin's of her own....her mother died durin' Jaraesi's attack. She's alone."

Casai. Kaja winced and sighed, the guilt again seeped into his spirit. Firaegin looked him in his eyes, lifted his face gently by his chin, and continued.

"Of course Casai's got a thing for you as well; 'cause you're lonely in Crater-Vale too. That and you're a handsome bastard, you look...princely and you've got a brilliant mind beneath those big horns as well." Kaja generally considered flattery something to be directed to a dragon, but those words compelled him to respond as his heart fluttered. He leaned in, Firaegin reciprocating as they met each other in a long, passionate kiss; tongues dancing together and muzzles angled for depth. The emperor eventually pulled back and continued,

"I know you've got me, but you've got to be a part of it all. They're your people now."

"I...I see. I suppose it could not hurt to have a bit more of a casual talk-"

"Or you could just give Casai a 'poke' and talk with her at the same time." Firaegin chuckled as Kaja reeled back.

"I am NOT that way inclined, Firaegin!"

"Right! Says the dragon who flew to Jaraesi and tried to fuck her, give her some eggs to appease her conquerin' ways."

"I-I....t....t-that....y..." Kaja didn't so much stumble over his words as run straight into his entire vocabulary. There was no response for that statement; desperation at prolonging his own life was the worst excuse, yet the truthful one.

"She even told me she was flattered, you sly bastard!" Firaegin bellowed a firm laugh. "A thousand year old dragon goin' for a three and a half centenarian?! She wanted some magically potent an' physically mighty hatchlings. She was even gonna merge her lair with yours until she saw how weak you'd become because of your age."

"I was desperate! I would not even dream of such an act now!"

"You're a kobold now and you're a traditionalist, I get it. Yet you're skippin' over the rules that you don't like while followin' others. Would it truly be so horrible to give one of your fellow kobolds somethin' they sorely desire? At the expense of yourself? As if you're rationin' water an' food to not let others have the extra share? I'm not even sayin' you'll enjoy it, but a kobold who's not willin' to pass on his lineage-"

"...is no kobold at all..." Kaja completed the saying, still unsure how to even prepare for such an act. "I dare say I may need to be drunk for that one."

"I'm not sayin' you have to, but think about this; if you know that your own blood is in Crater-Vale, and they're all over the place, workin' hard? How would you not want to make their lives better, and by extension, those that they care about? I remember you sayin' just earlier today that you never hung around to be a father for the clutches you helped make as a dragon when you rutted. Let me tell you right here and now, old flame; my children make me want to make the world safer for them.

"Like I said at the start, though," Firaegin said softly and rubbed Kaja's chest, fingers tracing his fine scales, "find someone you DO like and get to know them. You're burnin' yourself out by not havin' a few people you can just relax into like you do with me. Let's face it, sometimes Jaraesi's just a little too cravin' for affection. I can't always find the time to have some alone time with you, as much as I adore the both of you. While you're at it, dig into the store-rooms for some whiskey, grab a table at one of the common rooms, invite Vusha and Kugu and just talk shit for a while. They'll fuckin' love it."

"Alright. I will do my utmost." Kaja leaned in, pecking Firaegin on the cheek. "I will certainly consider what you said...oh, but anyway; what did you call me here for?"

It was Firaegin's turn to look taken aback. He glanced at the chest they sat against, and he gritted his teeth.

"So...I'm still ruttin'...."

"What!? How? My plan was perfectly executed!" Kaja's hands gripped tighter around Firaegin. Concern flooded him all over again yet Firaegin grinned and gave Kaja a wink.

"Relax, I've got it under control right now, it's just like how it started and I kinda blew off your advice and assumed it'd be easy....so first, sorry about that, Kaj. Long story short; I heard from Vala, who was startin' to suffer a heat which was why she went outside, that apparently dragon issues can only be dealt with as a dragon. Guessin' the ego has to be at the forefront and naturally involved." Firaegin tapped the side of his head. Kaja's mind immediately began to whirl with thoughts.

"I...could muster a large group of kobolds willing to service you as we did to help control your mating urges when you first changed," Kaja mused and scratched his chin, his mind roaming and filling with a scheme, "with your magic, we could be enlarged and strengthened sufficiently to provide enough-"

"Sure, sure, that could work." Firaegin interjected, then rapped his knuckles on the chest behind him. "Or you could drink a couple of these and we could quake the ground together like a true pair of randy fuckin' dragons!" he flipped the chest open behind him, and pulled out a rope bound bottle with a toothy smile.

Kaja stared at them and his face twisted in raw disgust; the draconic might potions that allowed Lalep to free Vala from her curse. One bottle had sent the Exemplar to an average dragons size, some forty feet tall. The cost was horrific, as the notes taken from Caladar's lair spoke of hundreds of kobolds were used to first refine and then perfect the brewing process.

"I am NOT drinking the distilled essence of tortured kobolds for an...an adventurous romp! You just spent the last half an hour eschewing the virtues of not treating kobolds as beneath me only to tell me to destroy the last of their essences? Rut or no, Firaegin, this is TOO FAR!" Only Kaja's steadfast trust in the emperor stopped him from storming off; a moment of waiting for some justification of this gross act.

"What, those potions? I destroyed them! What kind of monster do you take me for?" Firaegin gave Kaja a smirk. The scarlet kobold watched in silence, still unconvinced.

"So we found the formula on how to make this stuff. Yeah, they basically boiled down kobold blood and condensed it together and flooded with magic to imitate dragon blood; you drink it, it floods a kobold with so much magic it makes them more dragon-like, bigger, makes their muscles as strong as a typical dragon. This stuff? Willin'ly given kobold blood, taken over time, also flooded with my magic so it does the same thing.

"Some of the miners struck a volcanic gas pocket about six months ago, I'm sure you read the reports?" Kaja nodded, and Firaegin continued. "They had blood taken for the alchemists to test for lingerin' toxicity, so I gave the order not to waste any untainted blood. It takes a month to collect and brew one of these but I'd say this will be a worthwhile test. This'll be a secret weapon for attackin' other dragons before long, random blood testin' to check our subjects' health AND each contributin' to Crater-Vale's defence."

Kaja realised it still felt wrong, consuming the blood of his kin. By the same virtue though, the thought of having Firaegin, as a dragon, as his like-sized partner threatened his more sensible thoughts. What would two potions do to him? Would it potentially allow him to take all of Firaegin, something even Jaraesi couldn't do? It was for Firaegin as well; to prevent him suffering from another rut.

"The sheer and utter degrees of shit you get me involved in, Firaegin." Kaja grumbled and stood from Firaegin's lap, looking in the chest. Four bottles within, and other assorted articles; writing materials, a journal from Firaegin's time as Figin the Underboss, but one item caught his eye.

"What's this?" Kaja pulled out a dented, slightly twisted solid gold chalice. It was still serviceable; clearly someone had beaten out the worst of the damage. Firaegin looked at it with an oddly winsome expression compared to his usual assured, confident smiles. The emperor took the cup from Kaja, looking over it, distant as he wandered the lake-bed.

"That? I found that embedded in my scales....when you Passed the Flame to me. It was strange, I was still wild in the head with my ego. I remember getting' used to my body after I...uh...knocked Jaraesi out with our first couplin' and carried her back to my lair. I went to feel myself over, get to know the new me, and I picked that out of my scales.

"I had a moment of clarity; nothin' was gonna be the same." Firaegin turned and looked about, lost in his thoughts. "You had been taken to be looked after with the wounded. All I could think was 'Karajan picked me. My dragonlord has entrusted me with this'. I put it to one side while I still had that bit of control from my ego. Then, yeah, I went back to screwin', eatin' and actin' like an arsehole. Days later accidentality crushed the top floors of Marfield castle by landin' on it!"

Kaja was listening, but he had also been knocking back two draconic might potions in rapid sequence; he was going to have some fun in spite of how touched he was at Firaegin's words while he was looking away. He winced at the potent irony tinge, the bizarre sensation of the liquid first pooling in his insides before he felt a horrific cramping within. His guts roared loud enough that his hearing was blocked with the sound and the magic within the potion forced its way out into the Underboss' body. The pains that lingered cleared as he felt his feet shove against the ground; he was becoming more than himself.

Kaja felt his limbs grow longer, his bones stretching and cracking before the magic filled the gaps with newer draconic bone. His muscles pressed against his scales, stretching the skin beneath thin as it did with Firaegin's impossible mass before merciful slack was given. The ground and Firaegin pulled away as Kaja felt his arms push forwards, the empty memory of walking on all fours sparked anew and his body rearranged.

Kaja fell above Firaegin as the emperor spun, then dashed for distance as Kaja's looming form began to take up the dry lakebed. He at first felt worried about scaring his adored emperor, but then the words almost spoke themselves; it felt natural to do so. It felt right!

"Bow before me! Bow before Karajan!"

He both was and wasn't his old self; Karajan felt his mind spin as the magic within him plucked the hollowness within, the empty recesses of his mind that were left over from his change from dragon to kobold. While he still lacked wings, he was in a body that was increasingly dragon shaped, even if certain kobold attributes were kept; no extra horns had sprouded, and his scales lacked the sheer thickness and shape of a true drake's own.

Nonetheless, Karajan screamed skyward as his form pushed past his old, average sized frame; the once forty foot dragon pushed to a full sixty feet if he stood on his hind legs. Smoke billowed from his mouth as the imperfect dragon felt the magic within fuel old parts of his insides that had gone still.

Firaegin stared with a shocked expression, before shaking himself to. He had the quick wit to place the cup he still held into a thin crevice in the lake-bed wall, and released his spell, reforming into his dragon form. The two kin looked at each other as two rivals would; sizing each other up.

"You in there, Kaj? You kobold or dragon?" Firaegin looked deeply troubled.

"That and more, pretender! Can a dragon do this?" With a brief look of focus on his face, Karajan enacted a spell; no longer needing gestures or words, his form doubled in size. Indeed a dragon could not grow larger, only shrink; the hybrid before the emperor clearly had no such limitations. Sleeker in form, he nonetheless towered over the true dragon, now a hundred and twenty feet if he stood upright.

"Kaja...forgive me-" Firaegin leapt at Karajan, only to fly right through him. He crashed into the mountainside and fell in a dazed heap before shakily standing, looking around. Karajan, of course, was hidden by an illusion; invisible as phantoms of his form danced about and Firaegin's eyes snapped to each as a panic spread on his face. Karajan barely withheld a chuckle as he slowly approached the smaller dragon from behind. He reared up, slamming his unseen limbs onto Firaegin's back and shoved the emperor's face to the floor. He pushed the Firaegin's tail aside and then pinned one of his forelegs. The feel of a larger body pressed against the green dragons back as Karajan's illusion broke for the moment.

"You are mine, pretender!" Karajan sneered. As powerful as Firaegin was, he couldn't pull himself free; Karajan was likely only just as strong but heavier with his phenominal size. The emperor then felt his attacker adjust his position, pinning him to the floor at his back instead and began lapping at Firaegin's back passage, slowly digging deeper and prepating him.

What are you... wait, stop, don't do this!! If this is some joke, Kaja, tell me! Please!" Firaegin's desperate and pleading voice made Karajan rumble a low laugh before the vast red dragon snaked his neck up beside the subdued kin, and he let loose an eerie chuckle.

"I believe you once told me; do not climax until I tell you? Oh, wait, it was not quite so refined...oh well, the principle is the same." The hybrid winked and gave a much friendlier smile. This was Kaja, and Firaegin immediately relaxed and sighed a huge breath of relief.

"You sneaky old bastard...hnhh...okay!" Firaegin clenched as Kaja embedded himself into Firaegin and began a slow, measured and surprisingly gentle thrusting rhythm. The forelegs that pinned Firaegin down were released, instead Kaja's hands gently striked the emperors shoulder muscles and a hand reached down just in time for the mighty cock of Firaegin to be held with perfect firmness.

"I know....mmmhm...you prefer Jaraesi....as you are, but allow me to....tempt you, my emperor." Kaja began stroking the red shaft of his master as his own deep purple cock slapped and popped with the motions at volumes that echoed off of the mountainside. The ground shook as the rhythm increased, two drakes of enormous size and power. Two hearts thumping from unrivalled joy.

Kaja knew he only had a short time before the potions wore off and hoped he could bring Firaegin to a satisfactory end to his rut. He began thinking of ways to intensify the situation, then felt the tiny spectre of his ego relish in the feeling of his dominance and so Kaja responded in kind.

Firaegin yelped in pain as Kaja sank his teeth into the back of the green drake's thick neck, and claws sank into his side, but held back from raking. The soft strokes against the emperor's shaft began pinching just a little too firmly to make each strike of the cartilage protrusions smooth. Each was a rough drag, less full strokes and more a staggered massage. Firaegin's pained grunts smoothly transitioned into excited, feral snarls.

What little freedom Firaegin had in his neck allowed him to turn his head just slightly. He looked to Kaja's yellow eyes with his amber own, filled with pleasure, a smile on his face and the slightest of nods. Kaja's heart pounded and he released his partner to roar skyward. He wasn't finished, not yet; he had to let the world know that in this moment, only one truth mattered.

Kaja and Firaegin were one. Nothing could break them apart; the red drake could only think of one way to truly take the emperor as his own. In all ways in body and mind; it was time to play dirty once more.

Already no longer pinned, Kaja pulled himself from Firaegin and forcefully rolled him over onto his back. The pair simply looked at each other for a moment, face to face and muzzle to muzzle. Kaja's hot, smokey breath, Firaegin's own peculiar tinge, the smell of the aftermath of a storm. The taste of each mingling; it was the taste of raw power as tongues met.

"I am, and always will be, yours. But here?" Kaja smiled and gained that villainous smirk again. He closed his eyes and bent every fibre of his magic to bear; an illusion the likes of which he had never attempted before as a dragon, kobold or hybrid of the two.

"You."

Another Kaja appeared behind the first.

"Are."

Yet another, looming over Firaegin's head.

"Mine!"

Kaja's mind swam as he pulled every scrap of magical essence within; almost giving individual thought to his illusions. His tail coiled around and he slid it into Firaegin's already slick opening, emulating one of his illusory selves' shaft. He began a slow rhythm over, watching the emperor's expression twist into an overwhelmed state as the imagined aspect at his head began thrusting into his mouth. Kaja himself lay his slick, purple cock against Firaegin's and began frotting.

The emperor's half-muffled moans were the sweetest lyrics Kaja could ask for; Firaegin was clearly beside his mind with the feeling. In the emperor's mind, he was being penetrated by two dragons while serviced by a third. Kaja growled soundly and with such pleasure as he opened each hand to its utmost to surround both their lengths, pressing the protrusions together. Each flick, a physical sensation with mental gratification and each thrust drawing them nearer and nearer. It was still too soon, but time wasn't on their side.

Every moment mattered; Kaja needed this. The frustrations faded and he coiled his neck to let his head press against Firaegin's neck. The hammering, rapid pulse and the sight of his chest rising and falling. The suckling sounds the emperor made as his whole body was being manipulated by Kaja's magic made it even more exciting for the red hybrid. His tail flexed and flicked within the tight passage. Kaja's own arousal caused his thicker scales to stand on edge; yet another sign of the hybrid's kobold attributes.

At last, Kaja felt his mind slip and an apex reached; he pumped their near equal lengths as hard as he could as his attempts to prolong the pleasure were overwritten. Both dragons roared towards the cliff; lightning and smoke billowed from their mouths and they came as one. Their chests and bellies were engulfed in the seed of two entities capable of crushing nations shared a rapturous moment; such strength combined, such loves and lusts as one.

Kaja collapsed on Firaegin and slipped off to the side, sticky strands joining the two as each heaved recovering breaths.

Then, from on high; long, potent singing note. Both dragons shivered as the tone overwrote their shared relief and arousal was at peak once more. The pair looked up and to the side; a white dragoness, smirking. Vala bowed her head, and turned to leave across the rocky terrain above the lakebed.

"Consider it my apology." She giggled as she moved from view.

Firaegin and Kaja looked at each other, then down at each others' revitalised members. Their smiles couldn't be broader.

"The rut....all gone?" Kaja said between breaths as he stood.

"All-Dragon's own land-crushing cock, yes!" Firaegin looked to Kaja with a look of pure admiration. "You are, as always, amazing! Let's just have some fun...ohhh..." Firaegin writhed as Kaja grabbed his cock, before he responded again.

"I just had a great idea....yeah, do what you want to do....I'm going to make your day, old flame, so don't disappoint me!"

"I will not give you the satisfaction, 'pretender'!" Kaja encircled Firaegin's length with his maw while the emperor remained on his back. The fact he had to open his mouth as wide as possible was just another reminder of how ridiculously endowed the emperor was, but as always it just drove Kaja to push harder and please him. His tongue danced between the prongs and he embedded himself on the full extent of the thick, bulbous mass.

His taste was exquisite, complex and potent; it sent a shiver down Kaja's spine. The firm points on the underside of the green dragons red cock tickled his throat and made him clench in a mild gag, squeezing Firaegin's length. The green drake roared and bucked his hips, flopping on the ground and the weighty thumps of his mass shook loose stone from the mountainside. Relaxing once more, the tongue again plucked at the softer side prongs, each earning a twitch to let Kaja know he was being enjoyed; such an emotional bond, with the lusts still there as a second point of pleasure, made the slight discomfort easily bearable.

Kaja pushed his hands against the softer belly of his emperor. He could feel the testes within and massaged them. Firaegin rumbled with approval and writhed. Unlike before, the treatment simply brought him to a natural state of excitement and comfort compared to the forced act in Kaja's room; this was all about pleasure and joy. He couldn't wait to see what Firaegin had in store in return as he maintained his lingering licks, the smooth and hungry pulls of the red cock in his maw. He gave the lightest tease of his teeth just to provoke, and Firaegin gasped in response. It was time.

Bringing both hands to the base and suckling the tip with his still mostly kobold-like muzzle, he teased the prongs and with a growing volume of grunts, Firaegin finally bellowed a roar. Kaja felt the gushing of his emperors cum over his mouth and he gulped in greedy swallows. Finally, the green dragon relaxed back after several coatings, each weakening strength; at last, the endless strength of Firaegin was spent.

And yet, he managed to stand anyway with effort. The emperor gently pushed Kaja, still licking his muzzle clean, onto his own back, and went to mount him. The red drake closed his eyes to help with the surprise.

Then a weightlessness. Kaja looked down, seeing a tiny speck of a kobold standing on his belly.

"Figin's here to service you, my lord!" He said, smiling. Kaja smiled and felt his heart throb.

"As you were, my subject." Kaja rumbled. He watched Figin enlarge himself, the dragons power making the usual doubling in size twice over strong. Likewise, the strengthening effect openly showing Figin's muscles swell broadly. Lastly, a familiar ripple to the kobolds form; the pliability spell. Figin then turned, and wrapped his arms around the enormous purple shaft of his 'dragonlord'.

Those tiny hands and the subtle feel of miniscule scales on his length. It was a cruel memory despite the smile on his face; all the effort to become a kobold and improve himself as one fell away as Karajan enjoyed what might as well have been the final time being serviced by his most adored subject.

Figin used every ounce of his enhanced strength to pull the shaft of his 'dragonlord' down, and began stretching his mouth around it. Nostalgia engulfed both; Passing the Flame all over again. The intense tightness, the subtle pin-prick sensation yet ultimately yielding flexible feeling of Figin's teeth glancing the gradual broadening of his dick. His tongue glancing the protrusions on one side.

But then it stopped. The feeling of Figin retreating, then after a few moments of gasping for air, he called out.

"Shit, I'm sorry....I...I just can't. You're...uh....too big. Could you shrink?"

Kaja couldn't help but laugh despite his arousal. If he had a fully developed ego right now, it would have revelled in the words.

"No. You may cheat, however! Perhaps a shrunken dragon can succeed where a giant kobold cannot?"

Kaja remained with his eyes closed. He felt the tiniest of points of Figin running to the side of his belly, then sliding off. There was motion felt without contact as he envisioned Firaegin taking over once more, pushing against the air, then the flow reversing as the dragon shrank himself. The over twenty foot dragon, still pliable, took over as four legs and tiny claws now moved on Kaja's vast self.

A gradual envelopment once more filled Kaja's body with the tingling, the expert edge of tightness. The larger teeth bending and stroking each curve and vein, the protrusions colliding. Kaja growled and writhed about on his back. He smirked as Firaegin let his size increase a little more and then come to a stop.

"You have gotten worse....gnnhh....perhaps...more practice is in order?"

Firaegin growled, the vibrations made Kaja hiss and wriggle.

"One tap if you need a assistance...."

A moment or two of hesitation, then a single tap.

Kaja shrugged and grabbed the tiny Firaegin on his length. He then pumped the dragon like a toy.

Then, alas, the final insult; Kaja felt the cold sensation of magic fading. He let go of Firaegin as his body began to shrink in on himself. The emperor leapt off, taking wing to glide down to the surface as Kaja shrank down at a dizzying rate, and finally found himself once more a meagre three feet tall.

Firaegin, likely a third of his normal size, landed nearby with a less dramatic thud than normal.

"Damn it! I'm sorry, old flame....ah, but we have a backup plan." The dragon nodded to the chest.

"No, no....it is fine." Kaja did his best to hide his disappointment and took in the surroundings; he smirked at the damage, the smell, the scorched stone and puddles of draconic seed. He remembered Vala and the panic she caused with her actions. Firaegin suddenly shoved Kaja onto his back.

"No, it isn't fine. This was supposed to be special, and I will only be satisfied when you are." He cast his enlargement spell on Kaja, increasing his height four-fold to twelve feet tall. Firaegin then re-took his kobold form, ensured his pliability spell was still in effect, and resumed his 'servicing' on slightly more even terms. The four foot kobold greedily suckled on Kaja's length as his neck and shoulders were stretched apart.

Kaja grunted and his eyes rolled back. The already aroused Underboss bucked his hips once more as Figin wrapped his hands around his base and dragged his tongues on alternating sides with each pass. Already somewhat warmed up before changing back, Kaja didn't resist; he let Figin's efforts come to a rapid conclusion as his scales once more stood on edge. The scarlet kobold came with a long, satisfied purr. Several clenches, Figin gulping down each, waiting patiently for Kaja to relax fully, then the emperor climbed up and rested on the larger kobolds grey chest.

"Guess there's no such thing as a perfect night, old flame. Sorry....we'll have to plan better next time." Figin sighed.

"I appreciate the attempt nonetheless. And yes, I look forward to next time," Kaja sighed, then grumbled, "tsk, and I've still got....damn, I do not even know how many hours left of my shift. Ah, if only the clan would just run itself for a while..."

"I'm still exhausted....hm...I could sleep just fine like this. Makes a change me not bein' the bed." Figin chuckled.

Kaja looked at the sky, the night was well drawing to a close; the dreaded summer months leading to so little dark and within an hour it would be uncomfortably bright above. He thought about the past hours, a little relieved and thinking with more clarity

"I....I will do as you have said." Kaja looked at the green kobold on his body. "I will stop punishing myself. Being close to becoming Karajan again rather put things into perspective. I am not a dragon any more, I am free of the onus, the pressures of being a dragonlord. I am a kobold, and Crater-Vale is my clan. I should enjoy my life, and do my utmost to ensure others share in the same joys. That is my duty, and I might try....well...." he left the rest unspoken, Figin nodded to him.

"I'm glad, 'cause you'll be a damn good Underboss when you're not constantly worried about punishin' yourself. C'mon, let's get back." Figin stood and walked back over to where he had placed the golden chalice. He collected it, returned to the chest and replaced it. Then, with a low shake of the ground, he resumed his full enormity as Firaegin.

"Let us go, old flame." He said, flattening out his hand and placing the chest on it. Kaja climbed in, and the pair soared skyward, homeward bound.

* * * * *

Epilogue

Six Months later...

"The lossh of three human lives aside..." Kaja squinted at the words on the page. They kept moving in a show of complete disobedience, "I would shay that the humans have responded in a satis...satisfactory form to the kobold missions. We have reports of strife in three of the twelve towns and we will obliviously seek out the root causes. Thus concludes the report." Kaja refolded the note in his hands unevenly. He scowled and straightened the edges before looking at the two dragons in the chamber.

"Are...you drunk, Underboss Kaja?" Jaraesi cocked an eyeridge. She smirked with a light chuckle and Firaegin joined in.

"My apologies, Emperor and Empress...Vusha wash pretty instant that I had...had? Have another...or three."

"Well, it's not exactly professional," the empress said and looked to Firaegin, who gave her a knowing look, "but it is good to see you less uptight. We're still in a time of peace, and you are rather droll to be around. You may go. Oh, and good luck...I believe 'it' is soon?" She gave a rare smile to the Underboss, who bowed and accidentally took a step forward in a slight stumble.

"Indeed, Kaja," Firaegin nodded, "Keep an ear open and let me know forthwith...now, I believe you're past shifts end? Get some well earned sleep." Firaegin stood and lifted Jaraesi off the ground with one foreleg encircling her body. She squealed and giggled as the emperor brought her against his form as he rolled down onto the bulk of their hoard with a crashing of coins, surrounding her with all limbs, wings included for privacy. Kaja left the lair to the sound of passionate licks and nuzzling; he couldn't help but roll his eyes but grin anyway.

The hub was a mild blur. It was well lit unlike the usual darkness. Braziers spaced every twenty feet to ward off the raging winter outside. Kobolds wearing furred clothes wandered about with a clear unwillingness to go outside. The scouts, as always, were largely fine with their body heating cantrip. Kaja had misplaced his robe somewhere but his head spun too fiercely to let him remember where. He stopped occasionally every few braziers to warm himself.

"Hey! The fuck!?" A sharp voice made Kaja almost leap into the fire, he turned to see the lidded red eye of Vusha two inches away, breath as heavy as his own with alcohol. "I jus' heard....you're sendin' Tuha to one'a'them misshons! As a head!"

"Y-yes, Instructor?" Kaja froze stiff in spite of the warmth of the fire behind and within him.

"Hmmmph!" she growled for a moment before giving a broad smile, poking him in the chest, "fuckin'....good choice! He'sh a good boy! An' he'll crush them fuckinnn'....man-kin shits!" She slapped his back and stumbled away, saluting at a slack angle before looking puzzled. "You...sheen Kugu?"

"He was passed out in one've the...commons...whatever one we drunk....drunk? Drank in....I think? Fuck, I can't remember!" Kaja rubbed his snout.

"Ah, well...heh...at eashe Underboss!" She staggered away. The other kobolds gave her a respectful distance and Kaja stumbled on himself.

The distance blurred and swayed, and somehow he found himself back at his room. Kaja wondered if the whiskey flooding his system was secretly some sort of time and place changing potion, as he failed to remember passing the waterclock. He entered, looked at the endless stacks of papers and threw the report in his hands at it, thrusting his middle fingers up at the disorganised pile; another problem for another day. He staggered to his bed and smiled as he fell into it, coiling himself in a thick blanket and sighing.

The warmth was quite something. It made the world fall away, all the troubles, that annoying screeching sound. The screeching sound again....the fuck was that screeching sound?

"Underboss! IT'S TIME!!" Lalep literally dragged Kaja from his bed and he fell into a bundled pile on the floor.

"Fuck! What? Time for what?" Something in Kaja's head twitched, a memory, something about a bed elsewhere, whiskey was involved then too....Oh. Oh, it was that time.

"Oh shit!" Kaja staggered to his feet and the pair ran from the room.

They would be making decent headway if the corridor wouldn't keep moving. Surely that was why Lalep was making such distance, occasionally stopping to coax more speed from the Underboss. If nothing else, the running was doing wonders for burning off the alcohol. Clarity started re-emerging in small bursts.

It may not have been a great time to start thinking inward as he ploughed into another kobold. The two fell to the floor, and the clearly more sober party stood with a huff, then a concerned gasp.

"You a'right there, Underboss?" A burgundy hand reached down to the scarlet kobold.

"Howo?" Kaja tilted his neck to earn a satisfying crunch, then let himself get pulled up. "Ah, thanks....sorry about that! I'm-"

"It's fine, get your ass movin'! Ya don't wanna miss this! Lalep couldn't stop screamin' about it on the way to ya." Howo smirked and shoved Kaja further along his journey and the Underboss resumed his sprint.

The blurriness faded just in time as Lalep and Kaja reached the nursery. Kaja darted in and through to the egg den doorway. Vala, holding a bundle in her arms, gave the Underboss a broad smile.

"Every single one is healthy. Congratulations, Underboss Kaja."

Kaja's jaw went slack as he walked through into room proper. The blanketed bundle in Vala's arms, and there stood Casai, another in hers. Hornless, clawless and defenceless...but a blessing from the All-Dragon. A sign of Kaja's worth; he was no villain but instead a leader, an example to follow and someone willing to get involved.

A hatchery nurse was clearing the eggshells away and scooping the sodden felt blankets used for incubation. Three more tiny, scaleless and magenta skinned forms slowly wriggling beneath the covers of their communal crib with eyes closed; they wouldn't open for a few days. Kaja gasped, clutching his muzzle. He approached the powerfully built soldier, who looked decidedly at home holding the tiny form in her arms, and she gave him a huge smile.

"Glad you could make it, Underboss." Casai whispered.

"We'll leave you to it, just call if you need anything. Come along, Lalep." Vala gently placed the hatchling with the other three, then walked by and caressed Lalep's cheek. The Exemplar looked at the scene before him with a longing sigh. He looked at Vala as she left.

"Hopefullies someday soon, my silver light...." he mumbled and followed, leaving Kaja and Casai alone. Kaja was silent for a time, simply watching the tiny bodies breathing, deeply and smoothly in a calm rhythm.

"They're strong to hatch so quickly....they take after you, Shieldbearer." He finally said.

The tiny kobold in her arms squeaked lightly and pressed against her chest.

"I was worried you'd just go back to work, and Vusha's been telling me to give you space....look, I know I said it before, but I'm sorry about pushing you. You should have just said-"

"I am just as sorry for not just telling you! I was afraid you would not understand." Kaja shook his head, still smiling. "I was an idiot. I hope we can still be friends... although I still don't think I need a bodyguard." Kaja chuckled softly.

"Ahah, yeah...sorry about that." Casai looked sheepish. "I kept thinking of ways to keep near you but I think I'm past it now. I know that your heart belongs to another. No matter what though; this?" she nodded to the hatchlings in her arms and the large crib, "this means everything to me, Underboss. Thank you."

"As my own special one told me....find someone who will make you happy. I do not feel qualified for a soldier as skilled and able as you. Also someone who does not need to both drink half a bottle of whiskey and place an illusion on you to make you look like aaand I should shut up now. Ugh, I need to cut back...Vusha's trying to kill me." Kaja pressed a hand on the side of his head, the looseness still present. The ache wasn't pleasant but he couldn't help but chuckle.

"Well, whoever they are, they're...no, we! All of us! Crater-Vale is lucky to have you....here, take her. Meet your daughter. Second of three sisters, brothers first and last." Casai slowly extended her arms to Kaja who took the hatchling in his and brought the tiny kobold to his chest, smiling down at her and across to the four in the crib.

He was the Underboss and he was doing better, day by day. Not just for Crater-Vale, but now for their sakes.

Then, for the first time since becoming a kobold, Kaja wept.

The end