A New Life

Story by DarkRyu on SoFurry

, , , , , , , , , ,


This is a story which I didn't think I could finish. It just wasn't going anywhere. But I finally managed to finish it a few days ago and I wanted to share it with you. Now it can be continued but at the moment I have no intentions of doing so. However...if people really like it and want more, I'll be happy to oblige when I have the time.

Summary:

A small boy named John has lost everything. Thankfully he's adopted by a friend of his named Elira...a dragon. As he grows up he develops intense feelings towards his adopted mother.

He knew he shouldn't have wandered off so far. But John had a job to do. He had to pick some berries for his mother, and searching in his usual area yielded very little. It wasn't the cold season, yet food was getting harder and harder to find. His eyes lit up as he spotted a large apple tree on top of a large cliff. He tried to go around the conventional way, but oddly enough, there were an unusual amount of knocked-down trees there. Becoming frustrated, he decided to go around the other way. He was perfectly aware that he probably wouldn't be able to get up that way either, but he had to try. His family was virtually starving. His father was out hunting, but he knew that his catch wouldn't be very good. The animals seemed to have left the area too. He finally reached the other side of the cliff and looked in amazement at the absolutely enormous cave in front of him. Suddenly and without warning, it started to rain. And not a slight drizzle either. It was absolutely pouring. The young boy jumped as he heard loud thunder off into the distance, wondering how the storm had come about so quickly. He ran into the cave, trying to get shelter from the rain. Nearly an hour passed. He was so cold... His eyelids felt heavy. Without realizing it, he began to fall asleep.

He wasn't the only one who received shelter from that particular cave. The cave was in fact inhabited by someone else...rather permanent inhabitant as a matter of fact. The sapphire dragoness watched as the young human slept. Normally, she would have killed any human who dared to trespass into her cave, but this was no ordinary trespasser. He was a human yes, but he was so young. Certainly he had no desire to harm her and even if he did, she could break him in half with very little effort. She'd let him have his sleep. He looked exhausted. Then when he awoke, she would scare him away. He would never come back here, that she was sure of. Yet there was something...different about this human. He seemed...special in some way. He was an ignorant one, that's for sure. The broken trees outside her cave would have alerted almost any human that a dragon lived there. Ever since the Great War, certain agreements had been made between the dragons and the humans. It had been agreed that dragons would maintain a level of fear within the human population. They would create and maintain the reputation of being violent, terrible creatures that would kill a human at the slightest indication of their presence. The plan had gone well, as dragons were seldom bothered by humans anymore. Of course, the reputation was false. Dragons were amongst the most peaceful and benign creatures ever to walk the earth. This could never be known however, or the war could start up again. The dragoness sighed and closed her own eyes.

The human awoke and rubbed his eyes. It was still pouring outside, and he was cold and uncomfortable. The dragon started to move forward, ready to scare the human off, when he started crying. She stopped and looked down at him in pity. He must be very scared, cold, and lost. I wish I could help... She thought. But no. She had a job to do. Despite her pity for the boy, she couldn't let him stay any longer. Besides, he would be better off going back to his own kind. They would be able to help him far more than she could. Having made up her mind, she stepped forward, bulging her chest forward and growling in her most deep and scary voice. "Who dares trespass into my cave!?" She yelled in mock anger. The boy stood up and looked back into the cave, fear in his eyes. "M...my name is John." He said fearfully. "I didn't mean to trespass." His eyes went wide as the dragoness came into view. Strangely enough, he didn't seem to be afraid anymore. The dragoness' face showed surprise at his calm reaction as she came closer to him. "Why aren't you afraid of me?" She bellowed. "Why aren't you angry with me?" He asked. "I know you're not really mad at me." Her face showed surprise again. How could he know these things? "I am angry!" She said, growling again. The boy shook his head. "No you're not." He said. "You also don't mind me being in your cave, do you?" The dragoness didn't know what to make of this situation. She found herself shaking her head. She stopped herself quickly, but it was too late.

"Can I stay until the rain passes?" He asked. She looked down at him, still in shock. She nodded slowly. "What is your name?" He asked suddenly. She was surprised at this. Why would he want to know her name? "Elira." She said suddenly. She almost gasped in shock. She should have never told a human her name! But then again, there was something different about this human. "What was your name again human?" She asked. "My name's John." He said. Suddenly the rain died down to a very light drizzle. Elira felt what was close to sadness. Why would she feel sad that a human has to leave her? Why did she feel close to this human? She looked down to him and was surprised to find him looking back up at her. "Would you like me to stay a bit longer?" He asked. Not knowing what she was doing, she nodded. He smiled and started walking towards her. She jumped slightly as his hands rubbed along her chest. She was suddenly offended, but then remembered his age. Even if he was a full grown human, there's no way he could have known that the area he was rubbing was one of the most erogenous zones of a dragon. She suddenly became hot with arousal. "Please stop." She said. "Why?" He asked. "I know you're enjoying it." How did this human know these things? It was obvious that he could somehow determine the emotional state of other beings. "That's not the point." She said. "Only my mate is supposed to touch me like that." "What's that?" He asked, stopping. She sighed in relief as his hands left her chest. "It's...complicated." She said. "Your mother and father would be better adept to describe it to you."

He sighed and looked up at her. "You felt really good when I was rubbing you there." He observed. "I've never felt anyone feel that good before." She smiled at his ignorance. "You can tell what people are feeling, can't you?" She asked. He looked at her in mild surprise. "Of course." He said. "Can't you?" She shook her head. "No one can." She said. "No human or dragon that I've ever met anyway." "Really?" He asked. He seemed surprised by this information. She nodded. "Why do you want me to stay?" He asked. She was mildly surprised again, but she was getting used to this human's strange awareness of her feelings. "I'm...lonely." She admitted. "I haven't been in contact with anyone in a long time." He smiled up at her. "I'll come back." He said. She began to protest, but then stopped. What would be the point? He knew she wanted to see him again. Her face suddenly fell as he got up. "I have to go now." He said. "My family needs these berries. But I'll be back." She looked down at his nearly empty basket, frowning. "That's all you've gathered?" She asked. "That's all I could find." He said sadly. "There's an apple tree on top of this cliff, but I can't reach it because of all the knocked-down trees." Elira thought. She really didn't want the human to touch her, but she could definitely help him reach that apple tree. "Do you want me to help you?" She asked. "How?" He asked. "I could help you reach the apple tree." She suggested. "That would be great!" He exclaimed. She smiled and laid her head down on the ground. "Get on." She said. He smiled and got on her. She walked out of the cave and lifted him on top of the cliff. He gathered the apples and she lowered him back down to the ground. "Thank you so much." He said. "I'll be back tomorrow." She jumped in surprise as he ran up and hugged her. "Bye!" He said, leaving quickly. She watched as he made his way down the hill and back towards his village. She found herself wondering if he really would come back.......

||||||||||||||||||||||||||

Several days passed. The boy did not share his experience with the dragoness with anyone. He knew how much everyone hated the dragons. He wondered why. They seemed to be such wonderful creatures. But if what Elira had said about other humans was true, he couldn't blame them. If he was in fact the only one who could tell what others were feeling, then it was no wonder that everyone thought badly of dragons. They weren't exactly friendly when you judged them by their words alone. He smiled. His chores were done for the day and he now had the rest of the day to play. He thought about playing with the other children, but he had never really fit in with them. He felt much more comfortable around adults than he did children his own age. He decided to go visit Elira. As far as he could tell, she was an adult. She had the same serious manner as all adults did. He looked around and when no one was looking, he dashed into the bushes. It took him only half an hour to reach her cave, but it felt like an eternity to him. Despite how mature he was for his age, he was still very impatient. He wanted to see her now! He sighed in relief as he reached her cave. "Elira!" He called.

Deep in the cave, Elira awoke suddenly. The human had returned! He was the only one who knew her name....the only human anyway. She got up and started walking briskly towards the entrance to her cave. She smiled as she saw the human. "Hey John." She said. She couldn't believe how happy she was to see him. It almost felt like her long lost friend had come to see her. He smiled as he saw her form approaching him. Her sapphire scales gleamed in the sunlight that was shining into the cave. She was an amazing sight to say the least. "I thought you had decided not to come again." She said. "I never said that." He said indignantly. "No, but you didn't come and see me the next day like you promised." He looked down. "I'm sorry." He said. "I couldn't sneak away. I had too many chores to do." She smiled again. "Follow me." She said. He followed her eagerly as she walked deep into the cave. They walked for what seemed like hours. He suddenly saw a light up ahead. He was curious about the light and wanted to run ahead of Elira to take a look at it, but then thought better of it. Something about her demeanor told him not to. In any case, he would see soon enough. His curiosity was sated as they moved into the light. He looked around the room in amazement. There were torches everywhere, lighting the area. The floor of the cave was covered in a red carpet and there were expensive furnishings everywhere. It was as if the young human had stepped into the chambers of an extraordinarily wealthy queen. He looked up at Elira with a questioning look on his face. "I'm a very wealthy dragoness." She explained. "I received all of this in the Charliots Agreement." He still looked confused. She sighed. "This was a hundred years ago by your time system." She said. "Let's relax and I'll tell you about our ancient history."

The human walked over to the large couch and sat down on it. Elira lay down next to the couch and sighed. "Would you like to hear of our ancient history...the history of the dragons and humans?" He nodded, still somewhat in awe by the expensive furnishings around him. "Long ago, dragons and humans lived together in peace and harmony." She began. "This was even before I was born. Back then we worked and lived together, and ultimate peace reigned through and through. But some were not content with the way things were. They wanted more than a peaceful existence. They wanted to become wealthier than the kings and dragon lords and become gods of the lands. Somehow, dragon scales became one of the most prized commodities amongst humans. They were worth even more than gold itself. They were taken from dragons that had died and were sold off for large amounts of profit. Since dragons live a long time, dragon scales were quite rare. These humans who desired power above all else decided to get more dragon scales at any cost. They started to kill dragons in order to claim their scales and sell them for large amounts of profit. In that time, there was a supreme council which had both dragon and human members. It was decided that the human kings had to put a stop to all of the dragon massacres. But the human leadership was weak and divided. Attempts to stop the dragon massacres failed. The human members on the council begged the dragons to help them solve the problem. It was agreed that the dragons would help put an end to the massacres."

Elira paused and looked down at John, trying to judge his reaction. He was giving her his undivided attention, so she continued. "The power hungry humans were all eventually killed, but killing them required the deaths of many innocent humans that got in the way. Because of this, an actual war broke out. The council demanded that the war stop, but both the human kings and the dragon lords were very bitter. The war continued, despite the council's efforts to stop it. Eventually, the humans on the council died of old age, and because of the strained relations between dragons and humans, no new human members could be appointed. The council now had absolutely no power over the humans. They were eventually able to stop the dragons from making offensive attacks, but that didn't stop the humans. In a great battle, instead of killing the defenseless humans, the leader of the dragon army demanded that the humans surrender unconditionally. Since almost all the humans who were ever involved in the war were there, they demanded that the humans end the war. The humans agreed, and the council added human members once more. Everyone in the land saw the council as the supreme rulers. The council decided that dragons should attain and maintain a reputation of being violent beasts, so that nothing like this could ever happen again. Eventually, the council faded into nothingness. The council still exists, but few humans know if its existence." There was a moment of silence between them as the human digested the information. "So that's why you tried to scare me away?" He asked. She nodded. "And that's why you can't tell anyone that I'm not a vicious horrible creature." She said. He nodded and looked up at her. "How old are you?" He asked. "About three hundred." She said. "Quite young for a dragoness. We live for about five thousand years."

"I'm ten." He said. She looked down at him and smiled. "I have no way to judge the relative age of your species." She said. "Tell me, do you have any sexual desires yet?" "What's that?" He asked. "Obviously not." She said, rolling her eyes. "Do you have any?" He asked. "Of course." She said. "Dragons reach sexual maturity at the age of a hundred." "I still don't know what that means." He said, scratching his head thoughtfully. She smiled down at him. "Again, that's something that's best taught to you by your parents." She said. "Why can't you teach me?" He asked. "It would not be...appropriate." She said. "And besides, I don't have the necessary knowledge about your species to teach you properly." "I see." He said. Elira looked down at the boy, still wondering why he was so intriguing to her. She looked away from him. "You should go." She said. "It's getting late. If you wait any longer, it will be dark and you won't be able to see in order to get home." "Perhaps next time, I'll be able to visit sooner and stay longer." The boy said, smiling. "Yes..." Elira said. "That would be nice... And when you get older, perhaps you can even stay the night. My bedchambers are most...relaxing. I'm sure I could build you one that's comparable to mine." John started to leave, and then stopped. "Elira?" He asked questioningly. "Hmmm?" She responded in a pleasant, feminine tone. "Do you know why our hunts have become so scarce lately?" He asked. She looked down at him with a look of slight guilt on her face. "That's my fault." She said. "What do you mean?" He asked. "I..well...I really shouldn't tell a human this, much less a human child, but...I recently went through my heat." She said. "When a dragoness is in heat, she eats a lot more than normal." "What's 'heat'?" John asked curiously. "That is another thing that would be inappropriate for me to answer." She said. "But I only hunt a ten mile radius from this position. If you go far enough, I'm sure you'll find plenty of quarry." "Thank you." The boy said, bowing slightly. "I will suggest new hunting grounds to my father." Elira smiled and nodded as he walked out, a bit sad that he wasn't able to stay the night and keep her company. She was a very lonely dragoness and was glad to have any companionship. She sighed and closed her eyes, trying to go to sleep...

||||||||||||||||||||||||

Several days passed without any visit from John, and Elira was becoming quite depressed. He had created a new spark in her life, and it seemed that he was unavailable a lot of the time. She reminded herself that it was probably his age. She doubted that his parents were neglectful of the child, meaning he had to make up a reason as to why he was leaving and why he would be gone for so long. She sighed and closed her eyes again. It was getting dark. The chances of getting a visit from John that day were slim. She eventually found herself drifting off to sleep. Later that night she awoke with a start. She could hear screaming and horses in the distance. She prepared to defend herself, and then cursed at her foolishness. If someone was coming to attack her, she wouldn't hear humans screaming. That could only mean that a nearby village was being attacked. John! Her mind screamed as the realization of what was happening hit her. John's village was the only one she knew of that was close enough. She got up quickly and went as fast as she could to the entrance of her cave. Sure enough, she could see fire and smoke in the far off distance where John's village was. She suddenly found herself consumed with an uncontrollable rage. Selfish humans were attacking her friend so they could get riches! He might even die! She opened her wings and flew off as fast as she could, hoping she could reach him in time.

||||||||||||||||||||||||||

John had been almost asleep when the attack started. The first indication was a loud scream from one of the women. Her scream was cut off almost immediately, indicating that she had most certainly been cut down. John's father was holding a long sword and standing at the entrance of their home, preparing to run out and fight the attackers. His mother begged him not to go, but he silenced her insistently. He ran out of the tent, bellowing deeply. John could hear the clank of swords as his father battled, then he heard the sickening sound of flesh being pierced and his father spitting up blood. His mother gasped loudly then grabbed his hand, pulling him out of the house. They would surely be slaughtered if they stayed there. John ran after his mother as fast as he could. He screamed as an arrow suddenly pierced through her back and he was spattered with blood. His mother suddenly fell in front of him, dead. He screamed at the top of his lungs in both anguish and fear. He looked up at the man who had killed his parents as he smiled and raised his sword.........

|||||||||||||||||||||||||||

Elira suddenly heard a scream that pierced through the night, muting all others. She knew it was John's. She didn't know how she knew...she just did. She gasped as she approached the village and witnessed the sight. The first thing she noticed was the man who was standing above John with a sword, ready to deal the final blow. She would have none of that. She swooped down quickly with deadly intentions and tore the man in two. She smiled in wicked pleasure as she heard his screams of anguish. John was looking at her with wide eyes. His face was covered in tears. "Stay behind me." She said. She turned around to face several dozen humans and smiled evilly. "I'm going to enjoy this." She murmured. This elicited cries of fear from the group of raiders. She smiled wider as she opened her mouth, spreading fire over them. They screamed as their flesh was burnt off. Elira had used the highest intensity flame she could muster, so they didn't have time to run around or put out the fire. But they would suffer for at least twenty minutes before they died, and that satisfied her greatly. She turned back to John. "Where are you parents?" She asked. The boy would not stop crying. His sobs were coming more quickly. He was nearly hyperventilating.

"Hey." She said, bringing her face down to him and rubbing him lovingly. "Everything's going to be fine. You won't have any more trouble with raiders after this, I can tell you that. Now look at me." The boy stopped crying for a minute and looked up at her. "Good." She said soothingly. "Now where are you parents?" There was a moment of silence between them. He started sobbing again and pointed towards his dead mother, and then to his father who lay only a dozen feet away. "Oh my..." Elira said, her stomach going into knots. The poor boy had lost his family. There were scattered survivors, but they were looking at Elira with looks of apprehension and worry, and many of them were wounded. She thought about what to do. She certainly couldn't leave John here with these scattered remnants of people and dead bodies everywhere. It was a horror scene, and no child should be exposed to that. She felt worry creep inside her as she realized what she had just done. She had shown that she wasn't a horrendous evil beast by coming and protecting these people, and she was about to reinforce that idea by taking John with her. To hell with it. John was more important. His people would not tell of her if she asked it of them. She lowered herself to the ground and looked at John in sympathy. She picked him up and set him on her back gently. "Hold on." She said softly as she began to flap her wings. The humans looked at her in bewilderment as she took one of their children away, not sure whether to perceive this as a threat or as needed assistance....

|||||||||||||||||||||||||||

Elira walked into her cave and brought John to her bedchambers. He could share her bed tonight. She tucked him in and left him in order to speak with the villagers. Against all rules set down by the council, she told them the history of dragons and humans, and insisted that they keep quiet about this. It took some time, but she also negotiated John's future. She and the other villagers agreed that they did not have the necessary resources or manpower to care for a child. It was decided that she would be his new mother. It was Elira's idea of course. She could not have the boy going back to his village and being adopted by strangers who didn't even have the ability to care for him. Many of the villagers had been reluctant to let Elira adopt him, stating that this had never occurred in recent history. It was true. It had been hundreds of years since a human had been adopted by a dragon. But Elira didn't care. She loved the boy and only wanted what was best for him. She knew she could never replace the boy's parents, but she would be a good mother to him. Her business concluded she took off into the sky. She felt glad for the boy that he had known her. He would certainly be in an awful situation had she not intervened....

||||||||||||||||||||||||||

Elira could hear sobs as she entered her bedchamber. She looked at the tormented boy in sympathy as he thrashed on the bed, crying heavily. She got into the bed next to him and curled around his crying form. "It's okay..." She said. "I'm here..." She reached down and kissed the boy's forehead gently, trying to sooth him. He broke out into tears again and she sighed. It hurt her to see him like this, but she knew he had to get it all out. She squeezed him gently and tried to give him some amount of comfort as he went through this difficult time. She felt guilty as she felt her own hunger. She should not be hungry at a time like this. Her only concern should be the boy. He had just been through so much... She sighed and closed her eyes, trying to go to sleep.

The better part of the next day consisted of the same type of routine. The boy spent the whole time crying, and Elira spent every waking moment with him, trying to comfort him. She realized how traumatizing it was for him and how much he needed her. Neither of them ate that day. Dragons could go a long time without food, but Elira was unsure about humans. What of this human starved himself to death without even realizing it? She was relieved as he calmed down later that night. He finally stopped sobbing as the sun was going down and looked up at her. "T..thank you..." He said softly. Elira looked down at him, puzzled. "What?" She asked gently. "Thank you for saving my life..." He said. She looked down at him in surprise and nuzzled him gently. "I couldn't let my friend face the dangers alone, could I?" She asked. He nodded in agreement, his expression conveying no emotion. "I wanted to wait to tell you this, but I feel it's necessary to tell you now." Elira said. The boy looked up at her. "It has been decided that your care is now my responsibility." She said. "You've officially been adopted. The rest of your village has left in order to find safer territory." He looked up at her with wide eyes. "Thank you." He said. "I didn't know who was going to take care of me now. That was one of my greatest concerns." She looked at him in surprise as he rubbed her snout. "I love you Elira." He said. "Thank you for everything." She closed her eyes in contentment as they went to sleep together......

|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||

Several years had passed. Those years had seemed like nothing to Elira, but John had changed quite a bit. He was now older and resembled a man in many ways. He had grown facial hair and she had noticed hair in...other places. He was fourteen now, and Elira had decided that it was almost time for him to go off on his own and start his own life. He seemed physically capable of doing so at least. He would make a female of his own species very happy. Elira wasn't going to lie to herself. Dragons didn't do such things. She was very attracted to him. That was one of the reasons she hadn't taught him about the 'birds and the bees' so to speak. He asked about sex frequently and her response had always been "when you're older." But she couldn't keep him in the dark forever. The straw that broke the camel's back had been when she had caught him masturbating. Dragons were surprisingly quiet so he never discovered her, but she knew that he needed to know about sexuality now that he had sexual urges and desires. She sighed as John came into the room. "You sent for me mother?" He asked. John had started calling her 'mother' only a few months after his own parents had been killed. She had to admit, she liked it. She had always wanted to be a parent, but could never seem to find time for a mate. "Yes." She said softly. "I believe you are old enough now. I'm going to teach you about sex." The boy smiled widely at hearing this. "This is very serious." She warned. "I have not been looking forward to this, but let's get started."

"Sex is the process of creating an egg...or child...I understand that humans have live births." She began. "Your penis also has another purpose...to impregnate a female or fertilize an egg. The process is simple. The male inserts his penis into the female's vent until he ejaculates. I must emphasize that you do NOT urinate when you ejaculate. Simply put, you don't try to ejaculate. It just happens through stimulation by the female from inside her vent. The male becomes hard or erect through a process called arousal. I'm sure you've had it happen before, like when you were using your hand to pleasure yourself out by that tree yesterday." "How did you know?!" John exclaimed. "I was going to check on you when I saw what you were doing." She explained. "What's a vent?" He asked. "It's the female sexual organ that the male puts his penis into." She said. "I will let you see and touch mine if you want." The boy nodded in amazement as she turned around and lifted her tail, exposing herself to him. He looked at her pink slit in awe, getting a sudden erection and a sudden urge to touch it. Just as he had that thought, she turned back to him. "You can touch it if you want." She said. He needed no further encouragement. He reached forward and rubbed her pink quivering slit, eliciting a soft moan from her. She gasped in surprise and pleasure as he stuck a finger inside her. "No John." She said with difficulty. "That's enough." She was almost disappointed as she felt his fingers slide out of her, leaving a void in her depths. "You didn't really want me to stop." He observed. "No I didn't, but you really shouldn't be doing that. I shouldn't have even let you touch me, but I wanted to satisfy your curiosity." "Why can't I touch you there?" He asked.

"Because you're not my mate." She said. There were several moments of silence between them as he thought. "Can I put my penis in your vent?" He asked. She sighed. "You don't ask a woman that...especially a woman of another species." She said. "But I can tell you want me to..." He said. "I have sexual desires, yes." She said. "But that doesn't change how inappropriate it would be for us to have sex." "What makes it inappropriate?" He asked. "You're my son and we're different species." She said. "But you're not my mother by blood." He said. "What makes sex between two different species so bad?" Elira thought about it. Thousands of years ago, dragon and human couples did exist. Of course, they were shunned from both the human culture and the dragon one. But it did prove that sex between dragons and humans was possible and posed no risk of physical injury. She had thought about John as a potential mate in the past, but she had dismissed it because of her relationship to the boy. Of course, it did make sense that he would feel sexually attracted to her. She was the only female around and he loved and cared for her. She looked at him. He certainly had the capability of pleasuring her and she knew she could bring him to orgasm rather easily. She seriously considered having sex with him right then. But her senses kicked in just in time. She would be taking advantage of the boy. He would have little choice, as he had never really been around other females. No. She wouldn't have sex with him unless he initiated it. "It's just inappropriate John." She said. She sighed and walked off to her bedchambers, feeling hot and horny.....

||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||

Two more years had passed. Elira had decided to let John decide when he was ready to leave. She would never force him out, even if he lived to be a hundred. She was lying back in the water, relaxing. She had created a large pool in the back of her cave. In the cold times, she could heat it quite easily with her breath. In the warm times, it served as a great way to cool off. Right now it was relatively cold out, so she had the water at quite a warm temperature. She looked over as John came into the room. "Come join me." She offered. He smiled and stripped off his clothes. She looked away as his pants came off, not wanting to become aroused. She smiled as he jumped into the water. They relaxed for about an hour before John turned to her. "Elira?" He asked. She opened her eyes and looked down at him. "Yes?" She said, sighing deeply. "I hate to ask this, but I must know..." He said, trailing off. "Are you in heat?" She looked down at him in surprise. How could he have known? She tried to keep her eating habits secret so he wouldn't suspect anything. "Don't look so surprised." He said. "You know I can sense certain things. I've felt something...different from you the past few weeks." "Yes." She said, sighing and leaning back. "It has been rather...intense lately." "Is there anything I can do?" He asked. "The warm water helps." She said, leaning back more. "Why haven't you taken a mate?" He asked. There were several moments of silence between them as she pondered this.

"I haven't found the right one yet." She said. "I've had plenty of offers, but I just haven't felt that anyone has been the one yet. And now that I've had you, I don't know if I want any more children for a while." There was a long pause before he said anything. "Elira...I wish no offense, but I must speak my feelings." He said, averting his eyes from her. "What is it?" She asked, bringing her face down to meet his. Her sapphire eyes looked gently at him. "I...I don't know if I have the words to say it..." He said, trailing off. He hadn't expected her to be looking at him straight in the eyes as he said it. "Whatever it is, you can tell me." She said. She grunted in surprise as she felt his lips press against hers. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the experience if for only a brief moment. Then reality came back with a vengeance and she pulled away, feeling guilty, aroused, and embarrassed. Before she could say anything, he smiled at her and rubbed her snout. "I love you Elira...." He said, trailing off. "Will you take me as your mate?"

Her look of surprise faded and she looked at him seriously. "John, I've thought about us a lot." She said. "But I can't take you as my mate like this. There's a whole world out there, and you should try to be with a member of your own species if you can." "I want to be with you Elira." He said. "I don't need to go looking around for someone else. I love you." Almost a full minute passed as Elira thought. Then she spoke. "Why would you choose me?" She asked. "We're not even the same species." "Elira, you've always been kind to me." He said. "You helped me when we met, and you adopted me even though it was an inconvenience to you. I owe you a lot...and I love you. I don't see why we can't have a physical relationship as well, as long as we both wish it." She smiled at him and kissed him on the forehead. "I love you too John, but I can't make decisions like this when I'm in heat." She said sadly. "Besides...you haven't even seen or met a female member of your species since you've been sexually mature." He shook his head quickly. "I don't care how good she looks." He said. "She could look a thousand times more beautiful than you, but she wouldn't be you! Don't you understand? I love you. But besides that...you're very beautiful. I doubt there's beauty in this world that could match yours..."

She blushed and looked away, feeling intense heat in her loins. She was so temped to mate him right then and there...but she restrained herself. "Please John..." She said, trailing off. "I can't make a decision like this when I'm in heat. My heat will be over in two weeks. We'll talk about it then." He sighed and looked up at her again. "Okay." He said finally. "I'm going to go hunt for a while. Do you want to come with me?" Elira shook her head. "No, that's fine." She said. "I need to stay in the warm water for a while longer." "Okay." He said again. He smiled and left the room, leaving her alone to think. She had considered taking the boy as a mate many times. She really didn't care what the other dragons thought of her. But did she love him enough to mate with him? She had to admit that her relationship with the boy had changed over the years. At first she was more like a mother to him, but then their relationship changed. Now he was more like her friend than anything else. No. She had no qualms about having sex with him because of his species. She was just unsure of whether or not she loved him in that way. And what about his feelings? He was a young man. He hadn't even been around other human females recently. He might just be sexually frustrated. They couldn't just have sex and be done with it. Dragons mated for life and if they actually mated, they were joined. There was no going back. She sighed. There was no way she could make a decision like this when she was in heat. She would wait until her heat was over, then she would decide whether or not she loved him enough to take him as a mate...

|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||

John had left the room feeling frustrated and sad. He knew that his mother would have problems with this seeing as they were different species, but he thought he sensed lust over him in her. But things weren't always the way he thought they should be. When people had desires, a lot of the time they made no efforts to fulfill them. It made no sense to him. If you wanted to be touched sexually, why wouldn't you ask? He remembered the first time he had met his mother. He had rubbed her chest, which he now knew sexually excited her. She really hadn't wanted him to stop; in fact she took great pleasure in it. Despite this, she asked him to stop and felt almost relieved when he did. He did have desires for her. He remembered back when she had allowed him to touch her vent. Over the years he had tried to hold on to that moment. In fact, he was thinking of her when he was masturbating the other day. But he also loved her. He loved her more than anything. He barely remembered his human parents. Whenever he thought of his mother, Elira's face was all he could see. She had been a dear friend to him, and even raised him despite the burden it must have been, having to take care of a child of another species. There was no one else who he loved like her. He sighed and walked out of the cave, planning on taking a long walk in the woods.

|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||

Several weeks passed. After their conversation, Elira seemed so withdrawn. In truth, she was having trouble controlling her desires for John. Every time she looked at him she fantasized about how wonderful it would feel to have his erection rubbing against her entrance. Her desires scared her. Her heat eventually died down and ended, but she still had these fantasizes. They weren't anywhere near as intense, but they still gave her pause. There was no denying that she was sexually attracted to John, but she still couldn't decide whether she loved him like that. She wished for a moment that she had John's ability to sense what others were truly feeling. Then she would know for sure if he really loved her or not. She looked up as John walked into the room. "You sent for me?" He asked. She nodded. "I've thought a lot about it John and I've decided to take you as my mate." She said. His eyes lit up as he smiled widely. "This is very serious John." She said. "We can't just have sex and be done with it. If we mate, we're mates for life." "I want to be with you for the rest of my life." John said in certainty. "And if there's one person in this world I love and care for, it's you Elira." She nodded and surveyed the situation. She had been thinking about how they were actually going to mate with the size difference and all. It was true that dragons had very small vents; probably the same size as a human's, but her enormous size would make it difficult for John to enter her. She finally decided on a laying position. She turned and laid on her back, spreading herself open with her claws.

John saw this as an invitation and stripped off all his clothing before getting on the bed with her. He walked up to her quickly and started to press his length into her. "No John." Elira said quickly. She was surprised by his eagerness. He looked up at her in surprise. "Intercourse typically precedes foreplay and oral sex." He looked at her with a confused expression. She craned her neck down and gave him a soft lick along his shaft. He moaned loudly and held on to her head with both hands as she wrapped her long, prehensile tongue around his member. He gasped as she moved her head away. "Do you like that?" She asked, laughing softly. He nodded quickly. Elira laid back and spread her pussy with her claws again. John got the message and began licking her sex repeatedly. She moaned as sexual passion shot through her body, making her shiver violently. Sure, she had masturbated before, but this was so much better. She moaned again. "Deeper." She said, almost begging. John happily obliged, pressing into her as far as he could go; her sweet scent traveling upwards towards his nostrils. He held on to her as she shook violently, her fluids shooting everywhere. John licked then up eagerly. "John..." She said, breathing deeply. He stopped and looked up at her. "Are you ready?" She asked. John stood back up and aligned himself with her entrance, pushing his length into her waiting body.

Elira moaned loudly as he penetrated her, his member driving deep into her depths. She gasped as his hips met hers. Just as she was getting used to the wonderful sensation, she felt him withdraw slightly and thrust back in. "John..." She whispered. He began thrusting in earnest, picking up speed with every movement. The sound of their hips slapping together filled her large, nearly empty bedchamber. They looked into each other's eyes and both of them knew the mutual love they shared for one another. "Elira..." John said, looking up at her and moaning softly. She could tell he was getting close. "Go ahead John." She said. "Don't hold back..." John thrust one final time, hilting himself inside her. His member jerked violently, sending spurts of cum deep inside her. She leaned her head back and roared a terrible roar that shook the cavern walls as she felt his seed enter her, filling her waiting womb. His member pumped one final spurt of seed into her as he collapsed. He looked up at her and smiled. "Can I stay with you forever Elira?" He asked. She craned her neck down and nuzzled him lovingly. "Yes you can, my love..."