Dragon's Light
The region of Ryushan had 4 different peoples who called the country home. Genbu, home to the seafaring turtle people who lived as merchants or pirates was to the North with a strong affinity for water and ice. The dragons who lived in the mountain kingdom of Avalon in the East who favored wind and the sky. To the South the kingdom of Suzaku, was the home of a race of birds whose plumage was eternally ablaze. And to the West was Byakko a country populated by Tigers with a strong affinity to earth and nature. It was this last one that Brym held with the most disdain. Sure Genbu had pirates that would occasionally attack some of their coast based city towns, but usually they were dissuaded once they left their element of the sea. Suzaku was a mostly peaceful nation that kept to itself. It was Byakko whose people were cold and distant, and always started fights with the Dragons over the lowlands that met between their two worlds.
Talshire was the capitol of Avalon, and was a sprawling castle town in the mountains, with a clear view of the sky, a large bazar, and many winding networked tunnels that led to cave pockets in the stone. Legends told of their ancestors digging their home into the side of the mountain with their own claws as a means to protect themselves from outsiders. Brym had heard the stories enough times, but he wasn't quite sure he believed all of them. He had even told them to the hatchlings in the rookery when he visited. Of one thing he knew for sure though, The Tigers in Byakko would stop at nothing until the kingdom of Avalon had fallen. He remembered not why the great wars were fought, but to this day fights and scuffles broke out whenever both parties left their home. The Tigers had camouflage abilities and their very roars could shake the mountains. Dragons could breathe lighting and whip up violent gale force wind, but it was impossible fighting an enemy one could not see.
Brym had a war meeting tomorrow with his father, King Wyra. After Brym's mother was killed by a Tiger assassin 6 moons ago, his father had drafted him to help with their war efforts. Wyra pressured him towards finding a mate, he was worried their blood line would end. Dragon relationships were often quite open until they were announced as official. Usually they were formed of love and passion, not for political reasons or duty. The king himself hastily picked a new brood mother as well, which was a controversial choice to make so quickly. It did help that the chosen mate was one of the King's personal guard that he knew rather well. It would not be uncommon for the people to revolt if their bond was not strong enough, as they viewed the bond of royals as the strength of their whole kingdom. Wyra and Brym were the last two of royal blood line that resided in the capitol; if something happened to them Brym's brother Ruegar would have to be called in from his militia outpost as a replacement. Brym and his kin bore the silver eyes of a royal. Most of dragon kind had blue, green, purple, or red eyes, but Brym's were stark bright silver just like his father and his father's father before him. Each royal line bore a trait such as this. Gold feathered birds, black shelled turtles, orange eyes on cats. It was a special blood line that proved their purity, their potency; and with it usually they were the most powerful of their species. Brym had sapphire scales with a pearlescent green shine to them in the light. His belly scales were silvery white as were all their kind. He was an impressive 9 feet tall when he stood up on his hind legs, with another 6 feet of tail behind him. His large wings paired with an ability to stir the wind to his bidding made it so he always had an updraft to catch. Flight was effortless to dragonkind, unlike the birds who had to be built light just to get off the ground; Dragons were both sturdy and agile. With their impressive aerial abilities and their ability to raze the earth with lighting, it should be that they could about beat any opponent in physical combat. But this was not the case. Tigers were not only invisible but could command plants to their will. Recently the Tigers had developed a new poison that rendered Dragons weak. One or two well-placed slashes or punctures could prevent a dragon from exhaling lightning as well as taking flight. Prolonged exposure or heavy dosing resulted in death.
Brym stretched, before circling around in the nest of pillows he called a bed. He nestled his long reptilian tail a round his body, his eyes slowly closing as he watched the twin orange orbs of the sky sink lower to the horizon. His breathing steadied as he fell asleep, nose resting on his foreclaws.
What a strange dream... Ryushan only had one sun. He did not know how he dreamt that there were two, but surely there they were. He opened his eyes once more, blinking against the weight of the busy day he had prior that threatened to close them. No there were definitely two.. small orange orbs hanging glowing in the middle of his bedroom.
He heard a light scraping noise, and tilted his head. How curious... they seemed to be getting closer. As they did so he saw a form in the darkness, one that possessed those glowing amber eyes. A dark blue and black striped form that blended into the shadows, black claws extended from each clawed hand like paw, claws that glistened like they were wet in the dim moon light.
"You must be Suma, come to finish the job?" Brym's half asleep brain tried to connect the dots of who could be in his bedchambers... and the orange eyes reminded him first of his mother's killer. He had been there when she bled out, just a little too late to catch the killer. Neither panic nor fear set in, there were several sleepless nights thinking about the all-out war his father proposed and they had him not quite thinking rationally. Wyra was planning an all-out attack on the Byakko capitol to try and put a stop to the Tiger's attacks forever.
"Suma is my sister. The same Sister who lost her child when one of your own's lighting stopped the baby's heart as it lay in her belly, blameless. Unable to harm anyone." Came the sharp retort from the Tiger assassin. "I am Vali. One who has lost much to the claws of dragons. Wake and fight me honorably. I come not to slit your throat in your sleep."
Brym's head sunk deeper into the cushions. "I'm sorry..." His eyelids slowly closed.
Vali sprinted across the room, her feet made no sound as the pads on the bottom of her feet, and the fur that grew between muffled all the sound. Brym realized the scraping sound that woke him must have been on purpose to force him to notice her. As his vision swam on the edge of consciousness he saw her patterns shifting as she considered him. "Sorry for what?"
"Your sister's child. They had no blame in this war of ours." Brym was certain if he could just go back to sleep this weird dream would end.
Vali was confused at first. Dragons did not care for those they murdered. They only wanted revenge for past aggressions that were themselves retribution. Then were they really so different? She was there avenging Suma's child... who itself was revenge for the death of the dragons' queen. "You would really lay down the weapons of war?"
"I wish I could have lived my life having never picked them up. That my children, and my children's children would never have to." Was the murmured sleepy reply from the blue dragon.
"If you truly mean that... meet me alone at Terrapin peak when the full moon is setting. I'll be stationed there with several of my guard. They won't kill you on sight if you have this. And with it I promise that you will leave there alive if you agree to meet in peace." The tigress slipped a metal bangle from around her wrist. It bore the royal Tiger's insignia on it, an orange cateye gem set into the engraved silhouette of a tiger head.
The sleep drunk dragon prince nodded his head in agreement. She left as he came, silent into the sleepy castle town, a ghost among empty streets. He watched as she retreated, if he didn't know she was there he would have missed her. Her pelt changed color to match the terrain around it and she stuck to the shadows. Brym finally allowed his eyes to close, no more thoughts allowed to process as sleep finally washed over him.
Brym yawned, not wanting to get up but also not wanting to go back to sleep for fear his father would yell at him for missing his war meetings. He lay there, half-awake considering what must have been a strange dream, even for him. He lifted his head, noticing light glinting off of something shiny. On his bed stand sat a small metal band. About the right size to be worn comfortably as a bracelet for a Tiger.
Instantly Brym was fully awake. He pulled his body out of bed, taking the band gently in his large clawed hands and turning it over examining it. It seemed authentic. They had a few of these won from battles where a Royal Tiger's life or the life of one of their closest guards had been claimed. Surely if a real Tiger had been in his room last night, they would have killed Brym where he slept... and yet... he was alive. Somehow. He remembered her glistening claws... Poisoned. He thought for sure the plan was to kill him based on that. He noticed claw marks on his wall, the scraping sound from last night was her leaving gashes in the wall.
Brym thought the planned meeting at the peak was possibly a trap of some sort. Surely they wanted to capture him alive when he was alone and vulnerable so that he could either be made into an example or used as a bargaining chip. A growing feeling of being unsafe in his own home, a feeling of uncertainty about the future rose. The full moon was 3 days away, he had just 2 day to get ready and leave since it was a one day journey even by flight. Terrapin peak was in Tiger country, just on the border's edge at the north most point. Dragons would often be shot down on sight with the archers that the Tiger militia had. Now that the arrows were often poisoned, this usually meant suppression of wind abilities that kept them in the air, and often the crash to the ground killed them. Even if what Vali had said was true, they would allow him to talk, he could not approach from the air, lest some uninformed group of Tigers might shoot him down. This might tack on another day to his journey traveling by foot to be safe.
He needed to tell his father he would be out, though he didn't want to tell him where he was going either... He was worried about it being a trap, but he couldn't afford to not at least try... one life for potentially thousands. He got up shoving some of the doubts out of his mind, and started heading towards the war room. If no one made a move towards peace it would never happen.
His father sat at the large table, a map with full topography of the valley sat on the table. Small pieces moved here and there. A large Green dragon with startlingly silver eyes. His head frills, the spines along his back, and the scaly ridges around his eyes that were a lighter sea green were starting to fade to grey at the tips with age. It was easy to forget how unnerving their eyes could be when he never really looked at his own. He spoke with one of the council members at the table; Wyra's wings furled and unfurled with emphasis as he spoke. "-We need a way to not be shot down on entry, I think we'll have to go on foot. With our poor night vision they won't expect an attack at night... but we will be unable to see them.. which I suppose is the norm anyway." He moved a few pieces that looked like tiny wooden dragons towards the Tiger's capitol.
"But sir, that's a suicide mission.... Attacking them when they're strongest and on their own turf?!" One of the council dared challenge the king's plan. A younger powder blue dragon with frills accented in purple, and eyes to match.
"That's the thing, we've been working on a new weapon to combat tigers. Their eyes are so sensitive, we've found ores that when struck produce a blinding light. This might daze them enough with their sensitive night vision eyes that night is precisely the best time to strike." The king set a small chunk of ore on the table, and struck it with his claws. Instantly the room lit up as the lighting he channeled into his claw strike reacted with the mineral. "Now these next ones are prototypes, but this could revolutionize the way we fight the cats once we're able to mass produce them." He took small polished band of stone, carved to fit over one finger as a ring. He once again held his hand up, palm out as lightning he channeled into it caused a bright flash.
Brym cleared his throat, and all the eyes in the room shifted to meet Brym's as he took his place at the table. "What day were you thinking of striking?" He sat on one of the pillows around the table, tail curled around his body, wings tucked in.
"Next new moon when the night is at its darkest, the blinding effect should be the most profound when their eyes are fully adjusted to the dark." The king's jaw parted in a toothy grin, showing his fangs.
"Father, I have a request. I wish to do some scouting of some of Northern the edges of our land. I think there may be some resources worth looking into there. I wish to leave in a few days and be back before the new moon. Will that be alright?" Brym raised his silver gaze to look directly into his father's. This time frame would give him a few extra weeks if things went well... or went bad.
"I suppose... I'll have a battalion of guards accompany you." The king nodded, pulling out a special dragon token that was painted blue and silver, representing Brym, and placed it up near the Genbu - Avalon border.
"That really won't be needed father, I don't plan on going out over the water, so I should be pretty safe. Plus I haven't gotten to do any solo missions yet." Brym softened his eyes, giving his father the same puppy dog look that had gotten him out of many a bind as a child.
"Alright... there shouldn't be any cats there so we don't have to worry about that. Why don't you go get ready for your trip, I will let the kitchens know so they can prepare some rations for your trip." His father slid the ring from his finger, with the bright yellow stone embedded in it, and dropped it into his son's hand. "Why don't you take it for a test ride. It might come in handy."
"Thanks, Father." He did take the ring, at least appreciating that on its own it was not a weapon made for killing. Although he was sure what his father planned to do next while the enemy was stunned was probably much worse. He arose from the table, heading back to his quarters to pack what he would need. He brought paper and a charcoal pencil; He wrote a note to hide in his room so that hopefully it would be discovered if he never came back. He tucked the letter into his desk drawer in his room.
Father, I'm going to Terrapin peak to attempt peace talks with the Tigers. Don't follow me, don't send any rescue because if it goes bad it is likely too late to save me. I love you.
~Brym
He buried it under a book or two so it was unlikely to be found on accident. If all went well he would be back to remove it before it ever was read. Brym looked morbidly around the room, thinking about if he died what he would be leaving others to deal with... until he had to forcefully stop that spiraling frightening thought path.
He took a nap until it was later in the evening; he knew that his sleep would not be great on the road since he had to watch out for danger while traveling. When he got up he picked up his pack, similar to what other races used as a saddle bag, it draped over his back and the packs hung to either side of his hindquarters and buckled under his belly. He left for the castle's cook collecting measured rations of water skins, bread, dried meat and dried fruit. He looked around before he left, walking through the mostly empty early night streets thinking about how he may never see them again. His talons clicked against the cobbled stone paths, he thought about the previous night to when the Tigress vanished into the streets, making absolutely no sounds. They had so little in common. He had heard Tigers had arranged pairings where promising individuals were paired together for mixing strong bloodlines, for joining families for business reasons, or for helping the parents further their careers. If love developed later so be it. Only if their original partner died would they chose their own mate. He heard the Tigers were completely impersonal between each other. Even a paired two tigers did not really show their relationship in the open. Brym could not image not being close in proximity to his mate. He had not yet formed a pair bond, but it was common for a pair to be transferred in their jobs to be close in proximity and spend a lot of their time together.
Brym spread his wings, feeling the wind stir around him to his whim as a powerful updraft caught his wings. His body crackled with electricity as he channeled some of the energy of worries into electricity. He took to the sky, his body only able to keep truly aloft for long periods of time due to his control of the wind. The usual joy of flight for a while was all he could think about. The wind caressing his scales, the cool night air comfortably filling his wings. But after a while even that faded allowing his thoughts to come creeping back in.
This was a trap... it had to be. He was willingly flying to his death. He almost turned back several times, until he convinced himself to keep going. No... he needed to make things better. But did he really have to be the sacrifice to do it? Would he be ok? No... he would die. He landed just East of the border his body for a moment frozen. It took him a while to force his feet to continue walking in the direction of danger. His head tilted picking up every small sound, knowing it wouldn't matter. If Tigers didn't want to be heard, they would not be heard. He fished the insignia bracelet out of his pack, placing it on the end of one of his horns so it could be easily seen. He walked through the night until sunrise, just entering the northern border near Terrapin Peak.
His ear frills flattened against his skull in stress, he hunched down trying to make himself more stealthy or less threatening, not really achieving either.
"Halt!" He heard a voice call to him. He stopped in his tracks looking around for the source of the voice. A Tiger uncoiled itself from the rocks, brown and grey striated colors with green mossy accents that blended him perfectly into the rocky outcroppings approached him, claws out. This Tiger's eyes were a vivid blue. His claws too glistened with dark green sickly poison. Brym lowered his body to the ground, pulling his wings in, as they quivered a little with fear he braced them against his body to stop the shaking.
"What business do you have here, Scaled tyrant?" The Tiger seemed to purposely be lowering his voice to sound threatening, and to his credit it was working. The Tiger's camo coloring faded back to a default tanned orange and black striped pelt as he was no longer hiding.
"Vali sent me..." Brym looked around the clearing, he saw more forms emerging from the rocks shedding their camo and proving just how outnumbered he was. There were about 8 of them in total. Two of them had the orange eyes of royals. The rest had various shades of blue, green, purple, and red eyes. A few of them seemed honestly surprised that he was there. His keen hearing picked up hushed whispers between the two royals. Now that he saw her he knew for sure the other of the two was Suma.
Suma spoke under her breath to Vali, "We should lightly dose him so he cannot threaten you, Kitty... Or should I get the shackles? Why in Goddess's green earth do you want to talk to him alone? You're at least letting the archers have him in bow range, right?" The more she spoke the more vivid her coat got with worry showing bright reds and purples, before she got a handle on it and calmed it back down to the subtle grey green color it was before.
Her sister always was a little hot headed, rather rare among their kind as emotions running high caused pelt color to shift. The greatest warriors all trained to be emotionless so they would be the most honed weapon they could be. But ever since Suma lost her baby, she had less of a handle on it, and Vali worried it would get her killed. "I will talk to him. Archers can stay a good distance away; they will be commanded only to shoot if he becomes violent. If he runs he is allowed to be let go as long as he is going the direction of his own land and not towards ours. Understood?" Vali looked intently at Suma, whose lips curled in disgust. "Understood?" Vali emphasized.
"Fine. I hope he messed up so we can slay a royal though. You know how much headway that would make us? I hear there's only the one left other than him. The king." Suma seemed excited for the prospect of killing the young drake.
"Let's hope it doesn't come to that. You do remember why I asked him here. Correct?" Vali asked.
Suma nodded, acknowledging Vali's authority on this mission. Suma retreated back away into the rocks; several of the archers recloaked themselves.
Vali stood a good ways away from the other Tigers, just out of ear shot; motioning Brym to approach. Her pelt was a rusty orange with dark brown stripes, seemingly its natural color when she wasn't cloaking. He stood up cautiously legs shaking just a little at having multiple archer's arrows trained on him as he went over and sat a respectable distance away. He curled his long tail around his feet, blocking his talons completely, trying to appear non-threatening.
"So... 'Kitty' huh?" Brym's curiosity got the best of him, it had been what Suma called her.
"You don't get to call me that. That's what my former mate used to call me. My family took to calling me that while he was around and it kind of stuck." Her ears flattened with anger as the red of her pelt deepened only for a moment.
"I'm sorry... Did he die in combat?" Brym studied the ground avoiding her eyes guiltily.
"Not directly. Training exercise that went wrong." Her eyes had about them a distant look before she snapped herself out of it. "There's been enough blood shed, we need to end this. I was hoping you would accompany us to neutral grounds. The Merchant Genbu that are based on the land are a very wise and long lived people famous for their ability to get along with the other three tribes wonderfully. They are allowed to neutrally sell non war goods such as food and clothing to both sides unimpaired. Similarly neither of us strike them down nor hold a grudge with them for doing so. That pack you're wearing even looks Genbu made, am I wrong? If anyone has an idea for attempting to mend this rift between our peoples, it's them."
"It is indeed a Genbu made saddle pack. That's not a bad idea, they will likely propose an agreement that is fair for both sides." Brym was surprised her initial demands seemed reasonable. He had allowed enough time for them to travel there as well. "However if we roll up to them with our current group, a single dragon and a battalion of Tigers, won't they likely think I am being coerced? Maybe we should travel with either an even number of each or only two of your group so that it at least appears I am willingly going with you?"
"You do have a point there. I don't think bringing Suma in her current emotional state is a good idea. I will bring one of my favored guards. I think we should probably get there as soon as possible; I worry that my people will grow restless at home without me. I did not tell them the plan exactly, and Suma will attempt to buy time but I do not think we have the week travel time required to get there. We brought horses so we should be able to cut it down to maybe 4 days travel instead, which should be perhaps enough to prevent them from looking for me... violently. Can you keep up with horses on the ground?"
Brym had never really interacted with horses outside of the war horses that Tigers used as mounts when they weren't trying to be stealthy; Usually only when moving from place to place. He figured he was probably about as fast as a horse with a rider. He knew the travel to the merchant Genbu Capitol would only take him a little over two days travel flight time. "I could get us there faster... but I understand if you don't wish to."
Vali looked thoughtful. "It would give us more time to spend negotiating..." Vali was surprised Brym came alone as asked, she was also kind of flattered the amount of trust he had shown so far. Though perhaps that was mostly fear at being outgunned. It was probably far enough on her end to agree to only bring a single guard with her to the North Genbu village. She really didn't have to agree to these terms, but somehow she wanted to. "Alright. We've a Genbu run checkpoint where we can buy horses. It's a day's travel on foot from here; if we need to stop and readjust our travel we can there. We should probably buy food there anyway."
Brym nodded, before he and Vali rejoined the others.
"I will be taking Tanbu with me," She gestured to one of the guards, a smaller male Tiger that stood at about 5 and a half feet tall, on equal height with Vali. This was the same guard that interrogated him at first. Brym got the impression she was trying to pick a smaller rider so they could travel efficiently, but also a strong male Tiger who could help her fight if needed. Fight a dragon, of course; him.
Suma looked as if she was about to object, before Vali cut her off. "We're traveling with this few because we do not want to appear before the Genbu as if the dragon..." She paused, for a moment before correcting herself. "As if Brym is a prisoner. I doubt Genbu will talk to us if Brym appears unwilling to negotiate peace."
Suma glared at the ground in anger, just managing to keep her pattern under control and locked into the stone and green of the surroundings. "Fine. If you're not back by new moon, I'm not going to keep things quiet. Understood?"
"That seems fair." Vali and her selected guard Tanbu started walking away from the other group, heading towards the dragon side of the border before heading north. They needed to get off Tiger territory before taking flight. Brym tried to make casual discussion on the way... it was tense and awkward at times. The Tigers were not very expressive, and both sides were guarded. They both tried to stay away from conversations that might lead to showing weaknesses to each other and they ended up settling into conversations about what food they liked and how their journeys there had gone. He learned they were both omnivores, the Tigers actually ate a fair amount of vegetation due to their skill with plants, as well as farmed meat by feeding them the plants. Brym didn't really bring it up, but the dragons usually traded for most of their goods and also hunted. They mined a lot and it gave them a lot of precious stones and useful materials for trade. He was worried the Tigers could use this information to block their trade routes. The Dragon's ground was rocky and not well suited to most crops anyway.
Finally when they felt comfortable enough away from the possible arrows of the Tigers who might shoot them down, most of the day had passed. They stopped to make camp, eating their packed food and generally staying a good 30 feet apart. The two Tigers rotated watch over night, he would have liked to think it was to watch for outsiders, but he knew it was to watch him to make sure he did not make a move. Brym did not really sleep either, but rested his body while keeping an eye on the Tigers. Neither party trusted the other to not attack in the middle of the night. Finally morning came and Brym stood, stretching his legs, his wings and yawning showing his fangs. He could tell his size unnerved them.
"Ok... Hop on?" He hunched down, resting on his haunches, belly against the ground to make it easier for them to reach.
Vali walked over, reaching to rest a hand on him and stopping herself. As if afraid by the touch. It was different than riding a horse, this thing had sentience. They did not really do physical contact with each other, Tiger to Tiger outside of in the privacy of their own rooms. She had not really considered that the idea of riding a dragon would be different than riding a horse until now. Tanbu had the same hesitance around him, he started first with a single paw on Brym's back watching for a reaction. Brym waited patiently, wondering what was so confusing about this to them.
"Am I still too tall?" His long neck looked back over his shoulder considering the range of motion their legs probably had. He had seen Tigers get down and run on all fours before, leap and clear a horse in a single jump mid combat. Surely it was not their athleticism preventing them from getting on.
"No... It's just touching another sentient creature is not really socially acceptable." Vali couldn't even bring herself to touch Brym as Tanbu did.
"Well, I've given you permission, and we're not exactly attending a Tiger social. No one out here is going to judge you for doing so." Brym said.
"It still... just feels wrong. The touching of two intelligent beings." Vali settled instead for touching the saddle bag.
"But why? I am allowing the touch? If I say it is ok, what makes it not ok?" Brym patiently waited for the reply.
"I... I don't really have an answer for that." Vali finally allowed her hand to slide up from the pack to Brym's shoulder. She had never touched a dragon in a way that was not clawing them and attacking them. She had never felt their scales. Each one was smooth like leather. Tiny cracks between each scale, it was unusually warm. She expected the reptile to be cold blooded, but he was not. His body was very sturdy and well-muscled. She stood transfixed feeling the scales against the pads of her fingers, running them to the row of raised protrusions that ran along his spine. Larger scales that formed a platinum blue frill along his back, not entirely rigid but not entirely loose either. It was neither sharp nor bony. They were easily brushed down against him, but stood back up a little after. She watched the light reflect off the scales, glowing with small purple, green, and blue pearlescent rainbows in the light. Like an oil slick.
Brym saw her coat pattern shift to a light pinkish tinge in the otherwise orange fur. Like a pretty sunset. She immediately withdrew her hand, getting her coat back under control as it regained its normal orange. She had allowed herself to feel... something. And she didn't like it. 'Just get on the dragon and get this over with,' she told herself. She threw a leg over Brym's back, resting just before the pack started, right behind his wings. Tanbu also got on, sitting mostly on the middle part that was leather between the bags on either side.
"Alright, hold on tight. Please no claws though. Ready?" Brym opened his wings, his energy stirred the wind to life, starting the updraft but not allowing himself to be lifted yet.
"Ready as I'll ever be." Vali looked at the ground once more, wishing she wasn't about to leave it.
Brym let loose the full energy of wind at his command, directly under his wings filling them with a warm updraft. His body effortlessly left the ground, even with the two riders his large broad wings and his wind commanding powers made flying easy. Vali, however, wasn't quite so prepared for the sudden, easy take off. She almost lost her balance and had to wrap her arms around Brym's neck for a moment to steady herself. She could feel the pink color wash over her fur again, as she realized it was probably embarrassment at having to touch someone. She righted herself and let go as soon as she was able to, but it took a moment longer for her to restructure her thoughts and push those feelings from her mind. Instead the vacuum left from pushing those thoughts away was filled with something else. Joy. Flying was fun, the wind in her fur, the light dizzying feeling of looking down and being able to see everything. She could see the sprawling country side, the small towns with people that looked like ants below. A warm golden yellow as she was entranced managed to slip across the fur of her back before she too got that under control.
"There's the outpost you were thinking of stopping at. I have plenty of food though so I think we should keep going. It will only be two days by flight." Brym slowed down allowing them to reply before he passed the small trading town below.
"Ok... We've barely started; your travel time is so much faster than ours. We'd not be seeing that town until the end of the day, and it's only noon." Vali sounded amazed. Brym wasn't sure since he couldn't really see her face.
They flew on until sunset, landing near a rocky outcropping that mostly sheltered them from view. This night they still kept watch, but Brym was at least able to get a little sleep, a few hours. Brym shared food from his pack in the morning, he had packed for a two way journey and they could probably get more at the Genbu City they were traveling to.
Tanbu looked at the dried meats, fruit, and bread cautiously, warily wondering if it was poisoned. After all he was much more disposable than Vali was to the dragon, he was sure.
Brym reached over and picked a piece off of each and ate it; Tanbu was at least convinced it wasn't going to kill him, unless the dragons had poison they were immune to but hurt their enemies... like the Tiger's own poison. He strongly doubted that.
The rest of this day and next night went mostly the same as the first. Neither side really fully trusting each other. Occasionally Brym would try to talk to them, only to be shut out by their distant lack of emotion. To Brym they felt jaded, callous. To the Tigers it felt as if Brym was inappropriately trying to pry information from them, when in reality he was trying to make casual conversation and relate to them. At the end of night two they were little under an hour away from Stolcotta, the Genbu capitol.
Brym waited the customary 10 or so minutes it took the Tigers to gather enough courage to get on Brym's back, and before long they were on their way to Stolcotta. He flew lower, knowing at least here people would not be looking to gun him down. He had actually visited once when he was younger; and it was common to see a few dragons here in the day, and one or two Tigers here at night. It was actually illegal to start any sort of conflict here, and both sides were worried about their supplies being cut off so they had a tense sort of truce. There were a few dragons and Tigers that called Stolcotta home. Usually ones staying to sort and negotiate goods for their home countries.
Several of the Turtles below looked up in amazement as they saw a dragon land in the middle of their town square. They were even more surprised to see Tigers riding him. Brym could hear murmurs around town at the stir they caused being seen together. The Tigers immediately leapt from Brym's back as if bitten, probably upset at being seen touching another living being or one of the other weird customs the Tigers followed. They made their way through town to the Genbu palace. One of the oldest beings in any nation was said to live there, being several thousands of years old according to legends. Turtles seemed to reproduce at a very slow rate, but live until they were killed. They were also only really considered to be adults at 100 or so years old.
After talking to the guards about their mission, they were accepted into an audience with the empress. Tanbu was to wait outside the room with the guards. They were instructed to address their host as "Quasari" or "The Great All Seeing One". As they entered the ornate gold and red trimmed chamber they saw an elderly female turtle, her shell as black as the night, small white star like markings spanned across her shell. Her eyes were white with the blindness of old age, but her face still seemed to track them as they approached. Her body was covered in rough textured scales that were a murky green color.
"What brings you to my home, young ones?" She tilted her head, seemingly taking in the rag tag group of travelers.
"We want to attempt to come to a peace agreement between our peoples, and we were looking for your guidance in picking an impartial way to do so." Brym lowered his head in a small bow as often used between two royals meeting.
Quasari nodded, looking next to Vali expectantly to see what she might say.
"We want to end the bloodshed, however you think will be best." Vali lowered herself to one knee, one fist pressed into the ground. Brym knew this to be how a Tiger general might address their queen. Vali figured the proposal might be clearly outlined territories, erecting some sort of barrier between them or perhaps one of the two groups leaving to a different continent.
Quasari stood up from her throne, walking using her staff as a cane. As she slowly hobbled down the stairs one of her guards tried to stop her but was quickly silenced by the cloudy white eyes resting on him with ferocity about them.
She rested a hand on Brym's shoulder, the other hand going to float just over Vali's head, respecting the non-contact the race preferred. Her white eyes glowed dimly, around the room shimmered like light glancing off water. Waves and rippled light patterns washed across the walls. "You are two very different peoples. But the thing you share is a fighting spirit burning within. So long as you exist separate, you will seek to destroy each other. The only way for blood to be settled is for you to become one people. So long as you see yourself as two, you will do what comes naturally, fighting each other. But the warrior fights not his own men."
Vali opened her mouth to object, but Quasari spoke again before she could continue. "The only way your people will follow through with what you propose is if you are joined at the head. A royal from each side forming a pair bond."
Vali knew she was the only one of the royal family old enough to marry who did not have a partner currently. It could only be her who could do this plan if it was ever to succeed.
Brym was unsure if the Tigers would accept a mixed race pair. He knew his people would, Dragons who paired with Turtles were not unheard of... but the hard part would be convincing all of his people they were in love, as only relationships built on love were accepted; especially amongst those with power. Would his people buy that he had fallen for their enemy?
"Rest in one of my guest rooms, enjoy the city together and depart tomorrow when you are ready. You don't need to give me an answer... it's not me you need to convince, it's them." Quasari gestured to the space behind them, as the doors to the throne room were opened and Tanbu was allowed back in to join his liege. One of the guards escorted them to their rooms. Tanbu was given a place in the guard quarters down the hall, and Vali and Brym were given two rooms that had a door between. They were each left with a key, and invited to roam the city. The guard reminded them of the town's laws on nonviolence in case they were unaware, and left them to their own devices.
It was still quite early in the day and Brym figured they should at least buy some preserved food for the trip back. Anything that would distract him from the strained conversation he was sure would occur later between Vali and himself.
They stopped a street vendor and had some grilled fish, a rare commodity back home for all three of the travelers due to the lack of large bodies of water. Brym stopped by a shop that sold leather goods and commissioned a saddle to be built that would fit a dragon; he would pick it up in the morning. This would prevent the tigers from having to touch him as much. They got fish jerky, dried root vegetables, and some dried mushrooms to eat on the way back. They watched the boats being unloaded at the docks for a while, many exciting goods being loaded into carts for distribution.
They retired early to talk, having Tanbu leave them for now as the sensitive matters they discussed were not for citizen ears.
Vali opened the door between their rooms and walked through. The door way was not particularly comfortable for the large 9 foot tall dragon to squeeze through, even if he was down walking on four legs he was easily 6 and a half feet at the shoulder, and clearing the doorway was uncomfortable at best. Casually most of the tigers wore nothing by way of clothing. When at home and not sneaking around, some Tigers chose to wear shorts that covered their genitals; and for females tight fitting cloth wraps that covered their breasts and prevented them from moving around much. However this did hamper their camouflaging ability. And so Vali usually wore nothing. Nor did she bring her pack that had her poisons, lock picks, and other tools in it. She figured if Brym wanted to kill her he only had to aggressively do rolls in the air and drop both Tigers to their death; he could have done so already. Brym reclined on the bed of pillows and blankets that were set up for him. There were still a few chairs pushed into the edges of the room to make space for the large dragon. Vali pulled one of them up to the table and sat with her back to the corner looking at the reclining dragon.
"Surely it can't work.. right? My people would not accept the decision to make you my mate. That would make you Tiger royalty by pair bond. It would put you in a position of power over them and they won't like that." Vali fought the urge to pace like a caged Tiger. Vali worried about non supporters attacking Brym or herself if they lived in her home town.
"It will have its share of difficulties on my side as well. Yes we do accept cross racial pairings, There's a lovely Dragon-Turtle couple in town and everyone treats them well. The difficulty will come in convincing them that we're in love. To clarify a pair of Dragons spends most of their time together; they often are in direct contact. They show affection publically. I know all of this would be very hard for you." Brym watched as Vali fidgeted at his words. There was more Brym didn't say; it would mean his lineage would end here. Unpaired dragons could be in open relationships and it didn't mean anything, but paired dragons did not cheat. He would have no children, or an actual love that he felt feelings towards. If he did it would have to be highly secretive and wasn't worth the risk of plunging them back into war. He would just have to abstain from having love; and to a Dragon that realization hurt him to think about.
"We'll both have a lot to adapt to, and I don't think either of us will be completely happy with it. But I will gladly take being somewhat uncomfortable for the bloodshed to end." Vali finally looked up at Brym's face, meeting his eyes, before eventually having to look away. The stark silver gaze of the royal drake unnerved her. It reminded her of battles fought and lives lost. True she had never seen Brym in combat, but the silver eyes of the Dragon king as he rained lightning down on them was a vision that haunted her nightmares often. Brym had the same silver eyes. Eyes that had seen so much death from both sides, as had hers.
"Alright, let's make a list. You outline the things required for Tiger kind to accept me. Things you need from this relationship for it to work, and I'll do the same. We'll meet in the morning and discuss the lists." Brym dug around in his pack, pulling out a paper and charcoal pencil and handing it to Vali. It was designed for much larger hands, but she still was able to use it. She retired back to her room, pulling the door closed behind her. The door had no lock, but she pushed that worry out of her head. She sat at her own room's table and constructed the list before retiring to bed. She had gotten little sleep on the road over, she knew she really needed sleep now if she was going to travel home and not fall asleep in the air on Brym's back. But somehow her brain would not stop. It did not help her thoughts of worrying for the future that she was in a strange land in a strange bed. She tried for about a half hour before giving in. She knew one thing that would make her tired... and able to sleep.
She got up and crept to the door that joined her room, opening the door only an inch and listening. She heard even breathing, he must be asleep. She went to pull it shut and the door let out a soft squeak betraying her normally stealthy abilities, but she had no control over how well greased the Turtles kept their doors. She froze up, waiting for the sound of movement, but none came. She dared not move the door any further; it was only open just a crack. She went back to her bed, settling in on top of the blankets. For Tigers it was not really discussed... with how closed their relationships were, the idea of talking about intimate parts of yourself was pretty much completely taboo. She figured each Tiger probably had to discover themselves completely alone, no one to really ask. She also guessed it was at least not uncommon to do, but she didn't dare ask.
She parted her legs, one of them stretched out, the other drawn in, foot resting against the bed, knee sticking up. She leaned on one elbow, curled forward to more easily reach her intimate area. With her left hand she stroked carefully the small fleshy bump above her entry. She stifled a gasp as the feelings caused her leg to twitch. She pushed a single finger in to the knuckle, curling and uncurling her finger against a sensitive spot inside. Carefully keeping her claw retracted and out of the way with practiced movements. She felt the feeling of pleasure slowly building. She rocked back to recline on her back as she doubled her efforts, adding a second finger in, thumb brushing against the sensitive spot at the top, back arching in pleasure.
Brym lay in bed almost asleep instantly for once, until he was awoken by the creak of a door. The room was not badly lit as light from the nearly full moon poured in through the window. His eyes darted around, no one was there to attack him; maybe it was the wind that moved the door joining the rooms. He should probably close the door to allow Vali her privacy. He crept up to the door, hearing something from the other side. A light rustling, the movement of a body against bedding. Maybe she was having a nightmare. He pushed the door open an inch more so he could see in. Mercifully it seemed to only creak on the path shut, not open. He saw the movement in the light of the moon, but it was not restless tossing and turning.
Vali lay on her bed, two fingers deep inside her, back arching as she must have touched something particularly sensitive. His keen ears heard the soft wet noises as her fingers moved against the growing pleasure.
Brym carefully rested on his back haunches, tail tightly coiled around him so that he could not bump it into anything in the room and make a sound. The sight, the sensation of her arousal to his keen sense of smell able to be picked up across the room. He could feel something stiff starting to awaken. The two reptile races of this world had a vertical slit on their abdomens that hid all their bits. Male or female everything was internal when not in use, except for a pair of ample balls just behind the opening for males. He could feel the start of his arousal starting to slide out, slick and slightly cool in the night air. His tip was tapered at the end, and like most species comprised of a pair of glands, almost spade like in shape. Along the edge of where the shaft met the tip were tiny fleshy bumps around the circumference. His stomach had wide scales that overlapped; the underside of the shaft was slightly ridged, similar in look. At the deepest part of the shaft was a bulb like base that swelled when he was really close to finishing. He rested his hand on his scrotum, gently kneading it. Another few inches pushed its way out into the open air. He felt somewhat guilty for watching her, but at the same time, she was the one putting on the show knowing he was just a door away. Now that his shaft was out enough to touch, he wrapped his hand just under the crown of bumps beneath the head. With small quick strokes, he eased the rest of his length out into the open. Every few strokes he would allow his hand to rise up over the head the feeling of his own hand's scaled texture pleasant against his shaft.
Vali pressed her fingers in as deep as they would go, feeling the inside walls tighten down and cling to them, signaling the approach of her climax. She increased her pace, small quick movements stimulating her internally, while she allowed her thumb to more heavily brush against the sensitive button. Her body shuddered as it gave up the fight against the invading fingers, her breath rising to pants as she bit back further verbalizations and let herself lay limply against the bed as her body shivered with the effort. She was rewarded with the feeling of her fingers being rhythmically squeezed against, wave after wave of pleasure washing over her. After, she was still for a good 5 minutes catching her breath before she removed her fingers, licking them clean of her fluids. She wriggled under the blankets, the intense relaxed feeling that came after easily carrying her to sleep.
Brym watched as the young Tiger squirmed, delighting in imagining how she must be feeling as he mirrored the speed of her movements on his own shaft, also swiftly approaching his own peak. Normally he'd make it last, but they did have a long day tomorrow, and he didn't want to worry about his own sounds not being masked by hers. He timed it just right so that she would be heavily distracted by her own release when his hit as well. His hand which touched below the shaft worked its way up to squeeze against the forming knot as he got closer. His hips thrust against his hands which were tightly wrapped around his girth. He so badly wanted to imagine it was her he was thrusting into... but that felt just a little too far. With one final heavy thrust, he felt the intense release. He bit back a growl of pleasure as he too resigned to only heavy breathing, despite the urge to release all his pent up energy as noise. He moved his main hand he had been using for stroking to cover the tip, collecting each thick spurt of cream into his hand as it left him. His other hand stayed cupped around the base of his member, squeezing down on it like the opening it was designed to fit in would have been doing if he was breeding a female and she were finishing with him inside. His tail loosely brushed against the floor as a lot of his muscles relaxed. He looked around briefly, not wanting to wipe his seed on the nice Turtle's linens and eventually gave up and followed Vali's lead, licking his fingers clean before carefully, quietly slipping back into bed. Sleep quickly reclaimed him as he lay there content in his post release fogged mind.
Vali was mostly not used to being awake in the day, and she woke quite early before the sun finished rising. At first she sprung out of bed, claws extending as she woke up in a strange bed in a strange house. Her hair stood on end making her appear a lot larger, her colors shifting to a black for full stealth. Before she heard the snores of a dragon from the other room and relaxed. Strange... that should alert her more, but it felt fine. She took a breath, coat smoothing back down and resuming her golden brown and rusty orange colors. She had carefully rinsed the poison from her claws since joining with Brym, and she felt vulnerable not keeping her weapons honed. At the same time she did not want to accidentally sour things with her one shot at fixing their centuries long war. Her eyes easily pierced through the darkness of her room allowing her to collect and pack up her belongings. She sat at the table and waited for Brym to wake. She checked and double checked her list she wrote making small pointless edits. She got bored and examined the Turtle building style, looked out into the town and saw a few people starting to stir with the rising sun.
She cautiously opened the door a crack, finding it already open enough to peak through. She opened it the rest of the way, examining Brym's still form. His chest slowly rose and fell. He was a large imposing beast, about twice her size in general with the wings and tail making him appear that much larger and imposing. He lay on his back, stomach up towards the ceiling. A very... dragon like pose she was sure. Tigers tended to sleep curled tightly in a ball to protect their vitals. Everything about dragons was loose and casual. He even slept that way, not caring that his tail hung over the edge of the bed. His right wing twitched and a light breeze blew through the room that had nothing to do with the weather outside.
She bent down and looked at the scales closely. They were each tiny circles of tough material connected closely with some sort of skin underneath to make it flexible. She wondered if the dragons shed their scales. The belly ones looked particularly smooth and overlapping, she wanted to feel them for curiosity's sake but also she dared not. Atop his head were two gently curved horns with could be used as weapons if he was so inclined. Near them were raised scaly ridges above each eye which moved to show emotion. His long snout parted as he breathed, showing long teeth that could do some major damage, not to mention his mouth was were the lightning came from. He had scaly fins around the openings for his ear holes acting similar to a mammal's ears for directing sound. His claws were part of his fingers, unable to be retracted for stealth or ease of use and always out. The thumb claw was opposable and able to grab things but his hands were also able to support his weight in a full gallop as he could run on four legs for faster speed. Surely if neither of them had tools and abilities the dragons would be cleanly winning the war with few casualties. She examined the wings next, long spindly fingers connected with scaly membrane. The inner membrane was a lighter silvery blue color like his belly scales.
Her eyes followed the rows of belly scales down until she saw the curious opening, she had thought Brym was male... and he had visible balls behind it but externally the opening confused her. She figured it must just be a dragon thing. Maybe they were hermaphrodites. She had seen dragon diagrams and studied some of their biology at home, mostly by way of where the weak points in their scales were and the best parts to hit to knock them out of the sky. It did not go over much about their bodies otherwise and she was curious. It was interesting to be able to study one up close. She wanted to explore more but she dared not do so. She was curious if the belly scales felt different than the back scales. How warm a dragon's body was, she had felt him yesterday but he was in the sun and she figured as a reptile maybe he had just absorbed heat from the sun. She reached a hand tentatively out, stopping mere inches from touching the leg comically hanging in the air as he lay on his back, belly up. The foot twitched a little.
"Just touch it, it's fine." Brym had his neck curved around looking past his body at her curiously as she stared transfixed at his scales. She jumped a few inches as he startled her, pulling her hand back.
"I'm Sorry..." She took half a step away, leaving Brym's personal space.
"Look, if we're going to fake being together, you're going to have to get used to casual touch in front of my people. That's one of the things on the list. Not for my sake but for appearances. Besides, you were curious, right?" Brym held the foot she had been about to touch a little closer to her.
She reclosed the distance she had made when she recoiled, coming back up to him. She had to learn this if it was going to work. She slowly reached a hand out, she had permission, it was ok.. it wasn't wrong to his society... her mind raced as she tried to justify this being ok. Her hand made contact, feeling the slightly tougher scales that covered the bottom of his foot. She pressed near the claw, observing it not moving like a cats would if pressed the right spot their claw would slide out. She felt the top and compared, smaller softer scales there than on the bottom. She cautiously felt the tip and how sharp it was. It was mostly filed down with walking on rough surfaces but was still deadly enough. She touched the ankle, and felt up to his calf. He definitely was warm blooded despite being reptilian. She saw movement out of the corner of her eye, something purply-pink, before Brym rolled over abruptly to lie on his belly. She thought she had done something wrong.
Brym quickly rolled over to cover the start of his morning wood which was had begun to stir. He told himself it had nothing to do with the cat curiously touching his foot. He figured moving away would be less stressful for her than seeing his exposed parts. "Sorry, that just kind of tickled... Here, touch my wing instead." He extended it, offering her another less intimate part to touch and closing the distance between them again.
She more cautiously touched the membrane, feeling the very small scales. It seemed they were so small to allow more flexibility of the skin between the wing digits. She brushed a claw against the scales, feeling how hard they were. These ones were more soft than the ones on his foot.
Brym felt his shaft slide out another inch, rubbing against the pillows beneath him. The first stirring of it he could excuse as just his normal morning hardness... but it continued to increase in stiffness, he could not blame this on just waking up. It had to be that since he had not had a partner in so long he just wasn't used to touch.
Vali could now more see his entire back as he did not wear his pack to bed. She looked over his curved back and the springy fin like scales that stood atop it. She looked at the large tail, and then finally back at his face. "Can I... uh..."
"Can you, what?" Brym waited giving her time to gather enough bravery to ask.
"Can I touch your horns?" It looked like it took a great deal of effort for her to muster up the courage to ask this.
"Of course." Brym leaned his head forward for easier access.
Vali pressed in close, feeling the top of his horns down to the base, Stroking them feeling the hard bone like material. His snout and eye line was dangerously close to her chest as she pressed on and felt how firmly they were rooted into his skull. She could feel the exhaled breath wash over her fur as his face was close to her. She let go again, the same rosy tint creeping over her pelt making her fur look like the sky behind them through the window as it was graced with the warm glow of the rising sun. She forced the light smile that was starting to set in off of her face, feeling the normal calm wash over her.
"Can you... Not do that?" Brym asked, he felt something within him starting to relate to her until she closed off like that.
"Oh.. Sorry Did I touch something bad?" She again pulled her hands close into herself taking a step back.
"No. That was fine. I mean... you start to feel something, anything... Your facial expression just blanks. It's unnerving... you know?" Brym wondered if this ever would work.
She wasn't even quite sure what it was she felt, she had pushed it away the instant it tried to surface. "I'll try. It's just something that's expected of you in my society." She reached forward, taking the dragon's horns in her hand again and moving in close. She waited for whatever it was to come back but it didn't happen at first. She ran her fingers down to the base of the horn, feeling where it emerged from his scales. She gathered her courage, "Can I... See your teeth?"
Brym opened his mouth, he had large canine teeth and then smaller teeth for the rest. They had multiple shapes of teeth like most omnivores. Same as Tigers, just oriented into a longer more slender snout. His tongue, though, was much more narrow and forked at the tip. She felt the warm humid air roll over her from inside his mouth. She stepped away and allowed him to close it. She felt back up towards his brow ridges feeling the larger broad scales that covered them, her eyes caught his bright sterling gaze staring straight into her own gold eyes. She once again felt the feeling creeping over her, and this time allowed it.
A warm blush showed on her cheeks first then her whole body as her fur grew slowly more and more pink. Not unlike the other day where she had been so distracted she had not firmly restrained it. This time she just allowed it. It felt strange... warm. She enjoyed being this close to another living thing. She liked touching him. She just did not know why.
This time Brym had time to study her face instead of her instantly hiding the emotion. She had a slight content smile. He thought it was embarrassment at first, but realized maybe it was something else.. Joy? Happiness? He wasn't sure. "Thank you." He pushed his head into her hand more, resting against it comfortingly. The movement of sliding forward on his stomach caused his shaft to rub against the bedding, and he realized just how much of it was out. Almost all accept the last third.
She resumed examining him, first checking his clawed hands, then moving towards his chest feeling the overlapping belly scutes. It occurred to her to ask about the opening on his stomach. Should she be thinking of him as a him? It seemed only fair to ask. "Brym... Can I see your stomach?"
Brym felt heat rise to his face. If he rolled over she would see... "I'll do it for you but... I guess I'll warn you. Usually when I wake up... Well I am often hard when I first wake up. It won't bother you?"
It took her a moment to realize what he meant. She had never really been with her partner sexually as they had been pulled into war efforts and he had died in training and she had not ever taken a new mate. Still she had at least seen one... Their sex education was really not very detailed. And it was non-existent with other races. She had to admit, she was curious. "If it does you can always roll back over." She was proud of herself for being brave.
Brym was honestly surprised she was going with it. He rolled back over on his side, belly exposed. She traced down the wide lateral belly scales noting where the pattern continued down his inner legs for a while. She avoided looking at it until she had seen all the rest.
As the hand carefully traced the belly scales Brym felt the touch further excite him. This was a cat... one of the enemy he was letting touch his sensitive underbelly. Her kind had killed many of his people... but had she? She wanted peace, they both did... Right? They should hate each other... But he was so tired of hating blindly. They had to pretend in different ways before each of their people... It would be miserable... Right? He moaned softly as her hand touched the scales that covered his inner thigh, still avoiding the hard shaft exposed just next to it.
She paused, at first worried she had hurt him when she heard the sound. Something wet dripped down onto her hand, which caused her to jump a little. Brym's tip oozed a drop of clear pre which had dripped down onto her. She finally looked up to the source of the moisture, the blush had not faded from her fur, but it grew more vibrant. He was definitely a He. She observed it must rest inside him when not in use, and when he got excited... well it must come out then. "Does it normally leak like that? Does it hurt?"
"No.. It uh.. it feels good when it leaks like that." He carefully tried gauging her expression... a dragon he might have been able to read but her face was different than he was used to, and she still instinctually hid some of her feelings.
"Oh... and it feels good and leaks just from you waking up in the morning?" She absentmindedly still touched his inner thigh, earning another drip that this time ran down his shaft.
"Sometimes.." his sentence paused as she earned a slight exhale from him at her touch. "But mostly when I'm uh... being touched."
She paused for a moment, a look of fear on her face. "This is inappropriate then? I'm so sorry." Her hands pulled away from his stomach, and he involuntarily let out an audible, needy exhalation as the stimulation was abruptly halted.
"Please..." Brym really didn't want her to stop, but he also didn't want her to feel pressured into something she didn't want to do. "It felt really good..."
"But... You're not my pair bond. I can't just..." She looked guilty. Like a kid caught with her hand in the cookie jar.
"Just from a permission standpoint, we are joining together for our nations, right? If you're not comfortable we don't ever have to do anything sexual if you don't want." She could see the sacrifice and how much it pained him to say these words. "But I don't think it's wrong for us to by your people's law or by mine if we're planned to be bonded."
Vali looked thoughtful. "It's ok... And you like it?"
"And it's good practice for getting used to being ok with touch around my people. Not that we'd be doing this in front of people. My people just show affection with casual touch. I can demonstrate what would be expected a bit later." Brym's fingers curled and uncurled as he fought the desire to touch himself with how long it took the Tiger to move... but he didn't want to scare her either.
Her hand extended again, hesitating in the air for a good 30 seconds, before it slowly made contact with his stiff flesh. Her touch was cautious as if touching something sharp she was afraid would hurt her. First the light feather's touch of the pads of her fingertips. She felt the surface; it was a smooth feeling akin to his scaled body. The surface showed small raised veins just under the skin. She felt the ridges along the bottom, more of the same curious touch of before rather than deliberately trying to give pleasure. She felt the small bumps around the division between glands and shaft. "What are these for?" She traced each one all the way around.
"Mmmmmmm. They're for making our partners feel good... is our best guess. Bonding is very important among dragons. If we can please our partners it promotes good feelings all around." Brym's shaft now was painfully hard from all the teasing with no sign of relief in sight.
Vali's hand worked its way up past the crown of bumps, towards the sensitive tip. She gently pressed on it, feeling its hardness. Her finger passed over the opening at the tip, rubbing against the outside of channel that would deliver his seed. "Vali..." He gasped a little.
She looked over at him, concerned.
"If you don't do more than tease me, I might have to touch for myself... It feels good but, I really... need more...." His hips bucked a bit, rubbing himself against the extended hand as he fought his urges.
"Oh... Sorry. Do I just..." She wrapped her hand loosely around the shaft, as if afraid she would hurt him. She gave it a tentative pump, from base to just under the head. Finally the last third of his shaft slid out. It was beginning to become trapped inside as the knot was both slightly expanded from all the teasing, but also still inside from the lack of touching. He let out a sigh of relief as it slid from its confines.
"Is that..?" She looked at just how much more there was. She thought it was all out.
"Yeah it's supposed to do that... I was just teetering on the edge of being stimulated enough and not stimulated enough... you can grip it a little tighter by the way. Don't squeeze... just like a nice full contact... Yeah.." He acknowledged the change in her grip to match what he said.
"Ok..." Her hand moved up and down a few times.
"I.. ummm...." His words were punctuated with pleasured murmurs as she finally got to properly pleasuring him, albeit a little too slow for his liking. "I saw... last night when you were touching yourself. I'm sorry I thought at first you were having a nightmare but then.. I noticed what you were doing and I... Couldn't help joining... That pace you were using... was pretty good you can go that fast with this."
She considered this, the pink color growing as it now completely overtook the last of the orange in her coat. Orange stripes completely fading to a darker pink against pink background. He was glad she was seemingly not fighting it.
At this point she was at least committed to finishing what she had started. Her hand picked up the pace to the faster stroking she was giving herself from last night. Now her hand went clear down to the very root, all the way up to the tip. The fur on the inside of her hand that was between the pads was slicked down with the gathered fluids that oozed almost continually from the tip with each stroke.
"Does it feel good?" She asked, still keeping up with the fast pace.
He felt his peak approaching, he could fight it back and have her slow down... but one thing at a time. He was impressed she had made it this far. He would let her have the prize she earned. "Just... a little more... I'm very close."
Her hand now felt the change in the knot, as it began to swell. He tried to warn her, really he did. But the words wouldn't quite come in time. "Vali I'm about to... Hmmmm..."
His body tensed up as his release started. A burst of pleasure as his shaft twitched, the first shot of cum landing against his body, but the rest coated the hand that pleasured him as they shot more or less straight up and then down onto Vali's arm and hand. "Mmmmmmm Vali... Kitty..." The rest of the sounds were mostly unable to be made out as his back foot twitched a little as it hung in the air. A few more final twitches of his shaft as the last few dregs of his fertile seed ran wasted down the side of his penis, never to attain their purpose.
He lay still for a moment catching his breath. Not the most elegant climax he had, as he had little control over where it went and when it happened. But having someone other than himself touch him always felt really good. By the time he caught his breath and looked up he saw Vali with her hand in her mouth, cleaning it off. He was surprised but also he guessed it was what she was used to for her own messes.
"Salty... a little tingly?" She wondered aloud.
"Probably residual static charge... sometimes happens from our control of lightning. So..." He paused for a good 30 seconds or so, contemplating if he should ask what he wanted to ask. He decided screw it he would at least try.
"Will you let me return the favor?" He collected the single shot that landed on his stomach with a single claw, and licked it off.
"I.. Uh.. I guess that is allowed.. right? No different than what I just did... but..." She closed her eyes for a while thinking.
"Ok. I guess it's only fair." She finally said, shifting her feet against the floor nervously.
Brym smiled, showing his sharp teeth. "Alright, lay down and spread your legs for me."
Vali did as she was told, reclining on his nest of pillows, parting her legs. "Just give me a-" Her sentence was cut short as Brym lowered his head to her crotch, tongue darting between the folds. Her anatomy was slightly different than a female dragon's. It was closer to the surface, less space to tunnel into for his tongue to reach the bits that were a little more internal to dragons. The twin tines of his forked tongue swirled around lapping at either side of her clitoris. Almost immediately the surprise combined with the sudden feeling of pleasure caused the first twitch of her inner space as it reacted. She was already wet, it was good to know she was not so robotic that touching another person did not bring her pleasure. He could work with this.
His tongue brushed past the opening, feeling around everywhere inside. He opened his maw, either side of it getting close to her body, tips of his teeth rubbing dully against her skin as he allowed more and more of his tongue to press into her. The taste was interesting. Different than the female dragons he had tasted in the past. It was slightly floral and sweet. He brought his finger to the top of the opening; from the side he could reach the unattended sensitive spot above. The smooth scales of his hand brushing against it causing her to shudder. His other hand combed through her belly fur, feeling the soft fluffy texture.
Above him the Tigress squirmed and bit back her noises like she normally would. It was so much harder when she didn't know when her most sensitive parts were about to be touched. Brym pulled his head up for a moment breathing for a while. "Don't fight the sounds. Let them out. I consider it a compliment. Wouldn't want to infer that I was doing a bad job, would you?"
Before she could answer that swift tongue darted back inside her. Each time she felt it squirm and rub delightfully warm and wet against her inner walls she could feel the pleasure starting to mount. She did allow a few whimpers and moans to escape her lips. She was so unused to it they were still quite soft and reserved. His saliva felt slightly tingly as well, or perhaps that was just her own pleasure. The warm wet organ wiggling away inside her felt so much better than her fingers. Her toes curled, her breath came in huffs as she finally gave into the feeling. Brym felt his efforts rewarded as her body rippled and squeezed against his tongue. A fresh flow of her honey coated his tongue, all that much sweeter straight from the source. She no longer fought against her rising climax as with each pulse of pleasure she let out a moan. When it finally stopped Brym could feel a few lingering twitches of the soft flesh against his tongue as residual shock waves of muscle twitches from the immense climax worked their way through her. He retracted his tongue from inside, swallowing the fluids that coated it.
"I hope that felt good for you." The dragon rested in a sphinx like position, front limbs crossed in front of him, a proud smile on his lips.
"I... yeah... Thank you." Was all she could muster. The pink color had faded mostly back to her original orange as she lay there in the afterglow of the pleasure.