Heart of the Volcano

Story by Chikara on SoFurry

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#1 of Heart of the Volcano


Everything began with rain. I was running along a forest road at the base of a mountain, soaked to the skin, looking for somewhere, anywhere to shelter from the elements. It was winter, and the bare branches of the trees offered little protection from the unpleasant weather. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw something, a patch of darker colour on the cliff face. Peering through the wind and rain, I realised that it was the entrance to a cave, almost hidden by the rock face around it, and I headed gratefully in its direction. A few minutes later, I was leaning against the wall of the cave, trying to brush as much water as possible from my clothes and pack. After a few moments, I felt a sense of warmth coming from deeper inside the cave. Compared to the freezing rain outside, the prospect of a warm, sheltered cavern was very appealing, and I headed further into the mountain.

After following the passage for a short time, I found myself emerging into an enormous open space. The cavern was easily large enough to contain several buildings; I guessed it must be as tall as a three- or four-storey building, with enough floor space for six or seven large houses. Curious, I ventured in. The floor of the cavern was scattered with large boulders, and stalagmites and stalactites rose up from the ground and hung from the ceiling in places. None of this, however, amazed me nearly as much as what I saw as I rounded a group of boulders.

There, not ten feet away in front of me, staring at me in equal surprise, was a dragon.

He was smaller than I would have expected a dragon to be, less than two feet taller than me, though from nose to tail he must have been fifteen feet long. He stood on all four legs, thought the paws at the ends of his forelegs looked dexterous enough to be called hands. His scales were golden brown, lighter than the grey, muddy colours of the rocks around him, and his eyes, surprisingly human-like, were a brilliant gold, set in a face expressive enough to easily convey his shock at having encountered me. His mouth opened, and I realised with some trepidation that I was standing worryingly close to a creature with large, very sharp teeth. What he did with that mouth, however, surprised me again.

"What are you doing in my caves?" He spoke! And english, too. I was so startled it took me a moment to remember I was supposed to answer.

"Uh, nothing, I was just looking for somewhere to shelter from the storm," I said, hoping he wouldn't be offended by my presence. A sense of guilt nagged at me, like I'd been caught snooping around someone's house. "I didn't mean to trespass. If you want me to leave, I will." I started to back away slowly toward the cave I had entered by.

"Ah, wait!" he said quickly. "If you just want to keep out of the rain, you can stay." His expression drooped slightly. "I don't get the chance to talk to someone very often."

"You live here alone?" I asked. He nodded, and I felt a little sorry for him. "I wouldn't mind having some company while I wait for the rain to stop and my clothes to dry out." His face lit up, and I couldn't help but smile.

"I know!" he said. "There are some hot rocks you could dry your clothes on, in another part of the caves. It's this way."

"Hot rocks?" I asked as we walked.

"Yes, the magma heats them from below," he told me.

"There's magma under your mountain?"

"Volcano," he corrected.

"Oh, sorry...wait, what?"

"This is a volcano, not an ordinary mountain."

"But that means...my hometown..."

"Your city is built on the side of a volcano, yes," he said patiently.

"But that's really dangerous! I have to go and warn them!"

"No, you don't. This volcano is never going to erupt again."

"If there's still magma under it..."

"That's why I'm here." I looked at him, confused. "You see, when dragons saw how many humans had unknowingly made their homes in such a dangerous place, they couldn't just turn a blind eye and wait for something terrible to happen. They knew it would be practically impossible to evacuate so many people, especially since they were unlikely to be believed, even if they were trying to help." I winced slightly at this painfully accurate observation about my species. He noticed, and looked apologetic. "I could have worded that part better, couldn't I?"

I sighed. "No, I know what you meant, and you're right."

"Anyway," he continued, changing the subject. "The dragons decided that if they couldn't fix the problem by changing the humans, they would change the volcano instead." My eyes widened. "They chose one of my ancestors to stay in these caverns and keep the volcano under control with magic."

"Magic?" I gasped, amazed.

"Yes, magic. And this duty has been passed down from father to son, and, eventually, to me. Like I said, that's why I'm here."

"That's so selfless..." I realised I had spoken aloud. To my surprise, the dragon blushed and looked away. I guessed he wasn't used to praise. "Well, on behalf of every human in the city, thank you, and your ancestors." He still seemed surprised by my words.

"You're nicer than I was expecting, for a human," he said, then a moment later, "ah, that didn't come out right either. Sorry."

"Well, you're not exactly what I would have expected a dragon to be like," I replied. "For example, you're smaller." He bristled.

"Just because I'm not completely full-grown yet, it doesn't make me small."

"Sorry."

"Humans have always exaggerated their legends about us. They imagine us as gigantic, terrible beasts!" He was making grand, sweeping gestures as he spoke, seeming to enjoy the fact that he was spouting nonsense. "They think we swoop down from high in the sky, stealing cattle and terrorising villages!"

"Breathing great tongues of fire!" I added with a grin. He laughed.

"Wrong kind of dragon. Some of us do breathe fire, though. My family has always been attuned to earth, not fire. That's why we were chosen to guard the volcano; a volcano is fire contained by earth." I nodded. It made sense. I found myself with a question.

"So, where are the other dragons?" I asked gently, not sure if I should bring up the subject in case the answer was painful for him.

"Far away, out in the wilderness where humans don't go," he told me. He looked me straight in the eye, and I raised my hands placatingly.

"I know, I can't tell anyone you exist. No-one would believe me, anyway." He shook his head.

"I don't think you'd tell anyone, even if I didn't ask you not to." He grinned. "You're a nice human, remember?"

"Very funny," I said, but I grinned too. "I suppose I should have guessed. The other dragons wouldn't want to live here, so close to a human city." To my surprise, he shook his head again.

"Oh no, that's not it at all. You wouldn't make a home here if you knew it was a volcano, would you?" I found myself totally speechless.

We reached the "hot rocks" soon after that. The heat in that chamber was stifling, but my new friend didn't seem to notice. Maybe he just had a higher tolerance for high temperatures than I did. I stripped off to the waist, laying out my clothes and shoes around the heat sources. The rock floor was smooth and hot under my bare feet.

"What about that?" the dragon asked me, indicating my lower body. I wagged a finger at him.

"It wouldn't be modest of me to take those off."

After that, he showed me around the caverns, telling me all about the many different caves and chambers. The volcano's heat kept his home more than warm enough for me to be comfortable despite my bare chest. We avoided places where the molten heart of the volcano was exposed, on the basis that the heat would probably kill me, and my dragon friend preferred not to go near deposits of sulphur.

"They make me sneeze," he explained.

As we walked, he told me more about dragons, and I in turn told him about my life in the human city.

"It must be nice, living in a city with so many people around you," my friend said wistfully. I stopped. "What is it?"

"I just realised I should feel guilty," I said sadly. "It's because of us humans that you're stuck here, all alone. I'm sorry." Impulsively, I reached out to place a supportive hand on his shoulder. He looked surprised at the touch, but didn't flinch from it.

"It's not so bad," he told me gently. "I don't blame humans for needing my help, and I'm here for a good reason." I felt better when I heard him say that. Then I noticed that my hand was still on his shoulder, and I withdrew it, a little embarrassed at my forwardness. The dragon, however, had no such hesitation about leaning forward and pressing his head against my chest. "You really are a nice human." I smiled and stroked his head.

"And you're a very kind dragon." After a moment, he pulled his head away and beckoned me onward.

"Come on, there are still things I want to show you!" he said, with childlike excitement. I followed, and he led me further into the caves. He showed me sparkling crystals and underground lakes, stunning rock formations and caves where the walls glowed with luminescence. I was even able to bare the heat long enough to glimpse a river of molten lava, far below us at the bottom of a great crevice.

A short time later, he turned to me to deliver a warning. "Be careful, there are vents in this passage."

"Vents?" I asked, and my question was answered as we turned a corner. The next section of passage was lined with cracks in the rock wall, from which steam hissed into the air. "Hot air being expelled from every direction, reminds me of home," I said dryly, earning a giggle from my dragon friend.

We passed by the vents carefully, emerging into another wide cavern. A strange expression came over the dragon's face, and I realised he was looking not at my face, but at the top of my head. Reaching up, I found that the gusts from the vents had blown my hair into quite a ridiculous mess. I heard a giggle, and I realised that my friend was trying to be too polite to laugh, and failing totally.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't laugh, but I can't help myself," he grinned as I smoothed my hair back down.

"Laughing at me? Well, if you want to laugh, I can arrange that!" I said, stepping forward and running a finger across his belly. He snorted, obviously just as ticklish as I'd hoped he would be. He looked at me with an unbearably cute expression on his face, and I couldn't help grinning back and tickling him with both hands. He squealed and squirmed at the maddening sensations, before ending up on his back in a helpless fit of giggles. Taking advantage of his prone position, I moved closer and wriggled my fingers on his sides, where the underarms would be on a human. The dragon's giggling quickly became outright laughter as my nimble hands found sensitive places and drove him wild, making him thrash and kick his legs in the air. Glancing up at his face, I saw tears of laughter beginning to form in his eyes, so I stepped back and let him catch his breath.

"Oh, I haven't laughed like that in a long time," he chuckled happily. I smiled. Then, I got the feeling that something was different about him, something about the way he looked that I couldn't quite place. Then I noticed it â€" on his underside, not far from where my hands had been teasing his belly moments before, was a bulge, with a small cone of pink protruding from the front of it. I forced myself not to blush; he clearly hadn't noticed it was out. Of course, I thought. His isolation in this volcano not only precluded the possibility of having a social life, but also any chance to...

I realised he was looking at me with a puzzled expression. Before I could react, he followed my gaze and saw what I was looking at.

"Ah! I'm sorry!" he squeaked, panicking to cover himself with his hands and tail as he got to his feet. I felt a pang of sympathy for him. That the feeling of any warm body close to his was enough to get him hard must mean he was so frustrated...and that was when I decided. This time, he wasn't going to be left alone with his unfulfilled need. I walked up to him, stroked his face gently, and took hold of semi-erect malehood. He gasped and turned his head to look at me.

"Shh, it's alright," I murmured soothingly, putting my other hand over his mouth before he could speak. "Just relax, and let me do this for you." I started to stroke his hardening member, and it didn't take long before his body began to respond, thrusting into my hands. I looked up at his face and saw his eyes were closed tight, his mouth hanging open as his breath came in ragged panting. After a few moments, he spoke.

"W...wait..." he managed between gasps, and I felt his hands gently remove my own hands from his body. I had thought this might happen. I was the wrong species, and probably the wrong gender too, for him to share this kind of pleasure with. My thoughts were proven wrong, however, as he lay down and rolled onto his back, spreading his hind legs in the air.

"...fuck me."

My jaw dropped, but not only in surprise at what he was doing. The sight of the young dragon on his back, legs wide open, almost begging me to mount him...was, by far, the most erotic thing I had ever set eyes on. I moved towards him, discarding the few clothes I was still wearing, and got down on my knees, straddling his tail. I shuffled forward until my knees were up against his rump, my cock hovering over his tailhole. I looked up at his face and saw how nervous he was, so I paused for a moment to reach up and hold his hand in mine. He looked back at me, swallowed nervously, and nodded. I nodded back and let go of his hand, positioning myself to enter him. Carefully, I pressed the tip of my erect organ against his opening, pushing myself in slowly. He gave a lustful whine at the feeling of being penetrated, his toes curling and uncurling, and after a few moments I was all the way in. I began to pull out until only the head was left in him, then pushed in again, setting up a slow, gentle rhythm. His cock twitched, and I could feel his heart pounding. The feel of his tail was incredible, so tight and so warm, and both of us moaned at the sensations our bodies were giving each other. I heard something change in his panting breath, and realised he was trying to speak.

"H...harder! Please..." he begged, and I complied. Increasing both the speed and force of my thrusts, I began pounding his asshole with everything I had. At the same time, I moved one hand back to his maleness, gripping it firmly and roughly stroking in time with my thrusts, making his hips buck toward the pleasurable stimulation.

"Oh, your body feels so good!" I called out, even though I knew he was too high to answer. He was crying out with passion at every thrust now, and I guessed that he wouldn't be able to last too much longer. That said, neither could I. The way his body tightened around my thrusts was rapidly drawing my own orgasm closer and closer, and I wondered whether I would have to slow down to prevent myself finishing before I could finish him. Once again, however, my thoughts were interrupted as I heard my partner shout.

"Ah...gonna cum, gonna cum!" he wailed. I slammed into him as hard and as fast as I could, my hand almost a blur on the sensitive head of his member. His claws scraped across the stone floor, and his hind legs hooked around my back, trying to pull me even closer to him. The dragon threw his head back and screamed a great bellow of lust and ecstasy, his hot seed spurting out from his twitching cock to land on both our bodies. His tailhole clenched around me, forcing me to join him in completion, our roars of climax echoing around the caves. It was several minutes before our orgasms ended, and we flopped, panting, onto the ground beneath us. I pulled myself out of him slowly, so he could enjoy the sensation, and crawled alongside him, where I could see his face. For a few minutes, we just lay there, basking in the afterglow of our union, until finally he spoke.

"That was wonderful," he sighed, his chest rising and falling as exhaustion caught up with us.

"I think I could probably do it for you again, if you like," I grinned, though secretly I felt more likely to pass out than to get hard again.

"Mmm, no, thank you. My body is sated," he replied sleepily. "Although, if you should happen to pass by here again someday..." My grin widened.

"Actually, I caught an early flight on my way here, so I'm well ahead of schedule," I said. "I have two days to spare, and nowhere else I need to be. I could stay here."

"I'd like that," he smiled, and his eyes closed as he finally succumbed to sleep. I smiled too as I curled up with him, putting my arms around the base of his neck, and feeling his arms and wings wrap around me protectively. I watched his face as we lay there, resting peacefully, still smiling innocently in his sleep.

At that moment, I fell in love.