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"So, Ana, I was thinkin' . . ."

Rial had that sideways look he got when he was coming on to someone. Ana set his tea aside and sat

forward with new interest. "Oh, Ree, you mustn't do that," he said, grinning.

The silver smiled back and snickered. "Yeah, I know. But, y'know, it's dead winter, and there's not a lot going on. If you didn't have anything this afternoon, I was thinkin'--"

Nirez had just come back, his tray overflowing with a second help of noodles and cheese. Nai adored noodles and cheese. God alone knew why. It wasn't even real cheese. It came in a box. The copper-green's mouth dropped open, his expression was shocked offense. "I was gonna ask him!" he cried.

"So?" said Rial, coldly.

"I told you I was gonna ask him!" Nai protested, wide-eyed. "I told you so you wouldn't!"

"Well, I guess that didn't work out too well for you," Ree replied.

Nai was getting this look that said Rial was about to get cold-cocked with a tray full of noodles and cheese, so Ana interposed himself between them. "All right, you two. Come on, now. What were you going to ask me?" Though he already knew what it must be, if it had to be him and they weren't willing to share. He'd already made up his mind to do it, too. It was dead winter and he was bored out of his skull.

"Would you take me away for a little bit?" Ree said. "And we could do something fun?"

"I was gonna ask," Nirez muttered, sullen.

"I can do you both at once, you know," Ana told them, mildly scolding.

"Well, yeah, but . . ."

"Yeah, I know, but . . ."

". . . and it's not like you'll notice, once you're there."

A moment's silence. The two of them weren't thrilled with this proposed solution, but neither could they think of a reason to refuse.

"I don't wanna if he's gonna watch," Nai said at last.

Ana's dark eyes brightened. Oh, now he really wanted to do this. Nai must have been thinking of something interesting. Like, _perverted_interesting. "Aw, Nai, nobody's going to watch anyone. Look, I promise I'll have you both out before we start on anything. And _Ree_can go first," he added. "If that's all right?"

"I don't mind," the silver said and sniffed. "I wasn't gonna have anything weird."

"I dunno what I want," Nai said with a shrug. "I just don't want you."

"You guys," said Ana. "C'mon! Are we gonna do something fun for once, or are we gonna sit here and snipe at each other the whole rest of the day? 'Cos I don't think you two need any help doing that."

Nirez hefted a frustrated little sigh. "I don't mind if Ree goes first."

"I already said I wanted to," the silver added.

Ana strode purposefully away from the table. He had to be quick about this or they were just going to get into it again. Winter in the fortress had a way of bruising friendships, and Nai and Ree were contentious at the best of times. "Okay, well, I'm going to grab another cup of tea, and, Nai, you can finish your--Oh. That didn't take long." Ana hadn't even seen the dragon sit.

"I like noodles and cheese," Nai said, a trifle embarrassed. He pushed his empty tray aside.

"If you like them, you should chew them, shouldn't you?" Ree put in.

Ana got between them, again, and shoved them apart. "All right!" he cried, with determined enthusiasm. "I'll leave the tea, then, shall I? Let's go."

---

Ana threw open the bunkroom's double doors and gestured expansively. He was doing everything expansively, because when Nai and Rial quit paying attention to him, they started picking on each other. They were doing it on purpose, he would swear to it. They were that bored. If he wasn't terribly entertaining he was going to have a murder to clean up after.

"Look, my little lovelies!" he declared. "Alone at last!"

In early winter, the bunkroom would be occupied all day, with dragons asleep there or otherwise quietly kipping. In early winter, the idea of having a lie down mid-day had novelty and an enticing air of the forbidden. You couldn't have a nap, ordinarily. You'd be back on duty, or there would be other things to do, general upkeep and defense, and that would keep you busy until bedtime. But in winter, there were these long, quiet expanses of nothing. No work, no duty, no activity. Hey, a nap, the fortress seemed to think, en masse. I could have a nap right now. That would be great!

By dead winter, after Solstice, napping had lost all its charm. No dragon would set foot in the bunkroom until they were absolutely exhausted. Some didn't come trailing in until twelve or one in the morning. It was too dark there, when everything was dark around already and had been for months. And it was too fucking quiet. The quiet began to grate upon one. They would amass in the common areas, fervently engaged in every possible activity, talking and laughing and singing and making so much noise in general you would've thought they were all mad. Perhaps they were, but it was a seasonal madness. It would come to a head at New Year's, when the whole fortress went screaming insane for a couple weeks, and then it would depart without lingering, gone before even the hangovers had thumped their last.

In other words, now was a great time to get up to some perverted shit in the bunkroom. They could've had an orgy in here and no one would have noticed.

Huh, thought Ana. Now that might be fun. The First Annual Competitive Midwinter Orgy. First Prize, a great big jam doughnut with icing sugar on top. Or maybe he could get Bela to do him some socks . . .

There were no chemlights in here, only a few errant oil lamps kept burning for safety's sake. Ana gravitated to his own cot instinctively. There were some candle ends on his side of the night table and a small, glass lamp on Cam's. He lit these with a single match and puffed out the flame long before it reached his careful fingers. The resulting light was warm, a buttery yellow with a gentle flicker to it that was quite soporific. He'd have to be careful not to fall asleep himself.

Well, he thought, grinning, maybe at first.

Ree had made some low exclamation of delight. Nirez turned 'round and snapped at him, "Dammit, stop making those kitten noises! You make me want to drown you in a bucket of water."

"Stop being a bitch, Nirez," Ana said wearily.

Rial grinned. Ana didn't have to turn and look, you could put two fingers in the air and feel the smugness, like a thick, greasy thread. "You, too, Rial," he said. Silence at that. Silence at last.

"Okay," said the fiery-gold. "Now let's all take a deep, deep breath and try to remember we don't despise each other." That got a little snicker from Rial, at least. "In . . ." He drew a deep breath with them and held it for a while, then they all sighed out together. ". . . and out. Okay. Remember that time Ciero was so drunk he sat down in the waste basket and we couldn't get him out of there? And all we could think to do was put butter on him? And we had to go to the commissary and pay for the butter? Wasn't that fucking hilarious?"

Rial went snrk.

Nirez sniggered unashamedly and passed a hand over his eyes. "Oh, God, we were all so trashed, we couldn't even explain what we wanted it for . . ."

Ree said, "So Bela draws himself up and he says, 'Awright, gimmie about fifteen loaves of day-old bread, too. It's three o'clock in the morning and I want some fucking toast!'"

"'Nother deep breath!" Ana said. "Deep breath!" He took one himself and spoke gaspingly, "Hold it. Nobody laugh. Nobody laugh!"

They all laughed. Rial laughed so hard he had to sit down. He stumbled over to Ana's bunk and just sort of plonked there, with his tail hanging over the opposite side.

Ana snatched Ree by both shoulders and shook him, just the once. "Oh my God, Ree!" he cried. "Go to sleep!"

Rial's eyes rolled shut, his muzzle hit his chest and he went limp in Ana's grasp.

"Geeez-oh," said Nirez, since neither expression on its own seemed adequate. "Wow," he added.

Ana ignored him. He spoke rapidly in Ree's ear and laid him down on the bed. "Sleep, Ree. Going down deeper, deeper, so deep. My voice just takes you deeper. Breathe, Ree. Breathe deep. Deeper. Deeper. Sleep . . ." Ree had gone out like a light. He slept, he breathed, and nothing else. Ana lifted the silver's legs and tail onto the bed and left him there, flat. Nirez met his gaze as soon as he turned around.

"Could you do that to me?" Nai said

Ana turned his muzzle away and snickered sheepishly. Trust Nai to get right to the point. "Dunno," he admitted. "Probably not now, though. I'm not totally sure why it works, but it has to be a surprise."

"You could still surprise me," the copper offered. "I bet you could!"

The red-gold put his hands up and shook his head. "No, no. I'd feel real dumb doing it if it didn't work. You never go like Ree goes, anyway. You know, you have to settle down."

"Oh, I guess," said Nai. "But it's only 'cos I really, really want it."

Ana stepped forward and gave him a little squeeze. "I know you do. It's okay. It's awesome!" He grinned. "Look, let me give Ree something to do real fast, or else he's gonna wake up and be all pissed off. Then I'm all yours, okay?"

"'Kay," said Nai. He sat down on Cam's bunk and rested his head in his hands, waiting like a little kid waits for Solstice.

Ana approached Rial with graceful intent. He looked faintly predatory, and he felt it, too. He felt . . . Powerful, just a little. It was like a sip of very strong wine, and he'd have to be careful he didn't down the whole bottle at once. He couldn't trust himself when he was that drunk.

This was all right, though. Just a little.

He touched Ree on the muzzle with gentle fingers and stroked him, until the little silver went mmm, and smiled. "That's nice, isn't it?" Ana said. "It's so nice and warm. It feels good to sleep, sleep way down deep where everything is far, and everything is so nice and warm. Shh, Ree. Lie still, and feel nice . . ."

"Mmm," said Rial, again. (Sometimes they got stuck like that.) He arched a little, just a very little, and his toes curled.

Oh, it would be so easy to go on to something sexual, so easy to touch him more, and there, and make him feel so good . . . But he couldn't leave Nirez waiting like that, he was too pitiful. And, after all, Nai had wanted to ask him first.

"Dream, Ree," Ana said, stroking. "What would you dream?"

"Wanna," Ree said. He turned his muzzle to Ana's voice but he made no attempt to open his eyes. They drifted slowly beneath the lids. He spoke childishly, which he only did now when he was absolutely exhausted, or so terribly put out that he wanted to spit, "I . . . I wanna . . ." He was so sleepy. The thought kept slipping away from him.

"What is it you want, Ree?" Ana said. "You know it. It's right there. Say it."

"Chocolate," Ree said, smiling.

Ana gave a snicker. He should've known. If it wasn't candy it would've been oranges, or ice cream.

"Ree, I'm going to give you a chocolate," Ana said. "Soft, and round . . . A chocolate drop, with a little raised bit in the middle, a tiny little point."

"Mmm," said Ree. He worked his tongue in his mouth.

"Let it melt," Ana said. "It will melt so slowly and taste so good, and it will last just as long as you want it to. You might hear me speaking, but it won't bother you, or wake you. You just have your chocolate, and sleep deeply 'til I come back and touch you again."

"Mmm," said Ree. He didn't quite nod, but it was definitely an affirmative.

"Open," Ana said. Rial obligingly parted his lips. Ana put a finger inside and touched the tip of his tongue. The silver closed around him and sucked. He made a low moan of pleasure way down deep in his chest.

Oh, damn it! It had to be candy, didn't it? It had to be . . .sucking. Ana shut his eyes, gathered his resolve, and withdrew his finger from the dragon's mouth. Ree sucked happily on nothing, feeling the slight point against the roof of his mouth, letting it melt. Tasting it, dark and rich and soft and sweet. So good.

I wish I could have chocolate, Ana thought, a jealous thought that was almost childish.

I wish I could be chocolate, Ana thought, a selfish thought that was much more adult. He left Rial on the bed before he could get any other ideas of the kind.

Nirez was halfheartedly chewing his nails, one after the other, more like he was tasting them, or just checking to make sure they were there.

"Scoot," Ana said. Nai made room for him on the bunk. "So, what were you thinking?" This was standard operating procedure with Nai. Nai had a really easy 'yes' on him, he was almost as bad as Nace. Once you put him out, he'd agree to anything. Most others, if you tried to get them to do something they didn't like, they'd ignore you. Ree would even wake himself up, if you kept pressing. Nai would just give you a dazed little affirmative and go happily on. It was only when you woke him up that he'd feel bad. If Ana didn't get some basic idea of where they were going beforehand, they might end up someplace Nai really didn't want to be.

Nirez heaved a sigh and tipped back on the bed. He stretched his wings to either side and put his hands over his face. "I don't know. Maybe Drunk on Water?" That was a funny one, but it wasn't anything that couldn't be accomplished with an equal amount of liquor. It was cheaper, that was all. Nai shook his head. "No. I'm tired of getting drunk. I want something that feels nice, and I want to go on for a long time," he sat up again and addressed Ana with a pointed finger, "like, hours. I wish we could play I Want to Tell You, but I know that's just for parties."

I Want to Tell You, that was a really fun game. They'd played it last at Solstice, because you did need a party, and lots of people and noise and distraction, and lots and lots of liquor. If the whole group of you weren't going to get smashed, you couldn't play the game at all.

You took two dragons--and you'd get lots of volunteers, because even if the game was uncomfortable at the beginning it felt great_at the end. So you'd take two of them, put them both out and set them up for each other. You'd impress one with the incredible desire to do something, and the other with the incredible desire to have that thing done _to them. Ana always worked this out with loving detail, playing to the crowd, getting right down where it was hot and sticky and almost fetishizing the act. Then, with the same attention to detail, you made them embarrassed. You made them so incredibly embarrassed that they could never, ever do it, and had never, ever done it, and couldn't even think of doing it in public, at a_party_.

Then everyone made bets.

Then you'd wake them up, but not really wake them up, and see how long it took for them to find each other. That was funny. At some point someone would notice they were both gone, and everyone would start grinning, and they'd look under all the beds, and under the tables, and in the closets, and all the other improbable places. When you found them, they'd always be doing it, whatever it was, with incredible determination. Sometimes they'd stop, too ashamed, and Ana would wake them and they'd feel better and everyone would laugh. Most times, though, they didn't stop, not even with all eyes upon them. Not until the both of them had reached some definite conclusion.

In the beginning, they had played the game with sexual sort of things, because that seemed obvious. Lately, Ana had discovered that it lent an entirely new level of hilarity to make them do ordinary things that weren't sexy at all. It just tickled everyone to find two dragons hidden under a table or squeezed into a broom closet, doing something like eating a can of fruit cocktail or trying on fuzzy socks--both of them with steel hard-ons, because Ana was good at getting that kind of effect from people.

Cam and Cadiz had played the game on Solstice, with the fruit cocktail. Ana often picked Cadiz, because he went deeply and easily. And of course he picked Cam, because Cam was always cool and collected, and Cam made embarrassed and so tangled up that he could barely speak was a rare and glorious sight. Everyone was evil to him, of course, and they did their level best to make it worse. After a few hours stumbling vacantly around the room, the yellow-gold just stood near the big table with all the food and stared. The tin of fruit cocktail was there. It was a two-pounder, with a great big spoon inside so you could help yourself. Dulio noticed him, sidled over and dished himself a great big help.

Cam stared at him, eyes bright, mouth open. He was panting. He licked over his muzzle and closed his mouth, but he was still breathing hard, audibly. He'd had a bit to drink--not a lot, but a bit--and it had loosened his tongue. "I want some," he said pathetically.

"Do you?" said Dulio, the bastard. His tone was vaguely scolding. "Really, Cam?"

Cam trembled. His hands clenched, unclenched. He shut his eyes and turned his head away.

Dulio ate his fruit cocktail slowly, savoring it. Cam went back to staring at him. He had the look of one riveted by some new, perverted form of pornography, as if he didn't know whether to stroke off to it or run away from it. He cried out in abject confusion, "How come you can have some and I can't?"

"Why, I don't know, Cam," Dulio said. "Why do you think that is?"

Cam went squeak. That was all. Squeak. He turned and stalked away from the table, sheath and muzzle flushed bright red.

Of course Cam and Cadiz ended up in the hall toilet together, with Cadiz feeding Cam out of the great big spoon, and both of them stroking each other off one-handed. And Cam later confessed that he came so hard 'I thought the top of my head was gonna fly off,' so_that_ was all right. Lucero, who was handy with a pen, had made a sketch of the incident and it held a place of honor on the bunkroom wall. It was so good you could see the glaze in their lidded eyes.

I Want to Tell You was a great game, but there was no way of playing it one on one, or even one on two if he got Ree involved. "Sorry, Nai," said Ana. "You can play at New Year's, I promise. Remind me."

"Oh," said Nirez, rather chuffed. "Thanks. You don't have to, though. I just, you know, I'd like something like that." The next came all in one breath. Nai was one of those dragons who dived into things head first. "Couldn't you just put me under and then you pick something fun? Y'know, surprise me?"

Ana turned and gawked at him, eyes wide, mouth open, the whole kit. "Oh, you did not just say that to me."

"What? 'Surprise me?' Why not?"

"Because you know me!" Ana got up and began to pace, pontificating. "You know the kind of weird shit I come out with when you let me alone. I know what let's do instead," he cried. "Let's make you a great big sign that says 'Rape Me' and tie you down on the arena floor! I'll do invitations! We'll invite the_whooole_ fortress!"

Nai sat forward. "Oh, come on, Ana. You're not like that. You'd never do anything mean."

"You wanna know who said, 'Surprise me?'" Ana plowed onward, faintly hysteric. "Ortice! Ortice said 'Surprise me!' You remember what I did to him?"

Nirez went snrk and covered his mouth. "Oh. That was all you, huh?"

"Yeah. That was all me." Ana cut a glance back at him. Now he felt offended. "So?"

The copper-green reached out a hand and patted him gently. "I thought it was hilarious," he said.

The red-gold hung his head. "Yeah. Well, Ortice didn't, not so much."

It had only been a couple weeks ago. Nirez and Rial weren't the only ones who got bored in dead winter, and Ortice had approached Ana one dull day, in the early afternoon. Ana delayed the effect until evening meal to make certain it got the attention it deserved. By that time, everyone had some idea that something was on, and the dining hall was packed.

It was well known that dragons from the 4th sometimes did weird things for no apparent reason and by now it was accepted, just another facet of fortress life. The 3rd had a dog, so at mealtimes you'd see them politely spitting all the fat bits and the gristly bits into a folded handkerchief for future disposal. The 8thhad that one dragon who made pastries as sort of a hobby, so they were always munching on something and they would do the most perverted things imaginable for a pound of flour or some powdered egg. The 4th had that guy who knew how to do that thing, so sometimes you saw them wandering about looking distracted and confused. You could wake them, if you wanted. Grab them and shake them and say, "Hey, where are you? What are you doing? What's going on?" but it was better to leave them alone. If you left them alone, they might do something funny.

Ortice was starting to get that distracted look and the others at his table were displaying a covert interest, casting quick glances or watching from behind cupped hands. Finally, he pushed up from the table and said, "Well, if nobody else is going to have any I_will," which made zero sense at the time. The others at the table were absolutely certain he was to be the evening's entertainment and they passed the word around in whispers and giggles. Now everyone was looking at Ortice but he didn't much notice. Dragons tended to get all wrapped up in themselves when they went away, not caring who was watching unless you flat out told them to. It had to feel good, or at least _urgent, to be so all-consuming.

Ortice went up to a side table where such things were kept and came back with an empty bowl and a spoon. He set these at his place on the dining table, then he turned around and sat himself on the dining table, with his legs hanging over and his feet resting on the long wooden bench beside. This was a concession to the large venue, and the aggregate boredom. Everyone was crazy to get a look at him and maybe see something funny. When he put his head down and began to lick himself in a very personal manner, the whole room went_snick_ with stifled laughter. Someone near the back actually hooted a little and got an audible smack. "Shut up! You'll wake him!"

Ortice went on for some minutes--licking, and growing erect, and then finally sucking--until some dragon sidled up to him and asked, quite casually, "So . . . What're you doing?"

The mottled silver lifted his head and looked dazedly back at him. "I'm having ice cream."

"Oh!" said the dragon. "Oh, well, don't let me stop you."

Ortice wasn't liable to let anyone stop him. He was right back at it and evidently enjoying himself.

"What kind is it?" someone asked.

"Huh?" said the silver.

"What kind of ice cream?" the dragon clarified.

Ortice had a contemplative lick then drew his shaft into his mouth. "Mmm," he said. "Dunno."

There were pinched little giggles all around.

"Well, is it good?" another spectator demanded.

Ortice smiled hazily. "So good." His hips twitched, reflexively needful, and he put his shaft back in his mouth.

Dulio had been threading his way through the crowd and when he got to the front he folded his arms and scolded, "Why, you evil creature, aren't you gonna share?"

More laughter at this. It was getting very hard not to.

The mottled silver turned his muzzle up. He was panting now and very near, though he didn't seem to know it. His hand went between his legs and rubbed there while he replied, "Get your own."

"Yeah, Dulio!" the others teased. "Get your own!"

"I've got my own," said Dulio, grinning. He gestured expansively, "But I'm not gonna eat it here, I tell ya."

Ortice ignored him, and all of them, though the rosy-gold had got them all openly laughing. Some disconnected instinct told him he was almost done with his ice cream and he wanted to savor it. When he came it was sudden and surprising but he liked it and he swallowed.

There was some applause, and a few cheers. A single voice said, "Encore! Encore!"

He brought his head up and looked around at them, blinking. Maybe he was starting to come out of it a little, but he still didn't realize what he'd done and all the attention was pissing him off. "Look, if you lot want some, there's plenty more . . ."

"Oh, that's all right," Dulio said sweetly. "We'd rather watch_you_."

Ortice drew his arm back and was clearly about to punch the rosy-gold right in his stupid face, so Ana came forward quickly and put him out again. He stood there, head hanging, eyes closed, while Ana issued further instructions.

". . . and when you come back, you'll remember just what you did and why you did it, but try not to be too terribly put out with me. And one--starting to come back now--two--coming faster and faster and more and more awake--and three--all the way back now, WAKE UP!"

And Ortice said, "I hate you."

"Yeah, but he was laughing, though," Nai said.

Ana looked down at the blanket and walked his fingers through the dobby weave. "He hasn't said two words to me since."

Nirez patted him on the hand. "Maybe he's just embarrassed, you know?"

Ana shrugged his shoulders, somewhat mollified. "Yeah. Maybe. I dunno."

"I'd like a surprise," Nai said gently. "Just . . . something that feels nice." He ducked his muzzle. "And not in front of everyone, okay? Just here?"

"Oh," said Ana. "Oh. Okay." He smiled. "And not in front of anyone. Right here."

"Yay!" said Nirez. He sat forward on the bed and drew his knees up to his chest. "Okay. Make me go, now. Make me go!"

Ana tried to make him go, but Nai wasn't having any of it, he was too keyed up. Touching didn't work, nor did gazing into his eyes or studying the flickering flame of a candle. The fiery-gold was almost at the point of heading down to the dining hall to nick a shiny spoon.

"All right," he said with a sigh, "Let's try going down stairs, how about that?"

"Oh!" said Nirez. "That's for people who don't know how."

"--And for little copper dragons who want it too much," said Ana. "C'mon, Nai. Let's try it. I don't want to go back to the dining hall, and I can't leave Ree here like that . . ."

Rial was still sucking, oblivious.

"Oh, all right," said Nai, "I guess."

They had to do sixty-four stairs, which Ana thought was a new record, but by the time they were through Nai was very deep, and Ana was getting some very definite ideas.

He probably could make them go on for about an hour, maybe a little longer, if he was careful with them. Once either of them actually came that would be the end of it--a dragon well-satisfied wanted nothing more, and tended to either wake or drift off to sleep entirely--but there were other ways to get some gratification. Better ones, maybe, if no one was going to watch him and tease him about it, and if Nai really didn't care.

He was kinda nervous about it, though. This was a new game, one he wasn't sure would be any good.

"Sisty-fi' . . . " Nirez said fuzzily and Ana couldn't help but laugh a little.

"No, honey," he said, "you don't have to do stairs anymore. You can go down just as deep as you like. Just feel nice, drift down, sleep . . ."

Nai settled on the mattress, limp, moveless and breathing deeply. His mouth went slack and his muzzle rolled to one side. Ana petted him, and all he got in response was a sigh.

"You can hear me, Nai," said Ana. "And it's nice to listen. And it's nice to do what I say. If you listen very carefully and do everything just right, it just feels so good way down deep inside. You can talk if you want to, it won't wake you or bring you back at all."

"Yes," said Nai, and he slowly, slowly smiled.

Ana snickered and covered his eyes with a hand. Oh, Lord, there it was again. Never 'okay,' or 'uh-huh,' or even 'yeah, all right.' 'Yes,' to anything and everything. Nai didn't go deeper than anyone else, not really, but he went hard. It was a little scary. It was also really sexy. There was that taste of wine again. Strong. Powerful. He had to be careful and just sip, just sip, and try not to like it too much. He crept a little closer on the bed and moved his attentions from Nai's muzzle to his throat, and then a little lower, in search of more 'yes.'

"Nai, we're going to play a game," he said. "A nice, long game, about wanting things, and feeling good, and you'll like it lots and lots."

"Yes," said Nai, smiling. He arched and shifted. His muzzle was flushed, and his throat, a little. Not yet his sheath but Ana wasn't there yet.

"First I have to tell you some things to remember," Ana said, "and some things to forget. You need to forget. It's nice to forget. It feels good, and warm, and sexy. Right here." He stroked Nai's lower belly with a warm, slow hand.

"Oh, yes, forget," Nai agreed, a heated whisper. He twitched his hips and tried to bring his sheath to Ana's touch, but it was a subtle motion, too weak to do much. "I want . . ."

"You want to forget," said Ana. "You're forgetting already and it feels just like this." Now he touched there, very gently, a drowsy touch that would deepen sleep, one that would have felt pleasant anywhere, but especially there. "It's this feeling, and everything about it. You're forgetting where it comes from, and what it's for. It's good, it's good all over, and here . . ." He stroked, and Nai immediately released his shaft into his hand, but the copper's expression was no longer dazed and pleased. He looked mildly confused, and focused, like someone trying to do a crostic puzzle. "But it doesn't come from here," Ana said. "You're forgetting. It's good to forget. It feels like sex all over, and that's all that matters. Nai," he added, gently, stroking, "try to tell me why it feels so good. Try, and forget. See how good it feels when you forget."

Nai opened his mouth, closed it. Ana opened his mouth, closed it, and rubbed the tip of his tongue against the underside of the copper's shaft. Nai shivered at the attention.

"Tell me why it feels so good," Ana said.

Nai was still shivering. He gave a short gasp and shook his muzzle. "I don't--I forget." His eyes came open. They were dilated and blind. "Oh, God, that feels good."

Ana hadn't even touched him that time. Well, Ana hadn't _stopped_touching him, but he was only stroking him on the hand a little, keeping contact. Nai had done that to himself, forgetting. That instruction, it seemed, had stuck.

"Good, Nai," Ana told him, smiling. Nirez closed his eyes and settled, smiling too. "Now I'll tell you what to remember. It's good to remember, almost as good as forgetting."

Nirez tensed and put his tongue between his teeth, anticipating sensation.

Ana leaned nearer and spoke rapidly, leaving no room for protest or rational thought, "Lick, Nai. You need to lick, right now and always. Something, anything, because it feels so good. It feels good all over. Lick. You need to lick. Like you need to breathe. Like you need to come. Lick something. Anything! You need to!"

Nai panted for a moment. He searched with his hands, eyes still closed. At last he put a hand in his mouth, but he bit it. First, he bit it. Nai liked to bite things and Ana would have to watch that. "No," he said, "not biting. That doesn't do anything. Lick. You want to lick."

"Uh!" said Nai, mouth full. Finally he did lick, he continued to lick, and his open mouth made a smile. Ana rubbed Nai's sheath with his tail, just a little positive reinforcement, though the dragon was plenty horny and seemed quite content with licking alone.

"That's so good, Nai," the red-gold said indulgently. "Lick. You're going to come. If you just keep licking you're going to come. Harder. Faster. Oh, God, faster. You can feel it. It's in your mouth. It's in your tongue. Faster. Oh, so close . . ."

Nai was erect and twitching his hips, but he made no move towards his shaft and that was perfect. If he was very obedient, and if he remembered (and forgot) he would come without coming at all. And Ana could make him do that over and over. For hours, probably, as long as Nai remained cooperative (and there was little danger of protest with Nai). The copper moaned against his hand, and licked, and panted, and was having a great deal of difficulty doing all three at once, but he didn't seem to mind.

"Now!" Ana told him, and he hoped it would work. He hoped Nai would do it, could do it, and wouldn't wake up and look at him cockeyed and go, "What?" He was prepared to be terribly, terribly embarrassed if Nai woke or refused, or even paused and looked like he_might_ wake or refuse.

Nai did not have an ounce of refusal in him. He was licking and he wanted to do that, and he was going to come and he wanted to do that, and he didn't give a good God-damn about anything else. He did_come, and he moaned and thrust and bit his hand again. His throbbing member only swelled a little more, but his brain caught fire like a clear lake at sunset, and he _felt it, every instant of it. And if his eyes had been open they would have rolled back to whites in his head.

When it was over all he wanted was more.

No, Nai, he was told. You mustn't bite. Remember that.

"Yeth," Nai answered around his tongue. It felt thick, and a little thuddy, like . . . Like something else that he couldn't remember right now. Forgetting felt good, sexy and good and he smiled again. Lick. He remembered he wanted to lick and he did.

Ana snickered and put a hand to his mouth. Nai had turned his head and gone right back to licking. His shoulder, this time. Ana touched his muzzle and gently discouraged it. Nirez whined at him, confused.

"I have one more thing for you to remember, Nai," Ana said. "Listen. You know why you want to lick, and you know why it feels so good."

Nai nodded. Yes, he did. He knew. He didn't know right now, but he would know and he would remember. Remembering felt good. Remembering and licking. His tail twitched lazily on the bed.

Ana felt ridiculous, and uncertain, and he was wary of being humiliated, but he said it anyway and he said it with conviction (it always helped to say it with conviction), "Your shaft is in your mouth. That's why it feels so good, and that's why licking makes you come."

"Oh, yes!" Nai said happily, as if in revelation. No hint of doubt, no hint of refusal. Nai's refusal switch was broken.

Ana snickered, ducked his head and hid his eyes. Well, _that_was all right, then.

"Now you must wait, Nai," Ana said. Nirez made a little whimper of protest, but he didn't say no. "Oh, only just a little while," Ana said, petting him so that he settled. "And you get to think of so many nice things while you're waiting. All about sex, and licking, and all the dirtiest, most wonderful things you could ever imagine."

"Oh," Nai said. He nodded sleepily. Yes, he'd like to do that. He'd like to do that right now. He arched and squirmed on the bed.

"Yes, that's nice," Ana said. "Think hard, and get it all mixed up in your head until you can't hardly tell the difference and all you'd like to do is lick. You might hear me talking, but you don't have to worry about it. Soon I'll send Ree over to you, and he'll touch you to wake you. You'll want to lick him, just a little at first, and then more and more until you can't hardly stand it."

"Yes," said Nirez, arching again. He wanted to do it now, he could hardly stand it now, and he couldn't stop thinking about it. He wanted to lick. Silver plates and scales. Soft flesh. Taste. Touch. Texture. His tongue throbbed maddeningly in his mouth, but he listened. It felt so good to listen.

"I'll be here when you wake up, Nai, but you don't have to notice me, or worry about me. You should do what you want to, and remember, and forget . . ."

"Lick," said Nirez, and even the word felt good to his tongue. He made a pleasured, cooing sound at the back of his throat.

Ana laughed, a little. "Yes, Nai. Good, Nai. When you wake up you'll remember to lick, and you don't have to notice me." He dropped his voice and made it more serious, "But you do have to listen to me. Do what I tell you, want what I tell you, and I'll make you do the nicest things."

"Will," Nai said. "Want," Nai said. "Yes . . ." He wanted to wake up now, but he knew he must wait. He wanted to wait. He wanted to think about . . . So many sexy things.

"Good, Nai," Ana said. "Wait just a little while."

Nai lay on the bed, panting, thinking, but still. Ana supposed he would be all right like that. He was a little worried the copper might try to stroke off, and with another dragon he would've said not to, but Nai was terribly obedient. Ana just made a mental note to look over there occasionally and intervene if anything got out of hand.

Also if he bites anything, he told himself. That was Cam's bed over there and Ana hoped very much that Nirez wouldn't tear it all to hell. He wasn't sure he had enough money for new bedding, and he was_certain_ he didn't have enough for a new mattress. But for the moment, this thought was easily dropped from his mind. He crossed the narrow space between them and sat down on his own bunk, next to Rial.

"Oh, Ree . . ."

He laughed again, laughed at himself. He sounded much too eager. He was maybe a little bit giddy after Nai, but he would be careful. He would be sensible. He would sip. "Ree," he said gently, and he touched the dragon's shoulder.

Rial opened heavy eyes and smiled up at him. "Oh, Ana. Hello. I had a chocolate. It was awful nice. I feel funny."

"That's because you're sleeping, Ree."

"Oh." His eyes rolled closed again and he sighed. "I . . . forgot . . ." Ana stroked his muzzle, sending him deeper, and he liked that very much.

"Ree? Would you like to play a game with me? A nice game?"

A nice game, Ree thought. He would like to play a nice game. Ana's games were nice. "Can I come?" he asked.

Ana went snrk and clamped both hands over his muzzle. They certainly weren't shy about what they wanted when they were way down deep like that. "Yes. Lots."

Oh. Lots. That was a nice game. "I wanna play. I wanna . . . come . . ."

"In your mouth," Ana suggested.

"Mmm, my mouth," Rial said and he moved his tongue experimentally.

"Oh, how good that feels, Ree," Ana said with implicit surprise. "What a lovely, sexy thing you've figured out how to do."

"Nnm," Rial said. He worked his tongue a little more. It did feel good, somehow. He felt Ana's tail go between his legs and that was even gooder. He wanted to put a hand down and help but Ana said he didn't have to.

You'd much rather put that hand in your mouth, Ree. That's where you're going to come.

He pressed his hand against his muzzle and he found that he wanted to lick it very much. It felt warm and soft and dearly sexual. He nuzzled his own palm and licked against its softness. He liked it, but not as much as the inside of his mouth. The inside of his mouth had ridges. Some internal desire told him that ridges were absolutely orgasmic. He withdrew his tongue for a moment, rubbed it against the roof of his mouth and the points of his teeth, but something inside him kept wanting to lick, more and more until he couldn't ignore it any longer. He flipped his hand over and licked the back side, where the scales were larger and rougher. That was better, much, and it made his cock stand up like a lightning rod.

Oh, I want . . .

No, he wanted to lick. He couldn't think . . . The other thing . . .

He stopped, confused, with his tongue hanging half out of his mouth.

Ana spoke to him, spoke gently, and though he couldn't quite remember the words he wanted to do them. He felt sleepy, warm and sexy, and listening made it more. His hips twitched reflexively because he wanted more. He wanted . . . Licking. Yes. Licking made it more.

He thought of his shaft, long and red and moist and in his mouth, filling his mouth. He licked and it felt good. He licked and it felt so, so good. He was going to come in his mouth, come all over his mouth and lick every drop of it away. There was nothing between his legs that he needed to bother about at all, and he hardly noticed that Ana was touching him there. He hardly noticed anything. Just his shaft, and his mouth, and licking. Needing . . . needing . . . needing . . .

Rial gasped and cried aloud. He dug all ten fingers into the fabric of Ana's bedding, making little holes with his claws. His tongue flicked rapidly, in and out of his mouth, beyond panting, almost as if he were drinking.

Ana recoiled from the intensity of this reaction, fell right off the edge of the bed and cracked one knee on the floor. "Fuck me, motherfucker!" he cried, clutching with both hands.

"Oh, yes!" Rial moaned, searching blindly. His muzzle found the firm, metal surface of the night table and he fucked it. He fucked it all over. Even the lamp.

Ana laughed and fell down again, more gently this time, with less distance to go. "No, honey, not you!" He scrambled back to his feet and got Ree licking his hand again before he could burn his tongue.

"I want ridges," Ree said thickly.

"You want Nirez," Ana suggested.

"Want ridges," Rial said, ignoring that. Damn it. Sometimes he was hard to convince.

Ana considered for a moment. "Nirez has ridges . . . inside of his mouth."

Rial gasped at the thought and drew his tongue into his own mouth with a pop, utterly still.

"Nirez has nice thick plates on his chest and his belly, and hard scales running all up and down his back. Think of that, Ree."

Rial was whimpering. He had put a hand to his mouth but he didn't dare lick it. He thought he was going to come again if he did, hard and fast, and he wasn't sure he was supposed to. He thought of Nai, thought of touching Nai, fucking Nai, and he began to rub his tongue along the inside of his mouth, back and forth, thinking of Nai.

Ana giggled at this. _I know just what he thinks he's doing, too._He gave the silver and gentle tap on the muzzle. "Don't do that, Ree. That's dirty."

"Dirty," Ree said hungrily, but he did stop.

"You can do it later. You can do it all you like, with Nai. But you're just too embarrassed to do it right now."

Rial gave a pathetic little whine, but there was no argument this time.

Ana issued careful instructions. Remember. Forget. Don't look at me, but listen to me. He had to make sure they were _very nice_instructions, because Rial had an independent streak and he'd forget what he didn't like. He seemed to have absorbed the important stuff, though, and Ana supposed he could make any necessary corrections on the fly. At least Ree didn't try to bite things all the damn time.

He let the dragon open his eyes, awake but not really awake, and directed his attention towards Nirez again.

Oh, Nai, Rial thought, blinking. Nai looked so nice. Happy. Interesting. Lickable. He looked like he was dreaming . . . about all kinds of good things. Ree was curious to hear them. He went over and sat next to the copper on the bed.

"Nai . . . ? You sleepin'?"

Nirez hissed, stretched and smiled. "Uh-uh. Just thinkin'."

"What about?"

"Oh, sex. All kinds."

Rial giggled and covered his mouth. "You can't just say that. You don't go around just saying that."

Nirez rolled over and propped his head on one arm. "Why shouldn't I?"

"I dunno. Nobody does, though."

"I like it," Nai said. He stretched again, from his wings to the tips of his toes, then he sat up and aimed a dozy smile at Ree, eyes half-lidded and terribly content. "I've got an erection," he confided.

Ana laughed, unnoticed, and slapped a hand over his eyes. Nai didn't have one, not really, but his sheath was quite red and he looked_ready_ to have one. Ana wondered just what in the hell the copper meant.

Ree wondered, too. He thought it was a nice thing, but he couldn't quite remember what it was. It made him feel dizzy and funny trying to think of it. He thought he would like an erection. He wondered if Nai would share. "I wanna see," he said.

Nai stuck out his tongue, long and thin and wet and pink. Quite stiff, and angled slightly down between his lips. It made him feel naked to do so, and he liked the feeling. "Thee?" he said.

Ree laughed at him. "No, that's your tongue, silly!"

"Tho?" Nai said, without even a flicker of embarrassment. He drew his tongue back and began to stroke it in and out of his mouth. The very tip of it peeked out between his lips. Out. And in. And out. Rial stared at it, fascinated. He swallowed, and the motion of his own tongue made him want to moan.

"Ssshhhouldn't do that," he managed thickly.

"Why?" said Nirez, doing it.

"S'di-i-irty," Ree said. He swallowed again and this time he _did_moan, a muffled sound deep in his chest. "M-m-makes me want to do it, too."

"Thhould do it," Nai said. "Feelth good."

Ree planted both hands on Nai's muzzle, leaned in and licked his tongue into Nai's mouth. He moaned again with stifled joy. Nai's eyes went very round, then he shut them tightly. His tongue snaked out and licked back at Ree's muzzle.

"No! I want!" Ree said. He tried to push Nai back on the bed and get better access to his mouth, but Nai wanted, too, and he wouldn't quit licking. "Uh!" Ree cried out in frustration. He gave up on Nai's mouth and moved his attention to the copper's plated throat instead. Nirez was only briefly put off by the change in position and ran his tongue inside of the silver's ear, and then against the side of his crest.

Rial went "Ohh," and stopped while Nai did that. That felt . . . That felt good like licking.

Ana saw the reaction and encouraged it. "That's good, Ree. It's good to be licked, Ree. It's good to be licked, Nai. You should let him do it. All over."

"All over," Nai mumbled against the silver's scales.

"All over," Rial said dreamily, panting. "Nai, lick . . . Lick me all over."

"Yes," Nai said. "Yes, yes, yes . . ." He was absolutely on fire with 'yes.' It felt so good and so right to say it, so satisfying, like a puzzle piece tapped into just the right place. 'Yes' fit so perfectly inside of his mouth. His tongue went so perfectly against Ree's scales, and Ree's tongue so perfectly against his. He thought . . . For a moment, he thought he wanted Ree to lick between his legs and he wanted to ask it . . . But he couldn't think why he should want that and before he could say it the thought was gone.

"Oh," he said. "Oh, I forgot something niiice."

"Huh?" said Rial. "Whazzit?"

Nai shuddered and pressed his tongue to his teeth. "I forget."

"S'good to forget," the silver opined. He closed his eyes, thinking of it. "Feels like . . . " He couldn't think exactly what it felt like, so he settled on the nearest word to hand, "Sexy." He felt sexy.

"Oooo," Nai said, remembering that. That felt good, too. Ana's voice was in his ear and Ana told him he could come and he said 'yes,' and-- "Ohh--gosh--yes!"

"I want that," Ree said. "I . . . I want that." He didn't look to Ana to get it because . . . Because Ana just wasn't important unless he said something. He went to Nai instead, went at him with both hands and his tongue, before he was even done coming, and made him do it for longer.

Nai could hardly stand it but he didn't say 'stop.' He said, "Yes!" He said, "More! Oh . . . Oh, more!"

Rial gave him more, and Ana let him chase it for a while before he told Ree he could come, too.

The silver yelped and clamped both hands over his muzzle, protecting the sensation. He wanted to keep it. Nai was licking his throat and that was too much, that made him moan, but he did it with his mouth closed. He came in his mouth and he licked and he licked. When it was all gone he went looking for more. I'll make Nai do it again,_he thought. _I'll make Nai do it again, and I'll lick that, too.

Ana just watched them play with each other for a while. He had to make an occasional adjustment--Nai kept getting it into his head to bite and sometimes Rial didn't want to open his mouth, and sometimes both of them would start rubbing against each other and he had to stop them from doing that--but mainly the rules held and they played nice. He would monitor their actions and bestow an orgasm when it looked like one of them deserved it.

He liked doing that, making them curl up and twitch and moan and feel, just because he said so. He liked getting to say when. He liked this game, but you'd never be able to do it at a party. It was much too fiddly. He'd have to save it for special. Gatherings of two or maybe three . . . He wondered if Nace might like to play.

It worked very well with two, though. They complimented each other. Ana had done that quite by accident. He thought he had told them pretty much the same thing, but they were applying it differently. Nai seemed to have decided his shaft was his tongue, and he wanted to poke it out and rub it against things. Ree wanted to lick things, too, but he acted like he had something else in his mouth, something that stayed inside, and when he licked just so, his tongue flicked against it and it made him come. That was why sometimes he wouldn't open his mouth. He was licking that thing, inside.

Ana put his muzzle to Nai's ear and suggested something very wicked.

Nai said, "Yes, I want to," and he pressed Rial down on the bed. He put out his tongue and slipped it into the silver's mouth. He didn't just lick and have done with it, like Ree had done him, he pressed closer and did it again and again. Back and forth. In and out. Stroking. It was so very good, so very satisfying, to stroke his shaft that way.

Ree's eyes went round. He twitched and twisted and curled but he did not draw his muzzle away. Nai had found . . . Nai was licking. . . And now Ree didn't have to lick to touch it. Nai was stroking him, stroking his shaft inside of his mouth. Oh, God, he knew just where it was! He put both his hands on Nai's head and held him, held him there, because he couldn't open his mouth to say, "More! Do it! I want it!" He sealed his lips around the copper's welcome presence and began to suck. Every time Nai stroked it, he sucked.

Nai made a sound--a strangled, muffled, hilarious sound--because he couldn't take his tongue back and he didn't want to.

He's . . . He's sucking . . . He's sucking my cock!

He shut his eyes and stroked with new abandon while Ree did that to him. They kissed that way--Nai with his tongue in Ree's mouth, Ree doing everything he could to keep him there--forcing, accepting, and moving their muzzles back and forth together, until Ana told them_both_ that they could come.

Rial groaned and rolled his eyes closed, Nirez snarled and showed his teeth because he wanted to bite, and they dragged each other off the bed and on to the floor with a thud. Someone knocked into the night table on the way down. Ana launched himself over the bed and grabbed the glass lamp before it could fall on them. It was hot and he went "Ow!" but he didn't drop it. One of the candles fell over and went out.

"Ah, geez, you guys. Not on the floor. Not on the floor . . ." But he failed to address either of them directly and they ignored him.

We are definitely never playing this at a party, Ana thought. "You guys . . . Nai . . . Ree . . ."

Nirez was lying curled up with both his hands clenched against his muzzle, staring wide-eyed at nothing. Rial was propped up on one elbow, blinking and looking around. He seemed to be coming out of it a little, and he did not look happy about that.

"Nai, come back on the bed. You need to be on the bed. It's nice and safe on the bed. If you start to fall off again you should stop and get right back on."

The copper-green said, "Yes," weakly and accepted Ana's hand up. Ana left him there and clambored over the other side to get Ree.

"Ana?" the silver said, frowning. He pressed his hands between his legs and sat up. "I liked it. I wasn't finished. I'm hot . . ."

Ana crouched beside him and stroked his muzzle. "That's all right, Ree, you should feel hot."

"Mm-hm," Ree said and closed his eyes.

"Just not there." He picked up Rial's hands and got them away from his sheath. He pet them.

Ree went "Nrf," and squirmed, but he didn't take his hands back.

"Not just there," Ana amended. "Everyplace. Everywhere. All over, and so good." He pet the dragon, everywhere, helping him. "But remember how to feel hot. Remember to lick. Remember how it feels so good . . ."

The silver nodded frantically, eyes still closed. "Mmm, yes. 'Member." He put a hand against his muzzle and licked.

"And forget." Ana slipped a brief touch between his legs.

He shivered. "F'rgit."

"Good, Ree. Let's get back on the bed and play some more. It's nice on the bed. Let's only play on the bed."

"Bed," Ree said. He opened heavy eyes and crawled back up when Ana helped him.

Nirez had been left to his own devices for too long. Up on the bed, he had latched on to the rolled edge of Cam's blanket and was purposefully gnawing it, a look of ecstatic determination plastered across his muzzle. Ree leaned forward to lick experimentally and Ana gently discouraged him. This got an acid frown.

"No-no, just a little while. Lick your hand a little while, Ree. Let me fix Nai, he's not safe."

"Wanna," Ree said, pouting, but he did lick his hand.

Ana tapped the copper smartly on the muzzle. "Nai, no biting. No."

"Yeth," Nai said fuzzily. With slow reluctance he put the blanket down, but he didn't let it go.

He always says that, Ana thought. But the minute I let him alone, he's at it again. And then I say 'no' again, and he says 'yes' again . . .

Yes--no biting, Ana thought. Yes-no. Yes. Yes biting.

Was that why Nai was having such a hard time?

Okay, let's give him something he can say 'yes' to.

"Nai, you want to lick. Licking is just . . . the most amazing thing right now. That's what you want to do. That's all you want to do."

"Yes!" Nai said, and that was much more eager.

No, Ana thought. That doesn't mean he won't bite if he thinks of it. Damn it.

Wait.

He sipped, he remembered to be careful and sip, but he had been sipping a lot, drinking up Nai's each and every little 'yes,' and he liked them and wanted more of them and he thought he'd had just the absolute best idea.

"Nai," he said, grinning, "I have another really good thing for you to forget."

"Oooo," Nai said. He listened.

Ana told him to forget all about biting. Forget all about biting and then every time he thought about it forget it again. Then he asked Nai to list off all the nice things he could think to do with his mouth, and he thought of some things but he forgot biting. He had to forget it three or four times over the course of the list and by the end of it he was curled up in a little ball and moaning with his hands clenched between his legs, and there was something they wanted to do there, but he forgot that, too.

"That's good, Nai," Ana said, petting him. "You're so, so good at forgetting, but do you remember?"

"Remember?" That felt good. Maybe not the same good as forgetting, but good. All good. Everything so warm and good. Nirez smiled lazily then he flicked out his tongue. "Yes. Remember. Lick."

"Good, Nai." Ana collected Ree from the foot end of the bed. The little silver was licking the back of his hand with a contemplative expression that was somewhat disappointed. When Ana pointed him in Nai's direction this became an eager grin.

Ree licked the tip of Nai's muzzle and Nai licked back.

"Nai," Ree said. He broke off to lick again. "Nai, Nai, do that thing again."

"What thing?"

Rial arched and shifted. He wasn't erect, not quite yet, but there was a fullness in his sheath that said he wanted to be. "That thing in my mouth. That feels like . . . It's just like . . . Oh, I forget, but do it again!"

"I forgot some stuff," Nai said. He closed his eyes and smiled. "I liked it."

"I liked it, too," Ree said. "Oh, and I like thinking about it. Please put your tongue in my mouth, I'm sooo horny and I want to think nice things and feel good."

"Will you suck?" Nai asked him, sitting forward. "I want you to suck. I wanted to come so hard when you sucked."

"Mm-hm," Ree said. He had closed his mouth again and he was licking inside. He opened it just enough so that Nai could come in, too, and then he sucked. Nai moaned and embraced him, bringing his wings around. Now they were both erect, and close enough to be touching against each other. That was good, it was good all over and_right there_, but the feeling was easily attributed to what they were doing with their mouths, and they liked the feeling so they did it more.

Ana supposed it was only a matter of time before someone licked somebody between the legs, and when that happened he would let it go on and encourage them to finish each other. Right now, though, they seemed perfectly happy with the other places, and Nai had_requested hours. Surely it hadn't been that long yet, especially if you took out all the time Ana had to spend talking to them, and their brief stint on the floor. Ana was very careful with them and when he told them they could come again he did them one at a time, first Ree and _then Nai. Rial went limp and showed a brief inclination to roll off the bed but Nirez wanted to keep him and was able to do so without much effort. When Nai went off an instant later, Rial took advantage of his biteless condition and nibbled along the edge of one of his wings. Ree had a gentle bite, though, and he was more licking that biting, so Ana let him do it.

He did not anticipate the effect it had on Nai.

Nirez stared at him, stared at him and began to pant, pant_hard_. He licked over his muzzle, moaned at the sensation and continued to stare.

"I forget that thing you're doing," he said thickly. He rubbed one absent hand against the corner of his mouth. He had started to drool. He was forgetting. He was looking at Rial and forgetting. Every. Single. Time.

Rial paused for a moment and informed him, "I'm being nice to you. I'm just biting a little. I'm doing it nice." There was slight reproach in his tone. Nai often did not bite nice, and Rial had not been instructed to forget that.

"It's nice," Nai said. It was good on the wings. It might be good on the ears or the throat, too. A little . . . a little that, and a little lick, and a little that again. He wanted to do it, but then he forgot. Forgetting was like falling a short distance into a soft, warm place. Thump, he forgot. It was a little dizzy and a little sexy and a little good, and then he remembered again and he forgot again. Doing it over and over again made a rhythm like stroking, like licking. Like . . . the other thing . . .

Thump, he forgot.

He was panting. His shaft was hard, his tongue was thudding between his lips and his brain was numb. He was going to come. He was going to come. But somehow he didn't. It wasn't enough. (It wasn't enough because Ana didn't know what was happening to him and didn't know to say he should come, but Nai didn't know that.)

"Oh, God, more!" he cried. "I need more!"

More? Ana thought, drawing nearer to them. More what? What's Ree doing to him?

Ree had gone back to just licking him, actually, and not even anyplace special, just the side of his muzzle, hoping Nai might stroke that panting tongue into his mouth again. But Nirez couldn't stop thinking and couldn't stop forgetting and he couldn't come and his expression was abject desperation. He knew Ana didn't matter unless he said something and it had to be Ree, everything was Ree, but Ree wouldn't give him what he needed.

"Oh, God, let me forget something else!"

Ana stared at him. He flicked his eyes to one side, but there was no other dragon to give him a considered opinion on this matter. Rial paused a moment but he went right back to licking, taking advantage of Nai's distraction to put his tongue wherever he wanted with no resistance. Nirez, meanwhile, looked to be in the verge of a mental collapse.

Ana didn't know anything to do about that except what Nai just said.

"Okay!" he said. "Okay! You can forget, uh, your name. You can forget your name! Okay?"

"Oh, God, yes. It's good!" He twitched on the bed and brought both hands to his mouth, but he forgot biting. He forgot it good and hard.

Ana finally got what he was after and told him to come, hard and fast and right now. Nirez cried out. He thrashed, but Rial was on top of him and Rial sat on him and kept him from falling.

Nirez made a series of tiny, incoherent noises and went limp. He was still panting, but now because he needed the air. He was dizzy. His hands and feet and his muzzle prickled. There were sparkly things in his vision; they were going away but when he blinked they came back a little. "Ooo, that was funny," he said.

Rial was frowning at him. "Nai, that's not fair!"

"Who?" Nai said.

Thump.

He giggled. He felt high.

"You!" Ree said. "That's not fair. I get to do that, too! You have to let me."

Ana stepped in and put his muzzle against Ree's ear, "Ree, if he's like that he's not going to stop you. You can do anything you like to him. Anyplace you like."

Rial considered that. He licked his lips. "How do I make him be like that always?"

Ana snickered. He cupped a hand to his mouth and answered, "Ask him to say his name."

Ree bobbed his muzzle, "Mm-hm!" He decided he wanted to lick . . . Nai's ears. Yes. Nai never let him get up there without trying to lick back and then Ree had to settle for the side of his muzzle or his throat or something. He licked and nuzzled and Nai made no move to stop him. The silver grinned and made a low, throaty and faintly evil laugh before fully availing himself of the texture of Nai's ears. He nibbled a little and he even drew the tips into his mouth, and Nai let him.

And when Nai made a slight twitch that said he might want to start licking back again (maybe he didn't really, but Rial thought he_might_), Ree brought his muzzle close and whispered, "Say your name."

Thump.

Nirez said, "Weee," and lolled back on the bed with a grin.

Rial did still want to be licked and he especially longed for Nai's tongue in his mouth, but whenever he found something of particular interest he would bring out the heavy artillery and Nai would give him whatever the hell he was after without even a whimper of protest.

It was perfect. Nai had a way to feel good without licking and Ree didn't have that, but Ree had a way to make Nai stop licking and submit to anything and Nai didn't have that. It wasn't fair, maybe, but in practice it was nicely balanced, just like the different ways they liked to use their tongues. Certainly they must have been happy with it, as there were no further complaints. Now that he'd taken care of the falling-off-the-bed thing and the biting thing and that brief emergency about forgetting stuff, he could just watch them playing and feeling good and sometimes make them feel even better.

He liked them this way. They were so cute and funny and they were being awful nice to each other now, ever since he put them out and_made_ them do it. A complete turn around from where they had been, and he had done that and he liked having done it. In fact, now that they were playing nice and didn't require any more adjusting (just the occasional encouragement to come) he was starting to like it in much more than an academic sense. He wouldn't do anything now, but . . . He toyed with the idea, teasing himself. If he did do something later, he'd like it better if he thought about it now. He'd want it more. And it did feel good just thinking about it.

He reclined on his bunk and he watched them. When Rial went, "Say your name," again, he laughed. He made them be so funny.

Bela strode in, clutching a ball of yarn and two knitting needles. He was speaking before he was even through the door, "Ana, there you are! I've been looking all over. Would . . . you . . ." He saw Ree and Nirez, saw what they were doing to each other and the state that they were in, and he stopped dead in the middle of the room with his mouth hanging open.

Ana sat up and looked over. He saw the yarn and made a rapid deduction, "You want some help skeining that, Bela?"

Bela held up the yarn ball and stared at it, as if it might answer him. Apparently it did.

"Yes," he said, frowning. "Damn it, yes. I don't know why they don't skein them right at the factory. These stupid, fucking things take off on you and they're halfway down the hall before you--Why in_God's_ name are they licking each other?"

Ana grinned, proud of himself, proud of his control, like a small child might be proud of a drawing. Look! I made this! "Because I told them it would feel nice."

"You're weird," Bela said.

Ana's grin shriveled into a frown. Weird. He knew that, he had known it, but he didn't like hearing it. That one always stung, especially from his friends. He was suddenly very angry at Bela for saying that, for coming in and ruining everything.

I'll do you, too, he thought. I'll make you play, too. Then you'll be nice to me.

The thought curdled and he winced and looked away. He had done something very bad to Bela, once. Almost friendship-ending bad. He had promised he would never do that again, never make Bela do anything ever again, and he had been so fucking sorry.

He had wanted to do it. For just that one little instant, for the space of that one thought, he had wanted to, and he might have . . .

He was drunk again. He'd had a bottle with Nai, and another with Ree, and he'd been sitting here sipping on another one while he watched the two of them. He was drunk and he had done something stupid, and he might've done something very wrong.

He was frightened, and then miserable, and then humiliated.

"No, no, I'm not," he said. Not weird. Not drunk. Not a bad person. Please, Bela, believe me. "I didn't mean to . . . I'll stop them. I was only thinking . . . Ree, go to sleep. Ree . . ." Ree did not want to go back to sleep. He wanted to do things to Nai, and he kept trying to, so Ana had to catch him to stop him. "Ree, go back to sleep. Damn it, Ree." He had to make it nice or Ree wouldn't listen. Oh, God, it was so fucking awful having to do this in front of Bela. "Ree, it's nice to sleep. It's so nice and warm to sleep. Please, Ree. It's sooo sleepy. It's sooo nice." That wasn't very good, but it was enough. The dragon went limp and Ana laid him back on the bed. Nai was still after him and Ana had to hold him away. "I just thought . . . Bela, you know how they are. You know how they get after each other. Nai, go to sleep, now. They were just . . . They both wanted to ask me and they were fighting about it. Yap-yap-yap-yap, like two little dogs. It's winter, you know, and they were bored, you know, but I honestly don't think they'd get into it like that if they weren't so alike--"

"Bite your tongue!" Bela said with a laugh.

Ana smiled back at him and snickered nervously. "Oh, I know. But, you know . . . Nai, go to sleep, now. Nai . . ." Nai wasn't listening to him. Not even a little bit.

Oh, fuck, that's right, Ana remembered and he hid his face in his hands. "Oi! Nameless!"

"Oh, that's me," Nirez said dizzily. He gave a distracted little laugh and smiled.

"Go to sleep, now."

"Yesss," Nai said. He teetered on the edge a moment, savoring it, wanting it, and then he slept.

"You know," Ana said, with his arms full of lax, drooling, visibly-aroused dragon. "It's just . . . I thought it'd be funny."

"It certainly looks funny," Bela said.

Ana shrugged and went, "Heh." He let Nai down on the bed.

"Well, anyway, I guess it's all right," Bela said, to say something.

"Oh? Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Did you want . . . ? The yarn . . . ?" Ana pointed at it. "Or, I could ask one of them, to--" Oh, he couldn't believe he almost said that! He clapped both hands over his mouth. Was he still drunk? Was he stupid?

Bela laughed at him. "No, dear, I don't think I need my yarn licked. You go on ahead, though. I'll find someone who isn't so, uh, busy."

"I bet Nace would help you," Ana said. "I mean, if he's in. You could check."

"Oh, yeah," Bela said, thinking of it. He thought Nace might very much like sitting straight and still while yarn was slowly wound around and around his wrists. And if he liked it, well, then who gave a damn about the yarn?

"I'll, uh," Bela said. He clutched his ball of wool with purpose. "Don't wait up."

"Right," Ana said.

He sat down on his bunk, rested his head in his hands and considered the mess he'd made. He couldn't just wake them, he hadn't let them finish it yet, but he had lost all interest in making them play together and he was afraid someone else might come in and catch him being weird.

He was afraid he might get drunk again.

I'll do them one at a time, he thought. That isn't so much . . . controlling stuff. And it won't look as bad if someone sees.

Nai first, then. Nai had, at the beginning of all this, wanted to ask him first.

"Nai." He shook the copper dragon lightly. "C'mon, Nai. Nirez, that's you, remember? Come on up. Come on back."

"Oh, me?" Nai said. He blinked and put a hand to his muzzle. "Oh, Ana. Ohhh . . ." It had wilted a little while he slept, but now his erection was coming back wonderfully and he had absolutely no context for it. It just happened to him, like somebody pressed a button or pulled a string. He was awake and he was ready to go! "Oh, God, Ana, I am so switched on right now. Oh, God. Oh, holy shit. What did you do to me?"

Ana laughed a little. "You can remember it if you want to."

"Oh, yes. Yes, I can," he said rapidly, "but I think I'd rather do something else." He curled up and put his hands between his legs. It ached there. Oh, it ached and he wanted and it felt so hard and good but he didn't know what to do. "I think I'd like to lick something. Yes. I can't think why right now, but I think I'd like to lick something a lot." He could have remembered, if he wanted, but he was very very very busy now.

Ana directed his attention downwards and showed him something he liked very much. It was long and red and firm and somehow familiar. Friendly, even.

Oh, hello there. You look very nice. What are you for?

"Would you like to lick that?" Ana asked him.

"Um," said the copper. That seemed like a very good_question, and he thought he knew the answer, but it still felt good to not know the answer . . . And he was _very hot and all mixed up and he wasn't entirely certain what he wanted to do. "I dunno. Maybe I don't remember yet. Oooo--" That gave him a little charge, just saying that. Yes. Good. It was better not remembering. He liked it lots.

"Oh, all right," Ana said. "Why don't you lick in and out of your mouth like you were doing before and I'll take care of that?"

"Oh, yes!" Nai said, nodding frantically. "Yes! Perfect! Good! Let's do that!" He licked. He liked licking. He didn't even have to lick anything at all, he just liked licking.

Ana licked, too, and saw to it that his licking landed somewhere it might actually do some good. He licked when Nai licked, that seemed appropriate, letting him lick himself by proxy, and Nirez squirmed and panted and affirmed that he liked it with every fiber of his being.

It didn't take much. Nai really was incredibly switched on. A couple of licks and there he went.

"No!" he cried. "No! On the bed! On the bed!"

Ana blinked at that but he withdrew and he let Nai come on the bed. Nirez snarled and spurt and then he scrabbled forward and licked the wet spot. He licked and tasted and felt the texture of it and then he drew it into his mouth and bit.

Ana put a hand out and tried to discourage him, "Nai, don't do tha--"

Nirez growled at him and bit down harder.

Ana snatched both hands away and stumbled back a pace. "Uh, okay."

"Rrrr," Nai said, warning. His eyes were dark and huge and crazy. He took the blanket in his teeth, pulled it and dragged it under the bed. Ree, who had been on the blanket as well, slid on to the floor in a boneless heap. Nirez kept pulling the blanket until he had all of it, then he dug all his claws into it, curled up under the bunk and began to bite the living shit out of it.

"Uh, Nai . . ." Ana said, making a very weak and not at all physical attempt to intervene. He was fond of his fingers and wanted to keep them.

"Rrrr!"

"Right-o," Ana said. He got back on the bunk and hauled Ree up next to him. "Not a problem. You go on ahead."

"Rrrr," Nai said happily.

---

It was perhaps an hour later and Nai was still under the bunk. He seemed to have gone to sleep down there, but he was still biting Cam's blanket and Ana made no attempt to wake him.

Ree had been feeling very lazy and very tactile when Ana brought him back, so the red-gold had made him a nice dream about sex on a fur coat and stroked him until he was entirely satisfied. Now he was dreaming just fine on his own, hanging over both sides of the bed like a soft, silver pillow. He didn't want to play anymore, so Ana had gone for a book. He was lying with his back and wings on Cam's bunk and one of his knees drawn up, so he could rest a foot on the metal frame. He held the book over his muzzle with both hands, and every once in a while he'd shift and turn a page.

. . . a mad dragoness who bathed in the blood of her captives, believing the vital fluids would grant her eternal youth . . .

There was quite a lovely woodcut of this.

A soft voice drifted up from under the bed, "Ana . . . ?"

He rolled over and peeped down at Nai. "Yes, dear?"

"Why'm I eating a blanket?"

"I didn't think you were eating it, dear."

Nirez took the blanket out of his mouth and examined it. "No, I guess not." He lay there for a while, looking up. "My mouth tastes like cotton."

"I'm sorry. It's my fault. I never would've let you come on the bed if I thought you'd do that."

"No, I wanted to," Nai said. He crawled out from under the bunk and Ana gave him a hand up. "I think it was because you kept saying about biting all the time but then you always said no."

Ana nodded and put a hand to his head. "Yeah, I didn't figure that out until the end. I'm sorry about that. Do you remember it all or do you need me to tell you?"

"No, I remember." He'd gone all quiet. He touched the back of his neck and looked away.

"It's all right, isn't it?" Ana asked him. "You're not mad at me, are you? Are you mad?" He fidgeted with his claws.

Nai dipped his muzzle and spoke to the floor, "No, no, not mad. Just . . . embarrassed."

"You don't have to be," Ana said. "Nobody saw."

"Bela saw."

"Okay, Bela saw, but he'll be too weirded out to tell anybody!"

Ana was being entirely too cheerful about this. It worried Nai, and it irritated him. He didn't say he was mad, he didn't say it was bad, he was just embarrassed. Couldn't Ana let him be embarrassed for a second without jumping down his throat? "Ana, you don't have to . . ." He winced. "Oh. Uck. What's that?" He put fingers in his mouth and pulled a little piece of lint from his tongue.

Ana looked surprised at it, then horrified. "Nai, what about a cup of tea?" he said. He banged open his trunk and dived in head first. He had some chits, and he was certain he had a couple silvers, if he could just find them. "A nice cup of tea and some honey, then you won't taste cotton anymore . . . Or, some sweets, if you want them! I'll have to go down to the commissary and get Cam a new blanket, anyway. You can come with me. I'll get you anything you like!"

Really? Anything? Nai thought about that and came out with the worst thing he could think of, "Can we have pastries? I want pastries. Something with cherries. Oh, and cream!"

Pastries, Ana thought, clutching his coins. Well, that and a new blanket would cost him approximately everything, and maybe a favor besides. "Um . . ."

No, I am not asking him to go halvsies on this. I made him eat a blanket.

"Sure! That's no trouble!" He palmed all his money, hiding the amount, and slammed down the lid.

Rial stirred, smiled, and said, "Fur coat," very softly. He arched and clutched Cam's mattress with his claws.

Oh, dear. Ana really hoped he hadn't talked the silver into wanting one of those. He didn't have anything even a little bit like that. All of his winter stuff was wool and leather. He didn't know what he could give Ree that he might like. "I think," he said, "I think maybe I'd better get him some tea, too."

"And a pastry," Nai said. "Ree likes apple."

"Right," said Ana, "and a pastry, but you might have to wait a minute while I see to the supply sergeant."

"Aw," said Nai. "Ana, you don't have to do favors. I was only a_little_ bit embarrassed. Ree doesn't need a pastry," he added with a smile.

"No, maybe he doesn't need one, but I want to get him one," Ana said. "And you. Okay?"

"Then it's pastries for all of us," Nai said. He went for his trunk. "I'll get yours. And Bela can't have one because he's too stupid to skein his own fucking yarn."

Ana couldn't help but laugh. "Okay. I guess that's okay. I guess."

"Sure it's okay," Nirez told him. "C'mon, Ana, let's go get some tea."

*A Note from the Author: * Hi, new readers, and anyone who has read before. I have a _website__ now. This is a sample. Everything on the website is free, too, though. There is more from The Bound Ones, and also some more from these guys here. I am sorry to have been gone so long. Some stuff happened, and I am really not in love with the interface here (not for long stuff like I come out with, anyways). I hope you like these and will come looking for more._