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Garnoth awoke with a start, jumping to his paws in an instant. The young dragon hissed, unsure what had woken him. His heart pounded, and a tingle of dread drew out his claws. Memories of feathers and talons flickered in his mind. As he blinked away the bleariness in his pale blue eyes, the nightmare images dissipated back into the aether. Only a dream. Garnoth retracted his claws and eased back onto his haunches atop the soft animal pelts that covered his bed.

A gust of wind blew cold rain through his window, splattering the dragon's sensitive frills. He pinned his gray-tinged spines back against his head, grimacing. Garnoth stretched his foreleg, and unhooked the latch that held his deer-hide curtains back. They fell across the circular window, blocking the spray.

"Damn cold for summer." Garnoth wiped droplets from the pebbly black scales of his face, his ears splayed. "So much for sleeping in."

Not that he could go back to sleep now, even with the soothing sound of rain against stone walls. Something in his dreams had left him too unsettled to sleep. He tilted his head, trying to recall what it was. Something about a gryphon, he thought. A sudden flurry of memories left him aching and tingling.

Oh. He'd been dreaming about that gryphon. He flared his spiny frills, hissing. "Stupid lying bird."

Garnoth moved from his pile of bedding to the center his room to stretch. He pushed his ebony wings to their full extent and splayed his forepaws, claws out. He yawned, pink tongue curling in his black muzzle. Halfway through his morning stretch, a sudden, ferocious itch made him lash his tail.

"ACK!" Garnoth flopped onto his haunches, curled his tail around his paws and frantically scratched at it. "Aaaahhhh..."

When the worst of the itching subsided, Garnoth inspected his tail tip. The gray nubs that had marked either side of it since his youth were finally developing into the spines that adorned every male dragon's tail. About time, he thought, but did they have to itch so much? The rest of his hide had been itchy when he'd first reached maturity and hit his growth spurts, but nothing like this.

Stupid maturity, he thought. Why'd it have to be so itchy and awkward? At least his paws and limbs had evened out lately, unlike his friend Kaythos. The smaller dragon was still stuck tripping over himself. And yet, somehow, Kaythos' tail spines had grown in earlier and swifter than Garnoth's. It wasn't fair.

Garnoth scratched at the other side of his tail. "Kaythos, you lucky runt. Stupid itchy tail."

As Garnoth worked to quell the itching, he gazed around his room. It felt empty. Aside from the many wooden toys resting within alcoves, the stone walls were gray and barren. Maybe he should take after his friend Kaythos' family. They smeared their paws with paints and adorned their walls with fanciful colors and images. Better yet, he could just ask Kaythos to spend a few nights with him. A companion would fill the void far more than any decoration.

The thought made Garnoth smile. It was nice to have a friend.

Garnoth had grown up a lonely youth, a strange black dragon fathered by an outsider who was bullied and teased by the other young dragons. So each time he ran home crying, his mother carved him a new friend to cheer him up. Many were the nights she'd curled around him, playing make believe games with him and his wooden friends. He loved those toys as a youngling, spent more time talking to them than he did anyone else. Even now the sight of his old favorites, battered as they were, warmed his heart.

When he was young, Garnoth never realized how his mother shared his loneliness, how she took as much solace in cheering him up as he did in her loving presence. Back then, how could he know how much it hurt his mother to see her beloved son tormented and lonely? How could he know how she missed his father? He knew nothing of rival clans or duty to the tribe. She did everything she could to keep him sheltered in her wings, to be his strength when he had none. She'd dried his tears, and when she shed her own, she did so only in silence.

His mother protected him the best she could, until he didn't need her protection anymore. With the onset of maturity, Garnoth grew from a troubled little whelp who talked to himself to the biggest dragon of his age in the whole clan. Sure, he still talked to himself but no one dared tease him about it anymore. At least not after he'd kicked their scaly asses and planted their faces in the mud. Before he knew it, he was the one bullying them.

That was how he'd met Kaythos. Once the other dragons stopped bullying Garnoth, they found a new target. They found a little blue runt too scrawny to fight back. They teased him, they hit him, and they made him cry. Yet somehow Kaythos always bore it better than Garnoth ever had. He was always cheerful. It was as if he was happy just to be alive even knowing he was going to get beat up again.

Garnoth found his joyous spirit inspiring, and he couldn't wait to see that blue whelp get big enough to fight back.

Yet the longer they bullied Kaythos, the more it seemed to weigh upon the little dragon.

One day, Garnoth had stumbled upon them pinning Kaythos down alongside a stream. The blue dragon was sobbing as they made him eat mud. Through his tears, Kaythos kept asking the same thing. Why were they so cruel to him? It hit Garnoth then that Kaythos was never going to outgrow them, never going to be stronger than them. Even if he'd stood up for himself, they'd just beat him down again. Make him choke on mud.

Slowly but surely, they were breaking his beautiful spirit.

That was the day Garnoth decided to protect Kaythos. Garnoth charged in and rammed full bore into the dragon pinning Kaythos down. Then he whirled through the rest of them, beating them bloody. When they all limped away, Garnoth helped Kaythos back to his paws. He helped wash all the mud from his scales, and told Kaythos no one was ever going to bully him again.

They'd been inseparable ever since.

The runt and the weird one.

He wouldn't have his friendship with Kaythos any other way. Garnoth knew the friendship had done almost as much good for his mother than it had for him. Now that she knew her son was strong enough to support himself and had found someone who cared about him, a weight had been lifted from her wings.

Someone who cared about him. That was...perhaps a more accurate description lately than simple friendship. Garnoth licked his muzzle as cold uncertainty tied a knot in his belly. Were they...more than friends, lately? They'd certainly done things together that simple friends didn't do. Ever since the day in the forest when they'd met that gryphon, and they'd discovered...

"We're just close friends." He snapped his jaws. "He's not even female!" But...did that change how he felt? Did he feel that way? He glared at his old toys as if expecting a reply. "It doesn't matter!"

Garnoth's belly rumbled, loud and menacing. Hunger was a welcome distraction, and Garnoth pushed the rest of his thoughts into some hidden corner of his mind. Focused on his appetite, Garnoth nudged aside the heavy hide curtain that served as door and slipped out of his room.

The dragon's home was an ancient structure built of interlocking limestone blocks and slabs. Moss and lichen dappled the pitted gray surface. There were many houses like it scattered through the clan's village, built by dragons long forgotten outside tales spun by elders. The houses were handed down family to family. Gouges in the flat stones set into the earthen floor spoke of countless generations who called it home before Garnoth.

The fresh scent of rain and chilly air permeated the large common room that adjoined the two sleeping chambers. Cushions made of deerskin and stuffed with feathers were scattered across the floor and made for comfortable lounging. A large basin carved from an immense tree trunk held water. Another basin was usually kept stocked with a supply of freshly harvested fruits to supplement the meat provided by the clan's hunters. Lately the basin was empty, because Garnoth hadn't yet bothered to restock it while his mother was absent.

Come to think of it, she'd probably left her window open again. Garnoth pulled aside the bear pelt that served as her door, and glanced into her room. Though he knew she'd be gone for at least another half a moon cycle, part of him still expected to find her curled atop her bedding, fast asleep. Instead, he found only a quiet, empty room. Whenever she was gone, their home felt hollow.

As he expected, rain was dripping in through her uncovered window. Garnoth entered her room, glancing at the mementos adorning her walls. She'd picked up many trinkets in her work as one of the clan's traders, but the collection of black scales and a single dark claw always caught his eye. They were from his father. Garnoth swallowed and looked away as he crossed her room.

His mother's warm, comforting scent still clung to her room, even as the other scents faded. He'd have to replace the old bundles of lavender sprigs and pine boughs she hung from her ceiling before she returned, make sure her room smelt nice for her. He'd place some around the rest of the house too. For now, he simply closed her curtains to keep the weather out and returned to the house's central chamber.

Garnoth went to a window and peered outside. A steady, cold rain blanketed the dreary, gray world. Water ran down stone walls and off mossy roofs. It sluiced through muddy lanes. The trees around the village drooped in the downpour. A few dragons hurried about their business, with wings stretched forward to shield their heads. Another leapt into the sky and ascended. Water sprayed off his beating wings.

The young dragon's belly rumbled again. If he wanted to go and hunt some breakfast, he'd have to brave the rain. The thought made his wings tighten. Actually, he had a better idea. There was probably plenty of food at Kaythos' house. And Kaythos would want to be up and dancing in the rain, anyway. Silly runt acted like a giddy hatchling whenever it rained.

Might as well go wake him up.

Garnoth went to a wooden bin and fetched a blanket made of ahkva hide. Ahkvas were odd creatures. Large and slow, they spent much of their time in water. They tasted good and their fur was thick and water resistant. Garnoth's clan made their hides into what they called rain blankets. When worn over their backs and wings, it kept them warm and dry.

Without his mother there to help him, Garnoth struggled to put the rain blanket on. He tried to throw it across his back, but his forelegs just didn't work that way. On his third attempt, he stumbled into the wall, jarring his ribs. After some thought, Garnoth snatched up the corner in his teeth, and jerked his neck around, releasing it. The heavy hide dropped against his back, pressing his wings to his body. Before it could slide off of him, he grasped the sinew strings at its corners and dropped onto his haunches. He wriggled and shifted his wings till the blanket lay properly, then he tied the sinews together around the base of his neck. Garnoth rose back up and shook himself, settling the soft hide against his wings, with the water resistant fur on the outside. His tail and neck still stuck out, but at least most of him would stay dry.

Garnoth slipped outside. Cold rain splattered the pebbly scales of his face and sensitive frills. He shivered, scales clicking beneath his rain blanket. He flicked his flight membranes closed to protect his eyes, and looked up at the sky. The churning gray sea hung low, draping a blanket of dark gauze across the stone armor and jagged spires of towering nearby mountains.

The young dragon licked rain from his muzzle, then hurried through the village. The dragon community was arranged in a rough semicircle around a central gathering place, and Kaythos lived on the far side. Granted, only the oldest buildings remained in that semicircular arrangement. As the village had expanded over the clan's many generations, the layout had grown more and more haphazard. Even some of the caves in the mountains had been refurbished into homes for newer dragons in the clan.

It was said those caves once served as home for the clan, before they'd first built the Hall of Ancient Wings. The Hall was both the largest and the oldest building the clan possessed. It had room enough to comfortable house many dragons. According to lessons, it was first built as a gathering place for the heads of...something or other. Garnoth rarely paid attention in lessons these days.

"Hall of Ancient Wings." Garnoth snorted. "What a stupid name."

To Garnoth, it sounded like the place a bunch of crinkled, gray-scaled elders talked about their youthful conquests. Kaythos once said it sounded like some morbid trophy room where they displayed the wings of their vanquished enemies. If only it were so exciting. Instead it was just where clan leaders discussed matters of importance and heard grievances. The hall was also where rites of seasons and rituals for life-mates were held.

These days, the clan's size meant larger celebrations had to take place in the Circle of Flame. Garnoth snapped his jaws. _Another stupid name._Though it made him imagine a giant flaming sphere, it was just an open area with a ceremonial bonfire. The clan's hunters and harvesters brought food there. It was also where the clan's trading and bartering occurred.

The rain meant the Circle of Flame was empty, so Garnoth cut across it. Thanks to the many paws that crossed the broad plaza every day, it was little more than packed earth with patches of weeds and grass in the less traveled areas. The rain left the earthen court slick and muddy so Garnoth unsheathed his claws for traction. Slabs of stone set all around the outer edges of the plaza served as display areas for hides, furs, food, and whatever else traders may wish to barter with. Beyond the trading area, stone homes with grassy roofs and mossy walls ringed the marketplace.

At the center of the Circle of Flame lay a multi-leveled tower comprised of stone rings. The lowest ring was the largest, and each one above it was a little smaller. It gave the monument a hollow, conical appearance. Usually flames roiled within it, but the flame callers would have to wait until the rain stopped to get the bonfire going again.

"Flame callers." Garnoth hissed, wondering why the clan had some many useless ceremonial names for things. "As if we can't all make fire. Bunch of bratty whelps. Think they're so great."

The flame callers were traditionally young dragons, just old enough for their fire glands to develop. The flame caller's task of tending the bonfire was considered a great honor for a young dragon. A great honor they loved to hold over other dragons' heads. Garnoth glared around the plaza, half expecting to see some snooty flame caller grinning at him. He'd have smacked that smug grin right off their snout.

Aside from him though, the Circle was nearly empty. The only other dragon he saw was an older female with reddish scales and gold highlights. A fresh kill hung from her jaws. Garnoth stared as she ambled around the edge of the plaza as though she hadn't even noticed the rain. He didn't recognize her. Red was a rare color, especially for their clan. Three silver bands encircled her left foreleg. It looked like a mark of rank from another clan, and visitors often brought gifts of prey.

Garnoth rustled his wings under his rain blanket and kept walking. Better stop staring before he tried to get a peek under her tail and got caught. Again. And a visiting hunter might get angrier than Kaythos' sister had. Still, the memory left him tingling. That whole damn family was cute.

Beyond the Circle, Garnoth found a trail that led past the buildings where young dragons went to get their lessons. Those buildings were not only newer, but constructed of wood by the gryphons of a neighboring clan during a period of cooperation. Garnoth smirked to himself, thinking that explained why those buildings were so leaky.

Near the wooden buildings, a group of younglings bounded through puddles, splashing and laughing. A young female sprinted across the field, then threw her legs out in all directions and flopped onto her belly. Her momentum carried her across the wet grass and right into the deepest puddle, spraying water everywhere. No sooner had she stopped than she had to scramble out of the way as another laughing dragon slid in behind her. Garnoth decided he'd better not to Kaythos how fun that looked, or he'd be out there next.

Kaythos lived on the far side of the village, in one of the older buildings, set back from the main village. The blue dragon's bloodline had been part of this clan for a long time. As such, they'd inherited a house large enough to fit their family. That was lucky for Kaythos, as it meant he didn't have to share a room with his older sister.

A trail lined with skyblossoms on one side and deer skulls on the other led the way to Kaythos' front door. Each skyblossom plant was topped with a wide, bright blue flower bent low by the heavy rain. The flowers were said to bring joy to those who planted them. The deer skulls meanwhile were totems promising good hunting for the family and all its guests.

Misshapen tracks in the muddy path told him someone had just left it. He sniffed at the vague pawprints, but the rain had already washed away all other scents. Garnoth hoped he hadn't just missed his friend. More likely it was Kaythos' mother leaving to hunt for the day. Kaythos' father was away on the same trading trip as his own mother.

The home Kaythos' family lived in was circular, with a rounded, dome-like roof. Emerald moss and spiraling bands of pale lichen covered the walls so completely it was almost impossible to tell what color the stone beneath was. Grass, dandelions, and thistles all covered the roof. A slab of wood carved with the names of Kaythos' family members leaned against the entryway.

A tangled web of thornfruit vines grew up one side of the house, intent on conquering as much territory as possible. Behind Kaythos' home, more thornfruit vines were wrapped around rows of narrow stones and wooden stumps. Fat fruits with spiny, orange rinds weighed down the narrow stalks and clusters of tiny leaves.

Garnoth thumped a paw against wet gray pelts protecting the entryway. The thump reverberated from the sodden hides, but no reply came. He nosed the wet barrier aside, and slipped into Kaythos' home. The air within was warm and dry, and touched by the scents of the four dragons who lived there. A sweet aroma emanated from a pile of freshly peeled thornfruits sitting atop a stone tray. Garnoth licked his muzzle as his hunger returned.

Beads of cold water running down his tail reminded Garnoth he was dripping on someone else's floor. The young dragon walked to the far end of the room, and wriggled free of his rain blanket. He grabbed the corner of the blanket in a forepaw and hung it upon a catch seated in the wall.

Once the rain blanket was hung up to dry, Garnoth looked around the room. Decorative banners with colorful, ornate beadwork hung from the ceiling. Garnoth always liked the banners, they seemed so exotic. They came from nomadic tribes of furred bipedal people who occasionally traded and bartered with the dragons. Next time they passed through, Garnoth was going to barter for something to decorate his room with.

The common room of Kaythos' house had a lot more cushions and pillows strewn across the old flagstones of its floor than Garnoth's house did. Some of them even featured fanciful feather-work and bright, dyed colors. They came from clans of gryphons more interested in exchanging goods than fighting over territory.

At the center of the floor was a set of trays and bowls surrounded by a ring of lounging cushions. It was a place for shared meals, and today a pile of peeled thornfruit sat atop the central tray. The fruits grew with a spiny, bright orange rind, but it was easily sliced open with a claw and peeled away. The flesh beneath the rind beneath was a brilliant red, juicy, and intensely sweet.

Garnoth loved thornfruit almost as much as he loved gorging on a fresh kill. After plopping down on his haunches next to the tray, he helped himself to a crimson fruit. He popped it into his muzzle and chomped it up, seeds and all. The dragon rumbled a happy purr as the sweet taste covered his tongue. With juice dribbling down the pebbly black scales of his muzzle, he plucked another fruit from the tray, then another, and another.

"What do you think you think you're doing?"

The female voice startled him. Garnoth jerked his wedge-shaped head up so fast a bit of half-chewed thornfruit pulp fell out of his maw onto the floor. "Rrmmgmm?"

Kaythos' elder sister Lyreena stood at the far side of the common room. Half her blue-scaled body protruded from the heavy furs sectioning off her private chamber. She was larger than Kaythos, with scales a darker blue than her younger sibling. Her frills were flared, showing off the silver that edged the blue membranes between the spines. Though females had smaller frills than males, Garnoth always thought that only made them look angrier when flared to full extent.

Garnoth swallowed, glancing at the half-eaten thornfruit in his paw. He coiled his tail around himself. "Well, you see...the thing is..."

"Are you eating my breakfast?" Lyreena strode forward, her neck arched. Her whole body swayed, her tail slithering in the air. As usual, she was all sinuous grace and coiled threat. "Because if you've eaten my food? I'll punch you in the eggs."

Garnoth cringed, tightening his hind legs. "I'm...eating Kaythos' breakfast?"

Lyreena tilted her head, her spines settling back down. She smirked, lifting her ears. "Oh. In that case, carry on."

Garnoth finished off the fruit, then licked his paws. "I was just about finished, anyway."

Lyreena eased down onto her haunches across from him. "Sure you were." She speared a fruit with a claw, smirking. "Even if you ate all of Kaythos' food, I'm sure you'd find something to put in his muzzle."

Garnoth nearly chocked on his tongue. Heat flooded his frills, and he pinned his ears back. "Wh-what?"

Lyreena tossed her head, her own smaller frills half-open in smug display. "You think I don't know why he slinks off with you so often? Half the clan would know if they paid you two any attention."

Garnoth's belly twisted. All the fruit he'd eaten felt cold and unwanted, ready to be retched up. His tail coiled and he ground unsheathed claws against the floor. "I...I dunno what..."

"Oh, please Garnoth." Lyreena chewed her thornfruit, waving a wing at him. "When my brother comes home, giddy and bouncier than usual, it's clear enough he's been having some fun with someone." She picked up another fruit and gave it a slow lick, her pink tongue curling across it. "I'd have guessed he climbed on some female's back, but I know he'd want to brag about that."

"Well...yeah..." Garnoth struggled to focus, but found her curling tongue even more distracting than his fear. "He would..."

"Indeed." She licked the fruit again, even slower. "So I realized it must have been your back he climbed on."

"What?" Garnoth's spines shot up, his wings flared. His whole face burned as if he'd just breathed his flame into the wind. "That is _not_what we did!"

"Hah!" Lyreena arched her neck, flashing her fangs. "So you _did_do something naughty with my brother. I knew it!"

"Wh...wha...what?!" Horror filled the young dragon. His jaw hung open and his ears drooped. "But...I thought..."

Don't panic, Garnoth. Don't panic.

"I guessed, but I wasn't sure. Until now." Lynira laughed and popped the whole fruit into her muzzle.

Garnoth whined, his head hanging so low his muzzle brushed a cushion. Oh, Gods, what had he done? What if...what if she told Kaythos' parents? Or the whole tribe? He'd never live it down. It was bad enough growing up with a weird reputation, but this? Oh, and what about Kaythos? He couldn't protect Kaythos from humiliation like that.

Don't panic. Don't panic. Oh, Gods, he was panicking!

The young black dragon trembled as a wave of terror washed over him. His long throat tightened. He squeezed his eyes shut and grit his teeth. Don't cry. Every...everyone was going to find out. Don't cry. What if they cast him out? Who would protect Kaythos then? Don't cry! What would his mother...Oh, his poor mother!

He was crying.

"Hey..." Lyneera's voice was soft. She rubbed his forepaw, her pads soft and warm. "Hey, it's alright..."

"Don't tell anyone!" Garnoth struggled against a humiliating sob. "Lyreena, please!"

"I'm not gonna tell anyone..."

"I'm not even a full-blooded clan member!" He sucked in a rattling breath, blinking away tears. His panicked heart thudded in his chest. "They'll exile me!"

"No they won't." Lyreena nosed at Garnoth's cheek, the smugness gone from her voice. "I won't tell anyone."

Garnoth swallowed, his spined frills flat against his skull. "Promise?"

Lyreena laughed, silver eyes sparking even in the dull light. "Yes, I promise I won't tell anyone." She squeezed his paw, and gave his cheek a lick. "I was only teasing. I don't care what you and my brother do. Or..." She smirked. "Who you do."

Garnoth glared, wiping his eyes with a paw. "It's not funny."

"Yes, it is." Lyreena giggled, her indigo wings shaking in mirth. "Didn't think you'd cry, though. I didn't mean to scare you that badly. To be honest, I doubt you're even the first two males to do that." She shrugged her wings. "Or females."

"What?" Garnoth cocked his head, wet eyes wide. "You...you mean, you and..."

Lyreena made a show of yawning. She stretched her forelegs out on either side of Garnoth. "From what I hear, it's common enough among gryphons. I doubt many in the clan would care, and certainly not enough to exile you. You'd just be embarrassed, that's all. It is a surprise, though. I always thought you liked females!"

"I do!"

"You sure seemed interested in me. All those times I caught you trying to peek under my tail?" Lyreena nuzzled his chest. Her scales were fine and soft, her breath warm against him. "Quite a cover, you clever thing..."

Garnoth groaned, tingling between his hind legs. He lowered his head to brush his muzzle against the arch of Lyreena's neck. "You're such a damn tease."

"Yes." Lyreena laughed. "I am." Her muzzle drifted lower and soon touched his belly scales. "Feeling better?"

"Yeah...thank you, though." He shivered when he felt the tip of her tongue against his underbelly. "For not telling anyone..."

"You're welcome." She rubbed the side of her muzzle against the scales of his thigh. "Hrrrmmm..."

Garnoth's head swam as he thickened in his sheath, his red tip peeking out. She'd teased him before, but not like this. Her short horns jutted up over his belly as her tapered muzzle brushed his soft ebon sheath. "Wh...what are you...?"

"Just testing. Curious if you really do like females, too."

"I...I told you..."

"Yes, but it's so much easier to believe when I can see the result." She brushed the pad of a single finger against his sheath. "Would you like to know a secret about me?"

"Wh-what?" Garnoth shivered again. The young dragon was barely able to think through the haze of growing arousal. Her touch was quickly coaxing his member out into the open. "What are you talking about?"

"A secret." She traced her finger along his sheath, and down between the dragon's balls, then back up as his ebon sac tightened. "I know a naughty secret about you, and my brother. It only seems fair I share one of mine with you."

"A-alright..." Garnoth swallowed, his mating tool sliding free. "You...you like females, too?"

"No guessing." Lyreena smiled at him. "But feel free to imagine. No, the secret I'll share is..." Her single digit's pad roamed back up, this time sliding over the raised ridges encircling the base of his fully-displayed length "My, but you get hard quickly."

"That's not a secret." Garnoth's heart fluttered in his chest. Blood pounded through him, and he fought the urge to try and thrust against her paw. "That...feels nice, though."

"I know it does." Lyreena rumbled wicked laughter. "You're not the first male I've touched. But my secret?" She dragged her finger all the way up the dragon's erection, then circled it around his pointed tip. "I like to get males hard." Smiling, she pulled her paw back and withdrew her head. "And then leave them."

"W-wait." Garnoth stared at her. His excitement left his mind in a fog. "You...you do what?"

Lyreena tilted her head. "Did you think I'd help you with it?" Her tail coiled around her paws. "Then what would my brother have to do? Oh, and speaking of my brother..."

Garnoth shifted his weight, his wings drooping. "That's wicked, Lyreena."

"Yes, I know. Isn't it fun?" In an instant her muzzle was pressed to his own, her fangs bared in sudden threatening snarl. "You're not just toying with Kaythos' heart, are you?"

Garnoth recoiled, his neck curling. "No, of course not!"

"Good." She eased her head back a fraction of an inch. "I don't know if you two are only having a little fun, or if it's deeper than that, but do be aware of his feelings. Because if you break my brother's heart? I shall break something very valuable of yours. Is that clear?"

"Yes." Cold claws squeezed Garnoth's heart. He wasn't sure if...Did he...feel...? Did Kaythos...? It didn't matter. "I'd never do anything to hurt him like that. I promise."

"Good!" Lyreena gave Garnoth's nose a slow lick. "Then neither of us have anything to worry about. Now, I've things to do. You may as well go wake the lazy runt up."

Lyreena rose back to all four paws, and strut past Garnoth, swaying her haunches. Near the exit, she smirked at him over her indigo wings. Lyreena flicked her tail up just enough to give Garnoth a glimpse of the faint, nearly hidden pinkness of her sex. The sight was gone so quickly he half-thought he'd imagined it before she slipped through the hides hanging across the entryway and vanished into the rain.

"Such a tease." Garnoth licked his jaws, sighing. "She better not tell anyone."

The dragon grit his teeth. He trusted Lyreena at her word, if only because he knew she wouldn't want to get her brother in trouble. Still, he'd never realized just how frightened he was of the clan finding out about Kaythos and him. That moment of panic left cold dread lingering in his belly even after Lyreena's teasing.

"They won't banish you." Garnoth snarled under his breath, pinning his wings tight to his body. "They won't." Though Garnoth knew it was an irrational fear, it was no easier for him to set it aside. His mother was from this clan but his father... "Lyreena won't tell, anyway. And, you heard her, no one would care. It'd just be...embarrassing. You can deal with embarrassment. You...you're talking to yourself again."

Garnoth rubbed his muzzle with a forepaw. Stupid Lyreena. Why'd she have to scare him like that? For a moment, he envied the gryphons. If their society was as open as it sounded, they would never have to worry about the embarrassment of being caught with the same sex. Nor would they suffer the terror of being banished over such a thing. If only he was a gryphon. Then again, if he was, he might be planning a war.

At least according to the only gryphon he'd ever met. Kra'thiss. Stupid lying bird. Garnoth thumped his tail against a cushion decorated with gryphon feathers. It tumbled across the floor and sent other colorful cushions scattering. Wasn't that just like a gryphon, he thought. Puff himself up as some big, important warrior scout, and frighten the naïve dragons he'd been spying on with tales of war.

Outside, the wind shifted, and a gust pushed open some of the common room's hide curtains. Garnoth whirled around, half expecting to find that smug gryphon standing there, with blood on his paws. Instead, only chilly spray blew in, dampening the stone beneath the windows. Garnoth sighed, his frills drooping. For a moment, he wasn't sure if he should be glad or disappointed the gryphon never showed up again.

The air blowing in swirled the scent of cold rain around the room, washing away the sweet scents of fruit and female dragon. It seemed as if it would rain all day, but the weather beneath the mountains could change in an instant. Garnoth had better wake Kaythos just in case. He wouldn't want his friend to be disappointed if he missed out on the rain storm.

Outside Kaythos' chamber, Garnoth pulled the door pelts aside with a paw to peer in. The young blue dragon was fast asleep atop his bedding. Not wanting to startle his friend, Garnoth slipped in as quietly as he could. Garnoth settled alongside Kaythos' bed and gazed around.

The stone walls were slathered with cheery shades of blue, green, and purple. Kaythos had painted them himself using the paints the clan made to decorate each other's scales for festivals. Every shelf and alcove had its own set of decorations. One displayed toys from his youth while another held a leather-bound tome filled with beautiful images. Books were a rarity, usually seen only when visiting traders put them on display.

A rounded niche contained Kaythos' various attempts at wood carving. If Garnoth was honest, they were all terrible. Kaythos' latest attempt had been to carve the gryphon they'd met out of a hunk of oak. It now vaguely resembled an overweight bird with a severe skeletal deformity. Maybe Garnoth could ask his mother to give Kaythos a few lessons.

Kaythos' bed was a raised platform laden with soft animal furs and feather-stuffed cushions. When it was cold, Garnoth liked to drape some of his own furs across himself for warmth, but Kaythos just slept atop everything. Then again, Kaythos also enjoyed rolling in the snow. How the smaller blue dragon's testicles hadn't permanently retreated, he'd never know.

Garnoth's gaze settled on his friend. Kaythos slept with his wings draped haphazardly at his side. His long neck was curled. His powder blue muzzle rested on a brown-furred pillow. One of his hind legs hung off the side of the bed, along with his tail. The young dragon's breathing was slow and even. Now and then a paw twitched, and his newly-spined tail flicked.

He still couldn't believe how fast the runt's spines came in. That wasn't how it was supposed to work. Runts weren't supposed to develop before bigger dragons. Yet not only had Kaythos' tail spines come in first, but they were nearly full-sized already. Stupid lucky Kaythos. Stupid unpredictable adolescence. Garnoth had half a mind to yank that spiny tail up and punch Kaythos square in the eggs. Actually, with the way Kaythos' hind leg was hanging off the bed, the dragon's pale blue balls were already partly displayed. Garnoth glanced at them, grinning. At least he could take solace in being bigger where it really mattered.

Smiling to himself, Garnoth took a moment to marvel at his friend's coloration. That was one area he'd never be able to catch up. Where Garnoth's scales were all the same uniform ebony, Kaythos developed a new shade of blue almost every day. Blotchy indigo patches ran along his spine, over his wings, and across his haunches. Azure slashes ran along his ribs. Nearer his belly, his scales were the color of the morning sky. Silver now edged the blue membranes between his black frill-spines. Even the cloudy gray of his eyes had taken on a silver sheen.

Garnoth snorted. Gods and spirits, Kaythos was going to be handsome. Hell, Kaythos was already handsome. Sure, Kaythos was a scrawny runt, but his size might bring him grace and agility. At least it might if he ever stopped stumbling over his own paws and banging into every rock and stump he could find.

The more he thought about it, the more certain he was. Where Garnoth was growing into plodding power, Kaythos was going to develop speed and grace. They'd make quite the team someday. Granted, Garnoth wasn't sure what they'd team up for aside from getting in trouble and teaching bullies respect. Maybe someday they'd both be warriors, keeping the clan safe. Perhaps then the clan would be proud of them no matter who his father was, or how small Kaythos was. Or who they shared pleasure with.

It was a lovely thought that made Garnoth smile.

He let Kaythos sleep.

*****

Kaythos stood beneath a towering waterfall pouring from the sky itself, surrounded by its rushing hiss. Despite the water tumbling from above, the impossibly green grass beneath his paws remained soft and dry. Garnoth chased him in circles, and though the waterfall soaked the black dragon it never touched Kaythos.

As the weave of dream unraveled, Kaythos blinked. The sound of falling water remained, as if slumber had intruded upon the waking world. He yawned, and stretched out all four limbs, splaying his paws. The pads of a hind paw brushed scales. When his yawned ended, Kaythos glanced over his wings, bleary-eyed. A dark, hulking form loomed over him.

Kaythos grunted and dropped his head onto a pillow. "Don't even think about smacking me in the nuts."

"I'd never dream of it!" Garnoth's voice was filled with false admonishment.

Kaythos snorted, wriggling against his bedding. The warmth and softness lulled him back towards slumber. "Liar. A week ago, you swatted my eggs when I was still waking up."

A grin crossed Garnoth's broad, black muzzle. "You were sprawled on your back, practically daring me." He tossed his head. "Besides, helped you wake up, didn't it?"

"Very funny." Kaythos closed his eyes. "Go away. I'm sleeping."

"Oh, don't be like that." Garnoth's voice softened. "You got me back, after all."

Kaythos smirked, rumbling. "Sure did. You big cry baby."

"I only cried a little." Garnoth straightened himself, wedge-shaped head held high. "For show. To make you feel better."

"Uh huh." Kaythos curled his slender blue neck, and tucked his muzzle under a foreleg. "What part of 'I'm sleeping' wasn't clear?"

"You were sleeping. Now you're awake." Garnoth rustled his wings. "See the difference?"

"Unfortunately." Kaythos stretched his hind leg again, pressing his paw against Garnoth's chest plates. "You just here to hassle me?"

"Something like that." Garnoth gently stroked the inside of Kaythos' hind leg.

Kaythos shivered, a tingle running through him. The scales there were sensitive, and Garnoth's pads were soft and warm. "H-hey now..."

"Problem?" Garnoth circled a claw tip around a few scales.

Kaythos flexed his hind paw, claw tips unsheathed against Garnoth's chest plates. "Not yet, but if you keep that up, I'm gonna have a big problem."

Garnoth walked his fingers up along Kaythos' scaly thigh. "It's not that big."

Kaythos hissed, and kicked Garnoth's chest hard enough to make him grunt. "Clever. But I'd rather not have to use the lounging cushions to hide my boner while I eat breakfast!"

Garnoth growled a chuckle, his head spines perking up. "Wouldn't be the first time."

"That doesn't make it any less embarrassing." Kaythos pulled his muzzle out from under his foreleg. "What are you doing here, anyway?"

The black dragon's paw stilled upon his thigh. "Wanted to see you." A strange uncertainty flickered in Garnoth's pale blue eyes and he glanced away. "And I knew you wouldn't want to miss the rain."

"Oh..." Kaythos cocked his head, smiling. "That's...actually really sweet."

Garnoth shoved Kaythos' hind leg away from his chest. "Yeah, yeah." He snapped his jaws. "Don't act so surprised. I can be nice! I can be sweet!"

"Once a year, or what?" Kaythos relaxed. His hind leg hung off the bed again.

"Something like that." Garnoth set his paw upon Kaythos' haunch, and gently stroked it. "You're going to drag me out into the rain, aren't you."

"Not if you don't want me too." Kaythos shifted against Garnoth's paw.

Garnoth ran his fingers down the plate-like indigo scutes protecting the front of Kaythos' hind leg. "I just want to spend time with you. I like seeing you happy. And the rain makes you happy, so..."

Kaythos smiled when the bigger dragon trailed off. "I like seeing you happy, too. We could just, yanno, lounge around."

"We both know you'd rather be playing in the rain." The dragon lowered his head, stretched his neck, and pressed the soft, unscaled part of his nose against Kaythos' outer thigh. Breath washed across scales. "You'll just have to put up with my complaints."

"Ooooh..." Tingles and warm swelling suddenly made Kaythos very aware of the soft animal furs he laid upon. "Y-you're...very...affectionate, today."

"Mmm..." Garnoth nuzzled Kaythos's haunch. He licked a few scales, and the wet warmth made Kaythos tense in growing excitement. "Thought I'd do something nice for you, while you're all warm and lazy."

"Y-yeah?" Kaythos gulped. His warm swelling continued and exposed flesh pressed against his sleeping furs. "In here? R-right now?"

"Mmmmrrrrhhhmm." Garnoth lifted his muzzle to lay it over Kaythos' lower back. The black dragon's paw roamed Kaythos' hind leg. "Thought it'd be a nice way to start your day, if you wanted."

Kaythos definitely wanted. His heartbeat quickened, and he swallowed to ease the excited dryness of his long throat. "We'd have to be really quiet."

"No one's home." Garnoth's paw roamed further and Kaythos lifted his haunches. "Your sister was here when I arrived, but she left."

"Well...if...oooooohhhhh...." The young dragon's words twisted into a moan as a single finger pad traced around one of his testicles. He trembled, his pale blue scrotum tightening from the attention. "That's...niiice..."

"Oh?" Garnoth paused, gray frills rising around his ebony head. "Should I keep going? If you want me to, I can----AACK!"

Garnoth yelped and flopped onto his haunches, grabbing at his tail.

Kaythos jerked his head up, spines extended and eyes wide. He jumped to his paws. "What's the matter, what happened? Are you alright?"

"My tail!" Garnoth scrunched his face up. He grabbed his tail in one paw and frantically clawed at it with the other. "My damn tail!"

"What's wrong with it, what happened?" Kaythos turned to face Garnoth, half expecting to see a hoard of venomous insects swarming his friend's tail.

"It itches!" Garnoth growled, fangs bared. "It really itches!" His tail twitched in his paws as he scratched at it. "Worse than ever!"

Kaythos sat back onto his haunches atop his cushions. "That's it?" He laughed, wings shaking. "It just itches? I thought sting-worms were crawling all over it."

"Sorry..." Garnoth glanced up, ears drooping. "It just startled me." A moment of hurt shone in his eyes, turning the blue glimmer into a dark bruise. "You don't have to laugh at me. I was trying to be sweet. It's not funny, you know. It won't stop itching."

"I'm hardly laughing at you." Kaythos stretched his neck to lick his friend's soft nose. "You're moody lately."

"I can't help it." Garnoth scratched around a budding tail spine, hissing. "Everything...everything just makes me angry lately. Or sad. Or confused. The nicer I try to be the more I screw it up, and then I just get sadder and angrier!"

Kaythos bumped Garnoth's nose with his own. "You're not screwing anything up. I like that you're trying to be nice lately. It's the effort that matters, at least to me."

Garnoth lifted his frills. "Really?"

Tilting his head, Kaythos smiled. "Of course. Now gimme your tail."

"What?" Garnoth curled his neck. "Why?"

Kaythos held his paws out. "Just gimme your damn tail."

With a confused murmur, Garnoth rose to all fours and turned away. His tail swung around and Kaythos threw his forelegs up to block it from clobbering him.

"RAHH! I said gimme it, not smack me in the head!"

"S-sorry..." Garnoth peered back at Kaythos over his folded wings. "The rest of me is almost done being clumsy, but...my tail..."

"Yeah, yeah." Kaythos grasped Garnoth's tail. He cradled it against his blue chest plates. "Mind of its own, I know."

Once Garnoth went quiet, Kaythos studied his tail. Small gray spikes that had only begun to grow protruded from the scaled appendage. The fine scales around each growing spine were cracked and broken, the gray skin beneath reddened and irritated.

"The problem is how much you're scratching at it."

Garnoth glared at him, hissing. "I'm scratching it cause it itches, ya gryphon licker."

"Funny. Scratching's the problem. It's okay to scratch a little..." Kaythos unsheathed the very tips of his black claws and scratched around the base of the largest spine. Garnoth's eyes rolled and his muzzle twisted up. "Just enough to relieve the worst of the itching, though."

"Nnrrrrrr! That's nice!" Garnoth's ears splayed, and his tongue lolled out. "Don't stop, don't stop!"

Kaythos giggled, a halting growl. He lifted his eyes ridges. "If you scratch too much, you only irritate it. So, you gotta rub it instead." He smirked at his friend. "You want me to rub it for you, Garnoth?"

"You're bad." Garnoth wriggled his captive tail.

"You started it." Kaythos walked his claw tips across black scales. The bigger dragon shivered, his scales clicking. "So? You want me to rub it? You gotta say it."

"Yes..." Garnoth rumbled a throaty purr. He shook his haunches, tail tip half twined around Kaythos' foreleg. "I want you to rub it for me. Please?"

Kaythos laughed as Garnoth's swaying haunches drew his attention. He couldn't help but glance at the plump, ebony eggs bobbling under the black dragon's hind end. "Show off."

"Not my fault the Mother Creator blessed me."

Blessed was putting it lightly, Kaythos thought. If he was the clan runt, then Garnoth was the opposite. Garnoth was already as big a dragon as some of the clan's older warriors. Though Kaythos didn't like to admit it, he often found himself envious. He hated being the smallest dragon his age, but did his best to take it in stride.

"That's okay. If I had a set like that on this scrawny body, I couldn't lift my hind end off the ground."

Garnoth flexed his tail. "You're not scrawny. You're...lean. Now, you gonna rub me or not?"

Kaythos cradled Garnoth's tail against his chest, holding it tight as itchiness made it twitch. With a few soft, gray finger pads, Kaythos rubbed the irritated area around a budding spike. Garnoth groaned and one of his hind legs shook. Kaythos circled his pad around the chitinous point a few times, doing his best to soothe the itching.

"How's that?"

"Nnnrrrhhmmm..." Garnoth's frills trembled around his head. He lifted a hind paw, and flexed it in the air, claws unsheathed.

"I'll take that to mean it feels better." Kaythos giggled, circling another growing barb. "See, too much scratching just makes it worse." He moved to the next one, repeating the soothing motions. "But if you rub it like this, you can quell the itch without aggravating your skin."

Garnoth glanced back at him when Kaythos paused to shift his grasp. "Quell? Look at you, with your big words."

"Quell's not a big word."

Garnoth clicked his teeth. "Fancy words, then."

Kaythos tossed his head, frills flared. "Keep teasing me and this will be the last time I quell any of your itches."

The black dragon just grinned, twisting his tail against Kaythos. "Other side, please?"

"Only because you asked nicely." Kaythos ran his paw up the back of Garnoth's tail. The black dragon arched it against his touch. Kaythos' eyes wandered. "You should learn to ask nicely more often. You might like the results."

"I see where you're staring." Garnoth snorted. "Not that I mind."

"I'm not staring. I'm peeking." Kaythos traced an unsheathed claw tip around a few small black scales. "There's a difference. And you peek at mine all the time."

"With way you prance and frolic and wave your tail about, the whole damn village peeks at yours whether they like it or not."

Kaythos worked his paw back to Garnoth's tail tip, rubbing around another little spike. "I don't prance and frolic. I just move..." He waved his paw, clicking his teeth. "With energetic happiness."

"Otherwise known as prancing."

"I'd rather prance than lumber about." Kaythos gently rubbed the area around the last few growing spines. "I'm surprised houses don't collapse and trees don't fall with your every plodding step!" When the last of his itching seemed soothed, Kaythos patted the back of the black dragon's tail. "There. Is that better?"

"Much. Thank you." Garnoth turned around, flopped onto his haunches and curled his tail around his paws to inspect it. He lowered his head, staring at his tail as if expecting to find some fundamental change in his anatomy. "Pretty good trick."

"I figured it out when my own spines were coming in." Kaythos stretched his neck to admire his own tail. The gray spines that tipped either side of it had developed a nice curve to them. "The worst part is when they're growing from inside the tail, and pushing out. After that it's not so bad."

"Inside the tail?" Garnoth tried to mimic Kaythos' rubbing motion with a single finger.

"Yeah, piss mud, inside the tail. Don't you ever pay attention to lessons?"

"Lessons lick gryphon sheath." Garnoth snorted, then cocked his head. "Did you just call me piss mud?"

"Yeah, when you pee all over hard earth...nevermind, I just heard one of the older dragons say it. Thought it was funny."

"You're weird."

"I am?" Kaythos gave a mock gasp, splaying his blue-layered wings. "Quick, tell the clan!" He folded his wings again. "Lessons might be boring, but they teach you things. Like the fact a male dragon's tail spines are anchored to the bone. Learned that when we studied old drawings and engravings of skeletons, talked about how maturity changes your body..."

"You mean boners?"

"I meant everything. But your mind only has one path, doesn't it."

"There's probably a second path in there somewhere." Garnoth flexed his wings. "I just can't be bothered to find it." He glanced away, staring at the bright colors painted on Kaythos' wall. "Actually...can I ask you a weird question?"

Kaythos curled his neck, eye ridges furrowed. "If you want."

"Do you still..." Garnoth shifted his weight, tail coiling behind him. A wing twitched. "I mean, when you...that is...Do you still like females?"

"What?" Kaythos blinked, his frills flicked back.

"Females. Do you still...think about them? When you...stroke yourself?"

A sudden rush of blood warmed Kaythos' muzzle and ear frills. The end of his nose flushed purple. "I...well...yeah, sometimes." He licked his muzzle as if to wipe the purple blush away. "I mean, don't you?"

Garnoth nodded. "Yeah. Even when I got here...well, that doesn't matter. Do you think it's..." He stared at his paws, kneading the floor. "Weird? What...we do? Together?"

Kaythos was glad Garnoth's eyes were downcast, because he was sure his whole face just turned violet. Despite his embarrassment, he offered his friend what he hoped was a reassuring smile. "Who cares?"

"What?" Garnoth jerked his head back up, confusion drifting across his pale blue eyes.

"Who cares if it's weird? I'm weird, you're weird..." He waved a few unsheathed claws in the air. "We may as well be weird together."

A smile crept across Garnoth's ebony muzzle. "I...I like that. But...what if the other dragons find out?"

"Then we'll be embarrassed. We'll get funny looks and everyone will talk about us behind our wings." Kaythos held his paw out when Garnoth's expression fell. "It's no different than what already happens. Everyone knows I peed on that elder holding me when I was a hatchling. The whole clan knows bullies made me eat mud. You talk to yourself in public. A few years ago, you got a boner in front of everyone when that visiting female was dancing around the fire in the Winter Flame ceremony. They already laugh at us, tease us, and talk about us. This would just be something else to tease us about, and our lives would go on."

Garnoth swallowed. "You seem awfully sure."

"I am sure. Remember the gryphon? He got us all scared about a new war between clans, we went back out there to meet with him, and that feathery bastard never showed up. Our elders went and met with theirs, and our lives went on. If others find out we've played around together? Our lives will still go on. I just..." Kaythos took a deep breath, his chest plates expanding. "I just don't care if it's weird, Garnoth. Life's too short and too fragile for me to care about things like that anymore."

The big black dragon pushed himself to his paws. He sighed. "I wish I had half your confidence." A smile crept across his ebony muzzle. "You're....you're really inspiring sometimes, you know that?"

Kaythos bared his fangs, muzzle scrunched. "I am not."

"You are." Garnoth set his forepaws atop the bed, on either side of Kaythos. He lowered his head till the two of them were nose to nose.

Kaythos found himself staring into Garnoth's pale blue eyes. They reminded him of the ice deep inside the glaciers in the mountain passes, where the clan dragons went to cool down in the summer heat.

"I wanna...do something..." Garnoth's voice was a whisper, his breath warm across the softness of Kaythos' nose.

"So you said." Kaythos swallowed as their muzzles brushed. A tingle ran through him, swelling his sheath. "Earlier."

"Something else, first." Garnoth's frills trembled around his head. "I...dunno if you'll like it." He raised a forepaw, and stroked Kaythos' neck. "Can...can I try? If..." He took a breath, his touch warm and comforting. "If you don't like it, just pull away and I'll stop."

Kaythos nodded his consent, only to realize he should have asked what Garnoth had in mind. Just as he opened his muzzle to ask, Garnoth pushed his snout forward. Their muzzles pressed together, and Garnoth's grip grew firmer against his neck. Kaythos sucked in a breath through his nose, his eyes widened. The wet heat of Garnoth's tongue brushed his own.

Garnoth was kissing him.

After a second of hesitation, Kaythos gave into the passion of the moment. He tilted his head, jaws parted. Garnoth's tongue was velvet heat that tasted vaguely of spinefruit and swirled against his own. Kaythos had little concept of how a kiss was supposed to go. Kissing among dragons was rare, usually reserved for life-mates. He tried to match the movements of the other tongue's motions with his.

The black dragon kissed him harder, pushing Kaythos' muzzle back. Kaythos curled his neck, and slumped over onto his bedding. Garnoth followed him, continuing the awkward yet electrifying kiss. He cupped Garnoth's cheek in a paw, his whole body tingling.

Kaythos worked his paw behind Garnoth's neck, over a frill. With flattened spines against his palm, Kaythos pulled Garnoth closer, tried to push his own tongue into Garnoth's muzzle. At the same time, he stretched his wing out and wrapped it across Garnoth, cradling him in his soft, warm embrace.

Moaning into his maw, Garnoth pressed against Kaythos. Scales slid against scales, their underbellies rubbed together. Tongues twisted and swirled, chasing one another in an uncertain dance. Sharp teeth bumped, brushed and clicked. Soon, scales brushed delicate skin usually hidden. Kaythos' member slipped free of its protective sheath, rising into a scaly embrace between the two dragons.

Awkward as the kiss may have been, it was also intensely erotic. The young dragon's tapered maleness jutted at rigid attention against his underbelly. His head swam, and tingles ran beneath every scale. His breath came in heated gasps as he struggled to keep their kiss going without running out of air. The young dragon wasn't sure he'd ever felt quite so completely aroused.

The kiss ended just as quickly as it started when Garnoth pulled his muzzle away, panting. Before Kaythos had time to catch his breath, Garnoth nuzzled at his throat. "Lay back."

Kaythos tilted his head to lick at the top of Garnoth's muzzle before doing as his friend asked. He eased onto his back, his wings draped across the furs at either side of his body. Garnoth moved with him, climbing the rest of the way onto the bed. Kaythos' gaze wandered down his friend's belly, thrilled to see the black dragon's crimson mating tool just as exposed as his own.

As Garnoth settled against his bedding, Kaythos wriggled back to make more room for the bigger dragon. Garnoth stretched his long neck and gave Kaythos' chin a few slow licks. Then the black dragon's muzzle roamed down his throat, pausing every few inches to lick him again. At Kaythos' chest, Garnoth gave each blue plate its own set of tender licks.

Soft paw pads teased the fine scales of his inner thigh. Kaythos parted his hind legs, and the gentle touch glided across his pale blue balls, causing them to tighten up. As Garnoth's tongue drifted lower, his paw roamed up Kaythos' other thigh, kneading at the pebbly scales. Kaythos shuddered, struggling to hold in his moan. When warmth enclosed his balls, his head lolled back and forth against his cushion as Garnoth rolled his tender eggs around his delicate grasp.

Sharp teeth teased at his belly scales, an inch lower at a time. Each nibble was followed by the soothing warmth of a swirling tongue. Kaythos squirmed and arched his hips. His tapered tip bumped Garnoth's jawline. When Kaythos lifted his head to watch the teasing, Garnoth purred up at him. Their eyes met as Garnoth nosed at the ridges encircling the base of Kaythos' shaft. Looking up at him, Garnoth ran his tongue all the way up the blue dragon's erection.

Kaythos gave moaned voice to the delight that simple gesture brought. He gripped his bedding in his forepaws, shivering. Pleasure swirled around his tip when Garnoth swirled his tongue. Kaythos whimpered. Gods, that felt nice. They'd pleasured one another before, but it never seemed this intimate.

In a single, smooth motion, Garnoth parted his jaws, tilted his head, and took Kaythos completely into his muzzle. The sudden warmth that surrounded his member stunned the young dragon. Kaythos gasped, fighting the urge to thrust. Pebbly black scales brushed his pale blue balls. Garnoth arched his neck, sucking as his muzzle slid away. He pushed it right back down and Kaythos gave a long groan trembling with bliss.

Without any hesitation, Garnoth bobbed his muzzle in a smooth and steady rhythm. Constant soft, warm friction caressed unsheathed flesh. Kaythos moaned again, louder than before, his scaled body shaking. Garnoth rumbled around him as if in response. Delightful vibrations rolled through his captive mating tool. Kaythos lifted his hips, and Garnoth arched his neck to accommodate the motion.

The black dragon's muzzle rose and fell. The hot, velvet embrace of his tongue provided silken protection from sharp teeth. Slickness and warmth glided against him, stroking his most sensitive flesh. Each time Garnoth dipped his head again brought him more pleasure than the last.

Before long, Garnoth's whole body moved in time with the bobbing of his muzzle. He pulled his head up, and his powerful body eased back. When he pushed his muzzle back down, Garnoth rolled his hips, thrusting himself into Kaythos' sleeping furs. A throaty groan rattled his maw around the young dragon.

Sucking in a shuddering breath, Kaythos splayed a forepaw and set it between Garnoth's horns. The black dragon glanced up, purring approval around Kaythos' rigidity. Garnoth seemed spurred on by it. The dragon bobbed his muzzle faster, twisting his tongue. His own thrusts grew faster too, humping at Kaythos' bedding as though driving himself into an eager female.

Kaythos' pleasure rose, swift and steady. Soon, he whined a warning through fangs grit in primal delight. "G-garnoth! I'm...you're...you're gonna make me...!"

The only reply from his friend was a playful snarl that rattled Kaythos' maleness. The soft pads of strong fingers wrapped around his balls again, massaging them. Between the wet, bobbing maw, and the forepaw cradling his precious eggs, Kaythos' pleasure surged. His grasp tightened against Garnoth's head, his other forepaw balled up against a sleeping fur.

"I'm...I'm...uhhnn!" Pure, warm ecstasy poured through the young dragon. With no one home, he allowed himself an orgasmic roar like an elder he'd once spied rutting an unknown female in the forest. "Rrrrraaaaarrrrrggggghhh!"

His maleness pulsed in Garnoth's muzzle, pleasure spiking so overwhelmingly he could almost see it. Then the simple, unbearable delight of releasing his seed washed away all sight, all thought. Kaythos twisted, his spined tail lashed and thumped the bed. His hind paws splayed, claws unsheathed and toes curled. Every blissful pulse seemed its own lifetime till at last they faded, and left the dragon spent and shaking.

Kaythos flopped back against his furs, his plated chest heaving. Garnoth worked his muzzle through Kaythos' last twitches till the sensations grew too intense. As soon as Garnoth lifted his head, Kaythos' tapered mating tool flopped against his underbelly. Slick and shining, its basal ridges were still flared post-release. While he struggled for breath, Kaythos offered Garnoth a grateful smile. When he tried to thank his friend, all that came out was a slurred moan.

"I'll take that to mean you enjoyed yourself." Garnoth's voice was soft, almost shy.

"Oh...yes." It was a struggle just to put words together, his mind and body still recovering. "That was...the best one yet, I think."

Garnoth rumbled laughter. "I'm glad. I...I hope you...didn't mind." He trailed off, gesturing in the air with a half furled wing. "...You know. Before."

"When you kissed me?" Kaythos lifted his head to meet his friend's gaze.

Garnoth broke eye contact as soon as it started, his frills flat and wings drooping. "Y...yeah. That. I dunno what came over me. I just...you inspired me, and I like you and...it's just..."

"I liked it." Kaythos curled his tail, stroked Garnoth's side with its spined tip. "It startled the hell out of me, but...well...you saw how hard it got me."

"Yeah." Garnoth pushed himself up onto his haunches, a smile returning to his muzzle. "I noticed. You were hard as stone, ya little whelp."

"Speaking of..." Kaythos gestured towards Garnoth's hind end. The black dragon's erection still jutted above his plump, ebony stones. "Should do something about that before someone comes home."

Garnoth splayed his ears. "Oh. Right. I can...ah...you know." He wrapped a forepaw around his red weapon, squeezing the ridges at its base. "Won't take long. I was sort of...humping your bed."

"So I saw." He shrugged his wings, giggling. "I've done that. It's a fun way to bring yourself off when no one's home."

Garnoth laughed with him, his breath shuddering as he stroked himself. "Yeah, till you gotta go wash your sleeping furs..."

"The stream's not very far away." Kaythos rolled onto his belly, his member slowly retreating back into his sheath. "Want me to help?"

Garnoth cocked his head. "I didn't do that for you just because I wanted you to do it for me. I did it because I lo-" He snapped his jaws shut, glanced away and licked his nose. "I like you. And I love making you happy."

Kaythos stared at him a moment, his cloudy gray eyes wide. Was Garnoth going to say...? Did Garnoth really...? Did it matter? And if he did, did Kaythos share that feeling? After a moment of hesitation, Kaythos sat up on his own haunches.

"I love making you happy, too." He stretched his neck to bump his muzzle against Garnoth's chest.

"You do?"

"You know that already." He flicked his tongue out against an ebony chest plate, then lifted his head to do the same to Garnoth's nose. He set a splayed forepaw against Garnoth's chest, staring into his eyes. "Do you want me to help you out?"

Garnoth gulped. "Honestly? I'm really close."

"So..." He smirked, tongue playing out against his friend's nose again. "You want me to finish you off?"

"P-please...?"

"Of course." Kaythos licked Garnoth's chin. Seeing the bigger, more confident dragon suddenly so quiet and uncertain warmed him inside. Kaythos wondered if Garnoth ever acted that way around anyone but him. "You're so cute when you're shy."

Kaythos reached out and cradled the larger dragon's balls. Like the rest of Garnoth, the black dragon's testicles were larger than his own. They barely fit in Kaythos' paw. He rolled the heavy eggs around, relishing the way having such tender parts teased made Garnoth shudder.

With his free paw, Kaythos fetched a spare sleeping fur. "I'm going to use this to keep you from making a mess, alright?"

Garnoth gave a single nod as he returned Kaythos' soft licks. Kaythos tilted his head, savoring the tender warmth of his friend's tongue. Purring softly, he draped the fur across Garnoth's erection. Still holding his balls, Kaythos pushed his muzzle against his friend's snout, kissing him.

Where Garnoth's first kiss had been sudden, aggressive, and awkwardly exciting, Kaythos' attempt was slower, tender, loving. He tilted his head and parted his muzzle, gently pressing his jaws to Garnoth's. Kaythos' tongue slipped free, brushing fine scales and soft lips. The black dragon shivered and sucked in a sharp breath. He moaned into Kaythos' maw as he returned the kiss.

Kaythos set his free paw on Garnoth's neck, stroking the warm, smooth scales as he kissed his friend. He worked his jaws, muzzles rubbing, tongues teasing one another. Garnoth whimpered and turned his head, trying to match Kaythos' every motion. Kaythos walked his claw tips up Garnoth's neck. He cupped a frill, dragged a single digit along the length of a gray spine. His every touch made Garnoth shiver, whimper, or groan. The black dragon's forepaws drifted up both sides of Kaythos' blue-scaled till Garnoth cradled his head as their soft kiss lingered.

As they stroked one another's scales and kissed, tongues twining, Kaythos' paw wandered. Garnoth's testicles dropped back into place, and Kaythos ran a fingerpad between them. The black sac tightened. Soon Kaythos' pad found the raised firmness of the ridges encircling the base of Garnoth's shaft. Kaythos's touch there was enough to make Garnoth gasp, breaking their kiss.

The blue dragon pushed his muzzle forward, and Garnoth opened his maw to meet the return of his friend's tongue with his own. While they kissed, Kaythos wrapped his paw around Garnoth's member. It was hot, hard, and smooth above the ridges. Kaythos eased his paw up. The fur draped across it shifted as Kaythos stroked Garnoth to his tip. He held his paw there, then let his fingers glide back down. Garnoth twitched in his grasp, wet slickness ran beneath his paws. He was as close as he'd warned.

That was fine with Kaythos. With blue muzzle pressed to black and tongues entwined, Kaythos pumped him in slow, smooth motions. He squeezed the basal ridges of the other dragon's member, then stroked it faster, harder. It took only a few such motions before Garnoth's body went tense, his breath caught. Kaythos pressed the kiss before Garnoth could pull away, wanting to push him over that edge. Indigo scales rubbed against ebony, and the dragon's cloth-draped member was trapped between their bellies, inside Kaythos' paw.

A muffled snarl of delight rattled their locked muzzles. Garnoth's gray frills flared up around his black face. His wings beat the air and his tail twisted in blissful spirals. His mating tool jumped in Kaythos' grasp, and the blue dragon stroked him swift and hard. Sticky wet heat ran down his paw. Garnoth's powerful body shook, scales rustling. Only when Garnoth's throbbing had reduced to a dwindling twitch did Kaythos ease to a stop. With one last squeeze, he pulled his paw out from beneath the simple blanket, and broke the kiss.

Almost immediately, Garnoth flopped onto the smaller dragon, panting. Kaythos laughed and wriggled, swatting at him. "Hey, don't get it all over my bed! That's what the hide was for!"

While Garnoth caught his breath, Kaythos squirmed free and wiped his paws on another spare fur. He nudged Garnoth over, and cleaned his friend up with a few gentle wipes of the animal fur. When Garnoth was clean and retreating to his sheath, Kaythos tossed the dirty blankets down to the floor. He'd take them out later and wash them. Once Kaythos was done cleaning him, Garnoth sprawled out, his wings draped across the bed. He looked utterly spent, still panting. His black and gray frills had taken on a red-purple hue.

"So...did you like that?" Kaythos smiled at him, stroking his friend's outstretched wing. "I know you were already close, but...I still wanted it to be..." He trailed off.

Garnoth swallowed, his blush spreading from his frills to the inside of his ears. "It...it was..." He kneaded at Kaythos' bedding, working his jaws as if chewing words like food. "...Special." Then he snorted, slapping the bed with a paw. "I mean...no. That sounds dumb..."

"No, it doesn't." Kaythos splayed his blue paw out across Garnoth's black one. "That's...that's what I wanted. For it to be...special, for you."

"Oh." Garnoth tilted his head, offering a shy smile that melted Kaythos' heart. "It was." He shifted to his side, then lifted a wing in invitation. "Would you...umm...lay...here? Maybe?"

Kaythos blinked, looking Garnoth over. "Lay there?" When Garnoth dropped his wing and looked away, spines flattened back, it clicked. "Oh! You want me to cuddle you!" He giggled, but Garnoth's soft whine cut his laughter off. "Oh...I...shouldn't have said it out loud, right? Or...or...giggled."

Garnoth groaned and ducked his head beneath his wing as if to hide from the embarrassment.

With his own frills now burning, Kaythos brushed his paw pads against the softness of Garnoth's black wing membrane. "If...if...the offer's still open, I'd...like that."

Without a word, or a look, Garnoth withdrew his wing, then lifted it up to make room. Kaythos squeezed up alongside his friend, snuggling into the larger dragon's warmth. Garnoth draped his wing over Kaythos, and then laid his head over the blue dragon's neck. Before he could stop himself, Kaythos began to purr. It was a soft, rumbling sound of comfort and contentment.

"I...I never...cuddled anyone before."

"Stop talking, Kaythos." A note of amusement crept into Garnoth's voice, his words little more than a contented whisper. "We...we won't do this long. I...it's weird, I know. I just...thank you. I know you don't wanna miss the rain."

That was right. The rain. He'd almost forgotten. Kaythos could hear it now, whispering and rushing in the background, a soothing cascade of sound promising puddles to splash in, mud to slide on, and wonderful, cool temperatures to soothe his overheated body. And yet, none of that mattered to him in the least.

"No." Kaythos snuggled in tighter under Garnoth's wing. "The rain can wait."

"Are...are you sure?"

"Yeah. I don't need the rain." Kaythos closed his eyes and smiled. "I'm happier here with you."

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