Fifteen: Claimed

No one was quite sure how they were going to cheer Spike up… Smog had been the only one to drag his corpse back form the battle with great slashes on his body and stories of how violent the enemy had been. It had been a shock to them all, the fact that Boulder and many of the other big males that had not even being going in to engage in a full battle had fallen into one. It had certainly made Tyrant give a big eulogy for them all and insist upon them recognising their losses and to rethink their strategy as well as give the families time to grieve. Spike did not know what to do and with Smog alive, to Spike’s great distress his children had flocked to the male.

It didn’t matter that Smog would ask for Cheetah to nuzzle him or lick his wounds or cuddle him to make him feel better, she was doing it without thought or care to where those big claws went. Spike’s sons were not as desired but Smog still had them cleaning his nails, his teeth, helping bring him his food or water or fetching things. As much as Spike kept him in the medical centre and kept an eye on him, he was not happy or comfortable with the way his kids were pampering their father’s friend as if it would make the closer to him.

None of them wanted to mourn beside Spike, they just wanted to cling to what they could and so they barely even talked to their mother. The only one that wouldn’t go near Smog was Wildfang, she made a point he’d sniffed her weird and stuck her claws in his nose! Spike was rather proud she’d reacted like that, but it had caused a fight between Wildfang and Cheetah with Cheetah assuming that Wildfang was putting the moves on him! Spike was frustrated, but at least Wildfang hung around him and tried to be good for them, only to complain every so often that Boulder was an idiot. That did not help, Spike wanted them to respect Boulder… yes some things had gone wrong in their lives but relationships of hundreds of years were bound to have their pitfalls and he and Boulder had ended up getting through it… only to lose it now.

Spike really did not know what to do but whenever Wildfang was busy elsewhere, she seemed to keep going and hanging out with the giant fliers that found her hilarious and a good gossip, Spike would just sit in the medical room and sigh. Smog was finally on the mend and once he was out of the bed, Spike didn’t see his children until he went back home to give them their rations and then get Scorch and Jackal cuddling him but Slash and Cheetah and Wildfang all being distant. Spike did understand that dragons grieved in different ways but… he’d have thought his babies would have come to share their grief with him, not reject him.

“You’re not your usual self and you’re letting your scales get rough and dirty… honestly Spike, not to echo you but ‘you should take better care of yourself’, especially when your children still need you!” Comet Chaser was being a little… awkward. He was trying not to be abrasive and rude but he kept going into moment where chatting away with Spike he got frustrated. The problem was, with Boulder now out of the picture Comet had his chance to grab Spike and claim him completely… he could have his beautiful red Breeder and they could birth an Armada together of powerful dragons that would all put Comet to the fore! He was excited by it, aroused nearly every time he went to visit Spike but… he needed to be patience and thus he would get frustrated. He wanted Spike to move on already, so they could be romantic together and he could have who he wanted. “Seriously… I’ll fetch something to help you clean.”

“Never thought I’d say it but… without Boulder it doesn’t seem to matter. Without him to compliment me and fuss about me... I feel utterly lost and defeated. I feel like my life is ended because my heart hurts from our bond dying and yet… I need to be there for the children. But they’ve all run away from me, Smog’s gotten them under his paw and they look at me as if I was the one that didn’t approve of their father’s friend, that made Boulder jealous and grumpy and… I almost feel like they’re right and I was a terrible mate to my beloved Boulder.” Spike whined, lounging on the ground his head under the desk and not even bothering to look at Comet. He felt miserable, he hadn’t cleared off dead scales and his red shine was dulling to something dark and almost rusty. The brilliant and vibrant figures was in the throes of a deep depression and that meant Comet would have to bide his time and work towards something better.

He hooked up a bucket and put water and the cleaning soap into it, he then found a soft sponge… knowing Spike was usually very asinine about who and what was touching his scales with anything, surely it would not matter right now? Comet pulled it over and then gently rinsed the sponge in the warm water and then began to just clean away some of the dirty and muck. He grunted in disbelief, how could a doctor let themselves stay so dirty for so long… it was ridiculous! With a soft grunt he continued to rub and scrub at Spike’s body as the figure just looked miserably towards nothing in particular and it made Comet growl. This was not right and he hated seeing Spike look just so awful and he gave a grunt.

“Look… there’s no reason to think you were a bad mate… what happened to you both was not your fault at all… if anything I was actually at fault for using you in that place. But I wouldn’t use you again… uh…” Comet was not sure where he was going with this but he had a slight hope that he could perhaps swing this situation to suit him and perhaps find a way to get his own romantic interest shown. He looked towards Spike with a desperate expression as the other turned to look at him with an expression of anxiety. “Spike… I know… I know he’s gone but… there are many who love and care for you… there are your children to think about and right now… they’re lost grasping for the only thing that brings them close to their father. Really, they should be coming to you and not Smog and well, right now they just see you mourning as something selfish. They do not understand what you have gone through or the connection you both had… but… they can understand…”

“You’re right… I need to bring them to me and have a moment where we can sit and reflect on all the good things about Boulder. I can share my memories with them and mourn properly… I just… I don’t do grieving very well…” Spike stated, gently straightening up only to suddenly slump right back down. Comet watched in surprise but realised that the motivation to get up and go was lessening. It was only then that Spike turned to Comet with a miserable grimace and a sigh. “The only problem is… I’m excepted by Tyrant to take a new mate by the next lunar cycle… it’s the tradition if I’m not aiming to go somewhere and die. I do not want to follow this tradition… its cruel and unfair but… Tyrant knows its because we need doctors and… my children need me.”

“Ah yes… I had forgotten…” Comet stated, trying to sound as innocent about it as he possibly could, but he had hadn’t forgotten at all. Oh no, he’d been quite counting on it and he lowered his head, looking rather bashful for a moment before then turning cutely towards Spike. He fluttered his lashes and then cleared his throat, folding up his big wings and trying to look meek and harmless so it would come across better. “Thinking about that… you know… we’ve already had offspring together and… I would feel very much…”

“DW!” Spike yelped in surprise as the door of the medical office was opened out and that massive thick dark blue creature stormed in again. Comet found himself silenced as he looked up to the giant creature with his big red eyes and his nose shield and it was obvious that Deathwing was very angry. Comet ducked down, almost wanting to scuttle under a nearby table to hide himself, rather convinced that if anyone was going to be in trouble with such a brute than it was most likely to be himself! He gave a whimper as he tucked his tail in and then, to his surprise, the big dragon did not even blink at him but opened his huge mouth and picked Spike right up around the waist. “Wait a minute! Where are we going?”

“SPIKE! Uh… Deathwing! Put him down right now! Put him down!” Comet Chaser barked like an unimpressive pet dog as he hopped up and down in comparison to the dragon twice his size. Spike just remained limp in his jaw for a while as the door opened and the huge dragon marched off towards his quarters. As he went, Comet Chaser bounced after him, yelling at him and then realising that he needed to fetch Spike’s children as they would surely protect their mother! He darted off towards Smog’s apartments and galloped on and on, hurrying towards the door and then skidding as he reached the door and then slammed it open. “SMOG! CHEETAH! CHEETAH!”

Comet Chaser had just managed to slam the door open, somehow getting it to unlock and the moment it did he was stunned by what he was seeing. Little yellow Cheetah was crying and looking very scared with Smog trying to push his cock into her! Trying to push despite the fact she clearly was not ready for this! Smog and Cheetah both froze suddenly to look towards him in concern and Comet found his fury growing and his wings shot out about him as he gave a violent and angry screech, this huge fangs and talons out his expression showing off his true, violent ability that could rip Smog’s armour apart and immediately, Smog pulled away from Cheetah and ducked down. Cheetah though did not know what to do, she was glad to be rescued but at the same time she was confused about everything that had happened. Comet stomped in and suddenly wrapped his arms about Cheetah and pulled her to him before blowing smoke towards Smog.

“If I ever catch you doing something this again… I’ll rip them out and stuff them down your throat. Taking advantage because their father has died is unacceptable and I will bring this up to Tyrant.” Comet snarled, stunned by the fact he would be so protective of what was the grown daughter belonging to any other dragon but when it came to Spike’s babies… weren’t they his babies, even if they claimed themselves mature? He chose to believe that because certainly, they could be and swiftly Comet wrapped his wings about Cheetah and carefully guided her out of the room and away with him. She was looking scared and panicked, bleeding somewhere and as he guided her with his wings, he led her not to the medical centre but on to the apartment they called home. He was silent as she sniffled and then he gave a low sigh. “I won’t tell Spike if you don’t want me to… but we’ll tidy you up… you need to be careful though… he’ll try again and you’re not ready for it.”

“But… I didn’t even… I thought…” Cheetah began to whisper, almost unable to speak in case she burst into tears. Comet gave a groan, he had long ago considered his fear of the same thing happening to his dear daughter and if it had, he’d have already gutted the male. But his daughter was like him, cunning and sharp and she was not the one he worried about… his son though, certainly he worried about him but his sister kept an eye on him. All the same, Comet looked to Cheetah’s saddened expression as she tried to whisper anxiously. “I thought… its what you do when… when you love someone…”

“Not that… that is something you do when you both trust and know what each other can do and work well not to harm each other. You need to have that set up before you get to that point, the romance and the trust needed for your first time. It should never just happen… it should be something… beautiful between you both.” Comet explained, although he felt terrible straightaway for the thought of it. He had not done any of that for Spike and well, he really would like to set up a romantic situation for them both together and getting excited and pleasured completely. The thought of having Spike lying against some soft cushions beneath him whilst his paw strolled up and down his belly and then teased around his pussy whilst spending the time licking and nibbling under his neck and cheeks… that’s what he would love to do! But he looked to Cheetah as she looked to him anxiously, Comet’s thoughts about rescuing Spike now completely lost over this more important situation. “If he’s not going to make the effort to make it beautiful… then he doesn’t care as much as you think.”

“Smog said… dad and mum weren’t a good couple… he said my dad went to play with so many others because mum was fickle and never let him touch them until someone else did. He said… mum chose someone else first and even had their kids first…” Cheetah stated and now Comet could see what was going on, the kids had sadly seen the cracks in the relationship but instead of understanding that they were Boulder’s fault over and over and that it was a dragon’s choice should they want to give their virginity away straightaway or not. She probably did not know what he too had only learnt from being talked to be Boulder about it. He knew Spike would probably be very angry about him telling her and he opened his mouth to speak and… he gave a soft sigh.

“It wasn’t Spike’s choice… Spike was attacked and Boulder knew that and they both raised those babies happily together. They never knew what happened when they were separated, but Spike was put in a breeding farm against their will… Spike loved Boulder greatly… they never hurt him on purpose and he knew that.” Comet stated, knowing he was almost wanting to tell her the whole truth, but would he be allowed to? If he told Cheetah that it was Boulder who’d even sold Spike into the Breeding Farm because he had a wandering dick… it would ruin their image of their beloved and loving father… it would make it obvious that Spike was a victim of the system and not in the wrong… never in the wrong but… he wouldn’t like that. Comet knew he could not do that and so he was sighing gently as he led her to their room and Cheetah was silent.

She probably understood now.

“There… looking at you getting dirty and mucky was not good… just how long would it be before this sloppy despair eats into your ability to heal? You’d never forgive yourself if you ended up being the cause of an infection or someone dying because you didn’t do the right thing, so let’s scrub you up!” Deathwing grumbled softly, holding onto Spike in his forelegs as the red dragon just melted into the water comfortably. The big blue dragon had pulled up a better sponge and was busy scrubbing at Spike’s back, scraping off all the dead scales and foaming up a sweet smelling soap. Normally Spike would be having a fuss that anyone was trying to handle him like this, but instead he didn’t want to fight when it was so pleasant.

“Urgh… I suppose you’re right…” Spike groaned, but he couldn’t help but rumble in pleasure and even blow bubbles in the water as Deathwing continued to scrub at him firmly. The big figure continued to keep rubbing and scrubbing at Spike as the red dragon seemed to just melt into the water. The door opened and Deathwing turned his head, noticing that Comet had rounded up all the offspring for him and brought them with him to see Spike. They were all looking a little irritated to see the giant blue dragon taking hold of Spike and helping him out, but Spike looked up at them lovingly. “Hello babies… you know what I was just thinking… a long time ago, your father and I were not an official couple and I remember I was waiting for him to just say that he wanted to be with me… I’m always so silly that I didn’t just go ahead and tackle him back then.”

“So… you waited on dad to choose you? But I thought dad was the one that was trying to keep hold of you!” Slash stated in surprise, guiding his siblings around the edge of the pool and they all lounged there, ready to listen to the story. Comet Chaser decided he would sit on this too, although he was angry that Deathwing was scrubbing him and touching him! They could be doing something terrible in there, Deathwing could be mating Spike in this moment… but of course, he was too noble to do that and he was the one that gave a soft rumble of amusement.

“Oh no… Boulder was very popular and always had a lady friend beside him… he liked the ladies a lot but… Spike was the one he always came home too. You two were living together even though you weren’t a couple and I remember thinking Boulder really needed to wake up and see what he was ignoring.” Deathwing rumbled, chuckling softly and the youngsters all looked excited; they hadn’t known that their father had been the popular one and not their mother… they’d just made assumptions because Boulder had always been jealous. They looked to their mother’s sad expression and felt bad, felt like they hadn’t taken the time to listen as Deathwing continued with a soft rumble. “I was the one that got the surprise when Spike here patched up my shoulder after a rumble… I’d been watching him for a while and asked if he’d be with me… you weren’t sure, but you said yes because you thought maybe the feelings you had for Boulder could be replaced…”

“Yeah… I remember thinking, Boulder’s my oldest friend, my dearest friend… I helped him build up his muscles and I remember he was very into his relationship with a pretty cream coloured thing that sung at the bar. She was a very popular singer back then and of course, everyone wanted Boulder because he could be the bodyguard and the bad boy… but that was not who he truly was… hmm… Boulder was such a sweet squish when you had his sole attention.” Spike stated and the youngsters stared in excitement, they really didn’t know their father had been such a catch for many other. But then they were surprised as Spike then sat up properly within the water and then grabbed the scrubber, rubbing at himself briskly. Comet was listening too, intrigued to know what had happened and how Boulder had won Spike like this. But Spike gave a soft giggle of amusement. “I was so slow with you Deathwing, I didn’t even know how it was supposed to be because you weren’t Boulder, I didn’t know how I was supposed to act around you… then the one time you came back to the den with me, that was the day you kissed me and Boulder came in…”

“…and in that moment that was it, he threw me right out of the cave and then gave me a beating I wasn’t expecting. There I was, thinking that you and I were starting to move in the right way, when suddenly I was on the ground being stepped on and pinned down by Boulder! That was it, right in front of everyone I was defeated and Boulder wasn’t letting anyone have you…” Deathwing rumbled and Spike gave a soft chuckle whilst the youngsters all stared in disbelief. The thought that their father had taken down this huge figure to claim their mother… their father must have had some real strength when pushed. But then they considered it too, their dad had a jealous streak indeed and well… for Wildfang in particular this felt like it just proved how much their father had controlled Spike. Yeah, to Wildfang it was just what they’d grown up seeing… Spike was no one else’s but Boulder’s and yet he’d been playing around then… what if he had been playing around now.

“Boulder used to sacrifice so much for me to be healthy and to feel better after such a long and chaotic day at work. I would always try and give as much back but… I doubted I ever really thanked him enough for all the happiness he gave me. But I made sure he knew how happy I was to have all of my beautiful babies.” Spike stated gently and then gave a soft sigh. All of them were now worrying about what would happen next and who would catch Spike. But the children were oddly welcoming of the next words that left Deathwing’s mouth whilst Comet felt like he had suddenly been castrated.

“Thus… to protect your honour and Boulder’s… I claim you… then you can have all the time to mourn.” Deathwing stated and they all seemed happy whilst Comet almost howled.