Reciprocating Gifts

Story by Serathin on SoFurry

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A dragon has his birthday celebrated! The adventurers bring up a few gifts from the neighboring villages, and also become the gifts themselves.

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Zavarin slept soundly in his cave, the great dragon surrounded by the piles of gold that he had accumulated over the years. Though he would have been perfectly content with being in total darkness, the soft glowing orbs of light illuminated all of the dragon's treasures. The mountain that the massive creature slept in had also burrowed close to a volcano to provide warmth, and was next to a layline where he could draw energy from that sustained him. In short, he had everything he could ever want as the light glinted off the jagged purple scales and gleaming silver spikes. In all the years that Zavarin had lived in this place, his body had become attuned to every sound and feeling that reverberated through the large cavern. That meant that when he heard scurrying in his tunnels, his amethyst eye opened and its pupils contracted into slits. Intruders... it wasn't rare for foolish adventurers to attempt to try and make a name for themselves, either by pilfering his riches or attempting to end his life. Though he didn't have to worry about the local townsfolk, it wouldn't be the first time that misguided souls would make their way into their domain, and he would just have to attempt the means of persuasion... one way or another. It didn't take much for him to rouse the blood and get moving, his movements graceful and predatory despite his bulky form as he slowly climbed the biggest pile of gold next to the entrance to the cavern. Already his mind was swirling with what he would do to these creatures... perhaps attempt to frighten these misguided varmints out of his domain. He could already tell that they weren't very good at this; they had already given away their position by stumbling around in the tunnel, not even bothering with the wards that would have tipped him off had he not awoken to their noise. He could hear them getting closer and closer, and it sounded like they were... singing? Though he was a rather solitary creature, Zavarin knew enough of the cultures to know that what they were singing was a birthday tune. It had caught him by surprise, to the point when he saw the glow of firelight enter the cavern that he was more curious than apprehensive. "Who goes there?" Zavarin demanded, slowly moving down the pile of gold to greet the strange interlopers as the singing ceased. "What do you think you're doing in my domain?" "Celebrating, my dear dragon," a voice called out from the caves, and as the adventurers moved into view, Zavarin could see what was the cause of the light. It was a rather large cake, one with the visage of a dragon created in icing on the top of it. "The villages in the surrounding region have banded together and wanted to properly thank their protector on the day of your hatching, and as representatives of the local adventuring guild, we were more than happy to bring your gifts to you." "Gifts?" Zavarin asked, and as the two continued to bring the cake in and eventually set it down on a nearby flat rock, another two brought in a rather large chest. "These are from the villages... for my birthday?" "Of course," the elf said as he finished lighting the candles. "You've done them a great service over the years, whether you meant to or not. They've been planning something like this for quite some time, it seems, and have commissioned this for you as their way of honoring you." Zavarin was rather stunned by the sentiment. While he had lent a paw every so often; repelling invading tribes, helping with a few natural disasters that had crossed their path, but never really did anything that he had considered to be worthy of such praise. He was a rather solitary dragon, so to have four adventurers with cake and a large chest with golden dragon eggs was not what he had ever thought would happen in his cave. The adventurers were also happy to deliver, as his presence had protected their guild and also given them standing among the other groups. "I... don't know what to say," Zavarin said as the elf, who was clearly the leader of the group, also opened a rather old bottle of wine. "In all my centuries of living, I don't think anyone has ever really done this for me. I'm surprised they even know." "What, dragons don't celebrate?" The elf replied as he poured two glasses. "My name is Arywin, by the way. I don't have a dragon-sized goblet..." Zavarin smirked at that, and as the other adventurers watched in awe the dragon began to shrink significantly, eventually reaching down to just a few feet taller than the elf as his muscles shifted to a more humanoid configuration. "When you live thousands of years, such things tend to pass by without notice," Zavarin replied as he walked over, still towering over the elf as he grabbed the goblet provided to him. "I'm sure someone as long-lived as your kind shares a similar sentiment." "I suppose so, though we still do celebrate milestones," Arywin stated after a moment of pondering. "But I can certainly understand, when Jax first came on board as part of the crew he insisted on knowing everyone's birthday so he could personalize the moment." As the dragon looked over he saw the leopard man grin sheepishly and wave at them. "He's our only shifter in the group, by the way, with the two humans, Donald and Francesco, being my stalwart companions since the beginning." As Zavarin watched the four banter back and forth, seeing the camaraderie between them. It was touching, in a way, and as he sipped on the wine while directing the two to where to put the chest of eggs. "You seem to have yourself quite the team," Zavarin mused as he was handed a piece of cake from the shifter. "I... appreciate that you made the journey up the mountain just to get these gifts to me." "What can I say, we live to serve," Arywin said with a slight chuckle as he finished off his goblet before standing up. "Well, it's been fun to break bread with a dragon, but we must get back down the mountain before nightfall." "Mmmm, I sense that it's already approaching sundown," Zavarin stated, tapping a claw on his muzzle as he looked to the four. "You'll never reach the base in time; the winds that draw up from the ravine at night can freeze to the bone, and while I have no doubt on the capabilities of your crew, perhaps I can spare you the misery of such a trip. You did the service of delivering my birthday gifts, so let me reciprocate by offering you lodging for the night." The elf looked to the others in the group, and as Zavarin could see, the idea of an icy trek down a mountain in the darkness wasn't appealing to them either. Jax made mention that this was their last job in the region, and though Arywin gave him a side eye, the other humans also chimed in that it would be quite the story to bunk down with a dragon. After a bit of deliberation back and forth, the elf decided to take Zavarin up on his generous offer. The four men were certainly prepared as they brought out bedrolls and began to hunker down. But as he watched the four talk to one another while continuing to help themselves to the cake that they had delivered. After being alone for so long it was refreshing for the dragon to have company, and as the two groups regailed one another with various stories, the gears in his head began to turn. He had been given such a wonderful gift for his birthday, and he felt the need to share more than just his cave with these four who made it possible. When he could have just given him some gold, that wouldn't exactly be very fitting for the birthday boy to give that sort of gift... not when there were ways for both sides to get something. As the four had finished with their dinner for the night, Zavarin wandered over to them while back in his humanoid form. "Since you are spending the night in my domain, I was wondering if perhaps I could make your stay even more comfortable," Zavarin stated, causing their interest to perk up. "It involves ancient magic; something that most dragons don't normally use, but considering the gift you had given me, I wanted to put it on offer for those who seek... unique experiences." "Ancient dragon magic, you say," Arywin stated, Zavarin nodding his head in response. "Well, I can't say that I'm not intrigued by the offer. Since it is your birthday and you've offered lodgings to us, I don't see how I could say no, but as for the rest of my crew I will leave their individual decision up to them." "Of course," Zavarin replied, looking to the others who were sitting on their respective bedrolls. All of them were curious just from the looks on their faces, and considering the company they kept was pleasant, it didn't take long before they all decided to get in on what the dragon want. "Perfect, and we can use the gift of the townsfolk in order to make it happen, all I need you to do is pick an egg and we can begin." The four adventurers looked at the chest that had been sitting there, and with Zavarin's prompting they got up and went to grab one of them. The stylized dragon eggs were all the same golden hue, but each of them had a different type of setting when it came to the gemstones. They were all quite beautiful, and the dragon couldn't think of a better piece of treasure to use for the ritual that he had in mind. There were ten different eggs that the four could choose from, with the elf picking up the one that was decorated with obsidian, the shifter grabbing the ruby one, and the two humans taking an emerald and a sapphire egg. Once they had their eggs, the shifter was about to ask what they should do next before Zavarin raised a finger to keep them quiet before telling them to shut their eyes and concentrate on the egg. Though the two humans and the shifter gave one another a look, the elf just closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Seeing their leader so eagerly participate prompted them to do the same, and soon they were all standing there with their hands holding an artifact while their eyes were shut. It wasn't a necessary part of the ritual, but the dragon wanted them to feel what was about to happen first rather than see it. Though it had been a while since he had actually used this type of magic on another creature, Zavarin began to channel the primal essence of the world through his body. It immediately began to swell up underneath his feet and caused the stone to glow with an orange light, and if it wasn't for the active control on his form, he would likely be potentially reverting back to his old size. For the moment he wanted to make sure that he was small enough so that he wouldn't tower over them for this next part, and so that he could watch closely as the eggs began to shine unnaturally as well. "Oh... I can feel something," Arywin said as the others looked on in astonishment as well at their own glowing eggs. "It's like a heartbeat. Are they... going to hatch or something?" "There will be a hatching," Zavarin managed to say as he moved on to the directing of his essence through the proper channels of his form. "Eggs symbolize birth, or in this case, rebirth. Just take a deep breath and focus on the pulsing." Though all the mercenaries were a little anxious at being so close to dragon magic, Zavarin could sense that they were excited as well. None of them knew what was going to happen as eddies of energy began to swirl around them, and it wasn't until Francesco let out a slight gasp. "My hands!" Francesco exclaimed, the others looking over in time to see his fingernails turning black and growing more pointed while fine scales of blue began to form around the beds. "What is happening?" "By the gods," Arywin stated as his entire body shuddered, all of them starting to become aware of pleasant tingles in patches around their bodies. "Zavarin, are you turning us into dragons?" "Not quite," Zavarin replied, maintaining his concentration while explaining to the shocked mercenaries what was happening to them. "Even ancient dragons don't have that ability, but we can create those that would serve us. So for tonight, you will have the pleasure of experiencing the bodies of-" "Kobolds!" Jax interjected, his face twitching from the strange sensations as the nub of horns had pushed out the fur on his head. "I always wondered if they were created or born, especially with yip!" The last sound that came out of the shifter surprised everyone, including Jax as he grinned sheepishly. "Is it weird that making that noise felt good? Yip! Yip!" Though the two humans shook their heads slightly at the enthusiastic shifter as he continued to make such noises, the changing elf did the same. Though it was hard to tell with Jax just how extensive the changes were to his head, Arywin's face had started to swell and black scales were forming around his eyes that had pupils which were elongating. The irises were also starting to shift in coloration, turning the same as his scales as he allowed the magic to flow through. It was a bit of a surprise to the dragon that the leader of the adventuring group would take so well to the new role that was being imprinted upon him, though Jax wasn't too far behind as the shifter's tail was growing longer while ruby scales formed at the base. As the shifter and elf continued to look at one another in awe, the two humans that were part of the adventurers were still looking rather nervous. He could understand their trepidation; humans were always a bit weary when it came to magic, but the fact that they continued to hold the egg showed that they were at least open to the concept. It was likely due to the fact that his leader was clearly enjoying himself, Arywin's body shuddering as his already elongated ears were starting to stretch even more. As they all started to see the patches of scales forming on their exposed arms, it was the shifter that realized that his clothes were tightening as he let out a yip. "Wait, I thought kobolds were supposed to be small creatures," Arywin said as he watched Jax take off his shirt, revealing the ruby scales on his chest that were spreading over his increasingly defined abs. "Kobolds are defined by their masters," Zavarin explained, and as his smirk increased he twisted his fingers towards the changing elf and watched the bulge in his leather pants grow significantly. "I suppose I should have told you in the beginning that I prefer the company of strong, masculine creatures. If that will be a problem, then feel free to set your egg down and I can prepare a cave where you can rest and relax." The four adventurers looked at one another, but Zavarin had seen that even before he made mention of anything that Jax had been staring at his groin while his own bulge was starting to tent. When Arywin had gotten the surge of growth to his cock he had also started to harden in pleasure, which only left the two humans that continued to look anxiously at one another. What delighted the dragon was that it was still the transformation that was clearly the focus of their remaining trepidation, instead of the reveal that the dragon changing them preferred males. As the seconds ticked on the two humans still didn't drop the egg, though Francesco made mention that it would be hard to take off their clothing and lamented their potential destruction. Zavarin chuckled at that and with a wave of his hand the four were briefly engulfed in fire, causing them all to yelp even though it was like a warm breeze on their skin. When the flames quickly died back down the four had opened the eyes they had squeezed shut, and when they finally looked at one another they all gasped in shock. Their clothing had completely disappeared, and as they looked at one another's bare forms they could see the changes that had happened to them. All of them were growing scales that were identical to the gemstone of the egg that they were holding, which the metal was already getting etched with draconic symbols. It was the magical ritual that was being engraved into the shiny surface, and the more the lines spread out over the eggs, the more the four of them were starting to change. The shifter let out a gasp and hunched forward slightly when his tail filled with muscle, the other three having bulges forming in the same spot while the hair began to fall off their heads and bodies. "This feels... amazing," Arywin said as he took one hand off the egg and flexed his bicep, which was completely adorned in the obsidian scales that were growing all over his body. "I have to admit, this is getting better," Donald admitted as he flexed his scaly, clawed hands, which caused the new muscle in his forearms to bulge. As he looked up to ask Zavarin a question, he found his head looking up slightly, which was accompanied by the popping of his vertebrae as more of his new tail pushed out of his rear. "Wait... are you getting bigger?" "I think we are actually losing some height after all," Jax replied, though as he tried to shift his position to see if he was also shrinking, his own scaly digits fumbled the egg it was holding. Everyone watched in shock as it left his hand, but as the golden object tumbled out of his hands and hit the stone it merely landed with a dull thud while his shocked face continued to push out even more. "It's... not affecting me?" "The ritual has finished already," Zavarin explained, moving over and running his hands over the heads of the ruby and obsidian creatures still transforming in front of him. "The magic suffusing through your system will finish turning you into kobolds naturally, though if you wished to speed up the process..." The dragon motioned down to his maleness, which the four changing men immediately went down to look at. They had been so wrapped up in their own transformations that they weren't even paying attention to Zavarin, or the fact that he was completely erect. As the kobolds continued to stare he waggled it back and forth a little like a tail, and knew that the ritual's secondary effects were starting to kick in. Though they were all rather proud and independent people, the essence of their new forms was also having a mental effect on them as well. Though Zavarin expected Jax to be the first, it was Arywin that had walked up to the dragon first and began to rub his hands against his heavily muscled chest. The feeling of scales rubbing against scales had caused both creatures to let out a soft moan, and as the jaw of the two humans dropped at watching their leader licking his pec, they stretched out into a proper muzzle. With Jax his feline snout also finished bulged and swelling, revealing the pointed teeth while his horns slid out even longer. For Arywin there weren't many traces of the elf left, the last of his skin transformed into scales while nuzzling down towards his groin. "This was... not expected," Donald said as he put his clawed fingers on the smooth scales of his skull. "I didn't realize the boss was that needy for dragon dick," Jax chimed in, sauntering forward as he let his new tail sway back and forth while his own maleness was getting hard. "Though it does look rather tasty... I can feel my mouth practically salivating. Maybe get my tongue on that tailhole, and I've never even thought about a guy that way." "It's part of the kobold spell," Zavarin explained. "Those that are ensnared will naturally be enthralled by their new dragon masters. Naturally I wouldn't impose such a thing on you, but if you do succumb to those new instincts of yours I promise that you will have quite the night... and give me a very happy birthday." Though the humans were still on the fence on whether they wanted to indulge, the former elf and shifter were already getting into it. Though Jax had been joking about it, considering how quickly the obsidian-scaled kobold had sunk to his knees and began to lick his ridged shaft, causing the dragon to growl deeply as Jax moved around to the other side. The emerald and sapphire scaled kobolds were merely watching still as the two succumbed to their base instincts instilled into them, with Arywin gripping the base of his shaft to lick the tip and start to push it into his maw. As Zavarin watched the eager creature stretching out his jaw to take in more of his throbbing shaft, he could feel the blunt snout of the other male begin to push up underneath his tailhole. Someone was very eager, Zavarin thought to himself as he began to feel Jax's tongue slide up between his crack, causing him to arch his back. It had been so long since he had someone service him like that, and though two mouths on his body was very satisfying, he could do with two more as he looked over at the former humans. They were still watching, but he could see that they were getting more interested by the second as their cocks began to harden. He just gave them a smirk as he put a hand on the heads of each of the ones that were using their tongue to pleasure him even more. Though he had attempted to keep his size down to a minimum, he could feel the feedback from the ritual and the pleasure starting to cause him to grow again. At the moment Zavarin just wanted to get his cock sucked, but he knew that he was already quite big for the kobold whose lips were wrapped around his shaft. With a loud grunt he felt his muscles shift and his body swell, which he had directed mostly to his upper body at the moment. With that shift though he could feel his physique shifting, his chest barreling out a bit while his shoulders rolled back underneath the scales of his upper back. Even with the added growth, Arywin continued to try and push as much of the dragon's cock into his maw as possible. At the same time the new size was a boon to the one that was tonguing his tailhole, to the point where Jax's muzzle was practically able to push inside of it. Zavarin shifted around and told the loyal kobold that he could use much more than just his tongue to penetrate him. The ruby scaled creature's eyes lit up, pulling out of the puffy donut as the former shifter had already had an idea on what to do. Normally kobolds would need a special honor to fuck their master, but considering it was Zavarin's birthday and they had been so willing to go along with his ritual, he wanted to give back. For Jax to get access it meant that he would have to get on all fours, and as he did he grunted and felt another surge of growth. His body adapted quickly by popping his joints, his arms becoming forelimbs while his hips popped into flanks. He had also grown another foot in length, but at this point he was still the size of a horse. Arywin continued to try and push the dragon cock into his throat, but as Zavarin looked down between his legs he could hear the obsidian scaled creature gurgling slightly. He was still trying though, and as his hands went up to stroke the length that was still exposed, he found that Jax had shifted his position while holding onto his own maleness. Zavarin lifted his tail to allow the ambitious kobold to push into his tailhole, his tight walls still able to squeeze around the head of it as it was slipped inside. The feeling of his insides getting pushed open and the hot throat around his own sensitive flesh caused a loud, deep growl to escape from his throat as he turned to the other two that remained. "Still on the fence, eh?" Zavarin asked, his rumbling voice deepening the more he crew. The two kobolds just looked about nervously as their master's gaze was drawn onto them, though they were still completely erect. "Why don't you two get over here, I can give you a gift similar to your more ambitious friend." That perked up the interest of the two, and it finally broke the stalemate that was in their minds. Their cute tails wagged on their bodies as Zavarin gazed over their muscular forms, causing him to lick his lips while they sauntered over. The closer they got the more he could see their eyes glazing over slightly, feeling those instincts of submissiveness overwhelming them. He clicked his claws and had them lay down on their backs, and as soon as they did he lowered his head down and began to lick down their chests. The sapphire and emerald scaled kobolds finally let out their own yips as his tongue slid downwards, Zavarin slathering over each cock that caused their bodies to squirm. As he continued to stimulate the two of them, his eyes glanced back and saw that Arywin had finally given up the ghost and relegated to using his hands and tongue on the dragon's bigger shaft. At the same time Jax was starting to thrust into his tailhole, and soon the sounds were filled with dragon growls and kobold yips of pure pleasure... When morning finally dawned on the mountain, Zavarin was back to his normal dragon form. His eyes slowly opened and he felt the four creatures starting to shift around on his scaly body. He wasn't sure when he had fallen asleep; he did shift all the way back to his massive body, and the four had taken to worshiping his body by nuzzling and licking on it. They must have lulled him into quite the sleep, and as he stretched his limbs the movement caused the four to wake up as well. "Wait, we're still kobolds?" Jax asked as the obsidian kobold slid off of his stomach. "I thought that we would turn back by morning." "There's no real time limit to the ritual," Zavarin explained, shuddering slightly as the last two kobolds on him slid between his legs before he turned over to his side. "You can turn back at any time by using the eggs, that's where your current forms are currently stored. Just hold onto them and think about what you used to look like, and the ancient magic imbued within will do the rest." The four kobolds nodded and went over to where they had dropped the eggs previously, which looked quite a bit different from when they had been first presented. The golden surface was completely etched with draconic runes, and as they walked over towards their respective eggs the lines began to glow. Zavarin could already feel the magic activating as they all looked over the artifacts, the kobolds playing around with them. Though they had initially been eager to grab them, he could sense some hesitation as they held onto them. "Uh, what about our clothes?" Francesco asked. "I will take care of such things for you," Zavarin replied with a slight chuckle. "Consider it my parting gift for spending time with a dragon on his birthday." There was another pause that came from the four, and as they continued to stand there idle, Arywin finally spoke up. "You said... that there's no time limit when it comes to how long we can spend as a kobold?" Arywin asked, the others looking over at the dragon as he nodded his head, which prompted the kobolds to look at one another. "I mean, we don't have any current jobs to get back to, and if Master Zavarin is fine with extending his hospitality a little." Zavarin couldn't help but smile as none of the kobolds had realized Arywin's slip of the tongue in calling him master, the instincts that they had been marinating in taking hold. The fact that they were more than happy to stay with him was something that he could certainly get behind, and after they all agreed to stay for a few extra days, they decided to put them in the box they had come in for safe keeping. The kobolds all put their eggs into the box and Zavarin set it aside in one of his gold piles, and once they were done the four asked what they could do for him to continue to help him. As Zavarin followed the kobolds to start showing him around, he took his tail and rubbed it against the pile. The coins cascaded down and completely covered the box, hiding it from sight as he continued to dote on his birthday gift...