FSE

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formerly SoFurry search engine

Clenching and unclenching his paws with nervous energy, Meegi tried not to let the shivers running through his body show, as the early spring air washed over his outstretched wings. At their altitude, the countless paddocks and farms reminded him of a patchwork quilt made exclusively of greens and yellows, with the shadows cast by the occasional cloud creating dark splotches of shade. The warmth of the sun felt glorious on his polished tan-brown scales, and his freshly washed and conditioned mane fluttered wildly as he glided in an idle orbit above a fluffy cloud.

Despite the picturesque landscape, warm sun, and cool wind, Meegi's chest was as tight as a drum. He knew what he had to do, his routine practised and rehearsed by himself so many times that he had begun to imagine the events of the day in his dreams. With a small adjustment of his wings and by pressing his tail into the airstream, he continued his turn and kept his shadow over the cloud below him. Closing his eyes, he forced himself to breathe slowly and deeply to calm his nerves. Inhaling the air through his nostrils and exhaling through his mouth, Meegi took in the scents of the rural landscape. Being so high up, he couldn't smell the pungent scent of cows and fertilisers or the sweet fragrance of grasses and wheat. Instead, the air was simply pure and refreshing compared to that of the city and suburbs.

A low, building rumble from below made Meegi swallow and slowly open his eyes. The sound playing through the large rented speakers aimed skywards was distorted at their distance, but Meegi recognised it as his cue. The sound morphed into a steady beat, its bass travelling with more clarity than any of the other notes and filling Meegi's mind with anticipation. Beating his wings twice in quick succession, he shook the restless energy out of his limbs and took another long, deep breath to steady himself.

“You all good, chief?” Mike's human voice called out, raised to be heard over the wind but still warm and laced with concern. Glancing down his left wing, Meegi flashed the man an attempt at a reassuring smile and gave him a nod. His former boss's lavender shirt rippled rapidly in the passing air. However, despite their altitude, the man looked remarkably at ease while riding on the shoulders of his friend, Geevin. The dark-brown drake had always been a regular at the café and an old friend of Mike's. When Meegi had visited Mike to ask if he would be interested in being a part of his groom’s party, the drake had practically invited himself. Not that Meegi minded. After all, his side of the guest list had been looking anaemic compared to Reeva's.

“Meegi, You know I would never pressure you…” Meegi's mother called out from his other wingtip. Looking towards her, he was met with the look only a worried mother could give. “But that’s your cue. If you’re having cold feet about this or something. You know it will break her heart, and she has a literal army with her today—”

“Marines,” Mike chimed in before shrinking back when they both glanced towards him. “Sorry, there is a difference, and they care about that sort of thing,” he added before nodding towards Meegi. “Your mom's right, though. Pulling out now would be pretty heartbreaking for Reeva. So—”

“I'm doing this. Don't worry,” Meegi clarified quickly and tried to take another breath of fresh air to steady his racing heart. “I just don't want to fuck this up,” he added, but truth be told, he wasn't completely sure why he was so nervous. Lashing his tail behind himself, Meegi bobbed his head in a steady nod to the beat.

“Fuck it up?” his mother asked and gave an additional beat of her wings to surge up beside him, brushing her wingtip against his. “I'm sorry, I thought you flew for the Cresties. Or was I watching the wrong handsome drake?” she asked, making a smirk creep onto Meegi's snout. “I swear, there was a drake who looked just like you diving into a stadium full of screaming fans, half of whom wanted to tear you out of the sky,” she continued, and the tightness in Meegi's chest began to lessen. His mother was right. Compared to the countless fans, cameras, lights, pyrotechnics, and lasers, today should be a walk in the park. “Even if you missed your marks, I really doubt Reeva would hold it against you. Today is about both of you, remember?”

Nodding in agreement, Meegi inhaled deeply and held the breath in his lungs.

“Well, then? What are you waiting for?” his mother asked softly, and when he glanced towards her, he still saw the look of concern in her eyes.

Exhaling through his teeth, Meegi shook his head and looked ahead. “Absolutely nothing,” he murmured softly and honestly before arching his wings upwards and heaving them downwards. Two flaps were all it took for him to surge towards the edge of the cloud. Then, with a fold of one wing and a circular whipping motion of his tail, he rolled inverted and pulled up. Keeping his back close to the wispy edges of the cloud, Meegi beat his wings once more while upside down to gain speed before cropping them close to his sides. Letting gravity take over, he used nothing more than his tail and the tips of his wings to angle his body. The weightless feeling and the sound of wind rushing past his ears dominated his consciousness, drowning out the building beat of the music that was blasted skywards and the anxiety in his mind.

Plummeting at breakneck speed, the nictitating membranes slid over his eyes to protect them from the pressure of the oncoming air. Even though the light was slightly filtered by looking through the ghostly grey lids, it was still impossible to miss the small farm below. Compared to the others, its paddock was a kaleidoscope of colours rather than a single solid grey-green, thanks in part to the dozens of brightly coloured cushions that were arranged in a V shape on the hill. At the point where the two banks of seats joined, a large gazebo-like structure had been erected. Between the two of them, they felt white wasn't their colour and had chosen to go with something more their style and more striking.

Racing towards the earth, Meegi glanced backwards on either side of him and pushed his wings further into the air to allow the others to keep up. His mother had streamlined herself with her neck and tail perfectly straight while her legs and wings were tucked close to her body. Geevin, on the other hand, was held back by the added drag of Mike, even though the man was lent over his neck as best he could. Try as he might to stay out of the wind, it still caused the pale skin on his face to ripple like his lavender-coloured shirt. Credit where it was due, the man didn't look fearful as they hurtled downwards, giving weight to his claim that he was indeed comfortable with such an exhilarating display.

Focusing forwards, all three brown dragons reached terminal velocity and angled themselves towards a large oak tree at the heart of the property. Its large, thick branches craned out across the top of the long driveway, each one covered in lush foliage to create a splotch of green beside the restored farmhouse. Towards the south, a large barn glinted in the sun, as its rays reflected off the countless solar panels that lined its roof.

Meegi had visited the farm on a few occasions, the first being before they were engaged. Reeva's parents had returned from their vacation, and the entire family had stayed for the weekend to catch up. Auntie T, as Reeva called her, wasn't an auntie by blood, but the grey dragoness and her human mate, Luke, were very much considered to be family. Each time he had visited, he had always enjoyed how peaceful the rural farm was compared to the bustling city, and the company always made for a memorable visit. When he had talked with Reeva about where they wanted to have their wedding, the farm was an obvious choice.

The northerly wind wasn't strong, but over the course of their descent, they had begun to drift off course. Pressing his tail into the wind, Meegi corrected his fall and aimed directly at the point where the two banks of cushions intersected. Each half was reserved for guests from either Meegi's or Reeva's family, and the symbolism they had hoped for was to show two families coming together. With the wind rushing past him and the ground drawing closer and closer, Meegi could see how lopsided the guest list had become, but he tried not to dwell on it and focused on his descent. The closer he got to the farm, the louder the music became, until the bass resonated in his chest and the melody fought with the sound of the rushing wind.

Two sudden, leathery flaps sounded from behind him as his mother and Geevin opened their wings and began to pull up and away from him while he continued to dive towards the floral gazebo. Without a canopy, Meegi could see the sky-blue dragoness waiting for him with a broad smile on her snout and her frill lifted to its full height. Standing beside her, her former boss and recently licensed celebrant tracked Meegi's movements. Falling so low that he was able to make out the individual faces of the guests looking up at him, Meegi rotated his wings in opposite directions and extended them just enough to catch the air. In an instant, the world spun rapidly around him, but by focusing exclusively on his mate, he kept himself from becoming dizzy. Exhaling sharply through his nose, Meegi snapped both wings out to their full extension and rotated them as far upwards as he could.

Instantly, what had once been the weightless feeling of falling became an all-encompassing, soul-crushing weight as the large membranes caught the air and tried to pull him horizontal. The corded muscles in his neck bulged and tensed beneath his scales as they kept his head aloft mid-manoeuvre. Every part of his body felt as though it was being ripped towards the earth as he pitched up towards the horizon. The speed he had achieved was phenomenal, and the air howled like a banshee through his horns while his mane was pressed down against the sides of his neck by the gravitational forces. Grunting out a long, tense growl, Meegi ignored the cheers from the gathered friends and family as he ripped through the air above them. Racing only a few feet above their heads, he shot towards the large farmhouse at the top of the hill before rolling left and then sharply twisting right. Rotating until his wings were vertical, he used his speed and the turn to slice a wide arc around the crowd while pulling his head tighter into the turn to look towards his mate. From the corner of his eye, he saw his mother and Geevin circling in the opposite direction. Due to their speed, neither was able to maintain as tight a turn as Meegi, although his mother came closer than he had expected. Circling around the crowd and out over the pond that was to be the backdrop of their ceremony, Meegi forced a quick breath of air into his lungs. With his wings pulled tight and the powerful flight muscles wrapped around the keel of his chest, the simple act of breathing was challenging.

Maintaining the impossibly tight turn, Meegi took stock of the guests. Each row of cushions was wider than the one before it, starting with just enough room for two and expanding as it went. The front row on both sides was reserved for their parents, and while the cushion on his side was obviously empty, Reeva's side had both Reevian and Neebis sitting on their haunches with their necks curled to track his movements. Her father's white scales almost glowed in the midday sun, and the tidy red bow tie he wore at the base of his neck perfectly matched his and Reeva's frills. With his wing draped over his mate's teal body, the pair looked up with proud, glossy eyes as Meegi circled the group.

Behind Reeva's parents, her father's twin sister, Viina, sat wearing a pouchless white harness with panels sewn between the straps to cover her missing wings. Neither he nor Reeva had protested when the dragoness asked if she could wear white. After all, it was her colour, and they both understood the dragoness's desire to keep her clipped wings covered. Beside the dragoness, the large, black-furred mass of Keekzee created a striking contrast. Next to them, two large cushions were laid out. On one sat a blue and silver drake Meegi recognised as Teeslah, Reeva's uncle, with his mate Jim sitting between his forepaws. The cushion beside them, however, was deliberately left vacant. In the third row, Auntie Teeba sat alone with a large tablet placed in front of her. Meegi knew that she wasn't being rude and that the device was connected to the various speakers and microphones needed for the ceremony.

Lapping back around himself as his speed fell away, Meegi tightened his turn further and scanned his side of the crowd. The front row was naturally left empty, but it would be where his mother sat once they had landed. He had offered to seat someone beside her, and Mike had even volunteered. However, she had insisted that, as she was the only parent who had raised him, it was only fitting that she be the only one in his front row. In the second row, Mike, his lavender-furred mate, Liiria, and their fur-drake son, Siidah, took up one cushion. The small black and white fledgling was staring up at his father with absolute joy, and his purple mane flapped wildly as he bounced excitedly when Mike waved towards them both. With no uncles of his own, the rest of the row was reserved for Geevin and the large, muscular dragoness Miikalah with her mate, Kaarif. The couple could easily have been seated on Reeva's side, as they were mutual friends, but the pair had volunteered to help fill out Meegi's side of the crowd.

In the third row, Feerah's dark form looked even more venomous in the midday sun. Her speckled red scales shimmered endlessly while her icy-blue gaze remained locked on Neebis, with a wicked grin on her snout. Beside her, her brother Zuurah sat with his wing curled around his mate, Nuut, the smaller graphite-coloured drake leaning into Zuurah while looking up at the three orbiting brown dragons. While it might normally have been considered strange to invite a former landlord to their wedding, Meegi greatly appreciated Feerah's words of wisdom, and it didn't feel right to invite only one of his neighbours. In turn, the two drakes had insisted on helping with the catering, and now the tables erected beside Teeba’s barn were stacked high with a combination of smoked briskets, slow-cooked ribs, bacon-wrapped wheels of brie, and mountains of pulled pork. All of it was complemented by Reevian’s own handiwork of noodles, stir-fries, and rice dishes. With the food covered and kept hot in rented bain-maries, the scent of the delicious food wafted across the farm, and Meegi guessed that many of the guests would be starting to get hungry.

A lone green dragon at the back of the group caught Meegi's attention. For the briefest moment, he thought that somehow his sire had made an appearance. However, he instantly recognised the drake as the doctor who had helped heal his wing and reset his broken leg. He didn't remember specifically inviting Keenis, but when he saw that the drake was wearing a crisp white harness with navy-blue panels and standing rigidly alongside the Marines acting as ushers for their special day, Meegi realised why Keenis was there. Helping guests find their seats was hardly an activity fitting for combat-trained warriors, but when Reeva had asked her aunt Teeba and her husband Luke if they could have their wedding at her farm, the former Marine had insisted on having his unit help with the special day. Now, as he scanned the line of well-dressed Marines, Meegi spotted Luke amongst them. It was heartwarming to see the man so engaged in his mate's role as an auntie, even if it wasn't by blood, and he could see why Reeva called him Uncle Luke.

Levelling his wings and curling the tips of his wing fingers forwards, Meegi cupped the air and balanced drag, speed, and lift to quickly slow himself down. Sweeping his tail, he shifted course and glided towards the side of the floral gazebo. Without having to look back, he knew his mother and Geevin were falling in behind him from the single flap of his mother's wings and the rapid beats from the brown drake. Slowing to almost a stall, the powerful muscles that ran from his wings to his chest strained as he held himself aloft while lowering both hind legs. Keeping his tail straight so it wouldn't drag on the ground, he carefully pulled his wings downwards in a slow flap as he descended. Balancing the beat of his wings with his fall, he appeared to float through the air with an effortlessness that bordered on the ethereal.

Looking ahead with a genuine smile on his snout, Meegi couldn’t take his eyes off his mate The sky-blue dragoness wore no harness and looked angelic by the way she was framed with the floral gazebo and its long silk panels shifting in the gentle spring breeze. One tradition they had observed from human weddings was promising not to see each other leading up to today. For the entire week leading up to today, Meegi had stayed at their house while Reeva had come to the farm early to ensure everything went smoothly. Of course, they had talked on the phone, but seeing her now, Meegi felt his emotions threaten to overwhelm him. Instantly, his throat became as tight as his chest, and he committed the image of her to memory. Reeva always made sure her scales were clean, but now they had been polished so smoothly that they cast a pale-blue hue across the cedar floor of the gazebo as the light reflected from them. Keeping her wings resting at her sides and her long tail dropping down in an elegant, straight line, Reeva stood on all fours as Meegi touched down.

Landing on his hind legs first and then his forelegs, he touched down just outside the edge of the gazebo, with his mother, Geevin, and Mike right behind him. Folding his wings as he strode forwards, Meegi tossed his mane to one side as he stepped onto the cedar-floored gazebo and took his place opposite Reeva. With countless flowers hanging from the iron frame of the gazebo, the air was so heavy with their floral scent that Meegi's nose momentarily wrinkled as he fought back a sneeze. Not wanting to draw attention to himself, he pressed his tongue firmly against the roof of his mouth to distract himself and nodded in brief acknowledgement to Tiizome. Refocusing on his mate, Meegi looked across at her with nothing but love and adoration in his eyes. “You look stunning,” Meegi mouthed silently, making Reeva's frill flatten in bashful thanks.

Clearing his throat, Tiizome used his semi-folded wings against the ground to take a small step forwards. Despite wanting to wear a priest’s collar around the base of his neck in jest, the green drake had taken Reeva's insistence to heart and wore a simple yet tidy black harness around his front. “Welcome,” Tiizome said warmly, his voice captured by a small microphone hidden in the floral gazebo frame and projected through the large black speakers dotted around the crowd's perimeter. Both Meegi and Reeva felt that the process of parents offering their child up for marriage felt too too possessive and archaic. However, Meegi's mother had wanted to do something to mark the transition between the chapters of her son's life. While the thumping, joyful music slowly faded, Geevin, Mike, and Meegi's mother each delivered a curt bow towards Reeva before turning and taking their seats.

“Well... now that this fine stud has arrived at the farm... I think we all know what's going to happen later,” Tiizome started, sending a ripple of stifled laughter throughout the crowd. When it died down, a small voice from an equally small and ignorant fledgling asked a squeaky, “What?”, sending another wave of giggles across the guests. Meegi tried desperately not to laugh, not just at the joke or Siidah's interjection, but at the look of absolute venom Reeva was giving her former boss. With her frill flicked up to its full height and her nostrils flared, she stared at him with the intensity of someone trying to set him aflame with her mind. During the planning of the wedding, Reeva had asked Tiizy to run any jokes past her, but the drake had warned her that he might improvise on the day.

Grinning cheekily at Reeva, her former boss wiggled with glee before pretending to compose himself and addressing the crowd. “Don't worry, folks, we won't be here long, and then we can get to the food, which smells phenomenal, by the way. Reevian, I swear, if something ever happens to your husband... please. Please let me help you grieve—”

“Tiizy!” Reeva hissed between her teeth, making the drake jolt and the crowd giggle once more. Her reaction only seemed to fuel the drake’s playfulness, and the two-legged drake's tail lashed behind him with glee. “Behave,” she added with a smirk of her own. Both of them knew that the drake would make the day entertaining, and Meegi could tell by the way the corners of Reeva's lips curled that she wasn’t regretting having the drake as their officiant.

“Sorry, yes...” Tiizome said as he quickly composed himself and then looked back out over the assembled guests. “I guess it is her day, after all,” he continued and jerked his head towards the sky-blue dragoness. “When these two lovebirds first asked if I would be interested in being their officiant, I was honoured and then very confused. After all, I remember all the times Reeva made a goof of herself. The negotiations she would have with the printer every time it misbehaved and she was stressed, which was pretty much every night. Then there were the solo karaoke sessions in the empty office, with dance routines!” He paused as the crowd chuckled and Reeva looked skywards with her frill flat in embarrassment. His joke seemed to have hit a note with Reevian, who cackled longer than the others as if she too was privy to Reeva’s impromptu routines. “Oh, and that time the vending machine technician forgot to lock the door and, the next day, half the snacks were missing... Oh yeah, security cameras catch all sorts of things.” Tiizome grinned cheekily and laughed along with the crowd. “But I promised I wouldn't talk about those things... Just see me if you want a copy of the footage. But warning, her singing... the girl has a set of pipes on her! Just not necessarily tuned pipes. She makes up for that with enthusiasm, though!” The green drake turned to Reeva and shook his head when she pretended to snarl at him. “Oh, honey, I'm just getting started. You knew what you signed up for,” he said, his voice developing a southern drawl while he pulled his head from side to side. “This is Tiizy’s time.”

“I remember when little Miss Reeva first told me about this drake,” he continued and jerked his head towards Meegi. “Proper fangirl moment. Girl was all doe-eyed... ‘Meegi is so strong... Meegi is so fast... Meegi is a professional claimer...’” he continued, shifting his voice into a horrible attempt at a more feminine tone before glancing towards Reeva and suddenly shrinking back from her in mock fear, much to the crowd's enjoyment. “But between you and me, though, I thought she was aiming low. Sorry, Meegi, but Reeva here is legit the best ‘ness I've ever had the pleasure of meeting and a gem to work with. So it was hard to comprehend that anyone would be good enough to catch her eye,” Tiizome added warmly. Meegi took no offence at the drake's words and nodded along in agreement while staring at the dragoness he was about to spend the rest of his life with.

“But then I met you, and I understood right away. Honestly, I kinda thought you would be a bit cockier. Most professional athletes are. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised. You take care of her, and I still remember her bouncing around the office after your first date. It was adorable to see. I half expected her to break out into song,” Tiizome joked and nodded towards Reeva. “The day after each of your dates always gave her a bounce in her step, to the point that I was half expecting her to come in one day and tell us she was gravid! Which, by the way, when—”

“Tiizy!” Reeva hissed as the crowd laughed once more. Cocking her head to one side as she glared at Tiizome, Meegi fought back laughter as she mouthed the word, “Enough.” Lifting a forepaw, Meegi circled a digit in the air to signal for the drake to wrap it up and was glad when the drake nodded in acknowledgement.

“Fine, I guess we will know in a few months' time...” Tiizome chuckled with an obvious wink towards their gathered friends and family. “But that's enough talk of the past, and the future will have to wait. We are all here for the present! Today is a day that all of us will remember forever. Two beautiful souls are about to pledge themselves to one another for as long as they both may live,” Tiizome announced happily before curling his neck to look towards Reeva. “Reeva, have you prepared your vows? Of course you have. Always prepared!”

Taking a small, shuffling step backwards, Tiizome gave the pair some space and looked towards the sky-blue dragoness. Curling her neck back into a regal ‘S’ shape, Reeva stepped closer to Meegi and looked at him with glossy amber eyes. He caught the small shudder in her throat as she swallowed past her swelling emotions, and her frill lowered until it was swept back along her neck. “Meegi... I don’t want to know how long I have spent trying to think of what to say today. I wanted to say something beautiful and profound. Really corny stuff about fate bringing us together. But the truth is, fate had to try more than once with us. It put us together for a school assignment and gave us the perfect opportunity to come together, but then we kinda made a mess of it. Well... mostly you,” Reeva said and paused as the crowd chuckled. “But... maybe a little bit of me too. Back then, I thought I knew exactly who you were. You were handsome, charming, brilliant in the air, and somehow capable of making me forget every intelligent thing I had ever planned to say. I thought you were everything I wanted.”

“I didn’t understand then that the most important parts of you were the ones almost nobody else got to see. The drake who worked harder than anyone knew. The drake who carried so much without complaining. The drake who could make me laugh when I was trying very hard to be sensible. The drake who trusted me with the things he was afraid would make me see him differently.

“They did make me see you differently. They made me love you.

“When you came back into my life, I told myself I would be careful. I told myself that we were only catching up, that I had grown out of my silly school crush, and that I absolutely was not going to fall for you all over again. And well... that lasted about five minutes,” she added, making Meegi’s heart melt.

“But this time, I didn’t fall for the Dragonball player, the famous flier, or the drake I used to watch from across the classroom. Instead, I fell in love with the Meegi who makes himself at home on my couch. The Meegi who helps with the chores, worries about my fish, listens when something matters to me, and somehow turns an ordinary evening into the best part of my week. You have never asked me to be quieter, simpler, prettier, or easier to love. You have never treated my dreams as though they were too big or my fears as though they were too small. You make me feel clever, beautiful, safe, and completely myself.

“So, I promise to give you that same safety. I promise that you will never need to pretend with me. I will love you when you are soaring, and I will love you when you need somewhere soft to land. I will remind you of who you are whenever the rest of the world tries to decide it for you. I promise to stand beside you in everything we build together: our home, our family, our future, and whatever wonderfully chaotic mess comes with it.

“You were my first great almost, Meegi. The life I nearly had, the question I was too frightened to ask, and the drake I spent years trying to forget.

“Now you are my certainty.

“My best friend. My home. My mate.

“I choose you today, and I will keep choosing you through every ordinary morning, every difficult night, and every adventure still waiting beyond the horizon.

“I love you, Meegi. And this time, I’m not letting you fly away,” she added and shrank back slightly as the crowd let out a soft, whining sound. From the corner of his eye, Meegi could see her mother wiping a tear from her snout while her father held her close and clenched his jaw tightly.

Hearing her declaration caused Meegi's legs to weaken and his wings to droop at his sides. He wanted to step forwards and hold her, but he knew that he needed to do his part first. Instead of stepping backwards, Reeva stayed in place and waited for him.

“Meegi, what do you vow?”

“Yes— I mean—” Meegi stammered before blinking rapidly to clear his vision and taking a quick, bouncing step forwards as the crowd giggled. Swallowing his building emotions, he came close enough that their snouts were only a foot apart, dipped his muzzle, and looked at her lovingly.

“Reeva... my Reeva... You were always better with words than me. Even back when we were at school, I knew that you were brilliant. Not just academically, but in everything you did. You were clever, funny, determined, and somehow able to see the best in others, even when they struggled to see it in themselves. You saw something worthwhile in me long before the crowds, the stadiums, and everything else that came afterwards. When I spoke to you about the things that embarrassed me, the things I thought might make you look at me differently, you never made me feel lesser. You listened, and you made me believe that perhaps I could become someone worthy of the faith you placed in me.”

Meegi paused and swallowed, his gaze remaining fixed upon hers. “Being with you is like riding an endless thermal, climbing higher than I have ever gone before. I don’t know exactly where it will take us or what we will find when we get there, but I’m not afraid. For so much of my life, I thought I needed to know where I was going. I thought I needed a plan, a goal, and something waiting at the end to prove that the journey had been worthwhile. But with you, I don’t need to see the destination. Wherever we go and whatever happens, I know that we will face it together, and that is more than enough for me.”

His hind legs didn’t feel right, and when he attempted to adjust his stance, they wobbled beneath him. Dropping his rump before he could collapse, he sat down on his haunches and flashed his mate a brief smile. Reeva’s eyes widened with concern before she quickly sat down in front of him, making it appear as though the change in position had been rehearsed. Reaching a forepaw forwards, Meegi’s lips quivered as she did the same and gently grasped his digits. Feeling her hold him renewed his confidence, and after forcing himself to swallow, he continued.

“I am so incredibly grateful that I met you, Reeva. I’m grateful for meeting you when I did, for every conversation we shared, and even for all the mistakes and years that passed before we found one another again. I wish I had understood what I felt for you when we were younger. I wish I had been brave enough to recognise what had been right in front of me, but I can’t change the choices I made. All I can do is be thankful that, after everything, you gave me another chance. You welcomed me back into your life without asking me to be the dragon I used to be or the dragon everyone else expected me to become. You let me be me, and somehow, that was enough for you.”

His paw tightened gently around hers. “You have shown me that a life doesn’t need cheering crowds or grand victories to be worthwhile. Sometimes happiness is sitting together after a long day, taking care of a fish, sharing a meal, or talking until neither of us remembers what the conversation was originally about. You have made those ordinary moments more valuable to me than anything I ever achieved in a stadium, and I promise that I will never take them, or you, for granted,” he continued before pausing as his throat felt as though it were being constricted. Inhaling deeply through his nose, he filled his lungs with air and paused for a moment before continuing.

“I promise that I will be by your side through every loss and every high. I will shield you from whatever pain I can, and cherish every good moment we are fortunate enough to share. When you are tired, I will give you somewhere safe to rest. When you doubt yourself, I will remind you of the brilliant dragoness I have always seen. When the world becomes too loud, I will listen to you, and when you decide you’re going to change that world, I’ll be beside you, reminding you to eat and sleep while you do it.”

A small smile pulled at his lips as he looked into her eyes and saw that she too was struggling to hold back tears. “ I promise to support every dream we build together, including raising a family of our own. Although, for the record, I still think six is a nice, even number,” he joked and saw a range of emotions flicker across her features before she gave a polite yet forced laugh.

With a small shake of his head, he reassured her that he wasn’t being serious and stroked a digit over the back of her paw. “Most of all, I promise that you will never again have to wonder how I feel about you. I loved you before I understood what love was, and I carried some part of that love with me even when our lives took us in different directions. Now that I have found my way back to you, I will choose you every day. I will choose you when life is easy, when it is difficult, when we are laughing together, and when you are very confidently explaining why I am wrong.”

Pausing to take another trembling breath, Meegi reset his wings and gave her a small nod of affirmation. “I don’t know where that endless thermal will carry us, Reeva, but I know that I want to follow it with you. It would be my honour to share this life with you, to build a home with you, and to grow old beside you. I promise to love you for everything you are, through every version of the future waiting for us.”

He gave her paw another gentle squeeze, his voice becoming quieter as his emotions threatened to overwhelm him. “If you will have me.”

Unable to find her voice, Reeva nodded rapidly before extending her neck to press the bridge of her snout into his throat in a warm embrace. The collective whine from the crowd was hardly noticed by the couple as Meegi curled his head down over hers and enjoyed the feeling of her against him. With her now so close, he realised that the floral scent wasn't coming exclusively from the flowers around them. The dragoness was wearing a fragrance he hadn't experienced before and must have sprayed a little too much in her nervousness while getting ready for the day.

“Well, if any of y’all got some secret goss up under your wings that could put a stop to this union. Or any lawful objections...” Tiizome said while leaning back to sit on his haunches and bringing his wings back to his sides. He paused only for a moment, and then the green drake nodded towards the back of the group with a smirk. “I ask you now to say your piece. But if you do, I would like to remind you that there is a squad of finely dressed Marines who would like to have a chat with you first,” he added, breaking the moment and making Reeva, Meegi, and the crowd of their family and friends laugh.

“No? No one wants to make a scene? Going once...” Tiizome started and smiled with an open-mouthed, toothy grin when Reeva pulled her head out from beneath Meegi's and looked at him. “Twice?” he offered before giggling to himself and shaking his head. “Then... by the power vested in me, under the laws she helped make possible, I can happily confirm that you are now one,” he announced and nodded towards the couple.

“Now tongue each other's throats while we all watch!”

Her former boss's words made Reeva gasp with genuine laughter while Meegi chuckled, but as soon as she composed herself, Meegi leaned in and tilted his head to one side. The roar of approval from the crowd dominated the air, but when his lips met Reeva's, Meegi's mind was nowhere else.

---

The following hour was a wash of activity that passed Meegi in a blur. While the crowd watched, Mike presented a large, leather-bound book, which opened to reveal their certificate and a thick golden pen. Both he and Reeva took turns signing it, with Tiizome adding his signature at the bottom before Mike signed as their witness. Afterwards, Meegi was swept up in the guests individually congratulating them both and posing for photos with various couples and family members. When Reevian first called for a family photo, Meegi initially held himself back so his mate could be captured alongside her parents, uncles, and aunties. However, he was quickly corrected and invited into the group alongside his mother. To Meegi's surprise, his mother practically broke down at the gesture but managed to compose herself enough to smile happily while flanked by her son and Reeva's uncle Teeslah.

At some point, one of Reeva's uncles had brought him a plate of food, but he honestly couldn't remember finishing it as people came over to offer their congratulations. Finally, as the crowd settled into groups and the food was served, Meegi managed to find himself alone and could breathe easily. Reeva had been pulled aside by her aunt Teeba, and Meegi looked on, smiling as his mate laughed at something the grey and purple dragoness said. He had initially expected the different halves of the guests to split up, but instead, it looked as though some of them already knew one another. Mike had become incredibly invested in a conversation with the group of Marines. He seemed eager to listen to whatever they were saying while keeping an arm around his mate's shoulders. Meegi noticed the man's fingers kneading through the dragoness's lush purple fur as he leaned into her, almost as though he could collapse at any moment. Keenis stood with them. The green drake looked slightly out of place and lingered at the edge of the group as they talked with Meegi's former boss. Standing with her back against the green drake's shoulder, the woman Meegi recognised as another one of the doctors who had helped him talked with Geevin as though they were good friends. Noticing that the small fledgling, Siidah, wasn't with his parents, Meegi scanned the group to see where he had gone. It seemed that the small fur drake had quickly become friends with Keekzee. The large, equally furry drake now lay on the ground to be closer to the young one's height and listened intently to whatever Siidah was saying.

“Looks like everyone is getting along well,” Meegi's mother mused as she walked towards him with a warm, proud look on her snout. “That drake Tiizome is a bit of a laugh, isn't he?” she added as she came to sit beside him on her haunches.

“Yeah, he is good fun,” Meegi replied and turned his attention towards his mother. “How are you going?” he asked, conscious that she hadn't met many of the guests until today. Additionally, many of the guests had pouches of alcohol around their necks to enjoy while moving around and mingling. She had rejected Meegi and Reeva's proposal of having a dry wedding for her sake, saying that she didn't want to ruin anyone else's fun.

“Good... very good. I've never been to a wedding before. They're kinda nice,” she mused and nodded towards where Reevian and Neebis were talking with Feerah and the rest of their neighbours. “Reeva's folks are very normal, aren't they?” Meegi nodded in agreement and followed her gaze. His eyes narrowed as he saw Reeva's father looking more awkward than usual. Knowing how Reeva held herself and looked when she was in an uncomfortable situation, he could tell that something about talking with Feerah was bothering Neebis. The pale drake was smiling stiffly and constantly flicking his gaze between the speckled red and black dragoness and his mate. The two dragonesses seemed to be getting along just fine, laughing at something the other said, but the drake looked as though he was expecting something bad to happen at any moment.

“They are pretty easy to get along with... although I think Feerah might be a bit much for Neebis,” Meegi replied and smirked while his mother chuckled. Watching the group, he saw the pale drake flinch as if he had been shocked when Feerah casually flicked a wing out and touched his side.

“Feerah is a bit much for most,” Meegi's mother mused before nudging her hip against Meegi's. “So, how does it feel? Being married and all that?” she asked, and instinctively, Meegi's eyes flicked towards Reeva. She was busy listening to her aunt and uncle but still glanced across in his direction. Seeing that he was looking, she flashed him a cheerful smile and wiggled with excitement before responding to something her uncle said.

“It's good,” Meegi replied on autopilot before blinking and glancing towards his mother. “I mean, honestly, it doesn't feel that different, right? I kinda felt like I was going to be with Reeva forever anyway. But it's nice that it's official.”

“So, no regrets?”

“None at all,” Meegi countered quickly and flashed her a smile. “Don't get me wrong, I'm glad the ceremony is done. Reeva had been stressing about it for the last few weeks. Now it's just food, friends, and flying. Are you coming up for the dance?”

“Am I? You will have to clip my wings to stop me,” his mother retorted, recoiling her neck as if he had almost offended her. “I’ll be up there showing everyone who taught you how to move. Just disappointed you wouldn't let me wear the sequin harness,” she added playfully, making Meegi roll his eyes. “Hey, it still fits! And I think it's a bit of a good-luck charm. It got the attention of your father, after all.”

Meegi smiled a lopsided, warm smile at what his mother was really saying and looked forwards before nudging his hip against hers. “Thanks, Mom,” he said happily and nodded in greeting as Miikalah and Kaarif passed by, the pair heading towards the buffet for more food. “It should be a good flight, although I think Reeva's auntie went a bit overboard with the streamers.”

“No such thing,” his mother countered with a smirk before nodding towards Reeva. “But hey, don't overdo it with her, okay? I'm guessing she probably shouldn't be doing too many aerobatics,” his mother said cryptically, causing Meegi to frown and cock his head at her. His ignorance seemed to amuse the dragoness, and she tilted her head as if to backpedal. “I mean... you don't HAVE to drink at your own wedding...”

Whipping his head back around to look at Reeva, he realised that she wasn't carrying a drink pouch around her neck, and as he continued to watch, he noticed that she even refused one offered by her auntie. In the time they had been together, it wasn't uncommon for Reeva to enjoy a drink, usually at celebrations or after a particularly stressful day. He had expected that today she would at least enjoy some wine. “She probably doesn't want to drink before we start flying,” Meegi offered, making his mother chuckle with amusement.

“Oh yeah... that would do it...” his mother replied, her voice dripping with sarcasm. When he looked at her, she recoiled defensively and placed a forepaw across her chest. “Okay... maybe I'm just overthinking things. Mothers do that all the time. But I'm not the only one who noticed. Reevian and I are placing bets,” she added and nodded towards the teal dragoness.

“Well, I hope you didn't put much on the line,” Meegi said after forcing a swallow. Counting back the months in his head, he tried to build a timeline and then shook his head with a hint of confidence. It had been a few months since the last time her season had started, and during that time, they had abstained from enjoying each other. The more he thought about it, though, he couldn't remember what month that was and guessed that it might be coming up soon, but most definitely hadn't happened already. “We haven't done it when she was due. We are pretty diligent about that.”

“Uh-huh,” his mother teased and then wrapped a wing around him to pull him close. “I’m sure she isn't drinking because she just isn't thirsty,” she added and gave him a motherly squeeze. “Besides, you have nothing to worry about. You ain't your dad, and you two would make great parents—”

“Mom... chill,” Meegi warned and shook his head but didn't extract himself from his mother's hold. “One life-changing moment at a time, please.”

“Fine. But more people are gonna be thinking the same if she doesn't drink something. Just saying...” she continued and looked across the paddock in the direction of Reeva's family and Feerah. “Okay, I think I need to intervene. I think Neebis is allergic to Feerah or something.”

Following his mother's gaze, Meegi saw that Neebis was now standing as close as possible to Reevian's side while Feerah talked at him with a hungry look in her bright-blue eyes. She clearly knew she was doing something to make the drake uncomfortable and was having fun. With a final squeeze of her wing, his mother hugged him before stepping forwards. Curling her neck, she looked over her shoulder at him and jerked her head towards the rest of the group. “But you, go to your mate! Can't be hanging out here like a dropped fork. I'll see you up there.”

Nodding in agreement, Meegi looked towards Reeva and saw that she had moved amongst the guests and was now talking with Keekzee, Siidah, and Teeba. Seeing her with the small drake, and how effortlessly she interacted with him, stirred thoughts in the back of Meegi's mind. His mother's observation resurfaced, and he made a mental note to ask Reeva once they were in private. Focusing forwards, he began to make his way through the crowd. Halfway towards his mate, he quickly caught himself as he almost collided with a white dragoness and a man who suddenly stepped in front of him. Realising it was Viina and Teeba’s mate, Luke, Meegi flashed them a warm smile and bobbed his head in greeting.

“With us, hero,” Luke said with a formal tone in his voice and gestured with one hand towards the top of the hill. Before he could respond, the man placed his free hand on Meegi's wing wrist. The man's grip was like iron, and as he took a step, he turned Meegi in the direction he had indicated. Looking down at the man's hand, Meegi momentarily thought about pulling his wing free, but something about the cold look in the man's eyes gave him pause. Glancing towards Viina, he could see that Reeva's aunt wasn't there to help him, and with a nod, Meegi let himself be led away from the crowd.

“What's wrong?” Meegi asked and caught a subtle gesture Viina made towards someone else in the crowd. It was a brief, fleeting jerk of her head that pointed towards where he was being led. Neither of them responded to him, and he began to wonder if he had somehow offended the pair or if this was the beginning of a prank.

Lifting his head higher, he looked past Viina and spotted Reeva still distracted by Siidah, Keekzee, and Teeba, the latter seeming to have positioned herself beside Reeva so that their backs were towards Meegi. At first, it looked harmless, until the purple-pawed grey dragoness curled her neck back to glance across at him and smirked, her eyes twinkling with amusement. Whatever was about to happen, Meegi was sure that Teeba was strategically keeping Reeva busy.

“Alright,” Viina said sternly and nodded for her mate to let go of Meegi's wing wrist. Turning his head around, he realised that he had become surrounded by the wedding ushers. “You're married now. Congrats,” Viina continued, but her voice seemed completely devoid of celebration. “That's gonna change a lot, but there are still a few things that are gonna remain the same, okay?” Viina continued while her tail lashed to once side with a flick. Turning around so that she was facing him squarely, Meegi found himself looking at a dragoness who appeared almost cross with him. “First and most importantly, Reeva is my niece and his mate's goddaughter,” she continued and dipped her head to gesture towards Luke. “So, you know what that means?”

Swallowing as he sat back on his haunches, Meegi tilted his head to one side and didn't miss the fact that Keenis was now standing behind him with an equally firm expression. All of the Marines around him were focused exclusively on him, each with their jaws set and a deathly serious look in their eyes. Judging by the flecks of grey in their beards and the small amount of hair visible beneath their caps, Meegi was confident that they were no longer actively serving, but he was still sure they could hurt him if they chose.

Refocusing on the wingless dragoness, Meegi wasn't sure exactly what she meant. Thankfully, he didn't need to ask, as Luke spoke up. “Which means she is our niece, and sure, you might be family now, but if you do anything to hurt her—”

“I would never—” Meegi exclaimed defensively but was silenced when the Marine held up a hand. From the corner of his eye, he swore he saw one of the other Marines smirk, but Meegi didn't dare take his eyes off Viina and Luke. “Luke... you’ve known me for a while now. Do you really think I would do anything like that?”

“I’m just making sure you know. If we hear that you did anything, any slight, even the smallest thing that hurt our Reeva...” Luke said before straightening his shoulders. “It wouldn't be an eye for an eye. You get me? We know how to make problems go away. So, if you become a problem for Reeva... well, there are a lot of places to bury things out here. Places where no one will find you—”

“Awww... did I miss the threats?” came a clearly disappointed voice from behind Keenis. Breaking Luke's gaze, Meegi turned his head and looked back to see his inky-black neighbour slink past Keenis and push her way between the Marines. “Scarecrow...” she said, nodding to one of them before looking around at the group with deranged excitement in her eyes. “Okay, catch me up. Are we still doing foreplay, or did we get to the good threats? Tugging his talons out and using them as toothpicks? Oh! Zip tie behind the knot! That's a fun one. They usually cum and then it swells really big before it starts to atrophy—”

“Gods, Feerah...” exclaimed the Marine she had addressed as Scarecrow. The man shook his head in disbelief before briefly lifting his cap to comb his fingers through his silver-blond hair. The rest of the Marines chuckled while looking past Meegi towards Keenis. The drake's snout had wrinkled at the thought, and he looked at Feerah as if he had just eaten something sour. “You haven't changed... That's fucked up. You know that, right?” Scarecrow added before straightening his cap and shaking his head at Feerah. This only seemed to please the dragoness, whose grin widened.

“Hey, it's simple, it works, and who doesn't like the sound zip ties make?” Feerah retorted while curling her neck back and smiling at them all. With the scar that ran from her right eyeridge down to her lip, her smile was more lopsided and fearsome. “The trick is to start with a big one and get the tab started first. Once you have it as a loop, then put it over the cock. Otherwise, you're trying to get it into the slot while their dick is bouncing around in your paws. It's your first time all over again—”

“Thank you, Feerah...” Viina said firmly, silencing the black dragoness before looking down at Meegi. “I think Meegi gets the message. Hurt my niece and, well... we will find you and get creative.”

Looking at the pair and then turning his head to look at the rest of the group, Meegi momentarily nodded before shaking his head. He knew that they were just being overprotective, and honestly, he didn't find it insulting that they would have this conversation with him. After all, he agreed with them. “You wouldn't find me,” he said with confidence and flashed them a smirk. “I’m sure you've got skills, but you'd have to find where she buried me first.” This seemed to break a few of the Marines, whose chests moved with stifled chuckles, and Viina's frill slowly lifted like Reeva's did when she was trying to hide her amusement. “Like, I get it. You're all a bunch of scary Marines...” he started and glanced towards Feerah. “With far too much time on your hands. But honestly, Reeva scares me way more, especially when she is mad.”

“Oh, bless his horns. He really thinks that, doesn't he?” Feerah teased and stepped closer to Meegi so she could jostle him with a folded wing. “Don't worry, Meegi, if a zip tie is too soft for you, we can come up with all sorts of things that will make you regret stepping out of line—”

“I'm sorry, but whose side are you on?” Meegi asked with a laugh as he turned to face the black dragoness. “Aren't you my neighbour?” Meegi added, undermining the Marines' attempt to make the moment feel tense.

“Oh yeah, but that just means I know where you live. Well... where your mother lives,” Feerah replied casually before shrugging her wings. “But just be a good mate, treat your girl right, and nothing bad will happen to you... promise.”

“Honestly, not an issue,” Meegi said and glanced around the group. “Like, honestly, guys. This ain't necessary—”

“Oh my gods. What is going on here...” Reevian said as she came trotting up towards the group. She kept her voice low, but Meegi could already hear the displeasure in it and could tell she wasn’t happy by the stiff way she moved. “You lot had better not be shaking him down. For fuck's sake,” she hissed as she pushed past Feerah and Keenis before pulling a wing around Meegi and holding him against her side. Despite being the same height as her, Meegi couldn't help but feel the motherly softness of being beneath her wing. Fighting hard not to smile, Meegi watched as the Marines shrank back, including Feerah, who looked momentarily stunned that the dragoness would get between her and her prey.

“It's his bloody wedding day! Viina?! I would expect it from Luke and this lot, but really?” she added, shaking her head in disbelief. Two of the Marines, including Luke, took off their caps and stood as though they were being scolded, while the others took a step backwards. “Come on. The dancing is about to start,” Reevian said while stepping against Meegi to turn him around. Keeping her wing securely around his body, Reeva's mother guided him away from the group and back towards the rest of the guests. “I can't believe they did that. Sorry, Meegi. They are just a bit protective.”

“No, no, it's fine. Honestly, not an issue,” Meegi said as he moved with the dragoness. When she curled her neck to look at him, he bobbed his head in affirmation. “It was kinda cute of them, really,” he added, making Reevian snort with amusement. “She means a lot to a lot of people.”

“Being an only egg... Well, I imagine your mom feels the same,” Reevian mused while keeping her wing locked around Meegi. It was clear that she was leading him towards Reeva, although midway through the group, Reevian directed them past Neebis and Liiria. The pale-white drake was midway through biting into a large rib bone soaked in a honey-like sauce, with a large platter of food balanced on the tall cocktail table in front of him. It wasn't all for him, as Liiria was helping herself to a few chunks of pulled meat that fell apart messily.

Pausing for only half a step, Reevian extended her neck towards her mate and spoke in a hushed yet direct voice. “Honey, can you please talk to your sister about Meegi being family? Seems she has it in her head that he needs death threats,” she added, making the pale drake recoil in surprise. Without waiting for his reply, Reevian continued walking with Meegi towards Reeva, Siidah, Teeba, and Keekzee. “Now, the dancing is about to start. Have you eaten enough? Teeba can hold off on the music if you want to eat more—”

“No, no, I'm all good, thank you,” Meegi replied cheerfully and nodded when Reevian looked at him to make sure he was certain. “I'm ready to fly. Just need my Reeva, and then I'm set,” he added, earning a happy hum of approval from the dragoness.

“All right, then. Let's get this dance happening,” Reevian said as they drew close to Reeva and the others. “Teeba, I think we are all ready. Should we start handing out the streamers?” she asked the grey and purple dragoness, who was in the middle of listening to a long-winded story Siidah had been telling them all. “Siidah, do you want to help give everyone their colours?” Reevian asked in an excited voice that made the young dragon gasp with glee. “Come on, then!” she added, lifting her folded wings as Siidah leapt to his feet.

Smiling at the drake's enthusiasm, Meegi caught Reeva looking at the young dragon with warm fondness. Moving around so that he came to her side, Meegi nodded in agreement when both Teeba and Keekzee mentioned that they needed to get ready to take their mates flying. Finally somewhat alone with his mate, Meegi dropped a wing around Reeva's side and leaned against her while pulling her close. For a few minutes, they simply enjoyed each other's company while watching their friends and family move about. Reevian and Siidah collected a large wicker basket filled with rolls of dyed streamers. Each one was the same thickness as a roll of human toilet paper, but unperforated, brightly coloured, and coiled around a smooth wooden handle that could be carried easily in one paw. The idea was simple: each flying guest could carry the roll in one paw and let the air unroll the long ribbon behind them while they flew. Watching on, Meegi saw that Reevian had made it a game for Siidah to find a roll of ribbon that matched each guest. It gave the little one a quest, and now he diligently looked at each guest and made sure he found the best possible match.

“You colour-matched them to the guests, didn't you?” Meegi asked softly and squeezed her with his wing when she nodded. “So... this will be our first proper dance. Did Tiizy explain to everyone how it's going to work?”

Nodding, Reeva flashed him a brief smile before breathing deeply as though trying to calm herself. Turning his head, he looked at her with concern but was met with another forced smile. “I'm fine,” she said quietly before closing her eyes and leaning her head affectionately against his neck. Slumping her neck into a compressed ‘S’ shape, she used the middle of his neck as a cushion for her cheek. “It’s nothing serious,” she said half-heartedly, and Meegi could tell that something was really troubling his mate.

“What's wrong? Was the food bad?” he asked, but she simply shook her head while keeping it pressed against him. Her not feeling comfortable enough to tell him made the knot in his stomach tighten. He had seen her stressed during events before, but unlike those times, she wasn't flustered. “Everything is going great, Reeva. You did an amazing job. Everyone is having a great time, nothing's gone wrong, and you look stunning...” he continued and felt her relax slightly. “Tiizy's jokes might have been a bit on the nose...” he added, and once again, Reeva shook her head. He knew she could tell that he was trying to probe for the source of her discomfort, yet she stayed quiet. Curling his neck, he tilted his head down and kissed the top of her forehead. His affection made her coo softly in appreciation, and as he kept his snout pressed against the leading edge of her frill, he inhaled her scent. “You smell amazing—”

“I smell like I crashed in a rose bush...” she said, her voice dripping with self-consciousness. Pulling his head back, Meegi looked down at her with concern and shook his head when she tilted hers to look up at him. “I had to mask my scent,” she added, and when Meegi tilted his head in confusion, she rolled her eyes with a smirk on her snout. “I’ll explain later—”

“Wait!” Meegi exclaimed in realisation before clamping his mouth shut and looking at her with wide eyes. “Really?” he added, lowering his voice until it was only just audible over the music playing. “When did this start? I mean, can I do anything to help? Want me to stall the dance?” he rambled and looked towards the large farmhouse as the skyward-facing speakers began to play a heavy bass. The timing seemed to amuse Reeva, who snorted with laughter and then kissed his cheek.

“It's fine, Meegi. I’m not dying or anything,” Reeva replied and, with a sway of her hips, brought her tail closer to his and intertwined it with his. He wasn't sure if he was imagining it, but she seemed to grip his tail with more force, as if she were almost clinging to him. Returning the heartfelt gesture, he tightened his tail and pulled her close against his side. Humming a happy, warbling sound, Reeva wrapped a forepaw around the inside of his foreleg and stroked her paw pads down his scales. “Honestly, the fact that you hadn't noticed... kinda makes me feel better. I know it's early, but I still felt like people could tell,” she added softly.

“No, I don't think anyone has noticed,” Meegi said reassuringly, but while Reeva smiled, he could tell she thought he was just trying to help. “Like, both of our moms noticed that you’re not drinking... but that's about it. Has anyone said anything to you?”

“No, no one has said anything. Teeba knows, but only because I got her to pick up some suppressors from town,” she explained and looked at Meegi as if she were trying to gauge his reaction. He was well aware that the pills didn't remove the risk entirely, and now he was beginning to understand the dragoness's hesitation. “But I haven't taken any...” she added and flashed him a small, hopeful smile.

“No?” he asked, and when she shook her head, he curled his neck so that he could look at her more directly. “Does that mean you want to?” Meegi began, and his heart skipped a beat when she tilted her head from side to side. Conscious that it was their wedding and that he had been responsible for organising their wedding night, he quickly began to realise how pressured she might feel. “I mean, we don't have to—”

“That’s why I hadn't taken them... and why I haven't drunk anything. I wanted to talk to you about it!” Reeva said, raising her voice to compete with the thumping music as it grew louder. She said something else, but the sound coming from all the speakers made continuing impossible. Leaning forwards, Reeva raised her voice while keeping her snout close to his ear. “After... talk after!” she shouted before giving him a quick kiss on the cheek.

His tail seemed reluctant to let go of hers, and she smirked as she gave it one final squeeze before untangling herself from him and stepping out from beneath his wing. Rolling her wing shoulders, she partially unfurled her pale-blue wings and gave Meegi a small nod to show her sincerity. Breaking his gaze from his mate, Meegi saw that most of the guests were preparing to take flight. Those who were going to be flying with riders crouched down while their mates or friends strapped themselves into their saddles. Curiously, Mike's mate, Liiria, was now standing awkwardly beneath Reeva's father, the pale-white drake seemingly preparing to carry her. Scanning the group, the rest of the pairings made perfect sense. Kaarif was already suspended beneath Miikalah by his harness, which was connected to hers. Mike sat between Geevin’s shoulders, with his legs hanging down either side of the drake's neck. Luke and Teeba were in a similar position. However, the Marine's dress uniform made leaning forwards almost impossible, and instead, the man sat rigidly as if he were on parade. At the far end of the group, Keenis was ready to take flight, with Meg sitting with her ankles near her buttocks on a saddle that would have been more fitting for a racehorse. Complete with leather-strapped goggles that failed to contain her wild red hair, the woman idly stroked the side of her mate's neck while they waited to begin. Crouching low, Viina looked as though she was ready to spring into the sky, with Keekzee’s dark, black-furred body looming above her. The rest of the guests who were going to take flight all stretched their wings and waited for the last of them to collect their streamers.

The air began to vibrate as the music steadily intensified. Neither he nor Reeva thought that a traditional piano piece was fitting for their first proper dance together, and they wanted the moment to be upbeat and energising. Looking towards his mate, Meegi smiled a lopsided smile and waited as she crouched down and spread her wings. The beat of the drums continued to pound, growing louder and faster. Each thump resonated in Meegi's chest and eroded all thoughts other than the urge to move to its rhythm. A small lull was the only warning before the pace changed, and it was at that moment that Reeva crouched further and then sprang into the air. With a clash of cymbals, the dragoness unfurled her wings and pulled them backwards, climbing with a sudden surge of speed. Keeping all four legs tucked tightly against her body, she swept her wings forwards and repeated the motion. Climbing almost vertically, she flapped her wings three times before both of her parents leapt into the sky in pursuit. With Liiria held between his legs, Neebis's roll of ribbon began to unfurl first. Held tightly between the digits of his hind paw, the long white and teal-coloured stretch of papery material caught the air and traced his path through the sky. With the added weight, Neebis wasn't able to climb as aggressively as his daughter, but he still soared quickly into the heavens while the rest of the guests took flight.

The air surged with the pulses of the music and the heavy flaps of a dozen dragons taking off, each one lunging into the sky after the other and climbing at irregular angles. As soon as they were clear of one another, the guests began to let their streamers unfurl, and the sky quickly became a maze of overlapping coloured lines. Waiting patiently as the last of their guests took to the sky, Meegi looked up with giddy anticipation as he saw his mate climbing rapidly while her friends and family filled the air between them. Unfurling his wings at his sides, Meegi rolled each one independently to stretch the muscles and ligaments. Inhaling deeply through his nose, he let the clean country air fill his lungs while crouching slightly.

Keeping his wings folded but mantled high for balance, Meegi lunged forwards. Bounding in a single leap, he let himself fall towards the ground, and his four legs compressed to absorb the impact. With his hind paws landing on either side of his front feet, Meegi's entire body compressed, the corded muscles throughout his rump, core and neck bunched with energy. Then, with an explosive delivery of power, Meegi drove his hind paws down while stretching his body forwards and upwards. Launching into the sky, Meegi didn't wait for his momentum to wane before unfurling his large, membranous wings, catching the air in their sail-like panels and sweeping them back towards the ground. Now above the farmhouse, the details of the music became clear, the rhythmic bass complementing a melody of synthetic pianos and the wail of electric guitars.

Maintaining an aggressive climb, Meegi pounded his wings in rapid strokes, quickly gaining speed and altitude while closing the gap between himself and the rest of the guests. Each of the coloured streamers hung in the air as a physical representation of the guests' recent movements. All of them were littered with small kinks formed by the surge of their wing beats, and many had begun to overlap as the dragons crossed paths and circled one another.

Driving through the centre of the swarm of dragons and streamers, Meegi tucked his wings close against his body and let gravity rob him of his speed. Reeva was flying above all the guests, and with a few small adjustments of his tail, Meegi corrected his climb to angle towards her. Closing the distance as his speed waned, he timed his stall perfectly. The sense of weightlessness wasn't just because he had reached the zenith of his arc. As he extended his neck, he brought his lips to hers. The moment was fleeting, but he committed it to memory before gravity pulled them apart. Folding her wings to match him, Reeva swept her tail around and rotated alongside him.

With altitude to their advantage, Meegi searched for the first streamer he would go for while Reeva did the same. Spotting his mother's brown-coloured ribbon forming a complex spiral and loop through the sky, he adjusted his wings and aimed for its trailing tip. The sound of the wind rushing through his mane and past his horns filled his ears while the beat of the music pumped through his chest. Angling his wings to match the path of his mother's streamer, he saw her look back and smile before rolling inverted and pitching around herself in a complex corkscrew.

Now the dance had truly begun.

Sweeping his wings to one side and then rotating them downwards, Meegi matched his mother's path while the flickering tip of the streamer drew closer and closer. She wasn't trying to evade him, but she wasn't making it easy for him either. The complex turns she performed were in perfect time with the music, forcing Meegi to match her pace and showcasing his aerial prowess. Their duet lasted for almost a minute before his mother flared both wings wide and then tucked one short to stall it prematurely. The manoeuvre sent her cartwheeling before her snout aimed towards the ground and she pulled both wings back to dive. The sudden loss of momentum allowed Meegi to catch up quickly, and while pounding his wings downwards as he flipped over himself, Meegi surged up the length of his mother's coloured ribbon. Reaching a third of the way along it, he extended a forepaw and snagged the soft, papery fabric in his talons.

Gripping the torn length tightly in one paw, he gave his mother a nod of thanks and farewell before pulling away and aiming towards Reeva's parents. Reeva had already snagged a length of coloured fabric from both of her parents and was now shooting towards him. Beating his wings, Meegi aimed directly at her before rolling at the last minute while she did the same. Passing with only a few feet between them, each aimed for their mate's parents.

Compared to his mother's erratic and fast pace, keeping up with Reevian and Neebis was child's play. With Liiria still clutched between his legs, Neebis's path through the air was far more linear, and Reevian compensated by spiralling around them both as they gently dove. Aiming first for Reevian's streamer, Meegi added a constant roll as he followed her curved path. The length of his mother's colours that he held in his paw quickly became entangled with Reevian's. Reaching out, Meegi took a long length of Reevian's teal, white, and red streamer before banking to one side and performing the same pirouette-like routine around Neebis's.

One by one, Meegi and Reeva took lengths of each of their friends' and families' coloured ribbons, each one adding to the tangle of intertwined streamers they held bunched in their forepaws. Some of their friends' trails were easier to catch, such as Liiria's, who politely only unrolled her purple, white, and black streamer once Reeva's parents' streamers had been snagged. Others, like Miikalah and Kaarif, took it upon themselves to make it a challenge, making it easy for Reeva before diving and turning in a routine that made Meegi laugh as he gave chase. When it came to Mike’s son, Siidah, the small fledgling giggled maniacally and tried his hardest to evade both Reeva and Meegi. Both held back and prolonged the chase for a little longer than necessary before taking a third of the small dragon's ribbon.

Finally, as the song changed pace to something slower, the group began to settle into flying in one circular direction. Scanning the group, Meegi made sure that he hadn't missed anyone. Satisfied, he dove past the group and looked across to see Reeva matching his movements. Smiling joyfully while shaking the pawful of streamers, Reeva made it clear that she had finished too, and together, they angled towards each other. Picking up speed as they dove beneath the ring of guests, Meegi rocked his wings from side to side before pulling up steeply. Mirroring his climb, Reeva soared upwards in front of his chest, her wings cropped tight and her neck stretched forwards like an arrow. Reaching out, Meegi made sure not to let go of his collection of streamers and linked paws with her. Racing up through the middle of their guests, he pressed his tail into the wind to send them both into a tight spin. The messy bundles of long ribbons quickly became intertwined as they continued their climb and their friends roared their approval. Finally, as their speed fell away and they hung in the air as one, both angled their heads and pressed their lips together.

---

Watching the display from below, the group who weren't participating in the dance let out a collective croon of joy. Among them, the well-dressed Marines looked up together, most with beers in hand while shading their eyes from the sun. Sitting on their haunches, two dragons watched on while remaining completely unnoticed by the rest of the group, despite being only a few feet away. Side by side, the pair held their wings loosely at their sides, with their snouts pointed skywards as they tracked the movements of their friends and family.

“I think I like weddings,” Riimack said while a plate full of semi-translucent roasted meat and noodles sat unfinished between his front paws. “Food, music, friends. Kinda got everything, really,” he added before tearing his gaze away from the sky to look towards the orange dragoness by his side.

Humming softly in agreement, Taalli bobbed her head gently to the beat. She looked reluctant to take to the sky and seemed more comfortable watching her friends fly above while sitting beside her former squad. “It is good to have everyone together. Seeing them doing well... It makes it... ‘worth it’ isn't the word...” she replied softly before flicking her eyes towards Riimack. “You know what I mean?”

“I do,” he replied warmly and looked back up at the sky. “Do you ever think about how things would be if, you know... things hadn't gone the way they did?” Riimack asked and was surprised when his friend moved closer and leaned against his folded wing. Her touch was soft and friendly but welcome, and he slowly extracted his wing from between them so he could drape it around her and feel her scales against his side.

“Sometimes I do,” Taalli mused softly before jerking her head skywards. “But then moments like this happen, and I’m reminded of the part I played,” she said before inhaling deeply and exhaling with a soft hiss. “If I hadn't run away, I would never have met you. Reevian would have just been another shopkeeper to me... Mike wouldn't have met his mate. Hell, he would have wasted years looking after me as I got sick. Keenis... well, he might never have left the Corps, or at least not when he did. So much... so much would have gone differently, and when I see stuff like this, I honestly don't think I could have given them a better moment,” Taalli explained before tilting her head from side to side. “Or maybe I'm just trying to make myself feel good.”

“No, that's kind of where I end up too,” Riimack mused, his focus shifting between his first mate and the rest of his family. “It would have saved them some pain. But seeing Viina with Keekzee, seeing how well he treats her... It's good. It's the life I would have wanted to give her. Seeing her in good company makes it... yeah, you're right... ‘worth it’ isn't the right word,” he continued and then focused on his sister and how she now circled with her mate, who had been kind enough to offer to carry a stranger.

“Good?” Taalli offered before scrunching her snout as if tasting the word and finding it sour. “I don't know. I'm probably just being selfish. Maybe what we did had no impact on them at all, maybe it's all planned out in some predetermined destiny or some shit,” Taalli added, straightening her posture while pulling her tail around her paws. “You're sister deserves the best, it was only a matter of time before she found someone like her mate. Likewise your niece, she bagged a good egg by the looks of it.”

“He makes her happy, that's for sure,” Riimack replied while looking up at the newly wed couple. “But I don't know about things being predetermined, I kinda like knowing that what happens next is a mystery. You know what I mean?” He asked and shrugged his wings before looking down at Taalli with a smirk. “It makes it more fun to guess what everyone is going to do,” he continued with a hint of playfulness in his voice.

His tone made Taalli smirk and she continued to look up at the crowd before flicking her gaze to him. Seeing that he was looking at her with that playful look she knew too well, she inhaled slowly and softly rocked her head. “Alright, I'll bite. What do you think is going to happen? Except for what those two are going to get up to later. You're not psychic if you say they are going to bang on their wedding night–”

“Taalli! That's my niece you're talking about!” Riimack retorted defensively but failed to stop the corners of his lips from curling into a smile. Giggling when Taalli gave him a wink, he shook his head and pulled his tail around to her side. “Besides, I’m not talking about just tonight. Gods know that most of them are probably going to do… that. I mean what happens later! Like, Reevian, Teeslah, Mike and the others. What do you think people are going to get up to moving forwards, what does their future hold?”

Scoffing a small chuckle, Taalli pulled her head back before looking up and tilting her head from side to side. “I don't know. Would it be too corny to say I want them to all live happily ever after?” Taalli asked and when she looked back at him, Riimack waved his paw in a circle for her to elaborate. “Fine. Maybe… Keenis and Meg… I’d like to think they come up with some new procedure for operating on the heart of something. Then they retire together while they are still young enough to enjoy themselves. I can see them flying the country, just them, a couple packs their saddle and nothing else. The wind, the open sky and sleeping under the stars each night…” Taalli mused, her eyes going unfocused as she imagined the adventures the drake would go on. Inhaling sharply, she blinked deeply and shook her head, “Mike on the other hand. I don't ever see him stopping work. He loves that cafe. I like to imagine his son helping him more in a few years. The kid will need pocket money and both he and Liiria would insist he works for it. I’d like to see Mike one day pulling up a seat with his mate in the corner and spending the day watching his kid grow. Maybe one day the little drake will take over the business. It's what I would have wanted to do with him.” She continued, her voice becoming tight before she went quiet and shuddered as though a cold shiver ran down her spine.

“I hope so too. That would be nice to see,” Riimack said warmly and when Taalli looked at him expectantly, he flashed her a smile. “I think my sister is going to be pretty busy in the coming few years. Maybe Reeva and Meegi will have kids of their own. If that happens, I know my sister is going to go all mother hen on their little one,” he said with a nostalgic smile forming on his snout as he looked up and tracked her movements. “I think she will be a great grandmother… Definitely one to sneak extra snacks to the kid and spoil them rotten.”

“I can see her baking cookies and helping them out.”

Nodding in acknowledgement, Riimack swallowed and looked towards his former mate being carried by Keekzee as they executed a slow roll through the sky. “As for Viina… Well. She is already doing so much better. But I don't see her moving back home any time soon though. I think there is still too much pain here. I see her growing old somewhere in Europe. Somewhere where there is sun, but not too hot.” He hoped before his jaw tightened and he inhaled deeply. “Maybe somewhere in France. Cobbel stone streets, good food, and ancient buildings. I don't know… that's just how I see her and Keekzee.” Riimack said and found himself relaxing at the idea of seeing her exploring the narrow streets with the large fluffy drake by her side.

“Now Teeslah on the other hand, he’s a complete wild card. His tastes and dreams change all the time, guessing what his future holds is borderline impossible.” Riimack mused before turning back to look at her with a knowing smirk. “But, I know one thing that is one hundred percent gonna happen. And it involves our future!” He said confidently, making Taalli frown and look at him in confusion. “Dancing!” he added and leaned forwards so that he could push up with his hind legs to stand on all fours. “I’ve never really had a chance to dance before. Care to show me how it's done?”

“You think I know how?” Taalli laughed, but rose to stand beside him. Keeping her hind legs in place, she took two steps forwards with just her front paws to stretch her back in a long luxurious stretch. Looking at her with a playful grin on his face, Riimack’s enthusiasm became infectious and the orange dragoness snorted in a chuckle.

“Fuck it, I guess we can learn together.”

---

After their dance, the rest of the afternoon raced by. With further photos being taken while more dancing happened on the ground, Teeba’s farm had become the epicentre for laughter and shenanigans. The guests who had flown with ribbons in their own colours were encourage to keep them as a souvenir, while the cluster of lengths that Reeva and Meegi had collected were bundled up by Reevian with a not so subtle hint that they would make good nesting material.

Finally though, as some of the guests who had traveled the furthest began to bid their farewells, and the sun began to lean closer towards the horizon, Meegi and Reeva took their leave. Their retreat was only a few hours flight away, however Meegi was keen to arrive before the sun had completely set. With further cheers and last second farewells, the newly wed couple took to the sky and turned eastwards. Flying wingtip to wingtip, their conversation flowed easily about who had done what at their wedding, and how well it had been received. Soaring over the rolling farm lands, trees began to slowly become more regular and clusters quickly began to appear on the horizon as large splotches of forestry. Despite Reeva asking a few times about where exactly they were heading, Meegi kept it a secret and changed their conversation into a guessing game.

“Meegi, wait! Is this us?” Reeva exclaimed as he led them both over a hill covered in trees that had all grown impossibly tall over countless years. Their dark-green foliage passed only inches below their paws as they followed the contours of the valley. Ahead of them, a large lake reflected the afternoon sky and appeared like glass in the absence of wind. Despite their cabin’s windows glowing with a warm amber light, the building itself looked as though it had been swallowed by the forest around it. Built on the edge of the lake, with a small wooden jetty protruding into the water, their accommodation awaited.

Looking towards his mate, Meegi nodded with a hopeful smile, and his heart soared when her frill flicked up in excitement. Banking to the right, the pair circled out over the dark, calm water to get a better view of the cabin Meegi had rented. Spaced widely apart along the lake's perimeter, large multi-storey homes had been built, each one seemingly competing with the others to be the largest while also trying desperately to pretend to blend in with nature. Compared to those, their cabin was only marginally larger than some of the other properties' boat sheds, but being nestled in a secluded cove of the lake, it offered a level of privacy that had made Meegi book it without hesitation.

“Not going to lie, you had me worried for a second there,” Reeva added as they angled themselves towards their private jetty. Flaring his wings slightly to slow down, Meegi allowed her to glide ahead. Approaching the wooden structure, it was clear that while it looked small and rustic, someone had spent a great deal of time and love constructing the fixture. Built with thick, heavy slabs of lumber, the jetty could easily support their weight and would likely outlast many of the structures back home.

Watching her touch down, Meegi held himself back just far enough not to rush her while keeping close. Landing with an excited bounce in her step, Reeva scampered forwards off the dock and looked back at him with an eager grin on her snout. Once she was clear of the landing area, Meegi beat his wings once to surge forwards and then dropped his hind legs down. Rotating his body in mid-air, he only needed to give his wings one quick pump forwards to halt his approach before folding them at his sides and dropping down onto the timber dock. “Why were you worried?” Meegi asked with playfulness in his voice as he padded towards her.

Flashing him a grin while shrugging her wings, she glanced between him and their cabin. “Hey, look, I just thought you would find us a cave or something. Which would have been fine, but this is way better!” she cooed and took a few small steps towards the cabin as though they were somehow trespassing. With her frill flicked up and a happy look in her eyes, Meegi knew he had chosen their accommodation well. “Caving is fun and all that, but Dad's version is kind of like flying all day and then finding a tree to flop down under. Waking up in the morning to find a cow looking down at you was hardly relaxing.”

Tearing his gaze away from his mate, Meegi nodded towards the forest. “Well, I doubt we will get cows here... maybe deer?” he mused. “And if we do, I guess we will see how tasty they are fresh.”

“Oh my god, don't you go all ‘dragon of old’ on me now,” Reeva laughed and shook her head when Meegi recoiled in mock disappointment. “I swear, put a drake in the wild and he forgets civilisation,” she added and turned back to look towards their cabin. The first two feet of the walls were made from heavy stone, with the rest constructed from thick timber logs. At the front, two large sliding doors hung from an industrial-looking track, while the windows looked as though they had been built when the land was first settled. Framing the cabin, an unbroken deck circled its perimeter and led towards a covered spa whose pump hummed away.

“You say that like it's a bad thing!” Meegi retorted as he moved to stand beside his mate. Lowering his head an inch and leaning to one side, he brought his snout next to her ear. “Don't tell me you wouldn't like to forget civilisation and spend the week like absolute fucking animals,” he added in a low growl that sent a shiver through her body. Her frill initially bounced up at the idea before bashfully sweeping back to lie flat against her neck as she whipped her head around to look at him.

“Meegi!” she exclaimed with a clear look of flustered excitement in her eyes. “Where did that come from?” she asked, and truthfully, Meegi wasn't sure, but her reaction stuck with him. “Oh, I know where that's coming from... sorry,” she added, but before Meegi could offer a rebuttal, she took a more confident step towards the sliding doors. Leaping forwards, she hooked a wing claw around the handle of the heavy door.

“Maybe not all civilisation,” Meegi countered while stepping to one side. Dipping his snout in a polite bow, Meegi pulled the door back. The wheels at the top of the door groaned under the weight but otherwise rolled along well-oiled tracks. He had seen the images online, and despite offering to show his mate what he had planned, the dragoness had wanted their wedding night to be a surprise.

A small gasp and the way her eyes widened made it clear that he had made the right choice. Without needing the other door to be slid open, Reeva pushed her head into their cabin and looked around. She only placed her paw pads on the smooth flooring for a second before suddenly retracting her paw and whipping her head back around to look at him. “Wait! The floor is heated!?”

“Of course it is!” Meegi grinned and padded closer until he was by her side. “Do you think I would let the most beautiful dragoness in the world, my mate, stand on a cold, damp floor?” Meegi scoffed playfully and guided her inside. “No, no, no. Only the best for my mate.”

Other than the exposed walls and the network of wooden beams that supported the roof, the rest of the cabin's interior was more akin to a five-star studio apartment. Smooth, polished tiles lined the floor, coloured to match the walls but far easier to keep clean. Past the two front doors that could be opened fully to reveal the lake, the space was almost completely open-plan. Lighting came from a collection of what looked like kerosene lamps bolted to the walls, but upon closer inspection, they were actually electric. Towards the middle of the room, a chandelier hung high in the vaulted ceiling. Walking with his mate, Meegi noticed the practical yet small kitchenette, which was full of stainless-steel appliances and cupboards. Dominating the middle of the cabin was a large dais-like bed with layers of furs and hides that looked incredibly real. Beyond it, a large, unlit fireplace had been built against the far wall. Piles of dried wood had been neatly stacked beside its hearth, along with a collection of iron tools that could be used to stoke the fire.

Looking up at the chandelier, he saw that it was a mixture of old and new materials. What looked like large deer antlers were connected by some form of joinery, with flickering amber bulbs that, at first glance, appeared to be open flames. The light bathed the shaggy, fur-covered bed in a warm glow and made it so inviting that it took a conscious effort from Meegi not to approach it.

“It's fantastic, Meegi. You did well.”

The warmth and sincerity in her voice had Meegi pulling his neck back into a comically proud ‘S’ shape, which in turn made his mate scoff with laughter. Relaxing his posture, Meegi looked around the room and took in the details with her. The stone and timber didn't look as vibrant as they did in the tweaked and curated photos online, but they offered a perfect blend of cosy yet modern adornments that he felt was appropriate. “It's ours for the week. Longer if we want to stay,” Meegi mused, and her frill lifted as if considering the idea. “The forest is ours to explore too, all the way to the highway. There are some walking trails, a stream, and a few good lookouts for a picnic—”

“Oh good, a decent bathroom!” Reeva chimed in as she opened the door to the cabin's washroom. “Sorry, go on. Picnics, walking trails, yeah! Or maybe swims in the lake?”

“We can do that. Also, there is meant to be a private sauna further up the hill. On the website, it looked like it had a pretty good view of the lake. Maybe after a morning swim, we could go there and call for a couple of masseuses to come up and take care of us,” he added, making Reeva pause momentarily mid-step. Understanding her concern, he flashed her a smile. “But we can skip the masseuses, and I can give it a shot if you want,” he offered and smiled as she relaxed and nodded along. “Maybe get some stones from the lake, heat them up slowly, and then do a hot-stone massage-style situation.”

Nodding in appreciation as she orbited the bed, Reeva slowly began to pad her way back towards the kitchenette. “What do we do for food? Assuming a deer doesn't come along,” she asked with a smirk, but before he could answer, she found the fridge and opened it to reveal shelves full of wrapped packages of meat, a drawer full of vegetables, and a collection of fruit and beverages. “Oh!”

“Oh, Reeva, don't you worry about a thing. Remember, it's your mate’s job to provide...” Meegi grinned before rocking his head from side to side. “Well, with the help of an online order... I figured we could cook together, maybe teach me a few more things,” he added, earning a happy look from her and a cheerful bob of her head. “There is apparently a walkie-talkie somewhere in one of the drawers, so if we need anything else, we can just call for it.”

“This is awesome, Meegi. I'm starting to think I should have put you in charge of more things for the ceremony.”

Meegi was powerless to stop his mind from drifting, and his lips curled into a playful grin. “What?” Reeva asked, cocking her head to one side as she looked across the kitchen at him.

Forcing himself to compose himself, Meegi lifted his head up and back until his neck was curled into a more elegant and regal shape. Taking a few steps forwards, he made sure he walked as though he owned the ground beneath him and lowered his voice to a rumbling growl. “So my pretty little ‘ness likes it when her drake takes charge, does she? Noted—” His voice failed as a giggle took over, and he hissed out a stifled laugh when Reeva tilted her snout down and glared at him with a smirk of her own.

“You're a dork,” Reeva mused and shook her head in mock disapproval. Recoiling as if her words had hurt him, Meegi feigned offence with a dramatic gasp. His antics only made her giggle before she turned around and began to pad back towards him. “My dork, though. Thank you, Meegi. This is lovely. This is exactly what I need. After everything for the ceremony, I think I could do with a few days of just us,” she whispered as she came close enough to kiss him.

Giving her a small peck before playfully pulling back, Meegi grinned at her crestfallen reaction before softening his expression and leaning in again. Tilting his head to one side, he parted his jaws and pressed his mouth against hers as she mirrored his motion. Running his tongue against hers, he inhaled through his nose and took a small step forwards, deepening their kiss into something tender and bordering on passionate. She reciprocated, pushing into his embrace while also lifting a forepaw to press against his shoulder. The message was received, and he hummed in agreement as he closed his eyes and continued to express his love. Her scent was still layered and masked by the floral notes of her perfume, but her situation wasn't lost on him. By holding a paw against him, she made it clear how far she wanted the kiss to go.

After almost a minute, Reeva pulled back and panted once before giving him one last peck on the tip of his snout. “Meegi, can we talk about... me? What we are going to do...” she said and looked almost ashamed as she dropped back onto her haunches. Nodding in understanding, Meegi lowered his rump to sit in front of her and extended his neck to press the bridge of his snout beneath her jaw. “It's still early days, but tomorrow will get worse, so I want to talk about this now. Without distractions.”

Pulling his head back, Meegi flashed her a reassuring smile but remained serious. “Of course. And look, I get that it's our wedding night, and that usually means things. But it doesn't have to. We can kind of do our own thing, right? I've got some activities we can do. Hell, I could leave if that makes it easier, and we could redo this another time—”

“No!” Reeva said with a hint of panic in her voice. “No, no, no, don't you dare leave. That's not what I meant at all!” Reeva added and shuffled closer until her chest was only a few inches from his, then curled her neck into a tight arch to press her cheek against his. “No, I mean... what you said about having an egg together. Did you mean that? Is that something you really want?”

Tilting his head to press the bridge of his snout against her jawline, Meegi pushed his head forwards to stroke her neck. “Reeva, I do if you do. I don't want this to be a me thing. I want it to be an us thing. We don't have to do it now. We can think about it,” Meegi replied with genuine sincerity. Pulling his head back, he looked at her, and his gaze became lost in her warm amber eyes. “I meant every word I said today. You are my everything. The fact that we aren't rushing into this and are talking about it is exactly why I want to spend my life with you. This is serious, and we are taking it seriously.”

“It would be a big commitment, Meegi. A proper life-changing thing. They won't stay as an egg forever. They will hatch and need feeding, teaching, watching—” Reeva warned but was interrupted by Meegi nodding in enthusiastic agreement. “It will be at least eighteen years before they move out of home. It will mean the house will be a mess, snacks will go missing, and things will be broken. Are you sure you want this?”

Without hesitating, Meegi nodded again before kissing the tip of her snout. “I’m keen. If you are,” he said and held her gaze as she looked at him as though searching for any doubt in his eyes. Inhaling softly, his mate nodded, making his heart soar. His growing smile brought a warm softness to her expression, and he hummed in appreciation when she lowered her snout and buried the bridge of it against his throat. “Six is a good number—” he added and gave her an open-mouthed, toothy smile when she yanked her head out of his embrace to look at him.

“Not six! Like one... maybe two! If we get to three, I’m going to cut it off in your sleep,” Reeva threatened, making Meegi pout dramatically before he snickered and nodded. Pressing her head beneath his again, she nuzzled his throat tenderly while he angled his head down to hold her. “It's kinda scary, isn't it? Or is it just me?”

“Yeah... but I think that's a good thing, right? It means we know what it means and how important it's going to be to raise a little one,” Meegi mused softly before shrugging his wings. “Besides, it's not always guaranteed, right? Some people struggle to have an egg. We might be getting worked up over nothing. Well... not nothing. If that happens, we can look at something else—”

“I doubt it will come to that,” Reeva replied and inhaled deeply through her nostrils. “This has kind of been on my mind since we spoke about it on that rooftop. I went to the doctor about a month ago, and they said that I'm fit and healthy. And let's be honest, I would be very, very, very surprised if you weren't. Plus, I doubt we will be in any stressful situations for the next couple of days, and apparently that's something that can cause problems with conception,” she explained, and Meegi saw how she curled her tail around her paws with nervousness. “So, like, biologically, we are probably good for it.”

“Okay, then,” Meegi said softly before gently kissing her eyeridge and then again on her cheek. “So we skip the suppressors and go for it. If it happens, it happens. If not, hey, there is always next time,” he offered and blinked slowly with a smile when she nodded. “Shall we take this to the bed, then?” he offered, making her smile and then chuckle at his enthusiasm. “Well, I mean, right here in the middle of the floor is an option. I'm not picky—”

“How about you get the fire going? I want to get some of this perfume off so I don't make the bed smell like a florist's dumpster,” Reeva countered and pulled herself away from him so she could stand on all fours. “Sound good?”

“Bed, fire, a sexy dragoness, and a view of the lake? Gods, I married the right ‘ness,” Meegi replied with a playful grin. Leaning forwards as she extended her head to kiss him, Meegi felt his excitement build and momentarily deepened their embrace before she pulled away. “Fire. Got it. Yup. Leave it to your dutiful mate,” he said cheerfully and watched as she turned away. His eyes lingered on her hips and the toned intersection where her tail joined her haunches. The way she rolled her hips with every step made her tail whip slowly and sensually from side to side. He wasn't sure how deliberately she was doing it, nor did he care, but he noticed that she was keeping her hips slightly pitched forwards and the base of her tail ever so slightly elevated. With every movement of her tail, he was tempted with a view of her private areas, but despite subconsciously craning his neck to one side, he failed to catch a glimpse.

Pausing halfway towards the bathroom, Reeva curled her neck to glance back at him, giggling as she caught him staring. Flicking his eyes up to hers, he grinned sheepishly, which only made her snort with genuine laughter and add an extra bounce to her step as she trotted off to rid herself of the artificial fragrances. Only once she had disappeared from view did Meegi come to his senses and try to focus on the task at hand. Inhaling sharply, he whipped his head around and spotted his target. Bounding across the room with two quick leaps, he landed briefly on the bed before lunging off it and skidding to a stop at the mouth of the fireplace. Beside it was a collection of logs that had been conveniently arranged by size. Additionally, a small, suitcase-sized metal tin was tucked against the wall with a red warning label that read, ‘Do not open near an open flame.’ Clicking the lid open, he nodded in realisation as he found the box stuffed full of fine wood shavings and multiple boxes of matches.

The sound of running water caused Meegi to glance towards the bathroom for a second before he hastily collected a large pawful of the shaved wood and stuffed it into the hearth. The giddy excitement in his chest reminded him of his first time. Even though they had been with one another many times, the fact that this would be for something made his paws tremble. Remembering what his neighbour had taught him, Meegi quickly assembled a small pyramid of thin, rough logs, followed by three larger pieces that would eventually fall into the heap once the kindling had properly caught. It would, of course, need tending to later, but he guessed it would last for at least an hour. Collecting the matches and closing the metal tin, Meegi set about lighting the finest wood shavings and tossed the match into the fireplace once they began to catch.

Watching the growing flame cautiously, Meegi carefully moved the tinderbox far away from the fire so that it couldn't pose a risk of interrupting them. It was only a matter of seconds before the small, glowing tongue of yellow flame caught. The wood was so dry that it didn't need him to blow on it and soon began to ignite the thinner kindling. Satisfied, he placed the wire guard across the mouth of the hearth and began to stride towards the open front door.

Sliding open the other half of the barn-style doors, Meegi scanned the far bank of the lake. The view was stunning and serene, with the calm lake reflecting the hills and trees, but as far as he could tell, no houses faced towards their cabin. He figured he could always close the doors if his mate preferred, but the idea of snuggling close to her with such a backdrop was simply too enticing. Hearing the sound of Reeva's shower end, Meegi spun around and scampered towards the kitchen. Pulling open the fridge, he scanned the contents and smiled when he saw that the cabin's staff had followed his special instructions. Tucked behind a large bag of leafy green salad, an assortment of honeyed, dried meats had been stacked in a ceramic bowl. Reaching in, he collected the bowl and used his hip to close the fridge while walking on three legs back towards the bed. He had guessed that Reeva wouldn't have had time to eat during their reception, and while she had claimed to have snuck something to eat, he estimated that she would be getting hungry again soon.

He had just finished tucking the bowl of food behind the far side of the bed when the bathroom door opened and his mate stepped out. Instinctively, his head turned to look at her, and his eyes widened with delight as she sauntered towards him. With every step, her paws landed perfectly in line with one another while she rolled her shoulders and held her neck in an elegant arch. Her whole body flexed from side to side, with her tail flicking out to accentuate the movement of her hips. Her movements, combined with the sheen of water that she hadn't completely dried from her polished scales, made her look wild and almost predatory. His jaw parted, and his gaze became lost in her amber eyes as she looked back at him with nothing but hungry desire.

“On your back,” Reeva said in a voice that was warm yet carried a directness that made it clear she had decided how they would begin. Not needing to be asked twice, Meegi lunged onto the bed, landing first on his folded wing before using his tail to rotate himself so that his spine was pressed into the soft mattress. The sensation of the thick, shaggy furs against his scales and wings made the moment feel even more primal, but he paid it little attention as he lifted his neck and tracked his mate's movements. Instead of climbing onto the bed right away, Reeva turned to circle it, only pausing when she reached his head. Lowering her neck, Reeva pressed her lips to his and snaked her tongue into his maw. Having her take charge sent a shiver of excitement through Meegi's core. More often than not, it was he who took the lead and was usually on top. However, now, feeling her tongue against his own awakened something he found himself leaning into. Her kiss wasn't dominating, controlling, or forced, but she was leading him as she tilted her head and deepened their kiss. Keeping pace with her movements, he reached a forepaw forwards to gently caress the side of her jaw and was rewarded with a croon of bliss.

His hind legs lay parted and trailed along either side of his restless tail, leaving his toned underside exposed to the air. He could feel the tightness in his groin as his cock began to engorge and press itself through the scaled lips of his protective slit. He couldn't stop it even if he had wanted to, as he rolled his tongue over Reeva's and met her energy with his own. Groaning as he felt his cock slide across his underbelly, Meegi held her jaw with his paw and extended his neck to push back into her maw's embrace, deepening their kiss further.

Parting with a breathless pant, Reeva pulled away but moved forwards, allowing his paw to remain on her jawline as she leaned into it. “Let's do this,” she whispered softly, and when Meegi let out a rumbling growl of approval, she stepped onto the bed. Keeping his wings folded at his sides, Meegi’s eyes widened in realisation as she climbed over him. Instead of aligning herself with his body so that their heads were facing towards the open cabin doors, she bracketed his body with her forepaws while spacing her hind paws on either side of his neck.

Curling his neck, Meegi looked up and stared for a moment at the brazen invitation. Standing in a partial crouch, the muscles in Reeva's haunches and thighs were even more defined. The curves of her body swept together to direct his focus towards her glossy and slightly protruding slit. Usually a thin line that blended in with her belly scutes, it was now ever so slightly agape to reveal a more crimson-coloured inner labia. Her scent sent a wash of primal desire through his nervous system as he leaned his neck upwards and pressed his snout against the back of her scaled thigh. She smelled warmer, more aroused, and like a richer version of her natural scent. Devoid of any trace of the pungent masking perfume, Meegi's body reacted as any drake’s would. An involuntary buck rocked his hips upwards as he extended his tongue and stroked it up the back of her rump towards her vent. He had initially planned to roam her groin with his tongue and lead her along the path of pleasure, but with a small rock of her own hips, Reeva pressed her slit directly against his snout. Without needing to be asked twice, Meegi pressed his tongue forwards and into her swelteringly hot, slick crease. Feeling her soft yet muscular walls part around his questing tongue, Meegi tasted her rich, heady arousal and pressed the base of his tail into the mattress as though he were thrusting upwards.

His cock hardened to its full length in the air, its mass causing it to bounce and bob with the movement of his hips until he felt her shift her weight and grip its base with a paw. Her paws always felt softer than his own, and he scrunched his eyes closed as he felt her knead her digits along the row of fleshy nubs that lined the top and bottom of his shaft. Moving both forepaws to her waist, Meegi rotated his head to get a better angle and continued to lap and lick deep inside his mate. Darting his tongue in as far as he could, he then dragged his taste buds over her warm interior, taking his time to repeat the movement whenever he felt her quiver or buck against him.

The slick, wet sounds of his lapping filled the cabin, blending with the small gasps of pleasure his mate made and the deep baritone growls he replied with as she stroked his cock. Closing his eyes so that he could focus on the sensation of her walls shuddering around him, Meegi swirled his tongue in a circle before pulling back and dragging a long, broad lick across her clit as he drove back into her. Hearing her breath hitch and feeling the subsequent clench of her passage around him told him he was doing a good job. However, it was the warmth of her tongue across his tip that was his reward.

Opening his eyes wide and looking down his snout towards her rump, Meegi was caught by surprise as she traced her tongue in a circle around his sensitive tip before the hot warmth of her maw enveloped him. With a paw still braced against his slit, she controlled the instinctive buck of his hips and began to steadily bob her maw up and down while sealing her lips as best she could. Feeling the wet warmth of her mouth and the agile movements of her tongue sweeping across his cock made him retract his own tongue and hold her hips with a firm grip. “Faa—fuck, Reeva—” he groaned before she dropped her hips back down onto his snout. Not needing to be asked twice, Meegi redoubled his efforts, focusing on the areas that made her hips twitch in his grip.

The heavy, rhythmic slapping of Meegi’s tongue against her slick flesh, the squelch of highly lubricated tissue being parted and compressed, and the deep, ragged breaths they both drew filled the room, drowning out the crackling fire and the birds chirping outside. With every lap, Meegi focused on the specific ridges inside her opening, the subtle, corrugated folds of muscle that grew tighter and hotter the further his tongue reached. He found a specific, highly sensitive cluster of nerves near the upper apex of her slit, and when his tongue swirled over it, Reeva’s hind legs compressed tightly and mashed her vent against his snout. With both paws, he braced her waist as he lifted her just enough to keep his snout in position and continued to swirl and dart his tongue into her glorious depths.

Reeva was far from idle and continued to move her head back and forth while twisting from side to side. Sweeping her tongue up and down, while occasionally curling it around his girth caressed his length in ways that tore the breath from his lungs. Holding his cock against the roof of her mouth as she drove her snout into his groin, the fleshy nubs on the underside of his shaft rubbed gloriously across the ribbed texture of her palate. Lunging her snout towards his groin, he felt the softness of the back of her throat graze his tip before she undulated her neck with a soft, wet cough. Immediately, he went to pull his hips back to relieve the pressure, but his mate seemed determined and followed him with her head. Between the taste of Reeva's soaking-wet slit, the warm scent that hung around him like a heavy fog, the velvety-smooth texture of her flesh around his tongue, the constant pressure of her mouth around his cock, and the sounds she made, his senses were overwhelmed. No thoughts came to him other than to continue lapping and licking at her sensitive folds with ever-increasing fervour.

Every time his tongue swept across the highly sensitive folds of her exposed interior, a low, rattling purr tore through Reeva’s throat at the opposite end of the bed. The vibration travelled the entire length of her spine, a resonant shudder that Meegi could feel directly against his chest and belly where their bodies remained pinned together. She pressed down harder, her powerful pelvic muscles flexing as she drove her rear quarters into his face, silently demanding more of the relentless friction.

Meegi accommodated her gladly. He began to use the tip of his snout, nudging into her pussy to widen it and using the blunt wedge of his upper jaw to access the deeper, hotter chambers. The fluid she was now producing copiously began to smear across his entire muzzle, overwhelming his nostrils with the sheer concentration of her scent. It filled his nasal cavities, clinging to his olfactory receptors with an intensity that made his pupils contract. He wasn't just tasting her heat; he was breathing it in, absorbing the chemical signature of her cycle directly into his bloodstream.

Rolling his hips upwards in a restless surge, his unformed knot pushed free from the confines of his slit. In an instant, Reeva's paw curled around his shaft, and she slicked her paw with saliva before gripping the bulb with just enough pressure to make him moan. The sensation caused him to writhe beneath her, with his forepaws gripping her waist to steady himself as he rapidly flicked his tongue in and out of her. He was as hard as a rock, yet she continued to stroke his shaft up and down with her tongue as she intermittently squeezed his knot and rolled her paw down as though he were pressing into her slit. Every time she let it roll and pop through her grip, she gave the back of his knot a quick, tempting squeeze before letting go and repeating the process. It was heavenly torture in the best possible way, and Meegi found his tongue faltering as he tried to maintain some semblance of rhythm with his licks.

“Reeva—” he gasped breathlessly, pulling his snout away for a moment and clenching his jaw. “I... that’s—” he started incoherently and drew a deep lungful of air when she finally pulled her snout off his cock. Lifting her body, Reeva curled her neck so she could look upside down between them. With her head inverted, she panted while her frill dangled towards him. “That's good, but Ree... didn't you want to... you know?” Meegi added, swallowing quickly as he tried to compose himself.

“Say please?” Reeva asked with a playfulness that made him huff out a single laugh. He didn't reply right away and instead looked up towards her glistening slit. The fine scales framing it were completely glossy with a mixture of his saliva and her arousal. After he had stroked her walls with his tongue, the edges of her labia appeared even more plump and soft, while the line of her slit had opened a fraction more. Nuzzling his snout back between her thighs, he slid his tongue along her crease in one slow, long lick. Staring at her clit, he stroked upwards while applying just enough pressure for his tongue to part her until he finished at her perineum.

“Please?” he whispered softly and pulled his head back to look down at her. It wasn't a beg, but a simple request, one that she answered with an open-mouthed, lustful expression. He felt her hips move and relaxed his grip as she turned around. Keeping his wings out of the way and tucked close to his sides, Meegi traced her flank with a paw as she moved over him. Now standing with her hind paws just ahead of his hips and her forepaws framing the base of his neck, Reeva looked down at him and slowly lowered her snout.

Looking into her brilliant amber eyes, Meegi's breath hitched as she softly kissed the tip of his snout, then angled her head to kiss him properly. Sliding his forepaws up her front legs, Meegi's touch roamed over her toned shoulders before moving down to her sides. He could feel the firmness of her ribs and then the soft transition to her flanks before he guided her hips lower. She moved without reluctance, following his guiding touch while pressing her tongue into his maw. The knowledge of what this meant had his cock standing proudly between them, and after leading her hips forwards and down, he felt the slickness of her groin slide across the underside of his shaft. Rolling her hips backwards and then forwards, Reeva slid his bare shaft between her labia, covering his already slick length with her arousal. The small nubs lining the underside of his length ground against her clit in the process, and as she repeated the movement for the third time, he felt her entire body tense with building arousal.

Pulling away from their kiss for a moment, Reeva panted through her open mouth as she looked down at him. They needed no words, and the next time she dragged herself forwards, she dropped her hips lower and rolled them to catch his tip. The sensation of his smooth, tapered cock being enveloped by her slick heat made Meegi tighten his forepaws around her waist and push his tail back into the bed to drive his hips upwards.

“Nnngg, fuck,” Meegi gasped as he pushed up and she dropped herself all the way down to his half-formed knot. “You feel so fucking good,” he groaned while tipping his head forwards in pure, blissful concentration. Looking between them, he was treated to the sight of her slit stretched around the base of his tapered shaft. The usual line now curved into a lewd ‘O’ shape as her slick lips rested against his knot. Nuzzling up into her chest and throat, Meegi extended his neck and angled his head to kiss and nibble at her glossy scales. Working his way up towards her jawline, he cherished the small, coo-like croon she made before she pulled her head back to look at him lovingly.

The heat of her body soaked into his like a warm bath, and as he exhaled a breath he hadn't realised he was holding, he let his wings sprawl out at his sides. For a moment, the pair simply enjoyed the feeling of being together. Every throb of her heart sent a small pulse through her body and into his. His instincts told him to move, to thrust, to take her, but he held back, content to simply hold her hips while looking up at her. Movement against his tail caused it to instinctively lift and coil around hers, and when she squeezed him with it, he felt her vaginal muscles tense and constrict around his cock. The pressure drove a deep grunt from his chest, and it took conscious effort not to buck his hips upwards.

“Sorry,” Reeva murmured and relaxed her tail's grip to instead caress the side of his with its tip. Humming to dismiss her concern, he gently kissed the tip of her snout and then lay back to rest his neck against the pillows. “Is it just me, or does it kind of feel different?” she asked softly and ever so gently rocked her hips backwards and forwards. It was only by a few degrees, but it was enough for him to feel the silky-smooth texture of her passage shift and grip around his cock. “Like it's naughty or something.”

Exhaling a soft laugh, Meegi nodded in agreement. He had always been so cautious and courteous to ensure that they weren't engaging in anything during his mate's cycles, and now he was almost knot-deep inside her while there was a very real chance of her becoming gravid. They both wanted this, but the past teachings of both his teachers and mother now echoed in the back of his mind and made the moment feel forbidden. That very fact made everything feel so much more exhilarating. Inhaling through his nose to try to compose himself, Meegi instead took in her raw, fertile scent and the smell of her arousal. It caused him to close his eyes, and when he opened them, he looked at her intently. “If you change your mind, we can—”

“I didn't say that,” Reeva corrected quickly and lowered her head to nuzzle her snout against his. “I want this. I want you,” she added and slowly lifted her hips a few inches before lowering herself back down to take him again. Groaning in bliss, Meegi's paws trembled against her sides before moving up to brace her shoulders. The way her body clenched around him on the upstroke but failed to find purchase because of her slick arousal created a fierce combination of sensations that no paw could ever hope to achieve. Combined with her warmth and the slick sound of his cock driving into her fertile depths, it evaporated any hesitation he may have had. Repeating the motion twice more, Reeva began to lift herself higher and push herself down into a low squat over him. Unlike the times when he had been on top, every movement of her body caused her abdominal muscles to tense and relax, in turn changing how her passage stroked and massaged his hard cock. With every downward press of her hips, Reeva let out a small breath in a ragged pant, the soft sound mixing with the wet squelch of his length disappearing inside her.

Their rhythm slowly deepened, every movement of her hips now lifting her higher and sliding down with more confidence. Looking up at her, he held her gaze while breathing through his mouth in ragged pants. He wasn't even exerting himself, yet his heart pounded rapidly in his chest as though he were flying. Every time she pulled herself up until only his tip remained, she paused just long enough for him to feel exposed before dropping herself back down and taking him inside her again. Pausing at the bottom of her stroke, she released a satisfied, rumbling purr from her chest before undulating her hips once and then sliding back up again. Stroking her sides with his paws, Meegi continued to trace her scales absentmindedly while focusing on the wet, enveloping sensation of every drop of her hips.

A pop, crackle, and crash from the fireplace caused Reeva to stop mid-stroke, and together, they both whipped their heads towards it. The smaller kindling had given way, allowing the heavier logs to fall into the pyre with a cloud of sparks contained by the wire guard. Satisfied that there was no risk, Reeva idly rocked her hips as if asking whether they should continue. Answering with a steady thrust of his own up into her, Meegi smiled as she gasped softly. Repeating the motion, he began to time his upward drives with her lowering hips, increasing their speed and meeting her with a wet thuck. Curling his neck slightly, Meegi watched as his shaft drove in and out of his mate. Each time they parted, her tight slit tried valiantly to cling to his shaft, causing her pinkish-red walls to become visible as they dragged against his cock and left a glossy sheen of their mixed arousal coating him. Sliding back down as he thrust upwards, his length drove into her, parting her slick walls again and again.

Lifting his head once more, he nuzzled into her collarbone and then up along her neck. After several minutes at their steady pace, he could hear her breathing grow heavier as fatigue began to build in her limbs. After holding a crouch for so long, it was hardly surprising, and while nuzzling her cheek, he curled his forepaws around her shoulders and gently pulled her closer.

Feeling her comforting weight settle on top of him, Meegi dotted kisses across her jawline and cheek. She didn't initiate a roll to one side, and he enjoyed her warmth and the feeling of her smooth scales rubbing against his. Their new angle changed how his cock slipped in and out of her heat-soaked core, and the small, fleshy nubs on the top and bottom of his shaft applied more pressure to the edges of her slit. Using his tail to press more firmly against the bed, he began to meet her movements with greater authority. Each thrust mashed his fluid-soaked knot against the lips of her vent with enough force that it slipped inside and made Reeva's breath hitch. Pulling himself back out before they tied, Meegi resumed thrusting shallowly before gasping as she suddenly pushed her hips back and took him inside again. The feeling of her vent sealing behind his knot caused it to pulse and engorge further.

“Mmmmgggh, not yet,” Meegi growled before pulling back sharply and then thrusting upwards with a sharp drive of his hips. “You feel too good—too fucking good,” he added while scrunching his eyes closed and focusing on trying to calm his instincts. This wasn't a race, and the feeling of thrusting into her was intoxicating. Combined with the knowledge that she was fertile and wanted him to quell her heat, it drove his arousal to new heights. Pressing his forehead into the crook of her jaw, Meegi's body tensed as she moved her hips closer to his. Now, each thrust was a shallow and rapid drive into her, stopped only by his knot kissing her folds.

“It's okay—it's okay, Meegi. We can—can do this again,” she replied in a strained, almost whimper-like voice. Pulling his head back, he looked up at her and blinked to focus his eyes. He could see the genuine enjoyment and sincerity in her expression. With the flickering lights of the antler chandelier behind her, she looked almost wild yet unequivocally his mate as his thrusts rocked her in his grip. Unable to find his voice, Meegi opened and closed his mouth before looking up at her with an uncertain yet pleading expression. Her frill flicked back as she nodded and then lowered her head so that her breath ghosted over his ear. “It's okay. I'm kind of close, but... okay, not going to lie, my thighs are kind of hurting,” she whispered with a mixture of humour and need in her voice.

“I've got you,” Meegi growled close to her ear. Spreading his digits and then curling them against the sky-blue scales lining her shoulders, Meegi pulled her close and anchored her against himself before beginning to thrust into her with more urgency. Keeping her still against him and using his hips to press upwards again and again caused Reeva's hind legs to lose purchase on the bed and spread wide, giving him unrestricted access to repeatedly drive his cock through her slick passage. Every upward surge of his pelvis was a calculated, brute-force execution of his anatomy against hers. With almost the entire length of his tapered, orca-like shaft swallowed by her boiling interior, the friction transformed. The sounds escaping Reeva's throat were no longer clean, resonant moans; they degraded into raw, involuntary vocalisations. With every deep, concussive impact of his root against her outer vent, she let out a sharp, wet chuff that hissed violently past her teeth.

“Mmmmgggh, yesss!” Reeva whined as he took charge of their pace. Slumping against him, Reeva was more than content to let him work his length into her again and again while offering only jerking rolls of her hips in return. The powerful, thick muscles at the base of his tail bunched and locked while squeezing hers with every thrust. The sheer physical strain of the leverage radiated up his lower spine, a burning ache that only fuelled his primal determination to claim her completely. Feeling the tension in his tail base and abdominal muscles begin to become unbearable, Meegi extended one of his wings out and then upwards to curl around her. Leaning his shoulders to one side and extending his opposite hind leg parallel with his tail, he angled his thrusts to offer her a different position. Feeling her move with him was all the encouragement he needed, and after pausing with his knot kissing her slit, he moved them together. With a surge of strength and a twist of their intertwined tails, he rolled them both onto their sides and then released her shoulders so that he could run a paw down her neck and spine to flatten her frill. Only once he was sure it wouldn't get jarred against the bed did he continue until he was on top.

The exhausted and relieved sigh that escaped Reeva's lips was met with a tender series of nibbles along her jaw as Meegi stood over her in a low crouch and resumed their rhythm. “Thanks—” she gasped before angling her snout to intercept his mouth and kiss him once more. Feeling her hum soft moans into the kiss sent the tension within Meegi climbing higher.

Lowering himself just enough that his chest was gently pressed against hers, he dropped his wings to shelter her from the world and began to undulate his whole body to deliver blissful thrusts into her soaking core. Every drive rocked her slightly beneath him, and the feeling of Reeva's hind legs locking around his waist meant that he could pull her back after each thrust. The sounds of their love filled the cabin. The wet slaps of slick, scaled rumps colliding and their heavy breathing were broken only by the sound of the fire crackling behind them and the occasional bird call from outside. The fertile scent of Reeva's heat and their combined arousal hung heavily in the air, filling their nostrils and mouths with every heavy pant. Looking down at his mate, the image of her being rocked up and down the bed as she looked back at him with a strained, pleasure-filled expression made Meegi's loins tighten with restrained release. He could tell she was close by the way she closed her eyes for seconds at a time and angled her hips so he rubbed just the right spot. The soaked lobes of his knot parted her vent again and again as he took her with deliberate, firm drives. He wasn't rough, but there was no hesitation in his movements as his instincts took over and he plunged into her again and again.

“Meeggghhnn—” Her voice fractured into a groan as she called out to him. The following inhale sounded almost painful as she hissed with restrained pleasure. “P-please—” she whispered on her next exhale. Curling his neck down into a tight arch, Meegi buried the bridge of his snout into the side of her neck as he added an extra roll to his thrusts. The sheer amount of her fluids coated their groins and would have made the driving thrusts effortless if it weren't for the way he stretched her walls with his tapered length. Inhaling her scent directly from her neck, Meegi scrunched his eyes closed as he thrust once more but held his hips firmly against hers. He could feel the strain his knot caused throughout her body, the way her forepaws bunched against his shoulders, the way her tail seized around his like a constrictor, and the desperate whine that rang out from deep in her throat.

The raw, uninhibited rhythm shifted into a devastatingly precise game of friction and containment. Meegi kept his body looming directly over Reeva, his front paws pinning her shoulders while his hips executed a calculated, teasing technique that drove her primitive instincts to a fever pitch. He would plunge deep, burying his smooth, pale, flesh-coloured shaft until the firm bulge of his knot pressed hard against the outer lips of her vent. Reeva’s pupils narrowed tightly, her jaws snapping open to let out a sharp, ragged hiss of pure, overloaded delight as the expanding mass pressed her vent wider. The pressure on his knot was immense, but she kept pulling him down as he pressed it through the tight opening of her vent. Meegi's jaw tightened as he felt the thickest part of his knot pass into her vent, then exhaled in unbridled bliss as he felt it slip further. With a messy, wet schlop, her vent took in his entire length, and the muscles that framed her vent and usually held it tightly closed now clenched around the back of the meaty ball of flesh.

Lifting himself slightly as Reeva arched her back, Meegi began to hump hard and fast. All control was lost as his knot swelled larger and larger, while the pressure of her vent tightened around his entire length. She climaxed first, the rapid thrusting that shook her against the bed, combined with the internal stretch and grind of his slit against hers, sent her mind cascading in pleasure. For Meegi, the feeling of his mate coming undone under his relentless thrusting was too much to take. While she cried out in bliss, Meegi's whole body tensed as he tried to continue to hump but instead delivered a series of jagged tugs and shoves. His internal testes throbbed hard as they sent the first of many surges of pent up seed through his shaft. Pulling his hips flush with hers once last time, Meegi felt the pressure of his release rush through him and then jet into her waiting, ready, and very fertile depths. With his tip mashed against the deepest barrier of her body, and her walls clamping tightly around his wedge-like shaft, there was only one place for his seed to go.

Judging by the way Reeva's cry of ecstasy hitched an octave, he guessed she felt it too and in turn, he growled a low baritone ruble as he came. It felt as though her body was welcoming his claim by the way that her passage undulated and clamped down on his cock. Starting at his knot, her sensitive walls constricted tightly around the invading lobes and then the tightness swept up his length towards his tip. Meegi's hips shuddered with a heavy buck as he fired another pulse of hot, virile seed into his mate, followed by another and another. Panting heavily as he pressed his head into her neck, Meegi felt every contraction of her body as he bred Reeva. Deep inside her body, the carnation pink walls of her womb were quickly clouded with the pale seed that began to pool in her core.

Meegi didn't hold still, even as the thick, scalding torrent of his draconic seed continued to pump violently into her deepest chambers. Driven by a primal, possessive instinct to ensure his clutch took root, he began a heavy, grounding friction. He used his lower torso to grind his pelvis in slow, devastatingly deep circles against hers.

The girth of his knot throbbed to its absolute maximum diameter and churned within her entry canal. The tight seal of his cock within her was absolute, and his unyielding grinding forced her vent to stretch and bunch in agonizingly tight, wet pleats around his base. Lifting his head up from the side of her neck, Meegi looked down at her as he continued to rock and release more of his seed into her. With her head thrown back, he watched as her throat pulsed with her rapid breathing. Her whole body quivered like a leaf, sending ripples and shudders around him as she slowly came down from her high. Seeing her so vulnerable, with the delicate scales of her throat on display, Meegi felt compelled to lick and kiss the sensitive area. Her whole body jerked as he grazed her delicate throat with his sharp fangs, but she relaxed again as he gently nibbled the soft scales.

“Nnnnmmeegi—” Reeva moaned softly as though she were waking from a deep slumber. “Meegi—” she said again, causing him to pull his head back and curl his neck to give her space. Watching the muscles in her neck bunch and then tremble as she tried to lift her head, he quickly shifted his weight to one side and used a forepaw to help her. The gesture made her croon in appreciation, and once he had helped her look up at him, he was met with a giddy, flustered, and exhausted Reeva. “Fuck, Meegi... that was... fuck...” she swore, bringing a smug smirk to Meegi's snout. Seeming unable to form a sentence, Reeva instead rocked them both by pressing one of her folded wings against the bed.

Understanding what she wanted, Meegi lowered himself closer to her and retracted one wing. Sliding his paw from her neck to her shoulder, he helped roll them onto their sides and slumped down onto the mattress with an exhausted huff of his own. Crooning in appreciation, Reeva curled her neck beneath his and pressed her head up under his jaw. With them lying on their sides, she no longer needed to strain, and Meegi felt as though she were melting against him as she relaxed into his embrace.

For several minutes, neither said anything; Instead, they both enjoyed the moment. Meegi softly stroked her shoulder with a paw while she curled herself tighter into his embrace. Extending one wing over her and slipping his other forepaw beneath her neck, he became both a pillow and a blanket for her while his cock occasionally twitched inside her. Every small pulse released more of his seed into her, each one smaller than the last, while his knot acted like a plug and stopped any from flowing out of her.

“I get it now,” Reeva mused so softly that Meegi almost didn't hear her. Curling his neck, Meegi ran his tongue across the line where her frill met her neck before humming to ask what she meant. “Why some couples end up with so many kids,” she added before dragging her head out from beneath his neck to look at him. “Like, it wasn't just my imagination. That was way better than usual, right?”

Meegi snorted in amusement before rocking his head from side to side against the bed as if in serious thought. “Well, every time with you is incredible, but there was something about this that was different,” Meegi mused, his nostrils twitching as he tried to keep his composure. “But once isn't really a good sample size for a proper... hypothesis?” he added, genuinely unsure if it was the right word and, in turn, making his mate giggle. Her laughter sent a shiver through his body as her core muscles clenched and her vagina tightened around him.

“Oh, we are going to go all scientific on this, are we?” Reeva countered and flashed him a joyful smile while gently rocking her hips.

“Nnnghufff... Well, for the first one, maybe,” Meegi groaned before curling his lips back into a toothy grin. Clenching his tail around hers and tightening his wing around her, he held her close. “The next five could just be fun, though—”

“Oh my gods!” Reeva exclaimed and rolled her eyes while Meegi chuckled. Pressing her forepaws against his chest, she stroked them down the sides of his keel. The feeling of her soft paws stroking against his scales was heavenly, and he returned the favour by stroking his digits across her shoulders. “Do you think it worked, though?”

Sensing a hint of uncertainty in her voice, Meegi curled his neck around again and kissed her on the bridge of her snout. “If it does, then that would be fantastic! If it doesn't, then we will try again... but I think after this week... well... I think we should have gotten it done,” he added before giving her a small, loving lick between the eyes and then pulling back. “But stress is a thing, and we don't want that. So let's not worry about anything! Including what might happen, or...” he added and lifted his neck to look around and orient himself.

Placing a paw on her shoulder to brace himself and wrapping his hind legs around her rump so that he didn't pull at her with his knot, Meegi stretched back behind them. Even though he tried to keep his hips as steady as possible, the way he arched his back caused his cock to shift angles inside his mate, and with another heavy throb, he fired a smaller jolt of seed into her. Inhaling sharply at the feeling, Meegi briefly closed his eyes before opening them again and smiling sheepishly at her. Refocusing on the task at hand, he reached blindly behind the edge of the couch, his tongue hanging from the corner of his mouth as he fumbled about. Feeling the edge of the bowl against a talon, he leaned further and gripped it by the rim. “Food!” he announced cheerfully and brought the bowl around between them. “See! Your mate provides.”

Grinning as Reeva snorted in amusement, Meegi plucked out a long piece of slowly cured meat with two digits and held it up to her. “I picked well,” Reeva mused as she looked him in the eye and brought her head towards his paw to take it from him. While holding the long piece between her front teeth, Reeva offered him half of the snack, which he gladly took from her with a gentle bite that also allowed him to nuzzle the tip of her snout with his. Pulling back to tear the meat in two, Meegi returned his paw to her shoulder and held her close as they chewed the smoked meat. The taste of beef, honey, and a plethora of spices made Meegi hum in surprise and savour the bite while Reeva nodded in agreement.

“I just realised something,” Reeva started but paused to chew her mouthful further and then swallow. “We are gonna have to come up with a name for the little one, aren't we?” she asked rhetorically before collecting a cushion with her mouth and moving it so she could rest her head on it. Wiggling her neck and shoulders to get comfortable, Reeva groaned contentedly while readjusting her tail’s grip on his. “Got any ideas?”

Following her lead, Meegi lowered his head to the bed and curled his neck so that his snout was only an inch away from hers. With a paw, he collected another strip of meat and brought it between their mouths so either of them could take it. “No... but it's kinda weird if you think about it. Naming them before they hatch, I mean. Like, what if you name them Kiirin and they turn out not to be a Kiirin at all? Or the opposite. You know?” Meegi rambled before shrugging the wing he had wrapped around her. “And calling an egg Kiirin is kinda weird. Like, it's not going to be an egg forever.”

“Well... we can call it ‘Egg’ until it hatches. For me though, I like the idea of not knowing if it's a boy or a girl,” Reeva explained, and Meegi nodded in agreement. “I know they can do scans and predict when it will hatch pretty accurately these days. I just feel, though, that it kinda takes the excitement out of it all... well, not all the excitement,” she rambled, and Meegi hummed in acknowledgement before kissing her between the nostrils. “I told you my name was kinda rushed. Mom was still recovering, and Dad... well, Dad did his best.”

“Reeva is a nice name,” Meegi cooed softly as his heart steadily slowed and a heavy, lethargic weight began to settle into his limbs. “But I think it's a bit vain to just copy and paste it,” he added and held the piece of meat steady as Reeva took a bite before nodding. “I’ve got nothing against combining names, though. Although Reegi sounds like a drake who plays one of those Jamaican drums—”

Reeva’s laugh was as sudden as the cough that followed when she accidentally inhaled part of her meat. The sudden spasm of her core muscles made Meegi hiss and flinch as his sensitive cock was compressed tightly. Opening one eye, he was met with Reeva trying hard not to laugh as she swallowed properly. “Sorry, but yes. I can see it...” she began and reached forwards with a paw to comb through his trimmed blond mane. “If he had this, it would totally be dreadlocks and sunglasses.”

Now it was Meegi's turn to stifle a laugh. Taking the rest of the meat into his maw, he grinned as he bit into it. “Meeva doesn't sound too bad, though. Meeeeevah,” Meegi mused and rolled his tongue in his mouth as if testing how the name tasted. “What do you think?”

“No,” Reeva said flatly before shaking her head in disapproval. “She sounds like she is already sixty... or a librarian—”

“Librarian! What's wrong with that?” Meegi exclaimed and giggled when she glared at him. “I mean, yeah... you're not wrong. It kinda does sound old-fashioned. Like she would have a harness she sewed herself or something,” Meegi added before collecting another piece of meat. “Nah. Besides, if we combined our names for our first, it would make it weird for the other five,” Meegi teased and giggled when she simply rolled her eyes. “Have you thought of any names?”

“Well...” Reeva started before reaching into the bowl and collecting a piece for herself to hold. “I had given it some thought... I kind of like Riikard if it's a boy,” she said and looked at him as if trying to gauge his thoughts. Nodding in agreement, Meegi continued to eat while thinking about how it would sound to call the name out in public. “My mom also hinted that she would be totally okay if we named it after my late uncle. But I don't know. I think that's kind of weird. Fiinix was also one that I had been thinking about, but I don't know. It might be too close to Phoenix, and that sounds a bit ‘trailer park’.”

“Yeah... I agree. Sounds like he would be expelled for slashing the teacher's tires or something,” Meegi mused while he chewed and then shrugged his wings. “Lyyris is kind of nice for a drake. I played against one back in high school. Kinda stuck with me.”

“Yeah, that's not bad,” Reeva mused before nuzzling her snout beneath his jaw. “It's weird that this is so hard. But we have plenty of time to think of something,” she added softly, and Meegi tossed the last of the meat he was holding into his maw before wiping his paw on his own wing. Once satisfied that it was clean, he wrapped it back around the curve of her neck and held her close.

“I think we will be good after the first few,” he added with a grin that grew when she groaned dramatically.

Pressing down with his jaw, he gave her a reassuring hug and looked across the room and out over the lake. With the sun starting to set, the trees on the far side looked as though they were glowing bright orange. It would get colder in the coming days, and he realised that if they were successful this week, Reeva would be looking to lay as they went into winter. The idea of snuggling up with her on their bed, keeping her and their egg warm while it snowed outside, made him croon contentedly. He tried to remind himself that nothing was guaranteed, but there was one thing he was sure about; The next chapter of his life was looking like something very, very special.