FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

A cool breeze whispered through the dark night, gently rustling leaves and carrying the cold winds of a nearby mountain. The moon was half covered by thin clouds, casting eerie silhouettes from anything its gaze fell upon. The stars shone brightly, visible even through the thin clouds that were drifting lazily across the sky. The night was quite, most creatures sleeping soundly while others hunted for an easy meal. There were few creatures that would dare to hunt near the mountain, for a fear had been instilled in them since their birth, passed down from their parents. Even without this fear passed through generations most animals knew that it would be foolish to hunt along the slope of the mountain, for there was little cover and the moon would show them easily to anything that wished to evade them.

The fear that was in the animals came from a creature greater than them all, a creature that had enough power to rule the surrounding lands unopposed. While many creatures were born without so much of an inkling of knowledge, the creature that dwelt within the deep caves of the mountain had lived longer than any animal. The creature was a dragon, a powerful and well known creature. Dragons weren't just feared for their large size, hard scales or ability to fly. They were also feared because of their uncanny intelligence.

Even the humans knew well enough not to challenge the wits of a dragon, although they were wont to try to claim a share of its treasure. This particular dragon was never angered by the feeble attempts on its horde, instead only annoyed by the incessant creatures found sneaking into its lair. The dragon was a sight to behold, and many thieves had found themselves stopped in their tracks, facing death just to gaze upon it. Its scales were lustrous dark yellow plates, covering it protectively, and where they were expected to reflect light in a brilliant display, they seemed rather to absorb it. The scales were wide and thick along its chest and back, creeping down its legs until they became smaller and more sensitive, just as they did when reaching between its hind legs and continuing along its tail. The top of its tail held a trail of the thicker scales running along its middle, smaller scales wrapping around to the underside. Its stomach was covered in a dull white that spread along the underside of its tail, chest and head.

The beast stood around the same size as a horse, being much smaller than many of its race, but still feared none the less. It had small horns protruding from its head, the colour as white as freshly fallen snow, looking as if they should melt at any moment. Its wings were marvellous, each larger than the dragon itself when fully spread, and capable of propelling the beast effortlessly through the air. Its tail was easily twice as long as the dragons body, and while seeming not to be dangerous, was capable of smashing trees in half with its strength. The dragon's body, while well-muscled, was rather thin compared to others of its species, looking more lithe and dextrous than strong. Its paws were somehow both sensitive and resilient to the elements at once, making sure it could keep its balance as well as feel what was underfoot. The pads of the paws and toes seemed to be the only fleshy substance that could be seen on the outside of the dragon, looking a light pink and delicately outlined be fine looking scales.

Though many dragons couldn't speak the language of other creatures there were some that could, and while the yellow dragon could not speak any language, it could easily understand many. The yellow dragon had a name, though how it acquired it no one knew, and only few knew the name themselves. Its name was Valen, and there were perhaps a dozen left alive that knew it. Sure enough, there were well over a dozen dragons that knew him, but they had no need for names. The ones that did know his name were those that he had found worthy, most of them being humans with an unnatural talent to touch powers that they should not have been able to.

The last visitor Valen had was one such human, who had desired nothing more to gaze into the eyes of the dragon, to see what depths they held. Valen had cherished their company, finding himself entertained by their stories and finding a strange connection with them. Time passed though, and the human had left, claiming they had business elsewhere. As the life of a dragon could often prove to be lonely, Valen was hoping to find another to help take his loneliness. He had searched for weeks on end to find another dragon, perhaps even a mate to settle with, but his search had ended only in fighting over territories and wasted time. He had resigned to wait in his mountain, spending days at a time sleeping, and hoping that company would find him.

Company did find him eventually, but not the sort that he wished for. He had been sleeping softly, his mind barely away from waking, and had been disturbed by the familiar sound of coins sliding against each other. He pried his eyes open, slowly looking around the dark interior of the deep cave he was in. He rested upon large piles of gold, and his shifting caused it to begin moving. It didn't take him long to find the disturbance, yet another thief seeking his riches. He yawned widely, feeling his jaw pop, before standing and stretching. He heard the quick scuffling as the thief began to retreat, and made no hurry to chase them.

Valen knew that he would easily catch them, and slowly padded towards the tunnel leading to his cave. He quickly caught up with his prey, easily jumping over them to block their escape. He lay down in front of them, to examine who would think themselves worthy to take his gold, and found himself disappointed by the culprit. It appeared to be just another human thief, clothed in black as they always seemed to be, and carrying a large sack of what he knew to be his gold.

The thief stood completely still, as if by not moving they would escape the dragon's movement. This went on for several minutes, Valen studying the human while he waited. They looked shorter than most of the humans he had seen, but not by much. They had light skin from what Valen could see on them, as if the sun hadn't taken its toll on their skin as it did most other humans. Their hair looked shortly cut and their face was hairless, much like a youth's. They looked slim, as if they hadn't eaten properly. Valen became bored and slowly moved closer, nudging the human in the chest with his snout, sending them toppling to the ground with a loud shout. They immediately curled into a ball, their hands held over their head in the darkness. Again Valen waited, resting his head on the ground, waiting to see what the human would offer in exchange for his life, as almost all other thieves had.

The thief lifted his head slowly, looking towards the dragon, his body trembling with fear as he noticed the dark orange eyes staring straight at him. He found his breath catching in his throat as his brown eyes aligned with the dragon's; which seemed to bore into the soul of the dragon itself, the irises seeming to move and shift, only to remain still upon his focus. He didn't know why the dragon just lay there; perhaps it was too young to understand the situation? To him the dragon seemed dangerous enough, but who could tell how a young dragon would react? Suddenly filled with new found confidence, the thief slowly stood up.

“H- Hey" the thief ventured, holding his hands out towards the dragon. “You're not very old are you?" he asked.

Valen just stared blankly; amazed that the human would think that he was a mere hatchling.

The thief looked at the dragon's blank stare, praying to the gods that he was right, and that the beast in front of him was too young for intelligent thought. He had heard many stories of how smart dragons were, but they often exaggerated the size, saying that they were as big as the mountains themselves. He guessed that they must be much larger than this one if the stories were at least remotely true.

“Why don't you move aside" the thief asked, his voice light, as if trying to persuade a child.

Valen snorted, becoming annoyed with the human's attitude. He was older than the human could probably imagine, and they thought to treat him as a new born.

“That's right" the thief said, slowly moving towards the dragon, seeking to slip around it “Don't mind me".

The dragon nudged him again, forcing him back to the ground, and spilling the gold from the sack that the human carried.

“Damn, you stupid beast!" the thief exclaimed, rubbing his backside as he stood again, stooping to begin recollecting the dropped gold.

Normally Valen would be angered by such an insult, but the lack of company he had stopped him from killing the human, though he would not tolerate further insults.

“For such a large beast you must have a small brain" the thief said, chuckling at his own joke.

Valen was tiring quickly of this treatment, becoming increasingly angry by the humans insults. He knocked them down again, but this time stepped forward to trap them beneath his paw, his claws flexing to push holes through the cloth the thief wore and press lightly into their flesh.

“Wha-" the thief began, before seeing the dragon lower its head so that its eyes were level with his. A cold sweat suddenly broke out in the thief, and in a shaky voice he asked “You are not young are you" he asked, as dreadful realisation settled on him.

Valen gently nodded his head, pleased that the thief finally understood.

“Oh gods, this is it isn't it?" the thief asked, “This is how it ends?"

Valen shook his head, willing to let the thief go if he could offer even the smallest thing of worth. He didn't want to kill the only company he had had in years.

“What?" the thief asked, looking stupefied, “You can understand me?"

Again Valen nodded, easing the pressure on the human's chest.

“C- Can you let me go?" they asked.

Valen complied, lifting his paw from the human before lying down on the ground in front of them. His head was nearly as big easily as big as the human's chest, and he maintained eye contact as the thief slowly sat up.

“So I guess this is yours?" the thief asked, holding out a shaky handful of gold coins.

Valen nodded again, and was slightly confused as the humans face lost all colour and the gold dropped from its hands. He waited patiently for the human to regain composure, which took several more minutes.

“Can you talk?" the thief asked, his voice quiet.

Valen shook his head.

“So, simple yes or no questions then" the thief said, trying for a smile but not managing to hold it.

Valen didn't bother with nodding, understanding that sometimes humans asked questions when they already knew the answers.

“Will you let me leave?" the thief asked, hope briefly flickering in his eyes.

Valen shrugged his shoulders, exhaling a deep breath.

The thief sat silent for a few more seconds before talking again. “Do you have a name?" he asked.

Valen nodded, wondering why the human would ask, there was no way that Valen could tell him his name.

“If I know your name will you let me leave?" the thief asked.

Valen shrugged again, wondering why the human thought knowing his name would let him leave. Although he was almost certain that there was no way that they knew his name.

The human seemed to talk to himself for a few moments, shaking his head as he seemed to be having a conversation about something that only he could hear.

“Arlon?" the thief asked expectantly.

As Valen expected, there was no way that they could know his name. He shook his head, wondering what they would do now.

“No?" he asked, “then it must be… Valen??" he asked after a long pause.

Valen's shoulders went stiff, his eyes widening as he studied the human in front of him with renewed interest. How could he know his name?

“It- it is isn't it?" the human asked, his own eyes getting wider, as if he realised something terrible. “What have we done? We killed him!" he said, his hands holding his head.

Valen frowned, confused as to what the thief was talking about.

“He- he said that he knew you, that you were friends. We though he was mad!" the thief said seeming to become hysterical, “He could have killed us all!"

Valen still had no idea what they were talking about, but a sense of unease was spreading through him.

“I'm sorry!" the thief said, almost begged, looking up with tears in his eyes.

Valen didn't understand what was happening, why was the thief crying. Were they only now apologizing for trying to steal? He snorted loudly, nudging the thief, trying to calm them so that they might explain.

“He said he was going to return" the thief said, his voice becoming quiet.

Who was the thief talking about?

“He wanted to come back to you" they continued, looking up at Valen, sorrow in their eyes.

Who was going to come back? The last person to come here was… the human who stared into his eyes. Valen could not recall their name; did they have something to do with this? Were they going to come back? Valen's heart quickened at the thought of them returning, he had enjoyed listening to their tales. Then, as if the thoughts were forced into his head, he understood what had happened. The humans had killed him; they had killed the man who had spent so long with Valen. His heart seemed to stop in his chest, his frown becoming deeper. What was happening, what was he feeling right now? Had he eaten something bad?

“I'm sorry" the thief whispered, his head slumping against his chest.

Valen was becoming distressed; he didn't know what was wrong with his body. His heart felt wrong, his stomach seemed to be trying to empty. His eyes had trouble focussing, becoming clouded. He had never felt anything like this; he let out a long, low whine, trying to understand what was wrong.

The thief looked up suddenly, and their eyes widened with recognition. They knew was wrong with Valen, and he looked sad because of it. Valen blinked his eyes clear, nudging the human in the chest gently, trying to make them tell him what was happening. He didn't expect to feel their hand on his snout, gently moving to wrap around his head. No human had ever dared to touch Valen before, and he tried to gently pull his head away, his strength seeming to flee from him. The thief held tight though, and Valen finally let his he rest on their lap, still trying to understand what was wrong.

There was no noise for a long time, it felt like hours passed, the only sensation the gentle rubbing of the humans hands on the back of his head as his mind struggled to fix his body. Eventually his mind drifted away from him, letting his body rest in a dreamless sleep. When he finally awoke there was faint light shining in from around the bend in the tunnel, and he was confused to feel something soft under his head, instead of the gold he had come to know as his bed. He lifted his head, feeling something slide from on top of it, and looked down to see a human. He was confused for a moment, before remembering what had happened that night. He quickly looked down to check his chest, expecting to see some sort of injury where his heart lay.

He still felt a dull sort of pain in his chest, not really physical but there none the less. The human stirred on the floor, Valen stepped back and looked down at them as they slowly let out a groan, rubbing their eyes and back before slowly sitting up. He looked around blankly before realising where he was, but there seemed to be none of the earlier fear that he had shown at the sight of Valen. He even reached out as if to touch Valen, who instinctively pulled his head back. The thief looked confused for a moment.

“Do you remember what was said last night?" they asked, there voice strangely concerned.

Valen nodded.

“Are you… alright?" the thief asked.

Valen frowned for a moment, before slowly shaking his head. He didn't feel alright, although he wasn't sure how he felt.

The thief looked slightly worried as they looked at Valen. “Do you… Do you understand what happened?" they asked.

Valen nodded.

The thief just looked down at the ground for a moment, until Valen nudged them, confusion clearly on his face.

The human looked at him for a moment before opening his mouth to talk, “Do you know how you feel?" they asked.

Valen stood still for a few moments, before slowly shaking his head again.

The human's eyes seemed to widen in understanding, “You feel sick, don't you?" they asked, nodding as if to confirm something.

Valen frowned for a moment, before raising a paw and pushing it against his chest, trying to signal that his heart didn't feel right.

The thief just nodded in understanding, “It is grief" he said, not explaining further.

Valen had heard of grief before, but had never had cause to feel it. He didn't like it; he wanted to get rid of it. He had heard of dragons dying from grief and didn't want to fall to the same fate. He slowly raised his paw again, pushing a claw against his chest before digging it in and slowly pulling it down, cutting a line through his scales. He would find this grief and pull it out. He let out a loud hiss at the pain as blood started to trail down his chest, and heard the thief shout before feeling them trying to pull his paw away from his chest.

“What are you doing?" the human asked, jumping to their feet and grabbing hold of Valen's paw, looking slightly panicked.

Valen touched his chest again, the same signal he had used before.

“You would die over his death?!" the thief said, his panic rising higher.

Valen frowned, he would die over nothing. He was trying to remove the grief so that he might live. He went to push his claw against his chest again but the human held his paw back.

“I know it must be hard, but surly he would not want you dead" the thief said, as if trying to convince Valen of something.

Valen didn't understand, he was simply trying to remove something that would kill him. He put his paw on the ground, hoping for the human to explain.

“Were you such good friends that you would die now that he is gone?" the human asked.

Valen shook his head, though he did enjoy the other human's company he would not die for them.

“Then what are you doing?" they asked.

Valen raised his paw and pressed it against his chest yet again, trying to show that he would remove the grief. The thief quickly stepped in again, ready to grab Valen's paw if he tried to continue injuring himself.

The thief sighed, running a hand through their dark brown hair. “I don't know what you want to tell me" they said.

Valen gestured for them to come closer, pushing his head under their hand, trying to re-enact what had happened last night, then pushed his paw against his chest.

“You want to be petted?" the human asked, looking confused.

Valen shook his head, reaching up to his own eyes, trailing his paw down to try and show what the human had done last night.

“Tears?" the human asked.

Valen shrugged, not knowing the meaning of the word even with his vast knowledge.

The thief ran his hand through his hair again, looking slightly distressed at the trouble with communication.

“You… cry? You're sad? I don't know what you are trying to tell me" the thief said.

Valen snorted, trying to think of how to show them what he wanted. He did not know what grief looked like so he could not even try to show it. Valen frowned, trying to think of how to show it. He lay down on the ground, holding his breath and letting his muscles relax to try and imitate death.

“What? You are tired?" the human asked.

Valen tired of trying to explain so just gave up, looking at the human.

There was silence for a minute or two before the human spoke, “Look, if I leave you hear you will end up killing yourself, why not come with me until you can figure out how to explain what you want?" they said, gesturing towards the exit of the cave.

Valen was shocked with the human, they had tried to steal from him, laid hands on him when no other human ever had, and expected to leave without offering him anything, and more still expected Valen to go with him. Valen shook his head and nudged the human in the chest, trying to signal that he would not let them leave.

“What?" they asked, “I can't stay here, I will starve, and so will you" the thief said.

Valen made a clear signal of looking at the human, then the half full bag of gold coins and precious gems, trying to show that he needed to pay for trying to steal from him.

“You want me to bring the gold?" the thief asked.

Valen just looked at them blankly, surprised that humans seemed to have become so dim witted.

“Alright" the human said, reaching down to pick up the bag, “I guess we can buy food with this"

Finally the thief offers something of worth, they would offer food for the attempt to steal, but why then would they still try to keep the gold. Valen reached down with his head, grabbing the bag with his teeth and pulling it out of the human's grasp.

The thief looked at him for a moment, before recognition seemed to flick over his face.

Valen nodded, glad to see that the human seemed to finally understand him.

“If I bring too much gold it will be trouble" they said, reaching down to pick up gold before stuffing it into the pockets in their pants.

Valen had never seen such actions from a human before, except for those that took his gold and replaced it with gems. Perhaps this thief was going to repay him with something more valuable?

“Ok, let's go" the thief said, once they had finally finished stuffing the gold into their pants.

Valen's eyes widened, for him to have to go and collect the repayment himself it must be of great value and weight. He was eager to see what the thief would offer him and moved aside to let him lead the way.

“We will have to take the back roads though, if anyone saw a dragon they might well lose their mind, as I seemingly have" the thief said, stepping passed Valen and walking towards the bend in the tunnel, his shoes barely making a sound as opposed to Valen's sharp claws clicking against the stone as he walked.

Shortly after they were walking along a barely visible path through thick brush, Valen's sides being irritated by sticks constantly scratching against his scales and wings.

“I'll take it you don't eat bread" the thief asked, looking over his shoulder at Valen.

Valen had never heard of bread, and had no idea what it was, so shrugged his shoulders.

“Oh, I almost forgot" the thief said, “I know you can't talk but I thought you might like to know my name anyway?" they asked, not bothering to look back.

Valen shook his head, he didn't care to know their name, but as they didn't look back they continued talking anyway.

“You can call me, well if you could talk you could call me Rathen" the thief said, giving a name that Valen didn't care to hear.

The rest of the walk was in silence, aside from twigs and leaves snapping beneath Valen and the bushes brushing against him. His scales may have been tough, but his wings were delicate, and were beginning to become sore because of the incessant scratching of pointy sticks. He was considering stopping for a moment when a particularly sharp stick scratched across the membrane of his wing, drawing a thin line of blood. Valen let out a short, quiet yelp at the sudden pain, stopping and trying his best to reach the injured spot on his wing with his tongue to try and sooth it.

Rathen had stopped at the sound and looked back to see Valen trying to get at a fresh wound on his wing. He walked over to Valen and crouched slightly to get a good look at the wound, and judged it barely an injury. Though he knew that it must be uncomfortable not to be able to avoid all of the sticks in the forest he knew that the best thing they could do was continue on.

“Don't worry" Rathen said, “there's a small road up ahead, wide enough to fit the bulk of a wagon"

Valen snorted in reply, holding his wings tighter against his body, annoyed that he should have to go through all this trouble because of a thief. He was beginning to get hungry, his annoyance rising. He hoped that their destination was not too far away; otherwise he would have to spend his time hunting the try and sate his hunger. Luckily there was a town nearby, although Valen was increasingly annoyed when Rathen kept insisting that he stay hidden, why should he hide from humans?

Reluctantly, he agreed though, after Rathen promised to bring food back to him. He waited in the forest on the outskirts of the small town, lying in a small clearing beneath a tree. He had seen several humans look in his direction, but they seemed to have the observational skills of a rock. He made no attempt to hide, just relaxing and waiting for Rathen to get back. He soon got sick of waiting for Rathen though, as a full hour had passed and his stomach was now making audible protests. He stood up and started padding towards the town, not caring if he was seen or not.

It was either blind luck or blind humans that allowed him to get into the town without being seen, and once there he was swiftly making his way between small alleys, scaring small animals away as he hunted for bigger prey. He was getting hungry enough that he was considering eating humans, but those thoughts diminished as his eyes settled upon large pieces of meat hanging from a wooden construction. He walked straight to it, again not caring if he was seen, but this time there was no luck to help him.

There was a loud scream as he made his way across the street, approaching the meat, and he looked over to see one of the humans pointing at him as several others began running off down the road. Some held strange looking metal objects, like those he had seen thieves holding, but much longer. He looked back towards the meat and was about to pull down what appeared to be the leg of a cow when he heard a familiar voice.

“Valen!" Rathen shouted, clearly panicked.

Valen looked over to see him holding what appeared to be a large piece of cloth, but upon further inspection he noticed pieces of red beneath it. This must be the food that he had been promised. He calmly walked over to Rathen, who was frantically gesturing with one hand for him to hurry. His meal was delayed further as Rathen refused to give it to him until they were out of the town. By the time Rathen finally decided to let Valen eat his hunger had put him in a bad mood. The meat was not fresh and had little flavour that he enjoyed, but it was still easier then hunting.

“What were you doing?" Rathen asked as Valen ate, “I told you to wait outside town!"

Valen ignored him and continued his meal, which was not even a whole piece of meat but rather several small pieces. While the flavour was not the best, it was easy to eat. He let out a low growl when Rathen took away the last piece to try and gain his attention.

“You can't just walk into a town like that! The guards were called and even now search for you!"

Valen didn't care what guards were, and stepped closer to try and get the meat, which was withheld from him.

“You will have to listen to me if you expect to stay with me!" Rathen said, keeping the meat out of the reach of Valen.

Valen had had enough and simply pushed Rathen to the ground, lying on top of him while he ate from Rathen's hands. Rathen sat still, fearing for the loss of his fingers as he was used like a bed. Valen finished his meal quickly enough and licked the remaining juices from Rathen's hands, not caring about the small amounts of blood covering his snout. With his meal completed he let his head rest on the ground, relaxing while it settled in his stomach. He didn't care whether Rathen found comfort or not, he had no comfort when he was forced to wait for his meal.

At least a full hour passed before he finally moved to let Rathen to his feet, who shot him a glare of slight anger. Valen ignored the look and nudged him in the chest, signalling that he was ready to continue moving. Rathen just sighed before moving off into the forest again, looking for another road.

“We are heading to Alorn now, and if you are seen there you will not escape without a sword in you" Rathen said, looking at Valen as he walked.

Valen hadn't a clue what a sword was, but Rathen said it as if it was not something that he would like inside him. Perhaps it was a foul meal, or something of the sort.

“There are many guards at Alorn and they will not be as unwary as the villagers of Estor" Rathen continued.

Valen had no idea what an Alorn, or Estor was, but he assumed it was perhaps the homes of humans. He licked at his teeth and muzzle as they walked; cleaning himself of the blood from his meal, even though there was only a small amount. He soon grew thirsty and nudged Rathen in the back to try and convey his thirst. He made motions of drinking, as if there were a lake or source of water beneath him.

“Don't lick the ground" Rathen said, a look of disgust on his face.

Valen nudged him again, annoyed that he had so much trouble trying to communicate. He lifted his head high, looking directly up, and swallowed several times, being sure that Rathen could see the muscles of his throat at work.

“Ah, you are thirsty?" he asked, finally understanding.

Valen nodded, expecting to be led to a lake or some such. He didn't know what to expect when Rathen held out a small brown object.

“I have only wine, so drink it lightly" he said, taking something off the top.

Valen frowned, confused as to what he was meant to do. He allowed Rathen to touch his jaw, becoming comfortable with the feeling of contact. Rathen directed him to look up and pried open his mouth. Valen watched as the object was held above him, and is it tilted water came out. The water was bad and left his mouth and throat burning, making him stumble back. He sat on the ground for a moment, retching dryly as his stomach threatened to empty. If anything his thirst was greater now than before.

“Is your thirst now quenched?" Rathen asked, a small smile spread across his mouth.

Valen shook his head.

“Very well" Rathen said, stepping closer and holding his jaw again.

Valen's body shivered at the thought of the burning liquid again, but his thirst persisted and within a minute he had emptied the small object of its foul water. Rathen had looked at him in surprise, as if he had done something shocking.

“Never have I seen a whole flask of Rellan wine downed so quickly, you dragons have stronger stomachs then men if you can keep that down" Rathen said, putting the cap back on the flask.

Valen just snorted, it was obvious that dragon was far superior to man; who could not even eat meat without it burned over flame. Valen stood up and motioned to continue their journey, hoping they would pass a source of water on the way to clear the taste from his mouth. A few minutes passed with silence as a companion, and Valen's limbs were starting to tingle. Perhaps he was becoming tired from all of this walking? It was not only his limbs that felt different though, for his head felt like it was spinning. His wings were half open of their own accord, as if to help keep him balanced while he walked. He stumbled his next few steps then stopped, a frown on his face. Rathen looked back at him, a grin on his face.

Valen's frown deepened, he felt like he was leaning to his right constantly and had to spread his legs wider to stop from falling. He looked at Rathen and motioned with his head to continue. The next stop came a few steps later, when Valen's front paws seemed to stop working and he was dumped straight on his head, letting out a long groan. He was having trouble keeping thoughts in his head, and barely noticed Rathen laughing at him. He managed to stand again, his legs trembling beneath him. He was still groaning when his next step deposited him back on the ground.

“We may need to rest for a while" Rathen said, chuckling at the sight of Valen.

Valen was easily convinced and soon found his head resting on Rathen's lap, enjoying the warmth of his hands as they ran across his head.

“You remind me of a large cat" Rathen said, “Although much more dangerous"

Valen's reply was to roll over, forcing Rathen onto his back as his head came to rest on his chest.

“I guess you're not accustomed to drinking" Rathen said, watching as Valen wriggled around on his back, trying to get comfortable.

Valen wasn't sure why but he felt comfortable with Rathen, he enjoyed feeling him and wrapped his front paws around him to pull him against his chest. Rathen tried to protest but Valen's grip was like iron, even when he succumbed to sleep. Rathen sighed and tried to get comfortable within Valen's grip. Valen's body was surprisingly warm and he found it easy to relax. He chuckled at his own thoughts, thinking of Valen stumbling around. Though Rellan wine was not the strongest money could buy, it was definitely strong enough for a few mouthfuls to reduce men to stumbling wrecks. He had thought that dragons would be immune to the effects of drink, but his knowledge was now renewed.

Valen slept for nearly a half hour before waking, still not recovered. Although he seemed to be able to walk now, which was a relief to Rathen. Valen had kept his head pressed against Rathen's hip while they walked, as if he was unable to guide himself along the path, and they soon arrived at another town. Valen's head was starting to clear, although his limbs seemed shaky still, and he worried that he would be unable to stand for long. Rathen led him to a clearing, thankfully housing a small pond. Valen stumbled over to it and drank deeply before lying down, looking at Rathen.

“You will need to wait here, I will be sure to return quickly" Rathen said.

Valen's reply was a heavy nod that ended with his jaw resting on the ground.

“I will return with more food and water, for this is the last town before we reach Alorn, and the road is not short" Rathen continued.

Valen managed another nod, seeming content to just lie there until his thoughts cleared. He watched as Rathen turned and walked away, quickly moving out of side through the thick bushes and trees. Valen let out a loud sigh, rubbing his head along the ground and revelling in the strange sensations coursing through his body. Though the water had tasted foul and left a burning in his mouth, it had left a nice sensation running throughout his body. He pulled the tip of his long tail around into his vision and watched it dragging through the dirt in front of him. He watched it as it drew patterns and then wiped them away, soon forgetting it was even his tail. He reached out and gently but down on the tip of it, feeling the sensation run up his spine, he began lightly chewing on his tail, his eyes closing as he occupied himself with chewing.

Rathen had reached the town of Reldin, known for its trade, which rivalled that of even Alorn, which meant a lot, seeing that Alorn was a grand city. His first business was to find somewhere that he could exchange the gold coins for actual currency. It wasn't hard to find willing buyers in the busy press of the street, it was however, hard to find honest buyers. In the end, after selling the valuable gold for what he knew to be less than it was worth, he had enough coin to purchase a tavern if he wished. Next he had to find a wagon, and suitable horses. The horses he got cheap, for they were known to bite, and a wagon of sturdy construction was easy enough to find.

He next stocked up with three casks of water and one of Indell ale, something that would hopefully not be consumed by Valen. It was not wise to buy plain meats for long journeys as they spoiled quickly, so instead he got salted meats and hard bread. There was still room enough in the wagon for other items but he hadn't any idea of what else he might need besides spare clothes and some oil cloth in case the weather turned bad. He decided he would take the wagon back to Valen and ask if there was anything the dragon would like, after all it was his gold.

It took much longer to get back to the small clearing with the wagon, but eventually he managed. He found Valen asleep again, and decided to let him wake of his own accord. The wait wasn't long as the horses seemed frightened by the sight of Valen and weren't easily calmed. When Valen awoke he let out a long, displeasing groan, shaking his head. His first sight was that of two horses, and some sort of human construct with large round things on the side. His first thought was water. He was relieved to find a pond nearby and drank before further examining this new thing Rathen had bought. The horses shied away and Rathen kept quiet as he watched Valen poking around the wagon. He did make sure to keep the salted meats out of Valen's reach.

Valen's curiosity ended abruptly with the need to relieve himself. He walked to the edge of the clearing, where he lifted his back leg and let loose the water that had made a mess of his thoughts, and movements. He was long in relieving himself, as he had drank much water from the pond, and when he finally finished he noticed Rathen standing on the other side of the clearing to get clear of the smell.

“You smell like a stable" Rathen exclaimed, waving a hand in front of his nose.

Valen didn't know what a stable was, so he frowned in reply.

“Never mind" Rathen said, seeing the confusion on Valen's face. “I've come to say that we have enough supplies to get to Alorn, but still place in the cart. Is there anything you want?"

Valen looked at him for a while, how was he meant to convey what he wanted? Strangely he found himself wanting more of the foul water, from what he could remember it had left his body feely nice, although there was an unexplained pain in his tail. He walked over to Rathen and nudged at the object that seemed to be attached to his hip.

Rathen looked down at the flask, untying the string that kept it on his belt.

“You want more wine?" Rathen asked, one eyebrow raised.

Valen nodded, lifting his head and opening his mouth.

“I've no more right now" Rathen said, running his hand through his hair as he looked down at the empty flask. If Valen had managed to find himself addicted to Rellan wine he would soon lose all the money he had made. With a sigh he walked over to the wagon.

“Here, tell me what you think of this" he said, filling a mug from the cask of ale and held it out to Valen, who darted his dextrous tongue into the cup.

Valen nodded, finding the taste more suitable than the other water he had.

Rathen sighed, “I guess I'll need buy more casks then"

He made another trip back into town, coming back with an extra cask of Indell ale and another of Serthan wine. While Serthan wine was stronger than Rellan, its taste was nothing to be desired. Rathen hoped that the taste would deter Valen. He had enough drink to open a roadside tavern now, and with the cart full they started on their way to Alorn. Rathen had to deal with Valen's pestering, who wanted to drain the casks of ale already.

“Valen, you've had one drink and already become addicted. Perhaps there's a reason dragons aren't familiar with wines and ales?" Rathen said, focussing on steering the wagon as Valen walked beside it.

Valen snorted in reply, it was not his fault his body craved the tingling that the foul water had given.

“Valen!" Rathen said sharply as he spotted a caravan coming from the opposite direction.

Valen groaned his displeasure and made his way into the thick forests along the road. Rathen had sworn to water the earth with the ale if Valen was spotted. Greetings were passed between Rathen and the caravan drivers, the few mercenary guards eying him warily as he rolled passed. It was the third time Valen had needed to leave to road now and he was quickly tiring of being dismissed by the human. He made his way back down to the road and started nudging Rathen again, hoping for drink.

“Valen, if you nudge me one more time expecting to get that ale you will get none of it" Rathen said, becoming increasingly annoyed.

Valen snorted and stepped away from the cart, wondering if perhaps he should just attempt to get it himself. He dismissed the thought though, knowing that it would sooner end up in the dirt than in his stomach if he tried that. He was tiring of all this walking, why couldn't his sit with Rathen? He nudged Rathen, trying to convey he wanted to get on.

“Valen" Rathen warned, his ribs starting to bruise from all the nudging.

Valen nudged him again, making him look down at him. When Rathen looked down Valen put one of his paws on the seat next to him, hopping along while trying to show he wanted to get up.

“There's no room" Rathen said, surprisingly guessing what Valen wanted on the first try.

Valen made a whining sound and nudged him again, causing him to sigh loudly.

“If you can find room in the back you can climb up" Rathen said.

Valen ducked out of sight, a moment later the cart creaking loudly and bouncing up and down. Rathen looked back to see Valen half on, pulling the bottom half of his body on top of the bundled food.

“You better not eat anything" Rathen called back.

Valen ignored him, resting his head on a pile of cloth and watching the road slowly go by. While his legs were more comfortable on the wagon his head had to suffer the constant bouncing of the wheels running over the uneven road. Another wagon had come along the road but instead of telling Valen to hide in the trees again Rathen threw a large oil cloth over him instead, telling the other wagon driver he was worried of bad weather ahead. Valen had been dosing lightly on the wagon, constantly being bounced awake, and soon settled for walking again. They had been travelling for nearly half the day now, and pulled over onto the side of the road to eat.

Valen had wanted to try the bread and had an immediate dislike for it, as it dried his mouth and tasted terrible. He enjoyed the salted meat but found that he needed lots of water when eating it; it was as if Rathen was trying to dry him out completely with the foods that he had bought. Valen had been allowed some of the ale, but Rathen explained that it was more of a drink meant to be had at night, promising that once the moon was overhead he could have more. He looked forward to that moment, impatiently waiting. He had almost entirely forgotten that Rathen had tried to steal from him, instead enjoying his company.

Valen had never been treated this way by anyone, the humans he had known before had always treated him far better than they treated themselves, but Rathen treated him as an equal. Valen liked that about him, he found himself coming to like Rathen more and more along their journey. As the moon began rising, and the sky started to become dark, Rathen pulled the cart off the road, finding a small area with a few trees for cover. They lit a fire and started eating, Valen enjoying the ale he was allowed to have. He enjoyed the taste of it, and while it made his body feel tingly and slightly numb it didn't dim his thoughts as much as the wine had.

Rathen had settled against Valen's side as the both lay next to the fire, the horses grazing on what grass they could find while tethered to a tree. There were clouds gathering this night, and by the morning Rathen was sure that there would be rain. He wasn't really sure what his plans were going to be once they finally reached Alorn, but he was sure that he would figure it out along the way. He was actually glad that he hadn't gotten away with stealing the gold; sure he would be able to afford anything that he wanted, but he wouldn't have met Valen, who was proving to be good company, as well as a good friend.

The fire slowly dimmed and Rathen found himself being lulled to sleep by Valen's slow breathing, both the fire, and the dragon competing to keep him warm. Valen slowly wiggled out from under Rathen, making sure not to bother him while he was sleeping, and repositioned himself. He wrapped his arms around Rathen and pulled one of his wings over him, keeping him sheltered from the elements while he slept.

The morning woke Valen first, the sun shining through the trees and blinding his eyes when he finally opened them. Rathen was still sleeping beneath his wing so he decided to lie there for a little longer. It was a strange feeling to actually hold Rathen, like his arms were made to fit around him, his warmth meant to keep him comfortable. Valen had never been this comfortable in his memory, which he found strange, as he could feel roots and rocks pocking into him. It was as if Rathen's presence itself was a comfort.

The closest to this feeling he could remember was with the last human he had met, and their time together had been much longer and nowhere near as comforting. The minutes trickled by as Valen enjoyed holding Rathen, not even his stomach rumbling made him get up, however the casks of ale were proving to be fairly tempting. He didn't know why he found himself drawn to the drinks so much, it was as if he wanted his thoughts to be muddled. Rathen had talked to him about self-control last night, and Valen actually felt bad about wanting the ale. He didn't know how Rathen was having such an effect on him, and even more confusing, he didn't seem to mind.

His thoughts were interrupted as he felt Rathen stirring beneath him. He pulled his wing back and tucked it against his side, watching as Rathen yawned loudly, looking confused as to where he was for a moment.

“You make a nice bed" Rathen said, lifting Valen's arm off of him, “But I can't sleep all day" he finished, rolling over and standing up.

Valen walked over and gently rubbed his head against Rathen, enjoying the feeling as Rathen ran his hand over his head, scratching the sensitive spots near the base of his horns.

“I'm hungry, how about you?" Rathen asked, walking over to the wagon.

Valen followed him over, wishing that they had better food to eat. Rathen attempted to feed him some of the bread, complaining that he was eating all the meat, but Valen wouldn't touch the disgusting bread. They spent the next hour or so finishing their meals, and preparing to leave. Valen climbed up into the wagon again, spreading out some of the food, cloth, and bags full of coins under him to make a comfortable bed.

They took to the road again, Rathen telling Valen about Alorn and what a city was like. Valen had moved forward at some point, resting his head on one of the barrels while Rathen scratched and rubbed his head. The day was slow and uneventful, besides a small shower of rain that lasted a half hour. Valen had learned more about humans along the way, that they had things called armies, where many people would fight because one person told them to. Valen didn't understand why so many people would fight for one.

Apparently there were also different sorts of people, witch Rathen put into three groups, the worst, he said were peasants, who were poor and had to work hard their whole lives. Next were commoners, which also had to work, but not as hard as peasants, and finally there were lords. Rathen said that the lords didn't have to work which Valen couldn't understand, why did everyone else work and not them?

They spent three more days travelling, Valen having more room in the wagon each day, until they finally reached Alorn. Even after Rathen explained how big a city was Valen wasn't prepared for the massive walls and towers that he could see. He wondered how humans could have made such things when they were so small and weak. There were many buildings outside the wall, and it looked to Valen like a pond overflowing with water. Valen was prepared for the cloth that was thrown over him, and tried his best to remain still as they neared a gate into the city.

There was noise coming from seemingly every direction, shouting and arguing of people, the sound of carts and wagons being dragged along strange stone roads. Animals seemed constantly distressed in the area, and the smell that managed to get through the cloth made Valen's nostrils twitch. The wagon stopped and Valen strained to listen as he heard Rathen talking from the seat.

“… delivering it from… in the back there…" Valen managed to make out through the loud sounds, having no idea who Rathen was talking to or what about.

In a few moments the wagon was moving again, the loud sounds getting farther away. Valen attempted to move the cloth to see what was inside the walls, but a hand from Rathen stopped him from moving as it rested on his shoulder. Sounds were starting to get louder again, as the must have been passing through more populated areas, and the wagon tilted back slightly. It took Valen a moment to realise that they were moving up hill, and he wondered where they were going.

They continued up the slight hill, for what Valen thought was at least an hour, before the ground straightened out under the cart. The sounds were quieter now, and the smell wasn't as bad as it was before. Eventually the wagon pulled to a stop, Valen struggling to try and make out the words of a conversation nearby. He blinked in surprise as the cloth was finally lifted from him, hearing someone gasp in surprise and something clatter to the floor. He slowly stood up, making sure not to cramp any of his muscles, and climbed down off the wagon, stretching his legs and wings.

Valen looked up to see Rathen looking at him, a small grin of satisfaction on his face. Next to him was an old man, staring at him with wide eyes. Valen ignored the other human, making his way over to Rathen who rested his hand on his head. They were in a large room, the floor looking like some sort of polished stone.

“You see" Rathen said, “I told you it was a dragon"

“Y- yes, I can see that" the man said, finally regaining his composure. “But for the papers you want it would cost a fortune"

“Well, I just happen to have a fortune" Rathen said, reaching into the wagon to pull out one of the bags of coins.

“That would hardly be enough-" the man began, being cut off as Rathen pulled out yet another bag.

The man peered over the side of the wagon, his breath catching at the sight of the other bags of coins.

“Lord Anser will be available shortly" the man said, bending the upper half of his body down and quickly running through a small doorway.

“You'll soon be free to walk the streets" Rathen said, scratching Valen's head.

Valen didn't understand, as far as he was concerned he was free to walk wherever he pleased, and if someone dared stop him the would face his wrath. Rathen said nothing else and the room was engulfed in silence for the next few minutes. The silence was broken when the same man from before appeared through the doorway.

“If you'll please follow me" he said, waving his hand for them to follow, “You can leave your beast here while the papers are drawn up"

Valen snorted at that, stepping forward to try and catch the quickly retreating old man. He would dare call him a beast? Valen was stopped by Rathen's hand though, and though he could have easily pushed passed, he let the insult go. Rathen stepped through the small doorway, motioning for Valen to wait there. Valen didn't want to stay in the room though, his muscles had been dormant for too long in the wagon and he wished to walk. He attempted to fit through the door but it seemed too small for his shoulders and wings to fit through. He stepped back, studying the doorway again, before reaching through with one paw and twisting his body to fit through.

A human that was walking down the small hallway towards him gasped, causing Rathen to turn back. He sighed as he watched Valen pulling his back legs and tail through the door way, quietly telling the nearby servant that there was nothing to worry about. Valen quickly caught up to Rathen and followed him down the hallway. There were many windows along the walls and Valen finally got to see what the inside of the city looked like. It was nothing like he had expected, there were buildings cramped together, reaching upwards as if each one was trying to be taller than the last. He wasn't sure what he had expected to see but he was disappointed.

He walked into what he thought was a wall and looked forward to see yet another door way. He could see Rathen already walking around a corner up ahead and quickly slipped through. The hallway had widened on the other side and he was able to stretch his wings slightly. He rounded the corner Rathen had and found himself looking down the length of what Rathen had called a sword. There were sever humans, seeming to be covered in metal, holding their swords towards him, all of them glancing around nervously as Rathen argued with one of them.

Eventually they moved back, allowing Valen to move on, but none of them lowered their swords. Valen was glad to see that the next door was much larger than the last ones he had been forced to squeeze through, this one easily allowing him to pass through. Where he had expected the hallway to continue he was greeted with a large room, the roof much higher then he thought it needed to be. The floor looked to be made of large polished stones, his paws finding little to grip under him. There were gasps as he entered the room, a reaction he was beginning to get used to, and people started murmuring almost instantly.

Valen counted more than two dozen humans spread throughout the room, but his attention was drawn to the one that sat on a large chair in the middle of the room. Their eyes had clearly widened at the sight of Valen but they didn't seem to be talking like the rest of the humans were. Rathen was standing in front of this human, talking to them about some sort of papers, but Valen's interest was in a large table along one side of the room. His mouth watered as he caught the scent of all the meats and other food that he could see.

Valen made his way over to the table, several people scattering as he neared them. Even though the meats seemed to be cooked they still looked good, and he soon found himself half climbing onto the table as he started eating. The conversations had stopped abruptly, and Valen sensed more than one set of eyes turned to him as he ate.

“Please accept my apologies, Lord Anser, Valen has been unable to eat for the past few hours" Rathen said, bowing to the man seated in the middle of the room.

“Of course, what is a little food spared for a hungry guest?" Lord Anser replied, waving his hand toward Valen and the table of food.

Valen watched Rathen nod in reply before continuing talking with the man. The food was in large varieties and each different one had a strange and new taste to it. He had never thought that he would come to enjoy food that was clearly not fresh, but he couldn't help but try any that he could reach. His tail was swaying happily behind him, keeping a large area behind him clear. He was craning his neck forwards when he felt something push against his side. He quickly recoiled, spilling much of the food that was within his reach onto the floor, looking to see what had touched him.

He let out a low growl when his eyes settled on the human that still had his arm outstretched, looking at Valen with wide eyes. The conversation between Rathen and the human still continued haltingly, but all of the other people were looking at Valen, as if he were a grand spectacle. In a way, they were right. They had probably never gazed upon the magnificence of a dragon, but that gave them no right to lay hands on him. Valen decided to show that he wouldn't tolerate it and quickly darted his head forward, his mouth shutting tightly on the humans hand, his teeth squeezing it enough to cause pain, but not enough to seriously injure.

At this action the guards that were at the door quickly rushed forward, pointing their swords at him, their eyes quickly darting between him and the human.

“Stop!" Rathen shouted, quickly rushing over to Valen's side, holding his hands in front of himself as if they could fend off a sword blow.

He reached one hand behind him blindly; reaching around until he found Valen's head, then proceeded to look for his mouth. He slipped his fingers in next to the trapped hand and started pushing down on Valen's lower jaw, attempting to free the hand. Valen lowered his jaw when he felt the pushing, thinking that the people would understand not to go near him again. The man whose hand had been trapped collapsed on the spot, his face looking pale as it collided with a dull thud on the floor.

One of the guards instantly rushed forward to drag the man back, the others still holding their weapons at the ready, their arms wavering slightly from the weight of their swords, and probably fear of the dragon.

“Look, he won't hurt anybody" Rathen said, running his hand along the side of Valen's head, “He was just surprised is all, I'm sure that he didn't mean harm"

Valen snorted at that, if he had meant harm he would have taken the humans whole arm. They should be thankful that he didn't.

“Come now" Lord Anser called out, “There's no need for bloodshed"

Even from the distance Valen could see small drops of sweat rolling down his face, could see his legs trembling slightly as they held him up.

“Although I expect that this won't happen again?" He asked, coughing when his voice hit a high note.

“Of course not, Valen here probably just didn't notice what was food or not around him" Rathen said, his hand still rubbing over Valen's head, whose tail tip flicked against the floor at the feeling of it.

“If we can just get those papers written I will be on my way" Rathen said, slowly walking back towards Lord Anser, Valen following at his side.

Anser quickly waved forward a man that was standing beside his seat, who carried a small table littered with papers and a small ink well. They placed it in front of Anser and Rathen, who both leaned over it to quickly read through the papers. Valen attempted to get a closer look, but his breathing was unsettling the papers and he decided against annoying Rathen with trivial matters. He thought about heading back over to the food, but after seeing all the people looking at him thought it better to stay near Rathen. There was little talk between Rathen and Anser as they both scribbled down their names and signs on the paper, most of it just agreeing with each other or holding small arguments that only lasted a few sentences each.

The day passed quickly and nearly a full two hours had passed before the papers were finally done with. Valen had become bored much earlier and had laid down to rest. He had even served as a chair for Rathen for some time while he continued reading and writing on the scrolls of paper. Valen was shaken roughly as Rathen stood up, leaning back with his hands pressed against the small of his back. After a few more words of agreement he reached across the small table to shake hands with Anser, before finally telling Valen that they were ready to go.

“You can walk wherever you want now, so long as I have these papers" Rathen said, holding them out as if to prove to himself that he did have them.

As far as Valen was concerned he was already allowed to walk wherever he wanted. He followed Rathen back to the wagon with half closed eyes, feeling tired from his large meal and from not being able to sleep in the stuffy room.

“You're going to like where we're going" Rathen said as he climbed into the driver seat of the wagon, a small smile on his face as stable hands rushed to fasten the horses to their harnesses.

Valen climbed onto the back of the wagon, finding it difficult to get comfortable with the meagre four bags of coin that were left. He didn't understand how such a small amount of paper could cost so much coin, though he didn't care in any case. He hoped that wherever Rathen was taking him was quiet so that he would be able to get some rest. There were instantly shouts and pointing fingers once Rathen left the estate though, people calling for the guards and screaming while they pointed to Valen. Once the guards arrived Rathen just showed them the paper and after that they told the other people not to worry and left.

Even though the guards had told the people not to worry they still seemed determined to keep shouting and pointing at Valen, who was getting overly annoyed by it all. Luckily most of the crowd thinned out when they started heading into what appeared to be a rundown part of the city. Valen had to cover his sensitive nose with his paws to try and keep the horrid smell away. It was clear that wherever they were was not often cleaned, the streets littered with refuse and waste. After leaving Anser's estates it was only a one hour trip until they reached what looked to be a squished building. The walls looked bloated and the support beams looked to be struggling with the weight of the building. Rathen steered the wagon around the side of the building, passing the reigns down to two boys that ran out when they heard him.

The wagon was quickly lead away after Rathen had gathered his items from the back of it, telling them to leave the casks for now. Valen followed Rathen up to the door, which seemed surprisingly large compared to the tiny portals that Valen had had to squeeze through before. He was able to comfortably fit through these doors, which seemed to not be able to close. He was greeted with the strong smell of ale, which excited his taste buds, and rough wooden floors under foot. There were tables large enough to seat several humans scattered around the room, a large bench running along one quarter of the room, about a meter away from the far wall.

Behind the counter was a large woman pushing a rag into a wooden mug. She had short black hair and was wearing coarse clothes with a feeble attempt at an apron thrown over the top, and only after she heard footprints bothered to look up. As soon as she did it was as if chaos had been unleashed inside the building, starting when she threw the mug at Valen, hitting him in one eye. There was shouting all around the room now, as people that had been seated at the tables quickly got to their feet, shocked to see a dragon in the room. All noise was drowned out when Valen unleashed a roar, giving voice to his displeasure and sore eye. Once he had finally quieted down the room was enveloped in a deafening silence, not even the sound of breathing heard.

“Alex, that's no way to treat a guest" Rathen said, clearly trying to lighten the mood.

“A guest!" came a shout from behind the bar, “That's a beast from tales, you'd better step away from it if you expect to be a guest here ever again"

“Sorry" Rathen said quietly to Valen, reaching down to inspect his eye, rubbing him on the head while he did.

“Why don't you come have a look at this Alex, then you can go back to throwing stuff" Rathen said, fishing for the folded papers in his pocket.

Alex poked her head up from behind the counter, a large knife in her hand as she looked out towards Rathen, who slowly stepped forwards, holding the papers out for her to read. She quickly snatched them out of his hand, flattening them out on the table top in front of her so that she could read them. After a few more moments of silence she finally spoke up.

“So it's yours then" was all she said, waving the papers towards Valen.

“He" Rathen said, grabbing the papers, “is, according to those papers"

Valen frowned at this. Rathen didn't own him, no one could own a dragon, it was something unheard of. The fact that Rathen said that he owned Valen put him in a bad mood, he had begun to feel what he would assumed was friendship towards Rathen, and now he says that he is just something to be owned? Valen felt hurt because of it, his trust betrayed.

“I'll drop my things up in my room, got a few casks in the wagon around the back that I might need help carrying in though" Rathen said, already heading towards a large staircase against a wall.

“What if I already got someone staying in your room" Alex replied, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Then I guess business has really picked up" Rathen said, shooting Alex a grin as he reached out to pull himself up along the rail of the stairs.

Valen cautiously followed Rathen up the stairs, worried that he would fall through them at any moment. He had never understood how humans worked with their buildings, but he knew that they were not difficult things to break, especially by a dragon. He found stairs difficult, having to angle his whole body upwards to climb them, his wings shooting out behind him when he nearly fell back. He was amazed that Rathen had managed to scale them so quickly, and found him waiting at a door when he finally reached the top.

“Come on, this is where we'll be staying" Rathen said, waving Valen over as he stepped through the small doorway.

Valen had to twist to fit through, and was deeply disappointed when he finally got through. The room was barely big enough for him to turn around in. There was a small window on one wall, letting light in through the poor quality glass. A large cabinet rested against one wall, at least until Valen's tail accidentally knocked it over, the top of it catching against a wall and holding it on an angle.

“Careful" Rathen said, ducking under the cabinet “We don't want to start breaking things"

There was a fair amount of grunting and shuffling underneath the cabinet before Rathen was finally able to return it to its proper position. When he finished righting it he turned around to find Valen curled up on his bed, his front paw hanging over the side. The bed was made of a simple wooden frame, with a mattress made of straw stuffed into some sheets.

“No" Rathen said, quickly stepping over to the bed. “That's mine" he continued, trying to pull Valen off by his head.

Valen stubbornly pulled his head back, rolling over so that he faced the wall.

“Come on" Rathen pleaded, patting Valen on the back “Can't you just sleep on the floor?"

Valen snorted in reply, stretching out his limbs as much as possible. Rathen sighed behind him, scratching Valen's scales along his flank, causing him to wiggle back into the soothing touch.

“Well, you can have the bed for now" Rathen said, pulling his hand away.

When Valen lifted his head to see what had caused the scratching to stop he saw Rathen standing in the doorway with a grin on his face.

“I'm going to go have a drink" he said, looking excessively smug before he darted out of sight.

Valen quickly rolled over, pulled himself off the bed, and started climbing through the doorway. He caught sight of Rathen hurrying down the stairs before he was even half way through the door. He quickly twisted his hips and pushed against the doorway, sending his body crashing to the floor in a heap in the hallway. He stood up, shaking his head to clear it, before heading towards the stairs, his claws digging small ruts in the wooden floor as he did. Once he reached the stairs he was met with an immediate problem though, finding himself unable to walk down them. He knew that if he tried he would most likely end up falling down them, because of how steep they were.

Valen let out a small whine, hoping for Rathen to come back and help him find a way around his dilemma. Rathen didn't seem to hear him though, which left him to try and figure out a way down by himself. He thought turning around and trying to walk down them backwards, but quickly decided that he wasn't going to do that. He would have troubles with Rathen's laughing if he saw him come down the stairs backwards. He settled for resting his front paws on the railing that ran along the staircase opposite the wall and started walking down sideways, his right wing opened to try and keep him steady. He was halfway down when Rathen deigned to show himself again. Rathen grinned and opened his mouth to say something, but Valen wasn't going to stand for it. He quickly pulled his front paws back off the rail and ducked his shoulder down, letting gravity throw him the rest of the way down the stairs.

Rathen eyes went wide as he tried to step back away from the falling dragon. He wasn't quick enough though, and was hit by the surprisingly heavy Valen. Valen felt himself slam into Rathen, then the wall behind Rathen. He quickly stood up once he was on flat ground again, his paws spread out on either side of Rathen as he looked down at him. Valen had a large lopsided grin on his face as he looked at Rathen quietly groaning under him, it looked like he was having trouble catching his breath. Feeling a little bad for knocking him down Valen decided to help, putting a paw on top of his chest, before pushing down, trying to make his lungs work. Rathen battered at his paw though, and he quickly pulled it away, concern slowly filling him as he worried about Rathen.

Valen reached his head down to Rathen's, looking at his throat and chest to make sure he hadn't been seriously injured. When his eyes returned to Rathen's head he was glad to hear Rathen draw a deep, shaky breath. He quickly licked Rathen along his face, his tongue darting out to reach from his chin to his forehead, to try and show his apology. Rathen quickly raised his hands, pushing Valen's head away before he could continue, spitting as he wiped his face with one hand, trying to get the slick dragon spit off of him. Valen ducked down lower, his chest gently pressing against Rathen's as he attempted to help clean his saliva off with more licks, which were earning foul language from Rathen in heaps.

Valen soon gave up his attempts to help Rathen, a goofy smile filling his maw as he watched the human wiping at his face with his shirt. Rathen was still muttering under his breath when Alex found the pair of them on the ground. At first she seemed at a loss for words, but when her voice finally caught up to her she didn't hesitate to use it.

“Now Rathen, I never thought you would be the sort of person to do things like that" Alex said, flicking her hands towards him while raising an eyebrow.

“Like wha-" Rathen began, but stopped as he looked around and noticed the position he was in. “Of course" Rathen said, his lips drawing thin. “I was just on my way down for a drink and thought, oh boy, I might just help myself to some dragon on the way down".

Alex tried to supress a grin at his sarcastic tone, but couldn't seem to manage it. “I take it that the dragon might have had some trouble getting down the stairs then?" she asked, looking up at the stairs and then down at him again.

Valen followed her look, before nodding to her, trying to confirm that that was what had happened.

Alex frowned slightly, her lips moving as if to talk but no words coming out. “You seem to have trouble finding your words today" Rathen said, struggling to get out from under Valen, who only seemed to press down harder against him as he struggled. “Well" Alex began, “It's just that… that the dragon looked like it nodded at me" she continued, forcing a small chuckle out at the end.

“And why is that so strange?" Rathen asked, pushing against Valen's shoulders as he wiggled back and forth, slowly making progress towards his escape.

“Well" Alex said after some time of thought, “It can't understand me, can it?" she finished, throwing in the last bit as an afterthought.

“First off, it is a he, and he can understand me well enough" Rathen said, finally managing to get one leg free from under Valen, who seemed to be smiling down at him through his struggles. “And right now he seems to think he's a fallen tree".

Valen snorted at what he assumed was an insult, letting his tongue slowly slip passed his lips before pushing it towards Rathen's face, threatening to lick him yet again. Rathen held up his hands defensively, as if to ward of his licking.

“So, can it talk?" Alex asked, looking slightly bemused as Rathen continued trying to win free without use of his hands.

“He" Rathen corrected, “Can't talk, but that doesn't make him any less of an annoyance" he continued, cursing as Valen pulled his leg back under him with his tail.

“You keep saying he, but how do you know?" Alex asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Well" Rathen started, “I've just noticed some small details, you know, like the two balls sitting between his legs"

“Well" Alex laughed, “When you put it like that I guess I can see how you found out"

Valen snorted and flicked Rathen in the side of the head with his tail, not liking the way they were talking about him.

“Come on, I thought you wanted a drink?" Rathen said, hoping to persuade Valen to move off of him.

Valen's head immediately shot up, his chest raising as he looked down at Rathen.

“Surely that's water he wants to drink?" Alex asked expectantly.

“Well, you would think so, but it seems that he's taken to losing his wits in wine and ale" Rathen said, shuffling out from under Valen and brushing dust from his shirt and pants as he stood up.

“I'll assume you had something to do with the matter?" Alex asked, more of a statement then a question.

“It wasn't my fault" Rathen argued, “He downed a whole flask of Rellan wine in one swallow".

“Rellan!" Alex exclaimed, “And how full was the flask when you forced it into him?" she continued, thinking that Valen was a victim of Rathen's.

“I'd had barely a sip from it" Rathen replied, “And let me tell you that dragons are wont to get drunk as much as the rest of us".

“I'm surprised you didn't kill the poor creature, making it drink that much in one go"

“I didn't make him drink any of it, he wanted the whole flask" Rathen insisted gesturing to Valen behind him.

“And how do you know that if he can't talk?" Alex questioned, placing her hands on her hips.

“He can show what he wants easily enough" Rathen seemed to complain back, waving both hands towards Valen, who nipped at his fingers lightly when they came within reach.

“And what did that mean then?"

“What did what mean?" Rathen asked confused.

“What he just did" Alex said, rolling her eyes.

“Bite my fingers? I would assume that means he wanted to bite my fingers" Rathen said, shrugging as he talked.

Alex opened her mouth to reply, but instead of talking turned around and walked back towards her bar. “You better not break anything" Alex warned over her shoulder, before sitting on her stool behind the bar, reaching down to grab another wooden mug and began cleaning it.

“Well" Rathen said, “It looks as if you've gotten me into trouble".

Valen snorted in reply, nudging Rathen on the back to try and get him moving.

“Alright" Rathen sighed, “Time to watch you empty my barrels of ale now I guess" he finished, sounding defeated as he slowly started walking towards the door.

Valen ignored him and instead decided to look around the room. There were several people seated around tables, some of them talking quietly to each other, but most keeping quiet and looking into their mugs as if it were a window to a rainy day. Valen silently made his way towards one of the people looking into their mugs, hoping to see what it was that they were drinking. He pushed his snout over the top of the table, resting his chin on it, looking first at the mug, then the human holding it. The man seemed not to notice him, and looked as if a thought hadn't run through his head in some time. Valen slowly inched his snout closer to the mug, sniffing as he did, hoping to catch a whiff of whatever was inside it. When he was only a few inches away it seemed that the man snapped out of his stupor, finally noticing Valen.

His whole body flinched at once, his eyes widening quickly before he settled down slightly.

“You came in with Rathen didn't you?" they asked, “Yeah that's right; I guess you ain't too dangerous then" the said, answering their own question. “What are you doing over here?"

Valen gently nudged the mug that was clasped in their hands, letting the flesh of his tongue show through his lips. The man just nodded, looking to recede back into himself, tilting the mug slightly towards Valen, who wasted no time in pushing his tongue into the mug, slurping up what liquid he could. The taste wasn't as good as what Rathen had bought, but it set fire to his taste buds and mouth alike, warming his chest as it made its way down his throat. His body shivered slightly as his tongue darted around his maw to try and find any spots of the ale that he had drank. His tail tip flicked idly behind him as he polished off the inside of the mug, catching the attention of a few nearby patrons with his loud slurping.

Valen heard loud grunting behind him and, after pulling his tongue back into his mouth, turned around to see what it was. He was surprised when he didn't see anyone, rather one of the barrels from the cart standing in the doorway instead. He slowly stepped closer, to try and see where the noise was coming from, sniffing at the air lightly. Valen craned his neck forwards, attempting to see over the barrel, and jumped back a meter immediately after Rathen's head shot up from behind the barrel. Rathen just frowned at him for a moment before waving him over.

“Come to help have you" Rathen said, his breath heavy.

Valen quickly nodded his head, hoping that Rathen wouldn't think him scared because of the fright he had received. His heart was still thundering in his chest as he followed Rathen around the side of the building to the cart. The cart was mostly empty already, the remaining barrels of resting against the wall. Valen wasn't sure how was going to be able to help, as he was sure that his teeth would just tear through the wood if he tried to move the barrels that way. He didn't have long to think about it though, with Rathen calling him over to help. He quickly padded over to him, looking up at him expectantly, wondering what the plan for lifting the barrels was going to be.

Rathen ducked down to lift another one of the barrels, straining with effort as he lifted it from the ground. “Quick!" he growled through clenched teeth.

Valen wasn't sure what to do but he quickly hurried over to Rathen, ready to help him however he could. What he wasn't expecting was for the barrel to come crashing down on his back, making his hind legs buckle under him at the unexpected weight. He tried to roll out from under it, but Rathen seemed to actually be trying to hold it on his back.

“Sit still" Rathen snapped, nearly tripping over Valen while trying to keep the barrel on him. “It'll be easier to carry this way"

Valen snorted, he was expected to be some sort of pack animal. It might be easier for Rathen this way, but it certainly wasn't easier for him. He stood up when Rathen told him to, his legs wobbling slightly under him. He could easily carry the weight, but he was having difficulty adjusting to it. He started making his way back inside, Rathen grumbling and rubbing his back next to him. It did turn out to be much easier carrying the barrel on his back, but Valen refused to go back and help carry the rest of them in.

Alex seemed to pity Rathen though, and asked some of the larger looking men drinking at the tables if they could go and help him. Two of them stood up, a grunt the only reply Alex received, and a few moments later walked in carrying a barrel each. They seemed eager enough to open one of them up and get themselves a drink, and Rathen didn't look like he was going to stop them. The barrels were left under the stairs after that, one of them behind the bar with Alex, which she claimed was payment for rent. Rathen sat at the bar after that, telling Alex about their trip to get back here. Valen lost interest at this point, instead ducking around the bar to try and find the barrel that had been opened.

He could smell the ale strongly in his nostrils, and it took no time in finding the barrel, the only problem that Alex stood between him and it. He tried to nudge her aside at one point with his snout, but she told him that “a dragon shouldn't be drinking" and firmly blocked his path. Valen was in no mood to take no for an answer though, but instead of forcing his way past Alex he decided to annoy Rathen until he got what he wanted, it seemed to work most other times. He nipped and pulled at Rathen's shirt, earning him curses, until Rathen got fed up with it.

“Just let him at the barrel Alex" Rathen sighed, his head banging lightly against the table. “I'll not entertain his drinking problem Rathen, you got him on the stuff you deal with it" she replied.

Rathen sighed again, nearly pulled out of his seat by Valen's incessant tugging. He stood up and walked over to the stair case where he dragged one of the other barrels out, opening it with a small metal object. After that he walked back to his seat, with Alex staring daggers at him the whole time. Valen didn't notice though, instead burying his nose in the barrel of ale, licking at the liquid within. It tingled on his tastebuds, warming his throat as he swallowed it, and lighting a fire in his belly.

He wouldn't just settle for sips though, and plunged his snout into the water, gulping it down in massive mouthfuls. He'd attracted a fair bit of attention at that, most of the people in the tavern turning over to look at him. When he finally pulled his head out the barrel had nearly a quarter of it gone. He licked at his lips, his tongue snaking out around his mouth, pulling in what drips of ale he could manage to find. His belly felt unsettled now, but, after a loud belch, it seemed to feel better. He was going to go back to the barrel for more, but Alex was there, pushing it away, looking at Valen with a small amount of concern written on her face.

Valen stepped up to her, trying a different tactic, and whined at her. She turned around and looked at him, her answer already written on her face. “No" she said sternly, “you've already had enough for something twice as big as you, and I'll not have the first dragon to enter the city dying on my floor"

Valen whined again, but Alex just pushed the barrel all the way against the wall and walked away, leaving him alone in the middle of the room. He went back over to where the person that had given him the drink before was, but Alex shouted out that “anyone that gave the dragon drink would be thrown out" and no one seemed willing to help him after that. They did, however, scratch at his head and neck when he came nearby, which he enjoyed. He listened to them talking about their everyday lives for a while, content to wait until Alex went to bed and then try at the barrel.

His plans of waiting silently were interrupted though, when the urge to release some of the liquid he drank forced him to his feet. He was slightly off balance, but nothing serious. He walked over to one of the support beams and cocked his leg, only to have a wooden mug thrown at him from across the room. “You can do that outside!" Alex said, looking as if Valen had just done something horribly wrong. He let out an annoyed grumble, walking outside to relieve himself, only falling into one wall before making it out.

He didn't waste time, and as soon as he was out of the building he let his bladder loose, not even bothering to cock his leg. It splashed against the ground under him, some of it hitting his forepaw, but he didn't care. His mind was already starting to fog from the ale. His head was buzzing as he stumbled his way back inside, nearly falling up the one step to get in the door, which drew a few amused looks. Once he was back inside he made his way back over to the table he was sitting at before, flopping down onto the ground.

The conversation at the table stopped for a moment with his arrival, but quickly picked back up again. The rough wooden floorboards were uncomfortable under him, and he squirmed around a bit trying to get comfortable. Eventually he gave up with his wriggling around on the floor, instead deciding to try and see if he could fit on the bench against the wall. He managed to squeeze his way under the table, making everyone sitting there pull their feet back, and then did his best at standing up between the bench and the table. There wasn't much space, but after putting his forepaws up on the bench the people sitting on it moved over, to try and allow him some space.

Even then, it was a tight fit, his tail nearly knocking the drinks off the table while he climbed up. He could only seem to fit half his body on the seat, leaving one forepaw and hind leg hanging under him. His tail was resting on someone's lap, who gently scratched along his spine, making his wings shiver a little. On the other side of the bench someone was barely sitting, most of their body being supported by the wall behind them, so that Valen's head could fit. Valen didn't want to make them uncomfortable though, so he grabbed at their shirt with his teeth, pulling them towards him until they were sitting on the bench properly, then rested his head on their lap.

He let out a pleased grumble as his head started being scratched, right at the base of his neck. Conversation resumed after that, Valen's petting stopping every now and then when one of the people petting him had something they thought was exciting to say, where they would wave and gesture with their hands. The one that was scratching his neck left his hands on top of the table after one such occurrence, and Valen nipped at their elbow, making them go back to scratching his neck and head. He wondered if all humans would scratch him like this if he lay on top of them.

His legs that were trapped under his body were starting to get a little sore, so he decided to roll over a bit, so that there wouldn't be so much weight on them. Which was a lot easier in his head. He had to stand up on the bench for a moment, so that he could see where to place his legs. He finally found a way though, with one wing half open against the wall behind him, and his shoulder firmly pressed under him. But this too seemed uncomfortable for him, leading him to decision to roll all the way over, his resting at his sides, one forepaw on his chest.

He found this decision even more rewarding than he thought it would be, with his delicate under side now being scratched. He could feel fingers under his chin and along his belly, seeming to scratch itches he didn't know he had. His tail flopped against the wall and ground happily, creating a steady thumping sound. He could barely seem to form thoughts in his head now, but he didn't care. His head was tingling, and it felt nice. He felt something drip on his chin and looked up to see the man scratching his chin drinking out of a mug, a small trickle of it dripping down the side where it had spilled.

Valen quickly reached his head up, licking at the mug, catching the person's fingers a few times in the process. They looked down at him when he did that, cutting off what they were saying for a second, before picking up again, ignoring Valen's licking. His licks soon lost their enthusiasm, instead taking long slow strokes along the side of the mug now, to savour the taste. The man holding the mug lifted it for another sip, and then held the mug down low enough for Valen to be able to reach into it with his tong.

Valen's chest rumbled in approval at this, his tail picking up speed for a few seconds. He spilled a fair amount of the liquid in the cup while trying to drink it, most of it landing on his face and neck. The man holding the mug also got his hand covered in it, and after putting the mug back on the table attempted to wipe it off on his shirt. Valen quickly licked at the spot on their shirt, then moved onto their hand before they could wipe it again. The man went to pull his hand away, but Valen's paws quickly wrapped around their forearm, holding their hand down.

Most of the ale seemed to be on the outside of their hand, so that's where Valen focussed his efforts, his tongue occasionally slipping between their fingers. His eyes shut after the first few licks, his thoughts drifting from one thing to another, and he quickly forgot that it was even a hand that was covered in ale. His licking slowed down again, his tongue slowly passing over the back of the hand, and then focussing on the inside of it, his tongue coiling around one of the fingers every now and then. After a few more licks he ended up pulling their whole hand into his maw, where his tongue could reach every spot on it.

His tongue was much slimier inside his maw, the tip quickly being covered in saliva again as it covered the hand in his mouth. Drool was freely leaking down the side of his mouth now, and he sucked on the hand in his mouth, attempting to keep his saliva in his mouth. He could barely taste the ale anymore, now the slight saltiness of skin was filling his muzzle. He was still satisfied though, and continued with his licking, his tongue now coiling around two or three fingers at a time. He was happy how he was, until he felt something poking at the back of his head.

He slowly released the hand in his mouth, watching a large trail of his slimy drool dripping from the fingers as he pulled his head back. The string of saliva snapped, landing coldly on his cheek, making him wipe it against the leg under him. Then he turned his attention to what had been poking him, surprised to only see the human's cloth pants, wrinkled and crumpled from where he had been moving his head around on top of them. Had he imagined it? He had been fairly sure that he felt it, but he couldn't see anything that could have caused it.

Valen pushed his snout into the cloth, searching, to see if he could find anything. And he did. In the crotch of the person's lap there was something there, and it seemed to jump when he poked at it with his snout. He wanted to investigate further, pushing his nose deep into the cloth and breathing in, wondering if he would be able to smell it. His thoughts were answered quickly, as a strong musky scent filled his nostrils, his snout sniffing around more, compelled to find the source of the smell. Before he could continue though, the man stood up, quickly saying he “needed to go" and headed for the door.

Valen's nose poked out of his mouth, licking at his nose, trying to catch a taste of the scent that had filled his nostrils. The smell was still strong, and he was still determined to find out what it was, so he oozed off the bench, following the man outside. He found them leaning against a wall near the corner of the building, clearly urinating, though it was only for a few seconds. Surely there wasn't enough for to have had to get up and relieve himself. Valen padded over to them, his steps clumsy and unsure. He had to look down to make sure that he had good footing, and when he looked up he was met with the sight of the man tying a thin rope around the top of his pants.

Valen didn't bother stopping, instead walking straight up to them, and burying his nose in their crotch. Their hands quickly found his head and attempted to push him away, but he was determined. He sniffed in deeply, prodding with his nose, until he found what he was looking for. It felt slightly solid, whatever it was, but it didn't feel like whatever had poked him. The musky smell was there though, and it seemed strangely intoxicating. He breathed in deeply a few times, pushing his snout deeper into the cloth, until he could feel solid flesh behind it.

The man was still trying to push Valen away, and stepped back, trying to gain some distance. Valen wouldn't relent though, following them, his mouth watering slightly as the musky smell grew stronger in his nose. Valen exhaled a long breath of air, clearing his lungs, and felt something jump under the cloth. He quickly closed in on it, his nose poking at it and nudging it, while he started sniffing again. He could have sworn that he felt whatever it was get harder as he pressed his nose against it.

Valen let his tongue flick out of his mouth, pressing hard against the cloth to ty and taste whatever it was. This earned a gasp from the human and they actually pulled Valen's head in for a moment. Valen licked at it three more times in quick succession, his nose rapidly pulling the scent of it in. Valen felt slightly giddy, his heart beating faster, and his feet seemed restless, shuffling around under him. He decided that it was time to finally see what was under the cloth, and grabbed at the waist of the pants with his teeth, jerking his head downwards.

The rope seemed to hold them up though, and so he tried to grab at that, but as he was trying to grip it with his teeth the man stepped back again. Before Valen could close the distance again they ducked down, their head level with Valen's. “Hey buddy" the man said in a soft, quiet voice “You're pretty nosy aren't you?" they asked. Valen's reply was to try and grab at the waist of their pants again, but from this angle it was easy for the man to keep Valen's head away.

“I'll tell you what, though" they continued, looking over their shoulder and over Valen's back, “If you come around here I might have something you'll like" they said, their hands gently rubbing along Valen's neck and chest. Valen nodded his head eagerly, quickly following them as they ducked around the corner. They walked for a little while, arriving around the back of the tavern, where not even the moonlight could be seen.

Valen wondered how he would even see what he was going to be given, but he guessed it would probably be food or something of the like. The musky smell was still strong in his nose, but it was starting to fade, and Valen found himself more interested in what the man had for him then what was beneath the cloth. It seemed that Valen was going to get to see what was beneath the cloth as well as what they were going to give him as the man started untying the rope from around their waist.

The rope came lose and Valen quickly stepped forwards, breathing in their musky scent, his nose pushing up against what he thought he had found before, but it seemed much harder now. He could feel the man's cloth pants slowly become looser before they started lowering. Valen stepped back for a moment, allowing them to finish removing their pants as he struggled to see in the darkness. He quickly pushed forwards again once their pants were around their knees, pushing his snout into the same place it had been when their pants were on.

Valen was surprised that their seemed to be some small amount of hair on their skin, as he thought that humans only grew the stuff from their heads. He breathed in deeply, the scent now much stronger that there was no cloth in the way. He sniffed around a bit, feeling the hardness of whatever it was pressing at his cheek as he inspected the area. He found that under it, there seemed to be something hanging there, which he sniffed at a few times, before suddenly realising what it was that he had found.

He had found what he was certain had to be the human's gender, and he stepped back a little. He was trying to think whether it would be right to continue poking around it when the hardness was pushed into his nose. Before he knew what he was doing he found himself eagerly sniffing at it again, the scent seeming to plump up his own sheath a little. “Why don'tcha give it a taste?" the man asked, one hand resting on Valen's head as he continually filled his nostrils with their scent.

Valen suddenly found himself thinking the same thing, what would it taste like? He let his tongue out of his mouth, running it along the underside of their member, from base to tip, and felt something warm drop on his nose. He pulled his head back for a second, licking at whatever had landed on his nose, letting the taste fill his maw before he decided that he liked it. He licked at their member again, this time playing his tongue over its tip, coiling around it slightly. His own maleness was starting to show under him, the cold night air kissing at the tip of his member.

Valen was about to lick again, when a loud shout made him jump, though not as high as the man in front of him. He looked to see who was shouting and saw Rathen quickly running into the shadows towards him. He was expecting Rathen to yell at him and lowered his head, looking at the ground, but instead of harsh words he heard a solid thud. He lifted his head to see Rathen pulling back his fist from the man's face, who was holding one hand up while the other covered one of his eyes. Rathen swung his fist again, but this time instead of hitting it found only air instead.

There was another thud though, and Valen's heart dropped as he saw the man's fist lodged in Rathen's stomach. His mind snapped blank for a moment and he lunged forwards, his teeth slamming shut around flesh. He yanked back, hard, and heard the man shout in agony. His shout never finished though; instead Rathen's fist seemed to knock the sound out of him as it collided with the side of his head. The man fell to the ground in a heap and only now Valen noticed the coppery taste of blood in his mouth.

He quickly let go of the arm, looking down at it. He couldn't see very well in the dark, but it looked like it was a bad injury. He felt a hand touch his neck and growled loudly, baring his teeth as he spun to face whoever it was. Guilt instantly filled him when he saw Rathen flinch back, and he quickly rushed forwards to press his forehead against Rathen's belly, whining lowly in apology. Rathen rested a shaky hand on his head, and from what Valen could see the rest of him was shaking as well.

“Come on" Rathen said, his voice nearly a whisper, “Let's get back inside".

Valen walked alongside him, worried that if he stepped away Rathen wouldn't be able to hold himself up. Valen had his tail curled around Rathen's waist when they walked back in the door, heading straight for the staircase. They were only a few steps away from it when Alex stopped them, calling out from across the room. Rathen told Valen to ignore her, but he was worried that Rathen might need help; he seemed to be shaking a fair bit. “Come on, Valen" Rathen said, slowly stepping up the stairs.

Valen didn't though; he looked over to Alex, making a high pitched whining sound at her. That was all it took, and Alex was quickly making her way across the room to them. “What happened?" she asked, her voice low and filled with concern. “Nothing happened" Rathen replied, trying to pull Valen up the stairs by one of his horns. “It doesn't look like nothing happened" Alex said, waving her hand across his body. Valen licked along Rathen's hand, trying to help calm him, but after seeing the red streak left behind Alex's breath caught in her throat.

“Upstairs" she said, “Now". Rathen sighed and slowly started walking up; Valen went to follow him but Alex's hand quickly whacked him across his nose. “Get out, now" she said, with anger written across her face, making Valen flinch back as she raised her hand again. “No, no, it wasn't him" Rathen said, trying to grab her hand out of the air. Alex looked at him again, still angry and waved for him to go. Valen quickly hurried up the stairs to Rathen, his tail wrapping around his waist again.

They quickly stepped into Rathen's room, Valen laying down on the bed and pulling Rathen onto him like a seat. Alex was there in a second, pulling his lip up and looking at his teeth. “Whose blood is this?" she asked, giving Rathen a quick look over. “It's not mine" Rathen said, wiping the red from his hand onto the blanket.

“Then whose is it?"

“I don't know" Rathen replied, his hands holding his elbows.

“How don't you know whose blood it is?" Alex asked, staring daggers at Valen.

“I don't know!" Rathen said, his voice rising. “He was… was just there- and I couldn't see him… but it's done now" he said, his voice calming again at the end.

“What happened?" Alex asked, repeating her earlier question.

“Nothing… nothing happened" Rathen said, rubbing his hand along Valen's side, as if to comfort him. Valen didn't know why though, he felt fine; it was Rathen he was worried about.

“Something happened with him" Alex said, pointing to Valen with accusation heavy in her tone.

“No- it didn't- it wasn't his fault" Rathen said, tripping over his words. “I got in a fight, and he just… just helped me out" he finished.

“Rathen" Alex said, “In all the time I've known you, you've never started a fight"

“Yeah, well, I guess there's a first time for everything" he retorted, his voice rising again as he waved his arms outwards.

“Rathen" Alex's voice was softer now, “Tell me what happened" she said, resting a hand on his shoulder.

Rathen took in a few deep breaths, his eyes quickly flicking from Alex to Valen and back again. “Someone tried to mug me around the back" Rathen said, avoiding eye contact, “Valen jumped in to help me, that's all that happened".

“You can't lie to me" Alex said, walking to the door, “and if I find out you hurt him" she continued, pointing a menacing finger at Valen, “you will find out how cruel people can be" she finished, stepping out and closing the door behind her. “We'll talk in the morning" she called out from the other side of the door.

“Hey, you alright" Rathen asked, leaning back so that he could look Valen in the eye. Valen just nodded his head, not sure what to do. “Next time someone does something like that, come straight to me", Valen nodded again, his paws wrapping around Rathen in a hug. “I think I broke a finger" Rathen mumbled into Valen's chest. Valen just hugged him tighter, pulling his wings closed around him and rolling over to face the wall. “You know" Rathen said, yawning audibly, “you make a nice bed".

A few minutes later and Valen could feel Rathen's slow breathing, and knew that he had fallen asleep, leaving him to try and work through the thoughts in his still foggy mind. It wasn't an easy task, and he couldn't figure out what had happened. Rathen had made him sound like a victim, but he couldn't figure out why. Maybe he would figure it out in the morning. He pulled Rathen against his chest, tucking his chin under his wings and closing his eyes, slowly drifting into a dreamless sleep.