Due Date by skiesofsilver

Due Date

skiesofsilver, Anthro, Anthropomorphic, Breeding, Dragon, Dragoness, Eggs, Fantasy, Gender Shifting, Gradual, Impregnation, Magic, Masturbation, Mating, Oviposition, Pregnancy, Reptile, Scalie, Transformation

Thanks to xerox2 and yoshielder for editing assistance!

Five days.

It had taken Goding five days to reach the small farming village, and now he had five days to make the due date. Five days of traversing roads well worn and still traveled years after the fall of the empire, five days of counting down and knowing that each step he took brought him closer to retirement, and it took him five days before he realized that this was his last great adventure, his last hurrah before he laid down his arms and concentrated on things other than serving the whims of the Order. While Goding wasn't old, he could feel himself slowing down.

Even now as he approached the cluster of buildings that approximately made up a village, his legs ached and his back was a tad sore, and that's how it had been recently. With each day, especially the last five, he had felt the vigor of youth slowly but surely leave him. He could still endure prolonged marches, still swing a sword as well, if not better than the day he had become a man, and even deal with sleeping in his metallic armor, but the pains afterwards reminded him that he couldn't sustain such activities for the rest of his life. He was slowing down, so he had decided that it was time to slow down. Severing his ties from the Order wouldn't be true retirement, but it wasn't retirement that he desired. He could still go out and fight off some errant wolves from time to time, but the bloodlust of youth had faded away long ago. He merely wanted to settle down, somewhere safe, somewhere peaceful, somewhere simple where he could do something simple like write war torn memoirs while drinking at a bar or even raise a family, somewhere like the village he stood so close to now, so simple a place it didn't even have a name.

"Who are you?"

Though not easily spooked, Goding jumped at the sudden speech. If there was one thing that had yet to show any sign of decline, it was his hearing, and yet he hadn't heard even the slightest rustle to signal the presence of the girl staring down at him from atop a hill overgrown with tall grass. Goding removed his hand from the hilt of his sword as he peered at the girl. He quickly noticed that she was no normal girl; like most of the peasantry he had come across on his journey, she was 'touched, as evidenced by the speckling of silver scales on her cheeks and neck. The warrior was ever wary of the 'touched, but they were just as likely allies of the Order as enemies. After all, his contact here was 'touched, at least according to the likewise 'touched monks that had sent him here. In this case, he figured she was neither friend nor foe, just a young girl with no real understanding of why she wasn't fully human.

"I'm Goding," he said, putting on a smile. "And who are you?"

"Cass," she said, then frowned. "Are you a knight?"

"Oh no," he laughed and shook of his head. "I'm much more honorable."

The girl laughed with him and smiled, showing teeth far sharper and pointier than should belong to a human. Still, Goding maintained his own grin, for a little girl with sharp teeth was not disconcerting compared to the terrors of the battlefield or the cruel creatures that flay flesh with similar, but much larger teeth.

"And much less serious," he said, then gestured to the village. "This is a nice place. Do you live here?"

Cass nodded.

"I'm afraid I'm a little lost," he said. "Do you know a..." he squinted as he tried to recall the name. "A Pyn?"

The little girl mimicked him, squinting her eyes as well before nodding excitedly and pointing towards a particularly squat structure.

"Yeah!" She said. "He lives there! Wanna see?"

"Lead the way," he said.

The young 'touched was more than happy to comply. She ran off her hill and towards the squat house. Goding watched her and smiled, thinking of the day -- perhaps sometime soon -- where he would have a child. Preferably not 'touched, but he wasn't too choosy. As much as the Order had fought them back, the draconic influence on these lands could never be fully reversed.

"Hey!" Cass shouted back. "Are you coming?"

Goding nodded and lumbered after her, armor clanking. As much as he appreciated the protection it afforded him, he couldn't wait for the day strapping it on wasn't routine. Fortunately, that day was only five away, less than a week until he delivered what the monks and Order so desired, and then he would be free to never wear his armor again if he so desired, even if he doubted he would shed it so easily. It weighed him down, but it was a comforting weight, one that he would have difficulty discarding.

Trailing after the girl, Goding soon enough stood in front of the small house. He stopped and wiped the sweat from his brow while the girl looked up at him. Now that he was closer, he saw that her eyes too were strange, slit like a reptile's.

"Here it is!" She said, pointing towards the house. Before Goding could thank her, she sped away. He watched her go before turning to the house's wooden door. He paused when he noticed the Order's symbol inscribed upon its surface. He traced over its contours with his gloved fingers, then knocked on its surface. Before he had even a second to step back, the door flung open, revealing a slender dragon-headed 'touched garbed in tattered robes.

"You're here!" he hissed excitedly, grinning up at man. "You're the knight?"

"I'm no knight," Goding said. "But I'm here on behalf of the Order."

"No knight?" The 'touched hissed uncertainly, sliding back to hide behind the door, only his head and tail poking out. "They always send knight."

"I'm close enough, aren't I?" Goding asked. "I've got the sword, the armor, and the looks, just not the inane oaths."

The 'touched still stared at him distrustfully. Goding tilted his head and smiled.

"You're Pyn, aren't you?" Goding said.

"Yes," Pyn said, narrowing his reptilian eyes at the warrior. "Me Pyn."

"Well, Pyn, me...I mean, I'm Goding and I'm here on behalf of the Order." He reached towards his neck and displayed his medallion. "You see?" He nodded towards the door. "Same symbol, same side, eh?"

"Hmm," Pyn growled. "You're Order, but no knight."

"I know, it's disappointing, but I can assure you you're not missing much." Goding shrugged. "Most of them are pompous bastards."

Pyn frowned, but nodded anyhow before stepping back into view. His green eyes glittered as he examined the warrior.

"You Goding," he murmured. "Here for scale?"

"I suppose," Goding said. "The monks weren't so specific, but if you have something, I'll take it back to them."

Pyn nodded slowly. He reached into his robes with a clawed hand, hesitated, but then withdrew it and held his closed claws towards Goding. Intrigued, he leaned forward and watched as the 'touched slowly unfurled his claws to reveal a single, large, glimmering golden scale in the palm of his scaled hand. Goding frowned.

"A scale?" he said incredulously.

"Yes," Pyn nodded, slowly, reverently. "You Goding take."

Goding took it, and it was certainly heavier than he expected, but it was still only a single scale that was barely bigger than the breadth of his palm. He stared at it while scratching his head with his other hand.

"A scale?" he repeated.

"Special scale," Pyn said. "Very special scale. You Goding are lucky to carry it."

"Yes," Goding said, still staring at the scale. "I guess I am."

Despite himself, Goding couldn't help but be disappointed. While he hadn't wanted this last task to be difficult, traveling five days--five days!--to procure a single scale from an addled 'touched to return after another five day journey down lonesome roads to some addled-in-their-own-way monks wasn't how he had imagined his last hurrah. Sure, he was slowing down but this was too slow. He had hoped deep down that this last trek would make an exciting story for his future children or at least his comrades in the Order, but it seemed it would not be so. Just to be sure, he asked again:

"This is all? A scale?"

"Yes, yes," Pyn said. "Special scale. Very--"

"Special scale," Goding finished, before stuffing the scale into the empty pouch on his belt, the container he had kept bare because he had been sure it would contain something of great importance on the way back. "Right, right. Well, thank you, Pyn, for your service to the Order. I will be off then."

"What?" Pyn rasped, jaws agape. "You Goding not stay?"

"Stay?" Goding frowned, looking with distress to a sun that was already setting.

"Yes!" Pyn nodded excitedly. "Me Pyn make meal for knight and also bed too! You Goding no knight but Pyn still serve! Me serve..." His eyes brightened. "Me serve bearer of the scale."

"Ah, I..." Goding paused, considering. Even if Pyn seemed addled, it might have only been his speech. If there was a bed prepared, soft and comforting, how could Goding turn it down? It was better than roughing it again for the fifth night in a row. He could enjoy that on his way back, though he did dread the thought of what dinner conversation with the 'touched would sound like. "Sure. Me Goding accept your hospitality."

Pyn hissed excitedly and motioned for Goding to step in. The warrior did so, noting that the interior of the wooden abode was surprisingly well kept. The 'touched led him to a room that did indeed contain a comfy bed and space for him to stow his equipment. He did so, removing his armor and pack while the 'touched rushed off to finish preparing whatever meal he had mentioned earlier. After putting on a simple linen tunic and pants, he stretched his sore muscles some before he heard Pyn call for "You Goding." He was about to leave the room when he saw something glint. He looked back to the pouch where he had stored the scale and was surprised to see it shining through the cloth. He picked the pouch up and withdrew the scale. It gleamed golder now, and he stared at it, entranced. Perhaps it was a special scale after all.

"Special scale!" Pyn said. "So shiny!"

Goding turned towards the doorway as he shoved the scale back into the pouch and the pouch into his pants. How could Pyn be standing there at the door and he hadn't heard a thing? Were all 'touched so stealthy?

"Come, you Goding!" Pyn said. "Eat, eat!"

The 'touched brought the warrior to a small space with room enough for a table and two chairs. The table was filled with all manner of dishes, breads and cheeses, meats and sweet meats, and even a side of fruits and fish. When Goding asked where he had managed to find such foods in such a simple village, the draconic man only ordered him to eat, shoving a plateful of enticing mutton toward him. Hungry from his journeys, Goding did as ordered, devouring the mutton quicker than even he thought possible. Pyn pushed him another plate while he himself ripped apart a chunk of beef with his sharp teeth with relish. Goding's previous worries about dinnertime conversation fortunately never came to fruition. While there were some words exchanged between the two, Goding was glad Pyn seemed more interested in eating, something that they had in common. The weary warrior ate and ate and ate, and before he knew it, there was no more food left to eat, just empty plates filled with crumbs. He sat back, stuffed but satisfied while Pyn stared at him expectantly.

"You Goding like?" he asked.

"Yes, thank you," Goding said. "Me Goding like very much."

"Good, good," Pyn said, beaming. "Clean now. You Goding sleep."

Goding reached for a plate. "I can--"

The 'touched slapped away his hand and shook his head.

"Save strength," Pyn said, then nodded. "Yes, yes. Scale big burden."

Goding laughed, but Pyn didn't laugh with him. The warrior stood and pushed in his chair. He thanked the 'touched again, but Pyn ignored him. Goding shrugged it off and went back to his room. It was dark out, and he was weary from his travel, so he immediately crawled into the bed. It was surprisingly comfortable, far better than any bed offered to him by agents of the Order before, and he wondered who Pyn was that he could afford such extravagances in the middle of nowhere. He quickly cast the thought aside, since Pyn hardly mattered. What did matter was the journey ahead, five days of travel back to the monks and their temple where he could deliver as promised on the due date. Thinking of what he would deliver in five days, he pulled out the scale's pouch and held it close to his chest as he stared up to the ceiling. Five more days and he would be able to start something new, start something he had never had before. For some reason, he couldn't help but wonder if that something new might be a family. Perhaps it was the 'touched's hospitality or just Pyn's cooking, but he had enjoyed their time together, and while he would certainly never bed -- let alone marry -- something as inhuman or male as Pyn, he wouldn't mind receiving such care and affection on the regular from someone he knew well and intimately, instead of infrequently between the Order's tasks, with women who cared more for his money than him. Still clutching the pouch to his chest, Goding peacefully drifted off to sleep with these thoughts in mind.

The warrior awoke to a roar like a powerful gust of wind. He instantly opened his eyes and shot up, skin prickling. He looked out his window. It was still dark, the deep of night. He froze, his breath caught in his throat as he listened intently for whatever was outside. He stayed like this for a few moments more, but resumed breathing when he heard nothing else.

"Pyn?" he murmured, shivering as his skin continued to prickle.

There was no response. Frowning, another name came to mind.

"Cass?" he called.

Again, there was no response, not even the real rush of wind. He wanted to leap out of bed to peer outside, but he remained still. Then he heard it again--not the rush of wind, but the flapping of large wings. He froze and he squeezed the pouch tightly, his skin actively itching now. He winced and wondered what he was doing, letting his instincts take over.

Still holding the pouch, he rolled out of bed, landing quietly on his feet. He rushed towards the window, stooping down to grab his scabbarded sword before peering out. From every angle he could see, there was nothing but the clear night sky highlighted by a new moon. He frowned and ducked down and waited.

And waited.

And waited...

He might have fallen asleep crouched by the window if it weren't for the incessant itching, particularly on his right arm. He dropped his sword and scratched with his free hand, all the while wondering what could have made that sound. He had heard it before and it had always meant trouble. Nothing with large wings was ever nice. What airborne predator could be?

He shrugged and continued scratching at his arm, hissing a little at the relief it granted to him. He waited just a bit longer but there was no more noise except his own breath and his itching. Still clutching the pouch, he moved back to the bed and collapsed with a heavy sigh, arms outstretched ahead of him. It was only a moment before his eyelids began to droop, and so he only vaguely noticed the golden specks scattered across his left arm before he fell once more into slumber.

"You Goding, awake!"

Goding groaned and opened his eyes. His room was bright and Pyn stood over him. Slowly, he sat up and rubbed at his eyes, stopping when he realized that one hand held the pouch that contained the scale. He tossed it towards his armor as he turned to Pyn. The 'touched stared at him oddly, examining him with like he hadn't seen him before.

"What?" Goding said. "I'm still not a knight."

Still Pyn stared mutely. Goding growled and stood from the bed. The motion felt fine, and that was wrong. He had been sore the day before, so why was he not sore now? Lowering his gaze, he looked down at himself and yelped when he saw that his arms were blemished. No, it was worse--they were mostly subsumed by golden scales, and his hands were affected too, his fingers a bit longer, a bit thinner, and his nails pointed and sharpened as if they were some sort of proto-talon.

"Bearer ok?"

Goding looked up from his altered arms to the 'touched, who regarded him curiously. The warrior frowned and pointed to his now scaled arms.

"What is this?" he asked.

"Scale," the 'touched replied.

"Obviously, but why?" he said. "Was it your food? Huh? Was that why you were so eager to feed me?"

"No, no!" Pyn said, pointing towards Goding's armor. "Scale! Heavy burden."

Goding glanced towards the pouch and then back to the 'touched.

"No..." he said. "The scale?"

"Potent. Powerful. Must be strong to bear." Pyn frowned. "Pyn too weak."

"It changed you too?"

"No, no!" Pyn said, shaking his head. "Pyn always perfect."

"Right..." Goding said, walking over to the pouch and scooping it up. He opened it and stared at the golden scale within, a much larger version than the ones he bore on his arms. At that moment, he considered tossing the scale away and letting Pyn and the Order find someone else to shoulder their burden, but something pushed him to take the pouch and scale and return it to the monks as he had been tasked.

"Potent," he murmured, squeezing the pouch tightly. "Powerful." He turned towards the 'touched. "Pyn, do you think..." He shook his head. "Of course you don't think." He sighed. "The monks, they can...it's only five days, right? What else can it do? I--"

The warrior took a deep breath. He had to stay strong. He had to stay resolute. Having scales on his arm and slightly deformed hands was no obstacle, and the monks would surely know how to undo the curse. Why else would they want it if they didn't know of its effects?

"Five days," he said. "Five days until the due date. Five more days until I will no longer have to deal with this knavery again." He looked up to Pyn. "You wouldn't happen to have made breakfast, did you?"

As it turned out, Pyn had indeed made breakfast, though this time it mostly consisted of meat and dairy, including milk the 'touched claimed was from his cow. Goding had only joined Pyn in eating after he had armored up, a process more painful and arduous than usual, mostly owing to the realization that the scales hadn't only spread to his arms, but in patches and specks to the rest of his body as well. It wasn't the most unpleasant realization of him suiting up, either. No, that honor was reserved for when he had been pulling on his gauntlets just as his fingers had chosen to complete their change into a more draconic form. The tough fabric of his gloves ripped apart as they stretched into proper talons, dark grey and long and sharp. After this incident, he had waited a few minutes expecting the same to happen to his feet, but they remained mostly human for now, save for their speckling of scales.

If Pyn noticed Goding's new talons, he certainly didn't say anything, even as the warrior awkwardly clutched and dropped his food a few times, cursing at all the while. Despite his troubles, Goding did enjoy the meal, the wonderful taste of the dairy and meat allowing him to momentarily ignore how his scales felt rubbing against his armor or the more pressing sensation of them slowly spreading. It was only when his teeth bit too sharply into a nice side of lamb that he noticed something was amiss. He chewed and swallowed, and then ran his talons over the inside of his mouth to find his teeth sharper and more pointed, not unlike his newfound claws. As he felt one in particular, his tongue slid both against tooth and claw and he froze. He tried running his tongue over both again and winced as his tongue wiggled and thinned, before it twinged and split at its end. Goding gasped and his tongue flicked in and out of his mouth. He lost his appetite.

"Bad?" Pyn asked as Goding pushed away his plate.

"No," Goding said, standing. He shook his head and tried to ignore the sensation of hairs falling from his head. "I'm full."

Pyn frowned and stared at Goding's armor plated stomach.

"No, you Goding," the 'touched hissed. "Not yet."

"Yes yet," Goding insisted, coughing and wincing as he felt more teeth sprout in his mouth. "Thank you so much, but I really must depart."

"Ah." Pyn nodded and held up a plate. "For road."

Goding shook his head again but regretted it as he felt even more hairs fell out. He had expected hair loss at some point in his life, but not so soon.

"Oh." Pyn looked up at Goding. "Careful, you Goding. Protection."

Goding nodded and this time felt no hair fall away, but as he reached up to his head he felt why--he had no more hair to shed, and the start of scales where he had once had hair. He sighed and smiled at Pyn even as he scratched at his itching neck.

"Protection to you too, friend," he said. "Farewell, you Pyn."

"Fare you Goding well," Pyn said with a smile.

With that, Goding left, hacking and coughing as the scales spread up his neck.

By the time Goding was out of the house, the scales had conquered his neck and were now working on the rest of his head. It was not a sensation he wanted to focus on, so he walked away from Pyn's home, clutching at the pouch as he thought: five days, five days, five days. Five days more until the due date and this nightmare would be over. It was easier to destroy than create, right? So whatever was happening to him could be reverted, had to be reverted.

He wandered away from the village and had almost made it to the road when his skull suddenly ached. It was a headache so bad that he couldn't help but fall to his knees, throwing away his torn gauntlets and gripping the sides of his head, mouth open in silent anguish as he felt his most recognizable feature shift. At first, the taloned hands clutched around his ears, but soon his ears shrank away, retreating into a scalebound skull that throbbed and stretched. He hissed in distress and clenched his teeth together, trying to ignore how there seemed to be more of them than ever before while his nose was pressing forward, enveloped by scales as his nostril slits were sliding down a face that was stretching, stretching, stretching...

He opened his maw and shrieked as it pressed forward along with a slight stretching of his neck, mouth surging out into a draconic snout that remained persistently in his vision, golden scales shining in the mid morning sun, nostrils set on either side of his snout flaring as he took in scents that seemed stronger than before. His tongue flopped about his agape muzzle, stretching and thinning until it could lick at every one of his numerous teeth along with the outside of his snout. He panted, arms dropping to his sides, head tilting to one side and then the other as two horns sprouted out of the back of his skull, horns that jutted straight backwards and remained firmly in place, smaller horns sprouting on the back of his elongated neck.

Panting and heart racing, Goding blinked as he realized he had kept his eyes open the whole time. Already in his mind the sequence of his snout sloping forward played over and over, and he couldn't help but blink again and again as he tried to rid himself of the rigid snout set so firmly in his vision. Still, it remained, along with the seeming absence of his ears, the presence of so many more sharp teeth, and how his tongue was subtly different. The feeling of its forked ends running over the roof of his mouth was oddly comforting.

"Who are you?"

Goding blinked once more and looked to see a familiar girl staring at him. Not repelled, not afraid, just curious.

"I..." Goding rasped, clutching at his throat as he heard his own voice, so subtly different that he hardly recognized it at his own. "I'm..."

"A knight?"

Goding laughed despite himself and staggered to his feet, his toes twinging as he stumbled onto even footing. He ran his hand over his snout as he stared down it towards the girl. It was odd, but it got no more in the way than his previously visible nose had. What was disconcerting, however, was the realization that he was now less human than the 'touched before him.

"No, no," he hissed. "I'm no knight. I'm..."

He faltered.

"Oh." Cass shrugged. "There seems to be a lot of not-knights around lately. Are you here for Pyn too?"

Goding shook his head.

"No," he said. "I'm leaving."

"Oh." She said, still staring at him. No, not at him, but the pouch around his waist. He snarled and clutched at it before turning away from the girl. He stepped onto the road and didn't look back, muttering over and over to himself: "Five days, five days, five days..."

Goding continued down the road, clutching his pouch and repeating his mantra over and over as mid morning became noon, then afternoon, and finally early evening. The warrior might have continued marching well into the darkest reaches of night had his heels not suddenly lifted and his toes pressed painfully against the inside of his boots. He stumbled and fell, snout pressing into the dirt as he caught himself on his hands and knees. With his feet still aching, he turned over onto his back and tore off one boot then the other before their growth could do any damage to his footwear, not that he should have bothered. He could never wear his boots again, not with golden scaled feet that had black thick talons pressing from his three toed feet and an arch to his feet to ensure he walked on those talons rather than his heels. The sight of his clawed feet stretched out before him should have been more distressing, but he merely shrugged and stood. He could still stand though his new digitigrade stance felt odd. At least he could still walk, which meant he could still make it back to the monks and the solution to this curse, for what else would being a 'touched be than a curse, especially so full blooded as the one he was becoming? He'd never be able to get a human woman this way.

He hissed and shook his head. Why was he thinking of a mate...no, a prospective spouse (or at least lover) when there were more pressing things to think on? Like--

Like rest. Goding yawned and rubbed his tired eyes, eyes, he realized, that he wasn't even sure he would be able to recognize. He wondered what they looked like now before pushing this thought aside. There were more pressing things to think on, like rest.

The warrior walked a little off the road and found a comfortable enough spot to make camp. He removed his armor and set his bedding, and though he was as careful as he could be, he made a few cuts into it with his claws. He snarled but shrugged it off, resolving that he had slept in worse conditions than a slightly torn bedroll. He ate before bed, the Order field rations tasting somehow even blander than ever before in his altered mouth. He wanted something stronger, something meaty, and that brought back thoughts of Pyn. He regretted now not taking the 'touched's offering, but regretted more not inviting the 'touched to come along. As odd as that thought was, he nodded in agreement with it. Was it really so odd to want some company? Traveling alone was actually unusual for him,and he was used to having others along with him on the Order's tasks, but this task had been seemingly so trivial, that he, a 'touched so close to severing ties to the Order had been chosen to carry it out alone.

Goding hissed. He, a 'touched? He was no such thing. He was a human, a...mercenary he supposed, who was merely temporarily 'touched. He hadn't been the slightest bit 'touched before, not even the smallest sprinkling of scales.

Right?

Goding hissed again and crawled into his bedroll. He rolled over onto his side, not happy with that thought and also not happy with how his talons brushed against the inside of his bedroll. He hoped it would survive the night along with his muddled mind. He surely needed some company, another base of reality he could converse with. Even Pyn, seemingly addled as he was, could have done that. Perhaps he should have spoken with the girl Cass, convinced her he was Goding rather than leaving her to circle over and over in his own mind as he walked a road closer and closer to his due date. Perhaps he could find some company in that village he had stayed in on his third night of travel, but that village was two days away. Who knew how much more he might change? He surely didn't.

"Four days," Goding murmured to himself, his voice sounding so familiar now and that was wrong. This hissing voice wasn't his. Then what was his voice like? He spoke again: "Four days..."

He shivered and willed himself to sleep, hoping it would be easier to think in the light.

Goding awoke to the rustling of wings.

He opened his eyes, ever thankful for his sharp hearing. He recognized the sound this time because he had almost been expecting it, except...

Except he hadn't even remembered what had happened the night at Pyn's place until he had just awoken now. What else was his mind keeping from him?

He groaned and realized he had just made a sound. He clasped his claws over his snout and looked up to the sky, for where else would a winged creature reside? Perhaps it was a rather large bird or a griffon, but whatever it was, he couldn't find it in the heavily clouded sky. In fact, there was not a star in the sky, and that disturbed him more than anything. Unsure, he reached into his bedroll and searched for something, uncertain of what it was until his claws clasped around the pouch. It was oddly warm, and though it was a relatively cool night, he still brought the contained scale up to his chest, sitting up a little when he realized that the scale's glow could be seen through his bedroll. Curious, he tugged the scale out of the pouch and was amazed at how bright it was, pulsing brightly golden in the dark. He stared at it and felt something rise up in his chest, something so close to love and yet--

Huge wings beat up above, and Goding hissed near silently in surprise, the scale slipping from his claws to land in the dirt. There it lay, a flashing, pulsing beacon for whatever was lurking up there, and as Goding stared at it in a moment that seemed to stretch and stretch, he wondered why he had gazed so greedily at the singular scale. It was the reason why he was in this predicament, chased by an unknown pursuer, but even that wasn't completely correct. There was more he could fault the scale for, yet he stopped thinking and started acting as that moment ended, broken by that same sound of wings.

Goding leapt from his bedroll and covered the scale completely with his body while he looked to the sky, staring past a snout that no longer seemed so strange. What was strange was how the clouds broke and revealed a crescent moon with half the silhouette of a creature over it, one winged and reptilian in shape and so small and far away that it could only be enormous up close. Goding's breath grew short and shallow as he caught sight of its glimmering metallic grey scales and recognized the creature he was so close to and yet was not.

Dragon, and he was dragontouched.

Then the clouds came together again, swallowing up the moon and silhouette both. Goding remained laying there, waiting for them to part again, but they did not.

After listening to the long sound of silence, Goding crept back to his bedroll, tucking the softly glowing scale back into its pouch before he returned to his much needed rest.

Something twitched against Goding's leg, causing him to murmur and open his eyes. Then it twitched again and he was wide awake, yelping as he quickly crawled out of his bedroll. Thinking that the twitching was an insect or serpent, he took a step back before peering down at his bedroll and was surprised to find that the disturbance had followed behind him. It originated from the small of his back and so he quickly looked over his shoulder while pulling up his woolen shirt. He gaped at what he saw--not the golden scales that lined his back, but the tiny nub of a golden scaled tail located at the base of his spine that twitched this way and that and he could feel it. The tail was his, but somehow it was much less familiar than the scales, talons, claws, and reptilian snout that he called his own, the traits of a 'touched. Why then was the tail so odd?

He shook his head and set to gathering up his bedroll. He had better things to worry about than a tiny tail that, while annoying, wasn't actively impeding his journey back. Well, at least he thought he had better things to worry about. Whatever worries he had possessed the day before seemed to have been taken in the night, and he supposed that wasn't so bad, even if there was a small bit of doubt to that relief. He vaguely recalled some rustlings in the night but couldn't think of what he had done to respond. Probably had just waited there until the noise had died down. He was out here in the wilderness sleeping, after all. It was expected that there be something out here with him. He was alone, but--

He was alone.

He shivered as he started to put on his armor, ignoring how his tail squirmed. He was alone, but why was that so bothersome? He had made it five days to the village with only a handful of encounters with other 'touched like himself. Surely he could make it four more without need of company.

"Four more days..." he murmured to himself.

Four more days until the due date, four more days until he could deliver what he carried to the monks. He anticipated it eagerly, tongue flicking out and licking at his snout as he stepped onto the road. He had managed to get his armor on despite having to make adjustments for his tail, and though it fit, it didn't feel quite as comfortable as before. While his scales didn't so much as chafe against it, his golden plates and the metal didn't mesh as well as he remembered. It was almost as if the armor was dispensable, as if he could almost walk naked and free, clad in scales, but surely that was madness. He was 'touched, yes, but that didn't mean he was an animal like his winged, "ascended" kin.

Kin. The word echoed through his mind as he journeyed down the road, his tail still twitching though also now tugging, stretching surely but slowly into a longer, thicker limb with every step he took. The growing tail felt fine because he was meant to have a long, thick tail ridged with horns, just as he was meant to have scaled skin, a draconic snout, and tri-taloned feet that dug into the dirt with each step, just as he was meant to have kin, and yet what kin did he have? He thought of kin, but nothing sprang to mind. He thought of his comrades in the Order, Leof and Tond and Wyard and the twins, but that's what they were, comrades, friends, brothers in arms, but not true kin, not family and they were not 'touched either. Family and 'touched seemed to match in his mind, his tail surging to greater length as he thought of 'touched, but all that came to mind was Cass and Pyn. He wouldn't mind fathering a daughter like Cass even if he knew such a child wouldn't be nearly so human, and that was fine. Soft skin was fine, but it was no match for a mate with scales and a tail, both of which Pyn had possessed.

Goding felt a surge from below and stopped. He frowned, shifting uncomfortably as he felt his erection press against the inside of his underwear. What had the thought of Pyn aroused him so? The 'touched wasn't particularly attractive in his memories, especially because of his speech. He had been genuine sure, and had made a couple of mean meals, but he wasn't mate material. First off, he was male and second...well, Goding couldn't quite dig up a second reason because what else did he need? He liked scale and tail and was male, so he desired a dragoness above all else. Not that he would ever lay a true dragon, not that he wanted to, but the 'touched equivalent was good enough.

He continued his journey a little longer, pushing away thoughts of a mate and kin and family for now, glad when his member softened and slipped away and gladder as he felt his tail sway behind him, not a full tail that could trail to the ground, but an appendage he could comfortably sway behind him. He stopped shortly to eat a meager mid afternoon lunch of Order rations. They tasted terrible, and he desired delicious mouth-watering meat more than ever, meat he could gnaw, meat he could tear into with his fangs. He would have to acquire some at the village down the road, maybe along with some tail at the tavern...

He went the rest of the day down the road, mind mostly blissfully empty, free of worries and wants. By the time the sun had started to set, he had met no other travelers, and that was fine. Whenever he felt a little lonely, he merely clutched at the scale in its pouch and thought of the time when he'd be able to touch scales that weren't his.

Goding made camp under a tree that day, a site a bit farther off the road than the one the night before, and his scales flushed with the reason why. While he had tried to keep the thought of a mate out of his mind the whole day, it had resurfaced from time to time corresponding with excited twitches of his tail, a tail that at the moment swayed enthusiastically, a tail now thick and lengthy, golden scaled with a soft grey underside, though "now" seemed a strange word to apply to the tail. It was his tail--the only time it had been smaller was when he had been younger, but everything had been smaller back then. The thought of a small nubby tail was as laughable as it was frightening. He was a 'touched, not a lizard. He couldn't simply grow or regrow a tail out of nowhere.

Still, he was thinking too much of tail when he should be thinking about getting tail. He disrobed entirely in the near dark, the last vestiges of sunlight glinting off his golden scales. He looked over his draconic, if humanoid form, and slowly traced his claws down his grey scaled belly before one set of claws reached his crotch. He paused once he saw the scaled slit that resided there. For a moment, he was puzzled, but then laughed and teased at his crotch as he thought of scales and tail and the creature that possessed them, a darling dragoness, though not a true one, a 'touched female with full breasts and wide hips, soft curves he could cling to as he made love to her. He panted and grinned as slowly but surely his shaft emerged from its slit. He was relieved to find it still there, but of course it was still there, what else would be there? The warrior wasn't sure, and so he took his throbbing shaft in his hand. He stroked it over and over as he thought of that dragoness, so kind and soft and seductive, her tongue flicking out teasingly as he lifted her tail to reveal a puffy, scaled slick slit, and then he was into her and she into him, their imagined loving met with his real hisses and moans as he thought of his claws caressing those hips, wide and perfect for bearing eggs before he squeezed at those breasts, so full and firm that he was sure they would be enough for the wyrmlings that would no doubt be a product of this coupling. He grunted, eyes half shut, the sensations of his fantasy so close that they almost felt real, as if he really was deep into a dragoness instead of standing under a tree and stroking his shaft. He hissed and pushed against reality, embracing fantasy as he nearly shut his eyes entirely even as something glimmered gold close by, but he so close to coming, so close to ensuring that she was nothing but impregnated. He just needed a few more moments of tender, loving thrusts as he moaned beneath him, his kin, his family, his mate, his mother to be that--

Something rustled and snapped nearby, and Goding was instantly drawn out of his fantasy. He spun around, shaft in hand even as it quickly retreated into his slit. He stared at something not so far away in the darkness, a grey scaled shape that leaped into air and took flight with a flap of its magnificent wings. The warrior stumbled back and quickly dropped prone, thankful for his scales as the thick grass scratched against his hide. He stared up into the sky and watched as the winged, scaled reptilian shape that he recognized as a dragon was visible for only a moment before it was swallowed by the darkness, disappearing behind those damnable. At least, he realized, there were stars in the sky along with a quarter moon that shone its light.

For a time, Goding lay naked in the grass, waiting for the dragon to reappear, but it never did, at least not physically. Even as he crawled over to his bedroll, it remained in his mind, that creature so strong and graceful that it could take to the sky despite its bulk, a creature that he shared so many features with, a creature that was kin.

Kin...

He pondered this and even became a little aroused, but nothing that night could wash away the embarrassment of being caught red handed by the thing that he now so desired, a thing he desired to mate. The thought caused his shaft not to stir, but to churn in a way that made him a little queasy.

He shivered before being swiftly carried off to sleep.

Goding finally awoke without a disturbance in the night and without disturbance in the morning, but by something that had become familiar lately--aches, but these aches were a little less familiar. He groaned and got out of his bedroll, running his claws down his oddly thin waist before placing them on his aching hips as he wondered why they ached. All he had done yesterday was walk. Perhaps it was his tail? But no, his tail was his own, and it helped far more than it harmed, its only crime sometimes knocking a cup off a table at the tavern. He groaned again and rubbed at his head, his head throbbing as if he had spent the night before at a tavern and yet he hadn't been fortunate enough to have the slightest sip of ale since he had visited that village, that village that was only a day's journey away. If he moved quickly enough, he could make it there by nightfall, just in time to enjoy some ale and also maybe a tryst with one of the tavern wenches, though that last thought held less appeal if she wasn't 'touched, especially one deeply 'touched such as him. It held even less appeal as he recall what had happened last night, the sighting of that dragon, or was it a dragoness? He realized with a start that he hardly cared which one it was. If he could have a close encounter with it, well...

He shivered, tail lashing and then paused. What was he thinking? A dragon was an enemy of the Order. The flighty creatures were not to be trusted, and yet--

Yet that made it all the more tantalizing, especially if it was a proper drake. He shivered at this odd thought and idly rubbed at his slit, but felt no movement within. The warrior shrugged and set up about cleaning up camp. He could wait until tonight to seek the pleasures of the flesh, especially after what had happened last night. He was still a little embarrassed about the whole incident, deep down wishing it had gone differently. Why hadn't it? Wasn't he attractive enough to something that so was close that it was nearly kin? Perhaps it simply hadn't been seeking a mate, even if he was.

With his pack now assembled, Goding set about putting on his armor next, a task he found more difficult than the day before. Not only was the scrape of scale against metal more bothersome, but nothing seemed to fit quite right. He had to tighten straps to fit the plates around his thinner arms and legs and there seemed to be more room in his breastplate than ever before. He wasn't sure--his scales were the same as ever and his muscle couldn't have degraded so quickly in less than a week. Perhaps he just needed another set after having this one for so long, or perhaps this was yet another sign that his was time for him to retire.

"Three more days," he murmured, as he tugged on his belt, having to tighten more than before, his hips still aching. Three more days until the due date and delivery of the scale he squeezed for luck before setting onto the road.

As soon as he started, Goding felt something was off. At first he attributed it to the easy sway of his tail, but then he realized it was the sway of his hips that was different. It wasn't anything he was consciously doing; rather, it was simply how he moved, his wider hips requiring it of him, yet why did he have such wide hips in the first place? Though the uneven clanking of his armor should have been more pressing, he concentrated more on how he walked and why it seemed so familiar. He journeyed and tried to think of the why, but all that came to mind was last night and that didn't seem right.

He discarded these wonderings and focused on the actual issue, constantly adjusting his armor as he journeyed down the road without there being an apparent pattern to the adjustments he had to make. While his breastplate was more roomy, there was less space in the back, particularly the lower back, as if his rear was larger, but before he could question this, his apparently expanding hips ached. He groaned as he had to adjust his belt again and now he was on the last notch! What was up with his armor? It had always weighed him down before, but now it seemed as if it was actively impairing his movements.

Goding swore and came to a stop, taking refuge underneath the shade of a nearby tree off the road to figure out just what was going on. Piece by piece he removed his armor and also his underclothes until he stood naked in the shade. He knelt down and examined his armor, but there was nothing different about it, as far as he could tell. It was well worn, sure, but that should help, not hinder. For a single insane moment he considered discarding both armor and clothes entirely, to walk scaled and free like the drake that he had seen the night before--a drake, he was sure of it--but then he discarded this thought and turned his attention back to his body. It was...well, it was body, mostly covered in golden scales save for the grey ones that ran down his belly and the underside of his tail. Most of his attributes were familiar, his claws and tail and talons but there was something off about his thinner arms and legs, slender and smoother, still toned yet lacking their previously honed muscle. Was he truly slowing down so fast? Yet that couldn't be the cause since it wasn't just his muscle that subtly slipped away. His hips were broader than his shoulders and was it just him or was his rump a little plump? Frowning, he reached back and squeezed one of his cheeks. He shivered and felt a slight tingle in his nethers, not the familiar stirring of an awakening member, but the sensation of something warming up, electrically and erotically slow. He meant to explore further, but he quickly remembered what had happened last time he had explored himself while under a tree. He blushed beneath his scales and set to armoring up again, at least armoring up as best he could. The warrior retained his metal pauldrons and leggings and placed his sword to hang around a belt that he had to tighten to its utmost. However, he left his breastplate and other smaller platings behind, leaning them against a tree and hoping that whoever found them would be able to put them to some use. It was not that he actually needed the armor; there were no bandits that walked these roads and there had been nothing thus far that could threaten him.

Well...

Nothing except for the dragon, but was that truly a threat? After a quick meal that left him missing meat, especially fresh meat even more, he started down the road again thinking of dragons and their 'touched, dragons and the Order, but most of all dragons and him, or really, a dragon and him. Why was the hateful so against the magnificently scaled creatures again? Sure, they sometimes burned down a town or two and messed with magics beyond the ken of men that resulted in 'touched like himself, but that couldn't be all dragons, right? That couldn't be like his dragon, right?

His dragon?

Goding frowned and hissed in a distinct higher tone, squeezing at the scale in its pouch. Was it really his dragon, his drake? Well, it seemed to be following him, so perhaps he was the drake's 'touched.

Goding paused. He, its touched? He shivered and felt that same rise of arousal in his crotch, an electric tingle that made him pant and rubbed thighs that seemed somehow thicker together. Could he...could he really belong to a dragon? Could he...could he mate with a dragon?

His claws slid down and slipped easily under breeches that were loose. Standing in the middle of the road, he teased at his scaled slit and shivered, the slit itself sensitive in a way he didn't remember. He dug in a little deeper and felt his scaled lips part ever so slightly, salaciously sensitive but nothing rose from inside to greet his questing claw. No, nothing stirred except his sensitive slit and he froze, wondering why it felt as if he was meant to press in when something was supposed to press out. He was male, right?

Right?

Goding shivered, hissing as his claw spread his slit further apart, tail standing straight up at the sensation. It was pleasurable and yet offputting, especially as he felt the slit slicken as if to make it easier for him to delve further in but why would he do that? Why would there be more to explore when he was a drake, a 'touched one yes, but as much a drake as the dragon?

Still, he pressed further in and felt muscles he had never known he had before contract and squeeze at his claw, now slick with his own juices, his tail lashing against the ground. He paused and hissed, wondering what this meant.

Could he...could he be a she? It made sense in a strange sort of way, an easy explanation for why his hips were so wide, why his rump was so plump, why his proportions were slimmer and thinner, and why between his legs was a slit meant to take in, not thrust out. It was the easiest explanation, but he didn't feel like it was the correct one, the one that accounted for the oddities with his armor and yet didn't account for his attraction to the drake.

He hissed uncertainly, but he had to know, he had to be sure, and so he pressed in even deeper while another claw traced over his spread slit before it bumped against something small, sensitive, and oddly familiar. He shivered at the caress of his clit and immediately afterwards pulled his claw out. He stared at the slick claws, then slowly, ever slowly, loosened his belt and let his breeches drop so that he could see what he had been teasing so casually moments before.

It was a dragoness's scaled slit that she found between her legs, or at least the 'touched's corrupted translation of the real thing. It certainly wasn't anything male, even if she vaguely recalled herself stroking a shaft that previous night, but was that right or had that been imagined? She remembered a drake and dragoness in her fantasy and she must have been the dragoness there, stroking that shaft, or had she lifted her tail and had him come into her? Was that what she had been imagining when the dragon had startled her from her self pleasuring? No, not dragon.

Drake.

She shivered, and shivered again as she felt a cool breeze whisk across the road, reminding her that she was very much half naked and on the road, not indoors, and this wasn't the proper place to be examining her pussy. Blushing, she pulled up her breeches and tightened her belt, glancing about in case there had been a dragon watching.

Unfortunately for her, there had not been one.

Cursing herself for wasting time on confirming whether that she really was a woman, no, a dragoness, she sped up her pace down the road. She didn't want to arrive at the village so late that the inn would be full and she would have to spend another night roughing it. Not that she minded it so much, but she had noticed her bedroll had sustained damage she hardly recalled it receiving, it slightly torn as if she had been clumsy with her claws. She walked and walked, no longer questioning the sway of her hips, only thankful that they no longer ached. In fact, it seemed as if her strides were surer and stronger even if her musculature seemed to be less, though in comparison to what she wasn't sure. She thought back to her and the others of the Order and could only imagine herself as the 'touched she was, sleek and scaled and attractive to them all even as much as Leof protested it. She smiled at the memory, gripping at the golden scale in the pouch as she imagined a man that might find her attractive at the village's tavern. A 'touched for sure, perhaps like Pyn but more eloquent, though if he could make a meal as good, then she wouldn't protest some strange speech in exchange for a meaty dinner and a night of pleasure. Though, she thought, perhaps she wasn't setting her sights high enough. Her dragon, her drake still had to be out there, right? But no, he must be already miles away at this point. Dragons flew fast and besides, she wasn't a true dragon. She had to be realistic. She was only days away from her due date and yet there was no rush. As much as she desired kin and family and even further use of her wide hips, there was no use in chasing conception as soon as she was free of the Order's influence, or even before, really.

"Protection," she chuckled, recalling one of Pyn's last words to her.

Soon enough, Goding arrived at the village. It was not so different than the farming village she had retrieved the scale from, but slightly more sophisticated in that there were actual merchants who resided here, their buildings marked with signs that bore the symbol of their trade. She headed straight for the one inscribed with an overflowing mug, licking her snout with her forked tongue as she imagined a mug of ale with a side of mutton, her musings uninterrupted by the odd glances she got by the peasantry she passed by. She noticed their staring, of course, but didn't mind it so much. 'Touched like her so close to the actual appearance of their quadruped kin were rather rare, and 'touched that went around armored and armed wearing the symbol of the Order were even rarer. She wondered whether they even knew she was female, wide hips notwithstanding.

She entered the inn and received the same assortment of curious stares from the place's patrons. She paid them back with a disinterested glance because most of them were human, and while there were some 'touched, they were disappointingly mostly human. She quickly made her way to the bar, where the innkeeper regarded her warily, at least until she pulled out a few coins.

"Hmph," he grunted, himself a 'touched with only a few scales on his brow. "What would you like?"

"I would like..." Goding paused, frowning as she heard her own voice. Was it just her, or was it higher than before? She laughed and shook this thought off while also ignoring the look the innkeeper gave her. "A room for the night with a prepared bath. And some mead with some meat." She opened her snout and licked her teeth. "No, not some. A lot of meat. Lots and lots of meat."

The innkeeper grunted and held out his hand for payment. She gave it to him and received a key in return with a promise of her meal to be served "soon." She smiled and slipped away, walking towards a table near the back of the room, at least until she noticed something glinting. She turned and found herself facing a mirror, and in it she found a reflection that was oddly unfamiliar. It was her for sure, a horned, golden scaled dragoness clad in armor, but the part she didn't recognize were her eyes. She looked into their grey slit depths and felt as if she was looking into them for the first time. Why was that gaze so uncertain when it was she who she was looking at?

She frowned and might have stood there all day staring at herself if she hadn't heard someone clear their throat, turning to see a bar wench past her prime standing near to her holding a mug of ale and a plate upon which was a slab of salted meat. Goding took the offered items with a gracious smile, a smile that slipped as she caught notice of the woman's breasts. Though she might be past her prime, Goding was still jealous of the bust that she had none of, but was that really a problem? Real dragons didn't have breasts, and yet she couldn't help but long for a pair herself. Surely they would help with weaning her future children, 'touched as they would be.

Her nipples twinged and she shivered at this thought, feeling a familiar warmth at her side. She looked down and saw the scale was shining through the pouch. Hurriedly, she made her way to her table at the back and saw down so that the scale's glow was mostly concealed. She didn't want to draw any more attention than she already had, even if most people were ambivalent to the Order and 'touched. It was the Order and 'touched together she wasn't so sure about. She could worry about that later though. She squeezed the scale and glanced around the room to see that none were paying her any heed now.

Good.

She set to her dinner, taking a sip of her mead first. It tasted warm and wonderful, if a little watery and too sweet. Still, she enjoyed it, even if her sips of the stuff were punctuated by pinches and chafings of her nipples that she credited more to her chain shirt needing some adjustment than the fact that her chest was starting to slowly swell, fatty twin orbs of flesh gathering under grey nipples that were becoming puffier and all the more sensitive. She shifted herself around, but still her chest was uncomfortable. She hissed and started to eat some meat instead of taking any notice of her annoying armor, for what else could she do? Take off her upper garb so that she would be half-naked? It wasn't like there was anything to see, and yet decency demanded she remain as she was, at least until she got to the privacy of her room.

So, Goding slowly ate the meat and found it a little more fatty than she would have liked. Still, she savored every bite, chewing slowly while her burgeoning breasts continued to rub and chafe against her armor in a mixture of pain and pleasure. She was at least thankful that it wasn't Order trail rations, and doubly thankful that she should be able to stock on something more flavorful for the final two days of her journey. She ate and drank, drank and ate, and consumed until she was wholly satisfied. Only then did she sit back with satisfied sigh, her snout twisting into a snarl as she felt her chest wobble.

Confused and more than a little annoyed, Goding looked down to see two swollen grey scaled breasts pressing stubbornly against her chain shirt. She blinked, but her bust was still there, her cleavage all the more obvious from this point of view. Still no more certain of why there were breasts upon her chest, she brought up a clawed hand and squeezed one through the metal. She hissed at the sensation, the scaled flesh surprisingly sensitive and unsurprisingly real. She squeezed the other one and confirmed that they were both real, that they were both hers, that she indeed had breasts.

Puzzled, she looked up and stared off into the distance, unconsciously squeezing one and hissing at the tingle it sent to her crotch. Since when had she had breasts? It seemed like only moments ago that she was lamenting not having a pair and now here they were, and yet...

Yet she couldn't think of herself not having breasts, just as she couldn't think of herself as not being female, of not being 'touched. After all, as she thought to her fantasy of the night before, she had had breasts, but that had been fantasy, and this was reality, and so she must have always had breasts, right? No, no, they were the sort of things one grew into, but--

She squeezed a breast again and hissed, enjoying the sensation now even if the armor was getting in the way. She was going to squeeze again when she noticed a man across the bar staring at her with a lecherous smile on his face. He met her gaze and winked.

Disgusted, Goding snarled at him and stood. She sauntered away from the table, meaning to go up the stairs and to her room, away from uncertainty, away from that man, but her tail had other ideas as it knocked the mug she had just finished draining off the table. She sighed and bent down, placing it back on the table and flashing an apologetic smile to a tavern wench. She resumed her previous path, only stopping when she saw the mirror again, and when she looked in it there was a different doubt she had about her reflection. Her eyes were fine, but the breasts that hung on her chest as if they belonged looked out of place. Perhaps, she realized, it was just the armor. She needed some padding or...something.

Before she went up the stairs to her room, she "accidentally" knocked that leering man's mug off his table, throwing a few coins as way of apology. She also left him with an half-apologetic grin and a twirl of her tail, reminding him that he certainly wouldn't be getting a piece of it.

In her room, Goding realized she wasn't going to be getting any tail either that night, and that was fine with her. None of those downstairs had appealed to her anyhow, and plus, she had her privacy for once. She doubted a dragon or anyone else would catch her having some fun, not that she would mind a dragon peeking into her window, even entering the room as improbable as that was...

The dragoness stripped down and felt fine with being naked. No longer did she feel uneasy about her scaled, curvy form or the breasts that moved slightly with each of her breaths. She did feel uneasy about fitting the pair under armor again after today, so she resolved to try something new tomorrow. For now, though, she bathed in the large bath bucket she had ordered, and though she had pictured some steamy self-pleasuring while she also scrubbed herself clean, the water turned out far colder than she had liked. She hissed her distaste, but at least she was able to remove the grime and dirt of eight day's worth of travel from her scales, a luxury she hoped to take advantage of more when she was finished forever with this Order business.

Afterwards, she dried herself off and walked over to the window, looking out into the clear night sky, the moon a silvery crescent that looked ready to wax rather than wane. She stayed staring at the moon and its silver light, at least until she yawned. The dragoness shook her head and softly hissed as she walked over to her bed. She was about to collapse onto it, naked and fine with it, but then she caught sight of a golden glimmer. She took the scale out of its pouch and saw that it glowed softly, warmly. She smiled as she took it with her to bed, clasping it in one hand as she crawled under her sheets, placing it under her pillow and turning so that she lay facing the window. She stared out at the moon again, her mind wandering to lustful thoughts as she thought of that silhouette she had seen in the moon, the shape of that creature whose metallic grey scales had glimmered in the moonlight. The dragoness sighed, one claw tracing down her stomach while another reached higher up, squeezing at an uncovered breast. She hissed, tongue flicking out as she teased at her slit while her mind moved to a more recent memory, that of last night when the dragon had been so close and had gone so far. There was still embarrassment to that incident, but longing overwhelmed it, longing that it had all gone differently. Why hadn't he, the dragon, her dragon, approached her then? Was she not dragoness enough for him? She had the scales, the tail, and more besides. Perhaps he simply hadn't noticed her, perhaps she hadn't been caught in the act after all. Then, perhaps he would notice her next time, and she hoped there was a next time, where she could show him she and he could share more than scales.

She gasped as she tweaked a nipple, eyes slowly sliding shut as she began to dig into herself. She shuddered, tail softly lashing beneath the sheets as she imagined how such an encounter would go. Some part of her told her such a coupling was an impossibility, but that's what fantasy was for, right? She knew she would probably never settle down with a drake, but what was a tryst or two, especially if it was just in her mind, though she dearly wished it wasn't. She supposed she might be setting her sights too high in the sky, but what was wrong with lusting after something that was the pinnacle of perfection? Even if her mind fought against it, her heart wanted a drake. Her arousal built at the thought of kneeling in front of the dragon, tail and rear lifted so that he could see all that she had to offer while she looked back with a lustful grin and glinting eyes and saw all he had to offer as well, and it was all that she wanted and more. She squirmed, brushing a claw against her clit as she imagined him approaching, slowly, curiously, nostrils flaring with smoke as he sniffed at what she was, his senses telling him that she was the real deal, or close enough. Then she would hiss, he would hiss, and he would be upon her. Goding reached for her tail and thrust its point into her slit as she imagined him penetrating her with that hot dragon dick, his breath in her scaled snout warm and pleasant as he thrust in again and again just as she thrust into herself, her snatch spreading easily for her tail's entrance, the squirming appendage sliding right in to be greeted by her needy inner walls that pulsed and clamped down on something that would never seed her and that's what she really desired most, for her closest kin to claim her and ensure she carried his eggs, Pyn's protection be damned.

Eggs....

She hissed and moaned, so close to climax in both fantasy and reality, the two intertwining as she shook, tail and fantasy phantom cock thrusting ever deeper and breasts squeezed and caressed until she made it to the peak of pleasure. She shrieked a hissing moan and felt a fire ignite in her belly, smoke spiraling out of her nostrils as she thrust her hips against her tail in the throes of ecstasy. It slipped out as she shivered and shook in her bed, and that was pleasurable in itself, though she now felt oh so empty below as her tail and the fantasy left her, the pleasure permeated with muted frustration that none of it had been real, that she wasn't closer to kin than she was the day before. Still, the dragoness managed to relax in the fulfillment of the afterglow, eyes slowly drifting closed as her tail stopped lashing and the small spirals of smoke diminished into nothingness.

There was a knock on her door. Goding yawned, blinking away the vestiges of sleep as she wearily wondered why someone had just knocked on her door. She hissed, shoulders tensing. They felt sharp and tight, her aches apparently taking turns on different parts of her. There was another knock, this one more frantic than the first, and she frowned. What sort of establishment was this? Looking out of the window, she could quite clearly see it was still early morning, plenty of time for her to get prepared and dressed before she had to return the key to the innkeeper.

"Two more days..." she murmured.

Then the door swung open and slammed against the wall. Goding sat up, startled and staring at the person who stood in the doorway, a man better dressed than the rest of the village. He stared back at her, though his gaze was a little lower. Goding followed it to her chest and to her breasts. She hissed and covered them up, wondering why such modesty had escaped her. It wasn't as if this was the first time she'd had to cover herself up for more the humans' sake than her own.

"What do you want?" she spat at the man, smoke curling out of her nostrils.

"My apologies, lady, it's just that..." the man gulped and backed up a little. "Are you a knight?"

"No," Goding hissed.

"But Barl said that you wore the symbol of the Order around your neck, and..." the man's voice trailed off.

"I work for the Order, yes," Goding said, sitting up higher but keeping herself covered. "Doesn't mean I'm a knight."

"Oh." The man blinked. "Oh! Then you can help us!"

It was Goding's turn to blink.

"Help you?"

"Yes!" The man nodded. "Forgive me, I didn't introduce myself. I'm Marn and I sort of...govern this place, at least as far as making the unpopular decisions."

"Goding," the dragoness grunted.

"Ah." Marn nodded. "Well, Lady Goding..."

"Just Goding."

"Yes, Just Goding." The man smiled. "I'm sorry I intruded, but there was a spectacle this morning." He gulped. "I'm honestly surprised you didn't hear it, but there was a dragon--"

Goding's eyes widened, and she quickly stepped out of bed, nearing the man so she could be sure she had heard the right thing.

"Dragon," she hissed quickly. "Did you say dragon?"

Marn nodded, averting his gaze. Goding blinked, then grabbed a bed sheet to wrap around herself.

"Y-yes," Marn said. "Dragon. He flew right over town, and there's been such a hubbub about it, a council right outside my very house, and someone said there was an Order knight in town, though they didn't mention that you were a...lady."

"Dragon..." Goding murmured. "Did it have grey scales, metallic ones?"

Marn frowned and looked to the covered dragoness.

"I...I'm not sure," he admitted. "I didn't see it myself, but--"

"What do you want me to do about it?" Goding asked.

"Well, we were...I mean, the townspeople were hoping you could drive it off. You are with the Order, yes?"

"Drive it off," Goding said, nodding. "Has it been seen since?"

"Oh, I don't know about that, but..."

Goding looked back to her bed and the scale stashed underneath the pillow. Two days...could she spare any time? Something urged her to ignore the dragon's sighting, to go to the monks as quickly as possible to...well, to do what other than deliver the scale she wasn't really sure, but she ignored it, for there was a stronger urge inside, to find that dragon so she might lay it. No, slay it. No, lay it--why would she kill her kin? Some dragons might be enemies of the Order, but any dragon that was interesting in mating her was more than a friend. She shivered, lost in her thoughts until she noticed Marn was staring at her oddly.

"Fine," she said. "I will do it. I will drive the dragon off no matter what it takes."

"Splendid!" Marn clapped his hands together, then looked away sheepishly. "Well, you don't have to drive it off, just as long as you convince it that it to stop bothering us, since apparently my reward isn't enough." He cleared his throat. "As a reward, I can offer--"

"We'll speak about that later," Goding snarled. "Where did it go?"

"Ah, well, it..." Marn paused, then pointed out the window. "Thataway. East."

"Thank you," Goding said, before growling. "Now leave."

Marn nodded and quietly closed the door. Goding quickly packed her things, returned the softly glowing scale to its pouch, and got dressed, this time only wearing her pauldrons, linen shirt, and armored breeches. She tightened her sword belt to the final notch, wincing as she flexed her shoulders. Her shoulder blades were the worst of her aches.

She hurried downstairs, returning the key to the innkeeper, paying for any mess she might have made in last night's activities, and also leaving her pack with them for safekeeping as she intended to return with the good news that she had slain the dragon--no, laid the dragon.

She headed east, running at a brisk pace as she made her way over the road and to the plains beyond, the scale glowing warmly at her side. As she ran, she wondered what she really was doing. Did she truly think she could find a dragon that surely flew faster than she ran based off a single direction that the creature might have already adjusted? And what if the dragon wasn't interested in her at all? What made her think it wasn't looking for a fight? Why was she wasting time when her due date was so close?

She pushed these thoughts away, the scale's warmth and frequent pulses reassuring her. Pyn had been right--the scale was very special indeed. She would be sorry to turn it over to the monks, but not so sorry if it's growing warmth meant what she thought it did.

Then the scale went cold and she faltered. She came to a halt, all the doubts creeping up again as she realized she was in the middle of some plains with the main road, her reference, now very, very far away. She also felt all the running catch up with her, her breaths shallow and short. Gasping, she stumbled to her right and wondered what she had been thinking, rushing out here with the idea that she might encounter a dragon, and not just any dragon but her dragon, her drake. She wanted to blame it on her hormones, but the desire went deeper than that. She sighed and turned around just as the dragon crashed down in front of her.

She leapt back, instinctively drawing her sword as she stared at the creature that had somehow snuck up on her, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Something in her screamed danger, but it felt like an old instinct and so she pushed it away, letting her more dominant ones take charge.

She let the sword slip out of her clawed hand as she examined the specimen before her, a dragon, no, a slender, sleek drake with grey scales that glimmered like metal in the mid morning sun. He regarded her with eyes that were gold and unblinking and yet held warmth. He was a dragon, yes, but he was probably the runt of his clutch, still sleek, still handsome yet not so large that she was frightened of what might happen when they mated.

When they mated--she liked the eventuality in those words, but she knew all too well that it took two to dance with a dragon.

"So," the drake said, speaking in a low rumble that sent excited shivers down her spine. "You're the knight."

"I'm no knight," Goding said. "I'm--"

"I know what you are," the dragon said with a sly smile, circling around her while he slowly beat his wings. "You're the one who wants."

Goding paused, though she set her gaze on the dragon as it sidled around her, imperfect circles that drove them closer and closer. Was she?

"Yes, you are," the dragon said as if reading her mind. His nostrils flared and smoke spiraled out. "I can smell it on you, that desire, that want, that need. Mmm..."

He rumbled, now standing before her, his larger snout so close to hers. He stared deep into her eyes, and she stared deep into his.

"Would you believe," he murmured. "That I want the same?"

"Yes," she hissed breathily, though she wasn't really sure what she was saying yes to. A dozen questions flitted through her mind, but she wasn't able to hold onto a single one, for something stood at the forefront of it all as she stared lustily at the drake. He smiled and tilted his head, showing off all those teeth, a display somehow as endearing as it was threatening. She quaked with uncertainty and froze as he darted his head forward. Some part of her shouted to strike or flee, not just stand there, but then the drake's tongue flicked out, and he gave her snout a kiss as best he could, a loving lick that made her shudder.

"I was drawn here, you know," he said. "Drawn there too, by you. I thought I spotted you in that human place, but you were hiding under cover." He chuckled and gave her another lick. "Clever girl, making me want you more."

"You want me?" she asked.

"Didn't I already answer that?" he questioned.

Goding nodded, supposing he had, though something told her it was more her answer than anything. She hissed and reached forward, caressing his snout.

"Kin," she whispered.

"Kin," he whispered back, slyly smiling. "Kel."

"Goding," she said back, and if he looked a little puzzled by her name, she hardly cared. It was a little masculine, it was a little odd, but what about being 'touched wasn't odd? She wasn't quite a human, but she was a dragoness all the same.

"So Goding," Kel said. "How do you feel about kin kindling kin?"

"Mmm," she purred back. "Would you believe I want the same?"

Kel laughed, a loud boisterous roar that left her smiling and all the more attracted to him. He suddenly reached forward and lifted up her shirt to reveal her full breasts. He licked at one curiously, wrapping a tongue around a nipple. She shivered.

"These are different," he said. He nudged one with his snout and watched it jiggle. "But nice. Mmm, we are corrupt creatures, aren't we?"

Goding was thinking the same thing as she looked to the drake's hindquarters where already his shaft was emerging, and even the glimpse of its incomplete length excited her. Kel seemed to notice too, chuckling as he let go of the dragoness's shirt.

"Now that's not fair," he said. "You see mine, but where's yours? Why do you cover yourself? There's nothing you need to hide from me."

Goding nodded her agreement, stepping back so that she could remove her constraining clothes. She did so slowly and seductively, enjoying the sight of Kel's cock steadily emerging as he watched the diminutive dragoness strip away her coverings. With each piece that fell away, Goding felt freer, and by the time she stood naked in front of the drake, her nakedness felt natural and his shaft, that wonderful thick, draconic member, stiff and ridged and ready, had completely slid out of his slit. She stared at it hungrily and felt slickness slide down her thighs. She was ready, and his lustful stare told her he was too.

Before he could say a word, she turned around and fell on her knees, keeping her tail purposefully low. She looked over her shoulder and hissed, laughing as she saw that he was totally fixed on what she hid. She let him wait a few seconds longer, his nostrils flaring as smoke billowed out of them, so thick that she could smell his desire.

Then she lifted her tail and her rear, presenting herself totally to the drake. His eyes met hers and she winked, though she winced as her shoulder blades ached. She shook it off, crooning in anticipation, and now it was her turn to wait. She hissed pathetically as he stood there waiting, as if truly considering what lay before her.

Finally, with a roar he was upon her, gripping at her hips before slowly, ever so slowly teasing the lips of her scaled slit apart. She shivered and moaned at this initial penetration, wondering what the full thing would feel like when this was just the tip, and she soon found out as he thrust into her. She hissed, gasping as he entered her. He was big, as expected, but she could take it. A human might not have been able to withstand the dragon atop of her, but she did so with ease. She was no mere man or 'touched, she was a dragoness and she was built for this, built for him, her for him, him for her, and so she took his powerful thrusts with pleasured hisses. She bucked her hips, pressing back so he could press further in, and he did so, the dragoness shivering as he delved deep into her.

Her breasts bounced as his thrusts developed a rhythm in and out of her, in and out, in and out, but those weren't the only parts of her that moved. No, her shoulder blades, so tight and aching, finally found relief as wings burst from her back after a particularly forceful thrust. Above her, Kel sputtered and laughed but retained his rhythm and for that she was grateful. She folded her wings down just in time to endure another particularly passionate thrust that left her panting and gasping. Her snout fell open, her tongue lolling out of her mouth, and she struggled to keep her eyes open as the drake relentlessly pounded her, bringing them both closer and closer to the cusp of climax. She felt it so close, the moment when kin would kindle kin and she wanted nothing more for it to happen. She spurred him on with a primal hiss that he seemed to understand amongst all the commotion and so he sped up, his thick spire digging deeper than ever before. She cried out and shook as he rumbledabove her. He ceased thrusting and roared with a burst of fire, warming her scales, sparks sizzling and scorching the nearby grass. His cock twitched inside of her and her inner walls clamped down on it, hungrily and desperately milking him for every drop of his rich seed as it spilled into her womb. The dragoness reached climax at that moment, pleasure thrumming through her, a dumb smile sliding across her snout as she slowly realized that they had done it.

The dragoness shuddered as the afterglow washed over her, chest and breasts pressing into the ground as he tail and wings waved erratically.The dragoness shook as the drake removed himself from her, her inner walls sore and trembling with each second of retreat, making it fight for every inch of exit, hugging tightly to that magnificent spire to ensure her pleasure was prolonged. By the time he exited her with a satisfying final burst of pleasure, she was barely cognizant of what was around her, her snout set in that same wide, dumb grin as the thought that she had just been impregnated spiraled through her mind over and over. There was some panic in that thought, but there was mostly satisfaction in her success that she had done it, that she had laid the dragon.

Kel did indeed come to lay around her, cuddling close to her as he curled his tail around her. Just out of her peripheral she saw his eyes twinkling with the same satisfaction and love that she felt.

"Mmm," he murmured, his voice a little hoarse. "That was nice."

She nodded and they said no more, lying together and enjoying each other's company and the touch of companionship. Her drake nuzzled and licked at her while she stroked his head, murmuring sweet somethings and staring off as morning slowly shifted into noon. After a time, he pulled back. She looked up at him, and he down at her, his eyes apologetic.

"I'm sorry, dear Goding," he said. "But I must go for now, though..." He chuckled and smiled. "I promise I will be there for the due date."

She nodded numbly, some sadness rising as he leapt into the sky and took flight with a strong surge of his wings. Suddenly she sat up as it hit her, the due date!

"Two days..." she murmured.

In a daze, she quickly gathered her gear and got dressed as best as she could, tearing her tunic into a makeshift covering for her breasts, returning her sword to its scabbard, and pulling on her belt and tightened it around her waist. As she squeezed the pouch that held the scale, she wondered if there was something she was missing but shrugged it off and hurried back to town. While she was burning daylight, she felt it was her duty to let the townsfolk know that the dragon would no longer bother them, along with retrieving her pack.

Energized by her recent romp, she quickly made it back to the village. She spotted Marn from a distance; his slightly higher class clothes made him stick out from the other villagers. She entered the village, hurrying over to its leader. She received glances, as the townsfolk muttered and murmured, with a few whistles among them. It was a reaction that she had not expected of their savior. Some of the villagers looked horrified, others embarrassed, averting their eyes or covering their children's and others stared at her with lustful curiosity. She ignored it all, for she only had one man to answer to.

"Marn," she said, stepping towards the village leader. "That dragon will not bother your village any more."

"Ah, Goding, wonderful, I--" the man froze and covered his mouth.

Goding frowned, tilting her head until she realized that the whole town had stopped to stare at her. Confused, she looked down and saw why that was so: she had left her breeches back at the plains.

Her snout scales flared , and she cursed herself for forgetting just as she cursed the humans for their modesty, though it was not their fault they were not as close to the perfect creature as she was. She sighed and curled her tail to cover her groin, though not before wiping away a reminder of Kel's climax. Modesty restored, she looked back to Marn, who had regained only a portion of his composure.

"As I said," she said, lightly flapping her wings. "The dragon has been dealt with."

"As, as I said wonderful, and..." He gulped and looked up and over Goding. "Did you all hear that? The dragon's been dealt with! You can return to your homes now!"

No one moved, and Goding heard a few murmurs about her wings among other things. Marn sighed and cleared his throat.

"Dealt with!" he shouted. "The knight has, uh, the knight has saved us, so go home. P-please."

This got the village folk moving, though many continued to stare at well until Marn motioned them away until it was only the two that stood in close proximity.

"Ah, well, thank you, Goding," he said, still not quite looking at her. "And sorry for calling you a knight but..." He gulped. "You, er, you didn't quite slay the dragon, did you."

Goding shook her head.

"You didn't...did you..." he shook his head. "The Order's business is the business of the Order." He forced a smile. "How can I...how can we repay you?"

"Well," Goding said, smiling. "Do you have a horse?" She snorted. "A large one?"

As it turned out, they didn't have a horse, but a horse and cart driven by a visiting merchant who agreed to take the dragoness to the temple since it was on his way. Goding also retrieved her pack, and the grateful Marn even gifted her some breeches that ensured she wouldn't need her tail to retain her modesty. Before she knew it, she was on the road back towards the temple, seated next to an indifferent driver. She was actually glad of this, not so concerned with company anymore since she knew she would see Kel soon enough.

Kel. She thought of the handsome drake for most of the journey, earning a few sideways glances as she lustfully hissed at the recollections of their carnal coupling, the scale at her side likewise warming at the remembrances. It aroused her yes, but she no longer felt the need to breed, and for a time she wondered what that meant.

She figured it out soon enough, for as the sun began to set, so did her belly begin to rise, though she didn't notice anything until she caught the driver staring curiously at her bare belly for quite some time. She looked over to him and he glanced away, whistling as he pretended to have been staring ahead instead of at her smoothly scaled stomach. Though, as she glanced down, she saw it wasn't so smooth. There was a definite yet subtle swell to it, and it delighted her.

Kin had kindled kin.

"Dragon did that to ya'?" the driver asked unexpectedly.

"Yes," Goding said, smiling warmly.

"Mmph," the driver grunted and turned his focus back to his duties.

Goding retained that smile throughout the day, the warmth in her womb only matched by the warmth of the scale so close by. She thought of her future, of the eggs, the whelplings to be, and Kel's role in it all, and couldn't help but grin, showing off all her pointed teeth.

As the day grew dark, they stopped atop a hill just off the road. The driver offered for her to sleep in the cart, but she shrugged and set down her bedroll, a new one also provided by Marn. It was just cool enough that she could simply sleep atop of it, and so that's what she did, laying back with her claws clutching at her ever-growing belly, the golden scale tucked close to her side. She looked off into the night sky with all its stars and its full moon, and she slipped into sleep staring into its silvery light.

"Hey, lady, time to go if you want to make it to your temple."

Goding awoke to find the driver standing over her, the rough man slowly chewing on an even rougher piece of bread. The dragoness blinked after a sudden surge of warmth in her womb, finding her hands on her belly up and apart. She sat up and watched as her belly steadily swelled out more and more, her scaled skin stretching taut and firm and her belly button popping out with a dizzying, though satisfying sensation as her belly wobbled, round and firm but no longer swelling. She blinked again while the driver walked away, still chewing idly on her bed.

She stared at her swollen belly and wondered how she could be so far along in her pregnancy already. Hadn't she just bred with the drake yesterday? She groaned and held her head, trying to compile her thoughts together. Something felt off, something felt wrong, but she couldn't quite place it. Her recollections of her journey were odd. The first half seemed to have no substance at all, as if those days hadn't mattered, while the second half was jumbled, a mish mash of conflicting memories. In some she had breasts, in others not, in most she lacked her wings, and in a few she even had skin and hair instead of scale and tail. It seemed so nonsensical, and yet it all seemed to culminate in her cherished memory of making love to Kel, but it couldn't have been so recent, not when her due date was only a day away. Surely it must have been before she had even accepted this task, knowing that her pregnancy would ensure she wouldn't be too much help to the Order, not that her mating with her dragon would cause them to look at her favorably anyhow.

She hissed and shook her head, the confused memories dispersing, their departure helped by the warm glow of the nearby golden scale. Perhaps this pregnancy was more taxing on her than she'd like to admit...

"One more day," she cooed, rubbing her stomach in soft circles while wondering how many eggs lay within. "One more day..."

Her due date, it was so close! She quickly gathered her possessions, before waddling up to the cart and the driver, huffing and puffing by the time she got there. She let out a soft hiss of relief as she folded up her wings and took her seat. The driver gave a glance at her swollen stomach, raised an eyebrow and shrugged, and then they were off.

Still a little weary, Goding sat back in her seat and couldn't help but close her eyes with her claws clasped around her gravid belly, the scale at her side glowing softly as she drifted off into sleep. She dreamed in that sleep, and it was a strange dream, for it seemed to have nothing to do with her, but rather six knights, so familiar and yet so foreign on a journey to slay a dragon. She smiled in her sleep as she thought that perhaps it would be better if in this dream they laid the dragon instead, shifting her claws unconsciously as her stomach swelled a little larger while her breasts also burgeoned, her cloth wrapping barely able to contain them as they filled with milk. Dragon laying in either sense was so much more productive, and so it was with some delight that she saw the knights in her dream slowly shift into darling dragonesses with pleasantly pregnant bellies of their own. She watched with slightly perverted glee as one in particular looked in confusion to the others who didn't seem so concerned, but even this odd one outdid her duty when the time to lay came. She sighed, wishing she could be with them, but she was merely here, in a dream, asleep on her way to the temple to make her delivery.

"Hey, lady."

Goding stirred as she felt the driver poke her arm.

"Lady, we're here."

Part of her wanted to protest that she was no lady, but it was out of place, no longer her. She opened her eyes and found her claws set further apart once more. She glanced at her belly and found it so full and round that it seemed the eggs might come out at any moment. Not only that, but the wrappings around her breasts seemed inadequate, and they were slightly soaked, as if she had been leaking what could only be milk. She adjusted the wrappings slightly andher puffy nipples did indeed drip little droplets of milk. Placing the wrappings back, the dragoness looked over to the driver and saw that he too stared at her swollen belly with a slightly puzzled expression on his face. He grunted and shrugged, before pointing to the temple they had stopped right in front of. It loomed over them, tall and grey, its great wooden doors closed.

"Need any help?" the driver asked.

Goding shook her head and took her pack, awkwardly stepping off the cart, her swollen breasts and belly wobbling slightly. She turned back, grabbing the pouch with the scale in it before waddling towards those great doors, holding her gravid belly as best she could, her wings flapping feebly behind her while her tail waved a lazy farewell to the driver. He drove off with nary a sound, and soon she stood alone in front of the temple's doors.

Alone.

"No," she said, rubbing her belly tenderly. She was alone now, yes, but not for long.

She knocked on one of the great wooden doors. A few moments later, there was a creak and a groan and the great doors parted. She waited patiently for them to open completely, and when they did, they revealed a trio of pale monks clad in dark grey robes that had been waiting behind them. The trio stepped forward as one, but halted as the monk in the middle, the tallest of the three, held up his hand. He alone moved towards her with a perplexed expression on his face.

"Um, my apologies," he said. "But who are you?"

"Goding," she said, and added: "I'm not a knight."

"Goding?" The monk looked even more baffled. "But--"

"But what?" She held up the medallion inscribed with the symbol of the Order. "Already forgot me? I knew this wasn't so important a task, but..." She suddenly hissed in distress, clutching at her gravid belly as she felt something shift within. "Oh gods."

The lead monk looked back to his brothers but they merely shrugged.

"Er..." the lead monk began. "Goding is--"

"Me," Goding hissed, annoyed, tail swaying as she felt the first egg begin to make its movement down towards its eventual release. Still, she had something to do before she could lay, and so she reached for the pouch at her side. She took it from her belt and then tossed it to the lead monk. He was so focused on staring at the plainly pregnant dragoness in front of him that the pouch bounced off his chest and fell to the floor. The monk blinked and then bent down, picking up the pouch.

"What's this?" he asked, holding it out to her.

"The scale," Goding said, wincing as she felt her first contraction. "Special scale. What you wanted. Now..."

She gasped as the second contraction hit while the lead monk opened the pouch, the other monks looking over his shoulder while he withdrew the golden scale within. His eyes widened as he saw it, and they widened even further as he looked over to the dragoness. Goding cradled her belly and lumbered towards them, smoke spiraling out of her nostrils.

"Do you..." she panted. "Do you have a room where I can lay. Big room."

"In the temple of the Iron God?" one of the other two monks said in a tone that suggested such an activity was sacrilege.

"Y-yeah," Goding huffed. "Unless you'd like some eggs on your doorstep."

"Matthews," the lead monk said. "Take her to the old anvil room."

"But, Cael!" Matthews protested and was silenced by a glance. He grumbled but turned towards the gravid dragoness. "Please follow me, milady."

Goding nodded and did so, closely trailing behind the monk who was kind enough to not walk faster than her burdened pace. She hardly paid attention to the temple and its twists and turns, merely content with the fact that the halls were wide enough for Kel to traverse. Before she knew it, the monk opened the door to a large room that had seemingly recently been cleared, though there was a soft, large rug in the middle. He tried to steer her away from it, but she beelined straight towards it, plopping down, quickly disrobing, and spreading her legs just as the real work began.

She cried out from her first solid push and the monk quickly departed the room with a blush as she set to laying. The first egg, she knew would be the hardest, but the one that was the most worth it, because if she could do one, then she could do all. So, she solely focused on the laying, huffing and panting and spitting out smoke as the first egg came down further and further, finally crowning after a long, solid push. With the first egg in sight, she doubled down on her efforts, her mind ablaze wondering what cute little wyrmling lay in the egg, what she and Kel would choose as its name, and whether it would take after him or her or them both. She helped herself a little by squeezing at her stiff nipples, the pleasurable sensation of milk leaking out of her swollen, overfilled breasts to trickle down on her belly granting her some relief, but it was not enough. Her vision narrowed, and she stared solely at the egg, pushing not only it out, but also errant thoughts that insisted that she shouldn't be laying eggs at all, that she should be off somewhere else, drinking ale and celebrating an end to her term with the Order, but what else would she be doing other than laying? Isn't that why she had a due date?

With a gasp, the first egg came out and those errant thoughts along with it, the ovoid rolling slightly away before she caught it with her tail. She felt relief and satisfaction and pleasure in having pushed out her first egg, but then the second was on her way and she had to focus on only the egg laying again. As expected, this one came easier than the first, and all doubts of what she was and what she was meant to be were discarded. She was a 'touched, a dragoness, and a mother now. Whatever she was before--warrior, a not-knight, a mercenary--hardly mattered for what lay ahead of her, and what lay ahead was more egglaying, at least three more if she had to guess. She grunted and saw to laying her third egg, her mind still a little uneasy, because where was he?

Just as she thought this, she heard a proud roar that made her smile, a sound quickly followed by a panicked scream. Over her own exertions she heard smaller steps running towards her as larger steps, the clacking of claws, followed behind it. She looked up they both neared, and glanced up just in time to see Kel standing behind the panicked monk that had brought her here in the first.

"My dear," Kel rumbled, pushing the monk away as he padded over to her, wings lifted in concern she knew all too well. "You've already started. I'm so sorry I'm late."

"Don't apologize," Goding grouched, groaning as the third egg plopped out of her. "Get over here!"

"Yes, dear," he said, lowering his head even as he smiled. He laid down and cuddled close to her, but not too close so she still had her room, but she still enjoyed their slight contact and his looming presence. He was not so large in comparison to the rest of dragonkind, but large enough to make her feel safe and secure. He gave her a single loving lick, and then he spent the rest of the time murmuring encouragement while she did the real work.

Slowly, but surely, the rest of the eggs came out and Goding's guess hadn't been far off. She ended up with a clutch of seven eggs, or rather, she and Kel, he and Goding, had ended up producing seven, even if Goding had put in the most effort. The dragoness, exhausted by her laying, sat up against Kel's side while the drake sat back, satisfied with the clutch he had curled his tail around.

"Mmm," Kel purred. "How many do you think will end up golden scaled like you?" He paused and tilted his head. "Like my mother..."

She looked up to him, a question in her eyes.

"Oh yes," he said. "Golden scaled just like you." He smiled, and quickly added: "Though nowhere near as beautiful, of course."

"I'm sure your mother was pretty," Goding laughed.

'Yes..." Kel murmured. "Pretty powerful, but..." He nuzzled Goding. "Enough about her. How are you doing, dear?"

"Tired," Goding said, eyelids drooping half shut. She opened her eyes wide and snarled at him so that he faced her. "Don't you ever do that again!"

"Do what?" he asked, jaws dropped in mock surprise.

"Get me gravid," Goding grumbled.

"What?" he shrieked in actual surprise. "You can't mean that!"

"Oh, you're right," she said, tickling at his scales. "Actually...give me a few minutes and we can work something out. Oh, but only if those monks are gone."

Kel nodded, glaring at the trio of monks that peered into the room, one of them still scratching his head as looked at Goding. It was only when smoke began to pour from his nostrils that they took the hint and scuttled away.

"There we go, dear," Kel said, smiling at his dragoness. "Now are you ready?"

"Are you kidding?" Goding snorted, smoke spiraling out of her nostrils. "I just laid seven eggs and you're already so desperate to get into my lair?"

"But, dear!" Kel protested.

"Don't dear me," Goding said, a smile sliding across her snout. She winked at her appalled kin, her dragon, her drake. "But this time I want to ride the dragon."

Kel nodded enthusiastically, scooting the clutch to a safe corner of the room before kin kindled kin again.

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