FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Lily did not feel ready for the day ahead, as their scheduled trip to Syrsarun arrived. The past few days had been a much needed break after the strife and grief of the months before; it almost felt like life was returning to normal. After the cathartic and impromptu memorial on the beach, the Falthwains appeared to have taken heart and started settling into their new home in earnest. Many members of the family had already taken jobs around the city, and Hildi had brought her children down to the shore every day to play with Ban and Laurelie. The two young dragons had been thrilled to have other children around, human or not. Even John's recalcitrant brother had opened up somewhat, and the Wrights were making plans to return home. But the consequences of the demonic attack were not quite finished. Lily had requested a council of elders in Syrsarun to discuss the demon's intense interest in her husband's transformation, and find out what they could hopefully do about it. Now she and her family stood once more before the gateway, waiting for the copper frame to gather enough latent energy to safely teleport the four of them.

Ban and Laurelie were justifiably excited, resting idly atop their father's back. Even John seemed to be looking forwards to the trip. Lily would be subjected to every grueling minute of council deliberations, but her husband and children had plenty of leisure time ahead of them to explore the wonders of Syrsarun. John had done his best to comfort and reassure her,which she appreciated, but even her husband couldn't quite grasp how much she hated being in that city. The negative emotions and memories she associated with that place were embedded bone deep in the dragoness. There was no avoiding it though, and she finally took one last fortifying breath before reaching out with a spell to trigger the gateway. The ripping-buzzing sound of the portal opening was familiar by now. It stabilized to reveal the view of the grand plateau of the same mountain terrace they had left from a week ago. It was raining there, the feeble blue-gray light and scent of petrichor filtering through to their side.

It was immediately obvious that the arrival platform was more crowded than it had been when they'd left. The convening of the full council was rare, and each elder would have brought along their own circle of influence, along with any hangers on that might be curious. Several dragons nearest the gate turned to watch them as they stepped through, and then stepped out of the way to make room for Lily and John to weave their way through the crowd. There was a common agreement that the formalities usually offered to elders would be suspended here, it was understood that it was for everyone's best interest to get Elders out of the room quickly, considering how much space they took up. There was a shift in the tone of the murmuring chatter around the room as others took note of her and Johnathan, but otherwise Lily received only polite nods and murmured greetings as she led her family across the vestibule and down into the cavernous, subterranean city.

They didn't have far to go down the ramp before turning off. The Sanjeia residence took up an entire floor very near the peak of the mountain; it was a sprawling complex of private rooms, capable of hosting nearly the entire Sanjeia family. As far as Lily knew, the clan residence should be empty; none of the rest of her family planned on being in attendance at the council. Probably for the best. The noise of the ramp faded behind them as John followed her down a long, elaborately painted hallway, until the hallway had looped back around on itself and opened into a large oval foyer, painted brightly in green and gold. At the far end of the room, just in front of the archway into the residence, there was a young robin-blue dragoness standing at a stiff position of attention. Not even her eyes moved as Lily guided her family into the foyer. The seven major families frequently assigned or accepted younger females to inter-clan postings, and Sanjeia was no exception. At one point in time, Lily would have been able to determine not only this dragoness's family, but her bloodline and parents. Now she simply smiled and nodded. "Hello. You must be our assigned steward."

The dragoness bowed deeply before speaking, "Yes, Eldest Lililethan. I am Zieadasra, of Clan Arsothsk." Zieadasra held the bow for a moment before standing and turning to John and his passengers. "Welcome, clan-mate Johnathanwright, and scions Banzhrakin, Laurelie." She pronounced John's name all jammed together, so that it sounded more like Jaanitinrie. John smiled blankly upon hearing his name, and the children didn't even seem to notice. Lily had forgotten for a moment that none of them spoke the language. "I have been assigned by my eldest to assist you during your stay here in Syrsarun." Her voice was crisp and bright with excitement despite her rigid pose. She was young enough it was likely her first assignment.

"Thank you Zieadasra. I'm sure you've been told of my reputation and what to expect here. I don't hold much to ceremony, so you can relax when no one else is around. I'm not going to send you back to your family for breaches of etiquette."

The blue dragoness looked nervously at Lily for a minute before visibly relaxing. "Of course, Eldest."

"Could you please show us inside please? I'm going to need to find some interpreters for my husband and children." Zieadasra bowed, and led the way through the arch. Lily followed politely, even though she knew where they were headed. The family residence was as ostentatious and pretentious as ever. Murals of the more famous exploits and members of the family adorned every wall and ceiling. The lighting was not simple colored glass orbs, but elaborately branching crystals. Human-wrought sculptures and statues, along with captured arms and armor, rested on tables and pedestals in nearly every room. It may have been decades since the last time she was here, but Lily still knew the layout of the place, and quickly located the vast storeroom filled with various magical trinkets. The interpreters were little more than a diadem suspended on a chain between two loops. Zieadasra watched as Lily handed one each to her husband and children.

"Here John, the loops slide over your horns. It does a bit of mental trickery to let you understand and speak the local language. Don't wear them for more than eightish hours at a time though, or they'll start to mess with your memory of your own language."

Her husband nodded, and slipped the thing onto his head. Lily helped Ban and Laurelie, still seated atop his back.

"Okay, is it working?" It was. John's voice came out in the rapid sibilant words of the draconic language, even if he didn't notice. They weren't perfect, and some words didn't have direct translations, but it worked well enough.

"Yes clan-mate." Zieadasra confirmed, before Lily could.

"Oh!" John looked over at the dragoness. "Thank you."

Lily gave John a quick kiss on the cheek, "They're not perfect, but they should do for now." She smiled. "I'll have to leave you in Zieadasra's capable hands; I have to get ready for the opening ceremony of the council."

She turned to the younger dragoness, "Zieadasra, please take care of my family while I'm gone. Johnathan is not familiar with the city, so help make sure he doesn't step on anyone's tail if you're out and about. You should show him the creche, I'm sure the children would love to see it."

"As you wish, Eldest Lililethan."

"Take care, love." John mumbled to her before giving her one last parting kiss, his lips and tongue lingering on hers.

"Mom! Dad! That's gross!" Ban snapped angrily from his position on John's neck.

Reluctantly, she broke away. "Gotta go John, but I'll be back tonight to follow up on this."

He grinned against her lips, "I'll hold you to that."

Lily lifted her head to give Ban and Laurelie a quick flick of her tongue across their heads.

"Mom! Stop!"

"Behave for your father. I'll see you later tonight." With one last longing glance over her shoulder, Lily left them with the steward. The central shaft into the mountain was busy, and her descent down slowed by the constant polite greetings from other dragons. It took nearly an hour for her to reach the lowest levels. The council met outdoors, in a large amphitheater built into the base of the mountain, surrounded by the towering forest. Rain pattered down onto the assembled dragons, giving a rather melancholy mood to the amphitheater. It was a vast open-air thing, built to accommodate not only the eldest dragons of the seven major families, but a large gallery of observers as well. The central platform of the arena was marked off with seven different divisions, each one marked with the crest and colors of a specific bloodline. Three of the seven partitions were already occupied by other matriarchs, three dragonesses nearly as large as Lily herself. Lililethan headed towards the spot where a green and gold striped banner hung to represent the royal line: hers.

Lililethan sat, and studied the other elders already assembled. Politics here tended to involve less sabotage and backstabbing than what she'd seen among humans, but that didn't mean it was a tea party. At least two of the elders here didn't like her, or didn't like her clan. It had been so long since she had dealt with the rest that she wasn't sure what to expect. While her family was technically the most powerful and prestigious, all of the elders here were sovereign unto themselves, and to accomplish her goals, she would have to convince at least three of them to work with her. Thus, a council meeting was a delicate balancing act of interests and personalities; all structured by a formal process that had been used since time immemorial.

Lily sat quietly, and tried to observe small important details. Every little social interaction provided a clue to a larger context. Who had arrived before her was important, who was late was important, who was speaking to who was important. It was exhausting. She was also the only dragon in attendance that wasn't accompanied by at least a few junior members of her family, so she had only her own eyes and wits to go on. Over the course of the next hour, the last few elders filtered in, along with a few more spectators. She had taken some time to update herself on the different associations and rivalries between the clans, though they hadn't changed much since she'd left Syrsarun, so long ago. She recalled what she knew as she watched the last elders seat themselves.

Kyrenic of Arsothsk, Zieadasra's clan. Their elder was a large male, of the same sky black speckled blue scales. Likely one of Zieadasra's direct relatives. The male was the the second youngest elder on the council, but his clan was among the largest. They had fairly good relations with Sanjeia.

Raszeics of Clan Kamvra. The second of two males on the council, and the youngest elder in the gathering. Raszeics was huge, easily as large as Lily, despite being younger. His brother had been even larger. The green-banded black scaled male stared at Lily with open contempt. Kamvra and Sanjeia didn't have any particular relations at all, primarily due to the fact that Raszeics blamed Lily for the death of his brother, who would otherwise be sitting in his place.

The next three elders usually worked as a block, their clans being fairly closely related. Alalirrel of Clan Hata, Ithelashri of Clan Siedkess, and Ietrithala of Clan Karcaith. The three matriarchs sat forwards in their partitions, more focused on each other than on Lily or the council. Alalirrel was a bright, almost cherry red dragoness, with a white underbelly and throat. Ithelashri was a solid green like Lily, although her scales were darker and less vibrant. Ietrithala looked like a ribbon of gold. She was long, and almost sickly thing, but her scales flowed very much like polished metal. Like Arsothsk, the three clans were helpful, or at least ambivalent towards Sanjeia.

The final elder was perhaps the one that disliked Lily most of all. Yedanathil of Clan Ilikess, lay in her partition like a cloud, her large, almost fat, frame and pure white scales making a convincing disguise. Clan Ilikess had been formed out of bad blood with Clan Sanjeia, and they hadn't ever reconciled. Yedanathil specifically hated that there even was a royal bloodline, as limited as it was. Since Lililethan was the eldest of her clan, and one of the last members of the royal bloodline, that hatred extended to her. The chubby white dragoness hated that there was someone with even the tiniest iota more power and authority than her.

Finally, when the last of the elders had settled down and the chatter of the spectators had hushed expectantly, Lily approached the rostrum in the center of the arena. "Welcome, sovereign elders. As the principal for this council, I would like to thank you all for attending. If there are no objections, I will declare this council open for deliberations. We will start with the formal introductions. Elder Alalirrel of Clan Hata," Lililethan turned to face the red dragoness. "Would you please approach the rostrum?" It was traditional for introductions to be made in descending order of age, with Lililethan going first and Yedanathil next, but Yedanathil was never going to cooperate. If Lily remembered correctly, clan Hata and Clan Ilikess were still at odds with each other. Since she had sacrificed her own option to go first, Yedanathil couldn't really complain about Lily changing the order, and maybe Alalirrel would enjoy being able to snub the older white dragoness. As Alalirrel mounted the rostrum and began to speak, Lily settled back into her partition to wait.

The creche was certainly a sight to behold. It was another massive circular domed room, like nearly every other room in this place, but the entire floor of the cavern was a deep pool of crystal blue water, with only a ring of solid stone around the perimeter. Columns of stone rose out of the water in a random fashion towards the ceiling. Each of the columns had various ledges and walkways jutting out of them, so that a web connected them all together. Dozens of slides descended in spirals down into the pool, each of them was lined with smooth ceramic tile with a constant gush of water running over them. The spray of mist from all the rushing water caught the light from the globes studding the ceiling, so that in practically every direction John looked he saw ephemeral rainbows hanging in the vapor.

Dozens of young dragons climbed and swam in the room, their colors and shapes as varied as the adults John had seen on the ramp down. Their cheerful voices were just barely audible over the roar of falling water. He was hardly an expert on draconic children, but it struck him that many of the children seemed younger than his son and daughter. Not just for their smaller size, but from the poorly defined patterns of their scales and slightly rounder, chubbier bodies. Zieadasra halted outside of the room, waiting respectfully as John carried his children inside. Ban and Laurelie were practically vibrating with eagerness, dancing across his back with the restrained desire to charge into the pool.

"Good day." John started as a smaller dragon spoke behind him. The dragon wore a strange black sash that looped around his neck and down his shoulder like a scarf. He hadn't even noticed the handful of adults scattered around the perimeter of the room, all of their eyes focused intently on the playing children. One of them had approached John, looking at him expectantly as he spoke. "You are here to drop off these children?"

"I am." John replied, scanning the other adults. They all seemed to be wearing that sash, and all seemed to be younger males. It made sense he supposed, from what he'd learned over the last week from their guests. Due to the imbalance in the population of genders among dragons, the males tended to do most of the utilitarian work, while females tended to be groomed for leadership. As age denoted authority here, most of the more mundane and routine roles would be filled with young male dragons.

"Are they your own, or are you a caretaker for another?"

"They're mine." He said proudly, tilting his head back to grin at Ban and Laurelie. The guardian smiled politely.

"Excellent. Please come this way and sign them in." Unfortunately the translator didn't do anything for written words; the jagged edged scribbles on the page made absolutely no sense to John.

"I'm sorry, I can't read this."

The other dragon tilted his head quizzically, then gave John a quick glance up and down. "Oh, you are Matriarch Lililethan's clan-mate! I apologize, I should have recognized you. We were told you might be coming, allow me to assist you." With the guardian's help, John filled out Ban and Laurelie's names, and then signed. "Very good. Protocol requires that you return to pick them up within three hours. If you are not, a mark will be made against your record here and your visiting privileges will be suspended."

"Oh." John blinked. "Okay." He hadn't intended to leave at all, but looking around he saw no other parents. Was he not supposed to stay? How was he expected to keep track of the time? There were no clocks in this place. He looked over his shoulder at the children. "Are you two going to be all right here alone?"

"Yeah dad, can we go? Please?" Ban wasn't even looking at him; his son had his eyes fixed on the tallest slide in the center of the room.

"All right, I'll be back soon." John chuckled as the two leapt from his back and plowed heedlessly into the water. They were soon climbing the closest pillar, rushing to join the other children clambering over the playground. John watched for a minute before the guardian shifted uncomfortably and looked pointedly at the door. No, apparently he was not supposed to stay. He rejoined Zieadasra in the hallway and left the creche behind.

"Zieadasra, why do they shoo all the parents out of the creche?" John tried to lean in close enough to whisper discreetly, only to have Zieadasra lean away and speak aloud.

"The purpose of the creche is to teach young dragons to develop their social skills independently, without interference from adults. All interactions and conflicts are allowed to proceed naturally unless there appears to be a risk of physical danger." It made sense, but the way she explained it was far too clinical, as though she'd read it from a book. Which she probably had, he supposed. "Do not worry Jaanitinrie, the watchers are extremely diligent in their task. There has not been a serious injury in the creche for decades."

He sighed. Lily had trusted the place, so he would as well. "You can just call me John. I suppose we'd better find something to do for an hour or two. Do you have any museums here?"

Zieadasra gave him a sidelong glance. "Of course clan-mate Jaanitinrie," She ignored his request. "We have several. The most famous of them is dedicated to Lililethan's own clan. Shall I show you?" He nodded his assent, and followed the smaller dragoness as she led him through the bowels of the mountain city. They passed other dragons as they went; and John couldn't help but wonder how many actually lived here. It seemed crowded, but much of that was just because dragons took up much more space. In reality, he couldn't imagine there were more than one or two thousand from what he'd seen. Maybe not even that. Every so often one of the dragons they passed would recognize John or Zieadasra and stop to greet them. Each time Zieadasra encountered such in interaction, it seemed to flow like clockwork. There was a nearly identical salutation from each new dragon: "Greetings scion Zieadasra, of clan Arsothsk, I hope the day finds you well."

And a nearly identical reply, "It does, thank you so-and-so from clan such-and-such." The only variation being the names of the individuals and the clans. And Zieadasra seemed to know everyone.

Every time John ran into someone who recognized him however, he struggled to match the ceremonial exchange. "Welcome back to Syrsarun, clan-mate Jaanitinrie, I hope the day finds you well," a random dragon would say with a carefully measured shallow bow.

"Oh, thank you. You too." He would reply with a sloppy bob of his neck that always felt like too much or too little. None of the dragons seemed particularly upset by his fumbling responses, but Zieadasra seemed more and more agitated with each exchange.

When they'd finally reached the museum, John couldn't help but feel relieved at its lack of patrons, if only for the fact that he could get away from the formalized greeting. "Zieadasra, what exactly is a clan-mate? Is it anything like a husband?"

"No, not really." The dragoness provided bluntly. After a moment, she finally clarified her statement. "It simply denotes that you are currently affiliated with Eldest Lililethan's clan. Any male that fathers children outside of his own clan is under the dual authority of both his own Eldest, and that of the mother's until the children reach the age of their majority."

"That sounds...complicated."

He got the distinct feeling that he had stated something obvious by the way she looked up at the ceiling. "Yes, it is why mating between clans is somewhat limited. Split loyalties can be difficult. Fortunately, as you have no Eldest of your own to answer to, and Lililethan is the eldest of her clan, you only have her to answer to."

He couldn't help feeling a little bit smug at her assumption. 'Answer to' wasn't exactly the phrase he would use. Lily may have been a queen and an eldest and whatever else, but outside of politics she had always treated him as a partner and not a subject. Still, he could play the part for this visit. "And what about scion? Is that a specific title as well?"

Zieadasra took a deep breath before speaking. John got the distinct impression that she didn't like answering questions. "Scion is any direct descendant of a current elder. My great-grandfather is elder of Clan Arsothsk."

John nodded, and swallowed the rest of his questions. Maybe he could catch her in a better mood, or ask Lily later. He turned his attention to the museum. Unlike the museums in Pastock that he'd visited as a child, this one had few artifacts or exhibits. Instead the dragons showed their history through the murals painted along the walls. Almost lifelike scenes of past people or events were painted on every surface, and large stone tablets were displayed, their faces carved in massive blocks of text that John couldn't decipher. Still, the paintings themselves were interesting, and Zieadasra actually seemed happy to read the information to him. They passed by depictions of the first construction of Syrsarun, and of famous members of Lily's family, and finally came to a vast family tree.

John had to stop and marvel at the incredible detail of the branching painting. Apparently, dragons took their genealogy seriously. Thousands of individual dragons were recorded, over dozens of generations. There was a single bloodline of the family highlighted in a green and gold background, leading all the way from the beginning of the Sanjeia clan, to the very end, where there was a painting of a familiar dragoness as a child. It was impossible for John to mistake the emerald scales and verdigris eyes of his wife, even depicted so young. Especially when there were no other dragons of quote so lovely a shade of green on the tree. There was a rough outline of three new dragons around Lily, linked by faint lines to her. Apparently the artists had already started adding John and their children.

"Lily was adorable as a baby." He joked.

"Indeed, _Lililethan_has always been impressive." John couldn't miss her emphasizing Lily's full name. At the same time, he didn't particularly care.

"So, maybe you can clear something up for me, I've heard others say that Lily's clan is royalty here, but also that all of the elders are essentially queens or kings of their own clan."

"Lililethan's _bloodline_is royal." Zieadasra corrected him. "The Sanjeia clan is named after the Sanjeia bloodline. They were the first dragons to form an organized society, and they carved the first tunnels of Syrsarun. Over the millennia, all other clans formed from splits in the Sanjeia family. In times of war, or calamity, the royal bloodline can assume control of the council, in order to make tactical decisions more quickly. That is why Lililethan is called Queen."

"Ah." John nodded, and examined the family tree more closely. He noticed a distinct pruning of Lily's direct relatives. The majority of the individuals that were backed by green and gold seemed to have no continuation to their lines, and many of the dragons at this end had a single small rune painted beneath them, including Lily's brother, their son's namesake. The elder Banzhrakin was a much darker green, bulkier and larger than Lily. It didn't take John long to realize what the rune meant.

"All of these dragons died, didn't they?"

Zieadasra nodded solemnly, and nodded her head towards a large gallery at the end of the current hallway. John followed her in, and temporarily stood in shock at the violent images painted across the walls here. Scenes of dragons flying in formations, breathing fire down upon armies or ruined cities. Scenes of dragons locked in bloody melee with twisted demonic monstrosities.

Unable to read the tablets, he listed instead to Zieadasra. "Clan Sanjeia suffered heavy losses in the great war. The royal bloodline, being among the largest and most powerful, insisted on fighting at the front, to protect others."

John's eyes stopped as he came to another image of his wife, standing victoriously over a field of fallen men and demons, side by side with an unbelievably large black dragon. The male was huge, dwarfing even Lily. Green bands wrapped around his body, and the expression he was painted with made him look like he could chew up boulders for breakfast. From the rest of the museum, John got the impression that the artists here hadn't tended to exaggerate; the dragon was probably really just that big.

"Irsasz." Zieadasra said softly, nodding to the painting of the black dragon. "As two of the most powerful dragons, they were a natural match. Their elders had decided that Irsasz would give Lililethan her first children, but he fell in battle before-."

"I think," John spoke up to interrupt her, "that if I'm going to hear about him, I'd prefer to hear it from my wife." Lily had told him a little about her past relationships. She had tried to be as honest about her past as she could with him, but John had heard the pain in her voice when has mentioned Irsasz name to him, and he hadn't pressed her on it since. Now John felt like he was prying, seeing something he shouldn't. Lily had only been with him a fraction of the time she'd been alone after the war, and if it took her years or decades to feel comfortable talking about lost loves, he was willing to wait.

"Do you know how long we've been gone? Maybe we should head back and check on the children."

Lily took the long flight around the mountain rather than deal with any more interactions traveling through it. The formal introductions and exchanges of greetings among the elders had filled the entire day. It wasn't the longest she'd seen it take, but it certainly wasn't the shortest either. Hours of banal lists of achievements and honors, and ritualistic conversations as the elders played out the traditional opening steps of the council. Half of the other elders seemed eager to get on with the things, but Yedanathil and Rasceics had been fully willing to drag out the introductions. It had been so many years that she'd actually had to deal with them that she'd forgotten some of the petty delaying tactics that they could use. She managed to work out some of her anger with a furious flight around the mountain, her wings burning with exertion as she made record time back to her home. By the time she landed outside on the terrace, she was more exhausted than annoyed. A loud burst of childish laughter from deeper in the house eased her further, and she tried to shrug off her frown as she stepped inside.

John was on his back in one of the sand pits, flopping around in feigned helplessness and clawing the air as Ban and Laurelie worked together to try pinning his head down. The two were giggling hysterically as John occasionally thrashed his neck with just enough force to toss one of them off. Their temporary steward, Zieadasra, was laying down nearby, her attention unfocused. The young dragoness looked somewhat frazzled. Belatedly noticing Lily's entrance, Zieadasra jerked upright, and quickly dropped into a bow. "Welcome home Eldest."

"Relax, Zieadasra. I've had enough formality for the day." Lily sighed softly. Zieadasra hesitated, and stood up in a more relaxed posture, her face carefully blank.

Ban and Laurelie noticed her finally, and called for their mother's aid. "Mom! Help us!" Laurelie squealed, even as John gave a shake of his head that sent her tumbling into the sand. Lily couldn't resist, and charged to her daughter's rescue. John gave an honest grunt as she flopped down on top of him, her front paws pinning his to the sand. She grinned down at her husband as their children cheered.

"Yeah! We got you dad!" Ban taunted, prancing around in a victory loop.

Lily watched a sly smirk spread across her husband's face, and a moment later she felt his tail twitch out, tripping the younger dragon so that he sprawled on his side. Before Ban could get back up, John was prodding him in the ribs with the tip of his tail, tickling the young dragon mercilessly.

"I've still got a few tricks." John growled playfully, giving a few last pokes as their son squealed and thrashed at the tail. Finally the two children calmed down, panting and happy.

"Mom!" Laurelie hopped up and put her paws on her mother's nose, "We went to this place today, cretch! Have you been there?"

"I have. Did you like the slides?"

"Yeah! They were all wet, and you can slide down so fast!"

"I did a cannonball!" Ban struggled tiredly to his feet, still winded from the tickling. On one of their many days spent at the beach, John had shown their son how to curl himself up and plow into the water with an enormous splash. "No one there saw a cannonball 'fore, and they all started doing it."

"There were so many kids, mom!" Laurelie gingerly climbed up on top of her father's chest, trying to draw attention back to herself. "They were small, but not as small as Nita."

"I worried that they might be too old for the creche, but the guardians there were quite impressed by how gentle they were with the others." Zieadasra interjected tentatively. Ban and Laurelie smiled at the praise.

Lily grinned back at them, "That's wonderful. I'm glad you both had fun."

"Can we go again tomorrow mom?" Ban pleaded.

"That's up to your father, dear. I'm afraid I have to leave early for the council in the morning." Lily finally stepped off of her husband, allowing him to turn right-side up. Laurelie scrambled over John's shoulder as he rolled, so that she ended up on his back.

"Ah, then I guess we probably shouldn't stay up too late. Have you eaten yet? Zieadasra had someone bring up supper just a bit ago." He rumbled, shaking loose sand from each of his legs in turn.

Lily gratefully followed her husband to where dinner had been set up around a low, dragon-sized table. There had been no break in the deliberations for her to get any food in her belly, and with two young dragons growing inside of her, she felt ravenous. Dinner was a large pot of thick stew, heavily laden with beef, vegetables, and noodles in a spicy broth. It was delicious. Lililethan devoured the food as John and the children sat with her and continued to recount their day, having already eaten. Zieadasra stood stiffly outside the room, as was customary for a steward, until John waved her over to join them. A steward was neither a guest, nor family, and joining them at their table was unheard of, but at John's insistence, she sat entered the room and stood awkwardly at the far side of the table.

"Zieadasra was a very helpful guide today." John said generously, "I'm pretty sure I would still be lost down in the lower levels without her."

The young dragoness, already uncomfortable with the many breaches of etiquette, looked positively miserable at the praise. "I was simply doing what is required by my position as your steward."

Lily was partly amused by the steward's discomfort, but realized perhaps her husband was pushing the young dragoness too far. It was obvious that Zieadasra was fully immersed in the social niceties here. John's oblivious shattering of all of of those norms could easily be rubbing her the wrong way. Lily decided to intervene before the dragoness got too upset. "Zieadasra, we'll probably be retiring for the night shortly, if you'd like to return home for the day."

Their steward nodded with immediate relief and stood, offering John and the children a polite bow before turning to Lily, "Eldest Lililethan, may I speak to you privately before I leave?"

Lililethan suppressed her annoyance. The sky blue dragoness must be highly upset to interrupt an elder's meal. "Be right back." She mumbled to John, and stood to follow the steward out of the room. Zieadasra only barely waited until they were out of ear shot before turning to her host.

"Eldest, I realize that I have been granted a great honor in this position, and this is highly irregular, but may I ask to be released from this service to you?"

Lily was honestly shocked. Resigning from this task would be a stain on the young dragoness's record regardless of what reasons she gave. Apparently this was more serious that she'd thought. "You are always free to leave, Zieadasra. But before you make that decision can I ask you what is wrong? I would hate for you to lose standing for something that we could correct."

"I don't want to offend you, Eldest."

"Don't worry about that. I am fairly understanding of the fact that my husband and family are unusual here."

Zieadasra sighed, and then launched into a breathless explanation. "There are so many things, Eldest, I can't even list them all. I understand clan-mate Jaanitinrie is not from Syrsarun, but even a completely wild male dragon of his size and age should have better manners. He seems like he has a kind heart, but he has no filters or boundaries. He disrespectfully refuses to use your given name, he doesn't have any grasp on how to behave in public, he asks questions like a curious child, and the way he is raising your children is handicapping them for success if they should ever desire to return here. More than that, he seems to have no concept of propriety. The way he kept so close to me today, half of the dragons that saw us would assume we were lovers." Her eyes went wide as she continued. "He even asked me to shorten his name! I know that Jaanitinrie is a feminine name, but I will not call him by a pet name like we were mates!"

Despite herself, Lily did feel a bit insulted by the rant, but she took a breath and shoved it down. Zieadasra did not seem aware that John wasn't a dragon at all originally. Instead she focused on her amusement how repressed this place must actually be that her easily embarrassed husband was seen as wild. "I believe I can see the problem, and I apologize. I should have arrived earlier this morning, so that I could could offer more of an explanation and avoid this. You have heard the rumors about my husband?"

"I have heard several Eldest. I have heard that he is a wild dragon, raised in barbarous lands. I have heard that he is an outcast from another clan. I've even heard that he used to be a human, and was somehow transformed by demons."

Lily couldn't suppress a chuckle. Rumor mills were no more accurate among dragons than humans. "It wasn't demons, it was me. He was a man, and one of my spells accidentally made him a dragon."

Zieadasra shook her head, "Surely you are joking, Eldest?"

"No. My husband is as foreign here as foreign gets. He's asking questions because he wants to learn, he calls me Lily because I told him to, and if you are worried about impropriety, just ask him if he's trying to flirt with you. I guarantee he will give you some distance. When you return in the morning, keep all that in mind, and explain to him if he does something that bothers you. He's a bit stubborn, but John is clever. He'll catch on quick." Lily's smile faded somewhat as she let a little of her ire seep into her voice. "As for our children, _I_made the choice to raise them among humans, because I don't like how it is done here. It may seem normal to you, but in my opinion, sending my children off to begin learning politics and civics before they have even learned to fly doesn't seem like good parenting."

"Of course, Eldest." Zieadasra bowed deeply in apology. "I meant no disrespect. I assumed that clan-mate John was the active parent, as you have duties to attend. I spoke in ignorance."

"It's fine." Lily shrugged her wings dismissively in pardon. "Now that this is cleared up would you still like to be excused from this duty?"

"I...I will return in the morning Eldest, and try and refrain from casting judgment so quickly."

"Good. Oh, by the way. He's probably asking you to shorten his name because you are mangling it horribly. It's not Jaanitinrie. It's Johnathan Wright. And I assure you it's a very masculine name in his homeland."

Zieadasra bowed once more, and departed with her new information. Lily was happy the young dragoness had changed her mind. Lily didn't want to hurt Zieadasra's reputation, and she also didn't want to deal with the setback it could cause dealing with her elder.

Ban and Laurelie were both yawning sleepily when Lily returned, tuckered out from their time at the creche and their earlier wrestling. John smiled at her as she came back into the room, "I don't think Zieadasra likes me very much." He whispered conspiratorially before raising his voice, "Ban, Laurelie, do you want to sleep in our room tonight, or separate?"

"Mom moves too much now. We want our own bed." Ban complained. Pregnancy had started to make Lily's sleep rather fitful, as she had a hard time finding positions that didn't feel like one of her organs was being squished. Of course, that wasn't the only reason she was restless at night. Nightmares still lingered in her slumber, reminders of the stress of the last few months.

"Okay, why don't we go find you a room."

Lily and the children had stayed here before, when John was sleeping in the clinic. They had stayed in the elder's suite with her then, but this time Lily guided the tired children to a small room just down the hall, and she and John tucked them into the pile of blankets and cushions there, wishing them a good night before retreating into their own room. Lily gratefully slumped against John now that they were finally in privacy. "I can't wait for this to be over. I had started to forget exactly why I hated returning here, but today was a good reminder."

"Everything does seem a bit too stiff." John admitted. "But it's not all bad. I got to learn a bit more about this place and your family, and the children loved the creche. I think they would have stayed all day if the guards would let them." He wrapped one wing over her, supporting her towards the bed. "It was a fresh new experience at least."

She smiled as she let him lead her. The bed was a deep depression, filled up with cushions. A shelf stood around one half of the rim, providing some privacy from the door. The lighting controls and various trinkets stood along the shelves, many of them more or less untouched since Lily's last visit here, while John was recuperating. Her eyes glanced over a familiar pair of small concave discs, and she was struck by inspiration. "Speaking of new experiences, you said once that you wondered what it was like to be pregnant."

John followed her gaze, his icy blue eyes going wide as he spotted the discs they had last used at the Frostmire. There was a brief shiver of his frame against her; perhaps brought on the the last memorable experiment with the discs. "I suppose I did."

He gave her a smile, and padded across the bed to grab the enchanted baubles. Lily put hers on, and after a moment John did the same. There was a brief moment of fuzziness as the magic overrode her senses, and then suddenly she was looking over at herself, watching her body move in ways that she wasn't guiding. The change in sensation was even more pronounced than the last time for the dragoness. Her pregnancy had progressed to the point that it was finally starting to cause mild discomforts. It wasn't as bad as it would or could get, but there was a definite pressure in her lower body that was suddenly absent in John's. When she pressed a hand to her middle there was no swell of new life, just the hard, scared scales and muscles of her husband. She noticed that her husband's form had a certain stiffness in some joints, aches and pains lingering still from his near-fatal injuries. Even the best magical healing in the world hadn't been able to completely restore him. Time and nature would have to do the rest.

"Lily!" Her own amazed voice drew her attention; John was practically doubled up on himself, both hands on her body's belly, staring down at it in wonder. "Lily, this is so bizarre! I can feel them!" He laughed, nearly toppling over on the bed.

"Don't get them too worked up John." Lily smiled as she watched her husband explore her body. "You start getting them excited and you're not likely to get much sleep tonight."

John nodded, then glanced up at her, "You want to sleep like this?"

"If you'd like. This is a good time, before things start to get more uncomfortable. I'm sure you remember the last time." Pregnancy was relatively easy for a dragoness Lily's size, at least compared to humans or smaller dragons. That didn't mean it wasn't without some difficulties though, especially carrying twins. Lily treasured every moment of carrying Ban and Laurelie, but the last few months had certainly been a test of how much inconvenience she could endure.

"Okay. I think I need to pee first though. It feels like my bladder is being squeezed."

Lily waited for John to relieve himself and come back to bed before she dimmed the light-bearing crystal chandeliers. In the near-dark, she pulled John atop her, so that he was draped over her. It was a bit strange, since he was currently wearing her larger body, but he was happy to lay face to face with her, his head resting on her chest. Despite the aggravations of the day, or perhaps because of them, Lily soon found herself drifting, her eyes closing.

John didn't sleep right away. He couldn't. There was something so strange, and so strangely exhilarating about feeling the two new lives growing in his belly. Sure, it was disconcerting having what felt like two very sluggish snakes squirming around in his belly, but they were his children. He was experiencing what no father could ever hope to: carrying his own children. Sort of anyways. The body that actually held them was still the beautiful emerald form of his wife. But at least for right now, he was living in this body. One more novel event for an already eventful day. He felt Lily grow still against him, sleeping soundly in his form.

John was left laying awake as Lily drifted off below him. He wondered if there was anything he could do to help her sleep soundly tonight, after what was apparently an aggravating day. During his recovery, focusing on the healing magic that had been used on him had been one of his only distractions, and so he had managed to carefully analyze several of the spells, including the ones that had been used to help him sleep through the more painful portions. They were too risky to use on Lily in her own body, there was no telling how the alterations would affect her pregnancy, but they had already been used on him safely before. He carefully reproduced a much weaker version of the spell, nudging her into a deeper sleep. He couldn't risk messing with her too much, and he wished he knew more about healing magic, but the spell he was copying had come built in with safeguards, so that the effect failed if the body started rejecting it. The effect did not fail, and soon Lily was crooning in her sleep, twitching below him with what he hoped were pleasant dreams. Slowly, the rhythm of her rising and falling chest rocked him into a doze, the steady motions dulling John's thoughts, until he too could drift off.

Dreams came at him in the chaotic, unorganized way that they were wont to. He was standing outside the creche, all four of his children playing inside, and Zieadasra standing at the door telling him parents weren't allowed in. Then he was standing over a burning Pastock, the sky black with smoke. He delicately held a spit of pork in his claws, turning it over the fire to cook. Finally his troubled dreams settled into something more peaceful. It was a figment of a familiar dream, floating with Lily over through an endless space, the two of them tangled up together. In his mind, they writhed against each other, their limbs tangled and grasping, their wings flared out to desperately cool their forms. John thrust against Lily, but something was different. Rather than the feeling of his shaft emerging from his slit, he felt sensitive, swollen lips down between his legs. A firm, heated rod was pressed between their bodies, but it wasn't John's. Instead Lily dragged her shaft along his body, the crown of it spitting out long lines of fluid over John's belly. The spiny ridges slid between the fold's of John's vent, pushing them aside as she teased him.

John's mind struggled to make sense of the scenario as Lily continued to thrust herself back and forth over his sex, setting him to squirming. Despite his mental confusion, his body was eager for more, and soon his hips were rolling back against her, trying to trip up her motions. It was only a matter of time before he succeeded, and as she pulled back, so did he. John lifted himself away from his wife just enough that the tip of her shaft slid down between his thighs, settling into his entrance. He trembled in her grip and she moved slowly into him. He didn't feel the familiar grip and heat around his maleness as he buried himself inside of her. Instead, his flesh parted, her cock wedging him open, sliding smoothly through his thoroughly slick vent. An intense heat and pressure surged in his loins as she lovingly sunk herself into him. John dropped until their scales met with a messy squelch, before pulling back up gently, so that her crown raked against his insides. He rode his wife through the bizarre dreamscape, lifting himself slowly and dropping back down with swift, firm impacts that sent his hips and thighs shaking.

Slowly he sped up his pace, his movements becoming sloppy and frantic, as confused as they were ardent. John accidentally lifted himself too far, letting Lily slide fully out of him, but he had already started to drop back down. The tapered crown of her shaft slid along the scales of his backside, leaving a clear, wet trail to where it settled in the tighter entrance of his rump. Momentum carried him through, and there was a very new sensation as he engulfed half her shaft in a single thrust.

John's eyes snapped open, the dream broken by the intense stretch of this new penetration. For a moment he was confused as he found himself staring at his own smiling face. Then he remembered the discs. The gaping, empty sensation of his sex and sheen of moisture spread along the scales of John's borrowed body let him know that the dream had been very real. That, and the rather large rod of pulsing, hot flesh currently lodged in his gut.

"Having fun there, love?" Lily teased, her adopted voice rumbling through his frame. She held him tightly to her chest, her arms wrapped around his neck in a loving embrace.

John panted, his body very excited in the aftermath of the dream, but he felt more than a little bashful about the current circumstances. Lily had put her tail in his rump before, and she had mated him the last time they switched bodies, but at the moment, his own very real, very hard cock was currently lodged halfway in his ass. Or Lily's ass. Whatever.

"I don't suppose you thought about waking me up before this point?" He grumbled. He was torn between wanting to give in to this body's needy demand to continue, and pulling himself off.

"Hey, you started it. I woke up hard as a rock an hour ago, and was just trying to relax and let it go away. You were the one that started grinding on me."

"Oh." An hour ago? John hadn't had an unwanted erection like that since he was a teenager. Sudden laughter rippled through him, as he realized what had likely happened. The movement caused his insides to clench around Lily's shaft, and he quickly wheezed off as she reflexively thrust a little deeper. "Ah, sorry. I think I just realized what happened."

She looked at him curiously, waiting for him to elaborate.

John reconstructed the spell, unpowered and untargeted. "I thought it might help you sleep better, since you've been having some nightmares. I think I must have gotten something wrong."

Lily's gaze went vacant for a moment as she picked apart the spell, and then she rolled her eyes. "Silly dragon. You can't just muck around with hormones. You have to take into account the current state of the body. This spell was crafted for an injured dragon, not a healthy one. You essentially just sent me into a rut."

John smiled sheepishly. "Sorry love, it won't happen again. But, I know one way to get rid of this," he squeezed lightly around her, "if you want me to finish what I started." John let gravity carry him just a little farther down, so that the thick base of Lily's cock started to wedge into him.

"Obviously we're finishing." She growled at him, "Though to be honest, I'd prefer to feel you. The real you."

"Works for me." He could admit to being a little curious about finishing as they were, but he was more than happy to be on the other end as well. She reached up, and plucked the disc from the back of his head. John barely had time for his vision to clear before Lily was moving. Now holding the disc in his own hand, he tossed it out of the way.

"Ohhhhh." Lily sighed pleasantly, and dropped down onto him the rest of the way as she regained control of her body. "That's what I wanted."

John couldn't help but growl in agreement as the wonderfully familiar feel on her squeezing down on his maleness replaced the sensation of being impaled by it. Lily wriggled happily atop him, grinding the base of her tail into his lap and twisting, so that he was worked back and forth inside of her.

"Although," Lily purred, suddenly grinning hungrily, "I can think of one more thing that could make this better. You hold still." Suddenly she was pushing herself upright, swiveling in place around his hips, still holding him inside of her so that her insides twisted around him until she faced down his tail and he was staring at her back.

"Tail, give it." She ordered.

John wasn't about to hesitate, and curled his tail up for her to grab hold on the tip. Lily wasted no time, and with both hands wrapped around his tail, brought it between her legs and began feeding it into her recently stretched vent. John's tail was certainly not as sensitive as his cock, but the feeling of her warm, moist passage wrapping around the tip of it was nice in its own way. What was even nicer was how the extra bulk helped her squeeze down even tighter around his shaft in her rump. She hummed, using her hands to begin thrusting the tip of his tail in and out of herself. John cooperated, and kept it as straight as possible, at least for a moment.

Feeling his tail moving up and down against his length through her flesh was quite enticing, and after a few thrusts he began to let the tip of it curl around inside of her, teasing his own erection through her walls. Lily grunted and responded by lifting with her legs, her tail rigid against his chest for balance as she began rocking up and down in his lap, still pumping his tail with her hands so that both there wasn't a moment of stillness for either of them.

John settled back, willing to let his wife take her time with him. As new and amusing as the predicament had been when she had been penetrating him, he was glad to be back in his body, feeling her rump ripple and milk him. Lily's backside was noticeably tighter than her sex, and her movements were tender at first. She had claimed that she had been erect for an hour, and it certainly felt like it to John. His arousal was hard as a rock, and felt almost too hot. Every twitch of her insides around him drew another surge of fluid from him, quickly pooling in her passage and making every thrust of her hips a little smoother and faster than the last. Between her attempts to ram more and more of his tail between her legs, and the sloppy pistoning of his shaft in her rear, it sounded like someone was beating a side of meat with both hands. The only thing louder were John's growling purr and Lily's increasingly desperate moans.

John was still plenty riled up from the somnambulant rutting, but as fast as he was approaching his peak, Lily got there first. The double penetration pushed his wife over the edge with gusto, and she slammed down into his lap with finality, still forcing his tail between her lips with pummeling force, masturbating herself through her climax. Her rump was wringing and squeezing frantically, and he could feel every stroke of his tail into her sex, but it wasn't enough. He was right there on the edge, but he was going to have to take matters into his own hands to finish. He pushed himself up, rolling forward into a crouch and forcing lily down in front of him. She didn't even bother letting go of his tail at that point. Instead his wife collapsed onto her chest, her haunches still raised and held firmly to his groin. John gripped her hips, now squatting over her, and began thrusting fiercely, plowing into her backside with wild strokes.

"Jooooooohn." She wailed out his name like a prayer. He growled and slammed forwards one last time, his glands pulsing, and then exploding out, locking him into her rump as his body clenched and delivered the first rocketing gush of his seed into her gut. The euphoric haze of his long orgasm drowned out any sense of time; John's mind was focused entirely on the rhythmic throbbing of each new surge into his wife, and the way she responded by squeezing tighter around him. Finally his sensed returned to him, and he sucked in deep breaths as he he rested his weight atop Lily's back, still bound to her by his tie.

"Well, your spell might not have worked quite like you hoped, but I do feel pretty sleepy now." She laughed. "Roll over with me love, my legs are pretty shaky after that."

John nodded, and worked with her so that they could both collapse down onto their sides, her back to his chest now. He started to withdraw his tail, but she grabbed it with a foot, her claws keeping him pinned inside her, "Could you leave it? At least until your flare goes down?"

"Of course." He murmured into her neck. John still held her by the hips, but spread one wing over them both, sheltering them from the empty room.

"I might nod off, love." She mumbled. Her eyes were already closed.

John kissed the back of her neck. "We still have a few hours till morning, but there'll be a mess if I come out while we're both asleep."

Lily shrugged in his arms, "I'll worry about that later."

It didn't take long for her to drift back off, this time in her own body. John intended on waiting till he could withdraw, so that he could grab some towels, but after nearly half an hour, he showed no signs of that. Perhaps another side effect of his spell. Sighing with resignation, John closed his eyes and let himself drift off into the post-coital haze as well.

Zieadasra was true to her word, and returned early the next morning, catching Lily and her husband as the tried to deal with the aftermath of last night.

Lily looked up from the bed, where she was trying to collect the soiled cushions, as the sky-blue dragoness walked through the open doors. "Eldest Lililethan? I brought breakfa-oh!" It was impossible for any creature with a nose to miss the lingering smell of sex in the room. Zieadasra quickly backed out of the doors. "My apologies, I will wait in the dining room!"

"Oh, bugger." John muttered. "That's going to be a fun stone around my neck for the rest of the day." Lily smiled at his mortification. She wasn't particularly concerned. It was hardly the most compromising position she'd been caught in.

The two of them abandoned their efforts to salvage the bed, resorting to magic to remove the mess, and quickly retreated to the bath to clean themselves.

Zieadasra was waiting for them, her face painstakingly blank as they arrived for breakfast. She had brought up a large cart full of breakfast foods: fruit dusted with chili powder, cheese with peppers embedded throughout it, and thin sliced meat, marinated in a spicy citrus slurry. Lily was tempted to see how much more amusement she could draw out from the steward and her husband, but the younger dragoness didn't need any more trouble from them.

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to eat and run, I need to be at the council early."

John nodded, "Okay. I suppose I'll take the children to the creche again. Zieadasra, do you have any other recommendations for things to do today?"

Lililethan devoured her meal quickly, and left the two of them to plan their day. She wished she could have waited for the children to wake up, but leaving so early served several purposes. First, it meant the halls and ramps would be nearly empty, so there were fewer dragons to stop and greet, and fewer dragons to witness her trying to work out her awkward stance. Last night's activities might have been a little too enthusiastic. Also, being the first to arrive at the council highlighted her impatience to get on with the deliberations. Typically the older members of the council would arrive last. To her surprise, Kyrenic arrived just as she did.

"Good morning, Eldest Lililethan." Kyrenic offered her a polite nod. "I had hoped for a chance to speak with you privately."

Lily could only imagine that Zieadasra had returned home and given a full report of her day as steward. She expected that Kyrenic might have some questions for her.

"Of course, Kyrenic, what's on your mind?"

"Well, my scion returned last night with some fairly wild claims. Of course we've all heard rumors about your mate. He might quite a stir on his first arrival here. But she tells me that the most outlandish rumor of all is true. Your mate was once a human?"

Lily smiled. "He was, yes. Is it truly so outlandish? Shapeshifting is a known discipline."

"Lililethan, you know as well as I do that this is not simple shapeshifting. Shapeshifting is a sustained effect, and ends when the spell does. Moreover, it would not impart all the capabilities of a dragon, or the ability to sire children. There are no active spells on your mate, and you obviously have two young scions. If it true that he was once a human, then this is an unprecedented event."

"Indeed," She acknowledged. "Hence why I have called for the council to meet."

Kyrenic nodded, and then shook his head, musing. "A human though? As your mate? Zieadasra says you've even wed him in some human tradition."

"He's no more a man than you or I at this point Kyrenic. As you said, the effect is permanent, not ongoing. So far as I've been able to tell, there is no way to reverse it."

"Well I should hope not! Can you imagine, a spell floating around out there that could turn a dragon into a man like that?"

For the first time, Lily realized why the demons might be interested in John's transformation. She wanted to scream at herself for missing something so obvious. They didn't want to repeat the process, they wanted see if they could reverse it. If demons could find a way to transform dragons into humans, or worse, into mindless animals, they would neutralize their greatest enemies. But Lily had spent months studying John when he'd first returned to her, mostly to reassure herself that there was no chance he would randomly change back. There were no seams or threads of magic to pick at, and even careful experiments with more wild magic had turned up nothing. As far as Lily could tell, this change was made to last.

But the demons didn't know that. As long as they thought John had potential as a weapon, they would never stop. And the council didn't know that. If they got the same idea, they could think John was an existential threat. Lily suddenly very much regretted coming back to Syrsarun. She returned to her partition, her mind suddenly frantic for options. She couldn't just cancel the deliberations. If she just got up and left, they would know something was going on. The word was already out that John was a transformed human, that cat was long out of the bag. And she still needed options to stop protect her family from ongoing menace of demons. All she could do was continue with her plan, and carefully try and guide the conversation away from the idea that John was dangerous.

The rest of the elders began arriving, along with a much larger crowd of spectators than the previous day. Lily had to work to control her face. She took a deep breath, and focused, loosing herself in the task of observing the others. Kyrenic quietly greeted Alalirrel, and they spoke quietly for a moment before the crimson dragoness turned to look at Lily with some surprise. If Clan Hata's elder knew, then Clans Siedkess and Karcaith would know shortly as well. Sure enough, as soon as Ithelashri and Ietrithala took their seats, the three allied elders were deep in conversation. So be it.

Yedanathil was the last enter the amphitheater, and take her seat. Once everyone had settled in, Lililethan stood and addressed the others. "Good morning, sovereign Elders. Today we will begin the second day of the proceedings: deliberation on the reason I called this council. I believe several of you are already aware of the reasoning for it." Lily nodded to Kyrenic and the three elder dragonesses that were now watching her carefully.

"I am aware that there are a number of rumors surrounding my choice in mate. I am here to confirm one of them. Johnathan Wright was in fact a human man, that was transmogrified by magic into a dragon."

There was a sudden uproar among the spectators, and then Raszeics booming voice rose above them all, speaking out of turn. "A human? You have picked a human to replace my brother?" The huge black dragon was on his feet, his wings bristling.

"Sit down, and watch your tone, Elder Raszeics. You are not addressing some whelp in your clan." Lily easily matched his volume, reminding the youngest elder who he was speaking to.

Raszeics sneered, but sat back down silently. Even Yedanathil shook her head in disapproval at the male. His outburst hadn't won him any respect.

Lily picked her words carefully. "I didn't intend to make this an issue, but after Johnathan was injured in the demonic attack on his home, and brought here to Syrsarun, I wanted to do the proper thing and inform the rest of the clans of this important event. I will open the deliberations now, and take questions if you have them."

Yedanathil stood immediately, "Elder Lililethan, do you mean to tell us that your children are sired by a human? I know of no shapeshifting spells that would allow actual reproduction."

"It is not shapeshifting. It is not temporarily. It is an accidental result of a spell that I had intended to be used entirely differently, but the metamorphosis was total and permanent. Johnathan is not wearing the shape of a dragon, he is one now."

Yedanathil paused a moment, her tail lashing. "And you decided to take him as a mate? Out of all the potential suitors here? Why?"

Lily was highly tempted to respond that the sovereign elder should kindly mind her own damned business, but she didn't get the chance.

Alalirrel stood silently, requesting a turn to speak. Yedanathil nodded and sat, giving her permission. "I do not know if you have seen this Johnathan Wright," she managed to pronounce his name correctly, "but I passed him this morning as he brought his children to the creche. He is not a poor candidate in the least. Perhaps not as impressive as elder Raszeics, but he has already made a name for himself fighting demons. I do not know if the rumors about him killing a leviathan are true, but his scars are certainly not overstated. I would accept him as a sire, if not necessarily a mate."

Alalirrel sat, and Lily had to fight to keep a grin off her face. She almost wished John could be here so that she could watch him squirm at the implied proposition. Still, it was probably safer for him not to have much interaction with the other elders. The sooner she could get them all home, the better.

Raszeics stood, her expression still sour, "What of this supposed leviathan? I understand you weren't actually at the battle," his voice dripped with scorn, "but you arrived after. Did this mate of yours kill one?"

"As you said, I wasn't at the battle. But from what I could determine, and from what I was told by others there, he did." The noise of the crowd was even louder this time. There were few dragons alive that had even faced a leviathan, and even fewer that could claim they killed one alone. Lily, and now her husband, were among those select few. Raszeics remained standing, but silently, glaring at the spectators. After a moment Kyrenic stood, and when Raszeics failed to notice him, spoke up anyhow. "Elder, Lililethan, perhaps this would all be faster and less hectic if you would invite your mate to appear before the council."

"Yes," Raszeics drawled, "let's see this demon hunting monster."

Lily had suspected it was inevitable. She had held some slim hope that she could avoid having him actually attend the council, but it had been very slim indeed. "Very well, if there are no objections, I shall call a short recess and go retrieve him."

John grunted and stretched in the turbulent pool of hot water. Falling asleep in position with Lily had been a bad idea, and his tail and back were stiff. Zieadasra had politely recommended they go visit one of the hot springs, so he could work out some of his aches. They had a couple hours yet before the children would have to leave the creche. It was somewhat liberating in a way, to have some free time. Even if he didn't know exactly what to do with it. He certainly wasn't going to soak in the spring for two whole hours. He vaguely remembered his mother complaining about having too much free time once her children had grown up. John couldn't help but wonder if he was becoming a house-husband.

Zieadasra was lounging on the edge of the pool, reading some sort of long scrolling document, waiting for him to finish.

He splashed over to her, the uneven floor of the pool dropping enough in spots that he nearly submerged himself. "What are you reading?"

"A report on clan affairs. You probably wouldn't find it particularly interesting." The dragoness hadn't been quite as distant as she had yesterday. John wondered what Lily had told her.

He lifted his chest and forelegs out of the pool, leaning against the ledge, "You know, you are welcome to swim as well, the water is quite pleasant. I know stewards are not supposed to enjoy themselves, but I feel weird with you just...waiting on me all the time."

She shifted away from him slightly and glanced up at the pool. "No, I'm afraid not, Johnathan Wright. This is a private pool. It would be in poor taste for me to join you." He grunted and slipped back into the water. He was used to having people watching over him at this point. Maribel frequently acted as a body guard and babysitter, but at least Maribel was fun. She would joke and poke fun and play with the kids. And at least Maribel didn't insist on using his full name all the time.

"Can you at least call me John? I feel like I'm back in the schoolhouse."

Zieadasra sighed, and set down her scroll. "Are you attracted to me Johnathan Wright?"

John froze, his thoughts scrambled. Lily had warned him that some of the dragons here would be forward with their intentions. Was that why their steward had been so uptight? "Uh, don't get me wrong, you're certainly attractive, but I'm afraid Lily is the only one for me."

"Do you want people to think you are attracted to me?"

"No?" He was confused.

"Then you need to start changing your behavior. Shortened names, like John, or Lily, are what mates call each other, in private. Your insistence on intruding on my space, and the familiarity with which you talk to me, is going to give every dragon that sees us the wrong impression. This must all be very new to you, and I can forgive your ignorance, but if you don't start doing better to blend in, you are going to cause all of us grief."

"Oh." He was relieved that she wasn't asking him for anything embarrassing, but still confused. He didn't think he'd done anything overly affectionate. "Then how should I act around you?"

"I don't know. Like a polite stranger? Just someone you don't know very well?"

"I don't know you at all. This is me being a polite stranger."

"Oh. Well then, like someone you don't like very much, but still have to be polite to."

John winced. It felt like every aspect of a social life was codified in strict guidelines here. He was starting to share Lily's desire to leave sooner rather than later. "I can see why Lily thought this place might be too strict for our kids. I was wondering if she might change her mind with these next to, but I'm guessing not."

Zieadasra's head snapped around to face him. "Eldest Lililethan is with children again? From you?"

"Yes. I mean, who else?"

"Oh, no...you shouldn't mention this at all. That is extremely taboo."

Bugger all, is everything a taboo in this damned place? "Right. That makes no sense. You're saying that two parents have can more than one child? What in the hell is wrong with you all?" John wasn't one to lose his temper, but this was just too much.

Zieadasra shushed him, glancing towards the door. "You are stuck in a human perspective, Johnathan Wright. We are not human. Think about this. Our females can not breed nearly endlessly like humans. We have very limited opportunities, and our bloodlines are carefully managed so that the healthiest, most compatible dragons end up with each other. Miscarriages, or the loss of a child for any reason, is a devastating blow, because that dragoness might only have a few chances to try again. More than that, our males greatly outnumber our females, and many of them will never get the chance to sire children at all. A male that tries to claim a female for multiple offspring is very likely denying another male that same chance. It is seen as the height of selfishness."

John felt his blood cool as her explanation sunk in. He didn't like it, but he could understand it. He nodded, swallowing his anger and sinking into the water up to his nostrils. He was still mulling over the issue when none other than his wife came hustling into the small grotto of the spring. "John, love, hop out of there and dry off. You've been called before the council. Zieadasra, would you please head down to the creche and take the children back to my residence. I've sent a runner ahead to let the guardians there know you're coming. There will be a human woman there, or she will arrive soon. Maribel is a trusted friend, and can watch over Ban and Laurelie."

John sensed her urgency and rushed to comply. If Lily had sent a message to request Maribel make the trip here, something had happened. Zieadasra bowed, and departed.

"What's going on love?" He whispered, instinctively lowering his voice.

"Listen John, something has changed, and we need to try and wrap up this council and get home as quickly as possible. I think I know what the demons were after."

She glanced back at the doorway and then leaned in so her words were just barely audible in his ear. "They want to try and learn if there is a reverse spell. To cripple dragons into the bodies of men."

"Oh." He nodded. It made sense. From what he could tell, demons hated dragons as much as dragons hated demons. "But then why do we have to flee from here."

"Because if the council thinks that that is a possibility, then you're potentially a threat to our entire race."

John's blood ran cold.

"Come on, I'll try and fill you in on details on the way."

Lily took John on a long way through the mountain, sticking to the emptiest corridors and passages she could find, trying to help him cram in as much as he could about the formalities of the council and the different elders. "Remember, try and avoid talking about the demons as much as possible. Don't mention that you were the target. But don't lie. There's spells on the rostrum that give you a nasty jolt if you try to lie to the council, and you've got enough scars already."

They finally arrived in the amphitheater, and much to John's dismay it was entirely packed. Not just with the other elders, dragons that were much more similar to his and Lily's size, but with spectators. Apparently word had gone out of the nature of the council, and curious dragons now packed into the gallery. It was hard for John to count the crowd, the confusing jungle of wings, necks, and tails in all colors of the rainbow didn't lend itself easily to counting. A hundred? Two hundred maybe? Zieadasra was waiting for them near the entrance into the central arena.

"What are you doing here? Where are Ban and Laurelie?"

"Maribel had already arrived by the time I got them back to the residence, along with several other dragons. She insisted that she 'had things covered' and I should head on my way. You said to trust here, so I returned to wait for you here."

Lily nodded with a sigh of relief. "Good. Thank you Zieadasra, you've done well. Your clan is here if you would like to join them?"

"At the moment I am still your steward, Eldest. I will remain by your side for now."

"Okay, here we go." John watched his wife approached a flat dais in the center of the arena that acted as a rostrum.

"Sovereign elders, welcome back from our short recess. As requested I have brought my husband, Johnathan Wright, to stand before you. I will remind you once more that he is not familiar with custom and courtesy here, and means no disrespect. Please forgive him and gaffs or mistakes. Are there any questions of me before he steps up to speak?"

None of the elders rose any concerns, so Lily nodded, and turned to her John. "Johnathan, please approach the rostrum."

He stood, and cautiously stepped up onto the dais. Lily stepped down, leaving him alone and in the middle of a rather large crowd of dragons all focused intently on him. After a moment the first elder stood. John struggled just a moment to remember his name; Kyrenic. His speckled robin-egg scales made his relation to Zieadasra obvious, even before he spoke.

"Good morning clan-mate Johnathan Wright."

John did his best to emulate the delicate bow that Lily had showed him on the way. It was an unusual movement, with both forelegs bent at the elbow so that his chest nearly touched the dais, his wings half unfurled and his neck extended parallel to the floor. "Good morning Elder Kyrenic of Clan Arsothsk." He held the bow for a moment until the elder nodded for him to stand. It felt awkward bowing to the elder, on the surface of things. John was larger and heavier than this male, by at least a little bit, and certainly didn't feel he owed the dragon any fealty, considering they may want to kill him. But size didn't count for everything, and he was playing by their rules right now.

"I apologize for starting these deliberations with a personal question, but I am curious how satisfied you are with the service my granddaughter Zieadasra has provided you so far as steward?"

The question caught him off-guard, prepared as he was for something much more critical. He had to think for a moment. He was fairly sure he hadn't made a good impression for far on Zieadasra, and he didn't want to make that worse by saying the wrong thing here. "Zieadasra has been very helpful." He said carefully. "She has been endlessly patient with my social ineptness, and has helped educate me on the local culture and history." There. Nothing too flowery or overwrought. Just a simple truth. He resisted the urge to look back over his shoulder at their steward.

Kyrenic sat back down. John couldn't tell at all whether the elder was satisfied with the response, but all the other elders were quietly conferring with their aides as if John had just said something supremely important. He somehow felt more nervous than ever.

The next elder sat up, a large white dragoness that somehow actually seemed fat. Or at least remarkably round compared to the others. But when she spoke her voice was sharp and hard. "Good morning clan-mate Johnathan Wright."

John fumbled for just a heart beat to remember her name, ducking in the bow to cover his hesitation "Good morning Elder Yedanathil of Clan Ilikess."

"I'd like to start the deliberations by establishing some facts. Can you please confirm your birth place?"

"Yes, Elder Yedanathil, I was born on my parent's farm, in the Pastock Valley, outside the capitol city."

"Can you confirm your age?"

John had to think a moment to remember that his birthday had passed during his coma. "I have just turned thirty-three years old, Elder."

There was a loud murmur that ran through the crowd. It was indistinct enough that John couldn't make out much, but he definitely heard the word child uttered more than a few times.

Yedanathil looked around imperiously for a moment, and the spectator's chatter ceased immediately.

"Can you confirm that you were once a human man, residing in a human city, born to human parents."

"I was, Elder."

"And can you tell us how you first met Elder Lililethan?"

John did not like this line of questioning. Old instincts prickled to the surface, learned from court intrigue back home. It felt distinctively like she was trying to make a point against him, or against Lily. But his wife had told him to answer honestly, so he did. "I attempted to summon an imp. Lililethan intercepted my summon."

"I see. And what happened next?"

John tried to use the same line he'd used with Hershel. "She held me there for several days, and educated me on the dangers of summoning demons."

"I see. And at what point did she cast the spell that turned you into a dragon?"

"I am not entirely sure, Elder Yedanathil. She gave me an item that she had enchanted, but the spell didn't work like Lily intended." He realized his mistake almost immediately. His use of his wife's sobriquet had caused another reaction in the crowd, and Yedanathil narrowed her eyes at him.

"You do not even show your own mate the respect of using her full name in public?"

John wanted to slap himself for the mistake. Zieadasra had just warned him about this, and he'd forgotten it completely. He couldn't even look back at his wife to gauge her reaction, he was fairly certain that would just be another faux pas.

Fuck it, in for a penny, in for a pound.

"Elder Yedanathil, I respect my wife," he emphasized the word just slightly, "more than anyone else on this world. She has made me a better person. She has given me two beautiful children." He remembered not to mention that she was carrying two more. "She has literally saved my life. And I have sworn a sacred vow to her; that she is blood of my blood, and breath of my breath. That we two will be as one. That I will honor her and cherish her above all others. Now, and forever. I have already spent a third of my life by her side, and I intend to spend the rest of it right there as well. I do not call her Lily out of disrespect, but out of love."

Yedanathil didn't glare at him or sneer or anything else. She took a moment to absorb his words, and then sat down, turning to confer with her advisors. One again, John was completely at a loss as to what the dragoness's opinion of his speech was. At least the spectators seemed to have gotten some sort of thrill from the exchange. The whispering from the crowd was low, but constant. He had a moment to try and calm himself before the next elder stood. Alalirrel of Clan Hataaddressed him, and he once again bowed and greeted her.

"Could you please explain the circumstances of the spell that transformed you?

Alalirrel suddenly sat down before he could answer, looking over his shoulder. Just followed her gaze and saw Lily standing. "I apologize for interrupting Elder Alalirrel, but unless we want to risk the potential of other curious individuals trying to replicate these results," she looked meaningfully at the large crowd, "it may be safest to keep that information confidential." Lily sat, and a thin, gold scaled dragoness stood immediately.

"I respect your caution Elder Lililethan, but I think we should hear the answer to this. After all, can you imagine the potential if we could replicate this? We could bolster our population practically overnight!" The elder, Ietrithala, or maybe it was Ithelashri, sat back down before John had to greet her.

Alalirrel stood again, resuming her questioning, "Please answer the question Johnathan Wright."

"I will do my best to remember it, Elder Alalirrel. It was a long time ago, for me." The emotions at the time were burned into his memory, but ten years had dulled some of the details. "Lily had agreed to offer me a boon at the end of my stay with her. It was a very rudimentary spell, wild magic I learned later. It was set without defined limits or parameters. I activated the spell with a spoken command, and it interpreted that command by transforming me into a dragon."

"Do you remember the command you used?"

John desperately wanted to look to Lily for advice, but he knew that was a bad idea. "I do, roughly." He swallowed, "I believe the words were 'I want Lily to find someone that makes her happy'."

The dragoness nodded. "Can you explain why that was your wish?"

John really wished he could brush off the question as easily as he had brushed off Hershel those months past. "I had originally desired to stay with Lily and learn more from her, but she insisted I return home to my family. When I did, I was arrested for using a summoning circle. The punishment was death by burning. Even if I had wished for an escape, I would have been an outcast in my homeland, and disowned from my family for my crimes. I suppose, that at the time, I simply wanted someone to be happy with the outcome."

"And so when you made that wish, the spell decided that you were the best possible candidate to make Eldest Lililethan happy." Alalirrel finished.

It wasn't an idea that John had actually considered before. He hadn't been specific when he worded the spell. He hadn't wished that _he_could make Lily happy. But it had selected him anyhow. "I suppose so. I will not pretend to know the details of how it all worked. I do know that as soon as I triggered the spell, it transformed me into a dragon."

Alalirrel sat down, as inscrutable as the rest. Long moments passed, and John wondered if this questioning might finally be over when the other male elder stood. Raszeics, the elder of Clan Kamvra. This dragon was immediately familiar, his black scales and green banding almost identical to Irsasz. If the relation was under any doubt, the massive size sealed it. When Raszeics stood and addressed him, he didn't bother hiding his distaste for John. When he asked his questions, it was not with the same calm poise of the others. Instead Razeisz paced, back and forth in front of his narrow partition as if he was trying to escape.

"Could you please share your view on the attack on Pastock? We have heard far-fetched and troubling rumors of what occurred there."

John once again had to trust his wife's advice to be honest, despite his instincts. "Well, it first started when we heard that the humans there had discovered a hellmouth. Lily and some of her mages went to investigate while I prepared to evacuate my children and family to safety. Lily returned, and was stranded in the blazing shore when our portal was sabotaged."

"So she intended to flee home?"

"No, not at all. Due to the circumstances of the time, I was unable to fit through the portal. Lily intended to escort our children for just a moment, and then return to fight. I was supposed to be the one that evacuated. But the demons had managed to possess one of her mages, and destroyed the portal to isolate me."

"And what happened after?"

"Well, we moved to the city, to assist with the defense. Me and two score of human mages. I worked with the humans on a battle-plan, and then the rift opened."

"So you voluntarily stayed behind to help close a rift? Alone?"

"At the time, Elder, I wasn't actually aware of how serious it was. My experience with demons ended at my attempt to summon an imp. And I was not alone. I believe the combined forces of the city of Pastock was nearly twenty-thousand men assisting me. My part in the first stage of the battle was honestly mostly supportive, simply trying to thin the demons before they reached the walls." John just barely managed to keep his annoyance out of his voice. Whatever issues this dragon had with him, it was no reason to downplay the efforts made by the city's own defenders. A quarter of the men on the walls had died outright in the battle, and a half of those that had survived had suffered permanent injuries. Five thousand dead soldiers, and another seven or eight thousand maimed. Not to mention the civilian casualties from those that couldn't evacuate into the inner districts.

"What of the rumors of the leviathan?"

"I managed to successfully lure it away from the city and into a trap." John said simply. He did not expect the sudden clamor and chorus of voices from the gallery. Raszeics attempted to quell the crown in the same manner as Yedanathil, to somewhat less success. He got the feeling that there was a hierarchy, even in this council of otherwise sovereign elders.

Eventually Raszeics gave up, and returned his attention to John. "You lured it away? To kill it on your own. Why would a leviathan leave behind an entire city of victims, to follow you alone?"

John knew he was entering dangerous ground, and tried to hide his nervousness as he deflected. "I wouldn't say I killed it on my own. The city cannons wounded it before I engaged it, and I didn't kill it through skill or strength. I led the leviathan to a mine-shaft filled with volatile gas, and detonated it"

"That still doesn't explain why it followed you at all. Why would a leviathan chase a single dragon? Why was it there at all? Summoning a leviathan costs the demons immense resources."

John clenched his jaw; perhaps he could pass off his silence as ignorance. These were questions he couldn't answer without lying, and he couldn't lie.

"Well?" Raszeics growled at him, expectantly.

"I believe they were targeting me." John finally admitted.

"Targeting you? Why?"

"They knew of my transformation. I believe they wanted to capture me and study it."

Raszeics stared at him, and the noise in the gallery died away. For the first time John felt pretty certain about the reaction of the elder that had addressed him. Raszeics looked absolutely delighted as he sat down. No other elders stood, and after a long moment Lily finally rejoined him on the dais. "If there are no other questions for my husband," she flashed him a weak glance and smile, "Johnathan, please step down."

Lily watched with pride as her husband returned to take a seat in her partition. He had done _so_well. The stubborn, impetuous nature of John's human side had cut through the decorum of the council, and left one of her rivals fairly speechless. Unfortunately, he couldn't avoid giving up at least most of what they were trying to keep hidden. The elders might not have reached the same conclusion that Lily had about the demon's intentions, but they knew that John was a target now. Kyrenic stood again in the silence. His solemn face practically confirmed her worst fears as he spoke

"If I may, Elder Lililethan, I believe I have an idea of what the demons might want with your mate. Our conversation earlier made me think of it. We are speaking of replicating this process, but if the demons find a way to reverse it, to turn natural born dragons into men..." He had to trail off as the spectators erupted once more into noise. They had to wait several long moments before the crowd's sense of decorum recovered, and they quieted down. Many of the observers cast fearful glances towards John now. Her husband had quite suddenly become an icon of a great and terrible fear, the thought that they might be stripped of their very selves.

"Elder Kyrenic, I have been with John for ten years now, and have spent that time constantly assuring myself that he will not change back. I have conducted every test imaginable, and I cannot find any way to reverse this."

The sky-blue dragon nodded, but continued. "I understand Eldest Lililethan," he said gently, "but this is a potential danger to all of us. And you know as well as anyone that ten years is not that long after all. We have to decide what action, if any, we are going to take." He sat.

Raszeics stood, looking triumphant. "Considering the possible scope of this threat, the safest option is to eliminate him. Obliterate the remains and leave nothing left to study."

There were gasps and murmurs in the crowd, and Lily fixed the male with a furious stare. "I apologize in advance for this outburst, but the next one of you that mentions killing my husband as a serious option, I am going to rip your tongue out." Her voice was jagged, and her claws dug into the rostrum, tearing long gashes in the magically reinforced stone.

Raszeics went wide eyed as the enchantments on the generations old dais faltered, and then failed in a cascade. The black dragon quickly backpedaled and sat back down in his partition.

Yedanathil stood, her voice measured, "Killing him is obviously _not_an option." She said evenly. "But we cannot ignore this, and we can't risk him falling to another demon attack. He can be best kept safe here, while we study him to ensure that there is no risk to us."

"And how long do you expect that to take?" Lililethan asked as politely as she could manage.

"I don't know Eldest, but we cannot afford not to be thorough. It may be indefinitely."