FSE

Furry search engine

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"This is bullshit Captain," Joker’s voice came over the radio on a local channel, "For two weeks command has had us guard this fucking road, I'm sweating my balls off out here."

Keenis couldn't agree more, since their adventure with the fake training exercise command seemed to be punishing them hard. He drifted lazily on a thermal that was created by the hot asphalt road which Zulu squad were guarding. He was tasked with overwatch, something that he didn't mind as much as sitting on the hot desert ground. Looking down, he could see the rest of his unit below. The squad were spread out in a wide fan, allowing them to all engage the road without blocking each other’s lines of fire, just in case someone approached that shouldn't. The hot desert sun reflected off of Taalli's bright orange scales, while her black paws matched the hot road’s surface. She had been tasked with sitting on the road, well ahead of the unit, her bright orange scales and black paws acting as nature’s largest traffic cone, a joke which joker had tried to make before being sent flying into the dirt by her tail.

"We have our orders Joker," Captain Scarecrow’s calm voice retorted.

"Nah, I'm with Joker. I haven't gotten to shoot shit in days," Bishops southern drawl chimed in on the radio.

"See this is what I'm talking about, poor Bishop here hasn't gotten to pop off a round. Did your recruitment officer tell you that you could shoot shit up?" Joker teased.

"Damn straight," Bishop replied.

"See this is what's shit, Bishop got told he would get to shoot shit up. Taalli over there, Taalli was told she would get all kinds of drakes fawning over her after she signed up."

"What about you scarecrow? What made you sign up?" Keenis joined in.

Joker interrupted, "Scarecrow, Remember that TV ad. The one where the knight in shining armor fucks up a dragon then the knight changes into a solider. That, that's what got him in." Joker laughed, "Now look at us, Bishop hasn't gotten to shoot shit, Taalli has been paired with a dragon who wont give it to her and Scarecrow is rolling around in the butt fucking desert, hunting for dragons in fatigues that smell of two weeks piss and balls sweat."

Keenis's and the rest of the squad laughed and even Scarecrow's stoic demeanor changed to a smirk.

"You should have rolled into battle with a sword Cap, that would have fucking rocked," Joker added.

There was a long silence before Raider's voice came over the radio, "Sooo... we are just not going to tell Joker why we’re out here huh?"

"Wait what?" Joker exclaimed.

"Nah, I think not," replied Kodiak, he and Raider were often the quiet ones on the squad and were enjoying knowing something that Joker didn't.

Joker’s annoyance was evident as his voice came back over the radio, "Hey if you know something we don't, tell the class boys. If I'm sweating my balls off out here, it better be for something good."

There was an awkward pause before Keenis saw Taalli reach for her radio. "Yeah, it was something good. Pretty fantastic actually," Taalli said with a tone of amusement in her voice. Keenis could feel his cheeks burning. Since their first romp in the caves they had snuck out each night to spend more time together and when they were confined to their tent by sandstorms, the sounds of their pleasure could almost be heard over the gale-force winds. Keenis joked with himself that he was making up for missed opportunities, as he would often wake up tired. Thankfully though no one had told Joker.

"Wait, what? What’s the reason why we out here?" Joker said, still not catching on.

Keenis's powerful eyes could see most of the squad shaking with laughter at Joker’s ignorance. He reached for his radio and pressed the transmit button, "Yeah, I agree. Great reason. I felt we explored all processes and really got deep into the problem"

"So deep, the conclusion really blew my mind," Taalli giggled over the comms.

"Hold up, are you saying what I think you are saying?" Joker said, his voice getting a bit desperate.

"Roger Joker, Doc gave Taalli a proper exam. A thorough exam, I believe she called it," Bishop's deep voice confirmed.

Keenis felt a bit ashamed that the squad were being punished because of him and Taalli and was grateful he was high in the air however was somewhat reassured when Scarecrow’s voice came through calm over the radio. "It was my mission, Taalli just suggested it"

"Really?! Two weeks of guard duty because our Deltas got laid."

"That's affirmative Joker," answered Scarecrow.

"So when is my special mission to get laid?"

Keenis was about to apologize, but Taalli beat him to it. "Sorry Joker, that would be some mission impossible shit!" She said with a laugh, the whole squad breaking out into laughter at Joker's expense.

Keenis got a wicked idea and couldn't help himself. "I think that's right up his alley. Suspended by the ceiling, lots of ropes. Don't kink shame Taalli," he said with a smirk. A flicker of movement drew his attention and he caught sight of a vehicle approaching. "Hold up! Vehicle approaching, flatbed truck traveling at speed."

With a few quick flaps he glided in the direction of the vehicle to get a better look, it was a civilian looking truck with something under a tarp in its tray. "Cap, looks civilian." He reported as he caught up to it and turned to keep pace with it, keeping his shadow off of the truck to stay undetected.

"Taalli, wave them off," Scarecrow said and Keenis looked up the road towards the squad and saw Taalli start walking towards the truck, wings out wide and flapping them to get the attention of the driver. Her large orange wings caught the light and diffused it, giving her a warm, amber glow. With her wings wide, she occupied the entire single lane road but the truck continued to drive towards the squad.

"They ain't stopping cap," Bishop said.

Keenis muttered under his breath, “Come on, stop buddy.” There had been reports of car bombers driving into squads all across the city and while during their occupation they tried to do their best to not kill civilians, their rules of engagement made it clear that they were approved to use any means necessary to protect themselves or to achieve their objective.

"Bishop! Warning shots," ordered their captain. A line of tracers coming from one side of the squad, arcing across the front of the vehicle missing by only a few feet. Immediately the vehicle locked its brakes and weaved dramatically on the narrow road, before it came to a screeching halt. The small truck lurched on its suspension as the load that was in the tray settled again. There was a brief standoff between the squad and the truck before it crunched its gears and went to reverse.

Keenis breathed a sigh of relief as the truck retreated and watched as it tried to turn around on the narrow road however the deep ditches on either side caused the truck to have to do a multi point turn to try and turn around. Keenis watched carefully, and could imagine the panicked driver trying to get his vehicle to cooperate, as he went back and forth. The driver seemed to miss a gear and lurched backwards into a ditch, the truck bottomed out on the steep slope and started to spin its tires in the air.

"Hey cap, the truck is stuck. Permission to give a hand?" Keenis asked. They needed to keep the road clear for friendly vehicles and having a civilian truck stuck there in the open was a bit problematic.

"Approved, but be cautious," Scarecrow said sternly. Keenis weighed his options and tucked his wings in. If the truck was hostile, it could get messy quick, but at the same time if they were doing a suicide run they wouldn't have stopped. He tucked his wings in and dove towards the truck, flaring them again, he circled the truck low to the ground to get a look at its occupants. The driver was swearing profusely as he tried to rock the truck back and forwards by changing gears quickly. His dark skin went pale when he saw Keenis skimming over the ground around his truck.

Keenis landed at a trot and kept his wings up high, making himself look many times bigger than he was. Just in case. The driver looked shocked and quickly raised one of his hands above the wheel, saying something in the native language. Keenis approached the vehicle and keyed his radio, "One combat aged male as driver, no other occupants." Although it was a small truck, it was common for many locals to cram as many people as possible into a vehicle, so having a sole occupant made Keenis uneasy.

"HANDS WHERE I CAN SEE THEM," Keenis yelled as he came closer to the vehicle, lips raised in a snarl. The driver was frantically waving only one hand up above his head and it took Keenis longer than it should have to work out why. The driver was missing his other arm, with nothing more than a little stump left. He was fanatically begging in his native tongue, fear in his eyes and sweat dripping from his brow.

Keenis pointed at the driver and then out of the car and the driver understood, nodding frantically his hand disappeared briefly to open the door. He fell to the ground with a heavy thud, as his legs didn’t cooperate with the large dragon staring him down. "Cancel that cap, fighting age male but crippled. Doesn't look like a fighter," Keenis said over his radio. He cocked his head as the driver began rambling in his foreign language, gesturing to the bed of the truck with his one hand.

"Alright, alright," Keenis said. The driver was clearly not a threat and he tried to relax his posture, tucking his wings neatly to his sides. He did however keep a careful eye on him as he approached the tarped mass in the back of the truck. The tarp itself was covered in blood and dust, only held down with a few thin nylon ropes, Curious Keenis used a paw and pulled back the tarp, his eyes meeting that of a young, sand coloured dragon laying in the back of the truck. The dragon's eyes conveyed that they were clearly in pain and desperate for help. Keenis quickly assessed the situation, the dragon was of an age that he could be a combatant, but was clearly injured and was in no way a threat to him.

Keenis took a few steps back and the dragon tried to talk, his accent thick and speaking a language that Keenis didn’t recognize. Holding a paw up for silence, Keenis grabbed his radio. "Hey cap, we have an injured dragon in the truck. Can I get Raider up here to translate?"

"Roger Keenis, we are all rolling up," Scarecrows voice said. Looking up, Keenis could see their humvee rumbling towards them, the mounted gun trained on the stranded truck. Taalli was following high above, having taken Keenis's position on overwatch. He turned to cut the ropes holding the tarp down and unfurled it to get a better look. The dragon's wing membranes looked like they had been mildly burnt, a few bullet holes where rounds had punctured the thin membranes were visible too and although it looked like his wings would recover, he had a blood soaked bandage around one of his thighs which might be more serious.

With a screech of its tires the squad’s vehicle arrived, Kodiak stayed on the main gun while the squad poured out and quickly surrounded the stationary truck. They took no chances and approached with guns trained on both the driver and the dragon in the tray. Keenis briefly glanced up, as Taalli's shadow slipped over them, while Raider approached the injured dragon and stood by Keenis' side. His large rifle was in a resting position across his chest, with his finger on the trigger guard. "Ask him where he has come from," Keenis requested. If this was a downed combatant they would need to take them in as prisoners of war and this drake matched the average size of the enemy dragons they had encountered.

Raider started talking in one language, then changed to another when he didn’t get a response. As a result of many past conflicts and occupations, there were a lot of different languages and dialects in active use, the benefit was that most locals spoke at least 3. The dragon answered and Raider continued to converse before turning to Keenis. "He grew up in the city, he claims he is not a fighter. He used a word which is something like 'artist' or some shit."

"How did he get hurt?" Keenis asked, staring into the injured dragon's eyes. Some things were universal across language barriers, this was indeed a terrified drake. The strong ego and boastful personalities that dragons were famous for, were absent in the eyes of this dragon as he explained his situation to Raider.

"He claims he was shot down by the local militia while trying to escape the conflict," Raider relayed. "Although isn't that what you would say?" he added. The punishment for desertion from the enemy was often death, so being injured trying to escape was not necessarily a lie.

"Tell him that I am going to examine his leg. Find out more information if you can," Keenis said and the truck's suspension bottomed out as he climbed up, the dragon flinching as Keenis stood over him. After Raider had explained, the dragon extended his injured leg cautiously. It quivered slightly under Keenis' touch. Using a sharp claw he cut the rotten bandage off the drake and inspected the wound, indeed there was a bullet hole in his thigh, the dragon groaned as his leg was manipulated by Keenis. He ran a paw between the injured drakes legs, feeling for an exit wound. "The bullet is still in him. Tell him it may hurt a little when I get it out."

Raider translated and the drake dug its claws into the thin metal of the truck bed, Keenis placed a paw on the scaly hide of the dragon and reached for his magic. Closing his eyes, he pushed his mind into the dragon's body and felt around. The body glowed like a spider's web of energy to his mind, throbbing weakly with the dragon's heartbeat. He searched the leg and could see a void where the foreign object was. Feeling around, the bullet was lodged against an artery and, after a gentle pull with magic, it came free. Blood came gushing out, but was quickly stopped by Keenis pinching it closed, while using his power to encourage the vein to heal quickly.

Rapid healing was possible by magic, but only for small things like veins and nerves. The energy needed to repair the damage was the same as it would take to heal naturally, so little joins between arteries were achievable, but gaping wounds were not. He gently released his pressure on the artery, making sure it opened back up without bleeding, and pulled the bullet out of the drake. It fell into the truck’s bed with a clatter. He used his magic again to close the entry wound, stringing the two sides together. He would never be able to heal the whole cavity that the bullet had made, but he could help the drake's body heal quicker.

Keenis shook his head and opened his eyes, the desert sun temporarily blinding him while his pupils contracted. He smacked his lips a few times to get the taste of magic out of his mouth and saw the drake looking up at him with a strange look in his eyes. Keenis shivered and started pulling out fresh bandages from his pouch to start dressing the wound fresh.

"I don't think he is a combatant," Raider said, picking up the bloody projectile up from inside the truck bed. Turning it over in his hand he explained, "It’s not one of ours. He says his family owned a jewelry store and he was hesitant to leave, then got caught in the crossfire in the southern sections of the city. He and his friend are trying to flee."

"Cap, what should we do?" Keenis said, still standing on the truck bed.

Scarecrow came over to them. "Is he alright?"

"Yeah, he will be ok," Keenis confirmed, wiping his bloody paws on the tarp.

"Alright, We can’t take him in if he is just a civilian. Give him some rations and water and send him on his way," Scarecrow said and motioned to the rest of the squad to help.

Keenis nodded and pulled out a few spare bandages. "Tell him to change the bandage twice a day. These should get him through the week," Raider started translating. "I will give him some pain killers, make sure he doesn't take them all at once," he added and tucked an orange bottle into the drakes paw.

"Does he know where he is going?" Keenis said and nodded to the driver. There was a brief exchange between Raider and the driver shook his head while talking rapidly.

"Nah he is well lost," raider said, as Keenis leapt down from the truck, the suspension giving out a groan in the process.

He fished around in his harness and pulled out a faded map. "Here, have this," the driver took a look at it and nodded, hand to his chest and spoke quickly with what was clearly gratitude. Keenis nodded and reached for his radio. "Hey Taalli, Can I get your sexy rump down here to give me a paw?"

"Only if you do something with my sexy rump," she replied, Keenis looked up as his mate tucked her wings in and quickly descended. With a single heavy flap she arrested her fall and landed gracefully, a storm of dust kicked up in her wake. The rest of Zulu squad rallied up on their humvee and got aboard while Taalli and Keenis moved to the back of the truck. With both their paws on the tray, the driver understood what was happening and quickly jumped inside, starting the engine and grinding its gears into forwards.

The injured drake looked back at the two dragons, as they heaved and pushed the truck back onto the road, its tires spinning in the dirt. "Zank eh," the drake said, it was crude but understood. As the truck lurched onto the asphalt the drake put a paw to his chest. "Yaarnis," he said and gave them a bow.

"What did he say?" Taalli asked, as the truck started its bouncy journey back the way it came.

Keenis shook his head. "No idea. Do you want to take overwatch or should I?"

"That's all you playboy, I'm kind of enjoying sitting down all day," she said, as she turned to trot alongside the humvee. Keenis smiled and spent a bit longer than he should checking out her rump, the powerful muscles in her hind legs shifting under her orange scales and her tail bouncing up and down slightly in time with her gait. He noticed that sand and grime were starting to accumulate on her hide again, but he didn't know how to approach the subject with her.

With a deep exhale he flared open his wings and launched himself into the sky, returning back to his post. While he glided back to his original position he unhooked a drinking tube from his harness and gently sucked water from the internal water bladder. He squirted a little bit onto his paws and washed off the last of the blood. "I can't be bitching about her scales when I'm covered in blood," He muttered to himself.

He banked gently and continued his lazy circle around his squad. The road linked the city with a neighbouring town; command had told them that they needed a roadblock on this stretch of road because there were important negotiations happening in the other town. Looking over the vast stretch of desert, he couldn't help feeling like it was a waste of time. If someone wanted to, they could cross the desert a few miles away and they would never even know, additionally a niggling thought kept creeping back into his mind that perhaps command had forgotten them, as two weeks of negotiations seemed like a long time.

"Well that's our good deed done for the day," Said Bishop over the radio as they returned to their posts.

"I don't know, I'm hoping for another good deed from Doc before the day is done," replied Taalli, her voice low and seductive. Keenis felt warm as he flew and it wasn't just from the desert sun.

"What can I say? I'm a sucker for someone in need," Keenis joked back.

"In need of dis dick!" Joker cackled. "But good for you Taalli, you get it girl," He added in a rare moment of sincerity.

Keenis held a paw on his radio’s transmit button, ready to make a joke about her getting it good, but held back not wanting to embarrass Taalli.

"Oh I got it, I got it good," Taalli laughed down her radio, causing Keenis to shake his head.

"Alright boys, looks like if we need doc to help us now we gotta bend over and look back at him," Scarecrow chimed in. It was rare for their captain to join in on their banter, but when he did it always caught them off guard.

"Yeah that's not happening," added Raider.

Keenis saw Taalli get up from her seated position on the road ahead of their squad. "Oh don't be a prude Raider, I'll show you how it's done," she aimed her rump towards Raider’s position and slowly lowered her front while swishing her tail left and right. Keenis flapped his wings and relocated himself above Raider, purely for overwatch reasons...

"You see Raider, it's all about timing," she said, as she swayed her hips back and forth, slowly raising her tail base first.The tip of her tail was still angled low and covering her privates. As she slowly drew her tail tip over her vulva, she curled her head around and stared at Raider, his eyes captivated by the sight a hundred feet away.

She danced her hips back and forth, keeping her tip covering her slit. "So Raider, are you sure there isn't anything I could do to change your mind about us dragons?"

Raider swallowed hard at the sight before him, his fatigues getting a bit tighter. She ever so slowly started to lift her tail tip to give him an unobstructed view until she quickly sat back down. "Maybe next time you can join us," she teased over the radio and glanced up at Keenis. "Close your jaw doc," she added and smiled as he flapped his wings to return back to his slow orbit.

"Fuck, Taalli," Joker said, feeling a bit flustered himself.

"That's doc's job," Bishop retorted, causing them to laugh, though Raider was still silent, and glad his dark sunglasses were hiding his wide eyes, as he discovered something about himself.

A shiver ran through Keenis body, causing him to shake his head and look over his shoulder up the road. He felt his stomach tighten as he saw a truck moving at speed towards them. "Eyes up! Gas tanker inbound," he announced over the radio.

"On it," Taalli said before Scarecrow could give the order. She flared her wings out wide and flapped them, to try to get the attention of the driver. Keenis couldn't help but admire them as she waved them. As the truck continued she raised herself up to her hind legs to try and catch the eye of the driver.

"Stop," Keenis muttered under his breath, as the truck ignored Taalli's warnings and kept driving towards them.

Scarecrow’s voice clicked over the radio, "Bishop..."

Bishop's heavy machine gun fired a stream of tracers across the road as the truck continued to barrel towards the stationary unit.

"Just stop," Keenis begged, the truck had civilian markings on it and he prayed that it would not end in bloodshed.

A plume of black smoke erupted from the truck’s exhaust as it shifted gears and accelerated.

The truck was closing in quickly and Taalli started taking a few slow measured steps towards it, wings half folded and mantled above her, her lips drawn back in a snarl. Her powerful eyes lookied into the determined eyes of the driver who hid behind a makeshift steel shield that covered the windscreen.

"Make it stop!" Scarecrow shouted and the squad lit up the truck. The squad were in a wide arc and their rifles fired streams of hot lead at the truck, their small arms fire ricocheting off the heavy steel armor that had been welded on the front of the cab and vital areas of the truck’s body.

Taalli prowled confidently towards the truck, before drawing her head back and letting out a stream of fire down the road. The truck was still out of range, but the driver could no longer see the squad he was aiming for as the wall of fire obscured the last few hundred feet. Keenis watched helplessly as the truck came hurtling towards his mate and their squad. A rear tire exploded as rounds ripped through the rubber sidewall causing the truck to violently swerve as the driver struggled to keep it on course.

"Please make it stop," Keenis begged, as he tucked his wings to dive down and help, unsure exactly what he could do in this situation.

The asphalt bubbled and boiled in the wake of Taallis fire, giving off a thick oily plume of smoke from its surface. Taalli looked back at the squad, the rounds from the rifles having little effect towards stopping the truck and it was almost on-top of them.

Locking eyes onto the truck driver, she knew what she could do to stop the truck. Like a coiled spring she launched herself down the road, her powerful body bounding fearlessly towards the tonnes of steel and gasoline that were hurtling towards her. The oily soot and smoke from the melting road clung to her hide as she went to intercept the truck, the squad ceased fire as she jinked from the left side to the right side of the road, the driver now aiming for the large orange dragon that was barreling down on him. Her darting from left to right caused the truck to swerve wildly, at the last second she feinted a left jink causing the truck to expose the side of its cab.

With her large paws outstretched she launched her whole body at the side of the drivers compartment, the entire truck visibly lurched as she collided heavily with its side. Their combined, off center mass caused it to tip, the wheels on one side of the truck lifting into the air. Taalli's claws dug deep gouges into the makeshift armor plating before she heaved off one of the panels, its welds snapping as she put her weight behind her, exposing the driver to her snarling face.

"Make it stop!" Keenis yelled to his mate and the truck driver. His claws extending while he drove himself forwards as fast as he could, the wind rushing past him.

Keenis heard the shots go off from inside the cabin and quickly folded his wings, plummeting down to his mate. The truck leaned heavily to one side as a wheel dipped into the ditch, before turning violently back onto the road, one side of the vehicle lifted as what was left of the tires collapsed. Any semblance of control was quickly lost and the truck lurched up onto its side and then tipped over. The steel gasoline storage tank it was carrying scraped along the ground, causing sparks to fly.

The sound of the truck’s cargo igniting never reached Keenis, his vision going white as he flew towards the explosion. Fragments of the truck and the crudely welded armor plating flew out from the fireball, some of which were only slowed by his mate's body who still clung to the cab.

"Please, make it stop," he cried, his claws digging deep into the couch cushions, rending large rips through them. His tablet vibrated on the couch, the mockingly cheerful tone filling his mind with its insistent beeps. "Please... " He whimpered, his clenched shut eyes slowly opening to his apartment, the alarm he had set to leave in time for his therapist waking him up from his nightmare.

His breathing was rapid as he tried to force himself to relax. He clenched his teeth and looked up at the ceiling, trying to block out the memory of his mate lying on the road, body broken and burnt by the explosion, her once clean orange scales covered in thick, black soot from the poorly burnt fuel and the melting asphalt she lay on.

Keenis tried to remember what Dr Prin had said, he opened his eyes and focused on a single thing, in this case it was the lone oyster light of his ceiling. He traced the swirls in the plastic while trying to slow down his breathing. When he was first told to do this by Dr. Prin, he thought it was a waste of time, but having used this technique more times than he would admit, he felt it slowly having a calming effect on him.

He slowly felt his heart slow down and his claws relax, threads in the couch cushions snapping as he withdrew them from their stuffing. He looked down at the aftermath of his nightmare, waves of guilt and shame washing over him. With a deep sigh he stepped off the couch and turned to inspect the damage he had caused. Using his front two paws, he flipped over the cushion to hide the evidence, only to see the other side ripped from a similar episode last week. He pursed his lips and flipped the cushions to their least damaged side while making a mental note to look up a new cover or throw blanket he could put over the ruined couch.

"This is why we don't have nice things," he scolded himself under his breath. His alarm rang out again and he quickly silenced it. "I'm up, it's ok!" he said loudly at the inanimate object.

The sun was up in the early morning sky and he groaned, his first shift wasn’t until tomorrow evening, but he really wanted to keep his sleep schedule under control so that he was alert for his next shift. By falling asleep, not only did he go through the torment of his past, but had now set himself up for a rough shift too.

Looking down at his tablet, he checked the time and saw a few missed messages from Meg. Mainly bitching about work, but the last few messages caught his eye.

M: so hey, weird ask. are you free around 9am?

M: I'm meant to be having breakfast/dinner with an old friend and his boyfriend, I kind of don't want to be a third wheel. Do you want to come along?

M: sorry, I knew it would be weird

M: forget I said anything.

Keenis quickly tapped a reply with a smile, breakfast/dinner was their way of saying dinner for them, but breakfast for the rest of the world who didn't work the evening shift.

K: hey sorry, I fell asleep. I have an appointment at 0800, but can catch you up. Do they serve ribs? :)

Little dots indicated that Meg was typing, then his tablet vibrated.

M: not to you! I'll send you the details.

Keenis chuckled and fetched his harness and tablet holster from the balcony. He then quickly gathered his belongings from the kitchen counter, stuffing them hastily into any pocket that they would fit into, before quickly getting himself ready for the day.

The morning sun shone into Keenis's face as he beat his wings, flying quickly towards his appointment with Dr. Prin. The sun was reflecting off his dark tinted sun goggles as the cool morning air rushed over his body, the painful memories still niggles at the back of his mind and he knew he would have to tell Dr. Prin. He was ashamed of his weakness, but tried to focus on the flight to the center of the city.

The VA building where Dr. Prin had her clinic, was only a stone’s throw from the hospital; a selling point Meg made sure to emphasize when she first pitched the idea to him. He touched down at a landing pad just across the road from where he needed to be and he checked his tablet, he had made good time and had a few minutes to spare. The road was busy and he made his way to the crosswalk, tapping the button with the back of a wing as he waited for the red symbol to change green.

He tapped his claws on the concrete while he looked up at the clinic, it was a building dedicated to veteran medical services, a proud flag flying from its rooftop. A list of services displayed in large letters plastered the windows, along with pictures of active service members jumping out of aircraft and tanks rolling through the dusty deserts.

"Why would you jump out of a perfectly good airplane with no wings?" The memory of Joker’s distant voice chilled Keenis to his core.

"Stop. Please stop," He muttered sternly to himself, his eyes closed and claws clenched on the pavement.

The pedestrian lights changed green and a jolly beat burst out of the box that held the button. Keenis opened his eyes and confirmed that it was for his direction. As he was about to step off, he checked the incoming traffic and saw a large truck slowing down at the last minute. The rational part of Keenis's mind told him the truck would stop in time, but still his paws refused to move until the truck stopped at the lights. With a hiss and a lurch the truck stopped, the driver staring at the green and tan dragon who seemed frozen on the pavement staring at him. The driver gave a friendly wave and Keenis quickly shook his head and bounded across the intersection, his heart beating a bit faster than it should.

As Keenis stepped in through the automatic doors of the clinic, his nose twitched at the familiar smell of disinfectant and other scents he associated with the hospital he worked at. The receptionist looked up at him. "Keenis?" she said. Not many dragons used their services and so he had become a bit of a familiar face. 'Draconic pride' was what Dr. Prin had called the reason why service dragon's didn't seek help.

"That's me," he said and made his way across the waiting room.

"Dr. Prin will be with you shortly, please take a seat," the receptionist said and gestured to the waiting area.

Keenis knew they didn't have cushions for dragons, but moved himself out of the way and sat down on the hard floor. A cough from one of the other people waiting caused him to look up and across the other patients. No one he recognized from his tour, but he noticed a few faces he had seen before while waiting for appointments. He swallowed at the sights of their obvious injuries, almost all of them had a missing limb of some kind. Their metal prostheses, while expensive, still had a makeshift look to them and despite having all of his limbs, Keenis had to remind himself that not all injuries are external. It had taken a long time for him to come to accept this realization; when he first arrived at the clinic he had felt like he was a fraud or somehow unworthy of the support because he was not crippled like they were.

"Keenis?" a friendly voice came from one of the doors. Dr. Prin standing straight at her full 5 ft height. She smiled at Keenis as they made eye contact and nodded to the door. Getting up, he quickly made his way over to the older, short human and followed her down the hallway to one of the private rooms that was large enough for dragons.

"So Keenis, you mentioned you were caught up at work?" she said, as she held the door for him. The room had been arranged to look more like a comfortable lounge than the doctor’s office it really was, to try and invite a natural conversation with the patients. With comfortable cushions for dragons as well as a circular table in the center. In the corner there was a soft chair for Dr Prin. Overall, it was a far cry from the leather couch and high backed armchair that was so often portrayed in cinema. Keenis laid down on the cushions near the table, a scattering of large building blocks were strewn across the table. At first he had thought they were silly, but after he had regularly attended sessions with Dr. Prin, he found himself often stacking and unstacking the pieces, or sorting them by color while he talked.

"Affirmative, I was on my way home when the market fire happened. And got roped back into work," Keenis said as he fidgeted with the toy blocks, not wanting to go into details of the soot covered dragoness he had tried to save in the marketplace.

"I see and how long were you working for this time?" she inquired, pulling out a notepad and pen.

"I'm not sure. I started the evening shift, then covered most of the day shift..." Keenis drifted off, he could feel her eyes burning into him and sighed, "I was on my way home when it happened, what was I supposed to do?"

"I understand, but remember. Rest is a necessary function of recovery," she said softly, "When was the last time you took a break from work?"

Keenis knew he hadn't since he had started in the hospital, and between leaving his military career and becoming accredited as a doctor, he hadn't spent much time to himself. "I get it," he said sternly and looked up at her, his large amber eyes tired and drained.

"Ok, I have told you everything I need to about that, so I won't repeat myself. Just remember Keenis, recovery is work, work that you need to do. Filling your day with saving patients is good for them, but you can’t help them if you are burnt out."

"I know, I know," he said and returned to the building blocks.

"Are you still having nightmares?" she asked after a pause. He nodded his head without looking up, "Do you still see the dragoness from the desert?"

"Taalli, her name is... was Taalli," he corrected himself, his voice wavering, "I do, I still dream about our time together, last night..." he drifted off.

"What happened last night, Keenis?" she said and started writing, her pen scratching over the paper.

"I dreamt of the truck," he said with a sniff.

"Keenis, we have been over this. There was nothing you could have done," she said gently, while looking up at the green dragon before her, "From what you said, she gave her life to save the others."

"But now she is gone, and I'm still here," he said with a growl, "It's not fair!"

"It rarely is Keenis. Let's circle back to this," she said. His claws were digging into the bricks and while she was not afraid for her safety, she knew not to push a distraught dragon.

Keenis nodded, "I just wanted it to stop. But...." his words drifted off as he struggled to articulate how hopeless he had felt, how he should have been down there instead of her and the myriad of ways he had hoped the outcome would be different.

She waited for him to elaborate before promoting him, "But what Keenis?"

"I... I don't know," he said softy

"Yes you do. Let it out," her gentle voice coaxing his answer out.

"I miss her okay? The dreams are the only time I see her now…" he said, tears welling up in his eyes. He coughed to try and clear the lump in his throat and glanced over to her and knew her expression, "I know, I know, you’re going to say that's not healthy."

"Keenis, I am not telling you to forget about her. But it's important that you understand that she is not coming back. Tell me that you understand that," her voice was calm and measured as she implored him.

There was a long pause before he finally muttered, "I know. I just don't want her to be gone." he explained, the rare days that he didn't think of Taalli were often overshadowed by the guilt he felt the following day for forgetting the dragoness whom he had grown close to.

There was a long silence between them, before she changed the subject, "How are you coping at work?"

"Okay," he lied, remembering the teal dragoness he tried to help during the market fire. The memory of her soot covered scales still chilling his spine when he thought about her.

"Keenis. If you don't want to tell me that is ok, but don't lie to me. My job is to help you, I can't do that if you tell me fibs," she said, spinning her pen in her fingers.

"What's there to say, people come in, I help them and then they go," he tried to deflect but she wasn't having any of it.

"What you do is incredible, Keenis, You shouldn’t belittle that fact.. After Taalli and what you saw, to be working back in medical is very brave," she could tell he wasn't listening to her anymore and was at risk of shutting her out. She remembered that he didn't respond well to praise for doing what he considered 'just doing his job' and pivoted the subject. "What made you want to be a doctor? You mentioned that the military was just a means to an end?"

He blinked a few times and fidgeted with the blocks, slowly sorting them into colors. "My sister, she was born with a neurological disorder called... Well you know what CP is," he said and saw her nodding.

"And where is she now?" Dr. Prin asked, he had mentioned her only a few times and she knew it was a sore spot for him.

"Gone," he said simply, "It was when I was young, I never really understood why she did it until I got older." He was focused on the little bricks in his large paws, rotating them on the table. Dr. Prin didn't interrupt and he filled in the silence, "She couldn't fly and struggled to walk. But I never thought anything was wrong, that was just my sis... But looking back, I see why she would stay in her room so much."

"So you wanted to be a doctor to help people like your sister," she asked and saw him nodding softly, "Do you get much of a chance to speak much to those you help?"

The lump in his throat was hard and he coughed to try and get his voice back. "I try not to," he said softly. His countless arguments with Meg were coming to mind, "I don't want to find out how they did, I want to think that I saved them and that they live happily ever after." he added with a weak, guilty smile.

"Keenis, we are similar. Most of the people I help, I never see again. But closure is important."

"You sound like Meg," Keenis smiled, his lip twitching slightly.

"Meg is someone you know?" She inquired. She had notes about his social circle being small, and her name had come up a few times.

"A colleague, she is human," he added.

"Nothing wrong with being human," she teased softly, causing him to give a snort of amusement.

"We started at the same time and get along pretty good," he said, the change of subject was refreshing.

"Have you spoken to her about your time in the military?"

"Not really, she knows I served but I haven't told her about Taalli or the squad," his claws were fumbling with an orange building block.

"Do you talk to anyone about Taalli?" she inquired gently.

"Isn't that why I have you?" he said with a weak smile.

She returned his smile but looked him in the eyes. "Keenis, you need to have someone to talk to when I'm not free. I'm not going anywhere, but the first step is going to be opening up. Would Meg be someone who you would feel comfortable with?"

Keenis dropped his gaze back to the bricks, tracing a claw over the little studs on an orange brick. "I guess so."

A small chime echoed from Dr. Prin's watch. "It looks like it's our time up," she said and saw his desperate look, "But I have some homework for you. When are you seeing Meg next?"

Keenis checked his tablet and saw that he was already going to be cutting it close to his meet up with Meg. "In the next few minutes. We are getting breakfast, or in her case I guess you could say dinner, with some of her friends."

"Okay, this is your homework. You will find a way to tell her about Taalli," she said firmly, while standing up, "Don't give me that look, you tell her that Dr. Prin said you need to tell her, okay?"

"Okay," Keenis grumbled and stood up, still holding the little orange brick in his large paw.

"And one more thing. You can keep that brick you have been holding onto all this session on one condition," she said and looked sternly into his big amber eyes. "You can keep it only if you talk to Meg. If you don’t before our next session I expect it back. Deal?" she said. Having worked with dragons before, she knew dragons had a strong sense of ownership, collecting trinkets that held memories was ingrained in their DNA. While the little brick cost nothing, the sense of duty behind it would hopefully motivate him to uphold his side of the bargain.

Keenis nodded and tucked the brick into his harness pouch. "Usual time next week?" he asked.

"And the week after that," she said reassuringly and opened the door for him.

"Thankyou," he muttered softly, as he walked past.

Leaving the clinic Keenis glanced at his tablet. A couple missed messages from Meg, including an address for their meet up; he tapped a quick reply saying he was on his way. The address was a few blocks away and he quickly took to the sky from the launching pad, his large wings powering him through the air. He wiped his eyes to make sure they were clear and gave a weak smile to no one as he flew, in a way putting on his camouflage for the upcoming social mission.

The target was a restaurant on the outskirts of the city center, which specialized in traditional dragon cuisine. Keenis frowned as he approached by air, as it was an unusual spot for Meg to find herself in, the rooftop had been converted into a large open garden where dragons were free to come and go as they pleased. Keenis slowed his speed down and gently landed on a paved area of the rooftop, reserved for takeoffs and landings, and quickly scanned the area for Meg’s orange hair. Dragons of all shapes and sizes lounged on cushions and artificial grass, while a fountain had been installed in the middle. In some customs it was acceptable for dragons to drink from these and he suspected that was the case here too.

He was scanning the area for Meg when he felt his tablet vibrate, looking down he saw a photo of himself that Meg had sent. Smiling, he worked out the angle before looking back where the image should have been taken from and saw her sitting next to another dragon while waving a hand in the air. Keenis nodded and slowly made his way towards her, dodging between lounging dragons and the occasional waiter, to get to his friend. Meg had never mentioned a dragon friend before, however he remembered the scents he had smelt in her apartment and couldn't help but wonder.

"There he is," announced Meg, "Keenis, this is Ben and his boyfriend Geevin" she said, Keenis only now noticing the other human next to the drake, the dragon's large wing wrapped around his human in a hug.

"Oh, Hi. I didn't see you there," Keenis said with a polite nod to the man and moved around to sit down on the cushions beside Meg. His mind wondered about what she had just said and wondered if this was the dragon that he had smelt in her room. However as he sat down and subtly sniffed the air he deduced that it was unlikely.

"Earth to Keenis?" Meg said, snapping him out of his thoughts. "You good buddy?"

He shook his head, "Sorry, busy morning, did you say something?" he said, as he noticed everyone was now looking at him.

"Have you had breakfast yet?" Meg asked with a smile.

Keenis shook his head and saw a menu next to the cushion. "Not yet. Oh look, they do ribs!" he joked, causing a chuckle from the other drake.

"Ben doesn't let me have ribs, something about the sound," Geevin teased and earned an elbow in his side. "Not even on my hatch day," he pouted dramatically.

"It's your hatch day?" Keenis exclaimed and saw Geevin nod, "Congratulations! I think ribs for everyone in that case," Keenis joked, receiving fierce looks from Ben and Meg.

Keenis and Geevin laughed it off and Keenis returned to perusing the menu.

"Ok, I have to ask. What is the difference between a lay day and a hatch day, apart from the obvious," Meg asked and both dragon's looked at her, "Oh come on, it’s an innocent question, Humans have one birthday, why do you have two?" she added.

"Well you see, it all starts when a mommy dragon and a daddy dragon really love each other..." started Geevin.

"Or a mommy dragon goes into heat and finds herself a stud," Keenis added with a smirk.

"Oh my god, you are both as bad as each other," exclaimed Ben and shoved his drake as hard as he could, "Skip to the bit when an egg is laid."

"Oh, but then you miss the best bits," chided Keenis and turned to Meg, he could tell she was still not amused by their banter, "A lay day is mainly for the mother. It’s a celebration of the miracle of an egg. Usually the dragon who hatched from the egg will give their mother a present, or help them around the house as a way of showing their appreciation."

Meg nodded, "Okay, so a hatch day is more like our birthdays then?"

Geevin smirked and weaved his head down to his human boyfriend, "Well yeah, but it’s also a tradition that the one who has their hatch day, gets laid that night."

Ben looked up at the deep eyes of his dragon friend. "Only if they behave," he teased, causing Meg and Keenis to share an uncomfortable look. The awkwardness however was thankfully broken when a waiter made their way over and took their orders, Keenis opting for a soup out of consideration for Meg and Ben. While the others ordered, Meg looked up to his face and could tell something was eating away at him.

"You good Keenis?" she said softly, so only he could hear and placed a gentle hand on his paw.

A flicker of a smile crossed his snout as he looked back down at her, his eyes sincere, "Hey, can I talk to you about something afterwards?" he said, feeling his chest tighten as he finally said the words. "A dragon called Taalli."

"Of course, are you okay?" Meg said gently, understanding that this was clearly important to him.

"I will be."