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Summer had arrived and that meant Ember was ready to enjoy the holidays with style. As she basked on the warm sunrays, a piña colada in one hand and the last number of her favorite magazine in the other, the green dragon thought to herself that the only thing that could improve her experience was some pleasant company.

The beach where she'd decided to plant her hammock was not particularly crowded - which was a good thing. Ember didn't want to put up with noisy children or nosy adults, let alone those pesky tourists. She'd decided to have some me-time and was ready to take it to the last consequences, although she wouldn't mind the company of a handsome guy.

The dragon stretched on the hammock and yawned, her green scales reflecting the sunlight like a polished mirror. Her sunglasses tilted to one side and she placed them on her snout again before taking another sip from her piña colada. While she was still enjoying the sweet taste, a voice came from her side.

"What a nice view."

Startled, Ember turned to the voice, which happened to belong to a wolf. He was standing there, looking far into the sea - but the thing that caught Ember's attention was his outfit.

The wolf's clothes suggested he'd just got out of work. A white, loosely-buttoned shirt with rolled-up sleeves covered his blue fur. He was wearing some comfortable shorts instead of the formal trousers Ember would have expected to match with the shirt. He even wore a tie around his neck, even if slightly loose. Glancing from the hammock, Ember could see a pair of black shoes hanging from the laces he held in his right hand. Apparently, the wolf had decided to walk barefoot on the sand, which was an intelligent idea.

All in all, he was an attractive fellow - but Ember was quick to pretend she hadn't looked away from the magazine she'd been reading.

"What, the sea?" she asked casually. "Yeah, I guess."

The wolf chuckled.

"I didn't mean only the sea. But sure."

Oh, wow, Ember thought. This guy's going all in. She decided to play along and lifted her hand to tuck a lock of blue hair behind her ear.

"It's a beautiful sight," she agreed.

"Mhm. The name's Matts, by the way."

"Ember."

"It's a nice, soothing name. Just like this nice, soothing scenery."

His voice had dropped one or two tones now, falling into a deeper, more calming cadence. The change didn't go unnoticed to Ember, who wondered what his goal was. If she hadn't known better, she could have sworn the wolf had something else on his mind, something beyond simply flirting with her.

"I guess," she answered, trying to force a situation in order to see whether she was right or not. "The sea always has that relaxing atmosphere, doesn't it?"

Matts nodded, gently placing his shoes on the sand.

"And I reckon that's why you're here, right? To relax."

"Yeah."

"You picked a good place, then. You just have to feel the gentle breeze coming from the ocean, the soft whisper as the waves crash and become a foamy blanket, the water as it rises and drops, approaching the shore..."

His words got slower, softer - his tone slightly deeper. Oh my god, Ember thought, trying to stop a smile from creeping into her face. This is really happening, I can't believe it.

She placed the piña colada on the sand, right next to the wolf's shoes, and then managed to say:

"It is... very relaxing, yeah."

"And the cycle repeats. The water receding into the ocean, rising and dropping again, just like your breathing."

"Mhm..."

Ember knew those shenanigans wouldn't work on her, but what could she do about it? She couldn't just stop the wolf mid-induction, could she? Especially when it looked like he was so invested on it. Matts had really picked the wrong dragon to try and zonk, but there was no way she was letting him know.

Not yet, at least.

"It's a natural cycle that goes over and over. You breathe in, relaxation flows into your body as the water rises - and then you breathe out, letting go of all the tension as the water recedes, becoming foam, fading. Disappearing."

Ember had to concede the imagery wasn't half bad. Behind her sunglasses, she managed to make it seem like her eyes were lost in the ocean.

"Disa... ppearing..." she muttered.

The dragon could see the smile on Matts' face widening, becoming a slightly cocky smirk. As the wolf walked around her hammock and stood in front of her, placing a hand on her shoulder, she did her best to appear transfixed.

"That's right. Disappearing. You can relax if you focus on the sound of the sea, your breathing and my voice. That's all you need right now, isn't it?

Ember nodded very slowly, hoping that the wolf wouldn't be able to notice her eyes weren't half-lidded at all by peeking behind her sunglasses. She wasn't entirely sure because the shades made it difficult to tell, but she thought Matts' eyes were glowing now, a gentle dark blue or purple radiance that was supposed to ease her into a deep trance.

"That's right. Breathing in and out, rising and dropping. Fading away with the ocean and focusing on my words, listening to everything I have to say."

Ember's body appeared to be loose and limp on the hammock.

"My voice joining the sound of the waves, making it so hard not to follow." The wolf whispered, leaning closer. His tie hung loosely from his neck. "And now, I'm going to remove these sunglasses and you're going to stare right into my eyes. Is that understood?"

The dragon nodded again. I'm so sorry, she thought to herself.

One of Matts' hands reached for her sunglasses and removed them gently.

"Goooood girl. Now, I want you?"

The wolf's words stopped abruptly, his perfect smirk faltering.

As he looked into Ember's eyes, he noticed they weren't mirroring the pulse from his eyes, but rather pulsing with a glow of their own. A strong, deep glow that enhanced the green and blue spirals swirling in her eyes, taking Matts' field of vision entirely.

"Y-you..."

He obviously hadn't been expecting the dragon to fight back - let alone with such a powerful tool - and his mouth hung slightly ajar, failing to produce any more words. The more he tried to struggle, the more he realized he'd made a mistake of some kind.

And by then it was already too late.

"_I_am going to show you a better visualization," the dragon conceded, her hand slowly reaching for Matts' tie and pulling him closer to her blinding gaze. "You're not waves, darling. You're not the sea or the ocean - you're an anchor. Waves can go up and down, but you can only go one way, and it's down, doooown. Sinking fast and deep for me, okay?"

Matts tried to protest and a soft whimper came out of his throat. His body was growing heavier by the second, leaning on top of the dragon. In order to keep him from downright collapsing on her, she bent a leg and placed one of her clawed feet on the wolf's thigh.

"What's the problem, handsome?" Ember asked. "You're not feeling so talkative now that you're sinking for me?"

In a matter of seconds, the wolf was mostly out of it. The faint glow in his almost-vacant gaze had been replaced by green and blue spirals swirling endlessly. His heavy, loose jaw was hanging open and the tip of his tongue threatened to loll out. Ember thought he looked cute.

"See? It's much easier this way," Ember said, giggling. "And it's a good look on you, anchor. I'll tell you what you're going to do - you're going to walk to the nearest stand and get a nice cocktail for me. Piña colada is a good option, but I'll let you get creative with whatever little brainpower you have left. Sound good?"

The wolf nodded slowly.

"Ah, ah," Ember pointed out. "Big, dopy smile on your face for me. Yeah, just like that. You were born for smiling, darling - you definitely have a big repertoire back there."

As if prompted, Matts let out a silly, content giggle.

"Good. You can go now. Oh, and make sure you return fast, will you?" Ember made sure to request, right before the wolf left to fulfill his orders. "My feet need a good rub and I think you're the best option to help with that..."